a new version of the psalms of david, fitted to the tunes used in churches by n. tate and n. brady. tate, nahum, - . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing b estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) a new version of the psalms of david, fitted to the tunes used in churches by n. tate and n. brady. tate, nahum, - . brady, nicholas, - . [ ], - , [ ] p. printed by m. clark for the company of stationers, london : . reproduction of original in huntington library. advertisement: p. 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ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng - tcp assigned for keying and markup - spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images - tcp staff (oxford) sampled and proofread - judith siefring text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a new uersion of the psalms of david , fitted to the tunes used in churches . by n. tate and n. brady . london : printed by m. clark : for the company of stationers . . to his most excellent majesty william iii. of great-britain , france , and ireland king , defender of the faith , &c. this new version of the psalms of david is most humbly dedicated , by his majesty's most obedient subjects and servants n. brady , n. tate . the psalms of david . a new version of the psalms , &c. psalm i. . happy the man whom ill advice from virtue ne'er withdrew , who ne'er with sinners stood , nor ●a● amongst the scoffing crew : . but makes the perfect law of god his bus'ness and delight ; devoutly reads therein by day , and meditates by night . . he , like a tree by rivers fed , with timely fruit shall bend ; his ●eaf shall flourish , and success all his designs attend . . ungodly m●n and their attempts no lasting roo● shall find ; untimely blasted and dispers'd like cha●f before the wind. . the w●●k●d th●refore shall no● stand before their judge's face , nor hypocri●es , who pass'd for saints , amongst the just take place . . god knows the ways of ●ighteous men , to happiness they tend ; but sinners , and their vain designs , shall both in ruin end . psalm ii. . with restless and ungovern'd rage , why do the heathen storm ? why in such rash attempts engage , as they can ne'er perform ? . the great in counsel and in might , their various forces bring ; against the lord they all unite , and his anointed king. . must we submit to their commands ? puff'd up with pride , they say ; no , let us break their slavish bands , and cast their chains away . . but god , who sits enthron'd on high , who all things wisely guides , does their conspiring strength defie , their empty plots derides . . thick clouds of wrath divine shall break on his rebellious foes ; and in loud thunder thus he 'll speak to all that dare oppose . . in spight of those who thwart my will , the king that i approve , whose throne is fix'd on sion's hill , like that , shall never nove . . listen , o earth , whilst i declare , god's uncontroul'd decree : thou art my son , this day my heir have i begotten thee . . ask and receive ; thy just commands the heathen world shall sway , the utmost limits of the lands shall thy dread will obey . . thy pow'rful sceptre thou shalt shake● and crush them every where ; as massy bars of iron break the potter's brittle ware. . learn then , ye princes , and give ear , ye judges of the earth ; . worship the lord with holy fear , rejoyce with awful mirth . . appease the son with due respect , your humble homage pay ; lest he revenge the bold neglect , incens'd by your delay : . if but in part his anger rise , who can endure its flame ? then bless'd are they whose hope relies on his most holy name . psalm iii. . how num'rous , lord , of late are grown the troublers of my peace ! and as their factious numbers rise , so does their rage increase . . insulting , they my soul upbraid , and him that i adore ; the god in whom he trusts , say they , shall rescue him no more . . but thou , o lord , art my defence ; on thee my hopes rely ; thou art my glory , and shalt yet lift up my head on high . . since , whensoe'er in like distress to god i made my pray'r , he heard me from his holy hill , why should i now despair ? . guarded by him , i laid me down my sweet repose to take ; for i through him securely sleep , through him in safety wake . . no force nor fury of my foes my courage shall confound , were they as many hosts as men , that have beset me round . . arise , and save me , o my god , who oft hast own'd my cause , and scatter'd oft these foes to me , and to thy righteous laws . . salvation to the lord belongs , he only can defend ; his blessings he extends to all that on his power depend . psalm iv. . o lord , that art my righteous judge , to my complaint give ear ; thou still redeem'd'st me from distress , have mercy , lord and hear . . how long will ye , o sons of men , to blot my fame devise ? how long your vain designs pursue , and spread malicious lies ? . consider , that the righteous man is god's peculiar choice , and when to god i make my pray'r . he always hears my voice . . then stand in aw of his commands , flee ev'ry thing that 's ill ; commune in private with your hearts , and bend them to his will. . the place of other sacrifice let righteousness supply ; and let your hope , securely fix'd , on god alone rely . . whilst wordly minds impatient grow more prosp'rous times to see , still let the glories of thy face shine brightly , lord , on me . . so shall my heart o'erflow with joy more lasting and more true , than theirs , who stores of corn and wine successively renew . . then down in peace i 'll lay my head , and take my needful rest ; no other guard , o lord , i crave , of thy defence possest . psalm v. . lord , hear the voice of my complaint , accept my secret pray'r ; . to thee alone , my king my god , will i for help repair . . thou in the morn my voice shalt hear ; and with the dawning day to thee devoutly i 'll look up , to thee devoutly pray . . for thou the wrongs that i sustain canst never , lord , approve , who from thy sacred dwelling-place all evil dost remove . . not long shall hard'ned fools remain unpunish'd in thy sight . all such as act unrighteous things thy vengeance shall requite . . the sland'ring tongue , o god of truth , by thee shall be destroy'd , who hat'st alike the man in blood and in deceit employ'd . . but when thy boundless grace shall me to thy lov'd court 's restore , on thee i 'll fix my longing eyes , and humbly there adore . . conduct me by thy righteous laws , for watchful is my foe : therefore , o lord , make plain the way wherein i ought to go . . their mouth vents nothing but deceit , their heart is set on wrong ; their throat is a devouring grave , they flatter with their tongue . . by their own counsels let them fall , oppress'd with loads of sin ; for they against thy righteous laws have harden'd rebels been . . but let all those who trust in thee , with shouts their joy proclaim ; let them rejoyce whom thou preserv'st , and all that love thy name . . to righteous men , the righteous lord his blessings will extend , and with his favour , from their foes , as with a shield , defend . psalm vi. . thy dreadful anger , lord , restrain , and spare a wretch forlorn ; correct me not in thy fierce wrath , too heavy to be born . . have mercy , lord , my strength decays , unable to endure the anguish of my aking bones , which thou alone canst cure . . my tortur'd flesh infects my mind , and fills my soul with grief ; but , lord , how long wilt thou delay to grant me thy relief ? . thy wonted goodness , lord , repeat , and ease my troubled soul ; lord , for thy wond'rous mercy 's sake vouchsafe to make me whole . . for after death no more can i thy glorious acts proclaim ; no pris'ner of the silent grave can magnifie thy name . . quite tir'd with pain , with groaning faint , no hope of ease i see ; the night , that quiets common griefs , is spent in tears by me . . my beauty fades , my sight grows dim , my eyes with weakness close ; old age o'ertakes me , whilst i think on my insulting foes . . depart , ye wicked , in my harms ye shall no more rejoyce ; for god , i find , accepts my tears , and listens to my voice . , . he hears and grants my humble pray'r , and they that wish my fall , shall blush and rage , to see that god protects me from them all . psalm vii . . o lord , my god , as i have plac'd my trust alone in thee , from all my persecutors rage do thou deliver me . . save me from my remorseless foe , lord , interpose thy pow'r ; lest , like a salvage lion , he my helpless soul devour . , . if i am guilty , or did e'er against his peace combine ; nay , if i have not spar'd his life , who sought unjustly mine ; . let then to persecuting foes my soul become a prey ; let them to earth tread down my life , in dust my honor lay . . arise , and let thine anger , lord , in my defence engage ; exalt thy self above my foes , and their insulting rage : awake , awake in my behalf , the judgment to dispence , which thou hast righteously ordain'd for injur'd innocence . . so to thy throne adoring crouds shall still for justice fly ! o! therefore for their ●uff'ring sakes , do thou return on high . . impartial judge of all the world , i leave my cause to thee ; o! judge me by thy righteousness , and heart's integrity . . let wickedness , and wicked men , together be o'erthrown ; but fix the just● thou god to whom the hearts of both are known . , . god me protects , nor only me , but all of upright heart ; and daily lays up wrath for those who from his laws depart . . if they persist , he whets his sword , his bow stands ready bent ; . ev'n now with swift destruction wing'd , his pointed shafts are sent . . those treach'rous plots my foe conceiv'd abortive are and vain ; . the pit he digg'd has prov'd a grave his ruines to contain . . on his own head his spite returns , whilst i from harm am free ; the violence is fall'n on him , which he design'd for me . . therefore of providence divine , the justice i 'll proclaim ; i 'll sing the praise of god most high , and celebrate his name . psalm viii . . o thou to whom all creatures bow within this earthly frame , thro' all the world how great art thou ! how glorious is thy name ! in heav'n thy wond'rous acts are sung , nor fully reckon'd there ; . and yet thou mak'st the infant tongue thy boundless praise declare : thro thee the weak confound the strong , and crush their haughty foes ; and so thou quell'st the wicked throng that thee and thine oppose . . when heav'n , thy beauteous work on high , employs my wond'ring sight ; the moon , that nightly gilds the skie , with stars of feebler light ; . lord , what is man that still thou lov'st to keep him in thy mind ! or what his offspring that thou prov'st to him so wond'rous kind ! . him next in pow'r thou didst create to thy celestial train ; . ordain'd with dignity and state o'er all thy works to reign . . they jointly own his potent sway , the beasts that prey or graze ; . the bird that wings its airy way , the fish that cuts the seas . . o thou , to whom all creatures bow within this earthly frame , thro' all the world how great art thou ! how glorious thy name ! psalm ix . . to celebrate thy praise , o lord , i will my heart prepare ; to all the list'ning world thy works , thy wond'rous works declare . . the thought o● them shall to my soul exalted raptures bring ; whilst to thy name , o thou most high ! triumphant praise i sing . . thou mad'st my haughty foes to turn their backs in shameful flight ; struck with thy presence , down they fell , they perish'd at thy sight . . against insulting foes advanc'd , thou didst my cause maintain ; my right asserting from thy throne , where truth and justice reign . . the insolence of heathen pride thou hast reduc'd to shame ; their wicked offspring quite destroy'd , and blotted out their name . . mistaken foes ! your threats and you are to a period come : our cities stand , design'd by you their slaughter'd owners tomb , , . the lord endures , who has on high his righteous throne prepar'd , impartial justice to dispense , to punish or reward . . his kindness is a sure defence against oppressing rage ; as troubles rise , his needful aids in our behalf engage . . all those who have his goodness prov'd , will in his truth confide ; whose mercy ne'er ●orsook the man that on his help rely'd . . sing praises therefore to the lord , from si●n his abode ; proclaim his deeds , till all the world confess no other god. part ii. . when he enquiry makes for blood , he 'll ●●ll their case to mind ; the injur'd humble mans complaint relief from him shall find . . compassion on my troubles take , that spiteful foes create , thou that hast rescu'd me so oft from death's devouring gate . . in sion then i 'll sing thy praise , to all that love thy name ; and with loud shouts of grateful joy thy saving pow'r proclaim . . deep in the pit they digg'd for me , the heathen pride is laid ; their guilty feet to their own snare insensibly betray'd . . thus by the just returns he makes the mighty lord is known ; while wicked men by their own plots are shamefully o'erthrown . . his injur'd saints , when most distress'd , he ne'er forgets to aid ; their expectation shall be crown'd , tho for a time delay'd . . no single sinner shall escape by privacy obscur'd ; nor nations from his just revenge by numbers be secur'd . . arise , o lord , assert thy pow'r , and let no man o'ercome ; descend to judgment , and pronounce the guilty heathens doom . . strike terror through the nations round , till by consenting fear , they , to each other and themselves , but mortal men appear . psalm x. . thy presence why withdraw'st thou , lord ? why hid'st thou now thy face ? when dismal times of deep distress call for thy wonted grace . . the wicked swell'd with lawless pride , the poor their prey have made , o! let them fall by those designs which they for others laid . . for strait they triumph , if success their thriving crimes attend ; and sordid wretches whom god hates , in his despite commend . . to own a pow'r above themselves their haughty pride disdains ; and therefore in their stubborn mind no thought of god remains . . oppressive methods they pursue , and all their foes they slight ; because thy judgments , unobserv'd , are far above their sight . . they fondly think their prosp'rous state shall unmolested be ; they think their vain designs shall thrive , from all misfortunes free . . vain and deceitful is their speech , with curses fill'd and lies ; by which the mischeif they intend , they study to disguise . . near publick roads they lie conceal'd , and all their art employ , the innocent and poor at once to ri●●e and destroy . . not lions , couching in their dens , surprise their heedless prey with greater cunning , or express more salvage rage than they . . sometimes they act the harmless man , and humble looks they wear ; that , so deceiv'd , the poor may less their sudden onset fear . part ii. . for god , they think , no notice takes of their unrighteous deeds ; he never minds the suff'ring poor , nor their oppression heeds . . but thou , o lord , at length arise ; stretch forth thy mighty arm ; and by the greatness of thy pow'r defend the poor from harm . . no longer let the wicked vaunt , and proudly boasting say , tush , god regards not what we do , he never will repay . . but sure thou saw'st , and all their deeds impartially dost try ; the orphan therefore and the poor on thee for aid rely . . defenceless let the wicked fall , of all their strength bereft : confound , o god , their dark designs , till no remains are left . . assert thy just dominion , lord , which shall for ever stand ; throug which the heathen were expell'd from this thy chosen land. . thy humble suppliants still thou hear'st , that to thy throne repair ; thou first prepar'st their hearts to pray , and then accept'st their pray'r . . thou , in thy righteous judgment , weigh'st the fatherless and poor ; that so the tyrants of the earth may persecute no more . psalm xi . . since i in god have plac'd my trust , a refuge always nigh , why should i , like a tim'rous bird , to di●tant mountains fly ? . beho●d , the wicked bend their bow , and ready ●ix their dart : lurking in ambush to destroy the ●an of upright heart . . when once the firm assurance fails which publick faith imparts , 't is time for ●nnocence to fly from such deceitful arts. . the lord has both a temple here , and righteous throne above ; whence he surveys the sons of men , and how their counsels move . . if god , the righteous whom he loves for trial does correct ; what must the sons of violence , whom he abhors , expect ? . snares , fire , and brimstone on their heads shall in one tempest show'r ; this dreadful mixture his revenge into their cup shall pour . . the righteous lord will righteous deeds with signal favour grace ; and on the upright man reflect the brightness of his face . psalm xii . . since godly men decay , o lord , do thou my cause defend ; for scarce these wretched times afford one just and faithful friend . . one neighbour now can scarce believe what t'other does impart ; with flatt'ring lips they all deceive , and with a double heart . . but lips that with deceit abound can never prosper long ; god's righteous vengeance will confound the proud blaspheming tongue . . in v●in those foolish boasters say , our tongues are sure our own ; with doubtful words we 'll still betray● and be controul'd by none . . for god , who hears the poor opprest , and all their sufferings knows , will soon arise and give them rest , i●●pight of all their foes . . the word of god shall still abide , and void of falshood be : as is the silver sev'n times try'd from drossy mixture free . . the promise of his aiding grace shall reach its purpos'd end ; his servants from his faithless race he ever shall defend . . then shall the wicked be perplex'd , nor know which way to fly ; when those whom they despis'd and vex'd shall be advanc'd on high . psalm xiii . . how long wilt thou forget me , lord ? must i for ever mourn ? how long wilt thou withdraw from me ? oh! never to return ! . how long shall anxious thoughts my soul , and grief my heart oppress ? how long my enemies insult , and i have no redress ? . o hear ! and to my longing eyes restore thy wonted light ; wnd suddenly , or i shall sleep in everlasting night . . restore me , lest they proudly boast 't was their own strength o'ercame ; permit not them that vex my soul to triumph in my shame . . since i have always plac'd my trust beneath thy mercy 's wing , thy saving health will come , and then my heart with joy shall spring , . then shall my song , with praise inspir'd , to thee my god ascend ; who to thy servant in distress such bounty didst extend . psalm xiv . . sure wicked fools must needs suppose that god is nothing but a name , corrupt and lewd their practice grows ; no b●east is warm'd with holy flame . . the lord look'd down from heaven's high tow'r , and did the race of mankind view ; to see if any own'd his pow'r , if any truth or justice knew . . but all , he saw , were gone aside , all were degen'rate grown and base ; none took religion for their guide , not one of all the sinful race . . but can these workers of deceit be all so dull and senseless grown ? that they , like bread , my people eat , and god's almighty pow'r disown ? . how will they tremble then for fear , when his just wrath shall them o'ertake ? for to the righteous , god is near , and never will their cause forsake . . in vain ungodly men expose those methods which the just pursue ; since god a refuge is for those whom his just eyes with favour view . . would he his saving pow'r employ . to break his people's servile band ! then shouts of universal joy should loudly echo through the land. psalm xv. . lord , who 's the happy man that may to thy blest courts repair ? not , stranger-like , to visit them , but to inhabit there ? . 't is he whose ev'ry thought and deed by rules of virtue moves ; whose gen'rous tongue disdains to speak the thing his heart disproves . . who never did a slander forge his neighbour's fame to wound ; nor hearkens to a false report , by malice whisper'd round . . who vice , in all its pomp and pow'r , can treat with just neglect ; and piety , tho cloath'd in rags , religiously respect . who to his plighted vows and trust has ever firmly stood ; and tho he promise to his loss , he makes the promise good . . whose soul in usury disdains his treasure to employ ; whom no rewards could ever bribe , the guiltless to destroy . the man , who , by his steady course , has happiness ensur'd , when earth's foundations shake , shall stand , by providence secur'd . psalm xvi . . protect me from my cruel foes , and shield me , lord , from harm ; because my trust i still repose on thy almighty arm. . my soul , all help but thine does slight , all gods but thee disown ; yet can no deeds of mine requite the goodness thou hast shown . . but those that are of vertuous note , who love the thing that 's right , to favour always and promote shall be my chief delight . . how shall their sorrows be increas'd , who other gods adore ? their bloody off'rings i detest , their very names abhor . . . my lot is fall'n in the blest land where god is purely serv'd ; he fills my cup with lib'ral hand ; my right 's by him preserv'd . . in nature's most delightful scene my happy portion lies ; the place of my appointed reign all other lands outvies . . therefore my soul shall bless the lord , whose word 's my guide and light ; who private counsel does afford , in dark afflictions night . . nothing , i know , can lie conceal'd from his all-seeing eye ; and my firm hope has never fail'd , because he still is nigh . . therefore my heart all grief defies , my glory does rejoice ; my flesh shall rest , in hope to rise , wak'd by his pow'rful voice . . thou , lord , when i resign my breath● my soul from hell wilt free ; nor let thy holy one in death the least corruption see . . thou shalt the paths of life display , which to thy presence lead ; where pleasures dwell without allay , and joys that never fade . psalm xvii . . to my just plea , my sad complaint attend , o righteous lord , and to my pray'r , as 't is unfeign'd , a gracious ear afford . . as in ●hy presence i 'm approv'd , so let my sentence be ; and with impartial eyes , o lord , my upright dealing see . . for thou hast prov'd my heart by day , and visited by night ; and on the strictest tryal found ●ts secret motions right . nor shall thy justice , lord , alone my heart's designs acquit ; for i have purpos'd that my tongue shall no offence commit . . i know , what wicked men would do , their safety to maintain ; but me thy just and mild commands from bloody paths restrain . . that i may still , in spight of wrongs , my innocence secure ; o! guide me in thy righteous ways , and make my footsteps sure . . since heretofore i ne'er in vain to thee my pray'r address'd ; o! now , my god , incline thine ear to this my just request . . the wonders of thy love and care in my defence engage , thou , whose right hand preserves thy saints from their oppressors rage . part ii. , . o! keep me in thy tend'rest care , with shelt'ring wings stretch'd out , from cruel and oppressing foes , that compass me about . . o'ergrown with luxury , enclos'd in their own fat they lie ; and with a proud blaspheming mouth both god and man defie . . well , may they boast ; for they have now my path encompass'd round ; their eyes at watch , their bodies bow'd , and couching to the ground . . in posture of a lion set , when greedy of his prey ; or a young lion , when he lurks within a covert way . . arise , o lord , defeat their plots , their swelling rage controul ; from the ungodly man , thy sword , deliver thou my soul. . from worldly men , thy sharpest scourge , whose portion 's here below ; who , fill'd with earthly stores , aspire no other bliss to know ; . pleas'd with a num'rous race , to share their substance while they live ; successive heirs , to whom they may the vast remainder give . . but , lord , for me , i only crave the treasure of thy grace ? and waking in my soul to find the ●mage of thy face . psalm xviii . , . no change of times shall ever shock my firm affection , lord , to thee ? for thou hast always been a rock , a fortress and defence to me . thou my deliv'rer art , my god ; my trust is in thy mighty pow'r ; thou art my shield from foes abroad , at home my safeguard and my tow'r . . to thee i 'll still address my pray'r , ( to whom all praise we justly owe ; ) so shall i , by thy watchful care , be guarded from my treach'rous foe . , . by floods of wicked men distress'd , with deadly sorrows compass'd round , with dire infernal pangs oppress'd , in death's unwieldy fetters bound . . to heav'n i made my mournful pray'r , to god address'd my humble moan ; who graciously inclin'd his ear , and heard me from his lofty throne . part ii. . when god arose to take my part , the trembling earth did quake for fear ; from their firm posts the hills did start , nor durst his dreadful fury bear . . thick clouds of smoak disperst abroad , ensigns of wrath , before him came ; devouring fire around him glow'd , that coals were kindled at its flame . . he left the beauteous realms of light , whilst heav'n bow'd down its awful head ; beneath his feet , substantial night was , like a sable carpet , spread . . the chariot of the king of kings , which troops of harness'd ang●ls drew , on a strong tempest 's rapid wings with most amazing swiftness flew . , . black wat'ry mists and clouds conspir'd with thickest shades his face to veil ; but at his brightness soon retir'd , and fell in show'rs of fire and hail . . thro heav'n's wide arch a thundring peal , god's angry voice did loudly roar ; while earth's sad face , with heaps of hail and flakes of fire , was cover'd o'er . . his sharpen'd arrows round he threw , which made his scatter'd foes retreat ; like darts , his nimble light'nings ●lew , and quickly finish'd their defeat . . the deep its secret stores disclos'd ; the world's foundations naked lay ; by his avenging wrath expos'd , which fiercely rag'd , that dreadful day . part iii. . the lord did on my side engage , from heav'n ( his throne ) my cause upheld ; and snatch'd me from the furious rage of threat'ning waves that proudly swell'd . . god his resistless pow'r employ'd , my strongest foes attempts to break ; who else with ease had soon destroy'd the weak defence that i could make . . their subtle rage had near prevail'd , when i distress'd and friendless lay ; but still when other succours fail'd , god was my firm support and stay. . from dangers that enclos'd me round , he brought me forth , and set me free ; for some just cause his goodness found , that mov'd him to delight in me . . because in me no guilt remains , god does his gracious help extend ; my hands are free from bloody stains , therefore the lord is still my friend . , . for i his judgments kept in sight ; in his just ways i always trod ; i never did his statutes slight , nor vainly wander'd from my god. , . but still my soul sincere and pure , did ev'n from darling sins refrain ; his favours therefore yet endure , because my heart and hands are clean . part iv. , . thou suit'st , o lord , thy righteous ways to various paths of human-kind ; they who for mercy merit praise , with thee shall wond'rous mercy find . thou to the just shalt justice shew . the pure thy purity shall see ; such as perversly chuse to go , shall meet perverse returns from thee . , . that he the humble soul will save , and crush the haughty's boasted might . in me the lord an instance gave , whose darkness he has turn'd to light. . on his firm succour i rely'd , and did o'er num'rous foes prevail ; nor fear'd , whilst he was on my side , the best defended walls to scale . . for gods designs shall still succeed ; his word will bear the strictest test : he 's a strong shield to all that need , and on his sure protection rest . . who then deserves to be ador'd , but god , on whom my hopes depend ? or who , except the mighty lord , can with resistless pow'r defend ? part v. , . 't is god that girds my armour on , and all my just designs ful●ills ; through him my feet can swiftly run , and nimbly climb the steepest hills . . lessons of war from him i take , and manly weapons learn to wield ; strong bows of steel with ease i break , forc'd , by my stronger arms , to yield . . the buckler of his saving health protects me from assaulting foes ; his hand sustains me still ; my wealth and greatness from his bounty flows . . my goings he enlarg'd abroad , till then to narrow paths confin'd ; and when in slipp'ry ways ● trod , the method of my steps design'd . . through him i num'rous foes defeat , and flying squadrons captive make ; nor from my fierce pursuit retreat , till full revenge of all i take . . cover'd with wounds , in vain they try their vanquish'd heads again to rear ; spight of their boasted strength they lie beneath my feet , and grovel there . . god● when fierce armies take the field , recruits my strength , my courage warms ; he makes my strong opposers yield , subdu'd by my prevailing arms. . through him the necks of prostrate foes my conqu'ring feet in triumph press ; aided by him , i root out those who hate and envy my success . . with loud complaints all friends they try'd , but none was able to defend ; at length to god for succour cry'd , but god would no assistance lend . . like flying dust which winds pursue , their broken troops were scatter'd round : their baffled numbers forth i threw , like loathsome dust that clogs the ground . part vi. . our factious tribes , at strife till now , at god's appointment me obey ; the heathen to my sceptre bow , and foreign nations own my sway. . remotest realms their homage send , when my successful name they hear ; strangers for my commands attend , charm'd with respect , or aw'd by fear . . all to my summons tamely yield , or soon in battel are dismay'd ; for stronger holds they quit the field , and still in strongest holds afraid . . let the eternal lord be prais'd ! the rock on whose defence i rest ; o'er highest heav'ns his name be rais'd , who me with his salvation bless'd ! . t is god that still supports my right , his just revenge my foes pursues ; 't is he , that with resistless might , fierce nations to my yoke subdues , . my universal safe-guard , he ! from whom my lasting honours flow● he made me great , and set me free from my remorseless bloody foe . . therefore to celebrate his fame , my grateful voice to heav'n i 'll raise● and nations , strangers to his name , shall thus be taught to sing his praise ; . god to his king deliv'rance sends ; shews his anointed signal grace ? his mercy evermore extends to david , and his promis'd race . psalm xix . . the heav'ns declare thy glory , lord● which that alone can fill ; the firmament and stars express their great creator's skill . . revolving days , with ev'ry dawn , fresh beams of knowledge bring ; from darkest nights successive rounds divine instructions spring . . their pow'rful language to no realm or region is confin'd ; 't is nature's voice , and understood alike by all mankind . . their doctrines sacred sense itself through earth's extent displays ; whose bright contents the circ'ling sun around the world conveys . . no bridegroom , for his nuptials drest , has such a cheerful face ; no giant does like him rejoice , to run his glorious race . . from east to west from west to east , his restless circuit goes ; and through his progress cheerful light and vital warmth bestows . part ii. . god's perfect law converts the soul , reclaims from false desires ; with sacred wisdom his sure word the ignorant inspires . . the statutes of the lord are just , and bring sincere delight ; his pure commands , in search of truth , assist the feeblest sight . . his fear is clean , his worship fix'd for ever to abide ; his equal judgments in the scale of truth and justice try'd . . of more esteem than golden mines , or gold refin'd with skill ; more sweet than honey , or the drops that from the comb distil . . my trusty counsellours they are , and friendly warnings give : divine rewards attend on those who by thy precepts live . . but what frail man observes , how of● he does from vertue fall ? o cleanse me from my secret faults , thou god who know'st them all . . let no presumptuous sin , o lord , dominion have o'er me ; that by thy grace preserv'd , i may the great trangression flee , . so shall my pray'r and praises be with thy acceptance blest ; and i , secure , on thy defence , my strength and saviour , rest . psalm xx. . the lord to thy request attend , and hear thee in distress ; the name of iacob's god defend , and grant thy arms success . . to aid thee from on high repair , and strength from sion give ; remember all thy offerings there , thy sacrifice receive . . to compass thy own heart's desire thy counsels still direct ; make kindly all events conspire to bring them to effect . . to thy salvation , lord , for aid we 'll cheerfully repair , with banners in thy name display'd : the lord accept thy pray'r . . our hopes are now confirm'd , the lord will by our sov'reign stand ; from heav'n the saving strength afford of his resistless hand . . some trust in steeds for war design'd , on chariots some rely ; against them all , we 'll call to mind the name of god most high. . but from their steeds and chariots thrown , behold them through the plain , disorder'd , broke , and trampled down , whilst firm our troops remain . . still save us , lord , and still proceed our rightful cause to bless ; hear , king of heav'n , in times of need the pray'rs that we address . psalm xxi . . the king , o lord , with songs of praise shall in thy strength rejoice ; with thy salvation glad shall raise to heav'n his cheerful voice , . for thou whate'r his lips request not only didst impart , but hast with thy acceptance blest the wishes of his heart . . thy goodness and thy tender care have ev'n his hope 's out-gone ; a crown of gold thou mak'st him wear and sett'st it firmly on . . he pray'd for life , and thou , o lord , didst his short span extend ; and graciously to him afford a life that ne'er shall end . . thy sure defence to nations round has spread his glorious name ; and his successful actions crown'd with majesty and fame . . eternal blessings thou bestow'st , and mak'st his joy encrease , whilst thou to him unclouded show'st the brightnes● of thy ●ace . part ii. . because the king on god alone for timely aid relies , his mercy still supports his throne , and all his needs supplies . . but , righteous lord , thy stubborn foes shall feel thy heavy hand ; thy vengeful arm shall find out those that hate thy mild command . . when thou against them dost engage , thy just but dreadful doom shall like a glowing oven's rage , their hopes and them consume . . nor shall thy furious anger cease , or with their ruine end ; but ravage all their guilty race , and to their seed descend . . for all their thoughts were set on ill , their hearts on malice bent , ( though thou with watchful care didst still the ill effects prevent . ) . in vain by shameful flight they 'll try to scape thy dreaded might ; while thy swift darts shall fa●ter fly , and gaul them in their flight . . thus , lord , thy wond'rous strength disclose , and thus exalt thy name ; whilst we loud songs of joy compose , and make thy pow'r the theme . psalm xxii . . my god , my god , why leav'st thou me when i with anguish faint ? o why so far from me remov'd , and from my loud complaint . . all day , but all the day unheard , to thee do i complain ; with cries implore relief all night , but cry all night in vain . . but thou art still the righteous judge of innocence oppress'd , and therefore israel's praises are of right to thee address'd . , . on thee our ancestors rely'd , and thy deliv'rance found ; with pious confidence they pray'd and with success were crown'd . . but i am treated as a worm , like none of woman born : not only by the great revil'd , but made the rabble's scorn . . with laughter all the gazing crowd my agonies survey . they shoot the lip , they shake the head , and thus , deriding , say , . in god he trusted , boasting oft that he was heaven's delight ; let god come down to own him now , and save his favourite . part ii. . thou mad'st my teeming mother's womb a living offspring bear ; when but a suckling at the breast , i was th' almighty's care. . my guardian thou didst shield from wrongs my helpless infant days ; up from my birth my god and guide , through life's bewilder'd ways . . withdraw not then so far from me when trouble is so nigh : o send me help ! thy help , on which i only can rely . . high pamper'd bulls , a frowning herd , from basan forests met , with strength proportion'd to their rage , have me around beset . . they gape on me and every mouth a yawning grave appears ; the rav'ning lion's loudest roar less dreadful is than theirs . part iii. . my blood like water 's spill'd , my joints distorted out of frame ; my heart dissolves within my breast , like wax before the flame● . my strength like potter's earth is parch'd , my thirsty tongue and breath from plaints restrain'd ; my life reduc'd ev'n to the gates of death . . like blood hounds to surround me , they in pack'd assemblies meet ; they pierc'd my inoffensive hands , they pierc'd my harmless feet . . my body 's rack'd till all my bones distinctly may be told : yet such a spectacle of woe as pastime they behold . . as spoil my garments they divide , lots for my vesture cast ; therefore approach , o lord , my strength , and to my succour haste . . deliver from their sword my soul , ( of all but life bereft ! ) nor let my darling in the pow'r of cruel dogs be left . . retrieve me from the lion's jaws as from the brandish'd horns thou rescued'st me , and from the hoofs of trampling unicorns . . then to my brethren i 'll declare the triumphs of thy name , in presence of assembled saints thy glory thus proclaim , . ye worshippers of iacob's god , all you of israel's line , o praise the lord , and to your praise sincere obedience join . . he ne'er disdain'd on low distress to cast a gracious eye ; nor turn'd from poverty his face , but hears its humble cry. part iv. . thus in thy courts religious throng my thanks i will express , in presence of thy saints perform the vows of my distress . . the meek companions of my grief shall find my table spread , and all that seek the lord shall be with joys immortal fed . . then shall the universe , convinc'd , to god their homage pay ; and scatter'd nations of the earth one sov'reign lord obey . . 't is his supream prerogative o'er subject-kings to reign , 't is just that he should rule the world , who does the world sustain . the rich , who are with plenty fed , his bounty must confess ; the sons of want , by him reliev'd , their gen'rous patron bless . with humble worship , to his throne they all for aid resort that power which first their beings gave , can only them support . , . then shall a chosen spotless race devoted to his name , to their admiring heirs his truth and glorious acts proclaim . psalm xxiii . . since god does me , his worthless charge , protect with tender care , as watchful shepherds guard their flocks , what can i want or fear ? . in shady pastures fresh and green he makes me feed and lie ; then leads me on to silver streams , that gently murmur by . . my wand'ring soul , by him restor'd , to his immortal praise , he taught with humble zeal to walk in his most righteous ways . . tho through death's gloomy vale i march , yet safe and undismaid ; his presence cheers , his rod and staff afford me constant aid . . by him , in sight of all my foes , my table 's richly spread , my cup o'erflows with gen'rous wine , with pretious oyls my head. . since god thus shews his wond'rous love through all my life's extent , my time to come shall , in his house , in pray'r and praise be spent . psalm xxiv . . this spacious earth is all the lord's , the lord 's her fulness is ; the world and its inhabitants by sov'reign right are his . . he fram'd and fix'd it on the seas , and with almighty hand upon inconstant floods he made her stable fabrick stand . . but for himself this lord of all one chosen seat design'd ; o who shall to that sacred hill deserv'd admittance find ? . the man whose hands and heart are pure , whose thoughts were never vain , had rather live despis'd and poor , than thrive ●y perjur'd gain . . this , this is he on whom the lord shall show'r his blessings down , whom god his saviour shall vouchsafe with righteousness to crown● . such is the race of saints , by whom thy sacred courts are trod ; and such the proselytes that seek the face of iacob's god. . erect your heads , eternal gates , unfold , to entertain the king of glory : see he comes with his celes●ial train . . who is this king of glory ? who ? the lord for strength renown'd , in battel mighty , o'er his foes eternal victor crown'd . . erect your heads , ye gates , unfold in state to entertain the king of glory : see he comes with all his shining train . . who is this king of glory ? who ? the lord of hosts renown'd : of glory he alone is king , who is with glory crown'd . psalm xxv . , . to thee , the god in whom i trust i li●t my heart and voice ; o let me not be put to shame , nor let my foes rejoice . . those who on thee for succour wait let no disgrace attend . be that the shameful lot of such as wilfully offend . , . thy paths disclose , thy truth impart and lead me in thy way , for thou art he that brings me help , on thee i wait all day . . thy mercies and thy tender love , o lord , recall to mind , and graciously continue still , as thou wert ever kind . . let all my early youthful crimes be blotted out by thee ; and for thy wond'rous goodness sake in mercy think on me . . his mercy and his justice both the righteous lord displays , in bringing wand'ring sinners home and teaching them his ways . . all those in judgment shall he guide who his direction seek ; and in his sacred paths shall lead the humble and the meek . . through all the equal ways of god both truth and mercy shine , tow'rds them , that with religious hearts to his blest will incline . part ii. . since mercy is thy darling grace , and most exalts thy fame , forgive my heinous sin , o lord , and so advance thy name . . whoe'er to god with holy fear his humble duty pays , shall find the lord a faithful guide in all his righteous ways . . his quiet soul with inward peace shall be for ever blest , and by his num'rous race the land successively possest . . for god to such as fear his name , his secret will imparts , and does his gracious cov'nant write in their obedient hearts . . to him i still will lift my eyes , and wait his timely aid , who breaks the strong and treach'rous snare which for my feet was laid . . o turn again , and all my griefs in mercy , lord , redress ; for i am compass'd round with woes , and plung'd in deep distress . . the sorrows of my pensive heart to mighty sums increase ; o from this dark and dismal state my troubled soul release ! . with tender eyes and pitying looks my sad afflictions see ; acquit me , lord , and from my guilt , intirely set me free . . consider , lord , my cruel foes , how fast their numbers grow ! what lawless force and rage they use , what boundless hate they show ! . o guard my life , and set my soul from their fierce malice free ; nor let me , lord , be sham'd , who place my stedfast trust in thee . . let all my just and righteous acts to full perfection rise , because my firm and constant hope on thee alone relies . . to israel , lord , thy chosen race , continue ever kind ; and in the midst of all their wants let them thy succour find . psalm xxvi . . judge me , o lord , for i the paths of righteousness have trod ; i cannot fail , who all my trust repose on thee , my god. , . search , prove my heart , whose innocence will shine the more 't is try'd ; for i have kept thy grace in view , thy truth my constant guide . . i never for companions took the idle or prophane , no hypocrite with all his arts my friendship e'er could gain . . i hate the factious plotting crew who make distracted times . no more would share their company , than i 'd partake their crimes . . i 'll wash my hands in innocence ; and bring a heart so pure as shall when i approach thy courts , my welcome there secure . , . my thanks i 'll publish there and tell how thy renown excels : that seat affords me most delight , in which thy honour dwells . . involve me not in sinners doom , who murder make their trade ; . who other 's rights by secret bribes , or open force invade . . but i will walk in paths of truth , integrity pursue ; protect me therefore , and on me thy mercies , lord , renew . . in spight of all my foes attacks i still maintain my ground : and shall survive , amongst thy saints . thy praises to resound . psalm xxvii . . whom should i fear , since god to me salvation is and light ? since strongly he my life supports , what can my soul affright ? . with rav'nous aims , my flesh to tear when foes beset me round , they stumbled , and their lofty crests were made to strike the ground . . through him my heart , undaunted , dares with num'rous hosts to cope ; through him , in dang'rous straits of war , for good success i hope . . henceforth within his house to dwell i earnestly desire , his wond'rous beauty there to view , and his blest will enquire . . for there may i with comfort rest , in times of deep distress , and safe as on a rock abide in that secure recess . . whil●t god above my haughty foes my lofty head shall raise , and i my joyful off'ring bring , and sing glad songs of praise part ii. . continue , lord , to hear my voice , whene'er to thee i cry ; in mercy all my pray'rs receive , nor my request deny . . when thou to seek thy glorious face dost graciously advise , thy glorious face i 'll always seek , my grateful heart replies . . then hide not thou thy face , o lord , nor me in wrath reject ; my god and saviour , leave not him thou did●t so oft protect . . tho all my friends and nearest kin their helpless charge forsake , yet thou , whose love excels them all , wilt care and pity take . . instruct me in thy ways , o lord , my goings plainly guide , lest envious men , who watch my steps , should see me tread aside : . defeat , o lord , my cruel foes , and thwart their ill desire , whose lying lips and bloody hands against my peace conspire . . i trusted that my future life should with thy love be crown'd , or else my fainting soul had sunk with sorrows compass'd round . . with patient faith expect god's time , and he 'll inspire thy breast with inward strength ; do thus thy part . and leave to him the rest . psalm xxviii . . o lord , my rock , to thee i cry● in sighs consume my breath : o answer , or i shall become like those that sleep in death . . regard my supplication , lord● the cries that i repeat , with weeping eyes , and hands stretch'd o●● before thy mercy-seat , . involve me not in sinners doom , who make a trade of ill , and ever speak the person fair , whose blood they mean to spill . . according to their crimes extent let justice have its course ; relentless be to them , as they have sinn'd without remorse . . since they the works of god despise , nor would his grace adore , his wrath shall utterly destroy , and build them up no more . . but i , with due acknowledgment , his praises will resound , from whom the cries of my distress a gracious answer found . . my heard repos'd its confidence in god , my strength and shield , in him i trusted , and return'd triumphant from the field . as he has made my joys compleat , 't is just that i should raise the chearful tribute of my thanks , and thus resound his praise . . his aiding pow'r supports the troops that my just cause maintain ; 't was he advanc'd me to the throne , 't is he secures my reign . . preserve thy chosen , and proceed thine heritage to bless ; with plenty prosper them , in peace ; in battle , with success . psalm xxix . . ye princes that in might excel , devout oblations strait prepare ; god's glorious actions loudly tell , to all his wond'rous pow'r declare● . to his great name fresh altars raise , and due respect with care afford ; him in his holy temple praise , where he 's with solemn state ador'd . . 't is he that with amazing noise the wat'ry clouds in sunder brake ; the ocean trembled at his voice , when he from heaven in thund●r spake . , . how full of pow'r his voice appears ! with what majestick horror crown'd ! which from their roots tall cedars tears , and strews their scatter'd branches round ! . they , and the hills on which they grow , are sometimes hurried far away ; and leap , like hinds that bounding go , or unicorns in youthful play . , . when god in thunder loudly speaks , and scatter'd flames of lightning sends , the forest nods , the desart quakes , and stubborn kadesh lowly bends . . he aids the hinds with pangs oppress'd , and lays the beasts dark coverts bare , whil●t those that in his temple rest , securely sing his praises there . , . god rules the angry floods on high ; his boundless sway shall never cease ; his people he 'll with strength supply , and bless his own with constant peace . psalm xxx . . i 'll celebrate thy praises , lord , who didst thy pow'r employ to lift my drooping head above my foes insulting joy. , . to thee i cry'd in my distress , who kindly didst relieve , and from the grave 's expecting jaws my hopeless life retrieve . . thus to his courts ye saints of his with songs of praise repair , with me commemorate his truth , and providential care. . his wrath has but a moment's reign , his favour no decay : your night of grief is recompenc'd with joy's returning day . . but i in prosp'rous days presum'd , no revolution fear'd , whilst in my sun-shine of success no low'ring cloud appear'd . . but soon perceiv'd thy favour , lord , my empire 's strongest trust ; thou hidd'st thy face , and strait i found my honour laid in dust. . then , as i vainly had presum'd , my error i confess'd , and thus , with supplicating voice , thy mercy 's throne address'd . . what profit is there in my blood , congeal'd by death's cold night ? can silent ashes speak thy praise , thy wond'rous truth recite ? . hear me , o lord , in mercy hear , thy wonted aid extend ; be thou my helper , on whose help i only can depend . . 't is done ! thou hast my mournful scene . to songs and dances turn'd ; in robes of state invested me , who late in sackcloth mourn'd . . my glory therefore shall proclaim thy praise in grateful verse ; and , as thy favours endless are , thy endless praise rehearse . psalm xxxi . . defend me , lord , from shame , for still i trust in thee ; as ●ust and righteous is thy name , from danger set me free . . bow down thy gracious ear , and speedy succour send ; do thou my stedfast rock appear , to rescue and defend . . since thou , when foes oppress , my rock and fortress art , to guide me forth from this distress thy usual help impart . . release me from the snare which they have closely laid , since i , o god my strength , repair to thee alone for aid . . to thee , the god of truth , my life , and all that 's mine , ( for thou preserv'dst me from my youth ) i willingly resign . . all vain designs i hate , of those that trust in ●●es ; whilst my firm hope , in every state , on god alone relies . part ii. . the mercies thou hast shown i 'll cheerfully express ; for thou hast view'd my straits , and known my soul in deep distress . . when keilah's treach'rous race did all my strength enclose , thou gav'st my feet a larger space to shun my watchful foes . . thy mercy , lord , display , redress my just complaint ; for both my heart and flesh decay , with grief and hunger faint . . sad thoughts my life oppress , my years are spent in groans , my sins have made my strength grow less , and ev'n consum'd my bones . . my foes insulting mock'd , my neighbours did upbraid ; my friends at sight of me were shock'd , and fled as men dismaid . . by all i am forgot , as dead , and out of mind ; and hopeless as a shatter'd pot , whose parts can ne'er be join'd . . with sland'rous tongues they speak , and seem my pow'r to dread , whilst they together counsel take my guiltless blood to shed . . but still my stedfast trust , i on thy help repose ; that thou , my god , art good and just , my heart with comfort knows . part iii. . whate'er events betide thy wisdom times them all ; then , lord , thy servant safely hide from those that seek his fall. . the brightness of thy face to me , o lord , disclose ; and , as thy mercies still encrease , preserve me from my foes , . let me no shame receive , who still have call'd on thee ; let that and silence in the grave , the sinner's portion be . . do thou their tongues restrain , whose breath in lies is spent ; who false reports , with proud disdain , against the righteous vent . . how great thy mercies are to such as fear thy name ! which thou , for those that trust thy care , dost to the world proclaim . . thou shrowd'st them in thy sight from man's defeated pride ; from tongues that do in strife delight thou dost them safely hide . . with glory and renown god's name be ever bless'd ; whose love in keilah's well-fenc'd town was wond'rously express'd ! . i said , in hasty flight , " i 'm banish'd from thine eyes yet still thou kept'st me in thy sight , and heard'st my earnest cries . . let holy men the lord with eager love pursue , who to the just will help afford , and give the proud their due . . all that on god rely couragiously proceed for he will still your hearts supply with strength in time of need . psalm xxxii . . thrice blest , whose sins have pardon gain'd no more in judgment to appear ; . whose guilt remission has obtain'd , and whose repentance is sincere . . whilst i conceal'd the fretting sore , my bones consum'd without relief ; all day with anguish i did roar , but no complaints asswag'd my grief . . heavy on me thy hand remain'd , by day and night alike distrest , till quite of vital moisture drain'd , like land with summer's drought opprest . . no sooner i my wound disclos'd , the guilt that tortur'd me within , but thy forgiveness interpos'd , and mercy 's healing balm pour'd in . . true penitents shall thus succeed , who seek thee whilst thou mayst be found , from danger 's common deluge freed , see the lewd world about 'em drown'd . . thy favour , lord , in last distress , my tow'r of refuge i must own , thou shalt my haughty foes suppress , and me with songs of triumph crown . . to my instruction then confide , you that would truth 's safe path descry , your progress , i 'll securely guide , and keep you in my watchful eye . . submit your selves to wisdom's rule , like men that reason have attain'd ; not like th' ungovern'd horse and mule , whose fury must be curb'd and rein'd . . sorrows on sorrows multiply'd obdurate sinners shall confound , but them who in his truth confide blessings of mercy shall surround . . his saints that have perform'd his law● their life in triumphs shall employ : let then ( as such alone have cause ) the heart that 's upright shout for joy. psalm xxxiii . . let all the just to god with joy their chearful voices raise , for well the righteous it becomes to sing glad songs of praise . , . let harps , and psalteries , and lutes , be in one consort met , and new-made songs of loud applaus● to skilful notes be set . , . for faithful is the word of god , his works with truth abound ; he justice loves , and o'er the earth distils his goodness round , . by his almighty word at first heav'ns glorious arch was rear'd ; and all the beauteous hosts of light at his command appear'd . . the swelling floods together rowl'd , he makes in heaps to lye , and lays , as in a store-house , safe , the wat'ry treasures by . , . let earth and all that dwell therein before him trembling stand : for when he spake the word , 't was done , 't was fix'd at his command . . he , when the heathen closely plot , their counsels undermines ; his wisdom ineffectual makes the people's vain designs . . but what the mighty lord decrees shall stand for ever sure ; the settled purpose of his heart to ages shall endure . part ii. . how happy then are they , to whom the lord for god is known ! whom he from all the world besides has chosen for his own ! , , . he all the nations of the earth from heav'n his throne survey'd ; he saw their works , and view'd their thoughts . by him their hearts were made , . no king is safe by num'rous host● , their strength the strong deceives ; no manag'd horse , by force or speed , his warlike rider saves : , . 't is god , who those that trust in him beholds with gracious eyes : he frees their soul from death , their wants in time of dearth supplies . , . our soul on god with patience waits , our help and shield is he ! then , lord , let still our hearts rejoice , because we trust in thee . . the riches of thy mercy , lord , do thou to us extend ; since we , for all we want or wish , on thee alone depend . psalm xxxiv . . through all the changing scenes of life , in trouble and in joy , the praises of my god shall still my heart and tongue employ . . of his deliv'rance i will boast , till all that are distrest , from my example comfort take , and charm their grief to rest . . o magnifie the lord with me , with me exalt his name : . distress'd , to him i sought , he heard , and to my rescue came . . their drooping hearts were soon refresh'd , who look'd to him for aid : desir'd success in ev'ry face a chearful air displaid . . behold ( say they ) the supplicant whom providence reliev'd , the man so dang'rously beset , so wond'rously retriev'd ! . his angel hosts encamp around the dwellings of the just ; deliv'rance he affords to all who on his succour trust . . o taste th' experience of his love ; the tryal will decide , how bless'd they are , and only they , who in his truth confide . . fear him , ye saints , and you will then have nothing else to fear ; fear him , make you his service yours , he 'll make your wants his care. . when hungry rapine fails with prey young lions to provide , all those that meekly fear the lord shall have their wants supply'd● part ii. . approach , ye piously dispos'd , and my instruction hear , i 'll teach you the true discipline of his religious fear . . let him who length of life desires , and prosp'rous days would see . from slander 's venom keep his tongue , his lips from falshood free . . the crooked paths of vice decline and virtue 's ways pursue , establish peace where 't is begun , and , where 't is lost , renew . . the lord , from heav'n , beholds the just with favourable eyes , and when distress'd , his gracious ear is opened to their cries . . but turns his wrathful look on those whom mercy can't reclaim , to cut them off , and raze from earth their hated race and name . . deliv'rance to his saints he gives when his relief they crave : . still nigh to heal the broken heart and contrite spirit save . . the wicked oft , but still in vain , against the just conspire : . for under their af●liction's weight he keeps their bones entire . . the wicked from their wickedness their ruine shall derive ; whilst them their malice , and their names , the righteous shall survive . . the lord redeems his servants souls , who on his trust depend , to them and their posterity his blessings shall descend . psalm xxxv . . against all those that strive with me , o lord , assert my right ; with such as war unjustly wage do thou my battels sight . . thy buckler take , and bind thy shield upon thy warlike arm ; stand up , my god , in my defence , and keep me safe from harm . . bring forth thy spear , stop those that seek my guiltless blood to spill ; say to my soul , i am thy health , and will preserve thee still . . whilst they with shame are covered o'er that my destruction sought ; and such as did my harm devise are to confusion brought . . then shall they fly , dispers'd like chaff that 's scatter'd by the wind ; god's vengeful minister of wrath shall follow close behind . . and when through dark and slipp'ry ways they strive thy rage to shun , thy vengeful ministers of wrath shall goad them as they run . . since unprovok'd by any wrong they hid their treach'rous snare ; and for my harmless soul a pit did without cause prepare ; . surpriz'd by mischiefs unforeseen , by their own traps betray'd ; their feet shall fall into the net which they for me had laid . . whilst my glad soul shall god's great name for his deliv'rance bless ; and by his saving health secur'd , it s grateful joy express . . my very bones shall say , o lord , who can compare with thee ? who sett'st the poor and helpless man from strong oppressors free . part ii. . false witnesses , with forg'd complaints , against my truth combin'd ; and to my charge such things they laid as i had ne'er design'd . . the good which i to them had done , with evil they repaid ; and , urg'd by malice undeserv'd , did ev'n my life invade . . but as for me , when they were sick i did in sackcloth mourn ; i pray'd and fasted , and my pray'r did to my self return . . had they my friends or breth'ren been , i could have done no more ; nor with a grief more sharp and true a mother's loss deplore . . how diff'ring has their carriage prov'd , in times of my distress ; when they in crowds together met , did salvage joy express . the rabble too , in num'rous throngs , by their example came ; and ceas'd not , with their sordid taunts , to wound my spotless fame . . sco●fers , that noble tables haunt , and earn their bread with lies , did gnash their teeth , and sland'rous jests maliciously devise . . but , lord , how long wilt thou look on● on my behalf appear ; and save my guiltless soul , which they like salvage beasts would tear . part iii. . so i , before the list'ning world , shall grateful thanks express ; and where the great assembly meets , thy name with praises bless . . lord , suffer not my causeless foes , who me unjustly hate ; with pu●lick joy , or private winks to mock my sad estate . . for they , with hearts averse from peace , maliciously devise , against the men of quiet minds to utter spiteful lies : . nor with these private arts content , with open mouths they bawl , and say , at last we 've found him out , our selves have seen it all . . but thou , who dost both them and me with righteous eyes survey , declare my innocence , o lord , and keep not far away . . stir up thy self , and freshly rowz'd to judgment , lord , awake ; thy righteous servant's cause , o god , to thy decision take . . lord , as my heart has upright been , let me thy judgment find ; nor let my cruel foes obtain the triumph they design'd . . o let them not amongst themselves , in boasting language say , at length our wishes are compleat , at last he 's made our prey . . let such as in my harm rejoic'd for shame their faces hide ; and foul dishonour wait on those that proudly me defy'd : . whilst they with joy and gladness shout , who my just cause befriend ; and bless the lord , who loves to make success his saints attend . . so shall my tongue , with joy inspir'd , thy righteousness proclaim ; and of my grateful songs thy praise shall be the constant theme . psalm xxxvi . . my crafty foe with flatt'ring art his wicked purpose would disguise ; but reason whispers to my heart , no fear of god's before his eyes . . he sooths himself , retir'd from sight , and thinks secur'd his treach'rous game ; till his dark plots expos'd to light , their false contriver brand with sha●e . . in deeds he is my foe confess'd , whilst , to destroy , he speaks me fair : true wisdom's banish'd from his breast , and vice has sole dominion there . . his malice spends the sleepless night in forging mischievous designs ; his obstinate ungen'rous spite no execrable means declines . . but , lord , thy mercy is my hope , that heav'ns sublimest orb transcends : o lord , thy truth 's unmeasured scope beyond the spreading skies extends . . thy justice , like the hills remains ; unfathom'd depths thy judgments are ; thy providence the world sustains , to men and bea●ts extends its care. . o , since thy kindness all partake , with what assurance should the just thy shelt'ring wings their refuge make , and saints to thy protection trust ! . such guests shall to thy courts be led , to banquet on thy love's repast . and drink , as from a fountain's head , of joys that shall for ever last . . with thee the springs of life remain , thy presence is eternal day ; . o let thy saints thy favour gain ; to upright hearts thy truth display . . let pride's insulting foot ne'er tread , nor wicked hand my life surprize : . their mischief turns on their own head● down , down they 're fall'n , no more to ris● psalm xxxvii . . though wicked men grow rich or great , yet let not their successful state , thy anger or thy envy raise : . for they cut down like tender grass , or like young flow'rs away shall pass , whose blooming beauty soon decays . . depend on god , and still live well ; so thou within the land shalt dwell , secure from danger , and from want : . make him thy only chief delight , and he , thy duty to requite , shall all thy earnest wishes grant . . in all thy ways trust thou the lord , and he 'll his needful help afford to perfect ev'ry just design : . he 'll make , like light serene and clear , thy clouded innocence appear , and as a mid-day sun to shine . . with quiet mind on god depend , and patiently for him attend ; nor let thy anger fondly rise , tho wicked men with wealth abound , and with success the plots are crown'd , which they maliciously devise . . from anger cease , and wrath ●orsake , let no ungovern'd passion make thy wav'ring heart espouse their crime ; . for god shall sinful men destroy , whilst only they the land enjoy , who trust on him and wait his time . . how soon shall wicked men decay ! their place shall vanish quite away , nor by the strictest search be found : . whilst humble souls possess the earth , rejoicing still with godly mirth , with peace and plenty always crown'd . part ii. . while sinful crowds with fell design against the righteous few combine , and gnash their teeth and threatning stand : . god shall their empty plots deride , and laugh at their def●ated pride ; he sees their ruine near at hand . . they draw the sword , and bend the bow , the poor and needy to oe'rthrow , and men of upright lives to slay : . but their strong bows shall soon be broke , their sharp-edg'd weapon's mortal stroke through their own hearts shall force it's way . . a little , with god's favour bless'd , that 's by a righteous man possess'd , the wealth of many bad excels : . for god supports the righteous cause , but as for those that break his laws , their ineffectual pow'r he quells . . his constant care the upright guides , and over all their days presides , their portion shall for ever last : . they , when distress o'erspreads the earth , shall be unmov'd , and ev'n in dearth the happy fruits of plenty taste . . not so the wicked men , and those who proudly dare gods will oppose ; destruction is their hapless share : like fat of lambs , their hopes and they shall in an instant melt away , and vanish into smoak and air. part iii. . while sinners brought to sad decay , tho forc'd to borrow , can't repay , the just have will and pow'r to give : . for such as god vouchsafes to bless , shall peaceably the earth possess ; and those he curses shall not live . . the good man's way is god's delight , he orders all the steps aright of him that owns his dread command● . tho he sometimes may be distress'd , yet shall he ne'er be quite oppress'd , for god upholds him with his hand . . from blooming youth till age prevail'd , i never saw the righteous fail'd , or want o'ertake his num'rous race ; . because compassion fill'd his heart , and he did chearfully impart , god made his offsprings wealth increase . . ill deeds with utmost caution shun ; in that that 's good with zeal go on , and so prolong your happy days : . for god who judgment loves , will still preserve his saints secure from ill , while soon the wicked race decays . , , . the upright shall possess the land , his portion there for ages stand ; his mouth with wisdom's stores supply'd , his tongue by rules of judgment moves , his heart the law of god approves , which makes his footsteps never slide . part iv. . in vain the watch●ul sinner lies in wait , the righteous to surprise ; in vain his ruine does decree ; . god will not him defenceless leave , to his revenge expos'd , but save , and when he 's sentenc'd , set him free . . wait still on god , and keep his way , and thou , advanc'd the land to sway , thy firm possession ne'er shalt quit : with longing eyes thou soon shalt see the wicked's fatal tragedy , and as a glad spectator sit . . the wicked in great pow'r i 've seen , and like a bay-tree fresh and green that spreads its pleasant branches round : . but he was gone as swift as thought , he disappear'd , where e'er i sought , nor could his smallest track be found . . observe the perfect man with care , and mark all such as upright are ; for their calm days in peace shall end : . while still the latter end of those who dare gods sacred will oppose , a common ruine shall attend . . god to the just will aid afford , their onely safeguard is the lord , their strength in time of trouble , he. . because on h●m they still depend , the lord shall help and succour send , and from the wicked set them free . psalm xxxviii . . correct me not in anger , lord , tho i deserve it all ; nor let at once on me the storm of thy displeasure fall . . in ev'ry wretched part of me thy arrows deep remain : thy heavy hand 's afflicting weigh● i can no more sustain . . my flesh is one continued wound , thy wrath so fiercely glows ; betwixt my punishment and guilt my bones have no repose . . my sins are to a deluge swell'd my wretched head to drown ; and for my feeble strength to bear too vast a burthen grown . . my wounds with putrid stench are fill'd , my folly 's just return . . with trouble i am warp'd and bow'd , for all the day i mourn . . a loath'd disease afflicts my loins , unsound in ev'ry part ; . i 'm feeble , broken , groan and roar through anguish of my heart . part ii. . but , lord , before thy searching eyes all my designs appear ; and sure my groans have been too loud , not to have reach'd thine ear. . my heart 's opprest , my strength decay'd● my eyes depriv'd of light : . friends , lovers , kinsmen gaze aloof on such a dismal sight . . mean while the foes that seek my life , their snares to take me set ; vent slanders , and contrive all day to forge some new deceit . . but i , as if both deaf and dumb , nor heard , nor once reply'd : . quite deaf and dumb , like one whos● tongu● with conscious guilt were ty'd . . for , lord , to thee i do appeal my innocence to clear ; assur'd that thou , the righteous god , my injur'd cause wilt hear . . hear me , i said , lest they rejoice who triumph in my woe ; insulting if they see my foot once indirectly goe . . and , with continual grief opprest , to halt i now begin : . for , lord to thee i will confess , to thee bewail my sin. . but whilst i languish my proud foes their strength and vigor boast ; who hate me without cause , are grown a formidable host. . ev'n they whom i oblig'd , return my kindness with despight ; become my enemies , because ● chuse the path that 's right . . forsake me not , o lord my god , nor far from me depart ; . make hast to my relief , o thou● who my salvation art . psalm xxxix . . resolv'd to watch o'er all my ways , my very words to aw , i curb'd my hasty tongue , when i the prosp'rous wicked saw . . like one that 's dumb i silence kept , and did my tongue refrain from good discourse ; but that constraint increas'd my inward pain . . my heart did glow , which waking thoughts did hot and restless make , and warm reflections fann'd the fire , till thus at length i spake . . lord , let me know my term of days , how soon my life will end ; the num'rous train of ills disclose which this frail state attend . . my life , thou know'st is but a span , a cypher sums my years ; and ev'ry man in best estate but vanity appears . . man , like a shadow , vainly walks , with fruitless cares oppress'd ; he heaps up wealth , but cannot tell by whom ' ●will be possess'd . . why then should i for worthless toys with anxious care attend ? on thee alone my stedfast hope shall ever , lord , depend . , . forgive my sins , nor let me scorn'd by foolish sinners be ; for i was dumb , and murmur'd not , because 't was done by thee . . the dreadful burthen of thy wrath in mercy , lord , remove ; lest my frail flesh too weak to bear the heavy load should prove . . for when thou chast'nest man for sin , thou mak'st his beauty fade , ( so vain a thing is he ! ) like cloth by fretting moths decay'd . . lord , hear my cry , my tears accept , and listen to my pray'r ; who sojourn , like a stranger , here , as all my fathers were . . o spare me yet a little time , my strength again restore ; before i vanish quite from hence , and shall be seen no more . psalm xl. . i waited meekly for the lord , till he 'd vouchsafe a kind reply ; who did his gracious ear afford , and heard from heav'n my humble cry● . me from the dismal pit he took , when founder'd deep in miry clay ; he plac'd my feet on solid rock , and suffer'd not my steps to stray● . the wonders he for me has wrought inspire me with new songs of praise ; whence strangers shall his fear be taught , and hope of like deliv'rance raise . . for blessings shall that man reward who on th' almighty lord relies ; who treats the proud with disregard , and hates the hypocrites disguise . . who can the wond'rous works recount , which thou , o god , for us hast wrought ? thy treasur'd thoughts of love surmount the pow'r of numbers , speech and thought . . i 've learn'd , that thou hast not desir'd off'rings and sacrifice alone ; nor blood of guiltless beasts requir'd for man's transgression to atone . . i therefore come , — come to fulfil the oracles thy books impart : . 't is my delight to do thy will ; thy law is written in my heart . part ii. . in full assemblies i have told thy truth and righteousness at large ; nor did , thou know'st , my lips with-hold from utt'ring what thou gav'st in charge . . nor kept within my breast confin'd , thy justice , faith , and saving grace but preach'd thy love and truth ( design'd for all , ) that all might them embrace . . then let those mercies i declar'd to others , lord , extend to me ; thy loving kindness my reward , thy truth my safe protection be . . for i with troubles am distrest too vast and numberless to bear ; nor less with loads of guilt opprest that plunge and sink me to despair . as soon , alas ! i may recount the hai●s on this afflicted head , my vanquisht courage they surmount and fill my drooping soul with dread . part iii. . but , lord , to my relief draw near , for never was more pressing need ! for my deliv'rance , lord , appear , and add to that deliverance speed. . confusion on their heads return who to destroy my soul combine ; let them , defeated , blush and mourn , ensnar'd in their own vile design . . their doom let desolation be , with shame their malice be repaid , who mock'd my confidence in thee , and sport of my affliction made . . while those who humbly seek thy face to joyful triumphs are uprais'd ; and all who prize thy saving grace ever resound , the lord be prais'd . . thus wretched tho i am and poor , of me th' almighty lord takes care . thou , god , who onely can'st restore , to my relief with speed repair . psalm xli . . happy the man , whose tender care relieves the poor distrest ; whene'er by troubles compass'd round , the lord shall give him rest. . the lord his life , with blessings crown'd , in safety shall prolong ; and disappoint the will of those that seek to do him wrong . . if he in languishing estate opprest with sickness ly ; the lord will make his easie bed , and inward strength supply . . secure of this , to thee● my god , i thus my pray'r address'd ; lord , for thy mercy heal my soul , tho i have much transgress'd . . my cruel foes , with sland'rous words , attempt to wound my fame . when shall he die , ( say they ) and m●n forget his very name ? . suppose they formal visits make , 't is all but empty show ; they gather mischief in their hearts , and vent it where they go . , . with private whispers , such as these , my foes my hurt devise ; a sore disease afflicts him now , he 's fall'n , no more to rise . . my own familiar bosom friend on whom i most rely'd , has me , whose bread he daily eat , with open scorn defy'd . . but thou , my sad and wretched state , in mercy , lord , regard ; and raise me up , that all their crimes may meet their just reward . . by this , i know , thy gracious ear is open when i call ; because thou suffer'st not my foes to triumph in my fall. . thy tender care secures my life from danger and disgrace ; and thou vouchsaf'st to set me still before thy glorious face . . let therefore isr'el's lord and god from age to age be bless'd ; and all the people's glad applause with loud amens express'd . psalm xlii . . as pants a hart for cooling streams when heated in the chace , so pants my soul , o god , for thee and thy refreshing grace . . for thee , my god , the living god , my thirsty soul doth pine ; o when shall i behold thy face , thou majesty divine ! . tears are my constant food , while thu● insulting foes upbraid , deluded wretch , where 's now thy god ? and where his promis'd aid ? . i sigh , when recollecting thoughts those happy days present , when i with troops of pious friends thy temple did frequent . when i advanc'd with songs of praise , my solemn vows to pay , and led the joyful sacred throng that kept the festal day . . why restless , why cast down my soul ? trust god , and he 'll employ his aid for thee ; convert these sighs to thankful hymns of joy. . my soul 's cast down . o god , but thinks on thee and sion still ; from iordan's banks , from hermon's heights , and missar's humble hill. . one trouble calls another on , and bursting o'er my head , fall spouting down , till round my soul a roaring deluge spread . . but when thy presence , lord of life , has once dispell'd this storm , to thee i 'll midnight anthems sing , and midnight vows perform . . god of my strength , how long shall i like one forgotten mourn ? forlorn , forsaken , and expos'd to my oppressors scorn . . my heart is pierc'd , as with a sword , whilst thus my foes upbraid vain boaster , where is now thy god ? and where his promis'd aid . . why restless , why cast down my soul ? hope still , and thou shalt sing the praise of him , who is thy god , thy health and safety 's spring . psalm xliii . . against my wicked rebel-foes , just judge of heav'n , assert my right● o set me free , my god , from those that in deceit and wrong delight . . since thou art still my only stay , why leav'st thou me in deep distress ? why go i mourning all the day , whilst proud insulting foes oppress ? . let me with light and truth be blest , be these my guides and lead the way ; till on thy holy hill i rest , and in thy sacred temple pray . . then will i there fresh altars raise to god , my chief my only joy ; and well tun'd harps with songs of prais● shall all my grateful hours employ . . why then art thou , my soul , so much cast down and press'd with anxious care , o trust in god , for he , as such , my low dejected head shall rear . psalm xliv . . o lord , our fathers oft have told in our astonisht ears , thy wonders in their days perform'd , and elder times than theirs : . how thou , to plant them here , didst drive the heathen from this land● dispeopled by repeated strokes of thy avenging hand . . for , not their courage nor their sword to them possession gave ; nor strength , that from unequal force their fainting troops could save ; but thy right hand and pow'rful arm , whose succour they implor'd , thy presence with the chosen tribes who thy great name ador'd . . as thee , o god , our fathers own'd , thou art our sov'reign king ; o therefore , as to them thou didst , to us deliv'rance bring . . through thy victorious name our arms the proudest foe shall quell , and crush 'em with repeated strokes presuming to rebel . . i 'll neither trust to bow nor sword , when i in fight engage ; . but thee , who hast our foes subdu'd , and sham'd their spiteful rage● . to thee the triumph we ascribe , from whom the conquest came ; in god rejoicing all the day , and ever bless his name● part ii. . but thou hast cast us off , and now most shamefully we yield ; for thou no more vouchsaf'st to lead our armies to the field . . since when , to every upstart foe we turn our backs in fight ; and with our spoil their malice feast who bear us antient spite . . to slaughter doom'd , we fall like sheep into their butch'ring hands ; or ( what 's more wretched yet ) survive disperst through heathen lands . . thy people thou hast sold for slaves , and set their price so low , that not thy treasure by the sale but their disgrace might grow . , . reproacht and scofft by nations round , the heathen's by-word grown , whose scorn of us is both in speech and mocking gestures shown . . confusion strikes me blind , my face in conscious shame i hide , . while we are scoff'd , and god blasphem'd by their licentious pride . part iii. . on us this mass of woes is fall'n , all this we have endur'd ; yet have not , lord , renounc'd thy name ; nor covenant abjur'd . . but kept in paths , by thee prescrib'd , our heart and steps with care ; . tho shatter'd , mangled and reduc'd to confines of despair . . could we th' almighty's name forget and other gods adore , . and not the searcher of all hearts the treach'rous crime explore ? . thou seest how for thy sake all day we martyrdom sustain ; all slaughter'd , or reserv'd like sheep appointed to be slain . . wake , lord , arise ; let seeming sleep no longer thee detain ; nor we , thy faithful supplicants , for ever sue in vain ! . o wherefore hidest thou thy face from our afflicted state ? . whose souls and bodies sink to earth with grief's oppressive weight . . arise , o lord , and timely speed to our deliv'rance make ; redeem us , lord , — if not for ours , yet ●or thy mercies sake . psalm xlv . . while i the king 's loud praise rehearse , endited by my heart , my tongue is like the pen of one that writes with ready art. . how matchless is thy form , o king ! thy mouth with grace o'erflows ; because fresh blessings , god , on thee eternally bestows . . gird on thy sword , most mighty prince , and clad in rich array , with glorious ornaments of pow'r , majestick pomp display . . ride on in state , and still protect the meek , the just , and true ; whilst thy right-hand with fell revenge does all thy foes pursue . . how sharp thy weapons are to them that dare thy pow'r oppose ! down , down they fall , while through their heart the feather'd arrow goes . . but thy firm throne , o god , is fix'd for ever to endure ; thy sceptre 's sway shall always last , through righteous laws secure . . because thy heart , by justice steer'd did upright ways approve , and hated still the crooked paths where wand'ring sinners rove . therefore did god , thy god , on thee the oyl of gladness shed ; and has above thy fellows round advanc'd thy lofty head. . with cassia , aloës and myrrh thy royal robes abound ; which from thy stately wardrobes brought spread grateful odours round . . among thy honourable train did princely virgins wait , the queen was plac'd at thy right-hand , in golden robes of state. part ii. . but thou , o royal bride , give ear and to my words attend ; forget thy native country now , and ev'ry former friend . . so shall thy beauty charm the king , nor shall his love decay ; for he is now become thy lord , to him due rev'rence pay . . the tyrian ladies rich and proud shall humble presents make ; and all the wealthy nations sue thy favour to partake : . the king 's fair daughter 's beauteous soul all inward graces fill ; her raiment is of purest gold , adorn'd with costly skill . . she , in her nuptial garments dress'd , with needles richly wrought , attended by her virgin train , shall to the king be brought . . with all that state of solemn joy the triumph moves along , till with wide gates the royal court receives the pompous throng . . thou , in thy royal fathers room , must princely sons expect ; whom thou to diff'rent realms mayst send to govern and protect : . whilst this my song to future times transmits thy glorious name ; and makes the world , with joint consent , thy lasting praise proclaim . psalm xlvi . . god is our refuge in distress , a present help when troubles press ; in him undaunted we confide : , . tho earth were from her centre tost , and mountains in the ocean lost , torn piece-meal by the roaring tide . . a gentler stream with gladness still the city of our lord shall ●ill , imperial seat of god most high : . god dwells in sion , whose fair tow'rs shall mock th' assaults of earthly pow'rs , while his almighty aid is nigh . . in tumults when the heathen rag'd , and kingdoms war against us wag'd , he thunder'd and dissolv'd their pow'rs : . the lord of hosts conducts our arms , our tow'r of refuge in alarms , our fathers guardian-god and ours . . come , see the wonders he hath wrought , on earth what desolation brought , . and crush'd to peace the jarring world ; in shivers brake the spear and bow , with them their thund'ring chariots too into devouring flames were hurld . . submit to god's almighty sway for him the heathen shall obey , and earth her sov'reign lord confess . . the god of hosts conducts our arms , our tow'r of refuge in alarms , as to our fathers in distress . psalm xlvii . , . o all ye people clap your hands , and with triumphant voices sing ; no force the mighty pow'r withstands , of god , the universal king. , . he shall opposing nations quell , and with success our battels fight ; shall point the place where we must dwell , the pride of iacob , his delight . , . god is gone up , our lord and king , with shouts of joy and trumpet 's sound ; to him repeated praises sing , and let the chearful song go round . , . your utmost skill in praise be shown ; for him that all the world commands . who sits upon his holy throne , and spreads his sway o'er heathen lands . . our chiefs and tribes , that far from hence t' adore the god of abr'am came , found him their constant sure defence . how great and glorious is his name ! psalm xlviii . . the lord is great , and o'er the gods sublimely to be prais'd ; in sion , on whose happy mount his sacred throne is rais'd . . her tow'rs , the joy of all the earth , with beauteous prospect rise : on her north side th' almighty king 's imperial city lies . . god in her palaces is known , his presence is her guard. . confed'rate kings withdrew their siege , and of success despair'd . . they view'd her walls , admir'd and fled , with grief and terror struck , . like women whom the sudden pangs of travel had o'ertook . . no wretched crew of mariners appear like them forlorn , when freighted fleets from tarshish shore by eastern winds are torn . . in sion we have seen perform'd a work that was foretold , in pledge that god , for times to come , his city will uphold . . not in our fortresses and walls did we , o god , confide , but on the temple fix'd our hopes , in which thou dost reside . . thy name i● , lord of hosts , supream whose fame through earth extends ; thy pow'ful arm , as justice guides , chastises or defends . . let sion's mount with joy resound , her daughters all be taught in songs his judgments to extol , who this deliv'rance wrought . . walk round her walls in solemn pomp , your eyes about her cast , recount her tow'rs , if by the siege you find a stone displac'd . . her forts and palaces survey , observe their order well . that with assurance to your heirs , this wonder you may tell . . this god is ours , and will be ours , whilst we in him confide ; and , as he has preserv'd us now , till death will be our guide . psalm xlix . , . let all the list'ning world attend , and my instructions hear ; let high and low , and rich and poor with joint consent give ear . . my mouth , with sacred wisdom fill'd , shall good advice impart , the sound result of prudent thoughts , digested in my heart . . to parables of weighty sense i will my ear incline ; whilst to the tuneful harp i sing dark words of deep design . . why should my courage fail in times of danger and of doubt ? when sinners that would me supplant have compass'd me about ? . those men that all their hope and trust in heaps of treasure place , and boast and triumph when they see their ill-got wealth encrease . . are yet unable from the grave their dearest friend to free ; nor can by force of costly bribes reverse god's firm decree . , . their vain endeavours they must quit , the price is held too high ; no sums can purchase such a grant , that man should never die . . not wisdom can the wise exempt , nor fools their folly save ; but both must perish , and in death their wealth to others leave . . for tho they think their stately seats shall ne'r to ruine fall ; but their remembrance last , in lands which by their names they call ; . yet shall their fame be soon forgo● , how great so●'er their state , with beasts their memory and they shall share one common fate . part ii. . how great theri folly is who thus absurd conclusions make ! and yet their children , unreclaim'd , repeat the gross mistake . . like sheep , the prey of rav'nous death , within the grave they 're laid ; and there , whilst righteous men rejoice , shall all their beauty fade . . but god will yet redeem my soul , and from the greedy grave his greater pow'r shall set me free , and to himself receive . . then fear not thou , when worldly men in envy'd wealth abound , nor tho their prosp'rous house increase , with lofty honours crown'd . . for when they 're summon'd hence by dea●● they leave all this behind● no shadow of their former pomp within the grave they find : . and yet they thought their state was blest , caught in the flatt'rers snare , who praises those that slight all else , and of themselves take care . . in their forefathers steps they tread ; and when , like them , they die , their wretched ancestors and they in endless dark●ess lie . . for man , how great soe'●r his state , unless he 's truly wise , as like a sensual beast he lives , so like a beast he dies . psalm l. , . the lord hath spoke , the mighty god hath sent his summons all abroad , from dawning light till day declines : the list'ning earth his voice has heard , and he from sion has appear'd , where beauty in perfection shines . , . our god shall come , and keep no more misconstru'd silence as before , but wasting flames before him send : around shall tempests fiercely rage , while he does heav'n and earth engage his just tribunal to attend . , . assemble all my saints to me ( thus runs the great divine decree ) that in my lasting cov'nant live , and off'rings bring with constant care ; ( the heavens his justice shall declare , for god himself shall sentence give . ) . attend , my people ; isr'el , hear ; thy strong accuser i 'll appear ; thy god , thy only god am i ; . 't is not of off'rings i complain , with which you did , both burnt and slain , my sacred altar still supply . . will this alone atonement make ? no bullock from thy stall i 'll take , nor he-goat from thy fold accept : . the forest beasts that range alone , the cattel too are all my own , that on a thousand hills are kept . . i know the fowls , that build their nests in craggy rocks ; and salvage beasts , that loosely haunt the open fields . . to thee , if hunger did oppress , i need not tell my sad distress , since the world 's mine , and all it yields . . think'st thou that i have any need on slaughter'd bulls and goats to feed , to eat their flesh , and drink their blood ? . the sacrifice by me requir'd , is hearts with grateful love inspir'd , and vows with strictest care made good . . in time of trouble call on me , and i will set thee safe and free ; and thou returns of praise shalt make : . but to the wicked thus saith god , how dar'st thou teach my laws abroad , or in thy mouth my cov'nant take ? . for stubborn thou , confirm'd i● sin , hast proof against instruction been , and of my word didst lightly speak : . when thou a subtle thief didst see , thou gladly didst with him agree , and with adult'rers didst partake . . vile slander is thy constant theme , and thou thy mouth and tongue dost frame vile and deceitful words to spread : . thou dost with hateful scandals wound thy brother , and with lies confound the offspring of thy mother's bed. . these things thou didst , whom still i strove to gain with silence and with love ; till thou didst wickedly surmise , that i was such a one as thou ; but ●'ll rep●ove and shame thee now , and set thy sins before thine eyes . . ye wicked fools , mark this with care , lest i should you in pieces tear , whilst none shall dare your cause to own . . who praises me due honour gives ; and to the man that justly lives my strong salvation shall be shown . psalm li. . my god , as thou hast always been , continue ever kind ; let me , opprest with loads of guilt , thy wonted mercy find . , . o wash me from my foul offence , and cleanse me from my sin ; for i confess my crime , and see how great my guilt has been . . against thee only , lord , have i , and in thy sight transgress'd ; whose words and judgments , pure and just , will bear the strictest test. . in guilt each sev'ral part was form'd of all this sinful frame ; in guilt i was c●●ceiv'd , and born the heir of sin and shame . . yet thou , o god , whose searching eye does inward truth require , in secret didst with wisdom's laws , my tender soul inspire . . o then with hys●op purge my soul , and so i shall be clean ; in pity wash me , and i shall more white than snow remain . . make me with joy and gladness hear thy kind forgiving voice ; that so the bones which thou hast broke , with comfort may rejoice . , . blot out my sins , nor let thine eyes my fault in anger view ; create in me a heart that 's clea● , a virtuous mind renew . part ii. . withdraw not thou thy presence , lord , nor ca●t me from thy sight ; nor let thy holy spirit take it 's everlasting flight : . the joy which thy salvation gives let m● again obtain ; and thy free spirit 's firm support my stagg'ring soul sustain . . so i thy just and righteous ways to sinners will impart , whil●t my advice shall wicked men to thy just laws co●vert . . do thou my guilt of blood remove , my saviour and my god ; and my glad tongue shall loudly tell thy r●ghteous acts abroad . . let thy free grace unlock my lips , with sorrow clos'd and shame ; so shall my mouth thy wond'rous praise to all the world proclaim . . could victims for my guilt atone , whole hecatombs should die ; but on such off'rings thou disdain'st to cast a gracious eye : . a broken spirit is the gift by god most highly priz'd ; by him a broken contrite heart shall never be despis'd . . let sion , lord , thy favour find , of thy good will assur'd ; and thy own city flourish long , by lofty walls secur'd . . the● shall the righteous off'rings bring , and pleasing tribute pay ; and sacrifice of choicest kind , upon thy altar lay . psalm lii . . in vain , o man of matchless might , thou boast'st thy self in ill ; since god , whose pow'r is much more great , vouchsafes his favour still . . thy wicked tongue does sland'rous tales , maliciously devise ; and like a rasor sharply set , does wound with treach'rous lies . , . thy thoughts are more on ill than good , on lies than truth employ'd , thy tongue delights in words by which the guiltless are destroy'd . . god shall for ever blast thy hopes , and snatch thee soon away ; nor in thy dwelling-place permit , nor in the world to stay . . the just with pious fear shall see the downfall of thy pride ; shall at thy sudden ruine laugh , and thus thy fall deride : . see there the haughty man that was , who proudly god defy'd , who trusted in his wealth , and still on wicked arts rely'd . . but like those olive-plants am i , that shade god's temple round ; and hope with his indulgent grace to be for ever crown'd . . so shall my soul with praise , o god , extoll thy wondrous love ; and on thy name with patience wait ; for this thy saints approve . psalm liii . . the wicked fools must sure suppose that god is but a name ; this their lewd practice plainly shows , since virtue all disclaim . . the lord look'd down from heav'n's high tow'r and did all mankind view ; to see if any own'd his pow'r , or truth or justice knew . . but all , he saw , were backwards gone , degen'rate grown and base ; none for religion car'd , not one of all the sinful race . . but are those workers of deceit so dull and senseless grown , that they like bread my people eat , and god's just pow'r disown ? . their causeless fears shall strangely grow ; and they , despis'd by god , shall soon be foil'd ; his hand shall throw their shatter'd bones abroad . . would he his saving pow'r employ , to break our servile band , loud shouts of universal joy should eccho through the land. psalm liv. , . lord , save me , for thy glorious name , and in thy strength appear to judge my cause : accept my pray'r , and to my words give ear. . mere strangers , whom i never wrong'd , to ruine me design'd ; and cruel men , that fear no god , against my soul combin'd . , . but god takes part with all my friends , and he 's the surest guard ; the god of truth shall slay my foes , their falshood's just reward . . while i my grateful off'rings bring , and sacrifice with joy ; and in his praise my time to come delightfully employ . . from dreadful danger and distress the lord has set me free ; through him shall i of all my foes the wish'd destruction see ! psalm lv. . give ear , thou judge of all the earth , and listen when i pray ; nor from thy humble suppliant turn thy glorious face away . . attend to this my sad complaint , and hear my grievous moans ; whilst i my mournful case declare with artless sighs and groans . . hark! how the foe insults aloud , how fierce oppressors rage ! whose sland'rous tongues with wrathful hate against my fame engage . , . my heart is rack'd with pain , my soul with deadly frights distrest ; with fear and trembling compass'd round with horror quite opprest . . how often wish'd i then , that i swift dove-like wings could get ; that i might take my speedy flight , and seek a safe retreat ! , . then would i wander far from hence , and in wild desarts stray , till all this furious storm were spent , this tempest past away . part ii. . destroy , o lord , their ill design 's , their counsels all divide ; for my griev'd eyes in ev'ry stree● have strife and rapine spy'd . . by day and night on ev'ry wall they walk their constant round ; and in the midst of all her strength , are grief mischief found . . whoe'er through ev'ry part shall roam , will fresh disorders meet ; deceit and guile their constant posts maintain in ev'ry street . . for 't was not any open foe that did my faults upbraid ; for then i could with ease have bor● the bitter'st things he said : 't was none who hatred had pro●est that did against me rise ; for then i had withdrawn my self from his malicious eyes . , . but 't was ev'n thou , my guide , my friend , whom tend'rest love did join ; whose swe●t advice ● valu'd most , whose pray'rs were mixt with mine . . sure vengeance , equal to their crimes , such traytors must surprize ; and sudden death requite those ills they wickedly devise ! , . but i 'll still call on god , and he shall in my aid appear ; at morn , and noon , and night i 'll pray , and he my voice shall hear . part iii. . god has releas'd my soul from those that in fierce fight contend ; and made a num'rous host of friends my righteous cause defend . . for he who was my help of old , shall my petition hear ; and punish them whose prosp'rous state makes them no god to fear . . whom can i trust , if faithless men perfidiously devise to ruine me , their peaceful friend , and break the strongest ties ! . tho smooth as butter are their words , their hearts with war abound ; their speeches are more soft than oyl , and yet like swords they wound . . do thou , my soul on god depend , and he shall thee sustain , he aids the just , whom to remove the wicked strive in vain . . thou , lord● shal● soon destroy my foes ; while those who trust in lies , and trade in blood , untimely fall , my soul on god relies● psalm lvi . . do thou , o god , in mercy help , for man my life pursues ; to crush me with repeated wrongs , he dayly strife renews . . each day , all day , invet'ra●e foes to ruine me combine ; thou see'st , who sit'st enthron'd on high , what mighty numbers join . . but , tho sometimes surpriz'd by fear , ( on danger 's first alarm ) for succour i repose my trust on thy almighty arm. . god's word i shall hereafter praise , on which i now relie : in god ● trust , and trusting him , the arm of flesh defie . . they rack my harmless words to speak a sense they never meant : their thoughts are all , with restless spite , on my destruct on bent . . in close assemblies they combine , and wicked projects lay . they watch my steps and lie in wait , to make my soul the● prey . . shall such injusticce still escape ? o righteous god a●●e ; let thy just wra●h ( ●oo ●●ng provok'd ) this impious race chastise . . my wand'rings thou , and suff'rings knowst since first compell'd to flee : my very tears are treasur'd up , and regist'red by thee . . when therefore i invoke thy aid , my foes ●hall be o'erthrown ; for i am well assur'd that god my righteous cause will own . , . i 'll bless god's word , trust him , nor fear the force that man can raise : . to thee , o god , my vows are due , to thee i 'll render praise . . thou hast retriev'd my soul from death ; and thou wilt still secure the life thou hast so oft preserv'd , and make my footsteps sure ; that thus protected by thy pow'r , i may this light enjoy , and in the servi●e of my god my length'ned days employ . psalm lvii . . thy mercy , lord , to me extend , on thy protection i depend ; and to thy wing for shelter haste , till this outragious storm is past . . to thy tribunal , lord , i fly , thou sov'reign judge and god most high ; who wonders hast for me begun , and wilt not leave thy work undone . . from heav'n thou'●t save me by thine arm , bring those to shame who seek my harm ; to aid me , forth thy mercy send , and truth , on which my hopes depend . . condemn'd , as to a lion's den , i lie among more salvage men ; whose teeth are pointed spears , their words invenom'd darts and two-edg'd swords . . be thou , o god , exalted high ; and , as thy glory fills the skie , so let it be on earth displaid , till thou art here , as there , obey'd . . to take me they their net prepar'd , and had almost my soul ensnar'd , but fell themselves , by just decree , into the pit they delv'd for me . . o god my heart is fix'd , 't is bent it 's thankful tribute to present , and with my heart , my voice i 'll raise to thee , my god , in songs of praise . . awake my glory ; harp and lute , no longer let your strings be mute ; awake his praises to pursue , as i my self will early do . . thy praises , lord , i will resound to all the list'ning nations round : . thy mercy highest heav'n tran●cends , thy truth beyond the clouds extends . . be thou , o god , exalted high ; and as thy glory fills the skie , so let it be on earth displaid , till thou art here , as there , obey'd . psalm lviii . . speak , o ye judges of the earth , if just your sentence be , or , must not innocence appeal to heav'n from your decree ? . your wicked hearts and judgments are alike by malice sway'd : your covetous hands by weighty bribes to violence betray'd . . estrang'd from virtue from the womb , their infant-steps went wrong : they prattled slander , and in lies employ'd their lisping tongue . . no serpent of parch'd africk's breed does ranker poison bear ; the drowsie adder will as soon unlock his sullen ear. . to counsel obstinately deaf as adders they remain ; from whom the skilful charmer's voice can no attention gain . . defeat , o god , their threat'ning rage , and timely break their pow'r : disarm these growing lion's jaws , e'er practis'd to devour , . let now their insolence at height , like ebbing tides be spent ; their splint'ring darts deceive their aim when they their bow have bent . . like snails let them dissolve to slime ; abortive births become , unwor●hy to behold the sun and buried in the womb. . e'er thorns can make the flesh-pots boil , tempestuous wrath shall come from god , and living snatch them hence , to their eternal doom . . the righteous shall rejoice to see their crimes such vengeance meet , and saints in persecutors blood , wash their victorious feet . . transgressors then with grief shall see just men rewards obtain ; and own a god that s●rictly will the guilty earth arraign . psalm lix . . deliver me , o lord my god , from all my spiteful foes : in my defence oppose thy pow'r to theirs who me oppose , . preserve me from a wicked race who make a trade of ill ; protect me from remorseless men who seek my blood to spill . . they lie in wait , and mighty pow'rs against my life combine : implacable ; yet , lord , thou knowst , for no offence of mine . . in hurry they set watch and ward my guiltless life to take : look down , o lord , on my distress , and to my help awake ! . thou , lord of hosts and isr'el's god , their heathen rage suppress : relentless vengeance take on those who stubbornly transgress . . at ev'ning to beset my house like growling dogs they meet ; while others through the city roam , and ransack ev'ry street . . their throats belch slanders , from their mouths they brandish sharpned swords ; who hears ( say they ) or hearing , dares reprove our lawless words ? . but from thy throne thou shalt , o lord , their bassled plots deride ; to scorn and infamy expose insulting heathen's pride . . on thee i wait , 't is on thy strength for succour i depend , 't is thou , o god , art my defence , who only canst defend . . thy mercy , lord , shall first prevent and me from danger free ; then crown my wishes , and subdue my haughty foes to me . . destroy 'em , lord , but not intire , nor at a single blow , lest we , ingratefully , too soon forget their overthrow . but vagabonds through sundry realms disperse 'em by thy pow'r ; do thou bring down their haughty pride , o lord , our shield and tow'r . . now , in the height of all their pride , their arrogance chastise ; whose tongues have sinn'd without restraint and curses join'd with lies . . nor till thou hast consum'd their race thine anger , lord , suppress , that outmost lands , by their just doom , may isr'el's god confess . . at ev'ning let them still persist like growling dogs to meet , still traverse all the city round , and ransack ev'ry street . . then , as for malice now they do , for hunger let 'em stray , and yell their vain complaints aloud , defeated of their prey . . whilst early ● thy mercy sing , thy wond'rous pow'r confess ; for thou hast been my sure defence my refuge in distress . . to thee with never-ceasing praise , o god , my strength , i 'll sing ; for thou hast always been the rock from whence my comforts spring . psalm lx. . o god who hast our troops disperst , forsaking them forsook thee first , as we thy just displeasure mourn , to us in mercy , lord , return . . our strength , that firm as earth did stand , is rent by thy avenging hand ; o heal the breaches thou hast made , we shake , we fall , without thy aid ! . our folly 's sad effects we feel , for drunk with discord's cup we reel . . but now for them who thee rever'd , thou hast thy truth 's bright banner rear'd . . let thy right-hand thy saints protect , lord hear the pray'rs that we direct ! . the holy god has spoke ; and i on his firm word , o'erjoy'd , relie . to thee in portions i 'll divide fair sichem's soil , samaria's pride , to sichem , succoth next i 'll join , and measure out her vale by line . . manasseh , gilead , both subscribe to my commands , with ephraim's tribe ; ephraim by arms supports my cause , and iudah by religious laws . . moab my slave and drudge shall be , nor ed●m from my yoke get free ; proud palestine's imperious state shall humbly on our triumph wait . . but who shall quell these mighty pow'rs and me possess of edom's tow'rs ? or through her guarded frontiers tread the path that does to conquest lead ? . ev'n thou , o god , who hast disperst our troops , ( for we forsook thee first ) whom in just wrath thou didst forsake , aton'd , thou wilt victorious make . . do thou our fainting cause sustain , for humane succours are but vain . . fresh strength and courage god bestows , 't is he treads down our proudest foes . psalm lxi . . lord , hear my cry , regard my pray'r , which i , opprest with grief , . from earth's remotest parts address to thee for kind relief . o lodge me safe beyond the reach of persecuting pow'r , . thou who so oft from spit●●ul foes , hast been my shelt'●●g tow'r . . wi●hin thy sacred co●rts i shall s●cure from danger lie : beneath the covert of thy wings , all future storms de●ie● . in sign my vows are heard , once more i o'er thy chosen reign : . o bless with long and prosp'rous life the king thou didst ordain . . confirm his throne , and make his reign accepted in thy sight ; and let thy truth and mercy both in his defence unite . . so shall i ever sing thy praise , thy name for ever bless ; devote my prosp'rous days to pay the vows of my distress . psalm lxii . , . my soul for help on god relies , from him alone my safety flows : my rock , my health , that strength supplies , to bear the shock of all my foes . . how long will ye contrive my fall ? which will but hasten on your own you 'll totter like a bowing wall , or fence of uncemented stone . . to make my envy'd fortunes less they strive with lies their chief delight ; for they , tho with their mouths they bless , in private curse with inward spite . , . but thou , my soul , on god rely ; on him alone thy trust repose ; my rock and health will strength supply , to bear the shock of all my foes . . god does his saving health dispence , and flowing glories largely send ; he is my fortress and defence , on him my soul shall still depe●d . . in h●m , ye people , always trust , b●●or● his throne pour out your hearts ; fo● god , the merciful and jus● , his timely aid to us imparts . . sure high and low in balance laid● with vain conceits and lies abound ; and if with vanity they 're weigh'd , lighter than that they 'll both be found . . then trust not in oppre●●ive ways , by spoil and rapine grow not vain ; nor let your hearts , if wealth increase , be set too much upon your gain . . for god has oft his will express'd ; and i this truth have fully known ; to be of boundless pow'r possess'd belongs of right to god alone . . tho mercy is his darling grace , in which he chiefly takes delight . yet will he all the human race according to their works requi●e . psalm lxiii . . o god , my gracious god , to thee , my morning pray'rs s●all offer'd be ; for thee my thirsty so●l does pant ; my fainting flesh implores thy grace , within this dry and barren place , where i refreshing waters want . . o to my longing eyes once more that view of glorious pow'r restore , which thy majestick house displays : . because to me thy wond'rous love than life it self does dearer prove , my lips shall always speak thy praise● . my life , while i that life enjoy . in blessing god i 'll still employ , with lif●ed hands adore his name : . my soul 's content shall be as great , as theirs who choicest dainties eat , while i with joy his praise proclaim , . when down i lie sweet sleep to find , thou' rt always present to my min● , and when i wake in dead of night : . because thou still didst succour bring , beneath the shadow of thy wing i 'll rest with safety and delight . . my soul , when foes would me devour cleaves fast to thee , whose matchless pow'● in her support is daily shown : . but those the righteous lord shall slay that my destruction wish ; and they that seek my life shall lose their own , , . they by untimely ends shall die , their flesh a prey to foxes lie : but god shall fill the king with joy. who swears by him shall still rejoice , whilst the false mouth and lying voice the lord shall silence and destroy . psalm lxiv . lord , hear the voice of my complaint , and to my pray'r give ear ; preserve my life from cruel foes , and free my soul from fear . . o hide me with thy tend'rest care in some secure retreat , from sinners that against me rise , and their close plots defeat . . see how intent to work my harm , they whet their tongues like swords ; and bend their bows to shoot their darts , sharp lies and bitter words ! . in private lurking , at the just they take their secret aim ; and suddenly at him they shoot , quite void of fear and shame . . to carry on their ill designs , they mutual help supply , they speak of laying private snares , and think that none shall spy . . with utmost diligence and care their wicked plots they lay ; the private thoughts of all their hearts with deep designs betray . . but god , to anger justly mov'd , his dreadful bow shall bend , and on his flying arrows point shall swift destruction send . . sharp slanders , which their tongues did vent , upon themselves shall fall ; their friends that see 't shall them forsake , despis'd and shun'd by all. . the world shall then god's power confess and nations trembling stand , convinc'd that 't is the mighty work of his avenging hand . . whilst righteous men by god secur'd in him shall gladly trust ; and all the list'ning earth shall hear loud triumphs of the just. psalm lxv . . for thee , o god , our constant praise in sion waits , thy chosen seat ; whilst there we promis'd altars raise , we 'll all our zealous vows compleat . . o thou , who to my humble pray'r didst always bend thy list'ning ear , to thee shall all mankind repair , and at thy gracious throne appear . . in vain of sins a num'rous train to stop thy flowing mercies try ; whilst thou o'erlook'st the guilty stai●● and washest out the crimson dye . . blest is the man , who , near thee plac●d . within thy sacred dwelling lives ! whilst we at humbler distance taste the vast delights thy temple gives . . by wond'rous acts , o god , most jus● , have we thy gracious answer found ; in thee remorest nations trust , and those whom stormy waves surroun● . , . god , by his strength , sets fast the hills , and does his matchless pow'r engage , with which the seas loud waves he s●ills , and angry crowds tumultuous rage . part ii. . thou , lord , dost barb'rous lands dismay when they thy dreadful tokens view : with joy they see the night and day each other's track by turns pursue . . from out thy unexhausted store thy rain relieves the thirsty ground● and makes the earth , quite parch'd befo●●● with corn and useful fruits abound . . on rising ridges down it pours , and all the furrow'd valleys fills● thou mak'st them soft with gentle show'rs , in which a blest increase distils . . thy goodness does the circling year with fresh returns of plenty crown ; and where thy glorious paths appear , thy fruitful clouds drop fatness down . . they drop on barren forrests chang'd by them to pastures fresh and green ; the hills about in order rang'd , in beauteous robes of joy are seen . . large flocks with fleecy wool adorn the chearful downs ; the valleys bring a plenteous crop of full-ear'd corn , and seem for joy to shout and sing . psalm lxvi . , . let all the lands with shouts of joy to god their voices raise . sing psalms in honour of his name , and spread his glorious praise . . and let them say , how dreadful , lord , in all thy works art thou ! to thy great power thy stubborn foes shall all be forc'd to bow . . through all the earth the nations round shall thee their god confess ; and with glad hymns their awful dread of thy great name express . . o come , behold the works of god , and then with me you 'll own , that he tow'rds all the sons of men has wond'rous judgments shown . . he made the sea become dry land , and through the flood they walk'd ; whilst to each other of his might with joy his people talk'd . . he by his pow'r for ever rules ; his eyes the world survey ; let no presumptuous man rebel against his sov'reign sway. part ii. , . o all ye nations , bless our god , and loudly tell his praise ; who keeps our soul alive and still confirms our stedfast ways . , . for thou hast try'd us , lord , as fir● does try the precious ore● thou brought'st us to the net , where w● oppressing burthens bore . . by thee permitted , men did us through fire and water chase ; but yet at last thou brought'st us forth into a wealthy place . , . burnt-off●rings to thy house i 'll b●ing , and there my vows i 'll pay , which i with solemn zeal did make ●n that disastrous day . . then shall the richest incense smoak , the fattest rams shall fall ; the choicest goats from out the fold , and bullocks from the stall . . o come all ye that fear the lord , attend with heedful care ; whilst i what god has done for me , with grateful joy declare . , . as i before his aid implor'd , so now i praise his name ; who , if my heart had harbour'd sin , would all my pray'rs disclaim . . but god to me whene're i cry'd his gracious ear did bend ; and to the voice of my request with constant love attend . . then bless'd for ever be my god , who never , when i pray , with-holds his mercy from my soul , nor turns his face away . psalm lxvii . . to bless thy chosen race , in mercy , lord , incline ; and cause the brightness of thy face upon us all to shine . . that so thy wond'rous ways may through the world be known ; whilst distant lands glad tribute pay , and thy salvation own . . let diff'ring nations join to celebrate thy fame ; let all the world , o lord , combine to praise thy glorious name● . o let them shout and sing , dissolv'd in pious mirth , for thou , the righteous judge and king , shalt govern all the earth . . let diff'ring nations join to celebrate thy fame ; let all the world , o lord , combine to praise thy glorious name . . then shall the teeming ground a large encrease disclose ; and we with plenty shall abound , which god , our god , bestows . . then god upon our land shall constant blessings shower ; and all the world in aw shall stand of his resistless power . psalm lxviii . . let god , the god of battle rise , and scatter his presumptuous foes ; let shameful rout their host surprise , who spitefully his pow'r oppose . . as smoak in tempests rage is lost , or wax into the furnace cast , so let their sacrilegious host before his wrathful presence waste , . but let the servants of his will his favour 's gentle beams enjoy ; their upright heart let transports ●ill , and chearful songs their tongue employ● . to him your voice in anthems raise , iehovah's pow'rful name he bears : ●n him rejoice , extol his praise , who rides upon high-rowling spheres . . him , from his empire of the skies , down , down to earth compassion draws the orphan's claim to patronize , and judge the injur'd widow's cause . . 't is god who , from a foreign soil , restores poor exiles to their home , makes captives free , and fruitless toil their proud oppressors righteous doom● . 't was so of old , when thou , o god , in person led'st our armies forth , strange terrors through the desart spread , . convulsions shook th' astonish'd earth . when lightning's made the skies distil , and heav'ns high arches shook with fear , how then should sinai's humble hill of israel's god the presence bear ? . thy hand at famisht earth's complaint , reliev'd her from celestial stores ; and when thy heritage was faint refresh'd the drought with plenteous show'rs● . where salvages had rang'd before at ease thou mad'st our tribes reside ; and in the desart , for the poor , thy gen'rous bounty did provide . part ii. . thou gav'st the word , we sally'd forth , and in that pow'rful word o'ercame ; while virgin-troops with songs of mirth in state our conquest did proclaim . . vast armies by such gen'rals led , as yet had ne'er receiv'd a foil , forsook their camp with sudden dread , and to our women left the spoil . . tho egypt's drudges you have been , your armies wings shall shine more bright than doves in golden sun-shine seen , or silver'd o'er with paler light. . 't was so when god's almighty hand o'er scatter'd kings the conquest won ; our troops , drawn up on iordan's strand , high salmon's glitt'ring snow out-shone . . from thence to iordan's farther coast and bashan's hill we did advance : no more her height shall bashan boast , but that she 's god's inheritance . . but wherefore ( tho the honour 's great ) should this , ye mountains swell your pride ? for sion is his chosen seat , where he for ever will reside . . his chariots numberless , his pow'rs are angel-hosts that wait his will ; his presence now fills sion's tow'rs , ●s once i● honour'd sinai's hill. . ascending high , in triumph thou captivity hast captive led , and on thy people didst bestow the spoil of armies once their dread . ev'n rebels shall partake thy grace , and humble proselytes repair to worship at thy dwelling-place , and all the world pay homage there . . for benefits each day bestow'd be daily his great name ador'd ; . who is our saviour and our god , of life and death the sov'reign lord● . but justice , for his hard'ned foes proportion'd vengeance has decreed , to wound the grizly head of those who in presumptuous crimes proceed . . the lord has thus , in thunder , spoke ; as i subdu'd proud bashan's king , once more i 'll break my people's yoak , and from the deep my servant's bring . . their feet shall in a crimson flood of slaughter'd foes be cover'd o'er , nor earth receive such impious blood , but leave for dogs th' unhallow'd gore . part iii. . when entring to thy blest abode , the wond'ring multitude survey'd thy pompous state , my king and god , in robes of majesty array'd● . sweet-singing levites led the van , loud instruments brought up the rear ; between both troops a virgin-train with voice and timbrel charm'd the ear. . this was the burden of their song , in full assemblies bless the lord , all , who to israel's tribes belong , the god of israel's praise record . . nor little benjamin alone from neighb'ring bounds did there attend , nor only iudah's nearer throne , her counsellours in state did send ; but zebulon's remoter seat , and nephthali's more distant coast ( the grand procession to compleat ) sent up their tribes , a princely host. . thus god to strength and union brought our tribes , at strife till that blest hour : this work which thou , o god , hast wrought , confirm , with fresh recruits of pow'r . . to visit salem , lord , descend , and sion thy terrestrial throne ; where kings with presents shall atte●d , and there with offer'd crowns atone . . break down their spear-mens ranks tha● threat like pamper'd herds of salvage might , their silver-armour'd chiefs defeat who in destructive war delight . . to god shall egypt then stretch forth her hands , and africk homage bring : . the scatter'd kingdoms of the earth their common sovereign's praises sing . . who mounted on the loftiest sphere of ancient heav'n , sublimely rides ; from whence his dreadful voice we hear , like that of warring winds and tides . . ascribe ye pow'r to god most high , of humble israel he takes care ; whose strength from out the dusky sky darts shining terrors through the air. . how dreadful are the sacred courts where god has fix'd his earthly throne ! his strength his feeble saints supports : to god give praise and him alone . psalm lxix . . save me , o god , from waves that rowl , and press to overwhelm my soul. . in mire my found'ring foot-steps tread , and deluges o'erflow my head. . with restless cries my spirits faint , my voice is hoarse with long complaint , my sight decays with tedious pain , whilst for my god i wait in vain . . my heads unnumber'd hairs are few , compar'd to foes that me pursue with groundless hate , grown now of might to execute their lawless spite . they force me guiltless to resign as rapine , what by right was mine . . thou lord my innocence dost see , nor are my sins conceal'd from thee . . lord god of hosts take timely care , lest for my sake thy saints despair ; . since i have sufferd , for thy name , reproach , and hid my face in shame . . a stranger to my country grown , nor to my nearest kindred known ; a foreigner , expos'd to scorn , by brethren of my mother born . . for zeal to thy lov'd house and name consumes me like devouring flame , concern'd at their affronts to thee beyond their slanders cast on me . . my very tears and abstinence they construe in a spiteful sense ; . when cloth'd with sack●loth for their sake , they me their jest and proverb make . . their judges make my wrongs their jest , those wrongs they ought to have redrest ! how shall i then expect to be from libels of lewd drunkards free ? . but , lord , to thee i will repair for help , with humble timely pray'r ; relieve me from thy mercies store , display thy truth 's preserving pow'r . . o save me yet from dangers brink , nor suffer me in mire to sink ; from spiteful foes in safety keep , and snatch me from the raging deep . . control the deluge e'er it spread , and rowl its waves above my head ; nor deep destruction's yawning pit to close her jaws on me permit . . lord , hear the humble pray'r i make , for thy transcending kindness sake ; relieve thy suppliant once more from thy abounding mercies store . . nor from thy servant hide thy face ; make speed , for desp'rate is my case : . thy timely succour interpose , and shield me from remorseless foes . . the slanders , infamy and scorn i from my enemies have born thou knowst , nor has their open spite or secret plots escap'd thy sight . . reproach and grief have broke my heart , i look'd for some to take my part , to pity or relieve my pain , but lookt ( alas ! ) for both in vain ! . with hunger pin'd for food i call , instead of food they give me gall ; and when with thirst my spirits sink , they give me vinegar to drink . . their table therefore to their health shall prove a snare , a trap their wealth : . perpetual darkness seize their eyes , and sudden blasts their hope surprise . . on them and theirs thy fury pour , and in tempestuous wrath devour : . their house dis-people to a cell , till none remain therein to dwell . . for new afflictions they procur'd for him who had thy stripes endur'd ; and made the wounds thy scourge had torn to bleed afresh with sharper scorn . . let sin to sin their steps betray , till they to truth have lost the way . . from life's bright list exclude their soul , nor with the just their names enrol . . but me , howe'er distrest and poor , thy strong salvation shall restore : . thy power with songs i 'll then proclaim , and celebrate with thanks thy name . . our god shall this more highly prize than hecatombs of sacrifice : . which humble saints with joy shall see , and hope for like redress with me . . for god regards the poor's complaint , sets pris'ners free from close restraint : . let heav'n , earth , sea their voices raise , the universe resound his praise . . for god will sion's walls protect , fair iudah's cities he 'll erect , till all her scatter'd sons repair to undisturb'd possession there ; . enjoy for life , and at their death to their religious heirs bequeath ; and they to endless ages more , on such as his blest name adore . psalm lxx . . o lord , to my relief draw near , for never was more pressing need ! for my deliv'rance , lord , appear , and add to that deliverance speed. . confusion on their heads return who to destroy my soul combine ; let them , defeated , blush and mourn , ensnar'd in their own vile design . . their doom let desolation be , with shame their malice be repaid , who mock'd my confidence in thee , and sport of my affliction made . . while those who humbly seek thy face to joyful triumphs are uprais'd ; and all who prize thy saving grace ever resound , the lord be prais'd . . thus wretched tho i am and poor , of me th' almighty lord takes care . thou , god , who onely can'st restore , to my relief with speed repair . psalm lxxi . , . in thee i put my stedfast trust , defend me , lord , from shame ; incline thine ear , and save my soul , for righteous is thy name . . be thou my strong abiding place , to which i may resort ; 't is thy decree that keeps me safe , thou art my rock and fort. , . from cruel and ungodly men protect and set me free , for from my earliest youth till now my hope has been in thee . . thy constant care did safely guard my tender infant days ; thou took'●t me from my mother's womb to sing thy constant praise . , . while some with wonder on me gaze● thy hand supports me still ; thy honour therefore and thy praise my mouth shall always fill . . reject not then thy servant , lord , when freezing age prevails ; forsake me not , when spent with years my manly vigour fails . . my foes against my fame , and me with crafty malice speak● against my soul they lay their snares , and mutual counsel take . . his god , say they , forsakes him now , on whom he did rely ; pursue and take him , whilst no hope of timely succour's nigh . , . but thou , my god , withdraw not far● for speedy help i call ; to shame and ruine bring my foes that seek to work my fall. . but as for me , my stedfast hope shall on thy help depend , and i in grateful songs of praise my time to come will spend . part ii. . thy righteous acts and saving health my mouth shall still declare : unable yet to count ●hem all , tho summ'd with utmost care● . by god supported i 'll go on , and in his strength proceed , and shew how far his righteousness all others does exceed . . thou , lord , hast taught me from my youth to praise thy glorious name ; and ever since thy wond'rous works have been my constant theme . . then now forsake me not when i am grey and feeble grown , till ● to these and future times , thy strength and pow'r have shown . . how high thy justice soars , o god! how great and wond'rous are the mighty works which thou ha●t done ! who may with thee compare ! . me whom thy hand has sorely press'd thy grace shall yet relieve ; and from the lowest depth of wo with tender care retrieve . . through thee my time to come shall be with pow'r and greatness crown'd , my future years shall all rejoice . with comfort compass'd round . . therefore with psaltery and harp thy truth , o lord , i 'll praise ; to thee , the god of iacob's rac● , my voice in anthems raise . . then joy shall fill my mouth , and songs employ my chearful voice ; my grateful soul , by thee redeem'd shall in thy aid rejoice . . my tongue thy just and righteous acts shall all the day proclaim ; because thou did●t confound my foes and brought'st them all to shame . psalm lxxii . . lord , let thy just decrees the king in all his ways direct ; and let his son throughout his reign thy righteous laws respect . . so shall he s●ill thy people judge with pure and upright mind , whilst all the helpless poor in him a just protector find . . then hills and mountains shall bring forth the happy fruits of peace ; which all the land shall own to be the work of righteousness : . whilst he the poor and needy race shall rule with gentle sway ; and from their humble necks shall take oppressive yokes away . . in ev'ry heart thy awful fear shall then be rooted fast , as long as sun and moon endure , or time it self shall la●t . . he shall descend like rain that chears the m●adows second birth , or like warm show'rs , whose gentle drops refresh the thirsty earth . . in his blest days the just and good shall be with favour crown'd , the happy land shall ev'ry where with endless peace abound . . his uncontroul'd dominion shall from sea to sea extend , begin at proud euphrates streams , at nature's limits end . . to him the salvage nations round shall bow their servile heads , his vanquisht foes shall lick the dust where he their conq'rour treads . . the kings of tarshish and the isles shall costly presents bring ; from haughty persia gifts shall come , and from arabia's king. . to him shall ev'ry king on ear●h his humble homage pay , and diff'ring nations gladly join to own his righteous sway. . for he shall set the needy free , when they for succour cry ; shall save the helpless and the poor , and all their wants supply . part ii. . his eye the humble patient man indulgently shall spare ; and over his defenceless life shall watch with tender care. . he shall preserve and keep their souls from fraud and rapin● free , and in his sight their guiltless blood of mighty price shall be . . therefore shall god his life and reign to many years extend , whilst eastern princes tribute pay , and golden presents send . for him shall constant pray'rs be made , and all his prosp'rous days , his just dominion shall afford a lasting theme of praise . . through all the land , of useful grain great plenty shall appear ; a handful sown on mountain tops a mighty crop shall bear : its fruit , like cedars shook by winds , a ratling noise shall yield ; the city too shall thrive , and vie for plenty with the field . . to endless ages shall endure his great and glorious name ; as bright and lasting as the sun , shall shine his spotless fame : in him the nations of the world shall be compleatly blest , and his unbounded happiness by ev'ry tongue confe●t . . then blest be god , the mighty lord , the god whom israel fears ; who only wond'rous in his works , beyond compare appears . . let earth be with his glory fill'd ; for ever bless his name : whilst to his praise the list'ning world their glad assent proclaim . . [ with this exalted hymn of praise the pray'rs and praises end , which holy david , iesse's son , in pious raptures penn'd . ] psalm lxxiii . . at length , by certain proofs 't is plain that god will to his own be kind● that all , whose hearts are pure and clean , shall his indulgent favour find , , . but my unwary feet before and stagg'ring steps had almost fail'd ; with pain i view'd the sinner's store , and envy'd when the fools prevail'd . , . they to the grave in peace descend , and whilst they live are hail and strong ; no plagues or troubles them offend , which ●till to other men belong . , . with pride as with a chain they 're held , and rapine is their robe of state ; their eyes stand out , with fatness swell'd , they grow , beyond their wishes , great . , . with hearts corrupt , and lofty talk , oppressive methods they defend ; their tongue thro all the earth does walk , their blasphemies to heav'n ascend . . and yet admiring crowds are found who servile visits duly make , because with plenty they abound , of which their pamper'd slaves partake . . their fond opinions these pursue , till they with them profanely cry , how should the lord our actions view , can he perceive who dwells on high ? . behold the wicked ! these are they who openly their sins profess ; and yet their wealth 's increas'd each day● and all their actions meet success . , . then have i cleans'd my heart ( said i ) and wash'd my hands from guilt in vain , if all the day oppress'd i lie , and ev'ry morning suffer pain . . thus did i once to speak intend ; but if such things i rashly say , thy children , lord , i must offend , and basely should their cause betray . part iii. , . to fathom this my thoughts i bent , but found the case too hard for me , till to the house of god i went , then i their end did plainly see . . how high soe're advanc'd , they all in slipp'ry places tott'ring stand ; thence into ruine headlong fall , cast down by thy avenging hand . , . how dreadful and how quick their fate ! despis'd by thee when they 're destroy'd ; as waking men with scorn do treat the fancies that their dreams employ'd . , . thus was my heart with grief opprest● my reins were rack'd with restless pains , so foolish was i , like a beast , in whom no thought or sense remain● . , . and yet thy presence cheer'd me still● and thy right-hand did always save ; thou first didst guide me with thy skill , and to thy glory then receive . . whom then in heav'n , but thee alone● have i , whose favour i require ? and over all the earth there 's none that i besides thee can desire . . my trembling flesh and aking heart may often fail to succour me ; but god shall inward strength impart● and my eternal portion be . . for they that far from thee remove● shall into sudden ruine fall ; if after other gods they rove , thy vengeance shall destroy them all . . but as for me , 't is good and just that i should still to god repair ; in him i always put my trust , and will his wond'rous works declare . psalm lxxiv . . why hast thou cast us off , o god ; must we no more return ? o why , against thy chosen flock , does thy fierce anger burn ? . think on thy antient purchase , lord , the land that is thy own , by thee redeem'd , and sion's mount where once thy glory shone . . o come and view our ruin'd state ! how long our troubles last ! see! how the foe with wicked rage has laid thy temple waste ! . thy foes blaspheme thy name , where late● thy zealous servants pray'd ; their banners all , as conqu'ring signs , with haughty pomp display'd . , . those curious carvings which did once the workmen famous make , with axes and with hammers now they all in pieces break . . thy holy temple have they burnt ; and what escap'd the flame , has been prophan'd and quite pull'd down tho sacred to thy name . . together to destroy us all maliciously they aim'd ; and all the sacred places burn'd where we thy praise proclaim'd : . yet of thy presence thou vouchsaf'st no tender signs to send ; we have no prophet now that knows when this sad state shall end . part ii. . but , lord , how long wilt thou permit th' insulting foe to boast ? shall all the honour of thy name for evermore be lost ? . why hold'st thou back thy strong right-hand ? and on thy patient breast when vengeance calls to stretch it forth , so calmly let'st it rest ? . thou heretofore , with kingly pow'r , in our defence hast fought ; for us , throughout the wond'ring world , hast great salvation wrought . . 't was thou , o god , that didst the sea by thy own strength divide ; thou break'st the watry monsters head , the waves o'rwhelm'd their pride . . the greatest , fiercest of them all , that seem'd the deep to sway ; was by thy pow'r destroy'd , and made to salvage beasts a prey . . thou clav'●t the solid rock , and bad'st the waters largely flow ; again , thou mad'st , through dry'd up streams thy wond'ring people go . . thine is the chearful day , and thine the black return of night ; thou hast prepar'd the glorious sun , and ev'ry feebler light. . by thee the borders of the earth in perfect order stand ; the summer's warmth and winter's co●● attend on thy command . part iii. . remember , lord , how scornful foes have daily urg'd our shame ; and how the foolish people have blasphem'd thy holy name . . o free thy mourning turtle-dove , by sinful crowds beset ; nor the assembly of the poor for evermore forget . . thy ancient cov'nant , lord , regard , and make thy promise good ; for now each corner of the land is fill'd with men of blood. . o let not the opprest return , with sorrow cloath'd and shame ; but let the helpless , and the poor for ever praise thy name . . arise , o god , in our behalf , thy cause and ours maintain ; remember how insulting fools each day thy name prophane ! . make thou the boastings of thy foes for ever , lord , to cease ; whose haughty rage and furious threats still more and more increase . psalm lxxv . . to thee , o god , we render praise , to thee with thanks repair ; for , that thy name to us is nigh thy wond'rous works declare . . in israel when my thron● is fix'd with me shall justice reign : . the land with discord shakes , but i the tott'ring frame sustain . . deluded wretches i advis'd their errors to redress , presumptuous sinners warn'd that they their swelling pride suppress . . bear not your selves so high , as if no pow'r could yours restrain ; submit your stubborn necks , and learn to speak with less disdain . . for that promotion , which to gain , your vain ambition strives , from neither east nor west , nor yet from southern climes arrives . . for god the great disposer is and sov'reign judge alone , who casts the proud to earth , and lifts the humble to a throne . . his hand holds forth a dreadful cup , with purple wine 't is crown'd ; fill'd with ingredients which his wrath deals out to nations round . of this his darling saints may taste , but wicked men shall squeeze the baleful dregs , and be condemn'd to d●ink the very lees. . his prophet , i to all the world this message will relate ; the justice then of iacob's god● my song shall celebrate . . the wicked's pride i will reduce , their cruelty disarm ; exalt the just , and seat him high , above the reach of harm . psalm lxxvi . . in iudah the almighty's known , ( almighty there by wonders shown ) his name in iacob does excel : . his sanctuary in salem stands , the majesty that heav'n commands in sion condescends to dwell . . he brake the bow and arrows there the shield , the temper'd sword and spear , there slain the mighty army lay ; . whence sion's fame through earth is spread of greater glory greater dread , than hills where robbers lodge their prey . . their valiant chiefs , who came for spoil , themselves met there a shameful foil , securely down to sleep they lay . but , wak'd no more ; their stoutest ba●d ne'er lifted one resisting hand 'gainst his that did their legions slay . . when iacob's god began to frown horse , horsemen , chariots were o'erthrown , together husht in endless night : . when thou , whom earth and heav'n revere , dost once in wrathful looks appear , what mortal pow'r can stand thy sight● . pronounc'd from heav'n , earth heard its doom , grew husht with fear , when thou didst come . to judgment , and the meek restore : . the wrath of man shall yield thee praise its proud reserves but serve to raise the triumphs of almighty pow'r . . vow to the lord , ye nations , bring vow'd presents to th' eternal king ; thus to his name due rev'rence pay , . who proudest potentates can quell , to earthly kings more terrible than to their trembling subjects they. psalm lxxvii . . to god i sent my mournful cry , who graciously did hear ; . in trouble's dismal day i sought my god with humble pray'r . all night my fest'ring wound did run , no med'cine gave relief ; my soul no comfort would admit , my soul indulg'd her grief . . i thought on god , and favours past , but that increas'd my pain● i found my spirit more opprest the more i did complain . . through ev'ry watch of tedious night thou keep'st my eyes awake ; my grief is swell'd to that excess i sigh but cannot speak . . i call to mind the days of old with signal mercy crown'd , those famous years of antient times for miracles renown'd . . by night i recollect my songs on former triumphs made , then search , consult and ask my heart where 's now that wond'rous aid ? . has god for ever cast us off , withrawn his favour quite ? . are both his mercy and his truth re●ir'd to endless night ? . can his long-practis'd love forget its wonted aids to bring ? has he in wrath shut up and seal'd his mercy 's healing spring ? . i said my weakness hints these fears , but i 'll my fears disband ; i 'll yet remember the most high , and years of his right-hand . . i 'll call to mind his works of old , the wonders of his might ; . on them my heart shall meditate , my tongue shall them recite . . safe lodg'd from humane search on high o god thy counsels are ! who is so great a god as ours ? who can with him compare ? . long since a god of wonders thee thy rescu'd people found ; . ioseph and israel's seed thy arm with strong deliv'rance crown'd . . when thee , o god , the waters saw the frighted billows shrunk ; the troubled depths ●hemselves , for fea● , beneath their channels sunk . . the clouds pour'd down , while with their noise the rending skies conspire ; thy arrows all abroad were sent , wing'd with avenging fire . . heav'n with thy thunder's voice was torn whilst all the lower world with lightnings blaz'd ; earth shook and seem'd from her foundations hurl'd . . thro' rowling seas thou find'st thy way , thy paths in waters lie ; thy wond'rous passage , where no sight thy footsteps can descry . . thou led'st thy people like a flock , conducted by the hand of moses and of aaron , safe to canaan's promis'd land. psalm lxxviii . . hear , o my people ; to my law devout attention lend ; let the instruction of my mouth deep in your hearts descend . . my tongue , by inspiration taught , shall parables unfold , dark oracles , but understood , and known for truths of old ; . which we from sacred registers of ancient times have known , which our fore-fathers pious care to us has handed down . . we will not hide them from our sons ; our offspring shall be taught the praises of the lord , whose strength has works of wonder wrought . . with iacob he this league ordain'd , this law with israel made , with charge to be from age to age , from race to race convey'd● . that generations yet to com● should to their unborn heirs religiously transmit the same , and they again to theirs . . to teach 'em that in god alone their hope securely stands ; that they should ne'er his works forge● , but keep his just commands . . lest , like their fathers , they might prov● a stiff rebellious race , false-hearted , fickle to their god , unstedfast in his grace . . such were revolting ephraim's tribe● a tribe to warfare bred , who , arm'd with bows and archers skill●d , from field ignobly fled . , . they falsify'd their league with god , his orders dis-obey'd ; forgot his works and miracles before their eyes display'd . . nor wonders , which th●ir fathers s●●● did they in mind retain ; prodigious things in egypt done , and zoan's fertile plain . . he cut the seas to let 'em pass , restrain'd the pressing floo●● while pil'd in heaps , on either ●ide , the wond'ring waters stood . . he led 'em by a prodigy compos'd of shade and light ; a shelt'ring cloud it prov'd by day , a leading fire by night . . with drought afflicted , where no stream the wilderness supply'd , he cleft the rock , whose flinty breast dissolv'd into a tide . . streams from the solid rock he brought , which down in rivers fell , that , trav'ling with their camp , each day renew'd the miracle . . yet there they sinn'd against him more , provoking the most high , in that same desart where he did their fainting souls supply . . they first incens'd him in their hearts that crav'd for stronger meat , not mov'd by hunger , but their lust luxuriously to treat . . then utter'd their blaspheming doubts , can god , said they , prepare a table in the wilderness , set out with various fare ? . he smote the flinty rock ( 't is true ) and gushing streams ensu'd , but can he corn and flesh provide for such a multitude ? . the lord with indignation heard ; from heav'n avenging flame on iacob fell , consuming wrath on thankless israel came . . because their unbelieving hearts in god would not confide , who had from heav'ns own granary their wants so oft supply'd . . tho he had made his clouds discharge provisions down in show'rs ; and , when earth fail'd , reliev'd their needs from his celestial stores . . tho tastful manna had rain'd down their hunger to relieve . tho from the stores of heav'n they did sustaining corn receive . . and thus with angels sacred food ingrateful man was fed , not sparingly , for still they found a plenteous table spread . . from heav'n he made an east-wind blow and next the south commands . to rain down flesh like dust , and fowls like seas unnumb'red sands . . within their trenches he let fall the luscious easy prey , and all around their spreading camp the feather'd booty lay . . they fed , were fill'd , he gave 'em leave their appetites to feast ; , . yet still their wanton lust gorg'd on , nor with their hunger ceas'd . but whilst in their luxurious mouths . they did their dainties chew , the wrath of god smote down their chiefs , and israel's chosen slew . part ii. . yet still they sinn'd , nor would affor● his miracle belief ; . therefore through fruitless travels , he consum'd their lives in grief . . when some were slain , the rest return'd to god with early cry ; . own him the rock of their defence , their saviour , god most high. . but this was feign'd submission all their heart their tongue bely'd ; . their hearts were still perverse , nor wou'd firm in his league abide . . yet , full of mercy , he forgave , nor did with death chastise ; oft turn'd his kindled wrath aside . or suffer'd not to rise . . for he remember'd they were flesh that could not long remain ; a murm'ring wind that 's quickly past and ne'er returns again . . how oft did they provoke h●m there , how oft his patience grieve , in that same desart where he did their fainting souls relieve ? . they tempted him by turning back , and gracelesly repin'd , when israel's god refus'd to be by their desires confin'd . . nor call'd to mind the hand and day that their redemption brought ; . his signs in egypt , wond'rous works in zoan's valley wrought . . he turn'd their rivers into blood that man and beast forbore , and rather chose to die of thirst than drink the putrid gore . . he sent devouring swarms of flies , hoarse frogs annoy'd their soil ; . locusts and caterpillars reap'd the harvest of their toil. . their vines with batt'ring hail , with frost the tender fig-tree dies ; . light'ning and hail made flocks and herds one gen'ral sacrifice . . he turn'd his furious anger loose , no time prescrib'd to cease ; and , with their plagues , ill angels sent their torments to increase . . he op'd a passage to his wrath , to ravage uncontrol'd ; the murrain on their firstlings s●iz'd in ev'ry field and fold● . from beast to man the deadly pest , from field to city came ; it slew their heirs● their eldest hopes , through all the tents of ham. . but his own tribes● like folded sheep , he brought from their distress , and , like a flock , conducted through the pathless wilderness . . he led 'em on , and in their way . no cause of fear they found ; but march'd securely through those deeps in which their foes were drown'd . . nor ceas'd his care till them he brought into his promis'd land , his sanctu'ry and mount , the prize of his victorious hand . . to them the out-cast heathen's land he did by lot divide ; and safe in their abandon'd tents made israel's tribes reside . part iii. . yet still they tempted , still provok'd the wrath of god most high ; nor would to practise his commands their stubborn hearts apply . . but in their faithless father's steps perversly chose to go ; they turn'd aside , like arrows shot from some deceitful bow. . for him to fury they provok'd , with altars set on high ; and with their graven images inflam'd his jealousie . . when god heard this , on israel's tribes his wrath and hatred fell ; . he quitted shilo and the tents where once he chose to dwell . . to vile captivity his ark , his glory to disdain , . his people to the sword he gave , nor would his wrath restrain . . destructive war their ablest youth untimely did confound ; no virgin was to th' altar led , with nuptial garlands crown'd . . in fight the sacrificer fell , the priest a victim bled ; widows , that should their fun'rals mourn , themselves of grief were dead . . then , like a giant fresh from sleep , or wine 's inspiring charms , the lord awak'd , and shouting loud the trembling foe alarms . . he smote their host , that home from field a scatter'd remnant came , with wounds , imprinted on their backs , of everlasting shame . . with conquest crown'd , he , ioseph's tents and ephraim's tribe forsook ; . but iudah chose , and sion's mount for his lov'd dwelling took . . his temple he erected there , whose head confronts the skies , while deep and fix'd , as that of earth , the strong foundation lies . . his faithful servant david too he for his choice did own , and from the sheep-folds him advanc'd to sit on iudah's throne . . from tending on the teeming ews he brought him forth to feed his own inheritance , the tribes of israel's chosen seed . . exalted thus , the monarch prov'd a faithful shepherd still . he fed them with an upright heart , and guided them with skill . psalm lxxix . . behold , o god , the heathen have on thy possession seiz'd ; thy sacred house have they defil'd , thy holy city raz'd . . the mangled bodies of thy saints abroad unburied lay ; their flesh expos'd to salvage beasts , and rav'nous birds of prey . . quite through ierus'lem was their blood like common water shed ; and none were left alive to pay last duties to the dead . . the neighb'ring lands our small remains with loud reproaches wound ; we 're made a laughing-stock and scorn to all the nations round . . how long wilt thou be angry , lord , must we for ever mourn ? shall thy devouring jealous rage like fire , for ever burn ? . on foreign lands , that know not thee , thy heavy vengeance show'r , those sinful kingdoms let it crush that have not own'd thy pow'r . . for they their greedy throats have gorg'● with iacob's chosen race . and to a barren desart turn'd their fruitful dwelling-place , . o think not on our former sins , but speedily preven● thy suff'ring people's utter loss , almost with sorrow spent . . o god our saviour , help and save , and free our souls from blame ; so shall our pardon and defence exalt thy glorious name . . let infidels , that scoffing say , where is the god they boast ? in vengeance for thy slaughter'd saints perceive thee to their cost . . lord , hear the sighing pris'ner's moan , and as thy pow'r is great ; preserve the wretches doom'd to die , from that untimely fate . . on our oppressive neighbours let our suff'rings be repaid ; make their confusion sev'n times more than what on us they laid . . so we thy people and thy flock shall ever praise thy name ; and with glad hearts our grateful thanks from age to age proclaim . psalm lxxx . . o israel's shepherd , iacob's guide , whom like a sheep thou leadst , give ear ; thou that dost on the cherubs ride , again in solemn state appear . . behold , how benjamin expects , with ephraim and manasseh join'd , in our deliv'rance the effects of thy resistless strength to find . . do thou convert us , lord , do thou the lustre of thy face display ; and all the ills we suffer now like scatter'd clouds shall pass away . . o thou , whom heav'nly hosts obey , how long shall thy fierce anger burn ? how long thy suff'ring people pray , and yet their pray'rs meet no return . . thou , when we 're hungry mak'st us drench our scanty food in floods of woe ; when dry , our raging thirst we quench with streams of tears that largely flow . . for us the heathen nations round as for a certain prey , contest ; our foes with spiteful joy abound and at our lost condition jest . . do thou convert us lord , do thou the lustre of thy face display ; and all the ills we suffer now , like scatter'd clouds shall pass away . part ii. . thou brought'st a vine from egypt's land ; and casting out the heathen race , did'st plant it with thy own right-hand , and firmly fix it in their place . . before it thou prepar'dst the way , and mad'st it take a lasting root , which blest with thy indulgent ray o'er all the land did widely shoot . , . the hills were cover'd with its shade , her goodly boughs did cedars seem ; her branches to the sea were spread , and reach'd to proud euphrates stream . . why then hast thou its hedge o'rthrown , which thou hadst made so firm and strong ? whilst all its grapes , defenceless grown , are pluck'd by those that pass along . . see how the brist'ling forest boar with dreadful fury lays it waste ; hark how the salvage monsters roar , and to their helpless prey make haste , part iii. . to thee , o god of hosts , we pray : thy wonted goodness , lord , renew : from heav'n , thy throne , this vine survey , and her sad state with pity view . . behold the vineyard , made by thee , which thy right-hand did guard so long ; and keep that branch from danger free , which for thy self thou mad'st so strong . . to wasting flames 't is made a prey , and all its spreading boughs cut down ; at thy rebuke they soon decay , and perish at thy mortal frown . . crown thou the king with good success , by thy right-hand secur'd from wrong ; the son of man in mercy bless whom for thy self thou mad'st so strong . . so will we still continue free from whatsoe'r deserves thy blame ; and if once more reviv'd by thee will always praise thy holy name . . do thou convert us , lord , do thou the lustre of thy face display ; and all the ●lls we suffer now like scatter'd clouds shall pass away . psalm lxxxi . . to god our never-failing strength , with loud applauses sing ; and jointly make a chearful noise to iacob's awful king. . compose a hymn of praise , and touch your ●nstruments of joy ; let psalteries and pleasant harps your grateful skill employ . . let trumpets at the great new-moo● their joyful voices raise , to celebrate th' appointed time , the solemn day of praise . . for this a statute was of old , which iacob's god decreed to be with pious care observ'd by isr'el's chosen seed . . this he for a memorial fix'd when freed from e●ypt's land , strange nations barb'rous speech we heard , but could not understand . . your burthen'd shoulders i reliev'd , ( thus seems our god to say ) your servile hands by me were freed from lab'ring in the clay . . with troubles quite opprest , on me your ancestors did call ; with pity ● their suff'rings saw , and set them free from all . in thunder from my secret place my frequent answers came ; and i their faith and duty try'd , at that contentious stream . part ii. . while i my solemn will declare , my chosen people , hear ; if thou , o isr'el , to my words wilt bend thy list'ning ear ; . then shall no god besides my self within thy coasts be found ; nor shalt thou worship any god of all the nations round . . the lord thy god am i , who thee brought forth from egypt's land ; 't is ● , that all thy just desires supply with lib'ral hand . . but they , my chosen race , refus'd to hearken to my voice , nor would rebellious isr'el's sons make me their happy choice . . so i , provok'd by their neglect , to all their lusts gave way , and in their own perverse designs , i suffer'd them to stray : . o that my p●ople wisely would my just commandments heed ! and isr'el in my righteous ways with pious care proceed ! . then should my heavy judgments fall on all that them oppose , and my avenging hand be turn'd against their num'rous foes . . the haters of the lord should all before his foot-stool bend ; but as for them , their happy state should never know an end . . all parts with plenty should abound ; and i with ●inest wheat , and honey from the rock , would them in great abundance treat . psalm lxxxii . . god in the great assembly stands where his impartial eye in state surveys the earthly gods , and does their judgments try . , . how dare you then unjustly judge , or be to sinners kind ? defend the orphans and the poor , let such your justice find . . protect the humble helpless man , that 's plung'd in deep distress , and let not him become a prey to such as would oppress . . they neither know nor will they learn , but blindly rove and stray ; justice and truth , the world 's great props , through all the land decay . . well then may god in anger say , i 've call'd you by my name , i 've said ye're gods the sons and heirs of my immortal fame . . but ne'ertheless your unjust deeds to strict account i 'll call ; you all shall die like common men , like other tyrants fall . . arise , and thy just judgments , lord , throughout the earth display ; and all the nations of the world shall own thy righteous sway. psalm lxxxiii . . hold not thy peace , o lord our god , no longer silent be ; nor with consenting quiet looks our ruine calmly see ! . for ●o ! the tumults of thy foes o'er all the land are spread ; and they which hate thy saints and thee lift up their threatning head. . against thy zealous people , lord , they craftily combine ; and to destroy thy chosen saints have laid their close design . . come , let us cut them off , say they , their nation quite deface ; that no remembrance any more may be of isr'el's race . . thus they against thy people's peace consult with one consent ; and diff'ring nations jointly leagu'd their common hatred vent . . the ishm'elites that dwell in tents with warlike edom join'd , and moab's sons our ruine vow with hagar's race combin'd : . proud ammon's offspring● gebal too , with amalek conspire ; the lords of pal●estine , and all the wealthy sons of tyre : . all these the strong assyrian king their firm ally have got , who with a pow'rful army aids th' incestuous race of lot , part ii. . but let such vengeance come to them as once t● ●●idian came , to iabin and proud sisera at kishon's fatal stream . . when thy right-hand their num'rous hosts near endor did confound , and their dead bodies , left for dung , manur'd the neighb'ring ground . . let all their mighty men the fate of zeb and oreb share ; as zebah and zalmunnah , so let all their princes fare . . who with the same design inspir'd , thus vainly boasting spake , in firm possession for our selves let us god's houses take . . o make them all like wheels , my god , which downwards swiftly move ; like chaff that 's toss'd by winds , let all their scatter'd forces prove . , . as flames consume dry wood , or heath that on parch'd mountains grows , so let thy fierce pursuing wrath with terror strike thy foes . , . lord , shroud their faces with disgrace that they may own thy name ; or , quite con●ounded , victims fall at once to grief and shame . . that so the wond'ring world may know , that thou whose name alone iehovah is , o'er all the earth hast rais'd thy lofty throne . psalm lxxxiv . . o god of hosts , the mighty lord , how lovely is the place where thou , enshrin'd in glory , shew'st the brightness of thy face ! . my longing soul faints with desire , to view thy blest abode ; my panting heart and flesh cry out for thee the living god. . the birds , more happy far than i , about thine altars rest ; there lay their little young , and there securely build their nest. o lord of hosts , my king and god , . how highly blest are they , who in thy temple always dwell , and there thy praise display ! . thrice happy they , whose choice has thee their sure protection made ; who long to tread the sacred ways that to thy dwelling lead ! . who pass through baca's thirsty vale , yet no refreshments want ; their pools being fill'd with rain , which thou at their request dost grant . . thus with unweary'd strength and pains they still approach more near ; till all on sion's holy mount , before their god appear . . o lord , the mighty god of hosts my just request regard ; thou god of iacob , let my pray'r be still with favour heard . . behold , o god , for thou alone dost timely aid dispence ; on thy anointed servant look , be thou his strong defence . . for in thy courts one single day 't is better to attend ; than any other where besides , a thousand days to spend . much rather would i in god's house the meanest office take , than in the tents of wickedness my constant dwelling make . . for god is both our sun and shield , he 'll grace and glory give ; and no good thing will he with-hold from them that justly live . . o god , whom heav'nly hosts obey . how highly blest is he whose constant trust , securely plac'd● is still repos'd on thee ! psalm lxxxv . . lord , thou hast granted to thy land the favours we implor'd ; and faithful iacob's captive race hast graciously restor'd . , . thou hast forgiv'n thy people's sins and all their guilt defac'd ; thou hast not let thy wrath flame on , nor thy fierce anger last . . o god our saviour , all our hearts to thy obedience turn , that so thy rage , extinguisht now , again may never burn . , . for why shouldst thou be angry still , and wrath so long retain ? o soon revive us that thy saints may speedy comfort gain ! . thy gracious favour , lord , display , which we so long implor'd ; and for thy wond'rous mercies sake thy wonted aid afford . . god's answer patiently i 'll wait , for he his saints will bless ( ●f they no more to folly turn ) with peace and good success . . to all that fear his holy name his sure salvation's near ; that in its former happy state our nation may appear . . for mercy now with truth is join'd ; and righteousness and peace , like kind companions absent long , with friendly arms embrace . , . truth from the earth shall spring , from heav'n shall streams of justice pour ; and god , from whom all goodness flows , shall endless plenty show'r . . be●ore him righteousness shall march● and his just paths prepare ; whilst we his holy steps pursue , with constant zeal and care. psalm lxxxvi . . to my complaint , o lord my god , thy gracious ear incline ; hear me , distrest and destitute of all reli●f but thine● . do thou , o god , preserve my soul that does thy name adore . thy servant keep , and him , whose trust relies ●n thee , restore . . to me● who daily thee invoke , thy mercy , lord extend : . rejoice thy servant's soul , a soul that does on thee depend . . thou , lord , art good , nor only good , but prompt to pardon too ; of ●lenteous mercy to all those who ●or thy mercy sue . . to my repeated suppliant pray'r , o lord , attentive be ! . in trouble on thy name i 'll call , for thou wilt answer me . . among the gods is none like thee , o lord , alone divine ! to thee as much inferiour they , as are their works to thine . . therefore their great creator thee the nations shall adore , their long misguided pray'rs and prais● to thy blest name restore . . all shall confess thee great , and gre●● the wonders thou hast done : confess thee god , the god supreme● confess thee god alone . part ii. . teach me thy way , o lord , and i from truth shall ne'er depart ; in rev'rence to thy sacred name devoutly fix my heart . . thee will i praise , o lord my god , praise thee with heart sincere ; and to thy everlasting name eternal trophies rear . . thy boundless mercy shewn to m● transcends my pow'r to tell , for thou hast oft redeem'd my soul from lowest depths of hell. . o god , the proud are risen , the sons of strife my soul have sought ; regardless of thy pow'r , that oft has my deliv'rance wrought . . when they remorseless were , thou , lord , did●t full compassion bring ; of patience , mercy , and of truth , thou everlasting spring ! . o turn to me ; thy grace and strengt● to me thy servant show ; thy kind protection , lord , on me thy handmaid's son bestow . . some signal give , which my proud foes● may see with shame and rage , because thou , lord , for my relief and comfort dost engage . psalm lxxxvii . . god's temple crowns the holy mount ; the lord there condescends to dwell : . his sion's gates , in his account , our israel's fairest tents excel . . fame glorious things of thee shall sing , o city of th' almighty king ! . the fame of rahab i will raise , in babylon's appl●use conspire ; nor d●rogate from the just praise of ae●hiop , pal●stine and tyre ; among● 'em such a person born , his age and country did adorn . . but still of sion i 'll averr that many such from her proceed● th' almighty shall establish her . . his gen'ral list shall shew , when read , that such a person there was born , and such did such an age adorn . . he 'll sion find with numbers fill'd of such as merit high renown ; for hand and voice musicians skill'd , and ( her transcending fame to crown ) of such she shall successions bring , like waters from a living spring . psalm lxxxviii . . to thee my god and saviour i by day and night address my cry● . permit my mournful voice access , incline thine ear to my distress . . for seas of trouble me invade , my soul draws nigh to death's cold s●a●●● . like one whose stre●g●h and hopes are ●le● they number me among the dea● . . like those who shrouded in the grave , f●om thee no more remembrance have ; ca●t down from thy su●●aining care . to lowest depths of dark despair . . thy wrath has hard upon me lain , af●licting me with restless pain ; me all thy mountain waves have pre●●●● , too weak alas to bear the lea●t . . remov'd from friends , i sigh alone , in a loath'd dungeon laid , where none a visit will vouchsafe to me , confin'd past hopes of liberty . . my eyes from weeping never cease , they waste , but still my griefs increase ! yet daily , lord , to thee i 've pray'd , with out-stretcht hands invok'd thy aid . . wilt thou by miracle revive the dead whom thou forsook'st alive ? from death restore thy praise to sing , whom thou from prison wouldst not bring ? . shall the mute grave thy love confess ? a mold'ring tomb thy faithfulness ; . thy truth and pow'r renown obtain , where darkness and oblivion reign ? . to thee , o lord , i cry , forlorn , my pray'r prevents the early morn ? . why hast thou , lord , my soul forsook , nor once vouchsaf'd a gracious look ? . prevailing sorrows bear me down , which from my youth with me have grown , thy terrors past distract my mind , and fears of blacker days behind . . thy wrath has burst upon my head , thy terrors fill my soul with dread ; . environ'd as with waves combin'd , and for a gen'ral deluge join'd . . my lovers , friends , familiars , all remov'd from sight and out of call ; to dark oblivion all retir'd , dead , or at least to me expir'd . psalm lxxxix . . thy mercies , lord , shall be my song● my song on them shall ever dwell ; to ages yet unborn my tongue thy never-failing truth shall tell . . i have affirm'd , and still maintain , thy mercy shall for ever last ; thy truth , that does the heav'ns sustain , like them shall stand for ever fast . . thus spak'st thou , by thy prophet's voice , with david i a league have made , to him , my servant and my choice , by solemn oath this grant convey'd , . while earth , and seas , and skies endure thy seed shall in my sight remain ; to them thy throne i will ensure ; they shall to endless ages reign . . for such stupendious truth and love both heav'n and earth just praises ow , by choirs of angels sung above , and by assembled saints below . . what seraph of celestial birth to vie with heav'ns supreme shall dare ? . or who , among the gods of earth , with our almighty lord compare ? . lord god of armies , who can boast of strength or pow'r● like thine , r●nown'd ? of such a num'rous faithful host , as that which does thy throne surround ? . thou dost the lawless sea controul , and change the prospect of the deep ; thou mak'st the sleeping billows rowl , thou mak'st the rowling billows sleep . . thou break'st in pieces rahab's pride , and didst oppressing pow'r disarm ; thy scatter'd foes have dearly try'd the force of thy resis●less arm. . in thee the sov'reign right remains of earth and heav'n ; thee , lord , alone the world , and all the world contains , their maker and preserver own . . the poles on which the globe does rest were form'd by thy creating voice ; t●bor and hermon , east and west , in thy sustaining pow'r rejoice . . thy arm is mighty , strong thy ha●d● yet , lord , thou dost with justice reign ; . possest of absolute command , thou truth and mercy dost maintain . . happy , thrice happy they who hear thy sacred trumpet 's joyful sound ; who may at festivals appear , with thy most glorious presence crown'd● . with triumph they shall be o'erjoy'd who on thy sacred name rely . and , in thy righteousness employ'd , above their foes exalted high . . for in thy strength they shall advance , their conquests from thy favour spring● . the lord of hosts is our defence , and israel's god our israel's king. . thus spak'st thou , by thy prophet's voic● , a mighty champion i will send , from iudah's tribe have i made choice of one who shall the rest defend . . my servant david i have found , with holy oil anointed him ; . him shall the hand support that crown'd , and guard , that gave the diadem . . no prince from him shall tribute force , nor son of violence annoy ; . before his face will i disperse , and all his spiteful foes destroy . . my truth and grace shall him sustain , his arms through my auspicious beams , . shall conquer , from the tyrian main to tigris and euphrates streams . . me for his father he shall take , his god and rock of safety call ; . and him my first-born son i 'll make , the kings of earth his subjects all . . my mercy shall to him secure , my cov'nant stand for ever fast ; . his seed for ever shall endure , his throne till heav'n dissolves shall last ; part ii. . but if his heirs my law forsake , and from my sacred precepts stray , . if they my righteous statutes break , nor strictly my commands obey , . their sins i 'll visit with a rod , and for their folly make them smart ; . yet will not cease to be their god , nor from my truth , like them , depart● . my cov'nant i will ne'er revoke , but in remembrance fast retain ; the thing that once my lips have spoke shall in eternal force remain . . once have i sworn , but once for all , and made my holiness the tie , that i my grant will ne'er recal , nor to my servant david lie . . whose throne and race the constant sun shall , like his course , establisht see ; . of this my vow , thou conscious moon , in heav'n my faithful witness be . . such was thy gracious promise , lord , but thou alas hast now forsook . thy own anointed hast abhorr'd , and turn'd on him thy wrathful look . . thou hast repeal'd , and render'd void the cov'nant with thy servant made , his crown and dignity destroy'd , and in the dust his honour laid . . of strong-holds thou hast him bere●t , reduc'd his bulwarks to decay , . his frontier-coasts defenceless left , a publick scorn and common prey . . his ruine does glad triumphs yield to foes advanc'd by thee to might ; . thou hast his conqu'ring sword unsteel'd , his valour turn'd to shameful flight . . his glory is to darkness fled , his throne is levell'd with the ground : . his youth to wretched bondage led , with shame o'erwhelm'd & sorrow drown'd . . how long shall we thy absence mourn ? wilt thou for ever , lord retire ? shall thy consuming anger burn till that and we at once expire ? . consider , lord , how short a space thou dost for mortal life ordain ; no method to prolong the race , but loading it with grief and pain ? . what son of nature can controul strict death's unalterable doom ? or rescue from the grave his soul ? the grave that must mankind entomb . . lord , where 's thy love , thy boundless grace , the oath to which thy truth did seal , consign'd to david and his race , the grant which time should ne'er repeal ? . see how thy servants treated are with infamy , reproach and spite ; which in my silent breast i bear from nations of licentious might ; . how they , reproaching thy great name make ●hy anointed's hope their jest : . yet thy ju●t praises we 'll proclaim , and ever sing , the lord be blest . amen , amen . psalm xc . . o lord , the saviour and defence of us thy chosen race , from age to age thou still hast been our sure abiding-place . . before thou brought'st the mountains forth , or earth and world didst frame , thou always wert the mighty god , a●d ever art the same . . thou turnest man , o lord , to dust , of which he first was made ; and when thou speak'●t the word , return , 't is punctually obey'd . . for in thy sight a thousand years are like a day that 's past , or like a watch in dead of night , whose hours unminded waste . . thou with a torrent sweep'st them off , they vanish like a dream , at first they grow like grass that feels the sun's reviving beam. . but howsoever fresh and fair its morning beauty shows ; 't is all cut down and wither'd quite before the evening's close . , . for by thine anger we 're consum'd , and by thy wrath dismaid ; our publick cr●mes and secret sins are in thy presence laid . . beneath thy anger 's sad effects our drooping days we spend ; our unregarded years break off , like tales that quickly end . . our stint of time is seventy years● and longer few survive ; but if , with more than common strength , to eighty we arrive ; yet then our boasted strength decays , to sorrow turn'd and pain ; so soon the slender thread is c●t , and we no more remain . part ii. . but who thy anger 's dread effects does as he ought revere ? and yet thy wrath does fall or rise ; as more or less we fear . . so teach us , lord , of our short days the trifling summ to mind : that to true wisdom all our hearts may ever be inclin'd . . o to thy servants , lord , return , and speedily relent ! as we of our misdeeds , do thou of our just doom repent . . to satisfie and chear our souls thy early mercy send ; that all our days to come we may in joy and gladness spend . . let joyful times , with large amends dry up our former tears ; or equal , at the least , the term of our afflicted years . . to all thy servants , lord , let this thy wond'rous work be known , and to their sons thy glorious pow'r abundantly be shown . . let thy bright rays upon us shine , and give our work success ; whatever work we undertake with thy assistance bless . psalm xci . . he that has god his guardian made , shall , under the almighty's shade● secure and undisturb'd abide . . with grateful joy of him i 'll say , he is my fortress and my stay , my god in whom i 'll still confide . . his tender love and watchful care shall free thee from the fowler 's snare , and from the noisome pestilence : . he over thee his wings shall spread , and cover thy unguarded head ; his truth shall be thy strong defence . . no terrors that surprize by night shall thy undaunted courage fright , nor deadly shafts that fly by day ; . nor plague of unknown rise that kills in darkness , nor infectious ills that in the hottest season slay . . a thousand at thy side shall die , at thy right-hand ten thousand lie , while thy firm health untouch'd remains , . thou only shalt look on , and see the wicked's deserv'd tragedy , and count the sinner's mournful gains . . because with well-plac'd confidence , thou mak'st the lord thy sure defence , and on the highest dost rely ; . therefore no ill shall thee befal , nor to thy healthful dwelling shall any infectious plague draw nigh . . for he , throughout thy happy days , to keep thee safe in all thy ways , shall give his angels strict commands , . and they , lest any time thou meet a rugged stone to wound thy feet , shall bear thee safely in their hands . . dragons and asps that thirst for blood , and lions roaring for their food , beneath his conq'ring feet shall lie . . because he plac'd his love on me , and own'd my name , i 'll set him free and fix his glorious throne on high . . he 'll call ; i 'll answer when he calls , and rescue him when ill befals ; till full of honour and of wealth . . when he with undisturb'd content a long and happy life has spent , his end i 'll crown with saving health . psalm xcii . . how good and pleasant must it be to thank the lord most high ; and with repeated hymns of praise his name to magnifie . . with ev'ry morning 's early dawn , his goodness to relate ; and of his constant truth each night . the glad effects repeat . . to ten-string'd instruments we 'll sing , with tuneful psalt'ry's join'd ; and to the harp , with solemn sounds , for sacred use design'd . . for through thy wond'rous works , o lord , thou mak'st my heart rejoice . the thoughts of them shall make me glad , and shout with chearful voice . , . how wond'rous are thy works , o lord ! how deep are thy decrees ! whose private tracks in secret laid no stupid sinner sees . . he little thinks , when wicked men like grass look fresh and gay , how soon their short-liv'd splendour must for ever pass away . , . but god for ever is most high ; and all his lofty foes who thought they might securely sin , shall be o'erwhelm'd with woes . . whilst thou exalt'st my horn of pow'r , and mak'●t it largely spread ; and with refreshing oil anoint'st my consecrated head. . i soon shall see my stubborn foes to utter ruine brought ; and hear the dismal fate of such as have against me fought . . but righteous men , like fruitful palms , shall make a glorious show ; as cedars that in lebanon with stately verdure grow . , . these planted in the house of god , within his courts shall thrive ; their vigour and their lu●tre both shall in old age revive . . thus w●ll the lord his justice shew : and god , my strong defence , shall due rewards to all the world impartially dispense . psalm xciii . . with glory ●lad , with strength array'd , the lord that o'er all nature reigns , the world's foundations strongly laid , and the firm globe unmov'd sustains . . how surely stablisht is thy throne ! which still maintains its antient state ! and yet no length of time is known , that measures thy eternal date . , . the floods , o lord , lift up their voice , and toss the troubled waves on high ; but god above can still their noise and make the angry sea comply . . thy promise , lord , is ever sure ; and they that closely wait on thee , to make their happiness secure , must always pure and spotless be . psalm xciv . , . o god , to whom revenge belongs , let us thy vengeance view ; arise , thou judge of all the earth , and give the proud their due . , . how long , o lord , shall sinful men their solemn triumphs make ? how long their wicked actions boast ? and insolently speak ? , . they , not alone thy saints oppress , but unprovok'd they spill the widow's and the stranger 's blood , and helpless orphans kill . . and yet the lord shall ne'r perceive , ( profanely thus they speak : ) nor any notice of our deeds the god of iacob take . . at length , ye stupid fools , your wants endeavour to discern . in folly will you still proceed , and wisdom never learn ? . shall not that god who made the ear , your speeches hear and mind ? the lord , by whom the eye was fram'd , shall he be counted blind ? . shall he , whose judgments aw the world , to punish sinners fear ? or he , from whom all wisdom flows , himself unwise appear ? . he the most dark and secret thoughts of all mankind does see ; his piercing eye surveys them all , how very vain they be . part ii. . blest is the man , whom thou , o lord , in kindness dost chastise ; and by thy sacred rules to walk dost lovingly advise . . he , in the days of deep distress , shall rest and safety find ; while sinners in the snare are caught , which was for them design'd . . for god will never from his saints his favour wholly take ; his own possession and his lot , he will not quite forsake . . but all his actions shall appear in truth and justice done ; and those that walk in upright ways , shall in those paths go on . . who will appear in my behalf , when wicked men invade ? or who , when sinners would oppress , my righteous cause shall plead ? , , . my soul had now in silence dwelt , but that the lord was near . he held me when i slip'd , when sad , he did my sorrows chear . . wilt thou , who art a god most just , the sinful throne defend ; which makes the law a fair pretence , to gain its wicked end ? . against the lives of righteous men they lay their close design ; and how to spill the guiltless blood they wickedly combine . . but my defence is firmly plac'd in god the lord most high ; he is my rock to which i may for refuge always fly . . the lord shall cause their ill designs on their own heads to fall ; he in their sins shall cut them off , our god shall slay them all . psalm xcv . . o come , loud anthems let us sing loud thanks to our almighty king , for we our voices high should raise , when our salvation's rock we praise . . into his presence let us haste , to thank him for his favours past ; to him address in joyful songs the praise that to his name belongs . . the depths of earth are in his hand , her centre 's wealth at his command ; the strength of hills that threat the skies subjected to his empire lies . . the rowling ocean's vast abyss her maker's liquid empire is ; 't is mov'd by his almighty hand , that form'd and fix'd the solid land. . o let us to his courts repair , and bow with adoration there , down on our knees devoutly all before the lord our maker fall . . for he 's our god , our shepherd he , his flock and pasture-sheep are we ; if then you 'll ( like his flock ) draw near , to day if you his voice will hear , . let not your hard'ned heart renew your fathers crimes and judgments too ; nor here provoke my wrath as they in desart plains of meribah ; . when through the wilderness they mov'd and me with fresh temptations prov'd , . ev'n then through unbelief rebell'd , while they my wond'rons works beheld . . full forty years , from place , to place , they griev'd my patience , mock'd my grace , then , — 't is a faithless race , i said , whose heart from me has always stray'd ; they ne'er will tread my righteous path ; therefore to them , in settled wrath , since they despis'd my rest , i sware that they should never enter there . psalm xcvi . . sing to the lord a new made song ; let earth , in one assembled throng , her common patron 's praise resound● . sing to the lord , and bless his name , from day to day his praise proclaim who us has with salvation crown'd . . to heathen lands his fame rehearse , his wonders to the universe . . for great is he , nor can we rai●e proportion'd to his pow'r our praise , the dread of other deities : . for pageantry and idols all are they whom gods the heathen call ; he only rules who made the skies . . with majesty and honour crown'd , beauty and strength his throne surround● . be therefore both to him restor'd by you who have false gods ador'd , ascribe due honour to his name ; . peace-off'rings on his altar lay , before his throne your homage pay , which he , and he alone , can claim . . to worship at his sacred court let all the trembling world resort . . proclaim aloud , iehovah reigns , whose pow'r the universe sustains , and banisht justice will restore ; . let therefore heav'n new joys confess , and earth celestial transport bless , her loud applause the ocean roar ; her mute inhabitants rejoice , and for this triumph find a voice . . for joy let fertile valleys sing , the meads their flowing tribute bring , the groves wing'd choristers awake , . to welcome great messiah's day : for lo ! the lord is on his way , his circuit through the earth to take ; from heav'n to judge the world he 's come , with justice to reward and doom . psalm xcvii . . iehovah reigns , let all the earth in his just government rejoice ; let all the isles , with sacred mirth , in his applause unite their voice . . darkness and clouds of awful shade his dazling glory shroud in state ; justice and truth his guards are made , and fixt by his pavilion wait . . devouring fire before his face his ●oes around with vengeance strook ; . his lightnings set the world on blaze . earth saw it , and with terror shook . . the proudest hills his presence felt , their height nor strength could● help afford , the proudest hills like wax did melt in presence of earth's sov'reign lord. . the heav'ns , his righteousness to show , with storms of fire our foes pursu'd ; and all the trembling world below , have his descending glory view'd . . confounded be their impious host who make the gods to whom they pray ; all who of pageant-idols boast : to him ye gods your worship pay . . glad sion of thy triumph heard , and iudah's daughters were o'erjoy'd ; because thy righteous judgments , lord● have pagan pride and power destroy'd . . for thou , o lord , art seated high , above earth's potentates enthron'd ; thou lord , unrivall'd , in the skie , supream by all the gods art own'd . . you who to serve this lord aspire , abhor what 's ill , and truth esteem : he keeps his servants souls entire , and will from wicked hands redeem . . for seeds are sown of glorious light , a future harvest for the just ; and gladness for the heart upright , to recompence its pious trust. . rejoice ye righteous , in the lord ; memorials of his holiness deep in your faithful breasts record , and with your thankful tongues confess . psalm xcviii . . sing to the lord a new-made song , who wond'rous things has done ; with his right-hand and holy arm the conquest he has won . . the lord has through th' astonisht world display'd his saving might , his righteousness shewn openly , before the heathens sight . . of israel's house his love and truth have ever mindful been : wide earth's remotest parts the power of israel's god have seen . . let therefore earth's inhabitants their cheerful voices raise , with universal jubilee mankind resound his praise . . with harp and hymns soft melody into the consort bring . the trumpet and shrill cornet's sound , before th' almighty king. . let the loud ocean roar her joy , with all that seas contain ; the earth and her inhabitants join consort with the main . . with joy let riv'lets swell to streams , to joyful torrents they ; and ecchoing vales , from hill to hill , redoubled shouts convey ; . to welcom the great judge of earth who does with justice come ; and with impartial equity both to reward and doom . psalm xcix . . iehovah reigns , let therefore all● the guilty nations quake ; on cherubs wings he sits enthron'd : let earth's foundations shake● . on sion's hill he keeps his court , his palace makes her tow'rs ; yet thence his sov'reignty extends supreme o'er earthly pow'rs . . let therefore all with praise address his great and dreadful name ; and with his unresisted might , his holiness proclaim . . for truth and justice , in his reign , of strength and pow'r take place ; his judgments are with righteousness dispens'd to iacob's race . . therefore exalt the lord our god , before his footstool fall ; and with his unresisted might , his holiness extol . . moses and aaron thus of old● among his priests ador'd ; among●t his prophets samuel thus his sacred name implor'd , distrest upon the lord they call'd , who ne'r their suit deny'd , but , as with rev'rence they invok'd , he graciously reply'd . . for , with their camp , his oracle the cloudy pillar mov'd . they kept his laws , and to his will obedient servants prov'd . . thou answer'dst them , forgiving oft , thy people for their sake , and such as against them conspir'd didst sad examples make . . with worship at his sacred courts . exalt our god and lord ; for he , who only holy is , alone should be ador'd . psalm c. . be joyfull all ye realms of earth , praise god , to whom your praise belongs● serve ye the lord with awful mirth , before his presence come with songs . . the lord , ye know , is god alone , who us , without our aid , did make ; us for his flock vouchsafes to own , and for his pasture-sheep to take . . o enter then with thanks sincere his temple gates , his courts with praise , to bless his name devourly there your grateful hearts and voices raise . . for he 's the lord , supreamly good , his mercy shall for ever last ; his truth has always firmly stood , and so shall stand for ever fast . psalm ci. . of mercy 's never-failing spring , and stedfast judgment i will sing ; and , since they both to thee belong , to thee , o lord , address my song . . when , lord , thou shalt with me reside , wise discipline my reign shall guide ; with blameless life my self i 'll make a pattern for my court to take . . no ill design will i pursue , nor those my fav'rites make tha● do● . who to reproof bears no regard , him will i totally discard . . the private slanderer shall be in publick justice doom'd by me● from haughty looks i 'll turn aside , and mortifie the heart of pride ; . but honesty call from her cell , in splendour at my court to dwell : who vir●ue's practice make their care , shall have the first preferments there● . no politicks shall recommend his country's foe to be my friend : none e'er shall to my favour rise by flatt'ring or malicious lies . . all those who wicked courses take an early sacrifice i 'll make ; cut off , destroy , till none remain god's holy city to prophane . psalm cii . . when i pour out my soul in pray'r , do thou , o lord , attend ; to thy eternal throne of grace let my sad cry ascend . . o hide not thou thy glorious face in times of deep distress , incline thine ear , and when i call my sorrows soon redress . . each cloudly portion of my life like scatter'd smoak expires ; my shriv'led bones are like a hearth that 's parch'd with constant fires . . my heart , like grass that feels the blast● of some infectious wind , is wither'd so with grief , that scarce my needful food i mind . . by reason of my sad estate i spend my breath in groans ; my flesh is worn away , my skin scarce hides my starting bones . . i 'm ●●ke a pelican become , that does in desarts mourn ; or like an owl that sits all day on barren trees forlorn , . in watchings or in restless dreams i spend the tedious night ; like sparrows , that on houses tops to sit alone delight . . all day by railing foes i 'm made the object of their scorn ; who all , inspir'd with furious rage , have my destruction sworn . . in dust i lie , and all my bread with ashes mixt appears ; whene'er i quench my burning thirst , my drink is dash'd with tears . . because on me with double weight thy heavy wrath doe lie ; for thou to make my fall more great didst lift me up on high . . my days are like the ev'●ing shade that hastily declines● my beauty too , like wither'd grass , with faded lustre pines : . but thy eternal state , o ●ord , no length of time shall waste ; the mem'ry of thy wondrous works , from age to age shall last . . thou 'lt soon arise and sion view with an unclouded face ; for now her time is come , thy own appointed day of grace . . thy saints , with tenderness and love , her scatter'd ruines spy ; and grieve to see her lofty spires in dust and rubbish lie . , . the name and glory of the lord all heathen kings shall fear ; when he shall sion build again , and in full state appear . , . when he regards the poor's request , nor slights their earnest pray'r ; his praise for this recorded grace , shall future times declare . . for god , from his abode on high , his gracious beams display'd ; the lord , from heav'n his lofty throne● has all the earth survey'd . . he list'ned to the captives moans , he heard their mournful cry , and freed by his resistless pow'r the wretches doom'd to die . . that they in sion , where he dwells , might celebrate his fame , and through the holy city sing loud praises to his name . . when all the tribes , together met , their solemn prayers address , and neighb'ring lands , with glad consent , the lo●d their god confess . . but e'er my journey ends , my strength through his ●ier●e wrath decays ; he has , when all my wishes bloom'd , cut short my hopeful days● . lord , end not thou my life , said i , when half is scarcely past ; thy years from earthly changes free , to endless ages last . . the strong foundations of the earth of old by thee were laid ; thy hands the beauteous arch of heav'n with wond'rous skill have made : , . whilst thou for ever shalt endure , they soon shall pass away ; and , like a garment often worn , shall tarnish and decay . like that , when thou their change ordain'st , to thy command they bend ; but thou continu'st still the same , nor have thy years an end. . thou to the children of thy saints shalt lasting quiet give ; whose happy race , securely fixt , shall in thy presence live . psalm ciii . , . my soul , inspir'd with sacred love , god's holy name for ever bless ; of all his favours mindful prove , and still thy grateful thanks express . , . 't is he that all thy sins forgives , and after sickness makes thee sound . thy life from danger he retrieves , by him with grace and mercy crown'd . , . he with good things thy mouth supplies , and eagle-like thy youth renews ; he when the guiltless suff'rer cries , his foe with just revenge pursues . . god made of old his right●ous ways to moses and our fathers known● his works , to his eternal praise , were to the sons of iacob shown . . the lord abounds with tender love , and unexampled acts of grace , his waken'd wrath does slowly move , his willing mercy flows apace . , . god will not always harshly chide , but with his anger quickly parts ; and loves his punishments to guide more by his love than our deserts . . as high as heav'n its arch extends , above this little spot of clay ; so much his boundless love transcends the small respects that we can pay . , . as far as 't is from ●ast to west , so far has he our sins remov'd ; who with a father's tender breast has such as fear him always lov'd . , . for god , who all our frame surveys , considers that we are but clay ; how fresh soe'er we seem , our days like grass or flowers must fade away . , . whilst they are nipt with sudden blasts , nor can we find their former place ; god's faithful mercy ever lasts , to those that fear him , and their race . . this shall attend on such as still proceed in his appointed way● and who not only know his will , but just obedience to it pay . , . the lord , the universal king , in heav'n has fix'd his lofty throne : to him , ye angels , praises sing in whose great strength his pow'r is shown , ye that his just commands obey , and hear and do his sacred will ; . ye hosts of his , this tribute pay , who still what he ordains fulfil . . let every creature jointly bless the mighty lord : and thou , my heart , with grateful joy thy thanks express ; and in this consort bear thy part . psalm civ . . bless god my soul ; thou lord alone possessest empire without bounds● with honour thou art crown'd , thy throne eternal majesty surrounds . . with light thou dost thy self enrobe , and glory for a garment take : heaven's curtains stretch beyond the globe thy canopy of state to make . . he builds on liquid air , and forms his palace-chambers in the skies ; the clouds his chariot are , and storms the swift-wing'd steeds with which he flies . . spirits he made his heav'nly quire , with speed his orders to fulfil ; his ministers a flaming fire , to execute his dreadful will. , . earth , on her centre fixt , he set , her face with waters overspread ; nor proudest mountains dar'd , as yet , to lift above the waves their head. . but when thy awful face appear'd , th' insulting waves dispers'd ; they fled when once thy thunders voice they heard , and by their haste confess'd their dread . . thence up , by secret tracks they creep , and , gushing from the mountains side , through valleys travel to the deep , appointed to receive their tide . . there hast thou fix'd the ocean bounds , her threatning surges to repel ; that she no more o'erpass her mounds , nor to a second deluge swell . part ii. . yet thence , in smaller parties drawn , the sea recovers her lost hills ; and starting springs from ev'ry lawn , surprize the vales in plenteous rills . . the field's tame beasts are thither led , weary with labour , faint with drought ; and asses on wild mountains bred , have sense to find these currents out . . there shady trees , from scorching beams , yield shelter to the feather'd throng ; they drink● and to the bounteous streams return the tribute of their song . . his rains from heav'n , parcht hills recruit , that soon transmit the liquid store ; till earth is burthen'd with her fruit , and nature's lap can hold no more . . grass , for our cattle to devour , he makes the growth of every field ; herbs , for man's use , of various pow'r , that either food or physick yield . . with cluster'd grapes he crowns the vine , whose nectar mortal cares subdues ; gives oyl , that makes our face to shine ; and corn , that wasted strength renews . part iii. . the trees of god without the care or art of man with sap are fed ; the mountain cedar looks as fair as those in royal gardens bred . . safe in the lofty cedars arms the wand'rers of the air may rest . the hospitable pine from harms protects the stork her pious guest . . wild goats the craggy rock ascend , its tow'ring heights their fortress make , whose cells in labyrinths extend where feebler creatures refuge take . . the moon 's inconstant aspect shows th' appointed seasons of the year ; th'instructed sun his duty knows , his hours to rise and disappear . , . darkness he makes the day to shroud , when forest-beasts securely stray ; young lions roar their wants aloud to providence that sends 'em prey . . they range all night , on slaughter bent , till summon'd by the rising morn , to sculk in dens with one consent the conscious ravagers return . . forth to the tillage of his soil , the husbandman securely goes , commencing with the sun his toil , with him returns to his repose . . how various , lord , thy works are found for which thy wisdom we adore ! the earth is with thy treasure crown'd , till nature's hand can grasp no more . part iv. . but still thy vast unfathom'd main of wonders a new scene supplies , whose depths ●nhabitants contain of every form and every size . . full-freighted ships from ev'ry port , there cut their unmolested way ; leviathan , whom there to sport thou mad'st , has compass there to play . . these various troops of sea and land , in sense of common want agree ; all wait on thy dispensing hand● and have their daily alms from thee . . they gather what thy stores disperse , without their trouble to provide ; thou op'st thy hand , the universe , the craving world is all supply'd . . thou for a moment hid'st thy face , the numerous ranks of creatures mourn : thou tak'st their breath all nature's race forthwith to mother earth return . . again thou send'st thy spirit forth t' inspire the mass with vital seed , nature's restor'd , and parent earth smiles on her new-created breed . . thus through successive ages stands firm fixt thy providential care ; pleas'd with the work of thy own hands , thou dost the wastes of time repair . . one look of thine , one wrathful look , earth's panting breast with terror sills ; one touch from thee , with clouds of smoak , in darkness shrouds the proudest hills . . in praising him , while he prolongs my breath , i will that breath employ ; . and join devotion to my songs , sincere , as is in him my joy. . while sinners from earth's face are hurl'd , my soul , praise thou his holy name , till , with thy song , the listning world join consort , and his praise proclaim , psalm cv . . o render thanks , and bless the lord , invoke his sacred name : acquaint the nations with his deeds , his matchless deeds proclaim . . sing to his praise , in lofty hymns his wond'rous works rehearse ; make them the theme of your discourse , and subject of your verse . . boast in his sacred name , a name alone to be ador'd ; and let their heart o'erflow with joy that humbly seek the lord. . seek ye the lord , his saving strength devoutly still implore ; and , where he 's ever present , seek his face for evermore . . the wonders that his hands have wrought keep thankfully in mind ; the righteous statutes of his mouth , and laws to us assign'd . . know ye his servant abr'am's seed , and iacob's chosen race , . he 's still our god , his judgments still throughout the earth take place . . his cov'nant he has kept in mind for num'rous ages past , that yet , for thousand ages more , in equal force shall last . . first sign'd to abr'am , next by oath to isaac made secure ; . to iacob and his heirs a law for ever to endure . . that canaan's land should be their lot , when yet but few they were ; . but few in number , and those few unfriended strangers there . . in pilgrimage from realm to realm uninjur'd they remov'd ; . whilst proudest monarchs for their sakes , severely he reprov'd . . these mine anointed are , said he , let none my servants wrong , nor treat the poorest prophet ill that does to me belong . . a dearth at last , by his command , did far and near prevail ; till corn , the chief support of life , sustaining corn did fail . . but his indulgent providence had ioseph sent before , sold into egypt , but their lives who sold him to restore . . his feet with heavy chains were crush'd , with calumny his fame ; . till god's appointed time and word to his acquittal came . . the king his sov'reign orders sent , and rescu'd him with speed . whom private malice had confin'd , the people's ruler freed . . his court and realm , revenues , all subjected to his will ; . his princes to controul , and teach his politicians skill . part ii. . to egypt then , invited guests , half-famisht israel came ; and iacob held , by royal grant , the fertile soil of ham. . th' almighty there with such increase his people multiply'd , till , both for strength and number , they their envious foes desy'd . . his people's growth egyptian hearts with jealous anger fir'd , till they his servants to destroy by treach'rous arts conspir'd . . his envoy moses then he sent , his chosen aaron too ; . empowr'd with signs and miracles to prove their mission true . . he call'd for darkness , darkness came , nature his summons knew . . each stream and lake , transform'd to blood , their scaly offspring slew . . in putrid floods , throughout the land , the pest of frogs was bred ; from noisome fens preferr'd to croak at pharaoh's board and bed. . he gave the signal , swarms of flies came down in cloudy hosts ; whilst earth's enliv'ned dust below bred lice through all their coasts . . he sent 'em batt'ring hail for rain , and fire for cooling dew . . he smote their vines , their forest-plants , and gardens pride o'erthrew . . he spake the word and locusts came , with caterpillars join'd , they prey'd upon the poor remains the s●orm had left behind . . from trees to herbage they descend ; no verdant thing they spare ; but naked , as the fallow'd field , leave all the pastures bare . . from memphis soil to memphis sons , commission'd vengeance flew , one fatal stroke their eldest hopes and strength of egypt slew . . he brought 'em forth , each one enrich'd with egypt's borrow'd wealth ; and , what transcends all treasures else , enrich'd with vig'rous health . . egypt rejoic'd , in hopes to find her plagues with them remov'd ; taught dearly now to fear worse ills by those already prov'd . . their shrouding canopy by day a journeying cloud was spread ; a fiery pillar all the night their desart-marches led . . they long'd for flesh ; with ev'ning-quails he furnish'd ev'ry tent ; from heav'ns own granary , each morn , the bread of angels sent . . he smote the rock ; her flinty breast a gushing tide pour'd out , whose following stream , where-e'er they march'd , reliev'd the desart's drought . . for still he did on abr'am's faith and ancient league reflect ; . he brought his people forth with joy , with triumph his elect. . extirpating their heathen foes , from canaan's fertile soil , to them in cheap possession gave the fruit of others toil. . that they his statutes might observe , his sacred laws obey . for benefits so vast let us our songs of praise repay● psalm cvi. . o render thanks to god above , the fountain of eternal love ; whose mercy firm through ages past has stood , and shall for ever last . . who can his mighty deeds express , not only vast but numberless ; what mortal eloquence can raise his tribute of immortal praise . happy are they , and only they who from thy judgments never stray ; who know what 's right , nor only ●o , but always practise what they know . . extend to me that favour , lord , thou to thy chosen dost afford ; when thou return'st , to set them free , let thy salvation visit me . . o may i worthy prove to see thy saints in full prosperity ! that i that joyful choir may join . and count thy people's triumph mine● . but ah can we expect such grace , of parents vile the viler race , who their misdeeds have acted o'er , and with new crimes increas'd the score● . ingrateful , they no longer thought on all his works in egypt wrought ; the red-sea yet is scarce in view , when they their base distrust renew . . yet he , to vindicate his name , once more to their deliv'rance came , to make his sov'reign pow'r be known , that he is god , and he alone . . to right and left , at his command , the parting deep disclos'd her sand ; where firm and dry the passage lay , as through some parcht and desart way , . thus sav'd from fronting seas they were , and foes that press'd upon their rear , . whose rage pursu'd 'em to those waves that prov'd the rash pursuers graves . . the pendant waters sudden fall o'erwhelms proud pharaoh , host and all : this proof did stupid israel raise to trust god's word , and sing his praise . part ii. . but soon relaps'd , they all forgat● nor on his providence would wait ; . but lusting in the wilderness , their god with fresh temptations press . . strong food at their request he sent , but made their sin their punishment . . god's envoy moses they oppose , and aaron whom the lord had chose . . but earth , the quarrel to decide , her vengeful jaws extending wide , rash dathan to her centre drew . with proud abiram's factious crew . . bold korah , who did next aspire to kindle wild sedition's fire , with all his impious train became ju●t victims to devouring flame . . near horeb's mount , a calf ●hey made , and to the ●olt●n image pray'd ; the law their god in thunder spake from sinai , they near sinai brake : . adoring what their hands did frame , they chang'd their glory to their shame , into the likeness made it pass of a brute ox that feeds on grass . . their god and saviour they forgot , and all his works in egypt wrought ; . his terrors shewn through egypt's coast , and where proud pharaoh's troops were lost . . thus urg'd , and from his promise freed , their total ruine he decreed ; his hand for execution rear'd : but moses in the breach appear'd ; his fav'rite moses intercedes , and to revoke their sentence pleads : heav'n heard its faithful servant pray , and turn'd its kindled wrath away . . yet they his pleasant land despis'd , nor his repeated promise priz'd ; . but in their tents repining staid , nor the almighty's voice obey'd . . this seal'd their doom without redress , to perish in the wilderness ; . and who escap'd the desart sands , to live dispers'd through heathen lands . part iii. . the next , but more degen'rate race , baal peor's worship did embrace ; became his impious guests , and sed on sacrifices to the dead . . thus they persisted to provoke god's vengeance to the final stroke : 't is come : — the deadly pest is come to execute their gen'ral doom . . it spreads ; till phineah's zeal and sword a stronger antidote afford ; two guilty persons timely fall , atonement makes and ransoms all . . as his seraphick zeal had mov'd , so heav'n the gen'rous act approv'd , to him confirming and his race the priesthood he so well did grace . . at meribah god's wrath they mov'd , who moses for their sakes reprov'd ; . whose patient soul they did provoke , till rashly the meek prophet spoke . . nor when possest of canaan's land , did they perform their lords command , nor his commission'd sword employ the guilty nations to destroy . . nor only spar'd the pagan crew , but , mingling , learnt their vices too ; . their idols serv'd , the fatal snare of which so oft fore-warn'd they were . , . to hell's dark pow'rs they sacrifice their children with relentless eyes , approach their altars through a flood of their own sons and daughters blood● no cheaper victims will appease canaan's remorseless deities ; no blood her idols reconcile but that which does the land defile . part iv. . nor yet will canaan's deities apostate israel's tribes suffice ; for lusting after more they went , and did new gods and crimes invent . . but sins of such infernal hue god's wrath against his people drew , till he , their once indulgent lord , his own inheritance abhor'd . . to heathen hands he them subjects , their guilty friendships just effects , to rue and mourn too late , when they must those , who hate them most , obey . . nor thus his indignation ceas'd , their list of tyrants he increas'd , till they , who god's mild sway declin'd . were made the vassals of mankind . . yet when , distrest , they did repent , his anger did as oft relent , but , rescu'd , they his wrath provoke , renew their sins , and he their yoke . . nor yet implacable he prov'd , nor heard their wretched cries unmov'd , . but did to mind his promise bring , and mercy 's inexhausted spring : . surprising pity too impart● ev'n to their foes obdurate hearts ; compassion for their suff'rings bred in those who them as captives led . . still save us , lord , and israel's bands together bring from heathen lands , our thanks in thy blest name to raise , and ever triumph in thy praise . . let israel's god be ever blest , his name eternally addrest ; and all his saints , with full accord , sing loud amens . — praise ye the lord. psalm cvii . . to god your grateful voices raise , who still to us did gracious prove ; and let your never-ceasing praise keep pace with his eternal love. , . let those give thanks , whom he from bands of proud oppressing foes releas'd ; and brought them back from distant lands , from north and south and west and ea●t . , . through lonely desart ways they stray'd , nor could a peopled city find ; with thirst and hunger quite dismay'd , their fainting soul within them pin'd . . then soon to god's indulgent ear did they their mournful cry address ; who graciously vouchsaf'd to hear , and freed them from their deep distress● . from crooked paths he led them forth , and in the certain way did guide , to wealthy tow'rs of great resort , where all their wants were well supply●d . . o then that all the earth with me would god for this his goodness praise ! and for the mighty works which he throughout the wond'ring world display● ! . for he from heav'n the sad estate of longing souls with pity eyes ; and hungry souls that pa●t for meat , with envy'd plenty he supplies . part ii. . those that with darkness compass'd round , sit down in death's most dismal shade ; or lie with weighty fetters bound , by pressing cares more heavy made ; , . because god's counsel they desy'd , and proudly scorn'd his holy word ; he them with these affli●tions try'd● they fell , and none could help a●●ord● . then soon to god's indulgent ear , did they their mournful cry address ; who graciously vouchsaf'd to hear , and freed them from their deep distress . . from dismal dungeons dark as night , and shades as black as death 's abode ; he brought them forth to chearful light , and welcom liberty bestow'd . . o then that all the earth with me , would god for this his goodness praise ! and for the mighty works which he throughout the wond'ring world displays . . for he with his almighty hand the gates of brass in pieces broke ; nor could the massy bars withstand , or temper'd steel resist his stroke . part iii. . remorseless wretches , void of sense with bold transgressions god defie ; and , for their multiply'd offence , opprest with sore diseases lie : . their soul , a prey to pain and fear , abhors to taste the choicest meats , and they by faint degrees draw near to death's uncomfortable gates . . then strait to gods indulgent ear do they their mournful cry address ; who graciously vouchsafes to hear , and frees them from their deep distress . . he all the●● sad distempers heals , his word both health and safety gives ; and when all humane succour fails , from near destruction them retrieves . . o then that all the earth , with me , would god for this his goodness praise ! and for the mighty works which he through all the wond'ring world displays ! . with off'rings let the altars flame , whilst they their grateful thanks express ! and with loud joy his holy name for all his wond'rous actions bles● ! part iv. , . they that in ships with courage bold , o'er swelling waves their trade pursue ; do god's amazing works behold , and in the deep his wonders view . . no sooner his command is past , but forth a dreadful tempest flies , which sweeps the sea with rapid haste , and makes its stormy billows rise : . sometimes the ships , toss'd up to heav'n , on tops of mounting waves appear ; then down the vast abyss are driv'n ; whilst ev'ry soul dissolves with fear . . they reel and stagger to and fro , like men with fumes of wine opprest ; nor do the skilful seamen know which way to steer , what course is best . . then strait to god's indulgent ear they do their mournful cry address ; who graciously vouchsafes to hear , and frees them from their deep distress . , . the stormy tempest he allays , and makes the billows calm and still ; with joy they see their fury cease ; and he conducts them where they will. . o then that all the earth , with me , would god for this his goodness praise ! and for the mighty works which he throughout the wond'ring world displays ! . let them , where all the tribes resort , advance to heav'n his glorious name , and in the elders sov'reign court , with one consent his praise proclaim ! part v. , . a fruitful land , where streams abound , gods just revenge , if people sin , will turn to dry and barren ground , to punish those that dwell therein . , . the parcht and desart heath he makes to flow with streams and springing wells ; which for his lot the hungry takes , and in strong cities safely dwells . , . he sows the fields , and vineyards plants , which all his toil with int'rest pay ; nor can , whilst god his blessing grants , his fruitful seed or stock decay . . but when his sins heav'n's wrath provoke , he quickly fades and falls away ; he feels th' oppressor's gauling yoke , of care and grief the wretched prey . . the prince , that slights god's just commands , expos'd to scorn , must quit his throne ; and over wild and desart lands , where no path offers , stray alone , . whilst god , from all afflicting cares , sets up the humble man on high ; and causes his increasing heirs , with his abounding flocks to vie . , . then sinners shall have nought to say , the just a decent joy shall show ; the wise the strange events shall weigh , and thence god's goodness fully know . psalm cviii . . o god , my heart is fully bent , to magnifie thy name ; and of my cheerful songs thy praise shall be the glorious theme . . awake , my lute ; nor thou my harp , thy warbling notes delay ; whilst i with early hymns of joy , prevent the dawning day . . to all the list'ning tribes , o lord , thy wond'rous works i 'll tell ; and to those nations sing thy praise that round about us dwell : . because thy mercy 's boundless height the heav'ns themselves transcends ; and far beyond th' aspiring clouds thy faithful truth extends . . be thou exalted , lord , by them , above the starry frame ; o let the world , with one consent , confess thy glorious name . . that all thy chosen people thee their saviour may declare . let thy right-hand protect me still , and answer thou my pray'r . . since god , the god of truth hath spoke , my arms shall sure prevail ; with joy i shechem shall divide : and measure succoth's vale : . gilead is mine , manass●h too ; and ephraim owns my cause : their strength my regal pow'r supports , and iudah gives my laws . . moab i 'll make my servile drudge , on vanquisht edom tread ; and o'er the proud philistine lands advance my lofty head. . by whose support and aid shall i their well-fenc'd towns invade ? who will my conq'ring troops conduct , and into edom lead ? . lord , wilt not thou assist our arms , tho late thou didst forsake ? and wilt not thou , of these our hosts , the happy guidance take ? . o to thy servants in distress thy speedy succour send : for vain it is on humane aid for safety to depend . . then valiant acts shall we per●orm , if thou thy pow'r disclose ; for god it is , and god alone , that treads down all our foes . psalm cix . . o god , whose former mercies make my constant praise thy due , hold not thy peace , but my sad state with wonted favour view . . for sinful men , with lying lips , deceitful speeches frame , and with their studied slanders seek to wound my spotless fame . . their envious hatred prompts them still malicious lies to spread ; and all against my life combine , by causeless fury led . . those whom with tend'rest love i us'd , my chief opposers are ; whilst i , of other friends bereft , resort to thee by pray'r . . since mischief , for the good i did , their strange reward does prove ; and hatred's the return they make for undissembled love. . their guilty leader shall be made to some bad man a slave ; and when he 's try'd , his mortal foe for his accuser have . . his guilt , when sentence is pronounc'd , shall find a dreadful fate ; whilst his rejected pray'r but serves to make his crime more great . . he , snatcht by some untimely fate , sha'n't live out half his days ; another , by divine decree , shall on his office seize . , . his seed shall orphans be , his wife a widow plung'd in grief ; his vagrant children beg their bread , where none can give relief . . his ill-got fortune shall be made to userers a prey ; the fruit of all his toil and care by strangers born away . . none shall be found , that to his wants their mercy shall extend , or to his helpless orphan seed the least assistance lend . . a swift destruction soon shall seize on his unhappy race ; and the next age his hated name shall utterly deface . . the vengeanc● of his father's sins upon his head shall fall ; god on his mother's crimes shall think , and punish him for all . . all these , in horrid order rank'd , before the lord shall stand , till his fierce anger quite cuts off their mem'ry from the land. part ii. . because he never mercy shew'd , but still the poor oppress'd ; and sought to slay the helpless man , with heavy woes oppress'd ; . therefore the curse he lov'd to vent , shall his own portion prove ; and ble●sing , which he always loath'd , shall far from him remove . . since cursing was his constant pride , ●ike water it shall spread through all his veins , and stick like oyl , with which his bones are fed . . this like a poison'd robe , shall still his constant cov'ring be , or an envenom'd belt , from which he never shall be free . . thus shall the lord reward all those that ill to me design ; that with malicious false reports against my life combine . . but for thy glorious name , o god , do thou appear for me , and for thy gracious mercy 's sake , preserve and set me free . . for i a poor and helpless wretch am void of all relief ; my heart is wounded with distress , and quite pierc'd through with grief . . i , like an ev'ning shade , am gone , which vanishes apace ; like locusts up and down i 'm tost , that have no certain place . , . my knees with fasting are grown weak , my body lank and lean ; all that behold me shake their heads , and treat me with disdain . , . but for thy mercy 's sake , o lord , do thou my foes withstand ; that all may see 't is thy own act , the work of thy right-hand . . then let them curse , if thou but bless ; their portion shall be shame , when they against me rise ; but i with joy shall praise thy name . . thus shall my foe be cloath'd with shame , and spight of all his pride , his own confusion , like a cloak , the guilty wretch shall hide . . but i to heav'n , in grateful thanks , my chearful voice will raise ; and where the great assembly meets , set forth god's noble praise . . for him the poor shall always ●ind , his sure and constant friend ; and he shall from unrighteous dooms his guiltless soul defend . psalm cx . . the lord said to my lord , sit thou at my right-hand , till i subdue and all thy foes thy foot-stool make● . supream in sion thou shalt be , and thence extend thy sov'reignty o'er all who thy just rights would take . . thee , in thy pow'rs triumphant day , the willing nations shall obey , and when thy rising beams they view , redeem'd from superstition's night , to thee shall be assembled , bright and numberless as morning dew . . the lord has sworn , nor sworn in vain , that , like melchizedech's , thy reign and priesthood ●●all no period know● . no proud competitor to sit at thy right-hand will he permit ; but in his wrath crown'd heads o'erthrow . . the sentenc'd heathen he shall slay , and fill with carcasses his way , till he has struck earth's tyrants dead : . but in the high-way brook shall first , like some poor pilgrim slack his thirst , and then in triumph lift his head. psalm cxi . . praise ye the lord ; our god to praise my soul her utmost pow'rs shall raise , 'mongst private friends , and in the throng o● saints , his praise shall be my song . . his works , for greatness tho renown'd , his wond'rous works with ease are found by those who seek for them aright , and in the pious search delight . . glory and majesty attend on ev'ry work he takes in hand ; his truth , confirm'd through ages past , shall to eternal ages last . . by precept he has us enjoin'd , to keep his wond'rous works in mind , and to posterity record , that good and gracious is our lord , . whose bounty 's ever-flowing tide their wants , who fear'd his name , supply'd ; for ever he will keep in mind his cov'nant with our fathers sign'd . . at once astonisht and o'erjoy'd , they saw his matchless pow'r employ'd , whereby the heathen were suppress'd , and we their heritage possess'd . . just are the dealings of his hands ●mmurable are his commands . . by truth and equity sustain'd , and for eternal rules ordain'd . . deliv'rance to his saints has sent , and ratify'd his covenant , for ever to remain the same : awful and sacred is his name . . god's fear is wisdom's source : good skill have they obtain'd who do his will ; this only can true bliss procure , and praise that always shall endure . psalm cxii . hallelviah . . that man is blest who stands in aw of god , and loves his sacred law : . his seed on earth shall be renown'd , and with successive honours crown'd . . his house , the seat of wealth , shall be an inexhausted treasury ; their fathers justice shall avail , and blessings on his heirs entail . . the soul that 's fill'd with vertue 's light , shines brightest in affliction 's night : to pity the distrest inclin'd , as well as just to all mankind . . his lib'ral favours he extends , to some he gives , to others lends : yet what his charity impairs recruits by prudence in affairs . . the storm of angry fate may threat , but ne'er displace him from his seat , the sweet memorial of the just shall flourish when he sleeps in dust . . ill tidings can't with fear surprize his heart that , fix'd , on god relies : . on safety 's rock he sits and sees the ship-wreck of his enemies . . his hands , while they his alms bestow'd , his glory 's future harvest sow'd , whence he shall reap wealth , fame , renown , a temp'ral and eternal crown . . the wicked shall his triumph see , and gnash their teeth in agony , while their unrighteous hopes decay , and vanish , with themselves , away . psalm cxiii . . ye saints and servants of the lord , the triumphs of his name record , . his sacred name for ever bless . . where e'r the circling sun displays , his rising beams or setting rays , due praise to his great name address . . the lord o'er earth bears sov'reign sway , the regions of eternal day reflections of his glory are . . to him , whose majesty excels , who made the heav'n in which he dwells , let no created pow'r compare . . affairs of highest heav'n to know , in him does condescension show , yet he extends his care to earth . . the poor and needy from their cell , . prefers in palaces to dwell with princes of high rank and birth . . when childless families despair , he sends the comfort of an heir , to rescue their exspiring fame ; grants her that barren was to bear , and joyfully her fruit to rear . praise ye the lord's almighty name . psalm cxiv . . when isr'el , by th' almighty led , ( enrich'd with their oppressors spoil ) from egypt march'd ; and iacob's seed from bondage in a foreign soil . . iehovah , for his residence , chose out imperial iudah's tent , his mansion-royal , and from thence through israel's camp his orders sent . . the distant sea with terrour saw , and from th' almighty's presence fled ; old iordan's streams , surpriz'd with aw , retreated to their fountain's head. . the taller mountains skipp'd , like rams , when danger near the fold they spy ; to see their fright , the hills , like lambs , leap'd after them , not knowing why . . o sea , what made your tide withdraw , and naked leave your oozy bed ? why iordan ● against nature's law , recoil'dst thou to thy fountain's head ? . why mountains did you skip like rams● when danger does approach the fold ? why after you the hills like lambs when they their leaders flight behold ? . earth tremble on ; well may'st thou fear , thy lord and maker's face to see ; when iacob's awful god draws near , 't is time for earth , and seas to flee . . to flee from god , who nature's law repeals and cancels at his will ; who springs from flinty rocks can draw , and thirsty vales with water fill . psalm cxv . . lord , not to us , we claim no share , but to thy sacred name give glory , for thy mercy 's sake , and truth 's eternal fame . . why should the heathen cry , where 's now the god whom we adore ? . convince 'em that in heav'n thou art , and uncontroll'd thy pow'r . . their gods but gold and silver are , the work of mortal hands : . with speechless mouth , and sightless eyes the molten idol stands . . the pageant-thing has ears and nose , but neither hears nor smells . . hands , feet , but neither feels nor moves ; no breath within it dwells . . such senseless stocks , that to compare with them we nothing find , but those who on their help rely , and them for gods design'd . . o isr'el , make the lord your trust , who is your help and shield ; . priests , levites trust in him alone who only help can yield . . let all who fear the lord , for aid , on him they fear , rely ; who them in danger can defend , and all their wants supply . , . of us he oft has mindful been , and isr'el's house will bless , priests , levites , proselytes , ev'n all who his great name confess . . on you , and on your heirs , increase of blessings he will bring ; . thrice happy you , who fav'rites are of this almighty king. . heav'n's highest orb of glory , he his empire 's seat design'd ; and gave this lower globe of earth a portion to mankind . . they who in death and silence sleep to him no praise afford : . but we will bless for evermore our ever-living lord. psalm cxvi . . my soul with ecstasies of love intirely is possest , because the lord has deign'd to hear the voice of my request . . since he has now his ear inclin'd , i never will despair , but , while my life shall last , to him address my humble pray'r● . with deadly sorrows compast round , with hellish pangs opprest , when grief and anguish fill'd my heart , and heav'd my throbbing breast ; . on god's almighty name i call'd , and thus to him i pray'd ; lord , i beseech thee save my soul , with sorrow quite dismaid . , . how just and merciful is god! how gracious is the lord ! who saves the simple , and to me does timely help afford . . then , free from racking cares , my soul , resume thy wonted rest ; for god has wond'rously to thee his bounteous love exprest . . he , when death threat'ned , soon remov'd my dangers and my fears ; my feet from falling he secur'd , and dry'd my eyes from tears . . the whole remaining stock of life which he to me has lent , shall therefore in his service be with grateful duty spent . , . in god i trusted , and of him in greatest straits did boast ; ( for in my flight all hopes of aid from faithless man were lost : ) , . then what return to him shall i for all his goodness make● i 'll praise his name , and with glad zeal the cup of blessing ●ake . , . the vows i made to god , i 'll pay in all his people's sight . because by him his servant's blood was never counted light . . lord , by how many ties must i to thy obedience bow ? before , thy humble handmaid's son , thy ransom'd captive now ! , . to thee i 'll off'rings bring of praise ; and whilst i bless thy name , the just performance of my vows to all thy saints proclaim . . they , in thy holy city met , and in thy house shall join , with one consent thy name to bless , and mix their praise with mine . psalm cxvii . . with cheerful notes let all the earth to heav'n their voices raise ; let all , inspir'd with godly mirth , sing solemn hymns of praise : . god's ●ender mercy knows no bound , his truth shall ne'er decay ; then l●t the willing nations round , this grateful tribute pay . psalm cxviii . , . o praise the lord , for he is good , his mercies ne'er decay : that his kind favours ever last , let thankful isr'el say . , . their sense of his eternal love let aaron's house express ; and that it never fails , let all that fear the lord confess . . to god i made my humble moan with troubles quite opprest ; and he releas'd me from my straits , and granted my request . . since therefore god does on my side so graciously appear , what man against me can contrive i never need to fear . . since god with those that aid my cause himself a party makes ; i need not doubt , on all my foes a just revenge to take . , . for better 't is to trust in god , and have the lord our friend , than on the greatest humane pow'● for safety to depend . , . tho many nations , closely leagu'd did oft beset me round ; yet , by his boundless pow'r sustain'd , i did them all confound . . they swarm'd like bees , and yet their rage was but a short-liv'd blaze ; for whilst on god i still rely'd , i vanquish'd them with ease . . when all together press'd me hard , in hopes to make me fall ; the lord vouchsaf'd to take my part and sav'd me from them all . . the honour of my strange escape to him alone belongs ; he is my saviour and my strength , the theme of all my songs . . the just's abode resounds with joy , by him preserv'd from harm ; for wond'rous things are brought to pass by his almighty arm. . he , by his vast resistless pow'r , has endless honour won ; the saving strength of his right-hand amazing works has done . . god will not suffer me to fall but yet prolong my days ; that by declaring all his works , i may advance his praise . . the lord has chast'ned me in love and great afflictions laid ; but has not giv'n me o'er to those that did my life invade . . then open wide the temple-gates to which the just repair ; that i may enter in and praise my great deliv'rer there● , . within those gates of god's abode to which the righteous press ; since thou hast heard and set me safe , thy holy name i 'll bless . , . that stone is now the corner's head , which builders did despise ; this is the lord's amazing act , and wond'rous in our eyes . , . this is god's day ; let all the land exalt their cheerful voice : lord , we beseech thee save us now , and make us still rejoice . . him that approaches in god's name , let all th' assembly bless ; we that belong to god's own house , have wish'd you good success . . god is the lord , through whom we all both light and comfort find ; with cords unto the altar's horns , the destin'd victim bind . . thou art my lord , o god , and still i 'll praise thy holy name ; because thou only art my god , i 'll celebrate thy fame . . o then , with me , give thanks to god , who still does gracious prove ; and let the tribute of our praise be endless as his love. psalm cxix . aleph. . how blest are they who always keep the pure a●d perfect way ! who never from the sacred road of god's commandments stray ! . thrice blest ! who to his righteous laws have still obedient been ! and warmly urg'd by hearty zeal his favour seek to win ! . such men , averse from ill , abhor to do a wicked deed ; but in the path which he prescribes with constant care proceed . . but 't is to thy commands , o lord , this happiness we ow. thou bid'st us keep those upright laws from which such comforts flow . . o then that thy most holy will might o'er my ways preside ! and i the course of all my life by thy directions guide ! . then should i walk erect and bold , from all confusion free ; convinc'd , with joy , that all my ways with thy commands agree . . my upright heart shall my glad mouth with chearful praises fill ; when , by thy righteous judgments taught , i fully learn thy will. . so to thy sacred laws shall i all due observance pay ; o then forsake me not , my god , nor cast me quite away . beth . . how shall the young preserve their ways from vile pollutions free ? by making all their course of life with thy commands agree . . with hearty zeal , for thee i seek , to thee for succour pray ; o suffer not my careless steps from thy just precepts stray . . safe in my heart , and closely hid thy word , my treasure , lies ; and ready waits with timely aid , when sinful passions rise . . secur'd by that , my grateful soul shall ever bless thy name : o ●each me then my life to come by thy just laws to frame . . my lips , unlockt by pious zeal , to others have declar'd , how much the judgments of thy mouth deserve our high regard . . whilst in the way of thy commands more solid joy i found , than had i been with vast encrease of envy'd riches crown'd . . therefore thy just and upright laws , shall always fill my mind ; and those sound rules which thou prescrib'st all due respect shall find . . to keep thy statutes undefac'd shall be my constant joy ; the strict remembrance of thy word● shall all my thoughts employ . gimel . . be gracious to thy servant , lord , do thou my life defend ; that i , according to thy word , my time to come may spend . . enlighten both my eyes and mind , that so i may discern the wond'rous things which they behold who thy just precepts learn. . tho , like a stranger in the land● from place to place i stray , thy righteous judgments from my sig●● o hide thou not away . . my fainting soul is almost pin'd , with earnest longing spent ; whilst always on the eager search of thy just will , intent . . thy sharp rebuke shall crush the proud , whom still thy curse pursues ; who in thy righteous paths to walk● presumptuou●ly refuse . . but far from me do thou , o lord , contempt and shame remove ; for i thy sacred laws affect with undissembled love. . tho princes oft , in council met , against thy servant spake ; yet i , thy statutes to observe , my chiefest bus'ness make . . for thy commands have always been my comfort and delight ; by them i learn with prudent care , and guide my counsels right . daleth . . my soul 's oppress'd with deadly care , and to the dust does cleave ; revive me , lord , and let me now thy promis'd aid receive . . to thee i still declar'd my ways , and thou inclin'dst thine ear : o teach me then my future life by thy just laws to steer . . if thou wilt make me know thy laws , and by their guidance walk , the wond'rous works which thou hast done shall be my constant talk. . but see my soul within me sinks , prest down with weighty care ; o make thy promise good , and soon my wasted strength repair . . for far from me be all false ways and lying arts remov'd ! but kindly grant i still may keep the path by thee approv'd . . thy faithful ways , thou god of truth , my happy choice i 've made ; thy judgments , as my rule of life , before me always laid . . my care has been to make my life with thy just laws agree ; o then preserve thy servant , lord , from shame and ruine free . . so in the ways of thy commands shall i with pleasure run , and with a heart enlarg'd with joy successfully go on . he. . instruct me in thy statutes , lord , thy righteous paths display ; and i from them , through all my life , will ne'er perversly stray . . if thou true wisdom from above wilt graciously impart , to keep thy perfect laws , i 'll still apply my zealous heart . . direct me in the sacred ways to which thy precepts lead ; because my chief delight has been thy righteous paths to tread . . do thou to thy most just commands incline my willing heart ; let no desire of worldly wealth from them my thoughts divert . . from those vain objects turn my eyes which this false world displays ; but active life and vigour give to keep thy righteous ways . . confirm the promise which thou mad'st , and give thy servant aid , who to transgress thy sacred laws is awfully afraid . . the foul disgrace i 've cause to fear in mercy lord remove ; for all the ●udgments thou ordain'st are full of grace and love. . thou know'st how , after thy commands , my longing heart does pant ; o then make haste to raise me up , and promis'd succour grant . vav . . thy constant blessing , lord , bestow , to cheer my grateful heart ; to me according to thy word , thy saving health impart . . so shall i , when my foes upbraid , this ready answer make ; in god i trust , who never will his faithful promise break . . then let not quite the word of truth be from my mouth remov'd ; since still my ground of stedfast hope thy just decrees have prov'd . . so i to keep thy righteous laws will all my study bend ; from age to age , my time to come in their observance spend . . e'er long i trust to walk at large , from all incumbrance free ; because i aim'd to make my life with thy commands agree . . thy laws shall be my constant talk ; and princes shall attend , whil●t i the justice of thy ways with confidence defend . . my longing heart and ravisht soul shall both o'erflow with joy ; when in thy lov'd commandments i my happy hours employ . . then will i to thy lov'd decrees lift up my willing hands ; my care and bus'ness then shall be to study thy commands . zain . . according to thy promis'd grace , thy favour , lord , extend . make good to me the word , on which thy servants hopes depend . . that , onely comfort in d●stress did all my griefs controul ; thy word , when troubles hem'd me round , reviv'd my fainting soul. . insulting foes did proudly laugh , and all my hopes deride ; yet from thy law , not all their taunts could make me turn aside . . thy judgments , lord , of ancient date i then recall'd to mind . and , with such thoughts refresh'd , my soul did constant comfort find . . sometimes i stand amaz'd , like one with deadly horror strook , to think how all my sinful foes have thy just laws forsook . . but i thy statutes and decrees my cheerful anthems made ; whilst through strange lands and desart wilds i like a pilgrim stray'd . . thy name , that cheer'd my heart by day , has ●ill'd my thoughts by night ; i then resolv'd by thy just laws , to guide my steps a right . . that peace of mind , which has my soul in deep distress sustain'd , by strict obedience to thy will i happily obtain'd . cheth . . o lord , my god , my portion thou and sure possession art ; thy words i stedfastly resolve to treasure in my heart . . with all the strength of warm desires i did thy grace implore ; disclose , according to thy word , thy mercies boundless store . . with due reflection and strict care on all my ways i thought ; and so reclaim'd to thy just paths my wand'ring steps i brought . . i lost no time , but made great haste , resolv'd , without delay , to watch , that i might never more from thy commandments stray . . tho num'rous troops of sinful men to rob me have combin'd ; yet i thy pure and righteous laws will ever keep in mind . . in dead of night will i arise , to sing thy solemn praise ; because convinc'd how much i ough● to love thy righteous ways . . to such as fear thy holy name my self i 'll closely join ; to all who their obedient wills to thy commands resign● . o'er all the earth thy mercy ; lord , abundantly is shed ; o make me then exactly learn , thy sacred paths to tread . teth . . with me , thy servant , thou hast dealt most graciously , o lord , repeated benefits bes●ow'd , according to thy word . . teach me the sacred skill , by which right judgmen● is attain'd , who in belief of thy commands have stedfastly remain'd . . before affliction stopt my course , my footsteps went astray ; but i have since been disciplin'd thy precepts to obey . . thou art , o lord , supreamly good , and all thou dost is so ; on me , thy statutes to discern , the saving skill be●tow . . the proud have forg'd malicious lies my spotless fame to stain : but my fixt heart , without reserve , thy precepts shall retain . . while pamper'd they , with prosp'rous ills , in sensual pleasures live , my soul can relish no delight but what thy precepts give . . 't is good for me that i have felt severe affliction 's rod , that i may duly learn and keep the statutes of my god. . the law that from thy mouth proceeds of more esteem i hold , than untoucht mines , than thousand mines of silver and of gold. iod . . to me , who am the workmanship of thy almighty hands , the heav'nly understanding give to learn thy just commands . . my preservation to thy saints strong comfort will afford , to see success attend my hopes that trusted in thy word . . that right thy judgments are , i now by sure experience see , and that in faithfulness , o lord , thou hast afflicted me . . let thy kind mercy comfort bring for all my griefs at last , according to thy gracious word to me thy servant past . . to me thy saving grace restore , that i again may live ; whose soul can relish no delight but what thy precepts give . . defeat the proud , who unprovok'd , to ruine me have sought , who only on thy sacred laws employ my harmless thought . . let those that fear thy name espouse my cause and those alone who have by strict and pious search thy testimonies known . . in thy blest statutes let my heart continue ever sound , that guilt and shame , the sinners lo● , may never me confound . caph . . my soul with long expectance faints to see thy saving grace ; yet still on thy unerring word , my confidence i place . . my very eyes consume and fail with waiting for thy word ; thy comfort and long promis'd aid o when wilt thou afford ? . my flesh like shriv'led parchment shows that long in smoke is set ; yet no affliction me can force thy statutes to forget . . how many are thy servant's days ? when wilt thou lord redress my wrongs ? and judgment execute on them who me oppress ? . the proud have digg'd a pit for me , who have no other foes , but who are reprobates to thee and thy just laws oppose . . all thy commandments are compos'd of truth and equity : men persecute me without cause , thou , lord , my helper be . . to snatch me from the face of earth their spite almost prevail'd ; yet to thy righteous precepts i my duty never fail'd . . thy wonted kindness , lord , restore , my drooping heart to cheer ; that by thy testimonies , i my life 's whole course may steer● lamed . . for ever and for ever , lord , thou dost the same remain . in heav'n thy word establisht is , and does that heav'n sustain . . thro circling ages , lord , thy truth immoveably shall stand as earth , whose fabrick is upheld by thy almighty hand . . all things the course by thee ordain'd ev'n to this day fulfil ; they are thy faithful subjects all , and servants of thy will. . unless thy sacred law had been my comfort and delight , i must have fainted and expir'd in dark affliction 's night . . thy precepts therefore from my thoughts shall never , lord , depart ; for thou , by them , hast to new life restor'd my dying heart . . as i am thine , intirely thine , protect me , lord , from harm ; who have thy precepts sought to know , and carefully perform . . the wicked have their ambush laid my guiltless life to take ; but in the midst of danger i thy word my study make . . i 've seen an end of what we call perfection here below , but thy commandments , like thy self , no change or period know . mem. . the love that to thy law i bear no language can display ; they with fresh wonders entertain my ravisht thoughts all day . . thro thy commands i wiser grow than all my subtle foes ; for they are with me to direct and all my ways dispose . . from me my former teachers now may abler counsel take ; because thy testimonies i my constant study make . . in understanding i excel the sages of our days ; because by thy unerring rules i order all my ways . . my feet with care i have refrain'd from every sinful way , that to thy sacred word i might intire obedience pay . . i have not from thy judgments stray'd , by vain desires misled ; for , lord , thou hast instructed me thy righteous path to tread . . how sweet are all thy words to me ; o what divine repast ! how more delicious to my soul than honey to my taste . . taught by thy sacred precepts , i with heav'nly skill am blest , the treach'rous ways of sin to shun , and utterly detest . nvn. . thy word is to my feet a lamp the way of truth to show ; a watch-light to point out the path , in which i ought to go . . i sware , and to my solemn oath resolve to prove sincere , that to thy righteous judgments i will stedfastly adhere . . since i with griefs am so opprest that i can bear no more , according to thy word , do thou my fainting soul restore . . let the oblations of my praise with thee acceptance find , and in thy righteous judgments , lord , instruct my willing mind . . tho death and danger me surround , my soul they cannot aw , nor with continual terrors keep from thinking on thy law. . my wicked and invet'rate foes for me their snares have laid ; yet i have kept the upright path , nor from thy precepts stray'd . . thy testimonies i have made my heritage and choice ; for they , when other comforts fail , my drooping heart rejoice . . my heart thy statutes to perform with early zeal begun , and shall continue the same course till that of life is run . samech . . deceitful thoughts and practices i utterly detest ; but for thy law affection bear too great to be exprest . . my hiding-place , my refuge-tow●r and shield art thou , o lord , i firmly anchor all my hopes on thy unerring word . . hence ye that trade in wickedness , approach not my abode ; for firmly i resolve to keep the precepts of my god. . according to thy gracious word , from danger set me free , nor make me of those hope 's asham'd that i repose on thee . . uphold me , so shall i be safe ; and , rescu'd from distress , to thy decrees continually my just respect address . . the wicked thou hast trod to earth , who from thy statutes stray'd ; their vile deceit the recompence of their own falshood made . . the wicked from thy holy land thou dost , like dross , r●move , charm'd with such justice , therefore i thy testimonies love . . yet with that love they make me dread lest i should so offend , when on transgressors i behold thy judgments thus descend . ain . . judgment and justice i have wrought , o therefore , lord , engage in my defence , nor give me up to my oppressors rage . . the surety for thy servant be , converting this distress to good for me ; nor let the proud my guiltless soul oppress . . my eyes , alas ! begin to fail , in long expectance held , till thy salvation they behold , and righteous word fulfill'd . . to me , thy servant , in di●●ress thy wonted grace display , and discipline my willing heart thy statutes to obey . . on me , devoted to thy fear , the sacred skill bestow , that of thy testimonies i the full extent may know . . 't is time , high time for thee , o lord , thy vengeance to employ , when men with open violence thy sacred law des●roy . . yet their contempt of thy commands but makes their value rise with me , who gold , refin'd with skill , compar'd with them despise . . thy precepts therefore i esteem in all respects divine , by them instructed to detest and all false ways decline . pe. . who can express how wonderful thy testimonies are ? which therefore to perform my soul employs her utmost care. . the very entrance to thy word celestial light displays ; the knowledge of true happiness to simplest minds conveys . . with open mouth i waiting stood , and panted with desire , that of thy wise commands i might the sacred skill acquire . . with favour , lord , look down on me thy mercy who implore , as thou art wont to visit them who thy blest name adore . . directed by thy heav'nly word let all my footsteps be ; nor wickedness of any kind dominion have o'er me . . release , intirely set me free from persecuting hands , that , unmolested , i may learn , and practise thy commands . . on me , devoted to thy fea● , lord make thy face to shine , thy statutes both to know and keep my heart with zeal incline . . my eyes to weeping fountains turn , whence briny rivers press , to see mankind , without remorse , thy sacred law transgress . tsade . . thou art the righteous judge , on whom wrong'd innocence may trust ; and , like thy self , thy judgments , lord , in all respects are just . . as just those testimonies were , which thou didst ●irst decree , so all with faithfulness perform'd succeeding times shall see . . with zeal my flesh consumes away , my soul with anguish frets , to see my foes contemn , at once , thy p●omises and threats . . yet each neglected word of thine , ( howe●er by them despis'd , ) is pure , and for eternal truth by me , thy servant priz'd . . brought , for thy sake , to low estate , contempt from all i find ; yet no affronts or wrongs can drive thy precepts from my mind . . thy righteousness shall then endure , when time it self is past ; thy law is truth it ●elf , that truth which shall for ever last . . tho trouble , anguish , doubts and dread to compass me unite , beset with danger , still i make thy pr●cepts my delight . . eternal and unerring rules thy testi●onie● give : teach me the wisdom that will make my soul for ever live . koph . . with my whole heart to god i call'd , lord h●ar my earne●t cry ; and i , thy statutes to perform , will all my care apply . . again more fervently i pray'd , o save me , that i may thy testimonies throughly know and stedfa●●ly obey . . my earlier pray'r the dawning day prevented , while i cry'd to him on whose engaging word my hope alone rely'd . . with zeal have i awak'd before the midnight watch was set , that i , of thy mysterious word , may perfect knowledg get . . lord , hear my supplicating voice . and wonted favour shew ; o quicken me , and so approve thy judgments ever true . . my persecuting foes advance and hourly nearer draw ; what treatment can i hope from them who violate thy law ? . tho they draw nigh , my comfort is thou , lord , art yet more near , thou , whose commands are righteous all , thy promises sincere . . concerning thy divine decrees my soul has known of old● how true they were , and shall their truth to endless ages hold . resch. . consider my a●●li●tion , lord , and me from bondage draw ; think on thy servant in distress , who ne'er forgets thy law. . plead thou my cause ; to that and me thy timely aid afford ; with beams of mercy quicken me according to thy word . . from hard'ned sinners thou remov'st salvation far away ; 't is just thou shouldst withdraw from them who from thy statutes stray . . as great thy tender mercies are to those who thee adore ; according to thy judgments , lord , my fainting hopes restore . . a num'rous host of spiteful foes against my life combine ; but all too few t' inforce my soul thy statu●es to decline . . those bold transgressors i beheld , and was with grief oppress'd , to see with what audacious pride thy cov'nant they transgress'd . . yet while they slight , consider , lord , how i thy precepts love ; o therefore quicken me with beams of mercy from above . . as from time's birth thy word 's firm truth has held through ages past , thy righteous judgments shall , intire , to endless ages la●t . schin . . tho mighty tyrants , without cause , c●nspire my blood to shed , thy sacred word has only pow'r to strike my heart with dread . . yet that same word my breast with beams of joyful rapture warms ; not conquest , spoil and triumph have more bright transporting charms . . perfidious practices and lies i utterly detest ; but to thy laws affection bear too vast to be exprest . . sev'n times a day , with voice and heart , thy praises i resound , because i find thy judgments all with truth and justice crown'd . . secure , substantial peace have they who truly love thy law ; no smiling mischief them can tempt , nor frowning danger aw . . for thy salvation i have hop'd , and tho so long delay'd , with cheerful zeal and strictest care all thy commands obey'd . . thy testimonies i have kept , more dear to me than light ; so lov'd and priz'd , they were at once my duty and delight . . i kept thy laws in view , lest i thy precepts should decline . thy ways observing , as i knew strict watch thou kepst on mine . tav . . to my request and earnest cry attend , o gracious lord ; inspire my heart with heav'nly skill , accordi●g to thy word . . let my repeated pray'r at last before thy throne ascend ; according to thy plighted word to me deliv'rance send . . then shall my grateful lips return the tribute of their praise , when thou thy counsels hast reveal●d , and taught me they just ways . . my tongue the praises of thy word shall thankfully resound , because thy promises are all with just performance crown'd . . let thy almighty arm appear and bring me timely aid ; protect me as thy precepts i my heart 's free choice h●ve made . . my soul has waited long to see thy saving grace restor'd ; nor comfort knew , but what thy laws , thy heav'nly laws afford . . prolong my life , that i may sing my great restorer's praise ; my soul , that guiltless is opprest , let thy just judgments raise . . like some lo●t sheep , i 've stray'd so long till i despair to sind my home-ward way ; thy servant seek , who keeps thy laws in mind . psalm cxx . . distrest , i oft have cry'd to god , who ne●er deny'd to rescue me from wrongs : . once more deliv'rance send , from lying lips defend , and from the stand'ring tongue . . what profit can accrue ? what punishment is due , perfidious tongue , to thee ? . thy sting on thee shall turn ; of flames , that fiercely burn , the fuel thou shalt be . . how wretched is my doom , a sojourner become , in mesech's desart soil ! with kedar's tents inclos'd , to salvages expos'd , who live on theft and spoil . . my dwelling is with thos● who are to peace sworn foes , and pleasure take in harms ; sweet peace is all i seek , but when of peace i speak ; they strait call out to arms. psalm cxxi . . to sion's hill i lift my eyes , from thence expecting aid ; . from sion's hill and sion's god , who heav'n and earth has made . . thy throne and person both are safe , thy guardian will not sleep ; . his watchful care that isr'el guards will isr'el's monarch keep . . sheltred beneath th' almighty's wings , thou shalt securely rest , . where noonday suns nor midnight moons with heat or cold molest . . from common accidents of life his care shall guard thee still : f●om the blind strokes of chance , and foes that ●●e ●n wait to kill . . at home , abroad , in peace , in war , thy god shall thee defend ; conduct thee through life's pilgrimage safe to thy journey 's end. psalm cxxii . . o 't was a joyful sound to hear our tribes devoutly say , up isr'el , to the temple haste , and keep your festal day . . at salem's courts we must appear with our united pow'rs ; . in strong and beauteous order rang'd like her compacted tow'rs . . 't is thither , by divine command the tribes of god repair , before his ark to celebrate his name with praise and pray'r . . tribunals s●and erected there ; where equity takes place ; there stand the courts and palaces of royal david ●s race . . o , pray for salem's peace , all you that happy wish to be , for they shall prosper best who bear most cordial love to thee . . may peace within thy sacred walls a constant gue●t be f●●nd , with plen●y and pro●p●rity thy palaces be crown'd . . for my dear brethren's sake , and friends no less than brethren dear , i'●l pray , — may peace in salem's tow'●s a constant guest appear . . but most of all i 'll seek thy good , and ever wish thee well , for sion and the temple's sake , where god vouchsafes to dwell . psalm cxxiii . . to thee , who dwell'st above the skies , i lift my supplicating eyes ; . as servants watch their masters hands , and maids th●ir mistresses commands . ev'n so , on our almighty lord , wait we till mercy he afford . . have mercy , lord , on us , chastis'd , nor only wretched but despis'd . . our soul no longer can sustain the double load of scorn a●d pain , while they grow proud by our distress and roll in ea●e who us oppress . psalm cxxiv . . let isr'el say , had not the lord been pleas'd to interpose , . had god himself not took our part when men against us rose . , , . their wrath had swallow'd us alive , devour'd without controul ; their spite and pride's united flood had quite o'erwhelm'd our soul. . but prais'd be our eternal lord , who rescu'd us that day● nor to their salvage jaws gave up our threat'ned lives a prey . . our soul is like a bird escap'd from out the fowler 's net ; the snare is broke , their hopes are crost● and we at freedom set . . secure in his almighty name , our confidence remains , who , as he made both heav'n and earth , of both sole monarch reigns . psalm cxxv . . who place on sion's god their trust , like sion's rock shall stand . like her unmoveably be fixt by his almighty hand . . look how the hills of solyma ierusalem inclose , so stands the lord around his saints to guard 'em from their foes . . the wicked may afflict the just , but ne'er too long oppress , nor force him by despair to seek base means for his redress . . be good , o righteous god , to thos● who righteousness affect ; the heart that innocence retains let innocence protect . . who turn aside to crooked paths , the lord shall them destroy ; cut off th' unjust , but crown the sain●s with lasting peace and joy● psalm cxxvi . when sion's god her sons recall'd from long captivity , it seem'd at first a pleasing dream of what we wish'd to see . . but soon with unaccustom'd mirth our voice we did employ , and fung our great restorer's praise in thankful hymns of joy. our heathen foes repining stood , yet were compell'd to own that great and wond'rous was the work great our god for us had done . . 't was great , say they ; 't was wond'rous much more should we confess ; the lord has done great things , whereof we reap the glad success . . to us bring back the remnant , lord , of isr'el's captive bands , more welcome than refreshing show'rs to parcht and thirsty lands . . that we , whose work commenc'd in tears , may see our labours thrive , till finisht with success , to make our drooping hearts revive . . tho he despond that sows his grain , yet doubtless he shall come to bind his full-ear'd shea●es , and sing a joyful harvest-home . psalm cxxvii . . we build with fruitless cost , unless the lord the pile sustain , unless the lord the city keep , the watchman wakes in vain . . in vain we rise before the day , and late to rest repair , allow no respite to our toil , and eat the bread of care : supplies of life , with little pains , he on his saints bestows ; he crowns their labour with success , their nights with sound repose . . so children are an heritage sent from th' almighty lord , a teeming womb , his favour 's gift , and virtuous li●e's reward . . as arrows in a giant 's hand with dreadful grace appea● , ev'n so the sons of vig'rous yout● their parents glory are . . happy the man whose quiver's fill'd with these defensive arms ; he need 's not fear to meet his foe , at war or law 's alarms . psalm cxxviii . . the man is blest who fears the lord , nor worship only pays , but keeps his steps confin'd with care , to his appointed ways . . thou shalt upon the sweet returns of thy own labour feed ; without dependance live , and see thy wishes all succeed . . thy wife , like a domestick vine ; her gen'rous fruit shall bring ; thy children , like young olive-plants , about thy table spring : . who fears the lord shall thus be blest ; . from sion god shall bless , and grant him all his days to see ierusalem's success . . survive till heirs of heirs from him descend with vast increase : twice blest ; in his own prosp'rous state , and more in isr'el's peace . psalm cxxix . . up from my youth , may isr'el say , they oft have me a●●ail'd , . reduc'd me oft to heavy straits , but never yet prevail'd . . they oft have plow'd my patient back with furrows deep and long , . but our just god has broke their chains , and rescu'd us from wrong . . defeat , confusion , shameful rout● be still the doom of those , their righteous doom , who sion hate , and sion's god oppose . . with too much heat , and want of root , untimely let 'em fade , like corn upon our houses tops , that withers in the blade . . with which no reaper fills his arms , but unregarded leaves ; nor binder thinks it worth his pains to fold it into sheaves . . no traveller that journeys by vouchsafes a minute's stop t' afford it one kind look , or w●sh heav'n's blessing on the crop. psalm cxxx . . from lowest regions of despair , to god i sent my cry , . lord , hear my supplicating voice and graciously reply . . should'st thou severely mark our faults , who can the tryal bear ? . but thou forgiv'st , lest we despond , and quite renounce thy fear . . my soul does with impatience wait for thee the living lord ; my hopes are on thy promise built , thy never-failing word . . for thee i look with longing eyes , impatient of delay ; ev'n more than watchmen of the night to spy the dawning day . . let isr'el on the lord depend , no bounds his mercy knows ; the plenteous source and spring from whence eternal succour flows● . whose friendly currents kind supplies to us in want convey ; a healing spring , a spring to cleanse , and wash our guilt away . psalm cxxxi . . o lord , i am not proud of heart , nor cast a scornful eye ; nor my aspiring thoughts employ in things for me too high . . with infant-innocence , thou know'st i have my self demean'd ; lull'd into quiet like a babe , that from the breast is wean'd . . like me let isr'el hope in g●d his aid alone implore ; both now and ever trust in him who lives for evermore . psalm cxxxii . . let david , lord , a constant place in thy remembrance find ; let all the sorrows he endur'd be ever in thy mind . . remember what a solemn oath to thee , his lord , he swore ; how to the mighty god he vow'd , whom iacob's sons ado●e . , . i will not go into my house , nor to my bed ascend ; no soft repose shall close my eyes nor sleep my ey-lids ben● ; . till for the lord 's design'd abode i mark the destin'd ground ; till i a decent place of rest for iacob's god have found . . th' appointed place , with shouts of ●oy , at eph●atah we found , and made the fields , throughout the wood , our glad applause resound . . o with due rev'rence let us then to his abode repair ; and prostrate a● his foot-stool fal'n pour out our humble pray'r . . arise , o lord , and now possess thy constant place of rest , be that , not only with thy ark , but with thy presence blest . , . cloath thou thy priest with righteousness . and make thy saints rejoice ; for david's sake , thy servant , hear thy own anointed's voice . . god sware to david in his truth , ( nor shall his oath be vain ) one of thy offspring after thee upon thy throne shall reign : . and if thy seed my cov'nant keep , and to my laws submit ; their children too upon thy throne for evermore shall sit . , . for sion's god's peculiar choice , by him approv'd of well ; his place of everlasting rest , where he desires to dwell . , . her store , says he , i will increase , her poor with plenty cloy ; i 'll with salvation cloath her priests , her saints shall shout for joy. . there david's horn shall bud and breed a long successive line , and my anointed servants there shall with fresh lustre shine . . the faces of his vanquisht foes confusion shall o'er-spread ; whilst blest with good success , his crown shall flourish on his head. psalm cxxxiii . . how vast must their advantage be ! how great their pleasure prove ! who live like brethren , and consent in offices of love ! . friendship is like that pretious oyl which , pour'd on aaron's head , ran down his beard , and o'er his robes it 's costly moisture shed . . like cool refreshing dew , which does on hermon's top distil ; or like the early drops that fall on sion's fruitful hill. for god to all , whose friendly hearts with mutual love abound ; has firmly promis'd length of days with constant blessings crown'd . psalm cxxxiv . . bless god , ye servants that attend upon his solemn state ; that in his temple night by night with humble rev'rence wait : , . within his house lift up your hands , and bless his holy name ; from sion bless thy isr'el , lord , who earth and heav'n didst frame . psalm cxxxv . . o praise the lord with one consent and magnify his name ; let all the servants of the lord his worthy praise proclaim . . all ye that in the house of god attend with constant care ; with those that to his outmost courts with humble zeal repair . . for this our truest int'rest is , glad hymns of praise to sing ; and with loud songs to bless his name 's a most delightful thing . . for god his own peculiar choice the sons of iacob makes ; and isr'el's offspring for his own , as precious treasure takes . . for oft have we , that god is great , by glad experience found ; and seen how he with wond'rous pow'r above all gods is crown'd . . for he with unresisted strength performs what e'er he will , in heav'n and earth and wa●ry stores that earth's deep caverns fill . . he raises vapours from the ground , which pois'd in liquid air , fall down at last in show'rs , through which his dreadful lightnings glare : he from his store-house brings the winds ; . and he , with vengeful hand , the first-born slew of man and beast , through egypt's mourning land. . he dreadful signs and wonders ●hew'd in egypt's stubborn coasts ; not pharaoh could his plagues escape , nor all his num'rous hosts . , . 't was he that various nations smote , and mighty kings oppress'd ; sihon and og , and all besides that canaan's land possess'd . , . he for his people of their lands a firm possession made ; for which his fame shall always last , his glory never fade . . for god shall soon his people's cause with tender favour weigh ; repent him of his wrath , and turn his kindled rage away . . those idols , whose false worship spreads o'er all the heathen lands , are made of silver and of gold , the work of humane hands . , . they speak not with fictitious tongues , nor see with polish'd eyes ; nor hear with fashion'd ears ; no breath their empty mouth supplies . . as senseless as themselves are they that all their skill apply to make them , or in dang'rous times , on them for aid rely . . their just returns of thanks to god , let grateful isr'el pay ; nor let the priests of aaron's stock to bless the lord delay ; . their sense of his unbounded love let levi's house express ; and let all those that fear the lord his name for ever bless : . le● all with thanks his wond'rous works in sion's courts proclaim , and in ierus'lem , where he dwells , exalt his holy name . psalm cxxxvi . . to god , the mighty lord , your joyful thanks repeat to him due praise afford as good as he is great : for he will prove our constant friend , no time shall end his boundless love. , . to him whose wond'rous pow'r all other gods obey , whom earthly kings adore , this grateful homage pay : for he will prove our constant friend , no time shall end his boundless love. , . by his almighty hand amazing works are wrought ; the heav'ns by his command were to perfection brought . for he will prove our constant friend , no time shall end his boundless love. . he spread the ocean round , about the spacious land ; and made the rising ground above the waters stand● for he will prove our constant friend , no time shall end his boundless love. , , . his matchless pow'r displays the great and lasting lights ; the sun to rule by days , the moon and stars by nights . for he will prove our constant friend , no time shall end his boundless love. , , . he struck the first-born dead of egypt's stubborn land ; and thence his people led with his resistless hand . for he will prove our constant friend , no time shall end his boundless love. , . by him the raging sea , as if in pieces rent , disclos'd a middle way through which his people went. for he will prove our constant friend , no time shall end his boundless love. . where soon he overthrew proud pharaoh and his host , who seeking to pursue were in the billows lost . for he will prove our constant friend , no time shall end his boundless love. , , . through desarts vast and wild he led the chosen seed ; and famous princes foil'd , and made great monarchs bleed . for he will prove our constant friend , no time shall end his boundless love. , . sihon , whose potent hand great ammon's sceptre sway'd , and og , whose stern command rich bashan's land obey'd . for he will prov● our constant friend ; no time shall end his boundless love. , . and of his wond'rous grace , their lands , whom he destroy'd , he gave to isr'el's race , to be by them enjoy'd . for he will prove our constant friend , no time shall end his boundless love. , . he , in our depth of woes , on us with favour thought ; and from our cruel foes in peace and safety brought . for he will prove our constant friend , no time shall end his boundless love. , . by him the food is giv'n on which all creatures live : to god who reigns in heav'n eternal praises give . for he will prove our constant friend , no time shall end his boundless love. psalm cxxxvii . . when we , our weary'd limbs to rest , sat down by proud euphrates stream , we wept , with doleful thoughts opprest , and sion was our mournful theme . . our harps , that when with joy we sung , were wont their tuneful parts to bear , with silent strings neglected hung on barren trees that wither'd there . . mean while our foes● with pride inspir'd , the authors of our slavish wrongs , musick and mirth of us requir'd , " come , sing us one of sion's songs . . how shall we tune our voice to sing ? or touch our harps with skilful hands ? shall hymns of joy to god our king , be sung by slaves in foreign lands ? . ierusalem , our happy seat ! when i of thee forgetful prove , let then my trembling hand forget the speaking strings with art to move ! . if i forget thee , let my tongue to my parcht roof , quite useless cleave ; or if i count not thee among the chiefest joys i can receive ! . remember , lord , how edom's race , in thy own city's fatal day , cry'd out , it 's stately walls deface , and with the ground quite level lay . . proud babel's daughter , against whom god's stern decrees severely run ; blest shall he be that pays thee home , the ills which thou to us hast done ! . thrice blest , who , by just fury led , shall from the breast thy children take , and , with proud rage , their tender head , against the rugged pavement break . psalm cxxxviii . . with my whole heart , my god and king , thy praises i 'll proclaim ; before the gods with joy i 'll sing , and bless thy holy name . . i 'll worship tow'rds thy sacred seat ; and● ravisht with thy love , the praises of thy truth repeat , which thou dost most approve . . thou graciously inclin'd'st thine ear , when i to thee did cry ; and , when my soul was press'd with fear● didst inward strength supply . . therefore shall ev'ry earthly prince thy name with praise pursue , whom these admir'd events convince that all thy works are true . . they , walking in his ways , the lord with chearful songs shall bless ; and all his glorious acts record , and his great pow'r confess . . for god , tho he 's enthron'd on high , does thence the poor respect ; the proud far off , his scornful eye beholds with just neglect . . tho i 'm with troubles compass'd round , yet he will me revive , thy hand shall all my foes confound , and keep my soul alive . . the lord , whose mercies ever last , shall fix my happy state ; and mindful of his favours past , shall his own work complete . psalm cxxxix . , . thou , lord , by strictest search hast known my rising up and lying down ; my secret thoughts are known to thee , known long before conceiv'd by me . . thine eye my bed and path surveys , my publick haunts and private ways ; . thou know'st what 't is my lips would vent , my yet un●utter'd words intent . . b●set by thee , before , behind , on ev'ry side thy hand i sind . . o skill , for human reach too high ! too dazling bright for mortal eye ! . o cou'd i so per●idious be to think of once deserting thee , where , lord , could i thy influence shun , or whither from thy presence run ? . if up to heav'n i take my flight● 't is there thou dwell'st e●thron'd in light : or dive to hell's infernal plains , 't is there almighty vengeance reigns . . if i the morning's wings cou'd gain , and fly beyond the western main , . thy nimbler hand wou'd fir●t arrive and there arrest thy fugitive . . or should i sculk to shun thy sight beneath the sable wings of night ; one glance from thee , one piercing ray would kindle darkness into day . . the veil of night is no disguise , no umbrage to all-seeing eyes ; through mid-night shades thou find'st thy way , as in the blazing noon of day . thou know'st the lab'rinths of my hear● , . my reins and ev'ry vital part ; thou cloath'dst 'em early , or the womb , where life they took , had prov'd their tomb , . i 'll praise thee from whose hands i came , a work of such stupendious frame ! that wonders thou in me hast shown to my admiring soul is known . . thine eyes my substance did survey while yet a lifeless mass it lay , how curiously in secret wrought e'er on the world 's great stage 't was brought . . thou didst the shapeless embryo see , its parts were registred by thee ; thou saw'st the daily growth they took , form'd by the model of thy book . . let me acknowledg too , o god , that since this maze of life i trod , thy thoughts of love to me surmount the pow'r of numbers t● recount● . for sooner could i reckon o'er the sands upon the ocean's shore : each morn revising what i 've done , i find th' account but new begun . . the wicked shalt thou slay , o god : depart from me , ye men of blood , . whose tongues heav'ns majesty profane , and take th' almighty name in vain . . lord , hate i not their impious crew who thee with enmity pursue ? and does not grief my heart oppress , when reprobates thy laws transgress ? . who practise enmity to thee shall utmost hatred have from me , such men i utterly detest as if they were my foes profest . , . search , try , o god , my thoughts and heart if mischief lurks in any part ; correct me where i go astray , and guide me in thy perfect way . psalm cxl . . preserve me , lord , from cruel foes of villanous intent , . whose hearts on mischievous designs with restless spight are bent . . their sharpen'd tongue the serpent's sting in virulence exceeds ; be●ween their lips the gaul of asps and adders venom breeds . . preserve me , lord , from wicked hands nor leave my soul forlorn ; a prey to sons of violence who have my ruin sworn . . the proud for me have laid their snare , and spread their wily net , with traps and gins where e'er i move , i find my steps beset . . but thus inviron'd with distress thou art my god , i said , lord● hear my supplicating voice that calls to thee for aid . . o lord , the god whose saving strength kind succour did convey , and cover'd my advent'rous head , in battle 's doubtful day : . permit not their unjust designs , but disappoint th●ir rage ; lest prosp'rous wickedness their pride in bolder crimes engage . . let first their chiefs the sad effects of their injustice mourn ; the blast of their envenom'd breath upon themselves return . . let them who kindled first the flame its victims ●irst become ; the pit they dig'd for me be made their everlasting tomb. . though slander 's breath may raise a storm it quickly will decay ; their rage does but the torrent swell that bears themselves away . . god will assert the poor mans cause , relief to th' injur'd give : the just shall celebrate his praise and in his presence live . psalm cxli . . to thee , o lord , my cries ascend , o ha●t to my relief : and with accustom'd pity hear the accents of my grief . without oblations let my pray'● like morning incense rise ; my innocent up-lifted hands like evening sacrifice . . from rash efforts restrain my tongue with constant watch and ward , and keep the portal of my lips with wary silence barr'd . . from wicked deeds and wicked men my heart and hands restrain ; nor let me in the booty share of their unrighteous gain . . let righteous men reprove my faults and i ●hall think 'em kind , like balm that heals a wounded head i their reproof shall ●ind ; and , in return , my fervent pray'r on their behalf address , when they are tempted and reduc'd like me to sore distress . . when sculking in eng●ddi's rock ( i to themselves appeal ) if one reproachful word i spake , when in my pow'r to kill . . yet us they persecute to death , our scatter'd ruins lie as thick as from the hewer's a● the sever'd splinters flie . . but , lord , to thee i still direct my supplicating eyes , o leave not destitute my soul , whose trust on thee relies . . preserve me from the snares and gin● that wicked hands have laid ; let them in their own nets be caught , while my escape is made . psalm cxlii . . to god with mournful voice in deep distress i pray'd ; . made him the umpire of my cause , my wrongs before him laid . . thou knew'st my way to 'scape when my griev'd ●oul despair'd ; for where i thought to walk secure , they had their gins prepar'd . . i look'd , but found no friend to own me in distress ; all refuge fail'd , no man vouchsaf'd his pity or redress . . to god at last i pray'd , thou , lord , my refuge art , my portion in the land of life , till life it self depart . . lord , hear my cry , redn●'d to last extremity ! save me from persecutors rage too powerful grown for me . that i may praise thy name , . my soul from prison bring ; whilst of thy bounteous care to me assembled saints shall sing . psalm cxliii . . lord , hear my pray'r , and to my cry thy wonted audience lend ; in thy accustom'd faith and truth a gracious answer send . . nor at thy strict tribunal bring thy servant to be try'd ; for in thy sight no living man can e'er be justi●i'd . . the foe pursues my life , a life whose com●orts all are f●ed ; to darkness chas'd and fo●c'd to seek a mansion with the dead . . my spirit therefore is o'er-whelm'd , and sinks within my brest ; my vitals fail● my heart it self that should support the rest . . i call to mind the days of old ; the wonders thou hast wrought for my deliv'rance heretofore employ my musing thought . . to thee my supplicating hands are eagerly stretch'd out ; my soul for thy refreshment thirsts like land opprest with drought . . hear me with speed ; my spirit fails , thy face no longer hide , lest i become forlorn like them that in the grave reside . . thy kindness early let me hear , whose trust on thee depends ; teach me the way where i should go : my soul to thee ascends . thou art my god , thy righteous will instruct me to obey : let thy good spirit conduct and keep my soul in thy right way . . for thy name 's sake with quick'ni●g grace , from mercy 's healing spring revive me , and for thy truth 's sake my soul from trouble bring . . in pity to my suff'rings , lord , reduce my foes to shame ; stay them that persecute a soul devoted to thy name . psalm cxliv . . forever blest be god the lord , who does his needful aid impart , at once both strength and skill afford to wield my arms with warlike art. . his goodness is my fort and pow'r , my strong deliverer and shield ; in him i trust whose matchless tow'r makes to my sway fierce nations yield . . lord , what 's in man that thee should move such tender care of him to take ? or what 's man's son that thou should'st love such great account of him to make ? . the life of man does quickly fade , his thoughts but empty are and vain ; his days are like a flying shade , of which , when past , no signs remain . . in solemn state , o god , descend , whilst heav'n its lofty head inclines ; the smoaking hills asunder rend , of thy approach the awful signs . . discharge thy dreadful lightnings round , and make my scatter'd foes retreat ; them with thy martial arrows wound , and their destruction soon complete . , . do thou , from heav'n above engage thy boundless pow'r my foes to quell ; and snatch me from the stormy rage of threat'ning waves that proudly swell . fight thou against my foreign foes whose mouth vent speeches false and vain , who , tho in solemn leagues they close , that firm engagement ne'er maintain . . so i to thee , the king of kings , in joyful hymns my voice shall raise and instruments of various strings shall help me thus to sing thy praise : . god does to kings his aid afford , to them his sure salvation sends 't is he that from the hurtful sword his servant david still defends . . fight thou against my foreign foes , whose mouths vent speeches false and vain , who , tho in solemn leagues they close , their firm engagement ne'er maintain . . then our young sons like trees shall grow well planted in some fruitful place ; our daughters shall like pillars show , design'd some royal court to grace . . our garners , fill'd with various store , shall us and ours with plenty feed , our sheep , inc●easing more and more , shall thousands and ten thousands breed . . our lab'ring oxen strong may grow , nor in their constant labour faint , whilst we no war nor slav'ry know , and in our streets hear no complaint . . thrice happy is that people's case , whose various blessings thus abound , who god's true worship s●ill embrace , with his protection always crown'd . psalm cxlv . , . thee i 'll extol , my god and king , thy endless praise proclaim ; this tribute daily i will bring and ever bless thy name . . thou , lord , beyond compare art great , and highly to be prais'd ; thy majesty , with boundless height , above our knowledge rais'd . . renown'd for mighty acts , thy fame to future times extends ; from age to age thy glorious name successively descends . , . whilst i thy glory and renown , and wond'rous works express ; the world with me thy might shall own , and thy great pow'r confess . . the praise that to thy love belongs they shall with joy proclaim ; thy truth of all their grateful songs shall be the constant theme . . the lord abounds with acts of grace , which pity still supplies ; his anger moves with leisure pace : his willing mercy flies . , . thou , lord● art good to all ; thy love to all thy works exprest ; by them still prais'd thy name shall prove , and by thy servants blest . . they , with the glorious prospect sir'd , shall of thy kingdom speak ; and thy great pow'r , by all admir'd , their lofty subject make . . god's glorious works of antient date shall thus to all be known ; and thus his kingdom 's royal state , with publick splendor shown . . his stedfast throne , from changes free , shall stand for ever fast ; his boundless sway no end shall see , but time it self out-last . part ii. , . the lord does them support that fall , and makes the prostrate rise ; for his kind aid all creatures call , who timely food supplies . . what e'er their frequent wants require with open hand he gives ; and so fulfils the just desire● of ev'ry thing that lives . , . how holy is the lord , how just ! how righteous all his ways ! how nigh to him , who with firm trust , for his assistance prays . . he 'll grant the full desires of those who him with fear adore ; and all their troubles soon compose when they his aid implore . . the lord preserves all those with care whom grateful love employs ; but sinners who his vengeance dare , with furious rage destroys . . my time to come in praises spent , shall celebrate his fame : and all mankind with one consent shall ever bless his name● psalm cxlvi . , . o praise the lord , and thou , my soul , for ever bless his name : his wond'rous love , while life shall last● my constant praise does claim . . on kings , the greatest sons of men , for succour ne'er rely ; they can't defend in dang'rous times , nor timely help apply . . form'd out of dust , their breath once gone again in dust they lie ; and all their thoughts and vain designs together with them die . . then happy he , who iacob's god for his protector takes ; who still , with well-plac'd hope , the lord his constant refuge makes . . the lord , who made both heav'n and earth and all that both contain , will never quit his stedfast truth , nor make his promise vain . . the poor opprest , from all their wrongs , are eas'd by his decree ; he gives the hungry needful food , and sets the pris'ners free . . by him the blind receive their sight , the weak and fall'n he rears : with kind regard , and tender love he for the righteous cares . . the strangers he preserves from harm , the widow kindly treats , he guards the orphan , and the wiles of wicked men defeats . . the god that does in sion dwell , is our eternal king : from age to age his reign endures . let all his praises sing . psalm cxlvii . . o praise the lord with hymns of joy , and celebrate his fame ; for pleasant , good , and comely 't is to praise his holy name . . his holy city god will build , tho levell'd with the ground ; and bring his people back , dispers'd o'er all the nations round . , . he kindly heals the broken hearts , and all their wounds does close ; he tells the number of the stars their sev'ral names he knows . , . great is the lord , and great his pow'r ; his wisdom knows no bound . the meek he raises and throws down the wicked to the ground . . to god , the lord , a hymn of praise with grateful voices sing ; to songs of triumph tune the harp , and strike each warbling string . . he covers heav'n with clouds , and thence refreshing rain bestows , thro' him , on mountain-tops , the grass with wond'rous plenty grows . . he , salvage beasts , that loosely range with timely food supplies . he feeds the raven's tender brood , and stops their hungry cries . . he values not the warlike steed , nor in his strength delights ; the nimble foot , that swiftly runs , with just disdain he slights . . but he , to him that fears his name , his tender love extends ; to him that on his boundless grace with stedfast hope depends . , . let sion and ierus'lem then , to god their praise address ; who fenc'd their gates with massie bars , and does their children bless . , . he makes in all their borders peace , with finest wheat they 're fed , he speaks the word , and what he wills is done as soon as said . . large flakes of snow , like fleecy wool , descend at his command ; and hoary frost , like ashes spread , is scatter'd o'er the land. . when he does , join'd to these , his ice in little morsels break , who can against his piercing cold secure defences make ? . he sends his word , and strait it melts ; he makes his wind to blow , and soon the streams , congeal'd before in plenteous currents flow . . by him his statutes and decrees to iacob's sons were shown ; and still to isr'el's chosen seed his righteous laws are known . . no other nation this can boast , nor did he e'er afford to heathen lands his oracles , and knowledge of his word . hallelujah● psalm cxlviii . . ye boundless realms of joy exalt your maker's fame ; his praise your song employ above the starry frame : . your voices raise , ye cherubims and seraphims to sing his praise . , . thou moon , that rul'st the night , and sun that guid'st the day , ye glitt'ring stars of light to him your homage pay : his praise declare ye heav'ns above and clouds that move in liquid air. , . let them adore the lord , and praise his holy name , by whose almighty word they all from nothing came . and so shall last , from changes free , his firm decree stands ever fast . , . let earth her tribute pay ; praise him , ye dreadful whales , and fish that through the sea glide swift with glitt'ring scales . fire , hail , and snow , and misty air , and winds that , where he bids them , blow . , . by hills and mountains ( all in grateful consort join'd ) by cedars stately tall , and trees for fruit design'd . by ev'ry beast , and creeping thing , and fowl of wing , his name be blest . , . let all of royal birth , with those of humbler frame , and judges of the earth , his matchless praise proclaim . in this design let youths with maids , and hoary heads with children join . . united zeal be shown , his wond'rous fame to raise , whose glorious name alone deserves our endless praise . earth's utmost ends his pow'r obey : his glorious sway the skies transcends . . his chosen saints to grace he sets their horn on high , and favours isr'el's race who still to him are nigh . o therefore raise your grateful voice and still rejoice the lord to praise . psalm cxlix . , . o praise ye the lord , prepare your glad voice his praise in the great assembly to sing . in our great creator let isr'el rejoice , and children of sion be glad in their king. , . let them his great name extol in the dance ; with timbrel and harp his praises express , who always takes pleasure his saints to advance , and with his salvation the humble to bless . , . with glory adorn'd his people shall sing to god , who their beds with safety does shield ; their mouth fill'd with praises of him their great king ; whilst a two-edged sword in their hand they shall wield , , . just vengeance to take for injuries past ; to punish those lands that know not his mind ; with chains , as their captives , to tie their kings fast , with fetters of iron their nobles to bind . . thus shall they make good , when them they destroy , the dreadful decree which god does proclaim : such honour and triumph his saints shall enjoy . o therefore for ever exalt his great name . psalm cl. . o praise the lord in that blest place , from whence his goodness largely flows , praise him in heav'n where he his face unveil'd in perfect glory shows . . praise him for all the mighty acts which he in our behalf has done ; his kindness this return exacts , with which our praise should equal run . . let the shrill trumpet 's warlike voice make rocks and hills his praise rebound ; praise him with harp's melodious noise , and gentle psaltry's silver sound . . let virgin-troops soft timbrels bring , and some with graceful motion dance ; let instruments of various strings , with organs join'd , his praise advance● . let them who joyful hymns compose to cymbals set their songs of praise ; cymbals of common use , and those that loudly sound on solemn days . . let all things with glad zeal contend the breath he does to them afford in just returns of praise to spend ; let ev'ry ●reature praise the lord. the end of the psalms . gloria patri , &c. common measure . to father , son , and holy ghost , the god whom we adore , be glory , as it was , is now , and shall be evermore . as psalm , &c. to father , son , and holy ghost , the god whom earth and heav'n adore , be glory , as it was of old , is now , and shall be evermore . as psalm , &c. to god the father , son , and spirit , glory be , as 't was , and is , and shall be so to all eternity . advertisement . having design'd to make such a version of the psalms as may be fit for common use we have endeavour'd it by the following methods , . by keeping strictly to the text , and where the sense was doubtful , determining it by the scope and occasion of the psalm . . by taking care to make the whole version easie and intelligible . . by endeavouring to express the spirit and genius of every psalm , and suiting our style to the several passions of the author . . by retaining ●he connexion throughout each psalm , which does not always appear in the prose translation . . by rendring the hebraisms in their plain sense and meaning , as agreed on by the best commentators . . by adapting our measures to the tunes that are best received , turning several psalms to those that are most musical , such as that of , , , and others . n.t. n.b. finis . an elegy in memory of the much esteemed and truly worthy ralph marshall, esq., one of his majesty's justices of peace, &c. by n. tate ... tate, nahum, - . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; 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(eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) an elegy in memory of the much esteemed and truly worthy ralph marshall, esq., one of his majesty's justices of peace, &c. by n. tate ... tate, nahum, - . 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-- poetry. - tcp assigned for keying and markup - aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images - tcp staff (oxford) sampled and proofread - emma (leeson) huber text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion an elegy in memory of the much esteemed and truly worthy ralph marshall , esq one of his majesty's justices of peace , &c. by n. tate , servant to his majesty . dignum laude virum musa vetat mori . hor. london : printed by r. roberts for the author . mdcc . to the reader . all that knew this worthy person , will see that i have endeavoured to write his elegy in the same honest plainess and sincerity with which he liv'd . i confess i was more concern'd for resemblance , in this piece , than for fineness of strokes , or embellishment of colours . if the features are hit , it will be acceptable to his friends , for whose consolation it was design'd . i must here beg leave to mention one circumstance , that is , his intended retirement from affairs of this world , that he might devote himself , intirely , to the concerns of a better : whither it has pleas'd providence to call him sooner than expected by his survivers , the only sufferers by his removal . all the reprisal we can make upon our loss , is ( for the benefit of our selves and posterity ) to celebrate the memory of his exemplary virtues : and an epicede that does any iustice to his character , will be the most lasting monument that can be made for him. elegy on mr. justice marshall . o can such worth and virtue be expir'd , ( by all lamented , as by all admir'd ) , and muses , whose complaints should be most loud , mute mourners stand amongst the sighing crowd ? all rites perform'd , that to his hearse belong , and no kind bard provide the funeral song ? how can they sing , whose wit and fancy's fled to fetch th' arabian phoenix spicy bed ; and of their treasure eastern climes beguile , to crown his urn , and deck the fun'ral pile . mistaken zeal ! let wit and fancy rest ; and truth be only for this service prest : unblemish'd truth , that made his actions shine , and grac'd his life , will best adorn his shrine . erect a pyramid ; no lesser tomb can for his merit 's history have room ; that done — invoke no muse , but only write what mem'ry , not invention , shall indite . here marshal lies , whom english virtue crown'd ; ev'n such as our great ancestors renown'd . which , if esteem'd so gen'rous and sublime , when 't was the mode and practice of the time ; o what was his ! that nobly did engage against a lewd and most degen'rate age ; and ( as of iordan's sacred stream 't is said ) through a dead sea of vice her current led clear and untainted , as the fountain's head. what numbers can his character relate , or as a member of the church or state ? who though to each a most devoted friend , wou'd neither's rights , in t'other's wrong extend ; but justly render'd , as he wisely knew , the church's , caesar's , and his country's due . to books no stranger ; books that were of use he read , and into practice did reduce : studied to know what sages understood ; yet less he studi'd to be skill'd than good. his judgment , though discerning and sublime , disdain'd not to consult with care and time : this render'd his performances so vast ; nor only great , but model'd long to last ; and , by deliberation made secure , the utmost test of censure will endure . regard to others sentiments he paid , yet still by reason , not opinion , sway'd ; held to old custom 's venerable way , till that from truth 's more sacred path did stray . firm in resolves , because with caution wrought , the last results of well-digested thought . a mind thus furnish'd , to compleat its store , could want or wish but one choice blessing more ; which , happy temper did to him dispense , ( the gift at once of nature and right sense ) ; that others weakness he did ne'er despise , who was himself the wonder of the wise. his conversation by strict prudence steer'd , in which no shadow of offence appear'd ; but of demeanor the just pattern gave ; discreet in mirth ; without moroseness , grave . reserv'd , yet never fail'd in due respect ; shew'd courtesy to all , to none neglect : poor honesty , above its rank , would treat ; yet ne'er was known to fawn upon the great . for piety none cou'd have more esteem ; yet pious rather strove to be , than seem : sincere as saints ; and , like true saints , took care to give religion a becoming air. nor thought it just or gen'rous to affright the world with that which was his own delight . not fierce the zeal that did his breast inspire ; though bright , and lasting , as the vestal fire : secret like that — yet , when from human view 't was most retir'd , descending angels drew . to bus'ness none more vig'rously appli'd ; yet with such easy passage seem'd to glide , as if he always sail'd with wind and tide . cross gales must oft in seas of bus'ness rise ; cross currents in each vaster enterprize : yet , when perplex'd , a painful course he steer'd , freedom and pleasure in his looks appear'd . when tempests rose , and ruin was in view , when all , despairing , from the helm withdrew , his resolution with the danger grew ; perform'd a pilot's part of pains and skill , and left the rest to providence's will. those very passions that our peace molest , supported the calm empire of his breast ; and , tam'd to discipline , did only move by duty 's call , and orders from above . blest temper , that , through life's uncertain scene , could shun extremes , and keep the golden mean ; with modest joy receive what chanc'd to please ; and to affliction give an air of ease ! his counsels we like gems did justly prize ; yet oh how gen'rously would he advise ! or if occasion did assistance crave , his pains as free as his advice he gave : and if advice and pains would not prevail , he cast his int'rest in , to turn the scale . like a warm sun he dealt his beams around ; and men of all degrees his influence found . o comfort , where such warmth and light were met ! o grief , that ever such a sun should set ! wealth , for wealth 's sake , he never did pursue , but for the good well-manag'd wealth could do : commanding that which sordid souls obey'd , the miser's god his useful servant made . rich in contentment with his mod'rate gains , he reap'd the harvest of his honest pains ; nor envi'd larger fields , by fraud procur'd , and with extortion's poyson'd dung manur'd . his justice would ( should fame his justice tell ) be disbeliev'd — or thought a miracle . 't was such as artless innocence inspir'd , before astraea from the world retir'd : when ev'ry soil produc'd her grain , untill'd , and honey-drops from ev'ry tree distill'd : when angels had of mortals little odds ; earth seem'd a heav'n , and men a race of gods. but one celestial flow'r is wanting yet , the garland of his virtues to compleat : his charity — still loath to come in view , as heretofore she modestly withdrew from the world's eye ; and fell like midnight dew . whene'er a publick visit she did make , 't was not for pomp , but good example's sake : to clam'rous want more sparingly she gave ; but went to such as could not come to crave ; stole , to domestick poverty , her way , that sick and gasping in obsourement lay : distress of ev'ry kind employ'd her care , but modest mis'ry had the largest share . from hence the vast success we understand of ev'ry work that marshal took in hand . what could he not , with prudence for his guide , and providence , in secret league alli'd ? where will the chain of his just praises end , should fame as far her elogy extend ? where shall she write — the husband , father , master , and the friend ? happy the realm where government 's maintain'd like that which in his private houshold reign'd ; the mansion , where , as in some patriarch's tent , peace , piety , and angels did frequent . yes — there so long they made their residence , till they , in kind surprizal , bore him thence . they watch'd their time to make him now their guest , and gently stole him to eternal rest. few months had his long-wish'd retirement giv'n , which is on earth , the nearest stage to heav'n ; but heav'n , as if impatient of delay , sent down to meet th' elijah on his way . finis . the political anatomy of ireland with the establishment for that kingdom when the late duke of ormond was lord lieutenant ... : to which is added verbum sapienti, or, an account of the wealth and expences of england, and the method of raising taxes in the most equal manner ... / by sir william petty ... petty, william, sir, - . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing p estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) the political anatomy of ireland with the establishment for that kingdom when the late duke of ormond was lord lieutenant ... : to which is added verbum sapienti, or, an account of the wealth and expences of england, and the method of raising taxes in the most equal manner ... / by sir william petty ... petty, william, sir, - . tate, nahum, - . [ ], p., [ ], p. printed for d. brown and w. rogers ..., london : . dedication signed: n. tate. reproduction of original in columbia university library. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng ormonde, james butler, -- duke of, - . taxation -- england. ireland -- politics and government -- th century. - tcp assigned for keying and markup - spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images - judith siefring sampled and proofread - judith siefring text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the political anatomy of ireland with the establishment for that kingdom when the late duke of ormond was lord lieutenant . taken from the records . to which is added verbum sapienti ; or an account of the wealth and expences of england , and the method of raising taxes in the most equal manner . shewing also , that the nation can bear the charge of four millions per annum , when the occasions of the government require it . by sir william petty , late fellow of the royal society , and surveyor-general of the kingdom of ireland . london : printed for d. brown , and w. rogers , at the bible without temple-bar , and at the sun over-against st. dunstans church , fleetstreet . . to his grace the duke of ormond . my lord , the celebrated author of the following treatise , had not only the honour to be known to your grace's grand-father , the late illustrious duke of ormond , but was likewise held by him in that just esteem , which he never fail'd of expressing towards men of learning and ingenuity . this was a sufficient encouragement to me ( having the manuscript-copy deliver●d into my hands by a worthy and intimate friend of the authors , to dispose of it to the press for the publick benefit ) to address it to your grace's patronage . you are so true a successor in all the generous virtues of your ancestry , that i cannot doubt of your favourable reception of this posthumous work. your generosity , that takes all occasions of exerting it self towards the living , cannot fail in doing justice to the memory of the dead . more especially to such persons as in their life took care to oblige posterity . the usefulness of the ensuing discourse at this time , when there is so fair a prospect of a new settlement in ireland , were sufficient to recommend it to your grace's protection . your grace's interest in the re-establishment of that kingdom ( tho it be considerable ) yet is much less than your share in the glorious enterprize towards its recovery . you had the honour of accompanying his majesty in an adventure that shall shine in the annals of fame , as long as the boyne shall maintain its course . but a single gallantry appear'd not sufficient for the heir of ormond and ossery . you have since accompanied our royal master to other shores , to be partaker with him in new scenes of action , undertakings of no less consequence and importance , than the deliverance of europe . this will afford sufficient matter for panegyrick , and oblige the muses to place you in the same high rank of renown with your noble and heroick predecessors . in the mean time , be pleas'd to permit this useful treatise to wait on you to the camp , and bring you the hearty wishes of all good men here , for your happy expedition , and your safe return , which is desir'd by none with a more particular zeal , than by your grace's most devoted servant , n. tate . the author's preface . sir francis bacon , in his advancement of learning , hath made a judicious parallel in many particulars , between the body natural , and body politick , and between the arts of preserving both in health and strength : and it is as reasonable , that as anatomy is the best foundation of one , so also of the other ; and that to practice upon the politick , without knowing the symmetry , fabrick , and proportion of it , is as casual as the practice of old-women and empyricks . now , because anatomy is not only necessary in physicians , but laudable in every philosophical person whatsoever ; i therefore , who profess no politicks , have , for my curiosity , at large attempted the first essay of political anatomy . furthermore , as students in medicine , practice their inquiries upon cheap and common animals , and such whose actions they are best acquainted with , and where there is the least confusion and perplexure of parts ; i have chosen ireland as such a political animal , who is scarce twenty years old ; where the intrigue of state is not very complicate , and with which i have been conversant from an embrion ; and in which , if i have done amiss , the fault may be easily mended by another . 't is true , that curious dissections cannot be made without variety of proper instruments ; whereas i have had only a commōn knife and a clout , instead of the many more helps which such a work requires : however , my rude approaches . being enough to find whereabout the liver and spleen , and lungs lye , tho' not to discern the lymphatick vessels , the plexus , choroidus , the volvuli of vessels within the testicles ; yet not knowing , that even what i have here readily done , was much considered , or indeed thought useful by others , i have ventur'd to begin a new work , which , when corrected and enlarged by better hands and helps . i believe will tend to the peace and plenty of my country ; besides which , i have no other end . advertisement . the reader is desired to take notice , that by letter●es , are meant persons restored to land by virtue of the letters of king charles the second ; and by nominees , such persons are intended , as were restored to their lands by being named in the act of settlement ; and papists per proviso , were such as had provisoes in that act for their lands : and by the officers , are meant such commission officers under the king , who served in ireland before the year of our lord , . the following treatise of sir william petty's political anatomy of ireland , is printed after a copy transcribed from the original , writ by the author 's own hand ; and all the blanks , as here printed , were in that original : and which , tho' it may be suppos'd he could easily have fill'd up , yet was it not held proper for any other to attempt , or to add to any thing done by so great a master . this his work of the political anatomy of ireland ends in page . p. . begins the famous report from the council of trade in ireland , which was not only drawn , but wholly composed by sir william petty ; and with which that council concurred unanimously . p. . followeth the copy of the commission of the late duke of ormond to be lord lieutenant ; and an account of the establishment of the civil and military list in his time ; faithfully and carefully taken out of authentick records : and to the nature of which , the continued title of the political anatomy of ireland , on those pages , agrees well enough . the volume concludes with sir william petty's verbum sapienti , which relates wholly to england , and shews how taxes may be equally laid , and how the nation may well bear the tax of four millions per annum . the reader is now left with his most critical attentive judgment , to enjoy the benefit of the great political knowledg that sir william petty hath taught the age ; and for which ( as one of the greatest ornaments of it ) he deserveth perpetual celebrations . know reader in a word , that nulla ferent talem saecla futura virum . the contents of the political anatomy of ireland . of the lands of ireland , with the present distribution and values of the same . page of the people , houses and smokes ; their number , differences and values , of the church and benefices , concerning the late rebellion and its effects , of the future settlement of ireland , prevention of rebellions , and its union with england , of the government of ireland , apparent and internal . of the militia and defence of ireland , of the coelum , solum , & fruges ; or the air , soil and product of ireland , of the rate which the lands in ireland do bear to each other , with the history of the several valuations of the same , of the money of ireland , and the causes of its decrease , with the remedy for the same , of the trade of ireland , and its impediments ; the commodities , and aptitude for traffick , and incidently of the cloaths and dyet of the people : of sumptuary laws , absentees , &c. of the religion , language , manners , and interest of the present inhabitants of ireland ; as also of the present and ancient divisions and names of the lands , some miscellany remarques and intimations concerning ireland , and the several matters aforementioned , a report from the council of trade in ireland , to the lord lieutenant and council , &c. considerations relating to the improvement of ireland , inferences from the premises , propositions to his majesty concerning the government of ireland , the list for civil affairs , &c. the establishment and list , containing all the payments to be made for military affairs , &c. officers provincial , constables , sundry ministers belonging to the ordnance , viz. in lemster , connaught , munster , ulster , temporary payments , a catalogue of the peers , a list of the arch-bishopricks and bishopricks , barons , a list of those places that return parliament-men , &c. verbum sapienti . introduction , page chap. . containing several computations of the wealth of the kingdom , chap. . of the value of the people , chap. . of the several expences of the kingdom , and its revenue , chap. . of the method of apportioning taxes , chap. . of money , and how much is necessary to drive the trade of the nation , chap. . the causes of irregular taxing , chap . the collateral advantages of these taxes , chap. . of the expence of the navy , army , and garisons , chap. . motives to the quiet bearing of extraordinary taxes , chap. . how to imploy the people , and the end thereof , licensed , may the th . . the political anatomy of ireland . of the lands of ireland . there are in ireland of acres of land , irish measure ( whereof acres makes english measure ) near about m. ac. , whereof there is of rivers , highways , loughs , unpassable bogs , rocks and shrubs , about m. , of very course land , commonly call'd unprofitable , consequently of good meadow , arrable and pasture ,   , of which anno , there did belong to papists and sequestred protestants , to the church , viz. bishops , deans , chapters and glebes to the protestants planted by queen elizabeth and king iames ,   of the , belonging to papists and sequestred protestants anno . there was restored to that proved their constant good affection , per est . to his grace the d. of ormond . to the lord inchiquine , lord roscommon , and others to innocent papists , near ,   to the church , near to the duke of york , near to letterees and nominees irish-men to papists , per proviso with collonel vernon left in the common-stock of course-land to adventurers to soldiers since . ,   to the officers to protestants per proviso upon transplantation decrees   restored to mortgagees protestants , about       , so that of all the lands seiz'd by the usurpers , the papists have recovered about m. , the new protestants and churches additions , of a more indifferent nature , ut supra / mem. that protestants in connaught purchased of the transplantees per estimate . m. wherefore of the whole m. of good land , the english , and protestants and church have this christmas . , and the irish have near ½ as much , viz. ,   , remains in the common-stock , near m.   the said , acres of good , and the , of course , making together m. is worth per annum . m. l. , out of which the king's quit-rents , old-rents , and composition , , rests , the tythes whereof are one fifth , viz. , rests , the benefit of leases , and the value of tenants improvements upon the said lands , is ⅓ viz. , for the landlords , if the whole be clearly worth but l. per ann. then the , gain'd by the rebellion , is worth but about ⅓ thereof ( the m. in the common stock being worth very little ) , viz. , and the adventurers and soldiers lands , who served since , worth about ¾ of the same , viz. , and the said soldiers alone ⅗ of the whole , viz. m. , per an. mem. that by the successes of the army , who serv'd since . and who have col . per an. for their labour , his majesty hath received the several advantages following , viz. . augmented the church , the duke of york , and by provisoes . m. acres . . hath paid the adventurers , and officers , besides housing in walled towns m. acres . . gain'd a revenue worth above l. per ann. and years purchase l. , . gain'd the years value , &c. worth . , . hath freed himself from the . articles with the irish. . restored many of his friends to their own estates . the value of the said army's lands at ten years purchase , is l. out of which deduct a years value and charge , there remains now but l. , mem. that whereas until anno _____ england always sent money and other supplies into ireland , now the revenue is , l. and the charge civil and military but , l. which is the gain or ease of england . the debentures of commission officers , who serv'd eight years till about december . comes to l. , , wherefore the pay of private soldiers to , ,   , , the ⅛ whereof is , l. the one half whereof being for foot , was , , l. per ann. which , at l. each , maintains , foot , and the rest horse , general officers , and train of artillery included ; so as there was a british army , for eight years , of at least men. the army who reduced the rebelllon , did anno , consist of near men , as per debentures . the irish transported into foreign parts , between and . were , men. the irish army could not but be more than double to the english. the claymants of land , or the number of proprietors before the war was . of all that claimed innocency in . obtained it . the restored persons by innocence and proviso have more than what was their own , anno . by at least ⅕ they have gotten by forg'd feofments of what was more than their own , at least ⅓ . of those adjudged innocents , not / were really so . the king's revenue in ireland anno . the yearly charge of the army for years last past . of people , houses , and smoaks ; their number , differences , and values . there are of people , men , women and children . , , there are of families , of smoaks , viz of the people , there are english , of papists , of non-papists , scots , irish ,   , , the scots are presbyterians , and the irish , papists . but the english are above , legal protestants or conformists , and the rest are presbyterians , independants , anabaptists and quakers . of the families . such as have no fix'd hearths , are , such as have but one chimney , such as have more than one , of smoaks . the single-smoak-houses , are ut supra , and those houses that have more than one chimney , have but one with another above four in each house , viz. in all ,   , m. the number of them of all degrees , who paid poll-money , anno . was about , dublin hath houses of more than one smoak . , other cities , towns , and corporations of the like . , the rest of ireland of the like ,   , m. and of smiths forges , near the same number , or rather more . a more particular account of the houses in ireland , which have more than one chimney , viz. the castle of dublin hath chimneys the earl of meath's house in dublin the houses of dublin which have above , are t he number of coaches , besides hackneys , near the same number , or rather fewer . there be ( ut supra ) , cabins without chimneys , whose worth are not reckoned ; but as for the others , we rate as follows , viz. houses of chimny of at l. each , l. of , and , at l. , l. , , , at l. , l. , , , at l. , l. , , , at l. , l. , , , , , , , . at l. , l.     , , for transcendental-houses , per estimate   ,   total , , memorandum , that not ● / ; part of the value of all those houses do belong to other than english protestants .   ,   to the english , , there are of non-papists in dublin   , in the other cities , towns , corporations , &c.   , in the country   ,     , , there is in nature but one in at most who are blind , lame , and under incurable impotence ; so as not above in ireland , whom l. would maintain without scandal . the number of young children under seven years old , and not fit for labour , is ¼ of the whole , viz. , the said number of impotents the number of soldiers   , the masters and mistresses of families , wherein are above six smoaks , are , their servants to their persons , the servants to the persons of such as live in families of , , . smoaks , are , servants in families of , and , smoaks ministers , students , &c.   , people in all m. of above years old so as there are in ireland fit for trade , which are imployed as followeth , viz.   for the tillage of , acres of land for corn , men , and their wives , for cowherds and shepherds to cattel , grazing upon seven millions of acres , viz. six millions of black cattel , or their equivalent in horses and sheep . men and their wives . ,   , by the other side . , imployed about the taking of hogsheads of pilchards , boats , nets , hewers , &c. men and women . imployed about making tuns of iron , men and women smiths as by account , men and women , their servants to the trade , taylors and their wives , carpenters and masons , and their wives , shoemakers and their wives , and servants millers and their wives workers of wooll and their wives . , tanners and curriers , and their wives . ,   , trades of fancy and ornament and their wives . ,   , wherefore if the present employment be performed with , persons , it follows that there are to spare for other uses , memorandum , that in dublin , where are but families , there are at one time ale-houses , and publick brew-houses , viz. near ⅓ of the whole ; it seems , that in ireland , there being m. families , that about m. of them should use the same trade . and consequently , that , viz. men , women , and servants do follow the trade of drink . , so as there are yet to spare , who are casherers and fait-neants . ,   , whereas it is manifest , that ⅔ of the alehouses may be spared , even although the same quantity of drink should be sold ; then there will yet be further to spare of them , and ,   , having shew'd that , of spare hands are in ireland , it follows to find employments for them , which is at l. per head , to earn per ann. , , this imployment may be either in order to local wealth , or universal wealth . local wealth i understand to be the building of , small stone-wall houses , with chimneys , doors , windores , gardens and orchards , ditch'd and quicksetted ; instead of the lamentable sties now in use ; the which may cost l. each , in all l. , the planting millions of fruit-trees at d. each . , planting millions of timber-trees upon the bounds and meers of every denomination of lands at d. each , l. of inclosures and quicksets one million of perches at d. per perch . l. , fortifying the city of dublin , building a new palace for the chief governour . , making there a mold for shipping . , making several rivers navigable and mending high-ways . , building of churches , at l. each , workhouses of several sorts , tan-yards , fishing crofts , rape-mills , allom and copperas-works , as also madder , lead , salt , &c. , in order to money and vniversal wealth . for ten thousand tuns of shipping , for a stock of wool , hemp , flax and rawhides for one years work , for the labour of men to manufacture the same . , of the church and benefices . if / ● the non-papists are non-conformists , then there are but legal protestants in dublin and all other cities , towns , &c. which require but preaching ministers . and if there are but m. legal protestants in the rest of ireland , they require but ministers , at to a flock , whereof ● / , viz. are children . if there be in england and wales about parishes , and under bishops , then every bishop must have above parsons in his charge . so as one bishop in ireland is more than in england . wherefore , l. would afford l. per ann. of each of ministers , and l. to the bishop . the value of the church lands and appropriate tythes , is per ann. above the kings rent due out of them . if ministers can serve all ireland , they must have precincts of neer / miles square , and consequently they must be itinerants , and as lecturers on week-days ; and other honest ordained men must be priests . if , nay , if ministers would serve all ireland , then per ann. will supply their mortality : and consequently a nursery of will send forth yearly of years standing . perhaps the nursery need not be above half so large . concerning the late rebellion . the number of the people being now anno about , . and anno . about m. because i conceive that m. of them have in years encreased by generation m. by return of banished and expelled english ; as also by the access of new ones , m. of new scots , and m. of returned irish , being all m. now if it could be known what number of people were in ireland , ann. . then the difference between the said number , and , adding unto it the encrease by generation , in years will shew the destruction of people made by the wars , viz. by the sword , plague , and famine occasioned thereby . i find , by comparing superfluous and spare oxen , sheep , butter and beef , that there was exported above ⅓ more ann. . than in . which shews there were ⅓ more of people , viz. , ; out of which sum take what were left ann. . there will remain , . destroyed by the rebellion . whereas the present proportion of the british is as to ; but before the wars the proportion was less , viz. as to . and then it follows that the number of british slain in years was thousand souls ; of which i guess ⅔ to have perished by war , plague and famine . so as it follows that , were massacred in the first year of tumults : so as those who think , were so destroyed , ought to review the grounds of their opinion . it follows also , that about m. of the irish perished , and were wasted by the sword , plague , famine , hardship and banishment , between the of october . and the same day . wherefore those who say , that not ⅙ of them remained at the end of the wars , must also review their opinions ; there being by this computation near ⅔ of them ; which opinion i also submit . there were transported of them into spain , flanders , france , , soldiers ; and of boys , women , priests , &c. no less than more , where not half are returned . , . if ireland had continued in peace for the said years , then the m. had increased by generation in that time to m. more , making in all , which were by the said wars brought anno , to , viz. m. for whose blood some body should answer both to god and the king. m. anno . there were before the great plague , above one million of people , viz. ½ more than in london anno . but in that year there died in london by account , people , but really were m. wherefore , if the plague was no hotter in ireland than in england , there must have died in ireland m. but dying in a week in dublin , the plague of london was but ⅔ as hot ; wherefore there died in ireland m. so as substracting m. dying of the plague , and massacred english , it follows that m. died in years by the sword and famine , and other hardships . which i think not incredible ; for supposing ½ the number , viz. m. died in years , of famine and cold , transportation to spain and barbadoes , &c. it is not hard to believe , that the other m. perished by the sword , when the british had armies of near m. men , and the irish of near double , sometimes on foot. ann. . debentures were freely and openly sold for s. and s. per l. and s. of debenture , one place with another , did purchase two acres of land ; at which rate all the land of ireland , if it were millions of profitable acres , might have been had for a million of money , which ann. . was worth above millions m. . the cattel and stock which ann. . was worth above millions , reckoning one beef of s. value , or the equivalent in other stock to two acres ; but ann. . the people of dublin fetch'd meat from wales , there being none here , and the whole cattel of ireland not worth l. , corn was then at s. per barrel , which is now , and . under . the houses of ireland , ann. . was worth ½ millions ; but ann. . not worth ⅓ of the same l. , the value of people , men , women and children in england , some have computed to be l. per head , one with another . but if you value the people who have been destroyed in ireland , as slaves and negroes are usually rated , viz. at about l. one with another ; men being sold for l. and children l. each ; the value of the people lost will be about , , the forces kept on foot by all parties for the said years , were at least , horse and foot ( for even ann. . the english were , and , irish transported ) the charge whereof , train of artillery , and general officers included , cannot be less than l. per head per ann. which for years comes to millions and m. l. , , the superlucration above expressed , of all which adult men ( among which were no women nor children ) cannot be reckoned at less than l. per head , or ⅓ of the last mentioned sum , viz. m. , , wherefore the effects of the rebellion were these in pecuniary value , viz. by loss of people , , by loss of their superlucration of soldiers , , by the superlucration of the people lost , at l. per head for the whole years , deducting m. soldiers , , by impairing of the worth of lands , , of the stock , , of the housing , ,   , , and the years rent of all the lands forfeited , by reason of the said rebellion , viz. since the year , to . hath not fully defray'd the charge of the english army in ireland for the said time ; nor doth the said rents at this day do the same with ½ as much more , or above m. l. per an. more and the adventurers after years being out of their principal money , which now ought to be double by its interest , they sold their adventures for under s. per l. ann. . in open and free market . the number of landed irish-papists , or freeholders before the wars , was about ; whereof , as appears by judgments of the court of claims , which fate ann. . upon the innocence and effects of the irish , there were not above / part or guilty of the rebellion , unto each of whom i allow followers , which would have made up an army of : but by the officers account , the british army before . must have been about m. men ; upon whom the said nocent irish so prevail'd , as that the peace ended in the art●cles of . by which the irish were made at least equal partners with his majesty in the government of ireland ; which sheweth , that the irish were men of admirable success and courage : unless we should rather think , that the said court of claims were abused by their perjuries and forgeries , which one would think , that a nation , who caus'd the destruction of so many thousand lives , for the sake of god and religion , should not be so guilty of . the estates of the irish before the wars , was double to that of the english ; but the number and natural force of the irish quintuple to that of the english. the cause of the war was a desire of the romists , to recover the church-revenue , worth about m. l. per ann. and of the common irish , to get all the englishmens estates ; and of the or grandees of ireland , to get the empire of the whole . but upon the playing of this game or match upon so great odds , the english won and have ( among , and besides other pretences ) a gamester's right at least to their estates . but as for the bloodshed in the contest , god best knows who did occasion it . of the future settlement of ireland , prorogation of rebellions , and its union with england . the english invaded ireland about years since ; at which time , if the irish were in number about , , . anno . they were but m. in number , years ago , and not above , m. at the said time of their invasion ; for , people will , by the ordinary course of generation , become m. in years ; allowance being made for the extraordinary effects of epidemical diseases , famines , wars , &c. there is at this day no monument or real argument that , when the irish were first invaded , they had any stone-housing at all , any money , any foreign trade , nor any learning but the legend of the saints , psalters ; missals , rituals , &c. viz. nor geometry , astronomy , anatomy , architecture , ●nginery , painting , carving , nor any kind of manufacture , nor the least use of navigation , or the art military . sir iohn davys hath expressed much wit and learning , in giving the causes why ireland was in no measure reduced to english government , till in queen elizabeths reign , and since ; and withal offers several means , whereby what yet remains to be done , may be still effected . the conquest made by the english , and described in the preamble of the act of parliament past ann. . for the settlement of ireland , gave means for any thing that had been reasonable of that kind ; but their forfeiters being abroad , and suffering with his majesty from the same usurping hands , made some diversion . wherefore ( rebus sic stantibus ) what is now to be done is the question , viz. what may be done by natural possibility , if authority saw it sit ? some furious spirits have wished , that the irish would rebel again , that they might be put to the sword. but i declare , that motion to be not only impious and inhumane , but withal frivolous and pernicious even to them who have rashly wish'd for those occasions . that the irish will not easily rebel again , i believe from the memory of their former successes , especially of the last , had not many providences interpos'd ; and withal from the consideration of these following particulars , viz. . that the british protestants and church have ¾ of all the lands ; ⅚ of all the housing ; ●●● of all the housing in wall'd towns , and places of strength ⅔ of the foreign trade . that of of all the irish live in a brutish nasty condition , as in cabins , with neither chimney , door , stairs nor window ; feed chiefly upon milk and potatoes , whereby their spirits are not dispos'd for war. and that although there be in ireland papists for others ; yet there are far more soldiers , and soldierlike-men of this latter and lesser number , than of the former . that his majesty , who formerly could do nothing for , and upon ireland , but by the help of england , hath now a revenue upon the place , to maintain , if he pleases , men in arms , besides a protestant militia of more , the most whereof are expert in war. that the protestants have housing enough within places of strength within miles of the sea-side ; to receive and protect , and harbour every man , woman and child belonging to them , and have also places of strength of their own properly , so situate in all parts of ireland , to which they can easily travel the shortest day of the year . that being able so to secure their persons , even upon all sudden emergencies , they can be easily supplied out of england with food sufficient to maintain them , till they have burnt m. of their afore-described cabins , not worth m. l. destroy'd their stacks and haggards of corn , and disturbed their tillage , which the embody'd british can soon and easily atchieve . that a few ships of war , whereof the irish have none , nor no skill or practice of navigation , can hinder their relief from all foreign help . that few foreigners can help them if they would . but that none , not the king of france , can gain advantage by so doing , even tho he succeeded . for england hath constantly lost these years by their medling with ireland . and at this day , than when ireland was never so rich and splendid , it were the advantage of the english to abandon their whole interest in that countrey ; and fatal to any other nation to take it , as hath been elsewhere ( as i think ) demonstrated ; and the advantage of the landlords of england , to give them the equivalent of what they should so quit out of their own estates in england . lastly , let the irish know , that there are , ever were , and will be men discontented with their present conditions in england , and ready for any exploit and change , more than are sufficient to quell any insurrection they can make and abide by . wherefore , declining all military means of setling and securing ireland in peace and plenty , what we offer shall tend to the transmuting one people into the other , and the thorough union of interests upon natural and lasting principles ; of which i shall enumerate several , tho seemingly never so uncouth and extravagant . . if henry the ii. had or could have brought over all the people of ireland into england , declining the benefit of their land ; he had fortified , beautified and enrich'd england , and done real kindness to the irish . but the same work is near four times as hard now to be done as then ; but it might be done , even now , with advantage to all parties . whereas there are now m. british , and m. papists , whereof m. live in the wretched way above mentioned : if an exchange was made of but about m. irish , and the like number of british brought over in their rooms , then the natural strength of the british would be equal to that of the irish ; but their political and artificial strength three times as great ; and so visible , that the irish would never stir upon a national or religious account . . there are among the m. above-mentioned of the poor irish , not above m. of unmarried marriageable women ; nor would above two thousand per ann. grow and become such . wherefore if ½ the said women were in one year , and ½ the next transported into england , and disposed of one to each parish , and as many english brought back and married to the irish , as would improve their dwelling but to an house and garden of l. value , the whole work of natural transmutation and union would in or years be accomplished . the charge of making the exchange would not be , l. per ann. which is about weeks pay of the present or late armies in ireland . if the irish must have priests , let the number of them , which is now between and thousand secular and regulars , be reduced to the competent number of , which is souls to the pastorage of each priest ; which let be known persons , and english-men , if it may be . so as that when the priests , who govern the conscience , and the women , who influence other powerful appetites , shall be english , both of whom being in the bosom of the men , it must be , that no massacring of english , as heretofore , can happen again . moreover , when the language of the children shall be english , and the whole oeconomy of the family english , viz. diet , apparel , &c. the transmutation will be very easy and quick . add hereunto , that if both kingdoms , now two , were put into one , and under one legislative power and parliament , the members whereof should be in the same proportion that the power and wealth of each nation are , there would be no danger such a parliament should do any thing to the prejudice of the english interest in ireland ; nor could the irish ever complain of partiality , when they shall be freely and proportionably represented in all legislatures . the inconveniencies of the not-union , and absurdities seem to be these , viz. . it is absurd , that english-men born , sent over into ireland by the commission of their own king , and there sacrificing their lives for the king's interest , and succeeding in his service , should therefore be accounted aliens , foreigners , and also enemies , such as were the irish before henry the vii . time ; whom , if an english-man had then killed , he had suffer'd nothing for it ; for it is but indulgence and connivance , that now the same is not still in force . for such formerly was the condition of irishmen ; and that of english-men is now the same , otherwise than as custom has relieved them . it is absurd , that the inhabitants of ireland , naturally and necessarily bound to obey their sovereign , should not be permitted to know who , or what the same is , i.e. whether the parliament of england , or that of ireland ; and in what cases the one , and in what the other . which uncertainty is or may be made a pretence for my disobedience . it is absurd , that english-men in ireland , should either be aliens there , or else to be bound to laws , in the making whereof they are not represented . it is absurd if the legislative power be in ireland , that the final judgment of causes between man and man , should be in england , viz. the writs of error should remove causes out of ireland , to the king's bench in england . that the final determination of admiralty-causes , and of some causes-ecclesiastical , should be also ended in england ; nor that men should know whether the chancery of england have jurisdiction in ireland ; and whether the decrees of chancery in one chancery , can be executed in the other . as for inconveniences , it is one , that we should do to trade between the two kingdoms , as the spaniards in the west-indies do to all other nations ; for which cause all other nations have war with them there . and that a ship trading from ireland into the islands of america , should be forced to unlade the commodities shipt for ireland in england , and afterwards bring them home ; thereby necessitating the owners of such goods to run unnecessary hazard and expences . it is inconvenient that the same king's subjects should pay customs as aliens , passing from one part of the same their own king's territories to another . the chief objection against the remedy of these evils is ; that his majesty would by the union lose much of his double-customs . which being true , let 's see what the same amounts unto ; and if it be sufficient to hinder the remedy of these evils , and if it be irreparable by some other way . ann. . which was the best year of trade that hath been these many years in ireland , when neither plague nor wars impeached it , and when men were generally disposed to splendor and liberality , and when the act for hindring cattel coming out of ireland into england , was not yet made ; nor that made for unlading in england ships bound from america into ireland ; i say , in that year the customs upon exported and imported commodities , between ireland and england , was but — but not ⅙ thereof , which since , how easily may it be added to the other charges upon england and ireland , which are together perhaps m. per ann ? . if it be for the good of england to keep ireland a distinct kingdom , why do not the predominant party in parliament ( suppose the western members ) make england beyond trent another kingdom , under commerce , and take tolls and customs upon the new borders ? or why was there ever a union between england and wales , the good effects and fruits whereof were never questioned ? and why may not the entire kingdom of england be farther cantoniz'd , and infinitely for the advantage of parties ? as for the practice ; the peers of ireland assembled in parliament , may depute so many of their number , as make the ⅛ part of the peers of england , to be call'd by writ into the lords house of england : and the commons in ireland , assembled in like manner , may depute the like proportion of other members to sit with the commons of england , the king and that house admitting of them . but if the parliament of england be already the legislative power of ireland , why may they not call a competent number out of ireland , 〈◊〉 , or in some other more convenient manner ? all these shifts and expedients are necessary but for the 〈◊〉 tim● , until the matter be agreed upon by both nations , in some one parliament . 't is s●ppos'd that the wealth of ireland is about the ● or ● of that of england ; and the king's revenue in both kingdoms seems about that proportion . of the government of ireland . the government of ireland is by the king , bishops ( whereof four are arch-bishops ) and the temporal peers ; whereof some part , — by reason of the late rebellion , do not sit in parliament . by about freeholders , and the members of about corporations , the university at dublin reckoned for one , represented in the house of commons , by about knights , citizens and burgesses . the parliament so constituted , have a negative upon any law that the lord lieutenant and councel shall offer to the king , and which the king and his councel in england shall under the great seal remit to the said parliament . the sheriffs of counties , and of cities and counties in ireland are , finally appointed by the lord lieutenant , each of which hath about ten bailiffs . the chief governour , called sometimes lord-lieutenant , sometimes lord-deputy , sometimes lords justices , with a council , at this time consisting of about members , do govern in all matters belonging to the peace , prerogative , &c. there be five courts , viz. a chancery , consisting of a lord-chancellor , master of the rolls , and two , three or four sallariated masters of chancery . the king's-bench , of a lord-chief-justice , and two other judges . the common-pleas of the like : the exchequer , of a lord-chief-baron , and two other barons , with the treasurer and chancellor of the exchequer : and a prerogative , whereof the primate of armagh is judge . there is also a palatinate-courtih tipperary , whereof the duke of ormond is lord of the liberties and regalities to it belonging . there is also a court of admiralty : every bishop hath also two courts . and there have been formerly and lately ( but now an. . suspended ) a presidency of munster , and another of connaght , who meddle not with life or limb , nor titles of land. there is also a court - marshal , for the affairs of the army , who in times of peace often transmit accus'd persons to the civil-power . to all these courts do belong — officers , — councellors of law , whereof i reckon — are of the first classis , gaining by estimation about l. per ann. each — of the d . gaining about l. per ann. and — of the d gaining not above l. per ann. there are also — sworn attornies , gaining about l. per ann. one with another . there are in ireland about justices of the peace , appointed by the lord-chancellor ; an head-constable for each barony or hundred , being ; and a petty constable for each parish ; whereof are about . the ecclesiastical government is by arch-bishops , bishops , arch-deacons , deans of cathedral-churches , in all which there are now actually but one quire entire , and that in dublin , serving both at christ-church , and st. patrick's . and the parsons , vicars and curates for the protestant-religion , are in all ireland at this day near , and about half the tythes are impropriate , and belonging to lay-men . this is the state of the external and apparent government of ireland , so far as it concerns the number and species of persons managing the same . but the internal and mystical government of ireland is thus , viz. . there are always about twenty gentlemen of the irish nation and popish-religion , who by reason of their families , good parts , courtly education and carriage , are supported by the irish to negotiate their concernments at the court of england , and of the vice-roy in ireland these men raise their contributions by the priests ( who actually and immediately govern the people . ) the priests are govern'd by at least romish bishops , all of whom have a long time been conversant in france , spain , italy , germany , england , whereas chaplains and almoners , &c. they have made an interest with the governing men and ministers of state in those several kingdoms , and have obtained some benefits and preferments from them . so as the body of the irish-papist's ( being about m. whereof near m. do live in wretched cabbins , without chimney or window ) are govern'd by about secular priests , and friars and regulars of several orders ; whereof most are franciscans , next dominicans and augustins , but few capuchins and iesuits or carthusians . these , i say , are govern'd by their respective bishops and superiors , whom the ministers of foreign states do also govern and direct . so as upon the whole matter , the irish , who are the bulk of the nation , are govern'd indirectly by foreign power ; and so are the aforenamed lay-patriots , their support coming from the clergy constituted as aforesaid , and who do notoriously exercise their spiritual jurisdiction in ireland : and do also exert a temporal power , by prevailing with papist justices of the peace , to send such to gaol as are disobedient to the clergy , upon feigned or frivolous complaints , which they cause to be brought against them . the judges aforenamed , all but the chancellor , go circuits , whereof there are five twice every year , excepting only the one county of kerry . there is an university at dublin , but lying for the most part within one college , wherein are a provost and seven senior and ruling fellows ; nine junior fellows ; sixty sch lars ; and at this time — commoners and other students there was about the year erected a college of physicians , consisting of a president , and fellows . there are belonging to the prerogative , arch-deacons courts , court-martial and admiralty-courts , not above to advocates , and proctors . there are in the city of dublin a lord-mayor , sheriffs , aldermen , sheriffs peers , and of the common-council . there are besides , companies or corporations of trades-men . there is lately instituted an hospital for poor children , not yet fully perfected nor endowed . there is also an hospital for sick , lame , and old soldiers , but without endowment , and standing but at discretion and pleasure . there are in and near dublin , three publick prisons , and one house of correction . lastly , i must intimate , that the footmanship for which the irish years agone were very famous , is now almost quite lost among them , every man now keeping a small garran to ride on , unless in such rocky and craggy places , where 't is easier to go a foot than to ride . of the militia and defence of ireland . there be in ireland , as elsewhere , two militias ; one are the justices of peace , their militia of high and petty constables ; as also the sheriffs militia of his servants and bailiffs , and posse comitatus upon extraordinary occasions . of these all together there are in ireland near ; all of which are bound within their several districts , there to act , and not elsewhere . there is , or hath lately been an army in ireland , of about thirty troops of horse , and sixty companies of foot , with a regiment of guard at dublin , as a life-guard for the lord lieutenant , making in all about five thousand men. there is also a protestant militia , of about men , viz. about ten thousand horse , and the rest foot. the people of ireland are all in factions and parties , called english and irish , protestants and papists : though indeed the real distinction is vested and devested of the land belonging to papists , ann. . of which the irish that are vested by restoration , seem rather to take part with the devested . and the chief pique which the popish-clergy have at the protestants is , that they have the church livings and jurisdictions ; for the exercise of their function they have most freely , and had , when they undertook their project in . the differences between the old irish , and old english papists is asleep now , because they have a common enemy . the old protestants of queen elizabeth and king iames's plantation ( till of late ) did not much love the new english ; who came over since . or rather since . & . because they envied the great shares which they had gotten of the forfeited lands from the late usurpers . but now they also are well enough together , since the said old protestants have had good proviso's in the acts of settlement and satisfaction for their service before iune . and since the church-revenues have been augmented by the forfeitures ; but chiefly , for that the said old protestants have all the power and preferments civil , military , and ecclesiastical . of the new english , some are conformists , others not : and some have fallen in with other parties , and others not . of the old protestants , there are also parties , i cannot say factions , chiefly denominated by the names of their families , as the butlers and fitz-gerralds were of old . but to return ; the chief factions are the vested and devested of forfeited lands : all irish and papists generally fearing the latter , and most english and protestants the former , as appears in all juries and testimonies given where the lands or lives of one or other are concerned . now in some counties , as in kerry , many forfeitures happened , and few restorations , and there also few english were ever planted , nor can well endure to live : so as the first sort of militia in these and other like counties , are irish-papists , devested and discontented persons . whereby the few english there , can have no justice executed , for want of hand wherewith to do it : nor can they easily get indifferent juries , but that the sheriffs are english for the most part , and most commonly protestants . in which case , some have been of opinion , that the other militia , namely the army , may both in law and reason supply this defect in times when there is not occasion for them , to guard the land from invasion and rebellion . for why might not sheriffs be taken out of officers of the army , viz. captains and lieutenants of horse , and captains of foot ? and why may not such be as responsible for executing just sentences , as any other ? and what tenor is there in the force which a bailiff useth , more than in that which one call'd a soldier carries with him . and why should the military officer or sheriff use more force or terror than to make the debtor or malefactor answer the law , and obey the sentence of a civil court ? and is it not more convenient and easy in great riotous contempts , to bring a troop or company , whose trade it is to use arms and apply force dexterously , than to use the posse-comitatus ; that is , to call abundance of men from their labour and calling , to attempt things of danger , which they do not understand ? moreover , if the general can quarter the army where he pleases , and that the sheriffs or constable can , in their respective precincts , call whom he pleases to his assistance ; then the general can cause such a competent force to be quartered in those thin peopled counties . and the sheriffs and justices can call such to their assistance , excepting where such soldiers are in formal garisons upon actual duty , or in other cases to be agreed upon between the civil and military powers so call'd , although there can be no countrey without force , nor any army without a policy and discipline . but of this let the lawyers talk further . as for the military force of ireland , vulgarly and properly so call'd , . the standing army is such as the present revenue can well maintain , which perhaps is , or very lately was about , and is every year or other year changed , as to his majesty seems best . . the protestant militia now already established and formed , is about or thousand men , most of them already experienc'd in the wars of ireland . the third , of grand force against foreign invasions , i conceive may be m. men of the best affected , and least popeaffected irish ; for so many i conceive the of the standing army and present militia could well officer and command . now that m. may be spar'd to send as soldiers in a time of extremity , i think it plain , for that there are m. males in ireland , whereof m. can perform all the necessary labor of husbandmen and trades-men ; m. of them are perhaps under , and above . nor doth the quality of the remaining , exempt them from service , who are to stand for a reserve . and this force i take to be sufficient to resist any number of men which any prince of the world hath shipping enough to bring into ireland , with such horse , arms , ammunition and victuals as are for such an enterprize . to say nothing , that the substance of ireland is chiefly cattel , which be easily removed to waste the countrey where the enemy shall land . and how considerable the standing army of men , and the veteran militia , of above , who have not only the command , but the possession and propriety of all the strong and terrible places in ireland , and ¾ of all the horse serviceable in war , and at least ¾ of all shipping , and england to help and countenance , hath been competently mentioned before ; and that the bulk of the irish are the inhabitants of the aforenamed m. wretched cabins-men , slavishly bred and dealt with by their own lords and patriots ; and that the restored irish , restored to their estates almost by miracle , will be careful how they engage any more upon a frivolous , impious undertaking . of the coelum and solum of ireland . by the coelum or sky , i understand the heat , coldness , drowth , moisture , weight and susceptions of air , and the impressions made upon it , viz. the state of the winds , as whether the wind blows in ireland in comparison with , or differently from other places ; as from what points of the compass the wind blows most frequently or fiercely , and what proportion of the whole year from each point . . as to heat and cold , i conceive the same ought to be measur'd by the weather-glass or thermometer . . as to wetness or moisture , by the shrinking of lute-strings , by the quantity of rain falling upon a certain quantity of level superficies , and by the quantity of water dried up with the same time out of a vessel of like figure , and equal dimensions . as for other changes in the air , supposed to depend upon the gravity or levity thereof , i suppose the same is to be known by the instrument call'd the barrimeter . lastly , to the much or ●ittle sunshine , whereof ireland hath be●n much abus'd ; the same is to be measur'd by an instrument found for that purpose . wherefore since it is small satisfaction to say the air of ireland is mild and temperate , inclin'd to moisture , &c. and since the true and clear knowledge thereof depends upon several long , tedious , and r●terated observations , simple and comparative , made in the several parts of ireland , in the several seasons of the year , and compar'd with the like observations , made with the same or like instruments , in the several parts of the earth ; we must for the present only say , that there are in being the several instruments following , viz. . an instrument to measure the motion of the wind , and consequently its strength . . how many hours in the day in the whole year it blows from any point of the compass . . to measure what quantity of rain falls in the year upon any quantity or space of ground . . what air is most desiccative of moistness . . what alterations are made in the gravity and levity of the air from hour to hour . . the thermometer or weather-glass of the better sort . . the instrument to measure and foretel frost and snow . which instruments many men must make use of in the several parts of ireland , and the rest of the world , and corresponding with each other , communicate and correct their observation by reason . in the mean time let it suffice to say , that at dublin the wind blows parts of from the south-west to the west , one part from south-west to the south ; one other from the west to north-east , and the rest from the north-east to the south ; parts of between west and south-west / between s. w. and s. s. ● . / between s. s. e. and n. e. by n. / n. e. by n. to n. & w. or very near thereabouts . . that from the th of septemb. to the th of march , it blows a kind of storm for some time or other almost every day . . that the snow lies not long in the lower ground of ireland . nor doth it freeze more than what it doth in france , holland , or england . . the rain falling at dublin and london for the month october , . was but to . that the windiness of the same month was at dublin . and at london but . . as for the healthfulness of the climate , city , or other space of land ; it must be first known how many people are in a certain day living in it , and then the quota pars which die per ann. for many years together ; and for the fruitfulness , how many births . . as to longaevity , enquiry must be made into some good old register of ( suppose ) persons , who all were born and buried in the same parish , and having cast up the time which they all lived as one man , the total divided by is the life of each one with another ; which compared with the like observation in several other places , will shew the difference of longaevity , due allowance being made for extraordinary contingences , and epidemical diseases happening respectively within the period of each observation . wherefore matters being not as yet prepared for these experiments , i can say nothing clearly of them ; only , that it seems by the best estimates and approaches that i have been able to make , that london is more healthful than dublin by in . having said thus much of the coelum or air , or rather of the ingenium , and way of distinguishing airs in a better manner than usual : we come next to try the nature of the soil by the like expedients . to which purpose , first know , that the perch of ireland is foot , that of england but ½ ; wherefore the acre of perches is as to , that is irish acres do make english statute acres . now in ireland a milch-cow , if english breed , upon two acres of pasture , and with as much hay as will grow upon ½ acre of meadow , will yield prae●er propter gallons of milk for days , one with another , and one gallon at a medium for more , and for more scarce ¼ of a gallon one day with another , and for more , dry . wherefore it follows , that such a cow upon such feeding , gives above one tun and half ; nay , gallons of milk per ann. and that if the rent of the said two acres of pasture be s. per ann and of the half acre of meadow . in all s. that the gallon of milk comes but to a farthing , expecting what the value and hazard of the cow , and the labour of milking and looking to her , shall add unto that price ; which i suppose not above as much more . the said quantity of milk will make ● c. of raw-milk-cheese , and c. of whey-butter , besides whey for the swine : or else c. of butter , and c. of skim-milk-cheese , besides whey as abovesaid , for drink to the people , and food for swine . mem. that one bull suffices for about cows . that a cow continues milch and bearing , from or years old to , sometimes , tho seldom suffer'd to live so long . and that three dairy-women will manage cows , and do much work of other kind between while ; and that one man will look to them and their food . an ox of or years old will not require so much feeding as a milch-cow , but will be maintained with two acres of good pasture only , or with ½ acres of pasture , and ½ acres of hay , in hard winters . an horse requires ½ acres , as a garran , and a small horse or irish garran ⅔ , or thereabouts . eight or ten sheep are equivalent for feeding to an ox. it is further to be noted , that a calf at a month old weighs . c. ½ that an ox is come to its full growth at years old , and then may weigh alive c. the quarters of such an ox weighs c. the hide , ¾ the tallow l. and consequently the said ox gaineth every year of weight in flesh to eat l. in hide — in tallow — the offal worth , besides half of the whole .   the difference between lean-beef and fat beef in value is as to . in sheep the increase of their flesh , skin and tallow , is about the same proportion . and yet sheeps flesh is sold dearer than beef , because of the great trouble and hazard about sheep . a fleece of wool in ireland is about l. weight . an hog eats such things as sheep and oxen do not , viz. roots , acorns , and consequently the same land will maintain a proportion of hogs above sheep and oxen. one-cowherd will serve an hundred oxen ; one shepherd sheep . from all that hath been said , we collect , that the natural and genuine rent of lands in ireland , not that of money , or gold and silver ; is of milk , deducting charges — gall. of beef and mutton — of hides and skin — of offall — of wooll . — so as where lands produce more or less per ann. communibus annis of these commodities , the same is to be accompted more or less fertil than that of ireland . moreover from hence we shall endeavour to gather the number of cattel in ireland , as followeth , viz. there being ½ millions of acres of good meadow , arrable , and pasture-land in ireland , besides bog with shrub-wood , &c. commonly call'd unprofitable land ; and for that ½ a million supplies the inhabitants with corn for bread and drink , man and beast , hemp flax and rape , as shall be hereafter shewn ▪ from the number of the people , their manner of eating , from the number of mills , and from the value of the tythes , &c. supposing the other millions to be competently well stockt , let us first see how many houses there may probably be . to which purpose , remember that there are m. families , whose houses have but one or no chimney . now i guess , that about ● of this number keep a small horse call'd a garran , which is , garrans for tillage ; and i suppose that the , families have for the coach and saddle near ● m. horses . so as in ireland there are about m. horses , whose food requires m. acres of good pasture , m. acres of meadow , and the ⅙ of an acre of oatland , viz. about , acres . in all m. acres : or if the horses be such as require little or no hay and oats , as the horses of poor people do not , then as aforesaid or ● acres is allowed to each horse . the wooll which is usually exported , being a little above millions of pounds , grows upon m. sheep : and the wooll which cloaths the nation , being about m. bodies , at — l. each for cloths , hats and stockins , requires m. more ; and so millions more of sheep , in all millions . the feeding whereof at to an acre , require m. acres . so as horse and sheep require one million of acres . so as there remains ½ , a million being allow'd for all other cattel , beasts and vermine ) ½ millions for great cattel , which will feed about millions of that species . if there be millions of black cattel , there be m. of males , viz. m. bulls . m. under years old . between and . above . of females m. whereof ⅕ are milchcows , viz. m. m. calves and heifers under , and of other sorts . where note , that of all the black-cattel above-named , there are m. exported alive , and m. dead in barrels . of the sheep not m. of butter , whereof one of the m. milch-cows may well yield c. weight per ann. but c , or the proceed of cows . from whence may be seen whether the trade of those commodities be yet at best : for i guess that the ⅙ of the whole stock may be annually spent at home , or exported abroad . it remains only to say , that one irish acre of irish land , requires of seed , and returns as followeth . seed .   wheat bushels , and produces to . rye to . bean-barly to oats to barley to pease to one horse plows acres , and there goes man to horses . of the proportion in value , which the several counties in ireland do bear to each other , viz. the value or proportion of the several counties in ireland , doth seem much to depend upon the number of acres which each doth contain . and therefore , and for several other reasons , most of the land of ireland hath , within these last years , been admeasured by the chain and instrument , viz. the king and queens counties , about the year . the county of londonderry , when the city of london undertook the plantation by one mr. raven ; connought and tipperary , in the earl of strafford's time , by several hands , sometimes conducted by mr. william gilbert . the lands belonging to papists ann. . in the three provinces of munster , lemster and vlster , by sir william petty . other protestant lands in the same three provinces , in order to regulate contributions , by the owners of the said lands themselves : but in so divided and separated a manner , that little accompt can be given of them , besides what was collected by the said sir william petty ; who at his own charge , besides those maps of every parish , which by his agreement he delivered into the surveyor-general's office , he hath caused distinct maps to be made of every barony , or hundred ; as also of every county , engraven in copper , and the like of every province , and of the whole kingdom . all which , could the defects of them be supplied with the yet unmeasured ▪ lands , would be exposed to publick view . now as to the value of these lands , they were ann. . rated to and by the adventurers as followeth , viz. in lemster at s. per acre ; in munster at s. in connaught at s. and in vlster at s. and to pay farthing per ann. quit-rent to the king out of each shillings-worth of land so rated , viz. d. or farthings for an acre in lemster rated at . s. q. or ¼ an acre for lands in munster , rated at s. & sic de caeteris . wood , bog , and mountain , to be cast in over and above . afterwards the soldiers , who were to have the satisfaction of their arrears at the same rate , not being willing to cast lots upon such desperate hazards , did ann. . equalize counties within each province , viz. took some in lemster , at l. s. per acre , some at l. &c. and those who were satisfied ann. . and afterwards , did equalize not only counties , but baronies also , valuing some baronies in lemster at l. s. per acre , and some but at s. and others at all rates between these two extreams . but so as that , notwithstanding all the said differences , the whole province should be given and taken at s. per acre , according to the then law. and the inequality remaining after this equalization , was to be corrected by a lot. i could here insert all the particulars of these transactions , but conceive it impertinent to my purpose , especially since they may be seen upon record . the next and best of all preceding equalization , was that which the concernees of each county made in order to regulate the heavy contributions paid to the usurpers before his majesties restoration , and when no quit-rent was yet due . and in order to this work , not baronies as before , but parishes , nay , particular farms were also equalized . what was done herein , was not publickly recorded , but collected by the curious , and too bulky to be here inserted . only take notice , that these valuations were made as parties interested could prevail upon and against one another by their attendance , friends , eloquence , and vehemence ; for what other foundation of truth it had in nature , i know not . next to this valuation , there was , in order to a certain gift presented to his majesty , by the adventurers and soldiers , of a years value of all their lands as it yielded ann. . next immediately before his restoration . there issued a commission , ann. . to enquire and settle the said values . and about . there were made two several valuations more ; the one in order to reprize such who had restored lands to the innocent irish in equal value ; and another was a determination what each land was worth ann. . ( whatever it yielded ) : both which , especially the latter , are upon record most authentically . moreover , ann. , and . there were inquisitions taken of the values which all and every parcel of land in ireland yielded ann. . there have been also several acts of the chief powers pro tempore , for apportioning what proportion of a certain sum to be levied in general , should in particular be charg'd on each county , viz. ann. . there was an act of the usurper's parliament to that purpose . ann. . there was an act for raising m. l. as a present to his grace the duke of ormond ; and another for raising of 〈◊〉 for several publick uses . and ann. . for the equal raising of l. per ann. upon all the lands and houses of the whole nation . there be also accompts of what was raised out of each county by way of subsidy and pole-money , paid ann. . all which may be of much light to those who have such designs as the same will answer . but i being assur'd by whom , and for what ends , and by what means every such valuations and inquisitions were respectively made , had rather attempt some rule in nature , whereby to value and proportionate the lands of ireland : the first whereof i propose to be ; that how many men , women and children live in any countrey parish , that the rent of that land is near about so many times s. be the quantity and quality of the land what it will. . that in the meanest of the m. cabbins , one with another are five souls , in the six souls . in all the other houses ten a piece , one with another . the table . but to make nearer approaches to the perfection of this work , 't would be expedient to know the content of acres of every parish , and withal , what quantity of butter , cheese , corn , and wooll , was raised out of it for three years consequent ; for thence the natural value of the land may be known , and by the number of people living within a market-days journey , and the value of their housing , which shews the quality and expence of the said people ; i would hope to come to the knowledg of the value of the said commodities , and consequently the value of the land , by deducting the hire of working-people in it . and this brings me to the most important consideration in political oeconomies , viz. how to make a par and equation between lands and labour , so as to express the value of any thing by either alone . to which purpose , suppose two acres of pasture-land inclosed , and put thereinto a wean'd calf , which i suppose in twelve months will become c. heavier in eatable flesh ; then c. weight of such flesh , which i suppose fifty days food , and the interest of the value of the calf , is the value or years rent of the land. but if a mans labour — for a year can make the said land to yield more than sixty days food of the same , or of any other kind , then that overplus of days food is the wages of the man ; both being expressed by the number of days food . that some men will eat more than others , is not material , since by a days food we understand 〈◊〉 part of what of all sorts and sizes will eat , so as to live , labour , and generate . and that a days food of one sort , may require more labour to produce , than another sort , is also not material , since we understand the easiest-gotten food of the respective countries of the world. as for example , i suppose a pint of oatmeal equal to half a pint of rice , or a quart of milk , or a pound of bread , or a pound and quarter of flesh , &c. each , in the respective place where each is the easiest gotten food . but if rice be brought out of india into ireland , or oatmeal carried from ireland thither ; then in india the pint of oatmeal must be dearer than half a pint of rice , by the freight and hazard of carriage , & vice-versa , & sic de caeteris . for , as for pleasant tast , i question whether there be any certainty , or regularity of the same in nature , the same depending upon novelty , opinion of virtue , the recommendation of others , &c. wherefore the days food of an adult man , at a medium , and not the days labour , is the common measure of value , and seems to be as regular and constant as the value of fine silver . for an ounce , suppose , of silver in peru is equivalent to a days food , but the same in russia is equivalent to four days food , by reason of the freight , and hazard in carrying the same from peru to russia ; and in russia the price of silver shall grow to be worth more days labour , if a workman can by the esteem and request of silver utensils earn more than he can on other materials . wherefore i valued an irish cabbin at the number of days food , which the maker spent in building of it . by the same way we must make a par and equation between art and simple labour ; for if by such simple labour i could dig and prepare for seed a hundred acres in a thousand days ; suppose then , i spend a hundred days in studying a more compendious way , and in contriving tools for the same purpose ; but in all that hundred days dig nothing , but in the remaining nine hundred days i dig two hundred acres of ground ; then i say , that the said art which cost but one hundred days invention is worth one mans labour for ever ; because the now art , and one man , perform'd as much as two men could have done without it . by the same way we make an equation between art and opinion . for if a picture-maker , suppose , make pictures at l. each ; but then , find that more persons would employ him at that rate than his time would extend to serve them in , it will certainly come to pass that this artist will consider whether as many of those who apply to him at l. each picture , will give l. as will take up his whole time to accommodate ; and upon this computation he pitcheth the rate of his work. by the same way also an equation may be made between drudging labour , and favour , acquaintance , interest , friends , eloquence , reputation , power , authority , &c. all which i thought not amiss to intimate as of the same kind with finding an equation between land and labour , all these not very pertinent to the proportionation of the several counties of ireland . wherefore to return to the matter in hand , i say , that the quantity of commodity produced , and the quantity of the — shews the effects of the land ; and the number of people living thereupon , with the quality of their housing , shews the value of the commodity ; for one days delicate and exquisit food may be worth ten of ordinary . now the nature of peoples feeding may be estimated by the visible part of their expence , which is their housing . but such helps of knowing the value of lands , i am not yet able to furnish . of the money of ireland . money is understood to be the uniform measure and rule for the value of all commodities . but whether in that sence there be any money , or such rule in the world , i know not , much less in ireland , tho most are perswaded that gold and silver money is such . for . the proportion of value between pure gold and fine silver , alters as the earth and industry of men produce more of one than of the other ; that is to say , gold has been worth but twelve times its own weight in silver ; of late it has been worth fourteen , because more silver has been gotten . that of gold proportionably , i. e. about twelve times as much silver has been raised as of gold , which makes gold dearer . so there can be but one of the two metals of gold and silver to be a fit matter for money . wherefore , if silver be that one metal fit for money ; then gold is but a commodity very like money . and as things now stand , silver only is the matter of money ; and that elsewhere as well as in ireland . . the value of silver rises and falls it self ; for men make vessels of coyned silver , if they can gain by the workmanship enough to defray the destruction of the coynage , and withal , more than they could expect by employing the same silver as money in a way of trade . now the accidents of so doing , make silver rise and fall , and consequently take from the perfect aptitude for being an uniform steady rule and measure of all other things . the mischiefs and inconveniences hitherto mentioned , are common to all times and places ; but in ireland are more particular ; and stand thus , viz. a piece of rials being full . penny weight , passeth for s. d. if it want but ½ a grain of the weight , tho half a grain of silver be worth but the ¼ of a farthing , or ⅙ of a penny , then it passes for d less , viz. s. d. and if it weigh ten grains above d. weight , it passes but for s. d. on the other hand , if it weigh but d. weight , it passes nevertheless for s. d. and if the silver be course , if not so course , as not to be called silver , yet still it passes for the same moreover , the fineness cannot be determined by common eyes scarce at all , by the best not within d. in an ounce , by the touchstone not within d. and by the test it self not within an half-penny . lastly , the scales and weights differ so much from each other , as what is s. d. in one house , is but s. d. in the next , & vice versa . from whence it comes to pass , that all pieces weighing above d. weight , are cull'd out to buy or make pieces of d. weight pass for s. d. . other species of coyn , which pro rata contain the same quantity of the like gold and silver , with the piece of eight rials , goes in one species for more , in another for less . what hath been said of the silver-species , may be said of the gold-species ; and what differences are between silver and silver , and between gold and gold , is also between silver and gold coyns . so as it becomes a trade to study and make advantages of these irregularities , to the prejudice of the good people , who are taught , that whatever is called money , is the same , and regular , and uniform , and a just measure of all commodities . from whence it hath happened , that all english money which hath a great and deserved reputation in the world for its intrinsick goodness , is quite carried away out of ireland , and such money brought instead of it , as these studied merchants do from time to time bring in for their advantage upon the common people , their credulity and ignorance . but money , that is to say , silver and gold , do at this day much decrease in ireland , for the following reasons . . ireland , anno . did not export to a much greater value than it imported , viz. about m. since which time there hath been a law made to prohibit the importation of great cattel and sheep , alive or dead , into england ; the value whereof carried into england in that very year . was above m. l. the which was said to have been done , for that ireland drained away the money of england . whereas in that very year england sent to ireland , but m. less than it received from thence ; and yet this small difference was said to be the reason why the rents of england fell ⅖ , that is m. in millions . which was a strange conceit , if they consider farther , that the value of the catrel alive or dead , which went out of ireland into england , was but m. the hides , tallow , and freight whereof were worth about ● that money . . whereas the owners of about ¼ , both of all the real and personal estate of ireland , do live in england , since the business of the several courts of claims was finished in december . all that belongs to them goes out , but returns not . . the gains of the commissioners of that court , and of the farmers of the revenue of ireland , who live in england , have issued out of ireland without returns . . a considerable part of the army of ireland hath been sent into england , and yet paid out of ireland . . to remit so many great sums out of ireland into england , when all trade between the said two kingdoms is prohibited , must be very chargeable ; for now the goods which go out of ireland , in order to furnish the said sums in england , must for example go into the barbados , and there be sold for sugars , which brought into england , are sold for money to pay there what ireland owes . which way being so long , tedious and hazardous , must necessarily so raise the exchange of money , as we have seen per cent. frequently given , anno , and anno . altho in truth , exchange can never be naturally more than the land and water-carriage of money between the two kingdoms , and the ensurance of the same upon the way , if the money be alike in both places . but men that have not had the faculty of making these transmissions with dexterity , have chose rather to give . per cent. exchange , as aforesaid , than to put themselves upon the hazard of such undertakings , and the mischief of being disappointed . now the extraordinary decrease of gold and silver , put men , whose affairs were much disturb'd , thereby upon extraordinary conceits , and some very absurd ones for remedy , as namely the raising of spanish pieces of eight , called cobs in ireland , from s. d. to or shillings , which were before about d. above the value of english , that is s. d. english money weighed the same with a cob called s. d. for these distracted people thought , that calling their money by a better name , did encrease its value . . they thought that no man would carry cobs of s. out of ireland into england , where they were called but s. d. altho he was necessitated to pay s. d. in england , and had no other effects to do it with . they thought that all men who lived in england , would return to their estates in ireland , rather than pay . per cent. for exchange ; not considering , that when cobs were raised , that exchange would also rise proportionably . they fancied , that he who sold a stone of wooll for two cobs , call'd s. when cobs were rais'd , would sell his stone of wooll of ● cob when called s. nor did they think how this frivolous conceit would have taken away a proportionable part of all land-lords estates in ireland . as for example , those who acted moderately , would have the money rais'd / part , and the / part of all the money of ireland , was then thought to be but about , l. the whole cash of ireland being then estimated , but m. l. whereas the landlords of ireland , whose revenue is m. l. per annum , must have lost / part of their whole estates for ever , viz. m. l. per annum upon that empty expedient . but others , no less sensible of the distress of the people , and the obstructions of trade by reason of the said decay of bullion , considering that about m. l. would drive the trade of that kingdom ; for that m. would pay one half years gale of all the land ; m. would pay ¼ rent of all the housing , and that m. would more than pay a weeks expence of all the people of ireland ; and that the whole cash moved chiefly in those three circles ; they therefore thought to make up their m. l. present cash by a bank of m. l. more , the bottom and support whereof should be land ; for the lands and houses of ireland being worth about millions , whereof m. l. was but the / ● part . 't was thought easy to find many fortieth parts so free from incumbrances or question as to give a being to such a bank. note , that interest in ireland is per cent , which is a great hinderance to trade ; since the interest must enflame the price of irish commodities , and consequently give to other nations the means of underselling . of the trade of ireland . if it be true , that there are but about , families in ireland , who have above one chimney in their houses ; and above m. others ; it will be easily understood what the trade of this latter sort can be , who use few commodities ; and those such as almost every one can make and produce . that is to say , men live in such cottages as themselves can make in or days ; eat such food ( tobacco excep●ed ) as they buy not from others ; wear such cloaths as the wool of their own sheep , spun into yarn by themselves , doth make ; their shoes , called brogues , are but ¼ so much worth as a pair of english shoes ; nor of more than ¼ in real use and value . a hat costs d. a pair of stockins d. but a good shirt near s. the taylors work of a doublet , breeches and coat , about s. d. in brief , the victuals of a man , his wife , three children , and servant , resolved into money , may be estimated s. d. per week , or d. per diem . the cloaths of a man s. per ann. of children under , one with another s. the house not worth s. the building ; fuel costs nothing but fetching . so as the whole annual expen●e of such a family , consisting of in number , seems to be but about shillings per ann. each head one with another . so as . m. inhabitants of these edifices , may spend , . m. l. per ann. and the , who inhabit the , other houses , may spend l. per ann. each one with another , viz. one million and half . so as the whole people of both sorts spend under millions , whereof / part , viz. m. l. is for forreign commodities , tobacco included , whereof every souls spend one tun per ann. or every tobacco-takers , viz. people above . years old , spend two tuns one with another : for it appears by the latest accompt of importance , that what is here said , is true to a trifle . from whence i observe by the way , that the king's revenue , viis & modis , being about m. l. per ann. that it is ● part of the whole expence ; which in some of the grecian commonwealths was thought too much , although the israelites allowed / to the levites only , tho perhaps to defray the whole charge of the government , the supremacy amongst that people being then sacerdotal . i observe also by the way , that the lands and housing of ireland being worth about one million per ann. that the labour of the people may be worth three millions , which is earned by about , ( of the , m. ) who by their age and quality are fit and applicable to corporal labours , and consequently each labouring person earns but s. per ann. if all work. or if each earns l. then but half of them work , or all but half their full time , or otherwise in other proportions . but be it one way or the other ; i am as certain that the hands of ireland may earn a million per ann. more than they now do , as i am certain that there are , in ireland who could earn s. a week , or l. per ann. one with another , if they had sutable employment , and were kept to their labour . i further observe , that if there be naturally but impotents in ireland , and that shillings per ann. doth maintain the poorer sort of people ; it follows , that , l. per ann. would amply maintain all the impotent● of ireland , if well apply'd . for other beggers , as also thieves , and rebels , which are but bigger thieves , are probably but the faults and defects of government and discipline . as for the fitness of ireland for trade , we say as followeth . st . that ireland consisting of above , square miles ; it is not one place with another above miles from the sea , because it is miles about . wherefore forasmuch as the land-carriage of gross that will be easy in such a country ; it is fit for trade , because the greatest and most profitable part of trade , and the imployment of shipping , depends upon such goods , viz. metals , stones , timber , grain , wood , salt , &c. dly . ireland lieth commodiously for the trade of the new american world ; which we see every day to grow and flourish . it lyeth well for sending butter , cheese , beef , fish , to their proper markets , which are to the southward , and the plantations of america . thus is ireland by nature fit for trade , but otherwise very much unprepared for the same ; for as hath been often said , the housing thereof consists of m. nasty cabbins , in which neither butter nor cheese , nor linnen , yarn nor worsted , and i think no other , can be made to the best advantage ; chiefly by reason of the soot and smoaks annoying the same ; as also for the narrowness and nastiness of the place ; which cannot be kept clean nor safe from beasts and vermin , nor from damps and musty stenches , of which all the eggs laid or kept in those cabbins do partake . wherefore to the advancement of trade , the reformation of these cabbins is necessary . it may also be consider'd , whether the institution of these following corporations would not be expedient , viz. . of cattel , . of corn , . of fish , . of leather . of wool , . of linnen , . of butter and cheese , . of metals and minerals : for unto these , almost all the commodities exportable out of ireland , may be referred . it may also be consider'd , whether the taxing of those cabbins with hearth-money be proper , but rather with days labour ; the former being scarce possible for them to have , but the latter most easy . insomuch as 't is more easy for them to give days labour per ann. at seasonable times , than to pay s. in silver at a pinch , and just when the collectors call for it . the dyet , housing and cloathing of the , families abovementioned , is much the same as in england : nor is the french elegance unknown in many of them , nor the french and latin tongues . the latter whereof is very frequent among the poorest irish , and chiefly in kerry , most remote from dublin . the housing of m. families , is , as hath been often said , very wretched . but their cloathing far better than that of the french peasants , or the poor of most other countreys ; which advantage they have from their wooll , whereof sheep furnisheth a competency to one of these families . which wool , and the cloth made of it , doth cost these poor people no less than m. l. per ann. for the dying it ; a trade exercised by the women of the countrey . madder , allum , and indico , are import●d , but the other dying stuffs they find nearer home , a certain mud taken out of the bogs serving them for copperas , the rind of several trees , and saw-dust , for galls ; as for wild and green weeds , they find enough , as also of rhamnus-berries . the diet of these people is milk , sweet and sower , thick and thin , which also is their drink in summer-time , in winter small-beer or water . but tobacco taken in short pipes seldom burnt , seems the pleasure of their lives , together with sneezing : insomuch , that / of their expence in food , is tobacco . their food is bread in cakes , whereof a penny serves a week for each ; potatoes from august till may , muscles , cockles and oysters , near the sea ; eggs and butter made very ra●cid , by keeping in bogs . as for flesh , they seldom eat it , notwithstanding the great plenty thereof , unless it be of the smaller animals , because it is inconvenient for one of these families to kill a beef , which they have no convenience to save . so as 't is easier for them to have a hen or rabbet , than a piece of beef of equal substance . their fewel is turf in most places ; and of late , even where wood is most plentiful , and to be had for nothing , the cutting and carriage of the turf being more easy than that of wood. but to return from whence i disgressed , i may say , that the trade of ireland , among / parts of the whole people , is little or nothing , excepting for the tobacco abovementioned , estimated worth about , l. for as much as they do not need any forreign commodities , nor scarce any thing made out of their own village . nor is above ⅓ part of their expence other than what their own family produceth , which condition and state of living cannot beget trade . and now i shall digress again to consider , whether it were better for the common-wealth to restrain the expence of m. optimates below l. per ann. each ; or to beget a luxury in the m. plebeians , so as to make them spend , and consequently earn double to what they at present do . to which i answer in brief , that the one shall encrease the sordidness and squallor of living already too visible in m. plebeians , with little benefit to the common wealth ; the other shall increase the splendor , art and industry of the m. to the great enrichment of the common-wealth . again , why should we be forbid the use of any foreign commodity , which our own hands and countrey cannot produce , when we can employ our spare hands and lands upon such exportable commodities as will purchase the same , and more . . the keeping or lessening of money , is not of that consequence that many guess it to be of . for in most places , especially ireland , nay , england it self , the money of the whole nation is but about / of the expence of one year ; viz. ireland is thought to have about m.l. in cash , and to spend about millions per ann. wherefore it is very ill-husbandry to double the cash of the nation , by destroying half its wealth ; or to increase the cash otherwise than by increasing the wealth simul & semel . that is , when the nation hath / more cash , i require it should have / more wealth , if it be possible . for , there may be as well too much money in a country , as too little . i mean , as to the best advantage of its trade ; onely the remedy is very easy , it may be soon turn'd into the magnificence of gold and silver vessels . lastly , many think that ireland is much impoverished , or at least the money thereof much exhausted , by reason of absentees , who are such as having lands in ireland , do live out of the kingdom , and do therefore think it just that such , according to former statutes , should lose their said estates . which opinion i oppose , as both unjust , inconvenient , and frivolous . for st . if a man carry money or other effects out of england to purchase lands in ireland , why should not the rents , issues and profits of the same land return into england , with the same reason that the money of england was diminished to buy it ? . i suppose ¼ of the land of ireland did belong to the inhabitants of england , and that the same lay all in one place together ; why may not the said quarter of the whole land be cut off from the other three sent into england , were it possible so to do ? and if so , why may not the rents of the same be actually sent , without prejudice to the other three parts of the interessors thereof ? . if all men were bound to spend the proceed of their lands upon the land it self ; then as all the proceed of ireland , ought to be spent in ireland ; so all the proceed of one county of ireland , ought to be spent in the same ; of one barony , in the same barony ; and so parish and mannor ; and at length it would follow , that every eater ought to avoid what he hath eaten upon the same turf where the same grew . moreover , this equal spreading of wealth would destroy all splendor and ornament ; for if it were not fit that one place should be more splendid than another , so also that no one man should be greater or richer than another ; for if so , then the wealth , suppose of ireland , being perhaps millions , being divided among , m. people , then no one man having above . he could probably build no house worth above . which would be to leave the face of beggery upon the whole nation : and withal such parity would beget anarchy and confusion . of the other impediment of trade , the not raising of money above the value which the generality of the whole world hath of it , that is , the intrinsick value , i have spoken before : and now return to other matters relating to the trade of ireland . having shewn that there is little or no trade or commutation of commodities , where people live so simply , and as it were exsponte creatis ; as the inhabitants of m. do live ; it follows , that what trade is in ireland must be found in the , other houses of above one chimney in each , and amongst the inhabitants of them . though trade , properly speaking , be the commutation of commodities ; that generally speaking , 't is the way whereby to purchase riches and power , the parents of pleasure : not only by getting commodities out of the earth and sea ; by ploughing , fishing , mines , vecture , &c. by getting away those commodities from them , who first got them out of the earth and sea , as aforesaid . and not only , or at all encreasing the whole wealth of the nation , but ones own former share and proportion of the whole , though diminish'd ; that is to say , supposing the whole wealth of ireland were millions , and the share of a. was . thereof ; i say , 't is commonly more the care of a. to make his l. , though by lessening the whole stock l. than to make the whole stock millions , by lessening his own l. to .l . now this is the trade of ireland , and i think of most other places , but exercised in ireland by the following ways , viz. whereas the lands of ireland have within years been most of them forfeited , and the lands of monasteries have since then fallen into the king's hands , by the dissolution of the said monasteries , and several defects found in the titles , older than that of time ; it hath come to pass , that all the said lands have been granted to several others ; some legally and formally , some otherwise ; some under one condition , some under another . so as by several defects in the said grants , or by non-performance of conditions , and many other ways needless to enumerate , the king in strictness may find a title to the estates of many men who have been long in possession of their respective holdings , ( tho some more , some less , some upon better , and some upon worser grounds . ) a principal trade in ireland , to find out these flaws and defects , to procure commission for such inquiries . and a branch of this trade , is to give to such seekers flattering and delusive informations to bring on other designs ; and withal , prevail with persons conversant with the higher powers , to give grants of these discoveries , and thereupon , right or wrong to vex the possessors , at least into such a composition , as may be of profit to the prosecutors . whereby it falls out , that the time of all the persons exercised pro & contra in these matters , who do only take from one another like gamesters ( the lawyers taking from both ) is lost , without advancing at all the publick wealth . now this is no trade , but a calamity upon the nation . . whereas the branches of the publick revenue being manifold ; and the accompts of the same vast and numerous , and the laws , with the cases and accidents relating to the same , intricate and new ; but chiefly the officers employed about the premises , such as could make friends for their places , whether persons of skill , experience and trustiness , or not ; it hath come to pass , even in ireland , in former times , that principal officers of the exchequer have represented the state of the publick treasury near m. l. differently from each other : so as new men have been admitted to take the whole to farm , who expected vast advantages , by mending and clearing what others had marr'd and confounded , though they had still their places and perquisites notwithstanding : and in this case the people thought fit to pay any thing that was required , rather than to pass the fire of this purgatory , even tho they need no burning . this and other practices of farming , taken with the whole doctrine of defalcations , hath been a great trade in ireland , but a calamity on the people who have paid great wages to them that have made faults , but three times greater to those who would but undertake to mend them , tho indeed they could not . a third great trade and calamity to the people of ireland , hath been the gains made by the aforementioned . difference , confusion , and badness of coins , exorbitant exchange , and interest of money , all following also from the premises . a fourth calamity is implicating poor work-men , and trapanning them into crimes , indictments , bishops-courts , &c. feigning and compounding of trespasses , not without making benefit by the office of justice of peace . a fifth may be from the manner of making sheriffs , the execution of their offices , accompts in the exchequer , &c. a sixth , from raising moneys at the assizes , by authority of the grand juries , but raising too much , and in spending or not spending what was to be raised . none of these six trades do add any more to the common-wealth than gamesters , and even such of them as play with false dice , do to the common-stock of the whole number . and in these trades 't is thought ⅔ of those who inhabit the aforementioned , houses , do exercise themselves , and are the locusts and catterpillars of the common-wealth , as the inhabitants of the other m. cottages are the untilled part of the same . wherefore it remains to see what trade is to be found among the rest ; which i take to be as followeth , viz. . in domestick wealth : of which sort is building fine houses and gardens , orchards , groves , inns , mills , churches , bridges , highways , causeys ; as also furniture for houses , coaches , &c. in which kind i guess the improvement of ireland has since the year . . advanc'd from one to four , and i think to a better state than before . that is , than perhaps ever it yet was . the foreign trade , if you will believe the accompts of customs , ann. . and now , hath been advanced from one to seven , but in reality , i think , from one to two : for the customs yielded ann. . clear under , l. but were within a year or two , let for above three times the sum , but are now at about , intrinsecally . but to speak more clearly and authentically upon this subject , i shall insert the following tables of exported and imported commodities , and from them make the subnexed observations , viz. the tables . . that the customs , managed by the states-officers , yielded anno . under , l. but was farm'd ann. . for above thrice that sum. . that the stock which drives the foreign trade of ireland , doth near half of it belong to those who live out of ireland . . that ann. . before the cattel-statute , ¾ of the ireland foreign trade was with england , but now not ¼ part of the same . . that the manufacture bestowed upon a years exportation out of ireland , is not worth above l. . that because more eatables were exported anno . than . and more manufactures . than ann. . it follows , there were more people in ireland , ann. . than . and in that proportion as was formerly mention'd . . that the exportations appear more worth than the importations , excepting that the accompts of the former are more true , but of the latter very conjectural , and probably less than the truth . of the religion , diet , cloaths , language , manners , and interest of the several present inhabitants of ireland . we said , that of the m. inhabitants of ireland , about m. of them were irish ; and that above m. of them lived very simply in the cabbins aforemention'd . wherefore i shall in the first place describe the religion , diet , &c. of these , being the major part of the whole ; not wholly omitting some of the other species also . the religion of these poorer irish , is called roman catholick , whose head is the pope of rome , from whence they are properly enough called papists . this religion is well known in the world , both by the books of their divines , and the worship in their churches : wherefore i confine my self to what i think peculiar to these irish. and first , i observe , that the priests among them are of small learning ; but are thought by their flocks to have much , because they can speak latin more or less ; and can often out-talk in latin those who dispute with them . so as they are thereby thought both more orthodox and able than their antagonists . their reading in latin is the lives of the saints , and fabulous stories of their country . but the superior learning among them , is the philosophy of the schools , and the genealogies of their ancestors . both which look like what st. paul hath condemned . the priests are chosen for the most part out of old irish gentry ; and thereby influence the people , as well by their interest as their office. their preaching seems rather bugbearing of their flocks with dreadful stories , than persuading them by reason , or the scriptures . they have an incredible opinion of the pope and his sanctity , of the happiness of those who can obtain his blessing at the third or fourth hand . only some few , who have lately been abroad , have gotten so far , as to talk of a difference between the interest of the court of rome , and the doctrine of the church . the common priests have few of them been out of ireland ; and those who have , were bred in covents , or made friars for the most part , and have humble opinions of the english and protestants , and of the mischiefs of setting up manufactures , and introducing of trade . they also comfort their flocks , partly by prophecies of their restoration to their ancient estates and liberties , which the abler sort of them fetch from what the prophets of the old-testament have delivered by way of god's promise to restore the iews , and the kingdom to israel . they make little esteem of an oath upon a protestant bible , but will more devoutly take up a stone , and swear upon it , calling it a book , than by the said book of books , the bible . but of all oaths , they think themselves at much liberty to take a land-oath , as they call it : which is an oath to prove a forg'd deed , a possession , livery or seisin , payment of rents , &c. in order to recover for their countrey-men the lands which they had forfeited . they have a great opinion of holy-wells , rocks , and caves , which have been the reputed cells and receptacles of men reputed saints , they do not much fear death , if it be upon a tree , unto which , or the gallows , they will go upon their knees toward it , from the place they can first see it . they confess nothing at their executions , though never so guilty . in brief , there is much superstition among them , but formerly much more than is now ; for as much as by the conversation of protestants , they become asham'd of their ridiculous practices , which are not de side . as for the richer and bettereducated sort of them , they are such catholicks as are in other places . the poor , in adhering to their religion , which is rather a custom than a dogma amongst them , they seem rather to obey their grandees , old landlords , and the heads of their septes and clans , than god. for when these were under clouds , transported into spain , and transplanted into connaught , and disabled to serve them as formerly , about the year . when the adventurers and soldiers appeared to be their landlords and patrons , they were observ'd to have been forward enough to relax the stiffness of their pertinacity to the pope , and his impositions . lastly , among the better sort of them , many think less of the pope's power in temporals , as they call it , than formerly ; and begin to say , that the supremacy , even in spirituals , lies rather in the church diffusive , and in qualified general-councils , than in the pope al●ne , or than in the pope and his cardinals , or other iuncto . the religion of the protestants in ireland , is the same with the church of england in doctrine , only they differ in discipline thus , viz. the legal protestants hold the power of the church to be in the king , and that bishops and arch-bishops , with their clerks , are the best way of adjusting that power under him . the presbyterians would have the same thing done , and perhaps more , by classes of presbyters national and provincial . the independents would have all christian congregations independent from each other . the anabaptists are independent in discipline , and differ from all those aforemention'd in the baptism of infants , and in the inward and spiritual signification of that ordinance . the quakers salute not by uncovering the head , speak to one another in the second person , and singular number ; as for magistracy and arms , they seem to hold with the anabaptists of germany and holland ; they pretend to a possibility of perfection , like the papists ; as for other tenents , 't is hard to fix them , or to understand what things they mean by their words . the diet of the poorer irish , is what was before discoursed in the chapter . the cloathing is a narrow sort of frieze , of about twenty inches broad , whereof two foot , call'd a bandle , is worth from ● to d. of this , seventeen bandles make a man's suit , and twelve make a cloak . according to which measures and proportions , and the number of people who wear this stuff , it seems , that near thrice as much wooll is spent in ireland , as exported ; whereas others have thought quite contrary , that is , that the exported wooll is triple in quantity to what is spent at home . as for the manners of the irish , i deduce them from their original constitutions of body , and from the air ; next from their ordinary food ; next from their condition of estate and liberty , and from the influence of their governours and teachers ; and lastly , from their ancient customs , which affect as well their conscien●es as their nature . for their shape , stature , colour , and complexion , i see nothing in them inferior to any other people , nor any enormous predominancy of any humour . their lazing seems to me to proceed rather from want of imployment and encouragement to work , than from the natural abundance of flegm in their bowels and blood ; for what need they to work , who can content themselv●s with potato's , whereof the labour of one man can feed forty ; and with milk , whereof one cow will , in summer time , give meat and drink enough for three men , when they can every where gather cockles , oysters , muscles , crabs , &c. with boats , nets , angles , or the art of fishing ; can build an house in three days ? and why should they desire to fare better , tho with more labo●r , when they are taught , that this way of living is more like the patriarchs of old , and the saints of later times , by whose prayers and merits they are to be reliev'd , and whose examples they are therefore to follow ? and why should they breed more cattel , since 't is penal to import them into england ? why should they raise more commodities , since there are not merchants sufficiently stock'd to take them of them , nor provided with other more pleasing foreign commodities , to give in exchange for them ? and how should merchants have stock , since trade is prohibited and fetter'd by the statutes of england ? and why should men endeavour to get estates , where the legislative power is not agreed upon ; and where tricks and words destroy natural right and property ? they are accused also of much treachery , falseness , and thievery ; none of all which , i conceive , is natural to them ; for as to treachery , they are made believe , that they all shall flourish again , after some time ; wherefore they will not really submit to those whom they hope to have their servants ; nor will they declare so much , but say the contrary , for their present ease , which is all the treachery i have observed ; for they have in their hearts , not only a grudging to see their old proprieties enjoyed by foreigners , but a persuasion they shall be shortly restor'd . as for thievery , it is affixt to all thin-peopled countries , such as ireland is , where there cannot be many eyes to prevent such crimes ; and where what is stolen , is easily hidden and eaten , and where 't is easy to burn the house , or violate the persons of those who prosecute these crimes , and where thin-peopled countries are govern'd by the laws that were made and first fitted to thick-peopled countries ; and where matter of small moment and value must be try'd , with all the formalities which belong to the highest causes . in this case there must be thieving , where is withal , neither encouragement , nor method , nor means for labouring , nor provision for impotents . as for the interest of these poorer irish , it is manifestly to be transmuted into english , so to reform and qualify their housing , as that english women may be content to be their wives , to decline their language , which continues a sensible distinction , being not now necessary ; which makes those who do not understand it , suspect , that what is spoken in it , is to their prejudice . it is their interest to deal with the english , for leases , for time , and upon clear conditions , which being perform'd they are absolute freemen , rather than to stand always liable to the humour and caprice of their landlords , and to have every thing taken from them , which he pleases to fancy . it is their interest , that he is well-pleased with their obedience to them , when they see and know upon whose care and conduct their well-being depends , who have power over their lands and estates . then , to believe a man at rome has power in all these last mentioned particulars in this world , and can make them eternally happy or miserable hereafter , 't is their interest to joyn with them , and follow their example , who have brought arts , civility , and freedom into their country . on the contrary , what did they ever get by accompanying their lords into rebellion against the english ? what should they have gotten if the late rebellion had absolutely succeeded , but a more absolute servitude ? and when it fail'd , these poor people have lost all their estates , and their leaders encreas'd theirs , and enjoy'd the very land which their leaders caus'd them to lose . the poorest now in ireland ride on horse-back , when heretofore the best ran on foot like animals . they wear better loaths than ever ; the gentry have better breeding , and the generality of the plebeians more money and freedom . several miscellany remarks and intimations , concerning ireland , and the several matters aforementioned . without recourse to the authority of story , but rather diligently observing the law and course of nature , i conjecture , that whatever is fabled of the phoenicians , scythians , b●scayers , &c. their first inhabiting of ireland ; that the places near carrickfergus were first peopled , and that with those , who came from the parts of scotland opposite thereunto . for that ireland was planted by some body in caesar's time , is most certain . that the art of navigation was not before caesar's time so well understood and practis'd , as to bring men from any other part of the world thither , save from great britain : that from st. davids-head in south-wales , and from holy-head in north-wales ; ireland is not clearly at any time discern'd , nor often at all . that the inhabitants of those two brittish head-lands had neither boats sit to pass that sea , is most probable . but that carrickfergus may be always seen from scotland , is well known ; and that a small boat may row over in three or four hours , is experienc'd . that the language of those parts differ very little . that the country about carrickfergus is far better than that of scotland opposite . that the chief bishops seat of ireland , and probably the first , is near those parts , are all notorious truths . from all which 't is more probable , that ireland was first peopled from scotland , than all the other remote parts aforementioned . it hath been much observed , that the lieutenants and chancellors of ireland have often been at variance ; the reason whereof seems to be at their powers , and too near an equilibrium ; for the lieutenant commands an army perhaps of , and the chancellor makes justices of peace , who make constables , which are the civil sword , who act in times of peace , and every where , and in all matters ; whereas the army acts only upon rare occasions , and are more mercenary men. so as the civil-sword seems of far more extent and effect than the military-sword . the lieutenant disposes perhaps of four or five hundred places and imployments ; but the chancellor , of the said nine hundred justices of peace , and several others . the lieutenant can hurt very few persons , who do not depend upon the favour of imployments ; but the chancellor can affect all men , of estates and dealing in the world , by the power of his court , and by the harmony of his own will with the king's conscience . the lieutenant is for the most part a stranger to ireland ; but the chancellor seldom such , but a person of great family and acquaintance . moreover , all the lieutenants , deputies , and lords justices , that have been these years , have not , one with another , continued two years in the office ; but the chancellors have much more , and are seldom remov'd but by death , and general revolutions . the chancellor has ordinarily some other dignity and office annex'd , for they be often eminent prelates and church-men ; but the lieutenant is confin'd to temporals . the chancellor is speaker in parliament , and by keeping the seal , can check the lieutenant in many cases . the chancellors are bred to eloquence and arguing ; the breeding of a lieutenant is casual . men that bring great estates into ireland , do not encrease them proportionably with them who come over with nothing . not to quote the examples hereof on both sides , the reason seems not to be very abstruse , viz. the language of ireland is like that of the north of scotland , in many things like the welch and manques ; but in ireland the fingallians speak neither english , irish , nor welch ; and the people about wexford , tho they agree in a language differing from english , welch , and irish , yet 't is not the same with that of the fingalians near dublin . both these two sorts of people are honest and laborious members of the kingdom . the irish language , and the welch , as also all languages that have not been the languages of flourishing empires , wherein were many things , many notions and fancies , both poetical and philosophical , hath but few words ; and all the names of artificial things brought into use , since the empire of these linguists ceased , are expressed in the language of their conquerors , by altering the termination and accents only . ireland is now divided into provinces , counties , baronies , parishes , and farmlands , and those , so as that they may be , and have been geometrically delineated ; but formerly it was not so , but the country was cal'ed by the names of the lords who governed the people . for as a territory bounded by bogs , is greater or lesser as the bog is more dry and passible , or otherwise : so the country of a grandee or tierne in ireland , became greater or lesser as his forces waxed or weaned ; for where was a large castle and garison , there the jurisdiction was also large . and when these grandees came to make peace , and parts one with another , the limits of their land-agreements were no lines geometrically drawn ; but if the rain fell one way , then the land whereon it fell , did belong to a. if the other way , to b. &c. as to their town-lands , plough-lands , colps , gneeres , bullibos , ballibelaghs , two's , horsmens , beds , &c. they are all at this day become unequal both in quantity and value , having been made upon grounds which are now obsolete and antiquated . for sometimes lands were divided by what certain societies of men held , which i conceive were town-lands or tythings . sometimes by plow-lands , viz. such a — of lands as contained enough of every species of land arrable , meadow , and pasture , mountain , turf-bog , wood , &c. as serv'd for the whole use of man , especially of the owner of such a plow-land . sometimes by the share or proportion of land , which an undertaker would engage to plant and defend according to articles . sometimes by the share which each servitor had given him in reward for his service , after a rebellion or insurrection . sometimes by what belonged to the cell of some religious man or men. but now all the lands are geometrically divided , and that without abolishing the ancient denominations and divisions abovementioned . so that it is yet wanting to prevent the various spelling of names not understood , that some both comprehending the names of all publick denominations according as they are spelled in the latest grants , should be set out by authority to determine the same for the time to come . and that where the same land hath other names , or hath been spelled with other conscription of letters or syllables , that the same be mentioned with an alias . where the publick and new authenticated denominations is part of a greater antiquated denomination , that it be so expressed , as by being called the east , west , south or north part thereof . and if the said denomination comprehend several obsolete or inconsiderable parcels , that the same be expressed likewise . the last clause of the explanatory act , enabled men to put new names on their respective lands , instead of those uncouth , unintelligible ones yet upon them . and it would not be amiss if the significant part of the irish names were interpreted , where they are not , or cannot be abolished . some have thought that little shipping belongs to ireland , by the great policy of the english , who ( as they wittily expressed it ) would keep the chain or draw-bridge between both kingdoms , on the english side : but i never perceived any impediment of building , or having ships in ireland , but mens own indisposition thereunto , either for not having stock for so chargeable a work , or not having workmen of sorts enough to sit out a ship in all particulars ; as for that they could hire ships cheaper from the dutch , than to build them ; or , that the irish had rather eat potatos and milk on dry land , than contest with the wind and waves with better food ; or that there is not encouragement , to a full employment , for an able ship-wright to reside in ireland . nevertheless at this day there belongs to several ports of ireland vessels between and tuns , about tuns of several sorts and sizes : and there are five light-houses erected for the safety of sailing upon the coasts . concerning the ambergreece , taken upon the western coasts of ireland , i could never receive any clear satisfaction , neither of its odor , nor any other vertue , nor what use was or could be made of that stuff which has been so call'd , which is of several appearances . what is said of the herb mackenbory , is fabulous , only that 't is a tythemal , which will purge furiously , and of which there are vast quantities in that part of kerry call'd desmond , where the arbutus tree groweth in great numbers and beauty . there be in ireland not ten iron furnaces , but above forges and bloomeries , and but one lead-work , which was ever wrought , tho many in view , which the pretended patents of them have hindred the working of . there is also a place in kerry , fit for one allum-work , attempted , but not fully proceeded upon . there are in the west of ireland , about gentlemen , who have engaged in the pilchard-fishing , and have among them all about saynes , wherewith they sometimes take about hogshheads of pilchards per ann. worth about , l. cork , kingsale , and bantry are the best places for eating of fresh fish , tho dublin be not , or need not be ill supplied with the same . the clothing-trade is not arrived to what it was before the late rebellion . and the art of making the excellent , thick , spungy , warm coverlets , seems to be lost , and not yet recovered . near colrane is a salmon-fishing , where several tuns of salmon have been taken at one draught , and in one season . the english in ireland before henry the vii's time , lived in ireland as the europians do in america , or as several nations do now upon the same continent ; so as an englishman was not punishable for killing an irish-man , and they were governed by differe●t laws ; the irish by the brehan-law , and the english there by the laws of england . registers of burials , births and marriages , are not yet kept in ireland , though of late begun in dublin , but imperfectly . english in ireland , growing poor and discontented , degenerate into irish ; & vice versa ; irish , growing into wealth and favour , reconcile to the english. eleven iri●● miles make english , according to the proportion of the irish perch of feet , to the english of ● . the admeasurement of land in ireland , hath hitherto been made with a circumferencer , with a needle of ⅔ long , as the most convenient proportion ; but 't will be henceforth better done by the help of some old geometrical theoremes , joyn'd with this new property of a circle , demonstrated by dr. r. wood. the diagram . altho the pro●estants of irel●nd , be to papists , as three to eight ; yet , because the former live in cities and towns , and the scots live all in and about five of the counties of ireland ; it seems , in other open counties , and without the corporations , that the irish and papists are twenty to one . a report from the council of trade in ireland , to the lord lieutenant and council , which was drawn by sir william petty . in obedience to your lordship's act of council , of january the ●th . . we have spent several days in considering how , as well the wealth of this kingdom in general , as the money thereof in particular may be increased . and in order thereunto , we have first set down to the best of our knowledge , the state of this kingdom in reference to trade . secondly , we have noted such inferences from the same , as do sh●w the several causes of the smalness of trade , want of money , and the gen●ral poverty of this nation . and in the last place , we have offered such general remedies and expedients , in the respective cases , as may be obtained and practised , without any new law to be made in ireland . and we are ready so to inlarge upon the branches we have offered , as to make such of our proposals practicable , as your lordships shall please to select and approve of for that purpose . march the th . . considerations relating to the improvement of ireland . . the whole territory of ireland consists of about millions of acres ( english measure ) of arrable , meadow , and good pasture land ; with about two millions of rocky , boggy , and scrubby pasture , commonly call'd unprofitable , ( tho not altogether such ) : the rest being absolute boggs , loughs , rocks , sands , strands , rivers and high-ways , &c. of all which , several lands , the yearly rent ( comprehending their majesties quit-rents , tythes and tenants improvements ) is supposed to be about ● , l. and worth to be purchased at nine millions . . the value of all the housing in ireland , which have one or more chimneys in them , ( excluding all cabbins which have none ) is supposed to be two millions and a half . . the cattel and live-stock , three millions . . corn , furniture , merchandise , shipping , &c. about one million . . the coyned and currant money , now running in trade , is between , and , ● l. or the ●th part of the value of the whole kingdom , which we suppose to be about millions . . the number of people in ireland is about , , viz. three hundred thousand english , scotch , and welch protestants , and , papists , whereof ●th are children unfit for labour , and about , of the remainder are , by reason of their quality and estates ; above the necessity of corporal labour ; so as there remains , labouring men and women , ● , whereof do perform the present work of the nation . . the said , people do live in about , families or houses , whereof there are but about , which have more than one chimney in each ; and about , which have but one ; all the other houses , being , , are wretched nasty cabbins , without chimney , window or door shut , and worse than those of the savage americans , and wholly unfit for the making merchantable butter , cheese , or the manufactures of woollen , linnen or leather . . the houses within the city and liberties of dublin , are under , ● , viz. in the city . and the ale-houses within the same about . and it seems , that in other corporations and countrey towns , the proportion of ale-houses is yet greater than in dublin , viz. about ⅓ of the whole . . the counties , baronies and parishes , of ireland , are now become marvellously unequal , so as some are twe ty times as big as others , the county of c rk seeming in respect of people and parishes to be ●th of the whole kingdom , and other counties not being above the ●th part of the county of cork ; it hath been found very difficult to get fit persons for sheriffs , and juries ; and the often holding of assizes and quarter-sessions in the said smaller counties , hath been found an unnecessary burthen upon them . . there are now in ireland counties , baronies , and parishes ; so as the number of sheriffs , and sub-sheriffs , sheriff bailiffs , high and petty-constables , are about three thousand persons , whereof not above ● are english or protestants . so as the remainder ( being about ● ) are irish papists , and are the civil militia of this kingdom , and have the executing of all decrees of courts , and of justices of the peaces warrants . . this civil militia , and the rest of the irish papists being ' about ●, , are influenced and guided by about priests and fryars , an● they governed by their bishops and superiors , who are for the most part , of the old irish gentry , men of foreign education , and who depend upon foreign princes and prelates , for benefices and preferments . . the irish papists ( beside● sundays and the holidays appointed by the law ) do one place with another , observe about days more in the year , in which they do no corporal labour , so as they have but about working-days ; whereas protestants not strictly observing all the legal holy-days , by a total forbearing of labour , have in effect working-days in the year , that is , days more than the papists , or at least five of six days in each , or ● part of the whole year . . the expence of the whole people of ireland is about four millions per ann. the ⅓ part whereof being , l. and the quarter of annual house-rent being about ●, l. together with , ● l. more , being the value of half a years rent , tythes and quit-rent , do make ●, l. as that sum of money which will compleatly and plentifully drive the trade of this kingdom . . the value of the commodities exported out of ireland , and the fraight of the shipping imployed in the trade of this nation , together with the fishing of herrings , is about five hundred thousand pounds per annum . . the value of the estates in ireland of such persons as do usually live in england ; the interest of debts of ireland , due and payable to england ; the pay of the forces of ireland , now in england ; the expence and pensions of agents and solli●itors commonly residing in england about irish affairs ; the expence of english and iri●h youth now upon their education beyond the seas ; and lastly , the supposed profit of the two great farms now on foot , do altogether make up near ● , ● l. per ann. as a debt payabl● to england out of ireland . . the value of the cattel , viz. live oxen and sheep , carried out of ireland into england , was never more than , l. per annum ; the fraight , hides , tallow , and wooll of the said live cattel , were worth about , l. of the said , l. and the value of the goods imported out of england into ireland ( when the cattel-trade was free ) was between treble and quadruple , to the neat value of the ox , and she●ps fle●h transported from hence into england . . the customs of exported and imported goods , between england and ireland , abstracted from the excise thereof , was in the freest trade , about , l. per ann. inferences from the premisses . . by comparing the extent of the territory with the number of people , it appears that ireland is much underpeopled ; for as much as there are above ● acres of good land to every head in ireland , whereas in england and france there are but four , and in holland scarce one . . that if there be spare●●ands capable of labour , who can earn or five l. per ann. one with another , it follows that the people of ireland , well employed , may earn one million per ann. more than they do now , which is more than the years rent of the whole country . . if an house with stone-walls , and a chimney well covered , and half an a●re of land well ditched about , may be made for or l. or thereabouts ; then ⅓ of the spare hands of ireland can in one years time build and fit up , such houses and gardens , instead of the like number of the wretched cabbins above-mentioned : and that in a time when a foreign-trade is most dead and obstructed , and when money is most scarce in the land. . the other third part of the said spare hands within the same year ( besides the making of bridges , harbors , rivers , high-ways , &c. more fit for trade ) are able to plant as many fruit and timber-trees , and also quick-set hedges , as being grown up , would distinguish the bounds of lands , beautifie the countrey , shade and shelter cattel , furnish wood , fuel , timber and fruit , in a better manner than ever was yet known in ireland or england . and all this in a time when trade is dead , and money most scarce . . if the gardens belonging to the cabbins above mentioned , be planted with hemp and flax , according to the present statute , there would grow , l. worth of the said commodities , the manufactures whereof , as also of the wooll and hides now exported , would by the labour of the spare hands above-mentioned , amount to above one million per annum more than at present . . the multitude and proportion of alehouses above-mentioned , is a sign of want of employment in those that buy , no less than those that sell the drink . . there being but thousand papists in ireland , and little above , priests ; it is manifest that priests may , in a competent manner , officiate for the said number of people and parishes . and that two popish bishops if any at all be necessary ) may as well govern the said priests , and two thousand parishes ; as the bishops of england do govern near ten thousand parishes . . if the protestants , according to the present practice and understanding of the law , do work one tenth part of the year more than the papists : and that there be be thousand working people in ireland , whereof about thousand papists . it follows that the popish religion takes off thousand workers , which , at about l. per annum each , is about thousand pounds per annum of it self ; besides the maintenance of hundred superfluous churchmen , which at l. per annum each , comes to fifty thousand pounds per annum more . . the sheriffs of ireland at l. per annum , the high constables at l. per annum , and the petty constables at l. per annum , each , being all english protestants ( with some other incident charges for the administration of justice ) may be fallarated and defrayed for thirty thousand pounds per annum , consistent with his majesty's present revenue , forces , &c. which said sallaries , may also be lessened , by uniting some of the smaller countie's , baronies and parishes , according to the proportion of people inhabiting within them . . if there be not ●housand pounds coyned money in ireland ; and if thousand pounds ( or near double what there now is ) be requisite to drive the trade thereof ; then it follows , that there is not enough in ireland to drive the trade of the nation . . if the lands of ireland and housing in corporations , be worth above millions to be now sold ( and if less than one million of stock will drive all the trade afore-mentioned , that ireland is capable off ) reckoning but two returns per annum : it is certain that the lesser part of the said ten millions worth of real estate , being well contrived into a bank of credit , will with the cash yet remaining , abundantly answer all the ends of domestick improvements , and foreign traffick whatsoever . . if the whole substance of ireland be worth millions , as above said : if the customs between england and ireland , were neverworth above thirty two thousand pounds per annum : i● the titles of estates in ireland , be more hazardous and expensive , for that england and ireland be not under one legislative power : if ireland till now , hath been a continual charge to england : if the reducing the late rebellion did cost england three times more in men and money , than the substance of the whole countrey , when reduced , is worth : if it be just , that men of english b●rth and estates , living in ireland , should be represented in the legislative power ; and that the irish should not be judged by those who , they pretend , do usurp their estates : it then seems just and convenient , that both kingdoms should be united and governed by one legislative power . nor is it hard to shew how this may be made practicable , nor to satisfy , repair , or silence those who are interested or affected to the contrary . . in the mean time , it is wonderful that men born in england , who have lands granted to them by the king , for service done in ireland to the crown of england , when they have occasion to reside or negotiate in england , should by their country-men , kindred and friends there , be debarred to bring with them out of ireland food whereupon to live , nor suffered to carry money out of ireland , nor to bring such commodities as they fetch from america directly home , but round about by england , with extream hazard and loss , and be forced to trade only with strangers , and become unacquainted with their own country ; especially when england gaineth more than it loseth by a free commerce ; as exporting hither three times as much as it receiveth from hence : in so much as l. in england , was worth about l. of the like money in ireland , in the freest time of trade . . it is conceived that about ⅓ d of the imported manufactures , might be made in ireland and ⅓ d of the remainder might be more conveniently had from foreign parts , than out of england , and consequently that it is scarce necessary at all for ireland to receive any goods of england , and not convenient to receive above th part from hence of the whole which it needeth to import , the value whereof is under thousand pounds per annum . the application of the premisses , in order to remedy the defects and impediments of the trade of ireland . . forasmuch as the consideration of raising money , hath already , and so lately , been before your lordships ; therefore without giving this board any further trouble concerning the same : we humbly offer , in order to the regulation of the several species thereof ; that whereas weighty plate pieces , together with ducatoons , which estimate to be three quarters of the money now currant in ireland ; do already pass at proportionable rates ; and for that all other species of silver money , are neither rated proportionably to the said weighty pieces , nor to one another ; that whole , half and quarter cobbs of sterling silver ( if light ) may pass at s. d. per ounce ; but that the other species of courser silver , as the perrues , &c. may pass as commodity , or at s. per ounce , until there shall be conveniency for new coyning thereof into smaller money . . that forthwith application may be made unto england , to restore the trade from the plantations , and between the two kingdoms ( and particularly that of cattel ) as heretofore ; and in the mean time to discover and hinder , by all means possible , the carrying of bullion out of ireland into england ; to the end that those in england who are to receive moneys from hence , may be necessitated to be very earnest in the said negotiation . . that endeavours be used in england , for the union of the kingdoms under one legislative power , proportionably , as was heretofore and successively done in the case of wales . . for reducing interest from ten to five , or six , per centum , for disposing moneyed men to be rather merchants than usurers , rather to trade than purchase , and to prevent the bad and uncertain payments , which gentlemen are forced to make unto tradesmen , whose stock and credit is thereby soon buried in debts , not to be received without long and expensiv● suits , and that a bank of land be forthwith contrived and countenanced . . that the act of state which mitigates and compounds , for the costoms of some foreign goods , purposely made high to hinder their importation , and to encourage the manufacture of them here , be taken into consideration ( at least before it be renewed ) . . that the lord lieutenant and council , as also the nobilit , courts of justice and officers of the army , and other gentlemen in and about dublin , may by their engagement and example , discountenance the use of some certain foreign commodities , to be pitched upon by your lordships : and that gentlemen and freeholders in the country , at their assizes , and other country meetings ; and that the inhabitants of all corporations , who live in houses of above two chimneys in each , may afterwards do the same . . that there be a corporation for the navigation of this kingdom , and that other societies of men may be instituted , who shall undertake and give security to carry on the several trades and manufactures of ireland ; and to see that all goods exported to foreign markets , may be faithfully wrought and packt : which societies may direct themselves , by the many several proposals and reports formerly , and of late made by the council of trade , and which they are now again ready to enlarge and accommodate to the said several proposals respectively , and more particularly to the manufactures of woollen , linnen , and leather . . that the corporations of ireland , may be obliged to engage no manufactures , but according to their primitive instructions ; which was to carry on such great works , as exceeded the strength of single persons ; and particularly that they may cause some such like proportions of yarn , linnen , and woollen , as also of worsted , to be spun , as mr. hawkins hath propounded . . that the pattents , which hinder the working of mines may be considered . . that the justices of peace , may be admonished to protect the industrious , and not suffer their labours to be interrupted by vexatious and frivolous indictments . . that the inhabitants of the wretched cabbins in ireland , may be encouraged to reform them ; and also compelled thereunto , as an easy and indulgent committing for the penalty of nine-pence per sunday payable , by the statute ; and likewise to make gardens , as the statute for hemp and flax requires . and that other the wholesome laws against idlers , vagabonds , &c may be applied to the prevention of beggary and thievery : whereunto the orderly disposing of the said cabbins into townships would also conduce . . that the people be dissuaded from the observations of superfluous holy-days . . that the exorbitant number of popish-priests and fryars , may be reduced to a bare competency , as also the number of ale-houses . . that the constable , sheriff , and bailiffs , may also be english protestants , ( though upon salary ) from all which , and from the settlement of estates ; it is to be hoped , that men seeing more advantage to live in ireland than elsewhere , may be invited to remove themselves hither ; and so supply the want of people , the greatest and most fundamental defect of this kingdom . carolus secundus , dei gratia , angliae , scotiae , franciae & hiberniae rex , fidei defensor , &c. omnibus ad quos praesentes literae pervenerint salutem . cum praedilectus , perquam fidelis consanguineus & consiliarius noster jacobus dux ormondiae in r●gno nostro hiberniae , qui plurima egregia servitia serenissimo patri nostro beatissimae memoriae in eodem regno , in loco & qualitate domini locum-tenentis generalis & generalis gobernatoris ejusdem regni nostri per multos annos in temporibus maximae calamitatis summa cum prudentia & integritate praestiterit , ac sese fidum & fortem assertorem coronae angliae jurium continuè comprobaverit , ut pote qui dicto patri nostro per totam flagitiosam illam subditorum suorum nuperam defectionem , magnanimiter adhaerescens in praelio primus & audax , in consilio prudens , & nemini secundus extiterit ; at que nobis etiam tum extremis exilii nostri angustiis , tum restitutione nostra , inseparabilis & indesatigabilis adfuerit comes & adjutor : nos praemissa perpendendentes aequum duximus , in tesseram favoris nostri , eundem ducem ormondiae locum-tenentem nostrum generalem regni nostri hiberniae praedicti , & generalem in eodem regno gubernatorem constituere . sciatis , quod nos de provida circumspectione & industria praefati iacobi ducis ormondiae plurimum consitentes de advisamento concilii nostri & ex certae scientia & mero motu nostris assignavimus , fecimus , or●inavimus , constituimus & deputavimus & per praesentes assignamus , facimus , ordinamus , constituimus & deput amus eundem duc●m ormondiae locum-tenentem nostrum generalem regni nostri hiberniae praedict ' necnon g●bernator nostrum generalem regni nostri illius , habendum tenendum , gaudendum , exercend ' & occupand ' offic ' praed ' praefato jacobo duci ormondiae una cum omnibus & singulis vad ' feod ' stipend & assocation ' eidem officio spectan ' & pertinen ' durante beneplacito nostro ; dante 's & concedentes èidem locum-tenenti nostro generali & gubernatori nostro generali plenam tenore praesentium potestatem & authoritatem ad pacem nostram & ad leges & consuetudin●s regni nostri praedict ' custodiend ' & custodi●e faciend ' & ad omnes & singulos ligeos nostros tam anglicos quàm hibernicos dicti regni nostri ac alios quoscunque , per nos super dictum locum-tenent ' nostrum generalem & gubernatorem nostrum generalem , stipendiatos & alias quascunque personas , ibidem contra nos , aut pacem , consu●tudinem & leges praedict ' qualecùnque delinquend ' & contraveniend ' juxt a eorum demerita , secundum leges & consuetudines nes praedictas , viis & modis quibus melius pro honore & proficuo nostro fieri poterit : ac pro bana gubernatione dicti regni nostri ac ligeorum & subditor ' nostrorum ibidem juxta discretionem dicti locum-tenentis nostri general ' & gubernatoris nostri general castig and ' & puniend ' ac puniri & castigari faciend ' necnon ordinationes & statuta pro salvo & bono regimine regni nostri praedict ' juxta advisamentum consilii nostri ibidem ordinand ' statuend ' & stabiliend ' ac super inde proclamationes faciend ' debitaeque executioni demandand ' ac quoscunque contravenientes & delinquentes castigand ' & incarcerand ' at que incàrceratos solvend ' & deliberand ' necnon ad recipiend ' & admittend ' per dictum advisament ' consilii nostri ad fidem & pacem nostram , tam anglicos quàm hibernicos , & alios quoscunque infra praedict ' regnum nostrum hiberniae habitantes vel commorantes intutand ' seu commorand ' qui nobis , legibus nostris consuetud ' praedict ' rebelles & contrarii extiterint aut existunt vel existent ; & ad concedend ' faciend ' & dand ' per hujusmodi advisament ' plenam pardonationem , remissionem , relaxationem & absolutionem tam general ' quàm specialem , illis & eorum cuilibet hujusmodi pardonationem petent ' aut habere volen ' ac sectam pacis nostrae quae ad nos pertinet tam pro homicid rober ' felon ' murdr ' rapt mulierum , latrociniis , falsis allegation ' adhaesion ' inimicis vtlagar ' transgression ' contempt ' & aliis offensis quibuscunque in dicto regno nostro per aliquas hujusmodi personas ante haec tempora fact ' seu in posterum faciend ' & corum forisfactur ' & firmam pacem nostram eis & eorum cuilibet literas patentes sub magno sigillo quo ●timur in regno nostro praedicto in forma debita concedend ' donand ' & deliberand ' ac etiam eosdem alios quoscunque ad fines & redemptiones hujusmodi offens ' & eorum quamlibet qui fines & redemptiones facere debuerunt seu voluerunt ' accipiend ' & recipiend ' et singul ' personis juxta leges & consuetudines praed ' justitiam faciend ' & fieri niandand ' ac etiam ad universos & singulos tam anglos rebelles quàm hibernicos dicti regni nostri & alios quoscunque dictum regnum nostrum in posterum invadend ' ac ipsum regnum nostrum subditosque nostros ejusdem depraedare , gravare seu alio modo destruere seu devastare intendent ' ac se juxta leges , & consuetudines praedict ' justificare volentes , si necesse fuerit , cum potestate nostra regia , ac aliis viis & modis , quibus melius fieri poterit juxta eorum demerita puniend ' & si opus fuerit ultimo supplicio demandand ' ac subditos nostros providè commovend ' convocand ' & levand ' ac cum eisdem subditis nostris sic levat ' contra dictos rebelles congrediend ' cesque invadend ' vincend ' & castigand ' & si opus fuerit terr' ipsorum aliis qui nobis servire volunt & intendunt de advisamento praedict ' locand ' & demittend ' ac etiam cum eis pacisicand ' & pacem componend ' ac ipsos paci nostrae restorand ' toties quoties in praemissis vel circa ea opus fuerit . proviso tamen semper , quod super quamlibet talem dimissionem & location ' per praefat iacobum ducem ormondiae ac praedict ' advisament ' consilii nostri praed ' in posterum virtute harum literarum nostrarum patentin ' saciend annual ' reddit ' superinde debit sit nobis , haeredibus & successoribus nostris , omnino reservat ' damus insuper & concedimus eidem iacobo duci ormondiae locum-tenenti nostro generali & gubernatori nostro generali , tenore praesentium , plenam potestatem & authoritatem omnes proditiones , necnon felon ' murdr ' rapt ' mulier ' ibidem & alias causas & offensam quascunque per subditos ejusdem regni nostri hiberniae , vel alios ibidem residend ' commiss ' sive comittend ' prodition ' quae destructionem vitae nostrae concernerunt tantummodo except ' pardonand ' abolend ' remittend & relaxand ' literasque nostras patentes sub dicto magno sigillo nostro superinde cuicunque personae regni nostri hiberniae praed nomine nostro concedend ' componend ' & ad casdem sigilland ' cancellar ' nostro vel custod ' sigilli dicti nostri regni nostri hiberniae mandand ' tradend ' & deliberand ' . damus praeterea & concessimus eidem iacobo duci ormondiae locum-tenenti nostro generali & gubernatori nostro generali , plenam potestatem & authoritatem quoscunque de stirpe anglicano existend ' in officio in regno praedict tam secundo baroni scaccar ' nostri & quorumcunque computand ' ac aliar ' officiar ' persicere , ipsosque officiar ' intra regnum nostrum praedictum facere , deputare & constituere ; habendum eis & corum cuilibet & quibuslibet , durante beneplacito nostro , & quamdin in eodem se bene gerunt ad libitum ejusdem locum-tenentis nostri general ' & gubernatoris nostri general ' una cum vad ' & . regard ' eisdem officiar ' ab antiquo , debit ' & consuet ' offic ' cancellar ' thesaurar subthes●urar ' iusticiar ' utriusque banci & capital ' baron ' scaccar ' nostri offic ' magistri rotulorum ac offic ' ●hesaurar ' ad gueram offic ' marescall ' offic ' magistri ordination clerici de le checque ' offic ' praesiden ' munster & connaght , ac officium attor & sollicitator ' nostri ejusdem regni nostrae hiberniae tantumodo except ' statut & parliamen ' domini henrici nuper regis angliae septimi progenitor nostri inclytae memoriae , anno regni sui decimo , coram edwardo poyning milite tunc deputato regni nostri hiberniae tent ' edit ' & provis ' non obstante . concessimus etiam praefato locum-tenenti nostro generali potestatem quod ipse durante beneplacito nostro omnia officia ecclesiastica , tam jurat ' quam non jurat ' viz. vicar ' parsonat praebendar ' cantur ' capeil ' hospital ' dignitat ' archionat ' & alia beneficia quaecunque nominatione archiepiscopor ' & episcopor ' tantum except ' tam in ecclesiis cathedral ' quam collegiat ' hospitat ' & paroch ' in quocunque loco in regnum nostrum hiberniae quocunque titulo jam vacan ' seu in posterum ex causa quacunque vacare contingen ' & ad praesentationem , collationem sive donationem nostram quocunque modo spectan ' personis idoneis quibuscunque sibi placuerit dand ' concedend ' & conferend ' & ad eadem omnia & singula quorum ad nos praesentationis , donationis sive collationis spect ' & pertinent , & stat ' & possess ' omnium & singulorum qui de eorum aliquibus possessionat ' existunt ratificand ' approbanda ' & confirmand ' ac privileg ' libertat ' imunitat ' & concess ' per praedecessores nostros quoscunque aut aliquos alios ante haec tempora fact ' sive concess ' prout eidem locum-tenenti nostro general ' & gubernatori nostro general ' per advisament ' & consensu consilii nostri in regno nostro praed ' melius expedire videbitur ratificand ' approband ' & confirmand ' concessimus in super eidem iacobo duci ormondiae locum-tenenti nostro generali & gubernatori nostro general ' potestat ' & fidelit ' provision ' & renuntiation ' archiepiscopor ' & episcopor ' in codem regno nostro hiberniae , tempore praeterito sive futuro , fact ' ordinat ' & consueta acceptand ' faciend ' ordinand ' & constituend ' ac omnia alia ad nos debit ' nomine nostro recipiend ' eisdem archiepiscopis , episcopis & car ' quilibet temporalia sua cancellar ' nostro regni nostri praedict ' deliber ' mandand ' cum omnibus & singulis juribus emolumen ' proficuis & reven tionibus ratione vacationis deor ' beneficior ' dignitat ' archiepiscopat ' sive episcopat ' nobis reservat ' ac etiam homag ' omnium & singulorum tam spiritual ' quàm temporal ' tenen & subditor ' nostrorum quorumcunque in regno nostro praedicto nomine nostro recipiend ' & terras & tenement ' sua de hereditate sua cancellar ' nostro deliba●i mandand ' manusque nostras exinde amovend ' ac victual ' sufficien ' & necessar ' pro expens ' hospitii sui & soldar ' suor ' in quocunque infra dictum regnum hiberniae per provisor ' hospitii sui & alios ministr ' suos una cum carria● ' sufficien ' pro eisdem , tam infra libertates quàm extra , pro denar ' suis rationabil ' solvend ' providend ' & capiend juxta formam statuti de hujusmodi provision ' ante haec tempora fact ' nisi aliter per composition ' fact ' cum intutan ' com' infra partes vulgariter vocatos the english pale aliosque com' extra deces partes provisum sit aut post hac provideatur , quod praed locum-tenens general ' & gubernator noster general habeat vel habere possit summam pecuniae annuatim in dicta compositione ante haec limitat ' pro compensatione & recompensatione pro hujusmodi virtual ' providend ' & capiend ' pro provisor hospitii sui , quam quidem compositionem censemus observand ' pro beneficio subditor ' nostror ' necnon ad summonend ' & sumonire faciend ' atque tenend ' secundum leges , statut ' & consuetudin ' regni nostri hiberniae praedict ' unum duntaxat parliament ' quandoquidem sibi melius expediri videbitur , consensu tamen nostro in ea parte semper habit ' & ad idem parliament ' prorogand & adjournand ' toties quoties necesse fuerit , & infra deos annos à tempore interceptionis ejusdem plenè determinand ' & siniend ' & quoscunque sic summonit ' absentes & non legitime impedit ' mulctand ' & puniend ' concessimus insuper dicto locum-tenenti nostro general ' & gubernator ' nostro ' general ' plenam & sufficien ' authoritatem & potestat ' ad omnimod ' officiar ' computabil ' thesaurar ' & subthesaurar ' regni nostri praedict ' duntaxat except ' coram eisdem thesaurar ' , subthesaurar ' nostris & baron seaccarii nostri dicti regni nostri hiberniae , computare faciend ' & ad hujusmodi comput ' reddend ' compelland ' ac etiam ad inquirend ' & inquiri faciend ' viis & modis quibus melius sibi videbitur , faciend de quibuscunque bonis & cattallis quae fuer ' ill ' sive alior qui erga nos seu progenitores nostros forisfecerunt vel forisfacient , & à nobis concelat ' existunt vel imposterum existent , & ad omnia & singula alia quae ad offic ' locum tenentis nostri generalis & gubernatoris nostri generalis jure , usu & consuetud ' regni nostri praed ' pertinent aut pertinere deberent & pro bono regimine & salvatione & pro bono custod ' pacis regni nostri praed & quiete populi nostri ibidem , & recuperatione jurium nostrorum in regno nostro hiberniae necessar ' fuerit ; salvis super reservatis faciend ' exercend ' exequend ' & ordinand ' omnia alia nomine nostro & pro nobis in dicto regno nostro hiberniae faciend ' exercend ' & ordinand sicut nos faceremus aut facere possemus si ibidem in propria persona nostra essemus . damus insuper praefato iacobo duci ormondiae locum tenenti nostro generali & gubernatori nostro generali potestatem & authoritatem navibus nostris quibuscunque aut aliis quae circa littora dicti regni nostri hiberniae sunt in servitio nostro , aut in posterum quacunque occasione erunt & mittentur pro defensione dicti regni nostri hiberniae , imperand & utend ' pro servitio nostro & tutamine dicti regni nostri , prout ipse secundum discretionem suam & per advisamentum concilii nostri ejusdem regni nostri hiberniae visum , erit ' nisi nos special ' commission ' nostra aut admiralli nostri angliae ordinatione special ' gubernator ' & capitan ' praed ' navium nostrarum aut aliis mittend ' speciali instructione mandat ' & servic ' imperaverimus aut imperaverit . constituimus etiam praesat . iacobum ducem ormondiae gubernator ' & praefect . nostrum general ' exercitûs nostri in dicto regno nostro hiberniae , tam praesentis quàm futuri , quàm diu nobis placuerit , cum alacationibus inde debit ' & consuet . ac eidem duci praefecto generali ex ercitus nostri ibidem plenam potestatem & authoritatem concedimus faciend ' constituend ' & ordinand ' leges , ordinationes & proclamationes de tempore in tempus , ut casus exegerit , pro bono regimine exercitus nostri praedict ' ac omnes quorumcunque sub mandato & gubernatione ejusdem praefectus generalis exercitûs nostri eas demque leges , ordinationes & proclamationes exequendi ac debitae executioni mandand ' ac etiam insligere , adjudicare & assidere timor ' poenas corporales , imprisonamenta , fines , forissactur ' ac omnes alias poenas & penalitates quascunque in & super omnes delinquentes si ve offendentes contra hujusmodi leges , ordinationes & proclamationes qualis & quae eidem gubernatori & praefecto nostro exercitûs nostri requisit ' & necessar ' fore videbuntur ' quae omnia leges , ordinationes & proclamationes , sic ut praefert ' faciend ' observari volumus sub poenis in eisdem continend ' . et ei damus potestatem & authoritatem utendi & exercendi infra regnum nostrum praedictum si opus fuerit , lege mariscal ' sive martial ' necnon substituend ' assignand ' & appuntuand ' sub se infra dictum regnum nostrum per literas nostras patentes sub magno sigillo nostro dict' regni nostri praedict ' faciend ' tot & tales marriscallos , commissarios & al' officiar ' ad legem armor ' sen legem martial ' exercend ' & exequend ' prout praefat ' locum-tenenti nostro general ' & gubernator ' nostro general ' de tempore in tempus expedire videbit ad exercend ' utend ' & exequend ' praed ' leges , quotie● opus & necesse fuerit , & juramenta praestare , aliaque omnia per se vel per alios facere , erigere , quae ad leges praedictas exercend ' aliqualiter pertineant . et quia valde necessar ' nobis videatur ut praefat ' locum tenens noster generalis & gubernator noster generalis pro negotiis nostris magni momenti personam nostram regiam in propria persona sua sicut nobis visum suerit attendat ' ideo ulterius damus , & per praesentes praefato iacobo duci ormondiae locum-tenenti & gubernator ' nostro general ' plenam potestatem & authoritatem concedimus nominand ' & assignand per literas nostras patentes sub magno sigillo nostro , dicti regni nostri hiberniae nomine nostro , tam nunc quàm de tempore in tempus imposte um , consiciend ' quamcunque aut quoscunque dictus locum-tenens & gubernator noster general ' in hac pa●te idoneum sive idoneos duxerit sore deputat vel deputatos quocunque nomine assignatos durante beneplacito nostro pro gubernatione dicti regni nostri hiberniae in a●sentiae sua , donec idem locum-tenens & gubernator noster in dictum regn ' hiberniae gubernatione ejusdem ut praefert ' redierit , volentes tamen quod in eisdem literis patentibus alicui personae seu personis sicut praefert ' faciend deputat ' aut deputatos in absentia sua tantum provis & nomine nostro mand ' sit quod non licebit alicui tal deputat ' vel deputatis the saurar ' seu pecunias nostras cuicunque solvere vel erogare , authoritat ' seu warrant ' ipsius deputat ' vel ipsorum deputat ' tantum sed quod omnia erod ' mandat ' & warrant ' per thesaur ' & pecuniis nostris per ipsum sient & signabunt non solum manu propria praefat ' deput ' vel praefator ' deputator ' sed etiam manibus praedilectorum & sidel consiliar ' nostrorum magistri curiae wardor ' capital ' baron ' scaccar nostri ' cancellar ' scaccar ' nostri & primar ' secretarii nostri ibidem pro tempore existente vel saltem manibus duorum illorum . damus ulterius universis , singulis archiepiscopis , ducibus , comitibus , vice-comitibus , episcopis , baron ' iusticiar ' militibus , liberis hominibus & aliis subditis nostris de regno nostro praedict ' firmè in mandatis , quòd praefato iacobo duci ormondiae locum-tenenti nostro general & gubernatori nostro general ' in eodem regno nostro intendentes sive assidentes , auxiliantes & consultantes , ac ipsius mandatis in omnibus prout decet aut decebit obedientes sint , aliquo statut ' actu , ordinatione , provisione , jure , usu , consuetudine sive restriction ' in contrar ' inde fact edit ' ordinat ' sive provis ' aut aliqua alia re , causa vel materia quacunque in aliquo non obstante . in cujus rei testimonium has literas nostras fieri fecimus patentes teste meipso apud westmonaster ' vicessimo primo die februarii ann. regni nostri quarto decimo inrotulat ' in rotulls patentibus cancellariae hiberniae de ann. regni regis caroli secundi decimo quarto & examinat ' per i. temple . per ipsum regem barker . at the court at hampton court , iune . . propositions to be consider'd of by his majesty , concerning the governing of ireland . charles r. . that his majesty may declare his express pleasure , that no irish suit by way of reward be moved for by any of his servants , or others , before the ordinary revenue there become , able to sustain the necessary charge of that crown , and the debts there of befully cleared . this is most reasonable , it standing with no sound rule of judgment , to exercise the acts of bounty in a place which doth not discharge it self , and will prove the readiest and most expedient way to recover his majesties affairs thereby , thus carrying the revenues in their natural channell ; and indeed this course being constantly pursu'd , will much encrease the annual profits above what they now are , and intirely draw the dependance of the inferiors from the great lords upon his majesty , and so the interest and assurance the crown shall have in the natives thereof , be of no less consequence and advantage than the very profits : . that there be an express caveat entred with the secretary , signet , privy seal and great seal here , that no grant , of what nature soever , concerning ireland , be suffered to pass , till the lord lieutenant be made acquainted , and it first pass the seal of that kingdom , according to the usual manner . this will be of great intelligence and safety to his majesty ; for on the one side he will clearly see into the true inward value all things , which formerly , albeit of very great worth , have from so great a distance slipt away here , as little understood by the crown ; as is acknowledged by those that obtain them ; who generally , in these causes , sacrifice rather to their own wit , than the goodness and bounty of kings . and on the other side , nothing can pass to the disadvantage of the crown ; and proper ministers , instructed with these affairs , may be immediately faulted and justly called to a severe account for their negligence and unfaithfulness therein ; which will give them good reason to look more narrowly into his majesties rights , and their own duties . . that his majesty signify his royal pleasure , that special care be taken hereafter , that sufficient and credible persons be chosen to supply such bishopricks as shall be void , or admitted of his privy councel , or sit as iudges , and serve of his learned councel there ; that he will vouchsafe to hear the advice of his lieutenant before he resolve of any in these cases , that the lieutenant be commanded to inform his majesty truly and impartially , of every mans particular diligence , and care in his service there , to the end his majesty may truly and graciously reward the well-deserving , by calling them home to better preferment here . this will advantage the service ; it being altogether impossible for the lieutenant , be he never so industrious and able , to administer the publick justice of so great a kingdom , without the round assistance of other able and well-affected ministers . this will encourage the best men to spend their stronger years there , when they shall see their elder age recompensed with ease and profit in their own native soyl ; and content and settle the natives , when they find themselves cared for , and put in the hands of discreet and good men to govern them . . that no particular complaints of injustice or oppression be admitted here against any , unless it appears , that the party made first his address unto the lieutenant . this is but justice to the lieutenant , who must needs in some measure be a delinquent , if the complaint be true ; for that he ought as in chief , universally to take care that his majesties justice be truly and fully administered ; and therefore good reason that his judgment should be informed , and his integrity first tryed , before either be impeached ; nay , it is but justice to the government it self , which would be exceedingly scandalized through the liberty of complaints , and the ministers therein extreamly discouraged upon any petty matter , to be drawn to answer here , when as the thing it self is for the most part either injurious or such as the party might have received good satisfaction for at his own doors : but where the complaint appeareth formally grounded , that is , where due application hath been made to the lieutenant , without any help or relief to the party , as may be pretended ; let it in the name of god be throughly examined , and severely punished , wheresoever the fault prove to be ; especially if it be found to be corrupt or malitious : for thus shall not his majesty only magnify his own justice , but either punish an unfaithful minister , or a clamorous complainer ; and so his service be better'd by either example . . that no confirmation of any reversion of office within that kingdom be had , or any new grant of reversion hereafter to pass . that disposing of places thus aforehand , much abates mens endeavours , who are many times stirred up to deserve eminently in the commonwealth , in hope of those preferments ; and being thus granted away , there is nothing left in their eye , for them to expect and aim at , which might nourish and quicken those good desires in them , besides places there closely and covertly passed , the persons are not for the most part so able and fitted to the duties thereof , as when there is choice made out of many publick pretenders , which commonly occur , when they actually fall void by death . . that the places in the lieutenants gift , as well in the martial as civil list , be left freely to his disposing ; and that his majesty may be graciously pleased not to pass them to any person , upon suits made unto him here . this course held , preserves the rights of the lieutenants place , and his person in that honour and esteem which can only enable him to do service ; and if the contrary happen , it is not only in diminution to him , but draws off all necessary dependance upon him , and regard that ought to be had of him , in all ready obedience in such things he shall command , for the kings service , when they shall discern that the natural powers of the place are taken from him , whereby he might kindle their chearful endeavours by the preferring and furnishing such as deserve those places . . that no new offices be erected within that kingdom before such time as the lieutenant be therewith acquainted ; his opinion first required and certified accordingly . suits of this nature , however they pretend the publick , their chief end is the private profit of the propounder ; and for the most part , in the execution prove burthens , not benefits to the subjects ; therefore throughly to be understood before they pass , as more easy and less scandalous to the state , to be staid at first than afterwards recalled , and if they be really good , his majesty may be better informed by his lieutenants approbation , and so proceed with more assurance to the effecting thereof . . that his majesty would be pleased , not to grant any licence of absence out of that kingdom , to any councillors , bishops , governours of any province or county , or officers of state , or of the army , or to any of the iudges , or learned council , but that it be left to his lieutenant to give such licence . this is but reasonable , because the lord lieutenant who is chiefly intrusted under his majesty with the care and government of that kingdom , is the most competent and proper judge , who in publick employment may be spared , and how long , without prejudice to his majesty , or the publick . . that all propositions moving from the lieutenant , touching matters of revenue , may be directed to the lord treasurer of england only , and that the address of all other dispatches for that kingdom be by special direction of his majesty applyed to one of the secretaries singly , and his majesty , under his hand-writing doth specify , that his majesty will have this done by mr. secretary nicholas . these propositions made unto his majesty , by his grace the duke of ormond lord steward of his majesty's houshold , and lord lieutenant of ireland , were received and approved at the council board , the day of iune , there being present the king 's most excellent majesty his royal highness the duke of york , his highness prince rupert , the lord chancellor , the lord treasurer , duke of albemarle , duke of ormond , marquess of dorchester , lord great chamberlain , lord chamberlain , earl of barkshire , earl of portland , earl of norwich , earl of anglesey , earl of lauderdail , the lord hatton , lord hollis , lord ashly , sir william compton , mr. treasurer , mr. vice chamberlain , mr secretary nicholas , mr. secretary morris . by his majesties command , edward nicholas at the court at hampton-court , iune . . present , the king 's most excellent majesty . his highness , the duke of york . his highness , prince rupert . lord chancellor . lord treasurer . duke of albemarl . duke of ormond . marquess of dorchester . lord great chamberlain . earl of berkshire . earl of portland . earl of norwich . earl of anglesey . earl of lauderdale . lord hatton . lord hollis . lord ashly . sir william compton . mr. treasurer . mr. vice-chamberlain . mr. secretary nicholas . mr. secretary morris . charles r. his majesty's express pleasure is , that the masters of requests , and every of them , in their several months of attendance at court , do constantly observe these ensuing directions , viz. not to move his majesty in petitions for any irish suit , by way of reward , either for any of his majesty's servants , or others before the ordinary revenue of that kingdom become able to maintain the necessary charge of that crown , and the debts thereof be fully cleared . for any particular complaint of injustice or oppression , pretended to be done there , unless it appear the party made his first address unto the lord lieutenant , for confirmation of any reversion of offices within that kingdom , or any new grant of reversion hereafter ; any places in the lord-lieutenants gift , either of the civil or military list , when any such shall fall void . any erection of a new office in that kingdom , before such time as the lord-lieutenant be therewithall acquainted , his opinion required and certified back accordingly . by his majesty's command , edward nicholas . charles r. there being nothing more conducible to the quiet and safety of a kingdom , than a frugal and regular ordering and disposing of the revenue that is to maintain the publick charge and expence of the government , both civil and military ; we have thought fit , with the advice of our council , upon a prospect made of all our revenue , certain and casual , and the just means in view upon the settlement of estate in that kingdom , now in hand for improveing thereof , to begin by this establishment , both to bring our payments as near as may be to the compass of our receipts , and to provide especially for our publick affairs , by supporting civil justice and government , and by maintaining our forces in the present strength and fulness ; intending hereafter , as our charge may grow less , and our means encrease , to extend our favour and bounty according to our gracious inclinations , and the merit of persons , to the further encouragement of particulars , as cause shall require : whereof we have already given a proof , in the liberal addition we have made to the judges , for their better support , in the impartial administration of justice . the list for civil affairs ; containing the several entertainments , by the year , of all officers and others , serving in our courts of justice , in the several provinces of ireland : officers belonging to the state ; officers of our customs ; officers of the excise : creation-money ; with other perpetuities and particular payments for our service ; which we require henceforth to be duely paid out of our revenues there , by the hands of our vice-treasurer , or receiver general for the time being , according to the cautions here mentioned ; the same to begin for , and from the first day of april . . these following payments are the constant fees to be continued to the several officers , without change from time to time .   l. s. d. the right honourable arthur , earl of anglesey , vice-treasurer , and general receiver . sir robert meredith kt. chancellor of the exchequer . iohn busse esq lord chief baron of the exchequer . sir richard kennedy kt. second baron of the exchequer . iohn povey esq third baron of the exchequer . sir audly mervin kt. his majesty's prime serjeant at law. sir william domvile kt. his majesty's attorney general . sir iohn temple kt. his majesty's sollicitor-general . philip fernely , esq his majesty's chief remembrancer ● sir iames ware , kt. his majesty's auditor-general , for his ancient fee per ann. ● l. s. d. and for an augmentation thereof , allowed by the former establishment l. in all ● sir allen brodrick , kt. his majesty's surveyor-general . frances lee , escheatour of the province of leinster . escheatour of the province of vlster . escheatour of the province of munster . escheatour of the province of connaght . henry warren , esq second remembrancer . nicholas loftus , esq clerk of the pipe. roger moor , esq chief-chamberlain . sir robert kennedy , bart. second chamberlain . maurice keating , controllor of the pipe. iohn longfield , usher of the exchequer , for his fee per annum , l. s. and for his allowance for ink , for the exchequer , l. per annum . in all , per annum . thomas lea , transcriptour and forreign opposer . edward ludlow , summonitor of the exchequer . iohn burniston , marshal of the four courts . sir theophilus iones , kt. clerk of the pells . iohn exham , clerk of the first fruits , and twentieth parts . thomas gibson , cryer of the court of exchequer . the right honourable iames , baron of santry , lord chief justice of his majesties bench. sir will. aston , kt. second justice of the said court. thomas stockton , esq third justice of the said court. sir will. vsher , kt. clerk of the crown , of the said court. the most reverend father in god , michael lord arch-bishop of dublin , lord chancellor of ireland . sir iohn temple sen. kn t. master of the rolls . dr. dudley loftus one of the masters of the chancery . robert mossom , esq another master of the chancery . george carlton clerk of the crown in chancery . the said george carlton , clerk of the hanaper , for his fee per annum l. s. and for an allowance of paper and parchment for the chancery , per annum l. in all   sir edward smith , kn t. lord chief justice of the common-pleas . sir ierome alexander , kn t. second justice of the said court. robert booth , esq third justice of the said court. sir walter plunkett , kn t. prothonotary of the said court.   sir george lane , kn t. clerk of the star-chamber . george rutlidge , marshall of the star-chamber .   sir paul davis , knt. secretary of state , for his fee the said sir paul davis for intelligences the said sir paul , clerk of the council , for his ancient fee , per ann. l. s. and for an allowance for paper and parchment l. in all richard st. george , esq vlster king at arms richard carvy athlong , pursivant , philip carpinter , esq chief serjeant at arms , at s. d. per diem george pigott , second serjeant at arms for like allowance george wakefield , pursivant , william roe , pursivant , arthur padmor , pursivant , thomas lee , keeper of the council-chamber . six trumpeters and a kettle-drum , at l. each per ann. . for their fee , and l. per an. each board-wages l. in all per ann.   the chief , and other justices of assizes in every of the five circuits twice a year , per annum robes for the judges , viz. three in the exchequer , three in the king's bench , three in the common-pleas , master of the rolls , and three of the king's council , at l. s. d. apiece per annum , making in all liberates under the seal of the exchequer yearly , viz. the chancellor of the exchequer l. s. d. the chief remembrancer l. s. d. clerk of the pipe l. s. d. the usher l. the second remembrancer l. the chief chamberlain l. the second chamberlain l. clerk of the common-pleas of the exchequer l. summonister and comptroller of the pipe l. the customer at dublin for wax paper , parchment and ink l. . s. in all per ann. rent of a house for the receipts keeper of the house for the receipts singers of christ-church in dublin for singing in the exchequer , and praying for his majesty , at s. for every term per ann. pursivants of the exchequer for carrying writs paper and parchments to the courts the nobility , bishops and councellors which shall reside and keep house in ireland for impost of wines , according to his majesty's special grace   william halsy , esq chief justice of the province of munster iohn nayler , second justice of munster henry batthurst , attorney of the province of munster william carr , esq clerk of the council of the said province walter cooper , serjeant at arms there oliver iones , chief justice in the province of connaght adam cusack , esq second justice of that province iohn shadwell , esq attorny for the said province sir iames cuss , kn t. clerk of the council there thom. elliot , serjeant at arms there officers of the customs . l. s. d. thomas worsop , esq customer of the port of dublin will. maul , esq comptroller will. scott , esq searcher   george wakefeild , customer hugh poulder , comptroller   sir iohn stephens , customer frederick christian , comptroller thom. tint , searcher   rich. scudamore , customer robert williams , searcher   robert southwell , customer iohn brown , searcher   iohn selby , customer the customer montfort westrop comptroller . iohn lynch , searcher .   iohn morgan , customer . the searcher .   thomas willis , customer . iohn bulteele , comptroller . hugh mountgomery , searcher .   roger lindon , customer . samuel willby , searcher .   nicholas ward , customer at strangford . robert hard , searcher at newcastle , dundrum , killaleagh , bangor , hollywood , bellfast , olderst●ct , st. david , whitehead , ardglasse , strangford , ballintogher , and donagh●dee . for the salaries due to the officers of the excise . the contingent charge of the excise .   these two sums are to be distributed and apportioned as the lord lieutenant , or other chief governor , or governors , and council , shall think fit , the custom and excise being now farm'd . these two sums are to cease for the time of the farm , and are not cast up in the total . the said commissioners , which are to be but five in number , are to have the allowance of one penny in the pound each , for all money to be received for customs and excise .   l. s. d. for the salaries of four commissioners of appeals in causes of excise , and new impost . viz. sir iames ware , kt. iohn povey , esq sir william vsher , kt. and peter weybrants , alderman , at l. a piece , per annum . dr. robert wood , and iames bonnell , accomptants general of the customs and excise , per annum . the duke of ormond the marquiss of antrim the earl of castlehaven the earl of desmond the earl of westmeath the earl of arglasse the earl of carbury the earl of cavan the earl of donnegale the earl of clanbrazill the earl of inchiquin the earl of orrery the earl of montrath the earl of tyrconnel the earl of clancarty the earl of mount-alexander the earl of carlingford the lord viscount grandison the lord viscount willmot the lord viscount valentia the lord viscount dillon the lord viscount nettervil the lord viscount killulla the lord viscount magennis the lord viscount sarsfield and kilmallake the lord viscount ranelaugh the lord viscount wenman and tuam the lord viscount shannon the lord viscount clare the lord baron of cahir   where creation-money is granted to one and the same person for two honours , that sum which is granted with the highest title , is only to be paid .   l. s. d. the provost and fellows of trinity-colledge near dublin , by patent , dated . august , . as a perpetuity , per annum . the dean and chapter of christ-church , dublin , grant in perpetuity , . iunii , per annum . the lord archbishop of dublin , for proxies due unto him out of divers churches belonging to the late monasteries of thomas court , st. maries abby , and st. iohn of ierusalem , near dublin , per annum . the lord bishop of meath out of the mannor of trim. the mayor , sheriffs , commons , and citizens of dublin , per annum . the chaunter of christ-church , dublin , for the rent of a plat of ground , near his majesties castle of dublin . the payments hereafter following , are to be continued to the present gran●ees , during their grants ; but to cease afterwards , and not to be regranted , or paid to any other .   l. s. d. the most reverend father in god , mich●el lord arch-bishop of dublin , lord chancellor of ireland . the right honourable richard earl of cork , treasurer . nicholas lostus esq , clerk of the pipe. maurice keating , comptroller of the pipe. sir theophilus iones k t. , clerk of the pells . bryan iones esq auditor of the foreign accompt● and prests , at s. d. per diem granted him by letters patents ; dated . april . anno do . caroli primi , during his good behaviour , per annum . edward cook esq , one of the masters of the chancery . iohn westly esq , one of the masters of the chancery . anthony walsh , keeper of the room , as also of the robes , hanging and clock in the castle of dublin at d. per diem . iohn crooke , printer to his majesty in ireland . thomas mall esq , surveyor general of the customs .   william maule , comptroller of the customs at dublin . marcus viscount dungannon , master of the game . sir george lane k t. , for his fee , as keeper of the records in brimingham's tower. iames buck , clerk of the market of all ireland . the countess of tyrconnell . edward fitz-gerrald . sarah king , widow . iane cary , widow . iohn dogharty at d. per diem . iepson macquire . sir robert meredith . sir george blundell at s. per diem . ann conocke . william awbry , at l. per week patrick archer . to be paid unto him until he be satisfied the sum of l. s. d. and l. s. d. by letters patents dated march . and his majesties letters of the d of may .   l. s. d. dr. iohn sterne . luke german esq , per annum patrick cowurcey , and his son iohn cowurcey , per annum . sir iames dillon per annum dr. robert george , per annum thomas piggot esq , per annum mrs. mary warren , per annum arthur earl of anglesey , per annum captain william rosse , per annum   commissioners of accompts , for the yearly accompts by them to be taken by virtue of his majesty's commission at l. each of them per annum , l. and to the clerks and others imployed in the said accompts , l. s. in all , for fraught and transportation , carrying of letters and other expresses , gifts and rewards , sea-service , repairing and upholding sufficiently our houses , maintaining our forts , finishing of needful undertakings of that kind , begun in other places , but not finished ; erecting of more strengths of the like kind , and other fit and necessary places . diets and charges , in keeping of poor prisoners , and sick and maimed soldiers in hospitals ; printing , riding and travelling charges ; prests upon accompt , and all other payments by concordat of our lieutenant , or other chief governor or governors , and council , not to be exceeded without special direction first had from us , or our privy-council in england . sum total of the payments aforesaid upon the civil list amounts unto per annum . memorandum . that the impost of wines , for the nobility , bishops and councillors , the officers of the excise , and commissioners-general of the customs and excise , are not included in the abovesaid sum. and our pleasure is , that no payment or allowance be made by concordat , but by warrant drawn by the clerk of the council of ireland , and passed openly at our council-board there , and signed by our lieutenant or other chief-governour , or governour , chancellor , treasurer , or vice-treasurer , chief-baron and secretary , or other four of them at the least , the lieutenant or chief-governour being one ; and in default , either by exceeding the sum limited by anticipation or otherwise , or by not observing of this our direction and commandment in every point ; our pleasure is , that all sums which shall otherwise be allowed and paid there , shall be set insuper , as debts upon our said lieutenant , or other chief-governour , or governours ; and our vnder-treasurer , upon his accounts to be defaulked to our use , upon their several entertainments . and our further pleasure is , that this establishment and list , containing all our payments to be made for civil-causes , be duly paid according to our directions , and be not exceeded , nor any of the payments which are no ed to be but temporary , or to cease after death , or surrender of the party , or upon determination of his grant , to be continued or renewed to any other , either in concurrence , reversion or otherwise . and we require our auditor-general , that once every year , immediately upon the passing the accounts of our vice ●reasurer , or receiver general , a transcript of the same accompts , both for receipts of every nature , and the particular payments , be returned to our treasurer of england , to the end we may be truly informed , both of the increase of our said revenues yearly , and also of the abatements of payments contained in this list. arlington . by the lord-lieutenant-general , and general governor of ireland . instructions for our dearest son , thomas earl of ossory , nominated by vs by virtue of his majesty's letters patents , under his great seal of england , bearing date the st day of february , in the th year of his reign , and constituted by his majesty's letters patents , under the great seal of this kingdom of ireland , bearing date the st day of may , in the th year of his reign , his majesty's deputy of this his said kingdom , during his majesty's pleasure , and only in our absence , until we shall return into this kingdom . ormond . whereas we the lord-lieutenant received instructions from the king 's most excellent majesty , under his royal signatures , bearing date the d day of june , . we do herewith deliver you a copy of the said instructions signed by vs. and we do hereby require you to observe those instructions , inall such parts of them , as were to be observed by vs , and are now appliable to you , in the place of his majesty's deputy of this his kingdom . you are to take care , that in your giving commands , or warrants for payments of any of his majesty's treasure , or moneys , you observe the rule prescribed to you , in such cases , by his majesty's letters patents , whereby you are constituted his majesty's deputy of this his kingdom . given at his majesty's castle of dublin , the th day of may , . g. lane . the establishment and list ; containing all the payments to be made for military affairs in ireland , to be duly paid by the hands of our vice-treasurer , and treasurer at wars , according to the cautions hereafter mentioned ; the same to begin for and from the st day of april , . signed , charles rex . officers general .   l. s. d. the lord-lieutenant and governour-general of ireland , for his fee per ann. viz. for his diet , at l. per mensem ; a retinue of horse , with officers at l. s. d. per diem ; an allowance of l. per ann. in lieu of cess , an allowance of l. per ann. in lieu of beefs , formerly paid to the lord-lieutenant , out of the county of cavan ; an allowance of l. per ann. formerly paid to the lord lieutenant out of the tythes of dunbogne , making in all per ann. as general of the army per ann. as cap t. of a troop of horse per ann. as collonel of foot , per ann. as cap t. of a foot-company , per ann.   for his guard of halberteers , consisting of a cap t. at l. s. each calendar month ; a lieutenant at l. s. two serjeants at l. s. each ; and halberteers at l. s. each , making per ann. the lieutenant-general of the army at l. per diem . to cease post mortem , or other determinations of the grant made to thomas earl of osserey .   l. s. d. the serjeant major-general of the army , at l. per diem , per ann. to cease post mortem , or other determinations of the grant made to roger earl of orery .   l. s. d. sir henry titchburn , k t. marshal of ireland , for his entertainment at s. d. per diem ; a trumpeter at d. ob q. per diem , and a retinue of horse , at d. a piece per diem , making per ann. the commissary general of the horse , at l. per diem , per ann. to cease post mortem , or other determinations of the grant , to iohn lord kingston .   l. s. d. the muster-master general , and clerk of the cheque , for his entertainment , at s. per diem , at horse-men , at s. the piece per diem ; for any encrease of his entertainment s. d. per diem , with an allowance for one clerk at s. d. per diem making per ann.   six commissaries of the musters , at per ann. each . one corporal of the field , viz. collonel beverly vsher , at s. per diem ; per ann. to cease post mortem , or other determinations of the grant in being .   l. s. d. the advocate general of the army at s. d. per diem . the physician-general of the army at s. per diem . chirurgion of the army in ireland , and of the hospital of dublin . officers provincial .   l. s. d. q. the lord president of munster , for his fee at l. sterling per an. for his diet , and the councils there , at l. s. per week , and for his retinue of horsemen , and foot-men , at l. s. d. ob . per diem , in all per annum . ob . the lord president of connau●ht , for his fee at l. sterling per ann. for his diet , and the councils there , at l. s. per week , and for his retinue of horse-men , and foot-men , at l. s. ● d. ob per diem , in all per ann. ob . the provost-marshal of lemster , for his entertainment at s. d. ob . q. per diem , making per ann. ob .   ob . the provost-marshal of munster , for his entertainment at s. d. ob q. per diem , making per ann. ob . the provost-marshal of connaught , for his entertainment , at s. d. ob . q. per diem , making per ann. ob . the provost marshal of vlster , for his entertainment at s. d. ob . q. per diem , making per ann. ob . all the said provost-marshals , with the entertainment due unto them respectively , to cease post mortem , or other determinations of their grants . constables .   l. s. d. q. the constable of dublincastle , for his entertainment at l. per ann.   the porter of dublin-castle at d. per diem , per ann .   the constable of limerickcastle , for his entertainment , at l. per ann . and a porter at d. ob q. per diem , per ann . ob . the constable of athlone-castle , for his entertainment , at l. s. d. per ann , and a porter at d. ob q. per diem , per ann . ob . the constable of roscomon-castle , for his entertainment , at s. d. per diem .   the constable of carrickfergus , for his entertainment , at s. d. per diem , per ann .     ob . the master of the ordnance , with other officers thereunto belonging , and train of artillery .   l. s. d. the master of the ordnance , for himself at s. d. per diem ; a lieutenant at ● . d. per diem ; a cornet ● d. and horsemen at s. the piece per diem , per an . the lieutenant of the ordnance , at s. per diem , per an to cease after the death of albert cunningham , now patentee , or other determination of his grant.   l. s. d. the ingineer , overseer , surveyor , and director-general of his majesties fortifications , &c. at s. per diem , per annum to cease after the death of captain iohn payne and capt. iohn ha●●am , now patentees , or other determinations of their grant.   l. s. d. captain hugh magill , comptroller of the ordnance , for his fee , at s. per diem , and for an allowance of s. per diem for his clerk , both per annum .   sundry ministers belonging to the ordnance , viz. in lemster .   l. s. d. a master-gunner at s. per diem , his mate at s. d. per diem ; six gunners for the train , at s. d. each per diem ; one gentleman of the ordnance at s. per diem ; clerk of the ordnance and stores at dublin at s. per diem , his clerk at s. per diem ; gunsmith , blacksmith , carpenter and wheeler , at s. d. per diem each , armorer , cutler , cooper , at d. each per diem ; six matrosses at d. each per diem ; three waggoners at d. each per diem ; at duncannon , a clerk of the stores s. d. per diem , a gunner at s. per diem , a matross , at d. per diem ; at passage , a gunners-mate at d. per diem ; making per annum connavght .   l. s. d. at athlone , a clerk of the stores at s. d. per diem ; a gunner at s. per diem ; a matross at d. per diem . galloway , a clerk of the stores at s. d. per diem ; a gunner at s. per diem ; a matross at d. per diem . at sligo , a gunner at s. per diem ; isle of arran , a gunner at s. per diem ; innisbussin , a gunner at s. per diem ; making per annum , mvnster .   l. s. d. waterford , a gunner , at s. per diem ; a matross at d. per diem . limerick , a clerk of the stores at s. d. per diem ; a gunner at s. per diem ; a matross at d. per diem . cork , clerk of the stores at s. d. per diem ; a gunner at s. per diem ; a matross at d. per diem . at halvowling , a gunners-mate d. per diem ; youghall , a gunner , at s. per diem ; kingsale , a gunner , at s. per diem ; at the block-house , a gun-ners-mate , at d. per diem ; at crook-haven , a gunner , at s. per diem ; at innisherkin , a gunners mate , at d. per diem ; valentia , a gunner , at s per diem ; in all per annum .   vlster .   l. s. d. londonderry , a clerk of the stores , at s. d. per diem ; a gunner at s. per diem ; a matross , at d. per diem . at culmore , a gunners-mate at d. per diem . at carrickfergus , a clerk of the stores , at s. d. per diem ; a gunner at s. ; a matross at d. per diem . in all , per annum . horse .   l. s. d. the king's guard of horse consisting of a captain at ● l. s. each calendar month ; a lieutenant at l. s. ; a cornet at l. s. ; a quartermaster at l. s. ; six corporals at l s. each ; two of the king's trumpets at l. s. each ; four more of the king's trumpets , and a kettle drum at l. s. each , besides their standing-allowances in the civil list : a sadler , farrier , and armorer , at l. s. each ; and horsemen at l. s. each making in all per mens . l. s. which amounts for the whole pay of the said guard per an. unto   the lord lieutenant's troop , consisting of a captain at l. s. each calendar month ; a lieutenant at l. s. and a cornet at l. s. ; a quarter-master at l. three corporals and two trumpets more at l. s. each ; and fifty private horsemen at l. s. each ; making in all per mens . l. s. which amounts for the whole pay of the said troop per an . unto   five troops more belonging to the general officers , viz. to the lieutenant general of the army , the serjeant major general of the army , the lord president of connaught , the commissary general of the horse , and the scoutmaster-general of the army , each troop consisting of a captain at l. s. each calendar month , a lieutenant at l. s. a cornet at l. s. a quartermaster at l. three corporals , and two trumpets at l. s. each , and private horsemen , at l. . s. each making in all per mensem for each troop , l. s. which amounts for the whole pay of the said five troops per annum unto         twenty three troops , which consisting of the like officers , and forty five private horsemen , making in all per mensem to each troop l. which amounts for the whole pay of the said twenty three troops per annum unto     foot   l. s. d. the lord lieutenant's company , consisting of a captain at l. s. each callendar month. a lieutenant at l. s. an ensign at l. s. two serjean●s at l. s. each ; three corporals and two drums at l. s. each , and one hundred private footmen ●t s. each , making in all per mensem l. s. which amounts for the whole pay of the said company per annum unto fifty nine companies more , each consisting of a captain at l. s. each calender month , a lieutenant at l. s. an ensign at l. s. two serjeants at l. s. each ; three corporals , and one drummer at l. s. each , and sixty private footmen at s. each , making in all per mensem for each company l. s. which amounts for the whole pay of the said fifty nine companies per annum unto a ward at sligo under the command of major robert e●geworth consisting of two serjeants at l s. each , every calender month ; three corporals , and one drummont l. s each and sixty private footmen , a s. each ; making in all per mensem l. s. which amounts per annum unto       regiment of guards .   l. s. d. the royal regiment of guards , consisting of twelve companies , viz. a colonel as colonel and captain at l. per mensem a lieutenant-colonel , and captain at l. per mensem . a major and captain at l. s. nine captains more at l. s. each ; twelve lieutenants at l. s. each ; twelve ensignes at l. s. each ; forty serjeants at l. s. each ; thirty six corporals at l. s. each ; drum-major at l. s. twenty four drummers at l. s. each ; a piper to the kings company at l. s. twelve hundred soldiers at l. s. . d. each ; a chaplain at l. s. d. an adjutant , quarter-master , and chyrurgeon at l. s. each , and chirurgeons mate at l. s. making in all per mens . at days to the month l. . . which amounts unto per annum temporary payments .   l. s. d. sir henry titchburn , knight , marshall of ireland , to cease post-mortem or other determination of his grant.   l. s. d. sir theophilus iones , scout-master general of the army , for his entertainment at s. d. per diem , and for an encrease of his entertainment at l. per annum making in all to cease post-mortem or other determination of his grant.   l. s. d. sir george lane knight , for his entertainment as secretary at war to his majesty , at l. per diem for himself , and s. per diem for his clerk per annum to cease post-mortem , or other determination of his grant.   l. s. d. captain richard st. george the pay of a captain of foot towards his maintenance during his life being l. s. per mensem ; per annum   arthur earl of donnegall for his entertainmont at s. d. per diem for himself and for nine horsemen at d. each per diem during his life , by vertue of a grant thereof , dated the last of iuly in the th . year of king iames , per ann . the mayor of the city of dublin for his entertainment at s. per diem       particular governours .   l. s. d. the governour of the county of clare for his fee at s. per diem ; per annum   the governour of the castle of dublin for his fee l. per diem ; per annum     the governour of the fort of sligo for his fee at s. per diem ; per annum   the governour of the fort of halbolling for his fee at s. per diem ; per annum   the constable of hilsboro●gh at s. d. per diem ; per annum these temporary payments to cease post mortem , or other determination of the said grants , except that of the halboling .   l. s. d. sum total of the payments aforesaid upon the military list amounts unto per ann . ob . by his majesties command arlington . a catalogue of the peers . duke of ormond duke of leinster marquess of antrim earls kildare thomond cork desmond barrymore meath ossory roscommon londonderry donnigall arran conaway carberry ardglass rannalagh cavan inchiquin clancarty orrery mamtroth drogheda waterford mount-alexander down longford tyrone bellomont . clanrickard castlehaven westmeath fing all castlemaine carlingford viscounts . grandison wilmot losius of fly swords kilmurry valentia mareborough castleton chaworth sligo waterford strangford tuam cashell carlo cullen shannon mazareene dromoor dungarvan dungannon kells fitzharding clare charlemount powerscourt blesington granard lansborough ross. castalo merrion fairfax fitz williams gormanston rathcoole barefore brucher galmoy kingsland mountgarret douth evagh killmallock ikernie glanmalegra claine downe trazey . archbishopricks and bishopricks in ireland . archbishoprick of armagh — dublin — cashells archbishop . of tuam bishoprick of — — meath — kildore — vvaterford — clonfert — elphin — fernes & laghlin — clogher — dromore — ossory — derry — down — killallow — cork — limerick — cloyne — killalla — rapho — kilmore barons . kingsale kerry hoath mountjoy folliot maynard dundalk digby lifford herbert lochlin colraine leitrim donamore blare killard kingston colooney sautrey lough glawnalley castle-steward atheury cashir baltimore strabane slane trimleston dunscany dunboyne vpper ossery castle-comell brittas a list of those places that return parliament men in ireland leinster . county of catherlough burrough of catherlough b. of old-leighlen county of dublin city of dublin university of dublin bur. of newcastle b. of swords village de drogheda county of killkenny bur. of callen b. of thomas-town b of gowrin b. of kells b. of emisteogue b. of knoctopher b. of st. kennis city of kilk●nny county of kildare bur. of kildare b. of nass b. of athy com. regis bur. of phillipps-town b. of byrr b of banagher county of meath bur. of trim b. of kells b. of navan b. of athbuy b. of duleeke b. of ratooth com. regine bur. of bellakill b. of marlborough port arlinton county of westmeath bur. of athlone b. of fower b. of kilbegan b. of mullingar county of wicklow bur. of wicklow b. of carisford b. of baltinglass county of wexford town of wexford town of ross bur. of eniscourthy b. of featherd b. of bannow b. of cloghmaine b. of arkloe b. of taughman b. of newburrough county of longford burrough of lanisborough county of louth bur. of dundalke b. of arthdee b. of carlingford munster . county of cork city of cork burrough of mallow b. of baltimore b. of clognekilty b. of bandonbridge b. of kingfaile b. of youghall county of clare bur. of insh county of kerry bur. of traly b. of dinglecough b. of ardsart county of limerick city of limerick bur. of kilmallock b. of askaton county of tipperary town of tipperary bur. of clonmell b. of feathard town of cashell b. of thurles county of waterford city of waterford bur. of dungarvan b. of lismore b. of tallow ulster . county of armagh burrough of armagh b. of charlemont connty of antrim bur. of belfast b. of carickfergus b. of lisborne b. of antrim county of cavan bur. of cavan b. of bellturbet . co●nty of down bur. of down b of newtown b. of newry ballkillaleagh b. of bangor b. of hilsburough county of donnegal bur. of lisford b. of ballishannon b. of kilbegs b. of donnigall bur. of st. john's town county of farmanaugh bur. of inniskilling county of londonderry city of londonderry . bur. of colerain b. of lanmevaddy county of monaghan bur. of monaghan county of tyrone ●ur . of donnegall ●own of clogher 〈◊〉 of agber ●●● . of strabaine connaught . ●●ounty of galloway ●ur . of galloway ●● of athenry ● . of tuam ●ounty of leitrim ●●r . of james-town bur. of carickdrumrusk county of mayo bur. of castle-bar county of roscomon bur. of roscomon b. of tulsk county of sligo bur. of sligo the whole number . . verbum sapienti . the introduction . vvhereas many are forced to pay / of their whole estates towards the raising of but l. per mensem , besides what they pay more insensibly and directly , as customs , excise , chimny-money , &c. ( viz. in london , they pay d. per mensem per pound rent , that is s. per annum , or / of the whole . ) it must come to pass , that the same persons must from christmas , . pay ⅓ of their whole estates , if the war with holland continue two years longer● at the value of the last years expence , provided his majesty be kept out of debt . . but if the publick charge were laid proportionably , no man need pay above / of his whole effects , even in case the tax should rise to l. per mensem , which god forbid . . that is to say , according to the present ways , some pay four times as much more as they ought , or needed ; which disproportion is the true and proper grievance of taxes , and which must be felt when the tax happens to be great and extraordinary : whereas by meer method and proportion , the same may be corrected as aforesaid ; and withal , just accounts might be kept of the people , with the respective increases and decreases of them , their wealth , and foreign trade . chap. i. containing several computations of the wealth of the kingdom . . there are of men , women , and children , in england and wales , about six millions , whose expence at l. s. d. per annum , or near ½ d. per diem , for food , housing , cloaths , and all other necessaries , amount to millions , per annum . . there are in england and wales , of acres of land ( worth l. s. d. per acre , and years purchase ) millions , that is , which yields millions per annum rent , and which are worth millions to be sold. . there be houses within the liberties of the city of london , worth l. per annum , and twelve years purchase ( viz. which yield , l. per annum , and are worth , l. there are without the liberties , but within the bills of ●ortality ¼ more in number , perhaps not of greater value , viz. , l. . there is in all england and vvales near ten times as many chimneys as within the liberties of london , as appears by the returns ; whereof those within the bills are ⅓ of the whole . . 't is probable , that the housing of all the cities and market-towns , are double in number to those of all london , though of no more worth . . 't is also probable , that the housing without the cities and towns , are more in number than those within ( london excepted ) but of no more value . . so as the housing of england may be estimated worth millions ; and that if their values be estimated by chimneys , those of london are worth d. per chimney ; those in the suburbs d. other cities and market-towns d. and those without both , about d. . the shipping of england , &c. is about tuns , which at d. per tun , including their ordnance , apparel , &c. is worth three millions . . the stock of cattel on the aforementioned millions of land , and the waste thereunto belonging , is worth ¼ of the said land , viz. millions comprehending horses , oxen , sheep , swine , deer , fisheries , parks and warrens . . the coined gold and silver of the kingdom , is scarce worth six millions . the wares , merchandizes , and utensils of plate , and furnitures , may be estimated at millions to make the ships and money . and the whole millions . . the most uncertain part of this estimate , seems to be rating personal estates at above millions , which i make probable thus . ( ) first it is not unlikely that what is contained in all the shops , warehouses , cellars , barns , and graineries , together with household furniture , cloaths , ornaments , &c. should be less worth than housing it self that contains them . ( ) if the value of all the cattel , viz. millions , were added to the personal estates , making together ; both will not make up ¾ years provision for the whole nation , whose expence we estimated at millions per annum ; and poorer than so , we hope it is not . ( . ) i find by the particular estimate of the values of all the plate , lead , iron , copper and tin , and of all the timber , planks , and woods , and of all silks , linnen , and callicoes ; of all clothes , stuffs , and leathers ; of all grains , and salts , and of all wines , oyles , and other liquids ; of all grocery and spicery , and drugs ; of jewels , and hangings , beds , and other ornaments , ( too troublesome to particularize ) that this general account may stand . ( . ) the city of london being commonly esteemed and rated at the th part of the whole , which we reckon at millions , that is ⅔ . i think the sum may be well made up by reckoning ⅙ millions for the housing as aforesaid , and ½ for the shipping ( half the shipping of the nation belonging to london ) and about the double of the value of the housing for what is contained in them . the which upon considering many several houses , i find not unreasonable . ( lastly , ) supposing that in the houses within the liberties of london ( worth millions ) there be millions worth of goods ; i conceive that to allow about as much more , viz. millions ) to all the rest of the houses in the kingdom , which are ten times as many as aforesaid , will not overcharge them . . now if the land worth millions , yield millions per annum , the other estate converted into the like species must yield / more ; but because money and other personal estates yield more per annum than land ; ( that is ) doubles it self under years purchase at l. per centum , then instead of / , suppose it to yield , making the whole annual proceed . chap. ii. of the value of the people . now if the annual proceed of the stock , or wealth of the nation , yields but millions , and the expence be . then the labour of the people must furnish the other ; which may be done , if but half of them , viz. millions earned but l. s. d. per annum , which is done at d. per diem , abating the sundays , and half as many other days for accidents as holy days , sickness , recreations , &c. . if ⅙ of these millions earned but d. per diem ; another ⅙ d. another ⅙ d. per diem , another d. and another d. the medium will be this , d. per diem . . whereas the stock of the kingdom , yielding but millions of proceed , is worth millions ; then the people who yield , are worth ⅔ millions . for although the individiums of mankind be reckoned at about years purchase ; the species of them is worth as many as land , being in its nature as perpetual , for ought we know . . if millions of people be worth millions of pounds sterling , then each head is worth l. or each of the millions of workers is worth l. which is years purchase , at about d. per diem ; nor is superlucration above his subsistence to be reckoned in this case . . from whence it follows , that , , persons dying of the plague , above the ordinary number , is near millions loss to the kingdom ; and consequently how well might , l. have been bestowed in preventing this centuple loss ? . we said , that the late mortality by the pest , is a great loss to the kingdom ; whereas some think it but a seasonable discharge of its pestilent humours : to clear which difficulty , i say , . if the plague discerned well , between the well and the ill-affected to peace and obedience , or between the bees and the drones , the fact would determine the question : but if it destroy promiscuously , the loss is proportionable to the benefit we have by them that survive ; for 't is they that make england worth above millions , as aforesaid : it being certain , that if one person only had escaped : the whole territory , and all that is in it , had been worth but a livelihood for that one ; and he subject to be a prey to the next two that should invade him . . it seems reasonable , that what we call the wealth , stock , or provision of the nation , being the effect of the former or past labour , should not be conceived to differ from efficiencies in being , but should be rated alike , and contribute alike to the common necessities : and then of all and every summ to be raised , the land and stock must pay parts ; and the people considered without any estate at all , more ; the whole into divided . . if the expence of the nation be millions ; it seems but the same hardship to set apart . viz. / of the whole for the publick use , as what now lies upon many already : but millions would afford one for the ordinary expence , and three for the extraordinary wars , that is l. per mensem ; that is ½ as much as . for the raising whereof , many now pay above a / of their whole estates , for want of method and proportion . . labouring men work hours per diem , and make meals per week , viz. a day for working-days , and two on sundays ; whereby it is plain , that if they could fast on fryday nights , and dine in one hour and an half , whereas they take two , from eleven to one ; thereby this working / more , and spending / less , the / abovementioned might be raised , at least with more ease , than to take up arms , and resist it . chap. iii. of the several expences of the kingdom , and its revenues . . the ordinary expence of the kingdom for the navy , ordnance , garisons , land-forces , tangier , iamaica , bombay , ambassadors , pensions , intelligence , kings and royal families expence , consisting of the houshold , of the king , queen , duke , &c. privy-purse , wardrobe , robes , angel-gold , master of the horse , mews , armory , tents , parks , lodges , goldsmiths , jewels , &c. hath been computed to be about one million ; reckoning l. for the navy , for the ordnance and powder , for land-forces , garisons , &c. and for other things . . towards this , there is in crown-lands , post-office , coynage and pre-emption of tinn , forest of deer , courts of justice , first fruits ; in all , . customs at per centum . in all . without the duties of wares , wine-licence , aulnage or butlerage , excise , chimney-money , land-tax , pole and assesments , being regulated and proportionated as followeth : viz. chap. iv. of the method of apportioning taxes . . if a million is to be raised above the l. last mentioned , then l. is to be levied on the stock , and l. on the people . of the , . on the stock , on the lands , on the cattel , &c. on the personal estates , on the housing . in all   . to raise , l. out of , , m. rent , requires / of the rent , and / of / ; but allowing the charge of collecting , we may express it to a / ● part . . to raise l. per annum , out of , m. requires the annual payment of a th part of the whole value ; but in regard of charges , let it be reduced to a th part . . the like for the l. of personal estates . . to raise l. per annum , from all the housing worth millions , or for the housing in london-liberties , worth about millions , and whose rent is , l. per annum , requires but / of the annual rent , which cannot be above d. a chimney per annum , reckoning to each house . without the liberties , about d. the chimney will effect the same ; d. in the cities and market-towns , and d. elsewhere . . as for the , l. to be raised by the people , it requires but s. d. per pole per annum , which let rather be divided into a pole of d. a head , and an excise of d. which is not the full / part of the mean expence , l. s. d. so as the / of the value of consumptions , will with the said d ▪ pole , raise , l. per annum . chap. v. of money ; and how much is necessary to drive the trade of the nation . . it may be asked , if there were occasion to raise millions per annum , whether the same millions ( which we hope we have ) would suffice for such revolutions and circulations thereof as trade requires ? i answer yes ; for the expence being millions , if the revolutions were in such short circles , viz. weekly , as happens among poor artizans and labourers , who receive and pay every saturday , then / parts of million of money would answer those ends : but if the circles be quarterly , according to our custom of paying rent , and gathering taxes , then millions were requisite . wherefore supposing payments in general to be of a mixt circle between one week and . then add millions to / , the half of the which will be ⅓ , so as if we have ½ millions , we have enough . . and thus i have shewed , that if one half of the subjects of england ( playing days in the year ) will earn d. per diem all the rest of the days one with another ; and if they would work / more , and spend / less , they might enable their king to maintain double the forces he now doth , without suffering in the general more than many well affected persons do now through negligence , or mistakes in their particulars . nor is money wanting to answer all the ends of a well policed state , notwithstanding the great decreases thereof , which have happened within these twenty years . nor were it hard to substitute in the place of money ( were a competency of it wanting ) what should be equivalent unto it . for money is but the fat of the body-politick , whereof too much doth as often hinder its agility , as too little makes it sick . 't is true , that as fat lubricates the motion of the muscles , feeds in want of victuals , fills up uneven cavities , and beautifies the body ; so doth money in the state quicken its action , feeds from abroad in time of dearth at home ; evens accounts by reason of it's divisibility , and beautifies the whole , altho more especially the particular persons that have it in plenty . chap. vi. the causes of irregular taxing . . the causes of error in this great affair of publick levies , have been these . first , laying too great a stress on the matter of money , which is to the whole effect of the kingdom but as to . that is , not one to . secondly , laying the whole burthen on the past effects , and neglecting the present efficiencies , exceeding the former as doth . thirdly , reckoning all the personal estates of the city of london ( shipping included ) at scarce ½ the value of the very housing , whereas they are double : which happens because the housing of london belongs to the church , companies , or gentlemen , and are taxed by the citizens their tenants . fourthly , a fallacious tenderness towards the poor , ( who now pay scarce s. per head per ann . towards all manner of charges ) interwoven with the cruelty of not providing them work , and indulging laziness in them , because of our own indisposition to employ them ; so some are overcharged through evil custom , and others left to sordid want , and bruitish irregularity . fifthly , an opinion , that certainty of rules is impossible , and but an idle notion ; and then having made such as are not so , and training them to be applied by affection and humour ; so as ¼ of the whole paying needlesly four times too much , may be thereby so netled , as to do more mischief than the other unconcerned , and thankless ¾ can allay . chap. vii . the collateral advantages of these taxes . . besides the equality of taxes , we make this further use of trying it by way of customs , poles , excises , chimney-money , land-tax , and assesments upon the personal estates , viz. ( . ) of the customs , which we reduce from / to / , to keep an account of foreign ▪ trade , and of its balance ; for by levying , a duty , and encreasing the penalty , these accounts will be less obscured . ( . ) the simple and universal pole keeps an account of the great wealth and strength of the kingdom , the people . ( . ) rating the houses per chimney , gives a good account of improvements and dilapidations . ( . ) excize gives an account of domestick expences , and publisheth exorbitances . ( . ) land-taxes keep the payments to the proportion of entire value , not of annual rent : so as an estate in housing pays no more than if it were in lands , nor considerable less than goods , and may bring mortgages to their just contribution ; many lenders not being so formidable for their money , as some have thought them . ( . ) assessments upon personal estates ( if given in as elsewhere upon oath ) would bring that branch which of it self is most dark , to a sufficient clearness . . there is also a pole upon titles and dignities worth consideration , tho we now omit it ; which as it may check mens forwardness to undeserved pre-eminence , so it may be employed in the encouragement of true worth . . we have hitherto computed the old immutable revenue at but , l. per annum , nor supposed above , l. ( viz. less than ½ what it is at present ) to be raised by customs ( wholly neglecting wards , butlerage , aulnage , and other obsolete imposts . ) we have also designed the several proportions towards the raising of a million more per ann. to be raised by the pole , excise , land-tax , assessments and chimneys . chap. viii . of the expence of the navy , army , and garisons . we come next to shew , that if millions per ann . or , l. per mensem ( to make up the whole , , l. per ann . ) were raised , what might be performed thereby for the safety , establishment , and honour both of the king and subject . unto which , i say , considering the present condition of the navy , two millions will maintain , men , in ships of war for eight months of the year , and for the other four months : which i take to be near double the best fleet we ever have seen in europe , computing the ordnance , and harbor-charges of the navy : nor will the maintenance of , foot , and , horse , allowing , l. for inland garisons , and , l. for tangier , &c. put all together , exceed , l. so as there remains , l. for other matters , whereof his majesty's royal family , by all the accounts i have seen , doth not spend , l. per ann . nor need the charge of all those levies be above of the , ( viz. 〈◊〉 part for the officers , without ever going five miles from the centre of their abode ) who might perform this work ; nor would more than l. per an . for each of them , and their under instruments be necessary for their respective sallaries : for there are areots of miles square in england and wales . chap. ix . motives to the quiet bearing of extraordinary taxes . having shewed how great and glorious things may be done with no less difficulty than what ¼ of the king's subjects do already endure ; i offer these further reasons to quiet mens minds , in case this utmost , l. per mensem should be ever demanded upon this holland-war . . that of all naval expence , not / is ●or forreign commodities , nor need it be ●f , if the people would do their part , and the governours direct them the nearest ways . . that stoppage of trade is considerable , but as one to eight ; for we exchange not above five millions worth per ann . for our . . that the expence of the king , &c. being about , l. per ann . is but / part of the expence of the nation , who all have the pleasure and honour of it . . that the money of the nation being but about millions and ½ , and the earning of the same ; it is not difficult for them to encrease their money a million per ann . by an easie advance of their industry , applyed to such manufactures as will fetch money from abroad . . the wealth of england lies in land and people , so as they make five parts of six of the whole : but the wealth of holland lies more in money , housing , shipping and wares . now supposing england three-times as rich as holland in land , and people ( as it is ) and holland twice as rich as we in other particulars ( as it scarce is ) ; we are still upon the balance of the whole near twice as rich as they : of which i wish those that understand holland , would consider and calculate . . there are in england above four acres of arrable , meadow and pasture-land , for every soul in it ; and those so fertile , as that the labour of one man in tilling them , is sufficient to get a bare livelihood for above : so as 't is for want of discipline that any poverty appears in england , and that any are hanged or starved upon that account . chap. x. how to employ the people , and the end thereof . we said , that half the people by a very gentle labour , might much enrich the kingdom , and advance its honour , by setting apart largely for publick uses ; but the difficulty is , upon what shall they employ themselves . to which i answer in general , upon producing food and necessaries for the whole people of the land , by few hands ; whether by labouring harder , or by the introducing the compendium , and facilitations of art , which is equivalent to what men vainly hoped from polygamy . for as much as he that can do the work of five men by one , effects the same as the begetting four adult workmen . nor is such advantage worth fewer years purchase than that of lands , or what we esteem likest to perpetual . now the making necessaries cheap , by the means aforesaid , and not by raising more of them than can be spent whilst they are good , will necessitate others to buy them with much labour of other kinds . for if one man could raise corn enough for the whole , better than any one man ; then that man would have the natural monopoly of corn , and could exact more labour for it in exchange , than if ten others raised ten times as much corn as is necessary ; which would make other labour so much the dearer , as men were less under the need of engaging upon it . . by this way we might recover our lost cloth-trade , which by the same the dutch got from us . by this way the east-indians furnish us from the other end of the world with linnen cheaper than our selves can make them , with what grows at our own doors . by this means we might fetch flax from france , and yet furnish them with linnen ( that is ) if we make no more than we can vend , but so much with the fewest hands , and cheapest food , which will be when food also is raised , by fewer hands than elsewhere . . i answer generally we should employ our selves by raising such commodities , as would yield and fetch in money from abroad : for that would supply any wants of ours from the same , or any other place at all times . which stores of domestick commodities could not effect , whose value is to call a temporary ( i. e. ) which are of value but pro hic & nunc . . but when should we rest from this great industry ? i answer , when we have certainly more money than any of our neighbour states , ( though never so little ) both in arithmetrical and geometrical proportion ( i. e. ) when we have more years provision aforehand , and more present effects . . what then should we busie our selves about ? i answer , in ratiocinations upon the works and will of god , to be supported not only by the indolency , but also by the pleasure of the body ; and not only by the tranquility , but serenity of the mind ; and this exercise is the natural end of man in this world , and that which best disposeth him for his spiritual happiness in that other which is to come . the motions of the mind being the quickest of all others , afford most variety , wherein is the very form and being of pleasure ; and by how much the more we have of this pleasure , by so much the more we are capable of it even ad infinitum . finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a -e for all their pay and hazard . by sir john bodly . the court of exchequer . the court of kings bench. the court of chancery . the court of chancery . the court of common-pleas . star-chamber . officers attending the state. charge of circuits . incidents . besides impost of wines . provincial officers . 〈◊〉 waxford waterford and r●st . corke . kingsale . dingle , ●oush . limerick . galloway : drogheda , dundalle , and carlingsord . carricksergus . strangford newcastle , dundrum , &c. the office and officers of the excise commissioner-general of the customs and excise . commissioners of appeal . accomptants-general of the customs and excise . creation-money . perpetuities . temporary payments . pensions and annuities . commissioners of accompts and clerks allowances . payments for extraordinaries by concordatum . lord lieutenant . general officers . provinci officers . officers of the ordnance . 〈…〉 . poems by several hands, and on several occasions collected by n. tate. approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; 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(eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) poems by several hands, and on several occasions collected by n. tate. tate, nahum, - . [ ], p. printed for j. hindmarsh ..., london : . poems by cowley, rochester, sir francis fane, p. ayers, j. evelyn, waller, tate, and others. first ed. cf. bm. reproduction of original in union theological seminary library, new york. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng english poetry -- early modern, - . - tcp assigned for keying and markup - apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images - rina kor sampled and proofread - rina kor text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion poems by several hands , and on several occasions collected by n. tate . london : printed for i. hindmarsh , at the golden ball , over against the royal exchange in cornhil , . to the right honourable , robert earl of scarsdale , baron deincourt , lord lieutenant of derbishire . sir , i cannot think there needs much apology for an address of this nature to your lordship , although from a stranger . the patronage of poetry has always belong'd to the noble and virtuous : on this account therefore as well as others it is dangerous for any person of honour to be so early eminent as your lordship , because those excellencies that create envy in evil minds are sure to meet the applause of the muses ; which to some tempers may be the greater persecution . such characters indeed are now so thin sown in courts that they are easily singled out . your lordship may think that flattery which the world knows to be truth ; i will not therefore pretend to draw your lordships character , or to speak more properly i need not . as far as constancy of temper , loyalty , justice , and generosity in the most eninent degree can oblige a nation : the court and age are indebted to your lordship . it was this greatness and integrity of soul that plac'd your lordship above the example of nature , and against the general frenzie made you declare for oppressed innocence . it is therefore no wonder that such endowments of mind have gain'd the favour of the most just and pious prince . i could descend to particular instances of honour and private friendship ; but i design no panegyric , being only ambitious to pay my devotion to your lordship by this small present , most humbly dedicated by my lord , your lorships most obedient servant , n. tate . the table of the contents . a new collection of poems , written by several authors . an ode written by mr. abraham cowley for her majesty , queen to king charles i. page . the grove . by the earl of roscommon , p. upon nothing . by the late earl of rochester , p. upon his leaving his mistris . by the same author , p. love and life : a song . by the same author , p. . to the late earl of rochester , upon the report of his sickness in town , being newly recovered by his lordships advice in the country , in allusion to the ode of horace . by sir francis fane , p. to a great lord , inviting him to court , or else to write a history in the country . a paraphrase upon the th . ode of horace : l. . by the same , p. to a perjur'd mistris ; the th . ode of horace , l. . imitated , by the same , p. a mask made at request of the late earl of ro-chester , for the tragedy of vale●…inian . p. ●… from ovid. amorum , l. . el. . and lucretius , l. . that he loves women of all sorts and sizes . by mr. r — p. to dorolissa , on her being like my lord dorset . by the same , p. in imitation of the song , that i love none . by olinda , p. the picture . by mr. adams , by the same , p. a pastoral , written at dublin , in may , , by the same , p. vivamus mea lesbia , &c. catul. by the same , p. song , p. parce meo juveni , &c. tibullus , p. a translation out of statius , to sleep , p. the atheist , p. a pastoral reflection on death , p. horatii ode . lib. . persicos odi puer apparatus . &c. p. horatii epod. . ad populum romanum , quoquo scelesti ruitis ? &c. p. the fly. by p. ayres , esquire , p. to the nightingale , p. on nightingale that was drowned , p. lov 's new philosophy , p. cynisca , or , the fourteenth idylium of theocritus imitated . by w. bowls , fellow of kings college cambridge , p. sapho's ode out of longinus , p. ode . of the fourth book ●…orace , p. the immortality of poesie . 〈◊〉 mr. evelyn . to envy . ovid. amor. lib. . eleg. , p. out of martial lib , . epigr. . temporibus nostris aetas , p. to mr. &c. p. out of horace , ode . l. . lidia dic per omnes , &c. p. the punishment , p. part of ajax's speech , ovid metam . l. . p. out of sannazar , p. remedy of love , p. written on her mask , p. to mr. s. g. p. a gentleman going to his country farm , which he had not seen for some time before ; at the request of a lady writes these verses . whether in love , men or women have the advantage ; they in making , or these in receiving , their court : considered in a dialogue betwixt corinna and lais , p. . on the lords rejecting the bill of exclusion , november . . p. elegy on the death of christopher sherard , esq son and heir apparent to the right honourable bennet lord sherard , who died in the sixteenth year of his age , feb. . . p. on the romantick office of credit , proposed by dr. c. and his partners , an. dom. . p. occasioned by a sight of his majesty , walking near the river in the time of the oxford parliament , p. to coelia , p. to a gentleman , his friend , who could decypher any character . p. business , p. horace ode . lib. . in lycen meretricen●… vetulam . audivêre , lyce , dii — translated , p. on a fair lady singing , p. the recantation not accepted , p. ca●…ul ad lesbiam . p. on caelia's sickness , p. a song , p. life , p. to much admired lady , p. to a very accompl●…ed lady , p. to the same , immoderately mourning the death of a relation , p. secret grief , p. mart. l. . ep. . p. the graces , or hieron theocriti idyl . . p. anacrean's odes paraphras'd . age. ode . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , &c. by mr. bristow , late of all-souls college , p. age. ode . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , &c. by the same , p. drinking . ode . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , &c. by the same , p. the first elegy of ovid's amorum , translated into english by mr. ballow , fellow of kings colledge in cambridge , p. elegy ii. p. elegy iii , by the same hand p. elegy iv , by the same hand , p. elegy v , by the same , p. libri primi , ovid. amor. elegia prima , p. libri primi , elegia secunda , p. libri primi , elegia tertia , p. libri primi , elegia quinta , p. tr. mr. r. d. at cambridge , p. the soldier . writ in april , . when our english voluntiers went into flanders , p. philander and eirene , p. of divine poesie , two cantoes , by mr. waller occasioned upon sight of the fifty third chapter of isaiah , turn'd into verse by a lady , p. canto . p. answer to mr. waller . p. the change , p. excusing himself to his mistris for being iealous , p. content , p. to lucinda , p. the resolve , p. parting with lucinda , p. the visit , p. by charles how , esquire p. by the same , p. a saranade , by the same , p. to my lord lansdowne , at the imperial camp , p. on the sight and sculpture of mr. gibbon's own most excellent head , in marble . by mr. johnson , p. the denial , p. kissing his mistris , p. despair , p. to lucinda , p. embracing his mistris , p. the unalterable , p. to corinna , p. to lucinda , p. the captive , p. on lucinda , p. the command , p. the convert , p. vicissitude , p. the cure worse than the disease , p. the denial , p. the royal canticle , or the song of solomon , p. the last parting of hector with andromache and his son astyanx , when he went to assault the grecians in their camp ; in the end of which expedition , he was slain by achilles , p. to the late king , at kings college , p. ●… cupid arm'd , a la-modern , p. an ode , in imitation of pindar , on the death of the right honourable , thomas , earl of ossory , p. the pisatory eclogues of sanazarius . the first eclogue entituled phillis , by mr. tate : inscribed to dr. conquest , p. lycidas and mycon , p. the second eclogue . by the same , p. the third eclogue , by the same . celadon , mopsus , p. proteus . eclogue the fourth , p. ode for an anniversary of musick on st. cecilia's day , p. the twentieth ode of the second book of horace , p. sanaz. ep. on venice , p. the rape of philomel . a paraphrase of ovid's sixth book . , p. an elegie on the earl of rochester , p. on the coronation of the high and mighty monarch james ii , p. martial . lib. . epigr. . vitam quae faciant beatiorem . p. a pindari●… essay upon musick , by mr. wilson , p. anacreon . to himself . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , p. another 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . by the same hand . p. strada's nightingale , p. a translation of the fourth chorns in seneca's troas , p. lyricks to love , p. the request , p. part of the last scene of seneca's troas done into english , beginning at est una magna turris è troj●… super , &c. p. a poem on the death of our late dread sovereign , charles ii. of blessed and immortal memory , p. p. the publisher to the reader . i have with some pains and trouble collected the following poems : in which undertaking i have one pretence to your favour , which is , that i have in the volumn troubled you with very little of my own. amongst such various hands and arguments , it cannot be expected that they should all be equally perfect , neither if they were so , would they be so esteemed by readers of different palats . it is sufficient that we presume there are none unworthy perusal , and i am certain , none that can give offence to the chastest ear. a new collection of poems . written by several authors . an ode written by mr. abraham cowley for her majesty , queen to king charles i. i. come poetry , and with thee bring along a rich and painted throng of noblest words into my song ; into my numbers let them gently flow , soft and smooth , and thick as snow , and turn the numbers till they prove smooth as the smoothest sphear above , and like a sphear harmoniously move . ii. little do'st thou mean song the fortune know that thou art destin'd to ; or what thy stars intend to do . among a thousand songs , but few can be born to the honour promis'd thee ; urania's self shall thee reheas●… , and a just blessing to thee give ; thou in her sweet and tuneful breath shall live. iii. her pleasing tongue with thee shall freely play , thou on her lips shalt stray , and dance upon that rosy way ; what prince alive , that would not envy thee ! and think thee higher far than he ! and how wil●… thou thy author crown , when fair urania shall be known , to sing my words , when she but speaks her own ! the grove . by the earl of roscommon . ah happy grove ! dark and secure retreat , of sacred silence , rests eternal seat ; how well your cool and unfrequented shade suits with the chasts retirements of a maid ; oh! if kind heav'n had been so much my friend , to make my fate upon my choice depend ; all my ambition i would here confine , and only this elezyum should be mine : fond men by passion wilfully betray'd , adore those idols which their fancy made ; purchasing riches , with our time and care , we lose our freedom in a gilded snare ; and having all , all to our selves , refuse , opprest with blessings which we fear to use . fame is at best but an inconstant good , vain are the boasted titles of our blood ; we soonest lose what we most highly prise , and with our youth our short-liv'd beauty dyes ; in vain our fields and flocks increase our store , if our abundance makes us wish for more ; how happy is the harmless country maid , who rich by nature scorns superfluous aid ! whose modest cloaths no wanton eyes invite , but like her soul preserves the native white ; whose little store her well-taught mind does please , not pinch'd with want , nor cloy'd with wanton ease , whofree from storms which on the great ones fall , makes but few wishes , and enjoys them all ; no care but love can discompose her breast , love of all cares the sweetest and the best ; whil'st on sweet grass her bleating charge does lye , our happy lover feeds upon her eye ; not one on whom or gods or men impose , but one whom love has for this lover chose , under some favourit mirtels shady boughs , they speak their passions in repeated vows , and whilst a blush confesses how she burns , his faithful heart makes as sincere returns ; thus in the arms of love and peace they lye , and whilst they live , their flames can never dye . upon nothing , by the late earl of rochester . i. nothing thouelder brother ev'n to shade , thou hadst a being , e're the world was made , and ( well-fixt ) are alone of ending not afraid . ii. e're time and place were time and place were not , when primitive nothing , something strait begot , then all proceeded from the great united-what ? iii. something , the gen'ral attribute of all , sever'd from thee , its sole original . into thy boundless self , must undistinguish'd fall . iv. yet something did thy mighty pow'r command , and from thy fruitful emptinesses hand , snatcht men , beasts , birds , fire , air , and land. v. matter the wicked'st off-spring of thy race , by form assisted , flew from thy embrace , and rebel light , obscur'd thy reverend dusky face . vi. with form , and matter , time and place did joyn , body , thy foe , with thee did leagues combine , to spoil thy peaceful realm , and ruine all thy line . vii . but turn-coat time , assists the foe in vain , and brib'd by thee , assists thy short-liv'd reign , and to thy hungry womb , drives back thy slaves again . viii . tho' misteries are barr'd from laick eyes , and the divine alone with warrant pryes , into thy bosome , where thy truth in private lyes . ix . yet this of thee , the wise may freely say , thou from the virtuous , nothing tak'st away , and to be part of thee , the wicked wisely pray . x. great negative , how vainly would the wise , enquire , desine , distinguish , teach , devise , didst thou not stand to point their dull philosophies . xi . is , or is not , the two great ends of fate , and true , or false , the subject of debate , that perfect , or destroy , the vast designs of fate . xii . when they have rack'd the politicians breast , within thy bosome , most securely rest , and when reduc'd to thee are least unsafe , and best . xiii . but nothing , why does something still permit , that sacred monarchs , should at council sit , which persons highly thought , at best for nothing fit . xiv . whil'st weighty something , modestly abstains , from princes coffers , and from states-mens brains , and nothing there , like stately nothing reigns . xv. nothing who dwell'st with fools in grave disguise , for whom thy reverend shapes , and forms devise , lawn-sleeves , and furrs , and gowns , when they like thee look wise . xvi . french truth , dutch prowess , british policy , hybernians learning , scotch civility , spaniards dispatch , danes wit , are mainly seen in thee . xvii . the great mans gratitude , to his best friend , court promises , whores vows , towards thee they bend , flow swiftly into thee , and in thee ever end . upon his leaving his mistress . by the same author . t is not that i am weary grown , of being yours , and yours alone ; but with what face can i incline , to damn you to be only mine ? you whom some kinder pow'r did fashion , by merit and by inclination , the joy at least of one whole nation . let meaner spirits of your sex , with humbler aims , their thoughts perplex , and boast , if by their arts they can contrive to make one happy man ; whil'st mov'd by an impartial sense , favours like nature you dispense , with universal influence . see the kind seed receiving earth , to ev'ry grain affords a birth ; on her no show'rs unwelcome fall , her willing womb retains 'em all ; and shall my celia be confin'd ? no , live up to thy mind , and be the mistress of mankind . love and life , a song by the same author . all my past life is mine no more , the flying hours are gone ? like transitory dreams giv'n o're , vvhose images are kept in store , by memory alone . vvhatever is to come , is not , how can it then be mine ? the present moment's all my lot , and that as fast as it is got , phillis is wholly thine . then talk not of inconstancy , false hearts , and broken vows , if i by miracle can be , this live-long minute true to thee , 't is all that heav'n allows . to the late earl of rochester , upon the report of his sickness in town , being newly recovered by his lordships advice in the country . in allusion to the ode of horace . by sir francis fane . vvhat means this tumult in my veins , these eccho'd groans and sympathetick pains ? ah cruel lord ! why do'st thou wound him whom so late thy pity found ? or did'st thou spare my life , that i a nobler death for thee should dy ? it is not possible , nor just , the little off-springs of the dust , the sun extinct should him survive , by whose kind beams they 're kept alive ; oh! rather let me dy before , perish ten thousand more , to spy the bounds of th' indiscover'd shore , ●…hough with less hopes than they , that sought the indian oar. how dar'st thou bold disease surprize the joy , and glory of our eyes ; mankinds delight wits utmost goal , heav'ns masterpiece , spirit of soul : we need thee not to make his fame more bright officious death , to lesser stars requir'd , who never shine out clear , but in thy night he is all flame , all light , and lives unenvy'd , though by all admir'd : free as the angels in their blest estate , what none can reach , there 's none will emulate . quench feaver , quench thy too presumtuous heat , tremble to ice at so august a name , or if thou need'st wilt be by mischiefs great , fire on , and set the world on flame . had credulous england , fond of foreign news , and from remotest parts the world above , receiv'd the indian faith , which none else does refuse , did men believe , that after their remove from earth , they should enjoy the friends they love ; with all their wit , their rhetorick , and sence , which with immortal ease they could dispence : what crowds would leap into his funeral pile , london would desert , kingless be the isle ; the strand instead of men , would acrons yield , white-hall a meadow be , th' exchange a field . to a great lord , inviting him to court , or else to write a history in the country . a paraphrase upon the th . ode of horace : l. . by the same . urge me not to be poorly great , to steep ascents in slippery places , much less posterity to cheat by histories with ianus faces ; alas ! i cannot act , nor write , unfit for counsel , or for fight ; careless what mortal sits above , i 've full imployment in my love ; i have no time for publick cares , too busie still to mind such toys , dark prophecies of state affairs , and future fears for present joys : divert me not from my sublimest bliss , i should destroy a kingdom for a kiss . ah! my good lord , would you not lose the incomes of the golden isles ? tag●…s his treasures , or per●…s , for one of my lycymnia's smiles ? when she her fragant lips withdraws , grants and denies , with scornful words , inviting eyes , nor will confine coelestial joys to humane laws : but with her amorous thrist makes me to steal a gift . then in a sudden freakish vein invades my hungry lips again , and finding there her heedless prey , sucks out my soul , and spirits it away . would you not leave the council board if she past by , and gave the word ? and start up in furious mood , as if 't were for the publick good ; quarrel with him that spoke the last , and leave your well-weigh'd notes for hast : throw up the land to pope , or knox , to wars , to famine , plague , or pox ? rather than lose with her one minutes joy , where sight alone can fill , fruition never cloy . let others spend their slavish days , hard labourers for gawdy praise ; beg of just heav'n their plagues and pains , their painted joys and gilded chains : and faintly smile , profoundly grone , happy in all thoughts , but their own : though all the charms of pride advise , and terrors fright from earth , or skies ; rap'd to elyzium with a strong desire , held fast in snowy snares i will expire , and still kiss on , were all the world on fire . to a perjur'd mistress ; the th . ode of horace , lib. . imitated , by the same . falsest of fair ones , swear again , and add to thy transcending store , of prosperous perjuries ten thousand more , dull truth becomes thee not , it looks too plain : did heaven those mortal sins resent , but with some venial punishment , were the least blemish on thy face , one hair , or nail out of its place , i should believe , but still you rise more beautiful by blasphemies ; by disobedience made divine , the more you swear , the more you shine ; as if the gods had nought to do , but to be wrong'd , and thankful too . then swear , and shine again , let each false oath augment thy lovers train , and make this wonder plain , that mankind never has more piety than when they least believe their deity . a mask . made at the request of the late earl of rochester , for the tragedy of valentinian . the scene . lucina , maximus his wife , sleeping . enter zephyrus and favonius , ushering in the moon . zephy . hail sacred cynthia ! mutable , but chaste as the cold air by which thou art embrac'd , changing thy shape as often as thy stations with new disguises and false assignations ; or hid in an eclipses vizard-mask , thou cheat'st the gods in love's laborious task . mother of calmest thoughts and sacred dreams , the earths best neighbour , lending thy kind beams to plants , to beasts to men , to grounds , and streams , without whose influence not a hair grows well , nor spire of grass , nor blood , nor waves can swell ; parent of temp'rate passions still allay'd by thy decrease , as by thy fulness made . fav . falsly believ'd sol's sister , thou' rt his wife impregnated with fertile worlds of life , breeding or teeming still , and bring'st to 's bed a new face every day , a monthly maiden-head . sol that delights in chaste polygamy , casts fruitful beams on tellus , and on thee . contented wives the earth , and moon repay light to each other from their husband's ray. chaste relict of the sun ! thou weep'st his fate in dewy tears , and mak'st him lie in state : thy heavenly hall with blacks and lamps adorning hid at his resurrection in the morning , thy splendour to thy husband's beams resigning , and humbly in his absence only shining . proceed , great queen , to thy divine intent , preserve this loyal wife , and crimes prevent . sweeping with gentle gales the cyprian coast , i blow some vvhispers from the heavenly host. hermes and venus were in consultation upon their flight to the all-conquering nation . 't is time some powerful god should mischiefs stay , vvhen love and eloquence are on their way . the moon . now thrice seven times , since my increase , have i walk'd round the sleeping world in watchful sky , and summon'd all my twinkling spies to know th' effects of passions they impress'd below , ( vvhere we sow joys , & griefs , & hopes , & fears , as men sow herbs and flowers in their parterres , for physick some , some planted for delight , ( and happy those that know to use them right , ) but have not found a mortal so opprest , honour pursu'd , and panting in the breast of this bright spotless dame , now takes some rest . vvell done , good somnus , powerfully repair vvith thy chaste opiates that weighty care that friendly foe frail vvomen cannot spare . ah lovely face ! which justly might excuse thy prince , if he did beg for a refuse , and tempt thee to the glory to deny , for vertue brighter shines than sol , or i ; but he would uncontroul'd do all like us , poor titular god , and envies maximus . too happy maximus ! could fortune stay , and from those dangerous heights not roll away , great joys are to be fear'd for their allay . but vertue , fortune's queen , preserves entire eternal rules ; bold mortals that enquire , curiously stirring up , put out the holy fire . safe in those laws , lucina , might thou rest vvith mutual love , vertues best safeguard blest : but man , that compound mortal's ne're secure , whilst souls are sleepy , and the flesh impure . here , take these lillies , arm'd for thy defence [ throws down lillies as white and cold as snow or innocence steep'd in the ice-house of the river styx , where iove drinks healths to strangers when they mix with heavenly beings , and must cease to know th' uneasie joys of the poor world below . sleep on , fair saint , with heavenly visions blest , let no black dreams defile thy snowy breast , nor fiends corrupt thee , tho like angels drest . enter mercury and venus . mer. has flesh and blood need of a power divine to raise their sympathy , and make 'em joyn ? is 't not enough to pimp for sacred iove , but every prince below must have a love , inflexible to all but bawds above ? ven. you run too fast my agent , rome declines , the eagles mew their wings , which heaven designs shall further fly . the pilot drunk with love the great ship runs aground . shall mighty iove enrich a prince with all the powerful charms of beauty , wit , and vertue , arts , and arms ? and shall a wretched half-concocted she depose a demy-god , cramp victory , rebellious to her prince , to iove , and me ? destroy an empire for this monstrous crime 'gainst honour , only fit for plays in rhyme , idle discourse , not action , that gay dame for all her shifts of gawdery , not of name or quality in heaven above : an odious broker betwixt rich vertues , daughters of the gods , and bankrupt sins the brats of needy mortals . dost thou , t' assist me , shod with wings repine ? thy master's credit lies at stake , not mine . me. why , madam venus , you can take your sport , cuckold your husband , sing , and dance at court , and like a lazy lady coach about , whilst i must trudge my legs and feathers out . my errands are so quick , my time so short , that i can get no wife , nor mistress for 't . there 's ne're a lawyer , but his ven●…al tongue is tip'd by me : dark points of right and wrong , not obvious to all hearers , i can clear to the doubt-making judge , tell how , and where the puzzled audience with contention spent a bribe may safely make a president . never a tradesman cheats , sectarist prays , stationer sells , or poet steals his plays , rhetorical fool must prate , or be in print , insuring statesman plot , but mercury is in 't . ven. i tell thee , mercury , thy trade's but small to mine , that does ingross and swallow all . mine's like the ocean , whence i took my birth , all streams of bus'ness crowd from churlish earth , breaking from customs bounds and living graves , seek liberty in our ungovern'd waves . vices cabal each other does supply , pride rapine moves , rapine feeds luxury ; but all their motions tend to amorous joy : vvhat 's more than that , for mankind is too high . what makes the street-bespatter'd lawyer trudge ? what oyl's the turn-stile conscience of a judge ? they squeeze the juicy rich , and bruise the poor , refunding fees to their more griping whore. when sisters throng into the meeting-place , i dress up cupid like a babe of grace . the teacher is to repetition brought , swaddled with neck-cloath , tender , over-wrought , rub'd , and repair'd with cordials , he becomes a secret morsel for the hallowed gums . if poets write , and love be not their text , nor women hear them , fame will leave them next . 't is i that do inspire the sword or pill , make souldiers spare , and make physicians kill ; repairing murders still with propagations ; i root out sapless plants , but people nations . beauty 's the current coin that none refuses , the bribe of mars , minerva , and the muses : love's grown so general , more gods should be made to carry on the busie amorous trade ; 't is from a liberal art turn'd a disease , infecting those that have not strength nor ease ; each dying letcher keeps a hungry female to gaze upon , and handle , like fine knacks , religious pictures , pretty saints in wax : but flesh and blood abhors idolatry , by foot-men eas'd of their divinity ; nay every porter keeps a miss , must wear on her gay limbs , the labour of 〈◊〉 year . i am the mother of delights , refreshing the weary world with love , of pleasures the supreme , 'cause nature highest ends to it assign'd , all others serve but man , and this mankind . mer. weak is the power of wits affected noise to the dumb rhetorick of charming eyes . goddess you 've conquer'd , and it is your part both to subdue and mollifie her heart : i 've tip'd his tongue with all the charms of wit , would melt a rock , d●…bauch an anchorit , calm a tempestuous sea , tempt a fix'd star from heaven , or make a tyger lye in 's lap ; make cynthia turn a whore , or thee a nun : yet all these words , like ruffling winds , make her sit safer in white robes of innocence , wrapping them close about her : try if thy sultry amorous heats can make her throw them of . ven. oh! i have fir'd her blood , and fill'd her mind vvith the idea's of all brave mankind ; to which her husband seems a crest-fall'n monster , put stars into the emperor's eyes , soft heavenly motions into his limbs , gentle surprizing vigor , vvhich with its smooth and regular approaches vvould make defenceless a rude amazon , or steal into the trenches of a vestal . 't is true i never call'd my son , too sure kings , without cupid's aid , might love procure . mer. then call him strait , and let him arm his peirce and repeirce the adamantine foe bow , with his new darts whet on iove's thunder-bolt , feather'd with sparrows wings , shafted with mirtle steep'd in the blood of goats , and lovers tears : barb'd with the ir'n of nets which vulcan threw on mars and thee , when gods were call'd to view , sharp as the tongue of a forsaken scold . ven. cupid , come down , our deities controul'd , and bring the quiver iove with kisses gave thee for 's new-years-gift , then see who dares out-brave thee . [ cupid descends and shoots ; the arrow breaks . ] mer. if gentle heavenly gods cannot reclaim the haggard heart of an ill-manner'd dame , let 's ask advice of hell's great lords , to tame the only woman of this awkard frame . ven. rise pluto , rise , with all th' infernal powers , proud mortals learn new laws , and scoff at ours : the honour of the gods is now engag'd ; ne're woman was so cool , nor goddess so enrag'd . [ pluto rises with his infernal train . ] vvhat trifling 's this ! so many gods combin'd against a thoughtless , custom-ridden female , much weaker than the he presumptuous vvight , vvho only 'cause he prates , and walks upright , values himself 'bove other animals , vveaker than beasts in pleasures and in sense , vveaker in prudence and his own defence : a god-like victory , a most coelestial prize , to make a female take her wish'd-for joys . the under-shrubs of men give vvomen odds ; are these proceedings fit for kings or gods ? ven. if beauty , vvit , and greatness she despise , what more alluring baits can'st thou devise ? plu. must those be courted that are made to yield who parlies with a foe that wants a shield , or asks men leave to do them courtesies ? clients sometimes must force the gap't-for fees. what faintly offer'd , scarce deserves the thanks of the receiver : gratitude t' excite , press bounties home , and make men feel their weight . women were made on purpose to be ravish'd , nature had arm'd them else , nor left unguarded the avenues of love : honour commands an open citadel , the traytor makes a show , but can't , nor won't repell . who would stand knocking at an unlock'd gate ? or , who in 's porch can hope to save his plate ? for shame dispatch , and disabuse the prince , give him his play-thing , he 'll be quiet straight . the empire will grow strong , and armies fight , and more souls tumble to eternal night ; ambition damns more mortals , than delight . mer. spoke like great pluto , venus , don't repine to lose the glory , getting your design . the matter lies not what , but how to have ; what more can mankind give , or woman crave ? none e're was ravish'd , but with close consent ; shame makes them sometimes quarrel , ne'r repent . was e're ambitious man forc'd to a crown , hunger compell'd to feed ? are wearied men said to be robb'd of burdens ? do i force the falling fruit that drops into my hand ? ven. oh senseless males ! must women lose the pride of courtship , self-reflexion , joys beside of dalliance , and the yielding arts of love , embrac'd by all , whom their attractions move ? must that rough sex our tender breasts invade , without the fawning , and th' indearing trade , th' esteem , the tenderness , the adoration , and take the sacred prize without gradation and due respect ? i hate so hard a shift . mer. bart'ring makes love a bargain , rape a gift , plainly consenting women buy delight , part with their pride , to please their appetite : a bold invasion does loath'd debt prevent , love 's sweeter when 't is given than when 't is lent . plu. well urg'd , right apprehensive lord of th' upper house : love is the sauce , but lust's the wholsome meat which nicest stomachs ne're refuse to eat . proud beggars ne're confess their wants , tho ask'd , 't is decent charity to steal into their hands an alms. if heavenly arrows fail , the darts of flesh must the proud flesh assail ; which cure by sympathy the hardest heart , like pelia's spear , both wound and heal the smart . mer. to ven. fair scornful dame , great casuist in love , raising the price of lust t' enslave mankind , playing the whore with grandeur and discretion ; love is a cheat t'ingross in private hands the staple trade of lust , meant for the publick . what you deny is more mankinds than yours , a right no vestal e're can give away , a right inherent , not to be refus'd nor limited , 'cause relative to all ; no more than palates kept from various tasts , iron to one load-stone , amber to one straw . if i have title to a common ground , tho 't is inclos'd within anothers bound , all laws allow free way to fetch my shares : but these are double-fac'd terrestrial cares ; where right and wrong lye mix'd like earth and water , or fire and air , none can divide 'em clearly ; such rubs stop not the gods. 't is writ above , great valentinian shall enjoy his love ! ven. well , if i must obey , i 'll ne're assist such lewd base acts , nor lend a simp'ring smile , but when 't is done , i 'll help to reconcile . plu. we knew you would be there . come then , i 'll call my satyrs to prepare the willing fall , and in soft dreams preach honour's funeral . enter satyrs , and dance . from ovid amorum , l. . el. . and lucretius l. . that he loves women of all sorts and sizes . by mr. r — all blots i cannot from my manners wipe , nor say i walk uprightly when i slip : press'd with my thoughts , i to confession fall , in pain , and mad , till i lay open all . i sin , and i repent , clear off the score , then run , like wild , to dip again for more . i cannot rule my self , like pinnace tost in storms , the rudder gone , and compass lost . no certain shape , or features , stint my mind , i still for love a thousand reasons find . here one commends my verse ; in equity if i please her , she surely pleases me . but if malicious witty things she said , i think how she wou'd repartee in bed : and for the lashes that her tongue bestow'd , had i my wish , how i wou'd kiss the rod. if artless they , my heart on nature doats ; if learn'd , i long to be conserring notes : if no great sense or parts the damsel show , still i conclude , she wants it not below . the mild one stays me with her pouting lip ; yet love a shrew , because she is no sheep . i like whom pious education fools ; who would not try to put her past her rules ? tho' look demure , her inclinations swerve , and , once let loose , she jiggs without reserve . who without flame , they have the air of france , not clean , or sweet are ala negligence . sanguine her looks , the colour high and good ; for all the rest i trust her flesh and blood. here living snow my passion strangely warms , and strait i wish her melting in mine arms : white , red , or guinny - black , or gipsey - brown , my dearly well-beloved every one . if she is tall , my courage mounts as high , to stamp some new heroick progeny . if little , oh! how quick the spirit moves ? if large , who wou'd not roul in what he loves ? the lean provokes me with her naughty rubs ; but if she 's plump , 't is then my pretty fubs . and doubtless , one might truck convenient sport with either fat or lean , or long or short . the tripping gate so tickles / yet if wide she steps , oh! then she swoups me with stride . that waddle was a grace in montespan , these drowsie eyes are perfect c — with yellow curls aurora pleas'd her top , and leda ( iove well saw ) was black-a-top . the black or yellow are alike to me , my love will suit with every history . if cloe sing , she , like a syrene , draws ; if she sing not , we kiss without a pause : i love to risle amongst gems and dress ; yet lumber they , to god-like nakedness . buzzards and owls on special quarry fall ; mine is a generous love , and flies at all . i like the rich , 'cause she is pamper'd high , and merry beggar love , for charity ; widow or wife , i 'm for a pad that 's way'd ; if virgin , troth , who wou'd not love a maid ? if she be young , i take her in the nick ; if she has age she helps it with a trick . if nothing charms me in her wit or face , she has her fiddle in some other place . come every sort and size , the great or small , my love will find a tally for 'em all . the foregoing elegy , having been publish'd imperfect , is here printed from the best copy . to dorolissa , on her being like my lord dorset . by the same . add all to man that man's perfection makes , woman has something still that strangely takes : why run we else , at dorolissa's call , in crowds to hersham , and neglect copt-hall ? but who cou'd hope , from dorset's noble frame , to find a female of the very same ; such inward beauty , and such outward grace , all met again together in one place ? the same free looks that no disguises bear , the same sweet , generous , melancholy are ? that perfect smile , and that half-bended frown , these glances too are dorset's every one : yet nature , that she might us not perplex , the manly stroaks with finer touches checks , in a just care to the dear fairer sex. nor do their persons only come so near , her soul 's as high , and every way his peer . tho the same mighty genius so prevails in one , in one particular it fails . to all the●…e gifts of body and of mind , a conduct thus reserv'd is , odly , joyn'd : this suits but ill with the heroick kind . great dorset wou'd his love communicate , not turn away from a warm willing mate . here wou'd we live , nor think of joys above , were you , ah ! were you like him in your love. in imitation of the song , that i love none . by olinda . some say , i for olinda dye , my breast so violent passion warms , most think my hour is scarce so nigh , but , ah ! these little know her charms . my heart all witty fair ones sway , and to sad difficulty bring ; yet none so cruel quite to slay the harmless , poor , good natur'd thing . my heart is love's mere tennis ball , here toss'd , there bandy'd up and down ; but in good hands if once it fall , 't is lodg'd , 't is then , for ever , gone . the picture . by mr. adams . come gentle love , 't is only thou can'st celidia's beauties know ; thou , for he trusts none but thee , thou my pretty painter be : but no mortal colours may my celidia's form display . fetch me then love , fetch the same nature uses through this frame . when she spring most fain would show , or she paints the watry bow — so , how swift thy motions be , scarce thy darts more swift than thee . now first — stay let me see — first try thy matchless skill upon her eye ; paint it black , and full , and bright , quick , and peircing as the light ; let it sparkle humid fire , let it languish with desire ; yet let a majestick air mid'st some pretty scorn appear , such as may inspire fear , such as may soft love inspire , yet chastise too bold desire ; as may threaten yet invite , temp'ring terror with delight . now let 's see — well this might do could'st thou paint the motion too . next , let her faultless nose descend , which envy , nature cannot mend . but now gentle love , oh now ! thou thy skill , thy art must show : canst thou something here design that may sweetness breath divine ? can'st thou paint thy mother's smile when she would some god beguile ? then might'st thou attempt to feign her well form'd mouth — yet then in vain , but for once thou shalt be try'd : let the lip with humble pride gently swell , in blushes dy'd of native purple , and let there a perpetual dew appear , such as flows on opening roses when the morn their sweets discloses : while fancy forms in every kiss , joy , rapture , and immortal bliss . o! still the grace , the charming air , the melting softness , is not there . well , prithee go on , o're her fair eyes let her lofty fore-head rise : like some hill of snow , whose height above the sun contemns his heat . now let on her cheeks be laid such a white and such a red , as the new-●…leec'd snow does wear , unsully'd by the neither air ; as most sweetly is display'd on the poor timerous , wishing maid , whom some blest youth does first invade . then let her dishevel'd hair here curl , and there disappear : here return , then downward stray , as it fain would lose its way ; black let that be , black , as made the beauteous piece's decent shade , as if she were enwrap'd in night thy gentle season of delight . then o! then draw her swelling breast , where gods , where amorous gods would rest , yet ne're by man or god yet prest . let it such motion seem to find , as seas saluted by the wind , which the lov'd waves just kisses o're , and whispers passion to the inclining shore . o love ! methinks this is not well , methinks it does not panting swell ; nor is the lovely mouth the same , nor darts the eye the well-known flame . while thus i spoke , love angry grew , the tablet tore , and down he threw the pencil , and away he flew . whether the god himself did move , and love did operate on love ; so fear'd to stir my rival flame , should he draw her too much the same : or he thought i should vex more when his pencil should come lower ; 't was that the little god well knew , the painter so his mother drew , and to the waste her form did shew : but then he spread a circling wave , as modesty had made him leave ; tho 't is most sure his pencil he supprest , because he never could describe the rest . a pastoral , written at dublin , in may . coridon . thyrsis , since here we be together laid , where these kind trees embraces weave a shade , sing gentle youth , and with some tuneful lay , beguile our labour , and deceive the day ; thelgon will seed our flocks ; and when they 're fed , th●…lgon our flocks will to the river lead . thyrsis . ocoridon ! who shall presume to sing ? who to these groves shall foreign numbers bring ? where once great spencer did triumphant reign , the best , the sweetest , of the inspir'd train ; scarce from the god of wit such verse did flow , when he vouchsaf'd to follow sheep below : here sigh'd the love-sick swain , here fed his sheep near mullas stream , whose waves he taught to weep : while hungry'st herds forgot the flowry meads , and the unshorn hills inclin'd their list'ning shades ; oft as i 've heard the muses hither came , the muses slighted the inspiring stream , charm'd with the merit of their colin's fame : while hoarser goatherds in some wretched strain invok'd the absent deities in vain . ah! liv'd he now , what subjects might he chuse , the deathless theams of his immortal muse , of god-like ossory his song would tell , how much belov'd he liv'd , how much bewail'd he fell . in war unconquer'd , but betray'd in peace by fraud of death , and snares of a disease . then he 'd to late posterity declare , how well great arran did the loss repair ; that when good ormond would his age release in no mean pleasures , no inglorious ease , he with like vertue rul'd , with like success : so when old atlas eas'd his stooping years , alcides only could support the sphears . well hast thou chose , great monarch ! well design'd so vast a burthen for so vast a mind ! he all the worth of his long line does show , as rivers largest when they furthest flow ; no false cabal his vertue could engage , flowing unmix'd through a rebellious age , unmix'd and pure , as the swift rhônedos take his liquid way , through dull geneva's lake . but whither am i brought by unknown ways , forc'd by the mighty current of his praise ? say happy bard ! immortal spencer say ! what numbers would'st thou choose , what praise display , when of armagh thy mighty song should be , of armagh's justice and his piety ? armagh ! who innocence secures from wrong , in whom the poor are rich , the weak are strong , the vvidows plenty , and the orphans song . armagh ! the good , whom men and angels love , chief priest of themis , and chief priest of iove : 't is he , my much-lov'd coridon ! 't is he , through whom my flocks thus wander as you see . he too permits my verse , nor does disdain the humble tribute of a grateful swain . o could i ! could i my low measures raise , vvorthy his name , and worthy of his praise ! vvhile weary flocks rejoyc'd in shades , while showers of silent dew reviv'd expiring flowers , vvhile breathing vvinds should slow through yonder grove , and shepherdesses should submit to love ; armagh should be the universal theam ; our mountains of themselves should speak his name , and all the ecchoing plains , th' attentive woods of armagh sing , of armagh all the floods . coridon . thrice happy youth , thy gratitude exceeds the humble measures of our rural reeds . o may he oft vouchsafe thy verse to hear , when noble pleasures shall unbend his care ; but see , the day night silently invades , and the departing sun doubles the encreasing shades . vivamus mea lesbia , &c catull. by the same . let 's live , my lesbia , while we may , in love let 's pass the thoughtless day , while impotence and envy rage in a severe censorious age : yonder sun which sets to night , returns to morrow with new light : but when once our day goes down , all our mirth , our joys are gone , one small stroak our hearts will sever , and we sleep , we sleep for ever . a thousand kisses then , my dear , a hundred more , nay yet i swear another thousand does remain , now the hundred o're again , then another thousand more , then a hundred as before ; thus when many thousand past , we 'll mix , we 'll shuffle 'em so last , that nor thou , nor i may know what is done , or what to do , and no envy blast our bliss when our joys are numberless . song . i. no faith , no , i will not now ; could'st thou not one , not one repulse allow ? what a silly whore art thou ? have a care of care , of dull permission ; women may rule us , if they please to fool us , make us sigh , and make us wish on . ii. i hate the coming maid , love is by nauseous fondness over-laid , becalm'd as in the marriage-bed . give me a bouncing tempestuous beauty , let her pet and grumble , bite , and toss , and tumble , or i 'm slow as husbands upon duty . iii. call honour , fame , and modesty , all the airy guards of nice virginity , through all i 'de force each inch of thee , inhance thy self by frequent denial , make us think 't is somewhat we labour so to come at , for who , o who would seek it if he knew all ? parce meo iuveni , &c. tibullus . spare gentle beast ! ah , spare my lovely boy , whether thou do'st the hill or plain enjoy ! do not ! ah do not thy sharp tusks prepare for fierce encounters and relentless war ! thou gentle love , his faithful guardian be ! thou gentle love , preserve him safe to me ! curst be the dogs , curst be the woody shade whose solitary pleasure can perswade to follow beasts , and fly a dying maid ? what fury is 't ? ah! what is thy design ! while thou the nets round some rough hill dos●… gain , to hunt those hands , those tender hands of thine ; where is the pleasure of the surest trace , vvhile the hook'd thorns those snowy legs deface . but yet , so i my self might wander too , so i with thee my lovely youth might go , my self secure of any future fear , o're ●…raggy rocks the twis●…ed nets would ●…ear ; my self the fleetest deer would nimbly trace , and the swift dogs uncouple for the chase : then you blest woods , o then ye'd please me too ! if i might with my lov'd ch●…rynthus go . if in your amorous ●…ling shade we might together by the ●…oils ●…e laid , then should the beast securely ma●…ch away , we'd only be our selves each others prey , no care of sport , the boa●… should then destroy the sweet perfection of our eager joy ; then should'st thou have no other love but me , as i would only sigh and ●…urn for thee ; that so my dear , after diana's ●…aw , with a chas●…e hand thou might'st the chas●…e net draw . yet if by cunning s●…ealth some rival maid should the soft pleasures of my love invade , may some unknown misfortune meet her , may she suddenly become some wild beasts prey . but thou , fair youth , such rough delights forbear , and let thy father of the chase take care : thou softer pleasures follow , thou and i , and quickly to my bosom , quickly fly . a translation out of 〈◊〉 to sleep . what horrid crime did gentle sleep displease ? that he refuses me the common ease of bird and beast ? nay , ev'ry breeding tr●…e seems but to nod with sleep to waking me . fierce rivers softly glide , seas faintly roar , and roul themselves asleep upon the shore . seven times the moon has measur'd out the night , seven times my eyes out-watch'd her borrow'd light. the shining stars , as in their orbs they move , as oft have seen me waking from above . still my complaints reviv'd , aurora hears , and mov'd with pity , baths me with her tears . how will my strength to bear my grief suffice ? like argus , i have not a thousand eyes , that may alternately their watching take , his body never was all o're awake . perhaps some amorous youth kind sleep denies to lodge , at present , in his wanton eyes : with waking arms he clasps the yielding dame , and quits his rest to ease a restless flame . let the ill-treated god take wing to me who have so long beg'd for his company ; i will not ask him a whole night to stay , a happier man must for that blessing pray , let him but call upon me in his way . the atheist . i. great knowing hero ! who dares boast a conquest o're the lord of host ! thou wear'st a soul that scorns to be corrupted with the notion of a deity ; thou know'st this world was made by chance , in thy eternal atoms luckey dance , that in their heedless motion hit at last on thee , thou mighty man of wit. thy shuffl'd atoms that thus joyn'd , and to make a world combin'd , by the last trumps inliv'ning sound shall be without blind chance calld from the world round ; and when they 're all together met , shall the agony beget , then thou shall be rebuilt to an eternity of still beginning misery , and thy great nature too shall fall like thee . ii. nature , god's steward , only can disburse events which he before ordain'd , and uncontroul'd ne're govern'd us , but like the causes too is chain'd . if god from nature should withdraw his hand , the seeble atlas reels , and cannot stand . iii. proud fool ! recant thy vain philosophy that of thy god so long has cousin'd thee : thy pinion'd reason , flesh with faith and soar above thy reason , nature's god t' adore : this will correct thy reason and thy pride , and shew thee the eternal , crucified ; tho you before did think his blood did never glide but in a picture from his side ; and that god only in a pious romance dy'd . this surely , lord , thy torments must renew , and crucifie thy god-head too : for 't is a double pain to dye for man that will an infidel remain . a pastoral reflexion on death . strephon and damon . beneath a gloomy yiew's unhealthy shade , whose noxious coverts shun'd by bird and beast , the wretched damon lay , with arms a-cross his labouring breast , quick like a sickly pulse , his heart with passion seem'd to throb and beat . from 's half-clos'd eyes there stole a falling tear along the fallow furrows of his cheeks , the deep ingraven characters of grief . the pipe which he with tuneful breath inspir'd , and made the vocal organ of his lays , lay broke , and silent by , the dire effect of raging sorrow , for in that was lost the wonder and delight of all the plains . as strephon chanc'd to shape his course that way , in quest of two lost ewes that lately stray'd , he spy'd the shepherd stretch'd upon the ground . amaz'd at the sad spectacle of war , he silent stood , then damon , damon , cry'd . being thus provoked , he rais'd his giddy head , that strait recoil'd , and gently sunk to rest ; at last , with 's elbow pillow'd from the ground , he gave attention to his speaking friend . strephon. what makes my damon secretly retire , resolv'd in private to possess his grief , when damon's sheep require their damon's care ? last night i heard the wolves run howling by , that with fierce eyes devour'd all our flocks : their fear above their hunger scarce prevail'd , for two lambs in my view they almost seis'd . in yonder village too i heard this day , that thieves have basely visited our folds . rise damon , rise , and leave thy cares behind . damon . all this cannot provoke my diligence , for fear more rav'nous wolves have seis'd on me , and make my panting heart their wretched prey that vainly strives to shift the cruel pain . my breast was ne're infested with wild care as long as dear mirtillo liv'd , whose charms cou'd calm the roughest tempests of my mind . a discontinued sun-shine i enjoy'd till dear mirtillo set in his dark grave . now there 's no lucid interval of peace , or pause of quiet to my troubled mind . sad death must be the period of my woe and life , then damon , like mirtillo , dye . strephon. thy soul , fond shepherd , is with passion craz'd , and thy distemper'd reason falsly takes the dreadful king of terrors for thy friend . shou'd he but lay his icy hand on thee , affrighted nature would recant the wish , which you in trouble made with too much haste ; and like the grass before the mowers sythe , wou'd , bending , try to 'scape the fatal stroke . if death 's so pleasant , why shou'd you lament mirtillo's fate ? strephon. because the lowly youth wou'd willingly have suffered tedious life . the strong convulsions of his friendship were more sierce than the last agonies of death : his parting soul by ling'ring here below , did seem to catch at life to stay with me . but when resistless fate had summon'd him , he kindly fix'd his closing eyes on mine , then beckon'd me to follow to the grave . this makes me think 't is no hard task to dye ; for harmless shepherds , whose unspotted lives are innocent as are the flocks they feed : fear is but the result of guilt . strephon. i know death has his terrors chiefly from our crimes , and virtue can disarm the gastly foe ; yet nature too still fears to be dissolv'd , like tender lambs that dread the butchers knise although they nothing fear beyond the blow . for who can boast a perfect innocence , or run the nimble race of humane life always along a spotless milkey way ? there 's no such path but in the heavens above , which we at penning time so plainly see . methinks i quiver whilst i talk of death , being almost frighted with my own discourse . thus i anticipate the fatal hour that must snatch me from chaste dorinda's arms , and the dear pledges of our mutual love. when i am dead , who 'll teach my lovely boys to use the hook , or help the labouring ewe . dorinda , boys , and sheep , must all be left a prey to man , that unto man proves the most savage wolf , the strong worry the weak , remorsless avarice , urging the hungry miser to oppress ; and wild ambition treads upon the poor , its footing sure , and that which will subvert the ill-laid greatness of aspiring man. such thoughts as these mirtillo had , when life did , as you say , seem pleasing to the youth . damon . why wou'd you abrogate my firm resolve , and with these fears repeal the thoughts of death ? did you but know how sweetly they repose on beds of earth that are lodg'd under ground , unintercepted rest they all enjoy , and with the wants of life are blest by death : they but retreat to a far greater world. for how few tread the surface of the globe , compar'd to crowding colonies that fate sends daily to the bowels of the earth , that has been peopling ever since old time , commenc'd the subterranean universe , still gapes to swallow down the upper world. but when my body's ●…arthen pitcher's broke by nature's stroke of fortune's random blow ; my lord , like gideon's lamp from his crack'd urn , shall death's black night turn to eternal day ; for all the spots of my poor sullied soul shall be wash'd off by heav'ns eternal lamb , whose tender veins spouted a bath o●… blood , the sacred laver of all faithful swains . strephon. when you shall tread the confines of the grave , and your soul is to a strange somewhere bound , ( for nature still will combate lively faith ) 't is great relief to have such cheerful hopes that will repress the horrors of the mind : we only by the opticks of our faith can travel to the promis'd land above . yet we must not precipitate our fate , but wait heav'ns pleasure , therefore ( damon ) pray , for my sake live to night , to morrow dye . horatii ode . lib. . persicos odi puer apparatus , &c. the persian bravery i hate , boy ! i will not drink in state . no roses 'bout my temples twine , seek no late rose , but rosie wine : but be sure , get the myrtle tree , for that becomes both thee and me , when underneath the mother vine i enjoy her daughter , wine . horatii epod. . ad populum romanum , quoquo scelesti ruitis ? &c. whither d' ye rush with impious haste ? or why d' ye try to sit to your right-hands your well-sheath'd swords , more murders to commit ? how long is 't since each field and stream did flow with english blood ? o! can they both so quickly thirst for such another flood ? against the purse-proud hollander turn your unnatural rage ; or , if you want a nobler foe , the warlike french engage . who eagerly do long to see you fall by your own hand , they covertly keep you in pay to ruine your own land. a salvage madness yet unknown to the wild wolf or bear , lyon on lyon ne're does prey , all beasts their kind do spare . is it blind fury , or hard fate , that makes you disagree ? or is it some unpunish'd crime ? pray , country-men , tell me . silent with shame , they all wax pale , amaz'd with guilt they stand ; but i have found why angry heaven has curs'd our native land : great charles his blood must be reveng'd , just heaven has so decreed ; for such a murder'd monarch's death a nation ought to bleed . the fly . by p. ayres , esquire . thus from the wine-pot cry'd the fly , to the frog of the pool who sat croaking by , rather than lead such a life as thine , i 'd be stop'd in a cask , and dye in wine . i. vvater i cou'd ne're endure , tho ne're so chrystalline and pure : water 's a murmurer , and they design more mischief than they say . where rivers smoothest are , and clear , there 's the danger , there 's the fear ; but i 'll not grieve to dye in wine , the name is sweet , the sound divine . thus from the wine-pot , &c. ii. dull fish in water live we know , and such insipid souls as thou , while to sip of the grape so merrily fly many , many , such pretty birds as i. 't is wine makes me gay , as the flowers after rain , it purifies my blood , and inspires my brain : and when the tory-boys so merrily sing , i joyn in the chorus , and buz for the king , thus from the wine-pot , &c. iii. i am more belov'd than thou can'st be , all creatures shun thy company . unbid , go i to each jolly feast , where i stay for no grace , but fall on the best . thus while i feed and quaff the choicest wine , on puddle-water thou dost dine ; which makes thee such a phlegmatick croaking thing . learn to drink wine , thou fool , and sing . thus from the wine-pot , &c. iv. in gardens i delight to stray , amongst the planters sing and play ; thy tune no mortal does avail , thou art the dutch-man's nightingale . would'st thou with wine but wet thy throat , sure thou would'st leave that dismal note : lewd water has spoil'd thy organs quite , and wine alone can set them right . thus from the wine-pot , &c. v. no comrades hast thou save newts and frogs , thy rendezvous saw-pits , old ditches , and bogs ; while to cities and courts my passage is free , wine makes me an insect of quality . thou splenatick wight , did'st thou once but know what transports the juice of the grape does bestow , to be stopt in a cask thou would'st never repine , as clarence the peer was in muscadine . thus from the wine-pot , &c. to the nightingale . by the same . why , little charmer of the air , dost thou in musick spend the morn , while i thus languish in despair , opprest by cynthia's fate and scorn ? why dost thou sing to hear me cry , wanton songster , tell me why ? i. vvilt thou not cease at my desire ? will these small organs never tire ? nature did these shades prepare not for thy musick , but my care. then why wilt thou persist to sing , thou beautiful malicious thing . when kind aurora first appears , she weeps in pity to my tears . if thus thou think'st to bring relief , thou never knew'st a lover's grief . why little charmer , &c. ii. then feather'd atom , where in thee can be compriz'd such harmony ? in whose small fabrick does remain what composition can contain . all griefs but mine are at a stand when thy surprizing tunes command . how can so small a pipe and throat express so loud and sweet a note ? thou hast more various points at will , than oxpheus had with all his skill . why little charmer , &c. iii. great to the ear , tho small to sight , the happy lovers dear delight , fly to the bow'r where such are laid , and there bestow thy serenade ; but from my sorrow haste away , alas ! there 's danger in the stay ; lest hearing me so oft complain , should make thee change thy cheerful strain . then timely from my griefs remove , thou harmless syron of the grove . cease pretty charmer of the air , no more in musick spend the morn with me that languish in despair , opprest by cynthia's hate and scorn . then do not that poor boon deny , i ask but silence while i dye . to the winds . by the same . i. ye winds , that in your hasty flight just kiss the leaves , and then away , the leaves that tremble with delight , and murmur at so short a stay : stop here , and e're you further go give audience to a lover's woe . ii. condoling air ! to thee i speak , since she is deaf to all my grief , she that caus'd my heart to break you never wrong'd , yet bring relief . i 'm sure you grieve to hear my pain , for when i sigh , you sigh again . iii. go gentle air , fly to my dear , that has with love enflam'd my breast , and whisper softly in her ear , 't is she has rob'd my soul of rest : express ( if possible , ) such moans may imitate my dying groans . iv. then with a rougher breath make bold to toss the treasures of her hair , 'till thou dost ev'ry curl unfold , which cunningly mens hearts ensnare . try all thy skill to break the net , till i , like thee , my freedom get . on a nightingale that was drown'd . by the same upon a bough hung trembling o're a spring , sate philomel to ease her grief , and sing , tuning such various notes there seem'd to nest a quire of little songsters in her breast : pleas'd eccho at the close of every strain , return'd the musick note for note again . the jealous bird who ne're had rival known , not thinking the sweet accents were her own . so fill'd with emulation grew , that she express'd her outmost art and harmony ; till , as she eagerly her conquest try'd , her shadow in the stream below she spy'd , then heard the waters bubling , but mistook , and thought the nymphs were laughing in the brook. with that conceit she drop'd into the well , but utter'd these soft accents as she fell : not tereus self e're offer'd such a wrong : nymphs , take my life since you despise my song . love's new philosophy . by the same . i. vvho'ere a lover is of art , may come and learn of me a new philosophy , such as no schools did e're impart . love all my other notions does controul , and reads these now strange lectures to my soul. ii. this god who takes delight to lye , the truth of former days defames , and aristotle blames , concluding all by subtilty ; whilst with such art his syllogisms are made , as solomon himself could ne're evade . iii. so wond'rous is his craft and skill , his painted reasons serve as darts , to pierce mens intellects and hearts , all maxims he destroys at will : plato he blinded so , he made him think 't was water , when he gave him fire to drink : iv. that water can extinguish fire past ages did allow , love contradicts the notion now , and says , it makes his flames rage higher : which truth my self have prov'd for many years , wherein i 've wept whole deluges of tears . v. when soul and body separate , 't is said , the man forthwith must dye ; this maxim too i must deny , my soul 's with her who rules my fate ; yet still my organs move , a proof to give , that soul and body can divided live . vi. remove the cause , effects will cease ; this was an axiom too , which to my grief i find untrue . cynthia robs my soul of ease : yet when this fair disturber of my peace is farthest from me , then my pains encrease . vii . in love , extreams themselves are joyn'd , joy and sorrow of my breast together stand possest , and vex with civil vvar my mind . thus when i view the source of all my wrong , i sigh my musick , mix with tears my song . viii . vvhilst in this torment i remain , to be and not to be no longer is a mystery ; i dye to joy and live to pain . thus , without paradox , i may be said to be and not to be , alive and dead . ix . now , go my song , — yet shun the eyes of such as never felt love's flame : and if my cynthia blame thy arguments as sophistries , tell her , this is love's new philosophy , vvhich none can understand but such as try . cynisca : or , the fourteenth idyllium of theocritus imitated . by w. bowles , fellow of kings-coll . cambr. thyonicus and aeschines . oh , how does my dear eschines ! oh how ! some care , my friend , sits heavy on thy brow. aeschines . cynisca , friend , has shown the fiend confest , and peace and joy are banish'd from my breast . thyonicus . hence this wild look , and this distracted air , staring your eyes , your face o're-grown with hair ; just such a rosie crucian here arriv'd , some new enthusiast sure , or flood reviv'd ; with such a meen he came , with such a grace , so long his beard , so dry , so pale his face . aeschines . you , sir , are merry ; but alas ! i find , no cure , no ease , to my distemper'd mind . i rave , am by a thousand furies tost , and call in vain my reason in my passion lost . thyonicus . i always knew you jealous and severe ; but does cynisca's falshood plain appear ? aeschines . 't was my ill fate , or chance , some friends to treat with richest wines , the board was crown'd with choicest meat ; but fair cynisca most adorn'd the feast , in all the charms of art and nature drest . cynisca all our ravish'd senses fed , we gaz'd , and we ador'd the lovely maid : with wine and beauty all our hearts were fir'd , and fair cynisca still new joys inspir'd . now healths we drank and as the glasses came , ( such was the law ) each did his mistress name : charming cynisca too at last was prest to name the lover in her favour blest . a vvoman , sure , she hop'd , might be excus'd ! the more they urg'd her , she the more refus'd . refus'd , oh friend , and i her lover by ! guess if my rage , with vvine enflam'd , grew high . silent she sat , and with her eyes deny'd ; lycus is handsome , tall , and young , they cry'd ! when lycus name but touch'd her guilty soul , how down her cheeks the liquid globes did roul ! confus'd her look , while shame and guilt apace shifted the whole complexion of her face . gods ! with what rage was my rack'd soul surpriz'd . my curse , my ruine , am i then despis'd ? ingrateful and inhumane thou ! begone , go hug the man whose absence you bemoan : no more will i , deluded by your charms , cherish an absent mistress in my arms. swiftly , as swallows to their nest , she fled , when unfletch'd young lye gaping , and unfed ! swiftly she fled , with my embraces cloy'd , lycus she long had lov'd , and long enjoy'd . a publick jest , and known to all alass ! ( the cuckold last perceives his own disgrace ) yet once a friend accus'd the guilty maid , and to my ears unheard the fatal news convey'd : for i , a much abus'd , deluded sot , the matter ne're examin'd , or forgot . now , undisturb'd , unrival'd lycus reigns , enjoys his conquest , and derides my pains . two months are past , since unregarded i in a deserted bed , and hopeless , lye . long with the mighty pain opprest , i strove , but ah ! what remedy for injur'd-love ! in vain i struggle with the fierce disease , the fatal poison does my vitals seize . yet damon did from travel find relief , and absence soon remov'd the raging grief . in fires like mine successless damon burn'd , diseas'd he parted , and he sound return'd . i too th' incertain remedy will try , and to less cruel seas and rocks will fly . thyonicus . for flanders then , since you 'r resolv'd , prepare , flanders , the scene of glory and of war ! or , if a better choice and nobler fire does greater arms , and greater thoughts inspire , hungarian rebels , and unchristian foes , 't is a vast field of honour friend , oppose . by god-like poland born , and lorrain soon the cross shall triumph o're the waning moon . there you the cruel ravage may admire , and austria desolate by barb'rous fire , may curse the dire effects of civil rage ; oh in what ills religion can engage ! there sure with horror your diverted mind some truce may with this smaller passion find . aeschines . cynisca , oh unkind ! farewel , i go , by thee condemn'd to distant countries know ; i go , where honour , and where dangers call , from a less barb'rous foe to tempt a nobler fall. written may . . sapho's ode out of longinus . by the same . i. the gods are not more blest than he , who fixing his glad eyes on thee , with thy bright rays his senses chears , and drinks with ever thirsty ears . the charming musick of thy tongue , does ever hear , and ever long ; that sees with more than humane grace , sweet smiles adorn thy angel face . ii. but when with kinder beams you shine , and so appear much more divine , my feeble sense and dazl'd sight , no more support the glorious light , and the fierce torrent of delight . oh! then i feel my life decay , my ravish'd soul then flies away , then faintness does my limbs surprize , and darkness swims before my eyes . iii. then my tongue fails , and from my brow the liquid drops in silence flow , then wand'ring fires run through my blood , and cold binds up the stupid flood , all pale , and breathless then i lye , i sigh , i tremble , and i dye . ode . of the fourth book of horace . i. lyce , the gods have heard my pray'r , lyce the proud , the charming , and the fair , lyce is old ! tho wanton , still , and gay , you laugh , and sing , and play . now beauty fails , with wine would raise desire , and with your trembling voice would fan our dying fire . ii. in vain ! for love long since forsook thy snowy hair , thy falling teeth , and withering look ; he chia's blooming face adorns with ev'ry grace , her wit , her eyes , her every glance are darts , that with resistless force invade our hearts . iii. not all your art , nor all your dress , ( tho grown to a ridiculous excess , tho you by lovers spoils made fine , in richest silks , and jewels shine , and with their borrow'd light surprize the dazl'd sight ) can your fled youth recall , recall one day which flying time on his swift wings has born away . iv. ah! where are all thy beauties fled , where all the charms that so adorn'd the tender maid ah! where the nameless graces that were seen in all thy motions , and thy meen ! what now , oh ! what is of that lyce left , by which i once was of my sense and of my soul bereft v. of her , who with my cynara strove and shar'd my doubtful love ! yet fate , and the last unrelenting hour seiz'd her gay youth , and pluck'd the springing flow'r . but angry heaven has reserv'd thee that you with rage might see , with rage might see your beauties fading glory fly , and your short youth , and tyrannous pow'r before you dye . vi. that your insulting lovers might return pride for your pride , and with retorted scorn glut their revenge , and satiate all their pain ; with cruel pleasure , and with sharp disdain might laugh , to see that fire which once so burn'd , shot such resistless flames , to ashes turn'd . the immortality of poesie . by mr. evelyn . to envy . ovid. amor. lib. . eleg. . envy , how dar'st thou say that i in vain have spent my years , or with false names profane the sacred product of my fertile brain ? 't is true , in th' art of war i am not skill'd , no trophies did i e're attempt to build by gaining grinning honour in the field . i never try'd to learn the tedious laws , or sought in pleading of a desp'rate cause , to sell my breath for int'rest or applause . such little things i scorn , i nobly aim at that which may secure a lasting fame , and through the world immortalize my name . old chaucer shall , for his f●…tious style , be read , and prais'd by warlike britains , while the sea enriches , and defends their isle . while the whole earth resounds elisa's fame , who aw'd the french , and did the spaniard tame , the english will remember spencer's name . while flatt'rers thrive and parasites shall dine , while commonwealths afford a catiline , laborious iohnson shall be thought divine . thee shakespear poets ever shall adore , whose wealthy fancy left so vast a store , they still refine thy rough but precious ore. so long shall cowley be admir'd above the croud , as david's troubles pity move , till women cease to charm , and youth to love . vvhile we the fall of our first parents grieve , and worship him who did that fall retreive , milton shall in majestick numbers live . dryden will last as long as wit and sense , while judgment is requir'd to excellence , while perfect language charms an audience . as long as men are false , and women vain , while gold continues to be vertues bane , in pointed satyr wicherly shall reign . when the aspiring grecian in the east , and haughty philip is forgot i' th' west , then lee and otways works shall be supprest . while fathers are severe , and servants cheat , till bawds and whores can live without deceit , sydley , and easie etheridge shall be great . stones will consume , age will on metals prey , but deathless verse no time can wear away ; that stands the shock of years without decay . when kingdoms shall be lost in sloth & lust , when treasures fail , and glorious arms shall rust , v●…rse only lifts it self above the dust . come bright apollo then , let me drink deep of that blest spring thou dost for poets keep , vvhile in ignoble ease the vvorld's asleep . let wreaths of tender myrtle crown my head , let me be still by anxious lovers read , envy'd alive , but honour'd when i 'm dead . till after death , desert was never crown'd , vvhen my ashes are forgotten under ground , then my best part will be immortal found . out of martial . lib. . epigr. . temporibus nostris aetas . by the same . all other ages since our age excels and conqu'ring rome to so much greatness swells , you wonder what 's become of maro's vein , that none write battels in so high a strain . had vvit its patrons flacus now a days as once it had , more would contend for praise , thy villa would a mighty genius raise . vvhen virgil was oppress'd by civil hate , robb'd of his flocks , and strip'd of his estate . in tyt'rus dress beneath a beech he sate . vveeping in shades thus was the poet found , till brave m●…cenas rais'd him from the ground : knowing that want would greatest minds betray , he fear'd a muse so god-like should decay , and drave malicious poverty away . freed from the want that now oppresses thee , thou shalt for ever prince of poets be . in all my pleasures thou a part shalt bear , thou shalt with me my dear alexis share . the charming youth stood by his master's board , and with his iv'ry hands black falern pour'd ; vvith rosie lips each cup he first assay'd , of such a draught iove would himself be glad , and for alexis change his ganymed . down go the rude bucolicks on the floor , of bees , and harvest , now he writes no more , vvhose humble muse had fung the great when poor . strait he exalts his voice to arms , & kings , the roman story , and his hero sings . mean thoughts upon a narrow fortune wait , the fancy is improv'd by an estate , favour and pension make a laureate . to mr. &c. by the same . dear friend , till now i never knew . a man enjoy disease like you , your p — breaks out in verse and prose , and with your rheums your fancy slows ; your diet-drink for helicon passes , and hot-house is to you parnassus . there , as on muses sacred hill , while cytherean drops distill , to pitch divine you raise your vvit , upon the stool triumphant sit , and grow immortal while you — if mulberry adorn your fore-head , it makes not you one grain less florid ; if one shin-bone you find a node , you strait break forth in smooth epode , and ev'ry twitch of limber hams produces sharper epigrams . now ovid , virgil , now you grace with well-match'd rhimes , and pliant phrase . sometimes with iuvenal you bite , oftner with horace you delight : no torment can disturb your mind , so steady 't is , and so refin'd , that greece nor rome could never shew such learning , and such temper too . all their lycaeums , and their schools , their fighting , and their writing fools , have left us no such gen'rous rules , as from you only we may learn , vvho calmly sweat without concern . you in love's bower do possess unenvy'd , perfect happiness . where you your self , your self employ , and in a tub the world enjoy . these verses to you , dearest friend , from silent shady groves i send , lest you should think your self forgotten , as the dead are , because you 'r rotten . morose . why should men think me melancholly , because i sleep , and eat , and walk alone ? my design is to run from the worlds folly , to trouble no man with my own , to know mankind , and be my self unknown . a fop now plagues me with his dress , bids me the price of riband guess , tells me how much he paid for point , how oft he in the glass did look , and what excessive pains he took to hang ridiculous things on every joynt . one tells me where he sup'd last night , what wine he drank , who was i' th' right about the cut of dice , and who i' th' wrong , whether the deux or quater ran more strong . i am not rid of this fool long , but another sings me a damn'd empty song . e're i could well cross the street , who the devil should i meet , but a young lord out of a chair ? with arm in string , and many a scar. he talks of duels , tells me who was only scratch'd , and who run through . who should i light on next , but one that 's the worst poet in the town ? his pocket's stuff'd with guins of rhyme , he tells you to a hair what time 't will ask to make a play , or prologue , song , satyr , mask , lampoon , or collogue . he 'll inform you on his word , what he had of such a lord , of such an whore , of such a dutchess , for bombaste lines , and flatt'ring touches . that a great person had the conscience to give him nothing for his nonsense : what a new play 's worth , what a vamp'd one ; as god would have it by comes — out of horace , ode . l. . lidia dic per omnes , &c. by the same . lidia , i conjure you say why haste you so to make away poor sybaris with love ? why hates he now the open air ? why heat , and clouds of dust to bear , does he no more approve ? why leaves he off his martial pride ? why is he now afraid to ride upon his gallick steed ? why swims he not the tyber o're ? or wrestles as he did before ? whence do his fears proceed ? why boasts he not his limbs grown black with bearing arms , or his strong back with which he threw the bar ? is he like thetis son conceal'd , and from all manly sports witheld , to keep him safe from vvar ? the punishment . by the same . on hebrus bank as orpheus sate , mourning euridice's hard fate , the birds and beasts did on his musick wait , and trees and stones became compassionate ; yet he who all things else could move , vvas quite insensible to love . therefore , ye gods , ye justly did ordain , that he who love and women did despise , to the fair sex should fall a sacrifice , and for contempt of pleasure , suffer pain . part of ajax 's speech , ovid metam . l. . by the same . the princes sat , whom martial throngs inclose , when ajax lord o' th' sevenfold shield arose . with just disdain , and untam'd passion swell'd , sigeum , and the navy , he beheld . then lifting up his hands , oh iove ! said he , before this fleet , can my right question'd be ? and dares ulysses too contend with me ? he , who when hector all our ships had fir'd , far from the danger cowardly retir'd , while i alone the hostile flame sustain'd , and sav'd the burning navy with this hand . he 'll therefore find it much his safest course , to trust to tropes and figures , not to force . his talent lies in prating , mine in war , and yet you so unequal judges are , that you prefer his pedantry , and art , before my conqu'ring arm , and gen'rous heart . of my exploits i nothing need to say , for they were all perform'd in open day , you saw them ; his , if any , were all done by night , told of himself , but seen by none . out of sannazar . by the same . neptune saw venice on the adria stand , firm as a rock , and all the sea command . think'st thou , o iove ! said he , rome's walls excell ? or that proud cliff whence false tarpia fell ? grant tyber best , view both , and you will say , that men did those , gods these foundations lay . remedy of love . by the same . would you be quite cur'd of love ? from your mistress's sight remove . to the open fields repair , cool'd with absence , and with air , you will soon be eas'd of care. seek out in another place , something fit for your embrace , perhaps in a less charming face you may find a pleasing grace , wit , or motion , dress , or art , thousand things that may divert the torments of your throbbing heart . if in this no ease you find , but constant love still plagues your mind , to your former flame return , see if still her eyes do burn with equal force , you 'll find perchance , less warmth in ev'ry amorous glance ; seeing oft what we desire makes us less , and less admire , and will in time put out the fire . visit her betimes each morn , stand by her when she does adorn her head , perhaps some borrow'd hair , some ill-contriv'd , affected snare , lewd song on table found , or pray'r nonsensical , may let you see , that what you thought divinity is but a piece of puppetry . if still thy passion does remain , and unseen charms thy heart inchain , if she break thy sleep by night , fly again the witches sight , opium take , that may invite the gentle god to calm thy soul , peaceful slumbers love controul . have a care of purling brooks , of silent groves , and awful shade , they but to thy torment add , love does there with ease invade ; no musick hear , no dying looks behold , read no romantick books ; books and musick turn the head , fools only sing , and mad-men read : they with false notions fill the brain , are only fit to entertain women , and fops that are more vain . love and folly still are found in those to make the deepest wound , who think their passions to allay by giving of them leave to sway a while ; but they like winter torrents grow , and all our limits overflow . never trust thy self alone , frequent good company , and wine , in gen'rous wines thy passion drown , that will make thee all divine . better 't is to drink to death , than sigh , and whine away our breath . in friends and bottles we may find more joys than in all womankind . a far enjoyment women pall , intolerable plagues they 'r all , vain , foolish , fond , proud , whimsical , dissembling , hypocritical . wines by keeping them improve , and real friends more firmly love . if one vintage proves severe , we 're doubly recompenc'd next year . if our dearest friends we lose , others may succeed to those . women only , of all things , have nothing to asswage their stings . curs'd is the man that does pursue the short-liv'd pleasures of their charms ; there is no hell but in their arms : for ever damned , damning sex adieu . written on her mask . by the same . well may'st thou , envious mask , be proud , that dost such killing beauties shroud ! not phoebus , when behind a cloud , of half those glories robs our eye , as behind thee concealed lye . i would have kept thee , but i find my fair elisa so unkind , thou wilt better service do to keep her charms from humane view : for she is so strangely bright , so surprizing , so divine , that i know her very sight soon will make all hearts like mine . to mr. s. g. by the same . fair vertue , should i follow thee i should be naked , and alone , for thou art not in company , and scarce are to be found in one . thy rules are too severe , and cold , to be embrac'd by vig'rous youth , and fraud and avarice arm the old against thy justice and thy truth . he who by light of reason led , instructs himself in thy rough school , shall all his life-time beg his bread , and when he dies be thought a fool. though in himself he 's satisfied with a calm mind , and cheerful heart , the world will call his virtue pride , his holy life , design and art. the reign of vice is absolute , while good men vainly strive to rise ; they may declaim , they may dispute , but shall continue poor , and wise . honours and wealth were made by fate to wait on fawning impudence , to give insipid coxcombs weight , and to supply the want of sense . mighty pompey , whose great soulx aim'd at the liberty of rome , in vain did caesar's arms controul , and at pharselia was o'recome . his vertue constant in distress in ptolomy no pity bred , who barely guided by success , secur'd his peace with his friends head : brutus , whom the gods ordain'd to do what pompey would have done , the gen'rous motion entertain'd , and stab'd the tyrant on his throne . this god-like brutus whose delight was vertue which he had ador'd , haunted by spectres over night , fell the next day on his own sword. if when his hope of vict'ry lost , this noble roman could exclaim , oh vertue ! whom i courted most , i find she 's but an empty name : in a degen'rate age like this , we wish more reason may conclude , that fortune will attend on vice , and misery on those who dare be good . a gentleman going to his country farm , which he had not seen for some time before , at the request of a fair lady writes these verses . amyntas . tell me damon , lovely swain , prince of all our youthful train , why such a mighty stranger grown to all our pleasures , and your own ? what passion draws your thoughts away from all that 's lively , brisk , and gay ? why now no more upon the plain where you so well , so long did reign ; where all our youths and nymphs appear , so kind , so innocent , and fair . damon . my phillis is not there . amyntas . there 's daphne , cloe , lidia , is she more fair , more sweet than they ? damon . yes , she than daphne lovelier seems , softer than cloe's gentle'st dreams ; and with more artless modesty than lydia , all these charms does try : such charms could only venus show ; to paris , one mount ida's brow ; when she with all her graces strove to prove her self the queen of love ; and did with beauties more divine , two rival goddesses out-shine . such venus , such does phillis prove , phyllis , the queen of me , and love. amyntas . unhappy damon ! then i find you have your liberty resign'd , and only can the honour have to be a tame and gentle slave , and a good-natur'd prisoner , to one as cruel as she 's fair . damon . amyntas no , i 'm now set free from the uneasiest flavery . for while my heart at large did range , it only did its keeper change ; to ev'ry she an easie prey , from whence it quickly fled away ; or got its freedom on parole , to yield it self with less controul . but now 't is safe with phillis laid , a prisoner in a palace made : ( strange fate of lovers , who can be freed only by captivity ) phillis , who does like caesar fight , sees and subdues us with her sight ; and like that mighty conquerour , is pleased her captives to prefer . nor is her cruelty so great , to wound and kill without regret . fair as the virgin-spring , and gay , cheerful as the dawning day ; yet kind as fruitful summer she , or autumn's liberality ; only the modest damn'd pretence of maiden-head and innocence . amyntas . then happy damon now i find , since you so constant , she so kind , let cupid doubly gild that dart with which he wounds her tender heart . damon . see my amyntas , 't is for her that of these flocks i take such care : for her alone 't is that i bind , about this elm this amorous vine ; may thus my phillis round me twine . for her i dig , and plough , and sow , things she and i , methinks , should do . for her i graft this plumb , and pear , as these , so may my phillis bear . these peaches i innoculate , and wish but one thing more of fate . thus all my thoughts does but improve the world's great manufacture , love. whether in love , men or women have the advantage ; they in making , or these in receiving , their court : consider'd in a dialogue betwixt corinna and lais. written by mr. c. m. lais. nay , surely men in love have much the start , theirs is the pleasanter and braver part ; we ( passive creatures ) must a siege maintain , which won , the victors as o're vassals reign . where e're their appetite does lead they rove , stop where they like , when nature prompts make love. with boundless will , and fancy unconfin'd , sail through the air , and wanton in the wind , until they spy some beauteous , tempting dame , then , with full sails , pursue the noble game , bristle each feather , all their wings display , and gripe in eager arms the panting prey . when they are cloy'd , they mount , they soar , are gone , and leave the injur'd slighted maid to moan , if any dazling beauty fires the town , each spark can try to make the prize his own . no musty customs his delight controuls , to her , with lacques clog'd , the chariot rolls . we by dull rules ( contriv'd by men ) confin'd , must not pursue our fancy , please our mind , but modest and demure , receive at home the formal visitants that dain to come : and all our happiness dependeth still , not on our own but on anothers will. corinna . i grant men under less constraint than we , but 't is constraint from cares and misery : for , the exercise of this their boasted power plunges in woes , we never feel each hour . when before any stubborn town they sit , if them the haughty dame will not admit ; what tortures they endure , what lively pain afflicts their soul , and racks each trembling vein ! the pangs of love are of so quick a sense as scarce the ensuing joy can recompence . but we by happier fate ne're suffer these , embracing the proposals if they please . it is not always in their power to win , but always is in ours to let them in ; we either love not , or our love obtains , enjoy the sweet of it , without the pains . lais. alas ! they often mock with feign'd desire , and warm the innocent maid with painted sire . and when the blushing flag does shew she 's won , their work that only came to abuse , is done . the ill-natured creatures leave the melting fair , to pine , and sigh her spotless soul to air. they , pleas'd ( like nero ) see the beauteous rome in flames their cruel hands did light , consume . corinna . we practice this under a different name , in us 't is honour , but in them a shame . with false enticing looks we gild the bait , and having caught them , scorn , triumph , & hate ; ensnare to shew what powerful charms we bear , then slight , and damn them to a wild despair . and who the grateful pleasure can despise , of seeing humble slaves in modest guise and awful trembling to approach our eyes ; and by adoring make us deities . catch at each glance , and hang on ev'ry look as if from us their destiny they took . rate ev'ry smile above a monarch's crown , and dread ours more than angry heavens frown . lais. but add to these , the anguish of our mind , when forc'd to be to the dear man unkind . when parents envious precepts do oblige , against our will , to hold out ten years siege : till all their dull formalities are past , to yield on tedious articles at last . to force our nature , and belye our heart , stifle the raging ●…lame , and hide our smart , not daring what we most desire to own , constrain'd on him , we languish for , to srown . this , this is the extremity of pain , to suffer without power to complain . in love ( as in the state ) they only feel the rack , who dare not their hid thoughts reveal . corinna . why should we thus against our nature fight , and vex our selves with this false parthian flight ? let us no more to forms and shadows strike , if we the generous assailant like , admit him ; ne're disturb our selves to feign , nor make him waste his vigour , to obtain . lais. so things would run too fast ; the game of love does grateful with this disadvantage prove : 't is such bewitching sport , so draws us in , as 't is ; what would it be if all should win ? did we not stop it thus , and make it keep within due bounds , the play would be too deep and all our stock and fortune lost too soon , methinks , as 't is , the stakes are quickly gone . corinna . 't is best then , things continue as they are ; reformers sometimes mend , but oftner mar . on the lords rejecting the bill of exclusion , november the th . . gods ! this is great ! these , these are they who truly , thus , their noble blood display ; and by the soul which they this day have shewn , make all the glories of their line their own . these are old eng●…ana's peers ! hearts that despise to be o re-aw'd by number and by noise ; no , they 're too brave , too loyal , and too wise. beauchamp and howard's courage , cecil's brain , the faith of vere , still in the house remain : nor on the churches seats do less appear , grave morton's piety , and prudence here . such the lay-hands that dare support a crown , and such the conscience of the sacred gown . thus did their mighty ancestors combine when force misplac'd the crown from the right line . thus they stood fast to truth , and never fail'd , till the unblemish'd rose of york prevail'd . and must again that sad dispute appear ? no , we are much too young for plato's year . our renown'd peerage will not have it so ; the demi-gods and heroes thunder , no. what remote noise is this ? hark how it grows ! nearer and louder now the torrent flows . all europe shouts aloud : spring-tides of joy salute the brittish isle , hark how they cry ! " fame now is yours , more from one law refus'd " than half the numerous laws you ever us'd . elegy , on the death of christopher sherard , esq son and heir apparent to the right honourable bennet lord sherrard , who died in the sixteenth year of his age , febr. . . and is he dead ? is he already dead ? ah , too surprizing news , sudden as sad ! when hopeful vertue does abortive fall , we weep our own , and not his funeral : the loss is ours , and all the tears we shed are more for them that live , than for the dead . let it not then be said , untimely fate robb'd him of honour , title , or estate , or ( what is more to youth than all beside ) of an adored beauty for his bride . such blessings waited him , not few nor small , yet our loss we may truly greater call ; for we are robb'd of him that 's more than all . insolvent fortune ! let us count our woe ; bankrupt of much which time will ever owe. a steady friendship , modesty above the age we live in , a true english love , a generous heart , with an address compleat , great in his lineage , yet more good than great : and above all ( as the most sacred thing ) a soul devoted to his god and king. this treasure had been ours had fate delay'd , 't was promis'd all , and had been surely paid . but he is gone , untimely ravish'd hence in the prime bloom of youth and innocence ! he dy'd a virgin , free from modern crimes , clear and unfully'd in licentious times . bring flow'rs , ye spotless maids , and strew 'em here , strew all the beauties of the blooming year : hither your roses , mix'd with lillies , bring , and on his grave six an eternal spring ; which water'd with your tears , may be encreast to a perfume beyond the phoenix nest : yet all those odours far less sweet will be to us , than his own name and memory . farewel , dear youth ! had you this age surviv'd , and to the years of our first parents liv'd , yet when at last your thread of life had fail'd , you might have died more known , not more bewail'd . thus young marcellus fell , rome's darling name , ever lamented and belov'd by fame : and thus ( ah , simile too like ! ) thus died henry , britannia's equal hope and pride . on the romantick office of credit , proposed by dr. c. and his partners , an. dom. . tell me , some antiquary , who has heard how mankind liv'd e're saturn wore a beard ; tell me , some grave philosopher , whose sense knows more of things than their bare rate in pence ; in the world 's innocent infancy what trade among its first inhabitants was made ? was it not then , by the first trading charter , that all commerce was but exchange & barter ? no bankrupts then , none then for trust did pray , when the same thing serv'd both for sale and pay. he who had something , in effect had all , the credit-office then was general . honey for wool , and sheep for camels went ; all payments true , all taken on content . love was the price of beauty then , not gold ; and friendship was for friendship only sold. nothing of fraud or counterfeit was shewn : this was the golden age , e're gold was known . but when from earth the shining metal came , and all mankind throng'd to adore its flame ; integrity was lost among the crowd , and fraud , as mystery of trade , allow'd . with money , which has dazl'd humane eyes , came the defects and cheats of merchandize . renown'd be then that man , that wise p●…ysician , who cures our trade in this decay'd condition . ever renown'd be he , whose happy brain can , without money , shew a way to gain . alas ! our trade he may perhaps reduce , and cure commerce to its first genuine use ; but love , with gold , is so allay'd and base , he ne're can purge from that this new disgrace , 'till plato's year turns back the world's first face . occasioned by a sight of his majesty , walking near the river , in the time of the oxford-parliament . i. when on his banks majestick pan h'espy'd , old isis stop'd the willing tide ; see there , blest waters , see ( he cry'd ) my happy arms contain their great-good-master once again ! such was the youthful vigour which he wore when once my royal charge before : go on , blest prince ! the power of years defie ; — and could no more , but wept a while for joy. ii. flow on , at last he said , lov'd waters , flow , tell it o're all the plains below in joyful murmurs as you go . bid the sad swains no more the dangers of their flocks deplore : they idly form imaginary fears , indulging dreams of wolves and bears . tell 'em , while they his sacred rest annoy , th' abuse that safety which they ought t' enjoy . to caelia . i. caelia , tho your conqu'ring eyes ( were you inclin'd to tyrannize , ) might more enlarge your sway , yet we , that humour and free wit , which you make use of , and admit , more cheerfully obey . ii. so some with fire and sword consume , and spoil the countries where they come , a dreadful name t' obtain ; but they who gentler methods use , who strive by parle to reduce , the surer conquest gain . to a gentleman , his friend , who could decypher any character . i. henceforth ( brave souls ! ) you who would fain repair the loss we for proud babel feel . your boundless wit and iudgment henceforth spare , some other mysteries to reveal : an universal character were needless now , what this my friend has found , will all the bus'ness do . ii. with a malicious subtlety confound the awkward hebrew with the greek , scarce wilder characters than those abound in th' extravagant arabick ; his wondrous skill , by demonstration , will decide , within , what lovely face those grotesque visards hide . iii. let egypt's priests their moral sense convey in some hieroglyphick dress , here write a dove , an eagle there let fly , ( dumb creatures ! sure they 'll not confess ; ) he by the posture , and the flight , can quickly tell ( strange augury ! ) what sage remarks within them dwell . iv. highly those persons were esteem'd of old , who an odd oracle disclos'd , or the equivocations could unfold the quibbling god of wit propos'd ; their god of wit , himself could not have made reply , had they propos'd to him this mighty mystery . v. the indians , who confounded once stood by , and cry'd it was by magick done , when from his letter they saw one descry his distant friends intention ; could they see this perform'd , they might with reason call , my friend , thy harmless magick , supernatural . vi. could ( as they say ) the sympathetick stile , swift as the light that gilds the day , in the same instant many a thousand mile our will to absent friends convey ; trust me , you 'd know its errand , or not let it pass , as men the light it self confine to th' burning-glass . business . i. business ! awake it poisons all my ioys , asleep all pleasant dreams destroys ; where're i go , or whatsoe're i do , curst thing ! it does in dreadful shapes pursue . all med cine here would useless be , no counter-charm can give me ease , no amulet can me release from this damn'd hag that rides and tortures me . ii. i joyn'd with wits , proclaiming open war 'gainst bus'ness and distracting care ; their wine ( said i ) their wit and iollity , will quite supplant my cruel enemy : in vain i used those allies their wine and wit improv'd my thought , my cruel fancy soon was taught , ah me ! exquisite torments to devise . iii. shall i in close retirement drive away with books the troubles of the day ? there i may hug my self , and safely hear those storms abroad where others shipwrackt are : ambition will an entrance find ; tho from without no storms surprise , and shake the learned and the wise , within , that vapour often shakes their mind : iv. shall i then try the happy shepherd's life ? he knows not bus'ness , care , or strife ; few troubles , and short-liv'd , afflict his mind , so seldom 't is his cloris proves unkind ! i heard one cry but yesterday , wringing his hands , undone , undone ! but , oh , the cause of this great moan ! the french had taken what shall 's call 't , they say . v. bus'ness ! to fly thee i would wildly roam where only the wild herd does come , unthinking beasts ! — yet 't were in vain , i fear , ( who would have thought the shepherd other were ? ) for i should soon beneath me see the busie insects laden move , and careful architects above , some building , some surveying ev'ry tree . vi. 't is true i might in this forlorn retreat like those of old , the acorns eat : but , oh ! i ne're should see those golden days , when free from care , like gods , men liv'd in ease ! for while i laid me on the ground , and only meant to rest , my ear would distant noise of bus'ness hear , and with advantage catch the killing sound ! hor. ode . lib. . in lycen mereticem vetulam . audivêre , lyce , dii — translated . i. then heaven has heard my prayers , at last my prayers are heard , and , lyce , know lyce , your barb'rous reign is past , time writes old lady on your brow ; yet still y'affect your wanton play , still paint and patch , and would seem gay , drink lewdly still , and with an awkward voice court love , that hears unmov'd the tuneless noise . ii. love better pleas'd on chia's face , where still fresh blooming glories spring , whose charming tongue hits ev'ry grace , revels whole nights to hear her sing ; but from thy fading form he flies , ( which , like old trees , sharp winter dries , ) thy rotten teeth , thy frightful wither'd brow , nor trusts his fire too near thy hoary snow . iii. in vain rich silks are dawb'd with gold , iewels assist thy eyes in vain , when new-years-day locks up the old no helps of art releas't again . where are thy charms , thy white and red , thy lovely mien ? ah! whither fled ? what poor remains are left of that bright she that was all love , that of my self robb'd me ! iv. next cinara's peerless face and mine none could boast such winning ways , but fate , to her severely kind , to short-liv'd beauty match'd her days ! and endless lyce justly spares beyond the ravens hundred years ; while all the fops that once ador'd her flame , laugh at her snuff , and triumph in her shame . on a fair lady singing . when isis murmurs first did reach my ear , i nothing but its hasty flight did fear ; whilst list'ning to the syrene streams i lay , my life , like them , did gently glide away . but when th' inspiring notes from caelia came , they kindled in me such a mighty flame , as did my vital heat put out , so strong , it s very name would almost burn the tongue . i thought i could , camelion-like , have liv'd , on such sweet air , ah me ! i dye deceiv'd , and cheated of my life ; who 'd think t' have found death in her voice , in such a balsam vvound ? thus the vig'rous heat that phoebus meant should warm his votaries , turns too often to their harm . what various methods fate 's decrees fullfil ! where is not death if gentle caelia kill ? the recantation not accepted . when long i 'd been with dreadful ills opprest , and still my murdress would deny me rest , vvhen friends in vain had try'd their remedies , and neither art nor nature gave me ease ; i thought , i 'm sure i wish'd , my end drew nigh , and tho i could not live in love , yet i firmly resolv'd in charity to dye : and thus bespake the angry deity . love , i forgive thee , thou hast been but just , since thou wilt have me dye , i will and must . i do confess i have deserv'd that smart , and restless pain , which preys upon my heart , and now to thee for cruel mercy come , dispatch , and quickly execute my doom . for what i 've said , unfeignedly i grieve , have pity then , condemn me not to live . the angry god heard this , and strait reply'd , fond wretch ! how oft did'st thou my power deride , tho both by verse and temper too enclin'd to pay an homage to all womankind ? my best-wrought plots thou could'st with ease undo , and thought'st thy self the greater god o'th'two ; some easie fools deluded then by thee , spurn'd at my throne , my laws , and majesty . thou shalt the guilt of their offences bear , and she ( because i 'll force thee to despair ) shall all her sexes brightest glories wear . thou still shalt love , but she make no return , such hereticks as thou should always burn . catull. ad lesbiam . let 's live , my lesbia , whilst we may , and without love beguile the day ; old cynicks censures let 's despise , whom none , besides themselves , think wise ▪ the same sun sets and rises , true , but 'twont be so with me and you ; for when our light is once withdrawn , ne're hope to see another dawn . a thousand kisses i would have , and next , my dear , a hundred crave , and then another thousand , thou another hundred must allow , a thousand add , a hundred more , ( i would not be in kisses poor . ) when this w'have done , we 'll mix them so , that we our selves shall never know what we to one another owe. there is no fear of any charm , the number will defend from harm . on caelia's sickness . forgive me heaven , if i now accuse you of injustice , since you thus abuse that goodness which deserves much more than you can spare out of your wealthy store . if ( what i dread to ask ) my crimes alone procur'd those evils she hath undergone , and you to make me feel the greater smart , would wound me in this best , this tender'st part , chastise me rather in my self , than her , whose life i much above my own prefer . the pain may discompose her mind , but i will gladly bear it , so you 'll pass her by . on me inflict whatever can be due , for i indeed have injur'd her and you . i 'm soon dispatch'd , if you 'll but carry on that work , which she already hath begun . but now i think on 't , both of us are free from future strokes ; she by divinity , and i by fate secur'd , for i am dead , my soul long since to her , my heaven , fled . a song . i. the god-like she shall still possess my soul , tho i in vain implore her help in my distress , yet i 'll enjoy my pain . in humble accents i 'll adore the beauty i admire , tho i can never hope for more , who would not so expire ? ii. who strait gives o're when he is cross'd , deserves no mercy sure , but he , whose love does then shine most , when he despairs of cure : from lust , or baser int'rest , may such hasty flashes rise , but he who truly doth obey rejoyces when he dies . iii. whilst angry death doth for him wait , and sees his bravery , the flames that threaten him with fate do tremble more than he . spectators , when they see him faint , his loudest praises sing , so , of the martyr make a saint , and fall to worshipping . life . 't is but a little space we have , betwixt the cradle and the grave ; yet are our cares and evils such , that ev'n that little is too much . here 's nothing real , we may seem to live , but then that life 's a dream . we talk as if we something were , and whilst we talk we disappear . 't is an ill omen thought by some , if when into the world we come , we fall not headlong from the womb. and 't is not likely what 's begun with rashness , should be carried on without precipitation . for one , we say is dead , we grieve , yet know not what it is to live : we think that by our sighs we shew the love which we to him did owe , and kindly wish him to remove from his most bless'd abode above . then , that we may preserve his fame , with praises we embalm his name . the tomb stone carries on the cheat , and falsly says , here lies the great ; when sordid dust is there alone , the soul 's to a strange somewhere gone . it sees , and wonders why we thus bemoan his loss who pities us . to a much-admired lady . madam , i see my error plainly now , for i , fool that i was ! thought you at last must dye . to leave this busie world behind is death , but that i 've found will vanish with your breath ; or should some few , by mighty chance survive , i think 't would scarce be worth their while to live , vertue i 'm sure would not be understood , nor could men know what 't would be to be good . tho now they may to some perfection grow , yet when you 're dead , what can example do ? your present influence i alone can prove , wit , beauty , goodness , 'cause they 're yours , i love . to a very accomplished lady . madam , when your transcendent worth i would commend , methinks the feeble praise i upwards send , like panting mists , beneath a hill , doth rise , 't is wing'd with zeal , yet whilst aspiring , dies ; it strives to reach your worth , but your great height doth baffle all its best endeavours strait . yet my fond muse resolves her strength to try , altho she 's sure in the attempt to dye . and now she hath thus rashly ventur'd in , she knows not how , or where , she should begin , is doubtful which should have the foremost place , the native smoothness of your speech , or ●…ace ; the silent lines that on your cheeks do grow , or those which in soft pleasing accents flow ; these must to one another yield , for we in both discern the self same harmony . your well-fram'd body seems to her so fine , she thinks your glorious soul doth thro' it shine , doubts which o' th' two she highest ought to set , the precious jewel , or the cabinet . when she your unstain'd whiteness views , from thence she firmly gathers inward innocence . she doth through smiles your patience clearly spy , and reads your wisdom in your searching eye ; knows how all vertues by your looks are dress'd , or in resembling characters express'd . but stay a while , yet hold unhappy muse , and see whom thou thus humbly do'st abuse : i 'm sure thou dost unpard'nably offend , and needs must come to an untimely end , unless her mercy do all those transcend . to the same , immoderately mourning the death of a relation . in vain you keep your sorrow fresh with tears , in vain renew your trouble and our fears . for heaven's sake leave , your love no more commend , by making grief so long out-live your friend . whilst thus with hideous groans and doleful cries you wound the yielding air , with tears your eyes ; you must what she to nature ow'd , forget , or else repine she dy'd no more in debt . when she in baptism her first vow did make , she promis'd by her sureties to forsake the world , and all its pomp ; and can you now grieve she is dead , who only keeps her vow ? when searching fate shall its advantage find , and most compendiously destroy mankind , in you alone , mirth then will scandal grow , and all men mourn , or feign that they do so . should each of those shed but one single tear , to whom you 're known , that is , to whom you 're dear , the world would in an instant cover'd be with waters , once more perish in a sea. think then what fears already fill the breast of some , what haste you make to kill the rest . secret grief . i. farewel , fond pleasures , i disdain your nets of roses , loose my chain , and set my fetter'd powers free ( for you and i shall ne're agree ) tempt me no more , 't is all in vain . ii. the easie world with charms assail , of triumphs there you cannot fail , on those to whom the cheat's unknown you will infallibly prevail . but let my solitude and me alone . iii. let the sad cypress crown my head , the deadly poppy on my temples shed , through all my veins its juyce bespread . could i retrieve my former years , i 'd live them o're again in tears . iv. in secret i 'll enjoy my grief , not tell the cause , nor ask relief . though ne're so high the streams should grow , yet 't is not fit the world should know the spring from whence my sorrows flow . mart. l. . ep . would flaccus know , if i would change my life , what kind of girl i 'd chuse to make my wife , i wou'd not have her be so fond to say yes , at first dash , nor dwell too long on nay . these two extreams i hate , then let her be 'twixt both , not too hard-hearted , nor too free the graces , or hieron theocriti idyll . . translated by sir edward sherborn , above forty years ago . the muses , and the muse inspired crew , this always , as their best-lov'd theam , pursue the honour of immortal gods to raise , and crown the actions of good men with praise . for deities the muses are , and use ( as such ) to give to deities their dues . we poets are but mortals , sing we then the deeds of god-like , tho but mortal men . none kindly yet our graces entertain , but send them unrewarded back again . this made the girls , when bare-foot they came home . chide me , for idly sending them to roam on sleeveless errands : wearied here to stay , they sigh their melancholy souls away . they loath their sordid lodging , fume and fret 'cause for their labours they can nothing get . for where 's the generous mortal now a-days that loves to hear a poet 's well-tun'd lays ? to find one such i know not ; some , 't is true , love te be prais'd ; none a good deed will do . they value not their honours , as of old , but are meer slaves to avarice and gold. just or unjust , all practices they try for heaps of treasure , but will rather dye than part with the bare scrapings of its rust , to satisfie a needy poet's gust . if any chance a boon of them to beg , they cry , my knee is nearer than my leg. of what is mine , my self alone shall share , 〈◊〉 their own poets let the gods take care . who to another's pray'r now lends an ear ? not one . this truth homer to all makes clear ; the best of poets ! tho the best he be , he gets not yet one single cross from me . mad men ! what 's wealth , if still the hoarded gold from others under lock and key you hold ? none wise thinks this is the true use of it , some part for proper interest we should fit , and some apply to the support of wit : some to our near allies we should allow , to strangers some , some to the gods should vow , set some for hospitality a-part , to treat our friends with open hand and heart : but chiefly to maintain the muses quire ; that when to the old grave thou shalt retire , thou may'st among the living gain renown ; nor mourn inglorious near sad acheron , as some poor ditcher with hard brawny hand , that cannot heavy poverty withstand . the great antiochus in plenteous measure supply'd his subjects wants from his own treasure , so king alevas ; many sat droves went into his stalls , and from his stalls were sent . insinite flocks large pastures did afford to furnish crion's hospitable board . no pleasure yet from all this princely store could they receive , were their souls wasted o're in charon's boat to the dark stygian shore . but in obscure oblivion they would lye , depriv'd of all their superfluity , 'mongst wretched souls whom no time can , nor age from their sad miseries e're disengage , if the great ceian poet had not been , and with his praises made them live again . ev●… the swift coursers at th' olympick game are registred in the records of fame . who of the lycian princes e're had heard ? of cyrnus with his flaxen hair and beard , or prim's sons ? forgot they had been long , their wars , and battels , had not poets sung . ulisses , who full six score months was tost , and time and wealth 'mongst several nations lost ; who went to hell alive , and by a slight from the fierce cyclops cave , made his safe flight , had never been remembred but for us , nor poor eumaeus or philaetius his shepheard , and his herdsman . who had known that to great sould laertes he was son ? had not the ionian bard his acts and name inroll'd in the eternal book of fame . glory on men is by the muses spread , the living waste the treasure of the dead : but easier 't is for me to reckon o're the waves which the wind drives against the shore , or wash a blackmoor white , than e're perswade to good , a slave to avarice once made . then farewel such vile scoundrels ! let them lye obscur'd in base illiberality : doating upon their vast , and ill-got store , still vex'd with restless care of getting more . a good man's love to me 's a greater grace than many mules or horses for the race . yet willingly a man i 'd seek , would make me , and the muses welcome for my sake : but those sweet singers , without iove's advice , will find the way too difficult and nice . yet has not heaven left off to turn its sphears , or ceas'd to measure time by months and years ; and happily there will a man arise may need our verse , nor will our songs despise ; one , that in actions greater may engage than ajax did , or stout achilles wage in simois fields ; within whose plains extent of phrygian ilus stands the monument . and now a punick race , near the sun 's set from libia's confines wars dire horrors threat . now syracusians their short iavelins try , and wicker targets to their arms apply . and 'mongst them , hieron , equal to the best of ancient hero's , stands in armour drest , a horseman shadowing o're his glittering crest . oh mighty iove ! father of gods ! heav'ns king ! and thou who from his midwiv'd brain did'st spring honour●…d minerva ! and thou proserpine ! with mother ceres ! under whose divine protection still the mighty city stands , first rais'd by wealthy ephyrean hands , near lysimelia's lake , dread pow'rs ! expell sicilia's foes : that they return'd may tell their wives and children how their slain friends fell ; and let the towns by hostile arms destroy'd , by former dwellers now be re-enjoy'd ; that they may dress their fertile fields and breed numberless bleating flocks therein to feed . let their horn'd heards , call'd home at night from grass , urge lazy travellers to mend their pace . let now the fallowed fields be sown again , and freshly flourish with fair crops of grain , whilst labouring mowers the rich meadows share , shrubs ecchoing with the shrill-voic'd grashopper . let ev'n the name of war in all mouths cease , be no arts cherish'd but the arts of peace : let spiders rusty arms in cobwebs dress , let poets hieron's glorious acts rehearse , and spread his fame throughout the universe ; 'mongst whom i 'll sing for one ; tho i not reach so high as some whom iove's fair daughters who love sicilian arethusa's name teach ; to chant , and hieron's valiant acts proclaim . anacreon's odes paraphras'd . age . od. . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , &c. i like the youth that does improve his blood with wine , his heat with love : i like the man that age beguiles , and owes his wrinkles to his smiles ; that his dry'd veins with grapes repairs , and gilds with oyl his whit'ned hairs . that keeps dark sullen care his slave , and dances down into the grave . he , though his head in snow be drest , fresh , flow'ry youth keeps in his breast . fresh youth he keeps , and sweetest fire , life's heat maintaining by desire . so aetna's head is silver'd o're with snow , but flowers smile , and flames break forth below . age . od. . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , &c. tho in pale whites my face appear , tho thine the fairest flowers wear , tho winter here , there summer grow , fly not , thy fire will melt my snow . from my warm snow no more retreat , the sun , when whitest , darts most heat . my paler locks commend with thine , and with thy gold my silver twine . see how the lillies white as me , see how the roses red as thee , married in this garland twine , and growing snow and blood combine ! such should our mix'd embraces be , chequ'ring anacreon with thee . drinking . od. . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , &c. fill up the glass , when i drink deep my drowned cares , before me , sleep . i 'll know no cares , nor grief , nor tears , sweet oyls shall swim above salt tears . since i must dye , come , let me live , garlands and wine the victim give . garlands , which , like me , must wither , then let 's smile , then fade together . wine , that 's mortal as i , but let it not before me dye . fill up the glass ; while care 's asleep i 'll drink it , as my cold grave , deep . the first elegy of ovid's amorum . translated into english by mr. ballow , fellow of kings colledge in cambridge . to sing of mars and his heroic trains my muse began , and in becoming strains , with equal pace the numbers took their way slow , but majestic , grave without delay . while cupid at the fond endeavour smil'd , and of a foot the later verse beguil'd . ambitious boy ( said i ) t' usurp a power , o'er poetry the muses only dower . as well may venus claim the right of arms , pallace preside o'er love and beauty's charms . ceres for woods forgo the fertile field , woods with diana to the fields may yield . mars with apollo change his deadly spear , for the soft musick of his warbling lyre . too great a rule already you possess , nor does your wild ambition covet less . or is your lawful empire unconfin'd , and by a right to all , our temple joyn'd ? scarce now apollo is your harp secure , o'er mine already he has stoln a power . when great heroic notes my strings would play , he strikes ; the strings to softer notes give way . tyrant ! to force me thus to sing of love , which my unskilfull breast did never prove . no tender maid affords to me blest joys , nor gentle youth my softer hours employs . he heard , and from his sounding quiver drew an arrow , to the fatal purpose true : fly thou t' his idle heart ( said he , ) and find a subject fit ●…'imploy his wounded mind . wretch that i was ! to tempt that archers skill ; ah now what tyranny of love i feel ! farewell all warlike numbers , warlike things , love tunes my heart to my enervate strings . with myrtle crown'd , my muse , on measures move soft and uneven , fit for gentle love. elegy ii. what 's this that thus of sleep bereaves my night ? the cloaths upon my bed uneasie sit , unwonted hardness does my pillow seize and to my tossing head affords no ease . am i to love insensibly betray'd , which has this sudden alteration made ? 't is love i see by cunning treach'rous art has shot his secret arrows to my heart . and must i yield , or striving feed the flame , which by complyance gentle grows and tame ? so motion does incense the torches fire , which of it self would quietly expire . the ox at first impatient of the yoke , groans with the oft regeminated stroke . the willing horse with easie bridle plays , whilst the sharp curb th' unruly mouth obeys . so whilst we struggle with the yoke of love , it by reluctance does more grievous prove . i yield , i yield , your new got prey receive , into your chains my willing hands i give . cease the no victory with arms to gain , who naked sues your mercy to obtain . go too , about your temples myrtle twine ; to the light airy chariot fitly joyn your mothers doves ; methinks with graceful pride , i see you through the streets in triumph ride , with dextrous art the yoaked couple guide . a goodly train in long procession go of vanquish'd men and maids , a pompous show : with these i 'll mix my self , my bonds no less than body shall my captive mind confess . wisdom and honour , modesty and scorn your foes , betim'd in fetters shall be born . all things your awful presence then shall fear , the croud your conquests with applause declare . madness , enticing flattery , mistake , ( switzers to love ) your martial train shall make . with these an easie victory you gain , ( weak without these ) o'er gods as well as men. your mother then with joy from heav'n shall pour upon your head a rosie fragrant shower . a golden mantle shall your shoulders wear , and gems bedeck your gaudy plumes and hair. your presence then will no few fires create , as flames to all that 's nigh't disperse their heat . your darts unbidden then their slights shall take , and as you pass new bleeding lovers make . so bacchus triumph'd from the indian shore you birds , him fierce armenian tygers bore . in me to throw away your power , spare , who might a part in this your triumph bear , see how the godlike caesar your own blood , to those he conquers gracious is and good . elegy iii. by the same . great goddess venus hearken to a prayer , whose justice may deserve a friendly ear ; let her i love ( what juster thing can be ) a gentle passion entertain for me . or by her kind compliance make me wear for ever her soft chains , which now i bear . so would i never wish to be set free : ah pleasing bonds ! ah sweet captivity ! me for her constant servant she 'd approve , knew she with what sincerity i love. what tho no ancient names my lineage grace , nor can i boast the author of my race , my fortune small , no parents for me fear to spend , what would inrich their growing heir . i bring you phaebus , and the sisters nine , a love unfeign'd , which makes me only thine , unwav'ring faith , an unpolluted name , naked simplicity , ingenuous shame . you , you alone shall please , no rival love yours from my constant brest shall ever move . with you the years which fate allows i 'd live , nor wish you dying , longer to survive . be thou the happy subject of my muse , your name a worthy genius will infuse . to frighted io maugre iuno's hate , my verse shall give an everlasting date , ages to come shall tell callisto's rape secure of hurt under a feather'd shape . how to europa iove in horned shrowd , soft , gentle fires in hollow murmurs low'd . we two immortal shall remain , when dead , and future times our joyned names shall read . elegy iv. by the same . your husband too with us is bid a guest to supper , may this supper be his last ; and must i but an idle witness be of his rude touches , which i least would see ? your gentle head within his bosom laid , with his foul arms about your neck display'd . no wonder now that savage monstrous guests , stain'd with their gore the thracian nuptial feasts . ingenuously bred , and form'd a man , i scarce my itching hands from force restrain . yet now before a lovers lesson hear , nor let the winds my vain instructions bear ; steal out before , let him be sure come last , may be you won't repent your early hast . when , to the bed you go , where he is laid , with looks demure give me the gentle tread . observe my nods , the language of my face , which can so well my inward thoughts express . my eyes and hands shall act the vocal part , by their dumb rhet'rick you may learn my heart . if to your fancy some kind thought has brought th' inhanced pleasures , which my love had wrought , with gentle taps upon your cheeks , declare , when i shall say or do , what you approve , the mystick ring about your finger move . when to your husband some ill hap you pray , fear not upon the board your hands to lay . what 's fill'd by him , sip , and give him the rest , when e're you lack the boy will please you best ; return'd by you i first bespeak the glass , and where your lips has touch'd enjoy the place . there to be sure i 'll meet you , or be met , what ever hold you can , be sure to get . shou'd you to meltling kisses once give way , i fear my injur'd love i should betray . fly out , and frantick cry , cease wanton , know those kisses to my self are only due . yet this i 'd see ; did he but so much dare , but more my patience would , or could not bear . and thus my fears so numberless are grown , who all the ways and arts of love have known . no fear of this in you , yet ev'n to shun suspicion , keep your garments always down ; still ask your man to drink , but let no kiss purchase the favour with unequal price . whilst yet he drinks , into his cup infuse more wine , inviting sleep and soft repose . occasion then it self will teach us , how we should improve it to the best employ . when you begin to rise , we 'll all rise too midst of the press you least observ'd may go , and thus for plots industrious i have been , which a few coming hours will render vain . the night now envious to my hopes , comes on , and i divorc'd from her must lye alone . her husbands pris'ner she must be all night ; yet to the door i 'll follow her in sight . then he shall clasp you in his rude embrace , and rifle all the sweets upon your face , exact the pleasures which to laws you owe , but freely to my love a gift bestow ; yet do not easie , but as fore't comply to the cold duty of a drudgery . if wishes can prevail , a starv'd delight shall be the harvest of his toilsome night , whate'er his fortune is , to me deny that he enjoy'd you , i 'll believe the lye . elegyv . by the same . one day in summer , about twelve at noon , upon my bed for ease i laid me down ; the window half shut , gave a doubtful light , such as past sun-set and before 't is night ; as when in woods through the thick boughy shade , some glimmerings of broken light are made , such as emboldens modest virgins shame , when to my chamber lo ! corinna came , like fair semiramis to her alcove , to meet the sweet embraces of her love. scarce cover'd with a thin and loose array , her hairs dishevel'd on her shoulders play ; her covering ( tho such as did not quite conceal the blissful object of my sight ) striving to pull away , she 'd still retain , and sought to cover what she would have seen . till strugling she , unwilling to o'ercome , by her own treachery at last she 's won , when ( lo ! ) uncover'd as she stood and bare , no fault in all her body did appear . what shoulders , arms , salute my dazled eyes ! how fit for touch , her breasts would proudly rise ! taper her waste , her belly smooth and plain , which two plump pillars proudly did sustain . what needs there more ? when nothing there i see but rais'd my fancy to an extasie . what follow'd after , is not hard to guess weari'd , we panting lay , and took our case , give me ye gods , many such noons as these . libri primi ovid. amor. elegia prima . when first of arms , and bloody wars i writ , in losty numbers , for the subject fit , and every verse did run with equal feet . the god of love laugh'd at my vain essay , and in a humour stole one foot away . who gave you cruel boy , o'er verse such pow'rs ? we are apollo's subjects , and not yours ? what if the queen of beauty should invade minerva's province ; she usurp her trade ? how could rough armour suit with soft desire ? or bold virago's gentle love inspire ? should ceres rule in woods , diana in the field , wild beasts might range at large ; the corn no crop would yield . who 'd arm apollo with a pointed spear , whilst wars fierce god plays on the muses lyre . great was you child , too great your power before , why should your fond ambition wish for more ? is it 'cause every thing must stoop to thee ? nor even the muses songs and groves be free ; no sooner was my poem well begun , and the first line did promise much to come , but the blind god my well-tun'd harp un strung . i have no theme , which softer airs require , such as sweet boys — — and lovely virgins can alone inspire : thus i complain'd : when love from 's quiver drew a well-chose arrow to my ruine meant , with all his the strong-knit bow he bent , which at my heart the fatal weapon threw . then saying with a smile maliciously ; there is a subject for your poetry : alas , alas , it was too sure a dart ; i burn , and love reigns in my conquer'd heart : o for the tender elegiack vein and long adieus to the heroic strain , deck thee , my muse , with mirtle from the shore sacred to venus , and her young amour . libri primi elegia secunda . what can this mean , what makes my thus naked lie without a coverlid ? what makes me pass the live-long nights away in tedious expectation of the day , whilst my rackt limbs with never ceasing pain turn to this side , and then to that again ? sure i should know , if love disturb'd my rest ; unless it slily stole into my breast ; 't is so , for now i feel the pointed dart : tyrannie love raging in every part . what , must i yield to the incroaching bane ? or by reluctance aggravate my flame ? well , i will yield ; my chains with patience wear , the burden's light which we 're resolv'd to bear . so i 've observ'd resisted fires to rage , which , let alone , would suddenly asswage . the stubborn ox that 's haughty neck can't bow , does suffer more than he that draws the plough . th' unruly horse that can't endure the rein is broke at last , and that with greater pain : love more severely does chastise the proud than those that humbly have his power allow'd . o love , i grant , i am a convert grown : enslav'd and fetter'd , i approach your throne . forbear your arms ; for peace i humbly sue , oh don't so mean a victory pursue , from which no honour ever can accrue . with mirtle chaplets then enwreath thy hair , the god of war a chariot shall prepare , and venus doves shall wing you through the air. the world with loud applause your triumph see , whilst you make love and war so well agree . young men , and maids , that did your empire scorn , shall your triumphal chariot-wheels adorn . i , 'mongst the rest , your late made captive , bound , proclaim your grandeur with a bleeding wound . and every passion be a prisoner led , all that have ever from loves ensigns fled . all things before your mighty power shall fly : the vulgar with their throats shall rend the sky , io triumphe , io cupid , cry . error , and fury , and allurements too these shall attendants of your triumph be these are the soldiers always follow'd you . by which you 've even o'ercome the deity : should these advantages be took away , the god of love might sometimes lose the day . your beauteous mother from above will spread eternal blooming roses on your head . here all your dazling glories you unfold ; bedeck'd with roses , jewels , and with gold , the yet unconquer'd world you shall subdue ; who , in your march , shall wounded follow you . the scorching fire does so infectious grow , that you must wound , whether you will , or no. such was the triumph of wines conquering god , when , drawn by tygers , he o'er ganges rode. since then i 'm part of your illustrious train , o spend no more artillerys in vain . behold augustus caesar's glorious charms those who 're reduc'd by his all-conquering arms , with god-like mercy he defends from harms . libri primi elegia tertia . i ask no more ; than that the fair i love , would love again ; or so propitious prove as might be some encouragement to love . ah , 't is too much , and i presume too far ! let but my mistris my addresses bear , and cytherea hear my humble prayer . accept th' eternal service that i bring : accept my heart , the faithful offering . what , tho i don't an ancient lineage boast or any titles that enlarge my name ? but am maintain'd at an inferiour cost . and have no wealth to usher in my claim ; yet on apollo , and the mighty nine , ( without forgetting the great god of wine , ) on these , ( with loves assistance , ) i 'll rely ; almighty love will all defects supply : unblemish'd faith , and life without a stain ; plain-dealing , modest , and of honest name . i ne'er can an inconstant rover prove : trust me ; you 're all that i shall ever love. oh , may i spend the remnant of my days imploy'd by you , in singing of your praise ! how would the glorious theme my senses fire , and each perfection would my muse inspire ? io , affrighted at her horrid form , and leda's swan , the poets verse adorn ; with fair europa , who by iove betray'd , was o'er the sea by toe feign'd bull convey'd . nay , we two shall , by our immortal name , for after ages , fill the mouth of fame . libri primi , elegia quinta . 't was in the midst of an hot summers day , as on my bed , for soft repose , i lay . the half-shut casements cast a glimmering light , as the declining sun , on verge of night ; or when he forces out a narrow way through thickest groves ; or , as at dawn of day : such a retreat the timorous maid desires , and such false lights , to hide her glowing fires : when , lo , corinna came , in loose attire , down her fair neck hung her long dangling hair : in such a charming dress was lais seen , with such a graceful , and majestic mien , march'd to her throne , the fam'd assyrian queen . i seiz'd her gown , which was so wondrous fine , it scarce did seem t' obruct a love design , yet she close kept , and hug'd the slender aid , but fought , as if of conquest much affraid ; so by faint strugling was the fort betray'd . when she had laid that useless garment by , and the fair prospect bless'd my longing eye ; my gazing opticks met with nothing there but what intire perfection did appear . what neck , what arms i clasp'd ; and what a breast form'd and design'd by nature to be prest ! in what fine order her whole frame did lye ! how strait her wast ! how vigorous a thigh ! what needs there more ? i took a full survey of all her charms , and grasp'd her naked body in my arms. what then ensu'd is easie to be guest , by joint consent we laid our selves to rest , with such refreshing noons , may i be ever blest . to mr. r. d. at cambridge . when , dearest friend , oh when shall i be blest with thee and damon , silence , shade , and rest ? free from the painful pleasures of the town , amidst chast groves , and harmless wit lie down ; wit which in scandal never shows its head , nor blasts the fame of some too virtuous maid . eccho forgets that e'er she was undone , 't is so long since she cou'd repeat a moan . c ham never swells with tears , nor the bleak air , storms with the sighs of the forsaken fair , like other passions , love you can subdue , and what enslaves the world submits to you ; nor do you ever with false fires betray , and the poor heedless gazer lead astray ; rich and luxurious like our isle within , your business is not foreign realms to win . but keep your own , nor lavish out your store to gain that , which if gotten , makes you poor . pale as the horned moon is hymens light . and wares as fast , is scarce at full one night , your star does at his summer solstice stay , shines out , and makes but one continued day ; pleasing and gay as the sun guilded skies as mild and sweet as love-sick virgins eyes , as undisturb'd as sleeping hermits are , as wholly free from the fatigue of care , as fixt as the decrees of providence are all your happy hours , for they are granted thence . without your pens hobbists confounded are , so much of nature , and so little war. you are not fram'd of jarring elements , all soul , all peace , all friendship , wit , and sence . you so agree , so very much are one , as the triumphing singers round the heav'nly throne . ye clash like mankinds disagreeing prayers , and feign as many jealousies and fears , as lovers cloy'd , or states-men in disgrace , desire of change is writ in every face ; dissatisfi'd or whig as israelite , as unsuccessful as a teckelite ; for spight of cravat string we lose the day , no dress can win , or billet-deux betray . but after all the rage of sighs and tears , kind sir — calms our grief , and lulls our cares , when well experienc'd strumpet takes upon her to quench the flame kindled by maid of honour ; yet like the dutch , after a loss we swell , unrigg'd or burnt , we blow the trumpet still , and triumph for a leaky fish-boat ta'en , as if it were the royal sovereign . the pleasures of the park , plays , drawing rome be much as new as th' instrument at home , which some for forty winters scrape upon . pretty amuzements and stand him in stead , whom modish sir ne'er taught to write or read . if i could tell to twelve , i 'd rather stand , with a lean pike-staff in my leaner hand , counting the tedious hours before the gate , then cringe above stairs to the saucy grant , not she who knows her strength , and finds you love , is more impertinently insolent , then is his lorship , when you come to move the smallest suit which he has power to tho e'er you ask , both so well bred appear you 'd think that you affront 'em if you fear . so rook at neals fawns on unborrowing cull so a brave man is cap'd and knee'd by bull. so subtil sharer smil'd on drudging poet before the houses joyning . sir ! you know it . the soldier . writ in april , . when our english volunteers went into flanders . the melting lute is on the willows hung , forsaken weeping virgins sigh in vain , for all the youth with point of honour stung dance to the drum and trumpet o'er the main . the phantasm honour leads them all astray , from downy beds in midst of dismal night , to seek out treasure hid in fields which they will scarcely find by such a wild fire light . like puling girls , they tremble at a name , ( for whore and coward both of them does fright , ) and sacrifice their pleasure to their fame , as self-denying as an anchorite . eating they scorn , despise their wine and wench , and beg to famish in a foreign land , digging their way to th' devil in a trench , with pains and sweat they labour to be damn'd . not the first tiller , when the teeming earth swell'd with the new infused poisonous curse , was ever blest with a more hopeful birth of glorious mischiefs , then our warriours . hardly as he they earn their bread , as he cast out and vagrants , and on some we see heav'n sets a mark that they should not be slain , as the damn'd live to eternize their pain . revenge or emulation might seduce , and work to parricide the wretched cain , but nothing can our murtherers excuse , not even the butchers mean pretence of gain . for poor and ragg'd as wandring rogues they are , as their own colours , shatter'd , lost , and torn , furl'd up , and laid aside after the war , when they have leave to rot , repent and mourn . a happy nations greatest blessing , peace is their great curse ; so a becalmed boat starves in the midst of sun-shine , whilst the seas laugh all around to see her idly float . like little pilfring thieves , they meanly live on fire and shipwrecks , for they basely steal what they pretend to save , and so contrive to snatch to morrow's miserable meal . they flock in millions when a storm is near , like winter-fowl they love an angry skie , but vanish when the halcions appear , and when good days appear , with envie die . philander and eirene . tune , tune my strings , divine harmonious love , who tun'st the angels harps and hearts above ; sing what a youth thy slave philander was ; what beauties blossom'd on eirene's face . may's loveli'st morn can no such prospect yield , when the young flowers shine in the laughing field , when the springs noblest glorys are display'd , and nature takes a pride to be survey'd . the richest sweetness of the earth and skies sprung from her rosie breath , and heavenly eyes ; incense she might have been to angry jove for all mankind , and charm'd him into love. such natural goodness overflow'd her mind , and a dear innocence so sweetly kind ; that when she pray'd , if mercy would not hear , its fairest image it disown'd in her . untouch'd and white , chaste as the coldest snow , that sparkles upon lofty aetna's brow , and its pure maiden-innocence maintains in midst of siery sighs , and breath of flames ; but yet as humble as the vale that lies before the foot of that proud precipice ; which pleas'd , and pleasing with its meads and springs smiles in its flowers , and in its fountains sings . such gentle meekness beautifi'd her soul , that like her lutes soft harmony it stole the heedless hearts , and in sure fetters bound all that approach'd the dear enchanted ground . descending heav'n did round about her stand , and listning angels waited her command . who came to learn of her to moan and speak , and when she sung they followed every shake , like her they try'd to soften every grace , melt ev'ry fall , and ev'ry beauty raise ; so hallelujahs were improv'd by her , and to her voice they tun'd the sweetest sphere . tho dreams , or humane frailty never taught her spotless virgin-soul a guilty thought , yet she could blush , which to philosophize was but the angels beaming from her eyes , breeding , which others toil in courts to gain , and oft with loss of honour seek in vain , nature had hung about her with such ease , that tho her thoughts were ne'er employ'd to please , yet like a net by chance thrown on some mead , where many joyful feather'd singers breed , our flut'ring souls without design she took , and surely kill'd with every random look . breeding is untaught nature well represt , and charms the most , when negligently drest . since natures self in all she did was seen , what court her dress or motion could refine ? or if she had not been so rich in charms , why should she travel for offensive arms ? when pity sour'd the joy of victory , weeping o'er those , who at her feet would dye , whom pride and vanity could never move , and who was deaf to every sound of love ; before philander trembled in her heart , and touch'd the string , which charm'd so nice a part ; philander in whose face was fairly writ good nature , honour , manliness , and wit ; and when a long acquaintance brought him near , you saw them in a larger character ; within there reign'd a soul , which , like the star that rules some heroes birth , rode high and clear : and in a thousand generous actions shown , that ( much against his nature ) made him known . his friend in a distress he would relieve , his friend ne'er knew from whom he should receive the favour , till philander did repeat the fact so oft , he could not hide the cheat. so little us'd to boast , or to proclaim his deeds , and trumpet to the world his fame ; that him you must like fairy gifts conceal , the way to forfeit all was to reveal . he had both seen the camp , and court of france , but came not back a gay sr. fopling thence , or noisie bully , when he lov'd or fought , 't was done with all the silence , that he thought his instant secret business might conceal , like one who took in either case a disappointment ill . for he did neither love nor fight in jest , but always found just motives in his breast ; and then advanc'd with the same vigorous heat his mistris , or his enemy to meet , and yet with all the ease , that does attend his graceful fair , righted his fame or friend . the black and guilty only fear to die , he ran the risk with that serenity , which well became a man at peace within , and frighted by no monster of a sin. for no believing maid was e'er undone by perjuries from his perswasive tongue , his honesty , his business , or his ease , to vanity he would not sacrifice , nor for the glory of a fine intrigue wear out his mind in a ten years fatigue ; fawn and dissemble like a whigg at court , and witness , like fire murd'ring oaths in sport ; nor basely practise every little cheat us'd by the wife , the politick , and great , to steal into a weak , ill-guarded town , tho rich in fairer mansions of their own ; yet still they will betray , that by these arts they may attain the name of men of parts . philander set his heart upon the place , if in a siege he ever shew'd his face ; he lay before the fort , because he there had treasur'd up his soul , and could not bear a separation , every minute kill'd , which the pale youth from his best part withheld . then he would talk and kneel , protest and swear each tree had sence , and every stone could hear ; and as of old good moses charm'd the rock , and rapid rivers issued where he struck , philander touch'd it too with such an art , that kindness sprung out of the hardest heart ; for he would weep a torrent of wild woes , which like the stream that from vesuvius flows , burnt all before it , raging with his crys , fir'd by his passion , driven by his sighs . at other times like some soft murmuring brook , in whose fair face the nymphs their faces look : he charm'd the listning maid into a dream , in which she cou'd see nothing else but him , to him committed every tender thought , and the conversion which his tongue had wrought ; and us'd him like a secret confessor , whisper'd her melting wishes in his ear. one am'rous ev'ning of the joyful spring did many friendly nymphs together bring ; musick they had to triumph or to mourn , to celebrate the ravage of their scorn , or tell the shades in a sad moving strain the falseness of a too much favour'd swain ; whilst our eirene , ( for that fair was one ) in undisturb'd and clear reflections shone ; no cloudy passion hung upon her mind , which to that eminency was refin'd , that with full day it rose upon her face , and gilded every feature with its rays ; and yet , so mild and peaceful flow'd the beams , in such soft gentle kind , and quiet streams , as the still air , on which that ev'ning lay when these young angels gave a loose to play ; and that was calm as infants rock'd asleep , beauty in aw the angry winds did keep , who silently in admiration stood , and fear'd to tell their mighty joy aloud , left crouding fellow-winds should drive them thence , and share the view of so much excellence ; nor came they empty-handed to adore , but the perfumes of both the indies bore , and at the feet of these fair charmers cast , the sweets of all the countrys they had past : tho like great monarchs , who with vast expence shew their respect , and their magnificence , and make rich presents to their brother-kings , who least of all mankind can want such things . the officious winds a needless tribute paid , perfuming what cou'd never want their aid ; for all the shades were made of iessemin , roses , and oranges , and columbine , under whose roots lay the kind camomile , and thousand other humble flowers did smile , caressing the gay fragrant youthful grass , and shedding honey-dew upon its face . this paradice thus happy ev'ry way in the soft arms of a smooth river lay , whose murmurs gently chid the cruel heart , that sympathiz'd not with a shepherd's smart ; and to the rocks , and grotto's would complain of sylvia's hate , or amoret's disdain ; and oft in lucky melting minutes move the listning nymph to lend an ear to love : eirene sate by his green flowry side , who swell'd so high with pleasure , or with pride , that 't was respect alone the lover staid from running o'er to snatch the careless maid , whilst she unmindful of the danger near , and safe in innocence , exempt from fear , sung to her lute harmonious tales of love , that with the natural sweetness of the grove , crept on the downy bosom of the air , and a new heavenly clime created there ; commission'd angels , when their task was done , wondring they should arrive at home so soon staid here , mistaken in their happy seat , or else unwilling to find out the cheat ; would gladly the abodes above forgoe to be for ever ravish'd thus below , and then she smil'd , and look'd the sweetest things , good nature trickled from the rising springs of her kind eyes , and gliding on her face diffus'd it self in softest tenderness . so have i seen a silver water run through natures blooming beauties , whilst the sun shining upon it with his youthful beams plaid like her eyes among the gilded streams ; her rising breasts on cupids wings were made , hiding the little loves in ambush laid ; who heav'd and panted when their bows they drew , and as they mov'd , millions of arrows flew : the points they had from her bewitching eyes , and all the feathers from her lute and voice . to such a sight , in such a minute came the young philander guided by the fame of these assembled beauties , and his star led him directly to the fatal fair , led him where bright eirene did appear . he found the danger , and wou'd have retir'd , but 't was in vain , for he had seen and heard , it was in vain to fly , he might as soon his shadow , or his secret thoughts out-run ; so being round beset with murth'ring charms , he sought the sacred refuge of her arms ; with bended knees and soul the humble swain kneel'd to the lovely author of his pain ; he fix'd his eyes upon her heavenly face , his heart leapt up , and through those eyes wou'd gaze , till melted by the starry fire , that sprung from the bright maid , it flow'd out of his tongue . phil. oh thou art sure a blossom in the spring of joyful heaven , by the eternal king , to glad mankind sent mercifully down , and on the banks of life's fair stream hast grown ; the dear refreshing moisture yet i see hanging on either lip , from either eye fresh life yet flows , ten thousand angels still bath in their native flood , and drink their fill . oh! thou all heav'n , tell , tell thy ravisht slave what kind of worship thou expect'st to have ; speak , and thy cherubs dancing on thy tongue amongst thy words in charming notes shall throng , speak that my heart may spring into a joy , which nothing but thy silence can destroy ; the happy youth never made love in vain , the graces taught him all the arts to gain . a bounding pleasure leap'd through every part , and raptures revell'd at eirenes heart , which upwards flew , and pereh'd upon her eyes , for fair eirene knew not to disguise her thoughts , nor would her self and lover vex with the afflicted coldness of her sex. philander could perceive with extasie that his dear mistris would not let him die ; but yet to try the ground on which he stood , and that he might be sure he grasp'd no cloud , that he would prove his fortune , thus proceed to learn what fate his fair one had decreed . phil. if in your breast you have resolv'd my death , west to elizium , waft me with that breath which charms the world , sing to your lute my doom , in that sweet dress let my destruction come , so op'ning heav'n with all its choirs and spheres shall wing me from the earth above the stars . thus far the lover ; thus the heedless maid the budding kindness of her soul betrai'd . eirene . tell me , ye softer powers above , tell me what unfledg'd thing begins within my breast to move , and try its tender wing ? tell me why this unusual heat thus creeps about my heart , and why that heart indulges it and fondly takes its part ? what god-head could philander melt to such a flood of sighs , that gliding with the tide unfelt , he might my soul surprize ? perfidious musick took my ear , and bent it to his song ; musick my friend , my darling care betray'd me on his tongue . but now they look'd how late the ev'ning grew , ill-natur'd scandal , and the falling dew frighted the fearful nymphs away in hast , lest this their beauty , that their fame should blast . eirene snatch'd a minute to bestow a tender smile , and a good natur'd bow upon the ravish'd youth , who drunk with bliss reel'd home , and thought the universe was his . great power who couldst transform the mighty jove to showers , or softer feathers for his love. thou only in this figure couldst have stole through rocks of ice , the chaste eirenes soul , philander's was the only shape could move , philander newly moulded o'er in love ; the quickest pulse of love beat in his blood , in rowling waves love from his language flow'd , from his black eyes fair love and rapture broke , and in his talking looks plain passion spoke . how alter'd then must cold eirene be , who catch'd the flaming meteor from his eye , on whose hot beams the youth himself did dart , and flew in circling fire into her heart ; her burning heart boil'd over at her eyes , and all its sweets distill'd in tears and sighs ; in every christal drop philander shone , philanders image could be seen alone ; her flame and fancy glittering on the dew , painted the lovely phantom finer too than e'er the sun a gaudy rainbow drew . she saw him in that glass with what a mien , with what an easie greatness he came in at the late meeting , what a haughtiness , and graceful majesty sate on his face , but at her sight how humble was his love ! like alexander supplicating iove , his trembling soul before her feet he hurl'd , to gain a greater conquest than the world , and he continued this humility , for to the earth he fix'd his bended knee , the two great lights above saw him adore , but never saw such constancy before , he worship'd with a beggars fervency , and would take heaven by importunity ; the heav'n of love was open'd to his prayers , and kind eirene laid aside her fears to ease the youth of his , thus doubly won by mighty merit , and by suff'ring long . at first her cautious friends a lecture read of ruin'd maids , by perjur'd men betray'd . and frighted back her passion to her heart , but there philanders image took its part , and aided by her self it grew so strong , it drove her love out of her yielding tongue . her soul and heart her kindest thoughts express , melted on ev'ry feature of her face ; but that he should not doubt his happiness , her eyes and tongue his conquest thus confess . eirene . oh my philander ope your brest , i can no longer keep my heart , why do you call it from its nest with such a soft resistless art ? it sighs and looks it self away , dissolving with each word i speak ; oh! take it , take it , if you stay you will have nothing left to take . there will be no injustice done , tho you have fir'd its native house , if you will lodge it in your own , where it can only find repose . and there i 'll rest secure from harm , let angry winds roar as they will , that tongue can ev'ry tempest charm , those eyes the blackest cloud dispell . then the bright nymph , with all her blaze of charms shot like a falling star into his arms ; he crush'd her killing beauties to his breast , and all her sweets into his bosom prest ; her willing soul out of her lips he drew , which wing'd with joy to her philander flew ; and then an innocent revenge he tries , attempts to kiss the fire , out of her eyes ; and he devour'd a fierce unruly flame , which all her charms let loose could scarcely tame . 't is well he had the liberty at least the living nectar of her lips to tast ; to quaff her breath , and drink her flowing heart , which broke the banks , and gush'd from ev'ry part ; and this was all he wish'd , his heav'nly fire was purg'd from ev'ry loose unchast desire , eirenes eyes had purify'd the air ; he breath'd in the clear sun-shine of his fair. eirene could the dross and dregs remove , extracting the pure spirit of his love ; and that was all divine , and would not mix with the gross inclinations of his sex. thus angel like the youth and virgin lov'd , and pleasure to the highest pitch improv'd ; the circling year roul'd in its usual round , and still their eyes fix'd on each other found ; the circling year did various seasons bring , but their young love was always in the spring , it never alter'd but from bliss to bliss , no angry sky blasted their happiness ; for whilst eirene smil'd his heav'n was clear , and she would always smile when he was near . of divine poesie , two canto's by mr. waller . occasioned upon sight of the fifty third chapter of isaiah , turn'd into verse by a lady . canto . poets we praise , when in their verse we find some great imployment of a worthy mind ; angels have been inquisitive to know the secrets which this oracle does show . what was to come the prophet did declare , which she describes as if she had been there , had seen the wounds which to the readers view she draws so lively that they bleed anew . as ivie thrives which on the oak takes hold , so with the prophets may her lines grow old , if they should die , who can the world forgive ? such pious lines when wanton sapho's live . who with his breath his image did inspire , expects it should foment a nobler fire , not love which brutes as well as men may know , but love like his to whom that breath we owe. verse so design'd on that high subject wrote , is the perfection of an ardent thought ; the smoak which we from burning incence raise , when we compleat the sacrifice of praise . that he does reign all creatures should rejoyce , and we with songs supply their want of voice ; in boundless verse the fancy soars too high for any object but the deity . what mortal can with heav'n pretend to share in the superlatives of wise and fair ? as meaner subjects when with these we grace , a giants habit on a dwarf we place . sacred should be the product of our muse , like that sweet oil above all private use , on pain of death forbidden to be made but when it should be on the altar laid ; verse shews a rich inestimable vein , when dropt from heav'n 't is thither sent again . of bounty 't is that he admits our praise which does not him , but us that yield it raise , for as that angel up to heaven did rise , born on the flame of mannoa's sacrifice , so wing'd with praise we penetrate the sky , teach cloud and stars to praise him as we fly ; the whole creation by our fall made groan , his praise to eccho and suspend their moan , the church triumphant and the church below in songs of praise their present union show ; their joys are full , our expectation long , in life we differ , but we joyn in song ; angels and we assisted by this art may sing together tho we dwelt apart . thus we reach heav'n while vainer poems must no higher rise than winds may lift the dust , from that they spring , this from his breath that gave to the first dust th' immortal ●…oul , we have ; his praise well sung our great endeavour here shakes off the dust , and makes that breath appear . canto . he that did first this way of writing grace , convers'd with the almighty face to face , wonders he did in sacred verse unfold , when he had more than eighty winters told , the writer feels no dire effects of age , nor verse that flows from so divine a rage . eldest of poets he , beheld the light , when first it triumph'd o'er eternal night , chaos he saw and could distinctly tell how that confusion into order fell , as if consulted which he has exprest the work of the creator , and his rest. how the flood drown'd the first offending race , which might the figure of our globe deface ; for new made earth , so even and so fair , less equal now uncertain makes the air ; surpris'd with heat and unexpected cold , early distempers make our youth look old , our days so evil and so few , may tell that on the ruins of that world we dwell . strong as the oaks that nourish'd them , and high , that long-liv'd race did on their force relie , neglecting heav'n , but we of shorter date should be more mindful of impendent fate , to worms that crawl upon this rubbish here , this span of life may yet too long appear ; enough to humble , and to make us great , if it prepare us for a nobler seat ; which well observing , he in numerous lines taught wretched man how fast his life declines ; in whom he dwelt before the world was made , and may again retire when that shall fade . the lasting iliads have not liv'd so long as his and deborah's triumphant song : delphos unknown , no muse could them inspire , but that which governs the coelestial choir ; heaven to the pious did this art reveal , and from their store succeeding poets steal . homer's scamander from the trojans fought , and swell'd so high by her old kishon taught , his river scarce could fierce achilles stay , hers more successful swept her foes away . the host of heav'n , his phoebus and his mars he arms , instructed by her fighting stars , she led them all against the common foe , but he misled by what he saw below ; the powers above like wretched men divides and breaks their union into different sides , the noblest parts which in his heroes shine may be but copies of that heroine . homer himself , and agamemnon she the writer could , and the commander be . death she relates in a sublimer strain than all the tales the boldest greek could feign , for what she sung that spirit did endight , which gave her courage and success in fight : a double garland crowns the matchless dame , from heav'n her poem and her conquest came , tho of the iews she merit most esteem , yet here the christian has the greater theme ; her martial song describes how sisera fell , this sings our triumph over death and hell. the rising light employ'd the sacred breath of the blest virgin and elizabeth : in songs of joy the angels sung his birth , here how he treated was upon the earth trembling , we read the afflictions and the scorn which for our guilt so patiently was born , conception , birth , and suffering all belong , tho various parts , to one celestial song ; and she well using so divine an art , has in the consort sung the tragic part . as hannahs seed was vow'd to sacred use , so here this lady consecrates her muse , with like reward may heaven her bed adorn with fruit as fair as by her muse is born . answer to mr. waller . now i shall live indeed , not by my skill but wisely you your prophesie fufill , and kindly careful of my growing fame , have twisted it with your immortal name . what brainless critick dares his envy raise to blast a style which you encline to praise ? the powers of envy i will now defie , since rais'd by you to immortality , once mention'd in your verse i cannot die . you with the flame of your poetic fire purge off my dross , and leave the sence entire , you praise what 's worthy praise , the rest omit , and teach th' ill-natur'd world how to forget ; the world whose peevish memories still strike at what is worst , omitting what they like . parent of english poesie alone , to you we owe the art we call our own ; all who before you came , as hoarsly sung as if by mars , apollo's harp was strung , and tun'd to drums loud ecchoes and alarms , but you have taught us soft and lasting charm●… . pride of the past , life of the present age , i 'm both inclin'd by swift poetick rage , and gratitude , to give due praise to you , but i 'm too weak to pay the debt i owe : down haughty muse ! canst thou behold the sun ? ah no! withdraw , thy threatning danger shun , he like an eagle us'd to face the light , ere he adopts thee , tries thy tender sight ; yet mounted on his wings thou now wilt dare to tempt thy fate , tho sure to perish there , how hard it is to teach a muse despair ; so the vain fly who gilded flame admires , approaches , and a sacrifice expires . think , haughty muse , think what is now thy theme , what it is thou canst offer worthy him ; worthy of phoebus and his darling son , or rather , of his master , and thy own , whose silver hairs more glory to him give than from his golden beams he can receive , who taught both ages , and with god-like force has stopt the mighty flood of folly's sourse , whose sprouting laurels grew more fresh and gay the oftner they salute the sun 's bright ray , their thriving leaves grow young with every day . his sprightly wit grows young with every dawn , for ever active , and for ever young , his numbers smooth , his sence for ever strong . cease haughty muse , in vain thou dost aspire to add thy smoak to his immortal sire ; cease , but if thou no worthier offering make , i need not silence who want power to speak . the change. . here ! since it must be so , take thy last look , my heart such deep impressions took , thou never wilt behold me more ; no part will be the same as it appear'd when first i came ; so alter'd shall i be , from what i was before . . a few sad hours so great a change will make , me from my self thou wilt mistake ; and think some other rival come , who must as wretched be , because he does resemble me : and thus i twice condem'nd , must bear the fatal doom . . destructive fair ! thou wilt alone do more , than grief or sickness could before : that drooping form , which now appears young as an infant spring will be , ( while you such ruine bring ) as old in days , as was methusalem in years . . dear cruel maid farewel : i know my doom , yet ne'ertheless once more will come : yes , i 'll return and let you see , what i have said will prove too true , th' effects of injur'd love : and possibly your softning heart may pity me . . tho fain i 'd be more blest before i dye ; in death i 'll my last refuge try : and then , like old aegyptians , thou , ( when no way else can move ) to my pale corps will kinder prove ; and more perhaps upon my tomb , than my frail house bestow — excusing himself to his mistris , for being jealous . beauty , my dear , has such subduing charms , its weakest force the strongest guard disarms . o'er iove himself it bears imperial sway , as the great thunderer , gods and men obey ; through adamantine walls , and tow'rs of brass , his sacred fire dissolv'd the yielding mass. a show'r of gold , with pregnant love reliev'd the beauteous virgin that in fetters griev'd , so much the tender maid , a god could move to so much pity , and to so much love : and if she could a deity perswade , how vast a conquest would thy charms have made ! fair danae then had stood neglected by , and thou hadst charm'd thy sacred lovers eye ; upon himself a brave revenge hadst turn'd , and in thy flames th' olympic ruler burn'd . but thanks eternal , to the powers above , that now their own immortal beings love : for should they as of old descend to chuse , how dear a treasure should i quickly lose ? their starry thrones , heav'ns brightest forms would leave , and take all shapes , that could thy heart deceive . blame not my passion , nor condemn my care , all precious blessings are preserv'd with fear ; the rude unfruitful heaps of rolling sand unguarded lie , upon the naked strand : but how defended is the golden ore , that shines on wealthy tagus glitt'ring shore ! so in a mean deform'd ignoble breast , the quiet lover may securely rest : but what distrust and fears may justly rise , when charms like thine tempt all beholders eyes ! an approbation only is desire ; all wishing to enjoy , what all admire : and if so far the boundless will extends ; what will not man , to gain his lawless ends ? alluring stratagems , and treacherous snares are the chief bus'ness the vile sex prepares : their words , their actions , ev'ry looks design ; in all as false , as are their oaths in wine . what story is not full of womens woes , by plighted faith betray'd , and broken vows ? religion , that does always fruitful prove , has not so many hypocrites , as love ; the pamper'd priest that 's perjur'd at the shrine , would break a thousand times more vows at thine . i know thy beauty , and our own deceit , thou art all truth , and we all a cheat. tho fix'd as rocks thy sacred vertues are ; experience cannot but our vices fear . what flatteries , nor subtil'st arts can't gain , vile man can with infernal malice stain : prudence should therefore nicest things remove , and be more jealous than the tendrest love. observing eyes , false measures often take ; and base construction from good actions make : erect and strait , in vain the substance shews ; if thence the least oblique shadow flows ; for , to compleat our joys , we are , 't is known , more blest by others judgments than our own ; unconquered adamants in vain we wear , if like adult'rate christals they appear : a rightful homage to loves beauteous throne should all the world with awful distance own ; while thou art pure , and spotless in my arms , not health nor riches have such pow'rful charms : goodness and vertue , not the gods above , shall with more tenderness for ever love : but by their blest abode , if ev'n in thought i could believe thou wouldst commit a fault ; had'st thou abandon'd all the joys of heav'n , and for my sake from paradice been driv'n , thou should'st the blackest feind in hell embrace sooner than i 'd behold thy guilty face ; ev'n one crime , hadst thou an angels charms , would sep'rate me for ever from thy arms. " for fate and love on such a point depend , " if one link break , both the great unions end . down at one leap , from highest heav'n to hell , the brightest hi'rarchy of angels ●…ell : how soon by disobedience destroy'd , was the blest state the first great pair enjoy'd ! that one sad act , which we so much deplore , brought a propension to a thousand more : but did not souls , that once receive a stain , tho cleans'd ; more easily defile again ; the lesser god requires th' almighty doom , time past , time present , and the time to come . his laws are stricter than the court of heav'n ; there sin original is scarce forgiv'n : tho thou ( my life 's fair guardian ) dearer art , than the warm ruddy drops that feed my heart ; with all thy charms , how easie could i part , if their first blooming sweets had been destroy'd ; tho lawfully without a crime enjoy'd ! true love its beauteous object mus●… invade , as did the sun the world , when first 't was made : all gay and innocent in virgin state , as fix'd and constant as eternal fate . no tyrant ( my dear sovereign ! ) e'er could have , a more obedient , faithful , humble slave : and yet that god-like pow'r that joyns our souls , and all inferiour faculties controuls ; in ev'ry nice desire must be obey'd , and as much homage to thy subject paid , as if he the worlds empire singly swai'd : as undisturb'd , un rival'd in his throne , as the great prince that rul'd the globe alone . one smile tho forc'd from those subduing eyes , would forfeit all which they have taken prize ; ev'ry kind look my soul esteems so dear , it hardly can a sisters kisses bear : methinks there should be found some other way , our loves to distant kindred to convey ; scarce canst thou lull a tender infants cries , but streight uneasie pains begin to rise : nothing methinks should fill those snowy arms , but he that has command of all thy charms : ev'n thou ( what 's strange ! ) canst scarce permitted be to love thy self ; but leave it all to me : and oh ! if fate does to my will give power , while joys of crowns pass unregarded by : round thy soft limbs my greedy arms shall twine and martyrs souls not be more blest than mine ; through the vast lab'rinth of thy sweets i 'll rove , and give , and take all the delights of love : not the young monarch when in triumph led , with glitt'ring diadems round his shining head ; in all the glories of his regal state , . can think himself more happy , or more great : thy tender breast is a far softer throne ; and at each kiss , methinks the world 's my own . in that dear centre all those pleasures move , that fill the earth and the wide sphears above ; there does such soft and tender goddess dwell , 't would draw an anch'rite from his lonely cell ; nor has thy beauty less amasing charms ; the conqu'ror there wou'd stop his vengeful arms ; ravish'd in sweets , to be a slave would choose , rather than triumph o'er his vanquish'd foes . had i more kingdoms , crowns and scepters won , than did of old great philip's conquering son : with half my empires i with ease could part ; but not with the least province of thy heart : my soul 's diffus'd through all the crimson sphere , and fix'd in ev'ry lab'ring fibre there . no joys nor comforts can admittance find , till they are first with that dear image sign'd : fates greatest blessings but a moment last , and when they 're once injoy'd , the pleasure 's past . the same dull joy's repeated o'er and o'er , and pleases little — when beheld before ; but thy dear bosom like elysian springs , an ever-flowing tide of pleasure brings : one would have thought that ere the lab'ring sun through his vast regions could so oft have run , the riches that one breast could keep in store , with lesser pains might have been ransack'd o're ; but such an infinite mass does there abound , that 't is but running an eternal round , like vital spirit , through the form 't is spread , and ne'er can cease ●…ill life it self is fled . no fate nor accident o'er-comes thy skill , in joys and sorrows thou art charming still : and 't is hard judging which has greatest pow'r , thy tears to wound the heart , or smiles to cure . content . enough , enough , ye gods , i need no more ; nor has this world a greater store : your bounteous hands have largely given one sovereign remedy , that can make bless'd the wretchedst state of man ; and shew , in this dark globe , the brightest glimpse of heav'n . forgive what 's past , and if i e'er again be found in the least murmuring strain ; if ever i repine that fate me ne'r in pompous triumph led , nor crown'd a poor plebeian head , avenging powers ! resume her back , and make me great . which of you all , ye dreaded sons of earth ( who from the gods derive your birth ) from coronations wou'd not fly , throw your unweildy scepters down , and scorn the most imperial crown , for the vast realms of bliss , that in her bosom lie . welcome thou brightest diadem , ●…thou wealth , thou truest honour , fame , and health , welcome thou only gift of heaven ; thou wondrous ark that still contains the blessing of all natures pains ; thou dear celestial food , in whom all sweets were given . welcome true happiness , without allay ; thou bright and everlasting day : oh! may i thus be ever blest ; thus volv'd in endless pleasures , feel my wither'd arms around thee still ; and see my aged head grown hoary on thy breast the inconstant . . no , flatter not , nor me more constant call than the false winds that smile on all ; because but one dear she i love ; one that might fix those winds , and make a statue move . . the quickning sun ( who with his genial heat nature's vast of-spring does beget ) is to one object more inclin'd , than all my love does me to that dear creature bind . . the same kind visit that he makes to day , ten thousand times he does repay : in endless rounds , his glorious throne adorns one rude uncomely globe of earth alone . . but my less constant and ungovern'd flame , ne'er meets her twice as she 's the same : still wandring like columbus , i some rich and unknown land in that bright world descry , . ten thousand offerings to her i 've made , ten thousand more too shall be paid : yet i ne'er did , nor never will more than one sacrifice to one dear vertue kill . . ev'ry embrace , and ev'ry melting kiss , tasts of some unexperienc'd bliss : not the first pledge of nuptial love can more transporting be , than our last joys will prove . . the num'rous graces of her outward part can hardly be summ'd up by art : but when i her soul's vertues see , my dazled sight is lost in vast infinity . . there every grace , and every beauty dwells ; ev'n nature there her self excells , in her delightful charming breast , banish'd from paradice , an angel might be blest . . a thousand sweets hung blooming on her eye ; in ev'ry part ten thousand lie : the wise , industrious , laden bee ' midst all the floury spring sinds less variety . . numberless unity ! beauty in her one or ten thousand names will bear ; one milky way runs through the skie , or else millions of stars make up the galaxy . . there as i' th' golden age of saturn's reign , does natures first blest state remain : all things in heavenly order move , and like that peaceful world , compos'd of truth and love. . ev'ry sad morn beholds me richly drest , with some new pleasure in her breast : nor can i e'er its sweets devour from ev'ry look fresh blossoms spring , from ev'ry breath a flower . . like spirits in the air i boldly move , through all the labyrinths of love : here of its gold i rob the west ; and there steal the sweet odours of the perfum'd east . . all the dear business of my life is done ; through the whole sex in one i 've run : and 't was indeed a happy doom to find such boundless treasures in so little room . to lucinda fanning her self . so the loud tyrant of the winds does sweep the face of heav'n , and toss the raging deep : swift with stern blasts , tho undiscern'd they flie , shaking the trembling regions of the sky : with equal force tho with unequal fate , danger and safety both at once create : here ship-wreck'd vessels o'er the rocks are spread , and burden'd shores all cover'd with the dead ; there singing mariners with prosperous tide and swelling sails into safe harbour ride . here mighty cedars and vast oaks are found rooted in skys , and branch'd in wounded ground , while tender twigs by their complyance find a better fate from the destructive wind ; strong blasts put out the smaller sparks of fire , but make great flames with greater force aspire ; thus the success of that fair hand 's the same , it cools thy heat , but raises up my fame . the resolve . be gone fond love ; i 'll dote no more , on the proud nymphs disdainful eyes ; nor that relentless heart adore , that moves not , even when mine dies . no longer i 'll her cruel frowns sustain ; nor roul the harden'd stone eternally in vain . since she is deaf to ev'ry prayer , and will not my just passion hear : no longer at her feet i 'll lie , but to some shady desart fly : where i 'll the listning rocks and mountains tell in sighs and groans , the torments that i feel . there heaven's melodious chearful choire will hear my sad complaining lyre : and while my obsequies they sing , and in each grove my sorrows ring : i 'll mourn my woes in some forsaken cave , and in the dismal shades prepare my gloomy grave . but tears will wear the hardest stone , and every vale attend my moan ; no longer shall i beg in vain , condoling sounds deplore my pain : fair eccho's tender voice will kinder be , i love my nymph said i , — i love again says she . parting with lucinda . hold thy sweet voice , while that commands my stay i never shall have power to force my way . so well those eloquent soft tears perswade , thy tongues dear rhetorick is a needless aid ; thy beauty has alas ! such powerful charms , i could for ever live within thy arms ; dwell on thy balmy lips , and in thy breast , resign my soul to everlasting rest : didst thou but know what unexpressive pains my tortur'd soul in leaving thee sustains ; thy tender mercy would relieve my heart , and strive to make it easier to part . how many long farewels we both have spoke ! how many kisses for the last have took ! and oh! unless thou wilt my pains increase , till i shall never more behold thy face ; that dear destroying flood of sorrow , cease . take off thy trembling limbs ; and let me try what torments they endure , when mortals die : tho from thy arms ev'ry embrace does prove the utmost force of cruelty , and love ; if then thou wilt any true kindness shew , pronounce the fatal word , and bid me go . my charming sovereign i must obey ; and such an absolute obedience pay , my heart , oh wondrous proof ! shall cease to grieve , and all the mass of beauty leave : why shouldst thou harbour such presaging fears when there 's not one ill-boding sign appears ; no threatning storms , no gath'ring tempests rise ; but in the heavenly regions of thy eyes . the gentle gales o'er the smooth ocean move , soft as thy dear protesting vows of love ; nor needst thou dread lest the now courting wind in this fair season i less constant find . ere thrice the sun shall reach his azure bed , waving powers recline his drooping head , with out-stretch'd wings my saint i will pursue , swifter than he , to his lov'd daphne flew : more native wealth doth this fair breast contain than all the ravish'd treasures of the main . not so delightful was the sacred tree , nor god-like knowledge could more tempting be : through this vast eden , could i freely move , and stretch th' unbounded empire of my love ; with thee alone i had much rather fall , than live for ever , and enjoy it all : with flaming arms , did threatning angels stand ready to execute their dire command , by heav'ns a vengeance i with ease might die , but from thy paradice could never fly , no my dear charmer ; love's mysterious chain ill fortune strives to separate in vain . tho for a while we must in absence mourn , like a well freighted vessel , i 'll return ; my weary bark shall in this haven rest ; and unlade all its treasures in thy breast . triumphant sorrow then no more shall reign ; with richest balm of love i 'll ease thy pain ; eternal raptures shall thy heart surprize , and dancing joys adorn thy smiling eyes . panting in bliss , shall thy delightful arms diffuse their sacred and long treasur'd charms ; fates utmost malice nobly we 'll subdue , and sweet revenge the sweetest ways pursue . the visit . welcome , dear heart , oh welcome to my arms , since thou wast captiv'd by lucinda's charms ; how great a stranger hast thou been ! 't is now five tedious mournful years , since thou forsookst me , drown'd in tears : i thought , i 'll swear , i never more should thee have seen . ten thousand thanks to thee , ten thousand more when next thou seest thy fair one , give to her , who cou'd believe that thou wouldst come , from the bright palace of her breast , where thou such sweet delights possest ; and visit the old mansions of thy native home . what entertainment can i give thee here ; thee , who hast feasted on such joys with her ? like a bright monarch from his court , thou leav'st the splendor of a crown , and bliss , that waits upon a throne , for the cold winter fields , for the dull countries sport. 't was kindly done of thee , and kind of her to let thee give me one dear visit more ; so glad i am thou liv'st so well , when e'er i die ( as may it be long before her my destiny ) my soul shall take thy place , and there for ever dwell . blest be the fate , blest the propitious hand , that led thee to that fair delightful land ! the sweetest spice on rocks there grows ; and fruit delicious all the year , do loaded stems luxuriant bear ; around the verdant plains ambrosia and honey flows . i know , kind visiter , thou cam'st to tell me , all the joys that in that bosom dwell : but there 's so infinite a store , should heav'n assist the bold desire , so long a time it would require , alas , thou ne'er wouldst see thy dearest mistris more . by charles how , esq we wish for happiness in vain , the greatest blessings we obtain pass quick , and leave the sharpest pain ; all our hopes are fortune's prey , 't is long ere sorrow finds relief ; time from bliss flies fast away , but slowly moves with grief : alas ! now gloriana's gone , life has no charms for me , the blessing of her sex alone , the curst from pains can free ; her presence gives surprising joy , but grief does those she leaves destroy , blest with her charms whilst others are , her absence will prevent despair , ending my wretched life and care. by the same . what scorn appears in those fair eyes , where native sweetness us'd to flow , if your adorer you despise , on whom will you your love bestow ? ah! let not your severe disdain kill him who lives alone for you ; inglorious conquests they obtain , who murder slaves they first subdue . welcome to thirsty fields kind showers , to chearful birds the morning light , returning suns to withering flowers , to me the charming coelia's sight . the floods against their streams may turn , the gods may cease to be obey'd , but think not cruel nymph your scorn can quench the flames your beauty made . a saranade , by the same . soft notes and gently rais'd , lest some harsh sound the fair corinna's rest do rudely wound ; diffuse a peaceful calmness through each part , touch all the springs of a soft virgins heart , tune every pulse and kindle all her blood , and swell the torrents of the living flood ; glide through her dreams , and o'er her fancies move , and stir up all the images of love. thus feeble man does his advantage take to gain in sleep , what he must lose awake ; when night and shades shut up corinna's charms , then is the proper'st time to take up arms ; but night and shades her beauties can't conceal , night has peculiar graces to reveal ; ten thousand raptures do attend this time , too strong for fancy , and too full for rhime . to my lord lansdowne at the imperial camp. whilst you are listning to the shrill alarms of war , pleasing your self in shining arms ; subduing foes make half the world afraid , a cause supporting which does need your aid ; your praise brought hither on the wings of fame , in all the gentle sex creates a flame ; but such a flame as virtue does controul , for nought but virtue can move such a soul as yours , where glory has the sovereign sway , so i without a blush this tribute pay to that undaunted courage , which so long has in your race been vigorous and strong ; and as the wool oft dipt in tyrian dye , a colour gains so noble and so high , nor time nor art can make it lose the grain , so fix'd in you their virtues do remain , to which so many of your own are joyn'd , the world for you no parallel can find . on the sight and sculpture of mr. gibbon's own most excellent head , in marble . by mr. iohnson . when arts were but in embryo , yet unknown , and nature only kept her station : she envy'd not , nor was there cause that she , in full perfection , yet should froward be ; but when more grown , they boldly did invade her empire , and her state their subject made : promoting new designs , and pressing on , with triumph in her imitation , did then incens'd , her dignity insert ; the vanity of science to subvert , but found success to both a servant prov'd ; she was their mistris , and the thing they lov'd . for when old time his daughter truth unveil'd ; whose sovereign warmth all grosser damps exhal'd : the world in fancy , took such lofty flights as did presume to equal nature's rights ; which now our happy subject will afford , creat ●…ibbons is our theme ; and signal word ; bless'd in his brave endeavours , ( not inclin'd to serve ambition , but a gen'rous mind ) and by his birth-right prompted ; which his so●…l to gain , does all his fortive heat controul . the ages glory , and our nations pride , in foreign courts , with wonder magnifi'd . the sun which lends the inferiour orbs their light , fame's horizontal line , and point of sight ; view him but in one , his statue-head , you 'll find him there , in all , by nature led ; who seems ennobled by a secret flame , his zeal , to sacrifice to her great name : for which , if ever she has yet been known to love , or doat on any , he is one . that sure minerva adds her deity , to crown his genius with that mistery : which is so well improv'd by his bold hand , that all the graces wait on his command . so strong , yet soft ; so easie , yet not tame ; look but on nature , it appears the same , if not to art a debtor , for each grace , the magnes of a well resembled face : strictly correct ; but in a careless dress , with freedom great , and not in action less . choice and select ; and in its order new ; as if it govern'd sense , and motion knew ; would yield to touch , or wou'd to speech go on , striving to imitate perfection : repleat with wonder , not to be conceal'd ; time has not ceas'd , but miracles reveal'd : hold then , my muse , thy accents sound but weak , to teach thee skill , thy wants thestone will speak . the denial . good heavens ! what shall i do ? my service was before too hard , and now i want a stronger guard , e'en my own heart is turn'd a rebel too . like travellers , when long they have some distant nation known ; the treach'rous foot forgets its own , and learns a cruel , barbarous foreign tongue . still when i call it home , her cold dominion it prefers , and answers in no speech but hers ; cries , no , 't is all in vain , i will not come . kissing his mistris . nay , my lucinda , give not o'er , there yet remains a thousand more , and endless is thy heavenly store . the gentle subsidy we laid , must ev'ry day be justly pay'd : till then , if i cease kissing thee , may i , this moment , cease to be . these loft endearments nature chose , free from all succeeding woes . thus , harmless murm'ring turtles love , and bill , and cooe , in every grove . thus the chaste industrious bees , of pregnant shrubs , and spicy trees ; the virgin sweetness still devour ; yet fragrant stands , the blushing flower , this lovely odoriferous cell , ( round which the ruby portals swell ) does more delicious nectar fill , than can hyblean hives distill . thus press'd , their d●…vine liquors flow ; and thy chaste lips more balmy grow : thus may we ever , ever wast those precious sweets , that ever last . despair . what shall i do to learn some powerful art , that can dissolve her marble heart ? it does so hard appear , the mighty general of war , cut out his long unbeaten way , where mountains upon mountains lay ; and melted frozen rocks with lesser pain than i for her have suffer'd , and yet all in vain . the wretched'st miser never kept his gold , ( tho he does that as precious hold ) in chains so strong as she bars up that fatal treasury . obdurate walls and pillars are more soft and penetrable far , than her hard breast , cold as the freezing north , where nature nought but snow , and christal ice brings forth . sure the infernal adamantine gate where guilty souls are kept by fate , can't be more fortifi'd with massie bars than she 's with pride ; so firm and wondrous strong in her , the weakest part does still appear ; it almost seems a work of lesser pain . to leap the mighty gulph , and heav'n by force obtain . cruel injustice ! her destructive cave lets none return but to the grave : and as that dreadful door , when once 't is shut ne'er opens more ; so she has acted deaths hard part , and let her breast take in my heart , which now in vain alas ! must ever burn in fiercest flames of love ; and ne'er return . to lucinda . ah cruel nymph ! how canst thou punish me to such a barbarous degree , for the same crime that you your self as often do ; and yet unjustly go unpunish'd to ! i tortur'd am , because i can't remove my fatal irresistless love : yet you confess you wou'd love me too , if you cou'd ; but cannot make your heart do what it shou'd . 't is hard indeed , our passions to command , and fate 's almighty power withstand ; but yet 't is just and fit , seeing you merit it , to the same punishment you should submit . such conqu'ring charms adorn that beauteous face in ev'ry feature 's such a grace , to me 't would harder prove , my passion to remove , than 't would for you to be more kind , and love. embracing his mistris . now , i can scorn the splendor of a crown , and laugh at the dull pomp of vain renown ; the toil of arms and the litigious gown . how hateful the rude acclamations are ! the vile , unjust , unlearn'd unpeaceful bar ; the noise of triumph , and stern din of war. how worthless are the sands of tagus shore , the richest orient pearls , and all the store of glittering pebbles , or barbaric ore. this costly jewel higher value yield●… : a surer basis of bright glory builds , than proudest gaudy courts , or martial fields . no greater blessing could to mortal fall : i now methinks am caesar , croesus ; all that we can happy , or delightful call . had the great conqu'ror reach'd the british shore , and his victorious arms had triumph'd o'er this world of bliss ; — he ne'er had wept for more . bless'd far beyond the state of busie crowds , my lofty head , like towring atlas shrouds its airy top , amidst aspiring clouds . oh maist thou ever thus supported be , while thus my humble , suppliant , bending knee bears up the universal globe , in thee . the unalterable . no , dearest ! never fear ; i 'll always be faithful , as heav'n to dying saints , to thee : no fate shall e'er divide the sacred knot our souls have ty'd : my heart shall prove as constant to my fair , as others to their mistrisses unconstant are . not all thy sexes charms shall tempt me more , i 'll ever thee , and heav'n for thee , adore ; content with my bless'd fate , despise the worlds vain pageant state : and since the gods no greater bliss can send , like twins we 'll both our lives together end . thy sex , alas ! is a false lottery , where thousand blancks for one small prize we see : scarce can th' unerring gods direct our choice 'gainst such odds ; and since kind fate gave me so vast a lot , who 'd hazard the rich gem , so hardly got ? if e'er i should from thy bright charms remove , from thy dear constancy , thy fervent love ; and feel the proud disdain , with which your sex rewards our pain ; good heavens ! what might avenging fury do ! curse thee , as well as them , for being woman , too . to corinna excusing himself for not loving her . . pardon , thou brightest star throughout our skies ! thou charming idol of adoring eyes ; pardon the barren soil , if beams divine from such a heav'n of beauty dein to cast their sacred influence ; yet shine upon the bare unfruitful land in vain long with unwearied toyls , my heart has strove , to bear the fertile gleab of grateful love : long have i laboured to obey the righteous laws of his imperial sway : but still we strive in vain ; for lo the bright lucinda long ago in mystic charms has trod the sacred round ; and now behold ! the fairy ground , to ev'ry tillers hand is barren found . . condemn not me , but our too cruel fate that let such beauty charm my eyes too late : i was alas ! a wretched bankrupt made , before my first great debt of love was paid : she charg'd me with so vast a score , that still i 'm bound to her for more : and if i must compound with you , for less than is your due ; the starving indigent for pity save , who such a fatal judgment gave to one , who never will release her slave . . did not that monarch , love , still rule alone , thou shouldst have half dominion in her throne ; by all the world she can't be dispossest ; nor will admit a rival in my breast : so absolute my lovely sovereign's grown ; not only all my power , but will is gone . for notwithstanding the sad pain , that i for her dear sake sustain ; would she her self unkindly part with the least atome of my conquer'd heart , i sooner could a separation make 'twixt soul and body , than that license take . . goe , fair corinna , with thy beauty goe , and shew thy pow'r o're some unvanquish'd foe : such bright inflaming charms can't choose but win a heart where there 's a heart to lose . mine had thy willing victim been , had it not first that heavenly creature seen , there i beheld a fatal conqueror whose beauty had not only power to gain the battel , and my heart sudue , but keep the victory for ever too . . urge not the greater happiness that i might in your passion more than hers enjoy ; the calmest seasons , and the sweetest rest , in any other breast , would be far worse to me than the dread forms of ruin , death , and wild devouring storms , within the radiant zone of her delightful arms . but oh ! the blustring winds can only fly , round the low regions of that starry sky ; the mild favorian gentle air is always bright , serene and clear , within the glorious orb of that celestial sphere . alas ! the very miseries and pain , which my afflicted heart did long sustain ; so much the mighty power of love can do , were then my sweetest pleasures too : not all the blessings wich kind heav'n can give , or man from thence receive , can more delight , more happiness create than i , for her dear sake , could in my utter ruin take ; if love were the kind cause of our destructive fate . . blame not my passion , nor condemn my zeal , could my heart speak , 't would greater thoughts reveal ; those secret transports i should then relate , that raise my soul above a mortal state . hadst thou as happy as i been , and that fair creature in her blooming beauty seen : in all her grace and majesty , before she ruin'd it for me ; ev'n thou too would'st confess th' effects of such a cause could not be less . nature erected her delightful arms , so wondrously adorn'd with heav'nli'st charms , that like herculian pillars , they might shew th' admiring world she can no farther go : but with pigmalion , stand her self amaz'd 〈◊〉 at the stupendious form her joyful hand has rais'd . . what service would i pay ! what wondrous love ! should i not so ungrateful prove to that terrestrial angel , who below , does such a glorious image shew , of saints eternal faith , and innocence above ; or could there an exchange in passions be ; what recompence would i return to thee ! with fervent zeal from an unbounded heart , sould noble friendship act a lovers part . nay , now methinks i have so great a sense of all thy love and excellence , that even that dear she , who 's more than all the world to me , alas ! hardly two grains more than thee . for tho i love you less , that passion does as much express : for if in love , as in religion , the gods accept the will alone ; no martyr ever dy'd with greater zeal than i have liv'd . thee , kind corinna , i adore as much as e'er i can , and i love her no more : to lucinda . go on , fair maid , persist in your disdain , at the first stroke my heart was slain : and all your pride and scorn can do no more , than what your frowns have done before . tho like first atoms which compounded thee , this wretched body mangled be ; when life 's departed , with all sense of pain ; you , the dead carcass wound in vain . when threatning comets burn ; no small disease on the contagious world does seize . devouring plagues with livid ruin wast the spotted race of man and beast , nor do thy eyes portend a milder doom , where'er their fatal beams o'ercome . when from those raging stars one frown you dart it 's able to destroy the stoutest heart . the captive . what shall i do to give my soul some rest ? this cruel barbarous tyrant , love , now it has got possession of my breast , will never from its throne remove . i must , alas ! the sad disease indure , whose raging pain , no sov'reign balm can cure . at first it lodg'd in my unwary eyes ; and like a slave obey'd my will : but streight did the proud basilisk surprize that seat of life , it soon will kill . o'er my whole form th' imperial viper reigns , and spreads its poison through my burning veins . when it invaded first my lab'ring heart , to stop the fatal course i strove ; and gave away the dear infected part , to her , whom more than that , i love . now sure , thought i , for ever from my breast is banish'd that unkind disquiet guest . but all my pleasing hopes , alas , were crost : as disarm'd patients feel the pain of the same limb they many years have lost , my torment still returns again : and now i find it is increas'd so high , 't will ne'er leave me , till i leave that , and die . the command . no , no ; bold heart , forbear ; rather than speak , thou shalt with pain and silence break ; my passion 's rais'd so dangerously high , thou must for ever speechless lie : on penalty of a worse death , use not the least complaining breath ; but silent as the grave , with all thy sorrows dye . alas ! shouldst thou begin , what tongue could tell the raging pangs of love i feel ? more torment ev'ry dismal hour does bear , than thou couldst in an age declare . great sorrows overwhelm the tongue ; and wouldst thou do me so much wrong , to let her know by halves , what i endure for her ? on lucindas singing at church . tell me no more of soft harmonious spheres ; or syrens voices that enchant our ears : from her sweet tongue such tuneful ' musick springs , angels might cease while the bright charmer sings . hark how the temples sacred roof rebounds , with warbling ecchoes , and seraphic sounds ; methinks the well-pleas'd gods themselves attend to hear a heav'nly voice from earth ascend . delighted saints , move from their mansions there to be partakers of our pleasures here . pleasures so charming that they plainly prove what entertainment we shall find above . such beauteous forms , elysian fields adorn ; and such sweet notes awake the morn . cease , dull devotion , cease ; we need no more , the sacred deities , for heav'n implore . while thus her voice wounds the melodious air , our souls must think themselves already there . no humane tongue could ever entertain the divine powers in so divine a strain : nor does she glorifie the gods alone ; for while she sings heav'ns praises ; she sings her own . the convert . vvhen first i saw lucinda's face , and view'd the dasling glories there ; she seem'd of a diviner race , than that which nature planted here . with sacred homage down i fell , wondring whence such a form could spring : tell me , i cry'd , fair vision , tell the dread commands from heav'n you bring . for if past sins may be forgiven ; by this bright evidence i know , the careful gods have made a heav'n , that made such angels for it'too . vicissitude . vvho that ere fortune's trait'rous smiles has try'd can hope for any constant bliss in such a faithless world as this ; or in the surest promises of treach'rous fate conside ? the tott'ring globe turns with the rolling spheres , and the same motion may be seen concentric too , from us within ; exalted now with hopes , and then depress'd with fears . eternal change revolves with ev'ry day : the most triumphant glorious crown , is in a moment tumbl'd down ; and shrines of burnish'd gold to mouldring earth decay . ev'n i , my self , who would not change the fate auspicious stars ordain'd my birth , with any mortal man on earth ; midst all my joys can't boast of a much happier state . when my lucinda smiles , no prince can be , so blest on his imperial throne : but if she chance to dart a frown , the wretched'st slave alive's an emperour to me . the cure worse than the disease . as they , whom raging feavers burn , drink cooling things for ease , which make a fiercer heat return , and heighten their disease : in hopes to cure my tort'ring pain , a worse experiment i found : running upon the sword again , that gave me first my wound . the denial : hold , hold ; my dear destroyer , hold ; i do confess i was too bold : my violent passion rais'd so high , that , in the mighty transport , i , feeling my troubled breast so full , let my tongue speak the language of my soul. stop , dearest , stop that fatal breath ; presaging omens bode my death : tho i would give my life to hear that charming voice which now i fear ; as criminals expect their doom . i wish to know , but dread the fate to come . the royal canticle , or , the song of solomon , canto i. sponsa . joyn thy life-breathing lips to mine , thy love excells the joys of wine ; thy odours , oh how redolent ! attract me with their pleasing scent . these sweetly flowing from thy name , our virgins with desire enflame : oh! draw me , my belov'd , and we with winged feet will follow thee . thy loving spouse at length great king into thy royal chamber bring . then shall our souls intranc'd with joy in thy due praise their zeal employ , thy celebrated love recite , which more than rosie cups delight . who truth and sacred justice prize , to thee their hearts shall sacrifice ; you daughters of ierusalem , you branches of that holy stem ; though black in favour , i excel ! , black as the tents of ismael ; yet graceful as the burnish'd throne , and ornaments of solomon ; despise not my discolour'd look from the enamour'd sun i took . my mothers sons envy'd my worth , and swoln with malice , thrust me forth ; to keep their vines in heat of day , while ah ! mine own neglected lay . more lov'd than all of humane breed , oh tell me where thy flocks do feed ! where rest they ? in what graceful shade when scorching beams the fields invade ? why should i stray and turn to those , thy seeming friends , and real foes ? sponsus . oh! thou the fairest of thy kind , i will inform thy troubled mind . follow the way my flocks have led , and in their steps securely tread : thy kids feed on the faithful plains beside the sheep-cots of our swains . thou love , art like the gen'rous steeds which pharaoh for his chariot breeds ; harness'd in rich caparisons . how shine thy cheeks with sparkling stones ! that vie in beauty with thy tears : thy neck the oceans treasure wears . i will a golden zone impart , enamell'd with a bleeding heart . sponsa . while he the prince of bounty feasts and entertains his happy guests : my spikenard shall perfume his hair , whose odours fill the ambient air : all night his sacred head shall rest betwixt the pillows of my breast . not myrrh new bleeding from the tree so accetpable is to me ; nor camphire clusters when they blow , which in engeddi's vineyard grow . sponsus . thy beauty , love , allures my sight and sheds a firmament of light ; in either sits a silver dove so mild , so full of artless love. sponsa . thou , oh my love ! art fairer far , thou , as the sun , i , but a star ; come my delight , our pregnant bed is with green buds and violets spread ; our cedar roofs are richly gilt , our galleries of cypress built . canto ii. sponsus . i am the lily of the vale , the rose of sharons fragrant dale . love as th' unsully'd lily shews , which in a brake of brambles grows : my love so darkens all that are by erring men admir'd for fair . sponsa . love , as the tree which citrons bears amidst the barren shrubs appears , so my belov'd excells the race of man in ev'ry wining grace : in his desired shade i rest , and with his fruit my palate feast : he brought me to his magazines , replenish'd with refreshing wines , and over me a tender maid , the ensign of his love displaid ; with flagons , oh ! revive my powers , and strow my bed with fruits and flowers ; whose taste and smell may cordial prove , for , oh ! my soul is sick of love : beneath my . head thy left arm place , and gently with thy right embrace . sponsus . you daughters of ierusalem , you branches of that holy stem ; i by the mountain roes , and by the hinds that through the forrest fly , adjure you that you silence keep , nor , till he call , disturb his sleep . sponsa . is it a dream , or do i hear the voice that so delights mine ear ? lo he his steps o'er hills extends , and bounding from the cliffs descends : now like a roe outstrips the wind , and leaves the well-breath'd hart behind ; behold , without my dearest stays , and through the casement darts his rays . thus as his words his looks invite , oh! thou the crown of my delight . arise my love , my fair one rise , our bliss with every minute flies , lo the sharp winter now is gone , those threatning tempests over-blown ; hark how the airs musicians sing , the advent of the flowry spring : chast turtles lodg'd in shady groves , now murmur to their faithful loves . green figs on sprouting trees appear and vines sweet smelling blossoms bear : arise my love , my fair one rise , our bliss with ev'ry minute flies : oh thou my love , whom terror locks within the crannies of the rocks : come forth , now like thy self appear , and with thy voice delight mine ear ; thy voice is musick , and thy face all conquers with transcending grace : approach and timely rescue make , these foxes , these young foxes take , who thus our tender grapes destroy , our present hope and future joy. i am my loves , and he is mine , so mutually our souls combine . he whose affection words exceeds , his dear among the lilleis feeds . until the morning paint the skie and nights repulsed shadows flie . return to me my only dear , and with the morning-star appear , run like a youthful hart upon the tops of lofty lebanon . canto iii. sponsa . stretch'd on my restless bed all night , i vainly sought my souls delight , then rose , the city search'd , no street , no corner my unwearied feet untrodden left , yet could not find the only comfort of my mind ; the watch , and those that walk't the round me in my soul's distraction found , of whom , with passion i enquir'd , saw you the man so much desir'd ? nor many steps had farther past , but found my love , and held him fast ; fast held , till i , the so long sought had to my mothers mansion brought , in that adorned chamber laid of her who gave me life i said , you daughters of ierusalem , you branches of that holy stem , i , by the mountain roes , and by the hinds which through the forrest flie , adjure you that you silence keep , nor , till he call , disturb his sleep . chorus . who 's this whose feet the hills ascend from desarts , leaning on her friend ? who 's this that like the morning shews , when she her paths with roses strews ? more fair than the replenish'd moon , more radiant than the sun at noon ; not armies with their ensigns spread display such beauty mix'd with dread . sponsa behold the bed he rests upon , the royal bed of solomon , twice fifty soldiers that excell in valour , sons of israel ; so dreadful to his enemies , their swords well mounted on their thighs ; his person guard from the affright and treasons of concealing night : king solomon a chariot made with trees from lebanon convey'd ; the pillars silver , and the throne with gold of indian ophir shone , with tyrian purple ceil'd above , for sions daughters pav'd with love ; come holy virgins , oh come forth , behold a spectacle of worth : behold the royal solomon high mounted on his glorious throne ; crown'd with the crown his mother plac'd on his smooth brows with gems inchac'd ; at that solemnized nuptial feast , when joy his ravish'd soul possest . canto iv. sponsus . how fair art thou , how wondrous fair thy dove-like eyes in shades of hair ! thy dangling curles appears like flocks of climbing goats from gileads rocks : thy teeth like sheep in their return from chison , wash'd and smoothly shorn ; none mark'd her barren , none of all , but equal twins at once let fall ; thy cheeks like punick apples are which blush beneath thy flowing hair : thy lips like threads of scarlet show whence graceful accents sweetly flow , thy neck like davids armory , with polish'd marble rais'd on high ; whose wall a thousand shields adorn by worthies oft in battel born ; thy breasts two twins new wearied show , there grazing where the lillies grow ; untill the morning paint the sky , and nights repining shadows flie : i to the mountains will retire , where bleeding trees perfumes expire . my spouse , let us at length be gone , leave we the fragrant lebanon : look down from amana , look down from shemis top , from hermons crown , from hills where dreadful lions raye , and from the mountain-leopards cave ; thou , who my spouse and sister art , how hast thou ravish'd my sick heart ! struck with one glance of thy bright eyes , one hair of thine like fetters ties : thy beauty sister is divine , thy love my spouse more strong than wine : thy odour's far more redolent than spices from panehea sent , thy lips winh honey-dew o'er-flow , thy breasts celestial milk bestow ; thy robes a sweeter odour cast than lebanon with cedars grace 't ; my love my mutual vows assur'd , a garden is with strength immur'd . a christal fountain , a clear spring , shut up , and seal'd with my own ring , an orchard stor'd with pleasant fruit , pomegranate trees extend their roots , where sweetly smelling camphire blows and never-dying spikenard grows , sweet spikenard , crocus newly blown , sweet calamus and cinnamon . those trees which sacred incence shed , and tears of myrrh perfume our bed. sponsa . those livings springs from thee proceed , whose rills , our plants with moisture feed , like those clear streams which issue from the fountain , fruitful lebanon : you cooler winds blow from the north , you dropping southern gales break forth , on this our garden gently blow , and through the land rich odours throw . canto v. sponsus . my spouse , my sister thou who art the joy and treasure of my heart ; i to my garden have retir'd , reap'd spices which perfumes expir'd : sweet gums from trees profusely shed on dropping combs of honey fed ; drinks mornings-milk and new-press'd wine , oh friends who like desires combine . eat , drink , drink freely , nor remove till you be all inflam'd with love. sponsa . altho i sleep , my passions wake , for he who call'd thus sadly spake ; my spouse , my sister , thou more mild than gall-less doves , my undefil'd ; oh let me enter , night hath shed her dew on my uncover'd head , which from my drenched locks distills while freezing snow my bosom fills ; can i assent to thy request , disrob'd and newly laid to rest ? shall i now cloath my feet again , and feet so lovely wash'd distain ? but when i had his hand discern'd benumn'd with cold , my bowels yearn'd , i rose , nor longer could defer t' unlock the door , persum'd with myrrh ; but ah ! when open'd , he was gone but whither , by no foot-step shewn , the watch , and those that walk't the round in this pursuit th' afflicted found , smote , wounded , and prophanely tore the sable veil my sorrow wore . you virgins of fair solyma , i charge you , if you see him , say that i his spouse am sick of love , and with your tears his pity move . chorus . oh thou of all thy sex most fair ! can none with thy belov'd compare ? doth he so much our love transcend , that we should him alone intend ? sponsa . loe in his face the blushing rose joyn'd with the virgin lilly grows : among a myriad he appears , the chief that beauty's ensign bears ; his head adorn'd with burnish'd gold , which curles of shining hair infold ; black as ravens shining wings , his eyes like doves by christal springs ; his cheeks with spice and flowers compare , his lips like roses dropping myrrh , his hands the wandring eye invites , like rings which flame with chrisolites ; his belly polish'd ivory where saphires mixt with coral lye , his legs like marble pillars plac'd on bases with pure gold inchas'd , his looks like cedars planted on the top of lofty lebanon . his tongue the ear with musick feeds , and he in ev'ry part exceeds . you daughters of ierusalem you branches of that holy stem , such is my love and praises theme . canto vi. chorus . fair virgin parallell'd by none , oh! whither 's thy beloved gone , direct our forward zeal , that we may joyn in his pursuit with thee . sponsa . i to my pleasant garden went , where spices breath a fragrant scent ; there gather'd flowers feasts in the shade , on beds of bruised spices laid ; i am my loves and he is mine , so mutually our souls combine . he whose affection speech exceeds his dear , among the lillies feeds . sponsus . not regal tirza israels delight , thy beauty love excells : not thou divine ierusalem that art of all the world the gem nor armies with their ensignes spread display such beauty mix'd with red . oh turn from me thy wounding eyes , in every glance an arrow flies . thy shining hair appears like flocks of climbing goats from giliads rock , thy teeth like sheep in their return from chison , wash'd and smoothly shorn , nor mark'd for barren , none of all but equal twins at once let fall ; thy cheeks like punic apples are , which blush beneath thy flowing hair . they boast of many , queens great store , of concubines , and virgins more , than can be told , my undefil'd is all in one the only child of her fair mother , and brought forth to shew the world an unknown worth . queens , virgins , concubines beheld , admir'd , and bless'd th' unparallell'd . chorus . who 's this who like the morning shews , when she her path with roses strews ; more fair than the replenish'd moon ; more radiant than the sun at noon ; no armies with their ensignes spread at once such beauty , fear , and dread . sponsa . i to my pleasant garden went where nutmegs breath a fragrant scent , to see the gen'rous fruits which grac'd the pregnant vale with gems inchac'd . to see the vines disclose their gems and granates blossom on their stems : when unawares and half amaz'd methought my ravish'd soul was rais'd up to a chariot swift as winds , drawn by my peoples willing minds , chorus . return fair shulamite , return to us who for thy absence mourn ! what see you in the shulamite ? two armies prevalent in fight . canto vii . sponsus . oh princess ! thou than life more dear , how beautiful thy feet appear ; when they with purple ribbands bound , in golden sandals print the ground ; thy joynts like jewels which impart to wondring eyes the workmans art. thy navell's like a mazer fill'd , with juice from rarest fruits distill'd ; thy belly 's like an heap of wheat with never fading lillies set : thy breasts two twins new wearied show , which fell at once from one fair doe ; thy neck an ivory tower displays , thine eyes do shine with equal rays . like heshbons pools by bathrabim , where silver-scaled fishes swim . thy nose presents that tower upon the top of flow'ry lebanon , which all the pleasant plain surveys , where abana her streams displays : thy head like carmel cloath'd with shade , whose tresses tyrian fillets bray'd . the king from cypress galleries this chain of strong affection tyes : how pleasant , oh ! how exquisite thy beauty 's fram'd for sweet delight : thy stature's like an upright palm , thy breasts like clusters dropping balm . i will ascend the palms high crown , whose boughs victorious hands renown ; and from the spreading branches root will gather her delicious fruit. thy breasts shall like ripe clusters swell , thy breath like new-pull'd citrons smell ; choice wines shall from thy palate spring , most acceptable to the king ; which sweetly shall descend , and make the dumb to speak , the dead to wake . sponsa . i , my belov'd , am only thine , and thou , by just exchange , art mine . come let us tread the pleasant fields , taste we what fruits the country yields ; and in the villages repose when shades of nights all forms inclose , then with the early morn repair to our new vineyard , see if there the tender vines disclose their gems ; and granates blossom on their stems : then where no frosts our springs destroy shalt thou alone my love enjoy . how sweet a smell our mandrakes yield , our gates with various fruits are fill'd . fruits that are old , fruits from the tree new gather'd , all preserved for thee . canto viii . sponsa . oh ! had we from one mother sprung , both at her breasts together hung , then should we , meeting in the street , with unreproved kisses greet , and to my mothers house conduct , where thou thy sister should instruct . then would i spiced wines produce , and my pomegranates purple use . thy left arm for my pillow plac'd , and gently with thy right embrac'd . you virgins born in sion's towers , i charge you by the chief of powers , that you a constant silence keep , nor till he call disturb his sleep . chorus . who 's this whose feet the hills ascend from desarts leaning on her friend . sponsa . i , my belov'd , first raised thee from under the pome-citron tree . thy careful mother in that shade with anguish her fair burden laid . be i , oh thou my better part , a seal imprest upon thy heart : may i thy fingers signet prove , for death is not more strong than love ; the grave not so insatiate as jealousies inflam'd debate . should falling clouds with floods conspire , their waters could not quench love's fire ; nor all in natures treasury the freedom of affection buy . we have a sister immature that hath no breasts , as yet obscure . what ornaments shall we bestow when mortals her endowments know . sponsus . on her , if strongly built to bear , we will a silver palace rear , or if a door to deck her fume , we 'll leaves of carved cedar frame . sponsa . i am a firm foundation for my belov'd to build upon . my breasts are towers , i his delight , his object and sole favourite . sponsus . late in baal-hamon solomon let forth his vineyards ev'ry one for fruits and wines , there yearly made a thousand silver sheckles paid . sponsa . this vineyard , this which i possess ; with diligence i daily dress ; thou solomon shalt have thy due , two hundred more remain for you out of the surplus of our gains who in our vineyard took such pains . sponsus . oh! thou that in the garden liv'st , and life-infusing counsel giv'st to those that in thy songs rejoyce , to me address thy cheerful voice . sponsa . come , my belov'd ! oh , come away ! love is impatient of delay , rume like a youthful hart or roe on hills where precious spices grow : the last parting of hector with andromache and his son astyanax , when he went to assault the grecians in their camp ; in the end of which expedition , he was slain by achilles . hector , tho warn'd by an approaching cry that to troy walls the conqu'ring greeks drew nigh , one visit to his princess makes in haste , some daemon told him this would be his last : but her he ( pressing thro' the crowded streets ) neither at home , or in the circle meets , nor at the altars , where the royal train made prayers and vows to angry powers in vain she , half distracted with the loud alarms ( aslyanax came in his nurses arms ) runs to a turret whose commanding height presented all the battel to her sight , advancing grecians , and the trojans flight . here hector finds her with a lovers pace , she flies , and breathless , sinks in his embrace : the nurse came after , with her princely care , as hesperus fresh : promising , and fair , hector in little , with paternal joy he blest in silent smiles the lovely boy . andromache come to her self again , pressing his hand , did gently thus complain : my dearest lord , believe a careful wife , you are too lavish of your precious life : you formost into every danger run , of me regardless , and your little son. shortly the greeks , what none can singly do , will compass , pointing all the war at you . but before that day comes ( heavens ) may i have the mournful priviledge of an early grave : for i , of your dear company bereft , have no reserve , no second comfort left . my father , who did in cilicia reign , by fierce achilles was in battel slain : but yet his arms that conqu'rour not spoil , but paid just honour to his funeral pile : wood-nymphs in rows of elms have planted since a poor memorial of a powerful prince : seven brothers who seven legions did command , follow'd their father's fortune by his hand . my mother too , who after them did reign , with a vast treasure was redeem'd in vain ; for she soon clos'd her empire , and her breath , by wretches last good fortune — sudden death . thus father , mother , brothers , all are gone , but they seem all reviv'd in you alone . to gain you , those endearments i have sold , and like the purchase if the title hold . have pity then , here in this tower abide , and round the walls and works your troops divide . just now the greeks , by both their generals led , ajax , idomeneus , diomede , with all their most experienc'd troops & brave , three fierce assaults upon the out-works gave ; some god their courage to this pitch did raise , or this is one of troys unhappy days . hector reply'd , all this you 've said , and more i have revolv'd in serious thoughts before . but not my foes upon that plain i fear so much as female men and women here ; for they , if i should once decline the fight , will call wise conduct cowardise and flight ; others may methods chuse the most secure , my life no middle courses can endure . urg'd by my own and my great father's name , i must add something to our ancient fame ; and in troys cause engag'd , i cannot fly , with it will conquer , or must for it dye : but yet some boding genius does portend to all my pains an unsuccessful end , tend ? for how can man with heavenly powers con - the day advances with the swiftest pace , which troy and all her glories shall deface , which asia's sacred empire shall confound , and these proud towers lay level with the ground : but all compar'd with you does scarce appear when i presage your case i learn to fear , when you by some proud conqu'rour shall be led a mournful captive to a master's bed. perhaps some haughty dame your hands shall doom to weave troy's downfal in a grecian loom . or lower yet , you may be forc'd to bring water to argos from hiperius spring ; and as you measure out the tedious way , some one shall , pointing to his neighbour , say , see to what fortune hector's wife is brought , the famous general that for ilium fought : this will renew your sorrows without end , depriv'd in such a day of such a friend . but this is fancy , or before it i low in the dust will with my country lye . then to his infant he his arms addrest , the child clung crying to his nurses breast , scar'd at the burnish'd arms and threatning crest . this made them smile , whilst hector doth unbrace his shining helmet , and disclose his face ; then dancing the pleas'd infant in the air , kiss'd him , and to the gods conceiv'd this pray'r : iove , and you heavenly powers , whoever hear hector's request with a propitious ear , grant , this my child in honour and renown may equal me , wear and deserve the crown : and when from some great action he shall come laden with hostile spoils in triumph home , may trojans say , hector great things hath done , but he 's obscur'd by his illustrious son. this will rejoyce his tender mothers heart , and sense of joy to my pale ghost impart . then in the mothers arms he puts the child , with troubl'd joy in flowing tears she smil'd . beauty and grief shew'd all their pomp & pride whilst the soft passions did her face divide . this melted hecto●…'s stubborn courage down , but soon recovering , with a lover's frown , madam , says he , these fancies put away , i cannot dye before my fatal day . heaven , when we first in our vital breath , decrees the way , and moment of our death . women should fill their heads with womens cares , and leave to men ( unquestion'd ) mens affairs . a truncheon sutes not with a ladies hand , war is my province that in chief command . with humble majesty the queen withdrew , does with long wishing eyes his steps pursue : all sad she to her cabinet returns ▪ and with prophetick tears approaching evils mourns . then tells all to her maids , officious they his funeral rights to living hector pay ; whilst forth he rushes through the gate , does his own part , and leaves the rest to fate . to the late king , at king's colledge . i. vvhen greatness from its throne and state to inferiour mortal condescends , its zeal does heighten , not abate , of subjects it makes humble friends . what can't rise higher , whilst it like heaven complies ! by condescending thus does seem to rise . ii. soin first monarchs heavenly strain did father through the king appear , they did by double title reign , and duty did the work of fear . the loyal-subject-brethren only strove who should run swiftest in the race of love. iii. would giddy faction then redress with equal guilt and impudence , sad grievance ! their own happiness traytors to gratitude and sense . giants indeed rebellious standards bore , but pigmeys ne're did heaven invade before . iv. thanks to their rage , it makes us know how well our prince is lov'd and loves ; thus shades bright colours better show , and fear fruition oft improves . fresh joys we feel , still fresh devotions pay , your life is one long coronation-day . cupid arm'd , a-la-modern . i. tir'd that the insolence of love made me a butt for every dart , and my tame patience more to prove , would make his quiver of my heart : at last by war my fortune i would try , and in the bed of honour nobly dye . ii. by a new regular design my heart all wound i fortify'd , a●…●…fe retrench'd within my line , h●…●…d artillery defy'd . 〈◊〉 angry god would his lost slave regain , 〈◊〉 summon'd shaft , and sterm'd my heart in vain . iii. till taught by a fair cruel dame his useless bow away he throws , takes the new engines sraught with flame , which mars discharges on his foes , against my heart does a strong batt'ry raise , and furiously from celia's he plays . iv. so soon so large a breach they make , so far they certain ruine send , that celia heaven it self might take , nor could iove his own breast defend . how then , alas ! can a weak heart , like mine , storm'd by such charms , but without terms resign . an ode , in imitation of pindar , on the death of the right honourable thomas earl of ossory . i. what strains at sacred pisa's spring , the swan that often sung with tuneful breath to his inchanting lyre , did sing of god , of hero , or of heaven-born king , with verses cheaply purchas'd , tho by death : or rather ( since to a pious hero we , iust , tho late oblations bring ) what tears the muses prophet royal shed on saul's anointed head , and thought a crown poor recompence for a friend : when by a power miraculous he ( the power of faith and poetry ) upon the clouds an interdict did lay , and bid m●… gilboa to rear his ●…aked back●…●…ch'd to the angry sky : such such numbers priestesses of fame inspire , such ossory does deserve , & ormond such desire ; such flanders bloody plains , and mons , and british seas require . and ye poetick candidates of fame , if you would build a lasting name , this subject choose ; as the dark womb of the old prophets vital tomb could life restore , so ossory's . life can give , and by his genius many an age even this dead verse shall live . ii. then tell , ye heavenly sisters , ye can tell , ( for we below in the dark vale of hearsay dwell , and nothing know ) tell when great ossory's enlarged shade through heavens arch his triumphant entry made , how noble brutus ancient race ( to shew peculiar worth peculiar grace ) rose up and offer'd the first place . tell how the sainted hero ( whom the pious tales of fabulous rome greater to make have almost nothing made ) embrac'd his successor ; and swear none worthier did his mystick ensigns wear . tell how the nymphs that with soft silver oars ply round th' ebude's , & cold mona's shores , or the seas oracle , the mouth of thames , the noble shanons , or short liffy's streams , their guardian did lament , and tear their sea-green hair , this second grief to great pans death th' afflicted nymphs did hear . bid sad iuverne raise a monument as teneriff high , wide as her isles extent . bid her be sure her title prove , left her pretence as fabulous seem as lying crete's to iove . iii. nature with her commission brisk and gay , when the blest earth saluted new-born day , and the worlds eye , the youthful sun , unspotted with ill sights the race did run , profuse , in birds and flowers her art did show , she painted then the gawdy bow : but most in man , ( whom we her abstract call ) she of the precious stuff was prodigal : her kings but few removes from iove , her princes heroes all . but now ( so sparingly that seed is sown , the soyl spent , or she covetous grown , or vice hath spoil'd the strain , or fate hath given the world for desperate ) sh' hath shrunk the short dimensions of a man , and to an inch reduc'd our span , a number , an inglorious rout , faint shadows of our ancestors , alas ! we stalk about ! if by some mighty effort she produce at last one ossory . ( like stars which in our hemisphear gaz'd at , half known , strait disappear ) so late he enters , so soon quits the stage , he leaves a nation desolate , and quite undoes the age. iv. early young ossory enter'd vertues race , swiftly began , yet still encreas'd his pace ; and when no other rival he could find , strove with himself , and left himself behind . with confirmed steps t' his prince he went into a noble banishment , the country then of all was excellent . but sure the stars and fortune have small influence on the vertuous and the brave ; ev'n poison turns to wholsome meat , by vertues strong digestive heat . the more with hercules stepdame iuno strove , the more she prov'd the mighty seed of iove . the policy of * ●…iber and the ‖ arne , the courtship of the seine & marne . what solid serious the sage * hebre hath , and germany of ancient faith , with british gallantry 〈◊〉 did in the chymic furnace of his mind a high elixir make , than each more precious and refin'd . v. as when that annual chaos , winter , flies , whilst the soft pleiades do mount the skies , and philomel to western gales does sing the advent of the heaven-born spring , such joy blest charles did to his subjects bring . then many a hero whom no storms could shake , who from his sufferings did new courage take , dissolv'd in the soft lap of pleasure lay , as ice , the winters child , in summers day is by the amorous sunbeams kiss'd away . but not so ossory , christalliz'd his mind fortune adverse did brave , disdain'd her kind . not amoret to the alcove , or park the conscious mart of love , not so t' a princes levee with first light , hasts an aspiring favourite , as you where honourable danger lay , and to the temple of high fame did mark the craggy way . vi. go , thy winged chariot , quickly muse , prepare , lo , a vast fleet consumes the eastern air ; base hollanders great britains rights invade ; see what returns for liberty they made ! viperous brood ! but vipers we do find bely'd ; ingratitude is proper to mankind . embarque i' th' ship where ossory goes , to check the parricidal foes : not as the grave venetian takes his way , with many a barge , and many a gondola ; whilst painted bucentore in state does move , and to the adriatick maid makes love. as iove he comes to th' theban dame , dreadfully gay with light'nings pointed flame : unhappy they who to his embraces came , one would have thought t' have heard his canon roar , aetna were torn from the trinacrian shore ; and freed typhaeus a new war did move against the upper and the nether iove . the nereids trembled in their watry bed , in the isles roots they hid their head , and ( like the hollanders ) agast from their own guardian fled . vii . but narrow is one element , compared to a well form'd souls extent ; narrow the starry firmament . fate brings ( to keep the balance of the age ) with monsters equal heroes on the stage : the western sultan powerful grows , a torrent , all things overflows ; but mons in bloody characters his fatal limits shows . you check'd the monarch in his full career , fierce luxemburg wondred , and learn'd to fear ; alas ! he knew not ossory was there . sad the ripe harvest of his fame he yields , the harvest of so many bloody fields . to merit such a conquerour long he grew and gather'd laurels to be worn by you ; cursing just heaven , dropping with bloody sweat the sad remains withdraws of his defeat , and more than all his victories he values this retreat . viii . great excellence oft proves dangerous to the state , a comet vertue when hung out by fate to it self and others ruine does create . but silent he , yet active as the day , born to command , and willing to obey . nature to him the happy temper gave , all-kind he was as prosp'rous love , gentle as venus gentlest dove , in fight beyond a fancied hero brave . thou virgin mother-church , which now dost ride the swelling surges of a double tide , safe only because dash'd on either side , o what a friend now in thy day hath fate in ossory snatch'd away ! and ye who holy friendship do adore , his equal you will never see , before you ossory shall in heaven rejoyn , ne're to be parted more . ix . accursed fever , deaths * sharp-poisoned dart , accursed fruit , accursed earth , which to the fatal tree gave birth ; what mine of strange confusion have you laid in the most regular breast that ' ere was made ! those eyes , from which swift lightning once did part , to melt the temper'd steel , or harder heart , like wasting mecors now portend with blood-shot beams his own approaching end . the seat where honours records lay , where was design'd the fall of africa , ( scarce heavens decrees more firmly set than they like parchments in the fire now shrunk away those * purple waves , which like the nile from his undiscover'd head health and fresh honours on its soil did shed , and bid all egypt smile ; now with v●…suvian waves scorch all their way , and to the * king o' th' little world a mortal tribute pay . x. injustly we accuse the sovereign law , which all things to their proper place does draw . full ripe for heaven he spurn'd the earth , the monumental seat of miscall'd birth . no art , no violence , can controul ( though on it ossa you , and pelion roul ) th' ascending motion of a heaven-born soul. his fever like elias fiery carre , ( whilst the sad prophets mourn him from afar ) kindled his funeral pile into a star. others may praise the feats of mortal breath , but i the opportunity of death . he saw not popular fury threat the stage , nor epidemick madness seize the age. he liv'd not till his wreaths did grow wither'd and pale upon his brow , as pompey and great scipio . few , heavens choice favourites , the priviledge have , to bring their fame untainted to their grave . who the wild passions knows of humane kind , fortune and false mortality this truth will find , when wanted most and best belov'd , 't is happiest then to dye . the piscatory eclogues of sanazarius . the first eclogue entituled phillis . by mr. tate . inscrib'd to dr. conquest . o cou'd my lab'ring muse a verse impart bright as thy wit and gen'rous as thy heart , such numbers conquest ( if such streins can be ) may with success describe thy art and thee . artist and friend , in thee compleat appear , of soul and converse both so frank and clear , that we scarce prize the health you give , so dear . unbend thy care a while , and with delight hear what thy own apollo did indite to sanazarius on sebethe's shore , nor seems t' have blest the mantuan shepherd more . indulge the youth , who from the hills first brought the muses down , and arts of fishing taught ; who made the briney spreading coast his own , and without rival wears his samphire crown . lycidas and mycon . lyc. as late without the help of sail or oar i tided in my fish-boat to the shore , where shoals of mullet with each flood repair , with doleful cries the ravens fill'd the air , the seamews percht upon the rocks complain'd , the dolphins from their wonted sport refrain'd , the day drew on that for such rites did crave , in which we left dear phillis in the grave . the day that to cold earth did phillis give , and ( wretches ! ) yet we yet endure to live . the drudgery of life we yet sustain , pylemon's self hopes yet to taste of joy again . my. the same befell me coasting here along , the choughs joyn'd notes as in a funeral song ; even they her obsequies would celebrate , they sung her praises and bewail'd her fate . lyc. ah , dearest mycon ! when that precious breath expir'd , how lovely was the pomp of death ! i saw , and in my fancy see her now , stretch'd on the bier , with garlands on her brow , what hands ! what faded cheeks did i survey ! eyes clos'd in night that were the life of day : yet grief not dash'd these wretched limbs the while , against the rocks , nor hurl'd me on her pile to burn with her dear reliques , happy pain ! nor pitying tritons plunge me in the main . myc. yet lycidas , this lot we must prefer to that ignoble fate that threatned her . the grave to zycot's smoaky cell has charms , and deathless rugged than amyntas arms. think , lycidas ! how wou'd your passion brook , on some bleak rock to see her cast the hook : or in some tempest-beaten cavern set , fitting new corks . and darning the torn net. no , rather let your muse adorn her hearse : and now the season claims your sacred verse , repeat some charming strain , ( much heretofore your love inspir'd ) and since , your sorrow more . here let us sit , th●…se sands are soft and dry , and lo●… the winds and waves attentive lye . lyc. what numbers i conceiv'd upon the view of this fair tomb ( as last to shore i drew ) i shall repeat , while you with pious care bestow these myrtles , mix'd with cypress there . my. take dear remains , these treasures of the deep , remov'd from thetis bed with thee to sleep , amber and coral , pearls and shells that vye in colours with the pageant of the sky . now for your song : the mornings work is o're ▪ and mylcon's come to dry his nets on shore . lyc. ye goddesses that in these ●…loods reside , what secret cell will you for me provide , where i may grieve , yet none behold my grief , what wilt thou , glaucus , do for my relief , what herbs wilt thou prescribe whose potent juice an equal wonder may in me produce ? amongst your s●…nny people i would rove , and change my shape to loose my hopeless love. what have i here to do by phillis left , of past delights , and future hopes 〈◊〉 ? what charms can earth produce , what reason give , that this forlorn abandon'd wretch should live ? or can it e're account for half my pain , to stretch on sedge , and view the rowling main , or breath my griefs to this cold tomb in vain ? are these , o venus ! these my waited joys , my bride , and promis'd race of cheerful boys ? what cruel pow'r with phillis did convey , my rest , my life , and hope , life's life , away ▪ now for expected bliss , without relief eternal night succeeds , eternal grief . these arms prepar'd her blooming youth to fold , till both by unperceiv'd degrees grew old . for these delights , behold a marble frame , for phillis now is nothing but a name ! ne're seen but when with overweening brain i catch at her in dreams , and wake to pain . what region dost thou bless , what land or sea , where shall i take my course in search of thee ? for thy dear sake the populous town did please , now thou art gone mankind is my disease . the solitary rocks and desart shore are now my joy ; and when the billows roar when in their sheds my brother-fishers sleep , that time i chuse to launch into the deep . farewel all lands , the tempting syrges swell , ev'n thou that hold'st my phillis urn , farewel : but first to raging waves with pious care i sacrifice my phillis tomb to spare . with presents then the monument i grace while dancing sea-nymphs consecrate the place , gently , ye floods , the sacred shrine embrace . but thou , whatever seat thou dost possess , whether the starry regions thou dost bless , or angle where elisian currents glide , or rob th' enamell'd borders of their pride , for wreaths that thy more lovely locks divide , o! speed our toils , and condescend to be the fisherman's propitious deity . calm tides and ever plenteous shoals allow , nor venus shall be more ador'd than thou . seven days with grateful wine the seas we 'll dye , our boats and nets in sacred ease laid by . mean time , this verse i 'll to thy tomb impart which from next rocks some brother of the art ( while there he shrouds his tackle from the rain , shall sighing read , yet read and sigh again . my. o lycidas ! how charming is thy strain ! so halcyons mourn , and dying swans complain ; so may thy flood-nets speed to thy desire , and sands yield shell-fish when the floods retire : but see the sun shines yet with vig'rous ray , as if your song had stopt him on his way : i therefore beg you would repeat the strain , such notes fresh charms by repetition gain : lyc. no mycon , let my grief have respite here ; force not the wretched to repeat their care. what now i sung was my own tragedy , and breathless lungs no further voice supply ; my cheeks with tears are wet , my tongue with sighs is dry , yet mycon , these , at some less solemn time , i 'll sing again , and numbers more sublime , if phillis for a muse inspire my rhyme . till then her monument these lines shall wear , which as he coasts along , the mariner shall read and say , 't was lycidas did frame these distichs , worthy of his nymph and flame for as his phillis did all nymphs excell , none ever lov'd like him , nor ever sung so well . but hark , the mates for your assistance call , their loaded net endangers boat and all . haste mycon , haste to their relief , while i by this dear tomb as cold and silent lye . 't is flood , yet all your hooks are still to bait , your weels all floating still for want of weight . the second eclogue . by the same . lycon on the remotest angle of a rock , whose jetting sides the foaming syrges mock , a precipice with samphire ever green , whose root at lowest ebb is never seen , where boat ne're pitch'd , and net was never thrown , the poor despairing lycon sat alone : and while his mates with treacherous lights betray the wand'ring shoal , and drag to shore their prey , he meditates all-night upon his grief , while neither shades nor verse afford relief . how long , o galatea ! shall i lye in pangs of death , without the pow'r to dye ? presents , with thee no favour will obtain , and pray'rs that move the angry gods , are vain . must i , unpitty'd , on bleak rocks reside , out-sigh the winds , out-swell with tears the tide ? behold how all-things now in silence sleep , the whale , with all his subjects of the deep ; the winds , the very watch-lights of the sky , and nothing wakes , but my despair and i. despair ! and , alas ! must ever wake , for galatea will no pity take : yet once my form praxinoc did move , and polybeta's daughter sought my love : ev'n fair aminta's wife did sigh in vain , the fairest bride that ever grac'd a plain . why name i these ? the very nymphs o' th' sea disdain not from the deep to call on me : fair hyale her self to shore repairs to bear a part in my melodious airs ; whose charms in shiv'ring tritons breed desire , and midst the waves sets neptune's breast on fire . but what avails all this to ease my pain , if galatea still unmov'd remain ? if she alone of all the beauteous throng , refuse my love , and only scorns my song . a thousand oysters of the pearly sort , the very same that garnish thetis court , i sent my nymph , cull'd out from all my store , and for to morrow have a thousand more . lobsters and scollops in salt nooks i hide , where they are wash'd by each returning tide : these by no mastick tree are drop'd upon , nor feel the influence of the waining moon . nay , i can dive for tyrian fish , — and so you 'll say my brother fishermen can do : but i have learn'd the subtle mystery , the shells to supple , and extract the dye . a tod of finest wool i have at home , more soft and white than any billows foam : which once a shepherd tending of his flock , and ravish'd with my musick from the rock , with noble commendation did impart ; on this i mean to exercise my art. yet nothing is by galatea priz'd , my gifts , my love , my muse , are all despis'd . fond passion go , some other youth inspire , for lycon's fate prevails above your fire . perhaps my love presumptuous did appear because the boat is little which i steer , 'cause to the drag and spear i put my hand , bring weight to th' weels , and help the net to land. what else at first was father glaucus trade ? who now a watry deity is made . what shall i do ? my thoughts have long enclin'd to cross the ocean , and out-sail the wind : to ransack seas unknown to sailers yet , and where no fisher ever drop'd a net. beneath the bear , where seas to rock combine , or where the ocean burns beneath the line ; where spring it self is russet , beauty black , and skins of beasts made parchment on their back : the sun ( would you believe ? ) just o're your head , is more in compass than a net can spread . i rave , i rave , and slatter my despair , no region can relieve a lovers care : mix'd with the blood th' incurable desire , ●…ursties th' infected wretch , through floods and fire . from drenching rain to season'd sheds we run , to dewy grotto's from the scorching sun , safe under creeks we lye when tempests rave , from love there is no shelter but the grave . then lycon take advantage of this steep , to plunge thy self and griess into the deep . ●…is now resolv'd : you nymphs that know my grief , ye sea-born nymphs afford your last relief ; o savour what you can my desperate fall , your gentlest waves to my assistance call , on your soft bosoms let me yield this breath , my life was painful , give me gentle death . in times to come , my dying thought forebode : whatever ship shall chance to pass this road , the master , when this point he shall discern , shall hoarsly cry , luff , lu●… , mate turn the stern . steer any course , make any port beside , but shun the coast where wretched lycon dy'd . thus did the fisherman all night complain , and scarce had told the floods & rocks his pain , when rosie morning , like a rising bride beheld her blushes in the glass-green tide . the third eclogue . by the same . celadon and mopsus . for seven continu'd days the winds were high , so aegon tells , nor is he us'd to lye , while you with chromis and iolas lay confin'd to th' rocks : then gentle mopsus , say , how there you past the vacant hours . i know you were not unemploy'd so long ; then tell me , mopsus , what was play'd and sung . mopsus . o celadon ! the muses watch'd their time , and forc'd us , in our own defence , to rhyme . in vain we saw the cray-fish creep below , and samphire o're our heads securely grow ; for who could then the boist'rous tide sustain , or on the rocks in such rough winds remain . our very boats lay hous'd as well as we , and on our sculls and ripp-hooks you might see our drag-nets hang , weels , lines , confus'dly laid corks , plummets , grapples , all the fishers trade . chromis at last that jetting point survey'd , where broken tides a foaming eddy made : from thence ( o cruel banishment ! ) said he , our noblest youth , and flow'r of italy , sail'd with their royal chief through seas unknown . and landed on the borders of the rhone . amylcon , i remember , term'd it so , and saw the boundless ocean ebb and flow . from whence the british mountains you might spy , though scarce to be distinguish'd from the sky . upon this wondrous beach ( if fame speaks true ) the fishers use no netting , as we do ; but at low water , ready to their hand , find fish left flouncing on the naked sand : enough , enough , iolas then replies , call not the tears a-fresh into our eyes . poor lycidas all this sad tale , and more , at large repeated on the lucrine shore . the sun , whom we upon the longest day suppose to set behind cajeta's bay , he there saw trav'ling on beyond the main , and swears he thought he ne're could be o'retane . then barb'rous names of yet more barb'rous men , he sung , too hard for me to speak again . nor are my present thoughts enclin'd to roam , possest with other cares , and nearer home . if therefore , chromis , you have ought that 's new , since nisa tortures me , and chloris you , let 's sing , and while we mutually complain mopsus , your pipe shall heighten either strain . upon my neck the reedy pipe was hung , then chromis thus , and thus iolas sung . chromis . bring me the richest presents of the seas , ye gentle nymphs , my chloris to appease : if still she 's coy , search , search through all the main , for earth has none , a medicine for my pain . iolas . you cannot , sure , my last request deny , let nisa now relent , or see me dye . these rocks i for a monument shall have , and in the ooze of their deep roots a grave . chromis . as you have seen a summer pinnace glide in all her trim , and smoothly cut the tide , whose jocund youth above the decks appear , so past my life while chloris held me dear . iolas . hark , hark , what dreadful thunder rends the skies ! see how the foaming billows fall and rise : the earth is shook , the rocky coast divides , you 'd swear 't were now a storm . 't is nisa chides . chromis . o proteus , proteus ! shepherd of the tide , now prove thy self a god , and scourge this pride , thy monsters lead to chloris pearly bed , and say , all these with scornful nymphs are fed . iolas . beneath you sea-mark is my nymphs retreat , dive glaucus , bring her from her coral-seat ; and least she should refuse , good glaucus say , your nets have brought to shore a noble prey . chromis . cypress is venus joy , iove's island crete , fair samos iuno 's , lemnos vulcan 's seat . here hyale resides , let her appear , crete , cyprus , samos , lemnos , all are here . iolas . hymetton with minerva's choice is crown'd , phaebe no place like fair ortygia found : of nisa's cell did they the pleasures see , phaebe and pallas wou'd her rivals be . chromis . these very rocks yield harvest , osiers grow for weels above , for panniers , reeds below . o were but hyale or chloris by , how cou'd i there these wrangling winds defie ! iolas . nor sea nor shore without my nymph i prize , i hate my nets , and all my art despise : yet let my nisa smile , i bless my fate , and would not quit my boat to rule a state. chromis . let sinuessa larger turbat boast , and shoals of mullet the herculean coast , parthenope of beauteous nymphs has store , fix there my boat , i 'll seek no other shore . iolas . the sarge seeks streams , to rocks the gramples creep . rhans lye in shallows , sturgeons in the deep . all day and night i sigh by nisa's court ; fix here my boat , i 'll seek no other port. mopsus . these notes beneath the rock they did perform , with musick sweet enough to cease a storm ; and as they reach'd each other in their lays , i gave them equal gifts , and equal praise . to one the shell where tyre's rich tincture lies ; a branch of coral was the other's prize . proteus . ●…logiue the fourth . inscribed to ●…erdinand of arragon , duke of calabria , son of frederick king of naples . by w. bowls , fellow of kings-coll . cambridge . now first with bolder sails i tempt the main , parthenope deserves a loftier strain ; to fair parthenope , o nymphs , we must , and our dear country's honour , now be just . o then ye nymphs , who in these floods delight , indulge one labour , and direct my slight . but thou , great hope of thy illustrious line . thy country's pride sprung from a race divine ' whether o're pyrenaean frosts thou go , and mountains cover'd with eternal snow , and the wild tempests of the warring sky prefer to the best plains of italy ; or envious iber does our hopes oppose , return , and happy make thy peoples vows : tho arragon thy arragon with-hold , and tagus rowling o're a bed of gold with all his liquid wealth would buy thy stay , return , and our wish'd happiness no more delay ! for , if the god that fills my breast foreknow , parthenope shall to thy scepter bow , parthenope , usurp'd by foreign sway , shall with new joy her rightful prince obey . oh! may swift time the happy period bring , and i loud paeans to thy triumph sing ! mean while a lower muse indulgent view , which i the first with bold design , and new , leaving th' arcadian fields , and vocal plain , in triumph bring down to thy subject main ; and on the neighb'ring rocks and sounding shore , a newer scene present , and untry'd seas explore . what port , what sea , so distant can be found which proteus has not blest with heavenly sound ? him prasid●…mus , and melanthius knew , for all the god appear'd to mortal view ; on great minerva's rock the god appear'd , and charm'd with verse divine his monstrous herd . while phoebus sunk with the declining day , and all around delighted dolphins play . for lo ! he sung — — how earth's bold sons , by wild ambition fir'd , defy'd the gods , and to celestial thrones aspir'd . typhaeus first with lifted mountains arm'd , led on the furious van , & heaven it self alarm'd . how prochyte among the stars he threw , and from their bases torn huge islands flew , and shook th' aetherial orbs : the pow'rs above then first knew fear ; not so almighty iove : he with red light'ning arm'd , and winged fire , replung'd the rebels in their native mire . all nature with the dreadful rout resounds , they fled , and bath'd in baian springs their burning wounds . on the scorch'd earth the foot-steps still remain , and the sulphurous springs a fiery taste retain . he sung alcides , and his noble toil , his glorious triumph , and his wondrous a pile , which does the fury of the waves sustain , confine the lucrine , and repell the main . next the cumaean cave , and grove relates , where anxious mortals throng'd to learn their fates : the raving b virgin , and her fatal page , her more than mortal sounds , and sacred rage , and that sad vale , unvisited by day , where bury'd in eternal night c cimmerians lay . but thee , d pausilypus , he gently blames , and sweetly mourns thy inauspicious flames , concern'd for lovely nesis , ah too late ! oh stay rash man ! why do'st thou urge her fate ? she , wretched maid , thy loath'd embrace to shun , does to steep rocks and waves less cruel run ; not the dire prospect can retard her flight , or gaping monsters from beneath affright . oh stay ! and reach no more with greedy hands , see! to a rock transform'd thy nesis stands . she who so swift with the first dawn of day , ●…ng'd o're the woods , & chas'd the flying prey , see! her wing'd 〈◊〉 th●… wonted speed refuse , and her sti●… joynts their nimble motion loose . o 〈◊〉 , and all the nymphs below , to so much beauty just compassion show ! if pity can a●…ect your happy state , o visit nesis , and lament her fate ! he sung how once the beauteous * syren sway'd , and mighty kingdoms the fair nymph obey'd ; describes the lofty tomb , which all adore : then tells how loosing from their native shore , by all the gods conducted , and their fate , ‖ eub●…ans sounded that auspicious state. then sung th●… rising walls and tow'rs , whose height is lost in clouds , and tir●…s the fainting sight . what mighty piles from the capacious bay , and hidden pipes th' obedient springs convey : and that proud pharos , whose auspicious light informs glad sailers , and directs their sight . and how beneath the gentle sarno ●…lows , in verse as smooth as that , and high as those . he ●…old , and swee●…ly rais'd his voice divine , how a me●…saeus , lov'd by all the nine , immortal virgil saw ; the god-like shade bequeath'd that pipe , which so divinely play'd . 〈◊〉 flying from her lovers arms , and 〈◊〉 fate , and young alexis charms . ●…ed by the muse b , he mounts the starry skies , and all the shining orbs above deseries . why should i speak of syrens , or relate their 〈◊〉 songs , and the pleas'd sailer's fate ? or , how in mournful strains he did r●…count , the dir●… eruptions of the burning c mount , when with swift ruine , and a dreadful sound , vast floods of liquid fire o'rewhelm'd the country round . ●…ast battels and their various chance , he sings the great events of war , and fate of kings ; and thee , a whom italy bewails , the best , by fortunes rage , and angry gods opprest , strip'd of thy kingdoms , and compell'd to fly , and on uncertain hopes and gallick faith relye . oh treachery of humane power ! forlorn , and last by death condemn'd to a precariousurn . how vain is man ! and in what depth of night the dark decrees of fate are hid from mortal sight ! could'st thou , who potent kingdoms did'st command , not find a tomb but in a foreign land ! yet mourn not , happy shade , thy cruel fate ; the loss is light of that superfluous state. nature provides for all a common grave , the last retreat of the distress'd and brave . thus he from the first ages and heroick times deduc'd in order his mysterious rhymes . charm'd by his song , the billows ceas'd to roar , and loud applause rung through the silent shore : till the pale moon advanc'd her beauteous head , and all the gods sunk to their watry bed. ode for an anniversary of musick on st. cecilia's day . by mr. oldham . i. begin the song , your instruments advance , tune the voice and tune the flute , touch the silent sleeping lute , and make the strings to their own measures dance ; bring gentlest thoughts that into language glide , bring softest words that into numbers slide , let ev'ry hand and ev'ry tongue to make the noble consort throng , let all in one harmonious note agree to frame the mighty song ; for this is musick 's sacred iubilee . ii. hark how the waken'd strings resound , and break the yielding air ! the ravish'd sense how pleasingly they wound , and call the list'ning soul into the ear. each pulse beats time , and ev'ry heart with tongue and fingers bears a part . by harmony 's entrancing pow'r when we are thus wound up to extasie , methinks we mount , methinks we tow'r , and seem to antidate our future bliss on high . iii. how dull were life , how hardly worth our care , but for the charms that musick lends ! how faint its pleasures would appear but for the pleasure which our art attends ! without the sweets of melody to tune our vital breath , who would not give it up to death , and in the silent grave contented lye ? iv. musick 's the cordial of a troubled breast , the softest remedy that grief can find , the gentle spell that charms our care to rest , and calms the ru●…led passions of our mind . musick does all our joys refine , it gives the relish to our wine ; 't is that gives rapture to our love , and wings devotion to a pitch divine ; 't is our chief bliss on earth , and half our heav'n above . chorus . come then with tuneful throat and string the praises of our art let 's sing ; let 's sing to blest cecilia's fame , that grac'd this art , and gave this day its name ; while musick , wine , and mirth , conspire to bear a consort , and make up the quire. the twentieth ode of the second book of horace . i. how an unusual , but strong wing does bear th' amphibuous poet thro' the liquid air. i no more time on earth will waste , but soaring above envy , haste to leave the proudest cities , that shall lye the humble objects of my mounting eye . i that am just taking wing from no common parents spring ; mecoenas , no , my blood to nobler veins i owe. that purple stream of everlasting life that ne're shall flow into the stygean lake below . ii. now , at this instant , now i find about my legs a black rough skin is twin'd , whilst all above i grow a bird as white as snow ; with new-born plumes on hands , and shoulders i do mount on high , clad with a bright galaxie . swifter than icarus i cut the yielding air , but make no settl'd journey there ; the way my various fancy likes i keep , and fly o're all the wonders of the deep . the groaning bospharus i hear with an astonish'd ear . the lybian quick-sands i espy , that make me tremble as i fly , more than the northern magazenes that hold winters eternal stores of hoarded cold . sanaz. ep. on venice . by mr. charles hastings . while neptune in the adriatick saw proud venice stand , and to the floods give law , if thou tarpeian tow'rs , great iove , said he , prefer to these , and tyber to the sea , both cities view , and you will grant this odds , that rome was built by men , but venice by the gods. the rape of philomel . a paraphrase of ovid's sixth book . by mr. andrews . when tereus was with conquering lawrels crown'd , for men , and wealth , and parentage renown'd ; pandion thought that none could fitter prove to be the partner in his daughters love : but iuno frown'd , and hymen turn'd awry , the graces smil'd not on their nuptial tye , for the dire sisters with a funeral brand did light their joys , and round their curtains stand . the fatal bird of night did cross their way , and all around unhappy omens lay . thus did they meet , and thus ( alas ! ) enjoy the wish'd for blessing of a smiling boy : whilst the fond thracians , in a general cry , give thanks to heav'n for this new progeny ; and as the wedding day , the princes birth they consecrate to universal mirth . five years expir'd , the flatt'ring progne prest her inauspicious lord in this request : if thou hast any love for progne's name , for her chaste joys , or for her spotless fame , i do coniure thee , grant that i may be so happy my lov'd ●…ister once to see , i 'll fly to her , or she shall come to me . as for her stay my father may complain , but tell him she shall soon return again . grant this succeeds but well , and i implore at your just hands , ye sacred pow'rs , no more ? the king fulfils her wish , and strait commands his ships to sea , for athens bound : he lands at length upon the wish'd pyrean sands . from whence conducted , he pandion meets , who with kind welcome his arrival greets . the thracian king does progne's suit relate , and oh presage which still attends his fate ! for he no sooner could his story tell , but see the bright , the dazling philomel , rich as the sun in all his radiant fire , but richer far in beauty than attire , a beauty that might all the gods inspire . so have i heard the sylvan nymphs of old , the woods enamell'd with their shining gold ; as oft you 've seen a stubble straw or fern catch from a fire which none of us discern , so at this sight his vigorous breast became the burning center of an amorous flame . hot in his nature , all his blood boyl'd high , red were his cheeks , & sparkling was his eye , at this new world of a divinity . resolv'd t' enjoy her , 't is his first intent to bribe her woman and her confident ; and the chaste fair one too , if gifts would down , tho at the costly purchase of his crown . but if those means were vain , 't was then decreed , by rape and force the tyrant would succeed , rather than lose her all the world should bleed . oh! what are men when thus by passion driven ? what do they fear on earth , in hell , or heav'n ? impatient of delay , and rack'd with pain , he now recites his wives request again ; and tho at first in her behalf he sues , now for himself the suppliant only woos ; and by his zeal most eloquent does prove , ( for eloquence does still attend on love. ) and often as he spoke what love inspir'd , he said it was the thing his wife desir'd ; whilst hudling tears did seem to run a race o're the smooth carpet of his treacherous face . oh ye eternals ! what a gloomy cloud does humane sense and apprehension shroud ? for still the more his passion he does raise , the more they ' dmire his vertue and his praise . nay philomela does in that agree , and thinks his greatest vice his piety . for now she hangs upon her father's breast , and her destruction as her safety prest ; with virgin-sighs and kisses she does sue , ( and what , ye gods ! can't virgin-kisses do ! ) which rais'd the lustful monster 's passion higher , and what before was ashes , now is fire . for every melting kiss , and soft embrance , he wish'd himself her ●…ather in his place , there to repay 'em with a better grace . whilst the old man ( by their perswasions mov'd ) could not deny where he so dearly lov'd , but gives consent , and she , poor harmless she , wrap'd on the wings of dauntless extasie , ten thousand thanks to her kind father gives , and thanks the gods that happily she lives to see that day , a day for ever fam'd , a day with joy for ever to be nam'd . mistaken mortals ! for how soon they know it was the day of everlasting woe . now phoebus , after his fatigue and heat tow'rds cool recesses hastens his retreat , and night comes on , when every plenteous board the richest noblest banquets do afford ; and wine around in golden goblets flows , till their steep'd senses call for sweet repose . and now the drowsie god fills every breast , in flow'ry lands their roving fancy's blest with joys unknown , and pleasant dreams possest . tho ▪ all do sleep , yet the odrysian king feels from the fair one such a pungent sting , that though she 's gone , h' ' as still her face in view , and parts ( oh chaster pow'rs ! ) unseen , he drew , for what can't lewd imagination do ? soon as the day arose in many tears , pandion vents his passion and his fears : wringing the hand of his departing son , with sad and boding heart he thus begun ; since , dearest son , a sister's love requires to crown your wishes , and your wives desires , i trust thee here with something more than life , my all in one , my daughter , sister , wife , for how t' excel in love is all her strife . oh then by th' strictest faith and truth of kings , which still in royal breasts are sacred things ; nay , by the heavenly pow'rs , whose chiefest care is to protect the innocent and fair , i do conjure thee , as a father prove in all th' endearments of paternal love. but as thou tender'st my declining years , my ages frailties , and my ages fears , oh quickly send ( for i her absence dread ) the only comfort of my aged head ; the sport and pleasure of my sadder hours , kind as the spring , yet chaste as infant flowers : send her with speed , for every mournful day will seem as tedious as an ages stay ; where we expect , how heavy is delay ? and thou my child ( for pity does require ) leave not too long thy poor , thy helpless sire , for what can he when philomel is gone ? like some forsaken turtle all alone , where shall he sigh , or where his sorrows groan ? thus as he spoke , and kisses mix'd withal , at every word a chrystal stream did fall ; then taking both their hands , thereby to prove a certain sign of everlasting love : and kissing both , i wish my daughter joy , to progne this , and this her little boy . i here ( said he ) with kindest love commend , with heartiest wishes , best of blessings send ; may they be blest from the eternal store , for i perhaps may never send them more . his sobs , his sighs , his passion who can tell ? tears drown his words , that at the last farewel in fatal groans his mournful accents fell . when they were ship'd , assoon as pressing oars had cut the ocean , and put off from shores , i have my wish he cries , oh kinder powers ! the beauteous prize , the noble prize is ours . the tyrant now does most triumphant grow , and scarce forbears his joys in open show . as when the king of birds from earth does bear in his fierce talons the poor trembling hare , into his princely mansions of the air , he foams , exults , 'gainst slight shuts every way , and with a rav'nous eye beholds his prey : so tereus does with no less furious eyes ( oh partial gods ! ) survey his trembling prize . when they arriv'd upon the thracian shore , he to a lodge th' unhappy fair one bore : a seat where lust and horror did abound , dark were the rooms , and craggy was the ground , cloyster'd with baleful thickets all around . she with amazement seis'd in every part , pale in her looks , and trembling at her heart ; asks for her sister progne , but confin'd , the ravisher by actions speaks his mind , and by mere force commits the rape design'd . whilst to the height he does his joys pursue , for what , alas ! could one weak virgin do ? a virgin who man's falshood never knew . help , oh my father ! sister ! now she cries , and though unkind , yet sacred deities , if to defend the just be your intent , oh! help a poor wrong'd virgin , innocent , who neither evil thought , nor evil meant . then of her stars and birth she did complain , she sigh'd , she wept , she tore , but all in vain . as the poor lamb when from the wolf just free does heave , and pant , and most dejected lye , and all in dread of former agony ; or as a dove whose blood his feathers stain , does coe , and moan , & fears those claws again which were the fatal means of all his pain : so does the injur'd philom●…la groan , so does she tremble , pant , and so bemoan : but when reviv'd , her loose and flying hair , as at a father's funeral , she tare . then wrings her hands , which up tow'rds heaven are thrown , wild with her woes , and now distracted grown , thus she bursts out ; oh hellish barbarous lust ! monster of monsters , whom my fathers trust impos'd with such devout and moving tears ; whom neither wives affections , sisters fears , nor yet the softness of my virgin state , with all the tender joys which on it wait , could make relent ; oh most unfortunate ! oh vast confusion ! on this fatal score , i an adultress , an incestuous whore , must to my sister prove , and all our race whilst thou to both supply'st the husbands place . yet what , ye gods , have i e're done or meant , to merit such an heavy punishment ? is there a crime in being innocent ? then ah dispatch me ! and when that is done through the whole course of wickedness thou 'st run . but if from heav'n the favour i had gain'd t' ave dy'd before my honour thou had'st stain'd , my dauntless ghost might then untainted fly through those chaste regions of eternity : but now such vile pollution i must fear , never ! oh never ! with the blest appear . yet if the gods these dire events do see , if they 're not fables , and decay with me ; due vengeance then thou can'st not long escape , for vengeance must such horrors overtake . yet should'st thou that forego , all sense of shame i will renounce ; and thro' the world proclaim , if free , thy monstrous crimes ; but if confin'd . 't will be some pleasure to an anxious mind to find the woods more pitiful and kind . the very rocks , at my unheard of woe , shall be dissolv'd , and sense of sorrow show : rocks may relent , but men more salvage grow . this witness heav'n , immortals note it well ; if heav'n there is , and gods therein do dwell . her words did move the bloody ravisher alike with rage , distraction , and with fear : dreading th' effects , he binds the wretched fair , and draws his sword , then drags her by the hair : whilst she rejoyc'd , and open laid her breast , to entertain his sword , the kindest guest ; her only comfort , happiness and rest. but e're she dy'd , she thought to vent her mind , and leave the burden of her soul behind ; therefore proclaims her wrongs , and , tho in vain , did of her hardship , and his guilt complain . then calling on her fathers name , her tongue ( in pincers caught ) the salvage monster wrung from its lov'd mansion , by the panting root , which trembled , moan'd , and murmur'd at his foot , and often strove in curses to repay , but what it would ( alas ! ) it could not say ; so soon the spirits and the voice decay . yet as a serpents quivering tail l 've seen stain'd in its blood , leaps up and down the green , so does her tongue ; it quivers , pants , and leaps , but follows still its owners wretched steps : yet after all , if we may credit fame , ( oh sleeping vengeance ! oh thou empty name ! ) her body maim'd , and reeking in its gore , he often us'd as lewdly as before ; gods ! had ye then no thunder-bolts in store ? yet to his wife the very moment hastes , who with impatience for her sister asks : he drown'd in tears ; ( for who so lewd will be can never fail in smooth hypocrisie : ) in tears he mourns her sad untimely fate , in feigned tears he does her death relate , laments , and wails his miserable state. progne believes , and strait her rich array , with all its gawdy trifles , casts away , and does the utmost debt of sorrow pay ; whilst clad in sable she her sister mourns , and due oblations to her spirit burns . but oh false rites ! how vainly are they sent , to a most wretched living monument . elegy on the earl of rochester . by mrs. wh — . deep waters silent roul , so grief like mine tears never can relieve , nor words define . stop then , stop your vain source , weak springs of grief , let tears flow from their eyes whom tears relieve . they from their heads shew the light trouble there , could my heart weep , its sorrows 't would declare : weep drops of blood , my heart , thou 'st lost thy pride , the cause of all thy hopes and fears , thy guide . he would have led thee right in wisdom's way , and 't was thy fault whene're thou went'st astray : and since thou stray'dst when guided and led on , thou wilt be surely lost now left alone . it is thy elegy i write , not his , he lives immortal and in highest bliss . but thou art dead , alas ! my heart thou' rt dead , he lives , that lovely soul for ever fled , but thou 'mongst crowds on earth art buried . great was thy loss , which thou can'st ne're express nor was th' insensible dull nation 's less ; he civiliz'd the rude and taught the young , made fools grow wise ; such artful magick hung upon his useful kind instructing tongue . his lively wit was of himself a part , not as in other men , the work of art ; for tho his learning like his wit was great , yet sure all learning came below his wit ; as god's immediate gifts are better far than those we borrow from our likeness here , he was , — but i want words , and ne're can tell , yet this i know , he did mankind excell . he was what no man ever was before , nor can indulgent nature give us more , for to make him she exhausted all her store . on the coronation of the high and mighty monarch james ii. by mr. smith . hic dies verè mitis festus , atras eximet curas : ego nec tumultum , nec mori per vim metuam , tenente . caesare terras . horat. pindarique . fly swift , ye sluggish hours , and bring the day ! o wakeful morning ! now display thy purple dores , and odorif'rous bed with plenty of new blushing roses spread . let day's bright lord now haste to rise , with his clear rays to bless our longing eyes . may now our british heaven be all serene , no threat'ning clouds draw nigh with the least wrinkle to deform the sky ; as once before was seen on that stupendious day , when charles through silver thames did cut his way ; th' admiring throngs did crowd to see him land , cov'ring the beech , and blackning all the strand . who , lest our bliss with him should cease , has left us iames , the pledge of future peace ; a prince so great , so good , ally'd to charles in vertue as in blood ! for this vast trust he this great hero chose , bequeath'd the whole supream command to his most loyal hand who did in peace secure his reign , and in most dang'rous wars his pow'r maintain . how soon he put the northern clouds to flight ! and drove red waves to belgia's wondring shore when gainst fair albion they did fight ! he struck confusion into form and light. how oft has neptune him triumphing bore asserting his dear brother's right , on whom the world does safely now repose ▪ ii. sure heav'n of this blest time made choice , when all things smile and all rejoyce ; tellus all o're is clad with verdent green , and paradise in ev'ry place is seen : the drowsie flow'rs , awak'd by fruitful show'rs , now haste , and all their sweetness bring and off'ring to their most auspicious king. hark! how the nations acclamations make , and happy omens of his empire take : with one united voice they now rejoyce , long live ! long live ! their new-born king. and io paeans sing . martial . lib. . epigr. . vitam quae faciant beatorem . by mr. wilson . what makes a happy life ? o what ? a fortune by descent , not got ; an answ'ring farm , still smoaking home ; dependence seldom , law-suits none : a mind compos'd , a lively soul , an active body , round and whole ; an open plainness , but discreet , friendship 's agreeable and fit ; no over-curious bill of fare , no drunken nights , yet void of care ; a merry wife , and only yours , a sleep that never tells the hours ; contented with thy destiny , and neither wish nor fear to dye . a pindarique essay upon musick . by the same . — nec vox hominem sonat . i. soul of the world , time's rival ( music ) who , first matter yet in ovo wert , who shall declare thy off-spring , or pursue , to keep infinity in view ? fan●…y's short-wing'd , and earthy ; my seel'd soul bolts , but turns giddy in the start , and mounts she knows not whither : when the almighty fiat spread this whole , and poiz'd the base of the unerring frame , fond of the first publick employ , the morning stars , they sung together ; and all the sons of god shouted for joy ; same . then musick was with god , and only not the ii. now , as infinity is unconfin'd , it fill'd each angle of the whole , and as in broken glass , we find a thousand lesser shapes , all that came in shar'd of the liberal dole , the stintless bounty gave not out by scraps ; nothing went empty back , or sad , whate're the pitcher held , it had : all things look'd great , not swoll'n , but bold and free , and ( as 't were ) big with a divinity ; and what was that but harmony ; what all that beauteous fabrick of the sphears ? the night and days continu'd course ? the gliding stream ? the oceans sourse ? the birds wild note ? nay , all delight that ever fed the eye , or charm'd the ear , but sparks of the same harmony , tho less unite ? iii. man was abash'd , and well he might , that he , and he alone should be a looker on , and yet not bear a part ; resolv'd he was , but 't would not do , he slag'd for want of art : until at length , sharp iubal , he began , he had observ'd his brother tubal cain hammer a nail , and then a shoe , the discord sounds provok'd his thinking soul to search , why loud , or deep ; how flat or sharp : long had he paus'd , but could not tell , till having scal'd and gammuted the whole , he try'd it on a concave shell , and piece-meal found the organ and the harp : strook was the shepherds god , and stole a pipe , yet single as it was , it laid an hundred eyes asleep . iv. to pass the theban artist , at whose call stones mov'd , and danc'd themselves into a wall , and under which mythology , was civiliz'd even barbarity : arm'd with his harp alone , the thracian bard attempts the shades below : none ask'd him whence he came , or how , or mutter'd what he was ; all stood at gaze , and the bold stroke once heard , ev'n hell had silence too , and yet made holiday ; the wheel stood still ; none ply'd the sieve ; the rolling stone was gathering moss , the vultur heeded not its prey ; his powerful hand did not perswade , but drive ; he left no room for thought : the sooty god smooth'd his rough brow , and made the granting nod . and had th' enamour'd done the same , his shy , fond fool , had ne're been scar'd ; sh 'ad stood , nay met him , shot him flame for flame , nor fled the unknown-know-not-what she fear'd . v. immur'd in temples next it lay , and then the praises of their gods and mighty men , were only in request ; what but the best cou'd fit the best ? dilated thence to kings and prophets , he that took it up began to prophesie . thus david danc'd before the ark ; and when the evil spirit infested saul he play'd , and the same heaven-born spark enform'd his hand , and tun'd the others soul. thus when before the kings elisha stood , iehoram's gods had fret his blood , but when the minstrel play'd god's hand came on him , and he prophesi'd . what may'st thou not , that driv'st ill spirits and call'st down good ! and mak'st that all we see , or ever saw , one full-mouth'd diapason . alleluja . anacreon . to himself . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . by the same . i care for neither prince nor state , nor this nor that great potentate : gold 's not the thing that i adore , and envy not a tyrant's power : but this i care , to have my beard with the most precious unguents smear'd ; my careless locks with roses bound ; my old companion-goblet crown'd : let me live free , and unperplex'd this day , and take who will , the next . then go to , while 't is to day , drown all your cares in wine and play ; lest crazy grown , nor sickness proof , doctors cry , hold , you 've drunk enough . another . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . by the same . let others sing the theban wars , or troy's destruction , but i will chant my own ; and unconcern'd at others jars , nor horse , nor foot , nor ships , nor all that arsenal , shall see me fall : no , no , when e're anacreon dies , his sullen heart will bear no dart but from his mistress eyes . strada's nightingale . by the same . iam sol è medio pronus d●…flexerat orbe , &c. past his meridian was the sun , each beam had spent its vigor ; when by tyber's stream at at oaks foot a lutenist did play , to ease his thoughts , and pass the time away . nor was he long unheard ; above there stood a nightingale , the syren of the wood ; muse of the place , poor harmless syren , she took the rebound , and jugging o're , what he had with his fingers struck , her nimble throat eccho's it back , and gives him note for note . our lutenist , that to her ayres had lent his ear , perceiving what , and whom she meant , resolves to make her sport ; when strait he trys each peg , each string , and o're 'em all he flys . nor was she long behind , but running o're each note of his , yes , and a thousand more , gave him a taste of what she could , to shew that even she could chirp a prelude too . with that he took his lute , and with a dash , 'twixt sport and scorn , he makes a careless rash , stops every fret , and to each trembling string gives a soft beat ; when presently again , with a sweet touch he strikes an even strain , and takes up all with his first rash again . and here he paws'd , and now expects her part , which she strait gives , and answers art with art. one while , as if she could not find her throat , she plays it here and there with her field-note , and draws it out in length , to let him see her discords too carry'd their harmony . then quavering out division , with shrill and open throat , gives every note its trill . he stood amaz'd ( and well he might ) to meet so small a pipe , and yet a note so sweet , so soft , so various , that he concludes , to get the victory , he must run higher yet : and with it , chang'd his cliffs ; now sharp , then flat , now bass , then treble ; nor content with that , jumbles his strings in such disorder'd rattle , as if his lute were to enform a battel . yet here she had him too ; & while she stretcht so shrill , yet clear , as if she meant t' ave raeacht a flight 'bove ela ; in a trice , with note as if 't were lost , and bury'd in her throat , double de-sol-re low she sinks a hum , 'twixt lowd and deep , as humouring a drum. anger & shame by this time stirr'd his blood ; nor shall my little quirister o' th' wood carry it thus : not conquer her ? i 'll do 't , i 'll do 't he cry'd , or i will break my lute : nor said he more , when thundering amain a sprightly , bold , unimitable strain , his careless hand from this to that he flings , and runs it up , as he would crack the strings : from bass to tenor , counter-tenor , alt , his nimble joynts in quick division vault ; and not to leave one note untouch'd upon , he closes all with a full unison : and with it made as full a stop , and stood expecting what his little rival cou'd : but she ( poor fool ) tho she was now become quite hoarse , impatient yet to be o'recome , rallies her little strength , but all in vain ; for while she offers at so high a strain , and strives to render with her single throat the various accents of such different notes , too weak ( alas ! ) to bear her grief , or do 't , dead , dead , she dropt upon the conquerors lute . a sitting sepulchre ; such power upon ev'n little souls , has emulation . a translation of the fourth chorus in seneca's troas . beginning at dulce moerenti populus dolentum , &c. by i. t. less are the griefs we undergo , when they are felt by others too . less are our sorrows , less our fears , the more our company appears . great griefs , like burdens , are more light , the more they are to share the weight : and none with justice can refuse to bear the fortune others use . when we see happier men , we grieve , and all our sorrows are comparative . he only does his fate bemoan , who in a single ship alone has plough'd the sea , and after some great wrack , with a light ship and heavy heart comes back . who sees the dangers of a sinking fleet , thinks not his sufferings are so great : h' has this sad comfort of his misery , that all , as well as he , must dye . when the proud master of the golden fleece with his dear burden cross'd the seas , phryxus with tears saw helle drown ; well might he weep , when he was left alone . thus , when the only honest pair , that could our sinful race repair , of all mankind alone remain'd , each happy in the other , ne're complain'd . so , by our conqu'rors when we 're snatch'd away , a helpless , but a numerous prey , the wind shall scatter all our tears , our numbers shall secure our fears . what shall we say , when on the deck we stand , and from afar behold the lessening lund ? what shall we think , when ida's tops grow less , and with the seas our fears encrease ? and when our sons shall seek their native land , each wretched mother , pointing with her hand , ( the tears still trickling from her eyes ) shall cry , see , yonder ilium lies . where those black clouds of curling smoak do rise . lyricks . by ph. ayres , esq. to love . let others sing of mars and of his train , of great exploits and honourable scars , the dreadful dire effects of civil wars , death's triumphs and encomiums of the slain : i sing the conflicts i my self sustain , from her who is the cause of all my care , who wounds with looks and fetters with her hair , this mournful tale requires a tragick strein . eyes were the arms did first my peace controul , wounded by them a source of tears there sprung instead of blood , from my afflicted soul. thou love , to whom this conquest does belong , leave me at last the comfort to condole ; and as thou woud'st my heart , inspire my song . the request . by the same . o love ! who in my breast's most noble part did'st that fair image lodge , that form divine , in whom the sum of heavenly graces shine , and there engrav'st it with thy golden dart ; now mighty workman ! help me by thy art , ( since my dull pen trembles to strike a line ) that i on paper copy the design , by thee express so lively in my heart . lend me , when i this great attempt shall try , a feather from thy wing , that whilst to write my hand 's employ'd , my thoughts may soar on high : thy torch which fires our hearts and burns so bright my darker fancy , let its flame supply , and thro' my numbers dart coelestial light. part of the last scene of seneca's troas done into english , beginning at , est una magna turris è trojá super , &c. by i. t. there is a tower from the flame 's fury free , spar'd only for a greater cruelty ; on whose high top old priam us'd to stand , and with his eye and voice our troops command . here with his princely grand-child oft he stood , and to the boy his fathers battels show'd . this tow'r has once our chiefest bulwark been , 't is now of blood and death the dismal scene . hither the giddy rabble flock'd to see with greedy eyes the helpless infant dye . from this high tow'r a pretty distant space , a steep and lofty hill commands the place ; on that a rock , on which the gazing croud , big with the cruel expectation , stood . on all the neighb'ring trees whole armies sat , the loaded branches crack'd beneath their weight . and one with haste some ragged mount does climb , another ( o the sacrilegious crime ! ) hangs on great hector's tomb ; one climbs a wall , which , with its wretched weight , does quickly fall , lo ! the press breaks , and big with cruel joy , the curs'd ulysses leads the princely boy . th' undaunted youth mounts fearless to the place , with innocence triumphant in his face . when from the tower he saw the gazing rout , round him he flung a scornful look about . so some fierce lyon's whelp , whose tender age has not as yet well arm'd his toothless rage , with eager fury whets his tender claws , and trys the utmost anger of his jaws . thus fearless the young captive thither came , and fill'd his cruel murderers with shame . this when they saw , strait the relenting crowd in sighs and tears proclaim'd their grief aloud : nay , ev'n ulysses wept , and ' spight of all his cruelty , resistless tears did fall . then , when the cruel sacrifice was done , ( pitty'd by all , himself unmov'd alone , ) down the deep precipice himself he cast , and ' midst his country's ruines breath'd his last . when this was done , at first the rabble mourn'd , but to a greater cruelty return'd . with eager haste the barb'rous grecians come , and flock about the curs'd achilles tomb. this place was destin'd for the scene of blood , on two near hills the gazing army stood , between a fatal valley stretch'd out wide , and groves of spears appear on ev'ry side . here for the beauteous maid they all attend ; some glad that with her life their fears must end ; most , that she was the last of priam's stock ; some seem to hate the crimes on which they gladly look . and here and there a trojan did appear , who came to see her dye , and shed a tear . then through a lane of grecians , in a row , before the bride five nuptial torches go : next helen follow'd , hanging down her head. ( o may hermione such a husband wed ! ) strait she appear'd alone , with looks might move grief in each trojan , in each grecian love. her eyes she turn'd with virgin-blushes down , and in her face unusual beauties shone ; so evening blushes best adorn the sun. her courage some , and some her beauty prais'd , and all with various passions strangely gaz'd , some sad , some sham'd , some weeping , all amaz'd . thus in slow state the mournful train was come , where pyrrhus standing on his father's tomb , with cruel anger held the fatal knife prepar'd to cut the tender thread of life . fearless she look'd her murderer in the face , whilst fear and horror fill'd around the place . mov'd at her god-like constancy , he shook , and scarce had courage left to give the stroak . strait , as the cruel weapon reach'd her heart , a spring of vital blood did quickly start through the wide wound . she still out-brav'd her fate , and made achilles ashes groan beneath her weight . what tongue the grief and horror can express which did both parties equally possess ? in silent tears their grief the trojans show'd ; the howling grecians spoke their sorrow loud . about the tomb at first the deluge flow'd , and strait the thirsty ashes drunk the sinking blood. a poem on the death of our late dread sovereign , charles the second , of blessed and immortal memory . quo nil majus , meliusve terris fata donavere , bonique divi nec dabunt , quamvis redeunt in aurum tempora priscum . horat. de aug. caesare . i. 't is fall'n ! the sacred pile is fall'n , and oh ! how the earth shook at the stupendious blow ! the trembling rocks their strong foundations shook , their dismal caves were fill'd with horrid groans ; and lo ! the sad condoling moans fright'ned the neighbouring hills around with the dismaying sound . the lofty'st mount hung down its vast astonish'd head , and with impending terror cast a look that seem'd to dread the dire event of such a fatal stroak . the wretched albion's renown'd shore , that not the terrifying sight of caesar's conqu'ring arms cou'd fright , that had so many thousand ages o're , the wild impetuous rage of wreaking tempests bore ; rending with fear , methought look'd paler than before . ii. oh! 't was a dismal day ! the heav'ns , 't is true , were all serene & bright ; the radiant monarch of the starry hoast shon with re-doubled light ; as well indeed the splendid sov'reign might : for if , as learn'd traditions say , myriads of hero's souls adorn the milky way ; not since the fiery atomes were center'd in one eternal burning sphear ; can the bright ruler of aetherial air , so glorious , so divine a constellation boast . but oh ! when we our guardian angel lost , what deluges of tears the mournful world it cost ! distracted terror seiz'd on ev'ry place , and wild amazement sat on ev'ry face : swift as the winds , and fatal too as the contagious drops of baleful dew , through distant realms the dreadful tidings flew . as o're the blasted fields , the killing accents spread , that charles , their gracious lord , the king was dead , the tiller's hands drop'd from his lab'ring plough ; no more , he cry'd , the fertile gleab i 'll sow ; for what , alas ! avails the richest harvest now ! on the bleak mountains shepherds raving lay , and flung their well-fill'd scrips and tuneful pipes away . on the steep cliffs of dang'rous rocks , their once-lov'd kids , and tender flocks , to ev'ry wolf expos'd an easie prey , bleating their sorrows , wander'd far astray . round his young darlings's neck the rev'rend sire , ( with horror struck , and ready to expire ) his trembling limbs , for a support , he spread , but from his lovely face turn'd off his aged head , unable and unfit to undergo the bitter weight of their united woe . with hair dishevell'd , & their garments torn , afflicted matrons wish'd their babes unborn : unkindly snatch'd from the soft breast , where they were fondly lull'd all night to rest , and with full lux'ry wanton'd all the day , the poor neglected infants weeping lay ; they both involv'd in one sad fate appear'd , the tears of both unpitty'd , their loud cries unheard . ne're sure was man lamented so before ; in the small plains of ●…oab was alone the hideous pomp of sorrow shewn , when israel did the death of their best kings deplore . but now , behold ! ev'ry wild barb'rous shore does the insufferable loss of our dear prince bemoan ; so well were , thro' all realms , his god-like vertues known . blended together in the dismal lot , our very griefs were with our joys forgot : the vilest poverty , and worst of pain , oppress'd the starving indigent in vain ; the raging stone , and ev'ry sad disease , like spreading plagues , did greater torments seize . he fell , alas ! as the devouring serpent rose ; that dire calamity did all the rest depose . as when in darkness deep as ancient night , the sudden blaze of a consuming light , with ruin , spoil , and livid flames , burns down , the tow'ring fabricks of a stately town : when melting shrines & solemn temples rise , like blazing meteors in the threaten'd skies , such were the shrieks of woe , such the bewailing cries . and oh ! when fate seal'd the lov'd monarch's doom , both fire and sword , & pestilence were come , till our new prophet rais'd his mighty hand , subdued the host of plagues , and heal'd the groaning land. iii. deep were the marks of grief in ev'ry face , that bore the stamp of humane race : with adoration to the sacred shade , a subject's tribute ev'ry subject paid . but oh ! what heart cou'd bear , what tongue express , the racking torture , and forlorn distress , the royal mourners felt that woeful day , when the dear peace of all mankind departing lay ! the gorgeous palace all around with shining architraves was richly crown'd , and 〈◊〉 of burnish'd gold the wealthy pil●…●…own'd ; with ada●…t , and ev'ry precious stone , the high ●…lted awful throne , magnificent , with ●…eaming glory shon bright , as the imperial seat of deathless gods : yet in a moment 〈◊〉 the blest abodes , without the pomp 〈◊〉 ●…onious woe , black , dismal , loath'd as the d●…d shades below . senseless as statues , in deep 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ●…nd , stood all the sad attendants 〈◊〉 in floods of their own tears , like stre●… tains drown'd . not when inexorable death seiz'd her imperial lord's last gasp of ●…eath , the precious corps so pale and ghastly lay , as when the fair unspotted face of the dear partner of his royal bed ; drops , such as angels weep , the holy consort shed . and knowing well the way to the bright throne of everlasting grace , with never-ceasing supplications pray'd to the good gods , for their propitious aid . zealous and fervent at heavens gate she stood , with ardent raptures , interceding more for that one precious life , than when the flood had swept the face of earth , and at the sacred shrine of honour'd themis , pyrrha did implore the powers divine , they would again the perish'd race of man restore . tho often she before , but for short absence had endur'd the smart which bodies feel when from their souls they part ; in that deplorable emergent horror , grief , like her gracious lord's disease , did her rent heart so violently seize ; which nearest was the grave cou'd scarce be seen , the dying monarch , or the living queen . iv. but now at length , altho omitted long , and willingly indeed delay'd , must by my bold , advent'rous song , its homage , where ●…t is most due , be paid . but how the scene of horror can be wrought enough tormenting to the sight or thought , tell me , ye sacred pow'rs that know ; if you your selves the misery can shew , and humane soul the sad infusion bear . to tears abandon'd , and hard grief forlorn , how did the royal pair their parting mourn ! what desolation , vehement despair , and sighing tempests fill'd the groaning air ! tho noblest courage his great soul does arm , against the fear of any mortal harm ; and even then , the loyal iames did shew brave and mignificent in mighty ●…oe : what furious torrents burst his gushing eyes , when he cry'd out — the king ! — oh my lov'd brother dies ! the last dear gasp of breath , and dying groan , he took , when he had scarce another of his own ; tho from the minute that great charles was dead , a glorious crown descended on his head , and three vast realms his awful scepter sway'd . who that beheld him ( scarce of mortal birth ) groveling in dust and tears , upon the earth , wou'd ●…ot believe , so much the change had cost , he at that moment the world's empire lost ? nay , even when it was too late to grieve against irrevocable fate ; when the blest king was rais'd , from dark abodes to the bright synod of immortal gods ; his tender passion , and fraternal love , like a declining tempest strove ; still in his breast the rowling surges move , as if his regal ornaments were more envenom'd than the poyson'd robe alcydes wore . v. who cou'd have thought , the mighty charles so well supported , cou'd so soon have fell ? while the brave prince in rugged war , did weild with dauntless courage his magestick shield ; and as of old , anchises pious son thro' flaming arms , to save a father run ; tho death he often met i' th dreaded forms of fiercest battels and the loudest storms ; such rev'rent homage did his valour draw , the deform'd tyrant still he kept in awe . but oh ! what treacherous fate does on the best of humane glories wait ! whilst smiling cupids round his head did play ; as in the midst of flowing joys he lay , the grisly monster seiz'd the noble prey . so when in dead of night , all things , but lust and envy , are on earth silent , as e're from chaos , light or motion took its sacred birth ; and suddenly a strong invading foe with swift approach of dismal woe from secret ambush rusheth on a fearless and unguarded town . in death the murder'd sleepers rowl their eyes , to everlasting death awake with hideous cries ; and by unmanly force the brave ignobly dies . in vain to heav'n assembling prophets call , in vain , alas ! with barb'rous arts did all apollo's learned'st sons obstruct his fall. tho long the rev'rend lofty tree has stood on aeta's top , the glory of the wood , and oft the wildest tempests foyl'd ; one stroke from iove's vast trident , rives the sacred oak . but surely fate of common vengeance weary grows , and seeks new magazines of blacker woes ; a tyrannous strength she cruelly imparts , that we , with fiercer pangs , may break our hearts : for , as from the supream sov'reign head the baleful juice thro' all the body 's spread ; strait , when the sad disease great charles had struck with dire convulsions , the whole nation shook . but , when the blooming hopes of life return'd , no longer the disast'rous fate we mourn'd ; dilated spirits fill'd our enlarg'd souls , and joy flow'd in , with wild impetuous rowls . but oh ! to the unfathom'd dark abyss of hell , down from the highest pinacle of heav'n we fell ! while , like the wretched thracian bard , ( our toyl's as great , and destiny as hard ) we thought we had redeem'd the royal prize ; the glorious vision ravish'd from our eyes . vi. howl on , ye vile detested murm'ring race , your god's dishonour , & your king's disgrace ; shave your rebellious heads , in ashes rowl , and gnash your wide devouring jaws , ye foul degen'rate race , and ever howl . dead is the wond'rous prince , whose sacred hand by miracles was rais'd to bless the land : god's own eternal arm must sure have rose for deeds so glorious , had not his been chose . contagious plagues as e're philistines felt , long in our impious loathsome aegypt dwelt : the royal prophet came , and all were cur'd : but still their harden'd hearts indur'd ; and his triumphant patience those inur'd . to moloch's bloody idol , the sad cries of barb'rous humane sacrifice , in spight of their grim sounds , ascend the skies . here , as in tophet or gehinnon , stood the savage blutton gorg'd in blood : but lo ! from his bright scepter , as a charming rod , did a new miracle arise : a purple lake 't is now no more , to chrystal streams is turn'd the putrid gore . our well-●…ig'd isle in gath'ring storms was tost , it s sacred pilot in the tempest lost ; and in a mad devouring sea , like a vast shipwrack'd hull , this floating delos lay . but charles , the mighty ruler of the flood , triumphant o're the swelling billows rod ; three realms his trident , he our mortal god. safely we now , as in close harbour ride ; great britains glory , and the ocean's pride braving the rage of land and sea , it stands firm , as the continents his sword commands . then what can mildest justice all those rebel earth-born monsters call ; who in return of such stupendious love , with vile ingratitude not only strove against the pow'r of their imperial iove ; but impiously sought the divine monarch's fall . so the bright regent of eternal day does round the earth his orient beams display ; the vital lamp warms the prolifick juice , and animates all things of noblest use . thence springs the tow'ring cedar , lofty pine , the branching palm , and purple vine ; yet from the blest influence of the skies , does the vile putrid race of toads & vipers rise . vii . pardon , thou royal , meek , propitious shade , the humble offering my tears have made ; forgive my zeal , if on thy peaceful urn sad incense with unhallow'd hands i burn , unpractio'd , and unskill'd in tuneful numbers , mourn . such loose unsinew'd disproportion'd verse , the mournful tale of sorrow may rehearse . but oh ! if i must sing th' amazing glories of my gracious king ; whither , my muse ! o whither wilt thou fly ? cou'dst thou , on mounting wing , olympus high , to sinai's mystick head , or oreb soar ? alas ! those sacred oracles are now no more ! nor shalt thou dain to hear the frantick dreams of delphic furies , or castalian streams . yet sure , without the sacred fire which bright idea's did of old inspire , no mortal hand a monument can raise commensurate to charles his god-like praise . on a small stone may be inscrib'd his name , but the long story of his endless fame will want a pyramide , as high as heaven the top , as earth the basis wide . 't is a vast trackless ocean ; all around no shore , no land , no end is found . the glorious scale appears before my eyes with bright angelick forms , i see it rise , and mounted the top rounds , above the starry skies . behold , the fair heroick train does in eternal circles move ; and like fate 's everlasting well — wrought chain , is fix'd to the immortal throne of deathless iove . viii . ye radiant sons of uncreated light , who , with melodious hymns , day without night ; time without end , to the most high , your loud hosanna's cry : ye beauteous spirits , who so oft above , have met in festivals of joy and love ; say , for the stunning sounds you bore , when the bright saint arriv'd your blessed shore , if such a voice of triumph e're was heard before . fill'd with surpassing wonder and delight at the amazing sight ; their golden harps the wing'd musicians strung ; through the coelestial quire , each warbling tongue , with holy rapture hallelujahs sung : the heav'ns , and all the constellations round , did to th' ascending pomp resound ; the universal orb with joyful paeans rung . scarce had his flaming guard pass'd by the gloomy regions of the darker sky , but strait thro' all the hoast of heaven was the loud signal giv'n : far as the atmost hallow'd limits ; round th' angelick camp , was heard the potent sound : the shining warriours hasten'd all to their bright hierarch's imperial call. flags , pennons , banners , van and rear , embellish'd thick with gems , stream'd in ambrosian air. oh cou'd our mortal eyes have seen the watchful cherubin open the everlasting gate ; and have beheld in what a blissful state , how glorify'd , th' applauded sov'reign rode thro' the wide ample road of wond'ring angels , to the seat of god! on adamantine columns hung , thick as hyblean swarms , the bright seraphick throng ; and as he pass'd along , with ardent looks on their new saint they gaz'd , and his transcendent glories loudly prais'd . when round his blest anointed head , in mystic forms , the royal drops were shed ; the high eternal priest his temples grac'd with crowns of crysolite that never waste . and scarce the starry zone was by the holy ministring hand put on , but strait , through the wide continent of spacious heav'n were shouts of highest acclamation giv'n : with sweetest breath of charming symphonies , carols of joy , and loud thanksgiving cries , the glorious host proclaim'd him ever blest in that eternal paradise of rest. ix . guard us , ye sacred powers ! and guard your own immortal , empyreal throne ; lest , as idolaters of old , great charles his dazling brightness we behold , and the coelestial globe so long admire , till we fall down in adoration to the glorious fire . sure the almighty god consulted with himself , and said , he not in nature's common road , but as their first great parent , shall be made ; so the divine particle from his own essence flow'd . to make his image eminently great , he trusted not to the slight hand of fate , but to his own ineffable idea , sat . oh might we worship now the pow'rs divine in any outward form ! then surely thine , as gods best mirror , shou'd , great charles , be mine . of intellectual first causes we , nothing but by effects can see ; and heav'ns most lovely attributes were all in thee . when most severe , around his awful throne , with dawning beams th' exalted cherub shon , easie and placable his bending ear the softest voice of misery did hear . when his vile subjects any crimes had done , they safely to their injur'd sov'reign run ; as if the upright judge had heard a cause that violated god's and nature's laws : divine compassion in his looks appear'd , and long his just decree the gracious king deferr'd . favour unsought , and such prevenient grace , with cheerful majesty adorn'd his face , that scarcely was the mercy-seat of god more mild , than the indulgent throne on which he trod . x. tell me ! oh tell me , all ye wither'd scrowls , aegyptian records of dynastian race ; imperial rome , that loudly from of old the deeds of your illustrious hero's told ; and thou , o time ! whose envious brazen rowls do all memorials but thy own deface ; tell me , if e're humanity so well , so gloriously suffer'd ! reign'd ! and fell ! oh! had he flourish'd in the ages past , eternal triumphs wou'd their king have grac'd in ev'ry shining , capitol had stood honours divine ador'd him as he rode ; his house a temple , and himself a god. and sure if mortal e're deserv'd the name , his virtues might demand the glorious claim ; in dignity born next to heavenly race , humble and open as the throne of grace ! his rods and axes were beheld by few ; he sav'd more subjects lives than sylla slew ! nor were his moral gifts alone confin'd ; rich was the soil of his capacious mind : how , when unbent from cares , at hours of ease , the great dictator wou'd inform or please ! tho sharp and pointed as his sword , how sweet and mild he rul'd his monarchy of wit ! so tenderly the sov'reign sway he bore , none wish'd him less , tho no man could have more . never my humble and obedient ear the sacred oracle but once did hear ; and oh ! methought a light divine did round his beaming temples shine ! sense of new joy to my charm'd soul was giv'n , and the blest sound as of a voice from heav'n ! nor did the clear sagacious king excell in speaking only , but in judging well : conspicuous , venerable , and great , as high in knowledge as in pow'r he sat . learning and arts still flourish'd round his throne , as well they might ; for they were all his own : in noblest sciences so much renown'd , as he for wisdom only had been crown'd . great iove himself his darling prince endow'd , and him his own prerogative allow'd : that divine blessing granted but to few ; from his own head , his wi●…e and warlike pallas grew . xi . but these , tho graceful , raise but common fame compar'd to glories which attend his name : that heav'ns peculiar mercy might be shewn ; to all the world its lord anointed known ; his maker trebly mark'd him for his own . to empire born ; he long in exile mourn'd ; but like triumphant royal oar he burn'd , and with more lustre to his realms return'd . he came , and lo ! with his imperial crown , such honour , peace , and plenty shower'd down , that he on his ingrateful land bestow'd blessings as great as upon him the god. so much these nations did his bounty share , a realm of people all his fav'rites were . when his mild hand had stop'd the sulph'rous breath of savage war , that gorg'd the jaws of death , and had destroy'd that vile cadmean brood who bath'd their swords in their own reaking blood , and doubly dy'd 'em in a royal flood ; his temples never open'd but when heav'n was prais'd , and their rebellious sins forgiv'n : with what endearing arts he always strove to gain a wicked murm'ring peoples love ! succour'd their dangers all , and led 'em thro' a wild abyss and wilderness of woe ! tho they so oft provok'd his sacred ire , his heav'nly covenant did ne're expire ; their leading cloud by day , by night their lambent fire . no sort of misery but he repeal'd ; the diseas'd look'd up to him , and were heal'd . when their flagitious crimes so num'rous were , that he , like eastern kings , might have been heir to forfeit realms , forgave the share . and yet when by his charge our fruitful nile , with pregnant surge enriches all the isle , and the world's wealth flows in with ev'ry tide , how barbarously were his wants deny'd ! through his own precious wounds , the gen'rous palm , to cure his people gave 'em sov'reign balm ! when he in danger sat upon his throne , mourn'd the dear partner of his woes alone , their kindred and estates were all their own ! oh may the laws of god and man depart from my immortal soul , and in my heart no glad remembrance of blest joy remain ; but run a savage with the bestial race , if ever i forget the dying scene ! how tenderly he with his parting breath , ( inherent love ! unutterable grace ! ) midst all the agonies and racking pain of a tormenting hard convulsive death ; did his dear pledge to his lov'd heir bequeath ! calm as favonian winds , when halcyon's breed , to his twin-star these potent realms decreed ! govern 'em well , the yielding monarch cry'd ; then on his balmy nest the lovely phoenix dy'd ! with peace and goodness dy'd so very full , his body took impressions from his soul : the royal entrails fair unspotted shin'd , with purple orient spirits , and divin'd the wondrous blessing in great iames we find . and well were their auspicious omens made of joys , whose vast foundations charles has laid . with untaught hymns and loud immortal lays , ages unborn shall bless his peaceful days , and make three kingdoms one large house of praise . learn hence , ye mortal potentates , who boast of mansolean tombs and memphian cost ; learn how t' embalm an everlasting name that may out-live those mould'ring works of fame . tho dead , great charles ! his god-like vertues shall bravely revenge their renown'd masters fall ! his deathless praise , with the unwearied sun , bright as his beams , round the wide earth will run , till drawing near to this dissolving frame , the sulph'rous bowels of the deep enflame ; till in vast flakes the fervid surges rowl thro' heav'ns wide battlements , from pole to pole ; and in a deluge of tempestuous fire , with his illustrious name the world expire . finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a -e * italian rivers . ‖ french rivers . * spanish . * febris acuta , virulenta . * his blood. * his heart . a the herculean way rais'd by hercules in his return from spain . b sybil. c plac'd by some near naples . d paus●…lipus and nesis are the names of two promo●…tories near naples . * parthen●…pe . ‖ a colony of 〈◊〉 from 〈◊〉 ●…ulle cu●… and napl●… . a 〈◊〉 a 〈◊〉 poe●… . b 〈◊〉 ●…oem ●…'d ●…la . c v●… 〈◊〉 a frederick king of naples . see guicciardine . miscellanea sacra, or, poems on divine & moral subjects collected by n. tate ... tate, nahum, - . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing t estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) miscellanea sacra, or, poems on divine & moral subjects collected by n. tate ... tate, nahum, - . [ ], , [ ] p. printed for hen. playford ..., london : . this was to be an annual miscellany but no more were published. first ed. cf. bm. reproduction of original in union theological seminary library, new york. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng religious poetry, english -- early modern, - . hymns, english -- texts. - tcp assigned for keying and markup - aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images - tcp staff (michigan) sampled and proofread - john latta text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion s gribelin in : et sculps : whom have i in heaven but thee ? and there is none upon earth that i desire in comparison of thee . psal. . ver . . miscellanea sacra : or , poems on divine & moral subjects . collected by n. tate , servant to his majesty . 't is not that which first we love , but what dying we approve . mr. waller . london : printed for hen. playford in the temple-change , in fleetstreet . mcdxcvi . to her royal highness the princess anne of denmark . madam , the reformation of poetry , and restoring the muses to the service of the temple , is a glorious work , and requires a patroness , whose transcendent quality and virtues can give sanction to what she is pleased to favour . 't was therefore my duty as well as ambition , to present these pious composures to your royal highness's protection ; which , like an altar , should only be approach'd with religious offerings . a book design'd for publick benefit , cannot want encouragement from a princess who declines no opportunity of doing good. piety , madam , has appear'd in all your actions and deportment , with such prevailing charms , as have engaged many to become her votaries , even in so deprav'd an age as this. your royal brest is the sacred court where the graces and virtues have their respective stations , and where charity has her throne — but madam , 't would be presumption for any pen to attempt your panegyrick , as it is written in the souls and sentiments of all who are admirers of exemplary and accomplish'd worth. although 't is the transport of pious minds to contemplate that exalted state of glory , reserv'd for you in the regions of eternal happiness : yet , madam , in pitty to an age where your pattern and presence are so necessary , your long and prosperous continuance here , is the national wish , from the great to the meanest , and amongst them , the prayer of , madam , your royal highness's most humble , and obedient servant , n. tate . preface . the publishing an annual miscellany of poems , on divine and moral subjects , can displease no persons who have any respect for virtue ; and she has few profest enemies . that religion and morality are capable of all the embellishments of poetry , has been confirmed by the suffrage and performance of best poets in all ages . 't is there the muses breath their native air. after all their prodigal persuits of vanity ; 't is thither they must come , to recover strength and beauty , to appear like themselves , in a dress that is suitable to their quality . those are only to be accounted legitimate off-springs of wit , which are useful to the world , or , at least , inoffensive . for such births which the muse that conceiv'd them cannot look upon with satisfaction , should be excluded the favour and patronage of noble minds . — cui non risêre parentes nec deus hunc mensâ , dea nec dignata cubili est . perhaps there is no talent or genius more capable of being serviceable to mankind , than that of poetry . but 't is the misfortune of that generous soil to be over-run with poysonous weeds , and thin stockt with wholsome plants . otherwise , i had not inserted in this collection any of my own essays . neither will i pretend those from other hands to be , all of 'em , choicest in their kind . however , they had , generally , the private approbation , and many of them the applause of able iudges . some of 'em carry their sanction in the names of their authors ; such as dr. jeremy taylor , dr. fuller , earl of roscommon , and others . several also amongst the anonymous will approve themselves to come from eminent hands . amongst which the ladies may have the entertainment to find , that our age and country have produc'd more than one orinda . in so good a design , 't is hop'd , the ingenious will timely supply a second freight , and pardon what they think defective in this first adventure . youthful minds will have their diversions , where poetry comes in for no small share . 't is therefore a publick service to furnish them with such as may be instructive , and entertain their fancy , without viciating their morals . for which reason the encouraging a book of this nature is the interest of all parents and masters of families ; who are best obey'd , in both capacities , when their children and servants have a sense of piety . nay , religious poetry may be one means of reclaiming even profligate persons , by its insinuating charms , in the sweetness of its streins , and harmony of its numbers , according to that of our divine herbert , a verse may take him who a sermon flies , and turn delight into a sacrifice . if verse has such allurements , they will doubtless exert themselves most happily on divine and moral subjects , which naturally excite all the innocent passions of our minds . nothing furnishes the fancy with more charming ideas and imagry . no other topicks or occasions suggest such exalted notions and sentiments ; nor is any thing capable of nobler expression : which , ( i think ) are all the requisites a poet can desire . he will certainly find the holy scriptures his best magazine , of which writings mr. cowley has truly asserted , that they are , already , either the most accomplish'd pieces of poetry in the world , or the best materials for it . poems on divine and moral subjects . a morning hymn , by dr. fuller , formerly bishop of lincoln . thou , wakeful shepherd that dost israel keep , rais'd by thy goodness from the bed of sleep , to thee i offer up this hymn , as my best morning sacrifice ; like grateful incense may to rise , and raise me , with it , from the bed of sin. and do i live another day to view ? o! let me with the day , my thanks renew , and by its light , thy righteous paths persue . could i redeem the time i have mispent in sensless scenes of sinful merriment ; such exemplary penitence i 'd practise for each past offence , that ev'n the innocent should always wish themselves like me , when with such crimes they such repentance see . an evening hymn , by ezr. simson . another day is past — but can i say , that i have liv'd , not lost another day ? for days and years , if spent in vain , can never to life's summ amount , 't is only adding to death's black account ; and must be reckon'd for again . thou setting sun , art witness how i 've been employ'd , if one good action i have done worthy the light that i this day enjoy'd ; thou seest my conscious fears , therefore , kind planet , let thy ev'ning beams , before they sink in western streams , set first in my repenting tears that when thy lustre is withdrawn from these benighted eyes , to chear my soul a fairer dawn and brighter sun of righteousness may rise : the sun , who only can send forth a ray , that makes the morning to eternal day . innocence : or the inestimable gemm . written by a young lady . what 's innocence ? — a brighter gemm , than e'er enricht a diadem : a gemm that bears a price so high , as crowns and empires cannot buy . yet by the poorest mortal's brest this matchless treasure is possest , a treasure not like other wealth , that 's liable to fraud or stealth ; no soul of this can be bereft by open force , or secret theft ; safe in it's cabinet 't will stay , till by the owner thrown away . o dismal bargain , when for sin we sell this gemm ! 't is life for death , and heav'n for hell. by dr. fuller lord what is man , lost man , that thou shou'd'st be so mindful of him , that the son of god should quit his glory , his divine abode , to be on earth a poor afflicted man ? the deity contracted to a span ! and that for me ( o wondrous love ) for me ! reveal , ye glorious spirits , when ye knew the way the son of god took to renew lost man , your vacant places to supply , blest spirits tell , which did excel , which was more prevalent , your joy , or your astonishment ? that for a worm , a god should dye ! oh! for a quill drawn from your wing , to write the praises of th' eternal love , oh! for a voice , like yours , to sing that anthem here , which once you sung above . by the same hand . in the black dismal dungeon of despair , pin'd with a tormenting care , wrackt with my fears , drown'd in my tears , with dreadful expectation of my doom , and certain horrid judgments soon to come , lord , here i lie , lost to all hope of liberty , hence never to remove , but by a miracle of love , which i scarce dare to hope , much less expect , being guilty of so great , so long neglect . fool , that i was , worthy a sharper rod , to slight thy courtings , o my god! for thou didst woo , intreat and grieve , didst beg me to be happy and to live , but i would not , i chose to dwell with death , too far from thee , too near to hell but is there no redemption , no relief ? thou sav'st a murd'rer and a thief . thy mercy lord once more advance , and give , o give me such a glance as peter had ; thy sweet kind chiding look will change my heart , as it did melt that rock ; look on me , iesu , as thou didst on him , 't is more than to create , thus to redeem . by the same hand . how have i stray'd , my god! where have i been , since first i wander'd in the maze of sin ? lord i have been i know not where , so intricate youths follies are : age hath its labyrinths , and mazes too , but neither hath a wise returning clue . thy look , thy call to me shall my far better ariadne be . hark , i hear my shepherd call away , and in a kind complaining accent , say , why does my soul thus stray ? o blessed voice , that prompts me to new choice ! and fain , dear shepherd , would i come , but i can find no track to lead me back ; and if i still go on , i am undone ! 't is thou , o lord , must bring me home , or , point me out , at least , the way , for ah ! poor souls have thousand ways to stray , yet to return , alas , but one. hymn . oh ! that mine eyes wou'd melt into a flood , that i might plunge in tears for thee , as thou didst swim in blood to ransom me . oh! that this fleshly limbeck would begin to drop a tear for every sin ! see how his arms are spread , to entertain death's welcome bands ; behold his bowing head , his bleeding hands ! his oft repeated stripes , his wounded side ! hark how he groans , remember how he cry'd ; the very heavens put weeds of mourning on , the solid rocks in sunder rent ; and yet this heart , this stone , could not relent . hard-hearted man , to weep alone deny'd ; hard-hearted man , for whom alone he dy'd . the passing-bell . come honest sexton , take thy spade , and let my grave be quickly made : thou still art ready for the dead , like a kind host , to make my bed. i now am come to be thy guest , let me in some dark lodging rest , for i am weary , full of pain , and of my pilgrimage complain . on heavens decree i waiting lye , and all my wishes are to dye . hark i hear my passing-bell , farewel , my loving friends , farewel ; . make my cold bed ( good sexton ) deep , that my poor bones may safely sleep ; until that sad and joyful day , when from above a voice shall say , wake all ye dead , lift up your eyes , the great creator bids you rise . then do i hope , among the just , to shake off this polluted dust ; and with new robes of glory drest , to have access among the blest . hark i hear my passing-bell , farewel my loving friends , farewel . job's cvrse . by dr. jeremy taylor . let the night perish , cursed be the morn wherein 't was said there is a man-child born . let not the lord regard that day , but shroud it 's fatal glory in some sullen cloud . may the dark shades of an eternal night exclude the least kind beam of dawning light , let unknown babes as in the womb they lye , if it be mention'd , give a groan and dye . no sounds of joy therein shall charm the ear , no sun , no moon , no twi-light stars appear , but a thick vale of gloomy darkness wear . why did i not , when first my mothers womb discharg'd me thence , drop down into my tomb ? then had i been at quiet : and mine eyes had slept and seen no sorrow ; there the wise and subtil councillor , the potentate , who for themselves built palaces of state , lie husht in silence ; there 's no mid-night cry caus'd by oppressive tyranny of wicked rulers ; there the weary cease from labour , there the prisoner sleeps in peace , the rich , the poor , the monarch , and the slave , rest undist urb'd , and no distinction have within the silent chambers of the grave . the words by a young lady . there 's no disturbance in the heavens above , and heavenly souls do nothing else but love ; no anger , no remorse , no discontent , can seize a soul that 's truly innocent , and aims at nought , but that she may combine with all she finds , like to her self , divine : and seeing things in such confusion hurl'd does not contend with , but despise the world. a dialogue between two penitents . pt. hark how the wakeful cheerful cock the villagers astrologer , clapping his wings , proclaims the day , and chides thy sleep and night away . pt. i hear and thank my kind remembrancer , flow , flow , my tears , o when will you begin ? st. peter's bird reproves st. peter's sin. p. complaining man , hast thou thy christ deny'd ? pt. wo's me , i have done more than peter did with less excuse , and many ways beside , ev'n since my christ was glorify'd ; and this , alas , too oft , alas , more , more than thrice , as often as i chose , and woo'd a vice , or brutish lust ( to be abhor'd ) rejected jesu , my dear lord. pt. o my sad heart ! if that be to deny , none ought to weep more floods than i ! when to receive into my heart a sin , i thrust my jesu out , and took it in . but lord , how oft he came , and being deny'd dy'd ! how dolefully he cry'd , why dost thou use me thus , who for thee pt. methinks , i hear him call too from the tree , ungrateful wretch , were these wounds made for thee , who both deny'dst me and betray'd me too ? for every wanton kiss , a very iudas is , and each malicious thought a spiteful iew. pt. if sins do now what cruel iews did then , wound him afresh and crucifie again , then we , alas , have his tormentors been ; and by each vile deliberate deed , we make his wounds afresh to bleed , his pain as various as our sin. pt. true , for my doubts do bind his hands , my pride does first disrobe him , then deride ; i spit upon him by my blasphemy , and scourge him by my cruelty ; my prophane tears become the thorns that pierc'd his head with scorns . and my hypocrisy . st . pt. stay ! to what prodigeous height our sins amount ! ev'ry unkindness is a dart , the spear that wounds his very heart ! christ could bear any thing but this ! both. since then , the cause of both our grief 's the same , mix we our tears , for grief let 's dye , 't is just we act our own , who caus'd his tragedy . vpon a quiet conscience . by k. charles i. close thine eyes and sleep secure , thy soul is safe , thy body sure ; he that guards thee , he that keeps , never slumbers never sleeps . a quiet conscience , in a quiet breast , has only peace , has only rest : the musick and the mirth of kings , are out of tune , unless she sings . then close thine eyes in peace , and rest secure , no sleep so sweet as thine , no rest so sure . a dialogue betwixt dives and abraham . d. help father abraham , help for mercies sake , behold my torments in this burning lake ; send lazarus with whirlwinds that he may these flames of melting sulphur fan away . a. what son of hell and darkness dare molest this awful saint , scarce warm yet on my breast ? d. 't is i , great mammon's equal , one whose lot alas is only now , — abr. i know thee not , d. father , 't is dives , 't is thy son , 't is i , who purpled ore fed once deliciously . a. and canst thou now his charity implore whom thou sawest lately at thy flinty door , begging for crums , those crums that fell beside thy ore-charg'd table , and was then deny'd ? vain soul. d. some pity take . a. remember son thy dogs had pity on him , thou hadst none . d. yet they were mine reliev'd him , o , in lieu , let him vouchsafe me but a little dew to cool my tongue . a. not the least drop of grace can ever enter that forsaken place . d. then send him to my brethren , lest they come to feel the weight of my eternal doom . a. they 've moses and the prophets . d. true , but they may yet a summons from the dead obey . a. if to convert them sion's thunder fail , a summons from the dead will ne'er prevail . when once death's fatal hand has shut the door , the gates of mercy never open more . soliloqvy . . dear saviour , oh ! what ails this heart ? sure 't is of stone , it cannot smart , nor yet relent the death of thee , whose death alone could ransom me . can i behold thy pains so great , thine agony , thy bloudy sweat , thy back with whips and scourges torn , thy sacred temples crown'd with thorn , thy veins and nerves extended wide , thy panting heart , thy bleeding side ; thy hands and feet nail'd to the wood , and all thy body drown'd in blood ; canst thou pour forth such streams for me , and i not drop one tear for thee ? . yet tender-hearted i can cry , to see romantick heroes dye , and priam's fall commands my eyes , as great elias did the skies ; nay , a false fable that can start , and call up sorrow from my heart ; a player too , that dies in jest , can raise a tempest in my breast : but here when i should grieve indeed , nor am i touch'd , nor can i bleed ; heart ! how i fear by this alone there 's something in me worse than stone . . behold ! — see how this dismal sight put the whole world into a fright , the graves did open , and the dead , rose from their tombs and marble bed , earth did with anguish shake again , convulsions felt in ev'ry vein ; th' amazed sun withdrew his light , transforming day to darkest night . the temple's vail in twain was rent , the stony rocks in sunder went ; the murtherer did this death bemoan , and pitying it , forgot his own ! down stupid stoutness , else 't is true , th' art worse than murtherer , worse than iew ; lord of thy mercy work a wonder , cleave this obdurate heart in sunder . psalm the civ . by mr. tate . part the first . . bless god , my soul , thou god alone , possessest empire without bounds , with honour thou art crown'd , thy throne eternal majesty surrounds . . with light thou dost thy self enrobe , and glory for a garment take ; heaven's curtains stretcht beyond the globe , thy canopy of state to make . . he builds on liquid fire , and forms his palace chambers in the skies , the clouds his chariot are , and storms the swift-wing'd steeds with which he flies . . spirits he made his heavenly quire , with speed his orders to fulfil , his ministers a flaming fire to execute his dreadful will. , . earth on her center fixt he set , her face with waters over-spread , nor proudest mountains dar'd as yet to lift above the waves their head . . but when thy thunder's voice went forth , the frighted floods dispers'd away , engulf'd in caverns of the earth , and panting in her bosom lay . . thence up by secret tracts they creep , and gushing from the mountains side through valleys travel to the deep , appointed to receive their tide . . there hast thou fixt the ocean-bounds , her threatning surges to repel , that she no more transgress her mounds , nor to a second deluge swell . part the second . . yet thence in smaller parties drawn , the sea recovers her lost hills , and starting springs from every lawn , surprise the vales in plenteous rills . . the ox unyoak'd is thither led , weary with labour , faint with drought , and asses on wild mountains bred have sense to find those currents out . . there shady trees , from scorching beams , yield mansions to the feather'd throng , they drink , and to the bounteous streams return the tribute of their song . . his rains from heaven parch'd hills recruit , that soon transmit the liquid store , till earth is burthen'd with her fruit , and nature's lap can hold no more . . grass for our cattle to devour , he makes the self same soil produce ; and herbs endu'd with sovereign power , for man that knows their sovereign use. . with cluster'd grapes he crowns the vine whose nectar mortal cares subdue gives oyl that makes our face to shine , and bread that wasted strength renews . part the third . . the trees of god , without the care or art of man , with sap are fed ; the mountain cedar looks as fair , as those in royal gardens bred . . safe in the lofty cedar's arms the wanderers o' th' air may rest : the hospitable pine from harms protects the stork , her pious guest . . wild goats the craggy rocks ascend , its towring height their fortress make , whose cells in labyrinths extend , where feebler creatures refuge take . . the moon 's inconstant aspect shews the appointed seasons of the year ; the instructed sun his duty knows , his hours to rise , and disappear . , . darkness he makes the day to shroud , when forest beasts securely stray , young lyons roar their wants aloud to providence that sends 'em prey . . they range all night on slaughter bent , till , summon'd by the rising morn , to sculking dens , with one consent , the conscious ravagers return . . forth to the tillage of his soil the husbandman securely goes ; commencing with the sun his toil , with him returns to his repose . . how various ( lord ) they works are found ? for which thy wisdom we adore : the earth is with thy treasure crown'd , till nature's hand can grasp no more . the fourth part. . but still thy vast unfathom'd main of wonders a new scene supplies ; whose depths inhabitants contain of ev'ry form , and ev'ry size . . the gallant ship there cuts her way , waited along by gazing shoals : leviathan has room to play , and like a floating island rowls . . these various troops of sea and land in sense of common want agree ; all wait on thy dispensing hand , and have their daily alms from thee . . they gather what thy stores disperse , without their trouble to provide : thou op'st thy hand — the universe , the craving world , is all supply'd . . thou for a moment hid'st thy face , the num'rous ranks of creatures mourn : thou tak'st their breath , — all nature's race forthwith to mother dust return . . again , thou send'st thy spirit forth , t' inspire the mass with vital seed ; nature's restor'd , and parent earth smiles on her new-created breed . . thus through successive ages , stands firm fix'd thy providential care ; pleas'd with the works of thy own hands , thou dost the wastes of time repair . . he darted forth a wrathful look , the trembling earth convulsions felt ; he toucht the mountains , they did smoke , and rocks before his lightning melt . , . in praising him , whilst he prolongs my breath , i will that breath employ ; and join devotion to my songs , sincere , as is in him my joy. . while sinners from earth's face are hurl'd , my soul praise thou his holy name ; till , with thy song , the listning world join consort , and his praise proclaim . the evening hymn . now that the sun hath veil'd his light , and bid the world good night ; to the soft bed my body i dispose , but where shall my soul repose ? dear god , even in thy arms , and can there be any so sweet security ! then to thy rest , o my soul , and singing , praise the mercy that prolongs thy days . hallelujah . on our saviour's passion . earth trembled , and heaven's closing eye was loath to see the lord of glory dye ! the skies were clad in mourning , & the sphears forgot their harmony ; — the clouds dropt tears . th' ambitious dead arose to give him room , and ev'ry grave op'd wide to be his tomb. th' impatient temple rent her vale in two , to teach our hearts , what our sad hearts should do . can sensless things do this , and shall not i melt one poor drop to see my saviour dye ! drill forth my tears , and trickle one by one , till you have pierc'd this heart of mine , this stone ! the penitent , by dr. jeremy taylor . lord i have sinn'd , and the black number swells to such a dismal sum , that should my stony heart and eyes , and this whole sinful trunk a flood become , and melt to tears , their drops could not suffice to count my score , much less to pay : but thou , my god , hast blood in store , yet , since the balsom of thy blood , although it can , will do no good , unless the wound be cleans'd in tears before ; thou in whose sweet , but pensive face , laughter cou'd never steal a place , teach but my heart and eyes to melt away , and then one drop of balsom will suffice . the blessed virgin's expostulation , when our saviour at twelve years of age had withdrawn himself , luk. c. . v. . by n. tate . tell me some pitying angel , quickly say where does my soul's sweet darling stray , in tygers , or more cruel herod's way ? o! rather let his tender foot-steps press unguarded through the wilderness , where milder salvages resort ; the desart's safer than a tyrant's court. why , fairest object of my love , why dost thou from my longing eyes remove ? was it a waking dream that did foretel thy wondrous birth ? no vision from above ? where 's gabriel now that visited my cell ? i call — he comes not — flatt'ring hopes , farewel . me iudah's daughters once caress'd , call'd me of mother's the most blest ; now ( fatal change ! ) of mothers , most distress'd ! how shall my soul its motions guide , how shall i stem the various tide , whilst faith and doubt my lab'ring thoughts divide ? for whilst of thy dear sight i am beguil'd , i trust the god — but oh ! i fear the child . on pilate's exposing our lord to the jews , and saying to them , behold the man. by mr. arwaker . behold the man ! inhuman pilate ! no ; who can have eyes for such a scene of woe ? call the remorseless crocodile , and see if that can bear such barbarous cruelty , shou'd that behold the out-rage you commit , its tears wou'd be no longer counterfeit . behold the man ! oh ! you mistake the name , behold the man , behold the god you mean ; no man for so much torture cou'd suffice , no man so triumph in his miseries ; he shews himself a god in tyring thee , and proves by suffering his divinity . but oh ! that style the man must not refuse , whom pilate dares , whom pilate can abuse . while from the sluces of each open'd pore flows a rich torrent of redeeming gore , and on his head sharp piercing thornes appear , that head which rays of glory us'd to wear ; and he whom heav'n's scarce worthy to contain , do's in a cell of humane flesh remain , expos'd to sorrows beyond parallel , sorrows too tragick to behold or tell ; oh! thou mayst say , behold the man , too well : behold ! alas ! i cannot , will not see , i am too tender for the tragedy , shou'd i behold his vast expence of blood , my eyes wou'd melt into another flood . yet i will see whence all this grief proceeds , for me , alas ! he groans , for me he bleeds ! my sin expos'd him to these wounding strokes , yet he intreats the pow'r which that provokes ; the tide of blood in which he floats , is shed to save the wretch by whom his wounds were made . oh , then forbear on pilate to exclaim , — he 's innocent , and i alone to blame ! his guilt must justly fall on wretched me , who edg'd his rage , and arm'd his cruelty . oh! then behold the man thou hast betray'd ! behold the man that do's thy crimes upbraid ! behold the man of grief , the man of love ! condemn the author , but th' effect approve . behold , and mourn for thy ingratitude , behold , and triumph for thy pardon su'd , thy paradise regain'd , & innocence renew'd ; and when thou hast sufficiently deplor'd the suff'ring man , and sinning man abhor'd , then from the humbl'd man thy thoughts must soar , and high in heav'n th' exalted god adore . and let the sight of this great suff'rer move . tow'rds him alike thy pity and thy love. translations out of boethius , by mr. arwaker . lib. . metre the fourth . who ere with a serene and settled mind contemns the injuries by fate design'd , viewing each fortune with indiff'rent eyes , and can unalter'd both alike despise ; him the loud storms that make the ocean swell amidst their rage , shall find immoveable . his courage wou'd not shrink at aetna's fire , but rather nobly perish , than retire . nor can the strong convulsion fits that make th' earth tremble , his firm resolution shake , nor ev'n the thunder's stroke make him affraid by which the proudest tow'rs in dust are laid . he who does ne'er with hope or fear engage , disarms , and triumphs over fortune's rage . but he who hopes or fears what is not sure , nor in his pow'r to hinder , or procure , has thrown away his shield , forsook his ground , and made a chain with which himself is bound . metre fifth . he that wou'd choose a station so secure to bafflle fate , and all its storms endure , must neither on the mountain's summit stand , nor trust his fortune to the failing sand , that stands expos'd to all the blasts of fate , and faithless this will sink beneath your weight : then if thou wou'dst contemn the dangerous shock , fix thy safe footsteps on an humble rock ; let fortune storm , in this secure retreat , thou shalt the force of all its rage defeat . metre sixth . happy the former age to which each field did all the objects of its wishes yield ! that which cheap acorns did its pallate feast , and nothing in luxurious banquets wast ; happily ignorant of the use of wine , they quaff'd the streams , and thought the drink divine ; no tyrian purple carpers then they chose , but took on grassy beds more soft repose ; beneath a lofty pine's inviting shade , alike for state , and for convenience made . they had not then found out the fatal way to lose their lives and fortunes in the sea ; nor did the wand'ring merchant then repair to foreign shores to vend , or purchase ware. no trumpets then proclaim'd warsloud alarms , nor blood in anger shed defil'd their arms ; for who but mad-men wou'd a fight maintain , where loss of bloud and life is all the gain ? the last trumpet . the words by mr. tate . awake ye dead , the trumpet calls ; awake , awake , to sleep no more , heark from aloft the frozen region falls with noise so loud it deafs the ocean's roar ; allarm'd , amaz'd , the clatt'ring orbs come down , the virtuous soul , alone , appears unmov'd while earths foundations shake ; ascends and mocks the universal wreck . the slaughter of the innocents matth. ii . v. . by the same hand . sweet innocents that found the way through bloudy paths of martyrdom , to your celestial and eternal home , before your harmless feet had learn'd to stray . early , but not untimely , dead , who to preserve the world's great saviour bled ; for all his bitter pangs the best return , the best of us can make is for his precious sake ; ( and few have dar'd so far ) to bleed or burn. if then 't is glorious to pursue his great example , what must be your due , — who dy'd for him , before he dy'd for you ? vpon the sight of an anatomy . by mr. tate . . nay , start not at that skeleton , 't is your own picture which you shun ; alive it did resemble thee , and thou , when dead , like that shalt be : converse with it , and you will say , you cannot better spend the day ; you little think how you 'll admire the language of those bones and wire . . the tongue is gone , but yet each joint reads lectures , and can speak to th' point . when all your moralists are read , you 'll find no tutors like the dead . . if in truth 's paths those feet have trod , 't is all one whether bare , or shod : if us'd to travel to the door of the afflicted sick and poor , though to the dance they were estrang'd , and ne'er their own rude motion chang'd ; those feet , now wing'd , may upwards fly , and tread the palace of the sky . . those hands , if ne'er with murther stain'd , nor fill'd with wealth unjustly gain'd , nor greedily at honours graspt , but to the poor-man's cry unclaspt ; it matters not , if in the myne they delv'd , or did with rubies shine . . here grew the lips , and in that place , where now appears a vacant space , was fix'd the tongue , an organ , still employ'd extreamly well or ill ; i know not if it cou'd retort , if vers'd i' th' language of the court ; but this i safely can aver , that if it was no flatterer ; if it traduc'd no man's repute , but , where it cou'd not praise , was mute : if no false promises it made , if it sung anthems , if it pray'd , 't was a blest tongue , and will prevail when wit and eloquence shall fail . . if wise as socrates , that skull , had ever been , 't is now as dull as mydas's ; or if its wit to that of mydas did submit , 't is now as full of plot and skill , as is the head of matchiavel : proud laurels once might shade that brow , where not so much as hair grows now . . prime instances of nature's skill , the eyes , did once those hollows fill : were they quick-sighted , sparkling , clear , ( as those of hawks and eagles are , ) or say they did with moisture swim , and were distorted , blear'd , and dim ; yet if they were from envy free , nor lov'd to gaze on vanity ; if none with scorn they did behold , with no lascivious glances rowl'd : those eyes , more bright and piercing grown , shall view the great creator's throne ; they shall behold th' invisible , and on eternal glories dwell . . see! not the least remains appear to shew where nature plac'd the ear ! who knows if it were musical , or cou'd not judge of sounds at all ? yet if it were to council bent , to caution and reproof attent , when the shrill trump shall rouse the dead , and others hear their sentence read ; that ear shall with these sounds be blest , well done , and , enter into rest. psalm the first . by capt. walker . . happy the man , who shuns the beaten road , and treads the unfrequented paths of good ; whom , by a vertuous restraint , from sin preserv'd secure , no strong contagious vice can taint , nor charming ills allure : who makes iehovah's laws his dear delight . his practice ev'ry day , and study ev'ry night . . him shall just heav'n in all his actions bless , and crown his labours with a wisht success ; he , like a flourishing tree , shall prove near some fair river's side , refresht with heavenly dews above , below with ev'ry tide : spreading his fertile branches towards the sky , his leaf shall never fade , his root shall never dy . . not so the wicked ; whose unhallowed minds , like scatter'd chaff , before the whistling winds by various and impetuous gusts of raging passions tost , ' midst thousand sins , and changing lusts , are miserably lost ; and wandring from the sacred ways of peace , their fears shall never dye , their plaints shall never cease . psalm lvii . vers. , , . by the same hand . . awake my glory , e'er the rosy morn does with a purple blush the skies adorn ; before the sun arise to break the day , awake and chase thy gloomy sleep away . . awake soft lute , awake my charmful lyre , with sacred transports my warm breast inspire ; awake each faculty , awake and sing , in holy raptures my almighty king. . in notes divine let my glad voice proclaim his mighty goodness , and eternal name ; let my loud praises thro' the world resound , while crowding nations listen all around . . but oh ! my god , thy wonders are too great for tongue to speak , or verse to celebrate ; so vast thy mercies , and thy truths so high , they pierce the clouds , and reach beyond the sky . a paraphrase on the th psalm . . how long , o lord , of everlasting might , shall the successful heathen make abode , in thy inheritance , o god! how long defile thy temple , and usurp thy right ? see! how the once proud city lies , salem , a heap of stones , for pity cries , nor here does their unbounded fury stay , thy priests they on the altars slay , and cast 'em forth to birds , and savage beasts of prey . witness the blood , that now on every side surrounds the city with a purple tide ; witness the bodies they deny to have , the common privilege of a grave . this is our woe , and this our fate , while neighbouring nations to encrease the weight , triumphantly rejoice in our unhappy state. . but , o! thou god of mercy and of love how long wilt thou remove thy dearest attributes from thee ? how long with anger burn , and fiery jealousy ? rather thy irresistless wrath employ upon the kingdoms , who thy name have never known , or known disclaim , and durst thy iacob's dwellings impiously destroy . forget our sins , o lord : and with a father's love relief afford ; us , like thy children , treat , and let thy mercy be , as our affliction , great . . help , o god , of our salvation , help , for the glory of thy name ; nor let thy own , thy own , tho' sinful nation , by thee deserted , suffer shame . let not deriding heathens cry , o! where is now their fancy'd deity . and smile , and wonder at thy great power , and yet unactive thunder . rise ! lord , and let that bloud the heathen shed , dye them again with red ; and let thy vengeance publick be , that what they suffer we ( o god ) may see . . let the loud groans of captives pierce the sky , and hear , and in a timely hour rescue from death , who sentenc'd are to dye ; shew boundless mercy , join'd with boundless power : but for those wretches , who blasphem'd thy name , cloath them with everlasting shame , that by their suffering they may see , and dread the wrath of thy divinity . so we that are thy darling flock , and thy peculiar care , may in most thankful numbers raise to thee , eternal god , eternal praise . hallelujah . the convert . an ode written by mr. george herbert . . if ever tears did flow from eyes , if ever voice was hoarse with cries , if ever heart was sore with sighs ; let now my eyes , my voice , my heart , strive each to play their part. . my eyes from whence these tears did spring , where treach'rous syrens us'd to sing , shall flow no more — until they bring a deluge on my sensual flame , and wash away my shame . . my voice , that oft with foolish lays , with vows and rants , and sensless praise , frail beauty's charms to heav'n did raise , henceforth shall only pierce the skies , in penitential cryes . . my heart , that gave fond thoughts their food , ( till now averse to all that 's good ) the temple where an idol stood , henceforth in sacred flames shall burn , and be that idol's urn . the prophet elijah translated up to heaven . by mr. tate . elijah long and faithful service boasts , under the banner of the lord of hosts ; who now , his signal conquests to reward , a chariot for his triumph has prepar'd ; such matchless virtue nobly to require , translates him body'd to the realms of light : the prophet now with gen'rous scorn surveys this earth , where he but for a passport stays ; and do's entirely his fir'd thoughts employ on those bright regions he must soon enjoy . but first ( for in his road to heav'n they lay ) a visit to the prophet's schools he 'll pay , in legacy , where he his progress goes , his councel and his blessing he bestows . elisha do's his master's steps attend ; — a servant worthy to be stil'd a friend . from gilgal's plain , to bethel journeying on , the prophet courts his servant to be gone ; near iericho once more his charge repeats , but still commands in vain , in vain entreats . when love and duty once dispute the field , duty it self must to affection yield . the prophet now to iordan's bank is come , the last short stage to his celestial home ; his mantle's sacred force the iordan knew , and consciously in parting tides withdrew . that stream , long since subdu'd , at his command was disciplin'd to fall , to swell , or stand . the naked channel now with ease pass'd o'er , and both arriv'd to the remoter shore ; on that last spot of earth his feet must tread ; the prophet to his faithful servant , said — o for thy truth and love , my servant , say , how shall a grateful master thee repay ? e'er to eternal mansions born away : for thee , who still must earthly toils pursue , instruct thy willing master what to do , who wou'd to thee be kind , as thou to him wer 't true. the favourite with such indulgence blest , so kindly urg'd to make his own request , a while with modest gratitude stands mute , delays to utter his important suit ; who else might instantly his wish impart , for 't was already form'd within his heart ; so vast a boon he trembles to express , yet must depart unsatisfy'd with less . not pow'r or pomp , not safety , wealth , or ease , his gen'rous and enflam'd desires can please too narrow all for his expanded mind , it will not be to nature's bounds confin'd . his soul can revelation only prize , rapture and correspondence with the skies ; the world do's no proportion'd scene present ; no less than heav'n on earth can his vast soul content . o man of god , he cry'd , let me inherit a double portion of thy sacred spirit : these impious times such strong convictions need , i cannot else to thy great charge succeed ; my weakness this concession do's require , e'er to thy sacred office i aspire ; to perfect the foundation thou hast laid , elisha must have ' twice elijah's aid . the prophet grants , but grants with this reserve , if me at paiting thy fix'd eyes observe , if in that minute on their watch they 'r found , thou hast thy wish , 't is else an empty sound . a tempest to their consrence puts an end , the fiery steeds and flaming wain descend . what mean these terrors ? this impetuous air ? can death so dreadful as this change appear ? who wou'd not choose to pass his brazen gate , if such fierce blessings must on rapture wait ? mistaken thought ! the charriot and the storm of terrour only have the sound and form. the vision do's but lambent flames present , for speed , not violence , the whirl-wind's sent . elisha the whole scene with still-fix'd eyes , beholds , and to his tow'ring master crys , my father , o my father ! — israel now has lost her chariot and her horse men too ! tearing his garments , as on him he calls , in recompence elijah's mantle falls : while of the rest his weeping sight 's bereav'd , his arms the kind descending pledge receiv'd . now , pensive , back to iordan's bank he goes , whose streams his passage to the schools oppose ; he now must put heav'ns promise to the test , and prove if he elijah's spirit possest . dismantled on the current's verge he stood , then smote , and cry'd , — where 's now elijah's god ? chastis'd by him the swelling streams give way , and great elijah's greater heir obey . hymn , by h. w. . thou god for ever blest of uncreated pow'r possest , whose habitation is in light refin'd , from thy celestial throne with pity ( lord ) look down , behold , relieve my troubled mind : anguish and horror from my heart remove , thou god of everlasting peace and love. . and thou , who sitt'st at his right-hand , that do'st th' angelick hosts command , thou , who on earth didst heav'nly pow'r display , thou , whose mild voice made winds and seas obey ; the storms , the tempest in my brest allay . chastise , controul the boist'ring waves that rowl , and toss and wreck , and quite o'er-whelm my sick despairing soul. . and thou most sweet and sacred dove , the god of consolation and of love , visit , o visit ev'ry part of my afflicted heart : that heart for thy reception to prepare , by thy most heav'nly influence , expel all sinful thoughts from thence , and save me from the gulph of black despair . hezekiah's sickness and recovery : kings the ii. chap. . by mr. tate . with double pleasure sprung the cheerful dawn , that saw the syrians threatning host with drawn : yet , ah ! no sooner wars allarms are fled , no sooner peace her brooding wings had spread ; but sickness , arm'd with death's resistless sting , invades the sacred person of the king ! the raging pest within his vitals reign'd , more dang'rous than the siege he had sustain'd . the fatal summons purple symptoms gave , and thus the prophet warns him to his grave . " thy house in order set , dispose thy state , " for death , o king , do's on my message wait ; " he stalks behind me to thy palace-gate . the prince , who had besieging hosts defy'd , turns pale , and deeply sighing , thus reply'd ; " can heav'n impose , where justice is sublime , " a task so weighty and so short a time ? " my house in order set , dispose my state ! " surpriz'd , like me , with life's last stage in view , " alas ! what could a private master do ? " if him a doom so sudden wou'd o'erwhelm , " ah ! what must i , who sit at iudah's helm , " my family , no less than all the realm ! " that realm how shall i orderly bequeath , " e'er wars alarms afford me time to breath ? " how place my scepter e'er my sword i sheath ? " but if th' almighty wisdom has thought fit , " that i shou'd iudah's royal ensigns quit ; " my soul at his decree shall ne'er repine , " both life and empire , at his call divine , " i will resign — but ah ! to whom resign ? " for yet the marriage bed's to me unknown , " and iudah wants an heir to iudah's throne . " shall israel's ten apostate tribes , their king " to sion's tow'r , and worse — " unhallow'd idols to the temple bring ? " or shall assyrian troops the siege renew , " and rabsheka's blaspheming threats prove true ? when in such terms the royal saint had mourn'd , his face , bedew'd with tears , he meekly turn'd , turn'd to the wall : why thither ? that his mind might less distraction in that posture find , or secret pray'rs more servently to press ; ( as warm devotion loves no witnesses . ) or that his palace open'd on that side a prospect , whence his eyes the temple spy'd , where wish'd access was to his feet deny'd . a second deluge at his view he show'r'd , and thus his soul her deprecation pour'd . " remember , lord , ( with humble trust i sue " how to thy service i have been most true : " with perfect heart by strong devotion warm'd , " that which was righteous in thy sight perform'd . the royal saint paus'd here ; and hov'ring round , attending angels strive to catch each sound : scarce could they for their finisht errand stay , while thus the pious prince proceeds to pray — " how prays he ? — not one accent more he spoke . " but when his tongue grows mute , his thoughts invoke ; " his tears and groans their office still maintain ; " let then the faithful muse — " the language of those groans and tears explain . they said — " thou seest , o god , most just and wise , " all fix'd on me , the neighb'ring nations eyes ; " how in a leud and superstitious age " alone i stand , and for thy truth engage " thy worship's champion ; if in death i sleep , " from pagan force , who shall thine altars keep ? " the reformation , i with toil commenc'd , " will soon relapse to ruin when unfenc'd : " the assyrian savage with impetuous haste " ( th' enclosure gone ) will lay thy vineyard waste . " let me , or let my cause , thy favour claim , " support thy servant , or at least thy name ; " restore me from the grave , prolong my days ; " prolong them , that i may prolong thy praise . nor yet the prophet had the palace left , and royal patient , of all hope bereft ; but he , whose visit made the court to mourn , of life the welcom envoy must return . " turn , cry'd the vision , bring my saint relief , " tell hezekiab , tell my people's chief ; " thy father david's god has heard thy pray'r , " beheld thy tears , and will thy health repair : " the third day 's sun shall see that health restor'd , " ( but miracles must first confirm my word ; ) " who now wants breath his mournful crys to raise , " shall in the temple then resound my praise . on the death of mr. fell , who was found dead upon his knees in his chamber . pretending private study , when thy mind to paradise this voyage had design'd , was sure a pious ( though surprising ) fraud , and such as saints and angels must applaud . elijah thus pretending to retire , told of the water , but conceal'd the fire . elisha , had he sought no more to know , had lost his spirit and his mantle too . such legacies , blest soul , mightst thou have giv'n , had we but seen thee when snatcht up to heav'n . sure , paradise was open'd to thy view , when with thy pray'r thy soul together flew . in such a sacred rapture stephen spy'd heav'n's gates unlockt , and forthwith kneel'd , and dy'd ; to heav'n thou now hast shewn the nearest way ; which is , like thee , to study and to pray . you , that carve virtue deckt with ev'ry grace , as if her beauties lay in hands and face , come counterfeit this image if you dare , the first original statue of a prayer ! heaven took thee up when it beheld thee down ; so princes kneel when they receive a crown . nor did heav'ns sudden summons thee surprise , it scarce could ever find thee otherwise , thy pious soul in consecrated clay , ( for 't was a temple ) never ceas'd to pray . thy oft repeated storms heaven's gates assail'd , whose sacred violence at last prevail'd ; heaven kindly yielding sent a message down , to bid thee enter , and possess the crown . one period ends thy combat and thy breath , thy conquest bravely finish'd in thy death . such was epaminondas noble pride ; the minute that he overcame , he dy'd ; alas ! what cannot warm religion dare ? no walls so high , but may be scal'd by pray'r new stratagems by piety are found , and highest flights take rise from off the ground . what happy zeal thy spirit did inspire , that ' midst thy tears could kindle so much fire ? which made thee so impatient of delay , thy zealous haste cou'd scarce heaven's leisure stay , but lest thy message should too late come there , thy self wentst post to overtake thy prayer . thy soul and pray'r so intimate became , that , like old friends , they now were grown the same , 't was only heaven ( so much alike they were ) that could discern the spirit from the prayer . enjoy blest shade what thou hast bravely won , possess that heaven which thou hadst here begun ; heaven doth to us thy prostrate body grant , the precious reliques of so great a saint , which should it longer in this posture stay , would , like thy soul , we fear , be snatch'd away . grudge not thy body should to earth be given , a welcome present , as thy soul to heaven : whilst this here prays below , that sings on high , we 'll learn of this to pray , of that to fly . a paraphrase on several texts of scriptvre , expressing the sighs of a penitent soul . translated from hermannus hugo . the introduction . lord thou knowest all my desire , and my groaning is not hid from thee , ps. . v. . he only knows my grief , whose eyes can dart into the dark recesses of my heart ; he only views those labyrinths of night , who gilds the day , and gives the sun his light. stretcht on the solitary shore i lye , with wing'd petitions fill the vaulted sky ; yet what i wish , none knows but he , and i ! the groans , the pangs , that in my bosom rise , we two can only tell ; — and we suffice . psalm . vers. . have mercy upon me , o lord , for i am weak , heal me for my bones are broken . shall i complain ? or silently depart ? complaints are just , & i will ease my heart . a common friend condoles his friend in woe , what therefore should a tender lover do ? were then thy oaths of love , but flatt'ring wind ? i did not think thou couldst be so unkind ! ah! couldst thou know me sick to this degree , and yet so long defer to visit me ? melampus , podalyrius , chiron too , and poean , tho' with gout and palsie slow , have all been here , each member of the train has read his tedious lecture on my pain . but my hypocrates was absent still ; thou com'st the last ; — thou whose resistless skill can cure with greater speed than they can kill . they shake their heads , & with dejected eye , the feeble motion of my pulse they try : but what 's the wise result of all their art ? they cry , i 'm sick — yes , i am sick — at heart ! thro' all my veins the dire infection creeps , my vitals too in strong possession keeps . my pains , my pangs , my agonies encrease , and physicks baffled pow'r gives no release . behold these lineaments disguis'd with woe , if thou again this alter'd face canst know ? behold these eyes , each bury'd in its cell , these cheeks where freshest beauty us'd to dwell ; in ruins there each graceful feature lies ; tho' chaft with wine , no lively blush will rise . then to whose altar should i now repair , but thine , who only canst redress my care ? thou only canst my raging grief controul , who art the great physician of the soul. jeremiah . vers. . o that my head were turned into water , and my eyes a fountain of tears , that i might weep day and night . nymphs of the flood , how truly blest are you ? whose beauteous limbs in liquid chrystal flow ! and they whose metamorphos'd frame distill'd to lakes that soon the wondring valleys fill'd , why of your fortune should this head despair ; ( this wretched head ) with , more tormenting care turn'd to a spring , with moss instead of hair ? on earth my weary out-stretcht arms i throw , in hopes they will , like yours , dissolve , & flow ; but my hard stars so blest a change deny , for rivers emblems are of liberty . o that i could a sudden fountain prove , as acis once for galatea's love ! that those kind pow'rs , who set sad biblis free , would now repeat the miracle in me ! since floods and seas , i but in vain implore , let some kind show'r supply me with its store . then from my eyes such plenteous streams would flow , as fall from lofty pindus melting snow ; which down the furrows of my cheeks should run in course , as constant as the circling sun : no rest should in my trickling tears be found , till all my sins were in that deluge drown'd . psalm . vers. . let not the water-flood overflow me , nor the deep swallow me up . my life 's a sea , now raging , now at rest ; and i the ship , with gawdy streamers drest . what are the breezes there , each flatt'ring wind , but those dissembling passions of my mind ? invited by these gales i rashly float , and tempt the ocean in a sickle boat. no want of youthful dalliance to excite , but pleasures tiding up with full delight ; syrens that charm at once my ear & sight . o faithless main , that with so calm a brow dost smile , — how rough and boist'rous wilt thou grow ? kind offices thou dost as yet perform , without the least suspition of a storm ; but when environ'd round with seas and skies past sight of shore — thy tempests then will rise . psalm . vers. . enter not into iudgment with thy servant , &c. o who would not this strict tribunal dread , or dare before th' almighty judge to plead , at his tribunal , how shall guilt appear , where innocence it self can scarce be clear ? ev'n he whose piety did brightly shine , ( of all the inspir'd twelve the most divine ) whose life , with vice , was one continu'd war , yet dar'd not plead perfection at this barr. the royal author of seraphick verse , and anthems fit for angels to rehearse , what son of flesh conceiv'd in sin ( said he ) before all-seeing eyes can righteous be ? nor iob ( in sufferings try'd ) allow'd the skies , and brighter stars , as spotless in his eyes . if then such pillars sink beneath his hand , on what support can we , frail rafters , stand ? and if before his breath the cedars yield , how shall such shrubs as we maintain the field ? psalm . the sorrows of hell compass me , and the snares of death take hold of me . acteon's fortune seems in me renew'd , when wretchedly by his own hounds persu'd . wild groves my youthful fancy did enflame , my soul was always in pursuit of game ; till death beset me in a desart way , and of the hunter made a wretched prey . in ev'ry path death's tangling nets are spread , more fine and subtile than arachne's thread ; behold how close that watchful huntress lies , some gawdy buzzing stragler to surprise ; her web once struck , forth from her cell she springs , and to her den the mourning captive brings . mark how the fowler from the shades unseen observes his nets , stretcht on the neighb'ring green ; and , to allure , where vacant spots are found , he scatters grain upon the barren ground : while birds whom he already has betray'd , are now decoys to their own fellows made ; and from their cages cheerful notes begin to draw , with feign'd mirth , their companions in : — these , these , my soul , true emblems are of sin. psalm . vers. . my life is spent in grief , and my years in sighing . by n. tate . a sullen planet frown'd upon my birth , nor to this hour allows one minute's mirth ; yet still i 'm flatter'd with deceitful air , that always says to morrow shall be fair . no morrow yet has darted one kind ray , but still proves darker than the former day . the ruffling winds oftimes disturb the main , but soon the billows grow compos'd again ; no leaves in winter on the grove are seen , which yet the next spring cloaths with fresher green. when sudden storms eclipse the morning's light , those once dispers'd , the day returns more bright . my gloomy thoughts no interval can find , the tempest always rages in my mind . my sighs are all the musick i employ , my sighs are all the musick i enjoy ; with these i pass the tedious night away , with these i pass the yet more tedious day . my friends , 't is true , their counsel oft address , advise me oft to make my sorrows less . i took their council , gave to mirth the rein ; mirth only brought more sharp returns of pain . for when my griefs with laughter i 'd beguile , tempestuous sighs destroy'd the infant smile . and when i try to sleep my griefs to rest , their crys fright from my door the gentle guest . ye streams and groves , my long frequented seats , ye rocks & caves , my sorrows last retreats ! you know , how oft my groans in vain supprest , have with recoiling fury torn my breast . while eccho , gentle sharer of my woe , returns a sigh to ev'ry sigh i throw . here progne do's her mournful story tell , answer'd by sadder notes of philomel . each in her turn renews the doleful strain , while halcyons from the distant shoars complain with these the turtle joins eternal moan , like me , she mourns , and murmurs all alone ! thus fate , do's cruelly my life prolong , of all my suffrings life the greatest wrong ! out of hermannus hugo . i charge you , o daughters of jerusalem , if ye find my beloved , that ye tell him i am sick of love. cant. . . ye happy souls , of heavenly salem's race , whose snowy feet the azure temples grace , you , you , i charge , attend my sacred strain , if ye by chance shou'd find my love again , tell him i languish with a fire unknown , as iasmins saint beneath th' assyrian sun ; for ' midst the darts he lately scatter'd round , he fell himself a shaft , and i a wound : at least his own blood ting'd the pointed steel ' for i more his , than my own sufferings feel . ah! with what fires was then my soul possest , as if whole aetna heav'd within my breast ! if he 's inquisitive , as lovers are , and should enquire of each particular , talk all the forms of languish and distress , which pain forbids the sufferer to express . he 'll ask if i am feaverish ; tell him , no ; my spirits are too weak , my pulse too low ! he 'll ask if danger of my life appears ; — tell what your eyes discover , not your ears . tell him you bid me speak , whilst my faint breath imported nothing , but the signs of death . perhaps he 'll ask you how i did appear , what looks , and what my other symptoms were ; this , or like this , let your description be , that he my danger with its cause may see ; a pale a frightful trembling ghost i lye condemn'd , o fate ! neither to live nor dye . i pant and struggle for my hovering breath , labouring for either perfect life or death . with heavy eyes , that sink in gloomy shade , my faint right hand within my bosom laid : no rosy colours , no young native heat , no pulse , tho' touch'd , can be perceiv'd to beat . a floud of tears wash my faint life away , and dying sighs to him my soul convey : whilst in these sad complaints i still admire to feel i burn , yet know not what 's the fire , unless 't is love , which doth these passions move , for every accent of my pain is love ! from hence , i find , from hence proceeds my flame i know not love , but yet a lover am ; love made my plaints so loud , my sighs so deep , love taught my unexperienc'd eyes to weep . from hence th' abruptness of my language came , that i could utter nothing but his name . this , in these words , let my beloved hear , that i ( fond of my pain ) his fetters bear : tell him i burn with such a gentle fire , as roses in the summers heat expire ; tell him that i with long desires decay , as hoary lillies droop and fade away ; i charge ye tell him i am sick of love , and my last sickness , tell him , it will prove . on easter-day . by an unknown hand . . hark ! sure i hear urania play , i hear her tune the heavenly strings ; some wondrous tidings sure she brings . oh! now , methinks , i hear her say , the sun of rightcousness , to day , must break , must rise , must come away with healing on his wings . . 't is done — behold the god appear , fulfilling all that he hath said , captivity is captive led ; death of his old invenom'd spear behold disarm'd , and conquer'd here ; the grave no more the members seat since risen is the head. . in vain the silly rabbins strove a stratagem of force to find the lord omnipotent to bind ; too weak , to stop almighty love , their guards , their stone , their seal must prove ; the trembling earth doth all remove like dust before the wind. . let ransom'd men in praises vie , let every faithful soul rejoice and tune , to angels notes , his voice ! hail ! son of david , let them cry , hail ! thou that livest , and didst dye ! that list'st thy glorious seat on high , and sufferings mad'st thy choice . . unfold , ye everlasting gates , that guard the great iehovah's towers , those sacred my stick leaves of yours ; the king of glory for you waits : receive him , o ye blissful bow'rs , ye thrones , dominions , sceptred powers ; he comes : — accomplish'd are the hours appointed by the fates . . be now thy foes thy footstool made ; exalted high , on god's right-hand , a priest for ever mayst thou stand , thy dear redeeming blood to plead , th' imperfect sacrifice to aid , which is by wretched man convey'd , and never must be scann'd . a preparation to prayer . by the same hand . . let no bold prayer presume to rise , let no unhallowed incense go a fruitless progress , through the skies , whilst here thy heart remains below : thy heart , adorn'd in all its best desires , thy father kindly courts , thy awful god requires . . think with what reverence and state thy maker is ador'd above ; what mighty beings round him wait , and pay their worship and their love : that cherubims are in his sight afraid , and with enfolded wings their glorious faces shade . . how must that guardian angel grieve , ( that to attend thy soul , is sent ) such cold petitions to receive , as his warm zeal can ne'er present ! how must he grieve , thy empty forms to see ? in spirit and in truth , his god must worshipt be . . how will it swell thy final cares ? how will it all thy hopes defeat , to see thy sins increas'd by prayers , which only could their force abate ? how can'st thou hope t' escape those foreign harms , who thus against thy self turn'st thy defensive arms ? gold is try'd in the fire , and acceptable men in the time of adversity . by the same hand . . if all th' appointed days of man were fair , and his few hours mov'd o'er him like a breeze , that gently fans the waving trees , soft and smooth , and void of care , as infants balmy slumbers are ; how should we ere assured be , that even temper we might see were vertue , not prosperity . . not so th' almighty wisdom has design'd we should in ease and luxury remain , untry'd by sorrow , or by pain : no , the great searcher of the mind unshaken vertue there must find ; tho' low as to the dunghil brought with him , whose sifted patience taught he serv'd for duty , else for nought . . we see the wealthiest oar the earth doth hide , is not receiv'd or pass'd for current gold , nor by the greedy miser told , till by the cleansing furnace try'd , it doth the seven fold test abide : so must the path of grief be trod , that certain purifying road by all th' accepted sons of god. . god in this method to our needs has bow'd , nor is it reason guides when we complain : favours alas , but fall in vain , and the good things that are allow'd , instead of happy , make us proud . let us not then refuse this part , but wisely learn the saving art , which tears to comforts do's convert . on affliction . by the same hand . . welcome , ( what e'er my tender flesh may say , ) welcome affliction , to my reason still . tho' hard and rugged , on this rock i lay a sure foundation , which , if rais'd with skill , shall compass babels aim , and reach th' almighty's hill. . welcome the rod that do's adoption shew the cup , whose wholsome dregs are giv'n me here , there is a day behind , if god be true , when all these clouds shall pass , and heaven be clear , when those , whom most they shade , shall shine most glorious there . . affliction is the line , which every saint is measur'd by , his stature taken right ; so much it shrinks , as they repine or faint , but if their faith or courage stand upright , by that is made the crown , and the full robe of light. psalm the th , paraphras'd to the th verse . by the same hand . proud babylon , thou saw'st us weep , euphrates , as he past along , saw on his banks the sacred throng a heavy solemn mourning keep ; sad captives to thy sons and thee . when nothing but our tears were free ! a song of sion they require , and , from the neighbouring trees , to take each man his dumb neglected lyre , and cheerful sounds on them awake ; but cheerful sounds the strings refuse , nor will their masters griefs abuse . how can we , lord , thy praise proclaim , here in a strange unhallow'd land , lest we provoke them to blaspheme a name they do not understand ! and with rent garments that deplore above what e'er we felt before . but thou ierusalem so dear , if thy lov'd image e'er depart , or i forget thy sufferings here , let my right hand forget her art , my tongue her vocal gift resign , and sacred verse no more be mine . the second chapter of the wisdom of solomon , paraphras'd . by the same hand . the first lines being an introduction . how weak is man that would himself perswade out of his interest , and his tempter aid ! misled by present ioys , and humane pride , would gladly lay his future hopes aside ; uncloath himself of all he holds divine , and to the earth his ashes would confine . consent his soul ( all pains on it to spare ) shou'd vanish like the soft and silent air , this doctrin , which in ancient times was penn'd , th' industrious devil took care shou'd still descend , and we by atheists now the same are told , which israels wisest prince describes of old . the chapter begins . thus reason'd they , said he , but not aright , deluded by the charms of vain delight ; tho' life be short , how tedious is the day which some new pleasure doth not drive away ? death hastens on all humane things to seize , and there 's no remedy for that disease . none from the grave return , nor moses laws have seen him come to vindicate their cause . chance made the world ; and the same hand of chance did blindly man into that world advance . and , when the date of certain years expires , as he had never been , he back retires . that active fire which animates the heart , and thence all life and motion do's impart , by some contending element opprest , extinguish'd fails and quits the darken'd breast . the vapour in our nostrils steals away , and all that row remains is common clay . time preys upon our memory and name , and deep oblivion swallows up our fame . like a swift cloud we pass unheeded by , no track is left , no mark where it did fly , nor shall it e'er return to shade the sky . since past and future we at distance see , and present time can only useful be , voluptuous , and in pleasures let us live , and freely spend what moments we receive . still let us gay and warm affections hold , and , when in age , forget that we are old . roses about our youthful tresses ty , roses shall , when they fall , their place supply . the cheerful spring shall round our temples shine , whilst our full bowls flow with autumnal wine . the polish'd skin with ointments shall begay , circling perfumes shall usher on the way , and soft harmonious airs about us play . diffusing as we pass luxuriant bliss ; this is our portion , and our lot is this . justice shall lay aside her useless scales , and force shall justice be , when force prevails no law shall govern , no dull rule take place , the widow , nor the hoary head find grace ; oppression shall the righteous man devour , fashion'd by conscience for the tyrant's pow'r ; who meekly yields to wrong , or vile disgrace , yet from th' immortal god derives his race , and by himself is arrogantly stil'd of him he worships the apparent child ; him let us wait for that upbraids us still with breach of laws , and education ill , that but at distance views our loose delight , and blasts our mirth with his reproachful sight : who , not like us , his youth to pleasure gives , but singular , and solitary lives ; and does his eyes on distant prospects bend , saying , the iust is blessed in his end ; that let us hasten , and his patience prove , and his cool temper with rough usage move : if son to him whom he almighty calls , he sure will save when in our hands he falls ; let us in shame and tortures make him dye , and so his truth and his protector try . full place did such imaginations find with men in mists of sin and error blind , that knew not god , nor did his laws regard , unmindful of the work or the reward , that shall on blameless souls hereafter rest , when with eternity of pleasures blest . god stampt his image on created earth , and made it so , immortal in its birth , and tho' th' inferrial fiend , with envy fill'd , brought death into the world , and some has kill'd , yet only those that do his part embrace , shall fall to him , and his appointed place . solitude . how far the sweets of solitude excel the world's loud mirth and clam'rous sports of theaters , and crowded courts , only the vertuous heavenly soul can tell . which when retir'd and loos'd by faith & love. from the gross body , upward flies , climbs o'er th' impurer lower skies , to gain sweet converse with blest minds above . ravish'd with this , she seeks a clearer sight , and chides the interposing clay , and bars of flesh that take away her heavenly prospect , and retard her flight . she do's her scorn of this low world express , derides the pompous trifles here , honours and wealth to sinners dear , and wonders why men call it happiness . safe in those happy realms of light and love , from clouds and stormy wind that blow o'er this tempesteous world below , she mourns she cannot always keep above . in those bright fields no fears her joy controul , securely seated from on high she sees the ruddy lightning fly , and hears below the distant thunder roll . she 's there safe guarded from fal'n angels pow'r , that stray in this low void of air. and ( watching with unwearied care , ) first tempt to sin , then vanquish'd souls devour . those minds become more excellent and pure , that heav'ns calm regions most frequent , free from earth's damps and noisom scent ; as wholesom climates mens sick bodies cure . and when such minds descend to earth agen , their heav'nly language cheerful face , fresh beauty and celestial grace declare the happy seats where they have been . this world is still so turbulent and loud , that heav'ns soft voice cannot be heard , angels have oft to men appear'd when all alone , but never in a crowd . in silent groves the men of old grew wise , there prostrate votaries ador'd , and invocated the true lord , there heathens worship'd too their deities . sage druids there heav'ns councils understood : the soul does there her thoughts compose , calmly devout and silent grows , aw'd by the shade and stillness of the wood. there th' essens sect their innocence were taught of the next silver stream they drank , got a cheap meal from some green bank , and far from worldly cares they liv'd and thought . in fields and woods , may i safe pleasures find , nature's almighty cause adore , admire the works , but th' author more , where objects both delight and teach my mind . may vallies teach me to be fruitful too , may hills excite me to aspire , like them , to heav'n with rais'd desire , and may my thoughts flow pure , as fountains do . from birds i 'll learn to sing my maker's praise , the sheep shall make me wish i may grow useful , and as meek , as they ; and hear the pastor that directs my ways . both birds and beasts shall my distrust condemn , that trust heav'n's goodness rove about free from all care and anxious doubts , and teach me to depend on heav'n , like them . motives i ne'er shall want of love and praise , for heav'n and earth will still supply my thoughts with such variety , as will new wonder fresh devotion raise . oh may i something learn from all i see , and by the creatures still ascend , to the first cause whilst i attend to nature's volumes of divinity . let me sweet solitude's delights enjoy , and those repair to sensual sport , to wine and theaters resort , who know not how their leisure to employ . a closet , or a secret field with thee , shall lord , to me be far more dear , than all the sensual pleasures here , than all the poyson'd sweets of ease & luxury . the enquiry . by the same hand . i 've searcht the barren world , but cannot find a happiness for an immortal mind . honours , delights and riches have all spent their smiles in vain , to give my thoughts content . the joys they yield , but for a moment last , and shrink to nothing when they 're close embrac't . they never satisfy , but feed desire , and bring fresh fuel to a restless fire . what 's one poor drop to him that almost bursts with fierce desires , and for an ocean thirsts . my mind can hold both the rich indy's store , and find it self , as empty as before . the treasures earth throws in their purpose miss , swallow'd and lost in that immense abyss . i 've look'd o'er all the riches earth can shew . all that it promises , but gives to few : and still some intellectual good i want , some happiness this world can never grant . hence mighty god my thoughts ascend to thee , the spring of good , and man's felicity . 't is only thy immensity can fill the thirsty soul 's vast and immortal will. this single thought , that all earth's joys at death will end , and cease for ever with my breath , quite chills my love , and lessens my esteem , and makes a kingdom but a trifle seem . i find my soul 's misplac'd , it longs to see some higher good , some fix'd felicity , which it despairs to meet with , but in thee i 'm blest with faculties to entertain thy self , and sure thou mad'st them not in vain , and as i can , so i desire to be made happy only in enjoying thee ; my wishes else unsatisfy'd return , and make me all my lost endeavours mourn . thou dost to all but man perfection grant , that with their happiness upbraid my want no hopes or fears the quiet stones molest , that sweetly in the earth's low bosom rest . trees to their height and perfect stature grow , no farther tendencies or wishes know . rich flowers with daz'ling glory crown the year , and in their smiles a perfect beauty wear . beasts that have all for which their nature calls , pleas'd with themselves , are happy animals . above the earth their wishes never fly , nor thirst for heav'n and immortality . no prospect of a greater excellence , makes them despise the low delights of sense , no knowledge of eternity can shew to them , how short these pleasures are below . they can no dangers while at distance see , to interrupt their present peace and rest , from thoughts of death and future sorrows free , they are with undisturb'd enjoyments blest . while souls that can to higher regions climb , and look beyond the whirling pool of time , become unhappy by their eminence , and serve but to disturb the sweets of sense . when the sad mind its sober thoughts emploies , and finds it self born for eternal joys , how earth's unmanly , short delights displease ? it rather will have none , than such as these . it thinks of all its noble faculties , then looks on earth , and do's its joys despise , since i have such a mind as this , would i had never been , or may i never dy ? if no delights are to be found above , what shall i seek on earth , what shall i love ? if this be all the happiness design'd for anxious man , wretched immortal mind ! happy the bruits that can't their state resent , that know no nobler joys , and are content . if man then can't a perfect state attain , his soul and appetites are made in vain . man only is felicity deny'd , vex'd with desires , not to be satisfy'd , the lord of all is most unhappy left , of that perfection beasts enjoy , berest . but th' author sure will not be most unkind to his best workmanship , the heav'n born mind . he 's so benign he can't but let us have objects for all the appetites he gave . 't is easy hence to know he does intend himself shall be the minds last rest and end. on them he will at last himself bestow , that never sought their happiness below . what this denies the other world will give , where saints shall in immortal glory live , possest with heav'n they shall for ever rest , crown'd with divine delights , and with their wishes blest . soliloquy . by the same hand . double allegiance , lord , to thee i owe , both as thy subject and thy creature too ; 't were then in me the most ingrateful guilt , not to perform or suffer what thou wilt . my place is to obey , and not dispute a will so good , a power so absolute . shall my remonstrances to heav'n be sent to plead the justice of my discontent ! for life and enjoyments here i stand indebted to the bounty of thy hand . what thou art pleas'd to take i must resign , yet thence sustain no wrong , since nothing 's mine , my fortune 's mean ; the wisest and the best of soul that now in heav'n outshine the rest , liv'd in this vale of tears despis'd and poor , some wanted necessaries , few had more . and shall i quarrel with my fate , when god afflicts me but to guide me with his rod the sacred path which all the blest have trod ? sure , toil and weariness must needs become the lot of travellers remote from home . pilgrims , as i am , while abroad they stay , must quit th' ambition to seem rich and gay . amidst my foes i 'm now a stranger , where what 's tolerable , is accounted rare . such travellers can only passage crave , and that , what e'er i miss , i 'm sure to have . all suffrings here that can my fears alarm , afflict the flesh , but work no further harm . distress and shame make not heav'ns servants seem more base or wretched in their lord's esteem . these can't his favor from my soul remove , nor intercept the pleasures of his love. and happiness to him is quite unknown , who cannot find it in that love alone . from riches free , i 'm free too from their cares , safe by my distance from their fatal snares , an humble fortune kindly does deny th' incentives of our pride and luxury . my weaker vertue may be here secure , which might not all th' assaults of wealth endure . so little vessels may securely ride on a small river's smooth and gentle tide ; where weaker winds with soft and easy gales scarce heave the bosom of their humble sails . but if they put to sea , too late they find their sail unequal for a fiercer wind. hopeless they 're with impetuous fury born , split on the rocks , or with the tempest torn . thus meaner fortunes vertue most befriend , giving what 's fit , and more would but offend . here we our innocence can best ensure , and that 's the happyst state , that 's most secure . if now to heav'n's so difficult the road , what must it be with wealth 's incumbring load ? do my endeavours now succeed so well , and all temptations with such ease repell , that my ambition any harder task should crave , and for herculean labours ask , that i with care and toil should purchase foes , and seek the place that thickest dangers shews . are those i cannot shun so few or slight , that fond of ruin i would more invite ? this were to ravish death it self , and scale the gates of hell , lest milder arts should fail . i 'm born for heav'n , and shall i chuse to stray , and shun the plainest and the safest way , that i a longer journey may endure through roads more troublesome , and less secure ? still meaner fortunes are the safest found , free from the snares which wealth and pomp surround . the humble ground needs but a small desence , we ought to dread the rising eminence , where sin does it's victorious forces post , and dying souls are in such numbers lost . numbers , that give malicious hell such joy , that glut the grave , and greedy death o'er cloy . the greatest danger that my fear should move , is , lest the world should too obliging prove . she 's then most dang'rous when her smiling art , and splendid dress invite my yielding heart . but when she frowns , her charms are lost , unless we 're fond of misery , and court distress . the worlds unkindness may abate our love , teach us to seek for happiness above . make us for high eternal joys enquire , and seek for heav'n with more inflam'd desire . for still our wishes after home and rest , are by the badness of their way increast . 't is then from disbelief , and want of love to god , and those pure joys prepar'd above . that in the meanest state we can't rejoice , and make not humble poverty our choice . that wealth and greatness we so little dread , sought by the living , curst so by the dead . blest with the hopes of heav'n tho i've no more , 't is atheism to complain my fortune's poor . the man rich with these hopes may well imploy his saddest hours in calm delights and joy. who when a few short hours are past , will know what heav'n to make men happy can bestow , for ever blest , if god can make them so . may i have these transporting hopes of heav'n , and let me know that happiness when given ; i 'll praise heav'ns goodness , tho opprest i ly with what mistaken men call misery . why should i grieve for what i suffer here ? all these slight troubles soon will disappear ; and what is not eternal , is below my fear . the safety of a low state. translated out of seneca's agamemnon , chor. argivarum . by the same hand . the treach'rous fortune of a royal crown ; places what evers rich and great , on a steep and slippery seat. whence with an easy blast all tumble down . proud scepters can't command soft peace and rest , nor chase uneasy fears away ; they know no safe and happy day , but endless cares their greatness still molest . the lybian sea not with such fury raves , when heap'd up by rough winds , the sand does in high tott'ring mountains stand , and interrupts the loud impetuous waves . euxinus neighbor to the snowy pole , — where the bright carman , by the main untoucht , drives round his shining wain , can't with such force his troubled waters roll . as when kings fall , turn'd round by rapid fate , kings , whose desire is to appear awful , to move their subjects fear , which fear does in themselves the like create . the night , to hide 'em safe does darkness want , soft sleep , by which a troubled breast is loos'd , and lies dissolv'd in rest , can't charm the restless cares that princes haunt . the men that born by too kind fortune rise , soon sink and fall down from their height , prest by their own unequal weight , which , those that envy'd , now as much despise . great fortunes can't their own vast burden bear ; so the swift ships expanded sails swoln out with too indulgent gales , the winds , they wish'd before , begin to fear . so a proud tow'r thrusts his aspiring head among the flying clouds , but finds the uneasy neighbourhood of winds and thunder-claps , that are around him bred . so the rude storms that shake the bending wood , design an envious fatal stroke , to the ancient , well spread oak , the grove's defence and glory while it stood . high hills the fairest mark for thunder stand ; great bodies are but seldom sound , such have most room to take a wound ; and the fat deer invites the hunter's hand . what whisling fortune does this day advance , it throws down with a greater fall ; estates that are but low and small , last a long quiet age , secure from chance . he 's only happy , that of meaner rank does not his humble state resent , but with his fortune still content , with a safe wind sails by the neighb'rng bank . whose wary boat that dares not trust her oar to the rough usage of the wind , and the wide ocean seldom kind , keeps still in prospect of the safer shore . right zeal . by the same hand . sure there 's a zeal that 's born of heav'nly race , whose lineage in its aspects you may trace ; the generous fervour and admir'd degree of a victorious , healthful piety . this quickens souls grown stupid , and imparts an active ferment to devouter hearts . 't is this invigorates decaying grace , and sheds fresh beauty on it's sickly face . it works not out in froth , nor will it vent in angry heats its inward discontent . nor , for a triffle , will to blood contend , nor all its warmth in noise and censures spend . but meek and gentle as the sacred dove , 't will on the soul in kindly breathings move . it smooths rough nature , sweetens eager blood , expels the vicious part , and saves the good . it s heav'nly birth and nature it will prove , by universal charity and love , it will so widen a contracted mind to the strait compass of a sect confin'd , it shall embrace those of a different name , and find ev'n for their enemies a flame . 't will pity smaller faults , and those that stray reduce with peaceful methods to their way : it deals not blows and death about on those , whose errors some less useful truth oppose ; nor do's with sword and fire the stubborn tame , it uses none but its own harmless flame . in reformations 't will some faults endure , and not encrease the wounds it seeks to cure . it stickles most on love's and mercy 's side , and checks the heat and outrages of pride . 't will shed its own , not others blood to gain the peace it seeks , and mutual love maintain this zeal has always most impatience shown , where our lord's honour 's injur'd , not our own : unaskt it can forgive an injury , still love the author , and his rage defy . without this zeal how meanly grace appears , see what a sick consumptive face it wears ! it 's beauty faded , and its vigour lost it seems departed virtue 's meagre ghost . only this zeal its ruins can repair , and render its complexion fresh and fair . such courage springs from this more active grace , as can the various shapes of terrour face ; it makes us gladly take the martyr's crown , and meet the flames , with greater of our own . no straits , no death it formidable thinks , beneath whose force a sickly virtue sinks : it gives the soul the quickest , deepest sense of unseen worlds , creates such diligence , as cheerfully dispatches all the tasks that heav'n prescribes , or our own safety asks . this zeal is wary , not enflam'd by pride , and walks not , but with knowledge for its guide ; nor will too hastily advance , but stay to take advice and reason in its way . when it grows hot , 't is always certain too , and will its doubting thoughts as calmly shew . blest heav'nly zeal ! how spiritful and fair those souls that feel its influence , appear ! how much such godlike hero's us condemn , whom they excel , as much as angels , them . let me this truly noble zeal attain , and those that seek 'em , wealth and honour gain . my portion 's then so great , not all the store of worldly treasures can enrich me more . temptations . by the same hand . alas , i walk not out , but still i meet paths too perplex'd for my unwary feet . at my return the calm and even mind i carry'd forth , all discompos'd i find ; my weak devotions slacken'd and unbent , and passions loos'd grow loud and turbulent . my ruffled mind with sorrow secks in vain to rank and suit its displac'd thoughts again : my careful steps no place securely tread , thick snares o'er all th' enchanted ground are spread . the smallest inadvertencies expose unguarded virtue to our watchful foes . satan rejoyces ( if his hell has joy ) that , lost himself , he can mankind destroy . rav'nous as lyons are , and strong as they , he does on souls , as those on bodies prey . he much to 's skill , more to fall'n nature trusts , and brings temptations suited to our lusts ; temptations brings of circe's syren-brood , by feeble resolutions not withstood , nor vanquish'd by faint wishes to be good . here some great man's displeasure over aws our fears of sin ; there carnal pleasure draws . in an alluring dress it courts the sense , whilst yielding nature faint resistance makes , at last o'er come , gives up her innocence , and , in exchange , sin and heav'ns anger takes . sometimes a deadly persecutors hate will damp our zeal , and love to god abate ; sometimes the envious scorn on virtue thrown , and the disgrace of being good alone . but after the attractive baits of sin , call up the secret sparks of lust within ; which taking fire burst out into a flame , which our disabled reason cannot tame , those purposes small opposition make , that once we thought no charms , no force could shake , but leave us to the power of lustful fires , and the wild guidance of unclean desires . but ah ! what after-pangs will this create , when sober thoughts the sinful act debate ? what guilty blushes wounded conscience wears see how it starts lash'd with its secret fears ? it flies from heav'n , the thoughts of god afright my troubled soul , before , its chief delight . heav'ns frown blasts all my joys ; tormenting fears , the secret stings of conscience , sighs , & tears , is all the sad reward past sins afford , for these i'm by my self , and god abhor'd . when love would rise to heav'n with fresh delight , conscience suggests my guilt , and stays its slight : how dear a moment's sinful pleasures cost , god's favour more than life , i 've for it lost . one sin can all my ancient doubts restore , makes me suspect the conquests got before ; makes me suspend the hopes of heav'nly bliss , and tyrants ne'er found torment , like to this . it makes me question all my deeds , debate the future safety of my doubtful state. it strangely can undo what 's past , destroy my present , and revoke my former joy. it shews old sins to wound me with their view , and the sad penitential scene renew . what spreading mischief is in sin conceal'd ! by man believ'd not , 'till too late reveal'd , fool that i am such torments to create , and buy repentance at so dear a rate . vpon a most virtuous and accomplish'd young gentleman , who died of the small-pox . by s. h. esq . . of our dead friends ill truths we may not tell , such spotless honour in the grave should dwell , yet more a breach of charity it seems to hide their virtues , then to speak their crimes ; how loudly then his worth should be proclaim'd whom ev'ry virtue grac'd , and not one vice defam'd . . his merits gain'd a character so high , as envy could not blast , nor pride deny ; above disguise he scorn'd all varnish'd arts , and with inherent honour conquer'd hearts . his actions generous all , and squar'd by truth ; with age's prudence bless'd , in the gay bloom of youth . . gentle , offenceless , so averse to wrong , obliging sweetness dwelt upon his tongue , with nature's richest gifts so deck'd within , that pride in him had scarce been judg'd a sin ; his ready wit no stop or bounds could know , but , like a gen'rous spring , did clear and constant flow . . not in his grave more quiet can he find , than always lodg'd in his unvary'd mind ; a mind fit only for the bless'd above , the seat of friendship , and the throne of love : in heaven what matchless glory has he gain'd , to bring from earth a soul by such an age unstain'd . . the hand of fate seems partial to destroy ; fond of the happy , to the wretched coy : in plenty round him fortune's blessings lay , which just attain'd , fate summon'd him away . so parts the shipwreck'd merchant from his gain , and ( sinking ) sees his wealth float round him on the main . . no humane skill the destin'd hour could stay , and hovering death was pleas'd with such a prey ; which to secure beyond the help of art in every pore he struck a fatal dart. the vicious life an easy conquest lies , but fate 's whole power invades , when sacred virtue dies . to a lady , vpon the x. commandments cut by her on white-paper , and presented to s. john's college in oxford . the curious wonders we preserve with care , that the fair hands of cloyster'd nuns prepare ; who strive , poor ladies ! with a fruitless toil a miserable solitude to beguile : promoting what they to themselves deny , they pride and luxury to mankind supply ; but in your piece this excellence we find , an entertainment for the eye , and mind . a sov'reign judgment form'd the first design so well the matter and the art combine ! no other lines cou'd merit so much art , no other hand an equal skill impart . the masters see it , and their plates disown , asham'd of the rude scratches they have done , the printer boasts no more his works do live , and sybil's leaves , and ancient bark survive : but owns , that art the longer date deserves , which things in fairest characters preserves ; at least , if we no more pretensions name , the author may a just precedence claim ; blind chance did his on the dull soldier throw , another palace kindly this bestow . were all the holy books transcrib'd anew , and in such beauteous letters dress'd by you ; we ought the iewish rev'rence to retain , and institute new masorites again . our tongue beneath that sacred character , wou'd of divine original appear : and , what in theirs was but a vain pretence , each letter carry mighty consequence : and oh ! how fit would that fair mansion prove for th' ever-blest , and the eternal dove ! th' officious painter on the altar draws in golden characters these sacred laws , but 't is the gold commends the strokes he makes , his work a borrow'd value from it takes ; while wisely you such slight materials chuse , and solid worth by acc'rate art infuse ; your piece no glittering advantage needs , whose value from the curious work proceeds ; yet by this piece is represented best th' unspotted image seated in your breast ; as poets , labo'ring best their sense t' express , betray those passions which their souls possess , just such your writ appears , so heavenly fair the angels hand did scarce a fairer bear . we only fear least those who come to see should , unawares , commit idolatry . the holy place a solemn rev'rence fills , and deeper awe , which this new guest instils ; that hence we may but just credentials call , to vouch the sanction of th' original : and might the tables by those fingers writ , into the holy of holyests admit . hymn . veni creator spiritus . englisht by mr. wright . . approach celestial dove , eternal purity and love , and where at first you did dispence a being , life , and sence , in the same breasts now place the very soul of life , supernal grace . . thou spring of joy still growing , fountain of comfort ever flowing , thou greatest gift of the most great , thou charity compleat , unction divine that brings the sanctity of priests , grandeur of kings . . thou sevenfold benefactor , of all that 's good , thou great transactor , thou promis'd gift from heaven sent when from us heaven went , thou god of eloquence that speakst to th' intellect before the sence . . hither direct thy ray , thou glorious sun of lasting day , and from that sacred heat inflame a passion for thy name ; so all our present want will be supply'd by that celestial grant. . far , far , from us displace th' immortal enemy of grace ; and in all hazards let us find thy peace , the peace of mind : we ask no more reward , thou being thus our conduct and and guard. . true faith on us bestow the father-deity to know ; and teach us by thy inspiration , god the son's incarnation , inform us then aright how you add one to them , yet all unite . . eternal one , united three , to you belongs all majesty ; all power , and all dominion's due to you , and only you : all glory , then , all praise divine united three , eternal one , be thine . jeptha's vow . the argument . jeptha having rashly vow'd ( if he succeeded in his expedition against the amonites ) to offer up in sacrifice the first that should meet him from his own house ; he returns victorious : the first that comes forth to welcome his triumph , is his only daughter , whom he sacrifices according to his vow . by n. tate . before the altar the devoted maid ( with garlands crown'd and in white robes array'd ) . appears all mild , to yield her destin'd life , and waiting the slow sacrificer's knife . a virgin blush her aspect purpled o'er , as young , and ne'er beheld by crowds before ) ( such tincture crimson'd alablaster shows , or lillies shaded by a neighb'ring rose . ) yet gen'rous resolution do's display , that with her modesty bears equal sway. she , only she , appears without surprize , and views the weeping crowd with cheerful eyes . some call to mind the publick service done , and battle lately by her father won ; his blood 's expence in field to save the state , and with it the unhappy victor's fate . of age's last reserve and hopes bereft , his ancient house and lineage heirless left . the younger sort bewail her blooming charms , and grutch so fair a prize to death's cold arms. the nymph for whom the noblest youths had pin'd , a booty to the thankless grave assign'd . for now ( as chance wou'd play the tyrant's part , and fret their wounds with fresh supplies of smart ) those beauties nature had before conferr'd , sublim'd and to advantage all appear'd ; their grief was now to consternation turn'd , they now mourn silent , as before , they burn'd , of this the virgin do's advantage take , and her afflicted father thus bespake : to ammon's court , great sir , these plaints remit ; these plaints are only for the vanquisht fit . my self to death's cold arms i freely give , while you to shield our state and altars live , you rate my useless life at price too high to make me yours , and israel's victim dye ! more than my merits or my hopes could claim , to purchase with few years immortal fame . with comfort to your palace , sir , repair to cherrish her that 's now your only care : my tender mother's sorrow to asswage : for only you can check the tyrant's rage . forget your worthless daughter , and survive by your example to keep her alive . you else resign your laurels to the foe , and conquer'd ammon triumphs in your woe . or have you lavish'd all your love away on my past years — reserv'd no kindness for my latest day ? if my past life did you in ought offend , in death at least i wou'd my fault amend , and to the shades a guiltless soul descend . o torture ( the distracted father crys , with arms extended and uplifted eyes ) too much , ye conscious skies , for man to bear ! for this is torment that exceeds despair . the weeping crowd around he then survey'd , o if the death of this illustrious maid you wretched makes , her death you only see , what must the murtherer her father be ? in innocence your sorrow finds relief ; i bear the double load of guilt and grief . worldly greatness . by mr. ezr. simson . what 's worldly empire , pomp & pow'r ? the pageant-triumph of an hour . or if the courtesy of fate prolong the scene an age's date , 't is all that fortune can bestow : and if for life's time lasts the show , not to a minute 't will amount in vast eternity's account . were heav'n so pleas'd , one monarch may arrive to universal sway ; mankind in sole subjection have , yet to his passions be a slave . their stronger forces shall invest alarm , assault , and storm his brest , and with the havock there they make , keep him , as he the world , awake . humility . by the same hand . much injur'd grace , for being mild , meaness of spirit thou art stil'd : thus sensless mortals thee defame , who dost with heav'n alliance claim : 't is thou alone that dost inspire the greatness that brave souls admire . the proudest heroes of the field to thee the prize of fame must yield , to thee belongs the first renown , thou only can'st the glory own to triumph o'er fate 's outmost force , and steer in storms a steddy course . when fortune tempts with flatt'ring wiles , thou only canst resist her smiles ; and when her angry tempests rise , thou only canst her frowns despise . on the day of iudgment : by the e. of roscommon . the day of wrath , that dreadful day , that shall the world in ashes lay , 't is coming — will not , cannot stay . the last loud trumpet 's wondrous sound shall through the cleaving graves rebound , and wake the nations under ground . nature and death shall , with supprise , behold the conscious wretches rise , and view their judge with frighted eyes . then shall , with universal dread , the sacred mystick rolls be read , to try the living and the dead . the judge ascends his awful throne ; but when he makes all secrets known , how will a guilty face be shown ? what intercessor shall i take , to save my last important stake ; when the most just have cause to quake ? thou mighty formidable king , mercy and truths eternal spring , some charitable pity bring . forget not what my ransom cost ; nor let my dear bought soul be lost in storms of guilty terror tost . thou who for me hast felt such pain , whose precious blood the cross did stain ; let not thy birth and death be vain . thou whom avenging powers obey , remit , before the reckoning day , the debt which i can never pay . surrounded with amazing fears , whose load my soul with anguish bears , i sigh , i weep : accept my tears . thou who wast mov'd with mary's grief , and by absolving of the thief hast given me hopes , oh ! give me relief . oh! let thy blood my crimes deface , and fix me with those heirs of grace whom thou on thy right-hand shalt place . from that portentuous vast abyss , where flames devour , and serpents hiss , call me to thy eternal bliss . prostrate , my contrite heart i rend ; my god , my father , and my friend , do not forsake me in my end . when justice shall her sword unsheath , how will they curse their second breath , who rise to a severer death ? great god of mercies pitty take on souls thou didst immortal make , nor let their state be that of woe , which must , if once , be ever so . finis . the contents . the morning hymn , by dr. fuller , formerly bp. of lincoln . page an evening hymn , by ezr. simson . innocence ; or the inestimable gem , by a young lady . by dr. fuller . by the same hand . by the same hand . hymn . the passing-bell . job's curse , by dr. jeremy taylor . the words by a young lady . a dialogue between two penitents . vpon a quiet conscience , by k. charles the first . a dialogue betwixt dives and abraham . ibid. soliloquy . psalm the , by mr. tate . the evening hymn . on our saviour's passion . pag. the penitent , by dr. jeremy taylor , the blessed virgin 's expostulation , when our saviour at years of age had withdrawn himself , by n. tate . on pilate's exposing our lord to the jews , and saying to them , behold the man. translations out of boethius , lib. . metre the fourth . metre fifth . metre sixth . the last trumpet , by mr. tate . the slaughter of the innocents , by the same hand . vpon the sight of an anatomy , by mr. tate . psalm the first , by capt. walker . psalm . , , . by the same hand . a paraphrase on the th psalm . the convert . an ode written by mr. geo. herbert , the prophet elijah translated up to heaven , by mr. tate . hymn , by h. w. hezekiah's sickness and recovery , by mr. tate . on the death of mr 〈◊〉 who was found dead upon his kn 〈…〉 hamber . a paraphrase on several texts of scripture , expressing the sighs of a penitent soul. translated from herm. hugo . on psalm . vers. , on ieremiah . vers. . on psalm . vers. . on psalm . vers. . a psalm . on psalm . vers. . by n. tate . out of hermannus hugo . on easter-day , by an unknown hand . a preparation to prayer , by the same hand . pag. gold is try'd in the fire , and acceptable men in time of adversity . by the same hand . on affliction . by the same hand . psalm the , paraphras'd to verse th . by the same hand . the second chapter of the wisdom of solomon , paraphras'd ; the first lines being an introduction . by the same hand . the chapter begins . solitude . the enquiry . by the same hand . soliloquy . by the same hand . the safety of a low state ; translated out of seneca's agamemnon , chor. argiv . by the same hand . pag. right zeal . by the same hand . temptations . by the same hand . vpon a most virtuous and accomplish'd young gentleman , who died of the small-pox . by s. h. esq to a lady , upon the x. commendments cut by her on white-paper , and presented to s. john's college in oxford . hymn , veni creator spiritus , englished by mr. wright . jeptha's vow , by n. tate . worldly greatness , by mr. ezr. simson , humility . by the same hand . on the day of iudgment , by the e. of roscommon . two books of harmonia sacra , in which are several hymns , &c. of this collection , set to musick by dr. blow , the late famous mr. henry purcell , and other masters bound both parts s. or the d part s. syphilis, or, a poetical history of the french disease written in latin by fracastorius ; and now attempted in english by n. tate. fracastoro, girolamo, - . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing f estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) syphilis, or, a poetical history of the french disease written in latin by fracastorius ; and now attempted in english by n. tate. fracastoro, girolamo, - . tate, nahum, - . [ ], p. printed for jacob tonson, london : . errata: p. . reproduction of original in the bodleian library. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng syphilis -- early works to . - tcp assigned for keying and markup - spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images - tcp staff (michigan) sampled and proofread - mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion licensed , decemb. . . ro. l'estrange syphilis : or , a poetical history of the french disease . written in latin by fracastorivs . and now attempted in english by n. tate . london , printed for iacob tonson , at the iudge's - head in chancery-lane near fleetstreet . . the translator to mr. hobbs , surgeon to his majesty . accept , great son of art , this faint effect of a most active , and unfeign'd respect : numbers that yield ( alas ! ) too just survey of physick's growth and poetry's decay . that shew a generous muse impair'd by me , as much as th' authour's skill's out-done by thee . this indian conqu'rer's fatal march he sung , to the same lyre his own apollo strung ; whose notes yet fail'd the monster to asswage , revenging here , invading spaniard's rage . dear was the conquest of a new found world , whose plague e'er since through all the old is hurl'd . had fracastorius , who in numbers told ( numbers more rich than those new lands of gold ) this great destroyer's progress , seen this age and thy success against the tyrant's rage , bembus , had then been no immortal name , thou and thy art had challeng'd all his flame ! thou driv'st th' usurper to his last retreats , repairing as thou go'st the ruin'd seats : thus while the foe is by thy art remov'd , the holds are strengthen'd , and the soil improv'd . thy happy conquest do's at once expell th' invader's force , and inbred factions quell . thy patients and augusta's fate 's the same , to rise more fair and lasting for the flame : while meaner artists this bold task essay , i' th' little world of man they loose their way . thou know'st the secret passes to each part , and , skill'd in nature , can'st not fail in art. the life of fracastorius . fracastorius was descended from the fracastorian family of great antiquity in verona . he seemed not onely to rival the fame of catullus and pliny , who had long before made that city renown'd , but to have very far exceeded all his contemporaries , for learning and poetry . his parents were paulo-philippus fracastorius and camilla mascarellia , both of great reputation . he was so well educated by his father that he gave early proofs of a great genius , so that in his childhood all men conceived hopes of an extraordinary man. nor was providence wanting to give him a signal testimony , forasmuch as when he was an infant in the armes of his mother , a sudden tempest arising , in which the mother was struck dead by lightning , the child received no harm . he was sent for literature while very young to padua , where even in that age with indefatigable labour , he opened his way to that height of glory which he afterwards attained : after the initiatory arts he applyed himself to the secrets of distinct sciences , but infinitely delighted with the mathematicks , in all , assisted by a memory equal to his ingenuity . after several years spent in philosophical studies under the tutorship of peter pomponatius of mantua ; he devoted himself by the dictates of his genius to physick with such resolution and success , that in the school disputations , not onely his fellow students but most experienc'd doctours were sensible that he was designed by providence for great undertakings . accordingly they then gave him the honour of the pulpit , which had never before been permitted to any person till they had perfected their studies , and were arrived to the years of manhood . this school being dissolv'd by the breaking out of the war , while he had thoughts of returning to his countrey ( his father being then dead ) he was on honourable conditions invited by livianus , general of the venetian forces , and a noble patron of wit , to the college forojuliensis , &c. — and lodged in the same apartment of andrea naugerus and iohannes cottac , two excellent poets . he had not long resided here before he published verses on every extraordinary occasion that happened , which were received with such general applause throughout italy , that their fame has to this day stifled the performances of his companions . having after wards accompanied livianus through many wars , the general being at last overthrown and taken prisoner by the french at abdua ; he returned late into his native countrey , where in the general devastation he found his patrimony almost utterly destroyed . he marry'd , but was soon unhappy in the loss of two sons whose untimely death he bewailed in a most passionate elegy . he was low of stature but of good bulk , his shoulders broad , his hair black and long , his face round , his eyes black , his nose short and turning upwards by his continual contemplation of the stars , a lively air was spread over his countenance that displayed the serenity and ingenuity of his mind . he affected a quiet and private life , as being a man free from ambitious desires ; contenting himself with a moderate fortune , and placing his happiness in improvement of his knowledge . he was chearfull though frugal at his table , having a constant regard to his health ; his wit being always the best part of his banquet . he was notwithstanding sparing in his speech , and affecting no vanity in his dress : he was never censorious of other mens performances , but always glad of an occasion to commend ; for which he was deservedly celebrated by iohannes baptista in a noble epigram . he spent his time in curing the diseased , a divine power seeming always to attend his endeavours , above the sordid desire of gain , and thought himself best rewarded in the health of his patient . by these means he contracted many friendships , and had ( deservedly ) no enemy . he was not onely esteemed for his skill in his own countrey , but was sought to by foreign princes in desperate sickness , for which though vast rewards were offered , he brought nothing home beside their friendship . in his leisure he diverted himself with reading history , at which time polybius , or plutarch were never out of his hands . he sometimes relieved his studies with mathematicks and musick , and made no small performances in cosmography . he was much alone , yet always employed ; and though by reason of his backwardness to discourse , he seemed of a saturnine temper , yet none were more chearfull and pleasant when entred into conversation . he performed wonders by his exact knowledge of herbs and simples , by searching the best books of the ancients . that most excellent antidote called diascordium , was of his preparing ; we are likewise beholding to his judgment for specifying many usefull herbs of which the ancients had left uncertain description . the age in which he lived saw nothing equal to his learning , but his honesty . in his retreat from the city , while the pestilence raged , he found leisure to compose the following poem , a work of such elegance , that sanazarius freely acknowledged it to excell his own , de partu virginis , that had cost him above twenty years labour and correction . his treatises in prose and efforts of poetry are too numerous to be recited on this occasion . in all which he affected so little vanity that he never preserv'd a copy ; and we are beholding for what are extant , to the industry of his friends that collected them after his death . he was above years old when he dyed , which was by an apoplexy that seiz'd him while he was at dinner at his countrey seat . he was sensible of his malady , though speechless , often putting his hand upon the top of his head , by which sign he would have had his servants administer a cupping-glass to the part affected , by which he had formerly cured a nun in verona , labouring under the same distemper . but his domesticks not conceiving his meaning apply'd first one thing and then another , till in the evening he gently expired . he was interr'd at verona : his statue together with that of andrea naugerus , delicately cast in brass , was erected in the school of padua by iohannes baptista rhamnusius . his fellow citizens of verona , not to be behind rhamnusius in respect ( two years after the erecting the brazen statue in padua ) set up his image in marble at verona , in imitation of their ancestours who had performed the same honour to their catullus and pliny ; with laurel round their heads . to his friend , the writer of the ensuing translation . well has thy fate directed thee to chuse an authour , worthy of the noblest muse : his learned pen has , what was long unknown , in roman language , like a roman shown . and thine as sweet , in british numbers taught the labours of his vast poetick thought . of earth , of seas , of putrid air he sung , to search from whence that dire contagion sprung , which now does worse than fellest plagues deface the beauteous form of god's resembling race . from the malignant influence of the skies , 't is sure the seeds of most diseases rise . but if this merciless , consuming flame , from vapours , or infectious planets came ; why rag'd it not much more in ancient times , from exhalations of impurer climes ? besides ; no settled consequence can spring from whatsoe'er contingent causes bring . the raging pestilence , that long lays wast the spotted prey , devours it self at last . and sure had this been ne'er so strong entail'd , the vile succession must e'er now have fail'd . blame not the stars ; 't is plain it neither fell from the distemper'd heav'ns , nor rose from hell. nor need we to the distant indies rome ; the curst originals are nearer home . whence should that foul infectious torment flow , but from the banefull source of all our wo ? that wheedling , charming sex , that draws us in to ev'ry punishment and ev'ry sin . while man , by heav'ns command , and nature led , through this vast globe his maker's image spread ; the godlike figure form'd in ev'ry womb prolifick stems , for ages yet to come . vncurst , because he did not vainly toil , on barren mountains , or impregnant soil ; healthfull and vigorous , he , o'er the face of the wide earth , dispers'd the sacred race . but now , that tribe , who all our rights invade , pervert the wise decrees which nature made . prompt to all ill , insatiately they fire at ev'ry pamper'd brutes untam'd desire : and while they prostitute themselves to more than eastern kings had concubines before ; the foul promiscuous coition breeds , like jarring elements , those pois'nous seeds , which all the dreadfull host of symptomes bring ; and with one curst disease a legion spring . were the decay'd , degen'rate race of man , vntainted now , as when it first began ; and there were no such tort'ring plague on earth , the first inconstant wretch wou'd give it birth . shun her , as you wou'd fly from splitting rocks ; not wolves so fatal are to tender flocks : though round the world the dire contagion flew , she 'll poison more , than e'er pandora slew . a poetical history of the french disease . through what adventures this unknown disease so lately did astonisht europe seize , through asian coasts and libyan cities ran , and from what seeds the malady began , our song shall tell : to naples first it came from france , and justly took from france his name , companion of the war — the methods next of cure we shall express , the wondrous wit of mortals in distress : but when their skill too faint resistence made , we 'll shew the gods descending to their aid . to reach the secret causes we must rise above the clouds , and travell o'er the skies . the daring subject let us then pursue , transported with an argument so new , while springing groves and tunefull birds invite , and muses that in wondrous theams delight . o bembus , ornament of italy , if yet from cares of state thou canst be free , if leo's councils yet can spare thy skill , and let the business of the world stand still ; o steal a visit to those cool retreats , the muses dearest most frequented seats ; and , gentle bembus , do not there disdain a member of the esculapian train , attempting physicks practice to rehearse , and clothing low experiments in verse . a god instructs , these mysteries of old by great apollo's self in equal streins were told . the smallest objects ost attract our eyes , but here , beneath a small appearance , lies a source , that greatest wonder will create , of nature much and very much of fate . but thou , vrania , who alone canst trace first causes , measure out the starry space ; that know'st the planets number , force and use , and what effects the vari'd orbs produce : so may the sphears thy heavenly course admire , the stars with envy at thy beams retire ; as thou a while shalt condescend to dwell , with me on earth , and make this grove thy cell ; while zephyrus , can my head , with myrtle bound , and imitating rocks my song resound . say , goddess , to what cause we shall at last assign this plague , unknown to ages past ; if from the western climes 't was wasted o'er , when daring spaniards left their native shore ; resolv'd beyond th' atlantick to descry , conjectur'd worlds , or in the search to dye . for fame reports this grief perpetual there , from skies infected and polluted air : from whence 't is grown so epidemical , whole cities victims to its fury fall ; few scape , for what relief where vital breath , the gate of life , is made the road of death ? if then by traffick thence this plague was brought , how dearly dearly was that traffick bought ! this prodigy of sickness , weak at first , ( like infant tyrants and in secret nurst ) when once confirm'd , with sudden rage breaks forth and scatters dessolation through the earth . so while the shepherd travelling through the dark strikes his dim torch , some unsuspected spark falls in the stubble , where it smothers long but by degrees becomes at last so strong , that now it spreads o'er all the neighbouring soil , devours at once the plowmans hope and toil ; the sacred grove next sacrifice must be , nor iove can save his dedicated tree ; the grove foments its rage from whence it flies in curling flames and seems to fire the skies . yet observation rightly taken draws this new distemper from some newer cause ; nor reason can allow that this disease , came first by comerce from beyond the seas ; since instances in divers lands are shown , to whom all indian traffick is unknown : nor could th' infection from the western clime seize distant nations at the self same time ; and in remoter parts begin its reign , as fierce and early as it did in spain . what slaughter in our italy was made where tiber's tribute to the oceans paid ; where poe does through a hundred cities glide , and pours as many streams into the tide . all at one season , all without relief , receiv'd and languisht with the common grief . nor can th' infection first be charg'd on spain , that fought new worlds beyond the western main . since from pyrene's foot , to italy , it shed its bane on france , while spain was free . as soon the fertile rhine its fury found , and regions with eternal winter bound : nor yet did southern climes its vengeance shun , but felt a flame more scorching than the sun. the palms of ida now neglected stood , and egypt languisht while her nile o'erflow'd ; from whence 't is plain this pest must be assign'd to some more pow'rfull cause and hard to find . in all productions of wise nature's hand , whether conceiv'd in air on sea or land ; no constant method does direct her way , but various beings various laws obey ; such things as from few principles arise , in every place and season meet our eyes ; but what are fram'd of principles abstruce , such places onely and such times produce . effects of yet a more stupendious birth , and such as nature must with pangs bring forth , where violent and various seeds unite , break slowly from the bosome of the night ; long in the womb of fate the embryo's worn , whole ages pass before the monster 's born . diseases thus which various seeds compound , as various in their birth and date are found . some always seen , some long in darkness hurld , that break their chains at last to scourge the world. to which black list this plague must be assign'd , nights foulest birth and terrour of mankind . nor must we yet think this escape the first , since former ages with the like were curst . long since he scatter'd his infernal flame , and always being had , though not a name , at least what name it bore is now unfound : both names and things in times abyss lye drown'd . how vainly then do we project to keep our names remembred when our bodies sleep ? since late succession searching their descent , shall neither find our dust nor monument . yet where the western ocean finds its bound ( the world so lately by the spaniards found ) beneath this pest the wretched natives groan in every nation there and always known , such dire effects depend upon a clime , on varying skies and long revolving time : the temper of their air this plague brought forth , the soil it self dispos'd for such a birth . all things conspir'd to raise the tyrant there , but time alone cou'd fix his conquest here . if therefore more distinctly we would know each source from whence this deadly bane did flow , his progress in the earth we must survey how many cities groan beneath his sway . and when his great advancement we have trac'd , we must allow his principles as vast . that earth nor sea th' ingredients cou'd prepare and wholly must ascribe it to the air , the tyrant's seat , his magazine is there . the air that do's both earth and sea surround , as easily can earth and sea confound ; what fence for bodies when at every pore the soft invader has an open door ? what fence , where poyson's drawn with vitall breath , and father air the authour proves of death ? of subtile substance that with ease receives infection , which as easily it gives . now by what means this dire contagion first , was form'd aloft , by what ingredients nurst , our song shall tell ; and in this wondrous course , revolving times and varying planets force . first then the sun with all his train of stars , amongst our elements raise endless wars ; and when the planets from their stations range , our orb is influenc'd , and feels the change. the chiefest instance is the suns retreat , no sooner he withdraws his vital heat , but fruitless fields with snow are cover'd o'er , the pretty fountains run and talk no more . yet when his chariot to the crab returns , the air , the earth , the very ocean burns . the queen of night can boast no less a sway , at least all humid things her power obey . malignant saturn's star as much can claim , with friendly iove's , bright mars , and venus flame , and all the host of lights without a name . our elements beneath their influence lye , slaves to the very rabble of the sky . but most when many meet in one abode , or when some planet enters a new road , far distant from the course he us'd to run , some mighty work of fate is to be done . long tracts of time indeed must first be spent , before completion of the vast event ; but when the revolution once is made what mischiefs earth and sea at once invade ! poor mortals then shall all extremes sustain while heav'n dissolves in deluges of rain ; which from the mountains with impetuous course , and headlong rage , trees , rocks and towns shall force , o'er swelling ganges then shall sweep the plain , and peacefull poe outroar the stormy main . in other parts the springs as low shall lye , and nymphs with tears , exhausted streams supply . where neither drought nor deluges destroy , the winds their utmost fury shall employ ; whlie hurricans whole cities shall o'erthrow , or earthquakes gorge them in the depths below . perhaps the season shall arrive ( if fate and nature once agree upon the date ) when this most cultivated earth shall be unpeopled quite , or drench'd beneath the sea ; when ev'n the sun another course shall steer , and other seasons constitute the year : the wondring north shall see the springing vine , and moors admire at snow beneath the line . new species then of creatures shall arise a new creation nature's self surprise . then youth shall lend fresh vigour to the earth , and give a second breed of gyants birth . by whom a new assault shall be perform'd , hills heap'd on hills , and heaven once more be storm'd . since nature's then so lyable to change , why should we think this late contagion strange ; or that the planets where such mischiefs grow , should shed their poyson on the earth below ? two hundred rowling years are past away , since mars and saturn in conjunction lay . when through the east an unknown fever rag'd , of strange effects and by no arts asswag'd ; from suffocated lungs with pain they drew their breath , and bloud for spittle did ensue ; four days the wretches with this plague were griev'd , ( oh dismal sight ) and then by death reliev'd . from thence to persia the contagion came , of whom th' assyrians catch'd the spreading flame . euphrates next and tigris did complain , arabia too stil'd happy now in vain ; then phrygia mourn'd , from whence it crost the sea ( too small to quench its flame ) to italy . then from this lower orb with me remove to view the starry palaces above , through all the roads of wandring planets rove . to search in what position they have stood , and what conjectures were from them made good . to find what signs did former times direct , and what the present age is to expect : from hence perhaps we shall with ease descry the source of this stupendious malady . behold how cancer with portentous harms before heav'ns gate unfolds his threatning armes ; prodigious ills must needs from thence ensue , in which one house we may distinctly view a numerous cabal of stars conspire , to hurl at once on air their bainfull fire . all this the rev'rend artist did descry who nightly watch'd the motions of the sky , ye gods ( he cry'd ) what does your rage prepare , what unknown plague engenders in the air ? besides , i see dire wars on europe shed , ausonian fields with native gore o'erspread . thus sung the sage , and to prevent d●●ate , in writing left the story of our fate . when any certain course of years is run e'er the next revolution be begun , heavens method is , for iove in all his state , to weigh events and to determine fate ; to search the book of destiny and show what change shall rise in heav'n or earth below . behold him then in awfull robes array'd , and calling his known counsel to his aid ; saturn and mars the thundring summons call , the crab's portentous armes unlock the hall , mark with what various meen the gods repair , first mars with sparkling eyes and flaming hair , so furious and addicted to alarms , he dreams of battels , though in venus armes . but see with what august and peacefull brow ( of gold his chariot if the fates allow ) great iove appears , who do's to all extend impartial justice , heav'n and nature's friend . old saturn last with heavy pace comes on , loath to obey the summons of his son ; oft going stopt , oft ponder'd in his mind heaven's empire lost , oft to return inclin'd ; thus , much distracted , and arriving late , sits grudging down beside the chair of state. iove now unfolds what fate 's dark laws contain , which iove alone has wisedom to explain : sees ripning mischiefs ready to be hurl'd , and much condoles the suffrings of the world : unfolded views deaths adamantine gates , war , slaughters , factions and subverted states . but most astonish'd at a new disease , that must forthwith on helpless mortals seize , these secrets he unfolds , and shakes the skies : the gods condole and from the council rise . hell's agent thus no sooner quits his cage , but on the starting spheres he hurles his rage : the purer orbs disdain th' infernal foe , and shake the taint upon the air below . the grosser air receives the banefull seeds , converting to the poison which it feeds : whether the sun from earth this vapour drew , in late conjunction with his fiery crew ; or from fermenting seas by neptune sent in envy to the higher element , is hard to say ; or if more powers combin'd , sent forth this prodigy to fright mankind . the offices of nature to define , and to each cause a true effect assign , must be a task both hard and doubtfull too , since various consequences oft ensue : nor nature always to her self is true . some principles shall on the instant work , whilst others shall for tedious ages lurk : besides the power of chance shall oft prevail , on natures force , and cause events to fail . nor is the influence of maladies less various than the seeds from whence they rise . sometimes th' infected air hurts trees alone , to grass and tender flowers pernicious known . the blast sometimes destroys the furrow'd soil , with mildew'd ears not worth the reapers toil . or if some dale with grain seems more enrich'd , it moulds and rots before the sheaves are pitchd . when earth yields store , yet oft some strange disease shall fall and onely on poor cattel seize . here it shall sweep the stock , while there it sheds its fury onely on devoted heads . my own remembrance to this hour retains , an autumn drown'd with never ceasing rains : yet this malignant luxury the breed of goats alone did rue , the rest were freed . see how at break of day their number 's told , see how the keeper drives them from the fold : behold him next beneath a hanging rock , and chearing with his reed the browzing flock , while them he charms nor is himself less pleas'd , with a sharp sudden cough some darling kid is seiz'd the cough his knell , for with a giddy round he whirls , and streight falls dead upon the ground . this fever thus to goats and kids severe while autumn held , confined his vengeance there ; next spring , both lowing herd and bleating flock at once it seiz'd , spar'd none but swept the stock : with such uncertainty from tainted skies in bodies plac't on earth effects arise . since then by dear experiment we find diseases various in their rise and kind : of this contagion let us take a view , more terrible for being strange and new , that with the proudest son of slaughter vies , and claims no lower kindred than the skies ; and as he did aloft conceive his flame , the proud destroyer seeks no common game , he scorns the well finn'd sporters of the flood , he scorns the well plum'd singers of the wood ; disdains the wanton browzers of the rock , disdains the lowing herd and bleating flock ; with wolf or bear , despizes to engage , nor can the generous horse provoke his rage : the lords of nature onely he annoys , and humane frame , heav'ns images , destroys . the bloud 's black viscous parts he seizes first , by whose malignant aliments he 's nurst ; and e'er he can the fierce assault begin , factions of humours take his part within ; the strongest holds of nature thus he gains , quar'tring his cruel troops throughout the veins , while some more noble seat the tyrant's throne contains . such principles brought this distemper forth , such aliments maintain'd the dreadfull birth . his certain signs and symptoms to rehearse , is the next taske of our instructing verse . o , may it prove of such a lasting date , to conquer time , and triumph over fate . apollo's self inspires the usefull song , and all that to apollo do's belong , like him , should ever , live and be for ever young . how shall posterity admire our skill , taught by our muse to know the lurking ill , and when his dreadfull visage they behold , cry , this is the disease whose signs of old th' inspir'd physician in bright numbers told . for thô th' infernal pest should quit the earth , absconding in the hell , that gave it birth ; yet after lazy revolutions past the unsuspected prodigy at last , shall from the womb of night once more be hurl'd , t' infect the skies , and to amaze the world. what therefore seems most wondrous in his course is that he should so long conceal his force ; for when the foe his secret way has made , and in our intrails strong detachments laid ; yet oft the moon four monthly rounds shall steer before convincing symptoms shall appear ; so long the malady shall lurk within , and grow confirm'd before the danger 's seen ; yet with disturbance to the wretch diseas'd , who with unwonted heaviness is seiz'd , with drooping spirits , his affairs persues , and all his limbs their offices refuse , the chearfull glories of his eyes decay , and from his cheeks the roses fade away , a leaden hue o'er all his face is spread , and greater weights depress his drooping head ; till by degrees the secret parts shall show , by open proofs the undermining foe ; who now his dreadfull ensigns shall display , devour , and harass in the sight of day . again , when chearfull light has left the skies , and night's ungratefull shades and vapors rise ; when nature to our spirits sounds retreat , and to the vitals calls her stragling heat ; when th' out works are no more of warmth possest , bloudless , and with a load of humours prest ; when ev'ry kind relief's retir'd within , 't is then the execrable pains begin ; armes , shoulders , legs , with restless aches vext , and with convulsions ev'ry nerve perplext ; for when through all our veins th' infection 's spread , and by what e'er should feed the body fed ; when nature strives the vitals to defend , and all destructive humours outward send : these being viscous , gross and loath to start , in its dull march shall torture ev'ry part ; whence to the bloudless nerves dire pains ensue , at once contracted , and extended too ; the thinner parts will yet not stick so fast , but to the surface of the skin are cast , which in foul botches o'er the body spread , prophane the bosome , and deform the head : here puscles in the form of achorns swell'd , in form alone , for these with stench are fill'd , whose ripness is corruption , that in time , disdain confinement , and discharge the slime ; yet oft the foe would turn his forces back , the brawn and inmost muscles to attack , and pierce so deep , that the bare bones have been betwixt the dreadfull fleshy breaches seen ; when on the vocal parts his rage was spent , imperfect sounds , for tunefull speech was sent . as on a springing plant , you have beheld the juice that through the tender bark has swell'd , that from the sap's more viscous part did come , till by the sun condens'd into a gumm : so when this bane is once receiv'd within , with such eruptions he shall force the skin ; and when the humour for a time has flow'd , grow fixt at last , and harden to a node . hence some young swain , as on the rocks he stood , to view his picture in the crystal flood , and finding there his lovely cheeks deform'd , against the stars , against the gods he storm'd : mean while the sable wings of night are spread , and balmy sleep on ev'ry creature shed . these wretches onely no repose could take , by this tormenting fiend still kept awake ; impatient till the morn restor'd the light , then curst her beams , and wish'd again for night . ceres in vain her blessings did afford , in vain the flowing goblet crown'd the board ; no comfort they in large possessions had , of farms , or towns , but e'en in banquets sad : in vain the streams , and meads they did frequent , the dismal thought persu'd wheree'er they went ; and when for prospect they would climb the hill , the dire remembrance hagg'd their fancy still : in vain the gods themselves they did invoke , adorn'd their shrines , and made their altars smoak : they brib'd and pray'd , yet still reliefless lay , their offer'd gumms consum'd less fast than they . shall i relate what i my self beheld , where ollius stream with gentle plenty swell'd ? in those fair meads where ollius cuts his way , a youth of godlike form i did survey , by all the world besides unparallel'd , and ev'n in italy by none excell'd ; first signs of manhood on his cheeks were shown , a tender harvest , and but thinly sown , besides those charms that did his person grace , descended from a rich and noble race : what transport in spectatours did he breed , mounted , and managing the fiery steed , what joy at once , and terrour did we feel , when he prepar'd for field , and shone in steel ? of equal strength and skill for exercise , all conflicts try'd , but never lost a prize ; oft in the chase his courser he 'd forgo , trust his own feet , and turn the swiftest roe . for him each nymph , for him each goddess strove , of hill , of plain , of meadow , stream and grove : nor can we doubt that in this numerous train , some one ( neglected ) did to heaven complain who though in vain she lov'd , yet did not curse in vain ; for whilst the youth did to his strength confide , and nerves in ev'ry task of hardship try'd . this finish'd piece , this celebrated frame , the mansion of a loath'd disease became : but of such banefull , and malignant kind , as ages past ne'er knew , and future ne'er shall find . now might you see his spring of youth decay , the verdure dye , the blossoms fall away ; the foul infection o'er his body spread , prophanes his bosome , and deforms his head ; his wretched limbs with filth and stench o'er flow , while flesh divides , and shews the bones below . dire ulcers ( can the gods permit them ) prey on his fair eye-balls , and devour their day , whilst the neat pyramid below , falls mouldring quite away . him neighbouring alps bewail'd with constant dew , ollius ; no more his wonted passage knew hills , valleys , rocks , streams , groves , his fate bemoan'd , sebinus lake from deepest caverns groan'd . from hence malitious saturn's force is known , from whose malignant orb this plague was thrown , to whom more cruel mars assistence lent , and club'd his influence to the dire event : nor could the malice of the stars suffice , to make such execrable mischief rise ; for certainly e'er this disease began , through hells dark courts the cursing furies ran , where to astonisht ghosts they did relate , in dreadfull songs , the burthen of our fate ; the stygian pool did to the bottome rake , and from its dregs the curst ingredients take , which scatter'd since through europe wide and far , bred pestilence , and more consuming war. ye deities who once our guardians were , who made th' ausonian fields your special care , and thou o saturn , father of our breed , from whence do's this unwonted rage proceed against thy ancient seats ? has fate 's dark store a plague yet left , which we have not sustain'd ev'n to extremity ? first let parthenope her griefs declare , her kings destroy'd her temples sack't in war. who can the slaughter of that day recite , when hand to hand we joyn'd the gauls in fight , when tarrus brook was so o'er-swell'd with bloud men , horses , arms , rowl'd down th' impetuous flood ? eridanus in wandring banks receives the purple stream , and for our fate with brother tarrus grieves . to what estate , o wretched italy has civil strife reduc'd , and mouldr'd thee ! where now are all thy ancient glories hurl'd ? where is thy boasted empire of the world ? what nook in thee from barb'rous rage is freed , and has not seen her captive children bleed ? that was not first to savage arms a prey , and do's not yet more savage laws obey ? answer ye hills where peacefull clusters grew , and never till this hour disturbance knew , calm as the flood which at your feet ye view ; calm as erethenus who on each side , beholds your vines , and ravisht with their pride , moves slowly with his tribute to the tide . o italy , our ancient happy seat , glory of nations , and the gods retreat , whose fruitfull fields for peopled towns provide , where athesis , and smooth benacus glide , what words have force , thy sufferings to relate , thy servile yoke , and ignominious fate . now dive , benacus , thy fam'd course give o'er and lead thy streams through laurel-banks no more . yet , when our mis'ries thus were at their height , as if our sorrows still had wanted weight , as if our former plagues had been too small , we saw our hope , minerva's darling fall , thy funeral , marcus , we did then survey snatcht from the muses armes before thy day , benacus banks at thy interment groan'd , and neighbouring athesis thy fate bemoan'd ; where by the moon 's pale beams , catullus came , and nightly still was heard to sound thy name , his songs once more his native seats inspire , the groves were charm'd , and knew their master's lyre . 't was now the galls began their fierce alarms , and crusht liguria with victorious arms , while other provinces as fast expire by coesar's sword , and more destructive fire ; no latian seat was free from slaughter found , but all alike with tears and bloud were drown'd . now for our second task , and what relief our age has found against this raging grief , the methods now of cure we will express , the wondrous wit of mortals in distress . astonisht long they lay , no remedy at first they knew , nor courage had to try , but learnt by slow experience to appease , to check , and last to vanquish the disease . yet after all our study we must own some secrets were by revelation known : for though the stars in dark cabals combin'd , and for our ruine with the furies join'd , yet were we not to last destruction left , nor of the gods protection quite berest . if strange and dreadfull maladies have reign'd , if wars , dire massacres we have sustain'd , if flames have laid our fields and cities waste , our temples too in common rubbish cast ; if swelling streams no more in banks were kept , but men , herds , houses with the flood were swept ; if few surviv'd these plagues , and famine slew , the greater part of that surviving few . yet of such great adventures we are proud , as fate had to no former age allow'd . for , what no mortals ever dar'd before , we have the ocean stemm'd from sight of shore ; nor was 't enough , by atlas farthest bound , that we the fair hesperian gardens found , that we t' arabia a new passage sought , while ships for camels the rich lading brought : to th' outmost east , we since a voiage made , and in the rising sun our sails display'd , beyond the ind large tracts of land did find , and left the world's reputed bounds behind , to pass the world 's reputed bounds was small performances , of greater glory call our fam'd adventures on the western shore , discovering stars , and worlds unknown before ; but waving these , our age has yet beheld an inspir'd poet , and by none excell'd , parthenope extoll'd the songs he made , sebethe's god , and virgil's sacred shade , from gardens to the stars his muse would rise , and made the earth acquainted with the skies . his name might well the ages pride sustain , but many more exalted souls remain ; who , when expir'd , and envy with them dead to equal the best ancients shall be said : but , bembus , while this list we do unfold , in which heav'ns blessings on the age are told , leo , the most illustrious place do's claim , the great restorer of the roman name ; by whose mild aspects , and auspicious fire , malignant planets to their cells retire . iove's friendly star once more is seen to rise and scatters healing lustre through the skies , he , onely he , our losses could repair , and call the muses to their native air , restore the ancient laws of right and just , polish religion , from barbarian rust. for heav'n , and rome engag'd in fierce alarms , with pious vengeance , and with sacred arms , whose terrour to euphrates banks was spread , while nile retir'd t' his undiscover'd head , and frighted doris div'd into his oozy bed. while some more able muse shall sing his name , in numbers equal to his deeds and fame . while bembus thou shalt this great theme rehearse , and weave his praises in eternal verse , let me , in what i have propos'd , proceed with subject suted to my slender reed . first , then your patient's constitution learn , and well the temper of his bloud discern , if that be pure , with so much greater ease you will engage , and vanquish the disease , whose venome , where black choler choaks the veins , takes firmer hold , and will exact more pains more violent assaults you there must make , and on the batter'd frame no pity take . who e'er can soon discern the lurking grief , with far less labour may expect relief ; but when the foe has deeper inroads made , and gain'd the factious humours to his aid , what toil , what conflicts must be first sustain'd before he 's dispossest , and health regain'd ; therefore with care his first approaches find , and hoard these usefull precepts , in thy mind . from noxious winds preserve your self with care ; and such are all that from the south repair of fens and lakes , avoid th' unwholsome air. to open fields and sunny mountains fly where zephyr fans , and boreas sweeps the sky : nor must you there indulge repose , but stray , and in continu'd actions spend the day ; with ev'ry beast of prey loud war proclaim , and make the grizly boar your constant game , nor yet amongst these great attempts disdain , to rouse the stag , and force him to the plain . some i have known to th' chase so much inclin'd , that in the woods they left their grief behind , nor yet think scorn the sordid plow to guide , or with the pondrous rake the clods divide , with heavy ax , and many weary blow , the towring pine , and spreading oak o'erthrow ; the very house yields exercise , the hall has room for fencing , and the bounding ball. rouze , rouze , shake off your fond desire of ease , for sleep foments and feeds the foul disease , 't is then th'invader do's the vitals seize . but chiefly from thy thoughts all sorrows drive , nor with minerva's knotty precepts strive , with lighter labours of the muses sport , and seek the plains where swains and nymphs resort . abstain however from the act of love , for nothing can so much destructive prove : bright venus hates polluted mysteries , and ev'ry nymph from foul embraces flies . dire practice ! poison with delight to bring , and with the lovers dart , the serpent's sting . a proper diet you must next prepare , than which there 's nothing more requires your care ; all food that from the fens is brought refuse , whate'er the standing lakes or seas produce , nor must long custome pass for an excuse ; therefore from fish in general i dissuade , all these are of a washy substance made , which though the luscious palate they content , convert to humours more than nourishment ; ev'n giltheads , though most tempting to the sight , and sharp-fin'd perch that in the rocks delight . all sorts of fowl that on the water prey , by the same rule i 'd have remov'd away , forbear the drake , and leave rome's ancient friend the capitol and city to defend . no less the bustard's luscious flesh decline , forbear the back and entrails of the swine , nor with the hunted boar thy hunger stay , enjoy the sport , but still forbear the prey . i hold nor cucumber nor mushroms good , and artichoke is too salacious food : nor yet the use of milk would i enjoin , much less of vinegar or eager wine , such as from rhaetia comes , and from the rhine ; the sabine vintage is of safer use , which mellow and well-water'd fields produce : but if your banquets with the gods you 'd make of herbs and roots the unbought dainties take ; be sure that mint and endive still abound , and sowthistle , with leaves in winter crown'd , and sian by clear fountains always found ; to these add calamint , and savery burrage and balm , whose mingled sweets agree , rochet and sorrel i as much approve : the climbing hop grows wild in ev'ry grove , take thence the infant buds , and with them join the curling tendrells of the springing vine , whose armes have yet no friendly shade allow'd , nor with the weight of juicy clusters bow'd . particulars were endless to rehearse , and weightier subjects now demand our verse . we 'll draw the muses from aonian hills , to natures garden , groves and humble rills , where if no laurels spring , or if i find that those are all for conquerours design'd ; with oaken leaves at least i 'll bind my brow , for millions sav'd you must that grace allow . at first approach of spring , i would advise , or ev'n in autumn months if strength suffice , to bleed your patient in the regal vein , and by degrees th' infected current drein : but in all seasons fail not to expell , and purge the noxious humours from their cell ; but fit ingredients you must first collect , and then their different qualities respect , make firm the liquid and the gross dissect . take , therefore , care to gather , in their prime , the sweet corycian and pamphilian tyme , these you must boil , together with the rest in this ensuing catalogue exprest : fennell and hop that close embraces weaves , parsley and fumitory's bitter leaves ; wild fern on ev'ry down and heath you 'll meet with leaves resembling polypus's shagg'd feet , and mayden-hair , of virtue strange , but true for dipt in fountains , it reteins no dew : hart's-tongue and citarch must be added too . the greater part , and with success more sure , by mercury perform the happy cure ; a wondrous virtue in that mineral lies , whether by force of various qualities of cold and heat , it flies into the veins , and with a fiercer fire their flame restrains , conqu'ring the raging humours in their seat , as glowing steel exceeds the forge's heat , or whether his keen particles ( combin'd with strange connexion ) when th' are once disjoin'd , disperse , all quarters of the foe to seize , and burn the very seeds of the disease ; or whether 't is with some more hidden force endow'd by nature to perform its course , is hard to say , but though the gods conceal the virtual cause , they did its use reveal . now by what means 't was found our song shall shew , nor may we let heav'ns gifts in silence go . in syrian vales where groves of osier grow , and where callirrhoes's sacred fountains flow . ilceus the huntsman , who with zeal ador'd the rural gods , with gifts their altars stor'd ; was yet afflicted with this restless grief , and , if tradition may obtain belief , as he was watering there each spicy bed , thus to entreat the sylvan pow'rs , is said . you deities by me ador'd , and thou , callirrhoe , who do'st relief allow 'gainst all diseases , as i slew for thee the stag , and fix'd his head upon a tree ; a tree that do's with lesser branches spread , than those that join to that most horrid head : you sacred pow'rs if you 'll remove away this plague that racks my frame all night and day , i , all the mingled glories of the spring , lilies and violets to your seats will bring , with daffadills first budding roses weave , and on your shrines the fragrant garland leave . he said , and down upon the herbage lay , tir'd with the raging pain , and raging day . callirrhoe ( bathing in the neighbouring well , with musk that grew in plenty round the cell ) heard the youth's pray'r and streight in soft repose , th' indulgent nymph his heavy eyes did close , then to his fancy , from her sacred streams , appear'd and charm'd him with prophetick dreams . ilceus ( said she ) my servant , and my care , the gods at last have hearken'd to thy pray'r ; yet , on the earth , as far as sol can spy , for thy disease remains no remedy . cynthia and phoebus too at her request , into thy tortur'd veins have sent this pest , the stag to her was sacred which you slew , and this the punishment that did ensue , for which the earth , as far as sol can see , the spacious earth , affords no remedy : then since her surface no relief can lend , to her dark entrails for thy cure descend ; a cave there is its self an awfull shade , but by iove's spreading tree more dreadfull made , where mingling cedars wanton with the air , thither at first approach of day repair ; a jet-black ram before the entrance slay , and cry , these rites great ops to thee i pay . the lesser pow'rs , pale ghosts and nymphs of night , the smoak of yew and cypress shall invite ; these nymphs shall at the outmost entrance stay , and through the dark retreats conduct thy way . rise , rise , nor think all this an idle dream , for know i am the goddess of this stream . this for thy pious homage to my cell — so spake the nymph , and div'd into the well . the youth starts up astonish'd , but restor'd , with gratefull pray'rs th' obliging nymph ador'd thy voice , bright goddess , i 'll with speed o●ey , o still assist and bless me on my way . with the next dawn the sacred cave he found , with spreading oaks and towring cedars crown'd ; a jet-black ram did at the entrance slay , and cry'd these rites , great ops , to thee i pay : the lesser pow'rs , pale ghosts and nymphs of night , the smoak of yew and cypress did invite . his voice resounding through the hollow seats , disturb'd the nymphs within their deep retreats . those nymphs that toil in metals underground , gave o'er their work at th' unexpected sound ; some quicksilver and sulphur others brought , from which calcin'd , the golden oar was wrought ; of pure aetherial light a hundred beams , of subterranean fire a hundred streams , wi●h various seeds of earth and sea they joyn'd , for humane eyes too subtle and refin'd . but lipare who forms the richer oar , and to the furnace brings the sulph'rous store , to ilceus through the dark recesses broke , and in these words the trembling youth bespoke : ilceus ( for i have heard your name and grief ) callirrhoe sends you hither for relief ; nor has the goddess counsell'd you in vain , these cells afford a med'cine for your pain ; take courage therefore , and the charge obey , she said , and through the cavern leads the way . he follows wondring at the dark aboads , the spacious voids and subterranean roads ; astonisht there to see those rivers move , which he observ'd to lose themselves above : each cave , cry'd lipare , some pow'r contains , i' th lowest mansion proserpine remains ; the middle regions pluto's treasure hold , and nymphs that work in silver , brass and gold , of which rich train am i , whose veins extend , and to callirrhoe's stream the smoaking sulphur send . thus through the realms of night they took their way , and heard from far the forge and furnace play . these ( said the nymph ) the beds of metals are , that give you wretched mortals so much care. by thousand nymphs of earth and night enjoy'd , who yet in various tasks are all employ'd . some turn the current , some the seeds dissect of earth and sea , which some again collect , that , mixt with lightning , make the golden oar , while others quench in streams the shining store . not far from hence the cyclop's cave is found , see how it glows , hark how their anvils sound . but here turn off , and take the right-hand way , this path do's to that sacred stream convey , in which thy onely hope remains : she said , and under golden roofs her patient led , hard by , the lakes of liquid silver flow'd , which to the wondring youth the goddess show'd ; thrice washt in these ( said she ) thy pains shall end , and all the stench into the stream descend . thrice with her virgin hands the goddess threw on all his suffering limbs the healing dew : he , at the falling filth admiring stood , and scarce believ'd for joy , the virtue of the flood . when therefore you return to open day , with sacrifice diana's rage allay , and homage to the fountain's goddess pay . thus spake the nymph , and through the realms of night , restor'd the gratefull youth to open light. this strange invention soon obtain'd belief , and flying fame divulg'd the sure relief . but first experiments did onely joyn , and for a vehicle use lard of swine : larch-gum and turpentine were added next , that wrought more safe and less the patient vext ; horse-grease and bears with them they did compound , bdellium and gum of cedar usefull found ; then myrrh , and frankincense were us'd by some , with living sulphur and arabian gum ; but if black helebore be added too , with rain-bow flowers your method i allow ; benzoin and galbanum i next require , lint-oil , and sulphur's e'er it feels the fire . with these ingredients mix'd , you must not fear your suffering limbs and body to besmear , nor let the foulness of the course displease , obscene indeed , but less than your disease : yet when you do anoint , take special care that both your head and tender breast you spare , this done , wrapt close and swath'd , repair to bed , and there let such thick cov'rings be o'e-rspred , till streams of sweat from ev'ry pore you force : for twice five days you must repeat this course ; severe indeed but you your fate must bear , and signs of coming health will streight appear . the mass of humours now dissolv'd within , to purge themselves by spittle shall begin , till you with wonder at your feet shall see , a tide of filth , and bless the remedy . for ulcers that shall then the mouth offend , boil flowers that privet and pomgranets send . now , onely now , i would forbid the use of generous wine that noble soils produce ; all sorts without distinction you must fly , the sparkling bowl with all its charms deny . rise , now victorious , health is now at hand , one labour more is all i shall command , easie and pleasant ; you must last prepare your bath , with rosemary and lavander , vervain and yarrow too must both be there ; 'mongst these your sleeping body you must lay , to chear you , and to wash all dreggs away . but now the verdant blessings that belong to new discover'd worlds demand our song . beyond herculean bounds the ocean roars with loud applause to those far distant shoars . the sacred tree must next our muse employ , that onely could this raging plague destroy ; just praise ( vrania ) to this plant allow , and with its happy leaves upon thy brow , through all our latian cities take thy way , and to admiring croud the healing boughs display ; e'en i my self shall prize my streins the more , for blessings never seen nor sung before . perhaps some more exalted poet ( warm'd , for martial streins ) with this new subject charm'd shall quit the noble business of the field , bequeath to rust the sword and polisht shield , leave wrangling heroes that o'ercome or dye , both shrouded in the same obscurity ; pass o'er the harast soil and bloudy stream , to prosecute this more delightfull theme ; to tell how first auspicious navies made more bold attempts , and th' ocean's bounds essay'd ; to sing vast tracts of land beyond the main , by former ages guess'd , and wisht in vain , strange regions , floods and cities to rehearse , and with true prodigies adorn their verse ; new lands , new seas , and still new lands to spy , another heaven , and other stars descry . when this is done resume their martial strein , and crown our conquests in each savage plain , that ev'n from vanquishment advantage draws , enrich'd with european arts and laws , shall sing ( what future ages will confound ) how earth and sea one vessel did surround . thrice happy to bard whom indulgent heav'n , a soul capacious of this work has giv'n . my weaker muse shall think her office done , of all these wonders to record but one : one single plant which these glad lands produce to specifie and shew it's sov'reign use , by what adventures found , and wafted o'er from unknown worlds to europe's wondring shore . far westward hence where th' ocean seems to boil beneath fierce cancer , lies a spacious isle , descry'd by spaniards roving on the main , and justly honour'd with the name of spain . fertile in gold but far more blest to be , the garden of this consecrated tree : its trunk erect , but on his top is seen , a spreading grove with branches ever green ; upon his boughs a little nut is found , but poignant and with leaves encompass'd round ; the stubborn substance toothless makes the saw , and scarcely from the axe receives a flaw ; dissected , various colours meet your view , the outward bark is of the laurel hue ; the next like box , the parts more inwards set , of dusky grain but not so dark as jet ; if to these mixtures you will add the red , all colours of the gaudy bow are spread . this plant the natives conscious of its use adore , and with religious care produce ; on ev'ry hill , in ev'ry vale 't is found , and held the greatest blessing of the ground against this pest that always rages there , from skies infected and polluted air : the outward bark as useless they refuse , but with their utmost force the timber bruise , or break in splinters , which they steep a while in fountains , and when soak'd , in vessels boil , regardless how too fierce a fire may make the juice run o'er , whose healing froth they take , with which they bath their limbs where pustles breed , and heal the breaches where dire ulcers feed . half boil'd away the remnant they retain , and adding hony boil the chips again : to use no other liquor when they dine , their countries law , and greater priest enjoyn : the first decoction with the rising light they drink , and once again at fall of night ; this course they strictly hold when once begun , till cynthia has her monthly progress run , hous'd all the while where no offensive wind , nor the least breath of air can entrance find . but who will yield us credit to proceed , and tell how wondrous slenderly they feed ; just so much food as can bare life preserve , and to its joint connect each feeble nerve : yet let not this strange abstinence deter , and make you think the method too severe . this drink it self will wasted strength repair , for nectar and ambrosia too are there ; all offices of nature it maintains , the heart refreshes , and recruits the veins . when the draught 's tane , for two hours and no more the patient on his couch is cover'd o'er ; for by this means the liquor with more ease , expells in streams of sweat the foul disease . all parts ( o prodigy ! ) grow sound within , nor any filth remains upon the skin ; fresh youth in ev'ry limb , fresh vigour's found , and now the moon has run her monthly round . what god did first the wondrous use display , of this blest plant , what chance did first convey our european fleet to that rich shore , that for their toil so rich a traffique bore , our song shall now unfold ; a navy bound for no known port nor yet discover'd ground , resolv'd the secrets of the main to find , and now they leave their native shore behind , clap on more sail and skudd before the wind. thus on the spreading ocean they did stray , for many weeks uncertain of their way : the thronging sea-nymphs wondring at the pride , of each tall ship appear above the tide , and with proportion'd speed around them glide , charm'd with each painted stern and golden prow , with each gay streamer , striving as they go to catch their pictures in the flood below . 't was night , but cynthia did such beams display , so strong as more than half restor'd the day . when the bold leader of this roving train , ( the bravest youth that ever stemm'd the main ; ) as on the decks he lay with anxious care , and watchfull o'er his charge , conceiv'd this pray'r ; bright goddess of the night ( said he ) whose sway , all humid things and these vast seas obey ; twice have we seen thy infant crescents spring , and twice united in a glorious ring , since first this fleet commenc'd her restless toil , nor yet have gain'd the sight of any soil . o virgin star , of nightly planets chief . vouchsafe your weary wanderers relief ; let some fair continent at last arise , or some less distant isle salute our eyes : at least some rock with one small rill and port , for these o'er-labour'd boats and youths support . the goddess heard not this address in vain , but leaves to her nocturnal steeds the rein , and like a sea-nymph sloats upon the main : so well disguis'd that clotho's self might be deceiv'd , and take her for cymothoe ; with such a meen she cut the yielding tide , and in these words bespoke the wandring guide ; take courage , for the next approaching day , shall see these ships safe riding in the bay ; but stay not long where first your anchors fall , the fates to yet more distant regions call ; find ophyre high-seated in the main ; those seats for you the destinies ordain . she said , and pusht the keel ; a brisker gale forthwith descends and pregnates ev'ry sail : now from the east the sun invites their eyes , as fast they westward see the mountains rise like clouds at first , but as they nearer drew , rocks , groves and springs were open'd to their view ; high on the decks the joyfull sailers stand , and thrice with shouts salute th' expected land. then safely anchor'd in the promis'd bay , first to the gods their just devotion pay . four days , no more , are spent upon this soil , to fit their shatter'd ships for farther toil , each hand once more is to his charge assign'd , all take advantage of the friendly wind ; a swift and steddy course they now maintain , and leave anthylia floating on the main : with hagia's coast , and tall ammeria's isle , the cannibals most execrable soil , o'er all the deep they now see turrets rise , and islands without number meet their eyes ; 'mongst these they singled one from whence they hear'd streams fall , while spreading groves aloft appear'd , charm'd with these objects there they put to shore , where first the islands genius they adore , then spread their banquet on the verdant ground , whilst bowls of sparkling wine go nimbly round ; refresht , they separate , some to descry the country , others more o'er-joy'd to spye beneath the flood pure gold lye mixt with sand , and seize the shining oar with greedy hand . at length a flock of painted birds they view , with azure plumes and beaks of coral-hue , which fearless through the glades did seem to rove , and percht securely in their native grove ; the youths to temper'd engins have recourse that imitate the thunders dreadfull force , vulcan's invention while with wondrous art , he did to men the arms of iove impart ; each takes his stand and singles out his mark , the dire ingredients with a sudden spark enflam'd , discharge with rage the whizzing ball , the unsuspecting birds by hundreds fall ; the air with smoak and fire is cover'd round , the groves and rocks astonisht with the sound , and shaking sands beneath the seas rebound . the remnant of the flock with terrour fly to rocks whose turrets seem'd to pierce the sky ; from whence with humane voice ( o dire portent ! ) one of this feather'd tribe these numbers sent . you who have sacrilegiously assay'd , the sun 's lov'd birds , and impious slaughter made , hear what th' enrag'd avenging god prepares , and in prophetick sounds by me declares . know , you at last have reacht your promis'd soil , for this is ophyre's long expected isle , but destin'd empire shall not yet obtain of provinces beyond the western main , the natives of long liberty deprive , found cities , and a new religion give , till toils by earth and sea are undergone , and many dreadfull battels lost and won ; for , most shall leave your trunks on foreign land , few shatter'd ships shall reach your native sand ; in vain shall some sail back again to find , their wretched comrades whom they left behind ; whose bones of flesh devested shall be found , for cyclops too in these dire coasts abound : your foes o'er-come , your fleet in civil rage shall disagree , and ship with ship engage . nor end your sufferings here , a strange disease , and most obscene shall on your bodies seize ; in this distress your errour you shall mourn , and to these injur'd groves for cure return ; this dreadfull doom the feather'd prophet spoke , and sculkt within the covert of the rock . astonisht with the unexpected sound , th' offending men fell prostrate on the ground ; forgiveness from the sacred flock to gain , but chiefly phoebus pardon to obtain . the guardians of the grove to reconcile , and once more hail the fair ophyrian isle . these rites perform'd , returning on their way , a race with humane shape they did survey , but black as jet , who sally'd from the wood , and made the vale more dark in which they stood ; no garment o'er their breasts or shoulders spread , and wreaths of peacefull olive on their head ; unarm'd , yet more with wonder struck than fear , they view'd the strangers , and approach'd more near ; astonisht at their glittering arms , but more at each proud vessel lodg'd upon the shore , the flags and streamers sporting with the wind , and thought their owners more than humane kind , some gods or heroes to the gods ally'd , and more than mortal reverence apply'd ; but to our chief their first respect they paid , and cheap , but yet most royal presents made , rich golden oar , of use and worth unknown , and onely priz'd by them because it shone , with which the blessings of their fields were born , ripe blushing fruits and pondrous ears of corn ; unpolisht but capacious vessels fill'd with hony from each fragrant tree distill'd , which did from heaven in nightly dew arrive , without the tedious labours of the hive . with them our garments like reception found , and now the tribes sate mingled on the ground , with indian food and spanish vintage crown'd : who can express the savages delight , as if the gods some mortal shou'd invite to heavenly courts , and with the nectar-bowl into a deity exalt his ravisht soul. by chance the solemn day was drawing near , the greatest festival of all the year ; and to the sun their greatest god belong'd , to which from ev'ry part the natives throng'd , with whom their neighbours of hesperia met ; and now within the sacred vale were set each sex , and all degrees of age were seen , but plac'd without distinction on the green ; yet from the infant to the grizled head , a cloud of grief o'er ev'ry face was spread , all languish'd with the same obscene disease , and years , not strength distinguisht the degrees ; dire flames upon their vitals fed within , while sores and crusted filth prophan'd their skin . at last the priest in snowy robes array'd , the boughs of healing guiacum display'd , which ( dipt in living streams ) he shook around to purge , for holy rites the tainted ground . an heifer then before the altar slew , a swain stood near on whom the bloud he threw ; then to the sun began his mystick song , and streight was seconded by all the throng . both swine and heifers now by thousands bleed , and natives on their roasted entrails feed . our train with wonder saw these rites , but more astonisht at the plague unseen before : mean while our leader in his carefull breast , form'd sad conjectures of this dreadfull pest , this , this said he ( the gods avert our fate ) is that dire curse which phoebus did relate ; the birds prodigious song i now recall , the strange disease that on our troops shou'd fall . as therefore from the altar they retir'd , our gen'ral of the native prince enquir'd , to what dread power these off'rings did belong ? what meant that languishing infected throng ? and why the shepherd by the altar stood ? and wherefore sprinkled with the gushing bloud ? to which the island monarch , noble guest , with annual zeal these off'rings are addrest , to phoebus enrag'd deity assign'd , and by our ancestours of old enjoin'd ; but if a foreign nations toils to learn , and less refin'd be worth your least concern , if you have any sense of strangers fate , from its first source the story i 'll relate : perhaps you may have heard of atlas name , from whom in long descent great nations came ; from him we sprang , and once a happy race , belov'd of heav'n while piety had place , while to the gods our ancestours did pray , and gratefull off'rings on their altars lay . but when the powers to be despis'd began , when to leud luxury our nation ran ; who can express the mis'ries that ensu'd , and plagues with each returning day renew'd ? then fair atlantia once an isle of fame , ( that from the mighty atlas took its name , who there had govern'd long with upright sway ) was gorg'd intire , and swallowed by the sea. with which our flocks and herds were wholly drown'd , not one preserv'd or ever after found . since when outlandish cattle here are slain , and bulls of foreign breed our altars stain ; in that dire season this disease was bred , that thus o'er all our tortur'd limbs is spread : most universal from it birth it grew , and none have since escap'd or very few ; sent from above to scourge that vicious age , and chiefly by incens'd apollo's rage , for which these annual rites were first ordain'd , whereof this firm tradition is retain'd . a shepherd once ( distrust not ancient fame ) possest these downs , and syphilus his name . a thousand heifers in these vales he fed , a thousand ews to those fair rivers led : for king alcithous he rais'd this stock , and shaded in the covert of a rock , for now 't was solstice , and the syrian star increast the heat and shot his beams afar ; the fields were burnt to ashes , and the swain repair'd for shade to thickest woods in vain , no wind to fan the scorching air was found , no nightly dew refresht the thirsty ground : this drought our syphilus beheld with pain , nor could the suff'rings of his flock sustain , but to the noon-day sun with up-cast eyes , in rage threw these reproaching blasphemies , is it for this o sol , that thou art styl'd our god and parent ? how are we beguil'd dull bigots to pay homage to thy name ? and with rich spices feed thy altar's flame : why do we yearly rites for thee prepare , who tak'st of our affairs so little care ? at least thou might'st between the rabble kine distinguish , and these royal herds of mine . these to the great alcithous belong , nor ought to perish with the vulgar throng . or shall i rather think your deity with envious eyes our thriving stock did see ? i grant you had sufficient cause indeed , a thousand heifers of the snowy breed , a thousand ews of mine these downs did feed ; whilst one etherial bull was all your stock , one ram , and to preserve this mighty flock , you must forsooth your syrian dog maintain , why do i worship then a pow'r so vain ? henceforth i to alcithous will bring my off'rings and adore my greater king , who do's such spacious tracts of land possess , and whose vast pow'r the conquer'd seas confess . him i 'll invoke my suff'rings to redress . hee 'll streight command the cooling winds to blow , refreshing show'rs on trees and herbs bestow , nor suffer thirst , both flock and swain to kill : he said , and forthwith on a neighbouring hill erects an altar to his monarch's name , the swains from far bring incense to the flame ; at length to greater victims they proceed , till swine and heifers too by hundreds bleed , on whose half roasted flesh the impious wretches feed . all quarters soon were fill'd with the report , that ceas'd not till it reacht the monarch's court ; th' aspiring prince with godlike rites o'er joy'd , commands all altars else to be destroy'd , proclaims himself in earth's low sphere to be the onely and sufficient deity ; that heav'nly pow'rs liv'd too remote and high , and had enough to do to rule the sky . th' all-seeing sun no longer could sustain these practices , but with enrag'd disdain darts forth such pestilent malignant beams , as shed infection on air , earth and streams ; from whence this malady its birth receiv'd , and first th' offending syphilus was griev'd , who rais'd forbidden altars on the hill , and victims bloud with impious hands did spill ; he first wore buboes dreadfull to the sight , first felt strange pains and sleepless past the night ; from him the malady receiv'd its name , the neighbouring shepherds catcht the spreading flame : at last in city and in court 't was known , and seiz'd th' ambitious monarch on his throne ; in this distress the wretched tribes repair to ammerice the gods interpreter , chief priestess of the consecrated wood , in whose retreats the awfull tripod stood , from whence the gods responsal she exprest ; the crowd enquire what cause produc'd this pest , what god enrag'd ? and how to be appeas'd , and last what cure remain'd for the diseas'd ? to whom the nymph reply'd — the sun incens'd , with just revenge these torments has commenc'd . what man can with immortal pow'rs compare ? fly , wretches , fly , his altars soon repair , load them with incense , him with pray'rs invade , his anger will not easily be laid ; your doom is past , black styx has heard him swear , this plague should never be extinguisht here , since then your soil must ne'er be wholly free , beg heav'n at least to yield some remedy : a milkwhite cow on iuno's altar lay , to mother earth a jet-black heifer slay ; one from above the happy seeds shall shed , the other rear the grove and make it spread , that onely for your grief a cure shall yield . she said : the croud return'd to th' open'd field , rais'd altars to the sun without delay , to mother earth , and iuno victims slay . 't will seem most strange what now i shall declare , but by our gods and ancestours i swear , 't is sacred truth — these groves that spread so wide and look so green within this isle , till then , were never seen , but now before their eyes the plants were found to spring , and in an instant shade the ground , the priest forthwith bids sacrifice be done , and justice paid to the offended sun ; some destin'd head t' attone the crimes of all , on syphilus the dreadfull lot did fall , who now was plac'd before the altar bound , his head with sacrificial garlands crown'd , his throat laid open to the lifted knife , but interceding iuno spar'd his life , commands them in his stead a heifer slay , for phoebus rage was now remov'd away . this made our gratefull ancestours enjoin , when first these annual rites they did assign , that to the altar bound a swine each time should stand , to witness syphilus his crime . all this infected throng whom you behold , smart for their ancestours offence of old : to heal their plague this sacrifice is done , and reconcile them to th' offended sun. the rites perform'd , the hallow'd boughs they seize , the speedy certain cure for their disease . with such discourse the chiefs their cares deceive , whose tribes of different worlds united live , till now the ships sent back to europes shore , return and bring prodigious tidings o'er . that this disease did now through europe rage , nor any med'cine found that cou'd assuage , that in their ships no slender number mourn'd , with boils without and inward ulcers burn'd . then call'd to mind the bird 's prophetick sound , that in those groves relief was to be found . then each with solemn vows the sun entreats , and gentle nymphs the gardians of those seats . with lusty strokes the grove they next invade , whose weighty boughs are on their shoulders laid , which with the natives methods they prepare , and with the healing draughts their health repair , but not forgetfull of their country's good , they fraight their largest ships with this rich wood , to try if in our climate it would be of equal use , for the same malady : the years mild season seconds their desire , and western winds their willing sails inspire . iberian coasts you first were happy made with this rich plant , and wonder'd at its aid ; known now to france and neighbouring germany cold scythian coasts and temp'rate italy , to europe's bounds all bless the vital tree . hail heav'n-born plant whose rival ne'er was seen , whose virtues like thy leaves are ever green ; hope of mankind and comfort of their eyes , of new discover'd worlds the richest prize . too happy would indulgent gods allow , thy groves in europe's nobler clime to grow : yet if my streins have any force , thy name shall flourish here , and europe sing thy fame . if not remoter lands with winter bound , eternal snow , nor libya's scorching ground ; yet latium and benacus cool retreats , shall thee resound , with athesis fair seats . too , blest if bembus live thy growth to see , and on the banks of tyber gather thee , if he thy matchless virtues once rehearse , and crown thy praises with eternal verse . finis . errata . page . line for newer reade never , p. . l. . for wandring r. wondring , p. l. . for , to bard r. bard to . a song for st. cæcilia's day written by mr. n. tate and set by mr. william turner. tate, nahum, - . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page image. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing t a estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) a song for st. cæcilia's day written by mr. n. tate and set by mr. william turner. tate, nahum, - . broadside. s.n., [london? : ] imprint from nuc pre- imprints. reproduction of original in the harvard university library. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng saint cecilia's day -- poetry. - tcp assigned for keying and markup - apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images - mona logarbo sampled and proofread - mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a song for st. caecilia's day . written by mr. n. tate , and set by mr. william turner . tune the viol , touch the lute , wake the harp , inspire the flute , call the jolly swains away , love and musick reign to day . let your kids and lamkins rove , let them sport or feed at will , grace the vale , or climb the hill : let them feed , or let them love : let them love , or let them stray : let them feed , or let them play : neglect 'em or guide 'em , no harm shall betide 'em , on bright caecilia , bright caecilia's day . thus the nymphs and jolly swains , kindly mingled on the plains , in delightful measures move , full of joy and full of love , with their cheerful roundelay , celebrate caecilia's day , while angels join in consort from above . what charms can musick not impart , that through the ear finds passage to the heart ? in vain the muse indites the lovers tale : in vain his dolefule words declare his passion to the cruel fair : 't is musick only makes his song prevail : this only can her scorn controul , in vain do wit and sense combine , without this art to make our numbers shine : words are the body , musick is the soul. call the jolly swains away , to celebrate caecilia's day . rouze the viol , wake the lyre to sing her praise who did our art inspire . let victorious heroes stay at leisure we will do them right , to our own art we consecrate this day , and musick best can musicks praise recite . finis . the mistakes, or, the false report a tragi-comedy, acted by their majesties servants / written by mr. jos. harris ; the prologue written by mr. dryden ; the epilogue by mr. tate. harris, joseph, ca. -ca. . this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a of text r in the english short title catalog (wing h ). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish.this text has not been fully proofread approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo a wing h estc r ocm

this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission.

early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) the mistakes, or, the false report a tragi-comedy, acted by their majesties servants / written by mr. jos. harris ; the prologue written by mr. dryden ; the epilogue by mr. tate. harris, joseph, ca. -ca. . mountfort, william, ?- . dryden, john, - . tate, nahum, - . [ ], , [ ] p. printed for jo. hindmarsh ..., london : . in verse. epilogue with dramatis personae on verso is bound at end, instead of after prologue as catch word indicates. altered by harris from a manuscript given him; mountfort wrote a scene for the fifth act. cf. preface; giles jacob's english poets; bm. reproduction of original in bodleian library.
eng shcnothe mistakes, or the false reportharris, joseph . d the rate of . defects per , words puts this text in the d category of texts with between and defects per , words. - assigned for keying and markup - keyed and coded from proquest page images - sampled and proofread - rekeyed and resubmitted - sampled and proofread - text and markup reviewed and edited - batch review (qc) and xml conversion

the mistakes , or , the false report : a tragi-comedy . acted by their majesties servants . written by mr. ios. harris . the prologue written by mr. dryden , the epilogue by mr. tate .

haec si placuisse erint mihi praemia . mart.

licensed according to order .

london , printed for io. hindmarsh at the golden-ball over against the royal-exchange . .

to god●rey kneller esquire .

it is common with many poets to varnish o're the defects of their poems either by a little a●●ected satyr in the preface and prologue , or by the nobility of the patron ; but for an under-graduate , the fittist sanctuary to receive and protect his first fruits , shou'd be the elder choire of poets , for there the subiect may more aptly improve his thoughts , and there ( if any genius glimmers through the clowds ) the gold is entertain'd , and the dross either refin'd or forgot . i speak not this to excuse the many errors of this indigested , trifle ( for indeed such confusion and uncertainty attended it , both at it's conception , and birth , that they became unavoidable , ) but to render my boldness more lawfull , at least more pardonable , in committing all together to your patronage . but yet to intitle you to poetry , were too mean an acknowledgment , who have engrost all that can be call'd a description of nature . poets at best but give a distant view of her to our purblinde imaginatio●s , which often doubles , or falsifies the object , confounds chimera's with the most simple beings , and so rather represent her in her infant ch●os , than her present perfection . but you sir , draw the veil and expose her bare-face to our senses , the most proper and adaequate judges of it . here we see art tryumphing over her , and waiting cupids pouring all their mothers charms into your pencill ; here we may behold more divinity in one draught , then in that peice for which apelles ransack't all the beauties of the earth and his own fertile imagination to c●ll out a veuus . of this you have given a sufficient evidence , in adorning the court with so many stars , which shall shine thro' your colours , when time has faded , and the grave immured their own . for painting being at such a noble height as you sir have rais'd it to , carries more prevailing influence , than all the languid efforts of our enervate pens . but it were as vain to attempt a particular encomium of what i understand not , as to deny it's excellency , which the greatest stupidity must confess with silence , and the greatest malice with a forc'd admiration .

pardon me sir , if in dwelling upon so pleasing a subject , i have forgot that i am arguing for what is beyond the verge of dispute , and kept you long in the portall , that i have reason to fear you may be tir'd before you survey the whole building ; but if it affords you any diversion , i shall not complain of any reception it has already , or may meet with in it 's more publick dress , but content my self that it gives me this oppertunity to testify how much i am

your most devoted humble servant , jos. harris .
the preface .

i might here ( as it is very very customary ) beg leave to tell the world the many inconveniences this hasty peice has been expos'd to ; as the season of the being so near christimas &c. and charge all it's failings upon them ; but i am sufficiently satisfyed with it's reception : and what other casualties have obstructed it's wellcome , have been exceedingly made up by mr. montfort , quem semper honoratum , &c. ' twou'd be tautology to mention his extraordinary favours , which are already sufficiently known , and need not my suffrage : but he that will sc●n thoroughly the series of his goodness to me , will find an unbyass'd kindness , and generous pitty in every step . nor shou'd i be backward in acknowledging ( i dare not call it the impartiall ) favours of the pardoning audience . what can express a solid judgment , and sincere good nature , more then to wink at faults , and applaud the least glimmering of wit. i have only one thing now to desire , which is , that upon reading this , they who have seen the more publick representation , will not wonder to find the plot more thick , and severall scenes which were entirely omitted in the action , to modell it into the ordinary bulk of a play. and here 's a fresh occasion for my gratitude to mr. montfort , who in the fith act has not only corrected the tediousness by cutting out a whole scene , but to make the plot more clear , has put in one of his own , which heightens his own character , and was very pleasing to the audience . but in mentioning the brevity of the play , i shall slip into prolixity in the preface , and therefore leave the former to entertain you .

prologue . writ by mr. dryden . enter mr. bright .

gentlemen , we must beg your pardon ; here 's no prologue to be had to day ; our new play is like to come on● without a frontispiece ; as bald as one of you young beaux , without your perriwig . i left our young poet , sniveling and sobbing behind the scenes , and cur●ing some body that has deceiv'd him .

enter mr. bowen

hold your prating to the audience : here 's honest mr. williams , just come in , half mellow , from the rose-tavern . he swears he is inspir'd with claret , and will come on , and that extempore too , either with a prologue of his own or something like one : o here he comes to his tryal , ●t all adventures ; for my part i wi●h him a good deliverance .

exeunt mr. bright , and mr. bowen . enter mr. williams . save ye sirs , save ye ! i am in a hopefull way . i shou'd speak something , in rhyme , now , for the play : but the duce take me , if i know what to say . 〈◊〉 stick to my friend the authour , that i can tell ye , to the last drop of glaret , in my belly . so far i 'me sure 't is rhyme that needs no granting : and , if my verses feet stumble you see my own are wanting . our young poet , has brought a piece of work , 〈◊〉 which , though much of art there does not lurk , it may hold out three days and that 's as long as cork . but , for this play ( which till i h●ve done , we show not , ) what may be its fortune by the lord i know not . this i dare swear , no malice ●ere is writ : 't is innocent of all things ev'n of wit. he 's no high flyer he makes no sky rockets , his squi●●s are only levell'd at your pockets . and if his crackers light among your pelf you are blown-up : if not , then he 's blown-up himslef . by this time , i 'me something recover'd of my flust●r'd madness : and , now , a word or two in sober sadness . ours is a common●play : and you pay down a common harlots price just half a crown . you 'le say , i play the pimp , on my friends score ; but since 't is for a friend your gibes give o're : for many a mother has done that before . how 's this , you cry ? an actor write ? we know it ; but skakspear was an actor , and a poet. has not great johnsons learning , often fail'd ? but shakspear's greater genius , still prevail'd . have not some writing actors , in this age deserv'd and found success upon the stage ? to tell the truth , when our old wits are tir'd , not one of us , but means to be inspir'd . let your kind presence grace our homely cheer ; peace and the butt , it all our bus'ness here : so much for that ; and the devil take small beer .
epilogue writ by mr. n. tate . spoken by mrs. bulter in mans cloaths . as malefactors brought to execution , have leave t' harrangue before their dissolution : such favour your poor criminall beseeches , something to say to justify her breeches . to strut with feather , tilter , lace and blue , i have as good pretence as most of you . 't was time to take this warlike dress in vogue , to guard my dang'rous post of epilogue ; where lurching wits like rapperees appear : and coward critique still attack's our rear . i stand your shot to storm this little fort , let 's see who dares i've that shall find you sport . damn your french way of shooting on the stretch , give me the man bears up and mounts the breach . entrench'd i' th' pit you sit securely rageing , you know who 'le have the odds in close engaging . but this is all exceeding my commission , to swagger while our poet makes submission : i told the tim'rous fool 't was not the way , a worse mistake then any in his play , but he has writ just as you fight for ●ay . like you he justifies his cause for life , for fame , for liberty , for bratts , and wife : he writes , but 't is not for the sake of writing ; when you your bilbo scarf and plume are dighting , for heaven's sake tell me is't for love of fighting ? money 's his plea ; that makes the lawyer trudge , the priest preach counter , and corrupts the iudge . meer want our youn●●●ers to write plays impowers , playing will neither do their work nor ours . then since you are so kind to their deserts , give , next , vs women leave to show our parts : let us perceive but the kind humour seize ye , we 'le ●ry our skill , and do our best to please ye .
dramatis personae . don juan de mendoza vice-roy of naples . mr. hodgsdon . alberto , a nobleman in love with miranda . mr. powell . antonio , his friend , in love with astella mr. alexander . ricardo , the vice-roy 's favourite . a villain and in love with miranda . mr. montford . lopez , alberto 's men mr. bowen . bernardo , ricardo's man mr. trefusis don sylvio . fabio . gentlemen to the vice-roy . three soldiers . three neighbours , a iaylor . messengers . officers , guards , and att●ndants . women . miranda . the vice-roys daughter , in love with alberto . mrs. bracegirdle . astella , sister to alberto , in love with antonio . mrs. butler . maria. miranda's confident . mrs. richardson . the scene naples .
act i.
scene . i. the street . enter alberto reading a challenge , follow'd by his man lopez . alb. this from antonio ? forbid it freindship ! he tells me that miranda's false and loves me not ; if he be then that happy rivall , why shou'd he desire to take that life her scorn can look away ? lop. goes it there i have the business now [ aside but will prevent your designs my noble valiant don. alb. this note 's ten thousand daggers to my breast , cleaves to my heart like hercules poyson'd shirt , and tares my soul in piecemeal . shall i go on ? my friendship bars the way ; but mighty love and honour chide my stay : yes , i will go ; i 'le meet this treacherous man , and stab her image in his faithless breast , or fall my self a sacrifice to both : lop. that i must prevent , my good furious master . [ aside . alb. by heaven he shan't enjoy her . i 'le sluce my veins , let out a deluge of my bloud to drown 'em , and follow 'em tho' rocks high as olimpus , oppose and stop my way : leap aetna's hideous va●lt , then catch 'em on the brink and plunge 'em in , but i will have revenge , and such revenge as traytors , may the damn'd themselves yet never knew : and i 'le about it strait . [ exit lo.

so , now is he going to take horse and ride post to the devill . a plague on these female succ●bu●'s , who o' my conscience are good for nothing else but to breed and beget quarrells . well faith i 'le not lose a good master so .

enter ricardo , and his man bernardo following . lop.

i 'le get some friends and neighbours to assist me , then go with 'em to all the slaughtering fields about town and finde them out , and so prevent their duelling .

ric.

how 's this ! friends and neighbours to assist his master , that must not be : bernardo , do you follow lopez when he goes from hence , and leave him not till night : i can away with your dilligence till to the morrow .

ber.

till to morrow sir ?

ric.

yes , till to morrow : business of importance obl●ges me to attend the vice-roy : be gone .

[ bernardo waits at the door . lop.

what a pox has antonio to do with his mistriss ? or can't he share her with his friend , i warrant she 'le give 'em both enough , in as hot a skirmish as this is like to be .

ric.

i must prevent his purpose and design . lopez .

lop.

bless me ! what will become of me now , if this ill-natur'd courtier has or'e-heard me ?

ric.

i 've heard from you your masters rash design , of fighting with antonio , and must your faith●●llness and care commend .

lop.

i 'd rather you 'd heard the last trumpet summoning you to hell. sir you may commend it , but i can hardly believe that you 'l reward it .

ric. why lopez , thy master is my dearest friend ; our hatred's fled to 'th air from whence it sprung , the date is out , and all the bonds are cancell'd : canst thou then think , ●'de tamely see him fall , and crack those strings which hold ricardo's heart ? friendship 's a dearer name to me then honour , and i 'le expose the one to save the other . lop. as how sir ? ric. i will prevent their ●ighting lopez ; or if that fail , i will assist thy master : but if his nicety refuse me that , i 'le stake the utmost cast i have to loose , and run upon antonio's sword ; then hold it close ●nto my throbbing heart untill my dearest blood cool on the point , and blunt the stroak of death to save alberto . lop

well sir , since you are so resolv'd to serve my master , i 'le trust his safety for once with you , and humbly retire .

ber. hist , hist , lopez . [ lopez run to bernardo : [ both go off together . ric. his safety , dull buffoon , trust me for that : thou coud'st not chuse a better guardian out , tho' thou hadst ransackt all the worlds below , to cull a villain of the blackest dye . one thing i want to finish forth a hero but 't is the meanest virtue brutall courage , mallice i have enough , and witty mallice : these greater qualities may infuse the less , and then ricardo has a titans soul alberto's death makes way for my pretentions , unto the coy miranda's heart ; i will about it strait : itali●n spite assist me at this push , or bl●st ricardo , or his rivall crush . [ exit .
scene the pallace . enter miranda , and astella . mir. oh my astella ! what a tide of joy streams in to crown my yet imperfect love ! 't is rapture but to think he shall be mine . to morrows dawn shall light our loves for ever : to thee i 'le own my fr●end without a blush the vestall fire which guards his image here . ast. my brother 's too much blest , in your kind love , nor cou'd his utmost wish desire more , tho' it were boundless as are your merits . mir. why d' you prophane the dearest of his sex ; s●re nought that 's mortall 's worthy of his love : were i made up of yet untasted charms , such as wou'd pose the painters noblest skill , and dash his feeble fancy in it's flight , yet ' t' were too mean a present for alberto . oh! why are you so slow you tedious hours ? blow fair my hopes , glide with a gentle gale , to wa●t alberto to his mistriss arms. ast. with what strange extasies of joy he 'le wellcome this so happy news from his miranda's mouth : but let me beg you share with me my sister , le●t double passion burst my crowded breast : my noble brother has at last consented , to consummate antonio's happiness , and chain their friendships with another link , soon as your father blesses him with you . mir. soon as my father gives me heav'n in him : why comes he not to hear the charming news sounds as inchanting as the theban lire , or all the musick of the spheres at once : o love ! forgive the extravagance of my desires , which have no bounds short of the noblest heart , that ever yet your golden arrows peirc'd . enter maria. mar. my lord alberto , madam , is without , desires to know if he may have admittance : mir. fly and conduct him in : now help me sister , [ exit . maria to unlade my frait of joys into his breast . ast 't were sin to bar the freedom of your loves : and therefore beg leave humbly to retire . [ exit enter alberto , stands at a distance , and bows . mir. wellcome my dear alberto , for ever wellcome here ; but doubly wellcome now . alb. to hear my ruine ! [ aside mir. now i can charm your sences into wonders , make your chill blood dance to the tune to love , and sing your soul into elysian raptures . alb. o' fatall beauty , and oh my cruell stars ! [ sighs . why was i born to love , and be despis'd ? mir. ha! why this distance , and that heavy sigh ! why play not thousand cupids in your eyes in expectation of ' th approaching bliss ? but i forget , 't is i must charm your soul. my father now has warranted our loves , which shall be doubly ratifyed to morrow : still senceless ! alb. oh triumphant perjury ! down , down the anger of my swelling breast fix me kind heaven , and clear my reason , lest [ aside . my hand shou'd antidate your vengeance on her , and cut this beauteous weed of nature down . [ aside . madam hell and confusion ! i know not what to say : i wish you joy. mir. ha! wish me joy , yet mention hell alberto , the greatest blessing twisted with a curse ; oh all ye powers ! yet why my lord , oh why that wish ? how can you doubt my joy , when you 're the author , my heaven , my paradice , my all i have ? alb. oh syren , syren ! [ aside mir. yes , my lov'd lord , you are my souls desire , nor do i blush to speak a noble truth . but stay : mine did i say , my lov'd lord ? o no! it was a fond mistake , he 's mine no more , but false to all his oathes and plighted vows , false to miranda , that unhappy maid . [ weeps alb. furies and death ! 't is downright mockery . but madam , know tho' i appear to you so still , so calm , so like a suffering saint , yet know ( i say ) there is a storm lies brooding here , will like a furious whirlwind blow to dust that bane to love and friendship , false antonio . mir. antonio ! unfold this fatall riddle . abl. upon his heart i will. mir. by heaven ! by all that 's sacred alb. hold , hold , thou lovely perjur'd beauty ! so well i love thee still , thou sha't not damn thy self to give alberto satisfaction , for that antonio's life must give , not you . mir. hear me alberto , or i dye with grief ; hear me before your rashness makes it quite too late to hear : 't is death to think you may be slain for me , ( for my heart bodes some strange eruption of discontent and passion which tends to ruine ; ) and surely i shou'd grieve antonio's loss since innocent . alb. i know thou woud'st . mir. will you be still unjust ? oh torture ! see he fears to let me know the truth , and cause of this disorder , this strange mistake . [ weeps . alb. ha! does she weep ! o treacherous crocodile ! but i 'le be calm : just heaven , why have you lodg'd such lu●king fiends , in this so fair a mansion ? why wink not all the stars , and hide their heads since this bright cinthia's fall'n from her sphere ? can those tears be true ? sure 't is impossible ! but then if guilty , why shou'd she complain ? oh! 't is the nature of that co●s'ning sex , to weep , and smile , and yet be false , and fair : thus bigot love mistakes the genuine pearl deluded with a gaudy , glittering nothing . mir. since then you 'l not believe my vows or tears , clear with your sword my injur'd innocence , and with my blood wash all my stains away . alb. still weeping ! too well i know the cursed cause , those tears yo● shed to your absent lover and only make a show of sorrow , to surprize me more . ah cruell maid , thou poyson to our loves and friendship , the only prop which dying virtue leans on , in one unhappy hour thou hast quite destroy'd , and broke the sacred chain which link't our souls . mir. will you condemn me , e're you hear me speak ? what has antonio do●e , to move your hate ? or how have i deserv'd this jealousy ? is not antonio alb. ha! that name again ! by hell she doats and feeds upon the sound : antonio ! oh that word , that names a charm , a charm indeed which has bewich'd miranda , and raz'd heavens stamp from out her fickle soul : o i could rave and curse my cruell stars which have depriv'd me of my joys and her : but love usurps the throne and still 's my rage . madam , i go for ever from your sight , to meet a death from your antonio's hands , or offer up my self a victim to appease his angry ghost , and glut revenge and you . mir. stay , stay alberto , hear me but speak . alb. it cannot be , bid raging seas to listen when the winds heave the billows into clouds . mir. stay , stay , but to see miranda dye . alb. away mock not my reall griefs with thy false tears . mir. false tears ! nay then i can endure no more . [ faints . alb. ha! does she faint ! return my fair apostate , return , and hear the story of your falshood ; here i 'le produce the clearest evidence will prove you false , and trouble you no more . mir. convinc'd i 'me false , yet give no more , o horror ! yes , i wou'd rip my heart out of this breast , and give 't a prey for vultures to devour , sooner then wrong my plighted faith in ought . alb. no more , but read , read there your crimes , [ gives her a letter . there markt in characters too plain and foul . farewell for ever madam , for i dare not stay , to see your blushes blab my destiny , but must in silence part and calmly dye . [ exit . miranda sola . mir. false to alberto , this the evidence ; is this the gorgon turns his heart to flint ? i dare not see this narrow vault of death , ( not that i fear my death , for that were wellcome ) but yet i dread there lies some putrid earth couch'd in the dark abode , lest these black letters with every turn shou'd curl into a snake , will wind and twist about my dearest honour , and taint my ●potless truth with infamy . thus i secure it then nor will i trouble [ tears the letter . my conscious innocence with false alarms , but banish all encroaching passions , ( but love and grief , ) from out this troubl'd breast , and leave th' unerring gods to judge the rest . [ exit . enter vice-roy , ricardo , and attendants . v. r. i care not , 't is resolv'd . ric. pardon me sir , i have no other int'rest but your peace , which to preserve , i 'de shipwrack all my own . v. r. how is my peace endanger'd in alberto ? ric. i 'm hush'● sir ; he 's my friend : only this beware v. r. ricardo your words hang ill together : disjoynted words speak a disjoynted meaning . you talk as if there were some mistery 't were fit i knew , and yet you 're loath to tell . is he not loyall ? ric. loyall , he may be sir , for ought i know , i never fear'd the sharpness of his sword , or to defend his country , or di●turb it : 't is true in peace , 't will hardly rust within the sheath , for ●avern brawls and quarrells in the stews ; nor think i there , 't will rust with too much blood : therefore your daughter v. r. speak , what of my daughter ? ric. there must he wound you sir , there ●ound the vein you think he loves her sir , perhaps he may , who wou'd not love to be the vice-roys son , courted , esteem'd , nay more , admir'd by all , and held the favorite both of heaven and earth ? but if ( avert it heaven ) experience tells you he courted more tha● title then your daughter vi. r. i know your meaning , but no more of that : what i 've decreed stands firm , sixt as a rock , not to be shaken w●th your blust'ring reason . prudence in rulers is the helm of state , which lost , the wandring bark's a prey to fate , spl●ts on the rocks and sinks into the sand ; reason that ma●n'd her , cannot then command : the ribs are burst , the helm in pi●●●s torn , the rudder lost , the bark is surely go●e either you argue i 've renounc'd that prudence in taking him into my heart and house , ( after long wading into his inmost thoughts , and sounding all the shallows of his soul ; ) or there 's some hidden cause for this aversion . ric. pardon my lord , the hasty zeal i 've shown ; some brandisht bolt be levell'd at my head , and rivet me to earth , if i have ought to move me thus but duty and my love. [ aside . enter miranda . but see your daughter , sir. mir. i had forgot , t' was rashly done to tear the letter , then leave it here ; for which forgive me credulo●s alberto . ha! my father here ! [ starts . vi. r. miranda . mir. my lord. v. r. why does a father's presence thus surprize you ? but that 's a trifle , to those greater wonders which amaze me more : why child this strange disorder ? what mean those swol'n eyes , and falling tears ? is this the picture of triumphant love , drest in the visage of a black despair ? are shours the prologue to the rising sun , or harbingers of an ensuing storm ? ric. my plot has took ; thanks to my witty stars . [ aside . v. r. i cannot guess the meaning , sure alberto must know the cause , speak , was he here to day ? mir. he was my lord , oh fatall interview ! v. r. fatall , to what ? be quick and give me ease : is it your speedy nuptials that are fatall ? by heaven if such a thought were starting in you , after all your pleadings , and my conquer'd pride , you should be married in the other world. mir. alas ! that heavy curse comes now too late since love has made me wretched beyond all hopes of ever being blest or happy more . he came my lord , but with a face so alter'd , he rather seem'd the ghost of my alberto ; then ey'd me as i were a basilisk : revenge and love jarr'd in his eyes a while , but strait the fiercer passion gain'd the conquest : to all the endearments of my joyfull love , he answer'd only with a gloomy silence : but soon as i discover'd your consent , he storm'd and rav'd aloud , then wisht me joy , talk't of antonio , falshood and revenge , whilst all my tears inflam'd him but the more . v. r. i understand you not ha! ricardo ! ric. you see my eye was piercing to discern . v. r. speak once again , but speak it to the dead , for they 'le solve such a riddle soon as i. ric. i am no oedipus , yet can construe this : he 's false , or thinks her so , which is as bad , if not worse . v. r. oh! give me patience heaven for this affront , which thus reflects upon my masters honour , and wipes the sacred oyl from off his head . there 's ne're a proud italian of you all shall dare to ro●ze my fiery jealous rage and scape it's fury . guards go seize the traytor . mir. hold , hold kind sir , and hear your daughter speak . vi. r. shame to my blood , woud'st thou excuse the villain ? breath but a word for him that dares abuse thy fathers condescention and thy love , and i 'le proclaim thee bastard , and not mine . mir. i must speak , for love like mine 's invincible , and like the palm suppress'd , does higher rise : i wou'd excuse him too , but impossible ! perhaps some busy ●iend has been at work to interrupt the calm which we enjoy'd , and shipwrack all our hopes with one dire blast . what virtue 's proof against the assaults of malice ? vi. r. that ●iend is lodg'd within his treacherous breast , there lies the snake which stings my honour thus : i● vain you 'd bribe my justice with your tears the ballance must fall down and crush alberto . mir. since you 're resolv'd , oh hear me on my knees , i beg of you this last , this only favour , load me with all the chains , his crimes deserve , and let my death glut your mistaken rage . vi. r. fond , love-sick fool , then woud'st thou dye for him ? mir. with as much joy , as martyrs for their faith. dye to preserve him for anothers arms , and bless the stroke which gives alberto life . vi. r. i finde my resolution staggers here and thou hast tam'd the lion in my soul ; [ rise . ric. 't is well ; and fortune hitherto's my friend , did he secure him , there wou'd be a search [ aside deep in the bottom of my close design and all my industry were countermin'd . if that my loyallty were not ill manner'd i wou'd advise you sir , to curb your rage , till proof imprint the stamp of justice on 't : and if your highness shall think me worthy i 'le be the argus to your peace and honour . vi. r. thanks my good friend : and to convince you that your service is not thrown away on me , i accept of your advice ; alberto's free . now daughter let us in , and sound the depth of all these wonders . ricardo wa●t me here . [ exit vice-roy , miranda and attendants ricardo solus . ric. what lucky planet rul'd when i was born and mark'd me out a second machiavell ? he plotted but to gorge his vast ambition , but i , to satisfie revenge and love , the darling passions of the powers above . what 's this , a torn note , expos'd to view ? i●e joyn the broken remnants close , and may [ puts it together and starts . from every pei●● sprout up a hydra's head , to wound and quite destroy the man i hate . ha! confusion to my eyes ! what 's this i see ? the very basis of my plot o'rethrown ; the pin pluck'd out which mov'd my study'd engine : my counterfitted challenge here , and torn . what shou'd this mean ? let me see ! [ muses . no yes nay it shall be so : i 'le counterplot the coward , and like the toad suck poyson from each verdant her● and spit it in alberto's face . enter the vice-roy unattended . v. r. is there no friend , will ease me of my doubts ? none to redeem me from this maze of thoughts in which i 'm lost ? ricardo thou seem'st honest , and can'st not without trouble see me thus : give me some means to rid me of this torture , tho' ne're so harsh , tho 't be a fatall cord or twist of roapy venom for a clue . ric. the fair miranda has been at work for me , and moulded him , as if she 'd gag'd my wishes ; [ aside credit me sir , your grief distracts my soul , and all my friendship must give way to duty . my weak imagination can't present a surer way to fathom his intents , and punish 'em , then quite to cast him down from that bright heaven he once aspir'd to , and bar all future claims unto your daughter . v. r. friendship still softly pleads within thy breast ; has not the villain baulk't that punishment , in leaving her , and plagu'd me with his falshood ? this mildness in my friend 's almost a crime when titius's vulture or the rowling stone are nothing to the torments he deserves . were but my fears confirm'd by certain proof , what patron god shou'd guard him from my vengeance ? tho' thunder back't with lightning fenc'd him in , and charms as great as circe's did protect him . nay tho' bury'd from my rage as deep as hell , yet wou'd i force the lemnian bulworks ; scale the flaming wall 's , then ransack all the world below to find him out , and having found the traytor , tear out his false , disloyall , treacherous heart , and grind it into dust , to heal my wounded honour . ric. this rage surprizes me : i thought your daughter had fully satisfied and cured your jealousy , and nothing now remain'd but to revenge his crimes . v. r. by all that 's good she has heighten'd it ricardo , her tameness has but wounded me the more : tho' i had offer'd all the world to bribe her , she wou'd but tell me , there was some mistake and speak the rest in tears . ric. 't is wondrous strange , that duty urg'd her not ; when other women can speak enough unbrib'd , or uncommanded . but i have happily found out a way t' untie this gordian knot . vi. r. speak to the purpose . ric. t' was fate alone , who pitti'd your concern , and therefore in compassion found a cure. when you were gone , i found this torn note which put together spells a challenge read it with this back-blow i wound 'em both at once . [ aside . vi. r. reads . ] altho' the fair miranda loves you not , yet i 'le not bear a rivall tho' unhappy : either renounce all title to her love , or meet me single in the parade at six this evening , where i 'le expect you with your sword to do me right , and satisfy the honour of th' enrag'd . antonio . ha! what shou'd this mean ? my wonder but encreases still the more by this misterious challenge : how cou'd alberto but in honour go , when such a dangerous invitation call'd him ? ric. pardon me sir , my courage wou'd not blush to wave that duell , which my love forbids , and more your highness orders put a bar to . but here 's such treason , hell ne're hatch'd a greater , so black a crime , my virtue shrinks to name . v. r. it must be monstrous then , if fear'd to name ric. monstrous indeed ! alas ! you take this for antonio's hand v. r. antonio's , yes , why is it not ? ric. by heaven and earth 't is mine as much as his . v. r. then there 's some horrid plot conceal'd in this : tell me the meaning good ricardo , and [ gives ricardo the letter . construe these damn'd infernal characters . ric. i think the words need no interpretation , the meaning 's writ in plain downright italian , ( it seems he has not politicks enough for a dissembling , false , and treacherous villain ) sir , this is but a counterfeit of his , with a pretence of fair miranda●s falshood● to varnish or'e his own ingratitude . v. r. 't is so , 't is plain ; ye powers , and must i live to see my honours death ? to feel my blood thus trampl'd on by an abandon'd slave ? ric. it works as i cou'd wish . [ aside . v. r. sure there must be in young antonio some grounds for this , some glimmering , flas●es of a growing flame ; by all the gods i 'le crown his utmost wishes , and date his nuptialls from alberto's death . o where has all my i●jur'd greatness slept ? in what dull lethe has my pride been drown'd ? rouze up my slugger'd fury , wake my rage , act such revenge shall fright the wondring age ; be like a torre●t on alberto hurl'd , and like the deluge to the infant world . [ exit . ricardo solus . ric. thanks my kinde stars , ye bawds unto my plot . this rage will countenance alberto's murder , and make it seem an act of loyallty . but first i must expose this to the flames ; then on to build the fabrick i de●ign mount pelion upon ossa ; bravely done , thus to ascend the region of the sun , and see my glorious web , by second causes spun . finis actus primi .
act ii.
scene . i. the parade . enter ricardo with soldiers . ric.

come on gentlemen you have your instructions and your reward , twenty florins a man.

. soul.

we have , and 't is enough for this same small piece of villany : why sir , we souldiers , for half so much wou'd kill our fathers and brothers , and after that ravish our mothers and sisters .

. soul.

ay , ay sir , ravishing's nothing with us , 't is our dayly practise .

. soul.

why i 'le you sir , an● o' my conscience 't is true

. soul.

conscience fellow souldier , zounds what hast tho● to do with conscience ?

soul.

who i ? why nothing ; the devill i think was in me for having such an unlucky thought . how a plague came i to think o● conscience , that never had any such thing in all my life ?

. soul.

zounds how i shou'd know , that know not what it means .

. soul.

well ; certainly i am the unfortunate'●t dog in the world but sir , as i was saying ,

ric.

ay sir , pray go on .

. soul.

for twenty more , we wou'd cut your honours throat , tho' we are so much oblig'd to you for your bounty already .

r●c .

how !

. sol.

if your honour shou'd hire us , and pay us well for our pains .

ric.

very likely , that i 'de hire you to cut my own throat .

. sol.

an you did , you 'd not be the first by twenty , that have done it .

ric.

come no more fooling .

. sol.

fooling ! why i tell you sir , 't is our trade , we cannot live but by murder and cutting of throats : for look you sir , the blood we drink , and it makes us fat ; the hearts we broil , and eat with salt and vinegar , and 't is wholesome food , sir : as for the rest o' th body , if it be young and tender we make venison of it , and present it to our friends and benefactoas , such as your worship , but if tuff and old we give it to dogs , 't is not worth our care or preservation .

ric.

you say true but now to our business : when he comes , retire if you can , so as to o'rehear us ; but if not , i hope those same unknown things call'd consciences , that can digest murder so well , as without making wry faces at it , won't baulk a little perjury , especially when there 's twenty good hard round pieces of gold to help it down .

. sol.

never fear it sir , 't is another limb of our trade ; alass we shou'd halt without it : why sir we every day practice it for widdows , who out of tender care for their children will sequester some of their mannors to themselves , lest too much plenty shou'd dabauch ' em .

. sol.

and for such grave statesmen as your worships honour , when they have a suit in law depending , or any friend at court whom they wou'd give a good character of to the goverment .

ric. these are fit instruments , as hell cou'd send me , and tho' he tamely yeilds him self a prisoner yet shall these hell-hounds still outswear him , and baffle justice with their impudence : nor will the vice-roy now be backward to believe 'em , since rage has blinded him beyond his reason . . sol. sir , sir , i hear some body coming , i believe 't is our prey : now is my appetite as sharp as my sword to be at him . ric. retire then and observe the instructions i gave you . . sol. we 'le divide the spoil boys , shan't we ? omnes . ay , ay , agreed : but come let 's go . [ exeunt . ric. now nemesis assist your votary . [ stands at a distance . enter alberto . alb. the hour is past , and yet he is not come , as 〈◊〉 in justice he allow'd me time to think and steel my sword for vengeance : yet why ye cruel powers ! why have you doom'd me to revenge , the quarrell of my love upon my friend ? was 't not enough to hear miranda false , ( to find a spot in that meridian sun , that silver-swan , who once like leda's twins brusht the smooth surface of the azurd sky and glid along in gaudy majesty , above the common glory of the starrs : ) to see her quencht , quencht in an asphalites , and sprout up to the world an ethiop ? ( oh 't is a thought that grates upon my heart , and screws the jarring string untill they crack . but that my friend , my friend should plunge her in , and be the tempter of this fall'n angell , 't is hell , damnation , and eternal horror ! ric. what a rare poyson is this jealousy ? ' that 's workt , and almost scorch'd him into tinder apt to be fir'd with the least spark of passion . alb. durst any other snatch her from my arms ? how wou'd i hug the stinging viper , till i crusht out his poyson with his life , and smile to see his panting soul dance on my bloudy point its way to hell . ric. now is the time my lord ! [ comes forward . alb. ha! what makes this court-worm here , this parasite , volume of words , and shadow of a man ? [ aside . perhaps he has heard me ●ighing out my griefs . ric. i have my lord , and they concern me much ; and urge me to declare it to your face , antonio and you must never fight . alb. must never fight ? who dares oppose our fighting ? as well they might resist an angry wind , or stop the current of an impetuous tide : not all the roaring of carybdi● gulf shall hush the clamour of my loud revenge ; nor mists engender'd by the queen of love , shall hide her darling hero from my sword. ric. to what excess of bravery you 're rais'd , and spurn your absent fo● like worthless dirt but once more i must tell you angry lord , antonio and you must ne're engage . alb. 't is false ; dally no longer with my fury , le●t it burst out , and blow thee into air. where is the man dares combat with my anger ? ric. what if the vice-roys orders shou'd controul it ? alb. i laugh at ' em . what has state-interest to do with me , when both my love and honour are at stake ? ric. what if the fair miranda should command it ? alb. the fair miranda ! o thou hast hit the vein , but call not back the charmer to my mind . whom i've in vain attempted to forget . ric. then still you love her ? alb. witness all ye powers ! how much i love that dear abandon'd saint ! and with what joy i 'de dye to give her ●ase ; but cannot yield antonio to her arms : still the tough mettal of my heart holds out , and braves the weak efforts of my ambiguous will. ric. now then 's the time to throw off all disguise . know then , i dare , and will prevent your fighting . alb. no more , be gone , wake not my sleeping rage , to tread so poor an insect into clay . ric. that insect dares your rage proud love-●ick lord. alb. thou art not worth my anger : but mark me statesman , if thy tongue breath a syllable of this , or dares prophan● the business of my love i 'le rivet it for ever to its roof : by heaven i 'le bath my vengeance in thy bloud , and send thee herauld of this horrid news to ope the crackling gates of pluto's realm and wait antonio's coming . ric. insolent ! know'st tho● what i am ? alb. a statesman , and by consequence a villain ; a common prostitute to every bribe , who traffiques justice for all damning gold. ric. i 've blood as pure as thine runs through my veins : nay more , i am a lover , and thy rivall . alb. my rivall ! can any generous passion enter there , that impregnable garrison of vice ? or drast thou think to violate my love , and offer up thy spurious flames with mine ? as for antonio , he indeed is worthy of her , fair as the day , and the first dawn of light , before polluted with the shades of night , and till this cursed day a pylades to me . ric. your praise of him inflames but me the more : 't is i alone deserve her best , and will wear her : i will possess her , rif●le all her sweets , whilst you gaze on , despair , and cursing , dye . alb. ha! sayst thou ? but this arm shall bar thy way and send to keep company with ghosts : there may'st thou revell with some proserpine , but never think of fair miranda more : draw , if thy trembling hand can hold thy sword : [ draws . ric. it can , and fix it in thy heart alberto [ draws . alb. come no more words , but prove it by thy deeds , that side o' th field is more convenient , shaded with trees , and undisturb'd with noise , thither let 's repair , but make haste ricardo , le●t thou recover from this fit of valour by delay . ric. on then , and let the conquerour boast , i think i am secure . [ exeunt . [ aside . enter soldiers . . sol.

hark ye comrades , why the devill shou'd we betray this gallant man ( who is our fellow soldier , ) for the pleasure of a cowardly statesman , who is of a profession , that is our greatest enemy , and still plotting for peace , and to hinder our glorious rapines abroad , that they may have the spoil of all at home .

. sol.

alas poor pedro , and art thou troubled with a qualm of conscience ?

. sol.

no faith boy , i 'de have you to know that i am a soldier , and scorn any such baseness ; but why shou'd not we commit this small peice of perjury for a brave fellow that loves us , rather then for a coward that hates us ?

. sol.

ay! but pedro we have his money , and it wou'd be ingratitude .

. sol.

ingratitude ! what 's that ?

. sol.

why a sort of current coin at court boys , that runs like quick-silver from one to another : for look ye , don't we dayly see what a crowd of cringers press there every day , gaping like so many jack-daws for preferment , and commonly such as have spent three parts of their patrimony in presenting , treating , and bribing this lord or that squire , this coxcomb or t'other fool , and at last for amends , get only a large sum of bare promises and shallow hopes ( quite as shallow as his lordships little-witty quilted noddle : ) therefore i 'le have nothing to do with it , but leave you all to the devill to be advis'd .

. sol.

by saint iago he speaks sense in that ; and i scorn to be backward in any virtuous act , therefore i declare for the soldier .

. sol.

i am half converted and of thy opinion too : but my safety sticks with me , for this same lord alberto is on the other hand too virtuous , and overcharg'd virtue , you know , is as ugly as when she has nothing but skin and bones on her back .

. sol.

right : and therefore he 'd thank us for saving of him , but hang us for betraying the other .

. sol.

hum ! and i'gad that may be : for faith tho' i love him very well , yet i love my self better ; therefore to conclude let us kill 'em both , and then we shall shake hands and part with a merry heart , and a good conscience .

. sol ,

no , no , the best way is to seize and apprehend 'em both for duelling , then shall we enjoy our prize by law , & perhaps be rewarded by the government for our great care and circumspection for settling and securing the affairs of the nation .

. sol.

well! thou hast a rare head-piece , a rare head-peice i'faith : i shall live to see thee one of th●se days on the very pinicle of preferment , for ahy policy .

. sol.

what dost mean , the gallows ?

. sol.

witty dog , the gallows ! why faith as thou sayst , the gallows is a pinacle from whence many a weather-cock has been whirl'd off , and with as handsome a farewell as your protesting courtier gives his humble servant , that is never to see him more

. sol.

well , well , i 've policy enough for a souldier and i care for no more .

. sol.

ay , ay , and so we have all : but see they 're met , and coming this way .

. sol.

the soldier drives the cowardly statesman lightning before him .

enter ricardo driven in by alberto . . sol.

o' miracle ! a courtier and loose blood in ●ight : but let 's to our work .

[ they seize and disarm ' em . alb.

ha! betray'd ! unband me slaves .

. sol.

slave us no slaves , sir , we 've sav'd your life , , and you must get your liberty as well as you can .

ric. come , since he 's seiz'd return my sword again , that i may drein from out his heart his dearest blood to fill my ebbing veins : come let me go . . sol.

ha! ha ! ha ! what can the roaring lion do when he has lost his claws and teeh , but roar ? good noble squire of the court you must hire soldiers to murder a soldier , and see what comes on 't , i thank you we 've earn'd our money cheaper a great deal .

ric.

what mean the treacherous dogs ?

. sol.

mean , why we mean to secure you both : you for bribing us to murder , and him for not bribing us .

alb. thus heaven can save the innocent , 'gainst all assaults , and make the worst of men the instrument of good . but false antonio , false man , thus to conspire against my life , when thou hast rob'd me of my love , else how shou'd he have known it and prepar'd the means for execution : come gentlemen , lead the way , the way to death , the end of all my greifs . . sol.

our business is to lead you back to prison , since we have given you a reprieve and are taking you from the place of execution .

alb. wou'd you wou'd lead me to some labrinth , where i might loose my piercing woes for ever , and wander from my self , [ exit alberto with two soldiers . ric. ten thousand plagues go with thee . did blood affright you slaves , your dayly food in peace and war ? but come , unhand me now . . sol.

ha , ha , ha ! you think we 're in jest , no faith sir , you 'l not find it so : indeed i cou'd be jocose enough sometimes , with such a friend as you are , but that there lags behind ( in such a case ) hanging in good earnest .

ric. hell and furies ! they deride me too : o' that i were a basilisk for their sakes ! yet think ungratefull villains of the gold. . sol.

prithee talk not to us of gold , when our lives are in danger : the law runs thus , he that sees a duell , and does not call for help , or seize the combatants , is equally guilty of the breach of the law , and under the same penalty , as he that actually engages .

ric.

does not your conscience sting you for your ingratitude ?

. sol.

conscience ! we 've got some court opium of you to lull that asleep .

ric. impudent slaves ! gods must i then behold my great designs , unravell'd by so base and common hands ? but this defeat shall heighten my revenge : i 'le call each fiend to harbour in my breast , and prompt me to the wittyest acts of horror : nay , i 'le pursue him dead , and haunt his ghost ; and tho' i'm sunk ten thousand fathoms deep , yet i 'le be aetna still , and spout up flames , shall set the heavens on fire about his ears , and with the mighty ruin ease my cares . [ exeunt omnes
scene the court. enter vice-roy , antonio , guards and attendants . v. r. antonio , saw you your friend to day alberto ? ant. my lord i did not , and it much concerns me , that he should absent himself so long . v. r. nor did you meet my friend honest ricardo ? ant. honest ricardo , and but plain alberto ! sir , you surprize me . vi. r. i shall surprize you , sir , to tell you , he that is your friend , must cease to be your friend , or i commence your enemy . ant. forbid it heaven ! v. r. grant it propitious heaven , thou shoud'st have said . woud'st thou defile the e●mine of thy sou● , and mix with such a canker'd poisonous beast ? even birds of prey peck at their dearest mates , when false to them , and common with another . ant. oh hold ! my blood chills at these injurious words and cools the warmth which circles round my heart my friend corrupted ! no it cannot be , alberto's white , purer then driven snow ; the very emblem of man's infant nature ; and clear as opening heaven . v. r. and yet as black as hell : ●alse to his king , his country , and to me ; but what is more , false to love and thee . ant. impossible ! it cannot be ! v. r. you 'l not believe me then ? ant. pardon me sir , if that i say i cannot ; for sure my friend can never prove disloyall , ●alse to his king , his country , or to love : when gods cease to be gods , and heaven is heaven no more , then will i cease to adore those gods for ever ; but oh they 're still immortall and unchang'd , so is our friendship kindled by their influence ; promethean heat did light it from above , and none but heaven can e're put out the fire . but sir , your words imply the knowledge of something which for alberto's sake i 'de beg to share in . v. r. no ripping up of circumstances , sir , 't is most unseasonable to our purpose now : dispell those clowds , which thus hang o're your brow , and now prepare to meet your coming joy : to morrows light shall give your long'd for bride unto your arms , and tye you fast for ever : you muse , i did not expect this from a lover ! ant. my love and friendship are so near akin that one being hurt , the other feels the smart , and eccho's to it's grief just like a well-tun'd lute 's harmonious strings , one being broke , makes all the rest to jarr . v. r. 't is a fond eccho of a troubl'd brain and false as wandring meteors in the night ; if for your friendship you 'l be false to love , your guilt will equal to alberto's prove ; he but a lower friendship does decline , but you 'd almighty love for him resig●e . ant. how can i hope to have my love secure , when it 's twin-brother friendship wants a cure : besides my happiness depends on his , since his consent must consummate my bliss . v. r. let his consent give place unto my will she 's in my power and i will keep her still . ant. this sir , wou'd too severe appear in you , to hold by force what is anothers due . v. r. alberto's due you mean ; young man 't is thine thy due , nor is it his consent but mine m●st rule my daughter . ant. ha! your daughter sir ! v. r. my daughter ? yes ; i know you think it strange , and wonder at this unexpected change , but i have found that you deserve her best and 't is antoni● she must now possess ; i 'le fetch her to you strait . [ exit vice-roy . ant. guard me ye powers ! did he not say , or did i dream he said ? that my friends mistriss shou'd be mine ? oh horror ! weep heart at such a horid thought , weep blood , and drown the demon in the crimson flood ; watch friendship , guard the fortress of my soul , and all this crowding heap of ill 's controul : fly fond ambition to thy stormy cell , or rather sink into thy native hell. avaunt ye mushroom glories of the earth , whose fading is as sudden as your birth : leave me t' injoy my mistriss and my friend , and let me never , never these offend . enter vice-roy and miranda . mir. by all your hopes , great sir , by my dear mothers ghost , i do conjure you , revoke this cruell sentence . v. r. come no more : there 's fate in every sillable i speak , and if you prize alberto's life , receive him as one who shortly must comma●d you . ant. stand firm my friendship 'gainst the mighty shock . [ aside mir. i k●ow you do but try my constancy , you 'd curse me from your blood were i disloyall , and false to him , tho' he 's unkind to me . how did you trembling stand , all struck with horror , to think he shou'd forget his vows to me , and shou'd i coppy him ? v. r. you plead in vain , his doom stands fixt , unless you repeal it ; i have no time to argue , think , and resolve : here 's the reward of your long smother'd flames , and fortune gives you an hour unask'd , what you scarce dar'd to wish for untill now . i leave her here , to clear the rest . [ exit with guards & attendants . ant. what mean these prodigies ? but see she weeps ; perhaps she thinks to thaw my nature by h●r tears , and wash away my virtue with the dew [ aside . mir. assist me all ye powers that favour love. my noble lord. [ aside . ant. o strike me with some leprosy kind heaven , blot even natures genuine image out , that i may be a monster to her eyes . mir. this musing gives a vent unto my hopes , perhaps his friendship struggles still for life , and with some aid may yet recover breath . [ aside that you are generous , the world can witness , your bravery the haughty french do mourn , and naples sav'd , proclaims antonio's valour . ant. oh tempting charmer ! mir. but there are virtues , which be●it a court , and sound much softer then the rugged stile of war. love , the prerogative of heaven and gods , the polisher of yet unfinish'd nature , which separates and refines the dross of man , and brings the golden age upon th● soul : and friendship bears such sympathy with love , you cannot have the one without the other : once you did own a friend , and love him too ; once your twin-souls did kindly mix together , you hearts beat time , and measur'd every thought ; you squar'd your actions to each other's will , and each desire did center in his friend . ant. we did , we do , and hope we ever shall : there is divinity in all you say ? but yet there still remains a harsh conclusion , why wou'd you then seek to destroy that friendship to cancell all the sacred bonds , and stain your virgin-beauties with so foul a crime ? mir. ha! what does he mean ? ant. think madam , oh think : think of alberto's worth , his constant love , how ill he merits from miranda this : but if you 've cruelly resolv'd his death , let not antonio be his murderer : how wou'd the damn'd in hell be ague-struck , and double all their pains by contraries ? how wou'd they hate the abhor'd light , and think the dismall shades the happier place where all such monstrous villany they shun , but still repent for what on earth they 've done ? mir. be witness heaven how innocent am i , and oh reflect antonio on your guilt . you 've argu'd justly in your own defence , why shou'd you then betray so brave a friend , and draw such vengeance on your guilty head ? but oh too late , as well i might call back times fleeting sand , or bid the labouring sun turn retrogade in its diurnall course ; for he is gone , for ever lost to me . yet think not that i 'le quench thy impurer flames , i 'le sooner seek a satyr of the woods , embrace a leopard , mix with ravenous wolves , for they 're more clear , and more relenting far : but oh ! d●ath is the wellcom'st guest to me , to embrace a shrowd , and kiss the weeping marble , till we 're incorporate , both cold alike , so turn like niobe into a stone . ant. instruct me heaven what means this show of rage : madam you load me with a crime unknown , and still forestall what i wou'd say to you ; but let these fruitless accusations cease , and tell me how i have betray'd alberto . mir. hast thou not ? ant. what ? speak mir. but here i 'me lost again , my father charg'd me not to clear the truth and tyrant duty compells me to obey . enter maria. what means that ghastly look ; maria speak : dost thou bring ought of comfort or despair ? mar. i 'le speak the truth , howe're it fatall prove : just now arriv'd some soldiers to your father , who say , they 've seiz'd alberto and ricardo for duelling . mir. what , and imprison'd too ? mar. worse madam , your enrag'd father swears his life is forfeit , and it shall be paid , yet now has sent to bring ricardo to him . mir. oh tyrant father ! greater tyrant thou , [ to ant. who triumphs thus , over two bleeding hearts , which both expire by thy treachery . ant. i 'me at a loss for words to express my wonder ; madam , i 'me hush● , and will accuse no more since i 'me confirm'd you love alberto still , but still unkindly you maintain your charge 'gainst me , fill me with blackest ideas of a crime i loath to name . but i must tell you , madam , the fair astella's image is rooted here , and not to be defac'd by all your charms , nor think your fathers grant , or vain ambition can ever blast my love , and make me change . mir. too late this forc'd repentance comes from yo● since death 's his doom , and not to be repeal'd . ant. i will make reparation , tho' not guilty ; such reparation madam , will convince you , that friendship's dea●er to this breast , then life . mir. what can'st thou do to counterveil his death ? ant. i 'le save him tho' i perish in th' attempt : i 'le ransome from him his unjust confinement , or leave my life to appease your jealousy . mir. this will be noble , and may clear my doubts , go , and success attend your brave endeavours . away , and give me life or death ; since my weak thread depends on his , and drops when he 's cut off . [ exit . mir. & mar. ant. alberto thus confin'd ? it shall not be ; i 'le snatch him from the very jaws of death , and shield him from the stroke of angry fate . [ going . enter astella . ast. turn thee antonio , turn ambitious youth . ant. my dear astella here ? o my fair saint this is a day of wonders , mighty wonders , such as must separate a while my soul , and force me to thy brother , and my friend . ast. wonders indeed , that such a votary as you shou'd turn apostate unto love , and pay your vows unto another saint . ant. ha my astella ! this is still more strange , in what perplexity am i involv'd ? i think the planets tread in mistick rounds , and all the stars are hatching fatall riddles . ast. in vain you 'd seek a shroud to hide your guilt , loves jealous eyes with ease can pierce your soul , and mak 't transparent as a cristall mirror . ant. what a gross fat● has heaven allotted me , to make me ignorantly thus a villain , a villain to my mistriss and my friend , yet cannot learn my crime to either ? ast. yet my antonio , why shou'd you prefer the barren and uncertain joys ambition yields , before loves calmer and more solid sweets ? how have you call'd yo● shining orbs to witness the purer flame which circl'd in your breast , and swore the fixed stars shou'd change their sphere , e're you forgot astella for another . ant. was ever love in such a maze as mine , that all her softness cannot melt my nature ? the rugged figure of alberto's prison [ aside . has rac'd out for a while the impressions of my love . credit me madam , i can never change : then speak not words so fatall to my peace , nor from this sullen temper fondly gather , i love no more , but ange● clouds my love. ast. heaven knows and you what cloud eclipses it , but i 'le repine no longer at your choice , nor think i 'm wretched , whilest antonio's happy . but let me beg you to defer your joys till i am wither'd by a milder grief , and languish by a gentle death from you . ant. this kindness from her , wounds me but the deeper , since i want power to make a fit return : by heaven my heart is yours , as it was ever but i must pay a duty to my friend , which done i will return , and doubly blest , whilst he shall give your hand , but yo● the rest . [ exit . ast. this ill-tun'd joy's but a forc'd harmony , these words are all but mandrakes notes to me : yes my antonio , thou art false , inconstant , as the leaf that 's blown with every winde : i read it in his eyes , yet cannot chide , it were not rigor shou'd i blame the false one , and vent the sorrows of an injur'd love but oh i cannot be so much a woman ! ye powers that form'd this peice of misery why made ye me so soft , and him so cruell ? yet er'e i will proceed some means i 'le try , which if they fail , there still remains to dye . thus i 'le r●deem the credit of my sex , for when my fatall story shall be told , succeeding times shall change their harsh decree , and with united voices all agree , that man 's the emblem of inconstancy . [ exit .
act iii.
scene . i. a prison . enter jaylor , with purses . iay.

be true to thy profit still say i stephano . ricardo has given me fifty checquins to release him , and says he 'le save my throat , and be my friend at court ; when at the same time , her● are some come with orders from the vice-roy to free him , which he knows not of . again here 's within young antonio , who has given me a hundred more for his friend , the lord alberto : now 't is a sin to refuse iove descending in a golden shower into my lap , and a greater sin to be hang'd : well stephano lay thy wits together , and for once outwit a statesman , and out-promise a courtier . who 's there ?

enter officers with two or three more . offi. is my lord ricardo ready yet ? iay.

sir , he 's a little busy at present , and desires no noise near him ; but if you 'l be pleas'd to retire and wait at the door facing st. iaques's , i 'le conduct him to you strait .

offi.

well make hast honest jaylor :

[ exeunt iay.

i think i nick't it , just i' th nick : wit and pollicy together , that 's too much for once ; but now to my business [ goes and unlocks a door . ] my lord you may come out , if you please .

enter alberto . alb.

what means this mercy from my jaylor ?

iay.

o my lord , no complements : but stay a little and i 'le fetch you your sword .

[ exit
alb. let fate interpret this misterious dealing , for i 'me invelop'd still in double night ; the light o' th sun i yet may chance to see ; but oh miranda ! miranda's set , for ever set to me . enter jaylor . iay.

here 's your accoutrements sir ; and he●e's a key which opens the back-door leading to porto sancto , make hast , lest you be discover'd and i suspected .

alb

fate niggard gives me happiness by halves , since i 'me unable to requite this goodness . but here 's to reward thee .

[ gives him money . iay.

i am sufficiently rewarded , my lord , in my own conscience , and your lordships innocency

[ and in antonio's money . alb. be silent still the night , and wink ye stars , guide me where i may find this faithless friend , and all my sorrows shall for ever end . [ exit . iay.

so much for him : but now go on and prosper still say i ; i shall oblige 'em all three , and cheat 'em all three .

enter antonio . ant. jaylor ! iay. who 's there ? ant a friend : is my lord alberto drest yes ? iay. i 'le go see , and if he be ready , i 'le bring him to you . [ ex ant. now shall we solve this sophistry of hell , and kill the hydra that invented it . enter jaylor leading ricardo . iay. he fee'd me to free alberto , from which i study'd your escape , and keep the other still in durance . ric. excellent engine , i 'le improve his fee. but how shall i escape undiscover'd ? iay.

why sir , you may traverse your ground here in the dark , and go out without speaking to him , and at the door , i 've plac'd some friends , that will conduct you to the vice-roy , since you say you 're sure of being wellcome to him .

your friend sir , will come out immediately :

[ to antonio .

now i 've got a hundred and fifty pieces , i 'le fairly run away , and if i 'me catch'd , 't is better to be hang'd with satisfaction , then to go to the gal●ows with a craving stomach ,

for a full belly will weigh down the rope , but p●nury must ne're a pardon hope . [ exit .
ant. i hear some tread ; my dear alberto , friend , where are you ? ric.

you shall be with your friend , ne're fear it : so farewell if i can hit the door .

[ goes upon antonio . ant. wellcome my dear alberto , to these arms , wellcome to life , to friendship , and to love . [ ric. stabs anto. ric. i hope i 've sign'd our friendship sir in bloud . ant. wounded ! oh heavens ! and by alberto's hand ! ungratefull traytor ! yet i 'le know the cause . [ draws . ric. you shan't , if i can possibly avoid it : this is rare mischief , thus with a randome blow to ●ow such serpents teeth , which when they spring in hisses will each others requiem sing . [ exit . ant. o power of destiny to change a breast , which virtue seem'd to challenge as her own : that he shou'd fear the presence of his friend , and seek to give him death , who sav'd his life ; horror choaks up my words , and damps my heart , i feel his hand , and not his dagger smart . [ exit .
scene the pallace . enter vice-roy and miranda . v. r. slighted again ? what do the slaves conspire to make a mock of naples second monarch ? by all my wrongs i will endur 't no longer , but they shall feel the weight of injur'd greatness : where is antonio ? guards go fetch him strait ; hurl him through hells of torture to my hands , that i may heighten all his misery , and double all the wounds which he gives me . mir. o sir , what villain has inspir'd this rage , or is it i that have inflam'd you thus ? know royall sir , 't was i that breath'd the calm repentance in him , and call'd his wandring love to it's first flame , then fix'd his friendship to alberto's name . v. r. friendship ! i 'le hew that title from between 'em ; eternall mi●ts shall seperate 'em for ever . friends ; so were bloody cassius and brutus , when they conspir'd great caesars overthrow , and all the world did mourn the fatall blow . but traitress thou that durst oppose my will shall be immur'd for ever from the day , in some dark cloister , sigh thy wearied life out ; there may'st thou tire the saints with orisons , and each return a curse upon thy head . mir. be deaf ye powers , and hear not his request : till these last words you were an oracle . oh! if alberto's doom be not revers'd let me be the companion of his death ; then i 'le enjoy him with a purer flame , then hand in hand we 'le tread the milky way , whilst all the stars shall wonder at our loves . v. r. whilst all the stars shall ●icken at the ●ight : enjoy him ! no , by hell you never shall i 'le summon all that magick art can do , to ●●og th● soul in it's swift flight away tha● pois'd equally t'wixt heaven and hell , thy body here may rot on earth , thy soul grow to one horrid mass of black despair , and hang a threatning storm amidst the air . weep on , weep poyson to infect the world , and plague mankind , as thou 'st tormented me . [ enter ricardo . but here 's a friend will countervail my griefs here let me ease my soul into thy breast , [ embraces him . here find a subject , and a child in thee : ric. how fares it with my royal lord ? v. r. as with the indigested embrio of the world , when infant nature labour'd with a chaos , wanting as yet the kind almighty fiat , to midwife the rude birth into an order : my soul like the seeds of being in their first mixture is grown a peice with grief and madness . ric. trust me i weep for joy , and grief at once , i grieve your sorows , and i mourn your wrongs , but pardon me if that i joy to see you thus , and find my honest nature constru'd right . but , ha ! the fair miranda here in tears ! v. r. mind 'em not friend , they 're all but bastard-seed , the muddy offspring of a froward mind . begone thou child of night , but mine no more , avaunt i say thou poyson to my eyes : leave me , for ever leave me ; and may thy breast , feel torments great as mine , but never rest . [ exit miran . ric. but never rest , this to your daughter , sir ? v. r. be thou my daughter , and enjoy my heart , for all run counter to my will , but thee : but speak what fortune has detain'd thee thus ? ric. i fear to speak , since it sums up a charge 'gainst two , whom till this night i most respected : i fought alberto in my masters cause , whom he had injur'd by a proud disdain , when strait some souldiers seeing us engag'd , disarm'd and led us both to prison : but my jaylors kindness free'd me , or his cruelty : for strait i met antonio in the dark , who with his rapier made a fruitless pas● , glancing o're my shoulder : i clos'd with the ass●sinate , and with my dagger wounding him i broke loose . thus sir i purchas'd my escape to you . v. r. what , do they mean t' usurp my power then , by cutting off it's sure●t prop that 's left ? or do they think i am my masters log , a passive thing for them to tread upon ? ric. now all my plots are ripe ; my golden hopes [ aside . are ready for projection . perhaps my lord miranda was the occasion of this mallice . v. r. what sayst thou ? ric. alas ! what have i said indeed ? per●aps [ what shall i say ? ] miranda sir v. r. miranda sir , why sticks your story there , as if it ended in miranda's name ? ric. nothing , but sir , another thought disturb'd me . v. r. another ? no sir , 't is that thought disturbs you ; you eccho'd to miranda with a sigh : i 'le have it out , be quick and do not urge me . ric. oh do not force me sir to such a crime ! v. r. a crime ! i 'me amaz'd . ric. you will be sir amaz'd when i shall tell it ; but spare my life , and grant me a reprieve . v. r. your life ricardo ! ric. yes sir my life , which if i speak is forfeited , and i must disobey if silent : yet 't is resolv'd , i 'le dye a thousand deaths , rather then brand my loyalty ; but oh ! my words will strike it dead , and silence blasts it , they blow away my fame so dearly priz'd , and all for one rash error of my tongue . v. r. i 'me all dissolv'd in wonder ! ric. yet i will speak you 've forc'd it from my breast , and pull'd my heart-strings with it [ kneels ] sir i love her now tread th' aspiring worm to its element , now gather in your breath , rally the wand'ring attoms to curse this proud ambitious traytor dead : yet why am i thus my own accuser , when i shou'd blame my fate , and not my will ? forgive my heedless stars forgetfullness , and o permit the monster to retire to the chaos whence it sprung , and where it ever had buried laid , and in perpetuall darkness , but that you sir , by a diviner influence , with one command like a prevailing charm struck life into the confused heap of matter , and usher'd to the light the unwilling birth . v. r. ricardo rise i find my spirits sink , trembling to mix my nobler blood with his ; yet thus i 'de cut alberto to the heart tying this knot , i untwine his thread of life , and cheaply gain to rule his fate and him : 't is done , my anger has ore'come my pride ; and rage has conquer'd , what de●ert cou'd never . ricardo . ric. my royall lord. v. r. have you consider'd what you 've said , or has my goodness thus embolden'd you ? ric. i 've weigh'd ( great sir ) your goodness , and your high descent ; on the other side , my weak and empty merits : your favour was the air , in which i breath'd , but soon as justice had near gain'd the cause , love , tyrant love , that arbitrary boy kick'● up the ballance , broke the sacred scales ; and like divinity without respect is equally obey'd by king and peasant . v. r. ricardo , justice has obtain'd the cause : [ embraces . ] my son but take that title without her ; for when i think of her , the thought 's a curse . ric. ha! do i dream , or did you say , my son ! let me for ever thus embrace your knees , for words wou'd be allay unto my gratitude . v. r. rise my best friend ; and since it must be so , to morrow she is yours ric. but sir v. r. yes spite of her resistance my ricardo , she 's yours , or heavens . but now no more : th' approaching midnight warns us unto rest , sleep but this night my son , secure from harms , the next you anchor in miranda's arms . [ exit . ric. thus like an eagle , when he soars above , and cuts the yielding air to seize his quarry , basks in the clouds , and glances tow'rds the earth , then seems to drive his flight another way , but all is to delude his easy prey : so i , like the new marriners o' th court by different points steer to my wish●t for port ; by being ●animede , i cozen iove , but since i 'me favour'd by the powers above ; be still the rest , and be triumphant love ; [ exit .
the scene changes to a yard behind the prison . enter lopez with a party of rabble . lop.

come my brave friends let us attack these sawcy walls that dare con●ine my master , treacherously betray'd into the nooze by a cowardly courtier .

st rab.

what courtier honest lopez , i 'le spit him upon the point of a needle , unless he be a friend to our society , a modish , foppish one .

lop.

nay , then i have him fast [ aside . ] 't is he that has kept all this coil about fashions , who to please the vice-roy wou'd metamorphose us all into spaniards , that is , wou'd cut your trade shorter by the sleeves .

st . rab.

oh how my blood boils against the villain ! what turn us all into children with hanging-sleeves ? and clip our profit with the shears of his ambition and avarice ? my blood 's as hot , as if there were a . fleas stimulating my courage .

d . rab.

what 's his name , that we may go on ? men never commenc'd heroes by talk but action . ( now i think on 't these walls are tame things enough , they 'le suffer a blow without returning it , nor are there any port-holes to kill a man unawares ; if they within will be civill , we 'le deal most manfully with the o●t-guards . )

lop.

pray give me leave 't is he who wou'd banish long toledo , and wou'd bring in a new kind of a harmless rapier of a foot and a half long to prevent duells nay , he motion'd once , that gentlemen shou'd wear wooden blades , so that we shou'd not have had a murder in a whole week .

d. rab.

o' the villain , there 's my occupation defunct ; but who is it all this while ?

lop.

no matter : now to our business , know you for what you came here ?

st . rab.

yes , to free your master .

lop.

do you know how he came to prison ?

d . rab.

upon his legs ; our business is to take him from it , and not to examine how he came to 't .

lop.

then where 's the justice of your cause ?

d. rab.

in our swords , where shou'd it be ? cause q●otha ! why lawyers deal with causes , and they●re no fighting men .

lop.

very wittily argu'd , but soft , who●s here ? are they friends or enemies ? hark●ye my lads if these prove foes , stand ●our ground stoutly ; while i valiantly qui● mine .

[ aside . enter on the other side bernardo with another party of rabble . ber.

now heroes , since we are embark't so far on this honourable expedition , let us consider further , what we have to do . this is all the contrivance of that damn●d rascall lopez .

lop.

hum ! 't is bernardo , come upon the same design with me , but i 'le send him away come on friends , this is the servant to that courtier i told you of , come to release his master , and hinder our design : he has but two or three softheads with him ; say , shall we let him ?

omn.

no , no , knock him down , knock him down .

ber.

hold , hold , i beg your pardon seignior lopez , what i said of you was but a complement in masquerade .

lop.

you have it for that ●ine expression ; but now i must chastise you for something else .

ber.

hold friend , i came not here to fight , nor am i at present in case to command my army ; for i am as impotent as an eunuch , or a nobleman of fourscore , as hungry as a besieg'd city , and as dry as a dutch commentator .

lop.

you 'l be the easier conquer'd : come we 'l rid you of all your wants .

ber.

how ?

st . rab.

by death sawcy upstart ; how dare you ask us questions ?

ber.

death ! a pox on 't , i care for 't the least of any thing in the world : 't is the very bane of greatness ; a monster that devours more of all sorts at a meal , then taylors halfpenny loaves and pickl'd cucumbers , or usurers decay'd gentlemen in a whole year . gentlemen , i thank you for your love but i had rather continue my distemper than take such an antidote .

st . rab.

o rascall ! he abuses our calling : my honour 's concern'd now , and if you put it up

lop.

then am not i fit to command an army of brave citizens . come to your ranks ; are you all ready ? i begin to grow hoarse with this command , hum , hum ! what a thirsty thing this valour is ?

ber.

what do you mean , will you force your remedies upon me ?

d . rab.

yes , if you won't take them civilly , or defend your self against them .

lop.

come , will you chuse to dye in the bed of honour , or be buried alive in the grave of infamy ?

ber.

i must think of some means to escape these valiant dogs : oh i have it now ! [ aside . ] generall lopez , to save the innocent blood , let us decide our differences by single combat , and engage upon our military honours , that our men shall not strike a stroke , till one of us falls .

lop.

agreed , retire brave soldiers [ aside to 'em ] and d' ye hear when his party●s gone , come you forward and rescue your magnanimous generall come bernardo

let you and i , the battle try
st . rab.

with all our hearts , for 't is cruelty not valour to fight when there 's no need :

ber.

but how shall i trust you ?

lop.

upon my honour .

st . rab.

by all my pedigree , by the first founder of our occupation .

ber.

a long oath mr. taylor , stretch'd from the beginning of the world , 't will hold and now lopez , since we are engag'd to make our men idle spectators , let 's to our combat but it must be the next time we meet , and so farewell , ha , ha , ha ! [ exit .

lop.

cowardly dog ! but 't is the same thing : let 's mind what we came for , and now how shall we contrive to release my master ?

d . rab.

nay , look you to that :

lop.

why i do look , and may look long enough for ought i see , before i finde any way : you shou'd have consider'd of that before-hand mr. thimble .

st . rab.

i am not such a fool to make my self mad .

lop.

why then i think the war 's done , so let every man retire to his quarters but then i loose the hope of a reward and may starve too stay friends yet i had better grow tall and strait by famine , than monstrous crooked by hanging : besides there is a great deal of pleasure in dying in a whole skin , and in this adventure i may be carbonado'd go get you home but then my honour a pox of honour , 't is the most uncivill thing , it never consults a mans safety upon mature deliberation , 't is our will and pleasure that you either go or stay , and if you disobey in our last command , look to 't . [ exit .

st . rab.

well this is a fortunate business , we shall be accounted heroes , and be no more affronted by the officers ; nay , they 'l tremble to appear before us ; and cease to make assignations with our wives to our fa●es ; again , alberto will be ours for ever if he escape , and if not we are safe ; and all without bringing our valour to the test , or once confronting the enemy . come neighbours 't is a rare adventure , ha , ha , ha !

omn.

ay faith neighbour so it is ; ha , ha , ha !

[ exeunt omnes .
scene the pallace-yard . enter alberto in the dark . alb. thus like a ghost i wander in the night , with discontent to seek my murderer , to thunder in his ears his breach of friendship , and be the herauld of divine revenge ; then silently retire to shades again : but oh they 're passable and light as air , whilst i 've a mine of lead ●its heavy here , presses my heart , and sinks me to despair . enter lopez . lop.

well i 've dismist my popular subjects , since there 's no good to be done : my master must weather to'ther night out , and perhaps he may sleep better there , for he 'le not have the cruelty to wish his mistress with him ; when in the palace , he 'le tire the moon with his sighs and hei-hoes , devour a bed-post with embraces , and antidate all the reall pleasure by forehand wishes and imagination .

alb. what voice is this and in the dead of night that talks of wishes and imagination ? perhaps it is some rivall in my misery , that comes to weep his story to the stars : but sure they 're bankrupts now , since they have spent all their malignant influence on me . but i 'le listen . lop.

i 've been considering of a remedy , if my master will apply it ; can't he make use of my blew-ey'd bianca , my delicate brown angelica , or my sweet short-nos'd ●ortia , and think that he has his mistriss in his arms. i have heard ●ome great philosophers say , that all the pleasure of women is but fancy , and can't he then as well fancy one woman for another , as fancy that to be a pleasure which is none . but whilst i think of him , i forget my self : i am very sleepy , and must take up with the large canopy of heaven for once : well in the name of satan , i 'le lock up my doors , and converse with my self for a while :

[ lies down and covers himself with a cloak . alb. it is my servant lopez opportunely come , for i shall have occasion now to use him : lopez ! lop.

ha! who 's that ? now if this shou'd be the devill come to take me before my time , what a pickle shou'd i be in : well i 'le cheat the grand cheater for once , for i 'le lye as if i was dead , that he may go back to hell , and see for my soul , and in the mean time i 'le escape .

alb. lopez , where●art thou ? lop. ah , good mr. devill he 's gone , quite congeal'd to a jelly . alb. rise , sirrah , here 's no devill . [ kicks him . lop. oh , oh , i feel his cloven hoof scorch me thro' my breeches . alb. get up , 't is i , is the fool mad ? lop. 't is my masters voice , it must be so ; he has been murder'd in prison ; and the devill is come in his shape to barter with me . i 'de fain speak if i durst alb. do so , and leave fooling . lop. good mr. voice and foot , what are you , to whom do you belong ? alb. i think the slave 's distracted ; i am thy master , alberto . lop. my master ! oh no! yet i must be bold and speak . [ rises . alb. go on . lop.

first master devill , i must own you to be a demon of quality , by your good manners , that you come in a shape so familiar to me , and that you don't bring hell with you in your eyes : but as for being my master , you know i have serv'd him faithfully in this world , and 't is too hard to serve him in both , at least till i am dead , and as pure a spirit as he , and it is not fair , that an honest devill , as i hope you are , shou'd stretch my service beyond the limits of matrimony .

alb. this is frenzy beyond all patience ! did ever madness run to such a height ? lop.

prithee , ●e not so impatient , but hear me out , an hungry judge , or guardian usurer wou'd be more conscientious than you : if you be come to punish me for my telling of the challenge , i answer , that truly i did designe to prevent your fighting , but was or'eheard a plotting , by your friend ricardo .

alb.

ha! ricardo ?

lop.

ay sir , for he swore h●'d blunt your adversaries sword with his blood ; so i trusting your safety to him , retir'd . this is the sum of what i have to say in my own defence , and i refer my cause to a jury of spirits , but let 'em appear invisibly , and if they finde me guilty , condemn me to the gallies of acheron , if not , resign your black habeas corpus , and sign my acquittance by immediate vanishing .

alb. this might divert another , but not me . this simple story carries wonders with it , for lopez did not know the place appointed , yet was ricardo ready with his murderers . oh 't is too plain ! 't was my false friends design ; but that 's but small , for i was slain before a moving lump of clay without a soul. lop. now is this archidiabolo giving instructions to the invisible jury . alb. lopez , throw off this fond affected fear : feel me , i 'm flesh and blood a man as thou art , and not the demon of the murder'd master . lop. whose demon are you then seignior ? alb. the slave perverts my words to serve his folly ; i am alive , escapt from prison ; lop. that is as much as to say , from hell ; did you leap the walls , or shoot the gulf ? alb. sure i 'me mistaken all this while ; art thou lopez ? lop. as sure as you 'r the devill . but who the devill sent you to me ? alb. ridiculous ! approach me and feel thou infidell , and then believe thy senses . lop.

well , so i wou'd , if i were so stout but i 'le make up that with policy upon these conditions , i 'le approach ; first , that you do not breath upon me , and infect me with the air of hell ; dly . that when i 'm close to you , you don't contract your self into a mouthfull of air , then leap down my throat , and by inspiration get me with child of a young belzebub .

alb. will this mad humour never leave him ? try me ; lop.

well , i 'le take your word for once : his worships well drest flesh and blood upon my life but are you sure you are alive , sir ?

alb. if ever thou didst know me so , i am . lop.

hum your pardon seignior , a wiser man than i might mistake , finding you here at this time of night , and so expert as to break thro' your prison walls .

alb. that misterie's too deep for thee to dive in : but now retire and sleep , for i perceive thou want'st it , and when the morning dawns i will awake you . lop. i thank you , sir. [ exit . enter antonio . alb. hark! something i hear again tread near this place ; who shou'd it be ? antonio ? no! he lies secure within miranda's arms , enjoys , and rifles all my hoarded sweets , then tir'd with bliss , and the excess of joy leans on her panting breasts , and falls asleep . oh my poor heart ! [ sighs ant. how have i chang'd my state of happiness , and fall'n from all my hopes in one black day ? like oedipus i 'me innocent , yet guilty , but feel a punishment as great as his , my freind and mistress fled away at once ; astella ! oh my love ! alb. by hell , and all it's horrors 't is he : oh my swoln heart , why dost thou tremble thus ? thou that has fac'd grim death in all it's pageant-greatness : when here 's a greater foe before thee , the serpent rob'd thee of thy paradice . ant. it is albert●'s voice : instruct me heaven what 's due unto my honour and my friendship . alb. antonio ! ant. yes alberto . alb. he that was my friend , i think . ant. the same . alb. 't is false , thou never wert my friend ant. 't is well , proceed alberto . alb. yes traytor , i will proceed , untill thy bloated face proclaim thy guilt and bursting , spit thy venom out . see●t thou not revenge triumphant on my sword , ( which maugre darkness shines like the meridian sun ) longing to quench its thirsty wishes in thy blood , and glimmering in the scarlet sky to set ? be quick and satisfy it . ant. not for the world , or purchase an eternity of bliss , wou'd i encounter on so light a cause , just like two rushing winds , driven by chance , fight one another by a blind impulse . give me to know your sorrows and my crime , or find some other means for satisfaction , i will not thus . alb i 'le tell thee when my sword 's imbru'd and reeking in thy gore , but now to speak wou'd pall the appetite of my great revenge . why dost thou thus delay ? ant. here take thy wishes then . [ offers alb. his sword. since thou art false , deliberately false my life 's a burden to me . alb. then throw it off ; i 'le ease thee of that burden . ant. i did resign it , when i resign'd my sword : now strike alberto , strike through my heart and to assure the stroke , think on thy wrongs ; but to lift up my arm against thee were sacrileg● , in every wound i should behold astella wrong'd , and shame my cruelty unto her brother . but thou delay'st too long , i am prepar'd ! alb. thou art a fool , i tell thee that wou'd blunt the edge of justice : what cut thee down , as the laborious hind mows off the grass which by inclining seems to beg a crop ? antonio , no , you shall not dye so cheap ; i 've begg'd of heaven to make thee as strong as atlas , to brave my fury , like a well-grown oak , that i might wound and kill untill i fainted , and my desires were baffl'd by my weakness . ant. 't is well ye powers thus to refuse me death when life was odious to me cursed fate ! how shall i work him to so brave a deed ? rather let me fight , without the violation of my love. then ever think alb. damn thy dull thoughts , is this a time for love ? equivocating slave ! ant. ha! slave ? alb. yes , traytor , villain , coward . ant. coward ! that stings home , and wounds my honour : alb. honour ! thou hast none : that roab of glory thou hast quite thrown off , for thou art false and base , therefore a traytor , villain , and a coward . ant. thy sisters love secures thee still , she calms the storm which swells within my breast , and stills the rage of anger and despair . alb. my sister , no devil no , she never charm'd your soul ; you idoliz'd another saint , as false as she was fond : but she is gone for ever , lost to my remembrance . ant. ha! gone , whither ? alb. she 's dead and damn'd for loving thee . i 've sign'd her pasport for another world , and wait to send thee to her . ant. o give me patience heaven ! astella dead ? alb. yes , slain by me monster . ant. stay fainting spirits , move not away so fast , one short recruit before i leave the world ; i come astella , i 'le be with thee strait . friendship away ; thus let me blow thee from me , 't is gone with that last sigh for ever fled . [ weeps . now i can meet thee upon equall terms , and like a hungry lion , loos'd from my chains , ( friendship and honour which had ty'd my hands ) rush on my prey , and bear thee to destruction . why sink thy arms as if thy rage did cool ? alb. if this be true , then what a wretch am i ; it is astella's cause that steels his sword , whilst false miranda is the subject of my rage . [ aside . antonio , since one of us , or both may chance to dye , when dead , 't will be too late to clear mistakes , therefore by all that 's good i do conjure you , resolve me one thing . ant. be quick , perhaps i may . alb. hast thou not betray'd my love and me , and treacherously won miranda's heart ? ant. if this continue , i shall survive my love ; i have , therefore now revenge it . alb. yet stay : why were you then concern'd when i told you ant. i know your meaning ; i did it to deceive you : therefore fight , or i will kill thee at all advantages . alb. i will antonio . be quick as lightning to revenge my wrongs , or as the thought that executes . ant. thou seest me ready now for thy heart . [ they fight . enter lopez . lop. ha! what noise is this that interrupts my rest ? hark , i think i hear clashing of swords : ant. i think thou hast it there : alb. nothing sir , come on . [ fight again . lop.

't is my masters voice ; what do you mean ? if you are not the devill , i think the devil 's in you : now i 'le be hang'd if this be not some smock-quarrell ; a pox upon all women , but whores i say ! murder , help , help , murder , murder !

enter miranda in her night-gown , gentlemen and attendants with lights ; the gentlemen part them . mir. what screech-owl voice is that , that crys out murder ? lop. 't is i forsooth , madam . mir. ha! alberto and antonio ! oh heavens what do i see ? crackt not my eye-strings , when i view'd this sight ? is nature quite dissolv'd and at an end ? sure such an act as this must needs presage it . alberto's wounded too ; oh horrid night ! alb. o spare this cruell show of pitty , madam ; you shou'd have search'd your champion first . ant. i am not wounded . alb. no matter , 't is a complement stretch'd too high , thus to prefer her manners to her love. mir. still jealous ! but your wounds are dangerous else i wou'd clear the banefull source of all . mir. go on , dear madam . mir. know then alberto that your friend is noble , if this last action does not prove him base . alb. that word from you does brand him for a villain . mir. 't was he releas'd you . alb. by heaven 't is false , all false as hell . ant. 't is false indeed , for he releas'd himself , paid me the bloudy fees at his departure , and like a coward shrunk and stole away . alb. by heaven a general plot upon my virtue ! mir. oh cease your wonder sir , and hear me out ; declare the meaning of that note you left , for there 's the fatall spring of all this mischief . alb. i gave it you to read . mir. 't is true you did , but i tore it . alb. 't was from antonio , he knows it well . ant. by all that 's good i writ it not , nor know i what he means ! alb. o were that but true which now thou sayst ant. how shall i prove the truth ? alb. i know not since it is torn and lost . lop.

sir , i 've b●en guilty , and i cry peccavi , and i hope i shall before i 've done , make you cry so , to this fair lady , and that gentleman . ricardo's man gave me a note which he said dropt out of his masters pocket ; i read it and found it a challenge from antonio to you : now suspecting that to be the occasion of your quarrell , i kept it up , and here 't is for you ; the rest i 'le tell you anon .

[ gives alb. the letter . alb. i thank thee with all my soul , for thou' rt my better genius . now read it antonio , but read it to thy self [ gives ant. the letter . lest the contagion should infect the air , and blast my understanding with the horrid sound . ant. oh credulous man , how hast thou been mistaken ? [ read● this is not writ by me . alb. canst thou deny it ? ant. by all that 's sacred i do swear , 't is not my hand . alb. then i am happy , and yet wretched too , happy to find my friend and mistriss true : but , oh i have profain'd her spotless virtue , and plaid the tyrant , where i should adore . thus let me implore your pardon , madam , [ kneels that goodness which cou'd love me when unman'd plead for me now , since i 'me restor'd . mir. you cannot ask my lord what i 'de deny . alb. thus then i seal my pardon tho' unworthy : [ kisses her hand . now let me pay my duty to my friend . [ going to embrace ant. ant. that name is fled with my astella's life , then i forsook it , when you renounc'd humanity . alb. is that the wound ? know then astella lives . ant. lives ! oh my joy ! alb. how cou'd you think i 'de be so barbarous to kill my sister , and doubly wound my friend ; i only did it to excite your rage . ant. then i forgive the rest , since i perceive 't was fury workt you to that height to wound m● when i releas'd you from your prison . alb. ha! then here 's another riddle to be solv'd ; i saw , nor spoke to no one but my jaylor , who guided me by a back-way from prison . ant. then 't was ricardo , whom i met i' th dark , and who 's the cursed authour of all these ills , now i can hold thee without fear of stinging , no viper hid in this close embrace . [ embrace alb. oh my brother , let me for ever thus enfold thee in my arms ; and you madam , that could pitty my distress , let me for ever thus embrace and kiss your feet ; thus like the ivy twine about your knees , and live to all eternity thus over-blest with joy . mir. oh rise my best , my only dearest lord ; rise , and be for ever happy in my arms. alb. oh 't is too much , too much for me my soul , thou only mirror of all thy god-like sex , sure thou wert form'd in heaven by hands divine , whilst quires of angels hover'd round the shrine , and smil'd to see a saint so good and fair born , to enrich the world and be its heir . mir. my dear alberto you forget your wound : alb. 't is but small , and will but serve to punish me for all my crimes , and breach of friendship . ant. come , no more , we have been all too blame , thus fondly to believe what was not so ; but now the dire mistakes are known and plain , and we will never be deceiv'd again . lop.

now sir , pray hear me , when you were gone , i was studying to prevent your duell , but ricardo ( how led there to hear me , the devil and he best knows ) came sneaking behind me , and o're-heard me talking to my self , then told me that he understood your design of fighting with antonio , which he said he wou'd prevent , so desir'd me to entrust him with your safety , s●●●ring ( enough to damn him , if false ) that you were his dearest friend , and that when your twatling-strings broke , his heart-strings wou'd crack , the rest you know better then i.

mir. 't is plain , ricardo is t●e engeneer , who has been buzzing in my fathers ears , to undermine our peace and comfort . lop.

if i was not afraid of being hang'd for my policy i wou'd contrive to countermine this fellow .

ant.

we are thine for ever lopez if thou dost .

lop.

why then sir , lend me that suit of cloaths which you have on , with which i 'le personate you for a while ( i hope you 're not offended at the comparison ) then i 'le seek out bernardo , his servant , whom i will so pump and wire-draw , that you may see through his master , but leave me ●o manage the rest .

ant.

it has a face indeed .

alb. to morrow thou shalt have it lopez , and i will ever acknowledge thy kind service . lop. i humbly thank your lordship . alb. in what a storm this strange mistake had cast me , tost on the gloomy billows of despair , which heav'd by winds of jealousy and rage , had almost rack'd my harrass'd soul to ruine : but since we 're now in view of distant land , once more i 'le beg thee of thy angry father and drive away those clouds oppress'd his goodness : grant heaven a happy issue to our troubles ; give me but once to touch the promis'd shore , and i 'le embark on this rough surge no more exeunt omnes . the end of the third act.
the fourth act.
scene i. the pallace . enter vice-roy , and ricardo . v. r. the mornings chearfull ray , now guilds ●he world and darts a joyfull omen to my breast : the early lark , tunes his shrill notes to hymen , whilst every bird does warble out the chorus , and deafen all the murmurings of my grief . ric. 't is true , great sir , but yet this glittering form may be a painted cloud that ushers in a storm . v. r. can you suspect your masters word ricardo that thus you mutter out your brooding fears ? is that a posture for a happy bridegroom clad in that gloomy visage , and with eyes fixt on the earth , whilst mounting to the skies ? ric. has not last nights uproar , yet reach'd your ears which so allarm'd your loyall subjects fears ? v. r. it has not yet . ric. then i must be the informer ; ( wou'd heaven , my duty , wou'd excuse my ●ilence ; ) whether their plots have all turn'd head upon 'em , and so compell'd 'em to this act , i know not ; but once more they have combin'd sir , to deceive you , hoodwink your reason , and ecclipse your judgment , and make your ignorance patronize their crime● v. r. as how ? ric. just as the pallace clock struck one , i am inform'd there was a busteling noise , like the first puffing of an angry wind , which swells and bursts at last into a storm : strait clashing swords disturb'd the slumbring night which ( eccho'd by a dreadfull voice of murder ) chas'd gentle morpheus from the princes eyes , ( for by design 't was done near her apartment ) she rose , urg'd by her pitty to their danger , and with a few attendants , strait descended : but ( heavens ! ) what was her wonder when she saw the two disloyal friends engag'd in fight ? v. r. alberto , and antonio ! ric. the same , my lord. v. r. what should the meaning of their quarrell be ? ric. you 'le please to judge sir , when you hear the rest : to countenance her pitty , alberto receiv'd a wound , which when she mourn'd for and enquir'd the cause he with a whining scorn accus'd her cruelty , and bid her help antonio , whom she lov'd ; he seem'd amaz'd at the new jealousy and ask't the grounds : the note was then examin'd , which he ( as well he might ) deny'd to be his hand ; next comes a daubing scene of flattering joy , alberto kneels , and weeping , begs her pardon as all had been a mistery to him : nay more ( oh heavens what impudence is this ? ) they lay the crime , the spring of all to me , and have design'd this morning to accuse me , when he shall beg miranda sir , of you . v. r. beg her of me , sure 't is impossible ! that they should dare to look me in the face ; as well they might behold an angry iove when grim revenge sits furrow'd on his brow , ready to scatter ruine on th' assailers , all lemnos brandisht in his hands at once . ric. but they 've a mist to lay before your eyes , will damp the force of your avenging thunder , and melt your rage , to a refreshing dew . v. r. 't is moulded proof , against their weak attempts ; but to begin , i promis'd you my daughter and with her take my heart for ever . [ embraces him . go call the princess here . [ going out . attend. great sir , she has prevented me , she 's here . v. r. hell and confusion ! what 's this i see or my sense fails , or 't is alberto with her . enter alberto leading miranda . by all my wrongs 't is he ! oh my salt bloud burst , burst your channels , over-flow your banks , and let my veins be fill'd with liquid fire , quite to devour this gorgon , that unmans me , thus let all villains dye . [ offers to kill alb. ric. interposes . ric. hold sacred sir. v. r. ricardo off , for 't is in vain to stop me . ric. my life sir be the forfeit for th' offence , consider sir who 't is , that does oppose you , 't is i your faithfull slave , who wou'd rather dye then see your honour blemish'd by this rashness : how wou'd the censuring world condemn you sir , if in your rage you shou'd sentence one untry'd , and be your self the executioner ; not but i wish his death , cause he deserves it , but to dye thus wou'd make him innocent and ●ame secure , he 's punisht but by halves . alb. why this contention for a wretched life ? villain i know it is the game you hunt for : [ to ric. but yet you think 't is not toil'd enough for death : you wou'd have me linger out a hell on earth see you possest of all miranda's charms : bu● traytor know , i have a sword can reach thee , and spite of loyallty , respect , or duty , rip out the heart that violates my love and cool the warmth which nourishes thy flame . ric. he has guest my wishes . [ aside mir. yes , hellish monster , know , there 's yet a greater bar to oppose thy way , a rock of adamant , and so impenetrable that thou villain with legions like thy self , no , nor the hell thou carry'st in thy breast , can ever melt , or force away . v. r. insolent pair ! but now they 've doom'd themselves , and by my masters soul , they both shall dye . alb. pardon , great sir , those unbecoming words forc'd by a just resentment of my wrongs ; i mean't not to defend that life which you had proscrib'd , thus i surrender it unto your justice . [ kneels & lays his sword at the v. r. fee● ric. we 'l take the forfeit sir , you need not doubt . [ ric. takes it up . alb. but to dye silent were a guilt too great , to leave you in a wilde of treachery lost to your honour , govern'd by an abject slave , and fair miranda subject to his treason : that i confess does make my tongue unruly , oh sir , forgive that beauteous innocence , and leave her will as heaven has made it , free : and here i swear by you bright sun that shines , and by th' eternal mover of the spheres , to hush this rising tempest in my breast , and fall a willing victim to her peace ; mir. oh my alberto , your zeal is too unkinde , think not your death can give miranda ease , for here i swear , by all the powers above , your life and mine shall have an equall date . v. r. damn his hypocrisy , and thy foolish fondness , by heaven the spaniard is not in thee girl , but i delay : guards seize that impious traitor . [ guards seize alerbto alb. yet hear me sir , before you throw away that precious gem upon a thing so vile , and smear that diamonds lustre with so foul a soil . v. r. silence that croaking voice , perfidious monster ! he is my son , and each affront is mine : but to inhance thy mighty sum of woes live to behold thy iuno snatch'd away thy soul rack'd in a dungeon by delay , a cloud of darkness for the suns bright ray. but yet in pitty , she shall stay a while and all thy sorrows with her tears beguile . pitty ? yes italian pitty ! may her eyes each attome of thee , make their sacrifice ; be , like two basilisks , which may devour at each remembrance of their cruell power , then flash thee dead , and kill thee every hour . [ exit with attendants . ric. why this is generous to spare his life : nay , let him talk long as he might be heard , it is not i 'me unjust then , but his fate . [ manent guards . well , i 'le away to young antonio , tell him what ? let me see ! his mistriss's dead , slain by alberto : this will work him up , and of his friendship , make an useless cypher , which i 'le fill up with horrid black revenge . then in compassion , i 'le release alberto ( whom i 'le infect with some new found chym●ra ) and grant 'em both an enterview ; by this i make sure my game on either hand , for both will seek to excuse me to the vice-roy : thus like the hidden hand of fate i work , kill and destroy whilst none can see the blow , and friend and mistriss be each others foe . [ exit . alb. oh my miranda , 't was a harsh decree that i must never , never see thee more ne're ( blest with love , and surfeiting with joy ) lean on the rising pillows of thy breast , and there in gentler raptures dream the rest : credit me madam , but 't is wondrous sad . mir. do not despair alberto , my best , and only love , for fortunes cruelty , is as inconstant as her favour . but let her vent her malice , still there 's hope ; time's but a rowling tide , which flows a while , stays not , but strait with murmuring joy does ebb , into the ocean of eternity : thither we 'le launch ; there landed on the shore above the reach of fate , or cruell fathers , we 'le spend an immortality of love. alb. oh my soul ! my blest angell speak again , thy charming words and sight can cure despair , they ●ull my griefs asleep , and make me tame and i am all joy , all extasy again . but oh , i never must behold thee more an angry demon hurries me away and drags me from the heaven i now possess ; that thought renews my grief , and galls my heart ; there i confess my courage shrinks and dyes , more than when death was in my view in war , my crowded breast teem'd with a thousand joys , which in an instant are all made abortive , but yet a single plague's too small for me , for heaven has doom'd miranda to a villain . that beauteous casket to be rif●'d by a slave . mir. can you then still suspect my faith alberto ? but ●ince ( oh torture ! ) 't is the last proof which i can give , hear me ye powers , and you alberto hear me , if ever i consent to be ricardo's tho' all the tortures hell can e're invent combine to force my will , oh may i never alb. forbear , oh forbear that cruel sentence on thy self , i have been impious , but forgive me heaven ; and oh miranda live , altho' ricardo's ; what hast thou done , that heaven shou'd punish thee ? or how hast thou deserv'd to share my griefs ? mir. can love then be so bad a councellour , or can alberto wish me so unhappy ? perhaps you doubt the frailty of my sex , and think that death can shake my female valour ; but know , when danger runs in a carreer , love takes the wing , and soars above all fear . alb by heaven i doubt thee not ; but do not rob the world , by taking all that 's good away : mir. when you are gone , what 's left that 's worth my stay ? attend. my lord , your time is past , you must to prison : alb. i will ; but one look more and then i 've done : here must i take a long farewell to love. [ kisses her hand . oh my miranda , when the fates allow , that false ricardo must possess thy heart , when he shall reap the harvest of my joys , give but one sigh , one tear , to poor departed me , and it will crown my wandring shade with peace . mir. think not of dying . alb. yes , i must miranda ; for death 's the only blessing i have left : yet must i blame the malice of my stars . then when i 'de wandred thro' the coasts of night , to seek some comfortable streak of light ; then when my eye had paradice in view , thus to ecclipse my rising sun anew : or as a vulture when he ●●ies the round , to seize some spotless dove , which havi●g found , with greedy joy he mounts up to the skies , whilst he does revell on his lovely prize , and with a scornfull gl●nce the world despise ; when strait some well-arm'd eagle stops his flight , forces the trembling quarry from his sight , and hurles him head-long to the shades of night . so , when i had reach'd thee thro' a dreadful maze , and after all my doubts , my soul found ease ; midst of my triumphs fo● my glorious prey , the tyrant power does snatch thee quite away . [ exeunt severally
scene a garden . enter antonio , and astella in man's cloaths . ast. my country sir , i 've told you is sicily ; whence banisht by my wants , i 'me hither come to find relief ; my name is florimo . ant. what 's this to me ? i prithee leave me boy . ast. alas i cannot sir : i 've heard so much of your renown and generosity , that i must stay , and win your favour . besides i 've heard you are a lover sir , and such a one i wou'd desire to serve : sure this will sound him . [ aside ant. i was indeed a happy lover once ! [ sighs . ast. ha! once did he say ? oh heavens , then 't is too true : [ aside . ant. but now my love is gone i know not whither : my dear astella , if thou' rt fled to heaven , oh let me know●t , that i may follow thee ; if still on earth , i 'le pray the whispering winds that they 'de conduct me to thy dark abode , i 'le beg the trees to bow their leafy heads and point me out the mansion of my love. what shall i think ? for to suspect thy truth , or doubt alberto's words , were sure a crime . ast. i know not what this musing does portend , but i will try him once again . my noble lord , cast not a wretched youth to the wide world , who cannot live a moment absent from you . why are you sad ? give me to know the cause [ kneels . i 'le sit and sing and charm your griefs asleep , lye at your feet like weeping philomell , and hush your sorrows with my pleasing airs : and when the morning dawns , i 'le be your lark , to wellcome with my joyfull notes the coming day , thus we 'le perform , and pass the time away ; thus spend the melancholy hours , making grief a pleasure , and scorning all the follies of the laughing world . ant. such pleasing softness did i never hear ; and still the more i look , the more i still desire ; in every feature methinks i read astella ; the very air that bears the charming sounds , ecchoes astella to my wondring ears . r●se gentle youth , so sweet an advocate must needs obtain the cause tho' ne're so hard : if then ( kind florimo ) you 'd share in a disorder'd heart , and be the sad companion of my woes but do not , for they 'l blast thy tender form , and wither all thy blooming hopes to death . ast. alas 't is all the blessing i wou'd wish to share your woes , since i 'me already more unfortunate and wretched then you er'e can be . ant. oh 't is impossible ! but tell me how thou art wretched . ast. by love that soft disturber of my peace , and by my friend . ant. grant heaven it be not so with me . [ aside . ast. doubt not your mistriss safety , nor your friend , if conscious innocence says you love her still . ant. love her ! thy silly question stabs my very soul ; none can behold astella and not love her : not orpheus when he charm'd the fiery gates of hell , and gain'd an entry to the vast abiss had half that love for his euridice ; nor when he rescu'd from the god of night his beauteous prize , and the same hour lost her , felt half my hell of torture and despair . ast. oh charming words ! which like promethean fire , kindles the embers of expiring life and love ; and like the arabian chimist can extract a ph●nix from the ashes of her sire ! my joy's too great to be contain'd : here let me breath my soul out at your feet [ kneeling . and fly an angell to the other world , refin'd by so divine a good as yours . ant. what means the youth ? rise , and resolve my doubts , why does my declaration thus affect you ? ast. tune to his voice , ye musick of the spheres , to finde such virtue 'mongst corrupted man , is sure a subject for fames golden trumpet ; to find your love like vestall fire guarded , ( when every foe does lend a breath against it ) safe and un●ully'd in that hollow'd shrine . ant. so nice a sence of virtue from a boy is strange , and must proceed from ●omething stranger . ast i swore to wander thro' the spacious world ( till death wou'd put an end to all my woes ) to finde some lover of so clear a truth , the same when slighted , or his mistriss dead ; and now i 've found the noblest of our sex i 'le be your servant , or your sacrifice , and never part , till parted from my self . ant. i am amaz'd at such surprizing words , but 't is a pleasing wonder : come my boy , i 'le crown thy wishes , thou' rt mine for ever , [ embraces him . instruct my virtue , that seeing thee i may read lectures of astella every day ; but yet i want to know the story of thy life , the many wrongs thou hast sustain'd and pass'd and all the pretty murmurings of thy grief . ast. by a long siege i storm'd my mistriss heart , and took the guarded fortress of her love ; next when i 'de got my only friends consent , the brother of my destin'd bride lestella , no isthmus seem'd to bar me from my joys : when on the fatall dawn before our marriage , urg'd by i know not what mistake , my friend went to his mistriss , call'd her false and perjur'd ; said , he or i , that night must leave the world ; at night i heard of his imprisonment , attended with a thundering peal of curses , from the fair mistriss of my friend : at length i by my vows to free him had appeas'd her . madded with rage i did mind my own who with a charming grief reproach'd my falshood ; i had not time to answer her complaints , but flung away in hast unto my friend whom i releas'd , but he escap'd my sight strait i receiv'd from him a dreadfull note , which stab'd me with the news of my lestilla's death , who fell a victim to his jealousy . despairing , i abandon'd sicily , and careless of my fate , am hither come , to wander like a banish'd criminal quite forlorn . this sure will try him since my other fails . [ aside ant. what words are these , or is it but a dream ? a vision of astella , thus adorn'd , [ aside who comes to try the truth of her suspicions ? if that my wonder ( gentle youth ) wou'd give me leave i 'de say thou hast sav'd me the unwellcome trouble of telling thee the story of my life , since thou hast so truly weav'd it with thy own . ast. not so i hope sir , is your mistriss dead ? ant. there sticks my sate , and leaves me in a maze : if dead , what then remains , but strait to follow her ? ast. you speak , my lord , in riddles ; if she be dead , you wou'd dye to follow her , and at the same time own you love her not . ant. thou dost not understand me right my boy be witness all ye powers that knew our hearts , how much i lov'd that dear departed saint ? ast. departed ! whither ? ant. oh that i cou'd resolve thee ! my friend enrag'd told me he had slain her , but soon recanted , and i as soon believ'd , yet now some strange suggestions press my heart anew , and fix my wandring fancy to her image . ast. i hope he 'le not repent of this kind grant : [ aside . shall i my lord , to sooth your sorrows , sing ? ant. do my boy , whilst i repose me on this bank and bear a part with thee . both sing . after the song she speaks ast. rise ; rise my lord , i see one coming hither , with a grave pace , as big with some design . ant. it is ricardo ; florimo away and wait me in the next walk . [ exit astella enter ricardo musing . this is the cause i fear of all our dire mistakes , now studying some new plot : i 'le observe him . ric. thus virtue 's ever clouded with disgrace , a princes favour cannot dart a beam , but on a barren or infectious land , and always must be partiall in his choice . ant. he mutters state-affairs : but let him on . ric. therefore the two young heroes of the court , envy my honour , and sicken at my greatness , as if my rise must be upon their necks but still my virtue shall out brave their little malice : i will convince the unbelieving world , there is a man that can be great and good at once , and then retire to solitude for ever . ant. why this is strange ! ric. but oh that cannot be there lyes some mistery in the womb of night , which loyalty commands me to unravell , besides to leave antonio's virtue toil'd , deluded by his friends hypocrisy but that 's a plot , and i 'me a base informer there 's my reward but virtue pays it self . ant. each word does swell my wonder ! ric. alberto's actions must have some design , but let heaven be judge of that , not i. this fresh account of horrour i 've receiv'd antonio must know yes 't is resolv'd , tho' for i● he call me undermining traytor , yet i 'le respect my conscience , not his words . ant. each words a thunderbolt , and strikes me dead , no double-meaning can be hid in this . ric. who 's that ? my lord antonio ? ant. the same . ric. how does your lordship ? ant. why well i think ricardo ; ric long may you be so : ant. i thank you sir but good ricardo , if i may be so bold , what were your thoughts employ'd about ? ric. 't is an imp●rtant bus'ness which i think of , how virtue does decay in every age , and in particular that cordiall friendship how pylades's examples are quite forgot , and how the sign of gemini above , 〈◊〉 ●opied ill by mortalls here below . ant. the consequence . ric. therefore my lord , beware how you permit a seeming friend to creep too close , le●t in the bottom there shou'd lurk an adder . ant. be plainer in your counsell . ric. yes , too plain ; too plain i fear for your repose ! ant. ha! my repose ! ric. yes , so i said : your friend alberto ( mark me well ) is false the wounds he gave , but seemingly he heal'd , for they still rankle , fester , and eat the deeper , and may in time destroy you . ant. oh take heed you come not with your false deluding beacons to warn my easy nature from the sands that you may split my friendship on a rock ; for if thou dost , death , hell , and ruine , and all their black attendants shall not save thee : you have had the mask on long enough , therefore now unveil thy self ricardo , and show the villain in his native dye : ric. this i expected ; and therefore take my leave , an honest man is never safe at court ; sir , you may find flatterers enough to tell you what you wou'd believe , not what you ought to know who 'l varni●h all your losses with a smile ; nay , make you think the sun shines in a storm , when thickest clouds do interpose their shade , and when the heavens are all in mutiny , rain fire rain blood upon your better part , your second self : but he 's a fool , who to convince another ( whose looks speak hatred , and his words proclaim it ) will hazard both his person , and his fame : such bigotted honour shall have no prosolite of me . [ going . ant. stay sir , for to secure that fame you prize so much it will concern you to inform me more . ric. not when i know , i shall not be believ'd . ant. now by my sword , i 'le force it from your tongue , and if thou prov'st not every word thou utterest , i 'le hurl a heavier load of misery upon thee than that which atlas with his weighty globe does groan beneath . ric. how fond is man , and easy to beleive , when words are daub'd with flattery , and mask'd with love , but truth in its plain habit will not pass : my lord , to shew how i despise your threats i 'le ease my conscience of the mighty secret , but arm your self against the fierce assault for horror dwells with every fatall word . ant. why dost thou kill me with such cruell doubts ? ric. i will no more : the fair astella , sir ant. astella , speak ; the very name 's a charm. ric , it must be sir the name ; that 's all that 's left . ant. ha! what of her ? ric. why she is murder'd , base and barbarously murder'd . ant. hell and confusion ! ric. by her own brother's orders , murder'd . ant. patience ye gods , oh give me patience heaven ! one moments patience , and i 'le beg no more . by all things sacred , in those fatall words , or one , or both of us are doom'd to dye ; if they be false , there 's something worse then death , nay ( if possible ) then damnation shall sure attend thee , if true , then i 'me the victim . ric. hear the rest : a rough hewn fellow , servant to alberto , thus with a penitential look , accosted me : sir , by my masters threats , i 've been compell'd to act a little piece of villany , but my ill-natur'd conscience flying in my face , i thought to ease it by confession , i slew a lady whom ●e order'd me veil'd in a wood ; but that was nothing sir , till i discover'd it to be astella , my old dead masters only daughter . ant. furries and devils tear the barbarous villain oh i am all a burning aetna her● within ! but if thou prov'st it , i am satisfied . ric. let the revenge confirm it which i took impatient virtue forc'd me to the deed , i slew him strait , without as much as asking where the untimely sacrifice was laid . ant. enough , i am confirm'd she 's gone . oh tyrant-friend , was she a subject for your rage , cou'd not those glorious rays from her fair eyes melt down thy icy temper to compassion ? but i forget , 't is i 'me her murderer , and therefore thus will pay the cruell debt . [ offers to kill himself ric. hold , hold my lord ! [ ric. hinders him . ant. wilt thou again give edge to my suspitions , by hindring me of my desir'd bliss ? death doubly is my due . the morning wheels to gloomy night again , to give directions where i shou'd reside ; the sun seems like a faint and beamless fire to warn the expiring taper of my life , and all but you conspire to work my joy. ric. by all that 's good , i will not oppose it , but yet you are not ripe enough for death , ant. not when despair does call me hence ? ric. why no. are you italian born , or some hot frenchman , who when capricious fortune frowns upon him strait punishes her crime upon himself ; at least since she does sit above our reach , let us revenge it on her instruments . ant. touch not that string , for it inflames my heart , and kindles wild-fire in my troubl'd breast ; i wou'd not think upon the villain more , and therefore i wou'd cease to think at all . ric. 't is wonderous well ! how will the censuring world say naples is a den of caniballs , where paricide and murder is a sport and go unpunish't by the better sort ? by mars your tameness does unspirit me but i 'le away , and take revenge my self , since such a cause shou'd arm the world against him . enter astella . ant. stay , for i feel a glowing heat within me eat up my friendship , and i am all on fire . ast. what shou'd this mean ? ric. cherish the noble flame and let your wrongs heighten the generous rage : if alexander for a fav'rites loss ( who peri●●t by a natural enemy ) made all the eastern world his funeral pile , and glutted death with crowded hecatombs ? what shou'd you do , who see a mistriss slain , slain by a man , who call'd himself your friend ? death , hell , and vengeance will you suffer it ? methinks my arm does tremble to my sword , and by instinct commands me to unsheath it . ant. no , no , the brave revenge belongs to me : bloud , talk of bloud ; i will have bloud ricardo , but there 's a prison bars him from my fury , away impediments , you shall not hinder , for tho' he speeds away to hell , i 'le after ; shoot like a flaming vulture thro' the dark abyss , till i might fix my beak in his false heart : nay tho' the christal gates of heaven were ope and waiting to receive my soul to joy , in hell i 'de linger an eternity , that i might double all alberto's plagues , and make it hotter with the flames i bear . ast. alas that villain has infected him , but i 've an antidote will expell the poyson . ric. why this my lord becomes your injuries : since you 'r resolv'd i 'le further your revenge ; wait in this garden at the approach of night , and i 'le take care to send alberto to you . ant. o kind ricardo , in this obligation you 've reach'd the utmost bounds of my desire : wheel on the never-tir'd post of heaven , fly swiftly to thy wanton goddess arms that i may fly to my revenge : farewell , when next we meet , expect to see me chang'd , roab'd like the setting sun in bloudy red , or pale as sickning stars , and as spent meteors dead . [ exit . ast. i 'le after him , and learn the mistery . [ exit ric. fly to thy ruine , fond believing fool , thou know'st not what it is to take revenge , for nemesis delights in woods , not cities , in dark cabals , and not in open war : yes my new friend i 'le send alberto to you , and reconcile your differing constitutions , both shall breath nought but sulphur and destruction ; therefore some new chimaera i will study which his friend alberto must be sent to kill . enter lopez , drest like alberto . lop.

well , now i have gotten these cloaths on , methinks i 'me as grea● a person as my master , and for ought i know , 't is the comely person within makes the gentleman , according to the proverb , fine birds make fine feathers : let me see

[ surveighs himself . ric. if i shou'd tell him that his mistress's false ; ric walks off as in the garden . but stay that topick's grown too obsolete . lop.

clean limbs , handsome gait , noble appearance ! pitty these qualifications shou'd be thrown away upon a serving-man : well , if my face answers these , 't will grieve me to retire to my primitive rascallity , and that this bulk of nobility shou'd dwindle to a valet . [ pulls out a glass . heavens defend me ! seignior lopez i shou'd as soon think it were an angel : now will i exercise my parts upon my self , for such an object must needs inspire oratory , tho' i am brim-full of it already . seignior , if iupiter had borrow'd one of your eyes for a dark lanthorn , he might have fought his enemies with a double advantage : ( answers ) o dear sir , a little clear and sharp indeed i must confess ; i make use of 'em sometimes for my diversion to wound and kill poor silly ladies , but for the rest nay good sweet seignior , you ravish me with the excellency of your gestures : every part of you dances , as it were , to the musique of the spheres , and swims like the lambent fires above in a caelestial motion . o seignior

enter ricardo .

ha! interrupted ? what malicious star envi'd me the happiness of hearing my self prais'd by so accomplisht a person of honour as seignior lopez .

ric. confusion ! what , alberto here , and free ? or does my wandring sense deceive me ? that it is he , 't is plain ; but how escap'd , or if escap'd , how venturing to stay here , i must confess amazes me to think ! lop. i 'le vex this saucy fellow for disturbing me . [ walks caresly by ricardo . ric. i 'me on a r●ck , till i can learn the meaning : with what a haughty negligence he bears himself ? lop.

i have a good mind to tell him to his face , he 's a very uncivil person , and to make good what i said , if he threatens to beat me , i 'le beg his pardon . but then he 'de discover who i am : no , no , that must not be .

ric. there 's no way left to sound this mistery , but to begin the harrangue which i 've prepar'd . my lord i have a secret of importance still the same port , that scornfull gay behaviour ! in what a mist of errour have i been ? a sacrifice here staulks in state before me and sleeping vice , still dreads to give the blow . the place is silent , and the aiding trees , with bended branches cover the offence ; besides antonio's rage will cloak the deed and they 'l condemn him for the murderer : it shall be so● ; the next turns his last : so [ runs at lopez , and lopez falls . end thus thy pride and love together . lop. ha betray'd ! my honour wounded ? help , murder , help : i am kill'd , i 'me dead ! oh ! ric. his life is fled away with that last groan : now fly ricardo , manage well this game , and future ages shall extoll thy fame . [ exit . lop.

so , is he gone ? pox of his kindness : what 's here ! my voice has alarm'd some of the counrtiers , but i 'le send 'em away like fools as they come , i warrant ' em .

[ lies down . enter or gentlemen . fabio and don silvio . . gent. this way the d●●adfull voice directed us . . gent. and here 's the occasion ; heavens ! 't is alberto ! . gent. what horrid mistery is this ! how came he free ? . gent. and murder'd too ? a riddle by my soul. let 's to the vice-roy , who walks i' th' garden , for 't is too deep for us to dive into . [ exeunt . lop.

so , i find i shall have now the whole court about me : but i 'le prepare my self to receive 'em : i may thank my self for letting the sword run betwixt my arms i had been spoil'd else ; i think i defended my self as if i had eyes behind . well now for my glass ; i fear this bus'ness has disorded me pox o' your ill-breeding to spoil a good face , and tumble ones perriwig and crevat : i must not be seen in this pickle , therefore i 'le go home and new vamp my ●elf . a plague of this nobility , if for a fine coat one must be continually in danger of having his throat cut , or spitted thro' the loins like a spar-rib of pork . i 'de rather be hang'd than dye an untimely death , there 's no satisfaction in 't ; but see they are coming , 't were best for me to be gone , lest i be taken , and put in the bakers pulpit for counterfeiting .

[ exit .
enter vice-roy with attendants . v. r. impossible ! it cannot be alberto . . gent. let your own eyes convince you sir [ looks about . ha! where's is the dead man , fled away ? some hungry devill sure has seiz'd on him . v. r. am i a subject of your follies slaves ? . gent. pray sir believe us : alberto did lye here but whither it was done designedly , to colour his escape from prison , and co●sen us with his pretended death that you might cease pursuit , i know not . . gent. or else perhaps the murderers fearing his corps being ●ound , ( a narrow search shou'd be about it ) convey'd it hence and buried it : but these two gentlemen can witness , that they too saw him dead . d. & th . my lord we did . v. r. 't is strange , but yet i will believe it ; death he deserv'd for his ingratitude : but tho' my passion boil'd a while , i 'me glad he met it from another hand , not mine : for now with safety i bestow my daughter , and crown desert with what it long has sought . perhaps it may remove miranda's scruples , and death may set her heart at liberty : thus providence is always heavens avenger , and weilds the sword of justice 'gainst th' unjust . how'ere the great resolve , and wise debate , she rules alone , our happiness or fate . [ exeunt omnes .
act v.
scene i. enter alberto and lopez . alb.

lopez have you perform'd , what you engag'd to do ? for in that riddle is my fate entangl'd .

lop.

i have sir.

alb.

thou hast ! that word is musick to my soul.

lop.

but first sir , as a reward , satisfy my inquisitiveness , and inform me what trick you 've got to break thro' prisons , and shake off your fetters thus ?

alb. know then a wedge of gold has knock'd 'em off , a golden key has charm'd the prison doors ; my jaylor too , whom i assur'd of safety ( to help my escape ) has lent me this disguise . for tho' my stars have frown'd so long upon me , i doubt not but they 'le smile , and look serene again , and my innocence shine in its proper sphere whilst treachery is drag'd unto the center , and sink into the hell from whence it sprung . lop.

well sir , i have unlockt bernardo's tongue too , but without a fee ; in short , he has laid all his masters damn'd villany as open to me , as if he had been ricardo , and i his ghostly father ; he has confirm'd your suspitions of the note , and moreover his masters hiring some hackny bloud-hounds ; ( whose game is death , and reward damnation ) to murder you

alb. what niggard mixture of felicity the angry gods allow me ; twice have they snatch'd me from the jaws of death , twice have they freed me from a loathsome dungeon , that no corporeal pain might e're obstruct my relishing the torment of despairing love ; but now a comfortable dawn of hope reflects the promise of a coming day . where is bernardo , that kind engeneer who has blow'd the villain up with his own hellish train ? lop.

where is he sir ? why i have done with him as spunging courtiers do with their clients , squeez'd all the honey out , and then thrown away the useless comb , and the drone that made it :

alb. why dost thou serve they master still by halves ? run and conduct him to me , fly quickly : lop. as quick as lightning ; sir. [ exit . enter antonio , florimo following . ant. let these effeminate sluces be dam'd up , it is a grief too light to solemnize murder'd astella's funeral exequies : a silent tear shall trickle from my heart , at each remembrance of her bloudy fate , but if in spite of me you 'l play the woman , be like the marble , when the conquering flames dilate its well-knit pores , and drein its moisture , spring from an inward stimulating heat , scorching as is the sweat of heaven , when the air is rent asunder , by the warring clouds . alb. antonio here ! good heavens how kind you are , to crown my wishes at their very birth ! [ approaching him ast. take heed sir , here●s some bold ruffian in disguise : ant. fear not my boy , my stars are not so kind . alb. sir , i wou'd entreat a word with you in private . alb. takes him apart & discovers himself . ant. ha! do i dream , or is the villain here ? away my boy . ast. i cannot leave you here . ant. away you must , you shall , deny me not . [ exit ast. alb. 't was my desire too that he should leave the place , for now i've time to tell thee all my fortune , the various winding of my restless fate . ant. what means the traitor ? [ aside alb. besides i must enquire , and you can give me best intelligence ; why does my sister thus absent from court , and dim its lustre by her close retirement ? ant. hear heavens this matchless impudence , and blush , does not that name like a loud night alarm spread a chill horrour thro' thy trembling veins , and chase thy bloud from out the desert channels ? alb. good gods this tune again ! ant. damnation seize thee : dost thou not see the monster that pursues thee ? look how it yawns like a devouring whirl-pool , as if it meant to swallow thee alive : his eyes are burning glasses , whence proceed such sulphurous flames , whose stench will blast thy senses ; what noisome mists are belcht from his gaping mouth ? his tongue spits floods of venome , and his reaching tail sweeps down whole mountains : on his cristed back so many massy spheres arise , that you wou'd swear whole armies came to your destruction . alb i can see nought . ant. it comes invisible , draw and prepare to meet it's fury . [ draws alb. i fear you rave ; what must i fight with shadows ? ant. then to be plain , it lodges here alberto , here is the den of the infernal beast , which gnaws upon my bowells , till it finds its destin'd prey ; its name's revenge . alb. revenge from you indeed does seem a monster . ant. curse on your cowardly delays , wilt thou draw ? alb. not till i know the cause of this strange fury . ant. i scarce have so much patience as to tell thee : thou hadst a sister , i a mistriss once . alb. and hope i have one yet , why what of her ? ant. ha! has that name no horrour in it yet ; canst thou remember her without a blush ? alb. yes my antonio , when i think of her i have less guilt than i expected ; for if my wronging her's my only fault , heavens knows i am innocent . [ enter astella . ant. hell is then divine less tyranny and horrour harbours there : if for to kill a sister be a virtue let me be vicious heaven . ast. what means this passion ? alb. ha! is she dead then ? oh my misconstruing soul ! by what untimely fate ? ant. confusion ! i shall grow mad : give me some temper gods ! no , no , it cannot be her murder'd ghost lashes me with her bloudy dabled tresses and prompts me to revenge ; thus i will take it . ast. o stay your barbarous hand from this black deed , which but to speak of wou'd canker the mouth of fame , and make your memory infectious . ant. away , or thro' thy heart i 'le force a passage . ast. thro' it then sir , rip every artery , how willingly i 'de part with all my blood , to quench this raging fire in your breast ; by all the powers we serve , you shall not pass untill you tell the cause that moves you thus . ant. insolent feeble thing stand not the blast , which dire revenge is pouring on its prey . [ pressing to go : ast. holds him alb. no , let him come , for i 'me prepar'd to meet him , nor will i stir , unless discharg'd by death , [ draws untill i learn the story of my sisters fate . ast. his sisters fate ! what means my brother ? [ aside my noble lord , give me to know his crime , and with this arm i 'le further your revenge . ant. oh florimo ! thou dost renew my grief : is 't not a crime my boy to kill a sister so beauteous , so divine ? ( oh my sad soul ! ) that heaven has lost the mould it form'd her in , and grieving at the matchless work it made in envy cropt her in her early bloom . ast. and is 't for this , you 've griev'd since first i saw you ? was 't for her you shed so many tears , and follow now those showers with a storm ? ant. is there not cause my boy ? ast. oh my charm'd soul ? keep still that love , unless you 'de have me dye . but follow not this false deluding fire , which draws you to the ruine of your friend : your mistriss is alive , your words have rais'd her , and look how in my habit she appears . ant. by heaven 't is she ! oh to my arms my love , [ embraces her yet closer ; in this circle let me grow speak once again , speak thou charmer of my soul , whilst all the ravish'd spheres shall cease their noise , and listen unto thee : forgive me heaven , who dar'd to call your bounteous care in question . but speak ; dear saint , say what relenting god has sav'd thee from those sacrilegious hands which sought to ruine so divine a fabrick . ast. o forbear thus to reproach your friend , some villain has betray'd you to this rage : i thought you false when so reserv'd to me , and in this habit came to try my fate ; but since i 've found the error of my jealousy let me cement your seperated friendship , and gain my pardon , by restoring him . ant. thy pardon ! oh that word 's a dagger to me , and makes me see the foulness of my crime , a crime for which my expiating tears , can never merrit pardon from alberto ; how shall i dare to look on so much goodness , which i 've prophan'd with my unjust suspitions ? alb. your constancy in love has cancell'd all . ant. is such divinity then left on earth , shall these unhallow'd arms have leave t' embrace thee ? alb. thus let us quite forget our dire mistakes . [ embrace . ant. we will ; but i must ne're forgive these credulous ears , which listen'd to ricardo's painted tale ; oh! such a dismall scheme of horrour he had drawn as stifl'd all consideration in me : so that when e're a start of reason bar'd me , the black idea flew before my fancy and drove the murmuring vanquisht from my breast . alb but now my friend , since the dire vision 's fled , let us away , and court the vice-roys favour ; for by that happy instrument , my man , i 've gain'd a spell to charm his spanish rage . ant. i will : but thou my love retire , and appear no more my servant , but the mistriss of my soul. ast. this habit has befriended me so much , that 't were ingratitude to throw it off , untill my joys compleat . enter bernardo and lopez . ber.

this was a treacherous trick lopez , but i 'le forgive you , if you 'l make good your promise . sir since it must be so , i here stand ready to witness all that i have said .

lop.

ay sir , the devill and your gold will help him out , [ to alb. ne're fear it ; tho' every word were false :

alb. 't is well : but yet to gain the vice-roys credit , 't is requisite the soldiers shou'd be there : art thou acquainted with them bernardo ? ber. as well as they are with their trade of murder sir alb. go find 'em out , and bring 'em to the pallace . now friend and sister let us hast to court , and with enflam'd desires let 's all entreat the guardian powers of innocence above , to punish villany and smile on love. [ exeunt alb. ant. ast. at one door : lop. and ber. at the other . enter vice-roy , ricardo , and atendants . scene , the pallace . ric. i beg you sir , dismiss these needless fears . v. r. o' thou 'st undone me with they loyalty , thou like a blasting-winde did'st rove about to seek a breath of pestilentiall air , which having found thou drov'st it not away , but enviously scatter'd the death around , and blew the dire contagion into me . mendoza's family is quite extinct , the only branch that 's left is withering , and leaves the sapless oak to mourn its loss . ric. not so my lord , a virgins tears flow easy and naturall as tydes ; and like to them they 've all their ebbs . tho' she may mourn awhile , time and the grave will banish dea● alberto , and give admittance to another lover . v. r. but time and she will not be long ally'd , a winding-sheet must be the geniall bed , a funerall-dirge the hymeneall song and greedy worms the only joyfull guests . had'st thou but seen , how when i did approach her with rowling eyes she wander'd o're my visage , and learn't the story e're i was aware , but when my foolish tongue explain'd my looks , she stood all pale and motionless , as is a marble statue , and with a silent glance reproacht my joy , strait starting as she were upon the wing , she snatch'd a dagger offering at her breast , which when our hasty zeal disarm'd her of , then came the storm : her golden tresses torn , two different elements warr'd in her cheeks the air that swell'd 'em , and the fire enflam'd 'em , whilst the obstinate strings above , congeal'd and wanting ven● , ●efus'd a drop to quench the eager flame : her breath too , which before was calm and spicy , as is arabia's gentle eastern breeze , which fanns and opens all the balmy sweets , now sends out nought but rage 'gainst the heavens , mingl'd with curses of her cruell father , strait like the dying portia she exclaim'd , altho' this fails , there are a thousand ways to dye , kind death will lend a dart to them that seek it , nor will his arrow suffer a repulse , how'er vain man thinks he is arm'd against it . ric. oh! how he stings me with his eloquence , his rage the hinge on which my fortune hangs , will be quite melted by this foolish mourning . aside my lord , you 'l give me leave to wonder , that so mild a temper shou'd be thus enrag'd . v. r. o' thou' rt a stranger to that fatall passion : does not the gentlest stream when 't is oppos'd , break out into a rappid inundation ? ric. but when the cause is spent it fed upon 't is hush't ; so may your daughters sorrow too . go to her , and try her sir ; duty will plead in my behalf , and since alberto's dead , urge her to accept the man whom you propose . v. r. ha! this to me again ? o'ye good gods ! is thy ambition swell'd to such a height , that thou woud'st have my daughter spite of death ? is this thy love ? lust by my soul ! damn'd burning lust ! but since your saucy haste has thus provok'd me , i 'le to that drooping flower and there enquire , what anger did refuse to hear before , and if i finde what i suspect ricardo i 'le heap such loads of misery upon thee , shall crush thy soul , and sink thee into hell , italian spite , and spanish jealosy shall twine their snakes , to lash and torture thee . [ exit . ricardo solus . ric. nay then , i 'me ruind , and for ever lost . how sweet is hope to man's aspiring thoughts , which makes 'em like camelions live on air , and hug their slender plots ? but when that 's fled , then comes the dismall sad catastrophe . those threats were vain , for i 've a fury here begins to lash and sting my guilty soul , conscience that blood-hound , which tracks falling greatness had but my shafts hit right to my desire , i wou'd have laugh'd even in the face of heaven ; and rais'd in raptures equall to the gods , brav'd all the force of hell , made envy gnas● , to see me mounted above its reach but now alberto's death beats an alarm unto my guilty conscience : my affrighted blood retires and leaves my trembling arms , shaking like tender willows at the northern wind : my feet the feeble basis of this tottering pyramide , cleave close unto the earth , whilst my erected hair ( stiffer then bristles on a shooting porcupine ) stares in the very face of angry iove , as i were thunder-stoork . enter alberto , antonio , astella . ha! the ill stomack't earth , vomits her dead to torture me ! am i inviron'd round with ghosts ? hide me ye powers from their amazing looks , spread an eternall darkness o're the world that they may wander still in ignorance , and never finde me out : alb. what horrid sounds are these ? and from ricardo ? he takes me for a ghost ; away my friend , attone the vice-roys anger , whilst i , here humour this villains mistaken penitence . ant. we will , and may success attend you . [ exeunt ant. ast. ric. will nothing then conceal me ? alb. heaven cannot hide you from my just revenge , without the forfeiture of goodness murder that crying sin , has like a powerfull spell summon'd my scarce cold corps from out its urn to force an accusation of thy conscience . ric. mount , mount my soul , and with the swiftest winds fly to some unknown land , where the affrighted sun ner'e yet durst enter , nor the astonish'd heavens think on a place so horrid : where death surfeits his fatall arrow , and each funerall knell yel'd by a dying mandrake proves still the dirge of an ensuing frailty . o' my sick conscience ! is there no cure ? no sanctuary for my poor relenting soul ? let me then sink , sink to the center , release those captive gyants that now groan under the heavy weight of mighty mountains , and hurl 'em all , all one me , to press me down beyond the reach of register : let me not suffer even in their annalls , but let a sad mortality of remembrance seize succeeding times , that i may fall forgotten by all the world alb. is this the way to expiate thy crime ? are prophane wishes thy repentance ? oh take heed ! do not precipitate thy inclining ruine ; pull not that hovering justice on thy head , lest it shou'd fall no less than fatall on thee . ric. pardon blest form my rash devotion ! [ kneels . entomb revenge among those sacred reliques , and let thy incens'd ghost sleep in its peacefull urn : draw hence those looks fill'd with such killing horrour , and every day shall add new trophys to thy mercy . alb. think'st thou my patient ghost can rest secure , whilst thy majestick cruelty does trample or'e the ruines of my love and honour ? and shall no pious envy seek to abate thy triumph ? shall wrong'd innocence lye unreveng'd ? ric. is their no expiation for my offence ? withdraw thy anger , and i 'le renounce my love , and yield my title to the fair miranda ; she shall embalm you with her daily tears and offer sighs like incense at your tomb alb. i dare not trust you . ric. hear me ye powers above : when next i name my sacrilegious love , [ kneels . may i be haunted by thy murmuring ghost , may all the plagues which crimes like mine deserve , ( arm'd with a double force ) light on my head : but hast and signe the warrant of my peace . enter vice-roy , antonio , astella . guards and attendants . v. r. oh to my arms , thou noble generous youth , and look a kind forgiveness to thy father , else i shall faint beneath my load of guilt : what floods of penitential tears can e're wash off the stains are printed on my brow , and drown the memory of thy mighty wrongs ? alb. oh let me pay my humbler duty thus . [ kneels by heaven my loyal heart does bow within me , and i must sink beneath the grave to adore you , unless you 'l raise me by some kinder words . v. r. wilt thou then rob thee of thy virtues due ? thus i will pay it on my trembling knees , spite of thy obstinate humility . [ kneeling alb. if you will kneel , kneel to those guardian powers who 've freed you from the toils and treacherous snares of that false man. v. r. o rise , and since thy goodness can forgive me , let me put on the lion once again , and fix my justice on that horrid slave . ric. then he is living , and i am deceiv'd , wheedled to ruine by a trick of conscience : i thank ye gods for your little honesty ! v. r. where are my guards ; go take that traytor hence , 't is justice now , not tyranny commands you . ric. stay till i make my peace with this most wrong'd , most innocent , gallant , brave young man. [ to alb. here let me beg a pardon for my crimes , if gods have power such injuries to forgive ; by all your wrongs i mourn my black designs , [ kneels . 't is worse than hell to think i did attempt to murder you and yet to miss my aim [ offers a pistol at alberto . ant. per●idious dog ! [ ant. prevents him . v. r. away with him , or he will say my presence shades his guilt . ric. 't was basely done : for he is brave and noble , and i a villain thus to abuse his goodness , and fool to bar that love which heaven cements ; love is a pure and immateriall being , which graspt by such polluted hands as mine does vanish and leaves an empty cloud : why shou'd i then oppose the stream ? no , let me to some private cell resort , learn to forget the pleasures of the court , my guilt and folly be my grief and sport . [ exit with guards . v. r. impious traytor , who with the self-same breath , vows penitence to heaven , revenge to hell . enter maria. mar. your daughter royall sir , desires your company about some business of importance relating to your peace and hers . alberto here ! alive ! nay then it will not be a barren plot . [ aside . v. r. we will attend her instantly . alb. maria , how fares my angell ; how does my life , my soul ? mar. you 'l know too soon . [ aside . alb. ha! not look upon me ? o' my misgiving heart ! v. r. fear not my son , only some clouds are gather'd by your death , but soon your presence will dry up her tears and clear her brow : lead on , no longer i 'le defer your joys . [ exeunt v. r. alb. ant. mar. o' how i tremble at the dreadfull scene ! [ ast. and guards . but since a beam of light does warm her hopes and hath dispell'd the vice-roys jealous storm , fain'd death shall grasp 'em in a pleasing form . [ exit . the scene draws , and discovers miranda leaning on a table ; a cup by her . she rises . mir. what 's death , that silly mortals thus shou'd fear it ? only a passage to a better life , when the imprison'd soul throws off its fetters , and flys into immortall liberty : then wellcome death to love so pure as mine , which shall imprint an angells stamp upon it , and free my soul to meet alberto in the air . i come my love , the thoughts of thee so charm me that yet methinks i feel no pain at all ; the fatall potion tasted to my pallat like the rich nectar that preserves the gods , and i 'me methinks in health : only a pleasing faintness glides thro' my fancy with a cold alarm . here will i sit , till i can see my father , to tell him , fate has granted me a pasport ; then take the wing and fly to endless bliss . [ song within . enter vice-roy , alberto , antonio and astella : guards and attendants . scene the last . v. r. weeping miranda ! eternall horror seize me , if she does not smile too : so the sun shines amidst the fiercest showers . but why my daughter ? speak , for it racks my fancy ! rise and speak . mir. o' i must never rise , till i mount up an angell into heaven . alb. to heaven ! o' my fears ! wrap me eternall night : are these my promi'st joys ? v. r. o' rise my child : i know it well thou mourn'st alberto's loss , but here is magick in this face to cure thee . [ presents alb. to her . mir. alberto ! o' ye powers , then does he live ? alb. he lives , my fair one : but oh that life 's a curse , unless you 'l raise that beauteous map of heaven , and say , why dost thou grieve , that he 's alive ? mir. have i not cause to grieve and curse my stars , since we must part , for ever part alberto . alb. for ever part thou kill'st me with the sound : art thou then false ? the very thought 's a crime . thro' all this mist , i see thy constant flames dart their kind beams into my tortur'd breast : v. r. why dost thou talk of parting , when thy father stands here to heal the wounds of injur'd love ? here take alberto , take him to thy arms . [ presents alb. to her . mir. o stop that breath of kindness , 't is infectious , and tortures me more then the working poyson . alb. the poyson , ha ! v. r. what says my childe ? mir. the fatall deed will out i thought him dead , and therefore i contriv'd to drink a poys'nous draught , which working up thro' all the pores of life , shou'd drive the soul , and send it panting to the other world. forgive me love that 's all i ask oh heavens ! alb. i 'le ●ear no more where 's providence and all those sacred powers that secure innocence , are they all asleep ? or is the frame of nature quite dissolv'd ? i 've heard how at her latest pangs , the world will strait roll up into the endless heap : the sun be extinguisht like a lamp that 's spent : the moon withdraw its crescent into night ; the stars like pointed meteors shoot to chaos the elements shall run to meet each other , and blindly mix their jarring principles , and when this beauteous harmony must dye , shall not one attom of it cease to move ? yes i 'le begin the fatall sacrifice , [ is going to the cup. the v. r. stays him . and tell the world what 's due to so much beauty . v. r. hold , or you heap new loads of guilt upon me : what must you suffer for my impious rashness ? no let me dye , ( the cursed source of all ) the gods themselves are pleas'd when great men fall . mir. forbear , or you will hurry me away in a tempestuous grief . why father , why alberto , why shou'd you dye ? i charge ye live , or you will torture my departed ghost , which swift as light'ning shall avoid your presence . by heaven you 've rais'd a strugling in my breast , and peacefull death 's become a spectere to me . alb. o do not plead against thy self miranda : why art thou poison'd but to follow me ? mir. because my father wou'd have forc'd my will , but now relenting nature yields to love , and he has given you all that 's left of me . enter maria. mar. i see it works . [ aside . v. r. that makes not me less guilty ; death , hell , and vengeance why was i good too late ? so the fall'n angells saw their wretched state , repented , but alas ! their heaven was fled , and left 'em for reward despair and hell : then shall i , o black ingratitude ! shall i , for all the smarting wounds which i have made return him nought , but cold m●●anda's corse ? a precious salve to cure a bleeding heart ! mar. my plots are ripe , and i will give 'em birth : [ aside . great sir , upon my knees beg you 'l hear me ; if heaven restores , your dying poison'd daughter , will you continue in this resolution , and give her ( as sure you ought ) to brave alberto ? v. r. why dost thou ask that strange untimely question ? cou'd she be sav'd but 't is impossible ; altho' the sighs of injur'd love ascend like incense , yet my loud crimes will drown their softer murmures . by all their wrongs i 'de drein my dearst blood to quench the raging venome in her breast ; then with my latest breath bequeath her to alberto . mar. o' sir ! these generous words [ pointing to miranda . like charms shall have the power to raise the dead . ant. what a successive change of wonder 's here ! mar. thus i 'le apply their virtue rise madam . mir. what folly 's this ? mar. i beg you madam rise : think that alberto may , or will be yours , and strait your pulse will beat as brisk as ever , the blood shall dance and flourish in your cheeks , except what too much grief has d●ein'd away . v. r. ha! does she live ? speak but that word maria , i 'le give thee all my treasure : alb. i , the world. mar. she lives my lord. v. r. o' 't is enough maria ! alb. it is too much : thus let me kneel my saint , and look and gaze unto eternity . v. r. not all the transports of your eager love must rob me of the duty of a father . alb. i was too blame here let us kneel miranda , as to a pardoning god , and wait our doom v. r. you take me for the cruell father still ; o' rise , and do not cloud this scene of joy come to my arms miranda still thou fear'st , but thus i 'le crown your happiness , and my peace : [ gives her to alberto . alb. which thus i seal . but kind maria , say , how hast thou wrought this cure ? or do we dream , rais'd by a false imaginary joy ? mar. her fancy'd pain indeed is but a dream , but thus i clear your f●ars and doubts , my lord , i griev'd , great sir , your kindness for ricardo must sacrifice the affections of a daughter , and promist to prepare the potion for her ( when urg'd by grief to that extremity : ) but hoping you 'de revoke the cruell sentence , when fearing the effects by such a loss , i workt her fancy to believe that poyson which only dull'd the vigour of the spirits . mir. i was mistaken , but yet so kindly i d'e wish for ever to be so deceiv'd . v. r. antonio , pardon all the wrongs you 've born , and take my friendship as return in part . [ embraces him ant. great sir , this grace has more than cancell'd all : but let me beg your highnesses consent , to make me happy in this fair ladies love. v. r. this lady ? alb. astella sir , my sister . v. r. you have it sir ; but why in this disguise ? ant. plung'd in the same mistake that threatn'd all , she came on some designe to try my love. mir. sister ( for so i must for ever call you ) pardon my forc'd neglect of you unknown . ast. your own misfortunes are a sufficient plea. [ salute . clashing of swords within : enter fabio with his sword drawn . fab. great sir , ricardo breaking from his prison , comes like a torrent spite of opposition ; and forcing all the guards , that bar'd his way , with a drawn sword wrested from their hands ●s entring here . but see he comes . enter ricardo with a sword. v. r. infernall monster ! was ever sight like this , that villany shou'd make a coward valiant ? can hell breath virtue ? yes , a brutall one ! but thus i 'le meet and crush the monstrous birth ric. here sir , wreak all your fury on this villain , think not i 'de offer at your sacred life , [ throws his sword to the v. r. death i am come to seek , but since your guards have fail'd , and i 've the noblest from your hand , strike sir , for i 'me prepar'd . v. r. prepar'd ? 't is false : when thousand crimes like weights press'd down thy soul ; yes thou art ready slave , for hell thou' rt ripe : lust and ambition have rac'd out the man , and being a devil thou long'st to be at home . ric. 't is true , i 'me worse then you can paint me sir , therefore to ask a pardon were to arraign heaven●s justice and make its mercy pandar to my sins . why are you slow then to be heavens avenger ? v. r. i will avenge it , but another way , guards seize him once again , and mark me all your lives are forfeit for the next escape : in chains he shall behold alberto's nuptials , that he may swell with envy till he burst . ric. by heaven , not all your armies here should seize me : pardon me sacred sir , i say they shou'd not , not that i dread to see the happy nuptials , for every binding word wou'd ease my soul ; yes sir , i joy more for their happiness , than i can grieve for my own sordid baseness but to lye lingri●g in a lazy prison , wou'd rob expecting justice of its prey , therefore to satisfy the hovering sword , thus i 'me ricardo's executioner . [ offers to stabs himself . alb. interposes , and takes it from him . alb. hold , and may heaven forgive what 's past as i do now . o sacred sir , or if the name of father can plead more strongly , pitty this penitent , i read a deep contrition in his eyes ; let him not fall a victim to despair , when one kind breath can blow away his crimes , and cause the horrid leprosy to vanish . ric. this goodness from you , noble , generous youth , sinks me the deeper ; o restore the dagger , for since all hope of pardon 's fled away , nothing can torture me like this delay . v. r. to recompence the wrongs which you 've sustain'd , what is 't i wou'd not do ? but son beware , take heed how you believe these new-coin'd looks , and these false sighs , lest they shou'd prove infectious ; for proteus-like he can take every shape scrue himself up into an humble saint to serve his black designs , and if that miss strut like a peacock in his gaudy trim , and shew all lucifer ; nay , he can make even contradictions meet to gain his ends . ric. therefore kind sir , kill me lest i work more mischief . alb. but now that borrow'd habit 's quite thrown off , stript by the vulture conscience of his plumes . kneel , kneel ricardo , for methinks i see , a calm of pitty gently chase the tempest , and smooth the furrows of his angry brow . [ both kneel . think of the power of love great sir ; what heart is proof , what virtue is so strong and adamantine which the resistless heat of his attacques cannot melt to vice ? v. r. rise both ; ricardo rise ; for sure such generosity must awe thee , and force each start of envy to retire ; therefore i pardon you your life , but for your crimes banish you for ever from our court. ric. ha! pardon did you say ? name it again , for yet i cannot trust my credulous ears . v. r. you may : ric. o sir let me devour your feet , gr●w to the earth in prostrate adoration , and end my life in this so happy transport hence to some gloomy desert i 'le retreat , black as my crimes and my deserved fate where no kind cell , or neighbouring lodge is found but wild campain , and bare unhospitable ground ; there from my breast vollies of sighs shall rise shall thaw th' avenging justice of the skies to mercy ; while the pittying gods shall dain : to give me back my i●nocence again : there my last stake in penitential tears , in rigid pennance , fasts , and midnight prayers● , i 'le spend , till heaven and you i can attone , and merit this forgiveness you have shown . [ exit guarded . enter lopez , bernardo and soldiers . . sol. may it please your highness v. r. what means your insolence ? . sol. this importunate fellow , because he help'd me to save that lords life , pretends i owe him something ; now i make your highness my judge ; v. r. i understand you ; therefore let each man have twenty crowns : alb. lopez , i shall reward you for your care . ant. and you bernardo may remain with me . ber. i thank you sir , for i was terribly afraid of my master . v. r. but all their services had been in vain , had not maria brought this last reprieve , which i shall study how to recompence . alb. now my miranda , since the fates are kind , we may reflect upon our dangers past : ( as a befriended traveller returns , and when his country 's grown familiar with him , his fancy roves o're all the dismall scene , the roling seas , the fearfull beasts of prey , and all the terrours that beset his way , whilst every horrour swells his trembling joy , and still renews those pleasures which wou'd ●●oy : ) then for a monument we 'le erect this rule , and fix it on the portall of loves school ; few lovers can be always in the right , mistakes and quarrells heighten their delight . finis .
epilogue . spoken by mr. montfort . stay gentlemen , and give your suffrages ; for on your votes depends ricardo's pe●ce : doom'd to be exil'd , as i past along the poet singl'd me from out the throng ; frowning , he charg'd me er'e i went away , to come and beg excuse for his dull play : which if i gain'd he promis'd to repeal the hasty doom of his poetick zeal . but by my hast my message i 've forgot ; i must say something , yet i know not what : but only this , 't is to both sexes sent , and to the one but a rough complement . the men he fears not , for he says he writ so dull to please , and he is sure t' will hit , where ten dull fops are for one man of wit ; who , if the writer stumbles on a thought , dam it they cry , the b●ttle brought that out : but if insipid , they cry one and all , oh 't is unaffected , strange and naturall : like mahomet , who whoredome does allow , because a crime which nature prompts us to but from the ladies on a double score , i wou'd a favourable glance implore ; you like an adamant the m●n attract ; what e're gains your assent , they make an act : see how the criticall committee wait , from your fair brows the poets doubtfull fate : do not for once then blast the infant bud , which by your sunshine may in time grow ripe and good but if no favour you design t' impart , but rather with his numerous foes take part ; he swears he cares not for your cruelty , but says , he 'l go on pilgrimage with me , and the whole ●rain of fops and beaux defy
the second part of absalom and achitophel a poem. tate, nahum, - . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing d estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) the second part of absalom and achitophel a poem. tate, nahum, - . dryden, john, - . [ ], p. printed for jacob tonson, london : . written by nahum and john dryden. cf. macdonald, h. john dryden. reproduction of original in huntington library. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng - tcp assigned for keying and markup - spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images - tcp staff (oxford) sampled and proofread - judith siefring text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the second part of absalom and achitophel . a poem . — si quis tamen haec quoque , si quis captus amore leget — london , printed for iacob tonson , at the iudges head in chancery-lane , near fleetstreet . . the second part of absalom and achitophel . a poem . since men like beasts , each others prey were made , since trade began , and priesthood grew a trade , since realms were form'd , none sure so curst as those that madly their own happiness oppose ; there heaven it self , and godlike kings , in vain showr down the manna of a gentle reign ; while pamper'd crowds to mad sedition run , and monarchs by indulgence are undone . thus david's goodness was e'en fatal grown , while wealthy faction aw'd the wanting throne . for now their sov'reigns orders to contemn was held the charter of ierusalem , his rights t' invade , his tributes to refuse , a privilege peculiar to the iews as if from heav'nly call this licence fell , and iacob's seed were chosen to rebell ! achitophel with triumph sees his crimes thus suited to the madness of the times ; and absalom , to make his hopes succeed , of flatterie's charms no longer stands in need ; while fond of change , though ne'er so dearly bought , our tribes out-strip the youth 's ambitious thought ; his swiftest hopes with swifter homage meet , and crowd their servile necks beneath his feet . thus to his aid while pressing tides repair , he mounts and spreads his streamers in the air. the charms of empire might his youth mis-lead , but what can our besotted israel plead ? sway'd by a monarch whose serene command , seems half the blessing of our promis'd land. whose onely grievance is excess of ease , freedome our pain , and plenty our disease ! yet since all folly wou'd lay claim to sense , and wickedness ne'er wanted a pretence , with arguments they 'd make their treason good , and righteous david's self with slanders load : that arts of foreign sway he did affect , and guilty iebusites from law protect , whose very chiefs , convict , were never freed , nay , we have seen their sacrificers bleed ! accusers infamy is urg'd in vain , while in the bounds of sense they did contain , but soon they launcht into th' unfathom'd tide , and in the depths they knew disdain'd to ride , for probable discoveries to dispence , was thought below a pention'd evidence ; mere truth was dull , nor suited with the port of pamper'd corah , when advanc't to court. no less than wonders now they will impose , and projects void of grace or sense disclose . such was the charge on pious michal brought , michal that ne'er was cruel e'en in thought , the best of queens , and most obedient wife , impeach'd of curst designs on david's life ! his life , the theam of her eternal pray'r , 't is scarce so much his guardian angels care. not summer morns such mildness can disclose , the hermon lilly , nor the sharon rose . neglecting each vain pomp of majesty , transported michal feeds her thoughts on high . she lives with angels , and as angels do , quits heav'n sometimes to bless the world below . where cherisht by her bounties plenteous spring , reviving widows smile , and orphans sing . oh! when rebellious israel's crimes at height , are threatned with her lord's approaching fate , the piety of michal then remain in heav'ns remembrance , and prolong his reign . less desolation did the pest persue , that from dan's limits to beersheba slew , less fatal the repeated wars of tyre , and less ierusalem's avenging fire . with gentler terrour these our state o'erran , than since our evidencing days began ! on every cheek a pale confusion sat , continu'd fear beyond the worst of fate ! trust was no more , art , science useless made , all occupations lost but corah's trade . mean while a guard on modest corah wait , if not for safety needfull yet for state. well might he deem each peer and prince his slave : and lord it o'er the tribes which he could save : e'en vice in him was vertue — what sad fate but for his honesty had seiz'd our state ? and with what tyranny had we been curst , had corah never prov'd a villain first ? t' have told his knowledge of th' intrigue in gross had been alas to our deponent's loss : the travell'd levite had th' experience got , to husband well , and make the best of 's plot ; and therefore like an evidence of skill , with wise reserves secur'd his pension still ; nor quite of future pow'r himself bereft , but limbo's large for unbelievers left . for now his writ such reverence had got , 't was worse than plotting to suspect his plot. some were so well convinc't , they made no doubt , themselves to help the founder'd swearers out . some had their sense impos'd on by their fear , but more for int'rest sake believe and swear : e'en to that height with some the frenzy grew , they rag'd to find their danger not prove true . yet , than all these a viler crew remain , who with achitophel the cry maintain ; not urg'd by fear , nor through misguided sense , ( blind zeal , and starving need had some pretence ) but for the good old cause that did excite th' original rebells wiles , revenge and spight . these raise the plot to have the scandal thrown upon the bright successor of the crown , whose vertue with such wrongs they had persu'd , as seem'd all hope of pardon to exclude . thus , while on private ends their zeal is built the cheated crowd applaud and share their guilt . such practices as these , too gross to lye long unobserv'd by each discerning eye , the more judicious israelites unspell'd , though still the charm the giddy rabble held , ev'n absalom amidst the dazling beams of empire , and ambitions flattering dreams , perceives the plot ( too foul to be excus'd ) to aid designs , no less pernicious , us'd . and ( filial sense yet striving in his breast ) thus to achitophel his doubts exprest . why are my thoughts upon a crown employ'd , which once obtain'd , can be but half enjoy'd ? not so when virtue did my arms require , and to my father's wars i flew intire . my regal pow'r how will my foes resent , when i my self have scarce my own consent ? give me a son 's unblemisht truth again , or quench the sparks of duty that remain . how slight to force a throne that legions guard the task to me ; to prove unjust how hard ! and if th' imagin'd guilt thus wound my thought , what will it when the tragick scene is wrought ? dire war must first be conjur'd from below , the realm we 'd rule we first must overthrow . and when the civil furies are on wing that blind and undistinguisht slaughters fling , who knows what impious chance may reach the king ? or rather let me perish in the strife , than have my crown the price of david's life ! or if the tempest of the war he stand , in peace , some vile officious villain 's hand his soul 's anointed temple may invade , or , prest by clamorous crowds , my self be made his murtherer ; rebellious crowds , whose guilt shall dread his vengeance till his bloud be spilt . which if my filial tenderness oppose , since to the empire by their arms i rose , those very arms on me shall be employ'd , a new usurper crown'd , and i destroy'd : the same pretence of publick good will hold , a new achitophels be found , as bold to urge the needfull change , perhaps the old. he said . the statesman with a smile replies , ( a smile that did his rising spleen disguise . ) my thoughts presum'd our labours at an end , and are we still with conscience to contend ? whose want in kings , as needfull is allow'd , as 't is for them to find it in the crowd . far in the doubtfull passage you are gone , and onely can be safe by pressing on . the crowns true heir , a prince severe , and wise , has view'd your motions long with jealous eyes : your persons charms , your more prevailing arts , and mark't your progress in the peoples hearts , whose patience is th' effect of stinted pow'r , but treasures vengeance for the fatal hour . and if remote the perill he can bring , your present danger 's greater from the king. let not a parent 's name deceive your sense , nor trust the father in a jealous prince ! your trivial faults if he could so resent , to doom you little less than banishment , what rage must your presumption since inspire ? against his orders your return from tyre ? nor onely so , but with a pomp more high , and open court of popularity , the factious tribes — and this reproof from thee ? ( the prince replies ) o statesman's winding skill , they first condemn that first advis'd the ill ! illustrious youth ( return'd achitophel ) misconstrue not the words that mean you well . the course you steer i worthy blame conclude , but 't is because you leave it unpersu'd . a monarch's crown with fate surrounded lyes , who reach , lay hold on death that miss the prize . did you for this expose your self to show , and to the crowd bow popularly low ? for this your glorious progress next ordain , with chariots , horsemen , and a numerous train . with fame before you like the morning starr , and shouts of joy saluting from afarr . oh from the heights you 've reach't but take a view , scarce leading lucifer cou'd fall like you ! and must i here my ship-wrackt arts bemoan ? have i for this so oft made israel groan ! your single interest with the nation weigh'd , and turn'd the scale where your desires were laid ? ev'n when at helm a course so dang'rous mov'd to land your hopes , as my removal prov'd . i not dispute ( the royal youth replyes ) the known perfection of your policies , nor in achitophel yet grudge , or blame , the priviledge that statesmen ever claim ; who private interest never yet persu'd , but still pretended 't was for others good : what polititian yet e'er scap't his fate , who saving his own neck not sav'd the state ? from hence on ev'ry hum'rous wind that veer'd , with shifted sayls a sev'ral course you steer'd . what form of sway did david e'er persue that seem'd like absolute but sprung from you ? who at your instance quasht each penal law , that kept dissenting factious iews in awe ; and who suspends fixt laws , may abrogate , that done , form new , and so enslave the state. ev'n property , whose champion now you stand , and seem for this the idol of the land , did ne'er sustain such violence before , as when your counsel shut the royal store ; advice , that ruine to whole tribes procur'd , but secret kept till your own banks secur'd . recount with this the tripple cov'nant broke , and israel fitted for a foreign yoke , nor here your counsels fatal progress staid , but sent our levied pow'rs to pharaoh's aid . hence tyre and israel , low in ruins laid , and egypt once their scorn , their common terrour made . ev'n yet of such a season we can dream , when royal rights you made your darling theam . for pow'r unlimited could reasons draw , and place prerogative above the law ; which on your fall from office grew unjust , the laws made king , the king a slave in trust : whom with state-craft ( to int'rest onely true ) you now accuse of ills contriv'd by you. to this hell's agent — royal youth fix here , let int'rest be the star by which i steer . hence to repose your trust in me was wise , whose int'rest most in your advancement lies . a tye so firm as always will avail when friendship , nature and religion fail ; on ours the safety of the crowd depends , secure the crowd and we obtain our ends , whom i will cause so far our guilt to share till they are made our champions by their fear . what opposition can your rival bring , while sanhedrims are jealous of the king ? his strength as yet in david's friendship lies , and what can david's self without supplies ? who with exclusive bills must now dispence , debarr the heir , or starve in his defence . conditions which our elders ne'er will quit , and david's justice never can admit . or forc't by wants his brother to betray , to your ambition next he clears the way ; for if succession once to nought they bring , their next advance removes the present king : persisting else his senates to dissolve , in equal hazzard shall his reign involve . our tribes , whom pharaoh's pow'r so much alarms , shall rise without their prince t' oppose his arms ; nor boots it on what cause at first they joyn , their troops once up , are tools for our design . at least such subtle covenants shall be made , till peace it self is war in masquerade . associations of mysterious sense , against , but seeming for the king's defence : ev'n on their courts of justice fetters draw , and from our agents muzzle up their law. by which , a conquest if we fail to make , 't is a drawn game at worst , and we secure our stake . he said , and for the dire success depends on various sects , by common guilt made friends . whose heads , though ne'er so diff'ring in their creed , i' th point of treason yet were well agreed . 'mongst these , extorting ishban first appears , persu'd b' a meager troop of bankrupt heirs . blest times , when ishban , he whose occupation so long has been to cheat , reformes the nation ! ishban of conscience suited to his trade , as good a saint as usurer e'er made . yet mammon has not so engrost him quite , but belial lays as large a claim of spight ; who , for those pardons from his prince he draws , returns reproaches , and cries up the cause . that year in which the city he did sway , he left rebellion in a hopefull way . yet his ambition once was found so bold , to offer talents of extorted gold ; cou'd david's wants have so been brib'd to shame and scandalize our peerage with his name ; for which , his dear sedition he 'd forswear , and e'en turn loyal to be made a peer . next him , let railing rabsheka have place , so full of zeal he has no need of grace ; a saint that can both flesh and spirit use , alike haunt conventicles and the stews : of whom the question difficult appears , if most i' th' preachers or the bawds arrears . what caution cou'd appear too much in him that keeps the treasure of ierusalem ! let david's brother but approach the town , double our guards , ( he cries ) we are undone . protesting that he dares not sleep in 's bed lest he shou'd rise next morn without his head , next these , a troop of buisy spirits press , of little fortunes , and of conscience less ; with them the tribe , whose luxury had drain'd their banks , in former sequestrations gaind : who rich and great by past rebellions grew , and long to fish the troubled waves anew . some future hopes , some present payment draws , to sell their conscience and espouse the cause , such stipends those vile hirelings best befit , priests without grace , and poets without wit. shall that false hebronite escape our curse , iudas that keeps the rebells pension-purse ; iudas that pays the treason-writers fee , iudas that well deserves his namesake's tree ; who at ierusalem's own gates erects his college for a nursery of sects . young prophets with an early care secures , and with the dung of his own arts manures . what have the men of hebron here to doe ? what part in israel's promis'd land have you ? here phaleg the lay hebronite is come , 'cause like the rest he could not live at home ; who from his own possessions cou'd not drain an omer even of hebronitish grain , here struts it like a patriot , and talks high of injur'd subjects , alter'd property : an emblem of that buzzing insect just , that mounts the wheell , and thinks she raises dust ; can dry bones live ? or skeletons produce the vital warmth of cuckoldizing juice ? slim phaleg cou'd , and at the table fed , return'd the gratefull product to the bed. a waiting-man to trav'ling nobles chose , he , his own laws , wou'd sawcily impose ; till bastinado'd back again he went , to learn those manners he to teach was sent , chastiz'd , he ought to have retreated home , but he reads politicks to absalom . for never hebronite though kickt and scorn'd , to his own country willingly return'd . — but leaving famish'd phaleg to be fed , and to talk treason for his daily bread , let hebron , nay let hell produce a man so made for mischief as ben-iochanan , a iew of humble parentage was he , by trade a levite though of low degree : his pride no higher than the desk aspir'd , but for the drudgery of priests was hir'd to reade and pray in linen ephod brave , and pick up single sheckles from the grave . married at last , and finding charge come faster , he cou'd not live by god , but chang'd his master : inspir'd by want , was made a factious tool , they got a villain , and we lost a fool. still violent , whatever cause he took , but most against the party he forsook , for renegadoes , who ne'er turn by halves , are bound in conscience to be double knaves . so this prose-prophet took most monstrous pains , to let his masters see he earn'd his gains . but as the dev'l ows all his imps a shame , he chose th' apostate for his proper theme ; with little pains he made the picture true , and from reflexion took the rogue he drew . a wondrous work to prove the iewish nation , in every age a murmuring generation ; to trace 'em from their infancy of sinning , and shew 'em factious from their first beginning . to prove they cou'd rebell , and rail , and mock , much to the credit of the chosen flock ; a strong authority which must convince , that saints own no allegiance to their prince . as 't is a leading-card to make a whore , to prove her mother had turn'd up before . but , tell me , did the drunken patriot bless the son that shew'd his father's nakedness ? such thanks the present church thy pen will give , which proves rebellion was so primitive . must ancient failings be examples made , then murtherers from cain may learn their trade ? as thou the heathen and the saint hast drawn , methinks th' apostate was the better man : and thy hot father ( waving my respect ) not of a mother church , but of a sect. and such he needs must be of thy inditing , this comes of drinking asses milk and writing . if balack should be cal'd to leave his place ( as profit is the loudest call of grace , ) his temple dispossess'd of one , wou'd be replenish'd with seven devils more by thee . levi , thou art a load , i 'll lay thee down , and shew rebellion bare , without a gown ; poor slaves in metre , dull and adle-pated , who rhime below ev'n david's psalms translated . some in my speedy pace i must outrun , as lame mephibosheth the wisard's son : to make quick way i 'll leap o'er heavy blocks , shun rotten vzza as i wou'd the pox ; and hasten og and doeg to rehearse , two fools that crutch their feeble sense on verse ; who by my muse , to all succeeding times , shall live in spight of their own dogrell rhimes . doeg , though without knowing how or why , made still a blund'ring kind of melody ; spurd boldly on , and dash'd through thick and thin , through sense and non-sense , never out nor in ; free from all meaning , whether good or bad , and in one word , heroically mad : he was too warm on picking-work to dwell , but faggotted his notions as they fell , and if they rhim'd and rattl'd all was well . spightfull he is not , though he wrote a satyr , for still there goes some thinking to ill-nature : he needs no more than birds and beasts to think , all his occasions are to eat and drink . if he call rogue and rascal from a garrat , he means you no more mischief than a parat : the words for friend and foe alike were made , to fetter 'em in verse is all his trade . for almonds he 'll cry whore to his own mother and call young absalom king david's brother . let him be gallows-free by my consent , and nothing suffer since he nothing meant ; hanging supposes humane soul and reason , this animal's below committing treason : shall he be hang'd who never cou'd rebell ? that 's a preferment for achitophel . the woman that committed buggary , was rightly sentenc'd by the law to die ; but 't was hard fate that to the gallows led , the dog that never heard the statute read . railing in other men may be a crime , but ought to pass for mere instinct in him ; instinct he follows and no farther knows , for to write verse with him is to transprose . 't were pity treason at his door to lay , who makes heaven's gate a lock to its own key : let him rayl on , let his invective muse have four and twenty letters to abuse , which if he jumbles to one line of sense , indict him of a capital offence . in fire-works give him leave to vent his spight , those are the onely serpents he can write ; the height of his ambition is we know but to be master of a puppet-show , on that one stage his works may yet appear , and a months harvest keeps him all the year . now stop your noses readers , all and some , for here 's a tun of midnight-work to come , og from a treason tavern rowling home . round as a globe , and liquor'd ev'ry chink , goodly and great he sayls behind his link ; with all this bulk there 's nothing lost in og for ev'ry inch that is not fool is rogue : a monstrous mass of foul corrupted matter , as all the devils had spew'd to make the batter . when wine has given him courage to blaspheme , he curses god , but god before curst him ; and if man cou'd have reason none has more , that made his paunch so rich and him so poor . with wealth he was not trusted , for heav'n knew what 't was of old to pamper up a iew ; to what wou'd he on quail and pheasant swell , that ev'n on tripe and carrion cou'd rebell ? but though heav'n made him poor , ( with rev'rence speaking , he never was a poet of god's making ; the midwife laid her hand on his thick skull , with this prophetick blessing — be thou dull ; drink , swear and roar , forbear no lew'd delight fit for thy bulk , doe any thing but write : thou art of lasting make like thoughtless men , a strong nativity — but for the pen ; eat opium , mingle arsenick in thy drink , still thou mayst live avoiding pen and ink. i see , i see 't is counsell given in vain , for treason botcht in rhime will be thy bane ; rhime is the rock on which thou art to wreck , 't is fatal to thy fame and to thy neck : why should thy metre good king david blast ? a psalm of his will surely be thy last . dar'st thou presume in verse to meet thy foes , thou whom the penny pamphlet foil'd in prose ? doeg , whom god for mankinds mirth has made , o'er-tops thy tallent in thy very trade ; doeg to thee , thy paintings are so course , a poet is , though he 's the poets horse . a double noose thou on thy neck dost pull , for writing treason , and for writing dull ; to die for faction is a common evil , but to be hang'd for non-sense is the devil : had'st thou the glories of thy king exprest , thy praises had been satyr at the best ; but thou in clumsy verse , unlickt , unpointed , hast shamefully defi'd the lord 's anointed : i will not rake the dunghill of thy crimes , for who wou'd reade thy life that reads thy rhimes ? but of king david's foes be this the doom , may all be like the young-man absalom ; and for my foes may this their blessing be , to talk like doeg , and to write like thee . achitophel each rank , degree and age , for various ends neglects not to engage ; the wise and rich for purse and counsell brought , the fools and beggars for their number sought : who yet not onely on the town depends , for ev'n in court the faction had its friends ; these thought the places they possest too small , and in their hearts wisht court and king to fall : whose names the muse disdaining holds i' th' dark , thrust in the villain herd without a mark ; with parasites and libell-spawning imps , intriuging fopps , dull jesters and worse pimps . disdain the rascall rabble to persue , their sett caballs are yet a viler crew ; see where involv'd in common smoak they sit ; some for our mirth , some for our satyr fit : these gloomy , thoughtfull and on mischief bent , while those for mere good fellowship frequent th' appointed clubb can let sedition pass , sense , non-sence , any thing t' employ the glass ; and who believe in their dull honest hearts , the rest talk treason but to shew their parts ; who n'er had wit or will for mischief yet , but pleas'd to be reputed of a set. but in the sacred annals of our plot , industrious arod never be forgot : the labours of this midnight-magistrate , may vie with corah's to preserve the state ; in search of arms , he fail'd not to lay hold on war's most powerfull dang'rous weapon , gold . and last , to take from iebusites , all odds , their altars pillag'd , stole their very gods ; oft wou'd he cry , when treasure he surpriz'd , 't is baalish gold in david's coyn disguiz'd . which to his house with richer relicts came , while lumber idols onely fed the flame : for our wise rabble ne'er took pains t' enquire , what 't was he burnt , so 't made a rousing fire . with which our elder was enricht no more than false gehazi with the syrian's store ; so poor , that when our choosing-tribes were met , ev'n for his stinking votes he ran in debt ; for meat the wicked , and as authours think , the saints he chous'd for his electing drink ; thus , ev'ry shift and subtle method past , and all to be no zaken at the last . now , rais'd on tyre's sad ruines , pharaoh's pride soar'd high , his legions threatning far and wide ; as when a battring storm ingendred high , by winds upheld , hangs hov'ring in the skye , is gaz'd upon by ev'ry trembling swain , this for his vineyard fears , and that his grain ; for blooming plants , and flowr's new opening , these for lambs ean'd lately , and far-lab'ring bees ; to guard his stock each to the gods does call , uncertain where the fire-charg'd clouds will fall : ev'n so the doubtfull nations watch his arms , with terrour each expecting his alarms . where iudah , where was now , thy lyons roar ? thou onely cou'dst the captive lands restore ; but thou , with inbred broils , and faction prest , from egypt needst a guardian with the rest. thy prince from sanhedrims no trust allow'd , too much the representers of the crow'd , who for their own defence give no supply , but what the crowns prerogatives must buy : as if their monarch's rights to violate , more needfull were than to preserve the state ! from present dangers they divert their care , and all their fears are of the royal heir ; whom now the reigning malice of his foes , unjudg'd wou'd sentence , and e'er crown'd , depose . religion the pretence , but their decree to barr his reign , whate'er his faith shall be ! by sanhedrims , and clam'rous crowds , thus prest what passions rent the righteous david's breast ? who knows not how t' oppose , or to comply , unjust to grant , and dangerous to deny ! how near in this dark juncture israel's fate , whose peace one sole expedient cou'd create , which yet th' extremest virtue did require , ev'n of that prince whose downfall they conspire ! his absence david does with tears advise , t' appease their rage , undaunted he complies ; thus he who prodigal of bloud , and ease , a royal life expos'd to winds and seas , at once contending with the waves and fire , and heading danger in the wars of tyre , inglorious now forsakes his native sand , and like an exile quits the promis'd land ! our monarch scarce from pressing tears refrains , and painfully his royal state maintains , who now embracing on th' extremest shore almost revokes what he injoyn'd before : concludes at last more trust to be allow'd , to storms and seas , than to the raging crow'd ! forbear , rash muse , the parting scene to draw , with silence charm'd as deep as theirs that saw ! not onely our attending nobles weep , but hardy saylers swell with tears the deep ! the tyde restrain'd her course , and more amaz'd , the twyn-stars on the royal brothers gaz'd : while this sole fear — does trouble to our suff'ring heroe bring lest next the popular rage oppress the king ! thus parting , each for th' others danger griev'd , the shore the king , and seas the prince receiv'd . go injur'd heroe while propitious gales , soft as thy consorts breath inspire thy sails ; well may she trust her beauties on a flood , where thy triumphant fleets so oft have rode ! safe on thy breast reclin'd her rest be deep , rockt like a nereid by the waves asleep ; while happiest dreams her fancy entertain , and to elysian fields convert the main ! go injur'd heroe while the shores of tyre , at thy approach so silent shall admire , who on thy thunder still their thoughts imploy , and greet thy landing with a trembling joy. on heroes thus the prophet's fate is thrown , admir'd by ev'ry nation but their own ; yet while our factious iews his worth deny , their aking conscience gives their tongue the lye. ev'n in the worst of men the noblest parts confess him , and he triumphs in their hearts , whom to his king the best respects commend of subject , souldier , kinsman , prince and friend ; all sacred names of most divine esteem , and to perfection all sustain'd by him , wise , just and constant , courtly without art , swift to discern and to reward desert ; no hour of his in fruitless ease destroy'd , but on the noblest subjects still employ'd : whose steddy soul ne'er learnt to separate between his monarch's int'rest and the state , but heaps those blessings on the royal head , which he well knows must be on subjects shed . on what pretence cou'd then the vulgar rage against his worth , and native rights engage ? religious fears their argument are made , religious fears his sacred rights invade ! of future superstition they complain , and iebusitick worship in his reign ; with such alarms his foes the crowd deceive , with dangers fright , which not themselves believe . since nothing can our sacred rites remove , whate'er the faith of the successour prove : our iews their ark shall undisturb'd retain , at least while their religion is their gain , who know by old experience baal's commands not onely claim'd their conscience , but their lands ; they grutch god's tythes , how therefore shall they yield an idol full possession of the field ? grant such a prince enthron'd , we must confess the people's suff'rings than that monarch's less , who must to hard conditions still be bound , and for his quiet with the crowd compound ; or shou'd his thoughts to tyranny incline , where are the means to compass the design ? our crowns revenues are too short a store , and jealous sanedrims wou'd give no more ! as vain our fears of egypt's potent aid , not so has pharoah learnt ambition's trade , nor ever with such measures can comply , as shock the common rules of policy ; none dread like him the growth of israel's king , and he alone sufficient aids can bring ; who knows that prince to egypt can give law , that on our stubborn tribes his yoak cou'd draw , at such profound expence he has not stood , nor dy'd for this his hands so deep in blood ; wou'd nere through wrong and right his progress take , grudge his own rest , and keep the world awake , to fix a lawless prince on iudah's throne , first to invade our rights , and then his own ; his dear-gaind conquests cheaply to despoil , and reap the harvest of his crimes and toil. we grant his wealth vast as our ocean's sand , and curse its fatal influence on our land , which our brib'd iews so num'rously pertake , that ev'n an host his pensioners wou'd make ; from these deceivers our divisions spring , our weakness , and the growth of egypt's king ; these with pretended friendship to the state , our crowd's suspition of their prince create , both pleas'd and frightend with the specious cry , to guard their sacred rights and property ; to ruin , thus , the chosen flock are sold , while wolves are tane for guardians of the fold ; seduc'd by these , we groundlesly complain , and loath the manna of a gentle reign : thus our fore-fathers crooked paths are trod , we trust our prince , no more then they their god. but all in vain our reasoning prophets preach , to those whom sad experience ne're cou'd teach , who can commence new broils in bleeding scars , and fresh remembrance of intestine wars ; when the same houshold mortal foes did yeild , and brothers stain'd with brothers blood the feild ; when sons curst steel the fathers gore did stain , and mothers mourn'd for sons by fathers slain ! when thick , as egypt's locusts on the sand , our tribes lay slaughter'd through the promis'd land , whose few survivers with worse fate remain , to drag the bondage of a tyrants reign : which scene of woes , unknowing we renew , and madly , ev'n those ills we fear , persue ; vvhile pharoah laughs at our domestick broils , and safely crowds his tents with nations spoils . yet our fierce sanedrim in restless rage , against our absent heroe still engage , and chiefly urge , ( such did their frenzy prove , ) the only suit their prince forbids to move , vvhich till obtain'd , they cease affairs of state , and real dangers wave , for groundless hate . long david's patience waits relief to bring , vvith all th' indulgence of a lawful king , expecting till the troubled vvaves wou'd cease , but found the raging billows still increase . the crowd , whose insolence forbearance swells , vvhile he forgives too far , almost rebels . at last his deep resentments silence broke , th' imperial pallace shook , while thus he spoke , then justice wake , and rigour take her time , for lo ! our mercy is become our crime . vvhile haulting punishment her stroke delays , our sov'reign right , heav'ns sacred trust , decays ; for whose support ev'n subjects interest calls , vvo ! to that kingdom where the monarch falls . that prince who yields the least of regal sway , so far his peoples freedom does betray . right lives by law , and law subsists by pow'r disarm the shepherd , wolves the flock devour . hard lot of empire o're a stubborn race , which heav'n it self in vain has try'd with grace ! when will our reasons long-charm'd eyes unclose , and israel judge between her friends and foes ? when shall we see expir'd deceivers sway , and credit what our god and monarchs say ? dissembled patriots brib'd with egypts gold , ev'n sanedrims in blind obedience hold ; those patriots falshood in their actions see , and judge by the pernicious fruit the tree ; if ought for which so loudly they declaim religion , laws , and freedom were their aim ; our senates in due methods they had led , t' avoid those mischeifs which they seem'd to dread , but first er'e yet they propt the sinking state , t' impeach and charge , as urg'd by private hate ; proves that they ne're beleiv'd the fears they prest , but barb'rously destroy'd the nations rest ! o! whither will ungovern'd senates drive , and to what bounds licentious votes arrive ? when their injustice we are prest to share , the monarch urg'd t'exclude the lawful heir ; are princes thus distinguish'd from the crowd , and this the priviledge of royal blood ? but grant we shou'd confirm the wrongs they press , his sufferings yet were , than the peoples , less ; condem'd for life the murdring sword to weild , and on their heirs entail a bloody feild : thus madly their own freedom they betray , and for th' oppression which they fear , make way ; succession fixt by heav'n the kingdoms bar , which once dissolv'd , admits the flood of war ; wast , rapine , spoil , without th● assault begin , and our mad tribes supplant the fence within . since then their good they will not understand , 't is time to take the monarchs pow'r in hand ; authority , and force to joyn with skill , and save the lunaticks against their will. the same rough means that swage the crowd , appease our senates raging with the crowds disease . henceforth unbiass'd measures let 'em draw from no false gloss , but genuine text of law ; nor urge those crimes upon religions score themselves so much , in jebusites abhor . whom laws convict ( and only they ) shall bleed , nor pharisees by pharisees be freed . impartial justice from our throne shall shou'r , all shall have right , and we our sov'reign pow'r . he said , th'attendants heard with awful joy , and glad presages their fixt thoughts employ ; from hebron now the suffering heir return'd , a realm that long with civil discor'd mournd ; till his approach , like some arriving god , compos'd , and heal'd the place of his aboad ; the deluge checkt that to iudea spread , and stopt sedition at the fountain's head. thus in forgiving david's paths he drives , and chas'd from israel , israels peace contrives . the feild confest his pow'r in arms before , and seas proclaim'd his tryumphs to the shore ; as nobly has his sway in hebron shown , how fit t' inherit godlike davids throne ? through sion's-streets his glad arrivals spread , and conscious faction shrinks her snaky head ; his train their sufferings think o'repaid , to see the crowds applause with vertue once agree . success charms all , but zeal for worth distrest a virtue proper to the brave and best ; 'mongst whom was iothran , iothran always bent to serve the crown and loyal by descent . whose constancy so firm , and conduct just , deserv'd at once two royal masters trust ; who tyre's proud arms had manfully withstood on seas , and gather'd lawrels from the flood of learning , yet no portion was deny'd , friend to the muses , and the muses pride . nor can benaiah's vvorth forgotten lie , of steddy soul when publick storms were high ; vvhose conduct , while the moor fierce onsets made , secur'd at once our honour & our trade . such were the chiefs , who most his suff'rings mourn'd , and viewd with silent joy the prince return'd ; vvhile those that sought his absence to betray , press first their nauseous false respects to pay ; him still th' officious hypocrites molest , and with malicious duty break his rest. vvhile real transports thus his friends employ , and foes are loud in their dissembled joy , his tryumphs so resounded far and near , mist not his young ambitious rival's ear ; and as when joyful hunters clam'rous train , some slumbring lion vvakes in moab's plain , vvho oft had forc'd the bold assailants yeild , and scatter'd his persuers through the feild , disdaining , furls his main , and tears the ground , his eyes enflaming all the desart round , with roar of seas directs his chasers way , provokes from far , and dares them to the fray ; such rage storm'd now in absalom's fierce breast , such indignation his fir'd eyes confest ; where now was the instructer of his pride ? slept the old pilot in so rough a tide ? whos 's wiles had from the happy shore betray'd , and thus on shelves the cred'lous youth convey'd ; in deep revolving thoughsts he weighs his state , secure of craft , nor doubts to baffle fate , at least , if his storm'd bark must go adrift , to baulk his charge , and for himself to shift , in which his dextrous wit had oft been shown , and in the wreck of kingdoms sav'd his own ; but now with more then common danger prest , of various resolutions stands possest , perceives the crowds unstable zeal decay , least their recanting chief the cause betray , who on a father's grace his hopes may ground , and for his pardon with their heads compound . him therefore , e're his fortune slip her time , the statesman plots t' engage in some bold crime past pardon , whether to attempt his bed , or threat with open arms the royal head , or other daring method , and unjust , that may secure him in the peoples trust. but failing thus t' ensnare him , nor secure how long his foil'd ambition may endure , plots next to lay him by , as past his date , and try some new pretenders luckier fate ; whose hopes with equal toil he wou'd persue , nor cares what claimer's crownd , except the true. wake absalom , approaching ruin shun , and see , o see , for whom thou art undone ! how are thy honours and thy fame betray'd , the property of desp'rate villains made ? lost pow'r and conscious fears their crimes create , and guilt in them was little less than fate ; but why shou'dst thou , from ev'ry grievance free , forsake thy vineyards for their stormy sea ? for thee did canaan's milk and honey flow , love drest thy bow'rs , & lawrels sought thy brow , preferment , wealth aud pow'r thy vassals were , and of a monarch all things but the care. oh shou'd our crimes , again , that curse draw down , and rebel-arms once more attempt the crown , sure ruin waits unhappy absalon , alike by conquest or defeat undone ; vvho cou'd relentless see such youth and charms ; expire with wretched fate in impious armes ? a prince so form'd with earth's , & heav'ns applause ; to tryumph ore crown'd heads in david's cause : or grant him victor , still his hopes must fail , vvho , conquering , wou'd not for himself prevail ; the faction whom he trusts for future sway , him and the publique wou'd alike betray ; amongst themselves devide the captive state , and found their hydra-empire in his fate ! thus having beat the clouds with painful flight , the pitty'd youth , with scepters in his sight ; ( so have their cruel politicks decreed , ) must by that crew that made him guilty , bleed ! for cou'd their pride brook any prince's sway , whom but mild david wou'd they choose t' obey ? vvho once at such a gentle reign repine , the fall of monarchy of self design ; from hate to that their reformations spring , and david not their grievance , but the king. seiz'd now with pannick fear the faction lies , least this clear truth strike absaloms charm'd eyes , least he percieve , from long enchantment free , vvhat all , beside the flatter'd youth , must see . but whate're doubts his troubled bosome swell , fair carriage still became achitophel . who now an envious festival enstalls , and to survey their strength the faction calls , which fraud , religious worship too must guild ; but oh how weakly does sedition build ? for lo ! the royal mandate issues forth , dashing at once their treason , zeal , and mirth ! so have i seen disastrous chance invade , where careful emmits had their forrage laid , whether fierce vulcan's rage , the furzy plain had seiz'd , engendred by some careless swain ; or swelling neptune lawless inroads made , and to their cell of store his flood convey'd ; the common-wealth broke up distracted go , and in wild hast their loaded mates o'rethrow : ev'n so our scatter'd guests confus'dly meet , with boil'd , bak'd , roast , all justling in the street ; dejected all , and rufully dismai'd , for sheckle without treat , or treason paid . seditions dark eclipse now fainter shows , more bright each hour the royal plannet grows , of force the clouds of envy to disperse , in kind conjunction of assisting stars . here lab'ring muse those glorious chiefs relate , that turn'd the doubtful scale of david's fate ; the rest of that illustrious band rehearse , immortalliz'd in lawrell'd asaph's verse : hard task ! yet will not i thy flight recall , view heav'n and then enjoy thy glorious fall. first write bezaliel , whose illustrious name forestals our praise , and gives his poet fame . the kenites rocky province his command , a barren limb of fertile canaans land ; which for its gen'rous natives yet cou'd be held worthy such a president as he ! bezaliel with each grace , and virtue fraught , serene his looks , serene his life and thought , on whom so largly nature heapt her store , there scarce remain'd for arts to give him more ! to aid the crown and state his greatest zeal , his second care that service to conceal ; of dues observant , firm in ev'ry trust , and to the needy always more than just. who truth from specious falshood can divide , has all the gown-mens skill without their pride ; thus crown'd with worth from heights of honour won , sees all his glories copyed in his son , whose forward fame should every muse engage : whose youth boasts skill deny'd to others age. men , manners , language , books of noblest kind already are the conquest of his mind . whose loyalty before its date was prime ; nor waited the dull course of rowling time : the monster faction early he dismaid , and david's cause long since confest his aid . brave abdael o'er the prophet's school was plac'd ; abdael with all his father's virtue grac'd ; a heroe , who , while stars look'd wondring down , without one hebrew 's bloud restor'd the crown . that praise was his ; what therefore did remain for following chiefs , but boldly to maintain that crown restor'd ; and in this rank of fame , brave abdael with the first a place must claim . proceed illustrious , happy chief , proceed , foreseize the garlands for thy brow decreed , while th' inspir'd tribe attend with noblest strain to register the glories thou shalt gain : for sure , the dew shall gilboah's hills forsake , and iordan mix his stream with sodom's lake ; or seas retir'd their secret stores disclose , and to the sun their scaly brood expose , or swell'd above the clifts , their billows raise , before the muses leave their patron 's praise . eliab our next labour does invite , and hard the task to doe eliab right : long with the royal wanderer he rov'd , and firm in all the turns of fortune prov'd ! such ancient service and desert so large , well claim'd the royal houshold for his charge . his age with onely one mild heiress blest , in all the bloom of smiling nature drest , and blest again to see his flow'r ally'd to david's stock , and made young othriel's bride ! the bright restorer of his father's youth , devoted to a son 's and subject's truth : resolv'd to bear that prize of duty home , so bravely sought ( while sought ) by absalom . ah prince ! th' illustrious planet of thy birth , and thy more powerfull virtue guard thy worth that no achitophel thy ruine boast ; israel too much in one such wreck has lost . ev'n envy must consent to helon's worth ; whose soul ( though egypt glories in his birth ) cou'd for our captive-ark its zeal retain , and pharaoh's altars in their pomp disdain : to slight his gods was small ; with nobler pride , he all th' allurements of his court defi'd . whom profit nor example cou'd betray , but israel's friend and true to david's sway. what acts of favour in his province fall ; on merit he confers , and freely all . our list of nobles next let amri grace , whose merits claim'd the abethdins high place ; who , with a loyalty that did excell , brought all th' endowments of achitophel . sincere was amri , and not onely knew , but israel's sanctions into practice drew ; our laws , that did a boundless ocean seem , were coasted all , and fathom'd all by him. no rabbin speaks like him their mystick sense , so just , and with such charms of eloquence : to whom the double blessing does belong , with mose's inspiration , aaron's tongue . than sheva , none more loyal zeal have shown , wakefull , as iudah's lion for the crown . who for that cause still combats in his age , for which his youth with danger did engage . in vain our factious priests the cant revive , in vain seditious scribes with libels strive t' enflame the crowd , while he with watchfull eye observes , and shoots their treasons as they fly . their weekly frauds his keen replies detect , he undeceives more fast than they infect . so moses when the pest on legions prey'd , advanc'd his signal and the plague was stay'd . once more , my fainting muse , thy pinnions try , and strengths exhausted store let love supply . what tribute , asaph , shall we render thee ? we 'll crown thee with a wreath from thy own tree ! thy lawrel grove no envye's flash can blast . the song of asaph shall for ever last ! with wonder late posterity shall dwell on absalom , and false achitophel : thy strains shall be our slumbring prophets dream , and when our sion , virgins sing their theam . our iubilees shall with thy verse be grac't the song of asaph shall for ever last ! how fierce his satyr loos'd , restrain'd how tame , how tender of th' offending young man's fame ! how well his worth , and brave adventures still'd , just to his vertues , to his errour mild . no page of thine that fears the strictest view , but teems with just reproof , or praise , as due ; not eden cou'd a fairer prospect yield , all paradise without one barren field : vvhose vvit the censure of his foes has past , the song of asaph shall for ever last ! what praise for such rich strains shall we allow ? what just rewards the gratefull crown bestow ? while bees in flow'rs rejoyce , and flow'rs in dew , while stars and fountains to their course are true ; while iudah's throne , and sion's rock stand fast , the song of asaph and the fame shall last . still hebrons honour'd happy soil retains our royal heroes beauteous dear remains ; who now sails off with winds nor wishes slack , to bring his suff'rings bright companion back , but e'er such transport can our sense employ a bitter grief must poyson half our joy ; nor can our coasts restor'd those blessings see without a bribe to envious destiny ! curs'd sodom's doom for ever fix the tyde where by inglorious chance the valiant dy'd . give not insulting askalon to know , nor let gath's daughters triumph in our woe ! no sailer with the news swell egypt's pride , by what inglorious fate our valiant dy'd ! weep arnon ! iordan weep thy fountains dry , while sion's rock dissolves for a supply ! calm were the elements , night's silence deep , the waves scarce murm'ring , and the winds asleep ; yet fate for ruine takes so still an hour , and treacherous sands the princely barque devour ; then death unworthy seiz'd a gen'rous race , to virtues scandal , and the stars disgrace ! oh! had th' indulgent powr's vouchsaf't to yield , instead of faithless shelves , a listed field ; a listed field of heav'ns and david's foes , fierce as the troops that did his youth oppose , each life had on his slaughter'd heap retir'd , not tamely , and unconqu'ring thus expir'd : but destiny is now their onely foe , and dying , ev'n o'er that they triumph too ; with loud last breaths their master's scape applaud , of whom kind force cou'd scarce the fates defraud ; who for such followers lost , o matchless mind ! at his own safety now almost repin'd ! say royal sir , by all your fame in arms , your praise in peace , and by vrania's charms ; if all your suff'rings past so nerely prest , or pierc't with half so painful grief your breast ? thus some diviner muse her heroe forms , not sooth'd with soft delights , but tost in storms . not stretcht on roses in the myrtle grove , nor crowns his days with mirth , his nights with love , but far remov'd in thundring camps is found , his slumbers short , his bed the herbless ground : in tasks of danger always seen the first , feeds from the hedg , and slakes with ice his thirst. long must his patience strive with fortunes rage , and long opposing gods themselves engage , must see his country flame , his friends destroy'd , before the promis'd empire be enjoy'd , such toil of fate must build a man of fame , and such , to israel's crown , the god-like david came , what suddain beams dispel the clouds so fast ! whose drenching rains laid all our vineyards waste ? the spring so far behind her course delay'd , on th' instant is in all her bloom array'd ; the winds breath low , the element serene ; yet mark what motion in the waves is seen ! thronging and busie as hyblaean swarms , or stragled souldiers summon'd to their arms. see where the princely barque in loosest pride , with all her guardian fleet , adorns the tide ! high on her deck the royal lovers stand , our crimes to pardon e're they toucht our land. vvelcome to israel and to david's breast ! here all your toils , here all your sufferings rest. this year did ziloah rule ierusalem , and boldly all sedition's syrges stem , how e're incumbred with a viler pair than ziph and shimei to assist the chair ; yet ziloah's loyal labours so prevail'd that faction at the next election fail'd , vvhen ev'n the common cry did justice sound , and merrit by the multitude was crown'd : vvith david then was israel's peace restor'd , crowds mournd their errour and obey'd their lord. finis . the prolouge [sic] to king william and queen mary at a play acted before their majesties at whitehall on friday the th of november, / written by n. tate. tate, nahum, - . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing t estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) the prolouge [sic] to king william and queen mary at a play acted before their majesties at whitehall on friday the th of november, / written by n. tate. tate, nahum, - . p. printed for f. saunders ... and published by r. baldwin ..., london : . in verse. imprint from colophon. reproduction of original in the harvard university library. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng - tcp assigned for keying and markup - spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images - tcp staff (oxford) sampled and proofread - emma (leeson) huber text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the prolouge to king william & queen mary , at a play acted before their majesties at whitehall , on friday the th of november . vvritten by n. tate . while britain's state her monarch does support , protects her liberties , adorns her court , confirms her laws ; the muses tribe would wrong the publick int'rest to detain him long . yet , with his grateful subjects they implore their hour of thanks , — even them he did restore . to them and their lov'd swains did safety bring , permits their flocks to feed , and them to sing . no lambs shall now for foreign altars bleed , the flock , the fleece , the shepherds too are freed . he scorn'd all danger , for fair britain's aid , ( to roman zeal , a ready victim laid , ) and with his peril , sav'd the helpless maid . belgia , that next devoted was to fall , did for the same advent'rous courage call , he fac'd our common fears — outbrav'd both seas and foes , to rescue all ! so hercules , when monsters did infest , commenc'd his toils to give the nations rest . such pious valour justly is ador'd , and well may different tongues , that had implor'd , his guardian-aid , consent to call him lord. fortune and chance , elsewhere may shew their powers , give kingdoms lords , but providence gives ours our kind restorer first , who , to maintain our rescu'd freedom , condescends to reign . for albion's wounds a sov'raign balm decreed , but heav'n not sent him , 'till the utmost need , to make its champion priz'd , and let him lay engagements , such as we cou'd nere repay . his fames vast only price was his before , maria's charms — empire cou'd add no more , nature in her exhausted all its store . what we conferr , on vs descends again , who wait the ripening blessings of his reign : saturnian days revolve , of former crimes if any seeds molest our halcyon times , and rouze our mars , on him lies all the care , defence and freedom nere were bought too dear . he only arms to make our dangers cease , his wars are glorious , for his end is peace . the muses once were sacred , give 'em leave , one vote for britain's welfare to conceive ; they sum their wishes up , in one short pray'r , ( ioin all true hearts ) long live the royal pair . finis . licensed , novemb. . . i. fraser , london , printed for f. saunders , at the blue anchor in the lower walk of the new exchange , and published by r. baldwin in the old baily . a pastoral elegy on the death of mr. john playford note, the notes with this mark * over them, are to be sung demiquavers. the words by mr. tate. set by mr. henry purcell. tate, nahum, - . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing t estc r this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : a) a pastoral elegy on the death of mr. john playford note, the notes with this mark * over them, are to be sung demiquavers. the words by mr. tate. set by mr. henry purcell. tate, nahum, - . purcell, henry, - . , [ ] p. : music printed for henry playford, [london : ] caption title the words "note, ... demiquavers." are gathered in brackets on the title page. imprint from colophon. reproduction of the original in the british library. with: the ariels songs in the play called the tempest. [london? : s.n., ?] created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng playford, john, - ? -- early works to . - tcp assigned for keying and markup - apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images - tcp staff (oxford) sampled and proofread - emma (leeson) huber text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a pastoral elegy on the death of mr. john playford . [ note , the notes with this mark* over them , are to be sung demiquavers . ] the words by mr. tate . set by mr. henry purcell . gentle shepherds , you that know the charms of tune╌ful breath , that harmony in grie╌f can show , lament , lament , for pi╌ous the╌ron's death ! theron , the good , the friend-ly theron's gone ! theron , theron , the good , the friend╌ly theron's gone ! ren╌ding mountains , weeping fountains , groaning dales , and ecchoing vales , if you want skill , will teach you how to moan , to moa╌n ; ren╌ding mountains , weeping fountains , groaning dales , and ecchoing vales , if you want skill , will teach you how to moan , to moa╌n ; will teach , will teach you how to moan . could innocence or pi╌e╌ty , ex╌pi╌ring life maintain ; or art pre╌vail on de╌sti╌ny , theron still , still had grac'd the plain , belov'd of pan , and dear to phebus train ; theron still had grac'd the plain , belov'd of pan , and dear to phebus train . muses , bring your ro╌ses hither , strew them gent╌ly on his hearse ; muses , bring your ro╌ses hither , strew them gent╌ly on his hearse ; and when those short liv'd glo╌ries wither , crown it with a lasting verse , crown it with a la╌sting verse ; and when those short-liv'd glories wither , crown it with a lasting verse . roses soon will fade away , verse and tomb must both de╌cay ; yet theron's name in spight of fate 's decree , an end╌less fame shall meet ; no verse so du╌ra╌ble can be , nor ro╌ses half so sweet , nor ro╌ses half so sweet . chorus . then wast no more , no more ; then wast no more in sighs your breath , nor think his fate was hard ; then wast no more , no more ; then wast no more in sighs your breath , nor think his fate was hard ; there 's no such thing as suddain death , to those that al╌ways are prepar'd : prepar'd like him by har╌mo╌ny and love , to joyn at first approach , to joyn at first approach , the sa╌cred quire above ; to joyn at first approach , to joyn at first approach the sa╌cred quire a╌bove . there 's no such thing as suddain death , to those that al╌ways are prepar'd : prepar'd like him by har╌mo╌ny and love , to joyn at first approach , at first approach , the sa╌cred quire above ; to joyn at first approach , to joyn at first approach , at first approach the sacred quire above . finis . london , printed for henry playford , . the ariels songs in the play call'd the tempest . come unto these yellow sands , and there take hands ; curtsy'd when you have and kiss'd the wild waves whist : foot it gently here and there , and sweet spirits the burthen bear : hark! hark ! bough wough , the watch dogs bark , bough wough : hark! hark ! i hear the strain of strutting chanticleer , cry cock-a-doodle-do . mr. banister . dry those eyes which are o're-flowing , all your storms are over-blowing ; while you in this isle are biding , you shall feast without providing : ev'ry dainty you can think of , ev'ry wine which you would drink of , shall be yours ; all want shall shun you , ceres blessing so light on you . mr. banister . a consolatory poem to the right honourable john, lord cutts, upon the death of his most accomplish'd lady by n. tate ... tate, nahum, - . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing t estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) a consolatory poem to the right honourable john, lord cutts, upon the death of his most accomplish'd lady by n. tate ... tate, nahum, - . [ ], p. printed by r.r. for henry playford ..., london : . first edition. reproduction of original in huntington library. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng cutts, elizabeth pickering cutts, -- baroness, or - -- poetry. - tcp assigned for keying and markup - aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images - tcp staff (michigan) sampled and proofread - john latta text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a consolatory poem to the right honourable john lord cutts , upon the death of his most accomplish'd lady . by n. tate , servant to his majesty . requies quondàm spesque unica vitae , nunc dolor , aeternusque imo sub pectore luctus . sanaz. pisc. ecl. . london : printed by r. r. for henry playford in the temple-change . mdcxc viii . a consolatory poem to the right honourable john lord cutts , &c. stretch'd in a lonesome vale ( where spring decays , and nature with affright her self surveys ) lysander grieving lay — the earth his bed ! against a mossy stone he lean'd his head ; his thoughtful head , that no repose admits : close at his feet a sighing cupid sits . wreaths , chaplets , trophies , ( once the hero's care ) with all the glitt'ring furniture of war , to rust and tarnish on the ground are left , beneath a leafless oak by thunder cleft . a pompous cloud descending from the hills like some huge pageant the broad valley fills . but now ( with drums and trumpets awful sound the vast machine unfolding all around ) behold what glorious objects are disclos'd ! celestial forms to human view expos'd . lo ! first the god of war , with dreadful grace , as when he thunders on the plains of thrace : the blue-ey'd pallas leans upon his arm , and , fiercely beautiful , makes terror charm. the dusky groves with sudden lustre shine ; hark! how the pow'rs of harmony combine — 't is bright apollo , with the tuneful nine . more heav'nly figures still adorn the plain , the graces mild and virtues awful train . britannia too — on whose majestick state peace , wreath'd in palms , and lawrell'd conquest wait . these noble visitants , by iove's command , condoling round the mourning lover stand . thus ( sternly ) mars the pensive silence breaks — ( and shakes the ground beneath him while he speaks . ) o fate ! o dismal change ! who now can trace one feature of the warrior in that face ! where 's now the sprightly air , whose radiant light through clouds of smoke distinguish'd him in fight ? or when , in desp'rate siege , o'er bodies pil'd , he brav'd destruction and on danger smil'd ? look up , my son , see how with skill divine emblazon'd on my shield , your actions shine ! your hazards , hardships , honourable wounds , with wond'rous art express'd in narrow bounds . death in all shapes , with still undaunted brow , you there confront — and shall he triumph now ? to flitting winds this killing sorrow give , and o! for glory's sake , consent to live. resume your courage , your heroick flame , and listen to the chearful voice of fame . minerva next with stately mien advanc'd , ( her crested plume in waving lustre danc'd , and lightning from her burnish'd helmet glanc'd . ) while thus the goddess — — why this wild despair ? for short-liv'd comfort why such endless care ? nature sets limits to the swelling main , and sorrow's tide , at height , should ebb again , you have the tribute of your tears bestow'd , whate'er the husband , friend , or lover ow'd . but now , unjustly to your self engross a grief that shou'd be publick as the loss . for mortals and immortals , earth and skies , are sufferers all when sacred virtue dies ! that heav'nly worth shou'd have so short a date , does just concern in deities create , who therefore mourn your nymphs untimely fate . large was their int'rest in her precious life , but i a daughter lost , as you a wife . said i a daughter ? — envy knows 't is true ! nor only that — she was my darling too ! to her my best endowments i assign'd , and crown'd her beauty with as fair a mind : that youth's allurements cou'd , in youth , despise ; and only wisdom's sacred treasure prize : and reach a sphere of knowledge , too sublime for vanity's fantastick wings to climb . her sparkling wit , that like her eyes cou'd shine , like them did modestly its beams confine . the bounds of decency she ne'er transgress'd ; yet no reluctance , no constraint express'd . to caution's self she gave a pleasing air ; reserv'd , without the sullen look of care. her temper'd mirth was like a morning-ray , all mildly bright , and innocently gay . then what her serious , what her sacred hours ? the joy and wonder of celestial pow'rs . we charge thee , fame , to her deserts be just , and piously perform the mighty trust : let future ages read what this admir'd , but never know how early she expir'd ! for such perfections in the bloom of youth , will stagger faith , and cast a veil on truth . thus pallas — next , in accents sweetly faint , the god of verse address'd his kind complaint . when mars and war's lov'd goddess sue in vain , what can apollo , and his slighted train ? yet , warrior , call to mind you once were ours : by me conducted to inspiring bow'rs ; the seats of fancy , and harmonious pow'rs . to you our helicon was all expos'd ; the fields of wit , without reserve , disclos'd . but ( more enamour'd on advent'rous fame ) for martial wreaths you did my bays disclaim ! yet ( fond her past endearments to renew ) the daphne , who from my embraces flew , to distant camps and sieges follow'd you. ah too unkind — yet still the muses care ; who hither from their blissful seats repair , your griefs to comfort , or at least to share . to share his griefs indeed , urania cries , ( nor destiny that wretched help denies . ) for what can numbers or melodious breath , when harmony it self 's untun'd by death ! when the sweet charmer of the plains is made the grave's mute pris'ner , and a silent shade ! tyrannick fates , ingloriously you boast a conquest , where you have the triumph lost ; your pride must own that with unvanquish'd mind life's dearest hopes and blessings she resign'd . her only care — no more ! — the last farewell of dying love no gentle muse may tell ! tempestuous winds that doleful tale shou'd bear far hence , where only salvages may hear , far distant from her grieving lover's ear. let musick yet her obsequies deplore ; perform that task , and then be heard no more . pleas'd with the hint , apollo strikes his lyre , while thus , in consort , sung the tuneful quire , as fancy , grief , and phoebus did inspire . ye nymphs that in the groves reside , or reap the meadows early pride , to deck laurinda's marble , bring the virgin-beauties of the spring . nereids offer there your shells , dismantle all your gawdy cells , a tribute to laurinda's shrine ; your gems alas too dimly shine ! the shrine is brighter far than they ; therefore , nereids , steal away the glances of aurora's beams , reflected on the silver streams . holy vows and chaste desires feed the lamp with lambent fires ; flames that shine and never burn , shou'd only crown laurinda's urn. tuneful sighs , harmonious groans , halcyon-songs , and turtle-moans , only from the bow'r be heard where laurinda lies interr'd . soft as ev'ning zephyrs call , soft as shedding roses fall . lo where hymen's self appears ! his nuptial taper quench'd in tears , his wither'd wreath beside him flung : see cupid too ( his bow unstrung ) engraving with a broken dart ( in characters of wondrous art ) the fair , the wise , the virtuous , and the young . while thus enshrin'd her ashes lye , her deathless spirit mounts the sky ; and has , in solemn state , presented there ariadne's crown and cassiopeia's chair . too low , your heav'n's too low , britannia cries , my saint is tow'r'd where never muse cou'd rise ; and blest with raptures , more divine and true than your apollo ever gave or knew . ye realms of bliss ( enrich'd at britain's cost ) while gainers there , think what on earth you lost ! since death's rude hand demolish'd that fair shrine , see how the virtues and the graces pine . o heav'n-born piety ! what tender breast ( like her 's ) will make thee now its early guest ; that mansion fall'n , ah ! whither wilt thou stray ? devotion , who shall teach thee now to pray ? to whom shall meekness for protection fly ? to whom shall shiv'ring charity apply ? to whom shall now her infant orphans cry ? see how around her tomb they take their stands , and wail , and sob , and wring their little hands ! yet fate this prospect still of comfort gives , their patroness's bright example lives . this thought , lysander , shou'd your griefs subdue , and make your blasted hopes to bloom anew . celestial pow'rs , when your accomplish'd fair they form'd and finish'd with so nice a care , to earth so rich a treasure never gave for fates to hoard it in a thankless grave . believe not then your beauteous saint expir'd , but only to her native heav'n retir'd . mistake not courtesy for disregard ; if life 's a toil , and death is life's reward , sure , nature's tenderness is most express'd to those whom soonest she admits to rest. i know the genius of excessive grief is to indulge despair , and shun relief ; but heroes from such frailty shou'd be free ; have pity on your self ; — at least , on me. behold how triumph drops his flagging wings ; nor peace can taste the blessings that she brings . you waste my hours in sorrow , while on you my senate calls — my royal guardian too ! in william's name our visit is addrest , his summons hear , and charm your griefs to rest. so pow'rful , so inspiring was the sound of william's name , it shook the hills around , and rais'd the mourning hero from the ground . who now the bright assembly did survey with such submissive looks as seem'd to say — in duty he his lov'd despair wou'd quit , and to the toils of ioyless life submit . finis . the life of lewis of bourbon, late prince of conde digested into annals, with many curious remarks on the transactions of europe for these last sixty years / done out of french. histoire de louis ii de bourbon, prince de condé. english coste, pierre, - . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing c estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) the life of lewis of bourbon, late prince of conde digested into annals, with many curious remarks on the transactions of europe for these last sixty years / done out of french. histoire de louis ii de bourbon, prince de condé. english coste, pierre, - . tate, nahum, - . v. : port. printed for tim. goodwin ..., london : . translation of: histoire de louis ii de bourbon, prince de condé. vol. has no t.p. written by pierre coste. cf. bm. the dedicatory epistle is signed by the translator: n. tate. the third french ed. appeared under the author's name. cf. barbier quérard. reproduction of original in british library. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng condé, louis, -- prince de, - . france -- history -- bourbons, - . - tcp assigned for keying and markup - spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images - tcp staff (michigan) sampled and proofread - john latta text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the life of lewis of bovrbon , late prince of conde . imprimatur , jan. / . edmund bohun . advertisement . memoirs of emeric count teckely , in four books : wherein are related all the most considerable transactions in hungary and the ottoman empire ; from his birth , an. , till after the battel of salankement , in the year . translated out of french. printed for tim. goodwin at the maiden-head against st. dunstan's church in fleet-street . louis de bourbon prince de conde . the life of lewis of bovrbon , late prince of conde . digested into annals . with many curious remarks on the transactions of evrope for these last sixty years . done out of french. london : printed for tim. goodwin at the maiden-head against st. dunstan's church in fleetstreet . mdcxciii . to the right honourable william earl of devonshire , lord steward of their maiesties houshold , lord lieutenant of the county of derby , knight of the most noble order of the garter , and one of their majesties most honourable privy council , &c. my lord , by encouraging the translating of useful books , the french nation have made an universal conquest upon learning . they have by this method possest themselves of the wit , wisdom , and experience of all ages and climates . 't is no scandal to take example by an enemy , in what is commendable ; and our imitating them in this practise is one way of making reprizals . i confess , that translations from french originals , are only for the advantage of common english readers ; but they being the generality , the benefit is publick : for which reason it is not below the dignity of our court and nobility to countenance such endeavours . 't was upon this account that i presum'd to offer the following translation to your lordship's protection , in order to its publick reception . you are the english varus . nec gratior ulla est quam sibi quae vari praescripsit pagina nomen . this piece may be thus recommended to our countreymen , and find that welcome entertainment which a vseful history deserves . it likewise gave me an opportunity ( as zeal is always officious ) of expressing ( in some measure ) the respect i am oblig'd to entertain for your lordship , as an eminent patron of the muses . but if i were an utter stranger to them , i have at least an englishman's right of offering my small tribute of acknowledgments among the crowd of your admirers . 't is impossible for sublimest wits to say what they ought upon this theme , and for the meanest not to say something ; since the ablest panegyrist in attempting your character can only speak the sense of nations . even foreign courts are sufficiently acquainted with your worth ; and if any are so little civiliz'd as to be strangers to your name , they may inform themselves where-ever good sense or gallantry are in any esteem . 't is both your happiness and merit to be admir'd abroad , and belov'd at home . your lordship appears so much a favourite of heaven and nature , that i can never think of you without calling to mind that horatian character of the roman tibullus ; i know not how the description squar'd with him ; but if it were then a complimen● , 't is now prov'd a prophecy . dii tibi formam dii tibi divitias dederant artemque fruendi . quid vovest dulci nutricula ●ajus alumno quam fap●re & fari possit quid sentiat ; & cui gratia , fama , valetudo , contingat abunde . your advantages of fortune and person might create envy in some , if your greater accomplishments of mind , and most obliging nature , did not irresistably command the affections of all. your noble ancestry bequeathed you those endowments that were capable of being bequeathed ; and you have furnish'd your self with such as are not to be transmitted by descent , but obtain'd by the particular vertue of the successor . courage , constancy , magnificence , justice and liberality , are deriv'd to you with your blood , and , with relation to the publick , true english principles are yours by inheritance . you are happy in examples of your ancestors , and more happy in personally maintaining the honour and reputation of so illustrious a family . you preserve with their greatness , their condescention and affability . generous actions are your delight ; and when you dispense your favours , your judgment as well as generosity is exerted . want and merit are ever the objects of your compassion . you have the art of supporting grandeur without formality ; even business it self by a peculiar felicity , sits easie upon you. you manage the hurry of affairs with that tranquility , that is scarce to be found in the cell or cloyster . your method resembles that of nature , whose greatest progresses are carry'd on with serenity : the shallowest streams are always the most noisy ; the deeper the current , the greater the silence . your retirement again is never unactive ; and he that follows you to your retreat , shall find you , tacitum sylvas inter reptare salubres curantem quid sit dignum sapiente bonoque . your lordship has shown the world that a states-man can be a friend , and a courtier an english-man ; that complaisance and gallantry can consist with sincerity and good sense . i will not pretend to enumerate all those qualifications that endear you to your countrey , being sensible how imperfectly i have touch'd what is obvious to every man's eye ; my comfort is , that the readers private sentiments will do you justice : i will only presume to join with them in hearty wishes , that your lordship may long continue in your flourishing prosperity , an ornament to the court of great britain , an assistant to their majesties , and the nation 's affairs , belov'd by your country as much as you are a lover of it . this is every true englishman's prayer , and particularly of my lord , your lordship' 's most humble and devoted servant , n. tate . the preface . the life of the prince of conde has been inquir'd after so long since , that considering my disability to answer the publick expectations , for want of all the memoirs that i stood in need of ( for it would require an age to get 'em all ) i design'd to have set forth a collection of all the printed relations of the campaigns , wherein the prince had commanded in chief , of the battels he had won , the strong holds of which he had made himself master , and of such other pieces which i had taken care to get together ; to which purpose no diligence was omitted , though some of 'em were become very scarce . and there is no question to be made , but that such a rude collection alone would have been very grateful . for people would have been glad to see such a prospect of the atchievements of so great a hero as the prince of conde ; and the greatest part of those pieces , though printed long before , would have been novelties to many people . nevertheless , considering that if those pieces were read successively according to the order of time , and shap'd into a methodical form of history , they would please much better , i determin'd to take that course . so that when you find entire the greatest part of those relations which have already appear'd , and of which some begin already to be quite out of print , you will find an abstract of the life of that great personage sufficiently guarded with the circumstances of relation , and the principal matters that compleat his history . we are to inform the reader farther , that by the assistance of particular memoirs which we receiv'd from several officers who had serv'd under the prince , and letters written by persons who had free access to chantilli , there are many circumstances here mentioned which were never printed , nor are any other where to be found . as to what remains , we must acknowledge , that we have made use of the memoirs of rochefoucault , tavanes , puysegur ; the history of marshal gassion , the theatrum gallicum , m. de leti , the history of the french monarchy ; the history of the present age ; that of the wars of holland ; that of sweden by puffendorf , labardaeus de rebus gallicis , prido , p. rapin , p. bergier , and the principal funeral orations that have been preach'd in honour of the prince's memory . the history of lewis de bovrbon , prince of conde . first book . the world has no such reason to wonder , that tho' the prince of conde has been dead for so many years , yet no body attempted any sooner to write his life . he was a prince whose life was intermix'd with so many varieties and changes of fortune , who signaliz'd himself by so many great and glorious actions , and whose retiring from business had something so heroick in it , that it must be thence concluded , that such a history , delightful in the general knowledge of it , could not choose but be acceptable , when inlarg'd into particulars . and it would be so much the more kindly entertain'd , in regard the publick is encourag'd to believe that some body will undertake it . for my part i have neither memoirs anow , nor ability sufficient to enterprise so great a work ; so that i shall not adventure to presume so far . the design which i propose to my self , is only to collect together such relations , as have been made from time to time , of the most remarkable actions of this prince , and to tack these pieces in such a manner , one to another , as to make an epitome of his life , from his birth to the time of his decease : to the end , the reader may have a view of the battels which he won , or wherein he signaliz'd his courage ; the sieges of the towns which he took , and of the consequence of those great victories , to which indeed the monarchy of france is beholding for her grandeur . lewis of bourbon , the ii. of that name , that is to say , the hero of whom i am now to speak , was born at paris , the th . of september , in the year , . lewis the xiii . his god-father , gave him his own name , and while his father liv'd , he bore the title of duke of enguiens . this young prince was grand-son to lewis the i. that famous prince of conde , who after the death of henry ii. put himself at the head of the male-contents , in the civil-wars about religion , for those reasons which are known to all the world ; and son of henry of bourbon , and margaret of monmorenci . after the death of lewis i. prince of conde , who was slain after a most execrable manner , by a captain of the duke of anjou's guards , hen. iv. who to preserve his crown , found himself constrain'd to renounce his religion , was desirous that the young henry should be bred up in the same principles which he had embrac'd himself , and had begun both to practise and profess . to which purpose , he was put into the hands of those who were made choice of for his education . and such extraordinary care was tak'n to infuse into this young prince an early good opinion and affection for the catholick religion , that never was any prince more zealous then he for the roman worship . insomuch , that it may be said of him , that he was born for the re-establishment of the catholick religion , which the prince , his father , would have rooted out of france ; that he only liv'd to defend it ; and that he was the ornament and glory of it . it may be readily conjectur'd by this portraicture , that prince henry of bourbon was no less desirous that his son , the duke of enguien , should be brought up betimes in the knowledge of a religion of which himself was in some measure the support and column . and he had a passion so extraordinary for it , that so soon as he arriv'd to be years of age , his father sent him to bourges , to the colledge of jesuits , where he was committed to the tuition of two persons of that order , the most able and learned that could be found . thus the young prince continu'd three years in that house , going regularly every day to his form or classis , as well as the rest of the inferiour schollers . and in regard he had a quick and piercing wit , a retentive memory , and a great number of natural endowments , his tutors understood so well to cultivate his genius , that at twelve years of age he was able to discourse of religion after a very rational manner , and at thirteen years of age , he had improv'd himself so perfectly in his course of phylosophy , that he maintain'd several thesis's and arguments in publick , with that subtlety and solidity that he became the wonder of all that heard him . certain it is , that this great prince was a proper receptacle for all manner of sciences and learning , but his predominant passion led him to a martial life . for that reason he was desirous to understand the art of war , so soon as he found himself in a condition to undergo the fatigues and hardships that attend it . and he no sooner set forward in that illustrious career , but he made surprizing progresses . his most early years were remarkable and signaliz'd with all the happy presages that usually accompany the infancy of extraordinary men ; and the accomplishment of 'em was so quick , that people had hardly time to distinguish the effects from the hopes . the marshalls de chaunes , de chatill●n , & de la meilleraye , besieg'd the city of arras , in the year , . and having repuls'd the cardinal infanta , who attempted to raise the siege ; they carri'd the place two months after . the duke of enguien perform'd his first campaign , under these generals , as a volunteer : and he signaliz'd himself , in this siege , for his bravery , all along , from the very first day that the trenches were open'd ; nor was it a little that he contributed to repair the ignominy of that ill success which had some days before befall'n the french army at the sieges of charlemont and mariembourg , which they were constrain'd to raise . he was marrid the year following , and espoused clara clementia de maille-breze , who was wealthy to abundance ; for she was the daughter of marshal de breze , who being cardinal richlie●'s brother-in-law , had been advanc'd to places of great dignity and importance . 't is said , that the duke of enguien , who aspir'd to a higher alliance , shewed at first a reluctancy to match himself into the family of that minister , and that he stood upon his punctilioes , like a person of great honour and gallantry . but in regard that cardinal richlieu , to speak properly was then king ; some there are who say , that lewis xiii . gave him to understand , that 't was his pleasure to have the match concluded , unless he had a mind to incur his anger ; and that the cardinal , whose will was a law , had layd a contrivance to have him arrested under some specious pretence , if he should hesitate never so little upon the proposal which was made him ; nay , if he did not make the first steps of courtship to the lady . however it were , the duke of enguien went to visit the cardinal , who at that time was at ruel : so that the match was concluded at that visit ; and the th . of february the nuptial ceremonies were perform'd with royal magnificen●e . war , as i have already said , being the prevailing passion that sway'd the duke of enguien , no sooner the french took the field , in the year , . but he accompani'd marshal de meil●eray into elanders , and was at the siege of aire , which was a most remarkable siege , and where he signaliz'd himself with no less gallentry then in the trenches of arras . aire surrender'd upon composition ; but the spanish garrison was hardly march'd out of the town , before the spaniards made themselves masters of lil●ers , and immediately after , were resolv'd to fall upon the french in their lines , or to starve 'em in their entrenchments , if they refus'd to fight . general lamboy's army , which the spaniards had brought into alsatia , puft up with the victory which they had won at la marfee , near sedan , march'd just before the van-guard , in the very face of the french army . of which , so soon as marshal gassion had intelligence , he salli'd out of the camp , with a part of his regiment , to observe the march of the enemy , and to charge 'em in the rear , if they pass'd forward . but he was so surpriz'd to see so numerous an army making towards him , that he retreated about a mile , and made a stand , upon a rising ground , at the corner of a little copse , where he stood secure . but that which stopt the marshal de gassion , could not stop the duke of enguien , who being mounted a horseback , in company with marshal de la meilleray , and about three or fourscore lords , and some volunteers , to view the enemy , advanc'd so far , that all of a suddain they found themselves environ'd with two great squadrons of horse , from which they had much ado to free themselves ; but at length they did get rid of 'em , in such a manner as redounded highly to their honour : for after a short , but very hot conflict for the time , they regain'd their lin●s , without much loss ; and particular commendations were bestow'd upon the young duke , for the bravery and undaunted courage which he had shew'd upon that occasion . in the year . lewis xiii . being desirous to make himself master of perpignan , he order'd the marshalls de schomb●rg and meilleray to besiege it ; and that great monarch was present , in person , at the siege , for some time . nor could the d. of enguien , who follow'd the king , fail of employment in an enterprize of that nature . he commanded the gentry and nobility of languedoc , and behav'd himself with so much honour , that the town being constrain'd to yield , a●ter a resistance of four months , believ'd she could not make a more glorious surrender then by delivering the keys of her gates to the young prince . how many lives would those marks of valour have suffis'd to honour , which the duke of enguien gave in his first three campaignes ! he shew'd an ability to command so extraordinary , mo●e especially at the siege of the last place , that lewis xiii . who in part had been a witness of his great actions , thought he could not do france a greater piece of service , then to put him at the head of his armies . after the taking of perpignan , which was attended with the surrender of salces , and the total reduction of the whole country of roussillon . cardinal richlieu dy'd upon the th . of december , . all people imagin'd , that upon the death of that minister , the face of affairs would have strangely alter'd ; and that lewis the xiii . who had been as it were a slave for twenty years together , would take that opportunity to break his chains . but through a strange fatality , not easie to be parallel'd , that prince who had boasted , upon the news of the c●rdinals death , that now he should begin to be a king , had not however the courage to shake off so base and ignominious a yoke ; and notwithstanding the aversion he had for the memory of that cardinal , he saw himself constrain'd , through his own cowardliness , not only to dissemble one part of his sentiments , but to authorize the disposal , which that minister had made by his last will , of the principal employments , and most important preferments in the kingdom . in a word , the kindred and favourites of cardinal richlieu enjoy'd all the advantages which he had procur'd 'em , altogether as peaceably after his death , as they did in his life-time . and cardinal mazarin , who was the only person of all his creatures , in whom he most confided , and who was most deeply engag'd in his interests , was made choice of to succeed him in the government of affairs . bu● according to all probability , there was some prospect of a suddain change. for lewis xiii . had so long labour'd under a decaying and languishing distemper , that there was no hope of any cure , and then all people believ'd that so soon as the queen , or the duke of orleance cam● to the regency , that richlieu's party would be utterly discarded ; but they fla●ter'd themselves in vain . for cardinal mazarin , who fore-saw every thing that could happen , and who moreover had very powerful reasons to side with the queen , and preserve his authority by that means , made use of all his power over the king , to infinuate into his mind , that it behov'd him of necessity to declare that princess regent . the king was no way dispo'd to follow the cardinals advice . for besides the little kindness which he had for the queen , he was so ill satisfi'd with her conduct , in regard of the tyes which he believ'd she had with the spaniard , by the mediation of the dutchess of chevreuse , who was fled for sanctuary to brussels ; and he was otherwise so preposess'd , that out of the design which the dutchess had to marry the duke of orleans , she had had a hand in the conspiracy of chalaes , grand master of his wardrobe , who would have assassinated him , that tho' he gave great credit to the cardinals advice , yet he would not give him any positive answer touching that matter . and indeed the king was at a great loss which way to turn himself . there was no body could pretend to the regency , if the queen were excluded , or oblig'd to have a partner ; and both the queen , and the duke of orleans , were equally hateful to him . but cardinal mazarin would not be so put off . for in regard he sooth'd the queen with every thing that could flatter her hopes , he lost no time either in solliciting the king , or causing him to be importun'd in favour of that princess . and the better to bring about his design , and that at the same time he might have the greatest part himself in the management of affairs , he took a resolution to propound conditions , so little to the queens advantage , that lewis xiii . who saw himself just dropping into his grave , thankt him for having disingag'd him out of that irresolution , wherein he had hesitated so long . for in short , altho' he consented , at last , that the queen should be declar'd regent ; yet the power which he gave her was extreamly limited , that princess not being able to undertake any thing of her self , without first imparting the business to the counsel , of which the cardinal was to be the chief , and where things were to be carrid by plurality of voices . but how disadvantageous soever these conditions were to the queen , the king however thought he had done enough , and the queen , and the cardinal , who had their prospects , and their ends , were highly satisfid that things were brought to that point . nevertheless , in regard the business was not concluded , and for that the kings mind might alter , the cardinal left nothing omitted to keep the king steady in the resolution he had taken , while the queen , on her side , labour'd to win to her party all the considerable persons in the court ; of which number was the duke of enguien : and it was a long time before she thought of him . but the duke de la roche foucaut , who had always an antipathy against cardinal richlieu , and sought all opportunities to be serviceable to the queen , having one day put it into her head , that it would be of great advantage to her to gain this young prince , she took it for good advice . and the duke of enguien , who was glad of an opportunity to oppose the authority of the duke of orleans , who aspir'd to the regency , willingly accepted the queens offer . the queen promis'd to prefer him before the duke of orleans , not only by the mark of her esteem and confidence , but also in all employments from whence it lay in her power to exclude the duke of orleans , by such ways as they two should agree upon together , and which migh● not provoke that prince to a rupture with her● on the other side , the duke of enguien promis'd to be inseparably devoted to the queens interest , and to be beholding to her alone for all the favours which he desir'd at court. and now the queen thought her self strong enough , when she saw her self assur'd of the support of this young prince ; and therefore relying on the other side upon the cardinal , she waited for the kings death with a great deal of confidence . about that time the duke of enguien departed to command the army in flanders , and lay the foundations of those great things which he performed with so much honour . lewis the xiii . also dy'd within a short time after , that is to say , the th . of may , in . the very same day that he began his reign . after the death of this monarch , there happen'd one thing which perhaps never happen'd before in france , where there is a greater regard had to the kings pleasure , then in any other monarchy , that the parliament of paris , which according to the institution of it , is the trustee and guardian of all the fundamental laws of the kingdom , and which derives its jurisdiction only from the king , cancell'd the declaration of lewis xiii . by which , as has been already said , he order'd a councel for the regency , to the end , the queen , whom he thought incapable to manage the government , might be under a kind of tutelage . for the queen , four days after the king's death , went to the parliament , and there did what she pleas'd her self , in a manner so advantageous to her self , that ●here could nothing more be done ; the whole as●embly testifying that they desir'd nothing with so ●uch fervency , as that her authority should be ●bsolute . in short , the queen was confirm'd re●ent by a declaration of parliament , bearing date ●he th . of may. this digression was absolutely necessary , as you ●ill find by what ensues . now therefore to return ●o the duke of enguien , while these things were ●hus transacted in france , and that they were pre●aring to carry the king's body to st. denis , the ●paniards besieg'd rocroy , and so vigorously press'd ●he city , that it was greatly to be fear'd it would ●all into the enemies hands , unless it were speedily ●uccour'd . but the duke of enguien , who was al●eady set forward to command the army in flan●ers , resolv'd to relieve the place , and no less ●riskly to attack the enemy , who seem'd as willing ●o come to a battel ; and he perform'd what he ●ndertook , as he had laid his design . this prince was then not above two and twenty years of age , and one of his panegyrists has said , and that not without doing him justice , that he had form'd ● design which was above the reach of the old experienc'd hoary-headed captains ; but which victory however justifi'd . the enemies army ●as much more numerous then that which he com●anded . it was compos'd of those old bands of walloons , italians and spaniards , which never had ●een broken before ; but all that could not make ●he young duke desist from his enterprize . don ●rancisco de melos stay'd his coming , with a firm resolution to engage him . he was a captain formidable for his consummate experience , and for ● great many victories which he had won , and be●ides all that , he lay entrench'd among woods and ●oggs . all the forces of the kingdom , were ●ow to be ventur'd in one single combat . upon that day depended the good or bad fortune of the regency . for in short , had the duke lost that battel , it would have been impossible for france to have stopp'd a torrent , which would certainly have delug'dall champaigne , picardy , and the neighbourhood of paris . the consideration of so many dangers would have terrify'd any other person but the duke of enguien . however , never did any general appear more sedate , or more undaunted . he lay the night preceding that famous battel , as if he had not thought of any such thing as fighting , and slept so soundly , that they were forc'd to wake him the next morning . this prince , who by that battel open'd the way for so many others ; upon that occasion acted not only like a man of his birth , but like a common officer . he was in all places where danger appear'd . he receiv'd several shot in his cloaths , and in his boots ; he had a horse wounded under him , with two musket bullets ; and he underwent all the hazards and fatigues of combat , with so much gaiety , and a look so chearfully unconcern'd , that he was the equal wonder as well of the spaniards as the french. toward the end of lewis the xiii . reign , the spanish army was master of the field . don francisco de melos , governour of the low countries , had re-taken air , and la bassee , and won the battle of hannecourt . the designs which were laid were vast ; nor was his ambition satisfid with re-taking only those places which spain had lost . he foresaw that the king's death would occasion great troubles in france , and the physitians had all adjudg'd his distemper incurable ; and every body was studying to make their best advantages of the ensuing minority . the french also , who were wont to loose by their dissentions all the advantages which they us'd to get in their foreign wars , were about to have furnish'd melos with a favourable opportunity to extend his conquests . upon these considerations he alters his design of besieging arras , the preparations for which had taken him up all the winter , and he resolvd to attacque rocroy ; as being a serviceable post that gave him an entrance into champaigne , and therefore fit to make a place of arms , that lay convenient for all his enterprizes . in a very short time after , lewis the xiii . dyed , and his death divided all the court , as melos well foresaw . the cabals that were secretly held to get the regency , threatned france with a general revolution . all the states of the kingdom were unwilling to fall again under a ministry like that of cardinal richlie● . the great lords and peers could not be easily induc'd to buckle before a minister , who possess'd a station , of which every one thought themselves more worthy then himself . the magistrates were unwilling to depend upon any person , but the king , in the exercise of their duties , and could not brook the receiving laws from a private subject . and as for the people , they never fail to charge upon the counsels of the chief minister , all the taxes and impositions which have been layd upon 'em ; and generally all men are inclin'd to envy the fortune . and hate the person of a favourite . thus the remembrance of what was past became odious , and the future was to be fear'd ; the present was full of trouble , and therefore great care was to be taken of the kingdom under so great a change. all people wish'd for a government more gentle and free , but no body agreed upon the means to bring it to pass . nevertheless , the king , before his death , had nominated and appointed the persons that were to compose the council of the regency . he had also , at the same time , given the command of his armies to the duke of enguien ; but to curb and moderate the early flames and heats of youth , frequently transported with desire of glory , he gave him the marshal de l' hospital for his lieutenant general and counsellour . but notwithstanding this same settlement of affairs , and all the intreagues at court , the queen was declar'd sole regent with absolute power . there was some likelyhood at first , that she would have call'd the bishop of beauv●is to the ministry ; and she had also some thoughts of procuring a cardinals cap for him upon the first promotion . but that prelat , instead of managing himself prudently and cautiously in the dawn of favour , went about to ruine all those that richlieu had advanc'd , and by that means drew upon himself a great number of enemies . now while he was unseasonably endeavouring to overturn all which that minister had done , mazarin took his advantage of the whole , and made his leagues with the persons that were in most credit with the queen . they whom the bishop sought to pull down had recourse to the cardinal's protection . the q. therefore fearing least he should create her a great deal of trouble , took distaste at his services ; finding the cardinal , at length , much more fit to supply the place of chief minister . and they in whom ●he most con●ided , perswaded her to make this choice so that she resolv'd to send the bishop back to his diocess , and openly to declare her inclinations to the cardinal . at first she met with great obstacles ; the very name of cardinal dreaded the minds of men , recall'd past mischiefs to their memory , and caus'd 'em to fear worse for the future . thus the queens creatures were divided , every one took his side , and affairs were worse embroyl'd then before . ne●ertheless , the cardinals policy , and good fortune , ●he services which he had done france , the queens ●esolution● and the respect which all people had ●or her appeas'd the male-contents . nor did the ●lot layd against him by the dutchess of cheuruse , ●nd the duke of beaufort serve to any other pur●ose then to settle and confirm his authority . and thus melos was deceiv'd in his prognosticks , as ●re all foreigners that ground great hopes upon the divisions of the french. for tho' their natural levity sometimes excites 'em to revolt ; yet the in●ate respect and affection which they have for ●heir king , reduces them always to their obedience . in short , the grandees , the parliament , and the people , submitted to the queens choice , and all authority bow'd under the ministry of cardinal mazarin , tho' he were a foreigner , and that his enemies publish'd him to be originally a subject of spain , which was a nation that had no kindness for the french ; and tho' but a little before he appear'd under an eclipse far distant from so splendid an elevation . the duke had carry'd himself imprudently in the management of the enterprize against the cardinal , and the dutchess believing her self more crafty , and more in the queens favour , scorn'd his submissions . so that at the same time that the duke and she were consulting to destroy him , the duke was arrested , the dutchess disgrac'd , the rest of the cabal dispierc'd themselves , and france en●oy'd a more pleasing calm then ever . while the court was busi'd in these intreagues , the duke of enguien was preparing for the next campaign . amiens was the place appointed for the rendezvouse of the army , where the prince ●rriv'd toward the end of april , . and there ●et gassion with part of the forces : espenan drew others together about l●on . marshal de grammen● had put himself into arras at the beginning of the winter , and had a considerable body in that place . the duke of enguien stay'd three weeks in amiens in expectation of the forces that were to meet there , and to penetrate the designs of the spaniards : he had also sent gassion to dourlens , with orders to observe 'em more narrowly . at length he understood that melos had drawn all his forces together about dovay , and that he was upon his march toward landrecies , with a great train of artillery . the duke of enguien muster'd as many men as possibly he could draw together near amiens , and sent orders to those that were more remote to join him in his march. the second day he lodg'd his army near peronne , whither la ferte seneterre brought him some reinforcements of infantry , and the troops that had winter'd in arras , join'd him at the same place . and now the prince began to be impatient of coming to a battel , choosing rather to hazard all , then to bear the ignominy of seeing a town lost at the beginning of his command . but in regard the marshal de l' hospital was altogether averse to this design , the duke of enguien thought it requisite to bring that about by policy , which he was unwilling to over-rule by his absolute authority . for this reason he discover'd himself to no body but gassion only ; who being a man that made slight of the most dangerous attempts ; he had soon brought the business to the point which the duke desir'd . for under pretence of putting men into the place , he had insensibly drill'd on the marshal de l' hespital so near the enemy , that it was not in his power to avoid a battel . the army march'd forward to guise , which was a place the most exposd of the frontiers , and which might have been with ease reliev'd by the spaniards . but the french vanguard was hardly lodg'd in fansome , when the duke of enguien was inform'd that the spaniards were past by landrecies , and capelle , and that they made long marches toward the meuse . this made the prince believe they had some design upon the garisons in champaign ; and he had reason to fear that he should not be able to overtake melos , till the intrenchments of his camp were finish'd , and perhaps not till he had taken some one of those places , which he knew to be ill furnish'd with men and amunition . this foresight caus'd him to send gassion before , with a body of two thousand horse , to observe the designs of the spaniards ; and to put the dragoons and fuzeliers in such places as had most need . all this while the duke of enguien contriv'd his march with all speed , and the troops which es●enan command'd , met him at ieigny : and there it was that he receivd certain intelligence that mel●s had invested r●c●oy , and that he had began the same night to open his trenches . upon which the prince laid all thoughts aside , but those of speedily succouring that place , when the news was brought him that lewis the xiii . was dead . perhaps upon the same occasion , any other then the duke of enguien would have laid aside his design of relieving rocroy . his high quality , his affairs , the interest of his family , the advice of his friends recall'd him to the court. nevertheless , he preferr'd the general good before his private advantages ; nor would his eager persuit of honour permit him to take a moments consideration . thereupon he conceal'd the news of the kings death , and march'd the next morning toward rocroy ; making marshal de l' h●spital believe that his march so near that place , was only to supply it with a reinforcement of men and ammunition , through the woods that environ it . gassion rejoyn'd him in his march at r●migni , and gave him full information of all the spaniards proceedings ; describ'd all their posts , and shew'd him which way to come at ' em . for gassion had march'd with that speed , that being arriv'd at the entrance into the wood of rocroy , in a very short time after they had posted themselves before the place , he had put in a hundred and fifty men into it , and had observ'd by the s●ituation of the places , that the whole success of the enterprize consisted in passing the lanes , and presenting the army in battel array between the wood and the town . rocroy is seated in the midst of a plain environ'd with woods so thick , and full of boggs , that which way soever you go to it , 't is impossible to avoid very long and incommodious lanes , and narrow passes . 't is true , that on that side next champagne , there is not above a quarter of a league of wood , and the lane it self , which is very narrow of it self , grows broader and broader afterwards ; and the plain is discover'd by degrees . but in regard the country is full of heathy ground , and very boggy , there is no marching but in small companies , till you come near rocroy it self , where the ground insensibly rising is much more dry then in the wood ; and affords a spacious field sufficient for the drawing up two great armies . melos , being arriv'd the th of may before the place , had divided his army into six quarters , made his entrenchments , and plac'd the principal of his forces on that side next the lanes and narrow passes , contenting himself to secure the rest by the general disposal of his men ; to the end he might spare that time which is usually employ'd in raising a circumvallation . besides these precautions , which he had observ'd in the enemies posts , he found that they had placd a great body of a guard upon the road to champagne : and his sentinels , and his scouts were so well laid , that nothing could enter into the plain but they must have knowledge of it . his army was compos`d of eight thousand horse , under the leading of the duke of albuquerque , and eighteen thousand foot , commanded by the count of fontaine , among which were the select spanish infantry . the duke of enguien , being inform'd of all these things , call'd together all the officers of his army at rumigni , and after he had lay'd before 'em all that gassion had inform'd him , he declar'd that 't was his resolution to do all that could be done for the relief of rocroy , to which purpose he would pass the narrow lanes with all the speed he could . that if the spaniards undertook to defend 'em , they must be oblig'd to leave their quarters ungarded , and consequently there would be a way left open for the relief , which he intended to put into the town ; or if they suffer'd him to pass the lanes without fighting , it would prove otherwise to their advantage , so that the army having room and space enough in the plain , the spaniards might be induc'd to come to a battle ; or at least that the french might be able to take posts , and fortifie themselves , till they could amply provide for the relief of the besieged . at last , the prince told 'em , that the king was dead , and that at such a conjuncture of trouble and confusion , it behov'd 'em to hazard all , rather then loose the reputation of the armes of france . that for his part , there was not any thing which he would not venture , to prevent the taking of rocroy . thereupon they all concluded upon giving battle , and the marshal de ● ' hospital made a shew of giving his consent . for he imagin'd it may be , that the spaniards would dispute the narrow pass , and so the enterprise would end in a bickering within the wood ; that in the mean time relief might be put into the town ; and that the army not being engagd beyond the pass , it would be easie to make a retreat , without coming to a general battle . upon this a resolution was taken to march directly toward rocroy : and the duke of enguien advanc'd the same day as far as bossu , and dispos'd the order of his battle , to the end that every one might prepare himself for an action , the success of which was of such importance to his glory and the safety of france . his army was compos'd of fifteen thousand foot , and seven thousand horse , and they were to fight upon two lines , supported by a body of a reserve ; the command of which was given to sicot . the marshal de l' hospital took care of the le●t wing , and la ferte seneterre serv●d under him as camp-marshal . espenan commanded all the infantry ; gassion was under the d. of enguien , in the right wing ; and because they were to fight in difficult places , there was a devision of fifty musqueteers put between every interval of the squadrons . the carbines , the dukes guards , and those of the marshal de l' hospital , together with the remainder of the dragoons and fuzeliers were plac'd on the right and left side of the wings . these orders being given , the duke sent away the baggage to aubenton , and whatever else was useless in a day design'd to fight , and march'd in battle array , to the entrance of the wood. mel●● prest rocroy so vigorously , that had it not been for the s●cour which gassion had put into it , the french would hardly have had time to raise the seige . the garrison was so weak and ill provided , that the spaniards made no attempt but what succeeded . and indeed they had been rightly inform'd of the bad condition of the place , which made 'em believe that the town could never hold out till the arrival of any succour , in regard the duke of enguien was at such a distance from them . but the french army was reinforcd by degrees with little bodies of men which joynd them in their march , which was the reason that the spaniards could not discover their strength : besides that intelligence was hard to come by , in regard the country was all french. so that m●los never knew the true number of the duke of enguien's army , till the very day that they enterd the pass . the last intelligence that he had of it was , that they were not above twelve thousand men ; but he understood when it was too late that they were three and twenty thousand fighting souldiers , and that they were also marching into the wood. melos was constrain●d to a quick deliberation , whether he should defend the pass , or whether he should stay in the plain till they came to attack him . 't is true there was nothing more easie for him to have done , then to have disputed the passage of the french army , by planting his infantry in the wood , and supporting them with a good body of horse . it was also in his power , by a good management of the advantages which he had of the woods and boggs , to have found work enough for the french army with one part of his men , and to have pusht forward the reducing of the town with the other , which could not have held out above two days longer . this seem'd to be the most certain course , and every body thought that melos would have taken it . but his ambition was not be to limited by the taking of rocroy . he imagin'd that the winning of a battle would open him a way into the very bowels of france ; and the victory which he had won at honnecourt , put him in hopes of the same good success before rocroy . besides that in hazarding a fight , he thought he could venture no more then the least part of his army , and some frontier towns. whereas by the defeat of enguien , he propos'd to himself infinite advantages , in the beginning of a regency not well settl'd . upon these considerations melos , who according to the spanish genius , let go the present , out of an extraordinary greediness after the future , resolv'd upon a general battle . and to the end he might the more easily induce the d. of enguien to it , he stay'd for him in the plain , and made not the least effort to dispute the passage of the narrow lanes . not but that melos might have been constrain'd to have done that by force , which he did of his own accord ; in regard that while he stood consulting , the time was almost over for debate . for the formost troops of the dukes already appear'd , and the french army had already past the lanes , before melos could draw all his quarters together . nevertheless , had he done in time what he ought to have done to oppose his passage , the duke of enguien would have been hard put to it to have ●orc'd him ; in regard there is nothing so difficult as to get clear of long incumbrances of woods and marshes in the sight of a potent army drawn up in a plain . however it were , we find that melos had prepar'd himself for a general battle , since he took all the care he could to get his forces together ; and had sent for beck , who was gone ●oward the palatinate , to joyn him with all speed . the duke march'd in battalia , drawn up in two columns , from bossis to the entrance of the pass ; while gassion rod before with a party of horse to observe the enemy ; and finding the pass defended with no more then an ou● gaurd of fifty horse , he repuls'd 'em , and brought the duke word how easily he had made himself master of the pass . in this place it was that the duke thought it convenient to speak his mind more plainly to the marshal de l' hospital , because the marshal saw , that if they advancd forward into the plain , it would be impossible to avoid a battle . gassion also usd all his rhetorick to engage him to it , but still the marsh●l oppos'd him . but the duke put an end to the dispute , and told him in a commanding tone , that he would take the event upon himself . upon that the marsh●l no longer contested , but put himself at the head of the saquadrons which he was to command . he then causd the right wing to advance through the narrow passes , lodging the infantry in the most difficult places , to secure the passage of the rest of the army . at the same time also he advancd with a party of horse to a small rising ground , within half canon shot of the spaniards . so that if melos had then chargd the duke he had certainly defeated him . but immediately the duke so well cover'd that rising ground , with the squadrons which he had about him , that the spaniards could not discover what was done behind . melos could not imagine that so great a body of horse , would have advanc'd so far without being seconded by infantry ; however ; all he did was only to try by slight skirmishes , whether he could open a way to see behind the rear of the squadrons : but not being able to break through , he began to think of nothing else but puting his men into battalia . thus both generals concurr'd in one and the same design● the prince made it his whole business to pass the woods , and m●los labour'd only to unite his seperated quarters together . the place which the duke made choice of for the field of battel was wide enough to range his whole army in the same order as he had contriv'd before . the ground was there somewhat more raisd then in the parts adjoyning , and extended it self insensibly into all the rest of the plain . there was a great bogg upon the lefthand , and the wood not being very thick in that part was no hindrance to the squadrons from drawing into order . just opposite to that eminency which the duke possessd , there was another rising ground almost resembling it , where the spaniards planted themselves , and made the same front as the french , and between the two battels a hollowness ran along in the nature of a valley . by the situation of this place 't is easie to judge , that neither of the two parties could attack each other without ascending . nevertheless , the spaniards had this advantage , that upon the declension of their rising ground and before their left wing , there grew a cops of underwood , which descended a good way into the valley , where it was an easie thing for them to plant musketeers to gall the duke as he marchd toward ' em . the two generals labour'd with extraordinary diligence to marshal their troops as they came severally up , and instead of skirmishing , as is usual when two armies meet , they spent their whole time in ordering their men. all this while , the spanish canon annoy'd the fr●nch much more then the french canon did the spaniards , because they had a greater number , more advantageously planted , and better ply'd . th●refore still as the duke extended the wings of his army , the enemy play'd furiously with their canon , that had it not been for their extraordinary resolution , the french could never have kept the ground which they posess'd . there were above three hundred men that day slain and woundded by the canon shot , among whom the marqui●s of persan , camp-master of a regiment of infantry , receiv'd a shot in his thigh . about six a clock in the evening , the french army had pass'd the defile , and the body of the reserve being got clear of the wood , advanc'd to the ground which was assign'd it . the duke also , unwilling to give the spaniards any longer time to secure their posts , prepar'd to begin the fight ; and the order of march was given throughout the whole army , when an unlucky accident not to be foreseen had like to have put all into an extream confusion , and given the victory to melos . la ferte seneterre alone commanded the left wing in the absence of the marshal de l' hospital , who was with the duke . that wing of the army was defended by a bogg on the one side , so that the spaniards could not attack it ; and therefore la ferte had nothing to do but to keep ●irm in his post , and expect the signal of battel . the duke had never quitted the right wing , where while the o●ficers were ranging the squadrons in their proper places , he made it his chief business to observe the countenance of the enemy , and in what places it would be most to his advantage to charge ' em . but then it was that la ferte , perhaps by some secret order of the marshal , or else out of emulation and envy to gassion , to signalize himself by some extraordinary exploit , would needs be trying to put a considerable reinforcement into the town . and to that purpose order'd all the cavalry to pass the marsh , together with five battalions of foot ; by the sending away of which detachment the left wing became naked of horse and much weaknd by the want of a great body o● foot. but so soon as the duke had intelligence of it● he order'd both horse and foot to make a halt , and flew to the place where the confusion call'd him . at the same time also , the spanish army mov'd forward , their trumpets sounding a charge , as if melos had design'd to take his advantage of the disorder . but the prince having supply'd the void space of the first line . with some troops of the second , the spaniards stopt ; which shew'd that they had no other intent then to gain ground to range their second line . there are certain critical minuits in war , that flie away with the winged swiftness of lightning , if a general has not a piercing eye to watch 'em , and a presence of mind to seize upon the opportunity . fortune never sends 'em again ; nay , many times she turns with indignation against those that were so blind as not to lay hold of her favours . the duke of enguien therefore sent to command la ferte back again , so that the detachment re-pass'd the bogg , with all speed , and before night , the whole army was re-settl'd in their appointed posts . thus , this accident did but only delay the battel , and wrought no other inconvenience , only that it gave the spaniards time to spread themselves more at large , and put themselves into somewhat better order then they were before . the night was very dark , but the forest being near , the souldiers kindl'd such a vast number of fires , as enlightn'd all the plain , and both armies were surrounded with an enclosure of wood , as if they had been to ●ight in a box. their corps du guards were so near each other , that there was no distinguishing the french fires from the spanish , and both camps seem'd to be but one . so soon as it was day , the duke gave the signal to march ; and the duke himself , at the head of his cavalry , charg'd a thousand musqueteers , which the count of fontaines had lodg'd in the wood ; and tho' they fought in a place , as it were intrench'd by nature , and advantageous for foot , the attack was so vigorous , that they were all cut to pieces upon the place . however , for fear the squadrons should be disorder'd , and broken , by crossing the rest of the wood , where that infantry was defeated , the duke , with the second line of the cavalry , turn'd to the left , and commanded gassion to lead the first line about the wood upon the right . thereupon , gassion extended his squadrons , marching under the covert of the wood , and charg'd the enemies cavalry in flank , while the duke attack'd 'em in front. all this while , the duke of albuquerque , who commanded the left wing of the spaniards , knew nothing as yet of the first action , nor had he foreseen that he might be attack'd in two places at once . for he rely'd upon the musqueteers that were lodg'd in the wood , and cover'd his first line ; to that finding himself in some disorder upon this attack , he thought it proper to oppose some squadrons against gassion , by whom he was ready to be surrounded . but there is nothing so dangerous for a general , as to make great motions before a potent enemy just ready to assail him . for those squadrons , already tottering , were broken at the first charge , and all albuquerques's troops overturn'd one another . the duke seeing 'em flie , commanded gassion to pursue 'em , and turn'd short against the foot. marshal de l' hospital fought not with the same success , for having gallopp'd his horse upon the enemy , they were out of breath before they came to join . the spaniards therefore stood firm to receive 'em , and broke the french upon the first encounter . the marshal , after he had fought with an extraordinary valour , had his arm broken with a blow of a pistol , and had the misfortune to see all his wing betake themselves to headlong flight . the spaniards follow'd their blow vigorously , cut some battallions of infantry to pieces , gain'd the canon , and never stay'd till they came within sight of the reserve , which put a stop to their victory . while the two wings fought with such unequal success , the french infantry march'd against the spanish . and already some battallions were engaged . but espenan , who commanded the foot ; understanding the misfortune that had befallen the left wing , and seeing that all the spanish infantry stay'd for him in good order , and with a more then ordinary fierceness in their countenances , thought it convenient not to be too rash , but to hold the enemy in play with light skirmishes , till he saw which of the two cavalries had the better . in the mean time , the duke of enguien had overthrown all the walloon and german foot , and the italians had betaken themselves to flight , when he perceiv'd the rout of the marshal . then the prince clearly saw that the victory depended wholly upon the troops which he had with him ; and therefore giving over the pursuits of the foot , he march'd behind the spanish battallions , against their cavalry , which gave chase to the left wing of the french army ; and finding the enemy disorder'd by the pursuit , he easily put 'em to a total rout. la ferte seneterre , who was taken prisoner in the rout of the left wing , where he fought with an extraordinary courage , was found wounded in several places , and rescu'd by the duke . thus the right wing of the spaniards enjoy'd their victory but a short time . they that pursu'd were now forc'd to flie themselves ; and gassion meeting 'em in their flight , put the greatest part of 'em to the sword. of all melos's army , there now remain'd only the spanish ●oot ; and they were serrid in one body together near the canon . more then that , the good order which they kept , and their sower looks , shew'd that they would sell their lives at a dear rate . they were commanded by the count of fontaines , who was one of the greatest captains of his time , and tho he were forc'd to be carry'd in a chair , because of his infirmities , yet he would be every where giving orders . but the duke understanding that beck was marching with six thousand foot toward the entrance of the wood , never stood to consider whither he should charge the infantry or not , tho' he had but a small number of horse with him . the count of fontaines also stood him with a brave resolution , not suffering his men to fire till the fernch were within fifty paces of him . but then his battallion open'd , and of an instant a discharge of sixteen canon , laden with cartouches , saluted the french infantry , which was accompany'd with a showre of small shot , as thick as hail . this was such a terrible welcome that the french were not able to brook it , so that if the spaniards had had but horse to have follow'd their blow , the french foot could never have been rally'd . but having no horse to disturb 'em , the duke soon rallyd 'em again , and brought 'em on to a second attack ; which had the same success as the former : and in short , he charg'd those veterane spaniards three times without being able to break ' em . but then the body of the reserve came up , and several squadrons returning from the pursuit of the spanish horse re-joyn'd the prince●s body . and then the spanish infantry being surrounded on every side , and overlay●d with multitude , was constraind to give way to number . so that the officers layd aside all thoughts of any longer defending themselves , but by the motion of their hats made a sign of calling for quarter . upon this the prince advancing to receive their parole , and give them his , the spanish foot thought that the prince had been going to make another attack upon 'em , and upon that mistake discharg'd a full volly at him , which was the greatest danger he was in , during the whole bloody work of the day . which his men perceiving , and attributing it to the treachery of the spaniards , chargd 'em on every side without expecting any orders , and reveng'd the risco which their general had escapd , with a most dreadful slaughter of the spaniards . the french pierc'd into the midst of the spanish battallion , killing all that stood in their way , and notwithstanding all that the duke could do , gave quarter to none , but more especially to the switzers , who are usually more merciless then the french the prince flew about every where , calling to the souldiers to give quarter : the spanish officers also , and likewise the common souldiers , crowded about him for shelter , and don george de castelui , camp-master , was taken by his own hand . in short , all that could escape the fury of the souldiers ran in heaps to beg their lives of him , and beheld him with admiration . so soon as the prince had given orders for securing the prisoners , he made it his business to ●ally his men , and to put himself in a condition ●o fight beck , if he should happen to worst gassion , ●r if he should adventure to engage him in the ●lain . but gassion returning from the pursuit of ●he fugitives , told the duke , that beck made no haste to come out of the forest , only contented himself to pick up the shatterd wrecks of the defeat . that he had done it in so great disorder , and with so little knowledge of the advantages he might have made of the narrow passes of the forest , that any one might plainly perceive that the terrour of melos's men , had struck his souldiers with the same dismay . in a word , after he had savd some remnants of the spanish army , he retreated with an incredible precipitancy , leaving behind him two pieces of canon . the duke finding his victory absolutely secure , fell upon his knees in the midst of the field of battel , commanding all his men to do the same , and gave god thanks for his great success . and certainly all france was no less obligd to pay her thanksgivings to heaven , and her thanks to him. for assuredly it may be said that for many ages , france had never won a battel more glorious , nor of greater importance . and indeed great actions were perform'd on both sides . the valour of the spanish infantry can never be sufficiently applauded . for it is a thing but rarely heard of , that after the rout of an army , a body of foot deprivd of cavalry , ever had the resolution , in open field , not only to stand one but three attacks , without being so much as stirr'd ; and it may be truly said , that if the reserve had not come up , the prince as victorious as he was over the rest of the army , could never have broken that stout and courageous infantry . one extraordinary action of the regiment of velandia was remarkable . in the first onset which the duke made on that regiment , the musketeers being cut in pieces , and the body of pikes being surrounded on every side by the french horse , they made a ●low retreat , in a body , to the gross of the spanish infantry . when the left wing of the french was broken , word was brought to sirot that he should save the body of the reserve , and make his escape ; that there was no other remedy , in regard the battel was lost . to which he answer'd , without being mov'd in the least , 't is not yet lost , because sirot and his companions have not yet fought . in short , his courage contributed very much to the victory . but by the report of the spaniards themselves , nothing appeard so worthy of admiration as the presence of mind , and sedateness of the duke , in the hottest fury of the battel : particularly when the enemies left wing was broken ; for instead of greedily following the pursuit , he presently turnd upon their infantry . by which reserv'dness he kept his men from breaking their order , so that he was in a condition to assail the spanish cavalry who thought themselves victorious . gassion won eternal honour , and the duke gave him great marks of his esteem . for upon the field of battel it self , he promisd to procure him a marshal of france's battoon , which the king granted him some time after . of eighteen thousand foot , of which melos's army consisted , there were above eight thousand slain upon the place , and near seven thousand prisoners . the count of fountaines , camp-master general , was found dead near his chair , at the head of his men. the loss of him was a long time after bewaild by the spaniards . the french applauded his courage , and the prince himself said , that if he ●ould not have got the victory , he wo●ld ●●ve dy'd as he did . valandia , and v●lalva , underwent the same fate : all the officers were either taken or slain . the spaniards also lost eighteen pieces of canon , and six battering pieces , two hundred colours of foot , and sixty of horse . the pillage was great ; for that besides the booty of the baggage , there was the money of a whole m●ste● , which the army was to have receivd after the taking of ro●roy . of the french were kill'd in all about two thousand , but very few officers or persons of quality . the d. lodgd his army in the enemies camp , and after he had given order for the wounded , ente●'d a victor into rocroy . the next day , he understood that melos retird out of the battel , upon the rout of the right wing of his army , and never minded the rallying of the fugitives till he was got under the canon of philip●ille . his cavalry re-join'd him in the same place , but the foot were utterly ruind , and the following campaigns made appear the vastness of the loss , which spain could never yet repair . so true it is , that a good army of foot cannot be too carefully preservd , whether in war or peace ; seeing it is not in the power of the greatest kings , in a long time to recover a lost body of old officers and souldiers , accustom'd to fight together and endure the fatigues of war. the duke , after he had stayd at rocroy two days , led his army to guise , the same way that he came . there he rested some days , during which the prince prepard every thing ready to enter the enemies country . for in regard the magazines had been only provided for the defensive part , there was a necessity of storing up provisions and ammunition , in the most advancd places of the frontiers . flanders lay open on every side ; which way soever the duke had a design to lead his victorious army , there was nothing to oppose his passage . he might either attack mets , or the towns upon the scheldt , or the moselle . there was also great probability that all these enterprizes● might prove extreamly beneficial . but the winning of the sea-towns seemd the most advantageous , which would not only be an assistance to the hollanders , but deprive the low-countries , at the same time , of the most speedy succours which they receiv'd from spain . but the duke of enguien knew , that the hollanders were afraid of nothing so much , as of having the french to be their neighbours , and that they would rather make a peace , and confederate themselves with the spaniards , tho their natural enemies , then endure that france should extend her conquests over those places , which serve as barricades between the spanish territories , and those of the vnited provinces . moreover it was impossible to take either gravelin or dunkirk , without a fleet : nor were the kings fleets in a condition to keep the sea. so that there wanted both time , money , and negotiations , to vanquish the mistrusts and jealousies of the states-general , and engage em to lend their ships ; so that the duke gave over that design . there remain●d two other places , the scheldt and the moselle . the first was very difficult , in regard the remains of the shatter'd spanish army were got thither , besides that the french had no magazines on that side . the last design was of great importance toward the conquest of flanders , because thionville , and all the other places upon the moselle opend an entrance for the german armies into flanders . so that the duke not being in a condition to take sea towns , could not undertake any thing more advantageous then the siege of thionville , to the end that by possessing himself of this place , he might hinder the enemies communication between germany and flanders , and by this conquest settle the posture of his affairs , against the next campaign , for greater enterprizes . it was easie to furnish his army with subsistance on that side next champaign . all preparations necessary for a great siege had been stord up there during the winter . the deceasd king had caus'd provision and ammunition to be transported thither , with a design to carry the war into fr●nche conte : and marshal de meilleray was to have undertaken that enterprize . but the kings death having overturnd all those projects , and the army in italy being too weak to keep the field , meilleray's forces were parted into two bodies . one part pass'd the alps under viscount turenne , and the other commanded by the marquiss de gesvres , servd under the duke . nevertheless , it requir'd time to fetch out of burgundy and champaign , all the ammunition and train of artillety . and therefore the duke would not encline toward thionville , for fear general beck should reinforce it with men. the prince therefore marchd into the middle of flanders on purpose to alarum the principal cities , and to oblige the enemy to strengthen the garisons , his designs being to return the same way he came , and to sit down unexpected before thionville . to this purpose he dispatchd away st. martin , lieutenant of the artillery , with order to bring ammunition to the frontiers of champaign ; and he wrote to the intendant of that province to provide great quantities of corn and provision for the subsistance of the army , and then marchd toward hanault , through landrecies . emery and barlemont surrender'd after some few discharges of the great guns , and mauberge open'd her gates without resistance . he mov'd forward as far as binch , which the enemy had reinforc'd with some men ; and that he might still carry on his counterfeit show , he attackd that small place , which surrende●'d the same day at discretion . there the prince stay'd fifteen days without undertaking any thing , till the preparations for the siege of thionville were all ready . on the other side , as the prince foresaw , the spaniards were retir'd , with their cavalry , under the guns of the fortifi'd towns , and the remainder of their infantry was disperc'd into the cities adjoining to the french army . so that 't was easie for the prince to get before 'em by wheeling of a suddain toward thionville . he sent strong parties from binch , to the gates of brussels , and struck a terror into the cities that lay most remote . but at length , word being brought him that every thing was ready in champaign for the siege , and that the marquiss of geseres was arrivd with the body under his command ; the duke set forward from binch , and return'd by the way of barlemont and mauberge , re-entring into the plain of roeroy , through the same pass , thorough which the spaniards retreated after the loss of the battel . upon his departure , he sent away d● aumont with twelve hundred horse to join the marquiss of gesvres , and invest thionville . sicot was order'd to convoy the heavy artillery by the way of toul and mets , while the infantry , with some field-pieces , marchd toward thionville . all these things were executed according to the duke's orders . nevertheless d' aumont , and de gesvres did not arrive before thionville , till two days before the prince . for , notwithstanding the great falls of rain , and the hardships which the foot suffer'd in their march , he was but seven days marching between binch and thionville ; choosing some of his way through the country of france , the more to conceal his design , and passing the meuse at s●dan , he cross'd luxemburgh , and sate down the seventh day before thionville . this town is seated upon the banks of the moselle , on luxemburgh side ; not above four leagues below metz. the plain where it is seated is very fertile ; and border'd on two sides with little hills cover'd with thick woods . the advantage of the place , and beauty of the country , was the reason that great expence and art had been bestow'd upon the fortifications of it . it had been all along in the possession of the house of austria , only when it was taken by the duke of guise , in the reign of henry the ii. till the first treaty of v●rvins , at what time it was restor'd to the spaniards . the misfortune that befel f●quieres in . had render'd it famous , during the last wars , and every body lookt upon it as a conquest of importance , but which would cost dear . the moselle secures it wholly on the one side ; so that on that side there is only one rampart terminating in a right line . the remaining circuit is fortifi'd with five great bastions , lin'd with free-stone , and two demi-b●stions at the two ends that re-join the river . the mote is large , deep and full of water . the counterscarp is very broad , and the courtins cover'd with five half moons ; and before the gate on that side next to cirque , stands a great horn-work . the country round about it is so plain and level , that there is no approaching the town without being expos'd to great and small shot ; and the adjoining hills command the plain in several parts , which makes the raising a circumvallation difficult . there were eight hundred foot in the town , and store of ammunition and provisions when the duke sate down before it . so soon as the foremost troops began to enter the plain , he caus'd the commander grancy to pass the river , with the cavalry , to hinder the entrance of any relief , before the quarters were assign'd . this grancy , had commanded at the first siege in . and was ●ully acquainted with the situation of the places and passes , through which the spaniards could steal in relief . but many things happen in war which all the prudence of a general , and his principle officers , cannot prevent . while grancy pass'd the river , the prince stay'd in the plain , and as his forces came up , order'd 'em to be posted in all the avenues which were most to be suspected ; referring till the next day the appointment of their several quarters , and the settlement of the camp. the whole army also stood to their arms all that night , without hearing the least news of the spaniard . yet by break of day word was brought to the duke , that a reinforcement of near two thousand men was got into the town , through the count of gran●y's quarters . nevertheless , the count had plac'd his corps du guard with all the care imaginable ; besides that he visited all the posts himself , with an extraordinary vigilance . nor had he had any alarum all the night long . however , an hour before day one of his parties brought two country-men to him , who affirm'd that some spanish troops had p●ss'd the river at cirque , and that they march'd along the bank of the river , and got into thionvil●e ; and they told their story with so many circumstances , and so much probability , that grancy believ'd ' em . at the same time therefore he chang'd the order of his guards , and leading all his forces to that place which the peasants had describ'd to him , he left but two regiments to guard the post toward mets. in short , two thousand men had pass'd the river at cirque , but they took another way , then that which the peasants information mention'd . for , instead of keeping close to the river , they had taken a compass round about the wood to enter into the plain on that side next metz. and indeed the spantards perform'd their business with extraordinary diligence and courage , so that by peep of day they were discover'd , marching directly to the half-moon ; so that the french guards , astonish'd at this alarum , charg'd the relief too late , and with some disorder . and whether the spaniards perform'd any exploit more remarkable then usual , or whether the guards were remiss in their duty , that reinforcement enter'd th●onville without any loss . the duke was not a little displeas'd at the news ; he saw it would much retard the taking of the place , and by consequence delay those other conquests which depended upon this , if it did not quite put 'em off till the next campaign . a place like thionville well fortifi'd and defended by a numerous garison , could not be carry'd in a small time , nor without a great loss of men. but all these inconveniencies did not hinder the prince from continuing the siege : on the contrary , he apply'd himself to it with so much the more diligence , as the peril and difficulties were the greater which he had to surmount . he foarded the river that he might be able to assign his souldiers their posts on that side , and he order'd two bridges of boats to be made both above and below the town . after he had lodg'd his men also in two little villages on that side next lorraine , he appointed the guards , and mark'd out the place where he would have the line of circumvallation drawn along ; which done , he re-pass'd the river to give the same orders on luxemburgh side . immediately he divided his army into five quarters . the greatest body of his horse he encamp'd in a meadow , along the river , on that side next mets ; where gassion was also quarter'd to command ' em . the head quarters were taken up near gassion's , in a small village , almost a mile from the plain , upon the bank of a rivolet which crosses it , and which falls into the moselle at the foot of the counterscarp of thionville . there the duke lodg'd himself , with the principal body of the infantry , and extended his camp into the plain , as far as the foot of the mountains ; and the regiments of ●ambuzes , and the swisses under molendin posted thems●lves upon the rising grounds , near the woods , with which the hills were cover'd . there was one much higher then the rest , which commands not only all the plain of thionville , but all the hills that lie round about it . the importance of that place constrain'd the duke to settle there a powerful quarter ; for which the camp was mark'd out in the middle of the hill , and d' aumomt had the command of it . dand●●●t commanded the other quarter . ges●res undertook with his little army to guard that side next to cirque , from the river to the rising grounds . palluau and sicot had the care of all that lay beyond the river , in regard grancy was fallen sick , and had left the camp. so soon as the quarters were dispos'd , the duke order'd the line of circumvalation to be cast up , and large forts to be trac'd out upon the rising grounds , which commanded the greatest part of the plain . at the same time he also secur'd his line with redoubts , supplying the weakest parts with sharp pointed piles of wood ; and pallisadoes . all this while the convoys arriv'd from all parts with amunition and provisions ; and for twenty days together that the circumva●lation was finishing , the duke caus'd to be brought from mets thirty battering pieces , and order'd great provision to be made of planks and oken timber , sacks of earth and bavi●s to carry on the trenches , and for the service of the artillery . on the other side , the besieged prepar'd all things necessary for their defence ; and while their infantry was imploy'd in raising new works , and repairing the old , their cavalry sally'd out every day to annoy the besiegers . the sally which they made two days after the division of the besiegers quarters , was so vigorous that they came on so far as the duke of engui●●'s camp ; and the count of tavans had his arm broken with a pistol shot● the plain was every day full of skirmishes , and some of them happen'd to be such obstinate conflicts , that as many men were lost on both sides as in many more remark●ble encounters . but the last was the most vigorous of all . for at the time that the duke was providing a great number of gabions and faggots near a chappel in the midst of the plain ; the besieg'd , resolving to see what he was doing , ●all●'d out w●th the greatest part of their horse , to view those preparations near at hand , which they could not so well discerne at a distance . the afternoon was almost spent in skirmishing , when the duke incens'd to see the enemy keep the plain so long , commanded dandelot to drive 'em into the town . dandelot perform'd his orders with extraordinary courage , but with great precepitancy , for that he could not be follow'd but by a small number of volunteers : the skirmishers also gave way upon the first charge that he made , and retreated under the counterscarp of the town , but then the squadrons that were to s●cond 'em advancing , dandelot found himself surrounded on every side , and he had been taken , but for a small guard of thirty troopers led by moussaye , who rescu'd him out of the hands of the enemy . however those squadrons still prest upon dandelott and moussaye , with so much vigour , that they could never have made good their retreat , had not the duke ran to the main guard , and brought it on himself in all hast to their relief . gerze and dandelot were wounded ; and so the spaniards retir'd after an obstinate combat . however all this could not prevent compleating the circumvallation , nor fortifiing the camp with all things requisite , the duke being every where present , as well to encourage the workmen , as to observe what places were most proper to make his attacks . and after due consideration he resolv'd upon two ; both upon the face of one of the two bastions , that lookt toward the middle of the plain , to the end that being near together , they might the more easily support each other . there was a wide space left between the two openings of the trenches , and that space lessend , as the trenches advanc'd toward the town : one of these trenches cover'd it self to the right , and the other to the left , and the regiments of pi●a●dy and nav●rre , were the first that mounted the guard. in the night time two great shouldrings of gabions were rais'd , which cover'd two places of arms , wide enought to contain each a hunderd horse ; for that they stood in need of horse behind the trench , to support it against the terrible sallies of the enemy . the same night the duke order da long line to be drawn , and two redoubts to be begun , spacious enough to lodge a hunderd men : and in all the returns of the lines he order'd large places of arms to be made , and that that trench should be carry'd on with all speed ; so that maugre the continual firing of the besieged it was advancd the fourth night within two hundred paces of the counterscarp . in that part the duke resolv'd to have a communication between the two attacks , which were already in good forwardness . and instead of making his communications with the usual line , he joyn'd 'em together with a large battery of four and twenty pieces of cannon . the diligence of the officers was so great , that the sixth day after the trenches were open'd , the cannon began to play upon the town . in the same place of communication also , the two batteries took a different way , and separated at some distance one from the other , to turn themselves toward the face of the two bastions which were opposite to ' em . on the right hand of the duke of enguien's trench , stood a mill , upon the rivolet already mention'd , which was fortifi'd with a good palisado , and wherein the besieged had planted some musketeers , who very much annoy'd the carrying on of the trenches , in regard they had a view of 'em behind . ther upon , the duke resolving to clear that post the same night , which was the seventh after the opening of the trenches , order'd it to be stormd , notwithstanding the obstinate resistance of the besieged , and their continual firing from the rampart and counterscarp . and before day , this lodgment was join'd to the trench by a line , and the mill serv'd the besiegers , instead of a redoubt , against the sallies out of mets-gate . at the other attack , the line was carry'd on with equal diligence ; but the eighth●day the besieged made a furious sally upon dandelot , who was upon the guard , with the regiment of harcour● . and while all the cavalry that belong'd to the besieged fought against the horse that seconded the french , their infantry powr'd upon the head of the works , and forc'd the out-guard to retreat to the battery . thereupon , dandelot who was in the other attack near the prince , marchd along the counterscarp to succour the f●ench ; so that the besiegd , fearing to be intercepted , retreated in great haste . the horse-guard also being reinforcd with some cavalry from the camp , repell'd the town-cavalry to the very barricados of the gate , and the infantry was forc●d back by dandelot to the counterscarp . but the more the duke labour'd to advance the works , the more the besieged re-doubl'd their efforts . for before the besiegers were got to the counterscarp , they had cut in the glacis a second covert-way well pallisado'd , and more difficult to take , then that of the counterscarp ; in regard the defence it obtain'd from the town was nearer , and had a greater power to cut off those that came to attack it . nevertheless , the ninth night , this new covert-way was carry'd on two sides . but it cost the lives of a great many men , and it was impossible it should be otherwise , when men are to be lodg'd at the foot of a glacis of a counterscarp open on every side to the enemies defence . among the rest , perseval , who had the leading of the duke's at●ack was here mortally wounded . this lodgment of great importance being made , they labour'd in the next place to lodg themselves upon the counterscarp ; to which purpose , upon the tenth night musketeers were planted on the right and left to support the enterprize , which was put in execution the eleventh day . they who understand what belongs to war agree , that there is nothing more difficult in sieges then lodgments upon counterscarps , when the besiegers are resolv'd to carry it by the point of the sword , instead of making use of the longer delays of sapping and mining . that of thionville was very strong , by reason of the breadth of it , and the traverses which the besieged had made in it : besides , that it was not an easie thing to choose out a place proper to make a lodgement ; for whether you made it opposite to the face of the half-moon , or the bastion , the besiegers works must lie open to one of those two fortresses . but notwithstanding all these difficulties , a resolution was taken to force the covert-way in those parts which lookt toward the face of the bastion . for the duke was of opinion that while the two trenches gave their onsets both at a time , they that defended the counterscarp would give way , for fear of being enclos'd betwee● the two attacks , and so the lodgement might be made by shouldrings , high-raisd , to cover 'em against the defenses of the bastions , and the half-moon . upon the night appointed for this attack , espenan commanded the right , and gesvres the left ; and so soon as the signal was given , their men marchd directly to the palisado's ; at what time the granadeers , that were foremost , fir'd their granadoes so furiously , that the besieged could not make much resistance ; but observing in their retreat , that they who oppos'd the marquiss of gef●res had made a more stout defence , they join'd with them , which occasiond such a desperate conflict in that part , that the marquiss lost abundance of men before he could drive the besieged from the covert-way . in the mean time , espenan , who met with no other opposition then that of the half-moon and bastion , began his lodgement ; but la plante , who perform'd the duty of an engineer in that action , was wounded , while he was tracing out the work. this accident put those that carry'd the materials into disorder ; for the line was but half drawn ; no body knew where to throw the faggots , nor how to go about to begin the lodgment . and indeed , a good ingeneer , is as one may say , the soul of an attack ; nor can they be too much valu'd who have both courage and understanding to acquit themselves well of such an employment . to this part therefore the duke of enguien flew , and set all the tayl of the french at work to carry empty barrels , faggots , sacks of earth , while some of the officers trac'd out the lodgment as well as they could . in this lodgment , such as the disorder would permit 'em to make ; fifty men secur'd themselves before day-break , and afterwards more strongly fortifi'd themselves with blinds and * chandeleers , in such places where they saw themselves expos'd . thus the duke became master of the covert-way ; nor could the besieged any longer defend their traverses between the two attacks . the nights following , they did nothing but extend their lodgments ; to the end they might embrace the point of the half-moon and the bastions . but so soon as they had lodgd themselves before the face of the half-moon , the d. gave orders for making a descent into the mote : he also caus'd a vast number of faggots to be thrown into it to fill it up , and at the same time the miners went down . but the besieged had made a little lodgment with barrels of earth upon the † berme of the half-moon , which sometimes with bombs , sometimes by stroak of hand hindred the miners from lodging themselves . the duke therefore seeing that unless he could destroy the lodgment upon the berme , with his canon , it would be impossible to secure the miners , caus'd a battery to be rais'd of four pieces of canon , against the face of the half-moon , which ruin'd the lodgement upon the berme in a short time . the works of the other attack were advanc'd very far , and the lodgments were enlarg'd in such a manner to the right and left , that the batteries design'd to ruine the flanks were rais'd almost the same day . the lodgments clos'd together at the head of the half-moon , and in less then eight days the counterscarp was secur'd . and then it was that they began their descents into the moat , just opposite to the faces of the bastions ; and the duke orderd the materials to be got ready for building galleries . this is a work long and difficult , when the moat is wide and deep , like that of thionville . besides , the impatience of the french will not permit 'em to use all the precautions which the art of war requires for the sparing the lives of men. till the siege of hesdin , they contented themselves with only filling up the moat , by throwing faggets into it at hap-hazard , without covering themselves either above or in the flanks . the marshal de meil●eray who commanded at that siege , being assisted with all things necessary to procure his good success , and having in vain attempted all the usual ways to pass the moat made use of a means till then unknown in france . for courteilles found out the invention of a gallery of bavins , so ingeniously contriv'd , that it was fortifi'd with a covering , and parapets like a gallery of earth . with such galleries as these it was , that the duke of enguien past the moat of thionville . for he order'd a great number of bavins to be brought to the tayl of the french , where he had men ready to carry 'em continually to the head of the works . so that as soon as the descents were in a little forwardness , he began his work in this manner . he order'd bavins to be thrown into the moat , till they came to be five or six foot high above the water . when the heap of bavins was rais'd so high as he would have it , they finish'd the sapping for entrance into the moat . six men went into the sapping , and secur'd themselves against the face of the bastion , behind the heaps of faggots● and so soon as they were secure , they began to range the bavins , to the right and left , in order to make the parapets , enterlacing 'em sometimes long ways , sometimes a cross , and sometimes a● the ends , to render the work more solid . now as the foremost workmen dispos'd the bavins , others thrust 'em together with forks ; and the men appointed to fetch 'em from the tayl to the head of the french , threw 'em without ceasing into the moat . afterwards they plac'd all the length of the gallery , blinds and chandeleers , to the end that the workmen might not be seen from the top of the rampart . they also carry'd on their works by degrees toward the wall , at what time the besieged were amaz'd to see a heap of faggots insensibly crossing the breadth of their moat , and yet not to be able to discover the persons that advanc'd the work. moreover , while these galleries were finishing , batteries were rais'd against the flanks of the bastions . the canons also were so well ply'd , that the great shot from the town , no longer annoy'd the works ; besides , that the besieged were constrain●d to remove the greatest of the guns to a chand●leer , from whence they might shoot into the plain , and play upon the tayl of the french. the battery rais'd to break their lodgement upon the berme of the half-moon , had so shaken the rampart , that it was an easie thing to make a lodgment there without springing a mine . for which reason the besieged despair'd of being able any longer to defend the half-moon , and therefore had made a mine in that part where they fore●aw the besiegers would lodge , and when they saw ●em preparing for an assault , they gave 〈◊〉 to it , but it sprung before the men commanded were mounted the half-moon . so that the effect was so fortunate for the besiegers , that it open'd 'em a convenient space to fix their lodgment , and did that in an instant , which the labour of several men could not have done in a day . so soon as that post was secur'd , the duke order'd 'em to go on with other lodgements upon the gorge of the half-moon . which done , a battery was rais'd against the curti●s and the ●lanks ; and while the canon play'd to ruine all those defences , the duke order'd a bridge to be lay'd like the rest , directly to the middle of the curtin . at the same time that the bridges were building , the duke orderd holes to be made with canon , which he planted at the bottom of the covert-way , to fix the miners in the midst of the faces of the bastions ; and these holes being wide enough to lodge two men , he orderd the miners to be wa●●ed over in little boats , to the end the mines might be ready against the bridges were finish'd . on the other side , the besieged omitted nothing on their part to hinder the progress of these works ; for besides their continual firing with their small-sho● from the bastions , they ply'd without ceasing , the besiegers , with bombs , granadoes , and other artificial fire-works , and from t●me to time made such resolute sallies , that had it not been for the continual vigilance and diligence of the duke , the souldiers would have been wearied out and repuls●d . in one of the sallies , upon the attack on the right hand , the besieged beat the guard from the batteries upon the counterscarp , made themselves masters of the canon , nail'd 'em , and retreat●● without any loss : and this accid●nt 〈…〉 the duke to raise two good redoubts to 〈…〉 defend the batteries . however , the besieged wo●●● not desist ; but attempted one of the most ex●r●ordinary actions that were ever known in a siege● for while they kept the guard of the french in play with a numerous sally , some foot cross'd the moat in boats , threw themselves upon the counterscarp , and enterd into the battery through the embrasures , kill'd or drave away the guards , naild the canon , and retir'd safe into the town . such dangerous actions are not performd without the loss of many officers and souldiers . among the rest , the marquiss of l●non court , governour of lorrain , being come from nanci , to visit the duke of enguien , out of curiosity would needs go view the works , but he was hardly got to the first battery , but he was shot through one of the embrazures . at the same time a canon bullet fell upon a sack of earth , against which dandelo● was leaning , and threw all the dirt in his face , without doing him any other harm , only that it caus'd a swelling , and pain in his eyes . so soon as the galleries were finishd , and the mines had play'd , the duke caus'd an assault to be given , with an intention to try whether they could make a lodgement upon the top of the bastion . the conflict was very sharp on both sides , but the besiegers were repuls'd with loss . the duke therefore perceiving that the mine had only beaten down the lining of the wall , which was not sufficient to lodge themselves upon the bastion , made a little lodgement only at the foot of the r●ine which the mine had made . in the same place also he began another mine to fetch down the earth of the bastion ; but it was a difficult thing to carry on new mines , in regard ●he ground was so loosen'd , that they could not ●●ke a gallery there , but with oaken plants and chandeleers , under-setting it by degrees ; for that when they shoar'd up the earth on the one side , it tell down on the other . however , the miners finishd two little mines , under each of the two attacks , and the besiegers prepar'd for a considerable effort . so that after an obstinate combat at the attack on the right hand , notwithstanding the bombs , granadoes and stones that flew from the besieged , the besiegers made themselves masters of the top of the breach , but they were constrain'd to quit it a quarter of an hour after , not being able to stand the firing from an intrenchme●t which the besieged had thrown up upon the gorge of the bastion . gassion , who commanded the guard of the french , was there dangerously wounded in the head , and lescon , lieutenant of the duke●s guards was killd . the ch●va●●●● d● chabot also , and several o●ficers of the king's guards were wounded . nor was the onset given at the other attack any thing more successful . for the two little mines not springing at the same time , the marshal of gesvres went on at the noise of the first , so that as he was just going to fall on with several officers , they were overwhelmd with the ruines of the second mine . the loss of so brave a commander cool'd the courage of those that were under him . thus the attack on the left hand was made with little order , and less vigour ; and the duke saw well that it behov●d him to proceed with more caution , against men that defended themselves with so much stoutness and resolution . there was a necessity therefore to penetrate above the intrenchment , and to level with the ground those bastions which they could not carry by assault . la pomme , capt●i● of th● pion●●● undertook this work , notwithstanding the co●●inual rains and difficulties whi●h he met with●● the ground . the river had so overflowd her banks , that the two bridges for the communi●●●tion of quarters were carryd away by the for●● of the stream ; so that pallua●'s , and sicot's qua●ters were in great danger ; for that if general beck who lay at luxemburgh with his army , had attack'd 'em before the bridges were repaird , the duke could never have relievd ' em . in the mean time the miners which the duke had set to the middle of the curtin , found only so much earth behind as just su●fizd to lodge themselves ; which shewd that the better way was to ruine it by a battery . in short● four great guns in three days made a considerable breach ; and in less then six days the mines under the bastions were finishd . upon this , the duke order'd the enemy to be inform'd of the condition they were in ; to the end , that by a speedy capitulation they might avoid the destruction of their men , the ruine of their fort●fications , and the misfortunes and calamities which usually at●end the sack of cities taken by assault . there●pon , the besieged view'd the mines , and seeing themselves assaild on every side , without hope of relief , they desird to capitulate . the duke allowd ●em honourable conditions , so that after a long and stout resistance , the garison march'd out the d. of august , and the th . day after the opening of the trenches . of two thousand eight hundred men , of which the garison consisted at the beginning of the si●ge , the whole number was reduc'd to twelve hundred . ●he governour was slain , and the greatest part of ●●e offi●ers that remain'd were either slain or ●ounded . the duke order'd 'em to be conducted 〈◊〉 luxemburgh , where beck had layn during the ●hole time of the siege , with the body which 〈◊〉 commanded● and now besides that the french ●●fantry was very much impair'd , the season was 〈◊〉 spent● and the mines had ruin'd the place to ●hat degree , that the fortifications requir'd long ●ime to repair ' em . so that the army did nothing more for three weeks together then only labour to repair the fortifications , and to level the line of circumvallation . the heavy canon were sent back to mets ; the place was furnish'd with ammunition and provisions , and maro●●es made governour of the town . but for the further security of this conquest , and to render himself absolute master of the moselle , the prince spent the rest of the campaign in taking cirk , and some castles between treves and thionville . cirk is a small village in lorain , seated upon the banks of the moselle , in that part where the channel of it is very much streightned by the hills on both sides . it has no fortification , all the security of it depending upon a castle which commands the town , and which is flank'd with very large and thick towers , and is accounted the strongest c●stle in all the country ; and the duke of lorrain kept a garison in it of a hundred men● the same evening the duke arriv'd before the town he made himself master of it , caus'd a battery to be rais'd before the castle , and fix'd his miners to the walls . thereupon , the governour terrifi'd with the attack , and being hopeless of succour , was unwilling to hazard the loss of the men which he commanded : so that after a defence of four and twenty hours , he capitulated and march'd out upon an honourabble composition . the duke also sent to take in several other castles that lay upon the river , which made no resistance . which done , he led back his army into france , where he put 'em into quarters of refreshment ; esp●nan and dandelot stay'd with the army● and the prince order'd 'em to march toward estai● while he made an incursion with two thousand horse into the heart of luxemburgh . he advanc'd to the very gates of the capital city , where beck with his cavalry were constrain'd to keep themselves close , not daring to stir out . after that , he march'd into the neighbourhood of arlon , without meeting any enemy , in all which places his men having got considerable booty , he re-joyn'd his army at villers la montagne . this done , he gave the command of the army to the duke of angoulesme , who had been during the campagne , with a small force upon the frontiers of picardy ; and having left such other orders as he thought requisite , he return'd to court , in hopes that he might have stay'd there for some time , and take his repose ; but he was no sooner arriv'd , when the affairs of germany enforc'd him to return to the army . mercy had cha●'d marshal de guebriant on this side the rhine ; his army being so enfeebl'd , that without a speedy and numerous re-inforcement , he was no longer able to keep the field . and there was a necessity for some person of equal quality to the duke of enguien to lead that re-inforcement , for fear they should mutiny and disband of themselves , in regard the souldiers were afraid of marching into germany . the count of ranzau therefore was made choice of to head that army , which was to join marshal de guebriant ; nor did the duke of enguien stay above fifteen days at paris , being forc'd to ride post , that he might join ranzau in lorrai● ; where he found him near delme , which was the general rendezvouse , and marching through sarebourgh , at length he joyn'd the marshal at dackstem , near stras●●rgh , with five thousand men. after he had view'd the whole army , and assur'd the marshal that he would return as soon as the season would permit to take the field , he went and visited the places upon ●he rhine , and by the way made himself master of sainte marie aux mines , where he assign'd the army their winter quarters . at last he return'd to court , having in one summer gain'd a famous batt●l , won a town of great importance , and carry'd a considerable reinforcement into germany . the battel of rocroy was attended with several other conquests , but chiefly with the taking of t●●●nville , the reducing of which place was of extraordinary moment . for it was a place that secur'd mets and the pays messin from the incursions of ●uxemburgh ; it made the french masters of the moselle ; it ass●rd a communication between france and the electorate of treves , which it behov'd the french to be no less chary of , then of their own country , by reason of the elector , who with an extraordinary zeal● and incredible resolution , had espous'd the interests of france . and lastly , it was a barricado for the french , between luxemburgh and the lower palatinate , where the spaniards were then powerful . cardinal mazarin had a long time had it in his head to attempt this siege , for the reasons alledg'd . he had caus'd it to be twice propos'd to lewis the xiii . by marshal de ● hospital , who was much in his favour . but the design would never take in his life time . however , the king was no sooner dead but the cardinal proposd the same thing to the queen , who seeing the success of the battel of rocroy , surrender'd her self wholly to the cardinals counsels , and withstood the open opposition , and secret thwartings which lay i● her way in reference to the design of this siege , which others would by no means have to go forward , because most people believ'd that the cardinal was sway'd by a spirit of jealousie , and that because he began to suspect the growing favour and glory of the duke of eng●ien , his main end was , that he should miscarry before thionvil●● however it were , ever after this campagne , the duke was look● upon as a great captain , no less formidable in sieges then in battels . and here observe one thing in a young victorious prince , no less great then the victory it self . the court which had prepar'd against his arrival those applauses which he deserv'd , was surpriz'd at his manner of receiving of 'em , as if he had been insensible of the honour which they did him . he rejected their encomiums● as if they had been affronts , and as one indocible to flattery , he gave them to understand that he was afraid even of the shadow of it . such was the niceness , or rather the solidity of this prince . in like manner , he observ'd this for a maxim , that it was for a person of honour only ●o mind well-doing , and to let glory follow vertue . while these things were transacting in flanders , the queen turns out of favour those who had had the greatest share in the management of affairs . the bishop of beauvoise , who had been in credit , was enforc'd to retire to his diocess . des●uyers and chavigny were excluded , and mazarine taken into the chief ministry . the queen , who was willing to shew that 't was none of her fault that the war between france and spain was not brought to a conclusion , by fair and moderate ways , gave ear to the propositions of peace that were made her ; and to that effect , the court appointed two ●lenipotentiaries , the counts l● av●●●● & de serviers , with orders forthwith to repair to munster , where the peace was to be nego●●●●ed . but certain broyles that happen'd between the swedes and danes prevented the good success of that assembly , which was the reason that nothing more was thought of but to make the best of the advantages they had gaind upon the spaniards . flande●s therefore was to be the theatre of the war● during the campaigne of the next year , . and the command of the army was given to the duke of orleans , who design●d to pesiege gravelin . now in regard that prince had no mind that his enterprize should be known , he divided his army into three bodies . the marshal de meilleray , as lieutenant general commandd one part , with orders to enter flanders on that side next am●ens ; the count of ranzaw commanded another part , as sub-lieutenant general , with instructions to enter on that side next to abbeville . and as ●or the duke , he reserv'd a longer march for himself , and the most hazardous , that is to say , through peronne and bapaume , where the marshal gassion , who commanded a separate body was to join him . and in regard there were several forts that might obstruct the siege of gravelin , gassion , after he had laid a bridge over the river aa , pos●est himself of bajette● . afterwards , the forts of la capelle , and st. folquin , were taken in to facili●ate the great work. in a word , gravelin was besiegd ; the town was taken ; and the french made themselves masters of sas de gand , and of all the forts that could impede their entrance into flanders . now , at the same time , the duke of orleance was acting in flanders , the duke of enguien signaliz'd himself in germany , whether he was gone , to succour friburgh , which the bavarians had besieg'd . to which purpose he order'd his forces to march with all the speed imaginable ; but all his haste prov'd fruitless . for that city was in so bad a condition to hold out , that it was surrender'd before he arriv'd . however , this accident , which the duke did never expect , no way disheartend him ; for since he could not relieve the town , he was now in hopes to join , and fight the enemy , and no less confident of victory . he had no design however to retake the place , nor to force the imperialists ; for that his forces were not strong enough to undertake those enterprizes : but he thought he might repair himself by a battel , for the loss of a town which he had not time to rescue . the design was great and hazardous , and there was something more formidable that presented it self to his eyes then at rocroy . he had not only to fight against men , but inaccessible mountains , against innundations and precipices , on the one side ; on the other , against an impenetrable wood , at the bottom of which was a large bogg ; against rivers and prodigious entrenchments ; against forts rais'd up and down in every place ; against timber , trees cut down , and laid athwart most deep and dreadful roads ; and in a word , against one of the greatest captains of the age. nevertheless , not all these obstacles together were sufficient to daunt this youthful hero. nothing would content him but a battel , wherein he prov'd victorious ; tho the victory was not so considerable for the number of the slain , as for the importance of the conquests that ensu'd . for the field of battel , as barren as it was , in appearance , was worth whole provinces to france , through the conduct of this general ; so well he understood to make the best of his advantages . which is that we are going to make out , by the following relation of the campaign of friburg . the battel of rocroy , and the taking of thionville had restor'd the reputation of the arms of france , in the low-countries . the spanish infantry was quite ruin'd ; terrour and dread had seiz'd the enemies forces ; the greatest part of the cities of ●landers , were in no condition to hold out long ; and a general might do what ere he pleasd with good success , and the duke of orleance had taken upon himself to manage the war in those parts . in germany , the service was not so easie ; for after the duke of enguien had led a reinforcement thither , the marshal de guebriant was slain before rowil , and the army had no other chieftains , but ranzan and roze . ranzan was a person of great courage and wit ; he was also end●'d with a certain natural eloquence , which was very perswasive in councils of war , and which drew others to be of his opinion ; but his conduct did not always answer his elegant discourses ; for wine causd him to commit great errors , and many times put him out of being in a condition to command . he had quarter'd the foot at tutlinghen , without taking any care to prevent their being surprizd , and he had embroyl'd himself with all the german princes . so that the bavarians , and lorrainers , fell upon him before he had the least intelligence of their march , and iohn de wert having enforc'd him to surrender , with all his men , all the officers were prisoners of war. the german cavalry being dispiers'd into several parts , retir'd toward brisack , under the command of raze , and took up their winter quarters in lorrain and alsatia . as soon as the news of this arriv'd at court , turenne , had orders to rally together the shatter'd remnants of that army , and take upon him the command of it ; and he spent all the winter in bringing it into better order ; but notwithstanding all his care , it was not in a condition to oppose the bavarians , whose army was become more numerous after ranzan's defeat . mercy therefore who commanded it , seeing himself master of the field , invested friburgh , which was not in a condition to hold out a long siege . the duke of enguien had intelligence of it at amblemont , near mouzon , and receiv'd orders from the court to joyn the german army , and endeavour the relief of the town . to that purpose , he march'd the tith . of iuly to mets , where his forces past the moselle , and left their heavy baggage . which done , in thirteen days he marchd threescore leagues , and came to brisack , with six thousand foot , and four thousand horse . by the way , the prince understood that friburgh was surrender'd to the bavarians , that turenne was encamp'd not far from em , and that mercy made no shew of having any design to change his station . upon this advice , he march'd toward t●renne , with marshal grammont , and gave orders to martin to cross the rhine , at brisack , with the army ; which he did the th . of august . the duke stay●d no longer in turenne's camp then to observe the post where the bavarians lay , and to consider where to attack ' em . so that he returnd to his army the same day that it cross●d the rhine , and the next day he march'd to put in execution the enterprize which he and tur●nne had consulted and contriv'd together . friburgh is seated at the fort of the mountains of the black forest. they enlarge and open themselves in this part of the country in the form of a crescent , and in the middle of this space you may discover , near to friburg , a plain bounded on the right hand , by very high mountains , and surrounded on the left by a boggy wood. this plain is watered with a r●volet , which glides along by the wood , and afterwards falls upon the left of friburgh , into the hollow of a narrow valley● inter●nt with woods and marshes . they that travel from brisack cannot enter into this plain , but through narrow lanes and close passes , at the foot of a mountain almost inaccessible , which commands it on every side , and the other ways that lead into it are much more difficult . mer●y was posted in a place thus advantageous ; and in regard he was one of the greatest captains of his time , he had omitted nothing to make the best of the situation . his army consisted of eight thousand foot , and six thousand horse . he had extended his camp all along the rivolet ; but besides that defence , and the advantage of the woods and boggs , he had fortifi'd it , toward the plain , with a large entrenchment . nor was there any way to get at him but by the road that leads from brisack to friburgh ; and by consequence , there was a necessity of passing by the foot of that mountain which defended the best part of his men . and for that reason , this great general had employ'd all his industry to secure that part of his camp from being forc'd . upon the sloping of the mountain toward the plain , he had rais'd a fort with pallisadoes , wherein he had put six hundred men , together with his artillery ; by which means he assur'd himself of that part of the mountain which was most easie of access . from thence he carry'd on a line , a long a wood of firr-trees , still ascending to the top , where it was impossible to be past . this line was defended by redoubts , at the distance of two hundred paces one from the other ; and to give those that design'd to molest him still more trouble , he had laid all the whole length of the line , a great number of fir-trees , the branches of which were half cut , and inter-twisted one within another , and were as effectual for the same use as friesland horses . between this mountain which the french army met with upon the right hand , and another that lay nearer friburgh , there was a hollowness , which gave entrance into the bavarian camp , but to come at it , there was a necessity of going a great way about , and to pass through places which had never been view'd . this part was naturally fortifi'd , by a large and deep innundation of water ; and mercy thought it sufficient to cut down a great number of trees , and lay athwart that inundation . in short , never was an army encamp'd in a stronger situation , and better entrenchd . nevertheless , the duke of enguien was resolv'd to drive mercy out of it , and he prepar'd for his attack in this manner . he march'd with all his army against the line , at the top of the mountain that ran along the wood of firr-trees , leaving the fort upon the left hand , and making it his sole business to carry the redoubts that defended it ; to the end , that having gain'd the top , which commanded all the rest , he might make himself master of the fort , and so descend in battel array into the bavarian camp. turenne was to make his onset where the trees lay that defended the vally , and provided that both onsets were made at the same time , there was great hopes , that the enemy being busied in two places at once , would be hard put to it to defend themselves ; and that if they should happen to be forc'd on that side next the water , the duke coming down from the high grounds , and turenne , at the same time , entring the plain , mercy would not be able to withstand ' em . so soon as the forces were all arriv'd , the duke gave order that they should prepare over night to fight the next morning : and turenne having a great compass to fetch , set forward before break of day ; but the difficulties which he met with in his march retarded the onsets which both armies should have made at the same time . the duke dispos'd of his men , in this manner . his infantry was compos'd of six battallions , each consisting of six hundred men. espenan , camp-marshal , was commanded to make the first assault , with two battallions of the regiments of persan and enguien . the count of tournon , put himself at the head of the regiments of conti , and mazarine , to second espenan . the duke reserv'd two regiments to himself , to be imploy'd as occasion shall require , and marshal grammont , martin , l' eschelle , and mauvily , remain'd about his person . palluau seconded the whole attack , with the regiment of horse of enguien , and the gentlemen were posted at the entrance into the plain , in a very close place , to hinder the bavarians from flanking the infantry . to come at the enemy there was a necessity of clambring up a very steep side of a place , cross a vineyard , wherein were walls , at such a distance , about four foot high , that serv'd the bavarians , instead of entrenchments . however , the commanded men got up into this vineyard , and drave the bavarians into their entrenchments of firr-trees , behind which they fir'd with more then ordinary fury . nor could the french infantry force those trees , so entangl'd one within another , as they were , without loosing a great many men , and breaking their body . the duke therefore , who was advanc'd to 〈◊〉 the effect of the onset , observ'd that the fir●● line of his men gave ground , and that they we●● got part within the entrenchments of firr-tree●● and part without , neither flying , nor moving forward . they began also to slide along the bavarian camp , toward the right hand , and fall upon ●em at the top of the mountain . but the prince , who had observ'd before that that same part was not to be forc'd , rightly judg'd that the success of his enterprise depended more upon carrying the enemies line in the middle . for that reason , he resolv'd to renew the assault with what remaind of the first regiments , tho he had no more then two with him self , and those discourag'd by what they had seen then fellow● suffer . and indeed , at first it seem'd a piece of rashness , with two thousand repuls'd men , to attempt the forcing of three thousand well entrench'd , and puft up with the advantage the●● had got . but it was impossible otherwise to disingage and bring off those that had got beyond the entrenchment of fir-trees . for in abandoning them , the duke must have been forc'd to have retreated with vexation , to have fail'd in his enterprise , and sacrific'd in vain the best part of his infantry : besides that , all the bavarian army would have fallen upon turenne , not having any other to oppose . the prince consider'd all these things in an instant ; alights from his horse , and putting himself● at the head of conti's regiment , march'd directly against the enemy . tournon , and castelnau-ma●●villiere , did the ●ame , with the regiment of mazarine ; grammont , martin , l' eschelle , mauvilly , la moussaye , ierze , the chevaliers chabot and gra●mont , isigny , me●lles , la baulme , tourville , barbantane , disbrotteaux , asp●emont , viange , together wi●h all the officers and volunteers alighted , 〈◊〉 this action gave new life to the souldiers , 〈◊〉 the duke being the first that pass'd the en●●enchment of firr-trees , all the rest following 〈◊〉 example throng'd over the entrenchment , 〈◊〉 they that defended the line f●ed into the wood , by the favour of approaching night . after this first advantage won , the duke moun●ed into a redoubt which he found quitted● but the condition he was in , was no less dangerous ●hen the action he had perform'd . one part of his infantry was kill'd , the rest had broken their order in pursuit of the fugitives . the enemy 〈◊〉 held the fort where they had planted their artillery , and mercy was in a posture able to charge the prince in this confusion ; but it may be the night which drew on a pace , hinder'd him from making the best of his advantage . therefore , while there remaind as yet some glimmerings of day , the prince rally'd his ●●ot● fortifi'd the redoubts which he had won , and notwithstanding the di●●iculty of the way , caus'd his cavalry to mount to the top of the hill which he possess'd : and after he had got all his men together he order'd all ●is trumpets to sound , and all the kettle-drums to beat , that so he might give turenne notice that he had gain'd the top of the hill ; and then prepar'd every thing ready to renew the conflict the next morning . ti●●nne , on his side , had with great vigour attack'd the trees that were layd in the vally , between the mountain● which the duke had carry'd , and that which lay near friburgh . but mercy , not dreaming they could force his camp on that side next the mountain , considering how it was fortifi'd , h●d sent away his principal strength to defend the vally ; and this is that which usually happens in the attacking of lines , that those parts which are deem'd to be the strongest are soonest taken . the place was wide enough behind his entrenchment to draw up his men in order of battel ; so that when turenne's men had driven back the infantry which defended the entrance into it , all the bavarian cavalry were ready , and in a capacity to second their foot , without breaking their squadrons , which was the reason that turenne meeting with so vigorout a resistance , could by no means force the bavarians . sometimes he gain'd some posts , then he lost 'em again ; so that tur●nne's attack was nothing but continual skirmishing , without being able to break into the enemies entrenchments ; th● he did all that the courage and conduct of a great captain could do , to surmount the disadvantages of ground and number . the duke of enguien had heard from the top of the mountain , the noise of this attack , and prepared for another onset the next morning . and his design was to march over the high grounds● to the bavarian camp , on purpose to make the enemy turn one part of their f●rces against him● to ●acilitate turenne's entrance into the plain● and every body prepar'd for this enterp●ise , as it they had been assur'd of victory ; it being impossible that mercy should sustain two onsets , at the same time , one from a●ove , and in the rear of his army , while the other assail'd him every where else . nevertheless , mercy would not run such a dangerous risco , but got away as fast as he could● to that purpose he drew off his men from the top of the mountain next to ●riburgh , and before day sent away his canon that was under the duke●s arm●● ere the french generals had notice of it . so that they were surpris'd the next morning to see the bavarian . entrenching themselves upon the mountain next to friburgh , the camp deserted , and the fort quitted . the duke seeing that turenne's men had spread ●hemselves over the plain , came down with his army ; but no sooner had he a near view of the ●everal places , but the thundring from the bava●i●ns new camp , gave him to understand that they ●ad wholly possess'd themselves of the mountain ●djoining to friburgh . thereupon , the d. not a little ●exed to have miss'd in his enterprise , order'd his army to be drawn up in battalia , notwithstand●ng it had rained hard all that night . but finding his men wearyd with their hard duty the day before , and the bad weather , he deferr'd driving the enemy from their new entre●chments till the next day : so● that the army had all that day and the next night to rest themselves . upon the right hand of friburgh , coming from ●●isack , lies a mountain , which is not so extreamly rugged , for above the third part of the highth ; but afterwards becomes very steep : yet when you come to the top , there is a wide space of level ground , sufficient for the drawing up three or four tho●sand men , in good order of battel . at the end of this little plain stood also certain ruins of a tower , at the foot of which , the highest mountain of the black forest rises insensibly . but in regard that as it rises , it runs very far backward , the highest part of it commands but very little over the plain . mercy had posted the greatest part of his infantry in the parts adjoining to the tower ; the rest was encamp'd behind a wood approaching to friburgh . his cavalry was planted all along from the wood to the walls of the city . in short , that general had as well managd the advantages of his ground , in that place , as the former . he had also added for the defence of it all the inventions which the art of war , and the conveni●●cies of the wood could afford him in so little time . the lines which he had cast up during th● siege , serv'd him in part to enclose his new cam● so that he had no need of ●ortifying any more 〈◊〉 that part which lookt toward the vally , where 〈◊〉 layd rows of trees , with their bows entangle● one within another , and his choicest infantry la● behind this entrenchment supported by his cavalr● the squadrons of which possess'd all the ground be●tween the row of trees and the city . so soon as it was day , the duke advanc'd to th● foot of the mountain , where mercy lay entrench'd and in his march took in some redoubts which were still guarded in the vally by the enemies dragoons . turenne's army had the vanguard that day and was to make the greatest onset . d' 〈◊〉 , lieutenant general , commanded the infantry● l' eschel●e march'd at the head of all the rest , with a thousand musketeers , drawn out of both armies ; and his bu●iness it was to attack the entrance that cover'd the biggest body of the bavarian foot● next the ruin'd tower ; which was the place most easie of access to get at ' em . for which reason● turenne caus'd all the canon of the weymarians to be drawn on that side . the dukes body of infantry , commanded by espenan , was commanded to force the trees . between these two attacks also , there was a false assault to be made , with a few men only , to favour the real onset . marshal grammont had likewise orders to keep himself drawn up in battel array in the plain , with the cavalry , to act as the success should direct him , the bavarians camp afforded 'em great advantages , whither it were to defend themselves , or attack the enemy . one of their wings was supported by the canon and small-shot of the city● the other was posted upon a mountain , the heighth● of which alone was sufficient to secure the forces ●●at po●sess'd it . but they had too large an ex●●nt of entrenchment to defend , that the infantry ●●ch weakn'd by the hardships of the siege , and 〈◊〉 preceding combats , was not sufficient to guard 〈◊〉 camp. ● ' eschelle began already to play with the arti●●●● of his attack , never staying for the arrival 〈◊〉 the rear-●uard , or the signal of battel ; tho 〈◊〉 duke had commanded that all the attacks and ●nsets should be given together . besides that , ● ' eschelle had orders not to march up to the ene●y , till he heard the noise of the musquets toward ●●e tre●s , and toward the false attack in the midle . but an accident , not to be fore-seen , as fre●uently it happens in the best consulted contri●ances of war● overturned all the dukes orders , ●nd sav'd the bavarians from a total defeat . for while the rear-guard was expected , which ●ould not come up so soon , by reason of the bad●ess of the ways ; the duke attended by turenne ●nd g●a●ment , was got up to the top of the highest ●ountain , to discover the rear of the enemies ●rmy , and observe their order of battel . in his ●bsence , espenan detach'd some men to make a ●alse attack , upon a small redoubt that lay in h●s ●ay to the enemy . and tho he sent but very few ●en at first , both sides were insensibly engag'd in a ●oody ●ight , while the bavarians seconded those ●hat defended the fort , and espenan reliev'd those ●hat attack'd it ; insomuch , that it came to a very 〈◊〉 c●nflict in that part . upon the noise of which , ● ' eschelle thought it high time for him to begin his ●ssault , and his errour ranvers'd all the designs of ●he day . the duke beholding the enemies firing from the ●op of the mountain , rightly judgd that espenan , ●nd l' eschelle , had made a mistake , and that his ●rders had not been obey'd . so that he ran into the very thickest of the engagement , where 〈◊〉 found l'eschelle slain , and his men neither darin● to fight nor retreat . ●or remedy of this disorder he commanded tournon to put himself at the 〈◊〉 of the astonish'd souldiers , and to assu●e ●em tha● he himself would second 'em with a powerf●● succour . thus the pre●ence of the prince giving new lif● to the souldiers , the ba●●rian infantry began 〈◊〉 totter : two battallions , and that which defende● the entrenchment , began to face about with thei● colours , and gi●e all the marks of men that we●● just ready to be●●ke themselves to their heels . bu● they that were next the line fir'd so furio●sly ; th●● the fr●nch infantry were qui●e dishearten'd they that were far●hest off began to retreat , the 〈◊〉 were in a terrible fright , and the officers also began to give ground . in vain the generals told 'em of the disorder which they beheld in the bavarian camp , they press 'em , threaten 'em , and drag 'em back to the fight . but when a panick dread has once seiz'd upon a souldier , he neither see● nor hears any longer either the example , or the orders of his general● so that the duke was forc'd to give over the attack , and draw off his men ; and in this action , the prin●e , and all that attended him were in very great danger . for he was still 〈◊〉 horseback , not above thirty yards distance from the enemies entrenchments . so that of twenty men that were about his person , there was not one that did not carry away some marks of the danger to which he was expos'd . the duke himself had the pommel of his saddle ta●en off with a canon bullet , and the scabbord of his sword was broken with a musket shot ; grammont had his horse kill'd under him , and all the rest were wounded . nevertheless , this acciden● did no way dishearten the prince ; so that he only alter'd the design of this attack , and instead of making his greatest onse● upon the lines as he had resolvd in the morning , he order'd the most furious onset to be given upon the entrenchment of trees . to that purpose d' aumont was commanded to keep the bavarians in play with the souldiers which had fought already , causing a diversion thereby in the same place where the first onset had ill succeeded . the duke and turenne , with the whole body of the infantry , lead by mauvilli , suppor●ed by the gensd'armes and roze's cavalry , march'd directly to the entrenchment of trees . scarce were the foremost ranks of this new at●ack enter'd into the wood , but the bavarians fir'd with an extraordinary fury ; nevertheless , the french advanc'd in very good order , with a resolution to try whether they could force the ent●enchments of trees or no. and the fight was so obstinate that after they had been driven back sever●l times , and several times had repuls'd the french , at length gasper de mercy , major general of the cavalry was forc'd to make his horsemen alight , to second his infantry that began to give ground . upon that , the dispute grew hotter then before , and both parties fir●d with so much fury that the noise and the smo●k put all things into ●onf●sion , so that they could not distinguish one another but by the flashes of the artillery and small shot . all the surrounding woods and forests b●llow'd forth most dreadful eccho's , and augmented the horrour of the battel . the souldiers were so bloodily eager , the one to force , the other to defend the entrenchment , that if night had not parted 'em , there had been one of the most deadly slaughters tha● had been in our days . the french gend●r●eri● perform'd a very noble exploit at that time . they were commanded by boulay , who led on the squadrons to the very brink of the entrenchmen● and ma●g●e the enemies furious firing , fought a long time within pistol● shot . never was so desperate a combat , where without grappling hand to hand , so many fell upon the spot on both sides . the french in this conflict lost ma●villy , and the bavarians , gaspa●●● me●cy , their general 's brother . after this , the duke having brought back his army into the camp , layd aside all other thoughts , but those of cutting off the bavarians provisions , to the end he might enforce 'em to quit so advantageous a post. to that purpose , he gave his men four days time to refresh themselves , and the wo●nded , of which there was a great number , w●re sent away to ●risach , that there might be nothing left in the camp which might retard the design which the duke had contriv'd in his mind . the mountains of the black forest derive their original from the mountains of switzerland , and follow the course of the rhim , till they join with the hills that lye upon the banks of the ne●●● . these mountains are very long , and more or less broad , according to the countries where they ●xtend themselves ; but their widest breadth is from friburgh to filinghen about ten or twelve le●g●es . there is no way of communication between these two cities , but through a vally , which is very narrow , and very incommodious for the marching of an army . nevertheless , this was the part through which mercy , in all probability , would make his retreat . which , nevertheless he would not presume to do in view of the french army ; ●o that the duke of enguien was of opinion that 〈◊〉 intercepting this way between friburgh and fi●inghen , he should cut him off from his provision and for●ge , and thereby c●nstrain him to a general battel , or to retre●t in disorder . with this resolution , the ninth of august , the prince caus'd his army to march toward langsdelingh●n , a village ●eated in the most easie place of a●●ess in all those mountains . this place was very proper to annoy the bavarians , or to fight 'em in their retreat . for , as for the duke , he could have provisions from brisack , in case he advanc'd any f●rther among the mountains . but the road which gave him entrance into this valley was extremely difficult , by reason of the boggs , of which the woods are full . besides , that the front of the army being once engagd in these woods , and having pass'd the rivolet that runs along by 'em , the rear-guard would be expos'd to the bavarians , without any possibility of being reliev'd by their own men. the d●ke therefore took all the precaution which the advantages of the ground , and the presence of a vigilant enemy requir'd . to this purpose , in regard the horse could not march but one and one , and for that many times the men were forc'd to alight and lead their horses , the prince order'd a great body of infantry , at the tayl of the army , to support the rear of his cavalry ; he also plac'd little bodies of musketeers , upon the wings , to defend the passes through which the bavarians might come to charge ' em . by break of day , turenne set forward with his army , which compos'd the vanguard that day . the d. took care to bring up the rear , and kept himself in view of mercy 's army till all his men were past ; and after he had in this manner cross'd the woods and boggs , rejoin'd his vanguard at langsdelinghen , the bavarians not making the least attempt to dispute his passage over the river , or his entrance into the wood. mercy observing the march of the french , readily apprehended their design , and as he was one of the most politick generals in the world , he presently judg'd that his safety consisted in preventing the duke , and not in disputing the incumbrances of the pass . nor indeed had he more then just so much time to retreat before the foremost troops of the french vanguard could overtake him ; and doubtless , this was that which hinderd him from falling upon their r●●r . therefore , so soon as he saw the french upon their march , he decampd his army , keeping the top of th● mountains , and ordering his baggage to be conducted through st. peter's valley , which leads toward filinghen . upon notice of mercy 's march , the duke hasten'd his own as much as it was possible . but he had mountains almost inaccessible to cross that he might shorten his way , besides that his men were extreamly tir'd . for which reason he was enforcd to de●ach roze with all speed , only with eight hundred horse to amuse the bavarians , and disturb 'em in their retreat , while the rest of his army pass'd the defiles . roze perform'd his orders vigorously , and began to skirmish with the bavarians near st. peter's abby● and so soon as he had overtaken the bavarians ● he gave notice to the duke that he was at their heels . in the mean while , the french army passd file after file through a very narrow valley , at the end of which they were to ascend to the top of a very high mountain , and withal , so steep and cover'd with wood , that there was no going forward but for one single man at a time . nevertheless , the duke surmounted all these difficulties , and his vanguard was no sooner got to the top of the mountain but he discover'd the bavarians in battali● , and roze close at the heels of their rear . now to go from the mountain where the head of e●g●in's army stopp'd , to the place where the bav●●●●ns were posted , there was a necessity of passing two defiles , in the midst of which was a space wid● enough to contain four squadrons ; but before ●ou could get at it , there was a descent through a ●ery narrow hollow way , and then an ascent again more difficult then the former , which gave an en●rance into the plain where roze skirmis●'d with the enemies rereguard . mercy no sooner discover'd the foremost battallion of the french vanguard upon the top of the mountain , but he rightly judg'd that the whole army was behind . and in regard that roze very much disturb'd the hindmost part of his rear , he resolv'd to make a push for it , that he might rid himself of so great an incumbrance , before the duke got any nearer to him , and had men ●now to second him ; and that he might do his business all at once , he whell'd about to the right with his whole army , and marchd directly against roze's cavalry . but roze , instead of retiring speedily into the defile , rally'd his squadrons toge●her , and daringly stood the whole bavarian army in the plain . he had the enemies army , and the plain before him ; on the right hand the great high road to ●●ling●en , crowded with the bavarian baggage ; upon the left a vast precipi●e , and behind him the defile through which he was to rejoyn the duke . presently , roze detach'd one of his squadrons to cut the harness of the horses that drew the carri●ge waggons , and with the rest he advanc'd to charge the foremost squadrons of the bavarian army . but to preserve the defile open and free to himself , he left four squadrons to guard it , behind the rear of which he retreated , after he had made-three charg●s upon the enemy . those four squadrons sustain'd the shock of the bavarians , till the rest of their cavalry enter'd pell mell into the defile . at length roze left no more then two of the four squadrons to defend the pass , who after an incredible resistance , seeing their fellows out of danger , threw themselves into the precipice upon the left hand , through places that never had been pass'd before by men nor horses . this was a vigorous action of roze , and manag'd with all the art which it was possible to pu● in practice in so great a danger . but it was impossible for him to have escap'd , if mercy had no● discover'd upon the neighbouring mountains the bodies that drew into order by degrees , and that the duke was advancing to second roze's cavalry . for in regard he was afraid of nothing so much as of coming to a general battel , he rather chose to let those squadrons escape , then enter too far into the defile . in a word , the duke observing from the top of the hill this valiant action of roze , and what a condition he was in , had rally'd as many men as he could get together about his person , with a resolution to bring him off . he was already got within the space of enclos'd ground between the two defiles , at what time roz● rejoyn'd him . and thus the resolution of the duke , and the prudence of mercy , were in part the cause of that honour which roze acquir'd by his retreat . mercy at the same instant began to make his retreat likewise , but withal that good order which could be expected from a great captain , who would never be constrain'd to a battel , and understood how to take his advantages when opportunity offer'd ' em . nevertheless , he quitted his artillery and his baggage , and leaving some dragoons to dispute the passage out of the defile , h●● march'd with that speed thro●●h the high road to filinghen , that the french army lost sight of him in a moment . while mercy thought of nothing else but to hasten and secure his retreat , the duke rally'd his men together with a resolution to follow him ; but it prov'd a thing so difficult to do , that before he could get his army in a body together , the bavarian had gai●'d above a league of ground before him . there is a mountain between st. peter's and filinghen , much higher then any of the rest ; at the top of which there is a level sufficient to contain an army drawn up in battalia , and which commands all the hills round about . the water , the past●●●ge , and the fertilty of the soyl , which is every wher● manur'd under that place , both very commodious and very secure to encamp in . they who were acquainted with the country made no question but mercy would have pitch'd his tents there● which made the duke to hasten his march with all dilligence . nevertheless , when the advanc'd curriers of the french vanguard were got to the top of holg●●ve ( for so the place is call'd ) they found that the bavarians , after they had only broke ground , in order to entrench ; were advancd farther , with more haste then the french could follow ' em . thereupon , the duke being quite out of hopes to overtake 'em return'd the same way he came , and ●ncampd at st. peter's abby . his men were so tird , that he was constraind to let 'em rest the next day , while they burnt the bavarians ● baggage , and brought away their canon , and two morters , which the bavarians left behind ' em . the next day he took in a little castle seated upon the mountai●s , and which might prove serviceable to his designs , and sent the count of tournon to convey the artillery to brisack . thus the retreat of coll. roze was the last remarkable action perform'd at the battle of friburgh , which is more properly to be call'd a series of several bloody conflicts , then a pitch'd battel . on the one side was to be observ'd a courage which not being to be daunted either with the badness of the weather , nor the disadvantages of ground , hazards all for victory , and proves victorious at length . on the other side , behold a prudence which nothing could shake , that made the best of every thing for defence , yet still accompany'd with extraordinary valour . it is a difficult thing to judge which of the two merited most honour● whither he that attackt an army entrench'd in places almost inaccessible , and forc'd ●em to quit their holds ; or he that preserv'd a resolute and undaunted judgement in a long retreat , in view of a restless , urging and victorious enemy , and at length , made choice of a post , from whence he could never be forc'd . however , this may be truly said , that a general who quits his artillery and baggage may be said to be beaten , and that the honour of the retreat cannot be thought to be compleat , unless he saves all . it may be also said that all mercy 's prudence could never have preserv●d him from a total rout , had it not been for the error which espenan and l' eschelle committed in the execution of the duke's orders . in short , it so falls out for the most part that an army which vigorously attacks an enemy in his trenches , has generally the advantage of him that defends ' em . after the duke of enguien had sent away the count of tournon , he return'd toward landsdelinghen , where his cannon and baggage stay'd for him . and then he thought of nothing more then of what advantages he might make by mercy 's retreat . 't was the opinion of the principal officers that he should retake friburgh ; that their march into germany was only to relieve that place , and consequently it ought to be the first fruits of their victory . that the bavarians had not been able to level their lines , that they were already far remote , that there was but a slender garrison in the place , ill provided of all things , and terrifi'd with the ill success of the combats which they had beheld from their own ramparts . but the duke was of opinion , that 't was of greater consequence to undertake the siege of philipsburgh , the other design not appearing great enough at the end of a campaign , which it behov'd him to crown with some exploit much more illustrious● besides , that by bounding his conquests with the taking of friburgh , the arms of france would be no farther advancd into the country , and would be also constraind to repass the rhine , to take up their winter quarters in alsatia . not but that the siege of philipsburgh was extremely difficult ; in regard it requir'd a long march to lie down before it ; because the infantry was much lessend in number , and for that their mony was spent , and provisions were to be brought a great way ; but the duke contemning these difficulties , the siege of philipsburgh was resolvd upon . to that purpose he sent champlastreux , the intendant of his army to brisack , to bring away ten battering pieces , in boats , which would be also farther serviceable to lay a bridge over the rhine . champlastreux , who was both active and understood his business , soon dispatchd away those preparations ; and the prince set forward from langsdelinghen , the th . of august , with his whole army , and march'd along by the rhine , after he had sent tu●al before , with one part of the weymarian cavalry , some musqueteers and some dragoons . roze follow●d tubal with the remainder of the weymarians ; the duke reserving to himself the leading of the infantry of both armies , and the french cavalry . in this order he march'd toward a castle , seated five or six miles from strasburgh , fortifi'd with towers after the ancient manner , and defended with a good moat full of water , which he took by the way , to secure himself of a communication with strasburgh . from thence he advanc'd to kupenheim , which roze had taken as he march'd along● tuball had also possess'd himself of ethinguen , forsen , bretten , durlack , baden , pruessel and willock , small villages enclos'd with moats , the most of which had castles also belong'd to ' em . and turenne went on and invested philipsburgh it ●elf , with three thousand . horse and seven hundred foot , and the duke arriv'd before the place in ten days march from langsdelinghen . philipsburgh is seated near the rhine , upon the confines of the dutchy of wirtemberg , and in the lower palatinate , three leagu●s f●om spire . from brisack to hermestein there is not any strong hold but philipsburgh . it was formerly calld vdenheim , and was the seat belonging to the bishops of spire ; and the troubles of germany insensibly constrain'd the bishops to fortifie it . but when they had put it into a condition to defend it self , it remain'd no longer in their hands . for the imperialists , and afterwards the swedes , made themselves masters of it : the french also possess'd it for some time● but afterwards it returnd under the emperors dominion . to this town belongs a fort which commands the rhine , and which communicates with the city , by means of a causey six foot broad , and eight hundred foot long . over against philipsburgh , the river forms a large elbow , and causes a great many boggs round about half the place . the forti●ication is only of earth , but the ramparts are very thick : it is surrounded with large and deep moats , nor is there any more then one way to a●●roach it ; and the body of the place is composd of seven● bastions almost regular . the berm is so large that it serves for a false bray , and this b●●● is secur'd by a quick-set hedge very thick . the moat is full of water , two hundred foot wide , and four fadom deep , with a counterscarp well pallisado'd . on that side next the elbow , which the rhine makes , there is only a bogg cover'd with wood in some parts ; on the other side the ground is somewhat higher , and intermix'd with heath , wood and ploughd fields . when the duke invested it , bamberg was governour● the garrison was compos'd of two hundred horse , and five hundred foot ; there were a hundred pieces of canon mounted , and ammunition sufficient for a long siege . after the duke had view'd the most advantageous places to secure his circumvallation , he spent the rest of the day in taking his posts , and appointed the night for attacking the fort upon the rhine . the french army took up their quarters from k●audenheime to a river that waters the plain , half-way from rheinhausen , and the german army was posted from the river to rheinhausen . night being come , the souldiers prepar'd to storm the fort. the duke march'd thither through the woods , while tu●ennne approachd it over small damms that are rais'd athwart the mersh . but the duke could not get thither till break of day , because the way he had chose was long and difficult . bamberg , not having foot sufficient , sent for into the town both the men and every thing else that was provided for the defence of the fort ; so that turenne finding it quitted took possession of it , and fortifid it with all things necessary against the attacks of the city . after that , the duke minded nothing but to secure his circumvallation . he caus'd forts and redoubts to be rais'd in all places where the ground was proper , and cut down the trees in the boggs to stop up the high-ways . turenne met not with so many obstacles in the fortifying his quarters ; for he made use of a great flood of water that ran along from one end of his camp to the other , which he made a good defence by adding a parapet to it . so that the circumvallation was finish'd in four days , and the camp enclosd on all sides from knaud●nheime to rheinhausen . in the mean time , the bridge of boats arriv'd , laden with canon , ammunition and provisions . in twenty four hours it was laid over against germesheim and knaudenheime . germesheim is a small city of the lower palatinate , seated upon the banks of the rhine , fortifi'd with bastions of earth and a drie moat , on that side next spire , but full of water on that side next philipsburgh . the taking of it was necessary to command the upper part of the rhine ; for in regard there could be no circ●mvallation made beyond the river , they could no● be assurd of the river without taking in those places which commanded it . therefore , so soon as the bridge was finishd , the duke order'd d' aumont to pass the river with six hundred foot , and three hundred horse , and attack germensheim , which he did in two days after the trenches were opend ; and after that he marchd toward spire . this city , tho it stands upon the rhine is only considerable for being the seat of the imperial chamber ; for it is only surrounded with a wall , garnishd with towers , after the ancient manner , and a nasty moat . thus , while d' aumont made himself sure of the most necessary posts upon the rhine , the duke began the attack of philipsburgh . and it has been already by us observ'd that there is but one way to approach the town , where the earth is gravelly , all along to the very counterscarp of the two bastions of the place . in this part the duke orderd two attacks to be rais'd ; o● which grammont undertook to carry on the left , and turenne took care of that on the right hand . both the one and the other made use of above fifteen hundred paces of the course of a little rivolet that waters the plain , after they had turn'd the water another way , in order to make their approaches toward the two bastions which they were to attack . the trench was open'd the first of september , and the same night they made a place of arms common to both attacks ; each of which carry'd on their approaches to the opposite bastion . espenan , with the regiment of persan , commanded the guard , the first night in grammont's trench , and after he had carry'd on the line near paces , he began to raise a great redoubt , where he settl'd a corps du guard of a hundred gendarms at the head of the workmen ; and those horsemen had orders to retire , in the day time , behind the ruines of an old building , near the opening of the trench . the night was quiet enough ; and the besieged who knew not as yet where the pioniers were at work , never gave any interruption to the besiegers . but so soon as day appear'd , and that they descry'd the earth cast up , they resolv'd by a salley to ruine the work which had been carry'd on in the night . to that purpose they detach'd two hundred foot , and a hundred horse , who advanc'd toward the line ; and tho it were full of pioniers espenan prepar'd to receive 'em , commanding the gendarms to oppose their cavalry . but that squadron marchd against the enemy in so much disorder , that they were utterly broken at the first charge , and la boulay was there slain upon the place . however espenan had put the line in so good order , that the besieged durst not attack it ; nor pursue this their ●irst advantage any farther ; in so much that the gendarmes had time to rally and return to the charge ; and this second time they so well acquitted themselves , that notwithstanding all their firing from the bastions , all that remaind of those that sally'd were driven to their counterscarp . thus the besiegers continued their work without opposition , but that their infantry was lessen'd to that degree , that the dukes army did not amount to above three thousand me● , and the tother was not above two thousand strong . with so few men the prince had an incredible deal of trouble to guard so spacious a circumvallation , and to furnish men sufficient to guard the trenches , and other necessary occasions . his infantry consisted of four battallions ; of which that which was relievd in the trenches was order'd for the extraordinary guard of the camp. the other two wrought in the approaches , and the last provided faggots to fill up the trenches . palluau , with the regiment of enguien relievd , the second night , espenan and persan , & carry'd on the line and finishd the redoubt . tournon and marsin , the two next nights advanc'd the works much farther , and made a battery of six canons . turenne had made n● less haste on his side . the fifth night the two attacks made a lodgement upon the counterscarp ; neither did bamberg oppose these works , but with his canon and small-shot . neither did the duke hear any thing of the bavarian army ; only he had intelligence that iohn de wert was upon his march with a thousand horse and as many musketeers , to try whether he could put any relief into philipsburgh ; and this advice constraind the duke to redouble his guards , and to ride the rounds every night . so soon as the two attacks had made their lodgements upon the counterscarp , the workmen began to pierce it , and raise batteries to ruine the defences of the place . as for the descent into the moat , it was not very difficult , but it would be very troublesome to secure it . for in regard the water was almost even with the counterscarp , the besiegers could not come at it under ground , and it requird a great deal of time to make a gallery coverd with oaken planks . so that the d. only drew a streight line which butted upon the moat , and which was coverd with bavins upon blinds and chandeleers . espenan and palluau , during the two nights that they kept guard , brought their works to so much perfection as to be able to fill up the moat . tournon also had already thrown into it a great number of bavins , bu● as he passd along the piercd line that led to the work , he was slain with a musket bullet . la pomme the engeneer was expert at making mines and passing moats : but he met with a great many difficulties by reason of the canon that playd from the town , which the besiegers canon c●uld not master , for that having so great a number as they had , no sooner was one piece dismounted , but presently another was mounted in the room ; and beside those which they had in their flanks with which they batter'd the bridge side-ways , they had a row upon the face of the bastions which pierc'd and ruin'd the whole approach . 't is true the flanks were so small that they could not plant above three pieces of canon upon ' em . which is a usual fault in the best fortifications to ha●e the flanks either too narrow or too open● but the first of these defects is the worst , in regard that between the two opposite batteries the greatest number of canon always prevails . in a word , the besiegers having rais'd two batteries , each of four pieces of canon , presently put to silence the enemies canon from the flanks . but the besieged planted so many upon the faces of the bastions , the rampart of which was very low , that they ruin'd those of the besiegers . for which reason , the duke was constrain'd to raise shoulderings to hide his batteries , and cover the faces of the bastions . by which means his canon got the mastery , and the besiegers labour'd with more security to perfect their bridge . then bamberg found that it would not be in his power to hinder the m●at from being fill'd up , and therefore knowing his garrison to be but weak , he thought it not convenient to stay till the miners were set to work , in hopes before that , to make a more advantageous capitulation . thereupon , he beat a parley , hostages were given on both sides , and the garrison march'd out the twelfth of september , to the number of five hundred men , with two pieces of canon . the duke put persan's regiment into the town , and made espenan governour . the winning of this place , tho more easie then the prince fore●saw or expected , gave great reputa●ion to the arms of france ; insomuch that several cities sent their deputies● nor did 〈◊〉 till d'aumont summon'd 'em , but sent commissioners with their keys to the d. who receiv'd 'em honourably ; and after he had confirm'd their priviledges , sent 'em back with order to dismiss the imperialists , and receive a french garrison , which a' aumont had instructions to put into the town . but the duke could not reap himself the fruits of the taking of philipsburgh , nor could he remove from thence before he had repair'd the fortifications . for the enemy was at hand ; his men were much lessen'd and weary'd ; his canon had made great ruins which were to be repair'd ; nor was the prince in a condition to stand mercy , who had both refresh'd and recruited his army since his retreat from friburgh . so that all the duke could do was to settle his quarters in the places along the rhine , in such a manner , that the enemy could neither regain what he had won , nor force him to a general battel . he had the river on the one side , the city on the other , the fort of rhine before him , and the mersh , and the woods behind him . his army being thus advantageously posted , he detach'd turenne , to go and attack wormes . this city is not inferiour either in dignity or number of inhabitants to any of the cities of germany , being seated upon the b●nks of the rhine , and fortifid as much as the largeness and situation of it would permit . duke charles of lorrain kept garrison there , and since the loss of his territories , he had hardly any other place of retreat but that . turenne sent away the foot , his canon and all other things necessary for his design by water . which done , he march'd through the palatinate , with two thousand horse , and defeated six hundred m●n , which general beck had sent to frankendale . the inhabitants of wormes also open'd their gates , and sent away the lorrainers . thereupon turenne continu'd his march toward mayence , and detach'd away roze to take in oppenheim , a little city seated in a pain , ill fortifi'd , but defended with a very good castle . roze found no resistance there ; and turenne at the same time presented himself before mayence , and lodging himself in the subburbs , sent a trumpe● to those that commanded in the city , with offers of honourable conditions . m●y●nce is the seat of an archbishop , who is one of the electors , and one of the principal cities of germany ; besides that , it is large , populous , and well built , considering that it lyes in a country where good architecture was never much known or practis'd . the situation renders it considerable , being seated just opposite to the mouth of the mein , which washes one part of the walls : on the land side it is defended by a citadel , with four bastions . but as it is usual in great cities , the fortifications had been long neglected , so that the principal defence of the town consisted in the number of inhabitants , not in the strength of the ramparts . at the lower end of the city , upon the bank of the rhine , st●n●s a magnificent c●stle , which is the residence of the elector . in the time that this city was under the power of the swedes , the king had caus'd a fort of six bastions call'd gustawburgh , to be built in that part where the two rivers meet . but the imperialists having at length retaken mayence , the fort was quitted by the swedes , and the electors let it run to ruine . when vicount turenne enter'd the subburbs , there was in th● town an imperial garrison of eight hundred men : nevertheless , the elector not believing he could remain there in safety , was retir'd to hermestein ; so that the chapter , which has all the authority of the government in the absence of the arch-bishop , caus'd all the bodies of the city to meet together , and after several deliberations , they resolv'd to send their commissioners to the duke of enguien , and to present the keys of the town to himself , to make their capitulation the more honourable , by the quality of the person that receiv'd ' em . turenne sent this answer to the duke , who lay still with his army near to philipsburgh ; who thereupon departed with a convoy of four hundred horse , and came to mayence in a day and a half . and while both sides were drawing up the articles of the surrender . mercy lay posted upon the hills between hailbrun and neckersulm , leaving the necker before him . hailbrume is not above fourteen leagues from philipsburgh , and m●rcy pretended from thence to put a stop to the progress of the duke . to which purpose he detach'd wolfs , a famous collonel among the bavarians , with two hunder'd horse , and five hunder'd dr●goons to put himself into mayence ; tho wolfs could not get thither above a quarter of an hour before the duke of enguien . so that the trumpet which the duke sent to give the city notice of his coming found wolfs harang●ing the townsmen , and encouraging them to stand upon their own defence , offering the reinforcement which he had lef● on the other side of the rhine , as also the assistance of the whole bavarian army , which would follow him in a little time . but the inhabitants , who knew the duke was in their subburbs , stood to their word which they had given to turenne , and after they had dismiss'd wolfs out of the city , sent their deputies to the duke to conclude their treaty of capitulation . the chapter also oblig'd themselves to send out the garrison , which they kept in binghen , a small city , and to admit the french. the duke gave th● government of mayence to the count of courval , and put a strong garrison into the town , with all things necessary to repair the old fortifications and make new ones . turenne likewise took creussnack in his march , and d' aumont invested landau with twelve hundred foot , and fifteen hundred horse . this is a city seated in a plain , four leagues from philipsburgh , well peopl'd , and having a rampart flank'd by two towers , after the antient manner , with a moat defended by some half-moons and a covert way . there were in the town four hundred lorrainers ; and it was the only place which the palatinates had preserv'd in the palatinate , on this side the rhine , except frankendale , where the spaniards kept a very strong garrison . while ● ' aumont was taking up his quarters , and beginning his approaches before landau , the duke rejoin'd his army close by philipsburgh , that he might be near the siege which d' aumont had undertaken ; where he understood that the trenches were already open'd , but that d' aumont going to visit the works was dangerously wounded . thereupon turenne was sent to continue the siege● who carry'd on the trenches with that speed , that in three days a battery was raisd , and a lodgement made upon the counterscarp . the fifth day , the duke being come to visit the works , the lorrainers capitulated with turenne , and march'd out of the place . after the taking of landau , newstad , manhei● and magdeburgh , made but little resistance . so that in one campaign , the duke saw himself three times victorious over the bavarian army , master of the palatinate , and the course of the rhine , from philipsburgh to hermenstein , and of all the country between the rhine and the moselle . there are three things which have not been observ'd in the campaign of friburgh , which are not to be omitted . the first is , that the duke , as it is credibly reported , the more to encourage his souldiers to force the bavarian camp , threw his ba●toon , the ensign of his generalship , over the entrenchments , shewing by that action , that to prevent his ba●toon from falling into the enemies hands , there was a nece●●ity of gaining that part where he had thrown it , and that it was to be lookt upon as the prize which the duke propos'd to himself to win ; and which it behov'd all the souldiers also to be no less eager of gaining . the second thing necessary to be observ'd is this , that the defeat of the bavarians at the battel of friburgh , gave the french an easie opportunity to make such considerable progresses , that they no sooner presented themselves before a town , but the garrison surrender'd . so that the marquiss d' aumont having summon'd gemersheim to open her gates , she did it immediately . the deputies also of that place , accompany'd with the clergy and magistra●y , met the marquiss , to assure him of their obedient submission to the king of france , and besides landau , which marshal turenne took , they made themselves masters of magdeburgh , and the city of bacara ● the third thing worthy to be observ'd , and which will shew the terrour which the duke of eng●i●n's name had struck into the hearts of the enemies of france was this , that when turenne had sent roze to invest mayence , and that mercy had sent wolfs with six hundred dragoons , and four hundred horse , to succour the place , with promise of all other assistance necessary , those offers were rejected . the besieged answer'd that they were only fair promises . that never the less the city was besieg'd , and that when they were to resist the still triumphant arms of the king of france , they must make use of other weapons the● words , and that the duke of enguien's continud victories gave them great reason to fear that they should not be able successfully to withstand a force that carry'd all before it . which answer to surpriz'd coll. wolfs , that he immediately retird . and then the chapter of mayence sent their commissioners to the duke , to inform him of the resolution they had taken , to surrender the city into his hands , upon condition that the prince would sign the capitulation as it was drawn up , and that he would come and receive their oathes of fidelity . these offers and conditions were accepted the sixteenth of september . the principal articles of the capitulation being , that the administration as well ecclesiastical as secular should remain free to the chapter . that iustice should be administer'd according to the usual manner ; and that under that clause , the officers should be preserv'd in their employments and priviledges . that the chapter having put themselves under the king of france 's protection , the duke should not charge 'em with any new impositions ; and that he should put a garrison of five hundred men into the fort. the duke also made a particular agreement with the governour , which immediately concernd the emperor and the imperial garrison that was in the place . so soon as the capitulation was signd , the duke sent advice of it to their majesties , and then made his entrance into the city , where he was receivd with that pomp and magnificence which carry'd along with it the aire and shew of a triumph . all the corporations of mayence went forth to meet the prince , and made their compliments to him in latin. and the duke , who understood other things as well as the taking of towns , and winning of battels , answerd all their complements , and all their speeches in latin , in so eloquent a manner , that not only they who had the advantage to hear him speak were charm'd and ravish'd with admiration , but the noise of his wit and learning spread it self all over germany , if i may not say all over europe . some compard him to alexander , others to caesar. the first observd in him that impetuosity , that ardour , that activity , that heroick bravery , and daring boldness , which in alexander were joyn'd to the love of letters and learning ; and the others believ'd him to be the living image of c●sar , not only in respect of the capacity , prudence and conduct of that illustrious roman , but also in regard of his eloquence . the end of the first book . the history of lewis de bovrbon , prince of conde . the second book . the duke of enguien was become so considerable at court , that after the battel of friburgh , and the reducing of philipsburgh and mayence , he was made governour of champaigne and brie ; and it was also farther resolv'd that he should again command in germany . the french took the field betimes in that country , and at the beginning of the spring they made themselves masters of three considerable places , by the prudent conduct and bravery of major general erlac . the th . of april he descended toward the rhine , where moser , who commanded the queen of sweden's forces , joyn'd him with three hundred foot , and his own troop of horse . all their forces being embodyd into an army , besieg'd lichtenaw , a castle which the germans made use of as a convenient post , to seize the boats that fell down from strasburgh to philipsburgh . that place held out some discharges of the canon for honours sake , and then surrender'd upon composition . after that the marquiss of baden surrender'd the castle of stolburn which belongd to him , tho it were strongly seated , and well provided with victuals . this do●e , general erlac besieg'd kirppenheim , well fortifid with half-moons , and defended by a broad moat , lin'd both within and without . the inhabitants who rely'd upon their fortifications prepar'd themselves for a stout defence ; but they were constrai●d to give way to the vigorous onsets of the bes●egers , and surrender'd upon composition . while erlac made these lesser progresses , turenne acted with success against the imperialists . 't is true that the advantages which he won at the beginning of the campaigne were attended with a sad event , for in regard he thought he had no reason to fear his being attack'd by those he had so vigorously driven before him , and that he thought 'em a great way off , he was all of a suddain assail'd by mercy , who was one of the most experienc'd , most vigilant , most piercing , and most politick captains that ever were . mercy then surpris●d marshal turenne near mariendal , where the king●s quarters were , and the marshal was beaten before he could joy●n his men. but certain it is , that if turenne committed a fault in suffering himself to be surpriz'd , he made amends for it with as much honour as it was possible . for by that presence of mind which made him find out remedies in conjunctures more difficult , and more imminent dangers , he made a very honourable retreat ; still defending himself with a heroick bravery and conduct , till he got to the passage of the rhine , and fighting rather like a victor then vanquishd . but the loss which france sustaind by that ill success was more advantageously repair'd by the d. of enguien , who was sent into germany in iune . the prince's presence gave new confidence to the french , who were something terrifi'd , and infus'd● into 'em that courage , that boldness and resolution , as prepar'd 'em for the most difficult undertakings , and put 'em into the greatest hopes . so soon as he arriv'd , he possess'd himself of several places , which gave a free passage over the rhine , and made himself master of wimphen , a little city seated upon the necker . and at this time it was that he fought the battel of norling , according to the following account . the loss which the french had sustain'd by the battel of mariendal , was soon repair'd by the duke of enguien , who was sent into germany , a little while after . the presence of the young prince , who had won so many victories , not only enlivend the courage of the french , but so hotly alarum'd the imperialists , that at first they knew not what course to take ; and the prince made the best of the terr●ur which he had struck into the enemy . immediately he seiz'd upon the most considerable places upon the rhine , and cast the enemy into a perfect consternation , by the taking of wimphen and ro●tambu●gh . but in regard he design'd a nobler expedition● to make himself master of heilbrun , he thought it behov'd him to do all he could to weaken the bavarian army , which would ●e still opposing his enterprises . so that without consulting any farther , after he had prepard every thing ready , he fell upon the enemy , who lay encamp'd up●n several hillocks between wending and norling . marshal grammont commanded the right wing , where was the french cavalry with arnaut , camp-master general of the carbines ; turenne le● the left wing , where was all the german cavalry . belten●ve , marsin , and the marquiss of castel●a● commanded the foot between the wings . major general geis , and ●c●in commanded the second line , compos'd of two regiments of turenne's , six of foot , and twelve of horse , that were all hessians , which were reunited with the dukes : and the body of the reserve was commanded by chabot . the bavarians , who as i have already said , were posted upon several rising grounds , no sooner perceiv'd the approach of the d's . army , but they placed themselves very advantageously under a mountain , for on the one side they had a village that stood in the plain , and on the other a castle , where they had already put their canon and some infantry . now in regard that from the village to the mountain there was an easie ascent for an army embattell'd , the duke had a design in the first place to make himself master of that post , as soon as an opportunity should present it self . nevertheless , the enterprise was not so easie ; for there was a necessity of passing between the three flanks of the mountain , the castle and the village which he design'd to take . but being resolv'd upon it whatsoever risco he ran , he undertook to make an onset with the infan●ry only ; to the end that as he drave the enemy from the place he had an eye upon , the two wings which march'd towards their cavalry might receive no annoyance from the bavarians , but that on the other side , they might advance under the favour of their own men's firing . there was also another inconvenience which was to be remedy'd : for there was a necessity of assay●ing the village in flank ; and it was to be fear'd lea●t the men who made the onset should be bea●en by those that stood at the top of the mountain . of the bavarians , so that they push'd forward into the plain , and were going to fall upon the french baggage , when a german regiment not only 〈◊〉 'em , but gave● em chase . the french also were in a kind of disorder , i●somuch that 't was greatly to be fear'd t●ey 〈◊〉 loose the victory . the right wing was u●ter●y broken , in regard they had made no res●st●●● , being vanquish'd almost without striking a 〈◊〉 . but turenne , with the first line of the l●ft win● which he commanded , broke into the ●irst ●i●e of the enemies right wing , tho much more n●●erous then his , which had been extremely 〈◊〉 by the continual firing of the bav●ri●n in●an●ry ; and by that means he made amends in some sort ●or the cowardice of the french souldiers . the s●co●● line of the enemies put themselves at the sa●● instant in a condition to second their ●ir●t , a●● chargd some squadrons in the flank ; but a●●●his nothing terrifid turenne . in the mean time , 〈◊〉 enemies began to make their best of some little advantage which they might have had , if ture●ne h●d been left to himself . but the duke having spyd him in that condition , advanc'd all of a suddain with his second line , and having rally'd the ●irst with all the speed imaginable , he and turenne charg'd the en●my both at the same time , and having broken so●e of their squadrons , put all their troops in disorde●● here the duke having perform'd all the d●ties of a private souldier , as well as of a great captain● was shot in the elbow with a pistol b●llet , which however did not hinder him from act●ng . it may be said that till then there had been only some slight skirmishes , tho there had already bee● a great deal of blood spilt , and a great many o●●icers of note slain on both sides . but because they found it necessary to come to a general battel● the bavarians having brought down their body of reserve , and the troops which had broken the right wing , that turenne seconded , the duke order'd the he●sians to advance , together with his own infantry and cavalry , and march'd himself at the head of 'em ●●ainst the enemy . the dispute was obstinate and bloody for two hours together , and during that time there was no quarter given on either side . they ●●ught on both sides with so much valour and equality of advantage , that it was a difficult thing , while the heat of the combat lasted , to judge which way the victory would encline ; but at last it fell to the duke . one part of the enemy was cut to pieces , the other routed and put to flight . the ba●arians lost four thousand men in this battel . ●tis true that it cost the duke fifteen hundred , counting in the wounded ; but withal he got fifteen pieces of canon , took forty colours , and a great number of prisoners , of which he was forc●d to release the greatest part , because he could not keep 'em without great inconvenience to his own army . but that which compleated this victory was the taking of gleen , general of the imperial army , who was afterwards exchang'd for marshal grammont ; and the death of general mercy , one of the greatest captains o● his age. that very mercy , of whom the duke himself and turenne gave that honorable testimony ; that it was he alone who for along time sustain'd the tottering imperial troops ; that he had never been surpriz'd in any irregular motion● that he had never lost a favourable opportuni●y , nor ever fail'd of preventing the taking of any , as if he had been present in their councils . in a word , this loss of the bavarians was so great , that it seemd at first as if the prosperity of their army had expir'd with their general . and certain it is , that that same body which had so many times signaliz'd themselves , never after that mov'd as it w●nt to do . day with his , and the d. of enguien march'd another way with his men , toward the general rendevo●z . the d. of lorrains army had already passd the scheld , with a resolution to oppose the designs of the d. of orleance , and d. of enguien , but so soon as he understood that the three bodies of the french army were marching directly toward him , he repass'd the river at montagne , in expectation of p●colomini , beck and sambry , that were to join him . but tho that army were five and twenty thousand strong ; tho it coasted all along , in view , the march of the french army , and that it were already posted along the river under the walls of tournay ; the french however forbore not to advance a little below the same place , and to seize upon a pass over the scheld , over against trinity mount. that pass gave the french an easie opportunity to attack tournay or oudenara . but the difficulty was how to pass the river in view of a powerful army , which in all probability would not sit still and look on . nevertheless , at a council of war all the general officers concluded , that there was necessity for 'em to attempt the passage . the only difficulty they met with was to secure the convoys ; but the d. of eng●i●● had already found out a remedy for that . for he had attack'd the castle of lannoy , seated between tournay and l'●●●● , and took it in a days time . which being done , all their conveys were securd , and they had no more to do but to put their resolutions in execution . but upon a suddain the d. of orleance alterd his design , and concluded upon the siege of courtray . first of all the two brigades led by gassion and ranzau , got before the place , and invested on both sides the ri●er 〈◊〉 , upon which it was seated , till the d. of e●guien came up with his army on that side next ●o moncouron and rolingue . but the little care they ●ook to invest it ●etimes , gave the enemy leisure to put a considerable succour into the town . delpon●●● , a 〈◊〉 in great ●epute for holding out of towns● got in with his own regiment and twelve companys of foot● however all this did but animate the french generals so much the more . the next day the trenches were open'd : but the neighbourhood of the enemy so near the trenches , was the reason that the besiegers were in continual fears of being surpriz'd . the enemy also made some motions . and the duke of enguien gave notio●● the same day that the trenches were open'd , that the spanish army was advanc'd very near his camp , with a design to fight him . thereupon one part of the french army drew off and prepard to meet the spaniards , who were constrain'd to retreat a long by the scheldt , into their first entrenchments . after their retreate enguien joyn'd gasson and ranzau , to the end they might invest the town with more ease and assurance . all the french forces being reunited , the circumvallation was begun● and finish'd in less then four days , tho it took up almost five leagues in compass , in reguard that both horse as well as foot were set to work . orleans with ranza●'s men took up his quarter beyond the li● , and on that side next to flanders , from one end of the city to the other ; and he had his communication with the quarters of enguien and gass●on , by means of several bridges la●'d over the river . enguien took up his quarter on this side the river , from orleance's quarter to gassion's , on that side next tournay ; and gassion from enguien's to orleanc●'s , on that side next audenard and gand. the circumvallation as i have already said , was so vast , that the french armies were not numerous enough to guard the whole extent of it , so that there were many void ●paces , through which the spaniards might have put re●ie● into the town , had not the spaces been in●lo●'d with a line , supported and d●fended with a great number of redoubts . 't was thought by the besiegers that by this means they had removed the enemy so far off , that it would be impossible for him to come on . but charles the iv. duke or lorrain , in a sit of dispair , usual with unfortunate heros , advanc'd with all his army , leaving his baggage behind him and posted himself within canon shot of the french camp , making a shew as if he would attack ' em . and had they march'd directly against the duke of lorrain , as it was enguiens advice , they had doubtless given him a total defeat . but orleance did not relish that counsel , whose opinion it was that they should only mind reducing the town , without running any hazard . so that every quarter entrench'd themselves , and went on with the siege , tho very slowly , by reason that lor●ain's army gave fresh alarums every moment . in the mean time lorrain being forcd to retreat , upon the news which was brought him , that the hollanders had taken the field , and his presence was necessary in the neighbourhood to those quarters where they were drawn together , endeavour'd before his departure to put some considerable relief into the town . but the attempt prov'd fruitless , and cost him also a world of men , which extreamly abated the courage of the besieged , who flatter'd themselves with being reliev'd . at the same time gassion attack'd a half-moon and carryd it . enguien also having open'd his trenches on that side where he lay , soon after lodg'd himself upon the counterscarp of the half-moon which he attack'd . the extream facility that he met with , was the reason that he only made a brisk onset without any formality . his enterprize prov'd successful , and was so much the more applauded , because it made him master of what he de●●●'d much sooner then if he had gone regularly to w●●k . however because the trench was pearc'd thorough , and not supported with any ●●dg●ments ● traverses or places of armes , and for that the ●o●gment which he had made upon the half-moon was not well secur'd , it was three times regain'd , and the french were driven out with great loss . nevertheless , nothing but bare necessity restrain'd the co●rage of the d. of enguien . his desire to repair his loss by main force , had like several times to have transported him beyond his judgment , and made him abandon himself wholly to his valour . but this same prince , who as valiant as he was , was no less judicious then brave , gave ear to reason , and pref●●●'d the security of formal approaches , before his boyling indignation , and the troublesome delays which the maxims of besieging taught him , before an irregular daring . and now lorrain being joynd by the marquiss of caracena , there happen'd some skirmishes between the french and spaniards ● the besieged likewise , who still expected succour , made continual sallies● and moreover , they rely'd upon their garrison which was very numerous , and the strength of the fortifications . for it was surrounded with a good wall flankd with towers , with a rampart and a moat supply'd with water by the river . but delpon●● finding that he could not hope to be reliev'd ; that all the half-moons were taken and that the besiegers began to fill up the moate , & fix their miners upon the resolv'd to beate a parley , and had very honourable articles granted him . after the taking of this place the french army rested a while in their camp , and for sixteen days did nothing else but repair the breaches of the city ; level some part of their lines , and fortifie the weakest places with five or six half-moons . so soon as the french had rested , they began to think of new conquests . for the dutch army , to which the d. of o●leince had sent a reinforcement of six thousand men , were pass'd the sheldt ; and the french and dutch armies being joyn'd orleance advanc'd toward berguen st. winox , which is a large city , seated upon the river colme , which about a hundred paces below , falls into the canal of dunkirk , with a resolution to attack that place . to which purpose , orleance with ranzaus brigade posted himself along the colme , on that side next sanberkhen● enguien fix'd himself from his left hand as far as the fort of ventismul●r ; so that they had invested the city on both sides the river . gassion took his post from the fort of ventis●●● , beyond the colme , as far as the grand canal from berghen to dunkirk , and farther to the banks of colme , where he joyn'd to orleance's camp. the place was no sooner invested , but berghen and dunkirk , pull'd up all their sluces ; but the french had posted themselves upon two rising grounds , and opend two trenches , one in the duke of orleance's , the other in the d. of enguien's quarter . so that the besieged , seeing the french advance so furiously with their approaches , and that the cannon from enguiens attack had already broken down their walls , and that they lay naked to the shot , demanded to capitulate . which being concluded , the garrison marchd out the . of iuly , in very good order , and was conducted to dunkirk . so soon as they were master of berguen a design was laid for the besieging of mardicke . to which purpose messengers were sent into holland to sollicit admiral trump to lye with his men of war before the place . but the marquiss of caracena , judging rightly , by the march of the french troops , of the design which orleance and enguien had form'd , sent away forthwith to fernando de solis ● who was governour of mardicke , two thousand foot and a hundred horse , with all other things necessary for the defence of the place . the circumvallation was finish'd in three days , and upon the ●h of august at night , orleance open'd two trenches , and enguen one . the besieged on the other side made several sallys ; and that which was the least advantageous , and made upon enguien ●s trench , provd to be the most fatal to the french , for the prince , upon the first noise of the sally , flew upon the enemy with a great number of volunteers , and the horse guard of his attack , brake through all that oppos'd him , and put all to the sword , hardly one escaping back . but the besieged ●●●d so furiously that their shot from the counterscarp , the hornwork , the half-moons and the bastions was fatal to a considerable number of the french. the counts of flaiz and rocheguyon were both slain , with the chevalier de fiesque . the d. of nemours was wounded in the leg with a musquet bullet , and the d. of eng. scorcht in the face with a fire-post . thus the besieged continu'd their sallys till the d. but all their canon being dismounted , and the french pressing upon 'em with an unresistable fury , they thought it their best course to capitulate , which they did the th . and by their articles they were all made prisoners of war ; to the number of two thousand five hunder'd common soulders , two collonels , and forty captains . some days after the surrender of mardicke , the duke of orleance return'd to court , leaving the general command of the army to the duke of enguien , who after he was cur'd of his wounds , pursu'd his conquests with the same vigour as before . the post before mardicke , was too inconvenient for the army to make any long stay in those parts . the prince therefore dislodgd two days after , and pass'd the colme . but at the same time that mardicke i am apt to think that the dignity of this history● may raise my mind to that pitch as to 〈◊〉 to hope , without wounding my modesty , that the recital will deserve to be suffer'd among the learned , if it may not deserve their applause . all people thought , that the campaign in flanders during the year . would have ended with the taking of mardicke . the season was far spent , our hardships had been extream , and our victories highly honourable . gaston duke of orleance , after he had commanded our armies was recall'd to court ; and all things laid together , made people believe that the army would have been laid up in their winter●quarters ; and that the war would not have been renew'd again till the spring . never the less , lewis prince of conde , never accustom'd to end his campaignes without the having perform'd some great exploit above the common rate of courage , did not find his honour yet satisfi'd . and tho that after the departure of the duke of orleance , who left him general , he had in two days passd several rivers , repuls'd the armies of lamboy and caracena , and taken the city of furnes ; he could not consent to retreate , the winter being yet at some distance● but form'd designs befitting his reputation and his fortune . for so long as the spaniards , who knew that the loss of a general battle would be the total ruine of flanders , refus'd to put it to the venture , and that there was no other way to continue the war but by seiges , the prince resolv'd to undertake one more this year , and to that purpose calld his council together , to consult which place he should fall upon : and all opinions were reducd to two , either menene , or dunkirk . menene is a town seated upon the lis , between armentiers and courtray , in a fertil and pleasant country , famous for the trade it drove formerly in co●● and ●eer , and which boasts her original 〈…〉 , and we had fortunately won 〈…〉 gassion afterwards thought fit to 〈…〉 , and by his care it was put into a condition able to ●●stain the siege of a great army , when c●●●cena surprizd it rather through the weakness of the garrison , then for any defect of the place . they who were for regaining it , alledg'd , that was absol●tely necessary to joyn those places which we held u●on the lis● that menene being in the enemies hands , 〈◊〉 convoys to courtray could never go sa●e ; that it wo●ld r●quire a whole army to bridle that one city . on the other side , that if we had it in our own hands provisio●s might be ●arryd up the river with little danger and expence● that we should be in a condition to make farther proposals● without leaving any thing behind to give us annoyance ; that armentieres and courtray would facilit●te the conve●i●ncies of the siege ; that it was not fitting to suffer an enemy in the midst of our strong holds ; and lastly that it was for the honour of the nation to preserve by our arms● what our arms had acquir'd us . these reasons were plausible and solid in appearance ; but they who did not approve 'em , argu'd after this manner . that the siege of menene requir'd the crossing of several countries , and to undertake a hasty march to prevent the enemies diligence , and to be at leisure to entrench themselves before the whole army could joyn ; which appear'd the less feasible , because their forces encamp'd about newport , near furnes ; they were always restless to know our designs , and that they were ready to follow us which way soever we bent our march . moreover , the siege of courtray accomplishd in view of the enemy , with contin●●l hardships , the succours sent away to the hollanders , during a violent heat , beyond the nature of the climate , in a country open and without water , unless that of c●nals , and stinking mershes , bitter and noysome ; our q●ick march toward the sea coast , the taking of berguen , the siege of mardike , the expedition against furnes , had almost render'd the army unfit for service . on the other side , the enemy having undertaken no siege , keeping themselves the best part of the summer under the shelter of their city , abounding in all sorts of conveniencies , and provisions were as fresh as when they first quitted their garrisons , and were in a condition rather to get before us to menene , then to follow us : but tho we were assur'd of getting there before 'em , and putting our lines in a posture of defence , yet the river of lis running round the place , would oblige us not only to make a large circumvallation , but moreover to divide our army into two parts ; and this army would be so l●ssen'd , as it happens alw●ys at the end of a campaign where the souldiers have suffer'd great hardships , that we shall not have souldiers anow to defend our vast entrenchments , much less sufficient to carry on the siege . on the other side , the enemy will have the advantage with all his forces to assail the half of ours , and afterwards to defeat the remainde● , if their fi●st attempts succeed . more especially since the return of the infantry , which had repassd the sea , would not admit 'em the least hopes of any diversion from the hollanders , tho the prince had sent tourville to 'em to perswade 'em , if he could , to sit down before some town , were it only to divide the spainsh forces , consequently to dream of taking menene , considering the condition they were in , was visibly to hazard for a town of small importance , the honour of so many victories , the reputation of the prince , and the loss of the army . add to this , that after the siege of mardike , the first advice was to regain menene , which tho then it seem'd good , nevertheless , the surrender of furnes , which was as it were a blockade upon dunkirk , and opend a way to that nobler expedition , ought to make 'em alter their counsel● , and therefore that of the two designs they were to make choice of that which promis'd most profit & most honour . these considerations having made 'em lay aside that enterprize which few people contested after the taking of furnes , they fell to examine the attempt upon dunkirk , where they could not expect to meet with fewer difficulties . for tho the situation render'd the circumvallation more easie , and that it were but a small march for the army , yet there were so many obstacles to obstruct the design , that it was morally impossible to surmount . there is a necessity , said they , that one part of the army must encamp upon some hills , and the other among standing pools , and muddy grounds . there was no wood in all the neighbourhood , nor any straw for the souldiers hutts ; no conv●nience for lodging the cavalry ; no forrage for their subsistance . one part of the country desert and untilld● the war had ruin'd the rest : so that there was no likelyhood that the army could subsist there one day ; much less continue a siege . the trouble of procuring victuals was also as great , which could be brought no way but by calais , or by sea. but the dunkirkers might easily drown so much ground as to deprive 'em of any communicat●●n by l●nd , and the way by sea was no less hazardous , because of the fla●s and shoals , and want of ports ; and altogether impossible in stormy weather : so that if it should happen to be bad weather , and that chance to continue but a little , we must either famish , or be forc'd to raise the siege , with the ignominy of having attempted it without foresight . moreover , as it was a most difficult thing to force dunkirk● so long as her port was open , so there was no probability that the great dutch ships that had lain in the road ever since the taking of mardike , could be able to come to an anchor near the shoare , if the winds began to blow so furiously as they had done , more especially in the engl. channel , where the waves are short , and the sea runs high in bad weather . and when the dutch are forc'd to keep out at sea , the enemy with their small vessels , will run all hazards to fetch relief for the besieged . they farther observ'd , that during the september tides that swell'd high , 't would be a hard thing to hinder the barks from newport or ostend from creeping along the shoar , and getting with the tyde of flood himself confirm'd in his desire to a●tack it by this , that the enemies generals would hardly hazard the event of a battel , so long as it appear●d to them uncertain ; for which reason he might the more daringly undertake what he pleas'd , and that there was no fear of those whom their own interests held to be half vanquish'd already . thus then the desire of the publick benefit join'd with the hope of more then ordinary honour , having made him resolve to fall upon dunkirk , he determin'd to vanquish all manner of obstacles , and to overcome nature her self that oppos'd his great design . nevertheless , to testifie his moderation in an action of so great importance , and to avoid as much as in him lay , the effects of envy the inseparable companion always of great atchievements , he caus'd the opinions which had been debated in council to be written out , and without imparting his mind publickly to any body , sent away la moussaye to court , to inform ann of austria , who during the minority of lewis the xiv . her son , successfully govern'd our empire , in expectation of her orders , with a submission so much the more acceptable to her , that he might have permission to act without consulting the rest of the great ministers . now in regard he had so order'd his message that he made no question but that the queen would leave all things to his management , and that she would permit his prudence to take the liberty of his choice , he resolv'd while he stay'd for her approbation , to employ his time in getting all things which he thought necessary in such a readiness , that when the answer came from court , there was nothing to retard his going forward . four things chiefly put him to a great deal of trouble ; the bad condition of his men , that lessen'd every day , and which however he design'd for new hardships , greater then those they had already undergone ; the barrenness of the place whither he was to lead 'em ; the difficulty of hindring the dunkirkers from communicating with ostend and newport , and the weakness of furnes , which left him expos'd to the enemy , if he drew off his army . after he had for some time debated with himself the m●ans to remedy these inconveniencies , his prudence at last furnishd him with such as prov'd effectual . la ferte seneterre remain'd upon the lis with a volant camp of eight hunder'd horse , and fifteen hunder'd foot , with a design to secure the french conquests , and if the enemy made any diversion , to march where necessity calld him . the prince also gave him directions with all speed to fortifie those places which the french held in those quarters , and to put ●em into such a condition , that if he sent for him , he might have 'em well secur'd . he wrote likewise to the vidame of amiens , the king's lieutenant in picardy , to draw out of the frontier garrisons as many men as possibly he could , and to bring 'em to the camp. he sent villequien into boulonnois to rally the mil●tia of the country that were return'd home after the taking of mardike . and foreseeing that the french infantry which had follow'd grammont into holland , and which were to return into france in two of the states vessels , might land at mardike , a little before he marchd for dunkirk , he designd to make use of those men , and order'd that as soon as they landed , they should be distributed into mardike , bourbourgh and berghen , to the end they might refresh themselves a little after the inconveniencies of the sea , and be ready so soon as there should be any occasion for 'em at the siege . he order'd also the polish regiments of priamski and cabree to take some rest in the neighbourhood to calais . those foreigners were above seventeen hundred in all , and were newly come into france under the leading of sicot . after he had taken those just measures , that he might bring together when he pleas'd as many men as were sufficient to fight the enemy , should they resolve to fall upon him rather then suffer the town to fall into his hands , and to carry on all the labours of the siege , his next care was to provide for their subsistence . to which purpose he dispatch'd the intendant champestr●ux to callais , to make provision of ammunition and victuals , and told him which way he would have 'em brought , notwithstanding the inconveniency of the season , and the deepness of the roads ; remitting to him the performance in general of what he orderd him in particular . now , tho that the dutch admiral , trump , a man famous for sea affairs , and whose valour had rais'd his fortune , was come , by the states order , with ten men of war to an anchor in dunkirk road , and that number were sufficient to block up the port , while the french navy found the spaniards employment in the mediterranean ; nevertheless in regard the small vessels of the enemy might creep along the coast and slip into the place , the prince thought it convenient to send for some few frigates from the french ports . so that montigny sent away twelve from dieppe ; villequier two from bologne , which were join'd by one from calais , together with some beelanders which they pickt up upon the coast. beelands are small vessels , longer and narrower then hoys which they very much resemble , and much in use among the flemings , for the conveniency of their trade ; and all these small vessels were under the command of andonville . there was nothing more now to be done but to put furnes in a condition to stop the enemy while dunkirk was taken ; and to furnish it with forrage for the subsistance of the horse , which the prince took care of in person ; to the end his presence might make 'em more diligent to hasten their work , and to see that they spent no more time then what was necessary in finishing the fortifications , and supplying the magazines . furnes is seated between newport and dunkirk , at some distance from the sea , tho it may be conjectur'd that formerly it was very near it , when the ocean driven by the violence of the north winds , overflow'd all the land about it , if not stopp'd by the mounds that lye in the way . for fueren or wueren , as the flemings now pronounce it , signifies to navigate ; and nae●wueren to arrive in port ; as if furnes had formerly been a haven for ships , and that it had deriv'd the name of it from thence . and as a mark of this , the vicount of furnes holds the first rank among the castell●ns of flanders , who are call'd riverians , in regard it was their business to guard the coasts . a great number of churches and considerable edifices render the city very beautiful . there is the chamber still to be seen where lewis the xi . kept himself close , when being da●phin , he retir'd to charles the vii . and that the d. of burgundy protected him from the anger of his father , and that chamber is still adorn'd with the arms of france and burgundy . the country about furnes is pleasant in summer , chiefly that which extends to the east and south , by reason of the meadows and woods : but the mershes render it very noysome at other seasons . 't is true that this inconvenience is amply recompenc'd by the fertility of the pasturages , which is the reason that in several places they neglect all the care of good husbandry ; and by the great number of canals , which are infinitely advantageous for trade . nevertheless , there is good store of plough'd land , which bears plenty of corn ; and in a word , the riches of these parts is such , that charles the v. was wont to say , that if the rest of flanders were but like that corner of the world , it would be more worth then the indies . the foundation of it is very ancient ; for we find in the year . baldwin count of flanders fortifi'd it with out-works of earth , against the invasions of the normans . after that , notwithstanding it ●ad been several times ruin'd by fire , by domestic● seditions , civil wars , and the funy of the french arms , ●nder robert of arra● , and philip de 〈◊〉 , yet still it has recover'd it self after so many disasters , and was then in a flourishing condition , when the french took it . so that besides the necessity the french had of it , in order to their design upon d●nkirk , they had reason to preserve it , for the sake of it self . so that the prince after he had consider'd the situation , and the nature of the place , resolv'd to environ it with several half-moons , a hornwork and a counterscarp ; having no other defence at that time then a wall flankd with towers , and a moat full of water . to this purpose he distributed the foot into those places where he intended to break ground ; divided and appointed the quarters of the regiments ; orderd a camp-master to every quarter to take care of the work ; settl'd the hours of rest ; nam'd the bodies which were to relieve one another , and methodizd all things with so much equality , that there might always be a good number of souldiers at work all day long . in the mean time , the cavalry were order'd to cut wood , and every troop brought piles to make palisadoes and stakes for the use of the fortifications . he had also before this commanded the magistrates of furnes , to order the peasants through the whole extent of their jurisdiction , to gather fo●age , and bring it into the city . he sent for boats from all parts to facilitate the transportation of it ; and appointed an officer to receive it as they hundled it up , and store it up in the magazines . never was seen so much diligence , and so much order , both at the same time . the fortifications were rais'd , the city furnish'd with provisions , the cavalry , infantry , burgesses , peasants , sea-men , every body quick , and without confusion , in the performance of what was enjoin'd ' em . all this while , the prince was every where giving directions , and shewing that he had a perfect understanding of military oeconomy . which to me , seemd so much the more worthy of applause , because valour is common to the meanest private souldier , whereas fore-sight , and knowledge in the art of war , are the distinguishing qualities of great men. so that it appear'd , in a short time , how much the pr●sence and ability of a general puts all things in forwardness . for in the space of days , the fortifications were fi●ishd , and the magazines well filld . now these great preparations not being unknown to the spaniards ( for the flemmings spurr'd on with that aff●ction , which people reserve a little while for the masters they have lost , gave them continual intelligence ) they readily c●njecturd that the french had a design to attack dunkirk . caracena , who lay nearest to the french , was the first who dispatch'd away advice of it to castle rodrigo , governour of the low countries , at brussels . he sent him information of what he learnt day by day , and by redoubld couriers , de●ir'd his counsel and assistance , in a matter of so high importance as this . the chief commanders of the flemmish armies , after they had shar'd among 'em the defence of these countries , were at that time seaprated in posts remote from one another . their generalissim● , charles of lorrain , was drinking waters at the spaw ; and his men lay quarterd upon the frontiers of holland ; as was also beck with his body of flemmings and walloons , picolomini , with the princip●l strength of the country , was encamp●d upon the scheldt , near dendermonde . curacena , lay at newport , commanding the royal army of spaniards and italians , as also the germans , and the liedigeois , which the emperour had sent at the beginning of the campaigne ; while lamboy , general of those forces , constrain'd by sickness to quit the service for some time , was gone for the recovery of his health to one of his houses in the county of liege . this disposal of the spanish forces , seem'd absolutely necessary to casti●rodridgo , for the security of the provinces which he govern'd ; and upon the sole conjecture of appearances , usually false , frequently fraudulent , he durst not disfurnish those places , which they possess'd , for fear of exposing 'em to the armies of the french or hollanders . but tho there were not so much reason to be afraid of the hollanders , for that they carry'd on the war more remissly , since their plenipotentiaries had begun a negotiation of a truce , with the k. of spain , in the assembly at munster , where the ministers of the christian princes met to settle peace over europe ; yet it was plain , that tho both the armies of flanders should have joyn'd , there was no likelyhood they would come to encamp near dunkirk , so long as the french lay at furnes ; for that being depriv'd both by sea and land of all communication with newport , it would have been their visible ruine , and to have been expos'd an easie prey to the french , all flanders being depriv'd of their veterane bands , which till then had hinder'd 'em from hastning their destruction . thus castelrodridge , being ●●opt by these considerations , and the slow manner of acting , customary to that nation , who wait upon time , which they often loose , in hopes that either the season , or the places , would either hinder or ruine the french , deemd it su●ficient to keep in a readiness what he thought necessary for the relief of dunkirk , when the town should be besieg'd . to the end therefore that nothing might be omitted which he thought might be serviceable to him in this important necessity , he resolv'd to try whither he could excite the parliament of england against the french , in regard they seem'd to look upon it as their interest not to let dunkirk fall into their hands . to this purpose , after he had imparted his resolutions to the generals he dispatch'd an express to the spanish ambassadour at london , to the end he might be inform'd of his designs , and make use of his credit , which was very great with the republicans at that time , to obtain a considerable succour . this was the posture of affairs on both sides , when the answer from the court was brought to the prince . it was written in such a manner , that tho the ministers started some difficulties in the ent●rprise of dunkirk , 't was easie to perceive that they inclin'd to the design of attempting it ; rightly judging , that if it succeeded , the taking of that place would prove a great honour to the queens regency . thereupon they referr'd it again to the prince , to consider whither he would undertake the enterprize or no. the design therefore being resolv'd upon , there was nothing more in the princes thoughts but going to work , and to make the best of the season , winter drawing on a pace , and already beginning to pinch the army . for the security therefore of furnes , , the prince left bosquet governour , with a gar●ison of foot , and horse , with instructions to send continually to the camp , corn , hay and straw . all the souldiers h●d orders then to be ready to march , and the th . of september , the whole french army set forward from furnes to dunkirk , consisting of between nine and ten thousand foot , and five thousand horse , without any baggage , or that rabble of useless people , that usually follow great armies . gassion and ranzan marshalls of france , commanded under the prince . the first having pass'd through all the degrees of warfare , had attaind by his own merit to be chief in the princes favour . the other a native of germany , but long devoted to france , found his services recompenc'd with the greatest honour to which the french nobility could aspire . these two had under 'em , for lieutenants , villequier & la fer●e imbrand , chastillon , la moussaye , arnauld , pallua● , lavat , chabot , castelnau and marsin , camp●marshals to the prince . quince , roane●te , and miossans , were the same under gassion . normantier , sicot , and clanleu , under ranzau . they had under them very good officers , few volunteers● but amongst those that were was the duke of rets ● whose diligence , near the person of the prince , during the whole campaigne , made him to be greatly taken notice of ; and montauzier who rode post to wait upon the prince , upon the first rumo●r of the siege . the country between furnes and dunkerk , is intercut with several canals , between the new river , and the colme , beyond which , toward the north , the downs extend themselves , and the sea-sands . the prince therefore resolv'd to divide the army into three parts , as well to possess himself of this country , as to invest dunkirk , so soon as he was got out of furnes . this disposal render'd his march more easie and swift , and by this means , all the three bodies which he had separated might arrive before the town , all at the same time . he chose that side next the town , as the most dangerous , by reason of newport , where the enemy lay encampt . he had with him the regiments of pers●n ; enguien , conti , albert , and mazar●n , vattevil●e's regiment of switzers , and the battallions of english under tilliot , hacquins and hansfers . his cavalry consisted of the queens gendarmes , those of conde , enguien , long●eville , de l' hospital , and grammont , the light horse of conde , and enguien ; the royal regiment ; those of enguien , mazarin , grammont , sceaux , meille , marsin , binse , and four troops of arnauds carabines . the most part of these bodies had always serv'd under him , and the tryals he had put 'em upon , gave him such reason to confide in 'em , that it was much to their honour . gassion took the left hand of the prince● along the river that runs from furnes to dunkirk , with the companies of french gu●rds , six companies of swiss guards , the regiments of picardy and navarr , one of walloons under borrnonville , one of switzers under guy , and a battallion of english under rocpy . for his cavalry he had his own regiment , with those of coas●in , de la fueil●ade , villequier , rocheguyon , coeuvres , bergere , stref● tillar , and bussyalmoru . ranzau march'd thorough the country that lies on the other side of the new river , with six companies of the french guards , the regime●ts of piemont and orleance , and the switzers of molondin . his cavalry consisted of the regiments of orleance , dela ferte imbaud , roquelaure , beaujeau , eclinvilliers , noirlieu ● with his own , together with the fusel●ers and cravates . the artillery , commanded by cosse , st. marsin , chouppes , and le borde● , consisted of fifteen heavy canon , some middling and small pieces , some bombs , and a great number of granadoes . after a march of six hours , the whole army arriv'd before dunkirk , not having met with any considerable obstacle . only ranzau was constrain'd to drive the enemy from four redoubts , which they held upon the canal , that leads from dunkirk to bergues , through which he pass'd . nor would it have been an easie thing to have forc'd 'em in some hours , would they have held out till their canon could have been brought up ; which could not have been done so soon , by reason of the deep and miery ways , which the rain had broken . but whither they wanted resolution , or whether they thought to spare their souldiers , they quitted the three first redoubts , so soon as they saw the bridges layd to get at 'em , and retreated to the fourth , which was defended by the canon of the town ; and immediately a hunderd and fifty horse fall●'d out of dunkirk , and put themselves behind the fort ; as it was thought , with a design to dispute it . but afterwards it appeard , that their intention was only to favour the retreat of their foot , which was there engag'd . for noirmonstier , who was commanded to take in the forts , and who had already possest himself of the rest , was marching to fall upon the latter . at the same time he also caus'd the first squadron of the regiment of orleance to advance , and order'd genlis to take a hunderd musketeers of the french guards , and seize upon certain old ruines that lay between the fort and the town . but that struck a fear into the enemy , lest we should hinder their return , and made 'em judge it was dangerous for 'em to stay any longer ; so that they made away after a slight skirmish , and the french van curriers drave 'em to their very counterscarp . dunkirk is seated among the downs , that rise up with their white heads , on the north side , from eschelle to calais . on the east it is bounded by furnes and newport . southward , it looks toward berguen and flanders : mardike lies to the west of it ; and the sea washes it to the north. the territory that belongs to it is very small , and almost every way enclos'd by that of berguen . the largeness and strength of it proceeds from the convenience of the sea● st. eloy , preaching the gospel , built a chappel there in former ages , of which there are some remains still to be seen near the towers of the city ; from whence it derives both name and original . dunkirk , signifying no more then the church upon the downs ; and it seems that for that reason they have built the steeple of st. eloy ●s church so high , that the rising of the hills does not hinder it from being seen out at sea ; and from the platform at the top , you may discover in a serene day , the mou●tains of dover , and the coast of englan● ● at first , dunkirk was only a poor hamlet , compos'd of fishermens hutts , erected for the conveniency of the haven . afterwards , antiquity and carelessness having spoil'd the harbour of mardike , famous at that time , it became considerable by the ruine of that port. baldwin count of flanders , sirnamd the young , made a city of it in the year nine hundred four score and sixteen . afterwards it was peopled by the favour of philip of vermandois , who endowing it with several immunities , drew great numbers of inhabitants to it . it would require a particular history to relate , how often it has changd masters ; how often it fell in partition to robert de cassel ; how it past to robert de barr ● who by the marriage of his daughter , he fix'd it into the family of st. pol ; how it fell afterwards to the families of vendosm and bourbon ; afterwards under the dominion of the spaniards . it would be also no less delightful to understand the various misfortunes it has undergone ; how the english burnt it in the year . how it was surpriz'd by the french , a long time after , under the marshal termes ; what are the priviledges of the lords of it ? what are the laws it is govern'd by ? what is the trade which it drives ? what is the supream marine council which is there settl'd ? what is their herring-fishing , and the great v●nt they have for that commodity ? and what the priviledges wherewith the emperor charles the v. endowd ●em . but in regard our design is only to write the siege of this place , without intending any other divertisement for the reader , we shall only give an account of the state of the city , at the time when the prince's army sate down before it . 〈…〉 divided into two cities , the old and 〈…〉 the old is seated upon the sea-shore , en 〈…〉 hick wall , after the ancient man 〈…〉 a great many large towers , sup 〈…〉 a sp●cious rampart , accompany'd with 〈…〉 with brick , above foot wide , and 〈…〉 colme water , which swells in that 〈…〉 tides are higher or lower . on mardike 〈…〉 sea runs up into the land , and extending 〈…〉 the wall of the old city , forms a ha 〈…〉 to contain great ships : however , 〈…〉 it is very narrow and dangerous , by 〈◊〉 of the shelves and sands that lye full in the 〈…〉 it . within the canal , which is no less 〈◊〉 then the haven , above a hundred vessels may ●ide 〈◊〉 safety . out of this haven sayl'd the 〈…〉 blockd up the mouths of our rivers , and were ●●c●me so formidable upon all the weste●● 〈…〉 france . antiquity never knew men 〈…〉 pon the sea then the dunkirkers . and indeed i● i●● thing hardly to be believ'd , that this c●●y alo●e should have almost spoil'd the trade of 〈…〉 potent kingdoms of europe , and 〈…〉 d●tch fleets that sail to the new world ● 〈…〉 from the spaniards whole provinces 〈…〉 were not our merchants losses as fa 〈…〉 scandalous testimony of their fury and ●alour . o● that side next to france , from the 〈…〉 against the walls of the old city , the h●ve● is defended by the fort de leon , built upon the 〈◊〉 , and by consequence ill flank'd , by reaso● 〈◊〉 the inconvenience of the place , otherwise small , but strongly pallisad●'d , and furnish'd with a 〈◊〉 of great canon . on the other side of the haven , rises ● causey which running or paces 〈◊〉 the sea , covers it on flanders side and juts upon a small wooden fort , planted with some canon . the new city joyns to fort leon , and enclosing the rest of the harbour ; afterwards enlarges and extends it self about the old one , beyond the way that leads to newport . it is environ'd with an enclosure of bastions of earth , with a moat full of water , and a counterscarp ; and two hornworks fill up the whole space that remains between the hind most bastion , and the causey that shoots into the sea. toward the south , three large canals run out of dunkirk , and afford the advantage and convenience of transporting in their beelands , these commodities which they vend up and down the country . these canals fall into the haven , and serve either to cleanse it , or to drown the parts adjoyning to the city , as they pull up , or let down their sluces . the first leads to berg●●n , the second to hons●otte , the third to furn●s , newport , and then to bruge● . the magistrates having begun this latter in the year . and having finish'd it the next year , gave it the name of the new river ; the other two are very ancient . dunkirk was guarded within with two thousand six hundred foot , in a regiments ; and without by the armies of caracena and lamboy . in those regiments , the number of officers equall'd almost that of the souldiers . there were also in the town horse , and seamen , accustom'd to sea fights ; the fury of which makes 'em contemn all other dangers ; the fortifications were well provided with artillery ; and as we have said already , there was nothing wanting in the city that might serve for the defence of it . so soon as the army came before the city , the prince assign'd the quarters , and resolv'd to dispose of his men in such a manner , that if the enemy should attempt to raise the siege , they could not be able either to succour the town , nor force his camp , on the east side of him , there was a space of ground which separates the new river from the sea. this space of ground is cover'd in part with unequal hills or downs , both in regard of their situa●ion and heighth , and perfectly extends it self into a plain , which is water'd by the new river , and then runs on as far as the canal of honscotte . from this canal going to mardike , there are two mershes , which are cut out of the canal of berguin , and some other rivers . to the west , you meet with a plain opposite to the former , other downs , and then the sea shoar . these la●ter places seem'd sufficiently defended by the canals , and the mershes , which made the access very difficult to those that were not masters of 'em ; as also by the neighbourhood of mardike and berguen , which secur'd ●em . the greatest danger was toward the east ; for that the enemy setting f●rward from newport , which is but ● miles from dunkirk , might come to the camp in a few hours , without any molestation , which oblig●d the prince to make sure of that place . to which purpose he caus'd gassion to encamp with his brigade , from the sea shore to the middle of the downs● the rest he took up himself , and all the plain as far as the new river . there he lodg'd the men which he himself lead ; and that he might wholly fill up the place that remain'd void along th● ca●al of furnes , he joyn'd to his own men , ten companies of french gendarmes , and beaujeu ●s regiment of horse , which were of ranzau's brigade . from the new river , drawing toward the canal of berg●en , ranzau had order to line the rest of the plain , with the bodies of horse and foot which the prince had left him . the places which the french possess'd , and the inconvenient situation of the country serv'd for the rest of the circumvallation . only upon the downs , which lye to the west ; the prince plac'd villequier , with the militia of boulogne , his own regiment of horse , and that of rocheguyon , to the end that the spaniards , if they should pass the c●lme , after they had drawn together at st. omers to put in succour into the town , between berguen and mardike , meeting with that obstacle might be quite out of hopes . by sea , the dutch ships , and the french frigates , blockt up the port , and thus was dunkirk enclos'd on every side . moreover , a bridge was layd over the canal of furnes , for the communication of quarters ; and two more over the canals of honscotte and berguen , for the carriages to come over that brought victuals from calais to the camp. the next day the circumvallation was begun ; at which the whole army wrought . the prince undertook to cut , and sink a moat , six foot deep , and twelve foot wide , from the downs , next the sea , to the canal of furnes ; and to consolidate the work , and hinder the sand from falling into it ; he order●d the lines , which were to be canon proof , to be lin'd with turf . then he mark'd out the most easie places for the attacks , and to secure 'em with pallilado's and turnpikes ; and about or paces beyond the moat , he drew out another of an ●qual bigness . now , in regard the risings of the downs were un●qual , and for that there were some along the lines , that might annoy the army , he was constraind to possess himself of all those upper grounds , to fortifie 'em , and extend his works a great way , chiefly toward newport road , and gassion's quarter . there was one of these hills , which being much higher then the rest , commanded the camp , from the top of which , the french were to be seen drawn up in order of battel , and it was dangerous to let the enemy be masters of it , so as to plant their cannon upon it . the prince therefore , to obviate all annoyances , resolv'd to possess it ; and whatever pains it cost him to environ it with two lines , which should joyn to those of the circumvallation , to raise a fort at the top of it , and to plant a battery upon it . the sea shore still remain'd to be fortifid . but by reason of the flux and reflux of the sea , there was no probability of working in the sand , without being able to fix it ; and besides , the shortness of time would not permit the casting up of mounds . nevertheless , the rest of the works were insignificant , if such a space of sandy ground should be left unguarded , during low water . the prince therefore resolv'd to plant a kind of rail , well fortifi'd with stakes anow to put a stop to the enemy for some time , and easie to repair if the tyde should carry any part of it away . he order'd therefore piles of wood to be driven in by main force , the better to sustain the fury of the waves , and to range 'em so close one to another , that there might be no room to go between 'em ; yet still at such a distance as to give way to the violence of the sea , and break the strength of the innundation . nor did he employ less industry to defend himself from the water , which the dunkirkers , had let into the highways , from the new river to mardike , which were overflow'd in such a manner , that the wagons that came with victuals from calais could not pass . but tho , when the prince thought of the siege , he had provided against this inconvenience , by ordering champlastreux to cause a great quantity of ammunition bread to be bak'd at berguen , from whence it was brought down the canal to the camp , and to send for all the provision he could in boats , that crept along the coasts from calai● : nevertheless , because this way was uncertain and troublesome , and for that the army was still in fear of want , ●he thought it necessary to clear the high-ways by turning away the water . and first they thought to stop the sluces with planks , rampar'd with earth , which would be easily done , and take up but little time . but the fury of the waves , which with a wonderful rapidness , drives back the stream of rivers , when the tyde flows in , having twice carry'd away all their toyl and labour , therefore they determin'd with great pains to drive in great piles near the hollowness of the sluces , thorough which the sea rowl●d in , and to forti●ie the piles with great stones , and throw in a vast quantity of earth , till at length the sluces were stopp'd . at the same time also that he entrench'd himself against the enemies forces , and the obstacles of nature , the prince with no less prudence provided for the necessities of the army . he sent away out of the camp all the baggage horses , and a thousand of those that belong'd to the troopers , which were most harass'd to recruit themselves in the pasturages about calais . the forage which the barrenness of the place , & the difficulty of carriage render'd scant , was very sparingly distributed ; taking the pains himself to go twice a day to the place where the forrage was landed , to see it equally shar'd . at the same time he commanded roanette to fetch the infan●ry that return'd from holland , and sent rambur●'s regiment to villequier's post , the better to secure it ; and for that purpose , the companies of the garrison of lorrain and havre , and grammon●'s regiment took furnes road. those of noirmonstier and f●bert , stay'd at berghen , with directions to come in their turns , and serve in the camp , by mounting the guards of the trenches . he also order●d sicot to bring the polonians within the lines . in the place where he encamp'd , he retain'd the battallions of cabree , and sent the third which priamiski commanded to reinforce gassion's quarter . that nation contemns danger , which their natural fierceness is ignorant of . the nobility however are civil and ingenious , but haughty , as are all the rest of the northern people . now in regard the polanders know little what belongs to sieges , the most part of their wars being carry'd on in the field , they came into the camp without any conveniences for the making of hutts . nor did the place , which was barren enough of it self , afford 'em any ; so that they were constrain'd like beasts , to dig themselves holes in the sand , to shelter themselves from the weather . during all this variety of labour and toyl , the prince was up and down every where , leaving nothing exempted from his care ; yet still appearing with that sedateness of mind , which was easie to be discern'd in his countenance . so that the souldiers imitating the example of his chearfulness , and redoubling their labour with the same alacrity , in four days , notwithstanding the continual rains and winds , all the fortifications of the camp were finishd , and the sluces prevented from doing any more harm . the downs also that were fortifid for defence , lookt like so many great bastions , and surpriz'd the eyes of those that beheld ' em . nay , even they that fortifi'd 'em could not but wonder how such prodigious works could be brought to perfection in so short a time . surely , if we consider ●eriously all the circumstances of those works , which i have so faithfully describ'd , and afterwards examine those which are to be found in the greek and roman histories , which we never read without astonishment , will find by a just comparison , that the prince has hardly been out done . while they were working at the entrenchments , the prince receiv'd news that the orders which he had sent for securing the places which the french held upon the lis , had been punctually obey'd . that la ferte seneterre , together with rovigny and de piennes were departed from bethune , with all their men , to put in a convoy of measures of corn , and some bundles of match into courtray , which that place stood in need of . and it was said , that because they would make the more haste , and for that they understood , that the enemy had thrown trees cross the high-ways , they left the wagons , and loaded the draught horses which they unspang'd from the wains , beside that every horseman was order'd to carry a sack behind him , and so crossing the enemies country , in the night , got safe to courtray , where they left men of the regiments of antragnes , tavanes , lamberte , and the swiss guards , and provision enough for two months for souldiers . lastly that they were return'd to armentiers , from whence , they could send all ther men to the prince . at the heels of this came other news no less acceptable . tourville return'd from holland , and gave a better account of the success of his negotiation , then the inclination of that republick seem'd to promise . frederick henry prince of orange , whose authority till then had constrain'd the united provinces to continue the war , then lay labouring under a lingring distemper , which had much enfeebld the vigour of his mind , and renderd him less capable of business . in the mean time , the deputies of the states taking the government into their hands , several among ●em sway'd by their old inclinations to peace , others corrupted with the gold of spain , and deeply concern'd for their want of trade , had set forward their treaty with the spaniards , and the catholick king granting almost all their demands , 't was much to be fear'd th●t the treaty would be concluded ; which happen'd to be an ●●seasonable conjuncture for the french , in regard they could expect no succour from holla●d ● however , tourville had so dextrously follow'd his instructions , which the prince had given him , that in spite of all these troublesome obstacles , the dutch not only promis'd to break the trace , but engag●d to make a great diversion in brabant , and to undertake the siege of liere or malines . now , tho the prince built no great hopes upon these promises of the holland●●● ● 〈◊〉 pompous then real● nevertheless , bec●●se he made no question but their army would be 〈◊〉 motion , were it only to make some show of fulfi●●ng their promises , he thought he should get advantage e●●ugh by their march , since it would oblige 〈◊〉 spaniards to divide their forces ; and in regard they that lay at newport , were too feeble to fight him alone , he should the more easily accomplish the siege . while things thus pass'd in the camp , the enemies generals , no longer doubting but that dunkirk was besieg'd , assembl'd at newport , which was the next place to the siege , and therefore most commodious for conference and execution . picolominy & ●●amboy were there , being come to joyn caracena , who had never stirr'd since the taking of furnes . beck was also expected , who was hastning thither with long marches . these captains being of several nations , and having various interests , pretending to be independant one from the other ( tho picolominy had some authority above the rest ) frequently retarded the welfare of their party , through their private and particular passions ; and many times , while they opposd those counsels which were not giv'n by themselves , their own misunderstandings frustra●ed good designs . at this time , the importance of the thing , being joynd with the loss of their reputation , which the continual victories of the french had very much lessend , oblig'd 'em to give their opinions generously , and to bethink themselves of an entire union , and which way to force the french to raise their siege . nor were they at the b●ginning without hopes . they found themselves more numerous then the french , promising themselves , as they desir'd , and not without great probability , that the hollanders , by a quick conclusion of the peace , would leave 'em at liberty to draw out their frontier garrisons , and oppose the d. with very great forces . besides , the inconveniencies of the d's . being encamp'd in such a place , and the badness of the season gave 'em hopes that they might defeat the french army full of diseases and tyr'd , and enclos'd between their forces and ●he town ; besides , that they lay open toward the sea , & were but badly entrench'd along the downs . for they could not imagine that in so f●w days it had been possible to fortifie the sea-shore , nor to raise in the sand such good defences as the french had done . nevertheless , not being willing to hazard any thing rashly , and because beck was not yet come to newport , to take the most certain measures , they concluded to draw out of all their bodies a good number of horse to take prisoners , and to inform themselves the best they could of the state of the french camp. they also thought it necessary to prepare at newport as many frigates as they could get ready , to the end , that if their negotiation with england succeeded , they might assist the english men of war to force the confederates fleet ; or if they miss'd of forraign ayd , that they might attempt the putting in relief into dunkirk , by the favour of wind and tyde . in the mean time , the prince resolvd to carry the place by main force ; for being a person of a deep fore-sight , he rightly conjectur'd , that only the length of the siege could ruine his design . victuals came with great di●ficulty to the camp ; the sea grew tempestuous , and ran high ; and the sea-men being forc'd out of calais , and not daring to venture for fear of losing their vess●ls , kept themselves within the canal of mardike , with so much obstinacy , that the officers of that fort , were constrain'd to let fly with their great guns upon 'em , and to sink one of the beelands to terrifie the rest , and cause ●em to bear away to the camp. nor was the shore more favourable to 'em then the sea ; many of their vessels being thrown against the sands , and stav'd to pieces . moreover , the rain continually falling , soak'd into the souldiers hutts , so that they lay half in the durt ; the wind caus'd 'em to catch great colds● nor had they ●ires sufficient 〈◊〉 dry themselves ; the terrible blasts blew the small sand among their victuals , and in their eyes ; & amidst all these hardships , together with their military duties in the gua●d of the trenches and camp ; there was a necessity of continually repairing the breaches , which the sea made in their fences , or in the sluces● and emptying the moats of the lines which the wind filld with sand , which redoubld their toyl● ill stabling , and bad food for the horses , reduc'd 'em into a very bad condition ; and sickness began to seize both men and beasts . these vast inconveniencies nothing dismay'd the prince , who had seen 'em all present in his thoughts , from the very moment that he form'd the design ; and who as we have already said , had from that time so well taken his measures that by his extraordinary dillig●nce and industry , his army might support it self longer , then he judg'd it necessary to take the town by force . for in regard it was to be fear'd , that if they went about to storm the town with those securities and defences usually prepard for other souldiers , le●● after they had spent a long time in raising works , the approaching winter might render all their labour fruitless , and an ensuing mortality consume the army , the prince took up his first resolution , which was to make tryal of the quickness of execution , and judiciously perswaded himself , that it was the preservation of the souldiers , to hazard a small number in glorious attempts , for the safety of the rest . by that means he prov'd a good husband of time , the loss of which is never to be recover'd . he satisfi'd the desire of the whole army , impatient of their su●ferings , and brought to pass this renowned enterprize , maugre all the opposition of men and nature : having this to comfort him , that whatever happen'd , his honour would retain entire , not only because it did not depend upon hazard , against which he had fortifi'd himself as much as it was possible● but the rather because his virtue had rais'd him above the reach of ill fortune . with these thoughts , the very same day that the entrenchments were finish●d , he went to view the place , together with gassion and ranzau ; and after he had well considerd it , he resolv'd upon two attacks ; t●e one upon the last bastion , the other upon the hornwork against it . he order'd the first onset to be made by his own army , which he reinforc'd with two battallions , which he took by turns from both the marshals ; leaving the more easie attack to the two brigades that were to relieve ' em● they attack'd the bastion in the face next the sea , and the hornwork on that side which was most exposd to the bastion . in the evening the trenches were open'd , and a great redoubt was rais'd at the beginning of each , and between the two redoubts they rais'd a battery of great guns . this was done without any disorder , the besieged never molesting the workmen ; whether it were that they thought that what was yet done , would do 'em but little harm ; or whither they believ'd it more necessary to employ themselves in finishing certain out-works which they had already begun , and to surround 'em with pallisado's . the marshals attack was the first place where any fighting happen'd to be . for between the pallisados and the besiegers trenches , there was an indifferent high hill , which the enemy possess'd , and from whence they were to be driven , before the french could carry on their works . therefore noirmanstier , being upon the guard that day with ten companies of the french guards of ranzau's briga●e receiv'd orders to make himself master of that down . thereupon having drawn out a company of choice men , under the command of saujon , chail●y and rousille , seconded by the rest of the body which courcelles lead , he fell on with great resolution . the souldiers were daring , the o●ficers prudent , and as it happens in the first action of sieges , every one strove with emulation to signalize himself . so that the attack was undertaken with so much vigour , and in so good order , that the enemy astonishd at the fury of the first onset , gave ground without much resistance , not being able in their confusion to consider the number of the assailants , nor to make the best of those advantages , which the light of the moon , and the white sands , over which the french advanc●d without any shelter , might have given ' em . however , they did not suffer the attackers to rest long . for all of a suddain , as soon as they had recollected themselves , they return'd to the charge . three times they came on again , and were three times repuls'd . in the mean time , niorm●nstier , tho he ran up and down where ever the exigency of command and danger summon'd him , had broke ground with so much speed , that maugre those attacks , he had finishd a lodgement upon the down which he had gaind ; and they had join'd it by a line of retreat , a hunderd and fifty paces in length , with the works of the french. nevertheless , the work was not brought to full perfection , for want of bavins , when about six a clock in the morning , the dunkirkers resolvd to drive the besiegers out of their lodgment . noirmonstier immediately ran with courcelles , , and the other captains , to the head of the work , by their presence and conduct , to encourage the combatants . at the same time the enemy threw a great number of granados , the breaking of which did the besiegers the more mischief , in regard there was not one that fell in vain among the souldiers that were thick crowded together . the besieged were in hopes that their granado's would have put the french in disorder ; and that afterwards they might be repelld with more ease . but when they saw the officers resolute and accustom'd to discipline , succeeded one another when any one was wounded , and that fresh souldiers took the place of those that fell , then hopeless to see the small effect of their granado's , they came to handiblows with the besiegers . this encounter which lasted hours , was very bloody , the manner of combat augmenting their fury . the fortune of the day also waver'd for a long time , the french not willing to abandon their victory , and the spaniards striving with all their might to regain it . but at length the spaniards recoyl'd , and tho they made other attacks with the same obstinacy , they were still repuls'd , and the lodgement made capable befor● night to contain above men. the besiegers lost a great number of men ; they had serjeants kill'd ; porcheux , a captain of the guards ; mondebise , a lieutenant , and two other officers wounded . nor was the enemies loss less considerable . on their side there dy'd a volunteer of the house of cro●y ; and of the french , barrouliere , an ensign of the guards . saujon , chailly , rousille , loignac , genlis , campagnole , and du voulch , officers of the same regiment did signal service , chiefly courcelles , who next to noirmonstier might well assume to himself the greatest part of the honour of that action . on the other side , at the principal attack , where aubeterre was wounded with a musket shot , the approaches were briskly carryd on . chatillon , in a little time had advanc'd the works so far , that there was not much ground to be gaind to come at the counterscarp ; all things went on prosperously , and the speed of the work answer'd the prince's expectation . in the mean time intelligence came , that the enemies armies were set forward out of newport to ●ight the besiegers ; and that the foremost squadrons of their vanguard appea●'d between furnes and dunkirk . this intelligence was grounded upon the advantageous rumours which the spaniards caus●d to be spread about , of great succours which they were preparing , and of their assurance to force the french lines ; and all this to chear up the dejected minds of the people . which reports , the v●lgar believing , had encreas'd 'em with great additions , according to custome , and the cavalry that appear'd , seemd in some measure to confirm ' em . however , the prince being inform'd that the forces of flanders were drawing together about newport , and desirous to know the truth of the rumour of their march , that he might prepare for all accidents , sent out for news , and dispatcht away orders to la ferte seneterre to approach with his flying camp. the next day the french scouts brought word , that the cavalry which had alarum'd the peasants and the spies , was nothing else but a great par●y sally●d out of newpor● , which fell upon the french foragers , and that having taken some of 'em , they were retir'd again in hast . now tho this report of relief had spread it self among the besiegers , yet it wrought no disturbance . there was no alteration made in the guard of the ●amp , which was still dispos'd in the same manner as if the enemies army had been in view ; the works a● the trenches , and the attack of ●he bastion went o● , and arnaud and marsin were advanc●d almost to the foot of the counterscarp ; but with some trouble and danger ; the difficulties encreasing ●s they drew nearer and nearer to the enemies defe●ces . at length , la moussay● coming in his turn , undertook to make a lodgement . he mounted the guard with the battallion of switzers under molondin , 〈…〉 ring their great 〈◊〉 which 〈…〉 fore , with extraordinary fury ; 〈…〉 who were altogether expos'd by 〈…〉 workmen , ●ighting with disadva● 〈…〉 had already receiv'd two mor●●l 〈…〉 most daring of his men not wil 〈…〉 but prefer●ng de●th before igno 〈…〉 by him . the t●mult , the night , the 〈…〉 arms , the gro●ns of the wounded , 〈…〉 combatants caus'd a hidio●s 〈…〉 the news of this disorder wa● carrid 〈…〉 who immediately flew into the 〈…〉 the da●ger , and by his pre●ence settl'd all 〈…〉 order again ; he caus'd the men to 〈◊〉 ●o t●e works , which la moussaye repair'd 〈…〉 on with the same courag● , as he had 〈…〉 surviv'd some days the honour 〈…〉 ervice ; but death depriv'd him of all 〈…〉 ut the praises of posterity . at 〈…〉 on the marshals side , the tumult was 〈…〉 nor the combat no less furious . for 〈…〉 carry'd on the trenches , and chan●●● 〈◊〉 possess'd the place of a fortification , 〈…〉 sieged had begun near thei● counter 〈…〉 mounting the guard after them , had 〈…〉 p●llisadoes , one of which lookt toward t●e ●ea , the other coverd the hornwork whither the ●esi●ged were carrying on their w●rks . the 〈…〉 of navarr had attack'd the first , and the 〈…〉 pic●r●y the other . now the spaniards 〈…〉 while they defend any strong hold , th●● when once the garrison is distributed to the 〈…〉 most likely to be a●tack'd , they never change 〈◊〉 d●ring the siege . when the besiegers have 〈…〉 outwork , the men that defended it , retreat to 〈◊〉 guard of the next ent●enchment . now 〈…〉 had been all along oppos'd to the 〈…〉 , from the beginning of the sie●e . and ever since the opening of the trenches , tho always at hand●blows with the assailants , had defended their outworks with resolution and valour . but now , tir'd with watching and hardship , they quitted their pallisadoes to the besiegers almost without any contest . the besiegers were masters of em for some hours , and had finish'd their lodgments , when leda , bringing along with him two companies of natural spaniards , which he took out of fort leon , and animating ●he wallo●●s with this succour , and his personal presence , made a s●lly at the head of ●em , tho fruitless as to the decision of the main business , yet prosperous at the beginning . he regain`d the pallis●do , with an extraordinary fury , which led to the counterscarp of the hornwork , and overthrew all that oppos`d him . grave , blancafort and poix , officers of the regiment of picardy , were wounded in sustaining the assault , and breaute was kill`d . the death of the latter added to the mournful examples of the misfort● ne of his ances●ors , of which the french histories are full , and confirm`d the common opinion , that the destiny of the wars of flanders , is always fatal to those of that family . la vieuville , camp-master of the regiment of picardy , assisted mi●ssans , under whom he mounted the guard. he perceiving that the souldiers gave ground , and that the commands of the officers were not at all regarded , and not bro●king , while he liv`d that his regiment should receive an affront , ran with some of his men where the conflict was hottest , and throwing himself into the thickest of the enemy , put a stop to their victory by his daring boldness . his souldiers also , spurr`d on by his danger , and his example , returnd to the onset with so much fury , that they layd the spaniards sprawling , and regain`d the lodgement which mi●ssans brought to perfection , without any opposition . this was the posture of things in the attacks of the place . in the mean time beck arriv'd at ne●port , and joyn●d the rest of the armies with three thousand foot , and five and twenty cor●●●s of horse . he found the affairs of his party in very great disorder , and that there was no possi●●lity of succouring dunkirk . for their spies , and the french prisoners which they had taken had inform'd 'em of the strength of the besiegers lines , and they judg'd the work so compleat , that they ●o●ld not without extream rashness , undertake to force 〈◊〉 . they knew the prince who defended 'em , to be a person accustom'd to victory , prudent in danger , and that success attended his wisdom . so that altho their armies consisted of above twelve thousand men , that number was not sufficient to accomplish the enterprize , where multitude only could overlay the valour of the b●siegers ; and which is of great moment in ma●ters of war , the reputation of the prince had imprinted such a violent terrour in the minds of the soldiers , that they dispair'd of victory , had they been to fight him in the open field much less to force him out of entrenchments that were fortif●●d and better guarded . as for their negotiations in england , they had m●t with little success in ' em . they could obtain but a very inconsiderable supply from the parliament , and all the credi● of their faction , the policy and sollicitations of their embassadors provd ineffectual . not but that the english for good reasons of state would have been glad to have cross'd the french in the conquest of dunkirk : but more pre●si●g considerations , and the urgency of affairs at home restrain'd 'em from looking abroad , and oblig'd 'em to preserve their men and money for more pressing occasions . but that which utterly broke the design of the spaniards was this , that the hollanders , in expectation of a peace , of which there were very plausible probabilities , were preparing for some expedition , not willing so soon to quit the publick ●ause , nor their allies . 't was certainly reported also that they , were marching in hast towards liere or malines , and the report ran already of the taking of one of those places . now tho the danger was not so great , and for that the hollanders marchd but very slowly , yet certain it is , they would have besiegd some place or other , could they have met with any that had been unprovided for ●esistance . so that the spaniards were as much constrain'd to oppose their proceedings , as they were at the beginning of the war ; and were not only deprivd of the succour of their frontier garrisons , but oblig'd to reinforce ●em with part of their army . for which reasons those gen●rals were no sooner met at newport , but they were forc'd to separate again ; which renderd all their consultations ineffectual . for being alone they were not strong enough to repair the loss of dunkirk , by any other considerable conquest● and they durst not keep any longer together for fear of the hollanders . in the midst of these extremities , they resolvd before they parted to march toward dunkirk , as if they intended to relieve it , and to fall on a suddain upon furnes , not dispairing to take it with the same speed as the prince had won it ; and hoping by such a conquest not only in some measure to satisfie the expectation of the people , but to incommode the french by depriving them of their forage . with this resolution , the next day after becks arrival , they took a review of all their forces , and setting forward from newport , they en●ampt at a village call'd adinkirk , and round about the abby of dunes , between furnes and the sea , and in the road which the enemy were to take in their march toward the french camp. presently the besiegers ●ad some thoughts that they might attack their lines , they giving out the report themselves , on purpose to dissemble their design● and to shew as if they really intended to fight the french army . now while the soldiers were preparing themselves , and that in the midst of their fears of so furious an assault , the greatest part co●ceald their sadness under an affectation of falsejoy , they sent out a party to view furnes . but by accident , they who were sent thither , whether it were that they could not ride round the pl●ce , or whither they satisfi'd themselves with seeing where it might be most easily attack'd , only took a view of those parts , that had been fortifid with gratest care . so that after they had considerd the defences , being surprizd to see 'em so strong● they carrid back word that not only furnes co●ld not be taken by assault , but that altho they should besiege it regularly , they found it in such a co●dition , that they would not warrant the success of the seige . upon this news they lost all their hopes of doing any good ; and beck , never staying an● longer , march'd away with seven regiments of foot and three of horse , toward demer and neth● , to oppose the hollanders . the rest return'd to encamp near n●wport , and dixmude , contenting themselves to save those towns after the loss of dunkirk . and thus all their great preparations , and vain ostentations vanish d into sm●ake● on the other side , the prince , who upon the general belief of their coming to attack him● was salli'd out of his trenches with some cavalry to observe their motion , finding only the footste●● of their abandon'd lodgments , return●d to the camp , and sent back la ferte seneterre to the banks of the lis , who was come as far as berg●●●● to be at the battle . while things were in this posture , the besieged spurr'd on by their valour , under the leading of a most excellent captain , and in hopes of being succour'd , every where intermixd stratagems of war with couragious actions , omitting nothing that might be serviceable for their defence : they were always either in fight , or hard at work. they disputed their trenches with an incredible obstinacy . when the besieg'd had carrid 'em , they presently threw up others , and still oppos'd new obstacles to the besiegers armes , and stoppd their victory at every step they made . they surmounted the toyles of perpetual labour and watching , and contemnd the pain and torments of wounds . on the besigers side , a defence so resolute , infusing despite and shame into , the soldiers , and emulation & ambition into the officers , the french in stead of being repulsd were more incens'd and encouragd by difficulty and danger . the prince also lookt upon it as an honour , that the siege should be signalizd with numerous and famous at●heivements ; and knowing how much it would redou●d to his renown , with a small army and in a few days to subdue a town sufficiently able to stop the carreer of great armies for a long time , employ'd his utmost vigour to attack it , and us'd all his ende vo●rs to hasten the taking of it . and thus danger a●d fury every where equally increas'd . after moussaye and miossans were reliev'd , chabet who succeeded at the attack of the bastion , with the regiment of persan , and ●olanders , gaind the top of the counters●a●p . the conflict was very hot ; molan●re , a captain in persans re●iment fell upon the spot . malortie and du fay● , his companions and five lievetenants were wounded and the work as quitted a good while , the pioneers having betaken themselves to their heels : but at length the prin●● secured the victory by his presence , and 〈◊〉 ●odg●men● to be finishd . the besieged on the other side diggd a traverse on the righthand , which would have very much annoy'd the besiegers , if caste●●●● , who reliev●d chab●t , had not carryd it of a suddain . on the t'other side at the attack of the hornworks , 〈◊〉 with the regiment of orleance , noirmonstier's , and three hunder'd polanders gain'd those traverses , from whence he drove the enemy . among the dead , wa● found bi●e , major of the regiments of orleance ● and three lieutenants wounded . now in regard the 〈◊〉 was weaker on that side , and for that the besieged broke ground with more diligence , they speedily● 〈◊〉 themselves behind three redoubts which they environ'd with palisado's : but roan●●te , 〈◊〉 the guard , carri●d on three sappings , and we●● on so brikly with that d●fficult labour , that the besieged could not have time to fortifie th●mselves in their new enterprise . u●●n the st . of octob. at night , noirmonstier & lava● mounted the two trenches , and resolvd together whatever it cost 'em , to make themselves master of the counterscarp . to which purpose laval commanded the regiments of eng. and conty with some polanders . he divided to the right and left the officers & soldiers which he resolv'd should begin the attack , & taking the m●ddle , with those which he had had ma●e choice of for himself , and fell on pell mell upon three places at once . presently there was nothing to be seen but fire and smoake , and the counterscarp of the bastion was gain'd● but when they began to cover themselves , laval himself working hard among the soldiers , as he was placing a barrel , he was lay'd upon the ground with a musquet bullet that took him in the head , and dy'd some few days after of his wound . his loss was generally lamented by the whole army ; and the prince in particular was deeply sorrowful for his death . he was a young gentleman of an illustrious family , ambitious of honour , and capable to have advanc'd and vex'd to the soul to see dunkirk lost before their eyes , that they might omi● nothing which was to be done , resolv'd notwithstanding the wind was still against ●em , to try what they could do by sea , and by the me●ns of several small boats which they had got ready , knowing that the seamen were perfectly acquainted with the coast , to put in a considerable succour by water ; whi●h design , if it succeeded , they were in hopes , that the bad weather , and the inconveniencies of the encampment would constrain the french to raise the siege ; or at least , that by ruining their men , the taking of the city would cost 'em their army . to this purpose , they hir'd beelands at newport , which they fill'd with their bravest command●rs and stoutest souldiers , and which they set to sea under the conduct of their most experie●c'd pilots . this fleet put to sea in stormy weather , every body being resolv'd to surmount all difficulties , partly ambitions of honour , partly covetuous of reward , and spurr'd on by all those other incitements , that usually inspire men with contempt of danger . however , the success no way answerd their fruitless promises , and the joy of the dunkirker● , tha● from the top of their walls beheld● the beelanders coming , soon turn'd to sorrow . for so soon as the spaniard● saw that they were discover'd by the hollanders , and that the sea-men perceiv'd that trump was preparing t● make up to 'em , whither it were that fear depriv'd 'em of their judgement ; or that they could not withstand the wind and the sea , as afterwards they said , they betook themselves to flight , and without making the least effort to weather the storme , they made all the speed they could to newport , whither a●donville chasd 'em with the french frigates . all men , well skill'd in sea affairs , unanimously agreed , that tho many of the beelands might have been taken or sunk , yet had they ventur'd , some might have escap'd and got into the place ; but it had been to lit●le purpose . for the town was then so sorely press'd , tha● it m●st have been a very considerable succour that could have preservd it . the mine that had been a delving under the horn-work a●l night , and all the next morning was found to be f●ot deep , and there was no dou●t but the effect of it would be very great , in a place so proper as that was . by consequence the horn-work could hold out no longer , and after the loss of t●a● forti●ication , the dunkirkers , securd only by the walls of their old city , and being incapable of defending thems●lves , would be constrain'd to surrender . and fort●n● in this seconded the common opinion , and soon reduc'd the b●sieg'd to the utmost extremity . for ab●ut two of the clock in the afternoon the mine was spr●ng ; and such was the violence of the powder , that of a suddain it carryd away the earth , and the wall ●hat were next the mine , and le●t a great breach in one of the sides of the hornwork . some lazie souldiers , surpriz'd by the fury of it , w●re blown up into the ayr , and fell down half dismember'd , overwhelm'd with stones , and wrapt up in dust and smoak . pre●ently clanleu orderd molondine's swisses to the breach , who finding it without any defen●e began a lodgement . and they had already plac'd barrels , when the besieged powring out from behind two traver●es , where they had retir'd till the mine was sprung , ●inding there was nothing more to be afraid of then the ordinary risco's of war , fell on desperately , and mangre all the resistance of the besiegers , drave 'em from the top of the hornwork where they had ent●ench'd themselves . the switzers full of indignation retu●n●d to the charge , and continud fighting a long time with dubious fortune● at length they fell to handy-strokes , which prov'd a cruel and desperate confl●ct , the besieged having been accustom'd to victory , and 〈…〉 knowing themselves lost , if they lost 〈…〉 . all the while , the smoak of the 〈…〉 from the trenches and the town , 〈…〉 and noise , occasion'd by the conflict , having darkend the day , and depriv'd the combata●●s of the knowledge of one another ; all of a suddain both parties , that believ●d , being each in the same confusion , that their enemy had the advantage , retreated on both sides , and left the lodgement in the middle between 'em quite abandon'd● and this great disorder lasted for two hours . but at length , the skie being clear , and all things in a calm , the besiegers first began to recover themselves . clanleu , then led 'em on again to the breach , where that he might act with more security , and have his orders e●ecuted without confusion , he was willing they should rega●n the top of the lodgement barrel after barrel● and step by step . and thus he spent the rest of the day , the enemy not daring to disturb him , till miossans reliev'd him , and found the lodgement almost brought to perfection● in this encounter the besiegers lost a captain ; two lieutenants were wounded , and fifty● souldiers either slain or disabl'd ; the loss of the besieged being equal● nor must we omit the death of semur , the more to be pity●d for the oddness of the accident , and for that his generosity prov'd fatal to him , while he lost his own to preserve the life of his friend . belloy and he did the duty of serjeants of battel , and with their pikes in their hands sustain●d the fury of the enemies sally . they had both an esteem for each other , and there was no less emulation between ' em . neither of ●em would be first that fled from danger , nor be the first that ●orsook his companion ; honour and courage stopt ●em in the midst of peril . in this noble contest , belloy was struck down with a stone . semur ● never minding his own preservation , but running to help him up again receivd a musket shot in his thig●● of which ●e dy'd sometime after . but belloy return'd to the fight , and the next day was in a condition to do service . at the same time that they so warmly engag'd at this attack , arnauld having mounted the guard in the new length , by a line of communication , joynd the two attacks to the side of the moat . to that purpose he began after one sapping , to pierce it ; he orderd bavins to be brought to fill up ●he moat , he planted one piece of canon convenient for battery , with a design to preserve the trenches , which running on with less room , as they approach'd the place , were the more easily shot thorough by the canon of the enemies defences , and therefore it was the more necessary to play from the trenches to ruine em . marsin reliev'd him , with the regiment of persan , and a battallion of english , and all that night continu'd throwing faggots to fill up the moat . but in regard he found it to be very broad and deep , and that the enemy annoy'd his approaches , the mines could not yet be set to the bastion ; which forc'd him to facilitate the building of the bridge which led thither , to raise a new battery . the same night miossans , with the french guards of gassions brigade , made an end of lodging himself upon the hornwork , and carry'd on the sapping to the entrenchment , which the enemy had already opposd against him . some hours before day picolominy advancd along the shoar to the besiegers fortification of piles and stakes , and alarum●d gassion's quarter . for he had been told that he might that way put men into dunkirk , a●d retreat without any danger , provided he kept his design secret , and that he took the advantage of the night , and the fall of the tyde . now tho he knew that this enterprize would not save the place , yet he was oblig'd to attempt it , by reason of the honour which , would redound to himself , either to have reinforc'd dunkirk with relief , or to have been the only person of all the generals in flanders , that durst approach the enemies entrenchments . to this purpose therefore , setting forward from newport with of the best troopers in his army , he march'd all night in ●o good order , and with such a profound silence , and his guides had led him so directly , that he had eluded the watchfulness of the french scouts , and was got to the s●o●●a●e without being discoverd . there was then some hopes that he might get forward with his men● but the besiegers foot guard , that kept a diligent watch , with their arms in their hands , fir'd with that fury upon him , that h● was forc'd to retreat . s● soon as the prince had notice of the enemies approach , he presently mounted , and sallying out of the lines , with two regiments of horse , march'd with all the speed he could above two leagues , but could not overtake ' em . picolominy galloping away full speed , as judging that he should be follow'd , and that he could not avoid being defeated , if he gave the prince never so little time to joyn him . the prince , from this time forward , assur'd of the taking of dunkirk , which only was a work of a little time , and finding he should have enough left him either to reduce dixmuyde , or to fortifie courtray , for his winter quarters , if he could but oblige leda to surrender , without prolonging his defence to the last extremity ; and being desirous to spare some few days for the refreshment of his men , resolv●d to joyn negotiation with force , and to try if he could hasten the end of the siege by a conference . for which purpose , he wrote to the governour of dunkirk , that having something to impant to him , in reference to an affair that concern●d hi●s●lf , and which was of great importance , he dis●●d leave to send a person of quality to him , who should farther unfold his mind . a drummer was sent with this letter , and leda at the same time return'd for answer , that he should look upon such a conference as a very great honour ; but that being oblig`d to give an account of his actions to the council of spain , and the gener●ls of the low countries , he did not judge it proper , according to the rules of decency , to admit a person of quali●y in●● hi● garrison , without permission first obtain`d . that it would be much better for him 〈◊〉 send ●o the camp , and that if his highness though● it c●●ve●ient● th●re should a person attend him the next day to receive his co●mands . the prince having consented to this pro●osal , 〈◊〉 de veere maj. gen. of 〈◊〉 ●s army , came the next da● to the camp , about ten a clock in the morning . after the usual complements , the prince coming close to the matter , told him , that ●●ving always had a high esteem for courage whereev●● he met it , he had never omitted any opportunity to indulge it . that ●●was hi● opinion that v●r●● was to be cherish`d in an enemy ; and that i● wa● but ●ust for a victor to be favourable to the vanquish`d , when their act●●s deserv`d it . therefore th●t the governou●●nd officers who had defended dunkirk , both deserv`d and m●●ht ex●●ct from him all manner of civil and fair vsage , provided they did not deba● themselves of the means to receive it . tha● it was sufficient for them to have stopt him so long before a place , which he might much ●●oner have subdu`d , had any others th●n themselves defended it . that they had already acquir`d all the honour they could expect by the siege● that they had given absolute satisfaction to their reputation ; and therefore , that it was now high time for ●em to think of their security , and speedily to think of capitulating , unless they had a mind to ruine themselves . that it behov`d `em to consider that the armies of flanders not willing to hazrrd a rattel we es●parated ; that the frigates of newport , were sled after a vain attempt ; and that the most vigorou● defence they could make hence forward would only delay their destruction for some few days . however that tho in this condition they were quite out of hopes of any succour , yet he would be so favourable to their prowess , as to suffer `em to ●●rch out of dunkirk with honour . but if they stay`d to the last extremity they would constrain him , in despite of his own good nature , to make use of all the severity of war. veere seem`d to be surpriz●d at the prince`s speech , & excusing himself for not returning a reply , in regard he had no power to treat , return`d to the town , with a promise to inform leda , and to bring back his answer before night . 〈…〉 there were two conjunctures 〈…〉 to 〈◊〉 the surrender of the 〈…〉 it was that expe●ience shewed them , 〈…〉 to be in●●us●ed with the nego 〈…〉 from fea● and 〈…〉 ha● 〈◊〉 formerly a 〈◊〉 〈…〉 taken at the battel where 〈…〉 y ma●●●al gu●breant , and had 〈…〉 of his parole . for 〈…〉 afra●d of falling again into their 〈…〉 would have done any thing , rather 〈…〉 second time prisoner to fr●nce . 〈…〉 he was in dunkirk with five re 〈…〉 artillery of l●mboy's army , and 〈…〉 that i● he lost those men , and his 〈…〉 and fortune of his general , upon 〈…〉 depended , would very much decay● 〈…〉 means agree to such a loss . nor was 〈…〉 to sacrifice his particular inter●st to the 〈…〉 . so that he return●d with a resolu 〈…〉 utmost endeavours in persuading th● 〈…〉 a surrender . 〈…〉 were not conceal'd from the prince ; 〈…〉 he had discover'd the trouble and 〈…〉 that ve●re was in , and penetrated the 〈…〉 to augment his fears , to the end 〈…〉 the more confirm him in his thoughts of a 〈…〉 to this purpose he made choice of 〈…〉 under colour of waiting upon veere 〈…〉 ordered him to accompany him to the 〈…〉 e●trance into the city . pall●au had natural 〈…〉 ; and being a person of a jocund 〈…〉 conversation , he gets ground upon all 〈…〉 hom he converses , his tongue being no les● persuasive , then voluble . therefore having discour 〈…〉 b● the way , of the extremity to which the 〈…〉 was reduc'd , the weakness of their party , the cl●m●ncy o● the prince , and ●he stedfastness of his resolution , as also of the misfortune into which the governor of dunkirk might precipitate himself ; so soon as he began to find him wavering , he fell insensibly to talk of lamboy's men , and the hardships of imprisonment ; and feigning to be concern'd out of a principle of honour and generosity , in the misfortunes that threatn'd him , he manag'd his discourse so dexterously , that he never left him , till he judg'd him absolutely resolv'd to sollicit a surrender . with such a rapidness is the mind of man transported with the impressions of fear ; and so true it is , that reason serves only to augment the belief of danger , when a man is once dismay'd with the terror of it . being enter'd the place , he found leda perusing letters which the spanish generals had sent him by a frigat from newport , which had stole into the harbour in the night time , the wind and tide favouring him . those letters were stuff'd with high encomiums of his prowess , and with great promises encourag'd him to hold out some few days longer . and he seem'd willing to prepare himself for it ; flattering himself with an opinion , that he should do the king of spain a great piece of service ; and with hopes , that the generals would not fail of their promises . but after veere had made it out to him , that they did but delude him , that there was nothing to be expected from the inability of spain ; that all the defence he could make , would be to little purpose ; that it would but exasperate the prince ; and that it behov'd him to prepare for a long imprisonment in an enemy's country , if he refus'd to capitulate . these considerations , together with one more , which was the chiefest ; and that was , that he might preserve an army for the defence of his partyy , by preserving his garison compos'd of a great number of officers , the loss of which would not be easily repair'd , in the miserable condition to which poverty and long wars had reduc'd military discipline ; all these reasons , i say , bow'd his haughty mind , and made him resolve upon a capitulation . and being thus determin'd , he sent back veere to capitulate , with express orders to gain as much time as he could , in expectation of being succour'd by the spaniards : being desirous to do that honour to the arms of the king his master , though he expected nothing from them ; and the better to justify his surrendring the place , by the more sufficient testimony of their disability . he also wrote at the same time to the generals , of his intended capitulation , and inform'd them of the reasons which oblig'd him to it . among other things , that he was unwilling , when it could not be any advantage or honour to them , for five or six days holding out longer , to venture his being made a prisoner of war in his old age , and when he was almost worn out in the king's service ; nevertheless , that if they could be certain to relieve him within ten or twelve days , he would do his utmost till that time : otherwise that it would be but a fruitless waste of time and good soldiers . but this last point of relieving the place was more difficult to execute , then promise . for on the marshal's side , sicot , with the regiments of orleans and noirmonster , had driven the enemy from their last intrenchment upon the hornwork ; so that there remain'd no more then to carry on their approaches to the side of the moat of the old town . in the attack of the bastion also , where vignaut , serjeant of battel , was kill'd , the greatest difficulties were surmounted . moussaye , who led the regiments of anguien and tabert , and a battalion of english , had finish'd the bridge of fagots , and was raedy to set the miners to work . so that the promises made to the governour , had more of noise then solidity ; more of show than truth . towards night therefore veere return'd with a power to capitulate ; and immediately the duke gave order to balluaw , and arnaud , men of understanding , and long experience in war , to treat with him . after some contests and disputes , at length the articles of composition were agreed , whereby among other usual things it was concluded , that all the marks of honour should be allow'd the governor and the soldiers ; that lamboy's regiments should march out with their artillery ; that the spanish armies should have three days time to succour dunkirk ; which if they did not do by that time , the town should be surrender'd to the prince . this capitulation was forthwith sign'd by the prince , and the governour . at the same time also hostages were deliver'd by the garison , by lamboy's regiments , and the townsmen : and so without any more ado , veere departed for nieuport , where he was in hopes to meet the governour . that night the french officers that were upon the guard , went on with their approaches● in the marshal's attack , roanette , with the swiss guards , and bournonvil●es wall●ons carry'd on the approaches even with the superficies of the water of the moat of the old town . in the other attack , chabot , with the regiments of cont● and albret , with a battalion of polanders , retook some traverses , whither the enemy were return'd . but fortune usually crossing felicity , at the very instant that the assurance of the capitulation seem'd to warrant that all the danger was over , and that the besiegers were ready to reap the fruit of their victory ; and that chabot , having given his last directions , was re-passing the bridge in order to retire , he was struck in the head with some pieces of a granado , and dy'd of his wound in a few days after . this accident was the occasion of no small grief to the prince , who had always rank'd him in the number of his most familiar friends . as for his part , he shew'd a great resolution at his death ; no way daunted at the expectation of it , and contemning i● when it came . in the mean time truces were made , and all the approaches were strongly guarded , till veere return'd , that nothing might be attempted afresh . two days after he return'd no ways deceiv'd in the success of his journey , from which there was nothing to be hop'd for , and which he had undertaken only to keep up the reputation of his party , and to admonish his generals to provide for all those places , upon which the prince is most likely to turn his victorious arms after the surrender of dunkirk . and now the time for relieving the town being just ready to expire , in the evening of the third day veere deliver'd up into the prince's hands all the new town ; and miossans , who then commanded in his turn , enter'd the place with two squadrons of horse , and six hundred foot taken out of the battalions of french guards , and the switzers of gassions brigade . which done , he march'd to take possession of ni●uport gate of the old town . 't is true , that governour made some scruple of yielding up the gate : but at last , being oblig'd to it by his capitulation , the soldiers became masters of it , and there stood all the night under their arms , within a pikes length of the enemy . the next day , being the th of october , the garison began to march forth about eight of the clock in the morning . the prince also , not so much out of ostentation , as to prevent disorders , and to see leda , for whom he had a high esteem , plac'd himself upon the way through which they were to pass . a hundred and fifty horse appear'd first of all , be-being follow'd by lamboy's five regiments ; after which came the baggage , and then the artillery belonging to the germans , and two pieces of the city cannon , according to the articles ; the spanish infan●ry march'd after the great guns , and a hundred and fifty horse brought up the reer . leda came last , mounted upon a good horse , and accompanied with the principal officers . so soon as he perceiv'd the prince , he alighted , and accosted him with a profound respect . on the other side , the prince , who was also alighted from his horse , so soon as the governour came pretty near him , receiv'd him very civilly . after the first complements , and a great number of reciprocal encomiums , as the governour was ready to retire , the prince stopp'd him , and invited him to stay and see the garison which he intended to put into dunkirk . presently norssmonstier , who had the leading of 'em , advanc'd at the head of the battalions of french guards of ranza●'s brigade , the regiments of piemont and orleans , molonden's switzers , and cabree's polonians . these bodies march'd one after another , and with the foot that enter'd the day before , made two thousand four hundred men , of the stoutest in the army . while they march'd along , and that the prince was discoursing with the governour , the latter comparing to himself the fortune of the siege of maestricht with his present condition , and the great qualities of two famous captains that had vanquish'd him , could not chuse but admire the prince . puissant armies , abundance of all things , length of time , had render'd frederick henry of nassau victorious . but here the prince , with a slender army , pinch'd for want of necessaries , in a short time had by his prudence and courage within thirty days accomplish'd what the hollanders were three months bringing to pass . the garison being march'd by , leda took his leave of the prince , who order'd him the queen 's gens d' armes , commanded by franquerot , to conduct him to nieuport , and then made his entry into dunkirk . he found in the magazines a good quantity of powder , match , bullets , arms , corn , forage , and other sorts of provision and ammunition . upon the fortifications several pieces of brass cannon , and a great number of iron pieces ; and in the port , two great vessels , three flutes , and thirteen frigats , or rather privateers , which kept the western seas of france in a shameful subjection : it being easie by all this to see , that the besieged had store of all things necessary for their defence , and that valour only had tam'd them . thus ended the siege of dunkirk , at a time when all e●rope had their eyes fix'd upon the prince . but among so many nations that beheld with astonishment the wonders of his life , there was none but acknowledg'd that his fortune was beneath his virtue , and his prowess . the end of the second book . memoirs , &c. the third book . the siege of dunkirk was no sooner at an end , but the duke took a resolution to besiege menene . nevertheless , considering that the season was too far spent to undertake that conquest , he only sent gassion with his army toward the abby of lenzi , to see whether some attempt might not be made upon dixmude , of which he had a design to make himself master , to the end he might in those quarters refresh some part of his men : but that enterprize not appearing feasible , he set forward and encamp'd at hondescott , by reason of the abundance of forage , after he had set his men at work , to repair as well as they could the breaches of dunkirk , and strengthen'd that place with men and ammunition sufficient , and put in two convoys into courtray ; one of which he conducted himself through a thousand dangers . after which , having receiv'd orders to lay up his men in their winter quarters , he distributed his forces according to his orders ; leading himself into champaign that part of the army which he commanded in person , before he join'd the duke of orleans . the government of dunkirk was join'd to that of berguen , as well for that dunkirk belongs to the castellame of berguen , as because that time out of mind , they who commanded in the las● place , were always masters of the sluce that lies at the gates of dunkirk , and is that through which they let in the sea , to drown all the countrey when they please . and these two governments were conferred upon marshal ranzau , which equally surpriz'd all people ; in regard that no body question'd but that the court would have cast their eyes upon mareschal de gassion , who had so highly signaliz'd himself in the siege of that place , and who had moreover those personal qualities which ranzau wanted . but this was not the only vexation that mortified gassion after the siege of dunkirk ; for out of a capricio of his unlucky star , he would needs embroil himself with the duke of enguien , who had a great value for him , and had procur'd him a marshal's battoon , in despite of cardinal mazarine , who had no kindness for him . this hapned a little before the armies separated , and upon this occasion . gassion had taken with his own hand , during the siege , an officer , one of lamboy's battel-marshals , whom the duke had promis'd to restore to his collonel ; and the thing had been done as the duke desir'd ; but it was gassion's fate to embroil himself at that very instant , with a prince who till then had been his protector , and upon whose affection depended his good or bad fortune . for in regard the prisoner had his liberty upon his parole , the captain of the guards could not meet with him time enough to present him to his collonel so soon as he desi●'d . upon which , the collonel meeting gassion presently a●ter , gave him some hard words , and gassion , without question , gave him as good as he brought . but however it were , the officer complain'd to the duke , that gassion took no notice of his orders , and ●e●used to release his prisoner . it may be easily imagin'd , how this wrought with the duke of engnien , who was naturally proud and haughty ; nor could he the●efore ●estrain his choler ; so that the marshal coming presently after to wait upon him at his lodgi●g , he ●iercely told him , that he would make him obey his orders as well as the meanest soldier in the army . the marshal , who expected nothing less , was strangely surpriz'd : however , he did not appear to be much concern'd , in hopes he might have been permitted immediately to have justify'd himself , as it had been easie for him to do . but the duke would no● suffer him to clear his innocency : he turn'd his back upon him with an ●●gry scorn , and would not hearken to any of his ex●●ses : so that the marshal was fain to depart the chamber , after a profound reverence , not being able to obtain leave to speak so much ●s one word for himself . no question but the duke was afterwards better inform'd of what had passed between the marshal and the collonel . but however it were , the prince found that he had treated too imperiously a marshal of france , and a person signally accomplish'd ; and ou● of a generosity , the more worthy of praise , because it was voluntary , he would needs give the marshal a visit some days after , to make amends for the heats of his passion . he talked to him at first conc●●ning ● convoy , and some other affairs , yet all the while affected an obliging discourse , wherein he inte●nix'd some hints which were in a manner some sort of excuses . but the marshal vext to the soul , and therefore making no answer to the dukes familiar civilities but with some certain cold complements , the duke resuming his former haughtiness , told him , that he in vain pretended to set up for a great captain , and one that the kingdom stood in need of● and that he would have him to know , that he look'd upon him to be no better than a hairbrain'd corporal , and one whose service he could easily be without . after which , he flung out of door , not without letting fall some threatning expressions as he went. from which time forward , the duke ceased to be his friend , and sate heavy upon his skirts . in the month of may , the duke of breze , admiral of france , and governor of brouage , and other places , had laid siege to orbitello , which he attack'd by sea and land : but a month after the siege was laid , the spanish fleet , commanded by pementel , much stronger then the french , appear'd with a design to succour the besieged ; at what time both fleets met , and there hapned an engagement which lasted three days ; wherein , to say truth , the french had the advantage , but the admiral was slain with a cannon shot . the prince of conde us'd all his endeavous to obtain the duke of breze's employments for his son the duke of enguien ; and his demand was but reasonable ; for the duke of enguien being brother-in-law to the duke of breze , pretended to them of course : but his merit did an injury to his claim ; so many famous atchievements , and the reputation he had acquir'd , to be one of the greatest captains of his time , render'd him suspected to the court , or rather to cardinal mazarine . the prince of conde , his father , the most politick courtier in the kingdom , le●t nothing omitted either with the queen or his eminency , to bring about his design . however , cardinal mazarine having some reason to dread the consequences that might attend this refusal , he thought it requisite to assure himself of some persons in the army that had both wit and courage , who in case of necessity might be able to sustain the king's authority among the soldiers , against the credit of the incensed prince . to which purpose he cast his eye upon marshal de gassion , whom he caus'd to be buzz'd in the ear with a thousand false stories to engage him to his party . nor was this all ; he caused the abbot de la riviere , one of the duke of orleans's favourites , a man fit for any mischief , to act his part ; who to augment the duke●s hatred of gassion , protested to him with an oath , that gassion had taken upon him , without any scruple , the execution of an order against his person ; and that he had boasted how sedulously he would see it perform'd . now tho the duke of enguien very much contemn'd the abbot de la raviera , yet he gave credit to his words ; and finding himself in such a conjuncture wherein he was absolutely necessary for his purpose , because he had an ascendant over his master , and knew all the secrets of the court , he made a shew of having so great a veneration for his counsels , that the abbot promis'd him to be intirely devoted to his interests . now the duke of enguien at that time had fasten'd a most strict tye of friendship with the duke of orleance . but such a union could never last long , without the cement and communication of a favourite ; so that 't was necessary for the duke , notwithstanding his scorn of the abbot , to enter into a correspondency with him , and to shew him some outward marks of his good will and esteem , of which he thought him otherwise altogether unworthy . however , the abbot betray'd him , for that cardina● mazarine sooth'd him up with the hopes of a cardinal's cap. thus the prince was ●ain to be treacherous to his own sentiments , and to set all engines imaginable at work , but all in vain ; for it was impossible for him to obtain the duke of breze's employments . about the same time also his father the prince of conde died ; that is to say , upon the th . of december . but the cardinal , who mistrusted the union of the duke o● orleance and the duke of enguien , found the way quickly to part them asunder again : he caus'd the duke of orleance to be call'd home , and left the prince of conde with the army ( for now we must no longer call him the duke of enguien ) ; and because the prince should have no reason to complain of him , he caus'd the sole command of the army to be conferr'd upon him . the prince saw well enough , that the cardinal play'd him soul play ; but in regard there was no remedy , and for that he preferr'd honour before riches , he forgot the refusal of the employments he desir'd , and gladly accepted the command of the army . nevertheless , after the death of the prince his father , he took possession of the high stewardship of the king's houshold , as also of the governments of burgundy , bresse , berry , and some other places ; which he gave the court to understand that he desir'd . how much disgusted soever the prince of conde was against the cardinal and the court , yet certain it was , that his generosity , and the respect which he bare to the queen , had oblig'd him to dissemble it ; but his presence still alarum'd both the queen and the cardinal : 't was concluded therefore , that he should be removed from the court ; who taking advantage of the conjuncture of affairs in catalonia , which were in some disorder , by reason that the valour of the count of harcour● had met with a rub , he was sent into that countrey under the character of a viceroy , and departed in april , . the city of bar●elona was so overjoy'd that the prince of conde was come to command the king's army in that province , that the magistrates made a present of a chain of gold to the person that brought them the news . as for the prince himself , he was no sooner arriv'd in catalonia , but he laid siege to lerida ● but he could not carry the place , which the year before had stopt the count of harcourt : he gave assault upon assault ; but foreseeing that enterprize would cost him too much● time , and too many men , he quitted it . in short , the garison of l●rida was extremely strong ; and the spaniards had an army of twelve thousand men not far from the place ; and the forces which he commanded were nothing near so numerous . moreover lerida had for some time put a stop to that rapidness with which he was wont to cary all that stood before him . but this was only a disadvantage in appearance , and the raising of the siege was not only honourable but beneficial to france . he made it manifest at that time , that his head and his heart acted by concert ; for by that means he preserv'd an army , with which he made considerable expeditions the same year ; for the th . of october he laid siege to the city and castle of ager , upon the frontiers of aragon ; immediately he caus'd the trench to be carried on , and ad●anc'd his approaches so far in three nights , that a part of his men lodg'd themselves upon the side of the moat of the castle , where he rais'd two batteries , in the mean time he fortified all the fords of the rivers , and passages of the mountains , to hinder the spanish army from relieving the place . the th . the cannon having made a convenient breach , he gave so vigorous , an assault , that the city and castle were both taken . this conquest was very considerable ; for besides that the scituation of the city and castle were very advantageous , it secur'd ballaguier , and facilitated an entrance into aragon . but this was not all● while the french were busied in this siege , the spaniards attack'd constantia ; but they could not make themselves masters of it , notwithstanding the vigorous onsets which they made : the prince enforc'd them twice to raise the siege of that place , and constrain'd their army to shelter themselves under the walls of lerida , after he had defeated above fifteen hundred of their men , and taken a good part of their baggage and cannon . at this time france made a peace with the empire ; but it was absolutely impossible to agree with spain , notwithstanding all the endeavours of the duke of longuevill● , and the rest of the plenipotentiaries which the court sent to munster ; and the continuation of the war● expos'd the kingdom to excessive expences ; so that for supplying the charges , the court was constrain'd to set forth several edicts for the raising of money . and those were the edicts which were carried to the parliament , who oppos'd their verification , and which were the first occasion of the people●s discontents , the cause of the alienation of their affections ; and were the grounds of the first motions of that civil war which all the world has heard of● and which had like to have ruin'd france , during the minority of lewis xiv . we shall not here give a particular account of it ; we shall only tell you , that those edicts which were suggested by mazarine , being laid to heart by the sovereign courts , the third estate , and the people , the chamber of accounts of the court of aids , united together , to try whether they could by their unanimity prevent cardinal mazarine from overwhelming the kingdom . this union , by which the sovereign courts went about to enable themselves to balance the royal authority , or rather the power of the cardinal , could not but be ungrateful to the court , which was govern'd by that minister ; and therefore by a declaration of the king 's , those societies were ●orbid to assemble , but apart by themselves ; and the king himself deliver'd the declaration ; and the awe which the king's presence imprinted in the parliament , procured the verification of the declaration . but this did no way hinder the parliament from reserving to themselves the power of examining it . in short , the next day there hapned a great dispute among the members of the parliament● some there were who maintain'd , that in regard the declaration prohibited their meetings , they were blindly to obey it , because it was the king 〈…〉 others upheld the contrary , that the 〈…〉 not hinder their meeting in such a 〈…〉 ey had done , in regard they only met 〈…〉 good of the state. to which they added , 〈…〉 ook his advantage of the king 's mi●o●i●● , and made it his business , while the sun 〈◊〉 to enrich himself at the expence of the kingd●●●● this division of opinions exasperated their 〈◊〉 and every one supported his party with so 〈◊〉 heat , that from that dispute it was , that the ni●● n●●es of mazarinians and frondeurs or slingers , 〈◊〉 their o●iginal . they that would have the d●cla●ation l●terally obey'd , were call'd mazarinians ; and they that were of a contrary judgment , were call'd fro●deu●s . in the midst of these transactions , the spaniards , who were not ignorant of what pass'd in france , were willing to make the best advantage of these disorders . 〈◊〉 duke leopold , governour of the low-countries , and generalissimo of the spanish armies in those quar●ers , waited only for the spring to take the field ; and knowing that the french had taken up their winter-quarters far from cou●tray , he lay'd a design to besiege that place . beck , and the governour of oudenard , undertook that expedition● but pal●●● having forc'd their lines , oblig'd 'em to 〈◊〉 , tho they had already gain'd one of the half-moon● . but the court desirous to oppose a good general against the arch-duke , cast their eyes upon the prince of conde . upon which he set forward for flanders ● and so soon as the season would permit him to take the field , he resolv'd to ●ay siege to ypres . it was a hold attempt , in regard that town being in the midst of flanders , might easily be reliev'd ; besides , that the spanish army was very numerous . but ●ll these considerations could not stop him : his 〈◊〉 and his good● fortune made him look upon all enterprizes to be easie . the forces also that lay toward the sea , had orders to join him , under the command of marshal ranzau . moreover , he detach'd four regiments of infantry , who laid a bridge over the river of ypres ; and the th . of may the place was invested . now in regard the city of ypre is of a large extent , he resolv'd that it should be attack'd in four parts . grammont posted himself next to armentiers and varnetin ; the roads and avenues from aire and st. omers , were stopp'd up by ranzau ; those from dixmude and bruges by palluau ; and the prince of conde took his post upon the avenues from menene . the circumvallation was three large leagues in compass . now while the french were busied in making their entrenchments , the arch-duke attempted to force their lines : but in regard the circumvallation was finish'd , and for that the besiegers had almost made three lodgments , he was forc'd to retire . the spanish general therefore , vex●d that he had fail'd of his enterprize with an army so considerable , and being desirous besides to repair the loss which they were like to make , immediately laid siege to courtray , and took it by assault . after that , he besieg'd the castle , where there was a dam or water-stop made of piles , which join'd to the ramparts of the city ; and having drain'd the moat , they presently fell on ; and the soldiers that kept the citadel being only raw recruits , refusing to make any great resistance , were all made prisoners of war , together with all the officers . ypre surrender'd presently a●ter , not having held out above thirteen days . the queen had promis'd to give the government of ypre to chatillon ; and a king's lieutenant was already made choice of , to command in the absence of the governor . but when the prince least expected any such thing , a courrier brought him a letter from the queen , wherein she signify'd her trouble that she could not g●ant the government of the place to the person for whom he had solicited , and to whom she had promis'd it ; because she was oblig'd to give it to pal●uau , in regard that courtray had not been lost by his fault . this news surpriz'd the prince ; so that there being no body in the room when he receiv'd the letter , but grammont and another officer , he fell into a most terrible fury , and inveigh'd with an extraordinary passion against mazarine ; but prudence made him conceal some part of his resentment . the arch-duke not satisfy'd with the taking of courtray , resolv'd to attack le catelet , and to invest peronne ; but these two enterprizes fail'd ; however having laid siege to furnes , he carry'd the town , and also the castle of eterre . three weeks after the spaniards had taken furnes , and that the forces which lay round that place were drawn off , the prince of conde resolv'd to retake it ; and to that purpose he order'd marshal ranza● to besiege it . the season was so far spent , that he made some scruple to undertake it ; but receiving a second order , he obey'd it ; upon which , the place was immediately invested . thither also the prince advanc'd from le catelet ; and going to the trenches so soon as he arriv'd , he receiv'd a musket-shot in his thigh , and had it not been for the folding of his buff-coat , which was made at the end of the slit behind , his thigh had been broken , and he had been in great danger . the same day the town surrender'd , and all the officers and soldiers were made hostages of war , to be exchang'd for the prisoners which the spaniards had taken during the last campaign . the prince , whose wound was not very con●iderable , return'd , and carry'd back the men which he brought along with him ; and some time after was fought the battel of lens , famous for every thing for which a victory could be valu'd . lens is a city in antois , which gassion had tak'n in the last campaign , and was the last expedition which that great captain made ; for that having been wounded at that siege with a musket-bullet in the head● he dy'd of his wound the next day . the spaniards lay before that place , and pusht on the siege with extraordinary vigor . on the other side , the prince of conde , to whom nothing appear'd difficult , resolv'd to force their lines , and venture a battel to relieve the place ; however , he would not rashly engage himself . he stay'd therefore till general herlack join'd him with the forces under his command ; but so soon as that reinforcement arriv'd , he was forthwith for fighting the enemy . now in regard the place was able to have held out for some time , he flatter'd himself that he should come time enough to succour it ; but the day before he set forward , the town surrender'd . this unexpected news caus'd him to alter his measures ; so that he took some time to consider what enterprize to undertake . but at length perceiving that the spaniards were posted much more advantageously then he himself by his own observation had thougt 'em to be ; and besides , that there was no water where he lay with his men , nor any forage but in the parts that lay next the enemy , he resolv'd to quit his statio● . therefore , that he might retreat in good order , and in a condition to defend himself , if the enemy should attack him , he had a body of a reserve which he made his van-guard , and immediately commanded to march . he drew up all his cavalry in two lines , and order'd the second to follow the reserve . the infantry was plac'd behind this second line , having all the artillery of the army before it . the spaniards perceiv'd this retreat ; but at first they never stirr'd to attack either the reserve , or the second line , or the artilery ; which made the prince believe they would not stir at all . however , after these forces were advanc'd at a good distance off , some regiments of croa●es and lorrainers , that comp●●'d the left-wing of the arch-duke's a●my , bega● to fall upon the first line of the french with an extraordinary fury ; and the troops of that line sustain'd the first shocks of the enem● with much bravery ; but at length the spaniards briskly broke into their body ; so that finding themselves unable to fight with any order , they had been entirely defeated , i● cha●ellon with the gendarmerie which he commanded , had not hasten'd to their succor . he presently and all of a sudden thunder'd in among those great squadrons of croates and lorrainers ; and without giving them time to recollect themselves , drave 'em so vigorously before him , that if those troops , as victorious as they thought themselves , had not been seconded by all the arch-duke's cavalry , they had been cut in pieces ; so that it may be said , that the french g●ndarmerie wrested the victory out of the spaniards hands . but it being impossible that they should withstand all the enemies cavalry , they were at length forc'd to give way . and they were no soon●● broken , but eight squadrons , which were advantageously posted to second 'em , forsook their ground , and betook themselves to a shameful flight . the prince , who was not accustom'd to see the me● that fought under him recoil before the enemy , was extremely surpriz'd at the cowardise of his ho●se . but in regard there was no remedy , and that there were now but two things to be done , either to rou● the spanish army , or make an honourable ●etreat , he advanc'd , without losing time , to the body which grammont commanded ; and calling the principal officers of the army together , to consult what course to take , it was resolv'd that they would fight the enemy , and whatever hazard they ran , not to quit their resolution . this being concluded , the prince told 'em , with a sedate co●ntenance . that there was no way but either to vanquish , or dye , and then began to encourage his men . never general shew'd so great a resolution as did the prince at that time ; yet through the midst of this heroick resolution , and undaunted bravery , you might discern a sedateness of mind , and a contempt of danger , which is the character of a hero. he never appear'd less concern'd , tho perhaps he had never been more provok'd . he gave out all his orders , and had so well rang'd his men for the combat , that he openly declar'd , he would get the day , were he but never so little seconded . this great prince , who never appear'd so great , as when the greatest dangers threaten'd him , took upon himself the command of the right wing● the first line of which wing , consisting of nine squadrons , was commanded by villequier , lieutenant-general . the second , compos'd of eight , by normoutier ; and beaujeu had orders to lead on the cavalry . the left wing was led by grammont ● and the first line of that wing , consisting of nine squadrons , was commanded by seneterre , lieutenant-general ; the second , compos'd only of seven , was led on by du plessis belliere ; and st. maigrin perform'd the duty of camp marshal to the first of these lines . as for the main battel , which consisted of ten battalions , it was commanded by chatillon ; and five squadrons , which made the body of the reserve , were under herlack's orders ; and coss● had the charge of the artillery . all things being thus dispos'd , the prince rode through all the lines , encouraging the soldiers to fight ; he put 'em in mind of their victories at rocr●y and norlinguen . he told 'em , he would be the first that would engage in the greatest dangers ; and that they needed no more then follow his example : and after he had laid before 'em the honour which the french nation would acquire if they won the day , he prepar'd to give the signal of battel ; but a certain movement of the spaniards stopt him . for he perceiv'd that the spanish cavalry open'd , instead of advancing ; and believing there was some mystery in it , he kept his ground , that he might discover the meaning of that movement ; of which he was soon inform'd by his sight ; for he saw the void spaces between the horse fill'd up with foot● which made him easily conjecture , that it was the main battel , which he understood the duke had design'd to command , believing the victory sure . the design of the spanish army was no sooner known , but the prince took his measures accordingly : he ordered cosse to march with the cannon , and play upon the enemy ; and at the same time that the artillery play'd , the squadrons and battalions advanc'd with such an undaunted courage as astonish'd the enemy . the count de la sala , who was at the head of the first line of the spanish left wing , advanc'd with a singular bravery , and gave the enemy a dreadful volley of pistol shot . the french never fir'd at all , but so soon as de la sala had made his last discharge , they fell on with their swords upon the squadron which was before 'em , with so much resolution , being seconded by some other troops of the same wing● that they quite disorder'd the first line of the enemies army . which the arch-duke beholding , order'd the second line to advance , and then both lines being join'd , the combat began to be very bloody . but the spanish troops being superior to the prince's , villequier and moussay were beaten and taken prisoners . but then noirmoutier advancing in the nick of time , drave the two spanish lines be●ore him with such an undaunted force , that he soon depriv'd 'em of the honour which they had like to have got , and which seem'd to portend 'em the victory . on the other side , the prince , who was every where , having rally'd the troops that gave way , sent 'em again to fight afresh . and those troops , tho half terrify'd , flew upon the enemies lines with so much fury and courage , that the spanish cavalry began to totter . but being vigorously seconded by their reserve , the two lines that were almost broken , took courage , and re●urn'd once more to the charge . at what time herlack appear'd at the head of the dutch squadrons , and fell upon the lorainers with such an impetuous violence , that not being able to withstand the shock , they betook themselves to their heels , and carry'd all the rest along with them . grammont , who commanded the left wing of the french , and bucquoy who led the right wing of ●he spaniards , had not yet struck a blow . but then they began to engage , and fought with equal advantage for some time ; but at length fortune declar'd in favour of grammont . at the same time beck and chatillon led the two main bodies of the foot ; and tho the victory was a great while very dubious , yet the prince relying upon the measures he had taken , and the stoutness of his men , made no question of winning the battel . however , in regard beck's regiments were supported by a strong body of horse , they made the french give ground . but the gendarmerie , no less active at the end then at the beginning , seconded the foot so well , that they rally'd again , resum'd fresh courage , and then both sides fought with more obstinacy then before , for three hours together , at what time the prince obtain'd the victory . the spanish army was so numerous , and had so advantageo●sly posted themselves , that the french were somewhat out of heart at the beginning of the battel ; but being encourag'd by the presence of their general , there was no obstacle , no hardship which they did not surmount , no danger which they did not willingly meet to purchase the honour of the d●y● the prince himself outbrav'd the enemies fi●in● like the meanest soldier , and expos'd himself so frequently , th●t he was at length hit with a musquet ●●●let upon the reines ; but the bullet meeting with the resistance of his buff●coat , he was discharg'd 〈…〉 small contusion only . of the french army not ●bo●e si● hundred were slain , and twelve hundred t●ken prisoners , and wounded : whereas the spa●i●rd● , besides the loss of their cannon and baggage , had above eight thousand kill'd , and above fifteen hund●ed taken prisoners , among whom was general beck , the prince of ligny , and the count of st. amour , general of the artillery . the duke of chatillon , who had signaliz'd himself in the battel , was made choice of by the prince to carry the tidings of so great a victory to court ; where so considerable a success was look'd upon as a testimony of celestial favour , for which all the people shew'd a more then ordinary joy : and for which te d●●m was sung in the chur●h of nostre dame in paris ● where their majesties were present , as well as 〈◊〉 sovereign societies , and the corporations of the city . and to the end , that from this success they might not only reap considerable advantages over the enemy without , but over those whom the king's council look'd upon as enemies within the kingdom ; the c●uncil● were of opinion , that it behov'd 'em to mak● use of this favourable opportunity , which 〈◊〉 c●r●mony of te deum presented them , to seize upon some of the principal members of the parliament , who had started those paradoxes which no way pleas'd the court , and were follow'd by the whole cabal of ●he slingers . so that upon the very day that te deum was sung , several companies of the regiment of guards being posted in several quarters of the city . m. de broussel was seiz'd , against whom the court had a particular peek , as being the head of the slingers . he was a councellor of the great chamber ; a person of ancient integrity , but of no great capacity . he had been all along a great hater of favourites , and was much reverenc'd by the people , who call'd him their father . now although he run a great hazard that seiz'd him , by reason of the singular affection which the people bore him● yet m. de cominges undertook to do it , and perform'd what he undertook . he seiz'd him while the companies of guards were drawn up in a row in the streets ; so that m. de broussel , together with m. de blancmesvi● , nephew to the bishop of beauvaise , was carried with a good guard to bois de vincennes . orders were also left with mr. laisne , councellor also of the great chamber , to retire into province , and m. loizel was banish'd into montes . the noise of the seizing of de broussel was no sooner nois'd about paris , but the people betook themselves to their arms , the chains were drawn cross the streets , the barricado's were set up in all the corners of the public places , and the shops were shut up . the queen thereupon gave orders to reduce the people , and suppress the sedition ; but 't was impossible to be done , so that the court was constrain'd to give the prisoners their liberty . so soon as de broussel appear'd among the people , he was saluted with volleys of small shot , and accompany'd with loud acclamations to the palace , where he , and m. blancmesvil , receiv'd the complements of the parliament● and from thence he was conducted , as it were in triumph , by the same people to his lodging . now in regard the antipathy which the slingers , and the people had against the cardinal , were the cause of this uproar , and for that they believ'd , that the good of the kingdom requir'd , that mazarin should no longer continue in the weighty employment of chief minister , but rather that he should be banish'd ; the parliament who found themselves encourag'd by what had happen'd , persisted with redoubl'd vigour in their first sentiments , and renew●d their strength against the court. and several persons of quality , some out of interest● some desirous of change , most violently engag'd to ruine the cardinal . the principal reasons which that party alledg'd were , that it was a thing unheard of , and ignominio●s to a flourishing kingdom , that a foreigner , and a born subject to the king of spain , should be the prime minister of france ; and that this minister should also have so absolute a power , as to be the umoire of war and peace● that the conferring of honours , employments , and all favours , should be at the sole disposal of his will and pleasure ; not to be bestow'd as the rewards of merit , good service , high quality , but but to gratify particular devotion to his interest : that his ambition had carried the arms of france into tuscany , at a vast expence , and without any advantage to the nation● only to make himself formidable in italy , and to purchase principalities for his kindred : that for his own interests he had refus'd to admit of the trea●y of peace concluded at munster , which he had eluded by the sedulity of servien ● his creature : that out of jealousie he design'd the ruin of marshal gassion a little before his death : that he only understood foreign affairs ; and that by his italian politicks he had effac'd that confidence and good opinion which the consederates of france had of the confidence and sincerity of the french nation , which cardinal richlieu had establish'd , during his ministry . that as for the domestic affairs of the kingdom , he was uncapable of managing 'em , in regard● the state was become full of division and upro●r● during his government : that he rul'd the kingdom by foreign maxims , no way agreeable to the french nation : that he had introduc'd such palpable jugling , and tricking quirks of state , that he had expos'd an illustrious court to the contempt and railleries of all other nations . in a word , that he was unable to bear so great a burthen , and that ●e had lost his credit among the people . to this mazarin's party made answer , that 't was no such strange thing for foreigners to have the government of the state ; witness the cardinal of lorrain , and the cardinal of brague , the duke of neve●s ● marshal de ●ets , and marshal de ancre : that mazarin had been nominated to the cardinalship by france , after he had done her considerable services . that cardinal richlieu , who understood men , had appointed him his successor in the ministry : that the deceas'd king , who had a perfect knowledge of the good qualities of all that were about him , made him president of his council after the death of richlieu ; that the queen regent had suffer'd him to continue in the same dignity , merely through the necessity of affairs , and in obedience to the king 's last will and testament : that all these things were approv'd by all the wise men of the realm , and by all the princes in league with france : that having by his services answer'd her majesty's expectations , she could not lay him aside without doing the kingdom an injustice ; and without being ingrateful to a servant so beneficial , and so faithful . that he was so far from favouring only those who were devoted to the interests of the court ; that the common complaint was● that in conferring of honours and employments , he had too particular a regard to the servants of the duke o● orleans , and monsieur the prince . that all affairs were propos'd to the council , who took such resolutions as they thought most convenient . that the accusation against him for opposing the conclusion of the peace , was without any ground ; neither was it a thing probable , in regard , that besides the general interest● his eminency's particular interest oblig'd him to crown his ministry , which so many successes had render'd glorious , with a treaty that would have eterniz'd him in the affection of the people : that it was certain , the spaniards had always cross'd that treaty , as the duke of longueville , and the princes themselves could testify . that the expedition against orbitello , and porto longone , were the most advantagious that france could have undertak'n , and most proper to bring the enemy to a speedy peace ; in regard those places would have kept in subjection those territories which the spaniards possess'd in italy ● that the independency which the duke of guise affected at naples , was not the reason that the cardinal afforded him powerful assistance . that gassion would have set himself up in flanders , with little dependance upon the court. that the prince never complain'd of his not assisting him either at catologna , or any other of his campaigns , as much as lay in his power . that he was constrain'd to have recourse to those edicts to raise mo●ey for the expences of the war ; nevertheless that the taxes were abated . that time had sufficiently evinc'd , that his transporting money into ●taly was a meer fabulous story , invented on purpose to disgrace him . to this they added , that for twenty years together he had manag'd with honour the interests of the princes of europe . that if the good intelligence between france and the vnited provinces began to flag● 't was because some particular persons had been suborn'd and corrupted by the gold of spain . that in the administration of state , he had follow'd all the maxims of cardinal richlieu , only that he had ●onish'd the cruelty of punishments . that if he had been oblig'd to promise more then he had perform'd , 't was because the number of those that serv'd in france was very great , and the number of pretenders much greater . that the state had never kn●wn more prosperity , then during his ministry ; and that i● in great executions the honour of the performance were due to the generals , the contri●ance and forecast belong'd to him . that france had been still in quiet , if every body had been unanimous in their duty ; if the people had not been drawn from their obedience by the suggestions of persons disaffected ; or rather , if the parliament , who ought to be the true model of allegiance , had not pav'd 'em a way to revolt . that the station wherein the cardinal was , had always been expos'd to the assaults of the hatred and envy of all the states ; and by consequence 't was no wonder , if sometimes an inordinate ambition were laid to his charge , or if sometimes he were accus'd of insufficiency . however , that he was happy in this , that calumny in her most venomous assaults had spar'd his fidelity , and never attack'd him with the least suspicion of treachery . but this answer and apology of cardinal mazarine could not hinder his enemies from persevering in their design to remove him from the administration of the government , and then to ruin him . and this design was afterwards so well confirm'd , that it was decreed in the assembly of the chambers of the parliament , that a solemn deputation should be sent to the duke of orleans , and the prince of conde , and conty , to beseech them to join with the parliament for the effectual remedy of the grievances that threaten'd the kingdom . the court was at ruel , when the cardinal was inform'd of what had pass'd ; and he was deeply afflicted to see that he must be constrain'd to throw himself into the prince's arms , and to secure his tottering fortune by his support . the disorders at paris not permitting the prince to reap all those advantages from the victory of lens , which he might have done , he was constrain'd to bound his conquests with the taking of lens . and so soon as that place was taken , he return'd to court ; at what time all people beheld him with admiration . for besides that , he was endow'd with so many noble , so many excellent and rare qualities , besides the many signal victories he had won , he had had no share in the troubles ; insomuch that both parties look'd upon him as their defender , and bel●ev'd they might shelter themselves under his laurels from all manner of troublesome accidents . and indeed , had he harbour'd at that time those thoughts in his breast , which his enemies afterwards imputed to him , questionless he would have made the best of opportunities so favourable . for in truth the low condition of the court , and publick admiration equally concurr'd to his exaltation , and to the execution of the most ambitious designs , which he could have had in his head. so that in regard he study'd then so little to court the people , and to manage the exasperations of those whose sentiments and conduct were most opposite to the regency and the cardinal , 't is manifest he had no such design as he was accus'd to have at that time . the prince had admitted two great men to be his confidents , both persons of signal merit , but opposite in their judgments as to the affairs that made so great a noise : these were the duke of chatillon , and marshall grammont . the first , whose person and family were bound in the strictest tyes of alliance with the prince , labour'd to perswade him to declare for the parliament , or at least to make himself umpire of the differences with all the neutrali●y imaginable : the other engag'd by all manner of interests with the court , spent a large stock of pleasing eloquence to oblige him to side with the court. but the prince upon this occasion laid a comtraint upon his own temper , r●mote from moderate ways , and wrote , together with the duke of orleance , to the parliament , exhorting 'em to fend commissioners to st. germains ● and to put an end to their differences in a conference . which conference terminated in an authentick declaration of the king●s , which g●ve some respi● to the publi●k differences and for that the stra●agems of the enemies of the court prevail'd so far , that they openly d●manded the ruin of th● cardinal , the cou●● thought it their best way to have recourse ●o ●he duke of orleans and the prince . and in regard the mischief had penetrated so far that it was not t● b● eradicated but by strong medicaments , they wer● of opinion at the same time , that the natural mod●ration of the duke of orle●n● , and his peaceable te●per , would not be so proper , as the prince's more vigorous heat ; besides , that the reputation of so great a captain , the splendour of his victories , and ●he assistance of his army , would strike a terrour into the male-content●● , so that the court labour'd might and main to gain him . the queen made use of all the most powerful and perswasive motives , descending even to tears , and the most melting expressions● telling him , she look't upon him as her third son : the cardinal also protested that he should be all his life time devoted to his will and pleasure with an absolute submi●sion : the king likewise tenderly embracing him , recommends to him the welfare of the kingdom , and the safety of his person . but notwithstanding all these caresses , marshall grammont and le fellier were the persons who fully determin'd him to take the court party . they laid before him that by degrees , the parliament would invade all authority : that without confining their ambition within the bounds of the declaration of the conference at st. ger●ans , they would not only take ●ognizance of the affairs of war , but also dispose of the fortune of ministers of state , change 'em , remove 'em , and settle others in their rooms a● their pleasure● that there was reason enough to fea● that a● length they would attacque the most priviledg'd persons in the kingdom ; that the condi●ion o● 〈…〉 liament would be a dignity to be 〈◊〉 , if they come once to impose laws upon 〈…〉 , and the condition of the princes 〈…〉 be more miserable should they 〈…〉 to creep to ' em . that this new sort 〈…〉 wo●nded the constitution of the monar 〈…〉 , which was absolute and indepen●●●●● 〈◊〉 it was particularly contrary to the con 〈…〉 , and the institution of french par 〈…〉 , t●at if any abuses were crept into the 〈◊〉 , ●hey ought to be reform'd by the assem 〈…〉 general , and not by the decrees 〈…〉 whose suffrages carry things rather b● 〈◊〉 then consideration : that every time the 〈◊〉 h●d exceeded the bounds of their duty , they had been always severely check'd , sometimes by 〈…〉 king , sometimes by henry iv. somet●●●s by charl●s ix and other kings their predec●●●ors , upon less dangerous occasions then what 〈◊〉 no● in dispute : that great empires were ne●er supported by cowardly counsels : that he 〈…〉 trial of his co●rage and his forces in 〈◊〉 ● weighty conjuncture ; and that the just●●● of sove●aigns consisted in their power : that he● 〈…〉 of conde , was concern'd to support the card●●●l● because the resolutions which had been tak'n 〈◊〉 ●he person of his eminency , tended to the d●●●ruc●ion of the royal family ; and that if the 〈◊〉 of orleans and himself did not stand firm , and 〈◊〉 oppose an enterprize of this nature , the 〈◊〉 with her children would be constrain'd to implo●● t●e aid of the princes in league with the 〈◊〉 . now besides that the prince believ'd that the lit 〈…〉 the parliament had taken to conform to the 〈◊〉 , wounded the honour of those that were 〈…〉 the conference , and undermin'd the foun 〈…〉 the pe●ce that had been establish'd ; these discourses made so deep an impression in his mind , that he would no longer hear of a neutrality ; so that abandoning all his care of losing the affection of the publick , he had recourse to those thoughts which inclin'd him to the most violent extremities . in short , going along with the duke of orleans to the palace , he carried himself with so much heat and passion , as did him a great deal of injury in the hearts of the people . he had no sooner taken his place , but the president viole , who had great credit in the company , rose up , and took upon him to say , that the occasion of their meeting was of that great importance , that they could not make one step which did not lead 'em either to honour or infamy ; nor was there any probability that they could enter into a good beginning till they had first implor'd the assistance of the holy ghost , and he was preparing for the solemnity of the duty . however in regard that while the president was talking , he let fall some disobliging expressions against the cardinal , the prince of conde , threatning him at the same time with his looks and hand , could not forbear to bid him hold his tongue ; and then addressing himself to the first president , in a great passion told him , that he wonder'd , that he who was the head of so famous an assembly , did not endeavour to suppress the liberty which some people gave themselves , who under the pretence of the publick good , went about to excite the people to sedition . adding withall , that if the king's youth , and his want of experience , were the cause of the disorders which had happen'd in the kingdom , he would have him to know , that the duke of orleans , who was there present , and himself , were able to supply both the one and the other ; and that the king would not want good subjects , to reduce the male-contented to their duty . these words offended the whole assembly : but in regard they ●ell from the lips of a prince of whom they stood in awe , every body was profoundly silent , contenting themselves to utter their disgusts in pri●ate . as for the first president , he was extr●amly zealous for the honour of the assembly , which the prince had affronted , in threatning one of the members of it . however , he was not much troubl'd at what had happen'd , because he thought , that when so great a prince had declar'd himself , those of the parliament , whose heat and violence he did not approve , would bethink themselves , and become more moderate . nevertheless he told the prince , that he could not forbear complaining of his reprimanding so severely a member of an assembly that were only met to remedy the distractions of the state , and not to kindle new flames . that he was confident , that what he had done , was out of a good intention ; but in regard that suffrages were to be permitted , he took the liberty to tell him , that if he had taken another course , he would have done better . lastly , that he read in the countenances of those who compos'd the assembly , a great emotion , and great discontent : that if he saw some that made no outward shew of any thing , yet they were never a w●●t the less sad in their hearts , and never the less afflicted . that they were in hopes a prince , whose 〈◊〉 atchievements had equall'd him to the greatest captains in the world , would have join'd with 'em to re-establish the tranquility of a kingdom , whose frontiers he had so well secur'd by his illustrious victories . this same speech did not equally satisfy all people . the more ancient and prudent sort found that he had spoken much in a few words ; and that considering the conjuncture of affairs , the first president could not have done much better then he did . but the younger sort were not so reserv'd ; for they began to murmur one among another . so that the prince , who was not well pleas'd with the plaints that were made of his proceeding , as not being accustom'd to hear truths told him , nor to receive any opposition to his will , was so little master of his own inclinations , that instead of making amends for what he had done amiss , he turn'd toward the younger sort , and threaten'd them , as he had the president viole , that is to say , with his looks and hand . the court was overjoyd that the prince had so openly declar'd in their favour : and in regard that after what had pass'd , he found him self-interested by his own quarrel , in the differences of the court , he greedily listen'd to all proposals that were made him for reducing the parliament . thereupon , it was no hard matter to persuade him , that the best way would be to besiege paris ● and that a siege would not fail to make the people cry out , and mutiny against the assembly : or whatever happen'd , that the parisians wanting leaders and men , and being accustom'd to plenty and ease , would make little or no resistance . his passion caus'd him to approve these reasons for strong and undeniable ; so that he undertook to be captain of the enterprize under the orders of the duke of orleans . but the duke at first oppos'd the design , till the importunities , and the persuasions of the abbot de la r●v●●re , over-rul'd his judgment , and got the upper hand of his calmer sentiments . immediatly the prince , and marshal de la milleray , propos'd the seizing of st. louis's island , st. antony's gate , the arsenal , and the bastille , and to lodge their majesties in the bastille . but whether this proposal were not sufficiently supported , or whether they were afraid of exposing the person of the king the court resolv'd to quit paris , and really to besiege the city . so that in the evening before twelf-day , the king retir'd from marshal grammont's house to the cardinal's palace ; and the next morning , about three of the clock , ●e departed without any noise or bustle for st. germans 〈◊〉 ●●ye . the same day the king sent a letter seal'd with his privy signet to the provost of merchants , and the sheriffs of paris , wherein his majesty declar'd , that he was forc'd to leave the city , to the ●nd ●e might not be expos'd to the pernicious designs of some officers of parliament , who held secret intelligence with the enemies of the state : adding withal , that he hop'd the citizens would continue faithful ●o his service , and prove stedfast in their du●●●● and that in a few days they should farther understand his pleasure . how●ver● the citizens no sooner understood that the king was gone , but the tumult began to wax very great in paris . they exclaim'd , after a most dreadful manner , against the cardinal , against the prince , against the queen , and against all that carry'd away the king. for the paris●ans took his going away for a force that had been put upon him . but they were so enrag'd , when they heard that the same day the king was carry'd to st. germains , that it had been resolv'd in council to block up paris ; that far from being consternated , they shew'd an extraordinary resolution , and declar'd themselves prepar'd for all manner of events . but the parliament , who more readily foresaw the dismal consequences of a civil war , were not so resolute as the people . and therefore the first time they met , which was upon the th of ianuary , they sent the king 's immediate servants with their submissions● and very advantageous offers . but those commissioners were sent back without being heard ; which extreamly exasperated their minds . so that the parliament meeting again upon the th , declar'd maz●●i● an enemy to the state , and order'd him to depart the kingdom in eight days , with full liberty after that for all the king's subjects to fall upon him where-ever they met him . and at the same time they deliver'd out commissions for the raising of soldiers● and took all the precautions needful upon such occasions . in the mean time , the prince , with about six or seven thousand men , which were the remains of the army last summer , block'd up paris , seizing upon lagni , corbect , st. cloud , st. denis , and charenton . on the other side , the duke d' elbocut , his three sons , the duke of brissack ● and the marquis de la boulays went and offer'd their services to the parliament ; and after that● the prince of con●i , the duke of longueville , the prince of marsellac , and monsieur de noimouster did the same . the parliament nominated the prince of con●i for generalissimo , and the duke d' elbocut for general ; and afterwards join'd the duke of bouillon , and marshal de la mothe , in equal commission with ' em . as for the duke of longueville , he would not accept of any employment , because he could have none that was conformable to his rank , or none but such as equall'd him with his inferiors● so that he was only present at the prince of con●i's councils to give his advice . when the prince understood that conti and longueville had privately left st. germans in the night , and were got into paris , he went from charenton to the court , where he thunder'd most terribly against ' em . but that was no impediment , but that the parisian party b●ga● to grow numerous , having now got among 'em a prince of the blood , and another prince almost absolute in his government of normandy . de la mothe also was become considerable in the armies ; but the duke of bouillon much more . for besides that he was deeply known in the affairs of the world , that he was stout , and understood the art of war to perfection , he was endow'd with an easie , fluent , natural , and insinuating eloquence ; he had a neat wit , fertile in expedients , and proper to maintain the most difficult affairs , a cl●●r s●nse , and a discerning judgment . and besides●●e was engag'd in a strict tye with marshal t●●e●ne , his brother , who at that time commanded the army in germany . thereupon the prince , who look'd upon these two brothers to be his friends , and persons of great weight , wrote to the duke of 〈◊〉 ● that he was afraid , he took it for granted , th●t the prince believ'd he had a hand in conti and long●evill's with drawing from the court ; for which reason he was desirous to disabuse him ; and then conj●r'd him to return to st. germains , where he would procure him all manner of satisfaction touching his particular interests . but the duke of bouillon caus'd the letter to be read in parliament . so that the court finding they could not depend upon him , and being moreover inform'd of turenne's disaffection to thei● cause , the king and the prince , who was in great reputation among the german troops , wrote to the several collonels , not to acknowledge him any long●r for general , but to quit him ; which they did . the duke of beaufort also , who had been wandring about in the provin●es upon the loire ever since his es●ape from vincennes , got to paris in the time of the troubles , and offer'd his service to the parliament , wh●●lear'd him of the accusation of having conspir'd against mazarin's life , receiv'd him as a peer of france , and made him one of their generals . in the mean time , the king's forces possess'd all ●he posts round about paris ; and though the parliament's ●●my was more numerous , their generals ●●ver stirr'd to open any passage , so that provisions could no● get into the city , but with great difficulty , from 〈◊〉 , in regard that the prince could not put a garison in b●●ys conte-robert , for fear of dividing his forces● and for that he had quitted charenton , which c●n●● had made himself master of . ●ut the prince , cons●●e●ing the importance of th●● post , which secur●d the p●●isia● 〈…〉 and ●or that he long'd to begin wi●● some action ●hat might render his forces formidable● he resol●'d to attack it● though the parisi●n had put t●ree thousand men into it . advancing there●ore with the duke of o●le●n● , and all the princes and lords of th● court● upon the th of february he committed the a●tacking of the post to the duke of chatillon ● and advan●'d with the cavalry upon a rising ground 〈◊〉 hinder the parisians from succouring the place . ch●tillon perform'd the prince●s orders with all the conduct and valour imaginab●e● but when he had driven the enemy to the last ●arricado , he receiv'd a musqu●● shot quite through his body , of which he dy'd the next day in ●he flower of his age , lamented by both parties for his noble qualities , and for being slai● just at the time when he was ready to have obtain'd those dignities which his great servic●s had perfo●m'd . the taking of charenton was much to the dishonour of the parliament's generals● and forces , and no less to the honour of the prince of conde . for in short , the prince carry'd that p●●● in view of the enemy's army , and at the gates of paris , out of which he had march'd in the sight o● ten thousand men , who seem'd to have taken the field merely ●o be witnesses and spectators of so great an action . this conflict , and these of bois de vin●nnes , lag●y , and b●●y-con●e● robert , all to the disadvantage of the pa●isians , and in one of which the young duke of roba● ● approving himself the worthy inheritor of his father's vertue , lost his life , made 'em begn to think of peace . but the diversity of interests was an obstacle difficult on surmount . on the other side the court , who were pu●t up with their success , and who were in greater hopes by reason of the princes successful atchievements , would needs imp●se too rigorous conditions upon the contrary par●y● . so that if both parties were so 〈…〉 was b●cause that a civil war 〈…〉 qually displeasing to both . for this re●son , upon the th of f●b●●a●y , the king sent a herald of 〈◊〉 accompany'd wi●h two 〈◊〉 who coming to the gate of st. h●nore , 〈…〉 he had three pacquets of letters , one ●or th● prin●● of con●● , the other for the parliament , ●nd a third for the city . of which the parliament 〈◊〉 ●●f●●m'd , took the matter into consideration , 〈…〉 a decree● that they should neither admit , 〈◊〉 ●●ceive the herald ; but send the king 's serv●●●●● that is to say , ●alon , meliand and bignon , to 〈◊〉 q●een , to let her know , that if they had refus'd 〈…〉 the herald , it was not for want of duty , 〈…〉 because heralds were never sent but to sove●●ign princes , or states , that were in hostility with the kingdom● but that neither the prince of conti , 〈…〉 parliament , nor the city , were either sover●igns , 〈◊〉 enemies , and therefore they besought her maje●●y , that they might understand her pleasure ●rom 〈◊〉 own lips. those commissioners were well 〈◊〉 ●y the queen , who told ●em she was satisfy'd with ●●●ir excuse , and their submissions ; that when ●he parliament should return to their duty● they should● find the effects of her favour , and good●will● a●d that a●●or private persons , they should all of 'em , 〈◊〉 o●e , find all manner of security , both for th●i● persons and estates , in their submission ; and the d●●e , of orlean● also , and the prince , gave 'em th● 〈…〉 . now th● b●●h parties most ardently desir'd peace , 〈…〉 concluded without a great deal of dif 〈…〉 several deputations and various con●e●●●ces● whe●e it was a hard matter to content so 〈…〉 whose interests were so nice and so differen●● but at length it was concluded at st. german● ● 〈…〉 march ; and afterwa●●● the king 's de 〈…〉 for this so necessary peace , was verify'd in ●ool parliament , who order'd that thanks should be return'd to their majesties for the peace which they had restor'd to their subjects . no sooner were the flames of civil war extinguish'd by this peace , but they were re-kindl'd in a short time after , and spread it self with more violence into the principal provinces of the kingdom , for the reasons which i am going to tell ye . considering what the prince had done in the preceding war , in favour of the court and the cardinal , it was a difficult thing for them to make him those acknowledgments which his great services deserv'd ; or that the prince should contain himself within the bounds of mod●sty , out of a desire of domination and superiority , in demanding the most considerable employments , whether for himself or for those whom he had a mind to favo●r . and in regard the cardinal had chiefly reap'd the benefit of the prince's assistance , he was the most expos'd to his demands , his complaints , his threatnings , and his bad humour . and indeed , during the parisian war , there had been some misunderstandings between the prince and the cardinal . for as there was at that time a strict and diligent correspondence between 'em , and for that for the most part familiarity lessens esteem , the respect which the prince had for the cardinal was very much abated ; and the cardinal who perc●iv'd it , had look'd upon those great virtues which the prince had made so gloriously appear in the time of the civil troubles , as no other then the effects of fear and aversion . moreover , during that time , the cardinal plotted to bring the odium of the people upon the prince , by endeavouring to make him the author of all the mischiefs to which they were expos'd . the prince also after the peace , thought it behov'd him to thwart the cardinal , and to shew the alienation of his kindness for him , that he might regain the affection of the people , and of a great 〈◊〉 o● considerable persons which he had lost , for protecting a person so generally hated . calling to mind al●o the submissiveness of the cardinal during the last disorders , he was persuaded● that if he should put him in fear , and scorn him , it would be s●●●●cient to draw upon him new troubles , and to oblige him to sneak a second time to him , and to have ●he ●ame dependance upon him as before . he might also perhaps imagine , by reason of the kindness ●hich the queen shew'd him at st. germains , that i● wo●ld not be impossible for him to make that princess sensible of the cardinal's defects , and to have all the authority next her , himself , after he had laid the cardinal aside . on the other hand , the cardinal had found , that he could build no solid foundation upon the prince's ●●iendship , who was sway'd rather by capricio , then by reason or his own interests , and that time did bu● augment his scornful humour● so that he began to meditate his ruin. to which we may add , that concord and reputation being incompatible between two persons in the same place , the cardinal could no more brook a superior at court , then the prince could endure an equal . and that which contributed considerably to dissolve the knot was this , that the cardinal was ●●rongly convinc'd , that he could not engage the ●●ince to persevere in his interests , but by the probabil●●y of new establishments , which either he propos●d himself to him , or by his crea●ures , only to 〈◊〉 him , and with a ●ull rotent afterwards to evade 〈◊〉 ●is offers and his promises . all which the 〈◊〉 pe●ceiv'd , and was extremely incens'd . las●ly , one of the principal causes of the cardinal●s disg●st against the prince , and which inspir'd h●m wi●h a design to ruin him , was the constant oppo●●●ion of the prince to the raising of the cardinal 's fi●●ly ; which i shall thus make out . some time before the troubles , mazarine , desirous to support his fortune in france by considerable alliances , had cast his eyes upon the duke of mer●eur , as a ●it person to marry his niece mancini , and to confer upon him at the same time the employment of lord high admiral . this project was interrupted by the war , and reass●m'd some time after the peace , when the court was at compiegne , and where there was nothing talk'd of but festivals and rejoicings . the queen spoke of it to the prince , who durst not oppose it● whether he slighted the business , or did not foresee the consequences of it , or ra●her because he was afraid of the noise it would make , should he gain-say it . however it were , notwithstanding his silence at that time , he afterwards most vehemently oppos'd it , and never minded observing any decorum with the cardinal . for he spar'd no manner of raillery or nipping in●ectives against his person . this cut the cardinal to the heart , and did not a little trouble the queen . but that which absolutely render'd the prince suspected at court● was his obstructing another match which the cardinal was eager to make between one of his nieces and the duke of candale , at what time guienne was in arms , through the misunderstanding between the d. of es●ernon his father , and the parliament of bourdeaux , which had join'd , as also had that of prov●nce , with the parliament of paris , against mazarine . fo● the prince foreseeing that the ma●ch could not be made without assuring the government of guyen to candale , whom the parliament and people would be sure to expel , he made use of the affection of the bourdelois to hinder the marriage , and openly declar'd for 'em in the council , that he might encourage 'em the more to demand another governor . the prince's so openly declaring for the parliament and revolters of guyenne put it positively beyond all doubt , that he held a correspondence with 'em and consequently that he was in confederacy with all the factions . and that which augmented the confusion and jealousie of the court , was the demand which guyenne made to have the prince to be governor of that province instead of the duke of espernon . but new troubles arose at paris , occasion'd by the ●●●ts of the town-house , which caus'd the prince to shew his zeal in a more violent manner then ever , for the support of the king's authority , and a second time to contemn all the solicitations and applications of the slingers ; which somewhat re●●x'd him at court , and caus'd 'em to alter , or at least suspend the resolutions they had taken against his person . but while he thus became serviceable to the crown , he was always careful not to suffer the cardinal to have any command over him . to which purpose he diligently set himself to destroy whatever might be 〈…〉 to his elevation . so that understanding that the cardinal had a design to marry one of his nieces with the duke of richlieu , he continually 〈◊〉 that match , as he had disappointed the rest , and engaged the young lord to marry the marquess 〈…〉 's widow , and carry'd 'em in his own coach to 〈◊〉 , a house belonging to the duke of longue●●●● , where they were marry'd . this action render'd him more suspected at court then if he had attempted any thing against the king's authority . and the cardinal and his adherents 〈◊〉 insinuated , that he had procur'd that match only to magnifie his own reputation , and to draw the d. of richlieu to his party , because he was 〈…〉 of havre , and they took an occasion from thence to hast'n his imprisonment . but before we come to the prince's being imprison'd , 〈◊〉 will be material to give an account of certain important passages which happen'd after the peace . this peace not having been publish'd , the court did not deem it convenient for the welfare of the state , as well in reference to affairs at home as abroad , that the king should return immediately to his capital city . for the ministers did not think it safe to envelop themselves among an enrag'd populacy , whom they had so lately besieg'd ; and in regard the campaign drew near , 't was a plausible pretence for taking a progress towards the frontiers , upon some considerable employment . moreover , they were in hopes that time would calm their minds , and bury the remembrance of things past . as for the prince , he thought it was for his interest and his honour to shew himself to a people that had so often loaded him with imprecations . for which reason he went to paris , and shew'd himself alone in his coach , which drew upon him the respect and fear of the people , but abated their resentments . the greatest part of the parliament , and the principal of the frondeurs party , made him visits for five or six days together ; after which he return'd to court ; where the cardinal 's great joy that he had open'd the way to paris , was allay'd by his jealousie of the smallest actions of that great prince , whose valour had drawn upon him the awe and veneration of those very persons whom his courage had offended . upon his arrival , the cardinal desirous to remove so dangerous a competitor , propos'd to him the command of the army in flanders . but the prince refus'd to accept it ; whether it were that he saw the cardinal's aim and intention through the proposal , and that he took delight to mortifie him ; or that it was more grateful to him to rule the cabinet . 't is true that he had a design to have gone to his government of burgundy , with an intention to pacifie the troubles of guyen and provence , that were in arms through the misunderstandings between the governors and the parliaments . but the cardinal , and the abbot de l● b●viere , had frustrated his intermediation , to whose authority the persons concern'd had referr'd 〈◊〉 differences ; for they were afraid lest his um●●●●ge should augment his reputation and his power . however , he would not give over the journey ; and wh●n he departed from compeigne , the cardinal took his le●ve of him with a strong guard , as if he durst not trust his life with the person who had so often ventur'd his own life for his preservation . at parting , the prince desir'd the commander de souvie , le tell●● , and other the cardinal's confidents , and charged marhille , his domestick servant , to tell him , that he could be none of his friends if he thought of marrying his niece to the duke of mercoeur . all this while the court had a powerful army on foot , commanded by count d' hareourt , who had orders to sit down before cambray . for the cardinal was in hope to refix himself in his ancient splendor , by such a glorious conquest as that , with which he ●●ckl'd his fancy so much the more , because the duke had no share in the design , nor was he to have any in the execution of it . and that he might have the whole honour of it , he went from amiens wh●re the king was , to the siege . but fortune prov'd no way favourable to him , his enterprize 〈◊〉 to his confusion ; for cambray being reliev'd , 〈◊〉 , was forc'd to raise his siege . during the prince's absence , the cardinal had held no other then a correspondence of decency and civility with him ; and the prince , who began to be sensible of the prosperity of the court with some regret , and who was not a little disturb'd about the siege of cambray , was no less glad to hear it was rais'd . the troubles in guyenne and provence , and the difficulties which obstructed the king's return to p●ri● pleas'd him as much ; because he believ'd that the cardinal minded nothing else , but which way to surmount all those obstacles and present impediments that obstructed his recovering an absolute and independent authority . and therefore he forbore to ●oment his discontents either in private or in publick , as if he were willing to lay his resentments asleep , to the end he might afterwards let 'em loose with more violence . also at his return from burgundy to p●ris , before he had seen the court , he most earnestly solicited all his friends to take care that the king and the cardinal might have a reception into the metropolis of the kingdom suitable to their dignity . perhaps he strove to compleat a work so glorious as that of restoring the cardinal , or that he flatter'd himself that such a piece of service would never be forgot by the queen . he ●tay'd till the court was return'd to compeigne , where he was receiv'd with more demonstrations of friendship , then when he parted from thence . after which , his majesty return'd to paris ; and in that entry , the king , the queen , and all the royal family , rode in the same coach , and the cardinal in one of the boots with the prince , who put a confidence into him by his presence . and the incredible throng of people who appear'd at that same entrance , and who abhorr'd the very sight of the cardinal , did only then let loose their joy for the king's return , who at that time took up all their thoughts , and defac'd the remembrance of all their animosities and past misfortunes . when their majesties arriv'd at the palace-royal , they receiv'd the submissions of the d. of beaufort , the coadjutor , and the rest of the heads of the frondeurs ; and the prince compleated so noble a day's work , by telling the queen , that he lookt upon himself to be very happy in having fulfill'd the promise that he made her , to bring back the king. to which her maje●ty reply'd , sir , this service which you have done the kingdome is so great , that the king and my self should be very ungrateful , should we ever forget it . one of the prince's servants who 〈…〉 this discourse , told him , that his great 〈…〉 him tremble , and that he was afraid 〈…〉 was no more than a reproach . i 〈…〉 reply'd the prince : however i have per 〈…〉 what i promis'd . when good services are 〈…〉 atred takes place of acknowledgment . 〈…〉 the prince found to be true : for all that 〈…〉 in favour of the cardinal , was one of 〈…〉 which his mortifications had in 〈…〉 that spurr'd him on to ruin him . 〈…〉 purpose all things were to be so order'd , 〈…〉 the fro●deurs , nor the d. of orleans should 〈…〉 the prince . and to that effect 〈…〉 the hatred and aversion which they 〈…〉 had for him , and which was renew'd 〈…〉 to time , in regard the prince sometimes 〈◊〉 to ●e reconcil'd to 'em , and embrace their 〈…〉 had shew'd himself to be their 〈◊〉 enemy● 〈…〉 all the artifices which the cardinal 〈…〉 to incline the frondeurs to rejoice at the 〈…〉 this was the chiefest . 〈…〉 had receiv'd a note , which gave him 〈…〉 that the frondeurs had a design upon 〈…〉 and that they had resolv'd to assassinate 〈…〉 over pon●neuf . this note he shew'd 〈…〉 the duke of orleans , and the cardin●● 〈◊〉 seem'd to be as much surpriz'd as the rest . 〈…〉 some consultation what course to take 〈…〉 the truth , 't was resolv'd , to the end they 〈…〉 themselves without exposing the perso● 〈…〉 duke . that his coachman should drive 〈…〉 over pontneuf with the curtains drawn , 〈…〉 were in it ; which was done , while 〈…〉 the mean time stay'd at a bathing-house 〈…〉 event . so soon as the coach was 〈…〉 before the brazen-horse , the coach was 〈…〉 certain persons unknown , who fir'd their blunderbusses into it , and wounded a lacquey belonging to the count of duras , who rode at the tail of the coach. of which the prince having immediate notice , demanded justice of the king and the queen against the frondeurs . the cardinal also seem'd to outdo himself upon this occasion ; for his diligence and his zeal exceeded the care and sedulity of the prince's nearest relations , and most cordial friends . in the mean time the frondeurs seeing such a quick and dangerous accusation taking root against 'em , believ'd it at first to be an artifice of the prince's to ruin ' em . however , they were nothing daunted ; and tho the report ran , that the prince would prosecute his revenge with all manner of violence , the duke of beaufort made no s●●uple to visit marshal grammon● at a time that the prince supp'd with him , and there spent the remainder of the evening without the least shew of being concern'd . the coadjutor and he made use of all the ways imaginable to justifie their innocency to the prince ; and the marquess of noirmoustier offer'd on their behalf to join with the whole house of conde against the cardinal . but the prince , who was no less exasperated for the little respect they had shew'd him upon other occasi●ons , as out of a perswasion not to be vanquish'd , that they had a design to assassinate him , stopt his ears against all their justifications , and laid aside all other thoughts , but of doing himself justice with the consent of the court , or else of demanding justice from the parliament . the first resolution was too violent ; neither did it agree with the cardinal 's conceal'd design ; and the effect of the other was too tedious and dubious . nevertheless , because it was the intention of the court to refer this business to the parliament , on purpose to mortify the prince with delays , and the vexation to see himself as it were a suppliant at the feet of the judges , the cardinal w●nted not specious pretences to perswade the prince to take that course . thereupon he made his complaint to the palace in the usual forms ; and during the whole course of that affair , the cardinal 〈◊〉 ●he pleasure to draw him into all those snares 〈◊〉 he had laid for him . in the mean time the duke of beaufort and the coadjutor demanded that they might be admitted to justifie themselves ; which being granted , both parties quitted all other ways , a●d adhered only to the practice of the palace . but ●he prince soon understood by the manner of the f●●nde●rs justifying themselves , that their credit wou●d balance his ; nevertheless he did not penetrate the cardinal's dissimulation ; and maugre the opin●o●s and advice of his friends , he still believ'd that 〈◊〉 acted sincerely . in this posture things re●●●●'d for some days , while exasperation and im●●●e●ment augmented on both sides . the prince's f●●ends and the frondeurs friends accompany'd their chi●●tains every day to the palace ; and all things were carry'd with more moderation then could be expected between two parties , whose leaders were so unequal . moreover , the cardinal , in hopes to recover his full liberty by depriving the prince of his freedom , thought it high time to agree with the ●rondeurs , and that he might securely offer 'em the protection of the court , without any fear of afford●ng 'em an opportunity to reconcile themselves to the prince . so that things could never be better dispos'd of , to incline the frondeurs to be so far from opposing ●●e prince's ruin , as rather to be glad and rejoice at ●●s imprisonment . there remain'd now nothing more but to set the duke of orleans at variance with the prince ; which the cardinal found a means to do , upon the marriage of the duke of richlieu with madam du pons . he aggravated to the duke , that the prince had said nothing to him of the marri●ge ; and after he had sow'd the seeds of exasperation in his mind , he consulted with madam de chevreuse against the prince's liberty . and to the end the abbot de ●a riviere , who was so much concern'd to oppose the ruin of the prince , as being in hopes of a cardinal's cap , by the means of his reputation , and the rennnciation of the prince of conty , might not break the measures they had taken , madam de chevreuse cunningly complain'd to the duke of orleans how little security there would be for the future in taking particular measures with him ; that whatever he said , was told again to the prince and madam longueville , by the abbot de la riviere , who being by them secur'd from meeting any opposition at rome in his pretensions to a cardinal's cap , makes them acquainted with all his master's conduct and privacies . she perswaded him also , that the abbot , in whose councils he had had a blind confidence , was privy to the whole negotiation of the duke of richlieu , and madam du pons ; and that all things were carried on between them so exactly by concert , that the princess her mother had never so zealously assisted madamoiselle de saugeon in her design to turn carmelite , but to remove her from the presence and confidence of the duke of orleans , and to hinder her from observing the abbot de la riviere's carriage , and his blind dependance upon the house of conde . in short● madam de chevreuse understood so well how to incense the duke both against the prince and the abbot● that she soften'd him for all the impressions that she had a desire to imprint in his mind . one project also of madam de chevreuse's which contributed very much to bring their design about , was an act of passion which the prince committed . for a little before , he went to visit the dutchess of orleans with a lady which he would needs carry into the presence along with him , notwithstanding that the officer of the duke's guards told him , he had orders that no body should enter but himself . which the prince never regarded , but went forward ; upon which the officer stepping before the lady , to prevent he● entrance , the prince took his ba●●oon of co●●●nd , and broke it abo●t the officer's sh●ulders . moreover , the cardinal renew'd an old proposal to 〈◊〉 duke of roan , to engage the prince to lay claim to the dignity of constable , which he would never li●●●● to , for fear of creating a jealousie in the duke of orleance . and tho the prince rejected the propo●●tion a second time , out of the same consideration , ●●t the cardinal made that dextrous use of the pri●a●e co●ferences which the prince had with the d●ke of roban upon that subject , that they afforded all 〈◊〉 probabilities of a private negotiation between th● duke of roan , and the prince , without imparting it ●o the duke of orleans , and contrary to his opini●● and pretensions to the constable's sword. so that the duke having receiv'd all these impressions , a●d pe●ceiving both want of sincerity and respect in the pri●ce's proceedings , without any more to do consent●d to his being arrested . the prince's friends had several times given him wanting of a design which they suspected to be 〈◊〉 , to lay him up in prison ; and from that t●●e he had always some one or other with him of t●e royal palace ; tho he gave no credit to their ad●ice , and sometimes laught and flouted at those that gave it him● in the mean time the cardinal procu●'d the thing to be resolv'd on in council , and a day to be appointed fo● the execution of the order , which was the 〈◊〉 of ianuary . several persons gave the prince advice of it the same day ; but he took no notice of 〈◊〉 . and that which is more to be wonder'd at is this , th●● whereas for about two months together he had accustom'd himself to be attended by some of his most faithful friends when he went to the palace royal , he never went alone but that day he was arrested . the duke of longueville was at chaillo● , apart from the dutchess his wife . to draw him therefore into the snare , the cardinal sent ●im word , that the council was consulting about the apprehending of couturier , and some others , who were accus'd for having attempted the prince's life ; and that his presence was necessary to prevent sedition and tumult . immediately the d. of longueville made haste to paris , and went to the palace-royal upon the th of iunuary in the evening . the prince also , according to his custom , came that evening to attend upon the queen ; at what time the abbot de la riviere told him , that the duke of orleans would not be at the council . upon which the prince thought at first ; that they would abandon his cause ; which made him leave the queen sooner than he would h●ve don● , and go to the council-chamber , whither at the same time came the prince of conty and the duke of longueville . as for the cardinal , he was retir'd into his chamber , and had carry'd the abbot alo●g with him , lest he should perceive something , and spoil a design that was just upon the point of execution . so that there was only the chancellor , the count of servien , le tellier , and some others with the princes , when de guitault , captain of the queen's guards , with great respect approach'd the prince of conde , and in the queen's name whispe●'d him in the ear , that he must go to prison . de comminge , captain of the same guards , told the prince of conty as much ; and de croissy , one of the ensigns of the same body , put the same compliment upon the duke of longueville . the prince a● first took it for a piece of sport , and thought the queen had done it in a kind of frolick . but understanding all was in good earnest , is this then the recompence ( said he ) of 〈◊〉 fidelity and services ? and then addressing himself to the chancellor , he desir'd him to go in his name to the queen , and beg of her to hear him but for one minute ; a●d he pray'd the count de servien to ●●sire the same favour of the cardinal . as for the cha●c●llor , he return'd , without being able to ob●●in hi●●equest ; and as for the count of servien , ●e brought no answer back , believing it enough to have given the cardinal notice that the business was done● and then it was that mazarine imparted the business to the abbot de la riviere , who was strangely surpriz'd at it , and could not forbear telling him , that certainly the duke of orleans would never suf●er such an injury to be done the princes . to which the cardinal answer'd , that there had been nothing done without his consent . thereupon the abbot retir'd to spea● with his highness ; but he was repuls'd in such a manner , that he look'd upon his for●u●● to ●e at an end . 〈◊〉 , who was gone to fetch his guard , retur●'d with twenty soldiers well arm'd , who looking a squint upon the princes , seem'd to threaten 'em with something else more fatal then imprisonments , and carr●'d away the prisoners down a back-pair of stairs into the garden , where guitalt putting 'em all thre● into one coach , conducted 'em to richlieu ●s gate , where the count o● miossans , afterwards for this piece of good service made a marshal , by the name of marshal d' albret , waited with the gendarmes to carry 'em to vincennes . and that which is here to be observ'd , is this , that mazarine orde●'d this business so cunningly , that the prince believ'd that all the preparations which were made to seize his person , concern'd only the frondeurs , and out of that perswasion gave himself the orders for his being more safely conducted to prison . for the same day the prince was arrested , the cardinal sent him word in the morning , that he had something to impart to him of great consequence . thereupon the prince went to the palace-royal , where the cardinal told him , that he had been inform'd in good part , that decoutures had been in paris about four and twenty hours , conceal'd in ● house near mo●matre gate ; and that the conviction of the murder intended being infallible , if they could but light upon him● he would do well to give an order to apprehend him ; but that in the executing of this design two things were to be fear'd ; that is to say , lest the people and the coadjutor's friends should make a tumult ; for that the coadjutor well knowing his ruin to be unavoidable if decoutures were taken , would be certain to procure his escape . and therefore to avoid both the one and the other of these inconveniences , he tho●ght it convenient that he should be sent away out of paris , till the parliament should order him to be remanded to the common goal of the city : that the best way was to carry him through richlieu gate ; and there●ore that he would command the gensdarms to stay behind l' hostel de vendosme , in a readiness to march when they should be commanded . the prince approv'd these proposals ; and blinded by his desire of revenge , suffer'd himself to be surpriz'd by the artifices of the cardinal , and took care for his own being safely carry'd to prison , which he had like to have discover'd the day be●ore , entring into the cardinal's chamber , where lyonne , mazarine's secretary , was writing out the orders beforehand . upon the road to vineennes the coach broke , so that the prisoners were forc'd to stay three or four hours by the way , with only a guard of four●een gensdarmes , yet no body dur●t adventure to rescue them . the remembrance of the war , and the present disorders of paris , were the reason that the blow was easily born with . the people approv'd what had been done against the prince , and shew'd themselves extreamly joyful at the news : so that the 〈◊〉 of longueville , who was retir'd to a private house in ●aris , in expectation of things necessary for her 〈◊〉 into normandy , to which she had been ad●●●● by her friends , beheld the bonfires and other marks of publick rejoycing for the imprisonments of her brothers , and her husband . and what was more singular was this , that persons of the highest quality and degree , who afterwards demanded , and with an unshak'n zeal and constancy prosec●ted their releasment , then publickly declar'd that their imprisonment was legal . but that which soon after made it appear to be 〈◊〉 , wa● a letter sent to the parliament , three days a●ter the princes were seiz'd , wherein such ●light and 〈◊〉 ●rimes were laid to their charge , that the greatest of those , who by reason of some remaining 〈◊〉 of the year preceding , thought 'em guilty● were convinc'd of their innocency . the first days of their imprisonment the princes in●rig●'d against the cruelty of their enemies . the king●s b●●ad which was granted to the most wretch●d was deny'd to princes of the blood. their employments● and their governments , were dispos'd o●● their pensions were stopp'd ; nay , they lay'd their hands upon ●he assignations given the prince for the ●●imbursement of fifty thousand crowns lent to the queen but six months before . perraut also being imprison'd the same day as his master , they seiz'd upon all his papers , turn'd his servants out of three houses ; and commanded the princess dowager , and the p●incess her daughter-in-law , to retire out of paris ● they order'd also president ferrand , who was nominated by the prince for the administration of his affairs● and the intendants employ'd by the two others , 〈◊〉 defray their expences . upon refusal of the first decree of council , the president ferrand , who resolutely resisted , was threaten'd with imprisonment . his moveables were put to sale . no less then eight silver candlesticks mark'd with the prince's arms , were sold by an outcry . and his sword , the support of the state , the glory of the regency , the terrour of all europe , was within a hairs breadth of being cry'd in the publick market-place by a pitiful catchpole ; that sword which had defeated the most considerable forces of spain , and had sacrific'd to the security and welfare of the king , three famous generals , gain'd whole provinces to the crown ; that had vanquish'd the bavarians ; the support and hopes on which the empire rely'd , and which had defended the cardinal himself from the fury and animosity of the french. these three princes suffer'd their misfortunes with variety of humours . the duke of longuevil●e was sad and pensive , and spoke not a word . the prince of conti wept , and never stirr'd out of his bed ; while the prince sung , swore , went to mass a mornings , read and play'd to pass away his time . 't is said , that the prince , hearing the prince of conti desire some-body to bring him a book , entitl'd , the imitation of christ , should presently use this expression to the prince of conti's friend , and i , sir , said he , desire you to bring me the imitation of monsieur beaufort ; that i may make my escape out of this place , as he did about two years ago● and see my heels well at liberty . these rigorous proceedings against the princes were attended with several others . the guard of 'em was committed to the care of de barr , a man of great severity , and whose hard usage much augmented the discontents of the prisoners . now in regard this man was made choice of by the cardinal to be the minister of his passions , neither the respect due to the birth of the princes , their services done the kingdom , nor the honour to be entrusted with those illustrious sufferers , made any impression upon his crabbed disposition . and not contented with four bodies of guards , and five strong gates , he crowded their antichambers with soldiers : he also plac'd sold●●●s in their very chambers to observe their coun●●●●●ces ; and many times they were observ'd in their beds : and that which was most irksome of all , we the clownishness of their jaylor's discoourses . he had not common civility for 'em , as princes , but 〈◊〉 be always prating in their ears that which was offensive . they were refus'd the attendance of their own servants . only the complaints of the princess of conde causing 'em to fear the effects of some pity , they were forc'd to grant 'em what the king was pleas'd to extend toward ' em . this put their friends in hope , that they might be able to settle a correspondence with ' em . thereupon , they ventur'd a letter , which was deliver'd 'em : and at length they made use of such dextrous means to hear from 'em , and to send 'em news of what concern'd 'em , that d● barr himself , perceiving , perhaps , some turn of the tide , lent them his assistance , when he was sure no notice could be taken of him . for five months that this lucky stratagem lasted , neither they , nor those that adher'd to their interests , had any reason to conceive any great hopes of their releasement . the success of normandy and burgundy , that swell'd the pride of their enemies , abated the courage of their friends and servants . besides that , their meetings always prov'd fruitless , by reason of the union and vigilance of the cardinal , and coadju●or of paris . in may the coadjutor disappointed the petition of the princess dowager of conde , that she might have liberty to prosecute the releasement of her sons . she was in hopes that the cardinal's absence would afford her favourable opportunities ; and that the good nature of the duke of orleans , which had so long with f●ood the imprisonment of the princes , would at length produce a union powerful to vanquish the obstinacy of the court , and the malice of those that persecuted her house . but all her attendance prov'd in vain . they were so far from doing her right upon her petition , that they would not so much as lend an ear to her complaints ; they rejected her supplications , and had no regard to her tears . she might humble her self , if she pleas'd , even to the conjuring her enemies by all the considerations of mercy and compassion ; her requests were still evaded● and upon the return of the court , which remov'd a great way off on purpose , she obtain'd no more then the liberty to abide at vallery , which she chose of her own accord before chatillon upon loin . all this bad usage cast the princess into a melancholy discontent , and languishment , of which she dy'd the d of december . the cardinal , on the other side , was fully satisfy'd . all things went well in burgundy and normandy , and the hopes that he had of the like success in guyenne ; and particularly at bourdeaux , puft up his heart , and render'd him inexorable . now for the right understanding of all these particulars , it will be requisite to give a brief relation of what pass'd in those provinces during the imprisonment of the princes . the count of tavanes , who was one of those who laid most to heart the interests of the prince of conde , understanding that he was arrested , together with the prince of conti , and the d. of longuevil●e , and that they were carry'd to vincennes , hasten'd to the marquess of moussaye goyon , governour of stenay , and inform'd him of what he had heard . now in regard the marquess was none of the most resolute men in the world , he appear'd to be strangely alarum'd and surpriz'd , and with a world of confusion , askt the count what was to be done . it behoves ye , briskly reply'd the count of tavanes , to repair with all speed to your government ; and if you have nothing to do any where else , you will find business enough there , and you will see me there 〈◊〉 very speedily . afterwards the count went to conde house , where he found the princess dowager all in tears , with a great number of people , all in consternation , not knowing what resolution to take . there was also in the garden a good number of the prince's officers● who had resolv'd among themselves to go forthwith to val de grace , there to seize upon the ca●dinal's neices , and bring 'em away to some one of the princes houses , as a gage for the prince's life , which they believ'd in danger , by reason of his great merit , and high birth . but at the very instant , news came that the cardinal , apprehensive of some such designs , had sent for ●em away from thence before the princes were arrested . so that all the officers were forc'd to return to their several homes , not being ●ble to resolve upon any considerable service which they could do the prince : only the next day they reti●●d , some to bellegard , and some to stonay . tavanes , seeing this , departed , and rode all night to get to milly in gastinois , which was his own estate . from thence he retir'd into burgundy , in hopes that many things might there be done for the prince . but there was no body willing to stir in those parts , and they that were the prince's friends , were rather against him , then for him . howeve● , he spar'd not to visit 'em all a● 〈◊〉 , and to whisper 'em in the ear , but all to no purpos●●● then going to the castle of the city which belong'd to the prince , the commanders which th● prince had plac'd there , of which two were his domestic servants , coldly excus'd themselves for ●ut being able to do any thing for want of men . upon which tavanes offer'd to bring 'em sixty musquet●ers , which they promis'd to admit . but two days after , when the musqueteers were come , and the count sent word to the governour to open the back 〈◊〉 the garison made answer , that they could not receive 'em , in regard they had promis'd the city to let no body in . this piece of infidelity , together with the advice which the count had given him , that there was a design to arrest him a● dijon , for●'d him to retire in haste to bellogarde , which he found in such a forelorn condition , as ea●ily might satisfy the judgment of any man , that the prince , to whom it belong'd , was no way guilty of the crimes which were laid to his charge , for acting against the service and authority of the king. there was very little ammunition , very few cannon , and those dismounted ; and without carriages ; insomuch , that tavanes , seeing the bad condition of the place , resolv'd to go to stenay , where marshal turenne was already retir'd for the service of the prince . and in regard he had sent two single companies , that belong'd to the prince , and two other companies of the regiment of meille , to quarter near his house , du palli● , two little leagues from langres , he went thither to join ' em . he was no sooner arriv'd at that house , but he had advice from bellegard , that the horse regiments of conde and enguien were marching thither with the prince's guards ; and that the chief commander had written to him , that he might receive his orders . whereupon , he sent away guitault de pechepeirou , to press 'em to meet him at pallie , from whence they might march directly for s●ena● , and join turenne . guitant being arriv'd at bellegard , wrote back word to the count , that all the officers told him , 't was requisite to let their horses rest for some few days , and that many of the troops had deserted . but the count was in hast to carry these troops to turenne , and therefore he sent with all speed for those regiments to come up to him , and to let 'em understand , that the greatest service they could do the prince , was to quicken their march that they might the sooner be at stonay . so soon as he had put himself at the head of these troops , he set forward . but in his march he met , soon after his uncle , the mar●●es● of tav●nes , who was the king's lieutenant of 〈◊〉 ●●ovince ; who having drawn together the gen●●y , the archers with their provost , some well 〈◊〉 troops of horse , and a regiment of foo●● adventur'd to oppose his nephew's passage , a●d to prevent his joyning turenne . the count resolv'd forthwith to charge this ●ody● that made a shew of disputing the passage ●ith him ; and falling upon 'em , cut all the cavalry 〈◊〉 pi●ces , and having taken all the regiment of ●oo●●risoners , made them take an oath to serve the 〈◊〉 and the prince of conde against mazarin . this defeat of the king's lieutenant of burgundy , 〈◊〉 a terror into the whole province , and particular●● into dijon , where they were so hotly alarum'd , that they forcd the very capuchius to take arms. whic● caus'd tavanes to alter his design , and engag'd h●● to turn all his horse and foot against that city , which he was in hopes to take , and make the inhabita●●s declare themselves , if they that were in the c●stl● which belong'd to the prince , would but 〈◊〉 their gates to him. but the commander of 〈◊〉 castle refus'd to hearken to his proposals , so that the count after he had encamp'd two days before ●he c●ty , was constrain'd to retreat to bellegard , in h●pes that the countries would not fail to assist with 〈◊〉 arms , and whatever else he stood in need of● th●se movements of the count of tavanes , otherwise unsuccessful , produc'd good effects : for they constrain'd the king , the queen , the cardinal , and all the court , to take a journy into burgundy , and that progress gave an opportunity to bourdeaux , montr●●d , and normandy , to declare for the prince , more especially while the king's forces were bu●ied in the 〈◊〉 of b●llegarde . tha● place , as has been said already , was in the most pitiful condition in the world to hold out , and therefore made little resistance . the soldiers also that were in it revolted upon sight of the king's army ; so that nothing could be expected from ' em . and tavanes was constrain'd to surrender the place much sooner then he would have done● to the end he might preserve for the prince's service a good number of stout men , who were retir'd thither . tavanes's soldiers , after the surrender of bellegarde , were discharg'd , and the o●●●cers , with all the men of courage that were there , gave their paroles before they march'd out , to meet some at montrond , some at bourdeaux , and others at stenay , for the service of the prince ; which they did with all fidelity and exactness . as for tavanes , he chose to go to paris , and joyn the duke of nemours , there to try all manner of ways to get the prince's out of prison . now while the court was busily employed in burgundy , the dutchess of long●eville left no stone unturn'd in normandy to engage the parliament of that province , together with the friends and places that belong'd to the du●e her husband , to take the princes side , and to assure her self also of h●●re de grace . but all the benefit of her intreagues , and her active stirring in those parts , was only this , that she constrain'd the court to quit burgundy sooner then they would have done , and to march with all their forces into normandy . in short● they● were no sooner arriv'd there , but the princess was oblig'd to take shipping and flye into holland , and from thence to come to stenay ● where she treated with the spaniards about setting the princes at liberty● turenne , who was retir'd upon their being first imprison'd , and who was vehemently incens'd against the cou●● , by reason of the principality of sedan , which they had taken from his family some years before , by constraining the duke of bouillon his brother , then a prisoner in the bastille , to throw himself at the king●s mercy : this turenne , i say , commanded all the 〈…〉 the spaniards lent in this conjuncture . 〈…〉 we relate what turenne did at the head of 〈…〉 , le● us see what passed in guyenne . 〈◊〉 ●●kes of bouillon , and rochefo●cault , the 〈…〉 st. simon , and the duke de la force , were 〈…〉 persons that acted in g●yenne ; and 〈…〉 highly signaliz'd himself in the war 〈…〉 kindl●d in that province ; and he is to be 〈◊〉 as the chief of all those who there 〈◊〉 themselves , and took arms in favour of the 〈◊〉 . he it was , that so judicially advis'd the 〈◊〉 of conde to retire with her young son , the 〈…〉 , into the province of guyenne . for 〈◊〉 that the person of the duke was expos'd to 〈…〉 of the court , he might happ'n to be 〈…〉 instrument in obtaining his father's liberty . ●nd therefore , after some delay , the princess 〈…〉 , and got through the mountains of au●●●● , to t●renne ; notwithstanding the dreadful 〈◊〉 that persons of her sex , and the young 〈◊〉 age , were forc'd to undergo . the prince● an●●he young duke stay'd with t●renne eight 〈◊〉 during which time brive-la-g●●llande was ta●●●●nd the troop of gen●darmes of prince thomas , 〈◊〉 of a hundred men . this stop at turenne , 〈◊〉 was necessary to settle the tottering and 〈◊〉 minds of the bourdelois , to the end she 〈◊〉 be there in safety , gave time to general de la 〈◊〉 , natural brother to the duke of espernoon , and 〈◊〉 co●manded the king's forces in that province , 〈…〉 in the princesses way , on purpose to 〈◊〉 her passage . but she stopping at a house of 〈…〉 of bouillon's , call●d rochfort , the duke of 〈…〉 and he march'd against de la vale●●e 〈…〉 the forces they had rais'd , and six hundred 〈◊〉 men , their friends . they overtook him a● 〈◊〉 in per●gord . but he gave ground , not dar●●g to fight , and retreated through the woods to bergerac , with the loss of all his baggage . after which , the princess set forward for bourdeaux , without meeting any opposition in her passage . there remain'd nothing more behind , but to surmount the difficulties which they met with in the city , which was divided into several cabals . the duke of espernon's creatures , and they that follow'd the new sentiments , of which the d. of st. simon had also gotten a smack , after he had receiv●d some letters from the court , and had heard of the taking of b●llegarde , join'd themselves with those that serv'd the court , and among the rest with de la vie , advocate-general in the parliament of bourdeaux , a man both subtle and ambitious . they us'd all their endeavours to cause the gates to be shut against the princess . nevertheless , so soon as it was known that she was arriv'd at lormond , near the city , with the young duke her son , all people gave public testimonies of their joy. they throng'd out of the city in heaps ; they strew'd the high-way with flowers ; and the barge that carry'd 'em , was attended by all the boats in the river ; the ships in the port discharg'd all their guns , and they enter'd into bourdeaux , notwithstanding all the underhand efforts of their enemies to have hinder'd ' em . 't is true , that neither the parliament , nor the jurats went to visit 'em in a body ; but there was hardly any , who in private did not give 'em assurances of their faithful service . in the mean while , the court's cabal , and espernon's together , hinder'd the duke of b●●illon , and the duke of rochefoucault , from being let into the city for the first three or four days ; so that they were forced to lie in the suburbs of the cha●●reu● ; where all people went to see 'em , and offer'd to bring 'em in by force . but they refus'd their civility , contenting themselves to be admitted two days after the princess , and that in the evening too , to prevent any tumult . the king at that time had no other forces 〈…〉 , but those under la valette , which 〈…〉 the dukes of bouillon and rouche 〈…〉 〈◊〉 consisted in five or six hundred gen 〈…〉 friends , a●d some foot , which they 〈…〉 pon their own lands . now in regard 〈…〉 disciplin'd soldiers , 't was impossible to 〈…〉 oge●her , so that they all began to think of 〈◊〉 home . for this reason , 't was thought 〈…〉 ● that they should try , before the gentle●●● 〈◊〉 , whether they could meet valette , and 〈◊〉 that resolution away the dukes march'd di●●●●●● fo● liburne . but he having intelligence of it , 〈◊〉 , a●d avoided f●ghting a second time , in 〈◊〉 the ●●●ntry would be speedily retu●ning home ; 〈…〉 if he forbore fighting● he should be certainly 〈◊〉 o●●he field . at the same time marshal de la meilleray had orders ●o ma●ch toward bourdeaux , through the country between the two seas , and the king advanc'd to●●●d l●b●u●ne . of which , when bouillon and rochefo●caul● had notice● they hasten'd their levies , notwithst●nding the obstacles they met with , both for w●nt of money , and the great number of persons 〈◊〉 in the parliament and city , that under●and cros●d their designs . and things were come to that 〈◊〉 , which had like to have caus'd great disor●●●● . f●● a spanish officer being come to wait upon the princess of conde from the king of spain , and having brought along with him crowns for the ●eli●f of her present necessities , the parliament , who ●ill then had suffer'd her to reside in the city with her s●n , the duke of eng●ien , and had never openly decl●●'d for her , as the people had done , believd that 〈◊〉 opposing the spanish envoy's being receiv'd into bo●●de●●x ● would suffice , by that single act , to justi●y all their past conduct ; seeing that by depriving the prince's party of that relief which they expected ●rom spain , his friends would be reduc'd to a necessity of receiving such laws as the court would impose upon ' em . the parliament therefore being assembled , order'd that the spaniard should depart bourdeaux forthwith ; but the people understandi●g what would be the consequences of that decree , betook themselves to their arms● invested the palace , and threaten'd to fire it , if they did not repeal their order . at first they thought to have easily dispers'd the tumult , upon the appearance of the jurats that were sent for ; but the disorder increasing upon the delay of the repeal , the parliament sent notice to the dukes of bouillon and rochefoucau●● of the mutiny , and desi●'d them to appease it ; nor were they sorry that the parliament stood in need of 'em upon this occasion . but in regard it was of great importance toward laying the foundations of their party , that the people should get the decree recall'd , before they left the palace ; and afraid besides , lest if they should go about to regulate the disorder , they should be taken for the ringleaders of it , they forbore for some time to answer the expectations of the parliament . but perceiving at length that things began to grow to that degree of heat , that without losing any more time , they flew to the palace with their guards , and thrusting themselves in among the enrag'd multitude , to the great danger of their persons , they stopp'd their fury , and undertook to mediate between them and the parliament . thus the spanish envoy had all the liberty he could desire . afterwards the generals thought it requisite to make a general m●ster of the inhabitants , that they might be able to know their strength● and prepare 'em by degrees to sustain a siege . they drew 'em up themselves in order of battel , tho they had receiv'd advices from several hands , that there was a design on foo● to assassinate ' em . nevertheless among the continual volleys that were discharg'd , by no less then twelve thousand men , no unlucky accident happen'd . after this they began to raise some outworks about the city ; but in regard that mony came but slowly from spain , they could not bring any of their works to perfection . and certain it is , that during all this war , they never receiv'd of the spaniards above two hundred and twenty thousand livres ; the rest having been taken up upon the credit of the princess , the dukes , or m. laisne . however , in a little time they made a shift to raise three thousand foot , and seven or eight hundred horse ; with which they took castellan , within four leagues of bourdeaux , and would have extended themselves farther , but that they heard of meilleray's approach , and that espernoon was joyn'd with vale●●● . upon this advice , bouillon and rochefoucault dispatch'd away sillery into spain to hasten away the promis'd relief : however , they left a garison in castelnau , and retreated with the rest of their forces to blanquefort , within two leagues of bourdeaux . and there it was that the duke of espernon came to fall upon 'em in their quarters , at what time bouillon and rochefoucault were return'd to bourdeaux , leaving chambon to command the forces in their absence , which were much inferior to espernon's . nevertheless , tho' they could not defend the entrance into their quarters , the marshes and canals which environ'd one part of 'em , gave 'em the opportunity , without being broken , to save both their men and their baggage . upon the noise of this combat , bouillon and rochefoucault , set forward out of bourdeaux with a good number of the citizens , and having joyn'd their own men , advanc'd toward espernon with a resolution to fight him , but the same canal , already mentioned , prevented their coming to blows : only some skirmishes happen'd , wherein espernon lost a great many officers and soldiers ; of the bourdelois very few were kill'd , and mr. guitault , the prince of conde's chamberlain was wounded . after which time meilleray and espernon being join'd kept bourdeaux block'd up , tho at some distance ; and they retook the island of st. george , about four leagues above the city in the garon , where the two dukes had begun some fortifications . it had been defended for two or three days with vigour enough , because they got in a fresh regiment every day , and valette being there wounded , dy'd of his wounds within a few days . but at length the boat that brought 'em reliefs and carry'd back those that were reliev'd , being sunk by a battery which meilleray had rais'd upon the rivers side ; it struck such a terrour as well into the officers as soldiers , that they surrender'd all prisoners of war. so that the bourdelois lost the island and twelve hunder'd of their best men at one time . this ill success , and the arrival of the king at liburn , who also caus'd the castle of vaire to be attack'd , lying about two leagues from paris , caus'd a great consternation in the city . upon this the parliament and the citizens perceiving the city ready to be besieg'd by the king , and finding themselves in want of all things necessary for their defence , and no succors coming from spain made a decree to desire a peace upon what conditions the king pleas'd to impose upon 'em , at what time news was brought 'em , that vaire was tak'n , and that the governor , named richon , who surrender'd at discretion was hang'd . this severity by which the cardinal thought to have stricken a terror and discord among the bourdelois , wrought a quite contrary effect . bouillon and rochefoucault understood so well to make their best advantage of it , that by this means he resettl'd the minds of those that waver'd and were astonishd before , causing the governor of the island of st. george , who surrender'd at dicretion , to be hang'd . and to the end that the parliament and people might be concern'd with the generals , which was no less requisite then bold and daring ; they caus'd the commander to be try'd by a council of war , where the princess and the duke of enguien presided ; and which was compos'd not only of the military officers , but of two commissioners from the parliament , and thirty six captains of the city . who all unanimously condemn'd the poor commander , who was a gentleman , and guilty of no other crime then of being unfortunate . the people also , who were enrag'd above measure , would hardly give him time to be executed , but would have torn him limb from limb , and cut him to peices . this action astonishd the court , gave new vigour to the bourdelois , and made such an alteration in the city , that they resolv'd to abide a siege , and to defend themselves couragiously ; the citizens relying upon their own strength , and the promises of the spaniards , who put 'em in hopes of a powerful and speedy succor . in the mean while they hasten'd the raising of a fort of four bastions at bastide , which lyes over-against bourdeaux on the other side of the river . they also carry'd on with great heat and diligence the other fortifications of the city . but in regard that several of the citizens had houses in the suburbs of st. surin , they would not permit 'em to be burnt or pull'd down ; tho it were made out , that that suburb would be the first that would be attack'd , and that it was large enough to lodge all the king's infantry . all they could obtain was only to intercept the avenues , and to lay the houses open ; for it was impossible to defend so large a place as that with only the inhabitants and a few men , that did not amount to above seven or eight hundred foot , and three hundred horse . nevertheless the place requir'd a numerous guard , the access being open to it on every side , and the city gate which was next it in a very bad condition having nothing to defend it , and for that the enemy might approach it under covert . so that they could have wish'd they could have ●●cur'd that gate with a half moon ; but in regard they wanted every thing that was necessary , they made ri●e of a small muckhill that lay before the gate , and which being cut sloping like a half moon , without parapet or moat , was one of the greatest defences of ●he city . the king st●ying at bourg , mazarin cam● to the royal camp , which consisted of about foot , and three thousand horse . and it was resolv'd that the suburb of st. surin should be attack'd , which was a work so much the more easie , for that having the avenues only guarded , the houses might be gain'd without any danger ; by which means they might enter into the city , cut off those that defended the barricado's and the church , and prevent their retreat into the city . moreover they thought , that because the half-moon was not tenable , they might lodge themselves betimes at the gate of dijos . meilleray therefore caus'd the houses and barricado's to be attack'd both at the same time , and pall●au had orders to enter through the palais galien , and to slip between the suburbs and the city directly to the half-moon : but meilleray falling on before palluau arriv'd , he found hotter work then he expected . for the skirmish began so soon as the king's troops approach'd ; and the citizens had plac'd their small shot in the hedges and vineyards which cover'd the suburbs , which put a stop to the king's men with great loss of the assaylants● bouillon was in st. surin's church yard , with what citizens he could get out along with him to relieve the posts , and rochefoucault was at the barricade , where the king's men made their principal attack and carry'd it . both sides fir'd with extream fury ; so that of the citizens abou● sixscore were slain , and about seven or eight hundred on the king's side : nevertheless the suburb was taken . af●●● which they resolv'd to open their trenches , 〈…〉 the half-moon , and to make an attack throug● the w●lks belonging to the archbishoprick ; 〈◊〉 in ●egard the hal●-moon had no moat , the citi●●●● wo●ld not undertake to guard it , but contented th●●sel●es ●ith shooting from behind their walls . the besiegers therefore attack'd it three times with t●●ir b●sts men , but were repuls'd by rochefoucault , wh● had brought thither the prince of conde's gu●●ds and his own , at the same time that the citi●●n● d●●ert●d it . the besieg'd also made three or ●o●r sallies , in every one of which they clear'd the t●●nches● and burnt the enemies lodgments ; inso●●●h , that in thirteen days after the trenches were 〈◊〉 , they were no f●rther advanc'd then at first . but i●●egard the bourdelois had not infantry enough to believe the guards of the gates attack'd ; and for that those who were neither kill'd nor wounded were 〈◊〉 for service , by reason of their being weari'd with thir●●en days hard service together , bouillon and rochef●●ca●lt found a way to relieve 'em by causing the ●avalry to serve a foot ; and they stay'd there themselves the four or five last days without stirring 〈◊〉 their po●●s to encourage the soldiers by their e●●mple . before i go any farther , 't is requisite for the keep●●g i● memory the just and distinct ideas of so many 〈◊〉 accidents , to let you know , that the remot●ness of the court and the king's army now bu●●●●●●ploy'd in guyenne , gave turenne leisure to make great progresses . he therefore , taking advantage o● the op●ortunity , took in ca●elet , la chapelle , chat●●● , por●ien , and rhetel , and made a shew of marching toward paris , to release the princes who were at ●incennes . the news of his march struck a terror into the capital city , and made 'em think of a secu●e● p●ison wherein to confi●e the princes . thereupon they all agreed , that it was absolutely necessary that they should be remov'd from vincennes : but the difficulty was to agree upon the place , where they might be more in safety . madam chevreuse , and the keeper of the seals , could not determine the point ; for there was more in it then only to remove the princes from vincennes● tellier , secretary of state , and others of the cardinal's friends propos'd havre , according as mazarine had design'd . the coadjutor thought they were safe enough where they were● or if they must be remov'd , no better place then the bastile . beaufort was of the same opinion , and stifly maintain'd , that to put 'em in any other place , would be to deliver 'em up to the cardinal , and give him an opportunity to make use of 'em when he pleas'd , against his royal highness himself . that rather then suffer it , he would expose himself to the greatest dangers . that he made no question but that he should be upheld by the people ; and that with their support he would undertake any thing . the duke of orl●ance was a long time before he could resolve what to do , but at length his fears augmenting upon the news of turenne's march , he began to think it high time to resolve upon something . however , the diversity of opinions , and particularly beaufort's threatnings , put him to a stand ; besides , that the castles of pontoise , and st. germans en laye , were propos'd to him . but being beset with difficulties on every side , he bethought himself of marcoussy , enclos'd between two rivers , surrounded with moats full of water , and strong enough to oppose as well the enemies of the state , as the prince's friends . the principal friends which the prince had at paris , were the duke of nemours , and the count of tavanes ; the first was his rival ; for they both lov'd madam de chatillon ; which made it a wonder at first that the duke should be so much concern'd for the prince . in short , after the princes were ca●ry'd to 〈◊〉 , the dutchess of chatillon had link'd her se●● with the princess dowager of conde , and had so 〈…〉 her business , that she had brought over 〈◊〉 to the prince's interest , for whom in truth she had 〈◊〉 so great a kindness , as for the duke , but lov'd him however , well knowing he had a great 〈◊〉 for her . 't is true , that it might be very probable , that 〈…〉 not believe that the dutchess of chatillon ac●ed for the prince out of any principle of love. and perhaps it might be likewise true , that the dutchess did not solely act by that principle , but th●t the ob●●gations for which she was indebted to the prince● th● community of ●nterests , and the 〈◊〉 she had to be ally'd to the first prince of the 〈◊〉 , might be stronger motives to induce her to engage 〈◊〉 to take the prince's side . for the under●●●n●ing of which 't is necessary you should know , that the dutchess of chatillon , daughter of 〈…〉 , who lost his ●ead for fighting a duel co●tra●y to the edicts of lewi● xiii . was marry'd to g●spar duke of chatillon by the ●ntermediation and c●●dit of the prince , tho he were himself in love with he● before . but because gaspar de coligny , afterward● duke of cha●ill●n , upon the d●ath of his father and his eldest brothe● , was in love with madam de b●uttevi●e , coligny besought the duke to quit his pretension , alledging ●hat he had a design to 〈◊〉 her . the prince , who was both a friend and k●nsman of coligny's , and one who had no other then a ●are design of courtship upon the lady , besides that his passion was but newly kindl'd , made up scruple to resign his amours , and promis'd him that he would not only banish 'em from his thoughts , but 〈◊〉 him against the marshal , his father , and his kindred , that oppos'd the match . in short , notwithstanding all the decrees of parliament , and all obstacles that the marshal laid in his way , the prince assisted coligny so well , that he caus'd him to carry away madam de boutteville by force , and lent him twenty thousand franks for his subsistence . coligni carry'd his mistress to chesteau-thierry , where the marriage being consummated , the new-marry'd couple retir'd to stenay , a place of security , which the prince to whom it belong'd , had lent 'em for their residence . coligni's not being of age when he married rendring the marriage void , yet being of age upon his return to paris , there was a contract of marriage drawn up at conde-house before the lady's relations , and then they were marry'd again at nostre-dame by the coadjutor . some time after , madam de chatillon , not finding her self well , went to the waters of bourbon , where the duke of nemours met her and fell in love with her . after which they lov'd each other with an extraordinary passion , insomuch tha● nemours could refuse nothing that madam de chatillon demanded of him . but to return to the series of our history , nemours whom love had engag'd on the prince's side , and ●avanes who was return'd incognito to paris after the surrender of bellegarde , made it their business to make friends● and upon the report of the prince's being to be remov'd from vincennes , had got together all the friends that possibly they could , with instructions to be ready to mount along with 'em upon the first call . but when the princes were remov'd from vincennes to marcoussy , they were attended by such a numerous guard , that nemours and tavanes did not think it convenient to appear , and so dismiss'd all those persons that were come to join ' em . the prince during his imprisonment at vincennes , had written a long and elegant discourse to justifie his innocency to all france , and to all the world , and to display the malice of his grand enemy . the beginning of this discourse was put into the hands of a considerable person by a soldier , who being won by 〈◊〉 ● was wont to bring news how the duke did ; and ●hen the princes were carri'd to marcoussy , anoth●r soldier that escap'd in the hurry , brought the remi●der . the piece is nervously and eloquently compil'd , and justifies that the illustrious author knew more then how to manage his sword. had it not bee● so long as it is , we would have inserted it in this history , but it would almost compose a tome of i● self . 't is enough to let you know , that the prince all along keeps within the bounds of respect to their majesties ; and that without murmuring at the●● orders , he discovers the malice of those who had rais'd so great a persecution against him , and gives admirable and home answers to all their false accusations . but tha● you may the better see both the accusations ●●d the principal answers , we shall here insert the king's letter to the parliament of p●ris , concerning the prince's imprisonment ; and another from a private person to the parliament , which answers the king's letter very home , without omitting any thing essential . and this last letter , which appear'd some time before their removal , induc'd the pa●li●ment to seek all the most proper ways to releas● the princes from such an unjust captivity . the king's letter to the parliament of paris , touching the imprisonment of the princes . the resolution which we have been forc'd to take by the advice of the queen regent , our m●s● honour'd lady and mother , to sec●re our perso●s from our cousins the princes of conde and conti , and the duke of longueville , is of that importance for the welfare of our service , that altho we owe to god alon● the account of our actions , and o● the administration of our kingdom , we thought however , that we could not let both you and the publick know too soon , the motives that induc'd 〈◊〉 to it ; to the end that all our subjects , being inform●● of the absolute necessity which , through the ill conduct of those princes and the duke , constrain'd us to proceed with so much rigor , to prevent the irreparable mischiefs that threaten'd this monarchy , may all redouble their affection , and concur so far as lies in their power with us , in that aim which we propose to our selves , to establish a firm tranquility within our kingdom , as having understood by experience to bring our enemies to reason , whose opposition to peace proceeds from no other cause , but only in hopes that the divisions which have for some time vex'd this kingdom , will at length turn all things topsie-turvie , which by the assistance of god we hope to prevent . we promise our selves , that the remembrance which all christendom will resume of the moderation and mildness of our counsels which we have follow'd since our coming to the crown ( which has been such , that often what has proceeded from our natural indulgence or prudence for other stronger reasons , has been imputed to the weakness of our government ) will convince every body , that we had not had recourse to this last remedy , till after we had found all others were of no force . and in truth , when we were to deliberate upon the arresting a prince of our blood , whom we have always tenderly lov'd , and who is otherwise highly to be valu'd for his many noble qualities ; a prince so often victorious over his enemies , against whom he has so frequently signaliz'd his courage , certain it is , that tho he soon made an ill use of that honour which we gave him the opportunity to purchase ; and that his proceedings in divers enterprizes have given us just occasion from time to time to 〈◊〉 his de●igns , we could not without extreme 〈◊〉 determine his imprisonment ; and we ●●uld have wink'd at all the imprudences of his evil c●●●●ct , but only the imminent danger that the ki●gdom was in to be torn in pieces● and unless we 〈◊〉 palpably discern'd , that considering the way which the said prince took , and wherein he made large steps every day , one of these two mischiefs was inevitable , either the utter destruction , or the di●●olution of this monarchy by the ruin of our authority ; upon the preservation of which principally d●pends the tranquility and happiness of the people which god has submitted to our obedience . it is so n●tural to all men to love their own works , and to desire as much as in 'em lies , the kind acceptation and merit of 'em , that there is no body , wit●out doubt , but will presume in regard we have affor●●d opportunities to our cousin , by means of those military employments wherewith we have entrusted him , to ac●uire a high reputation , and for that we have ●eap'd upon his family and his own person favours of all sorts , no body , we dare say , will believe , that unl●ss necessity had compell'd us , we would h●●e been willing to have lost the fruits of all our favours● and to have depriv'd our selves of the services which our cousin might have done us , both by his counsels and performances in times of difficulty , such as are those of a long minority , had he not de●iated so far as he has done from the path of his duty● or if he could have satisfy'd his ambition with living the richest subject this day in christendom . and c●●t●inly , upon due consideration of the vast settlements that belong to his family , either in employments , or governments of provinces or great towns , in lands , or ready-money , or church re●●nues , it must be acknowledg'd , that so many favour● , nor so considerable , as we have conferr'd upon our said co●sin , were never in so short a time bestow'd upon any one family ; not to reck'n in ou●●rants to his relations and friends at his reques● , and out of the respect we had for him . he cannot deny , but that he holds at this day from our bounty solely , all that he enjoys of places or governments , in regard all became vacant upon the death of our dear cousin his father , and that it was in our full power to have dispos'd of 'em to such other persons as we should have thought sit to have preferr'd before him . but to go a little higher , every body may call to mind , how that so soon as the queen regent , our most honour'd lady and mother , foresaw the misfortune wherewith heaven was about to afflict france , by the loss of the deceased king our most honour'd lord and father ; and that there was no longer any hopes of recovering a health so precious to the kingdom , she apply'd her self to obtain the good will of our said cousins , giving order , so soon as she was design'd regent in the king 's ●houghts , to those in whom that great prince put greatest confidence , to make it their business to perswade him to confer several favours upon that house . her orders were happily obey'd , tho the king thought he had already done enough , having but a little before made the duke of anguien general of his principal army . to which at first he had so great a reluctancy , that he had once resolv'd to order his retiring into burgundy . they also persuaded him to confer an honour upon our deceased cousin the prince of conde , which he had long desir'd , which was to make him president of his council ; and some few days after , he was made grand master of france , tho the king was resolv'd to have utterly supprest it . the queen afterwards at the very beginning of her regency , bestow'd upon him in our name , the houses of chantilli and dampma●tin , which was the noblest present that ever any king made to one person . he was also 〈◊〉 to purchase the estate of our deceased 〈◊〉 the duke of bellegarde , wherein the town of 〈…〉 comprehended ; which considering the 〈…〉 o● the place it self , and the scituation of 〈…〉 of our cousins other governments , lay 〈◊〉 ●ost convenient for him of any of the kingdom . 〈…〉 so many favours , and those extraordinary , 〈◊〉 granted to the father , were no less advanta●●●● to the son , who enjoy'd the benefit of 'em , 〈…〉 was still so gracious as to confer conside●●●●● f●●our● on the person of the d. of enguien . our 〈…〉 m●rshal de l'hospital had the government of 〈◊〉 given him in recompence of his services , 〈…〉 was rewarded with the government 〈…〉 to●n and citadel of stenay ; yet both the 〈◊〉 day ●●ven to the duke . upon the death of 〈…〉 , we bestow'd in one day upon his family 〈◊〉 ●●ployment of grand master of france , the 〈…〉 of three provinces , burgundy , bresse , 〈…〉 , besides that of champaigne which he had 〈◊〉 , and three strong towns , the castle of dijon , 〈…〉 , and bourges , besides bellegard and 〈◊〉 which he had in possession . and we have 〈◊〉 to believe , that there never was any greedi●●●●● afte● large possessions and soaring greatness so 〈◊〉 , but would have been fully gorg'd by 〈◊〉 an e●fu●ion of benefits and favours of all sorts . 〈◊〉 our said cousin then gave us formal assurances , that he would never desire any thing more for the 〈◊〉 ● confessing and acknowledging , that what●●●● se●vices he had done , or whatever he could do 〈◊〉 kingdom , he could not in reason demand any 〈◊〉 ●●●n what had been done already for him . ne●●●●hele●● , in a little time after he set a foot other 〈◊〉 cl●ims under precarious and unjust pretences ; 〈◊〉 the be●ter to attain his ends , renewing his for●●●● discontents , because we had given to our most 〈◊〉 lady and mother , the disposal of the place of lord high admiral and superintendent of the maritime affairs , vacant by the death of our cousin the duke of breze , his brother-in-law ; as if he had had a particular privilege to make hereditary in his family all the offices which his kindred had possess'd during their lives ; forgetting that he had positively promis'd to demand nothing more of us , after we had gratify'd him with so many others upon the death of his father , who dy'd presently after the d. of breze . nevertheless we resolv'd upon one trial more to give him satisfaction , in hopes that age would moderate his excesses , and temper the exorbitant heat of his ambition ; and to the end we might once for all deprive him of any necessity and excuse for demanding any more , we heap'd up the measure to the top ; and upon his renew'd promises never to make any farther demands , we granted him a new favour which surpass'd all the rest , by adding to the towns of burgundy which he had already , and to stenay , that of clermont , with a gift of all the demeasnes belonging to it , as also to stenay and iamets , which are worth near a hundred thousand livres a year . after that , we admitted the prince of conti into our councils at twenty years of age , tho his brother and his brother-in-law had a pension there already , of a hundred thousand livres , and danvilliers's employment , for which he was to give a recompence to the sieur danevoux , and had settl'd upon him in our name divers bodies of horse and foot. we omit several other favours which we have conferr'd upon our cousin the prince of conde , which alone were sufficient to satisfie any reasonable mind , besides considerable sums of money which we have bestow'd upon him every year , and all the augmentations of pensions for him or his family and relations , for whom he desir'd em . we speak not of the respect which we always had for his requests ●or pat●ents for dukes , for the promotions of mares●hals of fr●nce , and a world fo military employ●e●ts , and others of all sorts , as abbots , bishops , and ●over●me●ts of places bestow'd at his recommenda●●●●●pon persons at his devotion . lastly , we call god to witn●ss . that there is no sort of study or in●●●try which we have not put in practice as well toward himself , as with his most familiar confidents , ●o ●ix his mind , and give him satisfaction . and up●n this account we are oblig'd to testifie , that our m●st de●r and most beloved uncle the duke of or●●●ce , p●eferring the tranquility of the kingdom , and the good of our service , before any other par●icul●r ●nterest or consideration , has all along pers●●ded us to these sentiments , and by that means highly contributed to the advantages of the said p●●●ce , and the satisfaction of all his demands . but all in vain ; no favour , no application , no confi●ence having hitherto been able to limit his irregular am●i●ion . the nature of the several pretensions which he has set on foot from time to time , and from which he has e●deavour'd to exempt himself with ●ildness and prudence , may easily evince to the world , that they were the sentiments and transports of such a mind . sometimes he has vehemently insisted to have the command of an army for the conquest of fr●nche conte , upon condition that he might have the sovereign possession of it . in the midst of the last campaign , while our army was advanc'd into flanders , and that it could not be enfeebled without running the risco of some great blow , laying aside all other thoughts which way to annoy the enemy , even to the hazard of exposing our f●ontiers and strong holds to the assaults of our enemies , he would needs have a detatchment of a ●reat body of horse drawn out to go to liege ● to support the design which he had to help his brothe●●he prince of conti to the coadjutorship of that bi●●oprick , by that means to render more con●iderable the places which he holds upon the mense , and in his government of champaigne , besides another great establishment w●ich he projected to erect on that side , as we shall afterwards make appear . all which clearly shews by many remarkable circumstances , to what a degree he was possess'd with a desire of sovereignty . an imagination the more dangerous in a mind all fire like his , because we are moreover well inform'd , that among his intimate confidents , he has often let fall that pernicious maxim , that any thing may be done to attain sovereign dominion , so that although in a monarchy setl'd upon such solid foundations as ours , chiefly upon that affection and unshaken fidelity which the french have for their privileges and the persons of their kings , such a criminal thought has been generally attended with the ruin of those that profest it , yet we should be defective in the duty which we owe as well to our selves , as to our faithful subjects , should we not obviate all things which in time might facilitate the execution of so unjust a design . for tho what he proposes to himsel● were no mark of what he harbours in his breast , yet certain it is , that if we nearly examine his conduct ever since our coming to the crown , no body can disown but that he has an intention to work other mischiefs in the kingdom , which no less require the remedy we have apply'd , since he openly went about to set up a dominion formidable to us . that his design was to weaken and bring down the royal authority ; that by possessing or securing to himself the principal places of the kingdom , and fixing to himself all persons that have any credit , all men of parts and signal endowments , either by obligation , or out of fear or interest , he might be able in time openly to withstand and slight our will and pleasure in all things that should no● be conformable to his ; to sow war and troubles unpunish'd in the kingdom , according to his own interests and humours ; to make use of all opportunities to agg●andize his fortune . and lastly , to take things 〈◊〉 , that he might be able during our minority , to reduce us to a condition , that when we came of age , we ●●ould have no more then the name and shadow of a king , while in reality he had all the power and authority in his own hands . this , in truth , is the most f●vourable interpretation we can make of his conduct , especially since the command of our ar●●●s wi●h which we have entrusted him , has furnish'd hi● with opportunities to acquire a great reputation , and a vast number of adherents ; and moreover ●●ce he finds himself in the possession of so many considerable settlements , which we have bestow'd upon him one upon another , to oblige him out of gratit●de , to have no other thoughts but those of doing 〈◊〉 good service . but so far was he from that acknowledgment which we promis'd to our selves , that then i● was that he began to pull off his vizor , and to display the grandeur of his credit , to the end that no body should apply themselves to any other but himsel● to obtain our favours , or avoid the punish●ent of their crimes . then it was , that his con●●●l'd artifices to get all the officers of our armies a● his devotion , especially the foreigners in our ser●ice ( of which he took a particular care ) were chang'd into open contrivances to gain 'em , and ●●nder 'em dependers upon himself : then it was that ●e made i● evidently appear , that the good of our ser●ice was never his aim in all his military performances , in regard that in the most pressing exigenci●s that ever our armies were plung'd in , for want of a chieftan of his quality and authority to rectifie the miscarriages and disorders which our late troubles had introduc'd , he still avoided the comm●nd of our armies , which formerly he cove●ed and su'd for with so much earnestness , to the end ●e might apply himself wholly to the court , and to his cabals , believing the proper time was come to reap the fruits which he had propos'd to himself , when all the campaigns were ventur'd upon a general battel , upon this maxim , often applauded by himself , that the winning a battel augmented his reputation , and gave him new plausible pretences to exact farther rewards . but that if he lost it , and that our affairs thereby should happen to tumble into disorder , he s●ould be the more valu'd for the need there would be of him . then it was that he became liberal of his caresses beyond his usual strain , and that he made continual searches among all the governors of towns ; and all those who had any employments of consequence , or that were assur'd of 'em by survivance or any other means to attain 'em ; that he engaged himself to importune us for the interests of all indifferently , without considering whether they were prejudicial to the state or no : that he cherish'd all malecontents : that he flatter'd their complaints , and promis'd to assist 'em : that he endeavour'd to debauch all those who out of gratitude or affection adher'd to us and their duty ; lessening the value of our favours , by persuading 'em , that for the future they were to hope for no more but by his means : then it was that he exacted from those that offer'd him their service , an oath of fidelity to be faithful to him against all men , without exception of person or quality , and that he openly persecuted after various manners , all those that would not enter into his dependancy upon him : then it was that all persons who surrender'd themselves to his will , had merit and qualities to pref●r 'em before any other competitors ; that they who stuck to their allegiance without any other aim then to do us good service , were always cowards , and people of no worth ; that on the other side they became in an instant , great personag●s , worthy of all manner of employments and rewards , so soon as they devoted themselves to his interests ; which was one sure way to ascend from 〈◊〉 to wor●● , from inability to accomplishment . then it was that he us'd innumerable artifi●●● 〈◊〉 decoy all those that had employments in our 〈◊〉 , or in the guards of our person ; that he ●●enly protected all delinquents , provided they had recourse to him , tho' they were of contrary interests ●●fore ; that his house was a notorious sanctuary for all sorts of criminals . then it was that he began to demand all vacancies of what nature soever ; that upon all occasions , as well petty as considerable , he took the market into his own hands , and threaten'd to quit all things , to set up for himself , and put himself at the head of all those that would 〈◊〉 against us . lastly , then it was , that to shew his power and his stedfastness toward those that ●ell in with his interests , he was not content with obtaining favours , but would have the world believe that he wre●ted 'em out of our hands by violence . witness the government of pont-de l' arthe , which he would have carry'd by a strong hand , and at a day prefix'd , threatning if it were not done , that he would kindle a new flame in the kingdom ; but in regard he knew full well that the demand which he made of this place was highly offensive , and generally disapprov'd by all people , he presently gave on● that he had not been so eager after the business , but because he ●ad engag'd his word to the duke of long●●ville to procure it for him ; declaring moreover , that he must never think to justifie himself , if after so many benefits of all sorts heap'd upon him , and so many vast revenues and offices settl'd upon him , that never had any prince in france since the beginning of the monarchy , he ever pretended to beg any thing more either for himself , or for any , of his friends after a grant of this favour . upon this we were induc'd in that conjuncture to satisfie his impetuosity , notwithstanding his manner of behaviour , to the end we might leave him no pretence of raising disturbance . but though the accommodation of this ma●ter has pass'd through the hands of our dear unckle the duke of ori●ance , who would needs be mediator for the preservation of the publick tranquility , he found the next day that he had made little or no progress , and that he was not the same man , who the evening before had testify'd such an entire satisfaction in the umpirage of our said dear unckle , and given his promise of submission . for the next day he re-assum'd his ●ormer coldness , and shew'd an inclination to do worse , on purpose to extort from us some new advantages : forgetting the declaration which he had solemnly renew'd , never to claim any thing more , after the grant of ●ont de l' arche . at length , the queen wearied with so many relapses , and desirous once for all ; if it were possible , to tear up the root of all misunderstanding ; order'd him to be roundly press'd to explain himself sincerely and truly what he desir'd , to live quietly , and within the bounds of his duty . upon which having declar'd , that he was jealous of some alliances ( to which nevertheless , when they were first mention'd to him , he had not only given his consent , but had advis'd 'em himself for six months together , as believing 'em very advantageous ) and having besides testify'd his desire , that the queen would promise him a sincere and entire affection ; as also to have a respect for such persons as he should recommend to her upon all occasions ; and lastly , to impart to him generally her resolutions upon all ma●ters whatsoever ; the queen was so gracious , in the first place , that she might leave him no pretence of di●●aste or mistrust , as to promise him , that she would conclude no alliance but by concert with him . and as to the other points , she engag'd so much the more freely , because she did not remember that she had fail'd ●n either , but thought she had rather enclin'd 〈…〉 , then omission . but by his proceedings it was soon ●fter known to what end he had exacted 〈…〉 of unnecessary promises● and that his purp●●● in it was only to have a new pretence to demand more boldly , and execute with more haughtiness and pri●e whatever should come into his mind , that might be serviceable to his design of making himself 〈◊〉 master of the forces of the kingdom . in short , about four days after that , his manner of re●●ying the sincere affection which the queen had promis'd him , with all the solemnities and securities 〈…〉 de●ire , was not barely to receive into his protection all those that demanded it against her , but to offer it himself to several persons who had incurr'd 〈◊〉 displeasure , either a long time before , or by new o●●ences lately committed . our cousin marshal scom●●rg s●on after was in danger of of his life . presently 〈◊〉 ●h●● accident a council was held in the house 〈…〉 said prince , the result of which was to demand , 〈◊〉 obtain , whatever it cost 'em , the government of metz , and pais messin , for the prince of co●●i , who was then in treaty also for the bishoprick of 〈◊〉 . the queen , our thrice honour'd lady and mother● is forc'd , by the idle conduct of such an extravagant , to drive him out of her presence ; the p●●nce openly undertakes to protect him , hinders him fro● reti●ing , comes himself to the queen to constrain her● 〈◊〉 him again , and out of an unsufferable want of r●spect , which no true frenchman can hear without an extraordinary indignation , he boldly threaten'd to ●●c●ive the madman into his house , and bring 〈◊〉 every day into the queen's ●●●ht ; and had he 〈…〉 prudence been put in hopes , that time would 〈…〉 the affair ; or had he not been afraid 〈◊〉 injure some other greater pretensions which he 〈◊〉 at that time , we had been in danger of seeing ou● thrice honour'd lady and mother reduc'd eith●● to suffer this affront at his hands , or to have had recourse to ●he utmost extremities in her own defence they who understand not his different partialities , so prejudicial to the good of the s●●te , and our s●rvice , may observe 'em in the last commotions in provence and guyen , where in two affairs of the same nature , 〈◊〉 would needs in the one absolutely advance the authority of the governour to the oppression of the parliament● and in the other act quite the contrary , without any other reason for acting so oppositely , b●t because one of the governours was his kinsman , and for that he had no kindness ●or the other . to the end that by such examples of his authority that made such a clatte● in the world , every body coming to understand the penalty of his aversion , and the value of his p●otection , all people might observe that there was no other friendship or dependecy but his to be sought , and give themselves wholly up to him . what other patience but tha● of the queen's could have endur'd to hear the said prince , in a council held in our presence , threaten to have the deputies of provence bastinado'd even to the breaking of their bones , because they had presum'd to complain in behalf of their body , of the ill usage they had receiv'd from our cousin the count d' allais , contrary to the conditions of the pacification granted by us to that province . what way to suffer any longer the violence with which he began to stifle the liberty of our councils , by his impetuous manner of acting toward the ministers who have the honor to be members of our council , of which there was hardly one who was more exempt then another from private threats and publick affronts even in our presence , when their consciences and their duty would not suffer 'em to approve such counsels as were not conformable to the said prince's humour ? nor was his moderation more in the governments wherewith we had entrusted him . 't was not enough that all the money which so large a province as burgundy , furnish'd with 〈…〉 and affection toward o●r treasury 〈◊〉 s●●llow'd up by him and his ; unles● he had 〈…〉 a power which made all priv●●e persons 〈◊〉 under his oppre●s●on ; of which several have 〈…〉 make private complaints , and laid bef●●● 〈◊〉 that nothing more remain'd for him to do , 〈◊〉 to ●●ke ●pon him the title of duke to advance 〈◊〉 to be sovereign of the province . nor was 〈◊〉 provi●ce of champagne more ●●●ourably us'd by 〈…〉 ; all the towns and villages , and mos● 〈◊〉 of the c●ties , having been so expo●'d to the plundrin● of the soldiers that bore his na●● ; or to the 〈◊〉 of thos● that had wound themselves into hi● favo●● to obtain di●●●dgments , that several have been c●●strain'd to qu●● their habitations , and retire into the countries round about adjoining . with what wo●ds 〈◊〉 we se● forth the affair of h●●re ; and the 〈◊〉 ways which he made use of to make himself 〈◊〉 of that place , one of the most impo●●ant in the k●ngdom for the s●it●ation of it , and without contr●d●●ti●● the best for the strength of it ? after he 〈…〉 use of several artifice● to seduce the youth 〈…〉 cousin the duke of richli●● , on purpose to 〈◊〉 him mar●y cl●ndestinly a woman , who for m●●●●●spects is ●ntirely at his devotion , not contented 〈◊〉 ●ensibly offended us , by promoting , together with the prince of conti , and the dutchess of l●ng●ev●ll● hi● sister , the match of a duke and peer , pref●●●'d 〈◊〉 one of the principal offices of state , witho●● 〈◊〉 knowledge and permission , and authorising 〈…〉 presence a contract prohibited by the laws o●●he kingdom , as if it had not been enough by this u●●●wful means to have made himself master of the p●●son of a young man , he caus'd him to depart upon his wedding-night , gave him for his counsellor and conductor the person of all his creatures that ha● 〈◊〉 employ'd to debaush him , and made him throw ●●mself with all speed into ha●re , to the end he might make himself master of that place , which being seated at the mouth of the seine , might afford him the means to master rouen and paris , and keep under his subjection all the trade of those two cities ; enable him to admit foreign assistance , and introduce their forces into the kingdom , whenever for his particular ends he had a desire to trouble the states . and for that he judg'd it convenient at the same time that there should be a good number of couriers dispatch'd toward the said duke of richlieu , to let him understand our interest and his own at that conjuncture , he dispatch'd several at the same instant to s●op others upon the road ; thereby violating to the highest degree imaginable the respect , fidelity and obedience which he owes us . after which , more desperately daring , the queen having sent her self a person expresly to carry her orders to st. maure , the governor of ha●re , upon an accident of so high consequence , and to let him understand how much he was oblig'd to preserve the place without suffering any change ; the prince was no sooner advertis'd of it , but he dispatch'd away another courier , and commanded , that if any person should come thither with orders from the queen , they should throw him into the sea , with a stone about his neck ; and this with so much presumption , so much scorn of our authority , that he is the first who could ever boast of i● . lastly , that he might wholly by divers ways deprive us of the disposal of that place , he sent away in all haste the lady her self , who had so lately been beholding to him for her match ; furnish'd her with money to enable her more and more to gain upon the affection of the young duke , and conveys by other means still more money for the payment of the garison , thereby to gain the good-will of the officers and soldiers . and that he might have moreover other people more at his devotion , and well known to him , he order'd the lady to be guarded by a good number 〈…〉 , who put themselves into the place ; giving 〈◊〉 tha● there was a design laid to seize her upon the 〈◊〉 . so many attempts upon the royal power , of ●hich this last alone of havre deserves a most rig●●●●● punishment , has not left us any reason to ●●ubt of the pernicious designs of our said cousin , 〈…〉 then of his boldness to put 'em in execution , 〈◊〉 we not in time apply'd a remedy proportionable to ●he violence of the distemper . however , to the ●●d you may be likewise inform'd of the new ways wh●ch 〈◊〉 study'd to push on his design , and of the wor● which he had cut out for us , and which we have prevented by his detention , we shall tell you 〈◊〉 was under deep consultation in the last place . he ●re●ted with the ambassador of mantua for the purchase of the town and principality of 〈◊〉 , not only without our leave , but c●●●●ary also to what we had expresly always refus'd him to meddle with . and because we had warily 〈◊〉 some difficulties about the price , the sieur 〈◊〉 ●●clar'd a little while since to the said embassado● . th●● his master would within a few days send away a person expresly to mantua , to conclude the ●usine●● with the duke himself . upon some obstruct●●● that ●ose about the enjoyment of clermon● and the d●mesnes adjoining ( tho easie to have been s●●m●●n●ed , as appears since ) he was already given 〈◊〉 understand , that if he were disturb'd in his pos●●ssion there , 't was but just that sedan should be given h●m , and all the demesnes belonging to it , which we had given our cousin the duke of bouil●on u●on the payment of many millions ; upon which , some of his creatures presently set a foot a negotiation with the si●ur d' aiguebere for the purchase of the go●e●nment of mount olympus , which he made account to pay with his own mony , that so the govern●●●● might fall in the hands of some of his own freinds , to the end there might be no place in b●rgundy but what should he at his command except c●al●ns . he pressed us to purchase of the sieure d' pressis bezanson ● at our own charges the governmen●● of the city a●d cit●adel of the city of autune for one of his creatures . he had also redoubl'd his extraordinary diligence but a little before● to marry the marquiss de la moussaye with the daughter of the sieur d' erlack , governour of brissa● , to the end he might have that important place also at his devotion ; although as well in that , as in all other things , we have reason to commend the conduct and fidelity of the said sieur d' erlack . we have been also inform'd from other parts , that he set a foot some other matches , by that means to bring under his devotion the principal officers of the kingdom , and the greatest number of the most considerable strong holds . he had sent for up to court , notwithstanding all his infirmities , our cousin the marshal of breze ● to the end they might joyn together to demand the employment of chief and superintendent of metz ; to the which , though neither the one not the other could have the least imaginary shadow of any claim , yet the said prince had been already twice paid , and the said marshal had been gratify'd upon that consideration , after his son's death with livres chargd upon the rights of ancorage , which are the clearest and most ready mony belonging to that employment . and moreover , though the marshal had some months before , got by our favour and permission a hunder'd and ten thousand crowns for his resignation of the government of anjou , and ●ha● all the securities imaginable had been made over , that the said sum should after his death fall to the duke of enguien ● the said prince and marshal had a design to press us farther to confer the survivorship of the government of saumur to the said duke of enguien . which being granted we know that the said prince to make himself more considerable in his governments and employments , h●d resolv'd to ply us with his utmost importunit●es , ●●at he might obtain for his son , not above six years of age , all in general that we had bestow'd at seve●●● 〈◊〉 upon his father and him . though we had not been mov'd with the prejudices and dangers abovement●on'd , to which we might also add many 〈◊〉 , which for certain considerations and circumst●nces , 't is not convenient to make publick ; it so happen'd that all our most faithf●l servants that we then had , both in our council and without , laid before us , that a longer patience would render the malady uncurable , and that the only way to preserve our state and our person , was to ar●est our said cousins● who holding every day clandestin councils in their houses for the establishment of that power which they intended to set up aga●nst ours , were not asham'd to reckon among other means , besides the great offices and governments which they had in their hands● that they were already masters of all the great rivers of the kingdom● by reason of the several strong holds which they have in the kingdom , or which they thought they had at their devotion in the kingdom , upon the rivers seine , meuse , saonne , rosne , l●●●e , garonne and dordogne . in a word , that if possible they might renew the example of those ancien● potentates , who from private persons , have advanc'd themselves to sovereign dignity● and to the end the authority which the said prince had already invaded , might be still more conspicuously enlarg'd and supported by a lawful power deriv'd from our selves ; he vigorously contended to have the co●stable's sword bestow'd upon him , tho' that 〈◊〉 be suppress'd ; which being join'd to the batt●on of grand maste● , and the office of high admiral , which he would never have surceas'd to demand ha● he been created constable ; by the one he had 〈◊〉 all ou● houshold and our domestick servants und●r his power● by the other the general command of all our fo●●es in the kingdom ; and by the thi●● the absolute dominion over the sea and sea-coas●●● and whe● we laid be●ore him , that as for the co●s●able's sword , our most dear unkle the duke of o●leans would have just reason to be offended , in ●●●gard of his being our lieutenant general in all 〈◊〉 armies and provinces , he requir'd of us to dispatch the patents forthwith , without our unkle's knowledge , and to keep 'em private till the duke could be wrought to agree to 'em , or rather till the designs which he was medi●ating gave him opportunity to maintain his demands by open force , whatever disorder might happen . in the mean time the better to enable himself to force us in every thing , at the same time that he made use of these extraordinary importunities , he most vehemently demanded under various pretences , that the regiments which hear his name , or which depend upon him , and are anow to make a body of army , might have leave to advance toward these quarters ; never considering that the greatest part are employ'd in our service , and for the defence of the realm , in parts far remote . a circumstance which we look upon to be worthy of great consideration , as also that of the fortifications of s●enay and clermont , where men were continually at wo●k at his charges ; besides the price agreed upon about a month since , to fortifie bellegard for two hundred thousand franks . since it can never be presum'd , that unless he had thoughts and designs altogether extraordinary , he would ever expend his own trea●ure to fortifie places that are already in a good ●ondition of themselves , and not threaten'd by any enemy . we have out of a high respect dissembl'd our resentments to that degree , that all people will be soon convinc'd that we have run too great a venture through our patience . 't is true , we were in hopes that that same prudence which our cousin might acquire by age , would cool 〈…〉 this vio●●nt hear ; that so many fa 〈…〉 example which we have heap'd upon 〈…〉 have kept him , out of gratitude , within 〈…〉 of his duty . but quite the contrary , 〈…〉 reduc'd to that extremity , either to 〈◊〉 him all his demands ( and then we should 〈…〉 soon despoil'd our selves ) o● to re 〈…〉 im every thing ( and then we should have 〈◊〉 him with his arms in his hand against us ) 〈◊〉 moreover that the profusion of our favours 〈…〉 no other end but only to encourage him to 〈…〉 every day ; that a longer forbear 〈…〉 prove the infallible loss of the realm , 〈…〉 means were not found to stop the violent 〈◊〉 ● which had no more mounds to withstand 〈…〉 prevent a total inundation ; and having 〈◊〉 fo● some time , that the intelligence which we 〈◊〉 from all parts agrees in this , that the true 〈◊〉 o● the spaniard's aversion from peace proceeds 〈◊〉 this , that they are willing first to see whither the prince of conde's designs and actions tend ; who , say they , making every day such progresses as 〈◊〉 does toward getting into his hands the principal 〈◊〉 holds of the realm● certainly this must in a 〈◊〉 time either produce a civil vvar in the kingdom , or cause a renversement of that monarchy ; 〈◊〉 ●hought it would be a defect of our duty to god , who has entrusted us with the government of 〈◊〉 ●●●gdom ; to our selves , and the welfare and 〈◊〉 of our subjects , if we did not without delay 〈◊〉 a remedy to the mischief become so pressing as ● ne●lected might give a fatal blow to the real●● t●●●efore we resolv'd by advice of the queen re●●● , our thrice honour'd lady and mother , to se●●●● the person of our said cousin the prince of con●●● , as also of our cousin the prince of conti , his bro●●e●'● con●ederate in all his designs , and who , since 〈…〉 to paris , has been continually concurring and levelling with his brother at all and the same ends. as for the duke of longueville , we promis'd our selves , that the great number of favours which we have accumulated upon him , either in places , or in honours , or in estates , and which we have mu●h augmented since our last declarations of peace , would have oblig'd him according to his promises and his duty , to procure with all his might , the tranquility of the province which we had entrusted to his care , and the good of our service in the rest of the realm . but we have observ'd for some time , that he has omitted nothing of extraordinary or unjust , to acquire a formidable reputation in his province . that he is not satisfied with possessing divers considerable fortresses , one of which was wrested out of our hands with utmost violence , as has been apparent to every body ; nor with seeing all the rest , as well as the principal employments of the province , in the hands of his creatures ; that he is not contented with the addition of bailly of rouen and caen to the employment of governour in chief , apparently , that he may have a legal pretence to disturb the function of our ordinary judges , and by that means to usurp a new authority as well in the civil as military power . lastly , that he is not contented to cause his emissaries to make it their business to corrupt the minds of our faithful subjects , and make all those who have any affection for our service dependent upon himself ; not scrup'ling to threaten 'em with utter ruine , if they refus'd any longer to espouse his ambitious passions ; unless he were also a partaker in the counsels and principal designs of our cousins , the princes of conde and conti ; unless he were also every day present at their deliberations and debates in their own houses for the establishment and augmentation of their common grandeur , and of a power justly to be suspected by that authority which god has given us over this kingdom . besides that ●is creatures have already been heard insolently to v●unt in his house , that tho the last year he could no● bring abou● the business alone , they had at last all ●oge●her done the work. in consequence of which we are to call him henceforward duke of normandy , the●● being nothing near so much work for him to do ●o ●ttain the soveraignty of the province , as he 〈◊〉 ●ndergone to arrive at that excess of power and s●r●●gth which he had in the province . seeing indeed that he began to exercise several acts of that ●●etended soveraignty , by a formal refusal of obedie●ce to our orders , witness his denial not many days ●ince , 〈◊〉 admit into pont de l'arche some troops of 〈◊〉 d'armes , and light horse of our guard , tho 〈…〉 him in possession of the said place but a few days before ; and tho he had an express order 〈…〉 hand to quarter 'em there . upon so many considerations we have been constrain'd to secure the person of our said cousin the duke of longueville . in ●●e mean time , we are willing to let you under●●and that all these dangers wherewith our kingdom was threaten'd , were so great and so inforcing , that we may almost be said to have been wanting in the duty of a good king , for delaying till now the remedies necessary to prevent ' em . nevertheless our ●ove of iustice , and our fears lest people should imp●te to us a desire to stop the course of it for other ●●de , has made us keep all things in suspence , tho with a great deal of danger , to give you leisure to fi●●●● the impeachment which you have begun by ou● order , and at the request of our attorney ge●●ral against those who shall be found guilty of the sedition rais'd the th . of december last , or of the attempt upon the person of the said prince , which it is our pleasure shall be continu'd by you without any in●●rruption according to the rigour of our laws . bu● understanding that the said prince had sent for ●●●eral gentlemen , his retainers , officers of his troops , and that his greatest confidents were privately inform'd that he was brooding some great design , which could not but be to the prejudice of our authority , and the tranquility of our subjects , since he never acquainted us with it ; having also receiv'd certain intelligence , that he was preparing to retire into his government , in great haste , and without taking his leave , so soon as he should perceive that things were not carry'd to his liking among you , to ●he e●d he might with more security hatch those resolutions which had been so long forming in his thoughts ; and that in confederacy with him , the prince of conti and longueville were to repair also at the same time into their governments ; it was no longer in our power to be remiss ; and we have been forc'd for the peace of our realm , to set aside all other considerations , and to secure their persons without any more delay . and because that their accomplices , who labour in search of opportunities to embroil the publick , may endeavour to put an ill interpretation upon so just a resolution , and so necessary for the tranquility and welfare of our kingdom , which our duty obliges us to prefer before all other things , we declare that we have no intention to do any thing contrary to our declaration of the st . of october . nor against those of march . and others which we have since publish'd , since the pacification of the late troubles in our good city of paris , normandy , proven●e and guyenne , which it is our will and pleasure shall remain in their full force and vertue in all the particulars which they contain . given at paris , jan. . . a letter of a private person to the parliament of paris in answer to the king 's . the reason why god is never deceiv'd in his judgments , and that he never protects injustice , is because he is exempt from passions , and for that he has an understanding which pierces to the bottom of hearts , and discerns the innocent from the guilty . the on● of these qualities secures him from error ; and the other is the reason that he never acts bu● by a motive of justice . men are subject both to th● one , and the other of these defects , con●●ary to those excellent perfections , either for want of understanding , or because their passions are too predominant . so that the● sometimes believe the sun to be dark , because their eyes are not strong enough to pierce through the cloud that hides it . that is to say , som●times the● condemn the most perfect vertue , because th●y are not able to discern it through the false appearances of crimes that are imputed to it . we have observ'd , that hitherto the judgments of this august a●●●mbly ha● been as far remote from these vices , as the ●●ailty of man will permit . and w● ha●e had reason to believe , by recent examples , that there are not any dark overcastings of human artifice and ●unning which you are not able to display , nor any consideratio● so strong among ye , as that of justice ; you ha●e given us testimonies , that the interests of great men are but feeble arms to vanquish it ; that it is proof against all the snares that can be laid to surprize it ; and that only innocence can be justify'd before y●● as only guilt can draw upon it self the sentences of your condemnation . upon this fo●n●●●ion it is that i have establish'd my hopes of justifying the three princes whose defence i have undertak'n . i know well it would be greatly to their advantage , that you were capable of the first impressions that the suspicion of a crime , or the idea of vertue produce in the soul of man. i know it were to be wish'd on the princes behalf , that you would not give your judgments , till after you had consider'd all the actions of their lives . for in short● who is the●● among ye , that can perswade himself that monsieur the prince ever had any design to ruine the state , if you will but take the pains to consider how oft he has expos'd his life to preserve it ; and how many victories he has won in order to that end ? and who is there that can endure that the least suspicion of a crime should intermix with so much glory ? but i am willing to despoil 'em of these advantages , i am willing to deprive 'em of these foreign lights , to make appear the lust●e of their innocency . i do not desire you should recal to mind the many famous victories which one of these princes has obtain'● ; or that you should set before your eyes the dangers to which he has expos'd his person for the safety of the realm . forget● if it be possible , these glorious actions ; never mind that it is a prince who is accus'd , that not only has preserv'd the kingdom , but extended the limits of it . be mindful only of justice ; establish your judgment upon the things themselv●s , and not upon the persons ; and then , i hope● that without considering it is a prince who is accus'd , you will soon understand , that ●is an innocent person , that is to be made guilty for the interest of some particular men . and indeed if you would that we should consider the crimes that are imputed to him , we shall find that all these crimes have no existency , but in the fancy of those who have invented 'em in order to his ruin . are not his victories the greatest part of this malicious accusation ? he ventur'd , say they , every summer , a general battel upon this maxim , which he has often declar'd , that by gaining the victory , he should augment his reputation , and have new plausible pretences for the procuring him new rewards ; and if he lost it , and that thereby our affairs should happen to fall into confusion , he should be the more valu'd through the need which they would have of him . a pernicious way of reasoning ; of which if men should make use , the noblest actions would be subject to dangerous interpretations . what security is there for brave men , if such ●ischievous comments should be endur'd . there is no illustrious person that shall not be render'd a guilty person ; there is no noble action that ●●all not be misconster'd into a crime . how long is it that men have been the proper judges of intentions ? that secret , god alone has reserv'd to himself ; and they who accuse the prince to have acted upon such wicked maxims , ought to know that kings cannot punish an action , how wicked soever the motive were that inclin'd the person to do it , when it becomes profitable to the state , and if it be not contrary to the law. i will grant , that desire of honour caus'd the prince to hazard so many battels : i grant that he sought every year new pretences for new rewards ; who ever heard that the desire of honour which indu●es a prince to save a kingdom was ever a crime of state ? they who enact human laws , command the observance of 'em ; but they never prescribe the motives of it . 't is only the body , and the exterior action which is under the jurisdiction of kings . the soul , that is to say , the motives , cannot be commanded , but only by him that penetrates the bottom of consciences ; for what mortal can be the judges of 'em ● but suppose it were a crime of state to act by motives of interest , which are said to be the primum m●bile's of all this prince's actions , upon what proofs c●n they ground this accusation ? he went about , say they● to make himself the more considerable by the lo●● of a battel . this is an extraordinary way for a ma● that pretends to be so covetous of glory ; and who very well knew on the other side , that the same ●●sfortune had ruin'd the reputation of several of our generals at the court , who preserv'd themselves in good credit till the disaster befell ' em . but because he could never know whether the loss of a battel could be advantageous , let us see what marks he gave , that he never sought after victory , but only that he might have new pretences for new rewards● when did he ever send to court , that he would not quit the army , unless they sent a pattent for such places as were become void by the death of the incumbents , to some one of his friends ? when did he oblige the queen to confer the government of such places , as the taking of which had cost him so much hardship , and sometimes the loss of his blood , to any other persons then those which she made choice of ? rather quite the contrary , after the taking of d●nkirk at the end of the campaign , tho a place of the greatest importance in flanders , he suffer'd it to be dispos'd of by cardinal mazarine to one of his creatures , who by that means enjoy'd the fruit of all his watching , and labour . they say , that they who adher'd to the person of the prince , became in a little time great personages ; and so soon as persons devoted themselves to his interests , they were sure of being preferr'd to great employments , tho otherwise persons of no desert . i might answer , that 't was a difficult thing to follow this prince without hazarding his life for the king's service , and without meriting noble employments . but upon what foundation can they ground it , that this is the only way to attain to preferment and dignity , since we see several that have been long fix'd to his person , who nevertheless have made no progresses in their fortune ; whereas , there is no other assured means to pass from feneancy to merit , from inability to sufficiency , then to belong to cardinal mazarine . which is clearly to be seen in the persons of de la fare , de l' estrade , de pall●●● , and several others , who enjoy the fairest governments of france , for having done such signal services to the government , as having handed the ruling minister sometimes from his own apartment to the queen's , or sometimes to his coach. but , my lords , here is an accusation that will admit of no reply , and which the most strenuous eloquence would have much ado to justify . he oppos'd the marriage of the cardinal's niece with the d. of 〈◊〉 i must confess that this is an unheard of c●●me , to hinder the alliance of the house of mazarine with that of vendesme ; to obstruct a match so necessary to fr●●● , that no employments could be too great for him that would accept it . in a word , did we not see that the d. of mercoeur had a right at that time to make those demands , the very thoughts of which has render'd the prince of conde guilty ? 't is pretended , that he desir'd the office of high steward , lord high admiral ; which demands were not only unjust , but criminal , to make a prince of the blood , who had won five or six battels , and tak'n forty strong holds of great importance ; but the same demand● being made by a prince that would marry the cardinal's niece , both the thought of it ceased to be criminal , and the demands themselves were lookt upon as just : and it was judg'd , that the man who was able to perform such an illustrious action , had a right to demand the most important places in the kingdom . it has been often seen in corrupt ages , that not only vertue has been oft without reward , and crimes have gone unpunish'd ; but that the disorder has been so great , that only they who were unworthy employments were permitted to demand 'em without offence , and that merit only serv'd to remove men from pretending to elevated employments . but this is what we never saw in our days , till during the ministry of cardinal mazarine ; for now all men must resolve to disown true worth , and renounce desert , if he thinks to have any preferment ; and he must be careful of pretending to employments , for fear of being suspected for a state-offender . with what black and sooty colours do they besmear the protection which he gave to the marriage of the duke of richlieu ? and yet if you examin all the circumstances , you will find , that there was not the least shadow of a crime in that action , and that they would fain make that the effect of a pernicious design , which proceeded only from a real friendship , which madam de longueville had for the lady that had her advantages by it . persons that know the whole story of that business , can certifie that the match was not carry'd on by concert in the whole family , as is pretended , since the prince of conde was not acquainted with it , till it could no longer be conceal'd from him ; and that the duke of longueville knew nothing of it , till the very instant that madam de longueville , who had undertaken the business , was ready to depart for try , to accomplish the design which she had been long contriving for the advantage of madam de ponse , and not at all for her own interest . all the circumstances of the marriage , that could occasion any mistrust at court , proceeded only from the distrusts of the queen and cardinal mazarine , in reference to the match . 't is true that the prince advis'd the duke of richlieu to retire to havre so soon as he was marri'd , but he gave him that council only because he was well acquainted with the jealous humour of a minister , who would not fail to draw mischievous conjectures from a design that was really innocent , but which might admit of different interpretations . he rightly judg'd that mazarine would make use of those pretences , to wrest that place from the duke of richlieu , and to gratifie the desire which he had a long time had , to make himself master of that place , there being no other way for him to do it . for , my lords , if you will understand the real crime that the prince committed upon that occasion , was this ; that the prince having caus'd the duke of richlieu to marry madam de pone , he disappointed cardinal mazarine's design for one of his neices , who by that alliance was in hopes to make sure of havre to himself ; a place of great importance , and a proper place of refuge for him , if he should be forc'd to quit his ministry . ●twill be no difficult thing for me to justifie his design to have been constable ; for besides that , he had been put upon it by the malice of cardinal mazarine , who had a desire ●o insinuate into his favour , by ●ffering him his service to bring about that attempt , and by that means render him suspected to the queen and the duke of orleans . what could make this demand so criminal a piece of business ? was he not accomplish'd with all things necessary to authorize it ? was not his birth sufficiently illustrious ? had the dignity been a novelty in the nation ? had it not been enjoy'd by iames of bourbon , charles of bourbon , and i●hn of bourbon ? had it not been also within this litt●e while , in the house of m●ntmorency , over the head of his father , and great great grandfather ? had not the prince's arm perform'd great actions anow to bea● that sword ? they pretend that the demand was injurious to the duke of orleans , and that it could not consist with the quality of lieutenant-general of the armies and provinces , which was confer'd upon the duke of orleans ; and yet have we not seen the constable's sword in the hands of monsieur de montmorency , at a time when the king of navarre , the father of henry iv. was lieutenant general of the armies and provinces of france , and both perform their duties at the same se●ges of bourges , rouen , and other places against the rebels ? but not to trouble my self to justifie the whole scrowl of the prince's accusations which are drawn from his pretensions , 't is sufficient to demonstrate that he did not desire these employments to make an ill use of 'em , and that he had no design to enlarge his power , to the prejudice of the royal authority , tho' he has given the queen cause to have unjust mistrusts of his power . we cannot judge of his designs but by his actions , nor can we tell what he meditated as to the future , but by the deeds which he perform'd . when did he make use of his power to lessen the queen's ? have we seen the provinces where he had any credit in uproar and tumult , like those of guienne and provence ? when did he ever foment divisions ? if he had any authority in the army , did he not make use of it for the king's service ? so that if it were for this princes honour to have acquir'd so much power in the kingdom , it was very advantagious to the queen , since he made no use of it , but in obedience to her● and never concerning himself to make laws , he only took care to observe 'em , when they were useful to the state. kings cannot act themselves through the whole extent of their dominions● there is a necessity for 'em to put the image of their authority into the hands of those who have most merit , and whom they see to be best affected toward the government . what reason then had the queen to reproach the prince with the favours she had done him , since she was oblig'd to bestow 'em upon so me persons , and no body could receive 'em with more acknowledgment , or more to her advantage ? 't is no crime to be powerful , but 't is a crime to employ that power to the overturning of the state. let 'em not then accuse the prince of such great crimes , because he had great pretensions● since that not having misemploy'd his power , to this very moment , to the d●sservice of this monarchy , but rather to the establishment of it , we have no reason to think that he intended to enlarge it on purpose to destroy it : besides that , the queen her self had encourag'd him to aspire to the highest employments ; when● desiring his protection for the cardinal , whom a decree of your august assembly menac'd with approaching shipwrack , she assur'd him that she would put the crown , the kingdom , all things into his hands and that there was nothing too good , or too great for him , if he perform'd a service so important to the realm , as to save that minister , and shelter him from the thunder which you were ready to dart forth against him . there are credible testimonies , who heard this discourse between the queen , and the prince of conde , and who are able to justifie how submissively the prince receiv●d her promises of reward , assuring the queen that her interests were so dear to him , that there was no need to encourage him by any other motives , to 〈◊〉 him to undertake the protection of those who were so happy as to have hers . has he not kept his word ? did he not perform what he promis'd ? has he not preserv'd this minister maugre all france , and supported him almost against all the provinces of the kingdom ? nevertheless , after he had perform'd all the ●ignal services which the queen desir'd from his courage , and from his obedience , and for which she confess'd her self , that she had nothing in the kingdom fi● to g●●tifie him , she uses him like a criminal . while she her ●elf enforces him to make his demands , she accu●es him of traiterous pretensions : as if she had only gone about to kindle his ambition by promises , to ●he end she might have some pretence to ruin him ; striving to perswade those that are ignorant of affairs , that he could not aspire to so many employments , but by instigations not to be justify'd , and in order to execute some pernicious de●igns . is it not from such a motive as this , that they would fain ●nfuse into him a desire of sovereignty , to the end they may have an opportunity to punish his apparent ambition ; and that they give out , his ambition has no limits , and that the interests of the kingdom are not mo●●ds strong enough to stop the impetuous motion of this torrent ? ●tis true , that the prince demanded leave of the court to endeavour the conquest of franche con●e ; but i beseech ye to examine with what circumstances ; and what encourag'd him to make that demand which seems to be so criminal . they were treating at court with those of n●ples , to cast off their allegianc● to the king of spain , and the si●ur de fontenay ma●euil ● the king●s embassador at rome , had orders to manage that affair . an army was promis'd 'em , provided they would acknowledge france , or receive one of the princes of france for their king. they demanded either the king himself , or monsieur his brother , or the duke of orleance , or the prince of conde ; upon which , the rest being past by , the offer was made to the last , the prince who never neglected any thing when it was for the king's service , and enlarging his dominions , gladly accepted the proposal ; he openly oppos'd the desire they had to confer the admiralty upon his enemies , who by means of that employment , out of ●●articular motive of revenge , might have obstructed the execution of a design so important , and of so graet advantage to aggrandize the kingdom . observe , i beseech ye , that in all this there was nothing done but by the approbation and impulse of the court it self . sometime after this , the prince , without any other design then to extend the bounds of this empire , in pursuance of an intention which had been made manifest to him , propos'd the conquest of franche contè , as a thing of no less advantage to the state , and wherein there was not much difficulty . he offer'd to raise an army at his own charges , and as if he had foreseen the unjust pretensions which they might have of his power , he promises to resign the government of burgundy and all the strong holds that are in that province . his courage and his zeal for the king's service causing him to prefer the pains and hardships to be undergone in the conquest of a country , before the tranquility which he enjoy'd in the peaceable possession of that province which had been given him for his services , after the death of the prince his father . who could blame so generous a design , so advantageous for the kingdom , and so honourable for the prince ? thereupon , the proposal which he made in council was joyfully embrac'd : they declar'd to him that it was a proposal becoming his courage ; and at that time they call'd it a heroic , which is now term'd an ambitious design . all those thoughts which he had conceiv'd for the enlarging the kingdom , were lookt upon ●hen wi●hout the least appearance of being conceiv'd ●or his particular grandeur . so that 't is no difficult thing to find many heads of an accusation against him , since his mos● noble actions are his greatest crimes ; and that all his design to aggrandize the kingdom by his conquests , are so many false proofs of which his enemies made use of to destroy him . who is there but may observe their pernicious manner of reasoning to calumniate the prince upon several pieces of advice which he gave upon the different commotions of guien●e and provence ? they tell ye , that in these two affairs of the same nature , he went about in one place absolutely to uphold the authority of the governor , to the oppression of the parliament ; and that in the other he acted quite contrary , without any other reason , but only that he had a kindness for one of the governors , and hated the other . but they who set these things on foot , are either bad , or very malicious politicians . for they say , these two affairs were both of the same nature , because they were both provinces that had taken up arms against the authority of the parliament . but they are to understand that the least circumstance in such affairs as these , quite alters the nature of the thing , and obliges those that debate upon the remedy of disorders , to vary their coun●●ls , according to time and place , and the humour of the people they have to deal with : so that he who should take the same counsel in one affair , as he took on the other , would do like a painter that should go about to draw one man's face , from another man's picture , because he had the same parts . but are these sorts of politicks to be attributed peculiarly to the prince of conde ? do not all histories furnish us with examples of different conducts , in causing revolted people to lay down their arms ? have we not seen some princes make use of mildness toward their subjects to disarm ●em , and others to use violent means . we have also observ'd in histories the same princes employ different ways , according to the various humours of the subjects which they have to govern . and it were in vain for politicians to have found out the two ways of fear and gentleness to reduce a mutinous people , if the same conduct were to be observ'd upon all occasions , and if both the one and the other were not to be made use of according to the different circumstances that offer themselves in the disorders that are to be remedy'd . why then should it be thought strange , that the prince , after he had consented to make use of force of arms to abate the power of the parliament of provence , and strike a terror in the people , should for reasons , no less considerable , give quite contrary counsel to remedy the troubles of bourdeaux . he thought at first , with those of the council , that force was the most sure way to disarm the people , and that only terror was the means to reduce 'em to their duty . but having experimented the contrary in the affair of provence , was it not very proper to alter such a dangerous method ? is it to be thought strange , that the prince who was accus'd to be the author of all the violences that were committed , should be tir'd out with so many prosecutions ? and that he should represent it to the court , that the disorders in guyenne would be more easily appeas'd by ways of mildness and moderation ? besides that , he clearly saw the design which mazarin drave on to carry things with a violent hand , and he knew that his aim was to draw the duke of espernon into his alliance , and bring about the marriage of one of his neices , with monsieur de caudale . is the prince to be accus'd for having oppos'd such pernicious designs by the justice of his councels , and for having made use of all his endeavours to stop the course of a revenge so costly to the state , and so contrary to the zeal which subjects ought to have for the repose and tranquility of the kingdom ? but my lords , if cardinal mazarin had been well advis'd , he would for his own interest have suppres● this crime of which the prince is accus'd . for can we speak of the insurrections in gui●●●● , without believing him to be the cause of all those disorders ? do we not well know that he has endeavour'd to ruine that part of the kingdom , to gratify the revenge of the duke of espernon ? and thence ought we not to infer , that he would make no scruple to overturn the whole monarchy , for the satisfaction of his own particular interest . for in short , if you would be inform'd in few words all the crimes of monsieur the prince are to be reduc'd to this , that he hinder'd the marriage of the cardinal 's three nieces . he openly oppos'd his design of matching the eldest to the duke of mercoeur , he engag'd , as they pretend , the duke of richlieu to marry madam de pons , for whom the cardinal had design'd the other ; and by the peace of bourdeaux , he disappointed the alliance he would have made with the duke of espernon , which the duke never promis'd him , but in case he could bring about his revenge . and thus we see likewise , that as soon as the prince was arrested , the three nieces were fetch'd out of their convent , the better to conceal his designs ; how they were brought back in triumph to the palace-royal , and how one of the matches was privately accomplish'd , the cardinal not thinking it proper to publish his intentions , and to let all the world know , that he had not perswaded the queen and the duke of orleans to cause the prince to be arrested , but because he obstructed his designs . nevertheless , they would fain have it , that every thing which the prince has done , tends to the ruin of the kingdom , and that he never had any other aims in the counsels which he had given , but his own particular grandeur . but my lords , by one convincing argument to overthrow all that they have alledg'd against him , to make him appear guilty , and his imprisonment just , is it not true that they accuse him of nothing else but an irregular ambition ; and that all his particular actions which they charge upon him without any proof , are invented to no other design , then to convince people that he had no other intention then to set himself up for a sovereign , and to aggrandize his own , to the prejudice of the royal authority . but how easie a thing is it to demonstrate the contrary to all the world by recent examples ? we cannot judge of passions but by outward effects : nor is there any but god alone who knows the motions which they produce in the heart . now when was it , that the prince displai'd these marks of an ambition so irregular ? rather what apparent proofs has he not given of the contrary but very lately ? had he been possest with such a vehement desire of sovereignty , would he not have declar'd for the parisian party ? at what time he was proffer'd advantages enough to have tempted the most regular person in the world ? they cry out , he was capable of all undertakings to aggrandize himself , and that he would never mind the overturning of the state , so soon as he thought himself in a condition to establish his grandeur upon the ruin of it ; and yet when every thing favour'd the pernicious designs of which he is accus'd , when every thing contributed to satisfy that ambition which was laid to his charge , when he is to declare himself head of a party ; and that the more to encourage him to it , they give him to understand that his power shall be unlimited ; he stands off , he refuses the propositions made him , and is so far from putting himself at the head of the party● that he undertakes the ruine of it . is this his having a desire of grandeur deeply engrav'd in his heart , never to make use of the opportunities when they present themselves ? is this the giving marks of an ambitious spirit capable of puting all the provinces into an uproar , to refuse the grandeur that is offer'd him , provided he will but consent to be declar'd head of a party ? who was ever accus'd of passionately desiring a thing , who refus'd it when 't was proffer'd him ? what more favourable opportunity could the prince have expected to display his ambition ? had he been so violently possess'd with this desire , the court would not have been in a condition to have made use of this pretence to arrest him ; or had his ambition over-sway'd his zeal for the king's service and the queen's interests , she would never have had an oppor●unity to have treated him with so much cruelty . but this is not the first time that ingratitude has been the vice of the court : and that great services have been repaid with like rewards when their benefactors have gain'd too much honour by their noble actions . merit is a crime in princes under the tyrannick government of ministers , who can never endure the power of which they are jealous : so that of necessity they must be reduc'd to live in a drowsie slothfulness pernicious to the state , or else resolve to fall into inevi●able dangers . these ministers that strive to exalt themselves into soveraigns and gods as much as lyes in their power , never dart their thunder but against the most lofty heads ; so that there is no way to avoid their tyranny but by an humble lowliness , which way has been always so odious to the prince of conde , that he rather chose to venture his person by doing important services for the kingdom , and by acqu●ring honour , then by tricks of pusillanimity to protect himself from the injustice of those that now seek to revenge themselves upon his power . for my lords , he is guilty of no other crime , but that a polite historian says one thing of agricola which may be justly said of the prince , that agricola was in perpetual danger , because he had acquir'd too much honour , and for that his power gave unjust suspicions to the emperor domitian , who could not endure that a subject should bear so potent a sway in the empire . is not this the prince's crime ? not that he has attempted any thing against the state ; not that he has done any thing contrary to the duty which he owes to the king's service , but they are afraid least such a thought should enter the mind of a prince sufficiently powerful to put it in execution when ever conceiv'd . therefore to obviate these pretended disorders , to cure the minds of people of these imaginary apprehensions , and which one would think he had destroy'd by all the actions of his life , he submits himself to the loss of all his employments , and to abandon all his places , and to despoil himself of all his crimes , by disrobing himself of all his power . after all this my lords , what reason can they have to detain this prince in prison ? by what motives either just , or so appearing ? what disorder can his liberty procure to the state ? o● upon what foundation can they ground their apprehensions of his power ? i shall make no stop at so many other feeble accusations , of which some are so weak that they destroy themselves ; such are those concerning the fortifying of certain places which they pretend were threaten'd by no enemy , and yet lye upon the frontiers , nor shall i trouble my self to make the innocence of the other princes appear , in regard they are only accus'd of sharing coun●els with the prince of conde ; or if any be particularly laid to their charge , they are so vain that they deserve no answer . but my lords , so far am i from defending 'em , that i shall desire to inform you of two crimes which are not laid to their charge , but which alone have render'd 'em guilty . the one is common to both princes , and is no more then their having declar'd themselves heads of the parisian party . now would your lordships know why this crime was pas● over in silence ? they were afraid les● that should make you return to your selves , and bethink your selves , that being embark'd in the same party , since those princes had not taken arms but i● your defence , you would without question incur the same misfortune . in a word , ne're doubt but that e're it be long they will study the 〈◊〉 revenge , and that they had exercis'd it before now upon the whole party , could they have done it with the same security . the princes having lost the a●●●ction of the people , for being reconcil'd to the c●own ; the other having all along preserv'd themsel●●● in their favour , for their hatred of m●zari●● . the other crime which they take notice of , con●e●n● th● person of the duke of longueville . it has b●●n no s●cret for a long tim● , that the cardinal has been s●udying his ruine , and that he had been very diligent to bring the peace to perfection . i believe , my lords , you very well know what pass'd at munster , the duke of longueville us'd his utmost endeavours to bring the peace to a conclusion , and the most to the advantage of france that could be expected . i suppose also you are sufficiently infor●'d of the slights and artifices that mazarine made use of by the means of one of his creatures , to disappoint the prince's glorious design . 't is enough for me to tell you , that that was the duke of lo●●●●ville's crime , and that the prince had so wor●●ily acquitted himself in that negotiation , that it seem'd as if heaven had re●erv'd him to accomplish that undertaking which he had so happily begun . i know also , that he openly declar'd that he might begin that negotiation again , and that he promis'd to him●●●f to make it more succesful then it had been . whi●● was enough to render him guilty with mazar●●● who is afraid of nothing more then the accomplishment of that design ; and therefore 't was sufficien● to make him resolve the imprisonment of a prince that ●●●dy'd his ruine , because he labour'd so hard the welfare of the state , and the peace of the kingdom . but my lords , i do not mind my justifying the princes before persons who have not taken upon ' ●m as yet to be their judges , and who ought already to have pronounc'd the sentence of their liberty . will you suffer your selves to be reproach'd , that after you had design'd to preserve the publick security in the persons of some few of the rabble , who were illegally detain'd in prison● you should suffer it to be violated in the persons of three princes at the same time ? if the laws which ye have so long since establish'd , and which your selves have renew'd by a solemn declaration , are unjust , why do you with so much eagerness desire the execution of ' em ? if they are just , why do you not cause 'em to be exactly observ'd ? for what reason should the laws be less favourable to the princes , then to the king 's meaner subjects ? are they excepted in the declaration , that no body shall be arrested , but they shall be immediately brought to their trial ? who can relie for the future upon your decrees ? moreover , i beseech you consider , that this affair concerns your selves . do you believe that cardinal mazarine , so soon as opportunity offers , will be more favourable to several of yo●r assembly , then to the prince ? can you imagin that he will sooner forget the decree which you made against him , then the particular affronts which he pretends to have receiv'd from that prince ? never believe his violence will stop at the imprisonment of the princes , but assure your selves that it will reach your august assembly , and make you sensible of it by the less'ning of your authority , and by falling foul upon the persons of some in particular . should it so happen , as i make no doubt of it , if you do not apply necessary remedies , and stifle not the mischief in the birth , what priviledge will you have to assemble ? how can you without some sort of shame , do that for the freedom of some few persons of your assembly , which you are unwilling to undertake for the liberty of three princes , tho' their imprisonment be one of the boldest actions that ever were adventur'd ? i beseech you to con●ider , that this is but one of the cardinal's experiments , who was willing to begin with the most considerable persons in the kingdom , to the end he may pretend to a kind of priviledge to use in the same manner all those whose vertues have render'd 'em the objects of his revenge . they who have hither escap'd his tyranny , are to thank their good fortune , and not his favourable intentions . so that the duke of beaufort , the coadjutor , and all their friends , may say what caesar said to ptolomy , who presented him with pompey's head , who fled for refuge into his kingdom , after the battel of pharsalia ; thanks to my victory , they make to me those presents which they would have made to pompey had he been victorious . if the duke of beaufort , and the coadjutor had not preserv'd the friendship of the people , who have hitherto shelter'd 'em from the oppressions of that minister , there is no question to be made , but that if he thought he could have done it with the same security in paris , he had made the same sacrifice of their liberty to the prince , which he pretends they would have made of his . let your august assembly therefore be careful to preserve that authority which has sav'd it hitherto from the cardinal's revenge ; let 'em consider , that he will never forego his eager desire to ruin it , and by consequence that it behoves them to deprive him of the power to do it . the only way is , to pr●serve that vigour which you have made manifest upon the last emergencies , and not to release the least tittle of that strictness , which has been so much to your advantage , and the abatement of which will be your utter ruin. this is that , my lords , which puts us in hopes that you will not fail to take into your cognizance the princes case , and decide a question so important to the state. there is nothing but what ought to encourage you to this noble resolution : the interest of the kingdom ought to induce you , not to be ●o long depriv'd of persons so necessary for the support of it . the honour of your august assembly engages ye to it : the laws which you have so lately renew'd , and safety of your own persons , obliges ye to the same resolution . i shall add to these things the testimonies of these princes , that they have no other confidence but in you ; and that if they could act for their liberty , their innocence would not permit 'em to have recourse to any other ways then those of justice . could they have been permitted time to have spoken to their friends , when their persons were secur'd , i make no question but that they would have said the same that germanicus said to his , being ready to die the death which was caus'd by piso , the most implacable of his enemies ; if there are any among ye , who are concern'd for my death , and who are desirous to give me other marks of it , then some unprofitable tears ; there is room for complaining to the senate , and invoking the vengeance of the laws . 't is then in conformity to these princes intentions that i address my self to your august assembly , to demand justice , and to conjure ye to employ your utmost care to procure their liberty . 't is the only means to strike a terror into our enemies , to destroy the hopes which they build upon the disorders which this violent attempt is about to bring upon the kingdom , and to restore tranquility , peace and happiness to the whole realm . the end of the first tome . memoirs of the prince of conde . book iv. the court was highly incens'd at the news of the princes being remov'd to marcoussy : the cardinal acuss'd the coadjutor of paris of having advis'd the duke of orleance to remove them to that place , and hindred their being conducted to havre de grace , according to his intention . he believ'd moreover that this chief of the faction of the frondeurs , or slingers , design'd to have the princes wholly at his disposal , in order to draw great advantages thereby . the queen exclaim'd publickly against it ; and the arrival of a trumpet from the arch-duke , with a letter fill'd up with propositions of peace , having oblig'd monsieur to send the baron of verde●onne to him , and afterwards upon his answer monsieur d' avaux , the cardinal complain'd highly that the coadjutor had propos'd a peace , without his participation . these two causes of complaint were follow'd by a third , which appear'd no less unjust . bourdeaux defended it self vigorously ; and the news that came from the siege , spoke the success of it so doubtful , that nothing seem'd more proper for the reputation of the king's arms than to save that city by a treaty of accommodation . therefore monsieur sent for the king's ministers , and desir'd them to propose to the parliament , in his name , to send deputies to guienne , about the treaty . those deputies were sent , but not well receiv'd : and others being sent again , the cardinal gave it out , that the coadjutor had hindred him by those deputies from chastising the rebellion of the bourdelois , and that he frustrated all his designs . the coadjutor being in●orm'd of these complaints , was ne●led to find his conduct blam'd at court , after having acted with so much sincerity ; and therefore went to madame de chevreuse , who , as we have already noted , had contributed considerably towards the imprisonment of the princes , and had ever since liv'd in a perfect intelligence with the cardinal . he made great complaints in his turn , and told her , that he could no longer keep any measures , and that he would look out for new friends . madame de chevreuse endeavour'd to make him alter his resolution , and to hinder him from breaking with the court. she represented to him that he ought not to credit bare reports , which perhaps were spread on purpose by the princes friends , in order to divide the party which was against them ; and that before he proceeded any further , it would be proper for him to acquaint the cardinal with his intentions , and to ask some favours of him , thereby to discover the real intentions of his eminency . the coadjutor opposd all this a long while , telling her among other things , that whatever fair promises the cardinal might make to him , he would never resolve to procure him the cardinals cap , which he desir'd . in fine , he consented at last that madame de chevreuse should request the said cap of the cardinal . he consider'd that in case the cardinal should grant her desire , he should only be oblig'd to her for it ; and that if he should deny her , his refusal would enable him to draw her off from the cardinal's interest . madame de chevreuse accordingly writ to the cardinal , urging all the reasons that should oblige him to procure a cardinal's cap for the coadjutor . the cardinal made an answer , which indeed did not import a direct refusal , but yet contain'd nothing beyond bare complements , and some words which only afforded very distant hopes . during these transactions , all things tended towards an accommodation in guienne . the court desir'd a peace , by reason that they fear'd the event of the siege of bourdeaux , the resistance of which was the more obstinate , because they expected succours from spain , and from the marshal de la force , who was upon the point of declaring himself . on the other hand , whereas the parliament of bourdeaux , being tir'd with the length and danger of the siege , likewise wish'd for a peace ; the court cabals , and the duke d● espernon us'd their utmost endeavours to dispose the rest of the city to desire it also . to this end the parliament sent deputies to bourg , where the duke of orleance's deputies were arriv'd before to make propositions of peace . he desir'd the princess of conde , and the dukes de bouillon , and de la rochefoucault likewise to send theirs . but whereas those dukes design'd nothing but the liberty of the princes , and could not consent to a peace without that condition , they barely contented themselves with not opposing a thing , which it was not in their power to hinder ; and so refus'd to send any body in their name : they only desir'd the deputies to be mindful of their security , and the liberty of the princess , and the duke d' enguien , as well as of all the others who had been engag'd in the interest of the princes , together with the re-establishment of every one . the deputies went to bourg , and concluded a peace , without communicating the articles of it either to the princess , or to the dukes de bouillon , and de la rochefoucault . the conditions of the treaty were , . that the king should be receiv'd in bourdeaux in the same manner as he us'd to be receiv'd in the other cities of his kingdom . ly . that the forces which had defended the town should march out of it , and might safely go to joyn monsieur de turenne's army . ly . that all the priviledges belonging to the city and parliament should be maintain'd . ly . that * chateau trompette should remain demolish'd . the princess of conde and the duke d' enguien were allow'd to go to montrond , where the king wou●d keep a small garrison for their safety , which garrison the princess should chuse her self . the duke de bouillon retir'd to turenne , and the duke de la rochefoucault to his government of poitou . the princess , the duke d' enguien , together with the dukes de bouillon , and de la rochefouc●ult departed at the same time from bourdeaux for contras . the marshal de la meilleraye , who was going to bourdeaux , met the princess upon the water , and propos'd to her to see the king and queen , putting her in hopes that perhaps the king would grant to the prayers and tears of a woman , what he had thought himself oblig'd to refuse when demanded by force of arms. in fine , notwithstanding this princess's repugnancy to go to court , the dukes of bouillon and de la rochefoucault prevail'd with her to follow the duke de la meillerays's advice , to the end that no body might reproach her with having omitted any thing for the liberty of her husband . the dukes themselves in the sequel us'd their endeavours to the same end : they had great conferences with cardinal mazarin , in order to perswade him to put the princes at liberty . they told him , that the princes would be so much the more oblig'd to him for it , in that they were sensible that he could not be constrain'd to it by war : that it would be very glorious for him to make all europe sensible that it had been in his power , to ruine , and to re-establish the prince of conde at pleasure : that the proceeding of the * frondeurs , evidently shew'd that they intended to make themselves masters of the princes , in order to ruin them , to the end that they might afterwards ruin him the more easily : or else to put them at liberty , thereby to engage them to joyn with them for the queen's and his ruin. that the war was at an end in guienne , but that the desire of renewing it in the whole kingdom would never end without the princes being put at liberty : that he ought to credit them the more , by reason that they made no scruple to tell him so while they were in his power , and had no security but his word : that the cabals were renewing on all parts in the parliament of paris , and in all the other parliaments of the kingdom to procure the liberty of the princes , and to 〈◊〉 them out of his hands : that they declar'd to him● that they would favour whatever designs tended to get them out of prison ; and that all they could do for him was , to wish they might be oblig'd to him fo it , preferrably to any others . this discourse shook the cardinal , and rais'd some jealousie in the duke of orleance and the frondeurs , when they heard of it , the which enclin'd them to unite themselves again with the princes friends , and to seek new means to ruin the cardinal . in the mean time the king and court departed for paris , and the cardinal passing through blois , began to express a great deal of discontent in relation to madame de chevreuse , who seem'd to be so ●ar engag'd in the coadjutor's interest , that she had desir'd him to procure a cardinal's cap for that prelate . after the court was arriv'd at fontainbleau , madame de chevreuse notwithstanding this , persisted in representing , viva voce , to his eminency , what she had propos'd to him in writing concerning the coadjutor ; but she could not avoid a refusal . however the cardinal having afterwards reflected upon all the reasons that had been propos'd to him by this dutchess , and moreover dreading her active spirit , her credit , cunning , and revenge , he judg'd it best to dissemble for some time , and to give her some kind of hopes , until he had caus'd the princes to be remov'd in a secure and strong place , being at his disposal , where neither the coadjutor , nor even the duke of orleance himself might be able to procure their liberty . he therefore caus'd some body to tell madame de chevreuse , who was gone to paris by the queen's order , that indeed he foresaw great inconveniencies in granting her request , but yet that he was resolv'd to satisfie her , and that he would content her as soon as he cam● to paris , in case she advis'd him once more to p●●●u●e a cardinal's cap for the coadjutor , lest he ●●ould change sides , and joyn with those who desired the liberty of the princes . in the mean time he dispos'd all things for their immediate removal to havre , in order to be soon in a condition to declare himself publickly , and openly to refuse what was exacted from him . to that end the queen told the duke of orleance that the princes were not in a safe place , and propos'd to him to take them into his custody , and to put them in some place of his own until the king's minority . monsieur rejected the proposition ; and resisting the queen's intreaties with all his might , she added , that since he refus'd to take them in charge himself , she desir'd him at least to consent , that the princes might be remov'd in some place that were strong of it self , in order to avoid the extraordinary expences that were necessary to guard them in so weak a place . the lord keeper of the great seal , and monsieur le tellier said , that the king's coffers were so much exhausted , that all expences were to be avoided , and that there were places in the kingdom , in which the princes might be securely guarded by the garrison only . several were propos'd before havre was mention'd ; but some inconveniencies or other being found in all of them , it was finally propos'd . monsieur opposed it violently , by reason that he remembred , that but three months before , when the princes were to be remov'd from vincennes elsewhere , the coadjutor , and the duke of beaufort refused to consent to their being remov'd to that place , and had protested to oppose it with all their might , in case it were attempted . the cardinal seeing that monsieur declar'd that he would not consent to their being carry'd to that place , reply'd , that the queen , who was to give him notice of her designs , was not oblig'd to follow his sentiments . monsieur had much ado not to flye out to some extremity against his eminency . the queen assum'd the discourse again immediately , and press'd monsieur anew either to take the princes into his own custody , or to permit them to be remov'd to havre ; assuring him that he should have as much authority there as in marcoussy , and that the princes should be guarded by the same person who was engag'd not to deliver them , unless by hers and his orders , and by a command sign'd by both . to this the queen added very earnest entreaties ; insomuch that monsieur yielded to what she desir'd . within a few hours after this a man of quality representing to monsieur the importance , and consequences of that removal , and the prejudice he would receive by it , he immediately sent to monsieur le tellier to command him not to dispatch the said orders : but the cardinal , who dreaded this change of mind , had order'd monsieur le tellier to remove from f●ntainbleau , and not to return till night ; during which time the orders were dispatch'd to de bar ; all things were disposd for the departure of the princes , and the forces destin'd to conduct them , being arriv'd at marcoussy , put themselves on their march with them towards havre . monsieur le tellier being return'd home , was oblig'd to wait upon monsieur , who forbid him sending any orders to de bar. monsieur le tellier answe●'d , that the princes went away in the morning , and were upon their march , whereupon the duke of orleance express'd a great deal of anger . he sent immediately for the lord-keeper , and after having express'd his resentment to him , he told him , that he could not approve this removal ; and that the queen , to whom he had not been able to refuse it , should vanquish him by reason , and not by p●ayers . the queen made him some reproaches about it at night , and monsieur being unwilling to fall out with her , the princes were conducted to havre on the fifteenth of november , by count d' harcourt , who by that emyloyment so much below his birth and courage , blasted the lawrels of his most famous victories . the princes friends and servants were sensibly concern'd at this removal , especially , because the measures they had taken for their rescue , were thereby absolutely defeated . they had for a considerable while cunningly establish'd a correspondence with their guards , and had omitted nothing to gain them . moreover they had gain'd some of the inferiour officers , who had made themselves sure of a certain number of souldiers , besides four of the seven guards , which commonly tarry'd in the anti-chamber . a corps de guard of fourteen men was kept under the prince of conde's window , upon a terrass adjoyning to a pond . they had resolv'd to launch a boat made of leather into it , which the workman was to conduct close to the said terrass . the day being set , the four guards of the anti-chamber , who had been gain'd , were to seize the arms of the others , and to dispatch them , in case of resistance . those of the chamber were to be stab'd at the same time with daggers that had been convey'd to the prince , who afterwards being favour'd by the corps de guard of the terrass , was to get out of his window into the boat , and should have been drawn out of the ditch by arnauld , and receiv'd by a body of horse , commanded by the duke of nemours . but unfortunately some of those who were most zealous for the princes , being heated with wine , or an inconsiderate zeal , declar'd publickly in paris , that those illustrious unfortunate princes ought to be rescu'd out of marcoussy ; which the duke of orleance being acquainted with , he immediately dispatch'd new orders to de bar to double his guards , because there was some plot on foot . this man executed monsieur's orders , and made use of his advice● to the seven former guards of the anti-chamber , he added three new ones ; whereby the prince judging that the plot was discover'd , he immediately acquainted his friends therewith , desiring them at the same time not to put it in execu●ion . some days after it , de bar , no longer fearing any thing , restor'd things to their former state , and remov'd the three new guards . the prince gave his friends notice of it ; and as they were preparing to execute their design , the order came to marcoussy to carry the princes to havre . after their being carry'd thither , the cardinal pull'd off his mask , and judging himself above any cabals , he directly refus'd to procure the cardinal's cap madame de chevreuse had so often requested of him for the coadjutor . this proceeding of the cardinal 's extreamly exasperated both madame de chevreuse and the coadjutor , and disposed them to side with those who desired the liberty of the princes , nay , moreover to use their utmost endeavours with monsieur to incline him to do the same . at that time the garrison of rhetel committing great devastations in champayne , and those devastations affording the cardinal's enemies an occasion to complain of his conduct , he departed on the first of october to besiege that place , which monsieur de turenne had made himself master of sometime before , with the army he commanded , which was composed of the spanish forces , those of lorrain , and of such of the princes he had been abl● to preserve . he was received in all the cities of champayne with such demonstrations of honour and respect , as extreamly surpriz'd the princes friends . he stay'd some days at chalons , in order to hasten all necessary preparations , while the forces assembled , which were to form an army of twelve thousand men , to be commanded by the marshal du plessis praslin . when the said army was assembled about reims , monsieur de turenne fatigu'd it by such frequent skirmishes , and by such vigorous attacks , that he forc'd it to encamp within the city it self , where it remain'd several days without the lea●● action , in expectation of the cardinal . as soon as he was arrived , it was resolv'd to march strait to rhetel , and to besiege it . this succeeded sooner and better than they had believ'd . the treachery and cowardice of delli ponti , governour of the said place , broke all monsieur de turenne's measures ; for delli ponti having promisd to hold out a considerable time , that marshal had taken measures with the spaniards to succour him . his design was to march strait to rhetel , and to perform one of these two things , that is , either to oblige the marshal du plessis to raise the siege , or to attack the separate quarters of his army : but while he was marching at the head of the spanish army to execute that design , delli ponti surrender'd the place by composition six days sooner than he had promised ; which having obliged him to advance in haste , he was constrained to fight with disadvantage , and lost the battle , which is called the battle of somme suip , which was fought on the th . of december near rhetel . monsieur de bouteville , brother to madame de chatillon , having fought with a great deal of gallantry under monsieur de turenne's standards , was taken prisoner , from which the cardinal expected to draw considerable advantages , as it appear'd by a letter written by him to monsieur le tellier , upon the account of the battle . in effect , his being taken , afforded the cardinal an occasion to negotiate with madame de chatillon , under pretence of treating about her brothe●'s liberty ; and such a treaty could not fail of giving his enemies new disquiets , by reason that it could not be concluded unless madame de chatillon engag'd to abandon the prince's interests , which her love and relation to him rendred so dear to her ; and to make monsieur de nemours forsake them also , she disposing absolutely of him as his mistress . in the mean while the cardinal , after so considerable a victory , return'd in triumph to paris , and appeared so puffed up with it , that it renew'd the disgust and dread of his domination in all people , and rouz'd the publick envy and hatred against him , in so much that what at first was a cause of affliction to the princes party , prov'd very fatal in the sequel to cardinal mazarin ; nay more , the principal cause of the liberty of the princes ; by reason that the frondeurs dreading that the gain of the battle of rhetel would make the cardinal too powerful , prevail'd with monsieur to quit the interests of the court , and altogether resolv'd to set the princes at liberty , and to turn out the cardinal . they had immediately , in order thereunto , several meetings with the president viole , arnaud , and some others , who had received an absolute power to treat from the princes . monsieur refer'd the care of adjusting the conditions , upon which they might consent to put them at liberty , to the coadjutor . the coadjutor began first by securing his own interests , and would have madame de longueville to be a security for them ; whereupon messengers were immediately dispatch'd to stenay . she offer'd to sign even by the consent of the spaniards ; and the sixteenth of ianuary the princes having sent their procurations to the princess palatin , the treaty of the coadjutor was concluded . and whereas it behov'd him as well as madam de chevreuse to be very cautious to secure themselves against the remembrance of a most sensible outrage committed against a prince equally endued with wit and courage , and that nothing but the strongest tyes could reunite such divided interests , it was farther required , that the prince of conty should marry mademoiselle de chevreuse ; and that a sincere accommodation should be made between the princes and the coadjutor , the duke of beaufort and their friends , together with a general oblivion of all that was past , and a faithful union for the future . monsieur de beaufort likewise demanded a considerable sum of money for madame de montbazon , which the prince should be obliged to procure her from the court , or else to pay it her out of his own estate : and as to what related to his own interests , he did not forget to make him renounce the admiralty . by the duke of orleance's treaty it was propos'd , that the duke d' enguien should marry mademoiselle de vallois , monsieur's third daughter , that the prince should require no favours for his servants : that he should be link'd to his royal highness's interests , towards all , and against all ; and that he should require no employments for himself . all these proposals , together with others that were no less vexatious , were accepted by the prince , who might say with justice , that by those different treaties he was constrained to consent to , he did not become free ; but only chang'd his chains , and was free of the cardinal 's , to receive many others . all things being thus regulated , monsieur , madame de chevreu●e , the coadjutor , the duke of beaufort , all the frondeurs , and the parliament declar'd openly in several assemblies for the liberty of the princes ; at which time monsieur resolv'd to break absolutely with the cardinal . he met with a very favourable occasion to do it on the first of february in the council , upon a certain discourse of his eminency against the parliament , which he accus'd of having designs against the king , like unto those of the parliament of england . the dangerous impressions such discourses might make upon the king's youth , and his royal highnesses affection to the state , together with his knowledge of the people and parliament's loyalty , obliged him to answer , that the parliament was compos'd of none but such as were faithful and loyal to the king ; and that those he call'd frondeurs , were not the less loyal , thô enemies to his person . the cardinal continuing to speak upon the same tone , and to exclaim against the duke of beaufort and the coadjutor , monsieur went out of the council , not to be dis-respectful in the queen's presence , and took a firm resolution never to enter into the council , or palais royal , while that minister should be there , and afterwards acquainted the queen with his resolution , in which he always persisted . the cardinal perceiving , that all things concurr'd for the liberty of the princes , and that so many secret treaties were forming among their partisans , between monsieur and the faction of the fronde , and that those very persons who desir'd the princes liberty , were at the same time very earnest for his removal , and his ruin. the cardinal , i say , in consideration of all these reasons , resolv'd to retire to st. germans . he went out of paris the night between the sixth and seventh of february , between eleven and twelve , through the gate of richelieu , accompany'd only by three men. it is true , that count harcourt tarried for him with two hundred horse to conduct him to st. germans . the cardinal propos'd by his retreat to oblige the duke of orleance to go to the palace royal , and to give the queen the means to perswade him to alter his mind , and change his party , and perhaps in case of a refusal , to secure him . and in case monsieur should persist in not going to the said palace , and refuse to confer with the queen , and if those who had espous'd the princes interests , and were firmly united for their liberty , should continue to be earnest for their being taken out of prison , his eminency was resolved to go to havre , in order to set the princes at liberty himself without any conditions , thereby to engage the prince of conde to afford him his protection , and to engage him in his interests , by those good offices to prevent the perils that threatned him , and to render all the secret treaties that had been made , vain and useless , as well as the endeavours of those who only pursued his liberty upon very disadvantageous terms on his side , particularly one , which depriv'd him of his governments until the king's majority . monsieur still persisted in not going to the palace royal , notwithstanding the cardinal 's being remov'd from thence , and all the promoters of the princes liberty redoubled their cares and entreaties in order to obtain it . the last assembly that was held upon that subject , was at the palace of orleance : it was composed of monsieur and madame de chevreuse , the lord-keeper , the marshal of villeroy , monsieur le tellier , the duke de la rochefoucault , the president viole , monsieur arnaud , the duke of beaufort , and the coadjutor . after some contestations they finally agreed upon the conditions of the treaty , and at the same time resolv'd that the duke de la rochefoucault , the president viole , monsieur arnaud , and monsieur de la villiere , secretary of state , should go to havre , with a signet letter , sign'd by the queen and monsieur , to put the princes at liberty . the cardinal being inform'd with the resolution of that assembly , which was held immediately after dinner ; he set strait forward towards havre , in order if possible to prevent the deputies , and travelled all night , he arrived there on the th . of february in the morning . as soon as he entred the cittadel , he deliver'd a letter from the queen to de bar , who commanded there , whereby he was ordered to do whatever his eminency should desire for the liberty of the princes . after this he waited upon the prince , whom he saluted● telling him , sir , i come from her majesty to restore you your liberty : forget your prison , love the king , and believe me ever your servant . the prince answered , that he thank'd the queen for the justice she did him ; that he would forget what was past , and that he would still continue to maintain , and promote , as he had ever done , the interest of the king and state. after this , the cardinal had a conference with the princes , which lasted above an hour . the only account we have of it , is , that the cardinal endeavour'd at first to justifie himself , telling them the reasons that had induc'd him to secure them : and that in the next place he desired their friendship , adding haughtily , that they were free to grant it , or refuse it ; and that upon any terms they might go out of havre that very moment , and repair where ever they pleas'd . apparently the princes promis'd him whatever he desir'd . he din'd with them about ten a clock , and after a short repast , he had a private conference with the prince , to whom he said after some other discourse , that the duke of orleance had contributed much to his imprisonment , at the coadjutor's sollicitation ; and that therefore the safest way for his highness , was to joyn entirely with the king and queen , in order to ruin the faction of the frondeurs : that all the good places that were in his friends possession , should be his , provided he would be for their majesties ; and that as to what related to the government , his highness might discourse with monsieur de lionne about it , to whom he had imparted all his secrets . the cardinal attended him to his coach , and in presence of the princes of conty and longueville , who were got into it before , he humbled himself to embrace his knees , and to beg his protection , with tears in his eyes , against his enemies . after this , the princes went away accompany'd by the marshal de gramont , and lay three leagues off , at a house called grosmenil , in the way from havre to roans , where the deputies afore-mentioned arrived a moment after them , with orders from the court : who could not come sooner , by reason of a difference between monsieur de la urilliere and monsieur le tellier . monsieur le tellier was desirous to have the commission of going to havre , in order to make his court to the prince , and to enter into his favour again ; and the other likewise pretended to it , because normandy was within his district . the difference was adjudg'd in favour of the last . the princes departed next morning from grosmenil for paris , where they arrived on the th . at night . it is impossible to express the general joy that appear'd in that great city at their arrival . the best part of the souldiers and inhabitants wept for joy at sight of the prince of conde , and all strove to out-do each other in their different expressions of i● . he receiv'd proofs of that publick joy even at pontoise , where abundance of persons of the greatest quality met him . he was met by a great many more at st. dennis , all the way was so throngd with coaches and people , that one could not sufficiently admire how such a general joy could be occasion'd by the liberty of a man , whose imprisonment but thirteen or fourteen months before had been so agreeable to every body . the duke of orleance met the princes between la chapelle and st. dennis , and by the precipitation wherewith he ran to embrace the prince , he discovered the reality of the complement he made him , which was , that he had never been so transported with joy as he was at that moment , nor had ever done any action with so much satisfaction . the prince made him an answer , as to the autho● of his liberty . monsieur having in the next place embrac'd the prince of conty , and the duke of longueville , presented the duke of beaufort and the coadjutor , whom he had brought along with him , to the prince of conde , who received them very kindly ; after which the prince got into the duke of orleance's coach , together with the prince of conty , the duke of longueville , the duke of beaufort , the coadjutor , the marshal de la motte , and the prince of guimene . they lighted at the palais royal , amidst all the acclamations of the people . monsieur presented the princes to the king and queen , whom he had not visited himself until the day before . there appeared more complements and civilities at that first interview , than tenderness and real reconciliation . they found the queen upon her bed , with whom they tarry'd but little , after having return'd her thanks for the justice she had done them , in ●estoring them to their liberty . monsieur return'd to his own palace of luxemburg , and the prince went to make a visit to the duke of nemours , and that very evening he waited upon the dutchess of orleance , and express'd a great deal of obligation to her . monsieur presented several counsellors of the parliament to him , who happen'd then to be at the palace of orleance , whom he received very kindly . his natural inclination giving way to his joy at that time , all those in whom he observed any joy , received that day some marks of his acknowledgment . he supp'd with monsieur , where every body was free in expressing all manner of invectives and railleries against mazarin , who finding no safe●y in fr●nce against the thundring impeachments and decrees of the parliament , was o● his way to quit the kingdom , and to repair to the elector of cologne . the next day monsieur accompanied the prince , and the prince of conty to the parliament , where being entred , he spoke in these terms : gentlemen , i have brought my cousins to you to consummate your work , according to what you had resolved . i have acquainted them with the affection wherewith you have all laboured for their liberty , and have made them sensible of the kindness they ought to have for your house . i hope their presence will serve for a remedy against the disorders of the kingdom , and that joyntly with ●s they will contribute towards the good of the state , which i protest to have been the only aim of all my actions . monsieur having made an end , the prince assumed the discourse , as followeth : gentlemen , ●fter having returned her majesty thanks for the iustice she has done us in putting us at liberty , i should think my self wanting to my self , if i did not publickly acknowledge the extraordinary obligations we have received from the duke of orleance 's goodness , and the generosi●y he has express'd on our behalf . but tho' this favour we have received from him be so great , that to acknowledge it , i must neither spare my blood , or life , yet i should not have thought my self fully satisfied with it , unless i had come to assure this house that i shall ne●er want gratitude for the affection you have expressed towards me . and whereas it obliges me never to separ●te from your interests , i desire you to believe that i can have no other , and that on all occasions , i will endeavour to shew you , how much i am indebted to you all in ge●eral , and to every one in particular . the prince of conty made a complement little different from his brother 's ; after which , the prince assuming the discourse again , told them , that the duke of longueville should have been glad also to have express'd his sense of his obligements to them , but that they could not be ignorant of the reasons that hindred him from so doing . the first president answered : sir , the house cannot sufficiently express their ioy at your return , and think themselves happy to have contributed towards it . the duke of orleance 's affection , to which you are indebted for your liberty , next to the queen's goodness , makes us hope that the confusions which for three whole years have been like to occasion the ruin of this monarchy , and have so much diminished the royal authority , will be dissipated by the perfect union that is to be expected from princes that are of the same blood. you are so much concerned in the preservation of the glory and greatness thereof , that in labouring to revive the said authority , and to dispel all clouds of division , you will labour for your own advantage , and render your selves more considerable , by employing your persons and cares to keep the people in the obedience they owe their king and soveraign . moreover your prudence will induce you not to hearken to any seditious spirits , who under pretence of specious advantages , perhaps may only aim at sowing divisions among you . those evil counsellors must for ever be remov'd from your persons . and , sir , considering your obligations to the duke of orleance ; ( in saying this he look'd upon the prince ) nothing should be capable to divide your affections and interests . 't is from that union the state must expect its repose , the people the relief of their miseries , and the king the support of his authority : and it is the only recompence this house desires , for the vows they have made for your liberty , and for the affection wherewith they have always promoted it . after this , some ask'd for the declaration of innocence they had agreed to grant for the princes . but whereas it was not ready yet , and that it requir'd some time to consult the princes about it , it was referr'd to another day . then monsieur rose ; and the prince having answer'd all those who did congratulate his return , retir'd amidst the acclamations of joy of an infinite multitude of people which fill'd up the hall , and strove with emulation to give him signal proofs of a satisfaction not only capable to make him lose the remembrance of the joy they had express'd at his confinement , but also to render his prison more glorious than his victories . the manner of the prince's reception at paris after his being put at liberty , gave a new lustre to his glory , and made that hero confess , that this reception was no less glorious to him , than the great and famous victories of rocroy , fribourg , nortlingue , and lens , in which he had triumph'd over the most powerful efforts of the enemies of france . and indeed this new kind of glory was greatly due to him , since after having rendred such great services to the state , and discover'd such eminent vertues in so many sieges and battels , he had been seiz'd and detain'd long in prison , with all the injustice imaginable , and with the utmost ingratitude from the court. for in fine , besides the early marks of valour he had given in the trenches of arras , and in the plains of ipres , is it not certain that in all probability france would have been overwhelm'd in the beginning of the regency , but for the battle the prince had won at rocroy ? that kingdom which had carry'd the glory of its arms so far , by the great genius of cardinal richelieu , seem'd to fall by degrees from its elevation , since that minister's death . spain being at that time attentive in the pursuit of its vast designs , and perhaps reckoning upon a queen , to whom it had given birth , and who had long been suspected of not being well affected to france : spain , i say , which at that time look'd upon the king 's approaching minority as a source of divisions , which after the death of lewis xiii . whose distemper was judg'd incurable by the physicians , was going to expose so great a state as a prey to their ambitious desires . moreover france wanted famous experienc'd chiefs , as well as well disciplin'd forces : while the enemies had a triumphant army , compos'd of the best forces of europe , commanded by a very experienc'd general , who only tarry'd for a proper moment to improve a conjuncture which open'd a large field to his hopes ; and while the garrisons of the kingdom being unprovided , and without assistance , trembled at the approach of the uncertain storm which threatned the whole frontier . lewis xiii dying in that conjuncture , the consternation of his death , the weakness of a minority , a tumultuous regency , a council expos●d to intrigues , and cabals , seeds of division , great malecontents , the agitation of the court , and the exhausting of the people , made spain conceive approaching hopes of the total ruin of france . the valour of the prince of conde , at that time duke of enguien , apply'd a remedy to all those evils , by the gain of a battle , on which the safety , or ruin of the state depended . by this victory he effectually sav'd the realm , he calm'd it , he encourag●d it , and as it were , gave it new life ; he became the support of the monarchy , and strengthen'd the dawning authority of the young monarch . that memorable day was follow'd with a torrent of prosperity for france , of conquests , battels gain'd , cities taken , &c. all the campains that succeeded this by the singularity of the enterprizes that were form'd and executed by the duke d' enguien , equall'd , or surpass'd the most surprizing things we meet with in history . the battels of fribourg and nortlingue , so celebrated through the obstinate resistance of the enemies , and the invincible difficulties that oppos'd the attacking of them : those battles , which may very well be compar'd to those of arbella and pharsalia , alarm'd and terrify'd the very hea●t of the empire , and finally , forc'd germany to desire a peace on such conditions as france was pleas'd to allow it . the battle of lens yet more glorious and triumphant , placing the prince of conde in the just and indisputable possession of being the hero of his age , ●ais'd at the same time the great and signal obligations he had laid upon the court , to the highest degree , which after that battle committed a world of faults without him , and was only sav'd by him in the war of paris . and yet notwithstanding all this , at a time when all his designs , all his vertues , and all his actions only tended to the king's service , and the grandeur of the kingdom , of which he was the chief ornament , he was imprison'd , because his conduct in some occasions had not appear'd sufficiently respectful towards the queen , and that he had not all the complaisance for the cardinal , which that minister desi●'d , whom he had the misfo●tune to displease by the impetuosity of his temper , which he could not master ; the which , a● most , could only be look'd upon as court faults , and not crimes of state , capable of obliterating the important services rendred by a first prince of the blood. therefore it is no wonder that after his being put at liberty again , and return'd to paris , the people express'd their joy , and receiv'd him in triumph , as if he had been newly return'd from gaining the battles of rocroy , fribourg , nortlingue , and lens . but unfortunately his glory , which had appear'd with such a lustre in so many different manners , was afterwards tarnish'd by a very blameable conduct . for finally , he excited a civil war , and took up arms against his soveraign . mo●eover be acted with so much imprudence in that war , and committed so many capital faults , that thereby he fell infinitely short of those great men , who by a wise conduct , and well-contriv'd measures archiev'd the highest and most difficult ente●prizes . not but at the same time the court also committed very considerable faults , and that both parties maintain'd themselves more through the faults of each other , than by any good conduct on their side● but that does not justifie the prince , especially if we consider that thereby he ruin'd his own party , and made the court triumph . it is most certain that had the prince been endu'd with all caesar's qualifications , he should have succeeded in all his enterprizes . caesar had a consuminated prudence ; all his steps were measur'd , in so much that he never did any thing without mature deliberation , managing his zeal , and being more affected with the solid than the exterior part , being very caut●ous in all difficult affairs , and never wanting a remedy in the most troublesome conjunctures . few persons have ever been known with so much equality in their life , so much moderation in their fortune , and so much clemency when injur'd . he gain'd the affection of all people by his goodness and mildness : those who were familiar with him , and did espouse his interests , neither dreaded his anger or capricio's . he was liberal and magnificent , towards the people , towards his friends , and even towards his very enemies . he compass'd his ends by mild , insinuating , cunning , secret means . the prince of conde did not possess those qualities . he was of an unequal temper ; he was rough , difficult , and haughty , and an enemy to precaution . he could not moderate himself in his prosperity or fortune . he was passionate , and revengeful . he did not acknowledge considerable services ; and when he did , there was no certainty of the continuation of his gratitude . he was not very sincere to his friends , not even to those tha● were most illustrious , and most necessary to him . he made treaties without them , he often neglected their most considerable interests , and only minded his own . neither was he very liberal , or magnificent . he did not consult or manage the temper of the people , and took no great care to gain their love. he could not dissemble , neither could he act in great affairs with cunning and secrecy . in short , he rely'd too much upon his own valour , merit , reputation , and quality , and neglected other things that 〈◊〉 ●●cessary for the execution of great undertaki●● 〈◊〉 i shall not mention the errors he committed in this place ; the reader will sufficiently observe them in the faithful orderly recital i shall make of the principal actions and events . but before i proceed any farther , because i am now to treat about the most considerable point of this history , and that by reason of the partiality of those who have left us memoirs about it , it is very difficult to distinguish the real sentiments of the prince whose life we are now writing ; i will set down , as a necessary foundation , that the prince of conde came out of prison with sentiments of vengeance , not only against cardinal mazarin , madame de chevreuse , and against the frondeurs , who had only promoted his liberty upon disobliging considerations , and very hard conditions , but also against the queen , and against the king. i do not think any body can blame me for what i advance , since the prince himself , after the civil war was ended , and he receiv'd into favour again , condemning his conduct and former sentiments , declar'd with candor to some persons of honour and credit , that he was the most innocent man alive , when put into prison , and the most guilty at his coming out of it . alas ! pursu'd he with grief , before that unhappy prison , i a●m'd at nothing but the king's service , and the grandeur of the state. in so much that the valour , activity , and imperious humour , together with all the extraordinary qualifications the prince was endu'd with , were like unto those matters from which exhalations are form'd , which matters serve for co●siderable uses , but being once turn'd into exhalations , and enclos'd within the clouds , being attracted thither by the heat of the sun , they seldom get out of them again , unless it be to strike the most elevated places , and to overthrow the 〈◊〉 sumptuous buildings , and to cause terrible diso●●●●● : so likewise the prince of conde's valour and courage , before his imprisonment , were only employ'd for the good of the kingdom , and the glory of his soveraign ; but after his being put at liberty , all those heroical qualities were employ'd on very different uses ; and whereas before , he had been the hope , support , and joy of the state , he became the terror of it all on a sudden ; he attack'd the royal authority , and kindled a civil war , which caus'd great disorders , as will appear by the sequel of this history . after the return of the princes to paris , their imprisonment was declar'd unjust by the parliament and a new decree was given against cardinal mazarin . this decree of the parliament was terrible ; it condemned that minister to a perpetual banishment , and commanded all frenchmen to fall upon him , if ever he appear'd in the kingdom , and at the same time confiscated all he had● during these transactions , the queen passionately desir'd the cardinal's return , and try'd all means to dispose the prince to consent to it . to that end she offer'd him , by the princess palatin , all manner of advantages for himself , and for his friends : but ●e only answer'd those fine offers with complements which engag'd him to nothing . but yet in the sequel the queen being very pressing to oblige him to express himself , he promised to treat , whether it were that he had no mind to break so soon with the queen , and had a mind to carry until things were more favourably dispos'd in his favour , to have a more plausible pretence of breaking publickly ; or whether he were really dispos'd to treat , in hopes of obtaining for himself , and for his friends , the most considerable employments and governments , ●nd thereby put himself in a condition of doing whatever he pleas'd . however he desir'd the treaty might be kept secret , and so did the queen : the queen fear'd to augment the diffidence of monsieur , and of the fro●de●rs , and to swerve too soon , and without the least pretence , from all the declarations she had just granted the parliament against the cardinal's return . the prince on his side was afraid his friends would be angry at his treating without their participation ; that the duke of bouillon , and the marshal of turenne would quit his interests , that the frondeurs , and the dutchess of chevreuse would grow his irreconcileable enemies , and that the parliament and the people would on a sudden reflect on the dreadful image of the last war of paris . therefore they us'd all the cautions imaginable to treat secretly . the prince went to the princess palatin , whom the queen had chosen to manage the treaty . she was of the house of mantua , and sister to the queen of poland . the count of servient and monsieur de lionne likewise met there from the queen . the prince would have the duke de la rochefoucault present , and did nothing without the consent of the prince of conty his brother , and the dutchess of longueville his sister . the first project of the treaty which was propos'd by the princess palatin , was , that guienne should be given to the prince , and that the lord lieutenancy thereof should be given to whatever friend of his he should be pleas'd to choose : that the prince of conty should have the government of provence ; and that gratifications should be made to such as had been engag'd in the prince's interests : that nothing should be desir'd of him but barely to retire into his government , with whatever forces of his own he should think fit for his own security : that he should remain there without contributing to cardinal mazarin's return , but that he should not oppose the king's endeavours in order thereunto , an● that whatever happen'd , the prince should be free to be his friend or enemy , according as his conduct should give him cause to love or hate him . those conditions were not only confirm'd , but augmented by messieurs de servient and de lionne . for at the prince's desire that the government of blaye might be added to the lord lieutenancy of guienne for the duke de la rochefoucault , they gave him all the hopes of it he could desire . they only desir'd time to treat with the duke d' angouleme , about the government of provence , and to dispose the queen to grant blaye . but apparently it was only to give the cardinal an account of what past , and to receive his orders . he was at that time at brueil in the arch-bishoprick of cologne ; and the queen consulted him as an oracle . this affair remain'd some time without being discover'd ; but he who had been chosen to conclude it , soon occasion'd an entire breach , and drove things to the utmost extremities . monsieur de chavigny , who was lately recall'd , and plac'd into the ministry again , was a mortal enemy to the cardinal , and being at that time the prince's chief confident , soon dispos'd him to break off the treaty with the queen , against the advice of madame de longueville , the princess palatin , and the dukes de bouillon and de la roc●efoucault . messieurs de servient and de lionne at the same time were imbroil'd on both sides about this negotiation , and afterwards were both turn'd out . the queen deny'd her having ever hearken'd to the proposition about blaye , and accus'd servient of having made it on purpose to raise the prince's demands so high , that it should be impossible for her to grant them . as for the prince , his complaints against the count of servient were , that he had treated with him from the queen , about conditions that were unknown to her , or that he had made so many vain propositions to him to amuse him under pretence of a sincere treaty , which in effect was only a premeditated design to ruin him . although the count of servient was suspected on both sides , it did not lessen the animosity which began to arise between the queen and prince ; it was almost equally fomented by all those who came near them . some represented to the queen that the division between the prince and madame de chevreuse about the breach of the marriage between the brother of the one , and the sister of the other , would certainly reconcile the frondeurs to the cardinal's interests , and that all things would be soon reduc'd to the state they were in when the prince was seiz'd . he on the other hand was induc'd to break with the court by many different interests : he found no longer any safety with the queen , who did nothing without the cardinal's consent ; and he dreaded to be involv'd into his former disgraces again . madame de longueville was sensible that the cardinal had made an irreconcileable breach between her husband and her , and that after the impressions he had given him against her conduct , she could not go to him in normandy , without exposing her life , or liberty . the duke of longueville on the other hand us'd his utmost endeavours to get her to him ; and she had no way to avoid that perillous journey , but by inducing her brother to quit the court abruptly , and to prepare for a civil war. the prince of conty had no particular aim ; he follow'd his sister's sentiments without knowing them , and was for war , because it freed him from his ecclesiastical profession , which he did not love . the duke of nemours was very sollicitous for war ; not so much out of ambition , as jealousie which he had conceiv'd against the prince . he could not endure his seeing and loving madame de chatillon . and whereas he could not hinder his seeing of her , but by separating them ; he imagin'd that war was the only means he could imploy to that end , and that it would in time quench the prince's passion . the dukes de bouillon and de la rochefoucault did not desire that war , they had lately found by experience to what invincible difficulties they are expos'd who undertake to maintain a civil war against the person of their king. they were sensible of the disappointments that attend it . they knew the weakness of the spaniards ; they were not ignorant how vain and deceitful their promises were , and that it was not their interest to advance the prince's or the cardinal's affairs , but only to foment disorders among them , in order to take an advantage of the divisions of france . the duke of bouillon moreover joyn'd his particular interest to the publick's , and was in hopes to oblige the queen sensibly , and to be altogether in her favour , by contributing to keep the princes within the bounds of duty . as for the duke de la rochefoucalt , he durst not so publickly express his repugnancy to that war , by reason that his love and passion for madame longue●ille obl●g'd him to follow the sentiments of that fair princess , which tended to the kindling of a civil war , which the prince , exasperated by his misfortunes , and by ill treatments , desir'd perhaps with as much earnestness . however the conduct of the court , and that of the prince soon furnish'd subjects of a reciprocal diffidence , the sequel of which prov'd fatal to the state , to a great number of illustrious families of the kingdom , and ruin'd the greatest and most glorious fortune that was ever seen upon the head of a subject . but before we proceed any farther , it will be proper to enlarge upon a thing i have only hinted by the by , which is , that the prince hindred the prince of conty his brother from marrying mademoiselle de chevreuse ; by reason that in the conditions of the treaty that had been made for the liberty of the princes , that marriage had only been desir'd by the coadjutor , and by madame de ch●vreuse to secure them against the remembrance of the affront put upon his highness upon the new bridge ; the care that was taken to sollicit the execution thereof , only serv'd to revive in his memory the image of that mortal injury : in so much that the prince , who was sensible besides that the coadjutor and madame de chevreuse had taken the advantage of the misfortune of his prison to impose whatever conditions they pleas'd upon him , could not resolve to dissemble his resentment , and had rather be forsaken even by his best friends , than to stoop to dissemblings , caresses , and flatteries to conceal it . he exasperated madame de chevreuse and the frondeurs extreamly by that proceeding , and consequently the people , and even disoblig'd messieurs de bouillon and turenne to that degree , that they sided with the court ; whereupon the duk● of bouillon was plac'd at the head of the council , and the vice-count of turenne at the head of the principal army . several other persons of no●e quitted the prince's party by their example . even the count de bussy , who had serv'd him so well till then , abandon'd him , by reason that being come on purpose from burgundy to paris , to congratulate his highness being put at liberty ; the prince having thank'd him coldly for the services he had done him during his imprisonment , ask'd him at the same time whether he would not resign his place of lieutenant of his chevaux legers of the ordnance to guitault his cornet , according to the agreement made about it three months before his imprisonment . the count of bussy was strangely surpriz'd at that question , which shew'd but little gratitude for his past services , and yet less value for him , and less consideration for his quality ; but yet he consented to it , on condition that he should resign it into his highnesses own hands . as soon as he had surrender'd it , he quitted him , as the count de grand pré had done before , who , after having espous'd his party with so much heat , going to visit the princes after their being put at liberty , was receiv'd by them in a very disobliging manner . all these things gave a great check to the prince of conde's affairs , and in the sequel weaken'd his party considerably . moreover it happen'd that those who had quitted his interests , after having embrac'd them with so much earnestness , spread false reports against him , and endeavour'd to make people suspect his harbouring ill designs , thereby the better to colour their change . in effect , soon after , it was reported that the prince treated with the enemies of the king and state ; in paris it self by madame de longueville , ●t 〈◊〉 by the marquess of sillery , and at ste●ay by monsieur de croissy . it was likewise rumour'd that he would not have desir'd to exchange his government of burgundy for that of guienne , but that he de●●gn'd to execute some criminal enterprize . the reasons alledg'd for it were , that the government of burgundy was worth forty five thousand livres more than that of guienne , and that consequently he certainly design'd to make use of the singular affection the people of guienne had for his person , in order to execute some extraordinary enterprize . that the people of guienne as well as the limosins their neighbours , were warlike , light , and inconstant . that poitou , of which the duke de la rochefoucault was governour , was adjoyning to that province : that the prince had other friends , who were very powerful in other adjacent provinces : that he had only desir'd provence for the prince of c●●ty , and auvergne for the duke of nemours , in order thereby the better to execute his great designs . it is most certain , that at that very time the prince had sent the marquess de sillery into flanders , under pretence of dis-engaging madame de longueville and the marshal of turenne of the treaties they had made with the spaniards to procure his liberty , but in reality with orders to take measure● with the count of fuensaldaigne , to sound what assistance the prince might receive from the king of spain , in case he were oblig'd to make war. fuensaldaigne answer'd according to the usual custom of the spaniards , in promising in general a great deal more than could reasonably be desir'd of him , and omitted nothing to engage the prince to take up arms. on the other hand the queen had made a new engagement with the coadjutor , who was strangely animated against the prince , by reason that he had perswaded the prince of conty not to marry mademoiselle de chevreuse , and that he had seconded with all his might a declaration which excluded all cardinals , and all prelates in general from the ministry . this engagement between the queen and the coadjutor was kept secret , by reason that the queen could expect no service from the fr●ndeurs but by their credit with the people , the which they could preserve no longer than while they were look'd upon as enemies to the cardinal . both parties equally found their security in ruining the prince : nay , some proffer'd the queen to kill or seize him . she abhorr'd the first proposition , and willingly consented to the second . the coadjutor and monsieur de lionne met at the count of montresor , to agree about the means to execute that enterprize . they concluded that it was fit to attempt it , but resolv'd nothing as to the time , or manner of executing it . monsieur de lionne discover'd this design to the marshal of gramont , who communicated it to monsieur de chavigny , and he immediately to the prince . the prince for some time imagin'd that this report was only spread on purpose to make him quit paris ; and that it would be a weakness below him to be alarm'd at it , especially since the people took his part to that degree , that he was continually accompany'd by an infinite number of officers of the army , by those of his own forces , by his attendants , and by his particular friends . for these reasons he chang'd nothing as to his conduct , excepting his ceasing to go to the louvre . moreover he accidentally deliver'd himself up one day into the king's power ; he happening to be in his coach in the ring at a time when the king came through 〈◊〉 returning from hunting , follow'd by his guards 〈◊〉 chev●ux legers . however this encounter did 〈◊〉 produce the effect the prince had reason to 〈◊〉 ; for the king continu'd his way , and none of ●●ose that were with him bethought themselves to ●dvise him about it , without doubt because they ●ere surpriz'd , as the french always are . the king ●bserving the prince's coach to pass by hastily , ●ithout stopping , as all coaches are oblig'd to do ●hen they meet his majesty's , only utter'd these ●ew words , with a tone , and air , that may be ●magin'd , i will teach that gentleman his duty . the prince continu'd his way with speed out of the ring , not to give the king time to form any design against him . the queen and the frondeurs easily comforted themselves at the missing of so fair an opportunity , in hopes of seeing their project soon succeed . in the mean time the continual advices the prince receiv'd from all parts , began to perswade him , that the court intended to secure him . however he continu'd some time longer to neglect the taking proper measures to avoid it , al●hough all his friends were very sollicitous for his so doing . in fine , after having so long resisted the wholsom advice of his friends , he was at last alarm'd without a cause . talking in his bed with one monsieur de vineuil , he receiv'd a note from a gentleman , who acquainted him , that two companies of the guards were under arms , and going to march towards the fauxbourg of st. germans . this news made him believe they design'd to invest the h●stel of conde , which stands in that suburb : insomuch that without calling to mind that those companies were often employd to guard the gates , to cause the duties of entrance to be paid , which was the end for which they were commanded at that time , he imagin'd they had a design against his person . it is certain that in a manifesto which appear'd soon after to justifie his removal from paris , he d●●clar'd , that besides the movement of the regimen● of guards , two or three hundred persons had been observ'd moving to and fro that night in the said suburb . all this then being preceded by the advices of his particular friends , he took horse in a hurry , and left paris only attended by seven 〈◊〉 eight men. being accompany'd by that inconside●rable number , at his going out he was encountred by two hundred of mazarin's friends arm'd , who notwithstanding durst not undertake any thing against him , and let him pass by . he tarry'd some time in the road for news from the prince of conty , to whom he had sent notice of what past . but a second pleasant alarm oblig'd him to quit his post. hearing the noise of a great number of horses , which mov'd towards him on a tro● , he fancy'd it was a squadron in pursuit of him ; and therefore retir'd towards fleuri near meudon : however it prov'd that they were only haglers who travell'd all night towards paris . as soon as the prince of conty was inform'd that his brother was retir'd from paris , he acquainted the duke de la rochefoucault with it , who went to joyn the prince ; but the prince sent him back immediately to paris , to acquaint the duke of orleance from him with the subject of his removal to st. maur. the princess , the prince of conti , and madame de longueville arriv'd there almost as soon as the prince : and in the first days that court was as considerable , and as full of persons of quality as the king 's ; moreover he provided all manner of divertisements to serve his policy , as balls , plays , gaming , hunting , and good chear , which drew a world of wavering persons thither , which always offer themselves at the forming of parties , and commonly betray or forsake them , according to ●heir fears or hopes . however it was judg'd that this great number of people might break the mea●ures the court might have taken for the besieging of st. maur , and that this croud , which on any o●her occasion would have been useless and troublesome , would be of use in this , and serve to give some reputation to their affairs . during these transactions the marshals of gramont and of villeroy continually mov'd to and fro from the queen , to endeavour to accommodate those affairs . the prince was long before he would admit them in private , and told them , that there was no safety for him in paris , and that he would never find any there while mazarin govern'd the court , as he did by le tellier , servient , and lionne . that the cardinal did not live at breuil like an exile , but as an oracle that was continually consulted against him : that having suffer'd so hard , and so unjust a prison , he knew by experience that his innocence could not protect him , or establish his safety , which he hop'd to find in a retreat , in which he would still preserve the same sentiments he had so often evidenc'd for the benefit of the state , and for the king's glory . the prince had several conferences with the duke of orleance upon the same subject , who was as much displea●ed as himself , to find the spirit and maxims of cardinal mazarin reigning at court. the parliament likewise made several complaints about it , and joyn'd with their highnesses to exclude le tellier , servient , and lionne both from the council and ministry of affairs , they following the cardinal's maxims in all things , and doing nothing without his orders : monsieur le tellier upon this retir'd of his own accord , and the queen having soon after consented to the exclusion of the two others , the prince came back to paris , and waited upon the king and queen , and no longer thought of any thing but taking possession of his new government of guienne . but before his departure from paris , he was desirous to shew the sumptuous equipage he had prepar'd for his entry into bourdeaux . therefore ●e appear'd in the streets of paris in a magnificen● coach , accompany'd with the most numerous , and most glorious attendance that had been seen in france for a long while ; after which he went to the ring with the same equipage , where he met the king and queen accidentally , and in circumstances very different from those of the preceding meeting i have mention'd . the king and queen were extreamly surpriz'd and disorder'd to find themselves , as it were , alone amidst a croud of armed men , compos'd of the prince's friends and attendance , which fill'd up the ring . the queen was already very much displeas'd with the prince , for his having ceas'd to see the king of late , and his being continually with monsieur , and such of the parliament as were most animated against the cardinal ; in so much that she was under great apprehensions at that time . moreover some persons of the court talk'd of it , as if he had really design'd to insult their majesties , which made an end of exasperating them against the prince . the duke of orleance having notice of it the next day , endeavour'd to pacifie all , and engag'd the prince with great difficulty to go to the louvre . where their majesties receiv'd him so coldly , and with so much indifference , that he retir'd in a passion , and protested publickly that he would go there no more . this was done in so high a manner , that from that moment people began to believe the report that had been spread , of the prince of conde's having an intelligence with the enemies of the state to wage a war against the king. the first president molé himself , who was the prince's friend , complain'd of it in a full house , in so much that he seem'd already to have renounc'd his friendship ; so much he was a lover of justice , and had an aversion to disloyalty and rebellion against his king. and the prince of conty , being at that time in the parliament , rising to inform that president how injurious that suspicion was to the prince his brother , who , as he said , aim'd at nothing but the king's glory , and the tranquility of the state ; he answer'd him , that he was too young to speak in such a manner before so august an assembly , and told him with some sharpness , that he ought to know that in parliament the princes of the blood were no more than the bare counsellors . the president molé did not complain without powerful reasons against the conduct and ill designs of the prince . for besides divers other things that were come to his knowledge , the prince , who had only quitted st. maur to return to paris , because he believ'd that this haughty , bold manner of proceeding would give a reputation to his affairs , had at the same time sent away the princess , the duke d' enguien , and madame de longueville to montrond , being resolv'd to follow soon after , and to pass from thence into guienne , where they were well dispos'd to receive him , and to embrace his party . he had likewise sent the count de tavanes to his forces which serv'd in the army in champagne , and had order'd that count , who at the same time had not much cause to be contented with him , to march those troops in a body to stenay as soon as he should receive orders from him . he had provided for his garrisons , and had two hundred thousand crowns ready money ; in a word , he was preparing for war. he endeavour'd to engage persons of quality in his party , and among the rest the duke of bouillon , and marshal turenne . they were both intimate friends to the duke de la rochefoucault , who omitted nothing to engage them in the same party he was oblig'd to follow . the duke of bouillon at that time appear'd unresolv'd ; he was unwilling to undertake any thing without consulting his own safety and advantage , and he was equally diffident of the court and prince . he was also willing to see how things would go , before he would declare himself . as for the marshal of turenne , he remain'd still firm to the court party , and never alter'd since his return from stenay . he told the duke de la rochefouca●lt , that he never prais'd the prince , or made complaints against him , to avoid eclaircissements he was unwilling to enter into . that he had omitted nothing to contribute to the prince's liberty ; but that at the same time it was his opinion that his engagement to him was to end with his prison ; and that therefore he thought himself free to make whatever new engagements he thought fit , according to his own inclinations , or interest . he added , that the prince had had no consideration for him since his being put at liberty , and that far from consulting , or imparting his designs to him , he had not only done the contrary , but besides had suffer'd those very troops that had combated for him , which did belong to monsieur de turenne to perish , rather than speak a word to get winter quarters for them . it appear'd by all this that president mole 's zeal had not been blind , and that he had a good foundation for his complaints . the queen perceiving the first president to be in the state , and in the sentiments she desir'd , and that he had spoken vigorously against the prince , endeavour'd to improve that favourable occasion to animate the parliament against that prince . to that end , she caused the houses t● meet on the th . of august , and sent the co●●● of brienne , secretary of state , thither , to present them a paper in his majesty's name , which contain'd nothing but complaints against the prince . moreover the count read it himself in presence of the duke of orleance , and the prince of conty , who were in that assembly . these complaints were , that whereas so many decrees , which depriv'd that cardinal of all manner of commerce in france , the which had been confirm'd in such a manner by her majesty , that there was no hope left for him ever to pretend to return into the kingdom , she thought it very hard and strange that notwithstanding , that minister's name should serve for a pretence to disaffected persons to continue their revol● . that she could no longer dissemble the prince's ill designs , who himself inclin'd the disaffected to a revolt , by his publick want of respect to the king's person , not having seen him above once , and as it were only out of ceremony , in above a month's time since his being in paris . that he continually spread libels against the government , in order to make the people rise , and to lead them from their allegiance . that he had already laid in stores , and fortify'd the garrisons that were in his power , rais'd forces in the provinces he had gain'd , and dispos'd all things so well towards a revolt , that the factious only expected his orders to take arms. that to that end he had a continual commerce at br●ssels with the spaniards , and that far from performing the chief condition on which he was set at liberty , which was to remove the garrison , the enemies of the state had plac'd in stenay , he kept it still there by their advice , in order still to have that post at his command during the war he design'd to kindle in the heart of france . that the forces he had assembled at marle , acknowledg'd no superiour but his highness , and had no discipline besides a cruel license of pillaging picardy and champagne , as an enemy's country , to the dishonour and prejudice of the king's army , which was daily observ'd to diminish considerably by the great number of deserters , that license brought over into the prince's . the queen concluded , saying , that those dismal pressing extremities deserv'd to be taken into consideration by the house , in order to apply proper remedies thereunto , by declaring themselves absolutely against the authors thereof ; and that if they had still the least affection and kindness for the king , they could never approve it better than at that time , now his majesty was going to enter into his majority , at which time , according to law , they were to give him an account of the government . after the reading of this paper , a general silence reign'd in the house , none offering to express their thoughts about it , excepting the prince of conty , who declar'd pretty coldly , that all this was only a vain artifice of his brother's enemies , and that he would find means to destroy and confound them● however at that time there was a great deal of reason to fear the contrary , by reason of the then disposition of the parliament . but an incident interven'd which soon alter'd the dispositions of that august assembly , which enabled the prince happily to execute what the prince of conty had so boldly advanc'd in his favour against the complaints of the court. and thus it happen'd . as the parliament was going to deliberate upon these complaints , news was brought that the duke of mercoeur was privately retir'd to cologne to the cardinal , and moreover that he had marry'd his niece of manciny , to which the queen had secretly given her consent . upon which the parliament , who together with the prince had already sufficiently declar'd their dislike of the said match , express'd a great deal of resentment against it , and judg'd that his highness was not altogether so much to blame as was imagin'd , in complaining still against mazarin after his retreat out of france ; and look'd upon that match as an undeniable proof of the excessive power wherewith that cardinal still rul'd the court. therefore , the prince looking upon this as a very favourable conjuncture to clear himself from the aspersions that had been cast upon him , presented a declaration to the parliament , written by the hand of monsieur the king's uncle , wherein he declar'd , that the forces the prince had at marle , were kept there by his royal highnesses approbation ; that it was by his order they tarry'd there in a body , and moreover that he had sent le sieur valons , to command them joyntly with his own , in the room of la ferté sennetterre , who was a perfect mazarin . that as to the foreign garrison that was in stenay , he was satisfy'd that the prince had us●d his utmost endeavours to remove them from thence , either by force , or composition . that , in a word , he though● himself oblig'd to testifie for his highness , that he had ever known him to be a person of an upright , generous soul , entirely devoted to the king and state. and that therefore he declar'd he had not the least hand in the precipitated resolution of the court to have him impeach'd of high treason , for pretended correspondencies with the enemies of the crown . the prince had no need of any further apology , after this declaration of the duke of orleance , lieutenant-general of the kingdom , especially since the parliament was sufficiently inclin'd to believe him innocent . nevertheless , the more to confound his enemies , and to hinder them from doing of him any prejudice by their accusations , he added a kind of mani●esto to his royal highnesses declaration , in answer to all the heads of their accusations against him . he declar'd in the said manifesto , that he possess'd no other estate in france than what his father the late prince of conde had left him . that the cities of stenay and clermont had been given him in compensation for the place of lord admiral , which was to be his by right of succession , after the decease of marshal de breze his father-in-law . that after having undergone an imprisonment of thirteen months without a cause , his being put at liberty should not have been call'd an act of grace , but a piece of justice . that a prince of the blood , whose father had been declar'd head of the council by the late king's testament , could not be excluded from it . that it was very well known that he had no strong holds in the kingdom to second his pretended designs of a revolt ; whereas mazarin was still in possession of them all by his creatures . that the court was to blame to envy those few men he had at marle , since france was particularly indebted to them for the best part of its last victories ; and that besides they were only assembled there by his royal highnesses order , who was the absolute master thereof . that the only reason for which he had desir'd the court to exchange his government of burgundy for guienne , was to relieve that poor province from the misery it was reduc'd to under the proud and violent domination of the duke d' espernon , whose excesses were but too well known in the world. that if he had reserv'd any places in burgundy , it was because they were his , the late prince his father having bought them , by his majesty's leave and approbation ; and that for that reason he had a right to keep them , especially since no others had been given him in exchange in guienne . that it was true , that he had abstain'd for some time from seeing the king , and from assisting at the council ; but that no man of sense could blame him for it , since his most inveterate foes , being most in her majesty's favour , he had reason to suspect them , and to avoid falling , for the second time , in the same snare . that since his coming out of prison , he had been most sollicitous to drive the spanish garrison out of stenay ● and that that was the only end of all that pretended commerce with the enemies of the state , which made so much noise ; and that therefore it was a shame to see a prince of the blood , under such a pretence , pursu'd as being guilty of high treason , and that at the queen's sollicitations . that the authors of that outragious undertaking ought to be inform'd against , and constrain'd either to justifie their calumny , or to be prosecuted according to law. that , notwithstanding , he submitted his estate and person to the disposal of the parliament , and to whatever they should be pleas'd to determine . the prince finding that this paper had made strong impressions in his favour , and that all things tended to his justification in the parliament , went thither himself , to renew his complaints viva voce , and to demand reparation for the enormous calumnies level'd against his honour , pointing at the same time at the author 's thereof . he said among several other things whereby he design'd the coadjutor of paris , that nothing could be more odious than to see persons whose main business should tend towards the maintaining of peace , apply themselves unfortunately to the disturbing of it , by outragious falsities , which an implacable hatred had made them invent . the coadjutor justly applying that discourse to himself , finding himself seconded by the queen's authority and protection , rising at the same time , answer'd , that all he had done was design'd for the publick good , and what could be expected from a man of honour , whose loyalty was untainted ; that his enemies could not accuse him of having broken his promises , and that few persons , at that time , were free from that defect . i wonder , reply'd the prince , who possess'd himself more in that occasion than he was wont to do , that any body should be so bold in this place , as to dare to cope with a prince of the blood , and to contest with him . i know , sir , reply'd the coadjutor , what is owing to a prince of the blood like you : but every body is free in this place ; in which , none but the king can expect a perfect obedience . the first president then assuming the discourse , told them , that the place in which they were , was not a place of quarrel , or con●estation , but a place of majesty : and seeing besides that the whole palace was fill'd , on the behalves of the prince and coadjutor , with armed men , ready to charge each other , and that even swords glitter'd on all sides , he desir'd the prince and the coadjutor to cause their men to retire , in order to allow the gentlemen of the house the liberty of their opinions . after this , he turn'd towards the prince , and told him , your highness is to shew by your example the honour and respect that is due to this assembly . the prince yielding to that advice , immediately sent the duke de la rochefoucault to command his people to retire out of the palace . the coadjutor at the same time went out of the great room to desire his to retire also . the duke de la rochefoucault walk'd seven or eight steps behind him , and was still within the usher's bar when the coadjutor appear'd in the great hall. at sight of this prelate all those of his party drew their swords , and the prince's friends did the same . every one sided with the party he serv'd , and in a moment both troops joyn'd within reach of their swords , and yet among so many brave men , animated by such different hatreds , none offer'd to make a pass , or shoot off a pistol . the coadjutor seeing so great a disorder , offer'd to retire into the great room again : but coming to the door which goes from the hall to the usher's bar , he found that the duke de la rochefoucault had seiz'd it . however he endeavour'd to open it with force : but whereas it only open'd half , and that the duke de la rochefoucault held it , that duke at the instant the coadjutor was entring , push'd it in such a manner , that he stopt it just as that prelate's head was pass'd on the side of the bar , and his body still in the hall. that occasion might have tempted the duke de la rochefoucault to kill the greatest enemy of the prince's party , and to revenge the shame and affront a prince of the blood had just receiv'd in full parliament . he contented himself however with securing him , that his life might answer for the event of the disorder . thus the duke de la rochefoucault , unwilling to commit an act of cruelty , and the prince's attendants , who at that time were near that duke , being unresolv'd in a case of that consequence , gave time to monsieur de champlatreux , son to the first president , to arrive , with order to dis-engage the coadjutor , and to draw him out of the greatest peril , he was ever expos'd to . this proceeding of the duke de la rochefoucault towards the coadjutor , prov'd a new subject of hatred and envy amongst them and their friends , which without doubt would have occasion'd great disorders , had not the duke of orleance compos'd all by an expedient he invented , which was , that for the future the coadjutor should no longer assist at the assemblies of the parliament ; and that the prince should only be attended there by a small number of his ordinary attendance . during these transactions the queen perceiving that the parliament daily declar'd more and more in favour of the prince , and that she should expose her authority in vain in pursuing his condemnation any further , on a sudden relinquish'd her pursuit , and declar'd that she desir'd nothing so much as his justification : and some days after it the prince of conde , at her majesty's intreaty , obtain'd a decree from the court , by which the accusations , and complaints exhibited against him , were declar'd false , and without ground , as having been contriv'd on purpose to animate the people , and to increase divisions . after so many obstacles were happily remov'd , there was reason to expect that all things would soon be reduc'd to a calm . but the storm soon rose again about the * barbons : thus they call'd monsieur de châteauneuf , president mole , and monsieur de la vieville , by reason of their long beards . those three old men , whom the prince look'd upon as the cardinal's slaves , had insinuated themselves so far into the queen's favour , and had engag'd so far into the intrigues of the court , since the removal of messieurs de servient , le tellier , and lionne , that monsieur de chateauneuf was publickly design'd first minister , president mole lord-keeper of the great seal , in monsieur seguier's room , from whom it was to be taken , and monsieur de la vicville super-intendant of the exchequer . the prince was so much the more offended therea● , because the first had , as it were , declar'd himself an enemy to his house and blood , by the sentence of death he had pronounc'd at toulouse against the duke of montmorancy ; and that it was sufficiently known that the second was not well inclin'd towards him of late● this perhaps was the justest subject of anger and indignation the prince had yet met with : but whatever complaints he could make to the court about it , they being perswaded that he had been engag'd with the spaniards to wage a war against the king , they were only look'd upon as affected complaints , and desires , by which he only propos'd a fair pretence to retire . in the mean time the king's majority was at hand : this was the fourth of september , and the ceremony thereof was to be perform'd on the seventh . this troubled and disquieted the prince of conde . he was sensible that this majority was going to render the king's authority absolute , and that the king being at age , there would be no longer any safety for him in paris . he also remembred that it was no novelty to see those kind of publick festivals and solemnities ●ully'd by the most bloody , and most daring actions . but at the same ●ime he consider'd that he could not absent himself from so great , and so august a ceremony , without despising too publickly the rank he was to have in it , and without confirming , and augmenting those very suspicions that had been conceiv'd against him : therefore there was a necessity at least to find out an apparent pretence to colour his absence . to that end he made use of one prioly , a venetian gentleman , to let the queen understand that he had business of great moment to regulate with the duke of longueville , and that it concern'd the publick to have it terminated as soon as could be . this gentleman was secretly a friend to the cardinal , and a pensionary to the court : he had insinuated himself into the queen's favour by his wit , and by several services he had rendred her on sundry occasions , as well as to the cardinal . and therefore it was not difficult for him to perswade her majesty to give her consent to the interview the prince desir'd with the duke of longueville , who only consented to it upon the secret assurance he receiv'd in writing from prioly , that thereby he would render an acceptable service to his majesty . whereupon the rendezvous was immediately appointed at trie . the prince of conde's design was not only to have an occasion to absent himself from the ceremony of the majority , but also to endeavour to draw the duke of longueville in his party , and by his means to make all normandy rise in his favour , thereby to give his party the more weight and reputation , especially among strangers . that duke , who had only endeavour'd to avoid that interview out of fear of so dangerous an engagement , was resolv'd not to hearken to the prince's propositions , and moreover to disuade him from it as much as possible he could . and whereas prioly , in whom both did confide , only design'd to fortifie the duke in his resolution , in order to discover the better by his resistance , the real designs , and all the intrigues of the prince ; the queen thereby had the satisfaction to see that the prince's cunning and industry were employ'd to deceive himself . the prince of conde repair'd to the duke of longueville at trie on the appointed day . but before his departure , he left a letter with the prince of conty for the king , wherein he acquainted his majesty with the reasons that hindred him from attending him on the day of his majority , and promis'd him an inviolable loyalty . the day the ceremony was perform'd , a little before the king and court set ●o●ward towards the * palais , the prince of conty presented his brother's letter to the king. the king receiv'd that letter with a cold negligent air , without saying any thing , and hardly open'd it half , without looking upon the contents . while the prince endeavour'd at trie to engage the duke of longueville in his party , the duke de la rochefoucault labou●'d at paris to draw the duke of bouillon , the marshal of turenne , the prince of tarente , and the marquess de la force into the same party . in order to conclude with the duke of bouillon , who offer'd to declare for the prince , and to prevail with his brother the marshal , and the others above nam'd , to embrace the same interests . the duke de la rochefoucault in the prince's name promis'd him the following conditions . . to give him stenay , with the demeans thereof , which he should enjoy with the same rights and priviledges the prince did , until he had caus'd sedan to be restor'd to him , or else had put him in possession of the recompence the court had promis'd him in exchange for that place . . to yield his pretensions to him upon the dutchy of albret . . to cause him to be receiv'd into bellegarde with the command of that place , and to make no treaty without causing the article about the rank of his house to be compris'd in it . . to furnish him a sum of money they should agree upon , to raise forces , in order to make war. the duke de la rochefoucault propos'd besides to send the marshal of turenne to stenay , to clermont , and danvilliers , there to command the prince's old troops , which were to retire there , the which being joyn'd to those the spaniards were to send thither from flanders , mo●ieur de turenne should possess the same post , which madame de longueville and he held while the princes were in prison . he was moreover order'd by the prince to tell him next , that he design'd to leave the prince of conty , madame de longueville , and monsieur de nemours at bourges and montrond , there to raise men , and make themselves masters of berri , of the bourbonnois , and part of auvergne , while the prince should go to bourdeaux , where he was call'd by the parliament , and by the people , and where the spaniards wo●ld furnish him with forces , money , and ships , according to the treaty the marquess of sillery had made with the count of fuensaldaigne , to facilitate the rising of the forces he design'd to raise in guienne . that the count of doignon entred into his party , to which he joyn'd the cities of brouage , r● , oleron , and rochel : that the duke of richelieu would raise men in saintonge , and in the country of aunis ; the marquess de la force in guienne ; the duke de la rochefoucault in poitou and angoumois ; the marquess of montespan in gascony ; monsieur d' arpagon in rouergue ; and that monsieur de marsin , who commanded the army in catalonia , would be grateful . so many fair prospects fortify'd the duke of bouillon in his design of engaging with the prince ; for which he engag'd his word to the duke de la rochfoucault , on the aforesaid conditions . as for monsieur de longueville , the prince could not engage him so far , nor obtain any positive promise from him , whether it were that he was unresolv'd , or unwilling to enter into a party , he thought his wife had form'd , or finally , whether he thought that being engag'd with the prince , he should be carry'd farther , than he was us'd to go . from trie , the prince went to chantilly , without going through pontoise , though it was his way , for fear of being watch'd at the passage ; and indeed his fear was well grounded , since the count d' harcourt and the dutchess of eguillon , who had an absolute power in those parts , had made proposals to the queen to seize him there , and had dispos'd every thing in order thereunto . when he was arriv'd at chantilly , he consider'd that the dangers which threaten'd him daily increas'd , and that he could not ●arry long there in safety . thus , in order to secure his retreat , and to amuse the court while he retir'd to montrond , he caus'd cunningly some propositions or an accommodation to be made to the queen . in the mean time he remov'd from chantilly with some troops of horse ; and having ●arry'd one day at angerville at the president perrault's house , he repair'd to bo●rg●s , where the applauses of ●●e people and nobility rais'd his hopes to that degree , that he imagin'd the whole kingdom was going to imitate their example , and decla●e for him . the duke of orleance , who till then had omitted noth●●g to put a stop to the secret motions of the prince of conde , and to sti●le all his designs of a civil war , by an accommodation he endeavour'd to manage for him at the court , was strangely surpriz'd at his sudden departure . he dispatch'd monsieur de croissy to him within a few days , to offer him just and reasonable conditions for an accommodation , from the queen , for the performance of which he promis'd to be security . those conditions were , that his highness should remain in full liberty in his government of guienne , and that his forces , for which he express'd so great a concern , should have good winter quarters , where they should be in safety , and free from all manner of injuries , or violence . monsieur de croissy met the prince at bourges , who seeing himself so near montrond , answer'd monsieur de croiss● , that he could not handsomly accept monsieur's offers on the queen's , and his own behalf , withou● first conferring with the prince of conty his brother , and the dutchess of longueville his sister about it , who at that time were at montrond , together with the dukes of nemours and de la rochefoucault . this conference only produc'd a refusal of the offers that had been made , and a firm resolution of beginning a civil war in earnest . memoirs of the prince of conde . book v. croissy's journey thus proving ineffectual , the prince continu'd his , and arriv'd at montrond , where he was expected by the princess , and by madame de longueville . he remain'd there a day to examine the place , which he found the finest , and in the best condition imaginable : that very day he drew full instructions to treat with the king of spain , in which his most considerable friends were compris'd . monsieur l' aisne was chosen for that negotiation . a●terwards the prince gave his brother and monsieur de nemour● money to raise men in the adjacent provinces , leaving vineuil , intendant of justice , with them to begin to raise * contributions upon berri and bourbonnois . he desir'd them to have a particular regard for the city of bourges , and to maintain it in the same disposition he had ●e●t it . the following day he departed from montrond with the duke de la rochefoucault , at whose house they call'd , where they found abundance of gentry , who follow'd him . he repai●'d with speed to bourdeaux , where the princess , and the duke d' enguien soon arriv'd after him . he was receiv'd by all the companies of the city with a great deal of joy , and it were difficult to decide whether t●ose fiery people , accustom'd to revol●s , were more affected with the grandeur of his birth and reputation , than with their looking upon him as the most potent enemy the duke d' espernon had . he found the parliament in the same disposition , and they issu'd out whatever decrees he desir'd in his favour . things being thu● happily begun , he thought nothing more proper , than to seize all the king's revenues in bourdeaux , and to employ that money in raising of men speedily , supposing that the court would immediately march towards him , with whatever forces they had , in order not to allow him time to draw his in a body . for that reason , he distributed his money to all those who were engag'd with him , and press'd them so much to make their levies , that his precipitation serv'd them for a pretence to make ill ones . within a few days after his arrival , the count du doignon came to him , and openly declar'd for his party ; the duke of richelieu , and the marquess de la force did the same , and the prince of tarente , who was come to taillebourg , sent him word that he likewise enter'd into his party . monsieur d' arpajou was more difficult to be wrought , and he made use of the same conduct on this occasion , for which he had already been rewarded during the princes imprisonment ; he demanded conditions which could not be granted , and treated with the court , when he found that the affairs of the prince were decaying . during these transactions , the duke de la rochef●●cault gave the duke of bouillon an account of ●ha● had past at the parliament of bourdeaux , and told him at the same time , that the conditions he ●●d de●●r'd being perform'd , the execution of his promises was expected . this duke , for a considerable time , avoided the giving a positive answer , being desirous , at once , to keep in with the court , which made him great advances , and not to break with the prince , of whom he might stand in need . he likewise saw , that monsieur de turenne , whose interests he once thought inseparable from his , refus'd to joyn with the prince ; that the prince of tarente had embrac'd that party without him , and that the marquess de la force remain'd united to monsie●r de turenne . he consider'd , moreover , that neither being follow'd by his brother , nor by the others i have mention'd , according to his engagement with the duke de la rochefoucault , there would not be so much safety for him in the party he was going to embrace ; and that the prince would express no more gratitude for what monsieur de turenne and he would do for the future , than for what they had already done . he likewise found that there would be a necessity of making a new treaty with the prince , less advantageous for him than that they had already agreed upon . in fine , all these reasons joyn'd to the promises he receiv'd from the court , and seconded by all the industry of his dutchess , who had a great influence over him , hindred him from following his first design , and from declaring for the prince : but then , in order to get off handsomly , he turn'd mediator for an accommodation between him and the court. after having had some particular confer●nces with the queen upon that subject , he sent back gourville , who h●d been dispatch'd to him from the duke de la rochefoucault , to offer the prince whatever he had demanded for himself , and for his friends , together with the disposal of the government of bla●e , without requiring any other conditions on his side , than those servient and de lionne had demanded in the first project of the treaty , which was made at paris , at his coming out of prison . moreover , monsieur de chateauneuf offer'd other propositions of accommodation by the said gourville , but whereas they tended to hinder the cardinal's return , his offers could not equal those the queen had made him by the duke of bouillon . he only offer'd to remain inseparably united to the prince after the cardinal's overthrow , and to allow him whatever share he should desire in the government of affairs . the court offer'd besides to consent to an interview between him and the duke of orleance at richelieu , there to examine together the conditions of a sincere peace , whereunto the court seem'd to be sincerely inclin'd . but it was the misfortune of france , and his own , that he refus'd to hearken to so many advantageous proffers , being vex●d that the queen's offers should be made by the duke of bouillon's means , by reason that he had expected that the said duke and his brother would be very considerable to his party , being sensible that none could maintain the posts of bellegarde and stenay like them ; and that besides the old troops he had left there to be commanded by the marshal of turenne , thereby remain'd useless , and were in danger of being dissipated or defeated . he consider'd besides that the measures he had taken with the spaniards towards champain would be of no effect , and that neither his own troops , nor the spaniards should be able to find out a chief to fill up that post , with that esteem the world had for monsieur de turenne . all these reasons touch'd the prince sensibly , and tho' he endeavour'd to conceal his resentments , he could not forbear answering the duke of bouillon pretty smartly ; that it was not honourable to hearken to propositions one had no mind to effectuate : that he should declare himself according to his promise ; that monsieur de turenne should repair at the head of the forces that were gone to stenay , and that then he would be in a condition to hearken to the offers of the court , and to make an honourable treaty . gourville was sent back with the said answer , and order'd to acquaint the duke of orleance with the reasons for which he refus'd an interview at richelieu . the chief were , that the aim of the said conference was not to make a peace , but only to hinder him from making war : that while the whole kingdom was at the point of declaring against the court , and the spaniards were preparing considerable succours of men , money , and ships , endeavours were us'd to engage him upon a publick negotiation , the very tumour of which would hinder his levies , and debauch all those from him , which were going to embrace his party . besides these general reasons , there were more particular ones , which did not permit him to trust his interests in the duke of orleance's hands , being jealous of his strict engagements with the coadjutor of paris , his declar'd enemy , as well as that prelate's with the court , which had newly promis'd him a cardinal's cap. this incident put him upon a very strange resolution ; for finding that the coadjutor , either out of interest , or pride , affected to cross him continually , he form'd the design of seizing him in paris . whatever difficulty this enterprize seem'd to be attended with , gourville undertook it , after having receiv'd the princes order for it in writing ; and the coadjutor had certainly been taken one evening he went to the hostel of chevreuse had he come back in his own coach ; but having discharg'd it , together with his attendance , the coach that carry'd him home again could not be distinguish'd with certainty ; in so much that the business was put off for some days , and afterwards discover'd ; those that are employ'd on such occasions , having seldom discretion enough to rest satisfy'd with the knowledge one thinks fit to give them , or fidelity and secresie enough to put it safely in execution . thus all things were dispos'd for war on all sides . monsieur de chateauneuf , who at that time was head , or president of the council , had caus'd the cou●t to repair to bourges , where the king's presence instantly restor'd that city to its former obedience : at the report of those happy beginnings , the prince of conty , madame de longueville , and monsieur de nemours were oblig'd to quit montrond , with their forces , to retire into guienne . they left the chevalier de riviere expiring ; he dy'd the same day , regretted by all those who knew him , for besides his being possess'd of all the qualifications requir'd in a compleat gentleman , few persons of his age have given so many proofs of conduct , fidelity , and generosity , being free from all self-interest , as he had done in so many hazardous enterprizes in which he had been employ'd . the marquess de pergan remain'd governour of that place , which was block'd up by a small body lodg'd at st. amand , of which palluau was lieutenant-general . the court was come as far as poitiers , and monsieur de chateauneuf insisted to remove it to angoulesme , considering that since the war was only grounded upon the p●etence of the cardinal's return , it was necessary to improve his absence , and that it was sufficient for the interest of the state , and yet more for his own in particular , to continue his said absence . he likewise insisted that the king's presence was a powerful motive to keep the people in awe at the birth of these disorders ; that in drawing near the prince , who was neither certain of guienne , nor of the parliament of bourdeaux , his designs might easily be dissipated , whereas on the contrary they would be strengthen'd by the absence of the court. but th●se counsels of chateauneuf rais'd too much jealousie in the cardinal's friends , to be follow'd at poitiers , without having first been examin'd at cologne : and whereas they were forc'd to tarry for his orders , their delays and diversity caus'd continual irresolutions , and kept the court incertain at poitiers until his return , which follow'd soon after . on the other hand the baron of batteville was arriv'd in the river of bourdeaux with the spanish fleet , composd of eight men of war , and some fire-ships . he fortify'd talmond , where there was a body of foot of men. the city of saintes had surrender'd it self without resistance , taillebourg , which has a port upon the charante , was pretty well fortify'd , and the prince was master of the river as far as angoulesme , excepting coignac . the count of ionsac , the king's lieutenant in saintonge , and governour of coignac , was there in person , to the end that place might serve him to make his conditions the better in the party he should embrace , being as yet unresolv'd . in this irresolution he began a commerce of letters with the prince , and writ enough to him , to make him believe , that he only design'd to save appearances , and that he wou●d deliver it into his hands at the approach of a siege . this hope , rather than the state of the prince's forces , which at that time were very inconsiderable , made him resolve upon marching towards coignac . he was sensible that the success of his enterprizes depended upon the reputation of his arms ; but at the same time he likewise knew that wanting forces , and all things necessary to form a siege , this was the only one he could pretend to succeed in . so that grounding all his hopes upon that governour , he caus'd the duke de la rochefoucault to go from bourdeaux , to assemble whatever forces he had on foot , which only amounted in all to three regiments of foot , and three hundred horse , and to invest coignac , where the prince of tarente was to repair with what forces he had . the report of their march being spread in the country , whatever could be remov'd out of the fields , was carry'd into coignac , and abundance of the nobility retir'd there also , to express their zeal for the king's service , and chiefly to guard themselves what they had caused to be transported there . this considerable number of gentlemen easily kept the inhabitants in awe , and made them resolve to shut up their gates , in hopes of being soon reliev'd by count d' harcourt , general of the king's forces , who was advancing towards them . and whereas they had but little confidence in the count of ionsac , whom they equally suspected of weakness , and of being gain'd by the prince , they watch'd him so narrowly , that one may say , that he resolv'd to defend the place , because the power of surrendring it was taken from him . this was the only thing in which the gentry shew'd any vigour , for during eight days that the prince's men tarry'd before coignac , without arms , without ammunition , without officers , and without discipline , being at the same time fatigu'd by continual rains , which broke the bridge of boats they had made over the charante , for the communication of quarters ; those within never made the least use of those disorders , and kept close within the town with the inhabitants , only firing from behind the walls . however the prince being inform'd that the town was upon the point of surrendring , departed from bourdeaux , and came to the camp , with the duke of nemours . the day after his arrival , the count d' harcourt receiving intelligence that the bridge of boats was broken , and that major-general nort was retrench'd in a suburb on the other side of the river with men , without any possibility of being succour'd , march'd against him with foot , compos'd of the french and suitz guards , and with the king's gendarmes , chevanx-legers , and guards , and some gentry . he forc'd nort's quarter without hardly meeting any resistance , and thus reliev'd coignac to the prince's face , who was lodg'd on the other side of the river . count d' harcourt was satisfy'd with having reliev'd the place , and suffer'd the prince to retire without following of him . notwithstanding this success was not very considerable in it self , yet it increas'd count d' harcourt's hopes , and gave a reputation to his arms. nay , moreover he judg'd himself in a condition to make some progresses , and knowing that the marquess d' estissac had reduc'd rochel to its former obedience , excepting the towers , which shut the port , he resolv'd to march thither , relying upon the good-will of the inhabitants , and their hatred to count du doignon their governour . he had caus'd those towers to be fortify'd , and kept a gar●ison of switzers in them , being diffident almost of every body , and expecting to find more fidelity among that nation , than in his own . but the sequel soon made him sensible that he had taken ●alse measures ; for fear and interest , which are as powerful over those people as over others , gave the switz a pretence for doing yet more than he had fear'd from the french. it is most certain that this diffidence of the count du doignon prov'd the ruin of the prince's party , who otherwise would at first have march'd with all his forces to rochel , to re-build its ancient fortifications , there to fi● the seat of the war , with all the convenience that such a situation could afford him : whereas in order to sooth the jealous uncertain temper of that man , he was forc'd to remain useless at tonay-charante , and to suffer rochel to be lost , without so much as daring to propose the relief thereof . i must confess that the small resistance the garrison of the towers made , hardly afforded him time enough to form the design of it : for count d' harcourt being arriv'd with his forces at rochel , and assisted by the marquess d' estissac , lately invested with the count du doignon's governments , he found ●he inhabitants dispos'd to afford him all the assistance he could expect from them . however the towers might have held out some time , had the switzers prov'd as brave and faithful , as that count had expected . but instead of answering his expectation , they resolv'd to redeem themselves by a piece of treachery , and after a resistance of three days , count d' harcourt having sent them word , that he would allow them no quarter unless they stab'd basse their commandant , they made no scruple of executing this horrid order : but basse expecting to meet more compassion from count d' harcourt , than from his own men , flung himself wounded as he was from the top of the towers into the port , where that general caus'd him to be dispa●ch'd in his presence , without being mov'd either by the officers entreaties , who beg'd his life , nor by so pitiful a spectacle . the loss of that place prov'd very prejudicial to the reputation of the prince's arms , for it was imputed to his being diffident of his forces , whereas it only proceeded from his regard to the jealousie of the count du doignon . he was sensibly concern'd at the news of it , and imagining that all the other garrisons would follow that example , h● re●i●'d to bro●age , where he remain'd altogether 〈…〉 had made his treaty with the court , whi●● apparently he has had cause to repent . co●●t d' harcourt being encourag'd by these good successes , and strengthen'd by ●ome forces , th●t h●d joyn'd his army , resolv'd to march up to the prince , who was at tonay-charante . but the prince judging by the number , and the want of discipline of his forces , that he was much inferiour to the king's army , did not think it fit to expect it in that place , and therefore crossing the river in the night upon a bridge of boats , he reti●'d to la bergerie , which is not above half a league distant from tonay-charante . the enemies contenting themselves with having defeated two squadrons the day before , allow'd him all the time that was necessary to blow up the tower of tonay-c●arante , and to retire to 〈◊〉 bergerie without attacking of him . count d' ●arcourt at that time lost a fair occasion of falling upon his rear , when he was half over . the very same day he met with a faire● yet , which he had not the wit to improve ; for the prince confiding absolutely on a major-general , who was commanded by him to burn , or break the bridge of boats , on that assurance , posted his men in divers quarters , some being a league and a half distant from his own , without fear of a surprize , the river lying between him and the enemy . but this officer only loosen'd the boats , and let them float down the stream of the river ; in so much that count d' harcourt's men having stopt them , the bridge was re-built in an hours time , and he caus'd three hundred horse , and some foot to cross over it to guard the head of the said bridge . this news being brought to the prince at la bergerie , he concluded that count d' harcourt would march into the middle of his quarters , in order to destroy them one after another , as in prudence he ought to have done . this oblig'd him to dispatch orders to his fo●ces to quit their quarters , and to repair instantly to la bergerie , and immediately he march'd himsel● towards tonay-charante with the dukes of nemours and de la rochefoucault , his guards , and whatever officers and voluntiers happen'd to be about him at that time , to discover the designs of the enemies , in order to amuse them , until those of his men which were most distant from him , were come up to him . he found the advice that had been given him to be true , and the three hundred horse were in battalia in the meadow next to the river : but at the same time he found the enemies had not bethought themselves of what he fear'd , or had lost the opportunity of putting it in execution , since that not being pass'd while they could do it without hindrance , there was no likelyhood they would attempt it in his presence . some skirmishes past for some time without any considerable loss on either side ; and his infantry being arriv'd , he caus'd a long retrenchment to be made over against the bridge , leaving the meadow and the river between count d' harcourt and him . the two armies remain'd above three weeks in the same place , without undertaking any thing , contenting themselves with living in a fertil country , where all things were plenty . in the mean time , the duke of bouillon's delays , and all his conduct convinc'd the prince , that he was no longer to expect any thing from him , or from monsieur de turenne , and for that reason he exclaim'd and acted against them with all the passion imaginable , altho' their engagements had been different . for it is most certain that the duke of bouillon had made an agreement with the duke de la rochefoucault , and afterwards with monsieur laisné , upon the conditions heretofore related . mon●ie●r de turenne on the contrary , had entirely ●●●ndon'd the prince's inte●ests from the very moment he came out of prison , and as he has decla●'d s●nce , was absolutely ignorant of the duke of 〈◊〉 's engagements . the prince being under the necessity of sending 〈◊〉 body without delay to ●ill up the post he 〈◊〉 design'd for monsieur de turenne , cast his eyes upon the duke of nemours , whose birth and great ●●●our might in some m●nner stand instead of monsi●ur de turenne's capacity . he dispatch'd him ●mmediately for flanders , but he not being able to s●pport the inconveniencies of the sea , was con●●●●in'd to go by land , with a great deal of danger , and loss of time , by reason of the forces which brought back the cardinal into france . he likewise sent the dake de la rochefoucault back to bo●rdeaux , to dispose the prince of conty to go to ag●n to confirm the peoples minds , which began to waver upon the new progress of the king 's arms. he likewise engag'd him to make a proposition to the parliament of bourdeaux , to consent to the putting of the baron of batteville and the spaniards in possession of the city and castle of bourg , which they offer'd to fortifie . during these transactions , fontrailles was sent from the duke of orleance to the prince , to see the state of his affairs , and to inform him , that the parl●ament of paris was ready to joyn with his royal higness to oppose cardin●l mazarin's return ; and that his said highness was desirous to act joyn●ly with him in that affair . fontrailles likewise propos'd to him a reconciliation with the ●oadjutor , saying , that the duke of orleance de●ir'd it earnestly . the prince made no positive answer to that article , whether it were that he could take no certain measure with the coadjutor , or whether he thought that those he should take would not be approv'd by madame de longuevill● and by the duke de la rochefoucault , to whom 〈◊〉 had made a promise never to be reconcil'd to th● coadjutor without their approbation . howeve● he told fontrailles , that he would do what the duk● of orleance desird when those affairs should b● somewhat riper , and when that reconcilia●io● might be of use for the common good of th● party . at this very time count marsin joyn'd the princ● at la bergerie , and brought along with him a thou●sand foot , and three hundred horse of the bes● forces he had in the army of catalonia , which h● commanded . many have blam'd this action , and look'd upon it as a piece of treason : for my part , without taking upon me to condemn , or defend it , i shall barely relate , that marsin having long been devoted to the prince's service , had receiv'd the government of bellegarde ( which place belong●d to him ) from him , and that afterwards he had not only protected him in the service , but by his credit he had obtain'd the vice-roy-ship of catal●nia , and the government of tortose for him , in which he serv'd the king with great loyalty , and good fortune . and when the prince was made a prisoner , marsin , who was taken up at the same time , was tax'd with no other crime than being his creature . nay more , his government of tortose being given to launay gringelinere , he suffer'd it to be taken soon after . marsin's confinement lasted as long as the prince's , and after his being put at liberty , he remain'd some time without any employment : but the affairs of catalonia being in an ill posture , and the court being at a loss to find a person capable to redress them , marsin was propos'd for the second time by the prince , and the duke de la rochefoucault made the overture of it to monsieur le tellier , without marsin's solliciting in the least for 〈◊〉 it was impossible for him to defer his journey ●nto catalonia , to expect the issue of the doubtful things that pass'd at the court , which were more likely to be decided by an accommodation , than by a civil war. therefore he set forward towards his new employment , for which he was solely oblig'd to the prince , who had likewise lately given him the government of stenay , which was vacant by the death of la moussaie . so that this action of marsin may bear two very different constru●tions : those who will consider him abandoning ● province the king had entrusted him with , will find him very disloyal ; and those who will look upon him running after most pressing , and almost indispensible obligations , will believe him a very worthy gentleman . few persons of sense will dare to say that he is guilty , or declare him innocent . in fine , both those that are against him , and those that favour him , will agree in pitying of him ; the one , for a fault he was necessitated to commit ; the others , for having acquitted himself of what he ow'd , by a fault . the court was at that time at poitiers , as i have said , and monsieur de chateauneuf possess'd in appearance the first place in affairs , altho' the cardinal still possess'd it in effect . nevertheless this old man's firm , decisive , familiar way of proceeding directly opposite to the cardinal 's , began to give a relish to his ministry , and even began to please the queen . the cardinal was too well inform'd thereof to suffer him to gain any more ground ; and it is very probable that he judg'd his return absolutely necessary to remedy the evil he dreaded in his own particular , since otherwise he little consulted the interest of the state ; in so much that thereby he afforded the duke of orleance , and the parliament of paris a pretence to declare against the court. the marshal d' hoquincourt was order'd to receive cardinal mazarin upon the frontiers luxemburg with horse , and to attend 〈◊〉 where the king should be . he cross'd the kin●●dom without the least molestation , and arriv'd poitiers as much master of the court as he had 〈◊〉 been . they affected to give monsieur de cha●ea●neuf little share in this return , but still witho●● altering any thing in the rest as to the ex●e●iou● o● giving him the least mark of disfavour . th● cardinal himself made some advances to him , bu● he being unwilling to expose himself , and con●●●dering that it was neither safe , nor honourable fo● a man of his age and experience , to continue 〈◊〉 the management of affairs under his enemy , an● that he should undoubtedly continually be expos'● to whatever mortifications he should be pleas'd t● impose upon him ; he took this pretence to retire that whereas , by his advice , it had been resolv'● that the king should remove to angouléme , tha● design was alter'd without having communicated it to him ; and at the same time the siege of an●gers resolv'd upon , contrary to his sentiments : i● so much that having taken his leave of the king he retir'd to tours . the court departed soon after to go to anger 's , where the duke de la rochefoucault had made the people rise , and that province had declar'd it self for the prince , at the very time that the duke of orleance and the pa●liament of paris joyn'd with him against the court. all france seem'd in suspence , in expectation of the event of that siege , which might have produc'd great consequences , had the defence of it prov'd long enough , or vigorous enough to stop the king. for besides that , the prince thereby might have secur'd the best places , and best neighbouring provinces , it is most certain that the example of the duke of orleance , and of the parliament of paris , would have been follow'd by the most considerable part of the kingdom . in effect , had the court been forc'd to raise that siege , it would have been reduc'd to great extreams , and the king's person had been expos'd to great dangers● had it happen'd at the time the duke of nemours entred france with the army from flanders and the prince's old troops , without meeting any resistance . this army pass'd the river seine at m●nte , where the duke of beaufort , who commanded the duke of orleance's forces , joyn'd the said duke of nemours , and together march'd with an army of foot , and horse , towards the river loire , where they were certain of blois and orleance . but whether anger 's were not in a condition to hold out a siege , by the division of the inhabitants , or whether the duke de rohan was unwilling to venture his life and fortune in confiding in people that seem'd wavering and astonish'd , he deliver'd up the place to the king without much resistance , and was allow'd to retire to the duke of orleance at paris . things were in this condition when the prince remov'd from la bergerie , where he had remain'd three weeks , without count d' harcourt's , who was on the other side of the river at tonay charante , and master of the bridge of boats , having undertaken any thing against him . nevertheless as the number and goodness of his forces was very much inferiour to the king's army , he avoided the occasions of being constrain'd to so unequal a combat . to that end he march'd to la bernette , three leagues distant from the king's army , in order to have more time to consider in case they should march up to him . he remain'd there some time without any considerable action on either side : but finding that far from making any progress in that country , he was not able to remain there in sight of count d' harcourt , he turn'd all his thoughts to the preservation of guienne , and to fortifie the cities that were in his party . to that end he resolvd to march thither with his army , and believ'd himself capable to maintain saintonge for some time , in leaving on the one side the count du doignon in the garrisons , the spaniards at talmont , and the prince of tarente in saintes and taillebourg , to hasten their fortifications . having thus given his orders , he caus'd his infantry , and his baggage to march to talmont , in order to be transported by sea to bourdeaux , and after a long march with his cavalry the first day , he stopt the second at st. andras , within four leagues of bourdeaux , believing himself without the enemy's reach . but count d' harcourt , who had follow'd him close , arriv'd within sight of his quarter , when he least suspected it , and would certainly have forc'd it , had his foremost troops entred it without hesitation ; whereas they plac'd themselves in battalia over against st. andras , whilst the others attack'd the quarter of baltazar , who repuls'd them with vigour , and came to joyn the prince , who got on horse back at the very first noise . they remain'd some time in sight , but the night proving very dark , there was no combat , and the prince retir'd without any loss , being more oblig'd to the enemies over-great precaution for his safety , than to his own . count d' harcourt follow'd him no farther , and the prince persisting in the design of going to bergerac , in order to fortifie it , pass'd at libourne , of which the count of maure was governour , and left orders with him for the continuation of some out-works . the marshal de la force arriv'd at bergerac just as he did , with his son the marquess of castelnau , who commanded there ; and the duke de la rochefoucault , who was come back from the upper guienne , with the prince of conty , repair'd thither also . at that time those factions and partialities began to appear at bourdeaux , which ruin'd the prince's party in guienne , divided his house , and separated hi● nearest relations from his interests , the which finally reduc'd him to seek a retreat among the spaniards , for whom he has often sav'd flanders . i will relate the causes of so great a change as briefly as i can , in its proper place , when i come to rehearse the effects thereof . at present i pass to the recital of what the prince did during that interval . his chief care was speedily to repair the towns of guienne , and particularly to put bergerac in a condition of defence : he employ'd some days about it with great application , at which time he receiv'd intelligence that his affairs decay'd in saintonge ; that the count du doignon was shut up within his garrisons , and durst not peep out of them , through his us●al jealousies ; that the prince of tarente , on his side , had receiv'd some disadvantage in a combat near pons ; that saintes , which he judg'd capable of sustaining a long siege , by the works that had been made there , and by reason of the garrison , which was compos'd of his best forces , had notwitstanding surrender'd it self , without any considerable defence ; and that taillebourg was besieg'd , and ready to follow the example of saintes . he was moreover inform'd , that the marquess of st. luc assembled a body in order to oppose the prince of conty , who had taken caudecôte , and some other places of small consequence . this last evil was the only one he could any ways remedy ; but whereas the marquess was ●●ill at a distance from the prince of conty , he did not think it proper to pass into the upper guienne , without being more particularly inform'd of what pass'd at bourdeaux : to which end , he writ to the princess , and to madame de longueville to repair to libourne , where he arriv'd at the same time with them . he only tarry'd there a day , and gave what orders he could to prevent the progress of the evil , which division began to create in his party , and in his family . after which , he went away with the duke de la rochefoucault to joyn the prince of conty , who was at staffort , four leagues beyond agen ; and being inform'd by a courier near libourne , that st. luc was marching towards staffort , he judg'd his presence would be very necessary there , and therefore advanc'd with all the speed imaginable , and found the prince of conty , who assembled his quarters , being perswaded that st. luc would attack him . this marquess being at miradoux with the regiments of champayne and lorrain , his cavalry being lodg'd apart in villages and farms , on a sudden the prince resolv'd to march all night , to surprize the quarters of his cavalry , and set insta●tly forward with the duke de la rochefoucault : and tho' the way were long , and the road bad , he arriv'd before day at a bridge , where the enemy had a guard of twelve or fifteen horse . he caus'd them immediately to be charg'd , and those who made their escape , having alarm'd all the rest , they got on horse-back . some squadrons fac'd him near miradoux , the which he charg'd , and easily broke them . six regiments were defeated , and he took abundance of equipage , and many prisoners ; after which he retir'd towards miradoux , a small city situate on the top of a hill , of which it contains one half , and has no other fortification than an ill dith , and a single wall , to which the houses are adjoyning . at break of day st. luc plac'd all his forces in battalia upon a level before the gate of the town . the prince tarry'd at the bottom of the hill for those the prince of conty was to bring him , which arriv'd soon after : but whereas the ascent is pretty steep , and very long , and that the soil is fat in winter time , and 〈◊〉 with ditches and furrows , the prince judg'd it was impossible to march up to the enemies in battalia , without disording himself , nay , without breaking himself before he could come up to them . therefore he only caused his infantry to advance instantly , and forc'd the enemy's to retire from some posts they had possess'd themselves of , by firing at them . two or three squadrons also engag'd , and the whole day past in skirmishes , st. lu● not quitting the high ground he was posted upon , and the prince not thinking it fit to attack him in so advantageous a post without canon , which he could not have until the next day . he order'd two pieces to be sent for , and in the mean time judging that the report of his arrival would surprize his enemies more than the advantage he had gain'd over them , he set some prisoners at liberty , in order to carry the news of it to st. luc , which soon produc'd the effect he expected ; for the souldiers were terrify'd at it , and it caus'd such a consternation even among the officers , that they had hardly patience to tar●y till night , to conceal their retreat , and fly to ley●oure . the prince , who had ●ore-seen this retreat , plac'd corps de guard so near the enemy's , that notice was given him of their retreat as soon as they mov'd ; but it may be said , that his extream diligence hindred him from defeating them absolutely ; for without tarrying until the foot was got into the road , where he might have cut them in pieces with ease , he charg'd them upon the edge of the ditch of miradoux , and falling with sword in hand upon the battalion of champayne and lorraine , he overthrew them into the ditch , where they demanded quarter , flinging down their arms. but whereas it was impossible to get at them on horse-back , they found means to get into miradoux again , not with a design to defend the place , but to save their lives . the prince of conty fought all along next the prince his brother , who follow'd the marquess of st. luc and the runaways , as far as leytoure , and then came back to invest miradoux , into which major-general marins , cominges , together with several other officers were got . the prince caus'd them to be summon'd , not imagining that a beaten party , without ammunition , o● provisions , would undertake to defend so weak a place . and indeed they offer'd immediately to surrender it ; but the prince , who was unwilling to let such good infantry escape , and did not value the place , insisted to have them prisoners of war , or to oblige them not to serve in six months time ; which conditions appear'd so hard to them , that they resolv'd to defend the place themselves , and to make amends for the shame they had suffer'd the day before , instead of augmenting it by such a capitulation . they found moreover that the inhabitants had provisions , and consider'd that the prince was not in a condition to make lines : they believ'd that it would be easie to send them powder , match , and lead , as indeed the marquess of st. luc did the following day , and still continu'd to refresh them with all necssaries , as long as the siege lasted . during these transactions the prince sent back the prince of conty to bourdeaux , and soon found that it had been better for him to receive miradoux on the conditions that were offer'd him , than to engage on a siege , wanting every thing , as he did , not so much as being certain to get any canon . however as we are often necessitated to continue cal●ly what we have begun in a heat , he resolv'd to persist in his enterprize to the end , hoping thereby to astonish his enemies . to that end he got two pieces of ordnance from agen , the one a ten , and the other a twelve pounder , with a small quantity of balls ; he imagining that number sufficient to make a breach , and take the town by storm , before count d' harcourt who was on his march thither , could come up to him . he made himself master of some houses pr●tty near the gates , where those two pieces of ordnance were plac'd in a battery , and did a great deal of execution in the walls ; but the balls not holding out , he was forc'd to give souldiers money to gather up the balls that had been shot , out of the ditches . the enemies made a pretty good defence , considering their scarcity of ammunition , and they made two sallies with a great deal of vigour . in fine , the breach began to appear reasonable , and the wall being fallen with houses that were adjoyning to it , had made a considerable overture ; but this rubbish serv'd the besieged instead of a new retrenchment , by reason that the top of the house where the breach was made being fallen into the cellar , they set it on fire , and retrench'd themselves on the other side ; in so much that this burning cellar became a ditch , impossible to be cross'd . this obstacle stop'd the prince , who was unwilling to hazard an attack , which certainly would have discourag'd his men , and encourag'd his enemies . therefore he resolv'd to make another breach in a place where the houses had no cellars , and had not fir'd above a day against it , when he was inform'd that count d' harcourt was marching towards him , and would be the next day at miradoux . their forces being too unequal to hazard a combat , he was forc'd to raise the siege , and to retire to staffort , where he arriv'd without having been pursued . this city is neither larger , nor stronger than miradoux , but whereas count d' harcourt was on the other side of the garonne , and that he could only cross it at auvilars , the prince being master of the other side of the country , separated his quarters , supposing it was sufficient to place some near auvilars , and to order parties to be continually detach'd on that side , to be in●orm'd of whatever the enemies should undertake . but he did not consider , that new forces , and new officers generally execute what is commanded them in a very different manner from those who have more experience : and this order , which would have been sufficient to secure a camp , was like to ruin the prince , and to expose him to the shame of being surpriz'd and defeated ; by reason that none of the parties that were commanded follow'd his orders , but instead of getting intelligence of count d' harcourt's motions , they fell a pillaging the neighbouring villages , in so much that he cross'd the river , and march'd in battalia in the middle of the prince's quarters , and came within a quarter of a league of the place where he was , before any alarm was given , or he receiv'd the least notice of it . finally , some men that had been pursu'd having brought him this news with the usual consternation on such occasions , he mounted on horse-back , follow'd b● marsin , the duke de la rochefoucault , and the marquess of montespan , to observe the enemies designs , but before he had gone five hundred yards , he saw that their squadrons detach'd themselves in order to attack his quarters . in this extremity he immediately sent orders to his farthest quarters ●o get on horse-back , and to joyn his infantry which was encamp'd under staffort , the which he caus'd to march to boüe , there to cross the garonne in boats , and to retire to agen. he sent all his baggage to st. mary's , having left a captain and threescore musqueteers at staffort , with a piece of canon , which he could not carry along with him . count d' harcourt made no better use of this advantage than he had done before at ton●y-charante , and at st. andras ; for instead of pursuing the prince , and of falling upon him in the disorder of a retreat he made without horse , being moreover constrain'd ●o cross the garonne to secure himself , he stopt to invest that quarter which was nearest to staffort , call'd le pergan , where three or four hundred horse of the prince's and the general 's guards were lodg'd , and thus allow'd him twelve or thirteen hours , of which he employ'd the best part at b●●● , in causing his men to cross the river in the greatest disorder imaginable , in so much that had they been attack'd , they had certainly been cut to pieces● sometime after the prince's arrival at agen with all his infant●y , some squadrons appear'd on the other side of the river , which were advanc'd in order to take some baggage , which was ready to cross the river ; but they were repuls'd with vigour by horse of the regiment of mon●●span , which afforded time enough to some boats fill'd with musqueteers to cross over to them , and to force the enemies to retire . that very day the prince receiv'd intelligence that his horse was arriv'd at st. mary , without having fought , or lost any part of his equipage , and that his guards defended themselves still in le pergan , where it was impossible to succour them . the next day they yielded themselves prisoners of war ; and that was the only advantage count d' harcourt drew from an occasion , in which his fortune , and the negligence of the prince's men had offer'd him an entire victory . these ill successes were soon follow'd by the sedition of agen , the which oblig'd the prince to turn his greatest hopes towards paris , and to make it the seat of war , as i shall relate in the sequel . the war was maintain'd in guienne much more through the vigilance and reputation of the prince of conde , than by the valour and number of his forces ; and count d' harcourt by his conduct and fortune had already repair'd all the disadvantage which the marquess of st. luc's defeat at miradoux had occasion'd . the siege of miradoux was rais'd ; the prince of conde's guards , and three or four hundred horse had been taken at le pergan , and the prince of conde himself with the rest of his forces had been constrain'd to quit s●affort , and to cross the river garonne at boüe , and to retire at agen : but the divisions of that city soon made that prince sensible that it would no longer remain in his party , than while constrain'd to it by his presence , or a strong garrison . and therefore he resolv'd to throw the regiment of foot , of conty into it , and to take possession of one of the gates of the city , in order to oblige the people to receive a garrison : but whereas this design was not kept secret , it was soon rumour'd throughout the city . upon which the inhabitants immediately betook themselves to their arms , and made barricadoes ; the prince of conde being inform'd therewith , got on horse-back , to stop the tumult by his presence , and to remain master of the gate of grave until the aforesaid regiment had taken possession of it : but the arrival of the souldiers increas'd the disorder , instead of appeasing it : they entred and made a halt in the first street , and tho' the prince of conde , the prince of conty , and all the officers endeav'd to appease the disorder , they could not hinder the streets from being barricado'd in a moment . however the people still preserv'd their respect towards the prince of conde , and towards all the general officers , but at the same time the animosity increas'd in all places where his presence was wanting . it was impossible that things should remain long in that condition ; the souldiers , as i have already related , had taken possession of the gate of grave , and half the adjoyning street ; the people were in arms , all the streets were barricado'd , and corps ●e guards plac'd every where ; night drew on , which would have increas'd the disorder , and the prince of conde found himself necessitated either to quit the town shamefully , or cause it to be p●ilag'd and burnt , either of which apparently would have ruin'd his affairs : for if he quitted the town , the king's forces would be receivd into it , and if he burnt it , it would occasion the revolt of the whole province against him . those reasons induc'd him to endeavour an accommodation , which in appearance might save his authority , and serve for a pretence to pardon the inhabitants of agen. the duke de la rochefoucault spoke to some of the most considerable citizens , and prevail'd with them to go to the town-hall , there to depute some among them to the prince to beg his pardon , and to intreat him to come to their assembly , there to prescribe the means to preserve agen in the submission and loyalty they had sworn to him . the prince accordingly went thither , and told them , that it had always been his intention to preserve their freedom entire ; and that the only end for which he had sent souldiers thither , was to ease them , and help them to guard the city ; but that since they did not desire it , he was willing to remove them , provided the city would raise a regiment of foot at their own charge , and give him the names of the officers . these conditions were easily agreed to ; the barricado's were remov'd , the souldiers march'd out again , and the city remain'd in appearance as quiet and full of submission , as it was before the sedition . the prince of conde , who could not confide in those appearances , remain'd some time in agen , to put the city in its former state again ; at which time he receiv'd the news , that the army from flanders , commanded by the duke of nemours , and the duke of orleance's forces , commanded by the duke of beaufort , were joyn'd , and on their march towards the river loire . this joy was notwithstanding mix'd with some disquiet : on the one hand , he saw an army from spain , he had so long expected , in the middle of the kingdom , which might come to the relief of montro●d , or to joyn with him in guienne : but at the same time he was also inform'd that the dukes of nemours and of beaufort could no ways agree , and that their division was grown to a very dangerous pitch . their armies being separate , it was impossible for them to keep the field before the king's army , commanded by the marshals of turenne and hoquincourt , reinforc'd by the troops ●he cardinal had brought along with him , besides the neighbourhood of the court. the duke of nemours's orders were to cross the river of loire , in order to relieve montrond , and to march immediately towards guienne ; whereas the orders the duke of beaufort daily receiv'd from the duke of orleance were directly opposite . monsieur could not consent that the army should march away so far from paris , fearing lest the people , or the parliament should alter their minds , seeing the duke of nemours's army march into guienne , while the king 's remain'd in their neighbourhood . the coadjutor of paris , in whom monsieur confided most at that time , seconded this advice , and augmented the fear and natural i●resolutions of that prince . by keeping the army on this side the river loire , he made it of no use to the prince of conde , whose enemy he was , and made himself more considerable at court , by shewing that being master of monsieur's conduct , it was in his power to advance or keep back the progress of the army ; and thus omitted no means to obtain a cardinal's cap. chavigny on his side harbour'd as great designs ; he expected to govern monsieur , by making him sen●●●le that ●e govern'd the prince ; and flatter'd him●●●● to become master of the prince's conduct , by shewing him he was master of monsieur's . his projects did not stop there ; from the very beginning of the war he had taken his measures to become ● negotiator of peace , and had united himself to the duke of ro●an , believing that he might be equally useful to him with monsieur , and with the prince : he likewise thought he had taken all necessary precautions towards the cardinal by means of fabret , governour of sedan ; and whereas he ●ut no bounds to his ambition and his hopes , he did not question but in making a particular peace , he should be chosen with the cardinal , to conclude the general peace . he fancy'd moreover that making use of the credit the prince of conde could give him among the spaniards , he should have all the credit of the good successes , and the cardinal on the contrary all the shame , and blame of ●he ill events : and that thus he should enter into the ministry of affairs again , either with the glory of having concluded the peace , or with the advantage of laying the blame of it on mazarin , in case it should not be effected . in order thereunto he writ several times to the prince to press him to quit guienne ; he represented to him , how necessary his presence was in the army ; that in suffering it to be destroy'd , he would lose his last stake ; but that in making progresses in the heart of the kingdom , and in the king's sight , he would not only immediately retrieve his affairs in guienne , but all the rest of his party . the prince of conde suffer'd himself easily to be perswaded by chavigny's reasons ; but the principal motive which induc'd him to it , was his desire of quitting guienne at a time when the weakness of his army oblig'd him continually to fly before count d' harcourt . he communicated his design to the duke de la rochefoucault , and to marsin ; both of them represented to him equally , what was to be fear●d , and hop'd for , in so doing , without giving him any advice about it ; but at the same time both desir'd earnestly to follow him . he chose the duke de la rochefoucault to accompany him , and left marsin with the prince of conty , relying absolutely upon his care for the maintaining his party in guienne , and the preserving of bourdeaux , not only among the divisions that had been fomented among the people , and in the parliament , but also to hinder the separate interests of the prince of conty , and of madame de longueville from augmenting their mis-understandings , and thereby cause the loss of that city , in which affairs were in the state i am going to relate . the inhabitants were divided in two cabals : the rich citizens compos'd the one , who were resolv'd to maintain the authority of their magistrates , and to render themselves so considerable , and so necessary in the city , that the prince and parliament might look upon them as those who could most contribute towards their preservation . the other cabal consisted of the meanest , and most seditious part of the city , who having often assembled themselves without any design at a place near the castle of the ha , call'd l' hormee , at last took the name of it themselves . the parliament was as much divided as the people ; the members of that body who were against the court were divided in two factions ; the one was call'd the great fronde , and the other the small one . altho' both of them agreed in being for the prince , they were very much opposite in all the rest : in the beginning l' hormee had been united to both , and had often separated from it according to the divers motives of interest , which commonly sway those sor● of people : but in the end the prince of conty and the dutchess of longueville being unhappily ●allen out , augmented the credit and insolence of that faction to that degree , in order to draw them on their side , that thereby they advanc'd the loss of the party , in exasperating the parliament , and the rest of the people , and in giving way to several plots , and other contrivances of the court , which finally brought bourdeaux back to its former allegiance to the king. i shall only speak en pas●ent of the subjects which occasion'd all these disorders , without entring upon the particulars of many things , that cannot be written . the prince of conty having suffer'd himself to be perswaded by some of his people , who were gain'd by cardinal mazarin , to fall out publickly with the dutchess of longueville , upon pretences , which good manners , and consanguinity should have oblig'd him to conceal ; out of hatred to one another , they kindled the fury of the hormee , and sacrific'd , in so many occasions , the greatest advantage of the party to their passions and private animosities ; that instead of establishing their authority , thereby to make themselves useful to the prince , as they both design'd to do , they contributed to the disorders and seditions of the people , to that degree , that they were reduc'd themselves to abandon the prince , and to submit to whatever conditions the court was pleas'd to impose upon them . the duke de la rochefoucault , being sensible , by a long experience , that their mutual grandeur depended on their union , had made it his business to maintain it among them , none being so cap●ble of doing it as himself , ever since the war of paris . but at that time madame de longueville imagin'd that it would be more for her advantage , to take new measures , and it happen'd that the means she made use of to that end , caus'd a division between her and her brothers . the prince of conty was inclin●d to a peace , being weary , and tyr'd with a war in which he had only engag'd himself to oblige the dutchess of longueville , which he repented of , as soon as ever he fell out with her . he has alledg'd since , in order to his justification , that the p●ince , after having sign'd a writing , by which he oblig'd himself not to make a treaty without obtaining the government of provence for him , had notwithstanding , absolutely neglected his interests . but the real cause of his falling off , was that animosity , i have mention'd , against his sister , the which transported him to a degree of passion and jealousie against her , that had been much more excusable in a lover than a brother . on the other hand , altho' the prince of conde spoke less than he about the dutchess of longueville's conduct , he was as much dissatisfy'd about it in his heart ; he was sensible of her engagements with the duke of nemours , and what it had been like to produce against his real interests ; and he fear'd moreover she might enter into new ones , which might yet prove of worse consequence for him . that which augmented the dutchess of longueville's trouble at that time was , that she thought it impossible ever to be reconcil'd to her husband , by reason of the ill impressions he had receiv'd about her ; and by his being perswaded that she had too great a share in that war. she had likewise vainly attempted to be reconcil'd to the court by the princess palatin's intermission . in so much that finding her self equally ruin'd on all sides , she imagin'd the only means to re-establish her self was to fo●m a party in bourdeaux , that might prove so powerful , as to recocer her credit with the prince of conde , or with the court. to that end she judg'd nothing so proper , as to joyn with l' hormee , and to engage the most considerable persons into the same party . on the contrary , the prince of conty , to 〈◊〉 his vengeance , us●d all his endeavours to ●●in his sister●s credit among the most considerable of that faction , in order to engage them on his ●●●e , chusing rather to permit them all manner of ●xcesses , than to suffer them to be engag'd with a person he was so much exasperated against . there●ore the prince of conde fore-seeing what this great opposition of sentiments was going to produce in his party , judging also that this animosity and division would increase by his absence , left marsin , as i have said before , in order to remedy as much as in him lay those great disorders , and on all occasions to hinder the prince of conty and the dutchess of longueville from undertaking any thing which might prove prejudicial to him during his absence . so that having regulated with marsin , and with laisne what related to the army in guienne , the cabals of bourdeaux , and those of his family , he sent for the prince of conty to agen ; and leaving him the management of all things , he desir'd him to follow the counsels of marsin and laisne . he also seem'd to repose a great deal of confidence in the president viole , tho' in reality he was perswaded that he left no body in bourdeaux , in whom he could truly confide , besides the two first i have nam'd . having thus dispos'd all things , he prepar'd for his departure from agen , in order to joyn the duke of nemours's army . this journey was long , and accompany'd with difficulties one could hardly expect to overcome . count d' harcourt was near agen , and there were too many royalists in the city , not to give him notice of the prince's departure . even those of his own party had suspected this journey , and it had been rumour'd about before it was resolv'd upon . he was to travel about sixscore leagues upon the same horses : count d' harcourt might not only cause the prince to be follow'd by parties , but besides might have given the court a speedy account of his march , and order'd all the cities and garrisons thereabouts to oppose his passage : moreover the prince could not trust many with his design , and a small attendance was not capable to secure him : he was besides oblig'd to perswade every body , that he was going to bourdeaux , and to hinder the officers of the army from accompanying him , under pretence that might not discover his real intention . to that end he left the prince of conty at agen , and pretending to go to bourdeaux for two or three days only , he commanded all the officers and voluntie●s to remain at agen with his brother . he departed from thence on palm-sunday at noon , with the duke de la rochefoucault , the p●ince of marsillac , guitault , chavaignac , gourville , and a valet de chambre . the marquess of levy ●arry'd for him with horses at languais , one of the duke of bouillon's houses , where bercenes , captain of the duke de la r●chefoucault's guards , likewise met them : and whereas the marquess of levy had a pasport from count d' harcourt , to retire to his house in auvergne with his attendance , the prince of conde , and those that accompany'd him , pass'd with him , as if they had been those very servants whose names were incerted in the said pasport , tho' at last he resolv'd not to make use of it . the greatest fatigue of that journey was the extraordinary speed he was oblig'd to make , marching day and night , and almost always upon the same horses , and without ever staying two hours in one and the same place , either to sleep , or refresh himself . they baited at two or three gentlemen's houses , friends to the marquess of levy , there to rest some few hours , and to buy horses ; but those gentlemen were so far from suspecting the prince of conde to be what ●e was , that at one of their meals , at which time people speak their thoughts with most freedom , he was inform'd of some things that concern'd his nearest relations , which pe●haps till then he had been ignorant of . in fine , after having march'd through the vice-county of turenne , and through charlies in auvergne , he arriv'd on the saturday at night at bec-d ' alier , within two leagues of la charité , where he cross'd the river loire without any hindrance , altho' two troops of horse were quarter'd in la charité , commanded by bussy rabu●in . from thence he dispatch'd gourville to p●ru to acquaint his royal highness and chavigny with his coming ; he past easter-day in cosnes , where there was a guard kept ; and whereas the court was at gien , he told every body , that he and his companions were going to the king. however concluding that it would be impossible for him to follow the road of the court long without being discover'd , he resolv'd to quit it , to take the road that goes to chastillon : he was in danger of repenting his not having done it sooner ; for having met two couriers , one of them kn●w guitault , and tho' he made no stop to speak to him , his countenance alter'd sufficiently , to perswade him that he suspected the prince to be there . he was soon after fully inform'd about it , for having met the prince's valet de chambre ● who lag'd behind , he stopt him , and threatning to kill him , he learnt that his suspicion was well grounded . this accident not only oblig'd the prince to quit the road immedia●ely , but also to leave bercenes , captain of the duke de la rochefoucault's guards , in some ruin'd buildings that stood near a bridge , in order to kill the courier , in case he came that way , which seem'd to be his nearest , to inform the court of the prince of conde's march : but his good fortune made him take another way , whereby he soon carry'd the news of what he had seen to gien . whereupon st. maure was commanded with twenty horse to way-lay the prince between chastillon and the duke of nemours's army , and to take him dead or alive . the prince of conde being sensible that the meeting of the aforesaid courier would infallibly discover his passage , march'd with all speed towards chastillon : but whereas we were necessitated to travel leagues that day , without changing our horses , the necessity of baiting made us lose a great deal of time , and afforded st. maure time enough to come up to us . moreover the prince was like to be taken by another accident ; for being arriv'd at the canal of briare , he met the quarter-masters of two or three regiments of horse , who were coming to take up quarters there ; and whereas the whole body was coming thither from different places , it was very difficult to take a safe way . chavaignac , who was acquainted with a gentleman thereabouts , call'd la bruslerie , resolv'd to go to him , and took guitault along with ●im , in order to get some provisions for the prince of conde : but that day being destin'd for adventures , just as chavaignac was going out of that house in search of the master thereof , an officer of the aforemention'd regiments arriv'd there , and all that the mistress of the house could do , dreading a disorder in her house , by the encounter of persons of different parties , was to send her daughter to guitault to give him notice that an officer belonging to the king's forces was arriv'd there . in the mean while , the prince , who expected news from chavaignac , and from guitault , had been oblig'd to remove from the place where they had left him , by the arrival of these forces . he had sent his val●t de chambre to chastillon , to order the keeper of the park to keep the door open ; and thus he was only attended by the duke de la rochefoucault and the prince of marsillac . however they continu'd their march still towards chastillon . the prince of marsillac went a hundred paces before the prince , and the duke de la rochefoucault follow'd him at the same distance , to the end that being warn'd by either of them , he might have some advantage to make his escape . they had not travel'd long in this manner , when they heard the firing of some pistols on that side where the valet de chambre was gone , and at the same time discover'd four troopers on their left hand ; upon which concluding they were pursu'd , they resolv'd to charge those four men , and march'd up to them with a resolution to suffer themselves to be kill'd rather than taken . but being come nearer to them , they found it was chavaignac , who was in search of them with three gentlemen ; and they arriv'd together at chastillon without any danger . the prince of conde receiv'd tidings there of the army he was going to joyn , and was inform'd that it lay towards lory , near the forest of orleance , within eight leagues of chastillon ; he heard moreover that ten or twelve chevaux-legers of the king's guard , together with some officers were at that time at chastillon ; whereupon he resolv'd to remove from thence about midnight with speed , with a guide for lory . this guide had like to have occasion'd his ruin ; for after a long march , he found that he was but within a short league of gien , in so much that going about to quit that road , to tu●n towards lory , the prince pass'd within thirty yards of the place where st. maure lay in wait for him : but whether he did not know him , or durst not charge him , nothing oppos'd his passage , and he arriv'd at lory , where he heard certain news of his army , which was but two leagues distant from them . altho● he conceal'd himself with the same precautions he had us'd elsewhere , both he and the duke de la rochefoucaul● were discover'd by several inhabitants of the place , of which many were the king 's and the duke of orleance's servants . but this prov'd an advantage instead of a prejudice to him , for some of them got on horse-back , with him , and accompany'd him to the army . he met the vanguard at the entrance of the forest of orleance ; some troopers coming up to him , and he having discover'd himself to them , the whole army was surpriz'd with an excess of joy that cannot be express'd . his presence had never been so necessary as it was at that time , and had never been less expected . the animosity between the dukes of nemours and beaufort daily increas'd , and thereby the sole prop of the party daily perish'd through the division of the chiefs , at a time when the presence of the king , and his army , should have oblig'd them most to prefer the publick good to their particular quarrels . the prince was too much concern'd to put an end to those differences , not to endeavour it with all the earnestness imaginable , which he effected the more easily , by reason that his arrival taking the command from them , at the same time it remov'd the main cause of their jealousie and hatred . affairs standing in this condition , the army march'd to lory , where they rested a day , three or four days more were employ'd in going to montargis , which surrender'd without any resistance . the army soon quitted that place , by reason that it was stor'd with corn and wine , which might be of use , upon occasion ; as also to sh●w an example of mildness , which might prove advantageous to his party in the other cities . the army march'd from montargis , and went to chateau-renard : gourville arriv'd there at the same time from paris , to give the prince an account of his friends s●ntiments about his conduct towards monsieur , and towards the parliament . their advices prov'd very different , for some counsel'd him to remain with the army , by reason that the reso●●●ions of the duke of orleance , and of the parliament would always depend on the event of that war ; and that while he should be at the head of a victorious army , the king●s power would reside in his hands : whereas in going to paris , he took away from his forces the reputation which his presence had given them , since he was necessitated to leave the command thereof to the same persons , whose division and incapacity had been like to produce such great disorders . chavigny on the contrary assur'd the prince that his presence was absolutely necessary in paris ; that the cabals of ●he court , and of the cardinal of rets , daily increas'd in the parliament ; and that finally they would infallibly engage the duke of orleance on their side , unless the prince came in person to free him from his dependency on them , and to put the duke of rohan and chavigny in possession of a place they could no longer dispute with the cardinal of r●ts without him . they all in general agreed , preferably to all other things , to undertake some considerable action against the king's army , all depending on a successful event . at that very time the prince of conde receiv'd intelligence that the marshal of hoquincourt's brigade lay still in separate quarters , pretty near chateau●renard , and that the next day it was to joyn again with marshal de turenne's . whereupon he resolv'd immediately to march up with all his army to marshal d' hoquincourt's , before he could have time to assemble his forces , to retire towards marshal de turenne ; and the success answe●'d his expectation . he entred first into two quarters , which alarm'd the rest ; b●t that did not hinder him from taking five of them one after another : the four first hardly made any resistance , but the m●rshal d' hoquincourt having plac'd himself in battalia with horse upon the border of a brook , which could only be cross'd one man of a breast upon a very narrow decay'd bank , seem'd resolv'd to dispu●e that passage ; yet no●withstanding the duke of nemours had no sooner past this defile with three or four men , but the marshal , who judg'd that all the army was there , retir'd behind that quarter , and suffer'd it to be pillag'd , placing himself in battle again , in hop●s of an opportunity to charge them during the pl●nder . this quarter made no more resistance than the others , but whereas those houses were cover'd with thatch , they being set on fire , the marshal d' hoquincourt soon discover'd by that light the number of the forces that were past ; and finding that there was not above one hundred horse , he advanc'd to charge them with above . the p●ince of conde observing this cavalry that was falling upon him , strait form'd a squadron of what men he had about him , and march'd up to his e●emy with so unequal a number , that i● seem'd , as if chance had assembled all the general officers of his army in that place , to make him s●nsible , what a loss he might have sustain'd by an ill event . the fi●st rank , in which he fought himself , was compos'd of the dukes of nemours , of beaufort , and de la rochefoucault , the prince of marsillac , the marquess of clinchant , who commanded the spanish forces , count tavannes , lieutenant-general , of guitault , gaucourt , and some other officers : both the squadrons fir'd at a small distance , and yet neither of them gave ground ; but two others having soon after charg'd the prince's , the duke of nemours was shot through the body with a pistol , and his horse kill'd under him . the prince of conde's squadron , not being able to sustain two charges so close to one another , ●etird an hundred steps in disorder towards the quarter that was on fire ; but the prince , and the general oflicers who were with him , riding up to the said squadron , stopt it . the enemies contented themselves with having 〈◊〉 it give ground , without breaking it : some officers and a few troopers only advanc'd , and the prince of marsillac , who chanc'd to be twelve or fifteen yards behind the squadron that gave ground , turn'd back upon an officer , whom he ●●●●'d between the two squadrons . the prince of conde , as i have declar'd already , stopt his , and forc'd it to turn back upon his enemies , who had not dar'd to pursue it , for fear of its being sustain'd by some infantry . during this disorder thirty horse had cross'd the defile : the prince of conde plac'd himself immediately at the head of them with the duke de la rochefoucault , and attacking marshal d' hoquincourt in the flank , he caus'd him to be charg'd in the front by the squadron where he had lost the duke of beaufort . this made an end of overthrowing the enemies , of which part threw themselves into bleneau , and the rest were pursu'd three or four leagues towards auxere , without their endeavouring to rally . they lost all their baggage , and three hundred horse were taken . this overthrow might have been greater , had not the prince been inform'd that marshal turenne's army was in sight . this news oblig'd him to retire to his foot , who had quitted their post to plunder , and having rally'd his forces , he march'd towards marshal turenne , who plac'd his army in battle in a very large plain , within less than musquet-shot of a very large wood , through the midst of which the prince of conde was oblig'd to march to come up to him . this passage was large enough of it self to march two squadrons a-breast : but whereas it was very marshy , and that several ditches had been made to drain it , there was no coming to the plain without making defiles . the prince of conde finding it possess'd by his enemies , threw his infantry to the right and left into the wood which border'd it , in order to keep the enemy at a distance from it , and it succeeded according to his desires : for marshal turenne dreading the inconveniency of the musquetry , quitted his post , to take another at a little more distance , and upon a higher ground than the prince's . this movement perswaded the prince that he was retiring towards gien , and that it would be easie to beat him in the disorder of his retreat , before he could reach it . to this end he caus'd his cavalry to advance , and made hast to make six squadrons pass the defiles , in order to enter the plain ; but the marshal of turenne being sensible how disadvantageous it would be for him to combat the prince in the plain , he having a victorious army , that was much stronger than his , resolv'd to turn back with sword in hand , upon those six squadrons , in order to defeat those that were past , and to stop the remainder of the forces , that were still on the other side of the defile . the prince guessing at his intention , caus'd his horse to retire again ; and thus the defiles hindring them from coming at one another , without great disadvantage ; they only caus'd their artillery to advance on both sides , and fir'd a very considerable while at one another , but with a very different success ; for besides that the marshal of turenne's having more artillery , and better guns than his enemy's , it had the advantage of a higher ground over the princes forces , which being very close in the passage which separated the wood , most of the shot did light upon them ; and they lost above sixscore men , and several officers , among which was mare , brother to the marshal of grancey . the remainder of the day past in this manner . at the 〈◊〉 of the sun the marshal of turenne retir'd 〈◊〉 gien ; the marshal of hoquincourt , who 〈◊〉 joyn'd him since his defeat , remain'd in the 〈◊〉 of the army , and going with some officers 〈◊〉 draw out the squadron that was nearest to the ●●●ily , he was discover'd by the prince , who sent him word that he would be glad to see him , and ●hat he might advance upon his parole . he did ●ha● , the prince desir'd , and advancing with some officers , he met the prince , accompany'd by the dukes de la rochefoucault , and of beaufort , and two or three more . the conversation pass'd in civili●ies● and railleries on the prince's side , and in justifications on the marshal's for what had happen'd to him , complaining of monsieur de turenne , 〈◊〉 in reality and justice it might be said , that he 〈◊〉 perform'd two brave and very bold actions th●t day , the success of which sav'd both him and th● court : for as soon as he receiv'd intelligence th●t the marshal of hoquincourt's brigade , which wa● to joyn him the next day , was attack'd , he march'd with a very small number of men to the place , where he was met in battalia , where he ●arry'd all the day for the remainder of his forces , exposing himself thereby to an inevitable defeat , had the prince march'd up directly towards him , instead of pursuing the forces he had defeated in the night , for two or three leagues : he also sav'd that very day the remainders of the king's army with great valour and conduct , when he turn'd back upon the six squadrons of the prince , that had past the defily , and by that action stopt an army , which without doubt would have destroy'd h●● utterly , could it once have been plac'd in order of battel in the same plain where he was . the king's army being retir'd , the prince march'd his towards chatillon , and that night lodg'd in the quarters upon the canal of briare , near la bruslerie . the next day he repair'd to chatillon with all his forces , the which he left two days after under the command of clinchant and count tavannes , in order to go to paris with the dukes of beaufort and de la rochefoucault . that journey was of greater consequence than it appear'd to him at that time ; and i am perswaded , that the only desire of going to paris , there to receive the general applause which the success of so perillous a journey , and so great a victory deserv'd , made him approve chavigny's reasons , who earnestly desir'd to be countenanc'd by the prince's presence and authority , in order to fill up the place which the cardinal of rets held in the duke of orleance's favour . he was in hopes , as i have already declar'd , to render himself equally considerable to those two princes , by perswading each of them , that he was the real promoter of their union ; besides he fancy'd that it was the easiest way to succeed in his project with fabert . he therefore press'd the prince to come to paris , in order to oppose the progress the cardinal of rets made upon the duke of orleance's mind , and to improve the favourable disposition the parliament was in at that time , having made a decree , by which they had proscrib'd , and put a price upon cardinal mazarin's head. whatever impressions chavigny's counsels made upon the prince , it is certain that he follow'd them ; he was receiv'd at paris with so many acclamations , and such testimonies of publick joy , that he did not think he had any cause to repent his journey . all things remain'd for a while in this condition , but whereas the army wanted forrage about chatillon and montargis , and that they durst neither remove it farther from paris , nor bring it nearer to it ; it was remov'd to estampes , where they imagin'd it might remain a considerable while with safety , and abundance of all things . the duk● of nemours was not yet cur'd of his wound , when the prince receiv'd intelligence that some of the king's forces , commanded by the count of musse●s , and the marquess of st. mesgrin , lieuten●nt generals , were on their march from st. ger●●●s and st. cloud , with two pieces of canon , in 〈◊〉 to charge an hundred men of the regi●ent of conde , who had retrench'd themselves upon a bridge , and had broken one of the arches of i● . upon this news the prince got immediately ●n horse-back with such as chanc'd to be about ●im ; but the report thereof being spread through the city , all the persons of quality that were there went to meet him at boulogne , and were follow'd by or citizens in arms. the king's forces only fir'd some canon , and retir'd without en●ea●ouring to make themselves masters of the bridge ; but the prince of conde being willing to improve the good disposition of those citizens , assign'd them officers , and made them march towa●ds st. denis , where he was inform'd that there was a garrison of switzers ; those forces ar●●●'d there about night , and those within being ●larm'd thereat , soon alarm'd those without , for the prince being surrounded by three hundred horse , selected and compos'd of the bravest , and mo●● undaunted men of his party , found himself dese●●ed by them at the very first firing of the e●emy , none but six persons remaining about him . the remainder fled in a disorder , and fell in among the infantry of the citizens , which was daunted thereat , and had certainly follow'd the example of the gentry , had not the prince , and those tha● remain'd about him stopt them , and made them ●nter st. denis through old breaches , that were unguarded . whereupon all those persons of quality who had abandon'd him , came back to him , every one alledging some particular reason to excuse his flight , although the shame of it was common ●o them all . the switzers endeavour'd to defend some barricado's in the town , but being press'd close , they retir'd into the abby , where they surrender'd themselves within two hours prisoners of war. no acts of hostility were committed against the inhabitants or convents , and the prince of conde reti●'d back to paris , leaving deslande , a captain in the regiment of conde , with men in st. denis , which was re-taken that very night by the king's forces ; but deslande retir'd into the church , where he held out three days . tho' no particular circumstance render'd that action considerable in it self , yet it dispos'd the citizens to favour the prince ; and they all prais'd him so much the rather , because every one of them quoted him as a witness of his courage , and the dangers he fancy'd he had been expos'd to in that action . in the mean while the duke of rohan and chavigny resolv'd to prosecute their first design , and to take the advantage of so favourable a conjuncture , in order to make some propositions about an accommodation : they imagind the court would sincerely accomplish whatever fabert had propos'd to them , only with a design to engage them with the cardinal , who was willing to make use of them to draw in the duke of orleance , and the prince of conde into that abyss of negotiations , into the bottom of which no body could ever dive , the which all along prov'd very favourable to him , and fatal to his enemies . the first days of the prince's arrival were no sooner past , but all the intrigues and cabals were renew'd again on all sides , and whether he were really weary of maintaining so penible a war , or that his abode in paris inspir'd him with a desire and hopes of peace , for a while he quitted all other thoughts , to apply himself to find out means to make as advantageous a one as ●e had projected . the duke of rohan and cha●●●●● gave him great hopes about it , in order to 〈◊〉 him to entrust them with the care of that negotiation , and to let them go by themselves ●ith ●●ulas to st. germans , there to treat about ●is and the duke of orleance's concerns . it was li●ewise propos'd to send the duke de la rochefou●●●●● ●hither , and the prince desir'd it for several reasons , but he declin'd it , imagining , either that the peace was already concluded between monsieur and the court under-hand by chavigny , without the prince's participation , or that it would not be concluded at that time , not only because the prince's pretensions were too great , but likewise because the duke of rohan and chavigny would secure their own preferrably to all the rest . thus the duke of rohan , chavigny , and goulas went to st. germans , with positive orders not to see cardinal mazarin , or to treat about any thing with him . the duke of orleance's demands consisted chiefly in the removing of the cardinal ; but the prince of conde's had more latitude , by reason that hav●ng engag'd the city and parliament of bordeaux in his party , together with a great number of persons of quality , he had made particular treaties with them , by which he was engag'd not to make any with the cour● , without comprising their interests in it , in the manner i shall relate hereafter . no body did in the least question the success of those gentlemen's journey ; there being no likelihood that a man of chavigny's parts and understanding , who knew the court , and cardinal mazarin , by so long an experience , would have engag'd in so great a negotiation , having manag'd it for three months together , without being certain of the success . but every body was soon undeceiv'd by the return of those deputies , who had , not only treated with cardinal mazarin , contrary to the express orders they had receiv'd about it ; but moreover , instead of demanding for the prince , what was set down in their instructions , had only insisted chiefly , upon the establishing of a necessary council , almost in the form of that which the late king had order'd upon his death-bed ; upon which condition they were to prevail with the prince to consent , that cardinal mazarin , accompany'd by chavigny , should go to treat about a general peace , in●tead of the prince ; and that it should be lawful for him to come back into france after the conclusion thereof . as those propositions were contrary to the prince's interests and sentiments , he receiv'd them with great indignation against chavigny , and resolv'd for the future never to give him the least knowledge of whatever he should treat of in secret with the court. to that end he gave gourville instructions , which were drawn in presence of the dutchess of chastillon , the dukes of nemours and de la rochefoucault , which contain'd what followeth . . that they would hearken to no negotiation after that day ; and that they expected a positive answer to all the articles , of yes , or no , since they could not desist from any of them . that they desir'd to act sincerely , and consequently that they would promise nothing but what they were willing to perform ; and that for that reason , they would be certain of what the court should promise . . that they desi'd cardinal mazarin should immediately quit the kingdom , and repair to bouillon . . that the duke of orleance , and the prince of conde should be impowr'd forthwith to treat about a general peace . . that to that end just and reasonable conditions should be agreed upon ; and that the prince should be allow'd to send into spain , in order to agree upon a place for the conference . . that a council should be made , compos'd of unsuspected persons , which should be agreed upon . . that there should be no superintendent , and that the revenue , taxes , impositions , &c. should be regulated by a good council● . that all such who had serv'd mons●●●● , or the prince , should be restor'd to their estates , and places , governments , pensions , and assignations , which should be assign'd upon good funds , and the like for monsieur , and for the princes . . that satisfaction should be given to the duke of orleance , upon those things he might desire for himself , and for his friends . . that the forces and officers that had follow'd the princes should be treated as they were before , and should possess the same ranks they had before . . that the court should grant the inhabitants of bordeaux those things they desir'd before the war , and for which they had deputies at court. . that the taxes should be diminish'd in guienne , according as it should be agreed upon sincerely . . that the prince of conty should have leave to treat with monsieur d' angoulesine about the government of provence , and to give him the government of champayne in exchange , or else to sell it to whoever he should think fit , to give him the money of it , and that for the overplus he should be assisted with such a sum of money as should be agreed upon . . that the government of auvergne should be given to the duke of nemours . . that leave should be given to president viole to treat about a place of president a mortier , or of secretary of state , upon promise , that it should be the first vacant ; and a sum of money in present to facilitate the obtaining of it . . that the court should grant the duke de la rochefoucault the * breviate he desir'd , equal to that of messieurs de bouillon , and guienne , and the government of angoumois and st. tonge , or the sum of sixscore thousand crowns , and leave to purchase the said government , or any other he should have a mind to . . that the prince of tarente should have a breviate about his rank , equal to the duke of bouillon's , and that he should be put in possession of it , and that he should be reimburs'd for the losses he had sustain'd by the taking and demolishing of taillebourg , according to the account he should deliver about it . . that messieurs de marsin and du doignon should be made marshals of france . . that monsieur de montespan should be made a duke . . that the duke of rohan should be restor'd to his governments of anjou and anger 's , and that the pont de ce , together with the jurisdiction of saumur should be granted him . that the government of bergerac and sainte foy should be given to monsieur de la force , and the survivance to his son the marquess of castelnau . that the marquess of sillery should be certain of being made knight of the order of the holy ghost at the first promotion , or instalment ; and that a breviate should be given him for it , together with the sum of ● crowns , to purchase a government . upon which conditions they would engage to lay down their arms , and to consent f●eely to any advantages for cardinal mazarin , and to his return into france within the space of three months , or at the time when the prince having adjusted the articles of a general peace with the spaniards , should be at the place of conference with the ministers of spain , and have given an account of the peace's being ready to be sign'd ; the which he would not sign until the said cardinal were actually return'd : but that the money mention'd by the treaty should be paid before his return . the cardinal hearken'd to gourville's propositions , and seem'd not to dislike them , whether it ●ere that he really was inclin'd to grant them , or that he was willing the difficulties should arise ●●se where : but the duke of bouillon , who dreaded ● peace should be concluded on , without his having the dutchy of albret , which the prince was 〈◊〉 possession of , in order to make him a recompence in part for sedan ; told the cardinal , that ●●nce he thought it fit to favour all the prince's friends , who were his sworn enemies , he thought it was yet more reasonable to do justice to his friends , who had assisted him , and maintain'd him against the prince . that he found no fault with what was design'd for the dukes of nemours and de l● rochefoucault , marsin , and the others ; but that at the same time he could not but think , that having so considerable an interest as the dutchy of albret was , nothing should be concluded on with●●● obliging the prince to satisfie him in that point . whatever induc'd the duke of bouillon to use these arguments , it is most certain that they hindred the cardinal from proceeding any farther , and he sent back gourville to the prince , in order to remove that difficulty . but whereas in all great affairs delays are commonly very dangerous , they were much more so in this , which was not only compos'd of so many different interests , and view'd by so many opposite cabals , which endeavour'd to break it ; but was moreover manag'd by the prince of conde on one side , and by cardinal mazarin on the other ; who tho' very opposite in some things , yet were alike in many others , particularly in treating about all manner of affairs without any limited pretentions ; which is the reason that when their desires are granted , they still flatter themselves with obtaining more , perswading themselves to that degree , that all things are due to their good fortune , that the balance can never be kept sufficiently even between them , nor can ever remain long enough in that condition , to afford them time to resolve upon a treaty , and to conclude it . other obstacles were joyn'd to these : it was the cardinal of rets's interest to prevent the peace , by reason that if it were made without his participation , the duke of orleance and the prince being united with the court , he would remain expos'd , without any protection . on the other hand , chavigny being disgusted with the court , and with the prince after the ill success of his negotiation , concluded that it was better to break the treaty , than suffer it to be made by any but himself . i cannot tell whether the conformity of interests , that happen'd to meet at that time between the cardinal of rets and chavigny , made them joyn to hinder the prince's treaty ; or whether either of them prevail'd with the duke of orleance to do it ; but i have been inform'd since by a person i must credit , that while gourville was at st. germans , monsieur sent the duke d' anville to cardinal mazarin , to desire him not to conclude any thing with the prince , because he design'd the court should be solely oblig'd to him for a peace : that he was ready to go to the king , and thereby to give an example which should be follow'd by the inhabitants , and by the parliament of paris . it was very probable that such a proposition should be hearken'd unto , preferably to all others : and in effect , whether by this reason , or by the other i have alledg'd before , about the prince and cardinal mazarin's minds ; or whether , as i always believ'd it , the cardinal was never inclinable to a peace , and only made use of negotiations for a snare , in which he could surprize his enemies : in fine , all things were entangled to that degree , that the duke de la rochefoucaul● no longer would suffer his people to meddle with negotiations , which ●●in'd his party , and charg'd gourville to get a positive answer from the cardinal , the second time he was sent to st. germans , with orders never to return thither again . in the mean while , besides that the prince's inclinations were not constantly fix'd on a peace , he was continually combated by the divers interests of those who endeavour'd to disswade him from it . cardinal mazarin's enemies did not think themselves reveng'd , while he remain'd in france : and the cardinal of rets was sensible that in case the prince should come to an accommodation● it would ruin his credit , and expose him to his enemies : whereas the war continuing , it would certainly ruin the prince , or banish cardinal mazarin ● by which means he remaining alone near the duke of orleance , might render himself considerable at court , whereby he propos'd very considerable advantages . on the other hand , the spaniards offer'd whatever might tempt the prince , and us'd all their endeavours , in order to prolong the civil war ; his nearest relations , his friends , nay , even his very attendants , seconded the same out of self-interest : in fine , all people were divided in cabals , to make a peace , or continue the war. no arguments or politicks were omitted to perswade the prince to embrace either of these parties , when the dutchess of chatillon rais'd a desire of peace in him by more agreeable means : she imagin'd that so great a good was only to be promoted by her beauty , and mixing some ambition with the desire of making a new conquest , she resolv'd at once to triumph over the prince of conde's heart , and to draw from the court all the advantages of that negotiation . those were not the only reason that inspir'd those though●s in her ; vanity and revenge contributed more towards it than any thing else : the emulation which beauty and gallantry often produces among ladies , had occasion'd great jealousies between the dutchess of longueville , and madame de chatillon : they had long conceal'd their sentiments , but at last they appear'd publickly on both sides . madame de chatillon , putting no bounds to her victory , not only obligd the duke of nemours to break off all his engagements with madame de longueville in a very disobliging manner , but at the same time resolv'd to take from her all the knowledge of a●fairs , and to be the sole disposer of the conduct and interests of the prince . the duke of nemours , who had great engagements with her , approv'd her design , and believd that since it was in his power to regulate the dutchess of chatillon's conduct towards the prince , she would inspire him with whatever sentiments he pleas'd , and that thus he should dispose of the prince's mind , by the power he had over the dutchess of chatillon's . the duke de la rochefoucault at that time had the greatest share of any body in the prince's favour , and at the same time had very strict engagements both with the duke of nemours , and with madame de chatillon : he was very sensible of the prince's irresolutions towards a peace ; and fearing , as it happen'd since , that the spanish , and the dutchess of longueville's cabals would joyn , in order to remove the prince from paris , where he might daily treat without their participation ; he imagin'd that the dutchess of chatillon's design would be able to remove all the obstacles that oppos'd a peace , and for that reason induc'd the prince to engage with her , and to give her merlou for her self . he likewise prevaild with her to behave her self so prudently towards the prince , and the duke of nemours , as to preserve them both ; and perswaded the duke of nemours to approve of this engagement , which he ought not to be jealous of , since he was acquainted therewith , and that it was only design'd to place him at the helm of affairs . this intrigue being manag'd and regulated by the duke de la rochefo●cault , gave him almost an absolute power over all those that compos'd it . and thus those four persons being equally advantag'd thereby , it would certainly have had at last the success they had propos'd , had not fortune oppos'd it by a world of unavoidable accidents . in the mean time , the dutchess of chatillon being desirous to appear at court with all the advantages she deriv'd from her new credit : she went thither with so absolute a power from the prince , that it was look'd upon rather as an effect of his complaisance towards her , and a desire of flattering her vanity , than a real intention of coming to an accommodation . she came back to paris with great hopes , but the cardinal only reap'd solid advantages by that negotiation ; he gain'd time , he augmented the suspicions of the opposite cabal , and amus'd the prince at paris by the hopes of a treaty , while they took guienne , and his towns from him , and while the king's army , commanded by the marshals of turenne and hoquincourt , held the field , and his was retir'd in estampes . moreover it did not remain long there , without receiving a considerable loss , which was this ; the marshal of turenne being inform'd that * mademo●s●lle passing through estampes , had been desirous to see the army in battalia , he caus'd his forces to march , and arriv'd in the suburb of estampes , before those which compos'd the army that was lodg'd there could be in a condition to defend their quarter : it was forc'd and pillag'd , and the marshals of turenne and d' hoquincourt retir'd to theirs , after having kill'd or men of the prince●s best forces , and carry'd away abundance of prisoners . this success rais'd the hopes of the court to that degree , that they design'd to besiege estampes , and all the army that was in it . whatever difficulty seem'd to attend that enterprize , it was resolv'd upon , in hopes to meet with astonishment in the men , and division in the commanders ; a town open in several parts , unprovided , and without probability of succours from any but the duke of lorrain , with whom the court thought a treaty had been made . moreover it is my opinion , that the event of the siege was not so much consider'd , as the reputation so great an undertaking would afford the king's arms : for tho' at the same time the negotiation was continud with great earnestness , and that the prince was then very desirous of a peace , yet it could not reasonably be expected until the success of estampes had regulated the propositions thereof . during these transactions the court-party made use of that conjuncture to gain the people , and to form cabals in the parliament ; and tho' at that time the duke of orleance seem'd closely united with the prince , he notwithstanding daily had particular conferences with the cardinal of rets , who made it his chief business to destroy whatever resolutions the prince put him upon . the siege of estampes continu'd still , and tho' the progresses of the king's army were inconsiderable , yet nevertheless the reports that were spread up and down the realm , were advantageous to the king. and paris look'd for the succours that was expected from the duke of lorrain , as the only thing that could sa●e the party . it arriv'd at last after many delays , and no small suspicions of an accommodation between the king and him , however his presence dissipated that opinion for a while , and he was receiv'd with extream joy ; his forces were encamp'd near paris , and the disorders they committed were suffered without complaining . at first there happen'd some disputes between the prince and him about their rank ; but he finding that the prince would not desist , relinquish'd his pretentions so much the rather , because he had only insisted upon it , in order to gain time to make a secret treaty with the court , to raise the siege of estampes without hazarding a combat . nevertheless , as people are never so easily surpris'd , as when they are projecting to deceive others , it happ●n'd , that the duke of lorrain , who expected to derive great advantages from , and to secure himself by his continual negotiations with the court , ( tho' very unjust ) was on a sudden ●●rpris'd by the marshal of turenne , who marched up to him with all his army , and required him forthwith to re●ire and march back for flanders . the duke of lorrain's forces were not inferiour to the king 's , and a man who had only valued his reputa●ion might easily have hazarded a combat . but whatever reasons the duke of lorrain had for it , he retired with shame , and submitted to what the marshal of turenne was pleas'd to impose upon him● he neither acquainted the duke of orleance nor the prince with what pass'd , and the first thing they heard was , that their forces w●re marched out of estampes , that the king's army was remov'd from thence , and that the duke of lorrain was marching back for flanders , pretending to have fully perform'd the orders he had receiv'd from the spaniards , and his promise to monsieur . this n●ws surpris'd every body , and made the prince resolve to go to his army , fearing the king's might fall upon it in the way . he went out of paris , accompany'd only by or horse , whereby he expos'd himself to be taken by the enemies parties ; however he joyn'd his army , and led it towards ville iuive : afterwards he marched to st. cloud , where he made some stay , during which the ha●vest was not only quite spoil'd , but almost all the country houses were burnt . this began to disgust the parisians , and the prince had like to have received fatal marks at the battel of st. anthony . during these transactions , gaucourt had secret conferences with the cardinal , who s●ill express'd to him an earnest desire for a peace ; he had already agreed upon the main conditions , but the more he insisted on the least , the more it was apparent that he had no design to conclude . those uncertainties gave new vigour to all the cabals , and consequently to the divers reports that were dispersed abroad . paris never was in greater agitation , and never was the prince's mind more divided to resolve upon peace or war. the spaniards endeavour'd to remove him from paris to hinder a a peace , and the dutchess of longueville's friends contributed to that disign , in order to remove him from the dutchess of chastillon . moreover , mademoiselle at once design'd the same things with the spaniards , and with the dutchess of longueville ; for on the one hand she desir'd the continuation of the war , to be reveng'd on the queen and cardinal , who had hindred her marriage with the king , and on the other , she was desirous to get the prince from the dutchess of chastillon , and to have a greater share in his confidence and esteem than that du●chess : and therefore in order to gain him , by that which was most sensible to him , she rais'd forces in his name , and promis'd him money to raise more . 〈◊〉 promises being joyn'd to those the spani●●●● ma●e , and to the a●tifices that were us'd by ●he du●chess of longueville's friends , remov'd from 〈◊〉 prince all the thoughts he had of a peace . tha● which in my opinion likewise contributed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 rably to it , was not only the small confi●●nc● he thought he could repose in the court , but ●●●●ng which will hardly be credited from a person of his quality and merit , it was a violent desire of imitating the duke of lorrain in many things , and particularly in his behaviour towards his soldiers and officers ; and he perswaded himself , that since the duke of lorrain being dispossess'd of his dominions , his circumstances not being near so advantageous as his , had notwithstanding rende●'d himself so considerable by his army ●nd by his money , his own qualifications being in●●ni●ely superiour to his , his progresses would pro●e suitable thereunto , and that in the mean time he s●ould lead a life altogether conformable to his own humour . this has been look'd upon as the true motive that engag'd the prince among the spaniards , and for which he renounc'd whatever his birth and ser●ices had acquir'd him in the kingdom . however he conceal'd his sentiments as much as possible he could , and still express'd the same desire for a peace , the which was still in vain , in agitation . the court at that time was at st. denis , and the marshal de la ferté had joyn'd the king's army with the forces he had brought from lorrain . the prince's army which was weaker than the least of the two that were oppos'd to him , had till then kept its post at st. cloud , in order to make use of the bridge to avoid an unequal combat ; but the arrival of marshal de la ferté enabled the king's army to divide into two bodies , and to attack st. cloud on both sides , by making bridges towards st. denis ; the prince resolv'd to remove from st. cloud , in order to march to charenton , and to post himself in that nook of land , which makes the conjunction between the river marne and the seine . without doubt he would not have done it had he followed his own inclination , and it had been much safer and much easier to leave the river seine on the left hand , and to march by meudon and vaugirard , to encamp under the fauxbourg st. germans , where perhaps he should not have been attack'd for fear of engaging the parisians in his defence . but the duke of orleance would by no means consent to it , not only , as was represented to him , out of fear of a combat , he might see from the windows of his palace of luxemburg , but also because some perswaded him that the king's artillery would make a continual fire against it to force him to quit it . thus the opinion of an imaginary peril , made the duke of orleance expose the prince of conde ●s life to the greatest danger he had ever been in . he caus'd his army to march at the beginning of the night on the first of iuly , and expecting to reach charenton before his enemies could come up to him , he march'd through the * cours of the queen-mother , and round about the city , from the gate of st. honoré to the gate of st. anthony , in order to ●arch from thence to charenton . he did not desire leave to march through paris , for fear of a denial , which at that time would have discover'd the ill condition of his affairs : besides he was afraid , that having obtain'd it , his forces would disperse themselves in the city , and that it would be difficult to force them out of it , in case of necessity . the court soon receiv'd intelligence of his march , and the marshal of turenne follow'd him immediately with what forces he had , in order to stop him , until marshal de la ferté , who ●ollow'd with is army , could come up to him . in the mean time the king was sent to charonne , to behold from that place , as from a theatre , that action , which , according to appearances , was like to prove the absolute overthrow of the prince , and the end of the civil war ; but in effect that which prov'd one of the boldest , and most perillous occasions , that ever was seen in war , and that in which the prince of conde's great endowments appear'd to the best advantage . fortune it self seem'd to be reconcil'd to him in that occasion , and would have a share in a success , of which both parties have imputed the glory to his valour , and conduct : for he was attac'd precisely at a time , in which he could make use of the retrenchments the inhabitants of the suburb of st. anthony had made , to secure themselves from being pillag'd by the duke o● lorrain's forces , and it was the only place in all the march he design'd that had any retrenchments , and in which he could avoid being absolutely defea●ed ; nay , even some squadrons of his rear were charg'd in the suburb of st. martin , by some men the marshal of turenne had detach'd to amuse him ; they retir'd in disorder in the retrenchment of the suburb of st. anthony , in which he had plac'd himself in battalia . he had but just so much time as was necessary to that end , and to garnish those posts through which he could be attack'd , with foot and horse : he was forc'd to place the baggage of the army upon the side of the ditch of st. anthony , because the parisians had refus'd to receive it . moreover some carriages had been plunder'd , and those of the court-party had contriv'd affairs so , that the event of that business should be seen from thence , as from a neuter place . the prince of conde preserv'd about him such of his attendants as happen'd to be there , and such persons of quality as had no command , the number of which amounted to about thirty or forty . the marshal of turenne dispos'd his attacks with all the diligence and confidence of a man who thinks himself certain of victory . his detach'd men being come within yards of the retrenchment , the prince came out upon them , with the squadron i have mention'd , and charging them with sword in hand , defeated their battalion absolutely , took some officers prisoners , carry'd away their colours , and retir'd to his retrenchment . on the other hand , the marquess of st. mesgrin attack'd the post that was defended by count de tavannes , lieutenant-general , and languais , mareschal de camp ; who made so brave a resistance , that the marquess of st. mesgrin finding that his infantry flinch'd , being hurry'd on by heat and anger , advanc'd with the king's troop of chevaux legers in a street shut up with barricado's , where he was kill'd , with the marquess of nantouillet , le fouilloux , and some others , mancini , cardinal mazarin's nephew was wounded , and dy'd of his wounds some time after . the attacks were continu'd on all sides with great vigour , and the prince of conde charg'd the enemies a second time , with an equal success to the first ; he appear'd every where , in the middle of the fire and combat , and gave his orders with that calmness of mind , which is so necessary , and yet so seldom met with on those occasions . finally , the king's forces having forc'd the last barricado of the street call'd du cours , which leads to vincennes , they entred in order of battle as far as the market-place of the suburb of st. anthony ; whereupon the prince ran thither , charg'd them , and destroying whatever oppos'd him , regain'd that po●● , and forc'd the enemies out of it . nevertheless they were masters of a second barricado , which was in the street that goes to c●arenton , the which was forty yards beyond a very large square adjoyning to the said street : the marquess of ●o●illes had made himself master of it , and in order to keep it the better , he had caus'd the houses to be pierc'd through , and had plac'd musquetiers in all those before which they were oblig'd to pass to come up to the said barricado . the prince of conde did design to go with some infantry , to cause other houses to be pierc'd , to force them to retire by a greater fire , which indeed was the best way ; but the duke of beaufort , who chanc'd not to be near the prince at the beginning of the attack , being somewhat jealous at the duke of nemours having been there all along , press'd the prince to cause the said barricado to be attack'd by infantry that was already tyr'd and discourag'd , the which instead of going up to the enemy , kept close to the houses , and would not advance . at the same time a squadron of the forces from flanders , that had been posted in a street , which butted in one of the corners of the square on that side where the houses were , being no longer able to ●arry there , for fear of being surrounded as soon as the houses thereabouts should be taken , came back into the square , and the duke of beaufort believing that they were enemies , propos'd to the d●kes de la rochefoucault and nemours , who arriv'd there at that time , to charge them , and they being follow'd by all the persons of quality and voluntiers , they march'd up to them , and expos'd themselves to no purpose to all the shot of the barricado , and of the houses of the square , for in joyning they knew themselves to be all of the same party : but at the same time perceiving some astonishment in those who guarded the barricado , the dukes of nemours , beaufort , de la rochefoucault , and the prince of marsillac charg'd them , and forc'd them to quit it : after which they alighted , and guarded it themselves , the infantry that was commanded refusing to second them . the prince of conde stood firm in the street with those that had rally'd about him . in the mean time , the enemies , who were possess'd of all the houses of the street , seeing the barricado guarded only by four men , would certainly have re-taken it , had not the prince's squadron hindred them ; but there being no infantry to hinder their firing from the windows , they began to fire again from all sides , and saw the four who kept the barricade side-ways from head to foot . the duke of nemou●s receiv'd thirteen shot upon his armour ; the duke de la rochefoucault likewise receiv'd a musquet-shot in the face above the eyes , by which he losing his sight , the duke of beaufort and the prince of marsillac were oblig'd to retire with these two wounded lords . the enemies pursu'd them , but the prince of conde advanc'd to dis-engage them , and gave them time to get on horse back , in so much that they were again oblig'd to abandon to the king's forces the post they had just taken from them . almost all those who had been with them in the square were kill'd or wounded ; among others they lost the marquesses of flamarin and de la rocheguiffard , the count of castres , the count de boss●● , desfour●eaux , la martiniere , la motte , gayonne , bercenes , captain of the guards to the duke de la rochefoucault , de l' huilliere , who likewise belong'd to him , and many others , whose names cannot be set down here . in fine , the number of the dead and wounded was so considerable on both sides , that both parties seem'd rather intent to repair their losses , than to attack their enemies . this kind of truce however was most advantageous to the king's forces , who were disgusted by so many attacks , in which they had still been ●eaten and repuls'd ; for during those transactions , the marshal de la ferte march'd with all speed , and was preparing to make a new effort with his fresh and entire army , when the parisians , who till ●hen had been spectators of so great an action , declar'd in favour of the prince of conde . they had been so much prejudic'd by the arts of the court , and of the cardinal of rets , and had been perswaded , to that degree , that the prince had made a peace by himself , without minding their interests , that they did look upon the beginning of that action , as a play , that was acted between him and cardinal mazarin , to blind them . the duke of orleance confirm'd them in that thought , by his giving no orders in the city to succour the prince . the cardinal of rets was with him , who still augmented the trouble and irre●olution of his mind , in proposing difficulties to whatever he would undertake . on the other hand , st. anthony's gate was guarded by a regiment of the train-bands , whose officers being gain'd by the court , almost equally hindred people from going out , or coming into the city . finally , all things were ill dispos'd to receive the prince and his forces there , when * mademoiselle making an effort upon her father's mind , drew him out of the lethargy in which he had been kept by the cardinal of re●s : she went to the town-house to order the citizens to take arms ; and at the same time commanded the governour of the bastille to fire his ordnance upon the king's forces , and coming back to st. anthony's gate , she not only dispos'd all the ci●izens to receive the prince and his army , but moreover to march out , and to make some skirmishes , while his forces were entring . that which made an end of moving the people in the prince of conde's behalf , was to see so many persons of quality carry'd back , both dead and wounded . the duke de la rochefoucault being willing to improve that favourable conjuncture for the advantage of his party , although his wound made both his eyes almost come out of his head , went on horse-back from the place where he was wounded to the fauxbourg st. german , exhorting the people to assist the prince of conde , and for the future to distinguish better the intention of those who had accus'd him of having treated with the court. this for a while had the effect he desir'd , and paris was never better affected to the prince , than it was at that time . in the mean time the noise of the canon of the bastille , produc'd at one and the same time two very different sentiments in cardinal mazarin's mind ; for at first he believ'd that paris was declaring against the prince , and that he was going to triumph over that city , and over his enemy : but finding that instead thereof , they fir'd upon the king's forces , he sent orders to the marshals of france to retire with the army , and to march back to st. denis . that day prov'd one of the most glorious of the prince of conde's life , his valour and his conduct never had a greater share in any of his victories ; and it may be said with truth , that so many persons of quality never made a smaller number of men fight . the colours were carried to notre dame , and all the officers were put at liberty upon their parole . notwithstanding this , the negotiations were continued , every cabal was desirous to make the peace , or to hinder the others from doing it ; and the prince and cardinal were absolutely resolv'd not to make it . chavig●y had made his pe●ce 〈◊〉 the prince in appearance , but it would be difficult to tell what his sentiments had been ●ill then , by reason that his natural levity daily inspired him with such as were directly opposite ; he was for pushing things to extremity when ever he had any prospect of destroying ●he cardinal , and of en●ring into the ministry of affairs again ; and he was for begging a peace whenever he imagined his lands should be pillag'd and his houses p●ll'd down . nevertheless , at that time he chanc'd to be of opinion with the rest , that it would be proper to profit of the good disposition the people was in , and to propose an assembly ●t the town●house , in order to resolve , to have the duke of orleance acknowledge'd lieutenant general of the crown of france : that they should enter into an inseparable union to procure the removal of the cardinal , and that the duke of beaufort should be invested with the government of paris , in the room of the marshal de l' hospital ; that broussel should be made prevost des merchands , or lord mayor , in the room of le febure . but that assembly in which they expected to find the safety of the party , prov'd one of the main causes of its ruine , by an act of violence , which was like to have destroyed all those that chanc'd to be in ●he town-house , or hostel de ville , and made the prince lose all the advantages he had gain'd by the battle of st. anthony . i cannot tell who was the author of so pernicious a design , all having equally disown'd it ; but in fine , while the assembly was held , a croud of all manner of men in arms appea●'d at the town-house gates , crying , that they should not only do all things according to the prince's mind , but moreover , that they should instantly deliver all those that were cardinal mazarin's friends . at first this noise was only look'd upon as an ordinary effect of the common people's impatience , but seeing that the croud and tumult increas'd , and that not only the souldiers , but even the officers were concern'd in the riot , the gates being set on fire , and the windows shot at , all the members of the assembly thought themselves equally undone . many of them to avoid the fire , expos'd themselves to the fury of the people , and abundance of persons of all qualities , and of all parties were kill'd : it was generally believ'd that the prince had sacrific'd his friends , in order not to be suspected of having destroy'd his enemies . the duke of orleance was not in the least suspected of having any share in that business , the odium and hatred thereof being wholly cast upon the prince of conde . as for my part , i am of opinion , that both of them had employ'd the duke of beaufort in it , to frighten such members of that assembly as were not on their side ; tho' at the same time i am perswaded that neither of them had the least intention of hurting any body . however they soon appeas'd the disorder , but they could not race out the impression it had made in the peoples mind . afterwards it was propos'd to create a council , compos'd of the duke of orleance , of the prince of conde , the chancellor of france , the princes , dukes , and peers , marshals of france , and general officers of the party . two presidents a mortier were to assist at it from the parliament , the lord mayor , or provost des merchands , from the city , to judge definitively , and without appeal of all military causes , and whatever related to the government of the city . this council augmented the disorder instead of diminishing it , about the pretentions of the rank that was to be held in it , the sequel of which , as well as of the assembly , prov'd very fatal ; for the dukes of nemours and of beaufort being already at o●ds about past differences , or about some ladies , quarrel'd about precedency in the council , and 〈◊〉 with pistols ; the duke of nemours was kill'd by the duke of beaufort his brother-in-law . all those who knew that prince , were mov'd with grief and compassion at his death ; even the publick had cause to lament him ; for besides his great and lovely qualifications , he contributed as much as in him lay to promote a peace , and both he and the duke de la rochefoucault h●d relinquish'd the advantages the prince was oblig'd to procure them by the treaty , in order to facilitate the conclusion thereof . but the death of the one , and the wound of the other , afforded the spa●iards , and madame de longueville's friends all the liberty they could desire to draw the prince away . they now suppos'd it would be easie ●o perswade the prince to go into flanders ; they dazled him with hopes , and madame de chatillon seem'd to appear less charming to him , because he no longer found an illustrious rival to combat in her heart . however he did not at first reject the propositions of a peace , but taking his measures to continue the war , he offer'd the duke of nemours's employment to the duke de la rochefoucault , who co●ld not accept it by reason of his wound ; for which reason he gave it afterwards to the prince of tarente . paris was more divided at that time than ever it had been ; the court daily gain'd ground in the parliament , and among the people , the murder committed at the town-house having struck every body with horror : the army durst not keep the field , and their abode in paris exasperated the people the more against the prince . in ●ine , his affairs were reduc'd to the greatest extremity , when the spaniards , who were equally desirous of preventing his ruin and his elevation , in order to perpetuate the war , caus'd the duke of lorrain to march to paris for the second time , with a sufficient body , to stop the king's army . nay , moreover he kept it invested at villeneuve st. george , and sent word to paris , that the enemies would be constrain'd to come to a battle , or to starve in their camp. this hope flatter'd the prince , and he imagin'd he should draw great advantages from the event of that action , although in reality the marshal of turenne never wanted provisions , nor the liberty of retiring to melun , withou● hazarding a combat . he did it accordingly , without meeting any opposition , whilst the duke of lorrain was gone to paris , where the prince lay sick of a fever . palluau's forces at that time joyn'd the king's army , after having taken montrond : the marquess of persan had been block'd up in it from the beginning of the war , by count palluau with an inconsiderable army : but when the garrison was weaken'd by hunger and diseases , he attack'd it by force , and took it with less resistance , than could be expected from such brave men in one of the strongest places in the world , had nothing been wanting in it . the loss thereof prov'd so much the more sensible to the prince , by reason that it was occasion'd by his neglect , since he might easily have succour'd montrond , whilst the king's army was towards compiegne ; whereas his forces in ruining the country round about paris increas'd the inhabitants hatred against him . the prince was neither happier , nor better serv'd in guienne , where the division between the prince of conty and the dutchess of longueville serv'd for a pretence to those who had a mind to quit his party . several cities , following the example of ag●● , had open'd their gates to the king's forces , and the inhabitants of perigueux had stabb'd their governo●r , and driven out the garrison ; villeneuve ● ' agenois , in which the marquess of terbon had th●own himself , was the only place that resolv'd to defend it self , and it was done with so much vigour , 〈◊〉 count d' harcourt was forc'd to raise the siege . he did not tarry long in guienne , after that small disgrace , and whether he was really diffident of the court , or that he thought that making himself master of brisac , philipsburg , and alsatia , he should lay the foundation of a certain and independent establishment ; he went away from his army like a man who dreaded his being made a prisoner in it , and repair'd to philipsburg with all the speed imaginable . during these transactions the prince of conde's ilness increas'd , yet , tho' it was very violent , it prov'd nevertheless less fatal to him than to monsieur de chavigny , who having had a very rough esclaircissement with the prince , he was seiz'd with a fever , of which he dyed few days after . hi● mi●fortune did not end with his life , and death , which should terminate all hatreds , seem'd to have reviv'd his enemy's against him . all manner of crimes were imputed to him , and the prince particularly justify'd himself at his cost , of the jealousie the spaniards and the frondeurs conceiv'd of a secret treaty with the court : he complain'd that chavigny had hearken'd to some propositions of the abbot fouquet without his participation ( altho' he had order'd him so to do in writing ) and that he had promis'd to make him relinquish some articles , which he could not do . the prince likewise caus'd a copy to be written of an intercepted letter from the aforesaid abbot , the original of which i have seen , whereby he acquainted the court , that goulas would incline the duke of orleance to abandon the prince , unless he accepted the conditions of peace that were offer'd him : but in the copies the prince had written of it , he put the name of chavigny instead of goulas ; whereby he accus'd him of treason , without giving any other proofs thereof , besides a falsify'd copy of that letter written by the said abbot fouquet , with whom the prince daily treated , and gave an account thereof to chavigny . i can only impute the cause of so unjust , and so extraordinary a proceeding to the extream desire the prince had of making war , the which being oppos'd by his friends , had made him alter his conduct towards them , and place all his confidence in the spaniards . the duke of bouillon dy'd at that very time at pontoise , whose death should have cur'd men of ambition , and disgusted them from making so many different projects , in order to rise . for the ambition of that duke was accompany'd by all the extraordinary qualifications that could render it prosperous : he was brave , and was a perfect master in the orders of war ; he had an easie , natural , insinuating eloquence : a clear understanding , abounding in expedients , and fit to manage the most difficult undertakings ; a sound judgment , and an admirable talent in distinguishing . he hearken'd mildly to the counsels that were given him , and he valu'd other peoples reasons so much , that he seem'd to draw his resolutions from thence . but yet those advantages prov'd almost useless to him , through the obstinacy of his fortune , which always thwarted his prudence . the spaniards were revenging the duke of guise's enterprize upon the kingdom of naples by a long and cruel imprisonment , and had long prov'd inexorable to all those who interceded for his liberty . however they granted it to the prince , and on th●t occasion they renounc'd one of their principal maxims , to link him the closer to their party , by a concession that is so extraordinary among them . thus the duke of guise receiv'd his liberty , when he least expected it , and he came out of prison , engag'd by so great a favour , and by his parole to enter into the prince of conde's interests . he came to him at paris , and perhaps believing he had acquitted himself of what he ow'd him , by some complements , and some visits , he went soon after to meet the court , to offer the king what such great obligations exacted from him towards the prince . as soon as chavigny was dead , the prince began to take his measures to go away with the duke of lorrain ; and indeed his conduct had rendred his departure so necessary , that it was the only way he had left ; for the peace was too generally desir'd at paris to remain there in safety , with a design to oppose it . the duke of orleance , who had desir'd it all along , and dreaded the evil the prince of conde's presence might draw upon him , contributed so much the rather towards his removal , by reason that he found himself thereby free to make a particular treaty . altho' affairs stood on these terms , the ordinary course of the negotiation had not been interrupted ; for even at that time when cardinal mazarin was quitting the kingdom for the second time , to put a period to the pretences of the civil war , or to shew that the prince had other interests besides his removal , he sent langlade , secretary to the duke of bouillon , to the duke de la rochefoucault , either out of a real desire to treat , thereby to facilitate his return , or hoping to draw great advantages by his shewing that he desir'd a peace . in fine , langlade came , with conditions that were much fuller than all the others , and almost conformable to what the prince had demanded : but they were equally refus'd , and his fate , which drew him into flanders , did not permit him to discover the precipice until it was too late to retreat . finally , he departed with the duke of lorrain , after having taken vain measures with the duke of orleance to hinder the king from being receiv'd at paris : but his credit was not sufficient at that time to cope with the court 's . he was order'd to leave paris the very day the king was to arrive there , and he obey'd immediately , to avoid being a spectator of the triumph of his enemies , as well as of the publick joy. memoirs of the prince of conde . book vi. the king came back to paris on the th . of october . a vast concourse of people went out to meet his majesty , and when he entred in the evening into his metropolis , all the people gave marks of an extraordinary joy. the next day the king caus'd a general pardon to be read in the gallery of the louvre , where the parliament had been conven'd by the king 's writ , after which , the said declaration was recorded . in the next place , his majesty order'd the duke of orleance to retire to limours , and mademoiselle de montpensier to bois le vicomte . the duke of beaufort , the duke of rohan , the duke de la rochefoucault , and all the prince of conde ●s , and the dutchess of longueville's servants , and all the near relations of those who were in the prince's service , were also order'd to quit paris , and to retire elsewhere . the prince of conde , who did not think himself safe by the general pardon , was gone towards the frontiers of picardy , there to receive some spanish and lorrain forces , in order to joyn his army . after he had receiv'd this reinforcement , the remainder of the spanish forces , and of those of lorrain , divided themselves to march on both sides of him , in order to joyn and succour him in case of necessity . after which the prince march'd towards rhe●●l ● with a design to make himself master of it . he pr●sented himself before it on the thirtieth , and took it the same day without any resistance . he left the marquess of persan there with some infantry , and little horse ; and then he march'd directly to st. menehoult , with the forces of virtemberg , with half those of fuensaldagne , and with three thousand horse of the duke of lorrain's , commanded by the prince de ligne . he attack'd st. menehoult on the first of november , and took it after fourteen days siege : the sixteenth of the said month he receiv'd notice that marshal de turenne had receiv'd a reinforcement of men , and that he was at vitry le bruslé with near . whereupon he resolv'd to make his whole army cross the wood towards clermont , and to encamp there , in expectation of the succours of fuensaldagne , which he stood in need of , by reason that after the taking of st. menehoult , he had sent back the regiments of languedoc , of valois , and langeron to the duke of orleance , for the reasons i am going to relate . when the duke of orleance was retir'd to limours , the king sent the duke d' anville , and monsieur le tellier to that exil'd uncle , to conclude , and sign an accommodation with him . the chief conditions of that accommodation were , that 〈◊〉 should call back his forces , which consisted of eight regiments of horse , and three of foot ; that he should give them to the king , but that his majesty should not employ them against the prince of conde . the treaty being sign'd , monsieur retir'd to blois with the king's leave , there to enjoy the delights of solitude , and to lead a 〈◊〉 life with * madame , who had no mind to be concern'd with the cabals of the court. the following day he sent gedouin , mareschal 〈◊〉 camp , and second lieutenant to his gendarmes , to give the prince of conde an account of his accommodation , and to invite him at the same time to return to his allegiance , with those that follow'd his fortune , and to take the advantage of the act of grace his majesty had granted them . he likewise carry'd orders to bring back the three regiments i have mention'd , the which the prince had taken along with him , and were at that time in his army . this envoy being arriv'd at the camp before st. menehoult , on the third day of the siege , and having perform'd his commission to the utmost of his power , the prince answer'd him coldly , that he thank'd his royal highness for the advice he gave him of his treaty with the court , that both he and his friends knew the treatment he had receiv'd , notwithstanding the act of grace , and that they would make their profit of his example ; and that as for his royal highnesses forces , he would send them back after the end of the siege ; which he perform'd , as above-said . whilst the prince of conde was taking those places , the spaniards assembled the forces of their garrisons , in order to invest the city of bouillon , and to surprize the cardinal there , who was raising of men in the country of liege to pass into champayne , where the nobility were likewise making of levies he was to joyn to some forces of normandy . but his eminency got happily out of bouillon with a strong convoy , of which some were kill'd ; which oblig'd the cardinal to retire to sed●n . having assembled there the forces he had rais'd in the country of liege , and there abouts , he march'd from thence with them on the th . of november , in order to joyn those that were assembling by the nobility in champayne , and arriv'd at st. disur at the beginning of december , with four thousand men. monsieur de turenne , who had intelligence of every thing , had quitted his camp at baillican , and taken his march by epernay and chalons towards reims , where he was to tarry for the cardinal , and to receive his forces to joyn them to the king's army . however they judg'd that the king's army was strong enough of it self to attack the prince of conde , and therefore his eminency march'd towards chalons in champayne with his forces , in order to scour the frontiers , before his return to court , where he was impatiently expected by the king , and by the queen-mother . altho' the prince of conde had receiv'd on the th of november the quality of generalissimo of the king of spain's armies , by the hands of count fuensaldagne , he was allow'd no greater number of forces than he had before : it was a lofty title which produc'd no considerable succours . thus the conjuncture i have related put the prince , who was then in a post near clermont , to a great los● . he expected the succours fuensaldagne had promis'd him ; but he was inform'd that tha● count had receiv'd orders from the arch-duke leopold , to lead back his forces into flanders . however it happen'd happily at that time that the prince of tarente came back from flanders with or men he had rais'd there at his own charge , and brought them to the prince of conde , who in order to acknowledge so great a service , thought himself oblig'd to give him the general command over his forces , the which he desir'd . but by reason that count tavannes had always commanded them , the prince propos'd his design to him , at which the earl was both surpriz'd and vex'd . what is it your highness designs then i should do ●ere ? said he . does honour permit me to serve is your forces under another , after having commanded them all for so long a time ? the prince answer'd , that having no other way to acknowledge his obligations to his cousin the prince of tarente , tavannes ought to be so much his friend , as to comply with the present state of his affairs ; and that if it was a trouble to him to yield to that prince the command he desir'd , he would prevail with him to be contented to have it alternately with him . your highness may dispose of your forces as you think fit , reply'd tavannes , and i must thank you for the medium you are pleas'd to propose to me , but having always commanded your forces alone , i cannot resolve to a●mit a companion . therefore i beseech you to give me leave to retire , to leave the sole command of your forces to the prince of tarente . the count of tavannes had for some time been very much dissatisfy'd with the prince of conde , whom he had always serv'd with a great deal of fidelity and zeal . he could not forget that this prince , before his departure from paris , and while he was sick there , had held a very considerable council , without having call'd him to it ; and that the best places , and chief governments of the kingdom had been dispos'd of before-hand in the said council , without so much as thinking of him . it is true , that this count had ever look'd upon this destination of places and governments , as a chymerical thing , by reason that it never entred into his thoughts that the king's army should be defeated , at the time the said council was held , a● the prince of conde , and all the grandees of his party imagin'd then . nevertheless it made him sensible that the prince had but little remembrance of his services , and that he had but little regard to his advancement , and his interest . and therefore he had been very much dissatisfy'd ever since . and being moreover very much sollicited by his friends to abandon the prince's party , he was glad to meet the occasion i have related , and embrac'd it with joy. the prince , having heard those words of tavannes i have mention'd , quitted that count abruptly , and told him with some anger ; that he ought to think more than once on what he was going to do . and when the said count persisting still in his resolution , came to take his leave of his highness , well , monsieur de tavannes said the prince to him , you are then resolvd not to suffer a companion to command my forces with me , and that pretence makes you run after the fair hopes which call you back to the act of grace : go then , and give mazarin the satisfaction of having snatch'd my right arm from me , to employ it against my self . count de tavannes was calld at paris , the prince's right arm. i find by what your highness tells me , reply'd the count , that you know me ill for the time i have had the honour to serve you . is it possible , that having seen me abandon all , and sacrifice my interest to that honour only , you should think my heart base enough at present to suffer my self to be govern'd by the passion of interest ? i find by that , that i am only your right arm , because i am not on the side of your heart . but to ●ndeceive your highness , who thinks interest capable to make me court the friendship of that minister , i protest , and engage my word to you , that i will neither appear at court , or take any employment , until i have the satisfaction of b●holding your highness there in possession of the 〈◊〉 that is due to you . count t●vannes having made this generous pro●●●●●tion , took his leave of the prince , and retir'd 〈◊〉 his estate of pailly near langres , where he ●●●ain'd ever since without any employment 〈◊〉 the court , and without gratitude from the prince . whereas the king had only consented to cardinal mazarin's absence , in order to remove all p●●tences of continuing the civil war , and to re-establish peace in his kingdom , he recall'd him as soon as the state of his affairs did permit him . this minister , who kept at no great distance , and who did not cease to act for his majesty's interests , had no sooner deliver'd picardy from the ex●●rsions of the enemies , but he return'd to court. he arriv'd at paris on the d. of february with as much pomp , and as many acclamations , as if he had never quitted the kingdom for the reasons above mention'd . the remembrance of all that was past seem'd to be bury'd , or that it was design'd to brave the prince of conde's absence . the king went to meet the cardinal , and receiv'd him in the most obliging manner that could be . as soon as cardinal mazarin found himself absolutely restor'd , he apply'd his mind to strengthen his power by considerable alliances : and being sensible that the prince of conty had no inclination to lead a church-life , though he was design'd for i● , he propos'd one of his nieces to him , daughter to a gentleman of rome , beautiful , and endow'd with all manner of vertues . the marriage was concluded , to the satisfaction of all those that were concern'd . while paris and the court was employ'd about marriage and divertisements , burgundy and guienne persisted in their revolt ; but that rebellion did not last long . the city of bellegarde was the only one in all burgundy that persis●●d in the prince's party . the duke d' espernon , who was governour of that province , besieg'd it , and made himself master of it , after a brave and obstinate resistance by count boutteville , who commanded there . marshal de la ferté senneterre , governour of lorrain , being inform'd that the prince of conde's forces were not far from him , attack'd them near varennes , and defeated them absolutely . after which , that marshal invested the castle of orne in the verdunois , the which surrender'd at the approach of canon . the reduction of that castle was● follow'd by that of sorbec . at first the governour refus'd to surrender ; but when he saw that the canon advanc'd , he offer'd to capitulate ; but the marshal de la ferté senneterre refus'd to give him quarter , and caus'd him to be hang'd at the gate . this example of severity terrify'd the governours of the other places to that degree , that they submitted all without expecting a siege . after this , the marshal de la ferté went to joyn marshal de turenne , and they march'd together towards , champayne , in order to quiet that province , and to reduce those towns that held the prince of conde's party . they besieg'd rhetel , which was commanded by the marquess de persan , and having taken the out-works , they oblig'd that governour to surrender . count de brinon , who commanded the king's forces in lorrain , besieg'd commercy , the taking of which seem'd very difficult , by reason of the fortifications the enemies had made there : but the governour 's absence , and the vigour wherewith the siege was carry'd on , oblig'd the besieg'd to capitulate . 〈◊〉 the reduction of those places , there was ●●●son ●o believe that the rebels would soon re 〈…〉 their allegiance . and indeed the revolt 〈◊〉 no where considerably but in guienne . 〈◊〉 du●e of candal● was sent to command the king's a●my there . he immediately took the cas●le o● poujols , and then made himself master o● ●guillon and marmande , after which he defeated the forces marsin sent to the mount of marsan , ●here to take their winter quarters : whereby he dissip●●ed the most considerable part of the factions that subsisted still . several cities of limousin , and 〈◊〉 were at that time powerfully sollicited to a r●vol● ; but some of them return'd of thems●lv●●●o the peaceable domination of their law●ul soveraign ; and the others were constrain'd to it by force of arms , and absolutely to abandon the prince of conde's party . the city of bordeaux was the only one that persisted in the rebellion . that faction which was call'd l' hormes , was still very busie , and was in hopes of considerable succours by sea from engl●nd , and from spain . in order to hinder them ●●om receiving the succours they expected , the d●ke of vend●me , high admiral , was order'd to approach with his ships , and to raise a naval army● the duke having brought his ships near , c●us'd two forts to be built upon the garonne , in order to make himself master of that river . he likewise seiz'd several towns that stood upon the bo●ders thereof , and landed some forces to joyn to those of the duke of candale . the citizens of bordeaux who were well affe●ted , look'd with grief upon the continuation of the revolt : but whereas the number of the factious exceeded theirs , they durst nor resist them . nevertheless when they beheld the king's forces , they form'd the design of stifling the rebellion absolutely . to that end they assembled at the town-house to conclude a general peace . they wo●e white ribbons , and fix'd standards of the same colour on the top of their steeples , in sign of peace , and to distinguish themselves from the horme●s●s , whose colours were red , in sign of war● and to shew that they were ally'd to spain . all this oblig'd the factious to lay down their arm● . all things being dispos'd thus to a good peace , notice was given thereof to the duke of vendôme ● who immediately dispatch'd his secretary to know the real sentiments of the bordelois . monsieur de marsin endeavour'd to create jealousies about that envoy , to the end that he might receive no audience : but three hundred citizens went out to meet him to conduct him to the exchange , where he deliver'd his credentials ; and the same day two citizens were sent to the duke of vendôme with a●ticles of ●e●ce . and whereas those deputies observ'd that marsin likewise sent two officers to the duke , to make propositions in his name , which might hinder the effect of the negotiation , they acquainted that prince in private with the intent●ons of those who had sent them ; in so much that the trea●y of peace was concluded and sign'd● after which , the duke of vendôme , and the duke of candale entred into bordeaux , where their presence made an end of dissipating all the factions . the parliament , that had been transfer'd sometimes to agen , and sometimes to reolle , because it favour'd the prince of conde's party , was re-establish'd in bordeaux : and as soon as the peace was proclaim'd , colonel bal●●zar was order'd to quit the city with his forces ; the prince of conty retir'd first , to cadillac , and from thence to pezenas . the princess of conde went to her husband in flanders ; and the dutchess of longu●ville was order'd to retire to montreuil-bellay . the disorders of bordeaux being thus termina●●● to the king's advantage , all the province of 〈◊〉 was soon restor'd to a perfect tranquility . 〈◊〉 is reported , that in the beginning of the troub●●s and seditions of that province , marsin who commanded the forces there under the prince of c●●ty , sent some very able men to cromwel , to ●●d●●vour to draw that protector of england into the prince of conde's party ; but he refus'd to engage in ●t , or to send any succours , whether he judg'd th●● his authority was not as yet sufficiently establish'd , or whether he were persuaded that that se●ition would not succeed , and that the king would soon be able to bring them back to their all●●iance ; or lastl● , whether he was to maintain a considerable war against holland . in the mean time the prince of conde , who had ●●●●●er'd himself that the sedition excited in guienne would be greatly seconded , and that it would be very l●sting ; and moreover , that it would be an exampl● to all the other provinces of the kingdom , prop●●●d to himself to make some expedition on his side upon the frontier of picardy ; and in order to succeed the better , he implor'd the assistance of the king of spain , who sent him forces under ●he conduct of the count of fuensaldagne . the prince intended to seize the town of han : but being doubtful of the suc●ess , he turn'd his arms ●owards roye , which he caus'd to be invested by the l●●ro●●ers ; commanded by the chevalier of guise . the gentry thereabouts being reti●'d into that town , declar'd when it was summon'd to su●●●●●d , that they were resolv'd to defender them●●●ves to the utmost extremity . but , whereas roye is not sufficiently fortify'd , nor had a sufficient ●●rrison to resist long against an army of men , it su●render'd upon articles after having repuls'd the efforts of the enemies as long as possible they could . during these transactions the french army besieg'd mouson ; and took it after some resistance . the generals press'd that siege with great vigor , in order to succour rocroy , which was besieg'd by the enemies ; but rocroy was taken before the french forces arriv'd . the marshal du plessis pralin , to make amends for that loss besieg'd st. menehoult , in the month of november , the which did not resist long . the prince of conde , tho' sick at that time of a quartan ague , us'd his utmost endeavours to prevent that conquest . but the vigour wherewith the siege was press'd , and the attacks given , oblig'd it to yield . the king's presence , who was not far from thence , also contributed much towards the reduction of that place . in the mean time the king finding that the prince of conde remain'd still among the enemies of france , order'd the parliament of paris , which is the company or body of the peets to impeach him . that prince was accordingly inform'd against , at the request of the king's attorney-general ; and the parliament summon'd the said prince to appear within a fortnight after the publication of the decree , in the great chamber , there to answer to all the articles exhibited against him . but the prince no-wise designing to appear there , the king dispos'd of his governments . he gave his place of lord steward of the houshold to prince thomas ; commissioners were appointed to manage his estates : and the king being come to the * palais on the th . of april , the contents of the informations given against the prince were read and judgment pronounc'd against him , whereby he was declar'd guilty of high-treason . the ceremony of the king's coronation was perform'd at reims in the month of iune , and there the court resolv'd to besiege stenay . the siege was form'd about the beginning of iuly , under the command of the marquess of fabert , governour of sedan , and the king assisted at it in person . the spaniards imagining that all the french forces were employ'd at that siege , resolv'd to besiege arras . that enterprize was no sooner resolv'd on , but the arch-duke assembled his ●o●ces about la basseé , feigning to have a design ●pon that place , after which he march'd directly to arras . the spaniards who flatter'd themselves with the taking of that town , soon ended their circonvalation , although it contain'd above fix leagues circumference , and then they open'd their trenches : but whereas , they open'd them on that side which was strongest , that oversight cost them near men in the attacks : and after above two months siege they found themselves only masters of a small half moon , and some inconsiderable works . count mondejeu who commanded in arras was over joy'd to see himself attack'd on that side . he had been surpriz'd , and had but a weak garrison , he dreaded two attacks at once , which would have confounded him , but the spaniards soon rid him of that fear , for not being oblig'd to divide the small number of men he had , he defended himself with success . in the mean time marshal de turenne approach'd the s●anish lines with an army of or men in order to keep them in awe , and to improve all the occasions that might incommode their camp , until he had receiv'd greater forces to succour the place . the count of ligneville being sensible that the neighbourhood of that army would prove of ill consequence to them , in case they allow'd the french time to retrench themselves , declar'd , that it was his opinion , to attack them briskly . the prince of conde who commanded the spanish army approv'd this advice ; but the count of fuensald●gne as plenipoten●iary persuaded the arch-duke not to abandon the attacks that had been projected , alledging , that tho' one should hav● the fortune to beat monsieur de turenne , it would be impossible to continue the siege , by reason that abundance of men would certainly be lost in an occasion of that nature . those two chiefs being master , the prince was oblig'd to acquiesce , and monsieur de turenne had time enough allow'd him to retrench himself so well in his camp , that it was impossible to force him to a combat , which distracted the prince . sten●y ●ur●ender'd it self soon after , which enabled th● french to send another army commanded by the marshal de hoquincourt , who posted himself on the opposite side to marshal de turenne , at the abby . of st. eloy , having forc'd some infantry that was lodg'd there , to retire , with canon sho● . the armies were so near one another , that the centries could speak together ; insomuch that the spaniards became as much besieg'd as besiegers , whereby they soon wanted bread , no longer enjoying the liberty of the field for convoys . yet notwithstanding the count of fuensaldagne remain'd still obstinate in contin●ing the attacks , in which they advanc'd but little , though they lost abundance of men. the prince of conde seeing how affairs went on , was positive to have the siege rais'd , and to have the honour in their retreat , to force marshal de hoquincourt's army , whic● was very easie to do , by reason that the spanish army was two parts in three stronger than his , but he could never prevail with him to do it : and confiding more in the spanish resolution , than in the advice of the most understanding , he chose to look upon the total ruine of the army , rather than save it in so glorious a manner . o● the other hand marshal de turenne being in●●●●r'd w●●h the condition of the spaniards by his 〈◊〉 , ●he loss they had sustain'd in their attacks , ●●d the general murmurings of the spanish army , ●hich had an ill opinion of the siege , finally resolv'd ●o ●●●cour the place . the enterprize was dangero●s and difficult to be p●t in execution ; for the 〈◊〉 finding themselves in danger of being att●ck'd , fortified themselves daily , and ha● dug g●eat holes to hinder the ho●se from passing there , and to destroy the foot , but those inconveniences were provided against . th●t which monsieur de t●renne was most troubled at , was that the governo●r had not till then been able to give him any ac●ount of his condition . at last a souldier ven●ured out of the town with a note , inclosed ●ithin a small golden box , which he swallow'd . thi● souldier arrived at monsieur de la ferte 〈◊〉 quarters , and having remained a day there without going to stool he took clysters , but though he took three they did not work upon him ; in the next place they gave him a draught which h●d no effect neither . the marshal de la ferte ●rowing very impatient , was resolved to have the soldier 's belly ript open , saying , that it was bet●er to lose a man than a place of so much consequence 〈◊〉 ar●as . but they gave him another draught ●hich proved so strong that he was like to burst ●ith it , the which brought out th● box. the go●ernour inform'd him by the said note , that he did not fear the enemy's power , although they ●●re upon the ramparts : and that he only dreaded one thing , without explaining himself any farther● this puzzled the generals extreamly , yet after some consideration every body concluded , that monsieur de mondejeu feared the arch-duke would be ruled by the prince of conde , and that the succours would be cut in pieces , which indeed was to be feared . neither this note , nor all the precautions the spaniards took could hinder monsieur de ture●●● from putting his resolution in execution . the th . of august he crossed the river of scarps at the head of his cavalry , and posted himself between the spanish camp , and mount st. eloy● and the marshal de hoquincourt attack'd the abby so vigorously with his infantry , that it surrender'd the same day . the next day monsieur de turenne went to discover the lines which were on the side of mount st. eloy , and finding that they were weakly guarded , and that the prince was at such a distance from them , that it would be impossible for him to come up time eno●gh to succour them , he resolved to attack them in that place . the th . he went to view the prince of conde's quarters , in order to keep the spaniards uncertain of the place where he design'd to attack the lines , and having met that prince , who was come out at the head of ten squadrons , their passed a skirmish between them , in which the duke of ioyeuse was wounded , and died some days after . finally on the th . in the morning the three french armies , the first of which was commanded by marshal de turenne , the second by the marshal de la ferte , and the third by marshal de hoquincourt , began the attack with five battalions in front , at the head of which at four yards distance marched detach'd men to furnish them with fascines or bavins , and whatever instruments , or tools they had occasion for . the spaniards suffered the french to pass in several places , without ever firing at them , because they had dug holes there in order to secure themselves . but as soon as they perceiv'd them upon the brim of the first ditch , they made a dreadful discharge , which did not however 〈…〉 the french from overcoming whatever ●ppos'd their passage . they began immediately 〈…〉 the pallisadoes , and to fill up the holes : 〈◊〉 in a very short space of time all the spanish ●●●ks , retrenchments , and parapets were utterly . 〈◊〉 . the french forces had been comman●●● not to advance any farther , le●t the besiegers 〈◊〉 expect them , and make some extraordinary 〈◊〉 . but no forces appearing , the french ad●●●c'd until they met a barrier , which stopt them . 〈◊〉 de bellefons , who commanded the forlorn 〈◊〉 , having removed it , and thereby open'd the pa●●age , all the battalions that had entred the line 〈◊〉 without losing time , the spaniards no wise 〈◊〉 themselves in a posture of defence . at that very time some regiments having open'd the lines in another place push'd the spaniards , which were behind the breast-work , at which time all m●rshal de turrenne's horse charg'd without meeting the least opposition , by reason that the quarter of the lorrainers had given ground , and suffer'd m●rshal d' hoquincourt to enter . but it proved otherwise with marshal de la ferte's forces , they me● a resistance they did not expect , the forces which were coming from the arch-duke's and count fuensaldagne ●s quarter , in order to succour that which mons. de turenne attack'd , meeting them , and opposing their passage , with an incredible bravery . all the baggage the spaniards had in the camp , serv'd as a barrier , to hinder the french from advancing as easily as they could have wish'd ; and that which proved worse than that yet , was a ravine , or great flood of water , which did cut the line of circumvallation . monsieur de turenne endeavouring to cross it , in that place was forced to expose himself to the spanish shot , and to engage with the prince of conde , who fought after his wonted manner , that is , with a courage that cannot be express'd● marshal de turenne was wounded in the left side in that occasion , but h● had the advantage of stopping the prince's fury● who happen'd not to be well seconded . in the mean time the marquess of castelnau having push'd six squadrons that oppos'd him , enter'd arras , having forc'd a barriere which was very well defended . he march'd immediately out of it again , with the remainder of his horse on one side , and the count of montdejeu sallying out at another , they forced the prince of conde to retire , after having left some squadrons behind him to favour his retreat ; at which time the combat redoubled . the prince perform'd extraordinary actions on that occasion ; and by that retreat which has been admir'd as much as the battels he has won ; he sav'd the spanish army , which was never so much expos'd , or in so much danger of being totally defeated , as it was at that time . however , he abandon'd his infantry , his canon , and his baggage , but even in that he shew'd , that he was great in all things , and that his prudence equal'd his valour , which his very enemies acknowledg'd . as this retreat was very glorious for the prince of conde , it also afforded a great deal of reputation to monsieur de turenne , and the other generals who reliev'd arras , and constrain'd the spaniards to raise the siege . this happen'd on the th of august . the taking of stenay , and the raising of the siege of arras , were follow'd by the taking of quesnoy , clermont catelet , landrecy , conde , and st. guillain , which were taken by the french , by reason that the prince of conde was so much exasperated , that his advice had not been follow'd at arras , and even so mortified , that he was unwilling to expose himself to receive new mortifications in the defence of those places . but it happen'd otherwise the following year : the french besieg'd vallenciennes ; that city was invested on the th of iune , and the prince having omitted nothing in order to succour it , he s●cceeded in his design . and whereas he design'd 〈◊〉 recover the honour of the spaniards , he took 〈◊〉 van-guard of their army , and having view'd the french lines , he seiz'd a high ground they had not yet possess'd themselves of , upon which he lodg'd himself , which incommoded them exceedingly . however , this did not hinder them from opening their trenches , and from pushing on the siege with a great deal of vigour , until the th of iuly . but the prince of conde , who sent men into the town every night , having order'd the governor to open the sluces that day , which was the day he had pitch'd upon to attack the french lines , it was accordingly perform'd : the besieged open'd their sluces , which broke at once all the banks the french had rais'd , together with the bridges they had made upon the esca●t , and the country was overflowed to that degree , that it was impossible for mareschal de turenne to succour mareschal de la ferte , whose quarter was attack'd by don iohn of austria , then governor of the netherlands , and by the prince of conde ; and whatever resistance that mareschal could make , he could not hinder his lines from being forc'd , and the spaniards from entering into the town with a considerable relief ; which oblig'd the french army to retire , and raise the siege . it is reported , that marshal de turenne gave marshal de la ferte twice notice to stand upon his guard , and that the spaniards designed to relieve the town that night . moreover , it is added , that he sent him men to fortifie his lines , giving him to understand , that he could not be too careful , having to deal with the prince of conde ; but that some jealousie between them made that genera● despise that advice and offer . however , it i● most certain , that the prince of conde , who wa● resolv'd to relieve the place at any rate , attack'● marshal de la ferte's quarters with so much fury● that he would have accomplish'd his enterprize● whatever assistance he had receiv'd from marsha● de turenne . that prince no sooner appear'd , bu● the french horse being terrified , wheel'd about● and abandon'd marshal de la ferte , and instead of marching up to the spaniards , ran away and retir'd . the disorder was so great among that cavalry , that finding no bridges to cross the escaut , all of them being overflow'd , they l●apt down from certain downs , and sell pell-mell upon monsieur de bellefond's tents . monsieur de la ferte was taken , and had been kill'd , but for the captain of his guards , but it cost that poor gentleman his life , who throwing himself before the marshal received a shot in the head● of which he dy'd some days after : monsieur de moret , count d' estrce , the lieutenant of the cardinals chevaux legers , the ensign , and several other officers belonging to the gens d' arms , and chevaux legers were taken● and above men and horses were d●owned . the marshal de la ferte was carried into the town , and lodg'd in mons de bournonville's house , who was governor , where the prince of conde came to see him ; he found him a bed , where he ran to embrace him , after which he said these words to him : i could wish your comrade had been taken in your stead ; not that i fear him in the field , i should dread you much more than him , but it would have been a satisfaction to me , to see him undergo a disgrace , which in my opinion he deserves much more than you . all i have to say to you , since you are my prisoner , is , that you shall be at liberty as soon as possible i can : i would send you back to morrow , but that i am oblig'd to keep measures 〈◊〉 the spaniards . as for a ransome , i desire none , 〈◊〉 any of your money , but i am willing to receive that ●hich the king shall give for you . mons. de la ferte ●eturn'd him a thousand thanks , and some days after he was carried to rocroy . this di●grace surpriz'd the court a little , and ●nimated marshal de turenne , who preserving the hopes of making other conquests in the low coun●ries , attack'd la capelle , which he took back from the spaniards , with so much speed , that it was impossible for them to relieve it , by reason that the prince of conde could not be every where . while the french besieg'd la capelle , the spaniards had form'd the siege of st. guillain , but rais'd it in o●der to assemble all their forces : but the raising of that siege not having been able to hinder the french from performing their enterprize , the prince of conde resolved to attack st. guillain anew the following year ; to which the governor of the netherlands , the marquess of ceracene , and the other generals having consented , they march'd straight to that place , and took it on the d of march. soon after it , they made themselves masters of conde . marshal de turenne being vex'd at the conquests the spaniards made , resolv'd to be revenged upon cambrai , for the losses the fr●nch had sustain'd . to that end having placed himself one night at the head of a small body of men , without imparting his design to any body , he went to invest that place , in which there were no forces besides the * mortepaye , and fifty horse , or thereabouts : nay , moreover , that which happen'd worse for the king of spain , was , that the governor and his inhabitants did not agree . the town being invested on all sides , and th● remainder of the french army being come up , th● bridges of communication were made , and at th● same time all necessary things to work speedil● about the lines , were delivered to the army . the prince of conde soon received intelligenc● of it , and knowing that there was but a very wea● garrison in cambray , and that the spanish army was not ready to march to the relief of it , he march'd thither himself , with all his horse , which consisted of squadrons . being oblig'd to pass through valenciennes , as soon as he came within two or three leagues of it , he went before , to enquire from those who commanded in the town , whether they could give him any intelligence of the french army . they answer'd , that they could not , but that within hours they had heard abundance of canon shot towards cambray . i am perswaded , answer'd the prince , that that town is besi●ged , but i will endeavour to relieve it , before the enemys have made an end of their lines . after which he desired the governor to prepare a passage for his forces : although those of valenciennes were not used to suffer forces to pass through their city , yet they ●aid , that they were ready to grant him a passage , if he desired to march through it . the prince accepted it , and caused his forces to march through that city● he caused those to refresh themselves that pass'd first : those being got a quarter of a league out of town , he caused the others to march a little further , and those having refresh'd themselves , he took those who had pass'd first , and advanc'd with five hundred horse upon a rising , from whence he perceived the camp , and the lines of the french : moreover , he saw that they were at work . being convinc'd by his own eyes , that mons. de turenne had besieged cambray , he came back to his men , and calling all the officers , he told them , that if they tarried three days without relieving the town , the lines the enemies were making with all the speed imaginable , would be 〈◊〉 the being forc'd : that the spanish army was 〈◊〉 too great a distance to stay for it ; and that ●●nce there was no other remedy , he was resolv'd to enter into that town ; and , that to that end he would march thither between seven and eight at night . he had no sooner imparted his design , but he dispos'd his horse in three lines , each of them consisting of six squadrons : he took the command of the second himself , and the hour appointed to march being come , monsieur de guitaut , who commanded the first , advanced with a design to force whatever should oppose him , and make the least resistance ; but it fell out luckily for him , that he ●ell into the guard of the regiment of palluau , who coming up to the prince's forces , crying out , qui vive ? suffered them to pass , believing that they answered palluau instead of guitaut , by reason of the termination of those names . the prince of conde followed with the second line , and found that the enemies had closed again , yet he forced his way , and passed also . the last line passed likewise , and entred , with the loss of some officers , after which they marched up to the pallisade , and entred the counterscarp . the french horse were so surprized and frightned , that they did not so much as offer to pursue them : insomuch , that day being come , monsie●r de turenne vex'd at what had happen'd , said , that he would have the army retire . and accordingly order'd a retreat to be sounded ; and while the army was disposing to march , he dispatch'd a coureer to the court , to inform them , that the prince of conde was entred in cambray with eighteen squadrons , and that he was going to raise the siege . this place was invested about the end of may. the cardinal finding that the siege of cambray had not succeeded , sent orders to monsieur de la ferte , who had an army towards the frontiers of champagne , to invest montmidi , which he did , and took it . while montmidi was besieged , the spaniards made an attempt upon calis , but were obliged to retire . besides montmidi , they lost st. venant , and were forced to raise the siege of ardres . the french likewise took bourbourg , mardik , la mothe aux-bois , and some other places . the french had also resolved upon the siege of dunkirk the preceding year , and in order thereunto had seized all the advantagious posts that could defend the avenues thereof , to facilitate the taking of it . monsieur de turenne blockt it up by land , on the side of the canal which looks towards mardyk , and on the other as far as the downs . the english army , composed of eighteen or twenty ships , invested it by sea , and hindred the entrance : the circumvallation being made , they began to open the trenches on the fifth of iune . the ●irst days the besieged made vigorous sallies , but were always repulsed . the spaniards being sensible of the importance of that place , put themselves in a posture to relieve it . the prince of conde was already advanced , but marshal de turenne , who omitted nothing for the success of his enterprize , kept so well upon his guard , that it was impossible to surprize him . the besieged made several other sallies , in which abundance of men and officers were lost on both sides . in the mean time monsieur de turenne , while the siege went on , was informed , that don iohn of austria , the prince of conde , and the marshal de hoquincou●● , who had embraced the spanish party , were 〈◊〉 from ypres to newport , and were resolved to hazard all to relieve dunkirk : and accordingly news was brought the next day , being the th , that they were encamp'd in the downs near the abby , and that they were preparing to attack the bes●egers . marshal d' hoquincourt detach'd himself , with threescore horse , to view the french lines , but being come too near a redoubt , where some souldiers lay conceal'd , he was wounded with five or six musquet-shot , of which he died within two hours . the french perceiving that the spaniards were resolv'd to engage them , and that it was impossible to avoid it , offer●d them battel on the th . their right-wing , commanded by monsieur de turenne , was oppos'd by the prince of conde , who signaliz'd himself in that battel , as he had done in others ; he had a horse kill'd under him , whereby he was endanger'd to fall into his enemies hands , but the captain of his guards happening to be there , gave him his , being better pleas'd to be a prisoner himself , than to suffer that great prince to be taken . but notwithstanding all the perils the prince of conde expos'd himself to , and the great actions he did , the spaniards lost the day , and the battel was no sooner lost , but the governor of dunkirk being discourag'd , is desir'd to capitulate , which he did within or days after it : it was on the d of iune . the town was deliver'd to the english. the taking of dunkirk was follow'd by that of bergue , gravelines , oudenarde , ypres , and several other places . altho' the french had had very considerable advantages over the spaniards , yet they were desirous of a peace . the queen , who desir'd it earnestly , had already dispatch'd monsieur de lionne into spain , to lay the foundations of it with don lewis de haro . and tho' monsieur de lionne was incognito at madrid , yet that minister's negotiations succeeded according to the queens wishes . they had agreed upon the general articles , and there was a suspension of arms. but the king of spain declaring that he would have the prince of conde compris'd in the treaty of peace , the french minister reply'd , that he had no orders to hearken to any such proposition ; that the king his master would be the sole disposer of the favours he thought fit to grant that prince , without being impos'd upon in that point . whereupon the conferences were broke off . cardinal mazarin being sensible that that difficulty would not easily be removed , communicated it to the pope , who was mediator between the two crowns , in order to his perswading the king of spain , that he ought to desist in what related to the interest of the prince of conde , but could obtain nothing . finally , the peace was concluded between france and spain , in the manner every body knows . cardinal mazarin consented readily , that the prince should be comprised in the treaty , but he desir'd , that whatever related to his being restor'd to his dignity and estate , should be left entirely to the king's disposal . nevertheless , after many contestations , the affair was determin'd in the manner his catholick majesty had desir'd it , that is to the prince of conde's advantage . these are the articles that concern'd him , as they are inserted in the treaty of peace , made in the isle of faisans , in the year . between philip the fourth king of spain , and lewis the fourteenth king of france . . the prince of conde having declar'd to cardinal mazarin plenipotentiary from his most christian majesty , his soveraign lord , in order to acquaint his majesty therewith , that he is extreamly troubled to have held , for some years past , a conduct which has displeas'd his majesty : that he could wish it were in his power to retrieve , tho' with the best part of his blood , all the acts of hostility he has committed both within and out of france , to which he protests that his misfortunes had engag'd him , rather than any ill intention against his service : and that if his majesty will be so generous , as to make use of his royal goodness towards him , forgetting all what is past , and receive him into favour again , he will endeavour to acknowledge it to the last moment of his life , by an inviolable fidelity , and to retrieve what is pass'd , by an absolute submission to all his commands . and that in the mean time , in order to begin , and to shew by such effects as may be in his power , with how much passion he desires to 〈◊〉 honour'd again by his majesty's favour and good-will , he relinquishes whatever may relate to his interest in the conclusion of the said peace , and desires nothing but what may proceed from the clemency and free-will of the said lord king , his soveraign lord , and besides , desires it may please his majesty to dispose absolutely , and according to his best liking , and in what manner he shall think fit , of all the favours his catholick majesty shall be pleas'd to bestow upon him , and has already offer'd him , either in territories and countries , or in towns and moneys , the which he lays all at his majesty's feet . moreover , that he is ready to disband all his forces , and to deliver up to his majesty the cities of rocroy , le chatelet , and linchamp , of which his said catholick majesty has been pleas'd to remit the two first to him . and likewise , that as soon as he has obtain'd leave , he will send a person on purpose to the said lord king , to assure him more precisely of the sincerity of those sentiments , and the reality of his submissions , and to give his m●jesty such an act , or writing sign'd by ●im , as his majesty shall be pleas'd to desire , for an assurance that he renounces all leagues , treaties , and associations whatever , he may have made formerly , with his catholick majesty : and that for the future he will neither take or receive any establishment , pension , or favour from any foreign king or potentate . and finally , that as to whatever relates to his interest in any kind whatever , he submits it entirely to his majesty's pleasure and disposition , without the least pretensions . his majesty being inform'd of the premisses by his plenipotentiary , and mov'd by the proceeding and submission of the said prince , desires and consents that his interests should be determin'd in this treaty , in the following manner granted and agreed on between the two lord-kings . . first , that the said prince shall lay down his arms , at farthest , in the space of eight weeks , to reckon from the day and date of the signing of this present treaty , and shall effectually disband all his forces , both horse and foot , french or foreign , the which compose the body of his army in the netherlands , and that in such a manner as his most christian majesty shall think fit , excepting the garrisons of rocroy , of chatelet , and linchamp , the which shall be disbanded at the time of the restitution of the said three towns. and the said disarming and disbanding shall be performed by the said prince , really and sincerely , without transportation , loan , or sale , true or pretended , to any other princes or potentates whatever , friends or foes to france , or their allys . . secondly , that the said prince sending a person on purpose to his majesty , to confirm more particularly all the things above-mentiou'd , shall deliver an act signed by him to his said majesty , whereby he shall submit to the execution of what has been agreed upon between the two lord-kings , in relation to his person and interest , as well as for the persons and interests of those that have follow'd him . in consequence of which he shall declare , that he departs sincerely , and renounces bona fidae , to all leagues , intelligences , and treaties of association or protection he may have made and contracted with his catholick majesty , or any other foreign kings , potentates , or princes , or any other persons whatever , both within and out of the kingdom of france ; with promise never to take or receive for the future from the said foreign kings and potentates , any pensions , establishments , or favours obliging him to have a dependency on them , nor any engagements to any king or potentate , besides his majesty his soveraign lord ; on pain , in case of contravention to the said writing , of forfeiting from that moment the re-habilitation and re-establishment that is granted him by the present treaty , and to return to the same condition he was in on the st day of march of the present year . . thirdly , that the said prince , in performance of what has been before agreed upon between the said lord-kings , shall really , and in fact , deliver into his most christian majesty's hands the cities of rocroy , le cha●elet , and linchamp , at the time and day hereafter mention'd in another article of this said treaty . . the premisses being perform'd as abovesaid , his most christian majesty , in contemplation of the peace , and in consideration of his catholick majesty's mediation , making use of his royal clemency , will sincerely and heartily receive the said prince in his favour , and will with the same sincerity forget whatever he has done or undertaken , for the time past , against his service , either within or out of the kingdom ; and will allow his return not only into france , but even at his majesty's court. after which , his majesty will restore the said prince , in reality and fact , to the free possession and enjoyment of all the estates , honours , d●gnities , and priviledges belonging to the first prince of the blood. provided still , that as to what relates to the said estates , of whatever nature they be , the said prince shall never pretend any thing for the time past , towards the restitution of the income or use of the said estates , whatever persons may have enjoy'd them by his majesty's orders , nor to the payment , or restitution of his pensions , sallaries , or other rents and revenues he had upon the demains , farms , or general receipts of the said lord king ; nor yet upon the account , or pretence of what he might pretend to be due to him by his majesty before his going out of the kingdom , nor for the demolitions , degradations , or damages done by his majesty's orders , or otherwise , in any manner whatever , in his estate , cities , places , fortify'd , or not fortify'd , lordships , * chastellenies , lands , and houses of the said prince . . and as to what relates to the garrisons , governments of provinces , or places , the said prince enjoy'd and possess'd before his going out of france , his most christian majesty did for a long while constantly refuse to restore them to him , until his being mov'd by the proceeding and submission of the said prince above-mention'd , when he did fully resign his interests to his pleasure and disposition without the least pretensions , together with whatever was offer'd him by his catholick majesty to indemnifie him : his said most christian majesty did at last condescend to grant him what followeth , upon certain conditions hereafter specify'd ; which the said lord kings have agreed upon , and thus granted , viz. that provided his catholick majesty on his part , instead of what he design'd to give the said prince to indemnifie him , shall draw out the spanish garrison which lyes in the city , fort , and citadel of juliers , to leave the said place , and citadel free from the said garrison to the duke of newburg , on the conditions , and in the manner that shall be specify'd hereafter in one of the articles of the present treaty : a● also provided , that his said catholick majesty besides the removal of the spanish garrison out of the city and citadel of juliers , shall deliver to his most christian majesty the city of avennes , situate between the sambre and the meuse , with the appurtenances , dependencies , annexations , and demains thereof in the manner his said catholick majesty has engag'd above , by an article of the said present treaty ( the which place of avennes his said majesty likewise design'd among other things to give to the said prince . ) in consideration of which , as above-mention'd , that is , in compensation of the delivery and yielding of one of the said places to the most christian king , to be united , and for ever annexed to the crown of france ; and the removal of the spanish garrison out of the other , in favour of a prince who is a friend and ally to his most christian majesty , who is desirous to oblige him by vertue of the said treaty of alliance : his said most christian majesty for all things whatever in general that may relate to the places , and governments the said prince had possess'd , or might reasonably be expected by those that belong'd to him , without excepting any , will give to the said prince the government of the province of burgundy and bresse ; under which are compriz'd the countries of bugey , gex , and veromey : as also the particular governments of the castle of dijon , and of the city of st. john de laune : and to the duke of enguien his son the place of lord high steward of the kingdom and houshold , together with brev●ats of assurance to the said prince , to preserve it in case the said duke of enguien should dye before him . . his said majesty shall grant a full pardon , by his letters patent , in d●e form , for whatever the said prince , his relations , creatures , friends , adherents , and servants , either church-men , or lay-men , have or may have done , or undertaken for the time past against his service ; in so much that it may never hurt or prejudice him or them at any time , nor their heirs , successors , administrators , or assigns , as if the thing had never been . neither shall his said majesty at any time make any enquiry in relation to the said prince , his relations , creatures , friends , adherents , and servants , whether ecclesiasticks , or lay-men , about the money he , or they have taken out of the general or particular receits , or out of the audits of his farms : and shall not oblige them to make any restitution of the said money or sums , nor of all the levies , or gatherings , contributions , impositions , exactions impos'd upon the people , or acts of hostility committed in france , in any wise whatever . which shall be explain'd more at large in the said pardon , or letters patent , for the entire security of the said prince , and of those that have follow'd him , in order that they may never be prosecuted , troubled , or molested about it . . that as soon as the said prince shall have perform'd on his part , what is contain'd in the three articles , . . & . of this present treaty , all dutchies , counties , lands , lordships , and demains , even those of clermont , stenay , and dun , as he enjoy'd them before his going out of france , and that of jamets also , in case he did enjoy it , the which heretofore belong'd to the said prince : together with all and every his other estates , moveables , or immoveables , of any kind whatever in the manner abovesaid , shall be really and truly return'd to him , or to those the said prince , being in france , shall commit , and depute , to take in his name the possession of the said estates , &c. and to serve him in the administration or management of the same . as also that restitution shall be made to him , or his said deputies , of all the titles , instruments , and other writings left by him at the time of his going out 〈…〉 ki●●dom , in the houses belonging to the said 〈◊〉 and lordships , or elsewhere . and that the ●aid 〈◊〉 shall ●e r●stor'd to the true and real possession and 〈◊〉 of his said dutchies , counti●s , lands , lord●●●● a●d demains , with such rights , authorities , 〈◊〉 , presidial seats , royal cases , pre 〈…〉 , and conferring of benefices , nominations of 〈◊〉 favours , and preheminences , or prerogatives , ●●ich ●e and his predecessors did enjoy , as he enjoy'd 〈◊〉 before his going out of the kingdom . but that 〈◊〉 ●●●ll leav● bellegarde and montrond in the same co●dition they are at present . for the performing of 〈◊〉 , ●ll his majesty's letters patent thereunto necess●●● shall be granted him , in as good a form as he shall r●●●ire , or desire , without his being lyable to be disturb'd , ●●●●●cuted , or troubled , in the said possession and en●●●●ent by the said lord king , his heirs , successors , 〈◊〉 o●ficers , directly , or indirectly , any donations , or gifts , 〈◊〉 , or i●corporations that may have been made of the said dutchies , counties , lands , lordships , and de●ai●s , estates , honours , dignities , and prerogatives of first prince of the blood notwithstanding , or what●●er derogatory clauses , constitutions , or ordinances co●trary th●reunto . neither shall the said prince , his he●r● , and s●ccessors , by reason of what he may have 〈◊〉 , either in france before his going from thence , or 〈◊〉 of the kingdom , after his departure from thence ; 〈◊〉 ●or any treaties , correspondencies , by him made and 〈◊〉 with any princes , or persons of any condition or quali●y soever , be lyable to be molested , troubled , or 〈◊〉 . but that all proceedings , decrees , even that of the parliament of paris , bearing date the th . of march , o● the year . iudgments , sentences , and other acts , which are already past against the said prince , ei●her in civil or criminal cases ( unless he has volun●arily contested in a civil suit ) shall remain void , and of no effect , and shall never be prosecuted , as if they had never been . and as to what relates to the demain of albret , which the said prince enjoyed before his going out of france , the which his majesty has since otherwise disposed of , he will in lieu thereof give the said ●rince the demain of bourbonnois , on the same conditions the exchange of the said two demains had already been adjusted , before the said prince's going out of the kingdom . . as to the relations , friends , creatures , adherents , or domesticks of the said prince , either ecclesiasticks , or lay-men , that have followed his party , they may by vertue of the pardons and indemnities heretofore mentioned in the th . article , return into france with the said prince , and fix their abode in what place they shall think fit . and shall be restored like the other subjects of the two kings to the peaceable possession and enjoyment of their estates , honours , and dignities ( excepting the places , offices , and governments they possessed before their going out of the kingdom ) the said estates , honours , and dignities , to be by them enjoyed● in the same manner they held and did possess them . but still without pretending to any restitution of the enjoyments thereof for the time past , either from those on whom his majesty shall have bestowed them , o● in any other manner whatever . as also they shall be restored to their rights , names , dues , actions , or pl●as , successions , inheritances , fallen to them , or to the children , or widows of the deceased , during their absence out of the kingdom ; and their goods shall be returned them if still in being . and his majesty , in consideration of the peace , declares all proceedings and decrees void and of no effect ( excepting what relates to their said places , offices , and governments ) even ●hat of the parliament of paris , bearing date the th . of march , . as well as all sentences , iudgments , adjudications , donations , incorporations , and other acts , that may have been given against them , or their heirs , for their having followed the party of the said prince ; 〈◊〉 that as well in civil as criminal cases ( unless in 〈◊〉 civil matters as they have voluntarily contested ) 〈◊〉 that neither they , nor their heirs shall ●ver be 〈◊〉 to be prosecuted , disturbed , or troubled for the 〈◊〉 . for the performance of all which premisses his 〈◊〉 christian majesty will cause all necessary letters 〈◊〉 to be expedited , both for the said prince , his rela●ions , friends , creatures , adherents , and dome 〈…〉 , whether ecclesiasticks , or lay-men , containing 〈◊〉 premises in secure and due form . which letters 〈◊〉 shall be delivered to them , as soon as the said prince on his part shall have performed the contents of 〈◊〉 three articles , , , of this present treaty . . in performance of what is contained in the sixth article of this present treaty , by which his most chri●●●● majesty is obliged to give unto the said prince of conde , and to the said duke of enguien his son the governments , and the place therein specified ; and his catholick majesty promises , and obliges himself on his 〈◊〉 , upon the faith and word of a king , to remove 〈◊〉 of the city , citadel , or castle of juliers , the spa●●sh garrison which lyes in the said city , citadel , or 〈◊〉 , and whatever other forces have lately been put 〈◊〉 them , or might again be sent thither , in order to reinforce the garrison : leaving in the said city , and citadel , all the artillery that is mark'd with the arms 〈◊〉 the house of cleves , or juliers , or that has belonged 〈◊〉 them : and as for the remainder of the said artillery , 〈◊〉 , ●unition , and instruments of war , his said ●ajesty has in the said city and castle of juliers , it ●●●ll ●e free for him to remove them : leaving the said 〈◊〉 , c●tadel , or castle of juliers to the possession of 〈◊〉 said duke of newburg , or such as shall be appointed by him to receive it , in the same quality as he possesses the state of juliers ; the said duke first de●●●●●ing unto his catholick majesty a writing in due form , signed by his own hand , to the satisfaction of his said catholick majesty , whereby he obliges himself not to sell , alienate , or engage the said city , citadel , or castle , to any one , or any other princes , or private persons ; and that he shall neither put , or establish any garrison there but of his own forces : as also to grant his said catholick majesty , when ever he shall have occasion for it ; a p●ssage for his forces , either through the said city , or through the state of juliers ; his said majesty paying at his own cost and charges the expence of the passage of the said forces , which shall be performed by regulated days , and reasonable marches , without being allowed to sojourn , or remain in the country , the said duke on such occasions using what●ver precautions may be necessary for the security of the said city and citadel . and in case the said duke should be wanting in the performance of those things he obliges himself to , as well not to alienate , as not to put any garrison in the said city and citadel , but of his own forces , or should refuse a passage to his catholick majesty's forces , they paying for it : the said lord most christian king promises upon the faith and word of a king , neither to assist the said duke with men or money , nor in any other ways , either by himself , or others , to defend the said insruction ; but on the contrary , shall send his own forces , if necessary , for the accomplishment of the premises . the peace being concluded , the prince of conde returned into france ; he entred it by the way of la capelle , and passed through soissons , where he refused to receive any harangues , or visits from the corporations of the city , protesting that he would receive none until he had first had the honour of seeing the king. he went from soissons the next day , being accompany'd with three more in his coach , viz. the duke d' enguien , messieurs de houteville , and guitant . he went to meaux , and from thence to coulomiers at the duke of ●●●●●●ville's , from whence he went to meet the 〈◊〉 who was at that time in provence , in ex●●●●●●ion of the accomplishment of his marriage 〈◊〉 the infanta of spain , which was as it were , 〈◊〉 first fruit of the peace . the king who had made a progress to toulouse , 〈◊〉 the queen , monsieur , and mademoiselle , where 〈◊〉 cardinal also repair'd about the beginning of ●●●●ary , . arrived on the th . of the said m●nth at arles , and the th . at aix , where the prince came two days after . cardinal mazarin presented him to the king , who receiv'd him with great demonstration of kindness , and reiterated assurances that he would forget all that was pa●● . he follow'd the court , and assisted at the magnificent entry their majesties made into paris on the th . of august of the following year . the king had long been desirous to acknowledge the services of some persons , who were distinguish'd by their birth , by honouring them with the colar of the order of the holy ghost . the length of the war had been an obstacle to it till then : but the peace being settled he put that design in execution , and made sixty knights , and eight commanders . the ceremony was perform'd in the church of the great augustin's at paris , with great magnificence , on the last of december , . the order was con●e●r'd first o● the prelates : and after the service , the king perform'd the ceremony for the lay-knights , beginning with the prince of conde , and continuing with the duke d' enguien , the prince of conti and the duke of verneuil . philip the th . king of spain died on the th . of sept●mber , . when the negotiations of peace were begun , and the marriage of the king of france with the infanta first talk of , the spa●iard● oppos'd it at first , for fear of being troubled by the french at some time or other , about the rights of that princess : and it fell out accordingly : the king of france pretending that the dutchy of brabant and the annexions thereof belong'd to the queen , by right of devolution after the death of prince balthazar her brother , who died on th . of october , . he caus'd the said country to be demanded from the queen of spain . those pretensions were laugh'd at at madrid : and upon that refusal , which was expected , france wag'd war into the low countries , having first publish'd a manifesto , by which that crown endeavour'd to prove , that in taking possession of a country that belong'd to the queen , they did not in the least infringe the last treaty that had been made with spain . the king departed from st. germains on the th . of may , and entred the fields on the th . he made choice of marshal de turenne for his lieutenant-general ; and sent marshal d' aumont towards dunkirk , there to command a body of or men. the marquess of crequi , who had liv'd from the court for five or six years last past was recall'd , and sent upon the frontiers towards luxemburgh with or men. but the prince of conde had no imployment . she spaniards were constantly beaten during all that campagn , and lost bergue , furnes , tournay , douay , cou●tra● , and l' isle . the king of france not being satisfy'd with his progresses in flanders resolv'd to fall upon the franche comte , and to make himself master of it . he did not stay for the spring to undertake that conquest . the prince of conde who had tarried in his governments without action , while monsieur de turenne had so many occasions to distinguish himself in the low countries , was sent before 〈◊〉 on the th of february of the following 〈◊〉 . the king who had left paris to assist at 〈◊〉 expedition arriv●d at dison the following day . the same day the prince of conde summon'd the 〈◊〉 to surrender . the inhabitants of that city 〈◊〉 had been surpriz'd , and were not able to 〈◊〉 any resistance resolv'd immediately to ●ur●●●der , saying , that they were willing to submit to 〈◊〉 king of france , and to receive him , but as in 〈◊〉 imperial city . however , the prince having gi●●● them to understand that their city had ceas'd 〈◊〉 an imperial city by the treaty of munster , and that in case they obey'd without delay all 〈◊〉 priviledges should be preserv'd , they surrende●'d innocently without any further conditions , 〈◊〉 opened their gates . the duke of luxemburg enter'd salins at the same time , and dole was in●●sted on the th . the king and the prince of c●nde being agreed about the measures that were to be taken in order to reduce that city with as much ease as bezancon and salins , count chamilly , one of the major-generals of the army , was orde●'d to summon the inhabitants to surrender , and 〈◊〉 promise them that all their rights should be preserv'd , in case they would submit voluntarily , ●nd to threaten them at the same time , that no quarter should be given them if they made the le●st resistance . monsieur de chamilly receiv'd no favourable answer ; whereupon it was resolv'd to take it by force ; and three attacks were made 〈◊〉 the th . in which the prince expos'd himself extreamly . the besieged defended themselves , ●nd some considerable officers were kill'd in that occasion . the king seeing the resistance that was made by those who govern'd in the place , sent count grammont the next day to represent to the parliament the nece●sity they lay under of surrendring , or of being expos'd to the fury of an army , commanded by a king in person , and by the prince of conde , who was every where attended with victory . he show'd them not only that there was a great deal of rashness in resisting such powerful forces commanded by chiefs , who till then had met with nothing that could ●ppose them , but also that it was very dangerous , since the king was resolv'd upon a general assault , and to give no quarter . he added to this that all the privileges of the citizens of dole should be preserv'd : that in changing their government they should not be the less happy : and finally , that they must determine instantly . the parliament was strangely perplex'd , but having consider'd that it would be better to submit on the conditions that were propos'd to them , than to run the hazard of seeing a whole city in a flame , and of being expos'd to the hostility of the souldiers , they gave count grammont full satisfaction , and he carry'd hostages along with them for the assurance of the reduction of that place . the capitulation was sign'd on the th . the king also took grai on the th . the castles of iou and st. anne also surrender'd themselves ; insomuch that in less than a month the whole franche comté was reduc'd . the spaniards in order to stop the torrent of the french conquests desir'd a cessation of arms , which was granted them till may ; and by the treaty of aix la chapelle which was made the same year , the franche comté was restor'd to the king of spain . nothing considerable pass'd in relation to the prince of conde until the year . when the king of france declar'd war to the hollanders . we will enter upon no particulars here ; since no body can be ignorant of the motives and pretences of that war , in which the united princes were like 〈◊〉 have been subdu'd by a prince who aim'd at the u●●v●●sal monarchy of europe , and could not 〈◊〉 fail'd of his ends had he subdu'd that flouri●●ing republick , of which god has hitherto de●●●●●● himself the protector . we will only say , 〈…〉 as the king of france had resolv'd up●● that war , and to that end assembled an army of upwards of a hundred thousand men , he dirided it into three bodies , of which he command●●●he chief in person , and gave the two others ●o the prince of conde , and to count chamilly . the forces the king was to command had their rendezvous near charleroy , and the prince of 〈◊〉 army about sedan ● consisting of m●● . the prince was the first that march'd away , the king was the second , and count chamilly follow'd in order to joyn them : after which they 〈◊〉 all three towards mastricht , and incampt 〈◊〉 five or six leagues from thence . some days after a council of war was held , in which the duke of orleance , the prince of conde , and monsie●r de turenne assisted : the first advices inclin'd to besiege mastricht , but upon considera●ion ●hat it was a dangerous undertaking , they mar●hed towards the rhine . the body that was commanded by the prince of conde march'd first , the king 's followed ; and the two armies march●● for seven or eight days together without meeting any forces , excepting two hundred men in a retrenchment , the which the prince took prisoners● the chevalier de la rochefoucault , brother to the prince of marsillue , was ●●●ll'd in that occa●●on . the prince of conde having marched on ●aid siege to wesel , while the king besieg'd orsoy , and mo●sieur de turenne burik . as soon as the prince came before that town , he caus'd a battery to be raised upon the side of the rhine to cut off the communication thereof ; and having taken some other precautions he made his lines , and attack'd the fort de la lippe with so much vigour that he took it . it was a post of very great consequence . the taking thereof cast the besieged into so great a consternation , that they desir'd a suspension of arms , until the next day about noon : this suspension being granted them , they sent two deputies to the prince to let him know , that they were very much surprized that his most christian majesty should attack them , since they were subjects to the elector of brandenburg ; and that the states general were only in possession of the gates , rampa●ts , and fortifications , without exercising any jurisdiction in the town ; and that therefore they desired their city might be declared neuter : but that proposition was not relished . the prince of conde continued his attacks , and ca●sed the trenches to be made , fasci●es to be carried to the side of the ditch , and finally disposed all things in order to make way for the miner . in the mean time the besieged having caused some pieces of cannon to be placed upon their ramparts , for the most par'd dismounted , they made so dreadful a fire that they kill'd above french. tha● defence as vigorous as it was did not hinder the continuation of that siege . the prince of cond● attack'd the counterscarp ; and as soon as it was taken , and his men lodged upon it , the besieged did capitulate . this place being of great consequence , and able to have held out much longer than it did , the ●●vernour was condemn'd to lose his head , but he having given sufficient reasons for his surrendring it at the time he did , the sentence was not executed . the prince of conde marched from wesel to 〈◊〉 which surrender'd immediately , and from 〈◊〉 ●o e●●rik which made no resistance neither . 〈◊〉 , which was besieged by the king , sur●●●dred at that time ; for which the governour 〈◊〉 his head. the king of france who had not expected those place● would have been taken so easily , being de●●●●●s to push on his conquests , was stopt by the 〈◊〉 of the states general , which ran to the defe●●e of iss●l , which is a river that covers all that ●●rt of the country he design'd to make himself master of . he resolved to pass the said river ; b●t whereas it was very deep , and the banks of a very difficult ascent , he was willing to have the p●ince of conde's advice before he attempted any thi●g , and accordingly he writ to him about it : although the prince of conde was used to great e●terprizes he looked upon that to be very dang●ro●s , and answered the king that it was impr●cticable , but that he advised him to attempt to cross the rhine , where the hollanders were not u●●n their guard. the prince who was desirous 〈◊〉 facilitate the conquest of holland to the king , ●●ving brib'd a gentleman of that country , the ●●●d gen●leman show'd him a foo●d towards tol●●●●● , where the water was so shallow at the en●r●nce , and at the going out , that there was not ●b●ve two hundred foot to swim . count de g●iche made a tryal of it , in order to be satisfied of the truth , and having found it wadeable in tha● place by the tryal he made of it himself , with o●e of his gentlemen , he acquainted the prince of conde therewith , who immediately gave an account of it to the king. that monarch was so delighted with that news that he instantly quitted his camp with his houshould ; and having le●t the command of the remainder of his army to monsieur de turenne went to joyn the prince . the dutch receiving some intelligence of the king of france's design , sent some forces to the place where the french design'd to cross the rhine ; but by reason of some wrong motions they could not possibly foresee , they had not time to retrench themselves . in the mean time as soon as the king of france was arriv'd upon the banks of the rhine , he caused some batteries to be made , and the army began to cross . abundance of volunt●ers and persons of very great quality went over at the same time , viz. the duke of vivonne , the counts de saulx , de lionne , de chauvigny and the count of nogent who was drown'd . the prince of conde who would have a share in that action cross'd immediately in a boat with his son the duke d' enguien . his nephew the duke of longueville swam it over . as soon as those two lords where got over , they ran full speed towards a barrier where some forces had posted themselves , and began to fire upon them . those forces were surpriz'd and frighten'd to that degree that they demanded quarter , which the prince of conde granted them : but the duke of longueville who had been drinking a little leapt over the barrier : the duke of enguien follow'd him , and those men having taken up their arms again , the duke of longueville was kill'd . the prince of conde immediately ran thither to moderate the indiscreet heat of those young lords , but he came too late , and was wounded in the left-hand with a musquet-shot . although his wound was very painful he would not move from the combat until all those men were kill'd . the wound the prince receiv'd was not dangerous , but whereas it was in that hand where he had the gout commonly , it was so troublesome to him , that not ●●●ng able to sleep day or night , or to serve any lo●ger , he was obliged to retire to arnhem ●hich the french made themselves masters of , 〈◊〉 well as of several other places . every body knows what passed in the beginnings of that 〈◊〉 . the city of utrecht surrender'd it self like the ●e●t , and the marquess of rochefort went to take possession of it . the prince of conde being cured of his wound repair'd thither on the st . of may of the following year : he was receiv'd there with all the discharge of the canon , and the ringing of the bills : monsieur stoppa who was governour there presented him with the keys of the town in a silver bason at his arrival there : having held them for sometime in his hands he return'd them to him , after which he was conducted to the house that had been prepared for him , by the garrison , which was all in arms. sometime after the prince of conde's arrival at utrecht he went to several places to try whether he could undertake any thing : but he found so good a● order every where that he was forc'd to go back without doing any thing , having only cau●ed two bridges to be built upon the leck at ●●llemburg , and at wick , in order to have a comm●nication with the forces that were in the betau . he lay sick a while , and being oblig'd to keep his chamber several days , he constantly had the most learned men in utrecht about him , whom he receiv'd with all the civilities imaginable . it is reported that he was desirous to see spinoza , and ●old him smiling , that if he would follow him into france , he would put him in a way to live conformably to the principles of his theology ; that paris neither wanted fine women , nor pleasures ; although he look'd upon him as a derst , and a man who had no religion , he was charm'd with the conversation he had with him ● the best part of the roman catholicks of the country of g●elder were so pleased to find themselves under the government of a catholick king , that their joy cannot be exprest . being in great hopes that their religion would become the uppermost , they sent deputies to the prince of conde to de●●●e him to give them those churches the protestants possessed in the open country : the prince who was sensible that they knew not what they desired , answer'd with some railleries that put them clear out of countenance : after which he told them , that he had no orders from his majesty as to what related to what they desired ; that in case the king should make himself master of all the country they should have as many churches as they pleas'd ; but that whereas it was not certain yet he advised them to remain quiet , and not so much as to accept one of the protestant churches , although it were profer'd them ; to avoid the mortifications of restoring them as soon as the french army should march away . the prince of conde was very sensible that it was impossible for the king of france to preserve all the places he got from the hollanders with that surprizing swiftness every body has heard of . the states general who expected nothing less than the war that was declared against them were surpriz'd : but being recover'd out of their fright and surprize , having made a league with the house of austria , and placed the present king of england at the head of it , france found it self oblig'd to abondon all at once almost all the conquests it had made , and began to fear in its turn : that crown fearing not to come off with honour and advantage out of a war , they had began with so much haughtiness , they had recourse to intreague . to that end in order to divide the hollanders from the rest of the allies , they made them advanta●●●●● propositions in case they would hearken to ●●●eace . they offer'd to restore them mastricht and grave , which were the two only places they 〈◊〉 preserv'd ; but the hollanders refus'd to hear●●n to it , and chose to venture the hazards of a 〈◊〉 , rather than to forsake the emperor , the king of spain , and the other princes that were in league with them , and from whom they had ●●ceiv'd an assistance that had broken all the m●asures of france . the king of france finding t●at there was no hopes that way , endeavour'd to ●●atter the ambition of the prince of orange by great promises ; but that great prince rejected them with scorn , and acquainted the states general with the propositions that had been made to 〈◊〉 , assuring them that he would compass the ●●●ing of the french out of their country , and that he would give them a considerable check , in case his sentiments were follow'd , and his resolutions executed . the different interests of the princes that were 〈◊〉 league together hindred things from being car●●●d on in the manner that great prince desir'd it . s●me were for besieging grave , or mastricht ; and others for the like reason desired the siege of c●●rleroy ; others did not care any place should be besieg'd provided a stop were put to the french 〈◊〉 and that it should be hinder'd from sending any succours to marshal de turenne : france in the mean time pro●ited by those irresolutions . the prince of orange was inrag'd that he could under●ake nothing , although he had an army of near men ; he met with oppositions every where . in fine , after many obstacles that prince carry'd it in a council of war , and the siege of grave was resolv'd upon , and put in execution by monsieur de rabenhaut . but the taking of that place not proving so easie as it was imagin'd , about three months were spent in the taking of it ; the prince of orange at that time design'd the siege of charleroy . nevertheless he seem'd to have a design upon some other place . the prince of conde who was not easily deceiv'd , posted himself at pieton , between charleroy , and fontaine l' esveque , having the sambre behind him , and two woods pretty near the head of his army , between which the prince of orange was oblig'd to pass to come to a combat , which rendred the approaches of the dutch almost impossible . the prince of orange in order to oblige the prince of conde to quit his post , made a detachment of or men , which march'd towards the meuse : but the prince of conde suspecting that they only design'd to draw him to some inconveniences● only sent some of his forces that way , which broke the prince of orange's measures . these two princes esteem'd and dreaded each other reciprocally : but the one was better serv'd than the other . the prince of orange daily form'd new designs , without being able of putting any of them in execution ; and the prince of conde propos'd nothing but what he did execute at the same time . this last who took the advantage of the differences that reign'd among the allies , kept still on the side of the prince of orange's army , and having observ'd in one of the marches of that army , that the ground oblig'd him to separate from it , he caus'd his cavalry to mount , and before the van could succour the rear he fought with so much fortune , that we may say that he had the advantage at first , but it prov'd otherwise in the end ; as will be seen hereafter . this battle we are going to relate , was fought at senef on the th . of august . t●● s●ccess of that battle has been so variously 〈…〉 it is difficult to decide who had the 〈◊〉 both parties have pretended to it , and 〈…〉 reason , since it pass'd very equally 〈◊〉 both sides . 〈◊〉 the armies were about nivelle , the con 〈…〉 as earnest and sollicitous to come to ● combat , as the french were careful to avoid it , 〈◊〉 being resolv'd not to engage with the prince 〈…〉 unless the advantage were visible on their 〈◊〉 . the reason thereof was imputed in the 〈◊〉 place to the eagerness wherewith the young pr●nce of orange desired to open himself a passage 〈◊〉 ●r●nce through victory , in order to revenge the i●●u●ies this country had receiv'd from the 〈◊〉 , and at the same time to make his first tryal ●f a pitch'd battle against so famous and so expe●●●nc'd a general as the prince of conde . in the ●●cond place , it was reported that the prince of 〈◊〉 who was an old general , thought he should expo●e his glory too much , by encountring a ●oung prince of twenty three years of age. ●●ere was another reason which curb'd the natural eagerness of the prince of conde , although the army he commanded was compos'd of good o●ficers , and chosen souldiers , well disciplin'd , ●●ready innur'd to combats , and flush'd by the continual success that had attended them in two wars , which could not be said of that which was commanded by the prince of orange . this reason was , that reflecting to himself that he had been very much out of favour at the court of france , during the reign of lewis the th . he consider'd that he should be call'd to a stricter account than ●●y other , should any considerable misfortune befall his army , by reason that thereby the confederates would have had a free passage into france , the frontiers on that side remaining defenceless : and it is most certain that the loss of a battle on the side of the french , would have been attended with terrible consequences , and would have shook the grandeur of that crown , by reason of the discontents that reign'd in the kingdom , and in which the prince of conde was suspected to have a share . those two different dispositions oblig'd the two generals , the one carefully to seek , and the other to avoid a combat . in fine , the prince of orange concluding that the only way to oblige the french to fight , was to undertake the siege of some considerable place , which would engage them to the relief thereof , decamp'd and march'd towards senef : he divides his army in three bodies ; the german● under the command of count de souch● led the van ; the spaniards under prince vaudemont were placed in the rea● , and the dutch commanded by count waldeck composed the main body . the prince of conde who was retrench'd pretty near them , having observ'd their march , and seen as we have already observ'd ; that they were of necessity oblig'd to pass some defilies that were very narrow , tarry'd until the van , and the ma●n body were pass'd . and as soon as he perceiv'd that the rear began to march , he came out of his retrenchments and charg'd the spaniards vigorously , who made no great resistance ; insomuch that almost in a moment he kill'd above men upon the spot , pillag'd , or burnt part of the equipages , took standards , and several prisoners of note . the prince of orange who was at the he●d of his forces , was extreamly surpriz'd at what pas'd in the rear , and running thither full speed he found all his men in disorder , and that the prince of conde in order to improve his advantage , endeavou●'d to cut off one part of the army , which was divided from the other by a wood : that prince had only time to possess himself a rising beyond senef , where he posted his horse , and plac'd three strong battalions before them to guard a defily ; but he could by no means succour the spaniards , who being broken ●ell upon the dutch and put them in a terrible disorder ; insomuch , that the prince of conde pursuing his advantage made an end of breaking them with ease . had the prince of conde contented himself with that success , it is most certain that the victory could not have been disputed , but being incourag'd by the hopes of obtaining a compleat victory , and believing that the dutch whom he look'd upon as being the worst souldiers in the world , would never stand their ground after the absolute defeat of the spaniards , he caused his whole army to advance . this prince who had p●●form'd one of the bravest and boldest actions in nature , whereby he would have gain'd an immortal glory had he stopt there , order'd chevalier de tourille , lieutenant-general , to attack the prince of orange . chevaliar de tourille answered , that he was ready to go where-ever be should command , but that if he might be allow'd to speak his mind , the prince of orange was posted so advantageously , that he would certainly lose abundance of me● if he came to a battle : the prince of conde who did not love him , replied in a disdainful manner , that he did not ask his advice ; to which he added , that he had never been deceiv'd in his opinion of him , which was , that he was much fitter to advise and reason than to fight . these words stung this officer to the quick , who certainly was very brave : he march'd away that very moment without a reply , and pass'd a defily in order to charge the prince of orange's horse , which stood in battalia , and executed the prince of conde's orders , but he lost his life by it , as well as most the officers that follow'd him . he liv'd but one hour after it , and a moment before he died , he declar'd , that he did not regret his life , since he died for the service of his prince , but that he should have been very glad to live a few hours longer to see what would become of the prince of conde 's undertaking , or rather to see him perish . in the mean time the prince of orange was marching to the relief of the spaniards , and of the squadrons he had detach'd : but he found himself immediately hem'd in by the run-aways whom he could never stop , either by words , blows , promises , or reproaches . the germans being inform'd of what pass'd came in time to reinforce the dutch , at which time the battle engag'd , and began with great fury on both sides . the prince of conde having occasion'd the loss of many brave men was animated to that degree that he exposed himself like the meanest s●●ldiers . the dutch made a very brave resistance ; but the prince of orange perceiving that he was in danger of losing his post made three battallions advance to sustain those that were : before he could post them , his men being press'd by the prince of conde retir'd to fay , a village that stood close by them , fortify'd with a castle and a church , and surrounded with hedges . the prince of conde who had no longer any regard for his men , without minding the losses he had sustain'd in the two preceding actions , order'd fo●ces to march that way , and having met the three battalions we have mention'd , that had not yet joyn'd the others , he put them to flight . the next thing was to force the prince of orange out of fay ; but that did not prove easie● that prince who gave so many proofs of bravery and prudence in that occasion , being cover'd on o●e side by a marsh , and on the other by a wood , which he had lin'd with infantry : but as nothing appear'd impossible to the prince of conde , h● sent the duke of luxemburg towards the wood , while he undertook to force the village with his b●st forces ; but he met with a brave resistance o● all sides : the duke of luxemburg was forc'd to retire with the loss of his best officers and souldiers : and the reason why the prince did not do the same was , that he was resolv'd to overcome at any rate , to make attonement for the loss of so many brave men he had expos'd without any necessity . the remainder of the officers seeing the first prince of the blood expos'd to the utmost p●rils resolv'd to share them with him . never did people expose themselves with more fury , no● ever was a braver resistance made . the ●●ench being repuls'd every where made new effor●s 〈◊〉 drove two battallions of infantry into a 〈◊〉 which they had posted themselves , and charg'd through the squadrons that sustain'd them , but they lost so many men in that action , that they had no reason to boast of the advantages they had obtain . this dreadful combat lasted eight hours by day-light , and two hours by the light of the moon , which did set to the extream grief of the two generals . the prince of orange ( while this action lasted ) gave all necessary orders with an admirable prudence . he neglected no advantage he could improve , and charg'd the french several times at the head of his squadrons with that bravery and courage he has demonstrated in so many occasions : he oppos'd his own men that were defeated and fe●● upon him , as well as his enemies who pursu'd their victory with great vigour , and remain'd engag'd for above six hours during the greatest heat of the combat , until he was forc'd away by the runaways . he rally'd them several times , and charg'd with them afresh . in fine , he expos'd himself , as well as the prince of conde , to more dangers than the meanest souldier ; insomuch that count de souches , in one of his letters to the states-general upon that subject , declar'd , that during all the time of the combat , that prince had shown the conduct of an old general , and the valour of a caesar ● his allies and friends , in giving him the praises and glory he deserv'd , did no more than his very enemies allow'd . they said , that the prince of conde had multiply'd himself during the combat , and that he had met the prince of orange every where . but the greatest testimony he receiv'd of it , and that which was most glorious , was that which the prince of conde gave himself , who speaking of that great monarch , said , that he had behav'd himself in every thing like an old captain , excepting only his exposin● himself to too many dangers , wherein he had 〈◊〉 like a young man. nevertheless the prince of conde , as old as he was● had committed the same fault : for , as we have already noted , he expos'd himself that day as much as the youngest man in the army , when he perceiv'd that the battel grew bloody , and that all was at stake , so uncertain the success did appear . the combat was obstinate on both sides , and the two generals expos'd themselves to that degree , that it was evident they had much rather dye than lose the battel . the number of the two armies being pretty equal at the beginning of the battel , it was computed , that the number of the slain proved also partly equal on both sides , and that about or men had been killed , but the french lost more officers than the confederates . night having parted the two armies , rather 〈◊〉 the weariness or weakness of the combat●●●●●s , the french retir'd to their camp , and two ●●urs after the prince of orange repaird to that which he had design'd for his army the day be●●re● the confederates pretended the victory● becau●e they remain'd masters of the field of battel ; and the● french challeng'd it , by reason that they took a greater number of prisoners and standards . but without deciding who had the honour of the day , we may say , that the prince of orange go● a great victory , in not being vanquish'd by the prince of conde ; and the prince of conde's glory 〈◊〉 as great● in not being ove●come by the prince o● or●nge . after the two armies had refresh'd themselves , and had repair'd as much as they could the damages they had sustain'd in that bloody battel , they ●●arched into the field again , and kept the world in exp●●tation of a second engagement before the end of the campaign . the prince of orange used his utmost endeavours , in order thereunto , but the prince of conde chose such advantagious posts , and retrenched himself so well , that it was impossible to force him without disadvantage . he contented himself with observing the motion of the enemies , and with preserving the conquests france had m●de , and to hinder the confederate army from entring into france , which was the design the confederates had projected . the prince of orange finding that it was impossible to come to any action with the prince of conde , who kept upon the defensive , laid siege before oudenarde , in the month of september , whereby he obtain'd his end , which was to draw the french out of their retrenchments . accordingly the prince of conde having received a supply of forces , which marshal ● ' humier● was to bring him , he set immediately forward to attempt the relief of that place● as soon as the french army appeared , the prince of orange assembled a council of war , in which he propos'd to march out of the lines , in order to attack the prince of conde , before his forces could be refresh'd ; which was very well projected . the spaniards were of the same opinion , but count de souches refus'd flatly to consent to it , whereby that occasion was lost ; besides , it created such differences among the general officers , that the germans quitted the trenches the next day , and posted themselves a league from thence , whereby the french got an opportunity to send whatever supply they pleas'd into the town . this oblig'd the prince of orange to raise the siege : whereupon a french officer telling the prince of conde , that that prince was unhappy ; he reply'd , that he was unhappy as he was brave , and that in time that gene●●l would prove as formidable to france as his forefathers had proved to spain . the following campaign the king of france took the castle of d●nant , and besieg'd huy , which he took about the beginning of iune , and the th of the said month he invested limbourg ; the thirteenth the lines of circumvallation were begun : the prince of conde , and the duke ● ' enguien arrived in the camp the same day , with eight squadrons of horse , and the following day the marshal of creque repair'd thither also with horse . the trenches were open'd the same day . the prince of orange prepared for the relief of this place , but it surrender'd , without making any resistance , before that prince arriv'd . the french army had fatigu'd too much to ac●●pt any thing else ; besides , the time of the campaign of germany approaching , there was a necessity of sending forces to monsieur de turenne , who was in great want of it . to that end a detachment was made , and sent to him ; and there b●ing nothing more to be done in flanders , the king retir'd to versailles , and left the command of 〈◊〉 army to the prince of conde . the detachment that was sent in germany turn'd the scale ; 〈◊〉 wher●as the prince of orange was upon the de●●●sive before , the prince of conde was obliged to do it in his turn , and was put to a great loss . however , the confederates attempting nothing , 〈◊〉 campaign ended without any considerable archievements on either side . while the armies were without action in flanders , all things were dispos●d to fight briskly in germany , and the vice-comte of turenne was killed at the eve of the battel he designed to fight against ●he imperialists , on the th of iuly . the prince of conde received an order to command in germany , after the death of that general : he left flanders on the th of august , and left the command of the army to the duke of luxemburg . the imperialists had besieged haguenau on the th of the same month : the prince of conde at that ●ime joyned the fr●nch army that was encamped near s●edstadt , with a supply of men , and being informed of the siege montecuculy had made , he marched away immediately with the forces he had brought along with him , and went towards ●enfeldon and erstein , in order to go near the river prent●● , to encamp on the th at holsheim , reporting , that he designed to attack the imperialists , or cut off their communication with strasbourg . montecuculy having notice of his march , went away the same day from hague●a● , in order to offer the prince battel , and left men before the place . the next day he arrived at gartnervelt , where the forces he had left before h●guenau came to joyn him , and he drew so near the prince of conde , that there was nothing but the river between the two armies ; but there fell so much rain about that time , that neither of the generals durst undertake any thing . the imperialists only took some prisoners , among whom was the prince of conde's steward . they likewise cut over a bridge at howart near stratsburg , in order to attack the french army . whereas that city had favoured the designs of montecuculy in the siege of hagu●nau , which he was oblig'd to raise , the magistrates were no sooner inform'd of the arrival of the prince of conde , but they sent deputies to him , to excuse what they had done ; but they did not receive an answer suitable to their desires . the prince of conde made answer to them , that after having dispatch'd what was most in haste , he would visit them , if the king would believe him . that quick haughty answer alarm'd that city , which was not unacquainted with the reputation and humour of that prince ; they had already made tryal of what he was capable of doing , for at the beginning of the war , ricousse , one of the officers of his houshold , had made an attempt upon the bridge of stratsburg , upon less provocation , the which had been contriv'd in his closet . but let us return to montecuculy . he was no sooner come near the post , where the prince of conde was retrench'd , but that prince fir'd two pieces of ordinance to offer him the combat . the armies were very equal in str●ngth : but the emperors general dreading the first fire of the ●●ench , and the reputation of a prince● who pass'd for the best captain of the age he ●ived in would ha●ard nothing , and retired under the canon of str●t●burg . nevertheless , he caused all the equipage to be placed upon the side of the ditch of that city , in order not to be incommoded thereby , in case the prince of conde should attack him ; but that prince did not intend to attack him in that post. he retired towards the mountains , and from thence to chatenois , where there was abundance of forrage . mont●cuculy went to encamp at obern●eim , where he received a considerable supply of horse and foot. the prince of conde having notice of it , ●earing that general might come to attack him , ●ortified his camp with a surprizing diligence , and having soon after received a reinforcement of horse , and some foot , he thought himself secure . he had had a mind to quit the post in which he was retrenched , but whereas it shut up the passages into lorrain , upon which the imperialists had some designs , he remained in his camp , insomuch that montecuculi thought of nothing farther , than to fortifie himself in alsatia , where he made some small conquests . however , in order ●o raise some jealousie in the prince of conde , he caused savern● to be besieged ; but the prince was no wise moved at it , knowing that the place was very well fortified , and that the governor would make a brave defence . and indeed , they were oblig'd to raise the siege : the marquess of bade dourlak , who commanded the siege , after the raising of it , march'd into the country of brisgaw , which obliged horse the prince of conde had sent thither , to make a diversion , to re●ire to the main army . thus ended the campaign of . in germany , and all those of the prince of conde . the loss of monsieur de turenne was exceeding sensible to the king of france , for several reasons : but had it only been for the good of the kingdom , he could never regret that general too much : and indeed there were so few persons capable of filling up his place , that when the king had examin'd i● , he could hardly fix upon one among all the princes and marshals of france . the prince of conde was generally the only man whose valour and merit was known to every body ; but mons. de louvois was not his friend , and the king did nothing without the advice of that minister . no body can imagine what reason mons. de louvoi● had to complain of the prince , but yet it is most certain , that he did not love him , and that he disswaded the king , as much as in him lay , from giving him the command of the army in germany . he acknowledged indeed , that the prince of conde was one of the greatest cap●ains of the age , and that no body could deny him a glory he had acquir'd by an infinite number of battels he had won ; but at the same time he said , that he was too fiery , and too undertaking ; that it was evident by the battel of senef● , that he preferred his own glory to the good of the kingdom ; that a wiser general would have gain'd an entire victory , and preserved those forces which he lost by his own fault , after the first advantages he had obtain'd over the enemies ; and that he durst not answer , that that prince was as well affected as he had promis'd to be● when he made his peace with his ma●esty . whatever monsieur de louvois could say to oblige the king not to give the command of his army to the prince of conde , that monarch was so well perswaded of his capacity , prudence , and gallantry , as well as of the fidelity he had pro●is●d him , that at that time he had no regard to h●● ministers remonstrances . but the prince de●●red himself of that command which was offered him , by the conditions he would make with t●e king : he desired the duke d' engui●is might ●●●mand the army jointly with him , promising , ●●at he should do nothing without his order ; and tha● it was only to have the satisfaction to see his son , whom he lov'd entirely , in a condition to acquire glory . but the king , who had no great ●indness for the duke d' enguiris , being moreover of a temper to bestow his favours freely , without compulsion , would not hearken to that proposition : insomuch , that the marquess of luovois taking the advantage of that conjuncture , propos'd the duke of luxemburg , who was accepted that very moment . as soon as the duke of luxemburg had receiv'd his orders , he went away for alsatia , which was the rendezvous of the army , which had never been so ●ine nor so numerous : but all the officers soon found , that the king had given him an employment he was not capable of , and that the prince of conde was the only man fit to discharge that command with honour in that conjuncture of affairs . the proof of this soon appear'd , when the du●e of lorrain besieg'd philipsburg : that place h●ld out four months , and yet the duke of l●xemb●rg was not in a condition to relieve it , tho' at the head of an army of men . the king was v●ry much troubled when the news of the taking of that place was brought him , that he had not sent the prince of conde to command in germany ; but there was no remedy : however , he ask'd him what should have been done to save that place ; sir , answer'd the prince , the duke of luxemburg should have hinder'd the duke of lorrain from besieging it ; and since ●e ●ad committed that fault , he should have ventur'd the army , and have gone to force the enemy in his retrenchments to the hazard of a thousand lives , if he had had as many . that was the only way . altho' the war continued , and that with all the vigour imaginable , conferences were held at nimnegen , for a peace , the which was concluded in the manner every body knows . memoirs of the prince of conde . book vii . after the peace of nimwegen , the prince of conde resolv'd to desire the king's leave to retire to chantilly . he told the king in a submissive respectful manner , that his age and indispositions oblig'd him to entreat his majesty to consent to that retirement . the king having granted it , the prince quitted the court , and repaired to that house , there to lead a private life . divers reasonings were us'd upon the motives that had induc'd so great a prince to lead a life so contrary to his rank , in a country house . some imagin'd that his indispositions had put him upon that resolution , and that it had made him apprehensive , not only that his health would still be more impair'd in the agitations of the court , but also that as it might hinder him from making his court to the king regularly , his majesty mi●ht impute that sometimes to a want of consideration and respect , which only proceeded from infirmity . others conceiving no other idea's of the motives of that hero's retreat , but such as were noble and sublime said , that after having acquir'd so so much glory in motion and in action , he was willing to acquire a new sort of glory in rest and solitude : that after so many battels , and the tumult of arms , he was desirous to taste those peaceable virtues , and that q●iet glory that is neither ●o be shar'd with the souldiers , nor with fortune , in which all is charming , and nothing dazzles , which is beheld without being troubled with the sound of trumpets , or with the noise of guns , nor by the cries of the wounded , in which a hero , reduc'd to himself , and possessing himself , appears as great , and is as much respected as when he commands armies , when all moves at his nod , when he combats and gains victories . others alledg'd , that the prince of conde receiv'd , from time to time , at court , malifications from the king● who remembring what he had done formerly , gave him sometimes marks of a secret resentment , and of an aversion that had never been absolu●ely remov'd : that the prince of conde being very sensible of it , had wisely resolv'd to remove an object from his majesty's eyes , which was not very agreeable to him , the which reviving the thoug●ts of former transactions , might prove prejudicial to the fortune of the duke d' enguien's his son. it is most certain , that after the peace of nimwegen , nay , ever since the prince retir'd to chantilly , his highness receiv'd grievous mortifications . when the prince of conde was married to madamoiselle de blois , the king's daughter by madam de la velliere , the prince had the vexation to find 〈◊〉 in the contract of marriage he was to sign , 〈◊〉 title of high and mighty lord , which had al●ays been given him , was omitted : and there●●●● when monsieur colbert presented the said contra●● to him to sign it , he refus'd it , and went to ●●●plain to the king about it , who having heard 〈◊〉 , answer'd with a disobliging tone , sign co●sin , 〈◊〉 . whereupon the prince making a great bow did sign . he was likewise reduc'd to the hardship of do●●ng his rank , upon all occasions , with the king 's natural sons ; for , in order to please him , and to make his court , he behaved himself towards them as if they had been his equals , tho' never so young . moreover , when the prince of c●●de was married , the king having made enqui●y , whether the prince of conde had visited count 〈◊〉 vermandois , brother of madamoiselle de blois , the prince , who had not made that visit , being inform'd therewith , immediately waited upon him , to congratulate his sisters marriage with his nephew ; and whereas the count de vermandois took but a folding chair for himself , and caused an arm-chair to be presented to the prince of conde , the prince durst not accept it , and sate upon a folding●chair , like him . the king was extreamly pleas'd thereat , and yet he told the prince , as soon as he saw him , cousin , you should have taken the arm-chair ; i expect that vermandois should respect you . the prince of conde gave several other instances of his care to please the king , by the esteem and singular consideration he express'd towards his majesty's natural sons . i say , he gave other instances of it in the same conjuncture , in the manner i am going to relate . he being very earnest in discourse with some courtiers , the duke d● maine , and some other young lords , being at play near them , and making a great deal of noise , which interrupted their conversation , which was very serious , and in which the prince was very earnest , his highness said angrily , hinder those children from making so much noise . the young duke ●u maine , who was but a child at that time , having heard it , and addressing himself to the prince of conde , spoke these words full of wit and vivacity : sir , i should esteem my self very happy , to be able to make as much noise hereafter as you have done by so many great actions , and so many glorious victories as you have atchiev'd . the prince of conde had no sooner heard those words , but he reported them to the king , in order to please him , and to gain his favour . in fine , all these different motives which were alledg'd about the prince of conde's retreat , may be joyn'd , and perhaps might altogether induce the prince to resolve upon the passing of the remainder of his life at chantilly , wrap● up in his own merit , and in his own virtue , although at that very time deliberations were made in poland , to raise him to the throne . and indeed , in that charming solitude , in which he only liv'd upon milk , by reason of the gout he was very much tormented with , he preserv'd a life for near twenty years long , which perhaps would not have lasted so long in the tumults of the court , he acquir'd a new kind of glory , which was very considerable ; and whereas he only went to court from time to time , about three or four times a year , and that he omitted nothing at those times to please the king , he gain'd his favour absolutely , and engag'd him more and more to conceive sentiments of affection for the duke of enguien . as soon as the prince of conde was retir'd at chantilly , he apply'd himself to adorn and embelish his solitude by all possible means , in which he succeeded admirably . that house of chantilly was only an old remainder of the house of m●ntmorency , and an old castle that had nothing fine or regular in it ; but the prince made an enchanted palace of it . and indeed , it was fit he should have a house not only sui●able to the greatne●s of his birth , but also to the glory he had acquir'd in the world : therefore he imagin'd a very fine project , which he executed very nobly , and brought it to such a degree of perfection , that in the order and cimitry of his abode● on all sides it was easie to discover the greatness of his genius , and instances of the nobleness of his heart . besides the cimitry and beauty of the building , the groves , brooks , arbors , fountains , canals , walks , and water-works that play'd night and day , all shew'd the elevation or greatness of his soul , and the politeness of his mind . in this charming abode he employ'd himself continually in a manner that was worthy of him : he consulted all manner of good books , of which he was an admirable good judge : he carefully observ'd all manner of decencies : he employ'd and made those who came to visit him enjoy all manner of innocent . pleasures and divertisements : he made continual reflections , at his leisure hours , on all the events of his life , and drew considerable lessons from thence , for the conduct of life : and indeed he corrected , in his retirement , divers defects that had tarnish'd the lustre of his glory● he imparted his knowledge to some , his counsels to others , and gave marks of his affection to all . the most ambitious courtiers , and those that were most fix'd to the court often , went to study that great man in his retirement , and always came back with some improvement . chantilly was only frequented by men of sence , and by such who had wit enough to delight in hearing that prince relate the divers events of his life , and a thousand other curious things he was wont to say so agreeably upon all the subjects he spoke on : insomuch that whereas chantilly abounded equally in things usefu● and ag●eeable , those who were there , forgot all other places with joy. the prince of conde still preserving a violent passion for the glory that is acquir'd in war , lov'd motion and action even in his retirement . being possess'd with a noble jealousie , he could hardly hear any discourse of war , in the first year of his solitude , but he took fire immediately : but the peace not allowing him to appear at the head of armies , he apply'd himself in gathering and causing those who made their court to him together , the sweetest and most useful fruits of his victories and most surprizing actions . he went out of his retirement from time to time , to visit the king at st. germain , and at versailles , especially upon all extraordinary occasions . of all courtiers , none approach'd the throne with so much respect , or spoke to his majesty with so much submission as he did . and therefore the wisest and most skilful follow'd him in those occasions , to study his way of making his court to the king. the report of his retirement , and of his eminent qualifications , drew abundance of the people out of all the provinces of france , and from the most distant countries , out of curiosity to see the wonders that were publish'd about it ; and they always found more than had been told them . the favourable reception he made them , his obliging behaviour towards them , his application in giving orders ●o divert them , without sparing any cost ; what they saw him do , whatever they heard him say , all charm'd them , and they decla●●d afterwards every where , that they had found him no less admirable at chantilly , than in sieges and combats . and therefore whatever care was taken to shew strangers of consideration the greatest curiosities in france , they were uneasie● until they could pay their respects to the prince of conde , and have some conversation with him ; and when they return'd into their own country , they never fail'd to say , we have seen the prince of conde . but of all the visits the prince of conde receiv'd at chantilly , the most glorious , without doubt , was that which the king honour'd him with , for which his highness express'd all the gratitude imaginable . he receiv'd his majesty with all the respects , all the joy , and all the cheerfulness that could be express'd , and shew'd on that occasion an extraordinary magnificence and liberality , spending fifty thousand crowns to treat the king and court splendidly . this great prince having pass'd near twenty years in his retirement of chantilly , in the manner i have related , the thread of his noble life was cut , by an accident , which shew'd to what degree the king's life was dear to him , and how little he valu'd his own compar'd to his . being inform'd that the dutchess of bourbon , his grand-daughter , natural daughter to the king , was seiz'd with the small pox at fontainsbleau , he left chantilly , notwithstanding his indisposition , on the ii. of nov. . to go to see that princess . he met the duke of bourbon and mademoiselle upon the road , coming back from fontainsbleau , by the king 's express command , upon the first report of the small pox : this young prince● and that young princess endeavour'd to perswade the prince of conde to turn back , and to expect the news of what should happen at fountainebleau at paris . they omitted no tenderness , prayers , or tears to perswade him , but they could not prevail , the prince continued his journey , and at his first arrival us'd all the means and precautions imaginable to avoid an accident like unto that which the small pox had caus'd in his family in . by the death of the prince of conti. and whereas the king was coming into the dutchess of bourbon's room , the prince stop'd him at the door , and by a resistance equally strong and respectful , he hinderd his majesty from coming into a place where the illness of the air might prove fatal to him ; after which he fell into a swoon within four foot of the place . as ill as he was , he caused himself to be carried several times in a day into her chamber : but finally , the ill air , joyn'd to the fatigue of that last journey , threw him into a condition which soon put a period to his life . the prince of conde's condition being spread at court , and at paris , a world of couriers were dispatch'd to him , from all the considerable persons of the kingdom . the king , who was at versailles at that time , sent two or three , whom his highness received with great respect and gratitude . the prince of conde being detained at fontainebleau , by an illness , which made every body so fearful of his life , and the prince of conty being confind at chantilly , that prince , who was out of favour at court , wrote a letter , wherein he declar'd , that his disquiets for his highness's illness were so great , that he could no longer forbear going to enquire about it himself , that he had suffer'd an exceeding great violence for three weeks together , by conforming himself exactly to his highness's pleasure , who had commanded him not to go more out of chantilly : that the air of the small pox did not flighten him , and that his majesty would not disapprove his quitting his ordinary abode , in that occasion to acquit himself of part of his duty . the person to whom this letter was written having given the prince of conde an account of it , make answer , said his highness , to the prince of conty , that i am very much oblig'd to him , for the kindness he expresses towards me ; but if he loves me , let him remain where he is : i shall be at paris within these two days , and shall see him there . a courier arriv'd at the same time from the duke of enguien , who had an account given him three or four times a day , about the prince his father's health , according to the orders he had left every time he had been at fontainebleau , since the court had left it . the duke begg'd of hi● father , by the said courier , to give him leave to repair to him . the prince had already sent him back twice or thrice from fontainebleau to versailles , to remain near the king , on whom a great operation had been made ; and to observe all the favourable moments in which he might serve the prince of conty . he had obey'd , but could no longer endure to be absent from his father . the prince being earnestly sollicited to give his son leave to come to see him , he answerd , that he did not question but his son had a great desire to be near him ; that he should be very joyful to see him also , but that both of them ought to sacrifice their own satisfaction to their duty ; that he desir'd him to remain at court ; that as soon as there should be any necessity for his being near him , he would send for him , and that perhaps it should be sooner than either of them should desire it . he sigh'd next and squeez'd the person he was speaking to by the hand , whereby it was suspected that he found himself worse , and that he would not be able to go to paris within two days , as he had resolv'd . from that time his distemper encreas'd , and soon discover'd that he had not long to live . and whereas mons. morin , his physician , declar'd freely , in feeling his pulse , that he found it very uneven . but is there no danger , said his highness , do not dissemble it ? mons. morin reply'd , that since he commanded h●m to speak his opinion ; he thought it was proper to think on the sacraments of the church . this is speaking , reply'd his highness . whereupon that prince order'd a courier to be dispatch'd instantly to father dechamps a jesuit , who was his confessor , to desire him earnestly to come to him as soon as he co●ld , to confess him , and to dispose him for death . after which he call'd for the princess , and for mons. de gourville , and while they were gone for , he uttered some words . mons. de gourville being come near him , he told him with a compos'd air , well gourville , my friend , we must part , there is no remedy . he was going to say more , when he perceiv'd the princess drown'd in tears . he conjur'd her with a serene countenance not to afflict herself and to send for the duke d' enguien , and the prince of conty , to come to him . some body asked him , whether the duke of bourbon , whom he loved so tenderly , should not likewise be sent for , since he was so very sollicitous to pay his respects to him ? i should be very glad to see him , answer'd he , i love him with all my heart , and as much as a father can love a son , but he is an only son , he must be preserved , and must not be exposed to an ill air , full of the small pox. after this he called for paper and a pen , and wrote a whole page with his own hand , the which he caused the dutchess of enguien and mons. de gourville , and order'd it to be sealed , and deliver'd a●ter his death to the duke of enguien . that writing related particularly to the princess his wife . moreover , he took the liberty in the same writing to conjure the king , to be mindful of that princess , and to be pleas'd to prescribe her the manner in which she was to live ; which the king granted . the prince of conde not only express'd by his cares how much he was concern'd in whatever rela●ed to the interests of his relations ; but he likewise remembred all his servants : he also remembred the poor , to whom he left considerable legacies , and order'd a church to be built to serve as a parish to chantilly : although he had declar'd his will above a year before concerning crowns he had dedicated to charitable uses , he was very careful in recommending the immediate execution of his orders upon that subject . it was above eighteen months since he had done a very commendable thing , ●n order to accomplish'd his earnest desire of paying all the deb●s of his family intirely : he will'd and commanded monsieur de gourville to examine seriously , and even with rigour against himself , and with indulgence for his creditors , all that might be demanded of him : he had declar'd that it was his desire , without any farther order from him , to have all great and little sums paid that should be thought justly due by him ; that he only reserv'd to himself the debts of grace , to dispose of them as he should think fit . i will , said he , wrong no body , and i had much rather lose part of my estate , than have a penny of anothers : i have enough upon my conscience , without burthening it , besides with so great a load as that of keeping any thing from another . while the prince of conde applied himself in doing good upon his death-bed , and in expressing esteem , gratitude , and affection towards divers persons , he desired to write to the king : i will write to the king , said he : but not being able to do it with his own hand , by reason that his strength decay'd continually , he dictated the whole letter , word for word , as followeth : the prince of conde's letter to the king. i humbly beseech your majesty to approve my writing to you for the last time of my life : i am in a condition , in which apparently , i shall not continue long without going to give an account of all my actions to god. i could wish with all my heart , that all those that relate to him were as innocent , as all those that relate towards your majesty ; i have nothing to reproach my self for any thing i have done , when i first began to appear in the world : i have spar'd nothing for your majesty's service , and i have endeavour'd to fulfil with pleasure all the duties to which my birth , and the sincere zeal i had for your majesty's glory oblig'd me . it is true , that about the middle of my life , i have held a conduct , i have blam'd my self before any body ; the which your majesty has been pleas'd to forgive : i have afterwards endeavour'd to repair my fault by an inviolable tye to your majesty ; and my greatest trouble ever since has been my not being able to do things great enough to deserve your majesty's goodness towards me . i have at least this satisfaction , that i have omitted nothing of all that was most dear , and most precious to me , to show your majesty , that i had those sentiments i ought to have for your person , and for your state : and all the favours your majesty has heap'd upon me , may i yet presume to beg another , which in the condition i am reduc'd to , would afford me a very sensible consolation ? it is on the prince of conty's behalf . i have tutor'd him this year , and i have the satisfaction to have inspir'd him with such sentiments , as your majesty can desire . father la chaire is sensible of it , he may satisfie your majesty about it : that prince has certainly some merit ; and had not i discover'd all the submission imaginable in him towards your majesty , a very sincere desire of being rul'd and govern'd in all things by your majesty's will , i should not intreat you most humbly as i do , to restore him what he values above all things in the world , your favour ; he has sigh'd above a year , and look'd upon himself in this condition as if he were in purgatory : i beseech your majesty to release him from it , and to grant him a general pardon . perhaps i flatter my self a little too much ; but why should i despair of any favour from the greatest king on earth , of whom i die , as i always liv'd , most humble , and most obedient , and most zealous servant and subject , lewis de bourbon . the prince of conde having sign'd this letter , he order'd it should be kept ready to be sent at the time he should order . after which he apply'd himself to his domestick affairs again , and to regulate them well with monsieur de gourville . his unconcern'd , and peaceable behaviour , at a time when the bravest fall into fainting fits , generally occasioned by the apprehension of an approaching death , he appear'd at that time , what he had been during all his life , infinitely above other men. when he had made an end of speaking with monsieur de gourville , and had given all the orders he judg'd necessary for the good of his family , some took the liberty to ask him whether he had forgot any thing he desired to declare his will about . i believe not , answered he ; but if i have forgot any thing , 't is but speaking to my son ; i know his kindness towards me . i know his heart , it is good , it is great , he will do whatever i could do my self , and more . the night of the th . of december , about eleven , he put himself in an arm-chair near the fire , in his night-gown , and his legs upon two folding-chairs ; and within two hours after it he sent for a jesuit , who was at that time at fontainebleau . he told him , that he found himself ill , and that since he was going to travel towards eternity , it was time to think earnestly upon it . the duke of bourbon was mentioned to him again , but he continu'd to answer , that the satisfaction of seeing him ought not to prevail over the danger he should be exposed to in coming to fontainebleau . the duke of enguien arriv'd about six in the morning . he was seiz'd with a violent grief seeing his father so near death . the first thing he told him was , that for his sake the king freely pardon'd the prince of conty for all that was past ; and that he was commanded by his majesty to assure him therewith . this news was very agreeable to him , by reason that he had desired it above a year , with an earnestness suitable to the esteem and tenderness he for that prince . he likewise express'd a great deal of gratitude for his majesty's goodness ; and whereas the letter he had written to him over-night was not gone yet , he unseal'd it , to add thanks to it , in the following terms . my son , at his arrival has given me an account of the favour your majesty has been pleased to to do me , in forgiving the prince of conty . i am very happy to have so much life left , as to return your majesty my most humble thanks for it . i dye contented , if you will do me the iustice to believe , that no body ever had sentiments so full of respect and devotion towards you , and if i may say so , of tenderness , as lewis de bourbon . as soon as the prince had sign'd what he had added to his letter , he thank'd the duke of enguien for his having taken his time so well , to restore the prince of conty to the king's favour again . after which they had a very tender conversation together , and gave each other all the marks of the most sincere and greatest affection that ever was between father and son. when they had done , the prince desired the dutchess to draw near . he said the most moving , and the finest things in the world to them both , about their conduct , towards god , towards the king , and towards their children , whom he named all one after another . in the next place he spoke to them about the strict union that had always been between them , and of their reciprocal duties , conjuring them to persevere in living in that perfect union which had been admired by all the world. he ended this fine discourse by directing them how to behave themselves towards their friends , towards their servants , towards persons of quality , and of all conditions . after which he embraced them , and gave them his blessing , for themselves , and for their children , wishing them all the blessings of heaven and earth . the duke of enguien , equally mov'd with grief and gratitude , took his father's hands , and kiss'd them , returning him a thousand thanks for all his kindnesses . the prince did not receive those marks of kindness from his son with indifference , ●hey affected him too sensibly : but considering that allowed too much to nature , at a time he ought to turn all his thoughts on death , he told him , my son , you have no father now . they made a stop there , and for a while only spoke with their eyes . but they broke that silence to determine with an equal satisfaction what employments should be given to the officers of his highnesses houshold , who express'd his being very well satisfied with them , and desired they might be entertained still by reason of their merit and fidelity . after this he turned to monsieur de gourville , and said , by all the kindness you have for me , do not conceal from me , how long i have to live . ask the physitians . he often made the same question all the day long ; and he was still answered according to the condition in which they found him . when ever his eyes met with the duke or dutchess , he discovered the sentiments of his heart sufficiently , without needing to express them by words . however he could not forbear telling a jesuit softly , who was near his bed , the tenderness i observe in my son , and in his dutchess towards me , to●ches me sensibly . the dutchess of bourbon sent every quarter of an hour to enquire how he did : she would have come her self , had not the distemper that kept her in bed hindred her . for the most part he would see those that came from her , and made very obliging answers for that young princess , towards whom he exprest to the end an extream tenderness . about nine , seeing the duke in a very great anguish , he told him , that he was moved by his kindness , that he was satisfied with him , beyond what could be exprest by words . at half an hour after eleven the prince of conty arrived . the tendernesses began anew on all sides . after which his highness embracing the duke and the prince of conty , told them all that a good father could say to his children , and conjur'd them to love one another like brothers . he added , that they would never be great men , nor great princes , nor good men , but proportionably as they proved , upright and faithf●l to god , and to the king. father dechamps arrived a quarter after twelve , his highness opened his arms to embrace him , expressing a great joy to see him . every body withdrew . the prince discoursed with that jesuit about all that he had resolved within two years about his duty and obligations , and made his confession to him . about two a clock , the duke of enguien , the dutchess , and the prince of conty being come near him again , he spoke to them as he had done before , expressing all the tenderness in the world towards them . at that time he ordered some body to tell the duke , that it was his de●ire , that his body should be carried to * valery ; but that nevertheless he left him absolut master of all , and that he might do whatever he thought fit about it , either as to the time and place , and the manner of transporting him thither : that in that as well as in all other things he abandon'd all to his disposition , submitting to his will , to which he gave a full consent from that moment : but however that he should be glad his heart should be carried into the church of st. lewis † at paris , to be plac'd there with his father's . the duke received his orders with the submission he ought . and whereas his presence as well as the dutchesses , and the prince of conty's moved him , and hindred him from applying all his thoughts on god , he desired them to withdraw . he also told the physitians after having thanked them , that they might retire , and that he had no longer any need of their assistance : and pointing to the curate of fontainebleau , father dechamps his confessor , and the other clergy-men that were present , these , added he , are at present my real physitians , who will put me in a way to dye well . in the mean time the duke and dutchess , as well as the prince of conty begg'd his leave to see him once more , to which he consented , on condition they should retire immediately . they withdrew immediately , having seen him ; but he was not long without thinking on them : for within half an hour he desired a jesuit to go to them from him , to bid them a last farewel . after which , monsieur de marege , who belongs to the prince of conty , being come into his chamber , he received him in that obliging manner he was wont to receive every body , especially those he loved , and esteemed , as he did that gentleman . he told him , you have always served your master 〈…〉 well : continue so to do , and never do any●●ing ●erogatory to the honour you have of belonging to 〈◊〉 . he confides in you : you may tell him from me , 〈…〉 present more sensible of than ever i was● ●hat ● man must be iust and good during his life , and that there is nothing else solid . after which , he remain'd for some time silent . but then resuming ●he discourse again , and giving some new orders , a divine venturing to tell him that he lived like a great man , and that he ought to dye in the same manner , but especially like a good christian , he took him by the hand , and said , you praise me , and i do now deserve it . from that moment he did nothing singular , and expir'd so quietly , that it was hardly observed . thus dyed that great prince on the eleventh of december , . after having lived sixty five years , three months , and three days . while the prince of conde lay a dying at fontainebleau , the king caus'd that great man's letter to be read at versailles . those who observed the three tenses of his letter , how slightly he pass'd over his services at the beginning , and at the end of his life , and how sincere an acknowledgment he made of his faults about the middle , were extreamly mov'd by his modesty , and the king himself could not refrain tears , saying , that he lost a great prince ; these were his own words : and when that part of the letter was read where the prince return'd his thanks , and declar'd that he dyed contented , and too happy , since he had so much life left , as to express his gratitude , his devotion , and if he might say so , his tenderness to the king , every body did him the justice to say , that he had written sincerely . that very day the duke wrote three lines to the king , to ●●quaint him with the prince his father's death . the duke went to versailles on the th . of december , to pay his respects to the king ; who received him with all the kindness imaginable : and his majesty express'd to him on the occasion the obliging sentiments he preserved for him , and for his father . he had taken the prince of conty along with him , whom he presented to the king , who made him sensible by his reception , that he did not repent the pardon he had granted him three days before , out of respect to the prince , and at the intreaty of the duke . the duke did not tarry long at versailles , and return'd soon to paris . he received sufficient testimonies , both at court and in the city , that the prince his father's death had made a deep impression in the hearts and minds of all people . in the mean time , the order that had been given for carrying the prince's body to valery , were put in execution . all things being ready , the duke went away before any body , on the st . of december , and tarry'd at fontainebleau for the prince of conty , who came thither from the king. the princ's body was carry'd to valery on the th . and his heart to the church of the professed house of the jes●its at paris on the th . being christmas-eve . this ceremony was perform'd with great magnificence : and the duke , who appeared in every thing , omitted none of the duties his good nature , and gratitude exacted from him . after which , the most eloquent persons in the kingdom were employ'd in making funeral orations , in the praise and honour of the prince of conde . the king having mourn'd the loss of that great prince , and often declar'd in the middle of the court sighing , that he had lost the greatest man of his kingdom , assembled the greatest persons of his kingdom in * notre dame of paris on the ●● th . of march , there to pay in p●blick what was ●ue to the memory of that prince● and ordered the bishop of meaux to speak the funeral oration . that oration is very fine , and worthy its author , and the prince in honour of whom it was spoken . the th of aprill , father bourdaloüe , who about three years , and a half before had spoken in the church of the professors house of his society , in presence of the prince , the funeral elogy of henry of bourbon his father , spoke a funeral ora●ion in the said church , in praise of that great prince , whose memoirs i am finishing . that oration is very elegant , and most magnificent , especially that part of it , where father bourdaloüe speaks without dissimulation , and at large upon the prince of conde's behaviour in the civil war , is incomparable . never was so skilful , and so happy a boldness known : and that kind of daring in an orator , if i may use the expression seems to revive in our minds that bravery , and heroick fierceness the prince of conde used to shew in battles , and in the greatest perils , the which was follow'd with so much success . the abbot du iarry likewise spoke a funeral oration in honour of the said prince in the church of maubuisson , before the princess palatine ( who was abbess of that religious house ) whom we have mention'd several times in the●e memoirs . there are master-strokes in this last funeral elogy . several other orations were made , in several provinces of the kingdom . but whereas , in those kind of discourses , i● is usual to insist upon the vertues of those for whom they are spoken ; and that commonly , tho nothing it said in them but what really is , yet many things are omitted ; by reason that those things are suppress'd which deserve no praise ; and that those things are disguised which cannot be conceal'd ; and that by a false light , in which the orator's skill knows how to place his hero's dress with cunning , he covers , and pa●●es slightly over those parts that are defective : it is necessary to have recourse to history , to be fully instructed of every thing ; and that to a faithful history , like unto this . i am now going to draw the prince of cond●'s picture , with the same fidelity i have observ'd throughout this work. lew of bourbon , second of the name , first prince of the blood ; duke of bourbon , of chateaurex , of montmorency , and bellegarte ; governour of burgundy and bresse ; first peer ; lord high steward of france ; count of clermont , stenay , dun , and iamets ; knight of the holy ghost , and general of the king's armies , was tall , and well shap'd , his hair curl'd , lively eyes , a roman close nose , his cheeks hollow and lean , a long face , and a very noble and haughty physiognomy , his teeth ill set , and uncleanly , a careless air , taking little care of his person . he was of a sanguin constitution , cholerick , and strong , he lov'd hunting , gaming , joy , pleasures , and divertisements : he likewise lov'd women , but without any particular engagements , having never had any real affection but for madame de chastillon . in his youth he abandon'd himself sometimes to small debauches , and at that time made very pretty diverting verses upon any subject that occur'd ; they were extempores no poet could equal . he had a great vivacity , a clear wit , and very good judgment , and express'd himself with a great deal of ease . he had much probity and honour in great actions : he was not liberal , neither was he covetous ; he laugh'd much , but disagreeably ; he was very free , and very offensive in railleries . he kept no measures with any body . he was of a rough , uneasy , impetuous , passionate temper , and thereby he ruin'd all the advantages nature and fortune , had bestow'd upon him , frustrated the extraordinary qualifications he was endow'd with which were such , that he would have obsur'd the glory of the greatest men in past ages , had mildness and complaisance been joyn'd to their lively virtues , that shin'd in him , and to that supream valour , which rais'd an admiration in all the world. he had an admirable genius for war , and particularly for battles . he was born for military expeditions insomuch that he wanted no prenticeship to form him . the superiority of his genius serv'd him instead of art and experience ; and he began by that which the most famous conquerors would have been proud to end . he had a martial heat , which made him dare and undertake all ; a fire , which in the execution render'd all things possible and easie to him , and a firmness of soul , which no obstacle could stop , or any peril could frighten , which no resistance could tire , or discourage ; a vigilancy , which could not be surpriz'd ; a judgment wherewith , even in the most dangerous occasions , he fore-saw whatever might obstruct or favour the event of things ; a great quickness in resolving , the quickness of his action not allowing ●ime to cross it . he knew incomparably well how to improve those conjunctures and swift moments on which victory depends . nothing could equal his activity , which in a day of battle made him , dividing himself , as it were , to appear in all places . supplying all , rallying all , and maintaining all . in so much that he was both general , and souldier at once , and by his presence inspir'd his courage and valour into a whole army , even to the vilest members thereof . and yet he preserv'd a great presence of mind in the heat of a combat , and a calmness he was never so certain of , as in a engagement , and in the horror of the tumult . in the fire , in the on●et , in the first mo●●on , something appear'd in him all on the sudden , so clear , so settled , so lively , so brisk , so mild , and so agreeable for his own men , and so ●●erce , and so th●eatning for his enemies , that no body could imagine from whence that mixture of such opposite qualities could proceed . how great an● glorious soever his actions were , he never applauded them : the court that prepar'd those applauses for him against his return , which he deserv'd , a●mir'd his modesty in receiving them : whenever he spoke of his victories it was with a modesty , which neither his complaisance for those that heark●n'd to him , no● their curiosity could overcome . when he related the gain of a battle , people would have thought he had had no share in it : he only spoke in praise of those who had behav'd themselves bravely in it● to give them the glory of it , and to make them known at court : he never was more eloquent , or more officious than when he did them that justice , and never more wary than when any body design'd to surprize , or force his modesty , to make him speak of what related personally to himself : when ●ny presum'd to praise him , he took their praises for an offence , and could not endure flattery , he dreaded even the very shadow of it : he held it for a maxim , that in great actio●s one should have no other end than to do well , and so let glory follow vertue . he was as suc●essful in sieges as in battles : he daily invented new means to advance the taking of towns : he expos'd his men extreamly , but yet no more than his own person , and he was really persuaded that he spared his men , in abridging the time of danger by the vigour of his attacks . it is most certain that as a general he seldo● follow'd the common maxi●● of war● his impetuous humour , which was e●emy to measure and precaution , made him neglect● military discipline , and inclin'd him to act boldly , always to tempt his fortune , and even to brave it , and to ●elieve that in fighting he must be victorious , and that victory should not , as it were , dare to ●zeitate , to declare in his favour ; insomuch that no man ever was so like alexander , nor less like caesar , excepting only courage and valour : and therefore it was a common saying about him , that he was a great prince by his birth , a great man by his fortune , and a great captain by his courage . he thought he might command among the ministers , and behave himself in the same manner a● court , and in the city , as he us'd to do in war ; which occasion'd all his misfortunes : for want of following the rules of true policy , and of acting with mildness and cunning , he did not suc●eed , was guilty of several capital faults , and run on to extreams , which were attended with mortal displeasure . in his retirement he grew sensible of his defects and fau●ts , which made him sigh , and by his wise reflections he became a new man : he became a great politician , prudent , mild , civil and obliging : he made his court to those that were in favour : he consented with all the signs of satisfaction and joy , to all the alliances the king seem'd to desire : he was a pattern of application , of devotion , of submission , and of obedience to that monarch : all courtiers learnt to make their court of him . in his private life he quitted all those quick sallies , those harsh words , stinging railleries , and ●ree expressions he had been us'd to ; he was altogether mild and civil , his expressions modest and edifying . nay moreover● he commanded all his servants to acquit themselves of those duties to which the profession of christianity oblig'd them , and order'd all such to be turn'd out with remission , who by their debauches , or discourse should cause the least scandal● his conversation was free and easie , and no body was perplex'd or constrain●d by the respect that was due to him , tho' every body was very sensible of it● he took care to temper that respect in making himself familiar with some , and descending to others , being free with , and confiding in these , and entring into the affairs of those , accommodating and proportioning himself to all . and whereas , all his life-time he had been a lover of sciences , and reading , and that at chantilly he read all manner of good books , even of religion and controversie ; his conversation was very improving . his great genius embrac'd every thing , whether sacred , prophane , ancient , modern , history , philosophy , theology , all manner of arts and sciences , even to the least secrets of the mechanicks : no books scapd him , he was able to converse with , and entertain all those that excell'd either in speculation , or in any works . and moreover , whereas h● had an exquisite judgment , a nice taste , a lively comprehension , a noble and just faculty of thinking , and of expressing himself , and was able to judge of all things like a master ; all people improv'd by his conversation , and rectify'd their thoughts either by his penetrating q●estions , or by his judicious reflections : his conversation was charming , by reason that he could speak to every body according to their own talents , and not to souldiers about their undertakings , to courtiers about their interest , to politicians about their n●goci●tio●s , but also to curious travellers of what they had discover'd in nature , in government , or in commerce ; to the handicraft-man of his inventions ; and finally to the learned of all kinds , of all the most wonderful discoveries they had made . he had a very great affection , and tenderness for his family , particularly for his son the duke of enguien : and it was chiefly his passionate de●ire of preserving and advancing his fortune , that made him behave himself with so much prudence in the last period of his life , and that he managd the king 's and his favourite's temper with so much care. he has always had , and ever express'd a great aversion for praises , as we have observ'd : all europe was fill'd with the fame of his name , and r●ng with the glory of his exploits ; and yet it was hardly mention'd at chantilly . it was a kind of a crime to praise him , especially in his presence : and indeed none durst have presum'd to praise him , seeing him so much above all praises by his modesty . when any body desir'd him in this retirement to relate his fine action in his campagns , they perplex'd him . there was a great deal of pleasure in hearing him : ●ut it requi●'d a great deal of art to engage to speak upon that subject , and unless it were by surprize , nothing could be got out of him . many have been surpriz'd at his not writing the memoir● of his life : a thing he would have done worthily , and by which he would have laid an eternal obligation on posterity . whatever intreaties have been made to him about it , none ever could prevail : nay more , his very son , whom he lov'd so ●enderly could never obtain it : that refusal must be imputed either to his modesty , or his policy . in effect , whenever he was desired to write memoirs of his life , he answer'd● all i have done is only fit to be forgotten : let the king's life be written , all others hence forward will be superfluous . at other times he said : i could not do it without speaking advantageously of my self , and perhaps disadvantageously of others : and that●s a thing i cannot resolve upon , even in speaking the truth . we shall now conclude by a paralel that was made in the year . between that great prince and marshal de turenne , a●out the eminent qualifications they possess'd in war. a paralel between the prince of conde and marshal de turenne . a greatness of genius shines in the prince of conde ● a knowledge ever present , an impetuous courage , without trouble or precipitation . monsieur de turenne has the advantage of calmness , capacity , experience , a firm and secure valour . the other resolves in council , is never at a loss in disorders , taking his resolution better than any man living . this forms a plan of war to himself , disposes all thing to his end , foresees all obstacles with more judgment than slowness . the activity of the first goes beyond what is necessary in order not to omit any thing that may be of use . the other is as active as he should be , but does nothing that is superfluous , in order not to dissipate , and ruine his forces by unnecessary fatigues . the prince is equally fear'd and esteem'd in point of command . monsieur de turenne is more agreeable , and not less esteem'd , leaving more satisfaction , but not preserving his authority so much . there can never be too much precaution use● against the attacks of the first , and he meets with weakness in the securest posts . the other meets with safeties every where , and finds out ways to secure himself against the appearances of his ruine . in combats their orders are almost alike . the prince of conde knows how to improve advantages , and to repair disorders ; he makes the most of his forces : he abandons himself wholly to the action he is engag'd in , and seems resolv'd to overcome , or not to out-live his defeat . monsieur de turenne omits nothing of what may conduce to the gain of a battle : when he is happy he improves every thing , preserves what he can ; when he is not so , and ever leaves some resource for a better fortune ; whether thro●gh the equality of his temper , or by a long experience of good and ill successes , he receives all manner of accidents with an even temper . the prince is more sensible to misfortunes than monsieur de turenne , but his haughtiness is more exasperated at it , and his vertue excited by his misfortunes proves strong enough to overcome them . finally the prince of conde is the greatest man in the world for a day 's action , and monsieur de turenne for a campagne : the one is ●itter to end actions gloriously , and the other to end a war advantageously . the prince makes war with more glory for his own reputation , and monsieur de turenne with more advantage for the interests of the party , in which he is engag'd . finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a -e the design of the work. . the birth of the prince of conde . . his studies . . he is present at the siege of arras . . h●s marriage . he is present at the siege of aire . an occasion wherein the prince of conde signalizes himself . . he is at the s●ege of perpignan , and ●ommands the arrierb●n of langu●d●c . he is made general of the king of france his army . death of card. richlieu . the queen endeav●ur● to draw the prince of conde to her party & succeeds . . the death of lewis xiii . the queen confirm'd regent , by a de●laration of parliament . a relation of what pass'd in the campaign of rocroy , in . by m. de i● chapelle . the prince of conde desirous to relieve rocroy . th● battle of rocroy . the taking of emery , barlemont and mauberge . * two pieces of wood five or six foot long , set up an end upon a traverse five or six foot one from the other , the spaces being fill'd with bavins . † a way three foot broad , at the foot of the rampart , between the rampart & the moate . the taking of cirk . the prince of c●n●e arrives at court , and leads a numerous reinforcement into germany . h● returns to court. the advantages of the taking of thionville why the siege of this place was op●os●d . the prince refuses the encomiums of the court. the queen turns out some ministers ●●kes mazarine . nego●iations o● peace fruitl●●s . . the prince of conde acts in germany , where he resolves to relieve friburgh , or fight the enemy ● a relation of the campaign of friburgh , . by m. la chapelle . great beams of timber with stakes driven into 'em , bearing their points outwards , resembling a hedg-hog . the siege and taking of philipsburgh . wormes , ma●ence , and several ●ther ●lg●es taken . he dyed at spire , within a ●●w days after . three things not observ'd in the campaign of friburgh . notes for div a -e the prince of conde made governour of champagn and brie . . the taking of lichtenaw , the castle of stolbur● and kirppenheim● ture●ne beaten at merienda● . the battel of norling . lannoy ●a●en . mardicke taken . ● . notes for div a -e what the prince did after the siege of dunkirk . gassion quarrels with the prince . the d. of breze slain . great solicitations for the d. of breze's employments for the d. of enguien . the prince leagues himself with the d. of or●leance . the pr. of conde , the father , dies . the pr. of conde has the command of the army . the pr● succeeds in his father's employments . . the pr. of conde goes to command the army in catalonia . he besieges lerida , and raises the siege . he besieges and takes the city and castle of ager . the original of the troubles in france . . the pr. of conde besieges ypres . the spaniards take courtray , while ypre is besieging . ypre taken . the spaniards take furnes . the pr. retakes it . the battle of lens . the pr. wounded . monsieur de broussel seiz'd . reasons for the cardinal's ruine . the answer of cardinal mazarin's party . the taking of lens . the pr. returns to court. chatillon and grammont the princes confidents : declaration of the th . of october . the court has recourse to the duke of orleans and the prince . grammont and le tellior perswade the prince to take the court party . the p's . heat in the parliament . they resolve to besiege paris . . the king leaves paris privately . the pr. attacks charenton . the causes of the civil war that ensu'd upon the imprisonment of the princes . . the deten●●on of the princes . the parisians rejoice at the imprisonment of the pr. the princes innocency . the count of tavane's zeal for the prince of conde . what happen'd in burgundy after the imprisonment of the princes . bellegarde taken . what passed in normandy during the imprisonment of the princes . the siege of bourdeaux . the progress of turenne's army . notes for div a -e the court is incens'd at the princes being remov'd to marcoussy , and the cardinal complains against the co●djutor . the coadjutor's complaints . madame de chevreuse writes to the cardinal in favour of the coadjutor . the cardinal's answer . dispositions towards an accommodation in guienne . the treaty of bourg . * a c●stle so called . the dukes of bouillon and de la rochefoucault propose powerful reasons to the cardinal to engage him to put the princes at liberty . * a faction so called . refusal of a cardinal's cap for the coadjutor . the cardinal's dissimulation . they talk about removing the princes into some strong place . monsieur opposes the princes being removed to havre . monsieur consents to the princes being removed to havre . he alters his mind . the princes are remov'd to havre . the measures of the princes friends are broken . the cardinal publickly refuses the cardinal's cap for the coadjutor . the effects of the victory of rhetel . they treat about the liberty of the princes . . conditions of the treaty . monsieur breaks w●th the car●inal . the cardinal retires to st. germans . the assembly of the palace of orleance . the cardinal goes to havre , in order to set the princes at liberty . the princes go from havre to paris . an universal ioy for the liberty and return of the prince of conde . the prince goes to the parliament addition of glory to the prince of conde . it was his due . the prince of conde 's glory tarnish'd . the prince of conde 's qualifications different from caesar ' s. the queen endeavours to dispose the prince to consent to the cardinal's return . dispositions towards an absolute breach . chavigny induces the prince to break off the treaty . imbroilures . reasons which induced the prince of conde to break the match between his brother & mademoiselle de chevreuse . several persons abandon the prince of conde 's party . disadvantageous reports against the prince of conde . engagements between the queen and the coadjutor . plots against the prince of conde . the king 's and the prince's coach meet in the ring . the prince quits paris to retire to st. maur. a pleasant alarm . the prince's court at st. maur. the prince of conde 's complaints . the prince returns to paris . complaints of the first president against the prince of conde 's conduct . foundation of those complaints . marshal turenne refuses to take the prince's party . the prince of conty 's answer . effects of the iourney and mariage of the duke of mercoeur . monsieur 's declaration . the prince of conde 's manifesto . the prince of conde demands iustice of the parliament against his accusers . disorder in the great hall. the duke of orleance 's expedient . the prince of conde justify'd . * the barbons , or people wearing long beards . a just cause of complaint of the prince . the king's majority . the prince of conde will not assist at the ceremony of the king's majority . the prince of conde endeavours to engage the duke of longueville in his party . * the place where the parliament assembles . the duke de la rochefoucault endeavours to engage considerable persons in the prince's party . the duke de la rochefoucault treats with the duke of bouillon on the prince's behalf . monsieur de longueville refuses to declare himself . the prince of conde goes from trie to chantilly . the prince's retreat . monsieur dispatches crois●y to the prince of conde , about an accommodation . notes for div a -e the civil war , extracted out of the memoirs of the duke de la rochefoucault . * la taille , a duty exacted by the king. * o ●atent during life * the first princess of the blood , se call'd . . * a place like the ring in hide-park . the battel of the suburb of st. anthony . * the duke o● orleance 's daughter . the duke of nemours 's death . the duke of bouillon 's death . notes for div a -e . the king's return . several persons are order'd to quit paris . the prince of conde 's motion . the duke of orleance 's accommodation . * the dutchess of orleance . the spaniards endeavour to surprize the cardinal at bouillon . the cardinal and monsieur de turenne meet . the prince of conde is made generalissimo of the armies of spain . his trouble . the count of tavannes refus●s to yield the command to the prince of tarente . count tavannes 's discontents . count tavannes , retires . . the cardinal returns to court. the prince of conty 's marriage . the rebellion continues in burgundy and guienne . the marshal de la ferté 's exploits . commercy taken . success of the king's forces in guienne . l' hormee persists in the rebellion . the peace of bordeaux . cromwel refuses to espo●se the prince of conde 's party . the prince of conde takes roye . rocroy taken by the french army . mouson taken by the spanish army . st. menehoult taken by the marshal plissis . . the prince of conde impeach'd by the parliament . * the place where the parliament sits . the sieges of stenay and of arras . the siege of arras rais'd . . the siege of vallenciennes . the raising of the siege of vallenciennes . . the taking of s. gui●lain and conde . * souldiers in ordinary pay , for the guard of f●●n●●er towns. the prince of conde enters cambray , and causes the siege to be raised . . the siege of dunkirk . the battel of the downs . . * the tenure or honour and iurisdiction of a castle-ship . . the king receives the prince of conde . . . war in flanders . . bezancon surrenders to the prince of conde . the taking of salins , dole , gray , and other places . . the war of holland . the prince of conde besieges and takes wel●el . passages of ●●e rhine . the prince of conde passes . . honours done to the prince of conde at utrecht . . the battle of senef . the siege of oudenarde rais'd . ● . marshal turenne 's death . . notes for div a -e the prince of conde retires to chantilly . . divers reasonings upon that r●treat . . . o●●upations of the prince of conde at chan●●●ly . . the prince of conde 's passion for war. visits from the prince of conde to the king. . every body is earnest to visit the p. of conde at chantilly . the king visits the prince of conde at chantilly . the prince of conde 's last sickness . ● ● . the duke of enguien 's arrival . addition of the prince of conde's letter to the king. the prince of conde blesses his children . the prince of conty 's arrival . father dechamps 's arrival . the prince of conde desires his body may be carry'd to valery , and his heart into the iesuits church . * in the diocess of sens. † in the church of the house of the iesuits . sententi●●● words of the prince of conde . the prince of conde 's death . the prince of conde 's letter read at court. the duke goes to versailles . he goes back to paris . the prince of conde 's body is carried to valery , and his heart to the church of st. lewis at paris . . funeral orations in honour of the prince of conde . * our lady's church the prince of conde 's picture . . an ode upon the ninth of january / the first secular day since the university of dublin's foundation by queen elizabeth. by mr. tate. tate, nahum, - . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page image. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing t estc r this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the 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(eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) an ode upon the ninth of january / the first secular day since the university of dublin's foundation by queen elizabeth. by mr. tate. tate, nahum, - . sheet ([ ] p.) printed by joseph ray, on college-green, dublin : . in two columns of verse. first line of verse: "great parent hail! all hail to thee,". reproduction of original in the bodleian library. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng elizabeth -- i, -- queen of england, - -- early works to . sovereignty -- early works to . songs, english -- th century. broadsides - tcp assigned for keying and markup - aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images - robyn anspach sampled and proofread - robyn anspach text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion an ode upon the ninth of january / the first secular day since the university of dublin's foundation by queen elizabeth . by mr. tate . great parent hail ! all hail to thee , who hast from last distress surviv'd , to see this joyful year arriv'd ; thy muses second jubilee . another century commencing no decay in thee can trace ; time with his own laws dispencing , adds new charms to ev'ry grace , that adorn'd thy youthful face . after war's , alarms repeated , and a circling age compleated , vig'rous offspring thou dost raise ; such as to jvverna's praise ; shall liffee make as proud a name , as that of isis or of cam. awful matron take thy seat , to celebrate this festivall ; the learn'd assembly well to treat blest eliza's days recall . the wonders of her reign recount in songs that mortal streins surmount : songs for phaebvs to repeat . she was the first who did inspire , and strung the mute hibernian lyre ; whose deathless memory ( the soul of harmony ) still animates the vocal quire. succeeding princes next recite : with never dying verse require those favours they did show'r ; 't is that alone can do 'em right to save 'em from oblivion's night is only in the muses pow'r . but chiefly recommend to fame , maria and great william's name ; for surely no hibernian muse ( whose isle to him , her freedom owes ) can her restorer's praise refuse , while boyn or shanon flows . thy royal patrons sung ; repair to illustrious ormond's tomb : as , living , he made thee his care , give him , next thy caesars , room . then a second ormond's story let astonisht fame recite ; but she 'll wrong the hero's glory . till with equal flame she write to that which he displays in fight . chorvs . with themes like these ye sons of art treat this auspicious day ; to bribe the minutes as they part , those blessings to bequeath , that may long , long rem , ain your kindness to repay . dvblin : printed by joseph ray , on college-green , . the history of king richard the second acted at the theatre royal under the name of the sicilian usurper : with a prefatory epistle in vindication of the author, occasion'd by the prohibition of this play on the stage / by n. tate. tate, nahum, - . this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a of text r in the english short title catalog (wing s ). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish.this text has not been fully proofread approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo a wing s estc r ocm

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early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) the history of king richard the second acted at the theatre royal under the name of the sicilian usurper : with a prefatory epistle in vindication of the author, occasion'd by the prohibition of this play on the stage / by n. tate. tate, nahum, - . shakespeare, william, - . king richard ii. [ ], [i.e. ], [ ] p. printed for richard tonson and jacob tonson ..., london : . adaptation of shakespeare's richard ii. published in as: the sicilian usurper.
eng shcnorichard iitate, nahum . b the rate of . defects per , words puts this text in the b category of texts with fewer than defects per , words. - assigned for keying and markup - keyed and coded from proquest page images - sampled and proofread - text and markup reviewed and edited - batch review (qc) and xml conversion

king richard ii. the first alteration of this play was by tate , intitled , " the sicilian usurper . " it was prohibited from being performed , on which account it was published by the author in , with a preface , in which he protests against such prohibition . in , an alteration of it was published by theobald . it was performed at the lincoln's . inn-field's theatre , with tolerable success .

the history of king richard the second acted at the theatre royal , under the name of the sicilian usurper .

with a prefatory epistle in vindication of the author .

occasion'd by the prohibition of this play on the stage .

by n. tate .

inultus ut flebo puer ? hor.

london , printed for richard tonson , and iacob tonson , at grays-inn gate , and at the judges-head in chancery-lane near fleet-street ,

to my esteemed friend george raynsford , esq sir ,

i wou'd not have you surpriz'd with this address , though i gave you no warning of it . the buisiness of this epistle is more vindication than complement ; and when we are to tell our grievances 't is most natural to betake our selves to a friend . 't was thought perhaps that this unfortunate off-spring having been stifled on the stage , shou'd have been buried in oblivion ; and so it might have happened had it drawn its being from me alone , but it still retains the immortal spirit of its first-father , and will survive in print , though forbid to tread the stage . they that have not seen it acted , by its being silenc't , must suspect me to have compil'd a disloyal or reflecting play. but how far distant this was from my design and conduct in the story will appear to him that reads with half an eye . to form any resemblance between the times here written of , and the present , had been unpardonable presumption in me. if the prohibiters conceive any such notion i am not accountable for that . i fell upon the new-modelling of this tragedy , ( as i had just before done on the history of king lear ) charm'd with the many beauties i discover'd in it , which i knew wou'd become the stage ; with as little design of satyr on present transactions , as shakespear himself that wrote this story before this age began . i am not ignorant of the posture of affairs in king richard the second's reign , how dissolute then the age , and how corrupt the court ; a season that beheld ignorance and infamy preferr'd to office and pow'r , exercis'd in oppressing , learning and merit ; but why a history of those times shou'd be supprest as a libel upon ours , is past my vnderstanding . 't is sure the worst complement that ever was made to a prince .

o rem ridiculam , cato , & jocasam , dignámque auribus , & tuo cachinno . ride , quicquid amas , cato , catullum res est ridicula , &c.

our shakespear in this tragedy , bated none of his characters an ace of the chronicle : be took care to shew 'em no worse men than they were , but represents them never a jot better . his duke of york after all his buisy pretended loyalty , is found false to his kinsman and sovereign , and joyn'd with the conspirators . his king richard himself is painted in the worst colours of history . dissolute , vnadviseable , devoted to ease and luxury . you find old gaunt speaking of him in this language then there are found lascivious meeters , to whose venom found the open ear of youth do's always listen . where doth the world thrust forth a vanity , ( so it be new , there 's no respect how vile ) that is not quickly buzz'd into his ear ? that all too late comes counsel to be heard . without the least palliating of his miscarriages , which i have done in the new draft , with such words as these . your sycophants bred from your child-hood with you , have such advantage had to work upon you , that scarce your failings can be call'd your faults . his reply in shakespear to the blunt honest adviser runs thus . and thou a lunatick lean-witted-fool , &c. now by my seat's right royal majesty , wer 't thou not brother to great edward's son. the tongue that runs thus roundly in thy head shou'd run thy head from the unreverent shoulders . on the contrary ( though i have made him express some resentment ) yet he is neither enrag'd with the good advice , nor deaf to it . he answers thus

gentle unkle ; excuse the sally's of my youthfull blood. we shall not be unmindfull to redress ( however difficult ) our states corruptions , and purge the vanities that crowd our court.

i have every where given him the language of an active , prudent prince . preferring the good of his subjects to his own private pleasure . on his irish expedition , you find him thus bespeak his queen though never vacant swain in silent bow'rs cou'd boast a passion so sincere as mine , yet where the int'rest of the subject calls we wave the dearest transports of our love , flying from beauties arms to rugged war , &c. nor cou'd it suffice me to make him speak like a king ( who as mr. rhymer says in his tragedies of the last age considered , are always in poëtry presum'd heroes ) but to act so too , viz. with resolution and justice . resolute enough our shakespear ( copying the history ) has made him , for concerning his seizing old gaunt's revennues , he tells the wise diswaders , say what ye will , we seize into our hands his plate , his goods , his money and his lands . but where was the iustice of this action ? this passage i confess was so material a part of the chronicle ( being the very basis of bullingbrook's vsurpation ) that i cou'd not in this new model so far transgress truth as to make no mention of it ; yet for the honour of my heroe i suppose the foresaid revennues to be borrow'd onely for the present exigence , not extorted .

be heav'n our judge , we mean him fair , and shortly will with interest restore the loan our suddain streights make necessary .

my design was to engage the pitty of the audience for him in his distresses , which i cou'd never have compass'd had i not before shewn him a wise , active and iust prince . detracting language ( if any where ) had been excusable in the mouths of the conspirators : part of whose dialogue runs thus in shakespear ; north. now afore heav'n 't is shame such wrongs are born in him a royal prince and many more of noble blood in this declining land : the king is not himself , but basely led by flatterers , &c. ross. the commons he has pil'd with grievous taxes and lost their hearts , &c. will. and daily new exactions are devis'd as blanks , benevolences , and i wot not what ; but what o' gods name doth become of this ? north. war hath not wasted it , for warr'd he has not ; but basely yielded upon comprimize . that which his ancestours atchiev'd with blows more has he spent in peace than they in war , &c. with much more villifying talk ; but i wou'd not allow even traytors and conspirators thus to bespatter the person whom i design'd to place in the love and compassion of the audience . ev'n this very scene ( as i have manag'd it ) though it shew the confederates to be villains , yet it flings no aspersion on my prince .

further , to vindicate ev'n his magnanimity in regard of his resigning the crown , i have on purpose inserted an intirely new scene between him and his queen , wherein his conduct is sufficiently excus'd by the malignancy of his fortune , which argues indeed extremity of distress , but nothing of weakness .

after this account it will be askt why this play shou'd be supprest , first in its own name , and after in disguise ? all that i can answer to this , is , that it was silenc'd on the third day . i confess , i expected it wou'd have found protection from whence it receiv'd prohibition ; and so questionless it wou'd , cou'd i have obtain'd my petition to have it perus'd and dealt with according as the contents deserv'd , but a positive doom of suppression without examination was all that i cou'd procure .

the arbitrary courtiers of the reign here written , scarcely did more violence to the subjects of their time , then i have done to truth , in disguising their foul practices . take ev'n the richard of shakespear and history , you will find him dissolute , careless , and vnadvisable : peruse my picture of him and you will say , as aeneas did of hector , ( though the figure there was alter'd for the worse and here for the better ) quantum mutatus ab illo ! and likewise for his chief ministers of state , i have laid vertues to their charge of which they were not guilty . every scene is full of respect to majesty and the dignity of courts , not one alter'd page but what breaths loyalty , yet had this play the hard fortune to receive its prohibition from court.

for the two days in which it was acted , the change of the scene , names of persons , &c. was a great disadvantage : many things were by this means render'd obscure and incoherent that in their native dress had appear'd not only proper but gracefull . i call'd my persons sicilians but might as well have made 'em inhabitants of the isle of pines , or , world in the moon , for whom an audience are like to have small concern . yet i took care from the beginning to adorn my prince with such heroick vertues , as afterwards made his distrest scenes of force to draw tears from the spectators ; which , how much more touching they would have been had the scene been laid at home , let the reader judge . the additional comedy i judg'd necessary to help off the heaviness of the tale , which design , sir , you will not only pardon , but approve . i have heard you commend this method in stage writing , though less agreeable to stricktness of rule ; and i find your choice confirm'd by our laureat's last piece , who confesses himself to have broken a rule for the pleasure of variety . * the audience ( says he ) are grown weary of melancholly scenes , and i dare prophesie that few tragedies ( except those in verse ) shall succeed in this age if they are not lightned with a course of mirth .

and now , sir , i fear i have transgrest too far on your patience . distress was always talkative : be pleas'd to call to mind your beloved virgil's nightingall when rob'd of her young . qualis populeâ moerens philomela sub umbrâ , amissos queritur foetus , quos durus arator observans , nido implumes detraxit ; at illa flet noctem , ramoque sedens , miserabile carmen integrat , & moest is late looa questibus implet . this simile you know , sir , is occasion'd by orpheus his lamenting the loss of euridice , which the mythologists expound the fruit of his labours . you find virgil himself elsewhere condoling his oppression by arrius . s●ch are the complaints of our spencer defrauded by cecill . with these , the melancholly cowley joyns his note ; and , as mr. flatman says , 't is the language of the whole tribe . i heard 'em curse their stars in ponderous rhymes , and in grave numbers grumble at the times . poetry and learning , ev'n in petronius his time , was a barren province , when villany of any sort was a thriving trade . qui pelago credit magno , se foenore tollit , qui pugnat & castra petit praecingitur auro ; vilis adulator picto jacet ebrius ostro ; et qui sollicitat nuptas , ad praemia peccat : sola pruinosis horret facundia pannis . or to go a step higher in antiquity quid est , catulle , quod moraris emori ? sellâ in curuli struma nonius sedet , quid est , catulle , quod moraris emori ? aristotle himself confesses poetry a better school of vertue than philosophy . our own sir philip sidney's learn'd defence of it , is demonstration what rewards are due , and our late incomparable author of hudibras , is no less demonstration what returns are made to the best masters of it . not greece or rome can boast a genius like his ; yet after all , his poverty was a greater satyr on the age than his writings .

once more , sir , i beg your pardon for digressing , and dismiss you to the following poem , in which you will find some master touches of our shakespear , that will vie with the best roman poets , that have so deservedly your veneration . if it yield you any diversion i have my desire , who covet all opportunities of shewing my self gratefull for your friendship to me , which i am proud of , and amongst the many whom your ingenious and obliging temper had devoted to you , there is none that more prizes your conversation , than

your obliged friend and humble servant , n. tate .
prologue . to what a wretched state are poets born , split on the rocks of envy or of scorn ? ev'n to the best the promis'd wreath's deny'd , and just contempt attends on all beside . this one wou'd think shou'd lessen the temptation , but they are poëts by predestination . the fatal bait undaunted they persue ; and claim the laurel as their labour 's due . but where 's the vse of merit , or of laws , when ingnorance and malice judge the cause ? 'twixt these , like aesop's husband , poëts fare , this pulls the black and that the silver hair , till they have left the poëm bald and bare . behold the dreadfull spot they ought to fear , whole loads of poët-bane are scattered here . where e'er it lights the sad effects we find , tho' on the tender hearts of woman-kind . the men ( whose talents they themselves mistake , or misapply , for contradiction sake . ) spight of their stars must needs be critiques still , nay , tho' prohibited by th' irish bill . blest age ! when all our actions seem design'd to prove a war 'twixt reason and mankind ! here an affected cocquet perks and prunes , tho' she 's below the level of lampoons , venting her fly-blown charms till her own squire is grown too nice and dainty to admire . there a pretending fop ( a man of note more for his thread-bare iest than gawdy coat ) sees every coxcomb's mirth , yet wants the sense to know 't is caus'd by his impertinence . nor rests the mighty grievance here alone ; for not content with follys of our own , we plunder the fair sex of what we can , who seldom miss their dear revenge on man. their property of falshood we invade , whilst they usurp our mid-night scouring trade .
song for the third act. i. love's delights were past expressing cou'd our happy visions last , pity 't is they fly so fast ; pity 't is so short a blessing , love's delights were past expressing cou'd our happy visions last ; tide 's of pleasure in possessing sweetly flow , but soon are past . love's delights , &c. ii. calms in love are fleeting treasure , only visit and away ; hasty blessing we enjoy , tedious hours of grief we measure : calms in love are fleeting treasure , only visit and away , sighs and tears fore-run the pleasure , iealous rage succeeds the ioy. calms in love , &c.
song for the prison scene in the last act. i. retir'd from any mortals sight the pensive damon lay , he blest the discontented night , and curst the smiling day . the tender sharers of his pain , his flocks no longer graze , but sadly fixt around the swain , like silent mourners gaze . . he heard the musick of the wood , and with a sigh reply'd , he saw the fish sport in the flood , and wept a deeper tyde . in vain the summers bloom came on , for still the drooping swain , like autumn winds was heard to groan , out-wept the winters rain . . some ease ( said he ) some respite give ! why , mighty powrs , ah why am i too much distrest to live , and yet forbid to dye ? such accents from the shepherd flew whilst on the ground he lay ; at last so deep a sigh he drew , as bore his life away .
the persons names , together with those under which the play was acted . king richard , oswald . gaunt , alcidore . york , cleon. bullingbrook , vortiger . northumberland . ●●rmogenes . piercie . ross. willoughby . carlile . aumarl . exton . queen , aribell . dutchess of york . ladies , gardiners , souldiers , messengers , guards , attendants .
books newly printed for r. tonson and j. tonson .

the spanish fryer , or the double discovery . written by mr. dryden .

lucius iunius brutus , father of his country . a tragedy , written by mr. lee.

the art of making love , or rules for the conduct of ladies and gallants in their amours , price of each s.

the history of king richard the ii d.
act i.
scene a chamber of state. king richard , john of gaunt , northumberland , piercie , ross , willoughby , with other nobles and attendants . king old iohn of gaunt time honour'd lancaster ; hast thou according to thy oath and bond brought hither harry herford thy bold son , here to make good th'impeachment lately charg'd against the duke of norfolk thomas mowbray ? gaunt . i have my liege . king. hast thou moreover sifted him to find if he impeach the duke on private malice ; or worthily as a good subject shou'd . gaunt . as far as i can sound him in the business on some apparent danger from the duke aim'd at your highness , no inveterate malice ! king. then set 'em in our presence face to face ; and frowning , brow to brow , our self will hear th' accuser and the accus'd both freely speak ; high-stomacht are they both and in their rage deaf as the storming sea , hasty as fire . bulling-brook and mowbray from several entrances . bull. now many years of happy day's befal my gracious soveraign my most honour'd liege . mow. each day exceeding th' others happiness till heav'n in jealousie to earth's success add an immortal title to your crown . king. cousin of herford what dost thou object against the duke of norfolk thomas mowbray ? bull. first then be heav'n the record to my speech . , that in devotion to a subjects love ( not on suggestions of a private hatred ) come i appealant to this princely presence . now thomas mowbray do i turn to thee , and mark my greeting well ; for what i speak my body shall make good upon this earth , or my divine soul answer it in heav'n : thou art a trayter to the king and state , a foul excrescence of a noble stem ; to heav'n i speak it , and by heav'n 't is true , that thou art treason spotted , false as hell , and wish ( so please my soveraign ) ere we move , what my tongue speaks , my right drawn sword may prove . mow. let not the coldness of my language draw my sov'reign liege your censure on my zeal , 't is not the tryal of a womans war , the senseless clamour of contending tongues can arbitrate the diffrence 'twixt us two , the blood is hot that must be cool'd for this : the reverence of this presence curbs my speech , that else had shot like lightning and return'd this charge of treason , to the sland'rers throat : set but aside his high blood 's royalty , and let him be no kins-man to the king. allow me this , and bulling-brook's a villain ; which to maintain i will allow him odds , pursue him bare-foot to the farthest north , whose chastisement i tamely now forbear , bull. white-liver'd coward there i throw my gage , disclaiming my relation to the king , which fear , not reverence make thee to object ; if guilty dread has left thee so much strength , stoop and take up forthwith my honour's pawn ; by that and all the rights of knight-hood else i will make good against thee arm to arm what i have said , and seal it with thy soul. mow. i seize it herford as i wou'd seize thee , and by the sword that laid my knight-hood on me i 'll answer thee in any knightly tryal as hot in combate as thou art in brawl . king. what do's our cousen lay to norfolk's charge ? bull. first then i say ( my sword shall prove it true ) that mow-bray has receiv'd eight thousand nobles in name of lendings for your highness service , all which for lew'd employments he detains like a false traytor and injurious villain ; besides i say and will in combate prove , that all the treasons , plots , conspiracies hatcht for these eighteen years within this realm , fetcht from false mowbray their first spring and head : farther i say , and on his heart will prove it , that he did plot the duke of gloster's death , whose martial ghost to me for vengeance cryes , and by the glorious worth of my descent this arm shall give it , or this blood be spent . king. how high a pitch his resolution soars . thomas of norfolk what say'st thou to this ? mow. o let my sov'raign turn away his face and bid his ear a little while be deaf , till i have told this slander of his blood , how heav'n and good men hate so foul a lyar. king. now by our sceptres awe i tell thee mowbray , were he my brother , nay my kingdoms heir , our blood shou'd nothing priviledge him , nor bend our upright soul from justice . mow. then bulling-brook as low as to thy heart thou ly'st ; three parts of my receits for callice i have disburst amongst his highness souldiers ; the rest i by the king's consent reserv'd upon remainder of a dear account , since last i went to fetch the queen from france . first swallow down that lye for gloster's death i slew him not , but rather to my fault neglected my sworn duty in that case , compassion being here all my offence . and for the rest of thy perfidious charge , it issues from the rancour of a villain , the flowing gall of a degenerate traytor , in proof of which i summon thee to combate , beseeching of his majesty the grace to my wrong'd fame t' appoint our tryal-day where herford's blood shall for his slanders pay , and wash the poyson of his tongue away . king. rash men , thus long we have giv'n you the hearing , now let the pleasure of your king be heard ; and know our wisdom shall prescribe a way to purge this choller without letting blood , forget , forgive , conclude and be agreed , gaunt , see this difference end where it begun , wee 'l calm the duke of norfolk , you your son. gaunt . to be a peace-maker becomes my age throw down my son the duke of norfolk's gage . king. and norfolk throw down his . gaunt . when harry when ? obedience bids , i shou'd not bid again . king. will norfolk when the king commands be slow ? mow. my self dread sov'raign at your feet i throw ; my life you may command , but not my shame , i cannot give , nor will you ask my fame ; i am impeacht , disgrac't before my king , pierc't to the soul with slanders venom'd sting , incurable but by the traytor 's blood that breath'd the poyson . king. rage must be withstood ; give me his gage , lyons make leopards tame . mow. yes , but not change their spots , take but my shame , and i resign my gage ; my dear dread lord , the purest treasure mortal times afford is spotless honour ; take but that away men are but guilded loam and painted clay . king. cousin , throw down his gage , do you begin , bull. just heav'n defend me from so foul a sin . condemn not sir your blood to such disgrace ! shall i seem brav'd before my father's face ? no , royal sir , ere my blaspheaming tongue shall do my loyalty so foul a wrong , or sound so base a parle , by th' roots i 'le tear the slavish herrald of so vile a fear , and spit it bleeding where the worst disgrace , and slanders harbour , ev'n in mowbray's face . king. now by my scepter you have wak't my spleen , and since we sue in vain to make ye friends , prepare to meet before us in the lists , you shall , and he that bauk's the combat , dies . behold me give your head-long fury scope , each to chastise the others guilty pride . what council cannot , let the sword decide . exeunt .
scene the second . enter dutchess of glocester in mourning . dutch. how slow alas the hours of sorrow fly , whose wings are dampt with tears ! my dear , dear gloster , i have more than a widdows loss to mourn , she but laments a death ; but i a murder . enter gaunt . gaunt . when sister will you find the way to comfort ? dutch. when gaunt has found the way to vengeance , comfort before that hour were guilty . edwards seven sons ( whereof thy self art one ) where as seven viols of his sacred blood , or seven fair branches springing from one stock ; some of those streams by natures course are dry'd , some of those branches by the destinies cut ; but thomas , my dear lord , my life , my gloster , one flourishing branch of that most royal stem , is hew'd and all his verdant leaves disperst , by envies hand and murders bloody axe . gaunt . sister , the part i have in gloster's blood , do's more sollicite me than your exclaims , to stir against the butchers of his life ; but since revenge is heav'ns prerogative , put we our quarrel to the will of heav'n . enter york . york .

save ye sister very hot ! oh ! hot weather and hot work : come brother , the lists are ready ; the fight will be worth the while : besides your concern there is somewhat more than ordinary . i' faith now i cou'd be content to have harry scape ; but for all that i wou'd have the traytor die .

gaunt . cou'd my impartial eye but find him such , fell mow-bray's sword should come to late . dutch. where shall my sorrows make their last complaint , if york deny me too ? york .

what wou'd our sister ?

dutch.

revenge , and speedy for my glosters death .

york .

why there 't is revenge , ho ! a fine morsel for a lady fasting , gloster was my brother , true but gloster was a traytor and that 's true too i hate a traytor more than i love a brother .

dutch.

a traytor york ?

york .

't is somewhat a course name for a kinsman , but yet to my thinking , to raise an army , execute subjects , threaten the king himself , and reduce him to answer particulars , has a very strong smatch with it go too , you are in fault , your complaints are guilty ; your very tears are treason . no remedy but patience .

dutch. call it not patience , york , 't is cold despair , in suffering thus your brother to be slaughter'd , you shew the naked path to your own lives ; ah! had his fate been yours my gloster wou'd have set a nobler prince upon your lives . york . this air grows infectious : will you go brother . dutch. but one word more , grief ever was a talker , but i will teach him silence ; of you both i take eternal leave . comforts wait on you when i am laid in earth : to some dark cell will i betake me , where this weary life shall with the taper waste : there shall i greet , no visitant but death adieu ! my lords ! if this farewell your patience has abus'd , think 't was my last , and let it be excus'd . exeunt .
scene the third . a pavilion of state before the lists . marshal and aumerle from several entrances . marsh. my lord aumerle is harry herford arm'd ? aum. yes , at all points and longs to enter in , marsh. the duke of norfolk sprightfully and bold waits but the summons of the appealants trumpet , but see , the king. flourish , enter king , queen attended , gaunt , york , pierce , northumberland , &c. who place themselves to view the combat . mowbray brought in by a herald . king. marshal demand of yonder combatant , why he comes here , and orderly proceed to swear him in the justice of his cause . marsh. in the kings name say who thou art and what 's thy quarrel ? speak truly on thy knighthood and thy oath , so heav'n defend thee and thy valour . mow. hither is mowbray come upon his oath , to justifie his loyalty and truth , against false bullingbrook that has appeal'd me , and as i truly fight defend me heav'n . trumpet again . bullingbrook and herald . king. demand of yonder knight why he comes here , and formally according to our law , depose him in the justice of his cause . marsh. thy name , and wherefore thou art hither come before king richard in his royal lists , speak like a true knight : so defend thee heav'n , bull. harry of herford , lancaster and derby , stands here in arms to prove on thomas mowbray , that he 's a traytor to the king and state , and as i truly fight defend me heav'n . but first lord marshal i entreat the grace to kiss my soveraigns hand and do him homage , for mowbray and my self are like to men that vow along and weary pilgrimage , therefore shou'd take a ceremonious leave and tender farewel of our several friends . marsh. th'appealant in all duly greets your highness , craving to kiss your hand and take his leave . king. we will descend and fould him in our arms ; now cousin , as thy cause is just , so be thy fortune in this royal fight ; farewel my blood , which if thou chance to shed , lament we may , but not revenge the dead . bull. no noble eye be seen to loose a tear on me if i be foil'd by mowbrays arm ; as confident as is the faulcon's flight at tim'rous birds do i with mowbray fight . o thou the gen'rous author of my blood , [ to gaunt . whose youthful spirit enflames and lifts me up to reach at victory above my head , add proof to this my armour with thy pray'rs , and with thy blessings point my vengeful sword to furbish new th' illustrious name of gaunt . mow. however heaven or fortune cast my lot , there lives or dies a just and loyal man : never did wretched captive greet the hour of freedom with more welcome or delight than my transported soul do's celebrate this feast of battle blessings on my king , and peace on all . king. farewell my lord , virtue and valour guard thee : marshal finish . marsh. harry of herford , lancaster and derby , receive thy sword and heav'n defend thy right , fear this to mowbray . mow. curse on your tedious ceremonies , more to us tormenting then t'expecting bridegrooms . the signal for heav'ns sake . marsh. sound trumpets , and set forward combatants . stay , stay , the king has thrown his warder down . king. command the knights once more back to their posts , and let the trumpets sound a second charge , whilst with our lords we briefly do advise . another flourish after which the king speaks . command 'em to resigne their arms , and listen to what we with our council have decreed , for that our eyes detest the spectacle of civil wounds , from whence the dire infection of general war may spring , we bar your combat , suppress those arms that from our coast wou'd fright fair peace , and make us wade in kinsmen's blood : and lest your neighbour-hood cause after-broils , we banish you our realms to different climes , you bullingbrook on pain of death , till twice five summers have enircht our fields . bull. and must this be your pleasure ? well ! your pleasure stand , 't will be my comfort still , the sun that warms you here , shall shine on me and guild my banishment . king. mowbray for thee remains a heavier doom , the slow succeeding hours shall not determine the dateless limit of thy dear exile , the hopeless word of never to return , breath we against thee upon pain of death . mow. a heavy sentence my most sov'raign lord , the language i have learnt these forty years , my native english must i now forgo ? i am too old to fawn upon a nurse , and learn the prattle of a forraign tongue . what is thy sentence then , but speechless death ? you take the cruelst way to rob my breath . king. complaint comes all too late where we decree . mow. then thus i turn me from my countries light , pleas'd with my doom because it pleas'd the king , farewell my lord , now mowbray cannot stray , let me shun england , all the worlds my way . king. return again and take an oath with thee . lay on our royal sword your banisht hands , swear by the duty that you owe to heav'n nere to embrace each others love in banishment , nor ever meet , nor write to reconcile this lowring tempest of your home-bred hate , nor plot to turn the edge of your revenge , on us , our state , our subjects and our land. bull. i swear . mow. and i to keep all this ! bull. by this time mowbray , had the king permitted , one of our souls had wandered in the air , as now our flesh is doomd on earth to wander , confess thy treason ere thou fly the land ; since thou hast far to go , bear not along th'incumbring burden of a guilty soul. mow. no bullingbrook , if ever i were false , let heav'n renounce me as my country has ; but what thou art , heav'n , thou and i do know , and all ( my heart forbodes ) too soon shall rue . my absence then shall yet this comfort bring , not to behold the troubles of my king. [ exit . king. uncle within thy tear-charg'd eyes i read thy hearts fell sorrow , and that troubled look , has from the number of his banisht years pluckt four away ; six frozen winters spent , return with welcome from thy banishment . gaunt . i thank my liege , that in regard to me , he cuts off four years from my sons exile , but small advantage shall i reap thereby , for ere those slow six years can change their moons , my inch of taper will be spent and done , nor gaunt have life to welcom home his son. king. despair not uncle , you have long to live . gaunt . but not a minute king that thou canst give . king. thy son was banisht upon advice , to which thy tongue a party verdict gave , gaunt . my interest i submitted to your will , you urg'd me like a judge , and i forgot a father's name , and like a strict judge doom'd him. alas i look'd when some of you should say , i was too strict to make my own away ! but all gave leave to my unwilling tongue , to do my ag'd heart this unnatural wrong . king. now for the rebels that hold out in ireland , and turn our mild forbearance to contempt , fresh forces must be levi'd with best speed , ere farther leisure yield them further strength , we will our self in person to this war , and quench this flame before it spread too far . ex. with attendants . gaunt . o to what purpose dost thou hoard thy words , when thou shouldst breath dear farewels to thy friends that round thee , all like silent mourners gaze . bull. they will not censure me whose scanty time and breath 's too little to take leave of you . my dear companions you have known my heart too long , to doubt it on a silent grief ha! by my swelling blood my father 's pale ! how fare's your honour ? good my lords your hands . gaunt . i feel a heaviness like death , and hope it is no counterfeit all shall be well . bull. by heav'n it shall i feel my veins work high , and conscious glory kindling in my brest , inspires a thought to vast to be exprest ; where this disgrace will end the heav'ns can tell , and herford's soul divines , that 't will be well ! a beam of royal splendor strikes my eye , before my charm'd sight , crowns and scepters fly ; the minutes big with fate , too slowly run , but hasty bullingbrook shall push 'em on . [ ex.
the end of the first act.
act ii.
a chamber . gaunt sick , to him york . york .

now brother , what cheer ?

gaunt .

why well , 't is with me as old gaunt cou'd wish .

york .

what , harry sticks with you still ; well i hear he 's safe in france and very busie .

gaunt .

my blood were never idle .

york .

i fear too busie ; come , he 's a parlous boy , i smell a confed'racy betwixt him and his companions here , mischief will come on 't , cut him off i say ; let him be kites-meat i would hang a son , to kill a traytor .

gaunt .

go sleep good york and wake with better thoughts .

york .

heav'n grant we sleep not all 'till alarums wake us . i tell you brother i lik'd not the manner of his departure , 't was the very smooth smiling face of infant rebellion ; with what familiar courtesie did he caress the rabble ?

what reverence did he throw away on slaves ? off goes his bonnet to an oysterwench , a brace of dray-men bid god speed him well and had the tribute of his supple knee , then shakes a shoo-maker by the waxt thumbs , with thanks my country-men , my friends , my brothers , then comes a peal of sighs wou'd knock a church down , roguery , mechanick roguery ! rank treason ,
gaunt .

my sickness grows upon me , set me higher .

york .

villany takes its time , all goes worse and worse in ireland , rebellion is there on the wing , and here in the egg ; yet still the court dances after the french pipe , eternal apes of vanity : mutiny stirring , discipline asleep , knaves in office , all 's wrong ; make much of your sickness brother : if it be mortal , 't is worth a duke-dome .

gaunt . how happy heav'n were my approaching death cou'd my last words prevail upon the king , whose easie gentle nature has expos'd his unexperienc'd youth to flatterers frauds ; yet at this hour , i hope to bend his ear to councel , for the tongues of dying men enforce attention like deep harmony : where words are scarce , th' are seldom spent in vain , for they breath truth , that breath their words in pain . enter king , queen , northumberland , ross , willoughby , piercye , &c. with guards and attendants . queen . how fares our noble uncle lancaster ? king. how is 't with aged gaunt ? gaunt . ag'd as your highness says , and gaunt indeed . gaunt , as a grave whose womb holds nought but bones , king. can sick men play so nicely with their names ? gaunt . since thou dost seek to kill my name in me , i mock my name great king to flatter thee . king. should dying men then , flatter those that live ? gaunt . no , no , men living flatter those that dye . king. thou now a dying sayst , thou flatter'st me . gaunt . oh! no , thou dyest though i the sicker am , king. i am in health breath , free but see thee ill gaunt . now he that made me knows i see thee ill . thy death-bed is no less than the whole land , whereon thou ly'st in reputation sick . yet hurri'd on by a malignant fate commit'st thy annoynted body to the cure of those physitians that first poyson'd thee ! upon thy youth a swarm of flatterers hang and with their fulsome weight are daily found to bend thy yielding glories to the ground . king. judge heav'n how poor a thing is majesty , be thou thy self the judge , when thou sick wight presuming on an agues priviledge dar'st with thy frozen admonition , make pale our cheek , but i excuse thy weakness . gaunt . think not the ryot of your court can last , tho fed with the dear life blood of your realms ; for vanity at last preys of it self . this earth of majesty , this seat of mars , this fortress built by nature in the floods , whose rocky shores beat back the foaming sedge , this england conqu'rour of the neighbring lands , makes now a shameful conquest on it self . york . now will i stake ( my liege ) my soul upon 't ; old gaunt is hearty in his wishes for you , and what he speaks , is out of honest zeal , and tho thy anger prove to me as mortal , as is to him this sickness , yet blunt york must eccho to his words and cry , thou art abus'd and flatter'd . king. gentle uncle , excuse the sallies of my youthful blood , i know y' are loyal both and mean us well , nor shall we be unmindful to redress , ( however difficult ) our states corruption , and purge the vanities that crown'd our court. gaunt . my gracious liege your pardon , this bold duty , was all that stood betwixt my grave and me , your sycophants bred from your child-hood with you , have such advantage had to work upon you , that scarce your failings can be call'd your faults ; now to heav'ns care and your own piety , i leave my sacred lord , and may you have in life that peace that waits me in the grave . king. thanks my good uncle , bear him to his bed , [ exit gaunt . attend him well , and if a princes prayers have more than common interest with heav'n , our realm shall yet enjoy his honest councel . and now my souldiers for our irish wars , we must suppress these rough prevailing kerns , that live like venom , where no venom else but only they have priviledg to live . but first our uncle gaunt being indispos'd , we do create his brother both in blood and loyalty our uncle york , lord governour of england , in our absence observe me lords , and pay him that respect you give our royal presence . [ enter northumberland . north. my liege old gaunt commends him to your highness . king. what says our uncle ? north. nothing ; all is said . his tongue is now a stringless instrument , but call'd on your lov'd name and blest you dying . king. the ripest fruit falls first and so doe's he , his course is done , our pilgrimage to come , so much for that ; return we to our war and cause our coffers with too great a court and liberal largess , are grown somewhat light : prest with this exigence , we for a time do seize on our dead uncles large revenues in herford's absence . york .

o my liege pardon me if you please , if not , i please not to be pardon'd , spare to seize the royalties and rights of banisht herford , i fear already he 's too apt t' engage against your power , and these proceedings will give countenance and growth to his designs , forbear to draw such dangers on your head.

king. be heav'n our judge we mean him nothing fowl but shortly will with interest restore the loan our sudden streights make necessary . weep not my love nor drown with boding tears , our springing conquest , bear our absence well , nor think that i have joy to part with thee , tho never vacant swain in silent bowers , cou'd boast a passion so sincere as mine , yet where the int'rest of the subject calls , we wave the dearest transports of our love flying from beauty ' arms to rugged war ; conscience our first , and thou our second care. [ exeunt . manent , morthumberland , piercy , ross , willoughby . north. well lords , the duke of lancaster is dead . will. and living too if justice had her right , for herford then were more than a bare name , who now succeeds departed gaunt in nothing , but in his mind 's rich virtues , the kings pleas'd to have occasion for his temporal wealth ! o my heart swells , but let it burst with silence , ere it be disburden'd with a liberal tongue . perc. now rot the tongue that scants a subjects freedom , loosers at least are priviledgd to talk , and who accounts not herfords looss his own deserves not the esteem of herford's friend . there 's none of us here present but did weep at parting , and if there be any one whose tears are not converted now to fire he is a crocadile . north. the fate of bullingbrook will soon be ours , we hear the tempest sing yet seek no shelter , we see our wreck and yet securely perish , a sure , but willful fate for had ye spirits but worthy to receive it , i cou'd say how near the tidings of our comfort is . pierc . give us thy thoughts and rate 'em as thou wilt , here 's blood for 'em , but point us to the veins that hold the richest , we will empty those , to purchase ' em . north. hold generous youth . this gallantry unlocks my inmost brest , seizing a secret dearer than my heart . attend me lords , i have from port le blanc this very day receiv'd intelligence , that our wrong'd herford with lord rainold cobham , sir thomas arpingham , bold sir iohn rainston , sir robert waterton , quaint , norbery , with eight tall ships , three thousand men in arms , design with speed to touch our northern shore , if then you have a spark of british glory , to imp our drooping countries broken wing , joyn hands with me and post to ravenspurg . ross. now business stirs and life is worth our while . will. nature her self of late hath broke her order , then why should we continue our dull round ? rivers themselves refuse their wonted course , start wide or turn on their own fountain heads ; our lawrels all are blasted , rambling meteors affright the fixst inhabitants of heav'n . the pale fac't moon looks bloody on the earth , and lean-lookt prophets whisper dreadful change . pierc . away , let 's post to th' north , and see for once a sun rise there ; the glorious bulling-brook . for our return will not pass a thought , for if our courtiers passage be withstood , we 'll make our selves a sea and sail in blood. [ exeunt . enter queen attended . lady . despair not madam . queen . who shall hinder me ? i will despair and be at enmity , with flattering hope , he is a couzener , a parasite , a keeper back of death , that wou'd dissolve at once our pain and life , which lingring hope holds long upon the rack ; yet murders at the last the cruel'st way . lady . here comes the duke . [ enter york and servants . queen . with signs of war about his aged neck , and full of careful business are his looks . york .

death and confusion ! oh ! set my corsleet right , fetch my commanding sword : scour up the brown bills , arm , arm , arm.

queen .

now uncle for heav'ns sake speak comfort .

york .

comforts in heav'n , and we are on the earth , nothing but crosses on this side of the moon ; my heart stews in choller , i shall dissolve to a gelly . that your husband shou'd have no more wit than to go a knight erranting whilst rogues seize all at home , and that i shou'd have no more wit than to be his deputy at such a proper time : to undertake to support a crazy government , that can scarce carry my own fat : well sirrah , have you given my son orders to strengthen his forces ? if he prove a flincher too .

gent. my lord i know not how he stands affected , not well , i fear , because at my arrival he was withdrawn , at least pretended so so that i cou'd not give him your commands . york .

why so ? go all which way it will , the nobles are all fled , and hide themselves like my ungracious rascal , or else strike in with the rebels ; the commons find our exchequer empty and revolt too , and a blessed bargain i have on 't .

queen . alass my bank and jewels are dispos'd off for the kings wants already , and to wait till fresh recruits come from our fathers court , i fear will lose our cause . york . get thee to plashy to my sister gloster , her coffers i am sure are strongly lin'd , bid her send me presently . nobles . hold take my ring , fly if thou lov'st thy head. gent. my lord i had forgot to tell you that to day passing by there i was inform'd but i shall grieve you to report the rest . york . what is 't knave ? gent. an hour before i came the dutches dy'd , her son your nephew ere her blood was cold , makes all secure and flies to bullingbrook . york .

death what a tide of woes break upon us at once . perverse woman to take this time to die in , and the varlet her son too to take this time to play the villain in : wou'd to heav'n the king had cut off my head as he did my brothers , come sister couzen i would say , pray pardon me , if i know how to order these perplext affairs , i am a sturgeon . gentlemen go muster up your men , and meet me at barkley castle . i should to plashie too , but time will not suffer ; the wind 's cross too , and will let us hear nothing from ireland , nor boots it much , if they have no better news for us , than we have for them . all 's wrong , oh! fie , hot ! hot !

[ exeunt .
scene the third . the field , flourish enter . bullingbrook , northumberland , piercy , and the rest with their powers . bull. and thus like seamen , scatter'd in a storm meet we to revel on the safer shore ; accept my worthy friends , my dearest thanks , for yet my infant fortunes can present returns no richer but when these are ripe , north. your presence was the happiness we sigh'd for , and now made rich in that we seek no more . enter ross , and willoughby . bull. my lords , y' are well return'd , what news from wales , we hear that salisbury has levi'd there full on the kings behalf . ross. my lord , that cloud 's disperst , the welshmen hearing that all the north here had resign'd to you , disperst themselves and part are hither fled . will. fortune so labours to confirm your pow'r that all attempts go cross on the enemies side . enter york and servants . bull. but see our uncle york , come as i guess to treat with us , being doubtful of his strength , his hot and testie humour else wou'd nere salute us but with blows ; be ready guards when i shall give command my noble uncle . york . shew me thy humble heart and not thy knee , whose duty 's feign'd and false . bull. my gracious uncle . york . tut , tut , grace me no grace , and uncle me no uncle , i am no traytors uncle , i renounce thee , why have these banisht and forbidden feet dar'd once to touch a dust of english ground , but more then why , why have they dar'd to march so many miles upon her peaceful bosom , frighting her pale-fac't villages with war ? com'st thou because th' annointed king is hence , why graceless boy the king is left behind and in my loyal bosom lies the power : were i but now the lord of such hot youth , as when brave gaunt thy father and my self rescu'd the black prince , that young mars of men , o then how quickly should this arm of mine , ( now pris'ner to the palsie ) chastise thee , and this raw crew of hot-braind youth about thee ? your boys should have correction , much correction . bull. why reverend uncle , let me know my fault on what condition stands it and wherein ? york . even in condition of the worst degree , in gross rebellion and detested treason , thou art a banisht man and here art come , before the expiration of thy time , in braving arms against thy sovereign . bull. as i was banisht , i was banisht herford , but as i come i come for lancaster , look on my wrongs with an indifferent eye , you are my father , for methinks in you , i see old gaunt alive : o then my father will you permit that i shall stand condemnd a wandring vagabond , my rights and royalties snatcht from my hand perforce and giv'n away to up-start unthrifts ? wherefore was i born ? if that my cousen king , be king of england , it must be granted i am duke of lancaster , york . thy words are all as false as thy intents , the king but for the service of the state , has borrow'd thy revenue for a time , and pawn'd to me his honour to repay it , which i as gaunt executour allow'd . bull.

then uncle i am sorry you have drawn the guilt on your own head , and that of course justice must fall there too ; we must commit you to our guards custody .

york . perfidious villain , now he that has a soul give me a sword ! and since my followers are too few to engage , give but this villain here and me a ring , and if you do not see a traytor cudgell'd , as a vile traytor should , i 'll give ye leave to hang my brawn i' th' sun. north. the duke has sworn he comes but for his own , and in that claim we all resolve to assist him . york . what says northumberland ? thou rev'rend rebel , think what a figure makes thy beard amongst this callow crew ; allow that he were wrong'd , as on the kings faith and mine he is not , yet in this kind to come with threatning arms , to compass right with wrong , it may not be ; and you that do abet him in this sort from the hoar'd head to the raw beardless chin , cherish rebellion , and are rebels all . bull. we have not leisure to debate ; strike drums . york .

now the villains curse light on thee , and if thou dost seize the crown , mayst thou be more plagu'd with being king , than i am with being deputy .

scene the fourth . enter rabble ] a shoomaker , farrier , weaver , tanner , mercer , brewer , butcher , barber , and infinite others with a confused noise .

. silence hea ! i revelation stitch command silence .

all.

peace hoa !

. am i not nobly descended and honourably born ?

. right , the field is honourable , and there was he born under a hedge .

. have i not born commission with watt tyler ( witness our luminary lost in that service ) and was i not president at iack straw's councel , to kill all the nobility and clergy ; but the fryers mendicant , that in our reign wou'd soon have starv'd out o' th' way ?

all.

hum ! hum ! hem !

. what place then do our guifts desere at such a season , where the temporal king is absent and usurpers invade ?

. why , it behoveth thee to take unto thee a good conscience , and make thy felf king.

. simon shuttle , i never lik't thy politicks , our meanest brethren pretend to the spirit of governing , our talent is to govern the governour ; therefore as bullingbrook shall approve himself to our liking , we will fix him upon the last of the government , or cast him out amongst the shreds and shavings of the common-wealth .

. but pray neighbour , what is this same common-wealth ?

. you may see it at smithfield all the fair-time , 't is the butt end of the nation .

. peace hea ! hear master revelation expound it .

. why the common-wealth is a-kin to your-a-republick , like man and wife , the very same thing , only the common-wealth is the common-wealth and the republick is the republick .

. what an excellent spirit of knowledge is here ?

. wee 'l have no more bills nor bonds , but all shall be reduc't to the score and tally .

. no physick , but what shall be administer'd in a horn.

. we 'l have priviledges taken off , and all sorts compell'd to pay their debts .

. i except against that , i would rather break , than have gentlemen out of my debt ; it gives us priviledg of being sawcy : how are we fain to cringe 'till we have got them into our books ? and then i warrant we can cock up with the best of ' em . i hate mortally to be paid off , it makes a man such a sneaking rascal .

. we will have strict and wholsom laws

. laws , strict laws , so will there be no mischief done , and our profession starve . i 'll ha' no laws .

others , no laws , no laws , no laws .

others , laws , laws , laws .

they scuffle .

. hark , bullingbrook approaches , put your selves in posture , and sow-gelder , wind me a strong blast to return their complement .

flourish here . ] enter bullingbrook with his army . north. behold my lord an object strange and suddain , the rabble up in arms to mock your pow'rs , as once the indian apes are said to have done to alexander's army . pierc . death my lord. permit me play for once the scavinger , and sweep this dirt out of your way . bull. gently my valiant piercy . rage is the proper weapon of these bruits , with which 't is odds , they foil us , rainston go to 'em , bespeak 'em fair , and know what caus'd this tumult .

. oh an envoy ! know of him his quality .

. 't is sir iohn rainston , i have wrought for him .

. down on thy knee ; now ( because we will observe decorums of state ) rise up sir iohn drench and treat with him .

bull. hold rainston , we will treat with 'em in person , for in their looks i read a sober judgment , all carefull to preserve the publick weal , chiefly this awful man , to whose grave censure we do refer the justice of our arms.

. goodly ! what a gracious person he is .

bull. i weep for joy , to see so brave a spirit , so jealous of your liberty and rights . trust me my countrymen , my friends , my brothers , 't is worthy of the fame the world affords you , and that curst limb that stirs against your priviledges , why , let it rot , tho' it were this right hand . all. a bullingbrook ! a bullingbrook ! &c. bull. mistake not my dear countrymen our purpose , you think perhaps cause we are now arriv'd , with formal arms , in absence of the king , that we take this occasion to usurp , alas we harbour no such foul design .

. how 's that ? not usurp ? hear ye that neighbours ? he refuses to usurp .

others , fall on then , he is not for our turn , down with him .

. sir , we shall give you to understand that we want a usurper , and if you refuse to usurp you are a traytor , and so we put our selves in battail array .

bull. yet hear me what you mean by usurpation , i may mistake , and beg to be informd . if it be only to ascend the throne , to see that justice has a liberal course , in needful wars to lead you forth to conquest , and then dismiss you laden home with spoils ; if you mean this , i am at your disposal , and for your profit am content to take the burden of the state upon my hands . all , a bullingbrook , a bullingbrook , &c.

. one word of caution friend , be not chicken-hearted , but pluck up a spirit for the work before thee ; it was revealed to me that now there should arise a son of thunder , a second tyler and i am resolv'd the vision shall not lie ; therefore i say again pluck up a spirit ; otherwise i shall discharge my conscience and usurp my self .

bull. friends think me not made of such easie phlegm , that i can timely pocket wrongs ; if so why come i thus in arms to seek my right ? no sirs , to give you proof that bullingbrook can do bold justice , here stands one example : this bold presumer that dares call in question , the courage of the man you choose for king , shall die for his offence , guards hang him up .

. why neighbours will ye thus give up your light ? who shall reveal to ye , to save you from the poyson of the whore and the horns of the beast .

. he had no vision to foretel this , therefore deserves hanging for being a false prophet .

bull. thus as a ruler , justice bids me doom , but for my private part i weep to think that blood shou'd be the prologue to my reign .

. good prince he weeps for him ! neighbour revelation depart in peace . for thy honour it will be recorded that bullingbrook was crown'd and thou hang'd all on a day .

. what a spirit of delusion has seiz'd ye ? why thus will this rav'nous storck devour ye all ? do , do , deliver me to the gibbet , and let the next turn be yours , thus shall these nobility rascals hold you in slavery , seize your houses over your heads , hang your sons and ravish your daughters .

all , say ye so ? they must excuse us for that : fall on neighbors . a rescue , a rescue , &c. bull. hold gentlemen , if i have done ye wrong , the fault is mine and let me suffer for 't ; but be not thus injurious to your selves , to fling your naked breasts on our swords points . alas it will not be within my pow'r , to save ye , when my troops are once enrag'd . therefore give up this vile incendiary , who as you see , to save his miscreant life , seeks to expose all yours trust me i weep to think that i must loose a member but let justice have its course . all , ay , ay , let justice have it's course , hang , hang him up . a bullingbrook , a bullingbrook , a bullingbrook , &c , exeunt .
act the third .
scene the first . enter king richard , aumerle , carlile , &c. souldiers . king. barklay-castle , call you this at hand ? aum. the same my lord , how brooks your grace the air , after long tossing on the breaking seas . king. needs must i like it , well , i weep for joy to stand upon my kingdom once again , dear earth i do salute thee with my hand , tho' rebells wound thee with their horses hoofs ; feed not thy sov'raigns foes my gentle earth , nor with thy fragrant sweets refresh their sense , with thorns and brambles choak their treacherous way ; and when they stoop to rob thee of a flow'r , guard it i pray thee with a lurking adder ! serpents with serpents fitly will engage mock not my senseless conjuration lords , this earth shall have a feeling , and these stones rise souldiers arm'd before their native king , shall falter under foul rebellious arms. carlile . doubt not my lord , the conduct and the courage with which you have supprest one rebel crew , will crown your temples with fresh lawrells here ; how have we else employ'd our absent time but practising the way to victory . aum. i fear my lord that we are too remiss whilst bullingbrook through our security , strengthens himself in substance and in friends . king. desponding cousin dost thou not consider that when the searching eye of heav'n is hid , then thieves and robbers do securely range , alarm with cryes of murther starting sleep , and fill with out-rages the guilty shades , but when the day 's discov'ring rays return , firing the proud tops of the eastern pines , and dart their lightnings through each guilty nook then murders , treasons , and detested crimes , dismantled from the cloak of night , stand bare , and tremble at their own deformity ! so , when this thief night-rev'ling bullingbrook shall see our beams of majesty return'd , his treasons shall sit blushing on his face , not able to endure the sight of day . carl. not all the waters of th'unfathom'd sea can wash the balm from an annointed king. king. move we secure then in our royal right , to th' traytors executions , not to fight . [ exeunt .
scene the second . a garden . queen dutches of york , and other ladies . queen . our uncle york's delay brings fresh suspition , that we are pris'ners in a larger chain ; besides i fear that our intelligence is smooth'd and tamper'd ere it reach our ear. dutch. our servants wear a doubtful countenance , struck with a gen'ral fear whilst they observe fresh prodigies start forth with ev'ry hour . the frighted springs retreat to earth agen , the seasons change their courses , as the year had found some months asleep and leapt them over . qu. here come the gardiners ; let us step aside , they 'l talk of state , for every one do's so before a change , and dullest animals have oft the earliest sense of alterations . enter gardiner and servant . gard. support those vines , and bind those peaches up , then like an executioner cut off the heads of sprigs that grow too fast , and look too lofty in our commonwealth , all must be even in our government . but now we speak of execution ,

. are bushie green and th' earl of wiltshire dead ?

serv. by bullingbrook's command they have lost their heads ; the king is landed , but it seems too late to head the forces rais'd by salisbury who had disperst themselves ere he arriv'd . qu. then all our fears are true , we are betray'd . dutch. patience dear madam , we may get hear further . serv. think you the king will be depos'd ? gard. deprest he is already , and 't is fear'd his fortune will decline from bad to worse , do what we can , you see our lawrels wither , our sun-flowers all are blasted , streams run backward , these prodigies forbode some dreadful change , 't is thought at last the king will be depos'd . queen . i 'm prest to death with silence boding peazant , more senseless then the plants or earth thou tend'st , darst thou divine the downfall of a king ? old adams likeness set to dress this garden , what eve , what serpent has seduc'd thy soul , to prophesie this second fall of man ? gard. pardon me madam , little joy have i to breath this news , but fear you 'll find 'em true . queen . come ladies , let us post to meet the king , this scretch-owl yet amongst his bodingcries , has sung the glad news of the kings arrival ! which otherwise we were forbid to know ; thou fear'st lest york shou'd meet with bushies fate , suspend thy tears , the heavy time may come , that thou wilt blush to see thy york alive ; if richard fall , 't is treason to survive . exeunt
scene the third . a heath . king , aumerle , carlile , souldiers . king. command a hault , we will a while refresh , our sultry march , a cool breez fanns this air the last expresses we receiv'd from wales , spoke of full fighting men , did it not lords ? aum. and some odd troops besides . king. nor will our uncle york be negligent , to muster up what force he can , sure we shall blush my lords , at our own strength , heaping such numbers for so just a cause . aum. sir , doubt not but the active foe will find business enough t' employ our outmost numbers . enter salisbury . i fear me we shall more want hands than work. king. see cousen who comes here , i' th ' very minute to clear thy doubts , our trusty salisbury . welcome my lord , how far off lies your power ? sal. my gracious lord , no farther off nor nearer then this weak arm , discomfort guides my tongue , and bids me speak of nothing but despair . i fear my noble lord one day too late , has clouded all your happy days on earth ! o call back yesterday , bid time return , thou shalt have fightingmen , to day to day ! one luckless day too late , o'rethrows thy friends , thy fortune and thy state ; our welchmen miss-inform'd that you were dead , are gone to bullingbrook disperst and fled . aum. comfort my liege , why looks your grace so pale ? king. but now the blood of men , did triumph in my face and they are fled , have i not reason think you to look pale ? my fortune like a wife that has arriv'd the hardness to have once prov'd open false , will set no limits to her treach'rys now : but turn to every upstart that will court her , now all that will be safe fly from my side , for time has set a blast upon my pride . aum. my liege remember who you are . king. i had forgot my self , am i not king ? awake thou sluggard majesty thou sleep'st ! is not the kings name names , arm , arm my name ! a puny subject strikes at thy great glory ! look not to the ground ye favourites of a king ; see salisbury , our hasty scroop brings balm to salve the wound thy piercing tidings gave . [ enter scroop . come on thou trusty souldier ; oh draw near ! thou never shew'dst thy self more seasonably , not when the flying battle thou hast turn'd , and from the hands of conquest forc't the day . scroop . more health and happiness befall my liege , then my care burden'd tongue has to deliver . king. how 's that ? i charge thee on thy soul speak comfort . ha! wilt thou not speak comfort ? then speak truth . my ear is open and my heart prepar'd , the worst thou canst unfold is worldly loss , say , is my kingdom lost ? why 't was my care ; and what loss is it to be rid of care ? strives bullingbrook to be as great as we ? if heav'n approve his hopes , why let 'em thrive ! revolt our subjects ? that we cannot mend , to heav'n they first were false and then to us ! then give thy heavy heart as heavy speech , cry woe , destruction , ruin , loss , decay , the worst is death , and death will have his day . scroop . i 'm glad to find your highness so prepar'd , like a fierce sudden storm that swells the floods , as if the world were all dissolv'd to tears , so rages bullingbrook above his bounds , cov'ring the fearful land with clashing arms ; old sires have bound their hairless scalps in steel , boys leave their sports and tune their tender pipes to the big voice of war , and strut in armour ; the very beadsmen learn to bend their bows , the very women throw their infants by , snatch rusty bills and flock to the mad war , and all goes worse than i have power to tell . king. too well , alas , thou tell'sta tale so ill ! where is the earl of wiltshire , bushie , bagot ? that they have let these mischiefs spread so far , if we prevail their heads shall answer for 't ! i warrant they have made peace with bullingbrook . scroop . peace have they made with him indeed . king. oh villains vipers , damn'd without redemption ! dogs , quickly won to fawn on any comer , snakes in my heartsblood warm'd to sting my heart , wou'd they make peace ? eternal hell make war upon their spotted souls for this offence . scroop . again uncurse their souls , their peace is made with heads and not with hands , those whom you curse are butcher'd in your cause , beheaded all and with their last breath wisht your arms success . aum. where is the duke my father with his forces ? king. no matter where ; of comfort no man speak ; let 's talk of graves , of worms and epitaphs , make dust our paper , and with rainy eyes write sorrow on the bosom of the earth ! for heav'ns sake let 's sit upon the ground , and tell sad stories of the death of kings , how some have been depos'd , some slain in war , some poyson'd by their wives , some sleeping kill'd ; all murther'd : for within the hollow crown that rounds the mortal temples of a king , keeps death his court , and there the antique sits , scoffing his state , and grinning at his pomp ! allowing him a short fictitious scene , to play the prince , be fear'd , and kill with looks , 'till swell'd with vain conceit the flatter'd thing believes himself immortal as a god ; then to the train fate's engineer sets fire , blows up his pageant pride and farewell king. cover your heads and mock not flesh and blood , with solemn reverence , throw away respect , obeysance , form and ceremonious duty , for you have but mistook me all this while , i live with bread like you , feel wants , tast grief , therefore am i no king , or a king nothing . aum. give to the foe my lord , this cold despair , no worse can come of fight , of death much better . my fathers troops are firm let 's joyn with them , and manage wisely that last stake o' th' war , want's craft can make a body of a limb . king. you chide me well , proud bullingbrook i come , [ rises . to change blows with thee for our day of doom , this ague-fit of fear is overblown , an easie task it is to win our own ; say , scroop , where lies our uncle with his pow'r ? my fir'd heart now longs for the fatal hour . scroop . men by the skies complexion judge the day , so may you by my dull and heavy eye , find that my tongue brings yet a heavier tale , i play the torturer by small and small ! your uncle york treating with bullingbrook , was seiz'd by him , and 's still kept close confin'd , so that the strength which he was must'ring up , is quast and come to nought . king. thou hast said enough , beshrew thee cousin that didst lead me forth of that sweet i was in to despair ! what say ye now ? what comfort have ye now ? by heav'n i 'll hate him everlastingly , that bids me be of comfort any more ! enter queen , dutchess , ladies and attendants . now by despair my queen and her fair train ! come to congratulate our victory , and claim the triumph we at parting promis'd ; go tell 'em lords , what feats you have perform'd , and if ye please tell my adventures too , you know i was no idler in the war. oh! torture , now i feel my miseries sting , and this appearance strikes me dead with shame queen . welcome my lord , this minute is our own , and i 'll devote it all to extasie , the realm receives her king , and i my lover , thou dost turn away ! nor are they tears of joy which thou dost shed , i give thee welcome , thou reply'st with sighs ! king. what language shall my bankrupt fortunes find , to greet such heavenly excellence as thine ? i promiss'd thee success and bring thee tears ! o couldst thou but devorce me from thy heart ! but oh ! i know thy virtue will undoe thee , thou wilt be still a faithful constant wife , feel all my wrongs and suffer in my fall ? there is the sting and venom of my fate , when i shall think that i have ruin'd thee . queen . i ask no more my lord , at fortunes hands then priviledge to suffer for your sake ! who wou'd not share your grief to share your love ? this kingdom yet , which once you did prefer to the worlds sway , this beauty and this heart is richards still , millions of loyal thoughts are always waiting there to pay you homage . that glorious empire yields to you alone , no bullingbrook can chase you from that throne . king. we 'll march no farther , lead to th' castle here . [ exeunt .
scene the fourth . a castle . flourish . enter bullingbrook , york , northumberland , piercy , willoughby , &c. north. the news is very fair and good my lord , richard within this fort has hid his head . york . it would become the lord northumberland to say king richard , that so good a king should be compell'd to hide a sacred head , and thou have leave to shew a villains face ! bull. mistake not uncle farther then you shou'd . york . talk not thou traytor farther then thou shoud'st . [ enter ross. bull. what say'st thou ross ? will not this castle yield ? ross. my lord the castle royally is man'd against your entrance , for the king and queen but newly are arriv'd and enter'd there , with them the lord aumerle , lord salisbury , sir stephen scroop , besides a clergy-man of holy rev'rence , whom i cannot learn. north. i know him , 't is the bishop of carlile . bull. go northumberland , through the ribs of this castle , with brazen trumpets sound the breath of parle , say thus that bullingbrook upon his knees kisses king richards hands with true allegiance , and that with thoughts of peace he 's hither come . ev'n at his feet to lay his arms and pow'r , provided his revenues be restor'd , his banishment repeal'd ; let this be granted or else he 'l use th' advantage of his power , and lay the summers dust with show'rs of blood : enter king above aumerle , carlile , &c. but see where on the walls he do's appear , as do's the blushing discontented sun , when envious clouds combine to shade his glory . york . o my dear liege , heav'n guard your majesty , 'fore heav'n , my old heart leaps at sight of you , think not that falsly i gave up your pow'r , if any villain of 'em dares to say it , i 'le call that villain lyar to his teeth , he is a rogue , tho' it be bullingbrook ! lo , here i kneel , and pay thee homage as a true subject shou'd before the rebels faces . king. rise york , i know thy truth , and pity thee . we are amaz'd , and thus long have we stood to watch the fearful bending of his knee ; because we thought our self his lawful king. tell bullingbrook , for yond' methinks is he , that every stride he makes upon our land is dangerous treason : he is come t' unfold the purple testament of bleeding war : but e're the crown he seeks shall bind his brow , a thousand orphan'd widowed mothers tears shall wash from earth their sons and husbands blood. north. heaven forbid our lord the king shou'd thus with civil arms be rusht upon ; lord bullingbrook does humbly kiss your hand , and swears his coming hither has no other scope then to demand his royalties , and beg enfrancisement from exile ; grant but this , his glitt'ring arms he will commend to rust. king. northumberland say thus , the king complies with his demands ; and so commend us to him . we do debase our self cousin , do we not , to look so peaceful and to speak so fair ? shall we call back northumberland , and send defiance to the traytor 's heart , and die. aum. no , good my lord , let 's fight with gentle words , till time lend friends , and friends their conquering swords . king. that ere this power-chang'd tongue that laid the sentence of dread banishment on yond proud man , shou'd take it off agen . o that i were as great as is my grief , or lesser than my name ! that i could quite forget what i have been , or not remember what i must be now . aum. northumberland comes back from bullingbrook . king. what must the king do now ? must he forgo the name of king ? o'god's name let it pass , i 'll give my jewels for a set of beads , my gilded palace for a hermitage , my robes of empire for an alms-man's gown , my figur'd goblets for a dish of wood , my scepter for an humble palmers staff , my subjects for a pair of poor carv'd saints , and my large kingdom for a little grave , a little , very little obscure grave ! aumarle , thou weep'st ; my tender hearted cousin , wee 'l joyn our royal with thy loyal tears , our sighs and they shall lodge the summer corn and make a dearth in this revolting land. north. my lord he thanks your highness and begs leave to speak with you , sir please you to come down : hee 'll wait your majesty i th' court below . king. down , down , i come like blazing phaeton , wanting the menage of unruly steeds ; down pomp , down swelling stubborn heart , down king , for night-owls shrick where mounting larks should sing . [ exeunt from above . re-enter bullingbrook , and his company in the court. bul , northumberland to london , with all speed , summon a parliament i' th' commons name , in order to the kings appearance there ; [ enter king attended . ] but see his highness comes , stand all apart and shew sair duty to his majesty . york runs over to the king , kneels and kisses his hand . york . now left the rebels seize me if they can , for here i 'll perish by my sovereign's side . king. fy cousin , you debase your princely knee and make our earth too proud with kissing it ; methinks my heart had rather feel your love , then thus in eye behold the courtesie : up cousen , up your heart is up , i know . bul. my gracious lord i come but for my own . king. and to that title who must set the bounds ? bul. nor even to that do i lay farther claim , than my true service shall deserve your love. king. well you deserve , they best deserve to have , that know the strongest surest way to get ; but heav'n rules all good uncle dry your tears cousin i am to young to be your father tho' you are old enuff to be my heir ! methinks one person 's wanting yet to this fair presence , our old loyal gaunt , he was thy father herford , was he not ? excuse me cousin , tears but ill become a king , at least when friends and kinsmen meet , and yet i cannot chuse but weep to think , that whilst you press and i permit this scorn ; what plagues we heap on children yet unborn . [ exeunt .
act iv.
enter york , aumarle in their parliament robes , two messengers from bullingbrook . york .

tut , tut , tut , tell not me of patience , 't is a load a burden that knaves will never cease to lay on whilst asses will carry it ! nothing but villany in this versal world , and nothing plagues me but that i can't turn villain too , to be reveng'd .

aum. persidious bullingbrook to bow the knee , and do obeysance to our royal master ; to treat of peace and tend him all the way with duteous ceremony humblest service , yet basely to confine him after all , to call a senate in king richard's name against king richard , to depose king richard , is such a monster to curst usurpation , as nere was practis'd in the barb'rous climes , where subject her'd and courts themselves are savage . york , out on this sultry robe ! o spleen ! spleen ! fat and vexation will be the death of me , behold this brace of raizor-nos'd rascals , you 'd swear that a split groat made both their faces ; lean pimps , that cou'd scarce stop a cranny in a door : why ? they are sorsooth no less than rogues of state. mess.

my lord , this is no answer to our message .

york .

i , the message ! i had rather you had brought me poyson ; for certain 't was sent to be the death of me : thou know'st boy , on what account we are going this morning . won'd you think it , this traytor bullingbrook has sent for me ; for me , i say , sent by these rogues for me , to confer with him in private before the house sits .

aum.

that was indeed provoking .

york .

nay , let honest men judge if murder was not in his heart , and that he thought the message wou'd make me die with choller . now should i clap this pair of arrows to a bow-string and shoot 'em back to the usurper . go tell the knave your master , he 's a fool to send for me , i renounce him : speak with him in private before the house sits . why ? i wou'd not meet him there but to shew my self for richard , and then tell him he 'l see one that that hates a traytor , be bullingbrook what he will.

[ exit .
enter dutchess of york . dutch. aumarle , come back , by all the charms of duty , i do conjure you temper your rash father , his zeal can do th' abandoned king no good ; but will provoke th' usurper to our ruin . aum. already , i have prest beyond his patience , what can our poor endeavours help the king when he himself comply's with his hard fortune ; he comes this morning to resign the crown . dutch. where then is that amazing resolution , that in his non-age fir'd his youthful brest : to face rebellion and strike dead the monster , when tyler's deluge cover'd all the land ? or where the fury that supprest the kerns ; whilst numbers perisht by his royal arm ? aum. with such malignant fortune he is prest , as renders bravest resolution vain ; by force and fraud reduc't to that distress , that ev'n i th' best opinion of his friends he is advis'd to yield his scepter up , this poor reserve being all , to make that seem as voluntary , which perforce must be ; but how resents the queen this strange oppression ? dutch. as yet the worst has been dissembled to her , a slumber now has seiz'd her wakeful lids : but heere she comes , i must attend , away . [ ex. aum. enter queen supported by ladies . qu. convey me to my lord , or bring him hither , fate labours in my brest and frights my dreams ; no sooner sleep can seize my weeping eyes , but boding images of death and horrour affright the infant slumber into cries , a thousand forms of ruin strike my thoughts ; a thousand various scenes of fate are shewn , which in their sad catastrophe agree , the moral still concludes in richard's fall . dutch. how shall we now dare to inform her grief of the sad scene the king must act to day ? qu. ev'n now amidst a chaos of distraction , a towring eagle wing'd his cloudy way , pursu'd by rav'nous kites , and clamorous daws , that stript th' imperial bird of all his plumes , and with their numbers sunk him to the ground : but as i nearer drew , the figure chang'd , my richard there lay weltring in his gore ! so dreamt calphurnia , and so fell caesar. enter a lady . lad. madam , the king is coming . qu. thou bring'st a welcom hearing , and already i feel his powerful influence chase my fears , for grief it self must smile when richard's by . enter king in mourning . oh heav'n is this ? is this my promis'd joy ! not all the terrours of my sleep presented a spectacle like this ! o speak , my lord ! the blood starts back to my cold heart ; o speak ! what means this dark and mournful pageantry , this pomp of death ? king. command your waiters forth , my space is short , and i have much to say . qu. are these the robes of state ? th' imperial garb , in which the king should go to meet his senate ? was i not made to hope this day shou'd be your second coronation , second birth of empire , when our civil broils shou'd sleep , for ever husht in deep oblivion's grave ? king. o isabel ! this pageantry suits best with the black day 's more black solemnity ; but 't is not worth a tear , for , say what part of life's vain fable can deserve a tear , a real sorrow for a feign'd distress ! my coronation was ( methinks ) a dream , think then my resignation is no more . qu. what resignation ? mean you of the crown ? will richard then against himself conspire ? th' usurper will have more excuse than he : no , richard , never tamely yield your honours , yield me ; yield if you must your precious life , but seize the crown , and grasp your scepter dying . king. why dost thou fret a lyon in the toil to rage , that only makes his hunters sport ? permit me briefly to recount the steps , by which my fortune grew to this distress . then tell me , what cou'd alexander do against a fate so obstinate as mine . qu. oh heav'n ! is awful majesty no more ? king. first , had i not bin absent when th' invader set footing here ; or if being then in ireland , the cross winds not forbad the news to reach me ; or when the shocking tidings were arriv'd , had not the veering winds agen obstructed my passage back , till rumour of my death disperst the forces rais'd by salisbury ; or when these hopes were perisht , had not baggot , bushie , and green , by bullingbrook been murder'd , old york himself ( our last reserve ) surpriz'd , there were some scope for resolution left . but what curst accident i' th' power of chance , that did not then befall to cross my wishes ; and what strange hit could bullingbrook , desire , that fell not out to push his forttnes on ; whatever outmost fate cou'd do to blast my hopes was done ; what outmost fate cou'd do t' advance proud bullingbrooks as sure befell . now which of these misfortunes was my fault ? or what cou'd i against resisting heav'n ! qu. oh my dear lord , think not i meant t' upbraid [ weeps over hims ] your misery death seize my youth , when any other passion for injur'd richard in my brests finds room , but tendrest love and pity of his woes . king. that i resign the crown with seeming will , is now the best my friends can counsel me , th' usurping house decrees it must be done , and therefore best that it seem voluntary . qu. has loyalty so quite renoune't the world , that none will yet strike for an injur'd king ? king. alas ! my sinking barque shall wreck no more my gen'rous friends , let crowns and scepters go before i swim to 'em in subjects blood . the king in pity to his subjects quits his right , that have no pity for their king ! let me be blest with cool retreat and thee , thou world of beauty , and thou heav'n of love , to bullingbrook i yield the toils of state : and may the crown sit lighter on his head than e're it did on richard's . qu. destiny is tyrant over king's ; heav'n guard my lord. king. weep not my love , each tear thou shedst is theft , for know , thou robb'st the great ones of their due ; of pomp divested we shou'd now put off , it 's dull companion grief farewel my love : thy richard shall return to thee again , the king no more . qu. in spight of me , my sorrow in sad prophetic language do's reply nor richard , nor the king. [ exeunt severally .
scene the parliament . bullingbrook , northumb. piercie , york , aumarle , carlile , with other nobles and officers making a full house . north. great duke of lancaster , i come to thee from richard , who with free and willing soul adopts thee heir , and his high scepter yields to the possession of thy royal hand ; ascend his throne descending now from him , and long live henry of that name the fourth . bull. richard consents , and lords i have your voices , in heav'ns name therefore i ascend the throne . carl. no , hasty bullingbrook , in heav'ns name stay , tho' meanest of this presence , yet i 'll speak a truth that do's beseem me best to speak , and wou'd to god , the noblest of this presence were enuff noble to be richard's judge : what subject can give sentence on his king ! and who sits here that is not richard's subject ? theeves are not judg'd , but they are by to hear , th' indictment read , and answer to their charge , and shall the figure of heav'ns majesty , his captain , steward , deputy , elect , anointed , crown'd and planted many years , be judg'd by subject and inferiour breath , and he not present ! o' forbid it god! that in a christian climate souls refin'd , shou'd plot so heinous black obscene a deed ; i speak to subjects , and a subject speaks , stir'd up by heaven thus boldly for his king. york . now by my life , i thank thee honest prelate , my lords what say ye to the bishops doctrine , is 't not heavenly true ? you know it is ; nor can ev'n graceless herford's self gain say 't . carl. my lord of hereford here whom you call king , is a foul traytor to proud herford's king , and if you crown him , let me prophesie , the blood of english shall manure the land , and future ages groan for this foul deed : and if you rear this house against its self , it will the wofullest division prove that ever yet befell this guilty earth . prevent , resist it , stop this breach in time lest childrens children , curse you for this crime . north. well have you argu'd , sir , and for your pains of capital treason we arrest you here ; my lord of westminster , be it your care to keep him safely till his day of tryal . wil 't please you lords to grant the common's suit ? york . first let me move and yield some knave a seat. bull. bring hither richard , that in open view he may surrender so shall we proceed without suspition . king richard brought in . king. alack why am i sent for to the king , before i have shook off the regal thoughts with which i reign'd as yet i have not learnt t' insinuate , flatter , bow , and bend the knee , give sorrow leave a while to tutor me to this submission yet i well remember the favours these men ! were they not mine ? to do what service am i sent for hither ? north. to do that office of your own good will , which weary'd majesty did prompt thee to the resignation of thy crown and state to henry bullingbrook . king. my own good will ? yes , heav'n and you know with what sort of will ! you say it is my will : why be it so , give me the crown come cousin seize the crown upon this side my hand , on that side thine . now is this crown a well wherein two vessels that in successive motion rise and fall , the emptier ever dancing in the air , th' opprest one down , unseen and sunk , that vessel dejected , prest and full of tears am i , drinking my griefs whilst herford mounts on high . bull. i thought you had been willing to resign . king. my crown i am , but still my griefs are mine . bull. are you contented to resign or no ? king. yes no yet let it pass , from off my head i give this heavy weight , and this unwieldy scepter from my hand ; so with my tears i wash my balm away , with my own breath release all duteous oaths , my pomp and majesty for ever quit , my mannors , rents , revenues i forego , my acts , decrees and statutes i repeal , heav'n pardon all oaths that are broke to me ; heav'n keep unbroke all vows are made to thee make me that nothing have , to covet nought , and thee possest of all that all hast sought : what more remains ? north. no more , but that you read this bill of accusations charg'd upon your crimes . king. distraction ! made my own accuser too to read a bead-roll of my own defaults , read it my self ? by piece-meal to unrauel my weav'd-up follies ? why , northumberland , if thy offences were upon record , wou'd it not shame thee in so full a presence to read a lecture of ' em ? if thou shou'dst , there wou'dst thou find one heynous article , containing the deposing of a king : and cracking the strong warrant of an oath , markt with a blot damn'd in the book of heav'n , nay all of you that stand and look upon me , waiting to see my misery bait it self ; like pilates have betray'd me to my cross , and water cannot wash away your sin . north. my lord dispatch , read ore the articles . king. my eyes are full of tears ! i cannot see . north. my lord king. no lord of thine thou false insulting man , nor no man's lord i have no name , no title ; let me command a mirrour hither streight , that it may shew me what a face i have since stript and bankrupt of it's majesty . bul. fetch him a glass . north. in the mean time read o're this paper . king. hell ! for a charm to lay this foul tormenting fiend . bul. urge it no more northumberland . nor. the commons sir will not be satisfi'd , unless he read , confess , and sign it too . king. they shall be satisfi'd , i 'le read enuff when i shall see the very book indeed where all my faults are writ , and that 's my self , give me that mirrour [ views himself in the glass . no deeper wrinkles yet ? has sorrow struck so many many blows upon these cheeks and made no deeper wounds ? o' flattring instrument , like to my followers in prosperity , so shall just fate dash them as i dash thee : [ breaks it . so pomp and fals-hood ends i 'll beg one boon , then take my leave and trouble you no more , shall i obtain it ? bul. name it fair cousin . king. fair cousin ? i am greater than a king ! for when i was a king my flatterers were then but subjects , being now a subject i have a king here for my flaterer . 't is onely leave to go . bul. whether ? king. why , from your sight and then no matter where bul. convey him to the tower. king. ha! ha ! my fortune's malice now is grown so strange that 't is become my sport ; convey , convey , conveighers are you all that rise thus nimbly on your monarchs fall . bul. lords , i shall study to requite your favours : on wednesday next we solemnly set down our coronation , so prepare your selves . all , long live king bullingbrook , henry the fourth . york . well , my allegiance follows still the crown , true to the king i shall be , and thereon i kiss his hand ; 't is equally as true that i shall always love and guard the king , as that i always shall hate bullingbrook . the king 's sacred , be herford what he will yet 't is no treason sure to pity richard. bul. break up the assembly , so wee 'll pass in state to greet the loves of our expecting subjects , lead there and bid our trumpets speak . ex. bullingbrook attended ; shouts without . york . peace hell-hounds or your own breath poyson ye . king. good uncle give 'em way , all monsters act to their own kind , so do the multitude . shout again . carl. why impious hardned wretches , brands for hell ? forbear this barb'rous out-rage , tears of blood can never wash this monstrous guilt away . king. what must i then preach patience to my priest ? let no man's wrongs complain whilst mine are silent , how think ye my good friends , will not succeeding ages call this day to witness what changes sway the world ; your king must pass a spectacle of scorn through crouded streets , that at the same time view th' usurpers triumph ; heav'n shut thy eye till this dire scene be past , the light that sees it , sure will be the last . ex. guarded .
act v.
enter dutchess and aumarle . dutch. at that sad passage tears broke off your story , where rude misgovern'd hands from windows threw rank weeds and rubbish on king richard's head. aum. then as i said , the haughty bullingbrook mounted upon an hot and fiery steed , which his aspiring rider seem'd to know , with slow but stately pace kept on his course ; whilst all tongues cry'd , god save king bullingbrook ! you wou'd have thought the very windows spoke , so many greedy looks of young and old , through casements darted their desiring eyes : you wou'd have thought the very walls themselves , with all their painted imag'ry , had cry'd , hail to the king , all hail to bullingbrook ! whilst bending lower than his coursers neck , the rabble he saluted on each side ; thus praising and thus prais'd he past along . dutch. alas , poor richard ! where rides he the while ? aum. as in the theatre the eyes of men , after a well-grac't actor leaves the stage , are idly bent on him that enters next , with such contempt they turn'd their eyes from richard , no joyful tongue gave him his welcome home ; but dust was thrown upon his sacred head , which with such gentle sorrow he shook off , his face still combating with smiles and fears , ( the badges of his grief and patience ) that had not heav'n for some strange purpose steel'd the hearts of men , they must of force relented , and cruelty it self have pity'd him . enter york . york .

what , in tears still ? well , heav'ns will must be mark me boy , i cannot blame thy grieving for richard , because i do it my self ; neither can i blame thee for not loving bullingbrook , because i cannot do it my self : but to be true to him ( or rather to our oath , being now his sworn subjects ) i conjure thee . this i speak , because the king suspects thee , and made me even now pledge for thy truth and fealty : bear you well therefore in this new spring of government , lest you be cropt before your time well , what news from oxford , boy ? hold th' intended triumphs there ? 't is said our new king will grace them with his presence .

aum. they hold , my lord , for certain and as certain this upstart king shall die if he comes there . york .

ha! come nearer , what seal is that which hangs out from thy bosom ? ha! lookst thou pale ? let me see the writing .

aum. i do beseech your grace to pardon me ; it is a matter of small consequence , which for some reasons i wou'd not have seen . york . which for some reasons ! sir , i mean to see , [ snatches it . just as i fear'd , treason , foul treason , villain traytor . dutch. what 's the matter my lord , good york inform me . york . away fond woman , give me my boots , saddle my horse . dutch. the matter , son. aum. good madam , be content . it is no more than my poor life must answer . dutch. thy life ! [ servant enters . hence villain , strike him aumarle . york . my boots i say , i will away to th' king. dutch. why york , what wilt thou do ? wilt thou not hide the trespass of thine own ? york . peace woman , or i will impeach thee too ; wou'dst thou conceal this dark conspiracy ? a dozen of 'em here have tane the sacrament , and interchangeably set down their hands to kill the king at oxford . dutch. he shall be none ; we 'll keep him here , then what 's that to him ? york .

tho' i love not bullingbrook , yet i hate treason , and will impeach the villain .

dutch. our son , our only son , our ages comfort ; is he not thine own ? york .

wife , i believe it , therefore i impeach him ; were he none of mine , let his own father look to him ; but since he is my villain , i 'll see the villain orderd : my horse , i say .

dutch. hadst thou groan'd for him , york , as i have done york . and art e'en like to groan for him again . away . [ exit . dutch. haste thee aumarle , mount thee upon his horse ; spur post , and get before him to the king , and beg thy pardon e're he come t' accuse thee : born on the wings of mother's love i 'll fly , and doubt not to prevent thy father's speed ; on thy behalf i 'll with the king prevail , or root into the ground whereon i kneel . [ exeunt .
scene the second . enter queen in mourning attended . qu. this way the king will come ; this is the way to iulius caesar's ill erected tow'r , to whose flint bosom my dear injur'd lord is deem'd a pris'ner by proud bullingbrook ! here let us rest , if this rebellious earth have any resting for her true king's queen . [ sits down . this garb no less befits our present state , than richest tissue did our bridal day ; thus dead in honour , my lord and i officiate at our own sad funeral . enter king richard guarded , seeing the queen , starts , she at the sight of him , after a pause he speaks . king. give grief a tongue , art thou not isabel , the faithful wife of the unfortunate richard ? qu. o! can i speak and live ? yet silence gives more tort'ring death ! o thou king richard's tomb , and not king richard ! on thy sacred face i see the shameful marks of fowlest usage ; thy royal cheeks soil'd and besmear'd with dust , foul rubbish lodg'd in thy anointed locks ; o thou dishonour'd flower of majesty ! lean on my brest whilst i dissolve to dew , and wash thee fair agen with tears of love. king. join not with grief fair innocence to make my end more wretched , learn dear saint to think our former state a happy dream , from which we wake into this true distress ! thou most distrest , most virtuous of thy sex , go cloyster thee in some religious house , this vicious world and i can nere deserve thee ! for shrines and altars keep keep those precious tears , nor shed that heav'nly dew on land accurst . lad. never did sorrow triumph thus before . king. convey thee hence to france , think i am dead , and that ev'n now thou tak'st as from my death-bed the last living leave . in winters tedious nights sit by the fire , with good old matrons , let them tell thee tales of woful ages long ago betide , and ere thou bid good night , to quit their griefs , tell thou the lamentable fall of me ! and send the hearers weeping to their beds . qu. rob not my virtue of its dearest triumph ! love like the dolphin shews it self in storms : this is the season for my truth to prove , that i was worthy to be richard's wife ! and wou'd you now command me from your presence , who then shall lull your raging griefs asleep , and wing the hours of dull imprisonment ? king : o my afflicted heart ! qu. no , with my lord i 'll be a pris'ner too , where my officious love shall serve him with such ready care , that he shall think he has his num'rous train of waiters round him still ; with wond'rous story 's wee 'll beguile the day , despise the world and triumph over fortune , laugh at fantastic life and die together . king. now heaven i thank thee , all my griefs are paid ! i 've lost a single frail uncertain crown , and found a virtue richer than the world : yes , bird of paradise , wee 'll pearch together , sing in our cage , and make our cell a grove . enter northumberland , guards . north. my lord , king bullingbrook has chang'd his orders , you must to pomfrett castle , not to th' tower ; and for you , madam , he has given command that you be instantly convey'd to france . king. must i to pomfrett , and my queen to france ? patience is stale , and i am weary ont't , blood , fire , rank leprosies and blewest plagues qu. but this was wanting to compleat our woe . king. northumberland thou ladder by whose aid the mounting bullingbrook ascends my throne , the time shall come when foul sin gath'ring head shall break in to corruption , thou shalt think , thô he divide the realm and give thee half , it is too little , helping him to all : he too shall think that thou which knewst the way to plant unrightful kings , wilt know agen to cast him from the throne he has usurpt : the love of wicked friends converts to fear , that fear to hate , that still concludes in death . north. my guilt be on my head , so to our business . take leave and part . king. doubly divorc't ! soul fiends ye violate a two-fold marriage , 'twixt my crown and me , and then betwixt me and my tender wife ; oh isabel , oh my unfortunate fair , let me unkiss the oath that bound our loves , and yet not so , for with a kiss 't was made . part us northumberland , me towards the north where shiv'ring cold and sickness pines the clime ; my queen to france , from whence set forth in pomp she hither came , deckt like the blooming may , sent back like weeping winter stript and bare . qu. for ever will i clasp these sacred knees , tear up my brest and bind them to my heart ! northumberland allow me one short minute to yield my life and woes in one embrace , one minute will suffice . north. force her away . king. permit yet once our death cold lips to joyn , permit a kiss that must divorce for ever , i 'll ravish yet one more , farewell my love ! my royal constant dear farewell for ever ! give sorrow speech , and let thy farewell come , mine speaks the voice of death , but thine is dumb. ex. guarded several ways .
scene the third . bull. can no man tell of my ungracious son , my young misgovern'd and licentious harry ? if any plague hang over us 't is he ! enquire amongst the taverns where he haunts with loose companions , such as beat our watch and rob our passengers , which he rash boy mistakes for feats of gallantry and honour . pierc . my lord , some two days since i saw the prince , and told him of those turnaments at oxford . bull. and what said the gallant ? pierc . his answer was , he wou'd to a brothell and from the common'st creature snatch a glove , to wear it as a mistress favour , and with that unhorse the lustiest challenger . bull. as dissolute as desperate . enter aumarl . aum. where 's the king ? bull. what means our cousin that he looks so wildly ? aum.

my lord , i humbly beg the favour of a word in private with your majesty .

king. withdraw my lords ; now cousin to your business . aum. for ever may my knees root to this earth , and let eternal silence bind my tongue , unless you pardon e're i rise or speak . bull. intended or committed was this fault ? if but the first , how heynous e're it be , to win thy future love i pardon thee . aum. then sir , permit me to make fast the door , that no man enter e're my tale be done . bull. have they desire . york within . york . beware my liege , look to thy life , thou hast a traytor in thy presence . bull. ha! villain i 'll secure thee . aum. stay thy revengeful hand , thou hast no cause to fear . york . open the door , or i will force my passage . bull. the matter , uncle , speak , recover breath . york . peruse this writing and read there my bus'ness . aum. remember as thou read'st thy promise past , i do repent me , read not my name there , my heart is not confederate with my hand . york . 't was villain when thy hand did set it down , i tore it from the traytors bosom , king , pardon the villain , do , and in return be murder'd . bull. o heynous black conspiracy ! why uncle can this kindness come from thee ? let me embrace thee . york . embrace not me , it was no kindness , i owe thee no kindness , it was my love to truth , and hate to murder . bull. give it what name thou wilt , it shall excuse this deadly blott in thy transgressing son. york . so shall my virtue be his vices bawd : thou kill'st me if he live , sparing his life the traytor scapes , the true man 's put to death . dutchess within . dutch. what hoa my liege , for heav'ns sake let me in . speak with me , pity me , open the door . bull. my dang'rous cousin let your mother in , i know she 's come to entreat for you . york . if thou dost pardon whosoever prays , thy mercy makes thee traytor to thy self . dutch. o king believe not this hard-hearted man. york . thou frantick woman what makes thee here ? wilt thou once more a traytor nourish ? dutch. dear york be patient , hear me gentle liege . bull. rise up good aunt . dutch. no , never more i 'll rise , 'till thou uncharm me from the ground with sounds of pardon to my poor transgressing son : aum. and to my pray'rs , i bend my knee . york . against 'em both my old stiff joynts i bend . dutch. pleads he in earnest , see , his eyes are dry . his pray'rs come from his mouth , ours from the heart ; he beggs but faintly , and wou'd be deny'd . his weary joynts wou'd gladly rise i know , our knees shall bend , till to the earth they grow ; deny him , king , he kneels in pain to crave a boon , that wou'd dismiss him to the grave : granting his suit , the suer you destroy , but yielding ours , you give your beggar 's joy. bull. good madam rise up . dutch. nay do not say rise up , but pardon first , and then we rise indeed . the word is short , but endless comfort brings , pardon , the language both of heav'n and kings . bull. i pardon him as heav'n shall pardon me . dutch. aum. thanks gracious liege , a god on earth thou art . york .

so much for that , one word at parting king , let me tell thee king , 't was none of these politicks that made thee king , and so farewell to court.

[ exit .
bull. but for the rest of this consorted crew , our justice shall o're-take 'em injur'd richard , thy wrongs already are too deep reveng'd , as yet the crown 's scarce settled to my brow , when royal cares are rooted in my heart . have i no friend , my lords , in this fair train ? no friend that to his monarch's peace will clear the way , and ridd me of this living fear ? [ exit .
scene , a prison . king richard , solus . rich. i have bin studying how to compare this lonesom prison to the populous world , the paradox seems hard ; but thus i 'll prove it , i 'll call my b●ain the female to my soul ; my soul the father , and these two beget a generation of succeeding thoughts , th' inhabitants that stock this little world in humours like the people of the world , no thought contented : for , the better sort as thoughts of things divine , are mixt with doubts that set the faith it self against the faith , thoughts tending to ambition , they are plotting unlikely wonders , how these poor weak hands may force a passage through these stubborn flints ; and cause they cannot , die in their own pride , thoughts tending to content are whispring to me , that i am not the first of fortunes slaves , and shall not be the last ; poor flatt'ring comfort , thus i and every other son of earth with nothing shall be pleas'd , till we be eas'd with being nothing . a table and provisions shewn . what mean my goalers by that plenteous board ? for three days past i 've fed upon my sighs , and drunk my tears ; rest craving nature , rest , i 'll humour thy dire need and tast this food , that only serves to make misfortune live. [ going to sit , the table sinks down . thus tantalus they say is us'd below ; but tantalus his guilt is then his torture . i smile at this fantastick cruelty . ha , musick too ! ev'n what my torturers please . [ song and soft musick , after which a messenger enters . mess. hail royal sir , with dang'rous difficulty gives him letters . i 've enter'd here to bear these to your hand ; o killing spectacle ! rich. from whom ? my queen , my isabell , my royal wretched wife ? o sacred character , oh heav'n-born saint ! why ! here are words wou'd charm the raging sea , cure lunaticks , dissolve the wizzard's spell , check baleful planets , and make winter bloom . how fares my angel , say , what air 's made rich with her arrival , for she breathes the spring . what land is by her presence priviledged from heavn's ripe vengeance ? o my lab'ring heart ! inn , hide thee , and prepare in short to answer to th'infinite enquiries that my love shall make of this dear darling of my soul. whilst undisturb'd i seize the present minute to answer the contents of this blest paper . [ ex. mess. sits down to write , enter exton and servants . furies ! what means this pageantry of death ? speak thou the foremost murderer , thy own hand is arm'd with th' instrument of thy own slaughter , go thou and fill a room in hell , kills of them . another thou . exton here strikes him down . that hand shall burn in never quenching fire , that staggers thus my person , cruel exton , the blackest fiend shall see thee lodg'd beneath him . the damn'd will shun the villain whose curst hand has with the king's blood stain'd the king's own land. [ dies . ext. hast and convey his body to our master before the very rumour reach his ear. as full of valour as of royal blood , both have i spilt , o that the deed were good. despair already seizes on my soul ; through my dark brest eternal horrours roul : ev'n that false fiend that told me i did well , cry's now , this deed is register'd in hell. [ ex.
scene a palace . bullingbrook , lords and attendants . bull. our last expresses speak the rebels high , who have consum'd with fire our town of gloster . enter northumberland and pierce . welcome northumberland , what news ? north. health to my liege , i have to london sent the heads of spencer , blunt and salsbury . pierc . broccas and seelye too are headless trunks , the dang'rous chiefs of that consorted crew that sought your life at oxford . ross. our abbot griev'd to see his plott defeated , has yielded up his body to the grave . but here 's carlile yet living to receive your royal doom . bull. carlile i must confess , thô thou hast ever bin my enemy , such sparks of honour always shin'd in thee , as priviledg thee from our justice now ; choose out some secret place , some reverend cell , there live in peace , and we shall not disturb the quiet of thy death what suddain damp congeals my blood ha exton ? then comes mischief . enter exton and servants bearing in a coffin . ext. great sir , within this coffin i present thy bury'd fear , possess the crown secure , which breathless richard never more will claim . bull. exton i thank thee not ; for thou hast wrought a deed of slaughter fatal for my peace , which thou and i , and all the land shall rue . ext. from your own mouth , my lord , did i this deed. bull. they love not poyson that have need of poyson , nor do i thee , i hate his murderer . tho' i did wish him dead : hell thank thee for it , and guilt of royal blood be thy reward ; cursing and curst go wander through the world , branded like cain for all mankind to shun thee . wake richard , wake , give me my peace agen , and i will give thee back thy ravisht crown . come lords prepare to pay your last respects to this great hearse , and help a king to mourn a king 's untimely fall : o tort'ring guilt ! in vain i wish the happy change cou'd be , that i slept there , and richard mourn'd for me.
epilogue , spoken by m ris . cook. now we expect to hear our rare blades say dam ' me , i see no sense in this dull play ; thô much of it our abler iudges know , was famous sense 'bove forty years ago . sometimes we fail to please for want of witt i th' play but more for want on 't in the pitt ; for many a ruin'd poëts work 't wou'd save , had you but half the sense you think you have . poets on your fore-fathers pam'd dull plays , and shrewdly you revenge it in our days in troth we fare by 't as your tradesmen do , for whilst they raise estates by cheating you : into acquaintance with their wives you fall , and get 'em graceless sons to spend it all. 't is plain th' are yours , cause all our arts miscarry , for just like you , they 'll damn before they 'll . marry . of honest terms i now almost despair , vnless retriev'd by some rich yeoman's heir , in grannam's ribbans and his own streight hair ! what comforts such a lover will afford , ioynture , dear ioynture , o the heavenly word ! but e're of you my sparks my leave i take , for your vnkindness past these pray'rs i make so very constant may your misses be , 'till you grow cloid for want of iealousie ! into such dullness may your poëts tire , 'till they shall write such plays as you admire : may you , instead of gaming , whoring , drinking , be doom'd to your aversion books and thinking : and for a last wish what i 'm sure you 'l call the curse of curses marriage take ye all. finis .
notes, typically marginal, from the original text
notes for div a -e * epst. ded. to the span. fryar .
examen poeticum being the third part of miscellany poems containing variety of new translations of the ancient poets, together with many original copies by the most eminent hands. approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing d estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) examen poeticum being the third part of miscellany poems containing variety of new translations of the ancient poets, together with many original copies by the most eminent hands. dryden, john, - . fracastoro, girolamo, - . syphilis. tate, nahum, - . [ ], , [ ], p. printed by r.e. for jacob tonson, london : . first edition. syphilis, written in latin ... englished by mr. tate appears on the pages at end. third in a series of miscellanies published by tonson, - containing many contributions by mr. dryden and others. five other volumes published under various titles. known also as "tonson's miscellany." reproduction of original in harvard university libraries. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng syphilis -- early works to . - tcp assigned for keying and markup - apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images - john latta sampled and proofread - john latta text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion examen poeticum : being the third part of miscellany poems . containing variety of new translations of the ancient poets . together with many original copies , by the most eminent hands . haec potior soboles : hine coeli tempore certo , dulcia mella premes . — virgil. geor. . in medium quaesita reponunt . ibid. london : printed by r. e for jacob tonson , at the judges head in chancery-lane , near fleetstreet . m dc xciii . the third part of miscellany poems . to the right honourable , my lord radcliffe . my lord , these miscellany poems , are by many titles yours . the first they claim from your accepttance of my promise to present them to you ; before some of them were yet in being . the rest are deriv'd from your own merit , the exactness of your judgment in poetry , and the candour of your nature ; easie to forgive some trivial faults when they come accompanied , with countervailing beauties . but after all , though these are your equitable claims to a dedication from other poets , yet i must acknowledge a bribe in the case , which is your particular liking of my verses . 't is a vanity common to all writers , to over-value their own productions ; and 't is better for me to own this failing in my self , than the world to do it for me . for what other reason have i spent my life in so unprofitable a study ? why am i grown old , in seeking so barren a reward as fame ? the same parts and application , which have made me a poet , might have rais'd me to any honours of the gown , which are often given to men of as little learning and less honesty than mv self . no government has ever been , or ever can be , wherein time-servers and blockheads will not be uppermost . the persons are only chang'd , but the same juglings in state , the same hypocrisie in religion , the same self-interest , and mis-mannagement , will remain for ever . blood and mony will be lavish'd in all ages , only for the preferment of new faces , with old consciences . there is too often a jaundise in the eyesof great men ; they see not those whom they raise , in the same colours with other men. all whom they affect , look golden to them ; when the gilding is only in their own distemper'd sight . these considerations , have given me a kind of contempt for those who have risen by unworthy ways . i am not asham'd to be little , when i see them so infamously great . neither , do i know , why the name of poet should be dishonourable to me ; if i am truly one , as i hope i am ; for i will never do any thing , that shall dishonour it . the notions of morality are known to all men : none can pretend ignorance of those idea's which are in-born in mankind : and if i see one thing , and practise the contrary , i must be disingenuous , not to acknowledge a clear truth , and base to act against the light of my own conscience . for the reputation of my honesty , no man can question it , who has any of his own : for that of my poetry , it shall either stand by its own merit ; or sall for want of it . ill writers are usually the sharpest censors : for they ( as the best poet , and the best patron said ) , when in the full perfection of decay , turn vinegar , and come again in play. thus the corruption of a poet , is the generation of a critick : i mean of a critick in the general acceptation of this age : for formerly they were quite another species of men. they were defendors of poets , and commentators on their works : to illustrate obscure beauties ; to place some passages in a better light , to redeem others from malicious interpretations : to help out an author's modesty , who is not ostentatious of his wit ; and , in short , to shield him from the ill-nature of those fellows , who were then call'd zoili , and momi , and now take upon themselves the venerable name of censors . but neither zoilus , nor he who endeavour'd to defame virgil , were ever adopted into the name of criticks by the ancients : what their reputation was then , we know ; and their successours in this age deserve no better . are our auxiliary forces turn'd our enemies ? are they , who , at best , are but wits of the second order , and whose only credit amongst readers , is what they obtain'd by being subvervient to the fame of writers , are these become rebels of slaves , and usurpers of subjects ; or to speak in the most honourable terms of them , are them from our seconds , become principals against us ? does the ivy undermine the oke , which supports its weakness ? what labour wou'd it cost them to put in a better line , than the worst of those which they expunge in a true poet ? petronius , the greatest wit perhaps of all the romans , yet when his envy prevail'd upon his judgment , to fall on lucan , he fell himself in his attempt : he perform'd worse in his essay of the civil war , than the authour of the pharsalia : and avoiding his errours , has made greater of his own . julius scaliger , wou'd needs turn down homer , and abdicate him , after the possession of three thousand years : has he succeeded in his attempt ? he has indeed shown us some of those imperfections in him , which are incident to humane kind : but who had not rather be that homer than this scaliger ? you see the same hypercritick , when he endeavours to mend the beginning of claudian , ( a faulty poet , and living in a barbarous age ; ) yet how short he comes of him , and substitutes such verses of his own , as deserve the ferula . what a censure has he made of lucan , that he rather seems to bark than sing ? wou'd any but a dog , have made so snarling a comparison ? one wou'd have thought , he had learn'd latin , as late as they tell us he did greek . yet he came off , with a pace tuâ , by your good leave , lucan ; he call'd him not by those outrageous names , of fool , booby , and blockhead : he had somewhat more of good manners , than his successours , as he had much more knowledge . we have two sorts of those gentlemen , in our nation : some of them proceeding with a seeming moderation and pretence of respect , to the dramatick writers of the last age , only scorn and vilifie the present poets , to set up their predecessours . but this is only in appearance ; for their real design is nothing less , than to do honour to any man , besides themselves . horace took notice , of such men in his age : non ingeniis favet ille , sepultis ; nostra sed impugnat ; nos nostraque lividus odit . 't is not with an ultimate intention to pay reverence to the manes of shakespear , fletcher , and ben johnson , that they commend their writings , but to throw dirt on the writers of this age : their declaration is one thing , and their practice is another . by a seeming veneration to our fathers , they wou'd thrust out us their lawful issue , and govern us themselves , under a specious pretence of reformation . if they could compass their intent , what wou'd wit and learning get by such a change ? if we are bad poets , they are worse ; and when any of their woful pieces come abroad , the difference is so great betwixt them and good writers , that there need no criticisms on our part to decide it . when they describe the writers of this age , they draw such monstrous figures of them , as resemble none of us : our pretended pictures are so unlike , that 't is evident we never sate to them : they are all grotesque ; the products of their wild imaginations , things out of nature , so far from being copy'd from us , that they resemble nothing that ever was , or ever can be . but there is another sort of insects , more venomous than the former . those who manifestly aim at the destruction of our poetical church and state. who allow nothing to their country-men , either of this or of the former age. these attack the living by raking up the ashes of the dead . well knowing that if they can subvert their original title to the stage , we who claim under them , must fall of course . peace be to the venerable shades of shakespear , and ben johnson : none of the living will presume to have any competition with them : as they were our predecessours , so they were our masters . we trayl our plays under them : but , ( as at the funerals of a turkish emperour , ) our ensigns are furl'd , or dragg'd upon the ground , in honour to the dead ; so we may lawfully advance our own , afterwards , to show that we succeed : if less in dignity , yet on the same foot and title , which we think too , we can maintain , against the insolence of our own janizaries . if i am the man , as i have reason to believe , who am seemingly courted , and secretly undermin'd : i think i shall be able to defend my'self , when i am openly attacqu'd . and to shew besides , that the greek writers only gave us the rudiments of a stage , which they never finish'd . that many of the tragedies in the former age amongst us , were without comparison beyond those of sophocles and euripides . but at present , i have neither the leisure nor the means for such an undertaking . 't is ill going to law for an estate , with him who is in possession of it , and enjoys the present profits , to feed his cause . but the quantum mutatus may be remember'd in due time . in the mean while i leave the world to judge , who gave the provocation . this , my lord , is , i confess , a long digression , from miscellany poems to modern tragedies : but i have the ordinary excuse of an injur'd man , who will be telling his tale unseasonably to his betters . though at the same time , i am certain you are so good a friend , as to take a concern in all things which belong to one who so truly honours you . and besides , being your self a critick of the genuine sort , who have read the best authours , in their own languages , who perfectly distinguish of their several merits , and in general prefer them to the moderns , yet , i know , you judge for the english tragedies , against the greek and latin , as well as against the french , italian and spanish , of these latter ages . indeed there is a vast difference , betwixt arguing like perault , in behalf of the french poets , against homer and virgil , and betwixt giving the english poets their undoubted due , of excelling aeschylus , euripides , and sophocles . for if we or our greater fathers , have not yet brought the drama to an absolute perfection , yet at least we have carried it much farther than those ancient greeks ; who beginning from a chorus , cou'd never totally exclude it , as we have done , who find it an unprofitable incumbrance , without any necessity of entertaining it amongst us ; and without the possibility of establishing it here , unless it were supported by a publick charge . neither can we accept of those lay-bishops , as some call them , who under pretence of reforming the stage , wou'd intrude themselves upon us , as our superiours , being indeed incompetent judges of what is manners , what religion , and least of all , what is poetry and good sense . i can tell them in behalf of all my fellows , that when they come to exercise a jurisdiction over us , they shall have the stage to themselves , as they have the lawrel . as little can i grant , that the french dramatick writers , excel the english : our authours as far surpass them in genius , as our souldiers excel theirs in courage : 't is true , in conduct they surpass us either way : yet that proceeds not so much from their greaterknowledge , as from the difference of tasts in the two nations . they content themselves with a thin design , without episodes , and manag'd by few persons . our audience will not be pleas'd , but with variety of accidents , an underplot , and many actours . they follow the ancients too servilely , in the mechanick rules , and we assume too much license to our selves , in keeping them only in view , at too great a distance . but if our audience had their tasts , our poets could more easily comply with them , than the french writers cou'd come up to the sublimity of our thoughts , or to the difficult variety of our designs . however it be , i dare establish it for a rule of practice on the stage , that we are bound to please those , whom we pretend to entertain : and that at any price , religion and good manners only excepted . and i care not much , if i give this handle , to our bad illiterate poetasters , for the defence of their scriptions as they call them . there is a sort of merit in delighting the spectatours ; which is a name more proper for them , than that of auditours : or else horace is in the wrong , when he commends lucilius for it . but these common places i mean to treat at greater leisure : in the mean time , submitting that little i have said , to your lordship's approbation , or your censure , and chusing rather to entertain you this way , as you are a judge of writing , than to oppress your modesty , with other commendations , which though they are your due , yet wou'd not be equally receiv'd , in this satirical , and censorious age. that which cannot without injury be deny'd to you , is the easiness of your conversation , far from affectation or pride : not denying even to enemies , their just praises . and this , if i wou'd dwell on any theme of this nature , is no vulgar commendation to your lordship . without flattery , my lord , you have it in your nature , to be a patron and encourager of good poets , but your fortune has not yet put into your hands the opportunity of expressing it . what you will be hereafter , may be more than guess'd , by what you are at present . you maintain the character of a nobleman , without that haughtiness which generally attends too many of the nobility , and when you converse with gentlemen , you forget not that you have been of their order . you are marryed to the daughter of a king , who , amongst her other high perfections , has deriv'd from him a charming behaviour , a winning goodness , and a majestick person . the muses and the graces are the ornaments of your family . while the muse sings , the grace accompanies her voice : even the servants of the muses have sometimes had the happiness to hear her ; and to receive their inspirations from her . i will not give my self the liberty of going farther ; for'tis so sweet to wander in a pleasing way , that i shou'd never arrive at my journeys end . to keep my self from being belated in my letter , and tiring your attention , i must return to the place where i was setting out . i humbly dedicate to your lordship , my own labours in this miscellany : at the same time , not arrogating to my self the priviledge , of inscribing to you , the works of others who are join'd with me , in this undertaking ; over which i can pretend no right . your lady and you have done me the favour to hear me read my translations of ovid : and you both seem'd not to be displeas'd with them . whether it be the partiality of an old man to his youngest child , i know not : but they appear to me the best of all my endeavours in this kind . perhaps this poet , is more easie to be translated , than some others , whom i have lately attempted : perhaps too , he was more according to my genius . he is certainly more palatable to the reader , than any of the roman wits , though some of them are more lofty , some more instructive , and others more correct . he had learning enough to make him equal to the best . but as his verse came easily , he wanted the toyl of application to amend it . he is often luxuriant , both in his fancy and expressions ; and as it has lately been observ'd , not always natural . if wit be pleasantry , he has it to excess : but if it be propriety , lucretius , horace , and above all virgil are his superiours . i have said so much of him already , in my preface to his heroical epistles , that there remains little to be added in this place . for my own part , i have endeavour'd to copy his character what i cou'd in this translation , even perhaps , farther than i shou'd have done ; to his very faults . mr. chapman in his translation of homer , professes to have done it somewhat paraphrastically ; and that on set purpose ; his opinion being , that a good poet is to be translated in that manner . i remember not the reason which he gives for it : but i suppose it is , for fear of omitting any of his excellencies : sure i am , that if it be a fault , 't is much more pardonable , than that of those , who run into the other extream , of a litteral , and close translation , where the poet is confin'd so streightly to his author's words , that he wants elbow-room , to express his elegancies . he leaves him obscure ; he leaves him prose , where he sound him verse . and no better than thus has ovid been serv'd by the so much admir'd sandys . this is at least the idea which i have remaining of his translation ; for i never read him since i was a boy . they who take him upon content , from the praises which their fathers gave him ; may inform their judgment by reading him again : and see , ( if they understand the original ) what is become of ovid's poetry , in his version ; whether it be not all , or the greatest part of it evaporated . but this proceeded from the wrong judgment of the age in which he liv'd : they neither knew good verse , nor lov'd it ; they were scholars 't is true , but they were pedants . and for a just reward of their pedantick pains , all their translations want to be translated , into english. if i flatter not my self , or if my friends have not flatter'd me , i have given my author's sense , for the most part truly : for to mistake sometimes , is incident to all men : and not to follow the dutch commentatours alwaies , may be forgiven to a man , who thinks them , in the general , heavy gross-witted fellows ; fit only to gloss on their own dull poets . but i leave a farther satire on their wit , till i have a better opportunity , to shew how much i love and honour them . i have like wise attempted to restore ovid to his native sweetness , easiness , and smoothness ; and to give my poetry a kind of cadence , and , as we call it , a run of verse , as like the original , as the english can come up to the latin ; as he seldom uses any synalephas , so i have endeavour'd to avoid them , as often as i cou'd : i have likewise given him his own turns , both on the words and on the thought : which i cannot say are inimitable , because i have copyed them : and so may others , if they use the same diligence : but certainly they are wonderfully graceful in this poet. since i have nam'd the synalepha , which is the cutting off one vowel , immediately before another , i will give an example of it , from chapman's homer which lyes before me ; for the benefit of those who understand not the latine prosodia . 't is in the first line of the argument to the first iliad . apollo 's priest to th' argive fleet doth bring , &c. there we see he makes it not the argive , but th' argive , to shun the shock of the two vowels , immediately following each other . but in his second argument , in the same page , he gives a bad example of the quite contrary kind : alpha the pray'r of chryses sings : the army's plague , the strife of kings . in these word the armies , the ending with a vowel , and armies beginning with another vowel , without cutting off the first , which by it had been th' armies , there remains a most horrible ill-sounding-gap betwixt those words . i cannot say , that i have every way observ'd the rule of this synalepha , in my translation ; but wheresoever i have not , 't is a fault in sound : the french and italians have made it an inviolable precept in their versification ; thereinfollowing the severe example of the latin poets . our countrymen have not yet reform'd their poetry so far ; but content themselves with following the licentious practice of the greeks ; who though they sometimes use synalepha's , yet make no difficulty very often , to sound one vowel upon another ; as homer does , in the very first line of alpha. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . 't is true , indeed , that in the second line , in these words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the synalepha in revenge is twice observ'd . but it becomes us , for the sake of euphony , rather musas colere severiores , with the romans ; than to give into the looseness of the grecians . i have tir'd my self , and have been summon'd by the press to send away this dedication ; otherwise i had expos'd some other faults , which are daily committed by our english poets ; which , with care and observation , might be amended . for after all , our language is both copious , significant , and majestical ; and might be reduc'd into a more harmonious sound . but for want of publick encouragement , in this iron age , we are so far from making any progress in the improvement of our tongue , that in few years , we shall speak and write as barbarously as our neighbours . notwithstanding my haste , i cannot forbear to tell your lordship , that there are two fragments of homer translated in this miscellany ; one by mr. congreve ( whom i cannot mention without the honour which is due to his excellent parts , and that entire affection which i bear him ; ) and the other by my self . both the subjects are pathetical ; and i am sure my friend has added to the tenderness which he found in the original ; and , without flattery , surpass'd his author . yet i must needs say this in reference to homer , that he is much more capable of exciting the manly passions , than those of grief and pity . to cause admiration , is indeed the proper and adequate design of an epick poem : and in that he has excell'd even virgil. yet , without presuming to arraign our master , i may venture to affirm , that he is somewhat too talkative , and more than somewhat too digressive . this is so manifest , that it cannot be deny'd , in that little parcel which i have translated , perhaps too literally : there andromache in the midst of her concernment , and fright for hector , runs off her biass , to tell him a story of her pedigree , and of the lamentable death of her father , her mother , and her seven brothers . the devil was in hector , if he knew not all this matter , as well as she who told it him ; for she had been his bed-fellow for many years together : and if he knew it , then it must be confess'd , that homer in this long digression , has rather given us his own character , than that of the fair lady whom he paints . his dear friends the commentators , who never fail him at a pinch , will needs excuse him , by making the present sorrow of andromache , to occasion the remembrance of all the past : but others think that she had enough to do with that grief which now oppress'd her , without running for assistance to her family . virgil , i am confident , wou'd have omitted such a work of supererrogation . but virgil had the gift of expressing much in little , and sometimes in silence : for though he yielded much to homer in invention , he more excell'd him in his admirable judgment . he drew the passion of dido for eneas , in the most lively and most natural colours that are imaginable : homer was ambitious enough of moving pity ; for he has attempted twice on the same subject of hector's death : first , when priam , and hecuba beheld his corps , which was drag'd after the chariot of achilles ; and then in the lamentation which was made over him , when his body was redeem'd by priam ; and the same persons again bewail his death with a chorus of others to help the cry . but if this last excite compassion in you , as i doubt not but it will , you are more oblig'd to the translatour than the poet. for homer , as i observ'd before , can move rage better than he can pity : he stirs up the irascible appetite , as our philosophers call it , he provokes to murther , and the destruction of god's images ; he forms and equips those ungodly man killers , whom we poets , when we flatter them , call heroes ; a race of men who can never enjoy quiet in themselves , 'till they have taken it from all the world. this is homer's commendation , and such as it is , the lovers of peace , or at least of more moderate heroism , will never envy him . but let homer and virgil contend for the prize of honour , betwixt themselves , i am satisfied they will never have a third concurrent . i wish mr. congreve had the leisure to translate him , and the world the good nature and justice , to encourage him in that noble design , of which he is more capable than any man i know . the earl of mulgrave , and mr. waller , two the best judges of our age , have assur'd me , that they cou'd never read over the translation of chapman , without incredible pleasure , and extreme transport . this admiration of theirs , must needs proceed from the author himself : for the translator has thrown him down as low , as harsh numbers , improper english , and a monstrous length of verse cou'd carry him . what then wou'd he appear in the harmonious version , of one of the best writers , living in a much better age than was the last ? i mean for versification , and the art of numbers ; for in the drama we have not arriv'd to the pitch of shakespear and ben johnson . but here , my lord , i am forc'd to break off abruptly , without endeavouring at a compliment in the close . this miscellany , is without dispute one of the best of the kind , which has hitherto been extant in our tongue . at least , as sir samuel tuke has said before me , a modest man may praise what 's not his own . my fellows have no need of any protection , but i humbly recommend my part of it , as much as it deserves , to your patronage and acceptance , and all the rest to your forgiveness . i am my lord , your lordship 's most obedient servant , john dryden . the bookseller to the reader . having formerly printed two parts of miscellany poems , they were so very kindly receiv'd , that i had long before now endeavour'd to obtain a third , had i not almost ever since the publishing of the second been solliciting the translating of juvenal , and persius . soon after the publishing of that book i waited upon several gentlemen to ask their opinion of a third miscellany , who encourag'd me to endeavour it , and have considerably help'd me in it . many very ingenious copies were sent to me upon my giving publick notice of this design ; but had i printed em all , the book wou'd have swell'd to too great a bulk , and i must have delay'd the publishing of it 'till next term : but those omitted , shall upon order from the authors be restored ; or if the gentlemen will be pleas'd to stay 'till next year , i shall take it as a favour to insert them in another miscellany , which i then intend , if i find by the sale that this proves as entertaining as the former . several reasons encourage me to proceed upon the endeavouring a fourth volume : as , that i had assurance of many copies from persons now out of england ; which , though not yet arriv'd , i am confident will be sent in a short time , and they come from such hands , that i can have no reason to doubt of their being very much esteem'd . i would likewise willingly try if there could be an annual miscellany , which i believe might be an useful diversion to the ingenious . by this means care would be taken to preserve ev'ry choice copy that appears ; whereas i have known several celebrated pieces so utterly lost in three or four years time after they were written , as not to be recoverable by all the search i cou'd make after ' em . i was for some years together possest of several poems of sir carr scrope's , written with his own hand , which i in vain of late strove to recover ; for as i forgot to whom i lent 'em , so i believe the person to whom they were lent does not remember where they were borrowed : but if the present possessour of them reads this , i beg their being return'd . if i should go on with the design of an annual miscellany , after i have procur'd some stock to proceed upon , i will give publick notice of it . and i hope the gentlemen who approve of this design , will promote it , by sending such copies as they judge will be acceptable . your very humble servant jacob tonson . the contents . the first book of ovid's metamorphoses translated into english verse , by mr. dryden . page x the golden-age . the silver age. the brazen age the iron age. ibid. the gyant 's war. the transformation of daphne into a lawrel . the transformation of io into a heifar . the eyes of argos transform'd into a peacocks train . the transformation of syrinx into reeds . the fable of iphis and ianthe , from the ninth book of the metamorphoses , englished by mr. dryden . the fable of acis , polyphemus , and galatea , from the thirteenth book of the metamorphoses , englished by mr. dryden . on mr. hobbs . by the earl of mulgrave . on the death of the learned mr. john selden . against immoderate grief . to a young lady weeping . an ode in imitation of casimire . by mr. yalden . to the returning sun. by j. h. against the fear of death . by a person of honour . the dream : occasioned by the death of the most noble and vertuous lady , elizabeth seymour , mother to his grace the duke of somerset . by mr. j. talbot . a hymn to the morning . in praise of light. an ode . by mr. yalden . a hymn to darkness . by mr. yalden . aeneas his meeting with dido in the elvsian fields . being a translation of the sixth book of virgil's aenids . by mr. wolsley . out of the italian of fulvio testi , to count montecuccoli . against pride upon sudden advancement . catullus . epig. . by the same hand as the former . out of the greek of menage . by the same hand as the former . invitation into the country . in imitation of the th epig. of catullus . by the same hand as the former . on mrs. arabello hunt singing . a pindarique ode . by mr. congreve . to a person of honour . upon his incomparable , incomprehensible poem . by mr. waller . on the same by dr. s — another on the same . by mr. mat. clifford . on the same . by the ld. v. — on two verses out of the same . by the duke of buckingham . to the prince and princess of orange , upon their marriage . by nat. lee. against sloath. when the king was at oxford . what art thou love ! by mr. j. allestry . verses spoken before the duke and dutchess of york , and lady anne , in oxford theatre . by the ld. s. — and mr. c. — humane life , suppos'd to be spoken by an epicure , in imitation of the second chapter of the wisdom of solomon . a pindarique ode . inscribed to the lord hunsdon . by mr. yalden . to mr. waller : upon the copy of verses made by himself on the last copy in his book . elogy : occasion'd by the reading and transcribing mr. edmund waller's poem of divine love , since his death . by mr. j. talbot . moschus : idyl . st . done into english by mr. j. r. against enjoyment . by mr. yalden . priam's . lamentation and petition to achilles , for the body of his son hector . translated from the greek of homer . by mr. congreve . the lamentations of hecuba , andromache , and helen , over the dead body of hector . translated from the greek of homer . by mr. congreve . paraphrase upon horace . ode . lib. . by mr. congreve . horace , lib. . ode . imitated by mr. congreve . an ode , in imitation of horace , ode . lib. . by mr. congreve . to the dut hess , on her return from scotland , in the year . by mr. dryden . a song for st. cecelia's day , . written by john dryden esquire , and compos'd by mr. john baptist draghi . to mr. dryden : by mr. jo. addison . to mr. dryden , on his translation of persius . by mr. b. higgons . to sir godfrey kneller , drawing my lady hides picture . by mr. b. higgons . song on a lady indispos'd . by mr. higgons . song to a fair , young lady . going out of the town in the spring . by mr. dryden . a song by my ld. r. — a song by my ld. r. — a paean . or song of triumph , on the translation and apothesis of king charles the second . by my ld. r. — out of horace , by my ld. r. — to a lady , who raffling for the king of france's picture , flung the highest chances on the dice . by mr. b. higgons . on my lady sandwich's being stay'd in town by the immoderate rain . by mr. b. higgons . ovid's love-elegies . bock . eleg. . to his mistress whom he had beaten . by henry cromwell , esq ovid's love-elegies . book . eleg. . of love and war. by henry cromwell , esquire . ovid's love-elegies . book . eleg. . to his mercenary mistress . by henry cromwell , esquire . ovid's love-elegies . book . eleg. . of the immortality of the muses . inscrib'd to mr. dryden . by henry cromwell , esquire . ovid's love-elegies . book . eleg. . to his mistress at the horse-race . by henry cromwell , esquire . ovid's love-elegies . book . eleg. . of his perjur'd mistress . by henry cromwell , esq to the lady castlemain , upon her incouraging his first play. by mr. dryden . prologue to the university of oxford , . by mr. dryden . prologue by mr. dryden . considerations on the eighty eighth psalm . by mr. prior. veni creator spiritus , translated in paraphrase . by mr. dryden . the curse of babylon . paraphras'd from the thirteenth chapter of isaia . a pindarique ode . by tho. yalden . out of horace . lib. . ode . . the grove . love but one. to the author of sardanapalus ; upon that and his other writings . of my lady hide . occasion'd by the sight of her picture . by mr. george granville . an imitation of the second chorus in the second act of seneca's thyestes . by mr. george granville . amor omnibus idem : or the force of love in all creatures ; being a translation of some verses in virgil's third georgick , from verse . to verse . to mr. congreve . an epistolary ode . occasion'd by his play. from mr. yalden . on his mistress drown'd . by mr. s — to the pious memory of the accomplisht young lady , mrs. anne killigrew , excellent in the two sister-arts of poesie and painting . an ode . by mr. dryden . to the earl of carlisle , upon the death of his son before luxemburgh . the insect . against bulk . by mr. yalden . written in a lady's advice to a daughter . written in a lady's waller . written in the leaves of a fan an incomparable ode of malherb's . written by him when the marriage was a foot between the king of france , and anne of austria . translated by a person of quality , a great admirer of the easiness of the french poetry . on the dutchess of portimouth's picture . a song . by the earl of rochester . song for the king's birth day . a song . a song . song . song . to the king. in the year . by mr. george granville . harry martvn's epitaph , by himself to his friend captain chamberlain ; in love with a lady he had taken in an algerine prize at sea. in allusion to the th ode of horace . lib. . by mr. yalden . a song . by a lady . written by a lady . paraphras'd out of horace , the d ode . of the d . book . by dr. pope . love's antidote . anachreon imitated . anachreon imitated . anachreon imitated . from virgil's first georgick . translated into english verse , by h. sacheverill . dedicated to mr. dryden . a french poem : with a paraphrase on it in english . , a song : by sir john eaton . another song in imitation of sir john eaton's songs . by the late earl of rochester . a song : by sidny godolphin , esquire , on tom killigrew , and will murrey . rondelay . by mr. drvden . in a letter to the honourable mr. charles montague , by mr. prior. an ode . by mr. prior. to a lady of quality's playing on the lute . by mr. prior. an epitaph on the lady whitmore . by mr. dryden . an epitaph on sir palmes fairborne's tomb in westminster-abby . by mr. dryden . to the reverend dr. sherlock , dean of st. paul's , on his practical discourse concerning death . by mr. prior. on exodus . . i am that i am . a pindarique ode . by mr. prior. the last parting of hector and andromache . from the sixth book of homer's iliads . translated from the original by mr. dryden . syphilis . ult . the first book of ovid's metamorphoses , translated into english verse by mr. dryden . the first book of ovid's metamorphoses . of bodies chang'd to various forms i sing : ye gods , from whom these miracles did spring , inspire my numbers with coelestial heat ; till i , my long laborious work compleat : and add perpetual tenour to my rhimes , deduc'd from nature's birth , to caesar's times before the seas , and this terrestrial ball , and heav'ns high canopy , that covers all , one was the face of nature ; if a face , rather a rude and indigested mass : a lifeless lump , unfashion'd , and unfram'd ; of jarring seeds ; and justly chaos nam'd . no sun was lighted up , the world to view ; no moon did yet her blunted horas renew : nor yet was earth suspended in the skye ; nor pois'd , did on her own foundations lye : nor seas about the shoars their arms had thrown ; but earth and air and water were in one . thus air was void of light , and earth unstable , and waters dark abyss unnavigable . no certain form , on any was imprest ; all were confus'd , and each disturb'd the rest . for hot and cold , were in one body fixt ; and soft with hard , and light with heavy mixt . but god or nature , while they thus contend , to these intestine discords put an end : then earth from air , and seas from earth were driv'n , and grosser air , sunk from aetherial heav'n . thus disembroil'd , they take their proper place ; the next of kin , contiguously embrace ; and foes are sunder'd , by a larger space . the force of fire ascended first on high , and took its dwelling in the vaulted skie : then air succeeds , in lightness next to fire ; whose atoms from unactive earth retire . earth sinks beneath , and draws a numerous throng of pondrous , thick , unweildy seeds along . about her coasts , unruly waters roar ; and , rising on a ridge , insult the shoar . thus when the god , what ever god was he , had form'd the whole , and made the parts agree , that no unequal portions might be found , he moulded earth into a spacious round : then with a breath , he gave the winds to blow ; and bad the congregated waters flow . he adds the running springs , and standing lakes ; and bounding banks for winding rivers makes . some part , in earth are swallow'd up , the most in ample oceans , disimbogu'd , are lost . he shades the woods , the vallies he restrains with rocky mountains , and extends the plains . and as five zones th'aetherial regions bind , five correspondent , are to earth assign'd : the sun with rays , directly darting down , fires all beneath , and fries the middle zone : the two beneath the distant poles , complain of endless winter , and perpetual rain . betwixt th'extreams , two happier climates , hold the temper that partakes of hot and cold. the feilds of liquid air , inclosing all , surround the compass of this earthly ball : the lighter parts , lye next the fires above ; the grosser near the watry surface move : thick clouds are spread , and storms engender there , and thunders voice , which wretched mortals fear , and winds that on their wings , cold winter bear . nor were those blustring brethren left at large , on seas and shoars , their fury to discharge : bound as they are , and circumscrib'd in place , they rend the world , resistless , where they pass ; and mighty marks of mischief leave behind ; such is the rage of their tempestuous kind . first eurus to the rising morn is sent , ( the regions of the balmy continent ; ) and eastern realms , where early persians run , to greet the blest appearance of the sun. westward , the wanton zephyr wings his flight ; pleas'd with the remnants of departing light : fierce boreas , with his off-spring , islues forth t' invade the frozen waggon of the north. while srowning auster , seeks the southern sphere ; and rots with endless rain , th'unwholsom year . high o're the clouds and empty realms of wind , the god a clearer space for heav'n design'd ; where fields of light , and liquid aether flow ; purg'd from the pondrous dregs of earth below . scarce had the pow'r distinguish'd these , when streight the stars , no longer overlaid with weight , exert their heads , from underneath the mass ; and upward shoot , and kindle as they pass , place . and with diffasive light , adorn their heav'nly then , every void of nature to supply , with forms of gods he fills the vacant skie : new herds of beasts , he sends the plains to share : new colonies of birds , to people air : and to their oozy beds , the finny fish repair . a creature of a more exalted kind was wanting yet , and then was man design'd : conscious of thought , of more capacious breast , for empire form'd , and fit to rule the rest : whether with particles of heav'nly fire the god of nature did his soul inspire , or earth , but new divided from the skie , and , pliant , still , retain'd the aetherial energy : which wise prometheus temper'd into paste , and mixt with living streams , the godlike image cast . thus , while the mute creation downward bend their sight , and to their earthy mother tend , man looks aloft ; and with erected eyes beholds his own hereditary skies . from such rude principles our form began ; and earth was metamorphos'd into man. the golden age. the golden age was first ; when man yet new , no rule but uncorrupted reason knew : and , with a native bent , did good pursue . un-forc'd by punishment , un-aw'd by fear , his words were simple , and his soul sincere : needless was written law , where none opprest : the law of man , was written in his breast : no suppliant crowds , before the judge appear'd , no court erected yet , nor cause was hear'd : but all was safe , for conscience was their guard. the mountain trees in distant prospect please , e're yet the pine descended to the seas : e're sails were spread , new oceans to explore : and happy mortals , unconcern'd for more , confin'd their wishes to their native shoar . no walls , were yet ; nor sence , nor mote nor mownd , nor drum was heard , nor trumpets angry sound : nor swords were forg'd ; but void of care and crime , the soft creation slept away their time . the teeming earth , yet guiltless of the plough , and unprovok'd , did fruitful stores allow : content with food , which nature freely bred , on wildings , and on strawberries they fed ; cornels and bramble-berries gave the rest , and falling acorns , furnisht out a feast . the flow'rs un-sown , in fields and meadows reign'd : and western winds , immortal spring maintain'd . in following years , the bearded corn ensu'd , from earth unask'd , nor was that earth renew'd . from veins of vallies , milk and nectar broke ; and honey sweating through the pores of oak . the silver age. but when good saturne , banish'd from above , was driv'n to hell , the world was under jove . succeeding times a silver age behold , excelling brass , but more excell'd by gold. then summer , autumn , winter , did appear : and spring was but a season of the year . the sun his annual course obliquely made , good days contracted , and enlarg'd the bad . then air with sultry heats began to glow ; the wings of winds , were clogg'd with ice and snow ; and shivering mortals , into houses driv'n , sought shelter from th'inclemency of heav'n . those houses , then , were caves , or homely sheds ; with twining oziers fenc'd ; and moss their beds . then ploughs , for seed , the fruitful furrows broke , and oxen labour'd first , beneath the yoke . the brazen age. to this came next in course , the brazen age : a warlike offspring , prompt to bloody rage , not impious yet — the iron age. — — hard steel succeeded then : and stubborn as the mettal , were the men. truth , modesty , and shame , the world forsook , fraud , avarice , and force , their places took . then sails were spread , to every wind that blew . raw were the sailors , and the depths were new : trees rudely hollow'd , did the waves sustain ; e're ships in triumph plough'd the watry plain . then land-marks , limited to each his right : for all before was common , as the light . nor was the ground alone requir'd to bear her annual income to the crooked share , but greedy mortals , rummaging her store , digg'd from her entrails first the precious oar ; which next to hell , the prudent gods had laid ; and that alluring ill , to sight displaid . thus cursed steel , and more accursed gold gave mischief birth , and made that mischief bold ; and double death , did wretched man invade by steel assaulted , and by gold betray'd . now , ( brandish'd weapons glittering in their hands , ) mankind is broken loose from moral bands ; no rights of hospitality remain : the guest by him who harbour'd him , is slain . the son in law pursues the father's life ; the wife her husband murders , he the wife . the step-dame poyson for the son prepares ; the son inquires into his father's years . faith flies , and piety in exile mourns ; and justice , here opprest , to heav'n returns . the gyants war. nor were the gods themselves more safe above ; against beleaguer'd heav'n , the gyants move : hills pii'd on hills , on mountains , mountains lie , to make their mad approaches to the skie . till jove , no longer patient , took his time t' avenge with thunder their audacious crime ; red light'ning plaid , along the firmament , and their demolish't works to pieces rent . sing'd with the flames , and with the bolts transfixt with native earth , their blood , the monsters mixt : the blood , indu'd with animating heat , did in th' impregnant earth , new sons beget : they , like the seed from which they sprung , accurst , against the gods , immortal hatred nurst . an impious , arrogant , and cruel brood : expressing their original from blood. which , when the king of gods beheld from high , ( withal revolving in his memory , what he himself had found on earth of late , lycaon's guilt , and his inhuman treate , ) he sigh'd ; nor longer with his pity strove ; but kindl'd to a wrath becoming jove : then , call'd a general council of the gods ; who summon'd , issue from their blest abodes , and fill th' assembly , with a shining train . a way there is , in heavens expanded plain , which when the skies are clear , is seen below , and mortals , by the name of milky , know . the ground-work is of stars ; through which the road lyes open to the thunderer's abode ; the gods of greater nations dwell around , and on the right and left , the palace bound ; the commons where they can , the nobler sort with winding-doors wide open , front the court , this place , as far as earth with heav'n may vie , i dare to call the loovre of the skie . when all were plac'd , in seats distinctly known , and he , their father , had assum'd the throne , upon his iv'ry sceptre first he leant , then shook his head , that shook the firmament : air , earth , and seas , obey'd th' almighty nod : and with a gen'ral fear , confess'd the god. at length with indignation , thus he broke his awful silence , and the pow'rs bespoke . i was not more concern'd in that debate of empire , when our universal state was put to hazard , and the giant race our captive skies , were ready to imbrace : for tho' the foe was fierce , the seeds of all rebellion , sprung from one original ; now , wheresoever ambient waters glide , all are corrupt , and all must be destroy'd . let me this holy protestation make , by hell , and hell 's inviolable lake , i try'd whatever in the god-head lay : but gangreen'd members , must be lopt away , before the nobler parts , are tainted to decay . there dwells below , a race of demi-gods , of nymphs in waters ; and of fawns in woods : who , tho not worthy yet , in heav'n to live , let 'em , at least , enjoy that earth we give . can these be thought securely lodg'd below , when i my self , who no superior know , i , who have heav'n and earth at my command , have been attempted by lycaon's hand ? at this a murmur , thro' the synod went , and with one voice they vote his punishment . thus , when conspiring traytors dar'd to doom the fall of caesar , and in him of rome , the nations trembled , with a pious fear ; all anxious for their earthly thunderer : nor was their care , o caesar ! less esteem'd by thee , than that of heav'n for jove was deem'd , who with his hand and voice , did first restrain their murmurs , then resum'd his speech again . the gods to silence were compos'd , and sate with reverence , due to his superior state. cancel your pious cares ; already he has paid his debt to justice , and to me . yet what his crimes , and what my judgments were , remains for me , thus briefly to declare . the clamours of this vile degenerate age , the cries of orphans , and th'oppressor's rage had reach'd the stars ; i will descend , said i , in hope to prove this loud complaint a lye. disguis'd in humane shape , i travell'd round the world , and more than what i hear'd , i found . o're moenalus i took my steepy way , by caverns infamous for beasts of prey : then cross'd cyllenè , and the piny shade more infamous , by curst lycaon made . dark night had cover'd heav'n and earth , before i enter'd his unhospitable door . just at my entrance , i display'd the sign that somewhat was approaching of divine . the prostrate people pray ; the tyrant grins ; and , adding prophanation to his sins , i 'll try , said he , and if a god appear to prove his deity , shall cost him dear . t was late ; the graceless wretch , my death prepares , when i shou'd soundly sleep , opprest with cares : this dire experiment , he chose , to prove if i were mortal , or undoubted jove : but first he had resolv'd to taste my pow'r ; not long before , but in a luckless hour some legates , sent from the molossian state , were on a peaceful errant come to treat : of these he murders one , he boils the flesh ; and lays the mangl'd morsels in a dish : some part he roasts ; then serves it up , so drest , and bids me welcome to this humane feast . mov'd with disdain , the table i o're-turn'd ; and with avenging flames , the palace burn'd . the tyrant in a fright , for shelter , gains the neighb'ring fields , and scours along the plains . howling he fled , and fain he wou'd have spoke ; but humane voice , his brutal tongue forsook . about his lips , the gather'd foam he churns , and , breathing slaughters , still with rage he burns , but on the bleating flock , his fury turns . his mantle , now his hide , with rugged hairs cleaves to his back , a famish'd face he bears . his arms descend , his shoulders sink away , to multiply his legs for chace of prey . he grows a wolf , his hoariness remains , and the same rage in other members reigns . his eyes still sparkle in a narr'wer space : his jaws retain the grin , and violence of face . this was a single ruine , but not one deserves so just a punishment alone . mankind's a monster , and th' ungodly times confed'rate into guilt , are sworn to crimes . all are alike involv'd in ill , and all must by the same relentless fury fall . thus ended he ; the greater gods assent ; by clamours urging his severe intent ; the less fill up the cry for punishment . yet still with pity , they remember man ; and mourn as much as heav'nly spirits can . they ask , when those were lost of humane birth , what he wou'd do with all this waste of earth : if his dispeopl'd world , he would resign to beasts , a mute , and more ignoble line ; neglected altars must no longer smoke , if none were left to worship and invoke . to whom the father of the gods reply'd , lay that unnecessary fear aside . mine be the care , new people to provide . i will from wondrous principles ordain a race unlike the first , and try my skill again . already had he toss'd the flaming brand ; and roll'd the tunder in his spatious hand ; preparing to discharge on seas and land : but stopt , for fear thus violently driven , the sparks should catch his axle-tree of heav'n . remembring in the fates , a time when fire shou'd to the battlements of heav'n aspire . and all his blazing worlds above shou'd burn ; and all th' inferiour globe , to cinders turn . his dire artill'ry thus dismist , he bent his thoughts to some securer punishment . concludes to pour a watry deluge down ; and what he durst not burn , resolves to drown . the northern breath , that freezes floods , he binds : with all the race of cloud-dispelling winds : the south he loos'd , who night and horror brings ; and foggs are shaken from his ●laggy wings . from his divided beard , two streams he pours , his head and rhumy eyes , distill in showers . with rain his robe and heavy mantle flow : and lazy mists , are lowring on his brow ; still as he swept along , with his clench't fist he squeez'd the clouds , th' imprison'd clouds resist : the skies from pole to pole , with peals resound ; and show'rs inlarg'd , come pouring on the ground . then , clad in colours of a various dye , junonian iris , breeds a new supply ; to feed the clouds : impetuous rain descends ; the bearded corn , beneath the burden bends : defrauded clowns , deplore their perish'd grain ; and the long labours of the year are vain . nor from his patrimonial heav'n alone is jove content to pour his vengeance down , aid from his brother of the seas he craves ; to help him with auxiliary waves . the watry tyrant calls his brooks and floods , who rowl from mossie caves ( their moist abodes ; ) and with perpetual urns his palace fill : to whom in breif , he thus imparts his will. small exhortation needs ; your pow'rs employ : and this bad world , so jove requires , destroy : let loose the reins , to all your watry store : bear down the damms , and open every door . the floods , by nature enemies to land , and proudly swelling with their new command , remove the living stones , that stopt their way , and gushing from their source , augment the sea. then , with his mace , their monarch struck the ground : with inward trembling , earth receiv'd the wound ; and rising streams a ready passage found . th' expanded waters gather on the plain : they flote the fields , and over-top the grain ; then rushing onwards , with a sweepy sway , bear flocks and folds , and lab'ring hinds away . nor safe their dwellings were , for , sap'd by floods , their houses fell upon their household gods. the solid piles , too strongly built to fall , high o're their heads , behold a watry wall : now seas and earth were in confusion lost ; a world of waters , and without a coast. one climbs a cliff ; one in his boat is born ; and ploughs above , where late he sow'd his corn. others o're chimney tops and turrets row , and drop their anchors , on the meads below : or downward driv'n , they bruise the tender vine , or tost aloft , are knock't against a pine. and where of late , the kids had cropt the grass , the monsters of the deep , now take their place . insulting nereids on the cities ride , and wondring dolphins o're the palace glide . on leaves and masts of mighty oaks they brouze ; and their broad finns , entangle in the boughs , the frighted wolf , now swims amongst the sheep ; the yellow lyon wanders in the deep : his rapid force , no longer helps the boar : the stag swims faster , than he ran before . the fowls , long beating on their wings in vain , despair of land , and drop into the main . now hills and vaies , no more distinction know ; and levell'd nature , lies oppress'd below . the most of mortals perish in the flood : the small remainder dies for want of food . a mountain of stupendous height there stands betwixt th' athenian and boeotian lands , the bound of fruitful fields , while fields they were , but then a field of waters did appear : parnassus is its name ; whose forky rise mounts through the clouds , and mates the lofty skies . high on the summet of this dubious cliff , deucalion wafting , moor'd his little skiff . he with his wife were only left behind of perish'd man ; they two , were humane kind . the mountain nymphs and themis they adore , and from her oracles relief implore . the most upright of mortal men was he ; the most sincere and holy woman , she . when jupiter , surveying earth from high , beheld it in a lake of water lie , that where so many millions lately liv'd , but two , the best of either sex surviv'd ; he loos'd the northern wind ; fierce boreas flies to puff away the clouds and purge the skies : serenely , while he blows , the vapours , driven , discover heav'n to earth , and earth to heav'n . the billows fall , while neptune lays his mace on the rough seas , and smooths its furrow'd face . already triton , at his call appears , above the waves ; a tyrian robe he wears ; and in his hand a crooked trumpet bears . the soveraign bids him peaceful sounds inspire ; and give the waves the signal to retire . his writhen shell he takes ; whose narrow vent grows by degrees into a large extent , then gives it breath ; the blast , with doubling sound , runs the wide circuit of the world around : the sun first heard it , in his early east , and met the rattling eccho's in the west . the waters , listning to the trumpets roar , obey the summons , and sorsake the shoar . a thin circumference of land appears ; and earth , but not at once , her visage rears ; and peeps upon the seas from upper grounds ; the streams , but just contain'd within their bounds , by slow degrees into their channels crawl : and earth increases , as the waters fall . in longer time the tops of trees appear ; which mud on their dishonour'd branches bear . at length the world was all restor'd to view ; but desolate , and of a sickly hue : nature beheld her self , and stood aghast , a dismal desart , and a silent waste . which when deucalion , with a piteous look beheld , he wept , and thus to pyrrha spoke : oh wife , oh sister , oh of all thy kind the best and only creature left behind , by kindred , love , and now by dangers joyn'd , of multitudes , who breath'd the common air , we two remain ; a species in a pair : the rest the seas have swallow'd ; nor have we ev'n of this wretched life a certainty . the clouds are still above ; and , while i speak , a second deluge , o're our heads may break . shou'd i be snatch'd from hence , and thou remain , without relief , or partner of thy pain , how cou'd'st thou such a wretched life sustain ? shou'd i be left , and thou be lost , the sea that bury'd her i lov'd , shou'd bury me . oh cou'd our father his old arts inspire , and make me heir of his informing fire , that so i might abolisht man retrieve , and perisht people in new souls might live . but heav'n is pleas'd , nor ought we to complain , that we , th' examples of mankind , remain . he said ; the careful couple joyn their tears ; and then invoke the gods , with pious prayers . thus , in devotion having eas'd their grief , from sacred oracles , they seek relief . and to cephysus brook , their way pursue : the stream was troubl'd , but the foord they knew ; with living waters , in the fountain bred , they sprinkle first , their garments , and their head , then took the way , which to the temple led . the roofs were all defil'd with moss , and mire , the desart altars , void of solemn fire . before the gradual , prostrate they ador'd ; the pavement kiss'd , and thus the saint implor'd . o righteous themis , if the pow'rs above by pray'rs are bent to pity , and to love , if humane miseries can move their mind ; if yet they can forgive ; and yet be kind , tell , how we may restore , by second birth , mankind , and people desolated earth . then thus the gracious goddess , nodding , said ; depart , and with your vestments veil your head : and stooping lowly down , with loosn'd zones , throw each behind your backs , your mighty mother's bones . amaz'd the pair , and mute with wonder stand , till pyrrha first refus'd the dire command . forbid it heav'n , said she , that i shou'd tear those holy reliques from the sepulchre : they ponder'd the mysterious words again , for some new sence ; and long they sought in vain : at length deucalion clear'd his cloudy brow , and said , the dark aenigma will allow . a meaning , which if well i understand , from sacriledge will free the gods command : this earth our mighty mother is , the stones in her capacious body , are her bones . these we must cast behind : with hope and fear the woman did the new solution hear : the man diffides in his own augury , and doubts the gods ; yet both resolve to try . descending from the mount , they first unbind their vests , and veil'd , they cast the stones behind : the stones ( a miracle to mortal view , but long tradition makes it pass for true ) did first the rigour of their kind expell , and , suppl'd into softness , as they fell , then swell'd , and swelling , by degrees grew warm ; and took the rudiments of humane form. imperfect shapes : in marble such are seen when the rude chizzel does the man begin ; while yet the roughness of the stone remains , without the rising muscles , and the veins . the sappy parts , and next resembling juice , were turn'd to moisture , for the bodies use : supplying humours , blood , and nourishment ; the rest , ( too solid to receive a bent ; ) converts to bones ; and what was once a vein it s former name , and nature did retain . by help of pow'r divine , in little space what the man threw , assum'd a manly face ; and what the wife , renew'd the female race . hence we derive our nature ; born to bear laborious life ; and harden'd into care . the rest of animals , from teeming earth produc'd , in various forms receiv'd their birth . the native moisture , in its close retreat , digested by the sun 's aetherial heat , as in a kindly womb , began to breed : then swell'd , and quicken'd by the vital seed . and some in less , and some in longer space , were ripen'd into form , and took a several face . thus when the nile from pharian fields is fled , and seeks with ebbing tides , his ancient bed , the sat manure , with heav'nly fire is warm'd ; and crusted creatures , as in wombs are sorm'd ; these , when they turn the glebe , the peasants find ; some rude ; and yet unfinish'd in their kind : short of their limbs , a lame imperfect birth ; one half alive ; and one of lifeless earth . for heat and moisture , when in bodies joyn'd , the temper that results from either kind conception makes ; and fighting till they mix , their mingl'd atoms in each other six . thus nature's hand , the genial bed prepares , with friendly discord , and with fruitful wars . from hence the surface of the ground , with mud and slime besmear'd , ( the faeces of the flood ) receiv'd the rays of heav'n ; and sucking in the seeds of heat , new creatures did begin : some were of sev'ral sorts produc'd before , but of new monsters , earth created more . unwillingly , but yet she brought to light thee , python too , the wondring world to fright , and the new nations , with so dire a sight : so monstrous was his bulk , so large a space did his vast body , and long train embrace . whom phoebus basking on a bank espy'd ; e're now the god his arrows had not try'd but on the trembling deer , or mountain goat ; at this new quarry ; he prepares to shoot . though every shaft took place , he spent the store of his full quiver ; and 't was long before th' expiring serpent wallow'd in his gore . then , to preserve the fame of such a deed , for python slain , he pythian games decreed . where noble youths for mastership shou'd strive , to quoit , to run , and steeds and chariots drive ; the prize was fame : in witness of renown an oaken garland did the victor crown . the lawrel was not yet for triumphs born ; but every green , alike by phoebus worn , did with promiscuous grace , his flowing locks adorn . the transformation of daphne into a lawrel . the first and fairest of his loves , was she whom not blind fortune , but the dire decree of angry cupid forc'd him to desire : daphne her name , and peneus was her sire . swell'd with the pride , that new success attends he sees the stripling , while his bow he bends and thus insults him ; thou lascivious boy , are arms like these , for children to employ ? know such atchivements are my proper claim ; due to my vigour , and unerring aim : resistless are my shafts , and python late in such a feather'd death , has found his fate . take up thy torch , ( and lay my weapons by ) with that the feeble souls of lovers fry . to whom the son of venus thus reply'd , phoebus thy shafts are sure on all beside , but mine on phoebus , mine the fame shall be of all thy conquests , when i conquer thee . he said , and soaring , swiftly wing'd his flight : nor stopt but on parnassus airy height . two diff'rent shafts , he from his quiver draws ; one to repel desire , and one to cause . one shaft is pointed with refulgent gold ; to bribe the love , and make the lover bold : one blunt , and tipt with lead , whose base allay provokes disdain , and drives desire away . the blunted bolt , against the nymph he drest : but with the sharp , transfixt apollo's breast . th' enamour'd deity , pursues the chace ; the scornful damsel shuns his loath'd embrace : in hunting beasts of prey , her youth employs ; and phoebe rivals in her rural joys . with naked neck she goes , and shoulders bare ; and with a fillet binds her flowing hair. by many suitors sought , she mocks their pains , and still her vow'd virginity maintains . impatient of a yoke , the name of bride she shuns , and hates the joys she never try'd . on wilds and woods she fixes her desire : nor knows what youth and kindly love inspire . her father chides her oft ; thou ow'st , says he , a husband to thy self , a son to me . she , like a crime , abhors the nuptial bed : she glows with blushes , and she hangs her head . then casting round his neck her tender arms , sooths him with blandishments , and filial charms : give me , my lord , she said , to live and die a spotless maid , without the marriage tye. 't is but a small request ; i beg no more than what diana's father gave before . the good old sire , was softn'd to consent ; but said her wish wou'd prove her punishment : for so much youth , and so much beauty joyn'd oppos'd the state , which her desires design'd . the god of light , aspiring to her bed hopes what he seeks , with flattering fancies fed ; and is , by his own oracles mis-led . and as in empty fields , the stubble burns , or nightly travellers , when day returns , their useless torches , on dry hedges throw , that catch the flames , and kindle all the row , so burns the god , consuming in desire , and feeding in his breast a fruitless fire : her well-turn'd neck he view'd ( her neck was bare ) and on her shoulders her dishevel'd hair , oh were it comb'd , said he , with what a grace wou'd every waving curl , become her face ! he view'd her eyes , like heavenly lamps that shone , he view'd her lips , too sweet to view alone , her taper fingers , and her panting breast ; he praises all he sees , and for the rest believes the beauties yet unseen are best : swift as the wind , the damsel fled away , nor did for these alluring speeches stay : stay nymph , he cry'd , i follow not a foe . thus from the lyon , trips the trembling doe ; thus from the wolf the frightn'd lamb removes , and , from pursuing faulcons , fearful doves , thou shunn'st a god , and shunn'st a god that loves . ah , lest some thorn shou'd pierce thy tender foot , or thou shou'd'st fall in flying my pursuit ! to sharp uneven ways thy steps decline ; abate thy speed , and i will bate of mine . yet think from whom thou dost so rashly fly ; nor basely born , nor shepherd's swain am i. perhaps thou know'st not my superior state ; and , from that ignorance , proceeds thy hate . me claros , delphos , tenedos obey , these hands the patareian scepter sway . the king of gods begot me : what shall be , or is , or ever was , in fate , i see . mine is th' invention of the charming lyre ; sweet notes , and heav'nly numbers i inspire . sure is my bow , unerring is my dart ; but ah more deadly his , who pierc'd my heart . med'cine is mine ; what herbs and simples grow in fields and forrests , all their pow'rs i know ; and am the great physician call'd , below . alas that fields and forrests can afford no remedies to heal their love-sick lord ! to cure the pains of love , no plant avails : and his own physick ; the physician fails . she heard not half ; so furiously she flies ; and on her ear , th' imperfect accent dies . fear gave her wings ; and as she fled , the wind increasing , spread her flowing hair behind : and left her legs and thighs expos'd to view ; which made the god more eager to pursue . the god was young , and was too hotly bent to lose his time in empty compliment . but led by love , and fir'd with such a sight , impetuously pursu'd his near delight . as when th'impatient greyhound slipt from far , bounds o're the glebe to course the fearful hare , she in her speed , does all her safety lay ; and he with double speed pursues the prey ; o're-runs her at the sitting turn , and licks his chaps in vain , and blows upon the flix , she scapes , and for the neighb'ring covert strives , and gaining shelter , doubts if yet she lives : if little things with great we may compare , such was the god , and such the flying fair. she urg'd by fear , her feet did swiftly move ; but he more swiftly , who was urg'd by love. he gathers ground upon her in the chace : now breaths upon her hair , with nearer pace ; and just is fast'ning on the wish'd embrace . the nymph grew pale , and in a mortal fright , spent with the labour of so long a flight : and now despairing , cast a mournful look upon the streams of her paternal brook : oh help , she cry'd , in this extreamest need , if water gods are deities indeed : gape earth , and this unhappy wretch intomb ; or change my form , whence all my sorrows come . scarce had she finish'd , when her feet she found benumm'd with cold , and fasten'd to the ground : a filmy rind about her body grows ; her hair to leaves , her arms extend to boughs : the nymph is all into a lawrel gone : the smoothness of her skin , remains alone . yet phoebus loves her still , and casting round her bole , his arms , some little warmth he found . the tree still panted in th' unfinish'd part : not wholly vegetive , and heav'd her heart . he fixt his lips upon the trembling rind ; it swerv'd aside , and his embrace declin'd . to whom the god , because thou can'st not be my mistress , i espouse thee for my tree : be thou the prize of honour and renown ; the deathless poet , and the poem crown . thou shalt the roman festivals adorn , and , after poets , be by victors worn . thou shalt returning caesar's triumph grace ; when pomps shall in a long procession pass . wreath'd on the posts before his palace wait ; and be the sacred guardian of the gate . secure from thunder , and unharm'd by jove , unfading as th' immortal pow'rs above : and as the locks of phoebus are unshorn , so shall perpetual green thy boughs adorn . the grateful tree was pleas'd with what he sed ; and shook the shady honours of her head. the transformation of io into a heyfar . an ancient forrest in thessalia grows ; which tempe's pleasing valley does inclose : through this the rapid peneus takes his course ; from pindus rowling with impetuous force : mists from the rivers mighty fall arise ; and deadly damps inclose the cloudy skies : perpetual fogs are hanging o're the wood ; and sounds of waters deaf the neighbourhood . deep , in a rocky cave , he makes abode : ( a mansion proper for a mourning god. ) here he gives audience ; issuing out decrees to rivers , his dependant deities . on this occasion hither they resort ; to pay their homage and to make their court. all doubtful , whether to congratulate his daughter's honour , or lament her fate . sperchaeus , crown'd with poplar , first appears ; then old apidanus came crown'd with years : enipeus turbulent , amphrisos tame ; and aeas , last with lagging waters came . then , of his kindred brooks , a numerous throng , condole his loss ; and bring their urns along . not one was wanting of the watry train , that fill'd his flood , or mingl'd with the main : but inachus , who in his cave , alone , wept not anothers losses , but his own . for his dear io , whether stray'd , or dead , to him uncertain , doubtful tears he shed . he sought her through the world ; but sought in vain ; and no where finding , rather fear'd her slain . her , just returning from her father's brook , jove had beheld , with a desiring look : and oh fair daughter of the flood , he sed , worthy alone of jove's imperial bed ; happy whoever shall those charms possess ; the king of gods , nor is thy lover less , invites thee to yon cooler shades ; to shun the scorching rays of the meridian sun. nor shalt thou tempt the dangers of the grove alone , without a guide ; thy guide is jove . no puny pow'r , but he whose high command is unconfin'd , who rules the seas and land ; and tempers thunder in his awful hand . oh fly not ; ( for she fled from his embrace , ) o're lerna's pastures , he pursu'd the chace : along the shades of the lyrnoean plain ; at length the god , who never asks in vain , involv'd with vapours , imitating night , both air and earth ; and then suppress'd her flight and mingling force with love enjoy'd the full delight . mean time the jealous juno , from on high , survey'd the fruitful fields of arcady : and wonder'd that the mist shou'd over-run the face of day-light , and obscure the sun. no nat'ral cause the found , from brooks , or bogs , or marshy lowlands , to produce the fogs : then round the skies she sought for jupiter ; her faithless husband ; but no jove was there : suspecting now the worst , or i , she said , am much mistaken , or am much betray'd . with fury she precipitates her flight : dispels the shadows of dissembled night ; and to the day restores his native light . th' almighty leacher , careful to prevent the consequence , foreseeing her descent , transforms his mistress in a trice ; and now in io's place appears a lovely cow. so slick her skin , so faultless was her make , ev'n juno did unwilling pleasure take to see so fair a rival of her love ; and what she was , and whence , enquir'd of jove : of what sair herd , and from what pedigree ? the god , half caught , was forc'd upon a lye : and said she sprung from earth ; she took the word , and begg'd the beauteous heyfar of her lord. what should he do , 't was equal shame to jove or to relinquish , or betray his love : yet to refuse so slight a gift , wou'd be but more t' increase his consort 's jealousie : thus fear and love , by turns his heart assail'd ; and stronger love had sure , at length prevail'd : but some faint hope remain'd , his jealous queen had not the mistress through the heyfar seen . the cautious goddess , of her gift possest , yet harbour'd anxious thoughts within her breast ; as she who knew the falshood of her jove ; and justly fear'd some new relapse of love. which to prevent , and to secure her care , to trusty argus , she commits the fair. the head of argus ( as with stars the skies ) was compass'd round , and wore an hundred eyes . but two by turns their lids in slumber steep ; the rest on duty still their station keep ; nor cou'd the total constellation sleep . thus , ever present , to his eyes and mind , his charge was still before him , tho' behind . in fields he suffer'd her to feed by day , but when the setting sun , to night gave way , the captive cow he summon'd with a call ; and drove her back , and ty'd her to the stall . on leaves of trees , and bitter herbs she fed , heav'n was her canopy , bare earth her bed : so hardly lodg'd , and to digest her food , she drank from troubl'd streams , defil'd with mud , her woesul story , fain she wou'd have told with hands upheld , but had no hands to hold . her head to her ungentle keeper bow'd , she strove to speak , she spoke not , but she low'd : affrighted with the noise , she look'd around , and seem'd t' inquire the author of the sound . once on the banks where often she had play'd , ( her father's banks ) she came , and there survey'd her alter'd visage , and her branching head ; and starting , from her self she wou'd have fled . her fellow nymphs , familiar to her eyes , beheld , but knew her not in this disguise . ev'n inachus himself was ignorant ; and in his daughter , did his daughter want . she follow'd where her fellows went , as she were still a partner of the company : they stroke her neck , the gentle heyfar stands , and her neck offers to their stroaking hands . her father gave her grass ; the grass she took ; and lick'd his palms , and cast a piteous look ; and in the language of her eyes , she spoke . she wou'd have told her name , and ask't relief , but wanting words , in tears she tells her grief . which , with her foot she makes him understand ; and prints the name of io in the sand. ah wretched me , her mournful father cry'd , she , with a sigh , to wretched me reply'd ; about her milk-white neck , his arms he threw ; and wept , and then these tender words ensue . and art thou she , whom i have sought around the world , and have at length so sadly found ? so found is worse than lost : with mutual words thou answer'st not , no voice thy tongue affords : but sighs are deeply drawn from out thy breast ; and speech deny'd , by lowing is express'd . unknowing i , prepar'd thy bridal bed ; with empty hopes of happy issue fed . but now the husband of a herd must be thy mate , and bell'wing sons thy progeny . oh , were i mortal , death might bring relief ; but now my god-head , but extends my grief : prolongs my woes , of which no end i see , and makes me curse my immortality ! more had he said , but , fearful of her stay , the starry guardian drove his charge away , to some fresh pasture ; on a hilly height he sate himself , and kept her still in sight . the eyes of argus transform'd into a peacock's train . now jove no longer cou'd her suff'rings bear ; but call'd in haste his airy messenger , the son of maya , with severe decree to kill the keeper , and to set her free . with all his harness soon the god was sped , his flying hat was fastned on his head , wings on his heels were hung , and in his hand , he holds the virtue of the snaky wand . the liquid air , his moving pinions wound , and , in a moment , shoot him on the ground , before he came in sight , the crafty god his wings dismiss'd , but still retain'd his rod : that sleep procuring wand , wise hermes took , but made it seem to sight , a shepherd's hook. with this , he did a herd of goats controul ; which by the way he met , and slily stole . clad like a country swain , he pip'd and sung ; and playing drove his jolly troop along . with pleasure , argus the musician heeds ; but wonders much at those new vocal reeds . and whosoe're thou art , my friend , said he , up hither drive thy goats , and play by me : this hill has browz for them , and shade for thee ; the god , who was with ease induc'd to climb , began discourse to pass away the time ; and still betwixt , his tuneful pipe he plyes ; and watch'd his hour , to close the keeper's eyes . with much ado , he partly kept awake ; not suff'ring all his eyes repose to take : and ask'd the stranger , who did reeds invent , and whence began so rare an instrument ? the transformation of syrinx into reeds . then hermes thus ; a nymph of late there was , whose heav'nly form , her fellows did surpass . the pride and joy of fair arcadia's plains , belov'd by deities , ador'd by swains : syrinx her name , by sylvans oft pursu'd , as oft she did the lustful gods delude : the rural , and the woodland pow'rs disdain'd ; with cynthia hunted , and her rites maintain'd : like phoebe clad , even phoebe's self she seems , so tall , so streight , such well proportion'd limbs : the nicest eye did no distinction know , but that the goddess bore a golden bow , distinguish'd thus , the sight she cheated too . descending from lycoeus , pan admires the matchless nymph , and burns with new defires . a crown of pine , upon his head he wore ; and thus began her pity to implore . but e're he thus began , she took her flight so swist , she was already out of sight . nor stay'd to hear the courtship of the god ; but bent her course to ladon's gentle flood : there by the river stopt , and tyr'd before ; relief from water nymphs her pray'rs implore . now while the lustful god , with speedy pace , just thought to strain her in a strict embrace , he fill'd his arms with reeds , new rising on the place . and while he sighs , his ill-success to find , the tender canes were shaken by the wind : and breath'd a mournful air , unhear'd before ; that much surprizing pan ; yet pleas'd him more . admiring this new musick , thou , he sed who can'st not be the partner of my bed , at least shalt be the consort of my mind : and often , often to my lips be joyn'd . he form'd the reeds , proportion'd as they are , unequal in their length , and wax'd with care , they still retain the name of his ungrateful fair. while hermes pip'd and sung , and told his tale , the keeper's winking eyes began to fail ; and drowsie slumber , on the lids to creep , 'till all the watchman was , at length , asleep . then soon the god , his voice and song supprest ; and with his pow'rful rod , confirm'd his rest : without delay his crooked faulchion , drew , and at one fatal stroak , the keeper slew . down from the rock , fell the dissever'd head , opening its eyes in death ; and falling bled : and mark'd the passage with a crimson trail ; thus argus lies in pieces cold and pale : and all his hundred eyes , with all their light , are clos'd at once , in one perpetual night . these juno takes , that they no more may fail , and spreads them in her peacock's gaudy tail . impatient to revenge her injur'd bed she wreaks her anger , on her rival's head ; with furies frights her , from her native home ; and drives her gadding , round the world to roam . nor ceas'd her madness and her flight , before she touch'd the limits of the pharian shore . at length , arriving on the banks of nile , weary'd with length of ways , and worn with toil , she laid her down ; and leaning on her knees , invok'd the cause of all her miseries : and cast her languishing regards above for help from heav'n and her ungrateful jove . she sigh'd , she wept , she low'd , 't was all she cou'd ; and with unkindness seem'd to tax the god. last , with an humble pray'r , she begg'd repose , or death at least , to finish all her woes . jove heard her vows , and with a flatt'ring look , in her behalf , to jealous juno spoke . he cast his arms about her neck , and sed , dame rest secure ; no more thy nuptial bed this nymph shall violate ; by styx i swear , and every oath that binds the thunderer . the goddess was appeas'd ; and at the word was io to her former shape restor'd . the rugged hair began to fall away ; the sweetness of her eyes did only stay ; tho' not so large ; her crooked horns decrease ; the wideness of her jaws and nostrils cease : her hoofs to hands return , in little space : the five long taper fingers take their place . and nothing of the heyfar now is seen , beside the native whiteness of the skin . erected on her feet she walks again ; and two the duty of the four sustain . she tries her tongue ; her silence softly breaks , and fears her former lowings when she speaks : a goddess now , through all th' egyptian state : and serv'd by priests , who in white linnen wait . her son was epaphus , at length believ'd the son of jove , and as a god receiv'd : with sacrifice ador'd , and publick pray'rs , he common temples with his mother shares . equal in years and rival in renown with epaphus , the youthful phaeton like honour claims ; and boasts his sire the sun. his haughty looks , and his assuming air the son of isis cou'd no longer bear : thou tak'st thy mother's word , too far , said he , and hast usurp'd thy boasted pedigree . go base pretender to a borrow'd name . thus tax'd , he blush'd with anger , and with shame ; but shame repress'd his rage : the daunted youth soon seeks his mother , and enquires the truth : mother , said he , this infamy was thrown by epaphus on you , and me your son. he spoke in publick , told it to my face ; nor durst i vindicate the dire disgrace : even i , the bold , the sensible of wrong , restrain'd by shame , was forc'd to hold my tongue . to hear an open slander is a curse ; but not to find an answer , is a worse . if i am heav'n-begot , assert your son by some sure sign : and make my father known , to right my honour , and redeem your own . he said , and saying cast his arms about her neck , and begg'd her to resolve the doubt . 't is hard to judge if climenè were mov'd more by his pray'r , whom she so dearly lov'd , or more with fury fir'd , to find her name traduc'd , and made the sport of common fame . she stretch'd her arms to heav'n , and fix'd her eyes on that fair planet , that adorns the skies ; now by those beams , said she , whose holy fires consume my breast , and kindle my desires ; by him , who sees us both , and chears our sight , by him the publick minister of light , i swear that sun begot thee ; if i lye let him his chearful influence deny : let him no more this perjur'd creature see ; and shine on all the world , but only me : if still you doubt your mother's innocence , his eastern mansion is not far from hence , with little pains , you to his levè go , and from himself , your parentage may know . with joy , th' ambitious youth , his mother heard , and eager , for the journey soon prepar'd . he longs the world beneath him to survey ; to guide the chariot ; and to give the day . from meroe's burning sands , he bends his course , nor less in india , feels his father's force : his travel urging , till he came in sight ; and saw the palace by the purple light . the end of the first book of ovid 's metamorphoses . the fable of iphis and ianthe , from the ninth book of the metamorphoses . english'd by mr. dryden . the fame of this , perhaps , through crete had flown : but crete had newer wonders of her own , in iphis chang'd : for , near the gnossian bounds , ( as loud report the miracle resounds ) at phoestus dwelt a man of honest blood : but meanly born , and not so rich as good ; esteem'd and loy'd by all the neighbourhood . who to his wife , before the time assign'd for child-birth came ; thus bluntly spoke his mind . if heav'n , said lygdus , will vouchsafe to hear ; i have but two petitions to prefer : short pains for thee ; for me a son and heir . girls cost as many throws , in bringing forth : besides when born , the titts are little worth . weak puling things , unable to sustain their share of labour , and their bread to gain . if , therefore , thou a creature shalt produce of so great charges , and so little use , ( bear witness heav'n , with what reluctancy , ) her hapless innocence i doom to dye . he said , and tears the common grief display of him who bade , and her who must obey . yet telethusa still persists to find , fit arguments to move a father's mind : t' extend his wishes to a larger scope ; and in one vessel not confine his hope . lygdus continues hard : her time drew near , and she her heavy load cou'd scarcely bear : when slumb'ring , in the latter shades of night , before th' approaches of returning light , she saw , or thought she saw , before her bed a glorious train , and isis at their head : her moony horns were on her forehead plac'd , and yellow sheaves her shining temples grac'd : a mitre , for a crown , she wore on high : the dog and dappl'd bull were waiting by ; osyris , sought along the banks of nile ; the silent god ; the sacred crocodile : and , last , a long procession moving on , with timbrels , that assist the lab'ring moon . her slumbers seem'd dispell'd , and , broad awake , she heard a voice , that thus distinctly spake . my votary , thy babe from death defend ; nor fear to save whate're the gods will send . delude with art , thy husband 's dire decree ; when danger calls , repose thy trust on me : and know thou hast not serv'd a thankless deity . this promise made ; with night the goddess fled : with joy the woman wakes , and leaves her bed : devoutly lifts her spotless hands on high ; and prays the pow'rs , their gift to ratifie . now grinding pains proceed to bearing throws , till its own weight the burden did disclose . 't was of the beauteous kind : and brought to light with secresie , to shun the father's sight . th' indulgent mother did her care employ ; and pass'd it on her husband for a boy . the nurse was conscious of the fact alone : the father paid his vows , as for a son. and call'd him iphis , by a common name which either sex , with equal right may claim . iphis , his grandsire was ; the wife was pleas'd , of half the fraud , by fortune's favour eas'd : the doubtful name was us'd without deceit , and truth was cover'd with a pious cheat. the habit shew'd a boy , the beauteous face with manly fierceness mingl'd female grace . now thirteen years of age were swiftly run , when the fond father thought the time drew on of settling in the world , his only son , ianthe was his choice ; so wondrous fair her form alone with iphis cou'd compare ; a neighbour's daughter of his own degree ; and not more blest with fortunes goods than he . they soon espous'd ; for they with ease were joyn'd , who were before contracted in the mind . their age the same , their inclinations too : and bred together , in one school they grew . thus , fatally dispos'd to mutual fires , they felt , before they knew , the same desires . equal their flame , unequal was their care ; one lov'd with hope , one languish'd in despair . the maid accus'd the ling'ring days alone : for whom she thought a man , she thought her own . but iphis bends beneath a greater grief ; as fiercely burns , but hopes for no relief . ev'n her despair , adds fuel to her fire ; a maid with madness does a maid desire . and , scarce refraining tears , alas , said she , what issue of my love remains for me ! how wild a passion works within my breast , with what prodigious flames am i possest ! cou'd i the care of providence deserve , heav'n must destroy me , if it wou'd preserve . and that 's my fate ; or sure it wou'd have sent some usual evil for my punishment : not this unkindly curse ; to rage and burn where nature shews no prospect of return . nor cows for cows consume with fruitless fire , nor mares when hot , their fellow mares desire : the father of the fold supplies his ewes ; the stag through secret woods his hind pursues : and birds for mates , the males of their own species chuse . her females nature guards from female flame , and joyns two sexes to preserve the game : wou'd i were nothing , or not what i am ! crete fam'd for monsters wanted of her store ; till my new love produc'd one monster more . the daughter of the sun a bull desir'd , and yet ev'n then , a male , a female fir'd : her passion was extravagantly new ; but mine is much the madder of the two . to things impossible she was not bent ; but found the means to compass her intent . to cheat his eyes , she took a different shape : yet still she gain'd a lover , and a leap . shou'd all the wit of all the world conspire , shou'd doedalus assist my wild desire , what art can make me able to enjoy , or what can change ianthe to a boy ? extinguish then thy passion , hopeless maid , and recollect thy reason for thy aid . know what thou art , and love as maidens ought ; and drive these golden wishes from thy thought . thou canst not hope thy fond desires to gain ; where hope is wanting , wishes are in vain . and yet no guards , against our joys conspire ; no jealous husband , hinders our desire : my parents are propitious to my wish and she her self consenting to the bliss . all things concur , to prosper our design : all things to prosper any love but mine . and yet i never can enjoy the fair : 't is past the pow'r of heav'n to grant my pray'r . heav'n has been kind , as far as heav'n can be ; our parents with our own desires agree , but nature , stronger than the gods above , refuses her assistance to my love . she sets the bar , that causes all my pain : one gift refus'd , makes all their bounty vain . and now the happy day is just at hand , to bind our hearts in hymen's holy band : our hearts , but not our bodies : thus , accurs'd , in midst of water , i complain of thirst . why com'st thou , juno , to these barren rites , to bless a bed , defrauded of delights ? or why shou'd hymen lift his torch on high , to see two brides in cold embraces lye ? thus love-sick iphis her vain passion mourns : with equal ardour fair ianthe burns : invoking hymen's name and juno's pow'r to speed the work , and haste the happy hour . she hopes , while telethusa fears the day ; and strives to interpose some new delay : now feigns a sickness , now is in a fright for this bad omen , or that boding sight . but having done whate're she cou'd devise , and empty'd all her magazine of lies , the time approach'd : the next ensuing day the fatal secret must to light betray . then telethusa had recourse to pray'r , she and her daughter with dishevell'd hair : trembling with fear , great isis they ador'd ; embrac'd her altar , and her aid implor'd . fair queen , whodost on fruitful egypt smile , who sway'st the sceptre of the pharian isle , and sev'n-fold falls of disimbogueing nile ; relieve , in this our last distress , she said , a suppliant mother , and a mournful maid . thou goddess , thou wert present to my sight ; reveal'd i saw thee , by thy own fair light : i saw thee in my dream , as now i see with all thy marks of awful majesty : the glorious train , that compass'd thee around ; and heard the hollow timbrels holy sound . thy words i noted , which i still retain ; let not thy sacred oracles be vain . that iphis lives , that i my self am free from shame and punishment , i owe to thee . on thy protection , all our hopes depend : thy counsel sav'd us , let thy pow'r defend . her tears pursu'd her words ; and while she spoke the goddess nodded , and her altar shook : the temple doors , as with a blast of wind , were heard to clap ; the lunar horns that bind the brows of isis , cast a blaze around ; the trembling timbrel , made a murm'ring sound . some hopes these happy omens did impart ; forth went the mother with a beating heart : not much in fear , nor fully satisfi'd ; but iphis follow'd with a larger stride : the whiteness of her skin forsook her face ; her looks emboldn'd , with an awful grace ; her features and her strength together grew ; and her long hair , to curling locks withdrew . her sparkling eyes , with manly vigour shone , big was her voice , audacious was her tone . the latent parts , at length reveal'd , began to shoot , and spread , and burnish into man. the maid becomes a youth ; no more delay your vows , but look , and confidently pay . their gifts , the parents to the temple bear : the votive tables , this inscription wear ; iphis the man , has to the goddess paid , the vows that iphis offer'd , when a maid . now , when the star of day had shewn his face , venus and juno with their presence grace the nuptial rites , and hymen from above descending to compleat their happy love : the gods of marriage , lend their mutual aid ; and the warm youth enjoys the lovely maid . the fable of acis , polyphemus , and galatea , from the thirteenth book of the metamorphoses , by mr. dryden . galatea relates the story . acis , the lovely youth , whose loss i mourn , from faunus and the nymph symethis born , was both his parents pleasure : but , to me was all that love cou'd make a lover be . the gods our minds in mutual bands did joyn ; i was his only joy , as he was mine . now sixteen summers the sweet youth had seen ; and doubtful down , began to shade his chin : when polyphemus first disturb'd our joy ; and lov'd me fiercely , as i lov'd the boy . ask not which passion in my soul was high'r , my last aversion , or my first desire : nor this the greater was , nor that the less : both were alike ; for both were in excess . thee , venus , thee , both heav'n and earth obey ; immense thy pow'r , and boundless is thy sway. the cyclops , who desi'd th' aetherial throne , and thought no thunder louder than his own , the terrour of the woods , and wilder far than wolves in plains , or bears in forrests are , th' inhumane host , who made his bloody feasts on mangl'd members , of his butcher'd guests , yet felt the force of love , and fierce desire , and burnt for me , with unrelenting fire . forgot his caverns , and his woolly care , assum'd the softness of a lover's air ; and comb'd , with teeth of rakes , his rugged hair . now with a crooked sythe his beard he sleeks ; and mows the stubborn stubble of his cheeks : now , in the crystal stream he looks , to try his simagres , and rowls his glaring eye . his cruelty and thirst of blood are lost ; and ships securely sail along the coast. the prophet telemus ( arriv'd by chance where aetna's summets to the seas advance , who mark'd the tracts of every bird that flew , and sure presages from their flying drew , ) foretold the cyclops , that ulysses hand in his broad eye , shou'd thrust a flaming brand. the giant , with a scornful grin reply'd , vain augur , thou hast falsely prophesi'd ; already love , his flaming brand has tost ; looking on two fair eyes , my sight i lost . thus , warn'd in vain , with stalking pace he strode , and stamp'd the margine of the briny flood , with heavy steps : and weary , sought agen , the cool retirement of his gloomy den. a promontory sharp'ning by degrees , ends in a wedge , and over-looks the seas : on either side , below , the water flows ; this airy walk , the giant lover chose . here , on the midst he sate : his flocks , unled , their shepherd follow'd , and securely fed . a pine so burly , and of length so vast , that sailing ships requir'd it for a mast , he weilded for a staff ; his steps to guide : but laid it by , his whistle while he try'd . a hundred reeds , of a prodigious growth , scarce made a pipe , proportion'd to his mouth : which , when he gave it wind , the rocks around , and watry plains , the dreadful hiss resound . i heard the ruffian-shepherd rudely blow where , in a hollow cave , i sat below ; on acis bosom i my head reclin'd : and still preserve the poem in my mind . oh lovely galatea , whiter far than falling snows , and rising lillies are ; more flowry than the meads , as crystal bright , erect as alders , and of equal height : more wanton than a kid , more sleek thy skin than orient shells , that on the shores are seen . than apples fairer , when the boughs they lade , pleasing as winter suns or summer shade : more grateful to the sight , than goodly planes ; and softer to the touch , than down of swans ; or curds new turn'd : and sweeter to the taste than swelling grapes , that to the vintage haste : more clear than ince , or running streams , that stray through garden plots , but ah more swift than they . yet , galatea , harder to be broke , than bullocks , unreclaim'd to bear the yoke , and far more stubborn , than the knotted oak : like sliding streams , impossible to hold ; like them fallacious , like their fountains cold . more warping than the willow , to decline my warm embrace , more brittle than the vine ; immoveable and fixt in thy disdain ; rough as these rocks , and of a harder grain . more violent than is the rising flood ; and the prais'd peacock is not half so proud . fierce as the fire , and sharp as thistles are , and more outragious than a mother-bear : deaf as the billows to the vows i make ; and more revengeful , than a trodden snake . in swiftness fleeter , than the flying hind ; or driven tempests , or the driving wind. all other faults , with patience i can bear ; but swiftness is the vice i only fear . yet if you knew me well , you wou'd not shun my love , but to my wish'd embraces run : wou'd languish in your turn , and court my stay ; and much repent of your unwise delay . my palace , in the living rock , is made by nature's hand ; a spacious pleasing shade : which neither heat can pierce , nor cold invade . my garden fill'd with fruits you may behold , and grapes in clusters , imitating gold ; some blushing bunches of a purple hue : and these and those , are all reserv'd for you . red strawberries , in shades , expecting stand , proud to be gather'd by so white a hand . autumnal cornels , latter fruit provide ; and plumbs to tempt you , turn their glossy side : not those of common kinds ; but such alone as in phoeacian orchards might have grown : nor chestnuts shall be wanting to your food , nor garden-fruits , nor wildings of the wood ; the laden boughs for you alone shall bear ; and yours shall be the product of the year . the flocks you see , are all my own ; beside the rest that woods , and winding vallies hide ; and those that folded in the caves abide . ask not the numbers of my growing store ; who knows how many , knows he has no more . nor will i praise my cattel , trust not me ; but judge your self , and pass your own decree : behold their swelling dugs ; the sweepy weight of ews that sink beneath the milky fraight ; in the warm folds , their tender lambkins lye ; apart from kids , that call with humane cry . new milk in nut-brown bowls , is duely serv'd for daily drink ; the rest for cheese reserv'd . nor are these house-hold dainties all my store : the fields and forrests will afford us more ; the deer , the hare , the goat , the salvage boar. all sorts of ven'son ; and of birds the best ; a pair of turtles taken from the nest. i walk'd the mountains , and two cubs i found , ( whose dam had left 'em on the naked ground , ) so like , that no distinction cou'd be seen : so pretty , they were presents for a queen ; and so they shall ; i took 'em both away ; and keep , to be companions of your play. oh raise , fair nymph , your beauteous face above the waves ; nor scorn my presents , and my love. come , galatea , come , and view my face ; i late beheld it , in the watry glass ; and found it lovelier than i fear'd it was . survey my towring stature , and my size : not jove , the jove you dream that rules the skies bears such a bulk , or is so largely spread : my locks , ( the plenteous harvest of my head ) hang o're my manly face ; and dangling down as with a shady grove , my shoulders crown . nor think , because my limbs and body bear a thick set underwood of bristling hair , my shape deform'd ; what fouler sight can be than the bald branches of a leafless tree ? foul is the steed , without a flowing main : and birds without their feathers and their train . wool decks the sheep ; and man receives a grace from bushy limbs , and from a bearded face . my forehead , with a single eye is fill'd , round as a ball , and ample as a shield . the glorious lamp of heav'n , the radiant sun is nature's eye ; and is content with one . add , that my father sways your seas , and i like you am of the watry family . i make you his , in making you my own ; you i adore ; and kneel to you alone : jove , with his fabled thunder i despise , and only fear the lightning of your eyes . frown not , fair nymph ; yet i cou'd bear to be disdain'd , if others were disdain'd with me . but to repulse the cyclops , and prefer the love of acis , ( heav'ns ) i cannot bear . but let the stripling please himself ; nay more , please you , tho' that 's the thing i most abhor , the boy shall find , if e're we cope in fight , these giant limbs , endu'd with giant might . his living bowels , from his belly torn , and scatter'd limbs , shall on the flood be born : thy flood , ungrateful nymph , and fate shall find that way for thee , and acis to be joyn'd . for oh i burn with love , and thy disdain augments at once my passion , and my pain . translated aetna flames within my heart , and thou , inhumane , wilt not ease my smart . lamenting thus in vain , he rose , and strode with furious paces to the neighb'ring wood : restless his feet , distracted was his walk ; mad were his motions , and confus'd his talk . mad as the vanquish'd bull , when forc'd to yield his lovely mistress , and forsake the field . thus far unseen i saw : when fatal chance his looks directing , with a sudden glance , acis and i , were to his sight betray'd ; where nought suspecting we securely play'd . from his wide mouth , a bellowing cry he cast i see , i see ; but this shall be your last : a roar so loud made aetna to rebound ; and all the cyclops labour'd in the sound . affrighted with his monstrous voice , i fled , and in the neighb'ring ocean , plung'd my head . poor acis turn'd his back , and help , he cry'a ; help , galatea , help , my parent gods , and take me dying , to your deep abodes . the cyclops follow'd : but he sent before a rib , which from the living rock he tore , though but an angle reach'd him of the stone , the mighty fragment was enough alone to crush all acis ; 't was too late to save , but what the fates allow'd to give , i gave : that acis to his lineage should return ; and rowl , among the river gods , his urn. straight issu'd from the stone , a stream of blood ; which lost the purple , mingling with the flood . then , like a troubl'd torrent , it appear'd : the torrent too , in little space was clear'd . the stone was cleft , and through the yawning chink , new reeds arose on the new river's brink . the rock , from out its hollow womb , disclos'd a sound like water in its course oppos'd . when , ( wondrous to behold , ) full in the flood , up starts a youth , and navel high he stood . horns from his temples rise ; and either horn thick wreaths of reeds ( his native growth ) adorn . were not his stature taller than before , his bulk augmented , and his beauty more : his colour blue , for acis he might pass : and acis chang'd into a stream he was . but mine no more ; he rowls along the plains with rapid motion , and his name retains . on mr. hobs . written by the e. of mulgrave . such is the mode of these censorious days , the art is lost of knowing how to praise ; poets are envious now , and fools alone admire at wit , because themselves have none . yet , whatsoe're is by vain criticks thought , praising is harder much , than finding fault ; in homely pieces ev'n the dutch excel , italians only can draw beauty well . as strings alike wound up , so equal prove , that one resounding makes the other move ; from a like cause satyrs have pleas'd so much , we simpathize with each ill-natur'd touch : and , as the sharp infection spreads about , the reader 's malice helps the writer out . to blame , is easie ; to commend , is bold ; yet , if the muse inspires it , who can hold ? to merit we are bound to give applause , content to suffer in so just a cause . while in dark ignorance men lay afraid of fancies , ghosts , and ev'ry empty shade ; great hobs appear'd , and by his reason's light put such fantastick forms to shameful flight : fond is their fear , who think we needs must be to vice enslav'd , if from vain terrours free ; the wise and good morality will guide , and superstition all the world beside . in other authors , tho the sense be good , 't is not sometimes so eas'ly understood , that jewel oft unpolish'd has remain'd , some words shou'd be left out , and some explain'd : so that in search of sense we either stray , or else grow weary in so rough a way : but here bright eloquence does always smile in such a choice , yet unaffected stile , as does both knowledge and delight impart , the force of reason with the flow'rs of art ; clear as a beautiful transparent skin , which never hides the blood , yet holds it in : like a delicious stream it ever ran , as smooth as woman , but as strong as man. bacon himself , whose universal wit does admiration through the world beget , not more his age's ornament is thought , nor has more credit to his country brought . while fame is young , too weak to fly away , envy pursues her , like some bird of prey ; but once on wing , then all the dangers cease , envy her self is glad to be at peace ; gives over , weary'd with so high a flight , above her reach , and scarce within her sight : he , to this happy pitch arriv'd at last , might have look'd down with pride , on dangers past . but such the frailty is of humane kind , men toil for fame , which no man lives to find ; long rip'ning under ground this china lies ; fame bears no fruit , till the vain planter dies . and nature , tir'd with his unusual length oflife , which put her to her utmost strength , so vast a soul unable to supply , to save her self , was forc'd to let him die . on the death of the learned mr. john selden . so fell the sacred sybill , when of old inspir'd with more than mortal breast cou'd hold , the gazing multitude stood doubtful by whether to call it death , or extasie : she silent lies , and now the nations find no oracles but the leaves she left behind . monarch of time and arts , who travel'd'st o're new worlds of knowledge , undescry'd before , and hast on everlasting columns writ the utmost bounds of learning and of wit. had'st thou been more like us ; or we like thee , we might add something to thy memory . now thy own tongues must speak thee , and thy praise be from those monuments thy self did'st raise ; and all those * titles thou did'st once display must yield thee titles greater far than they . time which had wings till now , and was not known to have a being but by being gone , you did arrest his motion , and have lent a way to make him fixt and permanent ; whilst by your labours ages past appear , and all at once we view a plato's year . actions and fables were retriev'd by you ; all that was done , and what was not done too . which in your breast did comprehended lye , as in the bosom of eternity ; you purg'd records and * authors from their rust , and sifted pearls out of rabinick dust . by you the † syrian gods do live and grow to be immortal , since you made them so . inscriptions , medals , ‖ statues look fresh still , taking new brass and marble from your quill ; which so unravels time , that now we do live our own age , and our forefathers too , and , thus enlarg'd , by your discoveries , can make that an ell , which nature made a span. if then we judge , that to preserve the state of things , is every moment to create , the world 's thus half your creature , whilst it stands rescu'd to memory by your learned hands . and unto you , now fearless of decay , times past owe more , than times to come can pay . how might you claim your country's just applause , when you stood square and upright as your cause in doubtful times , nor ever would forego fair truth and right , whose bounds you best did know . you in the tow'r did stand another tower , firm to your self and us , whilst jealous power your very soul imprison'd , that no thought by books might enter , nor by pen get out ; and , strip'd of all besides , left you confin'd to the one volume of your own vast mind ; there vertue and strict honour past the guard , your only friends that could not be debarr'd ; and dwelt in your retirement ; arm'd with these you stood forth more than admiral of our seas . your hands enclos'd the * watry plains , and thus was no less fence to them , than they to us ; teaching our ships to conquer , while each fight is but a comment on those books you write . no foul disgraces , nor the worst of things , made you like him ( whose anger homer sings ) slack in your country's quarrel , who adore their champion now , their martyr heretofore : still with your self contending , whether you cou'd bravelier suffer , or cou'd bravelier do . we ask not now for ancestors , nor care tho selden do nor kindred boast , nor heir , such worth best stands alone , and joys to be to th' self at once both founder and posterity . as when old nilus who with bounteous flows waters an hundred nations as he goes , scattering rich harvest keeps his sacred head amongst the clouds still undiscovered . be 't now thy oxford's pride , that having gone through east and west , no art , nor tongue unknown ; laden with spoils thou hang'st thy arms up here , but set'st thy great example every where . thus when thy monument shall it self lie dead , and thy , * own epitaph no more be read , when all thy statues shall be worn out so , that even selden should not selden know ; ages to come shall in thy vertue share : he that dies well makes all the world his heir . r. b. t. co. oxon. decemb. . . against immoderate grief . to a young lady weeping . an ode in imitation of casimire . by mr. yalden. cou'd mournful sighs , or floods of tears prevent the ills , unhappy men lament : cou'd all the anguish of my mind , remove my cares , or make but fortune kind ; soon i 'd the grateful tribute pay , and weep my troubl'd thoughts away : to wealth and pleasure every sigh prefer , and more than gems esteem each falling tear. . but since insulting cares are most inclin'd to triumph o're th' afflicted mind : since sighs can yield us no relief , and tears , like fruitful showers , but nourish grief ; then cease , fair mourner , to complain , nor lavish , such bright streams , in vain : but still with chearful thoughts thy cares beguile , and tempt thy better fortunes with a smile . . the generous mind is by its sufferings known , which no affliction tramples down : but when opprest will upward move , spurn down its clog of cares , and soar above . thus the young royal eaglet trys on the sun-beams his tender eyes : and if he shrinks not at th' offensive light , he 's then for empire fit , and takes his soaring flight . . tho' cares assault thy breast on every side , yet bravely stem th' impetuous tide : no tributary tears to fortune pay , nor add to any loss a nobler day . but with kind hopes support thy mind , and think thy better lot behind : amidst afflictions let thy soul be great , and show thou dar'st deserve a better state. . then , lovely mourner , wipe those tears away , and cares that urge thee to decay : like ravenous age thy charms they waste , wrinkle thy youthful brow , and blooming beauties blast . but keep thy looks , and mind serene , all gay without , and calm within : for fate is aw'd , and adverse fortunes fly , a chearful look , and an unconquer'd eye . to the returning sun . by j. h. welcome thou glorious spring of light , and heat , where hast thou made thy long retreat ? what lands thy warmer beams possest , whàt happy indian worlds thy fruitful presence blest ? where deep in the dark bosom of the ground , thy wondrous operation's found , even there thy beams the earth refine , and mix , and stamp thy lustre through the dazling mine . since thy retreat so far from our cold isle , she never wore a lovely smile , no joy her wither'd brow adorn'd , in dark unlovely days , and in long nights she mourn'd . the poor dejected beasts hung down their heads , and trembled on their naked beds ; no footsteps of green life remain , but dying fields , and woods , and a bare , bleaky plain . the drooping birds were silent in the groves , they quite forgot their songs and loves , their feeble mates sate sullen by , we thought the feather'd world resolv'd their kind shou'd die . but see the land revives at thy approach , she blooms and quickens at thy touch , her kindled atoms life receive , the meadows , and the groves , begin to stir and live . mixt with thy beams the southern breezes blow , and help the sproutng births below , the infant flowers in haste appear , and gratefully return perfumes to the kind air. the trees , and fields agen look fresh and gay , the birds begin their softer play , thou hast their life , nay more , their love restor'd , their late , and early hymns praise thee , their welcome lord. the spreading fire glides through the plains , and woods , it even pierces the cold floods : the duller brutes feel the soft flame , the fishes leap for joy , and wanton in their stream . against the fear of death . by a person of honour . since all must certainly to death resign , why should we make it dreadful , or repine ? how vain is fear where nothing can prevent the loss , which he , that loses , can't lament . the fear of death is by our folly brought , we fly th' acquaintance of it , in a thought ; from something into nothing is a change grown terrible , by making it so strange . we always shou'd remember , death is sure , what grows familiar most , we best endure ; for life and death succeed like night and day , and neither gives encrease , nor brings decay . no more or less by what takes birth or dies , and the same mass the teeming world supplies . from death we rose to life ; 't is but the same , through life again to pass , from whence we came . with shame we see our passions can prevail , where reason , certainty , and vertue fail . honour , that empty name , can death despise , scorn'd love to death as to a refuge flies , and sorrow waits for death with longing eyes . hope triumphs o're the thought of death , and fate cheats fools , and flatters the unfortunate . perhaps , deceiv'd by lust-supplying wealth , new enjoy'd pleasures , and a present health , we fear to lose , what a small time must waste , till life it self grows the disease at last : begging for life , we beg for more decay , and to be long a dying only pray . no just and temperate thought can tell us why , we should fear death , or grieve for them that die ; the time we leave behind , is ours no more , nor our concern , than time that was before . 't were a fond fight , if those that stay behind for the same passage , waiting for a wind to drive them to their port , sho'ud on the shore lamenting stand , for those that went before . we all must pass through death's dead sea of night to reach the haven of eternal light. the dream : occasion'd by the death of the most noble and virtuous lady , elizabeth seymour , mother to his grace the duke of somerset . by mr. j. talbot . if righteous souls in their bless'd mansions know , or what we do , or suffer here below , and any leisure from their joys can find , to visit those whom they have left behind , to view our endless griefs , our groundless fears , our hopeless sorrows , and our fruitless tears , with pity , sure , they see the kind mistake , which weeping friends at their departure make : they wonder why at their release we grieve , and mourn their death , who then begin to live. tir'd with the care and sorrow of the day , in silent night the sad mecoenas lay , his mind still lab'ring with the deadly weight of his dear parent 's much lamented fate ; till weary nature with its load opprest , compos'd the tempest of his troubled breast , and borrow'd from his grief some time for rest : when sleep ( death's image ) to his fancy brought the hourly object of his waking thought ; and lo ! his mother 's awful shade appears , not pale and ghastly , as the sullen fears of brain-sick minds their dismal phantomes paint , but bright and joyful as a new-made saint . a crown of glories shone around her head ; she smil'd , and thus the happy spirit said . hail , noble son , whom pow'rful fates design to fill the glories of thy mighty line , in whom the good is mingled with the great , as generous light unites with active heat : for thee i thought life pleasant , and for thee i after death endur'd this world to see , and leave a while the dwellings of the blest , where heav'nly minds enjoy eternal rest ; where having reach'd the universal shore , i fear the winds and billows now no more ; no more in anguish draw a painful breath , nor wrestle with that mighty tyrant , death , who cannot boast he gave the fatal blow , i conquer'd sin , from whence his pow'r did flow : the proud insulter threatn'd me in vain , for heav'n increas'd my patience with my pain , till my unfetter'd soul at last took wing , the grave its conquest lost , and death its sting . no longer then these pious sorrows shed , nor vainly think thy happy parent dead ; whose deathless mind from its weak prison free , enjoys in heav'n its native liberty : i soon distinguish'd in that blissful place thy god-like ancestors , a numerous race ; there plac'd among the stars , in them i see a glorious destiny reserv'd for thee . then weep no more ; ev'n here i still survive in thee , and in thy virtuous fair i live : i saw her happy mother shine on high , a brighter spirit ne're adorn'd the skie ; with joy she met me at the crystal gate , and much enquir'd her beauteous daughter's state , she wish'd her there ; but heav'n ordains it late , and long defers her joys , that she may be a mighty blessing to this world , and thee . long shall she live , and ages yet to come shall bless the happy burden of her womb : still shall her off-spring , with her years , increase , with both , her virtues , and thy happiness . in all thy race the wondring world shall find the noble image of each parent 's mind . thus bless'd in her and hers , thou shalt receive the richest bounties heav'n and earth can give . nor shall my care be wanting to your aid , my faithful spirit shall hover o're thy head , and round thy lovely fair alargeprotectionspread : till crown'd with years and honours here below , and ev'ry gift kind nature can bestow , you both retire to everlasting rest , and late increase the joys and number of the blest . she spoke : her fellow-angels all around with joyful smiles the happy omen own'd ; all bless'd the noble pair , and took their flight to the bright regions of unfading light. a hymn to the morning . in praise of light. an ode . by mr. yalden. . parent of day ! whose beauteous beams of light spring from the darksom womb of night : and midst their native horrours show , like gems adorning of the negro's brow. not heaven's fair bow can equal thee , in all its gaudy drapery : thou first essay of light , and pledge of day ! that usher'st in the sun , and still prepar'st his way . . rival of shade , eternal spring of light ! thou art the genuine source of it : from thy bright unexhausted womb , the beauteous race of days and seasons come . thy beauty ages cannot wrong , but spight of time thou' rt ever young : thou art alone heavens modest virgin light , whose face a veil of blushes hides from human sight . . like some fair bride thou risest from thy bed , and dost around thy lustre spread : around the universe dispense new life to all , and quick'ning influence . with gloomy smiles thy rival night beholds thy glorious dawn of light : not all the wealth she views in mines below , can match thy brighter beams , or equal lustre show . . at thy approach nature erects her head , the smiling universe is glad : the drowsie earth and seas awake , and , from thy beams , new life and vigour take . when thy more chearful rays appear , even guilt and women cease to fear : horrour , despair , and all the sons of night , retire before thy beams , and take their hasty flight . . to thee , the grateful east their altars raise , and sing with early hymns thy praise : thou dost their happy soil bestow , inrich the heav'ns above , and earth below . thou rifest in the fragrant east , like the fair phaenix from her balmy nest : no altar of the gods can equal thine , the air is richest incense , the whole land thy shrine . . but yet thy fading glories soon decay , thine's but a momentary stay : too soon thou' rt ravisht from our sight , bore down the stream of day , and overwhelm'd with light . thy beams to their own ruin haste , they 're sram'd too exquisite to last : thine is a glorious , but a short-liv'd state , pity so fair a birth should yield so soon to fate . . before the almighty artist fram'd the skie , or gave the earth its harmony : his first command was for thy light , he view'd the lovely birth , and blessed it . in purple swadling-bands it struggling lay , not yet maturely bright for day : old chaos then a chearful smile put on , and from thy beauteous form , did first presage its own . . let there be light , the great creator said , his word the active child obey'd : night did her teeming womb disclose , and then the blushing morn , its brightest off spring rose . a while the almighty wond'ring view'd , and then himself pronounc'd it good : with night , said he , divide the imperial sway , thou my first labour art , and thou shalt bless the day . a hymn to darkness . by mr. yalden. . darkness , thou first kind parent of us all , thou art our great original : since from thy universal womb , does all thou shad'st below , thy numerous off-spring come . . thy wondrous birth is even to time unknown , or like eternity thou'dst none : whilst light did its first being owe , unto that awful shade , it dares to rival now . . say in what distant region dost thou dwell ! to reason inaccessible : from form , and duller matter , free , thou soar'st above the reach of man's philosophy . . involv'd in thee , we first receive our breath , thou art our refuge too in death : great monarch of the grave and womb , where e're our souls shall go , to thee our bodies come . . the silent globe is struck with awful fear , when thy majestick shades appear : thou dost compose the air and sea ; and earth a sabbath keeps , sacred to rest , and thee . . in thy serener shades our ghosts delight , and court the umbrage of the night : in vaults , and gloomy caves , they stray , but fly the mornings beams , and sicken at the day . tho' solid bodies dare exclude the light , nor will the brightest ray admit : no substance can thy force repel , thou reign'st in depths below , dost at the center dwell . . the sparkling gems , and oar in mines below , to thee their beauteous lustre owe : tho' form'd within the womb of night , bright as their sire they shine , with native rays of light. . when thou dost raise thy venerable head , and art in genuine night array'd : thy negro beauties then delight , beauties like pollish'd jeat , with their own darkness bright . . thou dost thy smiles impartially bestow , and know'st no difference here below : all things appear the same by thee , tho' light distinction makes , thou giv'st equality . . thou darkness art the lovers kind retreat , and dost the nuptial joys compleat : thou dost inspire them with thy shade , giv'st vigour to the youth , and warm'st the yielding maid . . calm , as the blest above , the ancorites dwell , within their peaceful gloomy cell : their minds with heav'nly joys are fill'd , the pleasures light deny , thy shades for ever yield . . in caves of night , the oracles of old , did all their mysteries unfold : darkness did first religion grace , gave terrours to the god , and reverence to the place . . when the almighty did on horeb stand , thy shades inclos'd the hallow'd land : in clouds of night , he was array'd , and venerable darkness his pavillion made . . when he appear'd arm'd in his power and might , he vail'd the beatifick light : when terrible with majesty , in tempests he gave laws , and clad himself in thee . . e're the foundation of the earth was laid , or brighter firmament was made : e're matter , time , or place were known , thou monarch darkness sway'dst these spacious realms alone . . but now the moon , ( tho' gay with borrow'd light ) invades thy scanty lot of night : by rebel subjects thou' rt betray'd , the anarchy of stars depose their monarch shade . . yet fading light its empire must resign , and nature's power submit to thine : an universal ruin shall erect thy throne , and fate confirm thy kingdom , evermore thy own . aeneas his meeting with dido in the elyzian fields . being a translation of part of the sixth book of virgil's aeneids , beginning at hic quoque durus amor , &c. by mr. wolsley . here those , who by love's cruelty have dy'd , thick myrtle groves , and dark retirements hide ; vex'd with old griefs , and pale with long despairs , death cannot free them from their lasting cares . among the trees pasiphae does appear , phedra , and procris , and evadne , here , sad eriphyle makes unpity'd moan , pointing to wounds , that still accuse her son. for her lost honour , coeneus mourns in vain , by death transform'd to her own sex again . and laodamia , with the numerous throng of hapless lovers , weeping goes along . among the rest sorsaken dido , round the desart wanders , with a gaping wound , whom soon as near the trojan hero drew , and that upbraiding injur'd ghost through glimmering shadows knew . ( as he who sees by the faint gloomy light a rising moon half hid in clouds and night ) straight into tears his penitent pity broke , and to her , in the kindest terms of love unfeign'd he spoke . the killing news that did my flight pursue i find , alas , ( unhappy queen ) is true ! your mark still fresh upon your breast i see , that bleeding wound you gave your self for me. ah , 't is too true ! i was th' unlucky cause of your hard fate ! curs'd wretched man ! i was . by all the gods , who rule above , i vow , and by that faith ( if any be ) which sacred is below , compell'd , and threaten'd , sad , and discontent , from your lov'd shore , and dear embrace , i went : that awful pow'r , whose high will to obey , even now thro' these infernal shades and dismal paths i stray ; thro' endless night , and unknown desart lands force me , delaying , by his dread commands . nor cou'd i think the loss of me wou'd touch your heart so deep ! — you valu'd me too much ! oh stay , and take not from my eyes , unkind , a face for ever present to my mind ! whom do you fly ? see him you held so dear ! his just defence and last farewel do not refuse to hear . with such soft words th' afflicted hero strove to sooth her anger , and revive her love. while rising sighs oft stopt him as he spoke , and falling tears the tender accents broke . the queen , who still resented his last flight , now turns her eyes from his unwelcome sight , and on the ground , with sad remembrance strook , she fix'd a sullen and dejected look . deaf to his vows , regardless of his tears , hard as a rock her once kind heart appears , and his vain courtship unconcern'd she hears . frowning at length , averse to all he said , into the thickest of the wood she fled ; where her first love attracts her just desires , shares all her griefs , and burns in equal fires . wounded afresh with that reproachful sight , afar the prince pursues her scornful flight , and long lamenting her unhappy fate , with fruitless sorrow pities her too late . out of the italian of fulvio testi . to count montecuccoli . against pride upon sudden advancement . ruscelletto orgoglioso , & c. . proud and foolish noisie stream ! who to some muddy plash thy birth dost owe , which casually a brook became , assisted by the rain , and melting snow : tho' now thou boasts thy swelling tide , august will soon be here , and end thy short-liv'd pride . . the thames , great king of floods ! the thames with peaceful course hastes gently to the main ; yet he upon his silent streams the tallest vessels does with ease sustain : and while one summer thee devours , his flood shall ne're decrease , not time contract his shores. . thou foam'st , and boil'st along the plain , the flocks , and shepherds threatning by the way ; through borrow'd waters basely vain , list'st up thy head , and do'st regardless stray , troubled , oblique , and this alone , thy noisie pride is all which thou canst call thy own . . i know , sir , you may well admire , to hear me reason with a deaf'ning stream , but thus the muse oft strikes the lyre , when she 'd most lofty , and majestick seem , and in mysterious numbers shrowd deep oracles , too deep , for the unthinking croud . . while thus i spake , there did appear , phoebus the god of every tuneful lay , a lawrel crown'd his beamy hair , which with a brighter light improv'd the day ; and thus he , what i saw , apply'd , short is th' incertain reign , and pomp of mortal pride . . new turns , and changes every day , are of inconstant chance the constant arts , soon she gives , soon takes away , she comes , embraces , nauseates you , and parts ; but if she stays , or if she goes , the wise man little joy , or little sorrow shows . . good is the pilot , who preserves his shatter'd vessel on the stormy main ; but he no leass applause deserves , who fears the flattery of the watry plain ; who never trusts the fairest gale , but dreads to be o'reset , and spreads but little sail. . of all the heroes known of old , i honour most agathocles's name ; who , tho' he made the sparkling gold in polish'd goblets on his table flame : to temper , and rebate its ray , he mixt his father's trade , the good old potter's clay . . while thus the charming god went on , and fixt in wonder , and delight i stood : behold ! the upstart stream was gone , no drop remain'd of its insulting flood : but the worst cattle of the plain , trod o're the thirsty sand , and spurn'd it with disdain . catullus . epig . . suffenus iste , vare , quem probè nôsti . by the same hand as the former . suffenus whom you know , the witty , the gay , the talkative , and pretty ; and , all his wonders to rehearse , the thing which makes a world of verse , i 'm certain i shou'd not bely him , to say he has several thousands by him , yet none deform'd with critick blot , or wrote on vellom to rub out . royal paper ! scarlet strings ! gilded backs ! and such fine things ! but — when you read 'em , then the witty , the gay suffenus , and the pretty : is the dullest , heaviest clown , so alter'd , he can scarce be known . this is strange ! that he who now cou'd so flatter , laugh , and bow , so much wit , such breeding show , shou'd be so ungenteel a wight , whenever he attempts to write , and yet the wretch is ne're so pleas'd , as when he 's with this madness seiz'd . faith , sir , w' are all deceiv'd alike , all labour in the same mistake , nor is the best of men so clear from every folly , but somewhere still the suffenus will appear . quickly we others errors find , but see not our own load behind . out of the greek of menage . by the same hand as the former . while here for the fair amarillis i die , she o're rocks , and o're streams from my passion does fly ; o bring her , kind venus ! bring her here back again , and the best of my heifars on thy altar lies slain : but if she 's appeas'd , if to love she incline , take all my whole herd , my little herd is all thine . invitation into the country . in imitation of the th epig . of catullus . by the same hand as the former . go — for i 'm impatient grown , bid him leave the noisie town . charge him he no longer stay , but with haste devour the way . tho' a thousand times he 's staid by that fond , bewitching maid : tho' she summon all her charms , kiss him , press him in her arms. let him not the syren mind , tears are water , sighs are wind. tell him how kind nature here , dresses up the youthful year , strowing on the thoughtless hours , opening buds , and new-born flow'rs ; tell him underneath this shade , innocence and mirth are laid ; not without forbidden claret , books or musick , if he 'll hear it . see the lawrel , and the vine , round about that arbour twine , so we wit , and pleasure joyn ; so horace , and anacreon meet the jolly god , within that seat. thus from noise and care set free , the snares of beauty we defie . let him them no longer stay , but with haste devour the way . on mrs. arabella hunt singing . pin daric ode , by mr. congreve . i. let all be husht , each softest motion cease , be every loud tumultuous thought at peace , and ev'ry ruder gasp of breath be calm , as in the arms of death . and thou most fickle , most uneasie part , thou restless wanderer , my heart , be still ; gently , ah gently , leave , thou busie , idle thing , to heave . stir not a pulse ; and let my blood , that turbulent , unruly flood , be softly staid : let me be all , but my attention , dead . go , rest , y'unnecessary springs of life , leave your officious toil and strife ; for i wou'd hear her voice , and try if it be possible to dye . ii. come all ye love-sick maids and wounded swains , and listen to her healing strains . a wondrous balm , between her lips she wears , of sov'reign force to soften cares ; 't is piercing as your thoughts , and melting as your tears : and this , through ev'ry ear she does impart , ( by tuneful breath diffus'd ) to ev'ry heart . swiftly the gentle charmer flies , and to the tender grief soft air applies , which , warbling mystick sounds , cements the bleeding panter's wounds . but ah ! beware of clam'rous moan : let no unpleasing murmur or harsh groan , your slighted loves declare : your very tend'rest moving sighs forbear , for even they will be too boistrous here . hither let nought but sacred silence come , and let all sawcy praise be dumb . iii. and lo ! silence himself is here ; methinks i see the midnight god appear , in all its downy pomp aray'd , behold the rev'rend shade : an ancient sigh he sits upon , whose memory of sound is long since gone , and purposely annihilated for his throne : beneath two soft transparent clouds do meet , in which he seems to sink his softer feet . a melancholy thought , condens'd to air , stol'n from a lover in despair , like a thin mantle , serves to wrap in fluid folds , his visionary shape . a wreath of darkness round his head he wears , where curling mists supply the want of hairs : while the still vapors , which from poppies rise , bedew his hoary face , and lull his eyes . iv. but hark ! the heav'nly sphere turns round , and silence now is drown'd in extasy of sound . how on a suddain the still air is charm'd , as if all harmony were just alarm'd ! and ev'ry soul with transport fill'd , alternately is thaw'd and chill'd . see how the heavenly choir come flocking , to admire , and with what speed and care , descending angels cull the thinnest air ! haste then , come all th' immortal throng , and listen to her song ; leave your lov'd mansions , in the sky , and hither , quickly hither fly ; your loss of heav'n , nor shall you need to fear , while she sings , 't is heav'n here . v. see how they crowd , see how the little cherubs skip ! while others sit around her mouth , and sip sweet hellelujahs from her lip. those lips , where in surprise of bliss they rove ; for ne're before were angels blest with such a luscious feast of musick and of love. prepare then , ye immortal choir , each sacred minstrel tune his lyre , and with her voice in chorus joyn , her voice , which next to yours is most divine . bless the glad earth with heavenly lays , and to that pitch th' eternal accents raise , which only breath inspir'd can reach , to notes , which only she can learn , and you can teach : while we , charm'd with the lov'd excess , are wrapt in sweet forgetfulness of all , of all , but of the present happiness : wishing , for ever in that state to lie , for ever to be dying so , yet never die . to a person of honour : upon his incomparable , incomprehensible poem . by mr. waller . sir . you have oblig'd the brittish nation more than all their bards cou'd ever do before : and ( at your own charge ) monuments as hard as brass , or marble , to your fame , have rear'd . for as all warlike nations take delight to hear how their brave ancestors cou'd fight , you have advanc'd to wonder their renown , and no less vertuously improv'd your own ; that 't will be doubtful , whether you do write , or they have acted , at a nobler height . you ( of your ancient princes ) have retriev'd more than the ages knew in which they liv'd ; explain'd their customs , and their rights anew , better than all their druids ever knew : unriddled those dark oracles as well as those that made 'em , cou'd themselves foretell . for as the brittains long have hop'd in vain , arthur wou'd come to govern them again : you have fulfill'd that prophesie alone , and in your poem plac'd him on his throne . such magick power has your prodigious pen , to raise the dead , and give new life to men ; make rival princes meet in arms , and love , whom distant ages did so far remove . for as eternity has neither past , nor future , ( authors say ) nor first , nor last ; but is all instant : your eternal muse all ages can to any one reduce . then why should you ( whose miracles of art can life at pleasure to the dead impart ) trouble in vain your better busi'd head , t' observe what times they liv'd in , or were dead . for , since you have such arbitrary pow'r , it were defect in judgment to go low'r ; or stoop to things so pitifully lewd , as use to take the vulgar latitude . for no man's fit to read what you have writ , that holds not some proportion with your wit. as light can no way but by light appear , he must bring sense , that understands it here . on the same . by dr. s — your book our old knight errants fame revives , writ in a stile agreeing with their lives . all rumours strength their prowess did outgo , all rumours skill your verses far outdo : to praise the welsh the world must now combine , since to their leeks you do your lawrel joyn : such lofty strains your country's story fit , whose mountains nothing equals , but your wit. bonduca , were she such , as here we see ( in brittish paint ) none cou'd more dreadful be : with naked armies she encounter'd rome , whose strength with naked nature you o'recome . nor let small criticks blame this mighty queen , that in king arthur's time she here is seen : you that can make immortal by your song , may well one life four hundred years prolong . thus virgil bravely dar'd for dido's love , the settled course of time and years to move . though him you imitate in this alone , in all things else you borrow help from none : no antick tale of greece or rome you take , their fables and examples you forsake . with true heroick glory you display a subject new , writ in the newest way . go forth , great author , for the world's delight ; teach it , what none e're taught you , how to write : they talk strange things that ancient poets did ; how trees , and stones they into buildings lead : for poems to raise cities , now , 't is hard , but yours , at least , will build half paul's church-yard . another on the same . by mr. mat. clifford . with envy , criticks , you 'l this poem read , whose author 's wit does more than man exceed ; where all 's so good alike , no man can say this may be added , or that par'd away : where all 's so new , no search can ever trace the persons mention'd , in their time , or place . great soul of nature , which dost books defie , and their weak aid in this thy history : thou art no slave to rule , or president ; where others imitate , thou dost invent . it is , we grant , all thy invention ; the language too , intirely is thy own : thou leav'st as trash , below thy great pretence , grammar to pedants ; and to plain men , sense : but as , in this thy matchless poetry , thou follow'st none , so none can follow thee . on the same . by the ld. v. wonder not , sir , that praises yet ne're due to any other , are yet heap'd on you : 't was envy robb'd you of your praise before ; men fee their faults , and envy now no more . 't is but your merit , nor can justly such , which gave too little once , now give too much . your princes do all poetry surpass as much as pen-main-maur exceeds parnass . it is so great a prodigy of wit , that art and nature both fall short of it : for leaving art , and left of nature too , your poem has no other muse than you. on these two verses . out of the same . but fame had sent forth all her nimble spies to blaze this match , and lend to fate some eyes . by the duke of buckingham . but wherefore all this pother about fame ? a man might say , says one : the very same demand might well be made , another cries , of fate ; and how it got , from fame , such eyes ? 't is well ; you 're witty persons both , say i ; yet to your wit this boldly i 'll reply : fate is the twin of chance , by which you find fate must needs see , except that chance were blind : for , among friends , 't were inequality to think one shou'd be blind , and t'other see . now tell me , criticks , do not all the wise profess that which they see , they see with eyes ? and the same figure do not i advance , when i protest , i saw a thing by chance ? since then so various things by chance we see , fate might have eyes to multiplicity ; but our mild author says , it has but some ; thus , critick vile , thus i have struck thee dumb : and thus subscribe my self , with heart , and hand , the author's friend , most humble servant , and buckingham . to the prince and princess of orange , upon their marriage . written by mr. nat. lee . hail , happy warriour ! hail ! whose arms have won the fairest jewel in the english crown . happy in famous dangers in the field , happy in courts which brightest beauties yield . oh prince ! whose soul is known so justly great , as if that heav'n took leisure to create ; first , the rich oar refin'd , then did allay , stampt thee his own , not shuffl'd thee away . with wonder thus we all thy temper prize , not but th' art bold and brave , as thou art wise . like the cool english , who approach their fate with awe , and gravely first with death debate . they kindle slowly , but when once on fire , burn on , and in the blaze of fame expire . hail princess ! hail ! thou fairest of thy kind ! thou shape of angels , with an angel's mind ! whose vertues shine , but so as to be born , clear as the sun , and gentle as the morn . whose brighter eyes like lambent glories move , and ev'ry glance wounds like a dart of love. how well , oh prince , how nobly hast thou fought , since to thy arms the fates such beauty brought ! methinks i hear thee in thy nuptial bed , when o're the royal maid thy arms were spread . enough , kind heav'n , well was my sword employ'd , since all the bliss earth holds shall be enjoy'd . pains i remember now with vast delight , well have i brav'd the thund'ring french in fight , my hazards now are gains , and if my blood in battel mix and raise the vulgar flood , her tears ( for sure she 'll be so good to mourn ) like balm shall heal the wounds when i return . but heark , 't is rumour'd that this happy pair must go , the prince for holland does declare , call'd to the business of important war. go then , if thy departure be agreed , your friends must weep , your enemies shall bleed . and if in poets minds , those vaster souls , where all at once the vast creation rouls , to whom the warriour is as much oblig'd , as to relievers towns that are besieg'd . ( for death would to their acts an end afford , did not immortal verse out-do the sword ) if ought of prophesie their souls inspire . and if their fury gives a solid fire , soft shall the waftage be , the seas and wind , calm as the prince , and as the princess kind . the world , why should not dreams of poets take , as well as prophets who but dream awake ? i saw them launch , the prince the princess bore , while the sad court stood crowding on the shore . the prince still bowing on the deck did stand , and held his weeping princess by the hand . which waving oft , she bid them all farewell , and wept as if she wou'd the ocean swell . farewel ! thou best of fathers , best of friends ! while the mov'd duke , with a heav'd sigh , commends to heav'n the care ; in tears his eyes wou'd swim , but manly vertue binds them to the brim . farewel ( she cry'd ) my sister , thou dear part , thou sweetest part , of my divided heart . to whom i all my secrets did unfold , dear casket ! who did all my treasures hold . my little love ! her sighs she did renew , once more ( oh heavens ) a long and last adieu ! part ! must i ever lose those pretty charms ? then swoons , and sinks into the prince's arms. the court beheld , and wept . streight from their griefs the pompous navy fled so fast , as if our sighs increas'd their speed . when of a sudden , from the reedy court , the trytons all with their griev'd god resort ; in troops upon the wandring waves they glide , and round their lifted lord in triumph ride . at their first call the singing mermaids come , while the crown'd dolphins lash the silver foam . thus waited , the glad prince beheld from far the belgick shore , and heard the sound of war. some hand unseen heav'ns azure curtains drew to make this mighty triumph great and new , a thousand golden heads peep'd forth to view . cries , shouts , and clapping hands , all extasie , a hundred cannons thundred to the skie . the thunder answering did my dream destroy , and wak'd me from the visionary joy. against sloth . when the king was at oxford . hocagite , ô juvines , circumspicit , & stimulat vos , materiámque sibi ducis indulgentia quoerit . . hence , vain attempter of the good and great ; be gone from our secure retreat , with all thy dull unweildy train that clog and curb the active brain , which else wou'd , like a metall'd steed , run o're vast nature 's yet unnumber'd store ; o're flow'ry meads , and painted fields , and all the pleasant scenes that beauteous learning yields . . we 're doubly arm'd against thy cheats , and thee , ( thy cheats which only find a place among the ignorant and base , ) by knowledge , and by majesty . thou , constant guest of every popish cell , which dost with monks and hermits dwell , must leave , with them , this sacred ground ; banish'd from king and court , at least , for ten miles round . . she 's gone ; and now , methinks , an active fire does all my willing veins inspire : my drowsie senses all anew are waken'd by his pow'rful view . the glorious ruler of the morning , so , but looks on flow'rs , and streight they grow : and when his beams their light unfold , ripens the dullest earth , and warms it into gold. what art thou , love ! written by mr. j. allestry . . what art thou love ! whence are those charms ! that thus thou bear'st an universal rule ! for thee the soldier quits his arms , the king turns slave , the wise man fool. . in vain we chase thee from the field , and with cool thoughts resist thy yoke : next tide of blood , alas ! we yield , and all those high resolves are broke . . can we e're hope thou shou'd'st be true , whom we have found so often base ? cozn'd , and cheated , still we view , and fawn upon the treacherous face . . in vain our nature we accuse ; and doat , because she says we must : this for a brute were an excuse , whose very soul and life is lust. . to get our likeness ! what is that ! our likeness is but misery ; why shou'd i toil to propagate another thing as vile as i ? . from hands divine our spirits came , and gods , that made us , did inspire something more noble in our frame , above the dregs of earthly fire . verses spoken before the duke and dutchess of york , and lady ann , in oxford theatre , may the st . . by the ld. s — and mr. c — . ld. s — great sir , when last your royal brother blest this place , and all about did his kind beams dispense ; a joy divine was seen in ev'ry face , till faction drove our guardian angel hence . mr. c — heav'n well did know how much our frame cou'd bear ; mingling our rapture with some fit allay ; and that , for future bliss , we might prepare : wisely reserv'd the blessing of this day . to the duke . we miss a royal brother by his side ; ld. s — we long'd to see those charms which him o'recame , mr. c — to the dutchess . you , madam , was our only joy and pride , to the lady ann who represented half the stuarts name . ld. s — wou'd you then know how much you 're welcome here ? think what a joy in loyal breasts did flow , when fatal gloster all our hopes did bear , which the gods lost to shew their care of tou. when fears and jealousies ran high , and loud ; and zeal mistaken , blinded wilful eyes , heav'n shook the rod to the rebellious croud , threat'ning to snatch the gem , they cou'd not prize . mr. c — oxford ( we hope ) will not displease your view , where tork first learn'd the rudiments of war ; those early vertues here in blossom grew , which now in growth , and full perfection , are . tho' here new towers and buildings daily rise ; and arms thrown off , we wear the peaceful gown : our breasts admit no change , know no disguise ; prepar'd with swords and pens t' assert the crown . ld. s — this is the place , in which the sacred names of kings and heroes annually resound ; the triumphs , war and peace , of charles and james , from age to age , are with fresh lawrels crown'd . mr. c — as when a prince's long expected birth , glads every heart , and each muse tunes her voice : or when the captive monarchs of the earth to the lady ann. beg to be slaves , and in your chains rejoyce . ld. s — but why , in lasie numbers , do we bind our thoughts ? which shou'd in active raptures fly ; as the coelestial circles unconfin'd , and tun'd to their eternal harmony . musick 's the dialect of happy souls , when sever'd from the earth's unweildy load ; the universal language of both poles , of the vast distant natives understood . let instruments and voices both combine to celebrate the glories of this day : let art and extasies their forces joyn , and in melodious paths of errour stray . here they fate down , and musick play'd ; which being ended , they stood up again , and spoke by way of pastoral . ld. s — damon . mr. c — thyrsis . damon . ah ! thyrsis , how shall humble swains , as thou and i , perform such strains ? can we a fitting present make for us to give , or these to take ? thyrsis . the garland , chloris made , i 'll bring , when i threw strephon from the ring : though it shou'd caesar 's birth-day crown , fresh roses will for that be blown . damon . i have a lamb as white as snow , though half engag'd to pan by vow : i 'll sacrifice it here , for he pan , or some greater god must be . thyrsis . why dost thou talk of sacrifice , these seem no angry deities . wou'd cruel sylvia were here , she 'd learn to think her self less fair , and , in a noble mixture , find humility with beauty joyn'd . damon . then may it please the royal three t' accept one hearty wish from me : by all true swains be daphnis fear'd , and no whig-wolves come nigh his herd . both together . then tearly hecatombs we 'll pay , if every spring bring such a may. human life : suppos'd to be spoken by an epicure , in imitation of the second chapter of the wisdom of solomon . a pindarique ode . inscribed to the lord hunsdon . by mr. yalden. . then will penurious heav'n no more allow ! no more on its own darling man bestow ! is it for this he lord of all appears , and his great maker's image bears ! to toil beneath a wretched state , opprest with miseries and fate : beneath his painful burthen groan , and , in this beaten road of life , drudge on ! amidst our labours we possess no kind allays of happiness : no softning joys can call our own , to make this bitter drug go down ; whilst death an easie conquest gains , and the insatiate grave in endless triumph reigns . with throes , and pangs , into the world we come , the curse and burthen of the womb : nor wretched to our selves alone , our mothers labours introduce our own . in crys and tears our infancy we waste , those sad prophetick tears that flow , by instinct of our future woe ; and even our dawn of life with sorrow 's overcast . thus we toil out a restless age , each his laborious part must have , down from the monarch to the slave , act o're this farce of life , then drop beneath the stage . . from our first drawing vital breath , from our first starting from the womb , until we reach the destin'd tomb , we all are posting on , to the dark goal of death . life , like a cloud that fleets before the wind , no mark , no kind impression , leaves behind ; 't is scatter'd like the winds that blow , boisterous as them , full as inconstant too , that know not whence they come , nor where they go . here we 're detain'd a while , and then become originals again : time shall a man to his first self restore , and make him intire nothing , all he was before . no part of us , no remnant shall survive ! and yet we impudently say , we live : no! we but ebb into our selves again , and only come to be , as we had never been . . say , learned sage , thou that art mighty wise ! unriddle me these mysteries : what is the soul , the vital heat that our mean frame does animate ? what is our breath , the breath of man , that buoys his nature up , and does even life sustain ? is it not air , an empty fume , a fire that does it self consume ? a warmth that in a heart is bred , a lambent flame with heat and motion fed . extinguish that , the whole is gone , this boasted scene of life is done : away the phantome takes its flight , damn'd to a loathsom grave , and an eternal night . the soul , th' immortal part we boast , in one consuming minute's lost : to its first source it must repair , scatter with winds , and flow with common air. whilst the fall'n body , by a swift decay , resolves into its native clay : for dust and ashes are its second birth , and that incorporates too , with its great parent earth . . nor shall our names , or memories survive , alas , no part of man can live ! the empty blasts of fame shall die , and even those nothings taste mortality . in vain , to future ages , we transmit heroick acts , and monuments of wit : in vain , we dear-bought honours leave , to make our ashes gay , and furnish out a grave . ah treacherous immortality ! for thee , our stock of youth we waste , and urge on life , that ebbs too fast ; to purchase thee with blood , the valiant fly , and to survive in fame , the great and glorious die . lavish of life , they squander this estate , and for a poor reversion wait : bankrupts and misers , to themselves they grow , imbitter wretched life , with toils and woe , to hoord up endless fame , they know not where , or how . . ah think , my friends , how swift the minutes haste ! the present day intirely is our own , then seize the blessing e're 't is gone : to morrow , fatal sound ! since this may be our last . why do we boast of years , and sum up days ! 't is all imaginary space : to day , to day is our inheritance , 't is all penurious fate will give , posterity'll to morrow live , hence . our sons crowd on behind , our children drive us with garlands then your temples crown , and lie on beds of roses down : beds of roses we 'll prepare , roses that our emblems are . a while they flourish on the bough , and drink large draughts of heav'nly dew : like us , they smile , are young , and gay , and like us too , are tenants for a day , since with night's blasting breath , they vanish swift away . . bring chearful wine , and costly sweets prepare ! 't is more than frenzy now to spare : let cares and business wait a while , old age affords a thinking interval ; or if they must a longer hearing have , bid them attend below , adjourn into the grave . then gay and sprightly wine produce , wines that wit and mirth infuse : thàt feed , like oyl , th'expiring flame , revive our drooping souls , and prop this tottering frame . that when the grave our bodies has engrost , when vertues shall forgotten lie , with all their boasted piety , honours , and titles , like our selves , be lost ; then our recorded vice shall flourish on , and our immortal riots be for ever known . this , this is what we ought to do , the great design , the grand affair below ! since bounteous nature's plac'd our stuard here , then man his grandure shou'd maintain , and in excess of pleasure reign , keep up his character , and lord of all appear . to mr. waller , upon the copy of verses made by himself on the last copy in his book . . when shame , for all my foolish youth had writ , advis'd , 't was time the rhyming trade to quit , time to grow wise , and be no more a wit — the noble fire , that animates thy age , once more enflam'd me with poetick rage . . kings , heroes , nymphs , the brave , the fair , the young , have been the theme of thy immortal song ; a nobler argument , at last , thy muse , two things divine ; thee , and her self , does chuse . . age , whose dull weight makes vulgar spirits bend , gives wings to thine , and bids it upward tend . no more confin'd , above the starry skies , out , from the body's broken cage , it flies . . but oh ! vouchsafe , not wholly to retire , to joyn with , and compleat th' etherial quire ! still here remain ! still on the threshold stand ; still at this distance view the promis'd land , tho' thou may'st seem , so heav'nly is thy sense , not going thither , but new come from thence . elegy : occasion'd by the reading and transcribing mr. edmund waller's poem , of divine love , since his death . by mr. j. talbot . such were the last , the sweetest notes that hung upon our dying swan's melodious tongue : notes , whose strong charms the dullest ear might move , and melt the hardest heart in flames of love : notes , whose seraphic raptures speak a mind from human thoughts , and earthly dross refin'd ; so just their harmony , so high their flight , with joy i read them , and with wonder write . sure , happy saint , this noble song was giv'n to fit thee for th' approaching joys of heav'n : love , wondrous love , whose conquest was thy theme , has taught thy soul the airy way to climb ; love snatch'd thee , like elijah to the skie , in flames that not consume , but purifie : there with thy fellow-angels mixt , and free from the dull load of dim mortality ; thou feel'st new joys , and feed'st thy ravish'd sight with unexhausted beams of love and light : and sure , blest spirit , to compleat thy bliss , in heav'n thou sing'st this song , or one like this. moschus : idyl st . done into english by mr. j. r. her son not heard of , and by none descry'd , in a shrill voice thus pensive venus cry'd . he who can news of a stray cupid tell , my run-a-way , shall be rewarded well . his fee for the obliging news is this , he may come hither , and demand a kiss . but if he can the vagabond restore ; he shall have kisses , and have somewhat more . amongst a hundred you the boy may know , large are his tokens , and his marks enow . not white his body , but resembling flame ; his eyes all cruel , and his heart the same : soft are his words , where he designs no love , nor do his heart and tongue together move . sweet is his voice as honey when he 's pleas'd , but when enrag'd , how hard to be appeas'd ! he always lies : 't is a pernicious boy , fraud is his sport , and tyranny his joy. bold are his eyes , divinely curl'd his hair ; small are his hands , but oh ! they kill from far ! how great , how large is their extensive pow'r , from which great pluto's self is not secure ! close are his thoughts and soul , his body bare : swift as a bird , he strikes an amorous pair , invades the inmost fortress of the fair. small is his bow , nor are his arrows great , and yet ev'n these have reach'd the heav'nly seat. a golden quiver on his back he ties , where his artillery in dreadful order lies . all cruel , all — but oh ! the cruel boy does with his taper phoebus self annoy ; torments ev'n me , his mother , ruins all my joy. charge him from me , if seen , with an arrest ; let pity be a stranger to your breast . if you can seize him , lead the captive bound , let no compassion for his tears be found . avoid his kisses , and his amorous wiles , there 's worse than poison in his treacherous smiles . nay , shou'd he offer you his arms , beware , of arrows tipt with fire have a care . against enjoyment . by mr. yalden. we love and hate , as restless monarchs fight , who boldly dare invade another's right : yet when thro' all the dangerous toils they 've run , ignobly quit , the conquests they have won ; those charming hopes that made them valiant grow , pall'd with enjoyment , makes them cowards now . our passions only form our happiness , hopes still enlarge , as fears contract it less : hope with a gaudy prospect feeds the eye , sooths every sense , does with each wish comply ; but false enjoyment , the kind guide destroys , we lose the passion in the treacherous joys . like the gay silk-worm , when it pleases most , in that ungrateful web it spun , 't is lost . fruition only cloys the appetite , more does the conquest , than the prize delight : one victory gain'd , another fills the mind , our restless wishes cannot be confin'd . like boisterous waves , no settl'd bounds they know , fix at no point , but always ebb or flow . who most expects , enjoys the pleasure most , t is rais'd by wishes , by fruition lost : we 're charm'd with distant views of happiness , but near approaches make the prospect less . wishes , like painted landscapes , best delight , whilst distance recommends them to the sight : plac'd afar off , they beautiful appear , but show their course , and nauseous colours , near . thus the fam'd midas , when he found his store , increasing still , and wou'd admit of more : with eager arms his swelling bags he prest , and expectation only made him blest : but when a boundless treasure he enjoy'd , and every wish was with fruition cloy'd : then damn'd to heaps , and surfeited with oar , he curst that gold , he doated on before . priam's lamentation and petition to achilles , for the body of his son hector . translated from the greek of homer , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . by mr. congreve . beginning at this line , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 : — argument introductory to this translation . hector 's body , ( after he was slain ) remain'd still in the possession of achilles ; for which , priam made great lamentation . jupiter had pity on him , and sent iris to comfort and direct him , after what manner he should go to achilles 's tent , and how he should there ransom the body of his son. priam accordingly orders his chariot to be got ready , and preparing rich presents for achilles , sets forward to the grecian camp , accompany'd by no body but his herald idaeus . mercury , at jupiter 's command , meets him by the way , in the figure of a young grecian , and , after bemoaning his misfortunes , undertakes to drive his chariot , unobserved , through the guards , and to the door of achilles 's tent : which having perform'd , he discover'd himself a god , and giving him a short instruction , how to move achilles to compassion , flew up to heaven . so spake the god , and heav'nward took his flight : when priam from his chariot did alight ; leaving idoeus there , alone he went with solemn pace , into achilles tent. heedless , he pass'd through various rooms of state , until approaching where the hero sate ; there at a feast , the good old priam found jove's best belov'd , with all his chiefs around : two only were t' attend his person plac'd , automedon and alcymus ; the rest at greater distance , greater state express'd . priam , unseen by these , his entrance made , and at achilles feet his aged body laid , about his knees , his trembling arms he threw , and clasp'd 'em hard , as , they together grew ; then , caught his hands , and press'd , and kiss'd 'em close , those hands , th' inhumane authors of his woes ; those hands , whose unrelenting force had cost much of his blood , ( for many sons he lost ) now bath'd in tears , he to his cheeks did lay , as if he meant to wash their guilt away . but , as a wretch who has a murder done , and seeking refuge , does from justice run ; entring some house , in haste , where he 's unknown , creates amazement in the lookers on : so did achilles gaze , surpriz'd to see the godlike priam's royal misery ; all on each other gaz'd , all in surprize and mute , yet seem'd to question with their eyes . till he at length the solemn silence broke ; and thus the venerable suppliant spoke . divine achilles , at your feet behold a prostrate king , in wretchedness grown old : think on your father , and then , look on me , his hoary age and helpless person see ; so furrow'd are his cheeks , so white his hairs , such , and so many his declining years ; cou'd you imagine ( but that cannot be ) cou'd you imagine such , his misery ! yet it may come , when , he shall be oppress'd , and neighb'ring princes lay his country waste ; nay , at this time perhaps some pow'rful foe , who will no mercy , no compassion show , ent'ring his palace , sees him feebly fly , and seek protection , where no help is nigh . in vain , he may your fatal absence mourn , and wish in vain for your delay'd return ; yet , that he hears you live , some comfort gives , and while he hopes ( tho' vainly ) he believes : it glads his soul to think , he once may see his much-lov'd son ; wou'd that were granted me ! but i , most wretched i ! of all bereft ! of all my royal sons , how few are left ! yet fifty goodly youths i had to boast , when firsts the greeks invaded ilion's coast : nineteen , the joyful issue of one teeming womb , are now , alas ! a mournful tribute to one tomb : merciless war , this devastation wrought , and their strong nerves to dissolution brought . still one was left , in whom was all my hope , my age's comfort , and his country's prop ; hector , my darling , and my last defence , whose life alone , their deaths cou'd recompence : and , to compleat my store of countless woe , him you have slain — of him bereav'd me too ! for his sake only , hither am i come ; rich gifts i bring , and wealth , an endless sum ; all to redeem that fatal prize you won , a worthless ransom for so brave a son. fear the just gods , achilles ; and on me with pity look , think you your father see ; such as i am , he is , alone in this , i can no equal have in miseries ; of all mankind , most wretched and forlorn , bow'd with such weight , as never has been born ; reduc'd to kneel and pray to you , from whom the spring and source of all my sorrows come ; with gifts , to court mine and my country's bane , and kiss those hands , which have my children slain . he spake . — now , sadness o're achilles face appears , and viewing priam , for his father fears ; that , and compassion melt him into tears . then , gently with his hand he put away old priam's face , but he , still prostrate lay , and there with tears , and sighs , afresh did moan th' untimely death , of his beloved son. but passion diff'rent ways , achilles turns , now , he patroclus , now , his father mourns : thus both with lamentations fill'd the place , till sorrow seem'd to wear one common face . the lamentations of hecuba , andromache , and helen , over the dead body of hector . translated from the greek of homer . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . by mr. congreve . beginning at this line , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . connexion of this with the former translation . priam , at last , moves achilles to compassion , and after having made him presents of great value , obtains the body of his son. mercury awakens priam early in the morning , and advises him to haste away with the body , lest agamemnon should be informed of his being in the camp : he himself helps to harness the mules and horses , and conveys him safely , and without noise , chariot and all , from among the grecian tents ; then flies up to heaven , leaving priam and idaeus to travel on with the body toward troy. now , did the saffron morn her beams display , gilding the face of universal day ; when mourning priam to the town return'd ; . slowly his chariot mov'd , as that had mourn'd ; the mules , beneath the mangled body go , as bearing ( now ) unusual weight of woe . to pergamus high top , cassandra flies , thence , she afar , the sad procession spies : her father and idoeus first appear , then hector's corps extended on a bier ; at which , her boundless grief , loud cries began , and , thus lamenting , thro the streets she ran : hither , ye wretched trojans , hither all ! behold the godlike hector's funeral ! if e're you went with joy , to see him come adorn'd with conquest and with lawrels home , assemble now , his ransom'd body see , what once was all your joy , now , all your misery ! she spake , and streight the num'rous crow'd obey'd , nor man , nor woman , in the city staid ; common consent of grief had made 'em one , with clam'rous moan to scoeas gate they run , there , the lov'd body of their hector meet , which they , with loud and fresh lamentings , greet . his rev'rend mother , and his tender wife , equal in love , in grief had equal strife : in sorrow , they no moderation knew , but wildly wailing , to the chariot flew ; there , strove the rowling wheels to hold , while each attempted first his breathless corps to reach ; aloud they beat their breasts , and tore their hair , rending around with shrieks the suff'ring air . now had the throng of people stop'd the way , who wou'd have there lamented all the day , but priam from his chariot rose , and spake , trojans enough ; truce with your sorrows make ; give way to me , and yield the chariot room , first let me bear my hector's body home , then mourn your fill . at this the crowd gave way , opening a pass , like waves of a divided sea. idoeus to the palace drove , then laid , with care , the body on a sumptuous bed , and round about were skilful singers plac'd , who wept , and sigh'd , and in sad notes express'd their moan ; all , in a chorus did agree of universal , mournful harmony . andromache alone , no notes cou'd find , no musick wild enough for her distracted mind ; her grief , long smother'd , now from silence broke , and thus ( close pressing his pale cheeks ) she spoke . andromache 's lamentation . o my lost husband ! let me ever mourn thy early fate , and too untimely urn : in the full pride of youth thy glories fade , and thou in ashes must with them be laid . why is my heart thus miserably torn ! why am i thus distress'd ! why thus forlorn ! am i that wretched thing , a widow left ? why do i live , who am of life bereft ! yet i were blest , were i alone undone ; alas , my child ! where can an infant run ? unhappy orphan ! thou in woes art nurst ; why were you born ? — i am with blessings curst ! for long e're thou shalt be to manhood grown , wide desolation will lay waste this town : who is there now , that can protection give , since he , who was her strength , no more doth live ? who , of her rev'rend matrons ; will have care ? who , save her children from the rage of war ? for he to all father and husband was , and all are orphans now , and widows by his loss . soon will the grecians , now , insulting come and bear us captives to their distant home ; i , with my child , must the same fortune share , and all alike , be pris'ners of the war ; 'mongst base-born wretches , he , his lot must have , and be to some inhuman lord , a slave . else some avenging greek , with fury fill'd , or for an only son , or father kill'd by hector's hand , on him will vent his rage , and , with his blood , his thirsty grief asswage ; for many fell by his relentless hand , biting that ground , which , with their blood was stain'd . fierce was thy father ( o my child ) in war , and never did his foe in battel spare ; thence come these suff'rings , which , so much have cost , much woe to all , but sure , to me the most . i saw him not , when in the pangs of death , nor did my lips receive his latest breath ; why held he not to me his dying hand ? and why receiv'd not i his last command ? something he wou'd have said , had i been there , which i shou'd still in sad remembrance bear ; for i cou'd never , never words forget , which , night and day , i wou'd with tearsrepeat . she spake , and wept afresh , when all around , a gen'ral sigh , diffus'd a mournful sound . then , hecuba , who long had been opprest with boiling passions , in her aged breast , mingling her words with sighs and tears , begun a lamentation for her darling son. hecuba 's lamentation . hector , my joy , and to my soul more dear than all my other num'rous issue were ; o my last comfort , and my best belov'd ! thou , at whose fall , ev'n jove himself was mov'd and sent a god his dread commands to bear , so far thou wert high heav'n's peculiar care ! from fierce achilles chains thy corps was freed ; so kind a fate was for none else decreed : for all my other sons , ta'ne by his hands , were sold like slaves , and shipt to foreign lands . thou too wert sentenc'd by his barb'rous doom , and dragg'd when dead , about patroclus tomb , his lov'd patroclus whom thy hands had slain : and yet that cruelty was us'd in vain , since all cou'd not restore his life again . now fresh and glowing , even in death thou art , and fair as he who fell by phoebus dart. here weeping hecuba her passion stay'd , and universal moan , again was made ; when helen's lamentation , hers supply'd , and thus , aloud , that fatal beauty cry'd . helen 's lamentation . o hector , thou wert rooted in my heart , no brother there had half so large a part : scarce my own lord , to whom such love i bore , that i forsook my home ; scarce he had more ! o would i ne're had seen that fatal day , would i had perish'd , when i came away . now , twenty years are past , since that sad hour , when first i landed on this ruin'd shoar . for ruin ( sure ) and i , together came ! yet all this time , from thee i ne're had blame , not one ungentle word , or look of scorn , which i too often have from others born ; when you from their reproach have set me free , and kindly have reprov'd their cruelty : if by my sisters , or the queen revil'd , ( for the good king , like you , was ever mild ) your kindness still , has all my grief beguil'd . ever in tears let me your loss bemoan , who had no friend alive , but you alone : all will reproach me now , where e're i pass , and fly with horrour from my hated face . this said ; she wept , and the vast throng was mov'd , and with a gen'ral sigh her grief approv'd . when priam ( who had heard the mourning crowd ) rose from his seat , and thus he spake aloud . cease your lamentings , trojans , for a while , and fell down trees to build a fun'ral pile ; fear not an ambush by the grecians laid , for with achilles , twelve days truce i made . he spake , and all obey'd as with one mind , chariots were brought , and mules and oxen joyn'd ; forth from the city all the people went , and nine days space was in that labour spent : the tenth , a most stupendious pile they made , and on the top the manly hector laid , then gave it fire , while all , with weeping eyes beheld the rowling flames and smoak arise . all night they wept , and all the night it burn'd , but when the rosie morn with day return'd , about the pile the thronging people came , and with black wine quencht the remaining flame . his brothers then , and friends search'd ev'ry where , and gath'ring up his snowy bones with care , wept o're 'em ; when an urn of gold was brought , wrapt in soft purple palls , and richly wrought , in which the sacred ashes were inter'd ; then o're his grave a monument they rear'd . mean time , strong guards were plac'd , and careful spies , to watch the grecians , and prevent surprize . the work once ended , all the vast resort of mourning people , went to priam's court ; there , they refresh'd their weary limbs with rest , ending the fun'ral with a solemn feast . paraphrase upon horace . ode . . lib. i. by mr. congreve . mater soeva cupidinum , &c. . the tyrant queen of soft desires , with the resistless aid of sprightly wine and wanton ease , conspires to make my heart its peace resign , and re-admit loves long rejected fires . for beauteous glycera , i burn , the flames so long repell'd with double force return : endless her charms appear , and shine more bright than polish'd marble when reflecting light ; with winning coyness , she my soul disarms , and when her looks are coldest , most she warms : her face darts forth a thousand rays , whose lustre , an unwary sight betrays , my eye-balls swim , and i grow giddy while i gaze . . she comes ! she comes ! she rushes in my veins ! at once all venus enters and at large she reigns ! cyprus , no more with her abode is blest , i am her palace , and her throne my breast . of savage scythian arms , no more i write , or parthian archers , who in flying fight and make rough war their sport ; such idle . themes , no more shall move , nor any thing but what 's of high import : and what 's of high import , but love ? vervain and gums , and the green turf prepare ; with wine of two years old , your cups be fill'd : after our sacrifice and pray'r , the goddess may incline her heart to yield . horace , lib. ii. ode . imitated by mr. congreve . eheu fugaces , posthume , posthume , labuntur anni , &c. i. ah ! no , 't is all in vain , believe me 't is ' this pious artifice . not all these prayers and alms , can buy one moment tow'rd eternity . eternity ! that boundless race , which , time himself can never run : ( swift , as he flies , with an unweari'd pace , ) which , when ten thousand , thousand years are done , is still the same , and still to be begun . fix'd are those limits , which prescribe a short extent to the most lasting breath , and though thou couldst for sacrifice , lay down millions of other lives to save thine own ; 't were fruitless all ; not all would bribe one supernumerary gasp from death . ii. in vain 's thy inexhausted store of wealth , in vain thy pow'r , thy honours , titles ; all must fail , where piety it self does nought avail . the rich , the great , the innocent and just , must all be huddl'd to the grave , with the most vile and ignominious slave , and undistinguish'd lie in dust. in vain , the fearful , flies alarms , in vain , he is secure , from wounds of arms , in vain , avoids the faithless seas , and is confin'd to home and ease , bounding his knowledg , to extend his days . in vain , are all those arts we try , all our evasions , and regret to die : from the contagion of mortality , no clime is pure , no air is free : and no retreat is so obscure , as to be hid from fate . iii. thou must , alas ! thou must my friend ; ( the very hour thou now dost spend in studying to avoid , brings on thine end , ) thou must forego the dearest joys of life ; leave the warm bosome of thy tender wife , and all the much lov'd offspring of her womb , to moulder in the cold embraces of a tomb. all must be left , and all be lost ; thy house , whose stately structure so much cost , shall not afford room for the stinking carkass of its lord. of all thy pleasant gardens , grots , and bowers , thy costly fruits , thy far-fetch'd plants and flow'rs : nought shalt thou save ; unless a sprig of rosemary thou have , to wither with thee in the grave : the rest shall live and flourish , to upbraid their transitory master dead . iv. then shall thy long-expecting heir , a joyful mourning wear : and riot in the waste of that estate which thou hast taken so much pains to get . all thy hid stories he shall unfold , and set at large thy captiv'd gold. that precious wine , condemn'd by thee to vaults and prisons , shall again be free : buried alive , tho' now it lies , again't shall rise , again its sparkling surface show , and free as element , profusely flow . with such choice food he shall set forth his feasts , that cardinals shall wish to be his guests ; and pamper'd prelates see themselves out-done in luxury . an ode , in imitation of horace , ode ix . lib. . by mr. congreve . vides ut alta , &c. — i. bless me , 't is cold ! how i hill the air ! how naked does the world appear ! but see ( big with the off-spring of the north ) the teeming clouds bring forth . a show'r of soft and fleecy rain , falls , to new cloath the earth again . behold the mountain-tops , around , as if with fur of ermins crown'd : and lo ! how by degrees the universal mantle hides the trees , in hoary flakes , which downward fly , as if it were the autumn of the sky , whose fall of leaf would theirs supply : trembling , the groves sustain the weight , and bow like aged limbs , which feebly go beneath a venerable head of snow . ii. diffusive cold does the whole earth invade , like a disease , through all its veins 't is spread , and each late living stream , is num'd and dead . le ts melt the frozen hours , make warm the air : let cheerful fires sol's feeble beams repair ; fill the large bowl with sparkling wine ; let 's drink , till our own faces shine , till we like suns appear , to light and warm the hemisphere . wine can dispence to all both light and heat , they are with wine ineorporate : that pow'rful juice , with which no cold dares mix , which still is fluid , and no frost can fix : let that but in abundance flow , and let it storm and thunder , hail and snow , 't is heav'ns concern ; and let it be the care of heaven still for me : these winds , which rend the oaks and plough the seas ; great jove can , if he please , with one commanding nod appease . iii. seek not to know to morrows doom ; that is not ours , which is to come . the present moment's all our store : the next , shou'd heav'n allow , then this will be no more : so all our life is but one instant now. look on each day you 've past to be a mighty treasure won : and lay each moment out in haste ; we 're sure to live too fast , and cannot live too soon . youth does a thousand pleasures bring , which from decrepit age will fly ; sweets that wanton i' th' bosome of the spring . in winter's cold embraces dye . iv. now , love , that everlasting boy , invites to revel while you may , in soft delights : now , the kind nymph yields all her charms , nor yields in vain to youthful arms. slowly she promises at night to meet , but eagerly prevents the hour with swifter feet . to gloomy groves and obscure shades she flies , there vails the bright confession of her eyes . unwillingly she stays , would more unwillingly depart , and in soft sighs conveys the whispers of her heart . still she invites and still denies , and vows she 'll leave you if y' are rude ; then from her ravisher she flies , but flies to be pursu'd : if from his sight she does her self convey , with a feign'd laugh she will her self betray , and cunningly instruct him in the way . to the dutchess , on her return from scotland , in the year . by mr. dryden . when factious rage to cruel exile , drove the queen of beauty , and the court of love ; the muses droop'd , with their forsaken arts , and the sad cupids broke their useless darts . our fruitful plains to wilds and desarts turn'd , like edens face when banish'd man it mourn'd : love was no more when loyalty was gone , the great supporter of his awful throne . love cou'd no longer after beauty stay , but wander'd northward to the verge of day , as if the sun and he had lost their way . but now th' illustrious nymph return'd again , brings every grace triumphant in her train : the wondring nereids , tho' they rais'd no storm , foreslow'd her passage to behold her form : some cry'd a venus , some a thetis past : but this was not so fair , nor that so chast . far from her sight flew faction , strife and pride : and envy did but look on her , and dy'd . what e're we suffer'd from our sullen fate , her sight is purchas'd at an easie rate : three gloomy years against this day were set : but this one mighty sum has clear'd the debt . like joseph's dream , but with a better doom ; the famine past , the plenty still to come . for her the weeping heav'ns become serene , for her the ground is clad in cheerful green : for her the nightingales are taught to sing , and nature has for her delay'd the spring . the muse resumes her long-forgotten lays , and love , restor'd , his ancient realm surveys ; recalls our beauties , and revives our plays . his wast dominions peoples once again , and from her presence dates his second reign . but awful charms on her fair forehead sit , dispensing what she never will admit . pleasing , yet cold , like cynthia's silver beam , the peoples wonder , and the poet's theam . distemper'd zeal , sedition , canker'd hate , no more shall vex the church , and tear the state ; no more shall faction civil discords move , or only discords of too tender love : discord like that of musick 's various parts , discord that makes the harmony of hearts , discord that only this dispute shall bring , who best shall love the duke , and serve the king. a song for st. cecilia's day , . written by john dryden , esq and compos'd by mr. john baptist draghi . . from harmony , from heav'nly harmony this universal frame began . when nature underneath a heap of jarring atoms lay , and cou'd not heave her head , the tuneful voice was heard from high , arise ye more than dead . then cold , and hot , and moist , and dry , in order to their stations leap , and musick' 's pow'r obey . from harmony , from heav'nly harmony this universal frame began : from harmony to harmony through all the compass of the notes it ran , the diapason closing full in man. . what passion cannot musick raise and quell ! when jubal struck the corded shell , his list'ning brethren stood around and wond'ring , on their faces fell to worship that celestial sound . less than a god they thought there cou'd not dwell within the hollow of that shell that spoke so sweetly and so well . what passion cannot musick raise and quell ! . the trumpets loud clangor excites us to arms with shrill notes of anger and mortal alarms . the double double double beat of the thundring drum cries , heark the foes come ; chare , charge , 't is too late to retreat . . the soft complaining flute in dying notes discovers the woes of hopeless lovers , whose dirge is whisper'd by the warbling lute . . sharp violins proclaim their jealous pangs , and desperation , fury , frantick indignation , depth of pains , and height of passion , for the fair , disdainful dame. . but oh ! what art can teach what human voice can reach the sacred organs praise ? notes inspiring holy love , notes that wing their heav'nly ways to mend the choires above . . orpheus cou'd lead the savage race ; and trees unrooted left their place ; sequacious of the lyre : but bright cecilia rais'd the wonder high'r ; when to her organ , vocal breath was giv'n an angel heard , and straight appear'd mistaking earth for heav'n . grand chorus as from the pow'r of sacred lays the spheres began to move , and sung the great creator's praise to all the bless'd above ; so when the last and dreadful hour this crumbling pageant shall devour , the trumpet shall be heard on high , the dead shall live , the living die , and musick shall untune the sky . to mr. dryden . by mr. jo. addison . how long , great poet , shall thy sacred lays , provoke our wonder , and transcend our praise ? can neither injuries of time , or age , damp thy poetick heat , and quench thy rage ? not so thy ovid in his exile wrote , grief chill'd his breast , and checkt his rising thought ; pensive and sad , his drooping muse betrays the roman genius in its last decays . prevailing warmth has still thy mind possest , and second youth is kindled in thy breast . thou mak'st the beauties of the romans known , and england boasts of riches not her own ; thy lines have heighten'd virgil's majesty , and horace wonders at himself in thee . thou teachest persius to inform our isle in smoother numbers , and a clearer stile ; and juvenal instructed in thy page , edges his satire , and improves his rage . thy copy casts a fairer light on all , and still out-shines the bright original . now ovid boasts th' advantage of thy song , and tells his story in the brittish tongue ; thy charming verse , and fair translations show how thy own lawrel first began to grow ; how wild lycaon chang'd by angry gods , and frighted at himself , ran howling through the woods . o may'st thou still the noble tale prolong , nor age , nor sickness interrupt thy song : then may we wondring read how human limbs , have water'd kingdoms , and dissolv'd in streams ; of those rich fruits that on the fertile mould turn'd yellow by degrees , and ripen'd into gold : how some in feathers , or a ragged hide have liv'd a second life , and different natures try'd . then will thy ovid , thus transform'd , reveal a nobler change than he himself can tell . mag. coll. oxon , june . . to mr. dryden , on his translation of persius . by mr. b. higgons . as mariners at sea , far off descry some unknown land , and pass regardless by , their charts some eminent cape , or mountain tell , and all the rest but blanks and cyphers fill ; so we at distance gloomy persius view'd , but none approach'd , and his rough tracts pursu'd , till mighty dryden ventur'd first on shoar , and the dark unknown region did explore : drest by thy artful hand , he does appear bright and perspicuous , as he is severe : with this rich present you oblige our isle , and in his urn make persius ashes smile ; by thee preserv'd from the ignoble grave , whose reputation will his credit save . if with another's arms so keen you fight , how will your own well-pointed satire bite ? our vices , as old rome's , are not so few , and we do wait to be chastis'd by you ; to see unchain'd thy generous muse's rage , at once t' oblige , and lash an impious age : what don 't the wondring world expect from thee ? thou hast more cause , a greater persius we . nor is thy talent to our art confin'd , but universal as thy boundless mind : thy knowing muse all sorts of men does teach , philosophers instructs to live , divines to preach , states-men to govern , generals to fight , at once mankind you profit and delight . virtue so lovely drest by thee , doth shine , so bright appears in each instructing line : vast the ideas which from thee we take , while the dull pulpits no impression make . but where to love thy softer thoughts unbend , there all the graces on thy muse attend . thy charming numbers do our souls inthrall , the rigid melt , and we turn lovers all ; the cupids dance in ev'ry ladies eye , who reading love as they were acting , die . to sir godfrey kneller , drawing my lady hide 's picture . by mr. b. higgons . the cyprian queen drawn by apelles's hand , of perfect beauty did the pattern stand , but then bright nymphs from ev'ry part of greece , did all contribute to adorn the piece , from each a several charm the painter took , ( for no one mortal so divine cou'd look ) but , happier kneller , fate presents to you in one that finish'd beauty , which he drew . but oh , take heed , for vast is the design , and madness were for any hand but thine . for mocking thunder bold salmoneus dies , and 't is as rash to imitate her eyes . song on a lady indispos'd . by mr. b. higgons . flavia's eyes , like fires supprest , more fiercely flame again , nor can her beauty be decreast , nor alter'd by her pain ; those various charms which round her play , and do her face adorn , still as they ripned fall away , fresh beauties still are born : so doth it with the lovers fare , who do the dame adore , one fit of love kill'd by despair , another rages more . song to a fair , young lady , going out of the town in the spring . by mr. dryden . . ask not the cause , why sullen spring so long delays her flow'rs to bear ; why warbling birds forget to sing , and winter storms invert the year ? chloris is gone ; and fate provides to make it spring , where she resides . . chloris is gone , the cruel fair ; she cast not back a pitying eye : but left her lover in despair ; to sigh , to languish , and to die : ah , how can those fair eyes endure to give the wounds they will not cure ! . great god of love , why hast thou made a face that can all hearts command , that all religions can invade , and change the laws of ev'ry land ? where thou hadst plac'd such pow'r before , thou shou'dst have made her mercy more . . when chloris to the temple comes , adoring crowds before her fall ; she can restore the dead from tombs , and ev'ry life but mine recall . i only am by love design'd to be the victim for mankind . a song . by my ld. r. while in divine panthea's charming eyes , i view the naked boy , that basking lies , i grow a god ; so blest , so blest am i , with sacred rapture , and immortal joy , but absent , if she shines no more , and hides the suns that i adore ; straight , like a wretch , despairing i sigh , languish in the shade , and die . oh , i were lost in endless night , if her bright presence brought not light ! then i revive , blest as before ; the gods themselves can be no more . a song . by my ld. r. pity , fair sapho , one that dies a victim to your beauteous eyes : for while on them i dare to gaze , their dazling glories so amaze , my soul does melt with new desire , i rave , i burn with secret fire , and , blessing the dear cause , expire . a paean , or song of triumph , on the translation and apotheosis of king charles the second . by my ld. r. omuse , to whom the glory does belong , to make great men live in immortal song ! in lofty numbers , teach me how to sing , to tune the lyre , and strike the sounding string : good kings are number'd with immortal gods , when hence translated to the blest abodes ; for princes ( truly great ) can never dye , they only lay aside mortality : so charles the gracious is not dead , but to his kindred stars is fled ; there happy , and supremely blest , with mighty jove , his sire , does feast . see how with majesty divine , and dazling glory , his bright temples shine : he now an equal god , by gods is crown'd , while golden harps and trumpets sound , and to his health the nectar-bowl goes round : coelestial concerts io-poean sing , and heav'ns grand chorus makes olympus ring . out of horace . by my ld. r. he. while i was monarch of your heart , crown'd with a love , where none had part , each mortal did with envy die , no god but wish'd , that he were i. she . while you ador'd no charms but mine , and vow'd that they did all out-shine ; more celebrated was my name , than that of the bright grecian dame. he. chloe's the saint that i implore , chloe's the goddess i adore ; for whom to die the gods i pray'd , if fates wou'd spare the charming maid . she . amyntas is my lover's name , for whom i burn with mutual flame ; for whom i twice wou'd die with joy , if fates wou'd spare the charming boy . he. if i once more shou'd wear your chain , and take my lydia back again ; if banish chloe from my breast , that you may there for ever rest . she . tho he is charming as a god , serene and gay , divinely good , you rough as billows raging high , with you i chuse to live , and die , to a lady , who raffling for the king of france 's picture , flung the highest chances on the dice . by mr. b. higgons . fortune exerts her utmost pow'r for you , nor cou'd she more for her own louis do ; she thought some mighty kingdom was the stake , and did this throw for the great monarch make ; but as all princes at far distance woe , first send their image where their heart is due : so now , thrice happy nymph , wou'd you resort , where fate invites you , to the gallick court : that lucky genius which the picture gave , wou'd make the great original your slave ; he , like the piece , can only be your prize , who never yields , but to the brightest eyes . on my lady sandwich's being stay'd in town by the immoderate rain . by mr. b. higgons . the charming sandwich wou'd from cities fly , while at her feet adoring princes lie ; and all her nobler conquests wou'd forego , less glorious slaves , and peasants to subdue : thus conqu'ring monarchs who have kingdoms won , and all their neighb'ring states with arms o're-run ; for want of work , their armies to imploy , remote and salvage provinces destroy : but heav'n in pity weeps , while we complain , or else our tears exhal'd , drop down in rain . the darkn'd sun does scarce through clouds appear , and tempests rage to keep our wishes here . the floods free passage to her scorn deny , and nature disobeys her cruelty . but cou'd the waves rise equal to our flame , we'd drown the world , to stop the flying dame. ovid's love-elegies . book i. eleg . vii . to his mistress whom he had beaten . by henry cromwell , esq come , if y' are friends , and let these hands be bound , which cou'd with impious rage a mistress wound ; what more did ajax in his fury do ? when all the sacred grazing herd he slew ; or * he who spar'd not her who gave him breath ; so ill the son reveng'd his father's death ! then i had broke the most religious ties both to my parents , and the deities : i tore ( oh heavens ) her finely braided hair ; how charming then look'd the disorder'd fair ! so atalanta in her chase is drawn where the arcadian beasts her empire own : so ariadne , left upon the shore , does all alone her lost estate deplore , curses the winds and seas which perjur'd theseus bore : who would not then have rail'd and talk'd aloud ? ( which to the helpless sex might be allow'd ; ) she only did upbraid me with her eye , whose speaking tears did want of words supply , 't was but too much ( ye gods ) to make me die : o that some merciful superiour pow'r had struck me lame before that fatal hour , and not have suffer'd me to pierce my heart so deeply , in the best and tend'rest part ; to make a lady that subjection own , which is not to the meanest roman known ; 't was diomed , who first a goddess strook , i from his hand that curst example took ; but he was far less criminal than i , i was a lover , he an enemy : march like a conquerour in triumph now , with lawrel-wreaths encompassing your brow , and render to the mighty gods your vow ; so , as you pass , th' attending gazing crowd , by their applause shall speak your courage loud ; let your sad captive in the front appear with streaming cheeks , and with dishevell'd hair , through all her griefand wounds most eminently fair . such lips were form'd for kinder wounds than these , wounds made by lovers furious extasies : though like a torrent i was hurried on , a slave to passion , which i cou'd not shun ; i might have only pierc'd her tender ear with threatning language , such as virgins fear : fear having chill'd the current of her blood , pale as a parian marble statue stood the senseless frame — then shook her trembling knees , as when the winds do whistle through the trees , or softly curl the surface of the seas : so slender rushes , easily inclin'd by every blast , are ruffled by the wind ; tears , which suspence did for a while restrain , gush'd forth , and down her cheeks the deluge ran , as when the sun does by a pow'rful beam dissolve the frost , it runs into a stream : the lamentable object struck me dead , and tears of blood to quench those tears i shed : thrice at her feet the prostrate suppliant fell , and thrice did she repulse the criminal : what wou'd i not , your anger to abate , redeem your favour , — or remove your hate ? to your revenge no means or method spare ; revenge , alas ! is easie to the fair : but lest some eloquent remaining sign shou'd still reproach me with so black a crime , let no disorder in your face appear , from your bright eyes let there not 'scape a tear , and once again compose your scatter'd hair . ovid's love-elegies . book i. eleg . viii . of love and war. by henry cromwell , esquire . trust me , my atticus , in love are wars ; and cupid has his camp , as well as mars : the age that 's fit for war best suits with love , the old in both unserviceable prove , infirm in war , and impotent in love : the souldiers which a general does require are such as ladies wou'd in bed desire : who , but a souldier and a lover , can bear the night's cold in show'rs of hail and rain ? one in continual watch his station keeps , or on the earth in broken slumbers sleeps ; the other takes his still repeated round by 's mistress's house — then lodges on the ground : the souldiers long and tedious marches make : the active lover , for his mistress sake , will any toils and dangers undergo ; not rugged mountains , nor untrodden snow , rivers by floods increast , no raging sea , nor adverse winds can ever make him stay , when love commands , and beauty leads the way . souldiers and lovers , with a careful eye , observe the motions of the enemy : one to the walls makes his approach in form , pushes the siege , and takes the town by storm ; the other lays his close to celia's fort , presses his point , and gains the wish'd-for port : as souldiers , when the foe securely lies in sleep and wine dissolv'd , the camp surprise so when the jealous to their rest remove , and all is husht , — the others steal to love : uncertain is the state of love and war , the vanquish'd rally , and their loss repair , regain the ground , and rout the conquerour . you then , who think that love 's an idle fit , know , that it is the exercise of wit : in flames of love the fierce achilles burns , and quitting arms , absent briseis mourns : from the embraces of andromache went hector arm'd for war and victory : as agamemnon saw cassandra pass with hair dishevell'd , and disorder'd dress , h'admir'd the beauties of the prophetess : the god of war was caught in th' act of love ; a story known to all the court above : once did i pass my hours in sloth and ease , cool shades , and beds of down cou'd only please ; when a commanding beauty rais'd my mind , i left all little trifling thoughts behind , and to her service all my heart refign'd : since , like an active souldier , have i spent my time , in toils of war , in beauties tent ; and for so sweet a pay all dangers underwent : you see , my atticus , by what i prove , who wou'd not live in idleness , — must love . ovid's love-elegies . book i. eleg . x. to his mercenary mistress . by henry cromwell , esquire . as helen , when to troy she did escape , and greeks with fire and sword pursu'd the rape ; as leda , when the god his love trick play'd , under the figure of a swan , betray'd ; as amymone , wandring o're the plains , that rural fair , admir'd by all the swains ; so fair was you , so much in love was i , i ran to the extreams of jealousie , fear'd eagles , bulls , and every shape that jove had e're transform'd himself into , for love : now free from love or fears , my mind 's at ease , nor does that beauty any longer please : this humour , you may say , is wondrous strange , and ask the reason of this sudden change ; once , when your undesigning heart was kind , fair was your face , and perfect was your mind ; but now the slighter beauties of the skin do yield to the prevailing vice within : love is a child , who uses no deceit , nor wears he cloaths to cover any cheat , accepts no bribes ; — why for a wretched fee shou'd you then prostitute his deity ? make venus to her son serve every day , and drudge i' th' meanest offices , for pay ? they 're softly bred , and wou'd not work , but play : the whore , to whom each purchaser has right , forces for gain decaying appetite , yet there 's a bawd to whom the spoils accrue ; she fain wou'd shun what you by choice pursue : these sordid ways the very brutes reprove , who by their practice teach you how to love ; the lusty bull his female does enjoy , nor can a bribe their mutual loves destroy : woman alone rejoyces in the spoil , and makes advantages of every smile , rates at her pleasure the high-priz'd delight , and men must purchase every happy night ; yet does she meet him with as much desire , and no less fierce and raging is the fire ; since with an equal pace our passions move , why shou'd one buy , and th' other sell in love ? why , since the pleasures mutual , shou'd it be to you advantage , and a loss to me ? the way is infamous a witness takes , who of his perjury a living makes ; so for the raising of a low estate to set your body at a common rate ! can you to such mean ends as these employ the gifts by nature's bounty you enjoy ? grant but the blessing freely , and you may an everlasting obligation lay ; but where 's the mighty favour , when we pay ? forbear , ye fair , to make a trade of love , the wealth that 's got so ill can ne're improve ; justly the * vestal by their armour fell , who wou'd her honour for their bracelets sell : the rich your wishes are oblig'd to meet , and lay their frequent presents at your feet ; alcinous orchards fruit enough can spare , from the full vines the grapes in clusters tear , and ease th' o're-loaded boughs which numerous apples bear : let faith and love supply my little store , the will shall ne're be wanting to the pow'r : verse is the greatest tribute i can bring ; your charms i cou'd to future ages sing ; jewels and gold will perish , — but the fame the muses give shall ever be the same : you check my generous passion when you crave , not that i 'm loth to part with what i have , had you not ask'd me , i had freely gave . ovid's love-elegies . book i. eleg . xv. of the immortality of the muses . inscrib'd to mr. dryden . by henry cromwell , esquire . thy well known malice , fretful envy , cease , nor tax the muse and me — with a weak genius , and inglorious ease ; what — i shou'd then , whilst youth does vigour yield , pursue the dusty glories of the field : our father's praise ! or bend my utmost care to the dull noise of the litigious bar ; no! these must die ; — but the most noble prize , that which alone can man immortalize , must from the muses harmony arise : homer shall live , whilst tenedos shall stand , or ida's top survey the neighb'ring strand , whilst simois streams along the vallies glide , and in the sea discharge their rapid tide : — hesiod shall live , till corn is not in use , till the plump grape denies its wealthy juice : — the world callimachus shall ever prize , for what his fancy wants , his art supplies : — the tragedies of mighty sophocles shall in no age their just applauses miss : — so well aratus of the planets wrote , that sun and moon must fail when he 's forgot : — when crafty davus a hard father cheats to serve the son , — when easie cully treats the jilting whore and bawd , the figures shew , the comick from menander's model drew : — ennius , whose muse by nature was design'd compleat , had art with bounteous nature joyn'd ; — and tragick accius , of style sublime , and weighty words , shall stand the shock of time : — whilst jason's golden fleece shall have a name , who shall a stranger be to varro's fame ? — lucretius nature's causes did rehearse in such a lofty and commanding verse , as shall remain till that one fatal day , which must the world it self in ruines lay : — virgil , thy works divine shall patterns stand for each succeeding age's copying hand , whilst rome shall all its conquer'd world command : — whilst capid shall be arm'd with bow and dart , and flaming shafts shall pierce the lovers heart ; shall we , o sweet tibullus , love each line that comes from that soft moving pen of thine : — both east and west resound with gallus fame , gallus and his lycoris are their theme : — statues and tombs with age consume and die ; 't is verse alone has immortality : to verse must yield the greatest acts of kings ; riches and empire are but empty things , without the lasting fame a poet brings : let vulgar spirits trivial blessings chuse ; may thy castalian spring inspire my muse , o god of wit ! and myrtles wreath my hair ; then the too fearful lover may repair to what i write , to free his breast from care : as living worth detraction still attends , which after death a juster fame defends ; so i shall my last funeral flame survive , and in my better part for ever live . ovid's love-elegies . book iii. eleg . ii. to his mistress at the horse-race . by henry cromwell , esquire . not in the circus do i sit to view the running horses , but to gaze on you ; near you i chuse an advantageous place , and whilst your eyes are fixt upon the race , mine are on you — thus do we feast our sight , each alike pleas'd with objects of delight ; in softest whispers i my passion move , you of the rider talk , but i of love. when , to please you , i streight my subject quit , and change my wishes to your favourite ; oh might i ride , and be so much your care , i 'd start with courage from the barrier , and with a swift short compass brush the goal — unless the sight of you my course restrains , and makes my hands forgo the loosned reins ; as pelops gaz'd on hippodamia's face , till he had almost lost th' important race ; yet he his mistress by her favour won ; so may our prize assist us when we run . what mean these starts ? you must not , can't remove ; this kind auspicious place was fram'd for love. i fear you 're crowded , — gentlemen , forbear , pray let your arms and knees the lady spare ; madam , your gown hangs down — nay , pray let me — oh heavens ! what fine , what curious legs i see ! sure , who diana in a forrest drew , coppi'd in this , the gracefull'st part from you ; such atalant discovering as she ran , what rapt'rous wishes seiz'd minalion . i burn'd and rag'd before — what then are these , but flames on flames , and waters to the seas ? by these a thousand other charms are guest , which are so advantageously supprest . oh for some air ! this scorching heat remove , your fan wou'd do 't — but 't is the heat of love. but now the pomp appears , the sacred throng , command applauses from the heart and tongue ; first victory with expanded wings does move , be near ( o goddess ! ) to assist my love ; to mars let warriours acclamations raise , the merchants tongues resound with neptune's praise ; whilst i , whom neither seas nor arms invite , in love alone , the fruit of peace delight ; to their apollo let the prophets pray , and hunters to diana homage pay , let the mechanicks to minerva vow , rusticks to ceres and to bacchus bow ; whilst i devote my self to thee alone , kind venus , and the powerful god thy son ; o be propitious to my enterprise , inform with all thy softness these fair eyes , and to love's cause her gentle breast incline ; she grants , and has confirm'd it with a sign ; do you assure it too , you who 're to me ; ( with venus leave ) the mightier deity . by all these heav'nly witnesses , to you will i be ever faithful , ever true . now in the open cirque the game 's begun , the praetor gives the signal , now they run ; i see which way your wishes are inclin'd , to him a certain conquest is design'd , for ev'n the horses seem to know your mind . he takes too large a compass to come in , and lets his adversary get between ; recall him , romans , for a second heat , and clear the course , — now see your ground you better do maintain , this lady's favour and your fame regain ; the prize is his , — as yours successful prove , so let my wishes , which are all for love ; i 'm yet to conquer , and your heart 's the prize ; something she promis'd with her sparkling eyes , and smil'd ; — enough , did i transported cry , the rest i 'll leave to opportunity . ovid's love-elegies . book iii. eleg . iii. of his perjur'd mistress . by henry cromwell , esquire . can there be gods ? — has she not falsly swore ? yet is the beauty that she was before ! the curious tresses of her dangling hair , as long and graceful still as e're they were ; that same inimitable white and red , which o're her face was so distinctly spread , the roses and the lillies keep their place , and every feature still as justly grace , her sparkling eyes their lustre still retain , that form , that perfect shape does still remain , as if she ne're had sin'd : — and heav'n , ( 't is plain ) suff'ring the fairer sex to break their vows , to the superiour power of beauty bows . t' inforce my credit to her perjuries , oft wou'd she swear by those persuasive eyes ; as if that charm , had been too weak to move , sh 'as added mine ; — tell me , ye powers above , why all this pain ? why are these guiltless eyes , for her offence th' attoning sacrifice ? was 't not enough andromeda has dy'd , an expiation for her mother's pride ? is 't not enough that unconcern'd you see , ( vain witnesses for truth , for faith , for me , ) such an affront put on divinity ? yet no revenge the daring crime pursue , but the deceiv'd must be her victim too . either the gods are empty notions , crept into the minds of dreamers as they slept , in vain are fear'd , are but the tricks of law , to keep the foolish cred'lous world in awe ; or , if there be a god , he loves the fair , and all things at their sole disposal are . for us are all the instruments of war design'd , the sword of mars , and pallas spear , 'gainst us alone apollo's bows are bent , and at our heads jove's brandish'd thunder sent ; yet of the ladies , oh ! how fond are they ! dare not the injuries , they receive , repay , but those , who ought to fear 'em , they obey . jove to his votaries is most severe , temples nor altars does his lightning spare , obliging semele in flames expires , but those who merit , can escape the fires ; is this the justice of your powers divine ? who then will offer incense at a shrine ? why do we thus reproach the deities ? have they not hearts ? — and surely they have eyes , nay had i been a god , i had believ'd the lovely criminals , and been deceiv'd , had wav'd the judgments to their perj'ries due , and sworn my self that all they spoke was true ; since then the gods such ample gifts bestow , as make you absolute o're men below ; pray let me find some mercy in your reign ; or spare at least your lover's eyes from pain . to the lady castlemain , upon her incouraging his first play. by mr. dryden . as seamen , shipwrack'd on some happy shore , discover wealth in lands unknown before ; and , what their art had labour'd long in vain , by their misfortunes happily obtain ; so my much envy'd muse , by storms long tost , is thrown upon your hospitable coast , and finds more favour by her ill success , than she cou'd hope for by her happiness . once cato's vertue did the gods oppose ; while they the victor , he the vanquish'd chose : but you have done what cato cou'd not do , to chuse the vanquish'd , and restore him too . let others still triumph , and gain their cause by their deserts , or by the world's applause ; let merit crowns , and justice lawrels give , but let me happy by your pity live . true poets empty fame , and praise despise , fame is the trumpet , but your smile the prize : you sit above , and see vain men below contend , for what you only can bestow : but those great actions , others do by chance , are , like your beauty , your inheritance : so great a soul , such sweetness join'd in one , cou'd only spring from noble grandison : you , like the stars , not by reflection bright , are born to your own heav'n , and your own light ; like them are good , but from a nobler cause , from your own knowledge , not from nature's laws . your pow'r you never use , but for defence , to guard your own , or others innocence : your foes are such , as they , not you , have made , and vertue may repel , tho' not invade . such courage did the ancient heroes show , who , when they might prevent , wou'd wait the blow : with such assurance as they meant to say , we will o'recome , but scorn the safest way . what further fear of danger can there be , beauty , which captives all things , sets me free ? posterity will judge by my success , i had the grecian poet's happiness , who , waving plots , found out a better way , some god descended , and preserv'd the play. when first the triumphs of your sex were sung by those old poets , beauty was but young , and few admir'd the native red and white , till poets drest them up , to charm the fight ; so beauty took on trust , and did engage for sums of praises , till she came to age. but this long growing debt to poetry you justly ( madam ) have discharg'd to me , when your applause and favour did infuse new life to my condemn'd and dying muse. prologue to the university of oxford , . by mr. dryden . the fam'd italian muse , whose rhymes advance orlando , and the paladins of france , records , that when our wit and sense is flown , 't is lodg'd within the circle of the moon in earthen jars , which one , who thither soar'd , set to his nose , snufft up , and was restor'd . what e're the story be , the moral 's true , the wit we lost in town , we find in you . our poets their fled parts mày draw from hence , and fill their windy heads with sober sense . when london votes with southwark's disagree , here they may find their long lost loyalty . here busie senates , to th' old cause inclin'd , may snuff the votes their fellows left behind : your country neighbours , when their grain grows dear , may come and find their last provision here : whereas we cannot much lament our loss , who neither carry'd back , nor brought one cross ; we look'd what representatives wou'd bring , but they help'd us , just as they did the king. yet we despair not , for we now lay forth the sybill's books , to those who know their worth : and tho the first was sacrific'd before , these volumes doubly will the price restore . our poet bade us hope this grace to find , to whom by long prescription you are kind . he , whose undaunted muse , with loyal rage , has never spar'd the vices of the age , here finding nothing that his spleen can raise , is forc'd to turn his satire into praise . prologue . by mr. dryden . gallants , a bashful poet bids me say he 's come to lose his maidenhead to day . be not too fierce , for he 's but green of age ; and ne're , till now , debauch'd upon the stage . he wants the suff'ring part of resolution ; and comes with blushes to his execution . e're you deflow'r his muse , he hopes the pit will make some settlement upon his wit. promise him well , before the play begin ; for he wou'd fain be cozen'd into sin. 't is not but that he knows you mean to fail ; but , if you leave him after being frail , he 'll have , at least , a fair pretence to rail ; to call you base , and swear you us'd him ill , and put you in the new deserters bill : lord , what a troop of perjur'd men we see ; enow to fill another mercury ! but this the ladies may with patience brook : their's are not the first colours you forsook ! he wou'd be loath the beauties to offend ; but , if he shou'd , he 's not too old to mend . he 's a young plant , in his first year of bearing , but his friend swears , he will be worth the reering . his gloss is still upon him : tho 't is true he 's yet unripe , yet take him for the blue . you think an apricot half green is best ; there 's sweet and sour : and one side good at least . mango's and limes , whose nourishment is little , tho' not for food , are yet preserv'd for pickle . so this green writer , may pretend , at least , to whet your stomachs for a better feast . he makes this difference in the sexes too , he sells to men , he gives himself to you . to both , he wou'd contribute some delight ; a mere poetical hermaphrodite . thus he 's equipp'd , both to be woo'd , and woo ; with arms offensive , and defensive too ; 't is hard , he thinks , if neither part will do . considerations on the eighty eighth psalm . by mr. prior . heavy , o lord , on me thy judgments lie , and curs'd i am ; for god neglects my cry . o lord , in darkness and despair i groan ; and every place is hell ; for god is gone . o lord , arise , and let thy beams controul those horrid clouds , that press my frighted soul : o rise , and save me from eternal night , thou that art the god of light. downward i hasten to my destin'd place ; there none obtain thy aid , none sing thy praise . soon i shall lie in death's deep ocean drown'd : is mercy there ; is sweet forgiveness found ? o save me yet , whilst on the brink i stand ; rebuke the storm , and set me safe to land. o make my longings and thy mercy sure , thou that art the god of power . behold the wearied prodigal is come to thee , his hope , his harbour , and his home : no father he cou'd find , no friend abroad , depriv'd of joy , and destitute of god. o let thy terrours and his anguish end ! be thou his father , and be thou his friend : receive the son thou didst so long reprove , thou that art the god of love. veni creator spiritus , translated in paraphrase . by mr. dryden . creator spirit , by whose aid the world's foundations first were laid , come visit ev'ry pious mind ; come pour thy joys on human kind : from sin , and sorrow set us free ; and make thy temples worthy thee , o , source of uncreated light , the father 's promis'd paraclite ! thrice holy fount , thrice holy fire , our hearts with heav'nly love inspire ; come , and thy sacred unction bring to sanctifie us , while we sing ! plenteous of grace , descend from high , rich in thy sev'n-fold energy ! thou strength of his almighty hand , whose pow'r does heav'n and earth command : proceeding spirit , our defence , who do'st the gift of tongues dispence , and crown'st thy gift , with eloquence ! refine and purge our earthy parts ; but , oh , inflame and fire our hearts ! our frailties help , our vice controul ; submit the senses to the soul ; and when rebellious they are grown , then , lay thy hand , and hold 'em down . chace from our minds th' infernal foe ; and peace , the fruit of love , bestow : and , lest our feet shou'd step astray , protect , and guide us in the way . make us eternal truths receive , and practise , all that we believe : give us thy self , that we may see the father and the son , by thee . immortal honour , endless fame attend th' almighty father's name : the saviour son , be glorify'd , who for lost man's redemption dy'd : and equal adoration be eternal paraclete , to thee . the curse of babylon . paraphras'd from the thirteenth chapter of isaia . a pindarique ode . by tho. yalden. . now let the fatal banner be display'd ! upon some lofty mountain's top , go set the dreadful standard up ! and all around the hills , the bloody signals spread . forlo , the numerous hosts of heav'n appear ! th'imbattl'd legions of the skie , with all their dread artillery , draw forth in bright array , and muster in the air. why do the mountains tremble with the noise ! and valleys eccho back their voice : the hills , tumultuous grow and loud , the hills that groan beneath the gathering multitude . wide as the poles of heav'ns extent , so far 's the dreadful summons sent : kingdoms , and nations , at his call appear , for ev'n the lord of hosts commands in person there . . start from thy lethargy , thou drowsie land , awake , and hear his dread command ! thy black tempestuous day comes louring on , o fatal light ! o inauspicious hour ! was ever such a day before ! so stain'd with blood , by marks of vengeance nature shall from her steady course remove , the well-fix'd earth be from its basis rent , convulsions shake the firmament , horrour seize all below , confusion reign above . the stars of heav'n shall sicken at the sight , nor shall the planets yield their light : but from the wretched object fly , and like extinguish'd tapers , quit the darkned skie . the rising sun as he was conscious too , as he the fatal bus'ness knew : a deep , a bloody red shall stain , and at his early dawn shall set in night again . . to the destroying sword i 've said , go forth , go fully execute my wrath ! command my hosts , my willing armies lead , for this rebellious land and all therein shall bleed . they shall not grieve me more , no more transgress , i will consume the stubborn race : yet brutes and salvages i justly spare , useless is all my vengeance there , ungrateful man 's the greater monster far . on guiltless beasts i will the land bestow , to them th' inheritance shall go , those elder brothers now , shall lord it here below . and if some poor remains escape behind , some relicts left of lost mankind : the astonish'd herds shall in their cities cry , when they behold a man , lo there 's a prodigy ! . the medes i call to my assistance here , a people that delight in war : a generous race of men , a nation free from vitious ease , and persian luxury . silver is despicable in their eyes , contemn'd the useless metal lies : their conqu'ring iron they prefer before the finest gold , even ophir's tempting oar. by these the land shall be subdu'd , abroad their bows shall overcome , their swords and flames destroy at home , for neither sex nor age shall be exempt from blood. the nobles , and the princes of thy state , shall on the victor's triumphs wait : and those that from the battel fled , shall be with chains opprest , in cruel bondage led . . i 'll visit their distress with plagues and miseries , the throws that womens labours wait , convulsive pangs , and bloody sweat , their beauty shall consume , and vital spirits seize . the ravish'd virgins shall be born away , and their dishonour'd wives be led , to the insulting victor's bed , to brutal lusts expos'd , to fury left a prey . nor shall the teeming womb afford its forming births a refuge from the sword : the sword , that shall their pangs increase , and all the throws of travel , curse with barrenness . the infants shall expire with their first breath and only live in pangs of death : live , but with early crys to curse the light , and at the dawn of life , set in eternal night . . even babylon adorn'd with ev'ry grace , the beauty of the universe : glory of nations ! the caldeans pride , and joy of all th' admiring world beside . thou babylon ! before whose throne the empires of the earth fall down : the prostrate nations homage pay , and vassal princes of the world obey . thou that with empire art exalted now , shalt in the dust be trampl'd low : abject and low upon the earth be laid , and deep in ruines hide thy ignominious head. thy strong amazing walls , whose impious height the clouds conceal from human sight : that proudly now their polish'd turrets rear , which bright as neighbouring stars appear , diffusing glories round th' inlightn'd air ; in flames shall downwards to their center fly , and deep within the earth as their foundations lie . . thy beauteous palaces ( tho' now thy pride ! ) shall be in heaps of ashes hid : in vast surprizing heaps shall lie , and even their ruines bear the pomp of majesty . no bold inhabitant shall dare , thy raz'd foundations to repair : no pitying hand exalt thy abject state ; no! to succeeding times thou must remain , an horrid exemplary scene , and lie from age to age , ruin'd and desolate . thy fall's decreed , ( amazing turn of fate ! ) low as gomorrah's wretched state : thou babylon shalt be like sodom curst , destroy'd by flames from heaven , and thy more burning lust. . the day 's at hand , when in thy sruitful soil , no labourer shall reap , no mower toil : his tent the wandring arab shall not spread , nor make thy cursed ground his bed ; tho' faint with travel , tho' opprest with thirst , he to his drooping herds shall cry aloud , taste not of that imbitter'd flood , taste not euphrates streams , they 're pois'nous all and curst . the shepherd to his wandring flocks shall say , when o're thy battlements they stray : when in thy palaces they graze , ah fly unhappy flocks ! fly this infectious place . whilst the sad traveller that passes on , shall ask , lo where is babylon ! and when he has thy small remainder found , shall say i 'll fly from hence , 't is sure accursed ground . . then shall the savages and beasts of prey , from their deserted mountains haste away ; every obscene and vulger beast , shall be to babylon a guest : her marble roofs , and every cedar rome , shall dens , and caves of state to nobler brutes become . thy courts of justice , and tribunals too , ( o irony to call them so ! ) there , where the tyrant and oppressour bore the spoils of innocence and blood before ; there shall the wolf and savage tyger meet , and griping vulture shall appear in state , there birds of prey shall rule , and ravenous beasts be great . those uncorrupted shall remain , those shall alone their genuine use retain , there violence shall thrive , rapine and fraud shall reign . then shall the melancholy satyrs groan , o're their lamented babylon ; and ghosts that glide with horrour by , to view where their unbury'd bodys lie ; with doleful crys shall fill the air , and with amazement strike the affrighted traveller . there the obscener birds of night , birds that in gloomy shades delight , shall solitude enjoy , live undisturb'd by light . all the ill omens of the air , shall scream their loud presages there . but let them all their dire predictions tell , secure in ills , and fortifi'd with woe , heaven shall in vain its future vengeance show : for thou art happily insensible , beneath the reach of miseries fell , thou need'st no desolation dread , no greater curses fear . out of horace , lib. ii. ode . aequam memento — i. be calm , my delius , and serene , however fortune change the scene ! in thy most dejected state , sink not underneath the weight ; nor yet , when happy days begin , and the full tide comes rowling in , let a fierce unruly joy the settled quiet of thy mind destroy : however fortune change the scene , be calm , my delius , and serene ! ii. be thy lot good , or be it ill , life ebbs out at the same rate still : whether with busie cares opprest , you wear the sullen time away ; or whether to sweet ease and rest , you sometimes give a day ; carelessly laid , underneath a friendly shade by pines , and poplars , mixt embraces made ; near a river's sliding stream , fetter'd in sleep , bless'd with a golden dream . iii. here , here , in this much envied state , let every blessing on thee wait ; bid the syrian nard be brought , bid the hidden wine be sought , and let the roses short-liv'd flower , the smiling daughter of an hour , flourish on thy brow : enjoy the very , very now ! while the good hand of life is in , while yet the fatal sisters spin . iv. a little hence my friend , and thou must into other hands resign thy gardens and thy parks , and all that now bears the pleasing name of thine ! thy meadows , by whose planted tides , silver tyber gently glides ! thy pleasant houses ; all must go , the gold that 's hoarded in 'em too ; a jolly heir shall set it free , and give th' imprison'd monarchs liberty . v. nor matters it , what figure here , thou dost among thy fellow mortals bear ; how thou wert born , or how begot ; impartial death matters it not : with what titles thou dost shine , or who was first of all thy line : life's vain amusements ! amidst which we dwell ; not weigh'd , nor understood , by the grim god of hell ! vi. in the same road ( alas ! ) all travel on ! by all alike , the same sad journy must be gon ! our blended lots together lie , mingled in one common urn ; sooner or later out they fly : the fatal boat then wafts us to the shore , whence we never shall return , never ! — never more ! the grove . see how damon's age appears , this grove declares his fading years : for this he planted once , and eat the maiden fruits of what he set . young it was then , like him ; but now , sapless , and old , is every bow. thus , my lesbia , will it be in time to come with thee , and me. come then , in love , and youthful play let 's pass the smiling hours away , before this tender amorous mark grow wide upon it's fading bark ; and show , like damon's grove , that we are old , and gray , as well as he. love but one . . see these two little brooks that slowly creep , in snaky writhings through the plains , i knew them once one river swift and deep , blessing and blest by poets strains . . then toucht with awe , we thought some god did pour those floods out of his sacred jar ; transforming every weed into a flow'r , and every flower into a star. . but since it broke it self , and double glides , the naked banks no dress have worn ; and yon dry barren mountain now derides these vallies , which lost glories mourn . . such , chloris , is thy love ; which , while it ran , confin'd within a single stream , fir'd every tuneful son of mighty pan ; and thou wert mine , and all mens theam . . but when imparted to one lover more , it in two streams did faintly creep ; the shepherds common muse grew low and poor , and mine , as lean as these my sheep . . alas ! that honour , chloris , thou hast lost , which we to thy full flood did pay ! while now , that swain , that swears he loves thee most , slakes but his thirst , and goes away ! to the author of sard an ap alus ; upon that , and his other writings . tho' teaching thy peculiar business be , learn this one lesson , schoolmaster , of me ; where good sense fails , the best description's vile ; and a rough verse the noblest thoughts will spoil . think it not genius , to know how to scan , nor great , to show a monster for a man. wound not the ear with ill-turn'd prose in rhime ; nor mistake furious fustian for sublime : believe this truth , and thy vain tumbling quit : what is not reason , never can be wit. from the boy 's hand , take horace into thine , and thy rude satires by his rules refine . see thy gross faults in boy leau 's faithful glass , and get the sense , to know thy self an ass. of my lady hyde . occasion'd by the sight of her picture . by mr. george granville . the painter with immortal skill may trace a beauteous form , or shew a heav'nly face ; the poet's art , less straitned and confin'd , can draw the virtues , and describe the mind , unlock the shrine , and to the sight unfold the secret gems , and all the inside gold. this dazling beauty is a lovely case of shining virtues , spotless as her face ; with graces that attract , but not ensnare , divinely good , as she 's divinely fair. two only patterns do the muses name , of perfect beauty , but of guilty fame ; a venus and a helen have been seen , both perjur'd wives , the goddess and the queen ; in this the third , are reconcil'd at last those jarring attributes of fair and chast ; this matchless charmer is a beam of light , without a cloud or spot , for ever bright , with beauty , nor affected , vain , nor proud , with greatness , eafie , affable , and good , the soul , and source of all that we admire , of every joy , but hope to our desire : like the chast moon , she shines to all mankind , but to endymion is her love confin'd ; what cruel destiny on beauty waits , when on one face depend so many fates ; oblig'd by honour , to relieve but one , by thousands we despair , and are undone . an imitation of the second chorus , in the second act of seneca's thyestes . by mr. george granville . at length the gods , propitious to our pray'rs , compose our tumults , and conclude our wars , the sons of inachus repent the guilt of crowns usurpt , and blood of parents spilt ; for impious greatness , vengeance is in store , short is the date of all ill-gotten pow'r . give ear , ambitious princes , and be wise , listen , and learn wherein true greatness lies ; place not your pride in roofs that shine with gems , in purple robes , nor sparkling diadems , nor in dominion , nor extent of land ; he 's only great who can himself command . whose guard is peaceful innocence , whose guide is faithful reason , who is void of pride , checking ambition , nor is idly vain of the false incense of a popular train . who without strife or envy can behold his neighbour's plenty , and his heaps of gold , nor covets other wealth , but what we find in the possessions of a virtuous mind . fearless he sees , who is with virtue crown'd , the tempest rage , and hears the thunder sound , most truly noble , who contemning fate , in midst of spears and javelins keeps his state , compos'd and firm he stands , nor shrinks to feel the piercing arrow , or the pointed steel ; disdaining chance , regardless he looks down , ever the same , whether she smile , or frown : serenely as he liv'd , resigns his breath , meets destiny half way , nor grieves at death . ye soveraign lords , who sit like gods in state , awing the world , and bustling to be great ; boast not of pow'r , nor of imperial sway , vassals your selves , who every lust obey ; the reins of empire , ill befit those hands , where passion governs , and where rage commands . what is this fame , for which our kings are slaves ? the breath of fools , and blast of flattering knaves . a peaceful conscience , and a generous breast , of all the gifts of fortune are the best . what need of arms , and instruments of war , or battering engines which destroy from far ? who lord of his own appetites can be , the greatest king and conquerour is he , blest with a pow'r , which nothing can destroy , and each is his own master to enjoy . whom worldly luxury , and pomps allure , they tread on ice , and find no footing sure ; place me , ye gods , in some obscure retreat , oh! keep me innnocent , make others great : in quiet shades , content with rural sports , give me a life , remote from guilty courts , where free from hopes or fears , in humble ease , unheard of i may live , and dye in peace . happy the man , who thus retir'd from sight , studies himself , and seeks no other light ! but most unhappy he , who sits on high , expos'd to every tongue , and every eye , whose follies blaz'd about , to all are known , and are a secret to himself alone : worse is an evil fame , much worse , than none . amor omnibus idem : or , the force of love in all creatures ; being a translation of some verses in virgil's third georgick , from verse to verse . whether the nobler horses breed you raise , or duller herds your fertile pastures graze ; nothing will more a vigorous strength produce , than to forbid them the licentious use of love's enfeebling rites : be therefore sure , your bulls are pastur'd by themselves secure ; let some broad river , or a rising hill be interpos'd ; or let them take their fill in closer stalls : for wanton love's desire is kindled at the eyes ; whose wastful fire consumes them by degrees , and makes them slight their food , while they behold the pleasing sight . besides the fierce encounters that ensue , when rival bulls th' alluring object view : who , both inspir'd with jealousie and rage , for the fair female bloody battels wage : till with black blood their sides are cover'd o're , and their curl'd foreheads meet with hideous roar , which neighbouring groves , and distant caves rebound , and great olympus ecchos back the sound , whilst the glad victor does the spot maintain , and of his warlike hazards reaps the gain : the conquer'd foe forsakes the hostile place , with deep resentments of his past disgrace : the ignominious wounds the conquerour gave , in his griev'd mind no slight impression leave : departing he his absent love does moan , looks back with longing eyes , and many a groan on those his ancient realms , where once he rul'd alone . then with redoubled care his strength supplies , rough on the flinty ground all night he lies , and shrubs , and prickling thistles for his food suffice . then runs his horns into some solid oak , whose reeling trunk does scarce sustain the stroke . with vain assaults provokes the yielding air , and makes his flourishes before the war. then with his force and strength prepar'd , does go with headlong rage against th' unwary foe : like a white wave that is defcry'd from far rolling its vastness towards the frighted shore ; till with loud noise against the pointed beaks of solid rocks , the moving mountain breaks ; whilst the chaft billows from the bottom throw the rising sands , that on the surface flow . all creatures thus the force of love do find ; for , whether they be those of human kind , or savage beasts , or neptune's spawning fry , or wanton herds , or painted birds that fly , they all the like transporting fury try . 't is with this rage the lyoness is stung , when o're the forrest ( mindless of her young ) she sternly stalks : 't is then the shapeless bear with fierce desire does to the woods repair , and wide destruction makes : 't is then we see the savage boar's and tyger's cruelty . let then the sun-burnt traveller forbear in lybia's sandy desarts to appear . see how the winds the trembling stallions fray , when first to their sagacious nostrils they the distant female's well-known scent convey ! then no restraining curbs , nor cruel blows nor hollow caves , nor obvious rocks oppose their passage , nor the sea 's objected force , that bears the mountains down its violent course . the sabine boar does then prepare to wound , and whets his foamy tusks , and paws the ground : his sides against the rugged trees does tare , and hardens both his shoulders for the war. what does the * youth in whose enraged veins the heat of love's distemper'd fever reigns ? through stromy seas he his bold fortune tries , tho' in his face the obvioús billows rise , and dash him back to shore ; whilst from the throne of heav'n its loud artillery rattles down on his devoted head : nor can the sound of waters which against the rocks rebound recall his desperate course , nor all the tears occasion'd by his careful parents fears , nor his lov'd * nymph who soon the self-same fortune shares . 't were long to tell the spotted linx's wars , by love excited : or the furious jars of prowling wolves , or mastives head-strong rage : ev'n tim'rous stags will for their hinds engage . but most of all in mares the amorous fire appears ; whom venus did her self inspire . what time that potnian glaucus ( to improve their speed ) with-held them from the rites of love ; with rage incens'd they struck their master dead , and on his mangled limbs by piecemeal fed . o're craggy mountains love their way does guide , and spurs them through the depths of rivers wide : when spring 's soft fire their melting marrow burns ( for 't is in spring the lusty warmth returns ) they to the tops of steepest hills repair , and with wide nostrils snuff the western air , wherewith conceiving , ( wonderful to tell ) without the stallions help their bellies swell : whose frantick fury makes them scour amain o're solid rocks , and through the liquid plain , nor hills , nor streightning vales their giddy course restrain : nor do they tow'rds the suns uprising steer their head-strong way , nor towards the frozen bear , nor towards the place where tepid auster pours upon the pregnant earth his plenteous showers : till from their lustful groins at last does fall their off-spring , which the shepherds rightly call hippomanes : a slimy , poisonous juice , which muttering step-dames in inchantments use , and in the mystick cup their powerful herbs infuse . but time is lost , which never will renew , whilst ravish'd , we the pleasing theam pursue . to mr. congreve . an epistolary ode . occasion'd by his late play. from mr. yalden. i. fam'd wits and beauties , share this common fate , to stand expos'd to publick love and hate , in ev'ry breast they diff'rent passions raise , at once provoke our envy , and our praise . for when , like you , some noble youth appears , for wit and humour fam'd above his years : each emulous muse , that views the laurel won , must praise the worth so much transcends their own , and , while his fame they envy , add to his renown . but sure like you , no youth , cou'd please , nor at his first attempt boast such success : where all mankind have fail'd , you glories won : triumphaut are in this alone , in this , have all the bards of old outdone . ii. then may'st thou rule our stage in triumph long , may'st thou it's injur'd fame revive , and matchless proofs of wit , and humour , give , reforming with thy scenes , and charming with thy song . and tho' a curse ill-fated wit persues , and waits the fatal dowry of a muse : yet may thy rising fortunes be secure from all the blasts of poetry ; as thy own laurels flourishing appear , fear . unsully'd still with cares , nor clog'd with hope and as from its want's be from its vices free , from nauseous servil flattery : nor to a patron prostitute thy mind , tho'like augustus great , as fam'd moecenas kind . iii. tho' great in fame ! believe me generous youth , believe this oft experienc'd truth , from him that knows thy virtues , and admires their worth . tho' thou' rt above what vulgar poets fear , trust not the ungrateful world too far ; trust not the smiles of the inconstant town : trust not the plaudits of a theater , ( which d — fy shall , with thee , and dryden share ) nor to a stages int'rest sacrifice thy own . thy genius , that 's for nobler things design'd , may at loose hours oblige mankind : then great as is thy fame , thy fortunes raise , joyn thriving int'rest to thy barren bays , and teach the world to envy , as thou do'st to praise the world , that does like common whores embrace , injurious still to those it does caress : injurious as the tainted breath of fame , that blasts a poet's fortunes , while it sounds his name . iv. when first a muse inflames some youthful breast , like an unpractis'd virgin , still she 's kind : adorn'd with graces then , and beauties blest , she charms the ear with fame , with raptures fills the mind . then from all cares the happy youth is free , but those of love and poetry : cares , still allay'd with pleasing charms , that crown the head with bays , with beauty fill the arms. but all a woman's frailties soon she shows , too soon a stale domestick creature grows : then wedded to a muse that 's nauseous grown , we loath what we enjoy , druge when the pleasure 's gon . for tempted with imaginary bays , fed with immortal hopes , and empty praise : he fame pursues , that fair , but treacherous , bait , grows wise , when he 's undone , repents when'tis too v. small are the trophies of his boasted bays , the great man's promise , for his flattering toyl , fame in reversion , and the publick smile , all vainer than his hopes , uncertain as his praise . 't was thus in mournful numbers heretofore , neglected spencer did his fate deplore : long did his injur'd muse complain , admir'd in midst of wants , and charming still in vain long did the generous cowley mourn , and long oblig'd the age without return : deny'd what every wretch obtains of fate , an humble roof , and an obscure retreat , condemn'd to needy fame , and to be miserably great . thus did the world thy great fore-fathers use , thus all the inspir'd bards before , did their hereditary ills deplore : from tuneful chaucer's , down to thy own dryden's muse. vi. yet pleas'd with gaudy ruin youth will on , as proud by publick fame to be undone : pleas'd tho'he does the worst of labours chuse , to serve a barb'rous age , and an ungrateful muse. since dryden's self , to wit 's great empire born , whose genius and exalted name , triumph with all the spoils of wit and fame ; must midst the loud applause his barren laurels mourn . even that fam'd man whom all the world admires , whom every grace adorns , and muse inspires : like the great injur'd tasso shows , triumphant in the midst of woes ; in all his wants majestick still appears , charming the age to which he ows his cares , and cherishing that muse whose fatal curse he bears . from mag. col. oxon. on his mistress drown'd . by mr. s — sweet stream , that dost with equal pace both thy self fly , and thy self chace , forbear a while to flow , and listen to my woe , then go , and tell the sea that all its brine is fresh , compar'd to mine ; inform it that the gentler dame , who was the life of all my flame , in the glory of her bud has pass'd the fatal flood . death by this only stroak triumphs above the greatest power of love : alas , alas ! i must give o're , my sighs will let me add no more . go on , sweet stream , and henceforth rest no more than does my troubl'd breast ; and if my sad complaints have made thee stay , these tears , these tears shall mend thy way . to the pious memory of the accomplisht young lady mrs. anne killigrew . excellent in the two sister-arts of poësie , and painting . an ode . by mr. dryden . . thou youngest virgin-daughter of the skies , made in the last promotion of the blest ; whose palms , new pluckt from paradise , in spreading branches more sublimely rise , rich with immortal green above the rest : whether , adopted to some neighbouring star , thou rol'st above us , in thy wand'ring race , or , in procession fixt and regular , mov'd with the heavens majestick pace ; or , call'd to more superiour bliss , thou tread'st , with seraphims , the vast abyss . what ever happy region is thy place , cease thy celestial song a little space ; ( thou wilt have time enough for hymns divine , since heav'ns eternal year is thine . ) hear then a mortal muse thy praise rehearse , in no ignoble verse ; but such as thy own voice did practise here , when thy first fruits of poesie were giv'n ; to make thy self a welcome inmate there : while yet a young probationer , and candidate of heav'n . . if by traduction came thy mind , our wonder is the less to find a soul so charming from a stock so good ; thy father was transfus'd into thy blood : so wert thou born into the tuneful strain , ( an early , rich , and inexhausted vein . ) but if thy praeexisting soul was form'd , at first , with myriads more , it did through all the mighty poets roul , who greek or latine laurels wore . and was that sappho last , which once it was before . if so , then cease thy flight , o heav'n-born mind ! thou hast no dross to purge from thy rich ore : nor can thy soul a fairer mansion find , than was the beauteous frame she left behind : return , to fill or mend the quire , of thy celestial kind . . may we presume to say , that at thy birth , new joy was sprung in heav'n , as well as here on earth . for sure the milder planets did combine on thy auspicious horoscope to shine , and ev'n the most malicious were in trine . thy brother-angels at thy birth strung each his lyre , and tun'd it high , that all the people of the skie might know a poetess was born on earth . and then if ever , mortal ears had heard the musick of the spheres ! and if no clust'ring swarm of bees on thy sweet mouth distill'd their golden dew , 't was that , such vulgar miracles , heav'n had not leasure to renew : for all the blest fraternity of love solemniz'd there thy birth , and kept thy holyday above . . o gracious god! how far have we prophan'd thy heav'nly gift of poesy ? made prostitute and profligate the muse , debas'd to each obscene and impious use , whose harmony was first ordain'd above for tongues of angels , and for hymns of love ? o wretched we ! why were we hurry'd down this lubrique and adult'rate age , ( nay added fat pollutions of our own ) t' increase the steaming ordures of the stage ? what can we say t' excuse our second fall ? let this thy vestal , heav'n , attone for all ! her arethusian stream remains unsoil'd , unmixt with forreign filth , and undefil'd , her wit was more than man , her innocence a child ! . art she had none , yet wanted none : for nature did that want supply , so rich in treasures of her own , she might our boasted stores defy : such noble vigour did her verse adorn , that it seem'd borrow'd , where'twasonly born . her morals too were in her bosom bred by great examples daily fed , what in the best of books , her father's life , she read . and to be read her self she need not fear , each test , and ev'ry light , her muse will bear , though epictetus with his lamp were there . ev'n lóve ( for love sometimes her muse exprest ) was but a lambent-flame which play'd about her breast : light as the vapours of a morning dream , so cold her self , whilst she such warmth exprest , 't was cupid bathing in diana's stream . . born to the spacious empire of the nine , one wou'd have thought , she shou'd have been content to manage well that mighty government ; but what can young ambitious souls confine ? to the next realm she stretcht her sway , for painture near adjoyning lay , a plenteous province , and alluring prey . a chamber of dependences was fram'd , ( as conquerors will never want pretence , when arm'd , to justifie th' offence ) and the whole fief , in right of poetry she claim'd . the country open lay without defence : for poets frequent in-rodes there had made , and perfectly cou'd represent the shape , the face , with ev'ry lineament ; and all the large demains which the dumb-sister sway'd , all bow'd beneath her government , receiv'd in triumph wheresoe're she went. her pencil drew , what e're her soul design'd , and oft the happy draught surpass'd the image in her mind . the sylvan scenes of herds and flocks , and fruitful plains and barren rocks , of shallow brooks that flow'd so clear , the bottom did the top appear ; of deeper too and ampler floods , which as in mirrors , shew'd the woods ; of lofty trees , with sacred shades , and perspectives of pleasant glades , where nymphs of brightest form appear , and shaggy satyrs standing near , which them at once admire and fear . the ruines too of some majestick piece , boasting the pow'r of ancient rome or greece . whose statues , freezes , columns broken lie , and tho' defac'd , the wonder of the eye , what nature , art , bold fiction e're durst frame , her forming hand gave feature to the name . so strange a concourse ne're was seen before , but when the peopl'd ark the whole creation bore . . the scene then chang'd , with bold erected look our martial king the sight with reverence strook : for not content t' express his outward part , her hand call'd out the image of his heart , his warlike mind , his soul devoid of fear , his high-designing thoughts , were figur'd there , as when , by magick , ghosts are made appear . our phenix queen was portrai'd too so bright , beauty alone cou'd beauty take so right : her dress , her shape , her matchless grace , were all observ'd , as well as heav'nly face . with such a peerless majesty she stands , as in that day she took the crown from sacred hands : before a train of heroins was seen , in beauty foremost , as in rank , the queen ! thus nothing to her genius was deny'd , but like a ball of fire the further thrown , still with a greater blaze she shone , and her bright soul broke out on ev'ry side . what next she had design'd , heaven only knows , to such immod'rate growth her conquest rose , that fate alone its progress cou'd oppose . . now all those charms , that blooming grace , the well-proportion'd shape , and beauteous face , shall never more be seen by mortal eyes ; in earth the much lamented virgin lies ! not wit , nor piety cou'd fate prevent ; nor was the cruel destiny content to finish all the murder at a blow , to sweep at once her life , and beauty too ; but , like a hardn'd fellon , took a pride to work more mischievously slow , and plunder'd first , and then destroy'd . o double sacriledge on things divine , to rob the relique , and deface the shrine ! but thus orinda dy'd : heav'n , by the same disease , did both translate , as equal were their souls , so equal was their fate . . mean time her warlike brother on the seas his waving streamers to the winds displays , and vows for his return , with vain devotion , pays . ah , generous youth , that wish forbear , the winds too soon will waft thee here ! slack all thy sails , and fear to come , alas , thou know'st not , thou art wreck'd at home ! no more shalt thou behold thy sister's face , thou hast already had her last embrace . but look aloft , and if thou ken'st from far , among the pleiad's a new-kindl'd star , if any sparkles , than the rest , more bright , 't is she that shines in that propitious light. . when in mid-air , the golden trump shall sound , to raise the nations under ground ; when in the valley of jehosaphat , the judging god shall close the book of fate ; and there the last assizes keep , for those who wake , and those who sleep ; when ratling bones together fly , from the four corners of the skie , when sinews o're the skeletons are spread , those cloath'd with flesh , and life inspires the dead ; the sacred poets first shall hear the sound , and formost from the tomb shall bound : for they are cover'd with the lightest ground , and streight , with in born vigour , on the wing , like mounting larks , to the new morning sing . there thou , sweet saint , before the quire shalt go , as harbinger of heav'n , the way to show , the way which thou so well hast learn'd below . to the earl of carlisle , upon the death of his son before luxemburg . he 's gone , and was it then by your decree , ye envious powers , that we shou'd only see this copy of your own divinity ? or thought ye it surpassing human state , to have a blessing lasting as 't was great ? your cruel skill you better ne're had shown , since you so soon design'd him all your own . such torturing favours to the damn'd are given , when to encrease their hell , you show 'em heav'n , was it too godlike , he shou'd long inherit at once his father's , and his uncle's spirit ? yet as much beauty , and as calm a breast as the mild dame , whose teeming womb he blest . h' had all the favours providence cou'd give , except its own prerogative to live : reserv'd in pleasures , and in dangers bold , youthful in action , and in prudence old : his humble greatness , and submissive state , made his life full of wonder , as his fate . one , who to all the heights of learning bred , read books , and men , and practis'd what he read . round the wide globe searce did the busie sun with greater haste , and greater lustre run . true gallantry and grandure he descry'd from the french fopperies , and german pride . and like th' industrious bee , where e're he flew , gather'd the sweets which on sweet blossoms grew . babel's confused speeches on his tongue , with a sweet harmony and concord hung . more countries than for homer did contest , do strive who most were by his presence blest . nor did his wisdom damp his martial fire , minerva both her portions did inspire , use of the warlike bow , and peaceful lyre . so caesar doubly triumph'd when he wrote , showing like wit , as valour , when he fought . if god ( as plato taught ) example takes from his own works , and souls by patterns makes , much of himself in him he did unfold , and cast him in his darling sidney's mold , of too refin'd a substance to be old . both did alike disdain an hero's rage , shou'd , come like an inheritance by age. ambitiously did both conspire to twist bays with the ivy , which their temples kist : scorning to wait the slow advance of time , both fell like early blossoms in their prime , by blind events , and providence's crime . yet both , like codrus , o're their yielding foe obtain'd the conquest , in their overthrow ; and longer life do purchase by their death , in fame compleating what they want in breath . oh! had kind fate stretcht the contracted span , to the full glories of a perfect man ; and as he grew cou'd every rolling year a new addition to our wonder bear , h 'had paid to his illustrious line that stock of ancient honour , which from thence he took . but oh ! so hasty fruits , and too ambitious flowers , scorning the midwifery of ripening showers , in spight of frosts , spring from th' unwilling earth , but find a nip untimely as their birth . abortive issues so delude the womb. and scarce have being , e're they want a tomb. forgive ( my lord ) the muse that does aspire with a new breath to fan your raging fire ; whose each officious and unskilful sound can with fresh torture but enlarge the wound . cou'd i , with david , curse the guilty plain where one more lov'd than jonathan was slain : or cou'd i flights high as his merits raise , clear as his vertue , deathless as his praise , none who ( tho' laurels crown'd their aged head ) admir'd him living , and ador'd him dead , with more devotion shou'd enroll his name in the long consecrated list of fame . but since my artless and unhallow'd strain will the high worth , it should commend , prophane ; since i despair my humble verse shou'd prove great as your loss , or tender as your love ; my heart with sighings , and with tears mine eye , shall the defect of written grief supply . the insect . against bulk . inest sua gratia parvis . by mr. yalden. where greatness is to nature's works deny'd , in worth and beauty it is well supply'd : in a small space the more perfection's shown , and what is exquisite , in little 's done . thus beams contracted in a narrow glass , to flames convert their larger useless rays . 't is nature's smallest products please the eye , whilst greater births pass unreguarded by : her monsters seem a violence to sight , they 're form'd for terrour , insects to delight . thus when she nicely frames a piece of art , fine are her stroaks , and small in every part ; no labour can she boast more wonderful , than to inform an atom with a soul : to animate her little beauteous fly , and cloath it in her gaudy'ft drapery . thus does the little epigram delight , and charm us with its minature of wit : whilst tedious authors give the reader pain , weary his thoughts , and make him toil in vain ; whenin less volumes we more pleasure find , and what diverts , still best informs the mind . 't is the small infect looks correct and fair , and seems the product of her nicest care. when weary'd out with the stupendious weight , of forming prodigies , and brutes of state : then she the infect frames , her masterpiece , made for diversion , and design'd to please . thus archimedes , in his crystal sphere , seem'd to correct the world's artificer : whilst the large globe moves round with long delay , his beauteous orbs in nimbler circles play ; this seem'd the nobler labour of the two , great was the sphere above , but fine below . thus smallest things have a peculiar grace , the great w' admire , but 't is the little please ; then since the least so beautifully show , b' advis'd in time , my muse , and learn to know a poet's lines shou'd be correct , and few . written in a lady's advic̄e to a daughter . 't is true — in these well-polish'd lines , the author 's noble genius shines : a happy wit , a thought well weigh'd , and in a charming dress convey'd , adorn each curious page — 't is true : but what 's all this , fair maid , to you ? have lovely faces need of paint ? are manuals useful to a saint ? let careless nymphs be ply'd with rules , let wit be thrown among the fools : in both of these you boast a store , compar'd with which , our author 's poor . alas ! as he directs his pen to maids , shou'd you advise the men ; shou'd you your easie minutes vex , to make reprisals on the sex , we great pretenders then shou'd find our selves , our darling selves , out-shin'd , not more in body , than in mind : she-wit and sense wou'd mount the throne , and our lov'd salic-law be gone . written in a lady's waller . the lovely owner of this book does here on her own image look : each happy page , each finish'd line does with her matchless graces shine ; and is , with common verse compar'd , what she is among beauty's herd . the poet boasts a lofty thought , in softest numbers smoothly wrought ; has all that pleases the severe , and all that charms a list'ning ear. and such the nymph is — blest with all that we can sweet , or noble call : for never sure was any mind , of all that from heav'ns treasury came of better make , and more refin'd , or lodg'd within a fairer frame . such angels seem , when pleas'd to wear some lovely dress of colour'd air ! oh! had she liv'd , before the old bard had so many winters told ; then , when his youthful veins ran high , enflam'd with love , and poetry ; he only to this shining maid the tribute of his verse had paid : no meaner face , no lesser name had fix'd his eyes , or fed his flame ; her beauties had employ'd his tongue , and sacharissa dy'd unsung . written in the leaves of a fan . flavia the least and slightest toy can , with resistless art , employ . this fan , in meaner hands , wou'd prove an engine , of small force , in love. yet she , with graceful air and meen , ( not to be told ! or safely seen ! ) directs its wanton motions so , that it wounds more than cupid's bow : gives coolness to the matchless dame , to every other breast a flame . an incomparable ode of malherb's . written by him when the marriage was afoot between this king of france , and anne of austria . translated by a person of quality , a great admirer of the easiness of the french poetry . cette anne si belle , this anna so fair , qu'on vante sifort , so talk'd of by fame , pourquoy ne vient elle ? why don't she appear ? vrayment , elle a tort ! indeed , she 's to blame ! son loüis soûpire lewis sighs for the sake apres set appas : of her charms , as they say : que veut elle dire , what excuse can she make , que elle ne vient pas ? for not coming away ? si il ne la possêde , if he does n't possess , il s'en va mourir ; he dies with despair ; donnons y remede , let 's give him redress , allons la querir . and go find out the fair. on the dutchess of portsmouth's picture . had she but liv'd in cleopatra's age , when beauty did the earth's great lords engage , brittain , not egypt , had been glorious made ; augustus then , like julius , had obey'd : a nobler theam had been the poet's boast , that all the world for love had well been lost . a song . by the earl of rochester . insulting beauty , you mispend those frowns upon your slave ; your scorn against such rebels bend , who dare with confidence pretend , that other eyes their hearts defend , from all the charms you have . your conquering eyes so partial are , or mankind is so dull , that while i languish in despair , many proud senseless hearts declare , they find you not so killing fair , to wish you merciful . they an inglorious freedom boast ; i triumph in my chain ; nor am i unreveng'd , though lost ; nor you unpunish'd , though unjust , when i alone , who love you most , am kill'd with your disdain . song for the king's birth-day . shine forth , bright sun , and gild the day , with a more than common ray. the day that gave us more , than all the rolling years that thou hast number'd out , cou'd e're bestow , or brittain wish before . from greenness of touth , to ripeness of age , with what dangers , what troubles did caesar engage . in the field , on the flood , through the waves , and through blood , the race of bright honour he ran ! how great in distress , how calm in success ! in both , how much more than man ! chorus . where-e're his birth had been by fortune plac'd , such vertue heav'n must needs have crown'd at last . heav'n has been just , and right has prevail'd , tho' by hell's malice and forces assail'd ; rebellion and faction are sunk whence they rose , and caesar the wounds of his nation does close , rewarding his friends , and forgiving his foes . in the glory gain'd by war , vulgar hands and fortune share ; but the more noble and solid renown that arises from pardon to penitents shown , all render to caesar , 't is caesar's alone . caesar nobly does disdain over less than hearts to reign ; let tyrants force th' ignobler part , god and caesar claim the heart . hark how the nation united rejoyces in the glad consort of hearts and of voices ! what thanks they express for their plenty and peace , and the long desir'd blessings of freedom and ease . hark , the joyful song goes round , 't is the universal sound : long may heaven and caesar smile , heaven on him , and he on us ; long , long may he rule our isle , and long , long rule it thus ! as lov'd in peace , as fear'd in arms , and ever blest in gloriana's charms . a song . . after the fiercest pangs of hot desire , between panthoea's rising breasts , his bending breast philander rests : and vanquisht , yet unknowing to retire , close hugs the charmer , and asham'd to yield , tho' he has lost the day , yet keeps the field . . when , with a sigh , the fair panthoea said , what pity 't is , ye gods , that all the noblest warriours soonest fall : then with a kiss she gently rear'd his head ; arm'd him again to fight , for nobly she more lov'd the combat than the victory . . but more enrag'd , for being beat before , with all his strength he does prepare more fiercely to renew the war ; nor ceas'd he till the noble prize he bore : ev'n her much wondrous courage did surprise , she hugs the dart that wounded her , and dies . a song . . through mournful shades , and solitary groves , fann'd with the sighs of unsuccessful loves , wild with despairs , young thyrsis strays , thinks over all amyra's heav'nly charms , thinks he now sees her in another's arms ; then at some willow's root himself he lays , the loveliest , most unhappy swain ; and thus to the wild woods he does complain . . how art thou chang'd , o thyrsis , since the time when thou cou'dst love , and hope without a crime ; when nature's pride , and earth's delight , as through her shady evening grove she past , and a new day did all around her cast ; cou'd see , nor be offended at the sight : the melting , sighing , wishing swain , that now must never hope to wish again . . riches and titles ! why shou'd they prevail , where duty , love , and adoration fail ? lovely amyra , shou'dst thou prize the empty noise that a fine title makes ; or the vile trash that with the vulgar takes , before a heart that bleeds for thee , and dies : unkind ! but pity the poor swain your rigour kills , nor triumph in the slain . song . you say you love ! repeat again , repeat th' amazing sound ; repeat the ease of all my pain , the cure of ev'ry wound . what you to thousands have deny'd , to me you freely give ; whilst i in humble silence dy'd , your mercy bids me live . so on cold latmos top each night , endymion sighing lay , gaz'd on the moon 's transcendant light , despair'd , and durst not pray . but divine cynthia saw his grief , th' effect of conquering charms ; unask'd , the goddess brings relief , and falls into his arms. song . fairest of thy sex , and best , admit my humble tale ; 't will ease the torment of my breast , tho' i shall ne're prevail . no fond ambition me does move your favour to implore , i ask not for return of love , but freedom to adore . to the king. in the year . by mr. george granville . heroes of old , by rapine and by spoil , in search of fame , did all the world embroil , thus to their gods each then ally'd his name , this sprang from jove , and that from titan came ; with equal valour , and with like success , dread king , might'st thou the universe oppress ; but christian rules constrain thy martial pride ; peace is thy choice , and piety thy guide : by thy example kings may learn to sway , heroes are taught to fight , and saints to pray . the grecian chiefs had vertue but in share ; nestor was wise , but ajax brave in war : their very deities were grac'd no more , mars had the courage , jove the thunder bore : but all perfections meet in james alone , and brittain's king is all the gods in one . harry marten's epitaph , by himself . here , or elsewhere ( all 's one to you , to me ) earth , air , or water gripes my ghostless dust , none knowing when brave fire shall set it free ; reader , if you an oft try'd rule will trust , you 'll gladly do and suffer what you must . to his friend captain chamberline ; in love with a lady he had taken in an algeriene prize at sea. in allusion to the th ode of horace , lib. the d . by mr. yalden. . 't is no disgrace ( brave youth ) to own by a fair slave you are undone : why dost thou blush to hear that name ! and stifle thus a generous flame ! did not the fair briseis heretofore with powerful charms subdue ? what tho' a captive , still she bore those eyes that freedom cou'd restore , and make her haughty lord , the proud achilles bow . . stern ajax , tho' renown'd in arms , did yield to bright tecmessa's charms : and all the laurels he had won , as trophies at her feet were thrown . when beautiful in tears , he view'd the mourning fair , the hero felt her power : tho' great in camps , and fierce in war , her softer looks he cou'd not bear , proud to become her slave , tho'late her conquerour . . when beauty in distress appears , an irresistless charm it bears : in every breast does pity move , pity the tender'st part of love. amidst his triumphs great atrides shew'd unto a weeping maid : tho' troy was by his arms subdu'd , and greece the bloody trophies view'd , yet at a captive's feet the imploring victor laid . . think not , thy charming maid can be of a base stock , a mean degree : her shape , her air , her every grace , a more than vulgar birth confess . yes , yes , my friend , with royal blood she 's great , sprung from some monarch's bed : now mourns her family's hard fate , her mighty fall , and abject state , and her illustrious race conceals with noble pride . . ah think not an ignoble house ! cou'd such a heroine produce : nor think such generous sprightly blood , cou'd flow the corrupted crowd . but view her courage , her undaunted mind , and soul with vertues crown'd : where dazling int'rest cannot blind , nor youth , nor gold admittance find , but still her honour 's fix'd , and vertue keeps its ground . . view well her great majestick air , and modest looks divinely fair : too bright for fancy to improve , and worthy of thy noblest love. but yet suspect not thy officious friend , all jealous thoughts remove : tho' i with youthful heat commend , for thee i all my wishes send , and if she makes thee blest , 't is all i ask of love , a song . by a lady . . ye virgin powers , defend my heart from am'rous looks and smiles , from sawcy love , or nicer art , which most our sex beguiles ; . from sighs and vows , from awful fears , that do to pity move ; from speaking silence , and from tears , those springs that water love. . but if through passion i grow blind , let honour be my guide ; and where frail nature seems inclin'd , there place a guard of pride . . an heart whose flames are seen , tho' pure , needs every vertues aid ; and she who thinks her self secure , the soonest is betray'd . written by a lady . strephon hath fashion , wit , and youth , with all things else that please ; he nothing wants but love and truth to ruin me with ease . but he is flint , and bears the art to kindle fierce desire , whose pow'r enflames another's heart , and he ne're feels the fire . o how it does my soul perplex , when i his charms recall , to think he shou'd despise our sex ; or , what 's worse , love 'em all . so that my heart , like noah's dove , in vain has sought for rest , finding no hopes to fix my love , returns into my breast . paraphras'd out of horace , the d ode of the d book . by dr. pope . the wary gods lock up in cells of night future events , and laugh at mortals here . if they to pry into 'em take delight , if they too much presume , or too much fear . o man ! for thy short time below enjoy thy self , and what the gods bestow : unequal fortunes here below are shar'd , life to a river's course may justly be compar'd : sometimes within its bed , without an angry curl or wave , from the spring head it gently glides to the ocean , its grave . then unawares , upon a sudden rain , it madly overflows the neighb'ring plain : it ploughs up beauteous ranks of trees , that shaded and adorn'd its banks ; overturns houses , bridges , rocks , drowns shepherds and their flocks : horror and death rage all the valley o're , the forrests tremble , and the mountains roar . love's antidote . when i sigh by my mistress , and gaze on those eyes where all-conquering love in garrison lies . when her nose i commend with a true roman bend , and run on in flattery world without end : on her ample high forehead , and her little soft hand , to which , if compar'd , the best ivory is tann'd : on the words which with grace from her rosie lips flow , and such harmony make , as was ne're heard below , then she bridles the pride , and swells with disdain , and slights her adorer , now fast in her chain . with scorn in her haughty looks , and in her words thunder , then drunken with love do i reel to the wonder : then with three or four glasses my languishing passes , and off slides the load , love lays on his asses . then i swear i 'le for ever keep out of the scrape , love's soveraign antidote is the blood of the grape . anacreon imitated . oft the reverend dotards cry , why so loving , daphnis , why ? love 's a thing for age alone : love 's a god , and you 're too young . let the harvest crown your brow , and adorn your head with snow : love may boldly enter then : years will countenance your flame . fruits , unripe , disgust the taste ; falling ripe they please us best . colts are skittish ; but the dam , ( once a colt ) is still and tame : reverend dotards , why so wise ? why these reverend fooleries ? who neglects to back the horse , till his years compute him worse ? generous brutes that latest die , early to enjoyment fly : vigorous nature scorns a tie . gather'd fruit are best of all ; we despise them when they fall . thus your follies show to me , what my reverend age shall be . bring the glass then , bring the fair , fill it , 't is a health to her . for experimental i will a great example be to convince such reverend fools of their own mistaken rules . anacreon imitated . oh how pleasant is't ! how sweet ! while with beauties exquisite nature paints the fragrant grove , thus to walk and talk of love. here no envious eastern gale sells us pleasure by retail . western breezes here dispence joys so full , they cloy the sense . gods ! oh gods ! how sweet a shade has that honey-suckle made , clasping round that spreading tree , clasping fast , and apeing me . me who , there with celia laid , first inform'd this lovely maid so to clasp , and so to twine . oh! how sweet a life is mine ! anacreon imitated . come fill 't up , and fill it high , the barren earth is always dry ; but we 'll steep't in kindly show'rs , it laughs in dew , and smiles in flow'rs . the jovial gods did , sure , design , by the immortal gift of wine , to drown our sighs , and ease our care , and make's content to revel here . to revel , and to reign in love , and be throughout like those above . from virgil's st georgick , beginning at imprimis venerare deos , &c. translated into english verse by h. sacheverill . dedicated to mr. dryden . first let thy altars smoak with sacred fire , thy earthly labours the just gods require . let ceres blessings usher in the year , to give an omen to thy future care. with sacrifice adorn her grassy shrine , with milk , with honey , and with flowing wine . then go , the mighty goddess to adore , when spring buds forth , and winter is no more . then well fed lambs thy plenteous tables load , and mellow wines give appetite to food . whilst the cool shade by small refreshing streams invite soft sleep , and gentle pleasing dreams . the rustick youth the goddess shou'd implore to bless their fruits , and to encrease their store . thrice let the sacrifice in triumph led crown the new off-spring of her fruitful bed. a joyful quire shall sing her praises round , and with unequal motions beat the ground . whilst oaken branches on their temples twine , to shew the better use of corn and wine . the goddess thus appeas'd , will bend her ear , and with a plenteous harvest will reward your care. the certain seasons of the year to know great jove has taught us , and from whence they flow , droughts , rains , and winds their certain signs forego , those messengers of fate fly to provide the way , to give the signal of a gloomy day . the moon her tokens constantly fulfils , and with her beams points out th' approaching ills. her waining orb puts on a various form to give the sign of an impending storm . when south winds rise the herdsmen justly fear , and seek a shelter when the tempest 's near . first from a gentle blast the winds arise , whose infant voice in whisp'ring murmurs flys , then with loud clamours fills the troubled skies . by small degrees advanc'd , it stronger grows , till every point each other does oppose . then through the jarring zones it frets and roars , and lifts the swelling billows to the shores. vast watry mountains rowl upon the sand , and angry surges beat the trembling land. a harsh , shrill noise the ecchoing caverns fills , and strikes the ear from the resounding hills ; whose reverend tops , with aged pine-trees crown'd , rock with the wind , and tremble with the sound . then threatning surges hardly can forbear the tatter'd vessel , while the seamen fear each rowling billow shou'd their last appear . the frightned native of the troubled waves his long accustom'd habitation leaves . now born aloft a winged army soar to seek for safety on a calmer shore . the more-hen , conscious of the tempest near , plays on the sand , and so prevents her fear . the hern forsakes his ancient marshy bed , and tow'rs to heav'n while clouds bedew his head . sometimes he 's met by a descending star , which warns the tempest rushing from afar . the headlong planet glides in fiery streams , and shoots through darkness with its radiant beams . it cuts the shadows with a train of light , and makes a medley of the day and night . a sportive whirlwind lifts the moving sand , in my stick circles dancing on the land. now wanton feathers whiten all the flood ; and sapless leaves fly o're the shaken wood , at distance black'ning in a dusky cloud . but when a new-fledg'd storm comes blust'ring forth , and quits the thund'ring regions of the north : when east and west in distant poles conspire , uniting rage , to swell the deluge higher , with rapid streams the full-charg'd chanels flow , collecting forces as they farther go . th' unruly tide no sturdy banks controul , o're unknown plains the furious torrents rowl . the reapers mourn to see the deluge bear their long expected labours of the year . la jeune iris aux cheveux gris disoit à theodate , retournons , mon cher à paris , avant que l'on combatte ; vous me donnés trop de souci , car guillaume ne raille . helas ! que feriez-vous icy ? le jour d'une bataille . il est vray que vous partirés sans lauriers & sans gloire , et que vous embarrasserés ceux qui font vôtre histoire ; mais vous devés laisser ces soins a d'espreaux & corneille ; vous ne les payeriés pas moins , quand vous feriés merveille , vous punirez une autre fois ces gens qui m'ont pillée . qu'elle honte qu'à charleroy ils m'ûssent ameneé ! quoy que je sois ainée de vous , et que je sois bien sage , jaurois passé parmy ces fous pour un rebut de page . a paraphrase on the french. in gray-hair'd celia's wither'd arms whilst mighty lewis lay , she cry'd , if i have any charms , my dearest let 's away . i tremble for you when i hear of drums the dreadful rattle : alas , sir ! what shou'd you do here in dreadful day of battle . perhaps you 'll ask what can repair the ruines of your glory : 't is fit you leave so mean a care to those who pen your story . are not d'espreaux and corneile paid for panegyrick writing ? they know how heroes may be made without the help of fighting . your foes too saucily approach , 't is best to leave them fairly : put six good horses in your coach , and carry me to marly . let bousters , to secure your fame , go take some town , or buy it ; whilst you , great sir , at nostredame , te deum sing in quiet . a song by sir john eaton . . tell me not i my time mispend , 't is time lost to reprove me ; persue thou thine , i have my end so chloris only love me . . tell me not others flocks are full , mine poor , ' let them despise me who more abound with milk and wool , ' so chloris only prize me . . tire others easier ears with these unappertaining stories ; he never felt the world's disease who car'd not for its glories . . for pity thou that wiser art , whose thoughts lie wide of mine ; let me alone with my own heart , and i 'le ne're envy thine . . nor blame him who e're blames my wit , that seeks no higher prize , than in unenvy'd shades to sit , and sing of chloris eyes . another song in imitation of sir john eaton's songs . by the late earl of rochester . too late , alas ! i must confess you need no arts to move me : such charms by nature you possess , 't were madness not to love you . then spare a heart you may surprise , and give my tongue the glory to boast , tho' my unfaithful eyes betray a kinder story . a song by sidny godolphin , esq on tom. killigrew and will. murrey . . tom and will were shepherds twain , who liv'd and lov'd together , till fair pastora crost the plain , alack , why came the thither ! pastora's fair and lovely locks set both their hearts on fire , although they did divide their flocks , they had but one desire . . tom came of a gentile race , by father and by mother , will was noble , but alas , he was a younger brother . neither of them no huntsman was , no fisher , nor no fowler ; tom was stil'd the prop'rer lad , but will the better bowler . . tom wou'd drink her health and swear , the nation cou'd not want her ; will wou'd take her by the ear , and with his voice enchant her . tom was always in her sight , and ne're forgot his duty ; will was witty , and cou'd write sweet sonnets on her beauty . . which of them she loved most , or whither she lov'd either ; t was thought they found it to their cost , that she indeed lov'd neither . and yet she was so sweet a she , so comly of behaviour ; that tom thought he , and will thought he , was greatest in her favour . . pastora was a beauteous lass , of a charming sprightly nature , divinely good and kind she was , and smil'd on ev'ry creature . of favours she was provident , but yet not over sparing , she gave no loose encouragement , yet kept men from despairing . . now flying fame had made report of fair pastora's beauty , that she must needs unto the court , there to perform her duty . unto the court pastora's gone , ( it were no court without her , ) the queen her self , with all her train , had none so fair about her . . tom hung his dog , and flung away his sheep-hook and his wallet ; will broke his pipes , and curst the day that e're he made a ballet . their nine-pins and their bowls they broke , their tunes were turn'd to tears , 't is time for me to make an end , let them go shake their ears . rondelay . by mr. dryden . . chloe found amyntas lying all in tears , upon the plain ; sighing to himself , and crying , wretched i , to love in vain ! kiss me , dear , before my dying ; kiss me once , and ease my pain ! . sighing to himself , and crying wretched i , to love in vain : ever scorning and denying to reward your faithful swain : kiss me , dear , before my dying ; kiss me once , and ease my pain ! . ever scorning , and denying to reward your faithful swain ; chloe , laughing at his crying , told him that he lov'd in vain : kiss me , dear , before my dying ; kiss me once , and ease my pain ! . chloe , laughing at his crying , told him that he lov'd in vain : but repenting , and complying , when he kiss'd , she kiss'd again : kiss'd him up , before his dying ; kiss'd him up , and eas'd his pain . in a letter to the honourable mr. charles montague . by mr. prior . . howe're , 't is well , that whilst mankind , through fate 's fantastic mazes errs , he can imagin'd pleasures find , to combat against real cares . . fancies and notions we pursue , which ne're had being but in thought ; and like the doating artist woo , the image we our selves have wrought . . against experience we believe , and argue against demonstration ; pleas'd that we can our selves deceive , and set our judgment by our passion . . the hoary fool , who , many days , has struggled with continued sorrow , renews his hope , and blindly lays the desp'rate bet upon to morrow . . to morrow comes , 't is noon , 't is night , this day like all the former fled ; yet on he runs to seek delight to morrow , till too night he 's dead . . our hopes , like tow'ring falcons , aim at objects in an airy height , but all the pleasure of the game , is afar off to view the flight . . the worthless prey but only shows , the joy consisted in the strife ; whate're we take , as soon we lose , in homer's riddle , and in life . . so whilst in fev'rish sleeps we think we taste what waking we desire , the dream is better than the drink , which only feeds the sickly fire . . to the minds eye things well appear , at distance through an artful glass ; bring but the flatt'ring objects near , they 're all a senseless gloomy mass. . seeing aright , we see our woes , then what avails it to have eyes ? from ignorance our comfort flows , the only wretched are the wise. . we wearied shou'd lie down in death , this cheat of life wou'd take no more ; if you thought fame but stinking breath , i , phillis but a perjur'd whore. an ode . by mr. prior . whilst blooming youth and gay delight in all thy looks and gestures shine ; thou hast , my dear , undoubted right to rule this destin'd heart of mine ; my reason bends to what your eyes ordain , for i was born to love , and you to reign . . but wou'd you meanly then rely on power , you know i must obey ; 't is but a legal tyranny to do an ill , because you may . why must i thee , as atheists heav'n adore , not see thy mercy , and but dread thy pow'r . . take heed , my dear , youth flies apace , time equally with love is blind ; soon must those glories of thy face the fate of vulgar beauty find . the thousand loves that arm thy potent eye , must drop their quivers , flag their wings , and die . . then thou wilt sigh , when in each frown a hateful wrinckle more appears ; and putting peevish humours on , seems but the sad effect of years : even kindness then too weak a charm will prove to raise the ghost of my departed love. . forc'd complements and formal bows will show thee just above neglect , the heat with which thy lover glows will settle into cold respect ; a talking dull platonick i shall turn , learn to be civil , when i cease to burn . . then shun the ill , and know , my dear , kindness and constancy will prove the only pillars fit to bear so vast a weight as that of love : if thou canst wish to make my flames endure , thine must be very fierce , and very pure . . haste celia , haste , whilst love invites , obey the godhead's gentle voice , fill every sense with soft delights , and give thy soul a loose to joys ; let millions of repeated blisses prove that thou art kindness all , and i all love . . be mine , and only mine , take care to guide your looks , your thoughts , your dreams to me alone , nor come so far , as liking any youth beside : what men e're court thee , fly 'em , and believe they 're serpents all , and thou the tempted eve. . so shall i court thy dearest truth when beauty ceases to engage ; and thinking on thy charming youth , i 'll love it o're again in age. so time it self our raptures shall improve , and still we 'll wake to joy , and live to love. to a lady of quality's playing on the lute . by mr. prior . what charms you have , from what high race you sprung , have been the subject of our daring song ; but when you pleas'd to show the lab'ring muse what greater theams your musick could produce ; our babling praises we repeat no more , but hear , rejoyce , stand silent , and adore . the persians thus , first gazing on the sun , admir'd how high 't was plac'd , how bright it shone ; but , as his pow'r was known , their thoughts were rais'd , and soon they worship'd , what at first they prais'd . eliza's glory lives in spencer's song , and cowley's verse keeps fair orinda young : that you in beauty , and in birth excell , the muse might dictate , and the poet tell ; your art , no other art can speak , and you , to shew how well you play , must play anew : your musick 's pow'r your musick must disclose , for what light is , 't is only light that shows . strange force of harmony that thus controuls our inmost thoughts , and sanctifies our souls : whilst with its utmost art your sex could move our wonder only , or at'best our love. you far beyond both these your god did place , that your high power might worldly thoughts destroy , that with your numbers you our zeal might raise , and , like himself , communicate your joy. when to your native heaven you shall repair , and with your presence crown the blessings there your lute may wind its strings but little higher , to tune their notes to that immortal quire. your art is perfect here , your numbers do , more than our books , make the rude atheist know that there 's a heaven , by what he heàrs below . as in some piece , whilst luke his skill exprest , a cunning angel came and drew the rest : so , whilst you play , some godhead does impart harmonious aid , divinity helps art ; some cherub finishes what you begun , and to a miracle improves a tune . to burning rome when frantick nero play'd , viewing your face , no more he had survey'd the reigning flames , but struck with strange surprize , confess 'em less than those of anna's eyes . but , had he heard thy lute , he soon had found his rage eluded , and his crime atton'd ; thine , like amphion's hand had rais'd the stone , and from destruction call'd a fairer town ; malice to musick had been forc'd to yield , nor could he burn so fast , as thou couldst build . an epitaph on the lady whitmore . by mr. dryden . fair , kind , and true , a treasure each alone ; a wife , a mistress , and a friend in one ; rest in this tomb , rais'd at thy husband 's cost , here sadly summing , what he had , and lost . come virgins , e're in equal bands you join , come first and offer at her sacred shrine ; pray but for half the vertues of this wife , compound for all the rest , with longer life , and wish your vows , like hers may be return'd , so lov'd when living , and when dead so mourn'd . an epitaph , on sir palmes fairborne's tomb in westminster - abby . by mr. dryden . sacred to the immortal memory of sir palmes fairborne , knight , governor of tangier ; in execution of which command he was mortally wounded by a shot from the moors , then besieging the town , in the th . year of his age. october th . . ye sacred relicks which your marble keep , here undisturb'd by wars in quiet sleep : discharge the trust which when it was below fairborne's undaunted soul did undergo , and be the towns palladium from the foe . alive and dead these walls he will defend , great actions great examples must attend . the candian siege his early valour knew , where turkish blood did his young hands imbrew . from thence returning with deserv'd applause , against the moors his well-flesh'd sword be draws ; the same the courage , and the same the cause . his youth and age , his life and death combine , as in some great and regular design , all of a piece throughout , and all divine . still nearer heaven his vertues shone more bright , like rising flames expanding in their height , the martyr's glory crown'd the soldiers fight . more bravely brittish general never fell , nor general 's death was e're reveng'd so well , which his pleas'd eyes beheld before their close , follow'd by thousand victims of his foes . to his lamented loss for time to come , his pious widow consecrates this tomb. to the reverend dr. sherlock , dean of st. paul's ; on his practical discourse concerning death . by mr. prior . forgive the muse , who in unhallow'd strains the saint one moment from his god detains : for sure , what e're you do , where e're you are , 't is all but one good work , one constant pray'r . forgive her : and intreat that god , to whom thy favour'd vows with kind acceptance come , to raise her numbers to that blest degree that suits a song of piety and thee . wondrous good man ! whose labours may repel the force of sin , may stop the rage of hell : who , like the baptist , from thy god wert sent to be the voice , and bid the world repent : thee , youth shall study ; and no more engage his flatt'ring wishes for uncertain age ; no more , with fruitless care , and cheated strife , chace fleeting pleasure through this maze of life ; finding the wretched all he here can have but present food , and but a future grave ; each , great as philip's son , shall sit and view this sordid world , and , weeping , ask a new. decrepit age shall read thee , and consess thy labours can asswage , where medcine 's cease : shall bless thy words , their wounded souls relief the drops that sweeten their last dregs of life ; shall look to heav'n , and laugh at all beneath , own riches gather'd trouble ; fame , a breath ; and life an ill , whose only cure is death . thy even thoughts with so much plainness flow , their sense untutor'd infancy may know , yet to that height is all that plainness wrought , wit may admire , and letter'd pride be taught : easie in words thy style , in sense sublime , on its blest steps each age and sex may rise , 't is like the ladder in the patriarch's dream , its foot on earth , its height beyond the skies . diffus'd its vertue , boundless is its pow'r , 't is publick health , and universal cure : of heav'nly manna 't is a second feast , a nation 's food , and all to every taste . to its last height mad brittain's guilt was rear'd , and various deaths for various crimes she fear'd ; with your kind works her drooping hopes revive , you bid her read , repent , adore , and live . you wrest the bolt from heav'ns avenging hand , stop ready death , and save a sinking land. o save us still ! still bless us with thy stay ! o want thy heav'n , till we have learnt the way ! refuse to leave thy destin'd charge too soon , and for the church's good , defer thy own ! o live ! and let thy works urge our belief ! live to explain thy doctrine by thy life ; till future infancy , baptiz'd by thee , grow ripe in years , and old in piety , till christians , yet unborn , be taught to die ; then in full age , and hoary holiness retire , great teacher , to thy promis'd bliss : untoucht thy tomb , uninjur'd be thy dust , as thy own fame amongst the future just , till in last sounds the dreaded trumpet speaks , till judgment calls , and quickned nature wakes , till through the utmost earth , and deepest sea our scatter'd atoms find their hidden way , in haste to cloath their kindred souls again , perfect our state , and build immortal man : then fearless , thou , who well sustain'dst the fight , to paths of joy , and worlds of endless light , lead up all those who heard thee , and believ'd ; ' midst thy own flock , great shepherd , be receiv'd , and glad all heav'n with millions thou hast sav'd . on exodus . . i am that i am . a pindarique ode . by mr. prior . man ! foolish man ! scarce know'st thou how thy self began , scarce hast thou thought enough to prove thou art , yet steel'd with study'd boldness , thou dar'st try to send thy doubting reason's dazled eye through the mysterious gulph of vast immensity . much thou canst there discern , and much impart , vain wretch ! suppress thy knowing pride , mortifie thy learned lust ; vain are thy thoughts , whilst thou thy self art dust. wisdom her oars , and wit her sails may lend , the helm let politick experience guide , yet cease to hope , thy short-liv'd bark shall ride down spreading fate 's unnavigable tide . what tho' still it farther tend ? still 't is further from its end , and in the bosom of that boundless sea loses it self , and its increasing way . . with daring pride and insolent delight you boast your doubts resolv'd , your labours crown'd , and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 your god , forsooth , is found incomprehensible and infinite . but is he therefore found ? vain searcher ! no : let your imperfect definition show that nothing less than nothing you the weak definer know . . say why shou'd the collected main it self within it self contain ? why to its caverns shou'd it sometimes creep , and with delighted silence sleep on the lov'd bosom of its parent deep ? why shou'd its numerous waters stay in comely discipline , and fair array , prepar'd to meet its high commands , and with diffus'd obedience spread their op'ning ranks o're earth's submissive head : and march through different paths to different lands ? why shou'd the constant sun with measur'd steps his radiant journeys run ? why does he order the diurnal hours to leave earth's other part , and rise in ours ? why does he wake the correspondent moon , and , filling her willing lamp with liquid light , commanding her with delegated power to beautifie the world , and bless the night ? why shou'd each animated star love the just limits of its proper sphere ? why shou'd each consenting sign with prudent harmony combine to keep in order , and gird up the regulated year ? . man does with dangerous curiosity these unfathom'd wonders try , with fancy'd rules and arbitrary laws , matter and motion he restrains , and studied lines and fictious circles draws ; then with imagin'd sov'raignty lord of his new hypothesis he reigns . he reigns : how long ? till some usurper rise , and he too , mighty thoughtful , mighty wise , studies new lines , new circles feigns , on t'other's ruine rears his throne , and shewing his mistakes , maintains his own . well then ! from this new toil what knowledge flows ! just as much , perhaps , as shows that former searchers were but bookish fools , their choice remarks , their darling rules , but canting error all , and jargon of the schools . . through the aerial seas , and watry skies , mountainous heaps of wonders rise ; whose tow'ring strength will ne're submit to reason's batteries , or the mines of wit. yet still enquiring , still mistaking man , each hour repuls'd , each hour dare onward press , and levelling at god his wandring guess , ( that feeble engine of his reasoning war , which guides his doubts , and combats his despair , ) laws to his maker the learn'd wretch can give , can bound that nature , and prescribe that will , whose pregnant word did either ocean fill , and tell us how all beings are , and how they move and live . vain man ! that pregnant word sent forth again , through either ocean , might to a world extend each atom there ; and for each drop call forth a sea , a heav'n for every star. . let cunning earth her fruitful wonders hide , and only lift thy staggering reason up to trembling calvary's astonish'd top ; the mock thy knowledge , and confound thy pride , by telling thee , perfection suffer'd pain , an eternal essence dy'd ; death's vanquisher by vanquish'd death was slain , the promis'd earth prophan'd with deicide . then down with all thy boasted volumes down , only reserve the sacred one ; low , reverently low , make thy stubborn knowledge bow ; weep out thy reason's , and thy body's eyes , deject thy self , that thou may'st rise ; and to see heaven be blind to all below . then faith , for reason's glimmering light , shall give her immortal perspective ; and grace's presence nature's loss retrieve : then thy enliv'ned soul shall know that all the volumes of philosophy , with all their comments , never cou'd invent so politick an instrument , so fit , as jacob's ladder was to scale the distant skie . the last parting of hector and andromache . from the sixth book of homer's iliads . translated from the original by mr. dryden . argument . hector , returning from the field of battel , to visit helen his sister-in-law , and his brother paris , who had fought unsuccessfully hand to hand , with menelaus , from thence goes to his own palace to see his wife andromache , and his infant son astyanax . the description of that interview , is the subject of this translation . thus having said , brave hector went to see his virtuous wife , the fair andromache . he found her not at home ; for she was gone ( attended by her maid and infant son , ) to climb the steepy tow'r of ilion . from whence with heavy heart she might survey the bloody business of the dreadful day . her mournful eyes she cast around the plain , and sought the lord of her desires in vain . but he , who thought his peopled palace bare , when she , his only comfort , was not there ; stood in the gate , and ask'd of ev'ry one , which way she took , and whither she was gone : if to the court , or with his mother's train , in long procession to minerva's fane ? the servants answer'd , neither to the court where priam's sons and daughters did resort , nor to the temple was she gone , to move with prayers the blew-ey'd progeny of jove ; but , more solicitous for him alone , than all their safety , to the tow'r was gone , there to survey the labours of the field ; where the greeks conquer , and the trojans yield . swiftly she pass'd , with fear and fury wild , the nurse went lagging after with the child . this heard , the noble hector made no stay ; th' admiring throng divide , to give him way : he pass'd through every street , by which he came , and at the gate he met the mournful dame. his wife beheld him , and with eager pace , flew to his arms , to meet a dear embrace : his wife , who brought in dow'r cilicia's crown ; and , in her self , a greater dow'r alone : aëtion's heyr , who on the woody plain of hippoplacus did in thebe reign . breathless she flew , with joy and passion wild , the nurse came lagging after with her child . the royal babe upon her breast was laid ; who , like the morning star , his beams display'd . scamandrius was his name which hector gave , from that fair flood which ilion's wall did lave : but him astyanax the trojans call , from his great father who defends the wall. hector beheld him with a silent smile , his tender wife stood weeping by , the while : prest in her own , his warlike hand she took , then sigh'd , and thus prophetically spoke . thy dauntless heart ( which i foresee too late , ) too daring man , will urge thee to thy fate : nor dost thou pity , with a parent 's mind , this helpless orphan whom thou leav'st behind ; nor me , th' unhappy partner of thy bed ; who must in triumph by the greeks be led : they seek thy life ; and in unequal fight , with many will oppress thy single might : better it were for miserable me to die before the fate which i foresee . for ah what comfort can the world bequeath to hector's widow , after hector's death ! eternal sorrow and perpetual tears began my youth , and will conclude my years : i have no parents , friends , nor brothers left ; by stern achilles all of life bereft . then when the walls of thebes he o'rethrew , his fatal hand my royal father slew ; he slew action , but despoil'd him not ; nor in his hate the funeral rites forgot ; arm'd as he was he sent him whole below ; and reverenc'd thus the manes of his foe : a tomb he rais'd ; the mountain nymphs around , enclos'd with planted elms the holy ground . my sev'n brave brothers in one fatal day to death's dark mansions took the mournful way : slain by the same achilles , while they keep the bellowing oxen and the bleating sheep . my mother , who the royal scepter sway'd , was captive to the cruel victor made : and hither led : but hence redeem'd with gold , her native country did again behold . and but beheld : for soon diana's dart in an unhappy chace transfix'd her heart . but thou , my hector , art thy self alone , my parents , brothers , and my lord in one : o kill not all my kindred o're again , nor tempt the dangers of the dusty plain ; but in this tow'r , for our defence , remain . thy wife and son are in thy ruin lost : this is a husband 's and a father's post. the scoean gate commands the plains below ; here marshal all thy souldiers as they go ; and hence , with other hands , repel the foe . by yon wild fig-tree lies their chief ascent , and thither all their pow'rs are daily bent : the two ajaces have i often seen , and the wrong'd husband of the spartan queen : with him his greater brother ; and with these fierce diomede and bold meriones : uncertain if by augury , or chance , but by this easie rise they all advance ; guard well that pass , secure of all beside . to whom the noble hector thus reply'd . that and the rest are in my daily care ; but shou'd i shun the dangers of the war , with scorn the trojans wou'd reward my pains , and their proud ladies with their sweeping trains . the grecian swords and lances i can bear : but loss of honour is my only fear . shall hector , born to war , his birth-right yield , belie his courage and forsake the field ? early in rugged arms i took delight ; and still have been the foremost in the fight : with dangers dearly have i bought renown , and am the champion of my father's crown . and yet my mind forebodes , with sure presage , that troy shall perish by the grecian rage . the fatal day draws on , when i must fall ; and universal ruine cover all . not troy it self , tho' built by hands divine , nor priam , nor his people , nor his line , my mother , nor my brothers of renown , whose valour yet defends th' unhappy town , not these , nor all their fates which i foresee , are half of that concern i have for thee . i see , i see thee in that fatal hour , subjected to the victor's cruel pow'r : led hence a slave to some insulting sword : forlorn and trembling at a foreign lord. a spectacle in argos , at the loom , gracing with trojan fights , a grecian room ; or from deep wells , the living stream to take , and on thy weary shoulders bring it back . while , groaning under this laborious life , they insolently call thee hector's wife . upbraid thy bondage with thy husband's name ; and from my glory propagate thy shame . this when they say , thy sorrows will encrease with anxious thoughts of former happiness ; that he is dead who cou'd thy wrongs redress . but i opprest with iron sleep before , shall hear thy unavailing cries no more . he said . then , holding forth his arms , he took his boy , ( the pledge of love , and other hope of troy ; ) the fearful infant turn'd his head away ; and on his nurse's neck reclining lay , his unknown father shunning with affright , and looking back on so uncouth a fight . daunted to see a face with steel o're-spread , and his high plume , that nodded o're his head. his sire and mother-smil'd with silent joy ; and hector hasten'd to relieve his boy ; dismiss'd his burnish'd helm , that shone afar , ( the pride of warriours , and the pomp of war : ) th' illustrious babe , thus reconcil'd , he took : hugg'd in his arms , and kiss'd , and thus he spoke . parent of gods , and men , propitious jove , and you bright synod of the pow'rs above ; on this my son your gracious gifts bestow ; grant him to live , and great in arms to grow : to reign in troy ; to govern with renown : to shield the people , and assert the crown : that , when hereafter he from war shall come , and bring his trojans peace and triumph home , some aged man , who lives this act to see , and who in former times remember'd me , may say the son in fortitude and fame out-goes the mark ; and drowns his father's name : that at these words his mother may rejoyce : and add her suffrage to the publick voice . thus having said , he first with suppliant hands the gods ador'd : then to the mother's arms the child restor'd : with tears and smiles she took her son , and press'd th' illustrious infant to her fragrant breast . he wiping her fair eyes , indulg'd her grief , and eas'd her sorrows with this last relief . my wife and mistress , drive thy fears away ; nor give so bad an omen to the day : think not it lies in any grecian's pow'r , to take my life before the fatal hour . when that arrives , nor good nor bad can fly th' irrevocable doom of destiny . return , and to divert thy thoughts at home , there task thy maids , and exercise the loom , employ'd in works that womankind become . the toils of war , and feats of chivalry belong to men , and most of all to me . at this , for new replies he did not stay , but lac'd his crested helm , and strode away : his lovely consort to her house return'd : and looking often back in silence mourn'd : home when she came , her secret woe she vents , and fills the palace with her loud laments : those loud laments her ecchoing maids restore , and hector , yet alive , as dead deplore . syphilis . written ( in latin ) by that famous poet and physician fracastorius . english'd by mr. tate . the translator to dr. tho. hobbs . accept , great son of art , this faint effect of a most active , and unfeign'd respect : numbers that yield ( alas ! ) too just survey of physick's growth and poetry's decay . that shew a generous muse impair'd by me , as much as th' author's skill's out-done by thee . this indian conqu'rer's fatal march he sung , to the same lyre his own apollo strung ; whose notes yet fail'd the monster to asswage , revenging here , invading spaniard's rage . dear was the conquest of a new found world , whose plague e're since through all the old is hurl'd . had fracastorius , who in numbers told ( numbers more rich than those new lands of gold ) this great destroyer's progress , seen this age and thy success against the tyrant's rage , bembus , had then been no immortal name , thou and thy art had challeng'd all his flame ! thou driv'st th' usurper to his last retreats , repairing as thou go'st the ruin'd seats : thus while the foe is by thy art remov'd , the holds are strengthen'd , and the soil improv'd . thy happy conquest do's at once expell th' invader's force , and inbred factions quell . thy patients and augusta's fate 's the same , to rise more fair and lasting for the flame : while meaner artists this bold task essay , i' th' little world of man they lose their way . thou know'st the secret passes to each part , and , skill'd in nature , can'st not fail in art. the life of fracastorius . fracastorius was descended from the fracastorian family of great antiquity in verona . he seemed not only to rival the fame of catullus and pliny , who had long before made that city renown'd , but to have very far exceeded all his contemporaries , for learning and poetry . his parents were paulo-philippus fracastorius , and camilla mascarellia , both of great reputation . he was so well educated by his father , that he gave early proofs of a great genius , so that in his childhood all men conceived hopes of an extraordinary man. nor was providence wanting to give him a signal testimony , forasmuch as when he was an infant in the arms of his mother , a sudden tempest arising , in which the mother was struck dead by lightning , the child received no harm . he was sent for literature while very young to padua , where even in that age with indefatigable labour , he opened his way to that height of glory which he afterwards attained : after the initiatory arts he applied himself to the secrets of distinct sciences , but infinitely delighted with the mathematicks , in all , assisted by a memory equal to his ingenuity . after several years spent in philosophical studies under the tutorship of peter pomponatius of mantua ; he devoted himself by the dictates of his genius to physick , with such resolution and success , that in the school disputations , not only his fellow students , but most experienc'd doctors , were sensible that he was designed by providence for great undertakings . accordingly they then gave him the honour of the pulpit , which had never before been permitted to any person till they had perfected their studies , and were arrived to the years of manhood . this school being dissolv'd by the breaking out of the war , while he had thoughts of returning to his countrey ( his father being then dead ) he was on honourable conditions invited by livianus , general of the venetian forces , and a noble patron of wit , to the college forojuliensis , &c. — and lodged in the same apartment of andrea naugerus and johannes cottac , two excellent poets . he had not long resided here before he published verses on every extraordinary occasion that happened , which were received with such general applause throughout italy , that their fame has to this day stifled the performances of his companions . having afterwards accompanied livianus through many wars , the general being at last overthrown and taken prisoner by the french at abdua ; he returned late into his native countrey , where in the general devastation he found his patrimony almost utterly destroyed . he marry'd , but was soon unhappy in the loss of two sons , whose untimely death he bewailed in a most passionate elegy . he was low of stature , but of good bulk , his shoulders broad , his hair black and long , his face round , his eyes black , his nose short and turning upwards by his continual contemplation of the stars , a lively air was spread over his countenance , that displayed the serenity and ingenuity of his mind . he affected a quiet and private life , as being a man free from abmitious desires ; contenting himself with a moderate fortune , and placing his happiness in improvement of his knowledge . he was cheerful though frugal at his table , having a constant regard to his health ; his wit being always the best part of his banquet . he was notwithstanding sparing in his speech , and affecting no vanity in his dress : he was never censorious of other mens performances , but always glad of an occasion to commend ; for which he was deservedly celebrated by johannes baptista in a noble epigram . he spent his time in curing the diseased , a divine power seeming always to attend his endeavours , above the sordid desire of gain , and thought himself best rewarded in the health of his patient . by these means he contracted many friendships , and had ( deservedly ) no enemy . he was not only esteemed for his skill in his own countrey , but was sought to by foreign princes in desperate sickness , for which though vast rewards were offered , he brought nothing home beside their friendship . in his leisure he diverted himself with reading history , at which time polybius , or plutarch were never out of his hands . he sometimes relieved his studies with mathematicks and musick , and made no ●mall performances in cosmography . he was much alone , yet always employed ; and though by reason of his backwardness to discourse , he seemed of a saturnine temper , yet none were more chearful and pleasant when entred into coversation . he performed wonders by his exact knowledge of herbs and simples , by searching the best books of the ancients . that most excellent antidote called diascordium , was of his preparing ; we are likewise beholding to his judgment for specifying many useful herbs , of which the ancients had left uncertain description . the age in which he lived saw nothing equal to his learning , but his honesty . in his retreat from the city , while the pestilence raged , he found leisure to compose the following poem , a work of such elegance , that sanazarius freely acknowledged it to excell his own , de partu virginis , that had cost him above twenty years labour and correction . his treatises in prose and efforts of poetry are too numerous to be recited on this occasion . in all which he affected so little vanity , that he never preserv'd a copy ; and we are beholding for what are extant , to the industry of his friends that collected them after his death . he was above years old when he dyed , which was by an apoplexy that seiz'd him while he was at dinner at his countrey seat . he was sensible of his malady , though speechless , often putting his hand upon the top of his head , by which sign he would have had his servants administer a cupping-glass to the part affected , by which he had formerly cured a nun in verona , labouring under the same distemper . but his domesticks , not conceiving his meaning , apply'd first one thing and then another , till in the evening he gently expired . he was interr'd at verona : his statue , together with that of andrea naugerus , delicately cast in brass , was erected in the school of padua by johannes baptista rhamnusius . his fellow citizens of verona , not to be behind rhamnusius in respect ( two years after the erecting the brazen statue in padua ) set up his image in marble at verona , in imitation of their ancestours , who had performed the same honour to their catullus and pliny ; with laurel round their heads . to his friend , the writer of the ensuing translation . well has thy fate directed thee to chuse an author , worthy of the noblest muse : his learned pen has , what was long unknown , in roman language , like a roman shown . and thine as sweet , in british numbers taught the labours of his vast poetick thought . of earth , of seas , of putrid air he sung , to search from whence that dire contagion sprung , which now does worse than fellest plagues deface the beauteous form of god's resembling race . from the malignant influence of the skies , 't is sure the seeds of most diseases rise . but if this merciless , consuming flame , from vapours , or infectious planets came ; why rag'd it not much more in ancient times , from exhalations of impurer climes ? besides ; no settled consequence can spring from whatsoe're contingent causes bring . the raging pestilence , that long lays wast the spotted prey , devours it self at last . and sure had this been ne're so strong entail'd , the vile succession must e're now bave fail'd . blame not the stars ; 't is plain it neither fell from the distemper'd heavens , nor rose from hell. nor need we to the distant indies rome ; the curst originals are nearer home . whence should that foul infectious torment flow , but from the baneful source of all our wo ? that wheedling , charming sex , that draws us in to ev'ry punishment and ev'ry sin . while man , by heav'ns command , and nature led , through this vast globe his maker's image spread ; the godlike figure form'd in ev'ry womb prolifick stems , for ages yet to come . uncurst , because he did not vainly toil , on barren mountains , or impregnant soil ; healthful and vigorous , he , o're the face of the wide earth , dispers'd the sacred race . but now , that tribe , who all our rights invade , pervert the wise decrees which nature made . prompt to all ill , insatiately they fire at ev'ry pamper'd brutes untam'd desire : and while they prostitute themselves to more than eastern kings had concubines before ; the foul promiscuous coition breeds , like jarring elements , those pois'nous seeds , which all the dreadful host of symptoms bring ; and with one curst disease a legion spring . were the decay'd , degen'rate race of man , untainted now , as when it first began ; and there were no such tort'ring plague on earth , the first inconstant wretch wou'd give it birth . shun her , as you wou'd fly from splitting rocks ; not wolves so fatal are to tender flocks : though round the world the dire contagion flew , she 'll poison more , than e're pandora slew . a poetical history of the french disease . through what adventures this unknown disease so lately did astonisht europe seize , through asian coasts and libyan cities ran , and from what seeds the malady began , our song shall tell : to naples first it came from france , and justly took from france his name , companion of the war — the methods next of cure we shall express , the wondrous wit of mortals in distress : but when their skill too faint resistence made , we 'll shew the gods descending to their aid . to reach the secret causes we must rise above the clouds , and travell o'er the skies . the daring subject let us then pursue , transported with an argument so new , while springing groves and tunefuli birds invite , and muses that in wondrous theams delight . o bembus , ornament of italy , if yet from cares of state thou canst be free , if leo's councils yet can spare thy skill , and let the business of the world stand still ; o steal a visit to those cool retreats , the muses dearest most frequented seats ; and , gentle bembus , do not there disdain a member of the esculapian train , attempting physicks practice to rehearse , and clothing low experiments in verse . a god instructs , these mysteries of old by great apollo's self in equal streins were told . the smallest objects oft attract our eyes , but here , beneath a small appearance , lies a source , that greatest wonder will create , of nature much and very much of fate . but thou , urania , who alone canst trace first causes , measure out the starry space ; that know'st the planets number , force and use , and what effects the vari'd orbs produce : so may the sphears thy heavenly course admire , the stars with envy at thy beams retire ; as thou a while shalt condescend to dwell , with me on earth , and make this grove thy cell ; while zephyrus , can my head , with myrtle bound , and imitating rocks my song resound . say , goddess , to what cause we shall at last assign this plague , unknown to ages past ; if from the western climes 't was wafted o'er , when daring spaniards left their native shore ; resolv'd beyond th' atlantick to descry , conjectur'd worlds , or in the search to dye . for fame reports this grief perpetual there , from skies infected and polluted air : from whence 't is grown so epidemical , whole cities victims to its fury fall ; few scape , for what relief where vital breath , the gate of life , is made the road of death ? if then by traffick thence this plague was brought , how dearly dearly was that traffick bought ! this prodigy of sickness , weak at first , ( like infant tyrants and in secret nurst ) when once confirm'd , with sudden rage breaks forth and scatters dessolation through the earth . so while the shepherd travelling through the dark strikes his dim torch , some unsuspected spark falls in the stubble , where it smothers long but by degrees becomes at last so strong , that now it spreads o'er all the neighbouring soil , devours at once the plowmans hope and toil ; the sacred grove next sacrifice must be , nor jove can save his dedicated tree ; the grove foments its rage from whence it flies in curling flames and seems to fire the skies . yet observation rightly taken draws this new distemper from some newer cause ; nor reason can allow that this disease , came first by comerce from beyond the seas ; since instances in divers lands are shown , to whom all indian traffick is unknown : nor could th' infection from the western clime seize distant nations at the self same time ; and in remoter parts begin its reign , as fierce and early as it did in spain . what slaughter in our italy was made where tiber's tribute to the oceans paid ; where poe does through a hundred cities glide , and pours as many streams into the tide . all at one season , all without relief , receiv'd and languisht with the common grief . nor can th' infection first be charg'd on spain , that sought new worlds beyond the western main . since from pyrene's foot , to italy , it shed its bane on france , while spain was free . as soon the fertile rhine its fury found , and regions with eternal winter bound : nor yet did southern climes its vengeance shun , but felt a flame more scorching than the sun. the palms of ida now neglected stood , and egypt languisht while her nile o'erflow'd ; from whence 't is plain this pest must be assign'd to some more pow'rfull cause and hard to find . in all productions of wise nature's hand , whether conceiv'd in air on sea or land ; no constant method does direct her way , but various beings various laws obey ; such things as from few principles arise , in every place and season meet our eyes ; but what are fram'd of principles abstruce , such places onely and such times produce . effects of yet a more stupendious birth , and such as nature must with pangs bring forth , where violent and various seeds unite , break slowly from the bosome of the night ; long in the womb of fate the embryo's worn , whole ages pass before the monster 's born . diseases thus which various seeds compound , as various in their birth and date are found . some always seen , some long in darkness hurld , that break their chains at last to scourge the world. to which black list this plague must be assign'd , nights foulest birth and terrour of mankind . nor must we yet think this escape the first , since former ages with the like were curst . long since he scatter'd his infernal flame , and always being had , though not a name , at least what name it bore is now unfound : both names and things in times abyss lye drown'd , how vainly then do we project to keep our names remembred when our bodies sleep ? since late succession searching their descent , shall neither find our dust nor monument . yet where the western ocean finds its bound ( the world so lately by the spaniards found ) beneath this pest the wretched natives groan in every nation there and always known , such dire effects depend upon a clime , on varying skies and long revolving time : the temper of their air this plague brought forth , the soil it self dispos'd for such a birth . all things conspir'd to raise the tyrant there , but time alone cou'd fix his conquest here . if therefore more distinctly we would know each source from whence this deadly bane did flow , his progress in the earth we must survey how many cities groan beneath his sway . and when his great advancement we have trac'd , we must allow his principles as vast . that earth nor sea th' ingredients cou'd prepare and wholly must ascribe it to the air , the tyrant's seat , his magazine is there . the air that do's both earth and sea surround , as easily can earth and sea confound ; what fence for bodies when at every pore the soft invader has an open door ? what fence , where poyson's drawn with vitall breath , and father air the authour proves of death ? of subtile substance that with ease receives infection , which as easily it gives . now by what means this dire contagion first , was form'd aloft , by what ingredients nurst , our song shall tell ; and in this wondrous course , revolving times and varying planets force . first then the sun with all his train of stars , amongst our elements raise endless wars ; and when the planets from their stations range , our orb is influenc'd , and feels the change. the chiefest instance is the suns retreat , no sooner he withdraws his vital heat , but fruitless fields with snow are cover'd o'er , the pretty fountains run and talk no more . yet when his chariot to the crab returns , the air , the earth , the very ocean burns . the queen of night can boast no less a sway , at least all humid things her power obey . malignant saturn's star as much can claim , with friendly jove's , bright mars , and venus flame , and all the host of lights without a name . our elements beneath their influence lye , slaves to the very rabble of the sky . but most when many meet in one abode , or when some planet enters a new road , far distant from the course he us'd to run , some mighty work of fate is to be done . long tracts of time indeed must first be spent , before completion of the vast event ; but when the revolution once is made what mischiefs earth and sea at once invade ! poor mortals then shall all extremes sustain while heav'n dissolves in deluges of rain ; which from the mountains with impetuous course , and headlong rage , trees , rocks and towns shall force , o'er swelling ganges then shall sweep the plain , and peacefull poe outroar the stormy main . in other parts the springs as low shall lye , and nymphs with tears , exhausted streams supply . where neither drought nor deluges destroy , the winds their utmost fury shall employ ; whlie hurricans whole cities shall o'erthrow , or earthquakes gorge them in the depths below . perhaps the season shall arrive ( if fate and nature once agree upon the date ) when this most cultivated earth shall be unpeopled quite , or drench'd beneath the sea ; when ev'n the sun another course shall steer , and other seasons constitute the year : the wondring north shall see the springing vine , and moors admire at snow beneath the line . new species then of creatures shall arise a new creation nature's self surprise . then youth shall lend fresh vigour to the earth , and give a second breed of gyants birth . by whom a new assault shall be perform'd , hills heap'd on hills , and heaven once more be storm'd . since nature's then so lyable to change , why should we think this late contagion strange ; or that the planets where such mischiefs grow , should shed their poyson on the earth below ? two hundred rowling years are past away , since mars and saturn in conjunction lay . when through the east an unknown fever rag'd , of strange effects and by no arts asswag'd ; from suffocated lungs with pain they drew their breath , and bloud for spittle did ensue ; four days the wretches with this plague were griev'd , ( oh dismal sight ) and then by death reliev'd . from thence to persia the contagion came , of whom th' assyrians catch'd the spreading flame . euphrates next and tigris did complain , arabia too stil'd happy now in vain ; then phrygia mourn'd , from whence it crost the sea ( too small to quench its flame ) to italy . then from this lower orb with me remove to view the starry palaces above , through all the roads of wandring planets rove . to search in what position they have stood , and what conjectures were from them made good . to find what signs did former times direct , and what the present age is to expect : from hence perhaps we shall with ease descry the source of this stupendious malady . behold how cancer with portentous harms before heav'ns gate unfolds his threatning armes ; prodigious ills must needs from thence ensue , in which one house we may distinctly view a numerous cabal of stars conspire , to hurl at once on air their bainsull fire . all this the rev'rend artist did descry who nightly watch'd the motions of the sky , ye gods ( he cry'd ) what does your rage prepare , what unknown plague engenders in the air ? besides , i see dire wars on europe shed , ausonian fields with native gore o'erspread . thus sung the sage , and to prevent debate , in writing left the story of our fate . when any certain course of years is run e'er the next revolution be begun , heavens method is , for jove in all his state , to weigh events and to determine fate ; to search the book of destiny and show what change shall rise in heav'n or earth below . behold him then in awfull robes array'd , and calling his known counsel to his aid ; saturn and mars the thundring summons call , the crab's portentous armes unlock the hall , mark with what various meen the gods repair , first mars with sparkling eyes and flaming hair , so furious and addicted to alarms , he dreams of battels , though in venus armes . but see with what august and peacefull brow ( of gold his chariot if the fates allow ) great jove appears , who do's to all extend impartial justice , heav'n and nature's friend . old saturn last with heavy pace comes on , loath to obey the summons of his son ; oft going stopt , oft pender'd in his mind heaven's empire lost , oft to return inclin'd ; thus , much distracted , and arriving late , sits grudging down beside the chair of state. jove now unfolds what fate 's dark laws contain , which jove alone has wisedom to explain : sees ripning mischiefs ready to be hurl'd , and much condoles the suffrings of the world : unfolded views deaths adamantine gates , war , slaughters , factions and subverted states . but most astonish'd at a new disease , that must forthwith on helpless mortals seize , these secrets he unfolds , and shakes the skies : the gods condole and from the council rise . hell's agent thus no sooner quits his cage , but on the starting spheres he hurles his rage : the purer orbs disdain th' infernal foe , and shake the taint upon the air below . the grosser air receives the banefull seeds , converting to the poison which it feeds : whether the sun from earth this vapour drew , in late conjunction with his fiery crew ; or from fermenting seas by neptune sent in envy to the higher element , is hard to say ; or if more powers combin'd , sent forth this prodigy to fright mankind . the offices of nature to define , and to each cause a true effect assign , must be a task both hard and doubtfull too , since various consequences oft ensue : nor nature always to her self is true . some principles shall on the instant work , whilst others shall for tedious ages lurk : besides the power of chance shall oft prevail , on natures force , and cause events to fail . nor is the influence of maladies less various than the seeds from whence they rise . sometimes th' infected air hurts trees alone , to grass and tender flowers pernicious known . the blast sometimes destroys the furrow'd soil , with mildew'd ears not worth the reapers toil . or if some dale with grain seems more enrich'd , it moulds and rots before the sheaves are pitchd . when earth yields store , yet oft some strange disease shall fall and onely on poor cattel seize . here it shall sweep the stock , while there it sheds its fury onely on devoted heads . my own remembrance to this hour retains , an autumn drown'd with never ceasing rains : yet this malignant luxury the breed of goats alone did rue , the rest were freed . see how at break of day their number 's told , see how the keeper drives them from the fold : behold him next beneath a hanging rock , and chearing with his reed the browzing flock , while them he charms nor is himself less pleas'd , with a sharp sudden cough some darling kid is seiz'd the cough his knell , for with a giddy round he whirls , and streight falls dead upon the ground . this fever thus to goats and kids severe while autumn held , confined his vengeance there ; next spring , both lowing herd and bleating flock at once it seiz'd , spar'd none but swept the stock : with such uncertainty from tainted skies in bodies plac't on earth effects arise . since then by dear experiment we find diseases various in their rise and kind : of this contagion let us take a view , more terrible for being strange and new , that with the proudest son of slaughter vies , and claims no lower kindred than the skies ; and as he did aloft conceive his flame , the proud destroyer seeks no common game , he scorns the well finn'd sporters of the flood , he scorns the well plum'd singers of the wood ; disdains the wanton browzers of the rock , disdains the lowing herd and bleating flock ; with wolf or bear , despizes to engage , nor can the generous horse provoke his rage : the lords of nature onely he annoys , and humane frame , heav'ns images , destroys . the bloud 's black viscous parts he seizes first , by whose malignant aliments he 's nurst ; and e'er he can the fierce assault begin , factions of humours take his part within ; the strongest holds of nature thus he gains , quar'tring his cruel troops throughout the veins , while some more noble seat the tyrant's throne contains . such principles brought this distemper forth , such aliments maintain'd the dreadfull birth . his certain signs and symptoms to rehearse , is the next taske of our instructing verse . o , may it prove of such a lasting date , to conquer time , and triumph over fate . apollo's self inspires the usefull song , and all that to apollo do's belong , like him , should ever , live and be for ever young . how shall posterity admire our skill , taught by our muse to know the lurking ill , and when his dreadfull visage they behold , cry , this is the disease whose signs of old th'inspir'd physician in bright numbers told . for thô th' infernal pest should quit the earth , absconding in the hell , that gave it birth ; yet after lazy revolutions past the unsuspected prodigy at last , shall from the womb of night once more be hurl'd , t' infect the skies , and to amaze the world. what therefore seems most wondrous in his course is that he should so long conceal his force ; for when the foe his secret way has made , and in our intrails strong detachments laid ; yet oft the moon four monthly rounds shall steer before convincing symptoms shall appear ; so long the malady shall lurk within , and grow confirm'd before the danger 's seen ; yet with disturbance to the wretch diseas'd , who with unwonted heaviness is seiz'd , with drooping spirits , his affairs persues , and all his limbs their offices refuse , the chearfull glories of his eyes decay , and from his cheeks the roses fade away , a leaden hue o'er all his face is spread , and greater weights depress his drooping head ; till by degrees the secret parts shall show , by open proofs the undermining foe ; who now his dreadfull ensigns shall display , devour , and harass in the sight of day . again , when chearfull light has left the skies , and night's ungratefull shades and vapors rise ; when nature to our spirits sounds retreat , and to the vitals calls her stragling heat ; when th'out works are no more of warmth possest , bloudless , and with a load of humours prest ; when ev'ry kind relief's retir'd within , 't is then the execrable pains begin ; armes , shoulders , legs , with restless arches vext , and with convulsions ev'ry nerve perplext ; for when through all our veins th' infection 's spread , and by what e'er should feed the body fed ; when nature strives the vitals to defend , and all destructive humours outward send : these being viscous , gross and loath to start , in its dull march shall torture ev'ry part ; whence to the bloudless nerves dire pains ensue , at once contracted , and extended too ; the thinner parts will yet not stick so fast , but to the surface of the skin are cast , which in foul botches o'er the body spread , prophane the bosome , and deform the head : here puscles in the form of achorns swell'd , in form alone , for these with stench are fill'd , whose ripness is corruption , that in time , disdain confinement , and discharge the slime ; yet oft the foe would turn his forces back , the brawn and inmost muscles to attack , and pierce so deep , that the bare bones have been betwixt the dreadfull fleshy breaches seen ; when on the vocal parts his rage was spent , imperfect sounds , for tunefull speech was sent . as on a springing plant , you have beheld the juice that through the tender bark has swell'd , that from the sap's more viscous part did come , till by the sun condens'd into a gumm : so when this bane is once receiv'd within , with such eruptions he shall force the skin ; and when the humour for a time has flow'd , grow fixt at last , and harden to a node . hence some young swain , as on the rocks he stood , to view his picture in the crystal flood , and finding there his lovely cheeks deform'd , against the stars , against the gods he storm'd : mean while the sable wings of night are spread , and balmy sleep on ev'ry creature shed . these wretches onely no repose could take , by this tormenting fiend still kept awake ; impatient till the morn restor'd the light , then curst her beams , and wish'd again for night . ceres in vain her blessings did afford , in vain the flowing goblet crown'd the board ; no comfort they in large possessions had , of farms , or towns , but e'en in banquets sad : in vain the streams , and meads they did frequent , the dismal thought persu'd wheree'er they went ; and when for prospect they would climb the hill , the dire remembrance hagg'd their fancy still : in vain the gods themselves they did invoke , adorn'd their shrines , and made their altars smoak : they brib'd and pray'd , yet still reliefless lay , their offer'd gumms consum'd less fast than they . shall i relate what i my self beheld , where ollius stream with gentle plenty swell'd ? in those fair meads where ollius cuts his way , a youth of godlike form i did survey , by all the world besides unparallel'd , and ev'n in italy by none excell'd ; first signs of manhood on his cheeks were shown , a tender harvest , and but thinly sown , besides those charms that did his person grace , descended from a rich and noble race : what transport in spectatours did he breed , mounted , and managing the fiery steed , what joy at once , and terrour did we feel , when he prepar'd for field , and shone in steel ? of equal strength and skill for exercise , all conflicts try'd , but never lost a prize ; oft in the chase his courser he 'd forgo , trust his own feet , and turn the swiftest roe . for him each nymph , for him each goddess strove , of hill , of plain , of meadow , stream and grove ; nor can we doubt that in this numerous train , some one ( neglected ) did to heaven complain who though in vain she lov'd , yet did not curse in vain ; for whilst the youth did to his strength confide , and nerves in ev'ry task of hardship try'd . this finish'd piece , this celebrated frame , the mansion of a loath'd disease became : but of such banefull , and malignant kind , as ages past ne'er knew , and future ne'er shall find . now might you see his spring of youth decay , the verdure dye , the blossoms fall away ; the foul infection o'er his body spread , prophanes his bosome , and deforms his head ; his wretched limbs with filth and stench o'er flow , while flesh divides , and shews the bones below . dire ulcers ( can the gods permit them ) prey on his fair eye-balls , and devour their day , whilst the neat pyramid below , falls moulding quite away . him neighbouring alps bewail'd with constant dew ollius ; no more his wonted passage knew , hills , valleys , rocks , streams , groves , his fate bemoan'd , sebinus lake from deepest caverns groan'd . from hence malitious saturn's force is known , from whose malignantorbthisplague was thrown , to whom more cruel mars assistence lent , and club'd his influence to the dire event : nor could the malice of the stars suffice , to make such execrable mischief rise ; for certainly e'er this disease began , through hells dark courts the cursing furies ran , where to astonisht ghosts they did relate , in dreadfull songs , the burthen of our fate ; the stygian pool did to the bottome rake , and from its dregs the curst ingredients take , which scatter'd since through europe wide and far , bred pestilence , and more consuming war. ye deities who once our guardians were , who made th' ausonian fields your special care , and thou o saturn , father of our breed , from whence do's this unwonted rage proceed against thy ancient seats ? has fate 's dark store a plague yet left , which we have not sustain'd ev'n to extremity ? first let parthenope her griefs declare , her kings destroy'd her temples sack't in war. who can the slaughter of that day recite , when hand to hand we joyn'd the gauls in fight , when tarrus brook was so o'er-swell'd with bloud men , horses , arms , rowl'd down th' impetuous flood ? eridanus in wandring banks receives the purple stream , and for our fate with brother tarrus grieves . to what estate , o wretched italy has civil strife reduc'd , and mouldr'd thee ! where now are all thy ancient glories hurl'd ? where is thy boasted empire of the world ? what nook in thee from barb'rous rage is freed , and has not seen her captive children bleed ? that was not first to savage arms a prey , and do's not yet more savage laws obey ? answer ye hills where peacefull clusters grew , and never till this hour disturbance knew , calm as the flood which at your feet ye view ; calm as erethenus who on each side , beholds your vines , and ravisht with their pride , moves slowly with his tribute to the tide . o italy , our ancient happy seat , glory of nations , and the gods retreat , whose fruitfull fields for peopled towns provide , where athesis , and smooth benacus glide , what words have force , thy sufferings to relate , thy servile yoke , and ignominious fate . now dive , benacus , thy fam'd course give o'er and lead thy streams through laurel-banks no more . yet , when our mis'ries thus were at their height , as if our sorrows still had wanted weight , as if our former plagues had been too small , we saw our hope , minerva's darling fall , thy funeral , marcus , we did then survey snatcht from the muses armes before thy day , benacus banks at thy interment groan'd , and neighbouring athesis thy fate bemoan'd ; where by the moon 's pale beams , catullus came , and nightly still was heard to sound thy name , his songs once more his native seats inspire , the groves were charm'd , and knew their master's lyre . ' i was now the galls began their fierce alarms , and crusht liguria with victorious arms , while other provinces as fast expire by caesar's sword , and more destructive fire ; no latian seat was free from slaughter found , but all alike with tears and bloud were drown'd . now for our second task , and what relief our age has found against this raging grief , the methods now of cure we will express , the wondrous wit of mortals in distress . astonisht long they lay , no remedy at first they knew , nor courage had to try , but learnt by slow experience to appease , to check , and last to vanquish the disease . yet after all our study we must own some secrets were by revelation known : for though the stars in dark cabals combin'd , and for our ruine with the furies join'd , yet were we not to last destruction left , nor of the gods protection quite berest . if strange and dreadfull maladies have reign'd , if wars , dire massacres we have sustain'd , if flames have laid our fields and cities waste , our temples too in common rubbish cast ; if swelling streams no more in banks were kept , but men , herds , houses with theflood were swept ; if few surviv'd these plagues , and famine slew , the greater part of that surviving few . yet of such great adventures we are proud , as fate had to no former age allow'd . for , what no mortals ever dar'd before , we have the ocean stemm'd from sight of shore ; nor was 't enough , by atlas farthest bound , that we the fair hesperian gardens found , that we t' arabia a new passage sought , while ships for camels the rich lading brought : to th' outmost east , we since a voiage made , and in the rising sun our sails display'd , beyond the ind large tracts of land did find , and left the world's reputed bounds behind , to pass the world 's reputed bounds was small performances , of greater glory call our fam'd adventures on the western shore , discovering stars , and worlds unknown before ; but waving these , our age has yet beheld an inspir'd poet , and by none excell'd , parthenope extoll'd the songs he made , sebethe's god , and virgil's sacred shade , from gardens to the stars his muse would rise , and made the earth acquainted with the skies . his name might well the ages pride sustain , but many more exalted souls remain ; who , when expir'd , and envy with them dead to equal the best ancients shall be said : but , bembus , while this list we do unfold , in which heav'ns blessings on the age are told , leo , the most illustrious place do's claim , the great restorer of the roman name ; by whose mild aspects , and auspicious fire , malignant planets to their cells retire . jove's friendly star once more is seen to rise and scatters healing lustre through the skies , he , onely he , our losses could repair , and call the muses to their native air , restore the ancient laws of right and just , polish religion , from barbarian rust. for heav'n , and rome engag'd in fierce alarms , with pious vengeance , and with sacred arms , whose terrour to euphrates banks was spread , while nile retir'd t' his undiscover'd head , and frighted doris div'd into hisoozy bed. while some more able muse shall fing his name , in numbers equal to his deeds and fame . while bembus thou shalt this great theme rehearse , and weave his praises in eternal verse , let me , in what i have propos'd , proceed with subject suted to my slender reed . first , then your patient's constitution learn , and well the temper of his bloud discern , if that be pure , with so much greater ease you will engage , and vanquish the disease , whose venome , where black choler choaks the veins , takes firmer hold , and will exact more pains more violent assaults you there must make , and on the batter'd frame no pity take . who e'er can soon discern the lurking grief , with far less labour may expect relief ; but when the foe has deeper inroads made , and gain'd the factious humours to his aid , what toil , what conflicts must be first sustain'd before he 's dispossest , and health regain'd ; therefore with care his first approaches find , and hoard these usefull precepts in thy mind . from noxious winds preserve your self with care , and such are all that from the south repair of fens and lakes , avoid th'unwholsome air. to open fields and sunny mountains fly where zephyr fans , and boreas sweeps the sky : nor must you there indulge repose , but stray , and in continu'd actions spend the day ; with ev'ry beast of prey loud warproclaim , and make the grizly boar your constant game , nor yet amongst these great attempts disdain , to rouse the stag , and force him to the plain . some i have known to th'chase so much inclin'd , that in the woods they left their grief behind , nor yet think fcorn the sordid plow to guide , or with the pondrous rake the clods divide , with heavy ax , and many weary blow , the towring pine , and spreading oak o'erthrow ; the very house yields exercise , the hall has room for fencing , and the bounding ball. rouze , rouze , shake off your fond desire of ease , for sleep foments and feeds the foul disease , 't is then th'invader do's the vitals seize . but chiefly from thy thoughts all sorrows drive . nor with minerva's knotty precepts strive , with lighter labours of the muses sport , and seek the plains where swains and nymphs resort . abstain however from the act of love , for nothing can so much destructive prove : bright venus hates polluted mysteries , and ev'ry nymph from foul embraces flies . dire practice ! poison with delight to bring , and with the lovers dart , the serpent's sting . a proper diet you must next prepare , than which there 's nothing more requires your care ; all food that from the fens is brought resuse , whate'er the standing lakes or seas produce , nor must long custome pass for an excuse ; therefore from fish in general i dissuade , all these are of a washy substance made , which though the luscious palate they content , convert to humours more than nourishment ; ev'n giltheads , though most tempting to the sight , and sharp-fin'd perch that in the rocks delight . all sorts of fowl that on the water prey , by the same rule i 'd have remov'd away , forbear the drake , and leave rome's ancient friend the capitol and city to defend . no less the bustard's luscious flesh decline , forbear the back and entrails of the swine , nor with the hunted boar thy hunger stay , enjoy the sport , but still forbear the prey . i hold nor cucumber nor mushroms good , and artichoke is too salacious food : nor yet the use of milk would i enjoin , much less of vinegar or eager wine , such as from rhaetia comes , and from the rhine ; the sabine vintage is of safer use , which mellow and well-water'd fields produce : but if your banquets with the gods you 'd make of herbs and roots the unbought dainties take ; be fure that mint and endive still abound , and sowthistle , with leaves in winter crown'd . and sian by clear fountains always found ; to these add calamint , and savery burrage and balm , whose mingled sweets agree , rochet and sorrel i as much approve : the climbing hop grows wild in ev'ry grove , take thence the infant buds , and with them join the curling tendrells of the springing vine , whose armes have yet no friendly shade allow'd , nor with the weight of juicy clusters bow'd . particulars were endless to rehearse , and weightier subjects now demand our verse . we 'll draw the muses from aonian hills , to natures garden , groves and humble rills , where if no laurels spring , or if i find that those are all for conquerours design'd ; with oaken leaves at least i 'll bind my brow , for millions sav'd you must that grace allow . at first approach of spring , i would advise , or ev'n in autumn months if strength suffice , to bleed your patient in the regal vein , and by degrees th' infected current drein : but in all seasons fail not to expell , and purge the noxious humours from their cell ; but fit ingredients you must first collect , and then their different qualities respect , make firm the liquid and the gross dissect . take , therefore , care to gather , in their prime , the sweet corycian and pamphilian tyme , these you must boil , together with the rest in this ensuing catalogue exprest ; fennell and hop that close embraces weaves , parsley and fumitory's bitter leaves ; wild fern on ev'ry down and heath you 'll meet with leaves resembling polypus's shagg'd feet , and mayden-hair , of virtue strange , but true for dipt in fountains , it reteins no dew : hart's-tongue and citarch must be added too . the greater part , and with success more sure , by mercury perform the happy cure ; a wondrous virtue in that mineral lies , whether by force of various qualities of cold and heat , it flies into the veins , and with a fiercer fire their flame restrains , conqu'ring the raging humours in their seat , as glowing steel exceeds the forge's heat , or whether his keen particles ( combin'd with strange connexion ) when th' are once disjoin'd , disperse , all quarters of the foe to seize , and burn the very seeds of the disease ; or whether 't is with some more hidden force endow'd by nature to perform its course , is hard to say , but though the gods conceal the virtual cause , they did its use reveal . now by what means 't was found our song shall shew , nor may we let heav'ns gifts in silence go . in syrian vales where groves of osier grow , and where callirrhoe's sacred fountains flow . ilceus the huntsman , who with zeal ador'd the rural gods , with gifts their altars stor'd ; was yet afflicted with this restless grief , and , if tradition may obtain belief , as he was watering there each spicy bed , thus to entreat the sylvan pow'rs , is said . you deities by me ador'd , and thou , callirrhoe , who do'st relief allow 'gainst all diseases , as i slew for . thee the stag , and fix'd his head upon a tree ; a tree that do's with lesser branches spread , than those that join to that most horrid head : you sacred pow'rs if you 'll remove away this plague that racks my frame all night and day , i , all the mingled glories of the spring , lilies and violets to your seats will bring , with daffadills first budding roses weave , and on your shrines the fragrant garland leave . he said , and down upon the herbage lay , tir'd with the raging pain , and raging day . callirrhoe ( bathing in the neighbouring well , with musk that grew in plenty round the cell ) heard the youth's pray'r and streight in soft repose , th'indulgent nymph his heavy eyes did close , then to his fancy , from her sacred streams , appear'd and charm'd him with prophetick dreams . ilceus ( said she ) my servant , and my care , the gods at last have hearken'd to thy pray'r ; yet , on the earth , as far as sol can spy , for thy disease remains no remedy . cynthia and phoebus too at her request , into thy tortur'd veins have sent this pest , the stag to her was sacred which you slew , and this the punishment that did ensue , for which the earth , as far as sol can see , the spacious earth , affords no remedy : then since her surface no relief canlend , to her dark entrails for thy cure descend ; a cave there is its self an awfull shade , but by jove's spreading tree more dreadfull made , where mingling cedars wanton with the air , thither at first approach of day repair ; a jet-black ram before the entrance slay , and cry , these rites great ops to thee i pay . the lesser pow'rs , pale ghosts and nymphs of night , the smoak of yew and cypress shall invite ; these nymphs shall at the outmost entrance stay , and through the dark retreats conduct thy way . rise , rise , nor think all this an idle dream , for know i am the goddess of this stream . this for thy pious homage to my cell — so spake the nymph , and div'd into the well . the youth starts up astonish'd , but restor'd , with gratefull pray'rs th'obliging nymph ador'd : thy voice , bright goddess , i 'll with speed obey , o still assist and bless me on my way . with the next dawn the sacred cave he found , with spreading oaks and towring cedars crown'd ; a jet-black ram did at the entrance slay , and cry'd these rites , great ops , to thee i pay : the lesser pow'rs , pale ghosts and nymphs of night , the smoak of yew and cypress did invite . his voice resounding through the hollow seats , disturb'd the nymphs within their deep retreats . those nymphs that toil in metals underground , gave o'er their work at th' unexpected sound ; some quicksilver and sulphur others brought , from which calcin'd , the golden oar was wrought ; of pure aetherial light a hundred beams , of subterranean fire a hundred streams , with various seeds of earth and sea they joyn'd , for humane eyes too subtle and refin'd . but lipare who forms the richer oar , and to the furnace brings the sulph'rous store , to ilceus through the dark recesses broke , and in these words the trembling youth bespoke . ilceus ( for i have heard your name and grief ) callirrhoe sends you hither for relief ; nor has the goddess counsell'd you in vain , these cells afford a med'cine for your pain ; take courage therefore , and the charge obey , she said , and through the cavern leads the way he follows wondring at the dark aboads , the spacious voids and subterranean roads ; astonisht there to see those rivers move , which he observ'd to lose themselves above : each cave , cry'd lipare , some pow'r contains , i' th lowest mansion proserpine remains ; the middle regions pluto's treasure hold , and nymphs that work in silver , brass and gold , of which rich train am i , whose veins extend , and to callirrhoe's stream the smoaking sulphur send . thus through the realms of night they took their way , and heard from far the forge and furnace play . these ( said the nymph ) the beds of metals are , that give you wretched mortals so much care. by thousand nymphs of earth and night enjoy'd , who yet in various tasks are all employ'd . some turn the current , some the seeds dissect of earth and sea , which some again collect , that , mixt with lightning , make the golden oar , while others quench in streams the shining store . not far from hence the cyclop's cave is found , see how it glows , hark how their anvils sound . but here turn off , and take the right-hand way , this path do's to that sacred stream convey , in which thy onely hope remains : she said , and under golden roofs her patient led , hard by , the lakes of liquid silver slow'd , which to the wondring youth the goddess show'd ; thrice washt in these ( said she ) thy pains shall end , and all the stench into the stream descend . thrice with her virgin hands the goddess threw on all his suffering limbs the healing dew : he , at the falling filth admiring stood , and scarce believ'd for joy , the virtue of the flood . when therefore you return to open day , with sacrifice diana's rage allay , and homage to the fountain's goddess pay . thus spake the nymph , and through the realms of night , restor'd the gratefull youth to open light. this strange invention soon obtain'd belief , and flying fame divulg'd the sure relief . but first experiments did onely joyn , and for a vehicle use lard of swine : larch-gum and turpentine were added next , that wrought more safe and less the patient vext ; horse-grease and bears with them they did compound , bdellium and gum of cedar usefull found ; then myrrh , and frankincense were us'd by some , with living sulphur and arabian gum ; but if black helebore be added too , with rain-bow flowers your method i allow ; benzoin and galbanum i next require , lint-oil , and sulphur's e'er it feels the fire . with these ingredients mix'd , you must not fear your suffering limbs and body to besmear , nor let the foulness of the course displease , obscene indeed , but less than your disease : yet when you do anoint , take special care that both your head and tender breast you spare this done , wrapt close and swath'd , repair to bed , and there let such thick cov'rings be o'e-rspred , till streams of sweat from ev'ry pore you force : for twice five days you must repeat this course ; severe indeed but you your fate must bear , and signs of coming health will streight appear . the mass of humours now dissolv'd within , to purge themselves by spittle shall begin , till you with wonder at your feet shall see , a tide of filth , and bless the remedy . for ulcers that shall then the mouth offend , boil flowers that privet and pomgranets send . now , onely now , i would forbid the use of generous wine that noble soils produce ; all sorts without distinction you must fly , the sparkling bowl with all its charms deny . rise , now victorious , health is now at hand , one labour more is all i shall command , easie and pleasant ; you must last prepare your bath , with rosemary and lavander , vervain and yarrow too must both be there ; 'mongst these your steeping body you must lay , to chear you , and to wash all dreggs away . but now the verdant blessings that belong to new discover'd worlds demand our song . beyond herculean bounds the ocean roars with loud applause to those far distant shoars . the sacred tree must next our muse employ , that onely could this raging plague destroy ; just praise ( urania ) to this plant allow , and with its happy leaves upon thy brow , through all our latian cities take thy way , and to admiring croud the healing boughs display ; e'en i may self shall prize my streins the more , for blessings never seen nor sung before . perhaps some more exalted poet ( warm'd , for martial streins ) with this new subject charm'd shall quit the noble business of the field , bequeath to rust the sword and polisht shield , leave wrangling heroes that o'ercome or dye , both shrouded in the same obscurity ; pass o'er the harast soil and bloudy stream , to prosecute this more delightfull theme ; to tell how first auspicious navies made more bold attempts , and th' ocean's bounds essay'd ; to sing vast tracts of land beyond the main , by former ages guess'd , and wisht in vain , strange regions , floods and cities to rehearse , and with true prodigies adorn their verse ; new lands , new seas , and still new lands to spy , another heaven , and other stars descry . when this is done resume their martial strein , and crown our conquests in each savage plain , that ev'n from vanquishment advantage draws , enrich'd with european arts and laws , shall sing ( what future ages will confound ) how earth and sea one vessel did surround . thrice happy to bard whom indulgent heav'n , a soul capacious of this work has giv'n . my weaker muse shall think her office done , of all these wonders to record but one : one single plant which these glad lands produce to specifie and shew it's sov'reign use , by what adventures found , and wasted o'er from unknown worlds to europe's wondring shore . far westward hence where th' ocean seems to boil beneath fierce cancer , lies a spacious isle , descry'd by spaniards roving on the main , and justly honour'd with the name of spain . fertile in gold but far more blest to be , the garden of this consecrated tree : its trunk erect , but on his top is seen , a spreading grove with branches ever green ; upon his boughs a little nut is found , but poignant and with leaves encompass'd round ; the stubborn substance toothless makes the saw , and scarcely from the axe receives a flaw ; dissected , various colours meet your view , the outward bark is of the laurel hue ; the next like box , the parts more inwards set , of dusky grain but not so dark as jet ; if to these mixtures you will add the red , all colours of the gaudy bow are spread . this plant the natives conscious of its use adore , and with religious care produce ; on ev'ry hill , in ev'ry vale 't is found , and held the greatest blessing of the ground against this pest that always rages there , from skies infected and polluted air : the outward bark as useless they refuse , but with their utmost force the timber bruise , or break in splinters , which they steep a while in fountains , and when soak'd , in vessels boil , regardless how too fierce a fire may make the juice run o'er , whose healing froth they take , with which they bath their limbs where pustles breed , and heal the breaches where dire ulcers feed . half boil'd away the remnant they retain , and adding hony boil the chips again : to use no other liquor when they dine , their countries law , and greater priest enjoyn : the first decoction with the rising light they drink , and once again at fall of night ; this course they strictly hold when once begun , till cynthia has her monthly progress run , hous'd all the while where no offensive wind , nor the least breath of air can entrance find . but who will yield us credit to proceed , and tell how wondrous slenderly they feed ; just so much food as can bare life preserve , and to its joint connect each seeble nerve : yet let not this strange abstinence deter , and make you think the method too severe . this drink it self will wasted strength repair , for nectar and ambrosia too are there ; all offices of nature it maintains , the heart refreshes , and recruits the veins . when the draught's tane , for two hours and no more the patient on his couch is cover'd o'er ; for by this means the liquor with more ease , expells in streams of sweat the foul disease . all parts ( o prodigy ! ) grow found within , nor any filth remains upon the skin ; fresh youth in ev'ry limb , fresh vigour's found , and now the moon has run her monthly round . what god did first the wondrous use display , of this blest plant , what chance did first convey our european fleet to that rich shore , that for their toil so rich a traffique bore , our song shall now unfold ; a navy bound for no known port nor yet discover'd ground , resolv'd the secrets of the main to find , and now they leave their native shore behind , clap on more sail and skudd before the wind. thus on the spreading ocean they did stray , for many weeks uncertain of their way : the thronging sea-nymphs wondring at the pride , of each tall ship appear above the tide , and with proportion'd speed around them glide , charm'd with each painted stern and golden prow , with each gay streamer , striving as they go to catch their pictures in the flood below . 't was night , but cynthia did such beams display . so strong as more than half restor'd the day . when the bold leader of this roving train , ( the bravest youth that ever stemm'd the main ; ) as on the decks he lay with anxious care , and watchfull o'er his charge , conceiv'd this pray'r ; bright goddess of the night ( said he ) whose sway , all humid things and these vast seas obey ; twice have we seen thy infant crescents spring , and twice united in a glorious ring , since first this fleet commenc'd her restless toil , nor yet have gain'd the sight of any soil . o virgin star , of nightly planets chief , vouchsafe your weary wanderers relief ; let some fair continent at last arise , or some less distant isle salute our eyes ; at least some rock with one small rill and port , for these o'er-labour'd boats and youths support . the goddess heard not this address in vain , but leaves to her nocturnal steeds the rein , and like a sea-nymph floats upon the main : so well disguis'd that clotho's self might be deceiv'd , and take her for cymothoe ; with such a meen she cut the yielding tide , and in these words bespoke the wandring guide ; take courage , for the next approaching day , shall see these ships safe riding in the bay ; but stay not long where first your anchors fall , the fates to yet more distant regions call ; find ophyre high-seated in the main ; those seats for you the destinies ordain . she said , and pusht the keel ; a brisker gale forthwith descends and pregnates ev'ry sail : now from the east the sun invites their eyes , as fast they westward see the mountains rise like clouds at first , but as they nearer drew , rocks , groves and springs were open'd to their view ; high on the decks the joyfull sailers stand , and thrice with shouts salute th' expected land. then safely anchor'd in the promis'd bay , first to the gods their just devotion pay . four days , no more , are spent upon this soil , to fit their shatter'd ships for farther toil , each hand once more is to his charge assign'd , all take advantage of the friendly wind ; a swift and steddy course they now maintain , and leave anthylia floating on the main : with hagia's coast , and tall ammeria's isle , the cannibals most execrable soil , o'er all the deep they now see turrets rise , and islands without number meet their eyes ; 'mongst these they singled one from whence they hear'd streams fall , while spreading groves aloft appear'd , charm'd with these objects there they put to shore , where first the islands genius they adore , then spread their banquet on the verdant ground , whilst bowls of sparkling wine go nimbly round ; refresht , they separate , someto descry the country , others more o'er-joy'd to spye beneath the flood pure gold lye mixt with sand , and seize the shining oar with greedy hand . at length a flock of painted birds they view , with azure plumes and beaks of coral-hue , which fearless through the glades did seem to rove , and percht securely in their native grove ; the youths to temper'd engins have recourse that imitate the thunders dreadfull force , vulcan's invention while with wondrous art , he did to men the arms of jove impart ; each takes his stand and singles out his mark , the dire ingredients with a sudden spark enflam'd , discharge with rage the whizzing ball , the unsuspecting birds by hundreds fall ; the air with smoak and fire is cover'd round , the groves and rocks astonisht with the sound , and shaking sands beneath the seas rebound . the remnant of the flock with terrour fly to rocks whose turrets seem'd to pierce the sky ; from whence with humane voice ( o dire portent ! ) one of this feather'd tribe these numbers sent . you who have sacrilegioufly assay'd , the sun'slov'd birds , and impious slaughter made , hear what th' enrag'd avenging god prepares , and in prophetick sounds by me declares . know , you at last have reacht your promis'd soil , for this is ophyre's long expected isle , but destin'd empire shall not yet obtain of provinces beyond the western main , the natives of long liberty deprive , found cities , and a new religion give , till toils by earth and sea are undergone , and many dreadfull battels lost and won ; for , most shall leave your trunks on foreign land , few shatter'd ships shall reach your native sand ; in vain shall some sail back again to find , their wretched comrades whom they left behind ; whose bones of flesh devested shall be found , for cyclops too in these dire coasts abound : your foes o'er-come , your fleet in civil rage shall disagree , and ship with ship engage . nor end your sufferings here , a strange disease , and most obscene shall on your bodies seize ; in this distress your errour you shall mourn , and to these injur'd groves for cure return ; this dreadfull doom the feather'd prophet spoke , and sculkt within the covert of the rock . astonisht with the unexpected sound , th' offending men fell prostrate on the ground ; forgiveness from the sacred flock to gain , but chiefly phoebus pardon to obtain . the guardians of the grove to reconcile , and once more hail the fair ophyrian isle . these rites perform'd , returning on their way , a race with humane shape they did survey , but black as jet , who sally'd from the wood , and made the vale more dark in which they stood ; no garment o'er their breasts or shoulders spread , and wreaths of peacefull olive on their head ; unarm'd , yet more with wonder struck than fear , they view'd the strangers , and approach'd more near ; astonisht at their glittering arms , but more at each proud vessel lodg'd upon the shore , the flags and streamers sporting with the wind , and thought their owners more than humane kind , some gods or heroes to the gods ally'd , and more than mortal reverence apply'd ; but to our chief their first respect they paid , and cheap , but yet most royal presents made , rich golden oar , of use and worth unknown , and onely priz'd by them because it shone , with which the blessings of their fields were born , ripe blushing fruits and pondrous ears of corn ; unpolisht but capacious vessels fill'd with hony from each fragrant tree distill'd , which did from heaven in nightly dew arrive , without the tedious labours of the hive . with them our garments like reception found , and now the tribes sate mingled on the ground , with indian food and spanish vintage crown'd : who can express the savages delight , as if the gods some mortal shou'd invite to heavenly courts , and with the nectar-bowl into a deity exalt his ravisht soul. by chance the solemn day was drawing near , the greatest festival of all the year ; and to the sun their greatest god belong'd , to which from ev'ry part the natives throng'd , with whom their neighbours of hesperia met ; and now within the sacred vale were set each sex , and all degrees of age were seen , but plac'd without distinction on the green ; yet from the infant to the grizled head , a cloud of grief o'er ev'ry face was spread , all languish'd with the same obscene disease , and years , not strength distinguisht the degrees ; dire flames upon their vitals fed within , while sores and crusted filth prophan'd their skin . at last the priest in snowy robes array'd , the boughs of healing guiacum display'd , which ( dipt in living streams ) he shook around to purge , for holy rites the tainted ground . an heifer then before the altar slew , a swain stood near on whom the bloud he threw ; then to the sun began his mystick song , and streight was seconded by all the throng . both swine and heifers now by thousands bleed , and natives on their roasted entrails feed . our train with wonder saw these rites , but more astonisht at the plague unseen before : mean while our leader in his carefull breast , form'd sad conjectures of this dreadfull pest , this , this said he ( the gods avert our fate ) is that dire curse which phoebus did relate ; the birds prodigious song i now recall , the strange disease that on our troops shou'd fall . as therefore from the altar they retir'd , our gen'ral of the native prince enquir'd , to what dread power these off'rings did belong ? what meant that languishing infected throng ? and why the shepherd by the altar stood ? and wherefore sprinkled with the gushing bloud ? to which the island monarch , noble guest , with annual zeal these off'rings are addrest , to phoebus enrag'd deity assign'd , and by our ancestours of old enjoin'd ; but if a foreign nations toils to learn , and less refin'd be worth your least concern , if you have any sense of strangers fate , from its first source the story i 'll relate : perhaps you may have heard of atlas name , from whom in long descent great nations came ; from him we sprang , and once a happy race , belov'd of heav'n while piety had place , while to the gods our ancestours did pray , and gratefull off'rings on their altars lay . but when the powers to be despis'd began , when to leud luxury our nation ran ; who can express the mis'ries that ensu'd , and plagues with each returning day renew'd ? then fair atlantia once an isle of fame ; ( that from the mighty atlas took its name , who there had govern'd long with upright sway ) was gorg'd intire , and swallowed by the sea. with which our flocks and herds were wholly drown'd , not one preserv'd or ever after found . since when outlandish cattle here are slain , and bulls of foreign breed our altars stain ; in that dire season this disease was bred , that thus o'er all our tortur'd limbs is spread : most universal from it birth it grew , and none have since escap'd or very few ; sent from above to scourge that vicious age , and chiefly by incens'd apollo's rage , for which these annual rites were first ordain'd , whereof this firm tradition is retain'd . a shepherd once ( distrust not ancient fame ) possest these downs , and syphilus his name . a thousand heifers in these vales he fed , a thousand ews to those fair rivers led : for king alcithous he rais'd this stock , and shaded in the covert of a rock , for now 't was solstice , and the syrian star increast the heat and shot his beams afar ; the fields were burnt to ashes , and the swain repair'd for shade to thickest woods in vain , no wind to fan the scorching air was found , no nightly dew refresht the thirsty ground : this drought our syphilus beheld with pain , nor could the suff'rings of his flock sustain , but to the noon-day sun with up-cast eyes , in rage threw these reproaching blasphemies , is it for this o sol , that thou art styl'd our god and parent ? how are we beguil'd dull bigots to pay hom'age to thy name ? and with rich spices feed thy altar's flame : why do we yearly rites for thee prepare , who tak'st of our affairs so little care ? at least thou might'st between the rabble kine distinguish , and these royal herds of mine . these to the great alcithous belong , nor ought to perish with the vulgar throng . or shall i rather think your deity with envious eyes our thriving stock did see ? i grant you had sufficient cause indeed , a thousand heifers of the snowy breed , a thousand ews of mine these downs didfeed ; whilst one etherial bull was all your stock , one ram , and to preserve this mighty flock , you must forsooth your syrian dog maintain , why do i worship then a pow'r so vain ? henceforth i to alcithous will bring my off'rings and adore my greater king , who do's such spacious tracts of land possess , and whose vast pow'r the conquer'd seas confess . him i 'll invoke my suff'rings to redress . hee 'll streight command the cooling winds to blow , refreshing show'rs on trees and herbs bestow , nor suffer thirst , both flock and swain to kill : he said , and forth with on a neighbouring hill erects an altar to his monarch's name , the swains from far bring incense to the flame ; at length to greater victims they proceed , till swine and heifers too by hundreds bleed , on whose half roasted flesh the impious wretches feed . all quarters soon were fill'd with the report , that ceas'd not till it reacht the monarch's court ; th' aspiring prince with godlike rites o'er joy'd , commands all altars else to be destroy'd , proclaims himself in earth's low sphere to be the onely and sufficient deity ; that heav'nly pow'rs liv'd too remote and high , and had enough to do to rule the sky . th' all-seeing sun no longer could sustain these practices , but with enrag'd disdain darts forth such pestilent malignant beams , as shed infection on air , earth and streams ; from whence this malady its birth receiv'd , and first th' offending syphilus was griev'd , who rais'd forbidden altars on the hill , and victims bloud with impious hands did spill ; he first wore buboes dreadfull to the sight , first felt strange pains and sleepless past the night ; from him the malady receiv'd its name , the neighbouring shepherds catcht the spreading flame : at last in city and in court 't was known , and seiz'd th' ambitious monarch on his throne ; in this distress the wretched tribes repair to ammerice the gods interpreter , chief priestess of the consecrated wood , in whose retreats the awfull tripod stood , from whence the gods responsal she exprest ; the crowd enquire what cause produc'd this pest , what god enrag'd ? and how to be appeas'd , and last what cure remain'd for the diseas'd ? to whom the nymph reply'd — the sun incens'd , with just revenge these torments has commenc'd . what man can with immortal pow'rs compare ? fly , wretches , fly , his altars soon repair , load them with incense , him with pray'rs invade , his anger will not easily be laid ; your doom is past , black styx has heard him swear , this plague should never be extinguisht here , since then your soil must ne'er be wholly free , beg heav'n at least to yield some remedy : a milkwhite cow on juno's altar lay , to mother earth a jet-black heifer slay ; one from above the happy seeds shall shed , the other rear the grove and make it spread , that onely for your grief a cure shall yield . she said : the croud return'd to th' open'd field , rais'd altars to the sun without delay , to mother earth , and juno victims slay . 't will seem most strange what now i shall declare . but by our gods and ancestours i swear , 't is sacred truth — these groves that spread so wide and look so green within this isle , till then , were never seen , but now before their eyes the plants were found to spring , and in an instant shade the ground , the priest forthwith bids sacrifice be done , and justice paid to the offended sun ; some destin'd head t' attone the crimes of all , on syphilus the dreadfull lot did fall , who now was plac'd before the altar bound , his head with sacrificial garlands crown'd , his throat laid open to the lifted knife , but interceding juno spar'd his life , commands them in his stead a heifer slay , for phoebus rage was now remov'd away . this made our gratefull ancestours enjoin , when first these annual rites they did assign , that to the altar bound a swine each time should sland , to witness syphilus his crime . all this infected throng whom you behold , smart for their ancestours offence of old : to heal their plague this sacrifice is done , and reconcile them to th' offended sun. the rites perform'd , the hallow'd boughs they seize , the speedy certain cure for their disease . with such discourse the chiefs their cares deceive , whose tribes of different worlds united live , till now the ships sent back to europes shore , return and bring prodigious tidings o'er . that this disease did now through europe rage , nor any med'cine found that cou'd assuage , that in their ships no slender number mourn'd , with boils without and inward ulcers burn'd . then call'd to mind the bird 's prophetick sound , that in those groves relief was to be found . then each with solemn vows the sun entreats , and gentle nymphs the gardians of those seats . with lusty strokes the grove they next invade , whose weighty boughs are on their shoulders laid , which with the natives methods they prepare , and with the healing draughts their health repair , but not forgetfull of their country's good , they fraight their largest ships with this rich wood , to try if in our climate it would be of equal use , for the same malady : the years mild season seconds their desire , and western winds their willing sails inspire . iberian coasts you first were happy made with this rich plant , and wonder'd at its aid ; known now to france and neighbouring germany cold seythian coasts and temp'rate italy , to europe's bounds all bless the vital tree . hail heav'n-born plant whose rival ne'er was seen , whose virtues like thy leaves are ever green ; hope of mankind and comfort of their eyes , of new discover'd worlds the richest prize . too happy would indulgent gods allow , thy groves in europe's nobler clime to grow : yet if my streins have any force , thy name shall flourish here , and europe sing thy fame . if not remoter lands with winter bound , eternal snow , nor libya's scorching ground ; yet latium and benacus cool retreats , shall thee resound , with athesis fair seats . too , blest if bembus live thy growth to see , and on the banks of tyber gather thee , if he thy matchless virtues once rehearse , and crown thy praises with eternal verse . finis . errata . page . line for newer reade never , p. l. . for wandring r. wondring , p. l. . for , to bard r. bard to . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a -e * * titles of honour . * * edmerus , fleta . † † de diis syris . ‖ ‖ marmora arundeliana . * * mare clausum . * * his epitaph made by himself in the temple chappel . notes for div a -e * * orestes . notes for div a -e * * tarpeia . notes for div a -e * * leander . * * hero. notes for div a -e note . the translator propos'd to turn this ode with all imaginable exactness ; and he hopes he has been pretty just to malherb , only in the sixth line he has made a small addition of these three words — as they say — which he thinks is excusable , if we consider that the french poet there talks a little too familiarly of the king's passion , as if the king himself had owned it to him . the translator thinks it more mannerly and respectful in malherb to preterd to have the account of it only by hear-say . the four epistles of a.g. busbequius concerning his embassy into turkey being remarks upon the religion, customs, riches, strength and government of that people : as also a description of their chief cities, and places of trade and commerce : to which is added, his advice how to manage war against the turks / done into english. legationis turcicae epistolae quatuor. english busbecq, ogier ghislain de, - . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing b estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) the four epistles of a.g. busbequius concerning his embassy into turkey being remarks upon the religion, customs, riches, strength and government of that people : as also a description of their chief cities, and places of trade and commerce : to which is added, his advice how to manage war against the turks / done into english. legationis turcicae epistolae quatuor. english busbecq, ogier ghislain de, - . tate, nahum, - . [ ], , [ ] p. printed for j. taylor ... and j. wyat ..., london : . translation of: legationis turcicae epistolae quatuor. "the epistle dedicatory" signed: n. tate. advertisements on p. [ ]-[ ] at end. reproduction of original in yale university library. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng turkey -- description and travel. - tcp assigned for keying and markup - aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images - tcp staff (michigan) sampled and proofread - john latta text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the four epistles of a. g. busbequius , concerning his embassy into turkey . being remarks upon the religion , customs , riches , strength and government of that people . as also a description of their chief cities , and places of trade and commerce . to which is added , his advice how to manage war against the turks . done into english. london , printed for i. taylor at the ship , and i. wyat at the rose in st. paul's church-yard , . to the right honorable powlett st. john , earl of bolingbrooke , and baron of st. iohn of bletsoe . my lord , the translator of this ingenious and most useful piece not surviving to see it publish'd , upon perusal of the copy , i found , the excellent performance and merit of the work did not only deserve just care of the impression , but also some eminent person to recommend its appearance in the world. i embrac'd the opportunity i had often wish'd , of expressing in some measure , my respect and zeal for your lordship ; wherein i do but comply with all admirers of true worth and honour . every body will allow , that a better guardian could not be chosen for this posthumous offspring ; and your lordship will easily pardon my imploring your protection of an orphan . the historical part of this treatise is so iust and exact , and the remarques in it discover so much of observation , experience and iudgment , that it seem'd a proper offering for your lordship's acceptance ; who are particularly happy in a sensible and just manner of thinking . nor has your lordships felicity terminated in a true discerning of things ; you have reduc'd your sentiments to practice , and prov'd the iustness of your notions , by a singular and constant regularity in your life . you have hereby brought an accession of reputation to the memory of your noble ancestors , by preserving each virtue of theirs with its utmost lustre , even in a vicious age. you continue to convince the world , that temperance and conversation , management and liberality , are consistent virtues . prudence , iustice and charity have carry'd an ascendant in the whole course of your actions . you have not only been happy in having early made choice of a good principle to direct you ; but in a constant adherence to its dictates . you were from hence instructed to express , upon all occasions , a hearty and noble concern for your country , which is the true and ancient test of english worth ; and i must do our country the right to say , they are highly sensible of it ; as appears by that worthy and just character which is universally given of my lord bolingbrooke . your relations and friends have the next share in your kindness ; and among the latter , i may truly rank all persons of merit . you have declin'd no opportunity of obliging any man of desert , and through your whole life , have not given occasion to make so much as one man your enemy . wherefore i am safe in what i have said of your lordship , and the world will only forgive my saying so little , in consideration of that modesty which is conspicuous amongst your other virtues . wherefore i shall only beg pardon for surprising you with this address , and permission to subscribe my self , among the rest of your admirers , my lord , your lordships most devoted humble servant n. tate . the four epistles of augerius , gislenius , busbequius , concerning his embassy into tvrky . epistle i. sir , as i promised you , at parting , to give you a full account of my journy to constantinople ; so , i shall now make good my word , and , i hope , with advantage too . for i shall also acquaint you with my adventures in my travel to amasia , as well as that to constantinople , the former being less used , and consequently far less known , than the later . my design herein , is , to allow you a part of the solace , of what happened pleasurable to me ; for so the ancient friendship betwixt us obliges me , to appropriate no joy to my self , but to communicate the same to you ; but , as for what happen'd incommodious to me , ( as , in so long and tedious a journey , some things must needs do , ) those i take to my self ; neither would i have you concern'd in them , at all ; for , the danger being now past , the more grievous they were to suffer , the more pleasant will they be , even to my self , to remember and commit to writing . you are not ignorant , that , when i returned from england , after the solemnization of the marriage of king philip and queen mary , at which i was present , as an attendant , in the train of his excellency don pedro lassus , who , on that occasion , was sent thither , as an honorary embassador , by ferdinand , king of the romans , my most gracious lord ; i say , you are not ignorant , how the said king ferdinand , by his letters , summoned me to this journy . i received his commands , by letter , when i was at lisle , on the d of november , and i made no longer stay , than to visit busbec , only to take my leave of my father and friends ; but , taking tornay in my way , i hastned to brussels , where i met the aforesaid don lassus , who spurred me on to the voyage , shewing me the king's letters to him too , commanding him to press me forward : so that i immediately took horse , and made what haste i could to vienna . my journy thither was very troublesome , both by reason of my unaccustomedness to ride upon such inconvenient horses , as i could then get ; and also because the season of the year was not fit for travel , the weather being tempestuous , the ways dirty , and the days short ; so that i was forced to borrow a great part of the night , and to pass through uncouth , and almost unfrequented , ways , in the dark ; not without the great hazard of my life . assoon as ever i came to vienna , i was introduced into the presence of king ferdinand , by his secretary of state , the heer iohn vander aa : that prince received me with the respect he used to shew to those persons , of whose probity and faithfulness he hath conceived a great opinion : he was pleased to entertain me with a large discourse , what advantages he had promised to himself from me , and how much it concerned him that i should undertake this embassy , and that speedily too ; for he had solemnly promised the bassa of buda , that the envoy , he was to send , should be in buda , without fail , about the beginning of december next ; and , for his part , he was unwilling the turks should take any advantage to break their agreement , upon pretence that he had failed in performing of his . there were but days to the time prescribed , a space little enough to prepare for a short journy , much less for so long and tedious a one ; and yet some of those ten days were to be cut off too , by a journy , which the king commanded me to make to comora , to visit iohn maria malvezius ; for the king , my master , thought it very advisable for me , who had then but little acquaintance in the turkish affairs , to consult that experienced person , and to be informed by him , ore tenus , of the manners and disposition of that nation ; for malvezius had been ferdinand's embassador , for several years , with solyman the turkish emperor at constantinople ; even from that very time that the emperor charles had , for weighty reasons of state , made a truce with the turks , by his embassador the heer gerard velduvickius ; for at the same time also , he made an years truce with the said solyman , in the name of king ferdinand . at that time malvezius was one of the retinue of velduvickius ; and , when he was returned from thence , ferdinand sent him back again to constantinople , to reside there as his embassador in ordinary ; that so he might prevent the incursions of the turks upon the kingdom of hungary , as having an agent there , who might complain to the grand seignior himself of the injuries of his bassa's and governors , and demand satisfaction for the same . but it happened , not long after , that an occasion being offered of uniting transilvania with the rest of hungary ; and the hungarians themselves did very much desire that it should be done , as judging it conducive to the grandeur and dignity of that kingdom ; ferdinand was not willing to neglect so fair an opportunity , and therefore he transacted the matter with the widow , and son , of iohn the vayvod , ( who was sometimes called king of hungary ) that he might receive transilvania in exchange for other provinces ; and seeing these transactions could not be wholly concealed from the turks , rustan the grand visier ( solyman's son in law , and the chief of his counsellors ) used to send for malvezius , and to demand of him , whether those things were true , which were commonly bruited ? he stifly affirmed , that they were utterly false , and offered to pawn his head for the truth of what he spake . but when ferdinand was actually possessed of all transilvania , so that the matter could no longer be dissembled , the grand seignior was very angry with rustan , for giving so much credit to malvezius ; and rustan was more enraged at malvezius , for putting so palpable a cheat upon him . to be short , malvezius is cast into prison , his estate , goods and family are seized . he was kept close prisoner almost two years , under strict guards , whereby he contracted a distemper , viz. difficulty of vrine , which afterward proved mortal to him , in regard they suffered no medicine to be brought unto him , for the cure of his dysuria ; for , the truth is , the turks are always upon the extreme , either over-fond , when they would shew themselves friends ; or over-bitter , when they are angry . but seeing the state of their affairs at that time , by reason of domestick discords , was very unsettled , and thereupon required rather peace than war ; and besides , the matter of reducing transilvania , by arms , went but slowly and unsuccessfully on ; they were easily persuaded to lay aside the thoughts of war , and to compound the matter by a friendly agreement . matters standing thus , the turks insisted upon the intire restitution of transilvania ; but ferdinand would by no means quit his interest therein ; neither would he vacat the agreement with the vayvod , as being neither obtained by fraud , nor extorted by force . and to bring down the turks to those terms , anthony wrantzius , a dalmatian , bishop of agria , and francis zay , commander of those gallies or small vessels , which the hungarians call saicks , ( both of them faithful and industrious persons , and therefore cull'd out by ferdinand for that employment ) were sent embassadors to constantinople . upon their arrival , malvezius was delivered out of prison , and sent back to ferdinand with letters from solyman . in a small time after his return , he was sent back by ferdinand to constantinople , with his answer to solyman's letters ; and was designed to remain , as his embassador in ordinary there , when once peace was established between them . being on his journy , when he had reached as far as comora ( a castle seated on the confluence of the danow and the river vaga , a frontire garison against the turks ) the disease , which he had contracted in prison , returned with such violence upon him , that he was forced to make a stop , and despairing of his recovery , he wrote to the emperor ferdinand beseeching him to appoint another embassador in his stead . upon the receipt of his letter , ferdinand was at a stand ; he did not fully believe , nor yet altogether disbelieve , him ; he was inclined to suspect , that the memory of his former sufferings , and the fear of future ones , did deter him from that employment , rather than the danger of his disease ; and yet , on the other side , he did not think it creditable for himself to employ a man that had so well deserved of him and of the common-wealth , in any service against his will. but the death of malvezius , which followed a few months after , did sufficiently convince him , that his disease was not pretended , to decline the employment , but was really a mortal one . upon this , i was substituted in the place of malvezius . but being unexperienced ( as i said before ) in the affairs and manners of the turks , king ferdinand thought it adviseable for me to bestow a visit upon malvezius , in his sickness ; that so , by his directions and advice , i might be better cautioned and arm'd against any impositions of the captious turks . two days i staid with him , which was as much as the straitness of my time would permit ; and i husbanded them so well , as to be informed , by him , what i was to act and what to avoid , in my daily conversation with the turks . whereupon i posted back to vienna , and began , with great application and diligence , to prepare necessaries for my journy . but such was the flush of business , and so little the time allowed to dispatch it , that , when the day fixt for my departure came , tho' the king did earnestly press me forward , and i had been toilsomly busy all the day in equipping my self , and in causing bag and baggage to be pack'd up , even from the fourth watch ; yet it was the first watch of the following night , before i could be quite ready ; but then the gates of vienna , which at that time of night us'd always to be shut , were opened on purpose for me . the emperor went abroad a hunting that day , but he told his followers , that he did not doubt but that i would be upon my way , before he returned from his sport in the evening , and it fell out accordingly ; yet so , that i was but just gone before he came home . at a clock at night , we came to ficiminum , a town in hungary , miles from vienna ; there we supp'd , for our haste was so great that we came supperless out of town ; from thence we travelled towards comora . the emperor , among the rest of his commands , had enjoyn'd me to take along with me to buda , one paul palinai from comora , a man well acquainted with the rapins and depredations of the turks , and so was best able to assist me in my expostulations with the bassa of buda , and in my demands for satisfaction of injuries received . but he , not in the least suspecting that my departure would have been so punctual at the day appointed , had not yet stirred from his own house , and there was no body could tell , when he would come ; which uncertainty troubled me very much . i acquainted king ferdinand therewith , by letter , and all the next day stayed at comora expecting his coming . but the third day , i passed over the river vaga , and prosecuted my journy towards gran , the first garison of the turks i came to in hungary . col. iohn pax , governor of comora had sent horse with me ( of those that the hungarians call hussars ) to be my guard ; and he had given them a charge not to leave me , till they came in sight of the turkish convoy , for the governor of gran had signified to me , that his soldiers should meet me half way . we travelled about three hours through a vast plain , when , behold ! there appeared afar off turkish horse ; and yet , notwithstanding , my hungarian guard accompanied me still , till i desired them to retire ; for i was afraid that if they should come up to the turks , some troublesome bickering would have intervened betwixt them . as soon as the turks saw me to draw near , they rode up to me , and saluted me by my coach-side ; thus we passed on a while togegether , discoursing interchangeably one with another , ( for i had a little youth for my interpreter . ) i expected no other convoy , but when we descended into a low valley , i saw my self , on a sudden , surrounded with a party of about an horse . it was a very pleasant spectacle to a man , unaccustomed to see such sights ; for their bucklers and spears were curiously painted , their sword-handles bedeck'd with jewels , their plumes of feathers party-coloured , and the coverings of their heads were twisted with round windings as white as snow ; their apparel was purple-coloured , or at least a dark blew ; they rode upon stately praunsers , adorn'd with most beautiful trappings . their commanders came up to me , and after friendly salutation they bid me welcome ; and asked me , how i had fared on my journy ? i answer'd them as i thought fit ; and thus they led me to gran , for so the castle is called , situate on an hill , whose foot is washed by the danow , with a town adjoining , built in a plain . i retired into the town , the arch-bishop whereof is primate of hungary , and for dignity , authority and opulency , is inferior to no nobleman of that kingdom . here i was entertained , not after a courtly , but after a military , manner ; for instead of beds , they spread abroad course shaggy rugs of tapestry upon hard boards ; there were no bed-ticks nor sheets : here my family had the first taste of turkish delights ( forsooth ; ) as for my self , i fared better , for my bed was carried along with me , whithersoever i went. the day after my arrival , the sanziac of the place ( for so the turks call a governor , because a sanziac ( i. e. ) a gilded brass ball , is carried before him on the top of a spear , as a cornet to a troop of horse ) was very earnest to speak with me ; and tho' i had no letter , nor any other command to deliver to him , yet such was his importunity , that go i must . and when i came , i found he had no business with me , but only to see and salute me , and to ask me something of my errand ; and thus , exhorting me to promote a peace , he wish'd me a happy journy . in my passage , i admir'd to hear the croaking of frogs in such a cold season of the year as the month of december ; the cause was , the waters stagnant in those places are made warm by sulphureous exhalations . leaving gran , i went towards buda ; but , to be sure , i took my breakfast before-hand , which was likely to be my dinner also ; for there was no place to bait at , before i came to buda . the sanziac , or governor of the place , with all his family , together with the horse which he commanded , came out of the town with me , to bring me on my way : i could by no means persuade him to omit this office of respect . the horse , as soon as they came out of the gates , began to shew me some sport , curvetting and discharging one against another ; they threw their bonnets on the ground , and galloping their horses with full speed , by them , they took them up by the points of their spears ; and many such ludicrous pranks did they perform . amongst the rest of them , there was a tartar , who had thick bushy hair hanging down over his shoulders ; they told me , that he always went bare-headed , and would never have any other fence for his head , either against the violence of the weather , or the hazards of a battle , but his own hair. the sanziac , after he had accompanied me as far as he pleased , returned home , but not before we had taken our leaves one of another , and he had left some guides for my journy , in my retinue . when i drew near to buda , a few turkish chiaux's met me on the way , ( they are in the nature of pursuivants , or sergeants at arms , to carry about the commands of the grand seignior , or his bassa's , and are officers of great esteem in that nation , ) by them i was brought to lodg in the house of a citizen , who was an hungarian , where my baggage , coach and horses , was better provided for , than my self ; for the turks take special care , that horses , with their equipage , be well accommodated ; as for the men , if they have but an house over their heads to shelter them from the weather , they think they may shift well enough for themselves . the bassa of buda sent one to visit me , and to bid me welcome , his name was tuigon , ( which in turkish signifies a stork , ) by him he excused himself to me , that he could not admit me into his presence for some days , because of a grievous disease he laboured under , but as soon as ever he recover'd a little strength , he said , he would wait upon me . this delay was the occasion , that the aforemention'd absence of palinai was less prejudicial to me , than otherwise it would have been , ( to say no more , ) for he used great diligence to post after , lest he might come too late , and accordingly he overtook me a little while after . i was detained at buda a long time , by reason of the sickness of the bassa ; 't was thought his disease was grief , which he had conceived for the loss of a great sum of mony , which was stoln from the place in which he had hid it , for he was commonly reported to be a penurious and sordid-spirited man. when he heard , that i had brought the heer william quacquelben with me , a great philosopher , and an excellent physician too , he earnestly intreated me , that he might give him a visit to administer some physick to him , in order to his cure. i easily granted his request , but soon after was almost ready to repent of my facility : for the bassa grew worse and worse , and , 't was thought , he would not have recovered ; so that i was afraid , if he had died , the turks would say , my physician had kill'd him ; and , by that means , the good man might have run a great hazard , and i my self also might have born part of the infamy , as being accessory thereunto ; but it pleased god to free me from this anxiety , by restoring the bassa to his health . 't was at buda i got the first sight of the ianizaries , so the turks call their praetorian foot ; their number , when it is fullest , is twelve thousand , and their prince disperses them all over his dominions , either to garison his forts against an enemy , or to be a safeguard to christians and iews , against the injurious rage of the multitude ; for there is no well inhabited village , town , or city , wherein there are not some or other of these ianizaries to protect christians , iews , and other helpless persons , from the fury of the rabble . the castle of buda is always garison'd by them ; their habit is a long garment down to their ankles ; upon their heads they wear the sleeve of a coat , or cloak , ( for from thence , as they say , the pattern was drawn , ) their head is put into part of it , and part of it hangs down behind , flapping upon their shoulders ; in the front , or forepart of it , there ariseth a silver-cone , somewhat long , guilt over with gold , and wrought with jewels , but they were of an ordinary sort . these ianizaries usually came to me by couples ; when they were admitted into my dining-room , they bowed down their heads and made obeysance , and presently they ran hastily to me , and touched either my garment , or my hand , as if they would have kiss'd it ; and then forc'd upon me a bundle , or nosegay , of hyacinths , or narcissus's , and presently they retired backward , with equal speed , to the door , that so they might not turn their backs upon me , ( for that is accounted undecent , by the rules of their order , ) when they came to the door , there they stood , with a great deal of modesty and silence , with their hands upon their breasts , and fixing their eyes upon the ground , so that they seemed liker our monks , than their soldiers . but when i had given them some cash , ( which was the only thing they aimed at , ) they bowed their heads again , and giving me thanks with a loud voice , they wished me all happiness , and departed . the truth is , unless i had been told before , they were ianizaries , i should have thought them to have been a kind of turkish monks , or fellows of some college or other amongst them . yet these are the ianizaries that carry such a ' terror with them , wheresoever they come . some turks supp'd with me often at buda , and were mightily taken with the delicious sweetness of my wine : it is a liquor that they have but little of in turky , and therefore they more greedily desire it , and drink it more profusely , when once they come where it is . they continued carousing till late at night , but afterwards i grew weary of the sport , and therefore rose from table , and went to my chamber ; but as for them , they went away sad , because they had not their full swing at the goblet , but were able to stand upon their feet . as soon as i was gone , they sent a youth after me , desiring me to let them have their fill of wine , and that i would lend them my silver-cups to drink it in ; for they were willing , by my leave , to sit at it all night in some corner or other of the house . i granted their request , and ordered so much wine to be given them , as they desired , with bowls to drink it in . being thus accommodated , they tippled it out so long , till they were even dead-drunk , and tumbling down , lay fast asleep upon the ground . you must know , that it is a great crime in turky to drink wine , especially for those who are well stricken in years ; as for the younger sort , they think the offence to be more venial , and therefore more excusable in them . but seeing they expect no less punishment , after death , for drinking a little wine , than if they drank never so much , when once they have tasted of that liquor , they go on to drink more and more ; for having once incurr'd the penalty of their law , now , they think , they may sin gratis , and account drunkenness as a matter of gain . this opinion , and others mo●e absurd than this , do the turks hold concerning wine , of which i will give you a remarkable instance : i saw an old man at constantinople , who , after he had taken a cup of wine in his hand to drink , us'd first to make an hideous noise ; i asked his friends , why he did so ? they answered me , that , by this outcry , he did as it were warn his soul to retire into some secret corner of his body , or else wholly to emigrate , and pass out of it , that she might not be guilty of that sin which he was about to commit , nor be defiled with the wine , that he was to guzzle down . but to return to buda . 't would be too tedious for me to give you a large description of this place , and it were a task fitter for one that writes a book , not a letter ; yet not to be wholly silent , buda lies in a pleasant place , and in a very fruitful country , it is extended all along the brow of an hill , so that on one side it borders on a rising ground , abounding with choice vineyards , and on the other side it is watred by the river danow , running by it ; and beyond the danow , there is the town of pest , and a large campain adjoining , both which prospects are in view of buda , so that this place seems naturally designed for the metropolis of hungary . it was anciently adorned with many stately palaces , belonging to the nobles of hungary , but those goodly piles are now either quite fallen to the ground , or else have many props to support them from tumbling down ; they are inhabited mostly by the turkish soldiers , whose daily pay being but enough to support them , they have no overplus to lay out in tyling , or repairing , such large structures ; and therefore they do not much regard , whether it rains thro' the roof , or whether the walls be full of clefts , provided they have a dry place to set their horses , and their own beds , in ; the upper part they think concerns them not , so that they make a great part of the upper stories to be inhabited by weazels and mice . besides , 't is a piece of religion in turky , not to covet magnificent buildings ; for , ( say they ) 't is a sign of a proud , lofty , and aspiring mind , to covet sumptuous houses , as if so frail a creature as man did promise a kind of immortality , and an everlasting habitation , to himself , in this life ; when alas ! we are but as pilgrims here , and therefore ought to use our dwellings , as travellors do their inns , wherein if they are secured from thieves , from cold , from heat , and from rain , they seek not for any other conveniencies . so that all over turky you will hardly find a stately house , tho' the owner of it be never so great , or rich , a man ; the commonalty of them live in huts and cottages ; the nobles are for handsome orchards , gardens , and baths ; but as for their houses , tho' the numerousness of their families require large ones , yet they have no handsome gate-houses , or porches , belonging to them , nor court-yards , nor any thing else magnificent , or worthy of any admiration . herein they resemble the hungarians , for , except buda , and ( perhaps ) presburgh , there is scarce any city in hungary that you can call well-built . this custom , i suppose , they derived from their ancestors , for they being a people given to camp-discipline and therein trained , did not care a rush for building great houses , but looked upon their towns only as temporary habitations , which they were about to leave . moreover , whilst i was at buda , i was very much taken with the sight of a strange kind of fountain that is without the gate of the town , in the way leading to constantinople , the water whereof at top was boyling hot , and yet in the bottom there were fishes playing up and down ; so that you would think , they must needs be throughly boyled , before you could take them out . 't was the th of december , before the bassa was so well recovered as to admit me to his presence ; and then , after i had sweetned him with some presents . i made my complaint to him of the insolency and ravagings of the turkish soldiers ; and demanded restitution of what they had wrongfully taken away , contrary to the express articles of the truce made , and which he himself , in his letter to ferdinand , had promised him satisfaction for , if he pleased to send an envoy to buda . but he , like a cunning gamester , made as many complaints of the injuries and losses they had sustained by our soldiers : and as for his promise to restore the places they had wrongfully seized and taken away from the emperor ; he eluded it , by sheltring himself under this dilemma , either i made a promise , or i did not ; if i made no promise , then you can demand nothing of me : if i did make a promise , i know , sir , you are a person of that understanding as not to conceive , that i can or will perform it ; for i am sent hither by my master to enlarge , not to diminish , the bounds of his empire , so that i must by no means make his condition worse than it was ; 't is my master's business , ( sir ) not mine ; what you have to say on this head , pray propound it to him , when you come to constantinople : to be short , sir , you know i am but newly recovered , and therefore am not in a condition to maintain any further discourse . when this course complement was put upon me , i thought 't was time to be gone , neither could i get any thing else from him , only a truce , till the grand seignior's mind was known . i observed , that when i was introduced to the bassa , they observed the old roman custom of crying aloud , welcom , welcom ; and so wishing an happy issue to my negotiation : i observed also , that the turks count the left hand to be most honourable in some particular cases ; the reason they give , is , because the sword is worn on that side , and he that is on the right hand has , as it were , the command of the sword of him that is at his left , whereas his own is free , matters being thus composed at buda , as well as we could , my companion palinai returned to the emperor , but i , for my part , shipp'd my horses , coaches , and all my family on some vessels , prepared for me on the danow , and so passed down the stream to belgrade ; this was a shorter cut , and also more secure ; for my journy by land to belgrade would at that time have cost me at least days , especially having such a deal of heavy baggage with me ; and , besides , we had been in danger to be robb'd by the heyduc's , so the hungarians call a sort of plundering thieves and robbers : but upon the water there was no fear at all of them ; and , besides , we compassed our journy in days . the vessel , in which i was , was drawn along by a lesser pinnace , in which there were oars ; the other vessels had but two large oars apiece . the mariners rowed night and day without any intermission , excepting only a few hours that the poor souls borrow'd to sleep and eat in . in my passage down the river , i could not but observe the venturousness , not to say temerity , of the turks , who were not afraid to sail on in the mistiest weather , in the darkest night , and when the wind blew very hard , too ; and , besides , there were many water mills , with several trunks and boughs of trees hanging over the banks , which made our passage very dangerous ; so that some times our vessel , by the boisterousness of the wind , was driven to the bank , and there dash'd against old stumps of trees hanging over , so that it was like to split ; this is certain , that she lost some planks out of her hulk , which made a terrible crack and noise when they were loosed therefrom . this noise awak'd me ; leaping out of my bed i advis'd the mariners to be more cautio●s ; they lift up their voices , and gave me no other answer than alaure , i. e. god will help , and so i might go to bed again , if i would . tho' we sped pretty well , yet i am apt to believe , that , at one time or other , such dangerous sayling will be fatal to some passengers . in our passage , i saw tolna , a handsome town in hungary ; i cannot forbear to mention it , because there we had very good white-wine , and , besides , the inhabitants were very courteous to us . moreover , we passed in sight of the castle of walpot , seated on an hill , and of other castles and towns besides ; we saw also where the river drave , on the one side , and the tibiscus , or taise , on the other , made their influx into the danow . as for belgrade it self , it is seated at the confluence of the save and the danow ; the old city is built in the extreme angle of the promontory , the building is old , it is fortified with many towers and a double wall : two parts of it are wash'd by the save and the danow , but on that part where it is joyned to the land , it hath a very strong castle on high ground , consisting of many lofty turrets made of square stone ; before you come into the city , there is a vast company of buildings , and very large suburbs , wherein several nations do inhabit , viz. ●turks , greeks , iews , hungarians , dalmatians , and many others . for you must know that ordinarily over all the turkish dominions , the suburbs are larger than the towns , but take them both together , they give the resemblance of large cities : 't was at this town , that i first met with some ancient coins , wherein , as you know , i take a great delight , and my physician aforesaid , dr. quacquelben fitted me to an hair , as we say , for he was as much addicted to those studies as my self . i found a great many pieces , which on one side represented a roman soldier , plac'd between a bull and a horse , ( for 't is known , that the legions of upper moesia did anciently encamp hereabouts ) with this inscription , taurunum . this city , in the memory of our grandfathers , was twice violently assaulted by the turks , first , under amurath ; next , under mahomet who took constantinople ; but the hungarians , under the banner of the cross , made such a vigorous defence , that the barbarians were beaten off with a great deal of loss . but at last , in the year , . solyman , in the beginning of his reign , came before it with a vast army , and finding it , either by the neglect of young king ludovicus , or by the discords of the factious hungarian nobles , destitute of a garison able to defend it , he took that opportunity to assault it , and so easily became master thereof . and that door being once opened , an iliad of miseries broke in upon poor hungary , of which she is sadly sensible to this day ; for this pass being gained , there followed the slaughter of king le●is ludovicus , the taking of buda , the inslaving of transilvania , and a flourishing kingdom hereby brought under the yoke no●-without a terror struck into the neighbouring nations , lest they also should partake of the same calamities : by which example , christian princes may take warning , never to think their frontier towns and castles to be strong enough , nor sufficiently provided , against so potent an enemy as the turk . for the truth is , the ottomans are herein not unlike to great rivers , whose swelling waves , if they break down any part of the bank or jitty that keeps them in , spread far and near , and do abundance of mischief ; so the turks , but far more pernic●ously , having once broke through the obstacles that stopt them , make a vast spoil where-ever they come . but to return to belgrade , that i may prosecute the rest of my journy to constantinople . after i had provided my self in that city of all things necessary for a land-journy , i left semandria , heretofore a town or castle of the despots of servia on the left side of the danow ; from whence we journied towards nissa . in our way thither , the turks shewed us , from the higher grounds , the mountains of transilvania , with snowy tops , but at a great distance from us ; and , moreover , they pointed with their fingers , where the ruins of trajans bridge were : after we had past the river called morava , we came to a town of the servians , named , iagodna ; there i observed the funeral rites of that country , which differ very much from ours ; as you may find by this relation following . the dead body was placed in a temple , with the face uncovered ; near it were laid victuals , as bread , flesh and a flagon of wine : the wife and daughter of the deceased stood by , in their best apparel ; the daughters hat was made of peacocks-feathers . the last boon that the wife bestowed on her dead husband , was a purple bonnet , such as noble virgins us'd to wear in that country . then we heard their funeral plaints , mournings and lamentations , wherein they asked the dead corps , how they came to deserve so ill at his hands ? wherein had they been wanting in their duty and observance , that he had left them in such a lonesom and disconsolate condition ? and such like stuff . the priests that ministred in this service were of the greek church . in the church-yard , there were erected on poles or long staves , several pictures of stags , hinds and such kind of creatures , cut in wood ; when i asked them the reason of this strange custom , they told us , that their husbands or fathers did thereby signifie the celerity and diligence of their wives or daughters in managing their houshold affairs . moreover by some sepulchres , there hung bushes of hair , which women or maidens had placed in testimony of their grief for the loss of their relations . we were also informed , that it was the custom of that country , after friends on both sides had accorded about the marriage of a young couple , for the bridegroom to snatch away his bride , as it were by force ; for they do not think it handsome , that a maid should consent to her own devirgination or first nights lodging with her husband . at a small distance from iagodna , we met with a little river which the neighbouring inhabitants called nissus , and we kept it on our right hand almost all the way till we came to nissa ; yea , and beyond the town , upon the bank thereof , ( where there were some remains of an old roman way ) we saw a small marble pillar , yet standing , wherein there were some latin letters inscribed , but they were so defaced , that they could not be read : as for the town of nissa , for that country , it is a decent one , and full of inhabitants . 't is time now to acquaint you with the entertainment we met with at our inns , for i believe you long to know . when i came to nissa , i lodged in a publick inn , the turks call them caravasarai , of which there are a great many in that country ; the form of them is this , it is a large edifice , that has more of length than breadth ; in the midst of it there is a kind of yard for the placing of carriages , camels , mules and wagons . this yard is compassed about with a wall about foot high , which joins , and is , as it were , built in the outward wall , that incloses the whole building ; the top of this inner wall is plain and level , and is about foot broad . here the turks lodge , here they sup , and here is all the kitchen which they have , ( for in the ambient wall , before spoken of , there are ever and anon some hearths built ) and here are no partitions between camels , horses with other cattel , and men , but the space of that inner wall ; and yet at the foot of that wall , they so tye their horses that their heads and necks are above it , or at least may lean over it ; and thus when their masters are warming themselves at the fire , or else are at supper , they stand near them as servants us'd to do ; and sometimes they will take a piece of bread or apple , or whatsoever else is offered them , out of their masters hand . upon the same wall , the turks make their beds , after this manner , first of all they spread abroad a piece of tapestry , which is fitted as a saddle-cloth by day , for their horses : upon that they put their cloaks ; their saddles serve for a pillow ; and with the long vests they wear at day , they cover themselves at night . and thus they take their rest , never provoking sleep by any other allurement . there is nothing done in secret , there all is open , and every body may see what another does , unless the darkness of the night do hinder him . for my part , i did greatly abhor this sort of lodging , because the eyes of all the turks were continually upon us , stareing and wondring at our carriage , according to the customs of our country . and , therefore , i always indeavoured to lodge at the mean house of some poor christian ! but , alas ! their cottages were so small , that many times i had not room enough , in them , for placing my bed ; so that sometimes i slept in my tent , sometimes in my coach , and sometimes again i turned into the turkish hospitals ; which , to give them their due , are very convenient , and not unhandsomly built , for they have several distinct apartments for lodgings in them . there is no man forbid the use of them , either christian or iew , rich or poor , they are open equally to all . even the bassa's and sanziacs , when they travel , make use of them . in these i thought my self lodg'd as well as in the palace of a prince . the custom of these inns , like hospitals , is this : they allow victuals to every particular man , that comes in as a guest : so that when supper time came , there was a servant that brought in a great wooden dish almost as big as a table ; in the middle of it was a platter full of barley boyled to a jelly with a little piece of flesh , and about the platter were some small loaves , and here and there a piece of an hony-comb . when i saw this , at first , out of modesty , i refused it , saying , that my servants were preparing my own supper for me , and therefore advis'd them to give it to the poor : he took it amiss , and prest it upon me , alledging , that i should not scorn their slender provision , that the bassa's themselves us'd to eat of it ; it was the custom of their country so to do ; they had enough left to give to the poor ; and if i would not eat it my self , i should give it to my servants ; hereupon , i was enforced to take it , that i might not be counted uncivil by them . take it then i did , and after i had tasted a little of it , i gave him thanks . the relish of it pleas'd me well , for that kind of gruel , as it is commended by galen , so it is very wholesome , and not unpleasing to the taste . travellers may be entertained with that kind of diet for days , but when that time is expired , they must pack up and be gone . here ( as i told you ) i was well intertain'd , but i met not always with such good quarters . sometimes , when i could not light upon an house , i lodged in a stable ; my people enquired after a large and capacious one , in one part whereof was an hearth and a chimney , and the other part was design'd for the herds of cattle ; for that is the make of the turkish stables , that the herd and the herdsman do lodge under the same roof . i divided that part where the fire was from the rest , by the sides of my tent , and then i put my table and my bed by the fire-side , and liv'd like an emperor : as for my family , they wallowed in a great deal of clean straw , in the other part of the stable : but some of them fell asleep by the fire-side in the adjoining orchard or meadow where supper was a preparing ; the heat of the fire was their guard against the coldness of the night , and they had as great a care not to let it go out , as the vestal virgins had of old at rome . i suppose , you will ask me , how my family did relieve themselves against the inconvenience of their bad lodging ; especially seeing they could have little wine in the middle of turky , which might have been some remedy for their ill lodging at night . for the truth is , there is little wine to be had in several of their villages , especially if no christians dwell among them : for i must tell you , that the christians being wearied out with the pride and insolency of the turks , do many times withdraw themselves from the common road into desert places ; which tho' they are less fruitful yet are more secure ; and so leave their better possessions to the domineering turks . and whenever we drew near to any such places , where there was no wine , the turks would very fairly tell us of it beforehand ; so that i sent my steward the day before , with a turk to guide him , to procure some from the next villages of the christians . and by this means it was , that the distresses of my family were something alleviated ; 't is true , i could not get any soft featherbeds or pillows for them , or other blandishments for sleep ; the wine was instead of all : as for my self , i had some flagons of choice wine in my chariot , so that i wanted none ; thus i and my family were provided for , as to wine . but there was one inconvenience , which troubled us more than the scarcity of wine , and that was , our sleep was miserably interrupted ; for we being to rise betimes in the morning , and sometimes before day , that we might come the sooner to our inns at night , our turkish guides , being deceived by the light of the moon , would sometimes call us up at or about midnight , with a great deal of noise and clamour . for the turks have no clocks to distinguish hours , nor miles to shew the distance of places : only they have a sort of ecclesiasticks , which they call talismans ; this sort of people use a kind of admeasurement by water , and when they perceive thereby , that 't is morning , then they cry aloud from an high tower , built on purpose , exhorting them to arise and worship god. they make the same noise in the middle between sun-rise and noon ; and likewise , between noon and sun-set ; and , last of all , when the sun is set , they cry out , with a very shrill voice , which hath no unpleasant modulation , and which is heard farther than any body would think . thus the turks divide the day into four spaces , longer or shorter , according to the season of the year : but for the night-time , they have no certain rule at all . so then our turkish guides being deceived by the brightness of the night ( as i told you before ) called us up before sun-rising , and we started out of our beds in great haste , that so they might not impute any unlucky accident , upon the way , to our slothfulness ; in the morning , we pack'd up our baggage , and put my bed and tent in our wagons , harnessed our horses , and were ready for our journy ; only expected the word of command . but ( would you think it ? ) our turks , when they found their mistake , fairly went into their nests again ; and after we had waited for them a great while , i sent to them , to tell them , we were all ready ; and now the delay was on their side , my messengers brought me word , from them , that the moon-light had deceived them , and , therefore , they were gone to sleep again ; for it would be a great while before it would be time to go ; and they persuaded us to try to sleep again too . and , thus , we must either unpack all our things again , to our no small trouble ; or else we must endure a great part of the coldness of the night in the open air. to prevent this inconvenience for the future , i charged the turks not to be so troublesome any more , as to rouse me out of my sleep ; for if they would but tell me over night , at what time they would rise in the morning , i would be sure to be ready at the time appointed ; for i had watches , by me , that i intended to make use of , which would not fail to acquaint me with the precise hour of the morning ; and if they over-slept themselves , they should lay it to my charge ; so that they need not scruple to trust me with the hour of their rising . they seem'd to be somewhat satisfied herewith , and yet did not lay aside all their solicitude neither ; for in the morning betimes , they awaken'd my valet de chambre , desiring him to go to me , and to see how the index of my watches did point ; he did so ; and returned answer to them , as well as he could , that 't was much or little to sun-rising , according as he found it . when they had thus tried him once or twice , and found that he hit the time right , they trusted me for the future , and admir'd the structure of our watches , that could so faithfully declare the time ; so that ever after , we slept out our sleep , without any disturbances from them . from nissa we came to s. sophia ; the journy thither , and the weather , for that time of the year , was very tolerable . sophia is a town big enough , and well inhabited both by citizens and strangers : it was heretofore the royal seat of the king of bulgaria ; and afterwards ( if i mistake not ) of the despots of servia , whilst that house stood , before it was overthrown by the turkish arms. afterward , we continued our journy , for many days , through the pleasant , and not unfruitful , vally , of bulgaria ; all the time we were in that country , we had little other bread , but only cakes bak'd under ashes upon the hearth ; they call them togatch . the women and maids sell them , ( for they have no bakers in those parts ; ) and when they perceive any guests a coming , that are likely to pay for what they have , presently they knead a little dough , with water , without any leaven ; and lay it ( upon tiles ) under the ashes , and so bring it out piping hot , as we say , and sell them for a very small matter ; other victuals is also very cheap there ; a good weather-sheep may be bought for aspers ; a chicken and a hen will cost but an asper ; a sort of coin with them , of which make but a crown . i must not omit to acquaint you with the habit of those bulgarian women . they commonly wear nothing but a smock or shift , made of no finer linen-thread , than that we make sacks of . and yet these course garments were wrought , by them , with several sorts of strip'd-needle-work after a homely fashion : with this loose party-coloured habit they mightily please themselves , so that when they saw our shifts , made of the finest linen , yet they wondred at our modesty , that we could be contented to wear them without various works of divers colours wrought in them . but that which i most of all admired in them , was the tower , ( if i may so call it , ) which they wore on their heads , for such was the form of their hats . they were made of straw braided with webs over them . the figure of them doth differ from the hats women wear in our country , for ours hang down on the shoulders , and the lowest part of it is the broadest , and so it arises as it were into a pyramid , at top ; but theirs is narrowest below , and so rises up like a top , almost nine inches above the head , but that part of it that looks upwards , towards the sky , is both very capacious , and also open , so that , it seems made to take in rain , and showers , as ours are to shelter us against them ; but in that space interjacent between their upper and lower part , there hang pieces of coin , little pictures or images , small parcels of painted glass , or what-ever is resplendent , tho never so mean , which are accounted very ornamental among them . those kind of hats do make them look taller , and also more matron-like , tho' they are easily blown off their heads , by a blast of wind , or by any light motion they fall off themselves . when they appeared to us in this dress , methought , they resembled clytemnestra or some hecuba or other , ( in the flourishing time of troy ) coming upon the stage . this sight suggested to me some pious meditations , viz. how frail and mutable a thing that which is called nobleness of birth , is ; for when i ask'd of some of these lasses , they that seem'd to be the handsomest among them , concerning their stock and lineage , they told me , they were descended from the chief nobles of that country ; and some of them were of a royal progeny , tho' now it was their fate , ( as they said ) to marry herdsmen or shepherds . for nobility is very little esteemed in the turkish dominions . for i my self did afterwards see , at constantinople and other places , some descendants from the imperial families of the catacuzeni and the paloeologi , living more contemptuously among the turks , than ever dionysius did of old at corinth ; nay , the turks esteem no men for their birth , but only for their own perform'd accomplishments , excepting only the ottoman family ; for that they have a high veneration , upon account of its original . it is thought that these bulgarians had their original from seythia , near the river volga , and that they changed their habitations and came into these parts , when other nations , either compelled by force or prompted by choice , changed theirs ; and that they were called bulgarians , i. e. volgarians , from the river volga , aforesaid . upon this transmigration they fix'd their habitation upon those parts of mount hoemus , that lie between sophia and philippopolis , which are places naturally strong ; where they , for a long time , baffled all the power of the grecian emperors , and kill'd baldwin the elder , earl of flanders , then emperor of constantinople , after they had taken him in an hot skirmish . yet for all this they were not able to resist the power of the turks , but were overcome and miserably enslav'd by them . they use the illyrian or slavonian tongue , as the servians and rascians also do . before a man descends into that plain that lies over against philippopolis , he must go through a forest and a craggy mountain , which the turks call capi dervent , i. e. the gate of the strait or narrow passage ; but in the plain , before mentioned , we met with the river hebrus , having its original from the adjoining mountain , rhodope . before we could pass the said straits , we saw the top of mount rhodope all cover'd over with deep snow . the inhabitants , as i remember , call it rulla . from hence flows the river hebrus , as pliny says , and ovid also affirms the same in this distick . qua patet umbrosum rhodope glacialis ad hoemum , et sacer amissas exigit hebrus aquas . where icy rhodope ope's to shady hoeme , and sacred hebrus wants part of her stream . in which verses , the poet seems to intimate the shallowness of that river for want of water . for tho' it be a great and famous river , yet , in most places , it is fordable : for , i remember , in my return from constantinople , we forded over the same hebrus , near philippopolis , to an island on the other side , where we lay in our tents all night ; but so it hapned , that the waters swelled that night by reason of rain , so that the next morning we could not repass the river , to come into the road , without a great deal of trouble . the city of philippopolis is situate on one of the three little hills , disjoyned , and , as it were , rent from the rest of the mountains , and is as the grace of those little hillocks . while we were at philippopolis , we saw rice growing , like wheat , in the watry and marshy grounds . the whole plain , about the town , is full of little round hills of earth , which , the turks say , were raised on purpose , as monuments of the frequent battles fought in those fields , and the graves of such as were slain there . from hence , leaving the river hebrus , something on the right , and mount hoemus , which runs forth into pontus , on the left , at last we passed over the hebrus on a famous bridge , made by mustapha , and so came to hadrianople , which the turks call endrene . this city was formerly called orestia , before the emperor hadrian inlarged it , and called it by his own name . it is seated at the confluence of the river mariza or hebrus , and the two small currents of thinsa and harda , which there meeting in a joint stream run into the egean sea. this city is not very large within the walls ; but , if you take in the suburbs a●d the buildings which the turks have added without , it is very capacious . we staid but one day at hadrianople , and then went forward on the last stage of our journy towards constantinople , to which we drew nearer day by day . in my way thither , there grew abundance of narcissus's , hyacinths , and ( as the turks call them ) tulips , which we beheld , not without admiration , that in the midst of winter , which is not favourable to such flowers in other countries , the ground should be so garnished by them . as for narcissus's and hyacinths's , all greece abound with them ; and they are so odoriferous , that , by reason of their multitude , they are offensive to those heads that are unaccustomed to such kind of smels . but the tulip hath little or no smell , but its gaudiness and party-colouredness is its greatest commendation . the turks are great admirers of flowers , so that , tho' they are parsimonious enough in other cases , yet for a stately flower , they will not scruple to give some aspers . and the truth is , these kind of flowers , tho' they were presented to me as a gift , yet they cost me a great deal of mony ; for some aspers were always expected in requital . neither is there any other way of treating with a turk , but by opening the purse-strings , as soon as any christian comes among them ; neither must he think to shut them again , till he go out of their country : while he is there , he must scatter his coin , and if he get no other advantage by it , yet it makes them more tracta●le● for the turks are so ill-natured , and such undervaluers of all nations , but their own , that without this open-handedness , there were no more living among them , for strangers , than in the most desolate and uninhabited places , by reason of the excessiveness either of cold or heat ; but with the bait of liberality , you may catch a turk at any time . about the mid-way between hadrianople and constantinople , there is a little town , called , chiurli , memorable for the overthrow which selimus received in a battel against his father bajazet , out of which he escaped by the swiftness of his horse , called , carabonluch , ( i. e. ) a black cloud , and so fled to the cham , or the precopeian tartar , who was his father-in-law . before we came to selimbria , which is a town standing on the sea-side in our way , we saw the ruins of an old wall and ditch , which were made by the later emperors of greece , which reached from that sea to the danow , to secure all that was contain'd within that fortification to the constantinopolitans , against the incursions of the barbarians ; and there goes a story , that when that wall was a building , a certain old man delivered his opinion to his wife , viz. that that wall would not so much secure what was within it , from the hands of the infidels , as it would expose and subject it to their rage and fury , in regard it would add courage to the barbarians to assault it , and weaken the courage of the grecians to defend it . at selimbria we had a most pleasant prospect of a calm sea ; and 't was very pleasant to us to behold the smooth water , and to gather cockles on the shore ; yea , to behold sholes of dolphins sporting in the water , which , with the warmness of the air , was very delightful to us . it can hardly be imagined , how mild the weather was in those parts , tho' sometimes it be a little more boistrous at chiurli ; but here there is , as i may call it , a thracian gale , and an incredible sweetness of air. when we came near to constantinople , we passed over two pleasant arms of the sea , upon a bridge built over them . i may safely say , that if those places were cultivated by art , as they are naturally pleasant , the sun never shone on a better country ; but , alas ! they seem to mourn for the neglect put upon them , by the insulting barbarian . here we had our fill of choice sea-fishes , which were even taken in our sight . when i lodged in those inns , the turks call imaret , i usually observed , that the cracks of the walls were all full of pieces of paper ; and thinking something was the matter , but not knowing what , i took out some of them , and finding nothing writ therein of any consequence , i was more earnest to know of the turks the reason of their so doing ; especially , seeing i had observed the same thing in other places of turky , before . at first , they scrupled to tell me , as thinking , perhaps , that i would not believe them ; or else , not being willing to impart so great a mystery of things to such an alien as my self . this made me the more inquisitive , till at last some of them , with whom i became more familiar , told me , that the turks gave a great deal of deference to paper , because the name of god may be written in it : and , therefore , they will not suffer the least bit of paper to lye upon the ground , but presently they take it up , and thrust it into some chink or hold or other , that so it may not be trampled under foot ; and hitherto , perhaps , their superstition may be tolerable , but mark what follows . in the day of judgment , say they , when mahomet shall call up his followers from their purgatory , ( to which they were condemned for their sins ) to heaven , to be there made partakers of eternal blessedness ; there will no way be left for them to come to their prophet , but over an huge red-hot iron grate , which they must run over bare-foot , ( how painfully , you may guess , when you imagine a cock to skip thro' hot-burning coals . ) but at that instant , ( believe it if you can ! ) all those bundles of paper , which they have preserv'd from being trod upon , will immediately appear , and put themselves under their feet ; by which means , they will pass the iron red-hot grate with less damage ; so necessary do they count the work of saving a little paper . and , to add to the story , i remember that my turkish guides were once very angry with my servants , for making use of paper to cleanse their posteriors , and thereupon made a grievous complaint to me of their horrid offence , therein ; i had no way to put them off , but by telling them , 't was no wonder my servants did do such strange things , seeing they also us'd to eat swines flesh , which the turks abhor . thus i have given you a taste of the turkish superstition ; i shall add , that they account it a damnable sin , if any of their own people chance ( tho' unwillingly ) to sit upon the alcoran , ( which is a book , containing the rites of their religion ; ) and , if a christian do it , 't is death by their law. moreover , they will not suffer rose-leaves to lye upon the ground , because , as the ancients did fable , the rose does spring out of the blood of venus ; so the turks ( forsooth ) hold , that it had its rise from the sweat of mahomet : but i cloy your stomach with these trifles . i came to constantinople on the th day of ianuary , and there found my collegues above-mentioned , anthony wrantzius and francis zay ; as for the grand seignior himself , he was , at that time , at the head of his army in asia , and had only left , at constantinople , ebrahim bassa , an eunuch , as governor of the city , and rustan , but deprived of his visier-ship ; however , i gave him a visit and made him presents , as being mindful of his former dignity , and of the fair prospect there was of his speedy restitution thereunto . it may , perhaps , divertise you , and besides it is not wholly foreign to my design , to acquaint you how this rustan came to be strip'd of all his former honours . know then , that solyman begat a son , called mustapha , on a concubine of his , born by the bosphorus , ( if i mistake not ) this youth was in the prime of his age , and in great favour among the soldiers . but the same solyman had several other children by roxolana , whom he doted on so much , that he made her his wife , by appointing her a dowry ; for that 's the way of making and firming a marriage among the turks . this solyman did , contrary to the custom of former emperors , none of which had ever marry'd a wife , since the days of bajazet the elder ; the reason was , because the said bajazet , being overthrown by tamerlan , was , with his wife , taken prisoner by him , where he suffer'd many indignities , but none affected him more , than the uncivilities and reproaches which he saw offer'd to his sultaness , before his face . the memory of which affronts made such a deep impression on all those that succeeded bajazet in the empire , that , to this very day , none of them will marry a wife , that so , whatever chance should happen , they might never fall into the like indignity ; so that , ever since , they beget children on women of a servile condition , in whose misfortunes they may be less concern'd , than if they were their lawful wives . and yet the children , begot on such concubins , are as much esteem'd by the turks , as if they were born in lawful wedlock , and they have as much right to their fathers estates . so then , mustapha , being of a promising ingenuity , and in the flower of his age ; and besides , being the darling of the soldiers , and the common-people too , having so many favourable circumstances attending him , he , after his father's death , who was now very old , was by the votes of all designed for his successor , in the empire : on the other side , his stepmother , roxalana , with might and main , laboured to prevent it , and to secure the empire for the children begotten on her own body , and thereupon presuming on her marriage-relation , she ceased not to disparage mustapha , and to prefer a younger son of her own before him . in this design rustan was both her counsellor , and her assistant too ; they drew both in one yoke , for rustan having married a daughter of solyman's , by roxalana , their interests thereupon were conjoined , and twisted one in another . this rustan was the chief of the bassa's , and solyman's prime vizier , having the chief power and authority with him : he was a man of a sharp and very capcacious wit , and a great grace to solyman's government . as for his original , he was the son but of a shepherd , and yet he seemed worthy of that dignity , to which he was advanced , if his fordid avarice had not been a blot in his escutcheon . and to speak truly , solyman himself , did observe this vice in him , tho' upon all other accounts , he was his choice and only favourite : and yet this crime of his turn'd to his masters advantage , for being appointed by solyman to preside over his treasury , or exchequer , which sometimes was very low , he was so thrifty in the management of that office , that he did not spare to raise mony , even by the meanest and most contemptible ways . for he laid a tax on herbs , roses , and violets , which grew in great men's gardens ; he caused the armour , coats of male , warrior's horses , of such as were taken prisoners in war , to be sold , and by such ways as those he got together such a mass of mony , that solyman was very secure on that part ; upon this occasion , i remember , that a great man among the turks , who are usually vindictive enough , that was a great enemy to rustan , yet ( to my surprize , ) told me , that he would do rustan no hurt , tho' it were never so much in his power , because his care and industry had advanced his masters treasury to so prodigious a sum. there is a chamber in the seraglio , at constantinople , over which there is this inscription , this is the cash obtained by the diligence of rustan . when rustan was grand visier , and had the intire administration of all things in his hands , he was able to turn his master's mind , hither and thither , as he pleased , so that 't was commonly reported among the turks , that partly by the accusation of rustan , and partly by the witchcraft of his wife roxolana , ( for she was accounted little better than a sorceress ) solyman was so alienated from his son mustapha , that he took counsel to put him to death . as to what some alledge , that mustapha being sensible of the designs of rustan and his step-mother roxolana , against his life , did labour to preserve them , by taking off his father , and so seizing the empire by force ; very few do believe that story , but look upon it as a fiction . on this occasion , let me tell you , that the sons of the turkish emperors are the miserablest creatures in the world ; for if any one of them succeed his father in the empire , the rest are inevitably put to death by him . for the turks cannot endure any corrival in government ; and , besides , they are egged on to this severity by their proetorian bands ( ianizaries and spahies ) who , as long as there is any one of the grand seigniors brothers alive , never cease craving of largesses and boons , and , if the present emperor refuses to grant them , they presently cry out , god save your brother , god send your brother a long life ; by which words they more than intimate their wishes , that he were in the throne : so that the turkish emperors are , in a manner , compelled to put their brethren to death , and so do begin their reigns with blood. but mustapha was afraid of such a fatal end ; or else roxolana was willing to translate the said destiny from her own children upon mustapha : upon one or other of these grounds , it was , that solyman entertain'd the thought of putting his son mustapha to death . and the occasion fell out opportunely , for he had war , at that time , with sagthama king of the persians , thither rustan was sent with a vast army . when he drew near to the borders of persia , upon a suddain he made a stop , and wrote back fearful missives to solyman ; telling him , that the whole empire was in great hazard , there was nothing but treason studied in the army , they all cry'd out a mustapha , a mustapha ; yea , the disease was grown to such an heighth , that 't was past his skill to cure it ; and , therefore , the emperor himself must come , immediately , if he would have the crown sit safe on his head. solyman was mightily disturb'd at the news , and , therefore , posted away towards the army , and sends letters to mustapha to come to him , to purge himself from those crimes , whereof he was formerly suspected , but now openly accused ; if he could do it , he told him , he need no fear to approach his presence . upon the receipt of this letter , mustapha was in a great streight ; if he should go to his father , in such an angry mood , he ran upon his death ; if he refus'd , that would be interpreted , as a plain confession of the objected crimes . under this dilemma , he resolved upon that course , which as it had more of resolution in it , so it was fullest of danger . away , then , goes he from amasia , of which he was governor , to his fathers camp , which was pitch'd not far from the place . this he did , either out of confidence of his own innocency , or else presuming on the assistance of the army , if any severity were meditated against him ; whatever was the motive of his journy , this is certain , that he ran unavoidably upon his own destruction ; for solyman ever since he was at constantinople , had resolv'd to put him to death ; and to make the matter more plausible , he consulted the mufty , ( so the turks call the chief of their priests , as romanists call theirs the pope , ) and that he might not speak to him in favour of mustapha , he propounded to him a feign'd case , thus , there was a wealthy merchant at constantinople , who having occasion to travel a long journy from home , left the care of his family , his wife , and children , and all his affairs , to a slave of his , in whose fidelity he put a great deal of confidence ; now this slave , immediately after his departure , design'd to destroy his masters wife and children , committed to his care , to embezil his estate , and to work against his masters own life , in case he should ever get him into his power ; what may be lawfully done , said he , to the mufty , with such a slave ? he deserves , says the mufty , to be racked to death . whether he spoke really as he thought , or whether he did not do it to curry favour with rustan and roxolana ; this is certain , that the resolution of the grand seignior was greatly confirm'd thereby to put his son to death , for he was of opinion , mustapha's offence against him , was as great , as that supposed slaves against his master . however it were , mustapha came into his fathers camp , the whole army being very solicitous about the event of their congress . soon after he was brought into his fathers tent , where all things were hush ; not a soldier of the guards to be seen , no serjeant , no executioner , in view , nor nothing of treachery , that was visible ; but when he was come into an inner tent , lo ! upon a sudden , there started up four mutes , strong and lusty fellows , to be his executioners ; they set upon him with all their strength and might , and endeavoured to cast a cord about his neck ; he defended himself stoutly for a while , ( for he was a robust young man , ) as if he had contended not only for his life , but for the empire , also ; for without question , if he had escaped that danger , and had come in among the ianizaries , they either out of affection to him , whom they dearly loved , or else , moved with the indignity of the thing , would not only have saved his life , but have gone near to have proclaimed him emperor ; and that was the very thing , which solyman fear'd of all things in the world , and therefore perceiving , as he stood behind a linen vail in the tent to behold the tragedy , that an unexpected stop was put to his bloody design , he peep'd out his head , and gave the mutes such a sour and minacious look , in reproach of their remisness , that thereupon they assaulted him with renew'd force , and then threw poor mustapha down on the ground , and strangled him ; and after they had done , they carried his corps out of the tent , and laid it on a piece of tapestry , that so the ianizaries might behold their design'd emperor . as soon as the matter was divulged , commiseration and grief seized on the whole camp , and there was scarce a man of any consideration , in the whole army , that did not approach to behold so sad a spectacle , especially , the ianizaries , whose consternation and rage was such , that they would have ventured to attempt any manner of mischief whatsoever , if they had had a leader . as for him , whom they hop'd to be their conductor , he lay dead on the ground , and therefore now there was no way but one , to take that patiently which was past all remedy . thus they silently departed with blubbered eyes , and sad hearts , to their tents , where they both lamented and pitied the woful fate of an unhappy mustapha , sometimes inveighing against the madness and rage of his old doating father , at other times exclaiming at the fraud and cruelty of his step-mother , and anon cursing the wickedness of rustan , with direful imprecations for extinguishing so great a light of the ottoman family , so that all that day was a fasting-day to them , they did not sip so much as a drop of water ; yea , some of them continued their abstinence for many days after . in short , there was such a face of mourning over the whole army , which was not like to cease in many days , that solyman in policy , and in a seeming compliance with the sentiments of his people , depriv'd rustan of his office , ( it was thought by his own consent , ) and banished him , as a private person to constantinople , substituting achmat bassa to the grand-vizier-ship in his room , a man of more courage than conduct . upon this alteration , the publick grief was somewhat abated , and the soldiers rage pacified ; for the commonalty was made to believe , ( as you know the vulgar are credulous enough , ) that solyman at last had found out the wickedness of rustan , and the inchantments of his wife ; and that now , he repented , tho' it were late , first , of his cruelty to mustapha , and thereupon had banish'd rustan from his presence , and that he would not spare his wife neither , as soon as he return'd to constantinople . as for rustan , he pretended great sorrow , and departed to constantinople , without seeming to have the least hope , ever to be restor'd to his former dignity . but alas ! roxolana , was not content with the destruction of mustapha , as long as he had an only son , who was yet in his minority , alive ; for she did not think her own , or her childrens security , to be sufficiently provided for , as long as any of mustapha's race were alive ; but she wanted a fair pretence to accomplish her design , nor was it long before she found one. she represented to solyman● that as often as his grandchild , mustapha's son , went abroad at prusa , were he was brought up , the youth of that city were wont to flock about him , to wi●h him all happiness , and particularly to pray , that he might long survive his father : and whither ( said she ) can this tend , but to prompt him to mount the throne , and revenge his father's death ? and to be sure , the ianizaries will take his part , ( added she ; ) and thus the death of mustapha alone will add little security to the publick peace and tranquillity . religion ( proceeded she ) is to be preferred before even the lives of our own children ; and seeing that of the musselmans , ( for so they call their religion , as counting it the best ) stands and falls with the ottoman family ; if that house fail , farewel religion also . and how can that house stand , if domestick discord undermine it ? and therefore , sir , if you will prevent the ruin of your house , your empire and your religion , you must use all manner of means ; nay , you must not stick at parricide it self , if homebred disagreement and feud may be thereby prevented ; for the safety of religion will over-ballance the loss , even of a man 's own children . as for mustapha's son , you have the less reason to spare him , because his father's crime hath already infected him , and there is no doubt , but , if he be suffered to live , he will soon endeavour to head a party , to revenge his fathers death . by these reasons , solyman was induced to yield to the murder of his grandchild , and thereupon sent ebrahim bassa to prusa , to destroy the innocent youth . as soon as the bassa came thither , he made it his great business to conceal his intended design from the child's mother ; for , he thought , it would be look'd upon as an inhuman thing in him , to cut off a youth , with the privity of his mother , and , as it were , before her eyes . and , besides , he was afraid , the people would rise in arms upon the perpetration of so cruel a fact ; and therefore , at first , fox-like , he sets his wits at work to deceive the mother . he pretended , that he was sent by solyman out of respect to her and her son , to visit them ; that his master saw his error , in putting his son to death , which he now , too late , repented of ; but that the crueller he had been to the father , the more indulgent he would be to his son ; and many such colloguing words he used , whereby he imposed upon the too credulous mother , who was the rather induced to believe him , because of rustan's disgrace and fall ; and to crown his flattery , he presented them with many gifts . this past on for a day or two , and then some discourse was administred concerning their going abroad , out of the city , to enjoy the fresh air. and the bassa , being an eunuch , persuaded her , the next day , to take a turn in the suburbs , she in her coach , and himself , with her son , would ride afore on horseback . the matter seemed not to afford any suspicion , and , therefore , she consented , and a chariot is prepared for her ; but ( mark the fraud ! ) the axle-tree of the coach was so made , on purpose , that it must needs break , when it came to be jogged in any rough way . thus she , in an unlucky time , began her journy out of the city . the eunuch and the child rode a pretty way before , as if they had occasion for some private discourse , and the mother speeded after as fast as she was able ; but when the coach came to the design'd craggy place , the wheel violently hit against the rocks , and so the axle-tree broke . this the mother looked upon as an unlucky omen , and , therefore , in a great fright , she could not long be restrain'd from leaving her coach , and with a few of her maids from following her son on foot . but , alas ! 't was too late ; for the eunuch being come to the house , design'd for the slaughter , without any more ado , shew'd the child the emperor's mandate for his death . he answered , according to the principles of their religion , that he look'd upon that command as proceeding not from the emperor , but from god , which must necessarily be obey'd , and so he yielded his neck to the row-string . thus dyed this innocent and hopeful youth . when the eunuch had perpetrated this wicked fact he stole out at a back door , and fled as fast as he could . the mother , soon after , beginning to smell out the fraud , knocks at the door ; when they thought fit , they open'd it , and there she saw her son sprawling on the ground , his breath being yet hardly out of his body . here let me draw a vail ; for a mothers affection to a son , in such a lamentable juncture , may be better conceived than expressed . upon this dismal sight she was hurried back to prusa ; where she tore her hair , rent her garments , filled the whole town with howlings , moans and plaints . the prusian ladies , with their daughters and waiting-maids , came in multitudes to her , and were stark mad to hear of so great a butchery ; and running in that raving manner out of the gates , all the cry was , where 's the eunuch ? where 's the eunuch ? let 's have him to tear him to pieces : but he , foreseeing what would happen , and fearing , like another orphe●s , to be torn peace-meal by those raging furies , had cunningly withdrawn himself , and was out of gunshot , as we say . but to return to my purpose . as soon as i came to constantinople , letters were sent to solyman , then at amasia , to acquaint him with my arrival ; and , till his answer was return'd , i had leisure to take a view of the city of constantinople ; and , first , i had a mind to visit the temple of st. sophia , which i was not admitted to do , but by special favour ; for the turks think that their temples are prophaned , if a christian do but put his foot within them . that church is a magnificent pile , and a worthy structure to behold . it hath a great arch or hemisphere in the middle , which hath no light but only from the sky : all the turkish mosks are built after the form of this . some say● that heretofore it was much larger , and contained many apartments , which were all destroy'd by the turks , and only the quire and nave , in the middle of it , standing . as for the situation of the city it self , it seemed , to me , to be naturally placed as fit to be the mistress of the world ; it stands in europe , and hath asia in view , and on its right , had egypt and africa ; which though countries not adjacent to it , yet by reason of frequent entercourse and naval commerce ; they seem , as it were , contiguous . on its left hand is the euxin sea , and the palus maeotis , whose banks are inhabited round about by many nations , and so many navigable rivers have their influx into them , that there is nothing grows in any of the countries thereabouts , fit for mans use , but there is a great conveniency of transporting it by sea to constantinople . on the one side , it is wash'd with the propontis ; on the other , the river makes an haven , which strabo calls , the golden horn from the similitude it hath to an horn ; on the third side it is joyned to the rest of the continent , so that it almost resembles a peninsule ; and with the continu'd back of a promontory , it runs out into the sea and a bay , which is made there by the river and the sea. so that from the middle of constantinople , there is a most pleasant prospect into the sea , and even to the mount olympus , in asia , which bears a snowy head all the year long . the sea there , is wonderful full of fish , which sometimes swim down from the maeotis and the euxine , through the bosphorus and propontis , into the aegean and mediterranean seas , and sometimes they swim from thence into the euxin , according to the nature of the fish ; and that in shoals so thick and numerous , that you may catch them with your hands . so that here is excellent fishing for mackrel , tunny , cod , porpois and sword-fish . but the greeks fish more than the turks , though these later love , fish well enough ; provided , they be of the number of those , which they count clean ; as for others , they had rather eat poyson than taste them , for , ( let me tell you by the by ) a turk had rather his tongue or his teeth were pluck'd out of his head , than taste of any thing they think to be unclean , as a frog , a snail or a tortois . and , herein , the greeks are every jot as superstitious as they ; of which i will give you the instance following . i entertain'd , in my family , a youth of the greek religion ; i employ'd him as my steward . the rest of my servants could never persuade him to eat any periwinkles or cockles ; but , at last , they put a trick upon him ; they caus'd them to be so high-season'd and disguis'd , that he , mistaking them for another sort of fish , fed upon them most heartily . whereupon , my people set up a laughter , and threw down the shells before him , whereby he perceiv'd himself to be cozen'd : whereupon , 't is incredible to relate how much he was troubled . he went presently to his chamber , and there fell a vomiting , weeping and afflicting himself most grievously , without any intermission ; insomuch , that two months sallary was not sufficient to expiate this offence ; for that 's the guise of greek priests , according to the kind and greatness of the offence , they lay a pecuniary mulct upon those who come to confess , and they never absolve them till they pay it down to a penny. so much for my greek . in the furthest point of that promontory which i mentioned before , stands the palace ( or seraglio ) of the turkish emperors : to me it did not seem very magnificent , either for work or workmanship , ( for , you must know , that , as yet , i had not made an entrance into it . ) under the palace , in a low ground , and , as it were , upon the sea-shoar , are the gardens of the grand seignior , where the greatest part of old byzantium is thought to have stood . i hope you do not expect to be informed , by me , why the chalcedonians , who built a city over against byzantium , ( the ruins of the place are yet to be seen ) were sirnam'd the blind ; nor shall i tell you the nature of that sea , which always runs downward with a vast stream , but never recoils with any tide ; nor will i spend time to speak of those hautgos which were brought to constantinople from the palus moeotis , such as the italians call moronella's , botargues and caviare ; the description of all these particulars would swell my epistle to too great a bulk , ( which i think is big enough already ) and , besides , it would be needless ; for both the ancients , and also modern writers , have given information of those particulars at large . to return , then , to the site of constantinople . there is no place , in the world , more pleasantly seated to the eye , nor more convenient for trades . but , let me tell you , that the building therein ( as in all other turkish cities ) are not magnificent , nor are their streets stately or large ; nay , in constantinople , they are so narrow , that they much eclipse the beauty of the place ; yet there are in it some valuable relicks of old monuments to be seen , but not so many , as a man would imagin , considering how many constantin brought thither from rome . it is not my purpose to insist upon each of these particulars , yet a word or two of the principal ones . in the area of the old hippodrome , there are two serpents cut in brass ; as also , a mighty obelisk . moreover , constantinople doth gratifie us with the sight of two memorable pillars , one over against the caravaserai , where i lodged , and the other in the forum , called , by the turks , au●at basar ( id est ) the womans court , wherein , from bottom to top is engraven the history of a certain expedition of one arcadius , who built it , and whose statue , for a long time , stood a top thereof . and yet it may rather be called a stair-case than a pillar , because it goes winding up like a pair of stairs . i caused the shape of this pillar to be drawn , which i have by me . but the other pillar , over against the house the german embassadors use to lodge in , the whole structure , besides the basis and the chapiter , consists of solid marble or red porphyry stones , so curiously joyned together , that they seem , ( as the vulgar believes them to be ) but one continued stone . for where the stones are jointed one into another , upon that commissure there is wrought a circular garland of lawrels round about the pillar , which hides the jointing , so that they which look upon it from the ground , perceive no jointing at all . that pillar hath been so often shaken by earthquakes , and so battered by fires happening near it , that it is cleft in many places , and they are forced to bind it about with iron-hoops , that it may not fall to pieces . they say , that the statue of apollo once stood upon that pillar , and that afterwards the statues of constantine and of theodosius the elder were erected there ; but they are all thrown down , either by the force of the winds , or by earthquakes . the greeks tell this story concerning the obelisk , in the hippodrome which i mentioned before , viz. that it fell off from its basis , and lay , for many ages , upon the ground ; but in the ti●e of the later emperors , there was an architect found , who undertook to raise it up to its place , but he demanded a vast reward for his pains ; after the price was agreed on , he prepar'd abundance of ropes , pullies and other instruments , and by that means he lift'd up that vast stone within one inch of the place where it was to stand ; but his present apparatus being able to raise it no higher , the people , who in great numbers were his spectators , were of opinion , that all his former cost and pains was lost , and he must begin anew to try to do the feat some-other way , to his vast expence and charge . but he himself was not discourag'd , but being skilful in mechanick philosophy , he caused abundance of water to be brought up to him , which , for many hours , he cast upon the ropes , at which the obelisk hung ; and those ropes being often wet and dry ( according to their nature ) shrunk a little , and by that means lift'd up the weight to it s design'd station , to the great admiration and applause of the vulgar . at constantinople , i saw several sorts of wild beasts , such as lynxes , catta-mountains , panthers , leopards and lyons ; but they were so gentle and tame , that i saw one of the keepers pull a sheep out of a lions mouth , so that he only moistned his jaws with the blood without devouring him . i saw also a young elephant , so wanton , that he could dance and play at ball. sure you cannot chuse but laugh , when i tell you of an elephant's dancing and playing at ball ; but if i should say no more , why may you not believe me as well as seneca , who tells us of one that could dance upon the rope ? or as pliny , who speaks of another , that understood greek ? but that you may not think me an egregious forger , give me leave to explain my self : when this elephant was bid to dance , he did so caper or quaver with his whole body , and interchangeably move his feet , that he seem'd to represent a kind of a jig ; and as for playing at ball , he very prettily took up the ball in his trunk , and sent it packing therewith , as we do with the palm of the hand : and if this be not to dance and play at ball , i know not what is . among those wild beasts , there had been a camelopardalis , but she died a little before i came to constantinople ; however , i caus'd her bones , which had been buried in the earth , to be digg'd up , that i might inspect the make of this creature : it is an animal a great deal taller in the forepart than in the hinder ; and , for that reason it is unfit to carry a man , or any other burthen . it hath an head and a neck like a camel , but a spotted skin like a lizard , and therefore it is called by a name deriv'd from both ( i. e. ) camelopardalis . it might have been imputed as a piece of great neglect in me not to have visited the euxin , especially , having opportunity to sale thither ; seeing the ancients us'd to account it as great a piece of curiosity to see pontus , as to visit corinth . thither , therefore , i sail'd with a prosperous gale , and had the privilege to be admitted into some of the pleasure-houses of the grand seignior . in the valves of one of them , i beheld the famous fight of selimus with ishmael king of the persians , excellently described in checker-work . i had also the view of many of the orchards and groves of the turkish emperor , which were seated in most pleasant vallies ; this i may say of them , that they ow'd little to art , but almost all to nature : so that i could not chuse but entertain such epiphonema's as these in my thoughts , o most pleasant houses for nymphs ! o choice seats for the muses ! o retirements fit for the learned ! to deal plainly with you ( as i told you before ) they seem'd to me , as it were , sensibly to bewail their present posture , and to cry aloud to christians for their better cultivation ; and not they only , but much more , constantinople it self , yea , and all greece too ; which being , heretofore , the most flourishing country in the world , is now wofully inslaved by barbarians ; heretofore , it was the mother and nurse of all good arts and liberal sciences , but , now , alas ! it seems to call for that culture and humanity , which once it deliver'd down to us ; and , by way of requital , claims the redemption of our common religion from that scythian barbarism , under which it groans ; and call it may long enough , for , with grief may we speak it , christian princes , now a days , are otherwise imploy'd ; so that the turks do not more domineer over the poor greeks , than vices , such as luxury , gluttony , sloth , lust , pride , ambition , avarice , hatred , envy and emulation , do reign over christians ; which do so clog , enervate and depress our minds , that we can hardly look up heaven-ward ; nor can we so unmanacle our selves , as to aspire to any thing , that is truly great or excellent . methinks , duty and piety should have been sufficient motives to us , to help our afflicted brethren ; but if we had been proof against those incentives , so that neither brave nor praise-worthy actions could unthaw our frozen courage ; yet profit and advantage , which are now the great byas of the world , might have set us a gog to recover such opulent and commodious countries from infidels , and to possess them our selves : but , on the contrary , forsooth ! we plow the ocean , even as far as the indies , and the very antipodes , because , there , we get rich prey and spoil at a cheap rate , even without bloodshed , by imposing on the simple and uncrafty indians . 't is true , we pretend the conversion of the heathens , but , if we go to the root of the matter , ( to our shame be it spoken ) 't is their gold , not their godliness , is the gain we seek for . our ancestors carried it quite and clean at another rate , who did not , like huckstring merchants , seek after those places where there was most wealth , but where there was greater opportunity for noble and vertuous atchievments . so that , it was not profit , but honour , which put them upon hazardous and remote expeditions : and when they came home , they were more laden with glory than with plunder . i speak this in your ear , for others , perhaps , may think it a piaculiar thing in me , to detract from the manners of the present age. but , let them think what they will , i see that the arrow is drawn to the head , to destroy us ; and , i am afraid , that we , who would not fight for glory , shall be forc'd to do it to save our lives . but to return to pontus . the turks call the euxin , caradenis ( i. e. ) the black sea , it falls down through narrow straits into the thracian bosphorus , where its waters are toss'd up and down by many vortices , turnings and windings , occasion'd by several promontories jutting out into it ; and thus , in one days passage , it descends to constantinople , and from thence , almost by the like straight passage , it breaks out into the p●opontis . in the middle of the bay , where it makes its influx into the bosphorus , there is a rock with an erected pillar , in the basis whereof is writ the name of a certain roman , called octavian , ( if my memory fail not ) in latin letters . on the european shore there is a tower , called , pharos , where they hang out lights , in the night , to guide sailers by : not far from this place , a river falls into the sea , in the chanel whereof there are found stones , little inferior to onyxes or sardonyxes , and , if they be polish'd , are as shining as they . a few miles from that bay , which i lately spake of , we may see those straits over which darius waft'd his army against the european scythians : and about the middle between the two mouths of the bosphorus , there are two castles , whereof one's in europe , and the other on the opposite shore , in asia . this later was possess'd by the turks , long before mahomet took constantinople . the other was built by him some few years after he became master of that city . the turks make use of it , at this day , as a prison for the nobler sort of their captives . lazarus , a commander , or prince of the epitots , not long ago was taken prisoner by the turks , together with some spaniards at castlenovo , and committed to this tower ; from whence making his escape , and being retaken , he was impal'd , ( i. e. ) put to a most cruel death , by having a pole thrust thro' his body from his fundament to his very neck ; yet he indur'd it with incredible patience . perhaps you expect that i should here give you an account of those floating islands , called , cyaneae or symplegades : but to deal freely with you , those few hours that i spent on the pontus , i saw no such islands at all ; whether they had been carried to any other place , i know not : if you desire to have a more particular information concerning them , you may consult peter gyllius , who was an exact inquirer into such curiosities ; for my part , i shall record only what i saw or know to be true . yet i think it is not fit for me to conceal a mistake that polybius is guilty of ; for he propounds many arguments to prove , that in tract of time the euxin will be choakt up with sand and other trash , which by the danow , the borysthenes , and other great rivers falling into it , that it would be made unfit for navigation ; whereas , the contrary appear'd to me , for that sea is every jot as navigable , at this day , as it was of old in the days of polybius . and tho' he seem'd to have some grounds for his opinion , that to him were irrefragable ; yet time hath shewed them to be weak . the like observation holds in other cases ; for , of old , who would not believe the ancients , who affirmed , upon seemingly imaginable grounds , that the torrid zone was inhabitable ; whereas , later discoveries have fully convinced us , that those hot countries are as well inhabited as any other part of the terrestial globe ; nay , when the sun is at the highest with them , and darts down its rays perpendicularly upon them ; even at that very time the ardency of the heat is so tempered and cooled by continued rains , that those countries are rendred very fit for human habitations . but to return . after the grand seignior was informed , by letters , of my arrival , ( as i said before ) he sent to the governor of constantinople , intimating his pleasure , that he should send us to him into asia , as far as the city of amasia , or ( as 't is writ in ancient coins ) amazeia , where he then was . upon this advice we prepared all things for our journy ; and , with our guides , on the th of march we were wafted over into natolia , ( for so the turks call asia at this day : ) that day we went no further than scutari , a town on the asiatick shore , opposite to old byzantium ; where , or very little above it , the noble city of chalcedon was formerly thought to stand . the turks were of opinion , that when our horses , coaches , baggage and train , together with our selves , were all got over the hellespont , 't was enough for one days journy ; especially , considering , that if we had forgot any of the necessary accoutrements for our journy , or had left them behind at constantinople , ( as it sometimes happened ) we might bethink our selves before we went any further , and fetch them over . the next day we continu'd our journy from scutari , over fragrant fields , full of odoriferous plants , and especially stoechas's , a sweet smelling spike : there we saw a vast number of tortoises , stalking over all the field , without any fear at all ; we had certainly seized upon a great many of them , as a prey grateful to our palates , had it not been for our turkish guides , whom we were afraid to disoblige ; for if they had seen any of them brought to our table , much more , if they had touched them , they would have thought themselves so de●●led , that i know not how many washings would not have cleansed their imagined pollution . for , as i told you before , the turks , and the greeks too , are so superstitious , that they abhor ever to touch of that animal ; so that it being no hurtful creature , and no body endeavouring to catch them , the whole country abounds with tortoises . i kept one of them , by me , a great while , which had two heads , and it would have lived much longer if i had been as careful of it as i might . that days journy brought us to a village , called , cartaly , which i mention , because i shall , for the future , gratify you with the knowledge of the several stages of this voyage . for tho' the journy from vienna to constantinople hath been performed by many , yet this from constantinople to amasia , hath , as yet , been undergone by no christian that i know of . from cartaly we came to gebise , a town of bitheynia , which some think was anciently called lybissa , and is famous for the sepulchre of hannibal , who was there interred . from thence there is a most pleasant prospect into the sea , and into the bay of nicomedia ; here also grow cyprus trees of a wonderful bulk and tallness . our● th days journy from constantinople brought us to nicomedia , a city , anciently , of great note ; but we saw nothing remarkable in it , but the ruins and rubbish of old walls , with some broken pieces of pillars with their chapiters , which were all the remainders of its ancient splendor , except one castle on an hill , which was somewhat more intire . a little before we came to this place , some workmen , that were digging under ground , discovered a long wall made with marble , which ( it may be ) was part of the ancient palace of the kings of bythynia . from nicomedia , we passed over a cliff or ridge of mount olympiu , and came to a village , called , kasockly , and from thence to nice ; but 't was so late before we came thither , that the first watch was set . not far from that place , i heard a mighty noise , as if it had been of men that jeer'd and mock'd us . i asked , what was the matter ? whether any of the mariners , rowing on the lake ascanius , ( which was not far off ) did deride us , for travelling at that unusual time of night ? i was answered , no , but it was only the howling of certain beasts , which the turks call ciacals or iacals . they are a sort of wolves somewhat bigger than foxes , but less than common wolves , but as greedy and devourous as the most ravenous wolves or foxes of all . they go in flocks , and seldom or never hurt either man or beast , but get their food by craft and stealth more than by open force . thence it is , that the turks call subtle and crafty persons , especially , the asiaticks , by the metaphorical name of ciacals . their manner is to enter into the tents or houses of the turks , in the night-time , and what they can catch , that is eatable , that they eat ; and if they find nothing else to devour , then they fall a gnawing of all kinds of leather things , as shooes , boots , girdles , scabbards of swords , and the like ; and they are as cunning as they are thievish , but in this they are very ridiculous , that they discover themselves by the noise they make . for whilst they are most busie in an house , devouring their prey , if any one of their herd , that stays without doors , chance to howl , they all set up a howling likewise ; and , thus , forgetting where they are , they raise up the people of the house , who leap out of their beds , and cudgel them soundly . all the next day we staid at nice ; i believe my lodging was in the same house where the council of nice was heretofore celebrated . as for the town it self , it is seated on the bank of the lake ascanius . the walls of it are almost intire , so are the gates , which are but four , and may all be seen from the middle of the market-place ; in each of them there were old inscriptions , in latin , which shew , that the town was repaired by antoninus , which of them i do not well remember ; but sure it must be by antoninus the emperor . there are also some remainders of his baths , and whilst the turks were digging out stones from thence to build houses at constantinople , they found the statue of a soldier in his armour , curiously wrought , and almost intire ; but they quickly batter'd it with their hammers , even in our view ; and when we shew'd our selves displeased at their rude violence , they paid us with a jeer , what , said the labourers , will you bow down to worship this statue , as you christians use to do to yours ? from nice we continued our journy to a place , called , ienysar . from ienysar to ackbyuck , from ackbyuck to bazargyck , from bazargyck to bosowick , otherwise called , cassumbassa , seated in the narrowest straits of mount olympus ; for almost all our way from nice , thither , lay through the cliff of that mountain . at nice we lodged in a turkish inn or hospital , and just against it was a rock standing on high ground , wherein there was a square deep trench cut , and from the bottom thereof there issued out a canal , that reached to the high-way . that trench or ditch , the ancient inhabitants of that place used , in the winter time , to fill with snow ; that so the melted snow-water gentlydropping down into the road , by the fore-mentioned canal , might quench the thirst of parched travellers . such works as these the turks count eleemosynary ones ; because they are for the publick benefit and advantage of mankind . not far from this place , on the right hand , we saw a town , called , otmanlick , borrowing its name ( as i conceive ) from ottoman , the founder of the ottoman family , who lived there . from those straits we descended into an open campaign ; and when we came thither , we lay the first night in our tents , whereby the heat did not so much incommode us , as otherwise it would have done ; the place was called chiausada . the most remarkable things we saw here , was a subterraneous house , that had no light , but only what stole in at the roof : we saw , also , that sort of goats of whose hair , or fleece , ( if you had rather call it so ) they make the shagreen or watred stuff , called , camlet ; if you would know the nature of that creature , i shall not entertain you with a flam , but give you the true description thereof . the hair of this creature is very fine , and extreamly white , and it hangs down from their bodies to the ground . the goat-herds do not sheer but kemb it off , and 't is , almost , as fine as silk . these goats are often wash'd , in the neighbouring rivers , and feed upon the grass growing there , which is very tender and dry ; and that certainly contributes much to the fineness of their wool ; for if they are remov'd to another place , their fleece changes with their pasture , and their kids do so degenerate , that one would hardly think them of the same breed . the thread that is spun of that hair , or wool , is carry'd , by the women of that country , to ancyra , a city of galatia , where it is woven into cloth and dyed , as i shall tell you anon . moreover , the sheep of those countries have very fat and weighty tails , ( their sheep-flocks consist hardly of any other ; ) the tail of any one of them weighs sometimes three or four pound , and sometimes eight or ten ; yea , they grow so big in some old sheep , that they are forc'd to lay them upon a plank running on two little wheels , that so they may draw them after them , not being otherwise able to trail them along . perhaps you will think i tell you a romance , but take it on my word , it is a certain truth . i grant , such bulky tails may be of some advantage , because they are full of fat ; but the flesh of the sheep seem'd more harsh and rank to me , than our own mutton . the shepherds that tend them , lye day and night in the fields , and carry their wives and children about with them , in wagons , which serve them instead of houses ; only , sometimes , they erect small tents , to lie under . they wander far and near , sometimes in the open campaign , sometimes over hills , sometimes over dales , as the season of the year , and the necessity of pasturage , doth require . i saw also , in those countries , some sort of birds , unknown to us , and such as i never saw before ; among the rest , there is a kind of ducks , which gives a sound like trumpeters , or such as blow the cornet ; the noise they make is almost like the sound of a post-boys horn. it is a bird , which though it hath nothing wherewith to defend it self , yet is very strong and daring . the turks are verily persuaded , that the devils are afraid of them . this is certain , they are so tenaciously sensible of their liberty , that though they have been kept up tame in a coop , for three years together , yet if they can but get an opportunity to escape away , they fly to their wonted haunts , as preferring their natural seats before their confin'd prisons , though they be cramm'd and fatned there . we pass'd on from chiausada to karali ; from karali to hazdengri ; from thence to mazothoy ; from mazothoy we passed over the river sangac , which runs into pontus out of phrygia , and came to mahathli ; from thence to zugli , thence to chilancych ; from chilancych to ialancych ; from thence to portuguin ; and from portuguin we reached to ancyra , called , by the turks , angur . we staid one whole day at ancyra , partly , because the turks did not hasten us , for in regard the persian embassador made an halt , we were desired to do so too , that we might make our entrances , both at one time . into amasia . i saw nothing remarkable in all the villages aforementioned , save that sometimes , among the turkish sepulchres , we light upon some pillars , or ancient stones of curious marble , wherein there were some remains of latin or greek inscriptions , but so defaced , that they could not be read ; which occurrent did resent me very much , for all my delight was , assoon as i came to my inn , at night , to inquire after old inscriptions , together with latin and greek coins ; and sometimes for rare kinds of plants . as for the sepulchres , or graves , of the turks , their custom is not to fill them with earth , but throw great stones upon them , for a covering ; would you know the reason ? 't is superstititious enough . the turks believe , that when the devil ( god bless us ) accused the deceased , and calls upon him to give an account how he spent his life ; then his good genius will defend him , and this stone , forsooth , is the place upon which the ghost must sit , that he may plead his cause with more care ; and this grave-stone is huge and bulky , that so dogs , wolves or other ravenous beasts , especially , the hyaena , may not injure his corps , as it lies in the earth . for , the hyaena is a beast , common in those countries ; she uses to dig up graves , and taking out the dead bodies from thence , carries them to her den ; near which you shall see a great heap of bones of men , horses and other creatures ; she is a little lower than a wolf , but quite as long ; she hath a skin like a wolf , only her hair is rougher and full of great black spots ; her head is contiguous to her spina dorsi , without any ver●ebrae at all ; so that when she looks backward , she must of necessity turn her whole body : instead of a row of teeth , she hath but one continued bone , as reports go of her . the turks do ascribe great vertue to this beast , in philtres , as did the ancients ; and , whereas , there were two of them at constantinople , when i was there , i cheapned them ; but their owners were unwilling to sell them , because they kept them for the sultanness ( i. e. ) the emperor's wife , who was thought by amatory potions and magick art , to have engaged thereby her husband's love to her . here i cannot chuse but take notice of a mistake , in bellonius , who thinks the hyaena to be the same creature with that we call the zibeth or musk cat . but seeing i am about describing the hyaena , i will tell you a tale , which i am sure will make you laugh , if ever you have laughed in your life ; it is this . the turks have a tradition , that the hyaena , ( which in their language they call zittlian ) understands what men say one to another ; yea , the ancients affirm'd , that they could also imitate man's voice , and thereupon hunters catch them by this wile ; they find out her den , which they may easily do by the heap of bones , lying by it , ( as i said before ) and then one of them goes in with a rope , leaving the other end of the rope in the hands of his fellows without , and when he is creeping in , he cries , with a loud voice , ever and anon , ioctur , ioctur , vcala ( i. e. ) she is not here , she is not here , or , i cannot find her ; whereupon , the hyaena , thinking she is not discovered , lies close , and he ties one end of the rope about his leg ; and then he goes forth , still crying , i cannot find her ; but when he is escap'd quite out of the hole , he cries out aloud , she is within , she is within ; which the hyaena hearing , and understanding the meaning of it , ( as they say ) leaps out , thinking to escape ; but then they hold her back by the rope tyed to her leg , that they either kill her , or , if they use care and diligence , take her alive , for she is a fierce creature , and defends her self desperately : but enough , if not too much , of the hyaena . i found abundance of old coins all up and down this country , especially of the later emperors , viz. the constantines , the constantius's the iustin's , the valens's , the valentine's , the numerians , the probus's , the tacitus's , and such like ; in many places the turks use them for weight , viz. of a drachm or half a drachm , and they call it giaur manguri ( i. e. ) the mony of the pagans or infidels . the like coins i found in the neighbouring cities of asia , as at amysus , at synopis , at cumonme , at amastris and amasia it self , whither we were going . there was a brasier of that city which grieved me very much ; for demanding of him , whether he had any old coins to sell ? he answered me , that a few days ago , he had a large room full of them , but now he had melted them down to make brass-kettles , as thinking them of little value , and fit for no other use ; when i heard this story , it troubled me much to lose so many choice monuments of antiquity ; but i paid him back in his own coin , as the proverb is , by telling him , that i would have given him a hundred guilders for them ; so that my revenge was suited to his injury , for i sent him away as sorrowful , for losing so full a morsel out of his mouth , as he did me for losing the coins . as for plants , i saw very few in my journy in those parts , which were unknown to us in europe ; they were almost all of the same kind , only they were more or less flourishing , according to the richness or poverty of the soil . the amomum , which dioscorides says grows near pontus , i very diligently sought for , but in vain , so that i knew not whether that plant did not fail in that country , or else was transplanted into another . this town of ancyra was our th stage from constantinople ; it is a town of galatia , sometimes the seat of the gauls , called , by pliny , tectosagum ; nor was it unknown to strabo . tho' perhaps the present town is but part of the old town , called , in the canons , anguira . here we saw a stately superscription , and a sampler of those tables , wherein the atchievments of augustus , were summarily comprehended . i caused as much of it , as we could read , to be transcribed . it is cut in the marble walls of that structure , which heretofore was the town-hall , but is now demolished , so that one part of it is visible to those that enter on the right hand , and the other to those that enter upon the left . the top chapiters are almost entire ; the middle is full of clefts , and the lowermost part of it is so battered with clubs and hatches , that it cannot be read ; which loss cannot be sufficiently lamented by all lovers of learning ; and so much the more , because the commons of asia , dedicated this city to augustus . here also we were eye-witnesses of the dying of that cloth , i spake of before , made of goats-wool , and how they camlet it , or give it its water-colour , 't is done thus . they pour water upon it , and by means of a cloth-press , cause it to receive that colour . that is counted the best , which is most variegated in every part ; and if in any piece , the water-colours do not deeply and uniformly appear , that piece , tho' of the same colour and made of the same wool , is valued at some gilders less than another , because it is not so deeply tinctured . the better sort of turks , in their old age , are usually clothed with this sort of cloth , and solyman himself used to wear vests of it ; but green is a colour disused much by christians ; and the rather , because the turks commend it upon a superstitious account , as being worn by their prophet mahomet in his older days . a black colour is counted unfortunate , and is dis●ik'd by them ; and when they see any man so clad , they look on it as an ill omen ; so that when any of ours did approach the bassa's , in a black habit , they look'd asquint on us , and made sad complaints ; and the truth is , none of their own appear in black , but either one that is desperately poor , or else so overwhelm'd with some great calamity , that he regards not what cloths he wears . a purple colour is a creditable colour with them , only it is an omen of much bloodshed in time of war : but the ordinary approved colours among them , are the white , the yellow , the sea-green , the violet-colour and mouse-colour , &c. the turks ascribe very much to augury , and omens , good or bad , so that it hath been known , that some bassa's have been remov'd from their places and offices , by reason of a fall from their horse , as if that were an omen of some ill luck , which is averted from the publick , by falling on the head of that private and particular person , who is thereupon degraded . from ancyra , we came to a village , called , balygazar ; and from thence to zarekneth ; from zarckneth to zetmetzii , and to the bank of the river halys : as we past through a village , called , algii , we saw , at some distance , the neighbouring mountains of synopi , which were red , like vermillion , and from which red lead is called synopi ' . this halys is the famous river , which was heretofore the boundary of the two kingdoms , of the medes , and lydians , concerning which there was an ancient oracle , that when cr●sus pass'd it , to make war on the persians , he should overthrow a great empire , which fell out to be his own , whereas he thought it would have been the persians : near the bank of this river there was a wood , which seem'd , to us , to bear an unknown shrub ; but when we drew near , we found it to be liquorice , and with the juice of its root , we refresh'd our selves abundantly . near that river we met with a country-man , and asking him , by an interpreter , whether that river did abound with fish ? and how they used to catch them ? he answered , that there were fishes enough , but no body could catch them . when he saw we wondred at his answer , he proceeded : for , says he , if a man strive to take them up in his hands , away presently they swim , and will not stay to be catched . this answer was the less surprizing to me , because , when we had lighted upon some unknown birds , and demanded of the country-men , how we might take them ? one or other of them told us , that they could not be taken ; for if any body endeavoured to lay hands on them , they would fly away . but one of my collegues , francis hay , having some nets with him , caused them to be cast for the catching of fish ; we took a great draught of them , and especially the silurus , or shetefish , which are common in the danow . besides , there is in that river , good store of sea-crabs , or else a sort of fish very like them . whereupon the turks , who saw our fishing , wondred at the industry and ingenuity of christians , who would catch fish at that rate . hereupon , perhaps , you will say , what , are there no fishermen in turky ? which i grant there are , but very few of them live in those parts . and , i remember , in another place , when the turks saw us turn the stream out of its course to catch gudgeons at the bottom , they laughed us to pieces . what , said they , do you catch such small guddling fish ? what are they good for ? this ninny-hammer did not understand , that a great many of those fishes would make a dainty dish , enough to suffice many guests . but the turks are so parsimonious , that they don't study their bellies at all ; give them but bread and garlick , or an onion , with a sort of bonniclabber , or four milk , known , in galen's time , by the name of syllabub , but called by them , ingurthe , they feed like farmers , and desire nothing more . they make this drink , thus ; they dilute this milk with cold water , and then cram bread into it ; this they use in the hottest weather , and when they are more athirst ; and we ourselves found great benefit by it , in our greatest droughts . it is a repast very grateful to the palate and stomach , and it is of admirable vertue in quenching the most vehement thirst. there is abundance of it already made for sale in all the turkish inns or caravasaras , as well as all other sorts of soop . as for hot meat , or flesh , the turks don't much use them in their travels ; their usual dyet , on the road , are syllabubs , cheese , dry'd plums , pears , peaches , quinces , figs , raisins and cornel-berries ; all those are exposed to sale in great earthen platters boyl'd in clean water ; every one takes what he likes best . those fruits , with bread , is his food ; and the water , which remains , serves for drink . thus their meat and drink stand them in very little , so that i dare say , one christian spends more mony ; on his belly , in one day , than a turk doth in twelve ; yea , their most solemn feasts consist of wafers , cakes and such like junkets , together with several dishes of rice , with some mutton and pullet ; for capons are not yet known in turky ; but as for pheasants , thrushes , and birds called figcaters , they never so much as heard of their names . but if hony and sugar be mix'd with the water , the drink is like ioves nectar to them . one sort of their liquors i had almost forgot , 't is this . they take raisins of the s●n , and bruise or grind them in a mill , and then put them into a wooden vessel , pouring a certain proportion of hot water upon them . this mixture they stir about a little , and then cover the vessel close , and suffer it to ferment a day or two ; if it doth work well , then they add lees of wine to quicken the operation . when it first begins to ferment , if you taste it , 't is over-sweet , and that makes it more unrelishable ; but afterwards it acquires something of an acid tast , which , mixt with the sweet , is very grateful to the palate for about three or four days , especially , if it be mixed with snow , of which there is plenty at constantinople at all times . this drink they call arabsorbet ( i. e. ) the arabian potion , but it will not keep long , but grows sour in a very little time . 't will fly up in your head , and make you reel as bad as any wine , if you drink too much of it ; and , therefore , the turks , by the rules of their religion , are for bidden to drink it . for my part i liked it very well ; yea , that sort of grapes were very acceptable and refreshing ; in many places they keep them all summer long . the way of preserving them , they told me , was this : they take large bunches of grapes ston'd ( as the hot sun quickly ripens them in those countries ) these they put in a wooden or earthen vessel , in the bottom whereof they , first lay a line of groun'd mustard-seed , then they spread a line of grapes upon it ; thus with a lay of grapes , and a lay of grinded mustard-seed , they fill it up to the top , and when the vessel is full , then they pour in new must , as much as will fill all the interstice , then they shut it close , and so let it stand till the hot time of the next year , when men stand most in need of drink . then these vessels are broach'd , and the grapes , with its liquor , are set to sale . the turks like the liquor as well as the grapes , but i did not so well like the tast of the mustard-seed , and , therefore i caused the grapes to be washed , and then when i was most thirsty , they gave me great relief . i hope you will give me leave to commend a food to you , that did me so much good , seeing the egyptians ( though preposterously ) esteem'd their herbs and plants , which were contributory to their health , as so many deities . but 't is time for a wanderer to return back into the way . from the bank of the river halys , which ( as i remember ) the turks call aitoczu , we came to gonknrthoy ; from thence to choron , and from thence to theche theoi , where the turks have a stately monastry for their priests and monks , call'd , dervises . these dervises told us a great story of a certain man , called , chederles , of an huge stature , and graveness of mind answerable thereto . they suppose it was the same with our st. george , and ascribe the same exploits to him ; as the saving of a virgin , by the slaughter of a huge and terrible dragon , to which they add many fables and imaginations of idle brains ; as that he travelled over several countries far and near , and at last came to a river , whose waters made those that drank them , immortal ; but in what part of the world this river is , they cannot tell us ; in some vtopia doubtless ! they say , moreover , that it lies somewhere in a great cloud or mist of darkness , and that never a man saw it since cherderles . as for cherderles himself , he was made immortal , and so was his horse , or stately prancer on which he rides , by drinking the same water , who now , both , do invisibly travel over the world , delighting in wars , and appearing therein to the most valiant , or to those who implore his aid , of what religion soever they be : such ridiculous fancies do they please themselves with . to which we may add other things as absurd as those before mentioned , that he was one of the friends and companions of alexander the great . for the truth is , the turks keep no just account either of times or ages , but make a confus'd hodg-podg of all history . when they have a mind to it , they scruple not to say , that job was master of the horse to king solomon , and that alexander the great was general of his army ; with such-like stuff . in that monastry or mosch , ( for so the turks call their temples and churches ) there is a fountain that bubbles forth very clear and limpid water , it is built about and clad with most excellent marble , and they ridiculously would have people believe , that it had its original from chederle's horse , which he pissed in great plenty in that place . they also told us many rod●mantad●'s concerning the companions of chederles , concerning his chief groom , and also concerning his nephew by his sister ; all which were buried near at hand , and their sepulchers there to be seen , and when any suppliants come to pay their devotions to them , they would have persuaded us , that they received great relief thereby ; yea , they superstitiously affirm , that the fragments of the stones , and the very earth it self , on which chederle's feet stood , when he staid for the dragon , if drank in any liquor , are very good against fevers , against the head-ach , and against the diseases of the eyes . all the country , thereabouts , is full of dragons and vipers , so that in the hot season of the year , they are so thick , basking themselves in the sun , that the ways are almost unpassable for travellers . i had almost forgot to tell you , that , whereas , the greeks do usually paint st. george on horse-back , in their temples , with his squire behind him , holding out to him a cup of wine as to his master , he being ( as they believe ) their chederles ; they laugh heartily at that spectacle . at this place we were near our journies end , for now we had but one stage more to amasia , and that was baglison ; from thence we reach'd amasia , april ; and thirty days after we left constantinople ; as we were comeing , some turks met us , to gratulate our arrival , and to introduce us with honour . amasia is , in a manner , the chief city of cappadocia , where the turkish governor of that province usually had his residence , for the administration of justice , and where he usually forms his camp. but that town , ever since bajazet's time , seem'd to be very unlucky , and of late the miserable case of mustapha , hath confirm'd it to be an unfortunate seat. strabo writes , that he was born there . it lies on the side of two opposite hills , the river ilis dividing the city in the midst , running between them ; so that from each part you may look stoopingly into the river , as from the seats or stairs of a theatre ; and one side of it is conspicuous and open to the view of the other . it is so encompassed with hills , that there is but one way to it either for coach or wagon . the same night we came thither , there hapned a great fire , which the ianizaries quenched , as their manner is , by plucking down the houses adjoyning . upon occasion of this accident , give me leave to inform , that the turkish soldiers are well-pleased when a fire happens ; for , whereas , they must be employed to quench it , and usually doing it by the ruining the contiguous houses , they have thereby opportunity to rifle and plunder both ; so that they , themselves , do oftentimes privily set houses on fire , that so they may pinch and steal what they can out of them ; as i remember once , when i was at constantinople , there were frequent conflagrations of houses . 't was plain , they could not happen casually , but must be set on fire a purpose , and yet the authors could not be found ; but the fault was commonly cast on some persian spyes that were in town : at last , upon a diligent search , 't was found that the soldiers had stirr'd up their fellows , that were a ship-board , to do the feat ; that so , during the fire , they might enrich themselves with the spoils . upon an high hill , that hangs over and commands amasia , there is a strong castle , wherein the turks have a continual garison , ●●●her to curb the asiaticks , who are not very well pleased with the ottoman yoke ( as i shall shew anon ) or else to bridle the persian , who many times make large excursions even as far as this town , tho' at such a vast distance from them . in this hill there are some ancient monuments , which , perhaps , were the sepulchres of the cappadocian kings . as for the houses and streets of amasia , there is little or no beauty in them . their houses are built of loom , as they are in spain , plain at top without any roof , and what covering they have is of loom or clay too . they have some old piece of a pillar , cylinder or rober , which they turn up and down to stop any chink or crevice , made either by rain or wind. the inhabitants ; in former times , lay down to sleep in the open air ; as for rains , they are not great nor frequent in those parts ; but if at any time a shower falls , the loomy droppings from the eaves , do wofully dirty the cloths of those that pass under them . i saw there a certain young noble person , living not far from me , at his supper , after the old roman fashion , lying on a bed. assoon as i came to amasia , we were introduced to complement the supreme vizier achmet , and the rest of the bassa's , for their emperor was then gone abroad ; we treated with them a while concerning the contents of our embassy ; and because they would not seem to prejudice us , they lent us a favourable ear ; howbeit , referring all to the will and pleasure of their emperor . when he came home , we were led into his presence , for audience ; but he entertain'd us ( and the reasons we alledg'd in the speech we made him , according to the command of my master ) with a sour and frowning look . he sate upon a low throne , not above a foot from the ground , but it was all covered over with rich tapestry , and with cushions exquisitely wrought . his bow and arrows lay by his side , he himself ( as i said ) looked froward upon us ; and yet there was a certain majesty , mix'd with severity , in his countenance . each of us , as we entred the room , were led up towards him by some of his bed-chamber-officers , who held us by the arm , ( for so they use to introduce embassadors , ever since a certain croatian , desiring to speak with amurath , and drawing near to him so to do , slew him in revenge of the death of his master , mark , the despot of servia , who was killed by the said amurath ) : and afterwards , as if we had kiss'd his hand , we were led backward to the opposite part of the room ; for the turks count it an unmannerly thing to turn any of ones back parts to their prince . from thence i had liberty to declare our master's commands ; but they suited not with his lofty , imperious spirit , who thought that nothing ought to be denyed him , for they were daring and high ; so that he , as disdaining them , said nothing but giusel , ginsel ; ( i. e. ) well , well . and so we were dismissed to our lodgings . at our audience there was a very full court , for a great many governours of provinces were there with their presents ; and , besides , the imperial horse , spahi's , ianipagis and vlulags , there were also a great number of ianizaries . but among this vast number of courtiers , there was not so much as one more eminent for birth or parentage ; each one , by his valour and adventrous atchievements , was the carver out of his own fortune . their honour ariseth from their preferments , so that there is no dispute about precedency , but every man 's pre-eminces is according to the office which he bears . and those offices are distributed at the meer will and pleasure of the prince , who do's not regard the empty name of nobility , nor value a rush the favour of the multitude , or of any other particular man , but considering only the merits and disposition of the man , he rewards him accordingly . and by that means , employments are bestowed upon such persons as are best able to manage them ; and every man hath opportunity to be the hammerer out of his own honour and preferment . those which at present are the greatest officers under their emperor , were mostly the sons of shepherds or neatherds ; and they are so far from being ashamed of the meanness of their original , that they glory therein among one another ; and account it more praise-worthy to be the advancers of themselves , than if they had honour transmitted down to them from their ancestors . for thus they argue , virtue is not propagated from our parents , but is partly the gift of god , and partly acquired by good discipline , and by our own labour and industry ; so that as no son hath his fathers skill in musick , arithmetick or geometry , derived to him from his birth , so neither can fathers bequeath virtue as an inheritance to their children ; for the soul ( say they ) is not communicated with the fathers seed ; so that a son must necessarily be born like qualified as his father was ; but it is infus'd nto his body from the god of heaven . thus in that nation , dignities , honours , offices , &c. are the rewards of vertue and merit ; as on the other side , improbity , sloth , idleness , are among them the despicablest things in the whole world. and by this means they flourish , bear sway , and enlarge the bounds of their empire every day more and more . but we , christians , to our shame be it spoken , live at another manner of rate ; virtue is little esteemed among us , but nobleness of birth ( forsooth ) carries away all the honour and preferment . but enough of this at present , more may be spoken on this argument hereafter ; and what i have now spoken about it , pray keep it to your self , for other men may not be able to bear my freedom herein . to return then to my subject ; i shall now present you with a surprizing spectacle , even a multitude of persons with pick'd turbants on their heads , made of pure white linen folded together in plates ; their other apparel was very costly of several sorts and colours , all most radiantly shining with gold , silver , purple , silk , velvet , &c. i am not able to describe the gaudiness of the show ; in one word , 't was the most glorious one i ever saw in all my life . and yet in all this splendor , there was a great deal of simplicity and parsimony too . those who were of one order had cloathing all of one sort ; there were no foolish hems , lacings , fringes or borders , as among us , which cost a great deal of mony , and yet wear out in a day or two . the silk and velvet suits , which many of them wore , though mightily embroidered , yet cost not above a ducat the making and embroidering . they did as much admire to see the fashion of our cloths , as we did that of theirs . their vests are very long , almost down to their heels , which is more graceful , and makes them seem taller than they are ; but our apparel ( forsooth ) is so curtail'd and short , that it hardly covers the parts which nature would have to be concealed ; on which account it is less decent . besides , it seems to take away some inches from the talness of our stature , and look more dwarf-like . and yet among so great a multitude , i took notice of this most laudable circumstance ; 't was all hush , not so much as a word spoke among them all , nor no humming noise , as among a tumultuous multitude ; no justling one of another , but every particular man quietly kept his own station . the heads of them , which they call aga's , had seats to sit upon , such as their serasquiers , or generals , their brigadiers , colonels and captains , but the commonalty stood on their feet : among the rest , i most admir'd the ianizaries , though there were some thousands of them , yet they stood at a distance one from another stock-still , ( as we say ) as if they had been statues . so that i who was at some distance from them , thought verily they had been so , till being advised to salute them , as the manner is , i saw them all bow their heads , by way of resalutation , unto me . when we passed from this show , behold there was another pleasurable one , which entertain'd us , and that was their horse-guards , in their march to their quarters , they rode upon gallant stately prancers , excellently well trapp'd , equipp'd , and shod . thus we were dismissed , but with little hopes of obtaining what we came for . on the th of may , the persian embassador came to amasia , and brought with him rich and gallant presents , as many choice sorts of hangings , babylonian-tents , curiously wrought within with many sorts of needle-work , gallant horse-trappings , and saddles , scymiters made at damascus , whose handles were studded with jewels , and shields of curious workmanship ; but that which exceeded them all , was the alchoran , so they call the book containing the rites and ceremonies of their religion , which they fancy mahomet compos'd by divine inspiration , and which is accounted the most noble present of all . they quickly accorded with him on terms of peace , so that it concern'd us to be cautious , who were to find greater obstruction in our negotiations with them . and to assure us that the peace was confirm'd betwixt them , they omitted no manner of extraordinary respect to their embassador . for the guise of the turks is , ( as i told you before , ) to be excessive on both sides , either in bestowing honour on their friends , or in heaping reproaches on their enemies . haly bassa , deputy to the grand vizier , treated the persian with a sumptuous dinner , which he made in his garden , a place far distant from us , and separated also by the interposal of the river , yet we could see the manner of it well enough ; for , i told you , the place was seated so steep on both sides the hill , that the eye might easily discover what was done on each side . this haly is a dalmatian by birth , a man of a good wit , and , which is strange in turky , very courteous to strangers . the table , at which the bassa and the persian embassador sate , was covered over with a canopy , and the dishes were served up after this manner : there were one hundred youths , which attended , like waiters , all of them alike habited ; first of all , they entred one by one , at a small distance from one another , till the train of them reached up to the table where the guests were a sitting ; they had nothing at all in their hands , that so they might not be hindred in saluting the guests , which was done in this manner ; they laid their hands on their thighs , and bowed their heads downwards to the ground ; when this ceremony was perform'd , then he that stood next the kitchin , took a dish and gave it to the next page immediately before him , he handed it to a third , and he to a fourth , and so from one to another till it came to him who stood next the table and he delivered it to the hands of the gentleman sewer , who plac'd it on the table . and thus one hundred dishes , or more , were serv'd up to the table in excellent order , without any noise at all ; and when that was done , then those waiters , or pages , saluted the guests a second time , and so returned in the same order they came in ; only , of course , those that were last before went out first , and those which were nearest the table brought up the rear . thus the second course was also serv'd up , so that the turks are great admirers of order , even in the smallest matters , which we christians are apt to neglect , even in things of greatest moment . at some distance from the embassador sate his attendants with some turks of quality with them . peace being thus made with the persians , as i told you before , yet we could get no good terms of them at all , only we obtain'd an half-years truce , till i could send to my master , and know his answer . i was sent to be leiger embassador there , but in regard there was no peace settl'd betwixt both empires , the bassa's thought it advisable for me to return to my master with letters from solyman their emperor , and i was to return with an answer from his imperial majesty , if he thought fit . hereupon i was again introduc'd into solyman's presence , and had two large embroider'd vests , reaching down to my ancles , clapt upon me ; they were so heavy , that i could hardly stand under them ; my family also , that attended me , were all clad with silk garments of divers colours ; in this posture i stalked along , like agamemnon , or some such piece of gravity , in the tragedian , and so i took my leave of their emperor , having first receiv'd letters to my master , seal'd and wrapt up in cloth of gold , and the chiefest of my attendants were also admitted to take their leaves ; and thus after we had taken our leaves of the bassa's , i and my collegues departed from amasia , iune the d . the custom is , that embassadors at their departure have a dinner provided for them in the divan , ( so they call the place where the bassa's sit to administer justice , ) but this is done only to their friends ; that complement was omitted to me , because affairs were not yet in an amicable posture between them and us . if you ask me , what manner of man solyman was ? i 'le tell you , he was an ancient man , his countenance , and the mean of his body , was very majestick , well becoming the dignity which he bore ; he was frugal and temperate , even from his youth , tho' he might have taken a greater liberty to himself by the rules of their own religion . in his younger days he was not given to wine , nor to masculine venery , which the turks much delight in , so that his very enemies could object nothing against him on those accounts ; but that he was too uxurious , and his over-indulgence to his wife made him give way to the death of his son mustapha , yet that crime was vulgarly imputed to that ascendent she had over him , by reason of her inchantments and amatory portions . this is certain , that after he once took her for his lawful wife , he never had carnal knowledge of any other women , tho' their laws did not forbid him . he is a very strict observer of the mahumetan religion , and is as desirous to propagate that , as● to enlarge the bounds of his empire . he is now sixty years of age ; and , for a man of his years , he enjoys a moderate proportion of health , and yet his countenance doth discover , that he carries about him some hidden disease , 't is thought a gangrene , or ulcer , in the thigh ; yet at solemn audiences of embassadors , he hath a fucus to paint his cheeks , that he may appear sound and healthy to them , and thereupon be more dreaded by foreign princes , their masters . methought i discovered some such thing at my dismission , for his countenance was as foure when i left him , as it was at my first audience . having thus taken my leave , i began my journy in the hot month of june , and the heat thereof was so excessive , that it cast me into a fever ; 't is true , it was a remiss and gentle one , yet it came every day , to which was added an hoarsness , and defluction of rheum from the head , and it held me till i came quite to constantinople . the persian embassador left amasia the self-same day that i did , and we went both out of the city the same way ; for , ( as i told you before , ) there is but one passage into , or out of , that town , it is so shut in by the circumjacent and unpassable hills : but the way quickly doth divide into two , one to the east , which the persians took ; and another to the west , which was our road. in the open fields , about the town , we saw the turkish camp pitch'd , with abundance of tents . i shall not entertain you with the stages of my return , they being the same with those of my journy thither , only we made a little more speed , and sometimes rode two days journy in one. in fine , we came to a constantinople , iune the th . you must needs think i had a troublesome journy of it , having such a companion with me , as a quotidian ague , all the way ; so that when i came thither , i was almost nothing but skin and bone : yet , as lean as i was , when i came to rest , and , by the advice of quaquelben , my physician , used warm baths , i quickly recovered : one thing i observed in the method of my cure , that when i came out of the warm bath , he would sprinkle me over with cold water , which , tho' it were troublesome to me at the present , yet i found that it did me much good . whilst i staid at constantinpole , there was a certain person , that came from the turkish camp in asia , who told me a story , that i shall acquaint you with , because it shews , that the asiaticks are not very well pleased , either with the religion , or the government , of the turks ; 't was this , solyman , says he , as he was returning home , was forc'd to lodg one night in the house of a certain asiatick and when he went away in the morning , his host brought a great deal of perfume , and us'd a great deal of ceremonies , to cleanse and purge his house , as if it had been polluted by such a guest , as solyman ; when solyman heard of it , he caused the man to be slain , and his house to be levelled with the ground . this punishment the poor man underwent for his aversion from the turks , and his propensity to favour the persians . i staid about fourteen days at constantinople to refresh my self , and then i entred on my journy back again to vienna : but i was entertain'd with an inauspicious omen , even a very sad spectacle ; just as i was gone forth of the gates of constantinople , i met whole waggon-loads of boys and girls , which were bringing out of hungary to constantinople to be sold ; no merchandize is more frequent amongst them , than that . for , as when we leave antwerp , we meet with all sorts of merchantable commodities importing into the town , so here , ever and anon , there passed by us abundance of poor miserable christian slaves , which were going to be sold in the markets to a perpetual bondage ; there was no distinction of age , old and young were driven in herds , or companies , or else were tied in a long chain , as we use to tail horses when we carry them to fairs ; when i beheld this woful sight , i could not forbear weeping and bemoaning the unhappy state of poor christendom . and if that miserable spectacle were not afflictive enough for a new traveller , take another bad and mortifying occurrence : my collegues had commended some of their retinue to me , which were weary of living in turky , that they might be of my train , in returning to their own country : i granted their request , and having travelled two days journy , i perceiv'd one that was chief among them , ( called a vaivode , from his office , ) was carried sick in a coach ; one of his feet being bare , without any stockings , he would not suffer it to be covered , for he had in it a plague-sore , which he found more easie to keep open . we were much troubled at this sight , as fearing that infectious disease would spread further ; but the poor man liv'd but till we came to adrianople , and there departed this life . upon his death another mischief did succeed ; as soon as the breath was out of his body , the rest of the hungarians ran in greedily to the prey , one caught up his stockings , another his doublet , a third his shift , a fourth his other linen ; thus casting themselves , and us too , into a great deal of danger . nor was there any way in the world from hindering them . 't is true , my physician , like an honest man , ran in amongst them , and intreated them , for god's sake , to throw them away , because they would infect us all ; but they were deaf to his advice . but the day after we left adrianople , those self-same persons came to him , and complain'd of a pain in their heads , with a dejection of their spirits , and a listnesness both of body and mind , and desired his advice ; he , ( suspecting the symptoms of the plague in the case , ) told them , they were well enough serv'd , for not harkning to his counsel ; yet he would do them what good he could , only , being on his journy , he was unprovided of proper medicins . the same day i walked abroad into the field , as i us'd to do as soon as ever i came to my inn , to see if i could find any thing worthy of my notice in those countries , where i met with an unknown herb in a meadow , which smelt like garlick . after i had pluck'd some leaves of it , i gave them to my physician to know his judgment ; he looked wistly upon it , and told me , 't was scordium , and lifting up his hands to heaven , he gave god thanks for sending us so opportune a remedy against the plague ; hereupon he gathers a great quantity of it , and putting it into a large pot , boiled it over the fire . then he bid the hungarians take heart , and p●●ted the decoction amongst them , prescribing the taking of it very hot , as they were going to bed , mixt with some lemnian earth , and diascordium , and that they should not sleep till they had fallen into a great sweat . observing his directions , the next day after they were much better , and desired the same potion again , and when they had drunk it , they grew perfectly well . and thus , by god's blessing , we avoided that infection . and yet , the residue of our journy was not without peril . after we had passed the country of the thracians and bulgarians , which reaches as far as nissa , and came into the servians country , reaching from nissa to sema●dria , where the rascians country begins ; we came at last to belgrade , the weather being excessively hot and parching , for 't was the hottest time of the dog-days . at belgrade , upon one of our fish-days , we were presented with abundance of choice fish , and , amongst the rest , with large full-bodied carps , taken in the danube , whose carps are very much commended : my people did eat very greedily of them , that was either the cause , or the occasion , which cast many of them into a fever ; yet all that quantity of fish , which was enough to satisfie forty men , cost but half a dollar ; and the truth is , other things are as cheap . as for hay , 't is little or nothing worth , the meadows are so laden with it , that every man may take what he will , provided he pay for the mowing and carriage ; which made us to admire the wisdom of the old hungarians , after they had passed the save , who chose so fertile a country , as hungary , to dwell in ; where there were all manner of conveniencies for human life ; we passed over a great tract of land , both beyond and on this side the save , and we found the grass , barly , oats and wheat , almost parch'd and withered with drought ; but as soon as we entred hungary , the grass was so tall , that a coach , that went before , could hardly be seen by another that came after ; which is a great argument of the goodness of the soil . the rascians , as i told you before , begin at semandria , and reach as far as the river drave ; they are reputed to be a fudling sort of people , and not very faithful to strangers . whence they had their name and original , i do not certainly know ; but truly they were kind enough to us ; we passed through some villages of theirs of less note , and at last arrived at esseck , which is almost inclosed with muddy marshes , and is famous for the slaughter of catzianerus , and the overthrow of the christians . here i was taken with a ter●ian ague , i was so parch'd with heat , in travelling the open feilds of hungary ; and at esseck we passed the drave , and came to zasque , where being weary with the heat of my journy , and my ague , i laid me down to rest , where the chiefest of the place came to me to bid be welcome ; and presented me with large melons , with pears and plums of several sorts , besides wine , and other provisions , altogether very good , the noted country of campania in italy hardly bears better . in the room where i lodged , there was a long table all furnished with these viands : my servants desired the hungarians to stay to supper , excusing my absence , because of my sickness . as soon as i awoke , and saw such a full-spread table before my eyes , i thought verily i had been in a dream , and ask'd my physician , how that came about ? he told me plainly , that he himself had caused the table to be furnished , that so the very sight of it might refresh me . but must not i tast of it , said i ? yes , said he , but you must only tast . and so i eat a little of it , and seem'd to be much the better for it . the day after the hungarians came to me again to present sent their service , desiring me to represent their condition to the emperor , in regard of the wrongs they received from some of their neighbours . from thence we came to mohatz , noted for the overthrow and death of lewis king of hungary ; not far from that town i saw a river , whose water was deep , and its banks very sleep ; here that unhappy prince leapt in with his horse , and was drown'd , being for his fall as much to be lamented , as for his imprudence , in ventring with a small and newly rais'd army of his country-men , to cope with the more numerous , veteran , and well-disciplin'd forces of solyman . from mohatz we travelled on to tul●a , and from thence to feldnar . there i passed over the danube into an island , pretty large , called cophis , inhabited by rascians ; and so repassing the danube , i arrived at buda , ( days after i left belgrade , ) august the th , having lost many of my horses by the way , who were choaked with eating new barly , and drinking over-old water . besides , i narrowly escaped robbing , which these countries are much infested with , especially by those they call heydukes , some of which were afterwards taken , and put to death at buda , where they confessed to the bassa thereof , that they lay in wait for me , and my train , under a broken bridg we were to pass , that so they might assault us unawares . and the truth is , a few may very easily circumvent and destroy a great many passengers on such bridges ; for the bridges are ill-built , and the planks are set so wide , and gaping one from another , that you can scarce go over them safe on horse-back , without danger of falling , if you are never so careful ; and if some meet you before , others fall on your rear , and others start out from the reeds and sedges below , where they hide themselves , and so accost you in the flank , and you can hardly manage your horse for self-defence , by reason of the ilness of the bridge ; no doubt you may be treated as the romans were in the caudine streights , be either taken or killed , at pleasure . i know not what it was that deterred them from assaulting of us ; whether it were our numbers , or the sight of the hungarians with us , or because we were in a long train , and all were not on the bridge at once , or what ever else it was that withheld them , by god's blessing , we got safe to buda . the bassa of the town was not then at home , he was gone over to pest , on the other side the river , where they had a council of war , after the manner of the hungarians , they call them rachi . many sanziacks were already come thither , but more were expected , for which cause , when i desired audience , 't was put off for three days , that the ianizaries and military persons might make a greater show . then i was sent for over , and conveyed to his tent , where he made complaints to me of the injuries that some hungarians had done to him ; it is usual in those frontier garrisons , both for hungarians and turks , mutually to complain of one another , yea , sometimes they that are most in fault , begin to complain , first . the turkish bassa also added some minatory expressions of revenge ; it may be , he thought that the sight of his army would terrify me ; but he was mistaken , for i answered him roundly , that the hungarians might rather find fault with the turks , than on the contrary ; for i my self , in my travels had seen some of his soldiers plunder some hungarians , subjects of his imperial . majesty , and carry away their goods . he answered me , that indeed he had put some contumacious christians under military execution , but they were such as were under his master , not the emperor . thus , after a mutual altercation , i was dismissed , being in very bad plight , for my ague-fit was sore upon me all that day . the day after , i went to gran , having a turkish guard of horse along with me , i had a mind to be wafted over the danube , and for one night to lodge in a village over against the castle of gran , that the day after i might come the sooner to comorra , and be better able to endure my ague-fit , which i expected that day ; and therefore i entreated that favour of my guide , that he would send some body over , to bring the ferry-boat , that was on the other side , that so our passage might be the easier . i found some difficulty in having my request granted , yet , partly to gratify me , and partly to acquaint the sanziacks with my arival there , he sent over two persons ; when they were gone an hour before , they spyed four horsemen standing under a tree , a little from the high-way-side ; they judged them , by their habits , to be turks , and therefore turned aside to accost them ; and as they drew near , they ask'd them , what news ? they answered not a word , but made at them with their drawn swords , and gave one of them such a blow , athwart his face , that he made the greatest part of his nose to hang down over his chin ; and then catching at his horse , which he held by the bridle , he left his own beast , and mounting it , set spurs , and away . the turks presently came back to us , especially he with a maim'd face , and with a woful lamentation , bid us prepare for the combat , for we were way-laid . i , to encourage my men , got presently on horse-back ; but we came too late , when the scuffle was over , for they had more mind to preserve the prey they had got , than to fight : and thereupon fled speedily to iavarin , a garrison of ours , to which they did belong : the turks shewed them to us as they were scouring over the neighbouring hills , that led to iavarin . thus we came to gran , the sanziack very friendly gave me a visit , and among other discourse he put me in mind of the insolency of the hungarian soldiers , who could not be kept from thieving ( said he ) though you the emperour's embassador were in company of those they robbed ; and therefore he desired me , that the horse they took away yesterday might be restored . in the mean time , the turk , that was wounded the day before , stood without in the entry , with his nose sewen together , through which he made a lamentable moan , desiring me to pity his condition : i told him i would give him what was enough for his cure , and so i bestowed two duckets upon him ; he would have had more , but the sanziac told him , 't was enough , his misfortune was not to be charged upon me . being thus dismissed by the sanziack , i came the same day to comorra ; where i expected my ague-fit , but when the usual period of it drew near , i found it had left me , as if a fever got in turky durst not accompany me into the christian territories : hereupon i gave god thanks , who had both freed me of my ague , and had also brought me safe to the end of my long and tedious journy . two days after , i came to vienna , where the emperour ferdinand , my most gracious master , was not at present , only i found maximilian , king of bohemia , there in his room ; whose courteous reception of me made me almost forget the toil of my journy . but i must tell you , i was so emaciated with my sickness , and the inconveniencies of my journy together , that many thought the turks had given me a poysonous dose ; for truly , when i went lately to pay my duty to the arch-duke ferdinand , he , being then there , asked one of his domesticks , who i was ? who answered , i was one that came lately from turky , and that it was no wonder i lookt so ill , for they who returned from those parts , used so to do . perhaps he was willing to have it believed , that i had taken the emperour claudius's dose ; but , for my part , i know of no such thing ; neither do i question but that after i had rested a while , to recover the tediousness of my journy , i shall look as well as ever i did , and i find my self something mended already . in the mean time , i acquainted the emperor with my return , by letter , and of the half-years truce i had obtained , and the sum of all my whole negotiation ; and when he came home from the diet , i would inform him of all particulars more punctually and distinctly . one thing more i shall acquaint you with , there were many persons who refused to accompany me to constantinople , either for fear , or i know not what motive besides , who wished they had given me any mony , to go along with me , now they saw me return in safety . but what says he in plautus ? if you will eat the kernel , you must take the pains to break the nut : he does himself wrong , that thinks to reap part of the fruit , who took no part of the pains . thus , sir , i have given an account of my journy , both to constantinople and also to amasia ; i have not drest up my narrative with flowers of rhetorick , but have presented you with it , just as i would have related it to you by word of mouth . i know you will bear with the courseness of my style , it being occasioned by my over-eager desire to gratifie you ; nor can you well expect elegancy from me now in my heat and throng of business , which i was never master of in my greatest retirements . this i assure you , both for your information and my own content , that i am not conscious to my self of any falshood in the whole narration , which is the principal ornament of such relations as these . thus i bid you farewel . vienna , septemb. st . . epistle ii. sir , i receiv'd your letter , wherein you acquaint me , that you have receiv'd information of my second voyage into turky ; on which account you express your wonderment , that i would venture to visit that uncouth and barbarous country , once more . and , withal , you desire to know the issue of my journy ; how i found matters at my return to constantinople ; what entertainment i met with there ; what proportion of health i enjoy ; whether my life be pleasant to me , yea or no ; and , in fine , what hopes there may be of my speedy return to germany . to all which you oblige me , upon the score of our ancient friendship , to give particular and express answers ; which , to gratifie you , i shall accordingly do . know then , in the first place , that you were not mis-informed as to my return into turky , the thing is most true ; neither could i avoid the journy , as being oblig'd thereunto by promise ; and you know every honest man is as good as his word● my case was this , the emperor ferdinand , my most gracious lord and master , designed me as his lieger embassador to constantinople ; but his design was grounded on this supposition , that peace would be first setled betwixt the two empires ; but articles of agreement being not yet fully accorded , nor wholly rejected neither , there was no reason i should slip my neck out of the collar , till the matter was brought to some certain issue , either a firm peace , or a perfect rupture . and , therefore , though i foresaw what a bushel of troubles i should run my self into , by my return , and had much rather a fitter person had been substituted for the employment ; but no body being willing to accept the charge , i was , in a manner , forced to the service ; it being my duty to comply with , and obey , the will and pleasure of my gracious master : for asson as ever he return'd from the imperial diet to vienna , and was informed , by me , of my transactions with solyman , the ottoman emperor , he immediately laid his command upon me to prepare my self to return , and to carry back his answer to solyman's letters . 't is true , 't was the depth of winter , i was commanded to return to constantinople ; and , besides , 't was a very rainy , cold and tempestuous season ; and , also , my message was so severe , that i was like to have no thanks for my labour . here , perhaps , you may twit me in the teeth , what! twice to the same pla●e ? to which i answer , twice and oftner , if there be need ; for commendable enterprizes , the more hazardous , the more praise-wor●hy . 't was in november when i left vienna , to undertake my second voyage to unhospitable pontus ; i will not grate your ears with the relation of the gests of my second journy . i was too vexatious , i fear , in giving you an account of my first . it may suffice to tell you , that i went the same stages , in a manner , that i did at first . so then , to constantinople i came in the beginning of ianuary ( having lost one of my retinue , ( who dyed of a fever in the way . ) there i found my collegues in good health ; but a mighty change was made in the turkish affairs : solyman's youngest son had escap'd a great danger , and was reconcil'd to his father : achmet bassa , the grand vizier , had been strangled , and rustan , his predecessor , was restor'd to his place of grand viziership ; of whom more hereafter ; but at present , i shall acquaint you what course entertainment i met with from their emperor , his bassa's and other great men among them . for their bassa's ( as manner is , before they introduce an embassador to their prince ) being desirous to hear of me , in general , the purport of my message ; assoon as they understood , that my master caesar would not recede a jot from his right , but did punctually insist upon it as just and equal , that the transactions with the widow iohn late vaivod of transilvania and her son , being made without fraud , force or covin , should be strictly observed , they were in a mighty chafe ; for you must know , that a long-series of happy success hath so elevated the minds of this people , that they make their own wills , forsooth , the sole rule of all reason , right or wrong . on which presumptuous principle , they carried it very haughtily towards us ; and told us the extream danger we would run into , if we offer'd to appear before their prince with such an imperious message . when such menacing words could not deter us from demanding audience ; they gave us to understand , that they would have no hand in our admittance ; for d' e think , ( said they ) that we are such brazen-fac'd fellows as to bring you , with such sawcy answers , to our king ? no , said they , it will be as plain mockery to him , which he will never take well at your hands : do you not know , proceeded they , that he is come back from persia with a victorious army ; where , his successes have so exalted him , that he hath put his own son to death as emulous of the empire ? whereby , you may guess at the severity of his passion . he longs for , and courts , a fair occasion to send his handy and well-disciplin'd army into hungary , to enrich them with the spoils of that country , and to add the residue thereof to his empire . and , therefore , if you be wise , don't ●ouze up a sleeping lyon ; for thereby you will but hasten your own miseries , which are coming on fast enough of themselves . such were the harangues of the bassa's to us , and the rest of the turks were of the same mind . the mildest punishment they denounced against us , was , that two of us would be cast into a nasty dungeon , and the third ( which was to be my share ) would have his nose and ears cut off , and so sent back to his master . and to strike the greater terror into us ; the turks , who passed by our lodgings , gave us many a sour look ; which was an argument , that they intended some cruel deportment toward us . and the truth is , from that day forward , they used us more coursely than ever ; they kept us up close as prisoners rather than embassadors ; they suffer'd no body to come to us , nor permitted any of us to go forth ; and the rest of their carriage was as intolerable . thus have they treated us these six months past ; and i know not how long they will continue these severities ; but , come what will , we submit to the will of god. our cause is just and honourable , and that gives us relief against their vigorous extremities . but leaving the narration of our own misfortunes , i shall answer your desire , in giving you an account of the story of bajazet . for the clearer explication thereof , i must acquaint you , that solyman had sons ; the eldest , begot by him on a concubine , near the bosphorus , was called mustapha , of whose unhappy end you have heard before ; but by another wife , named roxolana , he had four , mahomet , selymus , bajazet and giangir . mahomet liv'd till he was married , ( for the turks call their concubines , wives ) but dy'd soon after ; so that selimus and bajazet of this later venter only remain'd alive . as for giangir , he came thus to his end ; when news was brought to constantinople , that his half-brother mustapha was put to death ; the youth being of a timorous mind and infirm body ( for he was crook-back'd ) fell into a grievous passion , upon the imagination that the like fate did hang over his own head ; for he could promise safety to himself no longer than his father liv'd ; if his head were once laid , he that was his successor would certainly kill all his brethren , as emulous of the kingdom ; not one of them would be excepted , and himself being among the number must look for the same fate ; which thought struck him into a disease , even as if the bow-string had been already about his neck , which cost him his life ; so that now only selymus and bajazet remained ; selymus was the elder , and 't was known to all , that his father design'd him for the empire ; but bajazet was most favoured and doted upon by his mother , whether i● were out of commiseration to prevent his inevitable ruin ; or else out of motherly indulgence , or whatever else the reason was ; this is certain , if her vote could have carried it , bajazet had certainly succeeded in the empire after his fathers death . but she must give way to his fathers will , who was fully resolv'd , come what would , that selymus , and none else , should succeed him . bajazet was not ignorant thereof , and therefore he turned every stone to stave off his impending fate , and , if possible , to prevent his ruin by grasping at the throne . and his hopes were encreased by the favour of his mother , and of rustan the grand visier , who was thought to have espoused his interests . having two such pillars to support him , he thought with himself 't was far more glorious to hazard his life in contending with his brother for the empire , than to die obscurely by the bow-string , as a victim to his cruelty . bajazet having this project in his head , began to pick quarrels with his brother , and to maintain a faction against him ; neither was it long before a fitting occasion offered it self for him to begin his design'd enterprize , of rising in arms upon the account of mustapha's death , and the disgust of many thereupon . for the truth is , mustapha was so well belov'd in his life-time , and so much lamented at his death , that those who had placed all their hopes of advancement from him alone , were almost unwilling to live after him ; so that they did but wait for an opportunity to revenge his death , or to die as he did : others , who were conscious to themselves that they had favoured his party , and therefore were obnoxious to the present power , did not care what hurly-burlies they made ; ready they were for any innovation , only they wanted a leader . in which case , they did not well know what to do . as for mustapha himself , they knew he could not be recalled from the dead ; yet it was in their power to suborn and set up a feigned mustapha in his stead , as if the true one had been yet alive . this design pleased bajazet ( who was the contriver of the plot ) best of all , as most conducible to the accomplishment of his purpose . hereupon , by his emissaries , he procures a mean fellow , but bold and ready-witted , to counterfeit himself to be mustapha ; and his pretence was more plausible , because his stature , physiognomy and meen of his body did somewhat resemble mustapha's . this man begun , first , to shew himself in that part of thrace which was above constantinople , toward the danube , moldavia and valachia . this place he thought most opportune to raise a party , because it was full of horse , which part of the turkish militia did most favour mustapha . here he starts up , as if he had fled in post-haste from some remote place , with a few in his company ; which he pretended was for his own security : his followers being asked by the country , who he was ? they answered , at first , whisperingly , that it was mustapha . hereupon they were more desirous to know the truth ; and then he was forced to declare himself , that he was mustapha , indeed . having made this prosperous beginning , he goes on to gratulate his safety among them , and to give god thanks . first , he told them , that when he was sent for by his angry father , he durst not trust himself to come into his presence ; but , by his friends advice , suborned one , somewhat like him , to represent his person , that , by another mans hazard rather than his own , he might make tryal of his incensed father's inclination towards him . this man he hir'd with great promises of reward ; but assoon as he came to his father he was strangled at his tent-door , before he had any opportunity to make his defence ; and his dead body was exposed to the view of the soldiery . at which time , said he , there were some few that smelt out the project ; but most part was deceived by the disguised lineaments of his deceased body , and thought it was he himself that was s●ain . assoon as i heard of this , said he , i saw there was no stay for me , but i must consult my safety by a speedy flight ; i took but few in my company , that i might be the less taken notice of , and thus passing over pontus and the bosphoran country , i am , said he , come hither ; where i promise my self much aid from your fidelity , and , therefore , i beseech you lend me your helping hand ; a●d seeing i am oppress'd by a wretched step-mother , be you as forward to help me in my affliction , as you were all ready to do in my prosperity . for my part , i am resolved to revenge my wrong● , and ●o maintain my life by force of arms for what other course , pray , can i ●ake ? i owe my life to my fathers mistake , who killed another man instead of me ; so that i plainly see , what fate attends me , if ever i come into his power . the miserable old man is imposed on by the enchanting passions of a step-mother , whom he doats upon , and by the ministry of rustan , to whatsoever attempt they please . but , thanks be to god , said he , i have got some friends left to revenge my wrongs , and to punish my enemies . and , besides , i am not quite daunted , but have a great stock yet of courage left ; for i know that the janizaries , yea , and most of all my fathers court are on my side ; and , besides , upon hearing of my name , i know all those which lamented me when dead ( as they thought ) will flock in to me , now they hear i am alive ; only be you pleased to vouchsafe me a favourable reception , and to protect me till sufficient aid come in to me . these were his private , and also his publick , harangues , where-ever he came ; and his instructed followers ecchoed forth the same report ; yea , some men of note , that bajazet had suborned , sung notes to the same tune . thus a great party of men , unknown to bajazet , were brought into the nooz . for the matter was carried so cunningly , that those who knew mustapha , and saw him lie dead before his father's tent , yet were afraid to believe their own eyes , but suffered themselves to be persuaded , that this was the true mustapha indeed ; yea , some of mustapha's intimates , who knew this was but a cheat , yet were so overfond of his memory , that blinded either with fear , grief or anger , they wers the first that li●ted themselves under this pseudo - mustapha , as being weary of their lives without him ; which made others certainly think , that this was the true mustapha indeed , whom report had falsely related to be slain . and , besides , the impostor himself , by large promises and great largesses , which he said were the relicks of his former acquists , ( but indeed were the supplies that bajazet had provided under-hand ) did not cease to cajole and engage his followers . so that in a very few days he got an handsome body of men together , fit for a little army , and they encreased every day . when ( lo ! ) solyman was made acquainted by messages and letters , which the neighbouring sanziacks , had , in great trepidation , sent him , what hazard he was in by reason of the resort of such multitudes , to this pseudo - mustapha . the cunning old man knew one of his sons must needs be privy to the plot , and , therefore , he made haste to disappoint it ; chiding his sanziacks , by letter , that they suffered the matter to come to such an head , and had not rather crush'd the cockatrice in the egg ; but seeing they had been negligent hitherto , he commanded them to make amends for their former remisness , and to send him presently the traitor and his followers , prisoners , in chains , to receive thei● condign punishment ; and to facilitate the matter , he would send aid to them by one of his visiers , partan bassa , who had married the widow of mahomet aforesaid ; howbeit , he advised them , if they would purge them●elves of their criminal neglect , they should quell the insurrection before his succour came . partan had but a few troops with him , but they were choice men , eminent for courage and faithfulness . solyman took care to cull out colonels , captains and other commanders of that gizard for this service , as suspecting that others might have been corrupted or enticed to pass over to the tents of the rebels ; for , the truth was , the ordinary sort of ianizaries , upon account of mustapha's name , did not seem much averse from the party ; and , therefore , did not care what further confusions might enhance the danger on that side the sanziacks , assoon as ever they received solyman's minatory dispatches , began to bestir themselves , and to rouze up one another , so that happy was he , that could do most damage to the growing party of the impostor ; some of those that were going in to him , they intercepted ; those that had already join'd him they laboured to discourage by terrible meances and denunciations of the danger they were in . in the mean time , the forces of partan bassa were marching on , and being almost come up to the place , the party of the tumultuous , being not yet fully setled , seeing so great preparations made against them , began to be discouraged , ( as is usual with men in such circumstances ) and to drop off one by one ; and at last the whole body of 'em most shamefully left their leader , and shifted for themselves , the best they could . their feigned mustapha , with his chief partisans and setters on , would willingly have done so too , but he was so watch'd by the ianizaries , that he was taken alive , and sent prisoner to partan , who , with a strong guard , sent him to constantinople . when he came thither , solyman put him on the rack , and by that means found out the whole plot ; how his son bajazet was at the bottom of it , and had resolved if they had not been so soon dissipated , to have join'd them with a considerable force , and so either to have marched directly to constantinople , or else ( if opportunity had served him ) to have sought out his brother ; but being slow in his actings , his design was nipp'd in the very bud. when solyman had thus ferretted out the design to the bottom , he caused him and his abettors to be thrown into the sea at midnight , not thinking it convenient to have the matter divulg'd among his own people , or that foreign princes should be acquainted with the domestick differences of his own family . as for his son bajazet , he was mightily exasperated against him for his foul offence , and was meditating in his mind what grievous punishment he should inflict upon him . in the mean time , his wife being a prying woman , and therefore allowing him but little space for his anger to vent and cool it self , at last falling into discourse with him of the affair , she began to excuse her son , laying all the fault on his youthful imprudence ; and that some of his ancestors also had been necessitated to undertake the like attempts . for ( says she ) 't is a natural instinct in all men to do what they can for themselves and their friends , and to save their lives , if they can ; especially young men , in the fervour of youth , are apt to be drawn aside by ill counsellors to pernicious attempts ; and , therefore , it was but reasonable that his first fault should be pardoned , because , if he repented thereupon , his father had gained a great point in preserving his son ; but if he relapsed again into the same crime , then the father was at liberty to inflict deserved punishment on him for both offences , at one and the same time . but , proceeded she , if you will not pardon him for his own sake , yet be pleased to do it for mine ; and spare our own common flesh and blood : for how , think you , can i bear it , that of two sons which god hath yet left me , ●our severity would rend one of them from me ? and , therefore , she intreated him to moderate his anger , and not to let loose the reins to cruelty , tho' you had never so just an occasion-almighty god ( said she ) tho' most powerful and just , yet doth not always exert his highest severities , but tempers them with indulgence , else mankind w●uld be quickly destroyed . and if clemency be to be shew'd to any , to whom , pray , more properly than to a man 's own children ? bajazet , for the future , will certainly keep within the bounds of his duty , and the fear , wherein he now is , will certainly be turn'd into the highest degree of filial obedience for the future ; if you please to spare his life , the sense of your indulgence will work this ; for nothing is so obliging to generous minds as courtesies received . the memory of his pardon will restrain him from running a second time into the like offence ; yea , i my self will undertake for him , that for the future he will carry it towards you , as a most dutiful and obedient son. to these intreaties she added tears and blandishments , so that the old man , who was uxorious enough before , could no longer withstand her importunities , but changed his mind ; and instead of punishing , resolved to pardon his son ; but on this condition , that he was to come into his presence and receive his commands . his mother , being exceeding glad at the good success of her interposal , was not wanting to the occasion ; but presently acquainted bajazet by letters , that when ever he was sent for , he should not scruple in the least to come to his father , for she had wrought a reconciliation betwixt them , so that not the least spark of discontent lay now covered in his mind against him . upon the receipt of this good news , bajazet resolves to trust his father , yet not without some relicks of fear ; he reflected ever and anon on his brother mustapha , whose example warned him of the danger he underwent . however , conquering his fear , come he did to the place of conference appointed by his father , it was called carestrane , some few miles distant from constantinople . for you must know , that now-a-days , 't is the custom of the turkish emperors , never to permit any one of their sons , when once they are grown up , to set their foot within the gates of constantinople , ( whilst they are alive ) for fear they should ingratiate themselves with the soldiery , and so set up for themselves . as he was alighting from his horse , some of his father's servants were at hand to take away his sword and dagger ; this struck his guilty conscience into a little fear , tho' it were accustomed to be done to others , that they might come unarmed into their emperor's presence : but his mother , who had placed her self on purpose near his passage , looked out at a window , using these expressions , chear up , chear up , my son , by which antidote he was very much heartned and relieved . as soon as ever he came into his fathers presence , the old man bid him sit down , and then began to blame him very severely for his rashness , in taking up arms so causelessly . they may be looked upon , said he , as taken up against my self ; but grant you took them up only against your brother , yet it takes off little from your offence , for if you had had your wish , the ottoman religion would have been quite shaken , if not overthrown by the domestick discords among our family , ( on the heirs whereof it doth depend ) so that if you be a true mussulman , such a crime ought to have been far from your thoughts : i might aggravate your crime ( said he ) by telling you , that you aspired at the government in my life-time , which is so contemptuous a thing , that your offence is almost inexpiable : nevertheless , i am resolved to pardon you , and to shew my self a loving father rather than a just judge , that so for the future you may leave all to god ; for kingdoms , and the governments of them are not disposed of by mans pleasure , but by the will of god ; if he hath decreed that you shall have the kingdom after me , no man living will be able to hinder it : but , if god had otherwise determined , 't was a mad thing in you to go about to resist his will , for that were to fight against god ; and therefore let me advise you to be quiet , and not disturb your peaceable brother , nor interrupt the quiet of my old age ; for , i will assure you , if you commit a second offence , of this nature , i will be so far from pardoning you , that you shall have the severity of justice . bajazet's answer was very submissive , acknowledging his fault , and promising subjection for the future . whereupon solyman called for drink , and caused it to be given to his son , ( as the custom is ) which was a sherbet , made of sugar and the juice of certain fruit. bajazet had rather have let it alone , as fearing it might have been his last draught , but he could not handsomely refuse it , so he drank a little , and his father drank a little after him , which freed him of his fear . thus bajazet was dismissed , and sent away to his government , his congress with his father having been far more auspicious than his brother mustapha's was . as for the death of achmet bassa , another of your enquiries , i shall give this short relation : some say , he was put to death for being too much affected to mustapha , and for favouring underhand the counterfeit mustapha , and encouraging bajazet in his designs . others say , that being a mere robber or swashbuckler at first , but advanced for his audacity , valour and skill in military affairs , to that high dignity , the punishment of his former flagitious life was only deferred to the last period of it . and some were of opinion , he was executed only to make way for rustan ; for solyman having promised achmet never to take away the seal from him , as long as he lived ; to make a collusive performance of his word , he caused him to be put to death , before he did it . some said , that solyman gave it out , 't was better to dye once than a thousand times over ; for the fear of the loss of his grand viziership , and much more his survival thereupon , would have been as a thousand deaths to him . whatever was the cause , the manner of it was this ; he came early in the morning into the divan , ( or council-chamber ) being ignorant of what was designed against him : by and by comes a messenger to him from the sultan , telling him , that he must die . he was a man of a great spirit , and received the message as undauntedly as if it had nothing concerned him ; only when the executioner drew near , to do his office , he pushed him away , as thinking it dishonourable for a man of his dignity to dye by the hands of an ordinary executioner : but casting his eyes round about the company , he espied a creditable person , that was his friend , him he desired to do that last office for him , and he should take it as a great kindness at his hands ; his friend , upon his iterated request , undertook it : only achmet advised , not to draw the cord or bow-string , so as to dispatch him at once , but when he had strained it a little , then to remit it , that he might breath a little , and afterwards to pull it as hard as he could , until he were dead ; wherein his desire was answered . thus achmet was willing ( as it were ) to taste of death , before he drank his full draught thereof . upon his decease rustan had the grand-viziership bestowed upon him . as for my return out of this country , which you desire to hear of , all i can say is , facilis descensus averni ; he that brought me hither , will , when he sees good , bring me back : in the interim , i solace my self in the company of my old friends , my books , which never fail to afford me relief both day and night . constantinople , the day before the ides of june . june . epistle iii. sir , the relations , you heard , was very true ; for it is most certain , that all my collegues are returned home , and poor i am left behind , alone . and whereas you propound several questions to me , as , what fate , or what malevolent star kept me back from accompanying them in their return ? and why i did not shake hands with that barbarous country , to enjoy the wish'd for comforts of my own ? and withal , you demand , what memorable matters i have seen or heard of since i wrote last ? promising to give credit to whatever drops from my pen , as if it were as true as gospel . and moreover , you desire to know the course of my studies , and how i relieve my self both in my solitudes and sufferings ? and whether i go abroad or always stay at home ? all these postulations put together , will engage me to write rather commentaries or diaries , than a single letter , especially since you are very earnest to know , how bajazet's matters stand , ( concerning which , you say , there are various reports with you . ) you claim a promise from me , and unless i perform it , you tell me you will commence an action against me , and have already drawn your breviat against me : let me prosecute your metaphor , and perswade you to stay a while , leniter qui saeviunt sa● piunt magis , says the old adage , no haste to kill true men : but if you are so much given to law , take use and principal too , rather than i will answer your suit , for i am averse from lawing . and besides , the distance of place is so great between us , that if i should put in an exception to your plea , yet your writ would hardly abate . however it be , i will rather satisfy your desires , than contend with you in the least : when my collegues ( whose names i gave you in my last letters ) perceived , that our three years abode in this place had produced little good hitherto , either to the making of a firm peace , or the continuing the truce ; and that small hopes of either did appear for the future , they laboured with might and main to be dismissed by this court ; and when , with much ado . solyman's consent was obtained therein , ( for 't is no easy matter to get a dismission from hence ) then the only question was , whether we should all go , or only those of us that came first , and so had been longest there ? for cunning solyman , that he might not seem over-desirous of peace , by retaining one of us , remitted the matter wholly to our own choice . in these circumstances , my companions thought it very advisable , and for our master's service , that one of us should stay behind , and i my self was of the same mind ; but we resolved to dissemble our sentiments , and conceal them from the turks , so that as often as we had any discourse with them on that subject , i always pretended , i was utterly unwilling to stay behind . 't is true , i told them i came thither to reside as embassador in ordinary , but it was on supposition , that peace would be made between both empires ; but that not being yet done , i did not see how i could well stay , but to the damage and against the will of my master , and therefore it was best that we should all return together . thus i reasoned before them , that so i might stay on better terms , rather by their entreaty than by my own voluntary offer . i knew well enough , that if we all went away , it would not only open door for a war , but it would even quite shut out all hopes of peace ; which later was not despaired of , if i staid behind : for whilst dispatches were sent to and from both princes , it would spin out a great deal of time , in which interval something or other might fall out of advantage to our cause ; so that it was better to do any thing , than to precipitate ourselves into a fierce and cruel war ; and yet i was not ignorant , how prejudicial my stay would be to my self , for thereby my fair and labour would be doubled , in regard one was to do the work of two or three : besides , many inconveniencies might occasionally arise , especially if the issue of my transactions did terminate in a war : and yet , i must tell you , he that undertakes the office of a publick embassador , must post-p●ne all such private difficulties , and make light of them , in comparison of the publick good of his prince and country . and i had a fair opportunity to manage this affair by the complaisance of rustan , who was very desirous of my stay ; for that subtle vizier easily foresaw , what a shrewd step towards a war it would be , if we should all be gone and leave the negotiation for a peace unfinished . the old fox was averse from war , upon this account principally , he foresaw , that if solyman made an expedition into hungary , it was impossible to prevent the discords of his children ; for if selymus were willing to be quiet , yet bajazet would attempt innovation , especially since he was favoured by himself , his wife and mother-in-law ; and such commotions , he knew , would be fatal to him : and therefore , when we were once at his house , he made a long harangue to my colleagues , advising them what to say to their master at their return , in order to a peace . as for me , he advised me by all means to stay behind , and not to desert a business so well begun 'till it came to a desired issue ; and there 's no doubt , said he , but the emperor , your master , who always shewed himself inclining to peace , will approve well-enough of your stay. yet , nevertheless , i continued deaf to his request , as far as with safety i could , and insisted on my return ; which edg'd him on the more , to perswade me to stay : what , says he , will you cut off all hopes of peace for ever ? our emperor longs for nothing more than to send an army into hungary , and he had long since done it , if i had not made use of some female instruments ( under standing his wife and mother-in-law ) to disswade him ; yea , as it were to pluck him back by the sleeve ; and therefore , if you be wise , don't you rouze a sleeping lyon to destroy you . upon this i began to yield a little , and was less peremptory in my refusal to stay , only i told them , my greatest remora was , i was afraid of their criminations , that if matters succeeded not as they would have them , the whole blame would be cast upon me ( tho' it was not in my power to help it ) and therefore they would make me feel the fruits of their indignation . but rustan bid me , be of good chear , whatever the event were ; if unsuccessful , it should not be imputed to me ; if i would but stay , he promised to have me to be under his immediate protection , and would treat me ( to use his own word ) as if i were his natural brother . i told him , i would consider of it , and so we parted for that time. the next day we were called into the divan , ( so they call their council chamber ) then the same part was acted over again , only rustan carried it a little more covertly , and reservedly , because of the presence of other bassas , there , at last , i yielded to stay behind , only leaving a memorial with them of this import , that i staid behind unknown to my master , and therefore i would leave all my concessions to his arbitrement , to cancel or confirm ; as for my self , i would be responsible for nothing , nor oblige my self by any promise , whatever issue god were pleased to give of my negotiation . this memorial did me a great kindness after wards , in difficult circumstances , so that the bassas could not for shame treat me so severely in their passions , as otherwise they would have done . thus , sir , you have an account of my stay behind my fellows , with the reason thereof . they left constantinople about the later end of august . the winter following the grand seignior went to adrianople , as his custom was , both to strike a greater terror into hungary , upon the bruit of his nearer approach thither , and also for the conveniencies of his hunting , for there the winters are colder than at constantinople both which he thought conducive to his he th . the country thereabouts is full of marshes and stagnant waters , by reason of the vicinity of many rivers ; so that there are abu●dance of water-foul , as wild ducks , geese , herons , storks , cranes , bitturns , &c. to catch them , he makes use of hawks , or a lesser sort of eagles , which are so used to the sport , that tho' the foul fly up to the clouds , they i fetch him down from thence ; but if they fly lower , then they truss them , and with a mighty force strike them with their bills to the ground . i am told , that some of his falcons are so disciplin'd and expert , that they will venture on a crane , even in that part of the body where the wing joyns it ; and by this means the cranes bill can do them no hurt , and so they tumble to the ground with their prey : and yet sometimes the hawk pays dear for his boldness for if he do but miss his gripe never so little , presently the crane runs him through with his bill and down he tumbles dead to the ground . for this reason , the grand seignior ordinarily every year , a little before winter , goes to adrianople , and returns not again to constantinople till the frogs begin to be troublesome to him by their croaking . thither rustan , a while after , sent for me by letter ; he appointed some horse to guard me on the way , and sixteen ianizaries , whether as a guard to me , or upon me , i leave to you to judge : we made long journys , for he advised us to make haste : on the third day my ianizaries , being a foot , began to grumble , the ways were dirty , as is usual at that time of the year ; they complained , that they were forced to march more miles , often , in a day , than they used to do ; and that , if their emperour were there , they could hardly endure it . their complaints troubled me not a little , because i was loth to disoblige this sort of people , and therefore i consulted with my servants , how i might allay their discontents , and make them willinger to travel . one of mine told me , he had observed that they were much taken with a certain kind of caudle , gruel or pottage , which my cook used to make of wine , eggs , sugar and spices ; perhaps ( says he ) if they have some of that for their break-fast , they will be plyable . this seemed but a mean expedient , yet we resolv'd to try it , and the success answered our expectation ; for after this sweet soop , being also further heated with a glass or two of wine , away they trudged , as merrily as could be , and told me , they would accompany me , on the same terms , to buda , if i pleased . when i came to adrianople , i was forced to hear the railings , rather than the complainings , of rustan , concerning the plundering-excursions of the hungarians . and , by way of answer , i was as ready to complain to him of the frequent depredations and mischiefs , which the turks did in christian countries . no marvel , said i , if our retort like for like ; for i had just then received an express from caesar , my master , informing me , what breaches and contraventions the turks had made of that truce , which at the departure of my collegues was agreed upon : how they vexed the poor peasants with continual inrodes , robbing them of their goods , and made themselves , their wives and children , slaves . i must not forget-to-acquaint you , how that the same day , caesar , my master's , messenger came to me with an express . there happen'd an earthquake at adrianople , which gave him occasion to tell me , that he perceived the same ( so he judge it ) at nissa , s. sophia and other places through which he travelled , so that the air , included in the bowels of the earth , did seem to have kept pace with him , by some subterraneous passages or caverns , and to have travelled as far in a day under ground , as he himself had done on the surface of the earth ; which conjecture afterward seemed to be confirmed , upon the relation we received of an earthquake that happen'd in constantinople four days after , which seemed to be the same imprisoned air , that had made its way , under ground , even to that city also . i leave the matter to your judgment , but this is certain , that earthquakes are very frequent at constantinople ; for once , when i was there , about mid-night , my lodging did so shake , that it was almost ready to fall : this accident awakened me , though fast asl●ep , and , having a watch light burning by me all night , when i saw here a cup , there a book , a table , board and stone all tumbled in an heap together : i was at first astonished at the nov●lty of the spectacle , till i had recollected my self , and judging it to be the effects of an earthquake , i then retired to that part of the house which i thought most secure from falling . the same commotion of the earth continued some days , but not with like violence . yea , over all that great city , and especially in my lodgings , and in the temple of s. sophia , you might see the walls , though very thick , to chink and gape by reason of the clefts made by such earthquakes . well , i staid about three months at adrianople , where after i had made a truce for seven months , in march i was attended back again to constantinople : when i came thither i was quite weary to be mew'd up in my old lodging , it was so close , and therefore i dealt with my chiaux , ( a sort of officers among the turks , which serve for divers employments , of which attendance on embassadors is one ) that i might have liberty ( as other embassadors had before me ) to hire an house at my own charge , where i may have the benefits of gardens , orchards , and a free air , to breath in . the chiaux was not averse from my proposal , for he saw that the siegnior's advantage was concerned therein , who was wont to hire houses for embassadors , at the yearly rent of ducats ; and now all that expence would be saved : hereupon i went to an house or island rather , hired with my own mony , where there was a broad field adjoyning , where i resolved to make a garden , and to relieve my wearisom embassy , in managing and planting it : but , see the spight of it , when the chiaux found by experience that he could not have as strict an inspection over me , in an open house that had many ways to it , with a large space of ground near it , as he had in a caravasa ( which word you know the meaning of by my former letters ) because this later was fenced with cross-barr'd windows , and besides , had but one passage into it , he began to change his mind , and thereupon made his address to the bassas , who by this time were returned from adrianople , that i might retire to my former lodging : and i was to look upon this as a great courtesy too , for some of the bashas , in a debate betwixt them , concerning my disposal , were of opinion , that now i was alone , a less house would serve my turn , and so some charge might be saved ; but the moderatest party carried it , that i should return to my old quarters . if you desire a description of the house i lodged in , take it thus . it is scituated on a rising ground , in the most celebrated part of constantinople ; in the back-side thereof there is a pleasant , but somewhat distant , prospect to the sea , which yet is not so remote from it , but that you may easily discern the dolphins skipping and playing therein : and also at a vast distance a man may see mount olympus in asia , which wears a snowy-white cap all the year ! it lyes-open to the wind from every quarter , which by ventilating the air , makes it more wholsom and healthy . but the turks are so envious to their christian tenants , that they would cut them off from as many conveniencies as they can , and therefore they do not only set iron grates before their windows , but do also add iron boards and planks to hinder the prospect , and the free passage of the air ; and by this means they stop the mouths of the neighbouring turks , who are apt to complain , that they can do nothing in their houses but the christians must overlook them . the house is built in a quadrangular form , with a large square in the midst , wherein there is a well . the upper part of the house , which is all thereof that is inhabited , is divided into galleries , which go round it , and into lodging chambers . the galleries look down into the quadrangle within , and without are the lodgings , which have all a passage into them ; there are a great many of them , but they are small and uniform , as the cells or chambers of monks are with us . the front stands over against the high-way , leading to the seraglio ; and the grand seignior , every friday ( which is their sabbath , as the lord's day is with us ) passes by it to his devotions , so that embassadors may easily see him out of their windows . and the family , together with the chiaux and the ianizaries do obeysance to him in the porch , or do re-salute him rather ; for the fashion of the turks is , that the greater doth first of all salute the less , and therefore the grand seignior , as he passes , first salutes the people with a nod of his head ; and then they very officiously pay their courts to him , with acclamations and shouts . the lower part of the house is designed for the stabling of horses ; and to preserve it from fire within , it is all built with vaults or arch'd roofs , and without it is covered with lead . 't is true , such kind of building hath some advantages , and it hath as many inconveniencies to ballance them : for all things are made therein for necessary use , but nothing for delight and pleasure ; there is nothing of beauty or novelty that can entertain your eye ; there is no garden belonging to it , to divert a man by walking ; there is neither tree , shrub nor green herb , to delight your eye , you have only many wild beasts as your troublesome inmates and companions ; snakes you have in abundance , store of weazils , lizards and scorpions ; so that , sometime , when you would fetch your hat in the morning , from the place you left it the night before , you find it surrounded with a snake , as with a terrible hat band : and yet these animal● afforded me some kind of divertisement in my solitude , ( for you must give me leave to tell you all my entertainments . ) i once saw a weazil fiercely combating with a snake and though the whole family look'd upon her , yet she was not terrified therewith ; but tho her adversary struggled , and made what defence he could , yet she victoriously haled him in to her hole . another time i saw a weaz● carrying her young weasling from one place of the house to another , which , as she was● doing , she leapt down upon the middle of the table , where i and some of my guests were sitting after dinner , having a young one 〈◊〉 her mouth , which she very fairly left among us on the table , and skipt no farther than the door , ( as if she had waited what event would be●ide her youngling ) when we had satisfied our selves with the sight of that , yet shapeless , animal , we laid it down upon the ground , and then the dam ran hastily , and snatching it up , carried it to her desired place . another time i saw either a snake or a dragon , or a serpent , trod to pieces by the horses feet , in the stable ; her belly was very big , and , after i had caused it to be opened , i found three huge mice therein . 't was a wonder to me , how such a slow and creeping animal could catch so swift and so running an one ; and after he had catch'd him how he could swallow him down , by reason of the narrowness of his throat and jaws . but my wonderment was soon abated when i beheld another snake seize upon a mighty toad , and after he had him in his mouth , he began at the hinder part , and had devoured a great deal thereof , and yet the toad was still alive , and did what he could with his fore-feet to deliver himself from his enemy : 't was in this very posture when i saw it first , which made me to admire and to be almost of the opinion , that i saw a monster , an animal with two feet and a tail , as long as a serpent , but when i drew nearer , and perceived what it was , as i hit the snake with my staff , to make him let go his prey , which at last he endeavoured to do , that he might creep the nimbler away ; but whether he would or no , the toad stuck in his throat ; yet , at last , when with much-a-do , he had shaken him out , he could not shut his mouth , but continued gaping , in an ugly posture , till we had killed him . such a staff , if we may believe pl●●y , hath a kind of magical vertue to help child-bearing-women in the time of their labour . but , for my part , i was not content with the native animals of that country , but fill'd my house with outlandish ones too ; and my family busied themselves , by my order , to both our mutual contents , in feeding them , that we might the better bear the absence from our own country : for seeing we were debarred of human society , what better conversation could we have to drive grief out of our minds , than among wild beasts ? otherwise stones , walls and solitudes had been but lamentable divertisements for us . amongst these , apes led the van , which making us good sport , occasioned great laughter amongst us , and therefore you should seldom see them without a whole ring of my people about them , delighting to observe their antick tricks and gestures . i also bred up some wolves , some bears , some broad-horned stags ( miscalled vulgarly , bucks ) and common deer , also hinds , lynx's , ichneumons or indian rats , weasils of that sort which you call ferrets and fairys : and if you would know all , i kept also an hog , whose noysome smell was wholsome for my horses , as my grooms perswaded me : so that in my nomenclature of other creatures , 't is not fit i should omit my hog , which made my house to be mightily frequented by the asiaticks : they came thick and three-fold to see that creature , which is counted unclean by them , and by the books of their religion they are forbid to eat it , so that it being a prohibited animal among them , they never saw one before . yea , all turks are as much afraid to touch an hog , as christians are to come near to those who are infected with the plague . this humour of theirs being known , we put a pretty trick upon them ; when any body had a mind to send me a secret message , that he would not have my chiaux know of , he would include it in a little bag , together with a roasting-pig , and sending it by a youth : when my chiaux met him , he would ask , what he had there ? then the boy , being instructed before , would whisper him in the ear , and say , that a friend of mine had sent me a roasting-pig , for a present : the chiaux thereupon would punch the bag with his stick , to see whether the boy spake truth or no ; and when he heard the pig grunt , he would run back as far as ever he could , saying , get thee in with thy nasty present . then spitting on the ground , and turning to his fellows , he would say ; 't is strange to see how these christians do dote on this filthy impure beast , they cannot forbear eating of it tho' their lives lay at stake . thus he was handsomely chouzed , and the boy brought me what secret message was sent me . i keep also a great many sorts of birds , as eagles , jack-daws , muscovy ducks , balearick cranes , and partridges ; yea , my house is so full of them , that if a painter were to draw it , he may take from thence the copy for noah's ark. besides the delight that i and my family take in these creatures , to counterpoize our long absence from our own country , i got also this advantage by them , that now i know , by experience , what i could hardly believe when i read it in books . you know a great many books are full of printed stories , what ardent love some wild beasts have to mankind : i could never give credit to such relations , but looked upon them as romances , 'till i saw with my eyes , a lynx , which i got out of assyria , so passionately affected towards one of my servants , though known to him but a little while before , that for my part i could not deny but he was in love with him : for whenever he was present , she would mightily fawn upon him , and in a manner embrace him , and almost kiss him ; whenever he was about to go away from him , he would gently lay his claws on his cloaths , as labouring to retain him ; and when he was gone he would eye him ; and whensoever he was in sight , and would hardly ever remove his eye from that quarter ; during the time of his absence he was very sad , but upon his return he would skip and be jocund ; he could not endure he should be any time absent , for one time , when he went with me beyond sea , to the turkish camp , the lynx pined away by degrees , would not eat a bit , but at length dyed . i was troubled for his loss , for i had designed him , with another choice ichneumon ( which i had ) as a present for my master caesar , and the rather , because of the exceeding beauty of his skin , which made him look quite another thing from other lynxes : the best of the kind are bred in assyria , from whence this came , and their skins are sold here for fifteen or sixteen crowns of gold apiece . i question not , but these were the babilonians pells or skins , so much famed and valued amongst the ancients , of which mention is made in law-books ; in the title of publicans . if you please to hear me , i le tell you another story of a bird : i have among my other birds , a baleavic crane , which differs from the ordinary sort of cranes by a white plume of feathers , that grows hanging down from both his ears ; and besides , all the fore-part of her neck-feathers were black , and the turks adorn their turbants with it ; and there is some difference in their bigness . this baleavic bird was mightily affected with a spanish soldier , whom i had redeemed out of his cha●ns ; when he walked abroad the bird would walk abroad with him , though for many hours together ; when he stood still , so did the crane ; when he sat down she would stand by him , and suffer him to handle her , and stroke down her feathers , whereas she would not suffer any body else so much as to touch her ; whenever he was gone from home , she would come to his chamber-door and knock against it with her beak ; if any body open●d it , she would look all-a-bout , to see whether he were in the room ; and not finding him , she would traverse it about , making such a shrill din and noise , that nothing living could endure it ; so that we were forced to shut her up , that her noise might not offend us . but when he returned , as soon as ever she fixed her eyes on him , she would make to him , clapping her wings with such an antick posture of her body as dancers in a jig use to do ; or as if she had been to prepare herself for a combat with a pygmy . in fine , she at last used to lye under his bed at night , where she laid him an egg. thus i have given the story of the loves of brute animals towards man , now prepare your ears for another story of a contrary import , viz. the cruelty and ingratitude of another bruit towards man. i had an hart , that lived very quiet and tame with me for many months , but when her rutting or coupling time came , she grew on a suddain so wild , that forgetting all our respects , she flew upon every body that she met , as if she would have killed them with her horns , so that we were compelled , for our own security , to hamper her , and so shut her up in a walled place ; but one night , she broke from her prison , and run amongst all the horses , which , as i told you , in turky , use to stand all night in the yard , and where she made such a tumult amongst them , that she forced the grooms to drive her to her hold ; she wounded many of them , which set them into a rage , so that at last they drove her into a large stable , and there i gave them leave , with what weapons came next to hand , to destroy her : she defended her self stoutly at first , but they being forty to one , at last felled her , and made her pay for her breach of hospitality . when she was dead i cut her in pieces , and made a feast for the embassadors that then resided at constantinople ; 't was a hart or stag , of a huge bulk , such as use to come in the beginning of antumn , out of hungary into austria , at rutting times ; i bought him of some beggars , that made a gain of that trade ; they used to carry him about , and where they ask'd alms for god's sake , at the name of god they used to bow their heads , and the stag by custom had learned to do so too , so that the vulgar did admire the beast , as if he had some sense of a deity , and therefore he got a deal of gain to his keepers : this stag , by reason of his talness , i also designed as a present for caesar . having made mention of turkish beggars , give me leave to acquaint you with the nature of those kind of people in this country . there are fewer beggars here than amongst us , and they are commonly pilgrims that travel up and down , pretending some appearance of piety or religious profession ; some of them , besides their poverty , pretend distraction and simplicity ; and this sort is very much esteemed among them , for the turks count all mad-men and fools to be certainly designed for heaven ; and therefore they look upon them as demi-gods here on earth . some of those wanderers are arabians , who carry banners before them , wherewith , as they say , their ancestors fought against the christians , for the propagation of the mussulman religion : they that are of this rank are not ordinary beggars , neither do they ask alms of all passengers , but in the evening they offer you a tallow candle , a lemon or a pomegranate , and force it upon you , but you must give them double or treble the worth ; and by this means they seem rather to sell than to receive gratis . for the rest , they which beg amongst christians are set to do servile offices amongst the turks ; if a slave become lame , yet his master is bound to maintain him , and the veriest cripple amongst them yet brings in his master some profit . i remember , once i redeemed a spanish officer , bought by a turk , who was maimed in all his limbs , by reason of his wounds , and yet his master found means how to make him get his living ; he sent him over into asia , to look to the flocks of geese which he kept there ; and by his care in feeding them , he brought in sufficient gain to his master . now we talk of slaves , give me leave to digress a little , and to propound a quaere , whether he did well or ill with christendom , who first abridged the use of slaves among them ? i know there are many inconveniencies that attend the condition of slaves , but they are over-balanced by the advantages accruing thereby ; especially if a just and merciful slavery were allowed by some publick law , as was of old among the romans ; for then , perhaps , we should not need so many gallows's and gibbets as we have among us , to restrain those , who set an high price on their life and liberty ; to maintain which , their poverty prompts them to the most audacious attempts . liberty , without an estate to maintain it , is none of the best counsellors . all men are not able to bear poverty and freedom ; mankind , in general , is not so form'd by nature , as to be able rightly to govern himself ; no , he stands in need of a better and wiser conduct than his own ; otherwise , there will be no end of this transgressing ; for so some beasts will always be terrible to men , unless their fierceness be restrain'd by manacles and bonds . but in this case of slavery , the weaker mind of the slave is govern'd and esteer'd by the authority of his patron or master ; and , on the other side , the master is maintained by the labour of his slave . the truth is , both publickly and privately , the turks make a very great advantage of their slaves ; if any houshold-work be to be done , the slave is ready to perform it ; and , therefore , they have a proverb among them , he can never be poor , that hath but one slave . but then for works without door , if there be any rubbish to be carried out , or preparation made for any great building , the assiduity of slaves quickly performs what is enjoined them . this i take to be one reason , why our present buildings do not arrive to the magnificence of the ancients ; we want hands ( of slaves ) to carry on the work. i might instance also , that servile hands and heads have been great helps to the learned , to attain their so much celebrated learning and knowledge . what i have hitherto discoursed about slaves , you will look upon as a divertisement ; and so , pray , take it . this i can assure you of , that the turks , in their way , do make an huge advantage of slaves ; for if an ordinary turk bring home one or two slaves , whom he hath taken prisoners , in war , he accounts he hath made a good campaign of it , and his prize is worth his labour . an ordinary slave is sold among them for or crowns ; but if he be young , beautiful , and have skill in some trade besides , then they rate him at twice as much : by this you may know , how advantagious the turkish depredations are to them , when many times , from one expedition , they bring home five or six thousand prisoners . the romans of old were not ignorant of this gainful trade ; which made them set an high rate on or thousand persons , which they sometimes took at the sacking of cities , as their writings shew . but a turk , upon the like sack , would make ten times five hundred crowns of his prize , tho' by the rules of their religion they are not to make slaves of any of their own sect ; nor to disfranchize them , or set any price on their heads . but to return from this large digression . i formerly acquainted you with my sport in huming ; it follows , in course , that i must say something of my fowling . the turks are favourable to all beasts , as also to birds ; and especially to kites , because , they say , they eat up the carrion , and keep the streets clean and wholsome ; and , therefore , abundance of these birds fly up and down the town , as fearless of gin or snare , so that they are almost tame ; and when you whistle to them , they come about you , throw them up meat in the air , they 'll catch it with their claws . once i caused a mutton to be killed , and called the kites to prey upon the entrals ; i cut them in pieces , and threw them up into the air , by and by come ten or twelve or twenty kites , and a while after so many of them , that they almost shaded the house ; and they are so bold , withal , that if you hold out a piece of flesh , they will be ready to snatch it out of your hands . in the mean time , i stand with my cross-bow behind the pillar , and sometimes when i shot , i made the tail or feathers of one or other of them to fly off , and sometimes i gave one or two a mortal wound , and made them tumble down ; but this i did privately , when the doors were shut , that so i might not provoke the turks to indignation . i must tell you , i have partridges too ( to acquaint you with my whole stock of pleasurable recreations . ) you would wonder , as i my self did at first , how tame they are . they were brought from chios with red feet and beaks ; they were so troublesome to me , by standing at my feet and picking out the dust out of my velvet pantofel , with their beaks , that they might dust themselves therewith , that to be rid of the molestation , i was forced to shut them up in a chamber , where , in a short time , they grew over-fat and dyed , as my servants told me ; yet pliny says , in a certain place , that hares and partridges never grow fat . you have yet but a small ground for your wonderment ; but , pray , prepare your ears for what follows . the isle of chios is full of these birds , and they live with the inhabitants in their houses ; every country-man , almost , keeps more or less of them under his roof , as their estates are , or their minds serve them . a publick keeper whistles them out in a morning , and they run to him into the high-way , and follow him into the field , ( as flocks of sheep do their shepherds with us ; ) there they stay all day to feed and bask themselves , and in the evening he whistles for them again , and then they covy together again , and return to their old lodgings . the custom arose from hence , as they say : assoon as ever the partridges are hatch'd , the country-men take them up and put them in their bosoms , betwe●● their skin and their shirts ; thus they carry them about a day or two , ever and annon moistning their mouths with their own spittle . this courtesy doth so oblige the young birds , ( as partridges , as well as other birds , are mindful of human civilities , if i may so speak ) that they cannot forget their fosterers ; and yet care is to be taken , that they stay not out in the field all night , if they do so two or three times , they quickly forget human hospitality , and return to their own natural free life in the open field . i have taken a great deal of pains to procure such a fosterer of partridges to send him to caesar , to teach emperors that aviary discipline . 't is true , i never saw this done with my own eyes , yet so many creditable witnesses have affirm'd the truth thereof , that i believe it as well as if i had seen it . and i give equal credit to the story , i am now about to tell you . it is so known a truth in this country , that he were an absurd man that w●uld go about to deny it . they that came to constantinople from egypt , ( as many do continually ) do affirm it for certain , that chicken are not hatched , as with us , by an hen sitting abrood upon them , but there are some appointed officers , that in spring time , gather all the eggs of the neighbourhood and put them in a certain kind of oven , which they make of dung and trash , heaped up together , and by the heat of the sun and the hot putrid vapors , the chicken , in due time , 〈◊〉 imated and break their shells ; and then the owners come to claim the c●●ckens , which the overseers of the work deliver out to them , not by tale , for that would be too tedious , but by admeasurement . i mention this the rather , because i read of such a passage in vopiscus ; where the emperor adrian , being angry with the egyptians , inveighs against them with this sarcasm ; i wish them , says he , no greater curse , than they may always feed on the●r own chicken , which how they are hatch'd i am as●●aam'd to tell . so that without question , this was an old custom among the egyptians , and , therefore , adrian upbraided them with their food , which he looked upon as obscene , being begotten by dung and dirt. you may think , perhaps , that i am mistaken , but i leave the matter with you , and shall now hasten to acquaint you , with the rest of my divertisements . be pleased then to know , that i have also a breed of brave horses ; some from syria , others from cilicia , arabia , cappadocia , together with divers camels , sumpture horses , and all utensils fit for a journy . for i would have the turks believe , that i have now executed all my masters commands , and wait only for my dismission to return home , which i press with great importunity , knowing that by reason of the present discord among them , and the war between the two brothers , i may obtain the better conditions of peace from them . as i take pleasure in my horses an other accounts , so especially when in an evening i behold them brought one by one , out of their stables , and placed in the yard , that so they might enjoy the night-air in summer-time , and rest more sweetly ; they match out so stately , and shaking their mains on their high necks , as if they were proud to be seen ; they have fetters on their fore-feet , and one of their hinder feet is tyed with a cord to a stake there is no creature so gentle as a turkish horse ; nor more respectful to his master , or the groom that dresses him . the reason is , because they treat their horses with great lenety . i my self saw , when i was in pontus , passing through a part of bithinia , called axilos , towards cappadocia , how indulgent the country-men were to young colts , and how kindly they used them soon after they were folded , they would stroke them , bring them into their parlors , and almost to their tables , and use them even like children ; they hung something about their necks , like a jewel , even a garter which was full of amulets against poyson , which they are most afraid of ; and the grooms , that are to dress them , are as indulgent as their masters ; they frequently sleek them down with their hands , and never use any cudgel to bang their sides , but in cases of great necessity . this makes their horses great lovers of mankind ; and they are so far from kicking , win●ing , or growing untractable by this gentle usage , that you shall hardly find such a masterless horse among them . but alas , our christian-grooms treat horses at another-guess rate ; they never think them rightly curried , till they thunder at them with their voice , and let their club or horse-whip , as it were , dwell on their sides . this makes some horses even to tremble when their keepers come into the stable , so that they hate them and fear them too . but the turks love to have their horses very gentle , that at a word of command they may fall down on their knees , and in this posture receive their riders . they will take up a staff or club upon the road , which their rider hath let fall , with their teeth , and hold it up to him again ; and when they are perfect in this lesson , then for their credit they have rings of silver hung on their nostrils , as a badge of honour and good discipline . i saw some horses , when their master was fallen from the saddle , that would stand stock-still , without wagging a foot , till he got up again . another time i saw a groom standing at a distance , in the midst of a whole ring of horses about him , and at a word of command they would either go round or stand still . once upon a time i saw some horses , when their master was at dinner with me in an upper-room , did prick up their ears to hear his voice ; and when they did so , they neighed for joy. and yet this is usual and common to all turkish horse , that they run forward with a stiff and stretch'd-out neck , so that they cannot easily be stopp'd or hinder'd in their course , but by fetching a large compass about ; which , in my judgment , is the fault of the bri●les they wear , which all over turky are of one make , and not contrived harsher or tenderer , according to the neashiness of the horses mouth . i must also acquaint you , that the turks do not shooe their horses as we christians do ; our shooes are very open in the middle , but theirs are broad-web'd shooes , that so their feet may be less endangered in travelling . their horses do also live longer than ours . i have seen an horse of theirs as lusty at years old , as ours are at eight ; yea , they say , in the stables of their emperor , there are horses of years old ; and which , for some great merit , are exempt from labour , and feed daily at the seignior's charge . the turks , in summer-nights , when the weather is hot , do not keep their horses in their stables , as we do ; but do cover their backs with horse-cloths , and so bring them forth into the open air ( as i told you before ; ) and for litter , they have only dry'd horse-dung , which they save all the year long , and spread under them for their bedding : as for straw , they make no use of it at all , either for littering , or feeding them . their usual food is a little hay , and a small quantity of barly ; with this meat they grow not fat , for their masters love lean horses , as being fitter for race , and burden , than foul-bodied ones . they cover them with horse cloths , both in the winter and summer , only they are thinner in the one than in the other . this contributes much to the smoothness of their hair , and is also a good relief to their chilly horses , which cannot endure the cold. in those steeds , as i lately told you , i take a great deal of delight ; when , about sun-set , they are brought out of their stables , and placed in a row in the yard ; where i call each horse by his usual name , as arahs , caramanian , &c. whereupon they fall a neighing and give a glance of their eyes and stare at me . sometimes i go down among them , and give to each of them a piece of melon-rind out of my hand , which makes them know me so well . thus you see , what shifts i am put to , to drive away my melancholy . i have also six she-camels , which i keep by me , ready to carry my baggage , as i pretend to the turks ; but my true design is , to bring them to my master the emperor ; if peradventure he , with other chri●●ian princes , may have a fancy to them , to breed them because of their great use . there are two things of which the turks make mighty advantage of , which are rice among the fruits of the earth , and camels among the beasts of the field , both of them very convenient in their several kinds , for long expeditions ; as for rice , it is not easily spoil'd ; it affords very wholsome nourishment , and a little of it will serve a great many people . and for camels , they'● carry huge burdens ; they will endure hunger and thirst to admiration ; and also they require little attendance ; one keeper will keep six or eight of them , and no creature in the world is more obsequious to his owner than the camel ; and for currying of them , they do it not with a curry-comb as we do , but with brushes , as we do our wearing apparel ; they rather kneel than lie down , on the naked ground ; and in this posture they offer themselves to be loaded ; if you lay too much on their backs they'● grumble , a little , and refuse to rise , for their backs will be easily broken under over-great burdens , especially in ways that are slippery and dirty . i was mightily taken to see them stand all round in a ring , and with their join'd heads , take water or other food , out of the same bason or other vessel , with such agreement among them ; and when fodder is scarce , they live upon tops of brambles or thorns ; and when their chops are bloodied in gathering them , then they eat them down most sweetly . the s●thians send a great many camels to constantinople , but the most part come from china and alsyria : from those countries , there are whole droves of them ; and they are so cheap , that a mare of a good breed is worth an camels ; wherein , perhaps , they respect more the scarcity of ma●es than the cheapness of camels ; for good mares are so scarce in that country , that he that gets but one , of that sort , thinks himself a very croesus for wealth . they try whether they are good or no , if they can run down a steep hill , and not trip nor stumble . when the grand seignior goes upon a military expedition into the field , he carries above of these camels with him , and as many mules for burden ; and these he lades with all sorts of victuals , especially with rice . they also carry tents , arms , and other utensils of war , upon them , especially when he marches into persia. for , you must know , that the countries over which the sophi , or , as the turks call him , chifibas of persia reigns , are not so fruitful of provisions , as our european countries are . the reason is , because the custom of the inhabitors is , upon the approach of an enemy , to destroy all before them , that so fire and famine might send him further off ; so that if the invader , bring not great store of provision with him , he will be in danger of starving ; and if he once do approach his enemy , yet he doth not presently open his store of provision , but reserve it for his retreat ; which , he knows , must be through those places already wasted by such a multitude of men and beasts , that , like locusts , have before pilled all the country ; then , indeed , the grand seigniors stores are opened , and some small allowance given out daily to the ianizaries and other dependents of that prince , enough to keep them alive , and that is all . as for others , it goes hard with them , unless they have made some provision for themselves before-hand ; and some of their soldiers , especially horse , are so fore-sighted that in prospect of such difficulties , they carry a led horse along with them , with viands and other things to support them , if need be . upon this horse they usually carry some blankets , that they may spread abroad , as tents , to defend them from sun and rain ; also some other cloaths to wear , and withal two or three wicker baskets , full of the best flower they can get , with a small pot for butter , some spice and salt ; with these , in case of necessity , they kill their hunger . they take out a few spoonfuls of their meal or flower , and pour water upon it ; then they add a little butter , and so seasoning it with spice and salt , they set it on the fire , and when it boyls , it swells so that it will fill a large platter : they eat hereof twice or thrice a day , as their store holds out , but without eating bread with it , unless they have brought some biskets along with them : with this thin dyet , for want of a better , they can live a month or two , till they come to richer quarters . there are some of them who carry dryed beef , ground to powder , in a kind of snap-sack , that 's a more nutritive and a choice viand amongst them : and sometimes they eat horse flesh , for in a vast army a great many horses must needs dye , and if any of them be more fleshy than others , that makes a great feast for hungry stomachs . and they who have thus lost their horses , ( for you must know that too ) when the grand seignior or vizier removes his camp , stand in a row before him the way he is to march , with their saddles on their heads , signifying hereby the loss of their horses , and by that mute sign begging relief towards buying a new one , and their prince gratifies them , at his pleasure . thus the turks surmount huge difficulties in war , with a great deal of patience , sobriety and parsimony , reserving themselves for more favourable circumstances . but our christian soldiers carry it otherwise , they scorn homely fare in their camps , they must have dainty bits , forsooth , such as thrushes , black-birds , and banquetting stuff , if they have not these they are ready to mutiny , as if they were famished : and if they have them , they are undone , their own intemperance kills them if their enemy spare their lives . when i compare the difference between their soldiers and ours , i stand amazed to think what will be the event , for certainly their soldiers must needs conquer , and ours must needs be vanquished , both cannot stand prosperously together : for on their side there is a mighty , strong and wealthy empire , great armies , experience in war , a veterane soldiery , a long series of victories , patience in toil , concord , order , discipline , frugality and vigilance . on our side , there is public want , private luxury , strength weakned , minds discouraged , an unaccustomedness to labour or arms , soldiers refractory , commanders covetous , a contempt of discipline , licentiousness , rashness , drunkenness , gluttony , and that which is worst of all , they use to conquer , we to be conquered . can any man doubt , in this case , what the event will be ? 't is only the persian stands between us and ruin. the turks would fain be upon us , but he keeps him back ; his war with him affords us only a respit , not a deliverance : when he once makes peace with him , he will bring all the power of the east upon us , and how ready we are to receive him , i am afraid to speak . but , to return from whence i digressed . i told you before , that the turks use to carry their arms and tents on horse-back to the war , but they are such as belong chiefly to the ianizaries , for the turks are very careful to have their army healthy , and fenced against the weather , let him defend himself as well as he can against the enemy , that 's to his own peril ; but the publick takes care for his health ; hence it is , that a turkish army is better cloathed than armed . they are afraid of cold , as of their greatest enemy ; and therefore , even in summer-time , they are treble cloathed , and their inmost garment ( call it a wastcoat , or whatever you will ) i● made of course thread , which keeps then very warm . and to defend them also against the cold and showers , tents are carried about for them at the public charge ; and every ianizary is allowed as much space in th● tent as the dimensions of his body are ; so that one tent can hold twenty five or thirty ianizaries ; and that thick cloath , i spake of , is also supplyed out of the publick store . when it is distributed among them , they take this course , to prevent quarrels ; the soldiers are placed in the night by files , in a plac● appointed for that purpose , and there so many cloaths are brought out of the store as then are soldiers , and every one takes his dole 〈◊〉 the dark , so that if it is better or worse 〈◊〉 has no cause to complain . and , for the same reason , their pay is weighed out , not told , to them , lest any one should say , he was forced to receive light or clipt mony ; nor do they stay till the very day of pay , but receive it the day before . the arms that are carried are chiefly for the use of the horse , called spahi's ; for the ianizaries do usually fight on foot with musquets , at a distance , and therefore when an enemy is near , and a battle expected , the armour is produced , but usually such as is of an old make , and are part of the spoils obtained from former old fights and victories : these are distributed among the horse ; their other armour is but a light buckler . you may easily think , how odly such armour will sit on a man which is given out so hastily ; ones brest-plate is too narrow , another man's helmet is too loose , another coat of male is too heavy for him to bear , every piece hath some fault or other , and yet they must not complain , they count it cowardly so to do , for they resolve to fight , be their arms what they will , so great confidence have they in their victories , and in the frequent use of their arms. hence it is also , that they put their old foot on horse-service , which they were not used to before , for an experienced soldier ( they say ) will do valiantly , either on horse or foot-service . in my judgment , the old romans were of the same mind , and especially iulius caesar , who was wont to say , that his soldiers would fight well , even though they were perfumed ; for when the horsed the ten legions , upon a conference he was to have with ariovistus , what was his intent , think we ? but that they should fight on horse-back , if there had been need , though they were used to foot-service before ; and we know amongst the romans , their foot-service was quite another thing from horse-service ; but if you say , caesar's design was only to horse his men for carriage , but to make use of their service on foot , certainly he had run a great hazard thereby , if when ariovistus's choice horse were within a stone 's cast of the romans , and might have fallen upon them , that then the legion was to dismount their horses , to be disposed of , and ranged into a foot-tertia , or brigade , in an instant : with us , this would seem very absurd ; however it be , this is certain , that experienced soldiers will manage a fight after a different order than we do , so the romans did of old , and so the turks do at this day , with too good success ; so much for that subject . i return , farther to acquaint you , how indulgent the turks are to all irrational animals ; 't is true , a dog is counted an obscene and nasty creature by them , and therefore they will not harbour him in their houses ; but they nourish a cat as a chaster and modester creature , in their judgments : this custom they received from mahomet , their law-giver , who was so much in love with a cat , that when one of them fell asleep upon his sleeve , as he was reading at a table , and the time of his devotion drew near , he caused his sleeve to be cut off , that he might not awake the cat by his going to the mosque . however , though the turks have so ill an opinion of dogs , that they wander up and down the city of constantinople , and have no certain masters , so that they are keepers of streets and lanes , rather than of any certain house , and they live upon the off●l , which is cast out of their houses ; yet if they see any bitch great with young , in their neighbourhood , they give it bones , and some relicks of their table : this they count an office of pity amongst them . when , on this account , i have blamed them for performing such offices to a brute , which they would hardly do to a man , though a reasonable creature , like themselves , and to be sure , not to a christian ; their answer was , that god had given reason to man , as a fence against all peril , and yet he did abuse it , so that if any inconvenience or trouble hapned to him , it was his own fault , and therefore he deserved less pity : but god had bestowed no boon on brutes , but some natural notions and appetites , which of necessity they must obey ; and therefore they were to be relieved by man's help and commiseration ; and for this reason they take it very ill , if any brute creature be put to torment at his death , or that men should take any pleasure in tormenting them . this had like to cost a venetian gold-smith , that lived here , very dear , of late ; the story is worth the telling . this goldsmith did de'ight in the art of fowling , and among other birds , he once took one about the bigness of a cuckow , and almost of the same colour ; he had no great beak , but his jaws were so wide and large , that , when they were stretch'd a sunder , they did gape most prodigiously ; so that a man's fist might be thrust into them ; the man wondring at this strange kind of bird , caus'd him to be fastned to the upper lintel of his gate , with his wings spread abroad , and his jaws so extended with a stick , that he gaped hideously : the turks came often by his door , stood still , and looked upon it , but when they saw the bird did move , and was alive , then taking pity on it , out they cryed , what an abominable thing is this , that an harmless bird should be so tormented ? whereupon , out they call the man of the house , and drew him presently , by head and shoulders , to their criminal judge , where sentence was likely to be pronounced upon him , to be soundly bastinadoed ; but the bailo of venice ( so they call their embassadors or residents there ) hearing of the matter , sent presently one of his servants to demand the man , and the turkish caddy was so merciful as to let him go ; but many of the turks grumbled at his freedom . thus the poor goldsmith scaped a scouring : i laughed heartily at the story , for he told it me himself , ●s coming often to my house , and in what a ●errible fright he was in for the time ; and to oblige me the more , he brought me the bird to look upon : 't is of the same form , as i lately described , it flies about in the night , and ( as they say ) will suck milch kine , so that i am apt to believe 't is the goat-sucker of the ancients . such commiseration do the turks use towards all sorts of brute animals , especially toward the winged kind . over against my lodging there is a tall plane tree , whose spreading boughs make a delight some shade ; under that tree sometimes fowlers sit with abundance of such birds to sell in cages ; you shall have the turks buy several of these birds for a small matter ; and when they have bought them , they 'll let them fly out of their hands ; the bird presently flys up to the tree , and there she picks her feathers , and cleanseth them from the filth contracted in the cage ; she spreads abroad her wings and chirps . the turks that bought them , say , don't you hear how glad this bird is , and how he gives me thanks for his liberty ? if this be so , you 'll say , what! are the turks such pythagoreans , that they count all brutes sacred , and will eat none of their flesh ? i say not so , but on the contrary , they 'll eat any flesh set before them , either boyl'd or roasted , only they count mutton the properest meat , because sheep are made for the shambles , as they say ; yet they would not have men to make a sport at killing of them , as if they rejoyced in their torment . some of them will by no means be persuaded to kill small birds which sing in their fields and woods ; nay , they think it some injury done them , to restrain their liberty by caging them up . but all turks are not of that mind ; some of them keep nightingales in their houses , for the melodiousness of their tunes , and in spring-time they let them out to hire , to sing . i knew some , that carried linnets about , so well instructed , that if a man shew'd them a piece of mony out of his chamber , tho' it were at a great distance from them , yet they would fly up to fetch it ; and if the man would not let it go , they would sit upon his hand , and so accompany him from one room to another , still pulling at the mony ; and when they had got it , as if they remembred their errand on which they were sent , when their master whistled to them in the high-way , down they would fly to him again ; and as a reward for the mony in their bills , he would give them a little hemp-seed . but i shall proceed no further in such stories as these , lest you should think me a second pliny , or an aelian , and that i were designed to write an history of animals . i proceed then to other matters , and shall give you an example of the chastity of turkish women . the turks take more pains to have their wives modest than any other nation ; and , therefore , they ordinarily keep them close up at home , and hardly suffer them to see the sun ; but if any necessity calls them abroad , they go so hooded and veil'd , as if they were hobgoblins or ghosts . 't is true , they can see men through their veils or hoods , but no part of all their bodies is open to mans view ; for they have this tradition among them , that it is impossible for a man to look on a woman , especially if she be young and handsome , without desiring to enjoy her ; and by that desire the mind is excited , and therefore they keep them all covered . their own brothers have liberty to see them , but their husbands brothers have not the same permission . the nobler and richer sort , when they marry , do it with this condition , that their wives shall never set a foot out of door ; and no person living , either male or female , be the cause what it will , shall ever have leave to see them ; no , not their nearest alliance , in blood , except only the father and mother , who at easter , ( their bairam ) are permitted to see their daughter ; and in lieu of this strictness , if the wife have parents of the better sort , and she bring her husband a large dowry , the husband , on his part promiseth , that he will never have any concubines , but will keep to her alone . in other cases , the turks have as many concubines as they will , besides their lawful wives ; and the children of both are equally respected , and have as much privilege one as the other . their concubines they either buy , or take them in war ; and when they are weary of them , may sell them in the open market ; only if they have children by them , then they obtain their liberty . this made roxolan● stand upon her terms with solyman , in having brought him forth a son , when she was a slave , and thereby obtain'd manumission . hereupon she refused to submit to his will any longer , unless he married her , which he , doting for love , wou'd do , against the custom of the ottoman princes . a lawful wife , with them , differs from a concubine , only upon the account of her dowry , which a lawful wife hath , but a concubine hath not . and when once her dowry is assigned her , then she is a mistress , governess of the house , and all the other women under her . and yet the husband hath have to lye with which of them he please at his choice ; and when he makes known his pleasure to his wife , she bids the maid he desires prepare himself for his bed ; and she obeys , perhaps , more joyfully than her mistress commands her . only friday night , which is their sabbath , the wife claims as her due , and she thinks her self wrong'd , if her husband defraud her thereof ; other nights he may lie with which of his slaves he please . divorces are made among them for many causes , which men easily pretend ; and when a wife is divorced , her dowry is restored , unless she be put away on a dishonest account ; but women have but few ; to instance some among them few , this is one , if their husband do not allow them due maintenance ; and if they offer to abuse them against nature , ( a crime usual among them ) then the wife goes to the judge , and tells him , she can no longer endure to live with her husband ; when he asks the cause , they say nothing , but pull off their shoo from their feet , and turn it up and down , which is a sign among them of the unlawful use of copulation . the greatest sort among them , that have abundance of women , set eunuchs to guard them , not such as have only their stones taken out , but such whose yards are also impaired ; because otherwise they think , such as lost their stones only may desire the use of a woman , tho' not for generation , yet for pleasure . the great men also have baths at their own houses , wherein they and their women do wash , but the meaner sort use publick baths . a turk hates bodily filth and nastiness , worse than soul-defilement ; and , therefore , they wash very often , and they never ease themselves , by going to stool , but they carry water with them for their posteriors . but ordinarily the vvomen bathe by themselves , bond and free together ; so that you shall many times see young maids , exceeding beautiful , gathered from all parts of the vvorld , exposed nacked to the view of other vvomen , who thereupon fall in love with them , as young men do with us , at the sight of virgins . by this you may guess , what their strict vvatch over females comes to , and how 't is not enough to avoid the company of an adulterous man , for the females burn in love one towards another ; and the pandaresses to such refined loves are the baths ; and , therefore , some turks will deny their vvives the use of their publick baths , but they cannot do it altogether , because their law allows them . but these offences happen among the ordinary sort ; the richer sort of persons have baths at home , as i told you before . it hapned one time , that at the publick womens baths , an old woman fell in love with a girl , the daughter of a poor man a citizen of constantinople , and , when neither by wooing nor flattering her , she could not obtain that of her , which her mad affection aim'd at , she attempted to perform an exploit almost incredible ; she feign'd her self to be a man , changed her habit , hired an house near the maids father , and pretended he was one of the chia●xes of the grand siegnior ; and thus by reason of his neighbourhood she insinuated her self into the mans acquaintance , and after some time , acquaints him with the desire of his daughter . in short , he being such a man in a prosperous condition , the matter was agreed on , a portion was setled , such as they were able to give , and a day appointed for the marriage ; when the ceremonies were over , and this doughty bridegroom went into the bride-chamber to his spouse ; after some discourse , and plucking off her head-geer , she was found to be a woman . whereupon the maid runs out , and calls up her parents , who soon found that they had married her , not to a man but a vvoman : whereupon , they carried the supposed man , the next day , to the general of the ianizaries , who , in the absence of the grand seignior , was governor of the city . when she was brought before him , he chid her soundly for her beastly love ; what , says he , are you not asham'd , an old beldam as you are , to attempt so notorious a bestiality , and so filthy a fact ? away , sir , says she , you do not know the force of love , and god grant you never may . at this absurd reply , the governour could scarce forbear laughter , but commanded her , presently , to be pack'd away and drown'd in the deep ; such was the unfortunate issue of her wild amours . for you must know , that the turks make no noise when secret offences are committed by them , that they may not open the mouths of scandal and reproach ; but open and manifest ones they punish most severely . i am afraid the relation of that dismal example hath grated your ears . i shall , therefore , now indeavour to make you amends , by acquainting you with a pleasant story , which , i believe , will go near to make you smile . 't is this . upon the account of the troubles in hungary , there came lately a messenger to me , with an express from my master , the emperor . the bassa's would not let him bring his letters directly to me , as they were wont to be brought , but they carried him first into the divan . the reason of this their unusual procedure , was , because they would fain know what caesars letters did contain , before they were delivered , in regard they suspected i dealt not faithfully with them , in communicating my masters sense , but that i suppressed some of his concessions . the messenger was cunning enough for them ; for , having some inkling of the matter before-hand , he hid caesars letters , and only shew'd them those that were directed to me , from some particular friends . their interpreter , ebrahim , a polander by birth , had acquainted them before , that the letters , that brought any secret commands to me , were not written in an ordinary character , but in a new kind of way , called cyphers . as they were searching all my letters , at last they light upon one , that was wrote to me by a friend of mine , a secretary of burgundy . ebrahim saw , through the thinness of the paper wherein 't was writ , some shining letters , which were not of an ordinary sort . o , says he , to the rest , now i have found ●t , don't you meddle with any of the rest of the packet , for here 's the secresy in this . whereupon , the bassa's commanded him to open , read and interpret it to them , and they all stood listning to hear the news ; but ebrahim told them plainly , that he could not read one letter thereof . that 's strange , says the bassa's , what did you never learn the christian alphabet , or have you forgot it ? says ebrahim , this sort of character is only known to those who are secretaries to princes : they did not well understand him ; but however , say they , if it be so ; why do'st thou not make haste to the secretary of the bailo of venice , or of florence ? ebrahim presently makes haste to them , and shews them the letters ; ( they were writ in such a character that a child of ten years old might have read them ; ) but both of those secretaries , when they saw the letter was superscrib'd to me , threw it back again before they had scarce lookt upon it ; alledging , in excuse , that such kind of letters could be read by none , unless by him who had another cypher to unfold them . this was all the answer ebrahim could get of them . upon his return to the bassa's therewith , they could not tell what in the world to do : at last , starts up one ( i could not tell his name ) saying , there is a patriarch in town , an old man , and a christian , and , besides , a great scholar ; if any man living can read these letters , it must be he . when they came to the patriarch , he told them , he could not read a title of them , for they were not writ in greek , latin , hebrew or chalde● . thus they were disappointed there also . at last , haly bassa runs to rustan ( otherwise a man not ready to jest ) and says to him cardassi , ( brother in turkish . ) i remember , i had once a servant , an italian , who was skilled in all letters and tongues , i do not question about he could have read the letter ; but , alas ! he is lately dead . at last they being at a stand what to do , thought it best to send the letters , which they could make no use of , to me : i knew all the matter by ebrahim beforehand , ( neither could it be kept secret ; ) whereupon i began to stamp and fret that they had intercepted my letters against the law of nations , and in contempt of caesar who sent them ; and , withal , i bid ebrahim stay , and to morrow he should see that letter translated for the bassa's . the next day , when ebrahim appeared in the divan , they asked of him , whether i could read those letter ? read them , says he ! as easily as his own name ; and thereupon he produced some of them translated before them , viz. what i had a mind to discover . whereupon , says rustan , this embassador is but a young man , and yet we see he can understand what the old patriarch could not so much as read ; without doubt , if he live to be old , he will prove a very nonsuch of a man. for that reason it was , or perhaps some other , that a while after , having conference with rustan about our affairs , he treated me more familiarly than he used to do , ( which was a rare thing in him ) and at last he ask'd me , why i would not turn to their religion , and to the true worship of god ? if i would do so , he promised me great honour and large reward from their emperor solyman . i told him , i was resolved to continue in that religion , wherein i was born , and which my master caesar did profess . be it so , replayed he , but what then will become of your soul ? i subjoined , i hope well , for that too ; whereupon he , after a little pause , broke forth into these words . 't is true , indeed , and i am almost of your mind , that they who live holy and modest lives in this present world , shall obtain eternal life in the next , be they of what religion they will. that 's an heresie , that some of the turks have taken up , neither is rustan thought to be a true mussulman in all points . the turks think it a duty , and a work of piety in them , to persuade a christian they have any good opinion of , to their religion ; for then they think , they shall save a soul from destruction , and that they count a great honour to themselves , and the greatest charity they can do another man , to make him a convert to their religion . i shall now acquaint you with the effects of another conference i had with rustan , whereby you may see , what daily feuds are between the turks and persians , upon the account of religion . he ask'd me one time , whether the war did continue between spain and france ? i told him , it did . 't is strange , says he , that they should fall out that are of one and the same religion : i replyed , 't is no otherwise between those two princes , than 't is betwixt you and the persians . the dispute is not about religion , but about civil right , provinces , cities and kingdoms , which both lay claim to . you are quite mistaken , says rustan , we are not of the same religion with the persians , but do count them a more profane and heathenish sort of people than you christians are . but to return to the affairs of hungary . since my last return to constantinople , matters in hungary have received a very great alteration , it would be too tedious to describe them particularly ; and , besides , it were not conducive to my design . isabella , vvife to king iohn , is returned into transilvania , together with her son , having refused the transactions and broken the league made with the emperor ferdinand ; and the transilvanians , terrified by the turkish arms , have again submitted their necks to the old ottoman yoke . matters succeeding thus prosperously with the turks , they are not therewith contented , but grasp at all hungary too ; and , besides other places , they resolved to besiege sigeth , which signifies in the hungarian language , an island , or place naturally very strongly situated . and for this purpose they chose a general , who , upon the account of the prosperity of his arms in former times , created great confidence in his own men , and struck as much terror into his enemy : his name was haly bassa , an epirot , who had had good success in hungary before , and especially in the battel , wherein he overthrew sfortia palavicin , and the bishop of five churches . he was sent for from the utmost bounds of the turkish empire towards persia , and came with a great expectation to constantinople : my collegues were yet here with me , pressing for a dismission . 't was the pleasure of the bassa's that we should see him , in regard we counted him , as they thought , a very thunder-bolt of vvar. vvhen we came to him , he received us courteously , and made a great harangue to this purpose : that we should study peace , and rather than suffer hungary to be wasted with fire and sword , we should accept of those conditions , which the grand seignior had offered us . vve answered him , that we desired nothing more than peace ; provided , it might be had upon tolerable conditions ; but those which they offered , were against the honour and dignity of our master . thus we took our leaves , after he had treated us with a cup of vvater diluted with sugar . this haly was an eunuch , but the constitution of his body did seem to add to the vigour of his mind : he was low of stature , bloted in his body , of a bay-coloured countenance , a sour look , frowning eyes , broad shoulders and sticking up , between which stood his head , as in a valley . two teeth were prominent in his mouth , like boars tusks , his voice hoarse ; in a word , he was the fourth fury . the day after he makes great preparation for his expedition into hungary ; where having spent some time to provide materials , he at last marches against sigeth , and beats off those which were repairing dabock , a castle of caesar's ; but caesar , being acquainted long before with his design , sends ferdinand , one of his three sons , a young man , yet comparable , for greatness of mind , to any of the old generals , to oppose the torrent of bassa's force , and by his valour to retrieve affairs in hungary : he had no great force with him , but with a select body of horse he faces haly's army ; the turks that were present related to me , that 't was a goodly sight to behold the splendor , order and boldness of those forces . haly , being naturally of a fierce disposition , and having a far greater army , was even mad , to think , that an handful of christians should dare to look him in the face . there was a moorish piece of ground between both armies , which could not be passed without great danger ; ferdinand had no need to pass it , for his design was only to relieve sigeth , and to raise the siege : but haly bassa was not in the same circumstances , for unless he would make a base and unhansom retreat ( as the event afterward shewed ) 't was altogether necessay for him to do it : so that he , seeing to what straits he was brought , resolved to put all upon hazard , and accordingly he bent his bridle , to turn his horse towards that inconvenient place ; when , behold one of the sanziacks , that was near him , whose name i remember not , taking notice of the extream danger he was running into , leapt from his horse , and taking the bassa's horse by the bridle , sultan , says he ( for so the turks call the great dignitaries among them ) here you see into what a ieopardy you were like to cast both your self and your whole army ; you don't consider what an incommodious place this marish is : the christians are ready on the other side with arms in hand and courage in their heart , to receive us , when we are half drowned and half covered with mud ; and thus they in good order , will assault us , being disordered and out of our ranks , and will make use of all our imprudence , to obtain a most assured victory over us : nay , rather moderate your anger , and return to your self , and reserve so many brave men , with your self , for the service of your prince , and for better times . upon this speech , haly , as if he had remembred himself , drew back ; and there was not any turk amongst them , but was forced to confess , that the whole army was sav'd by the advice of that sanziack . when this matter was carried to constantinople , though the vizier , and the chief bassas could not deny the thing , yet they thought it dangerous to suffer the example of so audacious a fact in the sanziack to pass unpunished : 't is true , they did mutteringly commend both his fidelity and his prudence , yet to suffer disobedience to a superior officer to pass without a punishment , they thought it a dangerous case in military discipline , so that he was called back to constantinople , and there was cashiered for a time ; and when this offence was sufficiently punished , as they thought , then they bestowed upon him as good a command ; so that every body saw ●is punishment was inflicted rather for the preservation of the discipline of war , than for any due merit of his offence . but haly , a whil● after , having lost a great part of his army , by reason of the assaults and ambushes of the hungarians , made an ignoble and shameful retreat to buda , where for very grief he breathed out his hateful soul. but arck-duke ferdinand , on the other side , returned to ferdinand● his father , with the deserved laurel of victory , having performed an exploit , not only of great advantage for the present , but of much greater benefit to future ages , by the exemplarity thereof ; for hereby he made the turks to know , that if they proceeded on to press upon caesar , that he wanted neither able soldiers nor expert commanders to chastise their insolency . yet the turks of those borders did not carry it with any great modesty ; for while haly was yet encamped at sigeth , our men had scaled the walls of gran , and taken the city , having a castle near it of the same name , where they got a great deal of booty , and carried away the inhabitants , being most women and children . a messenger was sent immediately to haly , to acquaint him with the loss ; who coming into his presence , by the very consternation of his countenance portended some great mischief to have happned to them . the bassa presently asked him , how things went ? and what was the cause of his great fear ? sir , says he , the enemy hath taken and plundered gran , which great blow occasions my grief . a blow , fool , says the bassa , tell me of a blow , when i have lost my genitals ( to which he pointed with his hand ) that shew me to be a man : thus did he scoff at the consternation of the messenger , and undervalued the loss of gran , which was easily recoverable ; not without the laughter of the by-standers . moreover , in croatia and the adjoyning countries , several inroads were made by both parties , and each side did alternately suffer for their over-boldness and supine security , let me give you an instance , which was joyous to me , and i hope will not be unpleasant to you to hear of , though it happened somewhat before the before-mentioned passage● at sigeth ; but in writing an epistle , i do strictly observe the order of time. news was brought to rustan , from those parts , that a certain confident of his , whom he highly esteemed , and called cousin , had fallen upon a party of christians , as they were celebrating a wedding , a●d being at a sufficient distance , as they thought , from the turks , counted themselves secure ; when behold this bold and unwelcome guest , with armed forces , came in upon them , spoiled their mirth , slew some , took some prisoners , among whom was the unfortunate bridegroom , with his unbedded spouse : rustan did much rejoyce at this exploit , and in all company highly commended the stratagem of his kinsman , for performing it . a pitiful case , you will say , rather to be lamented than related : but these are the tragical sports of insolent fortune ; yet revenge followed him at the heels , rustan's laughter was soon turned to sadness : for a little while after one of the belies or mad sparks , a sort of mad horsemen among the turks , so called by their outragious boldness , came post to him out of dalmatia , and told him , that a parcel of turks had made an excursion into the enemies country , and had got great booty , but setting no bounds to their avarice , they , at last were encountred with a party of christians , dragoons or musketeers , who wofully routed them , slew many sanziacks , and amongst them his achillean cousin , lately so much extolled by him . this sad news made rustan burst forth into tears , so that his fit of laughter was justly requited : but hearken to the close of the story , which is not unpleasant ; when this dalmatian trooper , who brought the news , was ask'd by the bassa , in the divan , how many were there of you ? he answered , above two thousand five hundred : and how many of the christians ? i think , said he , they were not above five hundred , unless there were more of them in ambush , as we suspected . fy for shame , said the fretting bassa's , what ? a just army of musulmans ( so they call the men of their own religion ) to be beat by so small a handful of christians , you are goodly warriours indeed● fit for to eat the sultan's bread , are you not ? the blunt fellow , nothing dismayed , replied , you are quite beside the cushion ; did i not tell you , that we were beaten by musketeers ? 't was the fire defeated us , not the valour of our enemies ; we had come off conquerors , if we had contested by valour only ; but who can fight against fire , the fiercest of elements ? and what mortal can stand if the very elements fight against him ? this bold answer of his , being as saucily pronounced , made the by-standers ready to burst out into a laughter , though on this sad occasion to them . this matter did mightily refresh my spirits , which were over-grieved at the remembrance of the former mis-hap of the marriage-feast . this story informs us , that our pistols and carbines , which are used on horseback , are a great terror to the turks , as i hear they are to the persians also ; for once , upon a time , there was a fellow that perswaded rustan , when he accompanied his prince in a war against persia , to arm two hundred horse of his domesticks with pistols : for they , said he , will be terrible to our enemy , and will also do great execution upon them . rustan hearkned to his councel , and furnished out a party , as advised ; but before they had marched half way , their carbines or pistols were ever and anon out of order , one thing or other was broke or lost , and scarce any body could mend them : hereupon this party was useless , and the turks were also against this armature , because it was sluttish ( the turks being much for cleanliness in war ) the troopers hands were black and sooty , their cloaths full of spots , and their case-boxes that hung by their sides made them ridiculous to their fellow soldiers , who therefore jeered them , with the title medica menturi , or mountibank soldiers ; hereupon they apply themselves to rustan , complaining of this ill-favoured , useless armour , which could do no service against an enemy , and entreating to be restored to their usual weapons , their bows and arrows , which , at their desire , was accordingly granted them . the mention i made a while ago of things acted in the confine of hungary , gives me occasion to tell you , what the turks think of duels , which amongst christians is accounted a singular badge of personal valour : there was one arslambey , a sanziack , that lived in the frontiers of hungary , who was very much famed for a robust person ; he was expert at the bow , no man brandished his sword with more strength , none was more terrible to his enemy ; not far from him there also dwelt one vlybey , a sanziack also , who was emulous of the same praise , and thus emulation ( initiated perhaps by other occasions ) at length occasioned hatred and many bloody combats between them . it happened thus , vlibey was sent for to constantinople , upon what occasion i know not ; when he came thither , the bassa's had asked many questions of him , in the divan , concerning other matters , at last they demanded how he and arslanbey ( a●sta signifies a lion in turky ) came to fall out ? hereupon he makes a long narration of the grudges between them , with their causes and progress ; and to put a fair paint on his own cause , that once arslanbey had laid an ambush , and wounded him treacherously ; which , said he , he need not to have done , if he would have shewed himself worthy the name he bears , seeing i have often challenged him to fight hand to hand , and never shunned to meet him in the field . the bassa , as being offended , thus replyed , how durst thou challenge thy fellow soldier to a duel ? what , was there never a christian to fight with ? do both of you eat your emperours bread ? and yet , forsooth , you must go about to take away one another's lives ? what precedent had you for this ? don't you know , that whoever of the twain had dyed , the emperour had lost a subject ? whereupon , by their command , he was haled to prison , where he lay pining many months● and was , at last , with difficulty , released , yet with the loss of his reputation . 't is quite otherwise with us christians ; ours do many times draw their swords against one another , before ever they come in sight of a publick enemy ( the more 's the pity ! ) and count it ( forsooth ) a brave and honourable thing : what shall a man do in such a case ? when vice usurps the seat of vertue , and that which is worthy of punishment is counted noble and glorious . but to return , i know you are inquisitive , and therefore give me leave to acquaint you with the publick entrance , which the king of cholcos made into this city . his kingdom is by the river phasis , in a creek or bay of the euxine-sea , not far from mount caucasus ; his name is dadianus , a man of a tall stature and promising countenance , but of a rough-hewen disposition , as some say . he came with a great train , but very thread-bare , and sorrily garbed . the italians , at this day , call the colchians mingrelians : they are some of that people inhabiting between the caspian gates , ( called by the turks , demit capi ( i.e. ) irongates ) and the portic and haircanian seat : they are at this day called georgians , whether from that sort of christian religion , which they profess , or whether that be their ancient name ( which seems most probable , ) is not fully determined . the albanians and iberians are reckoned a part of them . the cause of his coming is uncertain , some say , he was sent for by the turk ; for when he makes wars upon the persian , if the colchians and the people of that tract join with him , they may give him notable assistance . but the vulgar and more credible opinion was , that he came to desire the assistance of some gallies against his neighbour , the iberian , who had slain his father , which if he could obtain , then he would become tributary to the sultan . for , you must know , that there is an old and inveterate hatred between the colchians and the iberians . once there were some overtures of accommodatio● between them , and a conference was had thereupon , between great numbers of both nations ; at this meeting , they began , first , to try who should be the greatest drinkers ; in which contest , the colchians were overcome , and fell fast asleep . the treacherous iberians made use of this opportunity , and hurried away honest dadianus , as yet snoring , into a chariot , and shut him up prisoner in an high tower , as if he had been lawful prize taken in war. to revenge this injury , and to recover their king , the colchians levied an army of men , who were commanded by the vvife of the captive king ; a woman of great spirit , and not unskill'd in horsemanship , nor handling of arms. the commanders , in this army , wore huge and intractable coats of male , and were also armed with swords and spears pointed with iron . they had also amongst them , a party of musketeers , a strange sight in that country . as for the common soldiery , they had no other arms but arrows , or stakes burnt at one end , or great vvooden clubs . thus they rode on horseback , without saddle or other furniture . this rude and discomposed multitude , drew near to the place where their king was in custody , but were soon terrified with the discharge of a few guns , from the castle , and run back a full mile ; but then taking heart , on they came again , but were repulsed with the like noise as before . dadianus perceiving help so near , did cut his bed-cloths into a kind of ropes , and so let himself down by night , through his vvindow , and fled to his own people ; which stratagem of their king , and the successful issue thereof , is highly praised by that people , even to this very day . the country of colchis abounds with all sorts of fruits , growing almost naturally , except bread-corn , vvheat and barly , and these grains would grow there also , if due tillage were used about them ; but the people are very idle , they only sow millet at random , which yields such an encrease , that one crop serves them for two years ; their chief subsistence is thereon , neither desire they any other corn. their vines grow at the foot of high trees , and mounting up to their boughs , yield them much vvine , and pretty good . these vines last for many years . their bees●● like themselves , live in their woods , and supply them with wax and hony ; all the pains they take , is , to find them out . the same woods yield them plenty of venison ; as for phesants and partridges , they abound all over the country . a great proof of the fertility of their land , are their melons , which , besides their extraordinary sweetness , do oft grow three foot long . as for coin'd silver , they have little or none , and of gold less ; few of them know what it is : so that they may seem a very happy people , who are without so great a temptation to mischief . and yet i think few of us do envy them this happiness , because none can grow rich among them ; yet they have that value for silver , that when they receive any in traffick , with foreigners , as some of them must needs do , they transfer it all to the use of their temples , for making crucifixes , chalices and such like ornaments , which sometimes their king , on pretence of publick necessity , doth seize upon , and hurry all to his own use . their only way of commerce among themselves is by exchange of wares ; if one have over-much of a commodity , he brings it into the market , and receives what he wants in-exchange ; so that there is no need of money , their commerce is by bartering or commodity . they pay also their tribute to their king in the products of the earth ; they supply him with all necessaries largly , both for meat and drink , and apparel , for maintaining of his houshold , and for rewarding the deserving . and , indeed , he hath an unexhausted revenue , not only from tythes , and other regalia , but from those gifts which are daily bestowed upon him ; and yet he is as liberal in bestowing them , as he is ready to receive them . his palace is , as a publick granary , stored with all manner of provisions ; which are disposed to all that need out of his royal bounty , especially if that years harvest hath disappointed the husbandman . the custom is , that if any merchant come with his ship thither , he makes a present to the king , either small or great , nothing is refused , and the king bestows a banquet on them a shore . the manner 's thus . there is a large building , on both sides of which are the king's stables , where a long table is plac'd for the king ; he himself sits at the upper end , and , at a moderate distance , ●it the rest . the table is well furnished , especially with venison , and with wine enough ; the largest drinkers are the welcomest guests . the queen , with her female attendants , hath a table in the same room , but apart by themselves ; and then they junket freely without much regard of modesty ; they carry themselves like anticks , fleering , nodding , whickering like so many medea's , if there were iason's ready for them . after dinner , the king , with his guests , goes a hunting ; and , in vvoods , under the shadows of large trees , the common people do disport themselves , keeping holy-day in drinking , dancing and singing . they hang their fiddles on long poles or borders , and then striking them with a stick , they sing the praise of their mistresses , or of their valiant men at the tune . among their hero's ( unless i am misinformed ) they oft mention one rowland ; how he came into that country i know not , unless he passed thither with godfrey of bullogn . they tell many prodigious stories of this rowland , as ridiculous and improbable as any romance among us . whilst they are thus idle and sullied , dissoluteness must needs follow ; and , to speak truth , chastity is a rare vertue among them . the husband will offer his own wife or his sister , to the pleasure of a stranger ; and if they can but thus please their wives , they care for little else . neither are their daughters kept under any stricter discipline ; 't is hard to find a damsel unvitiated among them ; yea , some have born children at ten years old ; and if you scruple to believe it , because of the smalness of their bodies , at your request they will produce you such a young infant , not much bigger than a large frog . whereas , otherwise , they are a tall and comly bodied people . but they are so devoid of all civility and courteous entertainment , that they think they grace one every much among other barbarities , when they meet you , they make a certain sound in their throats like b●lching . in one thing they shew a great dexterity of wit , and that is in stealing . he that pilfers most neatly , is counted a brave fellow ; but he that does it bunglingly , is esteemed a dunce and blockhead , not worthy to live ; and even his own father or his son , will sell or exchange him for a small matter to merchant-strangers , to be carried away they care not whither . an italian merchant who had been in these parts , told me , that a certain priest of theirs , stole away his knife as he was in their temple ; he perceived the theft , but dissembling it , he gave him the sheath also , that he might put up his stoln ware. when they go into their temples , they have a good esteem for the images of the virgin mary , of peter and paul ; but above all , they venerate the image of st. george on horseback , they fall down prostrate before it , kissing every part of it , even his horses shooes . they say , he was a valiant man , a great warrier , that in a single combat did openly fight hand to hand with the devil , and either conquer'd , or , at least , foil'd him . i 'll acquaint you with one passage more , which you cannot but stand amazed at . 't is this . the princes of the east are always presented with gifts at any audience . dadianus , in complyance with this custom , brought solyman a cup or dish of carbuncle , so bright and shining , that in a dark night a man might travel by the light thereof , as well as at noon-day . i cannot believe it , you 'll say : nor do i. neither can i be angry with you for suspending your belief ; but whatever you and i do , let me tell you , there are enough that do believe it . the most judicious think it to be a small goblet of onyx or gravale , which was lost in shipwrack , when a certain prince of persia was flying from his father to constantinople , and driven , by a tempest , to the colchian shore , where it was taken up . he brought also white hawks , called , falcons , there being plenty of them in that country of colchis . this is all i can inform you of , concerning the colchians and their manners ; let me now proceed to answer your demands concerning my self , and my own way of living . i seldom go abroad , unless i receive letters from my master to be delivered at the court ; or , unless i am commanded to expostulate with the bassa's concerning the rapines and cruelties of the turkish garisons , which is ordinarily twice or thrice a year . perhaps , if i would desire leave to ride about the city with my keeper , it would not be denyed me● but i have no mind to be so much beholding to them ; for i would have them to think , that the straitness of my confinement or imprisonment is not valued at all by me ; and , to speak truth , what comfort can i have to ride up and down among a parcel of turks , who will either slight or else jeer , and reproach me ? no , i like the country and the campaign better , rather than that city , which is so full of ruins , and which retains nothing of its ancient glory , besides its situation . 't is true , 't was once a competitress with rome it self , but now , alas , it is wofully inbondaged ; who would not pity to behold it ? who so hard-hearted , as not to be affected with the mutability of human affairs ? and who knows how near we are to the same fate ? i keep my self within my own doors , conversing with my old friends , i mean , my books , in which is all my delight . 't is true , for my health sake i have made a bowling-alley , where , before dinner , i use to play ; and , after dinner , i practise the turkish bow. the turks are wondrous expert at shooting at the bow ; they accustom themselves to bend them from or , to or years of age , and hereby their arms grow stronger , and their skill so great , that they will hit the smallest mark with their arrows . their bows are not much stronger than ours , but for their shortness much more tractable ; they are not made of single wood , but of a string and ox's horn , fastned together with much glew and flax. these sort of bows , tho' never so strong , the turks , who are used to the sport , can easily draw even to their very ear ; and yet one that is not accustom'd thereto , tho' never so strong a man , cannot draw to that heighth , so as to strike a piece of mony , set upright between the bow and the string , in the angle where it is put into the notch . they aim their arrows so sure , that in a fight they will hit a man 's very eye , or any other part they design to strike . in the place where they exercise , you may see them direct , by their stroke so artificially , that or of their arrows will stick round about the white in the butt , ( which is usually less than a dollar ) and yet not hurt or touch it . they stand not above foot from the butt : in the thumb of their right hand , they use rings of bone , on which the string lies , when they draw it ; and with the thumb of their left hand , they draw the arrow by a knot of eminent juncture ; far otherwise than they do with us . their butt is made of a bank of sandy , gravelly earth , raised about foot high from the ground , and firm'd with boards round about . but the bassa's , and those that have great families , do train up their servants in this exercise , at their own houses , where the more skilful do teach the unexperienced . some of these in their common bayram , ( for they also have their easter ) gather themselves together in a great plain about pera , where , sitting over against one another cross legg'd , as taylor 's do with us , ( for that is the mode of their sitting ) they begin with prayer ( so the turks begin all their enterprizes ) and then they strive , who shall shoot an arrow furthest . the whole contest is managed with a great deal of modesty and silence , tho' the number of spectators be very great . their bows are very short for this exercise , and the shorter the better , so that they are hardly bendable , but by well-practised persons : their arrows also are of a peculiar kind . he that conquers hath a linnen-handkerchief , such as we use to wipe off our sweat , wrought with embroidered needle-work , for his reward ; but his greatest encouragement , is the commendation and renown he gets . 't is almost incredible how far they will shoot an arrow ; they mark the place , with a stone , where the furthest arrow , for that year , was pitch'd . there are many such stones in the field , placed there time out of mind , which are further than they are able to shoot now adays , they say . these were the marks of their ancestors archery , whose skill and strength , in shooting , they acknowledge they cannot reach to . in divers streets and cross-ways of the city constantinople , there are also such sports , wherein not only children and young men , but even the graver ●ort do exercise themselves in . there is one that takes care of the butt , who waters it every day , otherwise it would be so dry , that an arrow ( the turkish arrows being always blunt ) would not stick therein . and he that thus oversees the mark is very diligent to draw out and to cleanse the arrows , and throw them back to the archers , and he hath a stipend from them sufficient to maintain him . the front of the butt bears the similitude of a little door , whence , perhaps , was derived the greek proverb ; that when a man miss'd the mark , he is said to shoot extr● januam , besides the door ; for , i suppose , the greeks used this way of butting , and that the turks borrowed it from them . i grant the use of the bow is very ancient among the turks ; but that hinders not , but when they conquered the grecian cities , they might still retain their way of butting and bounding their arrows . for no nation scruples to transfer the profitable inventions of other nations to themselves , as i might instance in great ord●nance and in muskets , and other things , which tho' not our inventions , yet the turks borrow their use from us . 't is true , they could never yet be brought to the printing of books , nor to the setting ●locks publick ; the reasons are , that their scripture ( i. e. ) alchoran , would no longer be called scripture , or writing , if it were printed , ( that 's their fancy ; ) and for clocks , they suppose , that the authority of their emraim , and of their ancient rites would be diminished , if they should permit the use of them . in other cases , they ascribe much to the ancient institutions of other nations , even almost to the prejudice of their own religion . i speak of their commonality . all men know how averse they are from the approving of christian rites and ceremonies ; and , yet , let me tell you , that whereas the greek priests do use , at spring time , a certain way of consecration to open the sea for saylers ; before which time , they will hardly commit their vessels to the waters . the turks also observe the same ceremony . for when their vessels are ready to sail , they repair to the grecians , and ask them , whether they have consecrated the sea ? if they say , no , they desist ; if yea , then they set sail and away . 't was also a custom of the greeks not to open the pits , in the isle lemnos , for the digging out of the earth , called , agosphrogd , before the feast of the transfiguration of our lord , viz. august . the turks also observe the same custom ; and , whereas , the grecian priests did anciently celebrate the liturgy at that time , the turks will have them do so still ; and they themselves stand at a distance as spectators only : and if you ask them , why they do this ? their answer is , that there are useful customs practised of old , the causes whereof are not known . the ancients , they say , saw and knew more than we ; and , therefore , we will not violate their customs , lest we do it to our loss . this opinion hath so far prevailed among some of them , that i know some , who in private will baptize their children , alledging , they believe there is some good in that rite , and that it was not instituted , at first , without just cause . having acquainted you thus far with the turkish exercises , let me add one more . they have a custom derived from the parthians , that they counterfeit flying away on horseback , and presently turn back and kill their unwary pursuers . the way they learn to do it , is this : they erect an high pole , almost in plain ground , with a brass-globe atop of it ; about this they spur their horses , and having got a little beyond , the horse still galloping , they presently turn about , and flying along , shoot an arrow into that globe . the frequent use hereof makes them to expect , that their bow being turn'd in their sight , their unwary enemy is shot through . 't is time now , you 'll say , that i return to my lodging , lest my keeper be angry with me . well then , what time is left me from beholding these exercises , i bestow it all on my books , or in conferences with my friends the citizens of pera , originally genoeses , or others , yet not without the leave of my chiauxes . these fellows are not always in the same humour , they have their lucid intervals , and , also , sometimes , are more tractable than at others . when 't is fair weather with them , the ragusteans , the florentines , the venetians , and sometimes the greeks , with other nations , come to visit me , on one account or another ; sometimes , also , i converse with men of more remote countries , coming hither , whose conversation doth much delight me . a few months ago , there came thither a merchant from dantzick , who had the sole vending of amber : he wondred what use the turks put so great a quantity of it , as they bought , to ; or , whither they sent it : at last , he was resolved , that they sent it into persia , where that kind of juice or bitumen is highly esteemed ; for they adorn parlors studies and temples therewith . he bestowed upon me , a wooden vessel full of that liquor , they call tuppeabier . it was most excellent stuff . but i laughed extraordinarily at my guests● both greeks and italians , who , not being accustomed to this liquor , could not tell what to call it . at length , because i told them , 't was good to preserve health , they thought it was some medicinal drug , and called it a syrup ; but they sipp'd and syrupp'd it out so long , that , at one dinner , they emptyed my barrel . this liberty my chiauxes ( who are changed ever and anon ) do sometimes give me . they are not only willing i should go abroad , but also do invite me so to do : but i , as i told you before , use to refuse them , that so they may not think they can do me either good or hurt ; and the pretence i make use of is this , that i have tarried so long at home , that now i am grown to the walls of the house , so that if i go forth , it would fall . i will not , therefore , stir abroad , say i , till i go for good and all into my own country . as for my family , i am glad that they go abroad sometimes , for thereby they learn to bear the absence from their own country , the better . but yet when they make use of this liberty , the drunken turks do oft meet and quarrel with them in the streets , especially , if no ianizaries be with them ; and tho' they be , yet sometimes there happen blows on both sides : and , therefore , it is troublesome to me , to excuse my domesticks , when they are clamour'd against ; yet , i confess , the surlyness and vigilance of my chiauxes , in keeping fast my doors , do , in great part , ease me of that troublesome office. let me relate to you a late example of this kind . there came lately to me a messenger from my master , the emperor , one philip baldus , an italian , he was years old , and riding faster than his age could bear , he fell into a fever . my physician prescribed him a clyster , and the same being brought by the apothecary , my chiaux would not let him in , nor suffer the physick to be brought to the sick man : inhumanely enough , you 'll say , especially seeing the chiaux had carried it courteously to me a long time ; but now he was inraged on a suddain , that t was intollerable , for he threatned to cudgel every body that came to me . after he had thus affronted me , i thought of a way to let him know , how little i valued all his bug-bear threats , which was thus . i set one of my servants to stand within my gate , and to bar it ; commanding him , to open to none , but at my command . the chiaux comes in the morning to unlock the gate , as his custom was , but his key availed not , for 't was bolted ; on the in-side he spyed my man , through the chinks , and calls out to him to open it . not i , says he ; hereupon the chiaux began to be angry , to fret and to prate . prate , while you will , says my servant , neither they self nor any of thine shall come in here : for why should i open to thee , more than thou to me ? thou keepest us shut in , and we 'll keep thee shut out ; do thou shut the door without , and to be sure i 'll shut it within . what , says he , did your master command you so to do ? yes , said i : however , says the chiaux , let me come in and put my horse in the stable : not a jot of stabling for your horse here , said he . let me then have some hay and provender out for him : not a bit , says he ; go and buy it in the neighbourhood , there 's enough to be sold. i was wont to make the chiaux to sit down at meat with me , or else to send him something from my table ; but now the case was altered , he stood fasting as he was , at my door , his horse● being tyed to a plane-tree , over against it . the bassa's , and other grandees , using to pass by that place in their return from court , and knowing , by its trapping , that it was the chiaux's horse , gnawing of hay under the plane-tree , they demanded the reason , why he was not shut up in the stable , as heretofore ? he up and told them all the matter , that as he shut up us , so he and his horse were shut out , so that the one could not get food , or the other provender . when the rest of the bassa's heard this story , they laugh'd heartily , and from that time held it fruitless to go about to terrifie me with such frivolous vexations as the shutting of my doors . but a while after that chiaux was removed , and then we had more liberty . rustan himself was satisfied how vain his menaces were by this story i shall now relate . there came a certain aged sancto , of great esteem among them for his piety , to pay his court to him ; and , among other discourse , he told rustan , that seeing the sultans children were at discord one with another , which was likely to occasion great troubles in their empire , why he did not make peace with the german emperor , that solyman may be secure from danger on that side ? i desire nothing more , says rustan ; but how can i bring it about ? his demands i cannot yeild to , and my demands he will not accept , nor can i compel him so to do ; i have tryed all ways to bring him to my terms , i have kept him in the nature of a prisoner these many years , i have dealt coursely enough with him ; but , alas ! he is but hardned the more thereby ; when i would shut him up as close prisoner in his own house , then he bars his door on the inside , that no body can come at him ; thus all my labour is in vain : if another man had been so hardly dealt with , to avoid the durance , he would have turned to our religion ; as for him , he cares not a rush. this was rustan's discourse , as some present thereat informed me . the reason of their surly carriage , is this : the turks are very suspicious that the agents of christian princes have a great latitude in their commissions ; so that they have power to alter , as occasion serves ; if they cannot at first get favourable , then they may except of harder terms . to get out of them the full of their commissions , they vex their persons , shut them up close , threaten war , and abuse them all manner of ways . some think , that a certain venetian resident did much encourage the turks to these courses ; for when the dispute was between the venetian and turk , about napoli di romania , their agent had a charge to try all other ways of accommodation , without surrendring the city ; but if no milder terms would do , then he had liberty to part with that city , rather than to engage in war with the port : some venetian traytor declared this part of his commission to the turks , unknown to the resident himself ; who rather denyed that he had any other commands , than what he had then propounded , which were the gentlest terms . the bassa's judging themselves to be deluded , were very angry , and bid him have a care what he said ; their master was not to be mock'd , they knew well enough that he had other commands , and thereupon , they recited to him the full of his commission ; so that now , said they , if you do not tell us , we shall look on you as a liar and impostor , and then he would be punished as such ; and his commonwealth would certainly be ruin'd , if the implacable anger of solyman did once , on this occasion , stir him up to war against them ; and , therefore , speak now , or for ever hereafter , hold your peace : our master will not use entreaties , he hath power enough , god be thanked , to command obedience . the venetian agent was so surprized at this discourse , which he did not so much as dream of , that he up and told them all . for which yet , he was very much blamed in his own country . ever since that time , the turks have indulged their suspicions , that the christian agents do deal but partially with them ; and , therefore , they must humble them to tell all the truth ; upon this they imprisoned veldalic , the emperor charles's embassador , months , and my collegues more than three year , and at last sent them away , without doing any thing . as for my self , i know not how long i shall be kept in this durance ; for my part , i see no end thereof . when baldus , that ancient man of whom i spake before , came to me , they suspected that he had brought me new commands , which allowed me to yield to harder conditions of peace ; and they feared that i would conceal them , because i was well aware of their intestine discords ; so that by dealing harshly with me , they thought to extort the whole truth from me . upon the same design rustan once sent me a large gourd , called by the germans wasser-plutzer ; they grow very sweet at constantinople , their seeds are red within , and they came originally from rhodes . by this present , sent unto me by my secretary , rustan did jestingly insinuate the fear of a war ; it was brought me when the weather was very hot , and the juice is good to cool inward heat . he sent this complement with it , that i should make use of the fruit fitted for the time , it would refrigerate in this hot season ; but i should know , withal , that a great number of those plants did grow about buda and belgrade , of a much larger size than that which he sent me , meaning thereby canon-bullets . i returned thanks for my present , and told him , i should make use of it ; but for buda and belgrade , 't was no great wonder they grew there , seeing there was plenty of them , even of a larger size at vienna . it pleased me to let rustan know by my answer , that i could return quibble for quibble . but to return to the affairs of bajazet , which you desired to be further informed in . you may remember that his father dismissed him some years ago , upon this condition , that he should never hereafter affront his brother , nor raise up new tumults in the empire , but should live quietly and peaceably , as a brother ought to do . he should remember his promise made to himself , and not vex him in his old age , if he did , wo be to him . these threats had weight with bajazet , as long as his mother liv'd ; he kept his word rather to retain her good will and indulgence towards him , than that he had any consideration either for his brothers love or fathers good will. however , quiet he was for his mothers sake . but two years after her death , looking upon himself as desperate , he cut the cords of all filial obedience , and began to resume his former designs against his brother , and to execute his animosity with greater spight : sometimes he laid ambushes for his life ; at other times he attempted it by open force , and now and then he sent parties of his men into his brothers province , ( their provinces being contiguous one to the other ) and if he could catch any of his domesticks , he used them ill for their masters sake ; in ●ine , he left no stone unturned , to lessen his brothers credit , seeing he was not able to reach his life . besides , he had several partisans at constantinople , who endeavoured to draw over the seignior's guard to his side , and he did not doubt but as his design ripen'd , to come privately to constantinople , and there to abscond among his friends , till opportunity favoured his appearance in publick . solyman was made acquainted with all his designs , by letters from his son selymus , and warned him to take care of his life ; for if he did not look upon these nefarious attempts of bajazet , as pointed against himself , he was much mistaken : for he did not care what he did either against god or man , provided he might gain the kingdom thereby . your life , sir , said he , is aimed at as well as mine , and he would wound you through my sides ; his design was contrived long ago , but now he only seeks opportunity to execute it ; and therefore , pray , prevent his wickedness , before you irremedilessly be circumvented by him : as for my self , i can easily bear all his injuries , but the greatness of your danger doth more nearly concern me . these informations from selymus did more and more incense solyman against bajazet ; so that he put him in mind of his duty , by letter , telling him what great clemency he had used towards him , and what promises he had reciprocally made to him : call to mind , said he , those ancient things , 't is not so easie for you to get a new pardon . leave off wronging your brother , and creating trouble to me : i have but a little time to live ; when i am gone , god will shew which of you shall reign ; in the mean time , don't you disturb the publick peace , nor the tranquility of my grey hairs . but these expostulations wrought little with bajazet , who was fully determin'd to do his utmost , than to yield his neck tamely to his brothers sword ; for he saw plainly that would be his fate , if ever selymus mounted the throne . however , he answered his fathers letters submissively enough ; but his words and his deeds did not agree , neither did he intermit the prosecution of his intended design . when solyman saw this , he resolved to try another course , and to remove his two sons to a greater distance one from another ; and , therefore , he commands each of them , on a prefix'd day , to leave his province ( chiutna was bajazets , and selymus's ) and bajazet to go to amasia , and selymus to iconium . this was done , not out of any disfavour to selymus , but only to please bajazet , lest he should break out into extremes , when he was removed from his government , and not his brother from his . withal , he laid his command on them , the more they were severed by distance of place , the more they should be united by concord of mind . for ( said he ) vicinity of habitation doth oft breed discord betwixt brethren , and servants on both sides do ill offices to enrage and exasperate the minds of their masters one against another ; and , therefore , obey my commands ; he that refuses , i shall count him a contumacious son. selymus immediately left his province , as being confident of his fathers favour . but bajazet made many tergiversations , and when he was gone a little way he stopt his journy , complaining that the unlucky province of amasia was allotted , as a bad omen ; because his brother was slain there . i should rather , said he , go to any other province besides , than where the miserable exit of my relations will constantly come to my mind , and wound my very soul ; and , therefore , he desired his father to suffer him to winter at least where he was , or else in his brothers province . but solyman would grant neither of those requests . by this time , selymus was marched with an army which was augmented with some forces from his father solyman , ( for they were both afraid of bajazets plots ) against his brother , who yet made many halts and delays ; when , behold ! on a suddain , he fetcht a compass about , and appeared with his army on the rear of his brother , going towards pratias , a city of bithinia over against constantinople in the asiatic shore ; his father gave consent to his march , as not well pleased with the cautation of bajazet . for , they thought thus with themselves , that if bajazet could win over the guards to himself , and march to pratias , or even to constantinople it self , their matters as to solyman and selymus , would be in great hazard ; and , therefore , out of a common fear , 't was thought most adviseable for selymus to stay there , where he might expect most aid in case of necessity from the vicinity of the capital cities . for selymus had not yet force enough to encounter his brother in open field , without hopes of success . when bajazet saw his brothers army in his rear , and that he got nothing by his delay , save the certain knowledge , that selymus should reign if his father dyed , as his fear added to his sickness gave some likelihood thereof ; hereupon , he wrote letters to his father , wherein he laid grievous things to the charge of his brother selymus , as , that his present march did plainly declare , what a wicked intent he had towards his father , who was come ●o near the metropolis , that he might treacherously compass the empire , and that he might have but a short passage over if his father dyed . but if his father's life should impede his desire , then he would suborn some paricide or other to take it away ; and yet this is the son , forsooth , said he , that you have in your bosom , as if he were a very nonsuch for filial obedience ; whereas i , said he , who never entertain'd a bad thought against you in all my life , but was always observant of your very becks , am rejected and cast out of favour ; and yet the sum of my demands is only this , that an unlucky province might not be design'd for his government . to his words he added entreaties , humbly beseeching his father to gratifie him with any other government , either that which his brother left , or any other more fortunate one than that of amasia ; and , says he , i shall expect an answer in the place where i now abide , lest if any request be granted , i be forced to march a great way back ; but if your ears be deaf to my request , then i will march to what province you shall command me . and the truth is , bajazet had reason to be averse from amasia , for 't is a custom among them to build much on auguries and ill omens . but these letters were otherwise understood by solyman , who was well acquainted with his sons fears , and knew that he affected a government not so remote , but nearer to constantinople , that thereby he might have the better opportunity for innovations . thus bajazet made one excuse after another for his delay , and seemed to retard his fathers pleasure ; he listed soldiers , increased his army , rais'd mony , and provided all things necessary for his own defence , and the conquest of his brother . solyman looked upon his design against himself , yet the crafty old man dissembled it what he could . for he was unwilling to make bajazet quite and clean desperate . he was now grieved that the eyes of all nations were fix'd on that dissention between his sons , and therefore he design'd to use some delay , that the matter , if possible , might be composed with as little noise as might be . and , therefore , he answered bajazet's letters mildly , telling him . that as for the change of provinces , he was fully resolved to be obey'd therein ; and , therefore , he and his brother would do well immediately to repair to their respective armies . as for other concerns , he need not take care of them , for he himself would so order matters , that neither his brother nor he should have any cause to complain . solyman chose perian , the fourth vizier bassa , to carry those letters to bajazet ; and that he might seem to deal impartially between them both , he sent mehemet , the third vizier bassa , to selymus . he also laid a charge on both those bassa's , not to stir a jot from either of his sons , till they had both entred on their respective governments ; which was wisely done by solyman to leave such faithfull monitors with his children , which would daily put them in mind of their duties . accordingly , selymus did willingly admit his fathers bassa , but bajazet , whose mind was wholly set upon imbroiling the state , could not endure to have one of his fathers counsellors obtruded upon him , to be a witness of his designs , and to be a tell tale to his father . and , therefore , he dismissed the bassa , who was willing to have staid , having first courteously treated and presented him with gifts , according to his present ability ; and he did it with this pretence , that he had none else to represent his cause impartially to his father , but only himself ; and , if he would do him so good offices , he promised not to be ungrateful to him . he wish'd him also to tell his father , that his commands should always be to him as a law , but that he was forc'd to do what he did , for fear of his brother selymus , whose injuries and affronts he could no longer endure . by this message of pertan , solyman was assured of bajazet's design , tho' to colour the matter , and to put a blind on his fathers embassy , he pretended he would hasten to amasia . however , solyman was not slow in his preparations against bajazet , for he commanded the beglerbeg of asia , tho' sick of the gout , to assist his son selymus with a body of horse , and he sent also the most faithful of his guards to accompany mehemet bassa , ( who was also return'd from his embassies ) into asia on the same errand ; and he himself pretended he would gird on his sword and follow them . but , alas ! the guards shew'd themselves very unwilling to the service ; for they abominated the war betwixt brothers , as an impious thing . for against whom should they draw their sword ? was not bajazet heir of the crown too ? this unnecessary discussion ( said they ) may be compos'd without blood , neither are we to be forc'd to sheath our swords in one anothers bowels : as for bajazet , he is forced to do what he doth , in a way of self-preservation . when these rumours came to solyman's ears , he sent for the mufti ( the high priest of the turks ) from whom , as from an oracle , they expect answers to their doubts , and propounds a case to him in these terms . how them men ought to be dealt with , who durst disturb the peace of the empire , by taking of towns , and raising both of men and mony , while he was alive : as also what he thought of those , who were assistant to him in that design , and fought under his ensigns ; and , lastly , what was to be done with those who refus'd to engage against him , but rather justified his practises ? the mufti 's answer was , that such a person with all his followers were worthy of death ; and they that refused to fight against him were to be abominated , as prophane , and deserters of their religion . this answer was divulged among the commonalty , and by the chief of the chiauxes was transmitted to bajazet . a while after there came a chiaux to constantinople , who had been sent by solyman to selymus , but had been intercepted by bajazet ; by whom he sent a message to their father , to this effect ; that he would never fail in expressing his duty to his father , and that he never took up arms against him , but was resolved to be obedient to him in all things . the dispute was only between his brother and himself , who sought his life , so that he must fall by his brothers sword , or his brother ther by his . this difference might be decided in his fathers life , and , therefore , he desired him not to interpose or assist his brother , but to carry himself in an exact neutrality ; but if ( said he ) you pass over into asia , ( as report says you will ) to assist selymus , don't you think , i shall be speedily reduced ; for i know whither to retreat ; and , let me tell you , the first day you set foot in asia , i will destroy all by fire and sword , and will make it as desolate , as ever tamerlin or the war of our enemies ever did . when this message was delivered to solyman , it did much disturb him , especially when word was brought to him , that the town of arvar , which selymus , his son , was sanziack of , was taken by bajazet ; and after he had exacted a great sum of mony from them , had plundered and sack'd it notwithstanding . but selymus , when he heard that his brother march'd towards amasia , and was already come as far as hucyras , being now freed form the suspicion of treachery , which he fear'd , march'd also himself towards iconium , wherein he had put a garrison till his arrived . 't was none of the least of solyman's cares , which distracted his mind , lest bajazet should seize on iconium , and so march into syria , from whence there is a large passage into egypt , a province not fully setled in subjection to the turks , and not forgetting the ancient governors of the circassians or marncasses , longed for a change . and if bajazet once got thither , he foresaw it would be a very hard matter to beat him out , should the neighbouring arabians assist him ; who , in hopes of booty , were ready to take any side . and if with much ado , he could have been driven out of egypt , yet from thence he might easily be wafted over into any of the christian countries ; whereupon solyman , by all means , sought to stop his march thither , ( because he thought it would be bajazet's last shift ) and to that end he had written to most of the governors of lesser asia , to be watchful and to assist selymus , when he called for their aid . and accordingly solyman's army forced a camp before the walls of iconium . for he thought it best to be slain there , than wait for the auxiliaries of his father , and not to hazard his all on the doubtful issue of a battel . on the other side , bajazet knowing what a hazardous enterprize he had undertaken , was as vigorous to support his cause ; he hired a great body of horse , called chiarts , perhaps formerly gordianes , men noted for valour , in whom he put great confidence . they , assoon as ever they came into his army , began the representation of a battel on horseback , which had so much of truth in it , that many of them were slain , but more wounded . his camp was pitch'd in the plain and open fields of aucyra , from which city he was supplied with many necessaries , and at the castle thereof he placed his concubines and children . from those merchants , that were rich , he borrowed mony , upon terms of re-payment with interest , if god gave him success . form thence , also , he was furnished with arms for his soldiers . besides his own family ( consisting of very many among the higher sort of turks ) and the chiauxes before mentioned , those that were of his mothers or his sisters , and of rustan's faction , came in to him ; so did very many of mustapha's and achmet's favourites , fierce and skilful warriers ; for they grudging at the undeserved death of their master , were resolved to revenge them with the hazard of their blood ; some also came under his banner out of commiseration of his depressed condition , as being necessiated to fly to arms , his last and only refuge . a great many favoured bajazet , because he was so like his father , whereas selymus had not one feature in his face resembling him . 't is true , he was very like his mother , a woman hated while she was alive ; he was a big-bellied man , with swoln cheeks , and his face of a deep and uncomly redness ; insomuch , that the soldiers would seemingly say , he was cramm'd with barly pudding . besides , he liv'd a slothful , banquetting , idle life ; neither was he courteous , or of easie access , nor did he oblige any man by largessee or bounties : the reason he gave , was , that he would not offend his father , by aiming at popular applause . thus he became dear to his father only , but dis-respected of every body else ; yea , those persons did most disdain him , who coveted a munificent and an active emperor . the same soldiers that were wont to call bajazet , softi ( i. e. ) a seddentary man , and given to ladies ; when they saw that he took up arms , and ventured his all to defend himself and his children , now extolled him to the skies , as a man of extraordinary valour . why ( said they , reasoning among themselves ) should his father abdicate a son , that is his express image ? why should he prefer his slothful , pot-bellied brother before him , that had nothing of his fathers disposition in him ? as for bajazet's taking arms , necessity enforced him thereunto , and therefore , he was not to be blamed ; for did not selymus , their grandfather , do the same ? what greater president could there be ? for he did not only arm against his brother , but necessity also compelled him to hasten his fathers death ; and yet by this procedure he established the kingdom to himself and his posterity . now if solyman did rightfully possess that kingdom , so unjustly gotten , why should his son be denied to take the same course ? why should that fact be vindicated so severely in him , which was accounted lawful in his grandfather ? and yet the cause was much different ( said they ) ; for bajazet did not take up arms against his father , but wishes him a long life ; nay , he would not hurt and hair of his brothers head , if he could be sure of his own life , against him ; but 't is always lawful to resist force by force , and , if possibly , to prevent ones own certain ruin. these discourses caused many to fly unto bajazet , and his army being now of a moderate size , without any delay , he marches towards his brother , putting his life , fortune and the hope of the empire , upon the event of the battel ; for thus thought he with himself , my valour ( at least ) will be commended , if it be not prosperous ; i will endeavour if i can , to break my way into syria , and if i succeed therein , my business is done . selymus waited for him under the walls of iconium , having a vast army , encreased by forces sent him from his father , and well furnished with skilful commanders ; and besides all other necessaries , secured with great ordnance on every side . bajazet was nothing terrified at all those disadvantages , but assoon as he came in sight of his brothers army , he exhorted his own , tho' inferiour in number , in this sort . now , says he , the long wished for hour is ●ome , wherein you may shew your valour ; do you act as men , and let me alone to reward you . all my fortune is in your hand ; my misfortunes have been irksome some time , but now here is an open campaign , wherein i may change them for the better , and forget all the miseries of my former life . if you conquer , you may expect from me honour , dignity , and all kind of rewards , befitting men of valour . one victory will compleat all our hopes , tho' never so vast , and that you may get by your superabounding valour . as for my brothers troops before your eyes , they are a company of buffoons under a slothful general ; you may easily make way through them with your swords ; what force he hath with him of my fathers , tho' they are his in body , yet they are mine at heart . 't is selymus alone that stands in the way , both of my vassals and of your happiness too , and therefore , let us both revenge our selves on a common enemy . and for their multitude don't fear them , conquest is got by valour , not by number . god almighty uses to assist the rest , not the most ; certainly , if you consider how the savage enemy thirsts after your blood , you will preserve yours by shedding theirs . in fine , said he , i will not only speak , but do ; let me be your pattern ; do you fight but as valiantly for my safeguard , as i shall do for your advancement , and i 'll warrant you the battle is our own . having finished his oration , he made towards the enemy with an undaunted courage , and in the front of his army shew'd himself both a brave soldier and a skilful commander , so that he was renowned also by his very enemies . the battle was bloody , and many fell on both sides , and victory seem'd to hover in the doubtful wings ; but at last she inclin'd to that side , where was more force , a juster cause , and better counsel ; just in the nick , there arose such a wind that it carried the smoak of the ordinance into the very faces of bajazet's army , so that they fought blindfold , as it were ; whereupon bajazet , after much blood-shed on both sides , was forced to sound a retreat ; but he made it with so little of trepidation , and so leisurely , that he seemed a conqueror rather than a conquered ; neither did selymus make out of his camp to pursue him , being well contented to see his enemy turn their backs . after this , bajazet considering he had disobeyed his father's commands , by indulging his own humour , and being cut off from hi march into syria , which he had design'd , resolved to move in good earnest towards amasia . solyman had presently a messenger sent him of this victory , and immediately he posted over into asia . his bassa's would not let him go before ; but now ( said they ) you must make haste to press upon bajazet in his misfortune and to prevent his recruit ; for if his secret favourites should declare for him , they might cut them out further work. the report of your passage over , will both discourage your son and terrifie all his followers ; and , therefore , make haste lest he serve you as sometimes your father did , who was more formidable after he was conquered than before , so that his very overthrow was the cause , why at last he prevailed . neither did they thus speak without cause ; for 't is incredible how much that fight , tho' unfortunate , had added to bajazet's renown . that he was so hardily valorous , as with a small handful , in comparison , to set upon the well disciplin'd army of his brother , strengthened too with his fathers force ; that he was not daunted with the disadvantage of the place , nor the roaring of the great ordnance , and that he carried himself in the very battle not as a raw general , but an expert commander . 't is true , said they , his success was not answerable , but his valour was not inferiour ; and , therefore , let selymus boast never so much of his victory to his father , this we are sure of , that of the two , bajazet deserved to be conqueror ; neither did his brether prevail against him by true force , but through strength . these discourses concerning bajazet , shew'd him to be popular , and thereupon they double his fathers trouble , and his desire to ruin him ; resolved he was none but selymus should succeed him in the empire ; for besides that he was his eldest son , he had been always faithful and obedient to him ; but bajazet had been contumacious , and gaped after the throne in his life time ; and he feared him the more , because he was esteem'd a very valiant prince , and because also he had openly assaulted solyman against him . for these reasons he pass'd the sea into asia , but with a resolution not to stir from the shore , but to assist his son selymus's affairs , only at a distance . for why , thought he , should i run any hazard to bring my own force nearer , lest my army not fully setled in their obedience , should be reapted to a revolt . i my self saw solyman march out of constantinople in the year , , iune th . tho' against the will of my chiaux . let me here present you with a scheme of mirth , and like a braggadotio-soldier , tell you of two battles i had at once ; for why , i have leisure enough ( unless you count my cares my study ) and the larger i am in my scribling , the more time do i borrow from my troubles . hear then my contests . when i was certainly inform'd that the sultan was ready to pass over into asia , and that the day was fix'd for his departure , i told my chiaux that i had a mind to see him march out , and therefore he should come betimes in the morning and open the doors , for he used to carry the keys of my doors home with him at night ; he promised me courteously , he would do so . then i took order with my ianizaries and my interpreters , that they would take me an upper room in the way the emperor was to pass , convenient for my view . they obeyed my commands ; when the day was come , i rose before 't was light , and expected that my chiaux had opened my doors , but finding them shut , i sent several messengers to him , to come and let me out , both my ianizaries that waited within doors and druggermen that waited to come in ; this i did , through the chinks of the gate , which was very old ; but the chiaux still spun out delays , pretending he would come presently : thus i spent some time , till i heard the noise of the guns , which the ianizaries use to shoot off , when their emperor takes horse , then i began to fret and fume , seeing my self so deluded ; my just indignation did affect the ianizaries themselves , they told me , that if my people would thrust hard with them , they without would so press upon the valves , which were loose and old , that the bars would fall out ; i took their counsel , and the doors flew open accordingly , and out we went , hying to the room i had hired . my chiaux had a mind to frustrate my desire , and yet he was no bad man neither ; for having communicated my request to the bassa's , that he was not willing that any christian should behold their prince marching with so small force against his own son , and , therefore , said they to him , do you promise him fair , but be sure to delay him tell the sultan is a shipboard ; then you may devise some excuse or other for your compurgation : but he was catch'd in his own craft . when i came to the house where a room was hired for me , behold it was shut , so that i could no more enter into that , than i could go forth of my own ; when i knock'd , no body answered ; hereupon the ianizaries again told me , that if i commanded them they would break open the doors , or else would go in at window and open them . i told them they should not break open any thing , but if they would go up to the windows they might ; they presently did so , and opened the door . when i went up stairs , i found the house full of iews , a whole synagogue of them ; they looked upon it , as a miracle , that i should enter , when the doors were shut ; but being informed of the truth , an old grave matron , in comly habit , profer'd her self , and complain'd to me in spanish of the violence i had offered to the house ; i told her , she had done me wrong , in not keeping her word , and that i was not a man to be thus deluded ; she seem'd unsatisfied , and the time would not admit further discourse . in short , i was allowed one window , which on the back side looked out into the street , and from thence , with a great deal of pleasure , i beheld the whole proceeding as they pass'd out of the city . the gulupagi and the vlupagi march'd two by two ; the selchers one by one , and spahi's ( which are the names of the grand seigniors horse guards ) ● distinguished by their ranks and troops , they were about . besides a vast number of the domesticks of the prime visier , and of other bassa's . the turkish horsemen yield a gallant shew ; the best breed of horse is from cappadocia and syria , and the adjacent countries ; he is trapp'd with silver trappings , studded with gold and jewels . his rider's clad with a coat or vest made of silk velvet , or other fine cloth of scarlet , purple or dark blue colour , intermixed with gold and silver . he hath two cases hanging by his sides , one holds his bow , the other his arrows , both of neat babylonian workmanship , and so is his buckler held in his left arm , strong enough to resist blows made by arrows or clubs : in his right hand , unless he desire to have it free , he carries a light spear , for the most part painted with green ; his scimitar is studded with jewels , and made of steel , and it hangs down from his saddle . what need so much armour , say you ? i 'll tell you . they use them all ; and that dexterously too , you 'll reply . how can he use that spear and the bow too ? what! will he take up his spear when he hath broke , or thrown away his bow ? not so neither , for he keeps his spear as long as he can ; but when he hath occasion to use his bow , the spear being light and easily manag●d , he puts it between his saddle and his thigh ; so that the point thereof sticks out backward ; and thus he presses it down with his knee , as long as he pleases . but if he fight only with the spear , then he puts up his bow into his case , or else with his left hand places it behind his shield . but it is not my present design to acquaint you with the turks expertness at arms ; they have obtain'd it by long use and experience in war. their heads are covered with very fine white cotten-linnen , in the midst whereof stands up a tust made of purple silk , divided chamferingly ; some of them wear black feathers a-top . after the horse , a large body of ianizaries followd , being foot , and seldom taking any other arms than muskets . the form and colour of their cloths is almost one and the same , so that you would judge them all to be the servants of one man's family . they have no prodigious habit among them , nor any thing rent or torn ; their cloaths will wear not soon enough , they say , without their tearing of them ; yet in their feathers , crests , and such-like military ornaments , they are over-curious , or rather proud , especially , the veterans in the rear , you would think a whole wood of walking feathers were in their fire-stars and frontals ; after them their officers and commanders follow on horseback , distinguished each by his proper ensign . in the last place marches their aga , or general . then succeed the chief courtiers , amongst whom are the bassa's ; then the foot of their prince's life-guard in a peculiar habit , carrying their bows bent in their hands , for they are all archers ; next the princes led-horses , all with curious trappings . he himself rode on a stately prauncer , looking sour with his brows bent , as if he had been angry ; behind him came three youths , one carrying a flagon of water , another his cloak , another his bow. then followed some eunuchs of the bed-chamber ; and , at last , a troop of about two hundred horse closed the proceeding . after i had the satisfaction of viewing all this , my only care was now to appease my hostess , she that at my entrance spake to me in spanish , for i heard she was very familiar with rustan's wife , and therefore i was afraid she would represent things unhandsomly against me ; to prevent which , i sent for her , and told her she should have remembred her bargain , and not have shut her door against me who had hired a room ; but though , said i , you don't remember your promise , i 'le perform mine ; yea i will be better than my word : i promis'd you but pistriots , but here 's for you , that so you may not repent your admittance of me into your house . when the woman thus unexpectedly saw her hand fill'd with gold , she was presently melted down into a compliance , and the whole synagogue of them fell to blandishments and giving me thanks , and the woman that was chrony to rustan's wife , made one in the consort , for she always in my landladies name gave me great thanks : they brought forth grecian wine and a banquet , but i refused to eat , but with the great acclamations of all the iews , made hast to be gone , that i might manage a new combat with my chiaux , for keeping my doors fasten'd , when i should have come forth . i found him sitting mournfully in my porch , where he began a long complaint , that i ought not to have gone abroad without his consent , nor to have broke open the door : that i had violated the law of nations thereby , and such like stuff . i replyed in short , that if he had come betimes in the morning as he promised , he had prevented all this ; his breach of promise had occasioned it , for his intent was only to delude . i demanded also of him , whether he lookt upon me as an ambassador , or a prisoner ? for an ambassador , says he ; if for a prisoner , said i , then i am not an instrument to make a peace , for a prisoner is not his own man ; but if an ambassador , as you confess , then why am i not a free-man ? why can't i go abroad when i will ? captives use to be shut up , not ambassadors ; liberty is granted such in all nations , they may claim it as their publick due : he ought to know , that he was not appointed to be my serjeant or keeper , but to assist me , ( as he himself used to say ) with his good offices , that so no other man might do any injury to me or mine . hereupon he turns to the ianizaries , and quarrels with them , for giving me advice to break open the doors , and for being instant with my servants therein . they denied i had need of their advice : i commanded them to open them , and they obey'd ; there was no great ado about it , the doors were old , and flew open presently ; there was nothing either lost or broken . thus the chiaux was forced with me to hold his peace , and i never heard any more of the matter . a while after i had also leave to pass over the sea , for the turks judged it conducing to their affairs , to treat me kindly in their camp , as the ambassador of a prince in alliance with them ; and to that end , i had a handsom lodging provided for me near their camp , where i had all the conveniences imaginable : i lived there three months , and had the opportunity to view the camp of the turks , which was extended all over the neighbouring fields , and to discover some parts of their discipline : you will not find fault with me , if i acquaint you with something thereof . know then , that i cloathed my self as christians do in that country , and with one or two attendants walked up and down their camp incognito . the first thing i saw was the soldiers of each body quartered with great order in their several ranks , and that with a great deal of silence , ( 't is far otherwise in christian camps ) all hush , not a quarrel , breath , or noise amongst them in their jollities . besides , they are wonderfully cleanly , no beastliness , no noisom smell to offend eye or ear ; all their ordure they bury under ground , or throw it far enough off . when they have occasion to ease nature , they dig a pit with a spade , and there bury their excrements ; so that there is no ill smell at all . besides , there are no drinking-matches amongst them , no playing with cards or dice , ( the bane of the christian army : ) i only heard one common soldier playing a doleful ditty on an harp ill tuned , and his fellows were howling rather than singing ; it was a soldier 's farewel word in the borders of hungary , and he canted out the last words of his fellow-soldier , who died of his wounds on the grass bank of the danow ; he abjured that river , because the streams thereof were to glide to his own country , that it should commend him to his friends there , and tell them that he died no ignoble nor unrevenged death for the glory of their nation , and encrease of their religion . his fellows groaned out , thrice happy he , o that our case was like his . for you must know , the turks are of this opinion , that no souls go more directly to heaven than those of valiant men , who lost their lives in the field ; and that virgins do pour out daily prayers to god for their safety . i had a mind to pass through their shambles , that i might see what flesh was sold there ; i saw only four or five weathers at most hung up dress'd ; it was the shambles of the ianizaries , who were at least : i wondred so little flesh could suffice so many ; and was answered , they used but little flesh , but a great part of their diet was brought from constantinople : when i demanded , what that was , they shewed me a ianizary neer at hand , who was lying down , and was boiling turnips , leeks , garlick , parsnips , and cucumbers , seasoning them with salt and vinegar ; and hunger being his best sauce , eating them as heartily , as if they had been partridge or phesant . their drink was that which was common to all animals , viz. water ; by this frugality they consult the health of their bodies , and also the saving of their money . and the very time wherein they did this , caused me to admire the more ; it was their fast , ( or as we call it , lent ) at which time among christians even in well govern'd cities , as well as in camps , there is nothing but sporting , dancing , singing , revelling , drunkenness , and such like madness ; insomuch that a turkish envoy coming once at that time of the year , reported at his return , that the christians at certain times grew mad and raging , but sprinkling themselves with a sort of ashes in their temples , they recovered their wits again , so that they did not seem the same men ; thereby denoting ash-wednesday , and its eve. the turks fearing this , were struck with a great amazement , because they have many medicines amongst them which cause madness , but very few that procure a speedy recovery therefrom . for the days immediately preceding their fasts , they do not alter their private way of living in their worshiping ; rather on the contrary , they abridge themselves of some of their daily commons , that they may provide for their fasts , lest a sudden abstinence might be prejudicial to their healths . the time of their fast is so appointed , that every year it comes fifteen days sooner than the former ; the reason is , because they fill not the yearly spaces of the moon : hence it comes to pass , that their fast kept in the early spring after six years , happens at the beginning of summer ; for they measure their fasts by the course of the moon , and there are none more irksom to them , than those which fall out in the long summer-days ; for while they fast , not a bit , nor so much as a drop of water goes down ( neither dare they so much as wash their mouths therewith ) before the star appear in the evening , the longest day of abstinence , being hot , and daily too , must needs be very tedious , especially to the poorer sort , who live by their dusty labour : yet before sun-rise ( though not after ) while yet the stars shine in the firmament , it is lawful for them to eat ; and therefore they better endure their winter fasts . and that they may not be deceived by the darkness of the weather , their priests hang out lights in paper-lanthorns from the top of their moschs , ( from whence they are wont , by sound of voice to call them to prayers , as we do by bells : ) and this shews that their eating-time is come , whereupon entring presently into their temples , and worshiping god in their way , they return to supper . in the close of their summer-fasts , i once saw a great many of them to go into a tavern over against my lodging ( where ice was always to be sold coming from mount olympus in asia ) and there they askt for icy-water , which they drank jetting strangely backward ; for the turks count it profane either to eat , drink , or piss , in a standing posture , unless in case of necessity ; but they do it bending their bodies ; as women do with us when they make water . and whereas in the dusk of the evening i could not well discern the meaning of that posture , i was told that most of them drank a draught of cold water , to make way for their meat , for otherwise it would stick to their jaws and they could not swallow it ; and besides , this moisture of their palate did quicken their appetites . in their diet they are not choice , and after their fasts they may eat any meat , which was lawful for them to do at other times . if they fall sick , they omit their fasts , but with this condition , that when they recover they must fast so many days over , as they neglected before . but when they are near an enemy , and ready to fight , lest fasting should weaken their bodies , they are allowed to eat ; and if a blind superstition detains some of them , then their emperour , at noon , in the sight of his whole army cuts his dinner , and by his example they are encouraged to do the same . they use wine at no time of the year , they count it profane and irreligious so to do , especially they abhor it on their fasts , then no man is so much as to smell to it , much less to tast it . i often askt why mahomet was so strict , as to forbid his followers the use of wine ; in answer to my demand , they told me this story , that mahomet making a journey to his friend , at noon entred into a house where there was a marriage-feast , and setting down with the guests , he observed them to be very merry and jovial , kissing and embracing one another , which was attributed to the chearfulness of their spirits raised by the wine ; so that he blessed it as a sacred thing , as being an instrument of much love amongst men : but returning to the same house the next day , he beheld another face of things ; as gore blood on the ground , an hand cut off , an arm , foot , and other limbs dismember'd , which he was told was the effect of the brawls and fightings occasioned by the wine , which made them mad , and destroy one another : whereupon he changed his mind , turning his former blessing into a curse , and forbidding it , as an abomination , to all his disciples . for this reason all was quiet in the camp , and the greatest composure imaginable , especially at their feast-time ; so much did camp-discipline and a strictness received from their ancestors prevail upon them . the turks punish all flagitious disorders very severely ; their punishments are , loss of their places , sale of their goods , basting with clubs , death ; but club-basting is most common , from which the ianizaries themselves are not free , tho' they may not as such be put to death ; their lighter offences are chastised by the club , their more hainous by cashering or degrading , which they count worse than death , because commonly they are put to death afterwards ; for being stript of the ensigns of ianizaries , they are banisht to the farthest garison of the empire , where they live contemptible and inglorious , till upon any light occasion they are put to death , yet not as ianizaries , but as common soldiers only . and here let me acquaint you with the patience of the turk in receiving that punishment ; they 'l receive sometimes an hundred blows on their legs , their feet and buttocks , with wonderful patience ; so that divers clubs are broke , and the executioner cries out , give me another : yea , sometimes the chastisement is so severe , that several parcels of torn flesh are cut off from the wounded parts , in order to their ease ; yet for all this , they must go to their officer , who commanded them to be punisht , they must kiss his hand , and give him thanks ; nay , they must also give the executioner a reward for beating them : the club they are beaten with , they count sacred , and that it fell down from heaven , as the romans counted their praise to do , and as some relief to their misery ; they count those parts wounded with the rod or club , to be free from any purgations , and expiations after this life . when i told you , that the turk's camp were free from broyls and tumults , i must except one , which was made by my own men : the occasion was this , some of my servants had a mind to walk out of the camp , without any ianizaries to attend them ; only taking some italian renegado's that professed the turks religion . let me tell you by the way , that these italians are of good use in that country , especially in redeeming of captives , for they come to their masters , and pretend they are either their kinsmen , or their countrymen , and therefore out of compassion to them , they desire to buy them as their pastrons , for a price agreed , and so they set them free : but if a christian should make the same profer to them , they would either refuse him , or hold him to a far greater rate . but to return ; some of my people as i told you , gadding abroad , they light upon some ianizaries , who came from swimming and washing themselves in the sea , without the badges of their order on their heads , only some linnen being very slighlty wrapped about them . these ianizaries revil'd my people , knowing them to be christians ; for that 's the guise of the turks , to reproach christians ; 't is a principle of their religion , they think thereby to incline them to exchange it for a better , as they count theirs to be : my folks being thus provoked , return jeer for jeer ; from words they came to blows , the italians assisting my men , the cause of the scuffle was , that one of the ianizaries lost the linen covering off his head , which was thrown i know not whither : hereupon the ianizaries hye to their general , complaining of their wrongs and loss received by my servants , for they watch'd them , and found them return'd to my house : their general presently sent for my interpreter , who was present at the conflict ; he was seiz'd upon sitting at my door , and they were pulling of him away . i beheld it from a gallery above , and was much concern'd , that any of my family should be taken forcibly from me without my consent , to be carried to the bastinado , ( for i understood something of the matter before ) for i could not imagine he would be return'd to me without being well beaten , he being one of the turk's subjects . whereupon i ran down , and laid hold on him , commanding him to let him go ; they did so grumblingly , but hasted presently with far more grievous complaints to their general ; who commanded more of their company to go and seize those italians who of christians are said to become turks ; yet he charged them to offer no violence to me at the house where i lodged . they came back presently , and with a great noise and many threats , demanded those italians ; but they foreseeing what would come to pass , had sailed back to constantinople : much clamour there was on both sides , at last my chiaux which at that time was an old decrepid man , out of jeer thrust some pistols into their hands unknown to me , to buy a new bonnet in the room of that which was lost , and thus the dispute ended . i have been the more punctual in relating this story , because on this occasion , i understood from rustan's own mouth , what opinion the sultan had of the ianizaries : for he hearing of this scuffle , sent a messenger to me , to desire me to cut off all occasion of dispute with the ianizaries as the worst of men : you know , said he , 't is a time of war , wherein they may be said to reign , rather than the sultan , who stands in fear of them himself this he spake as being well acquainted with the sentiments of solyman , who always susp●cted some men of their own to lye in wait against their militia , which would break forth when he had no opportunities to prevent it . and the truth is , though there may be some use of a standing guard and mil●tia , yet there are also many inconveniences attending it , of which this is the chief , their emperor is very fearful of them , lest having the sword in their hands , they should alter the government as they pleas'd , of which there had been many presidents , yet there are ways also , wereby this may be prevented . while i was in their camp , there came albertus de vbiis , a worthy and learned person , as i think born at amsterdam , as an envoy from my master caesar ; he brought with him some presents for their sultan , as some goblets gilt with gold , with a clock neatly made , and carried like a tower on an elephants back ; as also some mony to be distributed amongst the bassa's : solyman would have me deliver these presents in the camp , that the amity betwixt him and my master might be more publickly known , and so no danger at all to be feared from the christian arms. but to return to bajazet , after the fight at iconium , who retired to his government of amasia , pretending to live quietly there , if his father would permit him so to do . for why ? he had sown his wild oats , and for the future seem'd plyable to obey his fathers will ; and for this he employed sundry persons to carry submissive letters to his father , begging his pardon : neither did solyman pretend that he was averse from reconciliation with his son , and therefore he admitted his messengers into his presence ; he read his letters , and answered them mildly . so that the report was spread over all the army what an agreement was like to be between father and son ; what he had done amiss , was to be imputed to the hot blood of his youthful age , provided he would shew himself obsequious the residue of his life . this solyman did by the advice of his bassa's , for the cunning old man would not declare himself , till he had brought bajazet into the nooz of his own power . he was terribly afraid , lest out of desperation he should march furiously into persia ( his only place of refuge ) with so great post-haste , that all his sanziacks should not be able to prevent them . to prevent which mistakes , he sent many letters to all the governours upon the borders , to watch bajazet , and not to suffer him to escape , if he attempted it . in the mean time , he put all those of bajazet's party that he could light upon , to the rack ; and when he had got out of them what he could , he put them privately to death ; amongst which were some that bajazet had sent to be his companions to his father . the kingdom of persia at that time contained all the countries between the caspian sea , and the seas of persia , with some part of armenia the greater , ( though solyman by taking of babylon , mesopotamia , and part of media had abridged their empire very much ) and other far countries even to the empire of the homaium patisach , as the turks call him , and over that last part of land sagathmas was king : the father had been formerly over-thrown by selymus in a great fight in the field of chalderon ; and from that time the persian affairs began to decline , for solyman a fierce enginier press'd upon the very face ; and thamas being much inferiour to his father's courage , made but a weak defence : for he was wholly given to sloth and idleness , and would sit in his palace amongst a croud of harlots , amorously pleasing his humour ; and sometimes consulting magicians concerning future events : he had little care of administring publick justice to his people . this neglect of his opened the door to all injustice and oppression in every part of his empire : for the strong oppressed the weaker , and innocence could find no justice or defence in his court. notwithstanding this malevolous instruction , yet the persians have so sacred an opinion of their prince , that they believe him happy , that can but kiss the door of his palace ; and the water wherein he washes his hands , they use in order to the cure of several diseases . he hath many children , but the most promising is ismael , like his grandfather both in name and nature ; a beautiful prince , and a capital enemy to the race of the ottomans . 't is reported that he was brought forth into the world with his fist all bloody , whence 't was vulgarly said , that he would be a warlike person ; and when he was but young he confirmed that report , by obtaining a great victory over the turks . but when his father made peace with solyman , 't was agreed betwixt them , that ismael should be sent prisoner into the bowels of his kingdom , that he might be no obstacle to the intended agreement : and yet as ill us'd as he is after his fathers death , 't is thought he would succeed in the empire . but solyman fearing that sagathamas , ( or as we call him , the sophi ) would be more mindful of old grudges , than of the late peace to which he was in a manner compell'd , and that if his son went thither , he should have much ado to get him thence , and perhaps it might occasion a long war between the empires , did use his utmost endeavour to stop or take him , before he could come thither . the old man had not forgot that a few years before thamas's brother had fled to him , and had been supported by him , and it cost his brother dear to recover him , and therefore he feared that thamas would serve him the same sauce , and perhaps recover by the sword all the countries he had taken from him . the design of solyman was kept very secret , yet bajazet's friends smelt it out , and therefore advised him by no means to trust his father , but to consult his safety , by avoiding his misery , what way soever he could . and bajazet was perswaded so to do upon a small occasion , ( as oft great matters turn into little injuries . ) there was a souldier of bajazet●s ●s taken in solyman's camp , and hang'd up as a spy , because that bajazet had listed him , after his father had given him strict charge to list no more souldiers . this was warning enough to bajazet to pack up and be gone . now solyman thought himself sure of bajazet , and to deceive him the more , he caused his army to begin their march the day after easter , back to constantinople . but bajazet , after prayer , upon easter-day , summon'd all his relicks , and began his unfortunate voyage towards persia ; he knew well enough that he went to the old enemy of the ottoman house , but he was resolv'd to try the mercy of any body , rather than fall into his fathers hands . there marched out with him all that were able to bear arms , none were left behind but weak persons , women and children , that were not able to bear the toil of so long a journey ; amongst which was a young child of his own , with his mother , whose innocency he thought would protect them from his fathers cruelty , and therefore he thought it best to expose them to his clemency , rather than make them companions of his woful and miserable fight ; and the truth is , solyman as yet uncertain what would become of the father , spared the life of his infant son at present , and sent him to be educated at prusia . i would have return'd to constantinople , the day before easter , but had a great mind to see , how the turks did observe that festival ; and i was not sure that ever i should have so fair an opportunity again . they were to celebrate it in the open field , before the emperour 's own tent. i therefore caused my servants to take a room in the tent of a turkish souldier , that stood on a rising ground , and look'd down on solyman's tent , which was over against it : thither go i at sun-rise , where in an open plain , i beheld a vast multitude of turbanted heads silently standing , but repeating the last words of their priest. every rank was ranged orderly , and standing , that in the open field they seemed to be a wall one to another : the most honourable had their station next the emperor's train , uppermost in the camp , and their turbants as white as snow : such diversity of colours did affect me with a great deal of pleasure , and the rather , because they stood unmovable , as if they had grown upon the place ; not a cough , schriek nor word to be heard ; no , nor the least moving of the head to look backward , or about them : at the name of mahomet , they all as one man , bowed their heads , even to the knee ; but when the name of god was pronounced , they all fell prostrate on their faces , and kissed the ground . and the truth is , the turks are very careful and ceremonious in the acts of their worship , for if a man doth but scratch his head when he prays , they think his prayer is lost . for thus say they , if a man composes his body so reverently even when he speaks but to a bassa , how much more fitting is it we should do it to god , who is infinitely greater than the greatest of men ? after prayer , the whole knot of them was broke asunder , and they ran up and down ranging over the fields : anon the emperor's dinner is served up , which the ianisaries carry away dish by dish , and eat it with a gret deal of jollity and mirth : t' is an allowed custom for them so to do , on that day , their emperor being provided of a dinner elsewhere . when i had beheld their shew , i returned with a great deal of pleasure to constantinople . the remainder of my task , is to acquaint you what became of bajazet , and then i shall ease you of the trouble of reading , and my self of writing . he , as i told you , with his invincible band , march'd out of amasia with such speed , that his coming prevented the report thereof ; and those bassa's who designed to observe his motion , he came upon them unawars . he put a notable cheat upon the bassa of constantinople ; for whereas , there were ways in his province by which he might march , and he himself had beset the chiefest of them ; he sent some before him pretended to be runaways , to inform him , that he was gone the furthest way about ; which he giving credit to , removed his troops thither to prevent him , and so left him a free passage . he put the like trick upon the bassa of erzerumen , for knowing that the passage through the province would be very hazardous , he sent some before him with a counterfeit message , to salute him , and tell him , that his misfortunes had reduced him to the top of all miseries , and therefore he desired him that he might rest a day or two in his province , at least to procure his horses to be relieved and new shod . the bassa granted his request , whereas , it was not a commiserating his case , or that he favoured his side , but perhaps that he might amaze him a little till he had got all his troops together to ensnare him ; for they were scattered , as not dreaming he would be so soon upon him . however bajazet march'd continually on , allowing his men no rest by day , and very little at night . the bassa of erzerumen seeing himself deceived , made haste to joyn himself with the other bassa's in his flight . for you must know , as soon as solyman heard his son was gone from amazia , he commanded a great many sanziacks and bassa's to follow , and upon pain of death to bring him either alive or dead ; but all in vain , for bajazet fled faster than they could persue : the bassa of casgan , afore-mentioned , paid dear enough for letting him escape , for solyman put him out of his place , but selymus put him to death , together with his two boys , tho' not before they had been most inhumanly butchered . selymus and mehemet bassa , and beglerbeg of greece , persued bajazet a far longer distance . solyman was much troubled when he heard of his escape , as being wel assured , he would make towards persia ; and thereupon he was about to gather all his force both horse and foot together , and so march away to declare war against persia : but his greater counsellors stopped his march , alledging the hazard he would run amongst an ingrateful soldiery : and besides , say they , what if bajazet out of his temerity and rashness should send a company about pontus and the palus moeotis , and so march back to constantinople in the emperor's absence , where he might by promising liberty to captives , and to the agiomaglans , get upon the throne , now empty of a prince ? these advices restrained solyman from his intention . bajazet all along his march , caused labels to be fixed to the doors of the houses , that he would give double pay to all the soldiers that would revolt to him ; which made solyman's soldiers suspected by their officers , and the rather , because the common soldiers suffered many speeches in favour of bajazet . after much ado , bajazet escaped to the river araxes , which is the bounds betwixt the two empires of turkey and persia ; and after he had pass'd this river , he scarce thought himself secure , but appointed some of his own soldiers to guard the banks , that so the pursuing sanziacks might not pass over : but they being but few , were easily discomfited e'er the turkish commanders pass'd farther into persia , till at last they met with a great body of persian horse , whose commanders demanded of them , why they invaded another prince's territories ? their answer was , they were to fetch the fugitive son of their own prince . the persians told 'em , 't was contrary to the league to come armed into their dominions ; there was peace betwixt sagathma and solyman , which they ought not to violate : as for bajazet , their prince would do what was fitting ; in the mean time they should retreat to their own country : with this reprimand they direct their march backward . in the mean time immediately messengers are sent from persia , to bajazet to bid him return , and to know the cause of his coming , and also to spy what force he had brought with him . bajazet answers , that his brother's insolency and father's displeasure , had driven him out of his own country , and he was come to persia , as the only altar for an oppressed prince ; and therefore in confideration of the uncertainty of future affairs , he hoped he would afford him protection , being destitute of all things . the persian answered , he was not well advised to repair to him who had made peace with his father ; upon this condition , they were both to serve the same friend and enemy , which league he could not violate ; nevertheless , since he was come , he bid him wellcome , he would do his utmost to reconcile him to his father . thus his first entertainment in persia was promising enough ; nought but gratulations , feastings , friendly entertainments , and merry-makings , by which subtil men disguise their meanings ; yea , mention was made of an affinity also , that bajazet's son should marry one of the sophi's daughters ; yea , they gave him hopes , that the sophi would never be at quiet , till solyman had bestowed upon him the government of mesopotamia , or babylon , or arzerum , for there , say they , you may live commodiously withour fear , as being at a great distance both from your brother and your father too ; and if either of them should deal hardly with you , you will have a father-in-law to fly too , which will afford you sanctuary : such discourses were received among the vulgar , whereby bajazet's thoughts might be diverted from the apprehension of present danger . the sophi sent many embassadors to solyman on this errand , but whether he dealt sincerely with bajazet to reconcile him to his father , yea , or no , might be a great question , seeing in the mean time , he contrived all ways to destroy him ; for sagathmas was in a mighty fear , lest he should nourish a serpent in his bosom , and which encreased his rancour , was the wicked design of some who perswaded bajazet to attempt the destroying of sagathmas ; for one of bajazet's commanders was heard to say , why do we not kill this heretick , and possess his kingdoms ? for without doubt , he will one day be the ruin of us all . these wild discourses coming to sagathmas's ears , put him upon a project more necessary than plausible ; for bajazet had not many forces , but very warlike ones ; and there were many valiant men among them that were ready to attempt any invasion , and therfore he had reason to fear . he was conscious also that he had added new kingdoms to his own , as being conquer'd on pretence of religion ; and who would secure such sickly subjects , who were weary of their present state and coveted a change ? to these nothing could be more oppressive , than the coming of bajazet , tho' he is more in my power , than i am in his , and therefore i were best improve the opportunity , and treat him no longer as a guest , but as an enemy to be chained up . to compass which , no method was more advisable than to sever him from his forces , for then he may be more easily trapp'd ; by open force 't is hard to seize him , his soldiers being well train'd and disciplin'd , but mine slothful , unaccustomed to arms , and besides at a great distance one from another . hereupon bajazet was desired to separate his forces , it being allowed it was commodious so to do . he could not withstand the proposal , tho' intelligent men foresaw the danger thereof : but , alas , he that was under another man's roof , must now be at their beck who maintained him , especially since it would breed a suspicion if he entertained so much as the report of perfidiousness in his host that entertained him . hereupon his men were divided , never to see one another again , and quartered where the persians pleased ; and being put here , very shortly after slain by the more numerous persians , their arms , horses , and all else they had , fell a prey to the conqueror . at the same time bajazet was clapp'd up in prison , with his children ; and to encrease the indignity of the thing , he was haled even from a feast , to a dungeon . thus have i here satisfied your desire , in acquainting you with the stay of bajazet : 't is time now to consider what will become of him for the future : some think he will will retreat to babylon , or such-like province , on the borders of each empire , to be sanziack thereof . others think it a desperate case , and that there is no hope of his life either from solyman or sagathmas ; but that he will either be sent back hither to be put to death , or strangled in prison there . for the persian weighed every thing in his thoughts , when he put bajazet in prison ; he knew he was of an aspiring and couragious spirit , far superior to his brother ; and if he should succeed his father in the empire , it might do persia much more mischief than ever solymus could , for he was but a slothful prince , and not at all for war , and therefore some thought he would never escape out of his hands ; for to besure he can never be his friend , because he hath injured him so much . some think one thing , and some think another : for my part , i think it will be an intricate business . for , as bajazet is in troubles , and the issue undetermin'd , they will not easily make war on christendom in this juncture . they labour to obtrude on me certain conditions of peace , having some letters that will please my master , but they allow me no copy of them , as heretofore they were wont to do , so that i suspect fraud in the case , and therefore do peremptorily refuse to send those letters to cesar , unless first i know their contents ; and if they deceive me by a false copy , then the blame lyes at their door , not at mine ; so that by this means i shall free my master from answering their captious letters ; for i am sure he will accept of no conditions of peace but such as are honourable ones . but you 'll say , if you refuse to accept of their conditions of peace , 't is one step towards a war. let it be as it will , i judge it more advisable to leave all free to the events of future ages . but the not sending their letters , if that be a crime , i shall take it on my self , and i shall easily clear my self , if the issue of bajazet's affairs do not answer their expectation ; seeing it is yet very difficult , tho' not impossible , for the turks are not irreconcileable to those embassadors who study to do their master the best service they can amongst them ; and besides , the declining age of my prince will be some advantage to me , who is fitter for rest and quiet , than for the news of an unnecessary war ; for their bassas think as men . 't is true , my pains will be lessened hereby , but i count them best bestow'd if they succeed at last . thus sir , i have written you a book rather than a letter ; whereas if i have offended you , the fault is yours rather than mine ; what i did was at your request , and readiness to please a friend , hath always been counted a vertue in friendship . yet i hope these things will be as pleasant for you to read , as they were delightful for me to write ; for let me tell you , as soon as i put pen to paper , i love to be prolix , that so i may as it were deceive my confinement ; that i may wander abroad in my mind , and be conversant with you as in presence . vvhat things seem frivolous and needless , you must take them as proceeding by word of mouth in familiar conferences amongst friends . men may be allow'd to tittle tattle in a letter as well as in common discourse ; if i were to write inscriptions for churches and temples , to be seen of all men , circumspection and care must be used , but not when i write to you and a few priv●●e friends . i aim not at fame ; if my lines please you , i have enough . you will say perhaps i might have writ better latin ; i grant it , but what if it were beyond my ability ; it was not for want of any good will ; and yet let me tell you , what good latin can come out of uncouth greece or barbarous turky ? if you take my lines in good part , i shall trouble you no more till my return to vienna , if ever god permit me so to do . excuse my trouble . constantinople , june . . the fourth and last epistle . sir , i acknowledge your kindness and antient respect , in congratulating my return ; and whereas you require an account of the residue of my embassy , and what occurrences have happen'd since my last to you , i will remember my promise to you , and i shall not disoblige so choice a friend ; take them all in a medly together , what comes next to hand , as my memory suggests the things more , and things less serious . my beginning is with the mournful ; it is this . i was scarce settled in my spirit which was troubled for bajazet's misfortune and death , when lo , i was struck with another message as sorrowful as that . we were all in a great expectation of the success of the turkish fleet , which sailed towards the isle of meniage , ( now called g●rse , ) upon news that the spaniards had prevailed there . for solyman ( being advertised that bland was taken by the christians , and that they had added new fortifications to the old castle therein , in which they had yet a very strong garrison , ) could not endure to be thus check'd in the midst of all the prosperities of his flourishing empire . hereupon he equipp'd a navy with auxiliaries to relieve those that were mahumetans like himself ; and made bana commander of his fleet. he furnish'd his ships with a select company of soldiers , and yet was doubtful of the event ; because the voyage was long , and they were to engage with an enemy redoubled for valour . for you may please to be inform'd , that the turks for a long time have had a great opinion of the valour of the spaniards , as knowing that they have waged great wars , and came off with good success . they had heard of the emperor charles , and of his son philip the heir of his valour as well as his kingdoms . the report of this power made the turks very solicitous ; so that those that went the voyage , made their last wills , as if they should never return to constantinople again . thus the whole city , both those that went , and those that staid at home , was filled with anxiety . but alas , their fleet sailed with a prosperous gale , and came upon the christians unawares ; which strook such a terror into them , that they knew not how to fight or fly : some nimble vessels made their escape ; the rest were either taken by the enemy , or split or dash'd in pieces on the sands . the duke of medina the general , and iohn andrew donna the admiral , fled to the castle , from whence they escap'd in a dark night undiscovered through the enemies fleet to sicily . pitual sent hither a galley to give an account of this victory , and as a testimony thereof , he caused a bannet , wherein was the image of our saviour christ upon the cross , to be pulled along the sea , at the poop of the vessel . as soon as it arrived in the haven , the loss of the christians was presently divulged , and the turks congratulated one another for their victory . they came thick and threefold to my door , and asked my servants in a jeer , whether they had any brother or other friend in the spanish fleet : if you had , said they , you may shortly have the opportunity of seeing their faces here . besides , they highly extoll'd their own valour , and blam'd the cowardise of the christians . who , say they , shall now be able to stand before us , seeing we have conquered the spaniards ? my people were forced to hear this sad news to their great grief ; but gods will must be done : our only hope was , that the castle in which was a strong garrison , might hold out against the turks till winter , or some other accident had rais'd the siege . and yet our hopes were mix'd with fears , that the conqueror would take that too ; and so it fell out , for the besieged wanted all things , especially water ; so than don alveras de sande , the governour thereof , a stout man , couragious person , and an old soldier , perceiving that it was no longer recoverable , with a iew in his company , got a boat , and made his escape towards sicily , that so he might not behold the surrender of so important a place , which he thought would be look'd upon as a blot in his escutcheon , though the extreamest necessity had compelled it . when he was gone , the soldiers opened the gates , and let in the turks , hoping to find them the more merciful , because of their easie admittance . but don iohn of castile would by no means leave the fort which he commanded , but he ( and his brother ) valiantly repulsing the enemy , was at last wounded and taken . the castle was stoutly defended by the spaniards for three months space , though they wanted many necessaries , and which was the worst of all , had no prospect of relief . the weather was hot , and they almost parched with thirst. they had but one cistern to hold water in , which was not big enough to serve them all ; so that they were compelled to weigh out their water by measure , only enough for a single man to keep life and soul together . this cistern water was increased with a mixture of sea-water , and by some curious art made fresh . this secret was told them by a certain alchymist : but all had not that faculty or opportunity ; for you should see some lye parching on the ground , ready to give up the ghost for very thirst , saying as well as they could speak , water , water ; and if a little was brought , they were relieved for the present , but when that moysture was spent , then they relapsed to their former drought , and dyed thereof . thus many perished , besides the wounded , who could have no help of chyrurgery to cure them in that desolate place . in the month of september , the victorious navy of the turks returned to constantinople , bringing the christians captives , with their gallies along with them ; a joyful spectacle to the turks , but a sad one to the christians that lived amongst them . that night it lay at anchor near the rocks over against byzantium , that so they might enter the port the next day in greater pomp and splendour . solyman came down into an apartment in his gardens near the sea-side , that from thence he might see the prisoners entring in . don alveras de sande was in the poop of his admiral galley , and with him don sanctius de leydia , and don belliger de requemus , one commander of the sicilian galleys , the other of the neopolitan . the galleys of the christians were despoiled of their ornaments , as streamers , &c. and hall'd in barques , that they might appear base and contemptible in the sight of the turks . they who observ'd solyman's countenance that time say , that they perceived no sign of insolent mirth therein . this is certain , that when i saw him going to his devotion the next day , his countenance was not altered from its usual hue , as if that victory had not concern'd him at all ; so well was this cunning old man able to bear the breath of his smiling fortune , that he was unmov'd under it . the prisoners were afterwards brought into the seraglio , but so miserably hunger-starv'd before , that some could not stand on their legs , others fell down in a swoon for very feebleness ; others had arms in a jeer put upon them , in which posture they died ; the turks insulting over them on every hand , and promising to themselves the empire of the whole world ; for who now shall be able to stand before us , ( said they , ) seeing we have overcome the spaniards ? there was a commander in the turkish fleet , with whom i had some acquaintance , who had taken the great banner of the neapolitans galleys , being imperial eagles embracing one another ; being inform'd that he was about to present it to solyman , i thought good to prevent him ; and sending him two silver tasters , i obtained the banner , that so the ensign of charles the fifth might not remain in the hands of infidels , to the eternal infamy of the christian name . there were amongst the prisoners , besides those above mentioned , these two eminent persons , don iohn of cordona , the son in law of don bellinger , and don gasto , the son of the duke of medina , who though but a youth , yet had a noble employment in his fathers army . don iohn promised to give a great sum of money to be left prisoner at chios , ( which was inhabited by old genoeses , ) which was accordingly done . as for don gasto , he was hid by pihulius , in hopes to have a large price for his redemption ; which design of his had almost proved his overthrow : for solyman by some means or other smelt out the cheat , and was grievously vex'd that pihulius should serve him such a trick ; so that at the instigation also of rustan gasto , he was sought after , that so pihulius might be punished ; but gasto died in the search , some say of the plague , others by the procurement of pihulius himself , that he might tell no tales . this is certain , upon the most diligent search , he could not be found . however pihulius was afraid to come to constantinople to appear before his angry master , lest he might be imprisoned there ; but he hovered with a few galleys about several islands of the aegaean sea , pretending divers excuses for so doing . but at last solyman by the perswasion of the chief eunuch of his son selymus , gave him his pardon in these words , i for my part forgive him his great offence , but god almighty the just revenger of all wickedness , inflict just punishment on him in the life to come : so strongly are the turks perswaded , that no evil fact should pass unpunished . but for don iohn of cardona , he fared better , for by the care of adam a dissicksleim , baron of austria , who married his sister , and by my sponsion for him , he returned safe into spain . as for don sanders , he was brought into the divan , and there rustan demanded of him , what his master meant by invading other mens rights , when he could not maintain his own . sanders answered , the question belonged not to him to answer , 't was his part only to execute his masters commands as faithfully as he could , wherein fortune had been against him . however he begged the bassa upon his knees , in regard he had a wife and children at home , that they would speak a good word for him . so solyman rustan answered , that their emperor was of a merciful disposition , and that they would intercede for him . thus was he sent prisoner to the castle called caradenis : he was not gone far , but he was sent for back again , because the chief of the bed-chamber had not seen him ; a man of a greater authority with his prince . upon this countermand , some say , that though otherwise valiant , he was a little faint-hearted , as fearing he was brought back to his end ; but it proved otherwise . as for the other prisoners , the chief of them , as sauchims de leyva with his two natural sons , and don bellinger himself , were sent into the castle of pera , or galata . as soon as i was made acquainted with their condition , and in what want of all things they were , i thought it my duty to do my best to relieve them ; and thereupon i sent some to comfort them , and to promise them all good offices that lay in my power . and from that day forward , my house was a common receptacle for all the prisoners ; and i did them all the kindness i could . for you must know , that the turks think their prisoners well enough provided for , if they allow them bread and water ; they have no regard to any mans age or condition , or to the time of the year , whether they be sick or well , healthy or crazy , old or young , 't is all one to them , they are all treated after one and the same manner . hereupon , i was forced to provide several sorts of reliefs , for several necessities , different diseases requiring different cures . there lay a great company of sick persons in a certain temple of pera , a town over against byzantium , whom the turks cast out as abjects ; and many of them perished for want of convenient pottage to relieve their sick stomachs , and recover their lost strength ; when i was told thereof , i dealt with a friend of mine , a citizen of pera , desiring him to buy some weather sheep every day , and boiling of them at his own house , to distribute the flesh to some , and the broth to others , as their stomachs could bear ; which was a great relief to abundance of them . but those which were in health , required another sort of relief ; my house was full from morning to night with several complaints ; some were used to good diet , and a piece of brown bread which was their daily allowance , would not go down so well with them ; some that used to drink wine , could not bear the perpetual use of water only ; some wanted blankets to cover them , as being never used to lye on the bare ground ; some wanted coats , others shooes ; but the most part desired ●ome footing to gratifie their keepers , that they might deal the more mercifully with them . money was the only remedy for these mischiefs , so that every day some guilders were expended by me on these accounts . but these expences were tolerable , compared with greater sums which were desired of me ; or else they prayed me to be their surety for payment of their ransom money ; and herein every one was very forward with his pretences ; one alledged nobleness of birth ; another , that he had great friends and alliances ; a third , that he was a commander in the army , and had much pay due to him ; a fourth , that he had cash enough at home , and was able to make repayment . some boasted of their valour in the fight ; every one had something to say for himself . when i demanded of them whether they would be sure to repay me ? god forbid said they , for what more unjust , than to defraud a man who hath restored us to our liberty , even out of the jaws of death ? and the truth is , it was very grievous to me , to hear a man come and tell me , unless i can lay down guilders for my redemption , i am undone for ever ; i shall be sent over into asia to be made a galley-slave , to tug at the oar , without any hope to see my own country again : there is a merchant sir , that will deposite wares amounting to that value , provided you will promise repayment . this was the allegation of almost all of them ; which could not but affect me , as knowing it to be most true , that if they were not relieved , many of them must needs perish ; and none could better do it , nor could they more justly expect it from any man than my self . but , you will say , 't is not good trusting any body living ; to which i answer , can any man be so prodigiously ungrateful , as not to repay what was laid out to save his life ; and grant that one or two may not have ability to reimburse me , what 's that to the purpose . 't is not lost , that which is laid out to relieve the oppressed . but sure the greater part of them will perform their promise . for these reasons i was induced to pass my word for ducats , which hath made me so much in debt , that i know not how to get out ; but i fear have freed them from fetters , and clap'd them on my own legs . i am the larger on this subject , both to purge my self from too much facility , which i know some will accuse me of , in being ready to believe every body ; and also in some measure to blame my self for the slackness of some in their repayments whom i have undertaken . for i foresee i shall be a great loser by the business ; for i must necessarily make payment on the day , when my word was once passed : and besides , i heard that some whom i had released , had laughed at my craziness , in believing what they said to be true ; so that my case is but bad , if i should judge of the rest by them . but be it as it will , i thank my god , that i have been able to do so many good offices to so many distressed persons ; i do not repent it , for vertue is a sufficient reward to it self . i covet not that any honours should be conferred on me , nor any statue erected for my beneficence ; my utmost ambition is , that they would be so grateful , as to pay me what i laid out of purse , to save their lives ; of which i despair not from so cordial a nation as the spaniards are . for my part , i rejoyce not only that i did them a good turn , but that thereby i gave an example and invitation-to others to do the same . there live many merchants in pera , italians by stock , who are very assistant in relieving christian-prisoners ; but one of them deserves to be particularly mentioned by me , for the absurdity of his opinion , differing from all the rest . he was an italian greek , ( i e. ) one that resembles both those nations in his birth and manners . when his country men were mercifully busied in relieving prisoners , he could never be perswaded to give one farthing towards so pious a work ; and being blamed for it , his answer was , ( which he uttered in a barbarous and blunt italian style , the greek being more familiar to him , ) i know not , says he , what these men are ; but this i know , that the just judgment of god hath brought them into this miserable condition ; for my part , i will not oppose the will of god , let them abide in that place god hath set them ; you who do boldly withstand what god hath decreed , may pity them if you please : but i will not spare a doit to release them , though you use never so many arguments to perswade me . but enough of this vain and foolish opiniator . this loss at sea , together with the misfortune of bajazet , struck a great terror into me , that the turks made more insolent thereby , would hearken to almost no conditions of peace . this publick calamity was seconded by a private one ; the plague had invested my house ; one of my faithful servants died thereof , and the rest were terribly afraid of the infection . but before i speak of that , there was another case surprised me , arising on this account . solyman grows every day more superstitious than other in the rites of his religion ; he was wont to delight himself in musick , and in the chanting of young singers , but all this was laid aside , by means of a certain old sybil , noted for sanctity , who told him , that if he left not off that sport , he would be severely punished after his death . he was so moved herewith , that he cast his musical instruments , though richly studded with gold and jewels , into the fire and burnt them . and whereas he formerly eat his meat out of silver dishes , now he was perswaded to use none but earthen platters ; he was also over-perswaded by her to abridge the use of wine , wherein he was told a great liberty was used , which his prophet would be angry at , if he suffer'd it . hereupon an edict was published , that for the future no wine should be imported into constantinople , either to christians or iews either . this edict did much concern me and mine , who were never wont to drink water ; and what other liquor could we have , if wine were forbid . our long absence from our country , and the uncertain issue of embassy , were a sufficient mortification to us , without this other inconvenience of change of diet , which must needs indanger our health . hereupon i desired my interpreters to intercede for me in the divan , that i might retain my antient right . the bassa's men were of different opinions in the case ; some alledged , we ought to be content with water as well as they ; for what would the neighbourhood say , if christians may drink wine , and themselves be severely forbid the use of it . if christians in the midst of constantinople , might ingurgate what wine they please , the stink thereof will spread far and near , and profane all ; yea , the mussul-men themselves , when they came to us , would return belching out the smell of wine . hereupon we were likely to be cast in our case ; but at last a more favourable opinion , viz. of those who plead that the sudden change would be insufferable for us , and occasion many diseases , if not death it self . whereupon we were allowed the freedom of one night , to get in what wine we could , which was brought to the nearest landing-place , from whence we were furnished with horsed carriage to convey it to my lodging with as little observation as might be , all being done in the night . thus i stor'd my self , and kept my priviledge . some of the grecians played a pretty prank with the sultan on this account , when they knew that he was to pass through a road full of vineyards on both sides , they set a great many labourers at work to root out the vines ; some of them they lay in the high-way ; others they loaded on carts . the emperor passing by , and demanding the reason for so doing , they answered , that seeing by his edict they were forbid the use of wine , they were cutting down their vines to make fuel for the fire . for shame , says solyman forbear , you do not understand my command aright ; though i forbid the use of wine , yet i allow the eating of grapes , as one of the best fruits that god hath allotted to mankind ; only you are not to express and adulterate their juice , nor tun it up in hogsheads , and so make it quite another thing . what will you cut down apple-trees also , because they bear not wine ? get you gone you buzards , and spare your vines . thus the greeks were fool'd in their project . but to return to the story of the pestilence which was within the walls of my house ; whereupon i went to rustan to desire leave for me and my family to remove , and to go into a less contagious air ; this i desired not with any great confidence of obtaining my request , ( for i knew the rigidness of his opinion , ) but only shewing care for the health of my family . he answered the messenger , he would acquaint solyman with my desire , and if i came the next day , i should have his answer . accordingly i sent and received this answer from him ; the emperor wondered what i meant , in desiring to move my habitation ; is not the pestilence god's arrow , which will always hit his mark ? if god would visit me herewith , how could i avoid it ? is not the plague said he , in my own palace , and yet i do not think of removing ? and therefore he wish'd me to abide ; where i was forced to stay in a pestilential and infected house . but rustan dying of a dropsie soon after , and haly , then second vizier of the bench succeeded him , a prudent and courteous person as any was amongst the turks , i sent him a present , a large garment of silk , in way of congratulating his new dignity . he returned me this courteous answer , that he would always be my friend , and upon any occasion i should not scruple to make my address to him . and i found him as good as his word , for when my house a while after was re-visited with the plague , which swept away many of my servants , and amongst others , my chief physitian : i sent the same message to haly which i had done to rustan before ; who answered me , for his part he was very willing i should remove my habitation , but that it were better for me to ask leave of the sultan himself , least said he , if he casually light upon any of your servants walking at random up and down , he should take it in great disdain that so much liberty was granted them without his knowledge : and yet , proceeded he , i shall propound the matter so cautiously to the prince , that i do not doubt of his assent . and accordingly soon after , i received a message from him , that i might remove whither i pleased . whereupon i chose an island called principo , for my dwelling , about four hours sail from constantinople . it was the pleasantest of all the little isles contiguous to that city , for the rest have no village at all in them , or but one at most , but this has two. the physician i lately told you of , died at my house of a plague , it was my old friend dr. williams , the choice companion of my long and tedious pilgrimage : the occasion of the sickness was this , it seems amongst the rest of the prisoners i had redeemed one , as the event declared , who was sick of the plague . my physitian did assiduously attend him , till he got the infection himself ; for he was guilty of that singularity of opinion , that there was more fear than danger ; for at the same time , said he , there are wont to arise other diseases , which men are apt to think is the pestilence ; so that pestilential remedies are usually applied to every common sore or boyl ; thus he flattered himself though he was deeply infected ; yet he did not suspect it to be the plague till it was past remedy , and he was ready to dye under the hands of his attendance . the day before he died , he sent me word he was better ; and desired to see me , if i pleased to bestow a visit upon him : i did so , and sat a great while by his bed-side ; he related to me how ill he had been , and that his sight as well as his other senses had been so weakened , that he knew no body ; but now said he , my senses are restored , and if i could be freed from my distillation that hinders my breath , i should be presently well ; and at my departure , i told him that i heard that he had a rising in his breast ; i have so , says he , and thereupon he threw aside his blanket , and shewed me his breast ; but there is no danger says he , in it , for it came from buttoning my doublet which i put on too strait . towards the evening according to custom , i sent two of my servants to watch with him , who while they were putting on him a clean shirt , he himself espied a purple spot in his breast , which they told him was but a flea-bite ; and by and by he discovered more and greater ones . no , said he , these are not flea-bites , but tokens of approaching death ; and therefore let us spend this night in prayer and holy conference preparatory to my latter end , which he did , and in the morning with full assurance of god's mercy , he departed this life . thus was i bereaved of my special bosom friend , and the common wealth of learning had also a great loss of him ; for he had made observations in his travels which he intended to publish , and would have been very useful to the world , if death had not prevented his laudable design . his skill and faithfulness was so much prized by me , that if the times had suffered me to return , i knew none fitter to leave in my place at constantinople than himself , had he out-lived me . after his death , my cares seemed to be doubled , nay , if i should have left them behind , i had returned but half my self as it were . well , his soul is at rest , and i erected a monument , as a due testimony to his vertue . but to return to our island . i lived there very pleasantly for three months . it was a private place , without any trouble or noise ; there were only a few greeks , with whom i diverted my self ; but never a turk to interrupt my mirth . as for the turks of my houshold , they created no trouble to me , i might go whither i would , and pass from one of these islands to another at my pleasure , without any molestation from them . there grew there several sorts of plants , as lavender , sharp-pointed myrtle , cotton-weed , and abundance more . the sea full of divers sorts of fishes , which i took sometimes with net , sometimes with hook and line . several grecian fishers with their boats attended me , and where we had hopes of the greatest sport , thither we sailed , and cast our nets . sometimes we played above board , and when we saw a crab or a lobster at the bottom , where the sea was very clear , we would run him through with a fish-spear , and so hale him up into a vessel . but our best and most profitable sport , was with a drag net , where we thought most fish were , there we cast it in a round ; it took up a great compass , with the long ropes tied to ends thereof , which were to draw it to land. to those ropes the seamen tied green boughs very thick , that so the fish might be frightned , and not seek to escape . thus we brought great sholes of trembling fishes near the shore . and yet in this danger they were naturally instigated how to save themselves ; some would leap over the net , others would cover themselves in the sand that they might not be taken ; others strove to bite the meashes of the net , though made of course flax or hemp , of which kind were the synodontes , fish armed with strong teeth , and if one made way for himself , all would follow him , and so the whole draught would escape , and not a fish left for the fisher. to remedy this inconvenience , ( for i was aware thereof , ) i stood with a pole in my hand , beating the water , that i might keep the fish from biting the net. at which my attendants could not choose but laugh , yet for all this many of them escaped . so sagacious are fishes where they are in extream danger . yet notwithstanding the fugitives , we brought a great many fishes ashore , a sea-bream , scorpion-fishes , dragon-fishes , scare-fish , jule-fish , chane or ruff-fishes , whose variety did delight my eye , and the enquiry into their nature , did hugely please my fancy : so that at night i came with my triumphant vessel laden with prey . the next day i presented hali bassa , and his chief steward , with part of my acquests , who took it very kindly at my hands . sometimes i took delight with an iron spear made on purpose to catch shrimps or cramps , which are there so thick , as if they grew in that sea : where i observed the master-shrimps lying two by two , the male and the female , and sometimes more of them , of which cicero , plini and athenaeus speak so much● i confess , i think some of these relations concerning them are rather fabulous than true : for they say , that this shell-fish doth gape in order to catch other small fishes , and when she hath got them , yet she shuts not her shell till the pinnophylax bite it , and by this warning she closes her shell , and with her mouth the pinnophylax divided her prey . the figure of these pinnae you have in bellonius . the sharp part of it sticks in the bottom of the sea , as if it grew there ; and by these sticking fibres , she draws in her nourishment , as appears by this , that when she is loosed from her hold , she dies for want of sustenance , as herbs and plants do . and it is probable , that the pinnophylax chose this sort , as a defence against other ravenous fishes , where it may lye quiet even in stormy weather , and go in and out at her pleasure . yet i speak not this , to detract from the credit of those worthy authors i mentioned before , but only to leave the matter to more curious enquirers . we quickly laded our boat with these pinnae , they are but a course fare , like muscles , of which you would be soon weary ; but the fishermen advised me to keep the pinnophylaxes apart , for they would make a goodly , wholsom , and graceful dish . amongst the rest of the islands , there is one untilled and uninhabited , whither all sorts of monsters do resort , star-fish , saw-fish , grape-fish , sea-horses , prodigious cockles , a round yellow fish like an orange ; no ordinary fish there , but thornback , and a certain fork-fish , with a terrible prickle . i remember we took one of them , who making at us , run her self through . when tempestuous weather hindered me to see the sea , then i delighted my self to find out strange and unusual plants at land. i would sometimes go afoot all over the island , having a young franciscan monk in my company , a jolly fellow , but very fat , and not used to travel on foot ; i took him out of a monastry of pera to be my partner in my walks ; he was so corpulent and pursy , that when i went on pace to catch my self an heat , he would follow me at a distance panting and blowing , with these words in his mouth , what need all this haste ? whom do we run from , or whom do we pursue ? what are we carriers or posts that must make speed to deliver some important letters ? thus he mutter'd , till the very sweat pierced through all his cloaths . in fine , when we came back to our lodging , he threw himself upon his bed , wofully complaining , and crying out , he was undone : what injury have i done , said he , that you thus go about to destroy me ? and in this fretting posture we had much ado to perswade him to eat a bit for his dinner . now and then some friends visited me from constantinople , and from pera ; yea , and some germans also of haly's own family ; of whom when i asked whether the plague was abated ? mightily , said they ? how many then die in a day ? almost five hundred , said they . good god , quoth i , call you that to abate , when then doth it rage ? they replied , when about a thousand or twelve hundred die in a day . the turks entertain this opinion concerning the pestilence , that every man's destiny is writ by god in his forehead ; so that 't is a foolish thing in them , to think to decline or avoid it . this opinion makes them fearless of the plague , but not secure from it . so that as soon as ever any man dies of the pestilence , they will take off his cloaths yet sweaty , and linnen , and rub their faces with them . if it be the will of god , say they , that i shall dye this way , it will most certainly come to pass , if not , it will not hurt me . thus a large field is open for infection ; so that whole families are sometimes swept away by that disease . whilst i abode in these islands , i got acquaintance with one metrophanes , a metropolitan , who presided over a monastry in chalcis , one of those islands ; he was a learned and a vertuous man , very desirous of agreement between the latine and the greek churches ; so that he differed from the humour of the rest of the grecians , who esteem the latins as men of an impure and profane sect ; so much doth every man abound in his own sense . when i had lived about two months in those islands , some of the bassa's began to suspect my long absence , and told haly , that perhaps i might make my escape , for i had ships ready at my command , and other conveniencies might easily be procured ; and therefore it was more advisable i should return into the city . he answered them , he had that confidence in my word , that he believed i designed no such thing . nevertheless he sent a chiaux to me to advertise me thereof : the chiaux very cunningly pried about to see if he could discover the least preparation for an escape , but finding none , after i had presented him , he returned to his master with his message from me , that he might rest secure , for i never intended to break my word . thus i continued three months in my retirement , and returned of my own accord into the city without any compulsion . form that time forward i had a great familiarity with haly , and our discourse was still of peace : he is a dalmatian by birth , and the only courteous man i found in that barbarous country : his nature mild and gentle ; his person of easie access ; he is of a deep understanding , capable of managing the greatest affairs , having much skill in military as well as political matters , for he is an old man , and hath passed through the greatest offices of that common-wealth . his stature is tall , and his countenance filled with a lovely gravity : he hath a mighty love for his master , and consults by all means imaginable his repose in his old and sickly age. what rustan thought to do by austerity , severeness and minatory expressions , that haly endeavours to compass by mildness , moderation and friendship . rustan was always severe , fierce , self-will'd , his word must pass for a law : 't is true , he knew well enough his own circumstances , and what the times did exact of him , and what the old age of his prince required ; but he was afraid , that if he carried himself complyingly , either in word or deed , the vogue would be , he did it out of covetousness , of which he was vulgarly suspected : and therefore , though he was desirous of a peace , yet he would abate nothing of his wonted stiffness ; but if propositions were offered to him , not pleasing to his fancy , he would almost thrust a man out of doors ; so that i scarce ever parted from him but in an angry mood . one time when i was treating with him of peace , if i had nothing else to say , he bid me ●e gone : i presently rose up and went my way , only telling him , that i could propose no other conditions than what my master allowed me to do . which words i pronouncing with more fervour and passion than i was wont to do , he called back my interpreter and asked him , whether i were angry ? he answered , no. what , said he , if i should obtain what he desires of the sultan , dost thou think he will perform his word to me , in presenting me with the sum he promised me ? no question , said the drugger-man , but he will be as good as his word to a tittle . then , says rustan , go home and ask him . i had then ducats , which make crowns , lying by me for any sudden emergency ; i loaded my interpreter with them , and bid him carry that to rustan , and tell him , that this sum was but the earnest of what i had promised him , but the rest would follow , if my negotiation were brought to an happy issue , for by no means would i be worse than my word . he seem'd to be pleased with the sight of the mony , but returned it again to me , bidding my drugger-man to tell me , that he no ways doubted of my faithfulness , but the matter of the peace stood yet on ambiguous terms ; neither could he certainly promise a good issue , for he did not fully know his master's mind . but let the embassador , said he , keep it for me , as my treasurer , till he sees the event . thus was the mony brought me back again ; and rustan died a while after . here give me leave to acquaint you with the bounty of my master , the best of emperors ; for that mony lying dead by me , i acquainted his imperial majesty , that i would lay it out for one years expence ( which amounted to just as much ) in my embassy . but i repented afterwards of this my frankness , especially considering what pains i had taken in my imployment for so many years together ; my mind gave me i was deficient to my self , in not desiring that sum for my own use , seeing i knew i served a liberal master , who put a just value upon every man's service , and rewarded him accordingly ; and therefore i might have desired that mony ( which was snatch'd , as it were , out of the fire ) for my own use ; for i knew some courtiers would have asked greater sums for less merit and service . upon second thoughts i put my master in mind of my over-sight , and desired his favour , that the said sum might be returned intire to me : he was graciously pleased to grant my request , and commanded so many ducats to be told out for me out of his own exchequer : which badge of his favour , if i should be unmindful of , i were unworthy to breath in the common air : but to return from whence i digressed . haly and rustan were of quite different humours and dispositions : haly lived a blameless life , free from sordidness , and never feared that his courteons deportment would procure him the sultan's ill-will ; but rustan on the contrary , was a mony-monger , avaricious , and his conscience hing'd at his purse-strings : rustan's conferences with me were very short and concise ; but haly would spin out time on purpose ; and that he might entertain me the longer , he would season his discourse with a great deal of facetiousness ; insomuch that the turks , who attended on the account of business or otherways , would murmur and grumble that he spent so much time with me , that thereby they had not convenient opportunity to transact their own concerns with him . and the truth is , there was somewhat of mortification to my self in it too , for i usually was sent for to him in the afternoon , and i went fasting , that i might be readier to deal with so acute a man : in our conferences he pressed this as a principal point , that each of us would propound that which we thought most conducive to the service of our masters respectively : his master desired repose in his old age , which was seated with success and victory ; and he thought my master also desired peace and quietness ; and therefore if he studied the tranquility of his realm , he should by no means rouse a sleeping lyon. the minds of princes , says he , are like looking-glasses having no innate shape , yet the shape of all things objected to them pass through them ; so princes souls , free of themselves , are impress'd by the images of all things as they are represented ; and therefore we must lay nothing before them , but what is profitable for their affairs : for as good cooks temper their sauces , not to this or that man's palate , but for the gust of all the guests ; so we , in proposition of peace , must weigh circumstances on either side . this and much more did he friendly communicate to me ; yea , at all times he shewed himself courteous , and when i requited his courtesie with any extraordinary piece of respect , he thought himself doubly oblig'd . once as he was returning from the divan , and came to a cross way where he was wont to salute his fellow bassa's at parting , turning his horse too nimbly , and leaning on his neck , both horse and man fell to the ground : when i heard of his mischance , i sent to know whether he had got any hurt by his fall ? he returned me thanks , and told me , he got no hurt , but 't was usual for an old soldier to be apt to stumble and fall. then turning to the by-stander : this christian agent , says he , has , i thank him , a mighty love for my person . sometimes in discourse he would tell me , that he had got wealth and honour enough , so that now he studied only to leave a savoury memory behind him , by doing good to posterity . when our treaty of peace had proceeded on fairly a long time , and i was in good hopes of an happy conclusion , an unlucky accident hapned , which might have embarrassed the whole affair : a certain greek despot , by the help of caesar's soldiers which guarded the frontiers of hungary , had broke into moldavia , and driven out the vaivod thereof , possessing it for himself . this business gave a great alarm to the turks , as not knowing but such beginnings might end in greater mischief ; and indeed the danger was considerable , though the turks thought it prudence to dissemble their forces . haly intended to speak with me about it , as i understood by one of his domesticks ; and accordingly he sent for me a few hours after : i confess i was somewhat troubled at the message ; i was afraid , that my negociation being in a promising way to a good issue , this matter would spoil all . when i came , he entertain'd me with his wonted courtesie , and after much discourse tending to the concluding of the peace , he shew'd no sign of discontent at all in his countenance , till i was just about to take my leave of him and go away , then he bid me sit down again , for something was come to his memory which he had forgot : don't you hear , said he , that your germans have made an inroad into moldavia ? no , said i , neither do i believe it ; for how should the germans come to a place so remote from them as moldavia ? 't is most certainly true , said he , i have it by several expresses , and i will send one of your own country germans to convince you of the truth thereof . this onset gave me occasion to tell him , that if any of this were true , i was sure it was not done by the consent or command of my master caesar. the germans , said i , are a free people , and used to serve other nations in their war ; and perhaps some of them had taken pay under forreigners : but , in my iudgment , the cause of these commotions arise from the hungarian nobles of that neighbourhood , who being provoked by the daily injuries of the turks , labour to cry quiet with them . and to speak the truth , i think they are not much to be blamed , if upon so great provocations they labour to revenge themselves ; do not your soldiers do so on the borders of hungary ? what plunderings and devastations do they make in the emperor's territories there ? here we talk of peace , there is nothing but war and bloodshed : and for my own part , i am held as a prisoner , neither do my friends know whether i am alive or dead ? and truly they that have suffered so much damage from you , are worthy rather of praise than blame , if they take any opportunity of revenge . let them retaliate , said haly , provided it be within hungary , and the borders of hungary , but 't is intolerable they should range as far as moldavia , which is but ten days iourny from adrianople . to which i replied , that men of the sword did not much study points of the law or civility , but used to take the first opportunity to revenge themselves where-ever it was offered . thus i departed from him , neither did he seem at all to be angry , nor was a jot more morose in my after-addresses to him . during these transactions with the visier , the french embassador did me a great courtesie ; there were thirteen young gentlemen , some germans , some hollanders , in prison at constantinople upon this remarkable occasion ; they took ship at venice , in a vessel that every year carried pilgrims to ierusalem , and their charta-part was to that purpose ; some of them travelled on the account of religion , others to see forreign countries , but they all met with an unlucky omen , for just at the time that they landed in syria , the malteese had landed some soldiers and plunder'd the sea-coast of phoenicia , carrying away some of the inhabitants prisoners : whereupon those syrians who had lost parents , children and friends , having no other visible way of satisfaction , seiz'd on these gentlemen in the venetian vessel , pretending they were some of the pyrates ; and if they did not procure their friends to be released , they should be kept in slavery themselves : and though they were shewed the privilege from the government of venice , and were put in mind of the publick faith , and the league betwixt them , yet all was one , away they must be sent prisoners to constantinople : and their youth was a great prejudice to them , for the bassa's thought such young simplings would never undertake so long a voyage on the account of religion , for the turks never begin their pilgrimages till they be ancient . when i heard of this disaster , i did what i could to release them , but all to no purpose . the bailo of venice was applied to , because under the protection of that republick they fell into this danger : he granted 't was all the reason in the world they should be released ; but what iustice , said he , can we obtain among such an inhumane and barbarous people ? in the mean time i applied all the relief i was able to their distressed condition : but one day , far beyond my expectation , they all came to my house , and told me , that they were sent as a present to me by the french embassador , who had obtained their liberty . i was mighty glad of their releasement , and sent great thanks to the embassador , whose name was la vigne . the manner was thus , when he was about to take his leave of the sultan , and to kiss his hand , as the custom is , he thrust a schedule into it , wherein he desired that the gentlemen might be released in favour to his prince , because their voyage was occasioned upon the account of a pilgrimage for religion . solyman granted his request , and released them presently : whereupon i supplied them with accommodations for their voyage , and sent them first to vienna , and then home into their own country . this la vigne at first was mighty strict and cross to me , and used all his arts to bring me into the bassa's dislike without any fault of mine : he told them , i was a subject to the king of spain , born in the low-countries , and that i served the spaniards more than the emperor ; and that i acquainted him with every thing that was done at constantinople ; and that i had emissaries in pay , who related to me the very secrets of that empire , amongst whom was ebrahim the chief druggerman of turkey . this he did before the peace was made between spain and france , but when those two princes were agreed , on the first opportunity he did retract what he had spoken . la vigne was a man of a prodigious liberty to speak ; he would tell all he knew , let it be taken how it would . this made rustan himself to avoid his company ; whilst at the same time others were backward to converse with rustan , because of the soureness of his humour . he sent once to rustan to desire audience : he told the messengers , his interpreters , that he might send his errand by them , for his business might be as well done in his absence as presence . yet la vigne would needs come himself , where he spoke that which grated rustan's ears . what do you think , says he , that you have got buda , gran , alba regalis , and other hungarian towns , from the christians by force ? no , i deny it utterly , 't is our dissention that gave you opportunity to take them : if there had not been continual wars between the kings of france and spain , you wo●ld have been so far from possessing those towns , that charles v. would hardly have suffered you to live quiet at constantinople it self . at which speech rustan was so provoked , that he told him , what dost thou tell me of the kings of spain and france ; if all the christian princes joyn their arms together against my master , he cares not a rush , he will easily conquer them all . and thereupon he withdrew himself into his bed-chamber , and bid the embassador be gone . i must needs acquaint you in this place , with the relations i have heard concerning that people which inhabit the tauric-chers●ners , who are reported to have been originally germans , as their speech , manners and countenances seem to declare ; i had a great desire to meet with any body of that nation , from whom i might procure some tracts written in that language , but i could not obtain it ; yet at last i met with an accident which in part satisfied my desires : there came two envoys from that nation to the sultan , to make some complaints or other ; and my interpreters lighting upon them , did ( as i had desired them , if ever they had opportunity ) invite them to dinner to my house . one was a tall man , carrying an ingenious simplicity in his countenance , so that he seemed either a flemming or a batavian : the other was shorter of a well-set body , and browner colour , a greek by birth , but by frequent commerce with that people , he had got much of their language , and seemed to forget his own : being asked concerning the nature and manners of that people , he answered very pertinently , that they were a warlike nation , that inhabited many towns thereabouts , from whence the cham of tartary , when he pleased , used to draw forth musketeers , the chief prop of his army . their chief cities were two , one called maneup the other scivarin . he added much more concerning the tartars and their barbarity , yet he confessed that there was some very ingenious men amongst them : if you asked of the highest affairs , they would answer briefly yet very oppositely ; insomuch that the turks said ordinarily of them , that other nations had their learning in their books , but the tartars had eaten their books , and had their wisdom in their breasts , from whence they could draw it out as they had occasion , as divine oracles . they are slovenly in their deportment , for if you set any soop before them , they eat it not with a spoon , but with the hollow of their hands . their meat is horse-flesh , not roasted but heated under the saddles of their horses , to which hunger was their best sauce . their prince is served in siver , his first and last dish being a horses head , as butter uses to be served up first and last with us . he repeated many german words , amongst others , which were unintelligible to us , perhaps his memory fail'd him , so that he mix'd home-bred and forreign words together ; to every word he added the article tho or the. the words which were ours , little different from them , were these : broe , bread. plut , blood. stul , a stool or seat. hus , a house . wingart , a vine . reghen , rain . bruder , brother . schwester , sister . alt , old man. wintch , wind. silvir , silver . goltz , gold. kor , wheat . salt , salt. fisct , eish . hoef , the head. thurn , a gate . stern , a star. sune , the sun. mine , the moon . tag , a day . oeghene , the eyes . bars , a beard . handa , the hands . boga , a bow. miera , an ant. rinck or ringo , a ring . brunna , a fountain . waghen , a waggon or coach. apel , an apple . schieten , to shoot an arrow . schlipen , to sleep . kommen , to come . singhen , to sing . lachen , to laugh . criten , to weep . geen , to go . breen , to roast . schwalch , death . knauen tag was good-day with him , knauen was good , and several such words he used , not well agreeing with ours , as , jel , life or health . jeltsch , alive or well . jel uburt , let it be well . marzus , marriage . schuos , a spouse . baar , a stone . ael , a stone . menus , flesh. rintsch , a mountain . fers , a man. statz , the earth . ada , an egg. ano , an hen. telich , a fool. stap , a goat . gadeltha , beautiful . atochta , evil. wichtgata , white . mycha , a sword. lista , a little . schedit , light. borrotsch , the will. cadariou , a soldier . kilemschkop , drink up your cup. tzo warthata , as thou hast done . jes varthata , he did it . ich malthata , i say . when he was desired to number , he said thus , ita , tua , tria , fyder , fyuf , seis , sevene , just as we flemmings ; for you brabantars , who speak german-like , do highly value your selves , and undervalue us , as if we pronounced seven more coursly : he went on reckoning a the , nyne , thiine , thiinita , thiinetua , thiinetria , &c. twenty he called stega , thirty treithyen , forty furdeithien , an hundren sada , a thousand hazer . he also sung us a song in that language , which began thus : wara war a ingdolou : seu te gira galizu . hoemisclep dorbiza ea . whether these people be goths or saxons , i cannot tell ; if saxons , then , i suppose , they were transplanted thither in the time of charles the great , who dispersed that nation into many remote countries , as appears by the cities of transilvania , which to this day are inhabited by saxons ; and possibly he might transplant the rest of the nation as far as taurick chersoness , where they still retain the christian religion , though surrounded with the enemies thereof : but if they are goths , then i judge they chose their inhabitants there next to the getis , and perhaps most of that tract of land between the gothick isle and procopia , ( as now 't is called ) was heretofore inhabited by goths . hence we read of the names of sundry goths , as west-goths , and east or ostro-goths , who over-run the world with their victory , and were the great seminary of multitudes of barbarians . this is all i could hear of these procopensians concerning the taurick chersonese . let me now tell you something of the city and country cathay , which i learned of a certain turkish pilgrim , who use to travel over the world on account of religion , and to worship god on high mountains and desert places . he had travelled over a great part of the east-country , where he was acquainted with the portuguese ; but having a desire to visit cathay also , he joyned himself to some merchants , who in great numbers used to travel to this country : 't is a journy that not many will undertake , it being so dangerous , and the way thither so full of strange nations , who use to plunder travellers in their passage : when he left persia behind him , he came to samarehand , to borchar , and to taschan , and other towns inhabited by the successors of tamerlain : when he had passed by these places there were mighty deserts , and some countries inhabited by wild , and others by a more civilized , people ; yet the country was generally poor , so that they were forced to carry their victuals along with them on a drove of camels : this company they call caravans . after some months travel they came to the streights , entring into cathay , ( for you must know , that a great part of that country is mediterranean , and encompassed by such huge mountains and rocks , that it is accessible but in a very few passages , where their king hath his guards and garrisons : ) when the merchants come thither , they are asked what they bring ? whence they come ? and how many they are ? when the guard is informed of the truth , they make a smoak by day , or else kindle a beacon by night , which gives warning to the next beacon , and so from one to another till they come to cathay . this advice cost them but some hours , which otherwise would take up many days , the way is so long : when news is brought to the king , he sends backward by the same way of conveyance what his pleasure is , whether they shall all be admitted to enter , or only some , the rest being either excluded , or made to stay longer : when they are admitted , they are guarded all along to their several inns or lodging-places , where they may have all things for their mony , till they come to the king himself . here every one brings forth his respective ware , and presents the king , whose privilege it is , to buy what ware he pleaseth in the first place ; and then they sell the rest to the best chapman . this they must do within certain limits of time , within which they must return ; for the catharians cannot endure that strangers should live long amongst them , for fear they should infect their country manners . thus is the caravan dismissed very friendly , and returns by the same stages they went. this traveller told me , that they were a very wise people , and lived in good order and government , having a distinct religion of their own , differing from the christian , iewish or mahometans , but nearest to the iewish , except their ceremonies . printing hath been in use among them for many ages , as appears by their several printed books : for paper they use the cases of silk-worms , it is so thin that it will bear printing on one side only , the other is blank : in this city , he said , there were a great many shops full of musk , which was the fresh foame of a certain beast as big as a kid. a lyon is highly prized amongst them , there are none of them in that country , and therefore they value it at a great rate , and they will give most for it . this is what i could learn of this wanderer concerning cathay , believe it as you please : i asked him farther , whether he had brought back any rare root , fruit or stone , out of that country : he told me , he had brought nothing but a little root for his own use , which he would bite and eat a little of when he was faint or cold , and it would presently heat and relieve him ; and thereupon he parted it , and gave some to me , telling me i must use it very sparingly : i desir'd dr. williams , my physician , then alive , to tast of it , who by its biting and inflaming tast , judged it to be a tree wolf-leaf . let me now tell you another wondrous ●tory of a certain wandering turkish monk , ●e wore a cap and white cloak down to his heels , with long hair , such as painters draw the apostles with : he had a promising countenance , but was a meer impostor , yet the turks admired him as a miraculous man ; my interpreters were perswaded to bring him to me , that i might see him ; he dined with me soberly and modestly enough ; afterwards he goes down into the yard , and upon his return he takes up a huge stone , and struck it divers times on his naked breast , as many blows as would have felled an oxe : then he took a piece of iron , that was heated in the fire on purpose , and thrust it into his mouth , where he stirred it up and down so that his spittle hiss'd again ; 't was a long piece of iron , thick and quadrangular in that part which he thrust into his mouth , and it was red-hot as a live coal : then he put the iron into the fire again , and after i had bestowed a largess on him , he saluted me and departed . my domesticks wondred at the prank , all but one , which pretended he knew more than all the rest ; o , says he , he is but a meer cheat ; and thereupon he takes hold of the stronger part of the iron , pretending he could do as much as the juggler ; but he had no sooner grasped it in his hands , but he threw it away , and his fingers were well burnt for his audaciousness , so that they were many days a curing . this accident caused his fellows to laugh , and jearingly to ask , whether the iron were hot enough yet , and whether he would touch it again or not ? the same turk , while he was at dinner , told me , that the prior of their monastery was a man famous for sanctimony and miracles , for he would spread his cloak over a lake near adjoyning , and sitting on it , would row up and down whither he pleased : and that he would strip himself naked , and be tied to a sheep newly kill'd , tying arms to arms , and leg to leg , and so would be thrown into the hot oven till the sheep were bak'd fit to be eaten , then he himself would be taken out without any harm at all : you will not believe it , neither do i , only i relate what he told me ; but that part concerning an hot iron i saw with my eyes . and yet i must tell you , the matter is not so much to be admired , for without doubt , the fellow , when he went down into the yard to fetch a stone , had fortified his mouth with some medicines against the violence of the fire , such medicines being suitable as you know ; for i remember once at the coast of venice , i saw a juggler melt lead in the fire , and wash his hands therewith , as if it had been common water : but enough of this . i told you before , that i had a little more freedom some time before rustan's death , which was grateful love on one account , because it gave me opportunity to converse with strangers and others which frequented my house , whose acquaintance might be instructive to me ; and yet this liberty was not ballanced without inconvenience , it gave my servants opportunity to straggle abroad , and sometimes without the iannizaries , and so they met with many affront , which cost me some trouble : i 'll tell you of one , by which you may judge of the rest . two of my servants passed over in a boat to pera , they went alone , either because the iannizaries were not at home , or else they thought it needless to take them ; one was my apothecary , the other master of my wine-cellar ; when they had done what they went for , they hired a boat to carry them back to constantinople ; they were scarce set down in the boat , but there came a youth from the caddy or judge of that place , commanding them to come forth , for the caddy must be wasted over in that boat : my servants told him , there were boats enough to carry over the caddy , besides that which they had hired , and therefore they would not come forth : hereupon he endeavoured to force them ; so that from words they came to blows . this being done in the sight of the caddy , who was coming down to the boat , it made him run to help his boy , ( who was thought to be his ganymede ) but the steps towards the sea being slippery , by reason of ice , ( for it was winter ) he fell head-long into the sea , and had been drown'd if his companions had not relieved him : here upon a clamour was raised all over pera , and the vogue went among the turks , that my servants had laid violent hands on the judge● and had almost drown'd him : my servants were seized and carried before the judge of capital case : they fetch forth clubs , and stocks to put their feet in , that they might beat them , as their manner is , on the soles of them : in the interim , one of my servants , an italian , in a petting chuff , cried out , beat , strike , dogs , strike ; we are wronged , we are innocent , we are servants to cesar 's embassador , and doubtless when your own emperor shall know how we are abused , he will make you smart for it . one of the turks , hearing him cry out so boldly : d' ye think , said he , that one-ey'd thing is a man ? no , for certain he is an one-ey'd cacodaemon , ( for he had a blemish in one of his eyes . ) the waywade also , ( i. e. ) the judge in their language , perceiving the boldness of the man , was in a stand what to do , but thought it best to send them to rustan for to punish them : thither went the whole rout , with a pack of false-witnesses , ready to give false testimonies against the innocent ; for the turks count it meritorious to give in evidence against a christian ; you need not summon them to appear , they came of their own accords , as it hapned in this case : they all cried out before the grand visier , that those rogues had beaten their judge , and if they had not been seized , would have drown'd him : my servants denied the crime objected , alledging that they were falsly accused , and that they were my menial servants . by this time rustan understood , that there was more noise than right on his country-mens side ; yet to still the fury of the inraged multitude , he told them , he would punish them severely , and sent them to prison . the prison was a safe-guard to them against the fury of the multititude ; then the examined witnesses , the most credible amongst them , and found that my servants were guiltless , all the fault lay at the caddy's door . in the mean time i sent my interpreters to demand my servants , but rustan thought fit to refer the matter to the divan , lest , if the sultan should hear of it , he might suspect , that in the caddy's case he had been brib'd , and so his injury neglected . i had at this time some intimate acquaintance with haly , to whom i sent my druggerman with a grievous complaint , that i might not suffer wrong to the end of the chapter ; haly undertook my cause , and bid me rest confident that my business would soon end to my satisfaction . but rustan came not off so handsomly , he fear'd that it might be thought that mony had made him more execrable , and therefore he had rather the business had been compounded with the caddy , and wish'd me to offer him a few ducats to appease him , were enough . i gave him thanks for his advice , but returned answer , that if he desired me to throw so many ducats into the sea , i would willingly do it for his sake , but 't was not mony in this case would do , but example : for , said i , if this be the case , that he that did my servants an injury , must be paid for his labour , a larger fund than mine would not suffice ; for if a man tear his clothes , if he intended to do my people an injury , he knew where to have mony to buy new ones , which was an unworthy thing , and by no means to be indured by me . thus were my servants , by the mediations of haly , sent home to me . when the bailo of venice heard of their release , he sent for one of my servants present , and desired to know of him , what that business had cost me ? not a doit , said he . then said the bailo , if it had been mine , it would have cost me ducats before i could have come off . but the sorry judge suffered most of all ; for he was put out of his office , the turks accounting it an absurd an hainous thing to be beaten by a christian , as he confessed he had been . as for the release of the spanish commanders , it was obtained by my mediation , they were these , sandaeus commander of the land-forces , and leva , and requisenaeus , the one admiral of the neapolitan , the other the silician gallies . in short , i 'll tell you how i compassed their release : the peace made between the kings of spain and france , did much trouble the turks , as being inconvenient for their affairs , especially considering that they were not comprehended in it , as at first they thought they should , yet they dissembled the matter at present , but sought for an opportunity to shew their dislike thereof . solyman had writ to the king of france , that he agreed to the peace , yet would have him remember , that old friends are not easily made enemies , nor old enemies friends . this disgust of the turks did much advantage my affairs : to which haly bassa's kindness did contribute very much , and ebrahim's great desire to serve me , and to be thankful to me . you may remember i told you before , that when la vigne did accuse me to the bassa , at the same time he forgot not ebrahim , b●t told them , that he discovered all the secret counsels of the turks to me . this ebrahim was the chief drogerman , ( i. e. ) interpreter of solyman , a polander by nation , and therefore more hated by la vigne , because in a deadly fewd that was between codognatus a former ambassador of the same king ; and in jest he seem'd to take codognatus his part . i shall not trouble you with the contest betwixt them , it being alien to my purpose : this is certain , that la vigne was mindful of the affront , and could never endure ebrahim , but when he had access to the bassa every third ward was against him ; neither did he desist from complaining till ebrahim was thrown out of his place : for my part , i was not much concern'd for ebrahim's disgrace ; i had never such an extraordinary kindness for him , so as to lament his loss , for i found him many times cross to my affairs ; only it troubled me , that 't was noised abroad , he lost his place for my sake . hereupon i assisted him in his privacy what i could ; for i knew it troubled him , to be thrown out of office , and therefore i us'd him as an interpreter or messenger , betwixt me and the bassa in the transacting about the peace . and haly admitted him out of respect to me , because he was degraded without any just cause . in fine , i never left till i got him settled into his place again ; which courtesie did so oblige him , that in gratitude he shew'd me all the good offices he could , in all company and on all occasions : and he had the greater opportunity so to do , because of the offence the turks had taken of the french , for the making peace with the spaniard . on which account , when the noble salvatus was sent by the most christian king , to procure the liberty of sandaeus , he was wholly and absolutely refus'd . sandaeus was in mighty expectation of that embassie , believing he should never be released , if that negotiation had not effected it ; and therefore he was at great expence to buy presents for the grand seignior , and other great men upon his release . all which signified nothing , for salvatus went away without effecting any thing : when he was gone , the servants and solicitor of sandaeus came to me in a great fright ; and told me , they durst not acquaint their master with the unsuccessful news of salvatus's intercession for his liberty ; for all his hopes depending thereon , they were afraid the transaction would either make him desperate , or cast him into some fatal disease ; and therefore they desired me to acquaint him first by writing ; i refused , alledging , that i had not common places enough to draw comfort from , for a man in so deep a distress . for sandaeus was a man of a great spirit , full of hope , and without any fear ; and men of such dispositions , as they hope for what they desire , so if they are disappointed of their hopes , they are so cast down , that 't is hard to raise them to any tolerable frame of spirit . whilst matters stood thus at a stand , in comes ebrahim my interpreter , very opportunely ; and falling into discourse about these spanish prisoners ; he told me plainly , that if i did but demand their liberty , i should certainly obtain it ; and what he spake was upon good grounds . he had formerly given me some blind hopes , that i might procure their release if i set my self about it ; but i gave but little heed to his suggestion : for not being certain to conclude peace , how could i attempt such a thing . besides i was afraid , lest my interposition might hinder the success of salvatus's negotiation : but he was gone , and ebrahim whom i had so much obliged , persisted in the same opinion . i began to hearken to him ; yet telling him , he should have a care he did not engage me who was his friend , in a ridiculous business ; or without doubt i should be laught at if i succeeded not therein , the matter being thought difficult to be compassed in common opinion , and salviatus having attempted it in vain ; yet he advised me to proceed therein , and amused me with good success . upon this encouragement , i wrote to sandaeus , how fruitless salviatus's embassie had been , yet i wisht him not to despair ; for if any credit at all were to be given to a turk , there was good hope of his affairs ; and then i related what ebrahim had told me . having laid this foundation , i advis'd with some friends who were well skill'd in turkish affairs ; they wisht me all good success , but were very doubtful of them , especially seeing the king of frances's ambassador had been denyed , and the issue of peace was yet undetermined ; and moreover , the turks are hardly ever induced to release great men ; yet i wrote to my master the emperor , to let him know what hopes i had , and desired that i might in his name beg the release of those prisoners . to be short , upon great gifts and more promises made to the bussa's , for their favour in the case ; the day before st. laurence's day , all the prisoners were released and sent to my lodgings . sandaeus and leyva were at great odds one with another , so that they would not eat together , but i was forced to spread their tables apart ; requisena did eat with leyva , and sandaeus with me : so we went to supper . the french ambassador's steward came to me , bringing me some letters ; sandaeus askt of him , if he knew him ? yes sir , said he , i think you are don alvarez : i am so , said he ; pray remember me to your master , and tell him , that i have obtain'd my liberty by means of the emperor's ambassador , and that you have seen me abroad with your eyes : i see you indeed , sir , said he , but so , that i can scarce believe my own eyes . sandaeus did thus accost him , because his master the french agent , would never believe that solyman would release those great men at the emperor's instance : and the truth is , before they could obtain their liberty , their mufty which is as an archbishop amongst the turks , was consulted , whether a great many turks might not be released for a few christians ; for i had promis'd , that about forty turks of an ordinary rank , who were prisoners with us , should be released for them . the mufty answered , that there were two opinions on the case ; one pro , t'other con ; but he was for the affirmative . it now remains that i acquaint you with the last end of bajazet , who i told you before , was put in prison by the persians : many messages had passed between those two princes on that occasion ; and an ambassador came once from persia with presents , a tent curiously wrought , assyrian and persian tapistry , with the alcoran , and some beasts of an unusual sort ; as an indian ant , as big as any ordinary dog ; a fierce and biting present . the cause of the embassie was pretended to be , the reconciliation of bajazet with his father ; they were received very honourably , entertain'd with rich banquets , of which haly sent me a part , eight huge munificent dishes full of sweetmeats . 't was the custom of the romans to send dishes from their feasts to their friends ; the spaniards do it to this day ; and the turks from their great feasts carry home something , especially if they have wives and children ; they many times carried home whole napkins full of good eatable bits from my table ; and tho' they pretend to cleanliness , yet they would sometimes daub their silk-cloaths with some collation-drops . let me tell you a story to this purpose , which i know will make you laugh heartily , as it did me at first hearing thereof : for we are not such cato's , but yet sometimes we may season our care with moderate laughter , which shews that we are men. 't is the custom of the turkish bassa's , some days before their fast , ( which we call lent ) to make a publick feast or entertainment for all comers , none are excluded ; yet generally none but servants , friends , and relations come : there is a napkin made of leather spread over a long tapistry on the ground , full of dishes ; the table will hold abundance of guests ; the bassa himself sits at the upper end , and the choicest guests next to him , and then the ordinary guests in ranks till the table be full . it will not hold all at once , but some stand by till others have din'd , which they do in great modesty and silence ; and then they drinking a draught of honey diluted with water , salute their landlord , and away they go ; when they are gone , others sit down in their places , and a third class after them ; the servants still taking off the old dishes and ●etting on new . a certain bassa making such a feast , invited a singiack to sit next to him ; an old man of the sect which the turks call hayges , ( i. e. ) learned men , sat next to him : this haggie seeing such a plenty of victuals before him , had a mind to carry home some to his wife after he had filled his own belly ; but looking for his handkerchief to fill it with victuals , he found he had left it at home ; being then in a straight , he bethought himself , and resolv'd to fill his sleeve that hang'd on on his back ; but mistaking the singiack's for his own , he stuft it full of dainties , and stops it in with a piece of bread that nothing might fall out ; he was not to touch his sleeve till he had laid his hands on his breast or thigh , and so saluted his entertainer as their custom is ; when he had done that , he took up his own sleeve and finds it empty , at which he was much amaz'd , and return'd home very sad : a while after the singiack also rose from the table , and having saluted the bassa , at every step his sleeve cast out the dainties it was replenished with , unknown to him ; and seeing a train of junkets behind him , he blusht for shame : the company fell a laughing , but the bassa imagining how it came to pass , desired him to sit down again , and so he sent for the haggai ; when he came , he accosted him thus : i wonder that you being an old friend , and having a wife and children at home , did carry home nothing to them , seeing my table was so well furnished . truly , sir , said he , 't was no fault of mine , but i think my genius was angry with me ; for i stuft my sleeve with viands , and yet when i came forth i found it empty . thus the singiack was cheated , and the frustration of the haggai , together with the novelty of the case , occasioned no small laughter amongst all the company . but to return to bajazet . his case was desperate , between an angry father that required to have him given up , and a false friend , who pretended to detain him : sometimes solyman dealt mildly with the persian , putting him in mind of the league between them , that they were to have the same enemies and friends : sometimes he taxed him with war , if bajazet was not surrendred ; and thereupon he placed strong garrisons on all the confines of persia , he filled mesopotamia and the banks of euphrates with soldiers , especially the veteran ones , whom he had employed against bajazet , over whom mahomet the third of the viziers bassa's , and beglerbey of greece was made general , for solyman was returned home : moreover he sollicited the georgians dwelling between the hircan-sea and pontus , bordering on persia to aid him against them : they answered couragiously , that they were not strong enough themselves to cope with the persian ; but if he himself came upon the place with an army , they would then shew themselves men of courage against the persians as their common enemy . the hircanians also and the posterity of tamerlan were sollicitous to joyn arms : solyman himself gave forth , that he would go to aleppo , ( a city of syria , seated on the banks of euphrates ) that from thence he might make war on the persian : nor was the persian himself without fear , for he had often experienced the dint of solyman's sword. but the generality of the turks were averse from the war , and lookt on it as a wicked and detestable one , and this cooled the sultan . a great many soldiers , especially horse , forsook their colours , and return'd to constantinople without leave of officers ; and being commanded immediately to return , they did so ; but so unwillingly , that solyman plainly saw their aversion from the service . whereupon solyman , seeing he could not get bajazet alive out of the persian's hands , ( who feared his revenge if ever he came off clear , ) descended to the next thing , which was , to have him strangled there , and he hop'd to obtain his end this way ; because the persian had lately acquainted him by letter , that he had been very remiss in so great an affair . i have sent divers ambassadors to you , said he , but you send nothing to me but empty letters , or messengers ; and therefore to convince me that you are real in the business : send some considerable ambassadors of your prime nobility with whom i may transact , according to the greatness of the affair . as for himself , bajazet had been a great charge to him before he could be taken , and therefore 't was fit an account should be had of those expences . solyman thereby saw that money was requir'd , and therefore by the advice of his bassa , he resolved to take any other course , rather than to involve himself in an unnecessary war with the persians . hereupon hassan aga , together with an old bassa , one of the bed-chamber , was sent by solyman into persia : they departed with ample commission in the midst of the winter ; they made great haste , insomuch that they lost several of their retinue in the way : at last they came to casbia to the sophi , and desired to see bajazet ; they found him in a ●asty filthy prison , his beard and hair so long , that till he was shav'd he could hardly be known ; but then hanan knew him by the lineaments of his face , having been brought up with him from a child , and therefore he was chosen as the fittest person for this embassie . they agreed that the persian should be repaid what he had laid out , and should have many rich presents besides , provided they would destroy bajazet ; the hassan returns & gives an account to his master , who thereupon sent the expence by him , with the gifts , who were guarded by the turks to the confines of persia. thus hassan again returned to be the executioner of bajazet with his own hand , for so solyman had commanded : when the bow-string was about his neck , he desired but one thing before his death , which was , to see his children , and to take his last leave of them by a final kiss , but that was deny'd . this was the end of bajazet and his unfortunate designs ; the way he took to save himself was his ruine ; his four children under-went the same fate ; the new-born infant which he left at amusia , whom his grandfather had removed to persia to be educated there , when his father was dead , a trusty eunuch was sent to persia to destroy him too ; but the eunuch being tender-hearted , procured a certain porter , a hard-hearted fellow , who car'd not what desperate pranks he play'd , to joyn with him to help dispatch the child . this fellow went into the room , and as he was fitting the string to the infant 's neck , the poor child lifted up its self as well as he could , and embracing him in his arms , offered to kiss him , which did so mollifie his wretched heart , that he fell down in a swoon . the eunuch stood at the door , and wondering at the delay , went in and found the fellow sprawling on the ground , whereupon he was forced to execute the charge himself , and so strangled the poor child . by this passage it appears , that solyman spar'd his nephew hitherto , not out of any principle of mercy , but out of an opinion the turks have , that matters if they succeed well , are pleasing to god ; and therefore as long as 't was uncertain what the aim of bajazet's designs would be , he would not imbrue his hands in his childs blood , lest if bajazet had succeeded , he might seem to have resisted the will of god : but when bajazet was slain , then he thought god had determined the controversie , and that his son also might not be spared , lest the proverb should be verified , of an ill crow , an evil egg. i had a long discourse with my chiaux upon this subject when i was in the island ( as above-said ) and had liberty to sail from one to the other . it hapned once , that as we were returning in our skiff , the wind being against us , we could not double a promontary that reach'd pretty far into the sea , that we were forced to land and take our dinner a-shoar ; for i always carried some provant along with me in the vessel for fear of the worst ; and their turks were also forced to land upon the same stress of weather : our table was spread in a great meadow , my chiaux and my interpreter sate at table with me ; mention being occasionally made of bajazet , the chiaux began to inveigh bitterly against him for taking up arms against his brother . i pleaded for him , and said , he was worthy of pity , who was forced to do what he did : there was an inevitable necessity upon him , either to submit himself to a certain death , or to save his life by taking arms. however the chiaux persisted still to execrate his undertaking , whereupon i pleaded thus ; you accuse bajazet as guilty of an horrid offence , but you acquit solyman the father of your present emperor , who took up arms against his father . we do so , said the chiaux , and we have reason for it , for the event shew'd , that what he did was by god's approbation , and was predestinated in heaven . if you argue from success , said i , then the wickedest fact , if it prosper , may be reputed to god as the author , and then he may be made the author of sin , if good and evil must be interpreted only by events . we dwelt awhile on this discourse , and were very eager upon it , whilst either of us defended his own opinion ; we alledg●d many places of scripture ; can the vessel say to the potter , why hast thou made me thus ? i will harden pharaoh 's heart . jacob have i loved , esau have i hated : and others of like import . the turks that were not far from us , admir'd at what we contested so earnestly about ; and after we rose from the table , my chiaux went to them ; they gathered themselves in a ring about him , and i saw them hearkning to the discourse he made , with great attention ; and at last , at noon , they were all silent , and worshipped god according to their custom . i thought long till my chiaux returned to me again , that i might know why he prated so amongst his comrades ; i was afraid , tho' he was a fair condition'd man , yet that he might represent what i had spoken to him , to my prejudice : at last when the wind ceased , we went aboard again and followed our course . the first thing that i did , was to ask of my chiaux , what serious discourse he held with his country-men ? he smil'd , and made me this answer : we were disputing about predestination , and i told them what you had alledg'd con and pro ; bywhich it was plain , that you had read our books , and was well read in the scriptures , so that there was nothing wanting to your happiness , but to turn to our religion , which in the prayers you saw us make , we desired of god. when news was brought to constantinople that bajazet was dispatched , i was afraid that our affairs , which were in an hopeful way of conclusion , would now meet with a rub at last ; the misfortune of bajazet might overturn all , make the turks more insolent , to undo what was done , and to propose harder conditions . i had passed over some difficulties ; as the loss of gerba , and the imprisonment of bajazet , and the vaivoods expulsion out of moldavia ; but there were two terrible ones , at bajazet's death , and he hired another that i 'll speak of by and by . haly sent one of his domesticks to me , to tell me that bajazet was dead for certain , that therefore i should not defer the peace , in hopes of his success : i should remember , that princes of the same religion are more easily reconcil'd than those of contrary ones are ; and therefore i should use no more pergiversation , nor seek knots in a bulrush , as the proverb is . this message troubled me much , yet because i thought that the relater might be partial , i sent up and down the town amongst my friends , to know what certainty they had of bajazet's death ; they all returned me answer : that he was most certainly dispatch'd . whereupon i resolved to pluck in my sails ; there was no hopes for me to obtain better conditions ; it was well if i could maintain my ground , and stick to my former without any change : the emperor of the turks had seen them , and was not much averse from them ; some small alterations were made ; something i wished i could have added , other things were dubiously expressed , which a malign interpretation might raise scruples about . i did my endeavour that these might be taken out , or rendred and made more favourable on our side . my master caesar had seen and approved those conditions , yet still i could not satisfie my self , till something more favourable was added ; whilst i was doing this , i was accosted with haly's message as aforesaid . i met also with another grievous rub ; some noblemen of hungary had revolted from the vaivoodans of transilvania to the emperor , ( i. e ) to speak the truth had returned to that duty , and the garrisons also which they commanded yielded to cesar. this new accident might have disturbed all , for the turks had a specious pretence to alledge , that while conditions of peace were on foot once , such alteration ought to have been made ; if peace were cordially desired , all things were to be return'd to their pristine state : but let revolters speed as they pleased , what they had possessed ought to be return'd to the vayvode , their client and vassal . but haly was so far from pressing this , that one express condition was , that those things should be ratified , which he willingly assented to . but the ambassadors who came lately from the vayvode , were very much troubled at it , they rub'd upon the gall'd place , and filled the whole court with their clamours , that their miserable master was deserted , the law of alliance broken , and enemies preferred before ancient friends . all the rest of the bassa's were moved with their complaints , only haly stood firm to me , so that the articles of the peace were not altered at all . for my part , though i knew that the terms would be allowed by my master cesar , yet because there want not sicophants in prince's courts , who go about to obscure the best services of their ministers , especially if strangers ; i therefore thought it fit to leave all to the pleasure of my master : i told haly , that though the proposed condition did not fully answer the expectation of my master , yet i hoped he would acquiesce therein , if an agent of theirs were sent along with me to explain the things that were obscure , upon which any controversie might arise ; and that ebrahim seem'd to be the fittest man for this purpose , by whom cesar might write back his full mind concerning the whole project ; this was easily assented to . thus an end was put to this long and tedious business . 't is a custom , that when ambassadors upon fair terms depart from constantinople , the bassa's do entertain them with a feast in the divan ; but i was willing to wave that badge of esteem , because i would have all left in suspence , and referr'd to the good will and pleasure of my master . i had a mind before my departure , to buy some gallant horses , and therefore order'd my servants to go often to the markets , to see if they could find any such . haly being inform'd thereof , had some of his own brave horses to the fair to be sold ; my servants had their eye presently on 'em , and asking the price , they told them duckets , they offered , not knowing whose they were ; which was refused to be taken : a day or two after , the same horse with two more near as good , were sent me by haly for a present ; one was an arabian ambling nag , exceeding well shap'd : when i gave him thanks for my noble present , he askt me , whether i did not think that horse which my servants offered duckets for , was not more worth ? much more , said i , only they had a command from me not to exceed that price , till perhaps some sudden defect might afterwards shew that i had bought horses too dear . he advis'd me also how to manage their turkish horses ; as that i should give them but little meat ; that i should make but short journeys at first , till they were us'd to the roads ; and that i should make nine or ten days journey to adrianople , which us'd to be compassed in five : he gave me also a choice vest wrought with gold , and a box full of alexandrian treacle , the best in the world ; and a glass full of balsom , which he highly prized , complementing me thus : any other present , said he , are such as money can procure ; but this is such a rare gift , that my master cannot send a choicer to the best friend or allies he hath ; i got it , said he , when i was governour of egypt , which place i held some years : there are two sorts of that juicy substance , one which is drawn from the oil of the decocted leaves of the shrub on which they grow which yet is black and not much worth ; the other doth distil from the bark of the tree when it is cut , which is yellow and genuine , and mine was of that sort . he desired likewise , that i would send him some presents , as a coat of mail ●itted to his large and full body , and a strong horse that was sure footed ; for he was so big and pursie , that no horse could be easily found fit to carry him ; and with all kind of varnishing matter coming from the maple , or some other tree , wherewith our artists use to inlay their tables . as for solyman , he gave me no gifts but common ones , such as other ambassadors have had at their departure , and such as i received from him formerly at my audience of leave ; only he inveighed against the heydukes , and the insolency of the garrison of syeth : to what purpose is it , said he , to make peace here , if they continue the war thus . i told him , i would acquaint my master , and that i did not doubt but he would afford a remedy thereto , and thus by good fortune about the end of august , i entred upon my desired journey , carrying with me a truce of eight years , as the fruits of my eight years aboad there , which may be continued for a longer time , unless some considerable change do happen . when we came to sophia where the way parts , one to rhagusa , the other to belgrade , leyva , and requisena , desiring of me to part company , and to go to rhagusa , that so they might more easily pa●s to venice and italy , and procure those gifts which they promised to send to the bassa's , and repay the money they had borrowed at constantinople ; and that they would send letters of thanks by me to cesar , to give him due acknowledgments for their release : which service they would willingly have performed in person , if their other occasions had not hindred . i easily assented to their requests , and i was the better pleased , because requisena being a very old man died before he came to rhagusa : if i should have denied their request , it might have been thought my refusal had contributed to his disease . so that sandaeus and my self passed the rest of our journey without any great inconvenience ; for the truth is , he is a very jesting man , and if he be troubled with grief , yet he knows how to cover it , and to pretend mirth outwardly . in our way many pleasurable things offered themselves ; sometimes we would alight and try which of us could run fastest ; i being lean could easily out-run him who was fat and pursie , as being newly come out of prison . as we came near to any village , ebrahim would ride up to us , ( for he with his turks followed greatly on horseback ) and beseeched us by all that was dear to us , not to be seen on foot by the villages , for it would be accounted a disgraceful thing for us amongst the turks . upon whose advice sometimes we would go again into our chariot , but sometimes we did walk afoot still . one of sandaeus's facetious sayings , i shall not pretermit ; when we came from constantinople the weather was very hot , and so it continued upon the way , so that it palled my appetite from food , a very little served my turn ; but sandaeus being a robust healthy person did eat like an horse , and would ever and anon tell me that i must follow his example and eat like a man of mettle ; yet all his advice was to no purpose , till about the beginning of october i drew near to the borders of austria ; and there partly on the account of the country , and partly of the season of the year , i began to be more healthy , and to take a larger proportion of food . when sandaeus observed that i had a better stomach than formerly , he began to vapour over me exceedingly , pretending that 't was by his advice and example that i had learned to eat my meat , and that i who was so many years old had need of him as a monitor to advice me to take due sustenance for my body ; so that if he were obliged to me for his release , i was as much beholding to him for teaching me to take my necessary food . in these ludicrous repartees we came to tulna where we were accosted with some trouble . sandaeus u●ed to lye in the same house , if it were capacious enough to hold us both , if not , then he took his lodgings at some neighbouring house , that he might not incommode or straighten me : he was willing to do so at tulna , and therefore he desired that the ianizaries whom i brought with me from constantinople to buda , to be my harbingers on the way , to find out a convenient lodging for him : one of my servants and a doctor of physick , a spaniard , whom sandaeus had released at constantinople at his own charge , went along with the ianizary . it happened that they lighted on the house of another ianizary hard by , who was appointed as governor of the place to guard passengers ; for the turks use to appoint one or two ianizaries in every noted town to protect christian passengers from violence ; by which office they get no small profit : but this man had committed some offence or other , was put out of his office , and therefore was of a very surly & untoward humour . my people viewed all his house , and not finding it for their turn , were going away ; the ianizary first , my servant next , a●d the physician last of all . in the interim , the ianizary , master of the house , being walking in his garden , was told , that some christian passengers were seeking for a lodging at his house : whereupon he threw himself into a rage , with a club like hercules in his hand , and without speaking a word , strikes the physician a great blow on the shoulders as hard as ever he was able ; the physician to avoid the second blow , ran out of the house : my servant looking back , saw him lifting up his club to strike him also , but he having a thing like an hatchet in his hand , held it cross-ways over his head , and so kept off many a lusty blow , till at last the handle of the hatchet by his often striking began to break ; then my servant was enforced to close in with the ianizary , and was about to cleave his skull with his weapon ; whereupon the ianizary fled , and my servant not being able to overtake him , threw the hatchet after him , which cut him in the hams , and fell'd him to the ground ; by which accident my people escaped : but the physician cryed out , that he was a dead man , and that all his bones were broke in pieces . sandaeus heard his complaint , and though he were vext , yet he could not choose but smile , as thinking that the doctor was more afraid than hurt : but that which grievously vexed and tormented him , was , left on this occasion he should be carried back to constantinople : he was of opinion that the bassa's had not dealt sincerely in his case , but had made only a pretence of releasement to gratifie me , but did really seek an occasion to hall him back again there to rot in prison . and for the same cause he was much offended with that servant of mine who had wounded the ianizary , especially for saying , that he was very sorry that he had not killed him out-right upon the spot . his words to him were these : honest henry , ( for that was my man's name ) prithee be not so passionate , 't is no time nor place to shew thy valour here ; we must bear affronts patiently without any just imputation of cowardise ; will we , nill we , we are in their power : this unseasonable passion may bring great mischief to us ; perhaps it may occasion us to be brought back to constantinople , and there our whole negotiation may be reversed , or at least hazarded so to be . thus new troubles may arise , and a new race of tiresom-labour to be run . i beseech thee therefore , as for other reasons , so for my sake among the rest , restrain thy passion . but henry turned the deaf ear to all his perswasions ; for the truth is , he was a self-will'd inflexible fellow ; and when he was angry , not capable to hear reason . what care i , replyed he , if i had klll'd him . what! did he not design to kill me ? if but one of his many blows had not missed , he had knock'd me down like an ox ; were i to be blamed if i slew him , who would have slain me first ? i am sorry withal my heart , i did not give him his deaths wound : but for the future ( take my word for it ) i 'll spare never a turk of them all ; but if he assaults me , i 'll give him as good as he brings , though it cost me my life . sandaeus did not like this surly answer : but the ianizary who had received the wound , aggravated the matter ; upon whose complaint , two iews that could speak spanish , came to me , and told me , that he was dangerously hurt , and if he did not give him satisfaction , the matter would not so soon be passed over , but would create great trouble to me . i answered them as i thought fit ; but because i knew the calumnies and guise of the turks , i thought it best speedily to prevent them ; and therefore sent presently one of the youths to ebrahim , desiring him to let one of his servants to be a guide to one of mine to constantinople , a sudden emergency had necessitated this journey . ebrahim wondred what the matter was , and came presently to me to know ; i told him i desired a better convoy from hali bassa , otherways i was out of hopes ever to reach home , for two of my servants were like to be killed ; and then i told him the whole story with the circumstances thereof : ebrahim soon perceived how much his own freehold was concerned therein , and therefore desired me to have a little patience till he spoke with the ianizary ; to whom he presently hyed , and found him in bed ; he chid him grievously for being so abusive to us , and told him , that i had made peace with the port ; and was in great favour with solyman , and all the bassa's , that they had denied none of my requests , but had granted me several concessions for my own sake , and that he himself was sent back to convey me safe into my own country , and to take care that i might be honourably entreated by the way : that he was the first man that offered me the least affront ; and that i was sending back one to constantinople to complain thereof ; which , if i did , it may cost him his head. this took down my ianizary's crest , and put him into a terrible fear besides . the next day we continued our journey to buda ; and the physician notwithstanding his great bruise , was as well able to travel as any of us : when we came in sight of buda , the bassa thereof sent some of his own family , with several chiauxes to meet us ; and amongst the rest , there was a troop of young men on horseback , which drew our eyes after them in respect of the novelty of their garb ; their heads were uncovered , and shaven upon their crowns ; there was a long line cut with a knife , and in the wound they stuck feathers of several sorts ; and though drops of blood distilled down from their wounds , yet they dissembled their pain , and rode merrily on as if they ailed nothing at all : just before me there walked some footmen , of which , one had his naked arms a-keenbow , and both of them had a knife , ( such as we call oragensian ) run through their arms above their elbow ; the one was naked all the upper-parts to his navel , the skin of his loyns being so cut in two places both above and below , that a club being run through them , hung down from thence as from a girdle ; another had a horseshoe nailed to the crown of his head , and it was so old , that the shoe and the skin grew together . in this posture we entred buda , and were introduced to the bassa , with whom in the presence of sandaeus , i had a long discourse concerning the validity of the truce i had made . in the passage to him there stood those hardy youngsters who so much undervalued their pain ; casting my eye upon them , the bassa demanded , what i thought of them ? i think , said i , that they are brave fellows ; only they do that to their skins , which i would not do to my cloaths for i had rather have them whole than slash'd . whereupon the bassa laughed , and dismissed us . the day after we came to granand , from thence to gomarra , the frontier garrison of the empire , situated on the river wage ; on both sides its banks the garrison of the place with the seamen , called their nassadists waited for us . before i passed over the river , sandaeus came to me , and embracing me in his arms , gave me thanks for compleating his liberty : he told me plainly , he thought the turks had but dissembled with him , and therefore he was in perpetual fear , lest he should be hauled back to constantinople to dye in prison ; but now being in the emperor's territories , he acknowledged himself to be eternally obliged to me . a few days more brought us to vienna ; ferdinand the emperor was then at the imperial dyet , with his son maximilian , about inaugurating him king of the romans . i acquainted cesar with my return , and with ebrahim's coming , and desired to receive his commands concerning him ; for he had a great desire to wait upon the emperor at frankford : his highness's first answer was , that 't was best for the turks to stay at vienna till his return , for it was not adviseable to carry an enemy through the very heart of the country , so long a way as 't was from vienna to frankford . and on the otherside , delays were dangerous , and might create suspicion in the turks for some unfair dealing . as for ebrahim and his retinue , there was no danger in suffering them to pass thorow the most flourishing part of the empire ; yea it was desirable rather , that thereby they might take an estimate of the strength and greatness thereof , especially having so great an opportunity at present , to take notice at frankford with how great unanimity of all the electoral princes maximilian was chosen and designed successor to the emperor his father : when i wrote back to the emperor according to the purport aforesaid , he assented that ebrahim and his retinue shou●d come to frankford . we began our journey thither by the way of prague , banberg , and wirtzburg . ebrahim passing thorow bohemia was willing to perform his court to arch-duke ferdinand , but the arch-duke would have it incognito . when we were a few days journey from frankford , i thought good to ride a day or two's journey before , to acquaint the emperor with some things relating to my embassy ; which i did , and came to franckford , that day seven years but one , wherein i took my journey from vienna to constantinople . i was then receiv'd by my master with all imaginable kindness , not that i deserv'd it , but 't was his innate goodness and custom so to do . you may imagine with your self , how joyous a thing it was to me , after so may years to be returned safe to the presence of my glorious master , who was pleas'd kindly to accept of the fruits of my embassie ; and told me , that i had done all things well , and that i should find the effects of his favour . he came to franckford the day before the inauguration , late in the evening when the gates were shut , and all the following day they were not to be opened by ancient custom : but his imperial majesty gave express command that they should be open'd for the turks . they had a place assigned them , from whence they might behold cesar elect to pass by with great pomp and splendour ; it appeared to them a glorious and magnificent spectacle , for so indeed it was● to behold amongst others of cesar's honourable train ; three dukes or princes , each of which could raise a great army in his own territories ; to wit , the saxon , bavaria and brandenburg : they saw also many other monuments of the dignity and greatness of the emperor . a few days after ebrahim was introduc'd into his presence , where he declar'd his errands , and presented the noble gifts that the sultan had sent him . the emperor had confirm'd the peace , he rewarded him amply , and sent him back with large presents to soliman . i am very willing to leave the court , as not being pleas'd with that kind of life , but some private businesses doth as yet detain me . i know the tediousness of court-attendance ; much mischief lyes under an appearance of splendor , much of disguise , but little of candor is there ; all courts are subject to envy ; as faithful friendship is hard to be found , where change of mind may occasion a man's sudden ruine : for princes themselves are but men : i have seen a man enter into the court with a thousand attendants , but his princes displeasure sent him packing away scarce one in his company . a court does not know that which is truly good , till 't is too late ; it is altogether lead by shows , shadows , fallacies , and popular mistakes : as those are fortunate men who can lead such a life in safety ; so give me leave to live to the muses and my self , and to grow old in a country cottage , but with some few and trusty friends ; if any life be desirable in this earthly pilgrimage , 't is this , or none at all . look upon the court , and you will find there a debauch'd noble preferr'd before a good man. so that he that would represent a good man amongst courtiers , must paint as ass amongst apes . i speak of common courts , for i know that our court , as well as some others , are illustrated with many excellent and noble personages . however● solitude and quiet affording vacation to study , is preferr'd by me before the croud and noise of courts . but i am afraid , lest the best of princes should stop my retreats . 't is true , he gave me leave to depart , but upon this condition , that i should return when call'd upon . if he commands me to court again , ( for who am i that can withstand the desire of so gracious a prince : ) this one truly comfort will be left me , that i shall behold every day the face of the devoutest of all emperors ; ( or to phrase it otherwise ) to contemplate the living image of true vertue . for assure your self , that the sun never beautify'd a better prince then this , nor one who carries and weilds the scepter more justly . though it be true , that the majesty of empire is a glorious thing , yet to desire empire , and to carry ones self worthy of it , is more glorious . i speak not of his birth , nor the nobleness of his ancestors , he needs not such forreign helps ; his own vertue is prop enough . many emperors have been , though unworthy , rais'd to the throne ; but his own vertue raised him thereunto . again , some have manag'd the beginning of their reign innocently and justly , but soon after they have degenerated into licentiousness of life , and corrupt manners of all sorts : forgetting themselves to be men , they would be esteem'd as gods , and ador'd as such , endeavouring to be plac'd among the gods ; whereas they were unworthy to be reckon'd in the number of men. all men's necks cannot bear the burden of an high estate , to which if they are advanc'd , they forget themselves . 't is an hard thing to be able to compass all that a man desires , and and yet t is as hard to desire nothing but that which is good . but as for our prince his eyes are not dazled by greatness ; no man retains vertue more constantly than he , nor takes greater heed that his pure mind be not defiled by the hate of his fortune . he was always of this opinion , that as majestick robes do affect the eyes of spectators , so the sanctity of manners should much more incline their minds . whereupon he highly studies piety , is a holy worshipper and adorer of god , and lives always as in his sight and presence ; he squares all his actions throughout the whole course of his life by a divine rule an prescript : whatever happens either prosperous or adverse , he looks upon god as the author , and receives it gratefully as proceeding from his hand . thus he lives an heavenly life even upon the earth ; he is not ignorant , whose image he bears , and therefore all his words and deeds are directed for the public good , for which he thinks he was born , and therefore prefers it before his private advantages ; he is so intent herein , that some blame him for being over-much addicted to the common-wealth , and neglecting his own children and family : he is extreamly courteous to all his subjects , as if they were under his particular care , and himself the father of so vast a family . what poor man hath ever desired his help in vain ? who is there that hath not experienced his liberality ? he thinks that day lost wherein he hath not done some good to some body . as he is beneficent to all , so he is singular kind to his domesticks : not a man of them can say , that ever he was neglected by them . he knows their way of life , the deserts , yea and the very names even of the meanest of them : tho' he be so great a prince , yet he counts it not below himself , at convenient opportunity to warn the negligent , and put them in mind of their duty ; and if they mend their manners , to reward them accordingly : so that they depart from him , rather as from a father than a master . 't is also his guise , his custom , when he hath been angry with his servants for some days , when upon his amendment he hath pardon'd him , the memory of the injury is quite forgotten , he esteems them as much as he did before . he administers justice with great equity , and that to himself as well as others , for he thinks it unreasonable to prescribe laws to others , and break them himself ; or to punish them in others , which he allows in himself . his passions are conquer'd and confin'd within the rule of reason ; his life is free from hate , he knows not how to be angry , nor to reproach others ; there is no man living that ever heard him backbite , though they were none of his friends : he never speaks rudely of any man , and his speech is alway honourable concerning them in their absence ; probity is safe under his guardianship ; but malice , force , fraud , evil , and bad manners are exterminated , offences and wickednesses duly punish'd . the old romans had censors of manners impos'd upon them , to retain the people in their duty ; but here ther is no need of any censor , the life of the prince is censors enough ; he is an example to all , what they should fly and what they should follow . good and learned men which may profit the commonwealth he highly esteems , with these he is conversant , and laying aside his majesty , treats them friendly as his equals ; yea , he emulates their vertues without respect , whether they were paternal and hereditary , or gotten by their own industry . with these he spends the little time he had ●eft from publick business : these are the persons highly esteem'd by him , as judging it a publick benefit to restore due honour unto vertue . he himself being curious by nature , and desirous to know something worthy of a man , has always some questions to propound the learned , and sometimes he interposes some witty querks of his own to the admiration of his hearers . thus he hath got a considerable stock of learning , so that you can hardly question him in any thing , but he can give you some account thereof . he is skilful in many tongues ; first , in the spanish which is his mother's tongue , next in the french , german , latin , and italian ; he can express himself pretty handsomly in the latin , yet not so , but that sometimes he breaks priscian's head , a fault blame-worthy in a grammarian , but allowable in an emperor . what i have said of him , all men living know to be true , but perhaps some impute this as a defect , that he is not so much given to alms , nor is not a military person : for , say they , the turks carry all in hungary , and we don't help nor relieve them as we ought ; we should have fought them , not languages , and joyn'd armies in the field ; that it might be known whom providence would have to bear rule : i confess this objection savours of darkness , more than of prudence , and therefore let me fetch the matter a little higher . i am of this opinion , that the genius of emperors is to be judg'd of rather by their councils , than by their fortunes or events , and that by those councils , the times , our own strength , the nature and power of our enemies is to be regulated . if a common enemy well known to us , and famous for no victory , should invade our borders , 't were cowardice not to oppose them if we have force enough . but if the enemy be such who seem sent as a scourge from god , ( such was atala of old , tamarlane in the days of our forefathers , and the ottoman princes in our age ) whom nothing can withstand , who lays all waste before him , to oppose such an enemy with small and new levied forces , would not be only rash , but even madness it self . solyman comes terrible , i say , by his own and his ancestor's successes : he invades hungary with horse , he draws near to austria , and threatens the rest of germany ; his troops are fetch'd from the very confines of persia ; his army is furnish'd with many nations , each of the three known parts of the world conspire therein for our destruction : he like lightning strikes down all before him with his battering army , of the terror of his name , he roars and hovers in our borders , striving to break in sometimes here , sometimes there . some nations of old when they have been threatned with such and such potent enemies , have left their native country , and have sought out other habitations . to be unmoved in small dangers , is but a mean kind of praise ; but not to be terrify'd by the coming of so great an enemy , who has laid waste so many bordering kingdoms , seems to me an herodian kind of constancy . amidst these dangers ferdinand heroically abides in the same place , he deserts not his station ; but being of an unconquer'd spirit , abides in the same seat and state : he could wish his forces were sufficient to put all to the hazard of a battel , and that nothing of madness were imputable to him upon that account ; but prudence doth moderate his generous efforts : he sees with what a great hazard of his faithful subjects , and the ruine of all christendom , and unsuccessful battel will be fought , and that the publick should pay for his rashness , is very unwilling ; he considers how unequal the combat would be between or foot , with a small number of horse , and , supported with a veterate body of foot , what hopes there may be of success in that case , the example of former times , and the blood-shed at nicapolis , and at varna , and the fields of mohach , as yet white with the bones of christians slain there , do sufficiently inform us . 't is the part of a foolish commander without duly weighing his own and the enemies strength to rush into battel , where his loss can be only excus'd with an unwise , i had not thought . 't is all in all what the enemy is with whom we are to cope , wherein if you will not believe , yet you may believe the gravest author that ever wrote of military affairs ; such was cesar , he counted it a happiness to lucull●s and to pompey , that they had to do with a sloathful enemy , over whom they got victories without dust or sweat ; and when he himself had obtained such an easie victory over pharnaces , he was wont in jest to say , i came , i saw , i overcame : but if he had had to do with the people of those countries , then esseminated by luxury , but now hardned by want , frugality , hunger , cold , and severity of discipline , unto all patience and audacity , he would have told us another story . hence it is , that livy reasons upon good grounds , that alexander the macedonian would not have had the same success against the roman enemy , as against the persian or womanish indian : there is a great deal of difference between a warlike and a luxurious people , and unaccustomed to arms. 't is true , the multitude of persians , struck an admiration , that there was more toil in killing , than in overcoming them . and in my judgment , hannibal's three victories at trebia at thrasymine , and at cannae , did far exceed all the exploits of alexander : for why ? the one overcame valiant warriors , the other had to do with the sloathful people . fabius maximus had as much courage , as titus , sempronius , caius , flaminius , or varro ; but he had more judgment : that great commander knew that he had to do with an enemy educated in the camp , always vers'd in arms , skilful in military discipline , who by a singular fate or felicity , had obtained many trophies ; and therefore he was not rashly to venture all , but to use delay to weary him out ; that was the only hope left against so great an enemy to evade his assaults , and to drill on the combat till an opportunity was afforded for a remedy . in the mean time , he was to be watch'd , restrain'd , and as it were , nibbl'd at ; wherein he was so happy , that fabius , one as much renown'd as scipio himself , who ended the war against hannibal ; for who knows whether scipio would have ever overcome him , if fabius had not first stopt the course of his victories ; to overcome by prudence is as highly to be priz'd , as to overcome by force . the former have nothing common with beasts , but force has . the emperor ferdinand had the same design with fabius maximus , if his and solyman's forces had been equal ; his first work would have been , to put all to the hazard of a battel ; but the inequality consider'd , his next design was , to stop an over-flowing flood in walls and banks , and herein employ'd his utmost endeavour . 't is about forty years since solyman in the beginning of his reign took belgrade , slew lewis king of hungary , and thereby promis'd himself the possession of that and other countries ; in hope whereof he besieg'd vienna , and renewing the war , he reduc'd ghnitzium again , threaten'd vienna at a distance . but what did he get by this great preparation of arms , his vast and innumerable forces ? he was forc'd to stick in that part of hungary which he had already taken . he that was wont to conquer vast kingdoms by one expedition , did now subdue only some weak castles and small towns , which cost him dear : 't is true , he saw vienna once , but never after : 't is said , that solyman wish'd his life to be prolonged , to see three things finish'd ; viz. the structure of his temple , a sumptuous and magnificent work ; the repairing of the old aquaeducts to bring water enough into constantinople , and the conquest of vienna ; the two first he hath accomplish'd , but at the third he sticks , and i hope ever will ; so that he always calls vienna , his ignominy and disgrace . but to return . the emperor ferdinand may doubtless be register'd among the famousest captains , for though he had far less aid than the danger requir'd ; yet he was master of himself , and principally by his courage , he hath endured so great an impression of a powerful enemy for so many years together : so that he deserves a greater praise for the preserving a great part of hungary for better times , than many warriors do , who with multitude of military preparations , and favourable opportunities have got many victories over kings and their armies , the less assistance he hath had in a necessary time , by so much the more , the valour of his mind hath more eminently appear'd : whosoever doth not put all upon one event and the height of happiness , not considering the power of the enemy , and the seasonableness of assaulting him , must needs conclude , that 't is next to a prodigy , that the kingdom of hungary , distracted with long discord , was able to be defended so long , and that all of it is not already brought under the yoak of so powerful an enemy : 't is god's great mercy , and our princes infinite care that hath prevented it , whilst he is combating with one difficulty , another arises in view , greater than the former . the enemy is in sight , friends afar off , the auxiliaries of his brother charles too far off germany ; though next to the fire , yet weary in sending of aid ; the hereditary countries exhausted by contribution , and the ears of many christian princes deaf when aid is desir'd of them ; would rather do any thing , than that which is incumbent upon them ; upon that he is forced to sustain the enemy only with his own arms , with the assistance of some hungarians , austrians , and bohemians , and sometimes by hiring some italian or spanish soldiers at a vast expence ; he maintains the confines of hungary with garrisons fifteen days iourney long ; so that he had always soldiers in pay , even in time of truce : a truce is sometimes necessary , and when the coming of a tyrant is fear'd , and the time affords not the opportunity of resistance , 't is seasonable to send embassies , and to mitigate him at present , that so great a calamity may be averted from miserable hungary . whilst our prince is exercised with these fears , he can hardly sleep a whole night together , he watches for the good of the common-wealth ; so great a matter requires a perpetual vigilance and constant care : and do not you think i slatter him ? what i write is as true as history . he hath but few assistants in his government , but very good men ; the chief of whom , not unknown to you be name , are , iohanes tranezed , rudolphus harva , both eminent for their faithfulness and prudence . i shall dismiss you after i have acquainted you with our prince's private deportment , he rises every day at five a clock in the morning , even in the coldest winter months ; and first , he performs his prayers to god , then he goes to the council to treat of matters pertaining to the publick good , till dinner-time ; he follows the same course in the afternoon , till supper-time : i mean his counsellors supper , not his own ; for he himself never sups , eating but once a day , and that sparingly too ; and he is as abstainous in drinking ; only he closes his dinner with a double glass of wine ; he passes the night chastly ever since the loss of his royal consort : he can't endure toys nor trifles , which others are taken with ; he will have nothing to do with jesters , fools , parasites , the common delights , and yet plagues of courts : he hates idleness , he is a very great husband of his time , if he has any to spare from publick business , which is but rare ; he spends it in conference with good and learned men , who are his great delight , and do ordinarily attend him while he is at dinner , mingling discourses concerning several things . i believe that several of the commons would not change their life for his , 't is so strict and severe : what man is there that does not set apart some part of his time to indulge his own genius ? who would willingly deprive himself of all delights ? to whom would it not seem irksom to grow old in perpetual care and business . this seems like a servitude , not a domination : but our prince is of another mind ; neither doth he dissemble it in his ordinary discourse : he says , he was advanc'd to so great an office by god , not for his own sake , that the reins of government were not put into his hands to wallow in pleasures and delights : the case of succession in kingdoms and empires , differs from the condition of private inheritances ; in these latter no man is deny'd to indulge himself in the conveniencies of his patrimony . but so many nations are intrusted to him by god , that he might have the care and labour , and they the benefit of his care , so that they should obtain rest and quiet by his sweat. in hunting alone he spends a little time , not so much for delights-sake , as for health ; as when he finds his body to decay , and his mind to sink , by continual sitting many days together , he chooses one day to refresh himself with the freer air in the open field ; and that day early in the morning , and in winter some hours before sun-rising , whatever weather soever it be , he goes abroad to hunting , and sometimes he does it in the afternoon ; for i remember when i attended him at dinner , i heard him say ; i have done my duty this day ; i have dispatch'd all businesses that are on the file , i will spend the rest of the day on the care of my body . thus he returns late at night with the slaughter of a boar , stag , or bear , and betakes his wearied limbs to rest , without eating or drinking . let no man then upbraid with the want of trajans , veruces , and theodosius's ; those miracles of the ancients in our days : i dare take my oath , that there is more true vertue in our emperor , than there was in all of them put together . but the admiration of so great a man transports me ; 't is not my design to speak of his merits , they require a volume not an epistle ; besides they require an ingenuity far exceeding mine ; and therefore my end was only to put you in mind of these things , that you may know what master i serv'd . i close all with this publick prayer , that he may return late to heaven , whose vertuous and sanctimonious presence , alleviates the miseries of our age. concerning the greek-books which you enquire after , and the rarities , and the wild beasts of an unusual kind , which you hear i have brought back ; they are hardly worth the mentioning : amongst them , there is one iohneumon very gentle , which is known for its cruel hate with the crocodile and asps ; i had also a weazle of that kind , as they call musk-cats , very beautiful ; but i lost that on the way : i have many brave horses , such as no man ever brought from thence before , and six she-camels : i brought back no shrubs nor herbs , but in picture , which i left in the care of mathiolus , with some other th●ngs , many years ago . i sent him tapestry and linnen after the babylonian fashion , with swords , bows , and other trapings : i have also many other things made of horse-hides , curiously wrought after the turkish fashion ; 't was better to say , i had them ; for in so great an assembly of principal men and women at francfort , one ask'd one thing , and another another ; so that i have but a small matter left : the rest of my gift was well bestow'd ; but i was sorry that i was prodigal of one balsom , because physicians call the truth of it into question , as not answering all the marks that pliny gives of it : whether it be that the force of those ancient plants from whence it flows , be weakned by age , or from any other cause ; this i know for certain , that it flows from shrubs in the mattarcan gardens near cairo . before i left constantinople , i sent one albercarus a spanish physician into lemnos , on the sixth day of august , to be present at the digging out that noble earth , desiring him to write me the certainty concerning its place , origin , manner of extracting and use , which i know he will do , if he be not hinder'd : i had a mind to go thither my self to be an eye-witness thereof ; but the turks not giving me leave , i deputed him in my stead : i bring back also abundance of old coins , the chief of which i shall present my master with . besides , i have whole waggon-loads , if not ship-loads of greek manuscripts , and about books , which i sent by sea to venice , from thence to be carried to vienna : i design them for cesar's library ; there are many of them common , but some choice ; i rumag'd every corner to procure such kind of merchandize as my last gleaning . i left one behind at constantinople , all very well written in great letters ; it was diascorides , with the figures of plants , wherein there were some few things of cretiva , and the book of birds ; 't is in the possession of a iew , the son of hammon , who in his life-time was solyman's physician : i desir'd to buy it , but the price frighted me , he rated it at duckats ; a price fit for cesar's purse , not mine ; however i will not cease to press cesar to redeem so famous an author from that bondage : 't is very much injur'd by time , and so eaten with worms on the out-side , that a man will harrdly take it up if it lay in the streets . but enough of letters , you may expect my self very shortly ; i shall reserve what remains till we meet : in the mean time , do you take care to provide some good and learned men , by whose conversation and discourse , i may wipe-away all that tedious irksomness remaining in my mind , from my long abode among the turks . franckfort , decem. the th . . farewell . busbeckeus his advice about the method how to manage war against the turks . when the city sardis was taken by caius king of the persians , his soldiers were ransacking it , & slaughtering the inhabitants in every quarter : it is recorded , that one of cyrus's soldiers broke into cresus's bed-chamber , the king of lydia ; and not knowing who he was , drew his sword , and would have ran him through : at which accident cresus's son was very much moved , but till that time was dumb and could not speak . but behold the strings of his tongue were suddenly loosed , crying out , he spake some words , which deterred the soldier from slaying the king. thus filial piety , and the groans of his father's danger , made him able to speak , whom nature had made speechless till that very time : the like providence , though on a different occasion , hath happened to me , whom love to my country will not suffer me to be any longer mute , no though i am but a rude and unskilful orator , and who never yet offered any thing to publick cry : but the extream hazard of my country compels me now to roar and cry out ; not that i think that i can thereby daunt the enemy from cutting our throats : ( for his savageness is such , that he will not be frightned hereby ; ) but that i may warn christian princes to take heed to themselves , and that i may warn my country-men , that whilst time lasts they would aid one another , and consult their safety : for ( o heavens ! ) what mischievous unhappiness is this , and what a womb of miseries , that barbarous enemy the turk having conquered nations almost without number , by the ruine and destruction of so many kings and kingdoms , hath opened his way to us also , and points his sword at the very throat of our country ; yet truly we are not concern'd , nor stir not at all to aid distressed christendom : if fire break out in the city where we live , every body leaves the care of his private affairs and useth endeavours to quench it : but we , alas , that would be accounted lovers of our country , yet in this her jeopardy , we do shew our selves only idle and sluggish spectators ; her beauteous love which the enemy will soon spoil , our worship and religion , which he will soon make us to abjure , and the silent supplication of our wives and children , that we would not suffer them to be hauled into the basest of slaveries , do no way affect us . the sloathfullest of all animals when they find their young to be in danger , will not be restrained by any force , but will run through fire and water to help them . and shall we on the contrary , though valiant men , betray our posterity , and expose them to the injuries and abuses of such cruel enemies for want of our assistance to relieve them . for pray tell me what other hopes can you have ? what● defence ? what safeguards ? can you place any hope in the goodness and clemency of that enemy , who since he publickly shewed himself upon the stage of the world , hath caused rivers of humane blood continually to flow ? or can you put any confidence in his equity and moderation ? alas , he values not peace nor leagues , not a straw , no common laws of other nations are a jot regarded by him , no modesty , nor no consideration of that which is honest does keep him within his bounds : he will violate his faith , his oath made to any man that is a christian , when it is for his own advantage ; he thinks it so far from being a sin , that he counts it a pious and a sacred thing . beside , his profane religion stirs him up against us ; the emulation of his ancestors , and the desire of inlarging his empire , puts arms into his hands ; and that cursed and insatiable thirst after all our estates hurries him on upon us . for we are quite beside the cushion if we imagine that either our conscience , or our forgetfulness of injury received , will contribute at all to our security ; no , the modester we are , and the more observant of peace and of leagues , and of that which is just and right , we shew our selves to be , by so much the more we shall provoke the insolency of this enemy aginst us ; for we owe not these things to our valour or goodness , but to our fear , sluggishness , and despair of our own affairs . and the truth is , we have no reason to put any trust in our enemy , if we have none in our selves ; and in this case , what remains but we do as men that have received the sentence of death , quietly to prepare our selves for our last stroke , with blinded eyes to receive the blow . and if you should imagine that either his force or his fortune should fail him , we may answer our selves , by considering that from an obscure original his victories obtained both by land and sea , and that in a very short space of time have made him famous all the world over ? the fire began by him , from such beginnings he hath almost consumed the greatest part of the world. the eastern people being wearied by him do dread his arms ; as the assyrians , barbarians , and americans , the edge of whose sword even the sythians themselves now also have often felt , and the ethiopians too in another part of the world , who were formerly secured by the heat of the country , i need say nothing of europe , for we have seen belgrade taken , vienna besieged , and preys driven even from the gates of lintz ; such towards our destruction hath solyman alone been able to make , besides his other victories : but alas , 't is the guise of our christian kings to continue peace among themselves from generation to generation , though it be but for a spot of land , whereas every single emperor of the ottomans , ( i speak it with as much grief as truth ) have heaped up kingdoms upon kingdoms by their victorious success : so that as many countries as those once flourishing nations , the assyrians , the persians , the macedonians , and the romans , so comprehended within the bounds of their empires ; the turks alone now seem to possess . and will not all this make us to see our danger ? what sea is there ? what mountains ? what desarts ? what remnant of people between them and us , from whom we can expect any relief against their injuries ? no , all is lost and spoiled . alas , their swords are at our very throats , who should have struck a terrour to us at a far greater distance ; so that now the very blood of our country , and our own last breath , is like a sanguinary quinsie , and we have not this crum of comfort left us , which is oftentimes found even in the greatest calamities , that we can have any solid ground of hope , that these our miseries be not long lived . other barbarous nations have oftentimes brought grievous calamities on many christian provinces by sudden tempest ; thus the goths , vandals , huns and tartars , have over-run many countries , and brought great havock upon them ; which miseries seemed the more tolerable , because there was hopes that they would not be perpetual : and therefore after the storm was over , those places which were weather-beaten and almost destroy'd , did again recover their former splendor . but this enemy is so watchful , and observes that strict discipline and course , in preserving the places that he hath gotten , that when he rules and reigns , and hath once set his foot , he suffers not himself to be removed from thence : so that to speak by way of allusion , that corn can never ripen again , whom once his horses heels hath trodden to the ground . so that it is hard to discern , whether he be more happy in acquiring , or more resolute in maintaining his conquests . seeing then we are surrounded with so great dangers , why do we not lay our heads together ? why do we not try all ways , and turn every stone ? why doth the ingenious necessity which would effect admirable works , lie stupid and dormant in us ? the wildest of beasts may be our authors in this place , apprehending themselves in the greatest danger ; how strongly will they strive for their own liberty , who in a case of life and death , will valiantly set up and attempt any thing for their liberty ; they will try all means , that so they may find a way to escape : in fine , they will lose their life rather than their liberty . but perhaps some may make this objection , what then do you advise to secure the present state of affairs , against the dangers and mischiefs that hang over our heads ? it is easie for any body to do : but what remedy is there for it ? this is the question we ask of you ; speak something to this head if you can say any thing . i answer , i will take you at your word , and will declare my mind , and that in short : first is to be used arms ; arms must be opposed to arms ; nothing can well be done without arms ; the safety of our country is to be maintained by sword and buckler , or we must all perish , every man : this is as true as the gospel , but god forbid that it should be ; let us rather fly to our arms , which are not hid under ground ; and if they were , yet we were with great diligence to pluck them out ; neither are they to be far fetch'd from remote countries , but they are near us , they are ready , and , if we will our selves , we have them in our hands . there are gallant men enough bred up amongst us ; we have a numerous youth fit for war , who are ready to spend the last drop of their blood for their country and for their religion : we want neither horses , nor iron , nor gold , nor forces , nor engines , nor great guns , nor other utensils for war ; the divine bounty hath largely supplied us with a considerable hand , with all things necessary to undertake and perfect great designs , provided always that we do not refuse to make use of them . i say , we want only will , and force of hands , which we ought seasonably to apply , while a competency of strength remains , and before all things run to rack irreconcilably ; for otherwise we may look back upon neglected advice , when it is in vain and to no purpose ; and then we shall be served as those sick men , who whilst it was seasonable , and their strength entire , did even kick at the mention of physick ; and could by no manner of means be perswaded to make use of healthful potions in season ; but when the opportunity is pass'd , and the disease is come to the heighth , that their weakned bodies cannot bear physick , then they seek for the physician and his remedy to no purpose . their example ought to forewarn us before the enemy hath wounded us all over , and whilst no wounds are mortal , and whilst we have yet some blood left in our veins ; to apply a remedy in time ; that is , to hasten to our arms : to prepare our selves vigorously for our defence . if we do thus , then we may make our supplications to god , and may fairly hope that he will not turn his back to us ; but if we pretend piety as a cloak for our sloathfulness , think to take a shorter cut , which is , to implore the divine aid against the mischiefs that hang over our heads by prayer , without our own pains , labour and study , certainly god will turn the deaf ear to so unjust a petition . no , we ought in the first place to do our own duty , and to fill up the measure of diligence , stoutness and valour , which god hath given us principally for this end and purpose . we should imitate the husband-man , who doth in vain expect a plentiful harvest from god , unless he first plow , sow and reap . god hath appointed a sure and fixed order in these sublunary things , which by no means ought to be slighted or neglected ; hath propounded many rewards to pains-taking , diligence , assiduity , cunning , and to virtue ; which he hath denied to sloathfulness . would you be a scholar , would you understand musick , astronomy , or the mathematicks , you must first take pains to learn them , and that with might and main ? heaven will not inspire you with these things if you be idle ; no , you must take pains to attain them in that way , and by those designs which god hath appointed ; he hath given you means to attain them , provided you be not wanting to your self ; make use of them in the first place , and then god will give you his blessing and increase . in the like manner , would you defend your country , would you conquer your enemy , and would you enjoy victory , you will never be able to do it by sitting idly and sloathfully at home ; no , you must up and be doing , take arms in hand , and exercise diligently therein ; you must confine your self to toil , to heat , to drouth , to hunger . being thus accoutred you may implore the divine aid ; thus you may go hopefully on into the field , for you have done that duty , and you have duly used the means which god hath vouchsafed you ; you have observed his order , and have not despised the laws which he hath fixed ; and in this posture we may commend the issue of the thing , by our devout praise , and integrity of life , to his clemency and goodness . for victory is not in our power , but it is god's privilege alone to bestow it ; and yet sometimes we see that those are made partakers thereof , who do not lawfully and in due order seek it of him : and if it happen otherwise sometimes ( which it seldom does ) it is next to a miracle ; for we ought not to tempt god , nor to undertake any thing rashly . and in my judgment cato spoke very pertinently , when he exhorted the senate to take arms against catiline , in these words , it is true , the matter is dangerous , but you do not fear it , though you ought greatly so to do : but such is your sloathfulness and effeminacy , that you dally with it , looking one upon another , as if you trusted in mortal gods for your safety , who have oftentimes preserved this common-wealth in the greatest of dangers . i must tell you , that the aid of god is obtained , not by bear wishes and womanish complaints : no. but if we be vigilant , if we be active , if we take advice , then all things will succeed prosperously : but if thou give up thy self only to wishings and wandrings , it is in vain to ask help of the gods ; they are angry , and will s●it in thy face . let us therefore do what belongeth to us , let us stand armed in our camp ready for the work and onset , and then we may lawfully implore god's aid and assistance . but here some good and thinking men lay a block in my way , alledging , that this method to heal our publick calamities , hath been oftentimes tried , but never succeeded : and that christians , as often as they have joyned battle with the turks , have been worsted by them . i own the objection , and acknowledge that there is great weight in it ; and the truth is , my chief design in writing this monitory , was to give a full answer thereunto . you say that we have hitherto prevailed by force of arms little against the turks ; grant that it is so : but pray tell me what arms we have used ? it is worth our while to dwell a little upon this point . when publick fame had informed us , that the turk , with a numerous army , was infesting our borders , and drawing near towards us ; it is true indeed , we endeavoured to gather forces also ; but what forces were they , or what manner of soldiers did we list ; were they victorious ? were they such whose valour had been proved in former battels , and which had been accustomed to conquer ? by no means , but rather men of quite another gizard : drums were beaten up all over the country , and at their sound there came in men higly pigly for hope of gain ; perhaps three to one of them had hardly wore a helmet before , or ever looked an enemy in the face : and the rest were the scum of the country , as thieves , debauchees , gamesters , men over head and ears in debt , and such-like . excepting only a very few , who were not at all influenced by the justness of their cause , nor by their love to religion , nor desire to exercise their valour , but by a licentious impunity for drinking , diceing , plundering , whoring , and committing sacrilege ; and in a word , whom all manner of flagitious wickedness brought together . with such a rabble-rout , or rather with the horridest or worst of mortals , hateful both to god and man , do we begin this sacred war against so great an enemy . hence it is , that our camps do seem rather a riotous wake , than a convention of soldiers ; for amongst them luxury corruption , lust , impurity , drunkenness , tumults , brauling , and blood-shed , turn all things up-side down . and yet this is the goodly soldiery ( forsooth ) that we are to raise at great charge , and also to fetch from far with much loss of time , when the matter requires the greatest speed imaginable . the luxuries of campania broke the army of hannibal's , which before was hardy and accustomed to toil : but as for us we have need of no campania to debauch us , for our soldiers do bring effeminateness and feebleness enough into the army when they are first listed . and therefore if they meet with no enemy to fight with , yet in the space of a month , either the heat of the dog-days , or the first pinching winter colds , do destroy our troops , though never so great . and can we wonder , if with such soldiers as these , we can obtain no success against such a well-disciplined enemy ? alas ! if any of us have a private grudge one against another , or if we are to travel through a place infested by robbers , we do not go hand over head as they say , but we commit the guard of our persons to such spectators as will stick by us : besides if any business happen of more than ordinary weight , we use not to commit the management thereof to any , but men of great experience and skill . but in this grand affair , where the safety of all is at stake , we are so careless , that either we send forth an unsuitable soldiery , or else such as is almost conquered before it looks an enemy in the face ; and this heartens an enemy whom so many victories have already made famous . i return to what i spoke in the beginning , that we must defend the publick safety by a choice and fitting soldiery , or else we can have no hopes but to be utterly destroy'd . but you will say , what kind of soldiers would you have ? i answer , those of our own country , and chosen out of our neighbourhood ; for seeing haste is very available in military affairs , and that it is especially necessary against so nimble an enemy as the turks , we need an army which is not to be far fetch'd nor long staid for , but such a one as is ready at hand , and as it were always at our call . and we are not to take every one that comes , or that we light upon by chance ; but having taken enough , all which are able to take arms , we are with great judgment to cull out the best of them : in which choice we must take especial care , that we pitch not upon a man who hath been daintily bred , and highly fed ; or whom a depraved education hath infected with vice , and idleness hath not corrupted ; that no hair-brain'd , mad , contumacious , turbulent or seditious fellow be listed ; but such only as are not delicate , but fit to endure toil ; and such as having a good habit of body , do in their very countenances hold for it a certain simplicity , probity , and greatness of mind . on which account i had rather fix upon one that was accustomed to a stirring and laborious , than to a sedentary trade ; upon a country-man rather than a citizen ; upon one born upon a mountain , rather than in a valley ; upon a mean man , rather than a rich grub. when you have made this good choice , then i would have you instruct the soldiers in military precepts , and the knowledge of arms ; i would have him accustom himself in his armour , to handle and brandish his pike , with skill to use his sword and pistol , to keep his rank , and to march swiftly under his armour ; to write true prose ; to hate wickedness more than death ; to love piety ; and in his common discourse , not to speak a word reproachfully against god : the same person must be obedient to his commander , and patiently endure his correction ; let him be as furious as he will towards his enemy , but gentle and tractable amongst his fellow-soldiers : his diet should be sparing , not at all inclinable to gluttony or drunkenness . and in the last place , he must be content with his pay , and abstain from all plunder , but when his commander gives him leave . thus , i say , ought the soldiers to be disciplin'd , who must look so great an enemy in the face : and yet i would not have this man to be presently brought into the army , he being as yet raw , to joyn him with the victorious to fight for all , but rather should be placed in some posts or garrisons , that so by excursions and lighter combats , by degrees he arrives to be accustomed to wars : and by this means he may be accustomed to bear wounds , to endure the sight of an enemy , and by degrees to cast off the fear which all novelty is wont to introduce . when the soldier is thus disciplined and train'd , i dare assure you he hath laid a foundation for hope of good success : so that the chiefest of our pains and labour , is , especially , to be imploy'd herein , that we may get men skillful in arms , and experienced in military discipline , by whom those fresh-water soldiers which i spoke of , may be instructed in the true and genuine precepts of the art military : i would have such commanders set over these men , which are full of valour , continence and sobriety , not at all tainted with the foul guilt of avarice ; that so they may not only make this young fry , the growing hopes of our common safety , skillful at their weapons ; but also by the example and integrity of their lives , may shew them the way to all virtue ; that so this army may be trusted with our common safety , when opportunity shall be offer'd to fight an enemy . and if we have such commanders as these , there will be no fear of false musters to cheat the common treasury ; by which abuse of ordinary commanders , we see , by daily experience , that the king's exchequer , though never so full , is hardly able to pay his army any long time ; and in battel they run a great risk , when generals , being deceived by the relation of their captains , do believe that their army consists of more men effectually than it really doth . but before i proceed , an opportunity is here offered to me , to give an answer to the opinions of some good men , all whose knowledge being circumscribed within the bounds of that age and country wherein they were born ; and having never travelled any farther , do highly wonder at what i speak ; and do regret it as a meer unusual and ●npracticable thing ; for thus they argue , our ancestors did many famous exploits in war , with such kind of soldiers , and in the same way of military discipline which we use at this day . i confess , by way of answer , that they did so , but it was when they coped with enemies who were guilty of the same vices and defects as themselves : as the army was unexperienced , hastily listed , forreign , weak , and without discipline on the one side , it was so on the other ; and their force amongst them equally guilty , one was as good as the other ; sometimes a battel was fought with no great loss on either side : as if two maimed men , two blind men , or two lame men should fight , the match is equal on both sides ; but if you set a maimed man to fight with a sound , a blind man with one that sees , a lusty man with one that 's lame , you will quickly find a difference . if we were to fight among our selves , with our neighbours and country-men , we might then commit such errors ; for they being as bad as we , there would be not great difference between us . but now the case is alter'd , for we have to do with the turks , a vigilant , industrious , sober and experienced enemy , used to hardships , very skillful in , and observant of military discipline . but what are they the better for that you will say ? i will tell you , by this means they have overcome all the countries from the very borders of persia , even to the walls of vienna . how our arms are able to cope with his , i wish that we were ignorant of , and that our daily overthrows were not too dear a document to instruct us . and do we as yet stand in doubt , whether we should defend our faults rather than amend them ? but you will farther say , these are new and unusual things which you propose . i answer , the reason is , because we have a new and strange enemy , whose power and skill is such , that it requires a more than ordinary diligence to cope with him . the diseases called the sweat and french-pox , were heretofore strange and unknown ; and when physicians , with all their art , were not able to conquer them by common and ordinary remedies , at last they were instructed , by the deaths of many patients , to seek for new remedies against new diseases ; and their diligence herein was so prosperous , that both those diseases , which were unconquerable before , did yield to their remedies . this design of physicians , we ought to imitate in our wars against the turks ; it is in vain to use the ordinary method of fighting at this time of day ; we must rather take another course , and apply new remedies to new mischiefs . though the truth is , this method is not new but most ancient , by which the people of rome , to their great praise , did heretofore conquer the whole world : and it is so far from being unused in our age , that the enemy , of which we speak , hath used no other means , both to endanger our safety , and also in a manner to equal his empire with the roman . i shall speak more largely of this hereafter , when i have answered the difficulty which these very objectors have pre-conceived in their minds : for such is the guise of this effeminate age , that if a thing be never so excellent and beneficial , if it hath any thing of difficulty in the execution thereof , is put by as if it never could be effected . the persons of whom i speak , being tainted with this imbecility of mind , having experienced that they could not prevail in an ordinary course of arms ; and being deterred from trying my method by the difficulty thereof ; they fall at last to this opinion , that we can no way prevent our destruction , but by making peace , or a truce , with the turks , by any means whatsoever : and this their opinion they so much hug , as if it were iupiter's altar , or the statue of the emperor . and therefore they think that we must turn every stone , either by prayer , or by price , or by any unworthy way whatsoever , to make him our friend : but they do not consider , that amongst all difficulties this is the greatest , and which we can least of all hope to overcome . for can we imagine that such a capital enemy , after that he hath marched over so many countries , and taken so much pains to come to us , when he sees himself almost master of his wish , and having so great a subject of praise , such an opportunity of booty , and such an occasion of inlarging his empire and religion , that he should suddenly stop , as if he were thunder-struck , and proceed no farther ? but grant there were any hopes of peace , who is so mad as to fight with an enemy so powerful , if he can help it ? or who is so blind as not to foresee , that sure peace is to be preferred before the doubtful hazards of war ? but let me tell you , that you quite mistake the case ; for neither peace nor truce is in our power : we have lost all hopes of peace , and therefore are compelled to a war ; there is no room for any advice or deliberation of our own ; for we are hurried on by a fatal necessity , as unwillingly as we are pushed on violently to a war , which of necessity we must manage and go through . why do we fruitlesly draw back ? why do we cast about for delays ? why do we chouse our selves with the vain dreams of pacifications ? we vainly fancy to our selves safety in the midst of the flame ; and by our delay we nourish the mischief which we might remedy if we were watchful ; and for want of foresight , we render our wound uncurable . but you will say , it is very good to keep off the miseries of a war as long as one can . i grant it , unless the delay tend to heighten our miseries soon after , and ingage us to our certain ruin : as if a physician do flatter his patient , and defer necessary remedies , till the disease comes to that height , that death must inevitably follow . so we see that our affairs do sensibly decline ; and on the other side , the enemy groweth stronger every day ; and as he catches from us to add to his own , so thereby he doth fairly take his way and passage to us , and make all things ready to hasten our destruction ; that so all impediments being removed , he may give us an alarum whenever he pleases , and when we least think of it : with a well-provided army he might destroy us as it were fast a-sleep , and unprovided of all things : all his designs tend to this , this is the only thing in his eye ; at which time , though too late , we shall think our selves induced to those straights , that no hope being left , we must certainly perish : and this will be the issue of our delay , and our unseasonable backwardness ; and therefore i admonish you again and again , while time is , and the matter will bear , that we suffer not our selves to be ●linded with false hopes , and so sit still and ●o nothing ; in which we may remember how great overthrows we have received ; and also we may forsee the last ruin of our common-wealth approaching ; therefore we must make use of a quick-sighted judgment in the case , least by our mistake in so great a matter . we apply false remedies instead of true ones , to our dangerous miseries ; and when we have cast up all our accounts , and find upon what hinge our remaining hope turns , foregoing all other methods , we must very diligently apply our selves to that alone , wherein neither labour , nor difficulty , nor novelty , nor any other pull-backs to slothful and feeble minds , should in the least make us to slacken our pace ; no , our carriages must be as high as the matter is great ; so sublime a matter requires no low or abject frame ; rather necessity requires that we should be lifted up even above the capacity of our age ; and that in part at least , we should imitate the valour of those heroes , who out of their great fortitude and constancy , overcame the greatest difficulties ; who never thought any thing more base and unworthy of themselves , than to be deterred by the greatness of any difficulty or let , from bringing the design to a happy issue , which in their thou h●s was conjoyned with the dignity and advantage of the common-wealth wherein they lived . i shall give you an instance only in one o● them ; and that is , lycurgus the law-give● of the lacedemonians , who having a design amongst the rest of his institutions ( wherewith he would commend the best constituted commonwealth of the persians to be to posterity ) to introduce an equality of goods amongst the citizens , and equally to divide the estate and possessions of all , that what was taken from the rich might be added to the poor ; so that no distinction was to be between the citizens but what vertue made . in this design he met with a great many adversaries , especially those which had great wealth and personal estates , and were well monied besides . for they took it in great disdain , that the possessions either left them by their ancestors , or else got by their own industry , should be rent away from them , and transferred to strange owners . this matter seeming to them both unjust , and also absurd ; the great difficulty of enacting such a law , was objected to lycurgus . but he still persisting in his purpose , and being resolved to finish what he thought was right and wholsom for the commonwealth , there arose thereupon daily bro●lings and dangerous hurly burlies , in which scuffles lycurgus lost one of his eyes : that accident might have sufficiently warned the good man , how difficult an enterprize he had undertaken , and consequently might have deterr'd him from persisting in his enterprize ; but might rather have engaged him to lay aside his design of accomplishing a thing so successfully attempted , and which had cost him one of his eyes . but it happened quite contrary ; for this heroe was so far from desisting upon the account of his loss , that it rather added spurs to him to prosecute the same cause the more eagerly . neither did he give over , till the law he had propounded concerning the eqality of goods , was enacted nemine contradicente . this being the foundation of those of his famous institutions , he established such a commonwealth , that the race will never have the like , and his name with a high admiration of his vertue , is celebrated even to this very day . yet this he did when he was in fear of no turk , nor of any other enemy that threatned ruine and destruction to him : and shall we at this time of day withdraw our soldiers from any burden , wherein the stress of our safety lyeth ? for shame let us shake off this sloathful temper , unworthy both of us and the christian name ; and leaving off all other vain and fallacious thoughts , let us run to our arms as our onely refuge under god. the romans did so when any great misery threatened their commonwealth , they went and betook themselves to their arms ; they stopped all law suits , and the senate enjoyned the consuls to take care that the common-wealth received no damage . we ought to do the same much more , for we are in danger not only of some common loss , but even of the universal ruine of the christian commonwealth . we must run i say to our snapsacks , we must catch up and handle our arms , and think of nothing else . our military discipline which is much depraved , is to be united , and the old way of fighting is to be recalled and perfected ; we are as it were to proclaim a vacation , to shut up shop , and set by other things , to act and perform this one thing with our most earnest endeavours : this we must do if we would have our commonwealth , our selves , our wives and children ; or lastly , our religion and liberties preserved entirely unto us . for if the turks prevail , they will not leave us a jot even of common honesty , much less any dignity , liberty , or religion ; no nation in the world can lose so much as we . take my word for it , it is the worst of mischiefs to be overcome by the turk : if he conquer us , ( and i wish he had not a fair prospect so to do , ) he will make havock of all , he will drive , carry away , dissipate , burn , profane , and tread all things under foot . to prevent which spectacle and suffering , let us high to our weapons , to our arms , and as ( probus ) let us fight it out . when he was declared emperor , the commonwealth had received many losses , which proceeded from the corruption of their military discipline ; and therefore his chief design was to amend that ; and this was the reason that he gave that first motto to his soldiers , and his deeds were agreeable to the motto ; for in a little time he so advanced and restored what was quite decayed before , that the common name which lay under a reproach among the nations , was again restored to its former majesty and greatness . let us follow his example , and use the same method in fighting ; let us furbish up our old blunt and rusty arms , and make them as good , and shine as bright as ever . and from which endeavours , no labour and difficulty ought to avert us , as i said before ; so the charge and expence ought to be the least difficulty of all . for when can we lay out our own money better , than when our life it self may be comfortably expended ? or how can we spend part of our estates upon more advantagious terms , than thereby to preserve the whole ? herein we do but imitate good husbandmen , who spare no cost to inclose , to hedge about , and to strengthen the bounds of this land , provided they may establish their estates and possessions in safety thereby ; for they know that an estate is but a ticklish and slippery thing , as long as it is subject to sudden casualties , or to the assaults of robbers . besides , mariners in a dangerous tempest use to throw out their most precious lading into the sea , rather than to endanger the loss of their ship and of their lives to boot ; and physicians make no scruple to cut off one part of man's body , if thereby they provide for the rest of the members , and of the total remainder . for as long as such an enemy is near us , who can promise to himself any firm or lasting possession of what he hath ; seeing that he may expect every day that this wicked neighbour will take all from them , and transfer it into his own exchequer ? to what purpose is it then to sow , or to reap , to carry home , and to lay up in garners , seeing the enemy counts all thine , as much his own as what he now possesses , being formerly taken from the asiaticks , from the grecians , from the thrasians , from the bulgarians , from the illyrians , and from the hungarians ; to say nothing of other people ? our estates and possessions are by us exposed to his avarice , without a due guard of such soldiers as i have spoken of , as a quantity of goods , or of rich houshold stuff cast out into the street , without any repair , and under no lock and key , is open to thieves . but if we are so mad as to pretend want , and to counterfeit poverty for our excuse ; let us take heed left our enemy , being made rich by our spoils , do not convince us of a lye , by our destruction , and to our eternal infamy . and yet let me tell you , we need not spend all that we have , for they require not the expence of all that we have , but out of war-time we should be very frugal , and in time of war our expences should be moderate ? and far more easie to be born , than the cost which was expended in raising a common and tumultuary soldiary . by which means we shall obtain two conveniencies ; one , that the money may not be transported out of the bounds of our own country ; the other , that officers and commanders may not have opportunity unlawfully to enrich themselves ; for now a-days he is counted a brave fellow , that by such kinds of stratagems can cheat and couzen the commonwealth . but these things belong to another place , for at present i did not design to speak of every thing particularly , but in general , to give the sentiment of the whole matter . let us therefore imitate the prudence of the romans , in providing for the safety of their state and commonwealth , who alway chose souldiers of their own to defend themselves ; for otherwise they had never been able to repel the fierce inrodes of the gauls , or to have coped with the stubbornness of the italians , who ever and anon revolted from them ; nor could they have preferred their empire entire against the force of hannibal , nor would they ever have triumphed over philip and over antiochus , unless they had had soldiers of their own to fight their battels , unless they had followed the method which i have spoken of in training up their soldery : 't is then seasonable for me at this time to enlarge upon this subject , that it may plainly appear , that i introduce no novelty , but propound an old example which we are to follow . all that have written of the affairs of rome do agree in this , as you may see in their book . the romans took a● extraordinary care in choosing , in disciplining , and in exercising their young soldiery . i shall not tire your patience in citing many authorities , but in brief i shall urge only the testimony of one grave author , well skill'd in the ancient military discipline ; and that is vegetius , who in divers places of his book , containing the institutions of the roman militia , dedicated to the emperor valentinian , hath these words ; in every battel it is not so much the multitude of soldiers and unskilful valour , as art and exercise which procure the victory . for we see that the romans conquer'd the whole world , by no other method , but by the exercise of their arms , by the discipline of their camps , and by their accustomedness to war ; for how else could the romans being few , have born up against the numerous army of the gauls ? how could their low statured soldiery look the tall germans in the face ? as for the spaniards , it is a clear case that they exceeded us not only in their number , but in the strength of their bodies ? the africans were always superior to us both in stratagems and in wealth ; and it is beyond all doubt , but that the greeks are superior to us in acts and in prudence : but a remedy to all these inconveniencies , was a new soldiery discreetly chosen , whom they taught the use of arms , whom they taught the law of arms , and strengthned their discipline by daily exercise ; they meditated before-hand upon the events which were wont to happen in fights and battels , and were severe punishers of the negligent and sloathful . for skill in military affairs doth nourish a boldness to fight . no man fears to do that which he believes that he thinks he hath rightly learned to do : for in a fight , a few men well exercised are likeliest to obtain the victory ; whereas a rude rabble of soldiers is more exposed to the slaughter . whosoever therefore thinks to overcome the turks in a publick fight , by the assistance of god , and the conduct of an unconquered empire , let him earnestly desire to compleat his troops out of such listed soldiers . and he will find in a short time that such juniors diligently chosen and well-trained both in the morning and in the afternoon too , will in handling of their arms soon equal those veterans who conquer'd the whole world. neither should your imperial majesty be concerned , because the custom is changed which obtained here before ; for your highness is of that foresight and felicity , that for the safety of the commonwealth , you can both devise new methods , and also restore the old ; every design seems difficult before you enter upon it . to be sure , if knowing , and prudent persons be appointed to make the levies , a number of men fit for war , may be easily listed and carefully trained ; for diligence , conquers all . 't is not length of age , or number of arms which maketh the art military , but continual exercise of arms : an undisciplined soldier is alway a craving , though he hath been listed never so long , &c. it is past all doubt , that rusticks who live in the open air , are the fittest to bear arms ; they are able to endure heat , they care not for refreshing shades , they are ignorant of the use of baths and other delights ; they are plain-hearted , contented with a little , and their limbs are hardned to endure all toil ; they learn from their country labour , to deal with iron , to plow the land , and to bear burdens . and i know not by what fate he is least afraid of death , who is least acquainted with the delights of life . let us now enquire at what age soldiers ought to be listed ; if we observe the ancient custom , none but young striplings are to be listed : for what we learn from ones childhood , we imbibe that not only more speedily , but more perfectly too . besides the skipping and nimble alacrity is to be practised before the body grows stiff with age ; for it is nimbleness grounded upon exercise , that makes a stout warrior . and therefore we should list none but young men , as salust speaketh , that as soon as youth was able to endure war , it learned the art military in their camps by daily practice . for it is much better , that a disciplined youth should complain , that his age is not yet fit for battel , than that he should grieve that he has past his sighting-time . and by this means he may have time enough to learn all ; for the art-military is not easily to be obtained , whether you endeavour to teach horse or foot , the use of the bow ; or whether you would teach a man in his armor , all the gestures and modes of the art-military ; as that he should not leave his file , nor disturb his ranks ; and how he should cast his javelin with a good aim and a strong arm ; as also how to cast up a trench , and to fix pallisadoes knowingly ; how to handle his buckler , and by side-blows to escape the flying , darts ; how wishly to avoid a blow , and boldly to strike . if a young soldier be thus instructed , he will be so far from fear , that it will be a pleasure to him to meet the stoutest enemy in the field . and therefore let him that is to list soldiers , take special care that by their countenances , by their eyes , and by the make of all their limbs , he choose those that are likely to make good soldiers , for stoutness , may be fore-seen in men , by many indications , as well as in horses and dogs , &c. let therefore the youth which is designed for martial imployment , be of watchful eyes , holding his head upright , broad chested , brauny shoulders , strong finger'd , with long arms , a thin belly , with slender thighs , the calf of his leg and feet not superfluously big , but compacted with hardned nerves . when you shall find these marks in a new listed soldier , you need not much care whether he be tall or no ; for it is beter to have soldiers valiant , than high statured . it follows in the next place , that we enquire of what trades the soldiers we choose or refuse are on : fishers , fowlers , confectioners , whitsters ; and all those who belong to female imployments , are to be rejected : but black-smiths , coach-makers , butchers , and such as hunt the stag and wild boar , are fit to make soldiers of : and to speak the truth , the safety of the common-wealth turns upon this very hinge , viz. the listing of young sodiers that excel in mind as well as in body ; for the strength fa kingd om , and the foundation of the roman name , do consist in the first choosing of the soldiery . nor are we to think , that the impressing of soldiers is a mean imployment that ordinary persons may be intrusted with . no , sertorius of old , amongst the rest of his laudable qualities , was of another mind ; for the youth to whom the defence of the provinces , and the stress of the war is to be committed , ought to be well born , if such can be had ; and also to be of credible conversations ; for generosity makes a man fit to be a soldier , and he that is ashamed to run away , becomes thereby a conqueror : what benefit is it to discipline a sluggish fellow , and to be at vast expence to entertain him in a camp ? that army never did conquer in a battel , where the press-masters were negligent in listing their young soldiery . we find it by dear and costly experience , that our enemies give us many overthrows , because that in a long time of peace , we are negligent and careless in calling out our soldiery . for whilst gentlemen follow civil imployments , and raw soldiers are chosen by favour and dissimulation , such persons take arms , as their masters disdain to imploy any other ways . hence it followeth , that great men should use great diligence in chusing out a young fry of soldiery : but alas our long security has shut this care quite out of doors : where can you find a man that can teach others any thing but what he himself hath learn'd before ? the lacedemonians were the first who collecting , experiments of fights from events , induced the art military , which is thought to be maintained either in valour or in happy success , to a formulary art , discipline and skill ; it was them that first of all commanded the officers at arms to teach their young soldiery , their method and various manner of fighting . o men to be highly praised and admired ! who were willing to learn that art principally , without which other arts are to no purpose : the romans also following their methods , have attained the precepts of martial discipline , and have written whole books concerning it . how much the discipline of the lacedemonians did prevail in fight , is sufficiently declared by the example of xantippus ( to omit others ) who with his carthaginians overcame attillius regulus and his conquering roman army , not by valour , but in a manner by art alone , and took him prisoner ; and thus by one combat he triumphantly made an end of the war. in the like manner hannibal , when he was about to march into italy , provided himself of a lacedemonian doctor of arms , by whose advice he destroyed so many consuls , and such vast legions , that he himself was inferior to them in number and in force . he therefore that designs peace , let him prepare himself for war : he that covets victory , let him discipline his soldiery diligently before-hand : he that desires good successes , must fight by art not by thought ; for no body will dare to challenge or provoke that enemy whom he knows will conquer him if he joyn battel with him . it was their custom in winter-time to provide tiles and slates , and for want of them flags and straw , they covered certain sheds for the horse , and certain hovels for the foot , wherein in stormy or windy weather , their army was disciplin'd dry over head ; and in other winter-days , when it did neither rain nor snow , then they were trained in the open field . this they did constantly , least by intermitting the custom , the minds and bodies of their soldiers might be infeebled . it is also very convenient for soldiers , very often to cut down woods , to carry burthens , to leap over ditches , to swim in the sea , or in rivers , to march with full speed , or to run in their armour , or with their snap-sacks on their backs ; for daily labour in the time of peace , makes toil more easie in war. whether therefore that army consists of their own legions or of auxiliaries , be sure to exercise them every day . for as a well-exercised soldier desires to fight , so an undisciplined one is afraid of a battel . lastly , we must know that in a fight , skill avails more than strength , for without skill at arms , a boor is as good as a soldier . the same vegetius acquaints us with many excellent things in several places of his book relating to the same purpose , which for brevity sake i omit , as how young soldiers ought to be exercised for a march , to run a ring , and to swimming ; besides they are to learn how to prick rather than to cut ; and how to level their darts or stones aright ; to be skillful at the use of the bow , to carry heavy burthens , to keep rank in an army , and carefully to fortifie their camps . all which things he that hath a mind may read in him . i shall only add for a close that which follows . he that would use diligence in the chusing and exercising of young soldiers , may easily raise an army , able to imitate the valour of the ancients ; for martial hearts are not degenerated in men , neither are those lands barren , which brought forth the lacedemonians , the athenians , and the marsians of old . no , it is only the taste of peace which hath wrought our men partly to delight in idleness , and partly to betake themselves to civil imployments ; and by this means the care of military exercises began first to be neglected , and after that to be di●used , and last of all quite forgot . and it is no wonder that this should happen in our age , when after the carthagnian war , for four and twenty years or more , peace , idleness , and disuse of arms , had so enervated those romans who always used to conquer before that , in the second carthagenian war hannibal was too hard for them . neither could they arrive at the haven of victory , till by the loss of so many consuls , of so many commanders , and so many armies , they had again relearn'd the intermitted use and increase of arms. vpon the whole it follows , the iuniors are always to be listed and exercised ; for it is cheaper to discipline our own men , than to hire strangers for pay. by these sayings of vegetius alone , to which all historians give their consent , it is sufficiently manifested for what was the old warlike discipline amongst the romans : neither was it observed by the romans alone , but by the persians before them , and in some sort by the macedonians also ; and by all other people who have left a glorious name unto posterity . as you may see in xenophon , a very skillful warrier , who writing of the method that cyrus the great , took in listing and exercising his soldiers , makes it to be not much different from the usage of the romans which i have spoken of . and with an army thus prepared , he in a very short time added the empire of all the east to his dominions . i might add also the testimony of arrianus , no mean writer , who brings in alexander declaiming against the macedonians , and accusing them as unmindful of courtesies received from him , in these words , philip my father , says he , received you into his care and protection , when you were a sort of wandering and vagabond people , destitute of all things , and many of you but shepherds cloathed with skins ; for which also you are forced continually to fight with the illyrians , the triballes , and with the thracians your neighbours ; he brought you down from the craggy mountains into plains and well-tilled vallies ; instead of skins he cloathed you with stately raiments , he instructed you in arms , he taught you military discipline , so that now your arms and valour were able to defend you against your neighbours , as well as the situation of your fortified places , &c. by which words it appears , on what foundations the much celebrated military discipline of the macedonians was built , to wit , of rustick mountainers , and of shepherds . diodorus siculus delivers also what is agreeable to the things before spoken : philip , says he , when he bent his mind to recreate their military discipline , took special care that his soldiers should be well furnished with decent armour , and that they should be trained up in warlike exercises . moreover he found out the order of the phalangis , which was proper to the macedonians , the pattern whereof he took from those heroes in the trojan war , who joyned buckler to buckler . the same diodorus speaking of alexander 's taking the city halicarnassus , with these valiant soldiers , now become veterans , hath these words , the veteran macedons , who during their whole lives were always conversant in difficulties and dangers , and under the pay of philip often obtained the victory , did thus arrive at the highest pitch of valour : they excelled others in prudence , and in the knowledge of the art military , whilst they bitterly upbraided the cowardise of the fresh-water soldiers that refused to fight ; they themselves in the mean time gathering into a ring , and joyning bucklers together , received their enemy , who even thought themselves conquerors before , and having slain ephialtis , and many others , they compelled the rest to fly into the city , &c. alexander the great did owe the conquest of the east , and the large extent of his empire , to the valour of those soldiers ; but perhaps the persons above-mentioned may object , that our times differ from theirs , those things have been long out of date , and that it is a childish thing to raise them as it were out of their graves , and to bring them into use again : we ought therefore to be contented with the wisdom of our own age. to which i reply . that what was useful in those days , is as fit to be used in our times : yet i will not urge reason to those who will not willingly hearken thereunto , but i will lead them to the very fountain of experience . let me then ask these objectors , why they are so over-wise to detract from other mens counsels , and can bring forth no better of their own . what , will they deny that the turks are good soldiers ? perhaps out of obstinacy they will not grant them to be such . i will therefore answer for them , that he who hath struck such a terror into the whole world , and laid all waste before him , upon the account of his victories , may well be reckoned a good soldier . i ask them again , how is this soldier listed , and how is he train'd up ? if they say they know not , i will tell them what i my self have seen to my own cost : a turkish soldier is a man so born , so listed , so train'd and exercised , as the romans were of old , and as ours ought to be : yea , he is in a worse condition ; for as to those soldiers who offer themselves to be listed , when the turk goes in any military expedition , which they call alcangi , they are little esteemed among the turks ; that soldier is the only man , who is continually under their emperor's pay , and by judgment and good reason , is at length advanced into the sultan's guards . this soldiery is thus chosen , the sultan sends some men every year into several provinces , who take away the third or fourth child from christian families . when the drove of these youths arrive at constantinople , they who have the most ingenious aspect , are chosen out for the domestick uses of the sultan himself , or of the bassa's , or other nobles ; the rest are brought into a certain place , where abundance of country-men meet , and they desire such or such a youth from the overseer of the business ; he receives from him a piece of gold , and delivers him the youth he desires , having first taken notice of the youth's name , country and condition , with his age , and other marks , whereby he may be known all his life-long . all these being recorded , it is lawful for him , whether he be a citizen or a country-man , to carry the youth into asia , or what part of the world soever he lives in , and there he uses him as his slave in continual toil and labour : his food is bread and water , and sometimes a little pottage with fruits or herbs : his apparel is sufficient only to defend him against the weather . besides , he is instructed in the mahometan religion . in this ignorance of delights , far from the blandishment of his own relations , he grows up into a robust and sturdy fellow . this man is again demanded of his fiduciary master and transferred to the wars ; and from this seminary , the legions of the janizaries , when they are defective , are made up : when he comes to be listed among the janizaries , his pay at first is about one ducat and a half per mensem , for that they think is enough for a fresh-water soldier . and yet that he may not want food , he hath his meat gratis with that company , into whose chamber he is admitted ; but upon this condition , that he serves them in the kitchen and other necessary offices . the skillfulness of that chamber instructs him in the use of arms , and fits him for service ; and when this tyro hath gotten a little knowledge in military affairs , though not equal with his fellows , is only hoped to mount higher by his valour ; and if he carries himself bravely in any service , then his pay is increas'd , and is reckon'd a compleat janizary . this hope does excite such youngsters to many valiant attempts , so that they equal the very veterans in valour , and obtain the full pay of janizaries , which at the highest is but eight ducats a month ; and yet if his valour or desert call him up to a higher place , either he is made a commander amongst the janizaries , or is listed among the pretorian horse called spahies . the rest of the youths before spoken of , are imploy'd in several works at constantinople , sometimes two or three hundred of them cleanse the court-yards , removes rubbish , carry stones , timber , and other burdens : not one of them is idle , but must earn the bread he eats . these youths also when they are grown up to transfer to land or sea-service , and those of them that are chosen for the court , do many times mount to great dignities : for the general of the ianizaries , admirals of fleets , beglar begs , and the viziers bassa's themselves are elected out of these ; yea , the daughters of sultans are given in marriage to them . thus have i given you a plain account , what is the rise , choice , discipline , and education of the turkish soldiery , so formidable all the world over : i deny not , but there are other ways of military advancement amonst them , but this is the most usual ; sometimes they make soldiers of those youths whom they have taken in war , or by frequent incursions into christian countries , after they have detain'd them for several years in the seraglio : and when they have lost all memory and sence of their own country , and the religion thereof , and have been instructed in arabick , and in the turkish way of arms , by their eunuch-masters , then they send them abroad to perform the military service they are most fit for . moreover the slaves of the bassa's , and other nobles got by war , or otherwise , are many times listed soldiers ; but not rashly , or hand over head ; but having first tryed their strength and valour both of body and mind , to obtain the station they are designed for . and the truth is , i have oftentimes admir'd the force of the turkish discipline in this case , when i saw seemingly abject and contemptible persons in a few years , to have made that advance , as not only to be able to perform the duty of a common soldier , but even of a commander also , fit to teach and instruct others . sometimes when for my own refreshment , i look'd out at my windows , the neighbouring turks shewed me some officers that were teaching the young fry the use of arms : i demanded of what country they were ? i verily thought , they must be either parthians , bactrians , or massagets ; but when i was told that one was an hungarian , the other a croat , a third a german ; i was struck with admiration ; but supposing they had obtain'd their skill at arms , from the use of them amongst christians , and supposing them to be noble persons and gentilely bred ; i proceeded to demand , whether they knew what kind of life they lived amongst christians ? after a little recollection , they answered me , that one had told them his father was a cook , another was intimated a monk , and the third was servant to a victualler ; but being taken in a time of war of truce , with other booty , they were brought to constantinople , and admitted into the family of this or that bassa . here i was struck again with wonder ! and demanding , how such kind of fellows could come to be so great warriors ? they told me , the masters they served , had certain men at their houses well skill'd in arms , to whose discipline ( if they were thought tractable ) they were consign'd over , where they so much profited in a little time , that they surpassed their equals , and had performed so bravely in succeeding wars , that they obtained praise from all , and dignity from their prince , as a reward of their valour . when i heard this , i was much aggrieved that our manners should so differ from the turks ; for if they have got a man that promises any thing , they rejoyce in him , as a precious treasure , and spare no pains or cost in his cultivation , especially if he be fit for the war. but alas , 't is quite contrary among us ; if we have but a good dog , a hawk , or a horse , we are over-joyed , and spare no pains to bring him to perfection in his kind : but if we have got an ingenious man into our hands , we don't take so much pains in his institution : for our parts we take delight in well disciplin'd dogs and hawks ; but the turks take a greater in the culture of man , who is more excellent in his nature than a beast . from what hath been spoken , it is evident , that 't is no new thing to list soldiers judiciously the way that i contend for ; 't was used both by the romans , and by both conquering nations : neither is it so obsolete or so remote from the custom of our age , as it may not be again call'd back into use : for we find by daily experience , how the turkish arms so cultivated do prevail . let it not therefore seem i●ksom to us to borrow this necessary part from them who have borrow'd so many useful things from us : if we thus do , we shall quickly find a good discipline will avail as much for our safety , as a bad hath hitherto contributed to our ruine . this is the only anchor left in a dangerous tempest , to preserve the floating ship of our commonwealth ; every thing is establish'd and preserv'd by that which rais'd it at first ; as kingdoms and empires have been obtain'd by military valour , and well-appointed armies , by the same way they must be preserv'd . take away arms , remove soldiers , neglect discipline , and a kingdom will either fall of it self , or be a prey to the conqueror . the diadem and scepter doth not preserve the majesty of a kingdom , as the sword ; in vain you wear the one upon your head , or carry the other in your hand , unless your sword be girt by your side : that empire is but weak and maim'd , that is not supported by arms : when i speak of arms , i mean not shadowy glittering ones , but true solid and viceless ones . that which is corrupted and degenerate from its perfection , doth more hurt than good : as long as the romans kept up their strict military discipline , their legions conquer'd the remotest parts of the world ; but after discipline came to be corrupted , and their valour effeminated , by neglecting old institutions ; they not only lost the greatest part of the empire , but rome it self was not free from plunder within its own walls ; so that the city erst , the head and prince of all nations , was now expos'd as a prey and laughing-stock to them all , who pluck'd away their spoils from her , as the rest of the birds did their feathers from aesop's chough . but our circumstances are the more pressing , because the deadly wound doth threaten our own almost naked bowels ; and there is no way but this left to secure our lives . sometimes rulers when new dangers threatens them , are fain to apply remedies accordingly to the genius of their subjects , and thereupon to warp sometimes from the rule of right : but our straits are such , that when the ruine of our country is before our eyes , we must immediately use those means which may prevent our ruine ; if our enemy were afar off , then we may send for raw soldiers from far countries remote from enemies ; but we who are within cast of dart , and ready to fight hand to hand , must commit our safety to no arms but those that are tryed and approved ones . but some may o●ject , that this our military preparation will be too slender to oppose the torrent of the turkish force . i answer ; i here only shew , how the solid foundation of a constant army may be laid , the rest of the building will follow of course , and auxiliaries being added , will soon make up a great army ; and such auxiliaries will speedily come in , when it shall be reported , that we have already a body of an army to which they may resort ; for nature it self will prompt them to assist those who are ready to undergo all dangers with themselves : and on the other hand , it doth alienate from those who are unarm'd and unfit to resist offer'd wrongs . hence zenophon says very excellently , that those who are ready with arms in their hands , have many friends , and no enemies ; for all will fly to their aid in doubtful times , as to a castle of refuge , and none will oppose him , when he knows he has power enough to hurt his enemy when he please . hence it comes to pass that whilst we loiter and slacken our endeavours , as despairing of our safety , and depend only upon our hope and aid from others ; even our very friends and relations will despise them , and forsake them , and will rather joyn with the bold daring enemy , though of another religion . so great is the force of expeditious arms. in the name therefore of god almighty , let us buckle on the helmet , and with arms in our hand , oppose so great an enemy . we our selves should be first initiated in the religion of armed palas , we should devote our selves to her studies ; put our hands first to the p●ow , and do our duty ; god will supply all the rest , and aid will not be wanting to those who are voic'd not to be wanting to themselves . let us not rest till we have got at least twelve thousand foot together ; ( of the horse , i will speak in another place ) besides ordinary garrisons , and those chosen out of our own country , well trained and exercised . when this our practice shall be made known , not our friends only , but even strangers will send us in ; on hope for aid : and if those hopes should fail , yet our own small force being in garrison in summer-time , may suppress the force of the enemy ; and in winter we may make such inroads upon their borders , that they would repent their provoking of us : and by this means they would be forced to seek for truce from us , which we can hardly now by petition obtain from them ; and they will also observe the conditions more strictly , than now they do ; but as our present case stands , we are tossed with every vvind : if our garrisons be in danger , and some sudden assault requires speedy aid , we have no force at all , either to help our own , or to stop the current of our enemies successes ; i grant that these things require our singu●ar care and study ; neither can we place our thoughts and our delights on a fitter subject ; no field of praise lyes more open to us than that wherein we exercise our troops every day , and advance them for military exploits . let others please themselves with gilded houses , and some with pleasant cardens ; others with ornamental and gaudy houshould-stuff , as pictures , and the like , &c. but let all our delight be in these vvarlike preparations , even in time of peace : let us value our selves to our friends upon this account only ; for what can be more grateful to any guest of ours , than to see a number of choice youths shining in their arms ; of strong and nimble bodies , exercising themselves with guns , spears , or swords ; nimbly turning their bodies at the beck of their commanders , and by the chearfulness of their countenance woing an enemy to fight withal . such sorts of youth videlicet , the ianizaries , the turkish emperors call their sons , as the hope and foundation of their empire . philopemen the last emperor of the greeks , when he saw the vvarlike glory of his country to decline , and to be ready to give up the ghost out of cowardise and neglect of military discipline ; and as a lover of his country , being willing to prevent its ruine , he got a brave train of grecian noble youths about him , which he instructed in the art of vvar ; and coming once with this train in his military habit , into a theatre of greece , full of spectators , he was mightily h●zza'd and commended by the whole assembly ; for they were sensible of the merit of such a citizen who was willing to retrieve the glory of his country , and to excite the youth thereof to valiant feats of arms. and why may not we christians get the same applause , and do that which is acceptable both to god and man , if we undertake the declining cause of our common safety , and vindicate our military praise to its ancient dignity . but i shall put an end to this discourse , when i shall have told you the grounds thereof ; when i have admonish'd and adjur'd christians to shake off that drousie fit under which they lye , and so run in to the help of a decaying commonwealth . the danger is as great as ever was ; let us then bestir our selves to maintain those seats with that credit which our ancestors have got for us , and deliver them down to our posterity ; and the only way so to do , is this , to repel force with force , to run to our arms , and that not fortuitous , tumultuous , and forreign ones , but our own country ones , listed and trained up with great judgment , and choice reasons . we should herein imitate valiant soldiers , who when they are besieged in a weak fort , and are ready to fall into the hands of a cruel enemy , they stir up all their strength , and do their very utmost to preserve themselves . but if we be otherwse minded , and through cowardise or mistake , be wanting to the commonwealth , or our selves , there are but these two ways left , either we must leave our own country and hereditary possessions , as a prey to the conqueror , or else we must dye , or be made slaves ; ( of the two , if we be so degenerate ) let us rather leave our habitatations , our lands , goods , and houses , than suffer our very blood to be suck'd , the chastity of our wives and children to be expos'd , or those indignities suffer'd with so many people of asia , africa , and europe , from the furthest eastern countries , even to our borders do undergo : if we walk in their steps , we may , fear the same ruine . but why , pray , should we transplant our ●ves , let 's rather fight it out , and chearfully buckle to those ways of defence which god has mercifully supply'd us with . to our arms , to our arms , with valor and courage , our only hope under god. this becomes the christian name , and the greatness of the danger we are in , and this may prevent our impending ruine . the oration of ebraim strotschen , a polonian , sent ambassador by solyman emperor of the turks , to ferdinand the first , emperor of germany , made at frankfort on the main , before the states of the empire , in the sclavonick tongue . nov. . . most powerful and serene ferdinand the elect emperor of the christians ; my master the most powerful and vnconquered emperor of the turks , hath sent me as his ambssador a long iourney both by sea and land , with some special commands , both to congratulate your health and happy government : asalso to declare the great benevolence and respect he bears towards your majesty ; and he hopes that this friendship begun upon account of the former embassie is encreas'd , by the evident tokens of an injuring friendship which he hath shewed towards your majesty , which god prosper on both sides . having thus spoken , he stopp'd awhile , and then proceeded thus : that your majesty may have an evident token of my masters good will and friendship towards you ; he hath released all the christian captives for your sake , which otherwise should not be redeemed for gold nor silver , nor the intercession of any other prince . his majesty hath done this for no other cause , but to confirm the friendship between the two crowns ; and he likewise hopes and desires the same by me , that you would release those turks that you have prisoners in any of your dominions , and that unperverted in their religion . he also wishes long-life , a quiet old age , and a pacifick government in the administration of your kingdoms , which be desires also might be happily transmitted to your posterity . he promises also to use all means that this league and truce between the two crowns , shall not in the least be impair'd by any of his subjects . he also desires that your majesty would give a particular answer to each branch of his letters ; which if you shall do , my master and your majesty would vye offices of friendship one with another , and will seriously endeavour that this league begun between two aged princes may encrease every day more and more , and may receive augmentation of establishment , by new and growing evidences . having ended this discourse , he desired the emperour to acquaint him which of the august assembly was maximilian his beloved son and heir of the empire : cesar pointed to him with his finger , sitting at his left-hand ; then the ambassador turning his face● towards him , bowed his body , after the parthian or turkish manner ; and laying his right-hand upon his breast , wish'd him a long and happy life , with a joyous succession of the roman empire , and prosperity in all his affairs , adding these express words ; that he did not doubt , but that he proceeding from so noble a stock , would not be inferiour to his father , but rather according to the notation of his name , maximilian , he would be greater and famouser than his parent . then turning to the emperor , he presented him the gifts that he had brought , viz. two high-priz'd goblets of native crystals , beset with precious jewels ; together with a choice turkish horse , adorn'd with golden trappens and jewels , and also four camels , the best in all constantinople : these he presented to the emperor , excusing the leanness of the horse and camels , contracted by so long a journey , as the space of four months . the copy of the prudential letters given to the said ambassador by his master , upon the eight years truce , by the german emperor . i lord of lords , reigning over the east and west ; that am able to do , and not do , what i please ; lord of all greece , persia , and arabia , and ruler over all that can be subjected either to king or lord ; the great hero of these times , and the valiant giant of the wide world ; lord of the white and black sea , and of the holy city mecha ; shining with the splendor of god ; and of the city medina , and of the holy and chast city of jerusalem ; king of the noble kingdom of egypt ; lord of jonia , and of the cities of athens ; senate of the holy temple of god : zabilon , and bassio , retham , and magodin , the seat and throne of the great king nashin reta , and lord of the island of algeus , and prince of the kingdoms of tartary , mesopotamia , ; and of the medes , georgians , and all greece ; of moria , and anatoria ; of asia , armenia , valakia , moldavia ; and emperor of all hungary : with many other kingdoms and dominions ; the thrice great emperor sultan , solyman ; the son of the great emperor selin : who hath power from god to bridle all people , and ability to open the bars and gates of all cities and forts : all the ends of the earth , none excepted , are put into my powerful hands : the lord of the east , from the land of tsin unto the borders of africa , whom god hath made strong by the edge of the sword ; amongst whose powerful kingdoms , cesars inexpugnable castle is accounted one of the ieast ; and the empire of alexander the great , was but small in respect of my hereditary dominions ; the valour of the whole world , and the vertue of the firmament is with me . seeing king ferdinand , who art the powerful lord of all christianity , and the elect vessel of the powerful christian faith , created and chosen emperor of the romans , and of bohemia , of the vandals , croats , and many other countries , king and ruler . seeing , i say , that awhile since you sent your chosen counsellor and ambassador , augerius a busbeck , to our court , the refuge of princes , and the throne of grace , to them that desired it ; with letters of friendship to renew the ancient peace and contract of amity between us : which letters were dated in the year from the prophet jesus ; ( upon whom , and upon our prophet mahomet , be the light and peace of god ) . the first day of june : desiring of us , to grant the truce for eight years ; during which time , no cities , countries , or forts of his , should be molested by our arms , but his people should live in secure tranquility , &c. to which request , we answer : that such a truce , firm concord and friendship shall be continued between vs for eight years , on these conditions : first , that urinis should send yearly to our court , as a pledge of the truce , hungarian duckats , together with the remainder due for two years past● and for that we promise , that we will not interpose in any offices either of friendship , or of enmity , as to the hereditary dominions of the son of king john , whether situate in upper hungary , or in the further part of the teise ; all of which belong to vs by right of war. moreover the son of the said king john , during this eight years truce , shall be oblig'd to be obedient to vs ; not to undertake any war against you , or to m●lest your subjects with fire and sword● not to exact any money , or drive any prey from them. and we likewise do promise , that we will take no occasion to destroy your people by fire or sword , but will devoutly observe this eight years peace and concord . moreover , balaski michael , and nicholas bathol , and some others , shall be included in the same conditions of peace , and shall be subject to you , and the son of king john : and if any of yours , or if his subjects , have taken away any goods or lordships in time of war , from whence new dissentions may arise ; our will and pleasure be , that such matters shall be put off undetermin'd , until the time of this truce shall be expir'd . and if perhaps new controversies shall hereafter arise between us , upon the account of our mutual jurisdiction which cannot be compos'd ; let each of us keep their own , without any contention or strife . moreover , some towns situate on the da●ow and tatta , may remain as they now do ; so that the soldiers in the garrison of tatta , shall have no right to infest the villages upon the danow . moreover , if from this time of peace , any of your nobles have some of my subject prisoners , they shall set them free without ransom ; that so this peace and concord shall be more firmly kept . all and every of these , we will and faithfully promise that they shall be duly observ'd till the end of the eight years aforesaid : and for that purpose , we have caus'd these letters of confederation to be publish'd from the court of our magnificence ; and have also taken care , that a copy of these letters , together with my edict thereupon , should be sent to all the commanders and officers of all my forces both by land and sea , to be faithfully observed by them . the condition of this truce shall comprehend our true vayvords of valachia and moldavia ; and that none of your hungarians , croats , sclavonians , or others , should be molested or troubled by any of mine , on any pretence whatsoever . but if some of yours making inrodes from your castles shall plunder some of ours , they shall be ●ound to make restitution ; and if any fugitives of ours shall carry away their master's gold , or other goods , and seek shelter from you ; the goods are to be restor'd , and the fugitives punish'd in terrorem ; for the goods of fugitives belong to their masters : the like is to ●e done , if your fugitives fly to us . moreover , it shall be lawful for your commander to fortifie towns and castles upon the borders of hungary , and to import victuals and arms , but not beyond their own bounds . none of your subjects in hungary , or elsewhere shall be carried away prisoners , during this truce ; if they be , they shall be presently releas'd : besides , if any ambassadors and christian princes shall reside at our court , for the dispatch of business , they shall have free leave to walk up and down , to go and come : and moreover shall be handsomly assisted by interpreters , to declare their errands ; and if by reason of the co●s●●e● of each other countries , some differences do arise between our subjects , those disputes shall be determin'd by discreet persons , chosen on both sides ; that the causers of those disputes shall be punished as truce-breakers . moreover , we forbid duels on the borders of both our countries : and we desire that this truce , and every article hereof , may be publickly read in your dominions , and command given that they be obediently kept . we have promis'd the same before , and your ambassador lately sent , desir'd it in your name ; and humbly besought us , that this peace may be firm and establish'd by imperial oaths , and by these letters of credence , as if we our selves had been present . and therefore i send these letters of peace to you , that your commanders and soldiers may be bound to observe them , as long as they shall not act contrary thereunto ; so long these articles of peace be confirm'd between us . in testimony whereof , i swear by the true and living creator of heaven and earth ; by the true signs of our great and venerable prophet , by my imperial power , and by my true faith , that none of my captains , commanders , &c. shall presume , or attempt to do any thing in breach of this eight years truce ; commanding also all the jurats of our potent emperor , the rulers of valakia and moldavia , and king stephen himself , with other commanders on our borders , that they observe these conditions towards your people , cities , &c. as i my self will do : nor that they commit the least breach , to the prejudice of any of your subjects . in short , i shall ascribe great reverence and authority to this great and potent friendship ; so that i will not vary a jo● to the breach thereof . and whereas your ambassadors have desir'd me to release some christian captives without r●nsom ; i have granted the same to your friendship , which otherwise no money could have releas'd ; especially hoping that you would release all the turks that are prisoners with you . these letters of peace and confederation , were dated in our imperial palace and throne of our powerful city constantinople , in the year of our great and venerable prophet , . sept. . 't is to be observ'd , that the turkish ambassador had persons in his train ; the greatest part whereof were commanders of buda in hungary , he had also horses and camels . the names and sirnames of the turkish ambassador , and his attendants , from constantinople and buda , which entred into frankfort with him . ebraim strotius , a polonian , ambassador had servants , and horses , camels . the bassa of buda had servants , horses . rassius mustica of five churches , servants , horses . istraphius zauschus , servants . percham zauschus , servants . bermanus bily of buda , servants . durac bulius of buda , servants . dellius constraff of buda , servants , horses . hossen bulius of buda , servants , horses . duraston of buda , servant , horses . dalli achmal , servant , horses . odoverdas , servant , and horses . kadulius , horses . ballius sachemius , horses . mustafa , servant , hussam . finis . books printed for and sold by j. taylor at● the ship in st. paul's church-yard . . dr . salmon's practical phisick . . dr. yworth's new art of brewing . — his whole art of distillation . . logick , or the art of thinking . . lord shannon's moral essays . . — his characters and discourses . . — his letter to an atheistical acquaintance● . dr. salmon's , with dr. sydenham's , and monsieur blankard's new method of curing the french disease . . love's whole art of surveying . . strode's easie method for the art of dyalling . . plutarch's morals , vol. . englished by several hands . . culpeper's directory for medicines . . kirkwood's new family book , with a preface by dr. horneck . . abbade's truth of the christian religion , englished . . gouges words to saints and sinners . . — his christian directions . . councellor manner's legacy to his son. . ryder's new practice of surgery . . evelyn's french gard'ner with cuts . . gilbert's florists vade mecum . . baxter's call to the unconverted . . osborn's works , divine , moral , historical and political . . virgilius notis minelii . . quintilian's declamations englished . . grand's historia sacra . . newton's compleat arithmetician . . the modern courtier . . miracles perform'd by money , a poem . . the humors of a coffee house , a poem . . foxes and firebrands . . a defence of their majesties king william and queen mary . . strode of combinations , &c. . the swordman's vade mecum , by sir william hoop . . dyer's works . . vanity of the creature . . publick devotions , by mr. camfield . . mr. boyles's heads of history . . — his medicinal experiments or collect of choice remedies part . . the travels of monsieur thevenot into persia and the east-indies . books printed for and sold by j. wyat at the rose in st. paul's church-yard . . sir dewes's journal of all the parliaments in queen elizabeth's time. . bacon of the government of england . . abbadie's vindication of the christian religion . . mr. boyle's christian virtuoso . . — his experiments & observations phisicae . . an enquiry into the constitution , discipline , government , unity , and worship of the primitive church by an impartial hand . . family devotions for sunday evenings throughout the year , in . volumes : . mr. edwards's enquiry into difficult texts , with a probable resolution of them , in . volumes . . his discourse on the authority and stile of the holy scriptures , in . volumes : . meige's english grammar . . dr. payn's practical discourse of repentance . . florist's vade mecum . . harris's enquiry into the acute diseases of infants . the innocent epicure, or, the art of angling a poem. innocent epicure j. s., fl. . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing t estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) the innocent epicure, or, the art of angling a poem. innocent epicure j. s., fl. . tate, nahum, - . [ ], p. printed for s. crouch, h. playford and w. brown ..., london : . preface signed: n. tate. published later, , with title: angling. reproduction of original in huntington library. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng fishing -- poetry. - tcp assigned for keying and markup - spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images - tcp staff (michigan) sampled and proofread - john latta text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the art of angling . a poem . the innocent epicure : or , the art of angling . a poem . tytire amas rivos , rivos tibi , tytire , dicam . rap. — si quid novisti rectius istis , candidus imperti , si non , his utere mecum . hor. london : printed for s. crouch , h. playford , and w. brown : against the royal-exchange , cornhill ; in the temple-exchange , fleetstreet ; and in black-horse alley near fleet-bridge . . preface . the copy of this poem being sent to me from the unknown author , with commission to publish or suppress it , as i thought fitting ; his indifference about the matter convinc'd me that he was a gentleman who wrote it for his diversion , or at least in kindness to those who are lovers of that ingenious and innocent recreatio● , concerning which he has made so judicious observations . i immediately communicated the sight of his manuscript to s●●eral experienc'd anglers , ( and some of 'em no enemies to the muses , ) who agreed in their opinions , that notwithstanding the confin●m●nt th●t verse lays upon a writer , it far excels any thing that has been publish'd in prose upon this subject , even in the useful and instructive part of the work. they assur'd me , that it contains all the necessary rules that have yet been delivered ; and those rules digested into a much better method ; together with several uncommon and surprizing remarks , which many who are reputed artists at the sport , may receive advantage by . this was all that seem'd needful to be said of the performance , with relation to the angler's business ; and in reference to the poetry , 't is certain that every man will judge for himself : and doubtless the modestest account that i can give of it , will be most acceptable to an author who conceals his name . the cast and design of the work are after the model of ancient and best received poets on such arguments : the style lively , and as elevated as was proper for the matter of which he treats , and discovers a genius capable of managing a greater subject : the numbers are smooth and easy ; and if there is not always a ●ervi●e strictness of rhyme , that seems to me a iudicious negligence ( in ● pi●●● where nature 〈◊〉 to have the ascendant ) , and becoming a gentleman who wrote for his pleasure , and makes not poetry his profession . his digressions , as they were necessary to relieve the dryness of prescribing directions , so are they sensible and entertaining . i have only this to add , that since the author's scene lies in the countrey , in the solitude of rivers and meadows , i presume there needs no apology for publishing herewith so good a copy of that original landskip of retirement , which was long since so admirably drawn by horace . nor can any contempla●ive person be offended at my publishing of both , since they were both committed to my disposal . n. tate . from j. s. to c. s. horace epist. x. lib. i. vrbis amatorem fuscum salvere ju●emus ruris amatores , &c. health to my friend , who loves the town so well ; health from his friend , who loves his countrey cell ; in all but this , we twin like brother doves , what one dislikes , the other disapproves ; and covent● garden cooing but divides our loves . thou keep'st the billing nest ; i range the fields , and taste what uncorrupted nature yeilds ; riot in flowers , and wanton in the woods , bask on the mossy banks , and skim along the floods . in short , i live , and reign , and joy to be , from all thy much-mistaken blessings free ; and , as the slave the flamens surfeits fled , nauseate the honey-cakes , and feast on bread ; if happiness of life be worth our care , ( and he who builds , should nicely chuse his air ) ; tell me the place that with the country vies , in easy blessings , and in native joys ; where chearful hearths deceive the cold so well , or gentle gales the raging beams repel ; when both the lyon and the dog conspire , with furious rays to set the day on fire ; where then , ah where ! but here , can sleep maintain ( that slave in courts ) her soft imperial reign ? is parian marble press'd beneath thy feet , more beautiful than flowers , or half so sweet ? or water roaring through the bursting lead , so pure as gliding in its easy bed ? who builds in cities , yet the fields approves , and hedges in with pillars awkward groves● strives for the countrey-view that farthest runs , and tweers aloof at beauties which he shuns . in driving nature out , our force is vain , still the recoiling goddess comes again ; and creeps in silent triumph to deride the weak attempts of luxury and pride . an ignorant and uncomparing fop , is cheated less in any mercer's shop , than he who cannot with a wary eye distinguish happiness from vanity . who prosperous chance too eagerly embrace , feel double pangs in her averted face . you once must leave whatever you admire ; ah wisely now , and willingly retire ; forsake the gawdy tinsel of the great , the peacef●l cottage beckens a retreat : where tr●● content so tru● a greatness brings , as slights th●ir ●a●ourites , and pities kings . the stag and ●ors● in common pasture fed , till j●rs en●u'd , and heels oppos'd to head ; but horns are lucky things● and p●lsrey sled , foaming for spight ( and passion is a wit , ) he sought to man , and kindly took the bit : but when he fully had reveng'd his cause , the spurs still gaul'd his sides , the curb his jaws . just so the man who has his freedom sold , ( the nobler riches ) to insulting gold , his back beneath a jaunting rider lays , hackney'd and spurr'd through all his slavish days . whose fortune is not fitted to his will , too great or little , is uneasy still . our shooes and fortune surely are alli'd , we limp in strait , and stumble in the wide . wisely now take what chance and fate afford , nor wish for more ; i know thou wilt not hoard : and when i labour for the sordid gains , or heap the trash , upbraid me for my pains . it serves or rules , where ever gold you find ; but still the varlet is a slave by kind . receive these from thy friend — who laughs in kent from cares and business free , and wanting nothing in the world but thee . books printed for , and sold by h. playford . harmonia sacra , in two books , containing divine hymns and dialogues ; set to musick by dr. i. blow , the late mr. h. purcell , and other eminent masters . price of both bound s. the d book stitch'd s. deliciae musicae , in four books , containing most of the newest and best songs ; with three elegies on ●ha late queen mary ii. being the first volume ; ●et by the late famous mr. h. purcell . price of the vol. stitch'd s. deliciae musicae , the first and second book of vol. . price of the first s. of the second d. the whole book of psalms in three parts , by iohn playford , as they are sung in churches : to ●hich is added a table of all the trebles , and what ●salms are sung to them ; being very fit for coun●●ey masters who teach the same : d edit . in octavo . ●rice bound s. d. an ode on the death of that late excellent ma●●er , mr. henry purcell ; the words by mr. dryden , ●nd compos'd to musick by dr. iohn blow . also the late mr. henry purcell's picture , exactly ●ngraven by mr. white . price in a frame d. or ●ithout a frame d. miscellanea sacra : a collection of choice poems on divine and moral subjects . vol. i. collected by n. tate , servant to his majesty . price bound s. the parallel ; a● essay on friendship , love , and marriage ; by sir h. s. price sti●ch'd d. oroonoko , a tragedy ; by mr. southern ● price d. the she-gallants , a comedy ; written by a person of quality . price d. the lovers-luck , a comedy ; by mr. dilk ● price s. there will lik●wise be speedily publi●●'● , a catalogue of all the musick-books sold at the same place ; amongst which will be several italian musick-books , and some newly come over . all sorts of fishing-rods , tackle , and other implements of angling , sold by william brown , in black-horse alley , near fleet-bridge , and at his house , the sign of the golden fish in st. paul ●s church-yard . the art of angling . hence idle love ; the muse at last grown wise , dilates her fancy , and improves her choice . to vain delights she 's now no●more a friend . but ye , ye genial souls do you attend ; attend and listen , while i freely tell you and the wiser world the art of angling well . others their pleasure by their hopes commend ; but i the anglers value by its end. ye nymphs and river-gods ( if such there be ) of you i sing ; exert your force to me . while i describe the glories of your court , natives , their manners , and their vast resort , my humble reed with such a strain inspire , as those the list'ning streams in you admire ; when the glad waves from their swift course recoil , and in your songs forget their hourly toil. so may they still attend you as you sing ; so may the meads , of sport your wanton scene , be blest by iove with everlasting spring . and thou , whom once to hear , is once to love , alike propitious to my labours prove . smile on your own commands , tho' ill obey'd , and kindly execute the muses aid . beneath thy least neglect the work must fall , so vast its height , my genius so small ; but from your smiles she will not fear to hope : atlas , they say , bore the world's fabrick up . at worst the just will emulate my fate ; sternhold might shine exalted to the height , and b — and l — poll for laureat . begin , my muse , the pleasures of the wise , serene content , and unrepented ease ; thy noble song who can neglect to hear ? none but the fools thou shouldst not love nor fear . they scorning thee , thy reputation raise , and with their cypress bring eternal bays . first then , the best materials to prepare , ( the curious anglers chief and wisest care ) sing we , in numbers rather just than new , and short ; for the ingenious want but few . hints are enough , where we the subject love ; and the lukewarm won't more than hints improve . tir'd with the glories he so long has born , when sol resigns them all in capricorn , or when the northern pleiades are set , and rural hinds seek out the welcome heat ; awhile th' approaching winter-blasts sustain : the future bliss will quit the present pain . then tender shoots from the old hazle take ; strait , smooth , and even , free from knot or break. search all the copse , nor spare the fairest tree : no matter though the tender mothers cry . no matter though the nymphs , her sisters , mourn : from the fresh wound fresh offspring will return . besides , 't is kind her issue to impair ; old as she is , her stock should lightly bear . we bless the shepherds , and we call them wise , who treble-bearing ewes discreetly ease : as wisely then you may your use supply ; furnish your self , and ease the lab'ring tree . thus got , preserve them with your utmost care ; for nicety it self 's a virtue here . prune them , if notch'd ; if crooked , make them straight : the knife does this , a gentle flame does that● the sap expell'd , they dexterously bend , and double service and assistance lend . then lest they warp , and from the curling snake , their quondam tenant , some resemblance take ; let some straight pole their fetter'd bodies bear ; nor loose them till occasion first require . nor when you fit them for your sport and use , slight you the art , or any pains refuse . here nice proportion must be well observ'd ; and exact beauty through the whole preserv'd : for though rude slaves with bungling labour kill ; true anglers ought to do 't distinguishingly well . but if these pains , like dangerous tasks in love , stifle your thoughts , and your fledg'd hopes remove : a little charge will purchase you your ease , and london furnish you with just supplies . there lab'ring artists nicely fit each part : you buy your pleasure , and they live by art. the cane , the hazle , all the anglers store they sell , and often , to the curious , more . but , if i might intrench upon your ease , i 'd with a caution join my poor advice . first , of their lines , their treach'rous lines beware ; nor grudge your self a little labour here . i teach you here , by sad experience taught , what i with care and money dearly bought . full oft relying on my strength , not skill ; full oft the fisher was the fishes spoil . nor only were my hopes and pleasures crost , but , with my prize , more precious time was lost . then warning take , and wisely thus avoid the rock on which my ship has oft been try'd . chuse well your hair , and know the vigorous horse not only reigns in beauty , but in force . creatures decay'd the london shops supply : get you such locks as they can't reach to buy . nor chuse the hair of beasts ( tho newly ) dead ; there nature's universally decay'd . but , when the rampant brute with vigour flies to force the timerous jade to taste his joys , obtain your wish at any rate and price . then for your single links the fairest chuse ; such single hair will best supply your use . and of the rest your several lines prepare , in all still lessening every link a hair. if for the flye , taper and long your line ; the fish is quick , and hates what is not fine . if for the depth , to stronger i advise ; tho still the finest take the finest prize . but e're you twist your upper links , take care wisely to match in length and strength your hair. believe me , friend , this care as useful is , and just , as any part of my advice . have you not seen the skilful archer's bow drawn to a height , his expectation so ; the arrow pointing to the wish'd-for prize , and he devouring 't with his heart and eyes ; when the ill-twisted string his vigour fails , first frets , then snaps , the baffled master rails . such oft has been my fate , which only care and future circumspection could repair . on equal strength we wisely may rely ; but else experience by our loss we buy . for ev'n in friendships bonds 't is rarely found , that when one fails , the other keeps his ground . then wisely to avoid the archer's fate , twist slow your links , and see they justly plait . hair best with hair , and silk with silk agrees ; but mixt , have each their inconveniences . though would you freely to my rules attend , i 'd only to your use the hair commend . more trivial things are these ; the knot and * bought , not worth a verse since eas'ly learn'd without . for every angler here by instinct knows the use of this , and that that must be close . of like consideration are the rest ; hook , float and plummet , as you fancy best . for one , perhaps , applauds his kerby's ware ; and others cheaplier serv'd exceed him every where . for as in beauty fancy reigns ; we see fancy misleads us in utility . some teach you next the blunted hook to whet ; though i was never so unfurnish'd yet ; nor did my leisure e're so much oppress , to lose an hour in niggard idleness . nor is there farther●worthy to be taught , bags , landing nets , and panniers must be bought . when , though unask'd , th' event will easily show your willing chap will over-furnish you . next of the art it self i speak ; o friend ! my weighty lessons heedfully attend ! attend me , while i into order bring each weighty rule , and every pond'rous line . hail ! great triumvirate * of angling ! hail ! ye who best taught , and here did best excel . play here the gods , play here the heroes part : your selves the proto-poets of the art. my humble breast with pow'rful flames inspire to teach the world what justly we admire : joys fraught with innocence , of danger free , raptures which none but we should so enjoy . but tell me first , for you or none can tell , what god the mighty science did reveal ? for sure a god he was ; less than divine , how could such weighty blessings flow from him ? a god he was then , or at least to me , and , my associates , such he ought to be . he taught us first the grandeur of the court contemn'd and scorn'd for this , to chuse a sport full of content , and crown'd with healthful ease : where nature frets not while our selves we please . come back my muse now to the task design'd ; sing we of fish the haunts of every kind , their baits , their seasons , and their usual feed , and when the angler best may hope to speed . things worthy of the angler's greatest care ; things worthy thee to teach , and him to hear . and first the salmon does my verse command , lov'd at his sport , but more at tables fam'd . well are the patient anglers pains repaid , when this fair captain is his captive made . oft purling brooks , but oftner greater streams he haunts : where neptune , like the dutch in india reigns : just salts the water to evince his pow'r , afraid to vex the river-beauties more . at mid-day when the sun exerts his rays , see on the surface how the wanton plays . then wisely tempt him , and from force or choice you 'll see him nimbly to your pastime rise . strong be your lines , your hooks , your rods , and all , and wise your conduct , or he breaks the whole . one wary jerk , and straight he plunging cries , angler be cautious● or you lose your prize . though mealy mouth'd , he 's sometimes that way lost ; which cautious care prevents not , no , nor cost . though art may much your strength and lines relieve , and nice observance great assistance give . large be your flye too , and might i advise , expanded wings should more provoke his rise . to which if various colours well you join , and time ( which renders every thing divine ) agree , it cannot fail to answer your design . yet curling billows should assist the cheat , quick-sighted else he 'll quickly shun the bait. and clear the water must , or else he feeds low on the gravel , or the wasting weeds . yet lobbworms scour'd , them 〈◊〉 sure friends you 'll find , then too your tackling strengthen to your mind . these cannot fail you , if the dying year say not , desist , his spawning time is near . a troll some use , and some the rod prefer : no matter which , since both like useful are . less nice at bottom he devouring roves , and boldly rushes , as he boldly loves . the mennows too his rage not rarely feel , try those , and if you can , procure the reel , which freely of its self emits the line , ( needfully long and yet securely fine ) . the greedy fish may have his full of play , while unconcern'd on the less fry you prey . or wisely casting round your ravish'd eyes , salute the author of these mighty joys , with these or more adapted thoughts than these : coelestial bounty ! how shall i repay those blessings which thy mercy throws away ? each morn , each hour , thy lavish'd hand i find ; make me less sinful , or be thou less kind . neglected mercy must to vengeance turn ; be thou my love , though by the atheists scorn . come here ye fools , though in opinion wise. come here and see with natural reason's eyes . reason , your boast , though an imperfect guide , the weighty controversy shall decide . in beauteous order see the waters move , and show like motion in the spheres above . tell me , could human force such skill attain ? and where that fails , sure chance attempts in vain . chance mimicks art , and nature helps the cheat ; but 't is a different glory to create . besides , though gay the sun his course each morn renews , chance cannot hold the reins could she the work produce . no! here consistent beauty rules the whole , mov'd by an ardent and continual soul. when that is kind , the sun 's diffusive ray ripens the fields , and drives the mists away . when sullen , then the strongest beauties pine , and chance it self no kind relief can bring . that flowry mead is not by chance so fair ; but knows its seasons , and observes the year . the flocks alike their annual off'rings pay : but all would fade , were purblind chance to sway● o mighty author of all earthly things ! and heaven no less thy wise creation sings ; let not me vainly offer to dethrone thy will , to idolize my foolish own . still in my soul more genial gleams infuse , that i by others scorn may wisely chuse : may wisely chuse thy precepts to obey , and all things else fling with contempt away . come back my muse , now change the weighty strain , and take the humble anglers up again . sing next the trout , for next in sport and kind he comes . o thou , who here apply'st thy mind , tread softly , and be sure keep out of sight ; or the shy fish will balk thy appetite . nice as thy hopes too , be thy rod and line , nice be thy flies , and cast exactly fine . for which nor rod , nor line of length should want , full six yards each , if so the streams consent . taper and light , as long , from hand to hook , if for the flye and in a chrystal brook : or tho in muddled streams y' are forc'd to cast , yet still the finer , you succeed the best . fineness in angling 's th' anglers nearest rule ; tho prudence still must regulate in all . for wise men will not trust a single hair with weight , which dead , it could not easily bear . if then with natural flies to fish you chuse , observe the season , and provide for use. observe the fish , as round for prey they rove , and gain your baits where best they seem to love . for search all nature , and this truth you 'll find , variety , the mistress of mankind , is not to species or to sex confin'd . but if the artificial you 'd prepare , first well to make them use your utmost care : some brother angler freely will impart the useful ni●●ties throughout the art. and verse nor prose can ever teach you well , what masters well , but practice best will tell . only at large the muse may thus exhort ; nature best mimick'd , best secures your sport. of flies the kinds , their seasons , and their breed , their shapes , their he● , ( which nicest observation need . ) which best the trout admi●es , where easiest gain'd experience best will teach too , or your friend . for several kinds must every month supply : ( so great 's his passion for variety . ) nay , if new species o're the waves you find , try , you 'll acknowledge fortune amply kind . the flye , the hardest task , thus learnt , prepare to cast your line distinguishingly fair . cast oft , till by experience perfect made , your pains are in the sequel well repaid . if on the surface first your line should light , the fish spring out , nor soon recover the affright . but if the flye , straight for a quick surprize , the greedy wantons scarce prepare to rise . if short he cuts , next throw be sure beware ; he saw too much , the angler stood too near . but keep your shadow off the purling stream , and cast , and long you cannot cast in vain . for if no obvious failure interpose , you speed , or will not speed in forty throws . but if he thus exacts too weighty pain , and with less art you would your hopes obtain : since all men artists are not , let it be your choice the less precarious means to try . the worm at no time can your pleasures fail , unless the boundless floods or winds prevail ; unless the frosts have almost chain'd the streams , when dangerous fevers would revile our pains . here , tho the streams , by whatsoever cause , of mills , of rains , or artful overflows , prove milky-white , no balk ●ou need to fear ; for all is homelily destructive here . thick lines , thick rods , hooks answerably strong● and worms of any sort , as ill put on . the troubled streams the treach'rous lines disguise , and he 's betray'd by trusting to his eyes . thus while the rogue without precaution preys , he 's murder'd by the most unskilful ways . * some to ape art , a hollow bullet take , and of small things a mighty pother make . hook above hook they place , exactly nice , to prove perpetual motion no devi●e . for if a moment still the weight should lie , their sport 's not only spoil'd , but their philosophy● thus needy lads at thames's fairest bridge , with hosts of lines the homel● fry besiege● but with course humble labour w●y should we adjust our sport by their neces●ity ? with equal justice we their careful zeal might ape , who on the rough dee attempt the † corricle . struggling with force too high for human blood , the curse of want , and an impetuous flood , seeking with life's distress their livelihood . such things we rather justly call distress ; for how agrees it with the name of ease ? when a poor countrey hind a faithful turn partakes , and bears the boat by which he 's born . pleasure like this may suit their rustick souls : but neither suits the poet's verse or rules . somewhat uncommon heightens his desire , which those that love not , may with force admire . thus i to chrystal brooks resort , and chuse arms all genteel and neat , and fit for use. a taper rod , and long , tho neatly light ; bending by no means with its proper weight : lines longer too , yet taper ; and if e're , 't is now that i prefer the single hair. small too your hooks should be , and cover'd well above the arming by the brandling's tail ; his head dejected best the fish invites , and mutualizes best your choice delights . for he that prudently this way will try , and angles fine , as when we use the flye , traversing up again the chrystal streams , will ne're lament expended time or pains . this way the caddice too deserves your care , and some with reason too the float prepare : this they proportion to the brook and stream ; little , if clear and slow ; if swift , less fine . tho all things else should neat and taper be , and fine , if not finer than with which you try your fortune with the artificial fly. thus he tha● justly plays the angler's part , in my opinion still should thrive by art. and trust his skill , tho oft he be deceiv'd , the conquest will at last be well atchiev'd . less artful ways no doubt will much prevail . the mennow , lobworm , stone-loach never fail . but these are common ways , which all men teach , and therefore far beneath the muses reach . she sings in verse , which , tho like marum low , sends strength and pleasure to the studious brow. those who peruse her with attentive heat , will find her wondrous chaste , and wondrous sweet . come ye , who grandeur court , and call it ease , like sickly souls , fond of mistaken joys ; come on , for boldly i 'll your utmost dare . match me a landskip just as this , and fa●●● from noise and hurries free , we sport our fill ; nor gain our ends by methods basely ill . no flatt'ring fop , no fawning courtier here disturbs our peace , or fosters civil war. nature's our mistress , who can bear a look , nor fears a lover's censure or rebuke . look on those hills , tho high , the rural swain visits with joy , nor fears his aching brain . or let 's descend . heav'ns ! how severely nice proud caelia in her tatter●d mantua is ? painted and patch'd , hiring with what she 's hir'd . she damns her soul to have her face admir'd . while beauty here in native splendor reigns , requires our wonder , and explodes our pains . each healthful green , each flowry fragrant mead command our praise , since they our art exceed . here are fair streams too , full of fresh delight , and willows more than lovely to the sight : since thence the angler by a wise deceit hawls the strong captive from his lov●d retreat . nor do those falls the ear , those meads the eye offend : nor do those fish that leap so high , they seem resolv'd to populate the air , and hold conjunction with their brother star. ah! happy they , who free from vice and care , with wise content improve their moments here : free from the vices of the noisy town , who study thus and here to lose their own . go on my muse ; next let thy numbers speak that mighty nimrod of the streams , the pike . for justly next may he thy verse command , who sways the streams , and hardly yields on land. o anglers ! here much caution use and care ; if once thy bait he gorge , alas ! beware . thy rod , thy lines , thy hooks , are all too small ; the tyrant's strong , and rudely forces all . hast thou not seen a vessel richly fraught , returning home , big with the wealth sh 'as got , just on the coast snapp'd by some privateer , himself the prize of some big man of war. such oft , alas ! has been my own defeat , my boasted prize has only been the bait , that hasten'd on an unprevented cheat. for as the french whole countries first deface , and then inhuman contributions raise● so tyrant like he makes my loss his play , leaves not my prize , but forces all away . which to revenge ( for no man can provide 'gainst chance , by human reason unespy'd ) a stiff neat nine-foot pole you must prepare , which may in several things repay your care . whether your strugling prize your caution ask , and landing-nets fix'd to 't facilitate your task : or by fix'd rings you further this design , by casting finely out your bait and line , it useful is ; and here so needful too , want it you mayn't , y' are ruin'd if you do . with this have always hooks securely strong , well wir'd , and join'd to lines sufficiently long. a dace , a gudgeon , or a stone-loach take ; or wanting these , some happy trial make of something else of the less usual kind , as frogs , or eels , or garbidge ; for you 'll ●ind his greedy appetite will leave your doubts behind . baited with these you need not fear your prize . true glutton-like his stomach rules his eyes . oft i at swallows sweeping o're the stream have seen him snap , and baulk'd , advance again . which shews , that if your lines be wisely strong , without success you cannot tempt him long . perhaps the day is hot , no breeze of wind is to your hope and vain endeavours kind : rise early then , or try your fortune late ; or else till more auspicious minutes wait . when keener winds from any quarter blow . the tyrant hardly waits a second throw . but when you feel him pull , ah then be wise ; for want of patience never lose your prize . a little swallowing time and you're secure ; he rarely leaves his prize , or quits his pow'r . but if the streams you use are thinly stor'd , and therefore small 's the pastime they afford , methods more fatal you may wisely try ; methods such force should only justify . however , as they bear the term of art to teach them is the muses pow'r a●● part . first then prepare a taper handsome pole , long , if not somewhat longer tha● the trowle ; not thick , but such as you may easily use , such as ●or hunting those who chuse it chuse . to this a thin , but strong well twisted line , and hooks , both large and fit for your design , fix : and when baited , if you chance to fail , some strange mysterious fortune must prevail . by often bobbing down your well-fix'd bait , in any place likely for his retreat , you tempt him rashly to renou●ce his eyes , and if your tackling hold , he 's sure your prize . nay though the noise the tyrant only hears , he 's summon'd , and undoubtedly appears . so that if● all along the banks you try , and yet succeed not , you may safely cry , these happy streams are free from tyranny . this way too almost all things he 'll devour , raw flesh or guts , are fish without your pow'r . nay some , whose mistress was necessity , by bloody rags have wrought his destiny . but still , if clear t●e day , keep far from sight ; quick-ey'd he is , a●● quickly shuns the white in spight of anger , ●●ase , or appetite . sometimes the wretches , who for lucre slave with snares and night-hooks seem the stream to pave . but s●ill the angler should such tricks defy : his end is pleasure , theirs necessity . however , if he see af●r a prize beaking at la●ge , if then his luck he tries , and halter som●●●●● fry to ●empt him to ; here is true 〈…〉 will allow . but poaching 〈◊〉 , t●●t the game destroy , a●●●●ither ●pa●● the 〈◊〉 nor the fry , sho●●d othe●●i●e employ 〈◊〉 muses strain ; but that the whipping-posts were rais'd for them . were i , who only thus could wish to be above my best , my own , my lov'd degree , ( and thus to wish sure reason will allow , since roman-like i could resume my plow , and mildly lay those gawdy grandeurs down , justice and slighted truth restor'd to rome ) . were i , that long not for 't , to state preferr'd , some county and its peace my trusted ward , this care , however low , however mean , should not escape my eye , as now my pen. why should the niggard magistrate pretend to charity ? when , should we search the end , you 'll find , false hypocrite ! the lame and poor begging and starving at the miser's door . but while his store escapes , he thinks it best , acts be infring'd and laws be long transgress'd . besides no sportsman he , why should his care extend to what his foolish friends admire . not he , let poor folks live upon the spoil ; he saves his coin , and gains their love the while but , mad-man , should we reason well and true , how little worthy of your place are you ? are laws that pass the sanction of the crown , are they such play-things for a country-town ? sure things so trifling , of so little weight can ne're deserve a nations grave debate . howe're the law thy duty makes ; though thou vain fool pretend'st thy duty makes the law. o mighty manlius ! how much amiss was thine , to what our modern justice is ! thou to the laws paid'st such severe respect , thy own son's life aton'd for their neglect . while we by oaths and int'rest doubly bound secure the guilty and the guiltless wound . but stop my muse , for thy satyrick rage must never hope to cure this vicious age. let other men acquit their duties there , do thou pursue thy task , and every where strow sweets , that may the wandring fops invite , and freshen every lover's appetite . for vrtue will have charms , though fools despise , to lure the wavering , and to hold the wise. next sing the pearch ; for justly this he claims , lavishly kind to every angler's pains . others the carp and tench before him place ; but why ? since there no equal sport he has . they muddy moats and standing waters love , and rarely in the chrystal curren●● rove . or when they do , so nice they are , so coy , the angler's skill and patience they defy . while this disdains their course and homely feed , and bowing flags prefers to stinking weed . fish where he is ( and you will rarely find a stream that has him not ) he 's always kind . in gentle rains , or after violent show'rs , he roves , it 's true , and eagerly devours ; and yet as true it is , the violent heat , but very rarely spoils his appetite . beneath impending willows oft he lies , watchful to take , or chewing on his prize : then tempt him warily he 'll spring to bite , so greedy he , so vast his appetite . nor waits he seasons , nor is ever coy , no , though forewarn'd he hardly can deny . deep pits he loves too , though you 'll rareli'st fail where deepest eddies rapidly prevail . yet soon in april after spawning hours , he haunts , and freely bites upon the scours . but large your float should be , your tackling strong , nor must you think his slow digestion long . for , if he bite , his prize he will not leave : 't is not his use or nature to deceive . nor is his palate delicate or nice ; he kickshaws eats , but nothing comes amiss : though yet some difference you may wisely make , and best to tempt him , worms or mennows take● these he will never slight ; and if wild fame say true , the lobworms easiest conquest gain . though if my weak opinion might prevail , in marshy meadows , angler , never fail to search the cowdung for the blewish tail : these , tho' new taken from their homely soil , by my experience far all else excel . though when misfortune all my hopes has cross'd , and all my baits were either spent or lost ; fruitful necessity this change has wrought , and to my aid this useful knowledge brought ; some little part of my least valu'd prize , has furnish'd out most fortunate supplies . the roach or dace in little pieces cut , and on the hook with careful safety put , have wi●h unthought advantage slaughter'd more than all the lost preparatives before . nor was this trial trivially bless'd , for pike and chub have strenuously prest to force the liquorish bit before the rest● thus other baits ingenious souls may try , and owe great things to curiosity . things which may set aloft his angling name , with those who court so much the breath of fame . for tell me , muse , by whom the virtuous live , how lasting are the bays that poets give ? how long shall guttemberg's admired name survive and load the flagging wings of fame ? brave guttemberg , who first the secret found to compass ages in a paper wound . or what compare we if our reason's nigh to monte regio's eagle or his fly. or to conclude an endless theme , and raise just trophies to divine invention's praise ; tell me how iubal first the myst'ry found to strengthen numbers , and to order sound . the lab'ring anvils first their force declare , and wound for want of pow'r to charm the ear. then on his harp their forces he essay'd , and from the feather'd quire discov●ries made . thencest arted number , and thence harmony ; descant from thence , and after symetry : o sacred science ! early from above taught , where their souls are ever tun'd to love : thee angels practice ; thee , poor we below , by thy infinity can only know . and just it is thou should'st his signet bear , who reigns above , and justly fix'd thee there . whence thy vast charms we by faint glimmering know ; so high is heaven , and humble earth so low . and thou who doubt'st the great authority to her ascrib'd , the sacred volumes see . there thou'lt perceive the son of mighty love , in musicks sounds descending from above ; and pain and sickness exquisitely fly , the all-dissolving force of harmony . but soft , you 'll cry , perhaps , let 's justly weigh your arguments , and the whole truth survey : reason you 'll find on a fair scrutiny , condemns no part but the whole history . and those old chinese tales which first begin ; but force the credit of those worse within . come then , ye fools , and if ye can evince , for things of common reason , common sence ; say why ye classick truths so soon allow , and talk of caesar , pompey , heav'n knows who ? how know ye nero rul'd ? or how that rome once held the sovereign reins , all europe in a town ? this on tradition you can safely take ; but fail'd , by reason ye distinctions make ; where greater reasons , truths that cannot dye , require our faith , command authority . might i , whom close endearments nearly tie , might i advise my delius he should fly , fly far the treach'rous poisons , fair deceits , with which each florid fool his nonsence baits . for though but barely probable they were , how can our reason with blind fortune share ? or how can it consist with sence or wit , for human things such mighty hopes to slight ? not true , he nothing loses , if they be a boundless bliss of bless'd eternity . the barbel's next in sport , though not in kind , for few there are in goodness come behind . but sport , the angler's aim , has plac'd him here ; and when he finds him , sport he need not fear . close at a current's end he 's sure to lie , low in the streams , as the swift trout runs high . true river-hog , upon the sand he roots , and like him then all things occasion suits . lobworms well scour'd , rarely or never fail ; but then e'en bees or garbidge will prevail . and if you early to your pastime high , he 's hungry , and devours more eagerly . though when the winds a little curl the waves , much caution and much patience too he saves . for common caution must be still your own ; you know him large , and you will find him strong . therefore large lines and hooks you must prepare ; he 's bold , and does not any danger fear . nay , packthred-like , no obstacle is found , if your fair bait trail gently o're the ground . and high'r he rises not , unless delight force him to wanton ; when , he will not bite . nor till wet april's past , his spawning time , for then he 's sick , and blasts your whole design : but if kind fortune at some current's end shows you clear sands that by degrees descend , where some close weeds his lab'ring fins supply , or hanging osiers shade the sporting fry ; angler take courage , every inch beware , for , if in all the streams , the herd is there . tempt not too evidently , keep out of sight , and rest assur'd , like greedy perch they 'll bite . next sing the ch●vin , who is always found , in quick deep streams that run o're marly ground . for though in muddy rivers much he preys , yet there he nicely seeks the sands or clays ; or else the bridge his safeguard is , and haunts where strength in tackle best his own supplants● for if he bites ( as if you caution use , and tempt with nature , he will ne're refuse ) : he 's of his dangerous holds with ease bereav'd . and after some few flounces well deceiv'd . here let your hooks be large , your angle strong , and strong your lines , though hardly half so long . for if for him alone your skill you try , floats must be spar'd , as when you use the fly , and gentle dabs must summon him on high : but then beware , no shadow , no nor noise , for either he both fears , and always flies . but if with caution you for sport prepare , he bites both all the day , and every where . oft beaking under shady trees he lies ; and then , if hid you are , he 'll freely rise . or though your rod have struck him with its shade , have patience , and the vertue 's soon repaid . e'en swallow's swooping o're the chrystal main fright him , but soon the coward mounts again . oft i with lobworms in a hasty stream have had vast sport , without the least design . yet still i found , that as the day increas'd , my sport grew less , and nothing at the last . yet still by other baits i then have sped ; and other baits true anglers should not need , the dorr , the caterpiller , wasp , or bee , or grashopper , or moth , nay , any fly he 'll take . though yet if i may bait might chuse , if to be got , i 'd most the mennow use ; for if the river's deep , and current strong , without success you cannot tempt him long . but then the winds should somewhat too agree , unless your early rise the want supply . f●r he 's so idle in the mid-day heat● he 'll hardly try the most alluring bait. but cool so well he loves , that if you spare him spawning march , he 'll bite throughout the year . the bream , less common , so more rarely known , requires the angler's study next , and song . nice to extremes , his minutes you must wait , and early with the sun , or with the moonshine late . unless the winds blow a fresh mack'rel gale , and then of sport all day you will not fail . with strong silk lines , and hooks just gudgeon small ; rods long and strong , and baits the chief of all ; chuse some slow stream , in its own deepness black . and let your float not two foot water make : there is his haunt , and if your length permit , just in the middle of the gloomy pit you 'll find him roving , and with ease divine t is he that flats your float upon the stream : he gorges then● a●● angler● a●● beware : if large your bait , you must no patience spare ; if small , a little serves ; his mouth allows of nothing large ; the less the better does . therefore tho some the large scour'd dew-worm chuse , do thou the flag , or well-scour'd red-worm use : he 'll these with greedy appetite devour ; and when he bites , your prize is always sure . but my experience ever must prefer the small red dew-worm , if with pains and care him first in moss and fennel you prepare . these he with passion loves , they hold his eyes , and suiting's mouth , enlarge your sport and prize . for flies and pastes , or other baits i 've found my patience rarely with common largess crown'd . and therefore leave the angler there to try if he can purchase better luck than i. their humours all things have . the pike at paste has struck , and for his folly struck his last . in iuly at his spawning , i the bream have found most eager in a rapid stream . close at the bottom scouring there he lies , and then will nibble any bait he sees ; so diff'rent from all else his nature is . but this is random chance , not worth a line , for nothing well he takes in spawning time . his stomach 's queasy then , as in the rest ; and then the angler wisely should desist . perhaps sometimes your line or hooks appear ; or else the heats your patience will require . but patience is the angler's first great rule , and patience here has least of ridicule . how does the fawning courtier daily wait , or those who follow law , or toys of state ? o delius ! by kind fortune largely blest , let not the cheats of grandeur break they rest. on promises and quicksands ne're depend ; nor on a lord , though once thy seeming friend . honour no claim allows : alas ! his state commands his promises he first forget . and where 's the statute that will ease afford ? since tom the promise made , and not my lord. he quits past friendship when he lofty grows ; and though he promise well , their strength he knows : for if you bring him for 't to equity , his party 's strong , and privileges high . in my own business bless'd , contented i , who grandeur seek not , and its charms defy . e'en i unmov'd have heard a statesman prate what mighty things he 'd do , what favours get , and never forfeited my quiet yet . nay more , believe me , friend , ( for i have known some passages in court as well as town ) ; among the men whose sacred character should harbour nothing but what 's most sincere ; friendship with great prefermens's rarely known , but , bucket-like , this weighs the other down . for though grave blockheads cajole men of sense , their own dear image have most influence . let then preferment by resemblance go , it can't move me , and with less reason you . you on paternal acres justly got , may live , and great men envy at your lot : with a kind partner of my joys and cares , while freely i drill on heav'ns bounteous years● with all my poor endeavours fond to get an honest name , and moderate estate . let griping codrus pen and paper save , and for his issue make himself a slave : by cunning let him all his deeds disguise , and affect silence , to be fanci'd wise : by methods ill i 'll purchase no estate , but truth and virtue love at any rate . now from the chrystal brooks and purling streams , angler , a while withdraw your careful pains ; and to the carp and tench your art apply , which love still pits , and chrystal currents fly : they all your patience , all your strength require ; and though admir'd , rarely your baits admire . sometimes in rivers to your lot they fall ; ●ut there 's no vigor where the hopes are small . man's frailty's such , that e'en in things divine , kind heaven by crowns is forc'd to force him in . but in full ponds your sport you need not fear , ●f laziness be not your greater care. for here to speed , you with the sun must rise , and then the largest easiest are your prize : though if beyond the second watch you stay , the smallest only bite , and hardly they : of such vast moment is the place and time , your balking those oft balks your whole design . but first , my tyro , of your lines beware , for conquest is not to be slighted here : tho little circumspection will suffice , yet you must sweat before you gain your prize : he 's strong , will struggle , and unless prepar'd , your conquest 's doubtful , and your labour hard . ponds weedy feed the tench , and that that 's clear best please the carp , but both for mud declare . but in their baits so closely they agree , they feed just as they live , promiscuously : both love their baits , prepar'd with nicest care , and both best take 'em vilely strong of tar. low at the bottom too i' th' deeps they lye , and rarely , very rarely feed on high : tho oft the carp in hottest summer days , while on the surface wantonly he plays , on bread or worms with eager passion preys . but if your rod or self offend his ●ight , he 's gone , and blasts at once your whole delight . he 's humoursome at best , experience tells : for season , place , and baits , and all things else justly agreeing ; i have one time slain fourscore , and at another hardly ten : and yet the wondrous myst'ry to explore , a net has largely paid the squander'd hour . perhaps at night they found some unknown feed , or else the soil dilated out their breed : for though in may they usually spawn , some cast in april , others say in iune : though nature certainly may help receive from soils ; and waters may assistance give : for e'en in human bodies this we find , chang'd climates to the barren have been kind ; and , mew'd in town , an heirless loving pair have blest the countrey , and been ●ruitful there . nature is nature still . next let us see what baits should best the angler's art supply ; the largest red-worms highly some prefer ; and for the smallest i must needs declare . but have thou both , and thou'lt the better speed ; for with success at once i both have tri'd : and though to th' side the small for refuge fly , thou in the middle more successfully shalt fish ; for though their sport 's perhaps secure , thy prize is larger , and thy glory more . gentles and cadbaits too some sport may yield , but yet the former justliest claim the field : and though for pastes some mighty men declare , i never found the secret worth my care. but still perhaps thou' rt for the chrystal streams , and for the prospect slight'st thy fruitless pains : fair purling brooks , by meadows more than fair , are more your choice than any conquest here : come then , i 'll tell thee , if resolv'd to try that patience which exceeds philosophy , i 'll tell thee where 's their likeliest haunt , and when they freeliest bite , and easiest are ta'en . if for the tench thou seek'st , make it thy pains to find the deepest pits in silent streams : no stream thy float by any means should move , but chuse the stillest place , for such they love : nor should the breeze disturb thy well-tarr'd bait ; therefore both long and early thou should'st wait and if the rivers fruitful are , thou 'lt find they red-worms love , and are both free and kind . but if the carp exacts thy greater pains , chuse still the deeps , but in the gentle streams . just in the midst he never fails to move , and marsh and flag-worms takes with eager love● nor may'st thou well thy former baits despise , he 'll never fail to take them when he sees : but still the early morn , or evening late , will crown , or make more probable thy fate● nor can i justly blame thy happy choice , so great my own , my equal passion is . clear streams have charms which standing waters want , and meads have beauties which the envious grant : but when they join , as far they all excell , as maids their lovers in dissembling well . oh friend ! oh friend ! what fortune 's so divine , what fate 's so safe or sweet as that of thine ? thou chear'st the minutes , as they glide along , unmov'd at all the follies of the young : thou chear'st the minutes , for to thee they bear scarce the minutest part of human care : thus by the streams , and there supinely laid , with thoughts for which mankind was chiefly made : no care , no mischief in thy worst intent , all , like thy recreation 's innocent . through nature's opticks thou dost wisely look , and read'st thy maker in the fairest book . next , muse , the roach , ( and less regarded fry ) thy work 's e'en done ; for these no industry , no mighty art , no skilful care require ; and force it self would make discov'ries here . each puny tyro here can easily tell the ways of taking , that 's of angling well ; for small the difference is , where perfect force , and vulgar method makes the captive yours : tho e'en in this , if you would angle fine , you 'll find it well requi●e your whole design : and though she break your single hair , the cross is small , and small the patient angler's loss ; put on a new , they 'll bite with equal haste , and swallow cadbait , gentles , flies , or paste ; nay , worms in windy weather they 'll devour , presented every where , and every hour . for unless heat them to the surface call , they 'll ( if unseen ) no caution use at all . or though upon the streams they beaking lye , unlead your line , and then both worm and fly will fatal prove , if naturally cast , and not with rustick skill , or frightful haste● in wittham , and fair thames's higher streams , a kind of roach there is , which rustick swains call rudd . his colour is of purest gold , strong , broad , and thick , most lovely to behold : this at the surface will with freedom bite at small red worms , or flies , his like delight . but angler , if you meet him , pray take care ; he struggles long , and breaks the single hair. but soft my muse , thy soon-suspended aid i now invoke again ; my haste betray'd my knowledge . there ; see sw●ftly how he flies , like lightning quick , and like that past my eyes : the archers arrow no such swiftness knows ; in vain the angler or his skill pursues . in march he spawns , though then he 'll freely bite , perhaps the frosts provoke his appetite . then wisely would you , and 't is worth your care , wisely to prosper , all your skill prepare ; the trouts companion both in feed and soil , and rarely caught with more than equal skill : in summer on the scours the wanton lies , and ( if unseen ) he all day long will rise . but ne'er so gamesome , ne'er so brisk before , once seen he flies you , and will rise no more : therefore behind some bush thy self conceal , and with the flesh-fly thou wilt rarely fail ; for though on worms he 'll feed , or any fly , none 's so destructive , none so kills as he . floats useless are , unless the worm you try , and with the rising flash successfully descend the stream , then any thing he takes , and like the trout but small distinction makes . this for the dace . once more , and then adieu ; the gudgeons haunts , and hours of biting show : for though small art the little prize suffice , his sport 's as good , and with the greatest vies : the river - smelt he is , and if as rare , none doubts but he would lose in the compare . few lessons will the angler's use supply , where he 's so ready of himself to dye : for if no heats or flashes interpose , his prize he 'll hold , and yours you cannot lose . but should those obstacles your sport bereave , this method will at all times well relieve : with some long pole raise up his love the sand , and all are summon'd , and at your command : or else if clear and shallow , wade the ford , and if the water 's plentifully stor'd , you to your own content may kill , and he you 'll find resolv'd to gain the victory . but yet in spawning time he lies full low i' th' deeps , and bites not , tempted never so : for i in april fruitful streams have tri'd , and found my art and all my pains deni'd : nay , not the cordial gentle could auspicious prove , nor the small red-worm , his continual love , could change my fortune , or his fancy move . the bleak small flies upon the surface takes , and never the least hesitation makes , with an observing eye , and curious hand , any advantage eas●ly is obtain'd . desist my muse , thy work at last is past , which with the angling few shall always last : without thy aid sense shall supply the rest ; no rules they want , deserve not verse at least . the mennow , flatterer like , is always nigh ; the angler's plague , although he useful be : wheree'er he breeds , he keeps a fearful rout , and few the rivers are that are without . to catch the bullhead too , each school-boy knows ; and to the eel , reason no verse allows : like worms engendring they no sport can make , but what the school-boys find in whip and snake . though if my delius to the sport incline , one rule i 'll give to close with his design ; after strong thund'ring show'rs your fortune try , with lobworms , and strong lines a strong supply ; and while your stock endures , the slimy crew will shear your hooks , and plague your cloaths and you . though would you my advice sincerely take , you first this trial of the prize should make . hot dung , the slimy virmin soon will find , if in o'reflowing meadows well design'd . there when you will the nasty jakes remove , reason will terminate your care and love . in cluster'd heaps , like worms thou 'lt see 'em lye , and soon decide their wise philosophy , who see no spawn , and ask the reason why . the ruff , no commoner , shall close my song , a bold free biter , though a little one : for since of fish i treat , 't would awkward seem , to end with monsters , and with maids begin . they gentles love , but small redworms will chuse , and mennow-like at no time will refuse : have patience when th' ast found the haunted hole , and they 'll not leave thee e're th' ast taken all : thus they in nature too , as well as make , except in largeness with the pearch partake : these norwich plenteous streams most justly boast , here most belov'd , and here abounding most● nor must i sacred cam in this forget , cam in my verse for nobler reasons set , to raise my song , for 't is the muses seat . no wonder there the watry natives throng , amphion's harp drew woods and rocks along : they of all kinds , admirers may command , while she 's the urn of cowley's sacred hand . nor , happy nyne , must thou my verse evade , whose charming streams my youthful sallies had● there were my innocent hours not badly spent ; o that i had no greater to repent . unpoach'd are all thy streams , thy meadows free , what stream is worthy to compare with thee ? what but fair trent , that wheresoe're she flows , nature luxuriant in her favour shows ? not thrice ten rivers , as some meanly feign , but thrice so many natives give her name : though should we trace her to her spacious jaws , thrice thrice ten various kinds we might disclose : the anglers luxury thou art , and he no recreation wants that lives by thee . poach'd wellin slipp'd , i must not yet disclaim , my love , my well acquainted witham's name ; though rented out , the largess of the poor , the angler's pride she is , no river more . idle must pass ; for though i oft have tri'd , she always love , and often sport deni'd : much less deserves she such penurious care , to punish ladies when they angle there . speak not my muse , thy verse it sure would blast , to name , and more to justify the beast : poor streams , thy well-taught natives justly fly thy master's bounty and his tyranny . but dun would blame the justice of my pen , who kindly us'd , return'd it not again : but dun from anglers shall not fail of praise , e'en more than my poor humble verse can raise : for mighty sure must be her vast desert , who from an arm can such delight impart . o dern ! thy pleasures oft my mind employ , much greater streams may justly envy thee ; scarce one of all the watry court is found , that does not in thy little streams abound . witness ye river-nymphs , and every shade , how often this my ardent wish i 've made : blest might i with a moderate estate , which my own labour never spar'd to get : blest might i live an honest country swain , and with content in little compass reign : no spacious fabricks would i care to boast , convenient neatness would delight me most ; where from my shades i could with joy survey expanding meads that on each side me lay ; just in the mid'st a rivulet should pass , with pleasing murmurs , and transparent grace : if falling waters reach'd from far my ear , 't would raise the landskip , and depress my care : far off some good old tow'r shou'd strike my view , and teach the certain state of things below . there neighb'ring grandeur might unenvi'd reign , while i 'm allow'd by all the happy man : lov'd by my friends , and if i must have foes , envi'd for my plain honest truth by those . but let all vice , ye pow'rs , be banish'd hence , and that religion which is all pretence . at my own table i 'd have no man see extravagance , and much less penury . nor should the poor of cruel want complain ; nor should the wrong'd implore my help in vain : nor should my sallies far from home extend , to see a field , or cheer a drooping friend : or with the darling partner of my life , that mightiest comfort of my days , my wife , hast to the neighbour streams our luck to try , and baulk'd in sport , return assur'd of joy. such would i be , but if the pow'rs design me other fate , why fortune is not mine ? with a sincere dependance i submit , since i return but his , that gave me it . such is the angler's life , so truly blest are those that wait on fickle fortune least : that taste my joys , and hold them what they are , and scorn to bring things trivial in compare . finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a -e * is a word peculiar to the angler , and signifies no more than the wrapping of two links together , which evens the line , and keeps it more taper than the knot will allow it to be . * walton , cotton , venables . * here ●he a●thor rid●●●i●s the vulgar . † a sort of boat us'd in the river dee , and carried by the fisherman to the water to fish in . the loyal general a tragedy : acted at the duke's theatre / written by n. tate. tate, nahum, - . this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a of text r in the english short title catalog (wing t ). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish.this text has not been fully proofread approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo a wing t estc r ocm

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early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) the loyal general a tragedy : acted at the duke's theatre / written by n. tate. tate, nahum, - . dryden, john, - . [ ], , [ ] p. printed for henry bonwicke ..., london : . prologue written by john dryden. reproduction of original in huntington library.
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the loyal general , a tragedy .

acted at the duke's theatre

written by n. tate .

london , printed for henry bonwicke , at the red lion in st. paul's church-yard . m. dc . lxxx .

to edward tayler esq

that i interrupt your retirement with such a trifling present ( for even your retirement is busie ) wou'd need an appology with a friend of more ceremony and less good humour . your judgment will set a value on poetry from any hand , and your kindness dispense with the imperfect essays of a friend . the general hard censure of poetry , and its professors , has sometimes been the subject of our discourse , where amongst other reflections , we have with some surprize , observ'd that none hold this art in less esteem than your gravest pretenders to learning ; but tax it on such an account , as they , of all men , should least insist upon . it s insignificancy to the world , what can be easier than to recriminate in this case ? will not impartial censure prefer the author of chevee-chase to the nicest distinguisher in metaphysicks ? what difference ( as to publick benefit , between idle speculations and the slightest madrigalls , excepting that the former is a more creditable impertinence , and the folly made reverend with a gown and title ,

in the mean time 't is forgotten what aristotle himself ( even against his own profession ) has declared in behalf of the muses ? that poetry ( tragedy in particular ) is more effectual to instruct mankind than philosophy . and ev'n tully is poetical in pleading for this faculty : haec studia adolescentiam alant , senectutem oblectant , secundas res ornant , adversis per sugium ac solatium praebent ; delectant domi , non impediunt foris : pernoctunt nobiscum , perigrinantur , rusticantur . and a little after , caeterarum rerum studia , & doctrinâ & praeceptis , & arte constare , poetam naturâ ipsà valere , mentis viribus excitari , & quasi divinoquodam spiritu asflari .

't is an error as groundless as vulgar , to think that there goes no more to the furnishing a poet , than a wind-mill in the head , a stream of tattle , and convenient confidence ; whereas no exercise of the soul requires a more compos'd thought , more sparingness of words , more modesty and caution in the undertaker . to make an accomplisht poet , nature , in the first place must do her best ; she must give him the faculties of soul in perfection , a copious invention , a comprehensive memory , a nimble wit to repair to this store-house for materials on all occasions , a strict discerning judgment to censure this choice , to give it just expression , and in short , to square and finish what was wrought off in the heat of fancy . nor is even this enough to constitute a poet. nature will not do his business , he must have the addition of arts and learning , be familiar with the sciences , acquainted with the intrigues of courts , the customs and constitutions of nations , vers'd in their languages , and read in the histories of all ages . his knowledge must reach to the policies of state , and descend even to mechachanism ; have insight into the meanest mysteries and trades , because 't is uncertain whither his subject will lead him ; and he is to speak properly on all occasions : nor are these accomplishments above humane capacity , for they are every where conspicuous in the iliad and the aeneid .

i am apt to think , that expression of your beloved horace , the potestas quidlibet audendi , which he allows to poets and painters , was rather a proverb of his time than a notion of his own ; for he immediately lays this restraint upon 't ,

sed non ut placidis coeant immitia , non ut serpentes avibus geminentur , tigribus agni .

there are some beauties common to poems of all sorts , and there are besides select graces peculiar to every species of poesie ; and these so distinct among themselves , that 't is a question whether there ever was an universal poet. many believe there can be no such , the various temperament and passion of the poems ( which must be as different in the mind of the writer ) being inconsistent . virgil may be urg'd on this occasion , there being nothing softer than his ecclogues , his tytirus , his alexis , his gallus ; nothing loftier than his aeneid : yet even in these pastorals you will find the heroick turn of his verse , and the air of a muse , too majestick to be diguis'd amongst the nymphs of the plain .

� illa pharetram fert humero , gradiensque deas supereminet omnes .

the greatest labour of the muses is by some thought a task of ease , whereas there is no poem of the lowest degree , that is perfect in kind , but must have such a symetry in the whole , and so many proprieties beside , which the author must have regard to ; the lucidus , ordo , series & junctura , and the felix operis summa , exacted by horace , that the undertaker will find even a good eligy or epigram , a work of weight . what more difficult than to steer amongst such shelves , where the avoiding an error is a ready way to commit one .

in vitium ducit culpae fuga .

this great poet and critique will have even the debentia dici , sometimes omitted , to secure the justness of the poem ; and yet he will tell ye that

non satis est pulchra esse poemata , dulcia sunto .

where by pulchra i suppose he means exact , and by dulcia , diverting and aery . as in good painting , where the colours must be neither dead nor gawdy .

for distinction of characters he has given us rule and examples in the same verses , and drawn in little , what can never be more fully exprest in large .

intererit multum , davusne loquatur , an eros maturusne senex , an adhuc florente juventa fervidus , an matrona potens , an sedula nutrix .

where every single epithite distinguishes the person and makes it a character .

you have sometimes ask'd my opinion to what sort of poetry i would give the preheminence ? and will possibly expect some account at this time . i suppose the question can be only betwixt the epic and tragedy . the end that is pursu'd by both , i conceive to be the same ( for the later designs the instruction even of princes , as well as the former ; ( and no monarch was ever too great to be represented on the stage ) but i will not take upon me to determine which is most effectual for that end . if you will have my imperfect thoughts , i conceive 'em too nearly related to make different species ; and find our learned laureat content to have one of his * sprightliest tragedies , call'd an epic poem .

i cannot forget the strong desire i have heard you express to see the common places of our shakespear , compar'd with the most famous of the ancients . this indeed were a task worthy the greatest critique . our learned hales was wont to assert , that since the time of orpheus and the oldest poets , no common place has been touch'd upon , where our author has not perform'd as well . our laureat has thrown in his testimony , and declar'd , * that shakespear was a man that of all men had the largest and most comprehensive soul.

what i have already asserted concerning the necessity of learning to make a compleat poet , may seem inconsistent with my reverence for our shakespear .

� cujus amor semper mihi crescit in horas .

i confess i cou'd never yet get a true account of his learning , and am apt to think it more than common report allows him . i am sure he never touches on a roman story , but the persons , the passages , the manners , the circumstances , the ceremonies , all are roman . and what relishes yet of a more exact knowledge , you do not only see a roman in his heroe , but the particular genius of the man , without the least mistake of his character , given him by their best historians . you find his anthony in all the defects and excellencies of his mind , a souldier , a reveller , amorous , sometimes rash , sometimes considerate , with all thevarious emotions of his mind . his brutus agen has all the constancy , gravity , morality , generosity , imaginable , without the least mixture of private interest or irregular passion . he is true to him , even in the imitation of his oratory , the famous speech which he makes him deliver , being exactly agreeable to his manner of expressing himself ; of which we have this account , facultas ejus erat militaris & bellicis accommodata tumultubus .

but however it far'd with our author for book-learning , 't is evident that no man was better studied in men and things , the most useful knowledge for a dramatic writer . he was a most diligent spie upon nature , trac'd her through her darkest recesses , pictur'd her in her just proportion and colours ; in which variety 't is impossible that all shou'd be equally pleasant , 't is sufficient that all be proper .

of his absolute command of the passions , and mastery in distinguishing of characters , you have a perfect account in that most excellent criticism before , troylus and cressida : if any man be a lover of shakespear and covet his picture , there you have him drawn to the life ; but for the eternal plenty of his wit on the same theam , i will only detain you with a few instances of his reflections on the person , and cruel practices of richard the third . first of all henry the sixth bespeaks him in these words :

the owl shriekt at thy birth , an evil sign , dogs howl'd and hideous tempests shook down trees , the raven rookt her on the chymneys topp , and chatt'ring pies in dismal discords sung ; thy mother felt more than a mothers pain , and yet brought forth less than a mothers hope ; an indigested lump , &c.

richard afterwards makes as bold with himself , where this is part of his soliloque .

cheated of fevture by dissembling nature , deform'd , unfinish'd , sent before my time into this breathing world , scarce half made up , and that so lamely and unfashionable , that dogs bark at me as i halt by them . i that in this weak piping time of peace , have no delight to pass away the time , unless to view my shadow in the sun , and descant on my own deformity .

queen margaret cannot hear him mention'd without a new stream of satyr .

a hell-hound that doth hunt us all to death , that dog that had his teeth before his eyes , to worry lambs and lap their gentle blood , &c.

and never meets him but she presents him with his picture ;

hells black intelligencer , their factour to buy souls and send 'em thither .

and again ,

thon elfish markt abortive monster , thou that wast seal'd in thy nativity , the slave of nature and the son of hell. thou slander of thy heavy mothers womb.

with very many other taunts to the same purpose .

it cannot be deny'd but he is often insipid where he is careless , many things he wrote in hurry ; but for his more elaborate scenes , what cicero spoke of the writings of archias , will hold good . quae verò accuratè cogitatéque scripsisset , ad veterum scriptorrm laudem pervenerunt .

prologue written by mr. dryden . if yet there be a few that take delight in that which reasonable men should write ; to them alone we dedicate this night . the rest may satisfie their curious . itch with city gazets or some factious speech , or what-ere libel for the publick good , stirs up the shrove-tide crew to fire and blood ! remove your benches you apostate pit , and take above , twelve penny-worth of wit ; go back to your dear dancing on the rope , or see what 's worse the devil and the pope ! the plays that take on our corrupted stage , methinks resemble the distracted age ; noise , madness , all unreasonable things , that strike at sense as rebels do at kings ! the stile of forty one our poets write , and you are grown to judge like forty eight . such censures our mistaking audience make , that 't is almost grown scandalous to take ! they talk of feavours that infect the brains , but non-sence is the new disease that reigns . weak stomacks with a long disease opprest , cannot the cordials of strong wit digest : therfore thin nourishment of farce ye choose , decoctions of a barly-water muse : a meal of tragedy wou'd make ye sick , unless it were a very tender chick . some scenes in sippets wou'd be worth our time , those wou'd go down ; some love that 's poach'd in rime ; if these shou'd fail � we must lie down , and after all our cost , keep holy-day , like water-men in frost , whil'st you turn players on the worlds great stage , and act your selves the farce of your own age.
the persons . mr. harris . mr. betterton . mr. norris . mr. gillo . mr. jevan . mr. bowman . mr. jo. williams . mr. williams . mrs. currer . mrs. lee. mrs. price .

messengers , priests , &c.

scene greece .

the loyal general , a tragedy .
act. i. scene the palace . escalus and pisander . pis. t is certain then the armies joyn'd this morn . esc. there 's no intelligence from either camp , but by the joynt report of cottagers , that from the mountains viewed the distant fray. the rebels have the royal troops in chase , whose broken squadrons make a flying ight , and much disdaining to the woods retr eat . pis. they were the kings last stake . esc. this is the day that crowns the hopes of our designing queen , or sinks her projects ever ; for if now the rebels prove the masters of the field , conqu'ring argaleon strait usurps the throne , and weds edraste partner of his pow'r . pis. the slaughter of the field will scarce suffice , or effect an enterprize so great and dangerous ; to finish it , the princes too must bleed . esc. edraste through their blood to empire sails , and we the pilots hir'd to steer her thither . the queen to serve her high designs preferr'd us to the dignity we hold , and dearly made our loyalty the price of our preferment . pis. when with bright honours to her plots she drew me , i snatcht at the rich wages , and ne'r weigh'd the dangerous task ; � but i rec ��� te , i 'm sold to her commands , and ��� perform . esc. soft , theron comes , enter theron . ther. unhappy greece ! escalus , pisander ! esc. there 's terror in that voice ; how fares the king ? pis. how brooks he the suppos'd defeat ? the. so various are the transports of his rage , that with each minute his resolves are chang'd : sometimes desies aloud the rebel pow'rs , threatning swift vengeance ; then despairs agen , and cries all 's lost , the fates are factious too ! thus tost with doubts , and starting from his chair he grasps his scepter , cries i have thee still ; nor shall the furies wrest thee : then o' th' sudden disdaining casts it from him ; thou' rt a serpent , away infectious rod , thou fir'st my hand . esc. the kings last hopes depend on your sage councils , say , what will you advise in these extreams ? the. the growing ill past cure he neglected , and now blames his physicians want of skill ; because we cannot from the dead restore . i 'll haste , and with dissembled hopes support his drooping spirits , and prevent despair , which yet in my own breast i cannot quell . [ exit ] esc. how temperate is this politician grown ! the publique troubles seem t' afflict him now , though most industrious once t' embroil a state in civil jars ; till ages winter chill'd his factious blood , congealed his working brain ; and now the dotard's loyal for his ease . enter the queen with letters . qu. see , lords ; th' intelligence of conquerors , like victory comes wing'd : the king as yet has no particulars o' th' fight . whil'st from argaleon's camp i am inform'd that in the general rout and hot pursuit o' th' royal forces , both the princes fell : now then arviola alone remains the obstacle of my edraste's glory . esc. we are your creatures , madam , by your favour possess the height of dignity we hold . pis. and shou'd be proud to perish in your service . qu. experience , escalus , has prov'd your truth ; and for pisander , my new servant ( in his sparkling eyes , his active zeal i read ) i dare pronounce him resolute and bold , by nature form'd t' engage in glorious ills , t' embarque in a rough sea of court-designs , and share the fortunes of a plotting queen . esc. new servant ; hell ! new favourite , she meant . ah myrrhoc , thy conjecture's true , i am supplanted by this partner of my projects ; dull that i was , not to suspect before : 't was not to serve her pride but lust , she drew this new confed'rate in ; and judg'd his years more sit t' advise of such affairs than mine . qu. conqu'ring argaleon now will soon advance with all his pow'r , and close besiege these walls ; the fort is in your hand � [ to esc. ] enter edraste . come near edraste ; i travel with thy fate in greater pangs than when my womb unwillingly resign'd the treasure of thy beauties to the light. edr. the life you gave , i offer at your feet . by my dear fathers shade 't is nobler far to die forlorn , than by your guilt to reign . your life , which i , of all things hold most dear , you prodigally stake to win for me a crown , which i of all things least esteem . my private cares alass ! have too much weight for my weak mind to bear ; how can i then sustain the troubles that infest a throne . qu. cou'd i give being to a thing so tame ! rouse , rouse , thy self , edraste , nor permit my active blood to freeze within thy veins ; if thou want'st heat , come , to my bosom fly , for i have yet enough of warmth to spare . edr. the rightful crown at best uneasie sits , but sinks the crusht usurper to the ground . qu. these thoughts wou'd more befit the cell than court . edr. to me there is no palace like a cell . qu. what serves the cloyster for , but last retreats to such as have without success aspir'd ; where having fail'd of glorious action , they hush froward age with the dull joys of ease . edr. heav'n has been pleas'd t'indulge my humble thoughts , giv'n heirs to th' crown , which you wou'd wrest for me ; and i must hold it in two princes wrongs , both grac'd with royal gifts and form'd to reign . qu. suppose these lets remov'd , the princes dead ? edr. arviola , their sister then succeds . arviola , to whom i have sworn friendship . arviola , that loves me as you do . qu. fond girl , 't was to your loss you did contract that friendship , and must conceal it or perish . edr. i but comply'd , in this , with your commands , you charg'd me love her . qu. to dissemble love , as i pretend affection to the king ; and counterfeit so well , 't is real thought . edr. o heav'n ! qu. arviola comes , prepare , and practise artfully . [ ex. queen , esc. pis. ] edr. instruct my vertue heav'n in these extreams , i must unnat'ral or disloyal prove ! dissemble friendship ! o ye pow'rs ! dissemble with the open-hearted true arviola , that has not for her foe one thought of guil ; hard mother ! cruel fate ! most cruel love , to watch the hour of my distress , and then to wound a heart so much opprest before ! enter arviola , myrrhoe . arv. dispise not myrrhoe , my threat'ning dream , the scene presented both my brothers slain ; i saw their royal blood mixt with the stream of common gore ; then as my theocrin rusht on to death ; i started from my sleep and lost th' unfinisht vision � dear edraste . edr. dearest arviola ! arv. i sought thee to redress my griefs , and find theo as much opprest as i ; 't is some new grief that now usurps thy breast , and i suspects more tyranous than ever rag'd before . edr. ah princess ! in this tempest of affairs , nothing remains untroubled but our friendship ; all other things are from their channel stray'd . arv. yet since our breasts are open to each other , let the storm drive , we have one harbour sure ; heav'n so be-friend me as i love edraste . edr. and were arviola my happy rival , i cou'd ( i think ) still prize her as i do heav'n knows i flatter not , she is my rival ; yet then my dearest hopes more dear ! [ aside . ] arv. let 's stop a while the current of our tears , and piously dissembling our dispair , divert the pensive king ; that fate shou'd heap upon his feeble age such weighty ills as youth cou'd not sustain . myr. th' event's uncertain ; yet , the sudden storm as soon may scatter , and the clouded king , set glorious as the rose . arv. ah! myrrhoe , thy love wou'd flatter us , as ours impose on him . [ ex. arv. adraste . ] enter escalus . esc. stay myrrhoe . myr. now brother you are sad . esc. your late suspicion of the queen proves true . i cease to please , and her regard to me grows hourly cold , whil'st all her kindness on pisander streams . myr. despond not brother , there are joys in pow'r to charm dull age , when beauty fails to please : if love deserts you , bend henceforth your thoughts to nobler cares ; convert that cunning now ( that hitherto has so successful prov'd , i' th queens designs ) to your own int'rest . esc. good ! wee 'll watch the fate of this tempestuous realm , and make our fortunes of the gen'ral wreck . [ exeunt . ] [ scene drawn , discovers the king sitting discontented ; theron , diphilus on each side of the chair . king. why was my life stretcht out to this black day ? death might have come long since , and sound me ripe with all my honours flourishing round my head : but now to winter blasts i 'm left expos'd , stript of my leaves , and with'ring on the bough . argaleon come , and press thy conquest home . this is our last retreat , besiege us here , sack , burn , destroy , and finish my disgrace . ther. your suffering , royal sir , this glory brings , that from your goodness , your distresses sprang . for having conquer'd i' th pitcht field ( ensnar'd by your own vertue ; which refus'd to spill your subjects blood ) you treated with the rebels , who su'd for peace to keep your forces husht , till with recruited pow'r they might oppress you . diph. argaleon rais'd by your too liberal favour , seem'd ev'n to cope with you on even ground ; and wanted but the crown to match your height . were you as quick to punish a delinquent as to reward the smallest worth , your throne had still been fixt , and proud argaleon's blood. king. hold preaching fool , too late your tedious lectures you begin : where slept your counsels whil'st these mischiefs grew and might be ravisht by the tender root ; then you indulg'd my ease , beheld my state float loose , whil'st i in soft retirement slept ; now rak'd me to the helm , till the storm fell . enter arv. edraste . arv and edr. live royal sir. king. look , i have homage paid me ! theron , diphilus . behold , two princesses kneel at my feet : ha! ha ! speak sirs , am i not yet a king ? ther. and diph. most sacred sir � king. 't is false , ye sycophants , i was a king , a prosperous majesty ; but now my empire shakes , opprest with its own weight . th' unwieldy state falls on the founders head. [ enter the queen . ] the queen ! must she be conscious too of my disgrace ! o aribell , how is my fate relaps'd since first we met ? those lawrels now are blasted which in my myrile wreath i did ���sert . when i espoused thee , triumphs grac'd our hymen , and captive princes at our nuptials serv'd . qu. nay sir , be just still , tho' unfortunate ; nor think the transitory charms of pow'r endear'd you to this breast ; this is a season to excuse such active love as mine , that like the dolphin shews it self in storms . king. what trumpet 's that ? [ trumpet sounds . ] ther. att. a souldier from the camp. enter messenger . king. i read thy message in thy drooping brow , thou bend'st beneath my fate , hurl it on me , and crush me with the burden ; thou hast wounds , and may'st with honour speak of vanquishment . mess. fly , royal sir , all 's lost , o fly and save our empires dearer half , your sacred life : nor think these walls secure against the shock of rebels , with infernal rage possest : your strongest fence , your loyal old battalions , taught by your self to conquer , in pitcht field are by these troops of furies driv'n and scatter'd ; and what i fear will shake your temper most , your royal sons , by whom our wings were led , turn'd in the chase t' oppose th' unequal foe till spent ; on heaps of slaughter'd files they fell . king. my sons both slain , my legions too o'rthrown ; my sons , my flourishing branches both lopt off , and i the useless trunk left standing yet for passengers to descant on my shame : rend me consuming lightnings earth divide , till thy unfathom'd centre be my grave ; nature her self should shake when princes fall. ther. dread sir , restrain this transport , and resume your reason now in your extreamest need. mess. lord theocrin , who in the fight perform'd what the beholders scarce believed ( and must despair of credit when they shall relate ) gather'd our scattered stray , a poor remain , that scarce a limb of the old body seem ; which in the clifts he posted , where they hold spight of the foe , that scale the rock in vain . king. 't was well perform'd , we 'll march to their relief ; get me new forces rais'd , a sudden host , like that which sprung from the dire serpents teeth : arm'd with necessity and steel'd with wrongs , we 'll rush at once on these fierce savages , and ravish from their mouths the panting prey . diph. forgive me , sacred sir , that i disswade your fury from unfeazable designs . you must create the forces you wou'd levy . your loyal cities , your thin fields to fill , long since were glean'd , the rigid press scarce spar'd decrepid age , and weeping infancy . king. peace dotard , hast thou worn thy sable locks , to wither'd gray , and even that gray to baldness . and art thou still contriving to inch out insipid life ? the gen'ral fright shou'd cure your agues , and ferment your freezing bloods : hast and proclaim our will , lest all our males , from lisping infancy , to bed-rid age. set free th' imprison'd , bid the sick discharge their maladies ; the storm comes thundring on , and in our sinking state all hands must work . qu. the good old man , that like an infant slept till now , at last wakes froward ; let him brawl , he 'll quickly rage himself asleep agen . king. be it further publisht , to enstame our youth , that yet survive from the consuming war. if any dare so far tempt glorious danger , to force the enemies ward , and bear away th' arch rebels head by our last hopes i swear ; my crown , and fair arviola are his : empire and beauty , valour 's noblest prize . our self in person will command and dazle the factious host with full-beam'd majesty : thus your ag'd monarch draws his vengeful sword. our flame shall snatch the foe that thinks us cold , there 's none destroys like time , and none so old. [ exeunt . ]
act. ii. scene , a pleasant grotto . pisander brought in by an attendant . att. hither the queen injoyn'd me to conduct you , and you must wait her here : pis. on what concern ? att. my charge was only to admit you hither , where none approach without her special orders ; and we , th' attendants on her private hours , are sworn to strictest secrecy . [ exit . ] pis. sure i am charm'n into an extasie , and this a scene by fancy's cunning form'd ; pictures of nature drawn beyond the life . remove from hence , and the declining year looks sickly and deform'd ; the wither'd leaves in search of the retreated sap fall down , and from the root seek what the bough deny'd : but here the summer blooms , in all its pride , the sun darts in with kindlier warmth , the winds breath softer , and the brook complains less loud . hail blest retreat of nature happy shade ; soft musick . [ bower opening discovers the queen splendid and youthfully altir'd . ] my senses fail , this is some sacred grove : and that the bright divinity o' th' place ! where are the cupids that shou'd hover round , i feel'um here ! th' are div'd into my brest ! forgive me goddess � qu. you mistake , pisander . pis. the queen ! forgive my dazled eyes their error ! i come by your command to know your pleasure , and trust you judge so truly of my zeal , to ' think me worth some enterprize of danger . qu yes , you shall find how i esteem your zeal , by the important service i enjoyn , indeed 't is an affair of so much weight , i know not how to word it � you must guess . pis. instruct me what i am to undertake , and if i fail t' attempt � qu. alas ! so bold t' engage , and slow to apprehend ? how like conspirators at their first . meeting , with caution we gaze silent on each other , expecting who shall start the business first ! since then i must speak first in the design , draw near and on my hand swear secrecy . [ pisander bows and kisses her hand ] repeat your vow � oh love ! the quickning touch , [ aside . ] through my pleas'd veins , runs tingling to my heart . pis. my warmth is fled , i 've sworn my life away ! my soul cleaves to that hand � qu. how soft is youth ! how soon dissolv'd into an extasie ! pisander rise � now sure you well can guess , for what i summon'd you to this retirement ? pis. i know it ; you 'd engage me to perform a dangerous task , to blast the kings succession , and settle your edraste in the throne ; i 'll do 't . qu. still you are wide of my design , i 'll plot at leisure hours for my ambition , but love's my great affair , th' important business . come , speak boldly youth , thy free conjecture of these private bowers , where i so oft retire , while all is husht , silent and close , as ceres's awful fane ? pis. t is said , that for devotion you repair from the court 's crow'd to these secluded shades , where you consume successive nights and days , in abstinence and penitential tears . qu. ha! ha ! the world retains its old perversness still , to scandalize the vertuous , and to saint the libertine ; but 't is no fault of mine , if rumour will lay vertue to my charge ! what , mar these eyes with penitential tears , fond youth ? they have too much of fire to weep . their glances cou'd create a day in cells , and kindle freezing hermites into dalliance . why this reserv'dness sir ? has majesty so little charmes ? or do's its splendour dazle ? then i 'll divest me of my royalty , and love upon the square . still fixt and senseless ? pis. think not i have no sense of such full bliss , but like young prophets from thei : visions waking ; i fear to stir and loose the charming dream . [ shouts and trumpets from without . ] qu. what means those shouts ? pis. th' are sounds of triumph not of terrot . enter attendant hastily . att. lord escalus in haste desires admittance . qu. he comes unseasonably , but let him enter . pisander hide a while within that bower . enter escalus . esc. forgive me madam , that with so much haste , i bring unwelcome newe , our plot 's defeated . the subtle web which with such toil we wrought , is quite unravell'd to the very loom . qu. dispatch , cut short the story of my fate . esc. argaleon's faction which with so much cost and secrecy , you nourisht to that growth . that they cou'd grap le with the kings whole forces , ev'n they , so late the masters of the field , are now in shameful rout disperst and broken , and their bold leader , on whose daring vertue , our hope 's depended , shares the vulgar fate , and headless bleeds amongst the common slain . qu. 't is false and shall not be . esc. 't is past already , the gods have your resolves fore-stall'd . qu. did they from heav'n war with my officer ? the loyal forces were cut off intire , except a despicable remnant posted i' th' clifts by theocrin . esc. from thence broke forth the flame that thus laid waste argaleon's trenches . for theocrin by night forsook the clifts , with his small train , and coasting wide attaqu'd argaleon's camp , with shouts as of full legions , and num'rous trumpets to increase the terror , which so prevail'd on the surprized host , ( confus'd , twixt wine and slumber ) that at last half-arm'd they took themselves to general flight , and more opprest by their own numbers fell than the pursuers swords . qu. enough , enough , 't is but an army and a project lost . and wee 'll contrive anew , anon expect my orders to await me . [ exit . esc. so unconcern'd , so fill'd with her new love , t'exclude the darling of her brest ambition ? methought pisander glanc'd by as i enter'd ; for his delight she 's dec�t as she was wont , when loose she wanton'd with my vig'rous years ; on her young paramour she shows her favour , whil'st a sapless trunk neglected fades ! but age that lessens me in her esteem , has taught me cunning timely to provide , and seek elsewhere the favour she denies . [ exit . ] [ scene changes to the palace . ] [ shouts again . ] enter king attended with theron , diphilus , arviola , edraste , myrrhoe , &c. king. the gods , the gods at last , have own'd the cause , of injur'd majesty ; we have o'recome ! summon the priests to speedy sacrifice , crown every altar , heap the spicy piles , till the vast fanes be hid in smoaking gums ; no pensive look prosane the gen'ral joy , not orphan'd matrons be allow'd to mourn : nor virgins widdow'd on their brldal day ! the. when young in the rang'd field you first appear'd , you charm'd success , nor had she now forsook you , but , like a mistress with discretion kind , withdrew a while till absence made her priz'd ; then with surprizing kindness met your passion . enter theocrin , with argaleon's head , chief officers of the army following . [ shout again . ] the. hail best of kings ! fall ev'ry traytors head , like this , and flourish all crown'd brows like yours . [ kneels and lays the head at the kings feet . ] the savage that so long had lawless rang'd , that slew our youth , and laid our vineyards waste , lies bloodless , now by this successful hand . king. rise theocrin , cast not to ground , those limbs , that cou'd support a sinking monarchy . now i am king indeed , my shaken throne again takes root , and my decaying scepter buds in my hand anew . arviola , edraste , both draw near ; and pay him with your own the publick thanks . arv. my dearest theocrin , how greedily do's my impatient love snatch this occasion t'unlaid it self unseen into your brest ! the. o my arviola , i 'm lost in joy ! i am too blest ! indulgent pow'rs rest rain the flowing bliss , or i shall die of rapture ! king. arviola was proclaim'd the prize o' th valour that brought argaleon's head : 't is theocrin's , brave youth , my crown is hers , and she is thine ; thou merrit'st both : though not from kings descended , thou art by vertue to the gods ally'd ! the. your goodness , royal sir , o're rates my service ; what i perform'd , was but a subjects , duty . but oh! i feel a warmth t' attempt such things , as shall ( is merrit sound not too prophane ) deserve a princess , and oblige a king. king. by all the powers that sped thee in the fight , thou art our son , and this thy nuptial day . lo there thy royal bride , and too compleat thy happy fortunes , thou shalt tryumph too . bellona once shall be with myrtle crown'd , and war 's loud voice in rev'ling musique drown'd . [ excunt all but edraste . ] edr. fortunate princess , happy arviola , forgive me if i envy now ev'n thee ! how long have i been tost in storms of fate , and still the tempest darkens round my head. the restless queen's ambition still projects to load my temples with a hated crown . and to effect her plot , aviola must bleed , and theocrin be lost ; to him my seoret love long since i have devoted . to her long since my open friendship sworn : something i will perform in their behalf , worthy the chastest love and noblest friendship ; for from the court i 'll wander in disguise , no matter where ; for one distrest like me , can no where loose her way : when i 'm remov'd , the queen's designs will rest , and theocrin possets arviola , and the crown in peace : and i my self have all the sad relief that my forlorn condition will admit ; to mourn retir'd in caves and glut of sorrow . enter myrrhoe . myrh madam the princess beggs your presence : edr. no. my griefs will make me rude , and check her mirth : thou myrrhoe ever lov'dst me , now like a dying miser i 'll reveal a secret , the dear treasure of my soul ! i love this theocrin ev'n to distraction : and for his quiet , and more private reasons , i wi�l for ever hide me from the court : myr. oh heav'n th' eternal powers ! edr. make no reply , but treasure still this secret in thy brest : for by th' eternal pow'rs you meant t' invoke , i am resolv'd , and if prevented , swear to act a speedy violence on my life . myr. your dire resolve alas ! has charm'd my tongue ; but my swoln eyes will take their liberty . [ weept ( gives her letters . ] edr. when i am gone , give these to theocrin , the short sad accents of my dying passion . he may afford my memory a tear : nor ev'n arviola her self repine . and so fare-well to hope and thee for ever . [ exeunt . [ warlike musique , theocrin in triumph , argaleon's head born before him on a spear . the. enough my dear companions of the war ; nor think these honors all addrest to me : but hold your selves large sharers in these tryumphs . my courage was more fortunate then vours , not greater : trust me then i triumph most , when i the honour had to lead such worthies to reap an host , not now i head this pomp. [ soft musique . arviola in her nuptial dress , with a train of ladies splendidly attir'd . arv. myrrhoe . myr. madam , arv. edraste was unkind not to accompany our nuptial rites . the. behold the silver moon shot from her sphere , with all her starry train ! divine arviola , not victory her self can charm like thee . arv. ah! theocrin , my old griefs still pursue and haunt me , even upon my nuptial day ! a sumptuous feast of joy is spread before us , but i suspect it as a poyson'd treat , and fear to taste ; i see you , hear you talk , clasp fast your hand ; and yet methinks w' are still as far divided as the distant poles , and shall unite as soon . theoc. our joy's a feast of the gods own preparing ; permit not then imaginary fears to poyson your delights ; suspect no storm in such a halcyon skie , our tender love long nourisht covertly , till grown to an head , is now expos'd to th' air , and dares the weather , enter king attended , escalus speaking to him . esc. dread sir , the queen desires you to excuse her absence from the pomp ; she 's indispos'd . king. it was a rude distemper to intrude at such a season � bid the masque begin ; come to your monarchs arms , ye happy pair , supporters of my age : thus let me joyn you ; this knot i have begun , the priest shall finish . look down ye spirits of my slaughter'd sons ; behold the avenger of your royal blood ; behold our gen'ral mirth ; then summon all your brother stars and revel in your spheros . [ king , arv. theoc. take their seats ; a martial dance , after which a priest in his habits enters . priest. the flamen waits , and the preparing rites are finishe ; thrice has hymen been invok'd , and iuno's altar thrice perfum'd . king. we come . move on , lead to the temple . enter a messenger hastily . mess. to arms , to arms ! a forreign fleet invades our frighted coast , and brings a floating war : they spread their streamers as secure of conquest ; with shouts and louder trumpets rend the air , and seem to triumphe'r the fight begin . king. a forreign navv ! what new turn of fate ? must then our dear-bought peace so soon be ravisht , and wars green wounds be launc'd and bleed anew ? theoc. i thank ye gods , i have not yet deserv'd this charming princess , am too poor in fame , and kindly you provide for my renown . permit me , royal sir , forthwith to head your troops , whil'st their last lawrels still are green , t' engage breast-deep this bold invading foe : our blood shall snatch their legions , nor permit their corosea once to touch our threatn'd soil . king. fly swift as light'ning , and destroy more sure . theoc. weep not arviola , but bade me conquest ; i go to bring thee honours from the flood , richer than all the gems the deep contains ; from conquest late we mov'd to triumph , now from triumph to new conquest , to return triumphant , in an endless round of glory . [ ex. with his officers . arv. 't is so ! our halcyon day is overcast , and all the smiling prospect snatch'd already : my troubled heart presag'd its own distress : and gave dark symptoms of the rising storm , that parts , i fear , my theocrin and me , to meet no more but on the coast of souls . king. canst thou inform us nothing more particular ? mess. a barge before the fleet arriv'd the bay , as i presume , with speedy embassie and full intelligence . att. a herauld sir , sent from the newly arriv'd fleet. king. admit him . [ herauld enters . ] her. health to the sacred majesty of greece ; prince abardanes from the thracian coast , by free commission from his royal father , with seven arm'd legions , and full fifty sail now anchors in your port , t' assist your cause , and quell the rebels that imbroil your state : partly our old alliance to this crown , oblig'd our king t' engage in your relief ; but most t' uphold the rights of majesty , whose dignity 's the common cause of kings . king. our cause already has restor'd itself ; bear to your gen'rous prince a monarchs thanks : and in our name invite him to our court ; our self will meet our royal guest half way , doubling our pomp with his illustrious train , whil'st spight of blazing noon , the waken'd stars start from their cells , our triumphs to survey , and joyn their glories to this wond'rous day .
act. iii. scene , the palace . myrrhoe with letters . myr. reads .

iam now on my pilgrimage , when the nuptial ceremonies are over , at your leisure give the inclosed to theocrin , from yours edraste .

these letters speak this princess ignorant o' th' sudden turn in theocrin's affairs : a queint device was forming in my thought and these come seas'nably t' assist the project . lord theocrin your pardon � ( opens and reads ) � 't is right . penn'd to my wish ; a hopeful policy , but time must ripen it . edraste drew not from me her ruin , nor am i unjust to play the game which she gave o'r for lost , and sweep the stakes . enter escalus . brother you'r-are well return'd , and as i wisht with busie brow ; how went the salutation ?
esc. the king and prince , like old familiars , met , and having thrice in close imbraces joyn'd , admitted to their hand each others nobles . th' officious flamen at our western gate , perform'd short sacrifice ; mean while the king and abardanes joyn'd in solemn league of friendship , and before their entrance hail'd the genius of the place . myr. on what design shou'd abardanes with such costly forces arrive our shore ? esc. t' assist the king to o'rthrow the rebels , was the plausible pretence . a slight disguise � but hark ! they come . [ king arviola , abardanes , with their courtiers and attendance , pass over the stage . myr. the pomp seems clouded with a sullen gloom , the king looks sad , arviola's cheek's are flusht with such disdainful rage ; her flashing eyes struck bold argaleon at the treaty dumb . esc. dissention , wrecking discord is broken loose , and we must cast our net i' th' troubled tide ; it must succeed � myr. speak , feast my greedy ear , that wou'd devour at once the charming tale. esc. this prince with passion has beheld arviola , which yet his haughty mind seem'd to disdain , and with a lions fury shook the toil : at last to th' king , his grief he did unfold , and with a haughty meen ( befitting more a conqueror than suiter ) mustring up his titles , he demanded her in marriage : the king reply'd , 't was an affair of weight , and in regard of theocrin's just claim of fatal consequence . myrr . and this reply th' impatient prince took for consent . esca . his pride resented it as flat denial , and scarce contain'd its swellings within bounds . and now near hella's grove , lord theocrin , attended with light horseman , met the pomp , forward we mov'd , when in a sudden feud ; the fiery rivals drew ; but first the prince : both mad as winds contesting for the main , and scarce the thund'ring king their fury quell'd . myrr . a promising disaster ! what ensu'd ? and why return'd not theocrin ? esc. scarce was the fray compos'd , when there arriv'd intelligence that the disperst remains o' th' rebel troops , had gather'd since the rout , and garison'd within eipercte's towers : the king seiz'd this occasion to dismiss chaft theocrin to th' army , with strict charge to block eipercte's walls with speedy siege : an exquisite device of state , at once to keep the fiery rivals at just distance , and compass leisure for the best resolves . myr. soft , he returns with pensive diphilus and thoughtful theocrin . esc. my design 's a-float ! pisander in the queens esteem supplants me ; what then remains but that i shift my sails , and seek some richer port : the king's esteem , and wind and tide conspire to waft me in ! the tempest is on wing , sink theocrin , 't is on thy ruins i must build my hopes , and mounted on thy ship-wrack make to shore . [ exeunt . ] re-enter king , theron , diph. king. now lords as you do prize your countreys peace , your ages ease , your wives and childrens safety ; ply your best skill and bank against the deluge ! methinks i see our greece again embroil'd and slaughter's bloody sluces drawn anew ; our laws disarm'd , and holiest rites profan'd , our streets alarm'd with tumults , rapes and fire , and all the terrors of argaleon's war. ther. whence can you fear , dread sir , events so fatal ? not from the prince , he is your friend in league . king. my friend in league ! friendship 's the priviledge of private men , for wretched greatness knows no blessing so substantial . diph. sacred sir ; i see not why your maiesty shou'd take an anxious thought ! what can the scruple be ? what better can secure the peace of greece , then that prince abardanes wed arviola ? king. and my late vows to theocrin be revok��� ther. your int'rest , and the present exigence of your affairs require it . king. then blush hell ! for earth's more false , and fiends to men are angels ; o hard estate of empire ! wretched kings ; how are we snar'd in errors not our own , and hood-winkled to th' crimes we most wou'd shun ? hence 't is our names stand black in chronicle , when impious councellors betray our reason ; with eloquence and sophistry ensnare us , and make injustice necessary ! diph. prince abardanes aws us from the bay , threatens to pour his legions on our coast , if fair arviola refuse his love. his rival theocrin's grown popular , and heads our army ; what if he resent his disappointment , seek by force his claim ? shall we permit him take by arms his right , and to a subjects tyranny submit ? or call the princes forces to our aid , and trust the courtesie of forreign pow'rs ? king. the siege will hold him for a while employ'd ; the prince and he , fierce as they are , may yet burn harmless as dire planets do ; whil'st distant : but meeting hurl swist ruin on our state. enter escalus . esc. my business royal sir , will justifie my bold intrusion ; give me leave t' impeach your favourite of guilt , which true as 't is , will scarce meet your belief ; of treason . king. ha! esc. lord theocrin , he courts the popular fame , and forms designs against your life and empire . king. say , speak'st thou this on thy own knowledge or conjecture ? if no more , on what presumption ? esc. the cause , his jealousie of abardanes , and your deferring his expected nuptials : with blood shot eyes i view'd him in the pomp , whil'st diving low from his triumphant chair , the rabble at each hault he did salute , then eagerly inclin'd his lawrell'd head , to catch the buzzing praises of the crow'd ; whil'st on his youth ( his active youth they call'd it ) and ( as they term'd it ) your neglectful age they descanted , wounding each loyal ear ! king. i must have evidence more positive , till then suspend my judgment , make it clear , and know that on the proof depends thy life . esc. good gods , that i were earth ! forgotten dust ; th'oblit'rate marble mouldring o'r my ashes , and this black charge a slander : heaven ! my life ! your empire 's life depends on your belief . [ exit king , theron , diph. ] so now i 'm plung'd , and must dash through or perish : three factious stout repiners at the state ( of bank'rupt fortunes ) i have brib'd already . to swear this charge , a circumstance or two , neatly devis'd and plausibly alledg'd , will make th' impeachment pass . now to my she consed'rate to confer of my designs : she 's a projecter too , lur'd on by interests resistless charms ; the vig'rous spring that sets all plots adrist , from womens projects to th' intrigues of state. [ exit . ] enter arviola , myrrhoe . myr. ha! visit you disguis'd , too night ? arv. he comes : my theocrin , i but ev'n now discharg'd the welcome messenger he sent to inform me . no tidings of my dear edraste yet ? 't was sure no small resentment that cou'd move her temp'rate breast to such a rash resolve ! my fate in all its past severities , allow'd me that dear partner of my cares ; but now the charmer of my griess is gone . myr. your sorrow never shall complain alone , whil'st i have breath to eccho to your sighs . arv. myrrhoe , thy truth deserves a better fate , then waits thy wretched princess ! o my heart � my theorcrin ! � but that 's too harsh a string and i forbear to touch � say myrrhoe , how does the queen resent edraste's absence ? myrr . her women fear'd t' inform her of the truth , and forg'd a formal tale � enter a lady with a ring . lady . a stranger , madam , desires admittance ; when i crav'd his business , he enjoyn'd me to deliver you this ring . ar. see myrrhoe . [ gives her the ring . ] myrr . lord theocrin's signet madam . arv. conduct him privately to my apartment . [ ex. the lady . ] you myrrhoe wait here , and on your life , permit none t' approach us . [ exit . ] enter escalus . esc. i 'm wing'd with transport , and i tread on air , ha myrrhoe , what 's thero ? lord theocrin in 's seal ? a prize by mercury ! the luckiest hit . ev'n fortune's self is my confedrate now , and aids me in my jugling : sister stay , this ring must do me present service , but i 'll instantly restore it . myrr . stay escalus . esc. my business is most pressing . myrr . so is mine . did not the queen too night send to invite you to banquet with her in the grotto . esc. yes , pisander too is summon'd thither ; some new adventure that requires our counsel . myr. know then you are invited to your death , the banquet 's poysoned . escalus ha! myr. the queen perceives you are jealous of pisander , and to prevent your just revenge , conspires with her young paramour to take your life . esc. whence your intelligence ? myr. from bromian , attendant on the queen in her retirement , who persecutes me with his whining passion , and to oblige me made this dear discovery . esc. ev'n this shall give a lift to my designs , for fencer like i 'll ward and strike together . the queen and i too night draw stakes for life ; the lots are hid , now for a flight of hand , to pick the prize and shift the �lank to her. [ exeunt severally . ] scene draws , arviola and theocrin . theo. so hasty were my orders for the siege , that i was forc'd disguis'd to make this visit arviola ! arv. my lord. theo. the last days sun was to have seen our nuptials celebrated : the busie priests for us prepar'd their temple ; nor cou'd attend the morning sacrifice ! the pompous streets with bays and palm were strew'd , and legions blest us as we past along , hail conqu'ring bridegroom , royal bride all hail , enrich our empire with a glorious race . die ag'd and happy ! thus our loves were greeted : and now we meet , we meet ( oh gods ! ) by stealth ! arv. dear theocrin , believe me still your bride , for souls can wed without the formal priest : why are our loves , that prosper'd when conceal'd , like faiery-wealth , curst since they came to light ? ah! had you ne'r aspir'd at fatal glory , we might at least have given the night to love , tho we , like glow-worms , hid by day our fires . theo. divinest of thy sex , ' its past the powr of thought to rate my love ! � arviola ! arv. what wou'd my theocrin ? theo. dismiss me to my grave , whilst thou art kind ; and hurry from the world this useless life , which if prolong'd , must prove to thee most fatal . arv. alas , my lord , your griefs talk wildly now . theo. the haughty prince his rival once remov'd , will prove more mild , nor longer threaten war ; with thousand more conveniences of thine ! the king will ne'r chide with you for my sake , nor trembling mothers curse your constancy ! fate wills , and 't is expedient that i die ! enter myrrhoe with a ring . myr. prince abardanes , madam , waits your leisure ; my lord , your signet . [ gives him the ring . ] theo. the prince demand admittance ? , sure he is well improv'd in his acquaintance to seek admittance here ! � go myrrhoe inform the stranger better . he mistakes , these are the apartments of arviola the princess ; privacy . haste , tell him so . myrr . my lord 't is , with the princess he wou'd speak ; he comes to visit � theo. visit ? myr. good : he 's jealous . [ aside . ] the furies send the princess half so apt to take th' infection and my project 's made . arv. retire my theocrin . theo. how my arviola ? retire ? � by love i will not understand thee , nor wou'dst thou sure be understood � and yet that angry brow recalls my charity ! is 't possible ? bid theocrin retire ? remove , and give a new pretender room ? arv. thank your distresses that disarm my rage , or my resenting honour shou'd chastise this jealousie ; it shou'd rash man : but now ( since fortune treats you ill ) i am content to weigh your griefs and wink at your offence . once more i do entreat you to with draw , and humour the perversness of our fate ; a little patience will restore our wishes . theo. i find my error , and am dash'd with shame ! excuse the ravings of a feav'rish mind ; nor rate by common rules immod'rate love. ah princess , could'st thou dive into my heart , and see how absolute thy form reigns there , how much i prize the treasure of thy love , thou would'st at least forgive my wakeful care ; that miser-like i wear a watchful eye , and weigh each grain of the hard purchast store . arv. now by a virgins truth , i swear ( stand still ye flying minutes , and attend my vow ; ) whil'st nature holds her course and time runs on , vvhil'st night and day the night and day succeed , vvhil'st rivers pay their tribute to the sea : and seas with fresh recruits the streams supply , whil'st winter strews hoar-frost and summer dew ; i 'm theocrin's � so theocrin prove true. theo. what pittying god , toucht with the sad estate of fall'n mankind , sent from their bright abodes , this vertue to reform the savage world ! bright excellence , imperial maid , farwel ; i go to glean the last remains o' th' war ; and like argaleon let me fall accurst , if once these weary lids be clos'd in sleep ; or these devoted limbs uncas'd from steell , till i 've compleated well my task of honour , and brought thee conquest perfect as my love. [ exit . enter abardanes , sossacles at distance . ab. a lover's visit if it fail to meet the best reception , most unwelcome proves : but madam , if my passion 's troublesome , accuse the fatal power of your own charms ; unwillingly i put your fetters on . arv. with what an arrogance his passion sues . [ aside . ab. i know i court on disadvantages , and my rough passion can have little charms ; but love dissolves and moulds me o'r anew : my temper gives beneath each glance you dart . arv. none sure can be to your vast merits blind , but prince your court-ship's to a bride addrest , and brides in heav'ns account are wed already . ab. it was my rivall's fortune , not desert , t' have first beheld your charms ; which having seen , he lov'd of necessary consequence : chance laid the dazzling treasure in his way , too vast to be by any subject held ; and into royal hands must be resign'd . arv. now prince you press too far your priviledge , allow his worth , as i dispute not yours ; which weigh'd , perhaps wou'd make the lighter scale . ab. i 'm pleas'd to find his merit swell so high ! your praise has made him worthy of my sword : if wanting royal bloud , it prove his fate to enrich himself with mine , you are his prize : but first we 'll try the forune of the field . arv. ah me ! he is rash , and theocrin all fire ; what ruin must attend such meeting hames . my lord , the prince , return � cou'd you pretend to love , and in neglectful rage withdraw ? permit my grief to reason calmly with you , for you are generous and will be just ! this love that has surpriz'd your noble mind , is but a vicious and irregular heat � which your severer prudence will correct . you 'll be advis'd my lord , i know you will ; you ought not , must not � and you will not love. ab. o my divided soul ! her painted grief darts through my stubborn bosom to my heart . arv. what triumph is there in a virgins tears ? what conquest to pursue her to her grave ? i 'm sworn to be lord theocrin's or die ; and if from his embrace i am divorc'd ; who courts me after , is my murderer . ab. rise princess , witness these prodigious tears , how much i 'm touch'd with your distress ; how much my lab'ring heart resists the pow'rful charm. arv. so may you speed in war and thrive in glory , nor of your crowns and trophies know the tale ; and if agen you condescend to love , with all the soft returns of kindness meet , which tender maids , that pine with secret flame , wish , when retir'd , they tell the groves their pain ! ab. i yield ! you have prevail'd against your self , your tears have quencht the fire your glances gave ; i 'll force a conquest on my heart , i will. arv. then blessings crown � ab. o take your charms away , i cannot look and with such treasure part , but when remov'd , i 'll try to represent your form less glorious , and resign you then . this pang , and i 'm at ease ! � o sossacles , i have o'rcome ! � 't is false , i 'm still her slave , i long , and 't is methinks an age already since i beheld her ! how shall i sustain [ exit arviola . eternal absence ? it can never be , my fancy forms her fairer now than ever ; as colours take in christal brighter die. soss . your highness better knows to war than love ; presume not sir to force a victory by furious onset here , as in the field ; 't is , patience and a formal siege must win , the fort which you in vain attempt to storm : bribes must corrupt , where force and valour fail . ab. speak plain , my oracle , thy conduct here may speed my love , as it has done my arms. soss . the princess heart 's already taken up with theocrin , and if you press for entrance , must sink all three : plot first to dispossess your rival . ab. 't is a task for hercules . soss . i 'll work the self-same engine to dislodge your rival , and to fix you in his room . ab. 't is past the pow'r of wit ; but i can trust thy cunning for impossibilities . [ exeunt . enter king , escalus , theron , diph. king. the queen confed'rate too with theocrin ? esc. your queen , your pensive , solitary queen , conspires with theocrin against your life ; her cell , her sacred grotto , is the nest to hatch their treason ; haste and trust your eyes , ev'n now th' are brooding there together . king. on and force our entrance . [ exeunt . scene drawing , discovers the grotto . queen and pisander amorously seated in a bowr . song . . tell my strephon that i die , let th' ecchoes to each other tell , till the mournful accent fly to strephon's ear and all is well . . but gently break the fatal truth , sweeten ev'ry sadder sound ; for strephon's such a tender youth , the gentlest words too deep will wound . . no! fountains , eccho's , all be dumb ; for shou'd i cost my swain a tear , i shou'd repent me in the tomb , and grieve t' have bought my rest so dear . after which enter king , esc. the. diph. king. my eyes have surfeited upon their shame ; guards seize 'em both : dissembling aribell ! false theocrin ! why that 's pisander . esc. ha! pisander ? � gods ! then there 's a new discov'ry � who 'd ha' thought pisander were a villain . pis. perjur'd slave ! esc. i blush for thee pisander ! cou'd even weep to see such hopeful vertue fall'n away . pis. i know vour majesty decrees my death ; and with my latest breath i will pronounce that escalus a traytor . qu. treach'rous fiend ! i 'll perish , and involve thee in my ruin ! my lord , the king , i own foul practices against your crown , but was in all seduc'd by that arch-devil . esc. hear me sacred sir ? to clear my loyalty , i but demand your majesty compel 'em taste these bowls . [ a goblet is given to pisander ] king. drink slave or perish . qu. hell 't is drink and perish . [ aside pisander's dead ] king. unfold this riddle . esc. know my royal master the queen her self broke with me of this plot ; but having found me firm of loyalty , resolv'd to silence me with death for ever . on that design invited me too night , to banquet with her here i' th grotto , where these poyson'd goblets were to have giv'n me welcome . king. guards , bear the empress to the cittadel , till we resolve the manner of her death . qu. death , doting monarch , must that witherd brow give sentence on this bloom , this spring of beauty , that has preserv'd thy friezing bloud in motion , cous'ning the grave of her long due ; the grave that rivall'd me , and for thy lumber waited , when i received it to my youthful bed. have i sustain'd thy sinking royalty , and stufft thy hollow robes to fill the throne ; and talk'st thou of my death . king. away with her , let darkest mansions hide her from the day , that sickens at her insolence . qu. be 't so . i 'll make those mansions fairer that those bow'rs , and in a scene of thought repeat these joys , so oft within these rev'ling shades possest . see there thy rival , king , how lovelier far in death than thou art breathing ? fear him still , be jealous of his memory , and live till ev'ry subject scorns thee as i do , and vermine like o'r-leap their wooden king. state , tempests , shake thee into dust � fates catch my curse , and stamp it in their brazen volumns . [ exit queen guarded esc. this jumps not with my wish , tame , suff'ring king ! king. but theocrin � esc. is to his charge return'd , too late we enter'd to surprize him here ; these letters i intended t' have produc'd , and charg'd him with his treason to his face . king. to the rebels ? and with theocrin's signet seal'd ? see theron , diphilus . ther. with what contents . king. he taxes me with breach of faith , repents his service , and solicites them t'espouse his cause , and ioyn their out-law'd troops with his ; which will secure at once their forfeit heads ; and vindicate his claim t' arviola . my lords your speedy and most safe resolves . diph. 't were safest to discover no distrust , but summon him to court with speed , as to some sudden council , then surprize and sentence him to present death . [ ex. king , ther. diph. esc. mid'st all my busie zeal , this stupid king , as yet no mention of reward has made ! and rates my service as a subjects duty : had i imploy'd but half the expence of wit to serve the prince , my pains had past for merit : he claims no soveraign right in my endeavours , and will with honours crown my industry . the time presents , his agent sossacles with myrrhoe has been tamp'ring ; i 'll strike in and share in the design ; 't were plausible , and of good credit , to perswade this prince , that for his interest i have undermin'd lord theocron , his dangerous rival . good ! thus tacking oft to catch the veering winds , the skilful pilot works into the bay. [ exit .
act. iv. scene , the palace . king , escalus , theron , diph. king. t is odds , but he 'll suspect the sudden summons ( as guilt is ever jealous ) and decline our orders . esc. doubt not , sir , but he 'll appear , and with as bold a meen as ever . king. thus forward spirits , howe'r by heav'n design'd for state-defenders , prove their countries bane ; for when their active courage has redrest the publique wrongs ; the proud restorer's self next tyrant proves , and for reward usurps to them abardanes and sossacles . now prince to your desires i can be just ; your rival has by treason forseited his right to arviola and our favour , and naught remains that can resist your claim . ab. not ev'n arviola's divinest charms are more desirable , than to be stil'd your son , not glory cou'd have charm'd me more ; glory that drew me forth to share your war. king. free i receiv'd this crown from heav'n , and leave arviola her freedom to confer the fortune of her greece , where she bestows her love ; and abardanes is secure of our best aid t' endear him to her breast . [ ex. king , esc. ther. diph. ab. come near , my sossacles , thou art surpriz'd to find this cheek turn'd pale , and see this breast heav'd with unwonted sighs ; i know 't is mean , and blush at this disorder , but bear with me , thou only conscious art to my complaint , and even to thee i tell but half my pain . soss . to me you gave the conduct of your love , and with successful industry i 've won ( what most i doubted ) myrrhoe to our side ) the princess's confident . ab. is 't possible ? 't was by her art that theocrin prevail'd , and work'd into arviola's esteem . soss . the fittest engine therefore to dislodge and work him out agen : she knew t' extol and dazzle the young princess with his praise ; and doubtless can with equal art accuse . ab. by what strange wiles , my subtle mercury , could'st thou prevail on this demure deceiver ? soss . with well couch'd flattery , and pretended love ; besides with gemms and gold i brib'd her favour , yet with such difficulty , that t' have viewed the winding scene , had prov'd no small diversion . ab. methinks i see my engineer at work . soss . at first , with such disdain , as wou'd ha' past for real , with the unskill'd in womens wiles , the present she refus'd ; in passion told me that she had much projected for your sake , and by degrees intended to encline the princess to accept of your address , but was prevented by those hated gifts , that rendered her free service mercinary . ab. then flung away ? soss . no! paus'd , and with a sigh confest , though you had justly disoblig'd her , yet since it was the princess interest t'slight fall'n theocrin , and approve your suit , she 'd still proceed to serve you , and engag'd ( by wha�t device i know not ) instantly to render her averse to theocrin , and then of course you seize her vacant breast . ab. thou shalt have altars rais'd thee . soss . see , she comes . enter myrrhoe . myr. my lord , i come to check your lavish bounty , that leaves no place , for gen'rous and free service , but turns my best endeavours into hire . ab. think not those trivial presents were design'd for more than earnests of rewards to come ; 't is in your pow'r to enrich me with a treasure , beyond the wealth of my expected empire ; arviola's love. myr. know my designs on that account were ripe , before you shar'd your bounty : a few hours is all i crave to perfect your request . arviola comes , with-draw sir , and expect my promise . [ ex. abard . soss . now edraste's letter to theocrin , comes in play ; now all the fraud that injur d lovers charge upon our sex inspire me ; tears , oaths , swoonings , changing blood ; and all the seeming pangs of wildest rage , assist my cous'nage . enter arviola . [ myrhoe falls prostrate , as going to stab her self . arv. ha! the gods forbid ! stop thy rash arm , or turn thy steel on me , distracted myrrhoe ; speak what means this fury . myr. where am i ? what unkind hand has disarm'd me ! o my asslicted heart ! arviola ? fly princess , for i have resolved on death , and shall depart in pain if you are by . arv. speak , i conjure thee , and unfold thy grief ; or by our dearest friendship i 'll bleed first . myr. as you regard your peace , permit me die in silence , nor reveal a fatal truth , which you of all the world shou'd last discover . arv. thy tender bosom takes too quick a sense of my distresses ; but of me learn temper , that can survive at once edraste's absence and theocrin's disgrace . myr. i theocrin ! was it not i that kindled first your breast with love of theocrin , and fann'd the flame with hourly praise ? unfortunate zeal . arv. thou did'st , and i adore thee for 't . myr. i did , and with that ponyard meant to act a justice on my self for doing it ; tho to the expecting fates i will appeal i was abus'd , and more deceiv'd than you ! arv. wreck me no longer with tormenting doubt ; if my full griefs can yet be capable of fresh disasters , let me know the worst . myr. swear then to bear it as a princess shou'd . arv. perish my dearest hopes , but i will do as shall become my sex and royal blood. myr. peruse that letter then . arv. to theocrin ? and in edrastes hand ? her nàme subscrib'd ? most strange contents ! � yet she concludes more strangely ! [ reads . ] � forgive my griefs this trespass ; they shall never offend you more ; for i have not the heart to complain of you , tho the author of my ruin. edraste . the author of her ruin ! theocrin the author of edraste's ruin ! speak ! confess , or dear as 't is , i will rip up that reverend breast , and tear the secret forth . myr. take then the fatal story ( sighs be husht and give me breath ) � th' unfortunate edraste ( as i have ever been her confident ) inform'd me of the cause why she with-drew ; you thought her absence unaccountable ; so little you surmis'd that she retir'd to hide her growing shame ! arv. her growing shame ! myr. with cheeks now pale , now blushing , she confest she had resign'd her sacred virgins treasure , and in close dalliance wanton'd , till at last , her amorous theft no longer wou'd be hid , but forc'd her to retire . arv. i 'll mourn for thee edraste , and lament in thy offence , the fall of womankind ! � but � myrhoe � thou seem'st not yet discharg'd of half thy tragick tale � thou fear'st to say with whom she did offend ; and i to enquire ! why art thou rackt my heart with fond mistrust ; for 't is impossible that theocrin shou'd prove so false � and as impossible that any other tempter shou'd prevail ! i dare not � will not � yet i must suspect myr. now princess call to mind your solemn vow , you swore to act as honour shou'd advise , and honour will inspire you with disdain , for this ingrateful , most forsworn of men. arv. sink me to death ! plunge me in streaming fire , heap mountains on my head , and bury my disgrace , abus'd arviola . ! deluded , credulous maid ! � oh perjury ! myr. rise princess and compose this dang'rous passion . arv. no! to this earth i 'll grow , out-rave the winter sea , out-rage the northern wind , and with my loud complaints alarm the gods , till they resent the wrongs of flatter'd virgins , and confound mankind . myr. then curse thy self rash tongue for thy discovery ! perish these idle hands , that had not first sheath'd this preventing ponyard in my heart ; but 't is not yet too late � arv. hold myrrhoe ! thou art more rash than i ; think , think how much i lov'd ! how much i was abus'd ! and thou wilt say i have a turtles tameness ! false ! perjur'd theocrin ! i can almost excuse thee lost edraste , when i recall the smooth deceivers charms ; he 'd sigh his passion in such soft complaints ; courted with such a winning modesty , even in his silence reloquent , his words so artfully disorde'd , as might move , devoted vestals to a living grave ! myr. your anger do's him too much grace ; forget him , arv. where then is my revenge ? i hear he 's charg'd with treason too , and i believe him guilty ; for false in love , and false in ev'ry trust : yet once agen i will repeat my vow , and heav'n and earth refuse me if i fail to execute the strictest laws of honour . i 'll meet him in spight of my relenting heart , ( for inwardly i fear i shall relent ) yet i will meet him with a scornful brow , and to his face disdain him , though i die . [ exit . enter escalus . esc. hist. sister . myr. now , what fresh discovery , whence those letters , and of what concern ? esc. from our imprison'd , discontented queen ; here she solicites me to close afresh with her design ; already she has urg'd her brother of epirus to revenge th' affront of her confinement on the king. these are t' oblige me to betray the fort into his hand , when he by night arrives , and my reward the crown . myr. be not too credulous , nor trust offended majesty too far . esc. with caution i 'll resolve , in the mean time seem to comply ; i 'll shun no path to greatness , but wou'd seek it in the jaws of death . [ exit severally . scene draws . theocrin with four or five officers from the siege . ther. leave me my friends , and of your jealousies take leave ; the gen'rous king has no dishon'rable design upon me : some sudden council of the state requires me . . off. there is no trust in states-men , and in courts 't is dang'rous to excell allow our fears , we know your worth , and wou'd not see you fall . theo. meet i the death of cowards , the renown of my fam'd ancestors expire in me , e'r i grow vain , and trumpet my own deeds ; yet must this king confess , that what i have for him perform'd , within the sylvan courts of savage moors , at least wou'd have procur'd me my lifes safety : i 've seen a lion from the toil set free , yet famisht , as he was , spare his deliverer . . off. shou'd the ungrateful senate dare to call your worth in question ; we that know how deep your merit 's rooted in your armies hearts , shall soon reform the abuses of the bench , and teach the ermin'd doatards justice . theo. ha! degen'rate damocles , how art thou fall'n , that breath has blasted all thy early glories ! beware , brave youth , the least disloyal thought , that like a canker will destroy thy lawrel . . off. be not betray'd by your credulity ; your midnight summons brings no small suspicion ! the prince makes open love to arviola ; you know his fleet rides still within our bay , and on his least resentment can pour forth their legions on our shore ; consider then how this may work on the defenceless king , to sacrifice you to your rivals rage . theo. my safety 's grounded on the eternal truth of my arviola ; may she desert me , when once i prove so mean to fear she will ; she 's constant as the diamonds standing light : once more , my friends , i beg you wou'd retire , and will not be deny'd . . off. we go , but shall be near to watch your danger . [ ex. the officers . theo. spight of my forc'd neglect , a sullen fear intrudes it's terror on me ; first it seiz'd my slumber , since pursues my waking thoughts ; a mourning venus stript my verdant bayes , and on my temples dropt a cypress wreath , whil'st weeping cupids lean'd on slacken'd bows , shrouding their faces in their sable wings . dreams i regard not , but this vision leaves me gloomy and dull , as sated ravishers . theron , diphilus , passover the stage . these lords once knew me , fawn'd and kiss'd my knees , when from argaleon's conquest i return'd , and now the doatards pass neglectfully by ! but change in states-men is most natural : th' are weather-cocks of time , and face about to ev'ry veering wind ! but here comes myrrhoe , and her i 'll seize . enter myrrhoc . tell me kind patroness of all my hopes , thou that hast known my passions secret growth , brought'st kindly warmth , and hatcht it with thy beams § . how fares my bright arviola ? how mindful of her pining theocrin ? how many sighs has scapt her balmy lipp ? ( for myrrhoe i will know particulars . ) how many tears ? � reserv'd , and silent ha! what means that wrinkled brow ? dishonour blast me , but thou hast struck a chilness to my heart , a death-like cold. myr. your pardon lord , i am in haste , on business to the prince . theo. the prince ! confusion ! business to the prince ? what business bear'st thou to the prince ? whose business ? i know thou wilt not say arviola's . thou wilt not let me know that killing secret , tho it were true . myr. my lord ; i 'm no dissembler , when i inform'd you that the princess lov'd you , 't was true ! � she did � at present i affirm she thinks of you no more . theo. and that true too ! wer 't thou an oracle to tell me this , id slight it as a black malicious lie , tho thunder struck me for the misbelief . myr. your lordship 's discompos'd , i take my leave . [ exit theo. go then , and like a sorc'ress blast thy walk , how have i prun'd my fortunes till they bleed , to fill this mercenary's coffers : but this rich prince's weightier gold , i find has turn'd the scale against me ; be it so , i 'll give the world the lie , e'r i supect : none but arviola her self shall e'r perswade me that arviola is chang'd : here comes this pageant prince ! down swelling blood , i must speak to him , and wou'd do 't in temper . enter abardanes , sossacles . prince , by your favour , turn ; a souldier calls . ab. ha ; who art , that with so bold a freedom retards my haste ? theo. i am one whom thou hast wrong'd , demand'st thou further ? � one whom thou must right ; forbear that frown , i wou'd not move thy passion , and wou'd much less that thou should'st wake my rage : as therefore calmly i my grievance tell , do thou as calmly promise to redress : thou seek'st to rob me of my valour 's prize , my right by chance of war and royal grant , my mistress � more � my bride arviola . ab. ha! theocrin ? stand forth , let me survey thee ; dar'st thou , poor sprout of obscure growth , presume to be ingrafted to the royal stock , and stain with peazant blood the race of kings ? theo. thus far i bear with thee thou barbarous prince , less disciplin'd then those rough winter-gusts , that scourge thy barren clime . this is the palace , the mansion of the king ; the place protects thee , thou art too vile a sacrifice to fall on sacred ground . ab. unhand me sossacles ; now thank the gods that thou art rankt beneath a prince's vengeance ; i forbear thy life , and will not stoop to take the worthless forfeit : thou art hedg'd in with double infamy ; for as a subject i disdain thee much , but as a traytor more . theo. blasphemer die . [ draws . enter king , with guard. king. this insolence within our palace walls ? guards seize the tyger . theo. o my lord the king , to heav'n and you i will appeal . king. be dumb , i 'll hear thee nothing till the bench is sate , and then thy practices shall have fair tryal . guards he 's your charge . [ ex. king and abard . theo. are these then the rewards of loyalty ? to bind these arms ��� set their countrey free ? my vertue shot too ��� , and shaded all the bramble courtiers ; therefore i must fall as one that rob'd 'em of the royal beams ! but winter storms will fall again , and then they 'll wish their shelter standing � o my heart ! those beauties must belong to arviola ! arviola ! hast thou forgot me too . enter arviola reading . arv. nor am to blame , y' are so much alter'd now from what you were ; an angel fall'n cou'd take no change so fowl . theo. yes � i am fall'n indeed ! most strangely alter'd ! a few days since i triumpht , was proclaim'd the states deliverer ; virgins wreath'd in flowr's , sung hymns of conquest , insants lisp'd my praise ; the king , the king , smil'd on me , fortune smil'd , arviola smil'd � where 's now the dazling pomp ? the bright scene 's chang'd , the heav'nly dream with-drawn ; my flags disperst , and all my streamers drown'd . arv. dispense with me thou nice and rig'rous honour , [ aside . this penance is too much for flesh to bear ! false as he is , i cannot see his pain , ! yet am condemned to be his torturer ! theo. fickle maid , like venus thou wer't wont to scatter joys ; but now those eyes have lost their healing pow'r , shoot pains , and like malignant planets strike ! arv. take on your self the blame , if i disturb you ; i wou'd have past in silence by . theo. thou woudl'st not ! i 'll justifie thee , ev'n against thy self ! arv. to prove what i affirm , i 'll leave you now . theo. then fickle maid , thy love was all a mock ! arv. the gods will be my witnesses , how much i priz'd the brave , the valiant theocrin ; the conscious gods will be my witnesses , how much the traytor theocrin i scorn . theo. forbear , my fame , rash beauty ! o take heed how thou revild'st a souldiers loyalty ! least light'nings fall and singe thee black as moors . arv. this conference is our last , and our discourse has shot too far already � i have done . theo. what mute ? this silence tortures me beyond the sting of slander ; speak , though it be to curse me , arviola ! arviola ! arviola ! o deaf as storms , to sinking mariners ! speak , i conjure thee by the spotless joys of our stol'n visits ! by the friendly bow'r , whose shade was conscious to our mid-night meeting . whil'st from the jess'mine roof the dew distill'd , and trickling from thy brow perfum'd thy tears ! whil'st to correct the vapours of the night , officious loves celestial perfumes breath'd , and fann'd the moon-beams , with more shining wings : by all those nights ! and that most friendly night , when to my ravisht ear you first confest your love , and shot me through with trembling joy ! the stars flam'd brighter , and the flow'rs breath'd forth a warmer fragrancy ; the gloomy grove approv'd our vows , and at our contract smill'd . arv. oh! o! o! theo. relentless still ? what shall i say ? what sad complaint assume t'extort thy pity ? this posture can re-call the offended gods ! hear cruel princess ; 't is not yet too late ! one balmy tear and i am whole ! � with-drawing ? - can it be ? ha! wilt thou , can'st thou part and leave me thus grov'ling in agony ! - turn , turn , at least to view my dying pangs , and glut thy sight with the last pantings of a broken heart . [ here arviola seems much discompos'd , but stiffling her disorder . ev'n yet thou art not quite with-drawn ! turn yet , and leave with bleeding love , the charity [ ex. arviola ] of one relenting sigh ! - she 's gone ! retir'd , vanisht for ever from these closing eves . come chaos now ! resume thy horrid reign ; blend earth with heav'n , the elements confound , and quench in seas the fall'n etherial fires ! when vertu 's dead , 't is time that nature die ; wake theocrin ! forsaken as thou art of all ; thy innocence stays with thee still ! guards , to your office , wreath me o'r in chains , and in the gloomiest dungeon shroud me fast ; when this is done , if my escape you fear , the grave 's the safest prison , lodge me there . enter abardanes , myrrhoe . ab. scarce can i credit what i 've heard and seen ; approach thou subtl'st of the subtle sex : say , what return , what off'ring shall i make to thy immortal wit � sossacles . enter sossacles with aribert . the change is wrought , a change more wonderful than of black chaos into smiling day . soss . your servant aribert , from thrace arriv'd with letters of importance . ab. souldier welcome ! [ opens the letter and reads . fly myrrhoe , foment the princess rage , that no relenting thought for theocrin surprize her breast , and mar the noble project . [ ex. myrrh . confusion ! torture ! all my hopes are dash'd . read sossacles , my royal father's sick , and i am summon'd home to thrace with speed : aspiring sythrax waits the kings last hour , to seize the vacant throne ; and they inform me our speediest return can scarce prevent him : what shall i do ? soss . your danger sir instructs you ; your fleet 's in readiness , we 'll sail to night . ab. and leave arviola ? � enter escalus . now escalus , if thou hast policy produce it now , and make a prince thy friend ; my father dies and warns me hence , my brother sythrax takes advantage of my absence to usurp , shall i secure my crown or love ? esc. both sir. ab. how my apollo ? o my panting heart ! esc. the means are obvious ; bear arviola by force aboard your fleet , then sail for thrace : the season gives you opportunity , too morrow she attends the sacred rites , and sacrifices at diana's grove . the princess early with her virgin train , sets forth to finish the preparing ceremonics , before the court arives ; then you may seize her , for myrrhoe shall seduce her through the groves , where you shall plant your servants to surprize her . ab. most exquisite contrivance ! we 'll send immediate notice to our fleet. [ ex. ab. and soss . enter myrrhoe hastily . esc. where thus confusedly sister ? myrr . where 's the prince ? esc. what new disaster ? myr. theocrin's escap'd . esc. escap'd ! myr. rescu'd from the guards , and born with violence from the town . esc. by whom ? myr. 't is guest by the offiers , that from the camp attended him to the court , for all were masqu'd , nor trusted to the evenings dusk . esc. perdition ; this happens ill ; but fortune do thy worst , my ripe designs are past the blasting now ; sister one day , one busie morrow more crowns out desires : retire , and i 'll inform you . i toil for empire , now at scepters fly , resolv'd to force'em or expire ; and tho i perish in th' attempt , even in the grave , my pomp , my court i 'll keep , and dream of crowns in deaths eternal sleep . [ ex.
act. v.
scene , a desart . thunder . enter theocrin in the tempest . theo. the storm is husht , the winds breath out their last ; the thunders too in feebler volleys die ; all night they humour'd my complaints ; but now the day intrudes , the dear confusion's vanisht , and all the ruffled elements return to their dull order . shroud thy hated light , thou rising sun , nor summon with such speed , th' o'rlabour'd world to th' toils of a new day ! why flatter'd mortals , will ye wake to cares , when sleep in kind delusion may divert your pensive minds with pleasing images . a dream sets free the captive , can restore lost fields to souldiers , and wreckt merchants wealth ; in dreams the exile visits his dear home , and o'r the sparkling bowl relates at large his past distresses to his wond'ring friends ! the lover too the sad forsaken lover , may dream and feign the falsest mistriss true . o for a gentle slumber , that wou'd thus delude my griefs , and shew my perjur'd fair constant as once i thought her � oh i rave , for sleep no more must seal these lids ; this sun may set and rise agen to his dull round , but see me tread life's giddy maze no more ; perform thy work thou deadly juice � 't is off . [ drinks a viol of poison . that death ( by nature so abhor'd ) shou'd be as easily into our vitals drawn , as th' air by which we live . enter four or five of the officers . . off. i fear his discontent has made him stay , regardless of the storm that rag'd too night . off. we left him near these clifts . . off. 't was rash to trust him with his griefs alone . . off. it was his own resolve , which we obey'd with much reluctance � o ye gods ! see where he prostrate lies in the cold dew , with his bare head expos'd to th' troubled air. theo. tyrant of nature , i wou'd view thee near , thou chief of terrots , death ! a form so horrid , as even the wretched shun : this brittle glass contain'd that awful thing ; the fatal juice , that turns my working organs into clay ; i' cou'd even now have dasht it on the ground ; but let that pass . . off. rise noble general ; we cometo seek you in the armies name . theo. nay , now my friends you are too officious ! . off. o my dear lord , i grieve to have found now ! why wou'd you dare the terrors of this night ? such lightnings , wind and rain � theo. ha damocles . was 't not a merry night , thou know'st i shou'd have been a bridgroom now , and therefore 't was the rev'ling storm struck up to make me musick ; the lightnings danc'd to entertaine me � true , the bride was absent , and the bed was cold ! but 't was of natures making , honest rock , o'r-spread with moss . . off. his griefs i fear distract him . theo. hark damocles , a secret , o my boy , when i am earth , remember thou wert warn'd to trust no woman when she smiles , and when she weeps believe her less , least when she swears ; but if she swear thee love � oh wracks and pangs ! why sirs d'ye gaze so wildly on me ? � ha! the poison i perceive has touch'd my brain ! come damocles , let 's talk no more of women ; arms be our theam , bright arms � arviola ! tell me of arms , my boy � arviola ! of battles , tatter'd ensigns , bloody bayes ; trophies and triumphs � oh arviola ! . off. we must divert this frensie . theo. still they gaze ! my senses then are going , let e'm go . o that my working thoughts were once at rest , still as fall'n stars , or streams bound up in frost . . off. your griefs shall be redrest ; the army waits for your return , resolv'd to force your right , and place you in the imperial bed and throne . theo. then you have weighed my wrongs . . off. we have , my lord , and must resent your suffring as our own . theo. swear then to work the army to my will. . off. we swear . theo. 't is well ; know then 't will most conduce to my content , that you forget my abuses from the court , and spight of all my wrongs be loyal still ! nay sirs , seem not dissatisfi'd , you 've sworn , perform my last request , for 't is my last ; i 've taken poison . . off. horror ! theo. infamy ! what souldiers tears , a few hours will reduce this shaken frame to its first elements ; part we like soldiers without ceremony : i must devote my short remains of life to private thoughts , and you must leave me all . . off. at least permit us wait you to the grave . to sling our pining lawrels on your earth , and give the warriour's volley o'r your tomb. theo. i have my self to took care for my enterment . the hermite's cave is near , where i 'll unload me of this dull earth ; they 'll decently bestow this lumber in some vault by nature fram'd ; wrapt in no sables , but of deepest night ; no pageantry , or more superfluous trains of such as mourn for hire , no funeral dirge , but what the widdow'd turtle shall afford me . the pomp that i despis'd in life , in death i hold most vain ; nor care to rot in state. farewel , commend me to our valiant troops , and as ye wish my ashes rest , be loyal . [ ex. severally .
scene , the hermites cell . a tomb discovered , the hermite's consecrating it . edraste in youths apparel . . herm. enough , the tomb is hallow'd ; all retire to your respective tasks , your chosen toil ; behold my son this rude unpolisht marble , ( to edraste . the common receptacle of our dust , when fate shall summon our obedient spirits . what follows death , the dead alone can tell ; but to our life of rule and discipline . we owe at least , this certain priviledge , calmly to wait the change , nor fear to die . edr. o peaceful solituds ! here all things smile , and in sweet consort joyn . all but my thoughts , that still are out of tune , and break , like jarring strings , the harmony . why , cruel theocrin , do'st thou pursue me to these retreats ? for still thy image wounds . enter theocrin . my panting breast , and robs me of repose , tho lodg'd on poppies by the murmuring stream . ha! is't the raving of my feaverish thought or theocrin's appears ! defend my heart , some kinder pow'r , or undeceive my eyes . theo. i feel the trusty person by degrees , spread through my yielding veins , my circling blood , at length , will bear the cordial to my heart ; as nearer to eternity i coast , the prospect grows more lovely � here 's the cave , and i descry the hermites working near ; the neighb'ring vale shall be my walk , till the prevailing poison summon me to turn and yield this earth to their disposal . [ exit . edr. 't is he ! the royal bridegroom wand'ring here alone , bare-headed , and with sorrowful brow ; fortune , i fear , has wrought some dreadful change ! i 'll trust to my disguise , and follow him ; my heart is on the rack till i 'm inform'd . [ exit .
wood scene agen . arviola , myrrhoe : arviola drest as for the sacrifice . arv. where myrrhoe , wilt thou and sorrow lead me ? this shade is dark , and silent to my wish , here let me sit and breath my last complaints ! he was the falsest of the treach'rous sex ; the falsest , and as such , my just revenge disdain'd his pangs , when groveling at my feet . myr. his love was feign'd , and so was his remorse . where are these ravishers , this was the time design'd for the adventure , this the place . [ aside . enter two priests in habits . arv. rise , we are summoned to attend the altar ; speak , have ye sung your mattins , hail'd the grove , and with the victim trod the sacred round ? why stand ye thus fixt on each others look , as ye had some dire message to deliver , whil'st each declines th' ungrateful tale ; speak forth . . priest. a better fate attend our greece , then what the omens of this morning rites presage ; which of us , has with guilty hands approach'd the awful ceremonies , is unknown ; but our dread goddess is displeas'd , and thwarts our work with boding prodigies . myrr . 't is but the old mans fear , the hallow'd wine has touch'd his feeble brain , and makes him rave . shall we retire , yet farther , madam ? . priest. the virgin taper thrice i did apply , before the flame wou'd taste the melting gums , nor then blaz'd prosperously , erect to heav'n , but scatt'ring , turn'd his conscious folds to earth , and rol'd his smoaky globes along the ground . myr. these wizzards will mar all ; to lose her thus , [ aside . when i 've decoy'd her to the very ginn . . priest. the destin'd bull in garlands wreath'd , stood bound , and turn'd his lowring eyes upon the attendants ; nor sooner had the blushing wine distain'd his snowy brow , but rearing high in air , he shook the yielding cords from his curl'd front , o'r-threw the altar , tost the golden pile , and forcing through the scatter'd priests his way , ran with high nostrils , bellowing through the grove . arv. return , and consecrate the place anew , with mournful cypress bind your pensive brows , and prostrate falling on the sacred ground , each vow his innocence before the altar ; then cast the lots to find the osfender out . [ ex. priest. o virgin goddess , if this breast indulge one secret guilt , turn all thy rage on me , and let thy priestess bleed thy sacrifice ! else let me live with fall'n edraste's shame ; my sond heart , be agen seduc'd to love. deceiv'd agen � assassins , treason ! help . enter escalus masqu'd , with others . esc. seize her , confederates , seize your royal prize . arv. help heav'n , rocks , groves , diana help ! esc. soft , madam , we are friends , design no wrong , but come to bear you to a lover's arms. arv. off traytor ! light'ning blast thy sacrilegious hands . esc. quick sirs , convey her to the prince's chariot , that waits without the grove , thence to the fleet ; and in the court of thrace expect her thanks . enter from the other side theocrin's officers . . off. the cry came this way � see! the princess seiz'd by ravishers , ev'n in her sacred robes . [ fight . whil'st they are engag'd , arv. myrrh . run off , myrrh . wounded ; the officers beat the others off . . off. the fiends are vanisht ; where's the princess ? . off. fled off in fight . . off. disperse we strait ; you damocles return to the general , and inform him what has happened ; you phorbus to the king , the rest search for the princess : [ ex. re-enter escalus unmasqu'd . esc. curse on the coward slaves , they fought like women ; not wolves more tamely wou'd resign their prey to lion : how shall i excuse this soul defeat , to the expecting prince ? the prince ? hell ! that 's the least difficulty : how shall i answer to the king this treason ? hard-hunted , as i am , i 've one shift yet , and that a sure one : i 'll with speed inform the king , of this design to seize arviola : charge all the guilt upon the prince , pretend the plot was frustrated by my contrivance ; then when the intelligence comes , the king shall thank me for my villany , perhaps reward me too ; thus cautious sailers quit the sinking ship , and rowing off to shore , enrich themselves with the wreck'd merchants wealth . [ exit theocrin and edraste . theo. leave me fond youth , why wilt thou follow me ? i 'm savage as a sylvan , and unfit for thy soft conversation ; prethee leave me ! edr. forgive a strangers rudeness , sir , excuse a charitable crime ; say you are happy , and for some pleasing contemplation seek this solitude ; convince me with a smile and i 'll retire . theo. believe me happy then and leave me . edr. wherefore then that troubled sigh ? theo. pretty impertinence , no more inquiries ; but since thy curiosity is such , know i am wretched to that sad degree , that fiends might pitty me , and therefore leave me . edr. 't is therefore i woud follow . theo. thou are young , and grief 's infectious ; get thee to court , and revel out thy youth ; sorrow will come unsought , and poyson thy delights too soon . besides , thou' rt beautiful and form'd for dalliance , therefore to court , there practice ev'ry wile to charm the fair ; none scape thy flattery ; but youth take heed that it be flattery . for should'st thou be sincere in thy addresses , give up thy heart , and trust thy happiness to a woman's mercy , thou' rt lost for ever . edr. then all all my fears are just , and destiny [ aside . has play'd most fowl ; arviola is chang'd , or he abus'd . theo. thou weep'd ! what mean those tears , i did but speak . of disappointed love , and thou art touch'd ! is 't possible that thy soft innocence , so early , shou'd be martyr'd by the scorn of any cruel she ! then i am still to learn in woman's falshood ; and my fair cous'ner yet may be a saint , compar'd to the rest of her deluded sex. yes , false arviola , when i descend , and to the lower world report my love , i 'll do thy fame the right , to say , there was one more inhumane maid than thou ! enter damocles . dam. your pardon , my best lord , that i trangress your last commands , the occasion is surprizing ; your fair arviola , with her maiden train , this morning came to attend the annual rites of great diana's altar in the grove : on our return we found the princess seiz'd by rusfians , whom we soon o'rcome , but lost her in the hurry of the fight � behold , my lord , three of their scatter'd crew flying this way . theo. false , tho she be , yet some revenge is due to injur'd beauty and a princess name . stand traytors . [ fight . the assassins are slain , edraste wounded . how fares my gentle boy . edr. the friendly steel has pierc'd my aking heart , and giv'n me ease . theo. ha! wounded ! we have bought the villains lives too dear ; help damocles yo bear him to the cell . [ ex. enter king attended , esc. ther. diph. priests brought in by the guards . king. disperse and search each thicket of the forrest ; and as your for feit heads shall answer for 't , return not to our presence till y 'ave found her . [ ex. attend , stand forth , ye reverend hypocrites , confess when , where , for what you barter'd , to betray your monarch's daughter ? hell ! i am too cold ! produce her traytors , set her in my sight , restore her to my arms this minute , or your pamper'd flesh shall on the rack be torn , and scatter'd piece-meal on this hallow'd ground . esc. this is the musick that i long'd to hear ; [ aside . king , y' are too tame , rage louder yet ; ha! ha! how vain a creature were the plotting knave , but for the credulous fool ? king. slaves , must i twice command , e'r i am answer'd ? . priest. by all the pow'rs , by great diana's self , and your own sacred head , we are innocent . king. they sport with my revenge , quick , drag 'em hence to present death ; nor shall th' ingrateful prince our vengeance shun : he comes , make ready guards to seize him , he shall bleed . ther. dread sir , consider . enter abardanes , speaking to his attendants . ab. o'r-powr'd ? excuse it not , 't was cowardise ; retire , i must to the king , least he suspect . king. disarm him . ab. i am betray'd , basely you have surpriz'd us ; give me room , slaves know the prince , nor with your vassal hands profane my royalty � what! servile chains ! i 'll not endur 't . esc. now the chast lion foams . ab. i charge thee king release me , by thy sceptre , thy head , thy empire , which my thracian troops shall drown in blood , and waste with vengeful fire . king. we dare thy worst , ingrateful , barb'rous prince , that could'st abuse our hospitality , and plot a rape upon a royal maid . ab. why then did she not love ? what i design'd was gen'rous all ; and thou should'st thank me , king , that of thy dignity i took such care , fo force thy daughter to my princely arms , that on a vassal else , a subject slave , had lost her crown and beauty ; and corrupted th' untainted blood of monarchs ! king. bear him off ; come to my heart , thou faithful escaellus ; with what return shall i reward thy vertue ! our army we commit to thy command , be thou our gen'ral in false theocrin's stead , and meet the shock of war , this prince has threaten'd . whom bring ye there ? diph. att. dread sir , a forrester , that says , he saw but now a lady fly in fright to the hermite's cave . king. 't was my arviola , lead thither . [ ex. all.
the cave . theocrin and damocles bearing in edraste . theo. now damocles fly and call the hermites in , their art will bring relief ; take heart , my boy . edr. i die , my lord , and with my latest breath will speak of wonders ; now my stars are kind , and for my past griefs make too large amends , since in your dear embrace i do expire ; i am edraste . theo. this indeed is wond'rous . edr. deaths paleness will forbid my blushes now ; if i confess that i have lov'd you long , but with a flame as chaste as vestal fire ; or may no pious garland crown my tomb , but virgins shun it as unhallow'd ground . enter arviola in fright . arv. where shall i hide ? o for an earthquake now to sink me from these ravishers � whos 's there ? theo. speak my edraste , end thy charming tale , for i wou'd die convinc'd , there can be truth in woman's love. arv. edraste in disguise with theocrin , in close embraces joyn'd ! my eyes too long are guilty , but the sacred ponyard thus shall expiate the offence ; eternal night remove the hated object from my view . [ stabs her self . theo. she 's gone , and in her cheeks a scatter'd purple smi'es , like streaks of sun-shine from a setting day : my fate comes next , the sure-slow poison now preys on my vitals - ha! what heavenly form sits there ? bright vision turn � arviola ! arv. o gods , those ruffled locks , and that wan look , against my honour plead in his behalf ; but 't is a woman's weakness , and i 'll crush it . theo. it cannot be ! not woman's cruelty can swell to that excess , to persecute her poor forsaken lover to his cave ; to tear his closing wounds , and wake his slumb'ring griefs into a fresh despair . is this the tenderness of beauty , this the weeping sexe's mercy ? oh! arviola ! arv. with what divided passions am i torn ! stream faster sluggish blood and give me ease ! theo. that so contemn'd a thing as i , shou'd e'r create your highness trouble , were unjust ; but princess you 'll excuse me : that i lov'd you , i do confess , but wore my flames conceal'd and silent , as the lamps that burn in tombs , sigh'd only to my self and to the winds , gaz'd on your beauties with the distant crowd : your self at last perceiv'd my drooping care , and forc'd the trembling secret from my breast , which with my life i render'd at your feet : then � i remember � oh! the panting minute � arv. that panting minute i remember too ! [ aside . theo. you rais'd me by the bloodless hand from ground , with such obliging tenderness , secur'd my trembling hopes , that next i sunk with joy ! but ( oh the torture ! ) this transporting scene was but a gawdy dream , and wak'd with storms , here on cold earth the flatter'd dreamer lies . arv. tempt not the gods too far , those gods that know the falseness of your love : yet o thrice happy , if here your crimes had fixt , but to corrupt a royal maid � the fowl thought strikes me dumb , i leave your guilt t' interpret � oh edraste ! theo. take heed , licencious fair ! thy perjur'd love was but thy sexe's sin , a crime of nature , but to blaspheme the vertue of the dead , will wrest from the forbearing gods their thunder . arv. ha! dead ! each minute draws fresh wonders on . enter myrrhoc bloody . myr. the princess must perceive that i betray'd her , perhaps this cave will hide me from the search . theo. hast thou too brought thy raven's note t' afflict me ? myr. gods ! theocrin pale ! arviola bloody , and edraste dead ; then furies lash me with your scorpion whips ; give me the torments of th' etornal damn'd , prometheus , vulture , and ixion's wheel . arv. alas , what mean those dreadful execrations ? myr. my breath grows short , but shall suffice t' unfold such treasons , as will fright the dephts of hell , for whil'st the plotting escalus accus'd this gen'rous lord of treason to the king , as falsely i abus'd his love to you ; taxt him of wanton dalliance with edraste , who from the court retreated , to divert th' ambitious queens designs on both your lives : thus were you wrought to treat him with disdain , at his return from field . theo. the truth , the truth as thou shalt meet the gods. arv. for thy souls sake , the truth and i forgive thee . myr. at fast , brib d by the prince , i undertook to tempt you through the groves , till the assassins might seize and bear you to the thracian fleet ; but ( unexpectedly engag'd ) i' th' fight i met th' unluckly wound that gives me death , by the dar pow'rs that wait for my descent . this is most true , as true as i was false , or let my pains , through circling ages last , nor time expiring , see my torments done . [ dies . theo. and arv. attempt to rise , but ( wanting strength ) on their hands and knees , get to each other . theo. o bounteous pow'rs ! o balmy healing joy ! pride of thy sex , imperial excellence , my still beloved , still loving , true arviola . arv. can you forgive my lord my rash disdain ? you must , for i was punish'd in the crime , ev'n then ( cou'd you have seen my heart ) you wou'd confess that your arviola was ne'r so passionate kind . theo. let me in haste � devour those sweets , and load me with thy bloom , a stock to feed on in eternity . arv. o that some pittying god wou'd six us thus ( to solid marble turn'd ) eternal statues , whil'st pious lovers flock from farthest lands , to hear the wond'rous chances of our loves , and thence be taught whate'r disasters fall , ne'r to despair of passion that is true . theo. my feeling fails , but ah what purple dew distains this hand that prest thy panting heart ? arv. thank the good gods , 't is my life-blood , my lord , i saint ; my theocrin , but one thing more tell me , if we shall love i' th' other world ? theo. 't will be our business , 't is the land of love. arv. and without jealousie . theo. their paradise knows no such poisonous weed ; their loves are as their streams , full , calm , and clear ! secure and free they pass their harmless hours , gay as the birds that revel in the groves , and sing the morning up . arv. farewel . theo. she 's gone ! and charms me after . [ dies both. enter theron , diphilus , guards , attendants , hermite , king and escalus , in the middle of train . ther. confusion ! diphilus see the princess slain in theocrin's arms , more bloodless corpses too , to fill the ghastly scene � dread sir , retire ; such horror fills this cave , as will congeal your aged blood , and blast your royal sight . king. why do your knees prevent me ; sink in earth and give passage : where 's the goblin now that should appall me ? ha! my arviola dead . and in the traytor 's arms ! fate thou hast struck me home , but struck thy last . here fell my only comfort , only care. haste , set the prince at large . esc. 't was my sole fear , least myrrhoe should discover , and death has ty'd her tongue ; there 's that breach stopt . king. rob'd of my heirs ; be all my witnesses how timely for my empire i provide ; behold this man of worth , and know him all for our adopted son and heir of greece ; bow all to earth and do him present homage . [ presenting escalus . esc. thus , gracious sir , thus prostrate at your feet , your vassal begs you to revoke your favour ; i am th' unworthiest � king. rise , our pleasure 's sixt , slaves is our will disputed . all. hail heir of greece , hail royal escalus . [ enter messenger with letters . diph. way there , a message to the king. king. what bring'st thou ? mess. great sir , your queen disdaining her confinement , took poison , but enjoyn'd me e'r she dy'd , to bear these papers to your royal hand . king. o dephs of villany ! guards seize that fiend . [ pointing to esc. esc. what means my gracious lord. king. see here , my lords , what will amaze you too ! our empress , by that escalus detected , liv'd but to take revenge on the discoverer ; and to effect it , made pretence of forces , rais'd by her brother to invade this empire , which this designing lord was to command , and these his letters in return ; where he accepts her terms ! to death with the impostor . esc. that breath that doom'd me be thy last , weak monarch ; but king , know thou , and these ( but now ) my slaves , that for that minutes pride , that single taste of royal pow'r , for that one hail , i 'd meet the worst of deaths thy feeble rage can form . [ ex. born off by the guards . king. my lord , i trust your care to see just rites perform'd to these dead bodies ; my next charge ( and that my last ) is , that you summon streight our senate , and by fair election crown our successor ; for my own private part i have determin'd what the gods inspire : reach me a hermite's habit. ther. now i find his rash resolve , but durst not interpose . [ king kneeling , takes a hermites vestment in his hand kisses , then shifting his robes of state , puts it on . king. how light sits this ! and thus have i put off , with the imperial robes , imperial cares . thus after all my storms of court , i make my last retreat to the gods and poverty . here as the sanctions of this cell , shall bind by turns , i 'll wait , and in my course be king. here lust wants fewel , and ambition starves , my temper'd appetites shall here be taught , t' ask council of my reason e'r they crave : here just but temperate meals , short sleeps and sound , shall cheer me for the labours of the day : thus life's well manag'd remant will i spend , and when the gods shall lease , resign my breath calmly , as infants sleep , and smile on death .
finis .
epilogue , spoken by mrs. currer . your humble servant gentlemen � how d' ye , i' faith i 've broke my prison walls to see ye ; must i he cloyster'd up ? dull poet stay , i hate consinement tho' but in a play. doom me to a nun's life ? � a nun ! oh heart ! the name 's so dreadful , that it makes me start ! no! tell the scribbling fool i 'm just as sit to make a nun as he to make a wit. what ? a-la-mort messieurs ? nay then i 'll sit ye adieu ! i' faith no epilogue for betty ! and yet , shame on my foolish womans heart , i fain wou'd see ye smile before we part . you know how oft , like preaching sisters , we have from the stage lectur'd your vanity ; yet like those sisters , out o' th' preaching mood , you have surpriz'd and found us flesh and blood ! well , if your stubborn hearts will not dissolve , prepare to hear our fatal last resolve ; since sense has broke us , henceforth shall be shown the feats of robbin hood and little john , with the thrice fam'd exploits of whittington ! ��� vergers then in your lewd steads shall sit , a ��� and scarlet audience crowd our pit. ��� like your misses , we are forc'd to quit ye , and make our last dependance on the city .
notes, typically marginal, from the original text
notes for div a -e * praef. to the conqu . of granada . * essay on dram. poe.
on the sacred memory of our late sovereign, with a congratulation to his present majesty written by n. tate. tate, nahum, - . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing t estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) on the sacred memory of our late sovereign, with a congratulation to his present majesty written by n. tate. tate, nahum, - . [ ], p. printed by j. playford for henry playford ..., london : . first edition. reproduction of original in huntington library. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng charles -- ii, -- king of england, - -- poetry. - tcp assigned for keying and markup - spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images - tcp staff (oxford) sampled and proofread - emma (leeson) huber text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion on the sacred memory of our late sovereign : with a congratulation to his present majesty . — non deficit alter aureus — written by n. tate . london , printed by i. playford , for henry playford , near the temple-church : . on the sacred memory of our late sovereign : with a congratulation to his present majesty . if yet the common lethargy of grief , and nation 's apoplex can bear relief , let now their art condoling muses show , and teach our sorrows standing-tide to flow : not that their sweetest numbers can redress , or make our agony of grief the less ; yet to indulge it , will some pleasure bring ; as nightingals are saddest when they sing . but who can make the nation 's sorrow known ? perish that bard that can express his own ! with what convulsion must we speak the fate , which yet distracted looks alone relate ? how shall we write , or how shall it be read , the king , the king , our royal master's dead ! weep albion , rend with sighs thy rocky shore , a prince more sacred , thou did'st ne're deplore , though thou hast mourn'd a martyr-king before ! o guardian seraph ! charles his sacred guide ! ( whether the same that did the seas divide , and wandring tribes with miracles supply'd , ) behold the close of all thy pious care ; the joy of nations , now mankind's despair , thy charge , through life's prodigious mazes led , with kings of common providence lies dead ! the prince of wonders has resign'd his breath ; o triumph of the grave ! o pomp of death ! let saints exalted to their starry seat , and angel-quires account his years compleat ; ( perfection they by intuition know , ) but we must think 'em immature below ! the outmost force of humane art we try , whole kingdoms pray'rs to heav'n for succour fly , yet all in vain the royal life to save ; o pomp of death ! o triumph of the grave ! mourn albany , joyn albion's doleful sound , 'till to hibernian coasts your plaints rebound , to farthest lands let groaning winds relate , and rowling oceans roar their master's fate . hast muses , from your blasted mountains come to stock your selves with laurels at his tomb. unite your beams in one compleated verse , to flourish on your royal patron 's hearse . wake britains horace , wake from thy fresh shroud , to tune our sorrows and instruct the crowd , our charles his fame and fate thy numbers crave , such flame as thine methinks should warm the grave . less streins may well on common shrines be worn , and meaner muses meaner theams adorn , may suit some bloody conquerour's decease , but not the arbiter of europe's peace . how well has asaph's muse our david stil'd ? his form so god-like , and his reign so mild . she sung his troubles , now his latest breath let her record , and constancy in death . with what heroick soul , though grief most deep , he saw his speechless subjects round him weep . how tenderly he did bequeath his flock , to the next shepherd of the royal stock . let her the princely brother's pangs deplore , by blood endear'd , by mutual suffr'ings , more . let iames his sorrow add to the dismay , and double the confusion of the day . last , let her close our dying monarch's eyes ; with which , eternal night seem'd to involve our skies . yet noon-day stars attending on his birth , spoke him immortal and a god on earth , his person and his virtues spoke him so ; for kings so just and mild are gods below . yet in the cold embrace of death he lies ! groan britains , yield him souls for sighs , weep tears no more , but eyes . behold the citizens of some fair hive , how busie while their ruler is alive , how cheerfully their toil they do pursue , from distant fields bear home the fragrant dew ; how to the common port they all repair , build tow'rs , and breed their young with pious care , while with their colonies their stores encrease , all then is industry , all wealth and peace : but when their king by any fate expires , their musick ceases and their labour tires : no more they make the flow'ry sweets their spoil , but in despair they ruine their own toil , their golden fabricks on the ground are laid , and mad confusion reigns where order sway'd . how then can we our wonted peace possess ? is our devotion for our monarch , less ? our threatned ruin , who has then withstood ? what chance , what fate , or what descending god ? behold a present and auspicious pow'r , stands forth to turn the fate of that dark hour ! to cheer our griefs , and order to restore , lest empire dye , and albion be no more ! from ev'ry province grateful hearts are sent , on him three suing nations eyes are bent ! hail ! hail ! your hero-prince , almost divine , in whom with valour , justice do's combine , and all the mercies of the stvart's line . live prince of clemency , for ever live ! not all-forgiving charles did more forgive . what e're blind rage in frantick faction strove , all now return , and now all find they love. live prince of clemency ! long condescend to sway those realms , you did so oft defend . while that august and most exalted shade , that heaven's white-hall has now his pallace made , from those bright seats sometimes shall not disdain to view the triumphs of your god-like reign . blest prince ! by heav'n and charles example led ! so may his honours double on your head. the long-liv'd heir of all his blessings prove , on earth succeeding to his subjects love , and to the same kind angels care above . finis . the Æthiopian history of heliodorus in ten books / the first five translated by a person of quality, the last five by n. tate ; to which are prefixed the testimonies of writers, both ancient and modern concerning this work ... aethiopica. english heliodorus, of emesa. approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing h estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) the Æthiopian history of heliodorus in ten books / the first five translated by a person of quality, the last five by n. tate ; to which are prefixed the testimonies of writers, both ancient and modern concerning this work ... aethiopica. english heliodorus, of emesa. tate, nahum, - . person of quality. [ ], [i.e. ], p. printed by j.l. for edward poole ..., london : . translation of: aethiopica. reproduction of original in harvard university libraries. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng - tcp assigned for keying and markup - spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images - tcp staff (michigan) sampled and proofread - john latta text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the aethiopian history of heliodorus . in ten books . the first five translated by a person of quality , the last five by n. tate . to which are prefixed , the testimonies of writers , both ancient and modern , concerning this work , viz. dr. peter heylin , cosmograph . phil. melancth . stanizlaus equ . polon . vincentius obsopoeus , cornelius sutorius , thomas dempsterus , hieronymus comme●●●●● london , printed by i. l. for edward poole , at the ship over against the royal exch●●●● in cornhil . mdclxxxv●● to his grace the duke of beauford , &c. my lord , as i have long had an ambition of presenting some ●ssay to your grace's patronage , ● was likewise sensible that no ●erformance ( which was entirely ●y own ) could , without pre●●mption , aspire to that honour : ●ut this address comes arm'd with a double apology ; not on●● the fix'd reputation of the work in the original , but on account of the translation it self , being half perform'd by a person of quality and judgement . by whose untimely death we were deny'd the happiness of his farther progress , and i was prevail'd with to think that the world would rather dispense with my course finishing of the piece , than lose the part which he had so well begun . beside the testimonies of the learned for my author● it is yet to be added , that he was not only the first who attempted this way of writing , but the best● the ca●sandra● and cleopatra o● the french were scions from thi● stock , nor shall we envy them the reputation which those authors seem'd chiefly to de●ign , the diversion of the ladies . heliodorus has as well contriv'd for their favour , yet so as to make the amour subordinate to instruction , and every where an occasion of d●spensing that learning and experience , with which he was so wonderfully furnished . the philosophy and politicks deliver'd in the romance of barclay have render'd it worthy the perusal of the greatest stratesmen ; yet , on the first view , we shall find the argenis to be but a copy of chariclea . but after all his maxims of conduct , and examples of vertue , methinks i see the authors genius tremble to come under your graces inspection , who have in practice so far excell'd the most perfect images that he could feign . of what importance your unshaken loyalty , industry , and prudent management , has always been towards the happiness of this nation , is best known to persons of your own high sphere , where your grace is placed a star of the first magnitude . but your more immediate influence for the publick safety , in the late season of our extremity , was so manifest , that thousands were spectators of its operation . the proud invader himself acknowledg'd his measures to be broken in their foundation , by your presence in bristol , the main fortress of his hopes ; from which he was obstructed by your grace's matchless interest and conduct . for a parallel to this service , we must run up to your own great ancestor , whose name shall be sacred to posterity as long as * ragland castle shall have one stone left upon another . i have too just a sense of your grace's character to attempt your panegyrick ; yet , in gratitude , i am obliged to say , that while your grace is blest with qualifications to adorn the noblest court , it is your peculiar glory to have magnificence and condescension to charm all mankind . that clemency i must make my sanctuary for this address , and leave your encomium to some more able genius , while the height of my ambition is to subscribe my self your grace's most devoted humble servant , n. tate . testimonies of eminent persons , ancient and modern , concerning the following work. heylin , lib. . p. . heliodorus the author of that ingenious piece , call'd the aethiopick history , which he so prized , that he chose rather ●o lose his bishoprick , than consent to the burning of his book , which ● provincial sy●od had adjudged to the fire . a piece indeed of rare contexture and neat contrivance , with●ut any touch of loose or lascivious language , honest and chast affection being the subject of it , not such as old or modern poets shew us in the comedies or other poems : for here we have no ●ncestious mixtures of fathers and daughters : ●o pandorism of old nurses : no unseemly acti●n specified , where heat of blood and opportunity ●o meet : nor indeed any one passage unworthy of ●he chastest ear. phil. melancth . the stile is florid without affection ; the variety of councils , accidents and events contained therein is wonderful ; exhibiting most images of humane life , so that it may be read by all with equal profit and pleasure . stanizlaus . equ . polon . the reason why learned men have thought the aethiopian history of heliodorus , worthy the perusal of post●rity , is very evident , the design being equally accommodated to the instruction and diversion of the reader . in which , besides the elegance of stile , not only changes of fortune , but examples of vertue are set forth . vicentius obsopoeus . i recommend the aethiopian history of heliodorus , as the most absolute image of all humane a●●ections ; a perfect example of conjugal love , truth and constancy being wonderfully drawn in the characters of theagenes and chariclea . i pass over the beauty , contrivance , and artifice in the expression . of all greek authors that ever came into my hands , i must affirm him to be the most pleasant and will venture to say the most learned . for the truth of his tale i leave it to himself , but for the probability it may compare with any history . for the argument which is vario●s , i can aver it to be compleat ; for asmuch as it is , besides the continued pl●asantness of the tale , full of admirable turns and surprises ; he has most skilfully given the cosmography of many places ; laid open the secret causes of nature in many instances ; learnedly described the rites and customs of many nations ; the nature of divers mountains , rivers , stones , herbs , and regions of aegypt and aethiopia especially , countrys the least known ; mingling all with such beautiful digressions , that in the whole work he hath left nothing imperfect or what might give offence to the most critical reader . cornelius sutorius . this work is so furnished with wisdom in councils and government of humane affections , such discipline and knowledge in all circumstances of war ; such inconstances of fortune and varie●y of humane affections , that it seems wholly derived from the purest fountains of eloquence . thomas dempsterus . heliodorus the phoenician , the most eloquent and chast writer of loves ; most delightful and artificial in the management of his story . hieronymus commelinus . heliodorus the most elegant author , in whose volumn are many sentences , grave , solid , ethick , pol●tical , oeconomick . how many things therein subservient to antiquity no where else delivered . this is attested by divers amongst the ancients , viz. in the melissa of antony , and the c●nturies of maximus : to instance in modern authors would be endless . i will mention barnabas brissonius instead of all : whosoever reads his treatise concerning the persian principality , will easily find how much he was obliged to this author . licensed , ro. l' estrange . the aethiopian history . the first book . the break of day had now dispersed the darkness , and the sun with earliest beams , guilded the summits of the mountains ; when a troop of men that had no living but by robberies , and rapine , appeared upon the promontory that elevates it self over one of the mouths of nilus , named the heracliotick : being assembled , they made a stand to take view of the sea , that lay like a vast valley underneath them ; but when they saw nothing that presented hope of prey ( all the ships they discovered , sayling off to the main ) they cast their eyes towards the neighbour shoar , and encountered this object . a ship at anchor , no men in her , yet heavy laden , as might easily be judged afar o●f , for she was of that burthen , as she drew water to the third deck . the shoar was covered with a massacre of men , some dead , others were but half dead , and the parts of their bodies that yet panted , gave assurance to the beholders , it was no long time since the fight was ended ; nor were these the marks of a just quarrel , they were the said relicks of an unfortunate feast . there were tables that stood yet full ●urnished , and some that were overturned betwixt the arms of those that sate at them ; others lay like tomb-stones over the dead that had ( as it is probable ) hid themselves under them : many bowls and pots were cast down , and many yet held in their hands that had taken them either to drink , or to cast at their enemies heads ; for the suddenness of the mutiny , and the necessity , had taught them a new way , and ( instead of darts and other offensive weapons ) armed them with the cups they drank in . they lay , one cloven with an axe , another his brains beat out with shells that lay ready on the sands , some bruised to pieces with leavers , many burnt with coals of fire , and divers others , diversly murthered ; but the most were shot to death with arrows . in sum , fortune in a little time had produced strange variations , contaminating the wine with blood , changing the chearfulness of a feast into the horrors of a battle , promiscuously mixing their meat with wounds , and drinking healths with death ; preparing such a stage for the aegyptian thieves to be spectators ; but from those heights they could not understand the play ; for they plainly saw a defeat , but no masters of the field ; an absolute victory , but no spoils taken ; a ship unmann'd , but else untouched ; hulling in that dangerous road , as if in full peace , and in the midst of the greatest security in the world . but though ignorant of the cause , they were greedy of the prey ; and resolved to make themselves the conquerors : so they marched forward to the pillage ; and when they were not far from the ship , and near to the dead bodies , there was presented to their sense , a sight of greater astonishment than the former . it was a young lady , sitting upon a rock , of so rare and perfect a beauty , as one would have taken her for a goddess , and though her present misery opprest her with extreamest grief , yet in the greatness of her affliction , they might easily perceive the greatness of her courage : a laurel crown'd her head , and a quiver in a scarf hanged at her back ; she rested her left arm upon her bow , and let her hand carelesly hang down upon her right thigh ; she leaned on her other arm , laying her cheek upon her hand , and fixing her eyes upon a young gentleman that lay not far distant from her ; he was covered in his wounds , and now began to raise himself a little , as if awaking out of a deep sleep , almost of death it self ; yet such a stock of beauty shined in his face , and the blood that rained down so set off the whiteness of his skin , as made him shew most lovely ; the pain he felt , seemed to weigh down his eye-lids , and the beauty of the lady , to attract and open them . he had no sooner recollected his spirits , and scarce breath'd , but with a languishing voice he pronounced these words . sweetest , is it true that i yet behold you living , or ( perishing in the execution ) have you encreased the number of the dead ? can you not , not even in death be ravished from me , but will your shadow be yet a loooker on , and sharer in my fortunes ? it is from you reply'd the maid that i expect my fortune , life or death ; this you here see ( shewing him a steeletto in her lap ) hath yet not done its office , hindered by the happy signs of your recovery . this said , she leaped from the rock , and the thieves upon the mountains surprized with fear and astonishment ran to hide themselves behind the bushes : for she appeared more divine when she was upon her feet ; her arrows in her quiver clashing as she stepped , her robe ( that was cloth of gold ) glittering in the sun , and her hair that flowed under her coronet ( like the priestesses of bacchus ) reaching almost to the ground . one said she was a goddess , and sure the goddess diana , or isis the patroness of their country ; others conceived her to be a votaress to some god , that inspired with divine fury had made so great a slaughter . this while the maid running to the gentleman , cast herself upon his body , wept , kist him● wiped his wounds , and imbraced him so closely as if she could hardly be assured she had him in her arms. the aegyptians observing this , presently altered their opinions ; what , said th●y , are these the actions of a goddess ? do goddesses kiss dead men ? and with so much commiseration ! so encouraging one another , they marched on , and found the lady dressing the young mans wounds , and coming close ●ehind her , did not dare to attempt any thing , not so much as to speak to her ; but the noi●e they had made , and their shadows cast before her eyes , moved her to turn her head ; and when she had seen them , she again declined her face ; and applyed her self to bind up her friends wounds , not so much as the least daunted with the unusual aspect , and colour of these armed aegyptians : so powerful is sincere affection , as it despises all other pleasing or displeasing thi● 〈◊〉 and transports our whole care and thoughts 〈◊〉 the object we love dearest : but when the thieves passed on , and stood in front before her , and seemed as if they would attempt something , she lifted up her eyes again , and seeing them so black and ugly , if you be ( she said ) these dead mens spirits , you do us wrong to trouble us , since most of you with your own hands slew one another ; if any of you fell by ours , it was but in our just revenge , to repell the violence you offered to my chastity ; but if ye be living men , i should take you to be thieves ; if so , you come mos● opportunely : free us , i beseech you , from these evil● that oppress us , kill us , and put and end to all our misery : these passionate wodr● she spake with as sad an accent . but they ( neither understanding her words nor meaning ) left her with the wounded gentleman , not putting any surer guard upon them then their own weakness ; and hasting to the ship , they unladed her , every man carrying out as much gold , silver , precious stones and silks , as they were able to bear , neglecting other commodities ( tho' rich and various ) and when they had every one as much as satisfied their avarice , they lay'd it down upon the shoar , making it up into packs , and dividing it , not by reason , or after the just value of the things , but equalling them by weight , reserving for the last , to resolve what to do with the young gentleman and the lady . mean while there appears upon the mountains a second company , two riding before them as their captains ; these were no sooner perceived by the former , but without preparing for the fight , or daring to take with them any part of of the spo●l , lest it might give occasion to the enemy to pursue ; the fear that strook their hearts , made them take their heels with the greatest agility that was possible , for they were but ten , and those they saw coming were twice that number . thus the lady was twice taken , and yet not prisoner . now these others , though they had an extream longing to be at the pillage , and had already devoured it in their hopes , yet the apprehension , that troubled their spirits , not knowing the cause of these events , retained them for a while ; for they imagined the first thieves had made that horrible slaughter ; and observing the lady in all the dangers that threatned her , to be no more afraid than if there had been no such thing , careful only of the young man's wounds , that seemed to pain her more , than if they had been her own ; they remained mightily amazed , as well at the generosity of her courage , and rareness o● her beauty , as at the delicate shape and exact stature of the wounded young man ; who ●egan to resume his natural colour : after they had long considered , their captain stept forth , and took her by the hand , commanding her to rise and go with him ; but she that understood not his language , and yet doubted what he meant , drew the young gentleman along ( nor would he part with her ) and setting her steeletto to her breast , threatned to kill her self , if they might not go together : the captain understanding her more by action and signs , than by her words , and hoping if the young gentleman recovered , he would serve him in designs of higher nature ; made his page alight , and he also dismounting , caused the two captives to be mounted on his horses , and himself setting forward on foot , whilst his men trussed up the pillage , went with the prisoners to help them , if happily their weakness should not su●●er them to help themselves , nor did their captivity want a glory , to see the conqueror humbled to the conquered , and to be waited on by him that had them in his power : so great is the appearance of nobility , and magick of a beauty , as to subdue the inhumane nature of thieves , and to mollifie the hearts of the most barbarous . when they had now passed along the sea shoar , about half a quarter of a mile , leaving the left hand-way , they turned up-hill , and climbing over , doubled their paces , to arrive by day-light , at a lake on the other side the mountain . this part of the country is by the aegyptians named the bucolia , or pasture , in which there is a valley that receives the innundations and disburdenings of nilus , growing into a lake of an infinite deepness in the m●dst , but near the sides it is but shallow and marish : here the aegyptian thieves live together with a kind of policy , and observing a certain form of a republick : some dwell in cabbins or huts , builded upon little spots of earth , that rise above the water in divers places of the lake ; others live in boats , that they use both for ferrying over , and habitations for themselves and wives , who are there brought a-bed ; their infants first suck the mothers-milk , and within a while are weaned , and use to eat fish , got in the lake , and broyled in the sun ; when a little one desires to go , his mother tyes a cord to his foot , that reacheth no farther than the boat , committing him to this new guide . thus all that are born within the lake , account it for their nurse and country , and hold it as a strong protection to their robberies , and to that end such kind of people ●lock hither from all parts ; for the water serves them for a wall , and the great quantity of reed and cane that grows about the borders , stands before them as their bulwark , and therein they have cut out so many ways , intermazed one within another ( which their practice makes easie to them ) and cuts off all hope of incursion from the enemy . the sun now declining to the west , the captain and the rest of his company arrived at this lake , and dismounting the two prisoners , carried the prey aboard their little boats ; presently all their fellows that had stayed at home , some from one side of the fenns , and some from the other , came running to meet their captain , and received him as their king , doing him all humble reverence ; but when they had viewed the riche● of the prize , and the divine form of the maid● they conceived their companions had robbed some temple , and taken away the priestess , or the living image of some goddess ; so with a thousan● glorious praises , elevating their captains valou● to the heavens , they all conducted him to his place of residence , which was a little i●land cut off from theirs , and reserved only for him , and some few appointed to be always near his person : b●ing landed here , he commanded the multitude should retire home , and not fail to attend him the next morning : himself with some few of his friends made a short supper , then committed the two prisoners to the custody of a young grecian ( taken by the same thieves not long before ) to the end he might serve for their interpreter ; and giving him order they should be lodged in a tent joyned to his own , charged him to dress the gentlemans wounds , and see that none should do injury to the lady , whilst he wearied with the labour of his journey , and the care of present business went to rest . but when silence r●igned in all the i●land , about the first watch of the night , the maid being alone , used her solitude , and absence of her keeper , as an occasion given her to ease her spirits with complaining , the cal● of the night exciting her sad thoughts , and being able to see nothing that might divert her mind ; when she had deeply sighed to her self ( for she was separated by command of the captain , theagenes lying with knemon , and she resting on a poor low palate ) weeping as if her heart would break . oh apollo ( she said ) how much greater is our punishment than our offence ! cannot all our past miseries extinguish thy revenge ? we are deprived of the sweet presence of our friends and parents , we have been taken by pyrates , we have been tossed at sea by tempests , and a thousa●d times in da●ger of ou● 〈◊〉 , we are now at land a prey to thieves : alas are ●e yet reserved to be more tormented ? where at l●st wilt thou end the progress of our miseries ? to dye with a noble fame , wer● a sweet death ; but if an● villain shall offer to force me , which my theagenes never yet attempted , with my own hands i will prevent him , and strangle this betraying bea●ty , keeping my virtue to adorn my epitaph , whilst thou apollo shalt be called the most cruel iudge . she would have proceeded , but theagenes thus interupted her ; cease my dearest , my soul cariclea : t is true you have reason to complain , but you provoke the god more than you do believe ; we ought not to contradict the will of heaven ; by prayers not injuries , that which is greater than our selves , must b● appeased . you say true , reply●d cariclea , but pray how do you ? better he said , since ev●ning ; i thank this gentleman , he hath applyed that to my wounds , hath much aswaged their inflammation . you shall find your self more easie to morrow morning ( added their keeper ) for i will gather you such an herb , as shall heal your wounds at the third dressing ; i have tryed the properties of it by many experiments , since my self was taken prisoner here ; for none of my captains men have ever come home wounded , but in a little time i have effected their cure by the same means ; and do not you wonder i take such particular care of you , for your fortune represents my own ; i must needs pity a grecians misery , that am my self a grecian . a grecian , ( oh immortal gods ! cryed the two prisoners for joy ) i am both by language and birth . this yet ( said theagenes ) gives us some breathing space from our afflictions ; but how may we call you ? my name is knemon . of what part of greece ? of athe●s . do us the favour i beseech you , to let us know your fortune : forbear ( said knemon ) do not make my woes to bleed afresh , nor let not me with abundance of my evils increase yours ; neither would the whole night suffice for the narration ; and you after your many labours had need of rest and sleep : but they insisting , and telling him that it would not be a little comfort to them , to hear of chances like their own : knemon begins thus ; my fathers name was aristippus , a native of the city of athens , a senator of the higher court , and of no mean fortunes : it happen'd that my poor mother having paid the tribute that all humane creatures owe to nature , my father resolved upon a second marriage , because he had as yet but one son , and did not think him worthy of all his care ; he therefore matched with a woman , named demoeneta ● she was fair enough , but had a soul the most black and fowl : she had no sooner entered our house , but she made her self the absolute mistress of it , and reduced all things to her power and pleasure ; charming the good man my father with her beauty , and officiously observing all his humours : for she ( if ever woman ) had the art to move the violence of af●ection , and to make him passionately in love with her ; if affairs pressed his departure , she wept ; at his return she would meet him , accuse the slowness of his coming , and protest she had perished if he had tarryed never so little longer ; at every word embracing him , and moistening her kisses with her tears , insomuch that my father was so taken with her , as willingly he did see or think of nothing else . at first she used me as if i had been her own son , and added this as a greater tye upon his love ; sometimes she would kiss me , and desired that i might stay at home to play with her : this pleased me , and not suspecting what would follow , i admired that she expressed such a motherly affection to me ; but when she appeared more petulant , and that her kisses grew more intemperate than became her , her carraige exceeding the bounds of modesty ; then i began to suspect , avoid , and repel her allurements ; i omit the rest , because it would be tedious , to tell with what ways and promises she would entice me , how she would call me her sweetest favourite , her heir , and oftentimes her soul , making a mixture of fair names , or any thing whereby she hoped i might be caught . in more serious and important matters bearing her self as a mother , but in dalliance shewing plainly she was in love : at length this happened , upon the day of the great solemnity , that we call the panathineon , when the athenians carry a ship in procession through the streets in honour of minerva : being then in the prime of my youth ; after i had sung the usual hymn to the goddess , the rites ended , i returned home , yet vested in my robe and coronet ; she had no sooner cast her eyes upon me , but she lost her reason , and could no longer disguise her passion , nor cover with her art , the violence of her flames , but running to me , embraced me , called me her young hippolytus , her theseus . judge you in what case i was then , that now blush to speak it : that evening my father supped in the prytaneum , and as is usual in those publick feasts and meetings , stayed there all night : now when all our house were in their first sleep , she came to my bod , and urged me to satisfie her unlawful desires ; but i resisting both her threats and flatteries , fetching a deep sigh , she left me , and that night plotted revenge . my father coming home about noon next day , and finding her a bed , asked her how she did ? she told him she was not well ; but he pressing her to speak particularly the cause of her suddain sickness ; this good son ( she said ) so full of piety towards me ; our common child , whom i have loved ( i call the gods to witness ) more than your self , suspecting me by some signes to be with child , which i have concealed from you till i should be better assured of it my self , took the occasion of your absence , and when i advertised him of his duty , and perswaded him to temperance , and to abst●●n from drinking and wanton courses , for i knew his irregularities in that kind , though i would not tell you so much , fearing to in●ur the suspicion of a step-mother : whilst i was thus discoursing with him alone , least he should be too much ashamed ; i blush to tell you the rest , he spurned me with his foot , and hath made me in this case as you now see . my father hearing this , without speaking to me , or giving me leisure to defend my self , not believing she that had witnessed so tender an affection to me , would now bely me ; having found me in my chamber , he set upon me , beating me with his own hands , and causing his servants to to scourge me with rods in his presence : i being not able to imagine for what cause they thus abused me ; but when the first motion of his choller was past , father ( said i ) yet now at least ( since before you would not suffer me ) let me know the reason of your displeasure , and what offence i have committed to deserve this cruel punishment . dissembling traytor , he replyed , wouldst thou have me to be the historian of thy villanies ? and turning away from me , hastned to damoeneta ; but she ( for she had not yet satisfied her cruelty ) lay'd a new train for me . she had a maid called thisbe that played excellently well upon the lute , a handsom maid ; her she commands to love me , and presently she obeys her , and she that had oftentimes before rejected my suit to her , began now to tempt me with her looks and gestures , in such sort that my vanity believed i was grown beautiful on the suddain : to conclude , i admitted her to my bed , which she continued to visit often ; and when i warned her she should take heed lest her mistress should perceive her : lord ( said she ) how simple you are ! if you think it such danger for me , a slave , and bought with money , to be taken thus ; what punishment do you judg my mistress deserves , who boasting her self nobly born , and having a bed-fellow by the laws of matrimony ; lastly , knowing death to be the reward proposed for her sin , yet fears not to commit adultry . oh! say not so ( i reply'd ) for i can by no means believe it . yes if you please ( said thisbe ) i will bring you where you may take the adulterer with her : i having told her she should with all my heart ; i will , she answered , both for your sake , that have been extreamly injured by her , and for my own , that dayly suffer under her vain jealousie . therefore ( if you have courage ) prepare your self to take him : i having promised her i would not fail , she presently retired her self . the third night after , she came and waked me from my sleep , telling me the adulterer was within , and my father by a suddain necessity called into the country , which she knowing before , had made him this appointment , and that it was now time for my revenge , and wished me to take my sword lest the villain should escape me ; i did so , and carrying it naked in my hand , thesbe going b●fore me with a light , i came to the chamber door , which i found locked , and saw through the crevises , the glympse of a lamp that burned within : transported with impatience , i broke open the door , and running in , cryed out aloud , where is this villain , the gallant inamorato of this illustrious lady , that is famed to be so virtuous ? and then approaching with a full intent to nay● them both to the bed ; i saw my father ( oh good gods ! ) who had leapt out in his shirt , and now was upon his knees before me ; and oh son ( said he ) restrain a little your passion ; take pity of your father ; spare these gray hairs , that have given you your breeding : we have done you wrong , 't is true , but it is not of that nature , you should pursue us to the death ; suffer not your fury to transport you , nor stain your hands in your fathers blood : in these , and other lamentable words , he pleaded ; whilst i ( as if strook with a clap of thunder ) stood silenced , and astonished ; looking round about the bed and chamber , not knowing either what to say or do , wondring what became of thesbe , that i know not how , had slided away from me . in this amaze my swor●●●ll out of my hand , and damoeneta , ran presently and catched it up : my father now seeing he had escaped the danger he apprehended , laid hands upon me , and commanded i should be bound . damoeneta persisting to exasperate him against me ; did not i tell you this ? that you should take heed of this youth , that when occasion was offered he would have some design ; i knew it by his face , i saw into his heart : indeed you told me so ( he said ) but i could not believe you : then pinnion'd ( as i was ) he commanded me to be taken away , and would not give me liberty to speak : next day in the morning , he produced me to the people in my bonds , and casting dust upon his head , it was not to this ho●e athenian● , that i bred this child ( said he ) but promising to my self he would one day , be a support and stay to my feeble age ; willing out of such fortunes as the gods bestowed upon me , to render him accomplisht in all sorts of virtues i provided able masters to instruct him in the liberal arts ; and when he had tasted the elements of letters , caused his name to be inrolled in the register of my family , made him a free-man of your town , that living under your laws , he might enjoy your priviledges ; and so much i have loved him , that i have made my whole life a trouble for his sake ; but he forgetful of all these benefits , first did me injury in his cruel usage of this my lawful wife ; and lastly entred my chamber in the night , armed with his sword , and was only so far from being a paracide , as fortune stood between us , a suddain terror making his sword fall out of his hand . i now fly to your iustice , and have here brought him before you ; for though by the laws , with my own ●ands i might have killed him , yet i would not ; esteeming it better that he should receive his punishment from you , than an unfortunate father spot his hands in the blood of his own son. speaking these words , he wept ; and damoeneta seemed to take on extreamly , calling me miserable , that should die thus ; justly indeed , but yet before my time , and that sure some devil had possest me , and put it into my mind , to attempt my fathers life ; her tears bearing false witness of her sorrow , and confirming my accusation as truth : and when i beseeched they would permit me to speak , a notary stepping in , put this strict question to me ; whether i had not entered my fathers chamber in the night , with my sword naked ? i did enter ( i reply'd ; ) but hear me , and i will tell you how ; presently the people clamoured out , and said , i ought not to be suffered to speak more ; some cryed stone him ; others bid the hangman should take me , and throw me down headlong from the precipice : during this time of their distractions in opinion , i cryed , oh step-mother ! alas i dye for my step-mother , my step-mother condemns me without a hearing ! these words touched the hearts of many , and made them suspect the truth ; but yet i could not be heard ; for the people were in that tumult and trouble , as it was not possible to appease them : when they came to numbring of the votes , they found about one thousand seven hundred that condemned me to death , one half whereof adjugded me to be stoned , and the other , to be cast headlong from the rock ; there remained yet about another thousand , that slacking something of their severity , out of the suspicion they had conceived of my mother-in-law , condemned me to perpetual banishment ; and it was concluded according to their sentence ; for notwithstanding they were the minor part , both the others being joyned , yet take the first severally , and a thousand made the gteatest number : thus was i exiled from my country , and my fathers house . but the wicked damoeneta did not long escape unpunished by the gods , that hate impieties ; how it was you shall know hereafter : now it is time you should rest , for the night is far spent , and you had need of a great deal of sleep : oh now you will add to our misery , reply'd theagenes , if you leave this wicked woman thus : hear then ( said knemon ) since your will is so ; after my judgment was pronounced , i went down to the port we call pyreum , and lighted on a ship that was bound for the island of egina , knowing i had some friends by my mothers side , that lived there : when i was landed , and had found out those i enquired for , i passed my time there a while , with indifferent good content : i had not stayed there past twenty days , but walking as my custom was upon the haven , i perceived a bark making in ; therefore staying a little to see from whence it was , the planks were scarce laid down , but a passenger came running to me , and imbraced me ; it was charias , one of my old acquaintance : oh knemon ( said he ) i bring you joyful news ! you are revenged of your enemy , damoeneta is dead : you are welcom dear friend charias ( i reply'd ) but why do you pass over your good news so lightly , as if it were some ill accident ? relate the manner i beseech you , for i fear she dyed by some unusual way , and escaped the death and sh●me she deserved : justice said charias , hath not altogether forsaken us , as hesiod thought ; but though sometimes it conniveth at the wickedness of men , and seems as if it slept upon their sins , and ●or a time deferring to punish them , yet at length it overtakes them ; as it hath done the wicked damoeneta : the particulars whereof , came to my knowledge , out of the familiarity th●t had past betwixt my self and thesbe , who concealed nothing from me ; for when the decree of unjust banishment had past against me , your father penitent for his act , withdrew himself from the company of men , and retired to his grange house in the country , there seating his own heart , as the ( poet says ) he resolved to spend the remainder of his days ; but suddainly all the furies of hell began to torment your mother-in-law ; she loved you now in your absence , more than ever , and did nothing but complain incessantly , deploring your fortune , but indeed lamenting for her own : no word passed from her mouth but knemon , her sweetest , her soul knemon ? in fine , her affliction grew to that excess , all the town took notice of it , and the neighbours , and noble ladies her friends , that came to visit her wondered exceedingly to see a mother-in-law , witness such a motherly affection , much commending her , and endeavouring to comfort her the best they could ; but she told them her evil was greater than to be cured by perswasions , that they knew not the cause of her sorrows , nor what stings were in her heart : and ever as she came to her self , she complained of thesbe ; that she knew not how to serve her purpose ; how nimble she was ( said damoeneta ) to enterprize and execute a malice ! she knew not how to make me enjoy the pleasure of my love , but she knew how to deprive me of my joy ; in an instant , e'er i could think , e'er she would give me time to change my mind . by these , and other words and actions , she accidently shewed the displeasure she conceived against thesbe , and that she meant her no good : but thesbe ( finding her indignation , and seeing she was lost in passion ; disposed by her ill nature , to lay some train for her , and mad both with love and anger ) resolved to anticipate he● , and by laying a plot for her , to preserve her self ; and coming to her , mistress ( said she ) what destiny , enemy to your contentment , and my fidelity , makes you accuse your servant ? i have always , and even in this last act , obeyed your will ; if any thing succeeds not to your wish , you must blame fortune , not me ; yet if you please to command me , i shall testifie a great deal of affection , and no little industry , to find out a way to your content . ( alas she reply'd ) how is that possible , since he that only can content me is so far distant , and so much sea and land is interposed betwixt us ? the unexpected lenity of his judg was my death , for had they covered him in a monument of stones , they had with him buried and extinguished my flame ; ●or when there is no more hope , there is no more care , or sence of pain : now methinks i still see him , methinks i still hear him object against me my unjust deceits , and up●raid me with them , and i blush to think my self in his presence ; sometimes i think i may yet ●njoy him , and resolve to go my ●el● and ●ind him , in what part of the world soever he remains ; this sets me all on fire , this makes me mad ; and justly , oh you gods i suf●er ! for why did i plot against him , and rather not use him kindly ? why was i an enemy , and not rather a suppl●ant at his feet ? had he not reason to give me one refusal ? i was a stranger to him ; he was a●raid to stain his fathers bed ; it might be time , acquaintance , and my expressions to him , might have won him : but i , crueller than a wild beast , not as if i had been a suiter , but a mistress , that had the absolute empire of his will , thought strange he should not obey me ; and in my unhappy rigour persecuted him for despising damoeneta , that had not beauty equal to his merit : but my thesbe , what content was that you spake of ? madam ( she reply'd ) the world believes that knemon hath obeyed his sentence , and hath left the town and territory of athens ; but i know ( that ever since that time i have been thoughtful to procure your quiet ) he lyeth concealed at a friends house here in town : you have heard of arsinoe , the flutenist , and her familiarity with him ; she after his disaster , received him into her honse , promising to go along with him ; and till she can furnish her self with necessaries for the voyage , she keeps him in secret at her house . but demoeneta could not now re●rain to interrupt her , saying , oh blessed arsinoe ! both in the former felicity thou hast tasted , and that occasion offers thee the present happiness to exile thy self with him : but what doth this concern me ? oh greatly mistress ( reply'd thesbe ) for i will fain to be desperately in love with him , and pray arsinoe , that is my old acquaintance , and my fell●w musician , to give me one nights lodging with him in her place ; this being obtained , i will make over my right to you ; you shall personate arsinoe , and he shall take you for her ; for i will look he shall have a cup more than ordinary in his head , and the chamber shall be dark ; and then i hope when your desires are obtained , your torments will cease , for the end of love is enjoying : but if your fire should kindle again , as i hope it will not , we must make a second navigation ( as they say ) and sit again in council ; mean time let us have a care of our present business . demaeneta approving , and praising thesbe , conjured her to be secret , and expeditious ; she ( desiring but one day to dispatch it in ) went presently to arsinoe , and asked her if she knew not teledemus ? she said yes ; pray thee ( said thesbe ) make me beholding to thee , to receive us this night into thy house● for i have promised him a nights lodging ; he will come first , and i will follow assoon as ever i have got my mistress to bed. arsinoe consenting , thesbe ran presently to meet her master , walking solitary in his grounds , and thus spake to him . sir , i come to you the accuser of my self , and to receive such punishment as you shall please to inflict upon me : i have deprived you ●f your son , not as a principal , yet as an accessary ; for when i found that my mistress lived not as she ought , but wronged your bed , fearing if it should be discovered by any other but my self , i should incur the suspition of being her bawd ; and especially pitying you , that so much loved and doted on her , yet had no better recompence ; not daring to speak freely to you , i resolved to unfold the truth to my young master● and coming to him in the night that none might see me , i told him my mistress abused your honour , and did receive an adulterer to your bed ; but your son ( being then as you know incensed against her ) understanding me that i said the adulterer was with her in your bed , carried away with rage , catcht up his sword , and though i cryed to him to stay , yet he regarded me not , but thinking i had repented me of my discovery , ran like a mad man to your chamber ; the rest you know : and now you may , if you please , purge your self before your son , though absent ; and revenge your self of her that hath done injury to you both : for i will this night shew you damaeneta , lying with her adulterous friend , in the house of a stranger in the suburbs . if you do it , said aristippus , i will reward you with your liberty , and it may be , when i see my enemy punished , i may again take comfort , and chase away the sorrow , that in despair of my sons repeal , hath tormented my old age. i have doubted this a long time , and had ever some shadow of it in my apprehension ; yet because i wanted manifest proofs , i rested quiet ; but what is to be done ? you know ( said she ) the monument of the epicureans ; there do you stay for me in the evening : having thus spoken , she returned to damaeneta . madam ( said she ) dress your self presently , curl your hair , and put on your best iewels ; for now your desires approach to their effect . she instantly made her self ready , and thesbe leading her the way , when they came near to arsinoes house , she prayed her to stay there a little , and running in to arsinoe , intreated her to go over the way , and let them have the house to themselves , for her friend was bashful , newly initiated in the rites of venus , and would blush if he did see any but her self : arsinoe consented , and thesbe presently returning to her mistress , brought her in , and having got her to bed , took away the light , for fear ( she said ) knemon should know of her coming to the island of egina ( for there he is supposed to remain ) and wishing her to content her desires , without speaking a word , told her she would bring the young gentleman to her , that was but drinking with a neighbour hard by : then she made hast to meet her master aristippus , in the appointed place ; and as she came along with him , warned him to be sure to take the adulterer . aristippus followed her in , and by the light of the moon , that shined a little into her chamber , with much ado he found the bed : and have i taken thee ( he said ) thou enemy of the gods ? whilst he was speaking , thesbe ran to the chamber door , and making a noise , cryed out , oh wretched ! what ill luck have we ? the adulterer is escaped , and therefore master take heede you know what former mistake was made by your son : fear not me , reply'd aristippus , i have the wicked woman fast ; i desire no more , and so drew her with him towards the city ; but she considering ( as it is probable ) the evils that encompassed her , the frustrating of her expectation , the ignominy of her fault , and the punishment ordained by the laws , for shame to be surprized , and in spight to be deluded ; when she came right against the pit , in the academy ( where you know our captains ( according to the custom of the country ) use to sacrifice to the hero's , or demy-gods , for the prosperity of the town ) she brake from him with such a fury ; as the old man feeling his strength unable to resist , was forced to let her go ; and no sooner out of his hands , but she leapt into the pit , and brake her neck : a miserable end of an impious woman ! i am revenged , said aristippus , without employing the succours of the law to punish thee . the next day your father recounted the whole matter to the people , and made all the friends he could to get your banishment repealed : i know not what is yet done in it ; for before any thing was resolved , the particular necessity of my affairs , pressed me as you see to come into these parts : yet you may hope the people will consent to your return ; and that your father will imbark himself to find you out , and bring you back . this was the relation charias made me ; what ●ince befel me , how i came hither , and the fortunes i have had , would be too long to tell you ; with that he wept , and his two prisoners bare him company in tears , as compassionating his misery , and the more because his disasters made them have a livelier remembrance of their own : nor had they ceased from weep●ng , if sleep , delighting , as it were , to bath it self in tears , had not closed up their fountains . but thyamis ( so was the captain of these robbers named ) having rested quietly the first part of the night , was afterwards troubled with a strange dream , and waking upon it , spent the rest of the night in studying out the meaning of it ; for about the hour that the cocks crowing ( whether it be as some think out of a natural feeling and knowledge of the suns return to our horizon , that moves them by instinct to salute that divine light , or by a certain heat proper to them , or by a desire to stir and seek new nourishment ) do summon mortals to their customary works , about that time the gods sent thyamis this apparition in his sleep . it seemed to his imagination , that he was in the city of memphis , were he was born ; and that entering the temple of the goddess isis , he saw it all on fire ; such a great number of lighted torches were within it , and the altars were full of all manner of beasts sor sacrifice , their blood flowing upon the pavement , and entries and galleries were so fill'd with people , as their noise and tumult much amazed him ; when he was come into the inner part of the temple , he thought the goddess met him with chariclea in her hand ; and said these words , thyamis , i charge thy fidelity with this virgin ; yet having o● her , thou shalt not have her ; but thou shalt be wicked , and kill this stranger ; yet she shall not dye . these ambiguities exceedingly troubled his spirit ; and often canvassing the meaning . at lengt● he expounded it thus ; thou shalt have her , and thou shalt not ; that is , possessing her for thy wife , thou shalt have her a maid no longer ; thou shalt murder her ; that is her virginity ; but so killed , she shall not dye : thus thyamis interpreted his dream , flattering his wishes . when it was morning , and the principal thieves , according to his commandment were assembled ; he bade that the spoils should be brought forth ( for by that specious name they call'd the booty ) and sending for knemon to him , charged him to bring thither his two prisoners : as he was carrying them to his captain ( oh gods ) said they one to another , what ●ortune now attends us ? and conjured knemon , he would be favoura●le to them to his power ; whi●h h● promised , and bade them animate themselves , and not su●●er fear to seize upon their courages ; for his captain was not a barbarian , but noble and full of courtesie ; and that he well exprest by his humanity , the illustrious blood of his descent ; that it was meer necessity constrained him to take such a course of life : when they were come into thyamis's island , which he had designed for that assembly , he ascended to a higher ground , and commanded knemon , who stood below with the prisoners to interpret to them ; for knemon had now learned the aegyptian language ; and thyramis did not yet well underst●nd the greek . my fellow souldiers ( said thyamis ) you well know my spirit and affection to you , and in what sort i have ever managed your affairs ; for being ( as you know ) son to the chief priest of memphis ; and unjustly deprived of the dignity of the priesthood , after my fathers death , by the means of my younger brother , in this extremity , i fled into your arms , and craved your succours , to revenge my wrong , and recover my honour ; and you favoured me so much , as by your general suffrage to elect me your capta●n ; since which time i have lived amongst you , without entrenching upon your priviledges , or challenging to my ●elf any greater part of the prize , than the meanest of you ; but if money were to be distributed , i only desired my share ; if prisoners to be sold , i caused the prize to be laid down in common , knowing he that will discharge the office of a good captain , must be above his men in pains , and but their equal in profit : when i took prisoners in the field , that were men likely to do us service , i have received them into the number of our souldiers ; others less serviceable , i have made money of : i never offered violence to any woman ; but if they were noble , i have put them to their ransom , or restored them to their liberty , pitying their misfortune ; others of meaner condition , and such as the chance of war made captives , and were by their own natural baseness inclined to serve , i have given you for slaves : but now i have a suit to you , that for my part of the prey , you will please to give me this fair stranger ; and though by my own authority i might retain her , yet i hold it more honourable to take her with your consent ; for i should do very imprudently , if for gaining of one prisoner a stranger , i should lose or offend my friends and companions ; yet the favour you do me shall not be without a recompence ; for i will leave the spoyls to your dispose : and forasmuch as we of the prophetick race disdain to mix our blood with any women that are not of our quality , i am resolved to take this virgin , not for the pleasure i shall receive in the equal enjoying of her , but for the propagation of an issue to succeed me in my sacred charge ; and i will give you the reasons that induce me : when i first saw her , i esteem'd her to be nobly born , as well for the riches she had about her , as that her spirits failed not in th● midst of her calamities , but that she constantly stood the assaults of fortune ; her form , modesty and breeding were great arguments to me of her quality ; for her beauty exceeds all of our times , and her modesty is such as invites her beholders to a continency : why therefore should not i honour her , and judge highly of her ? but what yet is more considerable , she seems to me to be a religious votaress of some goddess , since in all the dangers that befel her , ( believing it to be an intolerable sin ( she never would pull off her crown of lawrel , nor her sacred robe ; what marriage then can be more equal , my brave assistants , than the son of a prophet to match with a maid consecrated to the gods. they all approved the match , and wished him joy. thyamis catching the words , i thank you , worthy friends , he said , but we shall do well first to ask the maids consent ; for if i would have used the law of empire , to will had been enough for all : but my demands being only a lawful marriage , the consent of two is necessary ; and turning to her , tell us ( he said ) you fair one , what you do resolve upon our propositions , and declare to us who , and of whence your parents are : but she , after she had fix'd her eyes a good while upon the ground , as meditating what she would say , at length she raised her head , and looking upon thyamis , with more beauty than before , for her study to contrive her speech , had painted her cheeks with a becoming blush , and her eyes with the vehemency of her thoughts sparkled with more than ordinary lustre ; knemon interpreting , she said , sir , it would better have become my brothe● theagenes to have answered you than i , silence being as commendable in maids , as the grace of replying is in men ; but since you give me liberty to speak , and that you have exprest your nobleness in seeking to compass just things by perswas●●n , not force , and in regard your speech is principally directed 〈◊〉 me , i am constrained to exceed the bounds i have prescribed to my self , and are proper to my sex , and to answer the demands of my conqueror in the eyes and hearing of so many men ; know then , our countrey is ionia , and we are born of one of the best families of ephesus : when we were come to the age wherein the noble mens children of our countrey are accustomed to do service to the gods , i was chosen priestess t● diana , and my brother priest to apollo . this being an annual honour , when the year was run out , we were to make a voyage to delos , in our sacred robes , and there to exhibit publick games , for exercise of letters , musick and the body ; and so according to the manner of our ancestors , to resign our priesthood : to this end a ship was made ready for us , laden with gold , silver , silks , and other necessaries both for setting forth of the games , and feasting of the pe●ple : thus we loosed out of the haven , leaving our father and mother in their house , who in regard of the feebleness of their old age , and the dangers of the sea , did not dare to embark with us : many of the citizens went the voyage , some in our ship , some in vessels of their own ; and having sayled the greater part of our way , with all favour of the heavens , ●n a sudden the clouds thickned , and a fearful tempest arose , accompanied with lightning and thunder , that so masked the skies , and plowed up the seas , as we lost the benefit of our compass , and our pilot overcome with the greatness of the evil , was forced to give way to the violence of the tempest , and abandon the government and helm to the disc●etion of fortune . in fine , the storm having ( seven days and nights together ) spent the fury of its strongest gusts upon our vessel , we were cast upon the shore where you took us , and beheld so great a massacre of men , forasmuch as we there making a feast of ioy , and a sacrifice to the gods of thanksgiving for our deliverance , the saylors ( with impious de●ire to possess our riches ) set upon us , and resolved to put us to the sword ; but we made such resistance , as after the loss of our enemies and our friends , we two , as you saw , remained the conquerors ; and would it had pleased the gods we had ended our days among them , and not ●een the only miserable relicks of that b●ttel ; but since it so falls out , yet we are happy in this one respect , that some favourable deity hath made us fall into ●our hands , and gives us , that late expected nothing but death , the liberty now to treat of a marriage , which i were indiscre●t if i should refuse : for what felicity can be imagined greater , than for a poor captive to be thought worthy of her generals bed ; add to this , that a maid dedicated to the gods , shall be taken to wife by the son of a prophet , that in a little while shall himself be a prophet , which sure is not without some secret mystery of providence . i only beseech one fav●ur , that before you marry me , i may be permitted ●o go to the next great town , or any nearer place ●here there is an altar or temple of apollo , ●hat i may render up the charge of my priesthood , and put off the marks and en●ig●s of the god ; it w●uld ●o b●st at memphis , when you have recovered the digni●y of chief priest ; for a marriage joyn'd to victory would be celebrated with more joy , and be as a trophy of your glorious actions ; but whether before or after , i leave it to your pleasure , so as you vouc●safe to let me accomplish the c●remonies usual in my c●untrey ; whereto i know you will condescend , since ( a● you ●ay ) you have been bred from a child in the mysteries of religion , and are full of reverence towards the gods. thus she ceased to speak , and began to weep : all that were present did greatly approve her answer , and by a general cry assured her they were ready to see her desires performed ; and thyamis consented half voluntary , and half by constraint ; for his ardent longing to enjoy chari●lea , made him think an hour of delay an eternity ; withal he found himself to charm'd with her speech , as if it had been a syrens song , that it forced him to allow of her demands , having also a relation to his dream , flattering his desires with a belief their nuptials should be held in memphis : then he broke up the meeting , ( having first divided the booty , whereof his companions freely gave him the richer and the greater part ) and commanded them within ten days to be ready to sit down before memphis , and besiege his brother . to the prisoners he as●igned their old tent , and knemon to attend them , not now as a keeper , but a companion and many times sent for theagenes to his table for his sisters sake , whom he resolved not to visit often , for fear her sight should increase his impatient wishes to enjoy her , and lest it should make him attempt any thing against what was publickly consented to , and privately figured in his dream . for these reasons thyamis forbare to see her , thinking it impossible he should behold her and contain his longings ; but knemon , after every one was retired to their lodgings , pa●●ed the lake , and went a great way ●y land to seek the herb he had promised theagenes the day before . in the mean time , theagenes taking the advantage of his absence wept and lamented to himsel● , without speaking a word to chariclea , but incessantly calling upon the gods ; and she demanding whether he did sigh for their common misery , or that some new disaster was befallen ? alas ( said theagenes ) is there any thing more new , or more unjust , than to falsifie faith , and violate oaths , and that chariclea , without memory of me , or of my services , should treat of a marriage with another ? oh say not so ( replied chariclea ) be not you more cruel to me than my destiny : you have proved my affection by many arguments , and can you now distrust me only for words accommodated to the time , and for the interest of our affairs ? no , no , your self may s●oner change your mind , than i. i can suffer all the calamities of the world , but know there is no violence so great , that can separate me and modesty ; nor am i conscious of a fault that ●ay , b●t in loving you too much , yet with an hone●t and a lawful love ; for from the first entitling of you to my heart , it was as to my husband , not as to a lover that could not moderate his desires , having to this hour preserv'd the outmost purity , often repelling your impatience to consummate the marriage which with vows we had contracted ; think how little reason you have to conceive i would prefer a barbarian before a greek , and a thief before a man of all men the dearest ? but what was the meaning then ( replied theagenes ) of your speech in that famous assembly , when you called me your brother , methought it was a fine invention , putting thyamis out of jealousie of our love , and making way that we might freely be together , i approved your story of the countrey of ionia , and of a voyage to delos for they were things like truths , and led the hearers in a pleasing error ; but to accord so freely to a marriage , to article , and set down the time before such multitudes of people , i neither could nor would conjecture what it meant , but wished the earth would open and devour me , ere i should see my hopes and services repaid with such ingratitude . at these words , chariclea imbracing theagenes , and weeping , how well i● take these fears , ( said she ) that torment you for my sake , since they make me know in the extremity of our adversities your affection is the same it was : but assure your self , theagenes , if i had not carried it thus , we should not at this time have had the freedom to confer together ; for to be wilful , and to run a contrary course to the de●ires of one more powerful than our selves , begets but a stronger opposition , whilst yeilding words , applied to the motion of the will , presently appeaseth the first heat , and by the sweetness of a promise lays the appetite to sleep ; forasmuch as they that love after a gross rustick way , if at the first essay they get consent , they think they have done enough , and making sure they shall enjoy the content they wish , their spirit is in more repose , and goes floating in their hope . this consideration made me yield to thyamis , in words only , commending the sequel to the gods , and the genius that from the beginning hath taken our chaste love into his patronage ; oftentimes a day or two put off , hath been greatly advantageous to the miserable , and br●ught means of safety , when no humane prudence could work it ; therefore for the present i deferred him , avoiding a certainty for an vncertainty ; but we must do this artificially , and conceal it , as a slight at the weapon , from our enemies , even from knemon ; for though he be full of courtesie , and hath done many favours for us , and is as we are , a grecian , yet he is , as we are , a captive ; and therefore if occasion should be offered , more likely to gratifie his conqueror , than us the conquered ; for neither the time of his acquaintance , nor his being our countreyman , are sufficient pledges to us of his fidelity , and therefore , if at any time he touches at our affairs , you must deny the truth , for the lye is not evil that does good to the author , and no hurt to the hearer . as chariclea was discoursing thus , knemon entred all in a sweat , and manifesting a great perturbation by his countenance ; here theagenes , take this herb ( he said ) and apply it to your wounds● we must prepare our selves for greater hurts ; theagenes praying him to speak plain , the consideration of the time ( said he ) will not let you hear me out ; for it is to be feared the effect will prevent my words : but follow me you and chariclea ; and so led them both to thyamis , whom he found busied in furbishing an armour , and sharpning the point of a javelin : this is to the purpose , said knemon , that you have your arms so near you ; put them on presently , and command every one to do the like , for i have discovered such a cloud of enemies coming as i never saw before ; they are not far off ; for having descried them from the top of the hill where i was gathering herbs , i have brought you the news with all the speed i could , and in traversing the lake , i have given warning to your men to be in a readiness for their defence . thyamis hearing this , suddenly started up , and demanded where chariclea was , as fearing more for her than for himself , and knemon having shewed her standing at the door , go ( said thyamis in his ear ) take her with thee into the cave where we conceal our treasure , and when thou hast conveyed her down , and covered the mouth of the cave with the stone that useth to lie upon it , pr'ythee friend return with all celerity ; mean time we will give order for the fight : then he commanded his page to seek him a fat beast ; that having sacrificed to the gods protectors of the place , they might joyn battel . this while , knemon doing his commands , led away chariclea , that sighed and lamented , and at every step she went , turned back her eyes towards theagenes ; at length they came to the cave , where knemon immediatly carried her down . the place was not a work of nature , as we see many both above and under the ground ; but it was a vault wrought out of the rock by the industry of the aegyptian thieves , and imitating nature , artificially hollowed , to contain their spoyls ; the entry was narrow and obscure , and conveyed into a little cell , the threshold stone whereof was a door that opened and shut easily , and gave another passage for descent into the cave when necessity required ; within it were cut many trenches and meanders , that went turning of either side , sometimes alone , sometimes mixing together like the roots of trees , till they came to the bottom , and there they end in a large and spacious plain , whereinto enters a little light , by certain clefts and crannies in the earth above : knemon , that by practice knew the turnings , having brought chariclea to the bottom , endeavoured to comfort her the best he could , assuring her , he and theagenes would come and see her soon at night , and that he would not suffer him to fight , nor come within the danger : and so he left her not able to speak one word ; but fainting , as if she had been struck to death , and deprived of her soul in her theagenes : and closing up the cave , could not himself refrain from weeping , both that he should be forced to execute so hard a command , and in compassion of her fortune , whom he had almost buried alive , and sealed up in night and darkness , the perfectest workmanship of nature : then he made haste to thyamis , whom he found compleatly armed , and with his oration exciting those that were about him ; for standing in the midst of them , he said , my companions in arms , i do not think it needful to trouble you with many words ; you need no admonition , war is your trade , and now the enemy is so near us , he cuts off discourse , he comes upon us to force our trenches with his sword , and we must answer him in his own language : i have nothing else to say , but that now , you are not only to defend your wives and children ( which hath been motive sufficient for others to fight to the last man ; though if we be conquerors , such small things , and many of greater moment will be in our power ) but your lives are now at stake , for the war among thieves was never ended by treaty , nor secured by league , but the survivors must be conquerors , and the conquered must die ; therefore let us go to 't , and let him that dies his weapon deepest in our enemies blood , be thought the bravest man. having thus said , thyamis looked about him for his page , and often called him by his name thermutis , and not seeing him appear , cursing and threatning him , he hastned to the boat : the battel was now begun , and he might see the enemy make himself master of the borders of the lake ; for he had set fire upon their cabbins and their boats , and so made them transport the flame about the fens , that , devouring the great quantity of the reed , dazzled the eyes of the inhabitants with insufferable light : whilst the noise and tumult deafned their ears , all cruelties of war were seen and heard , the lakists striving to make good the place , but the others falling upon them unawares , and oppressing them with multitudes , slew easily those they ●ound on land , and overwhelmed those within the lake in their boats and cabbins , whence the air was filled with horrible cries , both of those that defended themselves upon the water , and those that fought by land , and the lake was stain'd all over in the blood of dying persons that fell at one time , both by fire and water . when thyamis saw and heard this , he remembred his dream , how he had seen the goddess isis , and her temple all on fire , and full of sacrifices ; and observing his vision was thus far brought to pass , he began to make another explication of the rest : having , thou shalt not have her ; forasmuch as she shall be ravish'd from thee by the fury of this war ; and that he sho●ld kill ●er , yet ●e should not hurt her ; that is , he should destroy her with his sword , and not by rape . to conclude , rating the goddess as fraudulent and injurious , charging her that she had abus'd and mockt him , and not being able to endure with patience that any other should enjoy chariclea , he commanded his men to retire a little , and to hold the enemy in play a while , only with skirmishing , and some few sallies● which as they were intrenched , might resist the forces of greater multitudes , whilst he would go and find thermutis , and offer vows and sacrifices to their presidiary gods ; and so forbidding any man to follow him , he departed as towards his tent , but took his way to the cave : oh how hard it is to turn a barbarian from that he hath once resolved in his soul ; for a●soon as they fall to despair of their own safety , it is their custom presently to kill their dearest friends ; either believing they shall live together after death , or desiring to take them out of their enemies power , and to free them from all injuries ; for these reasons thyamis forgetting all his own affairs , and though he was at that present encompast with enemy-troops that had taken him as in nets , furiously transported with love and jealousie , he entred the cave , where calling as loud as he could , and speaking some words in the aegyptian tongue , he heard a wom●n answer him in greek ; and the sound of her voyce leading him to the place where she was , he put his left hand about her neck , and with his right drawing his sword , ran her through the body under the left breast , wherewith the poor woman fell down dead , breathing but one sigh , that brake her heart-strings . presently thyamis went out , letting fall the stone upon the entry of the cave , and for her epitaph seeming to write upon it with his tears , adding these words , alas poor maid , these are the n●ptial gifts i present thee : and so returning to his men , he found their battel quite disordered , and ready to fly , frighted with the enemies approach ; and on the other side , seeing thermutis , that brought him a beast to imolate , he chid him , and told him he had already of●ered the fairest sacrifice of the world ; and so entred into his bark with him , & onl● one more to row ; for the boats they have here can carry no more , being wrought out of the body but of one thick t●ee , by their rude shipwrights ; theagenes and knemon imbarked together in another , and the rest in the like manner ; and when they had coasted the island a great way , they ceased rowing , and disposed their boats in front of their battalion , as attending the shock of their enemies ; but assoon as they approached , the herdsmen of the island were so far from the courage to sustain the first assault upon the water , that they presently cast about and fled , not daring to endure the very sound of the alarum . theagenes and knemon retired themselves softly after the rest ; but fear did not make them turn their backs ; only thyamis held it unworthy to give ground , and not desiring to survive chariclea , he prest into the midst of his enemies , and as he was fighting amongst them , one cried out , this is thyamis , every man now look to his charge ; so immediately wheeling in a ring about him , they inclosed him with their boats ; but he stoutly holding out , wounded some with his javelin , and killed others : the fight was worthy of admiration , in all the multitude of his foes no man opposed or drew a sword against him , but every one did his best to take him alive ; he resisted a great while , but at last his javelin was beaten out of his hand , and then his foes pressed in upon him , being also at that instant deprived of the succour of his page , that had stood to him bravely , but at that time had newly received ( as was thought ) a mortal wound , and casting himself into the lake , swimming with much difficulty , had recovered land , no one taking the pains to follow him ; for having thyamis in their power , they esteemed it to be an absolute victory . yet notwithstanding the loss of many of their fellows , they more rejoyced to have him alive that slew them , than they sorrowed for their friends and kinsmens deaths ; so insatiable are the covetous hearts of thieves , preferring gain before their lives , and having no end in the holy name of friendship and consanguinity , but to get by them ; it was the case of these thieves , for they were the same that before out of their fear of thyamis and his men , had ●led from the heracliotick arm of nilus , who stomacking to be deprived of other mens goods as if they were their own , had gathered together their companions , and called in the neighbour villages , offering them equal shares , and chusing them for their captains to conduct the expedition . but the cause of their taking thyamis , was this , he had at memphis a brother named petosiris , who having by his plots dispossessed his brother of the dignity of chief priest , against the laws and institutions of the countrey , ( for he was his younger brother ) and hearing that he was the captain of these thieves , he feared thyamis would take time to chase him out of his usurped honour , and discover his perfidiousness : also he desired to take away the ill opinion that many had conceived of him , that he had killed his brother , because it appeared not where he was ; therefore sending messengers to the villages of the thieves , he proposed a great sum of money , and so many castles to any one that would take him alive ; so as these thieves charmed with the hope of such a profit , even in the heat of blood and war , did not forget their promise , but after he was discovered , took him alive , though many died for it : being thus seized of thyamis , they rowed to land , putting him in irons , and appointing half of their troops to guard him , who vexing at his fortune , upbraided them of cowardise , for not daring to take him with their swords , bearing his imprisonment with more indignation and less patience than if it had been death it self ; the rest of them returned into the island , in hope to find the riches for which they had been tempted to run this hazard . but after they had passed over all the island , without leaving one corner unsearched , and finding nothing , or very little of the prize , unless it were some trifles that they had neglected to put up in the cave , they set fire upon the cabbins , and the evening now approaching , and putting them in a fear to stay longer in the island , lest they should fall into the trains of some of those that fled from the battel , and might now perhaps lie in ambuscado for them , they returned to their companies . the aethiopian history . the second book . thus the island was all on fire ; but theagenes and knemon did not perceive that misfortune so long as the sun shined upon the earth , because his beams lessened the appearance of fire by day ; but after sun-set , when it grew dark , the flame having then no light greater than its own , discovered it self in the full horror , whilst they trusting to the nights obscurity , came out of the reeds of the marish , and saw clearly the whole island almost burnt to ashes ; and then theagenes beating his head , and tearing off his hair , farewel to life , ( he said ) this day shall make an end of all fears , dangers , cares , hope and love , chariclea is dead , theagenes is lost ; in vain then , vnfortunate that i am , have i fled from the battel , an action unworthy of a man , only reserving my self , my dearest , for your sake ; but i will live no longer , since you are depriv●d of your life ; and which heightens my affliction , not after the common course of nature , nor have you rendred your spirit in his arms where you did wish to breath it . alas , ●re you consumed by fire , and has your destiny prepared these flames to be our nuptial tor●hes ? must that beauty without a second in the world , be thus defaced , as not to leave so much remains as a dead body , or any relicks of her unadulterate charms . oh , unexampled cruelty● the most bitter spite of fortune , i am denied the favour of a last embra●e , and a poor parting kiss● at these words , drawing his sword , to r●n himself upon it , knemon caught hold of him , and asked what he meant ? why do ye mourn for her as dead that lives ? chariclea is in perfect health i do assure you . this is for children and mad-men to believe ( replied theagenes ) but knemon , you have done me wrong to come betwixt me and a pleasing death : but he confirming the truth of his news with oaths , told him all the commands of thyamis , the cave , and nature of the cave where he had put her , that he need not fear the fire could penetrate to the bottom , the violence of it being repell'd and broke with a thousand several turnings . at this theagenes began to breath a little , and thought long t●ll he should come to the island , which he had already presented to his thoughts , and taken up his marriage-chamber in the cave , not imagining the complaints he should make , nor the tears he should there shed . thus they rowed towards the island , themselves playing the watermen ; for he that rowed them the day before , at the first alarum and cry of the enemy , had ●allen overboard . now they being unpractised at the oar , were a long time carried up and down , having also the wind against them , yet their impatient desire of landing overcame their unskilfulness . when therefore with di●ficulty and much labour they were arrived , they hasted with all possible speed to the cave , where they found all wasted by the fire , and only knew it by the stone that covered the entry of the pit ; for the wind blowing the flame upon the shades , that were only made of canes and sedges , mat●ed one within another , had burnt them down , and levell'd all into a plain , elevating the ashes in the air , and carrying them away ; the little that remain'd being so well cool●d , that they might pass over them without fear of burning ; and gathering together some reeds that were half burnt , making them into a torch , knemon went before theagenes , to light him down ; and after they were entred a little way , on the sudden knemon cried out , o iove ! what have we here ? we are undone , chariclea is slain : then casting his torch against the earth , he extinguished it , and fell upon his knees , weeping for her untimely death ; but theagenes , as if some enemy had struck him down , fell upon her body , and held her in his arms , as if they had been incorporated together : knemon knowing him to be lost in sorrow , and fearing lest he should kill himself , drew his sword out of the scabbard , and so leaving him , ran to light his torch again . mean while , theagenes fetching deep sighs from his afflicted heart ; oh insufferable grief ! ( said he ) oh misery that the incensed gods have let fall upon us ! what insatiable fury pursues us with such rage , banishing us from our country , betraying us to shipwrack , and pyrates by sea , and thieves by land , depriving us of all our riches ! only one comfort did remain ; but , alas ! it is now taken from me ; chariclea lies here dead , she that was dearer to me than my life , hath lost hers by the hand of a cruel enemy , questionless in defence of her honour , reserving her self for me ; yet here the poor unfortunate lies dead , not having reaped the fruits of beauty in the flourish of her age ; at least ( my love ) bid me farewel , speak to me , give● me but your last commands : miserable that i am , she answers not , and eternal silence hath sealed her heavenly and prophetick lips that spake with so much musick ; darkness covers now the light of sacrifices ; the temple of the gods , and their fairest ornament is now return'd to chaos ; those eyes have lost their beams that enlightned the whole world , which i assure my self the barbarous murderer did not see . by what name shall i call thee ? my contracted ! alas , the contract 's broke : my wife ? thou never knewest what marriage was : no , no , i must call thee the sweetest of all names , chariclea . oh chariclea , let your spirits be appeased ; you have a faithful friend that shall not long be absent from you ; for i go now to celebrate your obsequies , and to sacrifice unto you in your lovers blood : this cave , a rude tomb , shall contain us ; here we may enjoy one another after death , though living , the gods would not permit : at these words , feeling for his sword , he cried out , oh knemon , thou hast kill'd me now the second time , and again wrong'd chariclea , depriving her of the friend● company she most desires . speaking this , he heard a voyce out of the bottom of the c●ve , that called theagenes ; but he , without being troubl●d at it , i come ( ●aid he ) my dear soul , this gives me knowledge that you wander yet upon the earth , partly because you c●nnot leave so fair a body , whereof the possession was untimely take● from you , partly , because yet you have not the ●ites of sepulture ; and therefore the shadows that inha●it the lower kingdoms , will not suffer you to remain among them . in the mean time knemon returning with his torch relighted , the same voice was heard again , calling theagenes . oh good gods ! said knemon , is not that chariclea's voyce ? sure it is theagenes , and doubtless she yet lives ; for the sound that beats upon our ears comes out of the bottom of the cave , where i remember i did leave her . will you not forbear ( replied theagenes ) to mock me and abuse me yet again ? indeed i deceive you ( answered knemon ) and my self , if she that lies here be chariclea ; and presently he turned her upon her back , for her face lay to the earth ; and when he had look'd upon her , he cried out , oh gods ! you authors of prodigies , what portent is this ? this is the face of thesby : presently he stept back , and stood as if he had been frozen with amazement ; but theagenes , that now began to take new hope and spirit , brought knemon to himself , and intreated him to lead him where chariclea was ; and knemon , after a little pause , again took view of the dead body , and saw assuredly that it wa● thesby ; and finding a sword lying beside her , he knew it to belong to thyamis , who transported with his wild fury , had left it in her wound ; also he took a letter out of her bosom , which he would have read ; but theagenes would not permit him , calling upon him , and saying , first let us recover my dear chariclea , unless now , as before , some god or devil take a pleasure in deluding us , the letter we may read at leisure . knemon gave way to his desire , and closing the letter , took up the sword , and hasted to chariclea , who was creeping towards the light upon her hands and knees , and met theagenes , who folding her arms a●out his neck , repeated many times , and art thou come again theagenes ? and he , does chariclea live ? till in the end , they fell down upon the ground , tangled fast in their embraces , not able to utter any thing , but a kind of groaning ; and it was hard to judge whether they were dead or not ; for many times an excessive joy vanisheth into sorrow , and immoderate pleasure begets pain , which we vainly call in upon our selves ; thus they preserved beyond hope and opinon , were endangered , till knemon chafing the rock with his hand , and receiving in his palm the humour that destil●'d by drop and drop , cast it in their faces , and stopping their nostrils , recovered them out of their swoon , who finding themselves so kindly laid together , presently started up , and blush'd that knemon had beheld them ( especially chariclea ) intreating him t● pardon their exor●itances , who smiling to him●elf , and turning it to mirth ; this ( said he ) deserveth commendations , if i may be a judge , or any other man that hath entred the lists with love , been happily conquered by him , and made acquainted with his inevitable accidents ; but to speak truth , theagenes , i cannot in any sort approve , and indeed i was ashamed to see you embrace a strange woman with so much passion , and to bath so freely with your tears the body of a slave , to whom you had no tye , so much as of acquaintance , especially , when i told you , and protested that chariclea was alive and safe . i pr'y thee knemon ( said theagenes ) do not traduce me to chariclea , whom i lamented in the person of another , believing it was she that was so cruelly murdered ; but since some favourable god has now shewed us our error , give me leave to put you in mind of the generous and constant spirit wherewith you first deplored my misfortune , and afterwards coming unexpectedly acquainted with the dead body ( as if it had been some devil in a play ) you ran away armed , and your sword drawn , from a woman , a dead woman ; a brave athenian soldier ! hereat they began to smile a little , but as if forced , not without tears ; being engaged to sorrow by their present misery . after they had a while stood silent , chariclea touching her fair cheek with her hand , blessed ( said she ) do i esteem her , whosoe're she be , that theagenes has kist and mourn'd for ! and if you would not think me jealous , i would desire to know that happy womans name , and by what error you mistook a stranger for me , and honoured her funerals with your tears ; if you know , tell me who she is . you will wonder , replied theage●es ; for knemon says it is thesbe , that athenian lutenist , the inventress of the plot that damoeneta had upon him . chariclea starting at this news , how is it possible knemon ( said she ) this woman should in an instant be thus transported , as if she had been shot out of an engine , from the midst of greece to the farthest parts of egypt ? and how chanced it we saw her not as we came down ? i cannot answer you to that , said knemon ; but i shall tell you what i have since understood of her . after damoeneta was circumvented by her cunning , and had precipitated her self into the pit , my father recited the whole business to the people , and was presently absolved ; then he solicited for my repeal from banishment , enquired my abode , and resolved to embark himself , and come in person to bring me back . whilst he was thus employ'd , thesbe made it her vacation-time , and offering her service at all feasts and meetings , impudently prostituted both her art and person : now she was observed to be more gentile than ar●inoe , who sung only some loose ayrs coldly to her flute , whilst thesbe curiously touching her lute , and marrying her voice to the soft strings , ravish'd her hearers . this made ar●inoe conceive against her an envy and emulation , joyn'd with a particular spleen , especially when a certain naucratian merchant named nausicles began to fall in love with her , and neglect ar●inoe , that had late been his mistress , disdaining her , because when she had play'd upon her flute , he observed her face grow red , her cheeks swell , and hold an unhandsom competition with her nose , and her eyes ready to start out of her head : the slighted arsinoe , burning with spite and jealousie , found out the parents of damoeneta , and to them discovered all the treasons and villanies thesbe had practis'd against her mistress ; part whereof she but suspected , and the rest thesbe had told her in the height of their familiarity . assoon as the friends of damoeneta were advertized , they assembled , and conspired against my fathers life , and fee'd the prime orators of athens with great sums of money , to accus● him ; who exclaimed unto the people that damoeneta had perished unjustly , unconvicted , and the crime of adultery was only a pretext to cover h●r murther ; requiring he might be brought alive or dead with whom she was pretended to have wronged my father : finally , they commanded , that at l●ast he should be named ; demanding thesbe to be delivered to them , to th● end , that putting her to the torture , they might rack out the truth . my father promised to produce her , but he could not hear his word● for thesbe , preventing the danger if she should appear , wh●lst they were taking out the process for her , fled away , according to agreement , with the merchant nausicles : this displeased the people , yet they did not judge him to be the murtherer , but an accessory to the plot against damaeneta , and consenting to my unjust banishment ; therefore they expell'd him the city , con●iscating all his goods : these were the fruits he reaped of his second marriage , and this was the reason made the wicked thesbe sail from athens , who now before my eyes receives the punishment she had deserv'd . thus much one anticles told me in the island of aegina , with him i put to sea again , bound for aegypt , that if happily i should light of thesbe here in the city of naucratia , i might carry her back to athens , to discharge my father of the crime whereof he was falsly indicted , and withal to see her treacheries and malice duly punished by the laws ; but now i am here detained a prisoner , as you are ; at another time you shall know the cause and manner of my taing , the fortune i have since endured , but how thesbe came into this cave , and who hath slain her , we need some god for an interpreter . yet if you please , i will read the letter that i took out of her bosome , which may perhaps give us further intelligence ; they intreated him to do so , and opening it , he read these words . to her master knemon , thesbe his enemy and revenger . for my first news , know damoeneta is dead , by my means , for your sake ; the way i did it ( if you please to receive me ) i will relate unto your self ; it is now ten days that i have been in this island , taken by one of these thieves , that boasts himself to be the captains page , and keeps me locked up , not giving me the liberty to walk , or look abroad : punishing me thus ( as he tells me ) for the love he bears me ; but ( as i conjecture ) it is for fear lest some body should take me from him ; yet for all this , some angel directing me , as you passed by yesterday , i saw and knew you , and have now secretly sent you this letter by an old woman ; my keeper charging her to present it to the fair grecian , that is near the captains person ; i beseech you , sir , free me from this thief , and receive your handmaid : and if it be your pleasure , save my life ; con●idering wherein i offended you , necessity constrain'd me ; but that i have revenged you of your enemy , was the free motion of my soul , notwithstanding that you be so incensed against me , as that you are resolved not to pardon me ; use me as you please , let me dye , so i may dye yours . for i esteem it much more noble , at your hands to receive death , and funeral rites according to the custom of greece ; than to endure a life more terrible then death : and the love of a barbarian more bitter then the hatred of an athenian . thus thesbe and the letter spake . oh thesbe , thesbe ! said , knemon , thou hast received a just iudgment , and thy self the messenger that tells it to us , delivering us a letter ( contains part of thy misfortunes ) after thou art dead ; by this we know the fury that revenged thy wickedness upon thee , whipt thee about the world , and never held her hand , till she had brought thee before me , thy wronged master ( though i lived in aegypt , and made me a spectator of thy tradegy : but what new stratagem hadst thou against me ? by these letters that fortune took out of thy hands , i cannot but suspect thee yet , and i much fear that damoeneta 's death is but a thing devised , and put into their mouths that told me it , and that thou art come thus far by sea , to make me as tragick a spectacle now in aegypt , as before at athens . why knemon , said theagenes , still so valiant ! will you not yet leave fearing spirits and shadows , my error was but a deceptio visus , but i am no actor in this scene ; she is dead i warrant , never doubt it : but who is author of this favour to thee , and has killed her to thy hand , i cannot imagine ; nor how , or when she came down hither . i am not able further to resolve you , ( said knemon ) but assuredly thyamis is he that killed her : that which makes me believe it , is his sword , we found dropt out of her wound ; for i know it to be his , by the ivory pommel cut in the figure of an eagle , which is his crest : cannot you tell us said theagenes , when , or how , or for what cause he did this murther ? how should i know ? ( replyed knemon ) for this cave hath not made me prophetical , like that of apollo at delphos or triphonius his den , from whence men come out inspired with a divine fury : presently theagenes and chariclea fell a weeping , and cryed with one voice , oh apollo ! o delphos ! this amazed knemon , not being able to conceive why the names o● apollo and delphos should so much trouble them ; thus were they busied . now thermutis the page of th●amis , that was hurt in the battel , when he had recovered land by swimming , the night now growing dark , he found a boat shipwrackt by the fen-side , and entring it , plyed his oares towards his captains island to see thesbe , whom a few dayes before he had taken from the merchant nausicles , as he was leading her in a narrow way that lyes along the mountain side , where thermutis lay in ambush to rob passengers ; and as thyamis at the first noise and arrival of the enemies , had sent him to seek a beast to sacrifice to the gods for victory , th●rmutis desperately in love with this woman , desirous to keep her out of danger of the war , and to preserve her for himself , secretly conveyed her into the cave , and for fear and haste left her at the mouth thereof , where she remained , not daring to stir ; both frighted with the alarm and the present dangers , and not knowing the windings of the way that conducted to the bottom ; and thus thyamis finding her at his entry , slew her : believing that he killed chariclea . thermutis therefore having escap'd the battel , fled to find her in the island , where arriving , he ran with all haste towards the tent of thyamis , which was now but ashes ; and with much difficulty finding the cave by a stone that covered the entry , he lighted a few reeds that were yet unconsumed and ran down , calling thesbe ( which name was all the greek he had ) but when he saw her stretch'd dead upon the earth , he was so astonisht , as a while he had no motion ; at length hearing certains sounds and murmurs out of the hollows of the cave , ( for theagenes and knemon were yet discoursing ) he suspected those to be the murtherers of thesbe , this confused his thoughts , not knowing what to resolve or do ; for the natural cruelty and barbarous humour of the thief , his rage exasperated by this accident frustrating him of the enjoying of his love , incited him to run to the bottom and fall upon them he esteemed the authors of her death ; but wanting arms , he was reclaimed to moderation against his will : he thought it his best way at first to accost them as his friends , but if he should chance to find supply of weapons , then to fall upon them as his enemies . this being designed in his mind , he approached theagenes , and look'd upon him with an eye of fury , discovering his secret purpose . but when they perceived a naked man coming upon them on the sudden , hurt , and his face all bloody , they were diversly affected at the sight , chariclea ran down as low as she could ; knemon said not a word , but retired himself some paces , though he knew thermutis ; but seeing him come so unexpected , he feared some stratagem : but the spectacle did not so much terrifie , as provoke theagenes ; who laid his hand upon his sword , as if he would kill him , if his rashness should make him attempt any thing . stay ( said he ) or come upon thy death and know the reason ; i have held my hand , is because i begin to know thy person , though i doubt thy meaning ; thermutis intreating pardon for his intrusion , ●ell at the feet of theagenes as suppliant , rather temporizing , and for fear of danger , than having changed his mind to be revenged of them ; and beseeching knemon to speak for him , pleaded , they were tyed to save his life having never done them injury , and the day before been there companion , and now fled to them as his friends . this moved knemon , and made him come in and raise thermutis , who was prostrated on the earth ; and many times demanded of him what was become of thyamis ? thermutis told all his captains fortune , how he had fought in the midst of his enemies , neither sparing theirs nor his own life , and how by a commandment to take him alive , they forbare to hurt him though he slew them , and so he left him invironed , finding himself so wounded as he could hardly ●wim to land , and that for the present he was come into the cave to look for thesbe ; they ask'd him how he came to know ●hesbe , or where he had got her ? he told them , how he had taken her from the merchants , how he ●ell in love with her , how sor a while he concealed her in his cabbin , and at the coming of the enemy , put her into the cave , where he now found her slain , but by whose hands he knew not , yet would be glad to be informed the author and occasion of the murther ; knemon desirous to free himself of the suspition , presently told him thyamis was the murderer ; and to confirm it , shewed him the sword he had found besides her : when thermutis saw the blade yet dropping blood , and hot , and knew it to be his captain's , fetching a deep sigh , not able to imagine what should move him to that act , blinded and dumb with grief , he left them , and returned to the body , and falling upon it , laying his head in her bosom , he cried , oh thesbe ! forgetting all other words . th●agenes , chariclea and knemon being now alone , began to study what course they were best to take , and made a shew as if they would consult together ; but the multitude of past miseries , the perplexity of present calamities , and the incertitude of the future yet hanging over their heads , so confused their spirits , that they did nothing but look one upon another , expecting who would first begin the overture ; that hope failing , they bowed down their eyes , and again lifting them up , sighed ; so easing their sad hearts : at length knemon stretched himself upon the earth , theagenes sate down upon a stone with chariclea on his kn●e ; and a long time they put off sleep , desiring by some good counsel to provide for their affairs ; but broke with grief and labour , though unwilling , they obeyed the law of nature , and from the extremity of sorrow slided into the sweetness of a sleep , the reasonable part of the soul being forced to consent to the necessity of the body . when slumber had new seized upon them , and but even joyned their eye-lids , and a little lightned them of their burden , chariclea that lay in the bosom of theagenes , dreamed that she saw an ugly man come towards her , having his hair all matted and elfe-lock'd , looking like a traytor , his eyes sunk in his head , and his hands bloody , who running at her with his sword , struck out her right eye ; she presently crying out , called theagenes , and said her eye was gone ; he presently awaked , and deplored her misfortune , as if he had dreamed so too ; but she feeling about with her hand for the eye she had lost in her sleep ; and soon recollecting her self , said , i did but dream , i did but dream , theagenes ; my eyes are safe : do not afflict your self . these words gave new life to theagenes ● the gods be thanked ( said he ) that have preserved those sun-beams : but what was the matter ? what terror did invade you ? oh , said she , a wicked and ill-favoured man , not fearing your unconquered valour , with his sword drawn insulted over me , that had taken sanctuary in your bosom● and methought he struck out my right eye , and would it had been truth , not a dream : the gods forbid , replied theagenes ; why say you so ? because , said she , it had been better for me to have lost an eye , than to have been put in such a fear for you ; ●or i doubt this dream portends some ill to you , who are dearer to me than my eyes , or life it self . no more of that , said knemon ( for he had heard all , awaking with the first cry of chariclea ) to me this dream signifies quite another thing ; tell me , are your parents living ? chariclea said yes : then said knemon , believe your father to be dead . thus i conjecture it ; our parents are the authors of our life , and it is by their means we see and enjoy this light ; therefore i hold it apt to compare our father and mother to our eyes , the sense capable of light , and whereby we discern things visible ; and this is the meaning of your dream . a heavy sence , replied chariclea ; yet rather be this verified than the other . may your tripos divine rightly , and i prove a false prophet . the event will crown my divination , replyed knemon , and so rest you content . but methinks we dream yet , that so much trouble our selves about imaginations , and omit to resolve what we should do whilst this egyptian ( meaning thermutis ) hath left us for a while , to mourn for his dead mistress : theagenes catching his word , prithee knemon , said he , since some divine power hath joyned thee to us , and made thee our companion in misery ; first give us thy advice , for thou knowest the country , and understandest the language ; and we , that are never very apprehensive , are at this instant so dulled with calamity , as we have not understanding in our own affairs . knemon pawsing a while , spake thus ; i know not which of us have greatest share in misfortune ; i have a burden great enough ; yet in regard you command me ( as the eldest here , and most versed in the world , to give my opinion , this it is ; this island as you see is laid waste and deserted , containing now no living creatures but our selves , within this cave is great store of gold , silver and silks ( for it is hardly to be imagined what quantity of rich spoyls thyamis hath taken both from us and others , and deposited here ) but for corn and other ammunition necessary to maintain life , there is lest no more but the bare names ; if therefore we stay here long , it is to be feared we shall perish either by famine , or the enemy , that may return , or by our own fellows , if they make head again ; for they are not ignorant where the treasure lieth , and are likely to come hither for supplies of money , and then we cannot escape their fury ; or if they should deal mildlier with us , yet we should be obnoxious to their petulancies , and suffer the indignities of their barbarous humors ; for thieves are men that naturally keep no faith , and less now than ever , having lost their captain , that could by his authority bridle their insolencies ; therefore we must leave the island , and get away from it as out of a net or prison ; but first let us free our selves of ●hermutis , under pretence of sending him to try if he can hear any news of thyamis ; and when we are none but our selves , we shall more easily consider and resolve what we have to do : and it much concerns us to dispatch away this inconstant , quarrel●om and ill natur'd man , and that hath us in suspition for the death of thesbe , and will not be at quiet in himself till he be revenged upon us if occasion be presented . they approved his counsel , and thought best to follow it : then going forward to the entry of the cave , they perceived it was day ; and awaking thermutis , whom they found in a dead sleep ; and he being a light and credulous man , they easily perswaded him as they pleased ; acquainting him ( as he believed ) with their purposes ; the body of thesbe they laid in a little pit , and covered it instead of earth , with ashes , the ruines of their late house , and performing the ceremonies that piety owes to the dead , as fully as the time would suffer , and for all funeral offerings make a parentation of their tea●s , they sent thermutis to seek thyamis , he had gone but a little way , when suddenly he turned back , and told them he would not go alone , nor object himself to the danger of being a spy , unless knemon would be a partner with him : theagenes perceiving knemon to hang back for fear of the egyptian , as might easily be judged by the character he had made of thermutis , wherein he had pictured his own fear ; what , said theagenes , so strong in counsel , and so weak in execution ! take heed you do not make my suspition of your valour prove a truth ; revive , rouze your spirits , man , and at least make a shew as if you were content to go along with him , lest your refusal make him suspect our flight : away , go with him ; there 's no danger , you have your cloaths on , and a sword by your side , why should you fear to walk with a naked man , that hath no weapon to offend you ? and then taking your time , you may secretly forsake him , and come to us at an appointed place , which shall be some neighbour-town , if you know any such , where the inhabitants are civil men . 't is very well advis'd , said knemon ; let us meet at chemmis , a rich town , well peopled , and near hand , situate upon the skirts of nilus , below the banks , that defend it from the surprizes and incursions of the heardsmen ; when you have past the lake , it is but a hundred furlongs thither , and you must go directly south● we shall hardly reach it , said theagenes , chariclea hath not been used to so long journeys ; yet we will go and disguise our selves like beggars or poor fortune-tellers that travel about the countrey to charm an alms from these hard people . oh! you will make excellent gypsies , said knemon ; out upon you , what black deformed faces you have , especially chariclea , that hath lately lost an eye ! and yet by your habit you will be such fine mendicants , that sure the countrey people will think you wander about to beg jewels , gold , plate , and not a poor alms , or a morsel of bread. at this they could have been content to laugh ; but their mirth only extended to a smile : then taking a solemn oath never to abandon one another , confirming what they had determined , they disposed themselves accordingly . knemon and t●ermutis passing the lake whilst it was yet early day , took their way through an intricate thick wood , thermutis went before , knemon having entreated him , because he was skilful in the ways , that were difficult ; but indeed it was to secure his own life , and to prepare occasion to give him the s●ip : when they were now come into the thickest of the wood , they met a flock of sheep , and killing the bell-weather , laid the flesh to roast upon the fire which the shepherds ( that fled at sight of them ) had kindled for themselves ; neither would their bellies let them be in quiet till the meat was enough , but hunger made them so fierce , as like wolves or tigers , they devoured it in great gobbets , only a little black'd with the fire , the blood running about their mouths . when thus they had satisfied their hunger , and quenched their thirst with milk provided for the shepherds , they held on their journey . now it was time ●or knemon to shew all his cunning , for they were come to the top of a hill , whence thermutis shewed him a town in the bottom , where he imagined thyamis to be a prisoner , either in the gaol , or in his grave ; for thither he heard that he was carried . whilst he spake this , knemon made as if his belly aked , and told him he began to feel the crudities of the meat , and that he feared the milk he drank had curdled upon his stomach , for he was in extream torment ; therefore he intreated thermutis that he would go on , and he would follow him ; this he did once and again , and the third time , as if it had been real , and that he had overtaken him with much difficulty , insomuch as the egyptian gave credit to his counterfeit disease ; and being now used to attend his coming , knemon lengthned his expectation , and stayed for altogether , running counter through the obscurest passage of the wood , and casting about by the hill side , fled with all possible speed . thermutis passing the hill-top expected knemen , and the night under whose favourable shaddow they might pass into the town ; and learn the state of thyamis : often looking behind him to see if he did come , and plotting in what manner he should kill him ; for he yet ●uspected his consent to thesbe's death , and therefore meant to serve him in the same kind ; and then , at his return promising himself to sacrifice theagenes to his revenge . but knemon not appearing , and night now growing black , he fell asleep● which was his last , the iron sleep of death , bitten with an a●pick ; perhaps by the fatal pleasure of the gods , a death answerable to his life , stealing upon him as he had done upon others . but knemon a●ter he had lost sight of thermutis , never s●aid to take his breath till darkness arresting his eyes , stopped his ●light , and in the same place were the night surpriz'd him , he hid and covered himself all over with leaves a great part of the night , never shutting his eyes , ●ut sweating , and fearing every noise and every breath of wind , and every motion of the leaves to be thermutis . if at any time sleep prest upon him , he dreamed that he was flying , and awaking , looked behind his back for him , that was not now in case to follow : many fearful vi●ions started him and hindered his desire , and putting him in greater terror than if thermutis had come indeed ; finally he grew angry with the night , and thought it the longest that ever was since the beginning of the world. but when with infinite joy he perceived the ●irst spring of day , presently he cut off his long hair , which he had let grow after the fashion of the thieves , for fear those he should meet would either shun him , or suspect him ; for the islanders among other courses they take to appear terrible , let their locks at full length hang dangling upon their shoulders , not ignorant that long hair is an ornament in a lover , but a horror in a thief ; having therefore left himself as much hair as the neater sort of people used to wear , and less then the heards-men , he hasted the nearest way to chemmis , the town theagenes had appointed him for meeting . being now near unto the river nilus , ready to take water for chemmis , he saw an old man walking up and down upon the shoar , as if he had been discoursing with the stream ; his white hair he wore long in fashion of a prophet , a great long picked beard , his cassock and his other robes resembling a greek habit. knemon stood still a while and looked upon him , but the old man passing by many times and not perceiving him , being wholly fixt upon his meditation ; knemon stept in before him , and saluted him , bidding the gods bless him . no said the old man , fortune hath otherwise disposed : knemon wondring at his answer , asked him , are you a grecian , stranger , or of whence ? neither a grecian , nor a stranger , he replyed ; but this countryman , an aegyptian : how come you then to wear these grecian robes ? ( said knemon ) calamity ( answered the old man ) hath put me in this glorious habit , and changed my ordinary dress ; knemon admiring how misery should make any man go in richer cloaths , and desiring him to unfold the riddle ; oh! said the old man , to relate my fortunes , would bring my self and you into a labyrinth , whence we should not get out , and but load you with my burden ; but , young man , whither lies your journey ? or whence do you come ? or how is it you speak greek in aegypt ? this is ridiculous , said knemon , to enquire of my affairs , and tell me nothing of your own , and i asked the first question . well , i am content to bear your jest , said the old man ; for it appears you are a grecian : and i believe that in this play of fortune you have changed shapes as well as i ; but since you seem taken with a curiosity to understand my estate , i will satisfie you : for know i am big with grief , and if i had not light of you , perhaps i had expressed my self to these reeds . but first , let us leave this shoar and river of nilus , for this is not a convenient place for so long a nar●ation , the heights of this bank lying open and exposed to the noon-day-sun , let us ferry over to the town we see upon the other side ; if happily some greater business doth not call you away , there i will bid you welcome , not in my own house , but in the house of a good man that receives me as a suppliant . there i will inform you , if you please , of my affairs , and you shall recompence me with a relation of yours ; along then said , knemon , for i have business to the town ; i must there expect the coming of some friends . then taking boat ( many oars lying upon the river to transport passengers for their money ) they passed over to the town , and the old man brought knemon to the house where himself wa● a guest ; they found the master of the house from home ; only his daughter that was now marriageable , entertained them , and every servant o● the house was officious to them ; both their mistress and they observing the old man as if he had been her father ; for so it is likely they wer● commanded : one brushed the dust off their cloaths , brought water for their feet , and washed and dryed them ; another made their bed● easie and soft , another kindled the fire , some cover'd the table , others brought water and a towel for their hands , others set manchets upon the board , and served in the fruits of the season , whereof their was variety . knemon wondring at their entertainment , sure father , said he , we are come into the house of iupiter the hospitable ; they do us so much observance , and shew such singular alacrity : this is no gods house , sai● the old man ; but it belongs to one that is a tru● adorer of the gods , that worships iupiter the hospitable and patron of the suppliants . for child , he is a merchant and hath spent his life in travel ; seen many cities and nations , and studied me● and manners , and having himself been a pilgrim in the world , i take it to be his reason why he entertaineth others , and among the rest , me , that a few days sin●e was a wanderer in these parts . how came it to pass , father , said knemon , that you should be compelled to wander abroad ? being deprived ( replyed he ) of my children by thieves , and though i know the villains well enough , yet not having power to revenge my self , i remain here hovering about them , and complaining like the poor bird that hath her nest robb●d by a serpent devouring her young before her eyes , whilst she fears to come near , yet hath no power to fly away : fo● love and grief distract her , crying , she ●lies about the besieger , and pours the sorrow of a parent into the ears to which nature hath taught no pity . oblige me ●said knemon ) with the knowledge of the circumstance and time wherein you suffered this great confli●t in your spirits ; anon i will inform you , he replyed ; now it is time to appease our appetite and content our belly ; which drawing us away how great soever the business be we have in agitation , is properly called pernitious by the admirable homer . but first , following the precepts of the aegyptian wisdom , let us offer the first fruits of our repast to the gods ; a custom i shall never violate , and my grief how strong soever it is , shall never prevail with me so far as to blot out of my memory the divine powers , and the honour i am bound to render them . then pouring on the earth clear water out of a vial , i offer he said , this effusion to the gods of aegypt and of greece , to apollo of delphos , and to theagenes and chariclea the best and noblest ; therefore i think it lawful to number them amongst the gods : with this he wept , making a second o●fering of his tears to sorrow . knemon was amaz'd to hear these names , and began to take a stricter veiw of the old man : how say you father , said he , are theagenes and chariclea your children ? they are ( replyed the old man ) my children born without a mother , for the gods have miraculously been pleased that i should get them by accident , and be delivered of them not without the grief and passions of my soul. my love , though not my nature , was a father to them , so they esteemed and called me ; but tell me how came you to know them ? i do not only know them , answered knemon ● but i am able to as●ure you they are in health and safe , oh apollo ! and all other gods , cryed the old man , inform me in what part of the world they live ; i will esteem thee my preserver and the equal of my happiest stars ; but what will you give me said knemon ? for the present said he , my thanks , a grateful heart , accounted the fairest present a wise man can receive ; i have known some would treasure up this gift as their best riches , but if the gods please i shall recover my own ( as i have their promise it shall be shortly ) i will reward you nobly , make you a rich man : said knemon , you promise things future and uncertain , i look for present pay : let me know what it is you demand , said the old man , do you see any thing you would have ? if it be any pa●t of my body , i will cut it off , and esteem my self the sounder man. it is only this , said knemon , that you will truly relate to me of whence they are , their parents and their fortunes : a great donative ! replyed the old man : there is no other comparable to it , though you had asked all the riches of the ea●th and sea , but you shall have it only first ; let us take a little repast , for it will be a long time of imployment for us , both mine to relate , and yours to hear . when they had now filled themselves with nuts , figgs , new pulled dates , and such like fruits , whereon the old man used to feed ( for he never eat any thing that had life taken from it ) they drank the pure water ; but knemon pure wine . after they had a while kept silence , father you are not ignorant , said knemon , how good a companion bacchus is , how much he del●ghts in entertainments , verse , and stories ; he hath now taken up his lodging in my brain , and makes me extreamly covetous of the reward you promised me ; and therefore , father , it is now time you bring these persons upon the stage : i will , replyed the old man : and i wish with all my heart the honest nau●icles had been with us , who hath often been earnest with me to discourse these passages ; but i have still put him off from time to time . where is he ? said knemon , hearing him name nausicles : he is gone a hunting , said the old man : not to chase beasts , but wilder creatures that are called men and heardsmen , but they are thieves , and not without much difficulty to be taken , the pernicious otters live in such an island of invincible earth and water : but how have they offended him ? they have ( said the old man ) robbed him of an athenian gentlewoman , named thesbe ; oh ho ! said knemon , and took himself in the manner , and so stopped his speech : the old man asking him what was the matter ? knemon diverted him to another consideration ; i wonder said knemon , under the assurance of what forces he durst fall upon these robbers ! the great , king replyed the old man , hath made oroondates his lieutenant of aegypt , by whose command mitranes captain of the garrisons is billeted in this town for our defence ; and nausicles with a great sum of mony , hath procured him to lead his horse and foot against the islanders , being in an extream rage that they should take from him this athenian woman ; not only because she is his friend , and playeth curiously upon the lute , but principally because , as he telleth me , he was to carry her to the king of aethiopia to be near the queen , to pass her time , and teach her the fashions and the language of the grecians ; the spite to lose so great a remuneration as he expected , makes him now use all the engines of his wit and power to recover her , i my self have been a principal in perswading and encouraging him , because so ( happily ) i may come to find my children . enough , said knemon , let us now leave talking of herdsmen and thieves , lieutenants , captains and kings ; for i protest you had almost insensi●ly stollen away my mind to a new matter , making a long pre●ace nothing to my purpose ; therefore i pray you bring a●out your orat●on to the path you promised me ; ●or methinks i see the pharian pr●te●s revived in you , not that you turn your self into as many commentitious species , and ●lu●i●● 〈◊〉 , ap●ea●ing and vanishing , but that yo● would trans●orm m● , and change the mould of my imagination . i will recount the truth unto you ( said the old man ) without disguises , whatsoever you are pleased to think of me ; but first i will make you a ●rie● di●covery of my own fortune , 〈◊〉 theirs depends upon it . the city of mem●●is is my countrey , my fathers name wa● cal●●r●● , so 〈◊〉 ●ine ; my present co●dition i● no bett●r than a poor p●lg●●m , that was sometimes in t●●t city ho●oure●●ith the charge of the chie● priest : i had a 〈◊〉 by the institutions o● our town , but i lost h●●●y the law of nature : a●ter 〈…〉 from her mortal body ●o ete●nal 〈…〉 i lived and felt not mi●ery● c●m●●r●ing my ●elf in my two sons she had left me● but in few years , my better stars having finished their prescribed circle , the face of my affairs began to change , and saturn with an ill aspect beheld our house , threatning the ruine of it , which i had wisdom to foresee , but no power to prevent ; for any man may prediscover the immutable decrees of fate ; but no man can avoid them : only this good there is in fore-sight , that it rebates the point , and takes off the edge of our disasters , which , ( child ) if they fall sudden , are intolerable ; but fore-seeing , we are prepared to receive them ; otherwise fear disquieting the soul , makes us bear them with impatience , but this acquaintance renders them familiar to our reason : my first misfortune was this ; a thracian woman , in the perfect flower of her age , the fairest , as i think , next to chariclea in the world , naming her self rhodopis , i know not whence or how , but by the adverse fate of those that were acquainted with her , was brought to travel through egypt , and with a petulant confidence shewed her self at memphis , followed with a great train of maids and men that served her , her carriages richly laded , and her self exactly studied in all the charms and allurements of a venus ; it was not possible for any man to see her , but he must be taken ; such an inevitable fascination shot from her eyes : she often came into the temple of the goddess isis ( whose priest i was ) and shewed great devotion to the goddess , being frequent in sacrifices , making rich and princely offerings at our altars ; i blush to speak it ( yet you shall know all ) her beauty that i had often stood the assaults of , at length conquered me , and forced my continency , which till then i had safely guarded all my life : a great while the eyes of my soul resisted those of my body ; but after a long fight i was constrained to yield , the passion of a lover pressing upon me , and lying heavy as a lord of chains ; therefore i found this woman to be the first mover and beginning of those evils which hanged over me , ( a long while before discovered by my art ) understanding there was fatal necessity in it , and that the devil that troubled my repose , had put on that form and shape to persecute me ; i resolved howsoever not dishonour my priestly function , wherein from a child i had been bred , and rather die than prophane the temples and altars of the gods ; at length reason obtaining the empire of my soul , to satisfie for the fatal offence i had committed , not actually ( which heaven forbid ) but in thought only , i punish'd my concupiscence with voluntary banishment , and left my country of my own accord , as well to obey the force of destiny , and suffer it to do with me what it pleased● as also to avoid the sight of the execrable rhodopis : for ( friend ) i was afraid lest love laying siege to my heart , ( that was yet defended by reason ) should at length take the fortress , and make me commit some foul thing : but that which principally expell'd me , was , my children , who ( as the gods by their mysterious wisdom had revealed to me ) were to fight a single combat fatally together ; therefore to take from my eyes the sight of such a lamentable object ( which i imagine the sun himself will not behold , masking his beams behind a cloud ) not to make a father so unhappy as to stand by and see his children murder one another , i abandoned my country and my fath●●s house , not making any one privy to the cau●e o● my departure , nor whither i wa● bound ; pr●tending a journey to the great city of the●es , to see my elder son , who remaine● there with his grandfather by the mothers sid●● his name was thyamis . again ●n●mon stood wondring , as if the nam● of t●yam●● had strook him , yet he forbare t● speak , imp●ti●nt to hear out the discourse , whic● calas●r●s thus continued ; t●ang man , i leave out my iourney , and the pa●sages thereof , as not pertinent to the story you desir●● but having ●ften heard that in greece there wa●● city named delphos , particularly dedicated to apollo , yet that there was a common temple , where●● also all the gods were ●onoured , and a kind of fe●●lowship or vniversity of wise men , separate from t●● tumults of the vulgar , i esteem●d it would be t●● most proper and convenient retiring place for a prophet , as a city destined to sacred ceremonies ; the● lo●sing out from the gulf of crissaeum , and arrivin● at cirrhus , i was no sooner landed , but i hasted towards delphos , and coming near the town , a sound ( doubtless divine ) presently ●eat upon my ear. methought this city w●● the sweetest place of abode that e●er i had seen , b●th f●r it s own beauty , and in regard nature and art had been in stri●e to forti●ie it ; the mountain parnassus hangs over it , with his stre●ched sides fl●nking in the town , as wit● a bulwark . you say true , said knemen , and li●e a man inspired by apollo ; ●or my father made the same description unto me of the situation of delphos , when the town of athens sent him thither ambassador from the estates o● the amphi●tiones . then you are an athenian ( said calasiris ) i am ; ●our name i pray you ? knemon , he replied . your fortune ? you shall know mine hereafter : but now follow your discour●e : content , replied cala●iris . after i was come up to the town , and that i had delighted my eyes with the great plains , fair fields , places of exercise , rivers , springs , and the castalian fountain , where i purified my self , i hasted to the temple , following the press of people that went thither , it being then the hour wherein the prophetess used to be inspired , and speak oracles : having entred the temple , adored the god , and commended my wishes in a short prayer , the priestess , whom they call pythia , thus replyed ; wandring from fruitful nilus , thou dost fly , poor voluntier , thy too strong destiny : stay , for black egypt shortly i●le again restore thee ; here till then , our friend , remain . when she had uttered this , i prostrated upon my face before the altar , humbly praying apollo to be propitious to me in all affairs : all that were presen● greatly praised the god for having vouchsafed me s● gracious an answer at my first arrival ; and thenceforth the people honoured and observed me , wondring at my good fortune , who they said was the only man that ever apollo had called friend since one lycurgus a lacedemonian ; and when they knew i desired to dwell within the cloyster of the temple , they permitted me , and decreed me a publi●● allowance to defray my charges . in sum , there w● no good thing wanting to my content ; for either i w●● busied to enquire the reasons of the ceremonies , ● the many and different sacrifices both strangers an● the inhabitants offer to the god , or else i past 〈◊〉 time in conference and dispute with the philosopher● repairing thither in great numbers , as to a colledg● consecrated to the muses , whereof apollo that inspires them , is the master : at first they moved man● questions to me , some of one thing , some of another● one demanded in what manner we aegyptians worshiped our gods ? another asked me why we ador● creatures , and hold them sacred and divine ? some enquired of the form and structure of our pyramids ? many were curious in questioning me about the art of our conduits and water-works ; and not to particularize , they left nothing unenquired that concerneth us ; f●r the singularities of aegypt do marvellously take the ears ●f greece . finally , some of the graver sort put questions to me a●out nilus , which were his springs , and the peculiar nature wherein that river differed from others , and why only those waters increase in summer time ; i told them what i knew , and ●ad f●und written in our sacred books , which are not to be read nor underst●od by an● but our prophets , recounting to them t●●t the head and source of nilus riseth from the m●untains of aethiopia , in the farthest parts of ly●●● , there where the eastern climate ends , and the meridian takes beginning : it increases in the summer ( not as some imagine because the winds named the etesiae , blowing contrary to their stream , make them regurgit and overflow ; but in regard the same winds rising about the summer solstice , violently chase and drive all the clouds from north to south , that carried upon their swift wings to the torrid zone , are there stopped , and by the incredible vehemency of the circumfused heat , their motion is b●aten back , and the humor that before was gathered and condensed , then thaws , and destilling in great showers , making nilus so proud , that he no longer endures to be a river , but passing his limits , covers aegypt with his inundation like a sea , making fruitful the country as be passeth , this is the reason his waters are so sweet to drink , because he receiveth them from heaven , and they are fine to bath in , not hot as when they fall , yet milk warm as retaining part of their original ; hence it comes that of all rivers only , this exhales no vapours : which would necessarily follow by natural reason , i● ( as certain learned gre●ians have conceived ) the ●ides had taken their increase from snow melting and pouring off the mountains . as i discoursed thus the pri●st o● apollo my intimate friend , named , charicles , you sp●ak said he ●xc●ll●ntly well , and i a●●ent to your opinion ; for it is the same i heard of your priests in the catadupes of nilus . were you ever there chari●les ? said i : i was , replyed he : i demand●d if he had any business there ? he answered , my adverse fortune at home made me travel thither , and was the cause of my felic●ty ; i marvelling at his words , as implying contradiction : you will not wonder ( he said ) when you hear all the passages which i will tell you when you please : we cannot have a better time , i said : be it now if you think good . then charicles taking m● aside , know said he , i have long wished to give you the relation of my fortunes , as having need o● your assistance , wise calasiris ; after i was marr●●d , i was some years without children : at length growing into years yet continuing earnest in my prayers to the gods , they blessed me with issue , and made me father of a daughter in the declining of my age ; but with sad predictions , that her birth should be unfortunate : she being now grown marriageable , many suitors were ambitious to be her husband , i matched her to him that in my judgment best deserved her ; but even upon her marriage-night in her husbands bed and arms , the miserable dyed suffocated by fire ; either from heaven , or scattered from the hand of some too careless person : so mourning and tears took place of her nuptial bravery , and of the epithalamion that was yet sung from her marriage-chamber , she was carryed to her tomb ; and the same torches that were lighted at her wedding , serv'd for her funeral-fire : nor did the divine powers let this tragedy end here ; but added her mother to the scene of death , heart-broken for her child . i having not constancy enough to ●upport these rigours of the gods , would not yet exile my self from life ( obeying the more probable doctrine of divines ) but resolved to forsake my country , and no more to see the solitude and sorrow of my house ; for it is a great ea●e to misery to remove the sad object from our eyes : and having wandred many countreys , at length i came into your aegypt , and travelled to the catadupes , to see the cataracts and falls of nilus : here you have the reasons of my journey , but i desire you should know the head , or rather crown of the narration . as i was there walking the streets , and buying some rarities , whereof there was scarcity in greece ( for now time having digested my sorrow , i longed to return into my country ) a venerable black man ( with a face full of gravity , though he were but newly s●epped out of his youth ) came to me , and saluted me ; telling me in b●oken greek , that he desired to have some conference with me ; i obeying his desire , he carried me into a temple hard by ; and said , i saw you buying some indian and aethiopian herbs and roots , but if you will have them sincere and without all sophistication , buy of me ; with all my heart said i : pray you shew them ; but take heed , said he , you be not too wary a buyer : look you , said i , you be not too dear a seller . then drawing out a little ca●binet that he carried under his arm , he opened it ; and shewed me certain gems of an inestimable value ; there were pearls of the bigness of a hasel-nut , exactly round , and fair without a flaw ; emeralds , and jacinths ; the one shewing like the green corn in the spring time , shining in their polish as if oyled , the other imitating the colour of the sea-shore under a high bending rock , dying all below it in a purple colour . in fine , of all the stones together , there was a mixt and various water infinitely pleasing and delightful to the eye : when i had well considered them , friend , said i , you must seek you other kind of chapmen than i am , for all my wealth will not be great enough to purchase me the least of these . if you have not means to buy them , said he , yet i hope you have power to receive them as a gift : that 's true , i replyed , i think my power were sufficient to receive them ; but i cannot imagine what should induce you thus to mock me : i mock not , he replyed , but what i do is serious : and i protest unto you by the power that is patron of this temple , i will give you all these provided you will receive with this a richer gi●t . at this i fell a laughing ; and he demanding the cause , i told him it seemed to me a ridiculous thing , that offering me such riches , he would yet promise a reward for receiving of them of far richer value ; believe me , replyed he , but let me take your oath withal that you will nobly use this gift , and as i shall instruct you . a while i stood in doubt , yet i did swear , won with the hope of such a promise ; but when i had taken my oath in the form he gave it , he took me along with him , and shewed me a maid endowed with an incomparable form and grace , as he said , but seven years old ; but to me she seemed almost marriageable ; so much doth the excellency of a face add to the lowness of a stature . my eyes dazling at this wonder , i stood amazed and speechless ( partly because i was ignorant of what he meant to do ; bat principally out of an insatiable desire of beholding the young lady ) till he awaked me with these words . stranger , this maid thou seest , for some causes thou shalt understand hereafter , was exposed by her mother in her swathing-bands ; and left to the uncertainty of fortune . i lighting by chance upon her , took her up ; for i had been wicked and a villain , if i had suf●ered a soul to float in so much danger , that h●d once entred a humane body : for this is one o● the precepts o● our gymnosophists , whose scholar , though unworthy , i have been . but that which most moved my charity was a kind of divinity that i saw shining in the infants eyes , whilst it earnestly looked upon me ; and though dumb , begged pity sweetly : with her was laid forth this heap o● pretious stones i lately shewed you ; and a silk-mantle wherein was sewed in gold in her country characters the rel●tion of her sad fortune : nature ( as i think ) having made her mother furnish the child wi●● these additions , whereby one day she might be known : when i read the scrowl , i knew o● whence , and who she was , and carried her from besides the city far into the country , and gave her to a shepherd to be brought up , threatning to kill him if he told how he came by her : the things that were exposed with her , i retained , lest the child should be made away for them ; thus at first i did conceal her . but as she grew in years , she grew in beauty and perfection ; and sure a beauty ( though hidden in the center of the earth will be discovered ; ) therefore fearing she would be known , and both she and i dye for it , i laboured to be sent ambassadour to the lieutenant of aegypt , and coming hither brought her with me , desiring to settle her estate ; the governour hath sent me word i shall have audience to day , and he shall now hear the reasons of my embassage . therefore now i recommend the child to you , and to the gods that have so disposed of her , under the conditions of your oath , being always to maintain her liberty , and to match her to a man as free as you receive her from my hands ; or to speak better , from her sad mothers , that exposed her ; i am confident you will accomplish all your promises confirmed unto me by the religion of your vow , and the candor of your manners ; which since your being in these parts , i have curiously observed , and know them to be worthy of a grecian . this is all i have to say to you for the present , my legating affairs now calling me away ; but to morrow meet me in the temple of isis , and there i will more plainly , and particularly inform you of the secrets that concern the maid . i was punctual in observing his commands ; and taking the maid , i secretly conveyed her to my lodging , where i imployed the whole day to entertain her the most honourably and respectively i could ; studying to win her heart with all sweet ways , and rendring great thanks to the gods for the exchange of children they had pleased to make me ; from that hour esteeming and naming her my daughter . next morning early i came to the temple of isis , as i had promised the stranger ; and after i had walked there a long time , he not appearing , i went to the governors house , and demanded if any one had seen the aethiopian ambassador ? presently one told me that he departed , or rather was expelled last evening before sun-set , the governour threatning he should lose his head , if immediatly he did not q●it his frontiers ; informing me also the cause : that delivering his embassage , he commanded the aegyptian to forbear to dig the emerald mines , as appertaining to the king of aethiopia ; i returned to my lodging sad and pensive , as one that had hard fortune , being not able to get any knowledge of the child , who , or of whence , or of what parents she was born . it is no marvel , said knemon , interrupting him , for i my self am mightily troubled that i can hear no more ; but yet i hope i may . you shall , replied calasiris ; but now i will follow the discourse charicles then made me . after , said he , that i was returned to my lodging , the little maid came to meet me , using action for words , having not yet learned to speak any greek , she saluted me by giving me her hand , and her eyes spake that she received contentment in my presence . i was amazed ; she would leap for joy , look me in the face , and observing the respect and love i bare her , she paid me with the honour and reverence of a natural child , i therefore resolved to stay no longer in the town of catadupes , fearing some malevolent fortune in a strange countrey , might deprive me of this other daughter ; and taking boat , we rowed down nilus to the sea , whence i sailed home ; where to this instant i have kept and cherished this child as tenderly as if nature , not accident , had bestowed her on me , giving her my own name , and my content depending only upon hers , so prodigal hath heaven been of graces to her , that she anticipated my wishes ; for speedily she attained to the greek tongue , in such an instant she came to the spring of her age , like a fruitful and noble plant , blooming early , and with wonder ; in beauty she had no equal ; but all mens eyes , both grecians and strangers were fixed on her ; for in what place soever she appeared , either in the temples , at the theaters , or any other publick meetings , as if she had been the statue of some goddess newly made , no man could think or look upon any thing else . but though she is no less than i have pictured her unto you , yet she cruelly afflicts my heart , denouncing open war to marriage , resolving to spend all her life in the state of virginity , and as a follower of diana , loves hunting , and practiseth her bow and arrows , whilst my life grows bitter to me , being frustrated of my hope to match her to my sisters son , a civil and well-bred gentleman , endowed with many excellent good qualities ; but in vain we court her , she hath so hard an opinion of marriage , that neither by service , prayers , or promises she can be perswaded ; but , which adds to my grief , she useth my own weapons against me , employing the rhethorick i ha●e taught her , to find arguments to con●ute mine , and prove that she hath chosen the best kind of life , elevating a virgins li●e with divine praises , and placing it near to the immortal gods , calling it pure , incorruptible , and uncontaminate , but extreamly undervaluing and detesting love , venus , and all nuptial pomps and ceremonies : now this it is wherein i implore your a●●istance , and taking the offer of this occasion , have made you so tedious , but necessary a discourse : do me this favour , good calasiris , to seek some m●ans out of the secrets of your wisdom , be it by incantation , words , or examples , to make her know her nature , why she was born a woman : i know , if you please , you can easily perswade her ; she hath no aversion from holding conference with men , but hath been ever bred amongst them , and lives now in the same house with you here within the walls and cloyster of the temple : neglect not my intreaties , i beseech you , and permit me not without children , comfort or successor , to live grieved in my old age : by our apollo , and your tutelar gods of aegypt , i conjure you . at these words ( friend knemon ) i could not refrain weeping , because charicles made this suit to me with tears , the best assistance in my power i promised him . whilst we were deliberating upon the matter , one comes in running , and tells us , the general of the aeneans was at the temple gates , and asked for the high priest , to begin the sacrifice . i demanded of charicles who these aeneans were , and what the sacrifice was they celebrated ? the aeneans , he replied , are a certain people of thessaly , the noblest and truest grecians of that country , descended from the greek deucalion , and inhabit along the gulf of melia , where they have their capital or metropolitan city , named hipata , as they will have it , because it commends the rest ; but as others esteem , it hath that name , because it is situate under the mount o●ta ; now they send this sacred embassage every fourth year , at the time when the phthian games were celebrated ( and this as you know is the time ) wherein they do honour to neoptolemus , the son of achilles , slain traiterously at the very altar of apollo , by orestes the son of agamemnon ; and this embassage is at this present celebrated with more solemnity than in precedent times ; forasmuch as their general boasts himself to be descended of achilles , whom my fortune being to encounter the other day , methought there shined in the person of that young man some peculiar graces worthy of a descendant from such an ancestor , of such a form and goodliness of stature , as it confirms him to be derived from a goddess ; but i wondring how he being of an aenean family , could draw his line from achilles , ( for the aegyptian homer's poesie shews us that achilles was a phthiot ) charicles answerred , this young gentleman , and the other aeneans affirm this heros to have been born in their country , and say that thetis went out of the gulf of mela when she was matched to peleus , and that all the coast there was anciently called phthia , and that all others are liars that challenge the glory to have this demi-god their countriman ; but this general draws his pedigree from the aecides another way , producing menesthius the son of sperchius and of polidora , the daughter of peleus , for one of his ancestors , that was one of the chief captains with achilles in the expedition against troy , and for the proximity of his blood with achilles , commanded the first squadron of the myrmidons , and to tie himself on all parts to the race of achilles , he brings for an argument this parentation sent to neoptolemus , wherein ( as he saith ) all the thessalians yield the first place to the aeneans , confessing thereby they are the nearest allied unto him : i do not envy them , charicles , said i , whether they arrogate this honour , or claim it as the●● right ; but i pray you commend the captain of this embassage to be admitted : for i have an incredible longing to behold him . charicles making the sign , one called him in and truly methought i saw something of achilles in him , such a face , such a comportment , holding his head upright , his hair combed back his nostrils freely sucking in , and bre●thing out the air , a sign of courage , and stro●● 〈◊〉 , his eyes growing to a brown , his asp●ct ●●rce , yet amiable , like a sea new calmed . after he had saluted us according to the custom , and we him ; he told us it was time to offer sacrifice to the god , that we might have day enough to finish the obsequies and other funeral pomp. be it so , said charicles ; and rising , he told me in my ear , this day you shall see chariclea ; for the manner is , that she , being the priestess of apollo , should assist at the procession , and funeral ceremonies of neopotolemus ; but knemon , i had seen the maid before , for she had often sacrificed with me , and many times made propositions to me of things divine ; yet i held my tongue , expecting the future : and charicles and i went together to the temple ; for all things appertaining to the sacrifice were now prepared by the thessalians : when we approached the altar , and the chief priest had made his prayer , and the young gentleman begun the sacrifice , the priestess of apollo from the most holy and secret part of the temple pronounced this oracle ; her name that gr●●e begins , and glory ends , and his that from a d●it● descends , sings delphians ; these two shall ( sayling from my 〈◊〉 to a sun-burnt climate , come , an● as th●●● v●rtues coronation , there , 〈◊〉 from black temples shall white garlands wear . when the god , by the mouth of his religious , had spoke this oracle , all the assistants were confused , not being able to interpret it ; for some screwed it to one sence , some explicated it in ●another ; and every one made a conjecture conformable to his own desire ; but not any could touch upon the true meaning , oracles and dreams being commonly judged by the event : so the delphians amazed and astonished , departed to see the magnificent funeral shew , neglecting to search more curiously the truth hidden in this oracle . the aethiopian history . the third book . but after the procession was ended ; i hope , father , it is not ended yet , said knemon ; for you have not yet made me a spectator of the ceremonies , but only told me of them , and possest me with an incredible longing , making me run to get a sight , and then like a ma● that cometh when the play is done , i have 〈◊〉 the theater open and shut in the same 〈…〉 oh knemon ! said calasiris , i would not 〈…〉 from the purpose , nor trouble you with di 〈…〉 but lead you on to the principal subj●●● 〈◊〉 discourse , and your first demand ; but 〈…〉 long to know something by the by ( a sufficient testimony that you are an athenian ) i will make you a brief description of the celebration , both for its own excellency , and things depending thereupon . first , there passed along a hecatomb , which was a hundred oxen led by slaughter-men in a rustick habit ; they had on white frocks gi●● about their wastes , their right arms and elbow bare to their paps , and shaking axes in their han●s : all the oxen were cole black , playing with their heads a little raised● and their neck● ben●ing in the middle , their horns broad an● equal , not wr●ath●d at all ; some had them gilded , some crowned with chaplets of flower● their deep dewlaps hanging down to their knee● they were followed with different troops of many other kind of victims ; every species being separate , and martialled in fair order , with flute● and hoboys : playing the tune of a mystique od●sung as an anthem to the sacrifice : these troops and their leaders were followed with two band● of thessalian ladies , all fair , and in rich long robe● their hair hanging loose ; those that were in the first bond● carried little baskets full of fruit an● flowers , the others had little boxes ●illed with comfits and sweet odours , that as they past perfumed the streets : nor did they use their hands to these , but carried them upon their heads , and held hands , that they might the freelier dance and march together ; these of the first figure , gave the tone and cadence to the second ; for they were to sing a hymn , and to dance to it ; and this hymn contained nothing but the praises of thetis and peleus , of their son achilles , and of his son neoptolemus . good father , said knemon , do not offer again to deprive me of so sweet a passage , but let me hear this hymn , unless you will make me a beholder of this solemnity , only so far as my eyes will reach , and suffer me to receive no pleasure by ear. since you are so desirous of the song ( replyed calasiris ) you shall hear it . i thetis , fair hair'd thetis sing , that did from deathless nereus spring ; whom jove to peleus match'd our bright beam'd venus , and our watery light. that ( mother of our mars ) did bear achilles raging with his spear ; our thunderbolt , to whose fam'd worth pyr●ha neoptolemus brought forth ; troy's fate , the greeks ● peace , be to us propitious neoptolemus ; whom our blest pythique soil inters , receive the hymns our zeal pref●rs ; all woe from this town banishing , i thetis , fair hair'd thetis sing . as far as i remember . knemon , the song was this ; but the measure of their dance had such correspondence with the musick● and their feet did so beat the tune , as the eye neglecting what it saw , suffered the soul to be charmed through the ear ; the people following the march of the maids dance , as if they had been attracted by their voices , till a troop of horse , all young gentlemen , but beyond all , their captain did present a shew that gave the eye precedency of all the ears delights ; they were fifty horse divided into two troops of five and twenty , marching five and ●ive a breast ; the captain of the sacred embassage riding in the midst ; they had all purple buskins tyed with ribbons , and turned down to their ankles , their robes were white , bordered about with azure pursles , and fastned at their brests with buttons of gold ; they were mounted on thessalian horses , whose fair shapes and spirit witnessed the sweetness of the soil that pastured them , and seemed as if they scorned the command of the bit ; making it all a foam : but yet , as if they obeyed the riders powerful soul , they would come off and on , make stops and turnings as he pleased : they had all fair caparisons and bridles , the one part silver , the other silver gilt ; so curiously wrought as it appeared they had a strife in point of glory . but ( knemon ) all these gallan●● the beholders eyes passed by and slighted , bein●●nly ●ixt upon their cap●ain ( my charge , thea●●●es ) that like a lightning did obscure all that ●hich shined before ; so did he strike our sences , being a● excellent horseman , in his armour , and shaking in ●●s hand an oaken spear with a point of steel , he wore his beaver up , discovering the perfect beauty of his face ; his bases were purple imbroidered with gold in figures of the battel betwixt the centa●rs and the lapiths . the button that fastned it before was amber , wherein was the image of pallas , bearing in her hand medusa's head ; the wind ( that seemed to be for him ) made an addition to his grace ; for it sweetly breathing , played with the curls of his hair , and made his bases flow upon the sides and buttocks of his horse ; you would have thought the horse had been sensible of the perfections of his rider , he did rein so proudly , raising his crest , and pricking his ears , rolling his fiery eyes , carrying and being carryed with like pride ; when his master slack'd the bridle , he gallop'd on so finely , as he only touched the earth with the tips of his hoofs , tempering the fierceness of his motion , so as he did not the least disorder the ranks , to the astonishment of the beholders , that gave the noblest attribute of form and spirit to the young general ; the simpler women had not so much discretion as to couch their passions , but threw flowers and nosegays at him , to get the happiness of a look , or salutation from him : for the unanimous consent of all their judgments , was , that no humane thing could shew more beauty then theagenes . but when rose-cheek'd aurora did appear ( as homer says ) and that the fair and wise chariclea came out of the temple of diana , then at length we knew theagenes might be conquered , but so conquered , as the best native loveliness of womens form , compared with mans , is the better loadstone , and exceeds it in the power of attraction ; she rid in a chariot drawn by two milk-white bulls , wearing a long robe of purple to her feet , imbroidered with beams of gold ; she had on a girdle wherein the workman had inclosed all his art , neither ever before , nor ever after being able to contrive the like ; it was two serpents that seemed to have tyed their tayls in a knot at the maids back , and had wreathed their necks in another at her breast , slipping their heads out of the knot , and letting them hang on either side like pendants ; you would have said these serpents did not seem to creep , but did creep indeed , not with a terrible aspect , but as if they had languished in a slumber , desiring to rest so near the bosom of the maid ; the matter they were formed of was gold , the colour blew , but the workman had enamelled it with black , that blue and black mixt with yellow , might present the native variety of the serpents pointed scales , her flaxen hair was neither wholly platted , nor quite loose ; the greater part of it at full length hanged down upon her shoulders , her topping and hair before was crowned with a wreath o● the finest lawrel , this defending it against the wind , would not suffer it to be blown out of the handsom and well becoming order it was laid in ; in her left hand she bore a golden bow , and over her right shoulder had a quiver hanging in a scarf ; in her other hand she bore a torch of virgins wax burning , but yet her eyes rendred a light far greater . the very same theagenes and chariclea ( cryed knemon ) where are they for the god's sake ? said calasiris , thinking knemon had seen them ; but he replyed , no father , i do not see them : but methought i did , though they were absent ; you have described unto me so properly and directly such as i saw them : i know not said calasiris , if you saw them , such as greece and the sun that day beheld them , so conspicuous , so blessed , as his seemed the height of man's felicity , and hers of women : no mortal thing was esteemed to be like them , only our country-men did more admire theagenes , and the thessalians the fair chariclea ; for the sight of a new thing doth far more ravish us than what we usually behold ; but o sweet deception ! with how much joy did you transport me when i hoped you saw , and would shew me my souls beloved children ; but you do nothing else but mock me ; for though at the beginning of my discourse , you promised me they would come immediatly , and i should see them ; and in recompence before hand , i have made you this narration , yet now it grows night , and they appear not ; let not that trouble you , said knemon , for take my word they will be here , though perhaps some hindrance upon the way may intervene and make them come later than the appointed hour ; yet if they were here , you should not see them , till i had received my whole reward . therefore if you hasten to their presence , perform your promise , and lead the discourse you have begun , to an end . i do both shun ( reply'd calasiris ) the discourse that may bring my sorrows fresh into my memory , and i also doubt it that my long talking had been tedious to you ; but since you are so coveto●s of hearing , let us begin where we left : having first lighted a lamp , and made our offerings to the divinities of the night , and performed our usual ceremonies to them , we may go on with our history , without being troubled with phantasms . presently a servant at his command , brought in a lamp burning , and he pouring out a little of the oyl upon the earth , made his libation , invoking all the gods : beseeching a night of happy dreams , conjuring them with all the power of prayers , that his beloved theagenes and chariclea , might appear to him in his sleep . now knemon , after the procession thus passing had gone round about the sepulcher of neoptolemus , and the troop of horse had thrice wheeled about it , the women began to fill the air with funeral cryes , and the men with a wild howling : then the oxen , sheep , and goats , ( at a signal given ) were immediately sacrificed , as if one blow had cut all their throats . lastly , all these beasts being laid upon a great altar , and six hundred billets under them , they prayed the priest of apollo to begin the sacrifice , and give fire to the wood ; charicles reply'd , the sacrifice did only belong to him , but the firing of the altar , to the captain of the sacred legation , receiving the torch at the hands of the priestess of diana , for so it was established in the ceremonial . this he said , and began to make the offering , while theagenes took the torch from the hand of chariclea ; sure knemon , that the soul is a divine thing , and allied to the superior nature , we know by its operations and functions ; assoon as these two beheld each other their souls as if acquainted at first sight , pressed to meet their equals in worth and beauty , at first they remained amazed and without motion at length , though slowly , chariclea gave , and he received the torch ; so fixing their eyes on one another as if they had been calling to remembrance where they had met before , then they smiled , but so stealingly , as could hardly be perceived , but a little in their eyes , and as ashamed they hid away the motions of joy with blushes ; and again , when affection ( as i imagine ) had ingaged their hearts , they grew pale . to conclude , in a little space , a thousand changes wandred in their faces , both in their colour and their eyes , deciphering trouble in their sorrows . the vulgar knew not this , being according to their imployment , busied and intentive upon other matters ; charicles observed it not , being hindred with making the accustomed prayers and invocations ; but i ( ever after the oracle was pronounced to theagenes , sacrificing in the temple ) did nothing else but note all the actions of this young couple , conjecturing by their names that it was meant of them ; chariclea signifying in your language , grace and glory , and theagenes born of a goddess , yet i did not hitherto exactly understand what the later part of the oracle intended . but after ( though long first , and as it were by force ) theagenes was parted from chariclea , he fired the altar , and so at length the pomp brake up ; the thessalians going to feast , the rest of the people every one departing to their houses , and chariclea covering her self in her white mantle , accompanied with some few ladies , her familiars , returned to her lodging , within the verge of the temple ; for she dwelt not with her supposed father , separating her self from him , lest he should have too much opportunity to perswade her to a marriage . this i had seen , and the rest that i imagined making me still more inquisitive , i chanc'd to meet with charicles ; he asked me , hast thou seen the light of mine , and all the eyes of delphos , chariclea ? this is not the first time i have seen her , i replyed , but often before as often as the people were assembled in the t●mple , and that not as passing by , but she hath many times sacrificed together with me ; and when at any time she doubted of divine or humane things , she hath put questions to me , and been instructed by me . but how did she shew to day ? said charicles : did she add any ornament to the ceremony ? would you have me tell you how the moon excells the stars ? said i : but some commended the young thessalian , said charicles , and gave him the second place ; yes , and the third too , i replyed ; but the crown and eye of all the pomp was really acknowledged to be your daughter : this pleased charicles at the heart , and i by speaking the truth , did prepare way to my aim , being only to make the man confident in me ; who smiling , told me , he was then going to her and that if it pleased me i should go along with him to visit her , and know if the great press and tumult of the people had not troubled her , i was glad of the offer , yet i seemed to neglect some other business to attend him . when we were come to the lodgings where she had retired her self , we entred her chamber , and found her languishing upon her bed , not able to rest , love bathing in the moisture of her eyes , she imbracing her father as she was accustomed , and he asking her how she did ? she said , her head aked ; and that she would willingly take a little rest . at this , charicles troubled , went with me out of the chamber , commanding her attendants to make no noise ; and when we were without the doors , oh good cala●iris , said he , what doth this mean ? what indisposition has seized on my child ? you need not wonder , i replyed , if in so great a multitude of people as attended the procession , she hath perhaps attracted the poison of some envious eye ; charicles smiling at these words , as in derision , do you also ( said he ) believe with the vulgar , that there is any fascination or bewitching by the eye ? i do believe it , i replyed , as an opinion grounded upon truth ; and thus i do conceive it , this air circumfused on every side about us , penetrating by our eyes , nostrils , mouths and other passages and pores of our body , and bringing in with it the exterior qualities wherewith it is infected , such as it flowes unto us , such impression it make in us ; therefore when any one beholds a rare creature with envy , he presently fills the circumference of the air with that infesting quality , and breaths into his neighbouring object a spirit full of bitterness , which being thin and subtil , peirceth to the bones and marrow ; and thus hath envy been to many the cause of a sickness , whose proper name is fascination ; moreover , consider charicles , how many have got sore eyes and caught the infection of the plague , that never came near the diseased persons , never lay in their beds , nor eat or drank , or had any thing common with them but the air : amongst other things that might perswade you , the original of love may be a special argument proceeding and occasioned from the object of the sight , drawing the passion through the eyes into the soul ; and it is consonant to reason , for the eye being the most sharp and servent o● all our pores and senses , and capable of most changes , it receiveth easiest all affections that are presented to it , attracting with inflamed spirits the flowings of love. but if it be required , i can produce you an example out of our sacred books , where they treat of the nature of living creatures ; the little bird they call the loriot , cureth those that have the jaundice : who if any one looks upon her that is troubled with that disease , closing her eyes she flies away from him , not as some say , envying to give him help , but in regard that beholding him , she naturally calls and attracts the fluxive disease unto her self , and there●ore she declines their ●ight as her own heart . i doubt not but you have heard how the serpent named the basilisk , only ●y her eyes and breath ●ries away and poisons every obvious thing ; ●either is it a wonder if some do fascinate those ●hey wish well to , and love dearest , for being by na●ure envious , they do not what they would , but what their natural infirmity move them to . charicles pawsing a while , in consideration of ●hese words you have said , he dissolved this con●roversy with most wise and probable arguments , ●ut would the gods were pleased this that trou●les her were love ; for then i should esteem her to be in perfect health , not sick ; and you know that to this end i have implored your assistance : but at this present nothing less is to be feared than an accident of affection , she shunning love , and hating as a crime the nuptial bed : sure some envious eye hath bewitch'd her , and i doubt not but you have power and will to break the charm : i know you love me , and i am confident your wisdom hath acquired a knowledge in all things o● the world : i promised him i would do my bes● according as i found her malady . we thus discoursing , there came a man to u● in terrible haste , why signiors said he , how happens it you are so slow as if you were summoned to a battel , not invited to a feast prepared by the noble theagenes , in honour of the demi-deity neoptolemeus ? away , and do not make them s●ay for you : all the other guests are come already : then charicles whispering me in the ear● here is one ( said he ) that invites us with a b●s●inado ! what a brave fellow is bacchus ? b●t let us go , for it is to be feared he will beat us i● we tarry any longer . you are a merry a ma● , said i , but let us away . when we were com● thither , theagenes placed charicles next himsel●● and did me some honour for his sake ; but why should i trouble you with the recital of the particulars at this feast , the masque of the ladies● the musique , the pyrrhique dance of the youn● gentleman in armour , and other entertainment● wherewith theagenes graced his feast that wa● great , and the cover often changed and new furnished with several services of the most exquisite dainties ; but i will give you an account of that will best please you to hear , and me to relate . theagenes put on a face of chearfulness , forcing himself to entertain the company with all humanity and free discourse ; but i ●ound him presently which way he tended , when sometimes he would roul his eyes and lift them up , sometimes fetch a deep sigh upon the sudden , then sa●ly fix his eyes upon the earth , and presently resume a countenance and shew of mirth as if he had been guilty of an error and corrected it , and presently fall again into new changes : for the spirit o● a man that is in love , is like to his that is in drink ; so flexible , so uncertain , both alike , floating in a humid passion ; therefore a lover is apt and prone to be drunk , and a drunken man to be in love ; but after his sad promises grew more frequent , and his looks more constantly sad , all the company took notice that he was not well , insomuch as the good charicles that pierced no deeper than the change and trouble of his countenance , ●aid to me softly in my ear , some envious eye hath also beheld this gentleman . i think it to be the same that did behold chariclea , the very same by isis : i replyed , you judge aright , and with great appearance of reason ; he being the fairest next to ●er in all the glorious show ; thus we two whispered , and when the goblets were to go about , theagenes drank to us although against his will , only to bid us welcome ; but when it came to me , i telling him i was his humble servant , and would receive the favour not the wine , he looked upon me with sharp and fiery eyes , thinking himself slighted ; which chari●les perceiving , told him i drank no wine , nor eat any thing that had been a sensitive creature ; he demanded the cause ; charicles replyed , he is an aegyptian , a nemphian , and the priest of isis : theagenes understanding i was an aegyptian , and the chief priest , felt his soul ravished with a present joy , as they that by fortune find a treasure in their way ; and presently setting hims●lf upright , he called for water , and drinking it to me , said , at leastwise , sir , be pleased to pledge me in this beveridge ; you affect , and let thi● table be the witness of a tye of friendship made betwixt us : be it so noblest theagenes , i replyed , it is long since contracted on my part ; and so i took the cup and pledged him ; presently they took away , and we did rise from the table , every one preparing to go home● and theagenes imbracing me with the dearest protestations of affection . being returned to my lodging , i went to bed and spent most part of the night , not having power to close my eyes , but tumbling and tossing with the care i conceived for the young couple , and sifting out what the last part of the oracle should mean ; it now growing midnight , i saw apollo and diana , as i thought ( if i did think , and did not rather truly see them ) and he delivered to me theagenes , she chariclea ; telling me it was time i should return into my country , for so the laws of destiny had ordained . go therefore , said they , and make these two thou hast received thy companions , adopting them thy children , and lead them out of the land of aegypt , where and how the gods shall please : having said this , they departed , making me know it was not the vision of a dream , but a true apparition . i had now got out the whole meaning of the oracle , yet still i doubted to what people or what country i should lead them ; but how do you know father , said knemon , that it was not a dream , but a real vision ? even so son ( he replyed ) as the wise homer gives it us as in a riddle : though many slight enigma's ; it is a passage where he ●peaks of neptune . for i his feet and thighs together spi'd , cutting the thin ay● , with an easie slide : the gods may thus be truly seen and known . i con●ess , said knemon , i am of the number of those many you speak of ; and happily you have cited this verse , to see how i understand it , which is in no deeper sence than the vulgar interpretation made unto me when i first learned the signification of words ; i am altogether ignorant what secret of theology may be couched in it . then calasiris considering a little , and collecting all the forces of his understanding , as being to speak of a high mystery ; when the gods ( said he ) and divine spirits please either to come to , or go from us , they take the similitude seldom of beasts or other creatures ; but many times they cloath their divinity with the form of men , to be known to our ●ancy in the likeness of our selves , that we may rather take it for the vision of a dream : but though prophane persons know them not , yet they cannot escape from a wise mans discovery , but may be deciphered by their eyes , when they hold always fixt , and never move their eye-lids , yet by their going they may be better known ; for their pace is not ●ade by s●epping or transposition of the feet , but by a certain a●ry violence and quick ●ven motion , that they rather sail or ●ut , than pass the air. this is the reason why the aeg●ptians make the statua's of their gods jo●ning their feet , and as it were uniting them together ; which homer knowing , as being an aegyptian , and instructed in our sacred doctrine , involvedly incerted this mystery in his verses , leaving it for those that could , to understand him . of phallas , he sayes , her sharp eyes sparkled as she look'd like fire . and as before of neptune , his feet and thighs together i espy'd , cutting the thin ayr with an ea●ie slide . as sailing instead of going , for this is the meaning of an easie slide ; not as some wrongly interpret him , that to know the gods was easie divine . sir , said knemon , you have ini●tiated me in a great mystery : but having observed you many times in this discourse to have called homer an aeg●ptian , not being able to believe you ; yet admiring what should be your reason , i beseech you not to pass this ●ndiscus●ed . though it be , knemon , said calasiris , a thing ●ar ●●om our intended subject to dispute this now , y●t i will brie●ly touch it . many countries chall●nge homer , and every country is a wi●e mans own , but the truth is , he was my countryman , an aeg●ptian , born in the hundred-gated the●es , as himself names it ; his esteemed father was the high priest of that city , but his true father mercury ; but the priest was ●his supposed father inasmuch as his wife sleeping in the temple at the celebration of certain ceremonies of our country , the god lay with her , and got her with child of homer , who from his mother womb brought forth a mark of her illegitimate copulation ; for one of his thighs had upon it a great q●●ntity of long hair ; and afterwards in his travels through the world , and especially amongst the greeks singing his poesy , they gave him the name of homer ; not that it was his own name , or the cities , or nations whence he was , but those that knew that privy mark , gave him that sirname , signifying , a thigh : but what was his reason ( father ) to conceal his country ? ( said knemon ) because , replyed calasiris , eit●er he was a●hamed to be known for a fugitive , for his father had expelled him his house , when his name was to be inrolled amongst the young initiates that took orders , because in the search he was found to have a mark of bastardy ; or else he did this wisely , that concealing his true city , he might challenge ●very city o● the world for his : this you have said shews like a truth , said kn●mon , when i consider his mystical poems , that have a mixture for all sweetness and pleasure out of the excellency of natur● ; and sure , they would not so exc●ll all 〈◊〉 if some divinity had not been the g●●und of su●h per●ection . but after you had known the g●ds following the mark that homer gave you , what was the sequel i beseech you ? answerable to the promise ( friend knemon . ) the rest of the night i could take no sleep , but lay considering and canvasing such thoughts as night suggests . it rejoyced me that the gods would effect my business , which as then i thought not of , and that i should expect to return into my country ; but it grieved me to think that charicles should be deprived of his daughter , and it troubled me the more , because i knew not what course to take , or how to steal away the two young lovers ; i feared our flight would not be secret , but that some accident would discover us● then i doubted of the way , whether we should go by sea or land. finally a storm of cogitations tossed my spirits , and i lay waking till the morning . it was hardly day , but i heard one knocking at the gates , and the voice of a page that called : one of my servants demanded who he was that knocked so rudely , and his business : the page wished him to tell his master theagenes , the thessalian would attend him ; i was very glad of this news of theagenes , and commanded my man to wait of him in , making accompt that occasion offered it self of its own accord to deliver me of the care that troubled my thoughts , for i perswaded my self that he having heard at the feast that i was an egyptian , and a prophet ; came to me to demand my succor in his love ; being as i imagine in the same error that many fall into , who believe the wisdom of the egyptians be one ; and the same thing wherein they much deceive themselves ; for there is one knowledge vulgar , and as i may term it , creeping on the earth , the servant of images , and busied about dead bodies , believing in the power of herbs and incantations , not tending to any good end it self , nor conducting those that use it , but lameing most its precepts , and implying contradictions ; the effects it produceth are small and base , as to give visions of things that are not , as if they were , to frustate men of their hopes ; being an art that is the inventress of detestable things , and the minister of profused foul pleasures : but son , there is another , that is real wisdom , and from which this adulterate hath degenerated , and as a bastard falsly assumed the name ; whereof , we that are priests , and all that descend of the prophetick line , do make profession , and are bred in ; it elevates its self in contemplation of celestial things , converseth always with the gods , and participates of the divinity ; searching the motions of the stars , and delighting to fore-know the future ; making a man a stranger to terrestrial evils and vices , and conducting to the profit of humane society ; this was it that made me leave my country for a time , to shun if it were possible the miseries that i presaged to my self , and not to behold the bloody duel of my sons . but i leave all to the gods , and destinies , in whose power it is , whether these misfortunes shall or shall not happen , and that have not imposed this banishment upon me only for the cause that i have told you , but principally , that i should meet chariclea ; by what means you shall know hereafter . now let us return to theagenes . when he was come into my chamber , and we had saluted , i made him sit down by me upon my bed , and questioned him what necessity had brought him so early to me ? but after he had held his hand upon his face ; i am infinitely troubled ( he replied ) but i blu●h to discover it , and so held his peace : presently i apprehended it was time for me to lie , and to divine what i already knew ; therefore looking in his face , and smiling ; though you fear ( i said ) to express your self to me , yet nothing can be concealed to the gods , and to our wisdom ; then raising my self a little , and counting upon my fingers , shaking my locks as those that are possest with a prophetick spirit , i said , my son , you love : he started at this oracle ; but when i had added chariclea , then esteeming my knowledge to be inspired , he would have fallen down and adored me ; but i not suffering him , he embraced me , and often kissed my hand , rendring thanks to heaven that he had not been deceived in his hopes , and praying me to save his life that would be but short if he had not present help , so great was his affliction , and so violent his flame , being the first wound that love had given him , until the beauty of chariclea had unsouled and conquered him , and that not in regard of any natural strength or weakness ; but that he had never till now seen a woman worthy of his love. at these words he wept , witnessing , that he was overcome not by his own weakness , but by her inevitable force : i comforted him the best i could , wishing him only to take his wonted courage ; and since he had recourse to me , he should find chariclea's beauty had not the strength to prevail agai●st our wisdom ; for though , said i , she be very refractory , despising love , not enduring to hear venus named , and not without much difficulty to be drawn to submit to the laws of marriage ; yet for your sake i will try all ways , and you shall see art conquer nature ; be you only confident , and fail not to obey my necessary commands : he promised to follow my directions , though i should bid him march upon the points of swords . as he was thus praying and conjuring , promising me all his estate for a reward , one came from charicles , and told me his master desired to speak with me ; he is but over the way ( he said ) in the temple of apollo , where he sings a hymn to the god to appease him , because he hath i know not how , been troubled in his sleep to night : i rose , and sending away theagenes , made haste to the temple , where i found charicles sitting in a chair exceeding sad , and often sighing ; i demanded what affliction made him so desolate ? alas , he replied , all this last night i have been troubled with fearful dreams , and to make my grief the greater , i hear my daughter is still sick , and lain waking ; and it afflicts me that her sickness falls in an unhappy time , because to morrow is the day prefixed , wherein the priestess of diana ought to give a torch of virgin-wax to the champions that run armed , and to render them the prize of the victory ; so that one of the two evils must necessarily happen , that assisting at that ceremony , her malady will be augmented , or that her absence will violate the customs of the sacred games : therefore if this could not be done before , at least apply some remedy unto her , and you shall do a most charitable office ; which shall express your friendship to me , and your honour to the gods : i know if you please , you can easily uncharm her ; for the prophets of your country can perform the greatest undertakings . i confessed i had ●een a little flow , and putting it upon him as i had done upon theagenes , i desired only the space of a day , and i would in that time compose a medicament should heal her : but let us , said i , now go to the virgin , and consider her more attentively , and comfort her the best that possible we can ; and charicles , it would be convenient you should discourse with her of me , and make me better known to her by your commendations , that making me more familiar , and in greater esteem with her , she may have the greater faith in my receipts . be it so , he replied . when we were come to chariclea ( why should i use many words ? ) we found her engaged deeply to affection , the roses and lillies of her cheeks were faded , and the water of her fair eyes had extinguished the fire that used to sparkle in them ; yet assoon as she perceived us , she did her best to compose h●r ●el● , and endeavoured to call back the accustomed loveliness and graces of her beauty ; charicles kissing and embracing her , not omitting any ceremony that endears respect and love. o child ! o daughter ! said he , can you conceal the evil that torments you from your father ? and being fascinated , do you make it a secret , as if you had done wrong , and not received an injury from the eyes that have so maliciously beheld you ? but resume your spirits ; i have entreated the wise calasiris that you see here with me , to undertake your cure , and he is able to perform it ; for he ( if ever any ) excelleth in divine knowledge , as being by descent a prophet , and which is more , our especial friend ; therefore you shall do wisely to commit your sel● wholly to his disposing , whether he shall pleas● to use incantation , or heal you by any othe● means : but i need not use perswasions since you naturally honour and affect the company of learned men . chariclea replied not , but only bowed her head in sign of consent to her fathers counsel . this done , we retired our selves ; charicles renewing his suit to me , that i would remember my promise , and bethink me of a way to induce chariclea to a milder construction of men and marriage . thus i brought him off , and left him joyful , giving him my word his desire should shortly be accomplished . the aethiopian history . the fourth book . the next day the pythian games ended ; but the passion and strife of the young men grew more violent under the empire of cupid , who was their judge , and by two champions of his , intended ( as i believe ) to shew the world his combate is the greatest . thus it happened : all greece were lookers on , the amphyctiones were the judges , that is , the deputies of every communalty of greece . after all the other contentions were concluded with magnificence , as chariot-races , wrastling , and quoiting of the sledge , at length the herald cried , let the armed men stand forth ; and presently at the further end of the lists we saw chariclea shining ; for she was come , if not willingly , yet to observe the custom of the countrey , or rather in my opinion hoping to see theagenes ; in her left hand she bare a burning torch of virgin-wax , and in her other held forth a branch of palm● she no sooner appeared , but she turned all the eyes of the theater upon her ; but i believe not any eye out-stripp'd that of theagenes ; for the eye of a lover is swift to spy out her that is desired ; and he having before heard of the ceremony , had all his spirits set to watch her coming ; and when he saw her , he was not able to contain himself , but spake softly in my ear ; for he had placed himself next to me of purpose , that is she , it is chariclea : i bid him hold his peace , and be at quiet . at the cry of the herald , one presented himself in light armor , of goodly shape , by his carriage appearing already as a conqueror , and promising to himself the prize and victory , as having many times been crowned in the same course ; and at that time having none to oppose him , as antagonist ; which caused the amphyctiones to return him back , the law not permitting him to enjoy the crown that had not endured the conflict : but he intreated the herald might demand , if any man would run : the judges commanded it should be so ; and the herald made proclamation , if any would run , he should come forth into the lists . heark ( said theagenes to me ) that man calls me . i asking him what his meaning was : it shall be so , father , he said ; for never shall any man in my presence , and i looking on , bare away the reward of victory from the hand of chariclea : but , said i , you do not apprehend nor weigh the danger and ignominy that attends the conquered : why , father , who is he ( replied theagenes ) that will so fervently contend to see and approach chariclea , as to outstrip me ? or to whom will her looks give wings , and make him fly in the ayr like me ? do not you know that painters draw love winged , signifying as in a riddle , the agility of those that he surprizes ? and if a man might boast himself , there is this day none that can glory to have over-run me . at these words he suddenly rose , and stepp'd forth into the lists , to make his name be published , and the place of his birth ; and so being engaged for the course , he put on compleat armor , and stood to the barriers , so boyling with desire to run , that his impatience would hardly permit him to attend the sound of the trumpet : the spectale was pleasing and conspicuous ; for you would have said it had been achilles , as homer paints him fighting upon the shore of the river scamander . this unexpected champion moved all greece , and they did wish the victory to theagenes , as passionately as if every one had run in his own person ; for beauty hath a strong power to work upon the good wills of the beholders : but above all , chariclea was most troubled ; and having set my self to observe her , i perceived she often changed her colour ; for after the herald had pronounced so loud as all might hear the combatants names , ormenus the arcadian , and theagenes the thessalian , the barriers were opened , and the course began so swiftly as mens dazled eyes could hardly overtake them : every spectator , to whom the event was yet in suspence , found himself full of care ; but i especially that had resolved with my self to be as careful of him as of my own son. no marvel , said knemon , if those that were present found themselves troubled ; for at this hour i fear for theagenes , and do entreat you if he had the victory , to keep me no longer without the knowledge . when now ( knemon ) they had finished half their course , he looking back , and frowning to see ormenus run so near him , lifting up his buckler and his head , and fixing his eyes wholly upon chariclea , he shot to her as an arrow to the mark , and so far out-stript the arcadian , as he left him many paces behind . the space was after measured : so running to chariclea of purpose , fell upon her bosom , as if it had not been in his power to stop himself ; and taking the branch of palm , i perceived him kiss her hand . i am glad with all my heart ( said knemon ) that he hath won the crown and stoln a kiss ; but i pray you what follows ? how ( said calasiris ) will you never be satisfied with hearing ? have you not yet a mind to sleep , being the night is spent so far ? is not my discourse yet tedious ? no father ( said knemon ) i could chide homer , who tells us we may surfeit o● all things , even of love ; which in my opinion admitteth no satiety , neither in the enjoying nor discourse : and who is he , unless he have a heart of adamant or iron , that would not receive content to hear the loves of theagenes and chariclea , though the story should last a year ? therefore continue it i beseech you . theagenes ( knemon ) was then crowned , proclaimed the conqueror , and conducted with the glad acclamations of the people ; but chariclea was then quite vanquished , and her heart more fettered in affection than before ; having the second time beheld theagines ; for the interchanged ●yes of lovers is a renewing of their passions , and their looks inflame their minds , as fire approaching to its matter ; the maid returning home , had as ill or worse a night than ever ; and i again was not able to close my eyes , incessantly plotting how we should conceal our flight , and into what countrey the god would bring the two young lovers ; i conjectured we were to take our flight by sea , gathering it out of these words of the oracle , — they two shall , sayling from my temple , to a sun-burn'd climate come . but to what part of the earth i understood not ; and i saw no other means to come to the knowledge of it , unless i could get the fascia that was exposed with chariclea , wherein charicles had told me he conceived the discourse of her fortune to be writ ; for out of these characters i doubted not but to get out her country , and her parents , which i began now to suspect , and that the gods would send her back to them . next morning , coming to chariclea's chamber , i found others of her friends weeping , but charicles most bitterly : i asked him , what the matter was ? o calasiris ! said he , the sickness of my daughter still more and more increases , and this night she hath rested more unquietly than before . get you away , said i● and command the rest out of the chamber , only let some one bring a little lawrel , fire and incense , and let none trouble me before i call . charicles commanded it should be so ; and it was done accordingly . now being alone with her , i began to play my part , as a mountebank upon a stage ; i put the incense in the fire , and made as if i muttered certain prayers betwixt my lips● i carried the lawrel up and down from the head to the foot of chariclea , and gaping over her like a sleepy man , at length i made an end of my pageantry ; she often moved her head , and smiled to her self , as if she would tell me i was ignorant of the cause of her disease : therefore sitting nearer to her , daughter , said i , chear your spirits , for yours is a common infirmity , and the cure easie ; no doubt but you were fascinated when you assisted at the procession ; but especially when you gave the palm to the conqueror : i suspect him that hath bewitched you , to be theagenes ; for i saw he looked fixedly upon you , and his eyes were sawcy with you . she replied , whether he charmed me so or not , well may he do ; but do you know what countryman he is , or of what family ; for i saw many look upon him , admiring him with a kind of an astonishment . did not the herald tell you that he was a thessalian ( i replied ) when he proclaimed his name ? and he himself glories to be descended of achilles ; and doubtless he was his ancestor ; for he has the stature , form and generous comportment of achilles , only he is not so proud and arrogant as he ; but he allays and tempers the fierceness of his spirits with a mixture of much sweetness ; yet though he be thus excellent , i wish him more pain than he hath made you suffer by the witchcraft of his envious eyes . i thank you , father , ( she replied ) that you have compassion of my misery : but why do you vainly wish him ill that hath done us no wrong ; for i am not fascinated ? sure mine is some other sickness . why therefore do you conceal it ( daughter ) said i , and not rather open your infirmity with confidence , that you may receive help with speed ? am not i your father in years , more in well-wishing ? am not i your father's friend , professing the same studies , which the more indears me to him ? express your grief , i will be faithful to you : if you will not believe my word , you shall have my oath : speak boldly , and let not your pain gather strength by your silence ; for every malady that is presently known , is easily remedied ; but old wounds are almost incurable ; for secresie is a nourishment to diseases , whilst those that are unconceal'd , may be sure to have some help . at these words she pausing a little , and by her face assuring me of much confusion in her thoughts ; give me time this day , she said , and then you shall know it , if already you do not , since you are a master in the art of prophecy . i rose and left her ; willing to give her leisure to moderate her fears , and to contrive in what manner to express that she was ashamed to tell me . charicles came running to meet me , and asked me , what i thought of his child ? o well , well ; i replied : to morrow she will be delivered of the burthen that aff●icts her , and there will be a beginning of something that will give you great content . in the mean time it will do no harm if you send for a physician . this said , i made haste away , lest he should interrogate me further . i was gone but a little from the house when i perceived theagenes walking in the cloister of the temple , and discoursing with himself , as if he were highly contented only to look upon the lodging of chariclea : i turning a little out of the way , passed by as if i had not seen him ; but he called to me ; save you calasiris ! a word with you ; i staid for you : presently i turning back , lord ! said i , is the fair theagenes here , and i not see him ? how can he be fair , replied theagenes , that pleases not chariclea ? i making my self to frown , as if i were angry with him , will you never leave , said i , to disparage me and my art , by which she is taken and compelled to love you , desiring to have the happiness to see you . what say you father , he replied , would chariclea see me ? why then do you not carry me to her ? and therewith he started forward ; but i catching him by the vest , stay , said i , though you have the crown for running , this is not a business to fall upon it like a prey ; nor is it easie to be compassed , or exposed to him that will venture for it ; but it requires deep consultation and great preparatives to secure the doing . do you not know that the maids father is one of the principal men of delphos ? do you not fear the law , that pronounces death upon offenders in this kind ? 't is no matter , he replied , let me die so i may enjoy chariclea ; yet , if you please , let us make suit to her father that he will bestow her on me for my wife ; my affinity will be no disgrace to chariclea's . we shall never obtain it , said i ; not that any thing can be reprehended or thought defective in you ; but in respect charicles hath destined her to his sisters son : he shall repent it whosoever he be ( said theagenes ) for no other man shall ever make chariclea his bride , and i alive , having this hand and sword. away , away ( said i ) there shall be no such need ; only be ruled by me , and do as i command you : for this time depart , and take heed you be not seen often in my company , but meet me ever alone , and without noise : immediatly he went away something sad . charicles met me the next morning , and assoon as he perceived me , ran and caught me in his arms , printing many kisses on my head , crying out , of such power is wisdom , of such power is friendship ! the great work is finished , the impregnable is now taken , and the invincible is vanquished ; chariclea is in love. then i began to take state upon me , looking super●iliously , and walking gravely ; there was no difficulty ( said i ) but that she could not hold out the first assault ; and yet ● planted no great engines against her : but charicles , how come you to know she loves ? following your counsel ( he replied : ) for having sent for our principal and most approved physitians , i brought them in to see her ; promising them all my patrimony for their fees , if they could cure her : they asked her where her pain held her most ? but she turning from them , pronounced this verse of homer ; achilles the most valiant of the greeks . then the prudent physitian acestinus ( perhaps you know the man ) caught hold of her wrist , and felt her pulse , judging thereby ( as i imagine ) the motion of her heart ; and after he had felt the artery a good while , taking an exact and curious observation of her , charicles ( said he ) you have sent for us in vain ; physick can do her no good . o gods ! i cried , what do you say ? must then my daughter perish ? is there no hope of her recovery ? do not afflict your self , replied he , but hear me ; and taking me aside from chariclea and the rest , our art ( said he ) professeth the cure of a distempered body , and sometimes of the soul ; but that is only when it suffers and feels the indisposition of the body , and that being healed , the soul again recovers , and is well● it is true , your daughter is distempered , but not in her body ; her head aches not , no feaver inflames her blood , her body suffers not by sickness , neither in any part nor in the whole . i intreating him if he understood the nature of her disease , to let me know it : there is no child , said he , but may know it is a passiion of the mind , and evidently the disease that we call love ; do you not see that her eyes are swelled , her countenance discomposed , her colour pale ; yet she complained not of any pain in her heart ; add that her mind wanders ; what falls into her thoughts she speaks , and causeless cares do trouble her repose . in short , charicles you must find out the man whom she desires ; having said this , she left me . but i made all the haste i could , to meet you my preserver and good genius ; whom both she and i acknowledge to have the only power to do us good , for after i had long intreated he● to tell me , what it was that troubled her● she replyed , no more but that she her self was ignorant , only calasiris knew a remedy 〈◊〉 her : and she prayed me that i would send you to her , whence principally i conjectured she was gained by the secrets of your wisdom ; but ( said i , to him ) as you tell me she loves ; can you tell me whom she loves ? no , by apollo , replyed he : for how , or whence should i know that ? but i would give my estate , that it were alcamenes my sisters son ; whom long since in my mind , i had designed for her husband . i wished him that he should make a tryal ; bring the young man , and shew him to her : he commended my counsel , and presently went about it . not long after , he came and found me , when the exchange was full ; i have ( said he ) a thing to communicate to you , that greatly troubles and afflicts me : i fear my daughter is out of her wits , she hath such strange and extraordinary fancies . i brought my nephew , alcamenes , as you wished me ; and shewed him to her in his richest habit : but she as if she had seen medusa's head , or something more formidable with a loud shrill voice , cryed out , and turned her face to the other side of the chamber ; putting her hands like a cord about her neck , threatning and swearing she would kill her self , unless i presently would take him away out of her sight ; but assoon as she could speak it , we retir'd our selves : for what should we do , seeing such a strange absurdity ? therefore again , i am become a suiter to you , that you will not suffer her to perish , nor me to be frustrated of my expectation ; o charicles ! ( said i ) now you have hit it , the maid is mad : for she is possessed and agitated by the spirits that i have put into her , which are not of the meanest sort ; but a thing that was necessarily to be done to force her inclination , and make her to have a mind to that which by nature and breeding she abhorred ; but sure some god opposes my design , and countermines my work : and therefore of necessity , you must shew me the man●le that was exposed with her , which you told me you received with the rest of her things ; for i much fear , that some enemy hath poisoned it with a charm to make her out of love with love ; to the end that detesting marriage , ●he might wear out all her life time , without the blessing to be a mother . charicles approving my conjectures , presently brought me the mantle ; but i said , he must give me a little time to be private : he did so ; and assoon as he was gone , i began without the least delay to read what was sewed in the mantle ; be●ng formed in aethiopian characters , not vulgar , or such as the common people use , but royal ; ●uch as are proper only to their princes , bear●ng a resemblance to those we aegyptians call ●he sacred or priestly characters ; reading it , i ●ound the scrowl contained these words . i per●na , queen of the aethiopians , draw this lamen●able complaint for the last present i can give to ●er , whom i know not how to name , and whom i can ●all daughter only by the pains of child-birth . i was amazed ( knemon ) when i read per●na's name , yet i persisted to read the rest , which ●as this ; the sun who is author of our blood , be my witness ; o my child ! it is not for any spot of sin that i have exposed you in your cradle , and concealed you from your father hidaspes : yet if you shall escape and live , thus far daughter , let me excuse me to you , and to him that shall find you , if the gods make any one so happy ; be it also known to all sorts of people , the cause that forced your mothers heart to leave you to the mercy of fortune ; our ancestors of the gods are sol , and bacchus ; of the demi-gods , persius and andromeda , and after them memnon ; those that from time to time have builded and enlarged the palace of the kings of aethiopia , have enriched it with diverse pictures , excellent pieces taken from the actions and battels they have performed , and have put their statua's in the galleries and gardens with tabels , presenting to the life the valorous performances both of the gods and men ; and my own chamber was hanged about with several pieces of the loves of andromeda and perseus . i had been ten years marry'd to hydaspes , without any fruit of wedlock , yet it happened , that from a certain hour , i found my self with child ; all the time till my down-lying , there were publick feasts , and sacrifices of thanksgiving to the gods ; the king hoping for a successor to succeed him in his throne : but when i brought forth thee a white child , an unusual colour to the ethiopians ; i my self knew the cause ; the picture of andromeda naked was before my eyes ( for then persius had newly brought her down from the rock ) her face being apparelled in her sweetest looks , as freed from being devoured by the sea-monster . a beauty like hers in that table , it was my hard fortune to conceive thee ; wherefore to deliver my dignity and person from an ignominious death , assuring my self thy colour would convince me of adultery , and no man believe me when i should speak the truth of such an accident ; i resolved from the hour of your birth , to commit you to the uncertainty of fortune , which i imagined you your self would rather wish than a certain death , or the name of illegitimate . and so faining to my husband you were born dead , i secretly exposed you , laying with you in your cradle my best jewels for a reward to his piety , that should preserve you , and covering you , with this mantle , in which i have printed with my blood and tears the miserable relation of your fortune and my own , that have been so unhappy a mother in my first down-lying . but my sweet child , and that must be mine but for a little time ; if you survive , remember your great birth , be jealous of the honour of your chastity , the only best character of a ladies virtue and spirit ; imitate your ancestors , and following their example , make the world know the glory of your illustrious blood ; particularly , remember among the jewels i have laid forth with you , to look for a certain ring , and keep it to your self ; your father gave it me upon my wedding day ; his arms are herein engrav'd , the stone is named a pantarbe , consecrated in the collet : i use this way of writing , to advertise you hereof , since the gods have denyed us any other means to speak together ; this may prove dumb and unprofitable unto you ; it may also inform you , and do you service ; for the events of fortune are not in the compass of mans knowledge : finally , these characters i have stained in this mantle ; o daughter ! fair in pain ; whose beauty is my unjust accuser ; if it happen to you , be preserved by these tokens , you will be known ; if not ( which heaven keep from my knowledge ) let the water of these gems present your mothers funeral tears . when i had read this to an end , then knemon i knew , not without being ravished with admiration , the ordinance of the gods , and my soul felt a new motion , that made tears spring srom my eyes mixed with joy and sorrow , infinitely contented to have found what i desired ; namely , the resolution of the oracle , but exceeding troubled that i could have no perfect knowledge of the future ; complaining to my self of the miserable condition of mans fortune , nothing but instability ; whereof characlea appeared to me a singular example . i wandered in a maze of thoughts , considering who her true parents were , who her supposed , how far she was distanced from her country ; having lost her own , and b●ing only known by a feign'd name . to conclude , i stood a great while in a dull fear , having cause to pity and deplore her passed miseries , and not daring to say her fortune should be happy in the future ; till at length collecting my reason , i resolved the design i had undertaken , should go on without delay ; and coming to chariclea , i found her alone , wearied with the fight betwixt the forces of her spirits , and the powers of love , that made her fair body the field and seat of war , which her soul striving to make good , did but the more afflict her , being not able to resist the fnry of the assailant ; then i commanded those that were without to wait till they were called , and not to trouble me , as if i had certain prayers and invocations to make for the maids health . now chariclea ( said i ) you have time to perform your yesterdays promise , to discover to me what it is torments you , and no longer to conceal it from your true friend , whom it lyeth not in your power to hinder of the knowledge , though you should live and dye obstinate in your silence . at these words she taking my hand , and kissing it many times with tears : most wise calasiris ( she said ) oh do me the favour to let me suffer my ill fortune without confessing it , since , as you say , you know what troubles me ; i shall esteem it some benefit to avoid an ignominy , by concealing that it is a shame to suffer , but more shame to speak ; and though my sickness growing upon me , puts me to great pain , it is my greatest , that i did not at first conquer it , but yielded to that passion i had all my life time in such horror , as only to hear it named , i thought it a stain to the sacred title of a virgin. then to encourage and comfort her ; daughter , said i , you do wisely to keep your reasons secret , for two causes ; for it were but superfluous to tell me that , which by my art , is long since known unto me ; and you do your modesty right to spare your blushes , in revealing that ought ever to be hidden deepest in a maids heart ; but since you now feel what love is , and that at first sight you were tak●n with the per●ections of theagenes , ( for this i know by revelation ) know you are not alone , nor the ●irst that hath been taken in this kind , but it is the common case of many illustrious ladies , and chast● maids ; for ●ove is the greatest of the gods , and at times h●th had the victory of th●m all ; b●t now cons●der wh●re you are , and what you ●●●e to do : 't is true , 't is a great blessing not to be in love , but when you are once cau●ht , it is the best of wisdom to regulate yo●● des●res , and direct them to some honourab●e end . the●e words , knemon , put her all into con●●sion , and i saw clearly she delighted in them , ●●t was anxious and troubled how she might at●●in her hopes . in fine , asham'd to be brought ●●us to her confession , made her cheeks die ●●eir lilies red : and after she had a while stood ●●te ; o father , reply'd she , do you speak to 〈◊〉 o● marriage , and counsel me to take my ●wn choice , as if my father would consent , or ●●●t my adversary wish'd it ? for the young gentleman ( said i ) it is fixt ; he is faster caught ●●●n you , in the same tye , and i believe , at your 〈◊〉 interview , your souls acknowledg'd the ●●gnities and performances of one another , both ●●rning in an equal flame , which i have in●●eas'd in him for your sake : but for him that 〈◊〉 suppos'd to be your father , he provides you ●nother husband , an acquaintance of yours , one ●●camenes : let him provide ( said she ) my grave 〈◊〉 alcam●nes , rather than my bed for either ; ●●●agenes shall marry me , or death : but how ●o you know ( i beseech you ) that charicles is ●●t my supposed father : by this ( said i ) and ●●owed her the mantle : whence had you it , ●●d how came you by it ( she demanded of me ) or after charicles had received me in aegypt ●●om the hands of him that bred me , having ●●ought me i know not how into this country , 〈◊〉 took it from me and kept it in a box , to pre●●rve it from being defaced or corrupted by the ●●ury of time ? how i got it ( reply'd i ) you shall know hereafter , for the present i pray you tell me if you have read the inscription : confessing to me she did not know it ; i declared to her her parents , country and fortunes : to conclude , entreating me to t●ll her the particulars , i read the whole discourse to her , and did interpret it word by word : this bringing her to the knowledge of her self , put greater spirit in her , and transported her with a desire to see her parents ; and asking me what was b●st to be done ; i began then to manifest my counsel to her , discovering to her how all things went : i was once , daughter , ( said i ) in ●ethiopia , c●rried thither with a desire to gain their wisdom ; i was there made known to your mother p●rs●na , for that court entertaineth ●earned men , with all humanity , and there was a great opinion of me , for as much as i had joyned the wisdom of the aegyptians , with that of the aethiopian s●ges , which is m●de of great authority in that nation . but your mother when she saw i prepa●'d for my departure home , recounted to me all your fortune : having first obliged me to secre●●e by 〈◊〉 , and t●l●ing me she dur●t not discover it to her own priests : she prayed me to demand of the god● , if you were preserv'd , and in what part of the world you lived , forasmuch as s●e could not understand there was any such in all aethiopia , though she had made curious enquiry : but the gods having revealed all to me , i told her you were alive , and where ; she then entreated me to seek you out , and bring you back into your country , in regard that since your birth the grief she conceived for you had hindered conception in her ; and that she was now ready , if you could be found , to confess all that had happen'd to your father , perswading herself that the long time they had ●ived together , had sufficiently confirmed him in her faith by true proof ; and that he would be extremely taken with unexpected joy , to leave his scepter in the hands of his own child . this the queen said to me , conjuring me by my vow to her , wherein i had called the sun to witness , an oath it is not lawful for our priests to violate . this is the reason of my coming hither to accomplish my oath , though that was not the only motive of my journey ; yet , by the great providence of the gods , in travelling hither i have found a means to disengage me of my promise . you know , since i first saw you , i ●ave been ever ready to do you service , not o●itting the least occasion to express me yours , yet concealing my reasons till occasion would ●erve to recover this mantle , that it might ●onfirm your belief of my relation : therefore ●t were good you would take my counsel , before you be forced to endure , against your will , the marriage of alcamen●s , which charicles means to follow with all violence ; in place whereof you may recover your country and parents , and match with theagen●s , who is prepared to follow us into any part of the world ; changing a private life in a strange country , to that of a princess in your native soyl , where you shall be crowned , and reign with him you love dearest , if we may have faith in the gods , both in other presages , and even in the oracle of apollo . then i put her in mind of the tenour of the oracle , and expounded the meaning . chariclea perfectly knowing it , as being now vulgarly sung , and every one making assay to interpret it . this struck her silent again . at length she said , father , since you say , and i believe this to be the pleasure of the gods , what shall i do ? you must make a shew ( said i ) to entertain the match with alcamenes . i● will be a hard thing , ( said she ) if not base , to prefer any one before theagenes , though but in words ; but since i have committed my fe●● to the power of the gods and yours , father , let me know what will be the issue of this fiction , and how it may be broke before it come to the effect i fear . let the event inform you , i replied , for there are certain designs , wherewith , if ladies be unacquainted beforehand , the● will fear and delay , but if they undertake them on the sudden , they will finish them with a greater resolution . do you follow my advice both in other things and this , and make no difficulty to accommodate your self to the desire of charicles , to match you with his nephew , for be assured he will do nothing in it without my consent and approbation . she promised it , and so i left her weeping . i was hardly out of the gate but i perceiv'd charicles , hanging down his head , as oppressed with extreme grief : this is a strange humour , worthy charicles , ( said i ) to appear in this sort afflicted , when you ought to fill your heart with joy , and offer sacrifice and thanksgiving in the temple , the gods having now granted your long suit , and blessed the secrets of my knowledge and endeavours to her , inclining her mind to a desire of marriage : lord , why should you weep , i protest i cannot imagine the reason● how can i chuse , replied he , since my beloved daughter shall be taken out of this world , before she be subjected to the laws of marriage , as you promise , if we may believe dreams , both at other times and ( which with terrour i remember yet ) this night methought an eagle , flying from apollo's hand , in an instant ( alas ! ) seiz'd my poor child , and ravished her from my bosom , carrying her into the farthest region of the habitable earth , full of obscure images and shadows of black men ; and , which grieved me most , i could not discern what became of her , an infinite space of earth and air interposing it self betwixt us , so as the cruel bird did overfly my sight , and vanished . when he had told me this , i presently conceiv'd which way the presage tended ; but to divert him from his melancholly wherein he was drown'd , and to draw him as far as might be , from the suspicion of the future ; you being a priest , ( said i ) and of all his priests the most conversant in the mysteries of your prophetick god , yet methinks you have not the art of interpreting a dream ; your dream indeed presaging to you the marriage of your daughter , and by an enigma showing to you how her husband shall take her from you like an eagle , and that with the consent of apollo , as sending him to her from his own hand , yet you are troubled at it , and wrest your dream to the worst sense ; therefore let us take heed our misconjectures do not provoke the gods , resigning our selves wholly to their wills , and employing our best industry to conform your daughter to your pleasure . then he demanding what were best to be done to win his daughter ; if haply , said i , you have yet any jewels or rich embroideries , or some ring of a great value , let alcamenes present them to her , as marriage-gifts , and this will charm her to be his ; then you must make other preparations for the solemnity , and make no delay , but conclude the marriage , whilst yet the power of my art is working , and makes impression in her soul. doubt not , said charicles , i shall not omit any thing in my power ; and he had scarce spoken the words , but he ran with joy to put them in act , and did as i entreated him , without any procrastination , as afterwards i understood , carrying to chariclea , as nuptial gifts from alcamenes , not only rich vestures , but also the precious jewels p●rsina had put in her cradle , when she was exposed . but i went presently to theagenes , and asked him where his thessalians were , that did assist at the ceremony of the procession : he told me , the ladies were gone softly before , to make the easier journeys ; and how the young men burned with so great a desire to see their friends at home , as he hardly had power to stay them any longer : understanding that , i instructed him what he should say to them , and what they should do , commanding him he should observe when i would give the sign , and then take heed not to lose the time and occasion offered ; so i left him . and going to the temple of apollo , i intended to make my prayer to the god , that he would please , by his oracle , to direct me what course i would take to convey away the two young lovers ; but the god was swifter than a thought , for the heavenly powers do favour such as resign their will to theirs , though not implored ; often preventing mens petitions with their bounty ; as at this time apollo anticipated my demand , with his reply , making me know his pleasure and direction ; for as i was hasting towards the prophetess , troubled in my mind how i might execute my design , a voice stayed me as i passed , saying , do you go so fast , and hear not how these strangers call you ? they were a company of merchants , that to the sound of flutes and hoboys , were doing sacrifice , and celebrating a feast in honour of hercules . i stayed when i perceived them , for i should have offended the sacred mysteries of religion , to have passed by them without respect , the divine voice having invited me , after i had put frankincense in a thurible , and incensed the altar , offering a little water , it seem'd they thought me very sumptuous in my oblations , and intreated me to take part of their banquet ; i obeyed them so far , and when i was set down upon a couch , which the strangers had strew'd with myrrh and bays , and had tasted such things as i used to eat : noble gentlemen , said i , you have done me the honour to feast me so , as i cannot desire any greater dainties , i now only long to know your estate and fortunes , therefore now it is time , if you please , to tell me who , and of what country you are , for it would be rude , and an incivility in me , having sat with you at the feast of a sacrifice , and imitated friendship by you , by the communion of a sacred repast , if we should part without having a more particular knowledge one of the other . then they told me they were ph●●nicians , of the city of tyre , by their trade merchants , that were then bound for carthage , in africa , with a ship laded with rich merchandis●s , they had brought out of india , aethiopia , and phoenicia ; and at the present were sacrificing a feast to the tyrian hercules ; forasmuch as that young man ( said they , pointing to one that sat by me at the table ) hath gain'd the crown and prize of the lute , and proclaim'd our city of tyre victorious among the greeks . this youth , when we had doubled the cape of malea , and by adverse winds , were forced to land in the isle of the cephalians , there he prot●sted to us by this god , the patron of our country , that he had foretold him in his sleep the victory he should obtain in the pythian games , perswading us to turn our course , and sail hither , where the effect hath proved the truth of his prediction ; and he that was but late a merchant , is now proclaim'd a conqueror , and now in gratitude to the god , makes him this feast , for the favour of premonstrating his succ●ss ; but to morrow morning , if the wind serve , we intend to weigh anchor . is that your resolution , said i ? they told me it was : you shall have me your companion , i reply'd , if you will give me leave , for i must make a voyage into sicily , about my affairs , and you know those that sail for africa , must pass by this island . if you please ( said they ) we shall be happy in your company , for we shall make accompt , prosperity will attend us so long as a wise man , a grecian , and one belov'd of the gods , as your experience speaks you , will go along with us . i desired ( i said to them ) if you will but give me one day to prepare my self , and before i go , to give some order for my business here : you shall have all to morrow , they reply'd , provided you come a-board us soon at night , for the night is very serviceable to us , small breaths of wind rising from the earth , and wafting away a ship , without moving of great waves . i promised not to fail , first taking their faith by oath , they should not loose to sea before the time appointed ; and so i left them dancing to their musick , that play'd quick strains like jiggs , which they footed in the assyrian garb ; sometimes with little skips capering in the air , sometimes bending their knees to the earth , and skrewing their whole bodies , as if they had been possest with some prophetick spirit . and coming to chariclea , i found her with the jewels yet in her lap , that charicles had presented her : then i went to theagenes , and having advertis'd them both what they should do ; i retir'd to my lodging , attending with impatience , the issue of my project . the next day this happen'd . when midnight drown'd all the town in sleep : a troop of young gentlemen armed , besieg'd the lodgings of chariclea . theagenes was captain of that amorous war , making his young thessalians put off their glorious habit , and put on their armours ; who suddenly filling the air with cries , and terrifying those that were between sleep and wake , with the noise of their shields and swords , with torches burning in their hands , they brake into the house of charicles , easily forceing the first gate ( for the locks and bolts were prepared to admit them ) and took away chariclea , who was ready and expected them , suffering them to force her with her own consent ; and with the maid , conveyed away such portable riches , as she pleased , and returning through the streets , they renewed their warlike clamours , and doubled the sound and terror of their arms , ●rightning the city almost out of their wits ; and chooseing the dead of night to that end . finally , they made such a noise , as the mountain parnassus echoed , and replyed to the clashing of their iron : and thus marching out of the town , they did ride upon the spurr , to the mountains of the locrians and o●tians . but theagenes and chariclea , doing as i advised them , left the thessalians , and came secretly where i expected them : where falling at my feet , they trembling cry'd , save us , father ; father , save us : chariclea blushing , and bowing her face to the earth , as asham'd of her new act : but theagenes , to his other supplications , added , save o calasiris , two poor strangers thy suppliants , exiled from their country , depriv'd of their friends : only to purchase thee for all ; preserve two poor creatures , now expos'd to the power of fortune ; the c●p●i●●s of chast love banished , but voluntarily banished , and with joy reposin● in you all their hope of safety . these words , kn●mon , so touched me at the heart with pity , as i wept upon them with my soul more than with my eyes , so as they perceived not my sorrow , yet i eased my spirits ; i did raise and comfort them the best i could : to conclude , assuring them of a happy issue , and that i had auspicated this business , by the commandment of the gods. i will now go , said i , and dispatch the rest : do you expect me in his place , taking a special regard , you be not observ'd by any . then i was going away ; but chariclea caught me by a part of my robe and stayed me : o father , said she , this beginning were injustice , rather a betraying , if you should go and leave me alone with theagenes , not considering how unfaithful a guard a lover is , having the causer of his flames in his own power . therefore i will not leave you , till for this present , and the time to come , you shall oblige theagenes by vow ; not to importune me , for any favour in that kind , before i do recover my country and parents . or if heaven be not so pleased , yet till such time as with my consent , he shall receive me for his wife . admiring the vertues of the maid , i resolved it should be done accordingly : and making an altar of a table , taking fire from the chimny , theagenes made his vow , professing we had done him wrong , to cut off , by the prevention of an oath , the voluntary intregrity of his soul , and that he could not commend an act done for fear , though of the gods : yet he did swear by apollo of delphos , by diana , by venus her self and love , to do nothing that should displease chariclea . thus calling the gods to witness ; they accorded these , and other articles betwixt them . i holding on my course to charicles , found his house full of tears and tumult : forasmuch as the servants of chariclea had already brought him news of the carrying away of his daughter , and citizens came in from all parts of the town , and flocked about despairing charicles . in summ , the ignorance of what was done , and the want of counsel in what was to be done , confused them all : i therefore thundering amongst them with a loud voice ; o miserable men ( said i ) how long will you stand like stupid things , mute and dull , as if you were deprived of your judgment with your fortune ? what will you not arm and pursue your enemies ? will you not take and punish them who have done you such an injury ? but charicles replied , it were perhaps superfluous and vain to struggle longer with these disasters , for i am assured the divine wrath in●licts this punishment upon me ; when coming once at a forbidden hour into the sanctuary of our temple , i saw what was not lawful for man to behold . then the god foretold me , for my presumption i should be deprived of that was dearest to my eyes : yet let not this hinder you to fight ( as they say ) with the gods themselves , if we knew whither we should go , and who hath been so cruel to us : it was ( said i ) even the thessalian whom you so much admired , and would needs make me acquainted with him ; it was theagenes and his youthful company ; perhaps you may find some of them yet in town , for sure they cannot be all departed ; therefore rise and call a council of the people . it was done so as i appointed , and the captains sent their men to proclaim , by sound of trumpet , that the townsmen should assemble : immediately the people came in , and they held a council , by night , upon the theatre . charicles stood forth into the middle , and presently set them all on weeping , beholding him in his mourning , his head and face covered with ashes ; but much more when his affliction unfolded it self in his words : perhaps , dear country-men , ( said he ) seeing me thus stand forth , you may esteem me come hither to ease my heart , and to have convoked so great an assembly to be spectators of the enormous greatness of my miseri●●●●ut this is not my meaning , for though i have often sustained calamiti●s equal with death it self , and that my house is now deserted , laid waste from heaven , and mu●t remain d●solate ever hereafter , having 〈◊〉 , one after another , all that were dear to me , and in whose b●loved acquaintance i took the only joy of my life ; yet vain hope ( an error ) common to all the world , makes me resolute to ●e p●tient , and not die , yet perswading my self my c●ild m●y be recovered , but that which moves me most , is this city , which i desire and expect to see victo●ious before my death , and revenged of those have offered her this violence , unless these thessalian youths have also ravished from us our generous spirits , and our indignation for the abu●e to our country , and our gods protect us , for it would be a grievous heart●reak to us all , if a few dancing boys , the ministers of the sacred legation , should go away with the spoils of the principal city of greece ; having robbed in my sight , ah me , the temple of apollo of its most precious treasure , my charicl●a . o implacable and obstinate wrath of the destinies towards me , first , as you know , they extinguished my own daughters life even with her nuptial torches , then took away her mother from me , seized with such a sorrow at her death , as it cost her presently her life ; soon after they chased me from my country , but all this methought was supportable , after i had found chariclea . chariclea was all my life , my hope , the hope of my succession . chariclea was all my comfort , and , as i may say , my anchor ; but woe is me , this tempest , whencesoever it arose , hath cruelly broke all my cables . neither was this done simply and accidentally , but expressly to insult over us , at such an unexpected season , taking her away from her bed , almost her nuptial bed , as you all know , for i had published to you my intention of her marriage . he , speaking thus , and falling from his matter into complaints , the provost h●g●sias cut him off , and wished him to go home , speaking to the people in this sort : my lords assistants , and the rest , charicles shall have free liberty to make his complaints hereafter when he pleaseth ; but let us not be drowned in his sorrow , nor inconsiderately ●e carried away with his tears , as with the curr●nt of a river , neglecting the occasion , which in all things , and principally in affairs of war , is of greatest importance ; for if now from this assembly we would set forward , there might be some hope we should overtake them , whilst they march carelessly , thinking us unprovided to pursue them ; but if we stay longer to condole with charicles , with feminine faces , pitying his disasters , it will only remain , that by our delay , we shall give them means to escape , and our selves be laught at , and by boys , which we should have presently taken , and nailed upon gallowses ; making some of them su●●●● with such ignomin● , and transferring the disparagement down upon their families ; which would be an easie ●●ing , if we exasperate the thessalians against these men , ( if any of them shall escape us ) by interdicting them by our decree , to send ●ny more of their nation to perform this sacrifice ; and ordaining , by common council , that ●●reafter the solemn anniver●ary of the de●i-g●d n● p●ol●mus , shall be celebrated by ●ur 〈◊〉 at the publick charge . whilst they were commending ●i● sp●●ch , and p●●sing an act against the th●ssal●ans : let it be confirmed 〈◊〉 your su●frage , if you please , said the cap●●in , that the priestess of diana shall no more ●●e●ent herself to give the palm to those that 〈◊〉 in armour ; for , as far as i am able to con●cture , it was from thence the sacrilegiou●●ame of his love kindled in th●ag●●●s ; who , 〈◊〉 it s●●ms , studied this rape from the time that 〈◊〉 ●irst saw her ; and it will be good , for the fu●●●● , to take away the occasion from others of 〈◊〉 like attempt . having obtained this , by the common con●●nt and vote of all the people , h●g●sias gave ●●e word , the trumpets sounded the alarm , ●nd the theatre broke up , dissolving into a ●ar ; running confusedly into the field , not ●nly such as age had strengthned , and were ●ble to bear armour , but boys and youths pro●iscuously supplying the default of for●●s , by the force of their a●fections ; bold to partake the fortune of that expedition . there were al●● multitudes of women , that carried with greater spirits than their soft s●x permi●t●d , and t●king up any weapons that w●●● ne●t their hands , followed with the rest ; but in vain , for their natural debility havin● made them know it had not force enough , they saw they were frustrat●d of t●eir d●sir●s to revenge t●●●selves of the thessali●ns : there you mi●ht 〈◊〉 old men struggling with their ag● , their s●●●● , as it were , drawing their bodie● with such ● promptitude , and boyling ardour , a● they s●●●ed to reproach and upbraid th●ir own w●●●ness ; so passionate was all the town for t●● loss of chariclea , and as if one spirit had mov●d them , they all together sallyed forth in the p●●suit , not so much as expecting the day-light . the aethiopian history . the fifth book . in this trouble and hurly-burly was the town of d●lphos , but whether they performed any service or not , i cannot tell ; ●or their pursuit did give me the occasion to take my ●light ; so as taking the two young lovers with me , i brought them down to the port at 〈◊〉 hour of the night , and we went aboard 〈◊〉 ph●nicians , who were ready to weigh anchors , if we had stayed never so little longer ; forasmuch as they p●rceiving the day began to appear , and that we came not , they made account they should not falsifie their oaths made unto me , being to attend one day and one night only ; but we coming just upon the time , they received us with great joy ; and presentl● cutting the water with their oars , they rowed out of the haven to the main , and then a soft wind breathing from the coast full upon the poop , moved little waves , that seemed to play b●●i●● the ship , and su●fered us to pass with all our sails spread . you would then have said , the gulf of cyrrha , the elevation of parnassus , the promontories of aetolia and caladon●a ●led from the sight of our vessel , that pass●d as nimbly as if it were flying by them ; and having sail'd all the day , we came within kenning of the pointed islands , both in name and figure , the sun then setting . but why am i so unseasonably tedious , and what is my reason ●o to forget both my s●lf and you , as to stretch this discourse , as really to commit you to the mercy of a sea ? let us now leave work a while , and take a little sl●ep , for though you are very attentive , and res●●t sl●●p valiantly , yet i am perswaded , kn●m●n , you cannot hold out long , the better part of the night being spent in this sad repetition ; and , child , age lying heavy on me , and the memory of my calamiti●s infeebling my spirits , i must needs have a little rest . you have done well , father , now cease , said knemon , not that i am weary of the relation , for that i should never be , though you should speak many days and nights together ; there is such magick in your words , and sweetness , that exceeds the voice of syrens . but i have heard a kind of murmuring a good while , and a noise about the house , and , i confess , it troubled me , but i was forced to be silent , drawn on with a desire to hear you . i heard nothing , said calasiris , forasmuch as happily age hath debilitated my sence , for old age is a malady of all the parts of the body , principally of the ears ; and perhaps it was because my thoughts were entirely fixt upon my story , and sure 't is nausicl●s , the master of the house . but what ( o gods ) hath he performed ? all to our wish ( said nausicl●s ) entering at those words ; and i know , good calasiris , you did long to hear the news , and that your spirit was in the field with me : i have had many proofs of your affection ; and it is not the least that i heard you remember me in my absence , and wish my fortune ; but who is this stranger ? a grecian , said calasiris ; you shall know the rest hereafter ; but do not hold us longer in suspence : if you have prospered in your expedition make us partakers of your content : you shall hear that to morrow too , said nausicles , for the present let it suffice you to know i have recover'd my thisbe , much fairer than she was ; and so i leave you , for my journey and the troubles of my mind require some rest : having said this , he went to make his word good . but knemon at the hearing of the name of thisbe grew very melancholy , and began to think of former passages betwixt them ; p●ssing the night as if he had lain upon thorns ; w●●ping , sighing and tormenting himself so gri●vously , as he awaked calasiris , though he ●l●pt soundlier than his custom was ; the old man raising himself , and leaning upon his elbow , demanded what the matter was ; and why he so disquieted himself , like a mad-man ? would it not make any man mad , said knemon , to hear that thisbe is alive again ? who is that thisbe , said calasiris , how come you to know her , having heard her named ? and why doth it trouble you so much to understand she lives ? i will tell you that another time , said knemon , when i make you a rehearsal of my fortun●s ; but for the present , know , i did s●e her dead before my eyes , and with these two hand● i my self buried her in the island of the herdsmen . sleep , sleep , said calasiris , you shall know to morrow how all goes . i cannot sleep , said kn●mon ; i pray you , do you take your rest ; i do not think i shall be able to live , unless i get up , and make some means to be more curiously informed whether nausicl●s be in an error , or whether the dead do only revive among the aegyptians : at this calasiris smiled , and fell asleep again . but knemon went out of the room very gingerly , and softly , as was fit , being in the dark , in a strange ●ouse ; but he was content to v●nture , longing to free himself of the fear and suspicion he conceived of this●e ; till at length , t●ough it was long first , grop●ng and turning a●out , p●ssing and repassing the same places , a● if they were di●ferent , he heard a woman , like a nightingale in a cage , with so●t and lamentable accents , complain of her hard fortune ; and laying his ear to the crevice of the door , he distinguished these words ; poor miserable , i thought my self safe out of the hands of thieves , and that i had escaped the horror of a bloody death , which i expected , hoping to pass the rest of my life with my beloved , which , though it had been the life of a stranger and a wanderer , yet living with him it had contented me ; for there can be nothing so rigorous , or fall of molestation , that his sweet presence will not make supportable ; but the yet pityless destiny , that hath persecuted me from my bi●th , having once more ●lattered me with hope , hath again deceived me . i esteemed my self free from servitude , and behold i am a slave again : i imagined i should b● no more a prisoner , and i am as straitly kept as ever before : i was environed in an island , envellopped in darkness ; the estate of my present fortune resembles my late misery , or rather is more wretched , since he is forced from me , that by his consolation would and could sweeten any bitterness : the last day the cave of the thieves was my retreat ; and what was it but an abyss , a hell , or properly a grave ; and yet the presence of my love made it a sweet place ; there he mourned for me , living , believing me to be dead ; and weeping for me , as murdered by the hand of a cruel enemy ; but now , alas , i am deprived of such comforts , the companion of my miseries is perished , that did bear grief with me , as a common burden ; and i am left alone , forsaken , a captive , wretched , every way exposed to the cruel mercy of fortune ; only contented not to die , because i hope my dearest friend yet lives ; but , o my soul , where are you now , or what new accident befals you ! are you , ah me , a slave , as i am ? is that free and generous courage ( patient of any servitude but that of love ) now made a captive ? yet love whatsoever you indure live still , and hope at length to see your thisbe , for so you must call me , though i know it is against your will. knemon was no longer able to contain himself when he heard this , and had not patience to stay the rest , at first suspecting her for another ; but in the end of her speech concluding her to be thisbe ; he had much ado to keep himself from falling down almost at the door . but he held out the best he could , and for fear some of the house should take him there ( for now the cocks had crowed the second time ) he ran away , sometimes breaking his shins against the stools that stood in his way ; sometimes running his face against the wall , and now stum●ling at a threshold or door posts : in the end he got to his chamber where he presently cast himself upon the bed , where he began to tremble and his teeth to chatter , in suc● sort , as he had been in danger of his life , unless ca●●si●is had instantly been aware of him , and cherished and comforted him , making him come to himself ag●in : and after knemon began to breathe again , calasiris ask'd what had frighted him ; i am lost he reply'd , for it is true the wicked thisbe is reviv'd : and when he said this , he fell into a swound again , and the old man took a great deal of pains again , while he ●ndeavour'd to recover him ; it was evidentl● some god that took a delight to play with knemon ( as all thin●s in the world , is only their game and mockery ) and would not permit him to enjoy without grief , the sweets of his desire , but mixed with bitterness , that which presently after was to give him the height of his content , forasmuch as happily they intended to show what was their custom , and it may be the reason of it is th●t humane nature is not capable to receive a simple joy without some allay , as may be ●udged by this example of knemon , who at that time fled away from the object he most wished , and was frighted with the sweetest accent could befal him ; for the woman that he had heard lamenting was chariclea , and not thisbe , and thus it came about . after thyamis was faln alive into the power of his en●mies , that he was taken prisoner , and that the fi●e had reduc'd all the island to ashes , and unpeopl'd it of the herdsmen . knemon and t●ermutis , the pa●e o● thyamis , ferry'd over the la●e in the mo●ning to v●nture as spi●s ●mon● their 〈◊〉 , to ●et knowl●dge of the estate ●f their cap●●●● : the events of their journey you have ●eard b●fore , but the●g●n●s and cha●i●lea remain'd ●lone in the cave , repu●ing the delay of mise●y as a great good fortune , ●or then finding themselves free without any person to trouble them , they imbraced , gave and received so many mutual kisses , as falling into a languishing oblivion , they remain'd along time as if they would have grown into one body , yet feasting themselves with chast and pure delights . but at length the care of their a●fairs return'd into their memory , and necessity constrained them to give over their caresses . theag●n●s beginning in this sort to speak ; our chiefe●t wish , and our continual prayer to the gods of greece , my fair chariclea , is , that they will permit us to pass the course of all our years together , and to enjoy the happiness we prefer before all others ; in hope whereof we have sustained so many ●vils . but forasmuch as the condition of all worldly things is variable and so unstable , as that we see inclineing one way , in a moment we perceive changed to the contrary , we have already suffer'd much and are yet to expect more misery , being to go to the town of chemis as we have promis'd knemon : and what will here befal us , heaven knows ! and from thence questionless it will be a mighty ●ourney e●e we shall arrive in the country we are bound for ; therefore i think it would be good we should agree upon some cyphers or privy to●ens , by means whereof , when we are together , we m●y s●cr●tly interchange the exp●ession of our minds , and find out one another , if by fortune w● should be s●parated ; for the ●est guide after one hath strayed , is the memory of some marks he hath taken of his friends . charicl●a approv'd his inv●ntion , and they agreed , in ●ase they should be parted , that upon all the famous temples and statua's , images and stones in cross ways , he should write pythias and chariclea pythia , expressing whether they were gone to the right or the left , into what town , village or country , adding the day and hour ; but if by chance they did meet , it would suffice that one should but see the other ; forasmuch as time would never deface those amorous marks that were imprinted in their souls : yet chariclea shewed him her fathers ring that was exposed with her ; and theagenes let her see a white scar upon his knee , given him by a wound he receiv'd fighting with a wild boar ; and so they resolved there should be secret words betwixt them ; hers was the torch , his the palm . in confirmation of this agreement , they im●raced and wept again , po●ring ( as i conceiv'd ) their tea●s , instead of o●●●ri●●s , and sealing to it with ki●ses in t●e place of vows . this done , they w●●t forth o● t●e cave not touching any of the treasu●e there inclosed , for they esteem'd riches gather'● by ro●●eri●● , ●s ● polluted thing , but they took again their o●n which they had brought from del●●os , ●nd been depriv'd of by the thi●●●s : charic●●a changing her habit , and putting her jewel● , crown an● sacred robe in a little knaps●ck ; to disguise her self t●e more , she went in ● poor gown , and gave th●ag●n●s her bow and quiver to carry ; a c●rriage that was sweet and suitable to him , being cupids arms , the god that had made him a va●●al to his empire . being now come to the side of the ●ake and about to take water , they p●rceiv'd a troop of armed men passing over to the island , a sight that so troubled them , as they r●main'd a great while lost in asto●ishment , as if the in●uries of fortune ●aged incessantly upon them . at length the souldiers being almost arriv'd , chariclea said , it was best to fly and return to the cave and there to conceal themselves● and as she spake she fle●● but the stay of 〈◊〉 detained her : ho● 〈◊〉 , said he , 〈◊〉 we ●ly our fate , that 〈◊〉 where pursu●● us ? no , no , let us yield 〈◊〉 fortune , and not oppose our selves to her vio●ence that breaks in upon us ; what shall we gain by it , but vain errour and a wandring life , and to be insulted over by new misery from time to time ? alas , do you not see how to our banishment fortune hath added the robberies of pirates , ingag'd us in all the dangers of the sea , and contended with great industry , to make us more miserable by land ? hath she not expos'd us to the danger of war ? submitted us to the mercy of thieves ? a while since we were prisoners subject to the pleasure of another ; then we were left alone depriv'd of all company ; then she made a show to give us our liberty ; and now she sends these murderers to make an end of all ; in such a war she plays against us , making us her scene of mirth , her comedy , or rather tragedy . but why do i not then abbreviate this lamentable history of our loves , and deliver our selves into the hands of our murderers , least if she study to make the end of her play insufferable , we be forced with our own hands to kill our selves ? chariclea consented to one part of what theagenes said , but not to all ; telling him he had great reason to complain of the cruelty of fortune ; but for all that , it were not well advised to yield themselves voluntarily to their enemies , being they were not sure those men would kill them , when they had them in their power : neither was it likely they had so gentle a destiny as would grant them a speedy death , and free them from their calamities ; but it might be , they should be reserved for slaves ; and what death , said she , can be so cruel as the condition of such a ●ife , to b● exposed to the fatal indignities of barbarous and wicked villains ? which l●t us declin● by all means , and to our uttermo●t power , m●as●ring hope and success by the experiment of our passed acc●dents , since we have o●t●n , and now lately , escaped alive , more in●●●di●ly as from greater d●●gers . let us do as it ple●s●s you , replied 〈◊〉 , and so followed , as i●●he had drawn him after her , but they could not reach the ●ave in time ; but while they only re●ard●d those that came to them in front , they perceived not themselv●● to be inclosed by another company of souldiers , that had landed in another part of the isl●nd ; at last falling upon these , they stayed in a maze , especially charicl●a , who ●led into the arms of theag●n●s ; if she were to die , desiring to die there : some of these that invaded them , lifted up their hands to strike them down ; but after the young lovers had looked upon their enemies , their spirits fail'd them , and their hand● were benummed ; for even the barbarous , as it seems , do bear respect to beauty ; and those nature hath indu●d with p●rfections , do mollifie the eyes and hea●ts , that are by nature fierce and bloody . having taken them , they presently conveyed them to their captain , ambitious to be the first that should bring him the fairest spoils : and indeed this was all they were likely to present him , for when they had run all over , as if they would have put a net about the island , no one else could find any thing , for all the island was burnt in the former war , only the cave remained , and that they knew not . then the souldiers led them to their general , whose name was mitranes , captain of the garrisons to oroondates , who administred the government of a●gypt , as the great kings lieutenant ; and for a great summ of money given him by nausicles , had enter'd the island with him to recover thisbe . now after theag●nes and chariclea , often invoking the aid of their good genius , were ●rought so near that mitran●s might discern ●●●m , nausicles , that stood by him , advising himself of the right trick of a merchant , active in matter of profit , stepped forth , and running ●o chariclea , cryed with a loud voice , behold my thisbe , the very same those wicked rogues , ●●e herdsmen , took from me . but now , mitranes , by your favour and the gods , i shall ●ecover her ; then he seiz'd upon chariclea , ●●igning to receive great contentment ; and whispering in her ear , in greek , that the rest ●hould not understand , wished her to confess ●er name was thisbe , if she desired to be safe : his sophism had the success he hoped for , for ●hariclea hearing him speak greek , and conje●turing the man intended her some good , ac●ommodated herself to his intention ; and being demanded her name by mitranes , she said she was called thisbe . then naus●cles , with open arms , ran to embrace the neck of mitranes ; many times kissing his head , and admiring his good fortune , pu●fed up with vanity the heart of the barbarian ; telling him , it appeared that his other exploits in war were great , since he had so happily conducted the present enterprise . the captain , blown up with a flattery of his praises , and deceived by a false name , though he was amazed to behold so much beauty in so poor clothes , shining , like the moon , behind a cloud , notwithstanding the levity of the mans spirit , was caught with the suddenness of the plot , and could not for shame refuse to give her to nausicles ; take her , said he , since it is so that she is yours ; i have recovered her for you , do with her what you please : and at these words delivered her into his hands , looking continually towards her , and manifesting it was against his will , and for the money he had taken , that he yielded possession of the maid : but this ( said he , pointing to theagenes ) whosoever he be , he is our prisoner , and shall follow us , with a guard upon him , to be sent to babylon ; for the shape of his body is so fair , as he is worthy to serve at the kings table : things thus ordained , they passed the lake , and then were the lovers separated ; nausicles with chariclea returning to his house at chemmis ; and mitranes , with his men , visiting other towns that were under his command , without delay dispatched theagenes with letters to oroondates , who was then at memphis . the tenour of his letter was this : the captain mitranes , to the vice-roy oroondates . i send you a young grecian we have taken , that merits noblier than to be my servant ; and , in my opinion , is worthy to wait only in the presence of the great king , our god ; affording you hereby the means to send a pres●nt to our master , such as the court never yet beheld , nor shall ever hereafter see the like . but before it was clear day , calasiris and knemon , hoping to inform their ignorance , came to nausicles , and demanding what he had done ; he related all the passages how he had passed into the island , how he had found it deserted , at first not encountring any person , and how he had subtilly abused mitranes , receiving a young maid as if she had been thisbe , that by good fortune appear'd in the island , and was so fair , as she would be much more advantageous to him , than if he had found thisbe : for there was no less difference betwixt them , than in the compa●ing of a goddess to a woman ; that he had never seen a beauty so perfect , but it was much below this strangers ; and that he had not words sufficient to express it ; neither was it needful , since he would show her to them . when they heard this , they began ●o suspect who she was , and were very earnest with him to command , the maid might be presently brought in , for they knew it must needs be the ine●fable beauty of chariclea : who being come before them , was veiled to the eyes , and those she bowed to the earth ; till nausicles assuring her there was no cause of fear , she lifted up her eyes a little , seeing and being seen , contrary to all expectation , immediately the three fell a weeping ; and as if there had been a sign amongst them , or that they had all received one wound , were loud in their passion , nothing being heard from them , but o father , o daughter , my true child chariclea , not knemo●'s thisbe . this amazed nausicles , so far as he had not a word to say , when he saw calasiri● embracing chariclea with tears , not knowing how this mutual knowledge c●me about , being like the meeting of friends in a comedy upon some stage ; till calasiris kissing him for joy● spake to him thus : best of men , may the gods ever grant the success you desire , and amply satisfie your wishes ; you are the preserver of my never-hoped daughter , and it is by your means i now enjoy her sight , the sweetest object of the world : but , o my dear child , o chariclea where have you left theagenes ? at this deman● she wept , and for a while being not able to bring fo●th a word , at length she replied , he is taken prisoner , and he , whosoever he is , that delivered me to this man , hath led him cap●ive . then calasiris desired nausicles to declare to him what he knew touching theagenes , and who he was that had him in his power , and to what place he was led captive . nausicles understanding these were the same the old man had so often mentioned to him , told him the summ of all ; but he added , that knowledge would not at all advantage poor men , for he could hardly believe the offer of a great ransom would redeem him from mitranes . we have money , said chariclea softly to calasiris , promise what summ you please ; i keep still the jewels you know , and have them about me : this put spirit into calasiris , but fearing nausicles should enter into some suspicion what it was that chariclea spake of ; good nausicles , said he , a wise man never wants , but is ever as rich as he can wish himself , for the gods will send him as much wealth as he judges to be fit to demand of them ; therefore only say where he is that detains theagenes , and the divine bounty will not fail , but will furnish us with as much as shall serve to content the persian avarice . at these words nausicles could not chuse but smile ; and you will then ( said he ) make me believe that it is possible for you to grow rich of the sudden , as if it were by the turning of an engine : if you will first pay me down a ransom for your daughter , for you know well the persian and the merchant only study for their gain : i know it , said calasiris , and you shall have it as it is good reason ; but why are you so free , that amongst all your other benefits you will also anticipate our suit , and are pleased of your own accord , to propose the restitution of my daughter . i will only first intreat your leave , to make my prayers to the gods : with all my heart , said nausicles , i my self am now going to offer sacrifice , i shall desire your presence there , and that you will pray the gods to send me riches , and receive for your self , that which i have in present : do not you mock me nor be incredulous , said calasiris , but go before and prepare the sacrifice ; and when all things are ready , i will come . he did so , and a while after a servant came from nausicles , to wish him to make hast to the temple , and they ( for now they had contrived how they would have it ) went thither joyfully with nausicles , and the rest of the invited men● for he had provided a publick sacrifice , and chariclea with the daughter of nausicles , and other women that had essayed to flatter her sorrows , with many consolatory words , and had intreated her to go along ; but i believe they had never prevail'd , if by fortune it had not come into her thoughts , that under pretext of the sacrifice , she might make her prayers to the gods , for the safety of theagenes . being now come to the temple of mercury , ( for nausicles sacrific'd to him as the god of the exchange and merchants ) calasiris a while comtemplateing the entrails of the beast , by the changes of his countenance , made them evidently know the gods foretold him many strange adventures , intermixt with joy and sorrow . then putting his hands upon the altar where the fire of the sacrifice yet burned , and feigning to draw out of the middest of the flame , that which he had before prepared about him ; behold said he , o nausicles ! what the gods send you by us , for the ransom of chariclea : and with those words presented him a certain princely ring , a rare and divine thing , it seem'd the circle was of amber , and within the collet was set an aethiopian amethyst , gloriously sparkling , of the bigness of the eye of a young maid , much surpassing in beauty those that come from spain or britain , for those are of a faded red that hath no splendour , and resembles roses blowing from their buttons ; when the beams of the sun begin first to set , blushes on them : but the aethiopian amethyst hath a fire sparkling from the bottom of the stone ; which if you turn it in your hand , casts a beam of gold before your eyes : not such as dazleth the sight with too flaring brightness , but clears it with a pure and delicate light : this is the natural propriety is of much more power than those of the west , for it doth not challenge its name fasly , but really , keeps the wearer sober at all feasts● all the amethysts that come f●om the indies , or aethiopia , have the like virtues , but that which calasiris presented to nausicles , was yet more precious : for it was ingraven with the figures of living creatures to the life . there you might see a little boy feeding she●p , standing upon a rock , that was not very high , to look about him , as from a little watch tower , making his sheep feed with the musick of his pipe ; and you would say , that his flock listen'd , and went forward to the cadence as he sounded : some would conceive them to have golden fleeces ; not that art so adorn'd them , but it was the proper colour of the am●th●st shineing upon their backs . there were the figures of young lambs , seeming to make little skips : some that ran in flocks towards the rock ; others that went circling about it● making the rock a pastoral stage : some appear'd playing in the ●lame of the amethyst as in the sun ; and in leaping , scraped the stone a little , only with the tips of their feet . but those that were the liveliest of them , you would have thought , their leapings would have broke the border of the stone● but that the industry of the workman had kept them o●f ; parking them in with a golden pa●●●hat went about the rock , which was a true ro●k , not an imitation . for ●he workman had reserv'd a corner of the amethyst to make it ; serving hims●lf with a native thing , to represent that which he meant to counterfeit , for he esteemed it superfluous , that a s●one should be feigned in a stone , such was the ring and sculpture . but nausicl●s was much amazed with the unexp●cted accident , and overjoyed with the grea● value of it , estimating it no less than all his riches . believe me ( said he ) good calasiris , i did but jest , not speak seriously , when i demanded the ransom of your daughter , for my meaning was to restore her freely to you ; yet in regard the gifts sent us by the gods ( as you wise men say ) are not to be refused , i receive this stone , as sent from heaven , believing assure●ly , that mercury , the best of the gods , and my patron , according to his custom , hath furnished you with this present for me , from the fire , for you may see the flame is in it yet ; besides , i must needs esteem that gain most honest , which , without the least endamaging of the giver , enricheth the receiver . at these words the sacrifice being ended , nausicles invited all the assistants to sit down to the feast , commanding the tables should be covered apart for the women in the heart of the temple , and in the porch for the men. after they had eaten liberally , and the cloth was taken away , and that , according to the fashion , the cups for drinking healths were set upon the table , the men invoked bacchus , drinking in honour of him , and singing to him the usual catch , that is sung to the boone voyage , when they go aboard ; and the women danced to the tune of a hymn , composed in the praise of ceres . but chariclea , retiring herself , considered of her a●fairs , o●fering her devotions for the life and safety of theagenes ; and now the drink began to hea● the company , every one presenting his service to his friend in wine ; when nausicles holding out a vial of pure water ; honest calasiris , said he , i drink to you , since it so pleaseth you , in this cold nymph , that is no companion for bacchus , but for nymphs and virgins ; but if you please to pledge us in the relation we so much desire , you shall chear our spirits with the best beveridge : do you not hear how the women , to lengthen out the feast , and to avoid drinking , are fallen to dancing ; as for us , the discourse of your voyage will be a noble entertainment for us after our feast , sweeter than any dance or musick ; and since , as you know , you deferred it before , when it might put you in mind of your disasters , then new , and such as drowned your soul in grief ; now you cannot put it off to a more convenient time , since at this present one of your children , your daughter , is safe before your eyes ; and you shall see your son , by the favour of the gods , ere many days be past , if you do not anger me by deferring again the relation of your fortunes . the gods , o nausicles , said knemon , then give to your heart the effect of your desires ; since having sent for all sorts of musick to your feast , now neglect them for the present , and leave them to such as have more low affections in their souls , while you are covetous to hear sacred and mystical things , mingled with a kind of a divine pleasure ; wherein , i observe , you well know the power and nature of the divinity , placing mercury next to bacchus ; and so mixing with the delights of feasting , the content of sweet discourse ; and therefore , though i justly admired the splendour and preparation of your sacrifice ; yet i cannot believe it is possible to please bacchus more than at a feast made in his honour , to bring in the recital of some fine story , speech being his proper symbol . calasiris obeying their desires , recounted the entire history unto them , as well to gratifie knemon , as to oblige nausicles , for the affairs he was shortly to have with him : he then told them his fortunes from the beginning , repeating summarily , and in few words , the chief heads of what he had said before to knemon ; and purposely passing over many things that he held not necessary nausicles should understand , but that which was not as yet related , and depended upon the premises , he continued in this sort ; after they were fled from delphos , and imbarqued in the phoenician ship , they sailed at first as they could wish , being wafted with a soft breath of wind full in the poop , but when they fell into the streights of caladonia , they were greatly troubled , the sea in that place being naturally unquiet , and ever turbulent . but knemon staid him here , entreating him to pass no further , without telling them the cause ( if haply he knew it ) why the sea in that place is continually in such violent agitation . the ionian sea , replied calasiris , being there , from a large and spacious main contracted to a streight , and pouring it self into the gulph of crisa , as through a narrow flood-gate , hasting to mix with the aegean sea , meets with the isthmus , or neck of land , in peloponnesus , that beats back its waves , hindring their impetuosity , doubtless by the providence of heaven , which set that promontory to break the violence of the streights , lest they should overflow the opposite shore ; and hence , as it is probable , comes the turbulency of this sea , the waves being more pressed together in this than any other place of the gulph ; forasmuch as the stream that flows in , and the waters that flow back , encountring and beating one another , makes the billows boyl , and , by their concussion , covers all the sea with a foam , no less than in a violent tempest . all the company having with praise and applause allowed his reasons , calasiris thus pursued the series of his discourse . after we had passed other streights , and lost sight of those that are named the acute or pointed islands , it seemed to us we saw the promontory of the zacynthians , like a cloud in the air , so far off as our eyes could hardly discern it . then the pylot commanded them to hale in the sails , and we demanding what his meaning was to slack his course , since the wind was favourable ; because ( replied he ) if we go with full sail , we shall arrive at the island about the first watch of the night ; and it is to be feared , lest in the dark we should run upon the rocks , which lie hid with the sea in many places thereabouts ; therefore it were best to pass this night upon the main , where we have sea-room , and to take no more wind than will serve to bring us to land about the break of day . thus said the patron , but yet , nausicles , it was not done , for the sun was risen before we cast our anchors ; those of the island that lived about the port , being not far distant from the city , ran in from all parts to behold us , as to some new and strange spectacle , wondring ( as we conceived ) at the serviceableness of our ship , that was so fair , so tall , and yet so light , admiring therein the workmanship of the phoenicians , and telling us we had unusual and incredible fortune , to sail safe in the midst of winter , when the pl●iades were set . all the rest of our mates , while the sailors were loosing of the tacklings , went aland , and ran into the city to traffick with the zacynthians . but i ( having heard the pylot say we should winter in that island ) went along by the sea-coast , to enquire out some poor lodging for us , not being willing to remain in the vessel , but avoiding it , for the trouble of the mariners , as an inconvenient lodging ; and shunning the town , as unsafe , for concealing the flight of the two young lovers . i had not gone far , but i saw an old fisherman sitting before his door , mending his broken nets ; and approaching him , i said ; save you , honest man , i pray you tell me if there be a lodging to be taken hereabouts ? it was about yonder promontory , replied he , that i cast this net yesterday , upon a rock covered with the water , and so tore it as you see ; i do not ask you that , said i , but you shall do an office of humanity if you will receive me into your house , or shew me some other place , where i may lodge . it was not i , said the good man , i was not in the boat , heaven forbid tyrrhenus should mistake so grossly , or that age had so much infeebled his brain : it was the fault of my boys , that , ignorant of the places where the water covered the rocks , cast their nets where they should not . at length perceiving he was somewhat deaf , i began to speak more loud . it was good morrow to you that i said , and my request was , you would shew me and my company , being strangers , some house where we may sojourn . the gods conserve you also , he then replied , if it please you to take such poor entertainment as i am able to give you , you shall be welcome to me , unless you be some of those that look for houses furnished with fair beds , or have many followers : after i had told him we were but three , my two children and my self ; it is a good number , replied he , you shall find but one more with us , for i have two children yet at home , ( their elder brothers are married men , and house-keepers themselves ) and the fourth is the nurse of my children , for their mother is lately dead ; therefore , sir , make no delay , and doubt not but we will receive you joyfully and chearfully , i having known as soon as i heard you speak , you were a gentleman , by your fashion . i did so , and immediately coming with theagenes and chariclea , the good man tyrrhenus entertained us with a very good will , and gave us the better and warmer part of his house : and indeed at the beginning we passed the winter contentedly , remaining all the day long together , never parting but at the hour of bed-time . chariclea did lie with the nurse , theagenes and i in a room by our selves ; and in another little chamber tyrrhenus and his children . we ●a●● all at the table together , which we furnished with all meats but fish , wherewith tyrrhenus abundantly supplied us from the sea. sometimes fishing alone , sometimes to pass the day we helped him . he was a master of his trade , and knew how to fish in divers manners , according to the diversity of the season . he never cast his nets , but he drew them full , so as many attributed that to good fortune , which ought to have been ascribed to his art and experience . but once unhappy , and ever unhappy ( as they say . ) neither could the beauty of chariclea remain in this solitude without trouble and misfortune , for the young tyrian merchant that had obtained one of the prizes in the pythian games , and with whom we had imbarqued our selves , did grievously molest me with his continual importunities , that i would give him chariclea in marriage , addressing himself as if i had been the father that begot her ; and perpetually boasting ; now telling me of his illustrious family , then counting his riches , how the ship was his own , and that he had the greatest part of the merchandise that laded her , which were gold , silver , precious stones and silks ; and to give no little accession to his splendour and glory , he again put me in mind how his victory was proclaimed in the pythian games , and many such like things . but i pretending present poverty , and that my heart would never consent to marry my daughter to a stranger , that should live in a region so far off from aegypt . father , said he , let not this trouble you , i shall esteem your daughter herself a sufficient portion , greater than a million of talents , or all the riches of the world : i shall also willingly change my country and my friends for her , turning my intended course to carthage , and accompanying you to what place of the earth you shall please to sail ; then finding it was not possible to satisfie the pho●nician , but that his flame increasing he grew still more passionate , and would never let me rest , i thought best to put him off with fair promises , least he should make some violent attempt upon us in the island , assuring him i would do as he desired , when we should arrive in aegypt . but see the fortune ; i was no sooner freed of this merchant , but ( as it is said ) one wave followed another : for a few days after , tyrrhenus taking me aside to a place where the shore did bow and make an angle . o calasiris , said he , i vow to you by neptune and the other sea-gods , that i see you with as much joy , as my brother , and your children , as my own ; and i must tell you , there is a train laid for you , that will be very hard for you to escape ; but i held it not lawful to conceal it from you , ●n respect , we have now a long time lived together in one house ; and being it concerns you to know it , there is a pirate , whose galley lies under the covert of this promontory , that watches for the phoenician ship , and sends out spies to observe their getting forth to sea ; therefore take heed what you do , and look well to your selves ; for i advertise you , they have conceiv'd this cruel , but customary design for you , or rather for your daughter . the gods , said i , be as good to you as you have shewed your self true to us . but tyrrhenus , how came you to discover this plot ? by my trade , replyed he , i am known to them , and use to carry them fish , because they buy dearest and give me greater rates than any other ; and yesterday as i was drawing my net by the side of yonder rock , the captain of the pirates met me , and demanded if i knew not when the pho●nicians meant to loose out of the haven ? i presently doubting his demand tended to some stratagem ; i cannot justly tell you , trachinus , said i , but i believe it will be the spring before they depart : and the maid that lodges at your house doth she go along ? i do not know , replyed i , but why do you enquire so curiously ? because , said he , i am desperately in love with her , and so ravished with the wonder of her merit , though i have but once beheld her , as i can hardly be my self ; neither can i remember i ever fortun'd upon such a beauty , though i have taken many and fairer captives ; then pulling him nearer to me that i might the better get out his whole plot ? what need have you , said i , to fight with these phoenicians since that without the loss of blood , you may easily take her from my house before they imbarque . no , replyed he , there is a conscience among thieves , and we observe the laws of courtesie and humanity towards our friends ; for your sake therefore i forbear , least it should bring you into trouble , in regard your guests being lost , would be required at your hands , and with one labour i mean to gain two things , the riches of the ship , and the enjoying of the maid ; one whereof i must necessarily forego , if i execute my design upon the land ; besides i should run a desperate hazard , the port being so near the town , as they would presently get notice of it , and so i might come to be pursued . so after i had admired his wisdom , and praised the excellency of his judgment ; and now having discovered the plot , these villains have appointed , i earnestly beseech you to employ all your thoughts to provide for the security of your self and children . when i had heard this news , i retired very sad , and agitated in my fancy many ways and means of safety , till accidently meeting the merchant , and he moving me in his old suit , i took hold of the occasion , and concealing what i pleased of the advertisements given me by tyrrhenus . i only told him , i had notice given me by a friend , how a certain great man of the country , had a design to steal away my daughter ; and , said i , you are not strong enough to oppose your self , or make resistance , it would better please me to bestow her on you , both for the knowledge i have of your person and wealth ; but specially for the promise you have made me , when you have marryed her to live with me in my country ; therefore if your love answer the profession you have made ; let us weigh anchors presently , before we be prevented or constrained to su●fer the e●fects of some violence : he was extreamly taken with my words : it is well advised father , said he , and then falling upon my neck , kissed my head , and demanded when my pleasure was , that we should sail , for although the time was not yet seasonable , yet we might escape the plots that were laid against us , by removing to another port , and there attend the assurance of the spring . i desire , said i , if my command have any power with you , to depart hence about the beginning of the night ; after he had answered it should be done . he left me , and i returned to our lodging , where i said nothing to tyrrhenus , but advertized my children , that in the evening we were to go aboard again : the suddenness of the news amazed them , and demanding the reason of me , i put them off , promising to tell them at another time , but for the present it was necessary it should so be done . so after we had made a light supper , and were retired to take a little rest , an old man appeared to me in my sleep , his body as dry as an anatomy , saving that under his robe he shewed the proportion of a thigh , witnessing the able forces of his limbs , when he was in the flower of his youth , his head was covered with a helmet , he wore his beaver up , and upon his forehead appeared the marks of a cautelous and prudent man , and he drew one thigh after him , as if he had received some hurt when he came near me ; with a kind of a threatning smile , he said , o sir , you make no accompt of us , for of all those that ever past along the island of the cephalenians , you only disdain● to visit our houses , or take notice of our glory , which all other men have done ; but you are in that height of pride , as you scorn to speak to us in your passage , though i have thus long been your neighbour ; therefore know you shall not pass many days without being punished , and you shall suffer the like calamities as i have done , falling into the hands of your enemies by sea and land ; but salute the maid , that is with you in my wife's name , tell her she kisses her hands because she loves and preferrs the honour of her chastity before all things , in respect whereof she sends her word , a happy fortune shall end the course of all her miseries . i started , trembling at the vision , and theagenes asking me what the matter was ? i fear , said i , we have staid two long , and neglected to imbarque our selves ; and this was it that so troubled my thoughts ; but rise you and get your things together , and go and call chariclea . the maid was ready when she was called . tyrrhenus himself hearing us , rose out of his bed , and demanded what we meant to do ? i told him what was done for the present , was by his advice ; we do endeavour to avoid the practices that are contrived against us ; and i pray the gods for the good and charitable offices we have received in your house , to have you always in their protection . this last favour let me intreat you to do for us , that you will pass over into the island of ithaca , and make a sacrifice for us to vlysses , to pray him , that he will mitigate his wrath towards us for our disdain , and contempt of him , as he imagines , for so he taxed me in my sleep this night . tyrrh●nus promised to perform it , and so brought us down to the water side weeping abundantly , and praying the gods to send us a good voyage and favourable winds , to wast us to the place where we did wish to be . why should i trouble you with many words ? by the time the morning star appear'd we were lanched into the main ; the saylors being at first exceedingly against it ; but in the end they were perswaded by the tyrian merchant , telling them , he fled from a pirate that lay in wait for them , and he spake truly , and knew not , for his meaning was to make a lye . but the wind was so full against us , the tempest waxed so great , and the waves swelled in that horrid sort , as that it was a thousand to one our ship had perished ; but in the end , we came by the lee of a certain promontory in the isle of candy , having firs● lost the half of our rudder , and a great part of our sail-yards being broke and blown over-board ; therefore we thought it best to stay some days in that island to new rigg our ship , and recreate our selves : this done we were all commanded to reimbarque upon the first day of the new moon , after her conjunction with the sun. being lanched forth upon the main again ; the west winds of the spring now sweetly breathing , the patron night and day directed his course to the coast of africa : for , he said , we might cross the sea directly , by a line , if the wind changed not . but that which most moved him to speed his voyage , was to gain some road or port ; because afar off he descryed a pirate's galley , that came full in his poop ; for , said he , from the time we loosed from the promontory of candy , he hath always followed our track and constantly sailed , as if he were bound for the same place ; and i have often observed he made the same turns with us ; having many times ( the better to discover him ) expresly declined my vessel from her course : some were moved at these words , encouraging their fellows to prepare for their defence ; and som● there were neglected them , saying , it was ordinary for the lesser bottoms to follow the course of a great ship , as believing it to be guided by a more experimented pilot : the day passed on in this dispute ; and it was about the hour the labourer returns weary with his travel , having newly loosed his oxen ; and now the overtoiled wind began to languish , and diminishing by little and little , in the end it had no force at all , so as the breath it spent upon our sails , served only to shufle them together , not at all to blow us on : briefly it setled into a calm as if it had set with the sun , or to speak more properly , as if it would accommodate it self to their design that chased us , because our sails being more large than theirs , and by consequence requiring the more wind. but as soon as this tranquillity of the heavens had smoothed the seas , the galley was come up to us sooner than i can speak it ; for ( as i believe ) all that were within her put their hands to the oars ; their vessel also being light and nimble of it self ; when they were very near us , a zacynthian passenger in our ship cryed to us , friends we are all undone , this is a pirate , i know the galley of trachinus . at the report of this news , a sudden fear seized our whole ship , and in a calm we had a tempest , ri●ing in tumult , crys , tears , and running up and down , some running under the hatches , some standing upon the decks , animating the rest to endure the fight , and there were some would have got into the long-boat and fled , till by their two long delay the fight surprized them within the ship , forceing them to remain , and to take in their hands what they could find to defend themselves . theagenes full of courage burned with desire of the battel , ●ut chariclea and i with our imbraces hindred him from attempting any thing , she vowing death should not separate him from her , but the same sword should give her the like wounds , and make her an equal sharer in his misfortune . but i ( after i understood our enemy was trachinus ) prepared some sleights might afterwards do us good service , which fell out as i expected . for the pirates approaching circled about our ship , to make tryal if it were possible to take her without blood ; therefore they did attacque us , but still rowing about us , they would neither suffer us to go forward nor backward . briefly it seemed as if they had besieged us , and would compel us to render our selves upon composition . o poor unfortunate men , said they , what blindness hath seized your spirits ? and why are you so deprived of judgment , as thus to precipitate your selves into the danger of an evitable death , by attempting to resist invincible forces , to which yours are nothing ? it is yet in your choice to be dealt humanly withal , we permit you all that will to take your long-boat and save your selves . these were their propositions ; but those of our ship so long as they fought only in words , and saw no blood , were daring and resolute , and said they would stand to it to the last man. but after one of the bolder pirates had boarded us , putting all he met to the sword , and teaching us that the ceremonies of war were death and slaughter , the rest of his company immediately leaping after him ; then the phoenicians began to repent their courage , and falling at his feet , beseeched him to shew mercy to them , and they were ready to obey all his commandments : and although the pirates were now flesht , and began to please themselves in murder ( for the sight of blood doth irritate and excite the spirit ) nevertheless by the command of trachinus , beyond all expectation , he pardoned the supplicants , and made a peace under ●uch conditions as were more cruel than the war it self ; for he ordained they should depart the ship with no more but the cloths they had on , making it death to him that should do otherwise . but it seems there is nothing more precious to a man than life , which was the cause these phoenician merchants having now lost the hope of all the riches in the ship , as if they had lost nothing , but rather gain'd , and made an excellent voyage , did strive who should first get into the boat , and every one was more desirous than other to survive the loss of his goods . but as we also ( obeying the decree ) were about to pass into the boat , trachinus took chariclea by the hand , and said , fair one , this war concerns not you , but was undertaken for your sake , and since the day you left the promontory of zacynthus , i have still followed you , adventuring thus far upon the sea , and facing danger for your love ; therefore let not any fearful apprehension seize you , but confirm your spirits , and know with the empire you already are possessed of in my soul , you shall be the lady of all the wealth you see , thus he said ; but chariclea full of discretion , and knowing by the instructions i had given her how to apply her self to the time mos● excellently well , presently cleared her look from all the marks of sorrow that now incompassed her , and painting upon her face an appearance of joy , made this reply ; i render thanks to the gods that have put it into your mind to use us favourably , but if you will have me be confident , please to make me this first demonstration of your love , save this my brother and my father , and command them not from the ship ; for if i be once separated from them the world hath nothing can perswade to retain life . and speaking this she prostrated at his feet and imbraced them a long while . trachinus pleasing himself therein , and therefore deferring the grant of her demand : at length her tears making an impression in his pity , having no power to refuse , when such a beauty was a sui●●r , he raised her , and thus said ; for your brother i am very well contented to bestow him upon you , for i see he is a young man of a great spirit , and consequently fit for the life we follow ; and for this old man , though he will be but an unserviceable charge to us , yet for your only respect i am pleased he shall stay . now while these things were said and done , the sun being in his circuit come full west , that space which is betwixt the day and night grew very dark and foul , and on a suddain the sea began to be troubled ; it may be the season caused the present change , or perhaps it was by the pleasure of some destiny a●ar o●f , the murmur of the descending wind ; and presently a violent and horrid tempest breaking in upon us , the hearts of the pirates were frozen in their fear , who having forsaken their own galley and put themselves into the merchants ship to pillage her , were there surprized with a tempest , not knowing how to govern so great a vessel , every one doing some office of a mariner in that which came next to his hands , without any knowledge at all : some vainly upon their own genious undertaking one art of navigation ; others another ; some confusedly struck the sails ; some unskilfully distributed the cordages ; one ass took upon him to order the prow , another as wise as he to guide the poop and govern the helm . but that which principally cast us into extreamest danger , was not the violence of the tempest ( for the waves were not yet at the height of their fury ) but it was the ignorance of him that took upon him to be pylot , who resisted the storm so long as there was any day light , but when it grew black night , gave over his charge ; and when they were now ready to sink , at first some of the pyrates did endeavour to have recovered their own galley , but were beat o●f from their design by the tempest : trachinus also staying them and making a remonstrance , that if they could save the ship and riches in her , they should have wealth enough to purchase a thousand such galleys ; and speaking those words , he cut the cables that held them together , telling them that whilst they kept their own vessel they drew another tempest after them , and that in doing so he provided for their security , since wheresoever they should arrive it would draw suspition upon them , and inquiry would be made after the persons that sailed in the empty bottom . this he said appeared to them to be reason , and they approved his council , out of two respects , being already sensible of the one ; for they were no sooner severed from the brigantine , but they felt the sea did not toss them so much as before , yet were they not quite out of the danger , but one billow tumbling ●pon another tossed them so violently , as it constrained them to cast much of their lading over-board : brei●ly there was no kind of danger that did not present it self , till having with much difficulty escaped that night , the next day , about the setting of the sun , the tempest cast us into a road near the mouth of one of the arms of nilus , named the h●racl●otique , accidently , and now against our wills arriving in aegypt the pirates were joyful , but we were exceedingly afflicted , reproaching the sea as cruel in the favour it had done us to save our lives , envying us a death free from all injury , and delivering us to the land in a more fearful expectation than at sea , being exposed to the disordered pleasure of barbarous and wicked pirates , which presently appeared . as they landed they carryed from the ship great vessels of tyrian wine , and divers other things , saying they would sacrifice to n●ptun● , and render thanks for their deliverance ; some were also sent to the neighbour towns , and a great deal of money given them to buy beasts , with command they should give what price soever was demanded ; and it was not long before we saw them return , driving before them a flock of sheep and a herd of swine ; and having brought them in , they kindled the pile , and prepared us a feast of the roasted victims . then trachinus taking me aside , where one could over-hear him ; father , said he , i i●tend to take your daughter to wife , and this night , as you see , i mean to celebrate our nuptials , joyning that sweetest solemnity of men with the sacrifice to the gods ; therefore least you should take it ill , if i made you not acquainted therewith , and be sad at my wedding feast ; and to the end your daughter being disposed of with your consent , may receive the blessing of our marriage with more joy , i thought it best to let you know my pleasure , not that it is needful it should be confirmed by your suffrage , for it is in my power when i will to accomplish my desires , but i hold it more noble and a better omen , if the bride be prepared for the marriage by her father , because it will more content her●●nd she will address her self to the ceremony with more joy . i approved his words , and feigned my self to be overjoyed , rendring great thanks to the gods that had done me the divine favour to make my daughters master willing to take her for his wife ; then retiring my self a little to study what was to be done , i instantly returned , beseeching him what was thus happily begun might be accomplished a little more honourably , appointing the ship to the maid for her marriage chamber , and forbidding his men to enter or any way to disturb her , that so she might have leisure to apparel her self like a bride , with as much ornament and care as the time would permit , for it would be said , it is a poor and misbecoming thing , that a maid descended of a rich and noble family , and which is more that must be the wife of trachinus , should not at least , upon the day of the solemization of her nuptials , be drest in the richest robes and jewels she then had , since fortune and the place had deprived us of a more glorious habit. at these words trachinus was transported with joy , and promised he would do it willingly , and immediately commanded that all things whereof they had need , being exported out of the ship , no person should dare to approach it any more : they obeying the charge he gave them carryed to land tables , cups , tapestries , carpets , works of tyre and sydon , and many other moveables and utensils , that might be serviceable at a feast . finally every one took without measure and loaded their shoulders without order with those riches , which much labour and many frugal hands had gathered ; and which fortune had exposed to the profusion of these pyrates , to make a dissolute banquet full of prodigious abuses . but i taking theagenes with me , when we came to chariclea we found her weeping ; o daughter , misery is now your acquaintance , not a stranger to you , and will you yet take on , or is it not for these old disasters that you weep but for some new ? for altogether she replyed , but above all for the odious good will trachinus ●ears me , from which i hourly expect some ●iolent effects , to which the time will now ●empt him ; for unexpected prosperities use to ●ake men bold to commit acts of insolence ; ●ut i am resolved to punish trachinus and his ●athed affection , preventing the effects of his ●esire by death , and that which for the present ●elted me into tears , was the thought of my ●eing so unhappy , as before i die , to be sepa●ated from theagenes and you : you have ( said ● ) divined aright , for trachinus will convert ●he feast after the sacrifice into his and your nuptial feasts ; he discovered this intention to ●e as to your father , though i knew his furious ●esire to injoy you long ago , by what tyrrhenus ●ad told me at our conference in the island of zacynthus , but i would not let you know it , fearing to afflict you before the time , and that ●he grief would fall upon your hearts , while ●he calamity hanged over your heads , especi●lly considering it was possible to avoid his de●ign . but since it is so , my dear children , ●hat fortune hath appeared against us , and cast ●s into the same danger we endeavoured to ●hun , let us make a generous and brave at●empt , and present our lives to the swords point , ●o the end that if it succeed well , we may survive with liberty and glory ; or if ill , at ●east we may have the contentment to die nobly , you chastily . after they had promised me to execute whatsoever i should command , and that i had instructed them as i thought best , i left them to prepare themselves . and addressing my self to him , that amongst the pirates was the second in authority after trachinus , as i remember he was called pelorus , i told him i had a secret to impart to him would be for his profit ; and he willingly followed me : when i had brought him out of the hearing of his fellows , give ear my child ( said i ) to that i shall declare to you in few words , for the time is too narrow for a long discourse , my daughter loves you , your merits and perfections have conquered her , but she suspects your captain prepares his feast for her nuptials , for some such thing he signify'd to be curious in putting on her richest ornaments ; therefore bethink your self , if you can find a means to prevent him and possess your self , for she says , she had rather die than marry with trachinus : be confident ( said he ) and do not put your self into any farther fear , for i have long burned in an equal flame with your daughter , and did but only wait f●r an occasion to have a passage open to ob●ain her ; therefore assure your self , trachinus shall either voluntarily yield his bride to me , or this arm shall make him feel a bitter wedding night . having heard this i hasted from him , least if we were ●oth missing we should be suspected ; and coming to my children , i confirmed their brave spirits with the good news , that our plot went well in a right path. a while after we sat down to supper , and when i saw them high flown in wine , and knew their heated brains were apt to petulancy , i wispered pelorus in the ear , ( for i sat next him for that purpose ) have you not seen ( said i ) how my daughter is apparelled ? he replyed he had not : but you may now see her conveniently ( i told him ) if you will go privately to the ship , and take heed no eye discover you , for you know trachi●us had forbid it : there you shall see diana her self , but be modest in beholding her , least the goddess strike you dead . i had scarce spoken these words but without any delay he rose from the table , as if he had been pressed with some sudden business , and ran secretly to the ship. there he beheld chariclea wearing upon her head a crown of lawrel , apparelled in a refulgent robe of cloth of gold ( for she had put on the sacred habit that she brought from delphos , that it might either serve to adorn her victory or funeral , ) and seeing the cabbin where she was , accommodated to the form of a nuptial chamber , the sight ( as it was likely ) set him all on fire , love and jealousy augmenting his amorous torment so , that when he returned to us , one might read in his eyes the rage imprinted in his soul , and it was evident his thoughts laboured with some furious design , and he was scarcely set down again at the table , but choler sparking in his eyes , he said , why have not i the reward of my merit for being the first that boarded the ship ? because ( said trachinus ) you have not demanded it , and that yet we have not divided the spoils . i desire then , replyed pelorus the captive maid : and when trachinus added , that , excepting her , he should take what he would . what ( said pelorus ) will you break the law of piracy , that gives his choice of the prey to him that first boards a ship , and for all his fellows runs the hazard of his life ? friend ( said trachinus ) i violate not that law , but i ground my self upon the authority of one more powerful , that commands us to obey the wills of our captains without contradiction , the maid has wounded me to the heart with her bright eyes , and to heal my wound i am forced to marry her ; and , sir , i hope it is a reason i should be preferred before you , and if you will not obey this law , i will make you presently repent it with a blow of this cup i hold in my hand : then pelorus looking upon his companions , you see , said he , what recompence our labours are to expect ; thus you shall one day see your merits frustrated of the reward of your virtue , and be , as i am , slaves to this tyrannical law. now , nausicles , what do you imagine became of these pirates ? after nausicles had spoke these words you would have compared them to a calm ea swell'd with the sudden tempest , such a blind and brutish motion in an instant put them into so wild a tumult , inflamed with wrath and wine , as if some fury had possest them ; some rank'd themselves upon the part of tr●chinus , and cryed the captain ought to be obeyed ; others sided with pelorus , saying , the law of pi●acy ought to stand . in the end trac●in●s lif●ed his hand to strike pelorus with the cup he held ; but pelorus that was prepared before , broke the effect of his fury and struck a ponyard to his heart , so as he fell down mortally wounded , but a cruel war kindled and continued amongst the rest , inter-murdering one another without giving any quarter ; some as revenging the death of their captain ; others as defending pelorus in his just quarrel . the crys of men , and sounds of levers , stones , cups , tables , the wounders and the wounded made one fearful groan ; but i retiring a great way off , stood upon the rise of a hill , and thence beheld this furious spectacle ; yet neither theagenes nor chariclea were exempted from the danger , but following what was determined , he with his sw●●d in 〈◊〉 hand joyn'd himself to one of the fact●●● a●●he beginning , and fought as if some fury had transported him , and she after she saw the fight begun shot from the ship , loosing her arrows with a constant hand , and sparing no man but theagenes , she never took her aim amiss , every shot she made was death . neither did she only gall the one side of the battel , but both indifferently , nore of the pirates seeing her , yet she clearly beholding them by the light of the great fire of the pile yet burning , so as they could not imagine whence their death came ; but thought it to be some plague from heaven . to conclude , the war consumed them all , and only th●ag●nes remained fighting single with pelorus , an able and resolute man , and one that had been flesh'd and bred up in murders . and now chariclea's shooting could no longer avail her theagenes , grieving she could not assist him , but the fear she had to miss her aim did hold her hand ; inasmuch as they fought so close , the eye could hardly distinguish them . in the end p●lorus was forced to give ground before him , for when chariclea saw her arrows could do him no more service , she sent her words to his succour , crying to him ; now my best friend shew your courage . at the hearing of these words his strength redoubled , to which pelorus was not able to make resistance longer , as if the voice of his mistress had infused new vigour into him , letting him know the reward of his victory was yet living . for now resuming the heat of his first spirit , tho broken and weigh'd down with many wounds , he made a blow at pelorus with his sword full a● his head , which he hoped to cleave a sunder , as assuredly he had done , if the pirate had not declined his neck ; yet he escaped not , for the sword descending , took away the top of his shoulder , and falling right upon the elbow joynt of his sword-hand , cut it quite off ; then pelorus fled to save his life , theagenes following him . what the sequel was i cannot tell you , but that i saw not when theagenes returned ; for remaining upon the ri●e of the hill , i dared not to stirr in a place full of enemies by night , when my friends could not know me ; but chariclea was more bold , and it seems more quick sighted , for with the first dawning of the light , i perceived theagenes lying stretched out upon the earth like a dead man , and saw her sitting and weeping over him , with evident demonstrations that she intended to kill herself , but that some little hope of his revival restrained her as yet , and held her life in equal suspence with his . but i , unfortunate man , had not so much as time to speak to them to sweeten their calamities with my words , or to apply remedy to his wounds , so fast did the evils at land ( without a breathings space ) succeed to those at sea. for , at the first spring of the morning , as i was descending from the hill where i had pitched for that night , i saw a troop of aegyptian theives , running from the top of the mountain , that lyeth along that coast , who presently seized upon my poor children , taking them away and all the riches they could carry out of the ship. i spake afar off to them , and in vain bad them farewel that could not hear me , deploring their fortunes and my own ; but neither being able to defend them , or holding it good to go and mix with them , i reserved my self to hope to succour them some other way . and indeed it was not in my power to do them present service , being left far behind , my age like a heavy burden not suffering me to march so quick a pace as those aegyptians , that mounted and descended by strange paths , and through wild places . now by the mercy of the gods , and your favour , worthy nausicles , i have found my daughter then lost , having contributed nothing to her recovery but my abundant sighs , tears , and lamentations . speaking these words he wept , all the company were forced to do the like , changing their feast into a sorrow , intermixed with joy , ( for wine intenerates the eyes and makes them apt to tears ) and they were not able to contain their flux of pity , till nausicles spake thus to confort calasiris . father ( said he ) chase away these sad conceptions and fill your heart with joy , since you have now recovered your daughter , and that only one night remains to interpose it self betwixt you , and the contentment you shall receive in beholding your son , for to morrow morning we will ride to mitranes , and deal with him all possible ways , for the redeeming of your beloved theagenes . o may the gods be so favourable , replied calasiris : but now it is time to dissolve the feast , let us therefore give thanks to the gods , and drink at parting ; so wine being brought , taking their leaves they drank to one another , and so did rise from the table . but calasiris looking about for chariclea and not finding her in the multitude , was greatly perplexed , till at length a certain woman advertized him , that she saw her enter the sanctuary of the temple . he presently ran thither and found her prostrated at the feet of an image , where by reason of the length of her prayers , and the weight of sorrow that lay upon her heart , she was faln into a swoon . then after he had shed some tears , and humbly conjured the gods to change the rigour of her destiny into better fortune , he softly awaked chariclea and returned to his lodgings with her . being now in the house she retired to the chamber of nausicles's daughter , lying with her , but not taking any rest , care not permitting her to close her eyes . the aethiopian history . the sixth book . calasiris and knemon being retired to sleep in the lodgings appointed for the men , as soon as the rest of the night was spent , which passed more slow than they desired , but more quick than they expected , because the greater part thereof was taken up with the feast and length of the discourse , that entertained them with unsatisfying sweetness , not having patience to expect till it were clear day , they went to nausicles , praying him to let them know where theagenes was , and with all speed to lead them thither : nausicles to give them content , presently made him ready to go along with them ; but chariclea , though she made all the prayers love and impatience could invent , was yet forced to remain , nausicles assuring her they would not go far , and promising her within few days to return with her th●agen●s ; so they lest her floating betwixt sorrow for their departure , and joy for the good she expected . at their going out of ch●mmis , as they past along the banks of nilus , they perceived a crocodile labouring to swim ●rom the one shore to the other , but the swift current and wild waves still broke his force , and often duckt him to the bottom of the river . this moved none of their company , as being a common sight with them , saving that calasiris said , it presaged they should encounter some hindrance in the way ; but knemon was running back again , extremely frighted , though he had not seen the beast entirely , but only her shadow , and not all that , the greater part of her being still under the water : this set na●si●les a laughing , and calasiris cryed to him , why k●emon , i thought only the fears of the night had troubled you , and then only when you had heard some strange noise , envellopped in the horrour of da●kness , but i see you have the same valour by day-light ; and that not only the hearing of a name breeds terrour in you , but ordinary spectacles , obvious and slighted by every man , do terrify you . what god or demi-god was that ( said nausicles ) whose name was such a bug-bear to his ears ? alas ( replied calasiris ) if it had been a god or any divinity , i should have had nothing to say to him , but he trembled all over , hearing the name ( not of any man , the glory of whose valour is blown about the world , but ) of a woman , and she was dead too . for the same night you came from the island of the herdsmen , bringing chariclea safe for me , i know not how or where he had heard a name you used , but it ●o struck him as he would let me take no rest , and was often almost quite dead for fear , and sure had dyed if i had not taken a great deal of pains to recover and bring him to life again ; and but that i doubt his relapse , i would tell you the name to make you a little more sport ; immediately he said the name was thisbe . but nausicles was now past laughing , and grew very sad , standing a long while pensiving , and searching in his spirit for what occasion , or from what knowledge of thisbe , knemon should be so transported , when he heard her named ; then knemon fell in a laughter for very ●oy to see him melancholick : o good calasiris , you now see ( said kn●mon ) how great the force of this name is , and that , like a phantasm , it hath not only frighted me , but even nausicles ●imself , causing a strange alteration in our humours ; for i now laugh , knowing her for ●ertain to be dead ; and nausicles that was so valiant , and made himself so merry with our fear , is now struck into amazement . enough , said nausicles , you are sufficiently revenged upon me ; but i conjure you , knemon , by the gods of hospitality and friendship , by our free conversation , and the courteous entertainment that i think you think you have received at my house , to tell me how you came to know that thisbe , and why her name was so terrible to you , or whether you have made this betwixt you to play upon me ? now knemon ( said calasiris ) it concerns you to answer , and to acquit your self of your promise to me , that i should have the relation of your fortunes , which ever yet you have avoided with many slight excuses ; you cannot find a more convenient time , for you shall both do a pleasure to nausicles , and by your discour●● shorten and sweeten the travail of our journey . knemon consented at their request , and t● satisfie them , compendiously ran over all he ha● recounted formerly to theagenes and charicle● ● how he was born in the city of athens , tha● his fathers name was aristippus , that he had ● step-mother named demaeneta ; then he relate● the detestable love wherein demaeneta languished for him , and that failing of her hope , to content her loose desires , she laid trains for him● suborning thisbe for her instrument . he added the manner , and how he was exil'd fro● his country , the people of athens so condemn●ing him , as believing him to be convinced of an intent to commit parricide . that living in the isle of aegina , an old companion of his , one charias , first brought him news of the death of his mother-in-law , and the circumstance thereof , she being over-reached by her maid thisbe : and since then , a second , named asicles , had informed him that his father was also banished , and all his goods confiscated , by reason the friends and allies of demaeneta bandying against him , to make sure his condemnation , had begot a belief in the peoples easie mind , that he was the murderer of his wife . he also told them how thisbe was fled from athens with a certain merchant of na●cratia , that was in love with her ; and that he himself imbarqued with anticles for aegypt , in hope to meet that thisbe , his design being , if he should find her , to carry her back to athens , that he might discharge his father of the calumny they had falsely imposed upon him , and deliver her to be justly punished : and that since that time to this present , he had run through many dangerous fortunes , and tryed many different calamities , falling in his voyage into the hands of pyrates , whence he found means to escape , and arrive in aegypt , where he was taken by the herdsmen , and there came acquainted with theagenes and chariclea , with whom he had joyned in the tyes of an inviolable friendship : inserting the death of thisbe , and all that had since happened , to the passages that were known to nausicles and calasiris . nausicles having heard this , found his mind assailed with millions of contrary thoughts ; sometimes he was minded to declare to them all that had passed betwixt him and thisbe ; sometimes he held it the better way to defer it yet a while ; in the end , half against his will , he contained himself , partly his own reason judging it to be convenient , partly being accidentally hindred : for when they had gone about three miles , and began to approach the town where mitranes made his usual residence , they perceived coming towards them a man of nausicles's acquaintance , who demanding whither he was going in such haste ? do you ask me ( replyed the man ) whither i go so fast ? as if you knew not to what mark my aim is still dir●cted , my desires and study only tending to the speedy execution of the commands of the fair isias , the glory of your chemmis . it is for her plant i cultivate my grounds , for her sake i gather all the wealth and rareties i can . it is for her that i watch days and nights without ever closing my eyes , not failing to serve her in any thing , how little or great soever , though i have no other recompence but her displeasure , and my own labour for my pains . at this present i am hasting to her ( as you see ) with this phoenicopterus , a certain bird of the river nil●s , which she enjoyned me to bring to her . to what a gracious mistress ( said nausicles ) have you dedicated your affections , whose commands are so easie , as she asketh only the ph●●nicopterus , and not the phoenix her self , that is brought us from the indies and aethiopia . indeed ( replyed he ) it is her custom thus to make her pastime of my services . but now let me question you , i pray , whither , or upon what occasion are you travelling ? but after they had told him they were going to wait upon mitran●s : is it so ( said the stranger ) then your journey is to no purpose , for mitranes is out of the town , gone this last night with a great army against the herdsmen that inhabit the town of bessa , because those bessians , and one thyamis , they have elected for their captain , by surprize have taken a young prisoner , a grecian , whom mitranes was to have sent to oroondates . this is the occasion of mitranes his absence from home , but for my part i must make hast to isias , who already is looking sharply about for me , thinking my smallest delay a sin against love. oh she is too subtle in accusing me without cause , and inventing crimes to lay to my charge ! he had no sooner given them this relation , but they stood silent and stupifi'd , to find themselves so unexpectedly disappointed . nausicles at length brought them again to themselves , admonishing them that they should not be so discourag'd with one disappointment ( which was but for a short time ) as to cast away all hope and care of what they had in hand : that it was now their best way to return back again to chemmis , as well to take council about their affairs , as also ( having furnished themselves with fresh provisions for a longer journey ) to resume their search of theagenes , wheresoever they should hear that he was detain'd , whether amongst the thieves or elsewhere ; every where proposing to themselves good hopes of finding him . for even this did not seem to happen without the providence of the gods , that they should so unexpectedly meet with an acquaintance , by whose discourse they were in a manner led by the hand to the place where it was most proper to seek for him : wherefore they should go directly to the thieves village . when he had thus spoken , he easily perswaded them , partly , as i suppose , because another hope arose from what he had said , and partly because knemon bid calasiris be of good cheer , for that thyamis would preserve theagenes . they therefore resolved to return , where they found chariclea in the porch , looking out to all quarters of the country . when she did not perceive theagenes with them , with great lamentation she cryed out , o father , are you come back no more in number than you went forth ? without doubt then my theagenes is dead . i charge you by the gods to deliver what you have to say . it is humanity to make short the story of misfortune , by which the mind is better fortifi'd against the evil . knemon therefore intercepting her sorrow , said , what means this practice chariclea ? you are always conjecturing● the worst , and often without truth . theage●es is , and by the gods providence shall be well , then briefly told her with whom he was , and in what manner . it is plain , o knemon ( said calasiris ) from what you have spoken , that you never were in love ; otherwise you would know that lovers fear where there is no danger , and give trust to nothing beside their own eyes , concerning the person that is most dear to them . absence fills their minds with doubt , especially having resolved never to be from each other , unless some sad accident separates them . wherefore we must excuse chariclea , who labours under the violence of love. let us however consult what is to be done in this affair . having thus spoken , taking chariclea by the hand , with a fatherly observance , he led her into the house . but nausicles , being desirous to divert their care , ordered a more sumptuous banquet than usual , obliging them with the presence of his daughter , most splendidly apparelled . when they were refresh'd with the entertainment , he thus spake to them ; the gods are witnesses ( my dear guests ) that your company is most delightful to me , and if you would spend your lives with me , you should command all that i am master of as freely as my self : forasmuch as i have not received you as guests , but intimate friends , and such as will always have the same esteem for me , i can think no obligation too much . i am likewise no less ready to engage my friends and acquaintance in any thing may do you service . yet you must be sensible that my way of life is merchandise ; this is the field which i am obliged to cultivate . since therefore the westerly winds now blow favourably to make the seas navigable , and call forth the merchant , my affairs , amongst others , summon me to greece . you will therefore do well to acquaint me with your design , that i may order my affairs so as to make them serviceable to you . when he had thus said , calasiris , after a little pause , thus reply'd . success ( o nausicles ) attend your voyage , may mercury send you gain , and n●ptune calm seas ; may every port afford you harbour , and every city prove your home ! since you have treated us here with so much courtesie , and now dismiss us at our desire , in all things fulfilling the laws of friendship and hospitality . as for us , though it be a great trouble and grief to depart from you and your house , which we have used as our own ; yet it is necessary for us to pursue the search of our dearest friends . this is both mine and chariclea's resolution : but for knemon , whether he intends to wander farther with us and continue his assistance , or what other purpose he has , let himself declare . knemon was desirous to reply something to this , and long attempting to speak , but sighs choak'd his speech , and tears drown'd his eyes : at last collecting breath , and uttering a deep groan ; o fortune ( he cry'd ) how full of change and unstable art thou ! of which among many others i am a sad example . thou hast deprived me of my kindred and fathers house , and sent me an exile from the country and city , that are most dear to me : thou hast driven me as far as aegypt ( not to mention my disasters in the way ) and put me in the power of thieves and out-laws : at last i had a glimmering of hope , by falling into acquaintance and company with persons , who ( though as wretched as my self ) yet they w●re greeks of my own country , with whom i thought to have passed the remainder of my life : but even this comfort is taken from me ; whither shall i turn my self , or what shall i do ? shall i leave chariclea , before she has found her theagenes ? this would be inhumane ? or shall i go with her to seek him : if we were certain at last to find him , it were labour well undertaken , but if the event be doubtful and greater misfortunes befal , where will our travels end ? what if now i beg leave both of the guardian deities , and of you , to speak at last of returning to my family and native soil , especially since so fair an opportunity by the providence of the gods offers its self , ( nausicles intending , as you heard himself say , to sail for greece ) lest by the death of my father , in my absence , our house be left desolate , and family without an heir : for howsoever mean and poor i may be likely to live there ; yet honesty and common decency require the preserving our race . but , o chariclea , ( for to you i would chiefly be excus'd ) do you give me pardon and grant me this leave : i will attend you as far as bessa , and entreat nausicles to stay a while for me , so that if i deliver you not into the hands of theagenes , yet at least you shall acknowledge me faithful to the trust he committed to me : and from the good conscience in what has passed , depend at parting on success in what is to come . if after all ( which the gods forbid ) we fail of that success , yet even so i shall seem to merit pardon , not even then leaving you alone , but in the guardianship of this good calasiris , your guide and father . chariclea conjecturing by many arguments , the inclination of knemon for the daughter of nausicles ( so quick-sighted is a lover to discover the same passion in any other ) and also by what had been spoken , that nausicles had endeavour'd the alliance , and given knemon many secret encouragements ; upon the whole concluded that he was no fit companion , but must be suspicious for the future ; she made this reply : do what seems good to you ( said she ) i thank you for the good offices you have already performed , and for the future there is no necessity for you to be burden'd with our affairs , or run the risque of other peoples fortune . return to your own country and domestick concerns ; and by no means neglect your friend nausicles , nor the opportunity which he offers . calasiris and my self will engage all dangers that shall befal us till we have finished our course ; and though no mortal shall assist us , we rely on the protection of the gods. may all things ( said nausicles ) succeed to your desire ; may the gods accompany you till you recover your friends , which will be a just reward of your prudence and constancy . but , knemon , be not you concerned that you bring not thisbe back to athens , since you have me , who was the author of her departure : for i was that merchant na●cratites , her lover , who carry'd her away . but if you are as well pleas'd with the proposal as i , you shall under my conduct gain great wealth , and recover your country . and if you are disposed to marry , i will give you my daughter nausiclea with a great dower , since i know your family . knemon made no pause , finding what he had secretly desired so fairly offer'd to him : whereupon nausicles deliver'd his daughter to him , commanding his servants to celebrate the nuptials ; himself began the dance , suddenly converting the feast into a wedding . the rest of the family in other apartments solemniz'd the marriage with songs and dancing , so that the house shone all night with nuptial torches . but chariclea , separating from the rest , went into her own apartment , and making fast the door , to prevent disturbance , as if seiz'd with bacchanal fury , tore both her hair and garments : let us ( said she ) perform our ceremonies as the posture of our affairs require , with the outmost pomp of sorrow . let us weep instead of singing , and beat our breast instead of dancing . let us out with this troublesom taper , while night echoes to my complaints , and presides over the ceremony . what apartment has it prepar'd for me ? what bride-chamber has it adorn'd ? the god that has charge of me , is all my company ; depriv'd of him who in name only is my husband . knemon leads up his nuptial dance , theagenes is yet wandering , and perhaps a prisoner in chains ; nor am i certain that it is so well with him , or that he is at all . nausiclea my bed-fellow , is removed from me into the embraces of her husband , chariclea is left alone : i envy not her fortune , gods , wishing her all happiness ; but complain of your dealing so hardly with me . you have drawn out my tragedy beyond all bounds . but why do i charge the gods with unkindness ? let the remainder of pleasure be perform'd . yet , o theagenes , my dearest care , if thou art dead , which i hope never to live to hear , i shall make no delay to be with you . for the present i perform these rites ( wherewith she pluck'd off her hair and laid it on the bed ) and pour these libations from my eyes , which are dear to thee ( wherewith she bedewed the coverlet with her tears . ) but if thou art alive and safe , o hasten to my arms , and at least visit me in dreams ! having thus spoken , she cast her self with her face to the bed with vehement sighing , till stupify'd with her grief , she fell into a sleep that continued till broad day . calasiris therefore wondring that she did not appear according to her custom , enquired for her , and went directly to her chamber-door , where knocking aloud , and calling her by her name , he awaken'd her . she , disturb'd with the sudden noise , in that disorder of dress in which she lay down , open'd the door to let him in . he seeing her hair dish●vell'd and garments torn , understood the cau●e● wherefore having first seated her on a chair , and composed her dress ; o chariclea ( said he ) why do you thus torment your self ? why do you abandon your reason , and give way to misfortune ? i my self scarce know you in this disorder , who were wont to have so much temper and resolution . why do you destroy your self before the day of your fortune approaches ? take pity on me , and spare your self , if not for my sake , yet at least for theagenes , whose life is bound up in yours , and dear to him for no other reason . charicl●a blush'd at what he said , especially when she recollected the manner in which he surpriz'd her . therefore after a long silence , calasiris desiring her to speak ; you have good reason , father , ( said she ) to chide me , yet i hope i d●serve pardon . it is no new passion or concern that put me into this disorder : the absence of theagenes causes this disturbance , and my grief is still the greater , because i cannot know certainly whether he be alive or dead . be of good cheer as to that ( said calasiris ) you have the gods word for his being alive , and living with you hereafter : if you believe not their oracles , at least give credit to the person who told us yesterday that thyamis had carry'd him prisoner to memphis : but if he is taken by him , he is most certainly preserv'd alive , by reason of the former acquaintance between them . wherefore let us go without delay to bessa ; you to find your theagenes , and i both him and my son ; for you have heard that thyamis is my son. thyamis ( replyed chariclea ) is your son , and only yours ; and now our affair● are running into extremest danger . calasiris wondring at what she said , and demanding the reason ; you know ( proceeded she ) that i was taken by the herdsmen , thyamis , their captain , was charm'd with this unfortunate beauty with which i am endow'd ; so that there is danger in our enquiry with him , lest he should know me to be the same person that beguil'd him of his intended nuptials , and compel me to performance . the gods forbid , reply'd calasiris , that the presence of a father should not controul so unlawful a desire : yet what hinders us from thinking of some contrivance to secure you from that which you fear ? for i know you to be of great art and subtilty in evading unwelcome addresses . chariclea was a little exhilarated ; and whether ( said she ) you speak this ●ocosely or seriously i will not ●xamine ; however i shall pursue that contrivance which i had begun with theagenes , which fortune directed us unto , and i hope will now prosper . it being necessary for our fli●ht from the island of thieves , we resolved to change our habit , and to pass through the towns in poor and beggarly attire : wherefore , if you think ●it , we will resume that disguise , and personate beggars : by which means we shall be less liable to injuries ; for poverty is more likely to meet with pity than envy , and we shall with more ease obtain our daily provision , all things being sold to strangers at dear r●tes ; whereas they are given to beggars . calasiris commended her design , and hasten'd for the journey . therefore calling nausicles and knemon to them , they acquainted them therewith ; and the next day set forth , not permitting servant nor horse to attend them , only nausicles and knemon , with the servants , saw them on their way . nausiclea also accompany'd them so far , her love to chariclea being equal to that ●or her husband . having there●ore gone almo●t 〈◊〉 mile , where they took leave of each other wit● many t●ars , praying for mutual success on the●● affairs , knemon particularly beg●'d par●on , that his new obligations pe●mitted him not to accompany them , but t●at he would wait an occasion to follow them . thus pa●ted they from each other . but chariclea and cal●siris put themselves into beggars habit , which t●●y had prepar'd for that purpose . nor did chariclea spare her face , which she discolour'd , and hung a scrip upon her arm , as it were to carry fragments of meat , but the real use was to conceal the holy vestment and chaplets which she brought from delphi , together with the r●membrances with which her mother had expos'd her . calasiris carry'd her quiver , wrapt up in leather , the wrong end hanging down over his shoulder , as some useless fardle ; her bow was no sooner unstrung , but it came streight again , and serv'd him instead of a staff , on which he lean'd his whole weight . but whensoever he spy'd any body coming towards them , h● took care to make his burden seem more heavy , halting upon one leg , and sometimes led by ch●●●clea . having thus put on a counterfeit personage , with some pleasant discourse between them , and repartees about their habit , they passed on , begging of their guardian deity that he would be satisfy'd with what they had endur'd , and here put an end to their sufferings . thus they went forward towards the village of bessa , where they hoped to have found thyamis and theagenes , but were frustrated of their exp●cted happiness : for coming near to the town about sun-set , they perceiv'd a great number of dead men newly slain , some of them were persians , which they knew by their habits ; others were inhabitants of the place . it appeared plainly that there had been a battel , but with whom they did not know ; till they had gone about the dead bodies , to see if any of their acquaintance lay amongst them , ( for minds that are extremely sollicitous for the welfare of what is most dear to them are always fearing the worst ) they perceiv'd an old woman fixt over one of the dead , a native of the place , and breaking out into many lamentations . they therefore resolv'd if they could , to get some information from the beldame : therefore going up to her , they endeavoured at first to comfort her , and asswage her vehement grief . when she had admitted their consolation , they began to demand of her , what person it was whom she bewail'd ? what war had been fought ? calasiris speaking to her in the egyptian tongue . she gave them a brief account of all ; that she lamented for her son , who lay speechless ; that she came with resolution into the field that some of the armed men might kill her , in the mean time that she performed just rites of grief towards her son. as for the fight , she gave this account ; that a certain young stranger , of excellent form and stature , was led captive to oroondates , the prince of memphis : that he was sent , as she supposed , by mitran●s , captain of the guards , for an extraordinary present . this person , the people of our town , which you see yonder , affirm'd to be one of them , whether truly or out of design , i cannot tell . mitranes being inform'd hereof , wa● enrag'd , and accordingly drew up his army before the town two days ago . it is a most warlike sort of people that live by rapine , with the greatest contempt of death , and have le●t many women childless , as they have done me . when therefore by a certain sign they were assur'd of his approach , they placed ambuscades in convenient places , by which they overcame the enemy ; part of them setting upon the persians van , and the rest from their secret places , upon their rear . mitranes was the first that fell , and with him almost all his followers , being surrounded , and of ours not a few : in this number , by the severity of fate , was my son , who receiv'd a wound , as you see , in his breast by a persian javelin . this being expir'd , i lament ; and am likely soon to do the same for my other , he being gone with the rest of our souldiers , against the city of memphis . calasiris ask'd her the cause of that expedition ? she , as she was inform'd by her son that surviv'd , told them , that the kings forces being cut off , and mitranes their general slain , they were assur'd what they had done would be of no small consequence : that oroondates , who lay at memphis with a great army , would immediately approach and beset their town , and revenge the injury , by cutting off the inhabitants : they therefore determin'd , since they had brought themselves into so great danger , to follow one bold attempt with a greater , that being the only means to secure themselves from the kings fury : thinking with their sudden approach to carry memphis , and take the king prisoner ; or in his absence , if he were with his army gone on expedition into aethiopia ( as it was rumour'd ) they might with more case compel the city , being destitute of defence , to surrender : and likewise to perform a considerable service for thyamis , who was by his younger brother depriv'd of office of high priest , which they would restore to him . but if they should be frustrated in their design , that yet they would dye with their swords in their hands , nor ever come into the power of the persians , to suffer scorn or tortures : and now give me leave to ask whither you are going ? to the town , said calasiris . it is unsafe , said she , at present , especially for strangers . but if you will receive us for your guests ( said calasiris ) we shall be secure enough . the season will not permit , reply'd she , i being this night oblig'd to perform funeral ceremonies . but if you can endure it ( and i suppose it is necessary that you should ) to pass the night in some place , remote from the dead bodies , at break of day i will take you for your security into my custody . all this which she spoke , calasiris interpreted to chariclea ; and so took her with him to a private place . when they had passed a little way from the dead , they came to a little cave , where he laid him down with chariclea's bow under his head. chariclea sat down in another corner of the cell , the moon then rising , and lightning all without . calasiris fell into a fast sleep , being tir'd at once with age and the long journey . chariclea kept awake with care , became spectator of a most horrid scene , though usual amongst those people . for the woman supposing her self to be alone , and not likely to be interrupted , nor so much as to be seen by any person , fell to her work . in the first place she digg'd a pit in the earth , then made a fire on each side thereof ; placing the body of her son between the two plains ; then taking a pitcher from off a three-legg'd stool that stood by , she pour'd honey into the pit , milk out of a second , and so out of a third , as if she had been doing sacrifice : then taking a piece of dough , form'd in the likeness of a man , crown'd with lawrel and bdellium , she cast it into the pit. after this , snatching a sword that lay in the field , with more than bacchanal fury ( addressing herself to the moon in many strange terms ) she launched her arm , and with a branch of lawrel bedewed with her blood , she besprinkled the fire : with many other prodigious ceremonies . then bowing herself to the body of her son , whispering in his ear , she awaked him , and by the force of her charms , made him to stand upright . chariclea , who had hitherto look'd on with sufficient fear , was now astonisht ; wherefore she wak'd calasiris to be likewise spectator of what was done . they stood unseen themselves , but plainly beheld , by the light of the moon and fire , where the business was perform'd , and by reason of the little distance , heard the discourse , the beldam now bespeaking her son in a louder voice . the question which she ask'd of him was , if her son , who was yet living , should return safe home ? to this he answer'd nothing , only nodding his head , gave her doubtful conjecture of his success ; and therewith fell flat upon his face . she turn'd the body with the face upward , and again repeated her question , but with much greater violence , uttering many incantations , and leaping up and down with the sword in her hand , turning sometimes to the fire , and then to the pit ; she once more awaken'd him , and setting him upright , urg'd him to answer her in plain words , & not in doubtful signs . in the mean time chariclea desired calasiris that they might go nearer , and enquire of the old woman about theagenes ; but he refus'd , affirming that the spectacle was impious ; that it was not decent for any person of priestly office to be present , much less delighted with such performances : that prayers and lawful sacrific●s were their business ; and not with impure rites and enquiries of death , as that aegyptian did , of which mischance had made us spectators . while he was thus speaking , the dead person made answer , with a hollow and dreadful tone : at first i spared you , mother , ( said he ) and suffer'd your transgressing against humane nature and the laws o● destiny ; and by charms and witchcraft disturbing those things which should rest inviolated : for even the dead retain a reverence towards their parents , as much as is possible for them ; but since you exceed all bounds , being not content with the wicked action you began , nor satisfy'd with raising me up to give you signs , but also force me , a dead body , to speak● neglecting my sepultu●e , and keeping me from the mansion of departed souls ; hear those things which at first i was afraid to acquaint you withal : neither your son shall return alive , nor shall your self escape that death , by the sword , which is due to your crimes ; but conclude that life in short time , which you have spent in wicked practices : forasmuch as you have not only done these things alone , but made other persons spectators of these dreadful mysteries that were so conceal'd in outmost silence ; acq●ainting them with the a●fairs and fortune of the dead . one of them is a priest , which ma●es it more tolerable ; who knows , by his wisdom , that such things are not to be divulg'd : a person dear to the gods , who shall with his a●●●val , prevent the duel of his sons prepar'd fo● combat , and compose their difference . but that which is more grievous is , that a virgin has been spectator of all that has been done , and heard what was said : a virgin and lover , that has wander'd through countrys , in search of her betroth'd ; with whom , after infinite labours and dangers , she shall arrive at the outmost parts of the earth , and live in royal state. having thus said , he again fell prostrate . the hag being sensible who were the spectators , arm'd as she was with a sword , in rage sought them amongst the dead bodies , where she thought they lay conceal'd , to kill them , as persons that had invaded her , and crost the operation of her charms : while she was thus employ'd , she struck her groin upon the splinter of a spear that stuck in the ground , by which she dy'd ; immediately fulfilling the prophecy of her son. the aethiopian history . the seventh book . calasiris and chariclea having so narrowly escaped , not only to avoid farther danger , but on account of what was fore●old them by the dead man , hasten'd their jour●ey towards memphis . when they arriv'd at ●he town , they found the preparations which ●hey ●xpected : for the people of memphis , a ●●ttle before thyamis was come up with his ●●ssians , had shut up their gates , being fore●arn'd of his coming by a prisoner that had ●scaped from him . thyamis therefore encamp●ng before the walls , gave three days respite to ●efresh his army , weary'd with their march and late service . the townsmen , who before were terrify'd with expectation of great numbers , when they found their enemies were few , drew up the archers and horse that were left to defend the town , with the rest of the citizens , arm'd as the sudden chance could furnish them , prepar'd forthwith to set upon the enemy . a person of age and eminency dissuaded them from their attemyt , saying , that though oroondates , the deputy , were absent , yet it was meet first to consult with arsace , his wife ; by which means the souldiers who were left , would more willingly engage . they approved his council , and accordingly went to the palace , where deputies reside in the kings absence . arsace , beside the charms of her person and stature , had great management in affairs ; such as became her royal blood , and the sister of a king : yet for luxury and dissolute life , deserv'd no little blame . amongst other things , she was partly the cause of thyamis's banishment from memphis . for when calasiris , for those mischiefs which were fore-told about his sons , was withdrawn from the city , so long , that he was suppos'd to be dead , thyamis , as his eldest son , was immediately invested in his place of high priest : arsace immediately fixt her eyes on him in the temple , where , beside his youth and comely personage , he appear'd more charming with the splendid habit of his office. she forbore not from immodest glances and signs , which thyamis took little notice of , being of a chaste temper . but his brother petisoris , who had already envy'd his dignity , and observ'd the allurements of arsace , took occasion from thence to form a snare for his brother . therefore privately addressing himself to oroondates , did not only tell him the inclination of arsace , but falsly added , that thyamis was contracted to her . he easily believ'd , being already jealous of arsace , but as yet gave her no disturbance , having no clear proof of his surmize ; as also out of respect to the blood royal , his suspicion was to be supprest and conceal'd : yet he forbore not to threaten thyamis with death , till he was expell'd the city , and petisoris made priest in his stead . these things were formerly transacted . when now the people were throng'd about the palace , and told her the approach of the enemy , which she already knew , and desired her commands on the souldiers ; she answered , that whereas they knew not as yet the numbers of the enemy , nor who they were , nor for what cause they arrived , that it were expedient first to go up to the wall to take a view of the enemy , and resolve as they saw o●casion . they approv'd her counsel , and went immediat●ly upon the battlements . there , when a rich pavillion was placed for arsace , and she her self richly adorn'd , was seated thereon , with her guards in golden armour about her ; holding out her mace , for an emblem of peaceable treaty , she commanded the chiefs of the enemy to approach the walls . thyamis and the●genes , who were elected by the army to go forth , plac'd themselves under the walls , cover'd in armour all but their heads . the herald utter'd these words : arsace , wife of oroondates , the governour ; and sister to the king ; demands of you , who you are ? with what intention , or for what cause you are come hither with your army ? they rely'd , that their troops were bessians . of hims●lf , thyamis gave this account ; that he had sustain'd injury from his brother , as also from oroondates ; that he was by treachery depriv'd of the priesthood , and that the bessians were come to restore him : that if he were re-setled in his right , the bessians should return peaceably , without doing them any damage ; otherwise his cause should be decided by the sword. that arsace for her own sake should comply , and take this opportunity of revenging herself on petisoris , who had practis'd against , and falsly accus'd her to oroondates ; and on the same pretence compass'd his banishmen● from that city . the memphians were much concern'd when they knew thyamis , and we●● hitherto ignorant in the cause of his banishment , and believ'd what he affirm'd . arsac● , above all , was seiz'd with a tempest or thoughts . her rage being renew'd with this remembrance of her former injuries from petisoris , she consider'd which way to revenge herself upon him . one while surveying thyamis , and then theagenes , she was divided in her desire , and successively had a passion for each : for the one a former flame , and for the other a more violent , though kindled that moment ; insomuch that her concern was perceiv'd by her servants . but when she came to her self , like one from a swoon ; excellent persons ( said she ) what madness has possest you , who have not only expos'd all the bessians , but your own beautiful selves , in behalf of robbers ; for you are not able , if we should engage , to sustain our first onset . the kings affairs are not yet reduc'd to that distress , though the deputy be absent , but that you must needs be encompass'd by the remainder of his souldiers in the city . but i see no reason why the publick should be concerned in this difference ; since therefore the quarrel is private , let the decision be so too ; so that the gods and right must determine the event . it therefore seems just to me , that the memphians and your forces should lie still , and not engage in a needless war. this judgment of arsace was applauded with the shouts of her people . they not only suspected petisoris of injustice , which they desired to see punished ; but also every one rejoyc'd to have his own danger laid on another persons head . but the be●sian army were not so well contented with the proposal , nor were willing to expose their general to danger , till thyamis with tears obtain'd their consent ; alledging that petisoris was weaker , and not experienc'd in arms , so that he having been versed therein , should encounter him on advantage . nor is it unlikely that arsace propos'd the single combat , to obtain , without suspicion , what she desired ; it being most probable that thyamis would overcome . this resolve was no sooner mention'd than put in action . thyamis chearfully s●tting on the rest of his armour which was wanting ; theagenes assisting , and bracing his helmet on , adorn'd with a most graceful crest and plume . petisoris in the mean time was thrust out of the town , much entreating them that he might decline the fight . as soo● as thyamis beheld him , do you not see , said he to t●eag●nes , how the guilty petisoris trembles ? i perceive it , replyed he : but how have you resolv'd in this encounter ? the enemy with whom you engage is your brother . you say true , reply'd he ; i therefore determine , by the gods will , to conquer , but not kill him : providence forbid that former rage should so far revive in me , as to make me , for wrongs that are past , to imbrue my hands in a brothers blood. you speak like a man of honour , reply'd theagenes , and vers'd in the laws of nature . but what commands have you for me ? there is little danger in this encounter ( reply'd thyamis ; ) yet since all events are in the hands of fortune , if i conquer , you shall enter this city , and live with me in full command of my fortunes ; but if otherwise it shall happen , you shall be chief over these bessians , that highly esteem you , till providence shall better compose your affairs . this being agreed on , they embrac'd each other with mutual tears and kisses . theagenes sat down in the habit in which he was , to observe the combate ; thereby ( though unwittingly ) affording a full view of himself to arsace , who feasted her wanton eyes on his amiable person . thyamis made up to petisoris , who would not abide the first onset , but whilst he approacht , made toward the gate , to shelter himself in the city : but to no purpose , being again forced out by the citizens ; the persons likewise upon the walls giving charge that none should receive him . he therefore ran ●ound the walls , and at length with part of his arms thrown away . theagenes follow'd to see ●he event , but without weapons , to give no ●uspicion of assisting thyamis ; having cast dow● his spear and buckler in the place where he sat ●n sight of arsace . thus petisoris twice sur●ounded the city ; but making the third round , thyamis poising his spear , and calling to him ●o stand , unless he would receive a scandalous ●ound in his back : the whole city sitting ●pectators , as it were in a theatre . the deity , o● fortune , that governs humane affairs , as in s●me labour'd tragedy , where new events arise , had not only plac'd calasiris a spectator at the d●el o● his sons , but also made him one in chase . who although he had su●fered so many distresses , and banish'd himself into remote countrys to avoid so cruel a spectacle , yet , by the power of fate , is comp●ll'd to see what the gods foretold to him by their oracles . he therefore , from a great distance , beholding the course , perceived by what had been revealed to him , that the two combatants were his sons . wherefore , with greater sp●●d than old age would well permit , he hastned towards them , to prevent , if possible , their actual engagement : approaching so near as to bear up with them ; what madness is this , o my children , he often cryed out ? but they not yet knowing their fathers countenance , he being disguis'd in beggars habit ; their whole mind being taken up with the business in hand , neglected him , as one of the spectators , or some person distracted . but those who were on the walls admir'd that he took no care of himself , but came between the combatants , while others laught at him , as a frantick man. when therefore the old man was sensible that he was unknown through the meanness of his garb , he threw on his outward poor disguise ; discovering his sacred hair , not yet unwreath'd ; the burde● which he carry'd on his back , with the bow● being cast away , he renew'd his prayers , and with tears uttered these words ; o sons , ( said he ) behold calasiris , behold your father , and desist from this fury , which , with ill fate , you have begun ; and pay just reverence to the presence of your aged father . at this they relented , and not only fell , but threw themselves headlong at his feet , embracing his knees , they look'd up to his face , to assure themselves if it were he , and that they were not deceived by some spectre . as soon as they were confirm'd , they were seiz'd with various and contrary affections . they were overjoy'd to see their father alive , beyond their hopes or expectation , and were no less troubled for the manner in which he apprehended them ; and , above all , were sollicitous of the event in this accident . while the persons from the walls were beholding this scene , and almost astonisht , through ignorance of the matter , so that they stood mute and motionless as statues , behold another turn in the scene arose : chariclea following the steps of calasiris , while from afar off she knew theagenes ( for lovers have ●harp sight ) transported with the view , with a close embrace , hanging on his neck , had no breath left to speak to him . but he , as it is likely , by her poor dress and face , disdained her , thinking her some vagabond among the crowd of spectators , put her from him ; and at last , when she would not desist , and vex'd to be hinder'd from the scene of calasiris , push'd her away : she , with a low voice , cry'd , o pythius , have you forgot this taper ? the●genes struck with that word , as with a thunder-bolt , by the signs agreed on between them , knew the torch , and tran●ported with t●● sight of chariclea , her beauty now shining out , as through a cloud , he threw himself upon he● neck . the whole battl●ments ( where arsace sat , who survey'd chariclea not without je●lousie ) were surpriz'd at this scene of won●erful representation . the ●ire contest betwee● the brothers is taken off , and the battel , which was expected to be of bloody consequence● concludes in a happy agr●●ment . the father , who had beheld his sons arm'd against each other , insomuch that his eyes were a●most made witnesses of his childrens unnatural death , is now ar●iter of peace ●etween them . he that could avoid not thei● necessary destiny , makes now no less ad●antag● of fortune . the children recover their paren●● after ten years loss , and he that was the cause o● their bloody strife for the priesthood , is now himself crown'd by the rivals , and led alon● in the sacred robes . but the shining parts i● the comedy were theagenes and chari●lea most beautiful figures ; who , beyond all hopes had now recovered each other ; and above al● the rest , drew the eyes of the city upon them the inhabitants issued through the gates , an● ●illed the plain with their numbers ; the younger sort repairing to theagenes , and the elder thronging to thyamis ; the virgins that were marriagable , went over to chariclea : so that a kind of religious pr●cession was immediately constituted . thyamis in the mean time dismissing the b●ssians , with thanks for the kindness that they shewed him ; he likewise divided presents amongst them , an hundred oxen and a thousand sheep , with promise of ten drachms apiece , in little time to be sent after them . he then put his neck under his aged fathers arms to support him , languishing with years , and at present with excess of joy. petisoris on the other side did the same . thus was the old man carry'd to the temple of isis , surrounded with applause and congratulations ; pipes and sacred flutes resounding all the way , that set the younger sort a dancing . arsace also performed her part , following the pomp with he● train , and putting much gold into the temple of isis , for an example to the rest of the city . in the mean time , while theagenes led chariclea by the hand , officiously keeping off the press from her , he administred no small jealousie to arsac● . calasiris went into the inward part of the temple , where falling prostrate before the images , he almost expir'd in the adoration . but being recovered by the standers by , as soon as he could stand upright , and had paid his reverence to the goddess , he took the wreath from his brow and plac'd it on the head of thyamis ; telling the multitude , that he was old , that the ensigns of priesthood were due to his eldest son , who also was qualify'd to sustain that office. when the people had with shouts approv'd his pleasure , he , with his two sons and theagenes , repair'd to that part of the temple which is assign'd to the priesthood : the rest departed every one to his house . arsace likewise went away , but not without delays , and turning back again , as it were , to perform homage to the goddess . all the while casting her eyes towards theagenes , as long as she could have sight of him . after she was return'd to the palace , she betook her to her apartment , whe●e she threw herself upon her bed , without uttering one word . a woman las●ivious in her temper , but now with the surpassing beauty of theagenes , in●lam'd to a degre● beyond wh●● she had yet been sensible of . she therefore continued waking all night , turning from one side to the other , sighing deeply , sometimes rising up , and then throwing her self down upon her bed again . she often hastily call'd her attendants to her , then sent them away again without any commands fo● them . in fine , this passion had distracted her , but for an old woman , cybele by name , the keeper of her cabinet , and former servant of her love-intrigues . she guess'd the affair , and came into the chamber , as it were a torch , adding fire to her flame . madam , said she , what frenzy is this ? what new passion transports you ? what persons aspect has disturb'd my charge ? who is so vain and hardy , as not to be taken with that beauty , and not account such an enjoyment the greatest happiness ? tell me , my dear daughter ; for there is none so obstinate , as not to be vanquish'd by my stratagems . you have already had good proof thereof . these words , and many more to this purpose uttered she , embracing the feet of arsace , and soothing her into confession . o mother , reply'd arsace , after a little pause , i have now receiv'd a deeper wound than ever ; i have often found your skill successful in these affairs , but know not now what it can do . the war which was this day almost begun before our wall , prov'd unbloody to others , but to me the beginning of a more fatal war , wherein i am wounded to the very soul ; in unfortunately shewing me the youth that accompany'd thyamis during the combat . you know , mother , whom i speak of ; for with the splendour of his beauty he soon clouded all the rest , discovering no mean birth , nor aversion to love. this your judgment cannot be ignorant of : wherefore , since you know my grief , 't is high time to set all your engines to work ; to employ all your art and industry if you would have your daughter to survive . for of what use is life , without enjoyment of the person whom i affect . i know the youth ( reply'd the old woman ; ) he that is full breasted , his neck erect , his eyes sparkling , and at once displaying love and severity ; with fair and well-order'd hair , his cheeks just budding with youthful down ; to whom a certain damsel , not disagreeable , but excessive impudent , approach'd , and cast her arms about him : is not this your man , lady ? the very same , mother : and you have well brought into my mind that domestick creature , who yet is far happier than i , in possession of such a lover . at this the old woman smiling , reply'd , be of good heart , and lay aside care , madam ; it is but for a day that she is held beautiful by the stranger ; but when i bring it about that he shall enjoy your beauty , that sordid harlot shall be despis'd . do so , my dear cybele , and you will at once ease me of a double grief , love and jealousie . leave that to my care ( said she ) in the mean time it is your part to compose your self with good hopes , and not to despair of my work before i begin . having thus said , she went away , taking the light with her , and making fast the door . arsace no sooner perceiv'd day-light , but she call'd one of her eunuchs , together with her woman , to whom she gave little cakes , and sent them to do sacrifice at the temple . when they came to the gates , and told the door-keeper their business , that they were come to do sacrifice for arsace , who had that night been troubled in dreams ; the officer forbad their entrance , acquainting them , that the temple was at present full of sorrow : that the high priest calasiris , the last evening , enlarging his soul in chearfulness , and after the banquet made long supplications to the goddess : then telling his sons , that hitherto they had seen their father ; and giving them strict charge concerning the two grecian strangers , he betook himself to his bed. after thi● , whether his pores were too much dilated through excess of joy , or worn out with age , or by the fix'd decree of the gods , about cock-crow he expired , in presence of his sons , who watched him . we have now sent messengers to assemble the priesthood of the city , to perform those funeral rites , which , according to our custom , are due to him . you must therefore depart ; for it is not lawful for any person to enter the temple , or do sacrifice for these seven days but only the priests . what then must become of the two strangers , said cybele , during this time ? our new prelate thyamis , ( said the officer ) has commanded a lodging to be prepar'd for them without the temple ; and behold where they are now in obedience , going forth out of the temple . cybele having got this lucky opportunity , thus again bespeaks the officer ; o friend , belov'd of the gods , it is in your power to do this young couple a courtesie , but a much greater to arsace , the kings sister . you know how she favours grecians , and uses hospitality to strangers : tell them therefore , that by command of thyamis , an apartment is provided for them in the palace . the officer did as she commanded , being sensible of no harm , but thinking to do the persons a kindness , in assisting their reception to the palace . coming therefore up to theagenes and chariclea , drown'd in tears ; you are to blame , said he , having been commanded to the contrary , thus to bewail the death of the high priest , whereas our divine laws enjoin us to rejoyce for the consummation of his happiness . however , you are partly to be excus'd , having lost ( as you say ) your father and patron : yet ought you not altogether to despond , since his son thyamis , as you see , succeeds him in the priesthood , and is no less your friend . he has given charge in the first place concerning you , and order'd you a dwelling , to which persons of the first rank are proud to be receiv'd , and therefore well may strangers be so , who seem of no extraordinary fortune . follow therefore this lady ( pointing to cy●●l● ) and obey her , as a common parent to you both . theagenes did as he said , whether o●●●c●m● by the sudden accident , that , like a storm , f●ll upon him , or in such a state of affairs was content with any mansion . i presume he would have taken care of himself had he suspected the mischief which that residence was likely to bring upon him . but the fate that govern'd them● after it had allow'd them one days ●efreshment , immediately follow'd it with misfortune ; making them prisoners to their enemy , tho●gh under appearance of hospitality . when therefore they were come to the deputies house , wher● all appear'd too stately for an● p●●●ate person ; with guards , and attending cour●●ers ; w●o all we●e surpriz'd at this 〈◊〉 ( ●s it seem'd to them ) of the strangers . they we●e follow'd by cyb●le , encouraging them to be of good heart , and exp●●t the performance of her promise . at last , ●●inging them into her own apartment , the rest of the company be●ng shut out , she sat her self down by them , and thus exprest herself : o my children , said she , i know the occasion of your grief , whic● is conceiv'd for the death of calasiris , worthily honour'd by you as a father : but it is now needful that you unfold your selves to me : who you are , and from whence . that you are greeks i know , and of good parentage , i easily conjecture by your appearance . your generous countenance and form assure me of your birth ; but from which greece you come , and for what c●●se you wander'd , and arriv'd here , i desire to understand , intending your good thereby ; as also that i may acquaint arsace my lady , and wife to our deputy , with the particulars of your affairs ; for she is famous for hospitality to strangers , an● , of all nations , an admirer of the greeks , for the elegance of their manners : by which means you shall come into her presence with advantage . neither shall you declare your self to a woman that is a●together a stranger , for i my self am a greek , lesbia the place of my birth ; brought captive hither , but to the improvement of my fortune . i am chief agent for my lady , she breathes not without me ; i am her very soul , and bring worthy persons into her acquaintance . theagenes comparing what was now spoken by cybele , with what had happen'd the day before , and the immodest gestures of arsace , was about to answer , when chariclea said to him in his ear , be sure in your discourse to remember your sister . he understanding what she meant by that suggestion , said ; you know , mother , already that we are greeks ; but i must further inform you that we are likewise brother and sister : who , in s●arch of our parents , that were taken away by pyrates , have our selves sustain'd worse fortune , by falling into the hands of worse men● robb'd of our treasure , and scarce escaping with life , we met , by providence , with calasiris , with whom we design'd to lead the rest of our life : but he being now expir'd , we are left desolate , and the second time depriv'd of a father . this is the po●ture of our affai●s . but to you we return our just thanks for your courteous hospitality ; however , you will yet lay a greater obligation upon us , if you cause us to live retir'd and private , not introducing us into the court , or acquaintance with arsace ; for such familiarities , you know , are most fitting amongst equals . cybele could no longer contain , but by the chearfulness of her countenanc● , discover'd her joy to hear they were relations ; th●t therefore chariclea would be no obstacle to arsac●'s desires . o lovely youth ( said she ) you will not speak this of arsace when you know her humour : she carries herself equally to all fortunes , and with particular favour to dignity in distress : being herself a persi●n by birth , she naturally admires the people and manners of greece . wherefore take heart , and assure your self of all manly offices about her , while chariclea shall be her intimate and companion . but it is necessary that you tell me your names . which when she had heard , she desired them to wait her return ; and so hastned to arsace , leaving orders with the door-keeper , that none should be suffer'd to go in to them , nor the strangers to go out . not if your own son achemenes come ( said the person ? ) not even he , reply'd the other : lock the door , and say i have taken the key with me . even thus it happen'd ; cybele was no sooner departed , but left opportunity to theagenes and chariclea to bewail their misfortunes , which they did in almos● 〈…〉 words . o theagenes , said she ; o ch●r●cl●a , h● answer'd , with an equal sigh●●hat fo●tune has beset us , said he ! in wha● 〈◊〉 ar● our a●fairs , a●swer'd she ! thus 〈◊〉 they t● each , kissing and mutually em●●acing after ●very ●entence : at last calling to ●ind calasiris , they broke out into a joint comp●aint : chiefly chariclea , as having for a longer time been obliged to his hospitality : o good cal●siris , said she , how am i in thee depriv'd o● a daughters name . the father who begot me i never knew , the father that adopted me i forsook ; and lastly , this that receiv'd , cherish'd , and preserv'd me , is now a dead corpse , to which i am not permitted so much as to pay funeral rites . yet , my sustainer and preserver , nay , i will add father ; where-ever i am confin'd , i will make just libations with my tears , and pay these offerings : herewith she pluck'd off her hair , and threw it on the floor . theagenes entreated her to spare her self and be pacify'd ; yet she went on● with her complaint . to what purpose should i now live , what hope is left ? my guide in this strange land , the staff of my pilgrimage , my leader to my native soil ; he that performed the office of parent ; my adviser in distress , the repeller of my misfortunes , the anchor of my hopes , calasiris , is gone . while she utter'd these lamentations , theagenes wept apart , and restrain'd as much as he could his grief , in pity to his mistress . by this time achemenes arriv'd , and finding the door lock'd , ask'd the door-keeper the reason : when he knew 't was by his mothers order , he went to the door , where he heard chariclea lamenting , and look'd through the chinks into the chamber . again he enquires of the door-keeper ; who said , she suppos'd they were two strangers brought in thither by his mother . he then stoop'd down again , to try if he could know them . chariclea he knew not , yet was taken with her beauty ; which he thought how great it was when not disguis'd with grief . from admiration he falls into love. as for theagenes , he could but guess at him . while he was thus intent , cybele returns , having told all to her mistress concerning the young couple ; commending that good fortune that had better crown'd her desires , than the wisest councils could have done ; to plant the person she lov'd in the same house with her . having thus enflam'd arsace with desire of seeing theagenes , she yet with-held her , being disorder'd with want of sleep , till she had rested , and would appear with better advantage . leaving her thus satisfy'd , and in good expectation of the event , and resolv'd on what method to take with the strangers , she return'd . what is it , son , said she , that you so curiously enquire after ? what strangers are those within , ( said he ) and from whence ? i may not inform you , said cybele , nor must you tell what you know , nor converse with the s●rangers . he obey'd his mother , suspecting the●g●n●s to be reserv'd for arsace's service ; but is not this the person ( said he within himself as he depa●ted ) who was rescued from me by the b●●●ians , when he was deliver'd to me by mitranes , to conduct him to oroo●dates , who was to ●end him to our great king ? in which attempt my life was in danger , and i only escaped of those that guarded him ? do my eyes deceive me ? i have heard also that thyamis is arriv'd , and has fought in single duel with his brother for the priesthood . it is certainly the same person . but at present i must conc●al the discovery , and observe arsac●'s proceedings with the strangers . these were his private sentiments . cybele in the mean time entring in upon them , perceiv'd what had past : for although at the opening of the doors they endeavour'd to compose themselves , yet they could not conceal their grief from the subtle old lady ; their cheeks being still moist with tears . she therefore cry'd out , o my dear children , why do you thus take on ? when you ought to rejoice , and congratulate your good fortune : the mo●t excellent arsace contrives all things for your satisfaction ; and has consented that to morrow you shall be brought into her presence : wherefore you must put away these childish lamentations ; it is meet for you to compose your selves , and be obedient to her pleasure . the death of calasiris ( said theagenes ) raised this sorrow , in whom we have lost a fathers protection . you trifle , said cybele ; calasiris was but your personated father , and is expir'd , according to the laws of age and nature . all things are restored to you in one person ; riches , pleasures ; adore a●sace as your good fortune . only be rul'd by me in what manner you are to approach her ( since she has so commanded ) and what measures you must take in what she shall command . you know her spirit is great , as being elevated by quality and beauty , and such as will not bear contempt , in any thing that she shall enjoin . while theagenes stood silent , as conjecturing the flagitious meaning , the eunuchs entred , ●ringing in golden chargers , the remains of ●he royal banquet , that exceeded in cost and delicacy : when they had set them on the ta●le , saying , that their lady , in honour to the ●trangers , had so commanded , they departed : ●et , to omit no part of their office , they first ●asted of every dish . the same was done in the evening . the next morning the same e●●uchs coming to theagenes , said , you are call'd ●or ( o happy man ) by our lady , and we are ●ommanded to bring you into her presence : ●o therefore , to enjoy that happiness which is ●ermitted to very few , and to those very sel●om . he paus'd a while , and then unwillingly rising up , am i only commanded to go , or my sister here with me ? only you at present ( said they ) she being afterwards to come by her self . there are now certain persian noble● with arsace : it is her manner to speak wit● men apart , and with women afterwards apar● also . t●eagenes bowing , said softly to chariclea , these things are neither honest , nor their meaning unsuspected by me : when she whispered to him again , that he ought not to disobey , but seem willing to perform her pleasure in all things , he follow'd them forth . when they told him after what manner she was to be accosted ; how he ought to adore her at his entrance , he answer●d nothing . ●ut going in , and finding her seated on a tribunal , ●dorn'd in a purple robe , embroider'd with gold , bracelets on her arms , and a rich tiar● on her head , the guards standing round , and the nobles seated on each s●de , his mind was not moved in the least ; but as forgetting what was agreed on between himself and chariclea , his spirit was the more exalt●d against the pride 〈◊〉 this persian pageant . therefore , neither bending his knee , no● adoring her , with an erect countenance , he said ; save you , arsace , of roya● blood. while those that were present were enrag'd , and mu●mur'd at theagenes's audaciou● entrance without the usual adoration . you must excuse him , ( said ars●ce smiling ) as ● stranger to our customs ; and as a grecian , prejudic'd against them . withal , she put off her tiara , though much prohibited by the attendants ; for this is the persians way of returning respect to them that salute them . when , by her interpreter , ( for though she understood the greek tongue she could not speak it ) she had bid him be of good chear ; to demand any thing he needed ; beckning to her eunuchs , she dismiss'd him . he was attended forth by the guards , among whom , achemenes , having here seen him again , knew him more exactly ; and suspecting the cause of the extraordinary honour done to him , yet conceal'd his thoughts , resolving within himself what to do . arsace continued to receive the persian nobles and magistrates with such magnificence , pretending respect to them , while the true cause of her holding the banquet was to have discourse with theagenes ; to whom she not only sent the choicest dainties , but richest presents , tapestrys and carpets of divers colours , wrought at sydon and lydia . she likewise sent servants to attend them ; a young maiden to chariclea , and a youth o● ionia to theagenes : very much urging cybele to finish her design with celerity , for that she could no longer sustain the violence of her passion : nor was she negligent in trying all ways to compass theagenes . indeed she told him not arsace's desire in express words , but with circumlocution gave him to understand ; magnifying the bounty of arsace towards him ; setting before his eye● not only those beauties which appear'd in her , but likewise those that were conceal'd : then she extoll'd her humour , that was affable and obliging , and the esteem that she had for youths of noble expectation . in short , she made tryal by all she said how he stood affected to the delights of venus . theagenes acknowledg'd her bounty towards him , her love to the grecian customs ; and on all accounts return'd her thanks and praise . but for the drift of her wil●s he seem'd to take no noti●e . the old lady therefore was stung , to think that he understood her intention , but despis'd and repell'd her attempts . she knew ar●ace would bear no longer delays , but exact performance of her promise ; she therefore put her off with pretences , sometimes saying that the youth was timorous , and sometimes that ill accidents had happen'd . when therefore the fifth and sixth days were past , in which arsace had again call'd cha●iclea to her , and , to gratifie theagenes , treated her with all imaginable courtesie , she was forced to speak more plainly with theagenes ; to tell him her ladies passion , assuring him of ten thousand advantages if he assented . why are you ( said she ) so averse to love ? a youth so beautiful , in the spring of his age , belov'd by an equal beauty , yet esteems not the good fortune : especially when no danger attends , the husband being absent , and i ( who have bred her , and know all her secrets ) having the management of the affair . on your own part , there can be no impediment , having neither mistress nor wife . though many have despised even these considerations , and thought they did not therein wrong their domestick concerns ; but took the opportunity at once of making their fortune , and enjoying their pleasure . lastly , she mingled threats with arguments ; saying , that the most obliging women conceive the greatest displeasure , when disappointed , and severely revenge the neglect . think with your self , that this lady is a persian , and of princely blood , as you have acknowledg'd ; with what power she is vested ; so that at her pleasure she may reward her favourites with greatest honours , and punish those that disoblige her . for your part , you are a stranger here , deserted , and have none to succour you . take pity both on your self and her . she is worthy of your compassion , since you were author of her pain , and it is for you she languishes . at least , fear a lovers rage , and beware of that revenge which follows contempt . i have known many of your temper , who have repented too late . i have greater experience in these matters than you : these hairs are grown grey in the employment ; but so obstinate and incorrigible a youth i never yet met withal . then turning to chariclea ( of necessity indeed she hearing all this discourse ) and do you , daughter , ( said she ) advise this brother of yours , though i know not if he deserve that title . this business will also turn to your advantage ; you will be never the less lov'd by him ; you shall have all honours conferr'd on you ; be made as rich as you please , and advanc'd to a most honourable marriage . these things are to be wish'd for by happy persons , not by the destitute , and strangers . but chariclea , looking angrily and earnestly upon her , it were to be wish'd , said she , on all accounts , that arsace suffer'd under no such passion , at least that she could moderate her desires ; but since humanity is liable to such frailty , and that she is over-power'd , i would my self counsel theagenes not to refuse , if it may be with safety ; lest it come to light , by some accident , to her undoing , by the deputies knowledge of it . cybele leapt for●● at these words , kissing and embracing chariclea ; well spoken , daughter , ( said she ) this is agreeable to nature , that you , who are a woman , should pity the sufferings of a woman , and take care for your brothers safety . but on this account there is no reason why you should fear , since the sun himself shall not be privy to it . desist at present , said theagenes , and give us a little time to deliberate . cybele immediately went out . o theagenes , ( began chariclea ) the gods give us such successes , as bring with them greater misfortune than the happiness : which since it is so , it is the part of prudence to make the best of bad circumstances . whether or no you resolve in your self on this thing i know not , but if you think the proposal dishonest and unworthy , feign a compliance , and sooth the impati●nce of the barbarian with expectation , lest she determine something fatal against us . 't is probable that a little time ( if you can delay her hopes ) will afford us some remedy . but , o theagenes , take care l●st the contemplation betray into a desire . to which theagenes answer'd , with a smile , neither have you in your distress escap'd that female distemper , jealousie . but know that i cannot so much as dissemble , or make a pretence in such an affair ; to act or say , in unlawful things , is alike to generous minds . if arsace despair , there will be , at least , this advantage in it , that we shall no more be troubled with her sollicitations . but if i must suffer , both my past fortune , and temper of mind , have inur'd me to bear what shall be put upon me . chariclea said no more , only desir'd him to take notice into what mischief they must inevitably be brought . while they were thus taken up , cybele having encourag'd arsace to good hope , for that theagenes had exprest so much , return'd to the apartment ; where passing over that night in civilities to chariclea , whom also she made her bed-fellow ; next morning she again ask'd theagenes , what he resolv'd ? when he manifestly refus'd her , and bid her expect no such compliance : she return'd sorrowful to arsace . when she had told her theagenes cruelty , arsace push'd her forth headlong , and running into her closet , threw herself on her bed , tearing her cloathes and hair. achemen●s had no sooner spy'd his mother coming forth sad and weeping , but he ask'd her the rea●on ; if any mischief had happen'd , and any ill news disturb'd her lady ? if oroondates had lost the battel ? and many more such questions . you trifle ( said she ) and so went on . he nevertheless intermitted not , but taking her by the hand , begg'd her to acquaint her son with her trouble : she therefore permitting him to lead her , went into a private part of the garden . i would , said she , to no other person discover my ladies sufferings ; but since her life is at stake , and i know her fury will return upon my head , i am compell'd to speak : if poss●bly you can contrive any help for her that brought thee into the light , and nursed thee with these breasts . she is desperately in love with a certain youth ; her passion is invincible ; and after hopeful expectation , both she and i have found our labour frustrated . from hence proceeded these manifold favours expressed to the strangers . but since the foolish youth is intractable , i fear she will not live , and know my own death to be certain . this is the distressed estate of our affairs . if you can give any relief , do it quickly ; if not , prepare your mothers funeral . but what reward shall i have , mother , said he ; for it is not seasonable to tell you at large how far i can be serviceable , whilst you are in this disorder , and almost expiring . you shall have whatever you will desire , said cybele : you are already made , on my account , her chief cup-bearer : if there is any further preferment which you would have , demand it : the riches shall be without measure which you shall have , if you preserve her . i neither ask preferment nor wealth , said he ; let her only give the maid , who is call'd the sister of theagenes , for my wife , and all things shall succeed to her desire . i am passionately in love with the virgin : wherefore our lady labouring with the same passion , will more readily gratifie my desires , especially for so great a service . doubt it not , said cybele ; besides , i may privately prevail with the virgin on your behalf . but tell me , what method do you propose ? i shall not tell it , said he , till my lady has promis'd me with oath ; nor do you till then attempt any thing with the virgin ; lest by precipitance you destroy all , she being , as i perceive , of a great spirit . hereupon she return'd to arsace , and throwing herself at her feet , desir'd her to take comfort , all things shall do well , only be pleas'd to call my son achemenes into your presence . let him be call'd , said arsace ; but take care you do not again deceive me . achemenes therefore enter'd ; and when arsace , in express words , had sworn to him , that he should marry the sister of theagenes : then , said he , trouble not your self , your authority over theagenes is absolute , let the slave take care how he behaves himself to his mistress . how mean you , said she ? when she had thus ask'd , he told her all that had past ; that he had been ta●en , and was her captive and bond-man , by right of war : that mitranes had sent him to him , to send him again to oroondates , who was to convey him to the king : that he was rescu'd from him , on the way , by the bessians and thyamis : that he hardly escap'd with life : and above all , produc'd before arsace the letters of mitranes . if there were need of farther arguments , thyamis should confirm it . arsace hereupon was a little reviv'd , and going from her apartment to the presence chamber ; where she was wont , on her tribunal , to determine publick affairs : she commanded theagenes to be brought before her . when he was brought , she ask'd him if he knew achemenes , who stood by him ? he confessing it ; she farther ask'd , if he had taken him prisoner ? theagenes acknowledging that also ; you are therefore my slave , said she , ●and must be at my disposal . i betroth your sister to achemenes ; who not only for his mothers , but for his own services deserves highly from me : i should only so far defer it , till the requisite preparations for the nuptials can be made . theagenes was herewith struck , as with a thunder-bolt , yet resolved not to contradict , but cunningly decline her fury . o madam , said he , we are obliged to the gods , that since we are born of noble blood , we have yet the comfort in our misfortunes , to become your servants : to you , who exercise such courtesie towards strangers . but for my sister , since she was not your captive , she cannot be made to serve ; yet she has resolv'd in all things to obey ; do therefore what you shall judge to be right . you shall be plac'd , said arsace , among the waiters on our table , and learn the art of cup-bearing , to practise the royal service before-hand . they went forth from her presence ; theagenes with a thoughtful countenance , achemenes receiving him with scoffs : behold , said he insulting , that you , who lately were so insolent , who thought your self the only free man , who disdain'd to bow your head , and pay reverence , what you are now come to . arsace in the mean time sending the rest away , said to cybele alone , now cybele tell this proud youth , that if he will submit to our pleasure , he shall have his freedom , and live in wealth and plenty ; but if he continues obstinate , i will use him like my slave , and impose on him the vilest service and punishments . cybele came to him with the commands of arsace , adding also to her words what she thought convenient . theagenes asking a little respite , said to chariclea apart ; o chariclea , our affairs are at an end ; every cable , every anchor of hope is cut off ; our very liberty is now taken away ; we are servants to barbarians , and doom'd to suffer whatever they will impose . yet even thes● things were tolerable , but arsace has promis'd you in marriage to achemenes , the son of cybele ; which shall either never be , or at least seen by me while i am master of a sword. but what is to be done ? what contrivance can be found to free me from the detested embrace of arsace , and you from achemenes ? yet methinks i have a sudden thought , as necessity is fruitful in invention : then turning to cybele , tell your lady , said he , that i desire to speak with her alone , and in private . the old lady imagining theagenes to have consented , ran to arsace ; and being commanded to bring him after supper , she accordingly did so : commanding the attendants to leave their lady to her rest , and clear her lodgings , she brought theagenes into her bed-chamber . the rest of the apartments w●re all made dark , her bed-chamber only had a lamp in it . cybele would have withdrawn her self , but theagenes forbad her , saying , that she must be present ; i know that she is good at keeping secrets ; and with that , taking arsace by the hand ; o lady , said he , i from the first deferr'd your commands only till i might with safety , obey you : but now , since fortune , by particular favour , has declar'd me your servant , i am much more forward to obey you in all things . whereas therefore you have promis'd me many courtesies , i beg but one instead of all , that you would revoke the marriage of chariclea and achemenes : for , not to mention other things , it is unfit that she , being of noble birth , should be wedded to a servant . otherwise , i swear by the brightest of deities , the sun , that i will never comply with your demands ; and be●ore i will see any violence offer'd to chariclea , i will die by my own hand . you cannot but think me willing to gratifie you in any thing ( said arsace ) who am ready to deliver up my self to you ; but i have already sworn to give your sister to achemenes . it is well , madam , said he ; give him my sister if you please , but her whom i make love to , who is my betrothed , and indeed my wife , you neither will , nor can bestow upon him . how say you ! cry'd arsace : the matter answers it sel● , said he , for chariclea is not my sister , but my spouse ; wherefore you are freed from your oath : this you may also confirm , whensoever you shall be pleas'd to perfect the nuptials between her and me . arsace was stung with jealousie to hear that chariclea was not his sister , but his spouse : yet be it as you will , said she , we shall make achemenes amends by some other match . i shall likewise answer your desires , said theagenes , when you have null'd this promise . with these words he bowed , as to kiss her hand , but she stooping , receiv'd the salute upon her lips : theagenes then took leave of her . as soon as he could , he acquainted chariclea with what had past , ( who heard him not without some jealousie ) how all was compass'd by one means ; the nuptials with achemenes broken , time gain'd to divert the sollicitations of arsace ; and what would crown all , that achemenes would put things into commotion , enrag'd at his disappointment , and to see me preferr'd to him in the favour of arsace : that nothing would be conceal'd from him , his mother giving him the intelligence : for i took care , for that reason , to have her present , as also for a witness of our conversation . it is to be expected ( added he ) that achemenes will lay snares for arsace : a slave by birth ( who have a natural inveteracy against their superiours ) especially being injured , and defrauded of her promise ; seeing also others preferr'd before him , and being conscious to her practices , so that there is no need of forg'd inventions , there being sufficient grounds of truth to work upon . having thus spoken to chariclea , and advis'd her to take some hope , he was the next day b●ought by achemenes to minister at the table : for this was enjoyn'd by arsace ; and he was cloath'd in the vestment which she fent him , adorn'd with golden wreaths , bracelets , and gemms . while achem●nes offer'd to shew him the manner of his office , theagenes ran to the side-board , where the golden cups stood , and taking one up , i have no need of teachers , said he , but i will serve my own lady after my own way . fortune has well oblig'd you , to be skill'd in such offices , but nature and occasion shall instruct me what is to be done : then lightly pouring forth , he bore the cup to arsace . this d●aught more pleas'd her than usually , at once sipping of the bowl , and fixing her eyes on theagenes , drinking deeper of love than wine . achem●nes was doubly wounded , fill'd at once with rage and emulation , so that arsace herself perceiv'd his frown , and heard his murmurings to the standers by . when the banquet was done , i have one favour to beg , said theagenes , that you would please , madam , to order me always to perform my office in this robe . arsace consenting , he resum'd his own dress , and went forth : a●hemenes went along with him , upbraiding his insolence , and urging , that his mistress excus'd his first neglect , as being ignorant , and a stranger ; but that for the future she would not suffer it . this , says he , i tell you as a friend , and one whose sister , by my ladies promise , is to be my wife ; with many more things to this purpose . but theagenes , as not hearing him , went forward , with his eyes fix'd on the ground , till cybele met him , as she was returning to lay her lady on her bed in the heat of the day . seeing her son disturb'd , she demanded the reason . this young stranger , said he , is preferr'd before me , for the beauty of his person , and officiates in my stead ; and this not without contempt of us that formerly had the honour . but these matters we shall at another time have leisure to discourse ; in the mean time , mother , i desire to solace my grief by marriage with chariclea . what marriage , son , said cybele ? you seem to me concern'd for light troubles , and yet neglect greater : you shall not now have chariclea for your wife . what say you ? answer'd he , am i not worthy to marry my fellow servant ? for what rea●on , mother ? for my sake , said she , and my too much service to arsace : for after my preferring her to my own safety , and serving her pleasure , this stranger at his first admission into her chamber , was so much regarded , that he immediately prevail'd with her to break her oath to you ; and to consent that chariclea should be wedded to him , and not with you ; she not being his sister , but his mistress . has she promised him , mother ? she has , my son , in my presence and hearing ; and will accordingly celebrate their nuptials in few days : but for you she designs another match . achemenes at this sighing deeply , and wringing his hands , said , i shall render the marriage fatal to them all ; only do you assist me , by delaying the nuptials for a time : and if any enquiry be made after me , say that i remain sick in the country . the stranger calls his sister his spouse only to break off the marriage with me : though if he should embrace , kiss her , or sleep with her , i shall never believe but she ●s his sister . this business belongs to my care , and to the gods , whose honour is violated . thus spoke he , being at once incens'd with jealousie , love and disappointment , ( which things are sufficient to make a person troublesome , that were not barbarous ) not weighing his resolves by reason , but taking the first heat , he mounted an armenian courser , that belong'd to the deputy , and posted away to oroondates , then mustering a great army at thebes , against the aethiopians ; collecting all manner of strength for the enterprise , and ●ow ready to march. the aethiopian history . the eighth book . for when the king of aethiopia had by stratagem defeated oroondates , and obtain'd the half of what they contended for , making himself master of philae ; he at last reduc'd him to those shifts , that he was forc'd to retreat by stealth , and in disorder . the city philae is situate on the nile , a little above the cataracts ; and distant from siene and elephantina about twelve miles and a half . this city being formerly taken , and possest by aegyptian out-laws , drew on a contest for the same between the aegyptians and aethiops . the aethiops pretending the borders of aethiopia to stretch as far as the cataracts● and the aegyptians lay claim to it , on account of their out-laws inhabiting there . this city was successively in the power of the one o● other , according as they could soonest attack it ; but at this time it had a garrison of aegyptians and persians . the aethiopian king , by embassy , demanded phile of oroondates , and the precious mines of smaragdus : which being deny'd , he commanded his legates to go a few days journey before him , saying , that he would follow after , when he had made preparations , but acquainted none whither he intended . when he suppos'd the legates to be arriv'd at philae , where they were to lull the inhabitants into security , under pretence o● coming to make a peace with them , he himself came suddenly upon the city , and beat out the guards , who were not able to hold out against the number of the enemy , and engins , with which they batter'd the walls , with no damage at all to the townsmen . achemenes finding oroondates troubled on these accounts , gave him yet farther disturbance , by his sudden and uncommanded arrival . asking therefore if any thing were amis● with arsace , or his family ; he answer'd , tha● there was , but he would tell him in private when the company were dismiss'd , he unfolded all ; how theagenes , taken prisoner by mitranes , and sent to him , to be again convey'd to the king their master , being a handsome youth , and fit for court service , was rescu'd by the besians , who also had kill'd mit●anes : he then proceeded to the a●fairs of thyamis , and in the last place told the love of arsace for theagenes ; his residence in the palace , and honours conferr'd upon him ; but that as yet perhaps there was nothing unlawful committed , the youth being averse to her desires . however , it was ●o be fear'd , that he would be won in time , ●nless he sent speedily to bring him to memphis , ●nd wholly cut o●f the intrigue of arsace . that for this very reason he hasten'd and came secretly to him , out of respect ; not being able ●o conceal his injury from him . as with this discourse he en●●am'd oroon●●tes with jealousie and revenge , so on the ●ther side he fill'd him with love of chari●●●a , of whom he next inform'd him ; extol●ng her beauty with divine praises ; that never was her equal seen , nor ever should be ; that ●ll his concubines were nothing in comparison of her , not only those he left at memphis , but also they that followed his camp. many more things he added , thinking , that though oroondates should enjoy chariclea , yet , after some time , he should , for this discovery , receive her for his wife . thus was the deputy thrown at once into the toils of rage and love. wherefore without delay , calling bagoas , one of his eunuchs , to him , ( of great authority and trust ) with fifty horse to accompany him , he sent him to memphis , to bring theagenes and chariclea , as soon as he could find them . he also sent letters : one to arsace , of these contents . oroondates to arsace . theagenes and chariclea , the two captive kindred and royal servants , you must send to me , to transmit them to the king ; send them willingly , for otherwise they shall by force be taken away , for i give credit to achemenes . to euphrates , the chief eunuch at memphis , he wrote thus : of your negligence in my affairs at home you shall hereafter give an account ; at present deliver the two grecian strangers to bagoas , whether arsace be willing or not . otherwise i have sent orders that you be brought bound to me , and discharg'd from your office. begoas therefore , according to command , went with the letters signed with the deputies own seal , that at memphis they might give him the better credit , and more easily deliver the strangers to him . oroondates in the mean time set forward against aethiopia , commanding achemenes to follow him ; who knew ( though no mention was made thereof ) that he was kept in custody till the truth of what he had informed were known . these things passed at memphis . in the mean time thyamis ( while achemenes was upon his way to oroondates ) having in full power receiv'd the office of high-priesthood , an office of first rank in the city , and perform'd all rites belonging to the funeral of calasiris , to the outmost terms of the constituted time , he then called to mind theagenes and chariclea : for now it was permitted to him , by the pontificial law , to converse with strangers . therefore , upon enquiry , finding that they were carry'd to the deputies palace , he forthwith demanded them of arsace , alledging that they belong'd to him upon many accounts ; that his father calasiris , on his death-bed , committed them to his care : giving her thanks that she so courteously treated the strangers , during his confinement to the temple : but however , that he was obliged to remand the pledges left to his trust. i wonder , reply'd arsace , that while you acknowledge my humanity , you condemn me at the same time of inhospitality , in supposing me not able or willing to provide for the strangers . not so , said thyamis , i know they may live here in greater plenty than with me , provided they are so contented . but since they are of noble race , and have run through changes of fortune , and still are wanderers , nothing can be so desirable to them as to recover their kindred and country . in which , that i might be assisting to them , my father left me his charge , beside many other obligations of friendship between us . you do well , said arsace , to urge your right , by which you will sooner prevail with me , than by force . have you then dominion over them , said thyamis ? by what means ? by right of war , reply'd she , which made them my captives , and consequently my slaves . when therefore thyamis understood that she spake of mitranes ; o arsace , said he , it is not now war but peace ; as that brings into bondage , this should set at liberty : besides , war and peace should be judg'd not by the name , but reason and constitution . how can it be creditable or profitable to you to detain the strangers ? arsace could no longer contain ; but that happen'd to her which is usual for lovers , while they think their sentiments conceal'd , they have modesty ; but when discover'd , they lose all sence of shame . she therefore suspecting that thyamis perceiv'd her passion , made no account of his priestly dignity , but casting off the modesty of her sex , told him , that what he had done against mitranes should not pass unpunished ; for the time should come when oroondates would call his murderers to account . for the present i will not dismiss my vassals , though in little time they shall be sent to the king my brother . wherefore leave your idle reasonings of right or wrong , with them that have authority , and depart willingly from our palace , lest you be compell'd by force . thyamis therefore went forth , calling the gods to witness , and affirming that these things could come to no good issue ; resolving to acquaint the city herewith , and call in their assistance . arsace retir'd to her chamber , calling cybele to her , to take counsel of what was to be done . she had now some suspicion of achemenes his absence ; and when she ask'd cybele about it , she fram'd divers excuses , affirming any thing rather than own his departure to oroondates . yet she did not altogether impose upon her , the length of time creating mistrust . what shall we do , cybele , said she ? or how shall we work our-selves out from the streights that encompass us ? my desire is not lessen'd but encreas'd by denial . the youth grows more obstinate and intractable than ever . he has hitherto fram'd delays , but now he flatly denies me . and that which more troubles me , is lest he should likewise apprehend what i suspect of achemenes . for achemenes much disturbs me , being gone to oroondates , to perswade him of what he knows or conjectures ; if i could but see oroondates , one tender word or tear from me would overcome him . but i am afraid , lest before i enjoy theagenes , or can see oroondates , he should determine concerning me . wherefore , cybele , turn every stone , try all your art with the young man , since you see our affairs are brought to the last exigence : for you must imagine that when i despair for my self , i shall spare no other person . therefore take advantage of your sons endeavours , for i cannot conceive how you can be ignorant thereof . as for my son , madam , or my fidelity to you , you shall find that you censure falsly . wherefore , since you so negligently pursue your love , you must not lay the blame on others : for you exercise not the authority of a mistress with him , but the submission of a slave . which method perhaps was discreet at first , but since he is obstinate , you should make him feel your power , and constrain him , by torments , to obey your pleasure . it is the manner of youths to despise when they are courted , but to submit on compulsion : wherefore , he will do that by punishment , which he refus'd on entreaties . you seem to speak rightly , said arsace , but how can i endure to see him chastiz'd . you are too tender , replyed cybele , as though he would not by light chastisement be made to embrace pleasure ; and for your part of the suffering , you will be rewarded with your outmost wishes ; but if you cannot bear the spectacle , deliver him to euphrates , to be scourg'd as for some fault , which you may hear though not see ; and if you find him change his mind , you may at pleasure put an end to his chastisement . arsace suffer'd her self to be perswaded ; for love , when despis'd , spares not the object , but turns kindness into revenge . calling therefore the chief eunuch to her , she gave him orders accordingly . he being by nature envious , and possest with inveteracy against theagenes , for what he had seen and suspected , immediately threw him into bonds , and afflicted him with stripes and hunger . the place was dark where he kept him , and though he knew the cause , he dissembled , often asking theagenes the reason ; who gave him no answer ; wherefore he daily renew'd his punishment , and more severely than arsace intended . tormenting , and suffering none to come to him beside cybele , who perpetually visited him , pretending to commiserate his condition , on account of their former acquaintance , but indeed to find if he were to be wrought upon by the tortures . he shew'd himself more a man , more resolute than ever , yielding his body to punishment , triumphing in his misfortune , that gave proof of his love to chariclea , and saying , that all was well with him if she did but know his constancy ; continually calling her his light , his life , and soul. when cybele perceiv'd this , ( contrary to the will of arsace ) she gave command to have his torments encreased . neither thus did she hope for success , but last means were to be try'd when affairs were desperate ; she expected that oroondates , when he should hear of it , would take revenge on achemenes . she fear'd lest arsace , when her passion was discovered , would lay violent hands on her self , and that consequently it were impossible for her to escape ; wherefore , if things came to the worst , she resolv'd to involve all together in the same fate . returning therefore to arsace , we lose our labour , madam , said she , he is still more resolute and obstinate , having always chariclea in his mouth , and solacing his sufferings with her name . let us therefore cast forth our last anchor , and remove this obstacle to our endeavours : if he shall once know that she is dead , he will of course admit your kindness , despairing of his former love. arsace catcht at what she said , being before enrag'd with jealousie ; you advise well , said she , i will take care to have her dispatch'd : but whom shall we get to perform this ? for though the power be in your own hands , yet the persian laws forbid to put any to death without the judgment of the magistrates . you must therefore contrive to lay some crime to her charge : yet if you think fitting ( for i would run any hazzard for your sake ) i will attempt her life by poyson . arsace approv'd hereof , and commanded her to do it . she therefore immediately went about it ; and finding chariclea in tears and lamentations , no● only so , but contriving some means to dispatch her self , ( for she now understood what theagenes suffer'd , though cyb●le had long kept her in ignorance , framing divers excuses for his so long absence ) fond maid , said she , will you never give over afflicting your self without reason ? theagenes is well , and shall come to you this ev●ning : my lady was angry for some mistake that he committed in his office , and caus'd him to be shut up , but this day he will be releas'd , which i also entreated of her ; for to day she is to celebrate a certain festival , after the manner of her country . rise therefore , compose your self , and now take some repast with me . what reason have i to believe you , said chariclea ? for it has been your continual practice to deceive me . i swear by the gods , answer'd cybele , that this day all things shall be well with you , and you shall be freed from all your cares : only do not before destroy your self having now fasted for so many days : taste therefore of what is now set before you . chariclea obey●d her , though not without suspicion ; but partly assenting to her oath , and partly for joy of what was told her : for the mind easily believes what it earnestly desires . she therefore sat down to eat . while the attendant fill'd the wine , cybele beckon'd to her first to give the cup to chariclea and after to her self . but the old lady , before she had drank to the bottom , spilling the rest , began to storm , and looking sternly upon the waiter , was immediately enflam'd , and seiz'd with convulsions . chariclea was fill'd with horrour , and endeavour'd to lift her up ; she likewise call'd the assistance of them that were present ; for the mischief seem'd swifter than an arrow , the poyson being of so strong a tincture , as to destroy the youngest and strongest constitution ; but in a feeble and old body it dispers'd it self in a minute through all the vitals . the convulsions now remitting , she lay motionless , a blackness overspreading her skin . though , i suppose , her rage , for being deceiv'd , gave no small help to the ferment . for even now , breathing her last , she did not intermit her frauds , but partly with signs , partly with broken words , perswaded them that chariclea had poyson'd her . at the same minute that she gave up the ghost , chariclea was brought bound to arsace . she therefore demanding whether she had procur'd the poyson , and affirming that if she deny'd , tortures should force her into confession , chariclea became an unwonted spectacle to the beholders . for without any meanness of spirit , or concern in her face , she enter'd smiling into her presence , partly out of con●cience of her innocence , and partly for joy that she should not survive theagenes , if he were dead ; and also because the death which she design'd to perpetrate on her self , was now to be perform'd by other hands . o princess , said she , if my theagenes live , i am guiltless of this action ; but if he be dead , there is no need of calling council , or inflicting tortures , you may spare your self that trouble : you have me here who destroy'd the person that bred you up , kill me therefore without delay . you can do nothing more grateful to theagenes , who has resisted your impious sollicitations . arsace was enrag'd hereat , and commanded her to be struck : carry , said she , this victim , bound as she is , to let her lover see how gloriously she returns his constancy ; command euphrates to load her all over with chains , and leave them together , till the persian magistracy shall be assembled to morrow for her condemnation . by this time the maid that serv'd the wine was brought in : she was an ionian slave , and the same that by arsace was appointed to wait on chariclea . whether therefore she was mov'd with kindness to her , or by divine impulsion , she sigh'd and wept most bitterly . o wretched creature , said she , and void of all crime ! the standers-by being in wonder hereat , and urging her to speak plainly , she confessed that she her self gave the poyson to cybele , having receiv'd it first from her , to administer it to chariclea : that , whether it was through concern at so unwonted a practice , or whether mistaking the signs of cybele , ordering to minister first to chariclea , she changed the cups , and gave the poyson to the old lady . she was therefore led to arsace , as thinking she should please her in clearing chariclea . but when she had given her this account , arsace commanded her also to be taken into custody , as an accomplice in the fact , and to be kept for the next days session . she also summon'd the persian magistrates , by messengers , to be ready . when therefore they were sat , early in the morning , arsace gave in her accusation , telling all that had past , condoling also with tears , the loss of the person that bred her , who was dearer to her than her life ; appealing to the judges with how much courtesie ●he had treated the stranger , who in return had done her such injury . chariclea answer'd nothing to the charge , but confest the crime , affirming that she gave the poyson , adding also that she would likewise have taken off arsace , had she not been prevented . for having told her resolutions over-night to theagenes , and conferr'd with him , she resolv'd to undergo any manner of death , to depart from a life so full of trouble , of implacable fortune , and endless wanderings ; she there bid him her last farewel . the bracelet and jewels , with the rest that were expos'd with her , which she always secretly preserv'd , she now placed next to her body , carrying , as it were , with her the rites of her funeral● she therefore own'd every crime that was alledg'd , and more than were charg'd . for which reason the judges hardly forbore from in●licting the outmost tortures , after the persian manner ; yet moved with her youth and beauty , they only sentenc'd her to die by fire . she was therefore seiz'd by the guards , and hurr●'d forth beyond the walls , the beadle conti●u●lly crying out , that it was for poyson that she su●fer'd ; a vast multitude from the city following them . some of them had seen her led to tryal , others , by reason of the rumour spread all over the city , came to have a view of her . arsace was also present , and sat a spectator on the wall : for it would have troubled her not to have beheld chariclea suffer . when therefore the officers had raised a great pile , and set fire thereunto , chariclea begg'd ●espite from those that led her , saying , that she would of her own accord ascend the pile . o sun and earth ( she cryed out ) o powers above , and you that below take vengeance on wicked souls , you are witnesses that i am innocent of all that is laid to my charge . but that i my self willingly submit to death , for the intolerable troubles which i sustain . receive me therefore with favour . however , take venge●nce of this arsace , for whose crimes i suffer ; she ●s an adultress , and does this to deprive me of my husband . when she had thus spoken , the people shouted , some saying , that she should be reserv'd for another tryal , others endeavouring to rescue her ; in the mean time she ascended the file , where for a long while she stood unhurt , the fire rather circling about , than approaching her , serving only to make her beauty more conspicuous , and adorning the pile , as it were a nuptial bed. she passed from one part to another , admiring at what happen'd , and tempting death , but in vain , ●or the flame still turn'd off from her . the offic●rs , in the mean time , omi●ted nothing on their part ; ars●ce also b●●kning to them from the wall to do t●eir duty ; wh●●●fore they heap'd on mo●e com●●●tible m●tter . neither could they thus prev●il . the citizen● we●● troubled , thinking there was some divine assistance , and cry'd out , that she was innocent . several approaching to the pile took off the torturers , thyamis beginning , and ●ncouraging the people th●reunto , ( for the clamour had now brought him abroad . ) being therefore desirous to deliver charicl●a , they durst not themselves approach the fire , but call'd to her to come out ; for that there could be no danger for her to leave the fir● , who had continu'd therein without hurt . she h●aring this , and judging herself to ●e preser●'d by divine providence , would not be ●ng●●teful , and refuse ●●●ir favour : she ther●●o●e le●p● down from 〈◊〉 pile . as the multitude for joy and amaze●●nt shouted out , arsace , not able to bear it● 〈◊〉 ●own from the walls through a little gate● and with a strong guard of persians laid hands on chariclea . then looking sternly upon the people , are you not asham'd , said she , to rescue from punishment a woman that is a witch and poysoner by her own confession ? while you give her aid , you do violence to the persian laws ; to the judges , deputy , and king himself . you are mistaken , in imputing her delivery to the gods : will you not come to your sences , and find that this is the effect of her witchcraft , in which she has such command , as even to restrain the power of fire . assemble therefore to morrow in common council , and you shall not only hear her confession , but also those of her accomplices , whom i have in custody . herewithal she led her away , herself going next to her , and commanding the guards to keep off the crowd . but the people were enrag'd , part of them had thoughts of resistance , part of them having still some suspicion of her witchcraft , and the rest fearing the power of arsace . chariclea therefore is once more deliver'd to euphrates , and loaded with more irons ; reserved for a second sentence and execution : but still blessing her fortune , in seeing theagenes , and conferring with him about what had passed . for arsace had so order'd it , out of malice , that the young pair might behold each others misery , and be mutually afflicted with each others sufferings : for she knew that the torment of the person belov'd , more affected the lover than the party that suffer'd . but it was by them esteem'd as an advantage , to see each others constancy . it was some relief to converse together , and comfort one another with the consideration , that what they endur'd was upon the account of truth and vertue . after they had till midnight discours'd , in such a manner as was proper for lovers that were never more to talk together ; they at last talk'd of the miracle that happen'd about the fire . theagenes imputed it to the kindness of the gods , who shewed their indignation against the unjust decree of arsace ; but chariclea was doubtful . that accident , said she , seems to have come by divine providence , but to be reserv'd only for greater misfortunes , cannot proceed from the gods , unless they have secretly decreed to give relief at the greatest extremity . theagenes advis'd her to think more honourably of the divine powers : be propitious to us , o ye deities , said he ! was it a dream or reality , which now comes into my mind ? it happen'd the last night but one ; i know not how i came to forget it , but it now returns to my memory . the dream was a verse which calasiris seem'd to expound . the words were these : thee from the flame pantarbe's pow'r shall guard strange force ! but nothing to the gods is hard . theagen●s now seem'd inspir'd , and leap'd ●orth as far as his chains would permit , crying , be merciful to us , ye gods. for i further remember another oracle deliver'd to me by a like prophet ( whether it were calasiris , or some god in his form ) containing these words : you with the nymph shall aethiop reach , and be to morrow from arsace's bondage free . that which concerns me herein , i under●tand ; for those mansions of the dead under-ground , seem proper to the land of aethiopia : by the maid , i suppose , pros●rpine is meant , ●ith whom i shall inhabit ; and my freedom ●rom chains , my departure from this body . but what can the rhime contain concerning ●ou , which consists of contradictions ? for whereas pantarbe signifies fearing all things , yet 〈◊〉 commands not to fear the flame . then , said ●hariclea , continuance of calamities , my thea●●nes , makes persons hope the worst in all ●hings ; for people usually accommodate their minds to their fortune : but i have better ●opes of this prophecy than you . what if i ●m the nymph with whom you are to arrive ●nto aethiopia , after you have escaped from the bonds of arsace ? but how that shall be , is neither manifest nor credible to us , but to the gods it may be possible : let them take care of that who gave the prophecy . that part which related to me you have already seen accomplished in my wonderful preservation . and though at that time i knew not that i carry'd my safeguard about me , yet i now understand that i did . those precious things that were expos'd with me in my infancy , i have always accustom'd to carry conceal'd about me , to supply our necessities when brought to the last difficulty ; but if death should overtake me , to answer the charge of my funeral . amongst these , theagenes , there are bracelets of great value , with indian and aethiopian stones , with a certain ring given by my father to my mother , in which is the stone call'd pantarbe , set in a square , with sacred letters about it . it seems to have some divine virtue in it , by which it repell'd the power of the flames , preserving those that carry it , from any hurt . i conjecture , and know so much , by what was suggested by the divine calasiris , who told me , that the same was expressed in the writings that were found with me . this seems probable , said theagenes , by the deliverance that you have had ; but what pantarbe shall defend us from to morrows danger ? for though it should still defend from the fire , it cannot give immortality ; and arsace's malice will contrive some more violent means to destroy us . and would to heaven that the same sort of death , and in the same hour , would dispatch us both ! i should think this death but a release from all our suf●erings . take heart , said chariclea , we have another pantarbe promis'd in the oracle . while they were employ'd in these considerations , each affirming , that the others misery more afflicted them than their own : obliging themselves , by mutual oaths , to preserve their loves and vertue to death . it being now in the very dead of night , bagoas , with his fifty horse , arriv'd at m●mphis . when they had waken'd the sentinels , and had given account of themselves , they were immediately receiv'd into the deputies palace . bagoas left his company without , to guard the house , to be ready for his defence , if any resistance were made . he himself , in the mean time , went a private way , easily forcing the doors , and commanding silence , to the place where euphrates was , the moon not being yet quite set ; finding him therefore in bed , he awaken'd him , who in disorder cry'd out , who are you ? it is i , said bagoas , command a light to be brought in . he therefore order'd the boy that waited on him , to bring in a taper , so as to disturb none of the rest . when this was done , and the boy departed , what mischief , said euphrates , has occasion'd this untimely and unexpected arrival ? there needs not many words , said bagoas , read these letters , but before take notice of the seal , and know that oroondates sent them ; and that it is as much as your life is worth , not to perform what they import . when euphrates had run over the letters ; as for arsace , said he , she will be sorry , having yesterday fallen into a fever , which still continues so violent , that there is small hope of her life . but for my part , i would not deliver these letters to her , though she herself ask'd for them ; for i know she would destroy both her self and us , before she would send away the young pair . know however , that you are come in good time to take them away , and must therein use your utmost endeavour . take compassion on them , they having suffer'd a hundred tortures , unwillingly inflicted by me , but enjoyn'd by arsace . they seem however of noble birth , and for the experience that i have had of them , of vertuous conversation . having said this , he brought him to the prison , where bagoas no sooner beheld them , though wasted with watchings and torture , yet he was astonished at their stature and beauty . but they supposing that bagoas was come at that silent time of the night , to lead them to a clandestine execution , were a little troubled . but soon recovering a chearful countenance , they made it appear how little they were concern'd . euphrates now coming up , and knocking out the wooden peg with which their irons were joyned , take your sacrifice , arsace , he cry'd out : she thinks in night and darkness to conceal her horrid crime , but the eye of justice is sharp in discovering and bringing to light the deeds of darkness . do you execute what you are commanded , and whether fire , sword , or water is determin'd against us , let us only have the same death . chariclea desired the same . the eunuchs weeping , led them forth in their chains . when they were come out of the deputies house , euphrates staid there . but bagoas , with his fifty horse , having taken off their bond● , and le●t only what might secure , but not burden them ; mounting them on several horses , and putting them in the middle of the guards , made towards thebes as fast as he could . when they had travell'd all the rest of the night , and till nine the next morning , without any stop , the sun then growing hot , they could proceed no farther , being spent also for want of sleep , chariclea especially ; they determin'd therefore to take up somewhere to rest themselves , and refresh their horses . there was a certain valley at the foot of a promontory of the nile , almost surrounded with the water , which made an eddy : there was much grass and herbage on the place , as being always well water'd , every where shaded with sycamore trees , and such others as grow on the banks of the nile : there bagoas , with his company , took up , using the trees for a tent , he sat down with the rest to feed , compelling also theagenes and 〈◊〉 to do the same . they thought it need 〈…〉 sons that were presently to die ; but he perswaded them there was no such thing intended ; that they carry'd them not to death , but to oroondates . but now the heat of the day decreasing , the sun being no longer over their heads , but faln westward , and beating on their sides , while bagoas was going to take horse again , a certain horse-man in a sweat , and out of breath with hard riding , came up , and took him aside to speak with him : he fixing his eyes upon the ground , as it were , full of thought concerning what had been told him : take comfort , strangers , said he , your enemy arsace is dead by her own hand , understanding that you were taken away , preventing a necessary , by a voluntary fate : for she would never have escaped punishment from oroondates , or the king ; and if she had not been put to death , at least must have led the remainder of her life in disgrace . euphrates sends me this intelligence . wherefore be of good hope , for i am well assur'd that you have done no body wrong , and she that injur'd you is dead . thus spake bagoas in imperfect greek ; adding also , that he himself was glad , having suffer'd under the tyranny of arsace : wherefore he the more encourag'd his prisoners : for he hop'd that oroondates would be pleas'd with his service , if he carry'd them safe to him ; the youth being likely to grace his retinue , and the virgin , of matchless beauty , would probably be made his wife , since arsace was dead . theagenes and charicle● r●●oyced at the news , highly praising the justice of ●he gods ; nor did they think they could afterwards be much distress'd , whatsoever fortune should befal them , since their most inveterate enemy was gone . when now the evening drew on , with a cool breeze , inviting them to set forward , they mounted again , and rode all that night and part of the next morning , if possible , to overtake oroondates , before he went from thebes . but they met with a souldier from the army , who told them oroondates was gone from thence , having sent him to draw out all the garrisons , and hasten with them to sy●ne , all things being in disorder , and fearing lest the city should be taken . for the deputy coming too late , the aethiopians had marched their army thither with such speed , that prevented the news of their approach : bagoas therefore turn'd off from his intended journey , and took the next road to syene . but approaching to the town , they happen'd upon a party of aethiopians , who were sent as spies to secure the passes for the army . but by reason of the night , and their unacquaintance with the country , ( for they were order'd to plant an ambuscade in every place which they found convenient ) they posted themselves amongst certain bushes by the river-side , partly for safeguard , and partly for concealment from their enemies : and here they stood upon their watch. therefore at break of day , whe● they perceiv'd bagoas , with his horse-men to pass by them , and were assured there were no more to follow , they issued from their covert , with loud shouts . bagoas therefore , and his company , surprized with the noise , knowing them , by their colour , to be aethiopians , and seeing their number too great to be encountred , ( for there were in all a thousand sent out for scouts ) he fled , without once looking them in the face ; yet not so fast at first as he could have done , but so as to preserve his order . the others pursu'd , sending out two hundred of their troglodytae . the troglodytae are a people of aethiop addicted to pastures , and borderers on arabia , who have wonderful swiftness both by nature and exercise from their childhood . they are not us'd to heavy arms , they therefore use slings in fight to wound the enemy at distance , and trust to their heels when they find themselves over-power'd . they know 't is impossible for the enemy to overtake them , till they can hide themselves in rocks and caves . these therefore pursued on foot , discharging their slings , but not being able to stand against the horse , return'd to their own party . but by fresh numbers issuing out upon them , the persians are scatter'd , bagoas himself thrown from his horse , and taken . th●agen●s and chariclea partly thinking it unworthy not to assist bagoas , ( who ●ad us'd civility to them , and to whom they were likely to have been farther obliged ) leapt ●own to succour him , but to no purpose , not ●●ing arm'd . this is my dream , said thea●●nes to chariclea , and these the aethiops , into ●hose country i was to be carry'd . i there●●re hold it better to submit our selves to them , ●●ther than experience a doubtful fortune with ●roondates . chariclea understood the rest , the accident now leading her , as it were , by the hand , judging them rather to be friends than enemies . yet she told not her sentiments to theagenes , only said that she was contented to do so . when therefore the aethiopians came ●p , and knew bagoas , by his face , to be an eunuch , and the persons that were unarm'd , of most beautiful frame , they asked them , who they were , both by an aegyptian and persian , ●s not doubting but that they understood the one or other language . wherefore theagenes , who had aegyptian enough to answer short questions , told them , they were chief servants to the persian deputy , but themselves grecians , taken prisoners by the persians , but now , they hoped with better fortune , put into the hands of aethiopians . they therefore resolv'd to spare them , and carry them captive to their king , as the first booty of the war , and the most eminent ornaments of the persian court. for the eunuchs are the eyes and ears of the persian court , as having neither children nor kindred , on whom to place their affection , and are therefore wholly devoted to the interest of their master , on whom they depend . but for the young pair , they reckon'd that they would be no small grace to their kings palace . they therefore ●et them all upon horses , bagoas being disabled , by his wound , from walking , theagenes and chariclea weary'd with their chains . this seem'd the beginning of an interlude , in which the persons that were now in expectation of sudden death , were no longer captives , and those that had them in custody , themselves made prisoners . the aethiopian history . the ninth book . s y●ne was now almost surrounded in siege , as it were in a net , by the aethiopian numbers . for oroondates hearing of the enemies approach , left cataractae , and went with his forces to syene , which he enter'd , shutting up the gates , and planting slings and engines on the walls , conjecturing that which afterwards happen'd . while therefore the aethiopian king , at some distance , was inform'd by his spies that oroondates was making to the town , he hasten'd his march to prevent him , but however came too late . he then planted his army round the city , and so without any engagement , sat as it had been in a theatre . he brought with him six hundred thousand men , and cattel , with which he cover'd all the ground about syene . the spies finding him there , brought their captives before him . he was not only delighted with their beauty , but with the good omen of having prisoners in chains set before him . behold ! said he , the gods at our first arrival send us slaves in bonds . these p●rson● therefore being the first fruits of our war , shall be kept in custody till our return , then to be o●fer'd to our gods in our triumphal sacrific●s , according to the ancient laws of our country . having therefore rewarded the spies , he gave the prisoners into the close custody of persons that could speak their language ; giving them great charge to treat them with respect and care ; to supply them with the best provision , and above all , to preserve them from all contamination , because they were reserved for victims : lastly , that their bonds of iron should be taken off , and fetters of gold put upon them : for gold amongst the aethiopians is made use of for all things that iron is amongst other nations . this was done as he commanded . when therefore the former were taken off , and the golden chains put on , theagenes smiling , said , what means this splendid change ? fortune flatters us , in rendring us rich by our captivity , since we are only captives of greater price : chariclea also smiled , and desired him to conceive better hopes of what the gods fore-told . hydaspes now attacking the city , and thinking to carry it at first onset , found himself deceived , the besieged so manfully resisting his forces , and beating them off ; adding also scoffs and contumelies . he was therefore enraged that they so much as offer'd to resist , and did not surrender themselves on the first attack : he resolved to lose no time , or make such a siege , whereby some might be taken , and some escape ; but at once to overthrow the whole city by an inevitable destruction . he thus order'd the work : he made a ditch about the ground that lay next to the walls , ( yet at such distance that the slings and arrows from the town could not reach it ) appointing ten men to every ten yards , to be dug of a sufficient breadth and depth ; some therefore broke the earth , while others receiv'd the mold , which they piled up on that side of the trench that was next his camp , which serv'd as a counter-fortress to the town : none from thence offer'd to molest the work , not daring to sally forth against such numbers ; and their slings not throwing so far , as the distant space reach'd between the two walls . having presently finish'd this affair , by multitude of hands , he began another project . when this round ditch was compleated , he left part of it without casting up a bank , and from thence made another trench , that turned off to the river nile , ( which trench he banked up on both sides ) when therefore he had joined the foresaid banks to those of the river , breaking down the fence , as it were , by opening a sluce , he let the stream into his tr●nch , which by the descent from the river to that lower channel , made such a dreadful noise , th●t it was heard at a vast distance . when the citizens heard and saw into what distress they were brought by this inundation , which presently over-ran the plain between the walls , and the enemy , preventing th●ir escape , and that it was equally dangerous to tarry , they s●t themselves to do all that was possible for persons in such exigence . in the first place , as the wood-work of their gates began to give way , th●y stopt up the chinks with straw and pitch , setting props and weights against them ; they also ran up buttresses to support their wall. one brought earth , another ston●s , a third straw , and whatever they could get together ; no hands were unemploy'd , women , children , and old age set themselves to the work : for so general and pressing a calamity excused none . but to the more youth●ul , orders were given to make a subterranean passage to the enemies bulwark . the work was performed after this manner . they first sunk a pit , five yards deep perpendicular , then by the help of torches , they dug strait before them , a passage to the enemies banks ; those that were behind still in order receiving the earth from them that were before ; which was convey'd into the city-garden , and there laid on a heap . this they did , with design that when the water should fall into this cavern , it should force it self a passage out another way . but they were prevented , for the nile fell so plentifully into the upper channel , that the space between the two walls was now a standing lake , so that syene , an inland town , was now turn'd into an island , quite surrounded with water . the wall sustain'd the weight thereof for one whole day , but when it was swelled higher , and also had sunk underneath the foundation , the ground being soft and spungy , it then in several places began to yield , and threaten a deluge on the city . the next evening , a part that was between two towers , fell down ; yet not so as to lye below the flood , but so as presently to threaten an inundation : upon which a great cry was set up amongst the inhabitants , that reach'd to the enemies camp ; and with hands lift up towards heaven , beseech'd the assistance of the gods. they besought oroondates to send messengers to beg peace with hydaspes . he was forced to submit , but being shut in with the waters , no messengers could pass : he therefore fasten'd petitionary letters to stones , which he threw from slings , but to no purpose , for the distance prov'd too great to permi● their coming home ; he then try'd by way of ar●rows , while the archers and slingers vyed with each other , but still in vain : in the last place , they stretch'd forth their hands towards the enemie● bulwark in suppliant manner , to signifie wha● they intended by their shootings ; and some●times put them behind their backs , to shew that they were willing to receive their chairs● hydaspes understood their signals , and was in●clin'd to acceptance : for the submission of a● enemy commands clemency from generou● minds . but he first thought fit to make t●ya● of what they meant , in ord●r whereunto he se●lected ten boats , which fell down to his bank● side , from the breach of the nile ; into thes● he put archers and armed men , with com●mands , as he thought fit , and sent them ove● to the persians . they therefore told them● that if they had any hope or confidence lef● they should prepare for fight . it was a ne● spectacle on an inland soil , to see boats row●ing from wall to wall , over cultivated grounds● it was yet a greater wonder to see a naval ar●my storming a town , and land souldiers con●tending with them . they therefore that wer● in the town , seeing ships , with armed men● approaching that part of their wall which wa● broken down , were seiz'd with terrour , ( a● people in great distress and extremity are alway● suspicious . ) they hurl'd stones from the walls● and shot arrows into the boats , that came for their preservation . thus men that despair of life , yet reckon it as an advantage , for a while to delay their fate . yet they so order'd their business , as not to wound , but only to keep them off . the aethiopians likewise discharg'd their arrows , not knowing the intentions of the persians ; by which means several of the wounded fell down headlong from the wall into the water . the war therefore grew hot , till a certain illustrious person of syene coming between , intercepted those that were on the wall , by speaking on this manner : o frantick men , said he , and grown stupid with calamity , do we repel those persons whose aid we so lately begg'd , and make war with them at the instant of their coming to relieve us , beyond our expectation ? if they come with a friendly mind , declaring matter of peace , they are our preservers ; if with hostile intentions , you will easily vanquish them , though they were arrived to the very wall. but to what purpose ( if we regard our safety ) should we destroy these , when we are environ'd with such a sea , and vast numbers behind ? why do we not therefore receive them , and know for what purpose they are sent ? his judgment was approved by all , the deputy himself applauding it ; they then separated themselves , and ceased from any further action . when the passage for the ship-men was clear , and the townsmen , by white flags , signifying that they should have free landing ; the aethiopians went nearer , and from their vessels , as it were so many pulpits in a theatre , they spoke in this manner ; o persians , and inhabitants of syene , know that hydaspes , king of the eastern and western aethiopia , and at present also yours ; as he knows how to conquer , he likewise understands how to shew mercy : that is the part of courage , but this of humanity . the one he acco●nts the vertue of a souldier , the other peculiar only to himself . whereas therefore he has your lives in his power , either to give , or take them away ; but since you are suppliant , he offers you deliverance , without the ruine of war. moreover , he does not impose the terms of freedom upon you , but leaves you your selves to choose them : for he governs not the fortunes of men by tyranny , but clemency . to this message the syeneans answer'd , that they would deliver themselves , wives and children , into his power , to deal with them as he pleased : that they would likewise deliver the city into his hands , if they surviv'd , which in that extremity was uncertain , unless their destruction was prevented by hydaspes . oroondates offer'd to surrender philae and the smaragdan mines , which were the occasion of the war , but desired that he would exact no more from him , nor require him to resign up himself or his souldiers . but if hydaspes were pleas'd indeed to exercise humanity , that he would suffer those that made no resistance to depart to elephantina ; for that it were the same thing for him to die now , as to be afterwards put to death , by his king , for giving up his army : nay , it would be much worse , since the present would be only a single , and usual sort of death , but the other with the severest kind of torments . when the legates heard this , they turn'd their prows , and related all to hydaspes . he smiling , and much reproving the folly of oroon●ates , to insist upon terms , who yet depended on another persons pleasure , whether he should ●ive or die : yet , said he , it is not just , for the offence of one man , to suffer so populous a city to be destroy'd . wherefore he permitted those that were with oroondates to depart , though ●hey scarce forbore from resistance . he there●ore ordered some of his own men to damm up the breach in the bank of nile , and to others to break down part of what he raised . that by means of the inlet of nile being stopped , and passage made for the water that was taken in , ●o go away , syene might be the sooner made dry . they therefore setting close to the work , finished it by the next day . nor did they that were within the town spare their pains , not despairing of preservation , though beyond hope . they therefore made suffs under ground , to receive and carry off the water . others brought props to the walls● which they easily did , heaping the stones which from the ruines fell into the town . but after they thought themselves safe enough on this account , yet they were not without apprehension ; in the middle of the night , a certain part of the bulwark , which the aethiopians in the evening had begun to dig down , ( whether it were that that part was more loosely heaped up , so as to let water sink into the foundation , or whether it broke the sides , being almost dug through , when the work-men were gone , or whether it happen'd by divine will ) beyond all expectation , it fell down , with so great a noise , that both armies were astonished , both aethiopian and syeneans concluding the town-walls to be tumbled down at once : but these being secure , continu'd in their tents , remaining satisfy'd to know what it should be , when day-light was return'd . but the citizens ran every where to their walls , and as every one saw his own part entire , concluded the ruine was on some other side ; till the breaking day dispell'd their fears , when they saw where the breach was , and that the waters we●e passed away . but now the aethiopians diverted the flood , making cataracts , which they propt with timber , lining them also with mud and straw , which the multitude of hands easily brought together . thus the waters passed away entirely , yet was there no passage to each other , for the depth of mud which remain'd , which , though it seem'd dry and crusted above , yet it continued moist at bottom , so that neither men nor horse could pass , without being foundred therein . thus the time passed for two or three days ; the townsmen , by setting open their gates , and the aethiopians , by laying down their arms , mutually declaring peace . this truce was more remarkable , because it was without conference of the parties , and neither of them set any watch. they that were in town gave themselves to pastimes , for it happen'd then to be the festival of nile , which is accounted the greatest of any among the aegyptians ; which is celebrated at the entrance of the summer solstice , when the river first begins to swell ; and for that reason this solemnity is held by them in greatest honour . the aegyptians suppose nilus to be a god , and the most supream , his stream vying with the coelestial river , because it waters their fields without rain , or assistance from heaven ; it self supplying the want of showers with its yearly overflow . these are vulgar traditions . but a likelier reason of giving him this divine honour , is their reckoning the copulation of hot and moist , the cause not of generation , but preservation of man ; and that the nile supplies the moist , and their earth the dry. yet these are also vulgar conceptions : but the most skilful in mysteries , say that isis signifies the earth , and osyris the nile , changing the names for the things . that therefore the goddess burns with desire of him , and always rejoyces at his return ; and he being retired , laments again , as struck with blasting lightning . this fiction their divines have framed , as i suppose , because they would not have their mysteries pryed into by profane persons . let this suffice for the present ; for out of reverence we also forbear to mention their deeper mysteries . we will therefore return to the transactions of syene . this festival day being risen , the natives apply'd themselves to the killing of sacrifices ; though their bodies were over-labour'd with their distresses , yet their minds were never the less active for the service of their god. but oroondates watching his opportunity , in the dead of the night , when the townsmen , after their banquets , were bury'd in sleep , by stealth led out his army , having an hour before given the charge of that gate , through which he meant to pass , to persian centries . command was given to the officers to leave all their horses behind them , that they might be no incumbrance , nor by their noise discover what was done ; but every man to take his armour , and a board or plank along with them . after they were thus assembled at the gate , they cast down the planks which each had brought , placing them along in such order that the one touched the other , the last still handing them to those that went before ; by which means , as with a bridge , they passed safely over the slime . coming to dry ground , ( the aethiopians suspecting no such thing , nor keeping any watch ) they marched with all possible speed by them , towards elephantina . and without any obstacle , were received into the town , by reason of two persians , that ( as it was agreed between them ) sat upon the walls , to expect their coming at that time of the night , who accordingly set open the gates for their entrance . at the break of day , the people of syene perceiv'd the persians were fled , every one missing him that lodged in his house : they were further inform'd by conferring together , and lastly , by the bridge of boards , which they found laid over the ooze . once more therefore they were seized with terrour and consternation , that they shewed so little faith to hydaspes , after having so much experienced his clemency , in permitting the persians to escape . they therefore resolved with one voice , to go out of the city , and surrender themselves to the aethiopians , with oaths of their ignorance , if possibly they might obtain mercy . being therefore all gather'd together , of both sex , and all ages , with boughs in their hands , and lighted tapers , to shew their submission , bearing the images of their gods before them . when they had passed the bridge , they fell on their knees , at distance , before the aethiopians , and , as it were , at a signal given , set up a general and lamentable cry , deprecating punishment by their humble posture . lastly , to move the greater compassion , they set down their children before them , permitting them to go which way they would , mollifying the rage of the aethiopians , by that age , free from all suspicion of deceit . the infants therefore , with consternation , through ignorance of what was done , and frighted with the foresaid lamentation , ran away from their parents , towards the aethiopians ; others , not of growth to follow , fell on their faces , and lay crying on the ground ; fortune even in them , shewing the posture of suppliants , begging mercy . hydaspes seeing this , and supposing that they came only in a more humble and earnest manner to supplicate , sent messengers to ●now the meaning ; and why they came without the persians ? they inform'd him of all , the flight of the persians , their innocence , the festival , and how , after the banquet , being possess'd with sleep , the persians escaped ; whom yet they could not have hinder'd , had they known thereof . hydaspes believing what was told to him , suspecting what afterwards happen'd , the treachery of oroondates , calling only their priests 〈◊〉 him , with the gods , which they brought for the greater solemnity , conjur'd them thereby to tell if they knew any thing of the persians designs ; whither they were gone , or in what they placed their greatest trust ? they answer'd , they knew not for certain , but conjectur'd that they were gone to elephantina , where the greatest party of their army were gather'd together : oroondates putting his greatest trust in his bard horse . when they had thus supplicated , hydaspes did not think fit to enter the city , but sent two companies to search if there were any treachery in the business , and if they found none , to continue there as a garrison . having therefore dismissed the townsmen with gracious promises , he drew forth his army in battel aray , to receive the persians , if they came out against him ; and if not , to set upon them . nor had he put them into a readiness before he was inform'd ●hat the persians were o● their way towards ●im . oroondates having drawn the greatest part of his forces to elephantina , was forced himself with a few to take into syene , as we have already shewn , where he receiv'd mercy of hydaspes ; yet was he so full of guile , as to withdraw to his foresaid army , placing all his hopes in celerity , and thinking to come upon hydaspes unprovided . when the two armies were now in sight of each other , the persian pride was shewn , dazling the whole field with golden and silver arms , for the sun then rising f●ll upon the persians , reflected from them , like lightning , to a great distance . the medes and persians made up the right wing , their armed men going before , and the archers bringing up the rear , that being eas'd from the incumbrance of armour , they might more dextrously shoot their arrows , protected by the armed body . he placed his aegyptian and african companies on the left wing , adding also archers and slingers , whom he commanded to make excursions , and gall the enemies flank . he himself came with the main body , splendidly seated on a chariot , with guards on each side for his security , his bard horse being ranked before him , in which he put his greatest trust ; in this posture he adventured to begin the battel . for this party was most warlike , and like a wall or bulwark , planted before the rest of his army . the manner in which they were armed was thus : a chosen person , of great strength and stature , put on a helmet , with a face made to it , exactly resembling that of a man. this covered the head all down to the shoulders , places only being left open for the eyes : his right hand held a weapon bigger than a spear , while their left was free to manage the reins ; a sword hanging by his side ; not only his breast , but his whole body was covered with armour , joined with scales of iron and brass , in form of a quadrangle ; one being laid waving over the other ; which thus by degrees went to their extremity , the plates being firmly riveted together , yet framed so as to sit without any incumbrance to the body , and every where plying to it : every joint thereof turning on wire , and extending or contracting with the motion of the person . thus was it wrought from the head to the knee , a vacancy being only left for the inside of their thighs , that ●ar next to their horse . such is the fabrick thereof , that it repels all manner of darts or spears . from the foot there was an iron boot , that at the knee joined curiously with the armour . in the same manner they also armed their horses , securing their legs , while their head to their crest is entirely armed , a covering of iron plates thrown over his back , falling down on each side to his flank , yet so loose as not to incumber his going , while it gave him protection . the man being thus equipp'd , and , as it were , cast in armour , is lifted up upon his horse , not being able , by reason of the weight , to mount himself . when the fight is begun , giving the reins to his horse , and clapping spurs to them , he rusheth upon the enemy , as it were a tempest . the pike , near to the part where a long steel blade comes out , is fasten'd to the horses neck , by which means it is supported ; it is also hung at the other end by thongs to the horses shoulder , in such manner as not to hinder , but assist the hand of the person that directs it : so that by the horses motion , the force is encreased ; by which means two or three at a time are often born upon the point . the deputy being thus provided , and his forces drawn up in this manner , left the river on his back , being much less in number than the enemy , which served him for a wall , to keep him from being surrounded . hydaspes , on the other side thus order'd his battel : against the persians and medes , in the right wing , he placed his souldiers from meroe , skilful in standing fight ; as also the troglodytae , with those of the neighbouring country , from which cinnamon is brought , in light arms , and swift of foot , to engage the adversaries left wing . but understanding the persians middle ranks to be their chief strength , he opposed to them himself , with elephants bearing towers , joining to them the blemmii and seri , with instructions what to do when they were engaged . when signals on both sides were given , by the persians with trumpets , by the aethiopians with hammers and kettle-drums . oroondates encouraging his party , led them on . hydasp●s commanded his men to advance slowly at first , that the elephants might keep up with them , and also that the persian horse in the middle might be disorder'd , before the whole bodies were join'd . when they were now within the cast of a dart , and the blemmi perceiv'd the bard horse of the enemy to come on fiercely , they observ'd what had been commanded by hydaspes , the seri being left to guard the elephants , they made up speedily before the rest , against the bard horse , who thought them distracted , being so few in number , to set upon a party so well armed . the persians likewise spurred up faster , to take advantage of their rashness , not doubting to dispatch them at the first encounter . then the blemmi , when they were come hand to hand , as it were at one sign , sunk down all together , setting one knee to the ground , and putting their heads and backs under the horses bellies , receiv'd no harm , but from their treading sometimes upon them . but they perform'd what was beyond all expectation , stabbing the bard horse up into their bellies , which part alone was unarm'd : wherefore not a few were cast off by their horses , enraged with their wounds , whom the blemmi stabb'd ( as they lay on the ground ) on the inside of their thighs . for the persian cataphract is so incumbred with armour , that he cannot stir , when once dismounted . those that kept their saddles were carry'd directly upon the seri , who on their approach , retreated behind their elephants , whose vast bodies served them for a bulwark . by this means there was great slaughter made of the horse , insomuch that they were almost utterly cut o●f : for the horses frighten'd with the sight of the elephants , leaped and started , some flying out one way , and some another , putting their own party into disorder . they that sat upon the elephants ( six archers being allotted to each tower , whereof each beast carry'd two ) shot so fast from thence , that their arrows seem'd a cloud , and so exactly aim'd , that they generally wounded the persians in the eyes , who accordingly ran confusedly one amongst another . all that were born forward against their wills by the mettle of their steeds , came directly upon the elephants . they were therefore thus consumed , being partly trodden down by the elephants , partly cut down by the s●●i , making excursions from behind their elephants , as it were from an ambuscade . the few that escaped , went o●● without any memorable performance , and not the least hurt done to the elephants . those beasts are clad in iron when they go to war , beside the natural hardness of their skin , overgrown with a tough scurf or scale , too firm for any spear to pierce . all being at length put to rout , the deputy himself fled at last most shamefully on a nysaean horse , leaving his chariot behind him . however , those that were of his left wing were yet ignorant hereof , and stood stoutly to their work , though receiving more wounds than they gave ; sustaining all difficulties : for the troops from the cinnamon region , with whom they encountred , pressed them very hard , and reduced them to the last distress ; flying off whensoever the others came on , far out-stripping them ; yet shooting back , and wounding as they fled : but as the others retreated , came furiously again upon them , galling their flanks with slings and little darts , all which were notwithstanding mortal , the piles being dipped in serpents blood. they bear a round cover on their heads , stuck through with arrows , the shaft end whereof is placed next their heads , the pile , even to the feathers , coming out above . thus every one marches clattering to fight , exposing a naked body to the foe : crowned , as it were , with arrows , which have no iron on their points , nor have any need of it : by reason that they are made of a dragons back-bone , an ell in length , the natural hardness whereof being sharpen'd at one end , serves for a point , from whence the greeks call such kind of arrows , bones . the aegyptians notwithstanding stood a long time to it , joining their shields together , and sustaining showers of darts , though they were impatient of war , yet now either glorying in contempt of death , or fearing the punishment of revolters . but when they knew the cataphracts , the chief hope and strength of their battel , were fled , the very persians , and deputy himself , withdrawn without any signal performance ( save some small damage done to the meroenses ) but much more receiv'd , even they at last gave over the conflict , and turned their backs . hydaspes beholding the victory from a tower , raised high on an elephant , sent after the chasers , to bid them abstain from slaughter , but to take as many alive as they could , especially oroondat●s . for the aeth●opians stretching their wings in circular form , took in so vast a compass , as wholly to enclose the p●rsians ; leaving only one passage open for them , and that was towards the river : into which a great number of them , being forced by the horse-men , scyth-chariots , and others pressing upon them , found that the stratagem which the deputy had laid against the enemy , was unreasonable , and foolish : forasmuch , as while he kept the nile on his back , for fear of being surrounded , he was not aware that he cut off from himself all possibility of flight . he therefore was taken prisoner amongst the rest . achemenes , the son of cybele , finding how affairs stood , endeavour'd treacherously to kil● him , ( for he now repented himself of the discovery he had made touching arsace ) since the arguments by which he was to prove it , were taken away ) but disappointed of his expectation , the wound which he gave oroondates wa● not mortal . for which attempt however he receiv'd punishment , being run through by a certain aegyptian , who knew the deputy , and would have kept him alive , according to the command of his master . the deputy therefore was brought to hydaspes by the person that took him : he therefore seeing him ●ainting , caus'd his blood to be stanch'd , determining , if he could , to preserve him , also confirming his purpose with these words : that you are preserv'd by my good will , is just and fit ; for it is the business of generou● enemies , to overcome an enemy that resists with courage ; and when fallen , to support them with mercy : but what reason was there to make you so perfidious ? to you indeed per●idious , reply'd oroondates , but true to my master . hydaspes farther asked him , since he was overcome , what punishment he determined upon himself ? such , answered he , as my master would inflict on one of your commanders , that had been faithful to you . certainly , said hydaspes , he would praise , and send him back with rewards , if he be a true king , and no tyrant ; and one that would be a pattern for princ●s . you say you have acted faithfully , but if not foolishly too , in exposing the lives of so many thousands , do you your self judge . it was not imprudent , replied he , considering the temper of my king , who is much freer of his punishment to the cowardly , than rewards to his valiant servants . i therefore resolved on the danger of the field , where i might either perform something that was beyond expectation , as many opportunities happen in a fight skilfully managed , ( the event of war it self being always uncertain ) or , at least , if i escaped with life , to have excuse left , nothing that was in my power having been omitted . hydaspes hereupon commended him , and sent him to syene , with charge to the physicians to use their best endeavour for his cure. he also went himself , with the chief of his army , the people from the town , of all ages and qualities , meeting him on the way , scattering flowers amongst his souldiers , applauding his vertue , and congratulating his victory . when he was carry'd on his elephant , into the town , he immediately bent his mind to divine worship , and rendring thanks to the gods. he d●manded the origine of the nile , and is there was any thing in the city worth sigh● or admiration ? they shewed him a well , like to that which is at m●mphis , made of polish'd stone , on which are drawn lines , at an ell distance , the one above the other : into this cistern the river water being let , by subterranean passage , shews the inhabitants the encrease or decrease of the nile , rising or falling below such or such a mark on the stone . they likewise shewed him gnomons of horoscopes , that at mid-day give no shadow . the sun being at the solstice , perpendicular over syene , insomuch that their deepest wells are then illuminated . hydaspes was not much surprized at this , the same being also ●ound at meroe in aethiopia . they then told him of the nile , extolling it with their praises , calling him the son and author of plenty , the preserver of upper aegypt , the patron and till●r of the lower : every year rolling down fertile slime , from whence he is call'd nile , by the greeks ; that is , the distinguisher of seasons ; his flow shewing the summer , his ebb the autumn , the spring with flowers ; that the nile indeed was nothing but the year it self : the letters of whose numbers being computed , according to the figures which they represent , making three hundred sixty five unities , according to the days in a year . when they had farther spoken of the nature and properties of certain plants , flowers and animals : these are not so much aegyptian relations ( said hydaspes ) as aethiopian . but whether this river be indeed a god , as you esteem him , and brings other rivers along with him from aethiop , he is duly worshipped by you . we both adore him for other reasons ( answer'd the priests ) and particularly for the present favour of sending you to us , our god and preserver . hydaspes warned them to be moderate in their praises of him ; and spent the rest of the day in diversion , entring banquet with the aethiopian nobles , and priests of syene ; and permitting all the rest to do the same . the syeneans , partly selling , and partly bestowing on the army vast herds and flocks , with plenty of wine . the next day , sitting on a tribunal , he distributed the booty of the war amongst his army , to every one according to his performance . when the person that took oroondates came before him , demand what you will , said hydaspes : there is no need ( answer'd he ) of my demanding any thing more , if what i have already taken from oroondates ( whom i preserv'd , according to your order ) be adjudg'd to me by you . he therewith shew'd oroondates dagger , studded with precious stones of vast price , and worth many talents of gold ; insomuch that the standers-by cry'd out , that the fortune was too great for a private man , and ●itting only for the kings treasur● . what therefore is more kingly , said hydasp●s , than for me to preserve that greatness of mind , as not to cover so great a prize . the spoil of a captives body by right belongs to him that takes him prisoner . wherefore let him so depart , who perhaps had not granted us the same favour , though we would never have received it . next came the persons who took theagenes and chariclea : o king , said they , our spoils are neither gold nor gems , which are of little price in aethiopia , and pave the royal palaces ; but whereas we have brought you a grecian youth and virgin , of incomparable stature and beauty , excelling all mankind in person , your self exc●pted ; we beg also to be partakers of your munificence and bounty . you say well , answer'd hydaspes , and i remember such persons , though i had but a transeant sight of them : wherefore bring them with the rest , to our presence . when the messengers came for them , they ask'd , whither they were to be carry'd ? before hydasp●s , answer'd they . hydaspes ! o ye gu●rdia● angels , said they ; for as yet they were un●●●tain who was the conquerour . theagen●s therefore said softly to chariclea , unfold the state of our a●fairs to the king , since hydasp●s reigns , whom you have often told me was your father . o dearest , said she , great affairs need great preparations , for where the gods have given intricate beginnings , the conclusion must be leisurely unravel●'d : especially , the first rise and foundation of this intrigue ( i mean my mother persina ) being absent , whom yet , by the gods favour , we hear to be alive . but there is danger of our being sacrifi●'d before that time , said th●ag●n●s . none at all , answer'd she , for i have often heard our keepers say , we were reserv'd for s●crifices to the gods of meroe : wherefore there is no fear of our being slain , or sent away to another country , being already , by vow , given to the gods , which cannot be violated by any pious monarch . however , though we should flatter our selves with these hopes , we shall imperfectly make out our account , when the persons are not present , that can acknowledge and justifie and authorities which we produce . wherefore there is danger , lest through his ignorance in the evidences , we should exasperate our judge ; who will think scorn , that captives destin'd for sacrifice , should presume to call themselves child●●n to the king. but your testimonials , reply'd theagenes , which you have carefully preserv'd , will shew that it is no forgery . the credentials , said chariclea , are credentials to them that exposed them , but to them that know them not , or at least not all of them , they are no more than common jewels and bracelets ; which also may bring with them suspicion of theft . or , supposing that hydaspes acknowledge them , who is there to perswade him that persina gave them or was mother to the child ? by this time they were come in sight of the king , bagoas also was brought along with them . hydaspes seeing them rais'd himself a little from his throne ; and crying out to the gods to be propitious , sat down again . his attendants asking what happen'd to him , and occasion'd that start ; this morning i imagin'd just such a daughter to be born to me , and in a days time grown to her full stature : and whereas i am no regarder of dreams , i forgot it , but now on sight of her likeness it returns to my mind . they persuading him , that there were certain images often form'd in the fancy , that betoken future realities ; he nevertheless neglected the vision , and ask'd them who , and what they were . chariclea being silent , and theagenes answering , that they were greeks , and kindred : hail greece , said he , that furnishes us with such noble sacrifices for our triumph . then smiling to his attendants aside , why had i not a son likewise born to me in my dream , ( said he ) if dreams are , as you say , pictures of things to come ? then turning to chariclea , and speaking to her in the greek tongue , ( which is of high esteem amongst the gymnosophists of aethiopia , ) but why , virgin , are you silent , said he , and answer to no interrogations ? at the altar of the gods , answer'd she , to whom we are destin'd sacrifices , you shall know both me and my parents . hydaspes again ask'd her , of what country ? they are partly present , said she , and shall be altogether so at that time . hydaspes then smil'd , and said , certainly this daughter of vision , dreams her self , in imagining to find her grecian parents in meroe . let them therefore be taken care of , to be made ornaments of our sacrifices . but who is this that stands next them , and seems to be an eunuch ? the servants answer'd , that he was indeed an eunuch , and named bagoas . let him follow them , said he , not to be himself a victim , but to take care of another victim , this virgin , that she be preserv'd immaculate for the ceremony . eunuchs are the best guards , for being deprived themselves of enjoying , they out of envy take care that no body else shall . he then survey'd the remainder of captives , and dispos'd of them , giving some for servants , whose condition was formerly such ; but persons that were of free birth , he restored to liberty . ten youths and as many virgins of flourishing beauty and fairest stature , he appointed to atte●d theagenes and chariclea in their destiny . answers being also given to all others that brought any claim . in the last place , oroondates was set before him ; to whom hydaspes exprest himself , that since he gain'd the points for which he made war , he was not affected like most monarchs ; that he would not abuse the kindness of fortune , to covet more than others ; nor extend his empire by his victory ; that he was contented with the bounds which nature from the beginning had set , dividing aethiopia ●rom aegypt by cataracts . wherefore having obtain'd what i came down for , i return an adorer of equity . as for you , if you survive , continue in your office of deputy ; and tell the king of persia , that his brother hydaspes has overcome , but restores you to your dignity , being desirous of amity ; but pr●par'd to renew the war if provok'd thereunto : but enjoin that exemption from tribute , for ten years be given to the syeneans . having thus spoken , both the citizens and souldiers applauded him with shouts , that were heard at great distance . oroondates with his hands stretch'd out , the right interchangeably over the left , bowed his body forward with adoration ; which by the persians is given only to their own king. let me not be thought said he to the standers by , to violate the customs of my country , adoring my restorer , who had both power and provocation to kill me . the dignity that belongs to himself by right of conquest , he confers on me : for which , if i survive , i shall always be an instrument of peace , between the aethiopians and syeneans ; but if i dye of these wounds , let the gods return this kindness of hydaspes , both on himself and his posterity . the aethiopian history . the tenth book . thus have we given account of what was transacted about syene , which after such extremity , was restored by the justice and clemency of the conqueror . hydaspes now sending the greatest part of his army before him , returns into aethiopia : both persians and syeneans following him with congratulations and prayers for his safety . he therefore took his journey by the banks of nile , and through the adjacent countrys . but being come to cataractae , after sacrifices to nile and the tutelar gods of the borders , he turn'd off through the midland regions . when he was arrived at philae , he rested two days for refreshment of his souldiers ; therefore once more sending th● multitude before him , he himself tarry'd in the town , to repair the wall● and settle a garrison . then choosing out two messengers with orders to change their horses , for dispatch on the road , he sent them with letters to inform his friends at m●roe of his victory . to the wise men call'd gymnosophists , who were of his councel royal , he wrote thus : hydaspes to the divine assembly . th●se are to acquaint you with o●r victory , not boasting of our success or manag●ment ( since ev●nts of war are at the disposal of providence ) but to ●xpress our respect for you , requesting you to meet at the appointed place , and to grace our sacrifices for our success with your pres●nc● . to his wife persina he wrote as follows . know that we are conquerours , and what most concerns you , safe in our person . wherefore make preparation for triumph , and sacrifices of thanks , and come with our gymnosophists into the field before the city , which is dedicated to the gods of our country ; the sun , moon , and bacchus . having read these letters , this is the sense of my vision ( said persina ) for last night in my sleep , i fancy'd my self deliver'd of a daughter of full blown beauty and stature : the pains signifying the troubles of the war and the fair o●●spring , the compleat victory . by this time the city was fill'd with the news ; the messengers riding through the principal streets on white hor●es and in white vestments , being crown'd with the plants of nile , and bearing branches of palm in their hands , by their v●ry habits and gesture declaring their message . the city being thus fill'd with joy , they perform'd sacrifices night and day in their distinct tribes , streets and families , crowding the temples ; not so much for sake of the victory , as for the safety of hydasp●s : whom for his clemency and justice , they look'd upon as their common parent , as well as their king. persina there●ore having sent vast herds and flocks , with all manner of beasts and fowl into the sacred field ; partly to make hecatombs therewith , and partly for provision , in the publick feast , went to the grove consecrated to pan , the residence of the gymnosophists , to whom she gave the letters from hydaspes , desiring them to obey his orders , and grace the solemnities with their presence . they entreated her to stay a while without , while they went into the oratory , to consult the gods pleasure . from whence returning , after a small stay , sysimathres , the provost , the rest keeping silence , spoke thus : we sh●ll attend you , said he , for so the gods command : but withal , they foreshow some tumult and disorder that will happen in the ceremonies , which yet shall have a happy conclusion , forasmuch as a member of your body , which h●s long been lost , shall now be restor'd ●nso●●ht . whatever misfortune shall happ●n , reply'd p●rsina , all things will do better for your p●es●nc● . as soon as hydaspes arrives , i shall info●m you . there is no n●●d of that , said sys●mathr●s , for his letters will tell us that he will to morrow be here . accordingly it h●ppen'd ; for before she was return'd to her palace , a messenger overtook her with the same tydings . the pu●lick officers therefore hasten the prep●rations for the sacrifices , permitting only male p●rsons to be present : for the worship b●longing to the sun and moon , the m●st pure and chast deities , they excluded women from the devotion , lest any polluti●n should happ●n therein . the priest●ss of the moon w●s only p●rmitt●d , which office p●rsina herself sus●ai●'d ; as hydaspes , the king , was high priest to the sun , by the ancient rites of the country . charicl●a was likewise to be present , though not as priestess , but victim . the people therefore were too impatient to wait till the day was 〈◊〉 , but the evening before came over the river of astabora , some by the bridge ; those that li●ed at distance , in boats , which was easily done , by reason that each containing not above two or three at once , was made by splitting of a cane trunk into two parts , each half , without further labour , serving for a boat. the city meroe is a triangular island , made by the confluence of the nil● , the astabora and alasobus : this inland spot being miles in length , in breadth , is furnish'd with animals of vast bulk , the elephants being bred there : and as it bears some plants naturally , is by improvement supply'd with others : for besides palm-trees of prodigious tallness , it also bears corn of such height , that a man on horse-back , and sometimes on camels , is hid in passing through : it is withal so fertile , that the grain which is sown comes up three hundred fold . the people being thus transported over the respective rivers , they all met , and join'd congratulations to h●daspes , as it were to some deity ; but these however at a distance : the gymnosophists were admitted nearest to him , so as to join hands , and salute him , before the sacred ground . after them stood persina , in the entrance to the temple . after they had here finish'd adorations and praise , they turn'd off to the publick sacrifices , placing themselves in tabernacles that were before prepared . these were composed of four canes , newly cut down , each cane being cut four square , serv'd for a pillar ; the covering was made of several boughs , the fairest being branches of the palm-tree . in another tabernacle was placed the images of their gods , with pictures of famous persons , of memnon , p●rs●us , and androm●da ; supposed , by them , the authors of their royal line . in seats b●low s●t the gymnosophists , with the images of th●ir gods li●ewise ov●r their heads : before them bands of souldiers , with shields , to keep o●f t●e press of the p●ople , and preserve room for the solemniti●s . hydaspes , in few words , told the company his service perform'd for the commonwealth , and commanded the sacrifices to begin . three altars were erected , two of them appertaining to the sun and moon , the third to bacchus , set at distance , to whom they o●fered all m●nner of living cre●tures . upon the suns altar were sacrificed young hors●s : a yoak of ox●n to the moon , as b●ing s●r●i●●able in husbandry . in the mean time there was a voice heard among the crowd , let the usual sacrifice of the country , for our common safety , ●e first made ; and after that , the ●irst fruits of the war be offer'd . hydaspis unders●●nding them to mean humane sac●i●●c●● , as was usual of captives taken in foreign wars , signed to them with his hand , that they should instantly have their desire : withal commanding the appointed prisoners to be brought forth : among them came theagenes and ●hariclea , guarded , but not boun● . the rest were pensive , only these smiled with chearful countenance : chariclea looking constantly on persina , so that she was concern'd thereat , and said , o sir , what a virgin have you commanded to be sacrific'd ? i never saw so great beauty and resolution . her age and form extremely move me ; if our daughter had liv'd , she would have been now of her years : i wish to the gods you could find some means for her delivery . i should be pleas'd to have her an attendant at my table . perhaps the unhappy creature is a grecian , for never was there such a beauty in aegypt . she is a greek , answer'd he , by father and mother , whom she promis'd to produce in this presence , but how ●hat can be possible , i do not imagine : but that she should be deliver'd from this sacrifice , i am sure is absolutely impossible , though i my self could wish it , and am touch'd with compassion for her . our laws exact a man to be sacrificed to the sun , and a virgin to the moon ; and she being first taken , the people will not otherwise be satisfy'd : one help only remains , which is , if she prove not a pure virgin , for such the sacrifice requires ; and if so , she is uncapable of your reception . let her be so found , said persina , rather than die ; nor can she be much blamed , after such exile and travels , especially having beauty , that could scarce escape force and rape . hydaspes then commanded fire to be brought , by the priests , from the temple , on which the captives were to tred . bars of gold were heated over this fire , and had this virtue , that every unchaste or perjured person were burned with treading on them , but such as were otherwise , receiv'd no harm . the corrupted persons they appointed to bacchus , and other gods. after theagenes had trod thereon , and was found chaste , which was with wonder beheld , he being of such youth and vigour ; wherefore he was set apart , to be offer'd to the sun. then , said he to chariclea aside , is death the reward of chastity in aethiopia ? but wherefore do you not now discover your self ? what other time do you expect ? or will you stay till the knife has pierc'd our throats ? therefore declare your self : when you are known , 't is possible i may be saved for your sake ; at least you will be safe your self , which will be my satisfaction in death . she told him her time was now at hand ; and so , without command , put on her holy vestment , which she brought with her from delphi , wrought with gold , and set with jewels ; then with her hair dishevell'd , and , as it were , inspired with divine fury , she leap'd upon the coals , where she stood a long time without hurt , the fire only giving addition to her beauty ; so that in that holy attire , she seems to the beholders rather a goddess than mortal woman : so that the most superstitious amongst them heartily wished her deliverance . persina , above all others , was troubled , and said to hydaspes , how unhappy is this wretch that boasts of a chastity that is so fatal to her ! what is there to be done for her relief ? you trouble me in vain , said hydaspes ; your pity is foolish on one that cannot be saved ; and seems from the beginning , for her excellence , to be reserv'd for the gods. then turning to the gymnosophists , he asked them , why they did not begin ? the gods forbid , ( answer'd sysimathres , in greek , that the people might not understand him ) for we have too much profan'd our eyes and ears with what is already done . as for our parts , we will retire into the temple , being of opinion that these humane sacrifices are abomination to the gods ; we could also wish no blood of any other creature to be shed on such account , as knowing that prayers and bloodless offerings are most grateful to the divine powers . however , your presence , sir , is necessary , since the customes of the country exact it , and your people will not otherwise be satisfy'd . yet you may be sensible that there can be no good event , because the gods , as you s●● , protect the strangers , by keeping the fire from harming them . having thus said , he , with the rest of his brotherhood , went away . then chari●lea leaping from the fire , ran to sysimathres , as he was going , and falling at his feet , ( in spight of the officers that would have hindred her , as supposing she begg'd of him to ●pare her life ) saying , stay a while , most wise of men , for i have a cause to plead before the king and queen , and know that the sentence on persons of my birth , can only be given by you : they gladly heard her thus speak , and inform'd the king thereof . hydaspes smiled , and askt what judgment that could be ? or how he could come in any danger from her ? what she shall deliver may inform you , said sysimathres . but take heed , said he , you do not wrong our majesty , in making a king to plead with a prisoner : equity and justice , answer'd sysimathres , are without distinction of persons : the law permits you , reply'd hydaspes , to determine controversies , between the king and his subjects , but not with strangers . wise and just men , return'd sysimathres , are impartial in destribution of equity . well , quoth hydaspes , let her speak since sysimathres desires it ; though it be certain she will say nothing to purpose , only some devised matter , as people in her extremity are apt to do . chariclea was the more encouraged when she heard sysimathr●s name , he being the person that had first taken her ; and ten years before , had given her to charicles , when he went embassador to oroondates , and even then the chief of the gymnosophists . chariclea knew him not by sight , as being separated from him so young ; yet she remembred his name : wherefore she hoped that he would now be her advocate . therefore lifting up her hands to heaven , she said aloud that all might hear ; o sun , thou founder of my pedigree , and all ye other deities and glorious spirits : bear witness that i shall deliver nothing but truth . then ( turning towards the king ) do you command , sir , strangers or people of this country to be offered ? strang●rs said he ? then is it time for you to to provide other vi●tims ; for i am of this country , and born your sub●ect . he admired hereat and s●id , she spo●e ●alsly : you wonder at small things answer'd chariclea ; i have yet greater to d●liver , ●eing not only of this country , 〈…〉 th● blood royal. hydasp●s at this turn'd aside with scorn : she th●n proceeded saying , o fat●e● do not thus despise and deny your own d●ugh●er : the king th●n fell into indignation and said , sysimathres , how long will you abuse our patience ? is she not distracted , or of insu●●●rable b●l●ness , thus to claim kindred with us , to save her life ? you your selves know , that i was never so fortunate as to have a child . wh●r●fore take her away . no man answer'd she must carry me away , without command of my judges : you your self are now judged : perhaps o king the law of this country suffers you to kill strangers ; but neither that nor the law of nature to kill your own children ; for that you are my father the gods shall prove this day . all controversies in law , consist in two points ; that is writings , and confirmation by witnesses . i have both these to prove my self your daughter : for a witness i will produce , no meaner a person than the judge himself ; i will likewise lay writings before you , that shall fully express my state. having thus said , she unfolded her fascia , and gave it to persina : she no sooner fixt her eyes thereon , but she was struck with terrour , and disabled from speaking , at once trembling and glad for what she saw ; especially with the suddenness of the chance . yet was she afraid to expose it , least hydaspes should give no credit thereunto ; and consequently would in●●ict punishment on her . he perceiving her so much concern'd , ask'd the meaning . doth ought in that writing trouble you ? my lord , king and husband , said she , i have nothing to say ; take and peruse it your self , which will sufficiently inform you : having given it to him , she sat down again pensive . when hydaspes had ran it over with the gymnosophists , he marvelled extreamly , and the more to find sysimathres , much concern'd and aba●hed : wherefore a thousand thoughts ro●e in his mind , he looking often upon the fascia and often upon the maid : having throughly perused it , and found both her exposition in her infancy , with the reason of it : i know , said he , that i once had a daughter , but was told , and by persina her self , that she was dead , but now perceive that she was expos'd in her infancy . but who was the person that found her , took her up , and bred her , i am yet to seek ; or who it was that carry'd her into aegypt . how may i be assur'd that this is she ? and whether the infant that was expos'd be not dead , while he that found her , took advantage of his good fortune ; to impose on our desire of having a child , by proposing a changeling instead ; and colouring the che●t with this fascia . your first doubt i can clear , answer'd sysimathres : i was the person that found the exposed child , bred her for some time , and carry'd her with me to aegypt ; when on embassy you sent me thither . you know well , that our order dare not speak untruth : i likewise know the fascia to be the same by the royal characters , and impossible to be counterf●i●ed ; even you your self may know persina's hand-writing therein : but there were other testimonals found with this , and by me deliver'd to the person to whom i gave her , the man a greek , and of seeming honesty . they are also preserv'd , said charicl●a , and produc'd the bracelets . persina was now more astonished : hydaspes asking her if she knew them ? she answer'd she did ? and that this examination would more properly be made at home ; and not in so publick an audience . then was hydaspes more anxious than before : then said chariclea , these signals were my mothers , but this , sir , is properly your own ; giving him the ring with the pantarbe-stone . hydaspes knew it , it being the same he gave to persina , on his contract with her . i know these tokens , said he to chariclea ; but not that you came by them , as being my daughter ; for not to insist on other doubts , your colour is strange and never seen in aethiopia . the infant was also white which i carry'd away ( said sysimathres ) besides the time of her age agrees , it being now seventeen years since she was expos'd . beside i perceive the same lustre of her eyes , the same fair lineaments , complexion , and unparrallell'd beauty . you speak well , said hydaspes , and rather like a patron , than judge of her cause ; but take heed , least in favouring her , you bring question of scandal upon my wife : it being impossible , that we being both aethiops , should have a fair child . we call him the best judge answer'd sysimathres , who is a patron of equity : but how do we seem more , to patronize the maid than you ? for your censure we are not concern'd , whose business is more to approve our selves to the gods than to men : so that is enough for us to satisfy our own co●sciences . as to your doubt concerning her colour , the fascia it self answers it : that persina conceiv'd a daughter of this complexion ; by looking on the picture of andromeda , in your bedchamber : if you doubt the likeness , the picture is here at hand , compare them together , you will see no difference between the living and painted virgin. when they were set together , the beholders were surpriz'd at the resemblance , which rais'd a great noise ; those who stood nearer , informing them that were at more distance : so that hydaspes himself could no longer doubt , but stood speec●less with joy and admiration . at last there is one thing yet wanting : o sysimathres , said he , the●e was a certain speck or mole above my daughters right elbow : which was found also on charicl●a . p●rsina could no longer contain her self , but leaping from the throne , threw her arms about her neck , weeping for joy , and almost ready to faint away . the same parental affection seiz'd hydaspes , though with more manly government , yet he also embraced her , and not without tears . after this , waving his hand , he silenced the buzzing amongst the croud . o you that are present , said he , you have seen and heard me this day prov'd a father beyond all expectation . yet such is my regard to you , that waving the care of succession and paternal joy , i am for your sakes ready to deliver her up to the gods in sacrifice : for thoug● i see you also concern'd for the misfortune of so fair a virgin , yet whether you will or no , i must perform the custom of our country , and prefer the publick interest to private affection . having thus spoken , he took chariclea by the hand , as to lead her to the altar ; at which the whole multitude set up a cry , not su●fering him to lead her one step forward , but calling out save the maid , save her whom the gods would have preserv'd : we return you our thanks , our laws are satisfy'd . we ac●nowledge you our king , do you acknowledge your self a father . there is no man that will lay hands on her ; you that are father of your country , be father of your own house : these and many more such expressions were utter'd ; downright resisting his proposal , and saying , the gods would be satisfy'd with other o●ferings . hydaspes su●fer'd himself to be overcome , and took pleasure in the violence . standing therefore next to chariclea , dearest , said he , that you are our daughter , the proofs are sufficient ; but who is this youth , who was taken prisoner with you , and is now set before the altar ? or how could you call him brother , when you were together brought into my presence at syene ? for how shall he be found our son ? for persina has but once been deliver'd , and that only of your self . charicl●a blushing and casting her eyes on the ground , i feign'd him indeed to be my brother in that exigence , but who he is , he himself will better inform you . do you therefore take place by your mother on the tribunal ; filling her with greater joy , than when she first bore you ; entertain her with the history of your affairs , while i take care for the sacrifices , and choose some virgin to be made a victim in your stead , with the gr●cian youth . chariclea could scarce forbear crying out at the mention hereof , but governing her affection , once more attempted him in these words : o sir , there is no need to seek for another of my sex , since the people have excused me : but if you must , there must also another youth be found , or if that be not done , no other maid , for i my self must also die : for the gods have determin'd me to live and die with him . hydaspes not yet understanding her , said , i commend this humanity in you daughter , towards a grecian and stranger , the companion of your exile ; but it is impossible to exempt him from sacrifice without violation of our religion , neither will the people dispense therewith . o king , answer'd she , if i may not call you father , if the mercy of the gods has spared my body , the same clemency will spare my soul : but if the destinies must have it so , that this youth must needs adorn the ceremonies , grant me yet one request , that he may be kill'd by my hand . what contradictions are these ( said hydaspes ) the person whom but now as a friend you endeavour'd to save , you now beg leave to kill with your own hand as an enemy . i see , but grant it might , you may not be permit●ed , it being only lawful for the priests of the sun and moon , and amongst them only the high priest , that has a wife and priestess , who has a husband . all this can be no hinderance reply'd chariclea . hydaspes considering her late proof of virgin estate by enduring the fire , thought her discompos●d in her s●nses , and desired his wi●e to discourse with her apart , to bring her to her self . in the mean time , i will give audience to the embassadours that wait to congratulate our victory ; and till another vi●gin be elected in her stead . having thu● spok●n , he ascended a chair of state not far distant from the tabernacle , commanding the embass●dours to come before him with their presents . the master of ceremoni●● harmonious , ask'd if all should be admitted together , or if they should come distinctly , according to the dignity of their respective na●ions : in order , said hydaspes . shall merabus your brothers son come first , said the officer ? stupid man , said hydaspes , why did you not instant●y inform me of his arrival , whom you know to be no legate but a king , son to my brother , heir to his throne , and my own adopted successour ? as soon therefore as merabus came near his presence , a manly youth and tall of stature surpassing all about him , the aethiopian guards with respect , made way for him . hydaspes came down from his throne to meet him , embracing him with paternal courtesie , and saying ; you come in good time , my son , to assist our triumphant rites , and also your own nuptial ceremonies : since the gods , who were authors of our love , have , beyond all expectation , produced a daughter for us , and for you a bride . of this affair more at leisure ; at present , if you have any thing to mention on behalf of your country , declare it . meraebus at mention of a wife , blushed so as to have it perceiv'd through the duskiness of his complexion . after a little pause , other persons , said he , will present you with the best rareties of their country to adorn your triumph , but i , with what i judg'd most suitable to your martial temper , for a present offer you a sword-man , inur'd to blood , and exercised in arms , so that none dare oppose him ; in wrestling , whirl-bat , or any other warlike exercise , of such skill and strength , that none are able to contend with him . accordingly he beckon'd to have him brought in presence . he therefore came forward , and was of that stature , that when he stooped to salute hydaspes knees , he still seem'd tall as any of the rest . immediately , without waiting for command , he stripped himself before all the company , challenging any person to single combat . when none appear'd , though the king often summon'd , by the herald ; you shall receive , said hydaspes to him , a present fit for your courage and bulk ; withal commanding an elephant , of vast magnitude , to be brought forth for him : he willingly receiv'd it . the people , when the beast appear'd , laughed extremely at the pleasant humour of the king. with this derision taking revenge on him whom they did not dare to encounter . after meraebus , were admitted the embassadours from the seri , bringing two vestments , made by insects of their country , the one of tyrian dye , the other snowy white . having tender'd their presents , they were rewarded by the king , with release of certain prisoners in his custody . the arabian legates came next , with spices and perfumes , the product of their country , in such quantities , that they perfum'd all the air around . after them , the trogloditae , with gold , and griffins with golden bridles . then the blemmi , with arrows made of dragons bones , and made up in circular form : and these , o king , said they , we present you with less costly than others offerings , but of service to you against the persians on the rivers bank. they are more esteem'd by us , said hydaspes , than so many talents of gold , withal inviting them to make what demands they pleased . when they requested abatement of tribute , he released it to them for ten years successively . when these had thus made their complements ( most of them being r●munerated by the king with richer gifts than what they brought ) in the last place came the axiomati , who indeed paid no tribute , but were in league with him . they also brought presents ; amongst others , an animal of strange form and nature , of the size of a camel , but of spotted skin , and cover'd with scales . his hinder parts and belly like a lion , his fore legs and shoulders exceeding other members ; a long neck , and waxing very slender , from so large a body : his head resembling a camel , in bigness twice exceeding the lybian ostrich , horribly rowling his eyes , that seem'd as if enflam'd with red lead . his gate was still more strange , being like no other animals , but moving the two legs on his right side together , and then those on his left , carrying forward first the one side of his body and then the other . of temper so tame and gentle b● use , that his master led him up and down , with a small cord in his hand . when this creature appear'd , the multitude were amaz'd , and gave him from his various shape , the name of camelopardalis . he was the occasion of a great disorder which thus happen'd . there were a yoak of bulls placed before the altar of the moon , four white horses at the altar of the sun , ready for the sacrifice . the horses spying this strange monster , were so terrify'd that two of them broke out of their hands that held them , as also one of the bulls , and ran out wild . they could not however break through the press , the souldiers joining in a ring , and with their shields obstructing their passage . they were at once the occasion of great laughter and terrour ; the persons at distance shouting to see others born down , and trodden by them : all things were overturn'd that stood in their way . the clamour was so great , that persina and chariclea , open'd the curtain to look out . at this time theagenes , whether out of his natural vigour , or inspiration from the gods , seeing his keepers dispers'd with the fright , started up from the altar where he kneel'd , and snatching from thence a cleft stick , leap'd on the back of one of the horses that were left , and using his main for a bridle , forc'd him on , and turn'd the bull that had broke loose . the spectators at first thought that he intended to make his escape , and set up a cry that they should not suffer him to pass . but they soon perceived he had no such intention : for pursuing the bull , and catching hold of his tail , he drove him before him , dextrously avoiding his short turns . with this management he so brake his mettle , that he now suffer'd him to ride side by side to him , insomuch that the sweat of each beast mingled with the other . they ran with their heads so even together , that the people , at distance , took the horse and bull for one creature , and applauded theag●nes as the author of a miracle . thus were all the multitude employ'd . chariclea in the mean time look'd on with horrour , not knowing what he intended and fear'd more for his danger than for her own life when lately at stake . persina perceiv'd her concern , and said to her , you are troubled , daughter , for this stranger ; i confess i cannot my self help pitying his youth , but yet i hope he will escape this hazard , and be preserv'd safe for the sacrifice . how absurd is it ( answer'd chariclea ) to wish him to escape death , that he may dye ! but , oh mother , if you can save his life , you will do a thing most grateful to me ! persina partly suspecting her passion , said , though it be impossible for me to preserve him , yet take courage to acquaint me with your concern with this stranger ; if it has not been altogether ve●tuous , yet a mothers kindness knows how to indulge the frailty of a child . chariclea then wept bitterly , and cry'd out , 't is the extremity of my misfortune to speak to understanding persons , yet not be understood ; but must be forced to an open and gross confession . as she was now going to reveal the whole matter , she was once more hindred by a new shout amongst the people . theagenes having now fronted the bull , quitted his horse , leaped on the bulls neck , and clasping his arms round the roots of his horns , his hands fasten'd in his fore-head tassock , his face lying between the horns , the rest of his body hanging with all its weight , down over the beasts right shoulder , insomuch that he was often trod upon ; yet he so incumbred his passage by this means , and tired him , that directly over against the place where hydaspes sate , he tumbled down on his head , but so that his hoofs were turn'd uppermost , and his horns struck into the sand , so that his head seem'd fast rooted to the earth ; his legs all the while sprawling in the air. th●agenes also still held him down with his left hand , his right lifted up towards heaven ; and thus with generous countenance survey'd hydaspes and the company ; provoking them to laughter with the spectacle ; the bull all the while with bellowing , like a martial trumpe● , sounding his conquest : the people answer'd with shouts , and promiscuously gabbling , extoll'd him to the skies . the kings servants , therefore , as they were order'd , some led theagen●s to the king , others fastning ropes to the bulls head , led him with the horses once more to the alar . hydaspes beginning some discourse with theagenes , the people who were pleas'd with his person from the first minute they saw him , but now stupisy'd at his strength and courage , in the last place envying the honour given to meraebus his aethiopian wrestler , with one cry , demanded that he who had received the elephant , should engage in single combat with him that conquer'd the bull. when they had long pressed for it , hydaspes at last consented . the aethiop was immediately put into the middle of the circle , sternly and proudly surveying all around him , stretching himself , and taking lofty vast steps , compassing an ell at every stride . when he was come up before the council , hydaspes spoke to theagenes in greek ; it is the p●oples desire that you undertake this combat : let it be so , said th●agenes , but after what manner ? wrestling , said hydaspes : why not rather with swords , said theagenes , by which some honour might be gain'd ; at least , with my de●th , content chariclea , who , i find conceals our affairs , and forsakes me at the last . what you mean by mentioning chariclea , said hyd●sp●s , i know not ; but you must wrestle , and not fight with swords ; for we may not suffer any blood to be shed before that of sacrifice . he understanding hydaspes's meaning , that he fear'd lest he shoul● be kill'd before he dy'd in sacrifice ; you do well , said he , to reserve me for the gods. with these words he put himself in posture : fixing his feet firmly to the ground , his whole body put in the best order : thus he impatiently waited the assault of his adversary . the aethiop seeing this , with a look of derision and indignation mixt together , ran furiously upon him , hitting theagenes on the neck with his elbow , as heavily as if he had struck him with a leaver ; then drawing back , laughed out aloud at his own performance . theagenes , who was vers'd from his childhood in exercises , knew that such robustuous strength , was not directly to be engag'd , but deluded by art , expos'd the other side of his neck for a second blow , which the barbarian repeated , and then withdrew as before : he therefore now despising him , and coming on the third time more carelessly , theagen●s slipping under his elbow , and clasping his arms round his wast , which he was scarce able to embrace , cast him quite over his shoulders , and pitcht him all on a heap , with his head first to the ground , to the hazard of his neck . the people now shouted louder than before ; nor could hydaspes longer contain himself , but leaping down from his throne , cry'd ; o hard necessity of law , what a noble youth are we compell'd to destroy . then calling him to him , said , it only now remains , that thou be crown'd for the sacrifice . this famous though unserviceable victory , deserves a crown : that i should set you free is not in my power , but as much as i can do in favour of you , i will ; so that if you have any request to make to me before you die , propose it . with these words , he put a golden wreath on his head , beset with diamonds . grant me therefore , said theagenes , what i shall request , since you have promis'd it . if i may not escape being sacrific'd , at le●st let me be kill'd , by the hand of your new found daughter . hydaspes was stung at this motion , reflecting on chariclea's request , which was like this , yet thought it not worth his whil● , nicely to search the matter : those things , o stranger , said he , which were in my power , i commanded you to ask , and promis'd that i would grant : the law exacts , that the slayer of the sacrifice , be a wife and no virgin. but she has a husband , answer'd theagenes : you rave , said hydaspes , and these are words of a person under consternation of death . the fire has prov'd her free from man : unless you call meraebus here her husband , nor can i guess how you could come to surmize so much , neither is he yet her husband , but in intention only : neither shall he ever ●e , said theagenes , if i know any thing of chariclea's mind ; or as divine sacrifice , can fore-shew any future event . but sacrifices , said meraebus , can give no divination till they are slain , and their intrals laid open . wherefore , o father , you have rightly spoken , that the stranger raves with apprehension of death . therefore if you please , let some body take him to the altar . theagenes was accordingly led away : but chariclea , who was a little relieved at his victory , and conceiv'd better hopes ; when she saw him led again to the altar , relaps'd into sorrow . persina comforted her , saying , it was yet possible for him to be rescu'd , if she would plainly and fully declare , what she demanded to know . chariclea found there was no longer time for delay , and therefore freely began , to tell the principal parts of her story . hydaspes in the mean time , ask'd by his officers , if there were any of the embassadours yet unanswer'd ? only the syeneans , answer'd harmonias , who wait with letters from oroondates . they are newly arriv'd , and bring matters of some moment : let them also appear , said hydaspes . accordingly they were brought , presenting the letters which hydaspes read , of these contents : to the merciful and fortunate king of the aethiopians , oroondates , deputy to the great king. since after conquest over me in field , you again overcame me in clemency , restoring me to my office , it will not seem strange , if you farther grant me a small request : a certain virgin , as she was led along , became your prisoner of war ; that she was by you sent into aethiopia , i am inform'd : her i intreat you to restore to me , not only for her own sake , but her fathers , for whom i would preserve her . he has travelled far in search of her , and was taken prisoner during the war by my garrison at elephantina : he has therefore desired me to recommend him to your clemency . you have him therefore amongst other legates , such a person as by his aspect may be known to be noble , and deserve what he shall beg at your hands . s●nd him therefore back to me pleased , and rejoice the heart of a disconsolate father . when hydaspes had read this , he ask'd which was the person amongst the legates , who was mention'd in the letters , who is in search of his daughter : when they shew'd him the old man , o stranger , said hydaspes , i will do all that oroondates has desired : ten virgin captives only we brought away , and whereas one of them is known not to be her , do you survey the other nine ; and if you find her , take her . the old man fell down to embrace his feet , and surveying the virgins , as they were brought before him , found not her amongst them ; therefore he sorrowfully said , none of these , o king , is she . i was ready to gratify you , said hydaspes , you must blame your fortune if you cannot find her ; for you are free to satisfie your self that none other came with our camp. when the old man had bent his brows , and wept a while , he lifted up his eyes , surveying the company around , and of a sudden ran forth as if he had been mad . when he was come up to the altar , taking off his cloak , and twisting it like a rope , he cast it about theagenes his neck , and cry'd out in all their hearing , i have found thee , o my enemy , i have gotten thee , thou mischievous and accursed man ! the officers would have taken him off , but he would not quit his hold , till he had leave to bring him before hydaspes and the council ; to whom he addrest himself in this manner , o king , said he , this man is the robber that has taken away my daughter even from the temple of apollo , and now , like a pious person , he kneels before the altar . all were astonish'd at what he said , not understanding the words , but surpriz'd with the action and manner . hydaspes commanding him to speak more plainly , charicles ( for he was the old man ) conceal'd the truth concerning chariclea , fearing lest if she were dead by the way , he should be troubled by her true parent● . but he thus briefly utter'd what could li●●l● harm him . i had a daughter , o king , if 〈◊〉 had seen how beautiful and surpassing in wisdom , you would not blame my sorrow . she led her life in virginity , and was priestess to diana , which is worshipp'd at delphos . that maid , this bold thessalian , has stoln out of the temple of apollo , while officiating a holy embassage to that city ; during the celebration of our festival . he must therefore be censur'd , to have offended your god the sun ( who is all one with our apollo , and done sacrilege on his temple . a false priest of memphis , was also his companion in this hainous fact. i went to memphis in search of them , which i suppos'd to be the place , whither calasiris would go : when i arrived there , i found that he was dead , and was inform'd by his son thyamis , of all that had befaln to my daughter ; wherefore you shall well perform the part of a king , in accepting the deputies request on my behalf . here he held his peace , and wept most bitterly . what say you to this , said hydaspes , turning to theagenes ? all that he has laid to my charge ( answer'd theagenes ) is true : as to him , i am a robber , but to you , i have perform'd good service . restore therefore , ( said hydaspes ) what is not your own , to become a pure sacrifice to the gods. not he that did the wrong ( said theagenes ) ought to make restitution ; but he that has the benefit : seeing therefore you have her , do you restore her , chariclea is the person , whom he also will own to be your daughter . no man could longer contain himself : sysimathres kept silence along time , notwithstanding he knew the whole mystery , till it were bolted out by little and little : then coming forth , he embraced charicles , and said , your adoptive daughter , whom i once deliver'd to you , is well , found , and prov'd to be daughter to the king , which you your self , also well know . chariclea also ran forth from the tabernacle , like one distracted , without regard to her quality , or years , and falling at charicles his feet , said , o father , no less dear to me , than my natural parent , take what revenge you please upon me , notwithstanding , all the excuse that i have of the gods , commands for what i did . persina also turning to hydaspes , said , assure your self , sir , that it is so , this young grecian is your daughters husband . the people were overjoy'd at the discovery , though they imperfectly , understood it , or rather were divinely inspired , with the knowledge thereof . contraries were reconcil'd to attend this wonder ; sorrow being joyn'd with mirth , and tears with smiles : the cruel slaughter , which was every moment expected , turn'd into a holy and bloodless sacrifice . o wisest of men , said hydaspes to sysimathres , instruct us what we are to do ? to decline the sacrifice of the gods , is sacrilege , and to kill the innocent , and such as they favour , impious . then sysimathres ( not in the grecian language as before ) but in aethiopian , to be understood of all , thus exprest himself . o king , said he , darkness is sometimes thrown over the most descerning understandings , to produce the greater joy . you ought long since , to have been sensible , that the gods would not permit this sacrifice , resolving to make your daughter chariclea , happy in all her desires ; accordingly they have hither brought her foster-father , from the midst of greece : they have likewise sent frights and disorder to disturb the sacrifices , as signifying , that more agreeable o●ferings should be made : they have lastly shewn you , a bridegroom for your daughter ; this grecian youth , whom they have with miracles deliver'd . wherefore let us obey their pleasure , and no more offend them with humane victims , whose best sacrifices , are prayers and obedience . sysimathres having said this with an audible voice , hydaspes took theagenes and charicle● by the hand , saying , you who are present , and see that these things are come to pass , by the direction of the divine powers , whose will it is impossible to resist , since you also seem to approve their choice , bear witness to the nuptials , which i here ratifie ; which we will farther confirm by holy rites , and so let us fall to worshiping our gods. the whole army , with redoubled shouts and clapping their hands , exprest their consent to the match . hydaspes then approach'd the altars , and ready to begin the solemnities , said , o sun our lord , and moon our patroness : since theagenes and chariclea , are by your good will , declared husband and wife , i doubt not , but you will accept their o●ferings , and suffer them to do sacrifice in our steads . having thus said , he took the mitres , the ensigns of priesthood , from his own and persina's head , placing them on theagenes and chariclea . when this was done , charicles call'd to mind , the oracle deliver'd to him at delphi , was now compleated , which foretold concerning this young pair , that they should arrive at a soil parch'd with heat ; where their prov'd vertue , just rewards should wear , and snowy wreaths from sun-burnt temples bear . being thus crown'd with mitres , and vested with priesthood by hydaspes , the ceremonies being now finish'd with lighted torches by their sides , they were born in chariots , with consorts of flutes and other in●truments : theagenes with hydaspes , sysimathres in another chariot with charicles , persina in another with chariclea : with musick and congratulations towards the city : where the more retir'd ceremonies appertaining to the nuptials were to be perform'd . finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a -e * marquess of worcester's seat , last garrison held out for king charles i. cuckolds-haven, or, an alderman no conjurer a farce acted at the queen's theatre in dorset garden / by n. tate. tate, nahum, - . this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a of text r in the english short title catalog (wing t ). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish.this text has not been fully proofread approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo a wing t estc r ocm

this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission.

early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) cuckolds-haven, or, an alderman no conjurer a farce acted at the queen's theatre in dorset garden / by n. tate. tate, nahum, - . [ ], , [ ] p. printed for j.h. and are to be sold by edward poole ..., london : . "licensed, august . . ro. l'estrange"--opposite t.p. imperfect: stained. reproduction of original in the huntington library.
eng shcnocuckolds haven, or an alderman no conjurertate, nahum athis text has no known defects that were recorded as gap elements at the time of transcription. - assigned for keying and markup - keyed and coded from proquest page images - sampled and proofread - text and markup reviewed and edited - batch review (qc) and xml conversion

licensed ,

august . . ro. l'estrange .

cuckolds-haven : or , an alderman no conjurer . a farce . acted at the queen's theatre in dorset garden .

by n. tate .

london , printed for j. h. and are to be sold by edward poole , next door to the fleece tavern in cornhill . .

to the honourable colonel edmund ashton . sir ,

as you will find the following scenes drawn from the stores of that great master ben , i hope you will think the contrivance no ill imitation : that they had no better success on the stage , was for this reason : the principal part ( on which the diversion depended ) was , by accident , disappointed of mr. nokes's performance , for whom it was design'd , and only proper ; which caus'd a retrenchment of whole scenes in the action , that are in this copy inserted . as it here lies together , if the plot be not too regular for farce , and ought not rather to have been call'd comedy , i dare trust the reader for the rest . notwithstanding all the disadvantages in its appearance on the stage , you were pleased , sir , to discover some beauties through the cloud . however , i am not so much concern'd for a work of this nature , as to impose the protection of it upon you . my ambition in this address , is , to owne my good fortune in your acquaintance , and advantages from thence , as to nobler species of poetry . i speak not with relation to any essays of my own , but for improvement of my skill in the best latin poets . when ben johnson was inform'd , that a certain person had done him injury , he cry'd out with indignation , i made the ingrateful man understand horace . obligations of this kind , indeed , are unvaluable . i presume ( sir ) i could before pretend to a grammarians , or commentators knowledge ; but this was understanding like a dutchman :

from whom , the author 's more obscure become , the fogs of holland cloud the wit of rome ; while these the vehicle of words essay , the subtle spirit flies unseen away .

they understood the words , but you the poet. your judgment does not terminate in what is express'd , but takes in the whole scope of fancy , and feels the flame of the poet , while he labour'd with inspiration . in short ( sir ) you make their very spirit visible ; and with piercing sight discover those beauties , which their art threw off to such distance , that they were not discern'd by vulgar eyes . the world must allow me to pay this acknowledgment : it is what i heard own'd ( while a stranger to you ) by a * first-rate judge , as well as poet ; he that was at once the horace and mecaenas of our age. know , sir , you will pardon me , if on mention of that noble person , i stain this paper with a tear.

multis ille bonis flebilis occidit , nulli flebilior quam tibi -------

of many obligations that endear his memory to me , the opportunity of your acquaintance was not the least ; while i have heard you discant together on your beloved authours , time seem'd to me to be revolv'd , and i thought my self in the court of augustus . i think the nation is duly grateful for what he has transplanted from their language , though sparing of those favours . we likewise know , sir , that you have not fate down with the bare knowledge of those ancient roman treasures , without giving some parts of them the english stamp . and to hoard them in secresy , is injury to your country . it was always thought the perfection of an honourable person , to be an accomplisht courtier , souldier , and scholar . all which capacities are ( sir ) without complement , ascrib'd to you. nor may we omit , that justice , courtesie , and condescention , which ( in relation to inferiours ) compleat the character of a gentleman . as a just respect on these worthy accounts is rendred to you by all persons , it is by none more sincerely paid , than by ,

sir , your most humble servant , and admirer , n. tate .
prologue . we own , nor to confess it are asham'd , ( fram'd . that from tough ben's remains , this piece was but if embellishments of vanity and vice , are here improv'd to a degree beyond the characters that master drew , we must the ladies thank for that , and you , so far above what johnson's age e'er knew . our scene 's compact , and if it be not witty , you must consider , sirs , 't is laid i' th' city . where yet we shall present one sparkish citt , who drinks , whores , dresses , which i think is wit ; or , mercy on three parts of this good pit. lewdness and dress must , by the criticks pardon , be wit , or ' gad ye ruine covent-garden . but sense , or nonsense , is to us all one , our trinculo and trapp'lin were undone , when lime's more farcy monarchy begun . oh! were this frantick nations woes too few , but we must have both dam and devil too ? first , with the old serpent plagu'd of associations , and since , with viler spawn of declarations : whose poyson such distraction cou'd create , that scyth-men listed to mow down the state. but now the monster has her final rout , the very dregs of treason's tap are out : this triumph then , with just applause be given to caesar's conduct , and assisting heaven . sense now shall flourish , discord be no more , for wit and peace are caesar's to restore .
the persons . by mr. percivall . mr. baker . mr. jevon . mr. lee. mr. williams . mr. gillow . mr. hains . mrs. corye . mrs. percivall . mrs. twiford . mrs. price . scene london .
a new farce , call'd cuckolds-haven . act i. scene i. touchstone's shop at the farther end ; golding walking short turns before it . touchstone with accounts in his hand . touch.

upon mortgage of his whole estate remains due to his lordship l. this comes of prodigality , of his lordships stewards towards a purchace for himself . there 's the fruits of industry � at interest for mrs. procure-well . there 's industry again � lent , receiv'd , receipts , receipts , disbursements , bonds , bonds , judgments , &c. well , we marry'd citizens had need of strong heads to support what is put upon 'em ; our greatest care is , to look after them that should take the care off our hands . i must in and settle these accounts before �

[ as he is going in , quick-silver enters upon him and drives him backward .
quick.

alack ! alack , sir ! sincerely , i did not think of your worship .

touch.

thou insolent varlet ! what ? stumble upon the very face of authority ? do' it thou behold no terrour in this overture ? is this natural type of reverence , and this emblem of the cities honour , but cyphers with you ? ha !

quick.

peradventure , sir �

touch.

i will not be peradventured , sir ; answer me directly . what loose action are you now bound for ? what comrades are you to meet ? who gives the supper ? and where 's the rendezvouz ? i will have an account of all these in a breath , in a sentence , in one word , sir.

quick.

indeed , and in very good sober truth , sir �

touch.

indeed , and in very good sober truth , sir ! � behind my back thou wilt swear faster than a french foot-boy , and talk more baudy than a midwife . � i tell thee , sirrah , i am thy natural lord and master , william touchstone , goldsmith and alderman of london , an alderman , sirrah , alderman ; i will likewise make thee understand that thou art my indented servant , francis quick-silver . � work upon that now .

quick.

surely i am your bounden and most faithful �

touch.

without preamble , i will know what diversion you are now a running to .

quick.

surely one may use his recreation with his master's profit .

touch.

servants recreations are seldom with their master's profit : --- work upon that now �

quick.

surely i was but going to a funeral sermon , sir , � of a dear friend , sir.

[ crying .
touch.

say'st thou so � i protest i was to blame for chiding thee � dear francis , i ask thy pardon and am sorry for thy friend with all my heart � but , sirrah , seeing is believing , shew me your sermon-book , produce your shorthand-book , quickly i say .

quick.

here , sir.

touch.

let me see 't .

quick.

sincerely , i shall come too late , sir.

touch.

let me see 't i say � what is here ? sol , la ! me , fa ! sol , sol , --- what has this to do here ? � with a stone at the gate , and a handsom young wench to rub my bald pate . � why , thou pagan rogue : thou hast more tricks with thee than an irish run-a-way with seven years improvement in the west-indies . i will see further what rigging you have about ; off with that cloak of iniquity , where are you ?

[ quick-silver dodges about him , at last touchstone pulls off his cloak and discovers flutes , swords , pumps , racks , dancing shoes , &c. girded round him .

hey-day , hey-day ! what a composition is here ! thou hast more trangams about thee than a hocus pocus , or the wonderful fish that came arm'd against turk and pope .

quick.

work upon that now .

touch.

thou shameless varlet , do'st thou deride me too ? do'st thou laugh at thy lawful master , contrary to thy indentures ? i will make thee , sirrah , at noon-day for pennance , to walk in this equipage from leaden-hall to ludgate .

quick.

i will as soon serve a prenticeship to every cuckold betwixt leaden-hall and ludgate , by this light. what a plague , sir , i am a gentleman , tho a younger brother , and your worships servant .

touch.

do'st thou swear , rake-hell ? thy father was an honest tradesman .

quick.

but my mother was a gentlewoman , and with your favour , sir , i will swear by the mothers side . is it not for your worships advantage that i keep company ? i am entertain'd amongst gallants , they call me cousin frank ; right . i lend them money ; good . they spend it ; very well . and when 't is gon , must they not strive to get more ? must not their land fly ? and to whom ? shall not your worship have the refusal ? how could tradesmen thrive if gentlemen were not unthrifts ? how could gentlemen be unthrifts without supplies for their debauchery ? well , the city ought to consider me . i am now going to a gaming-house ; the sparks fall to play ; i carry light gold with me ; cousin frank , say they , some gold for silver ; i change gain by it : they lose the gold and cry , cousin frank , lend me some silver ; by which means �

touch.

nay , the rogue has wit , that 's certain ; the rogue has wit � i cannot help loving the dog � but , sirrah , did i gain my wealth by ordinaries ? no. by exchanging of gold ? no. by keeping gallants company ? no. i hired me a little shop , sought low , kept no debt-book , garnish'd my shelves for want of plate with good wholsom thrifty sentences ; as , touchstone keep thy shop , and thy shop will keep thee ; light gains , make heavy purses ; be merry , and wise . and when i was wiv'd having somthing to stick to , i had ever the horn of security before my eyes ; you all know the device of the horn , where the young fellow slips in at the butt , and comes squeez'd out at the buckall . yet i grew up to this dignity that you see here , and bear my brows as high as my neighbours ; but thou � well , look to accounts , your father's bond lyes for you , seven hundred art thou run out of cash .

quick.

i have proper gentlemens words for 't , and well drest ! shall i deny a gentleman that calls me cousin frank ?

enter a page .
page .

which is mr. touchstone's shop ?

gold.

here , sir. what lack you , sir ? what d' ye buy , sir ?

touch.

look you there now ! there 's your fellow servant , do's he spark it ? well , if he outlast not an hundred such crackling bavins as thou art , heav'n and men neglect industry � with me boy ?

page .

my master , sir petronell flash , presents his service to you , and intends instantly to visit you .

touch.

i understand you boy : to consummate marriage with my eldest daughter , my wive's dilling , whom she longs to call madam � your master shall find me most unwillingly ready , boy .

[ ex. page .

there 's another affliction too ; my eldest daughter is as prodigal as my youngest servant . she must be ladify'd forfooth , take all her dress from the court , take quality-rambles , and keep quality-hours . well , a piece of land she has , her grandmothers gift , let her sir petronell flash out that : but as for my substance , she that scorns me , as i am a citizen and alderman , shall never be the better for that ; nor shall that be the worse for her � however � golding , come hither , golding � no , no , you quick-silver � i , i , golding , golding my outmost care is for thee , and my only trust is in thee , look to the shop � mr. quick-silver , look on the brodigals hog-trough in the hangings within , i say , consider them : think upon husks : husks � work upon that now .

[ exit .
quick.

husks in your wittal's weazon ; and a million of milstones to the bargain . here 's authority with a horse pox.

gold

for shame how you talk.

quick.

and who shall say me nay ? i will both talk and swear , i am a gentleman , and may swear by my pedigree . golding thou art yet ---- but i 'll improve thee into a man and a good fellow , i will shew thee company with souls in them , drink thee into good blood.

good store of brisk claret supplies ev'ry thing , and the man that is drunk is as great as a king.
gold.

away with your ribaldry play-house morals .

quick.

i tell thee we will redeem , redeem the city's honour , and shew there may be 'prentices that are no coxcombs . shall our free spirits be held in bonds of calf-skin , and subjected to a formal beard and chain ?

gold.

what would you have me do ?

quick.

do nothing , turn gentleman and be idle ; the curse of man is labour . wilt thou walk here from sun to sun between two pissing posts , or stand with a bare pate , driveling nose , and arms a-cross under a rotten pent-house ?

gold.

away , you prodigal fool.

quick.

that word again and thou art immortal .

gold.

thou shuttle-cock ; thou gull of lew'd companions ; i see thee already in the temple rounds with half a hat , thy crevat the reversion of a barber's apron � soft , soft , unsheath that iron , and i will make thee swallow it .

quick.

as i am a gentleman , i 'll get drunk incontinently , incontinently , grow valiant , and beat thee .

[ exit .
scene ii. security's house . wynifred security's wife , and clogg giving her a letter . clogg .

from your admirer madam , sir petronell flash .

wyn.

and are you certain my old security did not see you take it in ?

clogg .

pray think i understand my office better .

wyn.

what an impudent knight is this to continue addressing to me , and send me word the same time that he 's going to be marry'd , but for my sake and to prevent suspicion : 't is a scurvy sure way , and i could have studdy'd better . i 'll hear no further from him .

clogg .

by your beauties leave , madam , i must presume to say you are not altogether so wise as true politick wife would be ; who being marry'd to such a nicumpoop ( i speak it with my master's peace ) whose face confesses him what you ought to make him ) , that you will out of conscientious scruple , defraud a poor old gentleman of what he longs for , and makes it his whole studdy to compass only a modish title ; could he but write cuckold he has his ends ; for look you �

wyn.

what means the varlet ? why thou know'st the golden fruit was never watcht so , as my old dragon watches me .

clogg .

why , there you find his worshipful ambition , the top of it , the very forked top. why should he keep you thus mur'd up in a back room , allow you ne'er a casement to the streets , for fear of ingendring by the eyes , forbid you paper , pen and ink like rats-bane , search your half pint of sack , least a letter should be sunk in it ? why all this confinement but to make men covet you the more ?

wyn.

i grant it indeed the only method that cou'd seduce me , and bring upon his head what most he fears .

clogg .

will you make benefit of time and truth ? i am set over you , employ'd to watch your steps , your looks , your very breathings , and report them to him , now if you will be a modish right sweet mistress , we 'll make a cokes of this wise master , an absolute fine cokes , quite disappoint the care and industry of such a solemn and effectual ass , an ass to such good purpose as we 'll make him .

wyn.

i understand you not .

clogg .

i am , 't is true , my master's man , but my mistresses slave , the servant of her pleasures and sweet turns , and know all points that will conduce to them . i will contrive it so that you shall go to park , to plays , to feasts and masquerades , take care you shall have such rigging sails , and trim as handsome vessels shou'd put forth with , i 'll choose you confidents , and lovers , convey your letters , fetch you answers , with all other offices requisite to youthful blood and beauty .

wyn.

this is most strange .

clogg .

and for variety , at times ( though i am not of symmetry and complexion to boast a soveraignty over ladies hearts , like some of my sphere ) yet i can do , my sweet madam .

wyn.

how 's this ?

clogg .

dear , delicate madam , i am your little paraquit , your sparrow , your shock , your pugg , your squirrel .

wyn.

impudent slave ! what can the varlet mean by this presumption ? ----- oh , i havé found it out , and was most dull not to conceive it before ; my jealous husband put him on this practice � where are you , sir ? for i know you hear me ; come from your peeping corner ; spare your self a little from your watch to applaud your groom here , that so well follows your instructions .

enter security .
sec.

where is my little bunting ? why how now , bird ? what , in a pett ? i prithee what 's the matter ?

wyn.

very well , you are a stranger to the plot , i warrant you ? did not set your vassal here to tempt your innocent wife with most uncivil language and action ?

clogg .

i sweat , i sweat .

sec.

i understand thee not , my goldfinch .

clogg .

sir , the essex squire has been thrice here since you went out , he 'll mortgage to his uncle , unless you find him instantly .

sec.

that must not be � what were you saying , chick ?

wyn.

durst he presume to mention love to me without directions from you ?

sec.

to mention love to thee , bunting ? conspire against my honour ? � what wert thou saying , clogg ? is there any danger of our missing of the mortgage � the varlet durst not do 't , my lark . what ? mention lewdness to thee ? any thing that pointed towards cuckolds row ?

wyn.

as if you were not planted on the stairs , or behind the hangings � i am sure 't was your direction .

sec.

thou shalt see , bird , how i directed him ,

[ puts off his cloak ,

o thou most manifest villain ! thou fiend apparent ! thou declar'd hell-hound !

[ beats him .
clogg .

sir , sir , sir.

sec.

knave , rascal , traitor , have i found you ? what , upon your first point of trust and charge ? the very week of your probation ?

clogg .

some moderation , good sir.

sec.

have i for this conferr'd all offices upon thee , made thee my clerk , wardrobe man , caterer , cook , butler , steward , and what transcends all these , my wife-watcher ?

clogg .

good sir.

wyn.

but tell me , cue ; where were you all the while ?

sec.

at councel bramble's , bird , drawing up of a judgment . � there is one blow more for exercise � you see , my lark , how i directed him .

clogg .

would you had done , sir.

sec.

o bird , what blessings follow industry , no less than three forfeitures this morning . � one more to put you in mind of the last ? you are pamper'd with your whole pitchard a day , i shall reduce you to a sprat , rogue . are you tentiginous ? ha !

clogg .

i shall expire --- dear sir.

sec.

and what'is all this care and toil of mine for , but to enrich thee , bird ? six flanders mares to your coach , that 's your proportion . i do hunger and thirst to do the good , bird.

wyn.

why am i then confin'd to one dark room ?

sec.

for thy good still , bird , and beside , to please thee thou shalt have thy cage new painted . there 's conceit for thee . turn me loose to the wittiest of 'em , and to the wisest too . what trade like mine of usury ? all others complain of inconvenience . the merchant says , traffick is subject to incertainty and loss ; let them keep their goods on dry land with a vengeance . besides , their gains are unconscionable , two for one , or so ; whereas i in my lending of money am content with moderate profit , or in the , so i may have it with quietness , and no hazzard .

wyn.

thy godfathers were in the right ; cue , thou deserv'st thy name .

sec.

one prays for a westwardly wind to carry his ship out , another for an eastwardly to bring his home ; and at every shaking of a leaf he falls into an ague . the farmer is ever at odds with the weather , sometimes the clouds are barren , their harvests are too thin ; sometimes the season is too fruitful , and corn will bear no price ; whereas we that trade only in money , are pleas'd with all weathers ; so the sun and moon stand not still , but make up days , months , and years .

enter mrs. syndefie .
syn.

o sir , mr. francis quick-silver's below .

sec.

bring him up , dear charge , i do hunger and thirst to do him good . ---- to thy chamber , my dear turtle .

wyn.

let it be the street room this time , cue .

sec.

it shall be the back room , i have sworn it in the violence of my affection to thee .

wyn.

one pair of stairs then .

sec.

two , bird , two. thou seest my love in keeping thee so close , it shews thou art my jewel � in my sight still ?

re-enter syndefie with quick-silver .
quick.

and how fares my old dad ? does he digest iniquity well still ? and has he seen my running gelding drest to day ? o , my dear syndefie , that time were half so fleet , my wisht enfranchisement would soon arrive .

syn.

ah frank , you wish you know not what ! your master's wealth and trust supports you now , but when that term's expir'd �

quick.

why then i 'll conjure money to my pockets , tho she were fled and dead , i 'd raise her with aqua vitae out of old hogsheads ; while there are lees of wine or dregs of beer , i 'll never want her ; coyn her out of cobwebs ; raise wool upon eggshels , make grass grow upon marrow-bones , but i will make her come .

syn.

come , you may yet provide a stock for traffick against your time expires .

quick.

thou art a fool syn. traffick ! shall i , who am the flower of city wits , turn paltry merchant , and trust my estate to a hogs-trough ? what are ships but tennis balls for the winds to play withal ? footra for dull preferments of the city . i will to court syn.

syn.

what winds or seas have hazard like �

re-enter security .
quick.

ah pox ! and who taught you this morality ?

sec.

long of this witty age , mr. francis , and your mercurial conversation .

quick.

well said old dad , thou father of destruction . i am bringing more widgeons into thy usurious nets . claw me , claw thee , runs through court and countrey .

sec.

right , my subtle quick. i do therefore hunger and thirst to do thee good . ----- but what new game hast thousprung , my nimble francis ; for i do hunger and thirst to do thee good ?

quick.

a certain knight of my acquaintance �

sec.

i hunger and thirst to do him good .

quick.

has present occasion for twelve hundred guinneys : sir petronell flash by name .

sec.

how ? that bankrupt prodigal , i renonnce him and his wants .

quick.

that is betwixt you and i , dad : but this day he marries my master's eldest daughter , and �

sec.

bring me to him instantly , i hunger and thirst to do him good , come bring me to him � you were tentiginous , rogue , were you ?

[ exeunt .
scene iii. touchstone's house . girfred , mildred , poldavie with a french mantoa under his arm , girfred's maid . gir.

for the passion of patience , look if sir petronell approach ; that sweet , that fine , that alamode , that � for loves sake tell me if he come � o sister mill , tho my father be a paltry tradesman , yet i must be a lady , and i will be a lady , and i thank my stars , my mother must call me madam � does he come , off with this scandalous gown for shame , let not my knight take in this vile city cut at any rate � does he come ? � tear it , pox on 't , tear 't off � thus while she sleeps , i sorrow for her sake � what a dull english animal art thou to keep me an age in torment ? tear it off , i say .

mild.

lord , sister , with what disdain do you put off your city tire ? what pains you take to make your self ridiculous .

gir.

lord , sister mill , that you will be pretending to gallantry and dress with that mechanick soul of yours ! how often have i told you that you have no genius for these things ? how should you understand mien or bon grace , the brillian and negligence of a court carriage , the belle conceit of a fan , and the esprit of a fontnage ? i have studdy'd these , things , and have fancy to reach the meridian of them .

mild.

to reach the meridian of folly , you mean , sister .

gir.

your ambition , sister , aspires no higher than to marry a common-council-man , and a crape gown with a filthy english cut may serve your turn : but i must be a lady . i like the humour of some city dames well , to eat cherries at an angel a pound pretty well : to die scarlet black tolerable : to line their coachès with velvet indifferent ; but for a thousand other niceties they have no fancy : they are my aversion as i hope to be a lady ----- is he not come yet ? lord , what a long knight ' t is ? and ever she cry'd shoot home , shoot home ---- yet i have known à longer ----

mild.

well , birds that scorn their nest before their plumes are grown ----

gir.

still at your reprimands ? thou art more dull and troublesome than bow-bell . when i am a lady , i 'll pray for thy conversion to sense ; nay , i 'll vouchsafe to call thee sister mill ; for though thou art not like to be a lady , yet 't is possible thou may'st be sav'd as soon as i ---- not come yet ? ---- and ever and anon , she doubled in her song ----- liberty , liberty . now monsieur poldavie for your reputation ; come , fit it on .

pold.

me sal please you madam assurement ,

gir.

there 's mettle for you ! well , there 's more soul in one french taylor , than in a whole company of our train'd-bands . page , let me have the french song , it will help off this fatigue of dressing .

song . she. the wise believe that i love none , and some that i love all ; while none can call my heart his own , each portion is so small . he. some say , i for olinda dye ; my breast so fierce a passion warms ; most think my hour is not so nigh , but ah ! they little know her charms . she. my heart 's the weather-cock of love , which ev'ry sigh can turn ; and ev'ry am'rous breath can move , but nothing make it burn . he. my heart is love's meer tennis-ball , here tost , there bandy'd up and down ; but in good hands , if once it fall , 't is lodg'd , 't is then for ever gon . [ poldavie the mean time fits on her mantoa , and her woman puts on her head-tire .

and is this alamode upon your honour , monsieur ?

pold.

ver fine , madam ; here it be close , here it be stiff , here it be capacity , and will keep your tighs so cool . here vas de faut in your body , madam ; but mee have rectify dat defect with de effect of my steel instrument ; my steel instrument , madam , have one eye , but can ver well see to rectify de imperfections in de ladies proportions , madam .

gir.

and how must i bear my hands now ? light .

pold.

ouy , madam , now you be de court fashoon , you must all ting light , tread light , and fall light � bon amy ! dat be de court ambla .

mil.

has the court never a trott , monsieur ?

pold.

no trotta , no tro�tt , but de false gallopa , madam .

gir.

an' thou hadst been an english tire-woman , i should have beaten thee ; for i could learn another story of fontanges .

enter servant .
serv.

the knight is come , madam .

gir.

is my knight come ? where 's my fan now ? sister , do my cheeks look well ? give me a little box o' th' ear , to fetch the colour into them . so , so ---- o dearest dear ! how does my errant knight ?

mil.

for shame , with more modesty .

gir.

modesty ! why ? i am no citizen now : modesty ! am not i to be marry'd ? you had best keep me modest when i am a lady ; the way of ---- is a la negligence , is 't not my hero ?

pet.

assurance there is necessary , madam .

gir.

but why came you no sooner , knight ?

pet.

a most important �

gir.

and who were you with ?

pet.

a true �

gir.

and was your wine good ?

pet.

if you �

gir.

and were your company mad enough ? for i must have you very lewd ; 't is alamode and great . well , there is nothing can spoil our happiness , but your being too fond of me ; fondness in a husband is a mechanick thing . i hope therefore you 'll prove wild , to justifie your quality .

pet.

i shall endeavour on my part , madam .

enter mrs. touchstone .
mrs. t.

welcom , my honorable guest ; and when must this marriage affair be dispatcht ?

pet.

i come now , madam , to consummate it ; if mr. alderman pleases , you may this morning call a poor knight son-in-law .

mrs. t.

and my daughter madam ; what an air is there ! how well her dress and quality becomes her !

enter touchstone .

look here , master touchstone , and weep your eyes blind for joy ; would you imagine this to be your daughter ? for my part , i scarce can . what , no respect to her ladiship ?

touch.

sir knight , you are welcom to her body ; as for the rest , i am not unwilling to forego it ; because it is not in my power to keep it from you . there i think i am civil to you . seven hundred pound purchase of land her grandmother left her , is yours ; her self ( as her mother's gift ) is yours ; but if you expect any thing from me , know , that my hand eyes open together ; i do not give blindly ---- work upon that now .

pet.

sir , you mistrust my means ; i hope , i am a knight .

touch.

sir , what i do not know , i must be bold to say i am ignorant of .

mrs. t.

nay , i can answer for his being a knight ; i know where he had the money to pay his fees. and so might you have been a knight , an' you had not been an afs ; had i thought you wou'd not have been knighted , i would have dub'd you my self � but as for your daughter �

gir.

i mother , i must be a lady anon , and by your leave , mother , ( i speak it not without my duty , but only in right of my husband ) i must take place of you , mother .

mrs. t.

that you shall , lady-daughter ; and have a coach too , as well as i.

gir.

and , by your leave , mother , ( i speak it not without my duty , but only in right of my husband ) my coach-horses must take the wall of your coach-horses .

touch.

come , come , the day wears apace ; i love to have a scurvy business soon over � there i think i was civil again � d' ye hear , sir , how you will use this daughter of mine , i know not ; and how she will deserve to be us'd , i know less than t'other : but i must tell you , sir , that for your sake she has refus'd known honest men , well money'd , better traded , best reputed ---- work upon that now .

gir.

citizens , ma soy , beastly citizen , sweet knight , as soon as ever we are marry'd , take me to thy mercy out of this miserable city , from the scent of sea-coal , and the hearing of bow-bell ; let us but marry a little , and then down with me , down with me immediately .

[ exeunt all .
the end of the first act.
act ii. scene i. a chair , coat , perewigg , and band. after a confused manner , the waits , drums , trumpets , saluting the bridegroom ; enter touchstone , in his night gown and cap. touch.

here 's a noise with a vengeance , as if a pope were roasting with cats in his belly . why , my house has been made a tavern this night ; but my comfort is , the reckoning falls to my . wife's charge . our bellies have stow'd more sorts of provision than noah's ark : 't is our city's fault , which , because we do it but seldom , we do it the more sinfully . � hey ! quick-silver � here 's no being heard without a speaking trumpet � quick-silver , i say , mr. francis quick-silver .

enter quick-silver .
quick.

here , sir. uck !

touch.

most worshipful sir , will your important affairs give you leave to dress me ?

quick.

i should leave any business to serve you , sir ; though i were fast asleep . uck !

[ he puts on his coat wrong , and buttons it behind .
touch.

foh , sirrah ! how you stink of wine .

quick.

would you desire a better smell , sir ? uck ! uck !

touch.

the drunken hiccough too , upon my honour .

quick.

't is but the coldness of my stomach , sir.

touch.

what , have you the cause natural for it ? the wedding night could not moisten your throat sufficiently , but the morning too must rain her dews upon you .

quick.

an' please you , sir , we did but drink to the coming off of the knightly bridegroom .

touch.

to the coming off on him ?

quick.

i , sir , we drank to his coming on when we went to bed , and now we are up , we must drink to his coming off ; that 's the chief honour of a souldier , sir ; and therefore we must drink so much the more to it . uck !

touch.

a very capital reason . i believe your logick must be forc't anon to make three silver tankards out of two .

quick.

the knight's men are still on their knees at it ; and because 't is for your credit , sir , i would be ioth to flinch .

touch.

i beseech you , sir , to 'em again : you are one of the separated crew , one of my wife's faction .

quick.

of the sure side , sir.

touch.

and of my young ladies , with whom , and her great match , i will have nothing to do .

quick.

so , sir , now i will go keep my credit with 'em , an' please you , sir.

touch.

by any means , sir , i beseech you , lay one cup of sack more upon your cold stomach ---- but have a care , sirrah , your head will be turn'd presently , i can tell you .

quick.

your worship's head is turn'd already , sir.

[ exit .
touch.

what 's that , rogue ? ha ! drunk for my credit , quoth-a ? 't is a sprightly knave this . i have two daughters just like my two servants ; one has grace , and no wit ; the other wit , and no grace ; there 's my wife has neither . well , mr. alderman , thy preferment is thy comfort ; and in that consideration �

[ looks in the glass , and sees himself wrong drest .

what 's here now ? what a prophane varlet is this , not to know the right side of an alderman ? � he said my head was turn'd indeed . golding , golding .

enter golding .
gold.

here , sir ; what does your worship want ?

touch.

come , dress me , golding .

gold.

undress you , sir , you mean ?

touch.

there 's a piece of conceit too : well , every thing must have a beginning ---- how now mil ?

enter mildred .
mil.

how fare you , sir , this morning ? has not the noise disturb'd you ? it was my mother's humour .

touch.

so now , here 's all the sober parcel my family can shew ; the rest of my house are giddy , the very stairs and walls stagger ---- thy mother , mil , has us'd me to noise , i thank her . let me see now , let me survey your two physiognomies ; some resemblance upon my honour : golding , i can tell thee for thy comfort , thou wilt come to be an alderman ; i see by that thriving sheeps-face of thine .

gold.

your worship thinks too favourably of me .

touch.

come hither , mil ; what think'st thou of thy sister ?

mil.

as a sister , sir ; i hope well .

touch.

i wou'd not give a button for thy hopes of her , nor my own neither ; but tell me what thou think'st of her ?

mil.

i am loth to think ill , sir ; and sorry that i cannot speak well .

touch.

very good : and , golding , how likest thou the knight , sir flash ? does not the elephant look big ? they say , he has a castle in the country .

gold.

pray heav'n the elephant carry not his castle on his back , sir ; the best i can say of him is , that i know him not .

touch.

golding , i commend thee , i approve thee , and i will make it appear that my affection is strong to thee ---- my wife has had her humour , and i will have mine . dost thou see my daughter there ? she is not fair , not very fair , somewhat favourable like me ---- her face , i must tell thee , has a great blessing with it ; that it will give thee no reason to suspect her ---- look you , thou art towardly , she is modest ; thou art provident , she is careful ---- she 's now mine , give me thy hand ---- she is now thine ; work upon that now .

gold.

sir , i had too much honour in your service ;

but to make me your son �

touch.

is to get me a grandson , i take it . come , ye modest fools , i must have you better acquainted : lip her , slave , lip her ; what ? dost thou pauze upon the matter ? why , there 's thy fellow-servant francis , would have come over for the king with half this encouragement .

gold.

i scarcely , sir , durst trust my happiness .

touch.

nay , i was never forward to meddle with any thing that i durst not , truth of it ; let me see , thou hast a kind of a serious leering look too ; a little too much modesty at present ; but when thou art marry'd i warrant thou wilt � ha ! � thou wilt � what was i a going to say now � go , get you gone , you little tynie rogues ; get you gone together .

[ exeunt gold. and mild. enter quick-silver disorder'd .
quick.

halloa , you pamper'd jades of asia .

touch.

why , how now , sirrah ? what vein is this ? ha !

quick.

who cries on murder ? lady , was it you ?

touch.

so , sirrah , you are past your drunker hiccough now , i see .

quick.

and what 's that to you , blind bitch ? will you mount the trojan horse , and drive the pigmies like geese before you ?

touch.

drunk , upon my honour ; stark drunk .

quick.

't is for my master's honour , strumpet .

touch.

i am told too , you keep a whore in town .

quick.

't is for my master's credit � kiss me baud � i will salute thy precious person ; i will salute thy nether lip.

touch.

the knave is loving in his drink . ----- nay , fie ; pish , fie ; i do protest i will cry out a rape .

quick.

do'st thou hear , doxie ? old touchstone is a cuckold .

touch.

mercy on me ! an alderman a cuckold ----- past grace , that 's certain . i must proceed to execution ----- there 's ense rescidendum for you , sirrah ; there 's your indentures ; all your apparel that i know of is upon your back ; and so my heart and doors henceforth are shut upon thee .

quick.

am i free then ? old satan , i will tell thee

touch.

what now , sirrah ?

quick.

when this eternal substance of my soul �

touch.

what then , sir ?

quick.

i was a courtier in the spanish court , and don andrea was my name .

touch.

good master , don andrea , will you march ?

quick.

i will piss upon thy threshold , and throw rotten eggs against thy sign-post � ha ! dost thou shake thy goary locks at me ? � avaunt , i say .

touch.

help ! murder , murder .

[ exeunt severally .
scene ii. security's house . security and his wife playing at putt , syndefie by them . sec.

there 's up , wynny , there 's up ; come give me my winnings .

[ kisses her :

look you there now ; is not this better than to throw away guinneys at heathenish bassett , and comett ? there is no game , for invention , like putt and one and thirty : my sow has pigg'd too , is a notable piece of skill .

enter clogg .
sec.

now , sirrah , where have you been loitering all this while ? let me see , thou hast been a whole half hour , five minutes , and three crochets compleatly .

clogg .

master quick-silver , sir , is drown'd at present in the bride-bowl .

sec.

and hast thou been at mr. bramble's chamber in the temple ?

clogg .

yes , sir , ' has dispatcht his client , and only stays for a fee on the other side too , before he waits upon you .

sec.

fees on both sides may make a reasonable livelihood ----- come nearer , sirrah ; and breathe upon me � wine , wine upon my conscience ; would you think it , mrs. syn ? this rogue has tasted wine ; swallow'd it .

syn.

o , most unconscionable hound !

clogg .

a single pint , sir , between a friend and i.

sec.

and you treated ? sixpence at a sitting , rogue ?

clogg .

once in seven years , sir.

sec.

once in seven years , varlet ? dost thou know what that amounts to ? thou art a lusty young knave , and scaping tyburn , may'st live this seventy years yet . i will demonstrate to thee sixpence once in every seven years , use upon use , will in that time arise to twenty four pound twelve shillings . what a fortune art thou fal'n from � thou hast seen this mr. bramble , wynny , an unconscionable old rogue , that keeps his wife lockt up .

wyn.

why then do you use me so ?

sec.

i do it out of love , my bunting ; that knave does it out of jealousie .

wyn.

as if you were not jealous .

sec.

not jealous in the least ; i am only afraid thou should'st make me a cuckold .

wyn.

come , cue ; you promis'd i shou'd go abroad the next fair day , to the musick-house in the fields .

sec.

it is not worth thy pains , my goldfinch ; look you , i can make you ten times better musick .

the froe she wan an excise , &c.
wyn.

ay , but there is a pretty play in moor-fields .

sec.

why , i will act thee a better play my self . what wilt thou have ? the knight of the burning pestle ? or , the doleful comedy of piramus and thisbe ? that 's my master-piece ; when piramus comes to be dead , i can act a dead man rarely , the rageing rocks , and shivering shocks , shall break the locks of prison gates ; and phoebus carr , shall shine from far , to make and marr the foolish fates . � was not that lofty , now ? then there 's the lion , wall and moonshine , three heroick parts ; i play'd 'em all at school . i roar'd out the lion so terribly , that the company call'd out to me to roar again .

wyn.

i , cue ; but there is the italian piece , at charing-cross .

sec.

you mean punch , my intimate friend and acquaintance ? i knew old punch his grandfather ----- you shall see .

[ he acts punch .
syn.

clogg , get me a squib to compleat the sport.

[ syndesie lays the squib under his chair , and blows him up . quick-silver enters upon them .
quick.

why , how now dad ? what merry pranks are these ?

sec.

nothing , nothing , francis ; a little conjugal conceit for my wife's diversion ---- ah lard , that my gravity should be so apprehended ----- come up , wynny , ---- come to thy chamber .

[ leads her out .
quick.

now , my dear syn , i am free as elemental air ; the indented sheep-skin's burnt , in which i was wrapt ; like sampson , i have broke philistian bonds , and in thy arms , my lovely dalilah ----- come , let my trunks shoot forth their silks conceal'd , and deck me like a bridegroom .

[ she brings forth his periwigg , crevat , sword , &c. and puts them on him .
syn.

but alas , frank , how will this bravery be maintain'd now ? your place maintain'd it before .

quick.

why ? and i maintain'd my place .

syn.

there is no standing without leggs , nor flying without wings , frank ; there 's none but must have trades to live withal .

quick.

away with your mouldy proverbs , trades to live withal ? no , i say , still let him that has wit , live by his wit ; and he that has none , let him be a tradesman .

enter security .
sec.

witty , master francis ! indeed 't is pity any trade should dull that quick brain of yours � well , do but bring knight petronell into my parchment toyls , and you shall never need to drudge in any trade � o' my credit , you shall not ; i do hunger and thirst to do thee good � do'st thou know his wife's land ? do'st thou ?

quick.

even to a foot , sir ; i have been often there . a very fine seat , good land , all intire within it self .

sec.

well wooded , frank ? well wooded ?

quick.

seven hundred pounds worth ready to fell , and a fine sweet house that stands just in the midst of it , like a point in the middle of a circle .

sec.

excellent master francis ! how i long to do the good ! i even die , that thou may'st inherit my possessions � for , on my religion , master francis , i meddle in this affair to do the knight a pleasure ; and so 'pray tell him .

quick.

get him the money ready then , dad ; for inter nos , all that he was able of himself to raise , is laid out on a ship now bound for virginia ; the manner of which voyage is so closely laid , that neither his lady-bride , nor any of her friends know of it . therefore as soon as her hand is gotten to the sale of the inheritance , and you have furnish'd him with the money , he will instantly hoist sail and away .

sec.

and a frank gale go with him , master frank ---- alas , we have too few such knights adventurers ; let his wife seal to day , he shall have the money to day .

quick.

this very morning she intends for the countrey to work , to which action , with more engines , i purpose presently to prefer my sweet syn here to her , for her gentlewoman ; whom you , for better credit , shall present as your kinswoman , newly come up to learn fashions .

sec.

on my religion , a most pithy project ; as good she spoil the lady , as the lady spoil her ----- syn , you are bound to master francis.

quick.

look you , here is the knight come already .

enter sir petronell with a writing .
pet.

i 'll leave this fulsome town immediately , here 's no diversion stirring ; wit is at low ebb , and wickedness at a stand ; i will away immediately .

quick.

you would do well to take some guinneys in your pocket , knight , or your eastward castle will smoak but miserably .

pet.

my castle ? why , thou know'st , frank , that all my castles are in the air.

quick.

why ? whither is your lady going then ?

pet.

i'faith to seek her fortune ; i think i told her i had a castle eastward , and eastward she will go ; her coach , and the coach of the sun must meet full butt .

quick.

but how will you pacifie her , knight , when her enchanted house becomes invisible .

pet.

i warrant you , 't is but telling her she mistook my directions , and that i will shortly down with her my self ; in the mean time , 't is but clapping a new gown upon her crupper �

sec.

right , sir.

quick.

well said , old dad ; � a mongst friends , knight , where have you made your choice ? the king's-bench , or which of the two compters ? for my part , i like neither of them .

pet.

there is no jesting , frank , with my necessity . thou know'st , that if i raise not present money for my voyage , all 's lost with me .

quick.

why , that 's the very point , sir ; get but your lady to set her hand to the sale of her inheritance , and my old blood-hound here , shall smell out ready money instantly .

pet.

there spoke my angel. i have brought her to it , and feigning my self most extreamly amorous , have urg'd excuses for my stay behind . child was never so impatient to ride a cock-horse , than she is to hansel her new coach with a journey .

quick.

she would long for every thing , when she was a maid . i 'll lay my life she will have four children every year ; what charge and humour must you endure that while ? and how will she hold you to your tackle , till she is with child ?

sec.

nay , there is no turn-spit dog bound to his wheel more servilely , than you will be to hers ; for as the dog never climbs to the top of his wheel , but when the wheel comes under him ; so � you understand me , sir.

quick.

well said , old dad , again ; nay , hark you , sir ; what nurses , what midwives , what fools , what physicians , what cunning-women and cronies , to tell her tales , talk bawdy to her , make her laugh , let her blood �

pet.

prethee no more : what a death is my life bound face to face unto ? the best on 't is , that a large time-fitted conscience is bound to nothing . this indian voyage will set all to rights � but see she comes to seek me out , and take her leave of me .

sec.

and mr. bramble in the very nick too ; get her to seal immediately ; for i do hunger and thirst to do you good , sir.

enter mrs. touchstone , girtred , bramble , syndefie : girtred in a chair , with page and attendants . gir.

further , ye dull english blockheads , further . if i were but lady mayoress , you must have brought me past the portico � your servant , gentlemen .

all.

your ladiships most humble servants .

gir.

what a bloom am i in all over ? give me my fan ; i protest i am in general damp.

mrs. t.

here is your ladiships handkerchief , madam .

gir.

thank you , mrs. touchstone � well , my dear knight , i 'll take notice of you in company now , because it is within our month ; but hereafter , as i am a lady , you must not expect it ; it is not alamode for persons of our quality .

pet.

we will be careful to neglect each other , madam .

sec.

i have a humble suit to your ladiship .

gir.

you are welcom � but hold , you must not put on your hat yet ; master francis quick-silver , � as i am a lady , i did not know him : he makes me blush so , that my eyes stand with water ; would i were unmarry'd again .

quick.

i hope your ladiship has no reason to repent �

gir.

no ; but you know the first sight of a bride puts strange thoughts � what were you saying , sir ?

sec.

that your ladiship would please to accept my kinswoman here , to your service ; she 's newly come up out of the countrey .

gir.

is she a gentlewoman ?

sec.

she is , madam ; and one that her father has a mind to bestow in some honorable lady's service too �

gir.

to learn breeding .

mrs. t.

and surely you have a discreet choice in preferring her to her ladiship .

gir.

we suppos'd that , mrs. touchstone : these city gentlewomen are so forward --- and can you do any work that belongs to a lady's chamber ?

syn.

what i cannot do , i shall be glad to learn , madam .

gir.

and d' ye hear � old gentleman , you may put on your hat now , i do not look on you � i must have you of my faction , not of my knight's , to draw all the servants to my bow , to tell me tales , put me riddles , read aristotle while i am dressing , to laugh extreamly at the countrey gentlewomen when they have made me visits , to take no care what is spent in the house , for it is all mine ; and in any case to be still a maid whatever you do , and whatever any man can do to you .

syn.

i am your creature , madam .

gir.

very well , you shall ride down in my coach with me immediately � is it not come yet ? upon my quality , i think i am with child already , i long so for my coach. can i be with child so soon , mrs. touchstone ?

pet.

but will your ladiship be gone before i can possibly wait on you ?

gir.

let me , dear knight : i d' so long to dress up thy castle before thou com'st .

mrs. t.

but must this little man , madam , run all the way a foot ?

gir.

i warrant him ; he gives no other milk , as yet .

mrs. t.

methinks 't is pity : good madam , buy him a hobby-horse ; let the poor knave have something .

gir.

you are impertinent , mrs. touchstone .

page .

your coach is come , madam .

gir.

is my coach come ? why , that 's well said : methinks i am up to the knees in preferment : farewel , knight .

pet.

will not your ladiship be pleas'd first to sign a slight paper here ?

gir.

what is it ?

pet.

a deed of sale of your countrey seat : mine is more large , and stands more pleasantly , only the arras being something faded , must now be chang'd to wainscot ; and now for a lady's bed-chamber alcoves are all the fashion .

gir.

i will have it all laid out upon my castle ; give me the pen.

[ she signs the paper .
mrs. t.

what is your ladiship a doing ?

gir.

interrogating again , mrs. touchstone ?

mrs. t.

i will wait on your ladiship to your coach : i shall never sleep till i hear your ladiship is safe in your castle , madam , and that you live safe there too .

gir.

fear it not , mrs. touchstone : there were gyants in it formerly , but my knight has kill'd 'em all .

mrs. t.

and therefore he was knighted , i presume .

gir.

upon my honour the day wears apace ; come chairmen carry me to my coach � adieu , knight � upon my quality you shall not stir one step .

servants .

heav'n bless your ladiship .

gir.

thankyou , good people , thank you .

[ she is carry'd round the stage and so off bowing to the company from each side of her chair .
quick.

was there ever such an adventure ?

pet.

why this , i hope , is not the first false journey that a lady has taken in her coach.

sec.

but when her knight is upon a real voyage . �

enter a sailor . sail.

sir petronell , where are you ? captain seagult stays for you on board ; it will be flood within this two hours .

pet.

we shall be time enough to reach black-wall , where our ship lies , against tide .

[ exit sailor .

master security , you see the urgency of my affair ; meet me an hour hence at the swan tavern by billingsgate , with your money ; and these shall there be made over to you : and , mr. bramble , we must desire your presence at the delivery .

bramble .

you have no further service for me , gossip ?

sec.

nothing at present , gossip .

[ exit bramble .

did you observe that peaching petti-fogger , gentlemen ? a jealous old hunks , that locks up his wife .

[ wynifred looks from above .
wyn.

cue , where is my cue , there ?

sec.

here bunting .

wyn.

won't you come putt with me above stairs , cue ?

sec.

i am busy , bunting .

wyn.

but oneword , cue .

sec.

gentlemen , i will along with you immediately .

[ exit . [ as he is going up , she calls to sir petr. throws him down a letter , and retires .
petr.

there is the remora to my voyage , frank , � how shall i sail and leave my heart behind ? � see here . [ reads .

i have over-heard your voyage , and would share your adventure ; deliver me from this enchanted castle , as you are a true knight errant .

now frank , my subtle mercury , instruct me ;

this were of a master-piece of rare invention ,

could i but get this helen once aboard ,

not paris past the seas with half such pride .

quick.

i have a suddain lucky thought .

pet.

it is impossible , our time 's so short ; the husband's watch is so shy upon her while he is within , and when he goes forth , he comes directly to us . rust choak him , he 's here again .

quick.

leave me to work him .

sec.

come gentlemen , shall we dispatch ? to the tavern i know our noble knight will pay his way : we 'll take up the money as we go ; i am impatient till i do him good .

quick.

the knight will treat most freely . but first , dad , we have a weighty secret to impart to you in which we must have your wise assistance . this gentleman , my friend , has enjoy'd a gentlewoman whom you well know �

sec.

how 's that ? a gentlewoman whom i well know ?

quick.

the woman is your learned councel's wife , mr. bramble , that was here e'en now .

sec.

why ? he deserves it , frank ; for keeping her lockt up . i could contribute to my learn'd councel's cuckoldom ; but you say , the gentleman has enjoy'd her already ; wherein then can i assist him further ?

quick.

he wants to take the dear farewel ; and therefore , dad , if you will but take pains to bring out mr. councel , your gossip , to the tavern where we are to meet �

sec.

nay , i would have him present at the delivery of the deed.

quick.

i will watch his coming out , and bring his wife disguis'd into our company ; think but what sport 't will be to gull his circumspection .

sec.

on my religion , a most pithy project ! who would not strain a point of friendship for such a neat device ? ha ! ha ! ha ! and the sport will be to hear me bob and cut upon him .

pet.

was there ever such an old villain ? it works rarely .

sec.

to over-reach that head that over-reaches all heads , will be a plot rampant ; well , i hope this harvest to pitch carts with lawyers , their heads shall be so fork'd .

pet.

but how shall we disguise her on the suddain ?

quick.

a sailor's gown and cap , and player's beard .

pet.

but how shall she make bare her head , when thou present'st her to our company ? i think it best not to have her appear .

sec.

not for the world , i must have her coram ; the very soul o' th' mirth is lost else � i have hit it ; you shall see , gentlemen , what an old brain can do ; i 'll fetch you a disguise .

[ goes out , and immediately re-enters .

look , gentlemen , here is my wife's best gown , which you may put upon the lawyer 's wife ; and for her face it shall be masqu'd .

pet.

most excellent .

sec.

and for doing this , i have two politick reasons . one is , that mr. bramble may thereby have some suspicion that it is my wife ; and thereupon gird me with his lawyer 's wit. the other reason is , that i shall be sure of my own wife 's staying at home the while ; for she will never go abroad undress'd ; d' ye mark me .

pet.

with admiration .

sec.

is it not rare ? was i not born to furnish gentlemen ? come hither , clogg .

clogg .

here , sir.

sec.

take this key , and let your mistress down into this room for air , till i come home again .

[ gives him the key .
quick.

do you hear that , knight , he 'll leave her freedom of the house till he returns ; so that as soon as he goes out to the lawyers , i will slip in hither again with these cloths of his wife 's , dress her up in them , and bring her masqu'd to the tavern , while he shall suppose her the lawyer 's .

sec.

gentlemen , i will but send to mr. cash to have our money ready against i come from my gossips .

[ exit .
quick.

you see , knight , we have shamm'd my dad here , with a pretence on his gossip's wife ; what will you say if i make earnest of it , and deliver that lady from her enchanted castle too ?

pet.

and so to go aboard with us ? that were a master-piece .

quick.

we have been private acquaintance too : i have sent a pretended attorney with a sham sub-poena for her to be witness in a cause this afternoon , at the same time that mr. councel is to be with us at the swan with your deed ; and rather than have her forfeit for non-appearance he will let her come abroad ; by which means she will have opportunity of meeting me by the water-side .

pet.

most admirable ! what a history shall we leave behind us , frank ?

re-enter security .
sec.

come , gentlemen , shall we be stirring ?

quick.

how impatient he is , as 't were the devil going to fetch the lawyer .

pet.

and devil he shall be , if horns can make him .

[ exeunt .
scene iii. a tavern . captain seagull , with other sailors . c. sea.

come , drawer , pierce your neatest hogsheads , and let us have entertainment fit for our noble colonel : he 'll be here instantly .

draw.

you shall have all things to your wish , sir : wil 't please ye to have more wine ?

c. sea.

without measure , slave ; whether we drink it or no , spill it and draw more .

sail.

well spoken , noble captain .

c. sea.

fill all your pots and bottles ; rank 'em like souldiers , and though we do not presently employ 'em , we 'll keep 'em in pay till we do .

draw.

you shall have all you will command , sir.

[ ex. drawer .
c. sea.

come boys , this indian cantlet longs till we have it's maiden-head .

sail.

but is there such treasure there , as we are told ?

c. sea.

vast endless mines : for so much red copper as i carry thither , i will have thrice the weight in gold. they hinge their doors with it , and barr their windows .

sail.

but do you meet no clipticks nor tropiques by the way ? i pray what sort of things are they ?

c. sea.

why , monstrous creatures ; not much unlike your elephant ; but there is your calenture is more inclining to a dragon .

sail.

and is it a pleasant countrey captain ?

c. sea.

as ever the sun shin'd on ; you have autumn , vvinter , spring . summer there , all without any change of seasons , and that you 'd wonder at .

. sail.

and what government , good captain ?

c. sea.

you shall live free there without sergeants , lawyers , or intelligencers ; you may be an alderman , without being a scavinger ; attain any office , without ' prenticeship ; you may come to preferment , without being a pimp ; to riches and fortune enough and have never the more villany nor the less wit. in a word , you will have no more law than conscience , and not too much of either .

sail.

and how far thither , captain ?

c. sea.

some six weeks sail with an indifferent wind , and if i get to the coast of africa , i 'll sail with any wind ; or if we make the cape finister , we have a fore-right wind till we come thither � but see our noble colonel !

enter sir petronell .
pet.

well met , good captain seagull , and my noble gentlemen ; now our sweet hour of freedom is at hand : come drawer , fill us our bumpers , to raise us for the mirth that will be occasion'd presently � here will be a pretty wench , gentlemen , that will bear us company all our voyage .

c. sea.

to her health , noble colonel , with cap and knee .

pet.

thank you , good captain , she 's one whom i love dearly ; but must not have her known till we are aboard ; and so , gentlemen , here 's to her health .

amb.

let it come , worthy colonel , we do both thirst and hunger for it .

pet.

right , sirs , you hit the very phrase of him that is my pimp and cuckold too ; though both unwittingly . about with it .

enter security , bramble , and wax .
sec.

see there , gossip bramble , their voyage needs must prosper ; they are on their knees for success to it � save my brave colonel , and his tall captains : see , sir , my learn'd gossip councel bramble , is come to take his leave of you .

pet.

a health to my learn'd councel .

sec.

you must bend too gossip .

c. sea.

by your leave , sir , he must not pledge his own health .

sec.

no , master captain ;

enter quick-silver , with wynifred disguis'd .

then here is one sitly come to do him that honour .

quick.

here is the gentlewoman your cousin , sir , whom with much entreaty , i have brought to take her leave of you in a tavern ; and for that reason the company must excuse her that she puts not off her masque .

pet.

pardon me , dear cousin , my hurry and hast of business at my going , forc'd me to give you this trouble .

wyn.

thanks to your good contrivance , my dear cousin .

[ puts off her mask to him aside , and puts it on again .
bramb .

come hither , wax , � here , take the key of your mistresses chamber , 't is high time for her to attend the court ; i must not have her forfeit : be sure you stir not from her : and as soon as she has done witnessing , see her home again ; lock her up in her chamber again , and bring me the key to my gossip security's .

sec.

how 's that , mr. francis ? have you honour'd the company with the presence of a fair gentlewoman ?

fran.

pray sir , take you no notice of her ; for i can assure you , she will not be known to you .

sec.

good ; but my learn'd gossip councel bramble here , i hope may know her ? ha ! ha ! ha !

fran.

no more than you at present , his learning must pardon her .

sec.

heav'n pardon her , and for my part , i do .

wyn.

i am glad to hear that .

sec.

and so , mr. francis , here 's to all this good company that goes eastward , presently towards cuckold'-haven � not forgetting my learn'd gossip bramble .

fran.

has it gone round , gentlemen ?

pet.

it has , dear frank ; and terminates in thee .

fran.

then --- here is eastward , gentlemen , and so to cuckold's-haven .

sec.

ha! ha ! ha !

bramb .

what can this mean ? that word strikes terror through me .

pet.

prethee , couz , weep no more � master security .

sec.

what says my dear knight ?

pet.

our friend , mrs. bramble here , is so dissolv'd in tears , that she drowns the whole mirth of our meeting ; i do beseech you speak to her .

sec.

't is shame and pity , mrs bramble ; what weep in presence of your love ? what 's the cause , lady ? is it because your husband is so near ?

wyn.

yes .

sec.

and your heart earns that you have a little abus'd him ?

wyn.

indeed .

sec.

alas , the offence is too common to be regarded .

wyn.

that 's true .

sec.

you are to blame to heed a jealous dotard .

wyn.

right .

sec.

to steal to a young lover .

wyn.

certainly .

sec.

ha! ha ! ha ! once more to cuckolds'-haven , gentlemen , � you 'll pledge me , gossip ? let 's have a frisk of footing too : come , have you pledg'd cuckold's-haven , gossip ?

fran.

strike up there .

[ here they all dance , and compass wynifred in .
sec.

sir petronell , your cousin here is still in tears ; pray take her aside a little and comfort her .

pet.

with your fair leave , mr. security .

sec.

most heartily .

[ he locks in sir petr. and his wife together .

come sirs , anothér round ; he that refuses to be drunk to night , let him be never sober .

[ while the rest drink , he goes hearkning to the door .

about with it , 't is to sir petronell , and all his captains � you want it , gossip . this cuckold's-haven runs so in my mind .

bramb .

but heark you , gossip , is not that gentlewoman your wife , that 's gone in with the knight ?

sec.

why should you think so , gossip ?

bramb .

because the shape and dress are very like .

sec.

cucullus non facit monachum , my learned councel ; all are not cuckolds that seem so , nor do all seem so that are so � oh , i break my ribs !

sir petronell and wynifred re-enter .

so , now colonel and captains , a good voyage to you , adieu : i know you do not go my way to night , gossip � this cuckold's-haven runs so in my head.

[ exit security .
bramb .

there is some mystery in this ; i must needs after him to be satisfy'd . adieu , gentlemen .

[ exit .
drawer .

sir petronell , here is one of your watermen come to tell you it is flood , and that it will be dangerous going against tide ; for the skies are over-cast , and there was a porpiece seen just now below the bridge .

pet.

no matter , we can reach black-wall against tide , and in spight of tempests . come , one round more , gentlemen , while i discharge the house .

all.

about with it .

pet.

enough : now charge a boat. come , my fair helen .

all.

a boat , a boat , a boat.

[ exeunt .
scene changes to security's house . enter security and clogg . sec.

come , clogg , help on with my gown and cap � so , very well ;

[ shuts him out .

what a notable device was this ? well , what with the conceit of it , and my wine together , methinks i am somewhat exhilarated , and feel as it were an inclination to conjugal performance : my bunting will be surpriz'd extreamly � do'st hear , lark , linnet , goldfinch � this is ever her way , always at her devotion in my absence ; i must disturb her .

[ opens the closet door .

no-body here ? � clogg , rogue , vermin .

enter clogg .
clogg .

what is your worship's pleasure ?

sec.

where is your mistress , varlet ?

clogg .

abroad sir.

sec.

abroad without my leave ? then i am certainly a cuckold . what , go abroad in her night dress ?

clogg .

in her best cloths , sir.

sec.

how 's that ? how came she by ' em ?

clogg .

your friend , sir , master quick-silver brought 'em in hither , stay'd till she put 'em on , and then took coach with her , i heard 'em bid the coachman drive to the tavern at the bridge foot .

sec.

monstrum horrendum : my gossip was in the right : what a trap have i laid for my self ? why , then she is not only whor'd ; but for ought i know , spirited away to the indies .

clogg .

she cry'd , indeed , farewel for ever , cage .

sec.

i 'll plow up rocks steep as the alps in dust ,

and lave the tyrrhene waters into clouds ,

but i will reach them .

enter bramble .
bramb .

the matter gossip ? what transports you so ?

sec.

undone for ever , gossip ; 't was my wife ; on my religion i thought she was yours . call me ten coaches , and as many constables , i will to this wicked place again , and seize the traytors .

bramb .

they are all upon the thames e're now , and if that lady was your wife , she 's in the boat with ' em .

sec.

i 'll take boat after 'em , and fire their ship.

bramb .

take boat in this tempestuous night ? heark , how it rains and thunders .

sec.

i care not for the weather , i will row after to black-wall .

bramb .

and pray touch in at cuekold's-haven , gossip .

sec.

furies and fate � but hold , i must see first if she ha' taken any of my rich pawns along with her .

[ exit .
bramb .

well for my gossip , to intend my wife , and get himself cornuted ! ha , ha , ha . � how now , wax ?

enter wax .
wax .

oh! where is my master bramble ? my poor master , bramble ?

bramb .

what now , sirrah ? hast thou neither eyes nor ears ?

wax .

sir , i have no senses left ! oh , sir , your wife , my mistress !

bramb .

why , sirrah , did not i give you the key to lock her up at home , as soon as she had witness'd ?

wax .

o , sir , there was no witnessing ; her sub-poena was all sham , instead of going to westminster , she drove to pater-noster-row , where she took up silks in your name by whole pieces , and so on to the goldsmiths in cheap-siae , and goldsmiths in lumbard-street , where she took up rings and jewels , all in your name still ; from thence she went to the swan at bridge-foot , where mr. quick-silver met her , took her to the water , and instead of coming back westward by coach , she 's gone eastward by boat ; oh! ho ! ho !

bramb .

dar'st thou live to tell me this , rogue ? thy name is wax , thou should'st have stuck to her .

wax .

i did , sir , till they push'd me off with their oars , and sows'd me in the mudd .

bramb .

i 'll plow up rocks steep as the alps in dust ,

and lave the tyrrhene waters into clouds ;

but i will reach 'em .

re-enter security .

o , whore unconscionable ! what ? silks , rings , and jewels , to such a quantity , along with her .

sec.

even so , gossip , she has taken all with her .

bramb .

mock me not , gossip , i mean my wife .

sec.

my wife , that 's run away by water .

bramb .

mine's run away by water too .

sec.

your's gone too !

bramb .

call me ten boats , i 'll after'em , and fire their ship.

sec.

what in this tempstuous night ? heark , how it rains and thunders .

bramb .

i do defie all weathers ; i 'll after to black-wall .

sec.

and pray call in at cuckold's-haven , gossip .

bramb .

furies and fate ! � a boat ! a boat ! a boat !

sec.

a boat ! a boat ! a boat !

[ exeunt severally .
the end of the second act.
song . how great are the blessings of government made , by the excellent rule of our prince ? who , while trouble and cares do his pleasures invade , to his people all joy does dispense : and while he for us is still carking and thinking , we have nothing to mind , but our shops and our trade , and then to divert us with drinking . from him we derive all our pleasure and wealth : then fill me a glass , nay , fill it up higher , my soul is a thirst for his majesty's health , and an ocean of drink can't quench my desire : since all we enjoy , to his bounty we owe , 't is fit all our bumpers like that shou'd o'erflow .
act iii. scene i. cuckold's point . enter a butcher's man with a pair of oxe horns . butch .

hail , thou fair haven of marry'd men ; for my part , i presume not to arrive here , but only in right of my master , who sent me thus early to put up these necessary ensigns of his homage .

[ he climbs the tree .

stand fast , good timber , or i shall be blown into the thames : i think the devils be abroad in a storm to rob me of my horns . the thames roars like any ocean-sea . mercy on all honest passengers . so , i think i have made it look the right way , it fronts the city directly . how now , tom ?

enter another loaden with hides .
tom.

no vent'ring by water yet : here has been most bloody work to night .

butch .

as how , prithee ?

tom.

why , several people drown'd .

butch .

what did none ' scape ?

tom.

not one of them that were drown'd , for all that i can yet hear : just by the fisher's hutt below yonder , there was a boat over-turn'd , three men passengers and a gentlewoman . you may see 'em all shifted into the old fisherman's wardrobe ; but the woman wisely went to bed.

butch .

heark ! what cry is that ?

tom.

a poor old man in gown and night-cap , just crawl'd out of the river .

enter security .
sec.

misfortune upon misfortune , i have a hundred drums in my head ; and half the thames in my belly � let me see , where am i cast ashoar , that i may go home a righter way by land ? where is there any sea-mark , that i am acquainted withal ?

butch .

look up , father , are you acquainted with this ensign ?

sec.

what am i landed at cuckold's point ? i cannot bear it : i will run back and drown my self .

tom.

let it be in some warmer liquor , father : come , we 'll lead you to the next house .

sec.

i will enter into no house , and look no mortal in the face ; they are all cuckold-makers .

butch .

how his wits are benum'd with wet and cold , throw a hide over him , tom , and help lead him along .

[ exeunt leading him . enter sir petronell , quick-silver , and sea-gull , in fisherman's cloths and nets wrapt about them .
pet.

a very fair voyage we have made on 't , my masters ; if our throats had not been too full of claret to take in one drop of water , we had lodg'd with the flounders till our calls had burst : well , 't is but imagining we are arriv'd at some outlandish place , and these the habits of the countrey .

capt. sea.

i tell ye , sirs , for all this we are gotten to the coast of normandy , i know it by the elevation of the pole , and the altitude of the climate ; this is nothing with us sailors : i have been drown'd forty times in my life , before now .

quick.

one dry hanging had done us better service , captain : how much weight of gold can you get for red copper in this countrey , captain ?

pet.

why , we have just as much copper as gold left , frank ; the unmerciful thames has swallow'd all. our boat turn'd oft'ner than a juggler's bag , and rowl'd like any porpice . now if my lady wife has had as good a land passage on 't , as we have had by water .

enter bayliffs .
bay.

these must be the persons ; seize 'em : you have been sows'd in the thames , gentlemen , and a particular friend of yours has sent us to take you out of the cold air.

pet.

a pox of your charity ; what damn'd luck had we that could not drown .

quick.

at whose arrest , scoundrels ?

bay.

only alderman touchstone desires to take his leave of you before you sail to the indies ; will you march along , gentlemen .

quick.

this must be the coast of normandy , captain ; you know it by the elevation of the pole.

enter more officers , with security in the oxe hide .
bay.

see , yonder comes our mates with old mammon .

pet.

why , there 's some comfort yet .

bay.

come , brothers , let us home with the whole covey together .

sec.

rogues , turks , tartars , i will not drive one step further . this is cuckold's-haven , and i will die on my own territories .

bay.

away with them .

[ exeunt leading them off .
scene ii. touchstone's house . enter touchstone . touch.

ha! ha ! thinks my knight adventurer that we ken no point of our compass ? have we never heard of the speranza , the cavillaria , nor the calinoria ? well , my errant flash , and runnegate quick-silver , you may hurl a dozen caps to your bon voyage ; but if you reach any point but cuckolds , with this tide , i'il give you leave to make a gravesend-toast of me . i have sent your pinnace a remora , and that from this sconce of mine , without powder or shot � work upon that now . here 's land intelligence too , from my lady daughter , and her ladiship 's luck is as good as the rest ; she 'll come to her castle , and they to the indies , much about a time .

enter mrs. touchstone .
mrs. t.

what , no news yet from her ladiship ? but we must allow persons of quality their own time for things .

touch.

yes , here is a small pacquet from her ladiship ; she has been seeking her castle in the air ; in what region i know not .

mrs. t.

i hope your mechanick worship will have the manners to stay her ladiship 's leisure ; no matter for her castle , what account does her ladiship send of that fair tenement of her body ?

touch.

why , the fair tenement of her body , and her maids body were benighted on the common with their coach ; rob'd , stript and fairly thrown into a ditch , like two snails in a shell , with the coachman a top on 'em .

mrs. t.

o , profane accident , her ladiship tumbled into a ditch !

touch.

from whence she is return'd to town by waggon , and at present sojourning in a blind tap-house in pudding-lane .

mrs. t.

and is this all your concern for the matter ? how if her ladiship shou'd miscarry upon it ?

touch.

it were not the first time , sure ; she has the blessing to take after her mother ; thou hast been my cross these thirty years , and now i will keep thee to fright away spirits .

mrs. t.

o , insensible monster ! give me the directions , i will , fly upon the wings of motherly affection , and wait upon her ladiship incontinently .

[ exit .
touch.

i wonder i hear nothing from my son golding yet ; he was sent for betimes this morning to the guild-hall , and i am astonish'd at the matter : if i had not laid up some comfort in him , i should e'en grow desperate � he comes in my thoughts � how now , son ? what news at the court of aldermen ?

enter golding .
gold.

in troth , sir , an accident somewhat strange , else it has nothing worth reporting .

touch.

it is not borrowing of money , then ?

gold.

no , sir : it has pleas'd the commoners of the city to make me one of our ward , to elect me one of their common-council-men .

touch.

how !

gold.

and the alderman of our ward to appoint me his deputy ; in which office i had an oath ministred unto me accordingly .

touch.

let me kiss thy new worship , my dear son ! � what a fortune was it , or rather judgment , for me to see that merit in him , which the whole city conspires to second ? taken into the livery of his company the first week of his freedom ! chosen common-council-man , and made an alderman's deputy all in a day ! the wonder of our times ! well , i will honour mr. alderman for this , and think the better of the common-councils wisdom while i live , for thus meeting , or rather coming after me in the opinion of his desert : forward , my sufficient son ; and as this was the first , so think it the least step of thy promotion .

gold.

sir , as i was not ambitious of this ; so i seek no higher .

touch.

excellently spoken again ! this modest answer of thine blushes , as if it said , thou shalt wear scarlet shortly ; i must tell thee , i hope to see thee the other monument of our city , reckon'd among our worthies , and remembred on the same day with gresham and my lady ramsey : when whittington and his puss shall be forgotten , and thy own deeds play'd in thy own time , by the best company of moor-fields .

gold.

you are too prodigal of your praise , sir.

touch.

well , i have a little news for thee too : our lewd crew are all in the officers clutches e're now ; and thou shalt exercise authority by way of justice on ' em .

gold.

your pleasure , sir , shall guide me .

touch.

see , the officers are at the door without ; how miraculously it falls out that thou should'st have the place of a justicer upon 'em : i am glad of the injury they have done me , that thou may'st punish it : disgrace 'em all thou can'st , be severe upon them , like a new officer of the first quarter .

[ exeunt .
enter sir petronell , quick-silver , seagull , brought . pet.

how implacably this devil of ill fortune pursues us ?

touch.

take your chair , mr. justicer ; i say , appear terrible to 'em ; let 'em know the melancholy of a magistrate , and taste the fury of a citizen in office.

gold.

sir , i can do nothing with them , unless your worship charge them with somewhat .

touch.

fear not that , i will charge 'em and re-charge 'em rather than authority shall want matter to work upon ' em .

gold.

will your worship please to sit ?

touch.

by no means , son , it is your office.

quick.

must golding sit upon us ?

fang .

plain golding , to mr. deputy's worship ?

gold.

vvhat persons have ye there , mr. officer ?

fang .

the same , an' please your vvorship , that were specify'd in our vvarrant . this , sir , is the counterfeit knight ; this , his lewd companion . �

gold.

what ? a knight and his companion thus accoutred ? where are their hats and feathers , their cloaks and perriwiggs ?

fang .

truly , sir , they had cast their feathers before we seiz'd ' em . here 's all the furniture we found amongst ' em .

gold.

their names , i say ?

touch.

o this is most excellent : he should not take knowledge of 'em in his place , indeed .

fang .

why , this , sir , is sir petronell flash .

gold.

how !

fang .

and this , master quick-silver .

touch.

is it possible ? i thought they had been gone to virginia e're now with this noble captain . you have made a quick return it seems , and doubtless a good voyage � nay , pray sirs , be cover'd ; how did your bisket hold out , i beseech you ? � sure i have seen this outlandish gentleman before . good master quick-silver , how one degree to the southward has alter'd you .

gold.

do you know these persons , mr. alderman ? � forbear your offers a little , you shall be heard anon .

touch.

yes , mr. deputy , i had a small venture aboard with them : officers , you may let 'em stand ; i 'll pass my word they will not run away : a brace of honest gentlemen . one of 'em was my 'prentice , that kept his whore and hunting-nagg ; would play you his hundred guinneys off at basset most familiarly ; and all on my purse . in fine , there was no remedy but we must part ; for i shall be very concise , mr. deputy . since which time ( for , as i said , i intend to be very concise with your worship ) since when , i say , he has gather'd up some small parcels of mine amongst my customers , to the value of seven hundred pound more towards furnishing this indian voyage , wherein this knight was chief , sir flash here , one that marry'd a daughter of mine , ladify'd her , turn'd two thousand pound of good land of hers into cash , sent her a progress to his invisible castle , while he prepar'd for sea , with a certain usurers wife , an' please you , master deputy . now to pronounce your honourable pleasure .

gold.

if my worshipful father have ended .

touch.

i have an' please you , master deputy .

gold.

why then under correction .

touch.

hold a little , son , � now come over 'em with some fine gird , as thus , � knight , you shall be encountred ; that is to say , had to the compter ; and quick-silver , i will put you into a crucible , or so , � ha ! ha ! he !

gold.

then as the honourable laws direct in these cases .

touch.

hold yet a little , mr. deputy , that your worship may not be over-burden'd , i will officiate a little .

[ he takes the chair .

sir petronell flash , i am sorry to see such flashes as these come from you : for my own part d' ye see ( because i will be concise with you ) i cou'd wish i cou'd say , i cou'd say , i cou'd wish , that i cou'd say , i cou'd not see 'em ; but such is the misery of magistrates , and men in place , that we must not wink at offenders : fiat justicia , ruat coelum .

quick.

and then your worship may catch larks .

touch.

without your worship's net , sir , � that i think was wormwood , i love bobbing in a magistrate extreamly .

gold.

will your worship proceed ?

touch.

master francis quick-silver , would thou had'st turn'd quacksalver : thou art a proper young man ; of an honest and clean face , somewhat near a good one ; but thou hast been too proud of it . thou hast prodigally consum'd thy master's wealth on light housewifes : and being by him gently admonisht at several times , thou hast return'd thy self haughty , rebellious in thine answers , thundering out uncivil comparisons , requiting all his kindness with coarse behaviour : i must tell thee , francis , these are most manifest signs of an obstinate ill nature � so much for authority , now by way of evidence .

[ he places golding again in the chair .
gold.

your worship has acquitted your self most judiciously .

touch.

your worship do's me too much honour �

quick.

this mockery is the worst of tortures .

touch.

hold thy peace , impudent varlet ! with what forehead can'st thou speak , having run such a course of riot ? does not this worshipful person 's temper and fortune confound thee ? thy younger fellow in service yet , now come to have the place of a judge upon thee ? which of all thy gallants and gamsters , thy swearers and swaggerers , will once condole thee till thou com'st up holborn in triumph ? for by the clew of thy knavery , and thy chain of concupiscence , thou hast most certainly brought thy self to the cart of calamity .

quick.

worshipful master .

touch.

offer not to speak , crocodile ; i will not hear a sound from thee : thou hast learn'd to cry at the play-house : will it please you , master deputy , to commit 'em all three to safe custody ?

pet.

will you not take security , sir ?

touch.

take security ? why , i have him already ; mr. fang , carry my usurer and tarpoulin here , both to the compter , without examination : i will lodge my land-shark and vvater-shark in sowce together .

gold.

vvhat remains then , but to dispose of these there too , till mr. alderman shall be pleas'd to charge them farther : take 'em away .

quick.

this is flat tyranny .

pet.

no more respect to quality ?

touch.

nay , nay ; on , on , on : you see here the issue of sloth ; of sloth comes pleasure , of pleasure comes riot , of riot comes vvhoring , of vvhoring comes spending your money , whereof comes theft , whereof comes judgment , whereof comes hanging , and so my quick-silver is fixt .

[ exeunt .
scene iii. a chamber in an ale-house . girtred and syndefie in fantastical old cloths . gir.

ah , syn , did'st thou ever read in the chronicle , of any lady and her gentlewoman driven to that extremity that we are� , syn ?

syn.

not i truly , madam ; or , if i had , it were but cold comfort that would come out of books .

gir.

vvhy ? good faith now , i could dine upon a lamentable old story ; do'st thou know never a one , syn ?

syn.

none but my own , madam , to be stol'n from my honest friends by a prentice in the habit of a gentleman ; upon promise of marriage brought to london here , and now likely to be forsaken ; for he is in election to be hang'd , an' please your ladiship .

gir.

nay , weep not , good syn , for my pett is in as fair election to be hang'd as he : thy miseries are nothing to mine ; i was more promis'd marriage , syn ; i was marry'd , and had it , syn ; made a lady by a knight , who is now as good as no knight , syn ; and instead of land in the countrey , all his living lies in the compter ; there is his castle now , syn.

syn.

from which he cannot be forc'd out .

gir.

hunger , they say , will break stone vvalls : but he is e'en well enough serv'd , who , as soon as he had got my hand to the sale of the inheritance ran away from my ladiship , as if i had been his punk , god bless us . vvould the knight of the sun , or palmerin of england have used their ladies so , syn ? or sir lancelot ? or sir tristram ?

syn.

i know not , madam .

gir.

then thou know'st nothing , syn : the knights now a-days are nothing to the knights formerly . they rid on horse-back , ours go on foot ; they went buckled in their armour , ours muffled in their cloaks ; they travelled vvildernesses , ours dare scarcely walk the streets ; they were still engaging their honour , ours are ready to pawn their cloths : they would spur up at sight of a monster , ours run away from a serjeant ; they would help poor ladies , ours make poor ladies .

syn.

it is most true , madam .

gir.

but let 'em vanish , syn ; yet the thieves were most unconscionable to take not only our money , but our cloths too .

syn.

a timely consideration , madam ; for our landlady , prophane woman , as she is , has sworn by bread and salt not to trust us another meal .

gir.

let it stink in her hands then ? she does not know the honour she enjoys in having a lady under her roof � but thy best apparel is gone too , poor syn.

syn.

i grieve for your ladiship 's sake , madam .

gir.

alack ! that there are no fairies now a-days , to do miracles , and bring poor ladies money : i 'll sweep the hearth at night ; or , why may not we too rise early in the morning , and find a jewel in the streets worth a hundred pound , syn ? may not some court lady as she comes at midnight from a hot-water shop , look out of her coach , and lose such a jewel , syn ?

syn.

these are pretty dreams , madam .

gir.

well , i protest , syn , if i had as much money as an alderman , i would scatter some of it in the streets for poor ladies to find .

enter mrs. touchstone .
syn.

see , madam , your mother is coming up stairs to us .

gir.

what , without sending first up to our ladiship ? upon my honour 't is unsufferable .

mrs. t.

where is this unfortunate emblem of quality ? where is your ladiship ? � o the father ! what a transmigration is here ? i will have my eyes put out incontinently , that i may not see this absurd spectacle . what , will not your ladiship vouchsafe to know me in this overture of fortune ?

gir.

not if you presume upon my bad luck , mrs. touchstone ; you were best lay the blame upon me now : it was you that shou'd have lok'd to 't ; i did but my kind , to desire to be marry'd , it was my kind , as a citizen's daughter , and to be made a lady , my kind still : he was a knight , and i was fit to be a lady ; 't is not lack of liking , but lack of living that severs us .

syn.

o good madam , do not take up your mother so .

mrs. t.

nay , nay , let her alone ; let her ladiship grieve me still with her bitter taunts : i have not dole enough to see her in this miserable case , without her silks , point , jewel , fontanges of seven stories : without a a little dog , a page , or gentleman-usher , or any thing that is fit for a lady .

syn.

except her tongue .

mrs. t.

and i not able to relieve her neither , being kept down so as i am by my husband : alas ! when he was young , i could have come at any think that he had ; but now i can come at nothing .

gir.

marry , out on him , for a fousty mechanick ; by this light , i think he is not my legitimate father . i hope , mrs touchstone , you have not debas'd my quality so much as to ask relief from him � yet when i see � yet when i view this habit in the glass , it makes the noble tears gush out �

[ she cries .
mrs. t.

nay , sigh not so , sweet lady-bird , dear madam , child weep not ! i shall die , if you cry and marr your complexion thus . my old touchstone may be a flint for his obdurateness ; but i will try my outmost power to mollifie him .

gir.

give him seasonable advice , mrs. touchstone ; if he humbles himself , in time i may be reconcil'd to him , and accept of a supply from him .

mrs. t.

your ladiship was always good natur'd , i must needs say ; he is presently going to the compter , where your knight and mr. francis are in durance together : i hear he intends to insult over 'em with his gold end son in law ; but by a letter that i intercepted , i have found an intrigue of his , to mortifie him with all : nolens volens he shall dress you , coach you , and set you up again , lady-child .

gir.

ay , will he set my knight up too ? so my knight were up , it were no matter though i were down .

mrs. t.

but your ladiship must follow me to the compter , then your joint presences will strike an awe into him : i will hasten before , and send your ladiship a coach ; your ladiships most humble servant .

[ exit .
gir.

come syn , we 'll take the disconsolate lady of the next room along with us ; i long to hear the story out of her water adventure , and get out of her , who were the parties concern'd : her fisher-womans straw-bed , and our ditch , were lodgings much alike . come along , syn.

[ exeunt .
scene iv. the compter prison . enter sir petronell and quick-silver , dragging in security by the horns , wolf master of the prison . quick.

come , dad , away with these penitentials : old touchstone has us all in the wind , and resolves to make holborn martyrs of us .

sec.

ah franck , 't was ungraciously done of thee , to seduce my natural wife , and of you , sir knight , to abuse your particular friend !

pet.

that hunger'd and thirsted to do me good ; your own free gift , dad , and you had good land for it .

sec.

an' my gossip bramble , had not known of it , i could have had mortal patience .

wolf.

gentlemen , you had best resolve on some method for your safety . i can assure you mr. touchstene will make a sessions business of it ; and is coming hither in person to tell you so .

quick.

you are under the same condemnation , dad , unless you bribe mr. wolf here , and make one in our plot ; you must make one at tyburn , for i shall peach , dad.

sec.

by no means franck : i 'll do any thing : what plot ?

quick.

master touchstone has always had great belief in witchcraft , and is so terrified about it , that he dares never be in the dark : i will counterfeit being bewitch'd , and you shall lay it to his charge : he 'll do any thing to get quit of us .

sec.

very well ; france my province : i can enact any manner of thing , i was us'd to do it for my wife's diversion , � it was ungratefully done of you , sir knight , � why , 't is but rouling my eyes and foaming at mouth , ( a little castle-soap rub'd upon my lips will do it ) and then a nut-shell with tow and touch-wood in it , makes me spit fire like any dragon . i hunger and thirst to be about it .

[ noise here .
wolf.

hark , he is at the gates already ; retire , and prepare for the operation .

quick.

but first , mr. wolf , give him these letters and try how far they will work .

[ exeunt all but wolf.
enter touchstone , golding , and bramble . touch.

you say , mr. bramble , the deed of sale was of your drawing up , and that you can find flaws in it .

bramb .

i warrant you , sir : now shall i be reveng'd on my gossip for his kind intentions towards me .

touch.

how now , mr. wolf , will you produce your rats before us ?

wolf.

will your worship be pleas'd to peruse these letters of submission from them ?

touch.

sir , i do look for no submission ; i will bear my self in this affair like blind justice : work upon that now . � moreover , i do much wonder , mr. wolf , that you should travel in this business so contrary to your kind : that you , who are master of a prison , should endeavour the release of your prisoners .

wolf.

o sir , i was never so mortify'd with any mens discourse or behaviour in prison : yet i have had men of all nations and religions .

gold.

and which religion lik'd you best ?

wolf.

troth , mr. deputy , they that paid their fees best .

gold.

and these are letters of humility ?

bramb .

accept of no humility , mr. alderman , you are a happy man , and i 'll be bound to recover thousands for you from my gossip ; but then you must be obstinate .

touch.

i warrant you , mr. bramble : i am deaf , and will not hear , have stop'd my ears with shooe-makers wax , drunk lethe and mandragora .

wolf.

sir , you cannot imagine what a change is wrought in them ; the knight will be in the knight's ward , do what we can : and quick-silver will be in the hole , if we wou'd let him . i never saw prisoners so penitent and devout : they sate up all night singing the sinners complaint , and edifying the whole prison . only security goes a note too high sometimes , because he lies in the two-penny ward , a great way off , and cannot take his tune . the neighbours are not able to rest for 'em , but come to ask what godly prisoners we have got there .

touch.

which of 'em is so devout ?

wolf.

both sir , mr. quick-silver especially : he has cut his hair , reads the young man's advice , and has gotten the sick man's salve without book .

touch.

't is strange he should have no grace , i am sure he was brought up where it grew .

wolf.

he has converted one snapp a bayliff too ; a fellow that could neither write nor read : he was call'd the bandog of the compter .

touch.

mr. bramble , i have one scruple of conscience ; shall i not lose all if i prosecute and hang ' em ?

bramb .

i tell you , sir , as to my gossip security's case ; though he should be condemn'd to be carted for a bawd , or so ; yet i will lay an execution upon him of two thousand pound , let him acknowledge a judgement , he shall do it in half an hour ; you shall not fetch him out till you have paid the execution : this , if i think fit , i can do , sir , unless you otherwise engage me .

touch.

you shall have double fees , mr. bramble : mr. wolf , set them all coram .

enter petronell , and quick-silver : they kneel .
pet.

father !

touch.

away syrens . i will immure my self against your cries .

sec.

who would have thought your worship were a conjurer ?

touch.

what mean the varlets : i tremble at the name .

wolf.

it will appear so , sir. mr. quick-silver vomits nails , and crooked pins , and in his fits repeats your name incessantly .

enter mrs. touchstone . a letter .
mrs. t.

good mr. alderman , be not so stiff : i have seen such a spectacle of sorrow yonder .

touch.

mr. bramble , golding ; do i look like a witch , an alderman a witch ! i abominated the black art from my cradle .

[ petronell and quick-silver whisper aside with mrs. touchstone .
mrs. t.

nay , for my part , i have long suspected him for necromancy .

bramb .

better and better , master alderman , here is matter of scandal for you to proceed against them withal in the doctors-commons : this will bear vast damages .

wolf.

let both your eyes and ears be witnesses .

security brought in , and set upon a chair .
mrs. t.

o the father ! how he stares ! this is plain witchcrast ; and see , he is falling into a fit as soon as he comes into his presence .

pet.

you will perceive more anon .

sec.

my wife is a whore , i 'll touch her no more : for why ? she rides on a switch with touchstone the witch . � where is he ?

touch.

how the profane fiend , within , calls upon my name ; but , i say still , i will stop my ears with mandragora .

mrs. t.

did you hear that , gentleman ? that very word 's enough to raise a spirit .

pet.

see how he foams !

mrs. t.

and swells :

wolf.

these proofs are undeniable .

bramb .

be not concern'd , sir , we 'll prove it forgery , and recover upon it .

gold.

most palpable ! a meer conspiracy .

touch.

nay , gentlemen , the person is bewitch'd , that is most certain ; but by no skill of mine , as i hope to be lord mayor .

sec.

buz , buz , buz.

wolf.

i pray observe him .

quick.

oh! oh! oh!

sec.

she comes with a needle , and puts it in ,

he pulls it out , and puts in a pin. � oh! oh !

mrs. t.

o barbarous wretch ! how the poor creature 's tortured ? come , hold a candle to the wizard's fingers ends , and that will give him ease .

touch.

i will clear my conscience before a magistrate .

quick.

you do not tumble enough .

wolf.

alas , how he is vexed !

mrs. t.

't is past all contradiction .

touch.

what does he now ?

sec.

he shews the taking of tabaco , with which the fiend is so delighted .

pet.

now he fancies himself cast away , and swimming for his life .

mrs. t.

how the devil can act !

touch.

o terrible ! what swelling is that upon his belly ?

mrs. t.

any rising upon his belly ? keep it down , keep it down .

bramb .

't is meer confederacy , you shall recover from mr. wolf too abundantly .

gold.

meer jugling .

touch.

i tell you , sirs , i am astonish'd : there must be a witch amongst us .

sec.

oi moi kakodemon , kai tris kakodemon , kai pentakis , kai mariakis .

touch.

now he curses me in greek : mr. bramble , i would i were fairly off this business .

mrs. t.

what paper is that flown out of his throat .

[ reads .

to alderman touchstone , from shoreditch . this is the third time i am with child by you ; yet to be forgetful to supply your disconsolate servant ,

dorothy jerk .
touch.

this must be the devil , i shall be undone .

mrs. t.

how , mr. alderman , witch and whore-master too ?

gold.

now , sir , the cheat appears most plainly ; i 'll take it on my oath , i saw your wife give him that paper .

touch.

and you saw it too , mr. bramble .

bramb .

not distinctly , sir.

touch.

but you can swear it .

bramb .

for half costs . 't is most apparent , i will swear to it .

quick.

your gossip will see you double , to come over to us .

bramb .

enough . these proofs are pregnant , � mr. alderman , you are the witch , � you ratify ?

sec.

mum.

bramb .

i will manage the poor lunatick's cause , though i do it gratis : we will make your worship an example .

touch.

oh hypocrite ! dost thou forsake me too ?

gold.

my life for yours , sir , stand to 't .

touch.

and so i will ; i am convinc'd now , 't is all roguery : davie , go call mr. justice snappal hither presently . my indignation is kindled , and i will prosecute them to the death .

quick.

this will not do : i will try the experiment more .

[ exit .
touch.

but how if a jury should give this business against , and get condemn'd for a wizard ? i would this concern were well off , and all friends again .

quick-silver re-enters with the hide upon him . mrs. touchstone shrieks out . security rises frighted , quick-silver and he run over one another .
sec.

mischief on your cowards heart ; all 's spoil'd .

quick.

why gave you me no warning ?

gold.

now , sir , i hope you are satisfy'd , you see the implements , here is his mouse , and here his bellows and false belly ; ha ! ha ! ha ! we thank you , gentlemen .

bramb .

i told you , sir , 't was all a cheat ; we will recover swingingly from ' em .

touch.

i defie you , mr. bramble . i am o'er-joy'd to find my honour safe : well , it was a witty practice , and i forgive them all .

mrs. t.

why , that 's well said , they were resolv'd to make you merry .

enter girfred , mildred , wynnifred , syndefie , and mrs. bramble .

come , sir , your pity must descend here too ; you see they have all done penance : come , lady-child , you must ask your father blessing .

gir.

not unless he desires it , mrs. touchstone .

touch.

she has spirit for an empress : tell her , wife , i desire her , to desire my pardon . � come , son golding , i must desire you too , to intercede to me , on the offenders behalf .

mild.

i 'll undertake for that , sir.

gir.

o my mad run-away , to forsake me in the first month ! but it was like a man of the times .

sec.

ah wynny ! bunting , gold-fineh , to break from your cage , and leave your constant cue .

touch.

then , as i take it , here is my lawyer that has been busie on all sides , is fairly bauk'd on all sides ; and my usurer-bawd prov'd a cuckold .

sec.

even my learned gossip , here , is in the same premunire .

pet.

we therefore beg of your worship , and mr. deputy here , to see these two ladies peaceably re-settled with their owners .

sec.

how will you advise in this point , my learn'd councel ?

bramb .

we have a precedent for 't in the wise cato .

wyn.

but on condition of christian liberty ; and that we be lockt up no more .

mrs. t.

all reason in the world for it ; and besides , gentlemen , it is your interest ; for as you came to be cuckolds by locking your wives up : for ought i know , you may be uncuckolded by giving them their freedom .

touch.

that 's very well said too . � come , sirs , we must all sup together , and be friends . run afore davie , and buy up the whole market . � mr. wolf , you must be our guest too : we 'll summon the city musick to us , with a consort of the whole neighbourhood .

to joyn their voices in the highest pitch ,

and sing loud thanks ---- that i am found no witch .

epilogue . we have shewn an alderman no conjurer . ( were ? ' nouns , crys pit-bully , who e'er thought there have patience , sirs , next bout we 'll shew , if luck hold , what 's strange indeed , ----- an alderman no cuckold : a privilege for serious play too great , but farce has privilege , farce , our last retreat : for as kept misses , when their keepers tire , with some new slight , revive the pall'd desire ; so poets banking th' old roads of the stage , bring farce to tickle up th' enervate age : poets , and whores , you equally shou'd dread ; a-like infections , where their venom 's spread . what 's poetry , but ��� clap i' th' head ? yet clapt gallant sometimes gets sound agen , no cure for gonorrhoea of the pen the parallel holds further , as i guess , there 's whores for need , and whores for wantonness ; so there 's sale poetry , poetry of lord , worth just as much , as his sweet lordships word . one word more from the authour , i must say , he once hit farce , whate'er he has done to day . he then had strength , you should have charg'd him then ; but criticks are a sort of country-men , their valour of the true militia-strein ; who from the fighting foe , like lightning fled , but come like thunder back , to maul the dead . finis .
notes, typically marginal, from the original text
notes for div a -e * e. of roscommon .
an essay of a character of the right honourable sir george treby, kt. lord chief justice of his majesty's court of common-pleas / addressed to the learned dr. fowke by n. tate, servant to his majesty. tate, nahum, - . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing t estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) an essay of a character of the right honourable sir george treby, kt. lord chief justice of his majesty's court of common-pleas / addressed to the learned dr. fowke by n. tate, servant to his majesty. tate, nahum, - . p. printed for r. roberts for the author, london : mdcxcix [ ] caption title. in verse. imprint for colophon. reproduction of original in the harvard university library. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng treby, george, -- sir, ?- -- poetry. - tcp assigned for keying and markup - aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images - tcp staff (michigan) sampled and proofread - john latta text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion an essay of a character of the right honourable sir george treby k t. lord chief justice of his majesty's court of common-pleas . address'd to the learned dr. fowke : by n. tate , servant to his majesty . sir , what present can the muse's servant send to you , the muse's , and your country's friend ? to you , who , like apollo , are renown'd for physick's pow'r , — like him , with wisdom crown'd . from whence we learn , both how we may enjoy long life , and usefully that life employ : how , with firm health , right reason we may gain , and , in sound bodies , a sound mind retain : by virtue 's rules , that is , by yours , to live ; the best prescription art it self can give . fain would i send , what fame and you desire , a picture of the man you both admire . phoebus himself might envy my success , could i the great original express ; or cou'd , at least , to humane view impart your treby — as he 's pictur'd in my heart . but ah ! how faint i this resemblance find , to the sublime idea in my mind ! how short my words of what my thoughts design'd ! so when some prophet would an angel draw , whom he in silent contemplation saw , he 's forc'd to speak as mortal language can , describe the seraph as a glorious man. indulge one labour more , my drooping muse , ( which neither love nor duty can refuse ) for treby's worthy praise new string thy lyre , and sing a theme that will thy verse inspire . the grateful song would charm the listning globe , could'st thou his name adorn , as he the robe . see how from specious falshood he divides wrong'd truth , and like an oracle decides ! whose large , and richly furnisht mind appears a register of long-transacted years ; past presidents so faithfully deriv'd , as more than nestor's age he had surviv'd : as he the practise of all courts had seen , and from law 's infancy her guardian been . for law , that do's a boundless ocean seem , is coasted all , and fathom'd all by him. yet , tho' with such sagacious knowledge crown'd , no less for justice than for skill renown'd : his judgments he from truth 's clear fountain draws , respecting not the party , but the cause : makes haughty pow'r to humble right give place ; want fears no wrong , and wealth expects no grace . proceedings so unbias'd , clear , and free , they charm the lost astrea down , to see on earth , such primitive integrity . but when on life's tribunal he is set , justice and mercy are together met ; with looks and language awful , not austere , so circumspect in dooming , so sincere , that ev'n the sentenc'd think him not severe . could verse assume his style , of strength and ease , compacted sense , with all the charms to please , my muse , that with the accomplisht judge began , might next proceed to sing th' accomplisht man. but who , in fetter'd numbers , can comprise the great , the good , the just , the learn'd and wise ? the steddy temper , condescending mind , indulgent to distress , to merit kind ; knowledge sublime , sharp judgment , piety , from pride , from censure , and moroseness free . cautious in promise , in performance sure ; swift of dispatch , yet in dispatch secure . solemn as night , and chearful as the day . o golden mean ! o worth without allay ! renown'd amongst the noble gen'rous few who vertue 's most exalted rules pursue , as if for nature's last reserve design'd , to prop the sinking credit of mankind . when high in publick seated , to dispense impartial right , we wish him never thence ; yet when withdrawn , his private friends to bless , with transport fir'd we wou'd for ever press , ingross the bliss , and his whole time possess . thus patriarchs heretofore , at vacant hours , treated their visitants in sylvan bow'rs ; thus socrates th' esteem of athens gain'd , thus plato's happy guests were entertain'd ; such conversation may ev'n gods invite , where learning , reason , wit , their force unite , experience , truth , instruction , and delight . london : printed by r. roberts , for the author . mdcxcix . a poem on the late promotion of several eminent persons in church and state by n. tate ... tate, nahum, - . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing t estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) a poem on the late promotion of several eminent persons in church and state by n. tate ... tate, nahum, - . [ ], p. printed for richard baldwin ..., london : . first edition. reproduction of original in huntington library. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng - tcp assigned for keying and markup - aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images - tcp staff (michigan) sampled and proofread - john latta text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a poem on the late promotion of several eminent persons in church and state . by n. tate , servant to their majesties . — magnum mihi panditur aequor , ipsaque pierios lassant proclivia currus lavdibvs innumeris . — claud. london ; printed for richard baldwin , near the oxford-arms in warwick-lane . . to the right honourable charles earl of dorset and middlesex ; lord chamberlain of their majesties houshold , &c. my lord , with conscious fear my muse approaches you , wit 's ablest iudge , and best example too . in modesty your sight she should decline ; the only barren thing on which you shine ! to your's aspiring , and her countrey 's praise , deserting strength her ripe design betrays . yet see how duty , with resistless spells , to fresh attempts a loyal heart compels ! since britain's worthies their just orbs sustain , and loud applause resounds from ev'ry plain ; our british bards the only silent throng ; rage hurry'd me on this advent'rous song . but oh ! my zeal forgot such themes requir'd , the force and fury of a breast inspir'd . yet these weak streins may to a nobler flight provoke those muses whom they can't invite . to them shall , safely , fame these figures trust , whose lustre is in my dead colours lost . how warmly they each character shall trace , set off with proper lights and native grace ! then higher soar , and urging their success , our great augustus court to life express ; in which illustrious sphere , with forms divine , shall our agrippa and mecaenas shine . that work commenc'd , how pleas'd shall i retire ! and at just distance silently admire ; content and proud the skilful to have mov'd , and see my rude design so well improv'd . ev'n so blind chance , the art of musick found , a rusling wind amongst the reeds did sound ; that noise instructed shepherds first to frame the tuneful pipe , that since gave shepherds fame . a poem on the late promotions , &c. as joyful nature , who till then lay mute , did the first sun 's exalted beams salute ; so britain , rescu'd from the sullen cloud that seem'd her new-created face to shrowd , beholds , at once transported and amaz'd , to proper spheres her brightest planets rais'd . our monarch , who best knew their use and pow'r , reserv'd their influence for the prosp'rous hour : whose aspects now a strong direction joins , when tyranizing saturn's course declines . thus kings , whose actions are to heav'n ally'd , like providence , by time are justify'd . easy at home their task , when peace combines with pious kings , and favours their designs : ours , prest with war , and sinking europe's weight , finds leisure to adorn our church and state . now , like the visionary matron , rears eusebia her calm forehead crown'd with tears . o'rejoy'd her consecrated sons appear , ( those sons that hold their mother's honour dear ) to see the past'ral chair by him supply'd , for whom the voice of angels would decide . in his promotion vice her downfal read , she rav'd to find the mitre on that head : her venom swell'd to see , of piety so charming an example plac'd so high ; whose influence , her fears presag'd , wou'd make the age reform , and her dark empire shake . preferment sought him , ( worthless spir'ts intrude , but modest merit must by kings be woo'd . ) he , slow consenting , to the temple's sway aspir'd not , but did caesar's will obey . while caesar did , who only could , prescribe , he in meer duty rules the sacred tribe . his moderation , charity divine , led to this choice our gen'rous constantine . whose genius , while the crosier there he plac'd , his own hereditary virtues grac'd . whose clemency mistaken zeal does spare , to conscience , tender ; as to crimes , severe . caesar , these charms can only thrones sustain , and you in these without a rival reign . o friend of nations ! none you hold for foes , except the troublers of the world's repose . just is your rage ; oh ! may as just success attend your arms , till you mankind redress : till harras'd europe safe at rest is laid , as slept first mortals in their sylvan shade . the muse , her visit to the temple paid , comes forth , where peals of joy her ear invade . what charming pomp such transports can create ? lo ! sommers with the emblems of his state ! how justly , heaven , are now those trophies born before such worth , in suitable return , adorning him , who britain do's adorn ! a poet's genius should be all on fire ; what extasies should his rais'd soul inspire ? when crouds , at sight of him , can rapture feel ; see how they press to gaze , and load his chariot-wheel ! to fetter'd numbers how shall be confin'd the compass of his comprehensive mind ! sense , reason , musick , in his language throng , the graces sit assembled on his tongue ; whose accents ev'n the flying winds surprize , who watch their birth , and bear 'em to the skies . the muses , who severer arts profess , by him are cherish'd , ne'er deny'd access : only the idle , and the singing crew , chid from his presence , long long since withdrew . in youth , their lawrels at his feet they laid , to court him , all their syren-charms display'd ; which like ulysses wisely he contemn'd , and , tacking off , the tide of business stemm'd . 't would beggar thought and language both , to raise the full proportion'd tribute of his praise . whom , through all provinces of learning crown'd , transcendent virtues render more renown'd . justice do's , visible , from heav'n repair ; unveil'd she comes , and takes with him the chair . when him on the relieving bench you see , without a trope , say , — there sits equity . next , were my strength proportion'd to my zeal , i 'd sing the guardian of the privy-seal . on pembrook , what can court or state confer beyond his knowledge , or his virtue 's sphere ? who , like the sun , the higher he ascends , but further warms , and more his beams extends . in private actions , as in publick trust , to honour's scheme so regularly just ; that his whole soul but seems a model fram'd by those rare arts in which his skill is fam'd . whose judgment the best pencil can direct ; in symetry instruct the architect . whose rays can light to time 's dark relicts give , and from the grave antiquity retrieve . o sacred faculty ! whose pow'r transcends life's territories , and the dead befriends . blest genius ! who past ages can renew , and ours transmit to all that shall ensue . who ev'ry science , and so early , gain'd , as heav'n inspir'd , not industry obtain'd . vast ocean , that from ev'ry channel draws , from statesmen , schools , divine and human laws . to worth deprest , and injur'd right , his ear is ever open , and his heart sincere . o piety ! o truth without a stain ! reserv'd by heav'n for william's sacred reign . when nature in the body does maintain free intercourse between the heart and brain , the veins with vital spirits are supply'd , and briskly circulates the sanguine tide : each vig'rous limb , ungriev'd , its labour bears , and joy triumphant in the face appears ; so healthful , so transported , looks the realm , where shrewsbury and trenchard sit at helm . if trenchard singly could sustain the weight , and from declining long support the state , o what , when shrewsbury's with him assign'd ! atlas and hercules together join'd . trenchard , who , young , and in his private sphere , for britain's rescue could so nobly dare : forgetting youth's diversions , could engage for publick safety , — what may we presage , from skill , which ablest discipline has wrought , by suff'rings , time , and observation , taught ! how , shrewsbury , for thy return to state , and once more condescending to be great , shall my weak muse assume the mighty tone ? how eccho back the joy by nations shown , whose breath wants compass to express her own ? yet oh! would strength with my desires comply , my song a dytherambick pitch should fly : pursuing thy just praises to the skies , but they tow'r swift , and i want wings to rise . immortal streins should caesar's darling grace ; the worhiest heir of talbot's noble race . with gen'ral thanks ( for all your absence mourn'd , ) we bless , at once , our hopes and you return'd . so rome , distress'd , in one united swarm welcom'd her great dictator from his farm. these worthies , britain , for thy glory born , and numbers more thy happy realm adorn . turn , turn your eye to bright augusta's pile ; see how her sons , see how her fabricks smile . ages were told by that imperial dame , e're rome determin'd her disputed name . who tyrant rome in iust renown excell'd , as far as thames above the tyber swell'd . her scituation boasts no empty height , no barren mountains to support her weight : from thames his bank contented to look down , and see the treasures of the world her own . kind stars could to her blessings add no more , but to secure what they conferr'd before : 't is done : — her laws , her rights by publick voice were fix'd , when ashhurst was her guardian choice . all that her hopes or utmost wish could crave , she to her self in that election gave . 't was then fate snatch'd the wheel from fortune's hand , and charm'd it fast . — thus utt'ring her command , at this ascendant , my augusta , — stand. for whom should her consenting votes engage but ashhurst ? the fabricius of our age. sprung from a patriot-race of old renown , he centres all their glories in his own. on him , with measure unconfin'd , did fall , that publick spirit which inspir'd them all. augusta , to thy grateful sons and thee , for ever sacred let his trophies be ; the boldest champion of your liberty . for peace can courage boast with triumphs crown'd , that loud , as those obtain'd by war , resound : whose gilded lawrels too , are full as good , in fame's esteem , as lawrels dy'd in blood. him , in her chair , the city finds so just , that she repines 't is but an annual trust : which , by th' effects of his industrious skill , ev'n when retir'd , he yet shall seem to fill. his methods and example shall prevail , and blessings on succeeding reigns entail . for virtue , that does lasting fruit intend , and does , like his , its utmost force extend , in one year's space whole ages can befriend . behold the hurry'ng crowd from ev'ry street press to the thames some pageantry to meet . lo there in wondrous pomp blue tritons ride , and sea-nymphs entring with the swelling tide . advanc'd before our senate-house , they call for russel , their victorious admiral . envoys to him they come , and seem to say , neptune his ready homage waits to pay , and thetis grows impatient of his stay . blessings attend your counsels ( thus they sing ) great britain's senate , may your gen'rous spring of tribute , for the publick safety , rise , as full and fast as ours the thames supplies ; who finds , in circling trade , his just return , and blesses the expences of his urn. let russel still command , and still the main to britain his old duty shall retain ; still serve the isle , which he , embracing laves , with loyalty as ancient as his waves . whose full assembly did your votes resound , when you his courage and his conduct own'd . o sea's great hero ! to thy fleet repair , and see the ready harvest of thy care. a cheerful crew of sailors doubly fir'd , by native valour , and by you inspir'd : through ev'ry squadron plenteous stores convey'd ; their flags and streamers gallantly display'd . a flowing tide and winds presenting fair , or will at least when russel does appear . french pyrates snatch'd our seas unguarded wealth , as cacus the herculean herd , by stealth : the hero's absence that advantage gave ; but he returning sack'd the robbers cave . in vain the treacherous den with rock was barr'd , which fire and smoak cou'd now no longer guard. the rest , secur'd by shameful odds , engage ; tourville alone cou'd boast a gen'rous rage . nor unrenown'd his glitt'ring sun is sett , that russel , and britannia's lightning met . 't was fame enough to dare , though forc'd to shrow'd her vanquish'd glories in a shelt'ring cloud . with terrors threatning pomp display'd they came , tempest-resembling fury , noise , and flame , enough to have astonish'd and o'rethrown a foe , not arm'd with greater of his own. but urg'd the fate that such presumption crav'd , when , caesar , they your naval thunder brav'd . so rash salmoneus , while with iove he vy'd , fell by that thunderbolt , which he defy'd . from sea , the muse our distant camp does view ; but dropps her wing o're charg'd with briny dew . from her own britain too , remov'd too far , where caesar waits fame's summons to the war ; and ormond ( his as caesar ormond's care ) prepares his danger and renown to share . whose wounded breast shall future ages charm , together sung with william's wounded arm. shine bright ye stars , who kindly did divert the piercing ponyard from that gen'rous heart . muse , crown his brow , but make his lawrel wreath as mild and sweet , as morning roses breath ; who clemency to courage reconciles , and in whose face delighted nature smiles . the graces early nurs'd whom they decreed their former darling ormond to succeed : illustrious ossery's expiring breath , did him his fame and virtues stock bequeath . thus to elysian fields the phoenix fled , to his successor leaves a spicy bed. the royal eagle all the noble quire , the wondrous heir of the sun's bird admire . from fairy land great spencers shade shall rise , and milton from his dream of paradice ; to charm the boyne , and then the shannon's stream , william their first , and talmash their next theme . of num'rous worthies more our lists can boast ; but who has breath to count that starry host ? the muse who can that galaxie recite , may too the princely constellation write ; whom britain's iupiter , presiding , draws , and joins their aspects in the common cause . the cause that europe's heroes did employ , of old combining to demolish troy. for helen's rape , that arm'd the pow'rs of greece , was but a type of violated peace , 't is fix'd — behold the happy promis'd day already plum'd , and on his glorious way , with triumphs charg'd , that shall once more invite the gen'rous muse that sung the boyne , to write . themes sacred , and by fame reserv'd intire for montague's inimitable fire : fancy that can to clouds of smoke give light , and trace a hero through the dusky fight . then , swift and glorious as the conquest , bring the news to court on rapture 's sacred wing . and shifting quick the scene from wars alarms , in breathing drafts express maria's charms . adorn'd with innocence and beauty's beams , like venus first ascending from the streams : or phoebe in her empire of the skye , mildly majestick , and serenely high ! oh! when for such illustrious themes and wit , his country's service leisure can permit ; when from his task of state he may retire , th' inspiring heat resuming with his lyre ; not summer-breezes shall delight us more ; nor waves that gently break upon the shore : nor vocal rills , that through the valley stray , harmoniously disputing all their way . finis . the ingratitude of a common-wealth, or, the fall of laius martius coriolanus as it is acted at the theatre-royal / by n. tate. tate, nahum, - . this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a of text r in the english short title catalog (wing t ). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish.this text has not been fully proofread approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo a wing t estc r ocm

this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission.

early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) the ingratitude of a common-wealth, or, the fall of laius martius coriolanus as it is acted at the theatre-royal / by n. tate. tate, nahum, - . shakespeare, william, - . coriolanus. [ ], p. printed by t.m. for joseph hindmarsh ..., london : . alteration of: coriolanus / william shakespeare. first ed. of this alteration. cf. dnb. originally planned to be included in the variorum coriolanus ... this ed. is limited to twenty-five copies. reproduction of original in huntington library.
eng shcnothe ingratitude of a commonwealth, or the fall of caius martius coriolanustate, nahum . b the rate of . defects per , words puts this text in the b category of texts with fewer than defects per , words. - assigned for keying and markup - keyed and coded from proquest page images - sampled and proofread - text and markup reviewed and edited - batch review (qc) and xml conversion

the ingratitude of a common-wealth : or , the fall of laius martius loriolanus .

as it is acted at the theatre - royal. by n. tate .

honoratum si forte reponis achillem , impiger , iracundus , inexorabilis , acer , jura neget sibi nata , nihil non arroget armis . hor.

london , printed by l. m. for joseph hindmarsh , at the black-bull in cornhill . .

to the right honourable charl's lord herbert , eldest son to the marquess of worcester , &c.

my lord ,

your lordship's favour for learning in general , has encourag'd me to begg your patronage of the following sheets , which contain a remarkable piece of roman history , though form'd into play. i have yet another plea for pardon , since i impose not on your lordship's protection a work meerly of my own compiling ; having in this adventure launcht out in shakespear's bottom . much of what is offered here , is fruit that grew in the richness of his soil ; and what ever the superstructure prove , it was my good fortune to build upon a rock . upon a clofe view of this story , there appear'd in some passages , no small resemblance with the busie faction of our own time . and i confess , i chose rather to set the parallel nearer to sight , than to throw it off at further distance . yet there are none that can apply any part ( as satyr ) on themselves , whose designs and practises are not of the same cast. what offence to any good subject in stygmatizing on the stage , those troublers of the state , that out of private interest or mallice , seduce the multitude to ingratitude , against persons that are not only plac't in rightful power above them ; but also the heroes and defenders of their country .

where is the harm of le●ting the people see what miseries common wealths have been involv'd in , by a blind compliance with their popular misleaders : nor may it be altogether amiss , to give these projecters themselves , examples how wretched their dependence is on the uncertain crowd . faction is a monster that often makes the slaughter 't was designed for ; and as often turns its fury on those that hatcht it . the moral therefore of these scenes being to recommend submission and adherence to establisht lawful power , which in a word , is loyalty ; they have so far a natural claim to your lordship's acceptance : this virtue seeming inheritance in your lordship , and deriv'd from your ancestours with your blood. we cannot cast an eye on the sufferings of his late majesty , but we find in broad letters , the allegiance and services of your lordship's most honourable grand-father , who stopt at no expence of blood or fortunes on his behalf ; nor was providence wanting to crown his singular worth with a signal glory .

when civil discord thro' the realm had reign'd , and english swords with english blood were stain'd , when out of zeal religion was expell'd , and men for conscience 'gainst their prince rebell'd , the best of princes when the pow'r divine , ( on purposes too deep for reason's line ) gave rebell-arms success , and seem'd to bring distress at once upon our saint and king. not jesse's son seem'd better form'd to reign , nor were his worthies of a nobler strein ! but what relief can bravest valour lend , when heroes , not with foes , but fate contend ? the age's crimes for no less curse did call , and 't is decreed the royal cause must fall ! of conquest thus by destiny bereft , our blasted war has yet one garland left. alone the foes united strength to fight , and strike the last fam'd blow for royal right . this honour to the noble worcester fell , who , alwayes brave , himself did now excel , his friends , his troops , his house , his cittadel ! here , tho' reduc'd to last extreams he lies , his cheerful cannon still the foe defies ; the more distres't , the more his virtue shines , his courage rising as his strength declines : oft from unequal force he guards his walls , oft in fierce sallyes on the leaguer falls . thus while expir'd the other members lye , worc'ster stirs last the heart of loyalty .

pardon my lord this start , for the subject is scarce to be thought on without transport . nor has the same fidelity to the crown been wanting to compleat the character of the present marquess of worcester ; whose eminent virtues have rendred him an ornament both of our court and age. what expectations then the world conceives of your lordship is easily imagin'd , and what instances of noblest qualifications your lordship has already given , the world needs no information : besides the goodness of your lordship's temper , and the justice of your principles ; your acquaintance with books , and judgment in affairs , so far transcend your years , as would secure me from flattery , though i should launch into a panegyrick . but i come to beg protection , not to give praise ; my greatest ambition being to subscribe my self ,

your lordships most obedient humble servant , n. tate .

prologue written by sir george raynsford . our author do's with modesty submit , to all the loyal criticks of the pit ; not to the wit-dissenters of the age , who in a civil war do still engage , the antient fundamental laws o' th' stage : such who have common places got , by stealth , from the sedition of wits common-wealth . from kings presented , they may well detract , who will not suffer kings themselves to act. yet he presumes we may be safe to day , since shakespear gave foundation to the play : 't is alter'd and his sacred ghost appeas'd ; i wish you all as easily were pleas'd : he only ventures to make gold from oar , and turn to money , what lay dead before . but now i spy tyrannick judges here ; what pitty 't is so fair , and so severe ! fine lady criticks on whose fragrant breath , depends the plays long life , or sudden death . from them the poet must receive his doom , just as affairs succeed with them at home : we hope the paraquit and squirrel's well , else we are damn'd to th' very pit of hell. sir john is kind and nothing goes amiss , else we shall have a scurvy night of this ! if we shou'd here present a husband , cross , and the revenge neglected by his spouse , 't were death in us nay some of 'em wou'd rage , because he 's not made cuckold on the stage : but who shall be that happy undertaker , since each wou'd strive to be that cuckold-maker ?
the persons . [ consul . a blunt old souldier , and friend to coriolanus . two tribunes of the people , factious , and enemies to coriolanus . [ general of the volsces . a villain ; discarded by caius martius , and receiv'd by ausidius . [ mother to caius martius . [ his wife . [ his child . an affected , talkative , fantastical lady .

scene , the citties of rome and corioles .

the ingratitude of a common-wealth .
act the first .
scene , the city rome . enter a company of mutinous citizens , with slaves , clubs , and other weapons . cit. before we proceed any further , hear me speak . all. speak , speak . cit.

let me hear silence then : and shall i speak all your minds before you take the trouble to think what you would have ?

all. speak , speak . cit. you are all resolv'd rather to dye than starve . all. resolv'd , resolv'd . cit.

first you know caius martius is chief enemy to the people .

all. we know 't , we know 't . cit. let us kill him , and we 'll have corn at our own price . is 't a verdict ? all. he 's dead , he 's dead . cit. one word good citizens . cit.

good citizens ; we are accounted poor citizens , the patricians good : what surfeits them , wou'd relieve us : let 'um feel our swords , that take away the use of our knives ; not that i mean any harm neighbours ; for the gods know i speak this in hunger for bread , and not in thirst for revenge .

cit. wou'd we proceed only against cains martins ? cit. against him only , together with all the rest. cit. consider what services he has done for his country . cit.

we have paid him with our thanks for 't ; but he is proud , and hates the commonalty ; we 'll pay him for that shout here too : you say he did famously to please his country ; i say he did it to please his mother , as great a hector as himself . what shouts are these ? why ? there now is the blessing of good example . the other side o' th' city is risen too : come , let 's make hast , or they 'l run away with the capitol before we overtake ' em .

all. away , away , away . enter menenius . cit.

soft , who comes here ? oh! 't is menenius agrippa , one that loves the people , and alwayes imploy'd me to work for him .

cit. well , he 's indifferent honest. men.

what work 's in hand my country men ? where go you with those staves and clubs ? the matter , speak i beseech you ?

cit.

our business is not unknown to the senate , they might have smelt us this fortnight ; they say , poor suiters have strong breaths , they shall find we have strong arms too .

men. why masters , my good friends , my honest neighbours , will you undo your selves ? cit. nay , if that be all , we are undone already . men. i tell you friends , the good patricians have for all your wants , most charitable care : but for this dearth , the gods ( not they ) have made it : you are transported by your misery , to slander those that care for you like fathers . cit.

care for us ? yes , by shutting up the store-houses , and suffering us to famish : if the wars eat us not up , they will ; and there 's the care they bear for us .

men. now must you , or confess your selves malicious ; or be accus'd of folly : shall i tell you a pretty tale ? it may be , you have heard it , but since it serves the present purpose cit.

well , we 'll hear it sir ; but think not to fob us off with a tale : but an 't please you deliver .

men. there was a time cit.

good , there was a time ; a very good beginning : all your good stories begin with , there was a time.

men. when all the body's members rebell'd against the belly , and accus'd it for being unactive , idle , never bearing like labour with the rest , whilst th' other parts did see , and hear , devise , instruct , walk , feel , yet this dull gulph gorg'd all the food ; to which the belly answer'd cit. well , what said the belly ? men. why sir ? i tell you with a kind of smile : for look you , i may make the belly smile , as well as speak : it tauntingly reply'd to the discontented members , the mutinous parts . cit. well , what was its answer ? . cit. he had best see to 't , that it be a good one. men. patience good friends , your most grave belly was deliberate , not rash like his accusers : and thus answer'd , true is it my incorporate friends ( quoth he ) that i do first receive the general food you live upon , and 't is most fit ; because i am the store-house and the shop of the whole body : but if you do remember , i send it through the rivers of your blood , ev'n to the heart , and every nerve and vein , from me receive their strength ; though all at once ; pray mark me sirs all. well sir , we do . men. though all at once ( sayes he ) cannot see what i do deliver out to each ; yet i can make up my account , that all do back from me , receive the flower of all , and leave me but the bran : what say you to 't ? all. nay sir , what say you to 't ? come . men. the senator's of rome are this good belly , and you the factious parts ; digest things rightly , touching the common-weal , and you shall find , no publick benefit which you receive , but it proceeds from them , not from your felves : what do you think of this ? and what think you ? you the great toe of this assembly ? cit. i the great toe ! why the great toe ? men. for that being one o' th' lowest , basest , poorest ; of this most wise rebellion thou goest fore-most : thou rascal , that art worst in blood , the ring-leader : but make you ready your stiff bats and clubs . rome , and her rats are at the point of battle . hail noble martius . enter caius martius . mart. what is the matter you dissentious rogues , you scabs , bred from the itch of your own opinion ? cit. i , wee had ever your good word . mart. he that will give good words to thee will flatter beneath a bawd ; what would you have you curs ? that like not peace nor war ; the one affrights you , the other makes you factious : he that trusts you ; where he shou'd find you lions , finds you hares ; you are vertues contrary ; who deserves greatness , deserves your hate ; and your affections are a sick-mans appetite , which desires that most , that wou'd increase his evil ; who depends upon your favours , swims with finns of lead : with ev'ry minute you do change a mind , and call him noble , that was now your hate ; him vile , that was your garland : what 's the matter , that in these several places of the city , you cry against the noble senate , who under the gods keep you in awe ; who else like beasts of prey , wou'd feed on one another . what 's their seeking ? men. for corn at their own rates , with which they say , the city is well stor'd . mart. they say ! hang 'em ; they 'll sit by th' fire , and take on 'em to know what 's done i' th' capitol : they say there 's grain enough ; wou'd the nobility lay aside their patience , and let me use my sword , i 'd make a quarry with thousands of these quarter'd slaves , as high as their own capitol . men. nay , these are almost throughly perswaded ; for though abundantly they lack discretion , yet they are passing cowardly ; but i pray you , what sayes the other troop ? mart. burn 'em , the herd are scatter'd ; they said they were a hungry , sigh'd forth proverbs , that hunger broke stone-walls , that dogs must eat , that meat was made for mouths , that the gods sent not corn for the rich men only ; with these shreds they vented their complaints ; which being answered , and a petition granted them , a strange one to break the heart of pow'r : they threw their caps up ; as they wou'd hang 'em on the horns o' th' moon . men. what 's granted ' em ? mart. four tribunes ( to defend their vulgar wisdomes ) of their own choosing ; brutus , cornicius , sicinius , bethellsus : the rabble shou'd have first unrooft the city , ' ere so prevail'd with me ; it will in time confound the senate : get you home you fragments . enter decius . dec. most noble martius , the senate makes you here next substitute to our general comminius , in the place of lartius , for the present wars against the volsces . men. a charge that you have sigh'd for ; yet still you seem disturb'd . mart. my task is with their city , whilst cominius engages their field-forces . men. what of that ? mart. tullus aufidius , there is to be found , my rival once , still most inveterate foe : were half to half the world engag'd , and he upon my party , i 'd revolt , to make my wars only with him : he is a lyon that i am proud to hunt : menenius , thou shalt see me once more strike at tullus face . what , art thou stiff ? stand'st out ? men. no caius martius , i 'll lean upon one crutch , and fight with to'ther , ' ere lag behind this business . mart. one word my fellow-citizens . cit. no good i warrant it . mart. you shall have corn enough , on martius word you shall . cit. why ? look you there now , i alwayes said we were mistaken in this man. all. a martius , a martius , &c. cit. as how , most noble martius ? mart. lartius is dead , and i 'm employ'd by the senate to storm the volsces citty ; there is store of richest grain : follow me , all is yours . [ here the citizens steal away severally . see now , if these vile rats dare go to knaw the enemies garners : here comes two of their tribunes . let us bequeath 'em this infected ground . come , let 's to horse . men. will you not home first , and take short leave of your dear wife , and honour'd mother ? mart. my charge is speedy , womens farewel's tedious : stay thou menenius to perform for me that office ; i 'll away upon the spur , and reach my troops'ere the sun wash his steeds . [ exit . men. the gods preserve you . as they go off , the tribunes , scicinius , and brutus meet them , they pass by ( disdaining ) each other . sic. was ever man so proud as is this martius ? bru. he has no equal . sic. when we were chosen tribunes for the people , what indignation sparkled from his eyes ? bru. success i' th' present wars , will swell his spirits , above his mothers haughtiness , which he retains , as she had nurs'd him with her blood. sic. hark , hark ! the peoples murmurs are not ceast , tho much they build on their new tribunes pow'r . come , let us hasten to apply our selves , and work upon their fury e're it cools . [ exeunt .
scene ii. a palace . enter volumnia and virginia . vol. prethee vergilia spare those feeble tears , which i must blame in any that belongs to caius martius , tho his tender babe , that had no other language ; learn of me that blest the absence , gave my lord his honour , more than the calm peace , that gave me his love. this martius , this thy lov'd , lamented husband , when of my widdow'd years , the only son ; when tender-body'd , and so fresh a bloom adorn'd his cheek , as drew and sixt all eyes , when at a kings entreaty , the fond mother , not half an hour wou'd sell him from her sight ; i weighing then , how honour wou'd become so promising an excellence , dismist him , to seek out danger , where he might find fame . to a cruel war i sent him , where he flesht his youthful sword ; and to my arms return'd , laden with bloody bays : i tell thee daughter , i sprung not with more joy , to find my pains , had to the world restor'd his father's image : then first to find him , march his fathers fame . virg. but had he dy'd in the adventure ? vol. then his glory shou'd have been my darling son : now by minerva , had the indulgent gods blest me with twenty sons , as much belov'd as my brave martius ; i had rather lose them all in chase of glory , and their country's cause , than one , i' th' surfeit of voluptuous peace . virg. excuse my tenderness , that wishes still for peace and martius : what 's this monster country , that must be fed with my dear martius blood ? if this unnatural mother still must prey on her own off-spring , let her take her rabble ; the vermin-crowd my martius so abhors . * enter a servant . serv. madam , the lady valeria is come to visit you . virg. let me retire from her impertinence ; a heavier burden than the grief i bear . vol. not now virginia , she 'll divert you : oh! methinks i hither hear thy husbands drum ; see him dismount aufidius ; all the volsces wide shunning him , as children from a tyger : methinks i see him frown , and hear him call , come on ye cowards ; you were got in fear , tho you were born in rome : his bloody brow virg. his bloody brow ? the gods defend ! no blood. vol. away fond girl ; it more becomes a man , then gold his arms ; the breasts of hecula , when she gave suck to hector , look't not lovelier , than hectors forehead , when besmear'd with blood. go , bring valeria in . virg. heavens bless my lord from fierce aufidius . vol. no more such folly , he 'll strike aufidius head below his knee , and tread upon his neck . enter valeria , gawdtly and fantastically drest , follow'd by six or seven pages . val. morrow ladies , good morrow . vol. i am glad to see your ladyship . val.

your ladyships most eternal well , you are the most manifest house-keepers ! come , you do your beauties wrong , the suburra wrong , the forum wrong , the cirque , the whole youth of rome .

vol. we leave that triumph madam to your sovereign charms . val.

and do i look sovereignly madam ? indeed i think my enemies will grant me that ; but i bear not upon 't : i am ambitious only of the graces of the mind , the intellectuals , and despise those vain allurements of dress and face but do i look sovereignly madam ?

vol. most irresistably ! val. and what my dear , eternally in tears ? [ to virgilia .

come , i must have you read philosophy ; better live in apathy , as the stoicks say , then have such tender sense of things : pray madam , what do's your ladyship think of the stoicks .

[ to vol. vol. as of the noblest sect. val.

come , i must have you forth with me : i have some nineteen visits to make , and all of 'em old debts upon my honour : well , i 'll swear there 's an intollerable deal of patience requir'd to common civility : because an impertinent lady comes and teazes me three hours at my house to day , therefore i must go to be teazed three more at her house to morrow ; i swear 't is most unreasonable . how i wish my self at athens again ! we had no such doings at athens ; no idle chat of tires and fans , but of secrets in nature , and stiff points of philosophy but rome at rome ; come , come away .

virg. by no means madam , i 'll not out of doors . val.

o you confine your self most unreasonably ; your thoughts now are with your lord at corioles ; trouble not your self , i shall give you intelligence of his affairs ; i have it always an hour before the senate : well , intelligence is a fine thing ! it costs me the gods know what in forreign correspondence from sicily , sardinia , rhetia , aquitain , crete , cyprus , lydia , ephesus , dalmatia , thrace , pontus ; the hetrusci make no motion , but by my advice : nay , our own general cominius , is glad to keep touch with me : not an officer of note in the camp , but sends me news or love. come hither page look madam , pray madam observe , this is my last days post , and the lightest pacquet has come this two months ; fye , fye , up with 'em , i am asham'd on 't .

vol. but do's your ladyship answer all these ? val.

some of 'em i never peruse , and those are your gallantry epistles : i know all those hands with half an eye ; there 's titus decius , cajus proculus , marcus flavius , publius cotta ; albinus , sesinna , graculus , phocus , linus , tucca , rufus , faesula ; with a legion more , that are all unseal'd in the fire ! i swear i am a cruel creature ! but 't is my way madam .

virg. eternal torturer ! by your leave madam . val.

nay , i am just upon the wing too ; my chair there , what ? no attendance in this world ? well , of all things in nature , i love dispatch ; and yet i swear i cou'd stay with your ladyships eternally but your ladyships will excuse me upon business ; not but that i 'd leave any thing for your ladyships company your ladyships will pardon my hast , for i swear i am in hast most inordinately .

[ exit .
scene iii. coriolanus and decius before the walls of corioles . mart. how far off lye these armies ? dec. scarce half a league . mart. then we shall hear their larum , and they ours . now fire-ey'd mars make us but quick in work , that we with reeking swords may march from hence to help our fielded friends ; come blow the blast . a parley , the senators appear on the walls . tullus aufidius , is he within the walls ? sen. no , nor a man that fears you less than he . hark how our drums call forth our youths ; our gates with yet seem shut , we have but pinn'd with rushes ; they 'l open of themselves : heark , to the field , there is aufidius ; list what work he makes amongst your broken army . mart. oh they are at it ! their noise be our instruction ; ladders hoe ! they fear us not , but issue from their city . now plant your shields before your hearts , and fight with hearts more proof than shields . advance brave decius , they disdain us much beyond our thoughts , which makes me sweat with rage : come on my fellows , he that retires , i 'll take him for a volsce , and he shall feel my sword. alarum ; the romans beat back to their trenches , re-enter martius cursing . all the contagion of the south light on you , you shames of rome , now botches , boyls , and plagues crust you all o're , that you may be abhor'd , further than seen ; you souls of daws and geese , that bear the shapes of men ; how have you run from slaves , that apes wou'd beat , pluto and hell ? all hurt behind , backs red , and faces pale , mend , and charge home , or by the fires of heav'n , i 'll leave the foe , and make my wars on you ; look to 't ; come on . [ alarum agen . so , now the gates are open , now prove good seconds , 't is for the followers fortune , not the flyers : mark me , and do the like . [ martius , with a few follows them to the gates , and is shut in . sol. fool hardiness ? not i. sol. nor i. sol. see , they , they have shut 'em in . all. to th' pot , i warrant ' em . alarum continues , re-enter martius with his party , as having forc't their way through the citty ; his followers with spoils . rom. this will i carry to rome . rom. and i this. rom. a murrain on 't , i took this for silver . mart. see here these pismires , that do prize their labours at a crack'd drachma , cush'ons , leaden spoons ; old scraps of iron , doublets , that hangmen wou'd bury with those that wore 'em ; these vile slaves , e're yet the fight be done , pack up ; down with them , and heark what noise the general makes ; let 's to him , there is the man of my souls hate , aufidius peircing our romans ; valiant decius , take convenient numbers to make good the citty , whilst i with those that have the spirit , will hast to help comminius . dec. you bleed apace my lord ; your exercise has been too violent , for a second course of fight . mart. sir , praise me not ; my work has yet not warm'd me ; fare you well : the blood i drop , is rather physical , than dangerous to me : to aufidius thus will i appear , and dare him to my sword. [ exit . severally .
scene changes to a camp or field , an alarum . cominius and aufidius , are seen engaging each other , with their parties : cominius is beaten off ; martius with his souldiers enters hastily on the other side . mart. turn , turn aufidius , this way lies your game : i 'll fight with none but thee ; for i do hate thee worse , than a promise breaker . auf. no hate lost ; not africk breeds a serpent i abhor , more than thy fame and thee : here fix thy foot. mart. let the first starter dye the other's slave , and the gods toom him after . auf. if i fly martius , holloo me like a hare . mart. within these three hours tullus , i fought within the walls of your corioles , and made what work i pleas'd ; 't is not my blood , thou see'st me smear'd with , 't is thy dearest kindred's . take that to work thy fury to the height ; for i wou'd have thee warm . auf. vvert thou the hector that was the vvhip of thy feign'd progeny , thou shou'dst not pass this munite . alarum : they fight off ; after which , a retreat sounded : re-enter martius and cominius , at several doors . com. come to my arms most noble martius , if i shou'd tell thee o're this thy days vvork , thou 'lt not believe thy deeds ; but i 'll report 'em , vvhere senators shall mingle smiles with tears ; vvhere ladies shall express a fearful joy : vvhere the dull tribunes that do hate thy honours , shall cry against their hearts , we thank the gods , that rome has such a souldier . mart. beseech ye sir no more : my mother that has priviledge to extol her blood ; when she do's praise me , grieves me . com. you shall not be the grave of your deserts ; for rome must know the value of her own : 't were a concealment worse than sacriledge . therefore , before our army you must hear me . mart. i have some vvounds upon me , and they smart , to hear themselves remembred . com. of all the fiery steeds , and goodliest treasure , vve have taken from the citty and the field , vve offer you the tenth , to be tane forth , before the common distribution ; choose for thy self . mart. i thank my general , but cannot make my heart consent , to take a bribe to pay my sword ; i do refuse it , and stand upon my common share , with those that joyn'd with me in fight . a flowrish , all wave their swords , and cry martius , martius . may these same instruments which you profane , never sound more ; when drums and trumpets shall i' th' field turn flatterers , then let courts be honest : no more i say . com. you are unjust to your own merits martius , and we must see 'em righted ; be it therefore known to all the world , that caius martius wears this war's garland ; and in token of it , my warlike steed ( known to the camp ) i give him , with all his golden trappings ; and henceforth , for what he did before corioles , call him , with all th' applause of our victorious camp , caius martius coriolanus . trumpets , drums , and shouts again . mart i will go wash , and then you shall perceive , whether i blush or no. com. so to our tent , where ' ere we do repose us , we will write to rome of our success ; you attalus must to corioles back with our commands . mart. the gods begin to mock me , i that now refus'd most princely gifts , am bound to beg of my lord general . com. speak and take . mart. i sometime lay here in corioles . at a poor old mans house , he us'd me kindly ; i' th' fight i saw him pris'ner , he cry'd to me : but then ausidius was within my view , and rage o're came my pitty : i beseech you to give my poor ost freedom . com. noble still : were he the butcher of my son , he shou'd be free , as is the wind. cor. i 'll find him out . now let us sacrifice to th' gods , and pray for many rival days , to this on rome ; then yield our pious rites , to our slain friends ; that done , to gen'ral mirth our legions sound , our labour'd brows with bays , and myrtle crown'd , and make with genial wine , our empty'd veins abound . [ exeunt .
act the second .
flourish . enter coriolanus in triumph , met by the nobility and commons of rome . cor. no more of this , it does offend my ears ; no more i pray . com. look sir , your wife and honoured mother . enter volumnia , and virgilia . cor. oh madam ! by the event i know you have petition'd all the gods on my behalf ; and next the gods , i pay you thus my duty . vol. nay my good souldier rise , my valiant caius , worthy coriolanus ; not thee this pomp , but thou adorn'st thy tryumph : what now virgilia ? cor. oh my tender dove ! my gentle silence hail ; what means this dew ? wou'dst thou have laugh'd , had i come coffin'd home , that weep'st to see me tryumph : ah! my love , such eyes the widdows in corioles wear , and mothers that lack sons . virg. ah my dear lord , what means that dismal scarf ? my joy lies folded there ! vol. i know not where to turn ; oh! wellcome general , most wellcome all : now from this starry seat , quirinus smiles . men. ten thousand wellcomes ; wellcome all : a curse begin at very roots on 's heart , that is not glad to see you ; yet have we some base repiners at this joy ; no matter , we call a nettle but a nettle , and the faults of fools but folly. cor. the same menenius ever . com. blunt and honest , lead . cor. your hand and yours : yet ' ere in our own house , i shade my head , the good patricians must be waited on ; i had rather be their servant in my way , than rule with them in theirs . com. on to the capitol . [ exeunt . manent tribunes . bru. all tongues speak of him , and the feeble sights are spectacled to see him : pratling nurses , into a rupture let their infants cry , chatting of him ; the dowdy maukin pins her lockrum on , and clambers walls to view him : stalls , gall'ries , windows , all are smother'd up , leads fill'd , and ridges hors'd : the reverend falmens amongst the crowd , press for a vulgar station , as at the approach of some descended god , he cannot temperat'ly bear his honours ; but will himself destroy what he has vvon . sic. there rests our hope , doubt not the commoners , for whom we stand , upon their antient malice will forget , on the least cause , his most applauded service . bru. i heard him swear , were he to stand for consul , he never wou'd appear i' th' market place , in the vile garment of humility ; and shewing ( as the custom is ) his vvounds to th' people , nor wou'd beg their stinking breaths . sic. it was his word : i wish no better , than to have him hold that purpose . bru. we must suggest to th' people , in what hatred he still has held 'em : that to his pow'r , he wou'd have made 'em mules , and silenc't us , their pleaders ; that he esteems no better of 'em , than as cammels of the war , that have their provender for bearing burdens , blows for sinking under ' em . sic. this ( as you say ) suggested at some time , when his soaring insolence shall fret the people , which will surely happen , if he be put upon 't ; and that 's as easy , as to set dogs at sheep ; he bears the fire to kindle their dry stubble , and the blaze shall darken him for ever . bru. his pow'r , or ours , must sleep : away to the capitol . [ exeunt . scene opening , shews the senate sitting in the capitol ; coriolanus in a white robe , as candidate for the consulship . sen. sit coriolanus , never blush to hear what you have nobly done . cor. your honours pardon , i had rather have my wounds to heal again , than hear say , how i got ' em . bru. i hope my lord , my words have not displac't you . cor. no sir ; yet oft , when blows have made me stay , i have fled from words : you did not flatter me ; therefore cou'd not displease me ; but your people , i love 'em as they weigh [ exit . com. the deeds of coriolanus , honour'd fathers , shou'd not be feebly spoke ; and breath wou'd fail me to tell the half : if valour be with romans , the chiefest virtue , martius has no equal : when tarquin first made head ; at sixteen years , he fought for rome's dear freedom , and bestri'd an'ore prest roman , in the consul's sight ; slew three opposers , tarquin's self encounter'd , and struck him on his knee ; in that days toil , when he might act a woman in the scene , he prov'd best man o' th' field ; and for his service , was crown'd before the camp : grown up to strength , the matchless youth , prov'd yet more wondrous man ; and in the brunt of seventeen battels since monopoliz'd the garland ; for this last , before , and in , corioles : i cannot speak him home ; he stopt the flyers , and by his rare example made the coward , turn terrour into sport ; his sword , death's stamp , where it did fall , it took from face to foot : he was a thing of blood ; almost alone he forc't corioles , came aidless off , and leading , waiting death , from town to camp : he gave no respight to his panting brest , till we cou'd call both field and citty ours . sen. we yield him worthy of the consulship : summon him in . com. be pleas'd to hear what yet exceeds all this ; our spoils he slighted , and look't on the seiz'd treasures , as they were the common muck o' th' world ; he covets less , than misery it self wou'd give , rewards his deeds with doing 'em , accounts 'em only as pledges of more services to come . sen. summon him in . enter coriolanus men. the senate coriolanus are well pleas'd to make thee consul . cor. i owe 'em still my life and services . men. it now remains , that you bespeak the people . cor. i do beseech your honours let me o're-leap that custom , for i cannot put on the gown , stand publick , and entreat 'em for my wounds sake , to give their suffrages ; please you that i may pass this ceremony . bru. the custom may in no wise be infring'd . sic. the peoples liberties depend upon 't , and no particular must be dispenc't with . men. we do solicit from your spleens no favour , put 'em not to 't , my lord , but stoop to th' custom , and take t' you , as your predecessors have , this dear-bought honour , with the usual forms . cor. it is a part , that i shall blush in acting ; methinks the people well might spare this method ; better constrain'd to do it . sic. mark you that ? cor. to brag to 'em , that i did thus and thus , shew 'em unaking scars , which i shou'd hide , as if i had receiv'd 'em for the hire of their vile breath ! men. pray do not stand upon 't . sen. tribunes by you , we recommend to the people , our noble choice , and to our worthy consul , we wish all joy and honour . call the lictors , and bid the fasces move . [ exeunt . sic. you see how he intends to treat the commons . bru. may they perceive's intent ; he 'll beg of 'em , as if he did contemn , what he requested , and scorn the givers . sic. we 'll inform 'em so ; let 's hasten to the forum , where i know , they wait us with impatience . [ exeunt .
scene the street . enter the citizens in vast number . cit.

well neighbours , for once ( if he require our voices ) we ought not to deny him .

cit. we may sir , if we will. cit.

i grant you , we have a pow'r in our selves to do it ; but it is such a power , as we have no power to do : for if he shew us his wounds , we are likewise to shew our feeling of those wounds ; so if he tells us his noble deeds , we must also tell him our noble acceptance of 'em : ingratitude is monstrous , and for the multitude to be ingrateful , were to make a monster of the multitude , of which , we being members , shou'd bring our selves to be monstrous members .

cit.

right ; so , when we stood up once about the corn , he himself stuck not to call us the many-headed multitude .

cit.

we have been call'd so of many . well , we are all resolv'd ( the greater part of us ) to give him our voices . if he lov'd the people , there never was a worthier man ; therefore , he shall have your voices ?

all. all , all , all , cit. but look you , to my knowledge he hates the people , and therefore you all deny him your voices ? all. all , all , all , &c. enter coriolanus , in the robe of humility , menenius with him . cit.

look , here he comes in the robe of humility : mark his behaviour ; observe me neighbours , we are not to advance altogether ; but to come to him where he stands , by one's , by two's , and by three 's ; then is he to make his request by particulars , wherein every one of us has a single honour , in giving him our own voices , with our own tongues ; therefore follow me , and i 'll shew you the trick on 't .

all. content , content . men. oh! sir , you are not right in this , you know the worthyest men have don 't . cor. what must i say ? i pray sir ? plague upon 't , i cannot bring my tongue to such tune : look sir , my wounds i got 'em in my countrys service , when some certain of your brethren roar'd , and ran from the noise of our own drums . men. o gods ! you must not speak of this , you must desire 'em sir , to think upon you . cor. think on me ? hang 'em , i wou'd they wou'd forget me , like their pray'rs . men. you will marr all ; i 'll leave you ; beseech you speak to 'em in the mildest manner . cor. hell ! bid 'em wash their faces , and keep their teeth clean : so , here comes a brace ; you know the cause sir of my standing here . cit.

we do sir ; therefore desire you tell us what brought you hither .

cor. my own desert . cit. your own desert ! cor. but not my own desire . cit. how ! not your own desire . cor. no sir , it never yet was my desire to trouble the poor with begging . cit. you must think sir , if we give you any thing , it is in hope to gain by you . cor. well , then your price o' th' consulship ? cit. the price is , to ask it kindly . cor. then kind sir , let me have it , i have wounds to shew , which shall be yours in private : your good voice sir , what say you ? cit. you have it worthy sir. cor. a match sir ; so , there 's in all , two worthy voices begg'd ; i have your alms , adieu . enter two more . cor. pray now , if it may stand with the tune of your good voices , that i may be consul ? i have here the customary gown . cit.

you have deserv'd nobly of your country , and you have not deserv'd nobly .

cor. your enigma ? cit.

you have been a scourge to her enemies , and a rod to her friends : you hate the people .

cor. you shou'd account me the more virtuous for 't , that i have not been common in my love. therefore let me be consul . cit.

well , we hope to find you our friend yet ; and therefore give you our voices .

cor. agreed sir , better 't is to dye , to starve , than beg the hire , for which we first did serve : this imposition is by custom laid ; must custom then in all things be obey'd ? the dust on antique time , wou'd lye unswept , and mountains errour , be too highly heapt for truth t' ore-peer ; rather than fool it so , let the high office , and the honour go to one cou'd bear this yet am i half through . here come more judges . two more come forward . your voices ; for your voices have i fought ; watch't for your voices ; for your voices bear , of wounds two dozen odd : have for your voices done many things , some more , some less ; your voices then : indeed i wou'd be consul . cit.

the truth is , you have behav'd your self , as i shou'd have done in the same place ; and therefore you shall have my voice , as i wou'd expect it my self .

cit. heav'n bless our noble consul . [ exeunt . cor. precious voters . enter menenius , with brutus and sicinius . men. you have stood your limitation , and the tribunes endue you with the peoples choice . it now remains , that in robes of honour , you wait upon the senate . cor. is this done ? sic. the custom of request you have discharg'd ; the people do admit you , and are summon'd to meet anon upon your approbation . cor. where ? at the senate house . bru. there coriolanus . cor. then i may shift these garments ? sic. you may sir. cor. good , then i 'll know my self again , and hast to the capitol . men. i 'll bear you company ; will you along . sic. we stay here to dismiss the people . [ ex. cor. men. he has it now , and by his looks , methinks 't is warm at 's heart . bru. with a proud heart , he wore his humble weeds : will you dismiss the crow'd . enter the plebeians . sic. how now my masters , have you chose this man. cit. he has our voices sir. bru. we pray the gods he may deserve your kindness . cit. the gods , and we , are agreed about that matter already : you say he 's proud. i say he call'd me sir , and carry'd himself like a most civil gentleman . cit. to my thinking , he flouted us down-right . cit.

it is his kind of speech , he has a scurvy handsome way with him , that 's the truth on 't .

sic. he shew'd you too , his marks of merit , wounds receiv'd for 's country . cit. he did so ; i remember all , as well as the wart on my nose . all. no , no , no man saw ' em . cit.

right , now i remember better , i saw never a one of 'em : the gods send he have any , i say : he said he wounds for us , i think some eight or ten douzen ; and waving his hand thus in scorn , i wou'd be consul , sayes he , and custom will not let me , but by your voices ; i have need at present of your voices ; therefore let me have your voices : which when we granted , i thank you for 'em ( quoth he ) and now you have left your voices , i have no further with you . and he 's the dullest rogue in rome , that cou'd not find this to be meer mockery .

bru. why then were you so stupid not to see 't ; or seeing it , so senseless to approve him ? sic. cou'd you not have told him , as we had taught you ; that when he had no pow'r , but was a petty servant to the state : he was your enemy , and ever spoke against the liberties and charters , that you bear i' th' common-wealth ; and being now arriv'd to a place of pow'r and sway , if he shou'd still maligna'ntly remain your foe ; your voices wou'd be curses to your selves . cit. i , so i told 'em , but their hearts were as hard as their forehead . bru. thus to have said , as you were fore-instructed , had touch't his spirit , and try'd his inclination : had either forc't from him a gracious promise , which you might afterwards have held him to , or else it wou'd have gall'd his surly nature : and to such angry mood enrag'd him , that you might have took advantage of his passion , and pass'd him unelected . cit. i told 'em that too . well , he 's not confirm'd , and we may deny him yet . cit. and will deny him : i have five hundred voters of that sound . cit. i , twice five hundred , with their friends to back'em . bru. get you hence instantly , and tell those friends , they have chose a consul that will take from 'em their liberties ; make 'em of no more voice than dogs , that often are for barking beaten , yet only kept to bark . sic. assemble therefore on a safer judgement , and all revoke your ignorant election ; enforce his pride to shew his hate ; forget not with what contempt he wore the custom'd robe : and lastly , lay the fault on us your tribunes . bru. i , spare us not , say any thing whereby you may revoke your suddain choice ; and then , as soon as you have drawn your number , repair to the capitol . all. we will so . cit. and rather then fail , we 'll swear every man of us , we never gave him our consent . away , away . [ exeunt . bru. let 'em go on ; this mutiny were better put in hazzard , than run a greater , and more certain mischief : if ( as he surely will ) he fall in rage with their refusal , we 'll be close at hand , to watch th' advantage his blind fury yeilds ; and from his own spleen , work a snare to hold him . [ exeunt .
act the third . coriolanus in the consuls robes , cominius , menenius , with the nobles ; met by the tribunes , sicinius , and brutus , and the plebeians . sic. back , pass no further . cor. ha! what 's that ? bru. it will be dangerous to go on ; no further. cor. what makes this change ? com. has he not past the nobles , and the commons ? bru. cominius , no. cor. have i had childrens voices ? men. tribunes give way . sic. the people are incens'd against him . cor. are these your herd ? must these have voices ? that can yield 'em now , and straight disclaim their tongues ! what are your offices ? you are their mouths , why rule you not their teeth ? have you not set 'em on ? men. be calm , be calm . cor. it is a purpos'd business , a meer plot to curb the pow'r of the nobility : bear it , and live with such as cannot rule , and never will be rul'd . bru. call 't not a plot ; the people say you mock't 'em , and of late , when corn was giv'n 'em gratis , you repin'd . cor. was not this known before . sic. not to 'em all. cor. have you inform'd 'em since ? fire ! plagues ! this practice becomes not rome , nor has coriolanus deserv'd this usage ; i must tell you friends , in suff'ring this , we nourish 'gainst the senate sedition and rebellion ; thus they are thank't for what they have , giv'n to beggars . sic. you speak o' th people , as you were a god to punish , not a man of their infirmity . bru. it were most fit we let the people know 't . men. what , what ? 't is but his choller . cor. choller . were i as patient as the midnight sleep , by jove 't wou'd be my mind . sic. it is a mind that shall retain it's venome , not poyson any further. cor. shall retain ; hear you this triton of the minews , mark you his absolute shall ? com. well ; on to th' market-place . cor. whoever gave that councel , to give out the corn o' th' store-house gratis , fed sedition , and the state 's ruin. bru. why shou'd the people give one that speaks thus their voice . cor. i 'll give my reasons , more worthy than their voices : prest to th' war , they wou'd not pass their gates ; this kind of service did not deserve corn gratis ; being i' th' war , their only valour was in mutiny , in faction only bold ; nobles pluck out at once , the multitudinous tongue , nor let 'em lick the sweet that is their poyson . sic. he has said enough . bru. he has spoken like a traytor , and shall answer as traytors do . cor. misereant , despight o'rewhelm thee ; what shou'd the people do with these bald tribunes , that make 'em fail their duty to the bench ? let what is fit take place , and throw their pow'r to th' dust. bru. manifest treason ! the ediles hoa ! let him be apprehended . cor. away old goat . all. we 'll be his surety . cor. hence rotten thing , or i shall shake thy bones out of thy garments . sic. help citizens . men. on both sides more respect . bru. here 's he wou'd take away your liberties . all. down with him , down with him . cor. hark how the whole kennel eccho to the cry of this old brace of curs ! a poaching pair of vermine , fed by the prey , that others toil for ; spawn of sedition , and the spawners of it . bru. whom means the lunatick ? cor. you , faction-mongers , that wear your formal beards , and plotting heads , by the valour of the men you persecute ; canting caballers , that in smoaky cells , amongst crop-ear'd mechanicks , wast the night in villanous harrangues against the state. there may your worship's pride be seen t' embrace a smutty tinker , and in extasy of treason , shake a cobler be th' wax't thumb . sic. or let us stand to our authority , or let us lose it ; we do here pronounce upon the peoples pow'r , this martius worthy of present death . bru. therefore lay hold on him , bear him to th' tarpeian rock , from whence , into destruction cast him : ediles seize him . cor. no , i 'll dye here ; there 's some among you have beheld me fight : come , try upon your selves . all. down with him . [ the nobles draw their swords . men. help martius , help . the tribunes , the ediles , and people , are beat off . com. stand fast , we have as many friends as enemies . cor. oh! wou'd 't were put to that ! men. the god's forbid ; beseech you noble sir , home to your house , leave us to cure this breach . com. come sir , i will along with you . cor. on fair ground , i wou'd beat a legion of ' em . com. but now 't is odds beyond arithmetick ; will you from hence before the tags return ? men. pray you be gone ; i ll try whether my old wit be in request , with those that have but little . com. nay , come away . [ exit . coriolanus , and cominius . men. oh! he has mar'd his fortune ; he wou'd not flatter neptune for his trident , nor jove for his pow'r to thunder . sen. i wou'd they were a bed. [ shout of the citizens within . men. i wou'd they were i' th' tiber. re-enter sicinius , and brutus , with the rabble . sic. where is this viper ? that wou'd depopulate the city , and be every man himself ? bru. he has resisted law , and therefore law shall scorn him further tryal . cit.

we 'll give him to understand , that our noble tribunes , are the peoples mouths , and we their hands .

men. sir , sir , sic. menenius , you have help't to make this rescue . men. hear me speak , as i do know the consuls worthyness , so i can name his faults . bru. what consul ? men. the consul coriolanus . all. no , no , no , he 's no consul . men. if by the tribunes leave , and yours good citizens , i may be heard sic. speak briefly then , for know , we have decreed his certain death , he dies to night . men. now the good gods forbid . bru. he 's a disease that must be cut away . men. o! he 's a limb that has but a disease , mortal to cut it off , to cure it easy : what has he done to rome , that 's worthy death ; most of his blood is for his country shed , and what is left , to lose it by his country sic. wide from the business : when he did love his country , it honour'd him. bru. therefore we 'll hear no more : pursue him to his house , and pluck him thence , lest his infection being of catching nature , spread further . men. yet one word more : beseech ye proceed by process , lest parties ( as he is belov'd ) break out , and sack great rome with romans . sic. if it were so ? bru. what do you talk , have we not had a tast of his obedience ; our ediles struck , our selves resisted ? come men. consider sirs , he has been bred in wars since he could draw a sword , and is ill-school'd in soothing language ; meal and bran together , he throws without distinction ; give me leave , i 'll go to him , and bring him t' you in peace , where he shall answer by a lawful form upon his utmost peril . senat. noble tribunes , it is the worthier way , the other course will prove too bloody , and the end of it , unknown to the beginning . bru. menenius , then be you the peoples officer . masters lay down your weapons . sic. go not home . bru. meet at the forum , we 'll attend you there , where , if you bring not martius , we 'll proceed in our first way . [ exit . tribunes and people . men. i 'll ' gage my life upon 't , let me desire your company , we must bring him , or worse will follow . [ exit . enter volumnia , met by valeria , passing by in a chair . val.

hold , hold , set me down i swear madam , i had almost overseen my good fortune , and past by your ladyship .

vol. your ladyships most humble servant . val.

and upon my honour , madam , my hast is so violent , and affairs so important , that nothing , but the sight of your ladyship , shou'd have stop me : well , i hear my lord coriolanus continues obstinate ; i love an obstinate man most inordinately ! do's your ladyship know , madam , that i am the greatest rabble-hater of my sex ? i think 'em the common nuisance of the world ; there 's no thought , no science , no eloquence , no breeding amongst 'em ; and therefore your ladyship must know , they are my aversion : for , as to all these particulars , and to every one of 'em , the envy of the world must grant and your ladyship knows , the world is most malicious i say , the envy of the world must grant o jupiter ! what was , i saying , madam ?

vol. i beg your ladyships pardon , that val.

then madam , there 's such mistery in my dress ! the wits see poetry in it , the souldiers spirit and courage , the mathematicians describe the spheres in 't , and your geographers , the terra incognita : ●●d yet your ladyship sees 't is as plain as nature ; no trim , no ornament : there 's my lady galatea , such a fantastical , fulsome figure , all curls and feathers ! and besides madam , she 's such an eternal talker ! her tongue 's the perpetual motion , and she affects such hard words , such an obdurate phrase , that she exposes her self a publick ludibry to the universe .

vol. nay , now valeria [ here one of the pages whisper valeria . val.

how 's that ? titus decius , cajus proculus , marcus flavius , publius cotta ; all to wait on me since i came forth ? are they not all banish't men ? have i not refus'd , incontinently , to see 'em these three days together ; nay , though they came upon state affairs : o the impudence of man-kind ! i swear , a lady had need look to her circumstances ! well , i 'll to athens agen , incontinently ! boy , tell 'em i shall return at six precisely i swear , madam , this love 's my aversion of all things in the world ; and yet for the speculative part , i presume , i understand it most unmeasurably : trust me , i cou'd write the art of love.

vol. think you so madam ? val.

as thus ; sometimes to seem , inordinately , jealous of them ; sometimes to make them , inordinately , jealous of mee : to seem merry when i am sad ; sad when i am merry ; to rail at the dress that becomes me best , and swear i put it on in contradiction to them.

vol. indeed madam ? val.

o jupiter ! how insensibly the time runs , whilst your ladyship is discoursing ; i cou'd hear your ladyship discourse all day but this business is the most uncivil thing but your ladyship , and i , shall take a time : your ladyship will excuse my hast ; for i swear , i am in hast most inordinately .

[ exit . enter to volumnia , coriolanus , menenius , cominius , with the rest of the nobles . cor. let 'em pull all upon my head , present me death on the wheel , or at wild horses heels ; or pile ten hills on the tarpejan rock : thus will i bear my self , nor bate a grain of my firm temper . vol. come , be milder . cor. from whence this change ? for madam , you were wont to call the slaves , things made to sit bare-headed in the assembly , and to yawn and wonder , when any one of my high rank stood up to speak of peace or war. why do you wish me milder ? wou'd you have me false to my nature ; rather say , i play the man i am . vol. o coriolanus ! i wou'd have had you put your pow'r well on , ' ere you had worn it out . men. come , you have been too rough ; you must return and mend it : there 's no remedy , unless you 'll see the city laid in ashes . cor. what must i do ? men. return to the tribunes . cor. well , what then ? what then ? men. repent what you have spoke . cor. to them ? i cannot do it to the gods. vol. you are too absolute , if it be honour in your wars , to seem the thing you are not , for your countreys good : why is it less in peace , when the whole state is set at equal hazzard ? this feign'd compliance no more dishonours you , than to take in a town with gentle words , that sets you else at chance , and is at best the price of blood ; i wou'd dissemble with my nature , where my fortunes , and my friends were both at stake ; i speak the voice of all , and am in this , your wife , your son , the senators , and nobles ; and in a word , the life , and fate of rome . men. o most divinely urg'd . vol. i pray go to 'em with mild behaviour ; for in such a business , action is eloquence ; and the eyes o' th' vulgar , more learned than their ears : or say to 'em , thou art their souldier , and being bred in battles , have not the soft way , which you do confess , were fit for thee to use , as them to claim . men. this but perform'd , i' th' manner , she has spoke , their hearts are yours ; nay , you shall have their knees . enter cominius . com. i 've been i' th' market place , and sir 't is necessary you make strong party to defend your self , or with fair language calm 'em ; all 's on fire . vol. he must , and will. cor. well , i comply , yet were there but this single frame to lose ; this mould of martius , they to dust shou'd grind it , and throw 't against the wind , to th' market-place . you have put me to a part , that i shall ne're discharge to the life . com. come , come , we 'll prompt you. cor. away my disposition , and possess me , some ev'nuchs spirit ; and the virgin voice , that lulls the babe asleep ; i will not do 't , lest i desist to honour my own truth ; and by my bodies action , teach my mind , a most inherent baseness . vol. at thy choice then : to beg of thee , is more below my honour , than thou of them : i stand prepar'd for death , with heart as fix as thine : destruction come , and let rome's founder , and the groaning spirits of all her guardians dead , affright the elements to see their citty , with her own hands let all her vital's blood : the care of heav'n , and fate expire in flames , whilst with a dreadful joy her foes look on ; and with insulting smiles aufidius cries , corioles ruins sped him with one name , rome give him now another . cor. oh my mother ! forgive my stubborn frame ! look , i am going ; chide me no more : oh! you shall see me play the very mountebank ; return belov'd of all the trades in rome : i 'll return conful , or never trust to what my tongue can do i' th' way of flattery further . vol. do your will. [ exit . com. the tribunes do attend you , arm your self to answer mildly ; for they are prepar'd with grievous accusations . see , they are come to seek us out . cor. let 'em accuse me by invention , i will answer in my honour . men. i , but mildly . cor. well , mildly be it then , mildly . enter tribunes and rabble . sic. draw near my fellow citizens . edile . list to your tribunes : peace . cor. first hear me speak . both trib. well , say peace hoa ! cor. shall i be charg'd no further , than this present ? must all determine here ? bru. you must submit to the peoples voices , allow their officers , be content to suffer such lawful censure for your faults , as shall be prov'd upon you . cor. i am content . men. lo , citizens , he sayes he is content . cor. what is the matter , that being past for consul with full voice , i am so dishonour'd , that the very hour you take it off agen ? sic. answer to us . cor. say then , 't is true , i ought so . sic. we charge you , that you have contriv'd to take from rome , all office , strove to wind your self into a pow'r tyrannical ; for which , you are a traytor to the people . cor. how ? traytor ! men. nay , patiently : your promise . cor. the fires i' th' lowest hell , fold in their people , call me their traytor : thou injurious tribune , were legions by thee , i wou'd say , thou ly'st , with voice as free as i do pray the gods. bru. mark you this ; people . all. to the rock , to the rock with him . sic. we need not put new matter to his charge ; what you have seen him do , and heard him speak ; beating your officers , cursing your selves , opposing law with blows ; and last , defying the pow'r that was to try him : this deserves the extreamest death . bru. but since he has serv'd well for rome cor. what , do you talk of service ? bru. i speak of it that know it . cor. you ? men. is this the promise that you made ? cor. vex me no more : let 'em pronounce the steep tarpeian death , vagabond exile , fleaing ; doom'd to linger : but with a grain a day , i wou'd not buy their mercy at the price of one fair word . sic. i say , his service to the state being weigh'd , with hostile practices committed since : ●th ' name o' th' people , and the tribunes pow'r , we banish him for ever from our citty ; in pain of death from the tarpeian rock , no more to enter through the gates of rome : i' th peoples name , i say , it shall be so . all.

it shall be so , it shall be so ; away with him , he 's a banish'd man , out with him .

com. hear me my masters , and my common friends . sic. he 's sentenc'd ; no more hearing . he is banish't , as enemy to the people , and his country . all. 't is so , 't is so ; it shall be so , &c. cor. you common cry of curs , whose breath i hate , more than the rotten fens , whose love i prize , as the dead carkasses of unburied men , that do corrupt my air. i banish you : remain you here with curst uncertainty ; let every feeble rumour shake your hearts , have still the pow'r to banish your defenders , till you are left a prey to some vile nation , that won you without blows ; poyson each other ; devour each other ; commerce cease amongst you ; rob one another : nothing you can steal , but thieves do lose it : whirlwinds sack your town , and citizens , and citty , make one rubbish . thus with the gods , i turn my back upon you ; and swift confusion swallow you . [ exit . with his friends . sic. there went the peoples enemy . they all shout , and throw up their caps . go see him out at gates , and follow him , as he has follow'd you ; with all despight , give him diserv'd vexation : let a guard attend vs through the citty . all.

ay , ay , let 's see him out at gates : the gods preserve our noble tribunes ; away , away .

[ exit . coriolanus , volumnia , virgilia , menenius , cominius , with the nobility of rome . cor. come , leave your fears , a brief farewell , and part : the beast with many heads butts me away : nay mother , where is now your wonted courage ? you have been us'd to say , extremities were the distinguishers of noble spirits ; that common changes , common men cou'd bear ; that when the sea was calm , the slightest boats , cou'd with the proudest , cut the smooth fac't floud ; that strength and management was for the storm : thus you were wont to arm me , with such precepts , as made invincible the heart that learn't ' em . vol. the spotted pestilence strike every street , and purple slaughter triumph through the citty ; death block up every door , and graves be wanting ; the noisy trades be husht , and traffick cease ; assemblies be no more : owls , ravens , vultures , with nests obscene , their desolate buildings fill , and beasts of prey their antient seats regain . cor. no more , the life of rome's not worth this mourning ; i shall be lov'd , when i am lack't nay mother , resume that spirit , when you were wont to say , if you had been the wife of hercules , six of his labours you 'd have born , and sav'd your husband so much sweat. vol. my first-born son , i call the gods to witness for my temper , that hitherto thy dangers were my joy , whilst for the service of thy country born ; but now thou hast no country to defend , i feel the womans tenderness return ; the mothers fondness , and her panting fears . virg. my injur'd lord , what course wilt thou persue , expos'd to more distress , and threatning dangers , than ever yet befel a banish't man : from her confederate , citties , rome excludes thee ; and in rome's service , thou hast made all others , thy foes implacable ? cor. the gods that warn me from these seats , choose for me . where is my little life ? pray let me see him , leave him a hasty blessing , and away . young martius brought in ; coriolanus take him in his arms. oh! how i grutch ingrateful rome this treasure ! make much of him virgilia , i shall live to train him up in war , and he shall choose some country to defend , and make his own : my absence in some part he shall supply ; and with his innocent pratling , chide thy sights , when thou shalt wake , and miss me from thy bed. boy , sir , shall not i go with you ? my grand-mother has promis'd me a sword. cor. my pretty life , i 'll visit thee again ; take , take him hence , he raises in my breast a tenderness that 's most unseasonable : and loathness to depart take him away . boy , then in truly sir , i 'll learn to ride , and come to you . cor. away , the little thief has stole my temper , and fill'd my eye lids with unmanly dew : once more farewell to all. men. permit us sir , to wait you to the citty gates , so far the cruelty o' th' people do's allow . cor. by jove , and fire-ey'd mars , not one step further : this race of pilgrimage is all my own . i know not what presage has struck my breast ; but oh! methinks i see destruction teem , and waiting for my absence , to discharge the battering storm on this perfidious citty : so when the murmering wind , from out his nest , jove's royal bird to the open region calls ; aloft he mounts , and then the tempest falls . [ exit . the end of the third act.
act the fourth .
scene , the city of corioles . enter coriolanus , disguis'd in mean habit. cor. a goodly citty this corioles ! citty , 't was i that did transform thy joyful wives , to mourning widdows ; many a darling heir of these fair palaces , have i cut off i' th' wretched parents sight ; then know me not . here is aufidious court , i 'll enter in ; perhaps he kills me ; then he does fair justice ; but if he give me scope , i 'll do his country service . [ exit . the inside of the palace ; musick plays ; servants pass hastily over the stage . serv. wine , wine , wine ! no ears amongst us ? i think our fellows are all asleep . serv. cotus , where 's cotus ? my master calls for him , cotus . [ exit . re-enter coriolanus . cor.

a sumptuous house ! the feast smells well ; but i appear not like a guest .

serv.

how now ! what have we here ? what wou'd you have friend ? whence come you ? here 's no place for you : pray find the way to the door .

cor. i have deserv'd no better entertainment from this corioles . enter the second servant . serv.

whence come you sir ? what , has the porter no eyes in his head ? to let such companions in : pray get you out .

cor. away . serv. away ? get you away . cor. thou art troublesome . [ trips him up . serv. are you so brisk ? well , i 'll have you order'd anon . [ exit . enter aufidius with servants . auf. where is this follow ? serv.

here my lord , i had cudgell'd him like a dog , but for disturbing the lords within .

auf. whence com'st thou ? what wou'dst have ? thy name , why speak'st thou not ? thy name i say ? cor. a name unmusical to volscian ears , and tullus harsh to thine . auf. speak , who thou art ? thou hast a grim appearance , and thy face bears a command in 't ; though they tackle's torn , thou shew'st a noble vessel : speak thy name . cor. prepare thy brow to frown ; know'st thou me yet ? auf. i know the not ; speak . cor. my name is caius martius , who have done to all the volsces ; thee particularly , most rueful mischief ; take , to witness this , my sir-name coriolanus : all my dangers , my painful service , and expence of blood , shed for my thankless country , are requited but with that sir-name , only that remains ; the peoples envy has devour'd the rest : who with insulting breath , and infamous shouts , have chas't me from their citty ; now this extremity has brought me to thy court ; not out of hope , ( mistake me not ) to save my life ; for if i had fear'd death ; of all men in the world , i had avoided thee : but in meer rage , to be reveng'd of those my banishers : for i will fight against ingrateful rome , with all the spleen of the remorsless fiends : this i avow , believe me if thou wilt ; if not ; know tullus , i am of life most weary , and present my throat to thee , and to thy antient malice ; which not to cut , wou'd shew thee but a fool ; since i have ever born thee , feellest hatred , drawn tuns of blood from thy dear countrys breast ; and cannot live , but to thy shame , unless it be to do thee service . auf. oh martius , martius ! each word thou hast spoke , has weeded from my heart , a root of antient envy : oh! if jupiter , from you curl'd clouds , shou'd thunder forth this story , i 'd not believe him more , than noble martius . let me embrace that body , against which , my pointed lance a hundred times has splinter'd : thus do i clasp the anvile of my sword , and here contest as hotly with thy love , as e're i did in battle with thy valour . cor. why this is somewhat . auf. son of mars i tell thee , we have a pow'r on foot , and i had purpose , once more to hew thy target to thy glove , or lose this arm for 't ; thou hast beat me out twelve several times , and i have might'ly since , dreamt of encounters 'twixt my self and thee ; we have been down together in my sleep , unbuckling helms , grasping each others throats , and walk'd half dead with nothing : worthy martius , had we no quarrel else to rome , but that thou thence art banish't , me wou'd muster all , from twelve to seventy years , and pouring war into the bowels of thy ingrateful citty , like a swoln flood wast all : come , enter with me , and take our wondring senators by th' hands , assembled here to take their leaves of me , who stand prepar'd against your teritories ; though not for rome it self . cor. you bless me gods. auf. you here are absolute ; if you will have the leading of your own revenges ; take the half of my commission , and resolve whether to beat against the gates of rome , or first afflict 'em in remoter parts : but come , let me present you to our nobles , that will confirm my words : a thousand welcomes , and more a friend , than e're an enemy : yet martius that was much. [ exeunt . serv. here 's a strange alteration ! serv.

by this hand i thought to have cudgell'd him , and yet my mind gave me , his cloaths bely'd him .

serv.

what an arm he has ? why , he turn'd me about between a finger and a thumb , as a man wou'd set up a top.

serv.

nay , i knew by his face there was something in him ; he had sir , a kind of face methought i cannot tell how to term it .

serv.

he had so ; such a looking , as it were that , that you call your what ' de ye call 't well , wou'd i were hang'd but i thought there was more in him than i cou'd think : he is , simply , the rarest man i' th' world.

enter a third servant . serv.

o lads ! slaves ! well , i wou'd not be a roman of all nations , i had as live be a condemned man.

serv. the matter ? serv.

why , here 's he that was wont to thwack our general caius martius .

serv. how ? thwack our general . serv.

no , i do not directly say thwack him , but he was always enough for him .

serv.

come , we are fellows and friends , he was ever too hard for him , i have heard him say so himself .

serv.

he was too hard for him , indefinitely , the last engagement ; he scotcht and notcht him like any carbanado .

serv.

why , he 's so made on yonder within , as if he was son and heir to mars ; set at the upper end of the table ; no question askt him by any of our senators , but they stand bald before him : my lord himself makes a very mistress of him . the short of the business is , our general is cut i' th' middle ; but the one half of what he was yesterday ; for the other has half his commission by the grant of the whole table ; which by the way , has something sowr'd our master's countenance : the upshot of all is , that this strange guest has sworn to stub the gates of rome , and mow all down before him .

serv.

and he 's as like to do 't as any man ; for look you sir , he has as many friends as enemies ; which friends sir , as it were , durst not ( look you sir ) shew themselves ( as we say ) his friends whilst he was in derectitude .

serv. derectitude , what 's that ? serv.

why ? that is ( d' ye conceive me sir ) directitude but when they shall see his crest up again , and the man in blood , they will out of their burroughs like conies after rain .

serv. but when goes this forward ? serv.

why to morrow , to day , this minute , you shall hear the drum struck up this afternoon ; 't is as it were , a part of their feast , and to be executed before they wipe their lips.

serv. why then we shall have a stirring world agen . serv.

right ; i hate this mouldy peace ; 't is good for nothing but to rust iron , and increase taylors ; 't is a getter of more bastard children , than war 's a destroyer of ' em .

serv. away , here comes our general with a frown in his forehead , and our termegent controller , nigridius with him . serv.

he is ever the harbinger to mischief ; his former command was under caius martius , who entrusted him with the custody of corioles , which he fairly gives up to aufidius ; at a close revenge he never fails ; yet he that lives to see him hang'd , may dye before the year 's out : and there 's prophecy without conjuring .

[ exeunt . enter aufidius and nigridius . nigr. what circe sir , has wrought you to this change : by hell i rather shou'd have thought to have seen , serpents with doves embract , than this agreement ; call but to mind your mornings wiser thoughts : where is that fiery resolution vanisht ? have you , my lord , forgot your mornings vow ? it seem'd the voice of fate . auf. nigridius , no , the accents still are fresh upon my mind ; i swore , and call'd the elements to witness , if i , and caius martius met once more , that teeming hour , corioles or rome , i● him or me shou'd perish . nigr. such a sound , and utter'd , with so stern a brow , shot terror , and to our view , confest a flaming mars ; but now ( forgive me sir ) you seem reduc'd to less , than man , the shaddow of your self : what witchcraft drew your mind to this alliance with him , whose only genius of the world , had pow'r to vie with yours ? auf. he bears himself more proudly , ev'n to my person , than i thought he wou'd , when late i did embrace him ; but his nature in that 's no changeling , and i must excuse what cannot be amended . nigr. yet i wish you had not took this joynt commission with him ; but either born the action all your self , or left it whole to him . auf. i understand thee but spare to fret a lyon in the toil. nigr. the palsy senate lay their fears aside , and rest on his protection as a gods : your souldiers use him as their grace 'fore meat ; their talk at table , and their thanks when done : what estimation shall your foes take for you , when you are lost , and darkn'd to your own : heark in what notes the very rabble greet him . [ shout here . auf. death ! hell ! this infamy enflames my brest , makes emulation higher boyl than ever ; i 'll sink corioles , but i 'll yet break with him ; and wreck the state , rather than want a quarrel . [ exeunt . brutus at one door , menenius at the other . bru. we stood to 't in good time here comes menenius ; o! he is grown of late most courteous : hail sir , your coriolanus is not much mist you see , but with his friends ; the common-wealth stands still , and so wou'd do , were he more angry at it . men. come , all is well , and might have been much better bru where is he , hear you ? men. nay , i hear nothing . bru. he was a worthy officer i' th' war ; but insolent , ambitious , and affecting a single sway. men. i think not so . enter scicinius hastily , with the rabble , crying , gods save our noble tribunes , &c. bru. the matter brother : whom bring you there ? sic. this slave , whom i am sending to correction , reports , the volsces , with two several pow'rs , are entred on the roman territories ; and wast with sword and fire , what lies before . this he reports , set on by envious parties , to fright the peoples quiet . cit. ay , i 'll be sworn he has set me in terrible twittering , my heart beats still . men. 't is fierce aufidius , who hearing of our martius banishment , thrusts forth his horns agen , that were shut in , whilst martius stood for rome . bru. go see the villain whipt . men. first reason with him . sic. let him be lasht before the peoples eyes . cit.

i , i , whip him ; such another fright upon me , wou'd make my wife miscarry .

enter another messenger . mes. hast , hast my lords , you are sent for to the senate , a fearful army led by caius martius , assisted by aufidius , spoyls our territories , consumes with arms and fire , what lies before ' em . cit.

how ! caius martius comming ; all dead men , dead ! dead ! dead !

men. o you have made good work : what news my lord ? enter senator . mes. cominius , on the spur , is gone to meet , and pacify the raging martius . men. 't will be impossible . mes. the senate thinks so ; he leads the volsces like their god , a being made by some other deity than nature , that forms man better . men. you have made precious work ; you , and your apron men , that stood so much upon the voice of occupation , and the breath of garlick eaters . all cit. ay , we shall be occupy'd with a vengeance . men. he 'll shake your rome about your ears , as hercules did shake down mellow fruit. both trib. but is this true sir ? sen. you 'l dissolve to gelly , before you find it otherwise ; the citties that were ally'd to rome , revolt each minute . cit. undone , undone , we are all undone , unless the noble man have mercy . sen. and who shall ask it ? the tribunes cannot do 't for shame , and you deserve such pitty of him , as the woolf do's from the sheapherd : for his friends , if they shou'd say , be good to rome , he 'll censure 'em as enemies to him . men. true , were he putting to my house , the brand that shou'd consume it ; i cou'd not say cease . your curs here from the citty hooted him : but oh! i fear you 'll roar him in agen . enter all the rest of the citizens with a confus'd cry , and lamentation . sen. look , here comes the whole kennel : you are they that made the air unwholsome , with the casting up your greasy caps , and hooting at coriolanus banishment : now he 's comming to pay you for your bellowing ; 't is no matter if he cou'd burn us all into one coal ; we have deserv'd it . all. the gods be gracious to us , we hear fearful news . cit.

for my own part , when i said banish him , i said 't was pitty .

cit.

and so did i ; and to say truth , so did all of us : well , we did , that we did , for the best ; and though we willingly consented to his banishment , yet it was against our wills.

cit. i , i , i ever said we were in the wrong . all. i , and so did we all. enter cominius . cit.

let me see what his face says to us : alack ! alack , dead , dead , dead ! all dead men.

sen. welcome my lord , what influence had your intercession with enrag'd coriolanus . com. nothing : he wou'd not seem to know me . men. hear you that ? com. yet once he call'd me by my name ; i urg'd our old acquaintance , and the drops that we have bled together , but in vain : coriolanus he wou'd not answer to ; forbad all names ; he was a kind of nothing ; titleless , till he had forg'd him a name o' th' fire , in burning rome . all cit. alack ! alack ! &c. com. i minded him how royal 't was to pardon , when it was least expected ; he reply'd , it was a forc't submission of a state , to one they had abus'd , and still wou'd do so . men. very well , com. i try'd at last to waken his regard , for his own private friends his answer was , he cou'd not stay to cull 'em in a pile of noysome musty chaff . cit.

how ? chaff ? what , do's he make no more of us but chaff ? and will he burn his mother and wife , rather than not make tinder of us ? the gods be gracious to us .

bru. now good menenius , if you love your country , or pitty her distress , become her pleader ; your pow'rful tongue may be of force to stop him , more than the instant army we can raise . men. no , i 'll not meddle . sic. pray go to him . men. what shou'd i do ? bru. only make tryal what your love can work for rome , with martius . all cit. kneeling beseech you most noble menenius . men. well , i will under-take't , and think he 'll hear me , though much discourag'd with cominius treatment ; yet i will prove him with my ablest speed. cit.

the gods preserve you sir , commend my hearty affections to him ; and if it stand with his good liking , we 'll hang up our tribunes , and send him them for a token .

com. he 'll never hear him ; i tell you , he sits thron'd in gold , his eye all red , as 't wou'd burn rome ; his injury the jayler to his pitty ; i kneel'd to him , 't was very faintly he said rise ; dismist me thus with his speechless hand ; what he resolv'd , he sent in writing after me , and that most fatal . therefore curse your crime , and perish . [ exit . cit.

some comfort yet , that we have these vipers to carbinado ; come neighbours , we 'll see them smoak before us . away , away with ' em .

exeunt . haling and dragging off the tribunes . scene opening , shews coriolanus seated in state , in a rich pavilion , his guards and souldiers with lighted torches , as ready to set fire on rome ; petitioners as from the citty offer him papers , which he scornfully throws by : at length menenius comes forward , and speaks to him : aufidius with nigridius , making remarks on ' em . men. now may the gods in hourly councel sit , for thy prosperity , and love thee , as thy old father menenius do's : o son ! my son , what fury sways thy breast ? thou art preparing fire for us ; look here , here 's water for the flames : most hardly was i wrought to come to thee ; but being assur'd none but my self cou'd move thee ; i come , blown out from rome with gales of sighs . cor. away . men. how ? cor. no words friend : mother , wife , or child , i know not ; i 'm not my own , but servanted to others ; mine was the injury , but the remission lies not with me , but in the voisces breast ; and rome must stand to them for their account . that we were friends , forgetfulness must blot , e're lawless pitty move : therefore be gone , my ears against your pray'rs are stronger , than your gates against my arms : yet 'cause i lov'd thee , take this with thee ; i writ it for thy sake , and meant t' have sent it : another word , menenius , i must not hear thee speak : this man , aufidius , was my best lov'd in rome ; yet thou beholdst auf. you bear a constant temper . cor. his love to me , was much beyond the kindness of a father ; and i return'd him more than filial duty ; their latest refuge was to send him to me . auf. you are two rigorous . nigr. fasten but that upon him , and you gain the point we wish . cor. now plant our fires against the gates of rome : bid all trumpets sound ; they shall have musick to their flaming citty . as they advance with their lights , enter from the other side , volumnia , virgilia , and young martius , with the rest of the roman ladies all in mourning . cor. look there , my mother , wife , and little darling , are come to meet our triumph on its way , and be spectators of our keen revenge , on this ingrateful town . virg. my dearest lord ! vol. my first-born only son. cor. life of my life , fly to me ? o a kiss , long as my exile , sweet as my revenge ; and thou my turtle , nest thee in my heart : ( to the boy ) forgive me gods , that any dearest transport , shou'd make my charm'd sense , unsaluted , leave the noblest mother sink my knee in earth , of deepest duty more impression shew , than that of common sons . nigr. observe you this ? cor. what means this silence ? what , these sable weeds ? this troop of stars beset with darkest night : o mother , wife ! two deeply you have took my banishment , and i must chide your sorrow . this sadness for my absence , shew'd dispair of injur'd martius virtue , call'd in question , the justice of the gods for my revenge ; virgilia speak , speak mother ; at your feet behold a kneeling conqueror : answer to me . vol. rise martius , up , coriolanus rise ; whilst with no softer cushion than these flints ; i kneel to thee , and with this new submission , shew duty as mistaken all this while , between the son and parent . cor. what 's this ? your knees to me ? then let the pibbles of the hungry beach , change station with the stars ; the mutinous winds , snatch mountain-oaks , and hurl 'em at the sun ; let all impossibilities have being , and nature fall as giddy with the round . vol. my fire-ey'd warrior , do you know this lady ? cor. the noble sister of publicola , the moon of rome , chast as the frozen snow , that hangs on diana's temple . vol. and this divine epitome of yours ; this little martius whom full time shall ripen into your perfect self . cor. the god of battles , with the consent of fav'ring jove inspire thy thoughts with nobleness ; that thou mayst prove , the wars proud standard fixt in tides of blood ; like a tall sea-mark o're the dashing waves , and saving those that view thee . vol. your knee sirrah , ev'n he , your wife , these ladies , and my self , are humble suitors cor. oh my boding heart ! vol. this liv'ry was not for your absence worn ; so dear we knew your safety to the gods : but now put on as funeral robes , and mourning for our expiring rome . o spare thy country , and do not murder nature . cor. witness for me you conqu'ring host , and thou my valiant partner ; what tenderness and duty i have shewn these ladies , whilst they did converse with me as wife and mother : but since they exceed the bounds of kindred , and encroach upon affairs of state , i as the volsces general , support their dignity , and take my pomp ; [ ascends his throne . yet nature shall to any suit , unlock our yielding ear , that do's not tend to save the roman state , and barring our revenge ; in that particular , i shall forget all enter-course of blood ; standing as man were author of himself , and knew no other kin. vol. no more , no more ; you have said you will not grant us any thing , for we have nothing else to ask , but that which you deny already yet we 'll speak . cor. aufidius , and you volsces , mark , for we hear nought from rome in private your request : what seeks that lovely tempter , whose dove's eyes cou'd make the gods forsworn but shake not me ? virg. think with your self my once indulgent lord , how more unhappy than all living women , are we come hither , since thy sight , that shou'd make our eyes flow with joy , strikes terrour through us ; forcing the mother , wife , and child , to see the son , the husband , and the father , tearing his countries bowels with unnatural rage , whilst frighted destiny disowns the deed , and hell is struck with horrour . vol. thou debarr'st us ev'n of our prayr's to th' gods , and to this hour , no wretchedness was e're deny'd that help : how shall we ask the death of rome , or thee , oppos'd in fatal war ; and one must fall ? most wretched martius , thou bleed'st ev'ry way ; for know 't is sworn betwixt thy wife and me , in that curst hour that thou despoilst our citty , thou tread'st upon thy mother's earth . virg. and mine ; and this sweet smiling flow'r . boy . he shall not tread on me , i 'll run away till i am bigger : but then i 'll fight . cor. not to be struck with woman's tenderness , requires , nor child's , nor woman's face to see . i have sate too long . [ descends . ] virg. nay , go not from us thus : if it were so , that our request did tend to save the romans , thereby to destroy the volsces , whom you serve , you might condemn us , as poys'ners of your honour : no , our suit is but to reconcile 'em , that the volsces may say , this mercy we have shewn the romans ; this we receiv'd , whilst either party gives the praise to thee , and bless thy memory , for making this dear peace . vol. thou know'st my son , th' event of war 's uncertain ; but 't is certain , that if thou conquer rome , the benefit that thou shalt reap from thence , is such a name , as always shall be mention'd with a curse : thy chronicle writ thus ; the man was noble , but with his last performance stain'd his glory , and left his rowl of fame , but one foul blot . pause , and reply to this . cor. why chills my blood ? like a dull actor now have i forgot my part , and stop even to a full disgrace : away affection ; break ye bonds of nature ; in me 't is virtuous to be obstinate : bid our drums strike . vol. speak daughter ; boy , speak thou ; perhaps thy childishness may move him more , than all our reasons : never was there man , so much to an indulgent mother bound , yet all neglected . here he sees me begging ; say my request 's unjust , and spurn me back : but if it be not so he turns away . down ladies , let us shame him with our knees ; he bears more service for his countrys foes , than pitty for our prayers : down , and finish ; this is our last ; so will we back to rome , and dye i' th' common slaughter nay , behold this boy , that cannot tell what he wou'd have ; yet kneels , and with up lifted hands , becomes a pleader for his country too : remorsless still then give us our dispatch ; we 'll speak no more , till rome be all on fire . then joyning curses with the crowd , expire . cor. o mother-goddess , dread volumnia , turn : what have you done ? behold the heav'ns divide , and gods look down on this amazing scene ! o mother goddess , heav'n-born advocate ; a happy victory you 've gain'd for rome , though dang'rous for your son. but let it come aufidius , though we press not on the war , we 'll frame convenient peace . now tell me warriours , if you were in my stand , wou'd you have heard a mother less , or granted less , aufidius ? auf. i was mov'd too . cor. i dare be sworn you were : what peace you 'l make , advise me ; for my part , i 'll not to rome , but back with you . lead on , sound all our trumpets ladies you deserve to have a temple built you : all romes legions , with their confed'rate arms , cou'd ne're have stood my sworn revenge , and turn'd this tide of blood.
the end of the fourth act.
act the fifth .
scene rome . enter cominius , and the nobles leading volumnia , virgilia , and young martius , with the rest of the ladies and attendants , the citizens shouting . com. this honour ladies , might make juno proud , to vol. & virg. to think whilst you receive th' applause of rome , your martius triumphs at corioles : corioles , that once has had the honour to make rome tremble . enter valeria . val.

servant ladies , your servant ; your ladiships are most happily return'd : what misfortune had i to be indispos'd at such a season : 't was the most uncivil sickness ! i swear i had rather ha' dy'd at another time ! o the arguments that i cou'd have us'd upon this occasion with my lord coriolanus ! i cou'd have urg'd the most invincible arguments : i wou'd have talk't greek to him rather than fail ; nay , i wou'd have taxt his breeding in the business ; flatly telling him , he was an uncivil person to refuse me ; and had never seen athens .

vol. indeed our conquest was most difficult . val.

why madam , don't i know him ? he 's the dearest obstinate man ! which i confess in a vulgar person , were most inordinately , unsufferable ; but in him it looks so grand , heroick , and august , that no aera , catalogue , chronicle , register , or annals of time can ever save me juno ; what , my little souldier here too !

[ runs to young martius . vol. he was a silent pleader in our cause . val.

i warrant , he loves a drum better than his lesson ; his father 's own son : i swear madam , i lookt on him on wednesday last right , 't was wednesday precisely , ( the same time that madam pontia told the most egregious story of a certain senators daughter , which we all swore seoresy to : pray madam put me in mind to tell it presently ) i say , i lookt at him a whole hour together ; he has such a fixt , confirm'd , severe , austere , countenance , i warrant i saw him run after a gilded butterfly ; and when he had catch't it , he let it go agen ; then after it agen , and over and over he comes ; and whether his fall enrang'd him or no , or how 't was , he did so set his teeth , and tear it ! o jupiter , how he mammockt it !

virg. one of his father's moods . val.

and i swear madam , 't is the greatest comfort in nature to have 'em take after their ancestors ; for when they degenerate , they do as it were recede , decline , imminnish ; which your ladiship knows in effect amounts to a my lord cominius ! your lordships most humble servant , i beg your lordships pardon most inordinately .

com. madam your ladiship makes val.

i grant you my lord , your friendship with him went far in the business ; pretty madam flavia and i , were both of that opinion .

com. your ladiship too highly val.

i hold with you there too my lord , she 's the wittiest creature when she 's dispos'd to talk ; but she has too much of my failing , always silent in company , which gives occasion , most inordinately , to the censorious world ; insomuch , that a modest person must incontinently , and to the outmost though your forward ladies by reason of a particular oh jupiter ! what was i saying my lord ?

com. ev'n what val.

your lordship 's right again ; want of exercising my tongue , oft-times confounds my notion

[ page whispers her . page .

your rival servants madam , flavius and proculus , wait for your ladyships return .

[ enter a messenger with letters to virgilia . val.

soft six senators , sayst thou , staying for me at my house ! some urgent affair ; better i swear be ignorant of state-matters than suffer this eternal trouble : this 't is to learn'd and travell'd ! i say 't is the most insipid thing not to be learn'd and travell'd ! i wou'd not for the world but be disturb'd at all hours upon affairs : my chair there ; o jupiter , no attendance in this world your lordship will excuse me on consideration and your ladyships : your lordships most humble servant ; your servant ladies ; your most humble servant .

exit . verg. o my boding fear ! [ shewing the letter . amidst this general joy begins our sorrow ; this mourning we put on for rome , must now become the dress of our own private sorrow . com. what mean those doleful accents ? virg. false nigridius , ( disbanded for his villany by martius ) is busy for revenge ; and hourly plots against his precious life : the industry of good menenius sends this information ; whilst martius , confident in innocence , is obstinately blind to all his dangers ; though in the walls of an offended citty , whose streets yet mourn the slaughter he has made . vol. the gods provide us then more noble work , to give our virtues , yet a brighter ray : come my virgilia ; with our ablest speed , we will betake us to corioles . com. consider madam , what th' event may be ; your aid uncertain , but your danger sure . virg. needful suspition , necessary caution , he reckons only better terms for fear ; his life is therefore any villains prize : and he that dares not face a waking env'nuch , may kill a sleeping gyant . boy .

shall not i go too ? my father promis'd to teach me to fight : i wou'd fain learn ; and if any body hurts him , i 'll kill their boys now ; and them , when i am bigger .

vol. hear'st thou virgilia ? all thy martius fire lies shrouded in this little frame , and shall with time , break forth into as full a blaze : o we delay our enterprize too long , and seem ingrateful to the indulgent pow'rs , that have decreed our names , the immortal glory , to save rome first , and then coriolanus . com. the gods , whose temples you preserv'd , protect you . exeunt . enter aufidius , and nigridius . nigr. compose this fury , and recall your reason . auf. preach patience to the winds , bid tempests sleep . the golden opportunity is lost , and i cou'd curse my self as heartily as ever i did martius : o nigridius , i am a lazy trifler , and unworthy to be possest o' th' beauty that i love , or be reveng'd upon the man i hate : why forc't i not my passage to his heart ? then pamper'd in the banquet of his blood , flown hot , as flame born pluto , to the rape ; and quench't the fevour in virgilia's arms. nigr. give o're this frenzy . auf. now each minute wrecks me , with the remembrance of my former pangs , which war had almost hush't , and blood wash't out her dove-like sorrow , when she begg'd for rome , ( with eyes tear-charg'd , yet sparkling through the dew , whilst charming pitty dimpled each soft cheek ) call'd back the scene of my expecting youth when with vain promises of joys to come , i wak'd the night , and watch't the stars away ; so was i wrapt anew i' th dazling dream ; believ'd her yet unwed ; believ'd my self the happy youth design'd to reap her sweets ; to lock the tender beauty in my arms ; blushing , yet granting ; trembling , and yet embracing . i shall go mad with the imagination . nigr. wake , wake my lord from this fantastick maze , return her scorn upon your rival's head , and make at least a mistress of revenge : ev'n now he makes his entrance at our gates ; presuming with a smooth and specious tale , to acquit himself before the credulous people . enter an officer of aufidious party . off. our lords o' th' citty , noble tullus , are met in councel at your pallace , where they crave your presence , having summon'd thither your partner caius martius , to give in th' account of his proceedings in this war ; and t' answer at his peril all miscarriage . auf. go , tell 'em i 'll attend 'em instantly ; deliver 'em this paper , the contents of what i have to charge on martius , and shall make good to his face . [ ex. officer . nigr. now sir , how fares it with you ? auf. as with a man by his own alms empoyson'd . nigr. you hold your last resolve . auf. i cannot tell ; we must proceed in 't , as we find the people . nigr. the people will remain uncertain , whilst you stand competitors ; but eithers fall , leaves th' other heir to all. auf. i rais'd him , pawn'd my honour for his truth , whilst the sly flatterer seduc'd my friends , softning his nature , never known before : so base a grain of cynick obstinacy : banish't from rome , i furnish't him with pow'r ; made him joynt partner with me , gave him way in all his own desires ; nay , took some pride to do my self this wrong , till at the last , i seem'd his follower , not his patron . nigr. true , our army wonder'd at it , and at last , when he had carry'd rome , and that we look't for no less spoil , than glory auf. o there 's it ! for which my sinews shall be stretch't upon him . nigr. your native-town you enter'd like a pilgrim , and had no welcome home ; whilst he return'd , tortring the air with noise ; and patient fools , whose children he had slaughter'd ; tore their throats , with shouting his applause . auf. wreck me no more , his tryumphs sleep this day ; then shalt thou see , thy tullus glories bloom a second spring : i shall be yet the wonder of the crowd , when this controller of my fate is gone : 't is odds our senate doom him ; but if not , i 'll have my party planted near thy news . enter the officer . off. my lord , the councel have perus'd your paper , and summon your appearance instantly . what will surprize you more : i met ev'n now volumnia with virgilia , and young martius , just enter'd our corioles , and hastily enquiring for your palace ; menenius at that instant passing by . auf. thou tell'st me wonders , but i know thy truth . nigridius , help me now to play this game , and draw at once our net o're the whole covey : they have not yet seen martius . off. no , menenius off'ring to conduct 'em to him , they grew divided in their resolutions ; virgilia held it best to seek out you , presuming on her former pow'r with you ; but what they did determine on auf. no more . nigridius , take our guard along with you , whilst i attend the councel ; seize 'em all , before they can attain to speak with martius ; dispose 'em privately within our palace ; virgilia by her self ; you know my drift : for soon as i 've secur'd my rivals life , all stain'd i' th' husbands blood , i 'll force the wife . [ exeunt .
scene , a palace . the lords of corioles , as set in councel . lord. let justice , lords , reward his services , far as his conduct shall be worthy found : 't is not unknown what deeds he has perform'd , since first he had the leading of our pow'rs ; molesting hourly romes confed'rate citties ; restoring our lost fields made rich with blood ; our burden'd souldiers groan'd beneath the spoil : yet there to make a hault in 's action , where most his resolution was requir'd ; to flinch our service at the gates of rome , and make a treaty where he shou'd have storm'd ; admits of no excuse , and i propose it to your impartial censures see he comes . enter coriolanus ; aufidius on the other side . cor. hail lords , i am return'd your souldier ; no more infected with my countries love , than when i parted hence : be pleas'd to know , that prosperously i have attempted , and with bloody passage led your war , ev'n to the gates of rome ; our spoils brought home , ten times o're pay the charges of the action : the peace which with the romans we have made , brings no less honour to corioles , than shame to rome . behold their consul's hand , with the patricians , and the seal o' th' senate to composition , such as ne're was gain'd by proudest conquerour from the pettyest state : peruse it , and approve my services . auf. ha! that again : lords , heard you what he said ? cor. i say , i 'll have my services approv'd . auf. wrong not so much your patience lords , to read that fabulous commentary , but forthwith give sentence on his most apparent cor. ha! may i believe my sense ? down swelling heart , thou wert my partner , tullus ; but take heed , no more i say , and thank me for this warning . auf. o vanity ! cor. i say let me be calm . auf. out blast read not the paper , lords , but tell the traytor cor. traytor ! auf. that , martius . cor. martius ? auf. i , martius , caius martius , dost thou think , i 'll grace thee with thy robbery , thy stoln name coriolanus in corioles . most awful lords o' th' state , perfidiously he has betray'd your business , and giv'n up , ( for certain drops of dew ) your citty rome ; i say your citty to his wife and mother , breaking his oath of service ; call'd no councel of war on this ; but at his nurses tears , he whin'd and roar'd away your victory : for a few tears , sold all our blood and labour , whilst pages blush't at him , and men of heart , look't wond'ring at each other . cor. hear'st thou mars ! auf. name not the fiery god , thou boy of tears . cor. scorpions and basilisks ! all lords . silence on your lives . cor. measureless lyar , thou hast made my heart , too big for what contains it : boy ? oh slave ! carrion-breed , creeping infect : lords your pardon ; 't is the first time i e're was forc't to brawl , but your grave judgment will consent with me , to give this fiend the lye : nay , his own brawn , that wears my stripes , his vassal body , that must bear my beatings with it to the grave cut me to pieces volsces , pound , calcine me , and throw my dust to the wind ; yet when yo 've done ; if you have writ your annals true , 't is there , there registred to all posterity , that , as an eagle in a dove-coat , so was martius slaught'ring in corioles . auf. dye insolent . stamps with his foot , the conspirators enter , and help him to wound martius , who kills some , and hurts aufidius . the lords rise , and come forward . lord. guards , guards , secure 'em both . tread not upon him ; off : o tullus , thou hast done a deed , at which , valour will weep . auf. pray give me hearing , [ a confus'd noise heard from abroad . lord. heark what confusion storms without . enter nigridius hastily . nigr. hast , hast my lords , disperse to every quarter , our city 's up in arms , aufidius legions oppos'd by those were led by caius martius . prepare for dreadful battle in our streets , unless your speedy presence quell their fury . lord. disperse my lords , each to a several quarter , with your best skill , to quench these threatning flames . [ exeunt lords severally . nigr. curst chance ! why bought you your revenge so dear ? auf. there 's blood upon thee . nigr. blood long thirsted for . [ the noise continues ' cor. 't is just you gods , to give my death this pomp ; 't is fit , that when coriolanus dies , corioles shall fall their sacrifice ; ev'n thou my bond-slave follow'st in the tryumph ; hast then , and wait me to the nether world. auf. no , i have yet a pleasant scene to act ; my bliss ; but fiend , thy hell ; bring in virgilia . cor. virgilia ? auf. yes , she 's here , here in the palace ; out of her roman virtue come to seek you , and spy those dangers out , which you were blind to ; thou 'lt not believe thy foe , but heark , she comes ; i charge thee dye not yet , till thou hast seen our scene of pleasures ; to thy face i 'll force her ; glut my last minuits with a double ryot ; and in revenges sweets and loves , expire . virgilia brought in wounded . in blood ? nigridius look ! behold a sight , wou'd turn the gorgon-snakes my rage is gone , and i am touch't with sorrow my faint nerves refuse my weight , and hasty death invades at ev'ry pore oh dark ! dark ! o , o. [ dies . virg. betray me not thou sluggish blood , stream faster , i , now the stubborn heart resigns , and takes the proud destroyer to her inmost courts . cor. o heav'n ! virg. 't is near , for that was martius voice ; my eyes are dim ; but that dear sound agen ; o where , my dear lord ? speak ! cor. if i do wake , and that bright dismal object be virgilia , tell me what sacrilegious hand has stain'd , the whitest innocence that heav'n e're form'd : what rage cou'd hurt a gentleness like thine , whose tender soul cou'd weep o're dying roses , and at blossoms fall ? tell me thou turtle , ruffled in a storm ; what chance seduc'd thee to these caves of slaughter ? what means that purple dew upon thy breast ? virg. my noble martius , 't is a roman wound , giv'n by virgilia's hand , that rather chose to sink this vessel in a sea of blood , than suffer its chast treasure , to become th' unhallowed pyrates prize ; but oh the gods , the indulgent gods have lodg'd it in thy bosoms ! the port , and harbour of eternal calms : o seal with thy dear hand these dying eyes ; to these cold cheeks lay thine ; and to thy breast take my unspotted soul , in this last sigh . [ dyes . cor. make way ye stars , a nobler brightness comes : ariadne shall to thee resign her crown ; yet my virgilia mount not to thy merit , but grace the orb thy martius shall attain : my grief talks idlely cold my love ? she 's gone ; and on her cheeks a scatter'd purple smiles , like streaks of sun-shine from a setting day : but oh my heart ! my fears expire not here ! volumnia , and my little darling boy ; where are they ? some kind god descend t' inform me . nigr. trouble not heav'n for your intelligence . cor. nigridius here ? then heav'n indeed is distant ! nigr. with silent transport , martius , i have stood to see thy pangs ; to have hasten'd on thy death , had been too poor revenge ; remember martius , the stripes , and foul disgrace thou laid'st upon me , when once i bear commission under thee : thou mad'st me pass the fork before my souldiers , discarded , branded , hooted from the camp. cor. i do remember thy unequall'd villany : had exemplary punishment . nigr. that day thou drew'st this blood from thy own vitals , martius : 't is thy young boys , whom i this hour have mangled , gash't , rack't , distorted . cor. o this tale of horrour , wou'd rouse the sleeping father from his grave ! yet strength forsakes me for the dear revenge . well , cerberus , how then didst thou dispose him ? didst eat him ? nigr. having kill'd your old menenius , off'ring his feeble vengeance , streight i threw the tortur'd brat , with limbs all broke ( yet living in quickest sense of pain ) i say , i threw him into volumnia's arms , who still retain'd her roman temper ; till with bitter language , and most insulting , added to her suff'rings ; i rous'd her silent grief , to loud disorder ; then left her to the tempest of her fury , to act my part , and be her own tormenter . cor. convultions ! feavers ! blewest pestilence ! sleep on virgilia , wake not to a story , whose horrour wou'd exceed the force of death , and turn thee into stone . enter volumnia distracted , with young martius under her arm. vol. soft , soft ; steal but the watch word whilst they sleep , and we pass free. cor. furies ! the fiend spoke truth . o my poor boy ! most wretched mother , oh! vol. strike , strike your torches , bid the stars descend ! we wander in the dark . heark ! boreas musters up his roaring crew ; my wings , and i 'll among 'em ; wreath my head with flaming meteors ; load my arm with thunder ; which as i nimbly cut my cloudy way , i 'll hurl on the ingrateful earth , and laugh to hear the mortals yelling . nigr. mark you this ? vol. i , there 's th' hesperian dragon , i must pass him , before i reach the golden bough ; there cerberus , ' gorge thy curst maw with that , and cease thy barking ; 't is a delicious morsel . cor. earth and heav'n ! . is this volumnia ? martius awful mother , and romes minerva . boy . dear sir speak to my grand mother , perhaps she 'll answer you . vol. ha! what a merry world is this elizium ! see how the youthful sheepherds trip to the pipe , and fat silenus waddles in the round . beware thy horns , pan , cupid's with their bow-strings have ty'd 'em fast to th' tree ! ah , ha ! ha ! ha ! what 's that ? a summons to me from the gods ? back mercury , and tell 'em i 'll appear . all heav'n shall know how much i have been wrong'd : they tore my little martius from my arms ; broke all his innocent limbs before my face . indeed i never did deserve this usage ; for i was always kind and charitable ; for virtue fam'd ; and as i do remember , 't was i sav'd rome , preserv'd ten thousand infants , from being massacred like my poor boy ! how ? juno dead ! the thunderer then is mine , and i 'll have more than juno's priviledge : see how the aether smoaks , the christaline falls clatt'ring down ! this giddy phaeton will set the world on fire ! down with him jove : wilt thou not bolt him ? then i 'll act thy part , force from thy slothful hand the flaming dart ; and thus i strike my thunder through his heart . snatches a partizan from the foremost of the guards , and strikes nigridius through , as she runs off . cor. there struck the gods. boy . look where my mother sleeps , pray wake her sir ; i have heard my nurse speak of a dying child , and fancy it is now just so with me ; i fain wou'd hear my mother bless me first . cor. my pretty innocence , she do's not sleep . boy . perhaps then i have done some fault , makes her not speak to me . cor. o gods ! may this be born ! boy . i fain wou'd clasp you too ; but when i try to lift my arms up to your neck , there 's something holds ' em . cor. thy torturers my boy have crippled 'em , and gash't thy pretty cheeks . boy . i know you lov'd 'em ; but truly 't was no fault of mine ; they did it because i wou'd not cry ; and i have heard my grand-mother say , a roman general 's son : shou'd never cry . cor. o nature ! a true breed ! boy . 't is grown all dark o' th sudden , and we sink i know not whether ; good sir hold me fast . [ dies . cor. fast as the arms of death : now come my pangs , the chilling damp prevails upon my heart . thus , as th' inhabitant of some sack't town , the flames grown near , and foe hard pressing on , in hast lays hold on his most precious store : then to some peaceful country takes his flight : so , grasping in each arm my treasure , i pleas'd with the prize , to deaths calm region fly. [ dies .
finis .
epilogue

spoken by valeria .

what ? no attendance in this world ? make way : where are our noisy bussying criticks ? they that heard no scene , and yet damn all the play ! run down by masques ; to their old shift they flee , and rail at us , for want of repertee ! well gentlemen , how e're you doom to night , methinks this company 's a blessed sight , and shews the realm's disorder coming right . as we thrive , with the publick it do's pass : the play-house is the nation 's weather-glass ; where like to th' quick-silver the audience , still as the state goes , is found to ebb or fill. shall i inform you one thing gallants ? we in our vocation with the saints agree : for as their holders-forth , their flock enchant , so we our audience charm with noise and rant : 't is thus we please ; and i dare take my oath , that decency and sence , wou'd break us both.
notes, typically marginal, from the original text
notes for div a -e ragland castle ( the ma● quess of worcester's seat the last garrison held out for the king .
an ode upon his majesty's birth-day set to musick by dr. staggins ; performed at whitehall, november, ; written by n. tate. tate, nahum, - . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing t a estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) an ode upon his majesty's birth-day set to musick by dr. staggins ; performed at whitehall, november, ; written by n. tate. tate, nahum, - . sheet ([ ] p.) printed for richard baldwin ..., london : mdcxciv [ ] caption title. imprint from colophon. reproduction of the original in the harvard university library. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng william -- iii, -- king of england, - -- poetry. - tcp assigned for keying and markup - apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images - chris scherer sampled and proofread - chris scherer text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion an ode upon his majesty's birth-day , set to musick by dr. staggins ; perform'd at whitehall , november , . written by n. tate , servant to their majesties . spring , where are thy flowry treasures ? where the summer-joys retreated ? caesar's festival repeated , shou'd renew your blooming pleasures . to attend this happy morn , nature should her self adorn. tho' the gawdy spring be dead , and the joys of summer fled ; winter has of ivy store , such as great alcides wore : ivy and lawrel , ever gay , their verdure keep for caesar's day . our hero's warmth can sure inspire coldest orbs with vital fire : can absent phoebus task perform , and spight of winter-frost and storm , create a joyful quire. aloud the joyful muses call , come celebrate this festival . from a hero , for valour and virtue renown'd , let envy retire , while the graces conspire , with lawrel and myrtle his brows to surround . all in one harmonious strein ; dale and mountain , grove and fountain , welcome caesar's birth and reign . britain on caesar's day shou'd smile ; from shore to shore resound with mirth , like delos at apollo's birth that eas'd her grief , and fix'd her floating isle . in rome had such a caesar sway'd , brutus and cato had obey'd . 't is danger gives a warrior fame ; conquest by bribes , or stealth obtain'd , honours true sons have still disdain'd : adventures crown'd brave jason's name ; and hercules by toils o ercame . but see ! the happy season springs , that joyful peace to europe brings : vast arrears of bliss that may o'er-recompence the long delay , and our alcides toils repay . peaceful arts shall then renew ; smiling ages long ensue , to britain's royal pair , ( her guardian-angel's care ) no less success , no less rewards are due . grand chorus . when laws are supported , and monarchs are mild , empire and freedom are then reconcil'd . london : printed for richard baldwin , near the oxford-arms in warwick-lane . mdcxciv . in memory of joseph washington, esq., late of the middle temple an elegy / written by n. tate ... tate, nahum, - . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing t estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) in memory of joseph washington, esq., late of the middle temple an elegy / written by n. tate ... tate, nahum, - . p. printed for richard baldwin ..., [london : ] first edition. caption title. reproduction of original in huntington library. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng washington, joseph, d. -- poetry. - tcp assigned for keying and markup - aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images - tcp staff (michigan) sampled and proofread - john latta text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion in memory of joseph washington , esq late of the middle temple , an elegy . written by n. tate , servant to their majesties . licens'd november . . edward cooke . can learning's orb , when such a star expires , no notice take of it 's extinguish'd fires ? can washington from britain's arms be torn , and not one british muse his hearse adorn ? since abler bards his obsequies decline , and they whom art inspires desert his shrine , i 'll trust my grief his fun'ral dirge to breath ; i 'll crown his tomb , thô with a fading wreath . nor shall the boasting fates have this to say , that unobserv'd they stole such worth away ; no — since mankind a loss in him sustain , we 'll of that wrong to all mankind complain . o whither tend the famish'd hopes of wit , that do's whole years in brooding study sit ! from early dawn , till day forsakes the sky , and midnight lamps the absent sun supply ; why should the learn'd , with chymist's patience wait their works projection , never gain'd till late ? if , soon as got , fate 's rigid law must doom them , and their rich discov'ry to one tomb ! why should we ancient arts steep ruins climb , and backward trace the painful steps of time ? why moil , and ransack , for a golden mite past ages rubbish till we lose our sight ? if baffled from the search we must retire ; or , having seiz'd it , o'er the prize expire . in vain do's friendly nature too combine , and with our industry her forces join ; in vain her ablest faculties are brought , quick fancy , judgment to perfection wrought , and memory , the magazine of thought ; convincing reason , charming eloquence , all these she did to him we mourn dispence ; to him who lies in death's cold arms enclos'd , and leaves his sacred fame — to such an artless song as mine , expos'd . o for a mausolaeum ! no less tomb , can for his merit 's history have room : then let some angel from the realms of light descend , the shining epitaph to write ! no mortal wit his character may give ; our verse can only on his marble live . his genius rival'd rome's and athen's fame , breath'd virgil's majesty , and homer's flame ; touch'd the horatian lyre with equal ease , sail'd with success on tully's flowing seas . in languages his knowledge was sublime , from modern to the speech of infant time. thus from the sacred oracles he drew those truths , which scarce the patriarchs better knew . the sages , by antiquity admir'd , ( who justly to the name of wise aspir'd , ) in speculation ne'er cou'd soar so high , nor contemplation to such use apply ; for he , his life adjusting to his thought , practis'd more virtue than those masters taught . his soul of ev'ry science was the sphere , yet artless honesty sat regent there ; bright learning's charms none better understood , yet less he study'd to be learn'd , than good. to truth , in notion , as in practice , just , ne'er servily his knowledge took on trust ; nor held for sacred custom 's doating dreams ; disdain'd to drink tradition's muddy streams : but to clear principles had still recourse , nor rested , till he found the happy source : and then , with gen'rous charity possest , his country with the rich discov'ry blest . his skill in laws was less for private gain employ'd , than publick freedom to maintain ; while mercenaries with the current steer'd , his country's constant patron he appear'd . with roman virtue at the needful hour , oppos'd encroaching tides of lawless pow'r . his brandish'd pen , in liberty's support , cou'd lightning on th' astonish'd foe retort . scarcely in marvel's keen remarks we find such energy of wit and reason join'd . great milton's shade with pleasure oft look'd down , a genius to applaud so like his own. finis . london : printed for richard baldwin , near the oxford-arms in warwick-lane , . the sicilian usurper a tragedy as it was acted at the theatre-royal : with prefatory epistle in vindication of the author, occasioned by this play on the stage / written by n. tate. tate, nahum, - . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing t estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) the sicilian usurper a tragedy as it was acted at the theatre-royal : with prefatory epistle in vindication of the author, occasioned by this play on the stage / written by n. tate. tate, nahum, - . shakespeare, william, - . king richard ii. [ ], [i.e. ], [ ] p. printed for james knapton ..., london : . adaptation of shakespeare's richard king ii. running title: the history of king richard the second. advertisement: preliminary p. [ ]-[ ] imperfect: cropped, with loss of print. reproduction of original in the huntington library. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng richard -- ii, -- king of england, - -- drama. - tcp assigned for keying and markup - apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images - andrew kuster sampled and proofread - andrew kuster text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the sicilian usurper : a tragedy , as it was acted at the theatre-royal . with a prefatory epistle in vindication of the author , occasioned by the prohibition of this play on the stage . written by n. tate . inultus ut flebo puer ? hor. london : printed for james knapton , at the crown in st. paul's church-yard . . books newly printed for james knapton , at the crown in st. paul's church-yard . plays . squire of alsatia . bury-fair . true widow . amorous bigott , or , teague o devilly the irish priest . all comedies , and written by tho. shadwell . fortune-hunters , a comedy ; written by captain carlile . widow ranter , or the history of bacon in virginia ; a tragi-comedy . forc'd marriage , or the jealous bridegroom ; a tragi-comedy . sir patient fancy ; a comedy . the feign'd curtizan , or a nights intreague ; a comedy : all four written by mrs. a. behn , the author of the rover , and emperour of the moon . english frier , or the town-sparks , a comedy ; written by mr ▪ crown , author of sir courtly nice . female prelate , being a history of the life and death of pope joan ; a tragedy , written by elk. settle . mr. anthony , a comedy ; written by the right honourable the earl of orrery , author of henry v. and mustapha . the devil of a wife , or a comical transformation ; written by mr. jevon . deluge , or the destruction of the world ; an opera . don carlos , a tragedy . friendship in fashion , a comedy . titus and berenice , a tragedy , with a farce called the cheats of scapin ; all three written by mr. tho. otway . the spanish frier , or the double discovery , written by mr. dryden . circe , a tragedy , written by charles d'avanant , lld. anthony and cleopatra , a tragedy , written by sir charles sedley , bar. lucius igunius brutus , a tragedy , written by mr. lee. the siege of babylon , written by samuel pordage , esq the sicilian usurper , a tragedy , written by mr. nath. tate , with a prefatory epistle in vindication of the author , occasioned by the prohibition of this play on the stage . citherea , or the enamouring girdle ; by mr. john smith . the english monarch , an heroick tragedy ; by tho. rymer , esq a congratulatory poem to his highness the p. os o. on his coming into england . a congratulatory poem to q. m. on her coming into england . an ode on the anniversary of the kings birth . an ode on the kings return from ireland ; all written by tho. shadwell , poet laureat , and hiostoriographer-royal . governour of cyprus , or the loves of virotto and dorothea , a novel , in twelves . the wanton frier , or the irish amour , st & d part , a novel , in twel . the history of the inquisition , as it is exercised at goa ; written in french by the ingenious monsieur dellon , who laboured years under those severities , with an account of his deliverance . translated into english . quarto , price s. some observations concerning regulating of elections for parliament , humbly recommended to the consideration of this present parliament . quadriennium jacobi , or the history of the reign of king james ii. from his coming to the crown to his desertion . price bound s. d. their highnesses the prince and princess of orange's opinion about a general liberty of conscience , being a collection of four select papers , viz. . mijn heer fagel's first letter to mr. stewart . . reflections on monsieur fagell's second letter . . fagell's second letter to mr. stewart . . some extracts out of mr. stewarts letter , which were communicated to mijn heer fagell ; together with some references to mr. stewarts letters . quarto , stitch'd d. miracles of the blessed virgin , or an historical account of the original and stupendious performances of the image , called our blessed lady of halle , viz. restoring the dead to life , healing the sick , delivering of captives , &c. price d. a justification of k. w. and q. m. of their royal highnesses prince george and princess anne , of the convention , army , ministers of state , and others , in this great revolution . finis . to my esteemed friend george raynsford , esq sir , i wou'd not have you surpriz'd with this address , though i gave you no warning of it . the buisiness of this epistle is more vindication than complement ; and when we are to tell our grievances 't is most natural to betake our selves to a friend . 't was thought perhaps that this unfortunate off-spring having been stifled on the stage , shou'd have been buried in oblivion ; and so it might have happened had it drawn its being from me alone , but it still retains the immortal spirit of its first-father , and will survive in print , though forbid to tread the stage . they that have not seen it acted , by its being silenc't , must suspect me to have compil'd a disloyal or reflecting play. but how far distant this was from my design and conduct in the story will appear to him that reads with half an eye . to form any resemblance between the times here written of , and the present , had been unpardonable presumption in me. if the prohibiters conceive any such notion i am not accountable for that . i fell upon the new-modelling of this tragedy , ( as i had just before done on the history of king lear ) charm'd with the many beauties i discover'd in it , which i knew wou'd become the stage ; with as little design of satyr on present transactions , as shakespear himself that wrote this story before this age began . i am not ignorant of the posture of affairs in king richard the second's reign , how dissolute then the age , and how corrupt the court ; a season that beheld ignorance and infamy preferr'd to office and pow'r , exercis'd in oppressing , learning and merit ; but why a history of those times shou'd be supprest as a libel upon ours , is past my understanding . 't is sure the worst complement that ever was made to a prince . o rem ridiculam , cato , & jocasam , dignámque auribus , & tuo cachinno . ride , quicquid amas , cato , catullum res est ridicula , &c. our shakespear in this tragedy , bated none of his characters an ace of the chronicle ; he took care to shew 'em no worse men than they were , but represents them never a jot better . his duke of york after all his buisy pretended loyalty , is found false to his kinsman and sovereign , and joyn'd with the conspirators . his king richard himself is painted in the worst colours of history . dissolute , unadviseable , devoted to ease and luxury . you find old gaunt speaking of him in this language — then there are found lascivious meeters , to whose venom sound the open ear of youth do's always listen . where doth the world thrust forth a vanity , ( so it be new , there 's no respect how vile ) that is not quickly buzz'd into his ear ? that all too late comes counsel to be heard . without the least palliating of his miscarriages , which i have done in the new draft , with such words as these . your sycophants bred from your child-hood with you , have such advantage had to work upon you , that scarce your failings can be call'd your faults . his reply in shakespear to the blunt honest adviser runs thus . and thou a lunatick lean-witted-fool , &c. now by my seat's right royal majesty , wer 't thou not brother to great edward's son. the tongue that runs thus roundly in thy head shou'd run thy head from thy unreverent shoulders . on the contrary ( though i have made him express some resentment ) yet he is neither enrag'd with the good advice , nor deaf to it . he answers thus — — gentle unkle ; excuse the sally's of my youthfull blood. we shall not be unmindfull to redress ( however difficult ) our states corruptions , and purge the vanities that crowd our court. i have every where given him the language of an active , prudent prince . preferring the good of his subjects to his own private pleasure . on his irish expedition , you find him thus be speak his queen — though never vacant swain in silent bow'rs cou'd boast a passion so sincere as mine , yet where the int'rest of the subject calls we wave the dearest transports of our love , flying from beauties arms to rugged war , &c. nor cou'd it suffice me to make him speak like a king ( who as mr. rhymer says in his tragedies of the last age considered , are always in poëtry presum'd heroes ) but to act so too , viz. with resolution and justice . resolute enough our shakespear ( copying the history ) has made him , for concerning his seizing old gaunt's revennues , he tells the wise diswaders , say what ye will , we seize into our hands his plate , his goods , his money and his lands . but where was the justice of this action ? this passage i confess was so material a part of the chronicle ( being the very basis of bullingbrook's usurpation ) that i cou'd not in this new model so far transgress truth as to make no mention of it ; yet for the honour of my heroe i suppose the foresaid revennues to be borrow'd onely for the present exigence , not extorted . be heav'n our judge , we mean him fair , and shortly will with interest restore the loan our suddain streights make necessary . my design was to engage the pitty of the audience for him in his distresses , which i cou'd never have compass'd had i not before shewn him a wise , active and just prince . detracting language ( if any where ) had been excusable in the mouths of the conspirators : part of whose dialogue runs thus in shakespear ; north. now afore heav'n 't is shame such wrongs are born in him a royal prince and many more of noble blood in this declining land : the king is not himself , but basely led by flatterers , &c. ross . the commons he has pil'd with grievous taxes and lost their hearts , &c. will. and daily new exactions are devis'd as blanks , benevolences , and i wot not what ; but what o' gods name doth become of this ? north. war hath not wasted it , for warr'd he has not ; but basely yielded upon comprimize . that which his ancestours atchiev'd with blows more has he spent in peace than they in war , &c. with much more villifying talk ; but i wou'd not allow even traytors and conspirators thus to bespatter the person whom i design'd to place in the love and compassion of the audience . ev'n this very scene ( as i have manag'd it ) though it shew the confederates to be villains , yet it flings no aspersion on my prince . further , to vindicate ev'n his magnanimity in regard of his resigning the crown , i have on purpose inserted an intirely new scene between him and his queen , wherein his conduct is sufficiently excus'd by the malignancy of his fortune , which argues indeed extremity of distress , but nothing of weakness . after this account it will be askt why this play shou'd be supprest , first in its own name , and after in disguise ? all that i can answer to this , is , that it was silenc'd on the third day . i confess , i expected it wou'd have found protection from whence it receiv'd prohibition ; and so questionless it wou'd , cou'd i have obtain'd my petition to have it perus'd and dealt with according as the contents deserv'd , but a positive doom of suppression without examination was all that i cou'd procure . the arbitrary courtiers of the reign here written , scarcely did more violence to the subjects of their time , then i have done to truth , in disguising their foul practices . take ev'n the richard of shakespear and history , you will find him dissolute , careless , and unadvisable : peruse my picture of him and you will say , as aeneas did of hector , ( though the figure there was alter'd for the worse and here for the better ) quantum mutatus ab illo ! and likewise for his chief ministers of state , i have laid vertues to their charge of which they were not guilty . every scene is full of respect to majesty and the dignity of courts , not one alter'd page but what breaths loyalty , yet had this play the hard fortune to receive its prohibition from court. for the two days in which it was acted , the change of the scene , names of persons , &c ▪ was a great disadvantage : many things were by this means render'd obscure and incoherent that in their native dress had appear'd not only proper but gracefull . i call'd my persons sicilians but might as well have made 'em inhabitants of the isle of pines , or , world in the moon , for whom an audience are like to have small concern . yet i took care from the beginning to adorn my prince with such heroick vertues , as afterwards made his distrest scenes of force to draw tears from the spectators ; which , how much more touching they would have been had the scene been laid at home , let the reader judge . the additional comedy i judg'd necessary to help off the heaviness of the tale , which design , sir , you will not only pardon , but approve . i have heard you commend this method in stage ▪ writing , though less agreeable to stricktness of rule ; and i find your choice confirm'd by our laureat's last piece , who confesses himself to have broken a rule for the pleasure of variety . * the audience ( says he ) are grown weary of melancholly scenes , and i dare prophesie that few tragedies ( except those in verse ) shall succeed in this age if they are not lightned with a course of mirth . and now , sir , i fear i have transgrest too far on your patience . distress was always talkative : be pleas'd to call to mind your beloved virgil's nightingall when rob'd of her young . qualis populeâ moerens philomela sub umbrâ , amissos queritur foetus , quos durus arator observans , nido implumes detraxit ; at illa flet noctem , ramoque sedens , miserabile carmen integrat , & moestis late lo●a ▪ questibus implet . this simile you know , sir , is occasion'd by orpheus his lamenting the loss of euridice , which the mythologists expound the fruit of his labours . you find virgil himself elsewhere condoling his oppression by arrius . such are the complaints of our spencer defrauded by cecill . with these , the melancholly cowley joyns his note ; and , as mr. flatman says , 't is the language of the whole tribe . i heard 'em curse their stars in ponderous rhymes , and in grave numbers grumble at the times . poetry and learning , ev'n in petronius his time , was a barren province , when villany of any sort was a thriving trade . qui pelago credit magno , se foenore tollit , qui pugnat & castra petit praecingitur auro ; vilis adulator picto jacet ebrius ostro ; et qui sollicitat nuptas , ad praemia peccat : sola pruinosis horret facundia pannis . or to go a step higher in antiquity — quid est , catulle , quod moraris emori ? sellâ in curuli struma nonius sedet , quid est , catulle , quod moraris emori ? aristotle himself confesses poetry a better school of vertue than philosophy . our own sir philip sidney's learn'd defence of it , is demonstration what rewards are due , and our late incomparable author of hudibras , is no less demonstration what returns are made to the best masters of it . not greece or rome can boast a genius like his ; yet after all , his poverty was a greater satyr on the age than his writings . once more , sir , i beg your pardon for digressing , and dismiss you to the following poem , in which you will find some master touches of our shakespear , that will vie with the best roman poets , that have so deservedly your veneration . if it yield you any diversion i have my desire , who covet all opportunities of shewing my self gratefull for your friendship to me , which i am proud of , and amongst the many whom your ingenious and obliging temper has devoted to you , there is none that more prizes your conversation , than your obliged friend and humble servant , n. tate . prologue . to what a wretched state are poets born ▪ split on the rocks of envy or of scorn ▪ ev'n to the best the promis'd wreath's deny'd , and just contempt attends on all beside . this one wou'd think shou'd lessen the temptation , but they are poëts by predestination . the fatal bait undaunted they persue ; and claim the laurel as their labour 's due . but where 's the use of merit , or of laws , when ingnorance and malice judge the cause ? 'twixt these , like aesop's husband , poëts fare , this pulls the black and that the silver hair , till they have left the poëm bald and bare . behold the dreadfull spot they ought to fear , whole loads of poët-bane are scattered here . where e'er it lights the sad effects we find , tho' on the tender hearts of woman-kind . the men ( whose talents they themselves mistake , or misapply , for contradiction sake . ) spight of their stars must needs be critiques still , nay , tho' prohibited by th' irish bill . blest age ! when all our actions seem design'd ▪ to prove a war 'twixt reason and mankind ▪ here an affected cocquet perks and prunes , tho' she 's below the level of lampoons , venting her fly-blown charms till her own squire is grown too nice and dainty to admire . there a pretending fop ( a man of note more for his thread-bare jest than gawdy coat ) sees every coxcomb's mirth , yet wants the sense to know 't is caus'd by his impertinence . nor rests the mighty grievance here alone ; for not content with follys of our own , we plunder the fair sex of what we can , who seldom miss their dear revenge on man. their property of falshood we invade , whilst they usurp our mid-night scouring trade . song for the third act. i. love's delights were past expressing cou'd our happy visions last , pity 't is they fly so fast ; pity 't is so short a blessing , love's delights were past expressing cou'd our happy visions last ; tide 's of pleasure in possessing sweetly flow , but soon are past . love's delights , &c. ii. calms in love are fleeting treasure , only visit and away ; hasty blessing we enjoy , tedious hours of grief we measure : calms in love are fleeting treasure , only visit and away , sighs and tears fore-run the pleasure , jealous rage succeeds the joy. calms in love , &c. the history of king richard the ii d. act i. scene a chamber of state. king richard , john of gaunt , northumberland , piercie , ross , willoughby , with other nobles and attendants . king old john of gaunt time honour'd lancaster ; hast thou according to thy oath and bond brought hither harry herford thy bold son , here to make good th'impeachment lately charg'd against the duke of norfolk thomas mowbray ? gaunt . i have my liege . king. hast thou moreover sifted him to find if he impeach the duke on private malice ; or worthily as a good subject shou'd . gaunt . as far as i can sound him in the business on some apparent danger from the duke aim'd at your highness , no inveterate malice ! king. then set 'em in our presence face to face ; and frowning , brow to brow , our self will hear th' accuser and the accus'd both freely speak ; high-stomacht are they both and in their rage deaf as the storming sea , hasty as fire . bulling-brook and mowbray from several entrances . bull. now many years of happy day's befal my gracious soveraign my most honour'd liege . mow. each day exceeding th' others happiness till heav'n in jealousie to earth's success add an immortal title to your crown . king. cousin of herford what dost thou object against the duke of norfolk thomas mowbray ? bull. first then be heav'n the record to my speech ▪ that in devotion to a subjects love ( not on suggestions of a private hatred ) come i appealant to this princely presence . — now thomas mowbray do i turn to thee , and mark my greeting well ; for what i speak my body shall make good upon this earth , or my divine soul answer it in heav'n : thou art a trayter to the king and state , a foul excrescence of a noble stem ; to heav'n i speak it , and by heav'n 't is true , that thou art treason spotted , false as hell , and wish ( so please my soveraign ) ere we move , what my tongue speaks , my right drawn sword may prove . mow. let not the coldness of my language draw my sov'reign liege your censure on my zeal , t is not the tryal of a womans war , the senseless clamour of contending tongues can arbitrate the diff'rence 'twixt us two , the blood is hot that must be cool'd for this : the reverence of this presence curbs my speech , that else had shot like lightning and return'd this charge of treason , to the sland'rers throat : set but aside his high blood 's royalty , and let him be no kins-man to the king. allow me this , and bulling-brook's a villain ; which to maintain i will allow him odds , pursue him bare-foot to the farthest north , whose chastisement i tamely now forbear , bull. white-liver'd coward there i throw my gage , disclaiming my relation to the king , which fear , not reverence make thee to object ; if guilty dread has left thee so much strength , stoop and take up forthwith my honour's pawn ; by that and all the rights of knight-hood else i will make good against thee arm to arm what i have said , and seal it with thy soul. mow. i seize it herford as i wou'd seize thee , and by the sword that laid my knight-hood on me i 'll answer thee in any knightly tryal as hot in combate as thou art in brawl . king. what do's our cousen lay to norfolk's charge ? bull. first then i say ( my sword shall prove it true ) that mow-bray has receiv'd eight thousand nobles in name of lendings for your highness service , all which for lew'd employments he detains like a false traytor and injurious villain ; besides i say and will in combate prove , that all the treasons , plots , conspiracies hatcht for these eighteen years within this realm , fetcht from false mowbray their first spring and head : farther i say , and on his heart will prove it , that he did plot the duke of gloster's death , whose martial ghost to me for vengeance cryes , and by the glorious worth of my descent this arm shall give it , or this blood be spent . king. how high a pitch his resolution soars . thomas of norfolk what say'st thou to this ? mow. o let my sov'raign turn away his face and bid his ear a little while be deaf , till i have told this slander of his blood , how heav'n and good men hate so foul a lyar. king. now by our sceptres awe i tell thee mowbray , were he my brother , nay my kingdoms heir , our blood shou'd nothing priviledge him , nor bend our upright soul from justice . mow. then bulling-brook as low as to thy heart thou ly'st ; three parts of my receits for callice i have disburst amongst his highness souldiers ; the rest i by the king's consent reserv'd upon remainder of a dear account , since last i went to fetch the queen from france . first swallow down that lye — for gloster's death i slew him not , but rather to my fault neglected my sworn duty in that case , compassion being here all my offence . and for the rest of thy perfidious charge , it issues from the rancour of a villain , the flowing gall of a degenerate traytor , in proof of which i summon thee to combate , beseeching of his majesty the grace to my wrong'd fame t' appoint our tryal-day where herford's blood shall for his slanders pay , and wash the poyson of his tongue away . king. rash men , thus long we have giv'n you the hearing , now let the pleasure of your king be heard ; and know our wisdom shall prescribe a way to purge this choller without letting blood , forget , forgive , conclude and be agreed , gaunt , see this difference end where it begun , wee 'l calm the duke of norfolk , you your son. gaunt . to be a peace-maker becomes my age throw down my son the duke of norfolk's gage . king. and norfolk throw down his . gaunt . when harry when ? obedience bids , i shou'd not bid again . king. will norfolk when the king commands be slow ? mow. my self dread sov'raign at your feet i throw ; my life you may command , but not my shame , i cannot give , nor will you ask my fame ; i am impeacht , disgrac't before my king , pierc't to the soul with slanders venom'd sting , incurable but by the traytor 's blood that breath'd the poyson . king. rage must be withstood ; give me his gage , lyons make leopards tame . mow. yes , but not change their spots , take but my shame , and i resign my gage ; my dear dread lord , the purest treasure mortal times afford is spotless honour ; take but that away men are but guilded loam and painted clay . king. cousin , throw down his gage , do you begin , bull. just heav'n defend me from so foul a sin . condemn not sir your blood to such disgrace ! shall i seem brav'd before my father's face ? no , royal sir , ere my blaspheaming tongue shall do my loyalty so foul a wrong , or sound so base a parle , by th' roots i 'le tear the slavish herrald of so vile a fear , and spit it bleeding where the worst disgrace , and slanders harbour , ev'n in mowbray's face . king. now by my scepter you have wak't my spleen , and since we sue in vain to make ye friends , prepare to meet before us in the lists , you shall , and he that bauk's the combat , dies . behold me give your head-long fury scope , each to chastise the others guilty pride . what council cannot , let the sword decide . [ exeunt . scene the second . enter dutchess of glocester in mourning . dutch. how slow alas the hours of sorrow fly , whose wings are dampt with tears ! my dear , dear gloster , i have more than a widdows loss to mourn , she but laments a death ; but i a murder . [ enter gaunt . gaunt . when sister will you find the way to comfort ? dutch. when gaunt has found the way to vengeance , comfort before that hour were guilty . edwards seven sons ( whereof thy self art one ) where as seven viols of his sacred blood , or seven fair branches springing from one stock ; some of those streams by natures course are dry'd , some of those branches by the destinies cut ; but thomas , my dear lord , my life , my gloster , one flourishing branch of that most royal stem , is hew'd and all his verdant leaves disperst , by envies hand and murders bloody axe . gaunt . sister , the part i have in gloster's blood , do's more sollicite me than your exclaims , to stir against the butchers of his life ; but since revenge is heav'ns prerogative , put we our quarrel to the will of heav'n . enter york . york . save ye sister — very hot ! oh ! hot weather and hot work : come brother , the lists are ready ; the fight will be worth the while : besides your concern there is somewhat more than ordinary . i'faith now i cou'd be content to have harry scape ; but for all that i wou'd have the traytor die . gaunt . cou'd my impartial eye but find him such , fell mow-bray's sword should come to late . dutch. where shall my sorrows make their last complaint , if york deny me too ? york . what wou'd our sister ? dutch. revenge , and speedy for my glosters death . york . why there 't is — revenge , ho ! a fine morsel for a lady fasting , gloster was my brother , true — but gloster was a traytor and that 's true too — i hate a traytor more than i love a brother . dutch. a traytor york ? york . 't is somewhat a course name for a kinsman , but yet to my thinking , to raise an army , execute subjects , threaten the king himself , and reduce him to answer particulars , has a very strong smatch with it — — go too , you are in fault , your complaints are guilty ; your very tears are treason . no remedy but patience . dutch. call it not patience , york , 't is cold despair , in suffering thus your brother to be slaughter'd , you shew the naked path to your own lives ; ah! had his fate been yours my gloster wou'd have set a nobler prince upon your lives . york . this air grows infectious : will you go brother . dutch. but one word more , grief ever was a talker , but i will teach him silence ; of you both i take eternal leave . comforts wait on you when i am laid in earth : to some dark cell will i betake me , where this weary life shall with the taper waste : there shall i greet , no visitant but death — adieu ! my lords ! if this farewell your patience has abus'd , think 't was my last , and let it be excus'd . [ exeunt . scene the third . a pavilion of state before the lists . marshal and aumerle from several entrances . marsh . my lord aumerle is harry herford arm'd ? aum. yes , at all points and longs to enter in , marsh . the duke of norfolk sprightfully and bold waits but the summons of the appealants trumpet , but see , the king. flourish , enter king , queen attended , gaunt , york , pierce , northumberland , &c. who place themselves to view the combat . mowbray brought in by a herald . king. marshal demand of yonder combatant , why he comes here , and orderly proceed to swear him in the justice of his cause . marsh . in the kings name say who thou art and what 's thy quarrel ? speak truly on thy knighthood and thy oath , so heav'n defend thee and thy valour . mow. hither is mowbray come upon his oath , to justifie his loyalty and truth , against false bullingbrook that has appeal'd me , and as i truly fight defend me heav'n . trumpet again . bullingbrook and herald . king. demand of yonder knight why he comes here , and formally according to our law , depose him in the justice of his cause . marsh . thy name , and wherefore thou art hither come before king richard in his royal lists , speak like a true knight : so defend thee heav'n , bull. harry of herford , lancaster and derby , stands here in arms to prove on thomas mowbray , that he 's a traytor to the king and state , and as i truly fight defend me heav'n . but first lord marshal i entreat the grace to kiss my soveraigns hand and do him homage , for mowbray and my self are like to men that vow along and weary pilgrimage , therefore shou'd take a ceremonious leave and tender farewel of our several friends . marsh . th'appealant in all duly greets your highness , craving to kiss your hand and take his leave . king. we will descend and fould him in our arms ; now cousin , as thy cause is just , so be thy fortune in this royal fight ; farewel my blood , which if thou chance to shed , lament we may , but not revenge the dead . bull. no noble eye be seen to loose a tear on me if i be foil'd by mowbrays arm ; as confident as is the faulcon's flight at tim'rous birds do i with mowbray fight . o thou the gen'rous author of my blood , [ to gaunt . whose youthful spirit enflames and lifts me up to reach at victory above my head , add proof to this my armour with thy pray'rs , and with thy blessings point my vengeful sword to furbish new th' illustrious name of gaunt . mow. however heaven or fortune cast my lot , there lives or dies a just and loyal man : never did wretched captive greet the hour of freedom with more welcome or delight than my transported soul do's celebrate this feast of battle — blessings on my king , and peace on all . king. farewell my lord , virtue and valour guard thee : marshal finish . marsh . harry of herford , lancaster and derby , receive thy sword and heav'n defend thy right , fear this to mowbray . mow. curse on your tedious ceremonies , more to us tormenting then t'expecting bridegrooms . the signal for heav'ns sake . marsh . sound trumpets , and set forward combatants . stay , stay , the king has thrown his warder down . king. command the knights once more back to their posts , and let the trumpets sound a second charge , whilst with our lords we briefly do advise . another flourish after which the king speaks . command 'em to resigne their arms , and listen to what we with our council have decreed , for that our eyes detest the spectacle of civil wounds , from whence the dire infection of general war may spring , we bar your combat , suppress those arms that from our coast wou'd fright fair peace , and make us wade in kinsmen's blood : and lest your neighbour-hood cause after-broils , we banish you our realms to different climes , you bullingbrook on pain of death , till twice five summers have enircht our fields . bull. and must this be your pleasure ? well ! your pleasure stand , 't will be my comfort still , the sun that warms you here , shall shine on me and guild my banishment . king. mowbray for thee remains a heavier doom , the slow succeeding hours shall not determine the dateless limit of thy dear exile , the hopeless word of never to return , breath we against thee upon pain of death . mow. a heavy sentence my most sov'raign lord , the language i have learnt these forty years , my native english must i now forgo ? i am too old to fawn upon a nurse , and learn the prattle of a forraign tongue . what is thy sentence then , but speechless death ? you take the cruelst way to rob my breath . king. complaint comes all too late where we decree . mow. then thus i turn me from my countries light , pleas'd with my doom because it pleas'd the king , farewell my lord , now mowbray cannot stray , let me shun england , all the worlds my way . king. return again and take an oath with thee . lay on our royal sword your banisht hands , swear by the duty that you owe to heav'n nere to embrace each others love in banishment , nor ever meet , nor write to reconcile this lowring tempest of your home-bred hate , nor plot to turn the edge of your revenge , on us , our state , our subjects and our land. bull. i swear . mow. and i to keep all this ! bull. by this time mowbray , had the king permitted , one of our souls had wandered in the air , as now our flesh is doomd on earth to wander , confess thy treason ere thou fly the land ; since thou hast far to go , bear not along th'incumbring burden of a guilty soul. mow. no bullingbrook , if ever i were false , let heav'n renounce me as my country has ; but what thou art , heav'n , thou and i do know , and all ( my heart forbodes ) too soon shall rue . my absence then shall yet this comfort bring , not to behold the troubles of my king. [ exit . king. uncle within thy tear-charg'd eyes i read thy hearts fell sorrow , and that troubled look , has from the number of his banisht years pluckt four away ; six frozen winters spent , return with welcome from thy banishment . gaunt . i thank my liege , that in regard to me , he cuts off four years from my sons exile , but small advantage shall i reap thereby , for ere those slow six years can change their moons , my inch of taper will be spent and done , nor gaunt have life to welcom home his son. king. despair not uncle , you have long to live . gaunt . but not a minute king that thou canst give . king. thy son was banisht upon advice , to which thy tongue a party — verdict gave , gaunt . my interest i submitted to your will , you urg'd me like a judge , and i forgot a father's name , and like a strict judge doom'd him. alas i look'd when some of you should say , i was too strict to make my own away ! but all gave leave to my unwilling tongue , to do my ag'd heart this unnatural wrong . king. now for the rebels that hold out in ireland , and turn our mild forbearance to contempt , fresh forces must be levi'd with best speed , ere farther leisure yield them further strength , we will our self in person to this war , and quench this flame before it spread too far . ex. with attendants . gaunt . o to what purpose dost thou hoard thy words , when thou shouldst breath dear farewels to thy friends that round thee , all like silent mourners gaze . bull. they will not censure me whose scanty time and breath 's too little to take leave of you . my dear companions you have known my heart too long , to doubt it on a silent grief — ha! by my swelling blood my father 's pale ! how fare's your honour ? good my lords your hands . gaunt . i feel a heaviness like death , and hope it is no counterfeit — all shall be well . bull. by heav'n it shall — i feel my veins work high , and conscious glory kindling in my brest , inspires a thought to vast to be exprest ; where this disgrace will end the heav'ns can tell , and herford's soul divines , that 't will be well ! a beam of royal splendor strikes my eye , before my charm'd sight , crowns and scepters fly ; the minutes big with fate , too slowly run , but hasty bullingbrook shall push'em on . [ ex. the end of the first act. act ii. a chamber . gaunt sick , to him york . york . now brother , what cheer ? gaunt . why well , 't is with me as old gaunt cou'd wish . york . what , harry sticks with you still ; well i hear he 's safe in france and very busie . gaunt . my blood were never idle . york . i fear too busie ; come , he 's a par'lous boy , i smell a confed'racy betwixt him and his companions here , mischief will come on 't , cut him off i say ; let him be kites-meat — i would hang a son , to kill a traytor . gaunt . go sleep good york and wake with better thoughts . york . heav'n grant we sleep not all 'till alarums wake us . i tell you brother i lik'd not the manner of his departure , 't was the very smooth smiling face of infant rebellion ; with what familiar courtesie did he caress the rabble ? what reverence did he throw away on slaves ? off goes his bonnet to an oysterwench , a brace of dray-men bid god speed him well and had the tribute of his supple knee , then shakes a shoo-maker by the waxt thumbs , with thanks my country-men , my friends , my brothers , then comes a peal of sighs wou'd knock a church down , roguery , mechanick roguery ! rank treason , gaunt . my sickness grows upon me , set me higher . york . villany takes its time , all goes worse and worse in ireland , rebellion is there on the wing , and here in the egg ; yet still the court dances after the french pipe , eternal apes of vanity : mutiny stirring , discipline asleep , knaves in office , all 's wrong ; make much of your sickness brother : if it be mortal , 't is worth a duke-dome . gaunt . how happy heav'n were my approaching death cou'd my last words prevail upon the king , whose easie gentle nature has expos'd his unexperienc'd youth to flatterers frauds ; yet at this hour , i hope to bend his ear to councel , for the tongues of dying men enforce attention like deep harmony : where words are scarce , th' are seldom spent in vain , for they breath truth , that breath their words in pain . enter king , queen , northumberland , ross , willoughby , piercye , &c. with guards and attendants . queen . how fares our noble uncle lancaster ? king. how is 't with aged gaunt ? gaunt . ag'd as your highness says , and gaunt indeed . gaunt , as a grave whose womb holds nought but bones , king. can sick men play so nicely with their names ? gaunt . since thou dost seek to kill my name in me , i mock my name great king to flatter thee . king. should dying men then , flatter those that live ? gaunt . no , no , men living flatter those that dye . king. thou now a dying sayst , thou flatter'st me . gaunt . oh! no , thou dyest though i the sicker am , king. i am in health breath , free but see thee ill gaunt . now he that made me knows i see thee ill . thy death-bed is no less than the whole land , whereon thou ly'st in reputation sick . yet hurri'd on by a malignant fate commit'st thy annoynted body to the cure of those physitians that first poyson'd thee ! upon thy youth a swarm of flatterers hang and with their fulsome weight are daily found to bend thy yielding glories to the ground . king. judge heav'n how poor a thing is majesty , be thou thy self the judge , when thou sick wight presuming on an agues priviledge dar'st with thy frozen admonition , make pale our cheek , but i excuse thy weakness . gaunt . think not the ryot of your court can last , tho fed with the dear life blood of your realms ; for vanity at last preys of it self . this earth of majesty , this seat of mars , this fortress built by nature in the floods , whose rocky shores beat back the foaming sedge , this england conqu'rour of the neighbring lands , makes now a shameful conquest on it self . york . now will i stake ( my liege ) my soul upon 't ; old gaunt is hearty in his wishes for you , and what he speaks , is out of honest zeal , and tho thy anger prove to me as mortal , as is to him this sickness , yet blunt york must eccho to his words and cry , thou art abus'd and flatter'd . king. gentle uncle , excuse the sallies of my youthful blood , i know y' are loyal both and mean us well , nor shall we be unmindful to redress , ( however difficult ) our states corruption , and purge the vanities that crown'd our court. gaunt . my gracious liege your pardon , this bold duty , was all that stood betwixt my grave and me , your sycophants bred from your child-hood with you , have such advantage had to work upon you , that scarce your failings can be call'd your faults ; now to heav'ns care and your own piety , i leave my sacred lord , and may you have in life that peace that waits me in the grave . king. thanks my good uncle , bear him to his bed , [ exit gaunt . attend him well , and if a princes prayers have more than common interest with heav'n , our realm shall yet enjoy his honest councel . and now my souldiers for our irish wars , we must suppress these rough prevailing kerns , that live like venom , where no venom else but only they have priviledg to live . but first our uncle gaunt being indispos'd , we do create his brother both in blood and loyalty our uncle york , lord governour of england , in our absence observe me lords , and pay him that respect you give our royal presence . [ enter northumberland . north. my liege old gaunt commends him to your highness . king. what says our uncle ? north. nothing ; all is said . his tongue is now a stringless instrument , but call'd on your lov'd name and blest you dying . king. the ripest fruit falls first and so doe's he , his course is done , our pilgrimage to come , so much for that ; return we to our war and cause our coffers with too great a court and liberal largess , are grown somewhat light : prest with this exigence , we for a time do seize on our dead uncles large revenues in herford's absence . york . o my liege pardon me if you please , if not , i please not to be pardon'd , spare to seize the royalties and rights of banisht herford , i fear already he 's too apt t' engage against your power , and these proceedings will give countenance and growth to his designs , forbear to draw such dangers on your head. king. be heav'n our judge we mean him nothing fowl but shortly will with interest restore the loan our sudden streights make necessary . — weep not my love nor drown with boding tears , our springing conquest , bear our absence well , nor think that i have joy to part with thee , tho never vacant swain in silent bowers , cou'd boast a passion so sincere as mine , yet where the int'rest of the subject calls , we wave the dearest transports of our love flying from beauty ' arms to rugged war ; conscience our first , and thou our second care. [ exeunt . manent , morthumberland , piercy , ross , willoughby . north. well lords , the duke of lancaster is dead . will. and living too if justice had her right , for herford then were more than a bare name , who now succeeds departed gaunt in nothing , but in his mind 's rich virtues , the kings pleas'd to have occasion for his temporal wealth ! o my heart swells , but let it burst with silence , ere it be disburden'd with a liberal tongue . perc. now rot the tongue that scants a subjects freedom , loosers at least are priviledgd to talk , and who accounts not herfords looss his own deserves not the esteem of herford's friend . there 's none of us here present but did weep at parting , and if there be any one whose tears are not converted now to sire he is a crocadile . north. the fate of bullingbrook will soon be ours , we hear the tempest sing yet seek no shelter , we see our wreck and yet securely perish , a sure , but willful fate — for had ye spirits but worthy to receive it , i cou'd say how near the tidings of our comfort is . pierc . give us thy thoughts and rate 'em as thou wilt , here 's blood for 'em , but point us to the veins that hold the richest , we will empty those , to purchase ' em . north. hold generous youth . this gallantry unlocks my inmost brest , seizing a secret dearer than my heart . attend me lords , i have from port le blanc this very day receiv'd intelligence , that our wrong'd herford with lord rainold cobham , sir thomas arpingham , bold sir john rainston , sir robert waterton , quaint , norbery , with eight tall ships , three thousand men in arms , design with speed to touch our northern shore , if then you have a spark of british glory , to imp our drooping countries broken wing , joyn hands with me and post to ravenspurg . ross . now business stirs and life is worth our while . will. nature her self of late hath broke her order , then why should we continue our dull round ? rivers themselves refuse their wonted course , start wide or turn on their own fountain heads ; our lawrels all are blasted , rambling meteors affright the fixst inhabitants of heav'n . the pale fac't moon looks bloody on the earth , and lean-lookt prophets whisper dreadful change . pierc . away , let 's post to th' north , and see for once a sun rise there ; the glorious bulling-brook . for our return will not pass a thought , for if our courtiers passage be withstood , we 'll make our selves a sea and sail in blood. [ exeunt . enter queen attended . lady . despair not madam . queen . who shall hinder me ? i will despair and be at enmity , with flattering hope , he is a couzener , a parasite , a keeper back of death , that wou'd dissolve at once our pain and life , which lingring hope holds long upon the rack ; yet murders at the last the cruel'st way . lady . here comes the duke . [ enter york and servants . queen . with signs of war about his aged neck , and full of careful business are his looks . york . death and confusion ! oh ! — set my corsleet right , fetch my commanding sword : scour up the brown bills , arm , arm , arm. queen . now uncle for heav'ns sake speak comfort . york . comforts in heav'n , and we are on the earth , nothing but crosses on this side of the moon ; my heart stews in choller , i shall dissolve to a gelly . that your husband shou'd have no more wit than to go a knight erranting whilst rogues seize all at home , and that i shou'd have no more wit than to be his deputy at such a proper time : to undertake to support a crazy government , that can scarce carry my own fat : well sirrah , have you given my son orders to strengthen his forces ? if he prove a flincher too . — gent. my lord i know not how he stands affected , not well , i fear , because at my arrival he was withdrawn , at least pretended so so that i cou'd not give him your commands . york . why so ? go all which way it will , the nobles are all fled , and hide themselves like my ungracious rascal , or else strike in with the rebels ; the commons find our exchequer empty and revolt too , and a blessed bargain i have on 't . queen . alass my bank and jewels are dispos'd off for the kings wants already , and to wait till fresh recruits come from our fathers court , i fear will lose our cause . york . get thee to plashy to my sister gloster , her coffers i am sure are strongly lin'd , bid her send me presently . nobles . hold — take my ring , fly if thou lov'st thy head. gent. my lord i had forgot to tell you that to day passing by there i was inform'd — but i shall grieve you to report the rest . york . what is 't knave ? gent. an hour before i came the dutches dy'd , her son your nephew ere her blood was cold , makes all secure and flies to bullingbrook . york . death what a tide of woes break upon us at once . perverse woman to take this time to die in , and the varlet her son too to take this time to play the villain in : wou'd to heav'n the king had cut off my head as he did my brothers , come sister — couzen i would say , pray pardon me , if i know how to order thefe perplext affairs , i am a sturgeon . gentlemen go muster up your men , and meet me at barkley castle . i should to plashie too , but time will not suffer ; the wind 's cross too , and will let us hear nothing from ireland , nor boots it much , if they have no better news for us , than we have for them . all 's wrong , oh! fie , hot ! hot ! [ exeunt . scene the third . the field , flourish enter . bullingbrook , northumberland , piercy , and the rest with their powers . bull. and thus like seamen , scatter'd in a storm meet we to revel on the safer shore ; accept my worthy friends , my dearest thanks , for yet my infant fortunes can present returns no richer but when these are ripe , — north. your presence was the happiness we sigh'd for , and now made rich in that we seek no more . enter ross , and willoughby . bull. my lords , y' are well return'd , what news from wales , we hear that salisbury has levi'd there full on the kings behalf . ross . my lord , that cloud 's disperst , the welshmen hearing that all the north here had resign'd to you , disperst themselves and part are hither fled . will. fortune so labours to confirm your pow'r that all attempts go cross on the enemies side . enter york and servants . bull. but see our uncle york come as i guess to treat with us , being doubtful of his strength , his hot and testie humour else wou'd nere salute us but with blows ; be ready guards when i shall give command — my noble uncle . york . shew me thy humble heart and not thy knee , whose duty 's feign'd and false . bull. my gracious uncle . york . tut , tut , grace me no grace , and uncle me no uncle , i am no traytors uncle , i renounce thee , why have these banisht and forbidden feet dar'd once to touch a dust of english ground , but more then why , why have they dar'd to march so many miles upon her peaceful bosom , frighting her pale-fac't villages with war ? com'st thou because th' annointed king is hence , why graceless boy the king is left behind and in my loyal bosom lies the power : were i but now the lord of such hot youth , as when brave gaunt thy father and my self rescu'd the black prince , that young mars of men , o then how quickly should this arm of mine , ( now pris'ner to the palsie ) chastise thee , and this raw crew of hot-braind youth about thee ? your boys should have correction , much correction . bull. why reverend uncle , let me know my fault on what condition stands it and wherein ? york . even in condition of the worst degree , in gross rebellion and detested treason , thou art a banisht man and here art come , before the expiration of thy time , in braving arms against thy sovereign . bull. as i was banisht , i was banisht herford , but as i come for lancaster , look on my wrongs with an indifferent eye , you are my father , for methinks in you , i see old gaunt alive : o then my father will you permit that i shall stand condemnd a wandring vagabond , my rights and royalties snatcht from my hand perforce and giv'n away to up-start unthrifts ? wherefore was i born ? if that my cousen king , be king of england , it must be granted i am duke of laneaster , york . thy words are all as false as thy intents , the king but for the service of the state , has borrow'd thy revenue for a time , and pawn'd to me his honour to repay it , which i as gaunt executour allow'd . bull. then uncle i am sorry you have drawn the guilt on your own head , and that of course justice must fall there too ; we must commit you to our guards custody . york . perfidious villain , now he that has a soul give me a sword ! and since my followers are too few to engage , give but this villain here and me a ring , and if you do not see a traytor cudgell'd , as a vile traytor should , i 'll give ye leave to hang my brawn i' th' sun. north. the duke has sworn he comes but for his own , and in that claim we all resolve to assist him . york . what says northumberland ? thou rev'rend rebel , think what a figure makes thy beard amongst this callow crew ; allow that he were wrong'd , as on the kings faith and mine he is not , yet in this kind to come with threatning arms , to compass right with wrong , it may not be ; and you that do abet him in this sort from the hoar'd head to the raw beardless chin , cherish rebellion , and are rebels all . bull. we have not leisure to debate ; strike drums . york . now the villains curse light on thee , and if thou dost seize the crown , mayst thou be more plagu'd with being king , than i am with being deputy . scene the fourth . enter rabble ] a shoomaker , farrier , weaver , tanner , mercer , brewer , butcher , barber , and infinite others with a confused noise . . silence hea ! i revelation stitch command silence . all. peace hoa ! . am i not nobly descended and honourably born ? . right , the field is honourable , and there was he born under a hedge . . have i not born commission with watt tyler ( witness our luminary lost in that service ) and was i not president at jack straw's councel , to kill all the nobility and clergy ; but the fryers mendicant , that in our reign wou'd soon have starv'd out o' th' way ? all. hum ! hum ! hem ! . what place then do our guifts desere at such a season , where the temporal king is absent and usurpers invade ? . why , it behoveth theeto take unto thee a good conscience , and make thy felf king. . simon shuttle , i never lik't thy politicks , our meanest brethren pretend to the spirit of governing , our talent is to govern the governour ; therefore as bullingbrook shall approve himself to our liking , we will fix him upon the last of the government , or cast him out amongst the shreds and shavings of the common-wealth . . but pray neighbour , what is this same common-wealth ? . you may see it at smithfield all the fair-time , 't is the butt end of the nation . . peace hea ! hear master revelation expound it . . why the common-wealth is a-kin to your-a-republick , like man and wife , the very same thing , only the common-wealth is the common-wealth and the republick is the republick . . what an excellent spirit of knowledge is here ? . wee 'l have no more bills nor bonds , but all shall be reduc't to the score and tally . . no physick , but what shall be administer'd in a horn. . we 'l have priviledges taken off , and all sorts compell'd to pay their debts . . i except against that , i would rather break , than have gentlemen out of my debt ; it gives us priviledg of being sawcy : how are we fain to oringe 'till we have got them into our books ? and then i warrant we can cock up with the best of ' em . i hate mortally to be paid off , it makes a man such a sneaking rascal . . we will have strict and wholsom laws — . laws , strict laws , so will there be no mischief done , and our profession starve . i 'll ha' no laws . others , no laws , no laws , no laws . others , laws , laws , laws . they scuffle . . hark , bullingbrook approaches , put your selves in posture , and sow-gelder , wind me a strong blast to return their complement . flourish here . ] enter bullingbrook with his army . north. behold my lord an object strange and suddain , the rabble up in arms to mock your pow'rs , as once the indian apes are said to have done to alexander's army . pierc . death my lord. permit me play for once the scavinger , and sweep this dirt out of your way . bull. gently my valiant piercy . rage is the proper weapon of these bruits , with which 't is odds , they foil us , rainston go to 'em , bespeak 'em fair , and know what caus'd this tumult . . oh an envoy ! know of him his quality . . 't is sir john rainston , i have wrought for him . . down on thy knee ; now ( because we will observe decorums of state ) rise up sir john drench and treat with him . bull. hold rainston , we will treat with 'em in person , for in their looks i read a sober judgment , all carefull to preserve the publick weal , chiefly this awful man , to whose grave censure we do refer the justice of our arms. . goodly ! what a gracious person he is . bull. i weep for joy , to see so brave a spirit , so jealous of your liberty and rights . trust me my countrymen , my friends , my brothers , 't is worthy of the fame the world affords you , and that curst limb that stirs against your priviledges , why , let it rot , tho' it were this right hand . all. a bullingbrook ! a bullingbrook ! &c. bull. mistake not my dear countrymen our purpose , you think perhaps cause we are now arriv'd , with formal arms , in absence of the king , that we take this occasion to usurp , alas we harbour no such foul design . . how 's that ? not usurp ? hear ye that neighbours ? he refuses to usurp . others , fall on then , he is not for our turn , down with him . . sir , we shall give you to understand that we want a usurper , and if you refuse to usurp you are a traytor , and so we put our selves in battail array . bull. yet hear me — what you mean by usurpation , i may mistake , and beg to be informd . if it be only to ascend the throne , to see that justice has a liberal course , in needful wars to lead you forth to conquest , and then dismiss you laden home with spoils ; if you mean this , i am at your disposal , and for your profit am content to take the burden of the state upon my hands . all a bullingbrook , a bullingbrook , &c. . one word of caution friend , be not chicken-hearted , but pluck up a spirit for the work before thee ; it was revealed to me that now there should arise a son of thunder , a second tyler — and i am resolv'd the vision shall not lie ; therefore i say again pluck up a spirit ; otherwise i shall discharge my conscience and usurp my self . bull. friends think me not made of such easie phlegm , that i can timely pocket wrongs ; if so why come i thus in arms to seek my right ? no sirs , to give you proof that bullingbrook can do bold justice , here stands one example : this bold presumer that dares call in question , the courage of the man you choose for king , shall die for his offence , guards hang him up . . why neighbours will ye thus give up your light ? who shall reveal to ye , to save you from the poyson of the whore and the horns of the beast . . he had no vision to foretel this , therefore deserves hanging for being a false prophet . bull. thus as a ruler , justice bids me doom , but for my private part i weep to think that blood shou'd be the prologue to my reign . . good prince he weeps for him ! neighbour revelation depart in peace . for thy honour it will be recorded that bullingbrook was crown'd and thou hang'd all on a day . . what a spirit of delusion has seiz'd ye ? why thus will this rav'nous storck devour ye all ▪ do do , deliver me to the gibbet , and let the next turn be yours , thus shall these nobility rascals hold you in slavery , seize your houses over your heads , hang your sons and ravish your daughters . all , say ye so ? they must excuse us for that : fall on neighbors . a rescue , a rescue , &c. bull. hold gentlemen , if i have done ye wrong , the fault is mine and let me suffer for 't ; but be not thus injurious to your selves , to fling your naked breasts on our swords points . alas it will not be within my pow'r , to save ye , when my troops are once enrag'd . therefore give up this vile incendiary , who as you see , to save his miscreant life , seeks to expose all yours — trust me i weep to think that i must loose a member — but let justice have its course . all , ay , ay , let justice have it's course , hang , hang him up . a bullingbrook , a bullingbrook , a bullingbrook , &c , exeunt . act the third . scene the first . enter king richard , aumerle , carlile , &c. souldiers . king. barklay-castle , call you this at hand ? aum. the same my lord , how brooks your grace the air , after long tossing on the breaking seas . king. needs must i like it well , i weep for joy to stand upon my kingdom once again , dear earth i do salute thee with my hand , tho' rebells wound thee with their horses hoofs ; feed not thy soy'raigns foes my gentle earth , nor with thy fragrant sweets refresh their sense , with thorns and brambles choak their treacherous way ; and when they stoop to rob thee of a flow'r , guard it i pray thee with a lurking adder ! serpents with serpents fitly will engage — mock not my senseless conjuration lords , this earth shall have a feeling , and these stones rise souldiers arm'd before their native king , shall falter under foul rebellious arms. carlile . doubt not my lord , the conduct and the courage with which you have supprest one rebel crew , will crown your temples with fresh lawrells here ; how have we else employ'd our absent time but practising the way to victory . aum. i fear my lord that we are too remiss whilst bullingbrook through our security , strengthens himself in substance and in friends . king. desponding cousin dost thou not consider that when the searching eye of heav'n is hid , then thieves and robbers do securely range , alarm with cryes of murther starting sleep , and fill with out-rages the guilty shades , but when the day 's discov'ring rays return , firing the proud tops of the eastern pines , and dart their lightnings through each guilty nook then murders , treasons , and detested crimes , dismantled from the cloak of night , stand bare , and tremble at their own deformity ! so , when this thief night-rev'ling bullingbrook shall see our beams of majesty return'd , his treasons shall sit blushing on his face , not able to endure the sight of day . carl. not all the waters of th'unfathom'd sea can wash the balm from an annointed king. king. move we secure then in our royal right , to th'traytors executions , not to fight . [ exeunt . scene the second . a garden . queen dutches of york , and other ladies . queen . our uncle york's delay brings fresh suspition , that we are pris'ners in a larger chain ; besides i fear that our intelligence is smooth'd and tamper'd ere it reach our ear. dutch. our servants wear a doubtful countenance , struck with a gen'ral fear whilst they observe fresh prodigies start forth with ev'ry hour . the frighted springs retreat to earth agen , the seasons change their courses , as the year had found some months asleep and leapt them over . qu. here come the gardiners ; let us step aside , they 'l talk of state , for every one do's so before a change , and dullest animals have oft the earliest sense of alterations . enter gardiner and servant . gard. support those vines , and bind those peaches up , then like an executioner cut off the heads of sprigs that grow too fast , and look too lofty in our commonwealth , all must be even in our government . but now we speak of execution , . are bushie green and th' earl of wiltshire dead ? serv. by bullingbrook's command they have lost their heads ; the king is landed , but it seems too late to head the forces rais'd by salisbury who had disperst themselves ere he arriv'd . qu. then all our fears are true , we are betray'd . dutch. patience dear madam , we may get hear further . serv. think you the king will be depos'd ? gard. deprest he is already , and 't is fear'd his fortune will decline from bad to worse , do what we can , you see our lawrels wither , our sun-flowers all are blasted , streams run backward , these prodigies forbode some dreadful change , 't is thought at last the king will be depos'd . queen . i 'm prest to death with silence — boding peazant , more senseless then the plants or earth thou tend'st , darst thou divine the downfall of a king ? old adams likeness set to dress this garden , what eve , what serpent has seduc'd thy soul , to prophesie this second fall of man ? gard. pardon me madam , little joy have i to breath this news , but fear you 'll find 'em true . queen . come ladies , let us post to meet the king , this scretch-owl yet amongst his bodingeries , has sung the glad news of the kings arrival ! which otherwise we were forbid to know ; thou fear'st lest york shou'd meet with bushies fate , suspend thy tears , the heavy time may come , that thou wilt blush to see thy york alive ; if richard fall , 't is treason to survive . exeunt scene the third . a heath . king , aumerle , carlile , souldiers . king. command a hault , we will a while refresh , our sultry march , a cool breez fanns this air — the last expresses we receiv'd from wales , spoke of full fighting men , did it not lords ? aum. and some odd troops besides . king. nor will our uncle york be negligent , to muster up what force he can , sure we shall blush my lords , at our own strength , heaping such numbers for so just a cause . aum. sir , doubt not but the active foe will find business enough t' employ our outmost numbers . enter salisbury . i fear me we shall more want hands than work. king. see cousen who comes here , i' th ' very minute to clear thy doubts , our trusty salisbury . welcome my lord , how far off lies your power ? sal. my gracious lord , no farther off nor nearer then this weak arm , discomfort guides my tongue , and bids me speak of nothing but despair . i fear my noble lord one day too late , has clouded all your happy days on earth ! o call back yesterday , bid time return , thou shalt have fightingmen , to day to day ! one luckless day too late , o'rethrows thy friends , thy fortune and thy state ; our welchmen miss-inform'd that you were dead , are gone to bullingbrook disperst and fled . aum. comfort my liege , why looks your grace so pale ? king. but now the blood of men , did triumph in my face and they are fled , have i not reason think you to look pale ? my fortune like a wife that has arriv'd the hardness to have once prov'd open false , will set no limits to her treach'rys now : but turn to every upstart that will court her , now all that will be safe fly from my side , for time has set a blast upon my pride . aum. my liege remember who you are . king. i had forgot my self , am i not king ? awake thou sluggard majesty thou sleep'st ! is not the kings name names , arm , arm my name ! a puny subject strikes at thy great glory ! look not to the ground ye favourites of a king ; see salisbury , our hasty scroop brings balm to salve the wound thy piercing tidings gave . enter scroop . come on thou trusty souldier ; oh draw near ! thou never shew'dst thy self more seasonably , not when the flying battle thou hast turn'd , and from the hands of conquest forc't the day . scroop . more health and happiness befall my liege , then my care-burden'd tongue has to deliver . king. how 's that ? i charge thee on thy soul speak comfort . ha! wilt thou not speak comfort ? then speak truth . my ear is open and my heart prepar'd , the worst thou canst unfold is worldly loss , say , is my kingdom lost ? why 't was my care ; and what loss is it to be rid of care ? strives bullingbrook to be as great as we ? if heav'n approve his hopes , why let 'em thrive ! revolt our subjects ? that we cannot mend , to heav'n they first were false and then to us ! then give thy heavy heart as heavy speech , cry woe , destruction , ruin , loss , decay , the worst is death , and death will have his day . scroop . i 'm glad to find your highness so prepar'd , like a fierce sudden storm that swells the floods , as if the world were all dissolv'd to tears , so rages bullingbrook above his bounds , cov'ring the fearful land with clashing arms ; old sires have bound their hairless scalps in steel , boys leave their sports and tune their tender pipes to the big voice of war , and strut in armour ; the very beadsmen learn to bend their bows , the very women throw their infants by , snatch rusty bills and flock to the mad war , and all goes worse than i have power to tell . king. too well , alas , thou tell'sta tale so ill ! where is the earl of wiltshire , bushie , bagot ? that they have let these mischiefs spread so far , if we prevail their heads shall answer for 't ! i warrant they have made peace with bullingbrook . scroop . peace have they made with him indeed . king. oh villains vipers , damn'd without redemption ! dogs , quickly won to fawn on any comer , snakes in my heartsblood warm'd to sting my heart , wou'd they make peace ? eternal hell make war upon their spotted souls for this offence . scroop . again uncurse their souls , their peace is made with heads and not with hands , those whom you curse are butcher'd in your cause , beheaded all and with their last breath wisht your arms success . aum. where is the duke my father with his forces ? king. no matter where ; of comfort no man speak ; let 's talk of graves , of worms and epitaphs , make dust our paper , and with rainy eyes write sorrow on the bosom of the earth ! for heav'ns sake let 's sit upon the ground , and tell sad stories of the death of kings , how some have been depos'd , some slain in war , some poyson'd by their wives , some sleeping kill'd ; all murther'd : for within the hollow crown that rounds the mortal temples of a king , keeps death his court , and there the antique sits , scoffing his state , and grinning at his pomp ! allowing him a short fictitious scene , to play the prince , be fear'd , and kill with looks , 'till swell'd with vain conceit the flatter'd thing believes himself immortal as a god ; then to the train fate's engineer sets fire , blows up his pageant pride and farewell king. cover your heads and mock not flesh and blood , with solemn reverence , throw away respect , obeysance , form and ceremonious duty , for you have but mistook me all this while , i live with bread like you , feel wants , tast grief , therefore am i no king , or a king nothing . aum. give to the foe my lord , this cold despair , no worse can come of fight , of death much better . my fathers troops are firm let 's joyn with them , and manage wisely that last stake o' th' war , want's craft can make a body of a limb . king. you chide me well , proud bullingbrook i come , rises . to change blows with thee for our day of doom , this ague-fit of fear is overblown , an easie task it is to win our own ; say , scroop , where lies our uncle with his pow'r ? my fir'd heart now longs for the fatal hour . scroop . men by the skies complexion judge the day , so may you by my dull and heavy eye , find that my tongue brings yet a heavier tale , i play the torturer by small and small ! your uncle york treating with bullingbrook , was seiz'd by him , and 's still keptclose confin'd , so that the strength which he was must'ring up , is quast and come to nought . king. thou hast said enough , beshrew thee cousin that didst lead me forth of that sweet i was in to despair ! what say ye now ? what comfort have ye now ? by heav'n i 'll hate him everlastingly , that bids me be of comfort any more ! enter queen , dutchess , ladies and attendants . now by despair my queen and her fair train ! come to congratulate our victory , and claim the triumph we at parting promis'd ; go tell 'em lords , what feats you have perform'd , and if ye please tell my adventures too , you know i was no idler in the war. oh! torture , now i feel my miseries sting , and this appearance strikes me dead with shame queen . welcome my lord , this minute is our own , and i 'll devote it all to extasie , the realm receives her king , and i my lover , — thou dost turn away ! nor are they tears of joy which thou dost shed , i give thee welcome , thou reply'st with sighs ! king. what language shall my bankrupt fortunes find , to greet such heavenly excellence as thine ? i promiss'd thee success and bring thee tears ! o couldst thou but devorce me from thy heart ! but oh ! i know thy virtue will undoe thee , thou wilt be still a faithful constant wife , feel all my wrongs and suffer in my fall ? there is the sting and venom of my fate , when i shall think that i have ruin'd thee . queen . i ask no more my lord , at fortunes hands then priviledge to suffer for your sake ! who wou'd not share your grief to share your love ? this kingdom yet , which once you did prefer to the worlds sway , this beauty and this heart is richards still , millions of loyal thoughts are always waiting there to pay you homage . that glorious empire yields to you alone , no bullingbrook can chase you from that throne . king. we 'll march no farther , lead to th' castle here . exeunt . scene the fourth . a castle . flourish . enter bullingbrook , york , northumberland , piercy , willoughby , &c. north. the news is very fair and good my lord , richard within this fort has hid his head . york . it would become the lord northumberland to say king richard , that so good a king should be compell'd to hide a sacred head , and thou have leave to shew a villains face ! bull. mistake not uncle farther then you shou'd . york . talk not thou traytor farther then thou shoud'st . [ enter ross . bull. what say'st thou ross ? will not this castle yield ? ross . my lord the castle royally is man'd against your entrance , for the king and queen but newly are arriv'd and enter'd there , with them the lord aumerle , lord salisbury , sir stephen scroop , besides a clergy-man of holy rev'rence , whom i cannot learn. north. i know him , 't is the bishop of carlile . bull. go northumberland , through the ribs of this castle , with brazen trumpets sound the breath of parle , say thus — that bullingbrook upon his knees kisses king richards hands with true allegiance , and that with thoughts of peace he 's hither come . ev'n at his feet to lay his arms and pow'r , provided his revenues be restor'd , his banishment repeal'd ; let this be granted or else he 'l use th' advantage of his power , and lay the summers dust with show'rs of blood : — enter king above aumerle , carlile , &c. but see where on the walls he do's appear , as do's the blushing discontented sun , when envious clouds combine to shade his glory . york . o my dear liege , heav'n guard your majesty , 'fore heav'n , my old heart leaps at sight of you , think not that falsly i gave up your pow'r , if any villain of 'em dares to say it , i 'le call that villain lyar to his teeth , he is a rogue , tho' it be bullingbrook ! lo , here i kneel , and pay thee homage as a true subject shou'd before the rebels faces . king. rise york , i know thy truth , and pity thee . we are amaz'd , and thus long have we stood to watch the fearful bending of his knee ; because we thought our self his lawful king. tell bullingbrook , for yond' methinks is he , that every stride he makes upon our land is dangerous treason ; he is come t' unfold the purple testament of bleeding war : but e're the crown he seeks shall bind his brow , a thousand orphan'd widowed mothers tears shall wash from earth their sons and husbands blood. north. heaven forbid our lord the king shou'd thus with civil arms be rusht upon ; lord bullingbrook does humbly kiss your hand , and swears his coming hither has no other seope then to demand his royalties , and beg enfrancisement from exile ; grant but this , his glitt'ring arms he will commend to rust . king. northumberland say thus , — the king complies with his demands ; and so commend us to him . we do debase our self cousin , do we not , to look so peaceful and to speak so fair ? shall we call back northumberland , and send defiance to the traytor 's heart , and die. aum. no , good my lord , let 's fight with gentle words , till time lend friends , and friends their conquering swords . king. that ere this power-chang'd tongue that laid the sentence of dread banishment on yond proud man , shou'd take it off agen . o that i were as great as is my grief , or lesser than my name ! that i could quite forget what i have been , or not remember what i must be now . aum. northumberland comes back from bullingbrook . king. what must the king do now ? must he forgo the name of king ? o' god's name let it pass , i 'll give my jewels for a set of beads , my gilded palace for a hermitage , my robes of empire for an alms-man's gown , my figur'd goblets for a dish of wood , my scepter for an humble palmers staff , my subjects for a pair of poor carv'd saints , and my large kingdom for a little grave , a little , very little obscure grave ! aumarle , thou weep'st ; my tender hearted cousin , wee 'l joyn our royal with thy loyal tears , our sighs and they shall lodge the summer corn and make a dearth in this revolting land. north. my lord he thanks your highness and begs leave to speak with you , sir please you to come down : hee 'll wait your majesty i th' court below . king. down , down , i come like blazing phaeton , wanting the menage of unruly steeds ; down pomp , down swelling stubborn heart , down king , for night-owls shrick where mounting larks should sing . [ exeunt from above . re-enter bullingbrook and his company in the court. bul. northumberland to london , with all speed , summon a parliament i' th' commons name , in order to the kings appearance there ; [ enter king attended . ] but see — his highness comes , stand all apart and shew fair duty to his majesty . york runs over to the king , kneels and kisses his hand . york . now left the rebels seize me if they can , for here i 'll perish by my sovereign's side . king. fy cousin , you debase your princely knee and make our earth too proud with kissing it ; methinks my heart had rather feel your love , then thus in eye behold the courtesie : up cousen , up — your heart is up , i know . bul. my gracious lord i come but for my own . king. and to that title who must set the bounds ? bul. nor even to that do i lay farther claim , than my true service shall deserve your love. king. well you deserve , they best deserve to have , that know the strongest surest way to get ; but heav'n rules all — good uncle dry your tears — cousin i am to young to be your father tho' you are old enuff to be my heir ! methinks one person 's wanting yet to this fair presence , our old loyal gaunt , he was thy father herford , was he not ? excuse me cousin , tears but ill become a king , at least when friends and kinsmen meet , and yet i cannot chuse but weep to think , that whilst you press and i permit this scorn ; what plagues we heap on children yet unborn . [ exeunt . act iv. enter york , aumarle in their parliament robes , two messengers from bullingbrook . york . tut , tut , tut , tell not me of patience , 't is a load a burden that knaves will never cease to lay on whilst asses will carry it ! nothing but villany in this versal world , and nothing plagues me but that i can't turn villain too , to be reveng'd . aum. perfidious bullingbrook to bow the knee , and do obeysance to our royal master ; to treat of peace and tend him all the way with duteous ceremony humblest service , yet basely to confine him after all , to call a senate in king richard's name against king richard , to depose king richard , is such a monster of curst usurpation , as nere was practis'd in the barb'rous climes , where subject her'd and courts themselves are savage . york , out on this sultry robe ! o spleen ! spleen ! — fat and vexation will be the death of me , — behold this brace of raizor-nos'd rascals , you 'd swear that a split groat made both their faces ; lean pimps , that cou'd scarce stop a cranny in a door : why ? they are forsooth no less than rogues of state. mess . my lord , this is no answer to our message . york . i , the message ! i had rather you had brought me — poyson ; for certain 't was sent to be the death of me : thou know'st boy , on what account we are going this morning . wou'd you think it , this traytor bullingbrook has sent for me ; for me , i say , sent by these rogues for me , to confer with him in private before the house sits . aum. that was indeed provoking . york . nay , let honest men judge if murder was not in his heart , and that he thought the message wou'd make me die with choller . — now should i clap this pair of arrows to a bow-string and shoot 'em back to the usurper . — go tell the knave your master , he 's a fool to send for me , i renounce him : speak with him in private before the house sits . why ? i wou'd not meet him there but to shew my self for richard , and then tell him he 'l see one that that hates a traytor , be bullingbrook what he will. exit . enter dutchess of york . dutch. aumarle , come back , by all the charms of duty , i do conjure you temper your rash father , his zeal can do th' abandoned king no good ; but will provoke th' usurper to our ruin . aum. already , i have prest beyond his patience , what can our poor endeavours help the king when he himself comply's with his hard fortune ; he comes this morning to resign the crown . dutch. where then is that amazing resolution , that in his non-age fir'd his youthful brest : to face rebellion and strike dead the monster , when tyler's deluge cover'd all the land ? or where the fury that supprest the kerns ; whilst numbers perisht by his royal arm ? aum. with such malignant fortune he is prest , as renders bravest resolution vain ; by force and fraud reduc't to that distress , that ev'n i th' best opinion of his friends he is advis'd to yield his scepter up , this poor reserve being all , to make that seem as voluntary , which perforce must be ; but how resents the queen this strange oppression ? dutch. as yet the worst has been dissembled to her , a slumber now has seiz'd her wakeful lids : but heere she comes , i must attend , away . ex. aum. enter queen supported by ladies . qu. convey me to my lord , or bring him hither , fate labours in my brest and frights my dreams ; no sooner sleep can seize my weeping eyes , but boding images of death and horrour affright the infant flumber into cries , a thousand forms of ruin strike my thoughts ; a thousand various scenes of fate are shewn , which in their sad catastrophe agree , the moral still concludes in richard's fall . dutch. how shall we now dare to inform her grief of the sad scene the king must act to day ? qu. ev'n now amidst a chaos of distraction , a towring eagle wing'd his cloudy way , pursu'd by rav'nous kites , and clamorous daws , that stript th' imperial bird of all his plumes , and with their numbers sunk him to the ground : but as i nearer drew , the figure chang'd , my richard there lay weltring in his gore ! so dreamt calphurnia , and so fell caesar . enter a lady . lad. madam , the king is coming . qu. thou bring'st a welcom hearing , and already i feel his powerful influence chase my fears , for grief it self must smile when richard's by . enter king in mourning . oh heav'n is this ? is this my promis'd joy ! not all the terrours of my sleep presented a spectacle like this ! o speak , my lord ! the blood starts back to my cold heart ; o speak ! what means this dark and mournful pageantry , this pomp of death ? king. command your waiters forth , my space is short , and i have much to say . qu. are these the robes of state ? th' imperial garb , in which the king should go to meet his senate ? was i not made to hope this day shou'd be your second coronation , second birth of empire , when our civil broils shou'd sleep , for ever husht in deep oblivion's grave ? king. o isabel ! this pageantry suits best with the black day 's more black solemnity ; but 't is not worth a tear , for , say what part of life's vain fable can deserve a tear , a real sorrow for a feign'd distress ! my coronation was ( methinks ) a dream , think then my resignation is no more . qu. what resignation ? mean you of the crown ? will richard then against himself conspire ? th' usurper will have more excuse than he : no , richard , never tamely yield your honours , yield me ; yield if you must your precious life , but seize the crown , and grasp your scepter dying . king. why dost thou fret a lyon in the toil to rage , that only makes his hunters sport ? permit me briefly to recount the steps , by which my fortune grew to this distress . then tell me , what cou'd alexander do against a fate so obstinate as mine . qu. oh heav'n ! is awful majesty no more ? king. first , had i not bin absent when th' invader set footing here ; or if being then in ireland , the cross winds not forbad the news to reach me ; or when the shocking tidings were arriv'd , had not the veering winds agen obstructed my passage back , 'till rumour of my death disperst the forces rais'd by salisbury ; or when these hopes were perisht , had not baggot , bushie , and green , by bullingbrook been murder'd , old york himself ( our last reserve ) surpriz'd , there were some scope for resolution left . but what curst accident i' th' power of chance , that did not then befall to cross my wishes ; and what strange hit could bullingbrook , desire , that fell not out to push his forttnes on ; whatever outmost fate cou'd do to blast my hopes was done ; what outmost fate cou'd do t' advance proud bullingbrooks as sure befell . now which of these misfortunes was my fault ? or what cou'd i against resisting heav'n ! qu. oh my dear lord , think not i meant t' upbraid weeps over him . your misery — death seize my youth ▪ when any other passion for injur'd richard in my brests finds room , but tendrest love and pity of his woes . king. that i resign the crown with seeming will , is now the best my friends can counsel me , th' usurping house decrees it must be done , and therefore best that it seem voluntary . qu. has loyalty so quite renounc't the world , that none will yet strike for an injur'd king ? king. alas ! my sinking barque shall wreck no more my gen'rous friends , let crowns and scepters go before i swim to 'em in subjects blood . the king in pity to his subjects quits his right , that have no pity for their king ! let me be blest with cool retreat and thee , thou world of beauty , and thou heav'n of love , to bullingbrook i yield the toils of state : and may the crown sit lighter on his head than e're it did on richard's . qu. destiny is tyrant over king's ; heav'n guard my lord. king. weep not my love , each tear thou shedst is theft , for know , thou robb'st the great ones of their due ; of pomp divested we shou'd now put off , it 's dull companion grief — farewel my love : thy richard shall return to thee again , the king no more . qu. in spight of me , my sorrow in sad prophetic language do's reply nor richard , nor the king. [ exeunt severally . scene the parliament . bullingbrook , northumb. piercie , york , aumarle , carlile , with other nobles and officers making a full house . north. great duke of lancaster , i come to thee from richard , who with free and willing soul adopts thee heir , and his high scepter yields to the possession of thy royal hand ; ascend his throne descending now from him , and long live henry of that name the fourth . bull. richard consents , and lords i have your voices , in heav'ns name therefore i ascend the throne . carl. no , hasty bullingbrook , in heav'ns name stay , tho' meanest of this presence , yet i 'll speak a truth that do's beseem me best to speak , and wou'd to god , the noblest of this presence were enuff noble to be richard's judge : what subject can give sentence on his king ! and who sits here that is not richard's subject ? theeves are not judg'd , but they are by to hear , th' indictment read , and answer to their charge , and shall the figure of heav'ns majesty , his captain , steward , deputy , elect , anointed , crown'd and planted many years , be judg'd by subject and inferiour breath , and he not present ! o' forbid it god! that in a christian climate souls refin'd , shou'd plot so heinous black obscene a deed ; i speak to subjects , and a subject speaks , stir'd up by heaven thus boldly for his king. york . now by my life , i thank thee honest prelate , my lords what say ye to the bishops doctrine , is 't not heavenly true ? you know it is ; nor can ev'n graceless herford's self gain say 't . carl. my lord of hereford here whom you call king , is a foul traytor to proud herford's king , and if you crown him , let me prophesie , the blood of english shall manure the land , and future ages groan for this foul deed : and if you rear this house against its self , it will the wofullest division prove that ever yet befell this guilty earth . prevent , resist it , stop this breach in time lest childrens children , curse you for this crime . north. well have you argu'd , sir , and for your pains of capital treason we arrest you here ; my lord of westminster , be it your care to keep him safely till his day of tryal . wil 't please you lords to grant the common's suit ? york . first let me move and yield some knave a seat. bull. bring hither richard , that in open view he may surrender so shall we proceed without suspition . king richard brought in . king. alack why am i sent for to the king , before i have shook off the regal thoughts with which i reign'd — as yet i have not learnt t' insinuate , flatter , bow , and bend the knee , give sorrow leave a while to tutor me to this submission — yet i well remember the favours these men ! were they not mine ? to do what service am i sent for hither ? north. to do that office of your own good will , which weary'd majesty did prompt thee to the resignation of thy crown and state to henry bullingbrook . king. my own good will ? yes , heav'n and you know with what sort of will ! you say it is my will : why be it so , give me the crown — come cousin seize the crown upon this side my hand , on that side thine . now is this crown a well wherein two vessels that in successive motion rise and fall , the emptier ever dancing in the air , th' opprest one down , unseen and sunk , that vessel dejected , prest and full of tears am i , drinking my griefs whilst herford mounts on high . bull. i thought you had been willing to resign . king. my crown i am , but still my griefs are mine . bull. are you contented to resign or no ? king. yes — no — yet let it pass , from off my head i give this heavy weight , and this unwieldy scepter from my hand ; so with my tears i wash my balm away , with my own breath release all duteous oaths , my pomp and majesty for ever quit , my mannors , rents , revenues i forego , my acts , decrees and statutes i repeal , heav'n pardon all oaths that are broke to me ; heav'n keep unbroke all vows are made to thee make me that nothing have , to covet nought , and thee possest of all that all hast sought : what more remains ? north. no more , but that you read this bill of accusations charg'd upon your crimes . king. distraction ! made my own accuser too to read a bead-roll of my own defaults , read it my self ? by piece-meal to unrauel my weav'd-up follies ? why , northumberland , if thy offences were upon record , wou'd it not shame thee in so full a presence to read a lecture of ' em ? if thou shou'dst , there wou'dst thou find one heynous article , containing the deposing of a king : and cracking the strong warrant of an oath , markt with a blot damn'd in the book of heav'n , nay all of you that stand and look upon me , waiting to see my misery bait it self ; like pilates have betray'd me to my cross , and water cannot wash away your sin . north. my lord dispatch , read ore the articles . king. my eyes are full of tears ! i cannot see . north. my lord — king. no lord of thine thou false insulting man , nor no man's lord — i have no name , no title ; let me command a mirrour hither streight , that it may shew me what a face i have since stript and bankrupt of it's majesty . bul. fetch him a glass . north. in the mean time read o're this paper . king. hell ! — for a charm to lay this foul tormenting fiend . bul. urge it no more nortbumberland . nor. the commons sir will not be satisfi'd , unless he read , confess , and sign it too . king. they shall be satisfi'd , i 'le read enuff when i shall see the very book indeed where all my faults are writ , and that 's my self , give me that mirrour — [ views himself in the glass . no deeper wrinkles yet ? has sorrow struck so many many blows upon these cheeks and made no deeper wounds ? — o' flattring instrument , like to my followers in prosperity , so shall just fate dash them as i dash thee : [ breaks it . so pomp and fals-hood ends — i 'll beg one boon , then take my leave and trouble you no more , shall i obtain it ? bul. name it fair cousin . king. fair cousin ? — i am greater than a king ! for when i was a king my flatterers were then but subjects , being now a subject i have a king here for my flaterer . 't is onely leave to go . bul. whether ? king. why , from your sight and then no matter where bul. convey him to the tower. king. ha! ha ! my fortune's malice now is grown so strange that 't is become my sport ; convey , convey , conveighers are you all that rise thus nimbly on your monarchs fall . bul. lords , i shall study to requite your favours : on wednesday next we solemnly set down our coronation , so prepare your selves . all , long live king bullingbrook , henry the fourth . york . well , my allegiance follows still the crown , true to the king i shall be , and thereon . i kiss his hand ; 't is equally as true . that i shall always love and guard the king , as that i always shall hate bullingbrook . the king 's sacred , be herford what he will yet 't is no treason sure to pity richard. bul. break up the assembly , so wee 'll pass in state to greet the loves of our expecting subjects , lead there and bid our trumpets speak . ex. bullingbrook attended ; shouts without . york . peace hell-hounds or your own breath poyson ye . king. good uncle give 'em way , all monsters act to their own kind , so do the multitude . shout again . carl. why impious hardned wretches , brands for hell ? forbear this barb'rous out-rage , tears of blood can never wash this monstrous guilt away . king. what must i then preach patience to my priest ? let no man's wrongs complain whilst mine are silent , how think ye my good friends , will not succeeding ages call this day to witness what changes sway the world ; your king must pass a spectacle of scorn through crouded streets , that at the same time view th' usurpers triumph ; heav'n shut thy eye till this dire scene be past , the light that sees it , sure will be the last . ex. guarded . act v. enter dutchess and aumarle . dutch. at that sad passage tears broke off your story , where rude misgovern'd hands from windows threw rank weeds and rubbish on king richard's head. aum. then as i said , the haughty bullingbrook . mounted upon an hot and fiery steed , which his aspiring rider seem'd to know , with slow but stately pace kept on his course ; whilst all tongues cry'd , god save king bullingbrook ! you wou'd have thought the very windows spoke , so many greedy looks of young and old , through casements darted their desiring eyes : you wou'd have thought the very walls themselves , with all their painted imag'ry , had cry'd , hail to the king , all hail to bullingbrook ! whilst bending lower than his coursers neck , the rabble he saluted on each side ; thus praising and thus prais'd he past along . dutch. alas , poor richard ! where rides he the while ? aum. as in the theatre the eyes of men , after a well-grac't actor leaves the stage , are idly bent on him that enters next , with such contempt they turn'd their eyes from richard , no joyful tongue gave him his welcome home ; but dust was thrown upon his sacred head , which with such gentle sorrow he shook off , his face still combating with smiles and fears , ( the badges of his grief and patience ) that had not heav'n for some strange purpose steel'd the hearts of men , they must of force relented , and cruelty it self have pity'd him . enter york . york . what , in tears still ? well , heav'ns will must be — mark me boy , i cannot blame thy grieving for richard , because i do it my self ; neither can i blame thee for not loving bullingbrook , because i cannot do it my self : but to be true to him ( or rather to our oath , being now his sworn subjects ) i conjure thee . this i speak , because the king suspects thee , and made me even now pledge for thy truth and fealty : bear you well therefore in this new spring of government , lest you be cropt before your time — well , what news from oxford boy ? hold th' intended triumphs there ? 't is said our new king will grace them with his presence . aum. they hold , my lord , for certain — and as certain this upstart king shall die if he comes there . york . ha! come nearer , what seal is that which hangs out from thy bosom ? ha! lookst thou pale ? let me see the writing . aum. i do beseech your grace to pardon me ; it is a matter of small consequence , which for some reasons i wou'd not have seen . york . which for some reasons ! sir i mean to see , just as i fear'd , treason , foul treason . villain traytor . [ snatches it . dutch. what 's the matter my lord , good york inform me . york . away fond woman , give me my boots , saddle my horse . dutch. the matter , son. aum. good madam , be content . it is no more than my poor life must answer . dutch. thy life ! [ servant enters . hence villain , strike him aumarle . york . my boots i say , i will away to th' king. dutch. why york , what wilt thou do ? wilt thou not hide the trespass of thine own ? york . peace woman , or i will impeach thee too ; wou'dst thou conceal this dark conspiracy ? a dozen of 'em here have tane the sacrament , and interchangeably set down their hands to kill the king at oxford . dutch. he shall be none ; we 'll keep him here , then what 's that to him ? york . tho' i love not bullingbrook , yet i hate treason , and will impeach the villain . dutch. our son , our only son , our ages comfort ; is he not thine own ? york . wise , i believe it , therefore i impeach him ; were he none of mine , let his own father look to him ; but since he is my villain , i 'll see the villain orderd : my horse , i say . dutch. hadst thou groan'd for him , york , as i have done — york . and art e'en like to groan for him again . away . [ exit . dutch. haste thee aumarle , mount thee upon his horse ; spur post , and get before him to the king , and beg thy pardon e're he come t' accuse thee : born on the wings of mother's love i 'll fly , and doubt not to prevent thy father's speed ; on thy behalf i 'll with the king prevail , or root into the ground whereon i kneel . [ exeunt . scene the second . enter queen in mourning attended . qu. this way the king will come ; this is the way to julius caesar's ill erected tow'r , to whose flint bosom my dear injur'd lord is deem'd a pris'ner by proud bullingbrook ! here let us rest , if this rebellious earth have any resting for her true king's queen . [ sits down . this garb no less befits our present state , than richest tissue did our bridal day ; thus dead in honour , my lord and i officiate at our own sad funeral . enter king richard guarded , seeing the queen , starts , she at the sight of him , after a pause he speaks . king. give grief a tongue , art thou not isabel , the faithful wife of the unfortunate richard ? qu. o! can i speak and live ? yet silence gives more tort'ring death ! o thou king richard's tomb , and not king richard ! — on thy sacred face i see the shameful marks of fowlest usage ; thy royal cheeks soil'd and besmear'd with dust , foul rubbish lodg'd in thy anointed locks ; o thou dishonour'd flower of majesty ! lean on my brest whilst i dissolve to dew , and wash thee fair agen with tears of love. king. join not with grief fair innocence to make my end more wretched , learn dear saint to think our former state a happy dream , from which we wake into this true distress ! thou most distrest , most virtuous of thy sex , go cloyster thee in some religious house , this vicious world and i can nere deserve thee ! for shrines and altars keep keep those precious tears , nor shed that heav'nly dew on land accurst . lad. never did sorrow triumph thus before . king. convey thee hence to france , think i am dead , and that ev'n now thou tak'st as from my death-bed the last living leave . in winters tedious nights sit by the fire , with good old matrons , let them tell thee tales of woful ages long ago betide , and ere thou bid good night , to quit their griefs , tell thou the lamentable fall of me ! and send the hearers weeping to their beds . qu. rob not my virtue of its dearest triumph ! love like the dolphin shews it self in storms : this is the season for my truth to prove , that i was worthy to be richard's wife ! and wou'd you now command me from your presence , who then shall lull your raging griefs asleep , and wing the hours of dull imprisonment ? king. o my afflicted heart ! qu. no , with my lord i 'll be a pris'ner too , where my officious love shall serve him with such ready care , that he shall think he has his num'rous train of waiters round him still ; with wond'rous story 's wee 'll beguile the day , despise the world and triumph over fortune , laugh at fantastic life and die together . king. now heaven i thank thee , all my griefs are paid ! i 've lost a single frail uncertain crown , and found a virtue richer than the world : yes , bird of paradise , wee 'll pearch together , enter northumberland , guards . north. my lord , king bullingbrook has chang'd his orders , you must to pomfrett castle , not to th' tower ; and for you , madam , he has given command that you be instantly convey'd to france . king. must i to pomfrett , and my queen to france ? patience is stale , and i am weary ont't , blood , fire , rank leprosies and blewest plagues — qu. but this was wanting to compleat our woe . king. northumberland thou ladder by whose aid the mounting bullingbrook ascends my throne , the time shall come when foul sin gath'ring head shall break in to corruption , thou shalt think , thò he divide the realm and give thee half , it is too little , helping him to all : he too shall think that thou which knewst the way to plant unrightful kings , wilt know agen to cast him from the throne he has usurpt : the love of wicked friends converts to fear , that fear to hate , that still concludes in death . north. my guilt be on my head , so to our business . take leave and part . king. doubly divorc't ! foul fiends ye violate a two-fold marriage , 'twixt my crown and me , and then betwixt me and my tender wife ; oh isabel , oh my unfortunate fair , let me unkiss the oath that bound our loves , and yet not so , for with a kiss 't was made . part us northumberland , me towards the north where shiv'ring cold and sickness pines the clime ; my queen to france , from whence set forth in pomp she hither came , deckt like the blooming may , sent back like weeping winter stript and bare . qu. for ever will i clasp these sacred knees , tear up my brest and bind them to my heart ! northumberland allow me one short minute to yield my life and woes in one embrace , one minute will suffice . north. force her away . king. permit yet once our death-cold lips to joyn , permit a kiss that must divorce for ever , ill ravish yet one more , farewell my love ! my royal constant dear farewel for ever ! give sorrow speech , and let thy farewell come , mine speaks the voice of death , but thine is dumb. ex. guarded several ways . scene the third . bull. can no man tell of my ungracious son , my young misgovern'd and licentious harry ? if any plague hang over us 't is he ! enquire amongst the taverns where he haunts with loose companions , such as beat our watch and rob our passengers , which he rash boy mistakes for feats of gallantry and honour . pierc . my lord , some two days since i saw the prince , and told him of those turnaments at oxford . bull. and what said the gallant ? pierc . his answer was , he wou'd to a brothell and from the common'st creature snatch a glove , to wear it as a mistress favour , and with that unhorse the lustiest challenger . bull. as dissolute as desperate . enter aumarl . aum. where 's the king ? bull. what means our cousin that he looks so wildly ? aum. my lord , i humbly beg the favour of a word in private with your majesty . king. withdraw my lords ; now cousin to your business . aum. for ever may my knees root to this earth , and let eternal silence bind my tongue , unless you pardon e're i rise or speak . bull. intended or committed was this fault ? if but the first , how heynous e're it be , to win thy future love i pardon thee . aum. then sir , permit me to make fast the door , that no man enter e're my tale be done . bull. have thy desire . york within . york . beware my liege , look to thy lise , thou hast a traytor in thy presence . bull. ha! villain i 'll secure thee . aum. stay thy revengeful hand , thou hast no cause to fear . york . open the door , or i will force my passage . bull. the matter , uncle , speak , recover breath . york . peruse this writing and read there my bus'ness . aum. remember as thou read'st thy promise past , i do repent me , read not my name there , my heart is not confederate with my hand . york . 't was villain when thy hand did set it down , i tore it from the traytors bosom , king , pardon the villain , do , and in return be murder'd . bull. o heynous black conspiracy ! why uncle can this kindness come from thee ? let me embrace thee . york . embrace not me , it was no kindness , i owe thee no kindness , it was my love to truth , and hate to murder . bull. give it what name thou wilt , it shall excuse this deadly blott in thy transgressing son. york . so shall my virtue be his vices bawd : thou kill'st me if he live , sparing his life the traytor scapes , the true man 's put to death . dutchess within . dutch. what hoa my liege , for heav'ns sake let me in , speak with me , pity me , open the door . bull. my dang'rous cousin let your mother in , i know she 's come to entreat for you . york . if thou dost pardon whosoever prays , thy mercy makes thee traytor to thy self . dutch. o king believe not this hard-hearted man. york . thou frantick woman what makes thee here ? wilt thou once more a traytor nourish ? dutch. dear york be patient , hear me gentle liege . bull. rise up good aunt . dutch. no , never more i 'll rise , 'till thou uncharm me from the ground with sounds of pardon to my poor transgressing son. aum. and to my pray'rs , i bend my knee . york . against 'em both my old stiff joynts i bend . dutch. pleads he in earnest , see , his eyes are dry . his pray'rs come from his mouth , ours from the heart ; he beggs but faintly , and wou'd be deny'd . his weary joynts wou'd gladly rise i know , our knees shall bend , till to the earth they grow ; deny him , king , he kneels in pain to crave a boon , that wou'd dismiss him to the grave : granting his suit , the suer you destroy , but yielding ours , you give your beggar 's joy. bull. good madam rise up . dutch. nay do not say rise up , but pardon first , and then we rise indeed . the word is short , but endless comfort brings , pardon , the language both of heav'n and kings . bull. i pardon him as heav'n shall pardon me . dutch. thanks gracious liege , a god on earth thou art . aum. thanks gracious liege , a god on earth thou art . york . so much for that , — — one word at parting king , let me tell thee king , 't was none of these politicks that made thee king , and so farewell to court. [ exit . bull. but for the rest of this consorted crew , our justice shall o're-take 'em — — injur'd richard , thy wrongs already are too deep reveng●d , as yet the crown 's searce settled to my brow , when royal cares are rooted in my heart . have i no friend , my lords , in this fair train ? no friend that to his monarch's peace will clear the way , and ridd me of this living fear ? [ exit . scene , a prison . king richard , solus . rich. i have bin studying how to compare this lonesom prison to the populous world , the paradox seems hard ; but thus i 'll prove it , i 'll call my brain the female to my soul ; my soul the father , and these two beget a generation of succeeding thoughts , th' inhabitants that stock this little world in humours like the people of the world , no thought contented : for , the better sort as thoughts of things divine , are mixt with doubts that set the faith it self against the faith , thoughts tending to ambition , they are plotting unlikely wonders , how these poor weak hands may force a passage through these stubborn flints ; and cause they cannot , die in their own pride , thoughts tending to content are whispring to me , that i am not the first of fortunes slaves , and shall not be the last ; poor flatt'ring comfort , thus i and every other son of earth with nothing shall be pleas'd , till we be eas'd with being nothing . a table and provisions shewn . what mean my goalers by that plenteous board ? for three days past i 've fed upon my sighs , and drunk my tears ; rest craving nature , rest , i 'll humour thy dire need and tast this food , that only serves to make misfortune live. [ going to sit , the table sinks down . thus tantalus they say is us'd below ; but tantalus his guilt is then his torture . i smile at this fantastick cruelty . ha , musick too ! — ev'n what my torturers please . [ song and soft musick , after which a messenger enters . mess . hail royal sir , with dang'rous difficulty gives him letters . i 've enter'd here to bear these to your hand ; o killing spectacle ! rich. from whom ? — my queen , my isabell , my royal wretched wife ? o sacred character , oh heav'n-born saint ! why ! here are words wou'd charm the raging sea , cure lunaticks , dissolve the wizzard's spell , check baleful planets , and make winter bloom . how fares my angel , say , what air 's made rich with her arrival , for she breathes the spring . what land is by her presence priviledged from heavn's ripe vengeance ? o my lab'ring heart ! inn , hide thee , and prepare in short to answer to th'infinite enquiries that my love shall make of this dear darling of my soul. whilst undisturb'd i seize the present minute to answer the contents of this blest paper . [ ex. mess . sits down to write , enter exton and servants . furies ! what means this pageantry of death ? speak thou the foremost murderer , thy own hand is arm'd with th' instrument of thy own slaughter , go thou and fill a room in hell , kills of them . another thou . exton here strikes him down . that hand shall burn in never quenching fire , that staggers thus my person , cruel exton , the blackest fiend shall see thee lodg'd beneath him . the damn'd will shun the villain whose curst hand has with the king's blood stain'd the king's own land. [ dies . ext. hast and convey his body to our master before the very rumour reach his ear. as full of valour as of royal blood , both have i spilt , o that the deed were good. despair already seizes on my soul ; through my dark brest eternal horrours roul : ev'n that false fiend that told me i did well , cry's now , this deed is register'd in hell. [ ex. scene a palace . bullingbrook , lords and attendants . bull. our last expresses speak the rebels high , who have consum'd with fire our town of gloster . enter northumberland and pierce . welcome northumberland , what news ? north. health to my liege , i have to london sent the heads of spencer , blunt and salsbury . piere . broccas and seelye too are headless trunks , the dang'rous chiefs of that consorted crew that sought your life at oxford . ross . our abbot griev'd to see his plott defeated , has yielded up his body to the grave . but here 's carlile yet living to receive your royal doom . bull. carlile i must confess , thô thou hast ever bin my enemy , such sparks of honour always shin'd in thee , as priviledg thee from our justice now ; choose out some secret place , some reverend cell , there live in peace , and we shall not disturb the quiet of thy death — what suddain damp congeals my blood — ha exton ? then comes mischief . enter exton and servants bearing in a coffin . ext. great sir , within this coffin i present thy bury'd fear , possess the crown secure , which breathless richard never more will claim . bull. exton i thank thee not , for thou hast wrought a deed of slaughter fatal for my peace , which thou and i , and all the land shall rue . ext. from your own mouth , my lord , did i this deed. bull. they love not poyson that have need of poyson , nor do i thee , i hate his murderer . tho' i did wish him dead : hell thank thee for it , and guilt of royal blood be thy reward ; cursing and curst go wander through the world , branded like cain for all mankind to shun thee . wake richard , wake , give me my peace agen , and i will give thee back thy ravisht crown . come lords prepare to pay your last respects to this great hearse , and help a king to mourn a king 's untimely fall : o tort'ring guilt ! in vain i wish the happy change cou'd be , that i slept there , and richard mourn'd for me. epilogue , spoken by m ris . cook. now we expect to hear our rare blades say dam ' me , i see no sense in this dull play ; thô much of it our abler judges know , was famous sense 'bove forty years ago . sometimes we fail to please for want of witt i th' play — but more for want on 't in the pitt ; for many a ruin'd poëts work 't wou'd save , had you but half the sense you think you have . poets on your fore-fathers pam'd dull plays , and shrewdly you revenge it in our days in troth we fare by 't as your tradesmen do , for whilst they raise estates by cheating you : into acquaintance with their wives you fall , and get 'em graceless sons to spend it all. 't is plain th' are yours , cause all our arts miscarry , for just like you , they 'll damn before they 'll marry . of honest terms i now almost despair , unless retriev'd by some rich yeoman's heir , in grannam's ribbans and his own streight hair ! what comforts such a lover will afford , joynture , dear joynture , o the heavenly word ! but — e're of you my sparks my leave i take , for your unkindness past these pray'rs i make — so very constant may your misses be , 'till you grow cloid for want of jealousie ! into such dullness may your poëts tire , 'till they shall write such plays as you admire : may you , instead of gaming , whoring , drinking , be doom'd to your aversion — books and thinking : and for a last wish — what i 'm sure tou'l call the curse of curses — marriage take ye all. finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a -e * epst . ded. to the span. fryar . clitie a novel / written by rich. blackbourn, gent. blackbourn, richard. approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing b estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) clitie a novel / written by rich. blackbourn, gent. blackbourn, richard. tate, nahum, - . [ ], , [ ] p. printed for ric. bentley and s. magnes ..., london : . dedication signed by the editor: n. tate. advertisements on p. 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ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng - tcp assigned for keying and markup - apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images - tcp staff (michigan) sampled and proofread - john latta text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion licenced , octob. . . rich. pocock . clitie , a novel . written by rich. blackbourn , gent. london , printed for ric. bentley and s. magnes in russel street in covent-garden . . to the honourable sir edward sebright , bar. sir the author 's untimely death preventing his desire of addressing this piece to your patronage , i thought my self obliged ( the copy being left in my hands ) at once to make good his intentions , and gratifie my own inclination . it being therefore a posthumous work ( though the first fruits of his fancy ) your favourable protection will be the more generous . his ingenuity might have made some proportionable offer at your character ; and indeed where so many accomplishments of mind and person are happily united , the most modest account that could be given , would have made no small panegyrick without any assistance of artifice or rhetorical colours . i dare not undertake to draw you to the life , nor can pretend to touch those many shining graces wherewith art and nature have made you admirable . besides , sir , your own modesty ( that inseparable companion of ingenious tempers ) might think that too much , which all that know you will find too little , and short of the fair original . the charms of behaviour , civility and courtesie , ( especially when they are the result of a good nature ) in a person of quality , are no small inducements to attract the love and esteem of mankind . but if , besides the accomplishments of a gentleman , the strongest dispositions to vertue and knowledge , with an early and eminent progress therein , be enough to create an expectation in the world , your best friends and nearest relations have only this to wish on your behalf , that your ripe manhood may make good the promises of your youth , and render you ( as undoubtedly they will ) an ornament to the nation . but , sir , my present design being not to present you with an encomium , but only to beg your favour to an orphan-piece of ingenuity , if it have the good fortune to divert your leisure hours ( as it was the author's ambition ) it will be no small satisfaction to , sir , your devoted humble servant , n. tate . clitie , a novel . part i. clitie is of an extraction illustrious enough to make her esteem'd one of the greatest ladies of the kingdom ; but her merits and her beauty yet render her a thousand times more worthy the respects and adorations of all that ever knew her . if heaven has given her a desert above others , and a beauty more adorable than ever was , it has not given her a heart less tender , or less passionate ; her soul has naturally all the softness that love is capable to inspire ; and none was ever made a fitter object for the seat of that soft deity , than her self . she was but thirteen years of age when the whole court looked on her with admiration , and all the greatest persons of the realm made her pleasure their care and study . her father ( had many great employments near the person of the king ) who loved her extreamly , nor did a day pass wherein many did not importune him to gain a consent to marry her ; but amongst the multitudes of those whom her charms and beauty had rendred her captives darbelle and amasis seem'd to be the greatest trophies of her conquering heart . darbelle was a man of great quality and altho' he was very young , and of a beauty not common to men , he was not less couragious , and extreamly breve his father had spent much money in the wars , and lived up to the height of those employments that were given him , which left him not that wealth that the deserved ; however , he had a noble command and no small estate . amasis was not inferiour to darbelle in birth , but was so rich and magnificent that if darbelle had some advantage on him by his beauty and behaviour , he had the advantage of darbelle by his retinue and equipage , which were the most agreeable , and most gallant of all the court ; it cannot be deny'd but he had a natural vanity , and never man was more puff'd up with an opinion of his own advantages , ●han himself . celse ( who was clitie's father ) had greater inclination for amasis , than all the other suitors of his daughter , and earnestly desir'd a marriage between them . but clitie ( young as she was ) had a wit and judgment so discerning , that she ●ou'd not avoid having far more indifference for him than for darbelle . but amasis who was of a violent temper , and whose transports often carried him even to brutallity , after having rendred all the endeavours he was capable of ●o overcome the rigours of clitie , saw there was no hope for him , and that he had no longer any pretensions of marry●ng her , ( her father having declar'd he wou'd , never force his daughter's inclinations , but leave her the free choice of an husband wholly in her own disposal ) believ'd he cou'd not better disintangle himself from the chains of this inhumane , but by applying himself to some other lady of the court. he had hardly thought of this design when the eyes of the fair julia help'd him to compleating of it ; he found her pliable enough to listen to him , and so much the rather , because this lady ( who had no small esteem of her own charms and beauty ) had a mortal jealousie against clitie , who young as she was , had already robb'd her of a thousand adorers . julia no sooner beheld the passionate flame she had kindled in the heart of amasis , but she was overjoy'd , it being a matter of importance , and of glory to gain so eminent a victory over clitie which was no small argument of the good entertainment he received from her . amasis ( on the other side ) who had no intentions but to beguile his time with julia , and dissipate some of those troubles the cruelty of clitie had given him became really in love with her ; and , as it is usual with lovers to side with their mistresses in their opinions , he failed not in a little time to share with her the ill will she had for clitie . in the beginning the matter was dress'd in a thousand little raileries , which amasis and julia made on her , which at first she laugh'd at ; but at length the insolence of amasis ( 〈◊〉 to please his new mistress ) came to be published in all places , that he had received favours of clitie , and that it was one of her fault that she did not marry him . clitie cou'd not hear these things 〈◊〉 of her , without resenting it with a mortal affliction . she had not long the power to dissemble the subject of her grief , for amasis with an unpatallell'd boldness , adds daily more and more to his detractions , and before so many witnesses , that every thing came to clitie's knowledge . yet nevertheless ere she would resolve on any revenge , she wou'd have better grounds 〈◊〉 what she heard , than publick rumour . darhelle , who was seldom absent from her , had no small share in her troubles ; and she had also for him a great esteem , and some tenderness : he daily intreated her to discover to him the cause of her inquietudes in so obliging a manner , that after having defended her self for two or three days from his importunacy , she could no longer resist making him her confident . ' i can receive no content ( says she one day to him with tears in her eyes , which her grief drew from her ) since i am so unhappy to be beloved of one the most disingenious of all men , that is to say , amasis ; who i hear every day publishes a thousand reproaches against my honour . darbelle blush'd at this discourse , through anger and vexation , and made known to clitie how desirous he was to revenge the injuries that amasis had done her ; but she wou'd by no means give way to it , but only intreated him , as a man that espoused her interest , that he would search out the truth , whereby she might take her measures for her justification . darbelle promis'd what she requir'd , and in pursuance thereof , the next day sought for a fit occasion to discourse with him , and by good fortune found one the most favourable that cou'd be ; for meeting him about four of the clock in the afternoon walking in the garden of artulieries , he desir'd his company to the orange-garden , with a pretension to buy some of the fruit. they both went into darbelle's coach together , and arriving thither , they alighted and walk'd some time on foot viewing the oranges . after some discourse , darbelle says to him , amasis , you are the most happy man that ere i knew , who have gain'd the affection of so beautiful a lady ; but i am ignorant how you shou'd so soon become weary of her favours ; for my part ( added he ) i have sighed for her a long time , and never was so happy as to obtain the least favourable consent from her in my amours . amasis at this discourse , with his usual imprudence , answered him surlily ; i do not think the happiness so great as you imagine it , and shou'd be much troubled to continue any longer in her fetters ; is it not enough ( pursues he maliciously ) that i have had proof of her weakness , but i must needs marry her ? and think you , 't is not much better to cast off her chains than continue in them as you do , who are but a fool the while ? is it true ( answered darbelle coldly ) that you have received such treatment ? it is most true ( replied amasis ) that she hates me not , and that she has omitted no endeavours to oblige me to marry her , but by good fortune i have escap'd it . i cou'd not believe ( replies darbelle ) that you were so base a person as i find you are ; i have been told as much by many , but i thought it only your enemies that had done you an injustice , and not what you merited ; tho now i am confirm'd that there is no vile action of which you are not capable , since you have the confidence to asperse one of such quality and vertue as clitie . amasis was much surpriz'd at this discourse , and he wou'd never have talk'd to him after such a manner , but to raise in him a contempt of her , that so he might have quitted her . nevertheless he being resolute , and what he had told darbelle cou'd not be recall'd , he believed himself obliged to make him some answer , ( assuming therefore the discourse , he told him after a rallying manner : you do well not to believe what i have told you , for 't is not much for the credit of so gallant a young man as you are , to consume your self in vain addresses to a beauty , who is prodigal of her favours to other , but does not value you . darbelle could no longer endure this insolence ( but suffering himself to be carried away with those emotions that a true lover cannot but feel when he hears his mistress wrong'd ; ) draws his sword , which amasis no sooner saw , but was as ready to defend himself ; they being both men of great courage , made the combat more formidable : darbelle receiv'd three wounds ere he cou'd touch amasis ; but seeing his blood flow from him on all sides , and fearing to be overcome by the efforts of so dangerous an enemy . the rage and fury ( wherewith love did then inspire ) took such strong possession of his heart , that rallying up all his forces , he gave amasis two such wounds which laid him breathless at his feet . this combat was in place retired from all people , and whither darbelle had drawn amasis , with no other design ( at first ) but that they might discourse more freely , and that he might with the greater ease make a discovery of what he came about : and altho this quarrel was no premeditated thing , yet their being in such a place , with other circumstances , and the love that all people knew they both had for the same person , without much difficulty made every one believe it was a set duel . the business was soon made publick , and every body that were concern'd , took their friends part : that of dead amasis ( who was the heir of a vast estate , and a person of great quality ) was the strongest . the king , who was willing to be inform'd of the truth of the matter , was over-perswaded that darbelle was the agressor , and openly declar'd against him , commanded a diligent search to be made , and that his process should be drawn up with all the severity that cou'd be , as was usual against crimes of that nature . in the mean time the unfortunate darbelle foreseeing the praemunire this business had brought him into ( all wounded as he was ) retir'd to a friend's house of his , called lycidas , none knowing where he was gone , or that he had been wounded . and after some few days had past , they made no doubt but he had made his escape , and left the kingdom ; and his own friends , to make the report more credible , gave out , that they had receiv'd intelligence from him out of spain , whither he was fled to secure himself . in the miserable estate our poor lover found himself in : ( 't was not the fear of death , nor the disgrace he suffer'd under by his prince , that so much afflicted him ; but the unavoidable necessity of leaving his dear clitie , and that he had lost by it all hopes of ever possessing her ; ) he was almost distracted when he found he was forc'd to leave her in a countrey where there was but little probability of his ever appearing there again . thus were his thoughts imploy'd , and his poor heart almost broke with grief . clitie in the mean time came to the knowledge of this news , amongst the rest of the court , by the rumour that presently spread it self every where . none suspected her concern'd , amasis being dead , and having no evidence , they were all ignorant of the true cause ; she alone knew what had passed between the two rivals ; and looking upon her self as an ( innocent ) cause of all darbelle's misfortunes , the violence she imposed upon her self to hide the trouble she was in for it , cast her into a fit of sickness . it is certain that her heart ( which till then was ignorant of what it felt ) in the same moment found it self touch'd with a sense of his great merits , and those important obligations for which she was bound to darbelle , add to this the pity which his misfortunes rais'd in her , notwithstanding all the opposition she cou'd make , created in her something so tender , that she found she was no longer mistress of her own heart , and which wou'd have rendred darbelle ( did he but know it ) in the midst of all his miseries , the most happy and contented man in the whole world. she resolv'd in her self no longer to hide her sentiments for him , and to confess to him , that she had some tenders of love for him ; nor could either her virtue or reputation make the least objection against this resolution ; for darbelle was one of the principal men at court , and there were not many that cou'd equal him in quality . he had sought her in marriage long before he had moved it to her father , and withal had got his consent ; and to this add the service he had done , wherein he had lost all for her ; so perfectly finish'd the work , that she had not the least repugnance in determining her choice , and resolving to make him her husband ; nor cou'd she do less without incurring censure and blame when the truth shou'd be known . but notwithstanding all these favourable opinions ( for darbelle ) had seated themselves in the breast of clitie , he was nothing the more happy , he was ignorant that she had the least interest in his affairs ; he wou'd fain have made her seusible of 'em , but for some time it was a thing impossible , for he was wounded in the hand , and had not the use of it to write to her , nor durst he trust any person with the things he had to relate to her . clitie , on the other side , was almost in despair , after not having heard from him in four whole days ; then 't was her fansie made her apprehend he had receiv'd some mortal wounds of which he since was dead ; and that the troubles and affliction he received from this misfortune , wou'd not permit to seek out any friend to whom he might have declared the truth of the matter . at length darbelle , in spight of chirurgeons who had him in cure , was so impatient to know his destiny , that he was not to be hinder'd from writing a small note to her , which was deliver'd into her own hands by the means of one of her women ( called mariana ) who was one she reposed much confidence in , and one to whom she had most freely open'd the secrets of her heart . the letter was thus exprest : i have done , my fairest clitie , what you commanded me ; it has cost my rival his life , but me a thousand times more , since by his death i am debarr'd from seeing you ; and from that moment the fear of losing you , has almost depriv'd me of my reason , so that i am resolv'd no longer to live , if you take not some pity on me ; appoint me then ( if you shall think good ) some place and time where i may acquaint you more clearly with what you desire to know ; but above all , abandon not the most amorous , and the most unfortunate of all men . this letter was no sooner delivered to clitie , but she was amaz'd and surpriz'd by a thousand disturbances , which till then her heart had never felt , she open'd it , and read it with eagerness ; but when she understood darbelle still lov'd her most tenderly , and that he was not far from her , all those disquietudes were converted to transports of great joy ; and losing not one minutes time , writ to him an answer in these words following . i am too much the cause ( tho innocently ) of your afflictions , not to have a sense of them ; assure your self i have born my share in them ever since the first sad moment that i understood them : and if to make you satisfaction for all those misfortunes i have drawn you into , be but the want of my acknowledgments and gratitude , you have reason to be content . i wou'd willingly grant you what you desire of me , but i am afraid of your life ; expose not you self therefore imprudently , but if you are resolv'd to visit me , put on some disguise , and come this night to mariana's chamber . this answer was carried back to darbelle by the same messenger that brought her his letter ; it is impossible to express the transports of joy that this note raised in his heart ; he read it over and over again , giving a thousand kisses ; and if ever any died with impatience , he did little less in attending the blessed hour in which he was to be at mariana's chamber : but the fear he had rather of exposing his dear clitie , than himself , staid him , and made him retard those pretious minutes , he imploy'd all the rest of the day in contriving a proper disguise , but after a hundred inventions , he found none so commodious to deceive the eyes of all those that might meet him , as by putting on the habit of a woman . he was but about sixteen or seventeen years old , and as beautiful as the morning ; and having attir'd himself in the cloathes of one of lncida's women , even those that help'd to make the metamorphosis , cou'd hardly know him now . no sooner did the night begin to spread its sable mantle o're that part of the earth , but darbelle hastned to visit clitie , and coming into mariana's chamber ( who by her lady's order waited there to receive him ) but she locks the door , and run to give her lady notice , who after she had taken her leave as decently as she cou'd of those were come to visit her , she went to mariana's apartment . no sooner did darbelle behold her , but he fell prostrate at her feet , and transported by the emotions of fear and love , durst hardly open his mouth to speak a word ; but at length after having a while kept silent ( looking on her with timorous eyes , but so full of tenderness and passion , that clitie seeing him cou'd not refrain bedewing her fair cheeks with tears ; lovely clitie ( says he to her ) you here behold a criminal against whom both heaven and earth have declar'd themselves , every body in this place have sworn my death ; but you alone , most charming clitie , are the person from whom i must learn my destiny ; yes , dearest madam , i value not all the rest who threaten me death ; and amongst all those tempests and dangers to which i am exposed , i fear none but your hatred or your anger ; but ( goes he on with tears in his eyes ) alas , my charming clitie ! what will become of wretched me , if you forsake me ! in speaking these words , a thousand sighs stopt the passage of his speech , which made him incapable of saying any more . and clitie , during this discourse , felt such a tender pity at the bottom of her heart , that she cou'd no longer suffer this unfortunate lover ( to whom she was so much obliged ) to continue in that deplorable condition , told him ( in so soft an air , which was able to eleviate the most cruel pains , and comfort even the most desperate ) you do me wrong , darbelle , to imagine i have so little honour as to abandon my friends because they are miserable , especially since i my self am the cause of it ; i must confess , i am not yet thoroughly inform'd how yours have hapned to you , tho i cannot but believe i have contributed much to 'em against my will ; and my heart ( innocent tho it be ) is already so touch'd with a sense of the guilt , that you may easily imagine that i am impatient to know it , and have no small desire to assist you , and render you such services as may ( if possible ) make you reparation for all those evils i have brought upon you . in finishing these words she obligingly press'd his hand ; and after darbelle had return'd her thanks ( with an air and words the most amorous that ever were ) he told her the conference he had with amasis , his insolent behaviour , and the combat which put an end to all ; he made her sensible he was not yet cur'd of his wounds , he told her both the name of the place , and his friend to whom he had retir'd , and gave her an exact account of all that hapned since his parting from her ; but in the relation which he made of all his unfortunate adventures , he inserted such tender marks of a true love , and deliver'd all his words ( with i know not what of languishing ) so feelingly , that it wou'd have moved the hearts even of the most insensible . but clitie , who was naturally of the most tender disposition in the world , being then in the prime of innocence , suck'd in the insinuating poyson of his words ; for some space after he had finish'd his relation , she beheld darbelle with dying eyes , and in those languishing looks discovered but too much the sentiment of her heart ; but no sooner did she perceive the small command she had of her self , but a certain blushing covered all her face , and dyed it of a crimson colour , which render'd her so charming , that darbelle was ready to expire at her feet . ah! most adorable clitie , ( cries he out ) how shall i relate to you what i feel , when in the extremity of my misfortunes , you raise me to the highest step of happiness ? o , how much am i beholden to my enemies , and to those accidents which seem to cross my life , who banish me from court ; and from the conversation of mankind , that i may have no disturbance in the thoughts of you , and who have been the means of procuring me all those transports of love wherewith i am inspir'd . once more , most charming clitie , give me leave to consecrate my life to you , and to present you with a heart , which tho no ways worthy of you , yet the most tender , and most passionate of all hearts . clitie was about to answer when mariana running to her , interrupted her , and told her that her father was just come from the louver , and ask'd to speak with her : the grief and trouble that this news put her in , was yet more obliging to darbelle than all that she had said to him ; she gave him an absolute command that he shou'd think of nothing but his safety , and his departure from the court. but because in this first interview they had resolved of nothing of what might happen , he intreated leave to wait on her the next day about the same time , to which she consented . so they parted ; darbelle went to the outward gate , accompanied by mariana , without being known , or suspected by any , altho not a servant in the house but wou'd have known at another time . clitie went to her father , who she found sad and out of humour , ( and being desirous to be inform'd ) ask'd him the reason why he seem'd so melancholy ? my child ( says he ) i am just now return'd from receiving the king's orders , which much trouble me : it is strongly reported , that darbelle is yet in some place hereabouts , and that not taking notice of the decree against him , he has not fled from the court. the king thinks it a point of injustice to let him escape unpunished , and looks upon the combat as a crime of state ; and ( to be short ) if he can be taken , is possitively resolv'd he shall suffer death ; he has commanded me to secure his person , a hundred men of the guards will be with me within an hour ; and we have order to force open the house of lycidas , in which it is supposed he is conceal'd . judge then , my child ( continues he ) if i have any cause of joy , since i must be the instrument of bringing so vertuous a man as darbelle is to his end ; one who is so dear tome , and one for whom i have a greater respect than all the court besides ; however , his majesties orders must be obey'd , and 't is not in my power to avoid it . clitie , who was not a little surpriz'd at this discourse , wanted not prudence enough to conceal it ; but making an effort upon her self , told her father , that indeed he had reason enough for his grief , yet nevertheless he ought to obey his majesties commands ; but withal , she told him , she cou'd no ways comprehend that a person so criminal as darbelle was , shou'd not ere this have made his escape out of the kingdom . their conversation lasted a little while , after which they parted ; and clitie , that she might have the greater liberty to be alone , feigned that she had the head-ach . lycidas she knew was the man , at whose house darbelle had conceal'd himself ever since the combat , insomuch that this pressing accident , which so much threatned him , and the danger and difficulty which appear'd to clitie in saving him , did so extreamly surprize her , and made so deep an impression of his affairs in her heart , that without any farther consultation , she writ him this billet . fly unhappy man , fly from your retreat , the king and your enemies have knowledge of it , and in a very short time you will be apprehended ; the few moments on which your life depends , are too too pretious to me to lose in saying any more : use all diligence then to save your selfe , if you wou'd ever have me think you love me . darbelle received this billet from mariana's hands , whom her lady had sent with it , he was much surpriz'd at it . but the interest which clitie took in the safety of his person , was an incitement too powerful for him to slip the least moment , and by good fortune he had not yet shifted himself out of his woman's cloaths , not dreaming the least of what might fall out ; he was till now ruminating on nothing but the various turns his fortune had shewn him . let us fly ( dear mariana ) says he , let us fly , since clitie has so commanded , and the larger interest she has in my heart , the more will i make it my endeavour to preserve it for her . in finishing these words , they both went out together ; but hardly had they gone a 〈◊〉 from the house , but they saw clitie's father at the head of a hundred 〈◊〉 men , who had already seized and guarded all the avenues . both mariana and darbelle knew him a 〈◊〉 ways off , which made them pull both their hoods over their faces , and to 〈◊〉 a little out of the way , the better to avoid the danger . they passed them without any obstructions , but neither darbelle nor mariana knowing that clitie's father had orders to apprehend him , were much surpriz'd to find him in this equipage , they consulted a while about what they should do , and to resolve to what place he should retire till the hour appointed to visit clitie . in short , having well consider'd on the matter , darbelle , not daring to trust any , consider'd that it wou'd be very difficult to go to any place in his woman's habit without discovery , took up a resolution to go directly to clitie's , and shut himself up in mariana's chamber . he accomplish'd his desire most happily for they both got in without being perceiv'd by any ; and mariana immediately went to clitie to give her an account of all that had pass'd . clitie was extremely pleas'd at the news ; for clitie's father with the guard , departed to apprehend darbelle almost at the same time that mariana was sent to give him notice of it . in the midst of these troubles , fearing what might happen to him , she endured strange tortures ; but no sooner did she understand that darbelle was safe arrived , but she went to him to testifie the joy she received for his escape . darbelle ( says she , coming up to him ) i have deceived both my father and the king to save your life ; and 't is no small trouble to me that it is not in my power to do yet more , whereby i might testifie to you what interest i take in all that concerns you . my fairest clitie ( answered darbelle ) you have had only care of preserving a man who is wholly yours , but one who shall be imploy'd on no other account but your service , and to adore you even to his grave . falling on his knees , and going to continue his discourse , clitie prevented him ( saying to him ) darbelle , our time is precious , and you have had a wonderful escape in this present avoiding your ruine ; it is a great argument heaven it self has no small interest in you , since it makes you so much its care , and works such miracles in your behalf : abuse not therefore its goodness , but lay hold on the means it proffers you , and lose no time in making your escape out of paris , where your enemies are so well informed of all that you do . you cannot but be sensible , that you have been betray'd , since the king had information that you were retired to lycida's house ; by very good fortune he gave his orders for apprehending you to my father ; and ( not to hold you longer ) it was from him i knew the secret , by which means i gave you timely notice . tho now you may imagine you are safe enough , who knows what may happen ? how are you sure that none has dog'd you hither ? consider therefore how miserable shall we both be , shou'd you be taken in my father's house ! my honour and your life must be the victims which our enemies will sacrifice with all pleasure imaginable ; therefore both for my sake and your own , i intreat you would not think of staying any longer here , not only at court , but in the kingdom ; and many times the circumstances you lie under , become more calm and tranquil as they grow old ; and 't is not impossible but after some time , a means may be found out in your absence to pacifie the king's anger , and to change the face of affairs by making the king understand the truth of the matter , and that your quarrel was not a set duel , but a rancounter ; your friends are many and powerful , and i am sure will not forsake you ; and for my own part , i will use all the interest i can , that i may see you once again at court , and re-establish'd in the king's favour . darbelle having hearkned to this discourse of clitie's , without interrupting her , being so overwhelm'd in sorrow , that he was incapable of saying one word ; and instead of returning her an answer , stood almost drown'd in tears . clitie added a thousand other obliging things to comfort him ; at length darbelle recollecting himself , uttered these word●● but with so languishing a tone as he we●● just departing this life : o my m● lovely clitie ! does your heart account with you in what you say on my account clitie , who already had resolv'd to discover to him the tender sentiments she had for him , and to give him all the assurances of love , that might become a person of her quality , honour , and vertue : but one who still was under her father's disposal , paused a little ere she discover'd her self . in short , this was a lucky hour for darbelle ; for clitie thought it wou'd be very difficult to perswade him to leave her , without giving him some hopes of seeing her again , and being happy at his return ; and she fear'd , that without some 〈◊〉 hopes , he might yet be guilty of some extravagant thing , in endeavouring to obtain her love , that might perhaps 〈◊〉 him his life : having considered these things , add to these the passion she felt 〈◊〉 heart , which now she was no longer mistress of , she return'd him this answer ; o , darbelle ! how cruel are you thus not to understand me , and apprehend i love ? alas , darbelle ! having given you such evident proofs already , methinks you might have been kind to me , and spar'd my blushes in telling you i love you ; and perhaps ( says she , with a deep sigh ) more than you love me ? she blush'd in uttering these words and turn'd aside her eyes from looking on darbelle , who was so extasied with what he heard , and transported with the excess of love and joy , he was not capable of returning her thanks ; nevertheless he threw himself at her feet , embracing her knees , and kissing a thousand times over her fair hands , at last he burst out ; o you great gods ! are you not envious of the happiness i have ? yes , my adorable clitie , ( goes he on ) your 〈◊〉 is dearer to me than the empire of the world : but , oh ! not all the words 〈◊〉 eloquence , or wit , can e're express my love ; and nothing but your all-charming beauty can come in competition with it : and had i but the least thought that any thing cou'd change my heart here i swear to you ( my divine saint that i wou'd this moment pierce the persidious thing a thousand times before your eyes . he made a million of protestations 〈◊〉 an everlasting love ; and clitie gave him an assurance that she wou'd never marry any one but him , and that she wou'd not only refuse all such who should make their amour to her , but withstand the very will and command of her father shou'd he ever attempt to bestow her on 〈◊〉 other . many passionate expressions pass'd on 〈◊〉 sides for confirmation of their loves 〈◊〉 protestations ; after which clitie commanded him , but with the greatest regret imaginable , to depart the next day : they 〈◊〉 of 'em seem'd to disolve in tears , 〈◊〉 the unseasonableness of the time , and 〈◊〉 return of clitie's father constrain'd a 〈◊〉 . clitie promis'd she would not fail to 〈◊〉 him again as soon as she could get 〈◊〉 from her father ; in the mean time 〈◊〉 desired him to resolve whither he 〈◊〉 go , that so they might take 〈◊〉 of informing each other how matters 〈◊〉 , and that she wou'd find some way 〈◊〉 other for their easie and secret correspondence by letters . darbelle sighing , return'd her this answer ; i am too much your slave not to obey you in every thing , altho' i run the hazard of my life in the performance ; and here i implore heaven's aid to give one power to bear my sufferings . at 〈◊〉 words both parted , clitie to visit her father , who she found in a more pleasant humour than what she left him my dearest child ( says he , looking on her ) the poor darbelle by good fortune 〈◊〉 evited death , i have not found him 〈◊〉 lyeidas's house ; the king can blame none but those who have given him 〈◊〉 advice ; i am so well satisfied that 〈◊〉 met not with him , that i cannot put 〈◊〉 a disguise to the contrary , and seem troubled , especially since i am so well assured of my due performing all 〈◊〉 commands i receiv'd from his majesties for searching that house where they suppos'd he had conceal'd himself . clitie put on such an indifference during her father's relation , that the most nice observer cou'd have suspected her to have been a party concern'd in the business soon after her father took coach , to get and acquaint the king of his proceedings and clitie flew to visit her darbelle , carrying with her a small casket of pearls and diamonds for him . darbelle ( says she ) our affairs are now in an exceeding good posture , and seeing you are resolv'd to follow my advice , i hope the heavens will be pleased some time or other to compleat our happiness , lose no moment , but quickly save your self ; here i present you with all my richest jewels , which are of value enough to assist you in whatsoever you shall stand in need of , and i make it my request you would not refuse them ; for 〈◊〉 know it is very inconvenient for you to seek for others of your own , and so great a journey cannot but be expensive . darbelle was amaz'd at her bounty , and after having return'd her a thousand 〈◊〉 very obligingly ; clitie ( says he ) there is no need of any thing more than your commands to make me leave this place , and to obey you ; and nothing but the assurance of your love and fidelity which can support my life when i am absent from your fair eyes ; i love you ( continues he ) with too ardent a passion to give you any longer these apprehensions of fear , which ( for your sake ) make not so deep impressions on your heart , as they do on mine . and since you are pleas'd so to order me , i will be gone by break of day ; as for my life it will be in no danger , the way that i intend to take ; for i have a gentleman that has been brought up from his childhood with me , and one that has tied himself so to me , that he is resolv'd to share in all my fortunes ; he is endued with an infinite wit and discreet conduct , by whose means i shall be able to put on what disguise i 〈◊〉 till i shall arrive at some place where i shall have no longer cause to fear . it is some time since ( says he ) that i commanded him to be in a readiness to execute what orders i shou'd give him , and to be always prepar'd to follow me ; i will give him instructions to attend me at st. anthony's gate to marrow by the break of day ; nor will i take any other with me , till i shall come to the next great city through which i am to pass , where i will furnish my self with other servants to wait on me , who neither knowing my true name , quality , nor my business , are not liable to betray me , as apparently i have been already by some of my people , tho' i know not whom to accuse . as for money , ( most generous clitie , says he ) i have sufficient to serve me in my journey , i shall not put my self to unnecessary expences ; the passion that possesses my heart , will inspire me with nothing but your idea , and force me to seek out a solitude where i may live free from all the noise of pleasure , or disturbance of delight . i intend for italy , where i will never rest 〈◊〉 any place , but such , whose shades 〈◊〉 melancholy silence shall be agreeable to my humour , and to whom alone i 〈◊〉 make my moans , and lament your 〈◊〉 absence , sacrifice all to the griefs and sorrows i suffer for you . after this manner , my heavenly mistress ( says he ) will i employ my hour , and spend my days while i am banish'd from your 〈◊〉 ; in the interim i will sollicite all my friends and relations by my letters , to acquaint his majesty of my innocency , and give him a true account of all my proceedings , and ( if possible ) oblige him once more to give me free liberty of serving him , and the inestimable happiness of seeing you again : o heavens ! ( added he , with tears in his eyes ) behold , my incomparable clitie , what resolutions i have taken to obey you ; yet i doubt whatever endeavours i shall make , it will not be in my power to live after i have parted with you . clitie hearkned to all his discourse , and dissolving in tears , conjur'd him again to accept of her jewels , but he still refus'd them , and only took an enamell'd picture of hers , which was in a box made of an intire emerauld , and set about with diamonds of an inestimable price . they agreed together to give a reciprocal account of all the very least action 〈◊〉 their lives ; and that when clitie writ to him , she shou'd direct her letters as he wou'd appoint her in his ; and that he would direct his to mariana , who would deliver them to clitie : he had sent a 〈◊〉 to his gentleman ( whose name was la rock ) to have horses in readiness in such a place as he had appointed him , and had received an answer , that he would not 〈◊〉 to be there ; those who brought it , 〈◊〉 knowing the design , had orders to attend him at the corner of a street before the dawning of the day . all things being thus order'd , clitie and darbelle passed the rest of the night in discoursing about what they had to do , both as to their commerce by letters , as well as the means to accommodate their affairs , they made again a thousand protestations of love to each other , that it should last till death , sighs and tears were their faithful witnesses , and in them never did two lovers give better testimonies ; nor did darbelle fail in the least point of respect to her . it is true , that at that moment wherein they were to part , having for some time look'd upon each other without speaking the least syllable , but with eyes 〈◊〉 most eloquent in love , and tears and sighs a thousand times more eloquent 〈◊〉 words ; clitie pressing the hand of 〈◊〉 disconsolate darbelle , and rising to take her leave , all full of grief and sorrow , and not able to disguise her troubles ; darbelle detaining her for a long time , did nothing but kiss her fair hand , which at length ( as it were with a kind of violence ) he let go , pronouncing and repeating twice or thrice these words , you leave me , my adorable clitie , and it is time that i should die . clitie flung out of the chamber ( her handkerchief before her weeping eyes ) and mariana waited on her to her own apartment , where clitie threw her self upon her bed , pouring out a torrent of tears , and wanted little of pouring out her life at the same time . mariana return'd immediately to darbelle , who was no less afflicted , and told him that it was clitie's orders that he should forthwith be gone , and that he ought to do it , not only for the preservation of his own life , but the honour and reputation of her mistress . at last , being over-perswaded by what mariana had said to him , and fearing to disobey clitie , he put off his woman's apparel , and dress'd himself in a riding habit , which had been privately brought to him by the unknown porters at the corner of the street ; being dress'd he went to la rock who waited for him with his horses ; but his grief had so changed him , that 't is certain he cou'd hardly know him . the day began to appear ere the poor afflicted lover , accompanied only with la rock , and guided by his passion , took horse to avoid the displeasure of the king , and prevent the fury and anger of his enemies , who had used all their endeavours to take away his life . he discours'd some time with la rock , telling him how much he confided in him , and acquainting him , that he was the only person that he made choice of amongst all his servants , to partake of his good or bad fortune ; he told him in few words the resolution he had taken to quit both the court and kingdom , to give time to his friends to accommodate his affairs ; that he wou'd after a day or two take post to get to marseilles as soon as he cou'd possible , from thence to pass into florence , where he wou'd retire himself during his exile . in short , he chang'd his name , and took other servants , from whom he 〈◊〉 his adventures , and they only look'd on him as a gentleman of quality that was travelling . in the mean time the beautiful clitie ( ever since the departure of her lover ) had so cruelly given her heart up to all the emotions of a tender and innocent passion , that she was oblig'd to fain her self sick to avoid the profers that all made her of diverting her self , and to hinder her answering all those who were daily importuning her to know the cause of her grief . mariana only knew the secrets of her heart , and left no means unattempted to comfort her ; but alass ! how do poor 〈◊〉 deceive themselves , when they imagine the sound of their beloved's name will ease their sorrows ? clitie , who had no experience in these matters , took delight in nothing but to talk of her dear darbelle , but in doing so , she wounded her heart with a thousand mortal stabbs , which became incurable ; and from that moment nothing was able to ease her of that cruel passion which she had suffer'd so strongly to possess her . the second day of her lover's absence , she receiv'd a letter from him , which made a little calm in her soul which stood so much in need of it : the letter is as follows . is it a dream or a truth ( most divine clitie ) that i am absent from you ? oh , it is certainly a dream ! for were it a truth , i ought not to have supported the grief , but have died . but oh , in the mean time i cannot see you ! to my horror i perceive ( unhappy that i am ) that every step i take bears me farther from your fair eyes . but , my most charming dear , you have commanded me to live and love you : oh , how willingly wou'd i obey you ! how dear is your idea to me ! and i ought to be content with it , if i have but rais'd the smallest sense of what i feel , in your dear breast . he gave her notice also in his letter , that she might write to him at lyons , and direct her letter to a person who was a relation of la rock's . clitie took no delight but in reading this letter , and passed whole days in discoursing mariana about it ; but when she was a little eased of the grief which his absence had caused , she began to imploy her friends to act in the behalf of the unfortunate darbelle , to re-establish him at court ; every one was now assur'd by the letters he writ , that he was out of the kingdom , which made his enemies less careful in looking after him . in the mean time his enemies , by underhand-dealing , were so powerful , and the king so set against him , that he would by no means suffer any one to speak in his behalf . the court of france was at this time in the greatest splendor in the world , and altho' france had wars with almost all europe , her arms had gain'd in two or three battels such prodigious conquests , that when winter approach'd , it brought an universal truce , and sports and delights assum'd again their place , with a greater magnificence than ever , and the victorious lovers wou'd not give place to mars himself . clitie , who questionless was the most charming beauty of all the court , was now in the bloom and spring of her beauty , there was not a person of any note or quality , who were not enamour'd of her ; and those who dar'd not openly declare their passion , or make their complaints to her , made it , nevertheless , their business to please her with masques and balls ; but those whose births and estates made them her equals , used all their endeavours to marry her . in all places whithersoever she went , a thousand divertisements pursu'd her , and augmented wheresoe're she came , yet she took no delight in 'em , declaring these glittering pleasures were no ways agreeable to her : but what less can a lover do , when he is debarr'd telling his fair mistress his passion , but to make declaration of it by his gallantry , by treats , balls , masques , and melodious symphonies ; and it is certain , how troublesome soe're they appear'd to clitie , they afforded much pleasure to those that accompanied her . no musick so much delighted her as the sweet choiresters of the solitary groves burden'd heart sought out the unfrequentedst places she cou'd find , and preferr'd the complaints and tender songs of sweet philomel to all other harmony ; yet do what she cou'd , she was forc'd to accept the melodious consorts which love had inspir'd her adorers to present her with , and thereby sometimes diverted the current of her melancholy thoughts . every one took notice , that this incomparable fair one , who was naturally of a jovial temper , now became retir'd and serious ; and i know not what of languishing and tender appear'd in her eyes , and accompanied all her actions after so agreeable a manner , that it was almost impossible to see her , and not to love . thus she spent five or six months , and none e're knew the secrets of her heart , or the resolution she had taken to espouse none but darbelle ; she was daily importun'd , and it is no easie matter to conceive the trouble she was put to , in defending her self from the solicitations of that number that ador'd her . there was not any , tho' never so perfect , in whom she found not some defect , which she still us'd for excuses to her father ; she had no sooner clear'd her self of all these lovers , but fortune resolving still to persecute her , rais'd up one whose courtship and love gave her much trouble . it was the prince lysidor , he was indeed but a stranger , yet ally'd to the court of france , and preferr'd to noblest and chiefest employments of the kingdom ; he was handsome to a miracle , and by all look'd upon , and the most gallant and accomplish'd person of the court : he lov'd her to that excess , that all fear'd it would have cost him no less than his life ; his passion was made publick to all , and none that ever saw him , but had matter of discourse , either concerning his love or his mistress , the violence of his passion , and his assiduous addresses to her , freed her from all other pretenders ; nor did he miss a day in which he saw her not . he made his court to her , and had gain'd her father's consent , but by no means cou'd obtain the daughter's ; and all the power of the court and kingdom strove in vain to bring it about , she withstood all , and it may be truly said , that never any was more constant and faithfull than this fair one was , to what she had promis'd darbelle . she was recompenc'd with the most endearing tender letters that ever love indited , which almost every day she received from him ; nor did she omit to answer them , letting him know the very least thing that passed . and if the absence of these two lovers gave them unexpressible sorrows , yet the daily commerce by letters did not a little ease their sufferings . that which most tormented clitie , was the extraordinary passion that her beauty had inspir'd the heart of prince lysidor withal , which raged so in him , and became so violent , that some fear'd it might raise in him thoughts of stealing her away . he was so extraordinary handsome , young , liberal , gallant , and magnificent in all things , that it may be said , nothing cou'd have rais'd him any obstacle in the heart of clitie , but that darbelle had got possession of the place , and without doubt had she been disinterested , none had sooner been preferr'd amongst her whole croud of adorers than this prince ; but there needed no greater bar to his happiness , than darbelle's love. he cou'd gain nothing on her heart more than an esteem for him , which made her much concern'd at his sufferings ; she told him often , and conjur'd him to think on her no more , and to give her father no further trouble about their marriage , that it was utterly impossible for her to alter her destiny , and that her father was to her instead of the best husband in the world. these repulses highly afflicted the prince , but they wrought not their design'd effect , and were no hindrance to him to love her more tenderly ; and he hoped in time her cruel resolution might be chang'd . his merit , and the gold which he was even profusely lavish of , in every thing that might advance his love , had gain'd the heart and friendship of mariana , he oblig'd her by many presents , and left no means unassay'd to gain her favour ; for he was not ignorant she was the only person in the world to whom her mistress intrusted her secrets , and made her confident ; he knew they were never asunder , whether walking abroad to take the air , visiting , or at home ; they were often discoursing together , and clitie and mariana seem'd never to be weary of each others company . the particular kindness that clitie had for her , was the reason which oblig'd the prince to make her of his friends , he imagin'd he should search into the heart of her mistress by gaining that of mariana , he spared neither cost nor presents to engage her to his interests : mariana was insensibly won to it , she hearkned to his daily amorous complaints , and promis'd to do him all the service she was able , and ( if possible ) to render him one day happy with clitie . having gain'd mariana , he doubted not the success of his amours , and assumed new hopes of one day overcoming clitie's cruelty , he acosted her with more courage , and better assurance than ever . mariana knew that clitie had infinite wit and that none in the world had a more apprehensive and piercing judgment than she , took all possible care to conceal the correspondence she held with the prince , and gave him instructions to that purpose , she would often before clitie seem to be displeas'd at him , that she might not be suspected of his party . in the mean time clitie , who conceal'd nothing from mariana , discover'd to her the sentiments she had concerning the prince , and often told her , that his misfortunes made her pity him , and that she was much troubl'd he should still preserve a love for one who cou'd never make him any return , nor have any more than an esteem for him , so long as darbelle prov'd constant . mariana was not wanting to extol the worth of the prince , and put her in mind of all he had done for her ; she recounted to her all his languishings , and all the sighs her absence gave him , when he came to visit her , and found her not at home , and the torrent of tears that flow'd from his eyes , when he was forc'd to complain of her cruelty . one day as clitie seem'd more than ordinary concern'd for the affliction of lysidor , mariana made an effort to batter her constancy , saying seriously , madam , 〈◊〉 believe you have much a-do to preserve your heart intirely for darbelle , and to defend it against the daily assaults of the love of the prince . oh! if you had 〈◊〉 heard the complaints he made two days since ( thinking none had been near him ) in a close arbour in your garden , and had you seen ( as i did ) the transports that his passion hurried him to , i am confident you could not but have pitied him . for my part ( goes she on ) who have less reason to love him than you , especially since i have promised darbelle never to forsake his interest , and daily to put you in mind of him ; i swear to you , that being witness to the despair of this poor prince ( tho' he saw me not ) i had not the power to avoid shedding tears as fast as he ; for certainly ( said she to clitie ) it is impossible for him to live in the tortures he indures for you , and that a heart so strongly attack'd with so many afflictions as his is , cannot any longer resist his fate . she spoke these things to the advantage of the prince , with such artifice and cunning , that clitie , whose heart ( was not made of adamant ) was capable enough of the tender impression of love , and cou'd no longer defend it self from pitying this unfortunate , whom she had made so miserable . i am even in despair ( answers clitie ) since this is arrived to this pitch of folly , that he must either marry me or die ; for if i have seem'd more cruel to him than to many , whom i esteem'd less , it was only to endeavour to free him of the unhappy passion he has for me : i am not altogether insensible , and i acknowledge i feel a certain compassion for him , when i behold such tender and true marks of his love , as he daily gives me . but you know , mariana ( says she ) that nothing can dispossess darbelle of my heart , my duty and inclination plead wholly for him ; and it is impossible for me ever to alter ; for which reasons i am resolv'd to forbid the prince ever to see me again . ah , madam ! ( answers mariana ) do not drive him to this cruel extremity , all the world knows that he has endeavour'd unsuccessfully all means possible to cease loving you , but since 't is not to be effected , envy him not the consolation of dying in your sight . as clitie and mariana were thus discoursing , the prince ( who had before been informed of the conversation that should be made ) enter'd , he appear'd 〈◊〉 dejected and sad , that ( in short ) clitie was surpriz'd and mariana seem'd to be so much concern'd at it , that she could 〈◊〉 forbear pronouncing some words that made known her astonishment . the prince who seeing none present with clitie but mariana , told her ( with tears in his eyes ) alas ! thou cruel 〈◊〉 one , make an end at once both of my grief and life , that i may no longer importune you ; and since it is my misfortune to persecute you thus to no purpose let me die to make an expiation for all the torment i have given you . alas ( pursues he ) your eyes ( most divine clitie ) are a thousand times more beautiful than the morning , but i cannot render them either delightful or soft to me what then shou'd i do with life ? it is much better for me to expire at your feet , than daily to be the object of your anger . he utter'd these words with a languishing sadness , which became him so well , they wou'd have mov'd compassion in the most obdurate heart , when a death-like paleness cover'd all his face , his strength began to fail him , and he cou'd no longer keep himself from falling on the couch whereon clitie sate , just like a man expiring ; mariana presently skreek'd out , o good gods ! he is gone , he is dead ; dear madam ( says she ) say some obliging thing to him to recover him , if possible . clitie , who is certainly the most excellent of her sex , stood not now to consult either the love she bore darbelle , or the cruelty she had design'd to shew the prince , she regarded nothing at present , but the lamentable condition in which he was , and believing that unfeignedly he wou'd die , if she gave him not some relief ; prince ( says she ) if it yet lies in your power , have more regard to a life so valuable as yours , and give not up your self , as you do , to an unparallel'd despair ; for be assur'd i have not the least unkindness for you , and if i have not answer'd your love in all respects , it is because the heavens have other ways decreed it : i am so far from seeking your death , that i wish nothing more than that you may live , which by all the power you say i have over you , charge you to obey . after these words which gave a little comfort to him , he began to lift himself up . the prince being come to himself again , wou'd have return'd her 〈◊〉 for what she had said to him , but clitie reflecting on what her compassion 〈◊〉 made her utter , fearing it would but augment his passion , went out of the room angry with her self , leaving the prince with mariana , who pretended to stay while with him , to prevent any extravagant thing his despair might cause him do , which might be more troublesome clitie , tho her design was only to discourse with him , and to make a favourable construction of her last obliging words , to the prince's advantage . mariana no sooner came into clitie's presence , but she feign'd new stories of the ravings , sighings , lamentations , and tears of the poor afflicted prince , and the great pains and difficulty she had to recover him after clitie had parted from 〈◊〉 nor did she leave any thing unsaid 〈◊〉 might touch her heart in favour of 〈◊〉 prince . but clitie's constancy and fidelity wou'd admit in her a love for none but 〈◊〉 darbelle , his merit , the many obligations that she had had from him , and those reciprocal promises , and mutual vows they had made eternally to love each other , still possess'd her memory , and no less 〈◊〉 heart ; besides she daily receiv'd from him such pastionate and tender letters , and full of wit and judgment , that they 〈◊〉 wou'd have been potent enough to 〈◊〉 defended him against all his rivals . at length by little and little , the prince's presents , his solicitations , and the promises he daily made mariana , that she 〈◊〉 share with him in all his good fortune , quite corrupted her , and gained her wholly to his side ; she now forgets all he had promised darbelle , and all the 〈◊〉 she ow'd to clitie , and not considering the fatal consequence this horrid perfidy might cause , discover'd to the prince all their secrets , and assur'd the prince , that clitie lov'd darbelle even to death ; and 〈◊〉 that was the occasion of the quarrel between him and amasis , and that he had 〈◊〉 left her , but by her command ; and after she had given him a thousand assurances to love him to her grave , and to marry him as soon as their affairs were in condition to admit it ; that no day scarcely passed wherein clitie had 〈◊〉 letter from him ; and that she as often sent him answers , ( and to be short ) the darbelle was the only hinderance of 〈◊〉 happiness , and that she had cause to 〈◊〉 confidently assur'd , that nothing but the pre-ingagement cou'd hinder her from 〈◊〉 him , and that his person and addresses had nothing in 'em , but what 〈◊〉 advantageous and agreeable , did not 〈◊〉 consideration of the love she had to darbelle interpose . this relation of mariana's 〈◊〉 surpriz'd the prince , and sensibly afflicted him ; he was so amaz'd at it , that it 〈◊〉 some time ere he came to himself , and declar'd he had rather the rigours and cruelty of clitie had sprung from a hatred 〈◊〉 his own person , than from the love she had for darbelle ; he forgot not to return mariana a thousand thanks for the favours and good offices she had done 〈◊〉 in discovering to him such important secrets from which he hop'd to reap great advantage : they swore a mutual amity nor did they part before he had 〈◊〉 rewarded her for what she had done 〈◊〉 him ; he pull'd off his finger a diamond ring of great value , which he presented to her ; and having embrac'd her , he 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 her never to forsake him , assuring 〈◊〉 that should not be his last present : 〈◊〉 desir'd him to come to her the next day at an hour when she was confident clitie wou'd not be at home , that they 〈◊〉 farther consult what measures to 〈◊〉 in order to the supplanting of darbelle , and by some means or other to 〈◊〉 her to love the prince . thus then they parted , after having 〈◊〉 each other a thousand promises of fidelity and amity ; mariana fail'd not 〈◊〉 go immediately to her mistress ; and 〈◊〉 better to disguise her proceedings , she 〈◊〉 her , that now she was indeed worthy to be belov'd ; she prais'd the grandeur 〈◊〉 her soul , and admir'd the constancy of her 〈◊〉 , who had so resolutely and rigorously 〈◊〉 the efforts of the most powerful and sincere lover in the world ; she seem'd 〈◊〉 put her in some way or other of 〈◊〉 the prince , and to prevent his daily 〈◊〉 : in short , she so well played the 〈◊〉 , that clitie confided more in 〈◊〉 now than ever she had done . she receiv'd not one letter from darbelle , that mariana shew'd not to the since , and indeed almost all those that clitie had writ in answer to 'em : this perfidious woman slipt not the least occasion of deceiving clitie , and serving the prince , and it would be difficult to distinguish between the fidelity that clitie had for darbelle , and that which mariana had for the prince . the day following lysidor fail'd not to visit mariana at the hour appointed , 〈◊〉 did she forget to tell him all that she 〈◊〉 learn'd from clitie , she discover'd to 〈◊〉 all that darbelle had writ to her , and what she had writ to him by way of 〈◊〉 and tho' the entertainment was as a bitter poison to the prince , yet he made her repeat the same things over and over a hundred times . their conversation ended as the 〈◊〉 had done , in presents and protestation to be true and faithful . it is true , 〈◊〉 the prince had seriously considered ever . transaction , he found his affairs 〈◊〉 his mistress were but in a lamentable condition , and he despair'd , do what he cou'd ever to gain her heart ; he took a resolution of leaving her , and no more 〈◊〉 trouble these two lovers , in passion , which to him seem'd so just , and ought to be applauded by all vertuous people ; no soone did his reason break through and dissipate those clouds that did obscure his glory but he was possess'd with a mortal aversion for mariana , and all her treachery seem'd odious to him ; ( and no doubt but the soul of this prince was so great and glorious , that it was impossible to make greater efforts than he made to reduce his heart from so unfortunate a love ) he intended no farther to engage her in his business , and cou'd not have good thoughts of one who had so treacherously abus'd her mistress : now it was that his eyes being open'd , he was sensible of the deformity of mariana's actions , that he had not any room in his heart , but what was possess'd with rage and anger against her , he purpos'd forthwith to discover to clitie what a snake she had harbour'd in her bosome , and to tell her all that mariana had made known to him . one day when glory seem'd to have the only sway of his heart , and to have got the ascendancy o're love by the endeavours he had made , he went to find out clitie , with a resolution to ask her pardon for all the troubles and anxities he had given her , and to inform her of all that he knew of mariana . having that day found her alone , as she was gathering jessimine-flowers in a terrase-walke before the windows ' of her apartment , ( he says to her with a cheerfulness more than usual ) fair clitie wonder not ( i pray you ) that i presume this day to speak to you with more assurance than formerly i have done since i am perswaded the business i now come to discourse to you of , will be more agreeable to you , than any i have yet spoke to you of since the first minute i had the happiness to see you . know then , ( pursues he ) madam , i am come to throw my self at your feet , and implore a forgiveness of all that your fair eyes and my passion have forc'd me so often to say to you against your approbation : in short , most beautiful clitie , i am resolv'd to leave you wholly to your own disposal , and desire no greater favour than to be reckon'd amongst your friends , since i see it is impossible for you to love me as i wou'd have you , or for you ever to make me happy ; i am sensible of the violence i shou'd offer you , shou'd i persecute you any longer ; and all that my ambition craves , that you wou'd suffer me to adore and honour you above all others , and from this time i promise you no more to entertain you with any discourse of my love . clitie was so surpriz'd to hear him say this , that at first she gave no credit to his words , but imagin'd it some amorous stratagem ; but at last he assur'd her of the truth , and wiping away all suspicion , she look'd upon him as a person infinitely obliging and vertuous . can it be ( answer'd she ) that what you tell me now is truth ? then have you made me happy , and i will ever allow you the same place in my amity that you have already in my esteem ; for now i will no longer hide from you , that i was driven even to despair , that i have made you endure so much inquietude , which i knew not how to redress ; but ( continued she ) i never was more sensible of any thing than the cruelty of your destiny , which had ordain'd a person of your merits and vertues , to sue to one so incapable of making you any returns as i ; but since you only desire i shou'd look on you as a friend , be assur'd i esteem you as my best . the prince return'd her thanks , 〈◊〉 a thousand other obliging things , 〈◊〉 spent the rest of that visit with an air seemingly full of content and satisfaction ; he thought it not convenient yet 〈◊〉 discover the intelligence between him and mariana , fearing it might put her out of humour , therefore he left that to some more proper season . thus he parted from her , with an intention of being only her friend , and no more to trouble her with his love ; but in a short time after his passion , which seem'd to be a sleep , rouses it self againe in his heart , and made him apprehend that a friendship only with clitie , wou'd but make him more miserable ; and being her friend , he had now no more hopes for love , but must for ever live tormented with despair : what ( says he ) my heart ! wou'd you no longer love clitie ? what then unhappy thing wilt thou do ? perhaps thou wilt shortly see her in anothers arms , whilst thou hast no pretension but to friendship , that 's to say , thou must be pleas'd to see her with thy rival , and rejoyce in the soft tenders of their loves , which none but they must injoy : o god! ( cry'd he out ) how cou'd i ever think , when this shall happen , that i can look on without resigning up my life ! no , no , clitie , it is impossible but i must still love you , love more than all my rivals put together , and i will dispute with them , your heart , to the last gasp . he walked hastily about his chamber in pronouncing these last words , just as mariana entred , who was so alarm'd at her mistress's telling her the prince no longer lov'd her , that she cou'd not rest till she came to learn the truth of it from himself . the prince , after having understood the subject of her visit , found he was no longer in a condition of being her friend only , but on the contrary , that he was a thousand times more enamour'd of her now than ever , thought it convenient not to let her know the weakness he had been guilty of , and disguis'd from her the truth , fearing that mariana wou'd no more make him her confident , and that she wou'd not so freely disclose the secrets of clitie , as formerly she had done . is it possible , my dear mariana ( says he , composing himself the best he cou'd ) that you shou'd believe i cou'd live one moment without loving clitie ? and do you not apprehend all that she has told you of my yesterdays visit to be but a love-mystery , whereby i flatter my self to make some advantage ? ah , mariana ! ( goes he on ) be confident that my love and life are too inseparable to be ever sundred , and there is nothing so dear to me i will not sacrifice to my passion . mariana easily believed all he said , and was glad to hear him speak after this manner , she flatter'd him in his attempts , and assur'd him she wou'd never forsake his interest : they had many other discourses in which they continued some time , concluding that before clitie shou'd be undeceiv'd concerning what she believ'd of the prince , and that it was necessary to keep her in the same opinion , the better to bring about their designs . he the same day composes a song , which he had so order'd , that it should be given to clitie as a piece of new gallantry , wherein none cou'd have guess'd either of them concerned , though at the same time he did not question but when clitie saw it , she would find a perfect description of the last conversation that she had with him , and cou'd not fail to guess both the author and his intentions . the song is as follows . song . ( ) to hold the first rank amongst all the friends of a beauty , whom all do admire , 〈◊〉 short of attaining the lovers chief ends , and does but inflame his desire ; 〈◊〉 phillis decrees me no better a state , and i must sit down content with my fate . ( ) 〈◊〉 behold the soft object , created my grief to suffer a wrack , under friendships disguise , 〈◊〉 all this smart , without hopes of relief , and still to be stabb'd by her cruel fair eyes . phillis the doom i 'm sentenc'd to bear , and ever to love , yet ever despair ? ( ) that riddles are these , o you powers of love ! that tortures shou'd spring from a fountain of joy ? and all that shou'd please me , my torments do prove , and the sweetest delights my bliss do destroy . phillis ! to live , and not to enjoy , 〈◊〉 surely the cruelest way to destroy . ( ) but the pleasures of seeing ber , tho' as 〈◊〉 friend , docure the sad wounds her eyes do create , 'twixt curing and killing my life has no end , and to love without hope is doom'd my sad fate . yet 't is better to serve her in torments and pain , than never to see my dear phillis again . this song was given to clitie at a ball the next day after the conference she had with the prince ; she had no sooner read it , but reflecting on the last stanza , she became exceeding troubled ; it appear'd to her that all that the prince had said to her , was so lively represented in the song that she cou'd not imagine but 't was he that made it ; and what confirm'd her in this opinion , was , that she surpriz'd him looking on her with great earnestness nor did he take his . eyes once off on her all the time she was reading it , which made her often change colour . the prince was not a little pleas'd that clitie 〈◊〉 guess'd the matter right : and she found such appearances and informations in the song ; touching their last discourse , that being of a genuine wit , and quick apprehension , that she doubted no longer who was the author ; nor indeed was it probable that a love so great as that of the prince's , shou'd be so easily and suddenly chang'd into friendship , without some further design . but clitie reflected no more on the matter , which now she had not the least doubt of , for she soon understood from whom it came ; she was inform'd that a merry lady , out of a frolick humour , wou'd have pick'd the prince's watch out of his pocket , unknown to him , in drawing out the watch , the song fell to the ground , which when she had taken up and read , she gave it to the rest of the company ere he perceiv'd it . but the business rested not here , for the prince having taken out clitie to dance , desir'd to know of her what paper that was she was reading but now ; it is ( says she ) only a little forgery that some man of wit had made to oblige some of his friends . what you say , ( replies the prince to her ) fair clitie , raises a curiosity in me . they had not opportunity of saying any more , considering the place , and what they were about , oblig'd them rather to dance , than to enter into a conference : the truth is , they danc'd together , because they cou'd not now avoid it , but any one might have perceiv'd it was not with that exactness as it ought , it being the least thing they thought of . after clitie had seated her self in her place , the prince came to her , and told her she had raised a curiosity in him of what she had told him concerning a forgery she spoke of , that he had an earnest desire to see the paper she had read , if it were not a crime to desire it of her : she told him it was not a secret , and that she was one of the last that had read it ; and without further hesitation , gave him the song ; ( which he had taken care before to be writ in a hand different from his own ) he read it , but seem'd then to take little notice of it : but a while after addressing himself to clitie ; madam ( says he ) how much i pity this unfortunate , and how lamentable is his condition ! i know not ( says she ) what you may do , but i shou'd not much pity him , were what he says , a truth , since 't was only what himself had consented to . in the humour you are of ( answers the prince , with sighing ) i believe there is scarce any body in the world that cou'd oblige you to commiserate their troubles : you take too much pleasure ( goes he on ) in the sufferings of those that adore you , to seek out any remedy for them , tho' it would cost you but a word 's speaking : but pray , madam , wherefore shou'd a poor lover , who had made all the efforts he was able , to become only a friend to his mistress , and made it his whole care and study to effect it , appear so criminal before you ? it is because ( replies she briskly ) that no honest man promises any thing which he does not performe ; and if it lies not in his power to do it , he ought to order the matter so , that his misfortunes trouble none but himself . clitie blush'd in returning this answer , and all the rest of the evening she so order'd it , that the prince cou'd have no particular discourse with her . the ball being done , each return'd to their respective homes ; but clitie and the prince were extreamly troubled , since she no longer doubted but the prince was still as amorous as ever , and that he would not desist importuning her , as he had already done . the prince , for his part , cou'd draw no favourable construction of clitie's discourse , and her manner of delivering it . he cou'd no longer defer the knowing the true condition in which he stood with her ; the next morning writ to her woman mariana , and begged her to let him know ( for he was impatient till he did ) how the case stood with him and her mistress . she return'd him in answer , that when clitie was return'd from the ball , she did nothing but weep and sigh , saying no misfortune ever cou'd compare with hers , and that she plainly perceiv'd the prince was still as passionate as ever , and that he only rallied with her , when he only desir'd to become her friend . mariana advis'd him to be firm in his resolution , and to lose no time in his endeavours to mollifie her ; and that he shou'd not fail to give her a visit the same day ; and that she for her part , wou'd with all her power be assistant to him , in rendring him again in her favour . the prince receiv'd this news with much trouble , and to encrease his misery , he felt his love for clitie renew after such a manner , that it was able to put him upon doing all the extravagant things imaginable , maugre the grandeur of his soul , which at any other time bounded it self in the limits of glory : he went the same day to wait on her , whom he found all alone much troubled and melancholy . i come ( says he , going up towards her ) madam , to learn of you , why you gave me that hard treatment last night , and wherefore i have so soon lost the happiness of being of the best of your friends ; if it is so that i am not of that number , i will no longer afflict my self with your cruel indifference . you ought rather to wonder ( answers she ) that i should still admit your visits , after you have abused all those kind sentiments and good opinions i had of you ; but hereafter i shall be more cautious , and less reduable to you for ' em . it will be difficult to effect it , ( replies the prince ) for a man so lost in love , as i am , can never do too much to defend himself against the cruelties of his mistress . what! ( replies clitie , interrupting him ) do you so daringly tell me you love , and not believe you offend me ? happen what will ( replies the prince ) i must confess i am a thousand times more amorous than ever ; and since i have used all means possible to dissipate my passion yet in vain , it is most likely i shall continue so to my latest breath : as for what you threaten me with , i am already so loaden with misfortunes and miseries , that i cannot fear any new ones ; and all the power you have over me can never render me more wretched than i am . it is true ( continues he ) that being quite wearied with suffering woes incredible , i thought to have made exchange of love for that of friendship ; and no sooner had i resolv'd it , but i told you of it ; but if i have been deceiv'd , ( cruel clitie ) is it my fault or your own ? for i have not the power to see you , but i must love you . in finishing these words , a flood of tears fell from his eyes , and clitie ( all enrag'd as she was ) cou'd not avoid answering his tears with her own , who were as so many witnesses that her heart was touch'd with compassion . but what was most strange , ( she having a thousand bitter things to reproach him with , and wou'd never have permitted him to come into her chamber , but that she resolv'd to forbid him seeing her any more ) when she heard him speak in that manner , with such a profound submission , and unparallel'd respect , and with so sincere and transcending passion , she had not the power to execute what she intended : and ( altring her tone ) you wou'd , prince ( says she to him ' ) wear out my life by importuning me daily , as you do , since all will be in vain ; and i must ingeniously declare to you , my heart can never be in a capacity to receive your love. i hope not so ( replies the prince ) yet , most adorable clitie , i shall never leave serving you ; and for all , ask no other reward , but the liberty of seeing you , and paying my adorations to your fair eyes ; which he spoke with so profound , so true , and so ardent a passion , that none cou'd have defended their hearts , but such who had the constancy of clitie . he us'd all his endeavours during the rest of their conversation , to reduce her to reason ; at last she was perswaded that his passion was rather an inchantation than any thing else , and that it was an evil that wou'd admit no cure : and she laid down to him the bounds and limits that a disinterested love ought to respect . as unfortunate as the prince was , he was well satisfied with this visit ; he found a goodness in the heart of clitie that always afforded him some consolation , if it cou'd not produce him any hopes . mariana ( on her part ) seeing matters so well accommodated , was not a little pleas'd she still resolv'd to make the prince continue his suit ; she was not so much concern'd whether it succeeded or no , so that he still continued to court clitie . darbelle hitherto was not every way betray'd by mariana , that is to say , his letters were daily deliver'd to clitie , and clitie's as duly given to him ; but seeing that whenever clitie receiv'd news from her lover , she became more inexorable to the prince , she resolv'd to push her falsehood home , and to pretend hereafter she did not so often receive letters from him , nor did she fail daily to instil the poyson of her malice into the heart of clitie , by complaining of darbelle's silence ; by which she gave her unspeakable disquiets , and branded him every minute with a thousand reproaches for his negligence : clitie stood not in need of any help to aggrivate the impatience she had to hear from him ; a love like hers furnish'd her with means sufficient to afflict her self withal . the prince ( on the other side ) lived after his usual rate , shewing a thousand marks of love and respect to clitie ; and since he saw she wou'd not become more mild to him , he had some satisfaction to think that his rival was not less miserable . after a while mariana kept up all the letters that darbelle sent to clitie ; but as one misery still follows the heels of another , and that lovers are always more ingenious than other persons in doing ill offices to their rivals , the prince and mariana resolve wholly to break off all correspondence between clitie and darbelle , and hereafter to conceal all their letters . this cou'd not but highly please the prince , and it was as duly perform'd ; and from that time clitie receiv'd no more of darbelle's letters , nor he of hers ; for mariana , to whom they were directed , receiv'd them without so much as giving her one . this treachery , was cruel enough of giving the prince infinite satisfaction , 〈◊〉 the greatest pleasure imaginable to see the sad complaints wherewith each letter was charg'd ; and the unfortunate darbelle being a long time without hearing any news from clitie , was cast into a most lamentable affliction . darbelle knew not what construction to make of her silence . sometimes he wou'd suspect that she was chang'd , and false ; sometimes that she was either dead , or extreamly sick ; for he thought certainly were she not dead , or false , it cou'd not be but she wou'd have writ to him : again , he found that the last letters she sent were in a stile most soft and kind , giving him an exact account of her life , that he could not apprehend that she who made such a shew of love to him , as clitie did , cou'd so soon fall from one extream to another . all these things render'd him unspeakably uneasie , and left him in a perplexing incertitude . but if darbelle was so much troubled , clitie , who they had so cruelly betray'd , was not less afflicted , and of the two , was the most unhappy , since mariana who shou'd have been her sole comforter , made her much worse , that she might better prepare the poison she making her take , she daily pretended to have heard news from darbelle , which extreamly tormented clitie and altho' till now she had never been the messenger of ill news to her ; yet with tears in her eyes , and venom in her heart , she told her'twas the common talk that he was married in florence to a lady of great qualit , with whom he had been extreamly in love ever since he arriv'd there , and that he was advanc'd to considerable emploiments by the duke of tuscany , who was extreamly kind to him , and told her withal , that he had sent orders into france for selling his estate , and that he never intended to return home again . these things being assur'd to clitie by a person in whom she had plac'd all her confidence , together with the silence of the unfortunate darbelle , wrought such effects in her heart , as are not to be conceiv'd : and none but a heart so hard as mariana's cou'd be insensible of pity to all her complaints and tears , which was all the miserable remedy she had recourse to , but all in vain . one day when her sorrows had made her almost expire in mariana's arms , having told her that now she doubted no longer but he had blotted her quite from his memory , for another who he had 〈◊〉 in her stead ; and that all that had been reported of him was truth ; she vow'd never to be reconcil'd to her self for loving so ungrateful a person ; she protested solemnly , she should have been less troubled at the news of his death , than that of his marriage and inconstancy . these last words ( which mariana mark'd well , and which clitie was always 〈◊〉 ) afforded her new matter , and means of promoting the prince's affairs , and utterly destroying darbelle's ; she bethought her then , that to accomplish her undertaking , she had nothing to do but to establish clitie in the opinion of his falshood , ( which she already began to credit ) and after to spread abroad a rumour of his death ; and then when things were brought to this point , clitie imagining her self to be injur'd by him , wou'd take from him perhaps not only the esteem she had for him , but her love : and then she doubted not to bring about the marriage of the prince , for she knew she had no aversion to him , and that he was the only person in all the court who lov'd her with such respect and submission , that in gratitude she ought to make him 〈◊〉 return . it is certain there was no hindrance but the love she bore darbelle , which mariana promis'd to remove , that it might no longer impede the prince's happiness , who ( on the other side ) seeing the fortunate success that this maid , in all appearance might work for him , having a fair prospect of once enjoying clitie , against 〈◊〉 natural goodness and honesty , consented to the cheat. he fail'd not to give her many thanks for her care , nor did he ever forget to make her large recompences to oblige 〈◊〉 to be mindful of all occasions for his advantage . the poor clitie thus betray'd and loaden with grief and sorrows , fell into a desperate fit of sickness ; for now she no longer doubted darbelle's infidelity , which was more strongly confirm'd by an unlucky accident , equally unfortunate to both lovers : for darbelle having been some time without receiving any letters from clitie , fell into so deep a melancholy that his troubles would not permit him to write either to any one at court , or to his friends about his business ; for he had abandoned himself wholly to his griefs , that every body in france at the same time began to complain of his silence , and all at once to accuse him of the same crime . the report ( which went currant ) of his new amours and his marriage ( by the under-hand dealing of the prince , and the management of mariana ) gain'd belief in most people ; but all this concern'd none , nor wrong'd any but clitie , who with the thoughts of it almost dyed . it is true , that mariana did her best to comfort her in her sickness , in telling her she was too constant , and afflicted her self too much for so ungrateful a man ; she intreated her to give truce to sorrows and tears , and not daily to add fresh ones to 'em , as she did , since darbelle was rioting in the height of joy and pleasure , and no longer mindful of her or his vowes , gave all those tenders , and soft embraces to another , which he had only promis'd shou'd be hers . these reasons were but weak consolation to clitie , but above all , the anguish that possess'd her heart , to think she was deceiv'd by an ingrate , for whose sake she had withstood so many assaults , counsell'd her at the same time to abandon him , and fit him in his kind : but the idea of this lover ( once so faithful ) presented it self to her always , and disjointed all the resolutions her reason or her anger cou'd propose . the memory of her lovely darbelle still haunted her , and she cou'd not think of those tears he had so often showr'd down at her feet , without taking his part , even against her self ; nor cou'd all that was daily said to her of him , make her believe he was yet inconstant . the suspence in which she was , seem'd to aggravate her miseries ; cou'd she have really thought darbelle no longer lov'd her , grief wou'd put an end to her life ; or were she certain of his falshood , the assistance and helps she received from every body by their cares and consolations might in time ease her sufferings ; but in the plight in which she was now , ever felt such grief and afflictions as the unfortunate clitie . in the mean time the prince and mariana made advantages of all that happen'd , and ceas'd not day and night to confirm her in a belief of the only thing in the whole world that had the least truth in it , and was the most injurious for her . the end of the first part. clitie , a novel . part ii. the prince had so well by underhand practice , spread through all the court , that darbelle was married to a person of great quality in florence , whom he intirely lov'd ever since his arrival in that country , that at last there was no more room left for doubt , and every one talk'd of it as a thing most certain . clitie cou'd no longer take the part of one whom she deem'd so unworthy her affections , began to hate him now more than before she had lov'd him . it is certain she did it not without suffering inconceivable perplexities ; she cou'd no longer abide at court : the constraint she lay under to appear as she us'd , viz. making and receiving visits , and being obliged every day to the company of such who made pleasure their business , ( who are inseparable from a court ) had reduced her to a very low condition , she became so alter'd that it was difficult to know her ; for which reason she resolv'd to pass away some time at her house in the countrey , where she might have more liberty ; she doubted not but there she shou'd soon blot darbelle out of her memory , or at least have more freedom to make her complaints of his falshood , and to take more pleasure in the hatred she had conceiv'd against him . mariana fail'd not to follow her ; and the more to aggravate her resentments for darbelle , she never nam'd him without cursing his person , and forgot nothing that might make him appear more criminal , urging still the obligations he had to clitie , and the punishment he merited . what , ( wou'd she be continually saying to her mistress ) cou'd not this false man for a little time resist the charms of one woman , when you for him have contemn'd so many gallant men at court , and scorn'd so many lords ? is it possible ( continues she ) that his in-human heart cou'd be so false ; so soon as he once was out of your sight , to forget your beauty , merit , and all that you have done for him ? what punishment can he think he deserves not ? and wherefore shou'd you ( for the fault he has committed , and for her whom he has marry'd ) never return to court again , and use your utmost power to revenge your self ? sometimes she counsell'd her to employ all her friends utterly to destroy him , and to declare a thousand injurious things against him , that he might go no where where he might not hear of it , and know that you have no longer an esteem for him . these cruel discourses of mariana seem'd to indulge clitie in her present condition , and she cou'd not but hearken to the railings and revilings against a man who she imagin'd had so cruelly abus'd her . the prince who wanted no information of all that pass'd in clitie's heart , seem'd far more concern'd and troubl'd for her than ever , and more to bewail her absence than any other ; he sent to enquire after her health every day , and fain wou'd have gone himself to see her . but clitie , who was now possess'd with a mortal hatred against mankind in general , wou'd not suffer any visit , and whatever he endeavoured to that effect , was all in vain ; she sent word she wou'd see no body , and that nothing cou'd be more offensive or injurious to her , than to press her any farther . this resolution wou'd not have been very pleasing to lysidor , had he not known the cause of it ; and he thought it no difficult matter ( since by mariana's care and management she was brought about to hate darbelle ) to make her in time change the resolution she had taken to seclude her self from the world , and to perswade her to come again to court. it is certain , that considering the great and violent passion he had for her , he cou'd hardly endure being so long absent from seeing her . but mariana ( to deserve the rewards he had made her hope ) forgot nothing that might ease him ; she promis'd to order things so that he , himself , by her means , shou'd be a witness of the obliging things which clitie continually pronounced against darbelle . the matter was not hard to compass , for clitie had but few attendance with her in the countrey , so that mariana with ease found out a way to get him in unseen , and hide him in her chamber where clitie commonly pass'd most part of the day in reproaching , and vowing an eternal aversion against the infidelity of darbelle , and that she never wou'd forgive him . a while after it so fell out , that clitie's father fell sick of a dangerous feaver , which oblig'd his daughter to quit her solitude , to come and attend him . this conjuncture so far was favourable enough to her ; for during the time of her father's sickness , none wondred to see her afflicted and sad ; but all things have their change , and at length her father recover'd his health again , and clitie maugre the condition in which she was , was forc'd to open her eyes , and look upon her old acquintance , and was oblig'd to live at court after the same manner she formerly had done , but always with an aire altogether melancholy , notwithstanding all the endeavours that were us'd to divert her , cou'd not perswade her to be loss sad . the time that she had been in the countrey seem'd to have given her new charms , and to have made her more amiable ; every one thought it a happiness but to talk with her , and divert her ; and the prince more in love now than ever , was not a little pleas'd to see his affairs go so well forward . he doubled his cares and addresses to her , and appear'd yet more magnificent than before , he spar'd for no charges , he made treats and feasts that surpass'd all that ever were made , which pleaded so advantagiously in his favour to his mistress , that he had no cause to repent it . mariana ( on the other side ) apply'd the matter home , talking to clitie of nothing but of him ; nor was there one servant in the house , who did not almost adore him ; so great a master was he in attracting the love and respect of all people , whom gold and presents had any power over , every thing made to his advantage in clitie's heart ; she now saw him much more importunate than before , and altho' she gave him not the least hopes of marrying her , yet she appear'd not altogether so cruel and inexorable . it is certain , that seeing so advantagious an alteration , he began to make new attempts , to the establishing himself wholly in her favours ; and her father , who wish'd nothing more than his alliance , daily seeing the great qualification of the prince , made new proposals to his daughter , with an earnest desire to effect it . clitie seem'd now more consenting than before , making but faint denials , and desir'd some time to consider of it . now it was that the prince saw the happy hour approaching ( which so long time he had despaired of ) left no means unassay'd to perfect it . but when the time was expir'd wherein clitie was to return her determination , and that she thought she had banish'd darbelle's image quite out of her heart , she found her self deceiv'd ; she perceiv'd she had not that command o're her heart as she imagin'd , and there were yet some remains of love that combated for the poor unfortunate , and tho' they produc'd not those lively representations they had done formerly , yet they were powerful enough to keep her heart still in balance ( for some time ) between a lover whom she thought so false and criminal , and a prince who every moment gave her new proofs of his passion . mariana , who was privy to all her disturbances and doubts , endeavoured all she cou'd by her addresses and artifices to banish them . what remains there yet in your heart ( wou'd she often say to clitie ) for the worst of men , and the most perfidious breathing , that can any longer hinder you from making happy the most constant and passionate lover that ever was ? in truth ( continues she ) you are now no more to be excus'd for being so little sensible of the most tender passion of a vertuous prince , and the affronts of so vile and perjur'd a wretch as darbelle . what! ( says she ) when you should think of nothing but revenge against this traytor , and strive to blot him for ever from your thoughts , do you put him in balance with so generous a prince ? alas ! ( replies clitie with tears in her eyes ) i cou'd say as much as you do , to any other person , and i cannot but disapprove the sentiments of my heart , as the most unjust in the world , but it is for that traytor darbelle , whom i can never hate enough ; i have endeavour'd all i am able to bring it about , but i cannot effect it as i wou'd , there are still some moments wherein ( ungrateful as he is ) i know not what devil , envious of my repose , represents him innocent , all night long my heart is fill'd with his idea , and he appears ( all weeping ) on his knees before me , more passionate and amiable than ever ; nor can my reason all the day dissipate the thoughts of my dreams by night . see there then ( says she to her ) mariana , the source of my misfortunes , and i can sooner die than think to marry any other , till i am better assur'd ( if it be possible ) that darbelle is married , as is reported , and so ungrateful as we think him . this was the last resolution that clitie took , nor was she to be alter'd from it : she spoke to mariana to seek out for some body , in whom they might confide , whom she would send into florence , and who at his return might make her a faithful account of all things . mariana found her self in no small perplexity at this discourse of clitie . the journey cou'd not be perform'd but in some considerable time , and it was not unlikely this delay might hinder the prince's marrying her , fearing least darbelle himself might come back to know the cause of her silence , and so discover the cheat of the prince and her self . these things then , with a thousand others , which the prince presented to himself yet more cruel and dangerous , put him almost into despair : he consulted with mariana about what was to be done , and she made him sensible , that after the manner that clitie had so discours'd to her , it wou'd be absolutely impossible to compass his designs , without deceiving her yet once more , in pretending to execute her orders , and that if they did not , all the time and pains they had employ'd hitherto in making her change her opinion , were to no purpose . he agreed then , that mariana shou'd propose to clitie the sending a brother of hers into florence , assuring her he was one in whom she might confide , both as to his secrecy , and the executing her commands . this contrivance appear'd very seasonable , and they had now no more to do , than to put it in practise , which was no difficult thing to effect , since clitie had not the least suspicion that mariana was not altogether for her interest . the perfidious mariana fail'd not to be very pressing in the business , telling clitie what she had thought of in order to her satisfaction , she soon confirm'd her in a belief of her brother's fidelity and good management . the poor credulous clitie following her wonted custom , left all to her care and expedition ; she only desir'd to speak with him , giving him this caution , to believe nothing but what his own eyes were witnesses to , and charg'd him strictly to get a sight both of darbelle and his wife , and to inform himself the best he cou'd , after what manner he liv'd with her , and to neglect nothing that might satisfie her curiosity , and to give her a faithful account of all that he learn'd . having given him this charge , the gentleman took his journey ( at least pretended so to do ) he furnish'd himself with all necessaries such a journey requir'd . they told clitie that he had taken post , when all the while he lay conceal'd in the prince's apartment , knowing it was enough only to make him disappear : this journey cou'd not be perform'd in less time than a month , not reckoning the time it would take up in performing all those orders clitie had given him , in instructing himself in the circumstances concerning the false darbelle . during this time the prince and mariana had private meetings where they consulted together , to make all to their advantage at the pretended return of him whom clitie supposed she had sent into florence ; they cause a picture in minauture to be drawn of a most exquisite beauty , who they design'd shou'd pass for darbelle's wife , and composed in order all the discourses that was to be made to clitie about this business . nothing of novelty happen'd during this supposed journey ; clitie hover'd daily between fear and hope , hate and love ; and since the time she had sent to inform her self of his life , she imagin'd darbelle less guilty . the time being come for the return of mariana's brother , they forgot nothing that they thought might be necessary to the deceiving clitie ; but this treachery seem'd to have so agreeable a success , that there needed not such extraordinary care. the prince talk'd with mariana's brother , he gave him rich presents , and promis'd him much more considerable ones , if he perform'd his part well : on the other side , mariana had so fully instructed him , during the time he lay conceal'd , that he was as perfect in the business as the authors of the cheat themselves ; they inform'd him of all the questions that clitie might be suppos'd to ask , and the answers he was to return . at length they arriv'd wherein they appointed to inform clitie of the return of her messenger ; mariana so order'd it , that she receiv'd a letter before clitie's face , which gave her an account of this news , she presently shew'd it her mistress , and seem'd as eager to know the success of the journey as clitie ; she returned an answer to her brother , commanding him to come at such an hour as she appointed , and to take off all suspicion ; she would not have her mistress believe that she had spoken to him ere she her self had seen him . the prince , to shew as tho' he knew nothing of the matter , seem'd to know nothing of the return , and to keep clitie in the belief that mariana still kept all her secrets , abstain'd from coming to clitie's house at the time . when the hour appointed ( by mariana in her letter to her brother ) was come , her brother enters her chamber , with an air of a man who had been expos'd to the fateigues of a long journey ; clitie was with mariana the same time that he appear'd , but was so surpriz'd , and so trembled , that she cou'd hardly speak to him . mariana's brother prevented her ( saying ) madam , i have perform'd all that you commanded ; i have been in florence , where i have seen both darbelle and his wife ; i was at their palace , which is indeed the most magnificent of the whole city . he is look'd on there as the prince's chief favourite , and in all appearance is exceedingly well setled in that countrey , he lives very happily , and well contentedly with his fortune ; his wife , who i saw at my leisure , is one of the greatest beauty's in the world , she is very fair , and exceedingly well shap'd , and as i am inform'd , of noble extraction , and of no mean quality . but , madam , ( continues he ) the better to satisfie your curiosity , i have brought from thence her picture , i had no small trouble to get it , being one of the greatest beauty's of that court , but by the help of my gold i had it exquisitely well painted by one of the most reputed artists of that place . who indeed inform'd me of the whole story , how that he fell in love with her as soon as he arriv'd in that countrey , and was not long ere he was lov'd again : that which for some time deferr'd their marriage , was the distance that he was from his estate and countrey , of which her friends wou'd first inform themselves ; and since the time of their being married , 't is reported he adores her . clitie , who had attended this relation with a mortal sadness , cou'd now no longer endure it , so ( saying to mariana's brother ) sir , you have too well executed my orders ; and at the same time desir'd him to leave her alone , which he perform'd . no sooner was he gone , but she cried but ( in so lamentable a voice , that it wou'd have mov'd a heart of stone ) perfidious wretch ! alas ! then thou hast forgot me ! ingrateful man ! how have i deserv'd this usage ? she repeated these words a hundred times , then dropping down on her couch , she fell in a trance , being a long time ere she cou'd be brought to her self again . mariana seem'd to be as much afflicted as her mistress , and pursu'd her injuries yet further ; barbarian ( says she ) o that i cou'd tear thy perfidious heart in pieces , for the cruel abuses thou hast made my dear lady suffer ! unhappy thee 〈◊〉 ever thou camest hither to betray 〈◊〉 with thy falshood . a little after ( addressing her self to clitie ) ah , madam ! ( says she ) think no more of that monster , who does not deserve to have his name pronounced by you ; and who ( perhaps ) is at this very instant laughing at your credulity , and scorning your complaints and sighs . clitie continued many days in an unspeakable sadness never giving any truce to her tears and sorrows ; but at length she forbore 〈◊〉 complaints , and her hate got the upper hand of her love , and she resolv'd never more to think on this ungrateful man , 〈◊〉 use all possible means to be reveng'd 〈◊〉 him . the prince next day , without seeming to know any thing that had pass'd , wass very desirous to know the good or bad success of his affairs , pays a visit to clitie whom he was told was in bed , and 〈◊〉 him word , that she desir'd to be excus'd that time , intreating him to stay some 〈◊〉 days longer . for the poor clitie no sooner had heard the relation of mariana's brother , with the circumstances of darbelle amours and marriage , but her heart was e'en broke , and she was so disconsolate , that she had much ado to support her self in her sad condition ; the showr'd down tears in abundance , and never ceas'd uttering over and over again , the most soft and tender things that love cou'd e're invent . mariana did all she cou'd to comfort her in this lamentable estate , and it is most certain , had she had any person , whom at that time she cou'd have confided in , as she did in her , the emotions of her heart wou'd almost have made them expire in grief . the prince came as he was order'd , but with little assurance , and as much trouble : he enters her chamber with so sad and mournful an aire , but withal so amorous , that clitie ( maugre the motions of her spirit ) cou'd not forbear , ( as she confess'd afterwards ) some sentiments of joy to see such marks of love and tender passion in the eyes of a man that she cou'd no longer look on , but as her friend . well then ( most charming clitie , says he to her , falling on his knees by the bed side ) now the time is come in which your goodness has promis'd to pronounce me happy , or for ever miserable ; but ( continues he ) looking on her with eyes more tender and passionate than before , if ( as i believe by the sad conditiōn in which i find you ) that death must be my doom ; for surely the troubles in which i see you , can proceed from nothing but a sense of pity that has possess'd your breast in the behalf of a most unfortunate prince , who you are sending to his tomb : however ( most adorable clitie ) say something whatsoe're it be to put an end to the torments i endure , which are so insupportable . he stopp'd at these words ( his tears falling down his cheeks ) clitie had yet no power to answer him , she only 〈◊〉 forth many sighs to intimate the affliction of her heart from whence they came . the prince interrupting them , implor'd her again to declare his destiny a long time without her speaking one word , but at last she return'd him this answer . prince , i will never pronounce the sentence of your death , you merit too much my esteem , and indeed my love , by all those cares and addresses you have rendred me , and those evils you have suffer'd for my sake , that i shou'd not confess that i believe you one of the most worthy men alive ; but ( says she ) my heart is so sad , and so fill'd with inquietudes when i propose to my self to love any that i cannot without much difficulty make any resolution , permit me , i intreat you , only eight days more , that i may reduce it to an intire consent to make you happy . in finishing these words she dissolv'd in tears , and whatever the prince cou'd say or do to hinder her , was to no effect . he departed thence the most satisfied and contended man in the world , seeing so happy a procedure of his enterprize , while the poor unfortunate darbelle wore way his tedious hours with a sorrow not to be parallel'd . the sweet and undisturb'd content in which he had liv'd five or six months , wherein he almost every day heard news from his lovely clitie , or had letters from her ) cost him dear ; for all those cruel passions that are wont to attaque the hearts of the most desperate in love , had took possession of his ; his fears and jealousies were grown so strong , they hurry'd him even to despair ; how often wou'd he think his clitie dead ? when ( as oft as he wou'd ) he read over her letters , and found such marks of love and goodness in them , that he cou'd impute her silence to no other cause : but these thoughts reduc'd him to so lamentable a condition , that it is not to be describ'd . all the cares of la rock ( who only of all his servants knew the true reason ) was to no purpose ; he now resolv'd to run all hazards and return again to france , whatever danger might befall him : the consideration only of clitie and the hopes he still had daily to hear from her , deterr'd him for some time but his fears did not always predominate in his heart , but sometimes gave way to his jealousie ; he wou'd imagine within himself , that it cou'd be possible any thing cou'd have happen'd to clitie that cou'd have hinder'd her writing to him , and that mariana in whom he put such confidence , was now silent by her mistress's commands : tormented with these thoughts , he cou'd impute it to nothing but her inconstancy . oh , unhappy that i am ! ( wou'd he often say in the depth of his solitude ) clitie for certain no longer loves me and i cou'd never lose her heart but 〈◊〉 the happiness of some more fortune adorer , who , for ought i know , she loves a thousand times more , ( while ● am now speaking of it ) than ever she did me ; and nothing but this change cou'd have hinder'd her from writing to me ; and the great obligations by which mariana is bound to her , has prevail'd with her to hide from me the secret , and not to let me know the least thing of it , lest it shou'd give me an occasion to interrupt their pleasures . to one who was so passionate a lover , these terrible suspicions made him utter a thousand disobliging things against her ; but pausing a while , and having well consider'd his misfortunes , he fram'd to himself what might seem most likely to be true ; he believ'd her father ( against her consent ) had forc'd her to marry some other , and that the tenders she had for him , and her love being weakned by absence and length of time , were not furnish'd with fortitude to withstand the commands of her father , who was now weary with the continual disobedience of his daugbter . these inquietudes wrought such torments in his soul , that it cast him into a violent fit of sickness in the same time that he had made a resolution to return again to france to be certify'd of his fate . the agitations of his mind caused so raging a feaver in him , that he was reduced to the lowest ebb of life : but after he had pretty well recovered , and the greatest danger past , he was so weak and low for more than two months , that he was not able to quit his bed , so that he was constrain'd to do what he could , to be expos'd to the most cruel violences that love was capable to inflict . he had found out a retreat the most sutable to his condition of all the seats in tuscany ; it was near the city of florence , on the banks of the arne , in the bottom of a valley , where all things that an amorous heart cou'd desire , were met together . he bought an house from a certain florentine , which was handsome enough after his manner , it was ancient , and seem'd to have been some old deserted castle , built all of marble , the river arne washing its walls as it pass'd gliding by ; its issues were of long walks planted on each side with green lemmon and orange trees ; at the ends of which was a grove , in whose shades and silence this unfortunate and disconsolate lover found incomparable charms : in this sad solitude had he made arbours , in which he us'd to read his clitie's letters , and to return their answers , where indeed he spent most of his time . this course of living was much more agreeable to him , being a man so extreamly amorous , who had never receiv'd any favour from that blind deity , tho' by him he had suffer'd much disquiet . all his actions were of love , and one might truly say , love was all his business ; he was indued with an admirable wit , and compos'd the finest verses in the world ; but the whole and continual subject of 'em was his charming clitie , there was scarce one tree about his mansion in which he had not carv'd his clitie's name after a thousand pretty ways ; on some he drew it in cyphers , on some her name at large , on others her anagram and acrosticks in soft and pretty verses ; on some again he wou'd write the whole history of his love , so that on which side soever one walk'd they might see something or other to content their curiosity ; it seem'd as tho' the very spirit of love govern'd the whole place , and with such power , that all who came there , and took pleasure in reading those amorous devices , return'd thence either more loving , if their heart had been touch'd before by that soft deity , or else more fit to take the impression , if yet their hearts had never felt it . all the nobility and persons of quality in florence often came to visit him , but he took little notice of any who came to see him , nor wou'd he be troubled with them , resolving to imploy the remainder of his life in thoughts of his dear clitie , and studying means to see her again ; so that most of those who came to his house , contented themselves only in injoying the pleasures of that agreeable solitude , and return'd without speaking to him . nothing was more talk'd of in florence than this delightful solitude ; there was something in it which at the same time gave content , and rais'd a curiosity in the most great and piercing wits of that city ; they cou'd not comprehend why such a person as he , so young and handsome , whose air and mean spoke him not of common birth , shou'd take delight in so solitary a place , as tho' he had resolv'd to separate himself from the rest of mankind , never imagining that love and the estate in which he was , oblig'd him to it . he always went by the name of conrade ever since he left paris , and not one of his domesticks ( la rock excepted ) knew but it was his right name ; and it was no difficult matter for him to deceive every body by perswading them to believe what he pleas'd himself of his adventures . his pretence for living in that lonely house , was the agreeableness of the place ( which he told them ) was so conformable to his solitary humour , and he promis'd them it shou'd not be long ere he wou'd satisfie the curiosity of so many thousands , who endeavour'd so earnestly to know the secrets of his life . this is the estate in which darbelle had put his affairs while he was absent from clitie . a most solitary dwelling , the river arne , one of the finest rivers in all italy , and the green woods and groves which incompass'd it , made it altogether delightful , and a most admirable landschape . he had apply'd himself to play on the lute , he had chosen the most skilful artist in florence to instruct him , and having a soul all amorous and tender , was the more taken with this melancholy exercise ( which is usually the delight of the sorrowful , and those whom love has wounded ) and soon became a master of it . in a word , all those agreeable ingredients that can be found out to delight lovers , were to be had at darbelle's house . cou'd the unfortunate darbelle have made a speedy return into france , and have left this pleasing solitary exile , before the prince and mariana had perfected their design , he might have found his 〈◊〉 more kind ; but heaven , who had otherwise order'd it , wou'd needs give clitie a proof of his constancy , by such misfortunes as never any lover but himself had undergone . it was now nine months since he parted from clitie to retire himself about florence in that solatary castle , which we have but now describ'd ; six months whereof he passed away as happily as one in his condition cou'd have wish'd ( that is ) he daily receiv'd letters from his misiress , by which he understood all that hapned to her , he return'd her answers , and cou'd easily perceive the pleasures clitie took in his amours , by the assurances she gave him of her faith. it was after these six months that the prince and mariana had contriv'd the cruel design to cheat them both , and set them at variance , beginning to suppress the letters of both parties , to open them , and make use of the contents to their own advantage , and by little and little , seeing the happy success of their enterprise , they insensibly perswaded clitie , that he was false to her , and was married . and this was it this unfortunate lover perhaps might have prevented , if the cruel sickness which his inquictudes and troubles ( not to hear from her mistress ) had cast him into , had not oblig'd him to keep his bed more than two months , having almost lost his life , and given over by his doctors . if these conjunctures were so troublesome to him , they were as favourable to the prince ; for after a great many puts off , and infinite delays , which clitie made 〈◊〉 she cou'd resolve to marry him , she was solicited with such pressing and urgent importunities by her father and the prince , that at length she gave her consent . i must needs say , ( as she her self has since confess'd ) that she had never taken this resolution , but thereby to free her self wholly from darbelle , who she cou'd never banish from her thought , how unconstant soever she believ'd him . the prince and mariana now saw 't was necessary to spread abroad the rumour of his death , which was so effectually perform'd , that clitie had not the least hopes left of seeing him again ; it wou'd be a hard matter to express the joy the prince receiv'd when he saw himself establish'd in clitie's favour , and that he doubted not the possession of her heart . the visits which he made her were so full of the transports of love , and tender respect , that none cou'd see him with his mistress without perceiving at the same time some sparks of the fire that burnt within him ; his looks were lively and piercing , and sometimes for languishing , that clitie her self cou'd not avoid saying to mariana , that she believ'd it impossible for any to love better or more than he did . on the other side , clitie having a length banished from her heart all that had so long been enemies to her tranquility and repose , hardly ever thinking of darbelle , became so beautiful and charming , that none in the kingdom cou'd compare with her : and the day before they were married she began to treat him in so soft and tender a manner , which gave him a taste of those pleasures that he was to have ere long the sole fruition . these nuptials being so extraordinary both by the quality and merits of 〈◊〉 new lovers , the prince cou'd but allow some day for their preparation , during which time all sorts of magnificent diversions were seen every where ; at the end of which this happy prince enjoy'd an intire victory over the heart and person of clitie , who no longer conceal'd the sentiments she had for him , who was one of the most amiable and accomplish'd men in france ; she believing her self obliged to make him some retalliation for the sufferings she had caus'd him to endure , gave her self up wholly to those tenders and devoirs that she ow'd him . on both sides love had made them suffer such torments , that now they began to taste the pleasures that had so long time been deny'd them ; the whole court were partakers of their joy , and this match was matter of discourse for all paris ; for as the passion of the prince was known to every body , so likewise was the cruelty of clitie , and every one discanted on the business as they fansied . never did two lovers seem more contented , they were swallow'd up in delights , and felt a reciprocal kindness ; they gave mutual caresses even in publick , the names whereby they call'd each other , and the expressions wherewith their discourse was fill'd , were the most agreeable and tender in the world. notwithstanding all this , there were some certain moments wherein the prince's conscience accus'd him , and he consider'd that it was with the greatest treachery imaginable to which he ow'd the conquest of his fair clitie , nor cou'd he quite banish the troubles and disquiets these thoughts wou'd give him ; yet when they tyranniz'd most , they gave occasion for her to sooth him out of his melancholy , and to say a thousand obliging things to comfort him . mariana had no small share in the happy fortunes of the prince , which all along she tasted by those infinite presents that he made her , which swell'd to such a mass of wealth , that she purchas'd a considerable estate : but when clitie was once married , she made that a pretence to quit her service , and in a little time after was married her self to a gentleman of very good quality . when the prince had a little liberty from his amours , ( that is ) after he had reap'd the fruit of all his former trouble and pains , he betook himself more than ever to the court ; he purchas'd great employments near the person of the king , his princess was likewise admitted amongst the ladies of honour to the queen . thus they liv'd in peace and tranquility , enjoying such pleasures as made all the world envy'em . when the king of france declared wars with the hollander , the preparations for it were prodigious , and there were no less than men in arms ; the effects were sudden and wonderful : and the king who went in person to command his army , did such surprizing actions that posterity will hardly believe : in two campaigns he over-run almost all holland , notwithstanding the spaniard and the emperour , with almost all europe , were joyn'd against him to stop the course of his victories . the sieges of cities , which were at another time almost impregnable , lasted not above ten or twelve days ; and you might have seen in one campaign a large province taken and retaken . 't is certain , such great enterprizes were bought with the life of many a gallant man ; and it might be said , the example the king gave to his subjects , by being himself present upon all occasions , even in the hottest of the battel , encourag'd them so well , inspiring them with so much valour , that there was scarce a person of any quality in his whole kingdom who had not put himself in the service , imitating the actions of so valiant and hardy a prince . these occasions , however agreeable to gallant souls , cou'd not but cost the lovers many a tear when they were forc'd to quit the soft embraces of their languishing loves , to put on the more rugged fury of arms , and no longer to think of any thing but blood and death ; but above all , these things were insupportable to the ladies ; and as it separated them from their lovers , they imploy'd all the time of their absence in mourning and complaints , and appear'd greatly afflicted for their departure . but their lovers who were forc'd to leave them , had 〈◊〉 thousand other things to think on , they were employ'd in making up their equipages , and their regiments , and many other things which diverted them from thinking so much on their mistresses . our new married couple , who as you were but as lovers to each other , felt more than any the sad separation this war did make ; they complain'd in secret of their sad fate , they wept , and spoke all the soft and most passionate things they cou'd invent : but at last the time 〈◊〉 come in which they must part . the prince who commanded two regiments , one of horse , the other of foot , cou'd no ways avoid being of the number , and following that royal army to the war. clitie was inconsolable , yet she was forc'd to give way to her cruel fortune that thus ravish'd from her her dear lord. she was no sooner left alone , but all the adventures of her life represented themselves afresh in her memory one after another , they were so extraordinary , and so surprizing , that she wanted no imployment ( amongst the confusion of her thoughts ) which furnish'd her with an infinite number of odd phansies . the history of the unfortunate darbelle , do what she cou'd , was not the least thing that fill'd her thoughts , she us'd a thousand endeavours to banish them her memory , but all in vain ; having a long time withstood the assaults , and made her greatest efforts against this cruel idea , she wou'd suffer her self to be overcome , and this unfortunate man wou'd present himself to her fancy a thousand ways ; she sometimes wou'd imagine she saw him dying for love of her , and banish'd the kingdom upon her quarrel ; and sometimes she wou'd look at his port and brave aspect , which were enough to fetch tears from the most insensible ; and as guilty as she thought him , the soft impressions of her first passion , cou'd not but make her feel some sparkles of the same fire which she stifled as soon as they appear'd . these thoughts never seiz'd her heart , but they left her much disconsolate and sad , she not being able to guess the cause ; for nothing is more certain than that all this while she had so mortal a hatred to him , that it cou'd admit no augmentation ; and never did his name , his person , or any thing belonging to him , present it self to her eyes , or come into her thoughts , but she branded him with falshood and treachery , and wish'd him a thousand punishments in the other world in which she thought he was ; for the prince and mariana , to bring about their design of making clitie consent to the marriage , cou'd think of no way more infallible ( after having perswaded her to a belief of his inconstancy and falshood ) than to publish a rumour of his death , which passed for an unquestionable truth . the campaigne in which the king went himself to make the more expedition , carrying with him the chiefest lords and nobles of his kingdom , lasted not long , but was ended in a month , in which he made himself master of three or four considerable strong cities , and won a great battel , which so weakned his enemies , and so dispers'd their forces , they were no longer in a condition to attempt any thing against him ; he thought it necessary to give ease to his troops , and let them refresh themselves in their enemies countrey , while himself and the court return'd to st. germains . as the prince was most afflicted of any in parting from clitie , he was also the most joyful when he was returning to a place where he shou'd meet her again : this return gave them mutual satisfaction , and this second meeting gave them all the pleasures of a new amour , so that none cou'd be more happy than they were . but heaven had not bestow'd this happy day on clitie to let her long continue in peace , for she was born to endure all the perplexities of a heart , whom love had subjected to his laws , and the end of her misfortunes was not yet arriv'd . darbelle at length , after having been a thousand times ready to die in his solitude , by the violence of those troubles the silence of his mistress gave him ; by the careful attendance of la rock , and the strength of his youth and constitution , recovered : the danger was no sooner past , but he propos'd returning into france to ease his troubles ; la rock , with all the respect he cou'd , oppos'd his designs , representing to him the dangers he wou'd run in such a journey , especially if it shou'd so happen that clitie had chang'd her sentiments of him ; he put him in mind that he had been once betray'd already , and that now perhaps he wou'd betray himself by some inconsiderate action ; and that since love was the only cause of his return , he might ( in all appearance ) do something or other that might discover him , and lay him open to the malice of his enemies . again he represented to him , that as soon as he shou'd be gon , clitie might perhaps write to him , and give him orders which he could not then follow , and that without all doubt the silence of clitie was occasion'd by some sickness which for the present hindred her from writing to him . these reasons had been convincing enough to any , whose heart was not so far carried away by the power of love , who thought he had no other imployment for life , but what might put him in a way of seeing his mistress again : he answer'd him , that , in short , he was resolv'd to be satisfied in his destiny , and if clitie were dead , he had nothing to do but to follow her ; and if she were false to him , that he shou'd not do himself justice if he reveng'd it not , or at least , trouble their repose and pleasures . this resolution put an end to all their contestations , and so soon as he was able to undergo the fateigue of the journey , he parted , taking only with him la rock , leaving all the rest of his people at his solatary mansion , with orders to remain there till his return . he cou'd not make such speed in his journey as he intended , his body being yet very weak ; and were he not encourag'd by the assistance of powerful love , it wou'd not have been possible for him to have done it : however at length he compass'd it , and arrived safe in paris . he took up his lodging in a retir'd and private place , and he had hardly alighted off his horse , but he told larock he wou'd go immediately to clitie , and know his doom . larock throwing himself at his feet , conjur'd him not to expose himself so to his death , assuring him that he wou'd undertake by his care and management to do all things to his satisfaction : he told him he wou'd soon inform him of all things , and that it was far more proper for him to execute such a design , than darbelle , being unknown to every body , and might with more ease be instructed in the truth of all things , which wou'd be more difficult for darbelle to perform . the consideration that la rock might easier inform himself of what he sought to know , made him consent to his going to clitie . la rock , after having disguis'd himself , went out of his lodgings , but in is impossible to describe the impatience of the amorous darbelle , every minute seem'd to him an age ; he was a thousand times in a mind to run through the city , and expose himself to be discover'd in so dangerous a place . but the transports and agitations of his soul are not to be conceiv'd , love , anger , revenge , fear and jealousie , all at one time took possession of his heart , and made such terrible emotions in it , that it had like to have kill'd him . oh , unfortunate wretch that i am ! what shall i do , if clitie be dead ? i will not live a moment after so cruel a loss . then all on a sudden another passion wou'd predominate o're his sense . but ( says he ) if this ungrate shou'd prove false to me , what wou'd become of me ! ha! i will revenge it with my own hand , i will stabb my rival through her eyes . all these different passions , every one having 〈◊〉 much ground for them as the others , 〈◊〉 him into such dreadful incertainties , that he was the most afflicted man in the world. hardly had la rock been gone one moment to inquire after his mistress , but he was still running to the door , or looking out of the window to see if he were not coming back again : but after two hours la rock enters so sad and dejected , that darbelle soon suspected he had no good news for him . well then ( says he ) i perceive you bring me little comfort , by your looks , however speak freely , and whatever sentence you have to pronounce , let me hear it quickly ; for the doubts and inquietudes i have been in since you departed , has been more cruel and tormenting to me than the worst that can befal me . is clitie dead ? is she false ? in short , what is become of her ? and what will become of me ? la rock who was extreamly perplex'd , cou'd have wish'd with all his heart some other had his office , was seiz'd with a shaking all o're , and knew not where to begin his discourse . but darbelle , fir'd with impatience , and not being able to forbear any longer ; la rock ( says he to him ) hold me no longer in suspence , unless you wou'd see me expire before you . he pronounc'd these words with so 〈◊〉 and disconsolate an aire , that la rock at the same time told him , clitie lives , but she lives no more to you , for she is married to prince lysidor ; i saw him at her father's house , where this day he makes a great treat ; there is nothing to be heard but confusions of noises , fiddles and musick , and crouds of curious people go in and out , so that it is no hard thing to enter there . la rock had no sooner spoke this , but darbelle gave a lamentable groan , and said ; o heavens then is the unjust clitie married ? and cou'd you look on and suffer it ? then he fell in a swoon on a couch against which he was leaning : la rock run to his assistance , and endeavour'd all he cou'd to recover him , yet all the care and pains he took , cou'd not for above two hours draw him out of this miserable condition ; but at length his speech and strength being a little recover'd , made fresh exclamations against heaven and his mistress , accusing them both of falshood that he had never merited ; but it was not long ere he turn'd his complaints into threats , all the while raving on nothing but swords , daggers , and poisons . la rock for many reasons dar'd not call for any body to help his master , and to reduce him from the pitiful condition in which he lay , for fear his complaints and transports shou'd betray who he was , and was forc'd to content himself with what he alone cou'd do to comfort him ; but the evil was too recent and violent to admit any consolation , and there was an absolute necessity to let it take its course . darbelle ( having all this while suffer'd a thousand tortures ) turn'd him towards la rock ; clitie has married the prince lysidor ( says he to him ) how was you inform'd of it , and what certainty have you for it ? i was told it ( answers la rock ) at their own house , who were all in a confusion ; tho' i had no other information than the musick and hautbois , who when i approach'd and commended their playing and the fineness of their aires , they were so pleas'd with me , that there was nothing i cou'd ask them that they did not resolve me . they told me the princess had given a great dinner to a dozen ladies of the court , and that after that repast , there was to be a splendid collation , and all the company wou'd sup with her ; and to finish the day , there was to be a ball , where many lords and noblemen wou'd be in masquerade , in the most gallant habits and devices that cou'd be invented . this is all i was inform'd of , nor did i inquire into any more , knowing such sort of people cou'd give me but small intelligence of the particulars of clitie's marriage ; besides , this unwelcome news had so surpriz'd me with grief and trouble , that i had not the power to ask any more , or to stay any longer . darbelle having heard this dismal relation , made a thousand fresh complaints , and new imprecations against clitie , sometimes threatning her , and sometimes saying he wou'd kill himself : but after all the disorders that love and anger had produc'd in his heart , he made a resolution to see her the same night , and reproach her with her falshood : and adressing himself to la rock ; i am but a fool ( says he ) thus to torment my self for a perfidious woman , who has not deserv'd my love ; no , i will not kill my self , she is not worth that trouble ; but i will have the pleasure to make her miserable by the disdain i will shew her , and by the crosses i will give to all the delights of her life ; this same day will i go in masquerade , and threaten her in the very midst of the ball , and raise in her all those frightful apprehensions which ought to terrifie one so criminal as she , in having cast off so true a lover as my self . when la rock heard him talk thus , he presented to him the hazard he run in such an enterprize , and that perhaps instead of revenging himself on clitie , he wou'd be expos'd to the loss of his own life , and be so far from punishing her falshood , that he wou'd put her in a way no more to fear him . you mistake me ( says darbelle to him ) i have so great a desire to afflict clitie , that i will take care to preserve my self , and that i may the better effect it , i will be more cautious than you imagine ; and since the feast of which you speak is to be publick , and the ball free for all masquers , i see nothing i need fear , being well disguis'd . la rock cou'd not contradict him , only put him in mind that his disguise wou'd not be enough , if he had not great care in governing his passions when he shou'd see clitie and speak to her . he warranted all things , and wanted nothing but the disguise that shou'd gain him his admittance . darbelle thought he cou'd not invent a dress that wou'd more afflict clitie , than the representation of one from the dead ; he imagin'd that one who was so guilty as she , wou'd be startled at the sight of a ghost from the shades below . he sent for a tailor , to whom he gave directions what to do ; and in a short time it was ready , it being a dress of no great trouble , and few ornaments . it was made of white sattin , after the manner of a vest , with large sleeves of the same , and cover'd all over with a vail of black crape spotted all with white , which hung down to his legs , which none cou'd see without some apprehensions of death . la rock disguis'd himself after another manner , for he intended to keep always by his master , but pretended not to be of the same company ; and he had order'd him so to play his part , that still as darbelle was absent from clitie , he shou'd be near her , and narrowly observe all her actions and behaviour . all being now ready , and the hour come , darbelle went forth ; yet ere he went , he had writ in a paper four verses that might help to terrifie her . all things went as they cou'd wish ; darbelle and la rock arriv'd there , and separated themselves as they enter'd . darbelle appear'd alone , and la rock seem'd to joyn with another company of masquers : the ball was begun ere they came ; the ladies of which it was composed , made a glorious and splendid appearance ; but above all the rest clitie , who never in her life had dress'd her self so rich , and so much to her advantage ; she was so pleasant , so beautiful , and merry , that it wou'd have griev'd any one to have disturb'd her . the prince her husband was not there , being engag'd at play in another company with the king. darbelle no sooner made his entrance , but the whole assembly were startled at his disguise ; there was not one of the company , whom it made not for some 〈◊〉 seem sad , especially after the manner of darbelle's personating it ; some at the 〈◊〉 took it for a ghost indeed come from the grave to disturb their ball , and put a stop to their delights and pleasures . however he prudently conceal'd his sentiments , and the disguise he had on , was a necessary help to hide the violence he did on himself to keep in his passion . he took a seat near to clitie's , and for a long time he fix'd his eyes on her , without speaking a word , which she soon took notice of . but since masquerades were design'd only for adventures , she imagin'd this some frolick that some friend of hers had undertaken , and that she shou'd know the meaning of it the next day . all this while darbelle's eyes were fix'd on her , till he was taken out to dance by a very pleasant humour'd lady who said to him , as she gave her hand , 〈◊〉 long to have a dance with death . these words made him alter his posture ; he perform'd the dance with a mournful air , but nevertheless with the greatest grace that cou'd be , which made 'em all to understand he was a ghost of some quality . after having paid his devoirs to the lady who had taken him out , he presented his hand to clitie , as the mistress of the ball , and danc'd with her ; and as he was taking his leave of her to go to his place again , he slipt the billet into her hand , which he writ ere he came forth , in which were four verses . she was strangely surpriz'd both at the boldness of the ghost , and the odness of the adventures , but having no small stock of wisdom , she thought fit to say nothing of it at that time , yet hop'd to be inform'd of the meaning on 't ere the sport was over ; she almost dy'd with impatience to know the contents of the paper , just as one came and made his addresses to her to dance with him , so that at present she had no opportunity ; she pretended she was weary , and that she was able to dance nothing but a courant , which was no sooner ended , but she slipt aside into a corner where there were but few persons of quality , in respect of the other parts of the room , and going up to a wax-taper , he open'd the ghost's letter , where she read these four verses : this ghost thou seest was in thy fetters ty'd , by falshood and thy cruel scorn he dy'd . and to revenge his wrongs , is hither come to bear thee to thy everlasting home . when darbelle writ these verses he counterfeited his hand , but whether in his haste or otherwise , he had not so perfectly done it , but clitie in the reading saw some tracts of a hand she had formerly known , though she cou'd not precisely say whose it was ; she read the verses , and imagin'd he shou'd surely have known the hand . this capricious adventure caus'd in her a thousand thoughts yet was she not able to conjecture whose it shou'd be ; she resolv'd to take more notice of the actions of this ghost , whose eyes were never off of hers ; she look'd upon his stature and his meen , but for her life cou'd not guess who it was . having been a while in this musing condition , she found a means to get nearer this ghost which gave her so much curiosity , and whispering him , is it long since you died , pray mr. ghost ( says she to him ) and may we not know in what body you lost your life ? i am ( answer'd the ghost in a most lamentable sad tone ) the spirit of amasis , whom darbelle kill'd in order to your commands . this answer so surprizing , and so unexpected , that spoke of the unfortunate darbelle and amasis , whose very names awaken'd ( all at once ) such cruel things in clitie's soul , and so astonish'd her , that she cou'd not refrain from changing colour ; and fetching a deep sigh , she fell into a melancholy which held her all the rest of that evening and the night following . what is it ( says she to her self ) that i have just now heard concerning darbelle and amasis ? but she had nothing to reply to the ghost on this subject for a long time ; yet having observ'd he kept his eyes still fix'd on hers , she entred into conference a second time , ( and said to him ) you have pronounc'd the names of two the most false and perfidious men the eye of day ere look'd upon , and heaven has been but just , if it has thrown them into everlasting torments ( as you seem to intimate . ) you do well for your own credit to say so , ( answers the ghost ) you who are the most ungrateful person in the whole world , and the most unworthy to be so intirely belov'd , as you ever was by the unfortunate darbelle . this discourse yet more surpriz'd the princess , since she fear'd the ghost spoke nothing but truth , touching the most important adventures of her life ; yet she cou'd not refrain making him this answer : ghost , you are very knowing , or ( at least ) you imagine your self so ; but i pray you tell me what is the reason you take upon you to meddle in my concerns ? and wherefore do you take the parts of darbelle and amasis against me , who were so opposite in all things ( during their lives ) to one another ? is it because that since their deaths they are reconcil'd in the other world , and have order'd you to come and tell me their injuries in this ? the ghost took his turn now to be surpriz'd , hearing the princess speak of the death and falshood of darbelle to clitie , who had always been so well treated by him , and who had always lov'd her so tenderly ; however , he resolv'd still to disguise the matter , and go on as he begun ; so that taking up the discourse where the princess left off ; i cou'd pardon you ( says he to her ) the hate you have to the ghost of amasis , which you see before you , and whom you your self have caus'd to be kill'd ; but for that of the unhappy darbelle , wherefore do you insult over it , since he dy'd only for love of you ? is it not sufficient , that by an ingratitude and falshood ( that has no parallel ) you have violated the faith you have given him , in hearkning to a prince , with whom you fell in love , and at last have married ? what cou'd you imagine ( ungrateful as you are ) but that the unfortunate lover ( having once heard this news ) cou'd do , but ease his sorrows by his death ? he need not have been so much concern'd as you report of him , if he had been alive when i married , ( answers the princess ) his beautiful wife wou'd have been comfort enough to him for greater troubles than these . as the princess had finish'd these words , there came a company of masquers of great quality , extraordinary well habited , amongst which it was suppos'd the prince alcander was . these masquers plac'd themselves about the princess , and did not leave her during the rest of the ball : she her self silenc'd the violins as soon as she cou'd conveniently , to the end that all . parties might mix together the remainder of the night . the princess ( in whose head the ghost and his discourse still run , and who was exceeding impatient to unriddle all that he had told her ) not being able to comprehend the least thing of it , did what she cou'd not to go out of her own lodgings , but it was not to be avoided ; for these new masquers were people of such great quality , that she cou'd not deny them , and was forc'd to go with them . she had not the opportunity of speaking any more to the ghost , but in passing by him ( she said ) i desire you , mr. ghost , not to go back to the other world , before you have visited us once more ; i will dance a courant with you to morrow in this very place , where i will have musick on purpose . all fell a laughing to hear her speak so to the ghost , but they turn'd it all to raillery ( saying ) truly , she thought it but reasonable to have a little pity on the poor dead , and to give them a little diversion . so the ball broke up , and every one withdrew , darbelle went out with the rest , and having met with la rock , they went home together . this adventure furnish'd them with matter enough to discourse of , but let them do what they cou'd , they cou'd not apprehend any thing of the princess's talk . wherefore ( says darbelle to la rock ) does she tell me of death , marriage , and falshood ? is it of me she spoke ? is there not some other darbelle who lov'd her ? certainly it must be so , and all she said last night was of a second darbelle , not so much as dreaming on the first , who has lov'd her so well , for else why shou'd she ( says he ) go about to perswade me that i am dead , married , and false . la rock did all he cou'd to find out the meaning on 't , but the more he endeavour'd , the less was he satisfy'd , so that they set up their resolution to wait the result till the next day at the time she appointed for their meeting again , where they hop'd they shou'd know all ; for they both observ'd that the princess was no less surpriz'd at the odness of the adventure than themselves , and that she was loath to part from him , and that she had made that second appointment only to satisfie her curiosity : it is certain , that she was so much confounded with what she heard , that she was not her self . she had heard that darbelle dy'd for love of her , and that was enough to give her heart inquietudes . on the other side , the cou'd not suspect the ghost that gave her this account , to be one of the ordinary masquers ; he had told her things so secret and so true , and what she believ'd no living person cou'd ever know , that it added to her trouble ; she was so surpriz'd at the same time , that she doubted if it were not a real ghost that had appeared to her ; she was in great frights and agonies all that night , and as it is usual with us to dream of things which our minds have been fill'd with in the day-time : she had nothing all this night but darbelle in her fancy , she saw him in a hundred shapes , amongst the rest , that which so nearly touch'd her , was that of a weeping lover dying , and reproaching her with marriage , as the ghost had done at the ball. these thoughts so disturb'd her , that she cou'd not rest all night ; and since she went late to bed , it being almost day , she made that a pretence not to quit it all the next day , that she might have the more liberty to consider what had happen'd , and by that means to conceal the confusion she was in . darbelle fail'd not to send la rock three or four times to inquire how she did , and being impatient to see her again , not being able , without much trouble , to attend the time of the ball , he wou'd needs write a lettter to her to prepare her for what he intended to tell her the next evening , and to double her curiosity , that so she might be sure not to fail to meet at the time and place appointed ; he caused this letter to be deliver'd her by an unknown person , who was ignorant from whom he had it , and the place from whence it came . the letter was in these words . madam , the dead have those priviledges the living are debarr'd , they go where they please invisible ; and it is by this means that darbelle's ghost is with you at this present , reproaching you with your shameful infidelity , and to let you know how false all those accusations are wherewith you tax him , assuring you , that he never yet loved any person but your self . this letter being deliver'd , the princess at the same time she was profoundly musing on darbelle , not having any body with her , she was so affrighted , that she fansied she really saw him come from the other world to talk with her ; but recovering her self a little from the fright , seriously consider'd what the meaning of all this might be , but cou'd conclude on nothing . thus she pass'd away all the rest of the day ; but in the evening ( that she might be better inform'd in what she saw so obscure ) she sent to invite a few of her choice friends to come to her house and hear the violins : she gave orders to her people to let all that came in masquerade enter , ( saying , she hop'd it wou'd divert her . ) the time was no sooner come but darbelle enters , but he no longer represented the ghost ; he had put on the habit of a shepherd , the most rich and splendid that ever was seen , having all things answerable that made up this pastoral equipage : she knew him not at first , he having chang'd his dress . but darbelle being one of great curiosity , was willing to conceal himself at first , that he might observe her behaviour , and to see whether or no she had any impatience to converse with the ghost : he was soon satisfy'd , for he perceiv'd the princess observ'd every masquer with such care and diligence , that he might easily guess her heart had no small disquiet ; she always kept her eye towards the door , and the least noise that was made either in coming in or going out , raised in her some new curiosity , which was not without some satisfaction to darbelle : but at last it was impossible that such a lover , who run all hazards to speak with his mistress , wou'd any longer let slip so favourable an occasion . he approach'd the princess , and said to her ; madam , the gods have sent for the ghost back again , who has given me charge to come hither to you , and in his behalf to tell you that he will never forgive you his death , nor the sufferings you have caus'd him to indure for you . at these words the princess look'd at him , surveying him from head to foot , and having well observ'd him , says to him ; whoever you be , i conjure you keep me no longer in suspence , tell me what interest you have in my person , and wherefore you speak to me of darbelle ; i perceive well you have been his confident , and that he has discover'd to you all the considerable adventures of his life ; i 'm sure you have given me reason enough to think so : in short , say what is it you wou'd speak in his behalf ; has he order'd you , as he was dying , to come to me and beg my pardon for all his falshoods ? darbelle , by the help of his disguise , heard all she said without running any risque ; but he was strangely amaz'd at what he heard , however he judg'd it necessary still to conceal himself , tho' he had enough to do to perform it ; he made use of what the princess had put in his head , to clear himself ; and speaking to her as tho' he had really been the confident of darbelle , who at his death he had commanded to come and find her out , and tell her what he wou'd have her understand . madam ( answers he ) i perceive you already know some of those things i have already told you , since you are not ignorant of darbelle's death ; but it appears you are but little concern'd at what has befaln him , since you brand him with perfidious , and of whom you speak such injurious things . i wou'd therefore let you understand ( adds he ) that all the while he was in tuscany i was his dearest friend ; we lay together , and we conceal'd not the least secret from each other ; you may well perceive he has not hid from me the love you had for him ; he wou'd talk to me of it a thousand times a day , giving me a description of you ; and it is as certain that he is now dead : but , madam , you are the only cause of it , every one of his friends to whom he writ to send him news of you , told him you had deceiv'd him , and that you lov'd the prince lysidor , at which he was so much troubl'd , that it cast him into a fit of sickness , from which when he had a little recovered , and that he had taken a resolution to come hither in person , and kill his rival , he understood by his friends letters that you had married him . at this second cruel news he fell so violently sick , that his despair in two days finish'd his life . when he was breathing his last , he implor'd me with such words mingled with sighs and tears ( that i cannot recount them without a most sensible affliction ) that i wou'd come and seek you out , and tell you , that for love of you he dy'd ; and charg'd me at the same time to accuse you of infidelity . the princess when she saw he had finish'd his discourse ( answer'd ) sir , if you had been sincere , you wou'd have added to what you have said , and have told me that he was married in tuscany to one , who he so intirely lov'd , that he no more thought on me , than if i had never been ; perhaps he imagin'd the distance of the places wou'd hinder me from prying into these sort of affairs ; but i am not so easily deceiv'd as you believe : and for my part ( goes she on ) i cannot yet apprehend that he has repented him of the misfortunes he has made me suffer , by his desiring you to tell me that he always lov'd me . darbelle ( hearing the princess say this ) was ready to die with a desire to discover himself , and know the depth of all these mysteries ; but he fear'd he shou'd spoil all , in the circumstances in which he stood with her ; he was willing to disabuse her first ( he took on him then the discourse , saying to her ) madam , these are all meer inventions you have told me , which you ought not to believe against the poor darbelle ; i have told you already that i was with him all the time he liv'd in tuscany , and what i have told you of his love to you , is a most infallible certainty : as for a wife , alas , madam ! he never had any , and i am sure that for the love of you , he wou'd have refus'd the most beautiful , and the greatest queen in the world : but , madam , be ingenious , and acknowledge that the crime you lay to his charge , is but to excuse your self for what you have done contrary to your faith and promise , which was never to marry any but himself . sir , i find you know me not ( answers the princess sharply ) if you believe what you say ; but let us talk no longer of him ( says she , fetching a deep sigh from the very bottom of her heart ) darbelle is dead , and i am married . she cou'd not refrain shedding some tears at these words , and in the rage and shame that she conceiv'd , she left darbelle abruptly , who was now alone , ruminating on what the princess had said to him , which gave him greater astonishment and perplexity than what he had before ; he question'd whether the princess was in earnest or no , when she accus'd him of marriage , and for his life cou'd not guess the right meaning on 't . all this while love had got the ascendant of him , and he cou'd now no longer counterfeit ; he beheld the princess more beautiful than ever , and her discourse had disarm'd him of much of the aversion he had conceiv'd against her , he began to excuse her : yet after all , he was not the less unhappy , since he had lost all hopes of ever injoying her , knowing her to excel in vertue , and one who wou'd never exceed the bounds of duty and honour . having a while consider'd these things , he addresses himself to her a second time ( saying ) madam , i have but one day longer to stay in this place , and i have yet an hundred things to tell you ere i can discharge my self of the commands the poor darbelle gave me at his death . i humbly intreat you wou'd not refuse me one meeting more , where i may acquit my self , and perform his will. she told him he might come to her house the next where he shou'd have the liberty of discoursing to her alone . i am much troubled , madam , ( replies our masquer ) that i cannot be so happy as to wait on you at your own lodgings , as you have commanded me , therefore i humbly request you would permit me to pay my duty to you in some other place , for many reasons which now i cannot tell you . the princess was surpriz'd at this discourse , nevertheless having thought of a convenient place , i will ( says she to him ) grant what you desire ; meet me to morrow at the theatre in the second box , where we shall have liberty to talk without being known , i will not fail to be there , attended only by one of my women . as soon as she had said this , she mingled into the company of several ladies of her acquaintaince , not giving darbelle any opportunity of speaking to her any more . after they parted , darbelle return'd to his lodging , the most amorous , impatient , and most afflicted of men . the next day he fail'd not to be at the play-house above three hours ere any body else came there ; he thought it convenient to let la rock speak to the princess when she first came in , as tho' he had been the same person whom she had been talking with the preceeding days : he cou'd not appear there in a disguise , and therefore he cou'd not so well act his own part . he instructed la rock therefore in all that he had to say to her , and order'd him as soon as he had thoroughly perswaded her of every thing he had a mind she shou'd know , to make some pretence or other to leave her , and that he himself wou'd supply his place , and there lay his heart open to her ; and the better to carry on their design , they dress'd themselves both so like , that none cou'd distinguish between them . having thus order'd every thing , he made la rock sit in the place which the princess had appointed , retiring himself at a little distance that he might not be perceiv'd . the princess cou'd not but shew her impatience by the haste she made to go to her assignation , where she believ'd she shou'd be inform'd of a thousand things , which had given her so much trouble , and of which she had so great a desire to be inform'd . she came ( accompanied only with one woman ) in a careless undress , with a scarf that almost cover'd her all over : as soon as she enter'd , she saw a single man whom she judg'd to be the party whom she sought ; but at the same time i know not what of fear possess'd her soul which set her a trembling all over ; nevertheless she advanced towards him , and took her seat just before la rock , having first paid him the common civility . la rock , who knew her , altho' she knew not him , having a good wit , thank'd her for the honour she had done him , with a low bow , and supposing it not amiss to begin their conversation with some indifferent discourse ( wherewith those sort of places easily furnish'd every body ) madam , ( says he ) i believe you will think the time long ( if you are not endued with a great deal of patience ) before you hear the musick , or have any diversion , which never begins so early . the princess who apprehended she was mistaken , and that this was not the man whom she expected , was a little surpriz'd when she heard him talk thus , imagining that if this had been the person whom she look'd for , he wou'd have taken up the same discourse they were on the day before ; she answer'd him nevertheless in the same manner he had spoke to her , in civil and obliging words . but la rock perceiving the princess to eye him well , and sought to be inform'd of other things than what they were talking of , began his discourse after this manner : for my own part , madam , i have so much reason to hate the world and all its pleasures , not to come to this place . but madam ( continues he ) the ghost which you saw at the ball two days ago , haunts me every where to give you an account of your injustice and infidelity ; tell me therefore i beseech you , why you have deceiv'd darbelle , and with what reasons you can pretend ever to excuse your self of the contempt you have of him ? is it not sufficient that he has dy'd of love and despair , hearing of your marriage , without giving the utmost marks of your hatred in blasting the very memory , as you do , of one who died so innocent ? clitie hearkning to what la rock said to her , with great impatience , cou'd no longer endure his reproaches , but assum'd the discourse ( and said to him ) i know not who you are , but these two days past i have suffer'd all that you have entertain'd me with of the greatest secrets of my life , and now i have met you according to your desire , i wou'd willingly run yet a farther hazard , and tell you something that yet you know not , provided ( that on the other side ) you inform me likewise of all those things which give me so much inquietude , and have rais'd in me this curiosity . tell me then ( says she ) what was the true cause of darbelle's death , for you have been at too great charges and pains in travelling so far to tell me things so contrary to truth . what devil was assisting at his death , that yet inspir'd him to deceive , even to the grave ? and you that talk to me , and asperse me with falshood and ingratitude , how dare you say he lov'd none but me all the while he was in tuscany , when he who protested to me by his letters of an eternal love , at the same time paid all his adorations to a lady in florence , whom he married , without giving me the least notice of any thing that might resolve me why he made so sudden a change ? darbelle married ! ( answers la rock ) ah , madam ! i swear , i swear to you by all that 's good and sacred , it is not so 〈◊〉 and if you wou'd give me leave to acquaint you what pleasures , and what troubles he has had during his exile , i wou'd tell you he never had any satisfaction or content , but when he receiv'd your letters , and that he gave himself up to all the torments of despair when he wanted them ; all the words that can express the most intollerable pain , cannot make you sensible of those that he endur'd when he saw that you forgot him , he complain'd night and day of the severity of his fortune . but , madam , it was in so moving a manner , that i ( who was witness to it , as well as confident of his amours ) swear to you i had not the power to hinder my self from being sensible of his afflictions , and share with him in all his troubles . what! ( replies the princess ) is not darbelle married in florence ? is he not favourite to the grand duke ? and ( in a word ) was he not establish'd in that place with hopes to spend the remainder of his days there ? no , madam , ( says la rock to her ) nothing of all that you have said is true , and he never had any other imployment ( in a long solatary house ( whither he had retir'd himself ) about three miles from florence ) but to think on you , and to sigh and grieve for your absence night and day , which perhaps ere long you will believe . in speaking these words he rose , and desir'd the princess to give him leave to speak to his page , who he had sent about business , and waited there to return him an answer . no sooner had he left his place , but the princes fell into a great confusion by what she had understood from him that she cou'd not recover her self . she enter'd into a deep musing , so that she seem'd immoveable ; she lean'd against one of the sides of the theatre , ruminating of a thousand things one after another , and knew not what she shou'd believe . mariana's brother had seen darbelle married , and la rock swears he never was , but that he had always lov'd her most tenderly ; she consider'd that mariana's brother's assertions were the foundations why she her self had married which was the occasion of darbelle death , after she had been the cause of 〈◊〉 misfortunes : calling to mind all 〈◊〉 afflicting adventures , she cou'd not refrain strain pouring down floods of tears , and giving her self up to an excess of sorrow which had took possession of her heart . la rock , who had order from his master to leave his place to him , after he had satisfy'd the princess of his innocence and made his fidelity appear , return'd to give him an account of what he had done , and in what condition he had let her , telling him she was now more perswadded of his death than ever , insomuch that this poor lover dying with impatience to discourse with her , with his heart lay'd open , cou'd stay no longer , but went and supply'd la rock's place . in this obscure place the princess having pull'd down her hoods to hide her tears , so that darbelle had no great difficulty to keep himself unknown to her for some time . she was plung'd into so deep a study , that darbelle was forc'd to draw her out of it by speaking thus to her ; ah , madam ! what may be the cause of all these tears you shed ? they wou'd accuse a heart ( less barbarous than yours ) of love ? but after having made darbelle die for love and despair , i can never believe that you cou'd ever be troubled for such a one as he . the princess at these words startled ( as one new waken'd out of a dreadful dream ) remaining still leaning on the pillaster that was by her , supposing him still the same person that had spoke to her before , answer'd him ; you but ill know my heart , which you so accuse of infidelity , and i shou'd be still happy , did not my love ( in spite of me ) yet seek for the dead , even to the grave . alas ! ( continued she ) darbelle of whom you speak to me , is past seeing , and notwithstanding all the care and pains you have taken to justifie him , i know too well he is false and ungrateful , yet nevertheless his cruel idea still haunts me every where . believe not ( adds she ) that i wou'd confess my weakness , it i ever thought he could see me again ; for , alas ! he is dead ; and cou'd i give the least credit to what you have told me of him , or that he dy'd for love of me , i know not the thing in the world that cou'd afford me the least consolation . darbelle , who heard her speak , found so much sincerity and truth in her words , that instead of answering her as la rock had always done , at the same moment felt such an extremity of grief , that it almost kill'd him ; nor cou'd he refrain from bursting out in tears . the princess who found something more than ordinary in his silence , lifted her hoods a little up , and having perceiv'd darbelle to weep , who still she took for la rock certainly ( says she ) darbelle is very happy in having such a faithful friend as you , who so much interest your self in things that perhaps have hardly ever concern'd him . what wou'd you ( ungrateful as you are , replies darbelle ) kill him yet a second time ? o most cruel woman ! satisfie your malice in looking on his blood that shall be added to what you have already spilt . in saying these words , he drew out his sword to have pierc'd his own heart , but the princess , all in a fright , threw her self about him , not yet knowing who he was , being in the same dress with la rock , whose face she had seen while he had discours'd with her , till the transports and the words he utter'd made her take more notice of him , who now she knew to be darbelle himself . she shriek'd out , and stepping back to avoid him , she fell down , being obstructed by the bench which was behind her . by good fortune there was not any body come yet into the place where they were , that might observe what pass'd . the princess being thus fallen down , swooned with the fright and surprize , which she had to see darbelle before her eyes , who so long she had imagin'd dead , oblig'd darbelle to think of nothing but to help her ; but it was impossible so soon to bring her to her senses , and to recover her , the sight of darbelle alive had struck her to the heart with mortal wounds . she continued in this condition for more than half an hour ; the woman who she brought with her came to her , and joyn'd her endeavours to those of darbelle and la rock , not knowing the cause of her lady's disorder . at last after some time the princess open'd her eyes , and looking first round about her , she fix'd them stedfastly upon darbelle , gazing on him to be inform'd if what she saw was truth ; but having well consider'd him , she let her head fall negligently , which she rested on her hand darbelle bid la rock retire , that so the princess's woman might do the like , which was soon perform'd ; and la rock went some distance from them , with the woman that came with clitie , who he entertain'd with discourse . darbelle seeing himself alone with the princess , took up the discourse , and said to her ; where are those happy minutes , madam ? how far have you banished from me , which you said you wou'd employ upon all occasions to see and speak to me ? alas ! what have i done since that time and what crime have i been guilty of that you shou'd run the hazard of your life to shun my presence ? speak ( ungrateful fair ) and tell me why you have so unworthily deserted me ? reproach me now with those perfidies with which these three days past you have made a pretence only to excuse your own falshood : pray tell me to whom i am married , as you wou'd perswade me ; and to whom have i ever offer'd a heart that i have carefully ( tho' to no purpose ) reserv'd for you alone ? darbelle pronounc'd these words with a tone in which anger and love had equal shares , that the princess was quite astonish'd . but the greatest emotion that the presence of darbelle had rais'd in her heart , turn'd all to joy , of that joy which she had to see him yet alive , who she so long believ'd to be dead , nor cou'd hinder her self from giving him marks of it ; wherefore ( without studying any answer to his reproaches , nor concealing those sentiments which her duty perhaps wou'd have made her dissemble at another time , she said to him ) ah , darbelle ! is it your self that i see ? and may i be assur'd 't is not some phantome that represents it self to me ? yes , madam , ( answer'd darbelle ) i am yet living , but now i am ten thousand times more miserable than had i died , since i am ten thousand times more amorous . the end of the second part. clitie , a novel . the third and last part , being an addition to the two first parts . it was some considerable time ere the princess cou'd believe darbelle was alive , altho' she saw him before her face ; she had form'd such strong idea's of his death , that he himself cou'd scarcely make her sensible he liv'd . they gaz'd upon each other for a while , and the emotions of their souls were so violent and sudden , that they hardly knew where they were , or what they did . but if darbelle was amaz'd to hear her ask if still he liv'd , the princess was no less confus'd , a thousand . thoughts were crouding to get entrance into her heart , and her tears and sighs increas'd the cruel tempest , and nothing but a total wreck cou'd be expected : a second time she falls into a swoon , nor cou'd darbelle with the assistance of la rock and celia ( clitie's woman ) with all their care and best endeavours call her life back to its fair habitation : at last it was concluded ( lest the press of people who were now coming in , shou'd see her in this condition ) that they shou'd carry her unto her coach , and send her home with her woman ; nor did darbelle fail to be by her on foot ( meeting many of his enemies , who tho' they knew him not , made him suspect they did ) even to the princess's lodgings , where her husband and several other noblemen were coming forth to go wait upon the king to the play-house . la rock having his mind more disingag'd than darbelle , told him the hazard he was in of being known , and that this rash proceeding wou'd be a means to deliver him into the hands of those who wou'd not fail to take his life ; besides , he represented to him the danger to which he expos'd the princess , shou'd he be found with her , who in the estate in which she was , cou'd no ways be capable at present of giving him any further satisfaction . but darbelle was deaf to all his arguments , nor wou'd he stir until he had seen the princess once again , who by this time ( what with the shogging of the coach , and celia's care ) was a little recovered , and looking about her saw the disconsolate darbelle by her coach side ; she rous'd her drooping spirits , and was about to speak at the same moment he prevented her ( saying ) madam , i find the sight of me is grievous to you , and i cou'd wish my destiny had been so kind to have let me had that death you spoke of , rather than let me live a life that 's burdensome to all that know me . she interrupted him here , and in a soft and mournful tone , her eyes distilling tears on her fair lovely cheeks , and with looks so sad and languishing , she said : darbelle , expose not thus a life which heaven is pleas'd to save , a life more pretious far than all the joys on earth ; and if you love me still , ( as i have cause enough to think ) preserve it till we have unravell'd this great mystery ; i can no more at present , but ere long i 'le send you farther orders what to do ; i see the prince is going to the play , and shou'd he find us two together , the consequence i fear wou'd prove too fatal , both to our lives and honours . darbelle was all obedience , and lest they shou'd be surpriz'd speaking together , left her entring into her apartment , and hasten'd home to his . no sooner was he got into his chamber with la rock , but he threw himself upon his bed , where for above an hour he lay without the least sign of life , till ( at length ) by the assistance of la rock , he began to open his eyes , from whence whole floods of tears did flow . o , la rock ! ( said he ) was ever any misery like to mine ? what shall i do ? what will become of me ? o lovely charmer ! ( goes he on ) there needed not this last affliction ; why wou'd you have me still preserve a life so full of woes and griefs ? then ceas'd a while ; and after a small pause , which multitudes of sighs did cause , he began to rave , and cry'd , o you immortal powers ! what do you mean ! can heaven be heaven ? can it be the throne of mercy , and yet not shew one glimpse of it to me ? has justice banish'd thence all other attributes , and that bright sparkling roof beset with golden characters of light , has it not one , not one propitious star for me ? must i be still the mark at which you level all your vengeance ? but , oh ! why name i you who silently look on and see the sport and reaks my fortune plays me ? la rock , while his transports were thus furious , thought it convenient not to interrupt them , but stood a mute spectator of his master's passion , who having been silent for a time ( his grief and anguish stifling all his words , lay rankling at his heart ) steps to his bed-side , and with all the reason he cou'd urge , endeavour'd to allay his trouble : what ( says he to him ) is become of all your courage ? and whither is your patience flown ? patience is stale ( replies he ) and i am weary of it , my passive fortitude has quite forsaken me , and nothing but despair supplies its place . at least ( answers la rock ) preserve your self till you have found out the cause of all these troubles ; my mind still tells me clitie is not so much to blame as you imagine , and 't is most certain there has been soul play us'd to both of you ; her last words to you were not like those of hate , but rather ( might i judge ) of love and pity ; and 't is not impossible but heaven may have yet in store a milder fortune for you : wherefore once more look up , and hope the best , for worse cannot befal you . o , la rock ! ( says he , taking him by the hand ) these words imply you are the best of friends , but they can never ease my heart ; they are to me as cordials to a breathless corps , and fate has set me beyond the reach of comfort : heaven , my friends , clitie , and hope it self , have all deserted me ; cou'd i admit the smallest hope , i yet were happy ; but alas ! that bladder that shou'd buoy up the sinking man , with me is burst , and leaves me in the ocean of my miserles , 't is the last thing leaves us but our lives ; but life is forc'd upon me still to augment my wretched state ; shou'd clitie ( as you would perswade me ) love me still , what profit will it afford me ? she is anothers now , and i must ne'er expect to see her more . the poor afflicted princess was no sooner got into her chamber , but she went to bed , watring her pillow with those streams of tears which fell from her fair eyes . she began to reflect on this last adventure , darbelle still lives ( says she to her self ) and , as he says , ( and i , alas ! too late believe ) is constant still . what demon ( envious of our loves ) contriv'd such false reports ? and curst adraste , what more hellish devil cou'd make thee tell me that thou sawest him married ? thus for some time she wou'd take the unfortunate darbelle's part , when in an instant all her thoughts wou'd change , ( and she wou'd say ) what tho' he does live , may he not yet be married ? 't is true , i had no witness of his death , but bare report , but of his falshood , i have adraste , mariana's brother , who in florence saw him with his wife , and whose portrait yet lies by me ; wherefore then shou'd i afflict my self for one so false and treacherous , no! let him go back again to florence , there he will find relief , and in his spouse's arms forget his troubles . these thoughts prevail'd a while , yet ( maugre all ) she cou'd not think a man so guilty ( as he seem'd to be ) wou'd leave his wife , employments , and the favour of the great duke , and run the hazards of so long a journey , nay , and his life to boot to come to paris , unless it were to clear himself . she cou'd fix satisfied on nothing , but with the impatience she had to be better fatisfied , early in the morning she sent for mariana , who suspecting nothing of the business , came to wait on her ; but no sooner did she enter , but the princess's blood rose all in blushes on her cheeks , and i know not what of shivering possess'd her heart . they being alone , she made her sit down upon a couch by her , then in a low and lamentable tone she told her all that had happen'd since darbelle came to paris , and that he was return'd again alive and unmarried , and that her brother had deceiv'd them all . mariana was not a little surpriz'd at this relation , however she conceal'd her sentiments , and assum'd the discourse ; can it be possible , madam ( says she ) that what you say is truth , and are you confident you are not abus'd ? yes , mariana ( answers the princess ) i am abus'd , and so is he , but who has done this piece of wickedness , is yet to me a mystery . mariana was glad to hear her say this , and seeing she did not in the least mistrust her ( since she had so freely discover'd to her all her adventures with darbelle , and his return to paris ) and remembring that machivillian maxim , that those who begin in sin , must never quit that road till they have reach'd their journey 's end , ) seem'd to be much concern'd ; and fearing lest the princess shou'd send for adraste , and by gold and presents get the truth out of him ( for she knew him to be one who would boggle at nothing , if gold were the reward ) told the princess that she wou'd write to her brother , who she pretended was gone into england with the embassadour , and know the truth , and wou'd leave no means unattempted to sound the very bottom of this business . they had many other discourses concerning this adventure , when mariana pretended urgent business , and took her leave , promising to come and see her again next day , in the mean time she wou'd consider about what was best to be done in an affair of such great consequence . she no sooner quits the princess , but with all the wings that fear cou'd lend her , she flew to find out lysidor , who she acquainted with the whole matter . the prince when he first heard it , was no less amaz'd at it , than she had been ; but having well consider'd every thing , he order'd her to meet him in the evening at a certain place which he appointed , in the mean time to keep all secret , and to go back again to the princess , and endeavour all she cou'd to wheedle out of her darbelle's abode , whose blood he told her , shou'd wash all clean again . mariana left him , but it was not in her power to quit the horror of her guilt , she now began to apprehend a fatal consequence from all her treachery had done , and had she not been married and with child , wou'd have discover'd the deceit to the princess , and have made atonement with her own life ; but her heart was harden'd , and it was now too late to repent . she doubted not but if she cou'd contrive some means to send her brother out of the kingdom ere the princess cou'd speak to him , all might do well enough yet . upon which consideration she sends word to her brother to come to her with all speed , but by good fortune the messenger who she sent , found him not at home . as soon as mariana had parted from the prince , he began to think what course he shou'd steer , and after many contrivances he found none so expedient as the private making away darbelle , and none so proper to effect the business as mariana's brother , who had so much injur'd him , that it was impossible he wou'd ever pardon him ; therefore sending a lacquey to adraste's lodging , and not finding him at home , he gave him orders to seek him out , and bid him come to him , which was soon perform'd . and adraste having already felt the bounty of the prince , was not slack in making what haste he cou'd to receive his commands . the prince had on purpose taken coach to go abroad and air himself , and had told the messenger who he had sent for adraste , where he shou'd meet him . the lacquey perform'd his master's orders so well , that in less than an hour , he brought him to the prince , who at his first seeing him , ran to him , and embracing him ; adraste ( says he ) i am already infinitely obliged to you , and you are a man on whom i shall make it my study to shew all marks of favour to , that i am able ; and i doubt not in the least but you will deserve more than i shall be capable of bestowing . adraste wonder'd at this unusual discourse of the prince , ( and with a low bow , replies ) sir , i wish it lay in my power to deserve these favours you are pleas'd to speak of , at your hands ; and the small service i have tender'd you , your goodness has already largely rewarded : but ( goes he on ) if the life , or all the fortune i have , will make me any ways further serviceable to your highness , you may command me as your humble vassal . no more , adraste ( replies the prince ) i am sufficiently satisfied of your power , and all i desire of you now , is the will to put that power in execution , not so much for my sake , as for your own future safety : for know darbelle is return'd to paris , and has already spoken to the princess , but neither of them apprehend as yet the cheat that has been put upon them , nor must they ; for 't is most certain when he comes to understand the trick you have plaid him , in averring that you saw him married in florence , your life must be the offering to atone his rage and revenge . therefore for the present be not seen abroad , but conceal your self in a place where i shall appoint you , till i get information where he is , and put you in a way of securing your own life , and my quiet ; and here are five hundred pistols in part of what you may expect when i can hear you say darbelle is no more . adraste was much surpriz'd at these proposals of the prince ; but considering there were no other means for his safety than by darbelle's death , and how easily it might be done without any discovery ; but above all , the five hundred pistols in hand , and a promise of as many more when the deed shou'd be done , return'd him this answer ; your highness is so generous and obliging , that my life and all that i have , are no longer mine , than while they are employ'd in performing your commands , which here i swear as soon as possible i can , to execute ; let me but know where this disturber of your peace and quiet is , and i will quickly ease you of your trouble . having said this , the prince assur'd him of his friendship , and both went into his coach , which convey'd adraste to a private place to lie incognito till further orders . after this the prince went home to his apartment , and inquiring after the princess , he was inform'd she was not well , and kept her chamber : the prince seem'd to take no notice of it ( tho' he knew well enough the cause of her malady ) but made her a visit after his usual manner , and was taking his leave just as celia enters and whisper'd her lady , of which the prince took no small notice , suspecting it was something that concern'd darbelle ( as indeed it prov'd ) however he kept on his way as tho he was the least concern'd in it , but calling to a lacquey that was by him , gave him strict orders to watch celia when she came out of the princess's chamber , and to observe whither she went , what she did , and with whom she should speak , and if it hapned to be any man , that he should carefully dog him home to his lodging , and to make the most exact and secret enquiry that he cou'd to learn who he was , and return him a faithful account . the prince's suspicions were not to little purpose , for she came to acquaint her mistress , that one of the gentlemen that were with her at the play-house the last night , was walking in a little orchard behind the house , and came from his master to enquire her health , and receive her commands . the princess had before given celia private orders to watch when any one shou'd inquire for her , and to inform her of it , who had for that purpose writ a letter which she design'd the first opportunity shou'd be deliver'd to darbelle , which she put into her pocket ; and after some time , musing and walking about the room , she went down with a pretence to walk in the gardens , and take the air ; celia follow'd her to give her notice where he attended , and the prince's lacquey followed her to give his lord notice who he was . she went not directly to the place , nor did our spie directly follow them ; but the princess having taken a turn or two in one walk , went to another , from thence to a third , till at last as tho' not design'd , she came to the place where la rock waited , who no sooner saw her , but seem'd as tho' he wou'd have retir'd to give way to the princess's more private walking , who looking round about her , saw none but her woman , bid him stay ; this while the cunning lacquey had hid himself behind a thick hedge , where he cou'd see all that passed , yet be conceal'd that none cou'd see him . the princess who knew she had no long time to stay there , it being a place where most of the ordinary sort of those who belong'd to the palace us'd to recreate themselves , walk'd by him , and slipt into his hand the letter she had before prepar'd . she inquir'd after his health , bid la rock tell him , if his master thought it convenient to let her know his abode , she wou'd send the faithful mariana to him , who wou'd be no small assistance to them in the finding out the foundation of both their misfortunes . la rock with all reverence took his leave of her , and flew to his master with the princess's letter ; but lysidor's lacquey as nimble as himself , was as soon at darbelle's lodging as la rock ; he pretended a little while after to inquire for a gentleman , whose name he had forgot , which he knew if he heard it nam'd ; but to the best of my memory ( says he ) he told me this was his lodging . i know not who you shou'd mean ( answer'd the servant of the house ) for we have two gentlemen who lodge here , the one they call mr. conrade , the other mr. la rock . no , certainly ( says the lacquey again ) 't is none of them , and sure i have mistook his directions . oh , i beg your pardon ( goes he on ) yonder just at the turning of the corner of the street passes the very person who i seek : so took his leave , and went to find out his prince , who he doubted not but to please with his diligence and success , not only in dogging celia ( as he had been order'd ) but also by making a discovery that the princess was concern'd in the business , who had given the man a letter , and that he had not only found out his lodging , but as he thought his name which he was confident must be one of the two the servant where they lodg'd had told him . la rock no sooner enter'd , but with transports of joy he tells his master that he had seen and spoke with the princess , and that he question'd not but he wou'd in the end find her free and innocent , and that undoubtedly there had been great treachery , cou'd they but find out where it lay ; to which purpose she desir'd he wou'd acquaint her with his lodging , and that she would send mariana her faithful confident unto him . but darbelle ( at the very name of mariana ( for what reason he knew not ) started , as at some sudden accident , and an unusual horror seiz'd him all over , his very soul was turn'd , and a harsh unpleasant noise seem'd to grate his ears at the very sound of mariana — ) interrupted him ( saying ) i know no grounds i have for my suspicion , but i fear that ma — there his speech faltred , and he cou'd not go through with the word . that woman ( i say ) has had a large share in causing all those miseries i now endure ; nor dare i any longer trust her ; for if my suspicions are true , that 't is she that has robb'd me of my rest and peace , nay , of my clitie too , she will not stop there , but take from me my life , when once she has it in her power . la rock knew there was much reason for what he said , considering that after all the protestations she had made of fidelity and friendship to his master , promising to give him a faithful account of all that passed with clitie , especially were there the least suspicion of a rival , kept silent : add to this , that they had heard that the prince had given her a good estate , and married her to a gentleman something related to him , they no longer doubted but she was the imposter that had betray'd them . however , waving any further talk of her at present , he deliver'd him the princess's letter , which darbelle kiss'd a thousand times ere he open'd it , blessing the dear hand of her who writ and sent it . the letter was as follows . now is the time my misfortunes are grown incurable , since i find the unfortunate darbelle not only lives , but loves me still ; i know not yet who to accuse , but i have been perswaded not only by an universal report , but by a particular messenger who 〈◊〉 sent into florence , that you were married there , and had gotten the esteem and favour of the great duke , and resolv'd no more to think of seeing these parts again , and withall brought me your pretended lady's picture , which to my great sorrow i have still preserv'd by me ; and soon after , not only my self , but the whole court was assur'd of your death . judge then , darbelle , if after all these misinformations of your inconstancy and death , if i cou'd do less than give my self up to a total despair , till by the perswasion of my faithful confident , mariana , and her brother ( who was the person i sent into tuscany ) together with my father's commands , and the assiduous addresses and daily importunities of a prince whose love and constancy seem'd to challenge some return ; i made him master of my self by marrying him . nor did i need any further confirmation of your infidelity , than after three months writing to you almost every day , i receiv'd not one line of answer . this i am fore'd to tell you for my own justification , and doubt not but you have as large and specious pretensions for yours ; which tho' it will be some satisfaction to me to find you innocent , yet will it give me more in injoying the last fatal stroke my misfortunes can lay on me , and ease me at once both of my life and misery ; and that since i cannot live for darbelle , i can willingly , and with content die for him . darbelle , after having read this letter , seem'd as a perfect statue , and stood as motionless as so much marble . la rock who was an ear-witness to this . fatal news became almost as senseless as his master , but considering with himself , that the grief which bleeds not in the eyes , still festers inwardly , and clogs the heart , broke silence first ; now it is plain ( says he to him ) you both have been betray'd , and 't is as evident by whom . o hellish perfidie ! o cursed crocodile ! ( says darbelle ) who whilst thou seem'dst to weep , and bear a part in my misfortunes , was thus contriving my confusion . o damn'd deceitful mariana ! eve in her fall was innocence to thee . what plagues , what torture , death , what hell it self has punishment enough to give thee ? and thy accursed brother , more false and treacherous , and more inventive of lyes , than that devil that first seduc'd mankind , and flung him from the state of innocence . but you are fruit both of a bough , which with the stock and all the branches , i will cut down and throw to everlasting ruine . and lysidor , thou prince ( of nought but devils ) i have mark'd thee out for sure destruction ; nor all the kings on earth , nor all the fears of death , nay , nor thy wife her self , shall stop this vengeful arm from doing justice on thee . here he stood still a while and read again the letter . nay , i will do 't ( he cry'd ) if i were sure this act ( with me ) would ruine all mankind , and mould the world into a second chaos . thus the transports of his fury thought of nothing but revenge . but a little after , ( with a deep sigh , his eyes brim-full of tears and languishments , love takes his place ) but , o la rock , la rock , ( says he ) my dearest charming clitie still is true ; she loves , unfortunate as i am , still ; and since she cannot come a pure and spotless virgin to my arms , resolves to wash her guilt off with her blood. alas ! she was betray'd as well as i. then stops again , and having paus'd a while ; lie still my heart ( says he ) and hush thy injuries a while asleep , and use the utmost means you can to save the life of one more pretious than my soul , of one the gods themselves wou'd mourn to part with , and grieve a loss can never be repaid : she must not , shall not die for me ; or if she does , ( flying again into a raving fit ) i 'le sacrifice the lives of all those wicked monsters , nay , the blood of all their cursed race , to appease her injur'd ghost . in the mean time the prince's lacquey had given him a full account of every thing ; mariana being by , who as soon as she heard the name of la rock , knew the other must certainly be darbelle under the false name of conrade . the lacquey was dismiss'd , and the prince and mariana staid together above two hours consulting what to do , knowing that without they cou'd find some speedy way to prevent it , nothing cou'd hinder a discovery of their practice . they thought on many projects , but fix'd on none but what they first design'd ( to wit ) darbelle's death . that will not be enough ( says the cruel mariana ) for whilst la rock survives we are not safe ; they must both die ( as they have liv'd ) together . the prince was soon brought to consent to it , and without more ado left mariana and went to her brother , who ( as was said before ) was conceal'd in a private house that the prince had order'd . when he came to him ( says he ) adraste , have you well consider'd what i told you last ? and are your resolutions firm to the design ? as firm ( answers adraste ) as my love and faith to you ; and were i sure the deed wou'd brand me o're with curses , nay , throw anathama's on all my race , and in the end procure the wheel , i wou'd not boggle at it . the prince embrac'd him , and commended his friendship and resolution , and withal told him , since none in the world but them two and his sister knew of the deceit , none but themselves shou'd be employ'd in making good what with so much success they had begun . therefore presently disguishing themselves in russians habits , and arming with sure and good weapons , ( the night now coming on apace ) they went out of the house into the street , where lysidor's man had told him he had dog'd the gentleman : they had not waited long ere ( by a light that was brought to the door ) they perceiv'd two men in cloaks come forth : the prince made no doubt but they were the very same he look'd for , but for more certainty he went up to one of them , and softly touching him on the shoulder , darbelle ( says he ) a word with you in private : it hapned to be la rock who he had taken for his master ; however the faithful la rock thought it not safe to inform him of his mistake , but throwing his cloak aside , says , who is that ? the prince replies , one from the princess clitie : at which la rock stepping a little nearer him to hear what he wou'd say ; the princess , says lysidor , commends her to you , and has sent you this , running at la rock with his sword , which by good chance miss'd his body , and was so intangled in his cloak , that he had time to draw his own in his defence ere the prince cou'd disingage it . adraste follow'd the prince's example , and set upon darbelle , who as soon as he had heard himself named , had put himself into a posture to defend him . the combat was not long , for the second pass la rock made , he run the prince quite through the heart , who immediately fell , pronouncing these words , i am justly rewarded for all my treachery ; and so ended his life . but darbelle , after he had given adraste several wounds , seeing a light appear at the other end of the street , together with la rock , ( without inquiring who or what they were had set upon them ) fled to avoid being apprehended ; they had both the good fortune not to be wounded , and lodg'd themselves in another quarter of the city in a place as private as , the former . the light ( we spoke of ) was a magistrate of the city , with several of his officers , were going to search a suspected house in that bye-street for goods that had been stoln ; who , so soon as they came to the place ( where before they heard , as they thought , some clashing of swords ) they found the prince ( who at present they knew not ) dead , and a little from him the false adraste ( all wounded and bloody ) on the ground , who they perceiv'd still had life in him ; he caused both the bodies to be taken up , and conveyed to a house hard by , where they laid adraste into bed , and sent for chyrurgeons to dress his wounds , and if possible to recover him again , that they might learn of him the meaning of that adventure , and who he was that was kill'd , for the disguise the prince had on , hindred them from knowing him . the next morning ( the prince not having been at his lodging all night , not being known ever before to stay out ) enquiry was made to know what was become of him , and about four a clock in the afternoon the report of his death was spread over the whole city ; but they kept it at present from the princess , who was bewailing the misfortunes of darbelle to mariana , who was come at that time to visit her ; alas , mariana ! ( says she to her ) what can we think of this affair ? who has betray'd us ? what more than savage beast cou'd do so barbarous an act ? what you tell me ( says mariana ) is to me all mystery , and it wou'd require some oracle to solve the aenigma ; however , madam , you can ne're be blam'd , and all that you have done , was what the most wise and vertuous lady living might justifie ; therefore afflict your self no more about it , but leave it to the heavens and darbelle , who you say is alive and return'd , ( a thing , but that you say it , i cou'd scarce believe ) to find out the treachery . come dry those eyes , and think of this no more ; your duty now does bind you wholly to your lord , in whom you 'l find those joys and comforts will allay your sorrows . you are young , and in your beauty's prime , and shou'd not wear so black a cloud of woes ; you 'l give him cause , it may be , to suspect your love , and think some other object has usurp'd your heart ; i wou'd not for a thousand worlds that he shou'd see you thus . o , mariana ! ( replies clitie ) can you ere think i lov'd , and lov'd so well , and entertain one mite of joy , while i have ruin'd the most constant , tender , and most deserving man alive ; alive , said i ! alas , wou'd he had dy'd when false report made me give credit to it ; he 's yet alive , but will not long be so ; his griefs and his misfortunes will soon put an end to his life , and all the guilt will light upon my head. thus were they discoursing when one came in and told them the prince was murther'd , and that adraste , mariana's . brother ( who was mortally wounded , as they believ'd ) was suspected to have been the murderer . my brother kill the prince ! ( says mariana ) sure it cannot be ; and without saying any more , she went to know the certainty . the princess now was left alone , and fresh streams of tears run down her lovely face , when she complain'd thus to her self ; ah , wretched clitie ! when will thy cruel destiny have done ? when will the dregs of all its wrathful malice be poured out ? what is reserv'd in all the power of heaven to ease thy sufferings ? unhappy prince ! unhappy 'cause thou lov'dst me , and i a thousand times unhappy 'cause i was thy wife . thus we will leave her bemoaning her sad misfortunes . the chyrurgeons had by this time search'd and dress'd all adraste's wounds , who was now come a little to himself again , and had promises from them , if he would be rul'd , he might do well . but mariana arriving , wou'd by no means be kept from seeing her brother ; she ran to him , and conjur'd him to tell her how he came thus wounded , and who had kill'd the prince : but he ( not suspecting that she knew any thing of darbelle's being in paris , having been kept up close by the prince that he cou'd not see her ) told her , that as the prince was going upon a design wherein he had done him the honour to make him his companion , they were set upon in the street by men they knew not , who had left them in that condition . the chyrurgeons wou'd not suffer her to discourse or stay any longer with him , alledging it wou'd retard the cure , if not render all their medicins useless , put her out of the room , and left him to himself . darbelle was no sooner in his new lodgings , but new afflictions did possess his heart ; he was more surpriz'd at this last adventure , than at all the rest ; he rais'd a thousand doubts about it , which wou'd not let him take one moment's rest that night ; he reflected afresh on all his calamities , and particularly on this last misfortune ; and jealousie was now the master of his soul , he turn'd all to clitie's disadvantage , imagin'd her yet false , and all her oaths and protestations air , and the last letter and the message she sent by la rock to know his lodging , was only a trap to insnare his life ; and that those bravo's who had assaulted him ( as they themselves said ) were sent to him by the princess ; he rav'd and exclaim'd against her like a mad-man , nor cou'd all that la rock cou'd say , mitigate his passion ; he call'd her perfidious , ingrateful tygress , murderer , and all the barbarous names his fury cou'd invent ; nor did stick to threaten her self , and fully resolv'd the next morning to execute this resolution . la rock still preach'd patience to him , telling him this might be a mistake as well as all the rest , and desir'd leave to go out and inform himself what those assassinates were , and what they meant . darbelle cou'd not in reason but consent to what so much he long'd to know . la rock putting off his disguise he had on when he saw clitie , went to the exchange and to several coffee-houses , where he was soon inform'd that the prince was murder'd last night , and adraste mortally wounded , and that none knew the murtherers . the unhappy darbelle still rav'd of nothing but blood and revenge , pouring out whole volleys of curses and imprecations against the innocent princess : what , traytress ! ( wou'd he say ) was 't not enough for thee to murder amasis , and make me the wretched executioner , but you must seek my blood ? inhumane as thou art , i who have over tenderly adored you , i that have suffer'd so many afflictions and miseries for thy sake , must i be made ( to summ up all your cruelty ) the draught to quench your bloody thirst ? thou , worse than hell , cou'd not you spare that life a few short minutes more , which wou'd it self extinguish shortly , but you must ride me post to death ? in these and such like cogitations was he , when la rock enter'd . well then ( says darbelle ) what news from hell ? what was that she-devil's design ? and who were they that did attempt our lives ? he spoke these words in such a furious tone , his eyes all sparkling rage and fire when la rock told him , it is prince lysidor whom i have kill'd , and adraste that you have wounded mortally . thanks , bounteous heaven ( replies darbelle ) i find you now begin to mend your hand , and have not quite deserted me , so let all fall who have contriv'd my ruine , so let her fall who first occasioned it . there is no question but there was diligent search made to find those men who slew the prince , but all in vain . in a few days after his body was interr'd with all the pomp and state that became his birth and quality , while the poor princess bewail'd a double loss ; for she began now to suspect darbelle , and impute it to his jealousie , which gave her far greater disquiets than any she had had . will fortune ( says she ) never tire ! can she be constant only to my miseries ? can she have any vengeance yet in store ? or if she has , why does she thus by piece-meals deal it out ? o fate , be merciful in cruelty , and heap my woes by wholesale on , that with their weight i may be crush'd into my mother earth again . but why do i complain ? my cruel destiny is deaf to all my prayers , and takes delight to see me suffer ; what then remains , but that i brave my foe , and arm my self with courage to endure the worst ? hitherto the false mariana was prosperous enough in all her undertakings , and all her plots succeeded to her wish ; but now she fear'd all her deceits were found out , and doubted not but they were darbelle and la rock who had slain the prince and wounded her brother , and that the next that fell , must be her self ; she studied how to escape the blow , and wou'd not let her active brain have rest , till she had found some way to revenge the prince's death , and adraste's wounds . she thought at first to have discover'd , that darbelle was in paris , but that design soon vanish'd ; for she imagin'd after the prince's death , darbelle had surely flown to his retreat in tuscany , and she shou'd but alarm the town to no purpose , and therefore she contriv'd another way , which was to write to the princess , as from darbelle , in which she made him own the fact , and glory in the prince's fall ; by which means she doubted not but to set so great a variance between darbelle and the princess , that there shou'd be no likelihood of his ever seeing her , or at least speaking to her again . big with this project , she hastens home and writes the letter , and having some of those billets by her , which darbelle had formerly writ to clitie , and which she had kept still by her , it was no difficult matter to imitate his hand so well , that the afflicted princess in her tears and sorrows cou'd not well distinguish it . having finish'd her letter , she went to the princess's apartment , with the shew of an inconceivable trouble , which she did not now altogether dissemble , for her brother's wounds , and the ill posture of her own affairs , gave her no small inquietudes . she found the princess ( as she cou'd wish ) alone , and almost drown'd in sorrow , bewailing her hard misfortunes , who as soon as she saw her enter , began to renew her complaints , and made such lamentations they almost touch'd the heart of cruel mariana , but she was pitiless , remorse was still a stranger to her breast ; she look'd on clitie with so sad and mournful eyes , as told her almost what she came about . the princess made her sit down by her , telling her , now her fate had done its worst ; she demanded of her many things , but mariana answer'd all with sighs and tears , looking as tho' her soul was just expiring , which the princess taking notice of , ask'd what new matter she had to tell her ? surely ( says she to her ) your looks have something that wou'd fain discover what lies at your heart ; your face seems fill'd with something of import ; the things must needs be strange within the book , when it does bare so sad a title-page . mariana reply'd , my countenance but sutes my heart , and blabs out what i wou'd gladly have conceal'd . — but here her soos and sighs stopp'd up the passage of her speech . speak on ( says the poor princess ) for i can hear you now , i am now grown familiar with my misery . as soon ( says mariana to her again ) as grief will give me leave , i will tell you one of the saddest stories ever pierc'd your ear. darbelle — at that word the princess started , as at some horrid sight , proceed ( says she ) what of darbelle ? is he dead , or is he taken ? alas , unhappy princess ! ( answers mariana ) his death 's a favour fate will not bestow on you ; wou'd he were dead , or rather ( for why shou'd i wish death to one i vow'd an everlasting friendship to ) wou'd i were dead ere i was made the messenger of these sad tidings i am come to tell you , darbelle ( by what means i know not ) found my lodging out , and coming to me ( all wreaking in the prince's blood , in which he took such pride , that i ( amaz'd ) cou'd not demand him any thing . mariana ( says he to me ) i am come to give you thanks for all your cares and faithfulness in my amours with that perfidious princess , and have but this one last request to make , which by our former friendship , i conjure you to perform . go to that false ungrate ( says he ) and tell her how you see me ; tell her ( goes he on ) i now have on my wedding-cloaths , and all the glory in the world wou'd sit but loose and troublesome upon me , when compar'd to this rich purple , bloody dress : bid her expect no more to hear from me , for this shall be the last : with that , he put this letter into my hand , and went directly forth again . grief and the horrid object of the dear prince's blood , which still look'd fresh and beautiful upon his garments , strock such a terrour in my soul , that i no longer cou'd support my self , but sunk down on the floor , where i continued long before my senses did return ; but then , alas ! it was too late , or else i wou'd have rais'd the house to have stopp'd the murderer ; and fearing to bring your vertue and honour into question , if it shou'd be known that he who kill'd your husband was the ghost at the ball , and the next night the shepherd , for whose sake you made a second ball , where you appointed an assignation with him in the play-house . these things came all into my thoughts , for which i let him make his escape , ( knowing his own guilty conscience will in time be worse to him than death ) and came to render you this true account , and deliver you the letter which he left . mariana having ended her discourse , the princess took the letter , and in opening it , it is enough ( she said ) it is enough , you heavenly powers , keep back the remnant of your anger , and let my death at once appease your further wrath ; then read these words : the much wrong'd darbelle to the persidious clitie . you taught me first the way to blood , in which i am grown expert ; you might by amasis have learn'd i cou'd admit no rival , i wou'd condole your widowhood , did it not thwart the joys which fill my heart to see your husband dead . my injuries were great , and nothing but his blood cou'd make me satisfaction ; but least my sight shou'd ere offend your eyes , i 'le fly as far as day does spread his wings , and having by this glorious act appeas'd my tortur'd soul a little , i 'le take such ways , that i ere long will banish your idea from my heart , till when i ne're shall be what formerly i was , darbelle . the princess read this letter with a seeming calmness , but when that she had done , and found darbelle was indeed ( for so the letter tells ) her husband's murderer , it wou'd require a heart as much afflicted as her own , and one more eloquent than ever was , but to conceive one half of what possess'd her soul , she immediately took her bed , nor cou'd the care of all her friends , her kindred , or physicians , procure one word from her , or make her take the least nourishment for three whole days , which so dispoil'd the beauties of her face , and brought her body to that low estate , that all despair'd to see her live a day . when a man was brought into her chamber , sitting in an arm'd chair , all sick and wounded , and plac'd by her bed-side , he was adraste , who hearing the sad condition of the princess , and finding he was himself departing , desir'd leave of her father to be brought to clitie , telling him that he , and he alone cou'd ease his daughter , and work a cure which no physician with their medicins cou'd : he desir'd to be left alone with her , or at least that they wou'd withdraw a little from the bed-side , for what he had to say was short , and only for her ear. all things thus dispos'd ( the almostexpiring adraste ) raising his voice so high that the princess might hear him , unhappy princess ( says he to her ) behold a malefactor at your feet , imploring yours and heaven's pardon ; behold the false adraste at the point of death , yet cannot die till he has made you happy . at the naming adraste , the princess ( whose eyes till now had been clos'd ) open'd them , and looking on him , can there be any happiness for me ( replies the princess in a tone of one just giving up the ghost ) ? have you an art to bribe the destinies ? or can you change an immutable decree ? no less than this can ever make me happy . o hear me out ( says he , interrupting her ) my life is too too short to tell you what i wou'd , i feel it mouldring every minute : darbelle is yet true ; the deceas'd unhappy prince to gain your love , did bribe me and my sister mariana to betray you — there he stopt . ' speak on , adraste ( saies the princess ) for i feel something at my heart , which bids me hear you out ; speak , and i 'le lie as still as death it self . in short , adraste discover'd to her the whole cheat ( after the same manner as you have heard it in the foregoing parts ) he told her how the prince and mariana kept back all hers and darbelle's letters , and that the picture he made her believe was darbelle's wife , was nothing but a counterfeit , which was made in paris , that he himself ( who she had sent ) had never been in florence , but that all the time of his pretended journey he lay conceal'd in prince lysidor's apartment : he told her that mariana had discover'd all her adventures with darbelle , since his return from florence , to the prince , and the design the prince and himself had to take his life , which had brought them into the estate in which they were ; that it was none of darbelle that slew the prince , but his servant , and that he himself was the man with whom darbelle fought . all this he swore to her was true as he expected mercy from the gods , who now had sent him summons to depart this life . mariana having been at her brother's lodgings , and hearing that he desir'd them to carry him to the princess's apartments , in order to discover something of importance to clitie , found now all her designs discovered , and all that she had plotted utterly frustrated , especially this last inhumane horrid one she had in hand , which was to have poison'd her brother , who she found had at the point of death remorse , and in his repenting fit might betray her ; she resolv'd to have sav'd him the trouble of penitance by laying him asleep with a cordial she had with her , but missing of him , she made all the haste she cou'd after him , hoping she might yet prevent the discovery , or if not , to make a larger . no sooner did the princess see her , but she cry'd out , o! for heaven sake help , and take that monster from my sight , she is the cursed cause of all my misery , and the sad worker of the prince's death . several at this out-cry stepp'd in , and laid hands on mariana , who seeing the princess in that sad condition , and her brother just fall'n dead at her feet , her self now in the hands of justice , desir'd leave only to speak one word before they forc'd her away , which with the princess's permission was granted her ; i doubt not , madam , ( says she , applying her speech to the princess , but my brother has discover'd to you all my treachery ( i mean all that he knew ) that the prince deserv'd the death he found , and that darbelle is yet spotless from any ingratitude or falshood , but he cou'd not tell you it was my self that writ the last letter to you , as from darbelle , and counterfeited his hand , which had you nicely mark'd , you might have found before . here i protest to you i know not where he is , nor have i seen him since he went to florence , and what i told you of his coming to me , was all forg'd ; tho' i suppose he is not far from these parts . all i have now to do , is to crave your pardon , which i can never deserve , and heaven and justice will not grant . then taking the bottle she had prepar'd for her brother , she drank the poison off , and bid them bear her to her bed , for she told them she had not half an hour to live . they took her thence , but ere she cou'd reach her own house , what with the grief , and the fatal cordial she had taken , she expir'd . these tragical actions cou'd not be without much grief and trouble to all who were either friends or relations to any of them ; they gave much matter of discourse , but more of wonder to those who were present , and heard darbelle nam'd : those who knew nothing of the forementioned adventures , thought it only some raving fit , which the extremity of grief for the prince and her brother ( who lay dead before her ) had caus'd , took but little notice of it ; so that in few days there was neither talk nor thought of it among them , but all was still as if it ne'er had been . clitie's father was not offended at this discovery , which had brought his daughter to her speech again , and seeing her now look with a more chearful aire , and follow all her doctors prescriptions , was overjoy'd with the hopes , that in a few days she might do well again . so strangly fond was this old man of her , that all the time of her sickness hitherto , he had not left her chamber ; but being comforted with the endeavours clitie made , and the promises the doctors gave for her recovery , he grew weary and tir'd with long watching and sorrow , went that night to his bed ; and after his first sleep ( which we'll suppose was sound enough ) he awak'd with a certain heaviness at his heart , unlike to any he had felt before , but he continued not long ere soft slumbers clos'd his eyes again ; and ( as he told the king and others afterward ) he had this dream . methought ( says he ) i was walking in the garden of the artulieres , and from thence passing to the orange-walks , i met a man all pale and bloody , who coming up to me , ask'd if i knew him , i look'd now a little more heedfully on him , and told him ( if i remembred right ) he was the unfortunate amasis , who the unhappy darbelle had slain , for which cause he had quit his own native soil , and fled to tuscany , where he has laid his bones . i am ( says the vision to me ) the same amasis you speak of , unfortunate , as you have justly term'd me , in that i was the occasion of all that unhappy man's and your daughter's misfortunes , and i am come to tell you that he is wrong'd . my friends have been too severe in his prosecution ; 't is true , he sent me to my grave , but 't is as true he did it nobly , and like a gentleman , having reason and provocation enough for what he did . my vain ostentation , and maintaining injuries i had committed , urg'd me to do those things which caus'd my fall , and will not let me rest till i have clear'd him of my death ; nor can my ghost have quiet , until he be again happily establish'd in the king's favour , and your vertuous daughter's love , which none deserves but he . he ne'er was married ( as is reported ) and is still alive ; he has left his solitude in tuscany , and is return'd again to paris , where he laments his sad misfortunes ; use therefore all possible means you can to comfort him , and ease my weary spirit . in finishing these words the good old man awak'd , nor cou'd he sleep again that night , a thousand thoughts assaulted him at once , nor knew he what result to make ; but at the break of day he rose and went to clitie's chamber , who he found pretty chearful and hearty , for she had rested well that night ; he made all quit the room , and seating himself by her bed-side , he began a discourse in this manner . my dearest child , ( says he ) why will you let your aged father pine and mourn away , his few days left him , in grief and sorrows , and not ease his pain ? thou knowest i ever dearly lov'd thee , nor was there any trouble seiz'd thy heart , in which i did not share . i do remember yesterday that mariana spoke to you of darbelle , and what she meant by it , i come to learn of you ; therefore dear daughter , hide from me nothing of the truth , for if darbelle be yet alive , and not married ( as i have cause to suspect ) and in this city , i shou'd be so far from disturbing his peace , that i will use all my diligence with the king to get his pardon , and perhaps establish him again at court. the princess was not a little surpriz'd to hear her father speak in this manner , tho' she cou'd not but be well-pleas'd to see his kindness to darbelle ; and not to keep her father any longer in doubt , she acquainted him with the whole story from darbelle's going into florence , even to his coming back again to paris , all the tricks and cheats mariana and the prince had put upon them , and lastly , the murder he and adraste would have committed , wou'd the heavens have permitted it , who in the same time sent others to take their lives . the princess here alter'd a little the truth of her relation , for none but her self knew who were they that kill'd them . celse was a hundred times about to have interrupted her , but the oddness of her story , and her soft manner of relating it , mov'd him to such a commiseration of their misfortunes , that it drew tears from the eyes of the good old gentleman , who when she had made an end , he recounted to her his dream , in all things so agreed with what clitie had told him , that he wanted no further confirmation to establish his belief that darbelle was still virtuous , tho' still unhappy in his princes's favour , who he resolv'd to solicite so in his behalf , that he wou'd never let the king rest till he had got his pardon . many discourses they had touching the means to bring it about , which now they had more likelihood to effect than before , since the prince alcander , amasis's brother , and lysidor , were dead , who daily press'd the king for justice ( as they call'd it ) against darbelle . who having escap'd the hands of his assassinates , and those of the magistrate and his officers , return'd again to their old lodgings , fell into such perplexities and torments of mind , that it cast him into a dangerous feaver which held him some months , with little hopes of his recovery ; but youth and nature being strong , prevail'd with death , and once more set him on his feet again . he resolv'd to spend no more of his days in a place where every thing combin'd against him , but to return again for florence , where he design'd in solitude to end his days , and to efface whate're his love had made him write upon his trees , in favour of his mistress , and in their room to write invectives against the whole female sex. to this end one day he discover'd his mind to la rock , and order'd to prepare horses , and all things necessary for such a journey ; and that at the beginning of the next week he wou'd set forward . la rock seconded his design , and commended his resolution , and in pursuance to his commands , went the same day to furnish himself with horses , when fortune , who is never constant in any thing , conducted him to a man whose horses were at grass in a field in the countrey , near the place where the princess had her house , and to which she was retir'd , in order to the better recovering her health . the man and la rock took coach together , and went to the place aforesaid , not being above four or five miles from paris , and while the horses were fetching in , la rock walk'd forth to see the beauty of the place , which was certainly one of the finest seats in that countrey , and walking along a river , whose purling streams seem'd to keep consort with the noise the winds made among the leaves of the trees that grew in the grove , he heard ( as he thought ) at the other side of a thick hedge , the sighs and complaints of a woman ; his curiosity led him to go as near as possible he cou'd , without been seen , and listen to what she said ; who having seated himself in a convenient place , cou'd through the leaves behold a woman lying on a bank of flowers , making her arm ( more white than snow ) her pillow ; her curling hair hung negligently o're her face , which as the friendly wind remov'd away , made him perceive a cheek more beautiful and fair , than ever he had seen before ; but what mov'd him most , and hid what most he long'd to know , was the other fair hand , that ever and anon was imploy'd with a handkerchief , in wiping away those tears which fell in streams from her distilling eyes ; he had not long attended , but the beautiful disconsolate broke forth again into words , and said , fond wretch ! what avails it to complain to heaven , who , as they are just , ought not to take thy part ? blame heaven no more , but lay the fault upon thy own credulity , that is it has wrought thy ruine , and the overthrow of one whose love and constancy can meet no parallel . oh! — ( there drying her eyes again with her handkerchief , she stifl'd the name of some man , so that he cou'd not understand who she meant . ) what a foolish man art thou to be so faithful to one who has so little deserv'd it ? how has thy love blinded thee to make a second venture , when thy first cost thee so dear ? and thy too much constancy has been the cause of all thy sad misfortunes ? to what purpose dost thou pursue thy passion , when it leads thee to thy ruine ? and to what end dost thou indulge thy own destruction ? here she ceas'd her words , and spoke with eyes whose silent rhetorick ran gliding down her face , and drew the perfect map of sorrow . but ( goes she on ) thou canst weep , and that thou think'st enough , a few woman's tears , the next akin to crocodiles . cou'dst thou weep blood , and through the sluces of thy eyes , drain all the moisture of thy veins , 't were yet too little to wash away the misery they have caus'd . rest and content are now grown strangers to me , or if perchance sometimes the night gives me repose , my sorrows waken with the day , and gush upon me with the greater power . i know i torment my self in vain , for he knows nothing of it ; or if he did , his injuries , are grown so great , i never can expect relief from him , nor ever to possess the place i once had in his heart , which i deservedly have lost , tho heaven can bear me witness , i always priz'd it more than life . i have chosen here a solitary place to sympathize with him , and to be as far distant as i can from that where my afflictions first begun : but , alas ! in quitting that , i cannot quit my grief , but must for ever mourn my cruel fate . la rock was hearkning to her moan when he observ'd a woman to come up to her , who he knew to be celitie , with whom he had discours'd in the theatre , by which he imagin'd the disconsolate lady to be the princess , and by the moving complaints she had made , he cou'd think the man she meant , to be no other than his master ; but he was soon put out of doubt , for celia coming to her , says , o dearest mistress ! give not way to your distemper , we all must die , and he has only paid a debt that nature will exact from you and me , and all the world. dear princess , rise , your father is arriv'd to see you . with that , she help'd her up , and then he plainly saw it was clitie , whom all this while he had heard , but was more surpriz'd , when at her parting she turn'd her head aside , and said in a low and mournful tone , o darbelle , darbelle , thou little know'st what my poor heart endures for thee ! la rock was so surpriz'd at these last words , and his soul so transported with joy , that he was once in the mind to have follow'd her , and have told her that his master was still in paris , and that nothing but her commands cou'd hinder him from going where perhaps they might never see each other more ; but upon better thoughts he resolv'd first to acquaint darbelle of this adventure , and take farther orders from him . i need not tell you that he saw , lik'd , and bought the horses which he came about , and made all the haste he cou'd back again to paris , where we left darbelle venting his griefs , and making exclamations against the poor clitie ; his heart was so acquainted now with misery , which had so long been his companion , that all hopes of comfort had long since been banish'd , he expected no more to see the day with comfort , or to pass the night in any thing but sorrow ; every thing was matter of new trouble to him ; others felicities increas'd his woes , and others miseries did but add to his ; and he cou'd see none so unhappy as himself , and all the thoughts that fill'd his mind were either of his mistress's disdain , or of his journey into florence ; and in this condition was he when la rock came home . who gave him an account of what he had done , that he had bought the horses , and had given order for all the other necessaries that wou'd be needful in their travel . it is well done ( says darbelle ) let us go , let us go , la rock , and injoy our solitude alone , where free from noise of pleasure and of state , we shall in a soft quietude yield up our latest breaths , and free from woman ( wou'd i cou'd as well free my self from the thoughts of 'em ) live out the remnant of our miserable days ; we 'll fear no falshood or treachery amongst our selves ; for surely none will there envy our sorrowful lives , nor endeavour to shorten those few minutes heaven will lend our miseries . but ( answers la rock ) how if after all this , clitie shou'd be true , and love you yet more than she ever did ? darbelle , with a scornful smile , return'd , why dost thou talk of things impossible ? la rock answer'd him , t was not impossible , and that he had more than probability for what he said . he related to him all that he heard the princess say , and how he came to the knowledge of it . darbella was much surpriz'd at what he said , and imagin'd if this were true , his condition was not so bad as he suppos'd it ; but dispair had so wholly possest his soul , that it cou'd admit no other than guess ; however he resolv'd that the next day la rock shou'd inquire further about it . clitie's father had made what interest he cou'd with the king for darbelle's pardon , but as yet had receiv'd no favourable answer , though he hop'd to bring the business to a happy issue . but the next day being the king's birth-day , and a time when all the court appear'd in jollity , and no mourner whatsoever was suffer'd to come within its walls , celse hop'd that day wou'd prove more propitious to him than any hitherto , intended to set all wheels to work , and leave no means unattempted that might make his enterprize successful , went on purpose into the countrey to bring the princess up to court to sollicite ( amongst the rest ) for darbelle's pardon , whose request he hop'd , the king wou'd grant , for both the king and the queen had a great respect for her . nothing but this business cou'd have prevail'd with her to leave her solitude , and appear again at court ; for now she thought nothing she cou'd do , enough for one who had suffer'd so much for her ; so that the same night she return'd with her father to paris . la rock next morning went into the city , and as near the court as he dare venture ( for he had notice that the princess was come to town ) to get a sight of celia , who came up the night before with her mistress ; he had learn'd also , that the princess intended to appear at the solemnity , at the end of which there was to be a great ball , where most of the nobility wou'd be in masquerade , and that the court was free for all gentlemen that were curious either to see , or partake of the sport : he waited some time , but found there was no likelihood of speeding that day , for he saw all sorts of tradesmen going in and out of the princess's apartment , tailors , milliners , lace-men , perfumers and jewellers , all to adorn a beauty , which without those foyles , was more splendid and illustrious than any in the court besides . he return'd home to darbelle , who waited for him with incredible impatience , thinking each minute an hour , and every hour a day : how often wou'd he run to the chamber-door ( if any body came up stairs ) expecting to meet la rock ? and as often wou'd return again with much disquiet when he found it was not he ; at last the so much long'd-for minute came , in which he enter'd , he told him ( in short ) all he had learn'd , telling him , there was no hopes for him to get a sight of her that day , unless he wou'd once more make use of his former device of going in masquerade . he was resolv'd to venture all hazards to see and speak to the princess , and from her own mouth to receive his doom . but it was grown by this time so late , that he had no time to get a disguise made ; and rather than not go , he took that which had serv'd him in one of the former balls , 't was that of the noble shepherd , saying , he car'd not what became of him ; and if clitie still lov'd him ( as la rock had perswaded him ) she wou'd the sooner know him , if not , it was but death at last , which wou'd only shorten his misseries , and give him a pass port to the other world but some few days the sooner . la rock , by no arguments he cou'd use , cou'd alter his mind ; however he was resolv'd to run all dangers with him , and though death it self should happen to share with him in this adventure . the night began to grow old when darbelle and la rock enter'd the room where they were dancing ; but a more glorious shew of jewels , and beauty which far out-shin'd them , was no where in the world to equal what was there but above all , the princess was the load-stone which attracted the eyes of all the spectators ; she had on a gown so rich with imbroidery , and so cover'd with gemms , that one wou'd have thought wou'd have purchas'd a whole province ; she was dancing a minua with the king , which hinder'd her from taking notice when darbelle enter'd , and it made much to his purpose , for at sight of her , he was strook with a sudden fear , which for the present depriv'd him of all his senses , and he stood just in the door , not able to go forward , which most of those at the ball imputed to his unwillingness to enter till the king had made an end of his dance ; by which time our lover was ten times more amorous than ever , and all those cruel thoughts he had before of clitie , quite disappear'd , and love , all-powerful love again had got possession of his heart ; he gets up to la rock , and speaking to him in a low voice , la rock ( says he ) if i fall , i shall fall gloriously , and never man receiv'd his doom in so illustrious an assembly , let us go on , and dare the worst our fate can do ; for having seen her , if she love me not , i have no further use for life . the princess being seated , had time now to look about her ; but , o heavens ! no sooner did she see our amorous shepherd , but her colour went and came , and in spite of all the constraint she laid upon her self to hide her surprize , she cou'd not hinder her self from falling into a swoon ; all run to her , amongst the rest darbelle was not idle ; he had her by one of her hands , while others run for water ; the good old celse was not least concern'd , he got her in his arms , and bath'd her with his tears ; but after a while she began to recover , and celse asking her what was the matter , she whisper'd in his ear , darbelle , the unfortunate darbelle was in the room . he seem'd to take no notice of what she said ; but having placed her again in her seat , and left her to the care of the ladies who were about her , he went to the king and talk'd in private with him for some time ; after which there was a command given , that all the doors shou'd be shut , and none stir in or out . darbelle till this time had eyes and thoughts employed on the princess , and observ'd not celse's talking with the king , but when he heard this command , that none shou'd go in or out , he was not a little surpriz'd , who altho' he did not in the least suspect that he was the occasion of it , yet was far more astonish'd when the princess was pretty well recover'd , he heard the king give a second command , that all who were masqued , should pull off their vizors , and discover who they were . now was the time our masking lover saw himself the mark at which all was levell'd , he began to repent his curiosity , and within himself to muster up all those reproaches and revilings he had had against clitie : but ( in short ) the king's commands must be obey'd , and all unmasqu'd but darbelle , who was unwilling to discover himself , which drew the eyes both of the king and all the company upon him , who admir'd who that shou'd be , who was repugnant to the king's orders ; when celse himself comes up to him , and takes off his masque , crying out in a loud voice , o heavens ! it is darbelle . it is not to be conceiv'd the several opinions that were in this noble assembly , but above all , the poor princess who did not dare to speak , and her heart was almost rent in sunder at this last unfortunate disaster , she doubted not but he was now become a prey to the king's anger , and inveterate malice of his enemies ; but she was more surpriz'd when the king coming to her , took her by the hand , saying , come hither lady , do you know this man ? then stepping to darbelle , he in an angry tone , ask'd him how he dar'd appear before a king so much incens'd ? to which darbelle ( falling upon his knees , and humbly crav'd his pardon ) answer'd , that that love which made him first incur his majesties displeasure , had since so blinded him , that he was incapable of doing any thing but what tended to his love. the king seeing our two lovers in so great a consternation , and resolving no longer to amuse them , commanded darbelle to arise , and gave him his gracious pardon for all that he had done , and taking him by the hand , as old celse did the princess ; they brought them both into the middle of the room , and joyn'd the hands of two , whose hearts were long before united . he told darbelle he was oblig'd to celse , who had procur'd his pardon , and contriv'd this device to make their happiness surprize them when they least thought of it . the end . a catalogue of some plays printed for r. bently and s. magnes . . beaumont and fletchers plays : in all . in large fol. . mr. shakespear's plays : in one large fol. volume containing plays . . tartuff , or the french puritan . . forc'd marriage , or the jealous bridegroom . . english monsieur . . all mistaken , or the mad couple . . generous enemies , or the ridiculous lovers . . the plain-dealer . . sertorius , a tragedy . . nero , a tragedy , . sophonisba , or hannibal's overthrow . . gloriana , or the court of augustus caesar. . alexander the great . . mythridates king of pontus . . oedipus king of thebes . . caesar borgia . . theodosius , or the force of love. . madam fickle , or the witty false one. . the fond husband , or the plotting . esquire old-sap , or the night-adventures . . fool turn'd critick . . vertuous wife , or good luck at last . . the fatal wager . . andromache . . countrey wit. . calisto , or the chast nymph . . destruction of jerusalem , in two parts . . ambitious statesman , or the loyal favourite . . misery of civil war. . the murder of the duke of gloucester . . thyestes , a tragedy . . hamlet pr. of denmark , a tragedy . . the orphan , or the unhappy marriage . . the souldiers fortune . . tamerlain the great . . mr. limberham , or the kind keeper . . mistaken husband . . notes on the emperor of morocco , by the wits . . essex and elizabeth , or the unhappy favourite . . vertue betray'd , or anna bullen . . king lear. . abdellazor , or the moor's revenge . . town-fop , or sir tim. tawdry . . rare-en-tout , a french comedy . . moor of venice . . countrey wife . . city politicks . . duke of guise . . rehearsal . . king , and no king. . philaster , or love lies a bleeding . . grateful servant . . strange discovery . . atheist , or the second part of the souldiers fortune . . wit without money . . little thief . . valiant scot. . constantine . . valentinian . . amorous prince , . dutch lovers . . woman bully . . reformation . . hero and leander . . love tricks . . julius caesar. . fatal jealousie . . monsieur ragou . . island queen , or mary queen of scotland . . empress of morrocco . . common-wealth of women . . the noble stranger . . duke of millan . . the knave in grain . . amends for ladies . . mammamouchi . . the emperor of the east . . the wedding . . st. patrick for ireland . . albumazor . . the tragedy of albertus . . royal king. . humerous courtier . . the hollander . . merchant of venice . . false count. . rover , second part. . counterfeits . . troylus and cressida . . spanish fryer . . lucius junius brutus . . brutus of alba. . caius marius . . siege of memphis . . byron's conspiracy . . part. . byron's conspiracy . d . part. . loyal brother . . disappointment . . mackbeth . . rollo , duke of normandy . . the love sick king. . maids tragedy . an elegy on the most reverend father in god, his grace, john, late lord archbishop of canterbury by n. tate ... tate, nahum, - . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing t estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) an elegy on the most reverend father in god, his grace, john, late lord archbishop of canterbury by n. tate ... tate, nahum, - . [ ], p. printed for b. aylmer ..., and w. rogers ..., london : . first edition. reproduction of original in huntington library. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng tillotson, john, - -- poetry. - tcp assigned for keying and markup - apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images - tcp staff (michigan) sampled and proofread - john latta text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion an elegy on the most reverend father in god , his grace , john , late lord archbishop of canterbury . by n. tate , servant to his majesty . london : printed for b. aylmer , at the three pigeons against the royal-exchange in cornhill ; and w. rogers at the sun against st. dunstan's church in fleet-street . mdcxcv . to the reader . t was reverence for so extraordinary a subject , not want of inclination , that so long withheld me from making this attempt : and i could willingly have supprest it , in the consternation that has since befall'n us . but 't is now publish'd in submission to some persons , whose respect for the great deceas'd , inclin'd them to think too favourably of the performance . however , if the picture i have drawn of so great a man be dislik'd , it may oblige some more skilful hand to do right to his memory , for whose character the world has so just a veneration . n. t. licensed , january . / . an elegy on his grace john , late lord archbishop of canterbury . complaints , like ours , in ramah's vale were heard , when samuel's awful reliques were interr'd . like him , by heav'n approv'd , and earth admir'd , our age's greatest prophet is expir'd ! just honours to his sepulchre we 'll pay , but some kind seraph must instruct the way . a garland for his marble we 'll compose of syrian lillies , and the sharon rose : arabia's spice in one rich pile should flame , and gilead's balm , less precious than his name . but when the treasures of the east are spent in pious off'rings at his monument , all rites perform'd that to his urn belong , to whom shall fame entrust the fun'ral song ? the graces speechless to his shrine repair , ev'n art and wit stand silent mourners there ; yet bolder zeal will bands of duty break , and gratitude be priviledg'd to speak . true passion too can inspiration bring , 't was grief first taught the nightingal to sing from his , as from elijah's powerful tomb , ev'n my dead muse shall vital warmth resume . heark ! from on high i hear a seraph say , hence ye unhallow'd , for my charge make way : the crowd retire — a matron streight appears , stars on her head , her face bedew'd with tears , how charming are her looks — tho doubly now opprest with grief and years ! divine * eusebia , tho in sables drest , is still by her angelick mien confest . charm'd with her voice the listning winds repair , while thus her balmy sighs perfume the air. pity me , heaven , for your all-searching eye can only to my grief 's deep centre pry . behold me , once of mothers the most blest , of mourning mothers now the most distrest ! compell'd my temple's glory to resign , my sun extinguish'd , who with rays divine blaz'd out , and taught my younger stars to shine . my pow'rful pan , my ruling pastor's dead , whose pious care my flocks and shepherds fed . when mighty realms enslav'd to error lay , and empires stoop'd to mystick babel's sway , then could i boast , such was my patriarch's care , to shew th' apostate world an apostolick chair . to envy i appeal ( for we may trust envy her self with such religious dust ) , if ever guide with more reluctance took , or menag'd with such skill my ruling crook . a crook , that once committed to his hand , wrought miracles , and bloom'd like aaron's wand . endu'd with power to work my flocks increase , and charm contending shepherds into peace : not wily jacob's mystick arts of old , prevail'd with such success on laban's fold , as his unblemish'd open life , to gain the separating straglers of the plain . matrons abroad , for reformation fam'd , from superstitious vanities reclaim'd , my temple 's ancient honour saw renew'd , and bless'd my stars , and for my friendship su'd . on me these blessings my kind saint conferr'd ; transporting blessings ! — but with him interr'd . with faint delight shall i my vintage press , listless the harvest of his toils possess , bereav'd of him who did my comforts bless . as israel's guide from pisgah's mount withdrew , the desart pass'd , and promis'd land in view ; to such rebated joys my tribes are led , canaan in prospect , but their leader dead ! how short-liv'd was the transport i possest , for which with tears i had so oft addrest ! for this did saints and angels long intreat , and caesar court him to my past'ral seat ? approach my sons , with me approach his shrine ; in one condoling dirge your voices join ; your albion-rocks with these sad accents rend , we have a father lost , mankind a friend . thus mourn'd the matron , and with sighs opprest , his sacred urn embracing , wept the rest. with no less passion britain's state complain'd ; no less the loss that britain's state sustain'd . when threatning danger did the realm surprize , not homer's nestor could , like him , advise . his words , as if inspir'd , impression made , ulysse's skill , without his craft , display'd : his counsels ne'er were varnish'd o'er with art : with policy he still did truth impart ; spoke oracles , — but always spoke his heart . no passive gorgon did his reason charm , to hang dead weights on our restorer's arm : his measures he from sacred sanctions drew , to heav'n and to his countries int'rest , true . hence , by respect to him , her friends were known ; and she discover'd in his foes her own . when first in learning's orb his lustre blaz'd , the world look'd up , transported and amaz'd ; nor less surpriz'd , bewail his beams withdrawn , pensive and hopeless of another dawn . so , pleas'd and wondring , our great parent view'd the first day's sun , and with charm'd eyes pursu'd ; and when from sight the setting lamp withdrew , so he out-wept the night's distilling dew ; in sable shades , grief's vigil kept untir'd , with looks still westward fix'd , where day expir'd . the labyrinths of knowledge he descry'd , with reason like a sibyl for his guide , and with her oracles divinely blest , as happily her dictates he exprest . his pow'rfull style an artfull nature grac't ; expressive words and all with judgment plac't ; hence they , like chosen well-rank'd troops prevail'd , and through the hearer's ear his soul assail'd . his eloquence was neither course nor vain , from arrogance and stiffness did refrain , courtly familiar , and majestick plain . extensive sense he into compass drew , said what was just , and always something new ; that did surprizingly our souls delight , as sov'raign beauty conquers at first sight . he , thus compleatly arm'd for truth 's defence , his pious warfare early did commence . gigantick atheism first his vigour try'd , a daring foe that heaven it self defy'd : ev'n hell at first this monster 's brood disclaim'd , nor one fall'n angel knew for atheism damn'd , but earth , more impious than the realms of night , sent hell a race of fiends that did her furies fright . ah stupid crew ! who reason wou'd employ eternal reason's essence to destroy ! the fable's now to impious practice grown , these sons of earth wou'd heav'ns true jove dethrone . rome's dragon next our champion did engage , the same that dar'd of old th' arch-angel's rage , and flush'd once more with arbitrary pow'r , waited eusebia's off-spring to devour : but , when his torrent-pride did highest swell , confronted by this second michael , fell . and when at last he saw ( as 't was but just , the champion with his rescu'd charge to trust ) eusebia's altars made his guardian-care , with jaws expanded , through the blasted air , belch'd curses , the last refuge of despair . these monsters quell'd , no sphinx or hydra rose , but whom he did with like success oppose . then , as first heroes doubly gain applause , by conquests , and prescribing righteous laws ; thus did our pious guide just precepts give , both how to think aright , and how to live. the cheats of syren vice expos'd to view , and vertue in her native beauty drew : of her bright paths a prospect did display , where smiling peace and harmless pleasures lay ; did straying souls to her enclosure bring , with charming accents , such as halcyons sing , or evening zephyrs when they woo the spring . heav'n he describ'd as 't were his native home , and he an envoy from those regions come . but vertue 's image and the graces , best in his bright mind and practice were exprest . divinely humble in preferment 's height ; nor then disdain'd on needy worth to wait : high station only did his beams extend , but none in his advancement lost a friend . by judgment 's compass ev'ry course he steer'd , and watch'd the signals e'er the storm appear'd : his prudence o'er the syrges did prevail , with ballast still proportion'd to his sail. precipitately ne'er assum'd a trust , to promise slow , but in performance , just. of temper calm , and sanatively cool , as jordan's current , or bethesda's pool : by grace instructed , and by nature mild , nor relisht life but when he reconcil'd : his carriage , words and works , breath'd gospel all ; his very look was evangelicall . his life and aspect did just patterns give what figures angels make , and how they live. th' appearance of his person brought a charm that cou'd at sight contentious rage disarm . so boistrous winds that furiously contend , and sea and air in wild disorder blend , at neptune's presence , o'er the waves display'd , sculk to their caverns , and the storm is layd . to souls opprest with sickness or with grief , his visits , like an angels , brought relief : when wrong'd , repeated pardons did extend ; to suffer resolute , tim'rous to offend . his wond'rous charity no limits knew , but , like heav'ns manna , in the gathering , grew . his bounty ne'er by limbeck-drops distill'd , but in large show'rs the thirsty valleys fill'd . in giving , some express such grutching grief , that want it self repines at the relief ; but he so cheerfully did still impart , that with his alms he seem'd to give his heart . but day , my muse , will from our sphere retreat , e'er we his vertues garland can compleat ; nor all thy fairer sisters that frequent pirene's banks , on that one labour bent , tho' fancy's treasure shou'd be drein'd , can raise the full proportion'd tribute of his praise . sons of mortality , learn'd , pious , wise ; who boast no less than kindred with the skies ; see where entomb'd your great example lies ! well! since his spirit its native skies regains , we 'll celebrate at least its dear remains ; from fate it self we 'll force the sad relief , the mournfull comfort to indulge our grief . permit ye stars , who now his presence boast , earth's wretched sons , to tell what they have lost ! but he who justly will perform this part , must truth consult , no study'd rules of art ; invoke no helicon but jordan's spring , and for his epicede an anthem bring . much less can our unconsecrated verse , his deathless apotheosis rehearse . 't is in a sublunary muse's pow'r , to furnish trophies for a conquerour ; home to his palace from the vanquish'd plain , expanded fancy may the pomp maintain ; but oh ! when vertue 's triumph we would paint , the progress sing of some departing saint , when some elijah must to heav'n be caught , from heav'n the flaming chariot must be brought : in such a flight our pegasus will fire , to mount that wain aloft there must conspire the whirl-winds rapid wings , and steeds of fire . the tishbite's fiercer spirit , when ravisht hence , ( whose ministery in terrors did commence ) with such tempestuous rapture might dispence ; but transport , like our prophet's soul , serene , grac'd his pacifick life's concluding scene ; from earth translated , gently , to the skies , as angels that on flames of incense rise . from high , where gratefull throngs about him press of souls by him directed up to bliss ; his spir't looks down , and sees the past'ral chair supply'd , and made his mild successor's care : ( for heav'n their minds resemblance form'd compleat , like the twin-cherubs of the mercy-seat . ) our altars made so kind a guardian 's charge , does , ev'n in paradise , his joys enlarge ; pleas'd that eusebia does once more rejoyce , once more applaud her pious monarch's choice . finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a -e * the church of england . characters of vertue and vice described in the persons of the wise-man, the valiant man ... attempted in verse from a treatise of the reverend joseph hall, late lord bishop of exeter / by n. tate. tate, nahum, - . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing h estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) characters of vertue and vice described in the persons of the wise-man, the valiant man ... attempted in verse from a treatise of the reverend joseph hall, late lord bishop of exeter / by n. tate. tate, nahum, - . hall, joseph, - . characters of vertues and vices. [ ], p. printed for francis saunders ..., london : . reproduction of original in duke university library. bishop hall's "characters of vertues and vices" was published in . tate here paraphrases of hall's "characters". created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng characters and characteristics. virtue -- early works to . vice -- early works to . - tcp assigned for keying and markup - spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images - tcp staff (michigan) sampled and proofread - john latta text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion characters of vertue and vice . describ'd in the persons of the wise-man , the valiant man , the truly noble , the patient man , the true friend , the hypocrite , the superstitious , the profane , the busy-body , the envious . attempted in verse from a treatise of the reverend ioseph hall , late lord bishop of exeter . by n. tate . london , printed for francis saunders , at the blue-anchor , in the lower walk of the new-exchange , . preface . the representing of vertue and vice in their respective beauties and deformities , is the genuine task of poetry : the true and proper themes of panegyrick and satyr . the giving precepts of morality was originally the employment of the muses , and establish'd their first reputation . few poets have excell'd who merited not the character ascrib'd by horace to homer : qui quid sit pulchrum , quid turpe , quid utile , quid non , pleniùs ac meliùs chrysippo & crantore dicit . it was for useful prescriptions of politie and private life , that orpheus and amphion were celebrated , and the faculty it self reputed sacred : sic honor & nomen divinis vatibus atque carminibus venit . if the virgil's and horace's of our age could have been prevail'd with to have adorn'd the following subjects , it had sav'd my imperfect performance . but i could not refuse the temptation , when it was propos'd to me to proceed upon the hints and groundwork of a treatise written by the ingenious and learned d r hall , bishop of exeter ; by which means my reader would be secure of good sense in the version . if i have added no grains , i hope that , at least , i have lost nothing of the oar in melting it down . the character of some vices will naturally run into humour , requiring instances and expressions that are familiar , and sermoni propiora . in a word , i am sufficiently sensible of my imperfections in this essay , but comfort my self with the hopes that abler performers may be incited , in meer compassion , to rescue such worthy subjects from so ill hands . the man of wisdom . the man that 's wise to know all things aspires , but first the knowledge of himself desires : how far the compass of his strength can go ; but his own weakness studdies most to know . he reasons more by practice than by rule ; his logick's learnt in observation 's school . taught by experience truly to reflect , can first himself and then his friends direct . he ne'er suspends but in a doubtful case ; ne'er doubts where resolution should take place . of ev'ry needful thing just care do's take , but most concern'd for his immortal stake . without that scope counts fruitless each endeavour , nor would be happy once , if not for ever . himself best knowing best himself can trust , others so far as he has prov'd them just. the world may him deceive but ne'er abuse , who trusts no more than he can bear to lose . while close retirement is to him a skreen , himself looks through and sees the world , unseen : yet shews , when forc'd the day-light to abide , prudence , not affectation , made him hide . does never , causeless , from his purpose range , when reason calls , he never fears to change. while th' ablest master he 's allow'd to be , no scholar more dispos'd to learn than he. from ev'ry thing instruction he can draw , and from him each instruction is a law. to ages past his nimble thoughts can climb , in things to come prevent the speed of time. unborn events by past events forestall , and in conjecture be prophetical . his passions he ne'er suffers to rebel , or hastens their first mutiny to quell . by honour's light in all his projects sails , and boards a second when a former fails . makes disappointment but improve his skill , and fetches strength from what succeeded ill . some wrongs he sees not but with silent art , dissembles wounds too pow'rful foes impart . loves to owe less in good turns than he may , for bad wou'd be in debt and never pay . censures , unjust or just , alike to him ; those he deserves not , these he can contemn . slights scandal , lays no violent hands on blame , gives slander scope till it expire with shame . his joy no fears , his hope knows no despairs , safe in the circle of his own affairs . from others strife he timely do's retire , nor thrusts his hand into a needless fire . he best the purchase of his wit can tell , and how to value , keep and use it well . himself his own best lawyer , and his skill , his readiest and most faithful oracle . consulted , he 's in no man's business blind , but in his own of more than eagle-kind . the valiant man. bold without rashness , without fury , warm : he long consults , but do's with speed perform . he seeks not dangers : when on him they press , he bears 'em down with courage and success . arm'd death enthron'd on slaughter he can spy , march on , and with a scornful smile pass by . forecasts the worst events , and in his thought , before one stroke exchang'd , the battle 's fought . if unexpected ills his heart surprize , one minute to disperse 'em will suffice : with instant sally he prevents the blow , and turns amazement back upon the foe . ne'er seen to fly , but from some foul offence , and fears no strength below omnipotence . peace he wou'd chuse , and when the sword he draws , he looks not on his hand but on his cause . nor weighs what succors wait to take his part , how strong his arm , but innocent his heart . o'erpower'd may fall , with numbers vanquisht be , and leave the foe to blush at victory . call'd out by honour to some bold attacque , his hearts blood may be seen , but ne'er his back . on base conditions he disdains to live , and what he asks , would to the vanquish'd give . ne'er known the blood of innocents to shed , on carcases , or suppliant foes to tread ; he 'll rather stifle wrongs he might resent , than take revenge upon the impotent . nor can determine which he 'd rather be , of cowardice impeach'd , or cruelty . his sparing words no room for boast affords , his readiest language is , his hand and sword. by action heard , whose never-ceasing force , keeps every talker furnish'd with discourse . not idlely prodigal of life or blood , but sparing neither for his countrey 's good . while fate does noble means of life supply , he lives ; but those refus'd , can bravely dye . his pow'r ( to which his reason still gives laws , ) it 's right confest , the exercise withdraws . thinks he does then the greatest triumph gain , when he can hurt , yet from revenge abstain . without servility he can obey , and in command no tyranny display . he courts not fortune's smiles , nor fears her hate , nor can she change his mind with his estate . that his high spirit still o'erlooks mischance , springs not from senselesness nor ignorance ; but th' utmost pow'r of fate computing first , he knows her strength , and bids her do her worst . in purpose cool , in resolution fir'd , in enterprizes , daring and untir'd ; glorious , though not successful in design , and when o'ercome , his heart does last resign . the truly noble . advantages of ancestry and birth , he counts but fortune's gift , and borrow'd worth : what he atchieves he only calls renown , and honour purchas'd by himself , his own. if short his glory's estimate be found of what his noble ancestors had crown'd , the bright inheritance but proves his shame ; not rais'd , but burthen'd by descended fame . no greatness makes him scorn or pride express , still higher rais'd he still wou'd seem the less . life from his soul as soon divorc'd may be , as from his manners native courtesy : which for no servile or ambitious end of popular applause he does extend , but from the genuine sweetness of his frame , and noble justice to himself and fame . his hand is open , yet his glory still is govern'd by his fortune not his will. and wisely bounteous can distinguish right , betwixt a friend and fawning parasite . most men their favours sell , exchange , or lend , he only does his kindnesses expend . he wou'd no licence from his greatness gain , and without goodness counts his titles vain . from pow'r no priv'lege claims to be unjust , nor makes prerogative a bawd to lust ; conscience and honour both his actions bind , by eminence to stricter laws confin'd . each vertue has it's ornament and use in his just notion , and no vice excuse . he no man guilty makes to make him great , and ev'n his creatures with respect can treat . oblige , yet not on liberty intrude , or turn dependance into servitude . he seeks no forg'd pretence , without reward an old and worn-out servant to discard : their duty , faith , and diligence to bind the sweetness of his service makes 'em find . for him , no vassals can their toil repent , their industry's not lost , but only lent. the difference 'twixt his wealth and honour , is , that , in receiving stands , in giving , this. he 'll be oblig'd to few ; but does not care how large the number that his favours share . asks who wants most , not who can best repay ; and ne'er repines at favours cast away . can constancy in all estates express , himself a-like to peace and war address . then , most his countreys servant he is found , when she to his command has set no bound . more pleas'd true worship to his god to give , than civil honours from mankind receive . for fame , relies not on the world's applause , but what from heav'n it 's approbation draws . of true nobility conceives this sense , the blood its body only to dispense ; the soul derives from vertue 's eminence . descended honours he reputes to cease , unless his nobler deeds the tale encrease , that glory does admit no careless heir , and not t' improve the stock is to impair . the patient man. the patient man has so much strength attain'd , and o'er himself so large a conquest gain'd , that safe from foreign wrongs he does remain ; they came too late to conquer him again . boldly to suffer , is his valour 's test , he 's most victorious when he 's most opprest . while under mountain-loads himself he rears , of more than humane courage he appears , and is , if rightly we his sufferings scan , 'bove nature rais'd while he seems less than man. his love and charity are ever bent to construe all things with a fair intent . to small and doubtful injuries he 's blind , gross wrongs he 'll think not done , or not design'd ; not meant , or not to him ; if both appear , from malice still his injuries he 'll clear ; he 'll say mis-information caus'd th' offence , and when it cannot bear so mild a sense , call 't rash , and with the hasty fault dispense . patient he is , but yet not tame or base : he wants not courage but abounds in grace . to take revenge for harms , as man he dares ; resents as man , but as a christian spares . he 's god's best witness , and before the bar for truths fair sake , undaunted can appear ; hear unconcern'd the false accuser's voice , receive , and in his unjust doom rejoice . a prison is his palace , and to him pages of honour all his jaylors seem , the dungeon his retiring room he counts , and to the rack as to a throne he mounts ; his torturers worst cruelty disdains , suffers his own , and baffles all their pains . just pity the beholders does inspire , unpitying and remorseless foes , admire . his hopes to no discouragements can yield , they still advance , or keep at least the field . where once the path of kindness he has trod , no obstacles can make him quit the road. if no impression his first favours make , he still redoubles till he wins the stake . can after shipwrack try the sea , and beat at the deaf door he ne'er saw open'd yet . different events alike to him befal , he sees the hand of providence in all. when that protects , he pays his grateful vows , and when it strikes , to just correction bows . can vertue from necessity produce , and with strange , art put evil to good use. in conquest does beyond the warriour go , the surest friend , the latest easiest foe : than others so much happier does appear , as he can more and worse mis-fortunes bear . the true friend . united , yet divided is his breast ; half by himself , all by his friend possest . his choice by sympathy of souls is bred , by worth and vertue , not by int'rest led . he pays affection 'cause the debt is just , and loves because he ought , because he must . contracts with caution , and considers long , but once agreed , no bargain is more strong . he chuses so as he may ne'er complain , like one that never meant to chuse again . and e'er his love can vary one degree , his friend quite alter'd from himself must be : let just occasion his submission move , a servant to his equal he can prove . to serve him condescends with greater joy , than his inferiour's service to employ . advanc'd to pow'r his friendship still is found in it's old garb , familiar , plain , and sound . for his friend's sake with honours he complies , yields to be great to help his friend to rise . his friend expir'd , his self 's but half alive , his friendship only do's his friend survive . death to his love no dissolution brings , it but divides the stream to sundry springs . for now the tender orphans , left too young to know their father's worth , to him belong ; adopted his , the burden of his cares , his heart 's near kin , and his affections heirs . he 's so much stricter , and more nicely just , for having lost the witness of his trust. where honesty or nature can comply , he grants a frank and full community . to friendship 's entrance leaves an open field without reserves , but what were sin to yield . no longer can enjoy that thing whose use he thinks would more to his friend 's good conduce . his charity does still a cloak provide of secrecy , his friend's defects to hide . much by concealment from the publick view , by close reproof more proves his friendship true . and when the watchful kindness of his friend finds just occasion him to reprehend , he thanks his frank chastiser on that score , more loves him as he makes him smart the more . to him as to the closet of his cares , with doubts , complaints , his wellcome friend repairs ; unburdens there the secrets of his mind , leaves all lock'd up , and as he leaves may find . let grief at once his friend and him surround , his sense still quickest for his friend is found ; bleeds in his own , but smarts in his friend's wound . no hour's unseasonable , no pains displease , no cost can grievous seem to give him ease . no envious lookers on can baulk his zeal , but what he does he rather wou'd conceal , best pleas'd when a good office he can steal . favours receiv'd , in memory's book he sets , what he bestow's as zealously forgets . he 's sorrow's comfort , difficulty's guide , the joy of life , earth's treasure , and its pride ; an angel cloath'd in flesh , and near to god ally'd . the end of the characters on vertue . the hypocrite . the hypocrite to sadness can convert his looks , while mirth is rev'lling in his heart , then jugler-like with pleasure does retreat , to think how smoothly he has pass'd the cheat. how with false stamps of vertue on his face , the miscreant passes for a babe of grace . with early patience waits at the church door , and e'er half enter'd he salutes the floor , but still observing with a transvers'd eye , what passenger does his devotion spy . if cognizance to take he none perceives , ftets inward , and at his lost labour grieves . looks round with admiration on the crowd ; of frozen charity complains aloud . takes care to have his pew plac'd best in sight , in hast plucks forth his tables as to write some sermon-note , mean while does only scrawl , forgotten errands there , or nought at all : then with a noise whisks his boss'd bible o'er , where he for some quotation seems to pore ; and glancing from one chapter to a next , folds down the leaf as he had found the text. enquires the preacher's name , stays last i' th' church , to con him thanks , and waits him to the porch . when of his youth he speaks , his tears flow fast ; not for his youth's sins , but because 't is past. his lesser vices frankly are confest , all but the reigning belial of his breast . gives publick alms , and those but when he must , nor without witness god himself will trust . with usuries , superfluity he gilds extortion , and an hospital he builds . and thinks th' injustice largely is repaid , to keep ten beggars for ten thousand made . from flesh on friday with a greater dread he does abstain than from his neighbour's bed. to swear by god's name rather will allow , than at the name of jesus not to bow. to him when fustian poet reads his stuff , he begs a copy , cryes 't is censure-proof . finds nothing that 's amiss while th' authour stays , and nothing , when the fop's withdrawn , to praise . by his step-mothers sick-bed he can weep , wish her sound rest , that is , eternal sleep . i' th' street he greets his friend with chearful eyes , and hugging close , when will you come ? he cries . but curses him in 's heart if he complies . small fare affords , yet ev'n that small does grutch , close-frowning on his wife , that 't is so much . for what he seems and says , he well might pass , himself 's the very worst thing that he has . his neighbours nuissance , and the strangers saint ; or in a word , his character to paint , angel abroad , at home a spirit evil , and when an angel worse than when a devil . the superstitious . what monster , superstition , is like thee , thou godless zeal , devout impiety . the superstitious wight is folly's heir , fond in observance , servile in his fear . he worships god but as he lists ; in what is not requir'd , he 'll supererogate . give more , give all , except what god demands , and makes more duties than the ten commands . till cross'd and sprinkl'd dares not stir abroad , comes back if but a hare run thwart his road. if he but trips at door , or on his way , but recollects it was no lucky day of setting out , ( though all 's estate depend ) turns back in sight of his long journey 's end. if salt fall tow'rds him he looks pale and red , stares as the house were tumbling on his head. nor can recover breath till that mis-hap be purg'd by shedding wine into his lap. if he but sneeze , his eyes around he sends , thinks them who don 't uncover , not his friends . to judge the weather walks betimes abroad , and hearks if even the crow cry , or odd. if but a raven croak in dead of night , he makes his will as he had heard a spright . or if a dream shall in his brains ferment , a garden , or departed friend present ; his senses are into confusion hurl'd , bespeaks his coffin , and takes leave o' th' world. on such days only he 'll set out by water , nor for the world without his erra pater . st. paul's day for his oracle does take , and swythin's is his surest almanack . no sin afflicts him on his dying bed , but having once of flesh on friday fed . he thinks the rest can no repentance need , and no repentance can for that succeed . his dreams , for sure predictions must avail , and if th' event his exposition fail ; his wits are then on new solutions bent , and he expounds according to th' event . old wives and stars are all his councellors , for recipe's 'gainst sickness , charms he wears ; for tooth-ach paracelsian characters . impossibilities the credulous elf calls miracles , and streins to cheat himself . let him but hear that in a distant soil , some sacred block does speak , move , weep , or smile ; he bare-foot hies his off'ring there to pay , and if a danger miss him in the way ; if he but scape the muting of a crow , the timber-saint a miracle did show . some roads he baulks , for goblins there he feigns , each lanthorn's will o' th' wisp , and ev'ry noise of chains . his custom ( for what cause he ne'er cou'd know ) is , with some little compass still to go ; here to pass nimbly , there to make a stand , and ever leave the cross on his right hand . his method has no reason ; yet no force threats nor entreaties make him change his course . if he have thum'd his beads , and pray'd his tale , he 's safe enough ; it matters not for zeal . and lastly , with respect to heav'n , might he the carver of his own obedience be , god never cou'd a better servant have , but , as he is , has no perverser slave . the profane . in mad extreams the superstitious own too many gods , but the profane has none : unless himself his deity he make , and for his fanci'd heaven , the world does take . he breaths and moves , but to religion dead , all sense of fear , of love , or care is fled . his heart without impression does remain , tir'd conscience there repeats her strokes in vain . custom of sin this senselessness has wrought , inur'd , and to the anvils hardness brought . long rooted vice admits of no redress , he pleads prescription now for wickedness . ( by slow ascents these impious heights we gain , are sinful born , but make our selves profane : ) through carelessness his vicious course begins , he sins at last , and knows not that he sins . reason too late her counsel wou'd afford ; she 's now his slave , and appetite his lord. sense is his only creed ; if so it chance , that piety his int'rest may advance ; a cloak of sanctity he can provide , and what he counterfeits at once deride . does sacrifice to 's nets : when projects hit , he either thanks his fortune , or his wit ; but providence must nought have there to do , he 'll rather make false gods than own the true. when ought miscarries , destinies to blame , on heav'ns unkindness he does then exclaim . reviles the pow'r , to whose indulgent sway he wou'd not be beholden if he may . oft-times his conscience fain with him wou'd speak , he sets the day , but does th' appointment break . and when aloud she does for audience cry , he drowns the noise with rev'ling company . god's name does never but in oaths express , and never thinks of him but in distress : and then his thoughts in dark confusion sink , cause he but then begins of him to think . his maker he 'll accuse himself to free , and charges all his guilt on god's decree . ingratefully thinks his condition hard , to be from pleasures poyson'd sweets debarr'd . does goodness , minstrel-like , for sport bring forth , and sacred things are still his choicest mirth . to mimickry turns grace , and vertue 's rules , and best diverted with religion's fools . a slander for each vertue can invent , and in false colours ev'ry vice present . he boasts of his young sins , and past offence , with cold remembrance feeds his impotence . enormous crimes the libertine has wrought , ambitious , yet more wicked to be thought . a lewder than himself can grieve to see , and in damnation grudge precedency . hell does in him less fear than death create , as being sure of this , and doubting that . to th' church as to a theater resort , for custom , company , for sleep , or sport. self-love is all he ever understood , nor that enough to seek his own true good. he breaks through gratitude and friendship 's ties , nor cares on whom he treads , so he may rise . his life does one licentious practice seem , and ev'ry vice its centre has in him. god's hatred , and his curse ; a mass of evil , in body only diff'ring from a devil . the busy-body . his own estate 's too narrow for his mind , and room in other men's affairs he 'll find . in friend and strangers business he will move , and ever with the same pretence of love. no news can pass his door , and , good or ill , he cannot know the thing he does not tell . he knows the rates of traffique to a hair , what forces the confederates can prepare , how swedeland , and how denmark will declare . though trav'ling on affairs of life and death , he 'll stop the post , and talk him out of breath . and if his humour , or his hast refuse , ride back with him , and piece-meal catch the news . and if through speed th' intelligence does fail , his wit supplies , and makes a perfect tale. then woe to the next man that he comes near , blow , rain , or lighten , he must stay to hear ; and hear him out , while in a tedious round , the listner and himself he does confound . disjointedly each sentence does express , with long successions of parentheses . retrencht , to let his stream of matter run , but vows to fill 'em up e'er he has done . if two together in the street he views discoursing closely , he concludes strange news . but if a letter be produc'd , he 's charm'd , and of the secret begs to be inform'd . deny'd , it serves his turn almost as well , if him of wonders they 'll permit to tell . then with a scotish mine he does begin , of a whole shoal of whales come up at linn . thank him , a thousand times your thanks repeat , all 's one , his tongue it 's larum must compleat . you 'll name no undertaking which he 'll baulk , but all concludes , where it commenc'd , in talk. he 'll teach another what himself ne'er knew , and be a guide in ways he ne'er pass'd through . look in at 's neighbour's window , and demand the reason why his servants idle stand . call'd to another's table , 't is his way to slander some third person , and convey the tale to him that 's wrong'd , whom having sworn to secrecy , with speed he does return to his first host , and this dark practice ply , till both are set on fire they know not why . his ears are quick , and no less quick his eyes , to imperfections these , and those to lyes . he stops another's servant , takes him in , treats him , and does his master's health begin ; thence slily falls to ask of his affairs , what sort of company t' his house repairs ; what is their usual fare , and what discourse passes at meals . thus does th' extorter force ; but , soon as drein'd , the guest his leave must take , and room for fresh intelligencers make . this man thinks constancy a dull disgrace , and still is shifting of his work and place ; but of no place can half so weary seem , or half so soon , as is the place of him. in each acquaintance he has got a foe , for not to hate him you must him not know . he toils unthank'd , he talks without belief , living has no man's love , dead , no man's grief ; unless by chance the last defect's supply'd , and some may grieve that he no sooner dy'd . the envious . the envious feeds upon his neighbours ills , and no disease , but others wellfare , feels . god's benefits perversly does destroy ; with company no blessing can enjoy . wou'd rather have superiours in distress , than equals in a common happiness . he 's an ill prizer of his neighbour's store , and yet , his own computing , he errs more : on neither the just value will bestow , for , that he rates too high , and this too low. he asks in what repute his equals live ; about his betters more inquisitive . if just report his envious search defeat , in closer terms his question he 'll repeat . and when his spight can fasten on no flaw , his snakes turn back his own rank heart to gnaw . with god he quarrels , if his neighbour's field with better tillage , fairer grain does yield . for one chance-blight he murmurs and inveys , for ten successive crops no thanks repays . whom openly he dares not to traduce , with short or over-praise he will abuse . allows his rival all things but his right , and most in commendation shews his spight . if courteous his competitor appear , he 's then inveigling , crafty , popular . if bountiful , a faction is design'd , to which with bribes he does his clients bind . and if in war his rival has success , he 's so much more a dang'rous man in peace . by industry in wealth , or power grown strong , he 's hoarding up of means for future wrong . thus does the envious man distort and force true worth , and turn each vertue to a curse . in his religion policy still lurks , and by submission his ambition works . no law , that had the publick good enclos'd , can pass , because by him not first propos'd . not his own int'rest for that time he weighs , but suffers , to defraud another's praise . if evil of his rival , fame report , he cryes she 's partial , and of truth comes short . what prejudice relates , as being worst , in his recital he still mentions first : knowing that gentler truth too slowly treads , and that the first ill rumour farthest spreads . he 'll stab i' th' dark , and then with pitying voice bemoan the fate that makes his heart rejoice . of his ill deeds his nature is the cause , the good he acts is only for applause . and that which cannot to his share befal to do , he still takes care no other shall . of his best skill he just enough will show , to let the world perceive what he does know ; his med'cine's sov'raign use he will reveal , the art to make 't , does ev'n in death conceal ; pleas'd that he can a prize from mankind steal . god's blessings , if beside himself they fall , his curses prove , and make him burst with gall. yet after all there 's none can grudge the elf his diet , for the miscreant eats himself . to turn a devil he waits but his life's end , till then a carcase quicken'd by a fiend . finis . the life of alexander the great , written in latin by quintus curtius , translated into english by several hands , and now dedicated to the queen . by n. tate . the prologue to the last new play, a duke and no duke spoken by mr. jevon. duffett, thomas. approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing d estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : , : or : ) the prologue to the last new play, a duke and no duke spoken by mr. jevon. duffett, thomas. cokain, aston, sir, - . duke and no duke. tate, nahum, - . jevon, thomas, - . haines, joseph, d. . sheet ( p.) printed by geo. croom ..., london : . attributed by wing to both thomas duffet (d ) and nahum tate (t ). attributed by nuc pre- imprints to thomas duffet. item at reel : identified as wing t (number cancelled). includes "the epilogue, spoken by mr. haines." imprint from colophon. reproduction of originals in the huntington library and the british library. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng - tcp assigned for keying and markup - aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images - jonathan blaney sampled and proofread - jonathan blaney text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the prologue to the last new play a duke and no duke . spoken by mr. jevon . gallants , who would have thought to have seen so many here , at such a rambling season of the year ; and what 's more strange ? all well and sound to the eye , pray gentlemen forgive me if i lye. i thought this season to have turn'd physician , but now i see small hopes in that condition : yet how if i should hire a black flower'd jump , and plye at islington , doctor to sadlers pump . but first let me consult old erra pater , and see what he advises in the matter . let 's see — venus and mars , i find in aries are , in the ninth house . a damn'd dry bobbing year . the price of mutton , will run high 't is thought , and vizard masks will fall to ten a groat . the moon 's in scorpio's house or capricorns , friends of the city govern well your hornes : your wives will have a mighty trade this quarter , i find they 'll never leave their natural charter . for once take my advice as a true friend , when they a walk to the new wells pretend , if you l avoid your sail , quick hasten after , they use more wayes to cool , than drinking water . the epilogue , spoken by mr. haines . trapolin , suppos'd a duke , in this place shows strange matters may depend on meer suppose . one may suppose masks chast lov'd nonsense witty , no flattery at court , nor whig i' th' city 〈◊〉 am by one i' th' world supposed pretty . fantasie digested unto storms supposes , whereas you see no lillies grow nor roses , ●o masks for beauty pass that want their noses . the reverend cityzen , sixty and above , that by poor inch of candle buys his love , supposes that his son and heir he got , but wife could tell that she supposes not . the trees by rosamonds pond , her sins have known , and tell-tale leaves , still stick upon the gown : whil'st the dull sot , whilst he 's a cuckold made , supposes she's at church praying for trade . the country squire newly come to town , by parents doom'd to a lawyers daggl'd gown . supposes some bright angel he has gotten in our lewd gallary , till proving rotten : his study soon he leaves for sweating tubs , and cook and littlton , for doctor hobs. nor had dull cit sent spouse to drink the waters , so found her helping to us sons and daughters . had he suppos'd when e're her belly swells , there must be something in 't besides the wells . ther 's no man there had married i 'me afraid , had he not first suppos'd his wife a maid : for 't is opinion must our peace secure , for no experiment can do 't i 'me sure . in paths of love no foot-steps e're were trac'd , all we can do is to suppose her chast ; for women are of that deep subtile kind , the more we dive to know , the less we find . ah ladies ! what strange fate still rules us men ? for whil'st we wisely would escape the gin , a kind suppose still draws the wedlock in : in all affairs 't is so , the lawyers baul , and with damn'd noise and nonsense fill the hall. supposing after seven years being a drudge , 't will be his fortune to be made a judge . the parson too that prays against ill weathers that thumps the cushion till he leaves no feathers . wou'd let his flock i fear grow very lean , without suppose at least of being a dean . all things are helpt out by suppose , but wit that we cannot now suppose to get . unless a kind suppose your minds possess , for on that charm depends our play 's success . then tho you like it not , sirs don't disclose it , but if you think it bad , pray good suppose it . london , printed by geo. croom , in th●mes-street , over against baynard 's castle , . a pastoral dialogue a poem. tate, nahum, - . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing t a estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) a pastoral dialogue a poem. tate, nahum, - . [ ], p. printed for richard baldwin, london : . attributed to n. tate--nuc pre- imprints. a later edition is entitled a poem occasioned by the late discontents and disturbances in the state. reproduction of original in the harvard university library. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng - tcp assigned for keying and markup - apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images - tcp staff (michigan) sampled and proofread - kirk davis text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a pastoral dialogue . a poem . — — liberius si dixero quid , si forte jocosius , hoc mihi juris cum veniâ dabis . hor. vincit amor patriae . virg. london : printed for richard baldwin , near the oxford-arms in warwick-lane . mdcxc . preface . i could heartily have wish'd there had been no occasion offer'd , or subject-matter for an essay of this kind . after so happy and wonderful a revolution as we have seen , when our hopes were grown desperate , and our liberty reduc'd to its very last gasp , to have the only remedy in nature so effectually apply'd , so miraculous a recovery perform'd ; after all this , to find english-men , and such as pretend to no other interest or religion but that of their country ; to findthem expressing dissatisfaction , every-where busie in sowing dissention , obstructing , as far as in them lies , the progress of affairs , and unhinging the present settlement ( upon which alone depends the safety of these nations , and common quiet of europe ) ; this is so just a cause of indignation , as must make every lover of his countrey to turn satyrist , or , at least , excuse the honest zeal of such as upon this occasion express their resentments . to be unconcern'd for a man's country , is theworstwant of natural affection : a crime reputed so heinous amongst the more generous heathens , that it divested the indulgent brutus of all compassion on his sons , whom he submitted to the extremity of punishment , for making commotions in the new settlement of the roman liberty . — gnatosque pater nova bella moventes in paenam dulci pro libertate vocabit . in tracing the occasions of the late disturbances and discontents of the state , i was unwillingly brought within the verge of the church . there is no man that has a greater veneration for the sacred function and order , or the discipline and worship by law establish'd ; neither does the passive principle it self , that has so nearly endanger'd the shipwreck both of state and church , derive its source from the pure fountain of our reformation : 't was a new-sprouted tail of the dragon , that swept many of our stars , tho but few of the first magnitude ; most whereof recover'd themselves as soon as they were sensible of the consequence , * for my own part ( says one ) i am so little asham'd of altering my opinion in this matter , that i think i have nothing to blush for , but that i no sooner discover'd my error , and the ungrateful and odious use that was design'd to be made of it . the number is but small of such as still adhere to the prejudice of their education under a government , whose bufiness it was to debauch our principles , and dispose us for the slavery that was to be brought upon us . what i have touch'd concerning penal impositions on conscience , and the nicene assembly , ( amongst whom were many persons that preserv'd the primitive character ) , i must for the consequence refer you to the testimony of church-historians ; inftancing only one passage in st. hilary , who gives us this account : conscii sumus quod post nicaenam synodum nihil aliud quam fidem scribimus , dum in verbis pugna est , dum de novitatibus quaestio est , dum de ambiguis occasio est , dum de authoribus querela est , dum de studiis certamen est , dum in consensu difficultas est , dum alter alteri anathema esse caepit prope jam nemo christi est , &c. tandem eo processum est ut neque penes nos , neque penes quenquam , ante nos sanctum exinde aliquid perseveret ; annuas atque menstruas de deo fides decernimus , decretis paenitemus , paenitentes defendimus , defensos anathematizamus , aut in nostris aliena , aut aliena in nostris damnamus , & mordentes invicem , jam absumpti sumus ab invicem . i cannot bètter make my apology , than in the words of a late writer upon this occasion , who says , it is not their declaring their opinion ( wherein they seem to me to have light upon the truth , if they had likewise upon the measure ) that could have moved me to speak with this liberty , but their imposing what was not contain'd in express words of scripture , under spiritual and civil penalties , contrary to the privilege of religion , and making a precedent , follow'd and improv'd by all succeeding ages , for most cruel perfecutions . there is no person so obscure or inconfiderable , but might have observed our most zealous protestants , both church-men and dissenters , to have been all along properties to the common enemy ; so visible have been the triumphs and insultings of roman emissaries upon the animosities they have sown amongst us , and of which they reckon'd shortly to reap the harvest . the unreasonableness ( that is to say , the impossibility ) of force in matters of meer conscience and opinion , has demonstrated it self through all ages . our dissenters have had their faults , and they have suffer'd : neither is it the least blessing amongst those great and many that seem to be reserv'd for his present majesty's reign , that we do not yet despair of a comprehension . his majesty has , with more than constantine's piety , signaliz'd his royal inclination ; the ablest of our spiritual guides are zealous endeavourers for it : and that ( amongst other weighty reasons ) for the true interest and inviolable security of the church establish'd : which , as it influences the publick happiness , it is the duty of ev'n the meanest lay-man to be sollicitous for it . and this privilege , at least , i may plead for what i have said ; for common quiet is mankinds concern . relig. lai . now as to your censure of this essay as a poem , i have that indifference which is necessary for an ill writer . if it have the least degree of art or beauty , the judicious will not miss of it : otherwise , i have seldom known a reader barangu'd into a favourable opinion against his conscience . the nature of the dialogue oblig'd me for the most part to expressions that were familiar , and sermoni propiora . you will find it but praeliminary to a more agreeable subject , if any pitch of zeal can warrant so mean a talent in the faculty as mine , for the undertaking . a pastoral dialogue . a poem . near isis spring , the muses poor retreat , palaemon dwelt in his unenvied seat ; whose little , but hereditary soil , answer'd his mod'rate hopes , if not his toil , for nature's wants did modestly provide , content and innocence the rest supply'd . his years declin'd , his thoughts their manly fire preserv'd , advancing as his days retire . none better knew or practis'd in his cell the chast delights that in retirement dwell , that scorn the golden mansions of the proud , and fly the haunts of the unhallow'd crowd ; betimes he shunn'd the beaten roads of strife , and found the secret track to peaceful life . too blest , if while his private cares did cease no fears had seiz'd him for his countrey 's peace ; so strong the guard of vertues which he chose , fate had no other way to his repose . religion he , and loyalty , held dear ; bigot in neither , tho in both sincere , in ev'ry course by truth and sense did steer : did gen'rously his rules for practice draw from sacred writ , and uncorrupted law. of church and court th' encroachments did survey ; in priests and states-men found the same foul play ; both functions saw alike by int'rest sway'd , both grown a cheat , for both were grown a trade . philander , whom the muses charms had mov'd , by learn'd palaemon's rules his vein improv'd , and next the muses his palaemon lov'd . his awful steps with rev'rend distance trac'd , silence and sacred poverty embrac'd . his sole ambition to compose some lay that might to britain's pollio force its way , from his sharp-judging patron gain a smile , and of an hour the waiting state beguile . in this alone he wrong'd the publick-weal , for which no swain confest a warmer zeal . opprest with thought , one ev'ning he repairs with his palaemon to concert his cares : just then returning from his ev'ning's round ( his farm's short bounds ) the good old swain he found , who in his arms brought home a new-ean'd lamb , a firstling , but forsaken by its dam. the youth with that unkindly omen struck , to vent his pensive thoughts occasion took , and thus began — philander . — — the same disorder reigns amongst our flocks that has possest our swains , perversly both to their own hopes unkind , expose their tender comforts to the wind : but lately 't was that ev'ry shepherd sung , while with the gen'ral glee the valleys rung , as nature had renew'd , and fresh creation sprung ; each muse to the restorer tun'd her lyre , their only and almost despair'd desire . they sung , how in his belgick-seat he lay , silent as night , but watchful as the day ; his sure , but secret councils did advance to check the progress of encroaching france , while belgia did the tyrants summons wait , and britain from the continent disjoin'd , no safety in her seas embrace could find , not britain knew to shun the common fate . to bondage sold , despairing to be freed the servile contract her own act and deed. her roman masters at their conquest smile , secure in hopes , they cantle out the isle . palaemon , you must needs remember well that ruthful season which you could foretel , to unbelievers preacht , who mourn'd too late their trojan fathers folly , and their fate . if just disdain will suffer , call to mind how in that pensive time our swains at their own handy-work repin'd , and curs'd their tillage to new lords assign'd ; wish'd blight and mildews on their gen'rous soil , e're lubber-priests shou'd batten on the spoil , and consecrated sloth devour their toil. by husbandmen of yore forwarn'd the harm ; no caterpillars like a sacred swarm . the vile remembrance we can scarce support , how vermin to our palace did resort , and nations purg'd their scum into our court. the rogue was qualify'd for magistrate , tribunals then were shambles of the state. we suffer'd much , and fear suggested more , till ruine should o'rewhelm our fenceless shore , we heard the near advancing billows roar. with ev'ry gust th' impetuous tide came on , our sluces open'd , and our moundings gone , when tyranny with sword high-brandish'd stood , and zeal , the worst of fiends , for soeming good , the monster now confest with darted claws , and lick'd for thirst of blood her frothy jaws . 't was then fame's voice did first our coasts surprize , ( a voice like that shall bid the dead to rise ) that brave nassaw approach'd to our relief : with joy as speechless as our former grief the tidings we receiv'd , with early eyes , preventing day , we watch'd the eastern skies : at last the hero came , the long expected guest , as from a present deity the conscious monsters fly , the specters vanish'd , and the land had rest. palÆmon. unparallel'd in story was the change ! but nothing , where such vertue works , is strange . philander . then tell me , good palaemon , whence this cloud of discontent , that do's our morning shroud ? can we so soon grow sick of happiness , so soon suspect the blessings we possess ? the reasons of this stupid change relate , our fault or lott , our folly or our fate . palÆmon. too soon we slept , and let the watchful foe , before our wheat was sprung , his darnel sow . philander . a disappointed foe you cannot blame , at once by int'rest urg'd revenge and shame . think not a losing gamester will be fair , who at his best ne're play'd upon the square . palÆmon. rome's frauds are now of such an ancient date , the harlot pleads her priviledg to cheat . her holy panders too you must forgive , who keep her trading up , by which they live . the ghostly pimps must starve , or else combine for her support , the state to undermine . necessity sways here with some pretence , to right divine — at least to common sense : but who that unintelligible wight can e're decipher , call'd a jacobite ? ( the appellation he with pride do's claim , nor will i grutch him the auspicious name ) how shall we him define , who ne're could find the sentiments of his own wayward mind ? foe to his own , and to his country's ease , and whom no colour of affairs can please : for , trust him with the pow'r he do's aspire , with mad career he drives into the mire ; while grov'ling there , in woful plight he lies , he wearies earth and heav'n with restless cries . assist the wretch , and place him on firm land , he 'll curse the friendly unexpected hand . philander . how dismal were your state , ye murm'ring race , shou'd your own fatal wishes once take place ? but heav'n , and god-like kings , their grace extend , and ev'n to save th' ingrateful , condescend . palÆmon. ah! what can heav'n , and god-like kings devise , for their relief ? what charm unseal their eyes , whom common danger warns not to be wise ? philander . yet , good palaemon , lest the plague encrease , mark out and brand the troublers of our peace . palÆmon. the faction a meer hydra you will find , whose different aspects to one trunk are join'd , of humane form , but all of serpent-kind . some hiss and murmur , whom no schemes of law can please , but what their own wild notions draw ; nor would ev'n these content the changlings long . others by sympathy affect the wrong , to errour by impulse of nature led , like dungeon toads on poys'nous vapours fed , 'mongst caitiffs , who had sold for stated sums their country , summon'd now to hasty dooms . they who had longest trusted , most repin'd , discarded knaves , to want and shame consign'd , the drudg'ry past , their dear arreans behind . for envy some revile , who wanted heart in the bold scene to bear a timely part. some who nor prince nor providence dare trust , cautious how they too soon the foe disgust , decry the cause , of present grace assur'd , and wisely for another turn secur'd . some sleepy sotts , born swiftly down the stream , wake , stare , and think the wondrous change a dream . some who had lent their helping-hand , recoil ; for want of business , their own work they spoil ; fall off , as they came on , they knew not why ; start any game , and they 'll pursue the cry. mistaken politicks did some incense ; and some found fault for honest want of sense ; the frailer souls ( for when were women wise ? ) give ear to murm'ring fiends suggested lyes , fair gloz'd to cheat 'em of their paradise . philander . but man methinks his reason shou'd recal , not let frail woman work his second fall. palÆmon. the sex to censure were unjust and rude ; the foe has few to boast beside the lewd . to spiritual whore-mongers let whores be kind , their carnal harlotry were too confin'd , without the fornication of the mind . rank next the giddy thoughtless lawless rout , the atheist , and mistakenly devout ; bigots whose cross-grain'd piety loose-rid , starts , flounces , kicks — tame asses when by tyrants th' are bestrid . philander . ah! when did mischief in the state begin , where conscience did not for her share come in ? palÆmon. mark the whole chain of publick woes , you 'll find the last link still to the priest's girdle join'd . pan prosper me , as i the function hold most sacred , and the watchmen of the fold ; but hate the shepherds who their labour spare , to hirelings leave their flocks , their only care to call at sheering-time for an ungodly share : fleece-warm , and with an amaryllis sped , they pipe and feast , and jocund measures tread , while their lean sheep look up , and are not fed . nor care which way , make but the stipend large , through door or breach they climb into the charge . profit with them is grace's loudest call ; preferment 's sacred , let the blessing fall from a court-mistress , or a priest of baal . philander . from hence , from this corrupted fountain's head , the poyson'd stream of passive nonsense spread : divines of fortune , to deserve their pay from court , the people to the prince betray ; with fire and lough-bells for his service set , to awe the partridge , while he spreads his net ; to honest self-defence damnation give , and ring their constant peal , prerogative . palÆmon. while elder chanticleers , and more inspir'd , to sound the spiritual watch alone aspir'd , our young and dapper brood of forward chicks no sooner perch , but scream out politicks . grown parish-cocks , each in his barn can crow against tame fowl , but cravens to the foe ; plump , richly-plum'd , and of the treading strain , they strut amongst their hens , and spread their pompous train . philander . ah! had the passive systeme no support , beside the cock'ril-clergy of the court ? the church long since had lent the cause her hand , but awful names , and such as bore command , too far , too long indulg'd the sickly dream ; peace springs ; but while reserv'd those leaders seem , the herd gaze on , and dare not taste the stream . palÆmon. enough : if great examples may prevail , our brightest stars have scap'd the dragon's tail ; have own'd heav'ns cause , and took their michael's part , nor e'r from free-born truth 's defence did start ; whose sense no gorgons , no chimaera's charm , to hang dead weights on their restorer's arm ; who ne'r to slavish principles gave way , that would religion , church and state betray : from ancient sanctions still their measures drew ; and , tho they soar'd not with the modern crew , eusebia ne'r cou'd boast of sons more true. in this bright list let that learn'd champion come , eusebia's glory , and the scourge of rome ; whose piercing wit to all her frauds gave light , the deep-engender'd births of papal night . the fiends , who long secure in darkness lay , shrunk from his beams , and yell'd at sight of day . of num'rous champions can eusebia boast ; but this the leader of the sacred host. philander . yet equal praise to that learn'd pastor give , of modern skill , and meekness primitive ; but bold in fight , with arguments concise , he lightens in the eyes of rome and vice : with wonder men , with triumph angels see his blameless life , from pride and passion free ; no priest more frank the ghostly counsel gives ; no lay-man with more lib'ral hand relieves ; unpractis'd in the worldly shepherds guile , his life 's whole business is to reconcile ; his very aspect breaths an air of grace so mild , he carries gospel in his face . palÆmon. how shall eusebia then her self excuse , whose builders cou'd this corner-stone refuse ? philander . yet ev'n th'unjust repulse his worth confess'd , rejected by the many , not the best . palÆmon. ah! without envy let the truth be told , such as ne'r knew the shepherds staff to hold fear'd moderation wou'd set ope the fold . philander . oft have i found , while i my sheep did guide to pastures sweet , the friendly gate set wide , they freely enter'd , and my crook obey'd ; but still of narrow inlets were afraid ; or if a bridge too streight they spy'd afore , wou'd rather take the stream , than venture o'r . but say , what prejudice had thence ensu'd , had they receiv'd the separate multitude ? was ever shepherd yet a foe to peace , or e'r repin'd to see his flock increase ? palÆmon. the fold set ope , had gain'd more sheep , 't is true , but had withal receiv'd more shepherds too , who with new stewards diligence at first ( if not for conscience-sake ) their flocks had nurs'd ; our loiterers from hence foresaw their doom , when none but painful pastors cou'd have room . this made 'em rave like men on ruin's brink , and cry , the deluge comes , stop ev'ry chink , shut fast the door , or else the ark will sink . to lose one useless peg did shipwreck seem , and ev'ry rotten rafter was a beam. philander . let question'd beauties owe their charms to dress , eusebia's frame does all that 's fair possess ; too gawdy tire but makes a matron scorn'd , let mild eusebia shine a firmament by her own stars adorn'd . palÆmon. yet meteors to the firmament may rise , and comets pestilent invade the skies ; 't was so of old . — their influence in first ages did appear . bright and untroubled shone the church's sphere , till sons of vengeance got th'ascendent there . in petty factions first her stars engag'd , till war broke out , and persecution rag'd . this pest , by constantine's warm summer bred , at once through all th' infected clergy spread . the bloody paths had long in vain been trod , till heathen princes , tir'd , threw down the rod ; ambitious priests the utensil to burn thought pity , till themselves had took their turn , and persecuting by more dextrous rules , prov'd maximine and dioclesian fools . 't was rooting up god's heritage before , while magistrates the iron scepter bore : in them the exercise , tho more severe , was discipline , and ecclesiastick care. philander . for church or state on conscience to impose , must wider make the breach they think to close : and he that fetters wou'd for reason find , may shackle the sun-beams , and grasp the wind , which no restraints of human laws will know , but where and when they please will shine or blow . but truth should bind ; and your opinion's true , and erring judgments should submit to you , i grant . — but first you must convince by reason's light , that they mistake , and you are in the right : where you mistake , and they the truth may hit , will you to your own rule of force submit ? you 'll plead the privilege they urg'd before , conviction crave , and they demand no more . conviction clear the soul can only win ; with club or hammer try to force the pin , the brains you may beat out , ne'r drive the notion in , absurd the zeal that gospel's pow'r promotes 'gainst gospel laws , and peace by cutting throats ; that faith to plant does charity disband , and break for doubtful truths a clear command . since first this pest the christian world annoy'd , since persecuting pow'r the church enjoy'd , zeal marr'd religion , creeds the faith destroy'd . palÆmon. where rome bears sway , bid laws divine farewell , and human rights t'assert , is to rebel . speak , suffering witness , i appeal to thee , thou first apostle of our liberty , condemn'd to stripes . thy crime ? thou didst presum to write 'gainst arbitrary pow'r and rome ; didst inferences of strange treason draw , and say , 't was legal to defend the law. thy envious foes no other crimes could urge , and to confute thy pen , produc'd the scourge . philander . you mention'd constantine , in whose mild reign the harass'd church did first her freedom gain , when priests secure to bishopricks aspir'd , without first-fruits of martyrdom requir'd : tell me , how then could cruelty intrude ? how came the persecuting plague renew'd ? palÆmon. lust , riot , avarice , ambition , strife , are bastard-off-springs of too peaceful life . with nice disputes the wanton priests began , to envy next , and wild confusion ran ; wou'd mysteries too curiously enquire , that first rais'd smoke , then set the church on fire . from brangling arrius the first fire-brand came . philander . but constantine took care to quench the flame . palÆmon. the nicene fathers , summon'd to decide the strife , instead of lenitives apply'd , too late convinc'd th'indulgent emperour how fatal 't was to trust a priest with pow'r . philander . the pious prince , to do th' assembly grace , refus'd ( i 've heard ) himself to take his place 'till they were sat . — 't was favour ill apply'd , if such behaviour taught the doctors pride . palÆmon. then having , as a christian monarch ought , first burnt th'invectives which the fathers brought against each other , and for union press'd , thus to the council he himself address'd : god made you priests , and god alone can be your judge ; rest therefore from my censure free ; no man shou'd judge of gods , and you are gods to me. philander . when princes yield , the prelate must prevail . palÆmon. when e'r did priest to take advantage fail ? forthwith church-censures flew as thick as hail : the arrian systeme to just flames assign'd , and nicene creed with penalties enjoyn'd . they fix'd not here ; but for each trifling cause the mettal try'd of their new penal laws . think how each victor went triumphant home , with titles swell'd too bulky for his dome , from council orthodox and catholick ; each hare that cross'd him was an heretick . and if his horse but stumbl'd in his way , th'erroneous beast incurr'd th' anathema . philander . yet , since they squar'd by rules of sacred writ their symbol , you to their decrees submit ? palÆmon. i own what e're the sacred books contain , can mysteries believe , though not explain ; have none in footsteps of first martyrs trod , and dy'd for truth , who ne'r conceiv'd the mode ? brand such as won't to truths reveal'd agree , but penalties on such as cannot see what others can , is breach of charity . had charity in synods interpos'd , the seamless garments breach had soon been clos'd , which to repair the wrangling doctors try'd , ( while metaphysicks sacred truths decide ) and by ill-botching made the rent more wide ; but they had now learnt sciences , and must to their own fame , as well as truth be just. would mysteries , not like mechanicks know , but both the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 show ; were subtle school-men grown , and to agree , had scandal been to their philosophy . philander . but tell me , did these clouds the faith invade , when first whole nations were its converts made ? palÆmon. the faith shone clear till school-terms , rais'd like mists , favour'd the juggles of imposing priests ; and councils having scripture bounds o're-past , advanc'd to forging of new creeds at last ; which by the hocus of infallible , went down so glib the difference few could tell , the priest's turn better serv'd , and pleas'd the crowd as well ; they heard how their redeemer at his death did sacred legacies to all bequeath , which if they 'd now inspect , and had the skill , the church into her hands had got the will ; for now the laity were left i' th' lurch , th' encroaching clergy were become the church : nor stood the magistrate on higher ground , in vain to scripture their appeals they found , while 't was the churches priv'ledge to expound . thus ( through indulgence , fond of such as reign'd , and through the people's sloth ) th' ascendent gain'd , romes prelate topp'd upon her temp'ral pow'r , and from her priest became her emperor . with artful baits the fisher long had sought , and empire was the fish at last he caught . but time , and breath , and patience too wou'd fail to count the steps of this prodigious scale ; suffice it , that at first th' impostor gain'd by frauds his height , and by worse frauds maintain'd ; sloth , ignorance , blind zeal , and blinder fear , combin'd to level thrones , and mount the chair . philander . 't was then th' aspiring clergy crown'd their hope , and form'd their church-leviathan , a pope , in whom they still possess the pow'r they give , earth's tyrant , but their representative . palÆmon. 't is done , the ambitious priest has got the day , the prelate rules , and princes must obey ; the spiritual lord exalted to the skies , looks down , and all the subject world defies , does safe his empyraean height possess , his only care to manage his success ; how to dispense his beams , to whom be kind , and who shall his malignant aspects find : to whom large territories he shall give , to whom sell crowns , and whom of crowns deprive , to judge who best to merit does pretend , and merit is to be the church's friend . philander . for crimes so black , that humane nature shockt , unpeopled earth , and hell's plantations stockt ; th' indulgence-shop was ope'd with pardons stor'd , and to a friend good pen'orths cou'd afford , at th' old fixt rates , the rest their ware must take : palÆmon. but if y' are impious for the churches sake , ev'n with their office-fees they can dispense , they con you thanks , and consecrate th' offence . a cut-throat priest of murder , cou'd make sport , from laws protected by the spiritual court ; kings let him kill , and blackest treasons act , his judges still were parties in the fact. philander . what if a lay-man did the priest offend ? palÆmon. an injur'd priest , or who could wrong pretend , cry'd , burn the heretick — the ready stake forthwith did pious reparation make . philander . to hurt his person made the sentence just , what the priest said , 't was death but to mistrust . palÆmon. fear more than wit this tyranny enjoin'd , lest the dull crowd at last the cheat should find , and to requite their gross pernicious pranks , pull down their stage , and stone the mountebanks ; dull souls , with ease are of their rights bereav'd , but none revenge , like fools , when undeceiv'd ; and strongest stomachs , with large draughts opprest , the last disgusts , and throws up all the rest : heap crime on crime , to keep the frauds from air , the last of course must lie expos'd and bare ; and too much weight o're-throw the guilty chair ; now monster , triple-crown'd , expect thy doom , luther the saxon thunder-bolt is come , t'unhinge at once the babel-toils of rome . for though to heav'n the threatning front aspire , he 'll shew the wretched basis laid in mire in papal nets , shall breaches make so wide , that kings and kingdoms through the rents shall slide : then shall eusebia ; cloath'd in truth divine , her roman rust fil'd off , the stars out-shine philander . far must her first reformers skill extend , to leave succeeding ages nought to mend . palÆmon. i not pretend to judge , since all confess her beauty , who except against her dress , which if she may with decency neglect or does too much the roman mode affect ; i leave her guides that question to decide , and dare not charge the sacred dame with pride ; wou'd see contention , but not order cease ; order is needful , nor less needful peace : hope , though unthinking formalists repine , th' indulgent mother will at last encline to gratifie her pious constantine , the hero from domestick cares unbind to prosecute the business of mankind ; wave jealousies , and yield the trust that 's due to her kind patron , and restorer too ; her sacred birth-right may she so retain , dissenting flocks so may her sheep-folds gain , and leave the baffl'd wolf to grin and howl in vain . philander . the mother still in vain will condescend , in vain to wilful sons her arms extend , as she enclines let them advances make , beware how pride for conscience they mistake ; how uncommission'd shepherds lead astray , securely on the wilder'd sheep to prey : divided flocks but make the wolf more bold , the greatest safety 's in the common fold , the bars remov'd , compliance mild will show your pastors care , if for themselves or you. our ablest guides for comprehension strive , that sacred union may once more revive , none more than he who late the mitre took , deserv'dly , as before , he held the crook , the skilful'st text-man at the shepherd's book : true to his function and the publick-weal , for which his steady votes have prov'd his zeal in each debate ( by party or design , unbiass'd ) does his country's int'rest join , and stamps on state-deerees a seal divine ; what shepherd from his judgment would divide . what flock refuse to wait on such a guide , whose truth and courage has of old been try'd ? whom not the raging pestilence could make to slake attendance , or his charge forsake ; his sheep to comfort did their danger share when hirelings fled , and for themselves took care. palÆmon. from hence let britain her new freedom date , the church consenting to support the state , since she at last has found a king to trust , and worthy senate , who to both are just. philander . hail , generous patriots , you that poize the realm ! and lest encroaching waves the state o're-whelm , bring kind supplies while caesar sits at helm . in vain th' oppress'd would call for his alarms , and conquest beckon forth his pious arms , unless with europes freedom you comply'd ; caesar and you must europe's fate decide , invading pow'rs within just limits draw , teach tyrants justice , and oppressors law. for though the gallick pride has swell'd so high , united states and empire to defie , stol'n conquest boast , and neighbouring cities hold , the wretched purchase of extorted gold ; from you , the tyrant his just doom must wait , for nero's guilt must look for nero's fate : ev'n now the state-magician in his cell , sits close contriving some new impious spell , which he sends forth his daemons to perform , well-skill'd to raise , but dares not meet the storm : 't is you the sword must furnish , you must arm our pious hero to dissolve the charm. palÆmon. our swains o're-joy'd their senates conduct see , and carve their sacred names on ev'ry tree , to their disposal yield their grain and fleece , a ready off'ring to their country's peace . philander . oh! like our patriots may our swains agree ! from home-bred strife , as foreign dangers free , so shall our vales resume their former lays , and shepherds skill'd in song the consort raise , to celebrate once more our great restorer's praise , employ their leisure purchas'd by his toil , in raptures on juverne's rescu'd soil . palÆmon. repeat , kind youth , for i o're-heard your strain last night , by moon-shine , from the dusky plain , that joins the copse , my farms extreamest bounds , repeat , for they were more than vulgar sounds ; your song pursu'd the hero to the coast of moist juverne , where the adverse host confus'd , the mountain passes did resign , and shew'd their rear to the disdaining boyne , on whose steep banks our british troops you left ; of what ensu'd the listning dales bereft ; nor had retrencht your well-come notes so soon , if shrill lycisca had not bay'd the moon . philander . to happy swains , that task i must resign , who sing beneath the shade of their own vine , from dewy morn , and sultry noon can creep to their cool sheds , and choose to pipe or sleep , with vacant songs call up the evning star , their strains may rouze the noble din of vvar , make squadrons move , give foaming steeds the rein , and trace a hero through the dusty plain , lure hov'ring conquest down where they encline : through all you see the gen'rous freedom shine , and what false strokes their pencil strikes in heat , their happy leisure makes correct and great . vvhat can philander do , the wretched heir of thought-confounding grief , and slave of care , to servile hours of tedious day confin'd , expos'd all night to welter through the wind , to tend in sun-burnt lawn , or thirsty dale his master's flock , and must make good the tale ; how shall the strict damaetas be repay'd ? suppose a milcher stoln , or firstling stray'd ? with notes refin'd can i repair the wrong , or make him restitution with a song ? 't was then great maro found the art to charm , vvhen he regain'd his freedom and his farm , vvith meadows , and an oaten pipe began , till warm'd with ripening beams he sung the man. thy poor philander to the muses seat by stealth has crept and felt th' inspiring heat ; been midnight-present at the sacred quire , has seen the lawrell'd god , and heard his lyre , in smooth pirene dipt his fancy's vving , and tasted of the learn'd castalian spring . vvhat steads it that he knows his flow'rs to cull , if rufling care before his garland's full confound the fancy'd order in a trice , moil his clear spring , and blast his paradise . palÆmon. yet has our britains pollio heard thy layes . philander . our pollio's skill might phaebus's envy raise , for though the court be pollio's proper sphear , although he shines the brightest planet there , he thinks no scorn sometimes to cheer the plain oft condescends to hear the rural strain ; yet pollio's smiles shou'd make no shepherd vain : my uncouth muse let gibing goat-herds laugh to death , and codrus write her epitaph , if pollio's goodness she so far abuse , or ween he likes because he does excuse . on vvit 's steep heights he sits the ruling god , those heights which by himself alone are trod , yet thence vouchsafe's his gentle beams to throw , and pitty's all the panting crowd below . palÆmon. yet william's praise no shepherd can refuse , and fortune may assist the daring muse , deep sense of duty , and immense desire can make the pipe keep consort with the lyre , the vanquish'd boyne and shannon will inspire . philander . vvhen next we meet expect the silvan rhime , night hastens , and 't is now my folding time ; the winding song will ask your leisure's leave , employ your patience , though your hopes deceive . the daring muse unbeaten paths shall tread , in visionary dreams of rapture led , descend into the regions of the dead , elysian bow'rs , where waller's well-tun'd lyre , the art of numbers shall instruct the quire , vvhere milton on eternal roses lies , deep wrapt in dreams of his own paradise : th' advent'rous muse , with this kind vision charm'd , and dear concern for her lov'd country warm'd of secrets that to britain's peace belong , shall question fate , consult the sacred throng , and through the dang'rous course — the learn'd couleian shade direct her song , the victor crown , and to reward their pain , embalm and consecrate the noble slain , if that low pitch to which my voice can rise , may reach such theams , and rural notes suffice to please the plain , is all my hopes persue : the palace has already had its due . finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a -e * letter to a dissenting clergy-man panacea, a poem upon tea in two canto's [sic] / by n. tate ... tate, nahum, - . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing t estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) panacea, a poem upon tea in two canto's [sic] / by n. tate ... tate, nahum, - . 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't was but lately that the fortune of europe depended upon the welfare of england ; when england her self was under the most perplexing exigencies , by the ill condition of our coin , deficiency of funds , loss of publick credit ( when our forces by sea and land , domestick and foreign commerce were to be provided for ) with other afflicting circumstances that threatned our very constitution , and made our affairs seem desperate . the redressing of all which grievances , ( through unparallel'd difficulties ) was , by our senate ( then sitting ) undertaken with more than roman greatness of spirit ; and effected , to the preservation of quiet amongst our selves , astonishment of our enemies , and benefit of all europe . and , sir , how instrumental you were in those transactions for the general safety and welfare , common justice must acknowledge , and history informs us of statues erected for less services to the publick . i pretend not to enumerate particulars , wherein ( as promoter , or principal ) you have merited the thanks of the age , and demonstrated indefatigable industry , as well as most extraordinary sagacity and iudgment . yet i cannot forbear mentioning one consideration , that so refin'd a spirit , so delicate a genius , as could be delighted ( to the sublimest degree ) in the retreats of the muses , and gardens of philosophy , could sacrifice it self to the fatigues of publick business ! but — vincit amor patriae . sir , i know the value of your time , and the freedom that i take in presenting you with a piece of poetry ; which yet , if it be not lessen'd by the performance , it will not be so , in your esteem , by the slenderness of the subject , since in tenui labor , at tenuis non gloria ; si quem numina laeva sinant , auditque vocatus apollo . however , i shall not repeat a trespass in detaining you with an apology — only , that zeal and duty will be doing their office , and respect pay its attendance , though neither wanted nor desir'd . besides , i have the same right of addressing to you , as other sons of the muses , and true subjects of their king and country : for whose united interest and service , your health and prosperity is most heartily wish'd , by sir , your most obedient humble servant , n. tate . the preface . the tale in the first canto of this poem , was taken ( as romantick as it may seem ) from the chinese history , and , with very modest fiction , accommodated to my subject ; to make the discovery and production of the tea-tree more wonderful and surprizing . which , being in it self of most admirable virtues , and certainly one of the greatest blessings of nature , i may as well suppose it to have been miraculously produc'd , as fracastorius his west-indian tree , which his poem tells us was deûm manibus sata , semine sacro . and for my introducing the deities in the second canto , 't is according to petr. arbiter's per ambages & deorum ministeria praecipitandus liber spiritus — i had as much right for interesting them in this sovereign plant , as the foremention'd fracastorius and thorius for those they celebrated . the delicacy of the subject oblig'd me to treat it with some gayety and embellishment of fancy , but especially with decency , to make the poem ( like the nepenthe on which 't is writ ) an entertainment for the ladies . if there be any art or beauty in the piece , they will be found by persons of judgment ; and if i have not the fortune to please them , i am not solicitous for pleasing any others . on our english poetry , and this poem upon tea . see spanish carderon in strength outdone : and see the prize of wit from tasso won : see corneil's skill and decency refin'd ; see rapin's art , and molier's fire , outshin'd ; see dryden's lamp , to our admiring view , brought from the tomb to shine and blaze anew ! the british lawrel by old chaucer worn , still fresh and gay , did dryden's brow adorn : and that its lustre may not fade on thine , wit , fancy , judgment , tate , in thee combine . thy pow'rful genius thus , from censure 's frown and envy's blast , in flourishing renown , supports our british muses verdant crown . nor only takes a trusty laureat's care , lest thou the muses garland might'st impair ; but , more enrich'd , the chaplet to bequeath , with eastern tea join'd to the lawrel-wreath . r. b. to the author on his poem upon tea . let rustick satyr , now , no more abuse , in rude unskilful strains , thy tuneful muse ; no more let envy lash thy true-bred steed , nor cross thy easy , just , and prudent speed : who dext'rously dost bear , or loose the rein , to climb each lofty hill , or scour the plain : with proper weight and force thy courses run ; where still thy pegasus has wonders done , come home with strength , and thus the prize has won . but now takes wing , and to the * skies aspires ; while vanquish'd envy the bold flight admires , and baffled satyr to his den retires . t. w. the introduction . fame sound thy trump , all ranks of mortals call , to share a prize that will enrich 'em all. you that with sacred oracles converse , and clearly wou'd mysterious truths rehearse ; on soaring wings of contemplation rise , and fetch discov'ries from above the skies ; etherial tea your notions will resine , till you your selves become almost divine . you statesmen , who in storms the publick helm wou'd guide with skill , and save a sinking realm , tea , your minerva , shall suggest such sense , such safe and sudden turns of thought dispense , that you , like her ulysses , may advise , and start designs that shall the world surprise . you pleaders , who for conquest at the bar contend as fierce and loud as chiefs in war ; would you amaze and charm the list'ning court ? first to this spring of eloquence resort : then boldly launch on tully's flowing seas , and grasp the thunder of demosthenes . you artists of the aesculapian tribe , wou'd you , like aesculapius's self , prescribe , cure maladies , and maladies prevent ? — receive this plant from your own phoebus sent ; whence life 's nice lamp in temper is maintain'd , when dim , recruited ; when too fierce , restrain'd . you curious souls , who all your thoughts apply , the hidden works of nature to descry ; why veering winds with vari'd motion blow , why seas in settled courses ebb and flow ; wou'd you these secrets of her empire know ? treat the coy nymph with this celestial dew , like ariadne she 'll impart the clue ; shall through her winding labyrinths convey , and causes , sculking in their cells , display . you that to isis's bank , or cam retreat , wou'd you prove worthy sons of either seat , and all in learning's commonwealth be great ? infuse this leaf , and your own streams shall bring more science than the fam'd castalian spring . wou'd you , o musicks sons , your art compleat , and all its ancient miracles repeat , rouze rev'ling monarchs into martial rage , and , when inflam'd , with softer notes asswage ; the tedious hours of absent love beguile , charm care asleep , and make affliction smile ? carouse in tea , that will your souls inspire ; drink phoebus's liquor , and command his lyre . sons of apelles , wou'd you draw the face and shape of venus , and with equal grace in some elysian field the figure place ? your fancy , warm'd by tea , with wish'd success , shall beauty's queen in all her charms express : with nature's rural pride your landschape fill the shady grotto , and the sunny hill , the laughing meadow , and the talking rill . sons of the muses , would you charm the plains with chearful lays , or sweet condoling strains ; or with a sonnet make the vallies ring , to welcome home the goddess of the spring : or wou'd you in sublimer themes engage , and sing of worthies who adorn the age ? or , with promethean boldness , wou'd aspire to catch a spark of that celestial fire that crown'd the † royal conquest , and could raise juverne's boyn above * scamander's praise ? drink , drink inspiring tea , and boldly draw , a hercules , a mars , or a nassau . a poem upon tea . in two cantos . canto i. by avon's stream ( the muses calm retreat ) palaemon liv'd in his un-envy'd seat , none better knew , or practis'd , in his cell the chast delights that with retirement dwell . and thus confin'd to safety 's humble sphear , desiring little , had not much to fear ; was neither fortune's envy , nor her sport ; free from the servile arts of town or court , the nauseous task , that gen'rous souls contemn , of knaves caresses , and caressing them . yet ( whether novelty his fancy fir'd , or some diviner pow'r the thought inspir'd , ) through foreign climates he resolv'd to roam , and view those wonders which he read at home . most strict survey in every realm he made of men and manners , policy and trade ; but none he found , his gentle soul to please , like the refin'd and civiliz'd chinese . rich in improvements of his well-spent time , the bard returns to his own native clime : the neighb'ring shepherds , who his absence mourn'd , visit with joy their wandring friend return'd . short salutation past , he feasts their eyes with pleasing view of eastern rarities . nature and art's choice gift , the goa-stone , with plants and herbs to western swains unknown . yet , more surpriz'd , they found their senses chear'd , soon as the verdant fragrant tea appear'd ; it 's nature , use , confus'dly they demand , what name it bore ? the product of what land ? 't will time require to have at full exprest ( the bard reply'd ) what you in hast request . come to my bow'r , and i 'll inform you there , what curious souls must needs be pleas'd to hear . he said , and with his willing guests withdrew , where a new scene of wonders charm'd their view ; on burning lamps a silver vessel plac'd , a table with surprising figures grac'd , and china-bowls to feast their sight and tast : the genial liquor , decently pour'd out , to the admiring guests is dealt about . scarce had they drank a first and second round , when the warm nectar 's pleasing force they found , about their heart enliven'd spirits danc'd , then to the brains sublimer seat advanc'd . ( such transport feel young prophets when they dream . or poets slumb'ring by pirene's stream . ) with silent wonder mutually they trace bright joys reflected on each other's face . then thus the bard — fear no circaean bowls , this is the drink of health , the drink of souls ! the virtues this , and this the graces quaff , like nectar chearful , like nepenthe safe . not such the plant which bacchus first did nurse , heav'ns blessing chang'd by mortals to their curse ah syren-pleasure , to destruction turn'd ! ah woful mirth to be for ever mourn'd ! how much more blest — you swains who drink , with birds , the running spring , and innocent , like them , like them can sing . another round — then , if your patience hold , i shall the charming history unfold , how this rare plant at first divinely sprung , nor shall its sov'raign virtues rest unsung , for which our phoebus oft his harp has strung . while the chinese remain'd a virtuous breed , from western vices and distempers freed ; or but with common maladies were griev'd , which common plants of nature's field reliev'd ; tea was not sprung — reserv'd by friendly fate , for last distress of china's suff'ring state. whose griefs and wondrous cure i shall recite , a tale that may your patience well requite . when ki , a name through eastern climes accurst , ( last of his race , of wicked kings the first ) prophan'd the throne , ill-boding signs foreran , and dreadful prodigies his reign began ; his monstrous reign , which justly you may call the most amazing prodigy of all. discarding all the sages of the realm , rash unexperienc'd youth he sets at helm : till now , from all its ancient frame estrang'd , the government into a farce was chang'd . buffoons the empire 's grand affairs debate , and jesters are the councellors of state. pert , smatt'ring youngsters judges of the land , and dressing fops the martial troops command , those for companion-fav'rites he admits . who had for pleasure most inventive wits : these prodigals ingross the monarch's hours , in rev'ling grotto's , and voluptuous bow'rs : a province must be tax'd when e'er they dine , in essences they rowl , and bathe in pools of wine . this soft contagion , in the palace bred , from court to town , from town to country spred . old discipline through china's empire fails , and upstart riot like a plague prevails ; expensive idleness , for frugal pains , in ev'ry city , ev'ry village reigns : whence poverty , fraud , rapine did ensue , and these attended with a swarming crew of dire diseases , like their vices , new. but china's nobles , the discarded race who still did injur'd virtue 's cause embrace ; with conscious silence could no longer view at once their country's shame and ruin too . an ancient mandarine , wise , pious , just , who long had foremost serv'd in publick trust , first minister in prosp'rous days of state , advances first against the publick fate : with rev'rend aspect , and with solemn grace , he represents the empire 's wretched case , and reprimands the tyrant to his face . the fiery monarch ( with a jav'lin snatcht and through his kind adviser's throat dispatcht ) crys , — — formal grave buffoon your counsel's wrong , and like your senseless life spun out too long , i cut 'em short — harranguing dotard go — the ghosts have leisure — talk the rest below . now swains receive a story strange and true , and with amazement let fame listen too , of graecian worthies her stale names give o'er , and boast of roman gallantry no more : hear greater miracles of honour , done beneath the influence of the rising sun. but ah ! this eastern glory to allay , the changing scene must frantick vice display ; such pomp of luxury as ne'er was seen 'twixt rev'ling anthony and egypt's queen . while weltring in his gore one patriot lies , another chief the tragick part supplies , and in the prologue of his story dies , a third , scarce enter'd on the bloody stage , a victim falls to arbitrary rage ; yet boldly to the desp'rate charge succeed a fourth and fifth , who , like the former , bleed . the sixth , as if to triumph o'er his fate , placing his hearse before the palace-gate , rushes into the slaughter-room of state , then thus the tyrant , — dull aspiring fool , who like a pedant com'st thy prince to school , thou would'st be chronicled , and have thy name distinguisht from thy brother-fools of fame , recorded to have brav'd thy monarch's doom , and then retire , with state , into thy tomb. but know , thy plot for glorious death is vain , nor shall that hearse a traytor 's corps contain ; a feast for savage beasts thou shalt be made — and who dare next their soveraign's peace invade , in wretched torture shall their treason rue ; and from the lingring rack and gaunches , view their sons to speedier execution led ; to vilest slaves their wives and daughters wed . this sentence past , like an infernal charm , honour and courage did at once disarm ; stunn'd with the sound , and thunder-struck , they yield to lawless vice the execrable field . now banquets , musick , masques and mimick sport are all the business of th' imperial court ; from which the monarch never did remove , but to the dearer solaces of love. in ev'ry passion of his roving mind a libertine , but in amour confin'd : amira was the first who found the art at once to conquer and enslave his heart . one evening when the wanton zephyrs play'd , repos'd beneath the myrtle's am'rous shade , all ravisht in his lov'd amira's arms ( brighter than venus in her new-born charms . ) the monarch sigh'd and said , ah fading ioy ! why should the transports cease that never cloy ? why are those eyes , than stars more heav'nly bright , condemn'd to shine with temporary light ? ah! might their lovely lustre ever blaze , as on their glories i cou'd ever gaze ! must all this bloom be nipt with death's cold shade ! why should these lillies , why these roses fade ? why should th' elysian spring for ever last , and thine be doom'd to fate 's untimely blast ? these pensive thoughts , like furies , haunt my rest ; these harpy-guests my feast of love molest . the queen , her weening lover to beguile ; ( a trickling tear dissembling with a smile ) replies , tho' envious fates your wish deny , we may forget that we shall ever die ; our life to unmolested pleasure give , and , while the scene lasts , like immortals live . erect a palace ( than the sun 's more bright ) immur'd from day , but with more radiant light of ever-blazing lamps and tapers deckt , and sparkling gems the lustre to reflect . where change of seasons we shall never see , to read us lectures of mortality . grief be excluded from that happy sphere , and pleasures only have admittance there ; which trusty fav'rites , ( to secure their sway abroad ) shall thither in full tides convey . of empire you shall thus enjoy the spoil , the fruit , for which your royal vassals toil . the pride of nature there shall charm your sight , her richest luxury your taste invite . earth's scatter'd blessings shall together meet , and lye in smiling heaps before your feet . there fountain-springs thro' artful pipes shall move with all the musick of the spheres above , to charm our slumbers in the bow'r of love. thus from the cares of lower empire free , blest , like the first , shall our new eden be , where i to you , you all the world to me. the monarch , to indulge the pleasing cheat , with vast expence builds this inchanted seat ; where the fond pair , from vulgar mortal's sight with chosen minions , hide themselves in light. the provinces to villains hands assign'd , now , for one tyrant lost , a thousand find ; while he absconds , his lewd trustees of pow'r , the bleeding vitals of the state devour , what riot wastes with rapine they supply , and rapine drein'd , to sacriledge they fly . the country's tillage , and the city's trade exhausted , they the temples rights invade ; whose injur'd pow'rs , with just resentment fir'd , discarded chiefs with equal rage inspir'd , who , follow'd by a small but zealous train , in thin batallion muster on the plain . to head their num'rous troops the vice-roys arm , but quit the field on danger 's first alarm ; with their beau-captains — all more courtly bred than to desert their gen'rals when they fled . mean while their troops in marshal'd order stand , but know not how to charge without command ; 'twixt shame and rage , disdaining and amaz'd , with silent looks they on each other gaz'd . the adverse party stand in like suspence , to shew they took not arms but for defence . till now both hosts , for publick good combine , and , tho' they met as foes , as friends they join . this revolution , on the wings of fame , to the fantastick lovers palace came ; whose fairy-joys transform'd to dismal fright , they quit their mansion of perpetual light , to sculk in caves and thickest shades of night . the conscious prince from empire thus retir'd , and all besides of royal race expir'd , the mandarins assemble , to create a monarch , to reform and rule the state. on others merits freely they enlarge , but for himself each chief declines the charge ; o piety of unexampled strain , all , for their country's good , prepar'd to drein their vital blood , yet none consent to reign ! the lot decides ; and strait the gen'ral voice with loud applause approves of fortune's choice , the worthy heir of him who did engage , and fell first victim to the tyrant's rage . thus china's realms their ancient form regain'd ; their vices cur'd ; but their diseases reign'd ; their minds restor'd , but still their bodies pin'd , where dying luxury left stings behind ; whose smart , enflam'd by vengeance from above , too obstinate for human help did prove . consumption , dropsie , racking gout and stone , ( till then to happy eastern climes unknown ) all maladies that could on nature fall , with spleen that feels , or thinks it feels 'em all. they sigh all day , and nightly vigils keep , to shun the terrors of distracted sleep . in cities dear society and trade , in field the tillage and the vintage fade ; the shepherd's pipe forlorn beside him laid . in vain the sick to art or nature fly , while sick as they , both art and nature lye . the wretches now to ev'ry temple press in sighing crowds , not to implore redress , but own the justice of their doom , and crave the favour only of a speedy grave . which modest penitence that mercy drew , for which the poor delinquents durst not sue . the solemn day approacht , when china's court must to the great confucius cell resort ; the cave in which the hermit ( long retir'd ) compil'd those laws which sacred pow'rs inspir'd with angel-visits only entertain'd ; and in his desart wond'rously sustain'd , where no relief of plant or herb was found , nor spire of grass through all the barren ground . in solemn progress , by devotion drawn , the pious king prevents the early dawn ; leads the procession , and advancing near , beholds the sun and cell at once appear . but how surpriz'd to find the desart ground , with new-sprung plants of lovely verdure crown'd ; there bloom'd the soumblo , there imperial tea , ( names then unknown ) and sanative bohe ; all deem'd , in honour to the prophet's shrine , produc'd , with virtues , like their birth , divine , and sent a timely cure of publick grief ; experience soon confirming that belief . thus far tradition , which i oft have heard by eastern priests , as oracles , averr'd . next , how their poets sing ( in bolder verse ) the virtues of this plant — i shall rehearse how happily their art they have express'd , with useful truth in pleasing fable drest ; that sickly mortals , by the tempting lure of fiction , may be drawn to certain cure . the end of the first canto canto ii. when first apollo , in celestial bow'rs , treated with fragrant tea , th' immortal pow'rs , ( that more than nectar and nepenthe pleas'd ) the goddesses with such delight were seiz'd ; they fell to strife about the foreign tree , who should its patroness and guardian be : at last the competition was referr'd to be before the gods in council heard ; who summon'd , at iove's palace now were met , and high above the rest the thund'rer set . first iuno thus , with haughty state , addrest , and looks that angry majesty exprest , which , e'er she spake , the queen of heav'n confest ; " let such impose upon their judges sense , " sue favour , who to right have no pretence ; " with soothing arts of language strive to please : " i come not here to plead , but claim and seize : " right i demand ; and deities , i know , " will do me right — for , gods i 'll have it so . " shall subject goddesses with me contend ? " when once imperial iuno shall descend " to competition , empire 's at an end. " shall royal iuno's claim be disallow'd " to tea ? with sov'reign properties endow'd , " and queen of plants by native right allow'd . " let that aspiring goddess , who shall dare " here to usurp my patronage and care , " pretend with me the thund'rer's bed to share . " the rival of my bed , and what i prize " more dear , my throne , and empire of the skies . " speak iove , decide , e'er it begins , this strife ; " respect the empress , tho' you slight the wise. " assert , in mine , your own celestial state : " iove , let us reign , or let us abdicate . " once to immortals this example show , " what will your stubborn mortals do below ? " already grown impatient of our yoke , " for seldom now we see our altars smoke ; " with sparing hands they offer from the store " our bounty lends , and grudgingly adore : " but from our shrines intirely will remove , " till government is better fix'd above , " and till convinc'd — " that i am iuno still , and you are iove . " o iupiter , a monarch's sway maintain ; " and shew the doubting world that you deserve to reign . saturnia thus — whose eyes , as she withdrew disdainful fire back on th' assembly threw ; which through the presence awful terrour strook ; and on his throne the very thund'rer shook . minerva next , with stately mien , advanc'd ; her crested plume in waving lustre danc'd , and lightning from her burnish'd helmet glanc'd . delightful terrour in her aspect play'd , while thus , with awful grace , the goddess said . " if merit must to majesty give place , " immortals are in mortals wretched case , " and vassals we , tho' of celestial race : " let nature in this claim your council guide ; " since she for publick use this plant suppli'd , " let publick use , ye gods , the cause decide . " if by that president you shall decree , " the prize must fall to my learn'd sons and me. " why should i our known services repeat ? " in athens name your justice i entreat . " or if my plea of athens you disclaim , " regard my off-spring more endear'd to fame , " my greater sons of isis and of cam. " think how of life the pleasures they resign , " to delve , for publick good , in learning's mine . " o gods , is 't thus you treat industrious wit ? " that does whole years in brooding study sit , " from early dawn till day forsakes the sky , " and mid-night lamps the absent sun supply . " o why should they , with chymick patience , wait " their work 's perfection , to enrich the state ? " of antient arts the craggy ruins climb , " and backward tread the painful steps of time , " their senses with long contemplation wrought " to element , their bodies pin'd to thought , " if you this cheap relief to souls deny " who with promethean fire mankind supply , " to make those sons of clay the gods allies , " and justifie their kindred to the skies . she paus'd , and frown'd , with such a dreadful grace , as when she charges on the plains of thrace . then thus renews her plea — " nature for students this regale design'd , " invention's fountain to repay in kind , " the vast expences of their gen'rous mind . " till the spent soil shall fresh idea's yield , " and new plantations stock wide fancy's field . " from this pirene , this castalian spring , " exclude the muses , and what muse will sing ? " and when no poet will vouchsafe to write , " what hardy hero will vouchsafe to fight . " 't is tea sustains , tea only can inspire " the poet's flame , that feeds the hero's fire . her voice and mien such deep impression strook , the goddess read consent in ev'ry look . till venus , ( from her chariot drawn by doves , surrounded by a troop of smiling loves ) unveil'd the milder glories of her face , with native charms , and ev'ry study'd grace : which , from her haughty rivals , heretofore , on ida's mount , the prize of beauty bore . nor doubts she , with the same resistless smile , the gods , as then the shepherd to beguile . with lovely pride she cast her eyes around , and gave with every pointed glance a wound . which made the sternest in the presence melt , and sullen saturn feel what paris felt . thus she advanc'd ; and , while she urg'd her plea , she look'd and breath'd the fragrant soul of tea , " in beauty's cause i sue — can gods despise " a blessing mortals have the sense to prize ? " tho' in your looks i read a senate's awe , " ( how else should you the publick rev'rence draw ? ) " yet doubt i not the stubborn'st breast to win , " having so strong a party lodg'd within . " tho' none in open court appears my friend , " i safely on your private votes depend . " so shall your goddesses and nymphs be kind , " as love and beauty your protection find . " for beauty's sake , and her resistless charms , " the desp'rate soldier rushes to alarms , " and for a night of love serves whole campaigns in arms. " to stars the wakeful shepherd sings his lays , " which he by day compos'd in phillis praise , " hoping the nymph he does immortal make , " will pity on her dying lover take . " look down ye pow'rs , the british ladies view , " see there the effects of this celestial dew ! " see there how grateful tea , their choice delight , " it's gen'rous patronesses does requite ! " sublimes their native charms ; and makes 'em shine " as bright , almost , as lasting too as mine . " who then but beauty's goddess , can pretend " a title to the plant that 's beauty's friend ? " to me , ye pow'rs , this prize you must assign , " for that which thus can beauty's charms refine , " and keep them ever young , for ever should be mine . she said — and reassum'd her flying chair ; while cupid's fan , with glossy wings , the air , and venus seem'd ey'n more than venus fair. bright cinthia next appear'd with solemn grace , ( a rosie blush adorns her virgin-face ) as from the chase return'd , her vestments hung with careless decency , her bow unstrung , her quiver loose behind her shoulder slung . high on her front the silver crescent blaz'd : the hush'd assembly on her figure gaz'd , surpriz'd and pleas'd , transported and amaz'd . her aspect , stature , movement , shape , and dress did such majestick modesty express , as when , supported by her forest launce , before her thousand nymphs she does advance on cynthus top , and leads the solemn dance . through ev'ry breast a thrilling pleasure ran , while thus the goddess of the groves began . " love 's queen , despairing this chast prize to win , " discreetly call'd the british ladies in ; " and if for beauty only they excell'd , " the queen of beauty's title must have held ; " but since they are no less for vertue fam'd " their votes by me , with nobler right , are claim'd . " if vertue then ( which british ladies prize " above the brightest glances of their eyes ) " not quite has lost her int'rest in the skies , " to me you must assign the sacred tree , " to me the sacred drink of chastity ; " in which the graces safely may rejoyce , " of virgin innocence the blameless choice : " then , deities , join yours with nature's voice . " who , with this chast nepenthe , would requite " her woods kind patroness , and queen of night . " when faint with toil , through phoebus scorching beams , " my nymphs and i retreat to shady sreams , " can the cold spring a fit refreshment be ? " which idle naids drink as well as we ; " and dryads , who in solitary bow'rs , " with sleep or revels pass their useless hours . " let then the forest-tyrants safely reign , " and mountain-savages lay waste the plain : " till earth afford your altars no supplies " of hallow'd fruits ; no flames of incense rise , " and moonless nights affright your guilty skies . she ceas'd ; and terror through the presence strook , resuming now the same resenting look , as in her bathing-fountain when surpriz'd , luckless actaeon's error she chastisd . then with a smile ( as when she does unshroud her lustre , starting from a sullen cloud ) in milder accents thus — " no! sacred pow'rs , for cynthia to mistrust " her merit or your honour , were unjust ! " it must not , cannot be ! ( hence idle fears ! ) " i still shall guard your earth , and gild your spheres . " my cause no competition can admit , " where virtue pleads , and gods in council sit . diana thus — and , with her sylvan train of nymphs attended , mounts her starry wain . scarce had the court recover'd this surprize , when a new scene of glory charm'd their eyes ; while thetis and her nereids they descry'd , adorn'd in all the ocean's glitt'ring pride ; bright shells and gems , that with reflected fire startled the skies , and made the stars retire . delightful wonder all th' assembly seiz'd ; but neptune ev'n to extasie seem'd pleas'd , who now display'd the same pacifick face that hush'd the storm , and sav'd the trojan race . in gentle symphony the nereids sung to twisted shells , on which the tritons rung loud peals , that to th' olympian confines ran , while thus the goddess of the seas began . " 't is i that rule your watry world below ; " to mortals i the arts of commerce show , " to me your albion does her glory owe. " by me her fleets to eastern climates run , " and spread their wings beneath the rising sun. " thus your augusta's floating grandeur's shown " on seas and shores to ancient fame unknown ; " while rome , the world 's fam'd mistress she excels , " as far as thames above the tyber swells . " both her 's and nature's empire i sustain , " by correspondence 'twixt her earth and main : " her tributary streams , to me convey'd , " in just recruits are carefully repay'd : " those pastures where her flocks and herds are bred , " themselves are from my bounty cloath'd and fed . " the plant and nymph , whose happy nuptials give " this new-found nectar , by my bounty live ; " from my fresh stores the nymph her cooling dew , " and from my salts the plant his * vigour drew . " when , deep in briny cells , my nymphs and i " the business of your ocean-empire ply , " gods ! can you then this fresh regale deny ? " is 't thus you treat the goddess of the sea , " with oozy brine ? — " when happy nymphs at land rejoyce in tea ? " of all the rarities our waves convey , " give us but this , our service you repay : " else from their dens your prison'd winds release , " let seas and skies no longer be at peace , " destructive tempests reign , and useful traffick cease . thus thetis , and resumes her crystal wain , as when , surrounded by her ocean-train , she rides in triumph o'er the wond'ring main . to crown the scene health's goddess last appears , who chearfully her sanguine aspect rears ; fresh as the spring , when by celestial show'rs to earth invited , from elysian bow'rs : her sprightly looks the pleas'd assembly drew ; while spicy zephyrs hov'ring round her flew , and odours , sweeter than ambrosia , threw . attended by a troop of nymphs and swains , the pride of nature , glory of the plains ; the youths , like oaken plants , all sternly gay , the nymphs all fair , and mild as blooming may , then with an air , that vital warmth display'd , and healthful fragrancy , the goddess said — " celestial pow'rs , this rural tribe survey ; " you have no vot'ries so sincere as they ! " when earth of your astraea was berest , " 'mongst these the goddess her last footsteps left . " if venus's plea this awful court can move , " her cupids are not better vers'd in love : " or if diana's title may be pass'd , " they plead her merit , for their loves are chast " but 't is not for their sakes i chiefly sue , " who health enjoy without your healing dew ; " for they from nature's cup , the crystal spring , " with birds contentedly can drink and sing . " but far , o far unlike to these , a throng " of wretched mortals to my charge belong ; " who with tormenting restless sickness griev'd , " about my altar languish , unreliev'd : " o , for their suff'ring sakes , in pity grant " this panacea , this reviving plant ; " relieve their mis'ry , or revoke their breath ; " give 'em the drink of health , or give 'em death ! thus salus urg'd her charitable plea , that soon had crown'd her patroness of tea : but fiend alecto , in a nymph's disguise , ( grudging the sickly earth so rich a prize ) amongst the goddesses fresh discord threw , which into parties the convention drew ; mars swagger'd , aeol bluster'd , neptune rag'd , whom iove with louder thunder scarce asswag'd . somnus , whom tea's delicious fume had charm'd with golden visions , by the dinn alarm'd , starts up ; and , with a look surprizing gay , to sudden pleasure turn'd the sudden fray. pleas'd , as a prophet , from his dream he woke , and , like a prophet , thus , in rapture spoke — " o glorious prospect ! such delightful fields " elysium nor our own olympus yields . " o sacred streams and bow'rs ! o fragrant seats , " of elemental joys the calm retreats ! " come wretched mortals , in this nectar steep " your weary souls , and charm your cares to sleep . " that , while the pleasing slumber lasts , shall drown " your griefs ; and with success your wishes crown . " that every dismal object shall remove , " and your desires to extasy improve . " what e'er you want or wish , in dreams is brought , " ( by tea inspir'd ) before your ravish'd thought ; " visions of wealth the poor man's wants beguile ; " the hopeless lover sees his mistress smile : " the voyager , for some rich coast design'd , " spreads all his sail , and runs afore the wind , " the pleader , soldier , poet , fierce and warm , " set boldly in , and wond'rously perform : " thus human life , in cruel fate 's despight , " may have its sorrows checquer'd with delight , " and if such bliss can mortal sense employ , " what transport , deities , must you enjoy ! " for sure , when sprightly tea and fancy join " their wond'rous pow'rs , the work must be divine . " how rich the figures ! how surprising bright ! " wrought on the sable curtains of the night . this strange discov'ry both surpris'd the gods , and set the goddesses again at odds ; whilst , to secure the quiet of the skies , the thunderer once more was forc'd to rise . a plant that can so many virtues boast , he judg'd too rich a prize to be ingross'd ; and to no single goddess lot should fall , that merited the patronage of all : therefore , at once to silence all their pleas , and yet oblige his female deities ; in common grants what they did singly claim ; and strait gives orders for the trump of fame to sound aloud , that * goddess was its name . finis . the tea-table . hail queen of plants , pride of elysian bow'rs ! how shall we speak thy complicated pow'rs ? thou wond'rous panacea , to asswage the calentures of youth's fermenting rage , and animate the freezing veins of age. to bacchus when our griefs repair for ease , the remedy proves worse than the disease : where reason we must lose to keep the round , and drinking others healths , our own confound : whilst tea , our sorrows safely to beguile , sobriety and mirth does reconcile : for to this nectar we the blessing owe , to grow more wise , as we more chearful grow . whilst fancy does her brightest beams dispense , and decent wit diverts without offence . then in discourse of nature's mystick pow'rs and noblest themes , we pass the well-spent hours . whilst all around the virtues sacred band , and list'ning graces pleas'd attendants stand . thus our tea-conversation we employ , where , with delight , instruction we enjoy ; quaffing , without the waste of time or wealth , the sov'reign drink of pleasure and of health . postscript . my copy falling short , and the printer asking , what shou'd be done with the following pages ? i bethought me of some civilities for which i stood indebted to our critick-poets , without any recognizance , from me , of their favours . therefore ( without questioning their authority , or who made them judges in parnassus ) i shall here say something , not for defence , but , least my silence be taken for contempt of the court. some have censur'd me for a cold writer ; but * one of 'em with the favourable allowance , that i have in justness what i want in fire . another ( in his poetical circuit some years since ) doom'd me , without mercy , for † a slave to sense , and cautious to a fault . now i must ingenuously confess , that i pretend to no more fire than consists with justness : that i am a slave to sense ( without any thoughts of changing my master ) and caution is a fault i shall never mend . so that i must humbly content my self with admiring those gentlemen who set up for bold writers , and deserve the character , by venturing so hard for it , even beyond the regions of sense . happy season , when wit and criticism are come to their meridian ! quintilian was a musty old pedant , and would have been pos'd with our new figures of speech — iustness without fire — slavery to sense , &c. † his was a dull age of correctness , unacquainted with our elevation , sublime conceits and expression , beyond the reach of common capacity . 't is part of a modern character , ( no less famous for his wit than chivalry ) that he scorn'd to say any thing in a vulgar way , and — ne'er did ope his mouth , but out there flew a trope . hudib . the reader must pardon me this trifling , 't is paying nonsense in its own coin ; and if you would have better from me , you must stay till wit comes in — as then you may depend on me , sufficient * authors ( city security ) having vouch'd for my honesty . in good earnest , 't is high time for the fraternity to return to their senses ; they have so long ridicul'd one another , till the men , that had some wit , are become diversion for them that have none . 't is pity but their quarrels were over , if only for leisure to think what they quarrell'd about , that is , poetry — which , however worthy of great and wise men , as a recreation , yet 't is business and employment only for the unfortunate . such as are too far engag'd , must take their chance ; but others would do well to consider the present state of the muses in our nation ; where zoilus's swarm , and mecaenas's are so few , that 't is even shame and pity to see their generosity so over-charg'd . i would not be thought to disparage a faculty , to which i have done so little credit : 't is noble service — but , fit for volunteers , who can be upon their own subsistence ; and long to shew their parts . finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a -e * canto ii. notes for div a -e † mr. montague's incomparable poem on his majesty's victory at the boyn . * where homer's trojans and grecians fought . notes for div a -e * sal volatile . * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . notes for div a -e * epistle concerning poetry . † mourning muse. † but what if this was designed for compliment ? the complainants having had my slavish sense and caution at their service , when very much wanted . * ●a●r against 〈◊〉 . brutus of alba, or, the enchanted lovers a tragedy acted at the duke's theatre / written by n. tate. tate, nahum, - . this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a of text r in the english short title catalog (wing t ). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish.this text has not been fully proofread approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo a wing t estc r ocm

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early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) brutus of alba, or, the enchanted lovers a tragedy acted at the duke's theatre / written by n. tate. tate, nahum, - . virgil. aeneis liber . [ ], , [ ] p. printed by e.f. for jacob tonson ..., london : . first edition. the plan of the play is taken from the fourth book of virgils aeneid. reproduction of original in huntington library.
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brutus of alba : or , the enchanted lovers . a tragedy . acted at the duke's theatre . written by n. tate .

neque ut te miretur turba , labores . hor.

licensed iuly . . roger l'estrange . london , printed by e. f. for iacob tonson , at the sign of the iudge's head in chancery-lane , near fleet-street . .

to the right honourable charles earl of dorset and middlesex , and one of the gentlemen of his majestie 's bed-chamber . my lord ,

that i am permitted to lay this tragedy at your lordship's feet , transports me more then the greatest success on the stage could have done . i confess the scenes are very imperfect , yet as first-fruits i hope they may prove a gratefull offering . 't is by your influence that poetry flourishes in our age ; and therefore no wonder if poets throng to make you their acknowledgements , and dedicate their labours at your shrine . by the excellencies of your lordships mind they form their best heroes , and oblige the world with characters of men both great and courteous .

whilst other judges ( like usurpers in fame ) are jealous of every new pretender to the bays , and labour to crush 'em in their first appearance ; your lordship as the lawfull monarch of wit , sits secure in your native right , assur'd that where-ever they gather their lawrels , those on your lordships brow are sacred and inviolable . such is the accuracy of your judgment in poetry , so correct your performances when you condescend to write , that the most perfect authors must be gratefull for your approbation : yet so vast is your candour , as to afford protection to the essays of even my weak fancy . but though i am the least of those that are blest with your lordships favour , yet i am above 'em all happy in this , that i stand the greatest instance of your goodnesse .

your lordships devoted humble servant , n. tate .
preface .

i wou'd not have the reader surpriz'd to find this tragedy bear some resemblance with the passages of the fourth book of the aeneids , for i had begun and finisht it under the names of dido and aeneas ; but was wrought by advice of some friends , to transform it to the dress it now wears . they told me it wou'd appear arrogant to attempt any characters that had been written by the incomparable virgil ; and therefore ( though sensible enough of what i should lose by the change ) i chose to suffer any inconvenience rather then be guilty of a breach of modesty . the man of wit is seldome a friend to a young writer ; but no such mortal foe to a new authour as your man of noise : who is still the more to be fear'd the less he is able to judge : as 't is observ'd when a criminal falls into the hands of the rabble , those are the most forward to worry him that least understand his offence . our loudest critiques are generally pleas'd or displeas'd with what is least material in a play , or perhaps not so much as a part of it ; for sometimes five good acts have not been able to make amends for one ill dance . if the sense of the lines prove too close and weighty for their tender intellects , they hold themselves affronted , and the poet must answer it at his peril : but if he commit the capital crime of inserting learning into his play , it were convenient that his will were made , and some brother of the faculty immediately set to work on his epitaph . sir formal got rid of the silk-weavers with much contusion , and cinna in julius caesar , scap't with some rubbs , and being hoist on a cowl-staff ; but to be 〈◊〉 witted is the least that an authour in the'foresaid case can expect . invenias disjecti membra poetae . this one would think sufficient to reclaim 'em , but experience shews us that poetry is such a stubborn sort of fanaticism , as is never to be rooted out by persecution .

prologue . y 'ave met us in defiance of the weather : how has our magick conjur'd ye together ? 't was a new play , there doubtless lay the charm that drew to our forsaken hive this swarm . to sooth your humour more what could we doe ? the play to night is new , the poet too . he , though an early trespasser in rhime , ne'r climb'd the stage before , and judg'd this time for his first venture safest , when the road was clear , the pirate wits disperst abroad : he hop't whilst you to th' countrey were withdrawn , t' have found an easie iury of the town ; but is surpriz'd to see an awefull pit met to arraign him by the laws of wit ; laws ne'r perform'd by mortal writer yet . witches and spells the former age believ'd , and as authentick on the stage receiv'd : our poet fears they 'l hardly pass with you , who no charms but in beauty will allow ! yet since such lovers , knaves , and fools , have been shewn on the stage , as elsewhere ne'r were seen , why shou'd his hagg's forc't characters appear ? 'cause your nice reason doubts if witches are ! he with a trembling hand their jargons wrote the entertainment of his mid-night thought : meanwhile his fancy , like a tender bride , with th' exercise lay pleas'd and terrifi'd . with ease his beldames tempests raise and lay , but cou'd contrive no spell to save the play. their art keeps fiends in awe , and makes 'em civil , but critiques spight of fate will play the devil .
the persons . prince of the dardan forces . his son , a youth . favourite to the prince . a designing lord , a syracusian . women . her confident . a sorceress . her attendants . two ambassadours . officers and sailers . messengers . captain of the queen's guards .

scene syracuse .

brutus of alba. a tragedy .
act the first . the curtain drawn , discovers the queen , amarante , brutus , soziman , and attendants . bru. wee 'l sacrifice to the obliging storm that lodg'd us on this hospitable coast ; o realm belov'd of heaven , glory of nations , whose vertue vies with mortals of first ages , e're lust of power in open discord flam'd , and wak'd the slumbring world into alarms . qu. whilst suffering worth and exil'd vertue find reception here , what do we more then pay a debt by nature's law from nations due ? but prince , you bring more then a common claim , fame , worthy of your noble ancestors there 's magick in his language , looks and meen ! aside . how has my hospitality betray'd me ! permit me not just powers to perish by the goodness you enjoyn the impetuous passion storms at my heart but i shall stand the shock . bru. since the untimely fate of my eudemia , grief so congeal'd my breast i thought no glance aside . cou'd thaw me , but i melt before those eyes . qu. his griefs like mists rise silent from his breast , and settle in a cloud upon his brow. confide sir in the pow'rs that favour vertue , the remnant of your fleet may yet be safe . bru. i 'm scap't to shore , but my best treasure 's lost , my friend , the sharer of my heart and toyls ! when prest by rav'nous death , devouring dangers , to him as to an altar i repair'd for refuge as t'an oracle for counsel : his worth 's large story wou'd consume the day , oh he engrost the vertues of mankind , pious as flamens , and for martial deeds a greater strove not on the phrygian plains . oft watchfull in his tent he past the night , projecting th' enemies slaughter , while they slept dreaming perhaps of vict'ry . none better knew the well-rang'd files to force , and clear a breach for rout and general ruine : or if with too unequal pow'r opprest , how would he manage his reserves o' th' war ; his rallying troops in firm battalion fix , and shield the gasping battle to the last ! his grov'ling squadrons stiff with cooling gore his voice cou'd quicken , to renew the fray , forcing the greedy fates to wait , till they had snatcht a conquest but my zeal i find grows talkative and rude your pardon madam . qu. proceed brave prince , there 's musick i' th' relation . your friend lives fam'd whilest you survive t' avouch his wondrous worth in more surprizing streins . bru. by your indulgence i 'le resume the theam , in which my fond soul is with pleasure lost . in child-hood years with lisping tongue i swore with this asaracus eternal friendship , as my prophetick mind presag'd how much my future toyls would such a partner need ; for when youth 's down first flowr'd upon my cheek ( whilst practising i' th' chace the stubborn bow ) i shot at rovers , and by fatal chance my royal father slew , an exile then to greece with my asaracus i fled , where having found remains o' th' dardan race by grecian tyranny opprest , we rag'd , became their chiefs , and led the ill-treated tribe to th' desart hills , where sought by pandrasus forth from our mount'nous holds we sallied down and chas'd his scattered legion to the cliffs , where plunging in the deep they shun'd our fury . this my asaracus perform'd . next morn ' the tyrant terms of peace propos'd , free passage from his coasts , with all our pow'rs in squadrons cull'd from the eubaean fleet ; with the first winde we sail'd , but having past the sound forgive an interrupting tear , my dear eudemia sickened dyed qu. i 'm lost ! aside . vain as i was to tempt such charming sorrow . bru. at delos first we toucht , where with due rites we approach't the orac'lous shrine , whilst from the cave ( in sounds that shook the fane ) the god pronounc'd to albion , brutus , bend thy naval course , fate gives that seat of empire ; mighty toils attend thy way , and thou shalt be divorc't from what thou hold'st most dear that last dire clause boded the loss of my asaracus . thus niggard destiny by halves oblig'd me , gave me dull empire while it snatcht my friend . enter an attendant and speaks . attend. madam , the ambassadors demand your audience , imperious and impatient of delay . qu. admit ' em . soz. these warlikes guests at length may prove our lords , aside . if no resenting syracusian frame some timely project to supplant their pow'r ; each hour assaults me with a fresh temptation to take th'important task in hand , sure time must usher my designs from their dark cell well form'd , and fair as nature from the chaos . enter the ambassadors . . amb. from the agrigentine court we are arriv'd ; our charge is short , but bears a weighty sense , our king by us demands your love or war. . amb. the seasons both of peace and arms alike conduce to swell his glory , for he wears with equal grace his olive wreaths and lawrel . . amb. 't is in your choice to rule him or obey , to mount or follow his triumphant carr , to wear his bands of conquest or of love , to ensure your own and share a greater crown , or fall from empire tender'd and possest . qu. your servile flatteries have sure pufft up your monarch to a self-reputed god , he courts like iove , with thunder in his hand : but let him draw our just war on his head , 't is odds wee 'l undeceive the flatter'd mortal : let him approach like mars in ruffled dress , his grisly curls deform'd with dust and gore , or like the idean youth with locks perfum'd , fragrant and chearfull as the rising day , we bid defiance to his threats and charms ; i weigh not of a grain his love and rage , my leisure theams of laughter and disdain . . amb. think how your infant town defenceless lies , an easie plunder for the next invader . qu. your storming threats are calm'd into advice ; your caution ( though impertinent ) was kind ; but to the gods and her own citizens leave syracuse , she like the world's first worthies wars naked , as alcides in his cradle , when the infant-god disarm'd the hissing foes , and chain'd the captive snakes in their own folds . . amb. your passion has had scope , and now we wait your more considerate and final answer . qu. to your imperious prince bear this reply , bid him despair both of my heart and crown , be th' god of war the cupid , which he brings , yet shall not conquest his designs secure ; for should the chance of war leave me the loser i 'de fly to fate to shun his loath'd embrace , and in death's brazen holds make safe retreat . . amb. then for the last extreams of war prepare , despair not to enjoy that death you covet . exeunt ambassad . soz. i knew their embassie brought love or war ; with their hot master i 'le divide the queen ; her person be his prize , her sceptre mine , his lust of beauty and my lust of pow'r at once shall ryot on their several quarries . enter some of the guards bringing in locrinus . locr. keep distance slaves , who offers at my sword grasps certain death , your vile hands shall not soil it , i will resign it , but the noblest way , and yield it with my life an offering here . kneels , and lays it at the queens feet . qu. what means this bloudy steel laid at my feet ? guard. young hylax son to this old lord , lies slain i' th' cloysters by this princes hand . soz. my hylax slain ! and his bold murderer come reeking in his gore to dare the law ? but i with more assurance could not move the gods for justice , then the queen i serve ! i 'le use no rhetorick , no invectives seek kneels . to aggravate my wrongs ; all , all i crave is that the queen would view that bloud , these tears ! bru. true , he 's my son , the fruit of my first love , joy of eudemia's life , her dying care , our countries hopes , and sole heir of my war , yet for his breach of hospitality i yield him up to law. qu. disastrous chance ! speak prince , how kill'd you hylax ? locr. with my sword . qu. the occasion of the fray ? locr. warm in debate he struck me , then before i cou'd return the blow , he drew , i drew , he thrust , i thrust , and like a trojan pass'd him through the heart . qu. to his own rashness then impute his fate . to doom the princes death for self-defence wou'd be to murder with the sword of justice . but to convince you of the strong regard to soziman . which our deserving subjects find with us , we to your care our cittadel commit , full successor to our late general 's honours . soz. i blush and bow beneath the mighty grace ! now my designs take life , i 'm now empow'rd aside . to do my self that justice she refus'd . to my ambition too 't will give pretence , make it approv'd , as gen'rous brave revenge that else had been detested treason stil'd . thus specious forms give foulest crimes applause . exit . enter asaracus attended by sailers . bru. asaracus my griefs convert to rapture ! support me or the ecstasie will kill me . asar . your squadron's safe arriv'd the shore , and i to my lords sacred breast . bru. there shalt thou grow , nor will i more be wrackt with fears to lose thee ; go kneel unto this hospitable queen , and take her blessing thankfully as heavens . presents him to the queen , and then speaks aside . a secret fear springs up to damp my joy , and checks my transport for my friends arrival . the cause too obvious is , i love this queen ; and the soft cupid at his presence shrinks : he never will be won t'endulge my passion ! yet why shou'd he be judge of what i suffer ? he 's stern , and never felt a pang of love , can gaze unhurt on beautie 's fullest blaze , that blinds my weaker sight and makes me stray ! but these are dreams , i 'le rowze and shake 'em off . lucr. o tutor great in arms , the gods can tell to asar . how oft your martial precepts i revolv'd , how punctual to each mornings exercise ; but oh ! when i conceiv'd you lost , it dampt the glory i presag'd i' th' albian war to think you liv'd not witness of my fame , to see me copy out your rules in bloud , when i no more should hear you tell of battels , nor take new flames from your applause , nor in your arms be claspt , and call'd your royal charge . bru. once more let my embraces lock thee fast , and chain my dearest blessing to my heart . teach me to make thy merit some return , i wou'd not die ungratefull take my glories , the scepter from my hand , or lawrel from my brow. asa. that were a sacriledge ! as soon i 'le wrest the thund'rers lifted bolts , your souldier knows no greater blessing then laid prostrate thus , to kiss those feet that with sure speed have trod the loftiest tracks of glory . bru. rise my friend , and briefly tell the accidents befell thee , since we were scatter'd on the ionian floud . asa. when by the tempest from the squadrons snatcht , we pass'd the harpyan strophades to gain zacynthus port , where having come t' a road the surges topt us , and a northern gust from th' head lands faln to leeward drove us out ; thus without sun twelve times twelve hours we hull'd , till the ledaean twins in lambent flames pearcht on our shrowds , whilst we the omen blest , and with warm entrails ( their lov'd sacrifice ) appeas'd the fretted waves ; with the next light pachynus promontories we descry'd , where landing near the point , we kneel'd and jointly hail'd th'auspicious shore . thence coasting the vast cliffs , elorus bay we gain'd , where certified of your arrival , our clamours shook the rocky theatre . rouz'd tritons from the floud breast high appear'd , gaz'd wondring round , and to the deep retir'd . bru. our self will thither instantly repair , to cheer the dear companions of our voyage , and bless the gods as loud as the storm rag'd . exit brutus , asaracus , cum suis. qu. all but my amarante be withdrawn come near ; this distance is unkind , we are not queen and subject now , but friend and friend . thou hast my heart and ne'er deceiv'st my ear ; tell me the present rumours of the state , and how our syracusians stand affected to our reception of this royal stranger ? am. content smiles on each syracusian's brow , who for the safety of our widdow'd realm wait your espousals with your royal guest , to wed your persons and your states together ; for this the suppliant crowd to th' altars throng , where with religious violence and joint prayers they storm and press the heavens into compliance . qu. their prayers are impious and their zeal rebellion ; but thou more impious to approve their wishes ; thou to seduce me to a second love , thou that art conscious to my midnight vows of constancy to my departed lord , whose genius i with nightly worship meet , crown his dear urn , and at his tomb keep state , whilst hallow'd nymphs successively attend , and through the cell eternal tapers shine . am. i told ( at your command ) your peoples wishes , but were my private choice approv'd , the queen should hold her syracusian state intire , not blend it with the strangers broken fortunes , but banish from the court the dangerous guests to seek their promis'd empire through the main . qu. this is a worse extream ! rather then cruel be false , 't is in our tender sex a crime more natural yet were thy nature savage , my soft example might at least have wrought some change , a tame bred tygress will forget her fierceness , and domestick mildness take . am. yet whilst you charge me with a tygress heart , grant me at least to have a woman's eyes ! qu. ha weepst thou tender maid ! this gentle show'r has laid the storm that would have wreckt my quiet . excuse the ravings of my feav'rish mind , if i am difficult and wayward grown , impute my frowardness to my disease ! support me dear companion on thy breast , those pillows yield me ease in every pain . the restless secret in my bosome strives , but when 't is toil'd with beating in the cage , it will grow tame and sleep . am. for what offence am i abridg'd the dear and wonted freedom to share your cares ? to fav'rites more esteem'd your smiles and happier hours you may dispense , but to your griefs i claim the first access ; my friendship early sought that priviledge , obtain'd the grace and nought beyond aspir'd . qu. oh amarante guardian of my breast , heaven so indulge my hopes as well i know thy truth , thy wondrous truth , and prize it dear ! so oft ( beyond the suff'rance even of friendship ) i 've pierc't thee with complaints of my hard fate , wounded thy tender soul with tales of sorrow , as none but amarante wou'd bear with me ; yet ( now i should discharge thee from thy toil ) impose a new and heavier task of grief , to mourn with my unhappiness of folly , i am grown frail and love ama. what you are pleas'd thus darkly to deliver , were in me presumption to expound . qu. ah kind dissembler , rather then chide , thou wilt not seem to know my frailty , but thy troubled blushes give that just reproof this partial tongue withholds ! i know thou wouldst be shockt with the relation , but now i 've told my grief i am at ease . i wanted but thy aid to check my fears , and crush the danger e're 'thas strength to wound . this tender cupid in his cradle dies , nor shall he move me with his smiles or cries : from 's infant hand i 'le wrest the poison'd dart , and stab the little tyrant to the heart . exeunt . finis actus primi .
act ii. scene the palace . enter soziman with the ambassadors . soz. my lords , presume not of an easy conquest , corrupted states lull'd in security , when with alarms into confusion rouz'd , are sackt with ease in their disorder'd fright ; not so our syracuse that nightly watches and ever wakes to danger . . amb. let her wake . when we assault wee 'd find her on her guard. soz. beside , the prince's pow'rs assist her now , troops fed by rapine , and whose trade is war. masters of arms th' uncertain fray decline , and foil by stratagem a pow'rfull foe . suppose i point your prince a bloudless path to his designs , and without danger , lodge th' impatient youth in this coy queen's embrace ? . amb. think not old syracusian that we doat like thee , to credit a protesting foe . soz. my lords , to give you a resistless proof that i am serious , know , 't is interest . self-interest and revenge are the sure springs that drive my wheel , and give my projects motion : i am abus'd into disloyalty , and like a torrent from my channel forc't where peacefully i roll'd , will now bear down and lay all waste where my diverted current falls . . amb. say then what method will you chuse t' effect your glorious crime ? soz. a method safe and speedy , the cittadel is in my pow'r , and that commands the town below ; if then your prince conspire with my design , let him convey a trusty legion hither , which by night i will admit into the palace , where the queen may be surpriz'd . . amb. 't is well design'd , and we stand sureties for our king. soz. but stay , our terms of compact be agreed on first ; none are unjust or just but for reward : i 'll sell my vertue , but i 'll rate it dear , i will possess the crown which i betray , when i renounce my loyalty i 'le reign . . amb. yours be the sceptre then , provided you submit to hold it of our king. soz. agreed . thus kneel we then t' invoke the conscious pow'rs , and with our clashing swords the contract bind . now that keen steel be sheath'd i' th' owners breast that starts from his giv'n promise . both amb. we have sworn . ex. the ambassadors . soz. thus far i drive not but am driven , and glide on a smooth current into glorious ills. the court are bound to morrow for the chase , old as i am i will be first in field , there to consult the sorc'ress at her cave , to my dark plots her darker counsels join . the rig'rous amarante may receive my suit , when in imperial robes i woo . fortune sets me at once love and a crown , and boldly i resolve to throw at both . exit . enter asaracus musing . asa. she 's fair ! all beauteous but what 's that to me ? nature seems curious to have made her charms excell ; but why should that disturb my quiet ? 't is mean ! i 'le not endure 't ! my warlike heart become at last a wanton cupid's toy ! he curls about me , but i 'le tear his hold , i 'le bear the soft enchanter to the camp , and scare him with alarms : hee 'l quit me then . enter amarante . the charming foe appears ; i 'le bear up roughly , and make a bold reprizal of my heart stay madam , i have business of importance , a secret to impart . ama. to me sir ? asa. yes . 't is a discovery i have lately made , ( a truth that ne'er cou'd gain with me till now ) that lovers hearts will ake ! ama. and call you this discovery ? asa. a most surprizing one to me , i thought their smart and pangs were meer imaginations , they sigh'd , and wept , and swore , and rav'd of wounds invisible ; i prais'd the mimick craft , with wonder saw the pale youth's trembling visit : the tend'rest , gentlest creatures nature frames ! but i am now seiz'd with the frenzy too ; and charge you with my suff'rings ; you have wrong'd me , possest me with a fond and foolish pain which i despise ; yet trust me , 't is uneasie ! ama. how various are his forms ! this protean love sighs with the silent , with the frolick smiles , weeps with the soft , and in the souldier storms . the wrongs you accuse me of , i nor design'd nor knew , if you are serious , charge not me with what i cou'd not help . asa. by mars nor i. but if my folly shou'd grow troublesome , as you are mercifull indulge it not , it will divert me from pursuit of glory ; whate're my fawning passion may pretend believe it not , for i was never form'd for love , but bred i' th' camp , rockt in a shield , and cannot take the softness beauty craves ; want all the little arts to please the fair. ama. i am at once provokt to smile and rage . asa. i do not think i shall again offend you with talk of my rough-cast unpolisht love , but if i shou'd oh to my fame be just , disdain my suit and frown me into silence . ama. despair not of so cheap a charity . you 'l find me sir , reserv'd as you cou'd wish . asa. i thank thee now i grow my self again ; the peevish pain has rag'd it self asleep to wake no more : 't was a tormenting fit. ama. his surly passion bears so odd a grace , it charms me more then all the smiling loves ; but i am sworn impartial foe to all . exit . enter brutus with soziman . soz. my lord , the queen invites you to the chase i' th' morn ' . bru. wee 'l wait her majesty to the field . exit soziman . asa. to th' chase ? i like it not ; i have seen nothing that shakes my temper more then that old lord ; mischief and destiny low'r on his brow. bru. o my asaracus , how much i fear'd on what the delian god presag'd , that i shou'd be divorc't from what i held most dear , the hasty fates had cruelly perform'd in snatching thee ye pow'rs secure my friend , and from your promis'd empire be absolv'd . asa. perish a legion nobler lives then mine , e're brutus be from th' albian isle diverted ; your rich loins hold an endless race of kings , fair albion of their reign th' eternal seat , albion , that in the flouds erects her cliffs sits queen o' th' seas , whilst the aw'd nations round at distance wait , and in their mutual jarrs from this great arbitress take law ; their states she poizes , and to each deals equal power . bru. thou speak'st my friend as thou wert still at delos one of th' orac'lous tribe , whilst hallow'd wine had steept thy breast for the inspiring god. asa. alcander in the late storm was embarqu't with me , you know him by descent inclin'd to prophecie , and like his sire inspir'd : o' th' suddain i observ'd him knit his brow , look wild , start , laugh , and grow compos'd again . then prostrate fall'n lay breathless , till anon the rapture flusht him , and his dancing bloud glow'd through his veins : thus wrapt , in wond'rous stile the fates of future ages he divin'd , prodigious glories that i' th' albian isle wait noble brutus and his progeny : the conscious storm with rev'rend silence heard the prophet speak , and then resum'd its fury . bru. thou fir'st my soul , mak'st glory dart upon me so fierce , i must have respite or expire . at leisure i will hear of this at large , the queen approaches now , this passage leads t' argaces cell , where nightly she repairs , there to devotion she converts her love , and treats her dead lords genius like a god , with fragrant flow'rs and gumms then flow'rs more sweet perfumes his vault , believes him there invisible and pleas'd with her officious piety . asa. it shews her strange regard to the diseas'd . bru. regard ! asaracus , call 't not regard , 't is superstition , fondness , zeal misguided , and pity 't is but she were undeceiv'd . asa. but why my lord shou'd her mistake offend your quiet ? bru. ha! whilst i accuse her weakness aside . how has my foolish heart betray'd its own ! 't is true , it was in me a wild concern . no more good rest my friend . asa. permit me wait you in . bru. i wou'd be private . ex. severally . the scene opening discovers argaces tomb deckt with armory and wreaths of lawrel ; a priestess clad in white , at each corner , they round the tomb scattering flowers and singing the following stanza's . the queen kneels at some distance . i. sleep ye great manes of the dead , whilst our solemn round we tread , whilst at our cell as at a shrine , we nightly wait with rites divine ; whilst to adorn the tomb we bring the earliest glories of the spring , and sweetest softest anthems sing ; the floor with hallow'd drops bedewing , and all around fresh roses strewing . ii. ye guardian powers that here resort , for ever make this cell your court ; if devoutest pray'rs invite ye , or sabaean gumms delight ye , then make this sacred vrn your care , and nightly to this cell repair , to feast on frankincense and pray'r . around we goe the floor bedewing , violets , pinks , and roses strewing . after the song all retire but the queen . qu. hail , ever hail , ye sacred dear remains of my argaces ! hail my first last lord ! accept thy widow'd queen's religious sorrow ; her restless love pursues thee to thy grave , nor glow'd more vig'rous in the genial bed. rises after a pause . what sudden damp congeals my streaming language ? my stubborn tongue refuses to perform its practis'd task ! my rebell eyes withhold their wonted tribute this new flame , this feav'rish flame has drunk up all my tears ! whilst my argaces genius i invoke , his rival's image on my thought intrudes , and from his seat the rightfull owner drives . enter brutus . prince brutus ? or argaces in his shape to tempt my constancy ? heav'n ! 't is the prince ! as at th' appearance of an angel , i am terrifi'd and pleas'd ! my lord , this visit ( not to impeach you of a rudeness ) is unseas'nable at best and indiscreet . bru. my indiscretion justly you impeach , but who was e're a lover and discreet ? give me my ease again , my settled mind , and i 'le again grow formally discreet . speak fair tormenter , when will you remit my burning pain ? not one cheap sigh or tear to cool or quench me ? qu. wave this wild discourse , it strikes like blasphemy a terrour through me . why heaves my heart ? i know my vertue 's strong , yet dare not trust the magick of his tongue ; 't is sweet , but fatal as a syren's song . bru. or if you are resolv'd on my destruction , temper at least reluctance with your justice , and seem not to take pleasure in my ruine . i wou'd not die with an accusing thought of you , but bless you while you give me death ! qu. ah! how the soft temptation steals upon me ! aside . but i 'le not dally with the smiling danger , nor sport with fire retire my lord as you regard a queen's unspotted honour . bru. i , like a miser's ghost , all the day long confin'd to flames , and having made by stealth a mid-night visit to my treasure , am from the dear wealth untimely summon'd off to howl disconsolate in flames again . qu. yet have the wretched comfort of the damn'd , companions of your woe . bru. has then a spark of love toucht that dear breast ? ah lest the snow that 's there starve the weak kindling fire . qu. i rave , i rave ! and in my phrensie had almost disclos'd the dearest secret of my soul be gone or by that sacred tomb bru. i goe , and for a parting lover make wondrous haste , howe're you think me slow ! oh wing'd with hope i enter'd , but return stript of my plumes , and cumber'd with despair . qu. replying still ? ingratefull prince farewell . bru. stay queen ! whirlwind and thunder snatch me hence e're i commit so dire a crime as t' interrupt your pious rites ; yet think not my approach rude or prophane , ev'n at the shrines of gods we are allow'd to tell our griefs , and i design no more ! i crave no more then piety may grant , one tender look , a pitying parting sigh ! 't is all my banisht soul has to sustain her 'till i 'm restor'd to those dear eyes again ! qu. what can i give , when charity to you is perjury to my deceas'd argaces ? who never will remit the right i gave , but hoards my vows like treasure in his tomb. bru. vows to the dead are cancel'd when they 're giv'n , and with the breath that form'd 'em blown away . my vows to my eudemia equal yours , nor will her peacefull happy shade reproach me , that i from you seek bliss she cannot give ! ghost of agaces rises on the one side of the tomb , ghost of eudemia on the other . qu. defend me prince ! bru. eudemia whom i nam'd ! qu. and my argaces image ! bru. argaces ghost ? a rival from the dead ? journeys ill destiny this way to night , and thou its harbinger ? speak awefull shade ! what magick bringst thou from the nether world , to chill my boyling bloud and freeze my spirits ? injurious spectre , when did i invade thy world that thou should'st come to forrage here ? avaunt , descend , and to the greeks below boast if thou wilt that thou made'st brutus shake. ghosts descend . qu. warn'd from the fates let us converse no more , nor run with open eyes upon our ruine ! alas , how fatal must our hymen be , when the dead rise our nuptials to forbid ? exit . bru. falsly your fears interpret their design ! the ghosts appear'd to give us their consent ! what false illusions am i forc't to frame ! what will not love-rackt minds pretend , to gain a minutes respite from their tort'ring pain ! exit . finis actus secundi .
act iii. scene a desart . at some distance a fountain with the statue of diana . enter soziman solus . soz. this is the dreadfull sorceresse's cave , where sullen fiends , hell's male-contents conspire , whilst at the ghastly board the hag presides , weighs their debates and sways the dark cabal . ho ragusa ! dread prophetess appear : assist an heart that labours with vast mischief , and with thy spells secure the fatal birth . enter ragusa . rag. who interrupts when i 'm at work for hell ? whos'e'rethou art , i hate the light and thee . ha! soziman ? thou art a hopefull son , a working head , industrious for perdition . soz. instruct this feeble arm to shake a throne , and snatch a crown . rag. let it be steept in bloud ! 't was my initiating ceremony to my dire art , i was install'd with slaughter , nor cou'd i raise me to my airy rounds , 'till i had bath'd my limbs in infants gore . a horn winded at distance . soz. heark , the game 's rouz'd . rag. so merry ! well , 't is odds i marr your sport . by contract , son , i hate all humane kind , but envy most the prosperous and great ; thou art devoted to the queen's destruction , and so am i ; this day begins her ruine . take that . gives him a little viol. soz. th' intent ? rag. 't is the queen's bane . thou know'st the custome when the sports are done the court repairs to the diana fountain , to worship there the goddess of the woods , and drink of the cool stream ; the queen drinks first , mark me , prince brutus and the queen drink first , into their bowl see thou convey that philtre , it fires the chastest breasts with loose desires . soz. speak on , for now thy voice grows full of fate . rag. when they have drunk , an entertainment follows , then when the philtre has for dalliance flush't 'em , i will by magick pour a tempest down , hail , rain and fire , th' ingredients of the storm ; scatt'ring the company to th' caves for shelter . at the same cell the prince and queen shall hide , where she forgetfull shall resign her honour . soz. ha! ha ! i shall be doubly mischievous , at once a traitour to her crown and vertue . but i to vertue am a foe profest , and sworn to storm her in her strongest holds . rag. since mischief is ingrafted to thy nature , i 'le teach thee all the arts of doing ill ; the surest spells to work distorting pains , t'enfeeble loves , and breed eternal jarrs , to blast the hopes of the laborious swain , and sink returning sailers in the bay , to poison flouds , infect the air , lay waste whole empires : this i 'le teach thee , and to thee i will bequeath my goblins when i die . exit . soz. farewell , methinks my road to greatness now is grown so plain , i may discharge my guide . this for the queen ; and may the dose prove strong . i shou'd have learnt from her the readiest way to hasten the removal of this prince from syracuse , his pow'rs may check my plot with the ambassadours i have bethought me ; his friend asaracus is bent on conquests and crowns in albion whither they are bound ; i 'le serve my ends of his rough martial vertue . he comes this way , as i presume , forsaking the chase in discontent , if he discharge his followers , i 'le attaque him . enter asaracus followed by two officers of the prince's . . off. nay , good my lord withdraw not from the chase , you 'l disoblige the queen and court. asa. away . 't is a divertisement i ne're affected , my youth sought rougher labours , and was taught to lay a stratagem , not set a ginn . . off. some deep resentment grudges in his breast . asa. that e're our nations glory shou'd have reacht these distant lands , and we our selves arrive to contradict the story of our fame ! unworthy of our noble ancestors , unworthy of our former selves . . off. my lord , some respite to our labours must be given . asa. dull restive soul ! 't is this degenerate sloth holds our faln state in its sad ruins still ; had we been active , follow'd leading fate , our standards in mid albion we had fixt , founded th' eternal monarchy e're now . but i divert ye from your exercise . return , goe sirs , and help to fill the cry : i have affairs of weight to think upon , and seek advantage from this solitude . ex. officers . soz. o he is just i' th' tune i wish't to find him . asa. not all my labours of the seas and field brought half the terrour of my present task ! to tempt the fury of my prince and friend , to rowze him from his ecstasie of love , is the severest trial of my duty ; but i must trace my loyalty through all its roughest paths ha! lord soziman ! what has withdrawn your lordship from the chase ? soz. 't is long since i of pastimes lost the relish , the publick care preys hourly on my breast ; more anxious fears sting not fond parents hearts at mid-night musing on the various chances may snatch their off-spring , then ag'd statesmen feel for states which their indulgent care has nurst , how much they dread lest mischiefs from abroad , shou'd crush 'em in their helpless tender years , and when grown up to strength lest riot drown ' em . asa. your publick trust is large , and this concern is worthy of your dignity and years . soz. 't was rude to press upon your privacy , but needfull 't was for me to find you private ; i have proposals of much weight to offer , the blest result of my long lab'ring thought . asa. to honest motions i ne're shut my ear. soz. know then the circumstances of our state and yours , seem to invite a speedy union , for both lie now expos'd to foreign pow'rs , but join'd , can frame a realm invincible , of strength to awe the neighb'ring nations round , to th'outmost isles and distant poles give law. asa. at last his hov'ring policy is pitch't , aside . and come about to th' perch where it design'd to fix , though to beguile me it flew wide . soz. the nuptials of your prince and our fair queen will finish this design , you may perceive your gen'rous master of himself inclin'd , and will with secret transport be advis'd ( by you who rule his breast ) to prosecute i' th' publick name , what is his private choice . asa. nay then 't is time to rowze him from his dream aside . they 've found his weakness and wou'd practise on 't , but they shall find he had a friend that wak't to guard his glory when 't was slumber-charm'd sly lord , how is your wisedom now o'reseen ? you know me rash , and shou'd believe me honest , and yet have dar'd t' engage me in a task that 's neither feazible nor just ; think on your pious queen's vow'd constancy to her departed lord , and then be mute . soz. the rudeness were too gross and past all pardon t' engage you in unfeazible designs , but to encourage your endeavours , know that ' midst her pious vows she languishes with a resistless passion for the prince , of which perhaps he is not ignorant . asa. hell ! if he once discover her affection he 's lost for ever but i 'le force him hence e're the soft charm prevail too far upon him . dull politician , thou hast spun thy snare too gross to catch ev'n cred'lous honesty ! yes , i will use my int'rest with the prince . perswade , prevail , but counter to your projects . exit . soz. rash warrier goe , and in mistake perform this poor dull politician's work : ha ! ha ! all pufft with fond conceit of a discov'ry , he 's gone off pleas'd ! just such a stock of brain as heroes need , meer engines of the state in times of danger by skilfull artists play'd : but when war's flame is quench't , again laid by . exit . enter ragusa with four women , attendants , a horn sounded at a distance . rag. heark , the stagg's faln , and now the court comes on to th' fountain to perform the sylvan rites ; 't is time we were preparing for the storm . heed me ye daughters of the mystick art , look that it be no common hurricane , but such as rend the caspian cliffs , and from th' hyrcanian hills sweep cedars , roots , and all . speak , goes all right ? or have ye ought observ'd odd and ill-boding ? for last night me thought the moon chang'd colour , and her horns grew blunt : boötes wain o'return'd and lost a wheel , the pummel-star fell from orion's sword . speak lamiae ! all wo. uh , uh , uh , uh ! rag. d' ye start ? i 'le charm ye marble but i 'le fix ye . pronounce , and while ye speak , breath blasts and mildews . . wo. the cricket leaves our cave , and chirps no more . . wo. i stuck a ram but cou'd not stain my steel . . wo. his fat consum'd i' th' fire and never smoak't . . wo. i found this morn ' upon our furnace wall mysterious words wrought by a slimy snail , whose night-walk fate had guided in that form ; th' imperfect syllables our ruine speak . rag. call up my spirit daran to expound . . wo. daran's in hold , poor daran's pris'ner ta'ne , in scylla's rock ten fathom deep he groans , with such dire magick bound , such potent spells , i fear he 'l never be at large again . rag. beshrew the beldame ! this was magra's mischief , i 'll rive the rock to th' roots to set him free , and then on lightning ride to fire her cell . by all the dismal secrets of my cave i will not leave her pow'r for pettiest mischiefs ; no not so much as to breed must in fodder , and make the stall'd oxe pine at the full crib , not to raise blanes on tongues that flout and curse her , or silence in her night-walks barking currs . . wo. thou' rt queen of mysteries , great ragusa , how hast thou stemm'd th' abyss of our black science ? trac't dodging nature through her blind scape-roads , in her dark mansions seis'd her , stript her veil , and brought her nak'd and trembling to the light ? rag. now to our task , and for encouragement , remember that the tempest we now raise will be attended with a mighty ruine , the queen's perdition , think on that , my gorgons : from this malignant hour her better stars their influence shall withhold , her guardian genius neglect and leave her a devoted prey . . wo. fate so decrees , i search't th' eternal scrowl , read smiling the contents of her black doom . rag. stand off , and crouching mystick postures make , gnawing your rivell'd knuckles 'till they bleed , whilst i fall prostrate to consult my art , and mutter sounds too sacred for your ear. falls flat on her face , as she lies two deformed spirits descend , and whisper in each ear. the storm 's on wing , comes poud'ring from the nore , rising . 'thas past the alps already , and whirls forward to th' appenine , whose rifled snow is swept to th' vales beneath , while cotts and folds lie buried . once more come round me and attend my counsel . when we have serv'd our ends of soziman ( who by our aid pursues the queen's destruction ) wee 'l ruine him . . wo. be that my task . rag. it shall . thou myrza tak'st to night an airy march to th' pontick shore for druggs , and for more speed on my own maple crutch thou shalt be mounted , which bridled , turns to a steed so manageable that thou may'st rein him with a spider's thread . . wo. and how if i o're-take a barque i' th' way ? rag. then if aloft thou go'st , to tinder scorch the fanns ; but if thou tak'st a lower cutt , then snatch the whip-staff from the steers-man's hand , and sowce him in the foam . . wo. he shall be drench't . but see the court are ' lighted from their coursers , and walk this way . rag. scudd burrough in your caves . all vanish . enter brutus , queen and the rest , as from the chase. bru. 't was such a holding chase as did almost convert the sport to toil . asa. 't was desperate service . bru. what means asaracus ? his looks and language are of late grown dark . qu. we are late , and must dispatch the fountain rites with shortest ceremony . soz. queen , glut thy passion , feast on poison'd sweets ; aside . enjoy , and perish , soziman wou'd plot thy pleasure on no other score . all kneel before the fountain but soziman , who presents the queen and prince with each a bowl , having first infus'd the philtre . bru. this to diana's immortality . drinks . qu. to great diana's immortality . all. this to the triple goddess . bru. it thunders in the wind , 't will be a storm , the north sky low'rs . soz. 't is but a flying show'r , and shou'd it drive this way , the caves are near to yield us shelter . let the masquers enter . a dance of masquers , during which a dark storm gathers . lightning and thunder . asa. in all our sea-disasters i ne'r knew so swift a change of weather . bru. all shift for shelter . exeunt all confusedly , brutus and the queen together . ragusa appears in the storm . rag. i , this is musick ! now me thinks i hear the shrieks of sinking sailers , tackle rent , rudders unhing'd , whilst the sea-rav'ne●s swift scour through the dark floud for the diving corpses . ha! art thou there my melancholy sister ? an owl cries . thou think'st thy napp was short , and art surpriz'd to find night faln already . more turf to th' fire 'till the black mesh ferment ; burn th' oyl of basilisk to fret the storm . that was a merry clap ! i know that cloud was of my fricker's rending , fricker rent it : o 't is an active spirit ! but beshrew him , 't was he seduc'd me first to hellish arts , he found me pensive in a desart glin , near a lone oak forlorn and thunder-cleft , where discontented i abjur'd the gods , and bann'd the cruel creditor that seiz'd my mullees , sole subsistence of my life : he promis'd me full twelve years abs'lute reign to banquet all my senses , but he li'd , for vipers flesh is now my only food , my drink of springs that stream from sulph'rous mines ; beside , with mid-night cramps and scalding sweats i am almost inur'd for hell's worst tortures . i hear the wood-nymphs cry , by that i know my charm has took , the tempter has prevail'd , 't was a sure philtre but the day clears up , and heav'nly light wounds my infectious eyes . enter again the four women . . wo. now sullen dame , do'st thou approve our works ? rag. 't was a brave wreck , oh you have well perform'd . . wo. myrza and i bestrid a cloud , and soar'd to lash the storm , which we pursu'd to th' city , where in my flight i snatcht the golden globe that high on saturn's pillar blaz'd i' th' air. . wo. i fir'd the turret of minerva's fane . . wo. i stay'd i' th' cell to set the spell a work , the lamps burnt ghastly blue , the furnace shook , the salamander felt the heat redoubled and friskt about ; so well i pli'd the fire . rag. now as i hate bright day and love moon-shine , you shall be all my sisters in the art : i will instruct ye in each mystery , make ye all ragusa's . all wo. ho , ho , ho ! rag. around me , and i 'll deal to each her dole . there 's an elf-lock , tooth of hermaphrodite , a brace of mandrakes digg'd in fairy ground , a lampray's chain , snakes eggs , dead sparks of thunder quencht in its passage through the cold mid air , a mermaids fin , a cockatrice's comb , wrapt i' th' dri'd cawl of a brat still-born : burn 'em in whispers take the rest , which nam'd aloud would fright the day , and force another storm . all wo. ho , ho , ho , ho ! exeunt . finis actus tertii .
act iv. scene the walks behind the palace . enter queen and amarante . qu. from shades to court , from court to shades i fly , but bear my torment with me where i goe , thought-rackt and restless as a murd'rers soul ! ama. unload your burden'd heart into my breast , my active love may find your grief a cure. qu. why art thou curious for a sight of hell ? a vision that wou'd fright thee to distraction ! ama. if yet my duty be not throughly tri'd , command me take a scorpion to my bosome : if i refuse , neglected let me live defam'd , forlorn , disown'd of heaven and you . qu. thou' rt brave , and fit to share a queen's afflictions ! sit then and hear the story of my shame , but let the sun , as from my crime he hid his sacred light , withdraw while i relate . thy queen for constancy to her first love long fam'd , and long deserving to be fam'd , is now , ah torture ! a forsworn adultress ! my trembling limbs dissolve at the dire sound ! rising . believe me not , for i bely my self ! think'st thou the gods cou'd e're permit such guilt ? they cou'd , and the infernals know 't is true ! ama. nay , now i must commit a force upon you , my violence is just and charitable . qu. thou' rt wild as i to grapple with my passion , that like a tempest sweeps with lawless rage , 'till spent it sighs it self into a calm . from honour's heights which i with toil had clim'd , how am i in a moment faln and plung'd in infamy ! th' almighty pow'rs beheld , and yet created no prodigy to awe me from the danger . my stupid vertue slept , my guardian genius slept , the planets idlely gaz'd , and all the starry host sat unconcern'd spectators of my fate ! my struggling on the rack but tortures me the more ; i 'm stabb'd with thousand deaths , but cannot die ! ama. ingratefull prince that cou'd so ill requite a gen'rous queen that hid thy impious head from heav'ns pursuing vengeance ! qu. oh , he 's too foul to be a victim made to heav'n , no he shall bleed my sacrifice : shews a dagger . my wrong'd argaces waits for his descent , to seize th' adulterer at th' elysian bounds and sink him yelling to th' abyss of fire ! enter brutus . bru. weeping ? those eyes rich nature's choicest gems shou'd sparkle , not dissolve . qu. ah hypocrite ! hell rages in his breast and heav'n smiles on his brow. bru. your sorrow racks me , from those eyes i feel a cold damp shot into my conscious heart , suppress those sighs and call to heav'n for thunder . qu. why chills my rage ? that soft deluding tongue sooth'd me out of my innocence before , and oh i fear 't will sooth my justice now ! delay slacks my resolves ! with open eyes i cannot wound him but i 'll wink and strike . bru. oh madam you to tyranny pursue your conquest , and a yielding heart oppress ! kill me and cease to grieve , let my life's bloud compound to save that rich expence of tears . qu. oh fate ! i have his leave to give him death , but now my eager rage has seiz'd its quarry , pants o're the prey , and wants the strength to kill . bru. my eyes distill ! like wounded duellists i strive in vain to hide the pressing stream ; madam , you see my frailty , how i melt t'effeminate tears , your sorrow triumphs o're me , and boasts the pow'r to have made a warriour weep ! qu. at such complaint a tygress wou'd relent , the furies cast their tort'ring engines by . throws away her dagger . thus then injurious prince to my revenge another course i steer ; to heav'n i make this solemn vow kneels . bru. hold , hold ! by all that 's good let me conjure you stifle that rash voice ! i know not what you were prepar'd to swear , but fear'd ( divert in heav'n ) a violence on your dear life . qu. 't was a rash breath indeed , all killing as a northern blast ; but now 't is veer'd about into a southern gale , with soft show'rs waited weeps . i consent to live . rise , i forgive you . bru. let me then kneel still ! rich fountain of delight , embodi'd rapture ! joy gleams from thee unwasted , while i press this hand , i know not how , the subtle touch shoots through each vein , and tingles at my heart . qu. i pardon'd you , and what was harder much , promis'd to live , but on condition both , which once transgrest makes th' obligation void , resigns me back to death , and you to my displeasure : as therefore you regard my life and favour be punctual to perform bru. i will remember though i should drink dull lethe dry , let seas forget to ebb and flow , the spheres their tunes , the sun his roads , the elements their duties , of you forgotten , let me perish , when i 'm guilty of a first neglect ! qu. till then , my gratefull heart for you shall entertain the kindest thoughts that women's love suggests ; each day 's state-task shall give me one soft hour , my own intirely , which i will devote to solitude and tender thoughts of you . bru. i sink , i sink ! intoxicate with joy ! like inspir'd priests i reel with ecstasie ! qu. all i exact for this i will sum up in one command , which must not be disputed , that to retrieve my honour you 'd remove , and take this hour a last eternal leave . bru. ha! said you last , last and eternal leave ? you kindle me into transport , and then to death you chill me in the heat of rapture ! 't is barb'rous , queen , to sport with wounded hearts , and spread a toil for harmless cred'lous love : 't were woman's fraud t' have ruin'd with your smiles , but to betray with tears , the crocodile's . th' injunction seem'd impossible , but now i shall obey ! you have your wish , for i shall ne'r intrude into your presence more . faints . qu. help amarante ! gen'rous prince return . bru. what mean you by this cruel charity ? you stretch me on the rack , and when i faint , my drooping spirits with cordials you restore , revive , but oh ! to hold me still in pain . qu. and cou'd you then believe my rigour , ha ? blind pitty leads my piety astray ! 't was cruel to tax me with cruelty : if you must needs accuse , charge fate i wou'd if destiny 't is false , i never will tormenter hence with no reply but sighs he yields to th' harsh command that mournfull glance darts to my soul his grief ; i cannot bear 't , stay prince , my love ! i rave , haste amarante , shield me from ruine , snatch me , bear me , fly ! exit confusedly , amarante follows . bru. thus in loves winding mazes we are toil'd , mourn our hard fate , yet still we keep the round ; we rave of wounds , yet still indulge the pain ; and whilst we curse our bondage , hug the chain , exit . enter soziman with the captain of the guards . soz. to agrigent my trusty officer with these dispatches to th' ambassadors ; tell 'em their last advices were most welcome ; that nightly i expect their promis'd forces , which wee 'l receive to th' cittadel . dispatch . ex. capt. thus far with prosp'rous gales my course i 've steer'd , and now the port's in view . come no cross gust ! my fears grow with th' approaching land , for still the waves beat roughest near the shore . turning spies ragusa entring . i 'm shockt to meet thee here , my sorc'ress ? or some emissary daemon in her shape ? speak briefly the contents of thy dark errand . rag. soft , my projecting son , by subtlest magick invisibly i hither am arriv'd . think not that to my cell i am confin'd , but range the streets unseen , frequent assemblies , and in the sultry halls infection breathe : nay sometimes busie at the sacred shrines , with prodigies t' amuse the zealous crowd , with anxious jealousies enrage their minds , 'till in wild uproar the whole state 's embroil'd . soz. but on what mischief bound arriv'st thou now ? rag. anon there will be bloud-shed in this place , a deed will much conduce to thy designs : i' th' air i 'll hang unseen to gorge the steams , and suck the vapours from the vital gore . soz. thou led'st me into treason , bear me through , in pensive moods i 'm tempted to undoe what i have done , to tack and seek the safe point whence i sail'd . rag. no 't is impossible , thou' rt launcht too far , and must resolve to brave the billows now . soz. i fear the throne which i with bloud must stain will prove a slipp'ry seat , for what shou'd let but villany resolv'd and bold as mine , may take the path which i to greatness forc't , 'till by usurpers the usurper fall ? rag. therefore soon as thou art possest o' th' pow'r see thy confed'rates bleed , that none survive t' upbraid thy greatness with their treach'rous aids , and claim like pirates each his share of spoil . soz. i 'll sacrifice 'em to the murm'ring crowd , with publick justice my ambition gild , show'r gifts among the crowd , make riot flow , 'till they have drown'd their discontents in wine . rag. but that without controll thou maist possess the tyranny , my drudges i 'll employ to frame with their best arts a bracelet for thee , which whilst thou wear'st it lock't on thy left arm , treason shall ne'r annoy thee , sword and poison in vain attempt ; nature alone have pow'r thy substance to dissolve , nor she her self 'till many a winter shock has broke thy temper . soz. medea for her iason less perform'd ! my greatning soul aspires to range like thee , in unknown worlds , to search the reign of night . admitted to thy dreadfull mysteries , i shou'd be more then mortal . rag. ne'r my cell , ( 'mongst circl'ing rocks in form a theatre ) lies a snug vale. soz. with horrour i have view'd it , 't is blasted all and bare as th' ocean beach , and seems a round for elves to revel in . rag. with my attendants there each waining moon my dreadfull court i hold , and sit in state . and when the dire transactions are dispatcht , our zany spirits ascend to make us mirth with gambals , dances , masks , and rev'ling songs 'till our mad din strike terrour through the wast , spreads fair and wide to th' cliffs that bank the main , and scarce is lost in the wide ocean's roar. soz. thou sooth'st my black bloud with a horrid pleasure , that through my dark thoughts darts a gloomy joy. rag. here seated by me thou shalt view the sports , whilst daemons kiss thy foot and swear thee homage . but hush ! our male-content with lowring brow draws near , resolv'd on the dire generous deed ' away ; the mischief now is grown so ripe 't will work it self t'an head without our aid . vanishes . soz. farewell , remember the enchanted bracelet ! not more the crown i covet then that chain . enter asaracus . that gloomy lowring brow presages well . his discontent at th' amorous princes stay is grown too troublesome for his blunt soul to bear conceal'd the prince himself draws near , i 'll leave them and expect the wish'd event . exit . asa. why should i stifle my resentment longer ? i can at worst but give him bloudy proof of my sincerity , if he impeach the freedome i assume , of rage or rudeness , if to perswade , friendship and reason fail , i 'll bleed , and with my dying breath prevail . enter brutus . my lord bru. what would my friend ? asa. you lov'd me once . bru. religion has no greater truth , and when i love thee not , perish my life and honour . asa. bold in your friendship then i warn you sir to summon all your temper to receive what he that loves you best fears to deliver . bru. thou labour'st with my fate , for what pale tidings am i thus cautiously prepared ? asa. i come sir to accuse to you your self , to inform you how your dearest fame lies sick , your foes insulting while your subjects murmur . excuse sir your plain dealing friend bru. proceed asa. our last dear stake lies in your hand to play , which managed wisely may recover yet . all we have lost to fate , and raise our sleeping glory from the grave . bru. gently my friend , i feel each wakening pulse start and beat nimbly at the name of glory . asa. ripe glory waits us in proud albion's plains , and withers whilst the season we neglect , and give our harvest suns to slumber . bru. ha! asa. each gentle breeze that o're your navy breaths , sighs as it flies , and murmurs at our stay . bru. 't is too severe ! cruel asaracus has my firm soul but one weak tender part , and your keen censures level'd all at that ? why are these arms that oft have swept the files , return'd with standards fill'd , and bloudy bays , deny'd the transport of a short embrace ? asa. his tender passion starts at my approach ; it bleeds , but i must pierce it deeper yet : boldly the needfull caution i will utter , as in a treacherous labyrinth you stray , lost in delight , and pleasantly destroy'd , whilst lull'd asleep in your false circe's charms in vain fames trumpet sounds you to the field . bru. die kindling rage ! like thunder struggle , yet i 'll stifle thee , and choak thy lab'ring fire . 't is dead draw near asaracus , and give a heedfull ear to what thy prince delivers ; embracing him . if any dark disaster or mistake tempt thee hereafter to suspect my friendship , call to remembrance this eternal proof thou didst revile the queen , her brutus heard and yet forgave the blasphemy , at once the best of friends and most ingratefull lover . asa. my heart dissolves but nature sink e're i aside . indulge his frailty and permit his ruine . enter locrinus . but though your dear-bought lawrels you permit to fade , slight courting honours , yet consider this noble spirit defrauded by your stay presenting locrinus . of empire , though by nature form'd to reign . locr. dread sir 't is in my bloud and i must reign , can brook your sacred self alone above me : hourly i 'll thrive in fame , increase in glory , to fill your throne when you remove to th' gods. asa. excuse this heat , a spark of your own fire that once glow'd bright , though now in embers hid , but fann'd with such breath needs must blaze again . locr. ev'n when a child and under womens care , whilst through the casements i beheld our youth by prince cleanthus muster'd near the palace , i view'd 'em o're , gaz'd on their dazling crests , their wond'rous scarfs and javelins tip't with gold , then sigh'd and swell'd methought as big as they ! but when their squadrons join'd in sportive fight i flam'd , and turning , in the arras spi'd a glaring panther wrought to th' life , then drew my iv'ry sword , and tilted at his breast . bru. this growing gallantry with pride i view , but must conceal my joy retire locrinus . exit locr. friend , press no more thy lost advices , for i 'm sworn to live the queen's and can't desert her . asa. ha! so resolv'd ! then to my last reserve . sir , be not so enamour'd on perdition , your stock of fame is large , but judg'd declining ; the purchase cost you dear , the bloud of heroes is sold too cheaply for a woman's smiles . bru. and have i then through flouds and fire sought glory , follow'd the glitt'ring guide through death's dark passes , to be at last charg'd with declining valour ? and too , the black reproach shot from a tongue that has sworn friendship to me i am wrapt in phrenzy , help asaracus ! the storm grows mad , nor can i ruleth ' undsteady helm ! asa. to your excess of passion for the queen we wou'd impute the fault you make in glory , not that you fear the arms of albion . bru. are these then the surmizes of my slaves ? whose vile necks from the grecian yoke i freed , and is asaracus o' th' faction too ? i 'm pleas'd that their allegeance they 've abjur'd , giv'n me pretence to shake off their vile empire ; i 'll condescend to rule this herd no more , nor with such refuse tempt the albion war , by great iulus's soul i will not . asa. then by great iulus's soul you must confess more then a woman's weakness . bru. that again ! hell ! said you weakness ? and meant cowardise ? villain , be mean , recall that inf'mous breath , recant , forswear 't , lie for thy life or perish ! asa. it works , and the more swelling now his rage , aside . he will retreat t' a lower ebb of pity . bru. this stubborn silence is a plain confession ! base as thou art i spare to spill thy bloud 'cause thou wert once the sharer of my breast , and my too cred'lous soul believ'd thee brave . with much content my self i flatter'd long , thought my breast rich , possest of a true friend , but oh 't was fairy wealth , a dream of treasure , that waking leaves me destitute and poor . traytour , the meaning of that threat'ning steel ? here , strike the breast thou hast so long deceiv'd . asa. yes prince i 'll strike your heart that heart of yours that 's in my bosome lodg'd . stabs himself . bru. rash souldier hold . wrests the dagger from him . and e're thou fall'st unriddle this dark action . asa. in vain you wou'd prevent a second wound ; this arm in brutus's service never struck and fail'd to kill . bru. who wait ? physicians hither , fly . asa. draw near my lord and let me bath your feet in the remains of bloud spent in your service ! we have e're now waded in gore together . can you forgive my bold presuming language ? i shou'd not have indulg'd my tongue that freedome had i design'd the rudeness to survive . since nothing cou'd divorce you from the queen pardon your souldier's zeal , that cou'd not live to see your tide of glory at a stand. bru. insult not o're thy wretched master's guilt , my shame 's so monstrous that to shun th' opprobrious spectacle , my friend withdraws disdaining to eternal night . enter physicians . now emp'ricks muster your best arts to save a life more precious then the world 's great soul ; know slaves you have no middle path to take , restore or wait my heroe to the dead . asa. vex not dear friends my wound in vain , 't is mortal , my heart works slowly and my pulses sleep . your hand my lord with this cold kiss i seal it . may 't prove resistless as the thund'rers , snatch crowns from europe's monarchs , grasp their scepters , knit in one empire the divided world. bru. live my asaracus to see me vanquish my conqu'rer love , i 'll rage and break the toil. asa. speak , how shall i report of our affairs to your departed heroes where i goe ? bru. bear not to th' other world my black disgrace ; wee 'l force our way from this enchanted coast , wee 'l sail to night . asa. our countrey 's gods protect you . your fleet 's refitted , by my care prepar'd , the wind presents , the full moon gives a day , and swells her tides to waft you from the sound . farewell my gen'rous lord ! my friends farewell ! thus far your toils i have accompani'd , fate part us here . dies . bru. spare him ye deities for one hour more ! and then t' eternity he 's yours ! one tender word more my asaracus , do not so tamely yield ! grapple with death and break from fate to your lost friend's relief ! oh let me breathe my soul into that wound , and quicken thy cold clay ! i 'll tear my heart to fill the fatal breach ! oh , oh , oh ! withdraw and leave me to compose my thoughts . ex. physicians and attendants . give notice to the fleet we sail to night . said i to night ! forsake the queen to night ! forsake ! oh fate ! the queen ! to night forsake her ! my word is past , 't is giv'n , and those pale lips with silent oratory plead my promise . enter the queen . she 's here ! i never shunn'd those eyes before . qu. d' ye fly me prince ? but 't is not strange to see the happy shun the wretched but unhappy as i am you made me so , and may dispense to view the griefs you gave . bru. you call him happy whom the damn'd wou'd pity ; despairing ghosts that yell in lightless flames , wou'd stand agast to hear my suff'rings told , reflect , and grow more patient of damnation . qu. can you have any cares conceal'd from me ? repeat to me the story of your grief● , and i 'll recite the tragick tale of mine . thus wee 'l beguile the time with mutual plaints , together mourn as once we smil'd together . bru. my pain is but prolong'd whilst i dissemble the struggling secret , for it must have birth ! in my wan look the fatal message reade , whose horrour like a spell ties up my tongue : madam , our destiny 's implacable , we must oh 't is impossible ! and yet we must qu. what ? bru. die , like our ancestours . qu. your pardon prince , this might have been exprest with less formality . bru. is 't nothing then to be reduc't to earth , to sleep in dust without one dream of love ? it will out . qu. these broken sounds have meanings of importance . for , like a pensive ghost you labour with some secret which you seem prepar'd to tell , but when my expectation 's rais'd withdraw . bru. it shall have passage though it rend my breast ! rackt to confess , fate 's summons i pronounce , a sound more terrible then death , divorce , for we must part to night and meet no more . qu. ah! prince this mirth was cruel and ill-tim'd , the sportive fright too deeply might have pierc't my tim'rous tender breast ; it was not prudent , suppose i had believ'd you and expir'd . bru. now fate confess , was ever man of woes distrest like me ? forc't to accuse my self of broken faith to her whom i deceive . oh! madam , 't was a fatal truth i utter'd , see where my gen'rous friend self-slaughter'd lies 'cause i had quitted my pursuit of arms , which he conjur'd me with expiring breath to re-assume , then to the gods convey'd my vows irrevocable . qu. ah! faithless ! swoons . bru. convey her gently to the bed of state. confusion ! furies ! how am i opprest ! one kind pang more , kills me and gives me rest. finis actus quarti .
act v. enter soziman and the ambassadours disguized . soz. my lords , you are arriv'd though unexpected most seasonably : fortune her self conspires in our design , and fate is of our plot. . amb. our king conceiv'd new flames at our return , his slighted love converted to revenge , for having work't him into thirst of bloud we told the circumstances of our project , how you on just resentment had engag'd to render us the cittadel by night . soz. and he approv'd of the conspiracy ? . amb. by all the memphian deities he swore 't was such an exquisite design , that e're these calends pass we should effect it , or forfeit our projecting heads . soz. no more . wee 'l do 't e're cold boötes fetch his round ; the day-star shall rise wondring at the change this night creates i' th' syracusian state. the conscious moon smiles on our enterprize , and guilds our dark design with her best rays : beside , the prince is from the queen divorc't , and with his pow'rs sails off at the next floud . speak lords , where have you lodg'd your ambuscade . amb. i' th' desart . soz. your number ? . amb. a compleat brigade . beside three manipli cull'd from our libyan squadrons . soz. pass'd ye the fenns secure ? . amb. we took the upper marches by the cliffs . soz. unseen by the scouts on our frontiers ? . amb. our last was a night march. soz. at the third watch lead up your forces to saturn's gate on the north side , which wide with drawn percullis shall receive you . be punctual . both amb. as meeting lovers . exeunt ambassadors . soz. my thoughtfull head is with projecting pain'd , but when i 've bound my temples with a crown , i shall have ease : i' th' registers of fate i am writ king already , but i 've yet a stream of bloud to ford e're i assume th' imperial robe ; be that then the distinction 'twixt soziman and vulgar potentates , to wear his ermyns of a scarlet dye . exit . enter queen in rage held by amarante and others . qu. off loose me or i 'll scatter ye to air ! must i be fetter'd ? stop an earthquake's shock , not typhon's load shall press my fury down ; i 'll toss the burning mount inverted up , and with ascending thunder fright the spheres . ama. o check this rage or 't will ferment to madness . qu. where dwells despair ? shew me the way to fate , the readiest road ! o for a precipice whose hanging brow o'relooks the foaming floud , there , deckt in robes of state , scepter'd and crown'd i 'll plunge , and bury in th' unfathom'd deep each glittering badge of wretched majesty . ama. where will this passion drive ? hear me dread queen for syracuse's sake , your own , the gods , temper this violence , and shun distraction ! qu. prov'd false ? 't is slander and can never be ! no , he has sworn and wept , and wept and sworn , the list of deities was for his oaths too scant , the years , days , hours , and minutes , all were number'd out in vows ! if false , he 's perjur'd by the whole creation . ama. yet hear qu. and he is false , as iason false , forsworn , teach me medea's arts ! for my revenge the globe shall wreck , and nature be in pangs . he sails ! see , where the fugitives proud barque cleaves the curl'd wave , steddy afore the wind , they scudd , and leave the dolphin's leagues behind . but there are gods ! there are ! the surges rise , and boreas posts to th' fray , they toss , they toss , erynnis fires the stern ! now floud or flame ! they burn , ha , ha , how looks th' adulterer now ? ama. thus with my groveling limbs i 'll stop your way , indulge your passion , give your fury scope , but tread me first to death , then glutt of grief , and rave without controul . qu. o amarante ! thy love pursues me , though forsook of heav'n . forgive my rage , too slight for my distress . oh heavens ! no intermission of my pain ? i can sustain no more , oh my sick soul ! ama. stop , as you prize your amarante's life . she dies , if you relapse again to rage drawing a ponyard . qu. ah! spare that breast and i 'll compose my griefs , give me a moments space to hush the storm . look , now i 'm tame , calm as frozen floud ! nay i can smile and yet a tear will steal . let 's talk my girl , for now i can discourse ; begin or wou'dst thou that i give a theam ? then descant on the perjuries of men . ama. i wou'd prescribe a cure , not feed your sorrow . forgive my busy love that has contriv'd without your knowledge to redress your griefs . qu. redress my grief ? 't was busy love indeed ! call back the darted cane , restore the forc't spark to its flint , unite again the gather'd rose to its stock and make it grow . ama. i 've sent for the fam'd prophetess , that keeps her dark abode in the diana vale : with her i will advise of your distress ; aw'd nature truckles to her mystick arts , her spells controul the winds , rebuke the spheres , her tyranny to th' inmost soul extends , she sways our passions , and to love or loath is in her gift but see she has surpriz'd us . enter ragusa with her women , they whisper at their entrance . qu. our houshold deities be first atton'd with pray'rs and incense , then wee 'l prove her art. to the distress'd one refuge still remains , none are extreamly wretched that dare dye ! exit queen , and amarante . ragusa with her women comes forward . rag. with halting pace at length we are arriv'd , nor wou'd have been at pains , but t' introduce confusion , famine , drought , infection , war ; the blasted grass will shew where we have journey'd , and point destruction out the readiest road. . wo. the batts before us in the twy-light play'd , and wanton meteors tumbled o're the lawns . . wo. a stately pile ! megera's torch set fire to 't . rag. to work , to work , our sorcerie's master-piece . now quit ye well , or ne're ply furnace more . . wo. our first task is to desecrate the place , and drive the tut'lar genius from his charge , that nought defeat our charms . . wo. as through the portico we pass'd , with scorpion's bloud the lares i defil'd , and on their necks hung chains invisible . . wo. i fixt a cross spell at the palace gate , and conscious of its force the statues fell . rag. to east and west , north and south points disperse , and puff th' enchanted powders from your flasks , whilst here i' th' center i reside , and from my hollow breast pour mystick rhimes that wake the slumbring daemons into yells . the four women disperse to each corner of the stage blowing black powders from boxes , ragusa in the middle . . wo. the ground 's unhallow'd , and our art works free , but ha ! why droops the mistress of our spells ? to rag. thou' rt sad and clouded with a suddain gloom . rag. daran long since forewarn'd me to expect an end of my dark reign , when i should meet two snowy kids milking a jet black damm , which fatal omen i beheld this morn ' . beside , our caldron where our drugs we steep , at mid-night fell to boyling without fire ; our cell of late has oft been hung with dew , and seem'd to weep at our approaching fate . . wo. they 're vain portents , our magick still holds good . . wo. last night a village shrew in labour fell , with a slight charm i check't the hastning birth , in vain lucina was invok't , till i dissolv'd my spell , and then the blouze was laid . . wo. a wood-man as i gather'd herbs , revil'd me ; but i observ'd him while he fixt a ginn of steel indented to intrap the wolf , at first cock-crow i drew him from his bed , i' th' engine lock't him fast and left him yelling . . wo. as from elorus cliffs i view'd the floud , two rival tritons rose with lances arm'd , and fiercely at each other ran a tilt ; they bled , and with their gore the sea-weed stain'd , which at low ebb i gather'd , a choice drugg , whose vertue future practice must discover . . wo. whilst pensive near a pathless vale i sate , a sportive vapour rowl'd along the glin , it s wild capriches caus'd me to suspect some frolick daemon acting in the mist , which summon'd by my art t' appear , came forth , taught me new spells , and hid i' th' fog again . rag. proceed we then to finish our black projects . view here , till from your green distilling eyes the poys'nous glances center on this bracelet , a fatal gift for our projecting son ; seven hours odd minutes has it steept i' th' gall of a vile moor swine-rooted from his grave . now to your bloated lips apply it round , and with th' infectious dew of your black breaths compleat its balefull force . all wo. uh , uh , uh . kissing the bracelet . rag. now to your several charges each repair , e're second crow expect me at the cell ; but look you charm the desart as ye pass : for if wolf howl , fox bark , or badger yelp , you shall be tenter-stretcht and hung i' th' sun. all wo. uh , uh , uh , exeunt . enter soziman . soz. o expectation ! torture of the mind ! two hours , no more , divide me from my wishes . but oh , how many minutes make those hours ? time's sand falls grain by grain to him that waits for empire i 'm inform'd the queen has summon'd the sorc'ress to consult she 's here . rag. there son. gives him the bracelet . the king of shades no richer present drew from his dark store t' appease his ravish't bride : it makes thee for seven lustres more immortal . soz. i am confus'd with joy , but when i wake from th' ecstasy rag. wave thy vain thanks , and heed the charge i give ; to night at the third watch a pow'rfull constellation reigns , till then forbear to fix it to thy longing arm. away , the queen returns . exit soziman . 't were a mean mischief and below my art , to ruine him till in close view of empire , but to prevent him in the nick , just shooting with the last stretch on his hard hunted prey , is worthy of my skill , and can almost provoke me 'gainst my contract to a smile . enter queen and amarante , with censors , as from sacrifice . qu. in vain we ply the gods with slighted incense ! some prodigy lurks in each nook to fright me ; ev'n now the altar shook as i approacht , as from the lavar to bedew the floor i heav'd a bowl , the crystal element converted in my hand to putrid gore . turns towards ragusa . o prophetess powerfull in mystick rites , be kind , and with thy sacred art assist a suppliant queen , and thou shalt be my goddess . rag. how , lady venus , is your mars prov'd false ? drought on my pois'nous drugs if ought i doe t' oblige thee queen , but for the dear delight of mischief , i 'll assist thee , teach thee how to mould his form in wax by art prepar'd of viper's fat , and gumm of stygian pines , which on a slow fire with due rites dissolv'd shall waste his entrails , melt his reins t' a gelly , for magick uses sovereign ingredient . ama. incarnate devil ! rag. or if this method like thee not , i 'll teach thee with bloud of dragons to inscribe his name , and stabb each letter with envenom'd needles . that shall t' his thinking wound his body o're with hornet's stings , there 's sport , ho , ho. qu. i seek not thee to enforce his love , but quench my own . and therefore i entreat thee set a spell to keep him port-bound , till i shall have wean'd my froward passion . rag. port-bound shall he be ! i 'll lash the coasts with such fierce gusts from sea , 't is odds i wreck his navy in the bay : nor without hope by th' by to endanger too the towers of syracuse , that guild the clouds ; but to my charm thus circ'ling on my staff. daran be'est thou far or near , approach , i summon thee t' appear . a tune of horrour play'd , after which a dwarf spirit rises . ha! what art thou ? a spirit of earth or air ? for size thou shoud'st be one of oberon's train , a fairy elf ; but i remember not t' have seen thee in the ring on rev'ling eves , nor at the general banquet in the vale by moonlight ; dwarfin speak thy name , and why thou dost usurp the office of my spirit . spi. i 'm sent t' inform thee that the pow'rs below demand thee , for thy reign expires to night . rag. poysons and boiling sulphur ! heark the spirit , the season's drawing on , permit me live to blast one harvest more . spi. it is deni'd . rag. to force at least an earthquake when i sink to lay this stately cittadel in heaps . spi. you may not , but this night it shall become a scene of treason , rapes , and massacres . rag. i shall not perish singly then . spi. i 've done . and to my charge return : at the third watch expect me . descends . rag. queen glorious tidings ! bless the lucky hour ! qu. what says thy art ? rag. this night compleats thy ruine keep the secret. qu. pernicious hagg ! a guard here , seize the witch . guard entring , ragusa vanishes . vanisht ? each minute of this dreadfull night teems with some miracle ; where-e're i turn fate looks me in the face . ama. madam , the prince . enter brutus , locrinus , brutus in a sea habit , speaks to saylers at his entrance . bru. to your posts sirs , and make ready to weigh off with the young floud , expect me soon aboard i 've sworn , but dare not venture to her presence till with repeated vows i 'm arm'd a new . moves up to the queen , they sit gazing a while . madam qu. why in this garb my lord ? bru. agues and feavers ! she seems ignorant to put me on the torture of repeating what with more pain i have already told , then raving sibylls utter oracles think it not rudeness that i seize this hand . queen gives her hand . how i adore this goodness yet i wish i had not qu. had not ? bru. o there 's magick in 't . qu. then i 'll withdraw't . bru. no , for you snatch my life too with it . qu. why do you then complain ? bru. it fires my bloud ! revives the dear remembrance of those joys , that never ! never oh my heart breaks . rising in a start . qu. you are discompos'd my lord , please you retire and rest ? bru. 't was a light swimming in my head , and to divert it i was forc't to move . your pardon madam . both sit again . qu. but my demand my lord , why in this garb ? bru. excuse and pity me the drudge of fate , fate wantonly our alban state o'rethrew , and then with the vast ruines cumbred me ; seven tedious years have i the weight sustain'd , and must sustain till on proud albion's shore i pour the load and shake the burd'ned soil . qu. my swelling passions crowd each other's way , aside . and pressing all for utterance , all are mute . bru. empire cou'd ne'r have drawn me from your feet were i the sole adventurer i' th' war , but thousands run the fortune of my play , and giving up the game i break them all . qu. when will the striving thunder break and roar ? aside . bru. long have i stray'd from the rough tracks of honour to revel in the looser vales of love , caress't like soft endymion by a goddess , but now my glorious toils i reassume ; once more in arms , new listed under fame , and with as many oaths stand re-ingag'd as heav'n has pow'rs for i invok't 'em all . qu. goe then ingratefull , false , inhumane , goe , rising in rage . seek , search your fairy kingdoms through the flouds ; trust the false winds as i have trusted thee , and perish by 'em as by thee i perish . bru. if like the rocks relentless i must stand . aside . make me , indulgent gods , as deaf as they ! qu. curse on my ill-tim'd hospitality , i should have join'd with th' angry gods , and fir'd his pirate fleet , when storm-driv'n on my coast , and massacred his legions in a night . bru. now heav'ns your aid to fix my wav'ring heart aside . qu. yet perjur'd prince at least i will detain this living copy of your dear false self seizing locrinus . to sooth my sorrows with the sad remembrance of fatal pleasures past . locr. your pardon madam , i cannot lose my share i' th' albian war ; th' inhabitants are all of monstrous size , like those huge sons of earth that storm'd the heav'ns , i long t' engage a foe above my reach , and dart my rapier at a giants heart . qu. your father's wrongs will end me soon , and then my crown shall fall on you . locr. i cannot wait . let dull heirs watch th' uncertain fall of pow'r ; i 'de force my fortune , win the crown i wear . qu. think'st thou the gods , if thus i am deserted , will wink at such ingratitude ? locr. dread queen , we take no final farewell ; when we have fixt our reign in albion , wee 'l invade the gauls , then scowr th' hesperian borders to this isle , till conqu'ring back we visit you again steals off . qu. lost queen ! both gods and men to thy requests are deaf once more i will attempt this rock . turns to brutus . the neighb'ring princes for your sake rejected on my forsaken realm will pour their war , and 'mongst their trophees lumber drag me chain'd , with whose bright presence once they coveted to grace their thrones , and honour at my feet their crowns but let 'em come , for to preserve my dignity i 'll die immur'd with fire , these golden roofs shall burn my funeral pile ; then as you sail in dead of night , survey from your tall stern our flaming syracuse relentless , make advantage of our fate , and by our blazing temples steer your course . bru. away thou foolish utensil of war , throws away his truncheon . i 'll give my scatter'd lawrels to the wind , nor dy me more in slaughter fame can boast no charms like these , nor with such bliss reward . qu. the gratefull brutus meant not to desert his hospitable queen in her distress ; my conscious heart told me 't was but pretence yet trust me prince , 't was cruel to pretend ! a mournfull voice from behind the scene . whence that sad cry ? ama. from your argaces cell ; thrice has his discontented genius groan'd . qu. 't was to reprove and summon us to part . ah prince , in vain our loves with fate contend ; let 's tack and stemm the stormy tide no more . improve this season to oppose your passion , and bank against it now whilst 't is i' th' ebb. bru. i' th' ebb ? witness the o'reflowings of my heart , witness the labour of each panting nerve , my glowing art'ries and fermenting bloud , my dreams all night , and musings all the day th' innumerable deaths of ev'ry hour qu. no more ! i am convinc't you love too well ! yet want the pow'r t' enjoin you love me less . bru. o rapture ! killing sweets and bleeding joy : it thunders . qu. more prodigies ! then destiny 's resolv'd on our divorce and i at last resolve it too ! i 'll take the courage which this minute gives , and while my heart will serve me , say farewell ! bru. stay queen , oh turn ! love's farewell cannot pass so smoothly off ! a thousand thousand sighs shou'd interrupt and break the killing sound , kisses should stifle it , tears drown it , oh , oh ! think not when banisht from your sight , i 'll toil for empire , no , to the utmost north i 'll roam , where no kind sun shall thaw the congeal'd brook to humour with soft murmurs my complaints ; stretcht on its bank i 'll knit to th' ground i press , by the neglected locks frost-bound to earth ! qu. you must not leave me with such dire resolves , you must my brutus promise to part hence , and live remov'd from your afflicted queen , yet promise to live happy too , you must , 't is all i shall enjoin you for my sake in your eternal absence . bru. bloud and fire ! i am distracted such another sound and then your wretched brutus is no more . ghost of asaracus rises . qu. shield me ye pow'rs , turn prince and view your friend , threat'ning and pointing to his blushing wound . bru. asaracus ! that e're that form should fright me ! pronounce , what means this visit from the grave ? was then our friendship of so strong a tye that death could not divorce ? approach cold shade , and in my bosom's warmth i 'll cherish thee . ghost descends . dissolv'd , withdrawn disdaining from my sight e're fates important message was deliver'd ! qu. his speaking frowns his embassy exprest , and the sad summons i 've sworn t' obey . bru. ha , sworn ? recall inhumane queen , recall the wing'd oath , e're it reach the gods. qu. 't is fled . bru. must then a rash vow interpose 'twixt me and life ? love spreads a feast , but you fix harpy vows to drive me from the dainties ! qu. now sacred pow'rs if e're you will assist aside . poor lab'ring vertue , my resolves secure ! bru. permit at least your slave the priviledge to breathe his last groans here ! nor shall the dolefull cry offend you long , for groveling at your feet his griefs and he will rage themselves into eternal sleep . qu. never was such a spectacle of woe ! time's self must stand surpriz'd at our distress , and stop his course to gaze on us as wonders ! rise prince , for we must yield to destiny , scatter'd and driv'n by an head-sea of fate ; again i swear , that sun shall be my last that next beholds your navy in the bay , take a quick leave , or you resolve my death . bru. oh love ! qu. o death ! bru. with what regret i leave these hills of pleasure ! leaning on the queen's breasts . mysterious worlds where all the seasons meet , the warmth of summers , and the winter's snow . qu. enough ! dismiss me from the rack adieu ! bru. one dear last tast of bliss . qu. take , snatch it and away . bru. yet one more everlasting last . qu. i dare not for my soul farewell . bru. kind , cruel queen eternally farewell . exit . qu. racks , daggers , poyson , lead me amarante . ama. compose this passion : whither ? qu. any whither . to a desart , death , eternal shades , oh torture ! exeunt . enter soziman . soz. this is my dawn of pow'r , th' approaching glory dazles and wraps me into ecstasy . the lucky minute 's come , now for my bracelet , which whilst i wear it lockt to my left arm treason shall ne'r annoy me , thus i bind puts it on . my safety to me my ambassadors shou'd now arrive enter the captain of the guards . thy hasty looks prevent thy speech , and tell me they are come . capt. they wait with all their troops at the north gate , where i have plac't thin guard , and those made privy to our design ; the rest will be surpriz'd and yield to unequal pow'r . soz. haste and admit them . conduct 'em to the cell , where they may seize their royal prize . i 'll meet ye there . exit capt. o' th' gua. now comes my transport ! ha , what suddain cramp distorts my nerves ? i burn ! my heart bodes death ! hell , am i then mock't with a dream of empire , a pageant prince ? the monarch of an hour ? pernicious beldame ! 't is the bracelet ! oh i 'm poyson'd ! wrapt with hissing snakes about , stung in each pore furies and threat'ning fiends around me glare the stars shoot madly down , it thunders , the o're-charg'd clouds break , break and hurl a show'r of sulphur on my head ! fire , fire ! exit tearing his hair. scene drawing discovers the cell , queen and amarante come forward . qu. room , room , or i shall burst , my breast will rend and scatter wild-fires ! ha , who nam'd the prince ? spight of our inauspicious stars he 's brave , warlike and soft i cannot breathe without him . fly amarante e're he reach the port , and die to hang the heavier on his feet . bid him return , the queen has given him leave rash maid come back ! is amarante grown so base as to officiate in my shame ? o raging misery ! when shall i have rest ? my sorrows sleep ? they 'l never , never sleep ; why this unkind delay ? did i not charge you fetch back the prince ? ama. yes , and he shall return . rather then sail , his fleet shall burn i' th' bay. qu. stay , i conjure you stay what cruel zeal prompts you to stab afresh my bleeding honour ? convey me to some distant desart shade , where i may rove through th'unfrequented gloom , and fright the list'ning satyrs with my cries . ama. soft musick , and complaining songs may calm this rage , i 've known it a successfull charm. song . written by mr. wright . bid the sad forsaken grove to sigh for ever , sigh as much as i. bid the dew fall , and the skie weep apace , weep like the queen of love : it cannot be more show'ry then her face . ah hapless deity , and still more wretched 'cause she may not die. can there be further joy in the celestial store , now my best heav'n adonis is no more , he is no more , no more ! hark , methinks i hear each tree murmur in parts as sighing breezes rise and make ( whilst time their nodding branches keep ) a mournfull symphony . the skies too find a thousand eyes to weep . ah you deceitfull skies , when my adonis fell where were those eyes ? can there be further joy in the celestial store , since the sweet youth adonis is no more , he is no more , &c. an alarm . enter a souldier of the guard. sold. treason , treason ! the cittadel's betray'd , our guards by th' agrigentines are surpriz'd , part are corrupted and assist the foe , the rest in vain resist and loyal die . ama. your cheek's rich purple fades , your sick'ning eyes threat'n a fatal change ! heav'n save the queen ! qu. my malady at last has prov'd my cure , my griefs at last have swell'd to that degree to break my o're-charg'd heart and give me ease . death thou hast shun'd me long , long fail'd my hopes , but now i 've seiz'd thee , and i 'll hold thee fast ! dies . ama. still pale ha , speechless too ? cold ! dead ! ah queen unkindly hast thou stoln from life and me ! but i 'll pursue thee ev'n to th' other world , stabs her self . and if fate 's malice can extend so far partake thy miseries there . dies . alarm again . enter the ambassadors with guards and attendants . . am. let slaughter cease , all sheath your conqu'ring swords . . amb. prostrate ? expir'd ? then let the conqu'rers blush ! whilst we so busily engag'd i' th' fight , death snatcht the spoil and bore the prize away . . amb. o costly pomp of horrour ! none stand forth t' interpret this dumb scene ? enter soziman with his cloaths disorder'd stabbing himself with a dagger in each hand . soz. here ! here it heaves , but thus i give it vent ; ha! how the poyson trickles ! what a crack was there ? again ? the icy region breaks , falls clatt'ring down , the frozen ruines tumble , and dash the seas to heav'n . sev'n suns dart through me with their scorching rays ! my sinews crack ! my bones in splinters break ! mists , sulph'rous mists confound and choak the day ! comets and fiery spectres the earth yields , we sink , plunge head-long to eternal deeps . falls dead . . amb. prodigious ! . amb. in confusion i am lost . for their enterments we will first provide , then back to our expecting court with mourning trumpets in slow marches move , sad cypress for triumphant lawrels wear . and fun'ral flags for conqu'ring ensigns bear ! finis .
epilogue . by ragusa rising from under the stage . ho , ho ! once more to th' hated light i come to visit ye , and learn the poet's doom ; e're i cou'd see the fortune of his play , he broke my charms and hurri'd me away . the critiques think i have usurpt their right , and all the mischief i have wrought to night encroachment on their proper province , spight . i know you do by long prescription claim a priviledge to censure , rail and dam ; you pay for railing , on your charges flout , and 't is but just you take your pen'orths out . hard fate of poets ! but ( to make 't appear witches then critiques more obliging are , ) ill teach 'em the sure way to libertie let 'em henceforth each others vouchers be ; for they are now so large a party grown as cou'd with number bear the critiques down . then on our stage , th' adventurers in wit shall trade secure , and triumph o're the hogons of the pit.
books printed for , or sold by , iacob tonson , at the iudge's head in chancery-lane , near fleet-street . the heroin musquetier , or the female warriour ; in two parts : containing many true and delightfull adventures of a french lady , in the late campagnes of . and . the third and fourth parts concluding the work , are in the press . sir patient fancy a comedy , acted at the duke's theatre , and written by the authour of the rover. friendship in fashion , a comedy ; written by tho. otway : acted at the duke's theatre . mr. rimer's examination of the plays of rollo , duke of normandy , the king and no king , and the maids tragedy ; in a letter to fleetwood sheppard , esq the art of making love , or a guide for ladies and gentlemen in the affairs of love. price s. pleas of the crown . written by sir matthew hales , late chief iustice of the court of king's-bench . an historical discourse of parliaments in their original before the conquest , and continuance since : together with the original growth , and continuance of these courts following . ( viz. ) the high court of chancery , king's-bench , common pleas , exchequer , dutchy , and other inferiour courts . price s.
poems by n. tate. tate, nahum, - . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing t estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) poems by n. tate. tate, nahum, - . [ ], p. printed by t.m. for benj. tooke ..., london : . first ed. cf. bm. "licensed, november , . roger l'estrange"--p. [ ]. errata: p. [ ]. reproduction of original in harvard university libraries. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng - tcp assigned for keying and markup - aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images - tcp staff (michigan) sampled and proofread - john latta text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion licensed , november . . roger l'estrange . poems . by n. tate . london , printed by t. m. for benj. tooke at the signe of the ship in st. pauls , church-yard , mdclxxvii . to the learned and much honoured dr. walter needham of charter-house . a dedication ( according to the present mode ) must be an harrangue on the accomplishments of the person to whom it is addrest ; but , sir , though your general acquaintance with the sciences , and your happy performances in the most usefull of them , invite me ( on the first view ) to embrace so excellent a theam ; yet when i reflect how that on this occasion no rhetorick can be pardonable that is not extraordinary ; and when i farther consider how well your excellencies are known to the world , i find that my best endeavours can prove but an impertinent zeal . besides , sir , had i been able to do justice to your worth and fame , yet i have reason to believe , that my silence on that subject would with you find better welcome , than the most elaborate panegyrick . as for the following poems ( which i have publisht on reasons satisfactory to my self , and my friends ) they are fortunate enough , in having first been pardon'd , and then receiv'd into your favour . 't were injury to the publick to intrude on those portions of your time that are employ'd in the health of your countrey ; but if the best products of my humble fancy may have access to your leisure hours , 't is the highest ambition of , sir , your devoted humble servant , n. tate . the contents . the indispos'd page . on a diseas'd old man who wept at thought of leaving the world to mr. flatman on his excellent poems on the present corrupted state of poetry the search the prospect the request the installment the pennance laura's walk the vsurpers the amusement . dialogue , strephon and sylvia . the amorist the surprizall the vn-confin'd dialogue , alexis and laura the restitution the escape the politicians the vow-breaker the tear the discovery the parting on an old miser that hoarded his money in a steel chest and bury'd it the vision written in a dangerous fit of sickness ode to my ingenious friend mr flatman . the banquet . the match . the disconsolate sliding on scates in very hard frost strephon's complaint on quitting his retirement the gold-hater the ingrates disappointed some of martials epigrams translated and paraphras'd . from page to page the confinement on snow fall'n in autumn , and dissolv'd by the sun melancholly on a grave sir's retireing to write in order to undeceive the world on a deform'd old beldam designing to have her picture drawn advice to a friend designing to publish his poems the ignorant the beldam's song the inconstant . a paraphrase on the xv epod of horace of the ape and the fox . a paraphrase on one of the centum fabulae . the round the male-content the dream amor sepulchralis the first verses of the psalm paraphras'd the mid-night thought the counter-turn the voyagers the choice on sight of some martyrs sepulchres of the few adherents to virtue the requitall to a desponding friend ibid. disswasion of an aged friend from quitting his retirement recovering from a fit of sickness the challenge the cure the hurricane the gratefull shepheard errata . page line . for dairie's store read dairies store , p. . l. . for yields r. yield . p. . l. . for sink r. sinks . p. . l. . for are restrain'd r. are now restrain'd . p. . l. . for egyptian r. t'egyptian . p. . l. . for springs in r. springs not in . poems . the indispos'd . i. what tho th'unweary'd sun already has his race begun ? already summon'd to their pleasant toyl th' inhabitants o' th' open soyl ? what comfort in his lustre can i find , if yet no cheerful glimpse begin a glorious morn within , but mists and darkness still oppress my mind ? ii. what entertainment can it be to hear the tunefull birds from ev'ry tree , with grateful songs the rising day salute , unless my fancy with the musick suit ? if in my thoughts i find no harmony , i shall ( alass ! ) as soon rejoyce at th' ominous ravens dolefull voyce ; or be diverted with the bell , that rings my own , or dearer friends untimetly knell . iii. whilst in my breast the weather 's fair , i ne're enquire the temper of the air : so reason o're my appetites bear sway , i 'm unconcern'd what planet rules the day . if husht and silent my fierce passions lye , the loudest gusts that rend the sky , invite repose , and make my sleep more sound : the tempest in my brest alone can break my rest ; ev'n hurricanes abroad are sound to dammage less than smallest winds hatcht under-ground . on a diseased old man , who wept at thought of leaving the world. i. shame on thy beard ! that thou canst bug-bears dread ! fear death whom thou so oft hast seen , so oft his guest at funerals been ; thy self ' i th' better half already dead ! 't is strange to see that frozen head such plenteous moysture shed ; whence can this stream be fed ? the tears were just , which at thy birth did flow , for then alass ! thou had'st t' engage life 's inconveniences , but now thou art allow'd to quit the tragick stage , now to be careful to prolong the scen● , and act thy miseries o're agen , is folly not to be forgiv'n in ev'n thy doating age. ii. full fourscore years ( bless us ! a dreadful space ) the world has us'd thee ill , abus'd thee to thy face ; and doatard canst thou still sollicite her embrace ? in vain thou covet'st to enjoy this haughty dame , when age and pains have shrunk thy nerves , and chill'd thy veins , who to thy flourishing years , was so reserv'd and coy . iii. can cramps , catharrs , and palsies be such ravishing company , that thou shou'd'st mourn the loss of their society ? what pleasures can the grave deprive thy senses of ? what inconvenience give , which thou' rt exempted from alive ? at worst thou canst but have cold lodging in the grave ; nor ly'st thou warmer now tho cover'd o're in furr , till thy faint limbs can bear no more : thou sleep'st each night in so much sear-cloth bound , thou 'dst need no more wert thou to take thy lodging under-ground . iv. go ; lay thy friv'lous hopes of health aside ; no longer potions take , no more incisions make , let thy dull flesh no more be scarify'd : resign , resign thy fated breath , consult with no physitian more , but death : when all thy surgeons instruments prove vain , his never-failing dart will bleed thee gently at thy heart , and let out life , the sourse of all thy pain : let then thy funeral pile be made , with rosemary and cypress grac't , aloft on it thy carcass plac't ; beside thee there thy crutches laid : those utensills will thus oblige thee more , fomenting the kind flame , then when they bore thy crazy and decrepit limbs before ! to mr. thomas flatman on his excellent poems . strange magick of thy wit and stile which to their griefs mankind can reconcile ! whilst thy philander's tuneful voice we hear , condoling our disastrous state , toucht with a sense of our hard fate , we sigh perhaps , or drop a tear ; but he the mournful song so sweetly sings , that more of pleasure than regret it brings , with such becoming grief the trojan chief troy's conflagration did relate , vvhil'st ev'n the suff'rers in the fire drew near , and with a greedy ear devour'd the story of their own subverted state . ii. kind heav'n ( as to her darling son ) to thee a double portion did impart , a gift of painting and of poesie : but for thy rivals in the painters art , if well they represent , thy can effect no more , nor can we more expect . but more than this thy happy pencils give ; thy drafts are more than representative ; for , if we 'l credit our own eyes , they live ! ah! worthy friend , cou'dst thou maintain the state of what with so much ease thou do'st create , we might reflect on death with scorn ! but pictures like th'originals decay ! of colours those consist , and these of clay ; a like compos'd of dust , to dust alike return ! iii. yet 't is our happiness to see oblivion , death , and adverse destiny encounter'd , vanquish'd , and disarm'd by thee . for if thy pencils fail , change thy artillery , and thou' rt secure of victory ; employ thy quill , and thou shalt still prevail . the grand destroyer greedy time reveres thy fancy's imag'ry , and spares the meanest things that bear th' impression of thy pen : tho' course and cheap their natural mettal were , stampt with thy verse , he knows th' are sacred , then . he knows them by that character to be predestinate , and set a part for immortality . iv. if native lustre in thy theams appear , improv'd by thee , it shines more clear : or if thy subject's void of native light , thy fancy need but dart a beam to guild thy theam , and make the rude mass beautiful and bright . thou vary'st oft thy strains , but still success attends each strain : thy verse is alwayes lofty as the hill , or pleasant as the plain . how well thy muse the pastoral song improves ! whose nymphs and swains are in their loves , as innocent , and yet as kind as doves . but most she moves our wonder and delight , when she performs her loose pindarick flight ; oft to their outmost reach she will extend her towring vvings to soar on high , and then by just degrees descend : oft in a swift strait course she glides , obliquely oft the air divides , and oft with wanton play hangs hov'ring in the sky . v. vvhilst sense of duty into my artless muse , th' ambition wou'd infuse to mingle with those nymphs that homage pay , and wait on thine in her tryumphant way ; defect of merit checks her forward pride , and makes her dread t' approach thy chariot side ; for 't were at least a rude indecency ( if not prophane ) t' appear at this solemnity , crown'd with no lawrel wreath ( when others are . ) but this she will presume to do , at distance to attend the show , officiously to gather up the scatter'd bayes , if any drop from others temples ; and with those , a plain plebeian coronet compose . this , as your livery , she 'd wear , to hide her nakedness , not gratifie her pride ! such was the verdant dress , which the offending pair did frame of platted leaves , not to express their pride i' th' novel-garb , but to conceal their shame . on the present corrupted state of poetry , i. write thy own elegy apostate art , thou angel once of light ; but , since thy fall , a fiend of night , mankind endeav'ring to pervert . at first , to th' altars service thou wert bound , with innocence instead of lawrel crown'd ; anthems and hallelujah's only did'st resound : but now , forgetful of thy high descent , meanly thou labour'st to foment the vanity and vices of the age ; flatt'ring in courts , and rev'lling on the stage . that poesie , that did at first inspire devotion and seraphick fire , degenerate now her art imploy's in recommending sensual ioyes ; bawd-like , contriving to excite the wasted letcher's appetite ; and with forc'd heat sustain love's languishing desire . ii. the wisest and most potent kings of old , did not disdain to leave their royal names enroll'd , with those of the poetick train : they reapt more durable renown from writing well , then when they did in arms excell : they priz'd their poets wreath above their prince's crown . but then the celebrated nine , pious as sybills , chast as vestals were , the graces were not more divine ; but now deform'd , and bloated they appear ; nyctimene sustain'd , no change so fowl , transform'd into a glaring owl ; or when th' audacious king a new-made wolf did houl . iii. in ages past , when vertue was allow'd , the dignity of verse was understood : 't was then employ'd t'embalm some vvorthy 's name : nought then cou'd purchase elogies but fame . but poetry now is mercenary grown . encomiums she 'll bestow on potentates , by their high rank alone , and singular vices infamously known ; for , if no paint or varnish can disguise their gross enormities , audaciously she 'll praise their vices too ! thus none more largely share in her applause , than some grand murtherer o' th' field , that boasts of myriads kill'd , regardless of the justice of his cause . if to destroy can challenge fame , famines and plagues the largest trophies claim ; but these the muses peccadillo's are , and cannot with their blacker crimes compare : long since they were immodest grown , and vain ; but are ( oh! heav'n ) at last become profane ! atheism and blasphemy have dar'd to preach , religion of imposture to impeach ; stiffling that zeal , which first themselves to the rude world did . teach . iv. time was when pious bards might safely dream by helicon , or fair pirene's stream ; and fly their towring wit at some caelestial theam : but now , with leaprous fancies bathing there , those springs so infamous are grown , chast souls fear to approach the muses air ; and sacred theams the poyson'd waters shun . nor has heav'ns just revenge regardless view'd , th' enormities of these apostate votaries ; but them and their confaed'rates too , with signal rage pursu'd . a constant curse of poverty attends th' unfortunate man , whom any muse befriends . all who in this deluding art engage , set out with pleasure , drooping reach their stage ; frollick in youth , and male-content in age ! thus ( neer learn'd cam's fair current pensive laid ) th'ill-treated cowley did his muse upbraid : ah! who 'd credit that surveys , th' amours and dalliance of their youthful dayes ? that ere this peaceful bard , and gentle muse , cou'd bicker thus , and mutually accuse ? so , whil'st some seeming happy pair ( who hymens fetters wear ) in publick fond as turtles are , th' unwed with envy their caresses view but ah! what wou'd they do , if ( as they see their open loves ) their private feuds they knew ? the search . i. confess ingenuously o man , the upshot of thy toyl and pain , the product of thy brain ; since first thy buisie race began . canst thou produce one evidence , or plausible pretence , thy boasted reason to evince ? yes — gradually each age has been refin'd by the important labours of man-kind ; the labours of their hand , and of their mind , ev'n wilye nature , with her protean shapes , rarely from their inquisitive search escapes ; long she resists ; but strictly prest , resigns th' arcanas of her brest . bold mortals rob with ease her richest cossers , be they laid deep i' th' recesses of profoundest seas , or to the caverns of the earth convey'd ; for rather than live poor , they 'l dive in quest of gemms that sleep on beds of rock beneath the deep , and travel under-ground for golden-oar . ii. enough ! — if we 'l lay claim , from these performances , to fame , where will the catalogue of our praises end ? for , thousand instances beside will vindicate our pride , and still the tryumphs of our wit extend . such are the conquests which we daily gain on learnings undiscover'd parts : our active fancies still create new arts ; or , what is more , ev'n from the dead restore arts , that in ages past have buri'd lain . and yet 't is fear'd , there 's reason to suspect our glorie's weight will fail , and vanity prove the heavier scale : impartially if we reflect , we shall perceive there 's wanting yet the richest crown our tirumphs to compleat ; in vain we boast discoveries , whil'st we return without the master prize ; the art of happiness still undiscover'd lyes . iii. oh happiness ! ( if happiness be ought beside a wild chimaera in the thought ) to what close nook ar't thou confin'd ? what distant continent or isle , that thou canst still beguile the restless scrutiny of all man-kind ! ev'n in this vale of misery , some rivulets of bliss we tast ; but riv'lets almost dry , and tainted with th' unsavory grounds through which they past . ah! that some friendly seraph wou'd convey , or point me out the way to those glad lands , where happiness slows pure ; where i might drink secure at pleasure's fountain-head ; no surfeit wou'd i dread , but quaff the cordial flood ; till mingling with my blood , and circ'ling through each part , it should like bals●m ease my smart ; like nectar , cherish my dejected heart ! iv. in various wayes deluded mortals toil , all busi'd i' th' discovery of content : this is the game we all pursue , but hunt it still on a cold scent ; the wary prey nere comes in view , but sculks aloof , and leaves us at a foil . yet where 's the disappointed man will say , he now dispairs of being blest ; for tho at present unpossest of his dear hope , he 's yet in a fair way : and now his project wants but carrying on as 't is begun , and then th'important task is done : done , say'st thou credulous man ? yes ! so the babel builders heretofore , raising to heav'n their proud tow'r , lackt no more than carrying on the work as they began . but , grant thy years of drudgery were past , 't is odds but thou' rt impos'd upon at last : thou like the syrian husband-man of old , conceiv'st thy self to hold the beautious rachell fast in thy embrace , yet ( tho th'imposture last a night ) be sure the next returning light shall fight thee with an unexpected face , when thou behold'st a blear-ey'd leah in thy rachell's place . the prospect . from a tall praecipice on the sea-side , a rev'rend hermite view'd the spreading tide : the flood was curl'd with a becoming wave ; but no praesage of rising tempests gave . a goodly ship was coasting by the place , like a proud courser foaming in her pace ; with flatt'ring courtship , the lascivious gails her streamers curl'd , and wanton'd in her sails . the waves divide to give the pageant way ; then close , and with rais'd heads , the pomp survey . whilst the grave man this spectacle intends , ( pleas'd with the sight ) a suddain storm descends . the winds grow rude , and rend the shaken boat ; on the swoln flood , the tatter'd streamers float : so , blossoms with too violent a breeze , are torn , and scatter'd round their shaken trees . then , to his cell return'd , the anchorite draws sage remarques from this disastrous sight of earthly grandeur , weighs the uncertain state ; which , in its gawdiest bloom , and proudest height , stands most expos'd to th'shock of suddain fate . the request . so may you spring , and so heav'ns choisest dew , in nightly-show'rs , distill fair plants on you ; as you on me your rankest venom shed , whil'st at your feet i make my grassie bed. and thou o goddess ( whose obliging womb affords the living food , the dead a tomb ) permit me ere i dye , to dig my grave ; 't is all my starv'd ambition now will crave ! i rob thee not ; for , tho my delving spade dislodge thy mould , yet there 's no trespass made : for i the petty damage shall repay , filling the vacant ground with my own clay . the installment . i. long have i languisht in the fire of an unquenchable desire ; and will it not suffice thee love , that i thy patient martyr am , unless thy worship i promove , and proselyte others to thy flame ? if as a laick-lover ought i act , what canst thou more from me expect , who am not gifted for a teacher in the sect ? ii. my gifts of nature are too small ; i own it , and pretend no call ! beside , i 've found at last the cheat ; the flame that do's thy priests inspire , ( pretended for seraphick heat ) is meer enthusiastick fire . vvhen heav'n inspires the mind no trouble knows ; but love's wild extasics ( like those that rag'd in heathen priests ) torment and discompose . iii. and 't is no more than their desert , that these impostors thus shou'd smart ; by whose false vviles we are betray'd to loves curst tyranny and rage ; for they , when once love's captives made , their griefs dissembling , sing i' th' cage : then from afar , the credulous flock repairs , t' attend their soft and charming aires ; and whil'st they listning sit , are caught in unseen snares . iv. but why fond love wilt thou make choice of my untaught and grating voice ? fool , whil'st amidst thy gins i sing , i shall not only fright away such as already are on wing , but those that were inclin'd to stay ! consult thy reason first deluded boy , ere my rude verse thou dost employ ; verse that will prove a scare-crow , rather than ducoy . the pennance . nymph fanarett , suppos'd to be the gentlest , most indulgent she ; ( for what offence i cannot say ) a day and night , and half a day , banisht her shepheard from her sight : sure his default cou'd not be light , or this compassionate judge had nere impos'd a pennance so severe . and lest she shou'd anon revoke what in her warmer rage she spoke , she bound the sentence with an oath , protested by her faith and troth , nought shou'd compound for his offence , but the full term of abstinence . but when his pennance-glass were run , his hours of castigation done , shou'd he deferr one minutes space t' appear , and be restor'd to grace , with sparkling threatning eyes she swore , that failure wou'd incense her more than all his trespasses before . laura's walk . i. the sun far sunk in his descent , laid now his tyrant rayes aside , when laura to the garden went , to tryumph over natures pride . ii. the rose-buds blusht with deeper dye , the envying lillies paler grew ; the violets droopt with fear to spy on laura's veins a richer blew . iii. she stoopt and gather'd as she went , but whilst she slaughter'd sweetly smil'd ; as angells tho for ruin sent , appear with looks serene and mild. iv. but now grown weary with her toyl , she sits and flow'ry wreaths she frames ; thus with proud trophies made o' th' spoyl , her conquest ore the flow'rs proclaims . the vsurpers . i. usurping passions held a long contest for the supream dominion of my brest ; but whilst in mutural broyls the tyrants rag'd whoso'ver by the battel gain'd , i still the certain loss sustain'd ; for they nere-fail'd when-ever they engag'd , to wast the province where the war was wag'd . ii. whilst such wild havock in my brest was made , reason first came to tender me his aid ; and sure with that puissant prince ally'd , had i but play'd the man i' th' fight . my passions had been put to flight . but i not only to assist deny'd , but treach'rously fell off to th' enemies side . iii. then from the powers of love redress i crav'd , but was by that allyance worse enslav'd ; for tho loves forces quickly did degrade these proud usurpers of my breast , yet was i not hereby redrest , for love himself prov'd false , when victor made , and seiz'd the province which he came to aid . iv. but heavier now the bondage i sustain , then during my tumultuous passions reign . 't were now no small presumption to impore the indulgent fates to set me free as in my native liberty . no! so it please their kind pow'rs to restore my former tyrants , i demand no more . the amusement . strephon. why weeps my sylvia , prethee why ? sylvia . to think my strephon once must die , to think withal poor sylvia may when he 's remov'd , be doom'd to stay . streph. nymph you 'r too lavish of your tears , to spend them on fantastick fears . sylv. no , for when i this life resign , ( if fate prolong the date of thine ) the tears you 'l give my funeral , will pay me int'rest , stock and all . steph. not so , for shou'd this setting light ne're rise again in sylvia's sight , without a tear in mine i 'd view her dying eyes . sylv. 't is false ! streph. 't is true . sylv. not weep false shepheard ? swear . streph. i swear i wou'd not give thy hearse a tear. sylv. break swelling heart ! persidious man ! death ! are you serious ? swear agen . yes ! swear by ceres and by pan. streph. let then great pan and ceres hear , and punish if i falsely swear . sylv. gods ! can ye hear this and forgive ? you may , for i have heard and live ! half this unkindness timely shown , had kept me blest , kept me my own ; e're to your false embrace i came , i cou'd have quencht my kindling flame ; i cou'd have done 't without remorse , parting had then been no divorce . streph. rage not rash nymph , for i 've decreed when sylvia dies — sylv. speak , what ? streph. to bleed . i 'll drein my life-blood from my heart , but no cheap tear shall dare to start . sylv. kind shepheard , cou'd you life despise , and bleed at sylvia's obsequies ? streph. to ceres i appeal , for she knows this has long been my decree ; and knows that i resolve it still . sylv. since then you cou'd your vow fulfill , swear , swear once more you never will. the amorist . see where enammour'd thirsis lies , and cannot cease to gaze on his larissa's sparkling eyes , but takes delight to see those comets blaze ; whose lustre still is fatal to the swain , ore whom they reign , for by their influence the poor shepheard dies , or ( more to be lamented ) lives in pain . the surprizal . i' th' narrowest walk of a close grove , whom shou'd i chance to meet but love ? i seiz'd the elf , and said — at last i 've caught thee , and i 'l hold thee fast . now by thy mothers doves and sparrows , i 'l rob thee of thy bow and arrows ; i 'l chain thee up and clip thy wings , or strangle thee in thy own strings , if thou refuse me to relate the grounds of my olinda's hate . then thus the boy reply'd — fond swain , vex not your self and me in vain : your love as noble is and brave as ere this bow and quiver gave ; but that olinda flights your flame , nor thou , nor i , nor she 's too blame . weigh circumstances , and you 'l find she 's of necessity unkind : she 's mortal , therefore never can commiserate a suff'ring swain ; for such refin'd perfections shine in her , that cou'd she but incline to pitty men , she were divine ! the vnconfin'd . believe me nymph you strive in vain my passion to confine : 't is noble , and must need repine to wear the slaves most servile badge , the chain . 't is more than all your charms can do to lay restraint on love ; but if you are dispos'd to prove your beauties utmost pow'r , pursue some likelier enterprize ; but spare your vain attempts to bind what is by nature unconfin'd , for love 's a planet , not a fixed star. dialogue . alexis and laura . laur. alexis . — alex. dear ! laur. take — alex. what ? laur. a kiss . alex. what means this unexpected bliss , a bliss which i so oft in vain have crav'd , and now unaskt obtain ? laur. when to my swain reserv'd i seem'd , i lov'd him , kist him less esteem'd ! alex. dear nymph , your female arts forbear , nor fondly thus new ginns prepare for one already caught i'th'snare . you may impose a heavier chain , but none that surer will retain . 't is laura , an unjust design to treat so plain a soul as mine with oracles ; with mystick sense religion may perhaps dispense , but these aenigmas mar love's joy , as clouds gems in their worth destroy . laur. then take it on your peril swain , ( since you compel me to be plain ) the kiss i gave you was in lieu of all love-debts from laura due , to swain alexis , since the hour of our first entrance on amour . alex. what crimes can i have wrought t' enforce this suddain and severe divorce ? 't is , sure , impossible such guilt should press my soul and not be felt . laur. recall false shepheard what to day i heard you to dorinda say . you said she did noons light out-shine , more than the paphian queen divine . you vow'd respect to her commands , and ( heav'n forgive you ) kist her hands . alex. you wrong me nymph , by pan you do ; for if that courtship you review , you 'l find 't was complement to you . laur. yes , i was sov'rainly respected by pray'rs t' another saint directed . alex. dorindas graces , 't is well known , bear such resemblance with your own , that when i made my late address , 't was in that gentle shepherdess the sweetness of those charms to tast , which so divinely laura grac't . laur. weak nymphs with men contend in vain , who thus can their defaults maintain . wise nature has her care exprest , that neither sex shou'd be opprest ; for when to us she did commit tyrannick beauty , she thought fit to teach men wit and arts t' allay and temper beauties absolute sway. the restitution . her keen disdain pierct deep my breast ; the gaping orifice dismist the dearest drops my heart contain'd : i ventur'd to her and complain'd , to ease my smart and still my fears ; she wept and bath'd my wound with tears . blood will have blood ( they say ) and be repaid in kind . 't is false in me. for sylvia wound me yet more deep , if after you vouchsafe to weep , ( so much i prize your tears ) i 'l own you have not satisfi'd alone , but so ore-recompenct my wrongs , that i bleeding to death shall sylvia's debtor dye . the escape . on a streams bank i saw her stand , a plyant angle in her hand . i markt how she disguis'd the hook , and cast her bait into the brook. the sport succeeded to her wish , for strait she hung a pondrous fish ; but too too eager on her prey , resus'd to give the captive play till tir'd , himself he woud resign ; but trusting to her slender line , the struggling animal enrag'd , with the rude check soon disengag'd his wounded jaws ; but whilst he thus regains his liberty , the bearded wire remains and galls his tender gills with restless pains . ii. is 't not enough inhumane maid , that we are by thy wiles betray'd , but you your treach'ry must employ , the floods inhabitants to destroy ? this fish has my hard fortune shar'd , when first by thy false charms ensnar'd ; for so i gorg'd the bait you threw ; whilst ( on your game too eager ) you came violently to seize your prey , which with hard struggling broke away . but to what purpose am i free , living in painful liberty . in vain i boast , that i survive the dart whose venom'd pile lies festring in my heart , and ( tho it kill not ) galls with restless smart . the politicians . how grosly do the learn'd and wise mistake in loves state-policies ! if i and caelia chance to jar , they take our feuds for open war ; so little they perceive the pow'r of quarrels to improve amour . do we not see how perfect are the loves of ev'ry turtle pair , yet they like us disguise their bliss , cooing and murmuring while they kiss ! love's fire like lightning shines as fair in storms as in serener air. let none my caelia judge the mode of our amour , and call it odd ; but such as love to our degree ( if any more such lovers be ! ) whose wedded love persists the same , as when we burnt in virgin flame . sometimes like parting streams we stray , and seem to rove a sundry way , but meet ere long , and so united move till we are lost in a full sea of love. the vom-breaker . close by a mossie fountains side , a spacious marble bason stands ; passing that way , ardelia there i spy'd ; oft-times , and oft , she washt and dry'd her hands . bless me ! i cou'd not choose but smile at her impertinent toil ; for from her arms the waters purer fell , than when she took them from the well! so vapours change their muddy blew ( when rais'd aloft ) to fairer hue ; they rise in mists and fall in dew . ii. ah! i 'm undone ; the fear was just that checkt me when i gave my heart to this fair nymph , who storm'd at my mistrust , and swore from the dear pledge she 'd never part , a while she lodg'd it in her breast , where like a turtle in its nest it slept , till she ( wou'd you believe she cou'd ? ) imbru'd her hands in its warm blood ! then , washing here , design'd to stain the innocent fount , but strove in vain , her hands the conscious die retain . iii. hence-forth let none your beauty prize , but such as can be false as you ; you who admit no hearts your votaries , save what you make ( like mine ) your victims too , 't is evident what you design you 'd be in earnest thought divine . then , goddess , know your rites amiss proceed , your victims burn before they bleed ; but you enjoyn your own odd way to exercise your absolute sway , and try how blindly wee 'l obey . the tear. i. stay iulia , let me watch that tear , lest the rich drop glide from thine eye , the meteor sparkles in its sphaere , but fall'n to impure earth , t will dye ; yet where it is it cannot stay , for see the sun-beams come in swarms to prey and sip the rich delicious juice away . ii. into this viol let it fall — see , iulia , how it sparkles through ? well may those eyes prevail on all , whose tears have killing glances too . if solid as a gem it were , no gem cou'd vie with this transparent tear ; the eye that wept it only cou'd compare . iii. it shall be so , i will convert this tear to a gem , 't is feazable ; for laid near iulia's frozen heart , 't will to a diamond congeal . and yet if i consider well , these tears of iulia's can fore-bode no ill , the frost is breaking when such drops distill . the discovery . when first love's vot'rie i became , ( charm'd with the lustre of his flame ) my youth his god-like form admir'd , and fondly thought his priests inspir'd . mongst them i proudly sought a place , and was by chance allow'd the grace ; but once admitted to his shrine , that love whom i esteem'd divine , more terrible than moloch stood , his altars stain'd with humane blood. of all infernal tyrant pow'rs , none like this daemon of amours . none so severely exercise their rage on their poor votaries ! the wounded lover lives in pain , lies neither curable nor slain till his keen sword sheath'd in his heart , compleat the slaughter of the dart. others to quench this calenture have tane a speedy course and sure , whilst from some praecipice's brow , they plung'd into the floods below . to deserts others have retir'd , and pensive there in caves expir'd , what place or age or sex is free from this usurper's tyranny ? the populous city he frequents , and pitches in the camp his tents . in courts and palaces he reigns , and proudest monarchs wear his chains . yet he that thus the scepter awes , disdains not to impose his laws on cottages , and there destroys the nymphs and shepheards native joys . their purer air me-thinks shou'd be from love's severe contagion free , but all their meads and gardens bear no herb t' asswage this feavour there ! far from his flock alexis weeps , neglects to feed , and rarely sleeps ; his once sure charm for ev'ry grief , the pipe affords him no relief ; gasping at sylvia's feet he lies , whilst she for scornful strephon dies . how wretched is the lover's state , prest on all sides with some hard fate ? his hopes alike it will destroy , not to succeed or to enjoy . for if he lawlesly embrace , he 's then unhappy 'cause he 's base ; and he that honorably love's less wretched , but not happy proves ! to him that waits his nuptial day , the hours pass lazily away ; false dreams of bliss his thoughts employ , impatient therefore to enjoy , rashly he bargains for a wife , and with her weds the cares of life ; but wrought to expectation's height his fancy'd blisses vanish strait , for leapt into the marriage bed , whith briars and thorns he finds it spread , repents too late and envyes the unwed . the parting . here do i fix my foot , and farewell love ! i will no further move . when first in errour 's misty night i lost my self , and rov'd about , this ignis-fatuus found me out , before me rol'd with wanton play , and beg'd to bring me on my way . rashly i follow'd the seducing fire through briny floods of tears , mongst thorny iealousies and fears , o're praecipices of despair , and where no passage did appear , oft have i forc't a path , but now i tire . what glympse was that which struck my eye from yonder skie ? welcome bright harbinger of day ; by thee i know the sun is on his way . what desert's this ? — alas ! i fear i 'm stray'd , and after all my toil and fright in this tempestuous night , by my officious guide betray'd . oh! when shall i arrive at the abode of happy souls ( since they that earliest strive to reach that stage , are late e're they arrive ) i , who am cumbred with so vast a load of vain desires , and have alas ! so many a weary step to pass ere i redress my stray's , & get into the road. on an old miser that hoarded his treasure in a steel chest , and bury'd it . canst thou in dungeons smother up that pelf that 's dearer to thee than thy self ? th' ill-treated pris'ner is debar'd the sight of its own cheerful parent light. dost thou in such strict ward thy gold retain , as pagans did their idols chain , lest some audacious foe by force shou'd seize or charm away their deities ? in vain from others reach thou dost confine what is no less reserv'd from thine ! so merchants rather than resign their goods to pyrats , sink them in the floods . dull miser , nought of thy laborious gains falls to thy share , beside the pains . like the dull ass thou starv'st beneath a pack of provender that breaks thy back . think not thou dost like nature to inter thy gold , cause 't was inter'd by her ; the cell which nature gave it , was a womb to breed the oar , but thine its tomb. the vision , written in a dangerous fit of sickness . dissolv'd in sleep neer a complaining stream , my fancy strove with an important dream . me-thought i was with violence born away through a dark vault , whose cavern did convey to death's sad courts ; the brazen gates i past , which on my entrance were again made fast . the dismal cell with horrour i survey'd , for dead mens bones in piles were round me laid , and skulls of largest size the pavement made . the sun to this dark mansion darts no ray , but glim'ring lamps make an imperfect day : by their faint light i searcht the cave around , and in each nook amazing objects found . in a long row stood glasses stor'd with sand , which of some mortals years the tale contain'd : his or her name the bloody letters spell'd , the number of whose years the hour-glass held . grim fate stood by to watch the hindmost grain , and cut the slender thread of life in twain ; then down the tablet dropt t' a stream below , suppos'd from the lethaean lake to flow : a while it floated 'till born under-ground , 't was in th' abyss of deep oblivion drown'd . whilst into fate 's arcanas thus i pry'd , my own name on a tablet i descry'd . but oh the pangs and agonies that rent my panting breast to find my glass neer spent ! the tragick scene begins ( forgive me fate that thy occult proceedings i relate . ) strait was i summond to receive my doom , for death with horrid grace approacht the room array'd majestick in a mourning robe , a dart his scepter , and a skull his globe . he sat , th' attendants on his person stood , all arm'd for slaughter , and distain'd with blood. diseases next were plac't a numerous train , producing each a bed-roll of his slain . no sooner were my scatter'd thoughts restor'd , but i with mental pray'rs heav'ns aid implor'd ; then thus with hollow voice the tyrant spoke — in vain fond youth heav'ns succour you invoke , stand to the bar , and hear th'inditement read ; for ere thou dy'st thou art allow'd to plead : thy charge is deep , but for thy self reply , oh i am guilty and deserve to dye ! my years in vanity's pursuit i spent , too oft transgrest , too rarely did repent ; some vices ( heav'n assisting ) i supprest , and lasting war proclaim'd with all the rest ; but oft i' th' combat i shrunk back and fled , by passions oft surpriz'd and captive led . but are this courts proceedings so severe , that youth can challenge no indulgence here ? had fate my life to manlier years promov'd , perhaps my skill and courage had improv'd : mortal thy doom already is decreed , ( the iudge reply'd ) and sentence must proceed ! this court's records with instances abound of younger brows than thine with lawrel crown'd , approach ye ministers of fate , and bear th' offender hence to th'region of despair , in liquid flames of sulphur let him roul , in sharpest agonies of a hell-wreckt soul : thus let him howl eternity away , refresht with no short glimps of heav'nly day . confusion now my tortur'd bosom fill'd ; cold sweat adown my lifeless joynts distill'd . a guard of daemons at the tyrant's call with hideous yellings rusht into the hall monstrous of shape , of size , prodigious tall. in this distress behold a heav'nly ray , around me did his chearful light display . the lamps grew pale and shrunk into their case , the frighted daemons vanisht from the place ; the haughty tyrant's self confus'd appear'd ; mongst the dead bones a rattling noise was heard , as summon'd to the universal doom , they justled with each other in their tomb. not daring yet to hope relief i spy'd my guardian-angel smiling by my side ; a silent joy through all my vitals ran , whilst thus in charming language he began . rejoyce my charge , for from heav'ns court i come with gracious orders to revoke thy doom . thy sun is set , thy life-glass almost run , thy virtue 's race imperfectly begun . but heav'n in pitty to thy sickly pace , has lincenc'd me or to contract the space , or on my wing thy lingring spirit convey to blissful mansions of eternal day . to heav'n and him my humblest thanks i paid , and beg'd to be to those glad seats convey'd ; but first admit the lot of all man-kind and leave ( said he ) that load of earth behind , pris'ners absolv'd , less gladly quit their chain than i this flesh that did my spirit detain . but when my soul her naked self survey'd , leaprous and soul by sin 's contagion made , she blusht and sought to cover her disgrace , retreating back into her fleshy case . the guardian-spirit her sond attempr with-stood , and streight with hyssop dipt in sacred blood , baptiz'd her ; and behold , whilst i enquir'd th' intent o' th' ceremony , i grew inspir'd with mental joys , and now descry'd no more those blemishes that stain'd my soul before : thought of new worlds my mind had so ingrost , that all remembrance of the old it lost : that body too ( which once i fondly thought cou'd never be from my remembrance wrought ) had now quite scapt my mem'ry , till i spy'd the pale and lifeless engine by my side . bless me ( said i ) what ghastly thing lies there ? was this the mansion where so many a year , i lingred 'twixt successive hope and fear ? was this the thing i took such care t' improve , taught it to cringe , and in just measures move ? the thing that lately did in business sweat , that talkt so much of being rich and great ! that sought with verse to make its love renown'd , and hop't ere long to see its passion crown'd ; behold where the designing machine lies , prey to those insects it did once despise . suppose that body now lay cover'd ore in persumes brought from ormus spicie shore ; what courteous female wou'd vouchsafe the grace to curl those locks , or kiss that ghastly face ? why is the corpse so long detain'd from ground , t is more than time those hands and feet were bound ; close the dull eyes , support the falling chin , with grassie turfs suppress the swelling skin : go , let the fun'ral peal be rung aloud , in winding-sheets th' offensive carkass shrow'd and in some nook the useless lumber crow'd . insulting thus i spake , and more had said , but was by my assistant angel stay'd ; my charge , said he , ( these gloomy shades with-drawn ) behold of everlasting day the dawn : at th'entrance to th' elysian land ( a grace confer'd on souls when first they arrive the place ) the blissful throng are met to welcome thee to their fair world of immortality . he said , and strait his threatning wand up-heav'd , the neighb'ring walls obey'd the stroke and cleav'd ; such was the blow giv'n by the hebrew guide , when forcing his foot-passage through the tide , the waters there congeal'd and stood in walls , the building here like breaking water falls . but now the parting stones brought heav'n in view , when ( fatal chance ! ) my rapt'rous dream withdrew the grateful slumber from my temples fell , round me i view'd the grove , and thought it hell ; aloud i call'd my guide ! obligingly the ecchoing rocks kept up th'expiring cry , but the false vision fled without reply . ode . to my ingenious friend mr. flatman . as when the fam'd artificer of greece , with wondrous art but ill success contriv'd his own and captiv'd son's escape . by wings which he with inspir'd craft did shape , he taught the youth how safely he might glide , and keep a mean betwixt the sun and tide ; so you ( learn'd friend ) with equal art to me the wings of poesie impart , besore me through the spacious sphaere a steddy course you steer , there you securely wonders act and th' eyes of all attract , whilst i unfortunate , like icarus die , but with less glorious fate ! he soaring fell , i flag below , where with damp wings disabled to pursue i yield me lost , and plunging down in deep oblivion drown . the banquet . dispatch , and to the myrtle grove convey what-ever with the natural pallat suits , the dayrie's store with sallads , roots & fruits ; i mean to play the epicure to day ! let nought be wanting to compleat our bloodless treat ; but bloodless let it be , for i 've decreed the grape alone for this repast shall bleed . sit worthy friends — but ere we feed , let love b'expell'd the company ; let no mans mirth here interrupted be with thought of any scornful little she ! fall too my friends . trust me the cheer is good ! ah! ( if our bliss we understood ) how shou'd we bless th' indulgent fates ! indulgent fates , that with content have stor'd our rural board , a rarity nere sound amongst the cates of most voluptuous potentates . the match . by what wild frenzy was i led , that with a muse i needs must wed ? whose dow'r consists of pop'lar fame , the short possession of a name ! yet with what trouble and debate the owner holds this poor estate ? where after long expence and toil he starves on the ungrateful soil . the fields and groves which poets feign the curious fancy entertain , but yeilds no nourishing grain or fruit , the craving stomach to recruit . with thirsty tongue the rhymer sings of nectar and olympian springs . and such i fear the faiery ground of their elysium will be found . a meer fools paradise , and fit for such as will be men of wit. yet fain wou'd i that rhymer know , that raves not of th' shades below , whose verse describes not there each hill , each flow'ry vale and wandring rill , with such praecise particular care , as he had been a native there ; when ( maugre all his art and pains ) what are his gay elysian plains but an imaginary cheat , utopia's form'd i' th' wild conceit , when with poetick calenture 't is seiz'd , and death alone can cure. the disconsolate . my lab'ring soul no longer can sustain , but sink beneath th'encreasing pain ; i wish , contrive , attempt , and rage in vain ! down by these falling springs i 'll lay my weary limbs , and sigh my troubled soul away ! to these lone fields my griefs i will impart , oh my distracted head ! oh my afflicted heart ! put stay , why shou'd i mournfully recite my grievances , to fright the feather'd poets of these streams ? to interrupt their mirth and peace , whilst philomel her querulous song shall cease , and from my sorrows , learn more tragick theams ! no! no! i will conceal my weighty ills , seal up my lips , nor loose them ev'n to pray , but all my plaints in mental pray'rs convey , that shall to heav'n as silent rise as dew from thence distills . ii. dream i ? or is 't a real prodigy ? for i descry a rent in that unclouded skye ; the azure curtains are drawn wide and to my view disclose th' elysian lands where happy spirits reside ! see where the spring of pleasure flows , on whose fair banks the blest take soft repose . exempt from sense or thought of misery , they sing , and smile , and rove , and feast on joys in every grove ; their paradise has no forbidden tree ! curst that i am to view this glorious scene with a vast gulf of air between ! so from a rock the ship-wreckt marriner surveys the distant shore with watry eyes , reflects on the full meals and pastimes there , but having fram'd his fancy'd theatre of sports and rich varieties , sits down disconsolate , and starving dyes . sliding on skates in very hard frost . how well these frozen floods now represent those chrystal waters of the firmament ! tho hurricanes shou'd rage , they cou'd not now so much as curl the solid water's brow ; proud fleets whose stubborn cables scarce with-stood th' impetuous shock of the unstable flood , in watry ligaments are restrain'd more strict than when in binding o oze detain'd . but tho their services at present fail , our selves without the aid of tide or gale on keels of polant steel securely sail from ev'ry creek to ev'ry point we rove , and in our lawless passage swister move than fish beneath us , or than fowl above . strephon's complaint on quitting his retirement . i. business ! — oh stay till i recover breath , th'astonishing word puts my maz'd spirits to flight ; business to me sounds terrible as death , as death to lovers on their bridal night . free as air , but more serene , the series of my life has been ; but i uncustom'd to the yoak , must now in stubborn harness toil at the dull plow . ii. then farewell happiness , repose farewell ! you come not where poor strephon must reside ' for you like halcyons on calm waters dwell , but business is a rough and troubled tide . few suns have ris'n since i was blest , of god like liberty possest ; but slave t'employment now without repose i 'm ( ghost-like ) hurry'd where my daemon goes . iii. but business to preferment will direct , and 't is ev'n necessary to be great . ah have i then no more than this t' expect ? my stinted hopes will starve on such thin meat . impertinents ! content i crave , and wildly you of grandieur rave ! if life 's at best a tedious rugged road , what must it be with grandieur's cumbring load ? iv. condemn'd to th' town-noise and impertinence , where mode and ceremony i must view ! yet were the sight all strephon cou'd dispense , but he must there be ceremonious too . i fear my rural soul 's too plain to learn the towns dissembling strein ; for whilst i practize the slie courtiers art , i shall forget my self , and speak my heart . v. when first th' unwelcome tidings i receiv'd , summon'd to bid my peaceful shades adieu ; scarce was i by my fellow-swains believ'd , 'till streaming tears prov'd my sad story true. then pensive they my doom resent , as 't were to death or banishment ; but oh my panalthaea's passionate moan surpast her sexes kindness , and her own . vi. thus spake she with a forc't frown on her brow , will you be gone ? false strephon , will you go ? then go thy way ; go , for i hate thee now ! but tell me , are you serious swain , or no ? this is some new-found wile to prove ( ridiculous jealousie ! ) my love : but whilst of mine this feign'd suspect is shown , you wou'd suggest that you 've renounc'd your own. vii . thy love chast nymph deep in my breast i laid , when first the precious pledge i did receive , nor have i thence the sacred store convey'd , here , force the cabinet ope and you 'l believe ! you 'l see with what a bleeding heart , from these dear shades and thee i part ; but rig'rous fate — then on her virgin breast i lean'd my drooping head , and wept the rest. viii . oh floods and groves , beneath whose sacred shade i 've sat as happy as first mortals were ; for when distractions did my breast invade , some rapt'rous shepheard's song redrest my care. but 'bove the flights of other swains i priz'd my astragon's soft streins ; for ( turtle-like ) my pensive astragon is sweetly sad and charming in his moan . the gold-hater . well , i perceive the antipathy is mutual now 'twixt gold and me ; for that flies me as fast as i the false pernicious mettal flie . so wild a prey why shou'd i trace that yields no pleasure in the chase ? a prey that must with toil be sought , and which i prize not when 't is caught . gold i contemn when rude i' th' oar , but in a crown despise it more . no crown can any temples fit so well , but 't will uneasie sit . by an eternal law of fate , vexations still attend on state ; insep'rable by humane art , a crown'd-head and an aking-heart . the ingrates . dull mortals with the same prepost'rous breath we bless love's darts , and curse the shafts of death . the author of our ills , a god we stile ; but the redresser of those wrongs revile . yet gentle death ( tho rudely treated ) still persists in generous charity to kill and cure th' ingrateful ev'n against their will ! ah should he once in just resentment give our wishes , and permit us ever live , what shou'd we do when soul and body jar and loath each other like an ill-wed pair ? can envious fiends a penalty invent that shall than loath'd embraces more torment ? but friendly death absolves us from this curse , and when the parties clash , makes a divorce . disappointed . i. from clime to clime with restless toyl we roam , but sadly still our old griefs we retain , and with us bear ( tho we out-rove the main ) the same disquiet selves we brought from home ! can nature's plenteous board spread wide from pole to pole , sufficient cates afford to satiate or delude one craving soul ? produce what wealth the sea contains , or sleeps deep lodg'd in indian veins , th' insatiate mind will gorge the store and call for more . ii. the food of angels of immortal kind , alone can be design'd to feast th' unbounded appetite o' th' mind . to those bright seats let me aspire where solid joys remain , so firm they can sustain , and stand the full career of chast desire . th'enjoyments we pursue so hotly here below , are charming daphnes in the chase and ( daphne-like ) transforming , fool us in th' embrace ! some of martials epigrams translated and paraphras'd . lib. . epigr. ix . from needless dangers timely to retreat , speaks not our courage small , but prudence great . thus cato still was foremost in the fight , whilst vict'ry ( tho at distance ) was in fight ; yet oft the unequal battel he wou'd wave , wise in retreat as in th' engagement brave . who of his game , advantage cannot make , is wise in plotting how to part the stake . who pays his blood for 't , buys his fame too dear i wou'd have fame , but i 'd enjoy it here. who mingles cypress with his lawrel wreath , is poor , and debtor for his fame to death . lib. . epigr. xiv . de arriâ & paeto . when from her breast chast arria did unsheath the reeking sword , & led the way to death ' the blushing steel to her lov'd lord she gave , and said — tho wretched , let us still be brave ! ah that i might prevent thy fate with mine : at my own breast i bleed , but smart in thine . lib. . epigr. cx . de issa catellâ publij . issa much to be preferr'd to catullus amorous bird ; chaster thou than stella's dove , but fond as girls when first they love. issa worth both indies treasure , issa publiu's life and pleasure . issa mourns if he complain , issa shares his health and pain . all night on his warm neck she lies , nor stirs 'till he 's dispos'd to rise : but if digestion chance to call , the cleanly well-bred animal ne're harms the bed , but lightly creeps o're publius bosome while he sleeps , or wakes him with her gentle moan , and motions to be handed down . but passing other vertues by , such is this creatures modesty , she ne're cou'd love , tho daily woo'd by shocks of quality and blood. but lest death take her quite away when time brings on her fatal day , ( to countermand fate 's rigid law ) publius did her picture draw ; where ev'ry feature , ev'ry hair is feign'd with so much art and care , it leaves you doubtful which to call the copy , which th' original . in short , compare 'em both together , and you 'l swear both have life , or neither . lib. . epigr : vi. doll swears she will have raph — the wiser she ! raph swears hee 'l not have her — the wiser he ! lib. xi . epigr. xcv . translated in dialogue . a. friend giles and i had late â bloody bout . b. eternal cronies how cou'd you fall out ? a. faith guess th' occasion . b. some fresh doxie ? a. no , fools as we are , we have more sense than so. he that asserts a modest lady's right , ( tho soundly drub'd ) is a true errant knight ; but whelps are they , who for such carrion fight . b. when toapt ( which he 's of course some twice a day ) he 'l rail on 's grandsire's beard if 't come in 's way ; perhaps mis-call'd you then , gave you the lye , or in rude language damn'd your poetry . a. had lillye to resolve the quaere try'd , ev'n lilly's self cou'd not have guest more wide ! don critick nere cou'd wound my thoughts so deep as to beguil me of one minutes sleep ; censures i still despise as things of course , but th' damage i sustain by giles is worse . the rascal stole — b. your poems ? c. no , my horse . lib. xi . epigr. xliii . there 's not a drowsie alderman i'th'town , but i 'l engage more nobly shall requite dull hobling meeter on his beard and gown , than you the most elab'rate lines i write . and yet your worship still gives me strict charge to write in honour of your patronage ; and that my thoughts upon the theam be large , and fav'ring of the smartness of the age. troth sir , you have less conscience than a turk , to put an honest muse on conjuring work , to make wesphalia hams of english pork . the confinement . oft had i form'd ideas of content , but by experience knew not what it meant . at length i strove to counter-plot my stars , and free my soul by stratagem from cares . in a cool jess'mine shade my lute i strung , where with divertive aires i play'd and sung ; the grateful sounds compos'd my cares to sleep , which o're me now no watch appear'd to keep . thrice blest ( said i ) this long expected hour , that frees me from my cruel goalers pow'r . i fled ; but soon was by my jealous guard pursu'd , o're-tane , and laid again in ward . yet ev'n this disappointment i cou'd bear , had fate set bounds to my misfortunes here ; but since my attempt t' escape i suffer more , than in my hardest bondage heretofore ! like a designing captive now i 'm us'd , a pris'ners common curtesies refus'd ; prest with more chains , aw'd by a stricter guard , from sleep ( the vilest slaves relief ) debarr'd . on snow fall'n in autumn , and dissolv'd by the sun. i. nature now stript of all her summer-dress , and modestly surmizing , 't were unmeet for each rude eye to view her nakedness ; around her bare limbs wraps this snowy sheet . ii. the wanton sun the slight-wrought shroud removes t' embrace the naked dame , whose fertile womb admits the lusty paramour's warm love 's , and is made big with the fair spring to come . melancholy . i. malignant humour , poyson to my blood ! bane of those active spirits that glide and sport within the circling tide , as fish expire in an infected flood . when all th' horizon of my soul is clear , and i suspect no change of weather near , strait like a suddain storm i find thy black fumes gath'ring in my mind , transforming all egyptian darkness there ; darkness where nought occurs to sight but flashes , more amazing than the night ; and fiery spectres gliding through the troubled air. ii. sleep that in other maladies brings ease , feeds and enrages this disease ; for when my weary lidds i close and slumber , 't is without repose . this fury still into my dreams will creep to hagg my tim'rous fancy while i sleep ; through charnel houses then i 'm led , those gloomy mansions of the dead , where pensive ghosts by their lov'd reliques stay , and curse th' approaching day . by merc'less foes pursu'd and tane ; oft ship-wreckt on the main , beneath the floods i seem to dive ; oft in wild sarra's desert forc't t' engage some savage monster 's rage . oft ( typhon-like ) beneath a mountain's weight i strive ! iii. might i the book of fate peruse , to read the lot for me design'd , i should perhaps auspicious find those planets i accuse ; but whilst for information i consult the false astrology of melancholy fear , dark and ore-cast my future dayes appear : all possible misfortunes while i dread , i draw all possible misfortunes on my head ; whilst this solicitous fear of future ill my credulous thought employs , ( tho false its augury , yet ) it destroys my present rest , and still diverts me from pursuit of certain joyes . who seeks for happiness with nicest care must watch its seasons , and frequent its haunt . delight is a rich tender plant that springs in all soils , and all the year : 't is like the manna which in plenty lay , if early sought , around each hebrews tent , but if till heat of day their search they did delay . th' ambrosial food was no where to be found . on a grave sir retiring to write in order to undeceive the world. certis of all well-meaning fools , thy fate is most deplorably unfortunate . hadst thou domitian-like in catching flies employ'd thy privacy , thou 'dst past for wise ; for what shou'd hinder thee , but thou mayst catch as fast as he , and be the emperour's match ? but whilst thy solitary hours are spent in scribling tedious systems , to prevent the worlds mistakes , its follies to reform , thou mayst as well pretend to lay a storm . go , cut the caspian lake a road to th' ocean ; contrive an engine with perpetual motion , make machiavillians of the red-bull rout , jilts constant , breakers honest , bawds devout ; if these adventures seem unfeazable , at least enough to pose don sidrophel . then think how frantickly thou dost devise , to make this hair-brain'd world grow staid and wise . in youth and prime when likeliest to improve , no precepts this besotted world cou'd move ; and wilt thou at these years begin to school , ( dull moralist ! ) the crazy doating fool ? go dreaming stoick , once again retire ; and since thou art ambitious to acquire repute for judgment — set thy works on fire . on a deform'd old baw'd designing to have her picture drawn . i. thy picture drawn soul beldame ! thine ! what frenzy haunts thy mind , and drives thee on this vile design , t' affront all woman-kind ? ii. for whilst thy swarthy cankard face posterity shall view , they 'll loath the fairest of the race , for sharing sex with you. iii. to some forlorn church-yard repair , and haggard thou shalt see , the sternest goblin will not dare to stand the sight of thee . iv. those ghosts that strike with pannick-fear the breasts of stoutest braves , at thy approach will disappear , and burrogh in their graves . v. fix thy effigies on the shield of some bold knight in arms , 't will aid him more to win the field , than all his lady's charms . vi. don perseus with his gorgon's face that combatant wou'd flee ; for hagg medusa ( no disgrace ! ) a beauty were to thee . advice to a friend , designing to publish his poems . reclaim , rash friend , your wild resolves t' engage a captious , and ill-natur'd age. 't is not enough the verse you write be good , to take , it must be understood . and to instruct the world , where you excell , is harder much than writing well . th' are different tasks to write well , and to please ; the last ( alass ! ) a work of ease . whilst midas umpire sits ; let none admire pan's pipe preferr'd to phebus lyre . the gawdiest painting takes the vulgar sight , whilst artfull pieces less delight . in vain is nature represented well , if 't it be not gay , 't will never sell. hark in your ear ( 't is a strange mystery , but a grand truth ) , if popular you 'd be , faith spare your pains , and write ex-tempore . the ignorant . an ignorant i am , and glory in the name ' i wot not what of yore rash furioso's did , nor what the dreaming sages said : i cannot run a list of old rome's tryumphs ore . 't was knowledge first to ruin led us on ; for with this mortal itch possest the happy pair transgrest , needs must they know , they knew and were undone ! and to this hour our mis'ries sole relief consists in ignorance of our grief ! then plodding mortal cease to boast your dear-bought faculties ; for since with knowledge sorrow must encrease , let such as on those terms can science prize , improve in science ; but for me , so i may ignorant and happy be , i 'le ne'r repine or look with envious eyes , on the unhappy learn'd , and miserable wise. the beldam's song . appear my kib-welkin , dear spirit appear in the shape of an ape , a fire-spitting dragon , or clump-footed bear. madge has whoopt me twice from her ivy-bound oak , and twice have i heard the dull night-raven croak . let me stride thee my welkin , and post it away ere the moon reach her noon . for the night is the wey-ward sister's day . through the air let us take our fantastical round , and sipp of the dew while 't is new , ere the honey-drops fall to the ground . but when we are mounted , and in our carear , make neither hault nor stay , and to none give the way , tho hecat her self shou'd be rounding the air. for once i 'le encounter , and try to dismount her , pitch her heels over head to some quagg-mire below , and reign queen in her stead bustle , bustle my kib , and be sure e're we part , thou shalt suck at the dugg that is next to my heart . the inconstant . a paraphrase on the xv. epod of horace . precisely i remember all , 't was night , calm skye , and the full moon shone bright , when first you swore , that bleating flocks shou'd feed with wolves , nor other keepers need ; that boistrous winds husht in eternal sleep , shou'd cease to revel on the deep ; you vow'd that these , and prodigies more strange shou'd fall e're your fixt heart cou'd change . yet ( woman-like ) to your new fav'rite now , unswear as oft as you did vow ! ah! if i cou'd ( and sure if half a man , or some what less than half , i can ) cou'd i in just resentment quit your chain , and with more caution chuse again ; nymph , you 'd repent my wrongs , when flying fame shou'd publish to your grief and shame , how your wrong'd swain had found a nymph more true and equal in her charms to you. but treach'rous rival , you that reap my toils , and pride your self in my stoln spoils , shou'd fates and stars adopt you for their own , and show'r their richest blessings down , nought shou'd secure you from the sure praesage of an offended poet's rage . the time shall come ( and to inhance your sear , know , wretch , that fatal time is near ) when you shall perish by th' inconstancy of her that first learnt breach of faith from thee ; whilst from the safe shore your sad wreck i see . of the ape and the fox . a paraphrase on one of the centum fabulae . to his four-footed subjects through the nation , the king of bruits thus issues proclamation , being well informed we have incurr'd disgrace by harb'ring in our realm a scandalous race , a sect that have no tails ; these presents are t' enjoyn such miscreants , all and singular , strait to depart our land , or on demurr , our laws grand-treason penalties incurr . sly reynard strait sists out this state design , turns goods and chattels all to ready coyn. the unprojecting neighbour-hood admire , and flock , th' occasion of his march t' enquire . where 'mongst the rest the ceremonious ape accosts him with grimmace and formall scrape . bon jour monsieur ! you pass for a prime witt ; but in this project give small proof of it . we of the cur-tailed tripe b'express command of our great cham prepare to quitt the land ; but why sir shou'd you budge , whose posterns bear a swashing train well furrd to guard your rear ? had nature lent me but an inch of dock , a tust to shade , or scutt to grace my nock , i shou'd presume i had no obligation from the late act to take this peregrination . then thus the fox — you 've spoke an oracle , doubtless your gravity reads machiavill . i must confess i 've no pretence to rail , or curse my starrs for stinting me in tail ; but grant my train might with a commet's measure , suppose withall that 't were his highness pleasure to say i 've none ? which if he once assert , nere doubt but he has sycophants will swear 't ; thus charg'd , shou'd i attempt my own defence , ( to give his lawless tyranny pretence ) 't is odds but i am dockt upon the spott , and then for want of tail poor reynard goes to pot. the round . how vain a thing is man whom toyes delight , and shdadows fright ! variety of impertinence might give our dotage some pretence ; but to a circle bound , we toil in a dull round : we sitt , move , eat and drink , we dress , undress , discourse and think by the same passions hurri'd on , imposing or impos'd upon : we pass the time in sport or toil , we plow the seas or safer soil : thus all that we project and do , we did it many a year agoe . vve travel still a beaten way , and yet how eager rise we to pursue th' affairs of each returning day , as if its entertainments were surprizing all and new. the male content . mongst winding rocks ( his swelling griefs t' allay ) the disappointed thirsis took his way . in the wild clifts a natu'ral vaut he found with woven ivye cheaply deckt around . he rusht into the solitary nook , where into these pathetick sounds he broke . oh when will nature take the life she gave , and lodge me free from trouble in the grave ! sleep there alone deserves the name of rest , no frightfull dreams the sleep of death infest . whilst shrouded in this marble cell i lye , what can be more commodious than to dye ? each object here wears such a mournfull face , that dying seems the business of the place ! here from the wrangling vvorld i will retire , and as i liv'd unknown , unknown expire . then let that hanging rock that shades my head sink down , and shutt this vaut when i am dead : rude as it is , this marble cell wou'd save th'expensive rites that formall burialls crave , it self my cossin , monument and grave . the dream . beneath the syc'more shade , amintas sat to sing and play on his shrill pipe i'th'heat o' th day ; his amarill beside him laid : charm'd with the musick of his reed , the listning ewes forgat to feed , the sportive lambs gave ore their play , and to their master's song attentive lay , the song as soft and innocent as they ! mean while on the pleas'd amari'll a downy slumber fell , 'till with a sigh and suddain start she ' woke and cry'd — heav'n save my swain ! are you not hurt ? — i will provide a dart , and if the bruit approach again , i 'le drench it in the savage monster 's heart . what means ( amintas smiling said ) this rage ? i dreamt ( said she ) a ruthfull bear had broke into our fold , and slaughter'd there ; and whilst you rant ' engage ( ah! why were you so rash ? ) th' unequall foe , the rav'nous monster seiz'd on you ! then to your rescue i came in and cast my self between , but with the motion waking , found the dream untrue . amor sepulchralis . in a large stately cave ( of old the court of rurall gods as neighbring swains report ) interr'd the dear remains of damon lay , converted now to their originall clay . each wishing nymph the living swain approv'd , the shepherd fair emmoria only lov'd . their mutuall passion 's kindling flame was more then ere inspir'd consenting hearts before ; but was with time improv'd to that degree , that now 't was love no more , but extasie . their linkt affections fate cou'd not divorce , nor rig'rous death restrain their entercourse : the nymph to living swains did still preferr her damon's dust , and ev'n that dust lov'd her. at damon's tomb the chast emmoria kept perpetual vvatch , and ore his ashes wept ; ( fitt emblem of her grief ) a sprigg of yew she planted there , the branch took root and grew . this cave to the suns rays access deny'd , no rain or dew the thirsting plant supply'd , yet still it sprang , by love's miracu ' lous pow'r , for th' ashes still glow'd with their old amour emmoria's eyes wept a nere-ceasing shower ; this heat and moysture kept the plant alive , and tempring still each other , made it thrive . the three first verses of the th psalm paraphras'd . i. our strength , is the omnipotent ; we cannot therefore condescend to fear , tho danger in its gastliest shape appear ; tho mountains from their marble roots were rent , and head-long to the ocean hurld , their violent career might shake the world ; but our fixt feet shou'd keep their ground , no tremour in our breast be found ; our rais'd heads shou'd o're-look the floods , where hills lay drown'd . ii. what tho the sea , whose most capacious womb gave the subverted hills a tomb ? what tho it's raging waters roar , and swell in mountains vast as those which the profound gulf gorg'd before ? this most impertinently angry main , with its own rocks fierce contest may maintain , but can no more our passions discompose , than when on a serene and shiny day , some shallow riv'let we survey , contesting with each pibble for its interrupted way . the mid-night thought . now that the twinkling stars essay a faint resemblance of the day , shewn fairer now for being beset with night ( like diamonds in jett ) let me repos'd within this grove , the solemn season there improve . restless alas ! from sun to sun , a round of business i have run : whilst others slept projecting lay , yet since i thought how many a day ! how long since i did meditate of life , of death , and future state ? approaching fate his pace will keep , let mortalls watch , or let them sleep . what sound is that ? — a passing bell ! then to eternity farewell ! poor soul , thou' rt at thy crisis now , and one short hour thy doom shall show , eternall bliss , or endless woe ! if virtue 's lore thou hast despiz'd , how wou'd that virtue now be priz'd ! or say , thou didst in our loose age , on her forsaken side engage , wouldst thou the dear remembrance now , for the worlds monarchie forgoe ? what other medicine canst thou find t' asswage the feavour in thy mind ? now wakened conscience speaks at large , and envious fiends inhance the charge ! let the bold atheist now draw neer , thy chill and drooping spirits to cheer ; his briskest wine and witt to thee will now alike insipid be ! vvhere is the lawless hectring brave that from th' arrest of death can save ? vvh ' attempt a rescue here , will fail , and this grim serjeant takes no bail. the counter-turn . observe that pile of skulls , but chiefly there that mossye skull survey : do's the sage front display plots , projects , and nocturall care ? methinks it shou'd , for once it did belong t' a machiavilian that cou'd shock a state , and trusted he cou'd bastle fate . who wou'd have sought that head-piece in this throng ? the plotting wight promis'd that skull a crown , in lowest earth he founded the design , with heav'n the roof did join ; 'till with a suddain shock of fate o're-thrown , the fabrick fell on the contrivers head , and crusht th' aspiring politician dead . the voyagers . whilst stemming life's uncertain tide , tost on the waves of doubts and fears , if to frail reason's conduct we confide vve strive in vain the happy port to gain , for oft as clouded reason disappears vve cannot fail to rove afarr mistaking each false meteor for our starr . how dismall are the perills we engage vvhen ( grown t' a hurricane ) our boist'rous passions rouze the sleeping main ? but ah ! how few have perisht by the rage of storms , if numbred with the dayly throng vvhom syren pleasures as they fail along seduce to the dead shore , vvhere they saw others wreckt before , yet still pursue though certain to be lost ; for if from their cleft boat they climb the coast they fall into the treach'rous syrens pow'r vvho entertain them first , and then devour . the choice . grant me indulgent heav'n a rurall seat , rather contemptible than great . vvhere , though i tast life's sweets , still i may be athirst for immortalitie . i wou'd have business , but exempt from strife ; a private , but an active life . a conscience bold and punctuall to his charge ; my stock of health or patience large . some books i 'd have , and some acquaintance too , but very good , and very few . then ( if one mortall two such grants may crave ) from silent life i 'd steal into my grave . on sight of some martyr's sepulchres . here lies dust confus'dly hurl'd , but dust that once shall judge the world ! blest saints , when the quick flames enlarg'd your souls , and from dull flesh discharg'd , th' ambitious fires strove to convey your spirits on their tryumphant vvay , but wing'd with glory they aspird , and lest the flames behind them tir'd . of the few adherers to virtue . that virtue points our vvay to happiness , ev'n the profane in cooler moods confess : but 'cause the brave and generous are few , thin trains this guid to happiness pursue . vvho ' vouch her cause , must ' bett a suffring side expos'd to all the out-rages of pride . she 's exil'd now , and 't is not strange to see mean souls desert afflicted majestie : but when just heav'n ( and sure that time draws on ) restores this empress to her starry throne , vvith crowns she will enrich her loyall few . vvhilst shame and vengeance crush the rebel crew . the requitall . vile infidel , that dar'st for vice declaim , and take vain pride to publish thy own shame ! what can thy patron vice enough conferr on his officious zealous oratour ? hee 'll doubtless give his wonted recompense , and , rot the tongue that pleads in his defence . to a desponding friend . repine not , pensive friend , to meet a thorn and sting in ev'ry sweet ; think it not yours or my hard fate , but the fixt lot of humane state. since then this portion is assign'd , by the great patron of mankind , ( though nere so darkly understood ) we shou'd presume the method good. heav'n do's its tendrest care express conducting through a wilderness , lest sluggards we shou'd take our stand and stop short of the promis'd land. disswasion of an aged friend from leaving his retirement . in life's unactive wane your shades forsake , and into th' world a sally make : deluded friend , what surfett have you tane of bliss , that now you long for pain ? the favourites of th'austere world are few , yet they have their disasters too . what therefore must your entertainment be that have profest hostility ? you have not learnt to flatter and caress the great , for faithless promises ; when disappointed , thankfull to appear , and say , how much oblig'd you are ! for lucre you must practise every wile ; defraud , and do it with a smile . worldlings with many vices must be fraught , which you my friend were never taught . well , you may roam , but soon return distrest ; wounded and maim'd to your old nest. recovering from a fit of sickness . i. vvhen late the tyrannous malady with intermitted rage seem'd to presage , or suddain health or dissolution nigh ; false world ( said i ) that steal'st my reall joyes shuffling in stead thy changeling toys : begone ! i 'le not be brib'd at any rate to sell m'approaching fate , and re-assume that toilsome task to live : i prize not grandieur , and i know ( were i thy favourite as i'm thy foe ) what i affect , thou never canst bestow : i 'd have content , but that was never thine to give . remove that taper from my sight , th' impertinent light presents no gratefull object to my view ; ev'n those fair eyes that planets once appear'd , ( the only planets i rever'd ) to my dim sight , se●m now t' have lost their lustre too ii. thus musing as i lay , to my bedside ( attir'd in all his mourning pride ) the king of terrours came ; awfull his looks , but not d●formed and grim ; he 's no such bug-bear as we seign of h●m , scarce we our selves so civiliz'd and tame ! unknown the doom assign'd me in this change for full crimes and imperfect penitence , ( though justly i might dread the strickt revenge of an enrag'd omnipotence ) yet with my present griefs distrest , with curious thoughts of unknown worlds possest inflam'd with thirst of liberty , long lov'd , but nere enjoy'd by me , i●su'd for leave the fatall gulf to pass : my vitall sand is almost run , and death ( said i ) will strike anon , then to dull life i bid along farewell ; but as the last grains fell , death faild my credulous hopes , and turn'd the glass . the challenge . ye sages that pretend in science to transcend the dull illit'rate crowd , you that of ignorance impeach , ( ere your pretences be allow'd ) define that prudence which you teach ; i fear 't is much above your learning's reach . prudence has no fixt being , but depends on person , time , and chance , and every petty circumstance : actions directed to the self-same ends , may prudent th' one , the other peccant be ; for what would prove discreet in thee perhaps were wild extravagance in me. the ants are wise , that from their summer hoard supply their winter board ; and doubtless full as wise as they the grashoppers that play and revell all their harvest days away ; for 't were in them a sensless drudgery to toil for a supply in winter's dearth , that must ere winter , die. the cure. a dialogue . claius and coridon . claius come coridon , sit by me gentle swain ; thy cheek is pale : speak shepheard , where 's thy pain ? cor. say , claius priest of our great pan ( for you of humane science th' utmost limits know ) is physicks pow'r to th' bodies use confin'd , have you no medicine for a troubled mind ? clai . yes , for as balsoms raging pains appease sage councells to distemper'd souls give ease , ev'n love is no incurable disease . ha swain ! what meant that suddain blush and start ? have i guest right , and toucht the tender part ? cor. i wou'd conceal 't , but have not learnt to feign — you 've guest , and while you nam'd it , wakt my pain . clai . t' effect the cure we 'll take the safest course , and trace the malady to its first scource : say then , what female gims and baits were laid ; or was your fond soul by its self betray'd ? cor. when from severer business i withdrew , twixt love and me a fatall friendship grew : such was my ignorance and his craft , my brest admitted the impostor for its guest ; with my hearts blood our covenant we seal'd , a solemn contract nere to be repeal'd : then all delights young sorcerers enjoy , a while did my deluded soul employ , love fed my waking thoughts with glorious theams , and blest my slumbers with transporting dreams . when at an awfull distance i survey'd my nymph , transported , to my self i said , ah charming fair ! oh excellence divine ! whilst love wou'd whispering answer — swaine she 's thine . clai . thus , whilst from far our high-plac't hopes appear , ( the gulfs between conceal'd ) we deem them neer . cori. yet boldly through all obstacles i prest . clai . why therefore shepheard are you not possest ? cori. force not th' unwilling secret from my brest , there let it lurk in sympathizing night , and never roam from its dark cell to fright . let it suffice that on a barren soil i 've lost of many years th' expence and toil. clai . do's the false nymph — the vvages you so dearly earn'd refuse ? cori. my self i cannot , will not her accuse . but my releif must from your councells rise : examine not good claius , but advise ; bring your best art ( for 't will your best require ) t'unspell my soul from love's tormenting fire . clai . call reason to your aid , you 'l put to flight the foe not to be quell'd by other might . of happiest love's delights sum up th' account , and learn to what the totall will amount ; then in the ballance love's vexations weigh , how certain these , and how uncertain they. sordid his joyes , and of delight so nice , that female coyness only gives them price . short-liv'd the warmest amorist's desires , at kindling hymen's , oft love's torch expires . there are that from large dow'rs derive their flame and these in full career pursue their game ; they wreck their witts , the golden prize to gain , but dream not how that gold is wrought into a chain . cor. when late love 's false suggestions i obey'd , 't was in pursuit of happiness i strayd . my credulous youth had seen no brighter flame , and streight concluded that from heaven it came . in errour 's night love's fire shone bright and gay , but at th' approach of reasons conqu'ring ray the meteor's lost in the full blaze of day . clai . mistake not swain , i wou'd not quench your flame , but slip your passion at a nobler game . wave sensual joys , and with a flame refind court those diviner pleasures of the mind . to sacred virtue next make your address ; confess you 've no regard of happiness , or live henceforth of virtue 's service proud , the brightest beauty and the best endow'd . she 'll guard your youth from passions banefull rage , with peacefull thoughts divert the pains of age. but then in largest streams her blessings flow , when love grown bankrupt can no more bestow . when rig'rous death shall check your circling blood , and life die stifled in the frozen flood , your pensive nymph at large may tell her grief , but to your ravisht soul give no relief ; 't will lurk a pensive ghost in caves all day , and to it's reliques mid-night visits pay . but pious souls by death are gainers made , by virtue to th' elysian seats convey'd ; there mirth and peace , and softest transports reign , delights refind from all allays of pain ; the gratefull soil untill'd her harvest yields ; unclouded skies and ever-verdant fields . there aemulation no dissention gives , for happy each in others blisses lives . no cares o' th' future their free thoughts employ , the business of the place is to enjoy . that swain is most industrious held that best improves his bliss , exceeds in joyes the rest. if love can bless beyond these heights , return to dragg his chain , and in his feavour burn ; take leave of blissfull immortalitie , chide my impert'nent zeal to set you free , and court the frowns of some imperious she. cor. destroy not thus your gen'rous courtesies by an unfriendly and unjust surmize ; heav'n sends me freedome , and to sell the pledge , must brand me with the foulest sacriledge . 'gainst love and beauty i 'll maintain the fort and fix a guard of virtues in my heart . clai . if beauty's force too rashly you despise , 't is odds but you are ruin'd by surprize : wou'd you live free from female tyranny ? nere parly with the tempting sex , but fly. their very tears are fewell to desire , and with their sighs they 'l fan th'expiring fire . their mirth and grief , their kindness and disdain , are fatall all , and work poor shepheards pain ! nature and art conspire to arm the fair ; for in the charming , all things charming are ; their glances darts , and ev'ry curl a snare . the hurricane . what cheer my mates ? luff ho ! we toil in vain ! that nothern mist forebodes a hurricane . see how th'expecting ocean raves , the billows roar before the fray , untimely night devours the day , i' th' dead eclypse we nought descry but lightnings wild capriches in the skie , and scalye monsters sparkling through the waves . ply ! each a hand , and furl your sails . port , hard a'port — the tackle sails . sound ho ! — five fathom and the most . a dangerous shelf ! sh 'as struck , and we are lost. speak in the hold — she leaks amain — give ore ; the crazy boat can work no more . she draws apace , and we approach no shore . a ring my mates : let 's joyn a ring , and so beneath the deep embracing go. now to new worlds we steer , and quickly shall arrive : our spirits shall mount as fast as our dull corpses dive the gratefull shepheard . whilst by his grazing flock a gentle swain , his vacant hours to entertain , perus'd a volumn whos 's each tragick page discours'd of some intrigue of state , of rebell-insolence and rage , and some unhappy monarch's fate : the youth into these passionate sounds brake forth what virtue of my ancestours so much oblig'd you ye indulgent pow'rs , that in these silent shades you gave me birth ? you might have made me fortune's sport , doom'd me to some corrupted court , where i this rurall bliss had never known ; my cottage might have been a throne , my crook a scepter , and my wreath a grown : some tyrant-prince i might have been , ( by your indulgence now a peacefull swain ) my chloris some proud cruel queen , the tendrest nymph of the arcadian plain . when for these blessings i forget t' invoke your powers , neglect to make your altars smoak ; then ravisht let me be from this secure retreat , and plac't aloft on grandieur's seat , an open mark to the sure darts of envious destinie . finis . the triumphs of love and constancy a romance, containing the heroick amours of theagenes & chariclea : in ten books / the first five rendred by a person of quality, the last five by n. tate. aethiopica. english heliodorus, of emesa. approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing h estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) the triumphs of love and constancy a romance, containing the heroick amours of theagenes & chariclea : in ten books / the first five rendred by a person of quality, the last five by n. tate. aethiopica. english heliodorus, of emesa. person of quality. tate, nahum, - . the second edition. [ ], [i.e. ], p. printed by j. leake for edward poole ..., london : . translation of: aethiopica. issued in with title: the ethiopian history of heliodorus. attributed to heliodorus of emesa. cf. bm. dedication signed: n. tate. "licensed, ro. l'estrange"--p. [ ]. advertisement on verso of t.p. reproduction of original in yale university library. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng - tcp assigned for keying and markup - spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images - john pas sampled and proofread - john pas text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion books printed and sold by edward poole , at the ship over against the royal exchange in cornhil . several treaties of peace and commerce , concluded between the late king of blessed memory , deceased , and his now present majesty , and other princes and states . reprinted and published by his majesty's especial command the ministration of publick baptism of infants to be used in the church : or a disswasive from baptizing childrerin private . by edm. arwaker , m. a. cuckolds-haven : or an alderman no conjurer . a farce . by n. tate . the triumphs of love and constancy . a romance . containing the heroick amours of theagenes and chariclea . in ten books . the first five rendred by a person of quality , the last five by n. tate . the second edition . nugae venales : or a complaisant companion : being new jests , domestick and foreign . the fourth edition corrected , with many new additions . by richard head , author of the english rogue . the triumphs of love and constancy : a romance . containing the heroick amours of theagenes & chariclea . in ten books . the first five rendred by a person of quality , the last five by n. tate . the second edition . london , printed by j. leake , for edward poole , at the ship , over against the royal exchange in cornhil . . to his grace the duke of beauford , &c. my lord , as i have long had an ambition of presenting some essay to your grace's patronage , i was likewise sensible that no performance ( which was entirely my own ) could , without presumption , aspire to that honour : but this address comes arm'd with a double apology ; not only the fix'd reputation of the work in the original , but on account of the translation it self , being half perform'd by a person of quality and judgement . by whose untimely death we were deny'd the happiness of his farther progress , and i was prevail'd with to think that the world would rather dispense with my course finishing of the piece , than lose the part which he had so well begun . beside the testimonies of the learned for my author , it is yet to be added , that he was not only the first who attempted this way of writing , but the best . the cassandra and cleopatra of the french were scions from this stock , nor shall we envy them the reputation which those authors seem'd chiefly to design , the diversion of the ladies . heliodorus has as well contriv'd for their favour , yet so as to make the amour subordinate to instruction , and every where an occasion of dispensing that learning and experience , with which he was so wonderfully furnished . the philosophy and politicks deliver'd in the romance of barclay have render'd it worthy the perusal of the greatest stratesmen ; yet , on the first view , we shall find the argenis to be but a copy of chariclea . but after all his maxims of conduct , and examples of vertue , methinks i see the authors genius tremble to come under your graces inspection , who have in practice so far excell'd the most perfect images that he could feign . of what importance your unshaken loyalty , industry , and prudent management , has always been towards the happiness of this nation , is best known to persons of your own high sphere , where your grace is placed a star of the first magnitude . but your more immediate influence for the publick safety , in the late season of our extremity , was so manifest , that thousands were spectators of its operation . the proud invader himself acknowledg'd his measures to be broken in their foundation , by your presence in bristol , the main fortress of his hopes ; from which he was obstructed by your grace's matchless interest and conduct . for a parallel to this service , we must run up to your own great ancestor , whose name shall be sacred to posterity as long as * ragland castle shall have one stone left upon another . i have too just a sense of your grace's character to attempt your panegyrick ; yet , in gratitude , i am obliged to say , that while your grace is blest with qualifications to adorn the noblest court , it is your peculiar glory to have magnificence and condescension to charm all mankind . that clemency i must make my sanctuary for this address , and leave your encomium to some more able genius , while the height of my ambition is to subscribe my slef . your grace's most devoted humble servant , n. tate . testimonies of eminent persons , ancient and modern , concerning the following work. heylin , lib. . p. . heliodorus the author of that ingenious piece , call'd the aethiopick history , which he so prized , that he chose rather to lose his bishoprick , than consent to the burning of his book , which a provincial synod had adjudged to the fire . a piece indeed of rare contexture and neat contrivance , without any touch of loose or lascivious language , honest and chast affection being the subject of it , not such as old or modern poets shew us in the comedies or other poems : for here we have no incestious mixtures of fathers and daughters : no pandorism of old nurses : no unseemly action specified , where heat of blood and opportunity do meet : nor indeed any one passage unworthy of the chastest ear. phil. melancth . the stile is florid without affection ; the variety of councils , accidents and events contained therein is wonderful ; exhibiting most images of humane life , so that it may be read by all with equal profit and pleasure . stanizlaus . equ . polon . the reason why learned men have thought the aethiopian history of heliodorus , worthy the perusal of posterity , is very evident , the design being equally accommodated to the instruction and diversion of the reader . in which , besides the elegance of stile , not only changes of fortune , but examples of vertue are set forth . vicentius obsopoeus . i recommend the aethiopian history of heliodorus , as the most absolute image of all humane affections ; a perfect example of conjugal love , truth and constancy being wonderfully drawn in the characters of theagenes and chariclea . i pass over the beauty , contrivance , and artifice in the expression . of all greek authors that ever came into my hands , i must affirm him to be the most pleasant and will venture to say the most learned . for the truth of his tale i leave it to himself , but for the probability it may compare with any history . for the argument which is various , i can aver it to be compleat ; forasmuch as it is , besides the continued pleasantness of the tale , full of admirable turns and surprises ; he has most skilfully given the cosmography of many places ; laid open the secret causes of nature in many instances ; learnedly described the rites and customs of many nations ; the nature of divers mountains , rivers , stones , herbs , and regions of aegypt and aethiopia especially , countrys the least known ; mingling all with such beautiful digressions , that in the whole work he hath left nothing imperfect or what might give offence to the most critical reader . cornelius sutorius . this work is so furnished with wisdom in councils and government of humane affections , such discipline and knowledge in all circumstances of war ; such inconstances of fortune and variety of humane affections , that it seems wholly derived from the purest fountains of eloquence . thomas dempsterus . heliodorus the phoenician , the most eloquent and chast writer of loves ; most delightful and artificial in the management of his story . hieronymus commelinus . heliodorus the most elegant author , in whose volumn are many sentences , grave , solid , ethick , political , oeconomick . how many things therein subservient to antiquity no where else delivered . this is attested by divers amongst the ancients , viz. in the melissa of antony , and the centuries of maximus : to instance in modern authors would be endless . i will mention barnabas brissonius instead of all : whosoever reads his treatise concerning the persian principality , will easily find how much he was obliged to this author . licensed , ro. l'estrange . the aethiopian history . the first book . the break of day had now dispersed the darkness , and the sun with earliest beams , guilded the summits of the mountains ; when a troop of men that had no living but by robberies , and rapine , appeared upon the promontory that elevates it self over one of the mouths of nilus , named the heracliotick : being assembled , they made a stand to take view of the sea , that lay like a vast valley underneath them ; but when they saw nothing that presented hope of prey ( all the ships they discovered , sayling off to the main ) they cast their eyes towards the neighbour shoar , and encountered this object . a ship at anchor , no men in her , yet heavy laden , as might easily be judged afar off , for she was of that burthen , as she drew water to the third deck . the shoar was covered with a massacre of men , some dead , others were but half dead , and the parts of their bodies that yet panted , gave assurance to the beholders , it was no long time since the fight was ended ; nor were these the marks of a just quarrel , they were the said relicks of an unfortunate feast . there were tables that stood yet full furnished , and some that were overturned betwixt the arms of those that sate at them ; others lay like tomb-stones over the dead that had ( as it is probable ) hid themselves under them : many bowls and pots were cast down , and many yet held in their hands that had taken them either to drink , or to cast at their enemies heads ; for the suddenness of the mutiny , and the necessity , had taught them a new way , and ( instead of darts and other offensive weapons ) armed them with the cups they drank in . they lay , one cloven with an axe , another his brains beat out with shells that lay ready on the sands , some bruised to pieces with leavers , many burnt with coals of fire , and divers others , diversly murthered ; but the most were shot to death with arrows . in sum , fortune in a little time had produced strange variations , contaminating the wine with blood , changing the chearfulness of a feast into the horrors of a battle , promiscuously mixing their meat with wounds , and drinking healths with death ; preparing such a stage for the aegyptian thieves to be spectators ; but from those heights they could not understand the play ; for they plainly saw a defeat , but no masters of the field ; an absolute victory , but no spoils taken ; a ship unmann'd , but else untouched ; hulling in that dangerous road , as if in full peace , and in the midst of the greatest security in the world . but though ignorant of the cause , they were greedy of the prey ; and resolved to make themselves the conquerors : so they marched forward to the pillage ; and when they were not far from the ship , and near to the dead bodies , there was presented to their sense , a sight of greater astonishment than the former . it was a young lady , sitting upon a rock , of so rare and perfect a beauty , as one would have taken her for a goddess , and though her present misery opprest her with extreamest grief , yet in the greatness of her affliction , they might easily perceive the greatness of her courage : a laurel crown'd her head , and a quiver in a scarf hanged at her back ; she rested her left arm upon her bow , and let her hand carelesly hang down upon her right thigh ; she leaned on her other arm , laying her cheek upon her hand , and fixing her eyes upon a young gentleman that lay not far distant from her ; he was covered in his wounds , and now began to raise himself a little , as if awaking out of a deep sleep , almost of death if self ; yet such a stock of beauty shined in his face , and the blood that rained down so setoff the whiteness of his skin , as made him shew most lovely ; the pain he felt , seemed to weigh down his eye-lids , and the beauty of the lady , to attract and open them . he had no sooner recollected his spirits , and scarce breath'd , but with a languishing voice he pronounced these words . sweetest , is it true that i yet behold you living , or ( perishing in the execution ) have you encreased the number of the dead ? can you not , not even in death be ravished from me , but will your shadow be yet a loooker on , and sharer in my fortunes ? it is from you reply'd the maid that i expect my fortune , life or death ; this you here see ( shewing him a steeletto in her lap ) hath yet not done its office , hindered by the happy signs of your recovery . this said , she leaped from the rock , and the thieves upon the mountains surprized with fear and astonishment ran to hide themselves behind the bushes : for she appeared more divine when she was upon her feet ; her arrows in her quiver clashing as she stepped , her robe ( that was cloth of gold ) glittering in the sun , and her hair that slowedunder her coronet ( like the priestesses of bacchus ) reaching almost to the ground . one said she was a goddess , and sure the goddess diana , or isis the patroness of their country ; others conceived her to be a votaress to some god , that inspired with divine fury had made so great a slaughter . this while the maid running to the gentleman , cast herself upon his body , wept , kist him , wiped his wounds , and imbraced him so closely as if she could hardly be assured she had him in her arms. the aegyptians observing this , presently altered their opinions ; what , said they , are these the actions of a goddess ? do goddesses kiss dead men ? and with so much commiseration ! so encouraging one another , they marched on , and found the lady dressing the young mans wounds , and coming close behind her , did not dare to attempt any thing , not so much as to speak to her ; but the noise they had made , and their shadows cast before her eyes , moved her to turn her head ; and when she had seen them , she again declined her face ; and applyed her self to bind up her friends wounds , not so much as the least daunted with the unusual aspect , and colour of these armed aegyptians : so powerful is sincere affection , as it despises all other pleasing or displeasing things , and transports our whole care and thoughts to the object we love dearest : but when the thieves passed on , and stood in front before her , and seemed as if they would attempt something , she lifted up her eyes again , and seeing them so black and ugly . if you be ( she said ) these dead mens spirits , you do us wrong to trouble us , since most of you with your own hands slew one another ; if any of you fell by ours , it was but in our just revenge , to repell the violence you offered to my chastity ; but if ye be living men , i should take you to be thieves ; if so , you come most opportanely : free us , i beseech you , from these evils that oppress us , kill us , and put and end to all our misery : these passionate wodrs she spake with as sad an accent . but they ( neither understanding her words nor meaning ) left her with the wounded gentleman , not putting any surer guard upon them then their own weakness ; and hasting to the ship , they unladed her , every man carrying out as much gold , silver , precious stones and silks , as they were able to bear , neglecting other commodities ( tho' rich and various ) and when they had every one as much as satisfied their avarice , they lay'd it down upon the shoar , making it up into packs , and dividing it , not by reason , or after the just value of the things , but equalling them by weight , reserving for the last , to resolve what to do with the young gentleman and the lady . mean while there appears upon the mountains a second company , two riding before them as their captains ; these were no sooner perceived by the former , but without preparing for the fight , or daring to take with them any part of of the spoil , lest it might give occasion to the enemy to pursue ; the fear that strook their hearts , made them take their heels with the greatest agility that was possible , for they were but ten , and those they saw coming were twice that number . thus the lady was twice taken , and yet not prisoner . now these others , though they had an extream longing to be at the pillage , and had already devoured it in their hopes , yet the apprehension , that troubled their spirits , not knowing the cause of these events , retained them for a while ; for they imagined the first thieves had made that horrible slaughter ; and observing the lady in all the dangers that threatned her , to be no more afraid than if there had been no such thing , careful only of the young man's wounds , that seemed to pain her more , than if they had been her own ; they remained mightily amazed , as well at the generosity of her courage , and rareness of her beauty , as at the delicate shape and exact stature of the wounded young man ; who began to resume his natural colour : after they had long considered , their captain stept forth , and took her by the hand , commanding her to rise and go with him ; but she that understood not his language , and yet doubted what he meant , drew the young gentleman along ( nor would he part with her ) and setting her steeletto to her breast , threatned to kill her self , if they might not go together : the captain understanding her more by action and signs , than by her words , and hoping if the young gentleman recovered , he would serve him in designs of higher nature ; made his page alight , and he also dismounting , caused the two captives to be mounted on his horses , and himself setting forward on foot , whilst his men trussed up the pillage , went with the prisoners to help them , if happily their weakness should not suffer them to help themselves , nor did their captivity want a glory , to see the conqueror humbled to the conquered , and to be waited on by him that had them in his power : so great is the appearance of nobility , and magick of a beauty , as to subdue the inhumane nature of thieves , and to mollifie the hearts of the most barbarous . when they had now passed along the sea shoar , about half a quarter of a mile , leaving the left hand-way , they turned up-hill , and climbing over , doubled their paces , to arrive by day-light , at a lake on the other side the mountain . this part of the country is by the aegyptians named the bucolia , or pasture , in which there is a valley that receives the innundations and disburdenings of nilus , growing into a lake of an infinite deepness in the midst , but near the sides it is but shallow and marish : here the aegyptian thieves live together with a kind of policy , and observing a certain form of a republick : some dwell in cabbins or huts , builded upon little spots of earth , that rise above the water in divers places of the lake ; others live in boats , that they use both for ferrying over , and habitations for themselves and wives , who are there brought a-bed ; their infants first suck the mothers-milk , and within a while are weaned , and use to eat fish , got in the lake , and broyled in the sun ; when a little one desires to go , his mother tyes a cord to his foot , that reacheth no farther than the boat , committing him to this new guide . thus all that are born within the lake , account it for their nurse and country , and hold it as a strong protection to their robberies , and to that end such kind of people flock hither from all parts ; for the water serves them for a wall , and the great quantity of reed and cane that grows about the borders , stands before them as their bulwark , and therein they have cut out so many ways , intermazed one within another ( which their practice makes easie to them ) and cuts off all hope of incursion from the enemy . the sun now declining to the west , the captain and the rest of his company arrived at this lake , and dismounting the two prisoners , carried the prey aboard their little boats ; presently all their fellows that had stayed at home , some from one side of the fenns , and some from the other , came running to meet their captain , and received him as their king , doing him all humble reverence ; but when they had viewed the riches of the prize , and the divine form of the maid , they conceived their companions had robbed some temple , and taken away the priestess , or the living image of some goddess ; so with a thousand glorious praises , elevating their captains valour to the heavens , they all conducted him to his place of residence , which was a little island cut off from theirs , and reserved only for him , and some few appointed to be always near his person : being landed here , he commanded the multitude should retire home , and not fail to attend him the next morning : himself with some few of his friends made a short supper , then committed the two prisoners to the custody of a young grecian ( taken by the same thieves not long before ) to the end he might serve for their interpreter ; and giving him order they should be lodged in a tent joyned to his own ; charged him to dress the gentlemans wounds , and see that none should do injury to the lady , whilst he wearied with the labour of his journey , and the care of present business went to rest . but when silence reigned in all the island , about the first watch of the night , the maid being alone , used her solitude , and absence of her keeper , as an occasion given her to ease her spirits with complaining , the calm of the night exciting her sad thoughts , and being able to see nothing that might divert her mind ; when she had deeply sighed to her self ( for she was separated by command of the captain , theagenes lying with knemon , and she resting on a poor low palate ) weeping as if her heart would break . oh apollo ( she said ) how much greater is our punishment than our offence ! cannot all our past miseries extinguish thy revenge ? we are deprived of the sweet presence of our friends and parents , we have been taken by pyrates , we have been tossed at sea by tempests , and a thousand times in danger of our lives , we are now at land a prey to thieves : alas are we yet reserved to be more tormented ? where at last wilt thou end the progress of our miseries ? to dye with a noble fame , were a sweet death ; but if any villain shall offer to force me , which my theagenes never yet attempted , with my own hands i will prevent him , and strangle this betraying beauty , keeping my virtue to adorn my epitaph , whilst thou apollo shalt be called the most cruel judge . she would have proceeded , but theagenes thus interupted her ; cease my dearest , my soul cariclea : t is true you have reason to complain , but you provoke the god more than you do believe ; we ought not to contradict the will of heaven ; by prayers not injuries , that which is greater than our selves , must be appeased . tou say true , replyed cariclea , but pray how do you ? better he said , since evening ; i thank this gentleman , he hath applyed that to my wounds , hath much aswaged their inflammation . you shall find your self more easie to morrow morning ( added their kepper ) for i will gather you such an herb , as shall heal your wounds at the third dressing ; i have tryed the properties of it by many experiments , since my self was taken prisoner here ; for none of my captains men have ever come home wounded , but in a little time i have effected their cure by the same means ; and do not you wonder i take such particular care of you , for your fortune represents my own ; i must need pity a grecians misery , that am my self a grecian . a grecian , ( oh immortal gods ! cryed the two prisoners for joy ) i am both by language and birth . this yet ( said theagenes ) gives us some breathing space from our afflictions ; but how may we call you ? my name is knemon . of what part of greece ? of athens . do us the favour i beseech you , to let us know your fortune : forbear ( said knemon ) do not make my woes to bleed afresh , nor let not me with abundance of my evils increase yours ; neither would the whole night suffice for the narration ; and you after your many labours had need of rest and sleep : but they insisting , and telling him that it would not be a little comfort to them , to hear of chances like their own : knemon begins thus ; my fathers name was aristippus , a native of the city of athens , a senator of the higher court , and of no mean fortunes : it happen'd that my poor mother having paid the tribute that all humane creatures owe to nature , my father resolved upon a second marriage , because he had as yet but one son , and did not think him worthy of all his care ; he therefore matched with a woman , named demoeneta , she was fair enough , but had a soul the most black and fowl : she had no sooner entered our house , but she made her self the absolute mistress of it , and reduced all things to her power and pleasure ; charming the good man my father with her beauty , and officiously observing all his humours : for she ( if ever woman ) had the art to move the violence of affection , and to make him passionately in love with her ; if affairs pressed his departure , she wept ; at his return she would meet him , accuse the flowness of his coming , and protest she had perished if he had tarryed never so little longer ; at every word embracing him , and moistening her kisses with her tears , insomuch that my father was so taken with her , as willingly he did see or think of nothing else . at first she used me as if i had been her own son , and added this as a greater tye upon his love ; sometimes she would kiss me , and desired that i might stay at home to play with her : this pleased me , and not suspecting what would follow , i admired that she expressed such a motherly affection to me ; but when she appeared more petulant , and that her kisses grew more intemperate than became her , her carraige exceeding the bounds of modesty ; then i began to suspect , avoid , and repel her allurements ; i omit the rest , because it would be tedious , to tell with what ways and promises she would entice me , how she would call me her sweetest favourite , her heir , and oftentimes her soul , making a mixture of fair names , or any thing whereby she hoped i might be caught . in more serious and important matters bearing her self as a mother , but in dalliance shewing plainly she was in love : at length this happened , upon the day of the great solemnity , that we call the panathineon , when the athenians carry a ship in procession through the streets in honour of minerva : being then in the prime of my youth ; after i had sung the usual hymn to the goddess , the rites ended , i returned home , yet vested in my robe and coronet ; she had no sooner cast her eyes upon me , but she lost her reason , and could no longer disguise her passion , nor cover with her art , the violence of her flames , but running to me , embraced me , called me her young hippolytus , her theseus . judge you in what case i was then , that now blush to speak it : that evening my father supped in the prytaneum , and as is usual in those publick feasts and meetings , stayed there all night : now when all our house were in their first sleep , she came to my bod , and urged me to satisfie her unlawful desires ; but i resisting both her threats and flatteries , fetching a deep sigh , she left me , and that night plotted revenge . my father coming home about noon next day , and finding her a bed , asked her how she did ? she told him she was not well ; but he pressing her to speak particularly the cause of her suddain sickness ; this good son ( she said ) so full of piety towards me ; our common child , whom i have loved ( i call the gods to witness ) more than your self , suspecting me by some signes to be with child , which i have concealed from you till i should be better assured of it my self , took the occasion of your absence , and when i advertised him of his duty , and perswaded him to temperance , and to abstain from drinking and wanton courses , for i knew his irregularities in that kind , though i would not tell you so much , fearing to incur the suspicion of a step-mother : whilst i was thus discoursing with him alone , least be should be too much ashamed ; i blush to tell you the rest , he spurned me with his foot , and hath made me in this case as you now see . my father hearing this , without speaking to me , or giving me leisure to defend my self , not believing she that had witnessed so tender an affection to me , would now bely me ; having found me in my chamber , he set upon me , beating me with his own hands , and causing his servants to to scourge me with rods in his presence : i being not able to imagine for what cause they thus abused me ; but when the first motion of his choller was past , father ( said i ) yet now at least ( since before you would not suffer me ) let me know the reason of your displeasure , and what offence i have committed to deserve this cruel punishment . dissembling traytor , he replyed , wouldst thou have me to be the historian of thy villanies ? and turning away from me , hastned to damoeneta ; but she ( for she had not yet satisfied her cruelty ) lay'd a new train for me . she had a maid called thisbe that played excellently well upon the lute , a handsom maid ; her she commands to love me , and presently she obeys her , and she that had oftentimes before rejected my suit to her , began now to tempt me with her looks and gestures , in such sort that my vanity believed i was grown beautiful on the suddain : to conclude , i admitted her to my bed , which she continued to visit often ; and when i warned her she should take heed lest her mistress should perceive her : lord ( said she ) how simple you are ! if you think it such danger for me , a slave , and bought with money , to be taken thus ; what punishment do you judg my mistress deserves , who boasting her self nobly born , and having a bed-fellow by the laws of matrimony ; lastly , knowing death to be the reward proposed for her sin , yet fears not to commit adultry . oh! say not so ( i reply'd ) for i can by no means believe it . yes if you please ( said thisbe ) i will bring you where you may take the adulterer with her : i having told her she should with all my heart ; i will , she answered , both for your sake , that have been extreamly injured by her , and for my own , that dayly suffer under her vain jealousie . therefore ( if you have courage ) prepare your self to take him : i having promised her i would not fail , she presently retired her self . the third night after , she came and waked me from my sleep , telling me the adulterer was within , and my father by a suddain necessity called into the country , which she knowing before , had made him this appointment , and that it was now time for my revenge , and wished me to take my sword lest the villain should escape me ; i did so , and carrying it naked in my hand , thesbe going before me with a light , i came to the chamber door , which i found locked , and saw through the crevises , the glympse of a lamp that burned within : transported with impatience , i broke open the door , and running in , cryed out aloud , where is this villain , the gallant , inamorato of this illustrious lady , that is famed to be so virtuous ? and then approaching with a full intent to nayl them both to the bed ; i saw my father ( oh good gods ! ) who had leapt out in his shirt , and now was upon his knees before me ; and oh son ( said he ) restrain a little your passion ; take pity of your father ; spare these gray hairs , that have given you your breeding : we have done you wrong , 't is true , but it is not of that nature , you should pursue us to the death ; suffer not your fury to transport you , nor stain your hands in your fathers blood : in these , and other lamentable words , he pleaded ; whilst i ( as if strook with a clap of thunder ) stood silenced , and astonished ; looking round about the bed and chamber , not knowing either what to say or do , wondring what became of thesbe , that i know not how , had slided away from me . in this amaze my sword fell out of my hand , and damoeneta , ran presently and catched it up : my father now seeing he had escaped the danger he apprehended , laid hands upon me , and commanded i should be bound . damoeneta persisting to exasperate him against me ; did not i tell you this ? that you should take heed of this youth , that when occasion was offered he would have some design ; i knew it by his face , i saw into his heart : indeed you told me so ( he said ) but i could not believe you : then pinnion'd ( as i was ) he commanded me to be taken away , and would not give me liberty to speak : next day in the morning , he produced me to the people in my bonds , and casting dust upon his head , it was not to this hope athenians , that i bred this child ( said he ) but promising to my self he would one day , be a support and stay to my feeble age ; willing out of such fortunes as the gods bestowed upon me , to render him accomplisht in all sorts of virtues i provided able masters to instruct him in the liberal arts ; and when he had tasted the elements of letters , caused his name to be inrolled in the register of my family , made him a free-man of your town , that living under your laws , he might enjoy your priviledges ; and so much i have loved him , that i have made my whole life a trouble for his sake ; but he forgetful of all these benefits , first did me injury in his cruel usage of this my lawful wife ; and lastly entred my chamber in the night , armed with his sword , and was only so far from being a paracide , as fortune stood between us , a suddain terror making his sword fall out of his hand . i now fly to your justice , and have here brought him before you ; for though by the laws , with my own hands i might have killed him , yet i would not ; esteeming it better that be should receive his punishment from you , than an unfortunate father spot his hands in the blood of his own son. speaking these words , he wept ; and damoeneta seemed to take on extreamly , calling me miserable , that should die thus ; justly indeed , but yet before my time , and that sure some devil had possest me , and put it into my mind , to attempt my fathers life ; her tears bearing false witness of her sorrow , and confirming my accusation as truth : and when i beseeched they would permit me to speak , a notary stepping in , put this strict question to me ; whether i had not entered my fathers chamber in the night , with my sword naked ? i did enter ( i reply'd ; ) but hear me , and i will tell you how ; presently the people clamoured out , and said , i ought not to be suffered to speak more ; some cryed stone him ; others bid the hangman should take me , and throw me down headlong from the precipice : during this time of their distractions in opinion , i cryed , oh step-mother ! alas i dye for my step-mother , my step-mother condemns me without a hearing ! these words touched the hearts of many , and made them suspect the truth ; but yet i could not be heard ; for the people were in that tumult and trouble , as it was not possible to appease them : when they came to numbring of the votes , they found about one thousand seven hundred that condemned me to death , one half whereof adjugded me to be stoned , and the other , to be cast headlong from the rock ; there remained yet about another thousand , that slacking something of their severity , out of the suspicion they had conceived of my mother-in-law , condemned me to perpetual banishment ; and it was concluded according to their sentence ; for notwithstanding they were the minor part , both the others being joyned , yet take the first severally , and a thousand made the greatest number : thus was i exiled from my country , and my fathers house . but the wicked damoeneta did not long escape unpunished by the gods , that hate impieties ; how it was you shall know hereafter : now it is time you should rest , for the night is far spent , and you had need of a great deal of sleep : oh now you will add to our misery , reply'd theagenes , if you leave this wicked woman thus : hear then ( said knemon ) since your will is so ; after my judgment was pronounced , i went down to the port we call pyreum , and lighted on a ship that was bound for the island of egina , knowing i had some friends by my mothers side , that lived there : when i was landed , and had found out those i enquired for , i passed my time there a while , with indifferent good content : i had not stayed there past twenty days , but walking as my custom was upon the haven , i perceived a bark making in ; therefore staying a little to see from whence it was , the planks were scarce laid down , but a passenger came running to me , and imbraced me ; it was charias , one of my old acquaintance : oh knemon ( said he ) i bring you joyful news ! you are revenged of your enemy , damoeneta is dead : you are welcom dear friend charias ( i reply'd ) but why do you pass over your good news so lightly , as if it were some ill accident ? relate the manner i beseech you , for i fear she dyed by some unusual way , and escaped the death and shame she deserved : justice said charias , hath not altogether forsaken us , as hesiod thought ; but though sometimes it conniveth at the wickedness of men , and seems as if it slept upon their sins , and for a time deferring to punish them , yet at length it overtakes them ; as it hath done the wicked damoeneta : the particulars whereof , came to my knowledge , out of the familiarity that had past betwixt my self and thesbe , who concealed nothing from me ; for when the decree of unjust banishment had past against me , your father penitent for his act , withdrew himself from the company of men , and retired to his grange house in the country , there seating his own heart , as the ( poet says ) he resolved to spend the remainder of his days ; but suddainly all the furies of hell began to torment your mother-in-law ; she loved you now in your absence , more than ever , and did nothing but complain incessantly , deploring your fortune , but indeed lamenting for her own : no word passed from her mouth but knemon , her sweetest , her soul knemon ? in fine , her affliction grew to that excess , all the town took notice of it , and the neighbours , and noble ladies her friends , that came to visit her wondered exceedingly to see a mother-in-law , witness such a motherly affection , much commending her , and endeavouring to comfort her the best they could ; but she told them her evil was greater than to be cured by perswasions , that they knew not the cause of her sorrows , not what stings were in her heart : and ever as she came to her self , she complained of thesbe ; that she knew not how to serve her purpose ; how nimble she was ( said damoeneta ) to enterprize and execute a malice ! she knew not how to make me enjoy the pleasure of my love , but she knew how to deprive me of my joy ; in an instant , e'er i could think , e'er she would give me time to change my mind . by these , and other words and actions , she accidently shewed the displeasure she conceived against thesbe , and that she meant her no good : but thesbe ( finding her indignation , and seeing she was lost in passion ; disposed by her ill nature , to lay some train for her , and mad both with love and anger ) resolved to anticipate her , and by laying a plot for her , to preserve her self ; and coming to her , mistress ( said she ) what destiny , enemy to your contentment , and my fidelity , makes you accuse your servant ? i have always , and even in this last act , obeyed your will ; if any thing succeeds not to your wish , you must blame fortune , not me ; yet if you please to command me , i shall testifie a great deal of affection , and no little industry , to find out a way to your content . ( alas she reply'd ) how is that possible , since he that only can content me is so far distant , and so much sea and land is interposed betwixt us ? the unexpected lenity of his judg was my death , for had they covered him in a monument of stones , they had with him buried and extinguished my flame ; for when there is no more hope , there is no more care , or sence of pain : now methinks i still see him , methinks i still hear him object against me my unjust deceits , and upbraid me with them , and i blush to think my self in his presence ; sometimes i think i may yet enjoy him , and resolve to go my self and find him , in what part of the world soever he remains ; this sets me all on fire , this makes me mad ; and justly , oh you gods i suffer ! for why did i plot against him , and rather not use him kindly ? why was i an enemy , and not rather a suppliant at his feet ? had he not reason to give me one refusal ? i was a stranger to him ; he was afraid to stain his fathers bed ; it might be time , acquaintance , and my expressions to him , might have won him : but i , crueller than a wild beast , not as if i had been a suiter , but a mistress , that had the absolute empire of his will , thought strange he should not obey me ; and in my unhappy rigour persecuted him for despising damoeneta , that had not beauty equal to his merit : but my thesbe , what content was that you spake of ? madam ( she reply'd ) the world believes that knemon hath obeyed his sentence , and hath left the town and territory of athens ; but i know ( that ever since that time i have been thoughtful to procure your quiet ) he lyeth concealed at a friends house here in town : you have heard of arsinoe , the flutenist , and her familiarity with him ; she after his disaster , received him into her house , promising to go along with him ; and till she can furnish her self with necessaries for the voyage , she keeps him in secret at her house . but demoeneta could not now refrain to interrupt her , saying , oh blessed arsinoe ! both in the former felicity thou hast tasted , and that occasion offers thee the present happiness to exile thy self with him : but what doth this concern me ? oh greatly mistress ( reply'd thesbe ) for i will fain to be desperately in love with him , and pray arsinoe , that is my old acquaintance , and my fellow musician , to give me one nights lodging with him in her place ; this being obtained , i will make over my right to you ; you shall personate arsinoe , and he shall take you for her ; for i will look he shall have a cup more than ordinary in his head , and the chamber shall be dark ; and then i hope when your desires are obtained , your torments will cease , for the end of love is enjoying : but if your fire should kindle again , as i hope it will not , we must make a second navigation ( as they say ) and sit again in council ; mean time let us have a care of our present business . demoeneta approving , and praising thesbe , conjured her to be secret , and expeditious ; she ( desiring but one day to dispatch it in ) went presently to arsinoe , and asked her if she knew not teledemus ? she said yes ; pray thee ( said thesbe ) make me beholding to thee , to receive us this night into thy house ; for i have promised him a nights lodging ; he will come first , and i will follow assoon as ever i have got my mistress to bed. arsinoe consenting , thesbe ran presently to meet her master , walking solitary in his grounds , and thus spake to him . sir , i come to you the accuser of my self , and to receive such punishment as you shall please to inflict upon me : i have deprived you of your son , not as a principal , yet as an accessary ; for when i found that my mistress lived not as she ought , but wronged your bed , fearing if it should be discovered by any other but my self , i should incur the suspition of being her bawd ; and especially pitying you , that so much loved and doted on her , yet had no better recompence ; not daring to speak freely to you , i resolved to unfold the truth to my young master ; and coming to him in the night that none might see me , i told him my mistress abused your honour , and did receive an adulterer to your bed ; but your son ( being then as you know incensed against her ) understanding me that i said the adulterer was with her in your bed , carried away with rage , catcht up his sword , and though i cryed to him to stay , yet he regarded me not , but thinking i had repented me of my discovery , ran like a mad man to your chamber ; the rest you know : and now you may , if you please , purge your self before your son , though absent ; and revenge your self of her that hath done injury to you both : for i will this night shew you damoeneta , lying with her adulterous friend , in the house of a stranger in the suburbs . if you do it , said aristippus , i will reward you with your liberty , and it may be , when i see my enemy punished , i may again take comfort , and chase away the sorrow , that in despair of my sons repeal , hath tormented my old age. i have doubted this a long time , and had ever some shadow of it in my apprehension ; yet because i wanted manifest proofs , i rested quiet ; but what is to be done ? you know ( said she ) the monument of the epicureans ; there do you stay for me in the evening : having thus spoken , she returned to damoeneta . madam ( said she ) dress your self presently , curl your hair , and put on your best jewels ; for now your desires approach to their effect . she instantly made her self ready , and thesbe leading her the way , when they came near to arsinoes house , she prayed her to stay there a little , and running in to arsinoe , intreated her to go over the way , and let them have the house to themselves , for her friend was bashful , newly initiated in the rites of venus , and would blush if he did see any but her self : arsinoe consented , and thesbe presently returning to her mistress , brought her in , and having got her to bed , took away the light , for fear ( she said ) knemon should know of her coming to the island of egina ( for there he is supposed to remain ) and wishing her to content her desires , without speaking a word , told her she would bring the young gentleman to her , that was but drinking with a neighbour hard by : then she made hast to meet her master aristippus , in the appointed place ; and as she came along with him , warned him to be sure to take the adulterer . aristippus followed her in , and by the light of the moon , that shined a little into her chamber , with much ado he found the bed : and have i taken thee ( he said ) thou enemy of the gods ? whilst he was speaking , thesbe ran to the chamber door , and making a noise , cryed out , oh wretched ! what ill luck have we ? the adulterer is escaped , and therefore master take heed ; you know what former mistake was made by your son : fear not me , reply'd aristippus , i have the wicked woman fast ; i desire no more , and so drew her with him towards the city ; but she considering ( as it is probable ) the evils that encompassed her , the frustrating of her expectation , the ignominy of her fault , and the punishment ordained by the laws , for shame to be surprized , and in spight to be deluded ; when she came right against the pit , in the academy ( where you know our captains ( according to the custom of the country ) use to sacrifice to the hero's , or demy-gods , for the prosperity of the town ) she brake from him with such a fury ; as the old man feeling his strength unable to resist , was forced to let her go ; and no sooner out of his hands , but she leapt into the pit , and brake her neck : a miserable end of an impious woman ! i am revenged , said aristippus , without employing the succours of the law to punish thee . the next day your father recounted the whole matter to the people , and made all the friends he could to get your banishment repealed : i know not what is yet done in it ; for before any thing was resolved , the particular necessity of my affairs , pressed me as you see to come into these parts : yet you may hope the people will consent to your return ; and that your father will imbark himself to find you out , and bring you back . this was the relation charias made me ; what since befel'me , how i came hither , and the fortunes i have had , would be too long to tell you ; with that he wept , and his two prisoners bare him company in tears , as compassionating his misery , and the more because his disasters made them have a livelier remembrance of their own : nor had they ceased from weeping , if sleep , delighting , as it were , to bath it self in tears , had not closed up their fountains . but thyamis ( so was the captain of these robbers named ) having rested quietly the first part of the night , was afterwards troubled with a strange dream , and waking upon it , spent the rest of the night in studying out the meaning of it ; for about the hour that the cocks crowing ( whether it be as some think out of a natural feeling and knowledge of the suns return to our horizon , that moves them by instinct to salute that divine light , or by a certain heat proper to them , or by a desire to stir and seek new nourishment ) do summon mortals to their customary works , about that time the gods sent thyamis this apparition in his sleep . it seemed to his imagination , that he was in the city of memphis , were he was born ; and that entering the temple of the goddess isis , he saw it all on fire ; such a great number of lighted torches were within it , and the altars were full of all manner of beasts for sacrifice , their blood flowing upon the pavement , and entries and galleries were so fill'd with people , as their noise and tumult much amazed him ; when he was come into the inner part of the temple , he thought the goddess met him with chariclea in her hand ; and said these words , thyamis , i charge thy fidelity with this virgin ; yet having of her , thou shalt not have her ; but thou shalt be wicked , and kill this stranger ; yet she shall not dye . these ambiguities exceedingly troubled his spirit ; and often canvassing the meaning . at length he expounded it thus ; thou shalt have her , and thou shalt not ; that is , possessing her for thy wife , thou shalt have her a maid no longer ; thou shalt murder her ; that is her virginity ; but so killed , she shall not dye : thus thyamis interpreted his dream , flattering his wishes . when it was morning , and the principal thieves , according to his commandment were assembled ; he bade that the spoils should be brought forth ( for by that specious name they call'd the booty ) and sending for knemon to him , charged him to bring thither his two prisoners : as he was carrying them to his captain ( oh gods ) said they one to another , what fortune now attends us ? and conjured knemon , he would be favourable to them to his power ; which he promised , and bade them animate themselves , and not suffer fear to seize upon their courages ; for his captain was not a barbarian , but noble and full of courtesie ; and that he well exprest by his humanity , the illustrious blood of his descent ; that is was meer necessity constrained him to take such a course of life : when they were come into thyamis's island , which he had designed for that assembly , he ascended to a higher ground , and commanded knemon , who stood below with the prisoners to interpret to them ; for knemon had now learned the aegyptian language ; and thyamis did not yet well understand the greek . my fellow souldiers ( said thyamis ) you well know my spirit and affection to you , and in what sort i have ever managed your affairs ; for being ( as you know ) son to the chief priest of memphis ; and unjustly deprived of the dignity of the priesthood , after my fathers death , by the means of my younger brother , in this extremity , i fled into your arms , and craved your succours , to revenge my wrong , and recover my honour ; and you favoured me so much , as by your general suffrage to elect me your captain ; since which time i have lived amongst you , without entrenching upon your priviledges , or challenging to my self any greater part of the prize , than the meanest of you ; but if money were to be distributed , i only desired my share ; if prisoners to be sold , i caused the prize to be laid down in common , knowing he that will discharge the office of a good captain , must be above his men in pains , and but their equal in profit : when i took prisoners in the field , that were men likely to do us service , i have received them into the number of our souldiers ; others less serviceable , i have made money of : i never offered violence to any woman ; but if they were noble , i have put them to their ransom , or restored them to their liberty , pitying their misfortune ; others of meaner condition , and such as the chance of war made captives , and were by their own natural baseness inclined to serve , i have given you for slaves : but now i have a suit to you , that for my part of the prey , you will please to give me this fair stranger ; and though by my own authority i might retain her , yet i hold it more honourable to take her with your consent ; for i should do very imprudently , if for gaining of one prisoner a stranger , i should lose or offend my friends and companions ; yet the favour you do me shall not be without a recompence ; for i will leave the spoyls to your dispose : and forasmuch as we of the prophetick race disdain to mix our blood with any women that are not of our quality , i am resolved to take this virgin , not for the pleasure i shall receive in the equal enjoying of her , but for the propagation of an issue to succeed me in my sacred charge ; and i will give you the reasons that induce me : when i first saw her , i esteem'd her to be nobly born , as well for the riches she had about her , as that her spirits failed not in the midst of her calamities , but that she constantly stood the assaults of fortune ; her form , modesty and breeding were great arguments to me of her quality ; for her beauty exceeds all of our times , and her modesty is such as invites her beholders to a continency : why therefore should not i honour her , and judge highly of her ? but what yet is more considerable , she seems to me to be a religious votaress of some goddess , since in all the dangers that befel her , ( believing it to be an intolerable sin ( she never would pull off her crown of lawrel , nor her sacred robe ; what marriage then can be more equal , my brave assistants , than the son of a prophet to match with a maid consecrated to the gods. they all approved the match , and wished him joy. thyamis catching the words , i thank you , worthy friends , he said , but we shall do well first to ask the maids consent ; for if i would have used the law of empire , to will had been enough for all : but my demands being only a lawful marriage , the consent of two is necessary ; and turning to her , tell us ( he said ) you fair one , what you do resolve upon our propositions , and declare to us who , and of whence your parents are : but she , after she had fix'd her eyes a good while upon the ground , as meditating what she would say , at length she raised her head , and looking upon thyamis , with more beauty than before , for her study to contrive her speech , had painted her cheeks with a becoming blush , and her eyes with the vehemency of her thoughts sparkled with more than ordinary lustre ; knemon interpreting , she said , sir , it would better have become my brother theagenes to have answered you than i , silence being as commendable in maids , as the grace of replying is in men ; but since you give me liberty to speak , and that you have exprest your nobleness in seeking to compass just things by perswasion , not force , and in regard your speech is principally directed to me , i am constrained to exceed the bounds i have prescribed to my self , and are proper to my sex , and to answer the demands of my conqueror in the eyes and hearing of so many men ; know then , our countrey is ionia , and we are born of one of the best families of ephesus : when we were come to the age wherein the noble mens children of our countrey are accustomed to do service to the gods , i was chosen priestless to diana , and my brother priest to apollo . this being an annual honour , when the tear was run out , we were to make a voyage to delos , in our sacred robes , and there to exhibit publick games , for exercise of letters , musick and the body ; and so according to the manner of our ancestors , to resign but priesthood : to this end a ship was made ready for us , laden with gold , silver , silks , and other necessaries both for setting forth of the games , and feasting of the people : thus we loosed out of the haven , leaving our father and mother in their house , who in regard of the feebleness of their old age , and the dangers of the sea , did not dare to embark with us : many of the citizens went the voyage , some in our ship , some in vessels of their own ; and having sayled the greater part of our way , with all favour of the heavens , on a sudden the clouds thickned , and a fearful tempest arose , accompanied with lightning and thunder , that so masked the skies , and plowed up the seas , as we lost the benefit of our compass , and our pilot overcome with the greatness of the evil , was forced to give way to the violence of the tempest , and abandon the government and helm to the discretion of fortune . in fine , the storm having ( seven days and nights together ) spent the fury of its strongest gusts upon our vessel , we were cast upon the shore where you took us , and beheld so great a massacre of men , for asmuch as we there making a feast of joy , and a sacrifice to the gods of thanksgiving for our deliverance , the saylors ( with impious desire to possess our riches ) set upon us , and resolved to put us to the sword ; but we made such resistance , as after the loss of our enemies and our friends , we two , as you saw , remained the conquerors ; and would it had pleased the gods we had ended our days among them , and not been the only miserable relicks of that battel ; but since it so falls out , yet we are happy in this one respect , that some favourable deity hath made us fall into your hands , and gives us , that late expected nothing but death , the liberty now to treat of a marriage , which i were indiscreet if i should refuse : for what felicity can be imagined greater , than for a poor captive to be though worthy of her generals bed ; add to this , that a maid dedicated to the gods , shall be taken to wife by the son of a prophet , that in a little while shall himself be a prophet , which sure is not without some secret mystery of providence . i only beseech one favour , that before you marry me , i may be permitted to go to the next great town , or any nearer place where there is an altar or temple of apollo , that i may render up the charge of my priesthood , and put off the marks and ensigns of the god ; it would do best at memphis , when you have recovered the dignity of chief priest ; for a marriage joyn'd to victory would be celebrated with more joy , and be as a trophy of your glorious actions ; but whether before or after , i leave it to your pleasure , so as you vouchsafe to let me accomplish the ceremonies usual in my countrey ; whereto i know you will condescend , since ( as you say ) you have been bred from a child in the mysteries of religion , and are full of reverence towards the gods. thus she ceased to speak , and began to weep : all that were present did greatly approve her answer , and by a general cry assured her they were ready to see her desires performed ; and thyamis consented half voluntary , and half by constraint ; for his ardent longing to enjoy chariclea , made him think an hour of delay an eternity ; withal he found himself so charm'd with her speech , as if it had been a syrens song , that it forced him to allow of her demands , having also a relation to his dream , flattering his desires with a belief their nuptials should be held in memphis : then he broke up the meeting , ( having first divided the booty , whereof his companions freely gave him the richer and the greater part ) and commanded them within ten days to be ready to sit down before memphis , and besiege his brother . to the prisoners he assigned their old tent , and knemon to attend them , not now as a keeper , but a companion , and many times sent for theagenes to his table for his sisters sake , whom he resolved not to visit often , for fear her sight should increase his impatient wishes to enjoy her , and lest it should make him attempt any thing against what was publickly consented to , and privately figured in his dream . for these reasons thyamis forbare to see her , thinking it impossible he should behold her and contain his longings ; but knemon , after every one was retired to their lodgings , passed the lake , and went a great way by land to seek the herb he had promised theagenes the day before . in the mean time , theagenes taking the advantage of his absence wept and lamented to himself , without speaking a word to chariclea , but incessantly calling upon the gods ; and she demanding whether he did sigh for their common misery , or that some new disaster was befallen ? alas ( said theagenes ) is there any thing more new , or more unjust , than to falsifie faith , and violate oaths , and that chariclea , without memory of me , or of my services , should treat of a marriage with another ? oh say not so ( replied chariclea ) be not you more cruel to me than my destiny : you have proved my affection by many arguments , and can you now distrust me only for words accommodated to the time , and for the interest of our affairs ? no , no , your self may sooner change your mind , than i. i can suffer all the calamities of the world , but know there is no violence so great , that can separate me and modesty ; nor am i conscious of a fault that way , but in loving you too much , yet with an honest and a lawful love ; for from the first entitling of you to my heart , it was as to my husband , not as to a lover that could not moderate his desires , having to this hour preserv'd the outmost purity , often repelling your impatience to consummate the marriage which with vows we had contracted ; think how little reason you have to conceive i would prefer a barbarian before a greek , and a thief before a man of all men the dearest ? but what was the meaning then ( replied theagenes ) of your speech in that famous assembly , when you called me your brother , methought it was a fine invention , putting thyamis out of jealousie of our love , and making way that we might freely be together , i approved your story of the countrey of ionia , and of a voyage to delos for they were things like truths , and led the hearers in a pleasing error ; but to accord so freely to a marriage , to article , and set down the time before such multitudes of people , i neither could nor would conjecture what it meant , but wished the earth would open and devour me , ere i should see my hopes and services repaid with such ingratitude . at these words , chariclea imbracing theagenes , and weeping , how well i take these fears , ( said she ) that torment you for my sake , since they make me know in the extremity of our adversities your affection is the same it was : but assure your self , theagenes , if i had not carried it thus , we should not at this time have had the freedom to confer together ; for to be wilful , and to run a contrary course to the desires of one more powerful than our selves , begets but a stronger opposition , whilst yielding words , applied to the motion of the will , presently appeaseth the first heat , and by the sweetness of a promise lays the appetite to sleep ; forasmuch as they that love after a gross rustick way , if at the first essay they get consent , they think they have done enough , and making sure they shall enjoy the content they wish , their spirit is in more repose , and goes floating in their hope . this consideration made me yield to thyamis , in words only , commending the sequel to the gods , and the genius that from the beginning hath taken our chaste love into his patronage ; oftentimes a day or two put off , hath been greatly advantageous to the miserable , and brought means of safety , when no humane prudence could work it ; therefore for the present i deferred him , avoiding a certainty for an vncertainty ; but we must do this artificially , and conceal it , as a slight at the weapon , from our enemies , even from knemon ; for though he be full of courtesie , and hath done many favours for us , and is as we are , a grecian , yet he is , as we are , a captive ; and therefore if occasion should be offered , more likely to gratifie his conqueror , than us the conquered ; for neither the time of his acquaintance , nor his being our countreyman , are sufficient pledges to us of his fidelity , and therefore , if at any time he touches at our affairs , you must deny the truth , for the lye is not evil that does good to the author , and no hurt to the hearer . as chariclea was discoursing thus , knemon entred all in a sweat , and manifesting a great perturbation by his countenance ; here theagenes , take this herb ( he said ) and apply it to your wounds , we must prepare our selves for greater hurts ; theagenes praying him to speak plain , the consideration of the time ( said he ) will not let you hear me out ; for it is to be feared the effect will prevent my words : but follow me you and chariclea ; and so led them both to thyamis , whom he found busied in furbishing an armour , and sharpning the point of a javelin : this is to the purpose , said knemon , that you have your arms so near you ; put them on presently , and command every one to do the like , for i have discovered such a cloud of enemies coming as i never saw before ; they are not far off ; for having descried them from the top of the hill where i was gathering herbs , i have brought you the news with all the speed i could , and in traversing the lake , i have given warning to your men to be in a readiness for their defence . thyamis hearing this , suddenly started up , and demanded where chariclea was , as fearing more for her than for himself , and knemon having shewed her standing at the door , go ( said thyamis in his ear ) take her with thee into the cave where we conceal our treasure , and when thou hast conveyed her down , and covered the mouth of the cave with the stone that useth to lie upon it , pr'ythee friend return with all celerity ; mean time we will give order for the fight : then he commanded his page to seek him a fat beast ; that having sacrificed to the gods protectors of the place , they might joyn battel . this while , knemon doing his commands , led away chariclea , that sighed and lamented , and at every step she went , turned back her eyes towards theagenes ; at length they came to the cave , where knemon immediatly carried her down . the place was not a work of nature , as we see many both above and under the ground ; but it was a vault wrought out of the rock by the industry of the aegyptian thieves , and imitating nature , artificially hollowed , to contain their spoyls ; the entry was narrow and obscure , and conveyed into a little cell , the threshold stone whereof was a door that opened and shut easily , and gave another passage for descent into the cave when necessity required ; within it were cut many trenches and meanders , that went turning of either side , sometimes alone , sometimes mixing together like the roots of trees , till they came to the bottom , and there they end in a large and spacious plain , whereinto enters a little light , by certain clefts and crannies in the earth above : knemon , that by practice knew the turnings , having brought chariclea to the bottom , endeavoured to comfort her the best he could , assuring her , he and theagenes would come and see her soon at night , and that he would not suffer him to fight , nor come within the danger ; and so he left her not able to speak one word ; but fainting , as if she had been struck to death , and deprived of her soul in her theagenes : and closing up the cave , could not himself refrain from weeping , both that he should be forced to execute so hard a command , and in compassion of her fortune , whom he had almost buried alive , and sealed up in night and darkness , the perfectest workmanship of nature : then he made haste to thyamis , whom he found compleatly armed , and with his oration exciting those that were about him ; for standing in the midst of them , he said , my companions in arms , i do not think it needful to trouble you with many words ; you need no admonition , war is your trade , and now the enemy is so near us , he cuts off discourse , he comes upon us to force our trenches with his sword , and we must answer him in his own language : i have nothing else to say , but that now , you are not only to defend your wives and children ( which hath been motive sufficient for others to fight to the last man ; though if we be conquerors , such small things , and many of greater moment wil be in our power ) but your lives are now at stake , for the war among thieves was never ended by treaty , nor secured by league , but the survivors must be conquerors , and the conquered must die ; therefore let us go to 't , and let him that dies his weapon deepest in our enemies blood , be thought the bravest man. having thus said , thyamis looked about him for his page , and-often called him by his name thermutis , and not seeing him appear , cursing and threatning him , he hastned to the boat : the battel was now begun , and he might see the enemy make himself master of the borders of the lake ; for he had set fire upon their cabbins and their boats , and so made them transport the flame about the fens , that , devouring the great quantity of the reed , dazzled the eyes of the inhabitants with insufferable light : whilst the noise and tumult deafned their ears , all cruelties of war were seen and heard , the lakists striving to make good the place , but the others falling upon them unawares , and oppressing them with multitudes , slew easily those they found on land , and overwhelmed those within the lake in their boats and cabbins , whence the air was filled with horrible cries , both of those that defended themselves upon the water , and those that fought by land , and the lake was stain'd all over in the blood of dying persons that fell at one time , both by fire and water . when thyamis saw and heard this , he remembred his dream , how he had seen the goddess isis , and her temple all on fire , and full of sacrifices ; and observing his vision was thus far brought to pass , he began to make another explication of the rest : having , thou shalt not have her ; forasmuch as she shall be ravish'd from thee by the fury of this war ; and that he should kill her , yet he should not hurt her ; that is , he should destroy her with his sword , and not by rape . to conclude , rating the goddess as fraudulent and injurious , charging her that she had abus'd and mockt him , and not being able to endure with patience that any other should enjoy chariclea , he commanded his men to retire a little , and to hold the enemy in play a while , only with skirmishing , and some few sallies , which as they were intrenched , might resist the forces of greater multitudes , whilst he would go and find thermutis , and offer vows and sacrifices to their presidiary gods ; and so forbidding any man to follow him , he departed as towards his tent , but took his way to the cave : oh how hard it is to turn a barbarian from that he hath once resolved in his soul ; for assoon as they fall to despair of their own safety , it is their custom presently to kill their dearest friends ; either believing they shall live together after death , or desiring to take them out of their enemies power , and to free them from all injuries ; for these reasons thyamis forgetting all his own affairs , and though he was at that present encompast with enemy-troops that had taken him as in nets , furiously transported with love and jealousie , he entred the cave , where calling as loud as he could , and speaking some words in the aegyptian tongue , he heard a woman answer him in greek ; and the sound of her voyce leading him to the place where she was , he put his left hand about her neck , and with his right drawing his sword , ran her through the body under the left breast , wherewith the poor woman fell down dead , breathing but one sigh , that brake her heart-strings . presently thyamis went out , letting fall the stone upon the entry of the cave , and for her epitaph seeming to write upon it with his tears , adding these words , alas poor maid , these are the nuptial gifts i present thee : and so returning to his men , he found their battel quite disordered , and ready to fly , frighted with the enemies approach ; and on the other side , seeing thermutis , that brought him a beast to imolate , he chid him , and told him he had already offered the fairest sacrifice of the world ; and so entred into his bark with him , & only one more to row ; for the boats they have here can carry no more , being wrought out of the body but of one thick tree , by their rude shipwrights ; theagenes and knemon imbarked together in another , and the rest in the like manner ; and when they had coasted the island a great way , they ceased rowing , and disposed their boats in front of their battalion , as attending the shock of their enemies ; but assoon as they approached , the herdsmen of the island were so far from the courage to sustain the first assault upon the water , that they presently cast about and fled , not daring to endure the very sound of the alarum . theagenes and knemon retired themselves softly after the rest ; but fear did not make them turn their backs ; only thyamis held it unworthy to give ground , and not desiring to survive chariclea , he prest into the midst of his enemies , and as he was fighting amongst them , one cried out , this is thyamis , every man now look to his charge , so immediately wheeling in a ring about him , they inclosed him with their boats ; but he stoutly holding out , wounded some with his javelin , and killed others : the fight was worthy of admiration , in all the multitude of his foes no man apposed or drew a sword against him , but every one did his best to take him alive , he resisted a great while , but at last his javelin was beaten out of his hand , and them his foes pressed in upon him , being also at that instant deprived of the succour of his page , that had stood to him bravely , but at that time had newly received ( as was thought ) a mortal wound , and casting himself into the lake , swimming with much difficulty , had recovered land , no one taking the pains to follow him ; for having thyamis in their power , they esteemed it to be an absolute victory . yet not withstanding the loss of many of their fellows , they more rejoyced to have him alive that slew them , than they sorrowed for their friends and kinsmens deaths ; so insatiable are the covetous hearts of thieves , preferring gain before their lives , and having no end in the holy name of friendship and consanguinity , but to get by them ; it was the case of these thieves , for they were the same that before out of their sear of thyamis and his men , had fled from the heracliotick arm of nilus , who stomacking to be deprived of other mens goods as if they were their own , had gathered together their companions , and called in the neighbour villages , offering them equal shares , and chusing them for their captains to conduct the expedition . but the cause of their taking thyamis , was this , he had at memphis a brother named petosiris , who having by his plots dispossessed his brother of the dignity of chief priest , against the laws and institutions of the countrey , ( for he was his younger brother ) and hearing that he was the captain of these thieves , he feared thyamis would take time to chase him out of his usurped honour , and discover his perfidiousness : also he desired to take away the ill opinion that many had conceived of him , that he had killed his brother , because it appeared not where he was ; therefore sending messengers to the villages of the thieves , he proposed a great sum of money , and so many castles to any one that would take him alive ; so as these thieves charmed with the hope of such a profit , even in the heat of blood and war , did not forget their promise , but after he was discovered , took him alive , though many died for it : being thus seized of thyamis , they rowed to land , putting him in irons , and appointing half of their troops to guard him , who vexing at his fortune , upbraided them of cowardise , for not daring to take him with their swords , bearing his imprisonment with more indignation and less patience than if it had been death it self ; the rest of them returned into the island , in hope to find the riches for which they had been tempted to run this hazard . but after they had passed over all the island , without leaving one corner unsearched , and finding nothing , or very little of the prize , unless it were some trifles that they had neglected to put up in the cave , they set fire upon the cabbins , and the evening now approaching , and putting them in a fear to stay longer in the island , lest they should fall into the trains of some of those that fled from the battel , and might now perhaps lie in ambuscado for them , they returned to their companies . the aethiopian history . the second book . thus the island was all on fire ; but theagenes and knemon did not perceive that misfortune so long as the sun shined upon the earth , because his beams lessened the appearance of fire by day ; but after sun-set , when it grew dark , the flame having then no light greater than its own , discovered it self in the full horror , whilst they trusting to the nights obscurity , came out of the reeds of the marish , and saw clearly the whole island almost burnt to ashes ; and then theagenes beating his head , and tearing off his hair , farewel to life , ( he said ) this day shall make an end of all fears , dangers , cares , hope and love , chariclea is dead , theagenes is lost ; in vain then , vnfortunate that i am , have i fled from the battel , an action unworthy of a man , only reserving my self , my dearest , for your sake ; but i will live no longer , since you are deprived of your life ; and which heightens my affliction , not after the common course of nature , nor have you rendred your spirit in his arms where you did wish to breath it . alas , are you consumed by fire , and has your destiny prepared these flames to be our nuptial torches ? must that beauty without a second in the world , be thus defaced , as not to leave so much remains as a dead body , or any relicks of her unadulterate charms . oh , unexampled cruelty ! the most bitter spite of fortune , i am denied the favour of a last embrace , and a poor parting kiss . at these words , drawing his sword , to run himself upon it , knemon caught hold of him , and asked what he meant ? why do ye mourn for her as dead that lives ? chariclea is in perfect health i do assure you . this is for children and mad-men to believe ( replied theagenes ) but knemon , you have done me wrong to come betwixt me and a pleasing death : but he confirming the truth of his news with oaths , told him all the commands of thyamis , the cave , and nature of the cave where he had put her , that he need not fear the fire could penetrate to the bottom , the violence of it being repell'd and broke with a thousand several turnings . at this theagenes began to breath a little , and thought long till he should come to the island , which he had already presented to his thoughts , and taken up his marriage-chamber in the cave , not imagining the complaints he should make , nor the tears he should there shed . thus they rowed towards the island , themselves playing the watermen ; for he that rowed them the day before , at the first alarum and cry of the enemy , had fallen overboard . now they being unpractised at the oar , were a long time carried up and down , haying also the wind against them , yet their impatient desire of landing overcame their unskilfulness . when therefore with difficulty and much labour they were arrived , they hasted with all possible speed to the cave , where they found all wasted by the fire , and only knew it by the stone that covered the entry of the pit ; for the wind blowing the flame upon the shades , that were only made of canes and sedges , matted one within another , had burnt them down , and levell'd all into a plain , elevating the ashes in the air , and carrying them away ; the little that remain'd being so well cool'd , that they might pass over them without fear of burning ; and gathering together some reeds that were half burnt , making them into a torch , knemon went before theagenes , to light him down ; and after they were entred a little way , on the sudden knemon cried out , o jove ! what have we here ? we are undone , chariclea is slain : then casting his torch against the earth , he extinguished it , and fell upon his knees , weeping for her untimely death ; but theagenes , as if some enemy had struck him down , fell upon her body , and held her in his arms , as if they had been incorporated together : knemon knowing him to be lost in sorrow , and fearing lest he should kill himself , drew his sword out of the scabbard , and so leaving him , ran to light his torch again . mean while , theagenes fetching deep sighs from his afflicted heart ; oh insufferable grief ! ( said he ) oh misery that the incensed gods have let fall upon us ! what insatiable fury pursues us with such rage , banishing us from our country , betraying us to shipwrack , and pyrates by sea , and thieves by land , depriving us of all our riches ! only one comfort did remain ; but , alas ! it is now taken from me ; chariclea lies here dead , she that was dearer to me than my life , hath lost hers by the hand of a cruel enemy , questionless in defence of her honour , reserving her self for me ; yet here the poor unfortunate lies dead , not having reaped the fruits of beauty in the flourish of her age ; at least ( my love ) bid me farewel , speak to me , give me but your last commands : miserable that i am , she answers not , and eternal silence hath sealed her heavenly and prophetick lips that spake with so much musick ; darkness covers now the light of sacrifices ; the temple of the gods , and their fairest ornament is now return'd to chaos ; those eyes have lost their beams that enlightned the whole world , which i assure my self the barbarous murderer did not see . by what name shall i call thee ? my contracted ! alas , the contract 's broke : my wife ? thou never knewest what marriage was : no , no , i must call thee the sweetest of all names , chariclea . oh chariclea , let your spirits be appeased ; you have a faithful friend that shall not long be absent from you ; for i go now to celebrate your obsequies , and to sacrifice unto you in your lovers blood : this cave , a rude tomb , shall contain us ; here we may enjoy one another after death , though living , the gods would not permit : at these words , feeling for his sword , he cried out , oh knemon , thou hast kill'd me now the second time , and again wrong'd chariclea , depriving her of the friends company she most desires . speaking this , he heard a voyce out of the bottom of the cave , that called theagenes ; but he , without being troubled at it , i come ( said he ) my dear soul , this gives me knowledge that you wander yet upon the earth , partly because you cannot leave so fair a body , whereof the possession was untimely taken from you , partly , because yet you have not the rites of sepulture ; and therefore the shadows that inhabit the lower kingdoms , will not suffer you to remain among them . in the mean time knemon returning with his torch relighted , the same voice was heard again , calling theagenes . oh good gods ! said knemon , is not that chariclea's voyce ? sure it is theagenes , and doubtless she yet lives ; for the sound that beats upon our ears comes out of the bottom of the cave , where i remember i did leave her . will you not forbear ( replied theagenes ) to mock me and abuse me yet again ? indeed i deceive you ( answered knemon ) and my self , if she that lies here be chariclea ; and presently he turned her upon her back , for her face lay to the earth ; and when he had look'd upon her , he cried out , oh gods ! you authors of prodigies , what portent is this ? this is the face of thesby : presently he stept back , and stood as if he had been frozen with amazement ; but theagenes , that now began to take new hope and spirit , brought knemon to himself , and intreated him to lead him where chariclea was ; and knemon , after a little pause , again took view of the dead body , and saw assuredly that it was thesby ; and finding a sword lying beside her , he knew it to belong to thyamis , who transported with his wild fury , had left it in her wound ; also he took a letter out of her bosom , which he would have read ; but theagenes would not permit him , calling upon him , and saying , first let us recover my dear chariclea , unless now , as before , some god or devil take a pleasure in deluding us , the letter we may read at leisure . knemon gave way to his desire , and closing the letter , took up the sword , and hasted to chariclea , who was creeping towards the light upon her hands and knees , and met theagenes , who folding her arms about his neck , repeated many times , and art thou come again theagenes ? and he , does chariclea live ; till in the end , they fell down upon the ground , tangled fast in their embraces , not able to utter any thing , but a kind of groaning ; and it was hard to judge whether they were dead or not ; for many times an excessive joy vanisheth into sorrow , and immoderate pleasure begets pain , which we vainly call in upon our selves ; thus they preserved beyond hope and opinon , were endangered , till knemon chafing the rock with his hand , and receiving in his palm the humour that destill'd by drop and drop , cast it in their faces , and stopping their nostrils , recovered them out of their swoon , who finding themselves so kindly laid together , presently started up , and blush'd that knemon had beheld them ( especially chariclea ) intreating him to pardon their exorbitances , who smiling to himself , and turning it to mirth ; this ( said he ) deserveth commendations , if i may be a judge , or any other man that hath entred the lists with love , been happily conquered by him , and made acquainted with his inevitable accidents ; but to speak truth , theagenes , i cannot in any sort approve , and indeed i was ashamed to see you embrace a strange woman with so much passion , and to bath so freely with your tears the body of a slave , to whom you had no tye , so much as of acquaintance , especially , when i told you , and protested that chariclea was alive and safe . i pr'y thee knemon ( said theagenes ) do not traduce me to chariclea , whom i lamented in the person of another , believing it was she that was so cruelly murdered ; but since some favourable god has now shewed us our error , give me leave to put you in mind of the generous and constant spirit wherewith you first deplored my misfortune , and afterwards coming unexpectedly acquainted with the dead body ( as if it had been some devil in a play ) you ran away armed , and your sword drawn , from a woman , a dead woman ; a brave athenian soldier ! hereat they began to smile a little , but as if forced , not without tears ; being engaged to sorrow by their present misery . after they had a while stood silent , chariclea touching her fair cheek with her hand , blessed ( said she ) do i esteem her , whosoe're she be , that theagenes has kist and mourn'd for ! and if you would not think me jealous , i would desire to know that happy womans name , and by what error you mistook a stranger for me , and honoured her funerals with your tears ; if you know , tell me who she is . you will wonder , replied theagenes ; for knemon says it is thesbe , that athenian lutenist , the inventress of the plot that damoeneta had upon him . chariclea starting at this news , how is it possible knemon ( said she ) this woman should in an instant be thus transported , as if she had been shot out of an engine , from the midst of greece to the farthest parts of egypt ? and how chanced it we saw her not as we came down ? i cannot answer you to that , said knemon ; but i shall tell you what i have since understood of her . after damoeneta was circumvented by her cunning , and had precipitated her self into the pit , my father recited the whole business to the people , and was presently absolved ; then he solicited for my repeal from banishment , enquired my abode , and resolved to embark himself , and come in person to bring me back . whilst he was thus employ'd , thesbe made it her vacation-time , and offering her service at all feasts and meetings , impudently prostituted both her art and person : now she was observed to be more gentile than arsinoe , who sung only some loose ayrs coldly to her flute , whilst thesbe curiously touching her lute , and marrying her voice to the soft strings , ravish'd her hearers . this made arsinoe conceive against her an envy and emulation , joyn'd with a particular spleen , especially when a certain naucratian merchant named nausicles began to fall in love with her , and neglect arsinoe , that had late been his mistress , disdaining her , because when she had play'd upon her flute , he observed her face grow red , her cheeks swell , and hold an unhandsom competition with her nose , and her eyes ready to start out of her head : the slighted arsinoe , burning with spite and jealousie , found out the parents of damoeneta , and to them discovered all the treasons and villanies thesbe had practis'd against her mistress ; part whereof she but suspected , and the rest thesbe had told her in the height of their familiarity . assoon as the friends of damoeneta were advertized , they assembled , and conspired against my fathers life , and fee'd the prime orators of athens with great sums of money , to accuse him ; who exclaimed unto the people that damoeneta had perished injustly , unconvicted , and the crime of adultery was only a pretext to cover her murther ; requiring he might be brought alive or dead with whom she was pretended to have wronged my father : finally , they commanded , that at least he should be named ; demanding thesbe to be delivered to them , to the end , that putting her to the torture , they might rack out the truth . my father promised to produce her , but he could not hear his word ; for thesbe , preventing the danger if she should appear , whilst they were taking out the process for her , fled away , according to agreement , with the merchant nausicles : this displeased the people , yet they did not judge him to be the murtherer , but an accessory to the plot against damoeneta , and consenting to my unjust banishment ; therefore they expell'd him the city , confiscating all his goods : these were the fruits he reaped of his second marriage , and this was the reason made the wicked thesbe sail from athens , who now before my eyes receives the punishment she had deserv'd . thus much one anticles told me in the island of aegina , with him i put to sea again , bound for aegypt , that if happily i should light of thesbe here in the city of naucratia , i might carry her back to athens , to discharge my father of the crime whereof he was falsly indicted , and withal to see her treacheries and malice duly punished by the laws ; but now i am here detained a prisoner , as you are ; at another time you shall know the cause and manner of my taing , the fortune i have since endured , but how thesbe came into this cave , and who hath slain her , we need some god for an interpreter . yet if you please , i will read the letter that i took out of her bosome , which may perhaps give us further intelligence ; they intreated him to do so , and opening it , he read these words . to her master knemon , thesbe his enemy and revenger . for my first news , know damoeneta is dead , by my means , for your sake ; the way i did it ( if you please to receive me ) i will relate unto your self ; it is now ten days that i have been in this island , taken by one of these thieves , that boasts himself to be the captains page , and keeps me locked up , not giving me the liberty to walk , or look abroad : punishing me thus ( as he tells me ) for the love he bears me ; but ( as i conjecture ) it is for fear lest some body should take me from him ; yet for all this , some angel directing me , as you passed by yesterday , i saw and knew you , and have now secretly sent you this letter by an old woman ; my keeper charging her to present it to the fair grecian , that is near the captains person ; i beseech you , sir , free me from this thief , and receive your handmaid : and if it be your pleasure , save my life ; considering wherein i offended you , necessity constrain'd me ; but that i have revenged you of your enemy , was the free motion of my soul , notwithstanding that you be so incensed against me , as that you are resolved not to pardon me ; use me as you please , let me dye , so i may dye yours . for i esteem it much more noble , at your hands to receive death , and funeral rites according to the custom of greece ; than to endure a life more terrible then death : and the love of a barbarian more bitter then the hatred of an athenian . thus thesbe and the letter spake . oh thesbe , thesbe ! said , knemon , thou hast received a just judgment , and thy self the messenger that tells it to us , delivering us a letter ( contains part of thy misfortunes ) after thou art dead ; by this we know the fury that revenged thy wickedness upon thee , whipt thee about the world , and never held her hand , till she had brought thee before me , thy wronged master ( though i lived in aegypt , and made me a spectator of thy tradegy : but what new stratagem hadst thou against me ? by these letters that fortune took out of thy hands , i cannot but suspect thee yet , and i much fear that damoeneta 's death is but a thing devised , and put into their mouths that told me it , and that thou art come thus far by sea , to make me as tragick a spectacle now in aegypt , as before at athens . why knemon said theagenes , still so valiant ! will you not yet leave fearing spirits and shadows , my error was but a deceptio visus , but i am no actor in this scene ; she is dead i warrant , never doubt it : but who is author of this favour to thee , and has killed her to thy hand , i cannot imagine ; nor how , or when she came down hither . i am not able further to resolve you , ( said knemon ) but assuredly thyamis is he that killed her : that which makes me believe it , is his sword , we found dropt out of her wound ; for i know it to be his , by the ivory pommel cut in the figure of an eagle , which is his crest : cannot you tell us said theagenes , when , or how , or for what cause he did this murther ? how should i know ? ( replyed knemon ) for this cave hath not made me prophetical , like that of apollo at delphos or triphonius his den , from whence men come out inspired with a divine fury : presently theagenes and chariclea fell a weeping , and cryed with one voice , oh apollo ! o delphos ! this amazed knemon , not being able to conceive why the names of apollo and delphos should so much trouble them ; thus were they busied . now thermutis the page of thyamis , that was hurt in the battel , when he had recovered land by swimming , the night now growing dark , he found a boat shipwrackt by the fen-side , and entring it , plyed his oares towards his captains island to see thesbe , whom a few dayes before he had taken from the merchant nausicles , as he was leading her in a narrow way that lyes along the mountain side , where thermutis lay in ambush to rob passengers ; and as thyamis at the first noise and arrival of the enemies , had sent him to seek a beast to sacrifice to the gods for victory , thermutis desperately in love with this woman , desirous to keep her out of danger of the war , and to preserve her for himself , secretly conveyed her into the cave , and for fear and haste left her at the mouth thereof , where she remained , not daring to stir ; both frighted with the alarm and the present dangers , and not knowing the windings of the way that conducted to the bottom ; and thus thyamis finding her at his entry , slew her : believing that he killed chariclea . thermutis therefore having escap'd the battel , fled to find her in the island , where arriving , he ran with all haste towards the tent of thyamis , which was now but ashes ; and with much difficulty finding the cave by a stone that covered the entry , he lighted a few reeds that were yet unconsumed and ran down , calling thesbe ( which name was all the greek he had ) but when he saw her stretch'd dead upon the earth , he was so astonisht , as a while he had no motion ; at length hearing certains sounds and murmurs out of the hollows of the cave , ( for theagenes and knemon were yet discoursing ) he suspected those to be the murtherers of thesbe , this confused his thoughts , not knowing what to resolve or do ; for the natural cruelty and barbarous humour of the thief , his rage exasperated by this accident frustrating him of the enjoying of his love , incited him to run to the bottom and fall upon them he esteemed the authors of her death ; but wanting arms , he was reclaimed to moderation against his will : he thought it his best way at first to accost them as his friends , but if he should chance to find supply of weapons , then to fall upon them as his enemies . this being designed in his mind , he approached theagenes , and look'd upon him with an eye of fury , discovering his secret purpose . but when they perceived a naked man coming upon them on the sudden , hurt , and his face all bloody , they were diversly affected at the sight , chariclea ran down as low as she could ; knemon said not a word , but retired himself some paces , though he knew thermutis ; but seeing him come so unexpected , he feared some stratagem : but the spectacle did not so much terrifie , as provoke theagenes ; who laid his hand upon his sword , as if he would kill him , if his rashness should make him attempt any thing . stay ( said he ) or come upon thy death and know the reason ; i have held my hand , is because i begin to know thy person , though i doubt thy meaning ; thermutis intreating pardon for his intrusion , fell at the feet of theagenes as suppliant , rather temporizing , and for fear of danger , than having changed his mind to be revenged of them ; and beseeching knemon to speak for him , pleaded , they were tyed to save his life having never done them injury , and the day before been there companion , and now fled to them as his friends . this moved knemon , and made him come in and raise thermutis , who was prostrated on the earth ; and many times demanded of him what was become of thyamis ? thermutis told all his captains fortune , how he had fought in the midst of his enemies , neither sparing theirs nor his own life , and how by a commandment to take him alive , they forbare to hurt him though he slew them , and so he left him invironed , finding himself so wounded as he could hardly swim to land , and that for the present he was come into the cave to look for thesbe ; they ask'd him how he came to know thesbe , or where he had got her ? he told them , how he had taken her from the merchants , how he fell in love with her , how for a while he concealed her in his cabbin , and at the coming of the enemy , put her into the cave , where he now found her slain , but by whose hands he knew not , yet would be glad to be informed the author and occasion of the murther ; knemon desirous to free himself of the suspition , presently told him thyamis was the murderer ; and to confirm it , shewed him the sword he had found besides her : when thermutis saw the blade yet dropping blood , and hot , and knew it to be his captain's , fetching a deep sigh , not able to imagine what should move him to that act , blinded and dumb with grief , he left them , and returned to the body , and falling upon it , laying his head in her bosom , he cried , oh thesbe ! forgetting all other words . theagenes , chariclea and knemon being now alone , began to study what course they were best to take , and made a shew as if they would consult together ; but the multidue of past miseries , the perplexity of present calamities , and the incertitude of the future yet hanging over their heads , so confused their spirits , that they did nothing but look one upon another , expecting who would first begin the overture ; that hope failing , they bowed down their eyes , and again listing them up , sighed ; so easing their sad hearts : at length knemon stretched himself upon the earth , theagenes sate down upon a stone with chariclea on his knee ; and a long time they put off sleep , desiring by some good counsel to provide for their affairs ; but broke with grief and labour , though unwilling , they obeyed the law of nature , and from the extremity of sorrow slided into the sweetness of a sleep , the reasonable part of the soul being forced to consent to the necessity of the body . when slumber had new seized upon them , and but even joyned their eye-lids , and a little lightned them of their burden , chariclea that lay in the bosom of theagenes , dreamed that she saw an ugly man come towards her , having his hair all matted and elfe-lock'd , looking like a traytor , his eyes sunk in his head , and his hands bloody , who running at her with his sword , struck out her right eye ; she presently crying out , called theagenes , and said her eye was gone ; he presently awaked , and deplored her misfortune , as if he had dreamed so too ; but she feeling about with her hand for the eye she had lost in her sleep ; and soon recollecting her self , said , i did but dream , i did but dream , theagenes ; my eyes are safe : do not afflict your self . these words gave new life to theagenes : the gods be thanked ( said he ) that have preserved those sun-beams : but what was the matter ? what terror did invade you ? oh , said she , a wicked and ill-favoured man , not fearing your unconquered valour , with his sword drawn insulted over me , that had taken sanctuary in your bosom , and methought he struck out my right eye , and would it had been truth , not a dream : the gods forbid , replied theagenes ; why say you so ? because , said she , it had been better for me to have lost an eye , than to have been put in such a fear for you ; for i doubt this dream portends some ill to you , who are dearer to me than my eyes , or life it self . no more of that , said knemon ( for he had heard all , awaking with the first cry of chariclea ) to me this dream signifies quite another thing ; tell me , are your parents living ? chariclea said yes ; then said knemon , believe your father to be dead . thus i conjecture it ; our parents are the authors of our life , and it is by their means we see and enjoy this light ; therefore i hold it apt to compare our father and mother to our eyes , the sense capable of light , and whereby we discern things visible ; and this is the meaning of your dream . a heavy sence , replied chariclea ; yet rather be this verified than the other . may your tripos divine rightly , and i prove a false prophet . the event will crown my divination , replyed knemon , and so rest you content . but methinks we dream yet , that so much trouble our selves about imaginations , and omit to resolve what we should do whilst this egyptian ( meaning thermutis ) hath left us for a while , to mourn for his dead mistress ; theagenes catching his word , prithee knemon , said he , since some divine power hath joyned thee to us , and made thee our companion in misery ; first give us thy advice , for thou knowest the country , and understandest the language ; and we , that are never very apprehensive , are at this instant so dulled with calamity , as we have not understanding in our own affairs . knemon pawsing a while , spake thus ; i know not which of us have greatest share in misfortune ; i have a burden great enough ; yet in regard you command me ( as the eldest here , and most versed in the world , to give my opinion , this it is ; this island as you see is laid waste and deserted , containing now no living creatures but our selves , within this cave is great store of gold , silver and silks ( for it is hardly to be imagined what quantity of rich spoyls thyamis hath taken both from us and others , and deposited here ) but for corn and other ammunition necessary to maintain life , there is left no more but the bare names ; if therefore we stay here long , it is to be feared we shall perish either by famine , or the enemy , that may return , or by our own fellows , if they make head again ; for they are not ignorant where the treasure lieth , and are likely to come hither for supplies of money , and then we cannot escape their fury ; or if they should deal mildlier with us , yet we should be obnoxious to their petulancies , and suffer the indignities of their barbarous humors ; for thieves are men that naturally keep no faith , and less now than ever , having lost their captain , that could by his authority bridle their insolencies ; therefore we must leave the island , and get away from it as out of a net or prison ; but first let us free our selves of thermutis , under pretence of sending him to try if he can hear any news of thyamis ; and when we are none but our selves , we shall more easily consider and resolve what we have to do : and it much concerns us to dispatch away this inconstant , quarrelsom and ill natur'd man , and that hath us in suspition for the death of thesbe , and will not be at quiet in himself till he be revenged upon us if occasion be presented . they approved his counsel , and thought best to follow it : then going forward to the entry of the cave , they perceived it was day ; and awaking thermutis , whom they found in a dead sleep ; and he being a light and credulous man , they easily perswaded him as they pleased ; acquainting him ( as he believed ) with their purposes ; the body of thesbe they laid in a little pit , and covered it instead of earth , with ashes , the ruines of their late house , and performing the ceremonies that piety owes to the dead , as fully as the time would suffer , and for all funeral offerings make a parentation of their tears , they sent thermutis to seek thyamis , he had gone but a little way , when suddenly he turned back , and told them he would not go alone , nor object himself to the danger of being a spy , unless knemon would be a partner with him : theagenes perceiving knemon to hang back for fear of the egyptian , as might easily be judged by the character he had made of thermutis , wherein he had pictured his own fear ; what , said theagenes , so strong in counsel , and so weak in execution ! take heed you do not make my suspition of your valour prove a truth ; revive , rouze your spirits , man , and at least make a shew as if you were content to go along with him , lest your refusal make him suspect our flight : away , go with him ; there 's no danger , you have your cloaths on , and a sword by your side , why should you fear to walk with a naked man , that hath no weapon to offend you ? and then taking your time , you may secretly forsake him , and come to us at an appointed place , which shall be some neighbour-town , if you know any such , where the inhabitants are civil men . t is very well advis'd , said knemon ; let us meet at chemmis , a rich town , well peopled , and near hand , situate upon the skirts of nilus , below the banks , that defend it from the surprizes and incursions of the heardsmen ; when you have past the lake , it is but a hundred furlongs thither , and you must go directly south : we shall hardly reach it , said theagenes , chariclea hath not been used to so long journeys ; yet we will go and disguise our selves like beggars or poor fortune-tellers that travel about the countrey to charm all alms from these hard people . oh! you will make excellent gypsies , said knemon , out upon you , what black deformed faces you have , especially chariclea , that hath lately lost an eye ! and yet by your habit you will be such fine mendicants , that sure the countrey people will think you wander about to beg jewels , gold , plate , and not a poor alms , or a morsel of bread. at this they could have been content to laugh ; but their mirth only extended to a smile : then taking a solemn oath never to abandon one another , confirming what they had determined , they disposed themselves accordingly . knemon and thermutis passing the lake whilst it was yet early day , took their way through an intricate thick wood , thermutis went before , knemon having entreated him , because he was skilful in the ways , that were difficult ; but indeed it was to secure his own life , and to prepare occasion to give him the slip : when they were now come into the thickest of the wood , they met a flock of sheep , and killing the bell-weather , laid the flesh to roast upon the fire which the shepherds ( that fled at sight of them ) had kindled for themselves ; neither would their bellies let them be in quiet till the meat was enough , but hunger made them so fierce , as like wolves or tigers , they devoured it in great gobbets , only a little black'd with the fire , the blood running about their mouths . when thus they had satisfied their hunger , and quenched their thirst with milk provided for the shepherds they held on their journey . now it was time for knemon to shew all his cunning , for they were come to the top of a hill , whence thermutis shewed him a town in the bottom , where he imagined thyamis to be a prisoner , either in the gaol , or in his grave ; for thither he heard that he was carried . whilst he spake this , knemon made as if his belly aked , and told him he began to feel the crudities of the meat , and that he feared the milk he drank had curdled upon his stomach , for he was in extream torment ; therefore he intreated thermutis that he would go on , and he would follow him ; this he did once and again , and the third time , as if it had been real , and that he had overtaken him with much difficulty , insomuch as the egyptian gave credit to his counterfeit disease ; and being now used to attend his coming , knemon lengthned his expectation , and stayed for altogether , running counter through the obscurest passage of the wood , and casting about by the hill side , fled with all possible speed . thermutis passing the hill-top expected knemen , and the night under whose favourable shad-dow they might pass into the town ; and learn the state of thyamis : often looking behind him to see if he did come , and plotting in what manner he should kill him ; for he yet suspected his consent to thesbe's death , and therefore meant to ferve him in the same kind ; and then , at his return promising himself to sacrifice theagenes to his revenge . but knemon not appearing , and night now growing black , he fell asleep : which was his last , the iron sleep of death , bitten with an aspick ; perhaps by the fatal pleasure of the gods , a death answerable to his life , stealing upon him as he had done upon others . but knemon after he had lost sight of thermutis , never staid to take his breath till darkness arresting his eyes , stopped his flight , and in the same place were the night surpriz'd him , he hid and covered himself all over with leaves a great part of the night , never shutting his eyes , but sweating , and fearing every noise and every breath of wind , and every motion of the leaves to be thermutis . if at any time sleep prest upon him , he dreamed that he was flying , and awaking , looked behind his back for him , that was not now in case to follow : many fearful visions started him and hindered his desire , and putting him in greater terror than if thermutis had come indeed ; finally he grew angry with the night , and thought in the longest that ever was since the beginning of the world. but when with infinite joy he perceived the first spring of day , presently he cut off his long hair , which he had let grow after the fashion of the thieves , for fear those he should meet would either shun him , or suspect him ; for the islanders among other courses they take to appear terrible , let their locks at full length hang dangling upon their shoulders , not ignorant that long hair is an ornament in a lover , but a horror in a thief ; having therefore left himself as much hair as the neater sort of people used to wear , and less then the heards-men , he hasted the nearest way to chemmis , the town theagenes had appointed him for meeting . being now near unto the river nilus , ready to take water for chemmis , he saw an old man walking up and down upon the shoar , as if he had been discoursing with the stream ; his white hair he wore long in fashion of a prophet , a great long picked beard , his cassock and his other rober resembling a greek habit. knemon stood still a while and looked upon him , but the old man passing by many times and not perceiving him , being wholly fixt upon his meditation ; knemon stept in before him , and saluted him , bidding the gods bless him . no said the old man , fortune hath otherwise disposed : knemon wondring at his answer , asked him , are you a grecian , stranger , or of whence ? neither a grecian , nor a stranger , he replyed ; but this countryman , an aegyptian : how come you then to wear these grecian robes ? ( said knemon ) calamity ( answered the old man ) hath put me in this glorious habit , and changed my ordinary dress ; knemon admiring how misery should make any man go in richer cloaths , and desiring him to unfold the riddle ; oh! said the old man , to relate my fortunes , would bring my self and you into a labyrinth , whence we should not get out , and but load you with my burden ; but , young man , whither lies your journey ? or whence do you come ? or how is it you speak greek in aegypt ? this is ridiculous , said knemon , to enquire of my affairs , and tell me nothing of your own , and i asked the first question . well , i am content to bear your jest , said the old man ; for it appears you are a grecian : and i believe that in this play of fortune you have changed shapes as well as i ; but since you seem taken with a curiosity to understand my estate , i will satisfie you ; for know i am big with grief , and if i had not light of you , perhaps i had expressed my self to these reeds . bur first , let us leave this shoar and river of nilus , for this is not a convenient place for so long a narration , the heights of this bank lying open and exposed to the noon-day-sun , let us ferry over to the town we see upon the other side ; if happily some greater business doth not call you away , there i will bid you welcome , not in my own house , but in the house of a good man that receives me as a suppliant . there i will inform you , if you please , of my affairs , and you shall recompence me with a relation of yours ; along then said , knemon , for i have business to the town ; i must there expect the coming of some friends . then taking boat ( many oars lying upon the river to transport passengers for their money ) they passed over to the town , and the old man brought knemon to the house where himself was a guest ; they found the master of the house from home ; only his daughter that was now marriageable , entertained them , and every servant of the house was officious to them ; both their mistress and they observing the old man as if he had been her father ; for so it is likely they were commanded : one brushed the dust off their cloaths , brought water for their feet , and washed and dryed them ; another made their beds easie and soft , another kindled the fire , some cover'd the table , others brought water and a towel for their hands , others set manchets upon the board , and served in the fruits of the season , whereof their was variety . knemon wondring at their entertainment , sure father , said he , we are come into the house of jupiter the hospitable ; they do us so much observance , and shew such singular alacrity : this is no gods house , said the old man ; but it belongs to one that is a true adorer of the gods , that worships jupiter the hospitable and patron of the suppliants . for child , he is a merchant and hath spent his life in travel ; seen many cities and nations , and studied men and manners , and having himself been a pilgrim in the world , i take it to be his reason why he entertaineth others , and among the rest , me , that a few days since was a wanderer in these parts . how came it to pass , father , said knemon , that you should be compelled to wander abroad ? being deprived ( replyed he ) of my children by thieves , and though i know the villains well enough , yet not having power to revenge my self , i remain here hovering about them , and complaining like the poor bird that hath her nest robb'd by a serpent devouring her young before her eyes , whilst she fears to come near , yet hath no power to fly away : for love and grief distract her , crying , she flies about the besieger , and pours the sorrow of a parent into the ears to which nature hath taught no pity . oblige me ( said knemon ) with the knowledge of the circumstance and time wherein you suffered this great conflict in your spirits ; anon i will inform you , he replyed ; now it is time to appease our appetite and content our belly ; which drawing us away how great soever the business be we have in agitation , is properly called pernitious by the admirable homer . but first following the percepts of the aegyptian wisdom , let us offer the first fruits of our repast to the gods ; a custom i shall never violate , and my grief how strong soever it is , shall never prevail with me so far as to blot out of my memory the divine powers , and the honour i am bound to render them . then pouring on the earth clear water out of a vial , i offer he said , this effusion to the gods of aegypt and of greece , to apollo of delphos , and to theagenes and chariclea the best and noblest ; therefore i think it lawful to number them amongst the gods : with this he wept , making a second offering of his tears to sorrow . knemon was amaz'd to hear these names , and began to take a stricter veiw of the old man : how say you father , said he , are theagenes and chariclea your children ? they are ( replyed the old man ) my children born without a mother , for the gods have miraculously been pleased that i should get them by accident , and be delivered of them not without the grief and passions of my soul. my love , though not my nature , was a father to them , so they esteemed and called me ; but tell me how came you to know them ? i do not only know them , answered knemon ; but i am able to assure you they are in health and safe , oh apollo ! and all other gods , cryed the old man , inform me in what part of the world they live ; i will esteem thee my preserver and the equal of my happiest stars ; but what will you give me said knemon ? for the present said he , my thanks , a grateful heart , accounted the fairest present a wise man can receive ; i have known some would treasure up this gift as their best riches , but if the gods please i shall recover my own ( as i have their promise it shall be shortly ) i will reward you nobly , make you a rich man : said knemon , you promise things future and uncertain , i look for present pay : let me know what it is you demand , said the old man , do you see any thing you would have ? if it be any part of my body , i will cut it off , and esteem my self the sounder man. it is only this , said knemon , that you will truly relate to me of whence they are , their parents and their fortunes : a great donative ! replyed the old man : there is no other comparable to it , though you had asked all the riches of the earth and sea , but you shall have it only first ; let us take a little repast , for it will be a long time of imployment for us , both mine to relate , and yours to hear . when they had now filled themselves with nuts , figgs , new pulled dates , and such like fruits , whereon the old man used to feed ( for he never eat any thing that had life taken from it ) they drank the pure ' water ; but knemon pure wine . after they had a while kept silence , father you are not ignorant , said knemon , how good a companion bacchus is , how much he delights in entertainments , verse , and stories ; he hath now taken up his lodging in my brain , and makes me extreamly covetous of the reward you promised me ; and therefore , father , it is now time you bring these persons upon the stage : i will , replyed the old man : and i wish with all my heart the honest nausicles had been with us , who hath often been earnest with me to discourse these passages ; but i have still put him off from time to time . where is he ? said knemon , hearing him name nausicles : he is gone a hunting , said the old man : not to chase beasts , but wilder creatures that are called men and heardsmen , but they are thieves , and not without much difficulty to be taken , the pernicious otters live in such an island of invincible earth and water : but how have they offended him ? they have ( said the old man ) robbed him of an athenian gentlewoman , named thesbe ; oh ho ! said knemon , and took himself in the manner , and so stopped his speech : the old man asking him what was the matter ? knemon diverted him to another consideration ; i wonder said knemon , under the assurance of what forces he durst fall upon these robbers ! the great , king replyed the old man , hath made oroondates his lieutenant of aegypt , by whose command mitranes captain of the garrisons is billeted in this town for our defence ; and nausicles with a great sum of mony , hath procured him to lead his horse and foot against the islanders , being in an extream rage that they should take from him this athenian woman ; not only because she is his friend , and playeth curiously upon the lute , but principally because , as he telleth me , he was to carry her to the king of aethiopia to be near the queen , to pass her time , and teach her the fashions and the language of the grecians ; the spite to lose so great a remuneration as he expected , makes him now use all the engines of his wit and power to recover her , i my self have been a principal in perswading and encouraging him , because so ( happily ) i may come to find my children . enough said , knemon , let us now leave talking of herdsmen and thieves , lieutenants , captains and kings ; for i protest you had almost insensibly stollen away my mind to a new matter , making a long preface nothing to my purpose ; therefore i pray you bring about your oration to the path you promised me ; for methinks i see the pharian proteus revived in you , not that you turn your self into as many commentitious species , and fluxive forms , appearing and vanishing , but that you would transform me , and change the mould of my imagination . i will recount the truth unto you ( said the old man ) without disguises , whatsoever you are pleased to think of me ; but first i will make you a brief discovery of my own fortune , because theirs depends upon it . there city of memphis is my countrey , my fathers name was calasiris , so is mine ; my present condition is no better than a poor pilgrim , that was sometimes in that city honoured with the charge of the chief priest ; i had a wife by the institutions of our town , but i lost her by the law of nature : after she was departed from her mortal body to eternal rest , for a while i lived and felt not misery , commforting my self in my two sons she had left me ; but it few years , my better stars having finished their prescribed circle , the face of my affairs began to change , and saturn with an ill aspect beheld our house , threatning the ruine of it , which i had wisdom to foresee , but no power to prevent ; for any man may prediscover the immutable decrees of fate ; but no man can avoid them : only this good there is in fore-sight , that it rebates the point , and takes off the edge of our disasters , which , ( child ) if they fall sudden , are intolerable ; but fore-seeing , we are prepared to receive them ; otherwise fear disquieting the soul , makes us bear them with impatience , but this acquaintance renders them familiar to our reason : my first misfortune was this ; a thracian woman , in the perfect flower of her age , the fairest , as i think , next to chariclea in the world , naming her self rhodopis , i know not whence or how , but by the adverse fate of those that were acquainted with her , was brought to travel through egypt , and with a petulant confidence shewed her self at memphis , followed with a great train of maids and men that served her , her carriages richly laded , and her self exactly studied in all the charms and allurements of a venus ; it was not possible for any man to see her , but he must be taken ; such an inevitable fascination shot from her eyes : she often came into the temple of the goddess isis ( whose priest i was ) and shewed great devotion to the goddess , being frequent in sacrifices , making rich and princely offerings at our altars ; i blush to speak it ( yet you shall know all ) her beauty that i had often stood the assaults of , at length conquered me , and forced my continency , which till then i had safely guarded all my life : a great while the eyes of my soul resisted those of my body ; but after a long fight i was constrained to yield , the passion of a lover pressing upon me , and lying heavy as a load of chains ; therefore i found this woman to be the first mover and beginning of those evils which hanged over me , ( a long while before discovered by my art ) understanding there was fatal necessity in it , and that the devil that troubled my repose , had put on that form and shape to persecute me ; i resolved howsoever not dishonour my priestly function , wherein from a child i had been bred , and rather die than prophane the temples and altars of the gods ; at length reason obtaining the empire of my soul , to satisfie for the fatal offence i had committed , not actually ( which heaven forbid ) but in thought only , i punish'd my concupiscence with voluntary banishment , and left my country of my own accord , as well to obey the force of destiny , and suffer it to do with me what it pleased ; as also to avoid the sight of the execrable rhodopis : for ( friend ) i was afraid lest love laying siege to my heart , ( that was yet defended by reason ) should at length take the fortress , and make me commit some foul thing : but that which principally expell'd me , was , my children , who ( as the gods by their mysterious wisdom had revealed to me ) were to fight a single combat fatally together ; therefore to take from my eyes the sight of such a lamentable object ( which i imagine the sun himself will not behold , masking his beams behind a cloud ) not to make a father so unhappy as to stand by and see his children murder one another , i abandoned my country and my fathers house , not making any one privy to the cause of my departure , nor whither i was bound ; pretending a journey to the great city of thebes , to see my elder son , who remained there with his grandfather by the mothers side , his name was thyamis . again knemon stood wondring , as if the name of thyamis had strook him , yet he forbare to speak , impatient to hear out the discourse , which calasiris thus continued ; young man , i leave out my journey , and the passages thereof , as not pertinent to the story you desire ; but having often heard that in greece there was a city named delphos , particularly dedicated to apollo , yet that there was a common temple , wherein also all the gods were honoured , and a kind of fellowship or vniversity of wise men , separate from the tumults of the vulgar , i esteem'd it would be the most proper and convenient retiring place for a prophet , as a city destined to sacred ceremonies ; then loosing out from the gulf of crissaeum , and arriving at cirrhus , i was no sooner landed , but i hasted towards delphos , and coming near the town , a sound ( doubtless divine ) presently beat upon my ear. methought this city was the sweetest place of abode that ever i had seen , both for its own beauty , and in regard nature and art had been in strife to fortifie it ; the mountain parnassus hangs over it , with his stretched sides flanking in the town , as with a bulwark . you say true , said knemon , and like a man inspired by apollo ; for my father made the same description unto me of the situation of delphos , when the town of athens sent him thither ambassador from the estates of the amphictiones . then you are an athenian ( said calasiris ) i am ; your name i pray you ? knenion , he replied . your fortune ? you shall know mine hereafter : but now follow your discourse : content , replied calasiris . after i was come up to the town , and that i had delighted my eyes with the great plains , fair fields , places of exercise , rivers , springs , and the castalian fountain , where i purified my self , i hasted to the temple , following the press of people that went thither , it being then the hour wherein the prophetess used to be inspired , and speak oracles : having entred the temple , adored the god , and commended my wishes in a short prayer , the priestess , whom they call pythia , thus replyed ; wandring from fruitful nilus , thou dost fly , poor voluntier , thy too strong destiny : stay , for black egypt shortly i 'le again restore thee ; here till then , our friend , remain . when she had uttered this , i prostrated upon my face before the altar , humbly praying apollo to be propitious to me in all affairs : all that were present greatly praised the god for having vouchsafed me so gracious an answer at my first arrival ; and thenceforth the people honoured and observed me , wondring at my good fortune , who they said was the only man that ever apollo had called friend since one lycurgus a lacedemonian ; and when they knew i desired to dwell within the cloyster of the temple , they permitted me , and decreed me a publick allowance to defray my charges . in sum , there was no good thing wanting to my content ; for either i was busied to enquire the reasons of the ceremonies , of the many and different sacrifices both strangers and the inhabitants offer to the god , or else i past my time in conference and dispute with the philosophers repairing thither in great numbers , as to a colledge consecrated to the muses , whereof apollo that inspires them , is the master : at first they moved many questions to me , some of one thing , some of another ; one demanded in what manner we aegyptians worshiped our gods ? another asked me why we adore creatures , and hold them sacred and divine ? some enquired of the form and structure of our pyramids ? many were curious in questioning me about the art of our conduits and water-works ; and not to particularize , they left nothing unenquired that concerneth us ; for the singularities of aegypt do marvellously take the ears of greece . finally , some of the graver sort put questions to me about nilus , which were his springs , and the peculiar nature wherein that river differed from others , and why only those waters increase in summer time ; i told them what i knew , and had found written in our sacred books , which are not to be read nor understood by any but our prophets , recounting to them that the head and source of nilus riseth from the mountains of aethiopia , in the farthest parts of lybia , there where the eastern climate ends , and the meridian takes beginning : it increases in the summer ( not as some imagine , because the winds named the etesiae , blowing contrary to their stream , make them regurgit and overflow ; but in regard the same winds rising about the summer solstice , violently chase and drive all the clouds from north to south , that carried upon their swift wings to the torrid zone , are there stopped , and by the incredible vehemency of the circumfused heat , their motion is beaten back , and the humor that before was gathered and condensed , then thaws , and destilling in great showers , making nilus so proud , that he no longer endures to be a river , but passing his limits , covers aegypt with his inundation like a sea , making fruitful the country as he passeth , this is the reason his waters are so sweet to drink , because he receiveth them from heaven , and they are fine to bath in , not hot as when they fall , yet milk warm as retaining part of their original ; hence it comes that of all rivers only , this exhales no vapours : which would necessarily follow by natural reason , if ( as certain learned grecians have conceived ) the tides had taken their increase from snow melting and pouring off the mountains . as i discoursed thus the priest of apollo my intimare friend , named , charicles , you speak said he , excellently well , and i assent to your opinion ; for it is the same i heard of your priests in the catadupes of nilus . were you ever there charicles ? said i : i was , replyed he : i demanded if he had any business there ? he answered , my adverse fortune at home made me travel thither , and was the cause of my selicity ; i marvelling at his words , as implying contradiction : you will not wonder ( he said ) when you hear all the passages which i will tell you when you please : we cannot have a better time , i said : be it now if you think good . then charicles taking me aside , know said he , i have long wished to give you the relation of my fortunes , as having need of your assistance , wise calasiris ; after i was married , i was some years without children : at length growing into years yet continuing earnest in my prayers to the gods , they blessed me with issue , and made me father of a daughter in the declining of my age ; but with sad predictions , that her birth should be unfortunate : she being now grown marriageable , many suitors were ambitious to be her husband , i matched her to him that in my judgment best deserved her ; but even upon her marriage-night in her husbands bed and arms , the miserable dyed suffocated by fire ; either from heaven , or scattered from the hand of some too careless person : so mourning and tears took place of her nuptial bravery , and of the epithalamion that was yet sung from her marriage-chamber , she was carryed to her tomb ; and the same torches that were lighted at her wedding , serv'd for her funeral-fire : nor did the divine powers let this tragedy end here ; but added her mother to the scene of death , heart-broken for her child . i having not constancy enough to support these rigours of the gods , would not yet exile my self from life ( obeying the more probable doctrine of divines ) but resolved to forsake my country , and no more to see the solitude and sorrow of my house ; for it is a great ease to misery to remove the sad object from our eyes : and having wandred many countreys , at length i came into your aegypt , and travelled to the catadupes , to see the cataracts and falls of nilus : here you have the reasons of my journey , but i desire you should know the head , or rather crown of the narration . as i was there walking the streets , and buying some rarities , whereof there was scarcity in greece ( for now time having digested my sorrow , i longed to return into my country ) a venerable black man ( with a face full of gravity , though he were but newly stepped out of his youth ) came to me , and saluted me ; telling me in broken greek , that he desired to have some conference with me ; i obeying his desire , he carried me into a temple hard by ; and said , i saw you buying some indian and aethiopian herbs and roots , but if you will have them sincere and without all sophistication , buy of me ; with all my heart said i : pray you shew them ; but take heed , said he , you be not too wary a buyer : look you , said i , you be not too dear a seller . then drawing out a little cabbinet that he carried under his arm , he opened it ; and shewed me certain gems of an inestimable value ; there were pearls of the bigness of a hasel-nut , exactly round , and fair without a flaw ; emeralds , and jacinths ; the one shewing like the green corn in the spring time , shining in their polish as if oyled , the other imitating the colour of the sea-shore under a high bending rock , dying all below it in a purple colour . in fine , of all the stones together , there was a mixt and various water infinitely pleasing and delightful to the eye : when i had well considered them , friend , said i , you must seek you other kind of chapmen than i am , for all my wealth will not be great enough to purchase me the least of these . if you have not means to buy them , said he , yet i hope you have power to receive them as a gift : that 's true , i replyed , i think my power were sufficient to receive them ; but i cannot imagine what should induce you thus to mock me : i mock not , he replyed , but what i do is serious : and i protest unto you by the power that is patron of this temple , i will give you all these provided you will receive with this a richer gist . at this i fell a laughing ; and he demanding the cause , i told him it seemed to me a ridiculous thing , that offering me such riches , he would yet promise a reward for receiving of them of far richer value ; believe me , replyed he , but let me take your oath withal that you will nobly use this gift , and as i shall instruct you . a while i stood in doubt , yet i did swear , won with the hope of such a promise ; but when i had taken my oath in the form he gave it , he took me along with him , and shewed me a maid endowed with an incomparable form and grace , as he said , but seven years old ; but to me she seemed almost marriageable ; so much doth the excellency of a face add to the lowness of a stature . my eyes dazling at this wonder , i stood amazed and speechless ( partly because i was ignorant of what he meant to do ; but principally out of an insatiable desire of beholding the young lady ) till he awaked me with these words . stranger , this maid thou seest , for some causes thou shalt understand hereafter , was exposed by her mother in her swathing-bands ; and left to the uncertainty of fortune . i lighting by chance upon her , took her up ; for i had been wicked and a villain , if i had suffered a soul to float in so much danger , that had once entred a humane body : for this is one of the precepts of our gymnosophists , whose scholar , though unworthy , i have been . but that which most moved my charity was a kind of divinity that i saw shining in the infants eyes , whilst it earnestly looked upon me ; and though dumb , begged pity sweetly : with her was laid forth this heap of pretious stones i lately shewed you ; and a silk-mantle wherein was sewed in gold in her country characters the relation of her sad fortune : nature ( as i think ) having made her mother furnish the child with these additions , whereby one day she might be known : when i read the scrowl , i knew of whence , and who she was , and carried her from besides the city far into the country , and gave her to a sheperd to be brought up , threatning to kill him if he told how he came by her : the things that were exposed with her , i retained , lest the child should be made away for them ; thus at first i did conceal her . but as she grew in years , she grew in beauty and perfection ; and sure a beauty ( though hidden in the center of the earth will be discovered ; ) therefore fearing she would be known , and both she and i dye for it , i laboured to be sent ambassadour to the lieutenant of aegypt , and coming hither brought her with me , desiring to settle her estate ; the governour hath sent me word i shall have audience to day , and he shall now hear the reasons of my embassage . therefore now i recommend the child to you , and to the gods that have so disposed of her , under the conditions of your oath , being always to maintain her liberty , and to match her to a man as free as you receive her from my hands ; or to speak better , from her sad mothers , that exposed her ; i am confident you will accomplish all your promises confirmed unto me by the religion of your vow , and the candor of your manners ; which since your being in these parts , i have curiously observed , and know them to be worthy of a grecian . this is all i have to say to you for the present , my legating affairs now calling me away ; but to morrow meet me in the temple of isis , and there i will more plainly , and particularly inform you of the secrets that concern the maid . i was punctual in observing his commands ; and taking the maid , i secretly conveyed her to my lodging , where i imployed the whole day to entertain her the most honourably and respectively i could ; studying to win her heart with all sweet ways , and rendring great thanks to the gods for the exchange of children they had pleased to make me ; from that hour esteeming and naming her my daughter . next morning early i came to the temple of isis , as i had promised the stranger ; and after i had walked there a long time , he not appearing , i went to the governors house , and demanded if any one had seen the aethiopian ambassador ? presently one told me that he departed , or rather was expelled last evening before sun-set , the governour threatning he should lose his head , if immediatly he did not quit his frontiers ; informing me also the cause : that delivering his embassage , he commanded the aegyptian to forbear to dig the emerald mines , as appertaining to the king of aethiopia ; i returned to my lodging sad and pensive , as one that had hard fortune , being not able to get any knowledge of the child , who , or of whence , or of what parents she was born . it is no marvel , said knemm , interrupting him , for i my self am mightily troubled that i can hear no more ; but yet i hope i may . you shall , replied calasiris ; but now i will follow the discourse charicles then made me . after , said he , that i was returned to my lodging , the little maid came to meet me , using action for words , having not yet learned to speak any greek , she saluted my by giving me her hand , and her eyes spake that she received contentment in my presence . i was amazed ; she would leap for joy , look me in the face , and observing the respect and love i bare her , she paid me with the honour and reverence of a natural child , i therefore resolved to stay no longer in the town of catadupes , fearing some malevolent fortune in a strange countrey , might deprive me of this other daughter ; and taking boat , we rowed down nilus to the sea , whence i sailed home ; where to this instant i have kept and cherished this child as tenderly as if nature , not accident , had bestowed her on me , giving her my own name , and my content depending only upon hers , so prodigal hath heaven been of graces to her , that she anticipated my wishes ; for speedily she attained to the greek tongue , in such an instant she came to the spring of her age , like a fruitful and noble plant , blooming early , and with wonder ; in beauty she had no equal ; but all mens eyes , both grecians and strangers were fixed on her ; for in what place soever she appeared , either in the temples , at the theaters , or any other publick meetings , as if she had been the statue of some goddess newly made , no man could think or look upon any thing else . but though she is no less than i have pictured her unto you , yet she cruelly afflicts my heart , denouncing open war to marriage , resolving to spend all her life in the state of virginity , and as a follower of diana , loves hunting , and practiseth her bow and arrows , whilst my life grows bitter to me , being frustrated of my hope to match her to my sisters son , a civil and well-bred gentleman , endowed with many excellent good qualities ; but in vain we court her , she hath so hard an opinion of marriage , that neither by service , prayers , or promises she can be perswaded ; but , which adds to my grief , she useth my own weapons against me , employing the rhethorick i have taught her , to find arguments to confute mine , and prove that she hath chosen the best kind of life , elevating a virgins life with divine praises , and placing it near to the immortal gods , calling it pure , incorruptible , and uncontaminate , but extreamly undervaluing and detesting love , venus , and all nuptial pomps and ceremonies : now this it is wherein i implore your assistance , and taking the offer of this occasion , have made you so tedious , but necessary a discourse : do me this favour , good calasiris , to seek some means out of the secrets of your wisdom , be it by incantation , words , or examples , to make her know her nature , why she was born a woman : i know , if you please , you can easily perswade her ; she hath no aversion from holding conference with men , but hath been ever bred amongst them , and lives now in the same house with you here within the walls and cloyster of the temple : neglect not my intreaties , i beseech you , and permit me not without children , comfort or successor , to live grieved in my old age : by our apollo , and your tutelar gods of aegypt , i conjure you . at these words ( friend knemon ) i could not refrain weeping , because charicles made this suit to me with tears , the best assistance in my power i promised him . whilst we were deliberating upon the matter , one comes in runing , and tells us , the general of the aeneans was at the temple gates , and asked for the high priest , to begin the sacrifice . idemanded of charicles who these aeneans were , and what the sacrifice was they celebrated ? the aeneans , hereplied , are a certain people of thessaly , the noblest and truest grecians of that country , descended from the greek deucalion , and inhabit along the gulf of melia , where they have their capital or metropolitan city , named hipata , as they will have it , because it commends the rest ; but as others esteem , it hath that name , because it is situate under the mount oeta ; now they send this sacred embassage every fourth year , at the time when the phthian games were celebrated ( and this as you know is the time ) wherein they do honour to neoptolemus , the son of achilles , slain traiterously at the very altar of apollo , by orestes the son of agamemnon ; and this embassage is at this present celebrated with more solemnity than in precedent times ; forasmuch as their general boasts himself to be descended of achilles , whom my fortune being to encounter the other day , methought there shined in the person of that young man some peculiar graces worthy of a descendant from such an ancestor , of such a form and goodliness of stature , as it confirms him to be derived from a goddess ; but i wondring how he being of an aenean family , could draw his line from achilles , ( for the aegyptian homer's poesie shews us that achilles was a phthiot ) charicles answerred , this young gentleman , and the other aeneans affirm this heros to have been born in their country , and say that thetis went out of the gulf of mela when she was matched to peleus , and that all the coast there was anciently called phthia , and that all others are liars that challenge the glory to have this demi-god their countriman ; but this general draws his pedigree from the aecides another way , producing menesthius the son of sperchius and of polidora , the daughter of peleus , for one of his ancestors , that was one of the chief captains with achilles in the expedition against troy , and for the proximity of his blood with achilles , commanded the first squadron of the myrmidons , and to tie himself on all parts to the race of achilles , he brings for an argument this parentation sent to neoptolemus , wherein ( as he saith ) all the thessalians yield the first place to the aeneans , confessing thereby they are the nearest allied unto him : i do not envy them , charicles , said i , whether they arrogate this honour , or claim it as their right ; but i pray you commend the captain of this embassage to be admitted : for i have an incredible longing to behold him . charicles making the sign , one called him in , and truly methought i saw something of achilles in him , such a face , such a comportment , holding his head upright , his hair combed back , his nostrils freely sucking in , and breathing out the air , a sign of courage , and strong spirits , his eyes growing to a brown , his aspect fierce , yet amiable , like a sea new calmed . after he had saluted us according to the custom , and we him ; he told us it was time to offer sacrifice to the god , that we might have day enough to finish the obsequies and other funeral pomp. be it so , said charicles ; and rising , he told me in my ear , this day you shall see chariclea ; for the manner is , that she , being the priestess of apollo , should assist at the procession , and funeral ceremonies of neopotolemus ; but knemon , i had seen the maid before , for she had often sacrificed with me , and many times made propositions to me of things divine ; yet i hold my tongue , expecting the future : and charicles and i went together to the temple ; for all things appertaining to the sacrifice were now prepared by the thessalians : when we approached the altar , and the chief priest had made his prayer , and the young gentleman begun the sacrifice , the priestess of apollo from the most holy and secret part of the temple pronounced this oracle ; her name that grace begins , and glory ends , and his that from a deity descends , sing delphians ; these two shall ( sayling from my temple ) to a sun-burnt climate , come , and as their virtues coronation , there , loos'd from black temples , shall white garlands wear . when the god , by the mouth of his religious , had spoke this oracle , all the assistants were confused , not being able to interpret it ; for some screwed it to one sence , some , explicated it in another ; and every one made a conjecture conformable to his own desire ; but not any could touch upon the true meaning , oracles and dreams being commonly judged by the event : so the delphians amazed and astonished , departed to see the magnificent funeral shew , neglecting to search more curiously the truth hidden in his oracle . the aethiopian history . the third book . but after the procession was ended ; i hope , father , it is not ended yet , said knemon ; for you have not yet made me a spectator of the ceremonies , but only told me of them , and possest me with an incredible longing , making me run to get a sight , and then like a man that cometh when the play is done , i have seen the theater open and shut in the same instant . oh knemon ! said calasiris , i would not draw you from the purpose , non trouble you with digressions , but lead you on to the principal subject of my discourse , and your first demand ; but because you long to know something by the by ( a sufficient testimony that you are an athenian ) i will make you a brief description of the celebration , both for its own excellency , and things depending thereupon . first , there passed along a hecatomb , which was a hundred oxen led by slaughter-men in a rustick habit ; they had on white frocks girt about their wastes , their right arms and elbows bare to their paps , and shaking axes in their hands : all the oxen were cole black , playing with their heads a little raised , and their necks bending in the middle , their horns broad and equal , not wreathed at all ; some had them gilded , some crowned with chaplets of flowers , their deep dewlaps hanging down to their knees ; they were followed with different troops of many other kind of victims ; every species being separate , and martialled in fair order , with flutes , and hoboys : playing the tune of a mystique ode sing as an anthem to the sacrifice : these troops and their leaders were followed with two bands of thessalian ladies , all fair , and in rich long robes , their hair hanging loose ; those that were in the first bond , carried little baskets full of fruit and flowers , the others had little boxes filled with comfits and sweet odours , that as they past prefumed the streets : nor did they use their hands to these , but carried them upon their heads , and held hands , that they might the freelier dance and march together ; these of the first figure , gave the tone and cadence to the second ; for they were to sing a hymn , and to dance to it ; and this hymn contained nothing but the praises of thetis and peleus , of their son achilles , and of his son neoptolemus . good father , said knemon , do not offer again to deprive me of so sweet a passage , but let me hear this hymn , unless you will make me a beholder of this solemnity , only so far as my eyes will reach , and suffer me to receive no pleasure by ear. since you are so desirous of the song ( replyed calasiris ) you shall hear it . i thetis , fair hair'd thetis , sing , that did from deathless nereus spring ; whom jove to pelus match'd our bright beam'd venus , and our watery light. that ( mother of our mars ) did bear achilles raging with his spear ; our thunderbolt , to whose fam'd worth pyrrha neoptolemus brought forth ; troy's fate , the greeks peace , be to us propitious neoptolemus ; whom our blest pythique soil inters , receive the hymns our zeal prefers ; all woe from this town banishing , i thetis , fair hair'd thetis sing . as far as i remember , knemon , the song was this ; but the measure of their dance had such correspondence with the musick , and their feet did so beat the tune , as the eye neglecting what it saw , suffered the soul to be charmed through the ear ; the people following the march of the maids dance , as if they had been attracted by their voices , till a troop of horse , all young gentlement , but beyond all , their captain did present a shew that gave the eye precedency of all the ears delights ; they were fifty horse divided into two troops of five and twenty , marching five and five a breast ; the captain of the sacred embassage riding in the midst ; they had all purple buskins tyed with ribbons , and turned down to their ankles , their robes were white , bordered about with azure pursles , and fastned at their brests with buttons of gold ; they were mounted on thessalian horses , whose fair shapes and spirit witnessed the sweetness of the soil that pastured them , and seemed as if they scorned the command of the bit ; making it all a foam : but yet , as if they obeyed the riders powerful soul , they would come off and on , make stops and turning as he pleased : they had all fair caparisons and bridles , the one part silver , the other silver gilt ; so curiously wrought as it appeared they had a strife in point of glory . but ( knemon ) all these gallants the beholders eyes passed by and slighted , being only fixt upon their captain ( my charge , theagenes ) that like a lightning did obscure all that which shined before ; so did he strike our sences , being an excellent horseman , in his armour , and shaking in his hand an oaken spear with a point of steel , he wore his beaver up , discovering the prefect beauty of his face ; his bases were purple imbroidered with gold in figures of the battel betwixt the centanrs and the lapiths . the button that fastned it before was amber , wherein was the image of pallas , bearing in her hand medusa's head ; the wind ( that seemed to be for him ) made and addition to his grace ; for it sweetly breathing , played with the curls of his hair , and made his bases flow upon the sides and buttocks of his horse ; you would have thought the horse had been sensible of the perfections of his rider , he did rein so proudly , raising his crest , and pricking his ears , rolling his fiery eyes , carrying and being carryed with like pride ; when his master slack'd the bridle , he gallop'd on so finely , as he only touched the earth with the tips of his hoofs , tempering the fierceness of his motion , so as he did not the least disorder the ranks , to the astonishment of the beholders , that gave the noblest attribute of form and spirit to the young general ; the simpler women had not so much discretion as to couch their passions , but threw flowers and nosegays at him , to get the happiness of a look , or salutation from him : for the unanimous consent of all their judgments , was , that no humane thing could shew more beauty then theagenes . but when rose-cheek'd aurora did apper ( as homer says ) and that the fair and wise chariclea came out of the temple of diana , then at length we knew theagenes might be conquered , but so conquered , as the best native loveliness of womens form , compared with mans , is the better loadstone , and exceeds it in the power of attraction ; she rid in a chariot drawn by two milk-white bulls , wearing a long robe of purple to her feet , imbroidered with beams of gold ; she had on a girdle wherein the workman had inclosed all his art , neither ever before , nor ever after being able to contrive the like ; it was two serpents that seemed to have tyed their tayls in a knot at the maids back , and had wreathed their necks in another at her breast , slipping their heads out of the knot , and letting them hang on either side like pendants ; you would have said these serpents did not seem to creep , but did creep indeed , not with a terrible aspect , but as if they had languished in a slumber , desiring to rest so near the bosom of the maid ; the matter they were formed of was gold , the colour blew , but the workman had enamelled it with black , that blue and black mixt with yellow , might present the native variety of the serpents pointed scales , her flaxen hair was neither wholly platted , nor quite loose ; the greater part of it at full length hanged down upon her shoulders , her topping and hair before was crowned with a wreath of the finest lawrel , this defending it against the wind , would not suffer it to be blown out of the handsom and well becoming order it was laid in ; in her left hand she bore a golden bow , and over her right shoulder had a quiver hanging in a scarf ; in her other had she bore a torch of virgins wax burning , but yet her eyes rendred a light far greater . the very same theagenes and chariclea ( cryed knemon ) where are they for the god's sake ? said calasiris , thinking knemon had seen them ; but he replyed , no father , i do not see them : but methought i did , though they were absent ; you have described unto me so properly and directly such as i saw them : i know not said calasiris , if you saw them , such as greece and the sun that day beheld them , so conspicuous , so blessed , as his seemed the height of man's felicity , and hers of women : no mortal thing was esteemed to be like them , only our country-men did more admire theagenes , and the thessalians the fair chariclea ; for the sight of a new thing doth far more ravish us than what we usually behold ; but o sweet deception ! with how much joy did you transport me when i hoped you saw , and would shew me my souls beloved children ; but you do nothing else but mock me ; for though at the beginning of my discourse , you promised me they would come immediatly , and i should see them ; and in recompence before hand , i have made you this narration , yet now it grows night , and they appear not ; let not that trouble you , said knemon , for take my word they will be here , though perhaps some hindrance upon the way may intervene and make then come later than the appointed hour ; yet if they were here , you should not see them , till i had received my whole reward . therefore if you hasten to their presence , perform your promise , and lead the discourse you have begun , to and end . i do both shun ( reply'd calasiris ) the discourse that may bring my sorrows fresh into my memory , and i also doubt it that my long talking had been tedious to you ; but since you are so covetous of hearing , let us begin where we left : having first lighted a lamp , and made our offerings to the divinities of the night , and performed our usual ceremonies to them , we may go on with our history , without being troubled with phantasms . presently a servant at his command , brought in a lamp burning , and he pouring out a little of the oyl upon the earth , made his libation , invoking all the gods ; beseeching a night of happy dreams , conjuring them with all the power of prayers , that his beloved theagenes and chariclea , might appear to him in his sleep . now knemon , after the procession thus passing had gone round about the sepulcher of neoptolemus , and the troop of horse had thrice wheeled about it , the women began to fill the air with funeral cryes , and the men with a wild howling : then the oxen , sheep , and goats , ( at a signal given ) were immediately sacrificed as if one blow had cut all their throats . lastly , all these beasts being laid upon a great altar , and six hundred billets under them , they prayed the priest of apollo to begin the sacrifice , and give fire to the wood ; charicles reply'd , the sacrifice did only belong to him , but the firing of the altar , to the captain of the sacred legation , receiving the torch at the hands of the priestess of diana , for so it was established in the ceremonial . this he said , and began to make the offering , while theagenes took the torch from the hand of chariclea ; sure knemon , that the soul is a divine thing , and allied to the superior nature , we know by its operations and functions ; assoon as these two beheld each other their souls as if acquainted at first sight , pressed to meet their equals in worth and beauty , at first they remained amazed and without motion at length , though slowly , chariclea gave , and he received the torch ; so fixing their eyes on one another as if they had been calling to remembrance where they had met before , then they smiled , but so stealingly , as could hardly be perceived , but a little in their eyes , and as ashamed they hid away the motions of joy with blushes ; and again , when affection ( as i imagine ) had ingaged their hearts , they grew pale . to conclude , in a little space , a thousand changes wandred in their faces , both in their colour and their eyes , deciphering trouble in their sorrows . the vulgar knew not this , being according to their imployment , busied and intentive upon other matters ; charicles observed it not , being hindred with making the accustomed prayers and invocations ; but i ( ever after the oracle was pronounced to theagenes , sacrificing in the temple ) did nothing else but note all the actions of this young couple , conjecturing by their names that it was meant of them ; chariclea signifying in your language , grace and glory , and theagenes born of a goddess , yet i did not hitherto exactly understand what the later part of the oracle intended . but after ( though long first , and as it were by force ) theagenes was parted from chariclea , he fired the altar , and so at length the pomp brake up ; the thessalians going to feast , the rest of the people every one departing to their houses , and chariclea covering her self in her white mantle , accompained with some few ladies , her familiars , returned to her lodging , within the verge of the temple ; for she dwelt not with her supposed father , separating her self from him , lest he should have too much opportunity to perswade her to a marriage . this i had seen , and the rest that i imagined making me still more inquisitive , i chanc'd to meet with charicles ; he asked me , hast thou seen the light of mine , and all the eyes of delphos , chariclea ? this is not the first time i have seen her , i replyed , but often before as often as the people were assembled in the temple , and that not as passing by , but she hath many times sacrificed together with me ; and when at any time she doubted of divine or humane things , she hath put questions to me , and been instructed by me . but how did she shew to day ? said charitles : did she add any ornament to the ceremony ? would you heve me tell you how the moon excells the stars ? said i : but some commended the young thessalian , said charicles , and gave him the second place ; yes , and the third too , i replyed ; but the crown and eye of all the pomp was really acknowledged to be your daughter : this pleased charicles at the heart , and i by speaking the truth , did prepare way to my aim , being only to make the man confident in me ; who smiling , told me , he was then going to her and that if it pleased me i should go along with him to visit her , and know if the great preses and tumult of the people had not troubled her , i was glad of the of fer , yet i seemed to neglect some other business to attend him . when we were come to the lodgings where she had retired her self , we entred her chamber , and found her languishing upon her bed , not able to rest , love bathing in the moisture of her eyes , she imbracing her father as she was accustomed , and he asking her how she did ? she said , her head aked ; and that she would willingly take a little rest . at this , charicles troubled , went with me out of the chamber , commanding her attendants to make no noise ; and when we were without the doors , oh good calasiris , said he , what doth this mean ? what indisposition has seized on my child ? you need not wonder , i replyed , if in so great a multitude of people as attended the procession , she hath perhaps attracted the poison of some envious eye ; charicles smiling at these words , as in derision , do you also ( said he ) believe with the vulgar , that there is any fascination or bewitching by the eye ? i do believe it , i replyed , as an opinion grounded upon truth ; and thus i do conceive it , this air circumfused on every side about us , penetrating by our eyes , nostrils , mouths and other passages and pores of our body , and bringing in with it the exterior qualities wherewith it is infected , such as it flowes unto us , such impression it make in us ; therefore when any one beholds a rare creature with envy , he presently fills the circumference of the air with that infesting quality , and breaths into his neighbouring object a spirit full of bitterness , which being thin and subtil , peirceth to the bones and marrow ; and thus hath envy been to many the cause of a sickness , whose proper name is fascination ; moreover , consider charicles , how many have got sore eyes and caught the infection of the plague , that never came near the diseased persons , never lay in their beds , nor eat or drank , or had any thing common with them but the air : amongst other things that might perswade you , the original of love may be a special argument proceeding and occasioned from the object of the sight , drawing the passion through the eyes into the soul ; and it is consonant to reason , for the eye being the most sharp and fervent of all our pores and senses , and capable of most changes , it receiveth easiest all affections that are presented to it , attracting with inflamed spirits the flowings of love. but if it be required , i can produce you an example out of our sacred books , where they treat of the nature of living creatures ; the little bird they call the loriot , cureth those that have the jaundice : who if any one looks upon her that is troubled with that disease , closing her eyes she flies away from him , not as some say , envying to give him help , but in regard that beholding him , she naturally calls and attracts the fluxive disease unto her self , and therefore she declines their sight as her own heart . i doubt not but you have heard how the serpent named the basilisk , only by her eyes and breath dries away and poisons every obvious thing ; neither is it a wonder if some do facscinate those they wish well to , and love dearest , for being by nature envious , they do not what they would , but what their natural infirmity move them to . charicles pawsing a while , in consideration of these words you have said , he dissolved this controversy with most wise and probable arguments , but would the gods were pleased this that troubles her were love ; for then i should esteem her to be in perfect health , not sick ; and you know that to this end i have implored your assistance : but at this present nothing less is to be feared than an accident of affection , she shunning love , and hating as a crime the nuptial bed : sure some envious eye hath bewitch'd her , and i doubt not but you have power and will to break the charm : i know you love me , and i am confident your wisdom hath acquired a knowledge in all things of the world : i promised him i would do my best according as i found her malady . we thus discoursing , there came a man to us in terrible haste , why signiors said he , how happens it you are so slow as if you were summoned to a battel , not invited to a feast prepared by the noble theagenes , in honour of the demi-deity neoptolemeus ? away , and do not make them stay for you : all the other guests are come already : then charicles whispering me in the ear , here is one ( said he ) that invites us with a bastinado ! what a brave fellow is bacchus ? but let us go , for it is to be feared he will beat us if we tarry any longer . you are a merry a man , said i , but let us away . when we were come thither , theagenes placed charicles next himself , and did me some honour for his sake ; but why should i trouble you with the recital of the particulars at this feast , the masque of the ladies , the musique , the pyrrhique dance of the young gentleman in armour , and other entertainments wherewith theagenes graced his feast that was great , and the cover often changed and new furnished with several services of the most exquisite dainties ; but i will give you an account of that will best please you to hear , and me to relate . theagenes put on a face of chearfulness , forcing himself to entertain the company with all humanity and free discourse ; but i found him presently which way he tended , when sometimes he would roul his eyes and lift them up , sometimes fetch a deep sigh upon the sudden , then sadly fix his eyes upon the earth , and presently resume a countenance and shew of mirth as if he had been guilty of an error and corrected it , and presently fall again into new changes : for the spirit of a man that is in love , is like to his that is in drink ; so flexible , so uncertain , both alike , floating in a humid passion ; therefore a lover is apt and prone to be drunk , and a drunken man to be in love ; but after his sad promises grew more frequent , and his looks more constantly sad , all the company took notice that he was not well , insomuch as the good charicles that pierced no deeper than the change and trouble of his countenance , said to me softly in my ear , some envious eye hath also beheld this gentleman . i think it to be the same that did behold chariclea , the very same by isis : i replyed , you judge aright , and with great appearance of reason ; he being the fairest next to her in all the glorious show ; thus we two whispered , and when the goblets were to go about , theagenes drank to us although against his will , only to bid us welcome ; but when it came to me , i telling him i was his humble servant , and would receive the favour not the wine , he looked upon me with sharp and fiery eyes , thinking himself slighted ; which charicles perceiving , told him i drank no wine , nor eat any thing that had been a sensitive creature ; he demanded the cause ; charicles replyed , he is an aegyptian , a nemphian , and the priest of isis : theagenes understanding i was an aegyptian , and the chief priest , felt his soul ravished with a present joy , as they that by fortune find a treasure in their way ; and presently setting himself upright , he called for water , and drinking it to me , said , at leaswise , sir , be pleased to pledge me in this beveridge ; you affect , and let this table be the witness of a tye of friendship made betwixt us : be it so noblest theagenes , i replyed , it is long since contracted on my part ; and so i took the cup and pledged him ; presently they took away , and we did rise from the table , every one preparing to go home ; and theagenes imbrancing me with the dearest protestations of affection . being returned to my lodging , i went to bed and spent most part of the night , not having power to close my eyes , but tumbling and tossing with the care i conceived for the young couple , and sifting out what the last part of the oracle should mean ; it now growing midnight , i saw apollo and diana , as i thought ( if i did think , and did not rather truly see them ) and he delivered to me theagenes , she chariclea ; telling me it was time i should return into my country , for so the laws of destiny had ordained . go therefore , said they , and make these two thou hast received thy companions , adopting them thy children , and lead them out of the land of aegypt , where and how the gods shall please : having said this , they departed , making me know it was not the vision of a dream , but a true appartion . i had now got out the whole meaning of the oracle , yet still i doubted to what people or what country i should lead them ; but how do you know father , said knemon , that it was not a dream , but a real visions ? even so son ( he replyed ) as the wise homer gives it us as in a riddle : though many slight enigma's ; it is a passage where he speaks of neptune . for i his feet and thighs together spi'd , cutting the thin ayr , with an easie slide : the gods may thus be truly seen and known . i confess , said knemon , i am of the number of those many you speak of ; and happily you have cited this verse , to see how i understand it , which is in no deeper sence than the vulgar interpretation made unto me when i first learned the signification of words ; i am altogether ignorant what secret of theology may be couched in it . then calasiris considering a little , and collecting all the forces of his understanding , as being to speak of a high mystery ; when the gods ( said he ) and divine spirits please either to come to , or go from us , they take the similitude seldom of beasts or other creatures ; but many times they cloath their divinity with the form of men , to be known to our fancy in the likeness of our selves , that we may rather take it for the vision of a dream : but though prophane persons know them not , yet they cannot escape from a wife mans discovery , but may be deciphered by their eyes , when they hold always fixt , and never move their eye-lids , yet by their going they may be better known ; for their pace is not made by stepping or transposition of the feet , but by a certain aery violence and quick even motion , that they rather sail or cut , than pass the air. this is the reason why the aegyptians make the statua's of their gods joyning their feet , and as it were uniting them together ; which homer knowing , as being an aegyptian , and instructed in our sacred doctrine , involvedly incerted this mystery in his verses , leaving it for those that could , to understand him . of phallas , he sayes , her sharp eyes sparkled as she look'd like fire . and as before of neptune , his feet and thighs together i espy'd , cutting the thin ayr with an easie slide . as sailing instead of going , for this is the meaning of an easie slide ; not as some wrongly interpret him , that to know the gods was easie divine . sir , said knemon , you have initiated me in a great mystery : but having observed you many times in this discourse to have called homer an aegyptian , not being able to believe you ; yet admiring what should be your reason , i beseech you not to pass this undiscussed . though it be , knemon , said calasiris , a thing far from our intended subject to dispute this now , yet i will briefly touch it . many countries challenge homer , and every country is a wife mans own , but the truth is , he was my countryman , an aegyptian , born in the hundred-gated thebes , as himself names it ; his esteemed father was the high priest of that city , but his true father mercury ; but the priest was his supposed father inasmuch as his wife sleeping in the temple at the celebration of certain ceremonies of our country , the god lay with her , and got her with child of homer , who from his mother womb brought forth a mark of her illegitimate copulation ; for one of his thighs had upon it a great quantity of long hair ; and afterwards in his travels through the world , and especially amongst the greeks singing his poesy , they gave him the name of homer ; not that it was his own name , or the cities , or nations whence he was , but those that knew that privy mark , gave him that sirname , signifying , a thigh : but what was his reason ( father ) to conceal his country ? ( said knemon ) because , replyed calasiris , either he was ashamed to be known for a fugitive , for his father had expelled him his house , when his name was to be inrolled amongst the young initiates that took orders , because in the search he was found to have a mark of bastardy ; or else he did this wisely , that concealing his true city , he might challenge every city of the world for his : this you have said shews like a truth , said knemon , when i consider his mystical poems , that have a mixture for all sweetness and pleasure out of the excellency of nature ; and sure , they would not so excell all others if some divinity had not been the ground of such perfection . but after you had known the gods following the mark that homer gave you , what was the sequel i beseech you ? answerable to the promise ( friend knemon . ) the rest of the night i could take no sleep , but lay considering and canvasing such thoughts as night suggests . it rejoyced me that the gods would effect my business , which as then i thought not of , and that i should expect to return into my country ; but it grieved me to think that charicles should be deprived of his daughter , and it troubled me the more , because i knew not what course to take , or how to steal away the two young lovers ; i feared our flight would not be secret , but that some accident would discover us : then i doubted of the way , whether we should go by sea or land. finally a storm of cogitations tossed my spirits , and i lay waking till the morning . it was hardly day , but i heard one knocking at the gates , and the voice of a page that called : one of my servants demanded who he was that knocked so rudely , and his business : the page wished him to tell his master theagenes , the thessalian would attend him ; i was very glad of this news of theagenes , and commanded my man to wait of him in , making accompt that occasion offered it self of its own accord to deliver me of the care that troubled my thoughts , for i perswaded my self that he having heard at the feast that i was an egyptian , and a prophet ; came to me to demand my succor in his love ; being as i imagine in the same error that many fall into , who believe the wisdom of the egyptians be one ; and the same thing wherein they much deceive themselves ; for there is one knowledge vulgar , and as i may term it , creeping on the earth , the servant of images , and busied about dead bodies , believing in the power of herbs and incantations , not tending to any good end it self , nor conducting those that use it , but lameing most its precepts , and implying contradictions ; the effects it produceth are small and base , as to give visions of things that are not , as if they were , to frustate men of their hopes ; being an art that is the inventress of detestable things , and the minister of profused foul pleasures : but son , there is another , that is real wisdom , and from which this adulterate hath degenerated , and as a bastard falsly assumed the name ; whereof , we that are priests , and all that descend of the prophetick line , do make profession , and are bred in ; it elevates its self in contemplation of celestial things , converseth always with the gods , and participates of the divinity ; searching the motions of the stars , and delighting to fore-know the future ; making a man a stranger to terrestrial evils and vices , and conducting to the profit of humane society ; this was it that made me leave my country for a time , to shun if it were possible the miseries that i presaged to my self , and not to behold the bloody duel of my sons . but i leave all to the gods , and destinies , in whose power it is , whether these misfortunes shall or shall not happen , and that have not imposed this banishment upon me only for the cause that i have told you , but principally , that i should meet chariclea ; by what means you shall know hereafter . now let us return to theagenes . when he was come into my chamber , and we had saluted , i made him sit down by me upon my bed , and questioned him what necessity had brought him so early to me ? but after he had held his hand upon his face ; i am infinitely troubled ( he replied ) but i blush to discover it , and so held his peace : presently i apprehended it was time for me to lie , and to divine what i already knew ; therefore looking in his face , and smiling ; though you fear ( i said ) to express your self to me , yet nothing can be concealed to the gods , and to our wisdom ; then raising my self a little , and counting upon my fingers , shaking my locks as those that are possest with a prophetick spirit , i said , my son , you love : he started at this oracle ; but when i had added chariclea , then esteeming my knowledge to be inspired , he would have fallen down and adored me ; but i not suffering him , he embraced me , and often kissed my hand , rendring thanks to heaven that he had not been deceived in his hopes , and praying me to save his life that would be but short if he had not present help , so great was his affliction , and so violent his flame , being the first wound that love had given him , until the beauty of chariclea had unsouled and conquered him , and that not in regard of any natural strength or weakness ; but that he had never till now seen a woman worthy of his love. at these words he wept , witnessing , that he was overcome not by his own weakness , but by her inevitable force : i comforted him the best i could , wishing him only to take his wonted courage ; and since he had recourse to me , he should find chariclea's beauty had not the strength to prevail against our wisdom ; for though , said i , she be very refractory , despising love , not enduring to hear venus named , and not without much difficulty to be drawn to submit to the laws of marriage ; yet for your sake i will try all ways , and you shall see art conquer nature ; be you only confident , and fail not to obey my necessary commands : he promised to follow my directions , though i should bid him march upon the points of swords . as he was thus praying and conjuring , promising me all his estate for a reward , one came from charicles , and told me his master desired to speak with me ; he is but over the way ( he said ) in the temple of apollo , where he sings a hymn to the god to appease him , because he hath i know not how , been troubled in his sleep to night : i rose , and sending away theagenes , made haste to the temple , where i found charicles sitting in a chair exceeding sad , and often sighing ; i demanded what affliction made him so desolate ? alas , he replied , all this last night i have been troubled with fearful dreams , and to make my grief the greater , i hear my daughter is still sick , and lain waking ; and it afflicts me that her sickness falls in an unhappy time , because to morrow is the day prefixed , wherein the priestess of diana ought to give a torch of virgin-wax to the champions that run armed , and to render them the prize of the victory ; so that one of the two evils must necessarily happen , that assisting at that ceremony , her malady will be augmented , or that her absence will violate the customs of the sacred games : therefore if this could not be done before , at least apply some remedy unto her , and you shall do a most charitable office ; which shall express your friendship to me , and your honour to the gods : i know if you please , you can easily uncharm her ; for the prophets of your country can perform the greatest undertakings . i confessed i had been a little slow , and putting it upon him as i had done upon theagenes , i desired only the space of a day , and i would in that time compose a medicament should heal her : but let us , said i , now go to the virgin , and consider her more attentively , and comfort her the best that possible we can ; and charicles , it would be convenient you should discourse with her of me , and make me better known to her by your commendations , that making me more familiar , and in greater esteem with her , she may have the greater faith in my receipts . be it so , he replied . when we were come to chariclea ( why should i use many words ? ) we found her engaged deeply to affection , the roses and lillies of her cheeks were faded , and the water of her fair eyes had extinguished the fire that used to sparkle in them ; yet assoon as she perceived us , she did her best to compose her self , and endeavoured to call back the accustomed loveliness and graces of her beauty ; charicles kissing and embracing her , not omitting any ceremony that endears respect and love. o child ! o daughter ! said , he , can you conceal the evil that torments you from your father ? and being fascinated , do you make it a secret , as if you had done wrong , and not received an injury from the eyes that have so maliciously beheld you ? but resume your spirits ; i have entreated the wise calasiris that you see here with me , to undertake your cure , and he is able to perform it ; for he ( if ever any ) excelleth in divine knowledge , as being by descent a prophet , and which is more , our especial friend ; therefore you shall do wisely to commit your self wholly to his disposing , whether he shall please to use incantation , or heal you by any other means : but i need nor use perswasions since you naturally honour and affect the company of learned men . chariclea replied not , but only bowed her head in sign of consent to her fathers counsel . this done , we retired our selves ; charicles renewing his suit to me , that i would remember my promise , and bethink me of a way to induce chariclea to a milder construction of men and marriage . thus i brought him off , and left him joyful , giving him my word his desire should shortly be accomplished . the aethiopian history . the fourth book . the next day the pythian games ended ; but the passion and strife of the young men grew more violent under the empire of cupid , who was their judge , and by two champions of his , intended ( as i believe ) to shew the world his combate is the greatest . thus it happened : all greece were lookers on , the amphyctiones were the judges , that is , the deputies of every communalty of greece . after all the other contentions were concluded with magnificence , as chariot-races , wrastling , and quoiting of the sledge , at length the herald cried , let the armed men stand forth ; , and presently at the further end of the lists we saw chariclea shining ; for she was come , if not willingly , yet to observe the custom of the countrey , or rather in my opinion hoping to see theagenes ; in her left hand she bare a burning torch of virgin-wax , and in her other held forth a branch of palm : she no sooner appeared , but she turned all the eyes of the theater upon her ; but i believe not any eye out-stripp'd that of theagenes ; for the eye of a lover is swift to spy out her that is desired ; and he having before heard of the ceremony , had all his spirits set to watch her coming ; and when he saw her , he was not able to contain himself , but spake softly in my ear ; for he had placed himself next to me of purpose , that is she , it is chariclea : i bid him hold his peace , and be at quiet . at the cry of the herald , one presented himself in light armor , of goodly shape , by his carriage appearing already as a conqueror , and promising to himself the prize and victory , as having many times been crowned in the same course ; and at that time having none to oppose him , as antagonist ; which caused the amphyctiones to return him back , the law not permitting him to enjoy the crown that had not endured the conflict : but he intreated the herald might demand , if any man would run : the judges commanded it should be so ; and the herald made proclamation , if any would run , he should come forth into the lirsts . heark ( said theagenes to me ) that man calls me . i asking him what his meaning was : it shall be so , father , he said ; for never shall any man in my presence , and i looking on , hare away the reward of victory from the hand of chariclea : but , said i , you do not apprehend nor weigh the dariger and ignominy that attends the conquered : why , father , who is he ( replied theagenes ) that will so fervently contend to see and approach chariclea , as to outstrip me ? or to whom will her looks give wings , and make him fly in the a●s like me ? do not you know that painters draw love winged , signifying as in a riddle , the agility of those that he surprizes ? and if a man might boast himself , there is this day none that can glory to have over-run me . at these words he suddenly rose , and stepp'd forth into the lists , to make his name be published , and the place of his birth ; and so being engaged for the course , he put on compleat armor , and stood to the barriers , so boyling with desire to run , that his impatience would hardly permit him to attend the sound of the trumper : the spectale was pleasing and conspicuous ; for you would have said it had been achilles , as homen paints him fighting upon the shore of the river seamander . this unexpected champion moved all greece , and they did wish the victory to theagenes , as passionately as if every one had run in his own person ; for beauty hath a strong power to work upon the good wills of the beholders : but above all , chariclea was most troubled ; and having set my self to observe her , i perceived she often changed her colour ; for after the herald had pronounced so loud as all might hear the combatants names , ormenus the arcadian , and theagenes the thessalian , the barriers were opened , and the course began so swiftly as mens dazled eyes could hardly overtake them : every spectator , to whom the event was yet in suspence , found himself full of care ; but i especially that had resolved with my self to be as careful of him as of my own son. no marvel , said knemon , if those that were present found themselves troubled ; for at this hour i fear for theagenes , and do entreat you if he had the victory , to keep me no longer without the knowledge . when now ( knemon ) they had finished half their course , he looking back , and frowning to see ormenus run so near him , lifting up his buckler and his head , and fixing his eyes wholly upon chariclea , he shot to her as an arrow to the mark , and so far out-stript the areadian , as he left him many paces behind . the space was after measured : so running to chariclea of purpose , fell upon her bosom , as if it had not been in his power to stop himself ; and taking the branch of palm , i perceived him kiss her hand . i am glad with all my heart ( said knemon ) that he hath won the crown and stoln a kiss ; but i pray you what follows ? how ( said calasiris ) will you never be satisfied with hearing ? have you not yet a mind to sleep , being the night is spent so far ? is not my discourse yet tedious ? no father ( said knemon ) i could chide homer , who tells us we may surfeit of all things , even of love ; which in my opinion admitteth no satiety , neither in the enjoying nor discourse : and who is he , unless he have a heart of adamant or iron , that would not receive content to hear the loves of theagenes and chariclea , though the story should last a year ? therefore continue it i beseech you . theagenes ( knemon ) was then crowned , proclaimed the conqueror , and conducted with the glad acclamations of the people ; but chariclea was then quite vanquished , and her heart more fettered in affection than before ; having the second time beheld theagines ; for the interchanged eyes of : lovers is a renewing of their passions , and their looks inflame their minds , as fire approaching to its matter ; the maid returning home , had as ill or worse a night than ever ; and i again was not able to close my eyes , incessantly plotting how we should conceal our flight , and into what countrey the god would bring the two young lovers ; i conjectured we were to take our slight by sea , gathering it out of these words of the oracle , — they two shall , sayling from my temple , to a sun-burn'd climate come . but to what part of the earth i understood not ; and i saw no other means to come to the knowledge of it , unless i could get the fascia that was exposed with chariclea , wherein charicles had told me he conceived the discourse of her fortune to be writ ; for out of these characters i doubted not but to get out her country , and her parents , which i began now to suspect , and that the gods would send her back to them . next morning , coming to chariclea's chamber , i found others of her friends weeping , but charicles most bitterly : i asked him , what the matter was ? o calasiris ? said he , the sickness of my daughter still more and more increases , and this night she hath rested more unquietly than before , get you away , said i , and command the rest out of the chamber , only let some one bring a little lawrel , fire and incense , and let none trouble me before i call . charicles commanded it should be so ; and it was done accordingly . now being alone with her , i began to play my part , as a mountebank upon a stage ; i put the incense in the fire , and made as if i muttered certain prayers betwixt my lips ; i carried the lawrel up and down from the head to the foot of chariclea , and gaping over her like a sleepy man , at length i made an end of my pageantry ; she often moved her head , and smiled to her self , as if she would tell me i was ignorant of the cause of her disease : therefore sitting nearer to her , daughter , said i , chear your spirits , for yours is a common infirmity , and the cure easie ; no doubt but you were fascinated when you assisted at the procession ; but especially when you gave the palm to the conqueror : i suspect him that hath bewitched you , to be theagenes ; for i saw he looked fixedly upon you , and his eyes were sawcy with you . she replied , whether he charmed me so or not , well may he do ; but do you know what country man he is , or of what family ; for i saw many look upon him , admiring him with a kind of an astonishment . did not the herald tell you that he was a thessalian ( i replied ) when he proclaimed his name ? and he himself glories to be descended of achilles ; and doubtless he was his ancestor ; for he has the stature , form and generous comportment of achilles , only he is not so proud and arrogant as he ; but he allays and tempers the fierceness of his spirits with a mixture of much sweetness ; yet though he be thus excellent , i wish him more pain than he hath made you suffer by the witchcraft of his envious eyes . i thank you , father , ( she neplied ) that you have compassion of my misery : but why do you vainly wish him ill that hath done us no wrong ; for i am not fascinated ? sure mine is some other sickness . why therefore do you conceal it ( daughter ) said i , and not rather open your infirmity with confidence , that you may receive help with speed ? am not i your father in years , more in well-wishing ? am not i your father's friend , professing the same studies , which the more in-dears me to him ? express your grief , i will be faithful to you : if you will not believe my word , you shall have my oath : speak boldly , and let not your pain gather strength by your silence ; for every malady that is presently known , is easily remedied ; but old wounds are almost incurable ; for secresie is a nourishment to diseases , whilst those that are unconceal'd , may be sure to have some help . at these words she pausing a little , and by her face assuring me of much confusion in her thoughts ; give me time this day , she said , and then you shall know it , if already you do not , since you are a master in the art of prophecy . i rose and left her ; willing to give her leisure to moderate her fears , and to contrive in what manner to express that she was ashamed to tell me . charicles came running to meet me , and asked me , what i thought of his child ? o well , well ; i replied : to morrow she will be delivered of the burthen that afflicts her , and there will be a beginning of something that will give you great content . in the mean time it will do no harm if you send for a physician . this said , i made haste away , lest he should interrogate me further . i was gone but a little from the house when i perceived theagenes walking in the cloister of the temple , and discoursing with himself , as if he were highly contented only to look upon the lodging of chariclea : i turning a little out of the way , passed by as if i had not seen him ; but he called to me ; save you calasiris ! a word with you ; i staid for you : presently i turning back , lord ! said i , is the fair theagenes here , and i not see him ? how can he be fair , replied theagenes , that pleases not chariclea ? i making my self to frown , as if i were angry with him , will you never leave , said i , to disparage me and my art , by which she is taken and compelled to love you , desiring to have the happiness to see you . what say you father , he replied , would chariclea see me ? why then do you not carry me to her ? and therewith he started forward ; but i catching him by the vest , stay , said i , though you have the crown for running , this is not a business to fall upon it like a prey ; nor is it easie to be compassed , or exposed to him that will venture for it ; but it requires deep consultation and great preparatives to secure the doing . do you not know that the maids father is one of the principal men of delphos ? do you not fear the law , that pronounces death upon offenders in this kind ? 't is no matter , he replied , let me die so i may enjoy chariclea ; yet , if you please , let us make suit to her father that he will bestow her on me for my wife ; my affinity will be no disgrace to chariclea's . we shall never obtain it , said i ; not that any thing can be reprehended or thought defective in you ; but in respect charicles hath destined her to his sisters son : he shall repent if whosoever he be ( said theagenes ) for no other man shall ever make chariclea his bride , and i alive , having this hand and sword. away , away ( said i ) there shall be no such need ; only be ruled by me , and do as i command you : for this time depart , and take heed you be not seen often in my company , but meet me ever alone , and without noise : immediatly he went away something sad . charicles met me the next morning , and assoon as he perceived me , ran and caught me in his arms , printing many kisses on my head , cry-power is friendship ! the great work is finished , the impregnable is now taken , and the invincible is vanquished ; chariclea is in love. then i began to take state upon me , looking supersiliously , and walking gravely ; there was no difficulty ( said i ) but that she could not hold out the first assault ; and yet i planted no great engines against her : but charicles , how come you to know she loves ? following your counsel ( he replied : ) for having sent for our principal and most approved physitians , i brought them in to see her ; promising them all my patrimony for their fees , if they could cure her : they asked her where her pain held her most ? but she turning from them , pronounced this verse of homer ; achilles the most valiant of the greeks . then the prudent physitian acestinus ( perhaps your know the man ) caught hold of her wrist , and felt her pulse , judging thereby ( as i imagine ) the motion of her heart ; and after he had felt the artery a good while , taking an exact and curious observation of her , charicles ( said he ) you have sent for us in vain ; physick can do her no good . o gods ! i cried , what do you say ? must then my daughter perish ? is there no hope of her recovery ? do not afflict your self , replied he , but hear me ; and taking me aside from chariclea and the rest , our art ( said he ) professeth the cure of a distempered body , and sometimes of the soul ; but that is only when it suffers and feels the indisposition of the body , and that being healed , the soul again recovers , and is well : it is true , your daughter is distempered , but not in her body ; her head aches not , no feaver inslames her blood , her body suffers not by sickness , neither in any part nor in the whole . i intreating him if he understood the nature of her disease , to let me know it : there is no child , said he , but may know it is a passion of the mind , and evidently the disease that we call love ; do you not see that her eyes are swelled , her countenance discomposed , her colour pale ; yet she complained not of any pain in her heart ; add that her mind wanders ; what falls into her thoughts she speaks , and causeless cares do trouble her repose . in short , charicles you must find out the man whom she desires ; having said this , she left me . but i made all the haste i could , to meet you my preserver and good genius ; whom both she and i acknowledge to have the only power to do us good , for after i had long intreated her to tell me , what it was that troubled her ; she replyed , no more but that she her self was ignorant , only calasiris knew a remedy for her : and she prayed me that i would send to her , whence principally i conjectured she was gained by the secrets of your wisdom ; but ( said i , to him ) as you tell me she loves ; can you tell me whom she loves ? no , by apollo , replyed he : for how , or whence should i know that ? but i would give my esate , that it were alcamenes my sisters son ; whom long since in my mind , i had designed for her husband . i wished him that he should make a tryal ; bring the young man , and shew him to her : he commended my counsel , and presently went about it . not long after , he came and found me , when the exchange was full ; i have ( said he ) a thing to communicate to you , that greatly troubles and afflicts me : i fear my daughter is out of her wits , she hath such strange and extraordinary fancies . i brought my nephew , alcamenes , as you wished me ; and shewed him to her in his richest habit : but she as if she had seen medusa's head , or something more formidable with a loud shrill voice , cryed out , and turned her face to the other side of the chamber ; putting her hands like a cord about her neck , threatning and swearing she would kill her self , unless i presently would take him away out of her sight ; but assoon as she could speak it , we retir'd our selves : for what should we do , seeing such a strange absurdity ? therefore again , i am become a suiter to you , that you will not suffer her to perish , nor me to be frustrated of my expectation ; o charicles ! ( said i ) now you have hit it , the maid is mad : for she is possessed and agitated by the spirits that i have put into her , which are not of the meanest sort ; but a thing that was necessarily to be done to force her inclination , and make her to have a mind to that which by nature and breeding she abhorred ; but sure some god opposes my design , and countermines my work : and therefore of necessity , you must shew me the mantle that was exposed with her , which you told me you received with the rest of her things ; for i much fear , that some enemy hath poisoned it with a charm to make her out of love with love ; to the end that detesting marriage , she might wear out all her life time , without the blessing to be a mother . charicles approving my conjectures , presently brought me the mantle ; but i said , he must give me a little time to be private : he did so ; and assoon as he was gone , i began without the least delay to read what was sewed in the mantle ; being formed in aethiopian characters , not vulgar , or such as the common people use , but royal ; such as are proper only to their princes , bearing a resemblance to those we aegyptians call the sacred or priestly characters ; reading it , i found the scrowl contained these words . i persina , queen of the aethiopians , draw this lamentable complaint for the last present i can give to her , whom i know not how to name , and whom i can call daughter only by the pains of child-birth . i was amazed ( knemon ) when i read persina's name , yet i persisted to read the rest , which was this ; the sun who is author of our blood , be my witness ; o my child ! it is not for any spot of sin that i have exposed you in your cradle , and concealed you from your father hidaspes : yet if you shall escape and live , thus far daughter , let me excuse me to you , and to him that shall find you , if the gods make any one so happy ; be it also known to all sorts of people , the cause that forced your mothers heart to leave you to the mercy of fortune ; our ancestors of the gods are sol , and bacchus ; of the demi-gods , persius and andromeda , and after them memnon ; those that from time to time have builded and enlarged the palace of the kings of aethiopia , have enriched it with diverse pictures , excellent pieces taken from the actions and battels they have performed , and have put their statua's in the galleries and gardens with tabels , presenting to the life the valorous performances both of the gods and men ; and my own chamber was hanged about with several pieces of the loves of andromeda and perseus . i had been ten years marry'd to hydaspes , without any fruit of wedlock , yet it happened , that from a certain hour , i found my self , with child ; all the time till my down-lying , there were publick feasts , and sacrifices of thanksgiving to the gods ; the king hoping for a successor to succeed him in his throne : but when i brought forth thee a white child , an unusual colour to the ethiopians ; i my self knew the cause ; the picture of andromeda naked was before my eyes ( for then persius had newly brought her down from the rock ) her face being apparelled in her sweetest looks , as freed from being devoured by the sea-monster . a beauty like hers in that table , it was my hard fortune to conceive thee ; wherefore to deliver my dignity and person from an ignominious death , assuring my self thy colour would convince me a adultery , and no man believe me when i should speak the truth of such an accident ; i resolved from the hour of your birth , to commit you to the uncertainty of fortune , which i imagined you your self would rather wish than a certain death , or the name of illegitimate . and so faining to my husband you were born dead , i secretly exposed you , laying with you in your cradle my best jewels for a reward to his piety , that should preserve you , and covering you , with this mantle , in which i have printed with my blood and tears the miserable relation of your fortune and my own , that have been so unhappy a mother in my first down-lying . but my sweet child , and that must be mine but for a little time ; if you survive , remember your great birth , be jealous of the honour of your chastity , the only best character of a ladies virtue and spirit ; imitate your ancestors , and following their example , make the world know the glory of your illustrious blood ; particularly , remember among the jewels i have laid forth with you , to look for a certain ring , and keep it to your self ; your . father gave it me upon my wedding day ; his arms are herein engrav'd , the stone is named a pantarbe , consecrated in the collet : i use this way of writing , to advertise you hereof , since the gods have denyed us any other means to speak together ; this may prove dumb and unprofitable unto you ; it may also inform you , and do you service ; for the events of fortune are not in the compass of mans knowledge : finally , these cahracters i have stained in this mantle ; o daughter ! fair in pain ; whose beauty is my unjust accuser ; if it happen to you , be preserved by these tokens , you will be known ; if not ( which heaven keep from my knowledge ) let the water of these gems present your mothers funeral tears . when i had read this to an end , then knemon i knew , not without being ravished with admiration , the ordinance of the gods , and my soul felt a new motion , that made tears spring from my eyes mixed with joy and sorrow , infinitely contented to have found what i desired ; namely , the resolution of the oracle , but exceeding trouble that i could have no perfect knowledge of the future ; complaining to my self of the miserable condition of mans fortune , nothing but instability ; whereof characlea appeared to me a singular example . i wandered in a maze of thoughts , considering who her true parents were , who her supposed , how far she was distanced from her country ; having lost her own , and being only known by a feign'd name . to conclude , i stood a great while in a dull fear , having cause to pity and deplore her passed miseries , and not daring to say her fortune should be happy in the future ; till at length collecting my reason , i resolved the design i had undertaken , should go on without delay ; and coming to chariclea , i found her alone , wearied with the fight betwixt the forces of the spirits , and the powers of love , that made her fair body the field and seat of war , which her soul striving to make good , dit but the more afflict her , being not able to resist the fury of the assailant ; then i commanded those that were without to wait till they were called , and not to trouble me , as if i had certain prayers and invocatiions to make for the maids health . now chariclea ( said i ) you have time to perform your yesterdays promise , to discover to me what it is torments you , and no longer to conceal it from your true friend , whom it lyeth not in your power to hinder of the knowledge , thought you should live and dye obstinate in your silence . at these words she taking my hand , and kissing it many times with tears : most wise calasiris ( she said ) oh do me the favour to let me suffer my ill fortune without confessing it , since , as you say , you know what troubles me ; i shall esteem it some benefit to avoid an ignominy , by concealing that it is a shame to suffer , but more shame to speak ; and though my sickness growing upon me , puts me to great pain , it is my greatest , that i did not at first conquer it , but yielded to that passion i had all my life time in such horror , as only to hear it named , i thought it a stain to the sacred title of a virgin. then to encourage and comfort her ; daughter , said i , you do wisely to keep your reasons secret , for two causes ; for it were but superfluous to tell me that , which by my art , is long since known unto me ; and you do your modesty right to spare your blushes , in revealing that ought ever to be hidden deepest in a maids heart ; but since you now feel what love is , and that at first sight you were taken with the perfections of theagenes , ( for this i know by revelation ) know you are not alone , nor the first than hath been taken in this kind , but it is the common case of many illustrious ladies , and chaste maids ; for love is the greatest of the gods , and at times hath had the victory of them all ; but now consider where you are , and what you have to do : 't is true , 't is a great blessing not to be in love , but when you are once caught , it is the best of wisdom to regulate your desires , and direct them to some honourable end . there words , knemon , put her all into confusion , and i saw clearly she delighted in them , yet was anxious and troubled how she might attain her hopes . in fine , asham'd to be brought thus to her confession , made her cheeks die their lilies red : and after she had a while stood mute ; o father , reply'd she , do you speak to me of marriage , and counsel me to take my own choice , as if my father would consent , or that my adversary wish'd it ? for the young gentleman ( said i ) it is fixt ; he is faster caught than you , in the same tye , and i believe , at your first interview , your souls acknowledg'd the dignities and performances of one another , both burning in an equal flame , which i have increas'd in him for young sake : but for him that is suppos'd to be your father , he provides you another husband , an acquaintance of yours , one alcamenes : let him provide ( said she ) my grave for alcamenes , rather than my bed for either ; theagenes shall marry me , or death : but how do you know ( i beseech you ) that charicles is but my supposed father : by this ( said i ) and showed her the mantle : whence had you it , and how came you by it ( she demanded of me ) for after charicles had received me in aegypt from the hands of him that bred me , having brought me i know not how into this country , he took it from me and kept it in a box , to preserve it from being defaced or corrupted by the injury of time ? how i got it ( reply'd i ) you shall know hereafter , for the present i pray you tell me if you have read the inscription : confessing to me she did not know it ; i declared to her her parents , country and fortunes : to conclude , entreating me to tell heer the particulars , i read the whole discourse to her , and did interpret it word by word : this bringing her to the knowledge of her self , put greater spirit in her , and transported her with a desire to see her parents ; and asking me what was best to be done ; i began then to manifest my counsel to her , discovering to her how all things went : i was once , daughter , ( said i ) in aethiopia , carried thither with a desire to gain their wisdom ; i was there made known to your mother persina , for that court entertaineth learned men , with all humanity , and there was a great opinion of me , for as much as i had joyned the wisdom of the aegyptians , with that of the aethiopian sages , which is made of great authority in that nation . but your mother when she saw i prepar'd for my departure home , recounted to me all your fortune : having first obliged me to secresie by oath , and telling me she durst not discover it to her own priests : she prayed me to demand of the gods , if you were preferv'd , and in what part of the world you lived , forasmuch as she could not understand there was any such in all aethiopia , though she had made curious enquiry : but the gods having revealed all to me , i told her you were alive , and where ; she then entreated me to seek you out , and bring you back into your country , in regard that since your birth the brief she conceived for you had hindered conception in her ; and that she was now ready , if you could be found , to confess all that had happen'd to your father , perswading herself that the long time they had lived together , had sufficiently confirmed him in her faith by true proof ; and that he would be extremely taken with unexpected joy , to leave his scepter in the hands of his own child . this the queen said to me , conjuring me by my vow to her , wherein i had called the sun to witness , an oath it is not lawful for our priests to violate . this is the reason of my coming hither to accomplish my oath , though that was not the only motive of my journey ; yet , by the great providence of the gods , in travelling hither i have found a means to disengage me of my promise . you know , since i first saw you , i have been ever ready to do you service , not omitting the least occasion to express me yours , yet concealing my reasons till occasion would serve to recover this mantle , that it might confirm your belief of my relation : therefore it were good you would take my counsel , before you be forced to endure , against your will , the marriage of alcamenes , which charicles means to follow with all violence ; in place whereof you may recover your country and parents , and match with theagenes , who is prepared to follow us into any part of the world ; changing a private life in a strange country , to that of a princess in your native soyl , where you shall be crowned , and reign with him you love dearest , if we may have faith in the gods , both in other presages , and even in the oracle of apollo . then i put her in mind of the tenour of the oracle , and expounded the meaning . chariclea perfectly knowing it , as being now vulgarly sung , and every one making assay to interpret it . this struck her silent again . at length she said , father , since you say , and i believe this to be the pleasure of the gods , what shall i do ? you must make a shew ( said i ) to entertain the match with alcamenes . it will be a hard thing , ( said she ) if not base , to prefer any one before theagenes , though but in words ; but since i have committed my self to the power of the gods and yours , father , let me know what will be the issue of this fiction , and how it may be broke before it come to the effect i fear . let the event inform you , i replied , for there are certain designs , where-with , if ladies be unacquainted beforehand , they will fear and delay , but if they undertake them on the sudden , they will finish them with a greater resolution . do you follow my advice both in other things and this , and make of difficulty to accommodate your self to the desire of charicles , to match you with his nephew , for be assured he will do nothing in it without my consent and approbation . she promised it , and so i left her weeping . i was hardly out of the gate , but i perceiv'd charicles , hanging down his head , as oppressed with extreme grief : this is a strange humour , worthy charicles , ( said i ) to appear in this sort afflicted , when you ought to sill your heart with joy , and offer sacrifice and thanksgiving in the temple , the gods having now granted your long fuit , and blessed the secrets of my knowledge and endeavours to her , incliming her mind to a desire of marriage : lord , why should you weep , i protest i cannot imagine the reason . how can i chuse , replied he , since my beloved daughter shall be taken out of this world , before she be subjected to the laws of marriage , as you promise , if we may believe dreams , both at other times and ( which with terrour i remember yet ) this night methought an eagle , flying from apollo's hand , in an instant ( alas ! ) seiz'd my poor child , and ravished her from my bosom , carrying her into the farthest region of the habitable earth , full of obscure images and shadows of black men ; and , which grieved me most , i could not discern what became of her , an infinite space of earth and air interposing it self betwixt us , so as the cruel bird did overfly my sight , and vanished . when he had hold me this , i presently conceiv'd which way the presage tended ; but to divert him from his melancholly wherein he was drown'd , and to draw him as far as might be , from the suspicion of the future ; you being a priest , ( said i ) and of all his priests the most conversant in the mysteries of your prophetick god , yet methinks you have not the art of interpreting a dream ; your dream indeed presaging to you the marriage of your daughter , and by an enigma showing to you how her husband shall take her from you like an eagle , and that with the consent of apollo , as sending him to her from his own hand , yet you are troubled at it , and wrest your dream to the worst sense ; therefore let us take heed our misconjectures do not provoke the gods , resigning our selves wholly to their wills , and employing our best industry to conform your daughter to your pleasure . then he demanding what were best to be done to win his daughter ; if haply , said i , you have yet any jewels or rich embroideries , or some ring of a great value , let alcamenes present them to her , as marriage-gifts , and this will charm her to be his ; then you must make other preparations for the solemnity , and make no delay , but conclude the marriage , whilst yet the power of my art is working , and makes impression in her soul. doubt not , said charicles , i shall not omit any thing in my power ; and he had scarce spoken the words , but he ran with joy to put them in act , and did as i entreated him , without any procrastination , as afterwards i understood , carrying to chariclea , as nuptial gifts from alcamenes , not only rich vestures , but also the precious jewels persina had put in her cradle , when she was exposed . but i went presently to theagenes , and asked him where his thessalians were , that did assist at the ceremony of the procession : he told me , the ladies were gone softly before , to make the easier journeys ; and how the young men burned with so great a desire to see their friends at home , as be hardly had power to stay them any longer : understanding that , i instructed him what he should say to them , and what they should do , commanding him he should observe when i would give the sign , and then take heed not to lose the time and occasion offered : so i left him . and going to the temple of apollo , i intended to make my prayer to the god , that he would please , by his oracle , to direct me what course i would take to convey away the two young lovers ; but the god was swifter than a thought , for the heavenly powers do favour such as resign their will to theirs , though not implored ; often preventing mens petitions with their bounty ; as at this time apollo anticipated my demand , with his reply , making me know his pleasure and direction ; for as i was hasting towards the prophetess , troubled in my mind how i might execute my design , a voice stayed me as i passed , saying , do you go so fast , and hear not how these strangers call you ? they were a company of merchants , that to the sound of flutes and hoboys , were doing sacrifice , and celebrating a feast in honour of hercules . i stayed when i perceived them , for i should have offended the sacred mysteries of religion , to have passed by them without respect , the divine voice having invited me , after i had put frankincense in a thurible , and incensed the altar , offering a little water , it seem'd they thought me very sumptuous in my oblations , and intreated me to take part of their banquet ; i obeyed them so far , and when i was set down upon a couch , which the strangers had strew'd with myrrh and bays , and had tasted such things as i used to eat : noble gentlemen , said i , you have done me the honour to feast me so , as i cannot desire any greater dainties , i now only long to know your estate and fortunes , therefore now it is time , if you please , to tell me who , and of what country you are , for it would be rude , and an incivility in me , having sat with you at the feast of a sacrifice , and imitated friendship by you , by the communion of a sacred repast , if we should part without having a more particular knowledge one of the other . then they told me they were phoenicians , of the city of tyre , by their trade merchants , that were then bound for carthage , in africa , with a ship laded with rich merchandises , they had brought out of india , aethiopia , and phoenicia ; and at the present were sacrificing a feast no the tyrian hercules ; forasmuch as that young man ( said they , pointing to one that say by me at the table ) hath gain'd the crown and prize of the lute , and proclaim'd our city of tyre victorious among the greeks . this youth , when we had doubled the cape of malea , and by adverse winds , were forced to land in the isle of the cephalians , there he protested to us by this god , the patron of our country , that he had foretold him in his sleep the victory he should obtain in the pythian game , perswading us to turn our course , and sail hither , where the effect hath proved the truth of his prediction ; and he that was but late a merchant , is now proclaim'd a conqueror , and now in gratitude to the god , makes him this feast , for the favour of premonstrating his success ; but to morrow morning , if the wind serve , we intend to weigh anchor . is that your resolution , said i ? they told me it was : you shall have me your companion , i reply'd , if you will give me leave , for i must make a voyage into sicily , about my affairs , and you know those that sail for africa , must pass by this island . if you please ( said they ) we shall be happy in your company , for we shall make accompt , prosperity will attend us so long as a wife man , a grecian , and one belov'd of the gods , as your experience speaks you , will go along with us . i desired ( i said to them ) if you will but give me one day to prepare my self , and before i go , to give some order for my business here : you shall have all to morrow , they reply'd , provided you come a-board us soon at night , for the night is very serviceable to us , small breaths of wind rising from the earth , and wafting away a ship , without moving of great waves . i promised not to fail , first taking their faith by oath , they should not loose to sea before the time appointed ; and so i left them dancing to their musick , that play'd quick strains like jiggs , which they footed in the assyrian garb ; sometimes with little skips capering in the air , sometimes bending their knees to the earth , and skrewing their whole bodies , as if they had been possest with some prophetick spirit . and coming to chariclea , i found her with the jewels yet in her lap , that charicles had presented her : then i went to theagenes , and having advertis'd them both what they should do ; i retir'd to my lodging , attending with impatience , the issue of my project . the next day this happen'd . when midnight drown'd all the town in sleep : a troop of young gentlemen armed , besieg'd the lodgings of chariclea . theagenes was captain of that amorous war , making his young thessalians put off their glorious habit , and put on their armours ; who suddenly filling the air with cries , and terrifying those that were between sleep and wake , with the noise of their shields and swords , with torches burning in their hands , they brake into the house of charicles , easily forceing the first gate ( for the locks and bolts were prepared to admit them ) and took away chariclea , who was ready and expected them , suffering them to force her with her own consent ; and with the maid , coveyed away such portable riches , as she pleased , and returning through the streets , they renewed their warlike clamours , and doubled the sound and terror of their arms , frightning the city almost out of their wits ; and chooseing the dead of night to that end . finally , they made such a noise , as the mountain parnassus echoed , and replyed to the clashing of their iron : and thus marching out of the town , they did ride upon the spurr , to the mountains of the locrians and oetians . but theagenes and chariclen , doing as i advised them , left the thessalians , and came secretly where i expected them : where falling at my feet , they trembling cry'd , save us , father ; father , save us : chariclea blushing , and bowing her face to the earth , as asham'd of her new act : but theagenes , to his other supplications , added , save o calasiris , two poor strangers thy suppliants , exiled from their country , depriv'd of their friends : only to purchase thee for all ; preserve two poor creatures , now expos'd to the power of fortune ; the captives of chast love banished , but voluntarily banished , and with joy reposing in you all their hope of safety . these words , knemon , so touched me at the heart with pity , as i wept upon them with my soul more than with my eyes , so as they perceived not my sorrow , yet i eased my spirits ; i did raise and comfort them the best i could : to conclude , assuring them of a happy issue , and that i had auspicated this business , by the commandment of the gods. i will now go , said i , and dispatch the rest : do you expect me in his place , taking a special regard , you be not observ'd by any . then i was going away ; but chariclea caught me by a part of my robe and stayed me : o father , said she , this beginning were injustice , rather a betraying , if you should go and leave me alone with theagenes , not considering how unfaithful a guard a lover is , having the causer of his flames in his own power . therefore i will not seave you , till for this present , and the time to come , you shall oblige theagenes by vow ; not to importune me , for any favour in that kind , before i do recover my country and parents . or if heaven be not so pleased , yet till such time as with my consent , he shall receive me for his wife . admiring the vertues of the maid , i resolved it should be done accordingly : and making an altar of a table , taking fire from the chimny , theagenes made his vow , professing we had done him wrong , to cut off , by the prevention of an oath , the voluntary intregrity of his soul , and that he could not commend an act done for fear , though of the gods : yet he did swear by apollo of delphos , by diana , by venus her self and love , to do nothing that should displease chariclea . thus calling the gods to witness ; they accorded these , and other articles betwixt them . i holding on my course to charicles , found his house full of tears and tumult : forasmuch as the servants of chariclea had already brought him news of the carrying away of his daughter , and citizens came in from all parts of the town , and flocked about despairing charicles . in summ , the ignorance of what was done , and the want of counsel in what was to be done , confused them all : i therefore thundering amongst them with a loud voice ; o miserable men ( said i ) how long will you stand like stupid things , mute and dull , as if you were deprived of your judgment with your fortune ? what will you not arm and pursue your enemies ? will you not take and punish them who have done you such an injury ? but charicles replied , it were perhaps superfluous and vain to struggle longer with these disasters , for i am assured the divine wrath inflicts this punishment upon me ; when coming once at a forbidden hour into the sanctuary of our temple , i saw what was not lawful for man to behold . then the god foretold me , for my presumption i should be deprived of that was dearest to my eyes : yet let not this hinder you to fight ( as they say ) with the gods themselves , if we knew whither we should go , and who hath been so cruel to us : it was ( said i ) even the thessalian whom you so much admired , and would needs make me acquainted with him ; it was theagenes and his youthful company ; perhaps you may find some of them yet in town , for sure they cannot be all departed ; therefore rise and call a council of the people . it was done so as i appointed , and the captains sent their men to proclaim , by sound of trumpet , that the townsmen should assemble : immediately the people came in , and they held a council , by night , upon the theatre . charicles stood forth into the middle , and presently set them all on weeping , beholding him in his mourning , his head and face covered with ashes ; but much more when his affliction unfolded it self in his words : perhaps , dear country-men , ( said he ) seeing me thus stand forth , you may esteem me come hither to ease my heart , and to have convoked so great an assembly to be spectators of the enormous greatness of my miseries ; but this is not my meaning , for though i have often sustained calamities equal with death it self , and that my house is now deserted , laid waste from heaven , and must remain desolate ever hereafter , having lost , one after another , all that were dear to me , and in whose beloved acquaintance i took the only joy of my life ; yet vain hope ( an error ) common to all the world , makes me resolute to be patient , and not die , yet perswading my self my child may be recovered , but that which moves me most , is this city , which i desire and expect to see victorious before my death , and revenged of those have offered her this violence , unless these thessalian youths have also ravished from us our generous spirits , and our indignation for the abuse to our country , and our gods protect us , for it would be a grievous heart-break to us all , if a few dancing boys , the ministers of the sacred legation , should go away with the spoils of the principal city of greece ; having robbed in my sight , ah me , the temple of apollo of its most precious treasure , my chariclea . o implacable and obstinate wrath of the destinies to wards me , first , as you know , they extinguished my own daughters life even with her nuptial torches , then took away her mother from me , seized with such a sorrow at her death , as it cost her presently her life ; soon after they chased me from my country , but all this methought was supportable , after i had found chariclea . chariclea was all my life , my hope , the hope of my succession , chariclea was all my comfort , and , as i may say , my anchor ; but woe is me , this tempest , whencesoever it arose , hath cruelly broke all my cables . neither was this done simply and accidentally , but expressly to insult over us , at such an unexpected season , taking her away from her bed , almost her nuptial bed , as you all know , for i had published to you my intention of her marriage . he , speaking thus , and falling from his matter into complaints , the provost hegesias cut him off , and wished him to go home , speaking to the people in this sort : my lords assistans , and the rest , charicles shall have free liberty to make his complaints hereafter when he pleaseth ; but let us not be drowned in his sorrow , nor inconsiderately be carried away with his tears , as with the current of a river , neglecting the occasion , which in all things , and principally in affairs of war , is of greatest importance ; for if now from this assembly we would set forward , there might be some hope we should overtake them , whilst they march carelessly , thinking us unprovided to pursue them ; but if we stay longer to condole with charicles , with feminine faces , pitying his disasters , it will only remain , that by our delay , we shall give them means to escape , and our selves be laught at , and by boys , which we should have presently taken , and nailed upon gallowfes ; making some of them suffer with such ignominy , and transferring the disparagement down upon their families ; which would be an easie thing , if we exasperate the thessalians against these men , ( if any of them shall escape us ) by interdicting them by our decree , to send any more of their nation to perform this sacrifice ; and ordaining , by common council , that hereafter the solemn anniversary of the demi-god neoptolemus , shall be celebrated by our selves at the publick charge . whilst they were commending his speech , and passing an act against the thessalians : let it be confirmed by your suffrage , if you please , said the captain , that the priestess of diana shall no more present herself to give the palm to those that run in armour ; for , as far as i am able to conjecture , it was from thence the sacrilegious flame of his love kindled in theagenes ; who , as it seems , studied this rape from the time that he first saw her ; and it will be good , for the future , to take away the occasion from others of the like attempt . having obtained this , by the common consent and vote of all the people , hegesias gave the word , the trumpets sounded the alarm , and the theatre broke up , dissolving into a war ; running confusedly into the field , not only such as age had strengthned , and were able to bear armour , but boys and youths promiscuously supplying the default of forces , by the force of their affections ; bold to partake the fortune of that expedition . there were also multitudes of women , that carried with greater spirits than their soft sex permitted , and taking up any weapons that were next their hands , followed with the rest ; but in vain , for their natural debility having made them know it had not force enough , they saw they were frustrated of their desires to revenge themselves of the thessalians : there you might see old men struggling with their age , their souls , as it were , drawing their bodies with such a promptitude , and boyling ardour , as they seemed to reproach and upbraid their own weakness ; so passionate was all the town for the loss of chariclea , and as if one spirit had moved them , they all together sallyed forth in the pursuit , not so much as expecting the day-light . the aethiopian history . the fifth book . in this trouble and hurly-burly was the town of delphos , but whether they performed any service or not , i cannot tell ; for their pursuit did give me the occasion to take my flight ; so as taking the two young lovers with me , i brought them down to the port at that hour of the night , and we went aboard the phaenicians , who were ready to weigh anchors , if we had stayed never so little longer ; forasmuch as they perceiving the day began to appear , and that we came not , they made account they should not falsifie their oaths made unto me , being to attend one day and one night only ; but we coming just upon the time , they received us with great joy ; and presently cutting the water with their oars , they rowed out of the haven to the main , and then a soft wind breathing from the coast full upon the poop , moved little waves , that seemed to play be ind the ship , and suffered us to pass with all our sails spread . you would then have said , the gulf of currha , the elevation of parnassus , the promontories of aetolia and caladonia hed from the sight of our vessel , that passed as nimbly as if it were flying by them ; and having fail'd all the day , we came within kenning of the pointed islands , both in name and figure , the sun then setting . but why am i so unseasonably tedious , and what is my reason so to forget both my self and you , as to stretch this discourse , as really to commit you to the mercy of a sea ? let us now leave work a while , and take a little sleep , for though you are very attentive , and resist sleep valiantly , yet i am perswaded , knemon , you cannot hold out long , the better part of the night being spent in his sad repetition ; and , child , age lying heavy on me , and the memory of my calamities infeebling my spirits , i must needs have a little rest . you have done well , father , now cease , said knemon , not that i am weary of the relation , for that i should never be , though you should speak many days and nights together ; there is such magick in your words , and sweetness , that exceeds the voice of syrens . but i have heard a kind of murmuring a good while , and a noise about the house , and , i confess , it troubled me , but i was forced to be silent , drawn on with a desire to hear you . i heard nothing , said calasiris , forasmuch as happily age hath debilitated my sence , for old age is a malady of all the parts of the body , principally of the ears ; and perhaps it was because my thoughts were entirely fixt upon my story , and sure 't is nausicles , the master of the house . but what ( o gods ) hath he performed ? all to our wish ( said nausicles ) entering at those words ; and i know , good calasiris , you did long to hear the news , and that your spirit was in the field with me : i have had many proofs of your affection ; and it is not the least that i heard you remember me in my absence , and wish my fortune ; but who is this stranger ? a grecian , said calasiris ; you shall know the rest hereafter ; but do not hold us longer in suspence : if you have prospered in your expedition make us partakers of your content : you shall hear that to morrow too , said nausicles , for the present let it suffice you to know i have recover'd my thisbe , much fairer than she was ; and so i leave you , for my journey and the troubles of my mind require some rest : having said this , he went to make his word good . but knemon at the hearing of the name of thisbe grew very melancholy , and began to think of former passages betwixt them ; passing the night as if he had lain upon thorns ; weeping , sighing and tormenting himself so grievously , as he awaked calasiris , though he slept soundlier than his custom was ; the old man raising himself , and leaning upon his elbow , demanded what the matter was ; and why he so disquieted himself , like a mad-man ? would it not make any man mad , said knemon , to hear that thisbe is alive again ? who is that thisbe , said calasiris , how come you to know her , having heard her named ? and why doth it trouble you so much to understand she lives ? i will tell you that another time , said knemon , when i make you a rehearsal of my fortunes ; but for the present , know , i did see her dead before my eyes , and with these two hands i my self buried her in the island of the herdsmen . sleep , sleep , said calasiris , you shall know to morrow how all goes . i cannot sleep , said knemon ; i pray you , do you take your rest ; i do not think i shall be able to live , unless i get up , and make some means to be more curiously informed whether nausicles be in an error , or whether the dead do only revive among the aegyptians : at this calasiris smiled , and fell asleep again . but knemon went out of the room very gingerly , and softly , as was fit , being in the dark , in a strange house ; but he was content to venture , longing to free himself of the fear and suspicion he conceived of thisbe ; till at length , though it was long first , groping and turning about , passing and repassing the same places , as if they were different , he heard a woman , like a nightingale in a cage , with soft and lamentable accents , complain of her hard fortune ; and laying his ear to the crevice of the door , he distinguished these words ; poor miserable , i though my self safe out of the hands of thieves , and that i had escaped the horror of a bloody death , which i expected , hoping to pass the rest of my life with my beloved , which , though it had been the life of a stranger and a wanderer , yet living with him it had contented me ; for there can be nothing so rigorous , or full of molestation , that his sweet presence will not make supportable ; but the yet pityless destiny , that hath persecuted me from my birth , having once more flattered me with hope , hath again deceived me . i esteemed my self free from servitude , and behold i am a slave again : i imagined i should be no more a prisoner , and i am as straitly kept as ever before : i was environed in an island , envellopped in darkness ; the estate of my present fortune resembles my late misery , or rather is more wretched , since he is forced from me , that by his consolation would and could sweeten any bitterness ; the last day the cave of the thieves was my retreat ; and what was it but an abyss , a hell , or properly a grave ; and yet the presence of my love made it a sweet place ; there he mourned for me , living , believing me to be dead ; and weeping for me , as murdered by the hand of a cruel enemy ; but now , alas , i am deprived of such comforts , the companion of my miseries is perished , that did bear grief with me , as a common burden ; and i am left alone , forsaken , a captive , wretched , every way exposed to the cruel mercy of fortune ; only contented not to die , because i hope my dearest friend yet lives ; but , o my soul , where are you now , or what new accident befals you ! are you , ah me , a slave , as i am ? is that free and generous courage ( patient of any servitude but that of love ) now made a captive ? yet love whatsoever you indure live still , and hope at length to see your thisbe , for so you must call me , though i know it is against your will. knemon was no longer able to contain himself when he heard this , and had not patience to stay the rest , at first suspecting her for another ; but in the end of her speech concluding her to be thisbe ; he had much ado to keep himself from falling down almost at the door . but he held out the best he could , and for fear some of the house should take him there ( for now the cocks and crowed the second time ) he ran away , sometimes breaking his shins against the stools that stood in his way ; sometimes running his face against the wall , and now stum ling at a threshold or door posts : in the end he got to his chamber where he presently cast himself upon the bed , where he began to tremble and his teeth to chatter , in such sort , as he had been in danger of his life , unless calasiris had instantly been aware of him , and cherished and comforted him , making him come to himself again : and after knemon began to breathe again , calasiris ask'd what had frighted him ; i am lost he reply'd , for it is true the wicked thisbe is reviv'd : and when he said this , he fell into a swound again , and the old man took a great deal of pains again , while he endeavour'd to recover him ; it was evidently some god that took a delight to play with knemon ( as all things in the world , is only their game and mockery ) and would not permit him to enjoy without grief , the sweets of his desire , but mixed with bitterness , that which presently after was to give him thhe height of his content , forasmuch as happily they intended to show what was their custom , and it may be the reason of it is that humane nature is not capable to receive a simple joy without some allay , as may be judged by this example of knemon , who at that time fled away from the object he most wished , and was frighted with the sweetest accent could befal him ; for the woman that he had heard lamenting was chariclea , and not thisbe , and thus it came about . after thyamis was faln alive into the power of his enemies , that he was taken prisoner , and that the fire had reduc'd all the island to ashes , and unpeopl'd it of the herdsmen . knemon and thermutis , the page of thyamis , ferry'd over the lake in the morning to venture as spies among their enemies , to get knowledge of the estate of their captain : the events of their journey you have heard before , but theagenes and chariclea remain'd alone in the cave , reputing the delay of misery as a great good fortune , for then finding themselves free without any person to trouble them , they imbraced , gave and received so many mutual kisses , as falling into a languishing oblivion , they remain'd along time as if they would have grown into one body , yet feasting themselves with chast and pure delights . but at length the care of their affairs return'd into their memory , and necessity constrained them to give over their caresses . theagenes beginning in this sort to speak ; our chiefest wish , and our continual prayer to the gods of greece , my fair chariclea , is , that they will permit us to pass the course of all our years together , and to enjoy the happinesswe prefer before all others ; in hope whereof we have sustained so many evils . but forasmuch as the condition of all worldly things is variable and so unstable , as that we see inclineing one way , in a moment we perceive changed to the contrary , we have already suffer'd much and are yet to expect more misery , being to go to the town of chemis as we have promis'd knemon : and what will heare befal us , heaven knows ! and from thence questionless it will be a mighty journey ere we shall arrive in the country we are bound for ; therefore i think it would be good we should agree upon some cyphers or privy tokens , by means whereof , when we are together , we may secretly interchange the expression of our minds , and find out one another , if by fortune we should be separated ; for the best guide after one hath strayed , is the memory of some marks he hath taken of his friends . chariclea approv'd his invention , and they agreed , in case they should be parted , that upon all the famous temples and statua's , images and stones in cross ways , he should write pythias and chariclea pythia , expressing whether they were gone to the right or the left , into what town , village or country , adding the day and hour ; but if by chance they did meet , it would suffice that one should but see the other ; forasmuch as time would never deface those amorous marks that were imprinted in their souls : yet chariclea shewed him her fathers ring that was exposed with her ; and theagenes let her see a white scar upon his knee , given him by a wound he receiv'd fighting with a wild boar ; and so they resolved there should be secret words betwixt them ; hers was the torch , his the palm . in confirmation of this agreement , they imbraced and wept again , pouring ( as i conceiv'd ) their tears , instead of o ferings , and sealing to it with kisses in the place of vows . this done , they went forth of the cave not touching any of the treasure there inclosed , for they esteem'd riches gather'd by robberies , as a polluted thing , but they took again their own which they had brought from delphos , and been depriv'd of by the thieves : chariclea changing her habit , and putting her jewels , crown and sacred robe in a little knapsack ; to disguise her self the more , she went in a poor gown , and gave theagenes her bow and quiver to carry ; a carriage that was sweet and suitable to him , being cupids arms , the god that had made him a vassal to his empire . being now come to the side of the lake and about to take water , they perceiv'd a troop of armed men passing over to the island , a sight that so troubled them , as they remain'd a great while lost in astonishment , as if the injuries of fortune raged incessantly upon them . at length the souldiers being almost arriv'd , chariclea said , it was best to fly and return to the cave and there to conceal themselves ; and as she spake she fled , but the stay of theagenes detained her : how long , said he , shall we fly our fate , that every where pursues us ? no , no , let us yield to fortune , and not oppose our selves to her violence that breaks in upon us ; what shall we gain by it , but vain errour and a wandring life , and to be insulted over by new misery from time to time ? alas , do you not see how to our banishment fortune hath added the robberies of pirates , ingag'd us in all the dangers of the sea , and contended with great industry , to make us more miserable by land ? hath she not expos'd us to the danger of war ? submitted us to the mercy of thieves ? a while since we were prisoners subject to the pleasure of another ; then we were left alone depriv'd of all company ; then she made a show to give us our liberty ; and now she sends these murderers to make an end of all ; in such a war she plays against us , making us her scene of mirth , her comedy , or rather tragedy . but why do i not then abbreviate this lamentable history of our loves , and deliver our selves into the hands of our murderers , least if she study to make the end of her play insufferable , we be forced with our own hands to kill our selves ? chariclea consented to one part of what theagenes said , but not to all ; telling him he had great reason to complain of the cruelty of fortune ; but for all that , it were not well advised to yield themselves voluntarily to their enemies , being they were not sure those men would kill them , when they had them in their power : neither was it likely they had so gentle a destiny as would grant them a speedy death , and free them from their calamities ; but it might be , they should be reserved for slaves ; and what death , said she , can be so cruel as the condition of such a life , to be exposed to the fatal indignities of barbarous and wicked villains ? which let us decline by all means , and to our uttermost power , measuring hope and success by the experiment of our passed accidents , since we have often , and now lately , escaped alive , more incredibly as from greater dangers . let us do as it pleases you , replied theagenes , and so followed , as if she had drawn him after her , but they could not reach the cave in time ; but while they only regarded those that came to them in front , they perceived not themselves to be inclosed by another company of souldiers , that had landed in another part of the island ; at last falling upon these , they stayed in a maze , especially chariclea , who fled into the arms of theagenes ; if she were to die , desiring to die there : some of these that invaded them , lifted up their hands to strike them down ; but after the young lovers had looked upon their enemies , their spirits fail'd them , and their hands were benummed ; for even the barbarous , as it seems , do bear respect to beauty ; and those nature hath indued with perfections , do mollifie the eyes and hearts , that are by nature fierce and bloody . having taken them , they presently conveyed them to their captain , ambitious to be the first that should bring him the fairest spoils : and indeed this was all they were likely to present him , for when they had run all over , as if they would have put a net about the island , no one else could find any thing , for all the island was burnt in the former war , only the cave remained , and that they knew not . then the souldiers led them to their general , whose name was mitranes , captain of the garrisons to oroondates , who administred the government of aegypt , as the great kings lieutenant ; and for a great summ of money given him by nausicles , had enter'd the island with him to recover thisbe . now after theagenes and chariclea , often invoking the aid of their good genius , were brought so near that mitranes might discern them , nausicles , that stood by him , advising himself of the right trick of a merchant , active in matter of profit , stepped forth , and running to chariclea , cryed with a loud voice , behold my thisbe , the very same those wicked rogues , the herdsmen , took from me . but now , mitranes , by your favour and the gods , i shall recover her ; then the seiz'd upon chariclea , feigning to receive great contentment ; and whispering in her ear , in greek , that the rest should not understand , wished her to confess her name was thisbe , if she desired to be safe : his sophism had the success he hoped for , for chariclea hearing him speak greek , and conjecturing the man intended her some good , accommodated herself to his intention ; and being demanded her name by mitranes , she said she was called thisbe . then nausicles , with open arms , ran to embrace the neck of mitranes ; many times kissing his head , and admiring his good fortune , puffed up with vanity the heart of the barbarian ; telling him , it appeared that his other exploits in war were great , since he had so happily conducted the present enterprise . the captain , blown up with a flattery of his praises , and deceived by a false name , though he was amazed to behold so much beauty in so poor clothes , shining , like the moon , behind a cloud , notwithstanding the levity of the mans spirit , was caught with the suddenness of the plot , and could not for shame refuse to give her to nausicles ; take her , said he , since it is so that she is yours ; i have recovered her for you , do with her what you please : and at these words delivered her into his hands , looking continually towards her , and manifesting it was against his will , and for the money he had taken , that he yielded possession of the maid : but this ( said he , pointing to theagenes ) whosoever he be , he is our prisoner , and shall follow us , with a guard upon him , to be sent to babylon ; for the shape of his body is so fair , as he is worthy to serve at the kings table : things thus ordained , they passed the lake , and then were the lovers separated ; nausicles with chariclea returning to his house at chemmis ; and mitranes , with his men , visiting other towns that were under his command , without delay dispatched theagenes with letters to oroondates , who was then at memphis . the tenour of his letter was this : the captain mitranes , to the vice-roy oroondates . i send you a young grecian we have taken , that merits noblier than to be my servant ; and , in my opinion , is worthy to wait only in the presence of the great king , our god ; affording you hereby the means to send a present to our master , such as the court never yet beheld , nor shall ever hereafter see like . but before it was clear day , calasiris and knemon , hoping to inform their ignorance , came to nausicles , and demanding what he had done ; he related all the passages how he had passed into the island , how he had found it deserted , at first not encountring any person , and how he had subtilly abused mitranes , receiving a young maid as if she had been thisbe , that by good fortune appear'd in the island , and was so fair , as she would be much more advantagenous to him , than if he had found thisbe : for there was no less difference betwixt them , than in the comparing of a goddess to a woman ; that he had never seen a beauty so perfect , but it was much below this strangers ; and that he had not words sufficient to express it ; neither was it needful , since he would show her to them . when they heard this , they began to suspect who she was , and were very earnest with him to command , the maid might be presently brought in , for they knew it must needs be the ineffable beauty of chariclea : who being come before them , was veiled to the eyes , and those she bowed to the earth ; till nausicles assuring her there was no cause of fear , she lifted up her eyes a little , seeing and being seen , contrary to all expectation , immediately the three fell a weeping ; and as if there had been a sign amongst them , or that they had all received one wound , were loud in their passion , nothing being heard from them , but o father , o daughter , my true child chariclea , not knemon's thisbe . this amazed nausicles , so far as he had not a word to say , when he saw calasiris embracing chariclea with tears , not knowing how this mutual knowledge came about , being like the meeting of friends in a comedy upon some stage ; till calasiris kissing him for joy , spake to him thus : best of men , may the gods ever grant the success you desire , and amply satisfie your wishes ; you are the preserver of my never-hoped daughter , and it is by your means i now enjoy her sight , the sweetest object of the world : but , o my dear child , o chariclea , where have you left theagenes ? at his demand she wept , and for a while being not able to bring forth a word , at length she replied , he is taken prisoner , and he , whosoever he is , that delivered me to this man , hath led him captive . then calasiris desired nausicles to declare to him what he knew touching theagenes , and who he was that had him in his power , and to what place he was led captive . nausicles understanding these were the same the old man had so often mentioned to him , told him the summ of all ; but he added , that knowledge would not at all advantage poor men , for he could hardly believe the offer of a great ransom would redeem him from mitranes . we have money , said chariclea softly to calasiris , promise what summ you please ; i keep still the jewels you know , and have them about me : this put spirit into calasiris , but fearing nausicles should enter into some suspicion what it was that chariclea spake of ; good nausicles , said he , a wise man never wants , but is ever as rich as he can wish himself , for the gods will send him as much wealth as he judges to be fit to demand of them ; therefore only say where he is that detains theagenes , and the divine bounty will not fail , but will furnish us with as much as shall serve to content the persian avarice . at these words nausicles could not chuse but smile ; and you will then ( said he ) make me believe that it is possible for you to grow rich of the sudden , as if it were by the turning of an engine : if you will first pay me down a ransom for your daughter , for you know well the persian and the merchant only study for their gain : i know it , said calasiris , and you shall have it as it is good reason ; but why are you so free , that amongst all your other benefits you will also anticipate our suit , and are pleased of your own accord , to propose the restitution of my daughter . i will only first intreat your leave , to make my prayers to the gods : with all my heart , said nausicles , i my self am now going to offer sacrifice , i shall desire you presence there , and that you will pray the gods to send me riches , and receive for your self , that which i have in present : do not you mock me nor be incredulous , said calasiris , but go before and prepare the sacrifice ; and when all things are ready , i will come . he did so , and a while after a servant came from nausicles , to wish him to make hast to the temple , and they ( for now they had contrived how they would have it ) went thither joyfully with nausicles , and the rest of the invited men ; for he had provided a publick sacrifice , and chariclea with the daughter of nausicles , and other women that had essayed to flatter her sorrows , with many consolatory words , and had intreated her to go along ; but i believe they had never prevail'd , if by fortune it had not come into her thoughts , that under pretext of the sacrifice , she might make her prayers to the gods , for the safety of theagenes . being now come to the temple of mercury , ( for nausicles sacrific'd to him as the god of the exchange and merchants ) calasiris a while comtemplateing the entrails of the beast , by the changes of his countenance , made them evidently know the gods foretold him many strange adventures , intermixt with joy and sorrow . then putting his hands upon the altar where the fire of the sacrifice yet burned , and feigning to draw out of the middest of the flame , that which he had before prepared about him ; behold faid he , o nausicles ! what the gods send you by us , for the ransom of chariclea : and with those words presented him a certain princely ring , a rare and divine thing , it seem'd the circle was of amber , and within the collet was set an aethiopian amethyst , gloriously sparkling , of the bigness of the eye of a young maid , much surpassing in beauty those that come from spain or britain , for those are of a faded red that hath no splendour , and resembles roses blowing from their buttons ; when the beams of the sun begin first to set , blushes on them : but the aethiopian amethyst hath a fire sparkling from the bottom of the stone ; which if you turn it in your hand , casts a beam of gold before your eyes : not such as dazleth the sight with too flaring brightness , but clears it with a pure and delicate light : this in the natural propriety is of much more power than those of the west , for it doth not challenge its name fasly , but really , keeps the wearer sober at all feasts ; all the amethysts that come from the indies , or aethiopia , have the like virtues , but that which calasiris presented to nausicles , was yet more precious : for it was ingraven with the figures of living creatures to the life . there you might see a little boy feeding sheep , standing upon a rock , that was not very high , to look about him , as from a little watch tower , making his sheep feed with the musick of his pipe ; and you would say , that his flock listen'd and went forward to the cadence as he sounded : some would conceive them to have golden fleeces ; not that art so adorn'd them , but it was the proper colour of the amethyst shineing upon their backs . there were the figures of young lambs , seeming to make little skips : some that ran in flocks towards the rock ; others that went circling about it , making the rock a pastoral stage : some appear'd playing in the flame of the amethyst as in the sun ; and in leaping , scraped the stone a little , only with the tips of their feet . but those that were the liveliest of them , you would have thought , their leapings would have broke the border of the stone ; but that the industry of the workman had kept them off ; parking them in with a golden pale that went about the rock , which was a true rock , not an imitation . for the workman had reserv'd a corner of the a methyst to make it : serving himself with a native thing , to represent which he meant to counterfeit , for he esteemed if superfluous , that a stone should be feigned in a stone , such was the ring and sculpture . but nausicles was much amazed with the unexpected accident , and overjoyed with the great value of it , estimating it no less than all his riches . believe me ( said he ) good calasiris , i did but jest , not speak seriously , when i demanded the ransom of your daughter , for my meaning was to restore her freely to you ; yet in regard the gifts sent us by the gods ( as you wise men say ) are not to be refused , i receive this stone , as sent from heaven , believing assuredly , that mercury , the best of the gods , and my patron , according to his custom , hath furnished you with this present for me , from the fire , for you may see the flame is in it yet ; besides , i must needs esteem that gain most honest , which , without the least endamaging of the giver , enricheth the receiver . at these words the sacrifice being ended , nausicles invited all the assistants to sit down to the feast , commanding the tables should be covered apart for the women in the heart of the temple , and in the porch for the men. after they had eaten liberally , and the cloth was taken away , and that , according to the fashion , the cups for drinking healths were set upon the table , the men invoked bacchus , drinking in honour of him , and snging to him the usual catch , that is sung to the boone voyage , when they go aboard ; and the women danced to the tune of a hymn , composed in the praise of ceres . but chariclea , retiring herself , considered of her affairs , offering her devotions for the life and safety of theagenes ; and now the drink began to heat the company , every one presenting his service to his friend in wine ; when nausicles holding out a vial of pure water ; honest callasiris , said he , i drink to you , since it so pleaseth you , in this cold nymph , that is no companion for bacchus , but for nymphs and virgins ; but if you please to pleadge us in the relation we so much desire , you shall chear our spirits with the best beveridge : do you not hear how the women , to lengthen out the feast , and to avoid drinking , are fallen to dancing ; as for us , the discourse of your voyage will be a noble entertainment for us after our feast , sweeter than any dance or musick ; and since , as you know , you deferred it before , when it might put you in mind of your disaster , then new , and such as drowned your soul in grief ; now you cannot put it off to a more convenient time , since at this present one of your children , your daughter , is safe before your eyes ; and you shall see your son , by the favour of the gods , ere many days be past , if you do not anger me by deferring again the relation of your fortunes . the gods , o nausicles , said knemon , then give to your heart the effect of your desires ; since having sent for all forts of musick to your feast now neglect them for the present , and leave them to such as have more low affections in their souls , while you are covetous to hear sacred and mystical things , mingled with a kind of a divine pleasure ; wherein , i observe , you well know the power and nature of the divinity , placing mercury next to bacchus ; and so mixing with the delights of feasting , the content of sweet discourse ; and therefore , though i justly admired the splendour and preparation of your sacrifice ; yet i cannot believe it is possible to please bacchus more than at a feast made in his honour , to bring in the recital of some fine story , speech being his proper sympbol . calasiris obeying their desires , recounted the entire history unto them , as well to gratifie knemon , as to oblige nausicles , for the affairs he was shortly to have with him : he then told them his fortunes from the beginning , repeating summarily , and in few words , the chief heads of what he had said before to knemon ; and purposely passing over many things that he held not necessary nausicles should understand , but that which was not as yet related , and depended upon the premises , he continued in this sort ; after they were fled from delphos , and imbarqued in the phoenician ship , they sailed at first as they could wish , being wafted with a soft breath of wind full in the poop , but when they fell into the streights of caladonia , they were greatly troubled , the sea in that place being naturally unquiet , and ever turbulent . but knemon said him here , entreating him to pass no further , without telling them the cause ( if haply he knew it ) why the sea in that place is continually in such violent agitation . the ionian sea , replied calasiris , being there , from a large and spacious main contracted to a streight , and pouring it self into the gulph of crisa , as through a narrow flood-gate , hasting to mix with the aegean sea , meets with the isthmus , or neck of land , in peloponnesus , that beats back its waves , hindring their impetuosity , doubtless by the providence of heaven , which set that promontory to break the violence of the streights , lest they should overflow the opposite shore ; and hence , as it is probable , come the turbulency of this sea , the waves being more pressed together in this than any other place of the gulph ; forasmuch as the stream that flows in , and the waters that flow back , encountring and beating one another , makes the billows boyl , and , by their concussion , covers all the sea with a foam , no less than in a violent tempest . all the company having with praise and applause allowed his reasons , calasiris thus pursued the series of his discourse . after we had passed other streights , and lost sight of those that are named the acute or pointed islands , it seemed to us we saw the promontory of the zacynthians , like a cloud in the air , so far off as our eyes could hardly discern it . then the pylot commanded them to hale in the sails , and we demanding what his meaning was to slack his course , since the wind was favourable ; because ( replied he ) if we go with full sail , we shall arrive at the island about the first watch of the night ; and it is to be feared , lest in the dark we should run upon the rocks , which lie hid with the sea in many places thereabouts ; therefore it were best to pass this night upon the main , where we have sea-room , and to take no more wind than will serve to bring us to land about the break of day . thus said the patron , but yet , nausicles , it was not done , for the sun was risen before we cast our anchors ; those of the island that lived about the port , being not far distant from the city , ran in from all parts to behold us , as to some new and strange spectacle , wondring ( as we conceived ) at the service-ableness of our ship , that was so fair , so tall , and yet so light , admiring therein the workmanship of the phoenicians , and telling us we had unusual and incredible fortune , to sail safe in the midst of winter , when the pleiades were set . all the rest of our mates , while the sailors were loosing of the tacklings , went aland , and ran into the city to traffick with the zacynthians . but i ( having heard the pylot say we should winter in that island ) went along by the sea-coast , to enquire out some poor lodging for us , not being willing to remain in the vessel , but avoiding it , for the trouble of the mariners , as an inconvenient lodging ; and shunning the town , as unsafe , for concealing the flight of the two young lovers . i had not gone far , but i saw an old fisherman sitting before his door , mending his broken nets ; and approaching him , i said ; save you , honest man , i pray you tell me if there be a lodging to be taken hereabouts ? it was about yonder promontory , replied he , that i cast this net yesterday , upon a rock covered with the water , and so tore it as you see ; i do not ask you that , said i , but you shall do an office of humanity if you will receive me into your house , or shew me some other place , where i may lodge . it was not i , said the good man , i was not in the boat , heaven forbid tyrrhenus should mistake so grossly , or that age had so much infeebled his brain : it was the fault of my boys , that , ignorant of the places where the water covered the rocks , cast their nets where they should not . at length perceiving he was somewhat deaf , i began to speak more loud . it was good morrow to you that i said , and my request was , you would shew me and my company , being strangers , some house where we may sojourn . the gods conserve you also , he then replied , if it please you to take such poor entertainment as i am able to give you , you shall be welcome to me , unless you be some of those that look for houses furnished with fair beds , or have many followers : after i had told him we were but three , my two children and my self ; it is a good number , replied he , you shall find but one more with us , for i have two children yet at home , ( their elder brothers are married men , and house-keepers themselves ) and the fourth is the nurse of my children , for their mother is lately dead ; therefore , sir , make no delay , and doubt not but we will receive you joyfully and chearfully , i having known as soon as i heard you speak , you were a gentleman , by your fashion . i did so , and immediately coming with theagenes and chariclea , the good man tyrrhenus entertained us with a very good will , and gave us the better and warmer part of his house : and indeed at the beginning we passed the winter contentedly , remaining all the day long together , never parting but at the hour of bed-time . chariclea did lie with the nurse , theagenes and i in a room by our selves ; and in another little chamber tyrrhenus and his children . we sate all at the table together , which we furnished with all meats but fish , wherewith tyrrhenus abundantly supplied us from the sea. sometimes fishing alone , sometimes to pass the day we helped him . he was a master of his trade , and knew how to fish in divers manners , according to the diversity of the season . he never cast his nets , but he drew them full , so as many attributed that to good fortune , which ought to have been ascribed to his art and experience . but once unhappy , and ever unhappy ( as they say . ) neither could the beauty of chariclea remain in this solitude without trouble and misfortune , for the young tyrian merchant that had obtained one of the prizes in the pythian games , and with whom we had imbarqued our selves , did grievously molest me with his continual importunities , that i would give him chariclea in marriage , addressing himself as if i had been the father that begot her ; and perpetually boasting ; now telling me of his illustrious family , then counting his riches , how the ship was his own , and that he had the greatest part of the merchandise that laded her , which were gold , silver , precious stones and silks ; and to give no little accession to his splendour and glory , he again put me in mind how his victory was proclaimed in the pythian games , and many such like things . but i pretending present poverty , and that my heart would never consent to marry my daughter to a stranger , that should live in a region so far off from aegypt . father , said he , let not this trouble you , i shall esteem your daughter herself a sufficient portion , greater than a million of talents , or all the riches of the world : i shall also willingly change my country and my friends for her , turning my intended course to carthage , and accompanying you to what place of the earth you shall please to sail ; then finding it was not possible to satisfie the phaenician , but that his flame increasing he grew still more passionate , and would never let me rest , i thought best to put him off with fair promises , least he should make some violent attempt upon us in the island , assuring him i would do as he desired , when we should arrive in aegypt . but see the fortune ; i was no sooner freed of this merchant , but ( as it is said ) one wave followed another : for a few days after , tyrrhenus taking me aside to a place where the shore did bow and make an angle . o calasiris , said he , i vow to you by neptune and the other sea-gods , that i see you with as much joy , as my brother , and your children , as my own ; and i must tell you , there is a train laid for you , that will be very hard for you to escape ; but i held it not lawful to conceal it from you , in respect , we have now a long time lived together in one house ; and being it concerns you to know it , there is a pirate , whose galley lies under the covert of this promontory , that watches for the phaenician ship , and sends out spies to observe their getting forth to sea ; therefore take heed what you do , and look well to your selves ; for i advertise you , they have conceiv'd this cruel , but customary design for you , or rather for your daughter . the gods , said i , be as good to you as you have shewed your self true to us . but tyrrhenus , how came you to discover this plot ? by my trade , replyed he , i am known to them , and use to carry them fish , because they buy dearest and give me greater rates than any other ; and yesterday as i was drawing my net by the side of yonder rock , the captain of the pirates met me , and demanded if i knew not when the phaenicians meant to loose out of the haven ? i presently doubting his demand tended to some stratagem ; i cannot justly tell you , trachinus , said i , but i believe it will be the spring before they depart : and the maid that lodges at your house doth she go along ? i do not know , replyed i , but why do you enquire so curiously ? because , said he , i am desperately in love with her , and so ravished with the wonder of her merit , though i have but once beheld her , as i can hardly be my self ; neither can i remember i ever fortun'd upon such a beauty , though i have taken many and fairer captives ; then pulling him nearer to me that i might the better get out his whole plot ? what need have you , said i , to fight with these plaenicians since that without the loss of blood , you may easily take her from my house before they imbarque . no , replyed he , there is a conscience among thieves , and we observe the laws of courtesie and humanity towards our friends ; for your sake therefore i forbear , least it should bring you into trouble , in regard your guests being lost , would be required at your hands , and with one labour i mean to gain two things , the riches of the ship , and the enjoying of the maid ; one whereof i must necessarily forego , if i execute my design upon the land ; besides i should run a desperate hazard , the port being so near the town , as they would presently get notice of it , and so i might come to be pursued . so after i had admired his wisdom , and praised the excellency of his judgment ; and now having discovered the plot , these . villains have appointed , i earnestly beseech you to employ all your thoughts to provide for the security of your self and children . when i had heard this news , i retired very sad , and agitated in my fancy many ways and means of sasety , till accidently meeting the merchant , and he moving me in his old suit , i took hold of the occasion , and concealing what i pleased of the advertisements given me by tyrrhenus . i only told him , i had notice given me by a friend , how a certain great man of the country , had a design to steal away my daughter ; and , said i , you are not strong enough to oppose your self , or make resistance , it would better please me to bestow her on you , both for the knowledge i have of your person and wealth ; but specially for the promise you have made me , when you have marryed her to live with me in my country ; therefore if your love answer the profession you have made ; let us weigh anchors presently , before we be prevented or constrained to suffer the effects of some violence : he was extreamly taken with my words : it is well advised father , said he , and then falling upon my neck , kissed my head , and demanded when my pleasure was , that we should sail , for although the time was not yet seasonable , yet we might escape the plots that were laid against us , by removing to another port , and there attend the assurance of the spring . i desire , said i , if my command have any power with you , to depart hence about the beginning of the night ; after he had answered if should be done . he left me , and i returned to our lodging , where i said nothing to tyrrhenus , but advertized my children , that in the evening we were to go aboard again : the suddenness of the news amazed them , and demanding the reason of me , i put them off , promising to tell them at another time , but for the present it was necessary it should so be done . so after we had made a light supper , and were retired to take a little rest , an old man appeared to me in my sleep , his body as dry as an anatomy , saving that under his robe he shewed the proportion of a thigh , witnessing the able forces of his limbs , when he was in the flower of his youth , his head was covered with a helmet , he wore his beaver up , and upon his forehead appeared the marks of a cautelous and prudent man , and he drew one thigh after him , as if he had received some hurt when he came near me ; with a kind of a threatning smile , he said , o sir , you make no accompt of us , for of all those that ever past along the island of the cephalenians , you only disdain to visit our houses , or take notice of our glory , which all other men have done ; but you are in that height of pride , as you scorn to speak to us in your passage , though i have thus long been your neighbour ; therefore know you shall not pass many days without being punished , and you shall suffer the like calamities as i have done , falling into the hands of your enemies by sea and land ; but falute the maid , that is with you in my wife's name , tell her she kisses her hands because she loves and preferrs the honour of her chastity before all things , in respect whereof she sends her word , a happy fortune shall end the course of all her miseries . i started , trembling at the vision , and the-agenes asking me what the matter was ? i fear , said i , we have staid two long , and neglected to imbarque our selves ; and this was it that so troubled my thoughts ; but rise you and get your things together , and go and call chariclea . the maid was ready when she was called . tyrrhenus himself hearing us , rose out of his bed , and demanded what we meant to do ? i told him what was done for the present , was by his advice ; we do endeavour to avoid the practices that are contrived against us ; and i pray the gods for the good and charitable offices we have received in your house , to have you always in their protection . this last favour let me intreat you to do for us , that you will pass over into the island of ithaca , and make a sacrifice for us to vlysses , to pray him , that he will mitigate his wrath towards us for our disdain , and contempt of him , as he imagines , for so he taxed me in my sleep this night . tyrrhenus promised to perform it , and so brought us down to the water side weeping abundantly , and praying the gods to send us a good voyage and favourable winds , to wast us to the place where we did wish to be . why should i trouble you with many words ? by the time the morning star appear'd we were lanched into the main ; the saylors being at first exceedingly against it ; but in the end they were perswaded by the tyrian merchant , telling them , he fled from a pirate that lay in wait for them , and he spake truly , and knew not , for his meaning was to make a lye . but the wind was so full against us , the tempest waxed so great , and the waves swelled in that horrid sort , as that it was a thousand to one our ship had perished ; but in the end , we came by the lee of a certain promontory in the isle of candy , having first lost the half of our rudder , and a great part of our sail-yards being broke and blown over-board ; therefore we thought it best to stay some days in that island to new rigg our ship , and recreate our selves : this done we were all commanded to reimbarque upon the first day of the new moon , after her conjunction with the sun. being lanched forth upon the main again ; the west winds of the spring now sweetly breathing , the patron night and day directed his course to the coast of africa : for , he said , we might cross the sea directly , by a line , if the wind changed not . but that which most moved him to speed his voyage , was to gain some road or port ; because afar off he descryed a pirate's galley , that came full in his poop ; for , said he , from the time we loosed from the promontory of candy , he hath always followed our track and constantly sailed , as if he were bound for the same place ; and i have often observed he made the same turns with us ; having many times ( the better to discover him ) expresly declined my vessel from her course : some were moved at these words , encouraging their fellows to prepare for their defence ; and some there were neglected them , saying , it was ordinary for the lesser bottoms to follow the course of a great ship , as believing it to be guided by a more experimented pilot : the day passed on in this dispute ; and it was about the hour the labourer returns weary with his travel , having newly loosed his oxen ; and now the overtoiled wind began to languish , and diminishing by little and little , in the end it had no force at all , so as the breath it spent upon our sails , served only to shufle them together , not at all to blow us on : briefly it setled into a calm as if it had set with the sun , or to speak more properly , as if it would accommodate it self to their design that chased us , because our sails being more large than theirs , and by consequence requiring the more wind. but as soon as this tranquillity of the heavens had smoothed the seas , the galley was come up to us sooner than i can speak it ; for ( as i believe ) all that were within her put their hands to the oars ; their vessel also being light and nimble of it self ; when they were very near us , a zacynthian passenger in our ship cryed to us , friends we are all undone , this is a pirate , i know the galley of trachinus . at the report of this news , a sudden fear seized our whole ship , and in a calm we had a tempest , rising in tumult , crys , tears , and running up and down , some running under the hatches , some standing upon the decks , animating the rest to endure the fight , and there were some would have got into the long-boat and fled , till by their two long delay the fight surprized them within the ship , forceing them to remain , and to take in their hands what they could find to defend themselves . theagenes full of courage burned with desire of the battel , but chariclea and i with our imbraces hindred him from attempting any thing , she vowing death should not separate him from her , but the same sword should give her the like wounds , and make her an equal sharer in his misfortune . but i ( after i understood our enemy was trachinus ) prepared some sleights might afterwards do us good service , which fell out as i expected . for the pirates approaching circled about our ship , to make tryal if it were possible to take her without blood ; therefore they did attacque us , but still rowing about us , they would neither suffer us to go forward nor backward . briefly it seemed as if they had besieged us , and would compel us to render our selves upon composition . o poor unfortunate men , said they , what blindness hath seized your spirits ? and why are you so deprived of judgment , as thus to precipitate your selves into the danger of an evitable death , by attempting to resist invincible forces , to which yours are nothing ? it is yet in your choice to be dealt humanly withal , we permit you all that will to take your long-boat and save your selves . these were their propositions ; but those of our ship so long as they fought only in words , and saw no blood , were daring and resolute , and said they would stand to it to the last man. but after one of the bolder pirates had boarded us , putting all he met to the sword , and teaching us that the ceremonies of war were death and slaughter , the rest of his company immediately leaping after him ; then the phoenicians began to repent their courage , and falling at his feet , beseeched him to shew mercy to them , and they were ready to obey all his commandments : and although the pirates were now flesht , and began to please themselves in murder ( for the sight of blood doth irritate and excite the spirit ) nevertheless by the command of trachinus , beyond all expectation , he pardoned the supplicants , and made a peace under such conditions as were more cruel than the war it self ; for he ordained they should depart the ship with no more but the cloths they had on , making it death to him that should do otherwise . but it seems there is nothing more precious to a man than life , which was the cause these phoenician merchants having now lost the hope of all the riches in the ship , as if they had lost nothing , but rather gain'd , and made an excellent voyage , did strive who should first get into the boat , and every one was more desirous than other to survive the loss of his goods . but as we also ( obeying the decree ) were about to pass into the boat , trachinus took chariclea by the hand , and said , fair one , this war concerns not you , but was undertaken for your sake , and since the day you left the promontory of zacynthus , i have still followed you , adventuring thus far upon the sea , and facing danger for your love ; therefore let not any fearful apprehension seize you , but confirm your spirits , and know with the empire you already are possessed of in my soul , you shall be the lady of all the wealth you see , thus he said ; but chariclea full of discretion , and knowing by the instructions i had given her how to apply her self to the time most excellently well , presently cleared her look from all the marks of sorrow that now incompassed her , and painting upon her face an appearance of joy , made this reply ; i render thanks to the gods that have put it into your mind to use us favourably , but if you will have me be confident , please to make me this first demonstration of your love , save this my brother and my father , and command them not from the ship ; for if i be once separated from them the world hath nothing can perswade to retain life . and speaking this she prostrated at his feet and imbraced them a long while . trachinus pleasing himself therein , and therefore deferring the grant of her demand : at length her tears making an impression in his pity , having no power to refuse , when such a beauty was a suitor , he raised her , and thus said ; for your brother i am very well contented to bestow him upon you , for i see he is a young man of a great spirit , and consequently fit for the life we follow ; and for this old man , though he will be but an unserviceable charge to us , yet for your only respect i am pleased he shall stay . now while these things were said and done , the sun being in his circuit come full west , that space which is betwixt the day and night grew very dark and foul , and on a suddain the sea began to be troubled ; it may be the season caused the present change , or perhaps it was by the pleasure of some destiny afar off , the murmur of the descending wind ; and presently a violent and horrid tempest breaking in upon us , the hearts of the pirates were frozen in their fear , who having forsaken their own galley and put themselves into the merchants ship to pillage her , were there surpized with a tempest , not knowing how to govern so great a vessel , every one doing some office of a mariner in that which came next to his hands , without any knowledge at all : some vainly upon their own genious undertaking one art of navigation ; others another ; some confusedly struck the sails ; some unskilfully distributed the cordages ; one ass took upon him to order the prow , another as wise as he to guide the poop and govern the helm . but that which principally cast us into extreamest danger , was not the violence of the tempest ( for the waves were not yet at the height of their fury ) but it was the ignorance of him that took upon him to be pylot , who resisted the storm so long as there was any day light , but when it grew black night , gave over his charge ; and when they were now ready to sink , at first some of the pyrates did endeavour to have recovered their own galley , but were beat off from their design by the tempest : trachinus also staying them and making a remonstrance , that if they could save the ship and riches in her , they should have wealth enough to purchase a thousand such galleys ; and speaking those words , he cut the cables that held them together , telling them that whilst they kept their own vessel they drew another tempest after them , and that in doing so he provided for their security , since wheresoever they should arrive it would draw suspition upon them , and inquiry would be made after the persons that sailed in the empty bottom . this he said appeared to them to be reason , and they approved his council , out of two respects , being already sensible of the one ; for they were no sooner severed from the brigantine , but they felt the sea did not toss them so much as before , yet were they not quite out of the danger , but one billow tumbling upon another tossed them so violently ; as it constrained them to cast much of their lading over-board : breifly there was no kind of danger that did not present it self , till having will much difficulty escaped that night , the next day , about the setting of the sun , the tempest cast us into a road near the mouth of one of the arms of nilus , named the heracleotique , accidently , and now against our wills arriving in aegypt the pirates were joyful , but we were exceedingly afflicted , reproaching the sea as cruel in the favour it had done us to save our lives , envying us a death free from all injury , and delivering us to the land in a more fearful expectation than at sea , being exposed to the disordered pleasure of barbarous and wicked pirates , which presently appeared . as they landed they carryed from the ship great vessels of tyrian wine , and divers other things , saying they would sacrifice to neptune , and render thanks for their deliverance ; some were also sent to the neighbour towns , and a great deal of money given them to buy beasts , with command they should give what price soever was demanded ; and it was not long before we saw them return , driving before them a flock of sheep and a herd of swine ; and having brought them in , they kindled the pile , and prepared us a feast of the roafted victims . then trachinus taking me aside , where none could over-hear him ; father , said he , i intend to take your daughter to wife , and this night , as you see , imean to celebrate our nuptials , joyning that sweetest solemnity of men with the sacrifice to the gods ; therefore least you should take it ill , if i made you not acquainted therewith , and be sad at my wedding feast ; and to the end your daughter being disposed of with your consent , may receive the blessing of our marriage with more joy , i thought it best to let you know my pleasure , not that it is needful it should be confirmed by your suffrage , for it is in my power when i will to accomplish my desires , but i hold it more noble and a better omen , if the bride be prepared for the marriage by her father , because it will more content her , and she will address her self to the ceremony with more joy . i approved his words , and feigned my self to be overjoyed , rendring great thanks to the gods that had done me the divine favour to make my daughters master willing to take her for his wife ; then retiring my self a little to study what was to be done , i instantly returned , beseeching him what was thus happily begun might be accomplished a little more honourably , appointing the ship to the maid for her marriage chamber , and forbidding his men to enter or any way to disturb her , that so she might have leisure to apparel her self like a bride , with as much ornament and care as the time would permit , for it would be said , it is a poor and misbecoming thing , that a maid descended of a rich and noble family , and which is more that must be the wife of trachinus , should not at least , upon the day of the solemization of her nuptials , be drest in the richest robes and jewels she then had , since fortune and the place had deprived us of a more glorious habit. at these words trachinus was transported with joy , and promised he would do it willingly , and immediately commanded that all things whereof they had need , being exported out of the ship , no person should dare to approach it any more : they obeying the charge he gave them carryed to land tables , cups , tapestries , carpets , works of tyre and sydon , and many other moveables and utensils , that might be serviceable at a feast . finally every one took without measure and loaded their shoulders without order with those riches , which much labour and many frugal hands had gathered ; and which fortune had exposed to the profusion of these pyrates , to make a dissolute banquet full of prodigious abuses . but i taking theagenes with me , when we came to chariclea we found her weeping ; o daughter , misery is now your acquaintance , not a stranger to you , and will you yet take on , or is it not for these old disasters that you weep but for some new ? for altogether she replyed , but above all for the odious good will trachinus bears me , from which i hourly expect some violent effects , to which the time will now tempt him ; for unexpected prosperities use to make men bold to commit acts of insolence ; but i am resolved to punish trachinus and his loathed affection , preventing the effects of his desire by death , and that which for the present melted me into tears , was the thought of my being so unhappy , as before i die , to be separated from theagenes and you : you have ( said i ) divined aright , for trachinus will convert the feast after the sacrifice into his and your nuptial feasts ; he discovered this intention to me as to your father , though i knew his furious disire to injoy you long ago , by what tyrrhenus had told me at our conference in the island of zacynthus , but i would not let you know it , fearing to afflict you before the time , and that the grief would fall upon your hearts , while the calamity hanged over your heads , especially considering it was possible to avoid his design . but since it is so , my dear children , that fortune hath appeared against us , and cast us into the same danger we endeavoured to shun , let us make a generous and brave attempt , and present our lives to the swords point , to the end that if if succeed well , we may survive with liberty and glory ; or if ill , at least we may have the contentment to die nobly , you chastily . after they had promised me to execute whatsoever i should command , and that i had instructed them as i thought best , i left them to prepare themselves . and addressing my se ; f to him , that amongst the pirates was the second in authority after trachinus , as i remember he was called pelorus , i told him i had a secret to impart to him would be for his profit ; and he willingly followed me : when i had brought him out of the hearing of his fellows , give ear my child ( said i ) to that i shall declare to you in few words , for the time is too narrow for a long discourse , my daughter loves you , your merits and perfections have conquered her , but she suspects your captain prepares his feast for her nuptials , for some such thing he signify'd to be curious in putting on her richest ornaments ; therefore bethink your self , if you can find a means to prevent him and possess your self , for she says , she had rather die than marry with trachinus : be confident ( said he ) and do not put your self into any farther fear , for i have long burned in an equal flame with your daughter , and did but only wait for an occasion to have a passage open to obtain her ; therefore assure your self , trachinus shall either voluntarily yield his bride to me , or this arm shall make him feel a bitter wedding night . having heard this i hasted from him , least if we were both missing we should be suspected ; and coming to my children , i confirmed their brave spirits with the good news , that our plot went well in a right path. a while after we sat down to supper , and when i saw them high flown in wine , and knew their heated brains were apt to petulancy , i wispered pelorus in the ear , ( for i sat next him for that purpose ) have you not seen ( said i ) how my daughter is apparelled ? he replyed he had not : but you may now see her conveniently ( i told him ) if you will go privately to the ship , and take heed no eye discover you , for you know trachinus had forbid it : there you shall see diana her self , but be modest in beholding her , least the goddess strike you dead . i had scarce spoken these words but without any delay he rose from the table , as if he had been pressed with some sudden business , and ran secretly to the ship. there he beheld chariclea wearing upon her herd a crown of lawrel , apparelled in a refulgent robe of cloth of gold ( for she had put on the sacred habit that she brought from delphos , that it might either serve to adorn her victory or funeral , ) and seeing the cabbin where she was , accommodated to the form of a nuptial chamber , the sight ( as it was likely ) set him all on fire , love and jealousy augmenting his amorous torment so , that when he returned to us , one might read in his eyes the rage imprinted in his soul , and it was evident his thoughts laboured with some furious design , and he was scarcely set down again at the table , but choler sparking in his eyes , he said , why have not i the reward of my merit for being the first that boarded the ship ? because ( said trachnus ) you have not demanded it , and that yet we have not divided the spoils . i desire then , replyed pelorus the captive maid : and when trachinus added , that , excepting her , he should take what he would . what ( said pelorus ) will you break the law of piracy , that gives his choice of the prey to him that first boards a ship , and for all his fellows runs the hazard of his life ? friend ( said trachinus ) i violate not that law , but i ground my self upon the authority of one more powerful , that commands us to obey the wills of our captains without contradiction , the maid has wounded me to the heart with her bright eyes , and to heal my wound i am forced to marry her ; and , sir , i hope it is a reason i should be preferred before you , and if you will not obey this law , i will make you presently repent it with a blow of this cup i hold in my hand : then pelorus looking upon his companions , you see , said he , what recompence our labours are to expect ; thus you shall one day see your merits frustrated of the reward of your virtue , and be , as i am , slaves to this tyrannical law. now , nausicles , what do you imagine became of these pirates ? after nausicles had spoke these words you would have compared them to a calm sea swell'd with the sudden tempest , such a blind and brutish motion in an instant put them into so wild a tumult , inflamed with wrath and wine , as if some fury had possest them ; some rank'd themselves upon the part of trachinus , and cryed the captain ought to be obeyed ; others sided with pelorus , saying , the law of piracy ought to stand . in the end trachinus lifted his hand to strike pelorus with the cup he held ; but pelorus that was prepared before , broke the effect of his fury and struck a ponyard to his heart , so as he fell down mortally wounded , but a cruel war kindled and continued amongst the rest , inter-murdering one another without giving any quarter ; some as revenging the death of their captain ; others as defending pelorus in his just quarrel . the crys of men , and sounds of levers , stones , cups , tables , the wounders and the wounded made one fearful groan ; but i retiring a great way off , stood upon the rise of a hill , and thence beheld this furious spectacle ; yet neither theagenes nor chariclea were exempted from the danger , but following what was determined , he with his sword in his hand joyn'd himself to one of the factions at the beginning , and fought as if some fury had transported him , and she after she saw the fight begun shot from the ship , loosing her arrows with a constant hand , and sparing no man but theagenes , she never took her aim amiss , every shot she made was death . neither did she only gall the one side of the battel , but both indifferently , none of the pirates seeing her , yet she clearly beholding them by the light of the great fire of the pile yet burning , so as they could not imagine whence their death came ; but thought it to be some plague from heaven . to conclude , the war consumed them all , and only theagenes remained fighting single with pelorus , an able and resolute man , and one that had been flesh'd and bred up in murders . and now chariclea's shooting could no longer avail her theagenes , grieving she could not assist him , but the fear she had to miss her aim did hold her hand ; inasmuch as they fought so close , the eye could hardly distinguish them . in the end pelorus was forced to give ground before him , for when chariclea saw her arrows could do him no more service , she sent her words to his succour , crying to him ; now my best friend shew your courage . at the hearing of these words his strength redoubled , to which pelorus was not able to make resistance longer , s if the voice of his mistress had infused new vigour into him , letting him know the reward of his victory was yet living . for now resuming the heat of his first spirit , tho broken and weigh'd down with many wounds , he made a blow at pelorus with his sword full at his head , which he hoped to cleave a sunder , as assuredly he had done , if the pirate had not declined his neck ; yet he escaped not , for the sword descending , took away the top of his shoulder , and falling right upon the elbow joynt of his sword-hand , cut it quite off ; then pelorus fled to save his life , theagenes following him . what the sequel was i cannot tell you , but that i saw not when theagenes returned ; for remaining upon the rise of the hill , i dared not to stirr in a place full of enemies by night , when my friends could not know me ; but chariclea was more bold , and if seems more quick sighted for with the first dawning of the light , i perceived theagenes lying stretched out upon the earth like a dead man , and saw her sitting and weeping over him , with evident demonstrations that she intended to kill herself , but that some little hope of his revival restrained her as yet , and held her life in equal suspence with his . but i , unfortunate man , had not so much as time to speak to them to sweeten their calamities with my words , or to apply remedy to his wounds , so fast did the evils at land ( without a breathings space ) succeed to those at sea. for , at the first spring of the morning , as i was descending from the hill where i had pitched for that night , i saw a troop of aegyptian theives , running from the top of the mountain , that lyeth along that coast , who presently seized upon my poor children , taking them away and all the riches they could carry out of the ship. i spake afar off to them , and in vain bad them farewel that could not hear me , deploring their fortunes and my own ; but neither being able to defend them , or holding it good to go and mix with them , i reserved my self to hope to succour them some other way . and indeed it was not in my power to do them present service , being left far behind , my age like a heavy burden not suffering me to march so quick a pace as those aegyptians , that mounted and descended by strange paths , and through wild places . now by the mercy of the gods , and your favour , worthy nausicles , i have found my daughter then lost , having contributed nothing to her recovery but my abundant sighs , tears , and lamentations . speaking these words he wept , all the company were forced to do the like , changing their feast into a sorrow , intermixed with joy , ( for wine intenerates the eyes and makes them apt to tears ) and they were not able to contain their flux of pity , till nausicles spake thus to confort calasiris . father ( said he ) chase away these sad conceptions and fill your heart with joy , since you have now recovered your daughter , and that only one night remains to interpose it self betwixt you , and the contentment you shall receive in beholding your son , for to morrow morning we will ride to mitranes , and deal with him all possible ways , for the redeeming of your beloved theagenes . o may the gods be so favourable , replied calasiris : but now it is time to dissolve the feast , let us therefore give thanks to the gods , and drink at parting ; so wine being brought , taking their leaves they drank to one another , and so did rise from the table . but calasiris looking about for chariclea and not finding her in the multitude , was greatly perplexed , till at length a certain woman advertized him , that she saw her enter the sanctuary of the temple . he presently ran thither and found her prostrated at the feet of an image , where by reason of the length of her prayers , and the weight of sorrow that lay upon her heart , she was faln into a swoon . then after he had shed some tears , and humbly conjured the gods to change the rigour of her destiny into better fortune , he softly awaked chariclea and returned to his lodgings with her . being now in the house she retired to the chamber of nausicles's daughter , lying with her , but not taking any rest , care not permitting her to close her eyes . the aethiopian history . the sixth book . calasiris and knemon being retired to sleep in the lodgings appointed for the men , as soon as the rest of the night was spent , which passed more slow than they desired , but more quick than they expected , because the greater part thereof was taken up with the feast and length of the discourse , that entertained them with unsatisfying sweetness , not having patience to expect till it were clear day , they went to nausicles , praying him to let them know where theagenes was , and with all speed to lead them thither : nausicles to give them content , presently made him ready to go along with them ; but chariclea , though she made all the prayers love and impatience could invent , was yet forced to remain , nausicles assuring her they would not go sar , and promising her within few days to return with her theagenes ; so they lest her floating betwixt sorrow for their departure , and joy for the good she expected . at their going out of chemmis , as they past along the banks of nilus , they perceived a crocodile labouring to swim from the one shore to the other , but the swist current and wild waves still broke his force , and often duckt him to the bottom of the river . this moved none of their company , as being a common sight with them , saving that calasiris said , it presaged they should enounter some hindrance in the way ; but knemon was running back again , extremely frighted , though he had not seen the beast entirely , but only her shadow , and not all that , the greater part of her being still under the water : this set nausicles a laughing , and calasiris cryed to him , why knemon , i thought only the fears of the night had troubled you , and then only when you had heard some strange noise , envelopped in the horrour of darkness , but i see you have the same valour by day-light ; and that not only the hearing of a name breeds terrour in you , but ordinary spectacles , obvious and sighted by every man , do terrify you . what god or demi-god was that ( said nausicles ) whose name was such a bug-bear to his ears ? alas ( replied calasiris ) if it had been a god or any divinity , i should have had nothing to say to him , but he trembled all over , hearing the name ( not of any man , the glory of whose valour is blown about the world , but ) of a woman , and she was dead too . for the same night you came from the island of the herdsmen , bringing chariclea safe for me , i know not how or where he had heard a name you used , but it so struck him as he would let me take no rest , and was often almost quite dead for fear , and sure had dyed if i had not taken a great deal of pains to recover and bring him to life again ; and but that i doubt his relapse , i would tell you the name to make you a little more sport ; immediately he said the name was thisbe . but nausicles was now past laughing , and grew very sad , standing a long while pensiving , and searching in his spirit for what occasion , or from what knowledge of thisbe , knemon should be so transported , when he heard her named ; then knemon fell in a laughter for very joy to see him melancholick : o good callasiris , you now see ( said knemon ) how great the force of this name is , and that , like a phantasm , it hath not only frighted me , but even nausicles himself , causing a strange alteration in our humours ; for i now laugh , knowing her for certain to be dead ; and nausicles that was so valiant , and made himself so merry with our fear , is now struck into amazement . enough , said , nausicles , you are sufficiently revenged upon me ; but i conjure you , knemon , by the gods of hospitality and friendship , by our free conversation , and the courteous entertainment thhat i think you think you have received at my house , to tell me how you came to know that thisbe , and why her name was so terrible to you , or whether you have made this betwixt you to play upon me ? now knemon ( said calasiris ) it concerns you to answer , and to acquit your self of your promise to me , that i should have the relation of your fortunes , which ever yet you have avoided with many slight excuses ; you cannot find a more convenient time , for you shall both do a pleasure to nausicles , and by your discourse shorten and sweeten the travail of our joyrney . knemon consented at their request , and to satisfie them , compendiously ran over all he had recounted formerly to theagenes and chariclea : how he was born in the city of athens , that his fathers name was aristippus , that he had a step-mother named demaeneta ; then he related the detestable love wherein demaeneta languished for him , and that failing of her hope , to content her loose desires , she laid trains for him , suborning thisbe for her instrument . he added the manner , and how he was exil'd from his country , the people of athens so condemning him , as believing him to be covinced of an intent to commit parricide . that living in the isle of aegina , an old companion of his , one charias , first brought him news of the death of his mother-in-law , and the circumstance thereof , she being over-reached by her maid thisbe . and since then , a second , named asicles , had informed him that his father was also banished , and all his goods confiscated , by reason the friends and allies of demaeneta bandying against him , to make sure his condemnation , had begot a belief in the peoples easie mind , that he was the murderer of his wife . he also told them how thisbe was fled from athens with a certain merchant of naucratia , that was in love with her ; and that he himself imbarqued with anticles for aegypt , in hope to meet that thisbe , his design being , if he should find her , to carry her back to athens , that he might discharge his father of the calmuny they had falsely imposed upon him , and deliver her to be justly punished : and that since that time to this present , he had run through many dangerous fortunes , any tryed many different calamities , falling in his voyage into the hands of pyrates , whence he found means to escape , and arrive in aegypt , where he was taken by the herdsmen , and there came acquainted with theagenes and chareclea , with whom he had joyned in the types of an inviolable friendship : inserting the death of thisbe , and all that had since happened , to the passages that were known to nausicles and calasiris . nausicles having heard this , found his mind assailed with millions of contrary thoughts ; sometimes he was minded to declare to them all that had passed betwixt him and thisbe ; sometimes he held it the better way to defer it yet a while ; in the end , half against his will , he contained himself , partly his own reason judging it to be convenient , partly being accidentally hindred : for when they had gone about three miles , and began to approach the town where mitranes made his usual residence , they perceived coming towards them a man of nausicles's acquaintance , who demanding whither he was going in such haste ? do you ask me ( replyed the man ) whither i go so fast ? as if you knew not to what mark my aim is still directed , my desires and study only tending to the speedy execution of the commands of the fair isias , the glory of your chemmis . it is for her plant i cultivate my grounds , for her sake i gather all the weath and rareties i can . it is for her that i watch days and nights without ever closing my eyes , not failing to serve her in any thing , how little or great soever , though i have no other recompence but her displeasure , and my own labour for my pains . at this present i am hasting to her ( as you see ) with this phaenicopterus , a certain bird of the river nilus , which she enjoyned me to bring to her . to what a gracious mistress ( said nausicles ) have you dedicated your affections , whose commands are so easie , as she asketh only the phanicopterus , and not the phoenix her self , that is brought us from the indies and aethiopia . indeed ( replyed he ) it is her custom thus to make her pastime of my services . but now let me question you , i pray , whither , or upon what occasion are you travelling ? but after they had told him they were going to waint upon mitrues : is it so ( said the stranger ) then your journey is to no purpose , for mitranes is out of the town , gone this last night with a great army against the herdsimen that inhabit the town of bessa , because those bessians , and one thyamis , they have elected for their captain , by surprize have taken a young prisoner , a gretian , whom mitranes was to have sent to orrondates . this is the occasion of mitranes his absence from home , but for my part i must make hast to isias , who already is looking sharply about for me , thinking my simallest delay a sin against love. oh she is too subtle in accusing me without cause , and inventing crimes to lay to my charge ! he had no sooner given them this relation , but they stood silent and stupifi'd , to find themselves so unexpectedly disappointed . nausicles at length brought them again to themselves , admonishing them that they should not be so discourag'd with one disappointment ( which was but for a short time ) as to cast away all hope and care of what they had in hand : that is was now their best way to return back again to chemmis , as well to take council about their affairs , as also ( having furnished themselves with fresh provisions for a longer journey ) to resume their search of theagenes , wheresoever they should hear that he was detain'd , whether amongst the thieves or elsewhere ; every where proposing to themselves good hopes of finding him . for even this did not seem to happen without the providence of the gods , that they should so unexpectedly meet with an acquaintance , by whose discourse they were in a manner led by the hand to the place where it was most proper to seek for him : wherefore they should go directly to the thieves village . when he had thus spoken , he easily perswaded them , partly , as i suppose , because another hope arose from what he had said , and partly because knemon bid calasiris be of good cheer , for that thyamis would preserve theagnes . they therefore resolved to return , where they found chariclea in the porch , looking out to all quarters of the country . when she did not perceive theagenes with them , with great lamentation she cryed out , o father , are you come back no more in number than you went forth ? without doubt then my theagenes is dead . i charge you by the gods to deliver what you have to say . it is humanity to make short the story of misfortune , by whhich the mind is better fortifi'd against the evil . knemon therefore intercepting her sorrow , said , what means this practice chariclea ? you are always conjecturing the worst , and often without truth . theagenes is , and by the gods providence shall be well , then briefly told her with whom he was , and in what manner . it is plain , o knemon ( said calasiris ) from what you have spoken , that you never were in love ; otherwise you would know that lovers fear where there is no danger , and give trust to nothing beside their own eyes , concerning the person that is most dear to them . absence fills their minds with doubt , especially having resolved never to be from each other , unless some sad accident separates them . wherefore we must excuse chariclea , who labours under the violence of love. let us however consult what is to be done in this affair . having thus spoken , taking chariclea by the hand , with a fatherly observance , he led her into the house . but nausicles , being desirous to divert their care , ordered a more sumptuous banquet than usual , obliging them with the presence of his daughter , most splendidly apparelled . when they were refresh'd with the entertainment , he thus spake to them ; the gods are witnesses ( my dear guests ) that your company is most delightful to me , and if you would spend your lives with me , you should command all that i am master of as freely as my self : forasmuch as i have not received you as guests , but intimate friends , and such as will always have the same esteem for me , i can think no obligation too much . i am likewise no less ready to engage my friends and acquaintance in any thing may do you service . yet you must be sensible that my way of life is merchandise ; this is the field which i am obliged to cultivate . since therefore the westerly winds now blow favourably to make the seas navigable , and call forth the merchant , my affairs , amongst others , summon me to greece . you will therefore do well to acquaint me with your design , that i may order my affairs so as to make them serviceable to you . when he had thus said , calasiris , after a little pause , thus reply'd . success ( o nausicles ) attend your voyage , may mercury send you gain , and neptune calm seas ; my every port afford you harbour , and every city prove your home ! since you have treated us here with so much courtesie , and now disimiss us at our desire , in all things fulfilling the laws of friendship and hospitality . as for us , though it be a great trouble and grief to depart from you and your house , which we have used as our own ; yet it is necessary for us to pursue the search of our dearest friends . this is both mine and chariclea's resolution : but for knemon , whether he intends to wander farther with us and continue his assistance , or what other purpose he has , let himself declare . knemon was desirous to reply something to this , and long attempting to speak , but sighs choak'd his speech , and tears drown'd his eyes : at last collecting breath , and uttering a deep groan ; o fortune ( he cry'd ) how full of change and unstable art thou ! of which among many others i am a sad example . thou hast deprived me of my kindred and fathers house , and sent me an exile from the country and city , that are most dear to me : thou hast driven me as far as aegypt ( not to mention my disasters in the way ) and put me in the power of thieves and out-laws : at last i had a glimmering of hope , by falling into acquaintance and company with persons , who ( though as wretched as my self ) yet they were greeks of my own country , with whom i thought to have passed the remainder of my life : but even this comfort is taken from me ; whither shall i turn my self , or what shall i do ? shall i leave chariclea , before she has found her theagenes ? this would be inhumane ? or shall i go with her to seek him : if we were certain at last to find him , it were labour well undertaken , but if the event be doubtful and greater misfortunes befal , where will our travels end ? what if now i beg leave both of the guardian deities , and of you , to speak at last of returning to my family and native soil , especially since so fair an opportunity by the providence of the gods offers its self , ( nausicles intending , as you heard himself say , to sail for greece ) lest by the death of my father , in my absence , our house be left desolate , and family without and heir : for howsoever mean and poor i may be likely to live there ; yet honesty and common decency require the preserving our race . but , o chariclea , ( for to you i would chiefly be excus'd ) do you give me pardon and grant me this leave : i will attend you as far as bessa , and entreat nausicles to stay a while for me , so that if i deliver you not into the hands of theagenes , yet at least you shall acknowledge me faithful to the trust he committed to me : and from the good conscience in what has passed , depend at parting on success in what is to come . if after all ( which the gods forbid ) we fail of that success , yet even so i shall seem to merit pardon , not even then leaving you alone , but in the guardianship of this good calasiris , your guide and father . chariclea conjecturing by many arguments , the inclination of knemon for the daughter of nausicles ( so quick-sighted is a lover to discover the same passion in any other ) and also by what had been spoken , that nausicles had endeavour'd the alliance , and given knemon many secret encouragements ; upon the whole concluded that he was no fit companion , but must be suspicious for the future ; she made this reply : do what seems good to you ( said she ) i thank you for the good offices you have already performed , and for the future there is no necessity for you to be burden'd with our affairs , or run the risque of other peoples fortune . return to your own country and domestick concerns ; and by no means neglect your friend nausicles , nor the opportunity which he offers . calasiris and my self will engage all dangers that shall befal us till we have finished our course ; and though no mortal shall assist us , we rely on the protection of the gods. may all things ( said nausicles ) succeed to your desire ; may the gods accompany you till you recover your friends , which will be a just reward of your prudence and constancy . but , knemon , be not you concerned that you bring not thisbe back to athens , since you have me , who was the author of her departure : for i was that merchant naucratites , her lover , who carry'd her away . but if you are as well pleas'd with the proposal as i , you shall under my conduct gain great wealth , and recover your country . and if you are disposed to marry , i will give you my daughter nausiclea with a great dower , since i know your family . knemon made no pause , finding what he had secretly desired so fairly offer'd to him : whereupon nausicles deliver'd his daughter to him , commanding his servants to celebrate the nuptials ; himself began the dance , suddenly converting the feast into a wedding . the rest of the family in other apartments solemniz'd the marriage with songs and dancing , so that the house shone all night with nuptial torches . but chariclea , separating from the rest , went into her own apartment , and making fast the door , to prevent disturbance , as if seiz'd with bacchanal fury , tore both her hair and garments : let us ( said she ) perform our ceremonies as the posture of our affairs require , with the outmost pomp of sorrow . let us weep instead of singing , and beat our breast instead of dancing . let us out with this troublesom taper , while night echoes to my complaints , and presides over the ceremony . what apartment has it prepar'd for me ? what bride-chamber has it adorn'd ? the god that has charge of me , is all my company ; depriv'd of him who in name only is my husband . knemon leads up his nuptial dance , theagenes is yet wandering , and perhaps a prisoner in chains ; nor am i certain that it is so well with him , or that he is at all . nausiclea my bed-fellow , is removed from me into the embraces of her husband , chariclea is left alone : i envy not her fortune , gods , wishing her all happiness ; but complain of your dealing so hardly with me . you have drawn out my tragedy beyond all bounds . but why do i charge the gods with unkindness ? let the remainder of pleasure be perform'd . yet , o theagenes , my dearest care , if thou art dead , which i hope never to live to hear , i shall make no delay to be with you . for the present i perform these rites ( wherewith she pluck'd off her hair and laid it on the bed ) and pour these libations from my eyes , which are dear to thee ( wherewith she bedewed the coverlet with her tears . ) but if thou art alive and safe , o hasten to my arms , and at least visit me in dreams ! having thus spoken , she cast her self with her face to the bed with vehement sighing , till stupify'd with her grief , she fell into a sleep that continued till broad day . calasiris therefore wondring that she did not appear according to her custom , enquired for her , and went directly to her chamber-door , where knocking aloud , and calling her by her name , he awaken'd her . she , disturb'd with the sudden noise , in that disorder of dress in which she lay down , open'd the door to let him in . he seeing her hair dishevell'd and garments torn , understood the cause ; wherefore having first seated her on a chair , and composed her dress ; o chariclea ( said he ) why do you thus torment your self ? why do you abandon your reason , and give way to misfortune ? i my self scarce know you in this disorder , who were wont to have so much temper and resolution . why do you destroy your self before the day of your fortune approaches ? take pity on me , and spare your self , if not for my sake , yet at least for theagenes , whose life is bound up in yours , and dear to him for no other reason . chariclea blush'd at what he said , especially when she recollected the manner in which he surpriz'd her . therefore after a long silence , calasiris desiring her to speak ; you have good reason , father , ( said she ) to chide me , yet i hope i deserve pardon . it is no new passion or concern that put me into this disorder : the absence of theagenes causes this disturbance , and my grief is still the greater , because i cannot know certainly whether he be alive or dead . be of good cheer as to that ( said calasiris ) you have the gods word for his being alive , and living with you hereafter : if you believe not their oracles , at least give credit to the person who told us yesterday that thyamis had carry'd him prisoner to memphis : but if he is taken by him , he is most certainly preserv'd alive , by reason of the former acquaintance between them . wherefore let us go without delay to bessa ; you to find your theagenes , and i both him and my son ; for you have heard that thyamis is my son. thyamis ( replyed chariclea ) is your son , and only yours ; and now our affairs are running into extremest danger . calasiris wondring at what she said , and demanding the reason ; you know ( proceeded she ) that i was taken by the herdsmen , thyamis , their captain , was charm'd with this unfortunate beauty with which i am endow'd ; so that there is danger in our enquiry with him , lest he should know me to be the same person that beguil'd him of his intended nuptials , and compel me to performance . the gods forbid , reply'd calasiris , that the presence of a father should not controul so unlawful a desire : yet what hinders us from thinking of some contrivance to secure you from that which you fear ? for i know you to be of great art and subtilty in evading unwelcome addresses . chariclea was a little exhilarated ; and whether ( said she ) you speak this jocosely or seriously i will not examine ; however i shall pursue that contrivance which i had begun with theagenes , which fortune directed us unto , and i hope will now prosper . it being necessary for our flight from the island of thieves , we resolved to change our habit , and to pass through the towns in poor and beggarly attire : wherefore , if you think fit , we will resume that disguise , and personate beggars : by which means we shall be less liable to injuries ; for poverty is more likely to meet with pity than envy , and we shall with more ease obtain our daily provision , all things being sold to strangers at dear rates ; whereas they are given to beggars . calasiris commended her design , and hasten'd for the journey . therefore calling nausicles and knemon to them , they acquainted them therewith ; and the next day set forth , not permitting servant nor horse to attend them , only nausicles and knemon , with the servants , saw them on their way . nausiclea also accompany'd them so far , her love to chariclea being equal to that for her husband . having therefore gone almost a mile , where they took leave of each other with many tears , praying for mutual success on their affairs , knemon particularly begg'd pardon , that his new obligations permitted him not to accompany them , but that he would wait an occasion to follow them . thus parted they from each other . but chariclea and calasiris put themselves into beggars habit , which they had prepar'd for that purpose . nor did chariclea spare her face , which she discolour'd , and hung a scrip upon her arm , as it were to carry fragments of meat , but the real use was to conceal the holy vestment and chaplets which she brought from delphi , together with the remembrances with which her mother had expos'd her . calasiris carry'd her quiver , wrapt up in leather , the wrong end hanging down over his shoulder , as some useless fardle ; her bow was no sooner unstrung , but it came streight again , and serv'd him instead of a staff , on which he lean'd his whole weight . but whensoever he spy'd any body coming towards them , he took care to make his burden seem more heavy , halting upon one leg , and sometimes led by chariclea . having thus put on a counterfeit personage , with some pleasant discourse between them , and repartees about their habit , they passed on , begging of their guardian deity that he would be satisfy'd with what they had endur'd , and here put an end to their sufferings . thus they went forward towards the village of bessa , where they hoped to have found thyamis and theagenes , but were frustrated of their expected happiness : for coming near to the town about sun-set , they perceiv'd a great number of dead men newly slain , some of them were persians , which they knew by their habits ; others were inhabitants of the place . it appeared plainly that there had been a battel , but with whom they did not know ; till they had gone about the dead bodies , to see if any of their acquaintance lay amongst them , ( for minds that are extremely sollicitous for the welfare of what is most dear to them are always fearing the worst ) they perceiv'd and old woman fixt over one of the dead , a native of the place , and breaking out into many lamentations . they therefore resolv'd if they could , to get some information from the beldame : therefore going up to her , they endeavoured at first to comfort her , and asswage her vehement grief . when she had admitted their consolation , they began to demand of her , what person it was whom she bewail'd ? what war had been fought ? calasiris speaking to her in the egyptian tongue . she gave them a brief account of all ; that she lamented for her son , who lay speechless ; that she came with resolution into the field that some of the armed men might kill her , in the mean time that she performed just rites of grief towards her son. as for the fight , she gave this account ; that a certain young stranger , of excellent form and stature , was led captive to oroondates , the prince of memphis : tha the was sent , as she supposed , by mitranes , captain of the guards , for an extraordinary present . this person , the people of our town , which you see yonder , affirm'd to be one of them , whether truly or out of design , i cannot tell . mitranes being inform'd hereof , was enrag'd , and accordingly drew up his army before the town two days ago . it is a most warlike sort of people that live by rapine , with the greatest contempt of death , and have left many women childless , as they have done me . when therefore by a certain sign they were assur'd of his approach , they placed ambuscades in convenient places , by which they overcame the enemy ; part of them setting upon the persians van , and the rest form their secret places , upon their rear , mitranes was the first that fell , and with him almost all his followers , being surrounded , ans of ours not a few : in this number , by the severity of fate , in his breast by a persian javelin . this being expir'd , i lament ; and am likely soon to do the same for my other , he being gone with the rest of our souldiers , against the city of memphis . calasiris ask'd her the cause of that expedition ? she , as she was inform'd by her son that surviv'd , told them , that the kings forces being cut off , and mitranes their general slain , they were assur'd what they had done would be of no small consequence : that oroondates , who lay at memphis with a great army , would immediately approach and beset their town , and revenge the injury , by cutting off the inhabitants : they therefore determin'd , since they had brought themselves into so great danger , to follow one bold attempt with a greater , that being the only means to secure themselves from the kings fury : thingking with their sudden approach to carry memphis , and take the king prisoner ; or in his absence , if he were with his army gone on expedition in to aethiopia ( as it was rumour'd ) they might with more ease compel the city , being destitute of defence , to surrender : and likewise to perform a considerable service for thyamis , who was by his younger brother depriv'd of office of high priest , which they would restore to him . but if they should be frustrated in their design , that yet they would dye with their swords in their hands , nor ever come into the power of the persians , to suffer scorn or tortures : and now give me leave to ask whither you are going ? to the town , said calasiris . it is unsafe , said she , at present , especially for strangers . but if you will receive us for your guests ( said calasiris ) we shall be secure enough . the season will not permit , reply'd she , i being this night oblig'd to perform funeral ceremonies . but if you can endure it ( and i suppose it is necessary that you should ) to pass the night in some place , remote from the dead bodies , at break of day i will take you for your security into my custody . all this which she spoke , calasiris interpreted to chariclea ; and s took her with him to a private place . when they had passed a little way from the dead , they came to a little cave , where he laid him down with chariclea's bow under his head. chariclea sat down in another corne of the cell , the moon then rising , and lightning all without . calasiris fell into a fast sleep , being tir'd at once with age and the long journey . chariclea kept awake with care , became spectator of a most horrid seene , though usual amongst those people . for the woman supposing her self to be alone , and not likely to be interrupted , nor so much as to be seen by any person , fell to her work . in the first place she digg'd a pit in the earth , then made a fire on each side thereof ; placing the body of her son between the two plains ; then taking a pitcher from off a three-legg'd stool that stood by , she pour'd honey into the pit , milk out of a second , and so out of a third , as if she had been doing sacrifice : then taking a piece of dough , form'd in the likeness of a man , crown'd with lawrel and bdellium , she cast it into the pit. after this , snatching a sword that lay in the field , with more thatn bacchanal fury ( addressing herself to the moon in many strange terms ) she launched her arm , and with a branch of lawrel bedewed with her blood , she besprinkled the fire : with many other prodigious ceremonies . then bowing herself to the body of her sons , whispering in his ear , she awaked him , and by the force of her charms , made him to stand upright . charilea , who had hitherto look'd on with sufficient fear , was now astonisht ; wherefore she wak'd calasiris to be likewise spectator of what was done . they stood unseen themselves , but plainly behled , by the light of the moon and fire , where the business was perform'd , and by reason of the little distance , heard the discourse , the beldam now bespeaking her son in a louder voice . the question which she ask'd of him was , if her son , who was yet living , should return safe home ? to this he answer'd nothing , only nodding his head , gave her doubtful conjecture of his success ; and therewith fell flat upon his face . she turn'd the body with the face upward , and again repeated her question , but with much greater violence , uttering many incantations , and leaping up and down with the sword in her hand , turning sometimes to the fire , and then to the pit ; she once more awaken'd him , and setting him upright , urg'd him to answer her in plain word , & not in doubtful signs . in the mean time chariclea desired calasiris that they might go nearer , and enquire of the old woman about theagenes ; but he refus'd , affirming that the spectacle was impious ; that it was not decent for any person of priestly office to be present , much less delighted with such performances : that prayers and lawful sacrifices were their business ; and not with impure rites and enquires of death , as that aegyptian did , of which mischance had made us spectators . while he was thus speaking , the dead person made answer , with a hollow and dreadful tone : at first i spared you , mother , ( said he ) and suffer'd your transgressing against humane nature and the laws of destiny ; and by charms and witchcraft disturbing those things which should rest inviolated : for even the dead retain a reverence towards their parents , as much as is possible for them ; but since you exceed all bounds , being not content with the wicked action you began , nor satisfy'd with raising me up to give you signs , but also force me , a dead body , to speak ; neglecting my seputure , and keepin me from the mansion of departed souls ; hear those things which at first i was afraid to acquaint you withal : neither you son shall return alive , nor shall your self escape that death , by the sword , which is due to your crimes ; but conclude that life in sort time , which you have spent in wicked practices : forasmuch as you have not only done these things alone , but made other persons spectators of these dreadful mysteries that were so conceal'd in outmost silence ; acquainting them with the affairs and fortune or the dead . one of them is a priest , which makes it more tolerable ; who knows , by his wisdom , that such things are not be divulg'd : a person dear to the gods , who shall with his arrival , prevent the duel of his sons prepar'd for combat , and compose their difference . but that which is more grievous , is , that a virgin has been spectator of all that has been done , and heard what was said : a virgin and lover , that has wander'd through countrys , in search of her betroth'd ; with whom , after infinite labours and dangers , she shall arrive at the outmost parts of the earth , and live in royal state. having thus said , he again fell prostrate . the hag being sensible who were the spectators , arm'd as she was with a sword , in rage sought them amongst the dead bodies , where she thought they lay conceal'd , to kill them , as persons that had invaded her , and crost the operation of her charms : while she was thus employ'd , she struck her groin upon the splinter of a spear that stuck in the ground , by which she dy'd ; immediately fulfilling the prophecy of her son. the aethiopian history . the seventh book . calasiris and chariclea having so narrowly escaped , not only to avoid farther danger , but on account of what was foretold them by the dead man , hasten'd their journey towards memphis . when they arriv'd at the town , they found the preparations which they expected : for the people of memphis , a little before thyamis was compe up with his bessians , had shut up their gates , being forewarn'd of his coming by a prisoner that had escaped from him . thyamis therefore encamping before the walls , gave thee days respite to refresh his army , weary'd with their march and late service . the townsinen , who before were terrify'd with expectation of great numbers , when they found their enemies were few , drew up the archers and horse that were left to defend the town , with the rest of the citizens , arm'd as the sudden chance could furnish them , prepar'd forthwith to fet upon the enemy . a person of age and eminency dissuaded them fromtheir attemyt , saying , that though oroondates , the deputy , were absent , yet it was meet first to consult with arsace , his wife ; by which means the souldiers who were left , would more willingly engage . they approved his council , and accordingly went to the palace , where deputies reside in the kings absence . arsace , beside the charms of her person and stature , had great managemment in affairs ; such as became her royal blood , and the sister of a king : yet for luxury and dissolute life , deserv'd no little blame . amongst other things , she was partly the cause of thyamis's banishment from memphis for when calastris , for those mischiefs which were fore-told about his sons , was withdrawn from the city , so long , that he was suppos'd to be dead , thyamis , as his eldest son , was immediately invested in his place of high priest : arsace immediately fixt her eyes on him in the temple , where , beside his youth and comely personage , he appear'd more charming with the splendid habit of his office. she forbore not from immodest glances and signs , which thyamis took little notice of , being of a chaste temper . but his brother petisoris , who had already envy'd his dignity , and observ'd the allurements of arsace , took occasion from thence to form a snare for his brother . therefore privately addressing himself to oroondates , did not only tell him the inclination of arsace , but falsly added , that thyamis was contracted to her . he easily believ'd , being already jealous of arsace , but as yet have her no disturbance , having no clear proof of his surmize ; as also out of respect to the blood royal , his suspicion was to be supprest and conceal'd : yet he forbore not to threaten thyamis with death , till he was expell'd the city , and petisoris made priest in his stead . these things were formerly transacted . when now the people were throng'd about the palace , and told her the approach to the enemy , which she already knew , and desired her commands on the souldiers ; she answered , that whereas they knew not as yet the numbers of the enemy , nor who they were , nor for what cause they arrived , that it were expedient first to go up to the wall to take a view of the enemy , and resolve as they saw occasion . they approv'd her counsel , and went immediately upon the battlements . there , when a rich pavillion was placed for arsace , and she he self richly adorn'd , was seated thereon , with her guards in golden armour about her ; holding out her mace , for an emblem of peaceable treaty , she commanded the chiefs of the enemy to approach the walls . thyamis and theagenes , who were elected by the army to go forth , plac'd themselves under the walls , cover'd in armour all but their heads . the herald utter'd these words : arsace , wife of oroondates , the governour ; and sister to the king ; demands of you , who you are ? with what intention , or for what cause you are come hither with your army ? they rely'd , that their troops were bessians . of himself , thyamis gave thhis account ; that he had sustain'd injury from his brother , as also from oroondates ; that he was by treachery depriv'd of the priesthood , and that the bessians were come to restore him : that if he were re-setled in his right , the bessians should return peaceably , without doing them any damage ; otherwife his cause should be decided by the sword. that arsace for her own sake should comply , and take this opportunity of revenging herself on petisoris , who had practis'd against , and falsly accus'd her to oroondates ; and on the same pretence compass'd his banishment from that city . the memphians were much concern'd when they knew thyamis , and were hitherto ignorant in the cause of his banishment , and believ'd what he affirm'd . arsace , above all , was seiz'd with a tempest of thoughts . her rage being renew'd with this remembrance of her former injuries from petisoris , she consider'd which way to revenge herself upon him . one while surveying thyamis , and then theagenes , she was divided in her desire , and successively had a passion for each : for the one a former flame , and for the other a more violent , though kindled that moment ; insomuch that her concern was perceiv'd by her sarvants . but when she came to her self , like one from a swoon ; excellent persons ( said she ) what madness has possest you , who have not only expos'd all the bessians , but your own beautiful selves , in behalf of robbers ; for you are not able , if we should engage , to sustain our first onset . the kings affairs are not yet reduc'd to that distress , though the deputy be absent , but that you must needs be encompass'd by the remainder of his souldiers in the city . but i see no reason why the publick should be concerned in this difference ; since therefore the quarrel is private , let the decision be so too ; so that the gods and right must determine the event . it therefore seems just to me , that the memphians and your forces should lie still , and not engage in a needless war. this judgment of arsace was applauded with the shouts of her people . they not only suspected perisoris of injustice , which they desired to see punished ; but also every one rejoyc'd to have his own danger laid on another persons head . but the bessian army were not so well contented with the proposal , nor were willing to expose their general to danger , till thyamis with tears obtain'd their consent ; alledging that petisoris was weaker , and not experienc'd in arms , so that he having been versed therein , should encounter him on advantage . nor is it unlikely that arsace propos'd the single combat , to obtain , with suspicion , what she desired ; it being most probable that thyamis would overcome . this resolve was no sooner mention'd that put in action . thyamis chearfully fitting on the rest of his armour which was wanting ; theagenes assisting , and bracing his helmet on , adorn'd with a most graceful crest and plume . petisoris in the mean time was thrust out of the town , much entreating them that he might decline the fight . as soon as thyamis beheld him , do you not see , said he to theagenes , how the guilty petisoris trembles ? i perceive it , replyed he : but how have you resolv'd in this encounter ? the enemy with whom you engage is your brother . you say true , reply'd he ; i therefore determine , by the gods will , to conquer , but not kill him : providence forbid that former rage should so far revine in me , as to make me , for wrongs that are past , to imbrue my hands in a brothers blood. you speak like a man of honour , reply'd theagenes , and vers'd in the laws of nature . but what commands have you for me ? there is little danger in this encounter ( reply'd thyamis ; ) yet since all events are in the hands of fortune , if i conquer , you shall enter this city , and live with me in full command of my fortunes ; but if otherwise it shall happen , you shall be chief over these bessians , that highly esteem you , till providence shall better compose your affairs . this being agreed on , they embrac'd each other with mutual tears and kisses . theagenes fat down in the habit in which he was , to observe the combate ; thereby ( though unwittingly ) affording a full view of himself to arsace , who feasted her wanton eyes on his amiable person . thyamis made up to petisoris , who would not abide the first onset , but whilst he approacht , made toward the gate , to shelter himself in the city : but to no purpose , being again forced out by the citizens ; the persons likewise upon the walls giving charge that none should receive him . he therefore ran round the walls , and at lengthh with part of his arms thrown away . theagenes follow'd to see the event , but without weapons , to give no suspicion of assisting thyamis ; having cast down his spear and buckler in the place where he sat in sight of arsace . thus petisoris twice surrounded the city ; but making the third round , thyamis poising his spear , and calling to him to stand , unless he would receive a scandalous wound in his back : the whole city sitting spectators , as it were in a theatre . the deity , or fortune , that governs humane affairs , as in some labour'd tragedy , where new events arise , had not only plac'd calasiris a spectator at the duel of his sons , but also made him one in chase . who although he had suffered so many distresses , and banish'd himself into remote countrys to avoid so cruel a spectacle , yet , by the power of fate , is compell'd to see what the gods foretold to him by their oracles , he therefore , from a great distance , beholding the course , perceived by what had been revealed to him , that the two combatants were his sons . wherefore , with greater speed than old age would well permit , he hastned towards them , to prevent , if possible , their actual engagement : approaching so near as to bear up with them ; what madness is this , o my children , he often cryed out ? but they not yet knowing their fathers countenance , he being disguis'd in beggars habit ; their whole mind being taken up with the business in hand , neglected him , as one of the spectators , or some person distracted . but those who were on the walls admir'd that he took no care of himself , but came between the combatauts , while others laught at him , as a frantick man. when therefore the old man was sensible that he was unknown through the meanness of his garb , he threw off his outward poor disguise ; discovering his sacred hair , not yet unwreath'd ; the burden which he carry'd on his back , with the bow , being cast away , he renew'd his prayers , and with tears uttered these words ; o sons , ( said he ) behold calasiris , behold your father , and desist from this fury , which , with ill fate , you have begun ; and pay just reverence to the presence of your aged father . at this they relented , and not only fell , but threw themselves headlong at his feet , embracing his knees , they look'd up to his face , to assure themselves if it were he , and that they were not deceived by some spectre . as soon as they were confirm'd , they were seiz'd with various and contrary affections . they were overjoy'd to see their father alive , beyond their hopes or expectation , and were no less troubled for the manner in which he apprehended them ; and , above all , were sollicitous of the event in this accident . while the persons from the walls were beholding this scene , and almost astonisht , through ignorance of the matter , so that they stood mute and motionless as statues , behold another turn in the scene arose : chariclea following the steps of calasiris , while from afar off she knew theagenes ( for lovers have sharp sight ) transported with the view , with a close embrace , hanging on his neck , had no breath left to speak to him . but he , as it is likely , by her poor dress and face , disdained her , thinking her some vagabond among the crowd of spectators , put her from him ; and at last , when she not desit , and vex'd to be hinder'd from the scene of calasiris , push'd her away : she , with a low voice , cry'd , o pythius , have you forgot this taper ? theagenes struck with that word , as with a thunder-bolt , by the signs agreed on between them , knew the torch , and transported with the sight of chariclea , her beauty now shining out , as through a cloud , he threw himself upon her neck . the whole battlements ( where arsace sat , who survey'd chariclea not without jealousie ) were surpriz'd at this scene of wonderful representation . the dire contest between the brothers is taken off , and the battel , which was expected to the of bloody consequence , concludes in a happy agreement . the father , who had beheld his sons arm'd against each other , insomuch that his eyes were almost made witnesses of his childrens unnatural death , is now arbiter of peace between them . he that could avoid not their necessary destiny , makes now no less advantage of fortune . the children recover their parent after ten years loss , and he that was the cause of their bloody strife for the priesthood , is now himself crown'd by the rivals , and led along in the sacred robes . but the shining parts in the comedy were theagenes and chariclea , most beautiful figures ; who , beyond all hopes , had now recovered each other ; and above all the rest , drew the eyes of the city upon them . the inhabitants issued through the gates , and filled the plain with their numbers ; the younger sort repairing to theagenes , and the elder thronging to thyamis ; the virgins that were marriagable , went over to chariclea : so that a kind of religious procession was immediately constituted . thyamis in the mean time dismissing the bessians , with thanks for the kindness that they shewed him ; he likewise divided presents amongst them , an hundred oxen and a thousand sheep , with promise of ten drachms apiece , in little time to be sent after them . he then put his neck under his aged fathers arms to support him , languishing with years , and at present with excess of joy. petisoris on the other side did the same . thus was the old man carry'd to the temple of isis , surrounded with applause and congratulations ; pipes and sacred flutes resounding all the way , that set the younger sort a dancing . arsace also performed her part , following the pomp with her train , and putting much gold into the temple of isis , for an example to the rest of the city . in the mean time , while theagenes led chariclea by the hand , officiously keeping off the press from her , he administred no small jealousie to arsace . calasiris went into the inward part of the temple , where falling prostrate before the images , he almost expir'd in the adoration . but being recovered by the standers by , as soon as he could stand upright , and had paid his reverence to the goddess , he took the wreath from his brow and plac'd it on the head of thymis ; telling the multitude , that he was old , that the ensigns of priesthood were due to his eldest son , who also was qualify'd to sustain that office. when the people had with shouts approy'd his pleasure , he , with his two sons and theagenes , repair'd to that part of the temple which is assign'd to the priesthood : the rest departed every one to his house . arsace likewise went away , but not without delays , and turning back again , as it were , to perform homage to the goddess . all the while casting her eyes towards theagenes , as long as she could have sight of him . after she was return'd to the palace , she betook her to her apartment , where she threw herself upon her bed , without uttering one word . a woman lascivious in her temper , but now with the surpassing beauty of theagenes , inflam'd to a degree beyond what she had yet been sensible of . she therefore continued waking all night , turning from one side to the other , sighing deeply , sometimes rising up , and then throwing her self down upon her bed again . she often hastily call'd her attendants to her , then sent them away again without any commands for them . in fine , this passion had distracted her , but for an old woman , cybele by name , the keeper of her cabinet , and former servant of her love-intrigues . she guess'd the affair , and came into the chamber , as it were a torch , adding fire to her flame . madam , said she , what frenzy is this ? what new passion transports you ? what persons aspect has disturb'd my charge ? who is so vain and hardy , as not to be taken with that beauty , and not account such an enjoyment the greatest happiness ? tell me , my dear daughter ; for there is none so obstinate , as not to be vanquish'd by my stratagems . you have already had good proof thereof . these words , and many more to this purpose uttered she , embracing the feet of arsace , and reply'd arsace , after a little pause . i have now receiv'd a deeper wound than ever ; i have often found your skill successful in these affairs , but know not now what it can do . the war which was this day almost begun before our wall , prov'd unbloody to others , but to me the beginning of a more fatal war , wherein i am wounded to the very soul ; in unfortunately shewing me the youth that accompany'd thyamis during the combat . you know , mother , whom i speak of ; for with the splendour of his beauty he soon clouded all the rest , discovering no mean birth , nor aversion to love. this your judgment cannot be ignorant of : wherefore , since you know my grief , 't is high time to set all your engines to work ; to employ all your art and industry if you would have your daughter to survive . for of what use is life , without enjoyment of the person whom i affect . i know the youth ( reply'd the old woman ; ) he that is full breasted , his neck erect , his eyes sparkling , and at once displaying love and severity ; with fair and well-order'd hair , his cheeks just budding with youthful down ; to whom a certain damsel , not disagreeable , but excessive impudent , approach'd , and cast her arms about him : is not this your man , lady ? the very same , mother : and you have well brought into my mind that domestick creature , who yet is far happier than i , in possession of such a lover . at this the old woman smiling , reply'd , be of good heart , and lay aside care , madam ; it is but for a day that she is held beautiful by the stranger ; but when i bring it about that he shall enjoy your beauty , that sordid harlot shall be despis'd . do so , my dear cybele , and you will at once ease me of a double grief , love and jealousie . leave that to my care ( said she ) in the mean time it is your part to compose your self with good hopes , and not to despair of my work before i begin . having thus said , she went away , taking the light with her , and making fast the door . arsace no sooner perceiv'd day-light , but she call'd one of her eunuchs , together with her woman , to whom she gave little cakes , and sent them to do sacrifice at the temple . when they came to the gates , and told the door-keeper their business , that they were come to do sacrifice for arsace , who had that night been troubled in dreams ; the officer forbad their entrance , acquainting them , that the temple was at present full of sorrow : that the high priest calasiris , the last evening , enlarging his soul in chearfulness , and after the banquet made long supplications to the goddess : then telling his sons , that hitherto they had seen their father ; and giving them strict charge concerning the two grecian strangers , he betook himself to his bed. after this , whether his pores were too much dilated through excess of joy , or worn out with age , or by the fix'd decree of the gods , about cock-crow he expired , in presence of his sons , who watched him . we have now sent messengers to assemble the priesthood of the city , to perform those funeral rites , which , according to our custom , are due to him . you must therefore depart ; for it is not lawful for any person to enter the temple , or do sacrifice for these seven days but only the priests . what then must become of the two strangers , said cybele , during this time ? our new prelate thyamis , ( said the officer ) has commanded a lodging to be prepar'd for them without the temple ; and behold where they are now in obedience , going forth out of the temple . cybele having got this lucky opportunity , thus again bespeaks the officer ; o friend , belov'd of the gods , it is in your power to do this young couple a courtesie , but a much greater to arsace , the kings sister . you know how she favours grecians , and uses hospitality to strangers ; tell them therefore , that by command of thyamis , an apartment is provided for them in the palace . the officer did as she commanded , being sensible of no harm , but thinking to do the persons a kindness , in assisting their reception to the palace . coming therefore up to theagenes and chariclea , drown'd in tears ; you are to blame , said he , having been commanded to the contrary , thus to bewail the death of the high priest , whereas our divine laws enjoin us to rejoyce for the consummation of his happiness . however , you are partly to be excus'd , having lost ( as you say ) your father and patron : yet ought you not altogether to despond , since his son thyamis , as you see , succeeds him in the priesthood , and is no less your friend . he has given charge in the first place concerning you , and order'd you a dwelling , to which persons of the first rank are pround to be receiv'd , and therefore well may strangers be so , who seem of no extraordinary fortune . follow therefore this lady ( pointing to cybele ) and obey her , as a common parent to you both . theagenes did as he said , whether overcome by the sudden accident , that , like a storin , fell upon him , or in such a state of affairs was content with any mansion . i presume he would have taken care of himself had he suspected the mischief which that residence was likely to bring upon him . but the fate that govern'd them , after it had allow'd them one days refreshment , immediately follow'd it with misfortune ; making them prisoners to their enemy , though under appearance of hospitality . when therefore they were come to the deputies house , where all appear'd too stately for any private person ; with guards , and attending courties ; who all were surpriz'd at this preferment ( as it seem'd to them ) of the strangers . they were follow'd by cybele , encouraging them to be of good heart , and expect the performance of her promise . at last , bringing them into her own apartment , the rest of the company being shut out , she sat her self down by them , and thus exprest herself : o my children , said she , i know the occasion of your grief , which is conceiv'd for the death of calasiris , worthily honour'd by you as a father : but it is now needful that you unfold your selves to me : who you are , and from whence . that you are greeks i know , and of good parentage , i easily conjecture by your appearance . your generous countenance and form assure me of your birth ; but from which greece you come , and for what cause you wander'd , and arriv'd here , i desire to understand , intending your good thereby ; as also that i may acquaint arsace my lady , and wife to our deputy , with the particulars of your affairs ; for she is famous for hospitality lity of strangers , and , of all nations , an admirer of the greeks , for the elegance of their manners : by which means you shall come into her presence with advantage . neither shall you declare your self to a woman that is altogether a stranger , for i my self am a greek , lesbia the place of my birth ; brought captive hither , but to the improvement of my fortune . i am chief agent for my lady , she breathes not without me ; i am her very soul , and bring worthy persons into her acquaintance . theagenes comparing what was now spoken by cybele , with what had happen'd the day before , and the immodest gestures of arsace , was about to answer , when chariclea said to him in his ear , be sue in your discourse to remember your sister . he understanding what she meant by that suggestion , said ; you know , mother , already that we are greeks ; but i must further inform you that we are likewese brother and sister : who , in search of our parents , that were taken away by pyrates , have our selves sustain'd worse fortune , by falling into the hands of worse men : robb'd of our treasure , and scarce escaping with life , we met , by providence , with calasiris , with whom we design'd to lead the rest of our life : but he being now expir'd , we are left desolate , and the second time depriv'd of a father . this is the posture of our affairs . but to you we return our just thanks for your courteous hospitality ; however , you will yet lay a greater obligation upon us , if you cause us to live retir'd and private , not introducing us into the court , or acquaintance with arsace ; for such familiarities , you know , are most fitting amongst equals . cybele could no longer contain , but by the chearfulness of her countenance , discover'd her joy to hear they were relations ; that therefore chriclea would be no obstacle to arsace's desires . o lovely youth ( said she ) you will not speak this of arsace when you know her humour ; she carries herself equally to all fortunes , and with particular favour to dignity in distress : being herself a persian by birth , she naturally admires the people and manners of greece . wherefore the people and manners fo greece . wherefore take heart , and assure your self of all manly offices about her , while chariclea shall be her intimate and companion . but it is necessary that you tell me your names . which when she had heard , she desired them to wait her return ; and so hastned to arsace , leaving orders with the door-keeper , that none should be suffer'd to go in to them , nor the strangers to go out . not if your own son achemenes come ( said the person ? ) not even he , reply'd the other : lock the door , and say i have taken the key with me . even thus it happen'd ; cybele was no sooner departed , but left opportunity to theagenes and chariclea to bewail their misfortunes , which they did in almost the same words . o theagenes , said she ; o chariclea , he answer'd , with an equal sigh . what fortune has beset us , said he ! in what posture are our affairs , answer'd she ! thus reply'd they to each , kissing and mutually embracing after every sentence : at last calling to mind calasiris , they broke out into a joint complaint : chiefly chariclea , as having for a longer time been obliged to his hospitality : o good calasiris , said she , how am i in thee depriv'd of a daughters name . the father who begot me i never knew , the father that adopted me i forsook ; and lastly , this that receiv'd , cherish'd , and preserv'd me , is now a dead corpse , to which i am not permitted so much as to pay funeral rites . yet , my sustainer and preserver , nay , i will add father ; where-ever i am confin'd , i will make just libations with my tears , and pay these offerings : herewith she pluck'd off her hair , and threw it on the floor . theagenes entreated her to spare her self and be pacify'd ; yet she went on with her complaint . to what purpose should i now live , what hope is left ? my guide in this strange land , the staff of my pilgrimage , my leader to my native soil ; he that performed the office of parent ; my adviser in distress , the repeller of my misfortunes , the anchor of my hopes , calasiris , is gone . while she utter'd these lamentations , theagenes wept apart , adn restrain'd as much as he could his grief , in pity to his mistress . by this time achemenes arriv'd , and finding the door lock'd , ask'd the door-keeper the reason : when he knew 't was by his mothers order , he went to the door , where he heard chariclea lamenting , and look'd through the chinks into the chamber . again he enquires of the door-keeper ; who said , she suppos'd they were two strangers brought in thither by his mother . he then stoop'd down again , to try if he could know them . chariclea he knew not , yet was taken with her beauty ; which he thought how great it was when not disguis'd with grief . from admiration he falls into love. as for theagenes , he could but guess at him . while he was thus intent , cybele returns , having told all to her mistress concerning the young couple ; commending that good fortune that had better crown'd her desires , than the wisest councils could have done ; to plant the person she lov'd in the same house with her . having thus enflam'd arsace with desire of seeing theagenes , she yet with-held her , being disorder'd with want of sleep , till she had rested , and would appear with better advantage . leaving her thus satisfy'd , and in good expectation of the event , and resolv'd on what method to take with the strangers , she return'd . what is it , son , said she , that you so curiously enquire after ? what strangers are those within , ( said he ) and from whence ? i may not inform , you , said cybele , nor must you tell what you know , nor converser with the strangers . he obey'd his mother , suspecting theagenes to be reserv'd for arsace's service ; but is not this the person ( said he within himself as he departed ) who was rescued from me by the bessians , when he was deliver'd to me by mitranes , to conduct him to oroondates , who was to send him to our great king ? in which attempt my life was in danger , and i only escaped of those that guarded him ? do my eyes deceive me ? i have heard also that thyamis is arriv'd , and has fought in single duel with his brother for the priesthood . it is certainly the same person . but at present i must conceal the discovery , and observe arsace's proceedings with the strangers . these were his private sentiments . cybele in the mean time entring in upon them , perceiv'd what had past : for although at the operning of the doors they endeavour'd to compose themselves , yet they could not conceal their grief from the subtle old lady ; their cheeks being still moist with tears . she therefore cry'd out , o my dear children , why do you thus take on ? when you ought to rejoice , and congratulate your good fortune : the most excellent arsace contrives all things for your satisfaction ; and has consented that to morrow you shall be brought into her presence : wherefore you must put away these childish lamentaions ; it is meet for you to compose your selves , and be obedient to her pleasure . the death of calasiris ( said theagenes ) raised this sorrow , in whom we have lost a fathers protection . you trifle , said cybele ; calasiris was but your personated father , and is expir'd , according to the laws of age and nature . all things are restored to you in one person ; riches , pleasures ; adore arsace as your good fortune . only be rul'd by me in what manner you are to approach her ( since she has so commanded ) and what measures you must take in what she shall command . you know her spirit is great , as being elevated by quality and beauty , and such as will not bear contempt , in any thing that she shall enjoin . while theagenes stood silent , as conjecturing the flagitious meaning , the eunuchs entred , bringing in golden chargers , the remains of the royal banquet , that exceeded in cost and delicacy : when they had set them on the table , saying , that their lady , in honour to the strangers , had so commanded , they departed : yet , to omit no part of their office , they first tasted of every dish . the same was done in the evening . the next morning the same ennuchs coming to theagenes , said , you are call'd for ( o happy man ) by our lady , and we are commanded to bring you into her presence : go therefore , to enjoy that happiness which is permitted to very few , and to those very seldom . he paus'd a while , and then unwillingly rising up , am i only commanded to go , or my sister here with me ? only you at present ( said they ) she being afterwards to come by her self . there are now certain fersian nobles with arsace : it is her manner to speak with men apart , and with women afterwards apart also . theagenes bowing , said softly to chariclea , these things are neither honest , nor their meaning unsuspected by me : when she whispered to him again , that he ought not to disobey , but seem willing to perform her pleasure in all things , he follow'd them forth . when they told him after what menner she was to be accosted ; how he ought to adore her at his entrance , he answered nothing . but going in , and finding her seated on a tribunal , adorn'd in a purple robe , embroider'd with gold , bracelets on her arms , and a rich tiara on her head , the guards slanding round , and the nobles seated on each side , his mind was not moved in the least ; but as forgetting what was agreed on between himself and chariclea , his spirit was the more exalted against the pride of this persian pageant . therefore , neither bending his knee , nor adoring her , with an erect countenance , he said ; save you , arsace , of royal blood , while those that were present were enrag'd , and murmur'd at theagenes's audacious entrance without the usual adoration . you must excuse him , ( said arsace smiling ) as a stranger to our customs ; and as a grecian , prejudic'd against them . withal , she put off her tiara , though much prohibited by the attendants ; for this is the persians way of returning respect to them that salute them . when , by her interpreter , ( for though she understood the greek tongue she could not speak it ) she had bid him be of good chear ; to demand any thing he needed ; beckning to her eunuchs , she dismiss'd him . he was attended forth by the guards , among whom , achemenes , having here seen him again , knew him more exactly ; and suspecting the cause of the extraordinary honour done to him , yet conceal'd his thoughts , resolving within himself what to do . arsace continued to receive the persian nobles and magistrates with such magnificence , pretending respect to them , while the true cause of her holding the banquet was to have discourse with theagenes ; to whom she not only sent the choicest dainties , but richest presents , tapestrys and carpets of divers colours , wrought at sydom and lydia . she likewise sent servants to attend them ; a young maiden to chariclea , and a youth of ionia to theagenes : very much urging cybele to finish her design with celerity , for that she could no longer sustain the violence of her passion : nor was she negligent in trying all ways to compass theagenes . indeed she told him not arsace's desire in express words , but with circumlocution gave him to understand ; magnifying the bounty of arsace towards him ; setting before his eyes not only those beauties which appear'd in her , but likewise those that were conceal'd : then she extoll'd her humour , that was affable and obliging , and the esteem that she had for youths of noble expectation . in short , she made tryal by all she said how he stood affected to the delights of venus . theagenes acknowleg'd her bourity towards him , her love to the grecian customs ; and on all accounts return'd her thanks and praise : but for the drift of her wiles he seem'd to take no notice . the old lady therefore was stung , to think that he understood her intention , but despis'd and repell'd her attempts . she knew arsace would bear no longer delays , but exact performance of her promise ; she therefore put her off with pretences , sometimes saying that the youth was timorous , and sometimes that ill accidents had happen'd . when therefore the fifth and sixth days were past , in which arsace had again call'd chariclea to her , and , to gratifie theagenes , treated her with all imaginable courtesie , she was forced to speak more plainly with theagenes ; to tell him her ladies passion , assuring him of ten thousand advantages if he assented . why are you ( said she ) so averse to love ? a youth so beautiful , in the spring of his age , belov'd by an equal beauty , yet esteems not the good fortune : especially when no danger attends , the husband being absent , and i ( who have bred her , and know all her secrets ) having the management of the affair . on your own part , there can be no impediment , having neither mistress nor wife . though many have despised even these considerations , and thought they did not therein wrong their domestick concerns ; but took the opportunity at once of making their fortune , and enjoying their pleasure . lastly , she mingled threats with arguments ; saying , that the most obliging women conceive the greatest displeasure , when disappointed , and severely revenge the neglect . think with your self , that this lady is a persian , and of princely blood , as you have acknowledg'd ; with what power she is vested ; so that at her pleasure she may reward her favourites with greatest honours , and punish those that disoblige her . for your part , you are a stranger here , deserted , and have none to succour you . take pity both on your self and her . she is worthy of your compassion , since you were author of her pain , and it is for you she languishes . at least , fear a lovers rage , and beware of that revenge which follows contempt . i have known many of your temper , who have repented too late . i have greater experience in these matters than you : these hairs are grown grey in the employment ; but so obstinate and incorrigible a youth i never yet met withal . then turning to chariclea ( of necessity indeed she hearing all this discourse ) and do you , daughter , ( said she ) advise this brother of yours , though i know not if he deserve that title . this business will also turn to your advantage ; you will be never the less lov'd by him ; you shall have all honours conferr'd on you ; be made as rich as you please , and advanc'd to a most honourable marriage . these things are to be wish'd for by happy persons , not by the destitute , and strangers . but chariclea , looking angrily and earnestly upon her , it were to be wish'd , said she , on all accounts , that arsace suffer'd under no such passion , at least that she could moderate her desires ; but since humanity is liable to such frailty , and that she is over-power'd , i would my self counsel theagenes not to refuse , if it may be with safety ; lest it come to light , by some accident , to her undoing , by the deputies knowledge of it . cybele leapt forth at these words , kissing and embracing chariclea ; well spoken , daughter , ( said she ) this is agreeable to nature , that you , who are a woman , should pity the sufferings of a woman , and take care for your brothers safety . but on this account there is no reason why you should fear , since the sun himself shall not be privy to it . desist at present , said theagenes , and give us a little time to deliberate . cybele immediately went out . o theagenes , ( began chariclea ) the gods give us such successes , as bring with them greater misfortune than the happiness : which since it is so , it is the part of prudence to make the best of bad circumstances . whether or no you resolve in your self on this thing i know not , but if you think the proposal dishonest and unworthy , feign a compliance , and sooth the impatience of the barbarian with expectation , lest she determine something fatal against us . 't is probable that a little time ( if you can delay her hopes ) will afford us some remedy . but , o theagenes , take care lest the contemplation betray into a desire . to which theagenes answer'd , with a smile , neither have you in your distress escap'd that female distemper , jealousie . but know that i cannot so much as dissemble , or make a pretence in such an affair ; to act or say , in unlawful things , is alike to generous minds . if arsace despair , there will be , at least , this advantage in it , that we shall no more be troubled with her sollicitations . but if i must suffer , both my past fortune , and temper of mind , have inur'd me to bear what shall be put upon me . chariclea said no more , only desir'd him to take notice into what mischief they must inevitably be brought . while they were thus taken up , cybele having encourag'd arsace to good hope , for that theagenes had exprest so much , return'd to the apartment ; where passing over that night in civilities to chariclea , whom also she made her bed-fellow ; next morning she again ask'd theagenes , what he resolv'd ? when he manifestly refus'd her , and bid her expect no such compliance : she return'd sorrowful to arsace . when she had told her theagenes cruelty , arsace push'd her forth headlong , and running into her closet , threw herself on her bed , tearing her cloathes and hair. achemenes had no sooner spy'd his mother coming forth sad and weeping , but he ask'd her the reason ; if any mischief had happen'd , and any ill news disturb'd her lady ? if oroondates had lost the battel ? and many more such questions . you triftle ( said she ) and so went on . he nevertheless intermitted not , but taking her by the hand , begg'd her to acquaint her son with her trouble : she therefore permitting him to lead her , went into a private part of the garden . i would , said she , to no other person discover my ladies sufferings ; but since her life is at stake , and i know her fury will return upon my head , i am compell'd to speak : if possibly you can contrive any help for her that brought thee into the light , and nursed thee with these breasts . she is desperately in love with a certain youth ; her passion is invincible ; and after hopeful expectation , both she and i have found our labour frustrated . from hence proceeded these manifold favours expressed to the strangers . but since the foolish youth is intractable , i fear she will not live , and know my own death to be certain . this is the distressed estate of our affairs . if you can give any relief , do it quickly ; if not , prepare your mothers funeral . but what reward shall i have , mother , said he ; for it is not seasonable to tell you at large how far i can be serviceable , whilst you are in this disorder , and almost expiring . you shall have whatever you will desire , said cybele : you are already made , on my account , her chief cup-bearer : if there is any further preferment which you would have , demand it : the riches shall be without measure which you shall have , if you preserve her . i neither ask preferment nor wealth , said he ; let her only give the maid , who is call'd the sister of theagenes , for my wife , and all things shall succeed to her desire . i am passionately in love with the virgin : wherefore our lady labouring with the same passion , will more readily gratifie my desires , especially for so great a service . doubt it not , said cybele ; besides , i may privately prevail with the virgin on your behalf . but tell me , what method do you propose ? i shall not tell it , said he , till my lady has promis'd me with oath ; nor do you till then attempt any thing with the virgin ; lest by precipitance you destroy all , she being , as i perceive , of a great spirit . hereupon she return'd to arsace , and throwing herself at her feet , desir'd her to take comfort , all things shall do well , only be pleas'd to call my son achemenes into your presence . let him be call'd , said arsace ; but take care you do not again deceive me . achemenes therefore enter'd ; and when arsace , in express words , had sworn to him , that he should marry the sister of theagenes : then , said he , trouble not your self , your authority over theagenes is absolute , let the slave take care how he behaves himself to his mistress . how mean you , said she ? when she had thus ask'd , he told her all that had past ; that he had been taken , and was her captive and bond-man , by right of war : that mitranes had sent him to him , to send him again to oroondates , who was to convey him to the king : that he was rescu'd from him , on the way , by the bessians and thyamis : that he hardly escap'd with life : and above all , produc'd before arsace the letters of mitranes . if there were need of farther arguments , thyamis should confirm it . arsace hereupon was a little reviv'd , and going from her apartment to the presence chamber ; where she was wont , on her tribunal , to determine publick affairs : she commanded theagenes to be brought before her . when he was brought , she ask'd him if he knew achemenes , who stood by him ? he confessing it ; she farther ask'd , if he had taken him prisoner ? theagenes acknowledging that also ; you are therefore my slave , said she , and must be at my disposal . i betroth your sister to achemenes ; who not only for his mothers , but for his own services deserves highly from me : i should only so far defer it , till the requisite preparations for the nuptials can be made . theagenes was herewith struck , as with a thunder-bolt , yet resolved not to contradict , but cunningly decline her fury . o madam , said he , we are obliged to the gods , that since we are born of noble blood , we have yet the comfort in our misfortunes , to become your servants : to you , who exercise such courtesie towards strangers . but for my sister , since she was not your captive , she cannot be made to serve ; yet she has resolv'd in all things to obey ; do therefore what you shall judge to be right . you shall be plac'd , said arsace , among the waiters on our table , and learn the art of cup-bearing , to practise the royal service before-hand . they went forth from her presence ; theagenes with a thoughtful countenance , achemenes receiving him with scoffs : behold , said he insulting , that you , who lately were so insolent , who thought your self the only free man , who disdain'd to bow your head , and pay reverence , what you are now come to . arsace in the mean time sending the rest away , said to cybele alone , now cybele tell this proud youth , that if he will submit to our pleasure , he shall have his freedom , and live in wealth and plenty ; but if he continues obstinate , i will use him like my slave , and impose on him the vilest service and punishments . cybele came to him with the commands of arsace , adding also to her words what she thought conveninent . theagenes asking a little respite , said to chariclea apart ; o chariclea , our affairs are at an end ; every cable , every anchor of hope is cut off ; our very liberty is now taken away ; we are servants to barbarians , and doom'd to suffer whatever they will impose . yet even these things were tolerable , but arsace has promis'd you in marriage to achemenes , the son of cybele ; which shall either never be , or at least seen by me while i am master of a sword. but what is to be done ? what contrivance can be found to free me from the detested embrace of arsace , and you from achemenes ? yet methinks i have a sudden thought , as necessity is fruitful in invention : then turning to cybele , tell your lady , said he , that i desire to speak with her alone , and in private . the old lady imagining theagenes to have consented , ran to arsace ; and being commanded to bring him after supper , she accordingly did so : commanding the attendants to leave their lady to her rest , and clear her lodgings , she brought theagenes into her bed-chamber . the rest of the apartments were all made dark , her bed-chamber only had a lamp in it . cybele would have withdrawn her self , but theagenes forbad her , saying , that she must be present ; i know that she is good at keeping secrets ; and with that , taking arsace by the hand ; o lady , said he , i from the first deferr'd your commands only till i might with safety , obey you : but now , since fortune , by particular favour , has declar'd me your servant , i am much more forward to obey you in all things . whereas therefore you have promis'd me many courtesies , i beg but one instead of all , that you would revoked the marriage of chariclea and achemenes : for , not to mention other things , it is unfit that she , being of noble birth , sould be wedded to a servant . otherwise , i swear by the brightest of deities , the sun , that i will never comply with your demands ; and before i will see any violence offer'd to chariclea , i will die by my own hand . you cannot but think me willing to gratifie you in any thing ( said arsace ) who am ready to deliver up my self to you ; but i have already sworn to give your sister to achemenes . it is well , madam , said he ; give him my sister if you please , but her whom i make love to , who is my betrothed , and indeed my wife , you neither will , nor can bestow upon him . how say you ! cry'd arsace : the matter answers it self , said he , for chariclea is not my sister , but my spouse ; wherefore you are freed from your oath : this you may also confirm , whensoever you shall be pleas'd to perfect the nuptials between her and me . arsace was stung with jealousie to hear that chariclea was not his sister , but his spouse : yet be it as you will , said she , we shall make achemenes amends by some other match . i shall likewise answer your desires , said theagenes , when you have null'd this promise . with these words he bowed , as to kiss her hand , but she stooping , receiv'd the salute upon her lips : theagenes then took leave of her . as soon as he could , he acquainted chariclea with what had past , ( who heard him not without some jealousie ) how all was compass'd by one means ; the nuptials with achemenes broken , time gain'd to divert the sollicitations of arsace ; and what would crown all , that achemenes would put things into commotion , enrag'd at his disappointment , and to see me preferr'd to him in the favour of arsace : that nothing would be conceal'd from him , his mother giving him the intelligence : for i took care , for that reason , to have her present , as also for a witness of our conversation . it is to be expected ( added he ) that achemenes will lay snares for arsace : a slave by birth ( who have a natural inveteracy against their superiours ) especially being injured , and defrauded of her promise ; seeing also other preferr'd before him , and being conscious to her practices , so that there is no need of forg'd inventions , there being sufficient grounds of truth to work upon . having thus spoken to chariclea , and advis'd her to take some hope , he was the next day brought by achemenes to minister at the table : for this was enjoyn'd by arsace ; and he was cloath'd in the vestment which she sent him , adorn'd with golden wreaths , bracelets , and gemms . while achemenes offer'd to shew him the manner of his office , theagenes ran to the side-board , where the golden cups stood , and taking one up , i have no need of teachers , said he , but i will serve my own lady after my own way . fortune has well oblig'd you , to be skill'd in such offices , but nature and occasion shall instruct me what is to be done : then lightly pouring forth , he bore the cup to arsace . this draught more pleas'd her than usually , at once sipping of the bowl , and fixing her eyes on theagenes , drinking deeper of love than wine . achemenes was doubly wounded , fill'd at once with rage and emulation , so that arsace herself perceiv'd his frown , and heard his murmurings to the standers by . when the banquet was done , i have one favour to beg , said theagenes , that you would please , madam , to order me always to perform my office in this robe . arsace consenting , he resum'd his own dress , and went forth : achemenes went along with him , upbraiding his insolence , and urging , that his mistress excus'd his first neglect , as being ignorant , and a stranger ; but that for the future she would not suffer it . this , says he , i tell you as a friend , and one whose sister , by my ladies promise , is to be my wife ; with many more things to this purpose . but theagenes , as not hearing him , went forward , with his eyes fix'd on the ground , till cybele met him , as she was returning to lay her lady on her bed in the heat of the day . seeing her son disturb'd , she demanded the reason . this young stranger , said he , is preferr'd before me , for the beauty of his person , and officiates in my stead ; and this not without contempt of us that formerly had the honour . but these matters we shall at another time have leisure to discourse ; in the mean time , mother , i desire to solace my grief by marriage with chariclea . what marriage , son , said cybele ? you seem to me concern'd for light trouble , and yet neglect greater : you shall not now have chariclea for your wife . what say you ? answer'd he , am i not worthy to marry my fellow servant ? for what reason , mother ? for my sake , said she , and my too much service to arsace : for after my preferring her to my own safety , and serving her pleasure , this stranger at his first admission into her chamber , was so much regarded , that he immediately prevail'd with her to break her oath to you ; and to consent that chariclea should be wedded to him , and not with you ; she not being his sister , but his mistress . has she promised him , mother ? she has , my son , in my presence and hearing ; and will accordingly celebrate their nuptials in few days : but for you she designs another match . achemenes at this sighing deeply , and wringing his hands , said , i shall render the marriage fatal to them all ; only do you assist me , by delaying the nuptials for a time : and if any enquiry be made after me , say that i remain sick in the country . the stranger calls his sister his spouse only to break off the marriage with me : though if he should embrace , kiss her , or sleep with her , i shall never believe but she is his sister . this business belongs to my care , and to the gods , whose honour is violated . thus spoke he , being at once incens'd with jealousie , love and disappointment , ( which things are sufficient to make a person troublesome , that were not barbarous ) not weighing his resolves by reason , but taking the first heat , he mounted and armenian courser , that belong'd to the deputy , and posted away to oroondates , then mustering a great army at thebes , against the aethiopians ; collecting all manner of strength for the enterprise , and now ready to march. the aethiopian history . the eighth book . for when the king of aethiopia had by stratagem defeated oroondates , and obtain'd the half of what they contended for , making himself master of philae ; he at last reduc'd him to those shifts , that he was forc'd to retreat by stealth , and in disorder . the city philae is situate on the nile , a little above the cataracts ; and distant from siene and elephantina about twelve miles and a half . this city being formerly taken , and possest by aegyptian out-laws , drew on a contest for the same between the aegyptians and aethiops . the aethiops pretending the borders of aethiopia to stretch as far as the cataracts ; and the aegyptians lay claim to it , on account of their out-laws inhabiting there . this city was successively in the power of the one or other , according as they could soonest attack it ; but at this time it had a garrison of aegyptians and persians . the aethiopian king , by embassy , demanded philae of oroondates , and the precious mines of smaragdus : which being deny'd , he commanded his legates to go a few days journey before him , saying , that he would follow after , when he had made preparations , but acquainted none whither he intended . when he suppos'd the legates to be arriv'd at philae , where they were to lull the inhabitants into security , under pretence of coming to make a peace with them , he himself came suddenly upon the city , and beat out the guards , who were not able to hold out against the number of the enemy , and engins , with which they batter'd the walls with no damage at all to the townsimen . achemenes finding oroondates troubled on these accounts , gave him yet farther disturbance , by his sudden and uncommanded arrival . asking therefore if any thing were amid with arsace , or his family ; he answer'd , tha● there was , but he would tell him in private when the company were dismiss'd , he unfold ed all ; how theagenes , take prisoner by m●tranes , and sent to him , to be again convey'd t● the king their master , being a handsome youth , and fit for court service , was rescu'd by the be tians , who also had kill'd mitranes : he then proceeded to the affairs of thyamis , and in the last place told the love of arsace for theagenes ; his residence in the palace , and honours conferr'd upon him ; but that as yet perhaps there was nothing unlawful committed , the youth being averse to her desires . however , it was to be fear'd , that he would be won in time , unless he sent speedily to bring him to memphis , and wholly cut off the intrigue of arsace . that for this very reason he hasten'd and came secretly to him , out of respect ; not being able to conceal his injury from him . as with this discourse he enstam'd oroondates with jealousie and revenge , so on the other sie he fill'd him with love of chariclea , of whom he next inform'd him ; extoling her beauty with divine praises ; that never was her equal seen , nor ever should be ; that all his concubines were nothing in comparison of her , not only those he left at memphis , but also they that followed his camp. many more things he added , thingking , that though orrondates should enjoy chariclea , yet , after some time , he should , for this discovery , receive her for his wife . thus was the deputy thrown at once into the toils of rage and love. wherefore without delay , calling bagoas , one of his eunuchs , to him , ( of great authority and trust ) with fifty horse to accompany him , he sent him to memphis , to bring theagenes and chariclea , as soon as he could find them . he also sent letters : one to arsace , of these contents . oroondates to arsate . theagenes and chariclea , the two captive kindred and royal servants , you must send to me , to transmit them to the king ; send them willingly , for otherwise they shall by force be taken away , for i give credit to achemenes . to euphrates , the chief eunuch at memphis , he wrote thus : of your negligence in my affairs at home you shall hereafter give an account ; at present deliver the two grecian strangers to bagoas , whether arsace be willing or not . otherwise i have sent orders that you be brought bound to me , and discharg'd from your office. begoas therefore , according to command , went with the letters signed with the deputies own seal , that at memphis they might give him the better credit , and more easily deliver the strangers to him . oroondates in the mean time set forward against aethiopia , commanding achemenes to follow him ; who knew ( thoughh no mention was made thereof ) that he was kept in custody till the truth of what he had informed were known . these things passed at memphis . in the mean time thyamis ( while achemenes was upon his way to oroondates ) having in full power receiv'd the office of high-priesthood , an office of first rank in the city , and perform'd all rites belonging to the funeral of calasiris , to the outmost terms of the constituted time , he then called to mind theagenes and chariclea : for now it was permitted to him , by the pontificial law , to converse with strangers . therefore , upon enquiry , finding that they were carry'd to the deputies palace , he forthwith demanded them of arsace , alledging that they belong'd to him upon many accounts ; that his father calasiris , on his death-bed , committed them to his care : giving her thanks that she so courteously treated the strangers , during his confinement to the temple : but however , that he was obliged to remand the pledges left to his trust . i wonder , reply'd arsace , that while you acknowledge my humanity , you condemn me at the same time of inhospitality , in supposing me not able or willing to provide for the strangers . not so , said thyamis , i know they may live here in greater plenty than with me , provided they are so contentel . but since they are of noble race , and have run through changes of fortune , and still are wanderets , nothing can be so desirable to them as to recover their kindred and country . in which , that i might be assisting to them , my father left me his charge , beside many other obligations of friendship between us . you do well , said arsace , to urge your right , by which you will sooner prevail with me , than by force . have you then dominion over them , said thyamis ? by what means ? by right of war , reply'd she , which made them my captives , and consequently my slaves . when therefore thyamis understood that she spake of mitranes ; o arsace , said he , it is not now war but peace ; as that brings into bondage , this should set at liberty : besides , war and peace should be judg'd not by the name , but reason and constitution . how can it be creditable or profitale to you to detain the strangers ? arsace could no longer contain ; but that happen'd to her which is usual for lovers , while they think their sentiments conceal'd , they have modesty ; but when discover'd , they lose all sence of shame . she therefore suspecting that thyamis perceiv'd her passion , made no account of his priestly dignity , but casting off the modesty of her sex , told him , that what he had done against mitranes should not pass unpunished ; for the time should come when oroondates would call his murderers to account . for the present i will not dismiss my vassals , though in little time they shall be sent to the king my brother . wherefore leave your idle reasonings of rights or wrong , with them that have authority , and depart willingly from our palace , lest you be compell'd by force . thyamis therefore went forth , calling the gods to witness , and affirming that these things could come to no good issue ; resolving to acquaint th city herewith , and call in their assistance . arsace retir'd to her chamber , calling cybele to her , to take counsel of what was to be done . she had now some suspicion of achemenes his absence ; and when she ask'd cybele about it , she fram'd divers excuses , affirming any thing rather than own his departure to oroondates . yet she did not altogether impose upon her , the length of time creating mistrust . what shall we do , cybele , said she ? or how shall we work our selves out from the streights that encompass us ? my desire is not lessen'd but encreas'd by denial . the youth grows more obstinate and intractable than ever . he has hitherto fram'd delays , but now he flatly denies me . and that which more troubles me , is lest he should likewise apprehend what i suspect of achemenes . for achemenes much disturbs me , being gone to oroondates , to perswade him of what he knows or conjectures ; if i could but see oroondates , one tender word or tear from me would overcome him . but i am afraid , lest before i enjoy theagenes , or can see oroondates , he should determine concerning me . wherefore , cybele , turn every stone , try all your art with the young man , since you see our affairs are brought to the last exigence : for you must imagine that when i despair for my self , i shall spave no other person . therefore take advantage of your sons endeavour , for i cannot conceive how you can be ignorant thereof . as for my son , madam , or my fidelity to you , you shall find that you censure falsly . wherefore , since you so negligently pursue your love , you must not lay the blame on others : for you execrise not the authority of a mistress with him , but the submission of a slave . which method perhaps was discreet at first , but since he is obstinate , you should make him feel your power , and constrain him , by torments , to obey your pleasure . it is the manner of youths to despise when they are courted , but to submit on compulsion : wherefore , he will do that by punishment , which he refus'd on entreaties . you seem to speak rightly , said , arsace , but how can i endure to see him chastiz'd . you are too tender , replyed cybele , as though he would not by light chastisement be made to embrace pleasure ; and for your part of the suffering , you will be rewarded with your outmost wishes ; but if you cannot beat the spectacle , deliver him to euphrates , to be scourg'd as for some fault , which you may hear though not see ; and if you find him change his mind , you may at pleasure put an end to his chastisement . arsace suffer'd her self to be perswaded ; for love , when despis'd , spares not the object , but turns kindness into revenge . calling therefore the chief eunuch to her , she gave him orders accordingly . he being by nature envious , and possest with inveteracy against theagenes , for what he had seen and suspected , immediately threw him into bonds , and afflicted him with stripes and hunger . the place was dark where he kept him , and though he knew the cause , he dissembled , often asking theagenes the reason ; who gave him no answer wherefore he daily renew'd his punishment , and more severely than arsace intended . tormenting , and suffering none to come to him beside cybele , who perpetually visited him , pretending to commiserate his condition , on account of their former acquaintance , but indeed to find if he were to be wrought upon by the tortures . he shew'd himself more a man , more resolute than ever , yielding his body to punishment , triumphing in his misfortune , that gave proof of his love to chariclea , and saying , that all was well with him if she did but know his constancy ; continually calling her his light , his life , and soul. when cybele perceiv'd this , ( contrary to the will of arsace ) she gave command to have his torments encreased . nei ther thus did she hope for success , but last means were to be try'd when affairs were desperate ; she expected that oroondates , when he should hear of it , would take revenge on achemenes . she fear'd lest arsace , when her passion was discovered , would lay violent hands on her self , and that consequently it were impossible for her to escape ; wherefore , if things came to the worst , she resolv'd to involve all together in the same fate . returning therefore to arsace , we lose our labour , madam , said she , he is still more resolute and obstinate , having always chariclea in his mouth , and solacing his sufferings with her name . let us therefore cast forth our last anchor , and remove this obstacle to our endeavours : if he shall once know that she is dead , he will of course admit your kindness , despairing of his former love. arsace catcht at what she said , being before enrag'd with jealousie ; you advise will , said she , i will take care to have her dispatch'd ; but whom shall we get to perform this ? for though the power be in your own hands , yet the persian laws forbid to put any to death without the judgment of the magistrates . you must therefore contrive to lay some crime to her charge : yet if you think fitting ( for i would run any hazzard for your sake ) i will attempt her life by poyson . arsace approv'd hereof , and commanded her to do it . she therefore immediately went about it ; and finding chariclea in tears and lamentations , nor only so , but contriving some means to dispatch her self , ( for she now understood what theagenes suffer'd , though cybele had long kept her in ignorance , framing divers excuses for his so long absence ) fond maid , said she , will you never give over afflicting your self without reason ? theagenes is well , and shall come to you this evening : my lady was angry for some mistake that he committed in his office , and caus'd him to be shut up , but this day he will be releas'd , which i also entreated of her ; for to day she is to celebrate a certain festival , after the manner of her country . rise therefore , compose your self , and now take some repast with me . what reason have i to believe you , said chariclea ? for it has been your continual practice to deceive me . i swear by the gods , answer'd cybele , that this day all things shall be well with you , and you shall be freed from all your cares : only do not before destroy your self having now fasted for so many days : taste therefore of what is now set before you . chariclea obey'd her , though not without suspicion ; but partly assenting to her oath , and partly for joy of what was told her : for the mind easily believes what it earnestly desires . she therefore sat down to eat . while the attendant fill'd the wine , cybele beckon'd to her first to give the cup to chariclea and after to her self . but the old lady , before she had drank to the bottom , spilling the rest , began to storm , and looking sternly upon the waiter , was immediately enflam'd , and seiz'd with convulsions . chariclea was fill'd with horrour , and endeavour'd to lift her up ; she likewise call'd the assistance of them that were present ; for the mischief seem'd swifter than an arrow , the poyson being of so strong a tincture , as to destroy the youngest and strongest constitution ; but in a feeble and old body it dispers'd it self in a mimute through all the vitals . the convulsions now remitting , she lay motionless , a blackness overspreading her skin . though , i suppose , her rage , for being deceiv'd , gave no small help to the ferment . for even now , breathing her last , she did not intermit her frauds , but partly with signs , partly with broken words , perswaded them that chariclea had poyson'd her . at the same minute that she gave up the ghost , chariclea was brought bound to arsace . she therefore demanding whether she had procur'd the poyson , and affirming that if she deny'd , tortures should force her into confession , chariclea became an unwonted spectacle to the beholders . for without any meanness of spirit , or concern in her face , she enter'd smiling into her presence , partly out of conscience of her innocence , and partly for joy that she should not survive theagenes , if he were dead ; and also because the death which she design'd to perpetrate on her self , was now to be perform'd by other hands . o princess , said she , if my theagenes live , i am guiltless of this action ; but if he be dead , there is no need of calling council , or inflicting tortures , you may spare your self that trouble : you have me here who destroy'd the person that bred you up , kill me therefore without delay . you can do nothing more grateful to theagenes , who has resisted your impious sollicitaitons . arsace was enrag'd hereat , and commanded her to be struck : carry , said she , this victim , bound as she is , to let her lover see how gloriously she returns his constancy ; command euphrates to load her all over with chains , and leave them together , till the persian magistracy shall be assembled to morrow for her condemnation . by this time the maid that serv'd the wine was brought in : she was an ionian slave , and the same that by arsace was appointed to wait on chariclea . whether therefore she was mov'd with kindness to her , or by divine impulsion , she sigh'd and wept most bitterly . o wretched creature , said she , and void of all crime ! the standers-by being in wonder hereat , and urging her to speak plainly , she confessed that she her self gave the poyson to cybele , having receiv'd it first from her , to administer it to chariclea : that , whether it was through concern at so unwonted a practice , or whether mistaking the signs of cybele , ordering to minister first to chariclea , she changed the cups , and gave the poyson to the old lady . she was therefore led to arsace , as thinking she should please her in clearing chariclea . but when she had given her this account , arsace commanded her also to be taken into custody , as an accomplice in the fact , and to be kept for the next days session . she also summon'd the persian magistrates , by messengers , to be ready . when therefore they were sat , early in the morning , arsace gave in her accusation , telling all that had past , condoling also with tears , the loss of the person that bred her , who was dearer to her than her life ; appealing to the judges with how much courtesie she had treated the stranger , who in return had done her such injury . chariclea answer'd nothing to the charge , but confest the crime , affirming that she gave the poyson , adding also that she would likewise have taken off arsace , had she not been prevented . for having told her resolutions over-night to theagenes , and conferr'd with him , she resolv'd to undergo any manner of death , to depart from a life so full of trouble , of implacable fortune , and endless wanderings ; she there bid him her last farewel . the bracelet and jewels , with the rest that were expos'd with her , which she always secretly preserv'd , she now placed next to her body , carrying ; as it were , with her the rites of her funeral , she therefore own'd every crime that was alledg'd , and more than were charg'd . for which reason the judges hardly forbore from inflicting the outmost tortures , after the persian manner ; yet moved with her youth and beauty , they only sentenc'd her to die by fire . she was therefore seiz'd by the guards , and hurry'd forth beyond the walls , the beadle continually crying out , that it was for poyson that she suffer'd ; a vast multitude from the city following them . some of them had seen her led to tryal , others , by reason of the rumour spread all over the city , came to have a view of her . arsace was also present , and sat a spectator on the wall : for it would have troubled her not to have beheld chariclea suffer . when therefore the officers had raised a great pile , and set fire thereunto , chariclea begg'd respite from those that led her , saying , that she would of her own accord ascend the pile . o sun and earth ( she cryed out ) o powers above , and you that below take vengeance on wicked souls , you are witnesses that i am innocent of all that is laid to my charge . but that i my self willingly submit to death , for the intolerable troubles which i sustain . receive me therefore with favour . however , take vengeance of this arsace , for whose crimes i suffer ; she is an adultress , and does this to deprive me of my husband . when she had thus spoken , the people thouted , some saying , that she should be reserv'd for another tryal , others endeavouring to rescue her ; in the mean time she ascended the pile , where for a long while she stood unhurt , the fire rather circling about , than approaching her , serving only to make her beauty more conspicuous , and adorning the pile , as it were a nuptial bed. she passed from one part to another , admiring at what happen'd , and tempting death , but in vain , for the flame still turn'd off from her . the officers , in the mean time , omitted nothing on their part ; arsace also beckning to them from the wall to do their duty ; wherefore they heap'd on more combustible matter . neither could they thus prevail . the citizens were troubled , thinking there was some divine assistance , and cry'd out , that she was innocent . several approaching to the pile took off the torturers , thyamis beginning , and encouraging the people thereunto , ( for the clamour had now brought him abroad . ) being therefore desirous to deliver chariclea , they durst not themselves approach the fire , but call'd to her to come out ; for that there could be no danger for her to leave the fire , who had continu'd therein without hurt . she hearing this , and judging herself to be preserv'd by divine providence , would not be ingrateful , and refuse their favour : she therefore leapt down from the pile . as the multitude for joy and amazement shouted out , arsace , not able to bear it , ran down from the walls through a little gate , and with a strong guard of persians laid hands on chariclea . then looking sternly upon the people , are you not asham'd , said she , to rescue from punishment a woman that is a witch and poysoner by her own confession ? while you give her aid , you do violence to the persian laws ; to the judges , deputy , and king himself . you are mistaken , in imputing her delivery to the gods : will you not come to your sences , and find that this is the effect of her witchcraft , in which she has such command , as even to restrain the power of fire . assemble therefore to morrow in common council , and you shall not only hear her confession , but also those of her accomplices , whom i have in custody . herewithal she led her away , herself going next to her , and commanding the guards to keep off the crowd . but the people were enrag'd , part of them had thoughts of resistance , part of them having still some suspicion of her witchcraft , and the rest fearing the power of arsace . chariclea therefore is once more deliver'd to euphrates , and loaded with more irons ; reserved for a second sentence and execution : but still blessing her fortune , in seeing theagenes , and conferring with him about what had passed . for arsace had so order'd it , out of malice , that the young pair might behold each others misery , and be mutually afflicted with each others sufferings : for she knew that the torment of the person belov'd , more affected the lover than the party that suffer'd . but it was by them esteem'd as an advantage , to see each others constancy . it was some relief to converse together , and comfort one another with the consideration , that what they endur'd was upon the account of truth and vertue . after they had till midnight discours'd , in such a manner as was proper for lovers that were never more to talk together ; they at last talk'd of the miracle that happen'd about the fire . theagenes imputed it to the kindness of the gods , who shewed their indignation against the unjust decree of arsace ; but chariclea was doubtful . that accident , said she , seems to have come by divine providence , but to be reserv'd only for greater misfortunes , cannot proceed from the gods , unless they have secretly decreed to give relief at the greatest extremity . theagenes advis'd her to think more honourably of the divine powers : be propitious to us , o ye deities , said he ! was it a dream or reality , which now comes into my mind ? it happen'd the last night but one ; i know not how i came to forget it , but it now returns to my memory . the dream was a verse which calasiris seem'd to expound . the words were these : thee from the flame pantarbe's pow'r shall guard strange force ! but nothing to the gods is hard . theagenes now seem'd inspir'd , and leap'd forth as far as his chains would permit , crying , be merciful to us , ye gods. for i further remember another oracle deliver'd to me by a like prophet ( whether it were calasiris , or some god is his form ) containing these words : you with the nymph shall aethiop reach , and be to morrow from arsace's bondage free . that which concerns me herein , i understand ; for those mansions of the dead under-ground , seem , proper to the land of aethiopia : by the maid , i suppose , proserpine is meant , with whom i shall inhabit ; and my freedom from chains , my departure from this body . but what can the rhime contain concerning you , which consists of contradictions ? for wherea pantarbe signifies fearing all things , yet it commands not to fear the flame . then , said chariclea , continuance of calamities , my theagenes , makes persons hope thhe worst in all things ; for people usually accommodate their minds to their fortune : but i have better hopes of this prophecy than you . what if i am the nymph with whom you are to arrive into aethiopia , after you have escaped from the bonds of arsace ? but how that shall be , is neither manifest nor credible to us , but to the gods it may be possible : let them take care of that who gave the prophecy . that part which related to me you have already seen accomplished in my wonderful preservation . and though at that time i knew not that i carry'd my safeguard about me , yet i now understand that i did . those precious things that were expos'd with me in my infancy , i have always accustom'd to carry conceal'd about me , to supply our necessities when brought to the last difficulty ; but if death should overtake me , to answer the charge of my funeral . amongst these , theagenes , there are bracelets of great value , with indian and aethiopian stones , with a certain ring given by my father to my mother , in which is the stone call'd pantarbe , set in a square , with sacred letters about it . it seems to have some divine virtue in it , by which it repell'd the power of the flames , preserving those that carry it , from any hurt . i conjecture , and know so much , by what was suggested by the divine calasiris , who told me , that the same was expressed in the writings that were found with me . this seems probable , said theagenes , by the deliverance that you have had ; but what pantarbe shall defend us from to morrows danger ? for though it should still defend from the fire , it cannot give immortality ; and arsace's malice will contrive some more violent means to destroy us . and would to heaven that the same sort of death , and in the same hour , would dispatch us both ! i should think this death but a release from all our sufferings . take heart , said chariclea , we have another pantarbe promis'd in the oracle . while they were employ'd in these considerations , each affirming , that the others misery more afflicted them than their own : obliging themselves , by mutual oaths , to preserve their loves and vertue to death . it being now in the very dead of night , bagoas , with his fifty horse , arriv'd at memphis . when they had waken'd the sentinels , and had given account of themselves , they were immediately receiv'd into the deputies palace . bagoas left this company without , to guard the house , to be ready for his defence , if any resistance were made . he himself , in the mean time , went a private way , easily forcing the doors , and commanding silence , to the place where euphrates was , the moon not being yet quite set ; finding him therefore in bed , he awaken'd him , who in disorder cry'd out , who are you ? it is i , said bagoas , command a light to be brought in . he therefore order'd the boy that waited on him , to bring in a taper , so as to disturb none of the rest . when this was done , and the boy departed , what mischief , said euphrates , has occasion'd this untimely and unexpected arrival ? there needs not many words , said bagoas , read these letters , but before take notice of the seal , and know that oroondates sent them ; and that it is as much as your life is worth , not to perform what they import . when euphrates had run over the letters ; as for arsace , said he , she will be sorry , having yesterday fallen into a fever , which still continues so violent , that there is small hope of her life . but for my part , i would not deliver these letters to her , though she herself ask'd for them ; for i know she would destroy both her self and us , before she would send away the young pair . know however , that you are come in good time to take them away , and must therein use your utmost endeavour . take compassion on them , they having suffer'd a hundred tortures , unwillingly inflicted by me , but enjoyn'd by arsace . they seem however of noble birth , and for the experience that i have had of them , of vertuous coversation . having said this , he brought him to the prison , where bagoas no sooner beheld them , though wasted with watchings and torture , yet he was astonished at their stature and beauty . but they supposing that bagoas was come at that silent time of the night , to lead them to a clandestine execution , were a little troubled . but soon recovering a chearful countenance , they made it appear how little they were concern'd . euphrates now coming up , and knocking out the wooden peg with which their irons were joyned , take your sacrifice , arsace , he cry'd out : she thinks in night and darkness to conceal her horrid crime , but the eye of justice is sharp in discovering and bringing to light the deeds of darkness . do you execute what you are commanded , and whether fire , sword , or water is determin'd against us , let us only have the same death . chariclea desired the same . the eunuchs weeping , led them forth in their chains . when they were come out of the deputies house , euphrates starid there . but bagoas , with his fifty horse , having taken off their bonds , and left only what might secure , but not burden them ; mounting them on several horses , and putting them in the middle of the guards , made towards thebes as fast as he could . when they had travell'd all the rest of the night , and till nine the next morning , without any stop , the sun then growing hot , they could proceed no farther , being spent also for want of sleep , chariclea especially ; they determin'd therefore to take up somewhere to rest themselves , and refresh their horses . there was a certain valley at the foot of a promontory of the nile , almost surrounded with the water , which made an eddy : there was much grass and herbage on the place , as being always well water'd , every where shaded with sycamore trees , and such others as grow on the banks of the nile : the bagoas , with his company , took up , using the trees for a tent , he sat down with the rest to feed , compelling also theagenes and chariclea to do the same . they thought it needless for persons that were presently to die ; but he perswaded them there was no such thing intended ; that they carry'd them not to death , but to oroondates . but now the heat of the day decreasing , the sun being no longer over their heads , but faln westward , and beating on their sides , while bagoas was going to take horse again , a certain horse-man in a sweat , and out of breath with hard riding , came up , and took him aside to speak with him : he fixing his eyes upon the ground , as it were , full of thought concerning what had been told him : take comfort , strangers , said he , your enemy arsace is dead by her own hand , understanding that you were taken away , preventing a necessary , by a voluntary fate : for she would never have escaped punishment from oroondates , or the king ; and if she had not been put to death , at least must have led the remainder of her life in disgrace . euphrates sends me this intelligence . wherefore be of good hope , for i am well assur'd that you have done no body wrong , and she that injur'd you is dead . thus spake bagoas in imperfect greek ; adding also , that he himself was glad , having suffer'd under the tyranny of arsace : wherefore he the more encourag'd his prisoners : for he hop'd that oroondates would be pleas'd with his service , if he carry'd them safe to him ; the youth being likely to grace his retinue , and the virgin , so matchless beauty , would probably be made his wife , since arsace was dead . theagenes and chariclea rejoyced at the news , highly praising the justice of the gods ; nor did they think they could afterwards be much distress'd , whatsoever fortune should befal them , since their most inveterante enemy was gone . when now the evening drew on , with a cool breeze , inviting them to set forward , they mounted again , and rode all that night and part of the next morning , if possible , to overtake oroondates , before he went from thebes . but they met with a souldier from the army , who told them oroondates was gone from thence , having sent him to draw out all the garrisons , and hasten with them to syene , all things being in disorder , and fearing lest the city should be taken . for the deputy coming too late , the aethiopians had marched their army thither with such speed , that prevented the news of their approach : bagoas therefore turn'd off from his intended journey , and took the next road to syene . but approaching to the town , they happen'd upon a party of aethiopians , who were sent as spies to secure the passes for the army . but by reason of the night , and their unacquaintance with the country , ( for they were order'd to plant an ambuscade in every place which they found convenient ) they posted themselves amongst certain bushes by the river side , partly for safeguard , and partly for concealment from their enemies : and here they stood upon their watch. therefore at break of day , when they perceiv'd bagoas , with his horse-men to pass by them , and were assured there were no more to follow , they issued from their covert , with loud shouts . bagoas therefore , and his company , surprized with the noise , knowing them , by their colour , to be aethiopians , and seeing their number too great to be encountred , ( for there were in all a thousand sent out for scouts ) he fled , without once looking them in the face ; yet no so fast at first as he could have done , but so as to preserve his order . the others pursu'd , sending out two hundred of their troglodytae . the troglodytae are a people of aethiop addicted to pastures , and borderers on arabia , who have wonderful swiftness both by nature and exercise from their childhood . they are not us'd to heavy arms , they therefore use slings in fight to wound the enemy at distance , and trust to their heels when they find themselves over-power'd . they know 't is impossible for the enemy to overtaken them , till they can hide themselves in rocks and caves . these therefore pursued on foot , discharging their slings , but not being able to stand against the horse , return'd to their own party . but by fresh numbers issuing out upon then , the persians are scatter'd , bagoas himself thrown from his horse ; and taken . theagenes and chariclea partly thinking it unworthy not to assist bagoas , ( who had us'd civility to them , and to whom they were likely to have been farther obliged ) leapt down to succour him , but to no purpose , not being arm'd . this is my dream , said theagenes to chariclea , and these the aethiops , into whose country i was to be carry'd . i therefore hold it better to submit our selves to them , rather than experience a doubtful fortune with oroondates . chariclea understood the rest , the accident now leading her , as it were , by the hand , judging them rather to be friends than enemies . yet she told not her sentiments to theagenes , only said that she was contented to do so . when therefore the aethiopians came up , and knew bagoas , by his face , to be an eunuch , and the persons that were unarm'd , of most beautiful frame , they asked them , who they were , both by an aegyptian and persian , as not doubting but that they understood the one or other language . wherefore theagenes , who had aegyptian enough to answer short questions , told them , they were chief servants to the persian deputy , but themselves grecians , taken prisoners by the persians , but now , they hoped with better fortune , put into the hands of aethiopians . they therefore resolv'd to spare them , and carry them captive to their king , as the first booty of the war , and the most eminent ornaments of the persian court. for the eunuchs are the eyes , and ears of the persian court , as having neither children nor kindred , on whom to place their affection , and are therefore wholly devoted to the interest of their master , on whom they depend . but for the young pair , they reckon'd that they would be no small grace to their kings palace . they therefore set them all upon horses , bagoas being disabled , by his wound , from walking , theagenes and chariclea weary'd with their chains . this seem'd the beginning of an interlude , in which the persons that were now in expectation of sudden death , were no longer captives , and those that had them in custody , themselves made prisoners . the aethiopian history . the ninth book . syene was now almost surrounded in siege , as it were in a net , by the aethiopian numbers . for oroondates hearing of the enemies approach , left cataractae , and went with his forces to syene , which he enter'd , shutting up the gates , and planting slings and engines on the walls , conjecturing that which afterwards happen'd . while therefore the aethiopian king , at some distance , was inform'd by his spies that oroondates was making to the town , he hasten'd his march to prevent him , but however came too late . he then planted his army round the city , and so without any engagement , fat as it had been in a theatre . he brought with him six hundred thousand men , and cattel , with which he cover'd all the ground about syene . the spies finding him there , brought their captives before him . he was not only delighted with their beauty , but with the good omen of having prisoners in chains set before him . behold ! said he , the gods at our first arrival send us slaves in bonds . these persons therefore being the first fruits of our war , shall be kept in custody till our return , then to be offer'd to our gods in our triumphal sacrifices , according to the ancient laws of our country . having therefore rewarded the spies , he gave the prisoners into the close custody of persons that could speak their language ; giving them great charge to treat them with respect and care ; to supply them with the best provision , and above all , to preserve them from all contamination , because they were reserved for victims : lastly , that their bonds of iron should be taken off , and fetters of gold put upon them : for gold amongst the aethiopians is made use of for all things that iron is amongst other nations . this was done as he commanded . when therefore the former were taken off , and the golden chains put on , theagenes smiling , said , what means this splendid change ? fortune flatters us , in rendring us rich by our captivity , since we are only captives of greater price . chariclea also smiled , and desired him to conceive better hopes of what the gods fore-told . hydaspes now attacking the city , and thinking to carry it at first onset , found himself deceived , the besieged so manfully resisting his forces , and beating them off ; adding also scoffs and contumelies . he was therefore enraged that they so much as offer'd to resist , and did not surrender themselves on the first attack : he resolved to lose no time , or make such a siege , whereby some might be taken , and some escape ; but at once to overthrow the whole city by an inevitable destruction . he thus order'd the word : he made a ditch about the ground that lay next to the walls , ( yet at such distance that the slings and arrows from the town could not reach it ) appointing ten men to every ten yards , to be dug of a sufficient breadth and depth ; some therefore broke the earth , while others receiv'd the mold , which they piled up on that side of the trench that was next his camp , which serv'd as a counter-fortress to the town : none from thence offer'd to molest the work , not daring to sally forth against such numbers ; and their slings not throwing so far , as the distant space reach'd between the two walls . having presently finish'd this affair , by multitude of hands , he began another project . when this round ditch was compleated , he left part of it without casting up a bank , and from thence made another trench , that turned off to the river nile , ( which trench he banked up on both sides ) when therefore he had joined the foresaid banks to those of the river , breaking down the fence , as it were , by opening a sluce , he let the stream into his trench , which by the descent from the river to that lower channel , made such a dreadful noise , that it was heard at a vast distance . when the citizens heard and saw into what distress they were brought by this inundation , which presently over-ran the plain between the walls , and the enemy , preventing their escape , and that it was equally dangerous to tarry , they set themselves to do all that was possible for persons in such exigence . in the first place , as the wood-work of their gates began to give way , the stopt up the chinks with straw and pitch , setting props and weights against them ; they also ran up buttresses to support their wall. one brought earth , another stones , a third straw , and whatever they could get together ; no hands were unemploy'd , women , children , and old age set themselves to the work : for so general and pressing a calamity excused none . but to the more youthful , orders were given to make a subterranean passage to the enemies bulwark . the work was performed after this manner . they first sunk a pit , five yards deep perpendicular , then by the help of torches , they dug strait before them , a passage to the enemies banks ; those that were behind still in order receiving the earth from them that were before ; which was convey'd into the city-garden , and there laid on a heap . this they did , with design that when the water should fall into this cavern , it should force it self a passage out another way . but they were prevented , for the nile fell so plentifully into the upper channel , that the space between the two walls was now a standing lake , so that syene , an inland town , was now turn'd into an island , quite surrounded with water . the wall sustain'd the weight thereof for one whole day , but when it was swelled higher , and also had sunk underneath the foundation , the ground being soft and spungy , it then in several place began to yield , and threaten a delugen on the city . the next evening , a part that was between two towers , fell down ; yet not so as to lye below the flood , but so as presently to threaten an inundation : upon which a great cry was set up amongst the inhabitants , that reach'd to the enemies camp ; and with hands lift up towards heaven , beseech'd the assistance of the gods. they besought oroondates to send messengers to beg peace with hydaspes . he was forced to submit , but being shut in with the waters , no messengers could pass : he therefore fasten'd petitionary letters to stones , which he threw from slings , but to no purpose , for the distance prov'd too great to permit their coming home ; he then try'd by way of arrows , while the archers and slingers vved with each other , but still in vain : in the last place , they stretch'd forth their hands towards the enemies bulwark in suppliant manner , to signifie what they intended by their shootings ; and sometimes put them behind their backs , to shew that they were willing to receive their chairs . hydaspes understood their signals , and was inclin'd to acceptance : for the submission of an enemy commands clemency from generous minds . but he first thought fit to make tryal of what they meant , in order whereunto he selected ten boats , which fell down to his bank-side , from the breach of the nile ; into these he put archers and armed men , with commands , as the thought fit , and sent them over to the persians . they therefore told them , that if they had any hope or confidence left , they should prepare for fight . it was a new spectacle on an inland soil , to see boats rowing from wall to wall , over cultivated grounds . it was yet a greater wonder to see a naval army storming a town , and land souldiers contending with them . they therefore that were in the town , seeing ships , with armed men , approaching that part of their wall which was broken down , were seiz'd with terrour , ( as people in great distress and extremity are always suspicious . ) they hurl'd stones from the walls , and shot arrows into the boats , that came for their preservation . thus men that despair of life , yet reckon it as an advantage , for a while to delay their fate . yet they so order'd their business , as not to wound , but only to keep them off . the aethiopians likewise discharg'd their arrows , not knowing the intentions of the persians ; by which means several of the wounded fell down headlong from the wall into the water . the war therefore grew hot , till a certain illustrious person of syene coming between , intercepted those that were on the wall , by speaking on this manner : o frantick men , said he , and grown stupid with calamity , do we repel those persons whose aid we so lately begg'd , and make war with them at the instant of their coming to relieve us , beyond our expectation ? if they come with a friendly mind , declaring matter of peace , they are our preservers : if with hostile intentions , you will easily vanquish them , though they were arrived to the very wall. but to what purpose ( if we regard our safety ) should we destroy these , when we are environ'd with such a sea , and vast numbers behind ? why do we not therefore receive them , and know for what purpose they are sent ? his judgment was approved by all , the deputy himself applauding it ; they then separated themselves , and ceased from any further action . when the passage for the ship-men was clear , and the townsmen , by white flags , signifying that they should have free landing ; the aethiopians went nearer , and from their vessels , as it were so many pulpits in a theatre , they spoke in this manner ; o persians , and inhabitans of syene , , know that hydaspes , king of the eastern and western aethiopia , and at present also yours ; as he knows how to conquer , he likewise understands how to shew mercy : that is the part of courage , but this of humanity . the one he accounts the vertue of a souldier , the other peculiar only to himself . whereas therefore he has your lives in his power , either to give , or take them away ; but since you are suppliant , he offers you deliverance , without the ruine of war. moreover , he does not impose the terms of freedom upon you , but leaves you your selves to choose them : for he governs not the fortunes of men by tytanny , but clemency . to this message the syeneans answer'd , that they would deliver themselves , wives and children , into his power , to deal with them as he pleased : that they wold likewise deliver the city into his hands , if they surviv'd , which in that extremity was uncertain , unless their destruction was prevented by hydaspes . oroondates offer'd to surrender philae and the smaragdan mines , which were the occasion of the war , but desired that he would exact no more from him , nor require him to resign up himself or his souldiers . but if hydaspes were pleas'd indeed to exercise humanity , that he would suffer those that made no resistance to depart to elephantina ; for that is were the same thing for him to die now , as to be afterwards put to death , by his king , for giving up his army : nay , it would be much worse , since the present would be only a single , and usual sort of death , but the other with the severest kind of torment . when the legates heard this , they turn'd their prows , and related all to hydaspes . he smiling , and much reproving the folly of oroondates , to insist upon terms , who yet depended on another persons pleasure , whether he should live or die : yet , said he , it is not just , for the offence of one man , to suffer so populous a city to be destroy'd . wherefore he permitted those that were with oroondates to depart , though they scarce forbore from resistance . he therefore ordered some of his own men to damm up the breach in the bank of nile , and to others to break down part of what he raised . that by means of the inlet of nile being stopped , and passage made for the water that was taken in , to go away , syene might be the sooner made dry . they therefore setting close to the work , finished it by the next day . nor did they that were within the town spare their pains , not despairing of presservation , though beyond hope . they therefore made suffs under ground , to receive and carry off the water . others brought props to the walls , which they easily did , heaping the stones which from the ruines fell into the town . but after they thought themselves safe enough on this account , yet they were not without apprehension ; in the middle of the night , a certain part of the bulwark , which the aethiopians in the evening had begun to dig down , ( whether it were that that part was more loosely heaped up , so as to let water sink into the foundation , or whether it broke the sides , being almost dug through , when the work-men were gone , or whether it happen'd by divine will ) beyond all expectation , if fell down , with so great a noise , that both armies were astonished , both aethiopian and syeneans concluding the town-walls to be tumbled down at once : but these being secure , continu'd in their tents , remaining satisfy'd to know what it should be , when day-light was return'd . but the citizens ran every where to their walls , and as every one saw his own part entire , concluded the ruine was on some other side ; till the breaking day dispell'd their fears , when they saw where the breach was , and that the waters were passed away . but now the aethiopians diverted the flood , making cataracts , which they propt with timber , lining them also with mud and straw , which the multitude of hands easily brought together . thus the waters passed away entirely , yet was there no passage to each other , for the depth of mud which remain'd , which , thought it seem'd dry and crusted above , yet it continued moist at bottom , so that neither men nor horse could pass , without being foundred therein . thus the time passed for two or three days ; the townsmen , by setting open their gates , and the aethiopians , by laying down their arms , mutually declaring peace . this truce was more remarkable , because it was without conference of the parties , and neither of them set any watch. they that were in town gave themselves to pastimes , for it happen'd then to be the festival of nile , which is accounted the greatest of any among the aegyptians ; which is celebrated at the entrance of the summer solstice , when the river first begins to swell ; and for that reason this solemnity is held by them in greatest honour . the aegyptians suppose nilus to be a god , and the most supream , his stream vying with the coelestial river , because it waters their fields without rain , or assistance from heaven ; it self supplying the want of showers with its yearly overflow . these are vulgar traditions . but a likelier reason of giving him this divine honour , is their reckoning the copulation of hot and moist , the cause not of generation , but preservation of man ; and that the nile supplies the moist , and their earth the dry. yet these are also vulgar conceptions : but the most skilful in mysteries , say that isis signifies the earth , and osyris the nile , changing the names for the things . that therefore the goddess burns with desire of him , and always rejoyces at his return ; and he being retired , laments again , as struck with blasting lightning . this fiction their divines have framed , as i suppose , because they would not have their mysteries pryed into by profane persons . let this suffice for the present ; for our of reverence we also forbear to mention their deeper mysteries . we will therefore return to the transactions of syene . this festival day being risen , the natives apply'd themselves to the killing of sacrifices ; though their bodies were over-labour'd with their distresses , yet their minds were never the less active for the service of their god. but oroondates watching his opportunity , in the dead of the night , when the townsmen , after their banquets , were bury'd in sleep , by stealth led out his army , having an hour before given the charge of that gate , through which he meant to pass , to persian centries . command was given to the officers to leave all their horses behind them , that they might be no incumbrance , nor by their noise discover what was done ; but every man to take his armour , and a board or plank along with them . after they were thus assembled at the gate , they cast down the planks which each had brought , placing them along in such order that the one touched the other , the last still handing them to those that went before ; by which means , as with a bridge , they passed safely over the slime . coming to dry ground , ( the aethiopians suspecting no such thing , nor keeping any watch ) they marched with all possible speed by them , towards elephantina . and without any obstacle , were received into the town , by reason of two persians , that ( as it was agreed between them ) sat upon the walls , to expect their coming at that time of the night , who accordingly set open the gates for their entrance . at the break of day , the people of syene perceiv'd the persians were fled , every one missing him that lodged in his house : they were further inform'd by conferring together , and lastly , by the bridge of boards , which they found laid over the ooze . once more therefore they were seized with terrour and consternation , that they shewed so little faith to hydaspes , after having so much experienced his clemency , in permitting the persians to escape . they therefore resolved with one voice , to go out of the city , and surrender themselves to the aethiopians , with oaths of their ignorance , if possibly they might obtain mercy . being therefore all gather'd together , of both sex , and all ages , with boughs in their hands , and lighted tapers , to shew their submission , bearing the images of their gods before them . when they had passed the bridge , they fell on their knees , at distance , before the aethiopians , and , as it were , at a signal given , set up a general and lamentable cry , deprecating punishment by their humble posture . lastly , to move the greater compassion , they set down their children before them , permitting them to go which way they would , mollifying the rage of the aethiopians , by the age , free from all suspicion of deceit . the infants therefore , with consternation , through ignorance of what was done , and frighted with the foresaid lamentation , ran away from their parents , towards the aethiopians ; others , not of growth to follow , fell on their faces , and lay crying on the ground ; fortune even in them shewing the posture of suppliants , begging mercy . hydaspes seeing this , and supposing that they came only in a more humble and earnest manner to supplicate , sent messengers to know the meaning ; and why they came without the persians ? they inform'd him of all , the flight of the persians , their innocence , the festival , and how , after the banquet , being possess'd with sleep , the persians escaped ; whom yet they could not have hinder'd , had they known thereof . hydaspes believing what was told to him , suspecting what afterwards happen'd , the treachery of oroondates , calling only their priests to him , with the gods , which they brought for the greater solemnity , conjur'd them thereby to tell if they knew any thing of the persians designs ; whither they were gone , or in what they placed their greatest trust ? they answer'd , they knew not for certain , but conjectur'd that they were gone to elephantina , where the greatest party of their army were gather'd together : oroondates putting his greatest trust in his bard horse . when they had thus supplicated , hydaspes did not think fit to enter the city , but sent two companies to search if there were any treachery in the business , and if they found none , to continue there as a garrison . having therefore disinissed the townsmen with gracious promises , he drew forth his army in battel aray , to receive the persians , if they came out against him ; and if not to set upon them . nor had he put them into a readiness before he was inform'd that the persians were on their way toward him . oroondates having drawn the greatest part of his forces to elephantina , was forced himself with a few to take into syene , as we have already shewn , where he receiv'd mercy of hydaspes ; yet was he so full of guile , as to withdraw to his foresaid army , placing all his hopes in celerity , and thinking to come upon hydaspes unprovided . when the two armies were now in sight of each other , the persian pride was shewn , dazling the whole field with golden and silver arms , for the sun then rising full upon the persians , reflected from them , like lightning , to a great distance . the medes and persians made up the right wing , their armed men going before , and the archers bringing up the rear , that being eas'd from the incumbrance of armour , they might more dextrously shoot their arrows , protected by the armed body . he placed his aegyptian and african companies on the left wing , adding also archers and slingers , whom he commanded to make excursions , and gall the enemies flank . he himself came with the main body , splendidly seated on a chariot , with guards on each side for his security , his bard horse being ranked before him , in which he put his greatest trust ; in his posture he adventured to begin the battel . for this party was most warlike , and like a wall or bulwark , planted before the rest of his army . the manner in which they were armed was thus : a chosen person , of great strength and stature , put on a helmet , with a face made to it , exactly resembling that of a man : this covered the head all down to the shoulders , places only being left open for the eyes : his right hand held a weapon bigger than a spear , while their left was free to manage the reins ; a sword hanging by his side ; not only his breast , but his whole body was covered with armour , joined with scales of iron and brass , in form of a quadrangle ; one being laid waving over the other ; which thus by degrees went to their extremity , the plates being firmly riveted together , yet framed so as to sit without any incumbrance to the body , and every where plying to it : every joint thereof turning on wire , and extending or contracting with the motion of the person . thus was it wrought from the head to the knee , a vacancy being only left for the inside of their thighs , that sat next to their horse . such is the fabrick thereof , that it repels all manner of darts or spears . from the foot there was an iron boot , that at the knee joined curiously with the armour . in the same manner they also armed their horses , securing their legs , while their head to their crest is entirely armed , a covering of iron plates thrown over his back , falling down on each side to his flank , yet so loose as not to incumber his going , while it gave him protection . the man being thus equipp'd , and , as it were , cast in armour , is lifted up upon his horse , not being able , by reason of the weight , to mount himself . when the fight is begun , giving the reins to his horse , and clapping spurs to them , he rusheth upon the enemy , as it were a tempest . the pike , near to the part where a long steel blade comes out , is fasten'd to the horses neck , by which means it is supported ; it is also hung at the other end by thongs to the horses shoulder , in such manner as not to hinder , but assist the hand of the person that directs it : so that by the horses motion , the force is encreased ; by which means two or three at a time are often born upon the poin. the deputy being thus provided , and his forces drawn up in this manner , left the river on his back , being much less in number than the enemy , which served him for a wall , to keep him from being surrounded . hydaspes , on the other side thus order'd his battel : against the persians and medes , in the right wing , he placed his souldiers from meroe , skilful in standing fight ; as also the troglodytae , with those of the neighbouring country , from which cinnamon is brought , in light arms , and swift of foot , to engage the adversaries left wing . but understanding the persians middle ranks to be their chief strength , he opposed to them himself , with elephants bearing towers , joining to them the blemmii and seri , with instructions what to do when they were engaged . when signals on both sides were given , by the persians with trumpets , by the aethiopians with hammers and kettle-drums . oroondates encouraging his party , led them on . hydaspes commanded his men to advance flowly at first , that the elephants might keep up with them , and also that the persian horse in the middle might be disorder'd , before the whole bodies were join'd . when they were now within the cast of a dart , and the blemmi perceiv'd the bard horse of the enemy to come on fiercely , they observ'd what had been commanded by hydaspes , the seri being left to guard the elephants , they made up speedily before the rest , against the bard horse , who thought them distracted , being so few in number , to set upon a party so well armed . the persians likewise spurred up faster , to take advantage of their nashness , not doubting to dispatch them at the first encounter . then the blemmi , when they were come hand to hand , as it were at one sign , sunk down all together , setting one knee to the ground , and putting their heads and backs under the horses bellies , receiv'd no harm , but from their treading sometimes upon them . but they perform'd what was beyond all expectation , stabbing the bard horse up into their bellies , which part alone was unarm'd : wherefore not a few were cast off by their horses , enraged with their wounds , whom the blemmi stabb'd ( as they lay on the ground ) on the inside of their thighs . for the persian cataphract is so incumbred with armour , that he cannot stir , when once disimounted . those that kept their saddles were carry'd directly upon the seri , who on their approach , retreated behind their elephants , whose vast bodies served them for a bulwark . by this means there was great slaughter made of the horse , insormuch that they were almost utterly cut off : for the horses frighten'd with the sight of the elephants , leaped and started , some flying out one way , and some another , putting their own party into disorder . they that sat upon the elephants ( six archers being allotted to each tower , whereof each beast carry'd two ) shot so fast from thence , that their arrows seem'd a cloud , and so exactly aim'd , that they generally wounded the persians in the eyes , who accordingly ran confusedly one amongst another . all that were born forward against their wills by the mettle of their steeds , came directly upon the elephants . they were therefore thus consumed , being partly trodden down by the elephants , partly cut down by the seri , making excursions from behind their elephants , as it were from an ambuscade . the few that escaped , went off without any memorable performance , and not the least hurt done to the elephants . those beasts are clad in iron when they go to war , beside the natural hardness of their skin , overgrown with a tough scursf or scale , too firm for any spear to pierce . all being at length put to rout , the deputy himself fied at last most shamefully on a nysaean horse , leaving his chariot behind him . however those that were of his left wing were yet ignorant hereof , and stood stoutly to their work , though receiving more wounds than they gave ; sustaining all difficulties : for the troops from the cinnamon region , with whom they encountred , pressed them very hard , and reduced them to the last distress ; flying off whensoever the others came on , far out-stripping them ; yet shooting back , and wounding as they sled : but as the others retreated , came furiously again upon them , galling their flanks with slings and little darts , all which were notwithstanding mortal , the piles being dipped in serpents blood. they bear a round cover on their heads , stuck through with arrows , the shaft end whereof is placed next their heads , the pile , even to the feathers , coming out above . thus every one marches clattering to fight , exposing a naked body to the foe : crowned , as it were , with arrows , which have no iron on their points , nor have any need of it : by reason that they are made of a dragons back-bone , an ell in length , the natural hardness whereof being harpen'd at one end , serves for a point , from whence the greeks call such kind of arrows , bones . the aegyptians notwithstanding stood along time to it , joining their shields together , and sustaining showers of darts , though they were impatient of war , yet now either glory●ng in contempt of death , or fearing the pu●shment of revolters . but when they knew the cataphracts , the chief hope and strength of their battel , were fled , the very persians , and deputy himself , withdrawn without any signal performance ( save some small damage done to the meroenses ) but much more receiv'd , even they at last gave over the conflict , and turned their backs . hydaspes beholding the victory from a tower , raised high on an elephant , sent after the chasers , to bid them abstain from slaughter , but to take as many alive as they could , especially oroondates . for the aethiopians stretching their wings in circular form , took in so vast a compass , as wholly to enclose the persians ; leaving only one passage open for them , and that was towards the river : into which a great number of them , being forced by the horse-men , scyth-chariots , and others pressing upon them , found that the stratagem which the deputy had laid against the enemy , was unreasonable , and foolish : forasmuch , as while he kept the nile on his back , for fear of being surrounded , he was not aware that he cut off from himself all possibility of flight . he therefore was taken prisoner amongst the rest . achemenes , the son of cybele , finding how affairs stood , endeavour'd treacherously to kill him , ( for he now repented himself of the discovery he had made touching arsace ) since the arguments by which he was to prove it , were taken away ) but disappointed of his expectation , the wound which he gave oroondates was not mortal . for which attempt however h● receiv'd punishment , being run through by a certain aegyptian , who knew the deputy , and would have kept him alive , according to the command of his master . the deputy therefore was brought to hydaspes by the person that took him : he therefore seeing him fainting , caus'd his blood to be stanch'd , determining , if he could , to preserve him , also confirming his purpose with these words : that you are preserv'd by my good will , is just and fit ; for it is the business of generous enemies , to overcome an enemy that resists with courage ; and when fallen , to support them with mercy : but what reason was there to make you so perfidious ? to you indeed perfidious , reply'd oroondates , but true to my master . hydaspes farther asked him , since he was overcome , what punishment he determined upon himself ? such , answered he , as my master would inflict on one of your commanders , that had been faithful to you . certainly , said hydaspes , he would praise , and send him back with rewards , if he be a true king , and no tyrant ; and one that would be a pattern for princes . you say you have acted faithfully , but if not foolishly too , in exposing the lives of so many thousands , do you your self judge . it was not imprudent , replied he , considering the temper of my king , who is much freer of his punishment to the cowardly , than rewards to his valiant servants . i therefore resolved on the danger of the field , where i might either perform something that was beyond expectation , as many opportunities happen in a fight skilfully managed , ( the event of war it self being always uncertain ) or , at least , if i escaped with life , to have excuse left , nothing that was in my power having been omitted . hydaspes hereupon commended him , and sent him to syene , with charge to the physicians to use their best endeavour for his cure. he also went himself , with the chief of his army , the people from the town , of all ages and qualities , meeting him on the way , scattering flowers amongst his souldiers , applauding his vertue , and congratulating his victory . when he was carry'd on his elephant , into the town , he immediately bent his mind to divine worship , and rendring thanks to the gods. he demanded the origine of the nile , and if there was any thing in the city worth sight or admiration ? they shewed him a well , like to that which is at memphis , made of polish'd stone , on which are drawn lines , at an ell distance , the one above the other : into this cistern the river water being let , by subterranean passage , shews the inhabitants the encrease or decrease of the nile , rising or falling below such or such a mark on the stone . they likewise shewed him gnomons of horoscopes , that at mid-day give no shadow . the sun being at the solstice , perpendicular over syene , insomuch that their deepest wells are then illuminated . hydaspes was not much surprized at this , the same being also sound at meroe in aethicpia . they then told him of the nile , extolling it with their praises , calling him the son and author of plenty , the preserver of upper aegypt , the patron and tiller of the lower : every year rolling down fertile slime , from whence he is call'd nile , by the greeks ; that is , the distinguisher for seasons ; his flow shewing the summer , his ebb the autumn , the spring with flowers ; that the nile indeed was nothing but the year it self : the letters of whose numbers being computed , according to the figures which they represent , making three hundred sixty five unities , according to the days in a year . when they had farther spoken of the nature and properties of certain plants , flowers and animals : these are not so much aegyptian relations ( said hydaspes ) as aethiopian . but whether this river be indeed a god , as you esteem him , and brings other rivers along with him from aethiop , he is duly worshipped by you . we both adore him for other reasons ( answer'd the priests ) and particularly for the present favour of sending you to us , our god and preserver . hydaspes warned them to be moderate in their praises of him ; and spent the rest of the day in diversion , entring banquet with the aethiopian nobles , and priests of syene ; and permitting all the rest to do the same . the syeneans , partly selling , and partly bestowing on the army vast herds and flocks , with plenty of wine . the next day , sitting on a tribunal , he distributed the booty of the war amongst his army , to every one according to his performance . when the person that took oroondates came before him , demand what you will , said hydaspes : there is no need ( answer'd he ) of my demanding any thing more , if what i have already taken from oroondates ( whom i preserv'd , according to your order ) be adjudg'd to me by you . he therewith shew'd oroondates dagger , studded with precious stones of vast price , and worth many talents of gold ; insormuch that the standers-by cry'd out , that the fortune was too great for a private man , and fitting only for the kings treasury . what therefore is more kingly , said hydaspes , than for me to preserve that greatness of mind , as not to covet so great a prize . the spoil of a captives body by right belongs to him that takes him prisoner . wherefore let him so depart , who perhaps had not granted us the same favour , though we would never have received it . next came the persons who took theagenes and chariclea : o king , said they , our spoils are neither gold nor gems , which are of little price in aethiopia , and pave the royal palaces ; but whereas we have brought you a grecian youth and virgin , of incomparable stature and beauty , excelling all mankind in person , your self excepted ; we beg also to be partakers of your munificence and bounty . you say well , answer'd hydaspes , and i remember such persons , though i had but a transeant sight of them : wherefore bring them with the rest , to our presence . when the messengers came for them , they ask'd , wither they were to be carry'd ? before hydaspes , answer'd they . hydaspes ! o ye guardian angels , said they ; for as yet they were uncertain who was the conquerour . theagenes therefore said softly to chariclea , unfold the state of our affairs to the king , since hydaspes reigns , whom you have often told me was your father . o dearest , said she , great affairs need great preparations , for where the gods have given intricate beginnings , the conclusion must be leisurely unravell'd : especially , the first rise and foundation of this intrigue ( i mean my mother persina ) being absent , whom yet , by the gods favour , we hear to be alive . but there is danger of our being sacrific'd before that time , said theagenes . none at all , answer'd she , for i have often heard our keepers say , we were reserv'd for sacrifices to the gods of meroe : wherefore there is no fear of our being slain , or sent away to another country , being already , by vow , given to the gods , which cannot be violated by any pious monarch . however , though we should flatter our selves with these hopes , we shall imperfectly make out our account , when the persons are not present , that can acknowledge and justifie the authorities which we produce . wherefore there is danger , lest through his ignorance in the evidences , we should exaspertate our judge ; who will think scorn , that captives destin'd for sacrifice , should presume to call themselves children to the king. but your testimonials , reply'd theagenes , which you have carefully preserv'd , will shew that it is no forgery . the credentials , said chariclea , are credentials to them that exposed them , but to them that know them not , or at least not all of them , they are no more than common jewels and bracelets ; which also may bring with them suspicion of theft . or , supposing that hydaspes acknowledge them , who is there to perswade him that persina gave them or was mother to the child ? by this time they were come in sight of the king , bagoas also was brought along with them . hydaspes seeing them rais'd himself a little from his throne ; and crying out to the gods to be propitious , sat down again . his attendants asking what happen'd to him , and occasion'd that start ; this morning i imagin'd just such a daughter to be born to me , and in a days time grown to her full stature : and whereas i am no regarder of dreams , i forgot it , but now on sight of her likeness it returns to my mind . they persuading him , that there were certain images often form'd in the fancy , that betoken future realities ; he nevertheless neglected the vision , and ask'd them who , and what they were . chariclea being silent , and theagenes answering , that they were greeks , and kindred : hail greece , said he , that furnishes us with such noble sacrifices for our triumph . then smiling to his attendants aside , why had i not a son likewise born to me in my dream , ( said he ) if dreams are , as you say , pictures of things to come ? then turning to chariclea , and speaking to her in the greek tongue , ( which is of high esteem amongst the gymnosophists of aethiopia , ) but why , virgin , are you silent , said he , and answer to no interrogations ? at the altar of the gods , answer'd she , to whom we are destin'd sacrifices , you shall know both me and my parents . hydaspes again ask'd her , of what country ? they are partly present , said she , and shall be altogether so at that time . hydaspes then smil'd , and said , certainly this daughter of vision , dreams her self , in imagining to find her grecian parents in meroe . let them therefore be taken care of , to be made ornaments of our sacrifices . but who is this that stands next them , and seems to be an eunuch ? the servants answer'd , that he was indeed an eunuch , and named bagoas . let him follow them , said he , not to be himself a victim , but to take care of another victim , this virgin , that she be preserv'd immaculate for the ceremony . eunuchs are the best guards , for being deprived themselves of enjoying , they out of envy take care that no body else shall . he then survey'd the remainder of captives , and dispos'd of them , giving some for servants , whose condition was formerly such ; but persons that were of free birth , he restored to liberty . ten youths and as many virgins of flourishing beauty and fairest stature , he appointed to attend theagenes and chariclea in their destiny . answers being also given to all others that brought any claim . in the last place , oroondates was set before him ; to whom hydaspes exprest himself , that since he gain'd the points for which he made war , he was not affected like most monarchs ; that he would not abuse the kindness of fortune , to covet more than others ; nor extend his empire by his victory ; that he was contented with the bounds which nature from the beginning had set , dividing aethiopia from aegypt by cataracts . wherefore having obtain'd what i came down for , i return an adorer of equity . as for you , if you survive , continue in your office of deputy ; and tell the king of persia , that his brother hydaspes has overcome , but restores you to your dignity , being desirous of amity ; but prepar'd to renew the war if provok'd thereunto : but enjoin that exemption from tribute , for ten years be given to the syeneans . having thus spoken , both the citizens and souldiers applauded him with shouts , that were heard at great distance . oroondates with his hands stretch'd out , the right interchangeably over the left , bowed his body forward with adoration ; which by the persians is given only to their own king. let me not be thought said he to the standers by , to violate the customs of my country , adoring my restorer , who had both power and provocation to kill me . the dignity that belongs to himself by right of conquest , he confers on me : for which , if i survive , i shall always be an instrument of peace , between the aethiopians and syeneans ; but if i dye of these wounds , let the gods return this kindness of hydaspes , both on himself and his posterity . the aethiopian history . the tenth book . thus have we given account of what was transacted about syene , which after such extremity , was restored by the justice and clemency of the conqueror . hydespes now sending the greatest part of his army before him , returns into aethiopia : both persians and syeneans following him with congratulations and prayers for his safety . he therefore took his journey by the banks of nile , and through the adiacent countrys . but being come to cataractae , after sacrifices to nile and the tutelar gods of the borders , he turn'd off through the midland regions . when he was arrived at philae , he rested two days for refreshment of his souldiers ; therefore once more sending the multitude before him , he himself tarry'd in the town , to repair the walls and settle a garrison . then choosing out two messengers with orders to change their horses , for dispatch on the road , he sent them with letters to inform his friends at meroe of his victory . to the wise men call'd gymnosophists , who were of his councel royal , he wrote thus : hydaspes to the divine assembly . these are to acquaint you with our victory , not boasting of our success or management ( since events of war are at the disposal of providence ) but to express our respect for you , requesting you to meet at the appointed place , and to grace our sacrifices for our success with your presence . to his wife persina he wrote as follows . know that we are conquerours , and what most concerns you , safe in our person . wherefore make preparation for triumph , and sacrifices of thanks , and come with our gymnosophists into the field before the city , which is dedicated to the gods of our country ; the sun , moon , and bacchus . having read these letters , this is the sense of my vision ( said persina ) for last night in my sleep , i fancy'd my self deliver'd of a daughter of full blown beauty and stature : the pains signifying the troubles of the war and the fair offspring , the compleat victory . by this time the city was fill'd with the news ; the messengers riding through the principal streets on white horses and in white vestments , being crown'd with the plants of nile , and bearing branches of palm in their hands , by their very habits and gesture declaring their message . the city being thus fill'd with joy , they perrform'd sacrifices night and day in their distinct tribes , streets and families , crowding the temples ; not so much for sake of the victory , as for the safety of hydaspes : whom for his clemency and justice , they look'd upon as their common parent , as well as their king. persina therefore having sent vast herds and flocks , with all manner of beasts and fowl into the sacred field ; partly to make hecatombs therewith , and partly for provision , in the publick feast , went to the grove consecrated to pan , the residence of the gymnosophists , to whom she gave the letters from hydaspes , desiring them to obey his orders , and grace the solemnities with their presence . they entreated her to stay a while without , while they went into the oratory , to consult the gods pleasure . from whence returning , after a small stay , sysimathres , the provost , the rest keeping silence , spoke thus : we shall attend you , said he , for so the gods command : but withal , they foreshow some tumult and disorder that will happen in the ceremonies , which yet shall have a happy conclusion , forasmuch as a member of your body , which has long been lost , shall now be restor'd unsought . whatever misfortune shall happen , reply'd persina , all things will do better for your presence . as soon as hydaspes arrives , i shall inform you . there is no need of that , said sysimathres , for his letters will tell us that he will to morrow be here . accordingly it happen'd ; for before she was return'd to her palace , a messenger overtook her with the same tydings . the publick officers therefore hasten the preparations for the sacrifices , permitting only male persons to be present : for the worship belonging to the sun and moon , the most pure and chast deities , they excluded women from the devotion , lest any pollution should happen therein . the priestess of the moon was only permitted , which office persina herself sustain'd ; as hydaspes , the king , was high priest to the sun , by the ancient rites of the country . chariclea was likewise to be present , though not as priestess , but victim . the people therefore were too impatient to wait till the day was come , but the evening before came over the river of astabora , some by the bridge ; those that lived at distance , in boats , which was easily done , by reason that each containing not above two or three at once , was made by splitting of a cane trunk into two parts , each half , without further labour , serving for a boat. the city meroe is a triangular island , made by the confluence of the nile , the astabora and alasobus : this inland spot being miles in length , in breadth , is furnish'd with animals of vast bulk , the elephants being bred there : and as it bears some plants naturally , is by improvement supply'd with others : for besides palm-trees of prodigious tallness , it also bears corn of such height , that a man on horse-back , and sometimes on camels , is hid in passing through : it is withal so fertile , that the grain which is sown comes up three hundred fold . the people being thus transported over the respective rivers , they all met , and joint'd congratulations to hydaspes , as it were to some deity ; but these however at a distance : the gymnosophists were admitted nearest to him , so as to join hands , and salute him , before the sacred ground . after them stood persina , in the entrance to the temple . after they had here finish'd adorations and praise , they turn'd off to the publick sacrifices , placing themselves in tabernacles that were before prepared . these were composed of four canes , newly cut down , each cane being cut four square , serv'd for a pillar ; the covering was made of several boughts , the fairest being branches of the palm-tree . in another tabernacle was placed the images of their gods , with pictures of famous persons , of memnon , perseus , and andromeda ; supposed , by them , the authors of their royal line . in seats below sat the gymnosophists , with the images of their gods likewise over their heads : before them bands of souldiers , with shields , to keep off the press of the people , and preserve room for the solemnities . hydaspes , in few words , told the company his service perform'd for the commonwealth , and commanded the sacrifices to begin . three altars were erected , two of them appertaining to the sun and moon , the third to bacchus , set at distance , to whom they offered all manner of living creatures . upon the suns altar were sacrificed young horses : a yoak of oxen to the moon , as being serviceable in husbandry . in the mean time there was a voice heard among the crowd , let the usual sacrifice of the country , for our common safety , be first made ; and after that , the first fruits of the war be offer'd . hydaspis understanding them to mean humane sacrifices , as was usual of captives taken in foreign wars , signed to them with his hand , that they should instantly have their desire : withal commanding the appointed prisoners to be brought forth : among them came theagenes and chariclea , guarded , but not bound . the rest were pensive , only these smiled with chearful countenance : chariclea looking constantly on persina , so that she was concern'd thereat , and said , o sir , what a virgin have you commanded to be sacrific'd ? i never saw so great beauty and resolution . her age and form extremely move me ; if our daughter had liv'd , she would have been now of her years : i wish to the gods you could find some means for her delivery . i should be pleas'd to have her an attendant at my table . perhaps the unhappy creature is a grecian , for never was there such a beauty in aegypt . she is a greek , answer'd he , by father and mother , whom she promis'd to produce in this presence , but how that can be possible , i do not imagine : but that she should be deliver'd from this sacrifice , i am sure is absolutely impossible , though i my self could wish it , and am touch'd with compassion for her . our laws exact a man to be sacrificed to the sun , and a virgin to the moon ; and she being first taken , the people will not otherwise be satisfy'd : one help only remains , which is , if she prove not a pure virgin , for such the sacrifice requires ; and if so , she is uncapable of your reception . let her be so found , said persina , rather than die ; nor can she be much blamed , after such exile and travels , especially having beauty , that could scarce escape force and rape . hydaspes then commanded fire to be brought , by the priests , from the temple , on which the captives were to tred . bars of gold were heated over this fire , and had this virtue , that every unchaste or perjured person were burned with treading on them , but such as were otherwise , receiv'd no harm . the corrupted persons they appointed to bacchus , and other gods. after theagenes had trod thereon , and was found chaste , which was with wonder beheld , he being of such youth and vigour ; wherefore he was set apart , to be offer'd to the sun. then , said he to chariclea aside , is death the reward of chastity in aethiopia ? but wherefore do you not now discover your self ? what other time do you expect ? or will you stay till the knife has pierc'd our throats ? therefore declare your self : when you are known , 't is possible i may be saved for your sake ; at least you will be safe your self , which will be my satisfaction in death . she told him her time was now at hand ; and so , without command , put on her holy vestment , which she brought with her from delphi , wrought with gold , and set with jewels ; then with her hair dishevell'd , and , as it were , inspired with divine fury , she leap'd upon the coals , where she stood a long time without hurt , the fire only giving addition to her beauty ; so that in that holy attire , she seems to the beholders rather a goddess than mortal woman : so that the most superstitious amongst them heartily wished her deliverance . persina , above all others , was troubled , and said to hydaspes , how unhappy is this wretch that boasts of a chastity that is so fatal to her ! what is there to be done for her relief ? you trouble me in vain , said hydaspes ; your pity is foolish on one that cannot be saved ; and seems from the beginning , for her excellence , to be reserv'd for the gods. then turning to the gymnosophists , he asked them , why they did not begin ? the gods forbid , ( answer'd sysimathres , in greek , that the people might not understand him ) for we have too much profan'd our eyes and ears with what is already done . as for our parts , we will retire into the temple , being of opinion that these humance sacrifices are abomination to the gods ; we could also wish no blood of any other creature to be shed on such account , as knowing that prayers and bloodless offerings are most grateful to the divine powers . however , your presence , sir , is necessary , since the customes of the country exact it , and your people will not otherwise be satisfy'd . yet you may be sensible that there can be no good event , because the gods , as you see , protect the strangers , by keeping the fire from harming them . having thus said , he , with the rest of his brotherhood , went away . then chariclea leaping from the fire , ran to sysimathres , as he was going , and falling at his feet , ( in spight of the officers that would have hindred her , as supposing she begg'd of him to pare her life ) saying , stay a while , most wise of men , for i have a cause to plead before the king and queen , and know that the sentence on persons of my birth , can only be given by you : they gladly heard her thus speak , and inform'd the king thereof . hydaspes smiled , and askt what judgment that could be ? or how he could come in any danger from her ? what she shall deliver may inform you , said sysimathres . but take heed , said he , you do not wrong our majesty , in making a king to plead with a prisoner : equity and justice , answer'd sysimathres , are without distinction of persons : the law permits you , reply'd hydaspes , to determine controversies , between the king and his subjects , but not with strangers . wise and just men , return'd sysimathres , are impartial in destribution of equity . well , quoth hydaspes , let her speak since sysimathres desires it ; though it be certain she will say nothing to purpose , only some devised matter , as people in her extremity are apt to do . chariclea was the more encouraged when she heard sysimathres name , he being the person that had first taken her ; and ten years before , had given her to charicles , when he went embassador to oroondates , and even then the chief of the gymnosophists . chariclea knew him not by sight , as being separated from him so young ; yet she remembred his name : wherefore she hoped that he would now be her advocate . therefore lifting up her hands to heaven , she said aloud that all might hear ; o sun , thou founder of my pedigree , and all ye other deities and glorious spirits : bear witness that i shall deliver nothing but truth . then ( turning towards the king ) do you command , sir , strangers or people of this country to be offered ? strangers said he ? then is it time for you to to provide other victims ; for i am of this country , and born your subject . he admired hereat and said , she spoke falsly : you wonder at small things answer'd chariclea ; i have yet greater to deliver , being not only of this country , but of the blood royal. hydaspes at this turn'd aside with scorn : she then proceeded saying , o father do not thus despise and deny your own daughter : the king then fell into indignation and said , sysimathres , how long will you abuse our patience ? is she not distracted , or of insufferable boldness , thus to claim kindred with us , to save her life ? you your selves know , that i was never so fortunate as to have a child . wherefore take her away . no man answer'd she must carry me away , without command of my judges : you your self are now judged : perhaps o king the law of this country suffers you to kill strangers ; but neither that nor the law of nature to kill your own children ; for that you are my father the gods shall prove this day . all controversies in law , consist in two points ; that is writings , and confirmation by witnesses . i have both these to prove my self your daughter : for a witness i will produce , no meaner a person than the judge himself ; i will likewise lay writings before you , that shall fully express my state. having thus said , she unfolded her fascia , and gave it to persina : she no sooner fixt her eyes thereon , but she was struck with terrour , and disabled from speaking , at once trembling and glad for what she saw ; especially with the suddenness of the chance . yet was she afraid to expose it , least hydaspes should give no credit thereunto ; and consequently would inflict punishment on her . he perceiving her so much concern'd , ask'd the meaning . doth ought in that writing trouble you ? my lord , king and husband , said she , i have nothing to say ; take and peruse it your self , which with sufficiently inform you : having given it to him , she sat down again pensive . when hydaspes had ran it over with the gymnosophists , he marvelled extreamly , and the more to find sysimathres , much concern'd and abashed : wherefore a thousand thoughts rose in his mind , he looking often upon the fascia and often upon the maid : having throughly perused it , and found both her exposition in her infancy , with the reason of it : i know , said he , that i once had a daughter , but was told , and by persina her self , that she was dead , but now perceive that she was expos'd in her infancy . but who was the person that found her , took her up , and bred her , i am yet to seek ; or who it was that carry'd her into aegypt . how may i be assur'd that this is she ? and whether the infant that was expos'd be not dead , while he that found her , took advantage of his good fortune ; to impose on our desire of having a child , by proposing a changeling instead ; and colouring the cheat with this fascia . your first doubt i can clear , answer'd sysimathres : i was the person that found the exposed child , bred her for some time , and carry'd her with me to aegypt ; when on embassy you sent me thither . you know well , that our order dare not speak untruth : i likewise know the fascia to be the same by the royal characters , and impossible to be counterfeited ; even you your self may know persina's hand-writing therein : but there were other testimonals found with this , and by me deliver'd to the person to whom i gave her , the man a greek , and of seeming honesty . they are also preserv'd , said chariclea , and produc'd the bracelets . persina was now more astonished : hydaspes asking her if she knew them ? she answer'd she did ? and that this examination would more properly be made at home ; and not in so publick an audience . then was hydaspes more anxious than before : then said chariclea , these signals were my mothers , but this , sir , is properly your own ; giving him the ring with the pantarbe-stone . hydaspes knew it , it being the same he gave to persina , on his contract with her . i know these tokens , said he to chariclea ; but not that you came by them , as being my daughter ; for not to insist on other doubts , your colour is strange and never seen in aethiopia . the infant was also white which i carry'd away ( said sysimathres ) besides the time of her age agrees , it being now seventeen years since she was expos'd . beside i perceive the same lustre of her eyes , the same fair lineaments , complexion , and unparrallell'd beauty . you speak well , said hydaspes , and rather like a patron , than judge of her cause ; but take heed , least in favouring her , you bring question of scandal upon my wife : it being impossible , that we being both aethiops , should have a fair child . we call him the best judge answer'd sysimathres , who is a patron of equity : but how do we seem more , to patronize the maid than you ? for your censure we are not concern'd , whose business is more to approve our selves to the gods than to men : so that is enough for us to satisfy our own consciences . as to your doubt concerning her colour , the fascia it self answers it : that persina conceiv'd a daughter of this complexion ; by looking on the picture of andromeda , in your bedchamber : if you doubt the likeness , the picture is here at hand , compare them together , you will see no difference between the living and painted virgin. when they were set together , the beholders were surpriz'd at the resemblance , which rais'd a great noise ; those who stood nearer , informing them that were at more distance : so that hydaspes himself could no longer doubt , but stood speechless with joy and admiration . at last there is one thing yet wanting : o sysimathres , said he , there was a certain speck or mole above my daughters right elbow : which was found also on chariclea . persina could no longer contain her self , but leaping from the throne , threw her arms about her neck , weeping for joy , and almost ready to faint away . the same parental affection seiz'd hydaspes , though with more manly government , yet he also embraced her , and not without tears . after this , waving his hand , he silenced the buzzing amongst the croud . o you that are present , said he , you have seen and heard me this day prov'd a father beyond all expectation . yet such is my regard to you , that waving the care of succession and paternal joy , i am for your sakes ready to deliver her up to the gods in sacrifice : for though i see you also concern'd for the misfortune of so fair a virgin , yet whether you will or no , i must perform the custom of our country , and prefer the publick interest to private affection . having thus spoken , he took chariclea by the hand , as to lead her to the altar ; at which the whole multitude set up a cry , not suffering him to lead her one step forward , but calling out save the maid , save her whom the gods would have preserv'd : we return you our thanks , our laws are satisfy'd . we acknowledge you our king , do you acknowledge your self a father . there is no man than will lay hands on her ; you that are father of your country , be father of your own house : these and many more such expressions were utter'd ; downright resisting his proposal , and saying , the gods would be satisfy'd with other offerings . hydaspes suffer'd himself to be overcome , and took pleasure in the violence . standing therefore next to chariclea , dearest , said he , that you are our daughter , the proofs are sufficient ; but who is this youth , who was taken prisoner with you , and is now set before the altar ? or how could you call him brother , when you were together brought into my presence at syene ? for how shall he be found our son ? for persina has but once been deliver'd , and that only of your self . chariclea blushing and casting her eyes on the ground , i feign'd him indeed to be my brother in that exigence , but who he is , he himself will better inform you . do you therefore take place by your mother on the tribunal ; filling her with greater joy , than when she first bore you ; entertain her with the history of your affairs , while i take care for the sacrifices , and choose some virgin to be made a victim in your stead , with the grecian youth . chariclea could scare forbear crying out at the mention hereof , but governing her affection ; once more attempted him in these words : o sir , there is no need to seek for another of my sex , since the people have excused me : but if you must , there must also another youth be found , or if that be not done , no other maid , for i my self must also die : for the gods have determin'd me to live and die with him . hydaspes not yet understanding her , said , i commend this humanity in you daughter , towards a grecian and stranger , the companion of your exile ; but it is impossible to exempt him from sacrifice without violation of our religion , neither will the people dispense therewith . o king , answer'd she , if i may not call you father , if the mercy of the gods has spared my body , the same clemency will space my soul : but if the destinies must have it so , that this youth must needs adorn the ceremonies , grant me yet one request , that he may be kill'd by my hand . what contradictions are these ( said hydaspes ) the person whom but now as a friend you endeavour'd to save , you now beg leave to kill with your own hand as an enemy . i see , but grant it might , you may not be permitted , it being only lawful for the priests of the sun and moon , and amongst them only the high priest , that has a wife and priestess , who has a husband . all this can be no hinderance reply'd chariclea . hydaspes considering her late proof of virgin estate by enduring the fire , thought her discompos d in her senses , and desired his wife to discourse with her apart , to bring her to her self . in the mean time , i will give audience to the embassadours that wait to congratulate our victory ; and till another virgin be elected in her stead . having thus spoken , he ascended a chair of state not far distant from the tabernacle , commanding the embassadours to come before him with their presents . the master of ceremonies harmonious , ask'd if all should be admitted together , or if they should come distinctly , according to the dignity of their respective nations : in order , said hydaspes . shall merabus your brothers son come first , said the officer ? stupid man , said hydaspes , why did you not instantly inform me of his arrival , whom you know to be no legate but a king , son to my brother , heir to his throne , and my own adopted successour ? as soon therefore as merabus came near his presence , a manly youth and tall of stature surpassing all about him , the aethiopian guards with respect , made way for him . hydaspes came down from his throne to meet him , embracing him with paternal courtesie , and saying ; you come in good time , my son , to assist our triumphant rites , and also your own nuptial ceremonies : since the gods , who were authors of our love , have , beyond all expectation , produced a daughter for us , and for you a bride . of this affair more at leisure ; at present , if you have any thing to mention on behalf of your country , declare it . meraebus at mention of a wife , blushed so as to have it perceiv'd through the duskiness of this complexion . after a little pause , other persons , said he , will present you with the best rareties of their country to adorn your triumph , but i , with what i judg'd most suitable to your martial temper , for a present offer you a sword-man , inur'd to blood , and exercised in arms , so that none dare oppose him ; in wrestling , whirl-bat , or any other warlike-exercise , of such skill and strength , that none are able to contend with him . accordingly he beckon'd to have him brought in presence . he therefore cam forward , and was of that stature , that when he stooped to salute hydaspes knees , he still seem'd tall as any of the rest . immediately , without waiting for command , he stripped himself before all the company , challenging any person to single combat . when none appear'd , though the king often summon'd , by the herald ; you shall receive , said hydaspes to him , a present fit for your courage and bulk ; withal commanding an elephant , of vast magnitude , to be brought forth for him : he willingly receiv'd it . the people , when the beast appear'd , laughed extremely at the pleasant humour of the king. with this derision taking revenge on him whom they did not dare to encounter . after meraebus , were admitted the embassadours from the seri , bringing two vestments , made by insects of their country , the one of tyrian dye , the other snowy white . having tender'd their presents , they were rewarded by the king , with release of certain prisoners in his custody . the arabian legates came next , with spices and perfumes , the product of their country , in such quantities , that they perfum'd all the air around . after them , the trogloditae , with gold , and griffins with golden bridles . then the blemmi , with arrows made of dragons bones , and made up in circular form : and these , o king , said they , we present you with less costly than others offering , but of service to you against the persians on the rivers bank. they are more esteem'd by us , said hydaspes , than so many talents of gold , withal inviting them to make what demands they pleased . when they requested abatement of tribute , he released it to them for ten years successively . when these had thus made their complements ( most of them being remunerated by the king with richer gifts than what they brought ) in the last place came the axiomati , who indeed paid no tribute , but were in league with him . they also brought presents ; amongst others , an animal of strange form and nature , of the size of a camel , but of spotted skin , and cover'd with scales . his hinder parts and belly like a lion , his fore legs and shoulders exceeding other members ; a long neck , and waxing very slender , from so large a body : his head resembling a camel , in bigness twice exceeding the lybian ostrich , horribly rowling his eyes , that seem'd as if enslam'd with red lead . his gate was still more strange , being like no other animals , but moving the two legs on his right side together , and then those on his left , carrying forward first the one side of his body and then the other . of temper so tame and gentle by use , that his master led him up and down , with a small cord in his hand . when this creature appear'd , the multitude were amaz'd , and gave him from his various shape , the name of camelopardalis . he was the occasion of a great disorder which thus happen'd . there were a yoak of bulls placed before the altar of the moon , four white horses at the altar of the sun , ready for the sacrifice . the horses spying this strange monster , were so terrify'd that two of them broke out of their hands that held them , as also one of the bulls , and ran out wild . they could not however break through the press , the souldiers joining in a ring , and with their shields obstructing their passage . they were at once the occasion of great laughter and terrour ; the persons at distance shouting to see others born down , and trodden by them : all things were overturn'd that stood in their way . the clamour was so great , that persina and chariclea , open'd the curtain to look out . at this time theagenes , whether out of his natural vigour , or inspiration from the gods , seeing his keepers dispers'd with the fright , started up from the altar where he kneel'd , and snatching from thence a cleft stick , leap'd on the back of one of the horses that were left , and using his main for a bridge , forc'd him on , and turn'd the bull that had broke loose . the spectators at first though that he intended to make his escape , and set up a cry that they should not suffer him to pass . but they soon perceived he had no such intention : for pursuing the bull , and catching hold of his tail , he drove him before him , dextrously avoiding his short turns . with this management he so brake his mettle , that he now suffer'd him to ride side by side to him , insomuch that the sweat of each beast mingled with the other . they ran with their heads so even together , that the people , at distance , took the horse and bull for one creature , and applauded theagenes as the author of a miracle . thus were all the multitude employ'd . chariclea in the mean time look'd on with horrour , not knowing what he intended and fear'd more for his danger than for her own life when lately at stake . persina perceiv'd her concern , and said to her , you are troubled , daughter , for this stranger ; i confess i cannot my self help pitying his youth , but yet i hope he will escape this hazard , and be preserv'd safe for the sacrifice . how absurd is it ( answer'd chariclea ) to wish him to escape death , that he may dye ! but oh mother , if you can save his life , you will do a thing most grateful to me ! persina partly suspecting her passion , said , though it be impossible for me to preserve him , yet take courage to acquaint me with your concern with this stranger ; if it has not been altogether vertuous , yet a mothers kindness knows how to indulge the frailty of a child . chariclea then wept bitterly , and cry'd out , 't is the extremity of my misfortune to speak to understanding persons , yet not be understood ; but must be forced to an open and gross confession . as she was now going to reveal the whole matter , she was once more hindred by a new shout amongst the people . theagenes having now fronted the bull , quitted his horse , leaped on the bulls neck , and clasping his arms round the roots of his horns , his hands fasten'd in his fore-head tassock , his face lying between the horns , the rest of his body hanging with all its weight , down over the beasts right shoulder , insomuch that he was often trod upon ; yet he so incumbred his passage by this means , and tired him , that directly over against the place where hydaspes sate , he tumbled down on his head , but so that his hoofs were turn'd uppermost , and his horns struck into the sand , so that his head seem'd fast rooted to the earth ; his legs all the while sprawling in the air. the agenes also still held him down with his left hand , his right lifted up towards heaven ; and thus with generous countenance survey'd hydaspes and the company ; provoking them to laughter with the spectacle ; the bull all the while with bellowing , like a martial trumpet , sounding his conquest : the people answer'd with shouts , and promiscuously gabbling , extoll'd him to the skies . the kings servants , therefore , as they were order'd , some led theagenes to the king , others fastning ropes to the bulls head , led him with the horses once more to the alar . hydaspes beginning some discourse with theagenes , the people who were pleas'd with his person from the first minute they saw him , but not stupify'd at his strength and courage , in the last place envying the honour given to meraebus his aethiopian wrestler , with one cry , demanded that he who had received the elephant , should engage in single combat with him that conquer'd the bull. when they had long pressed for it , hydaspes at last consented . the aethiop was immediately put into the middle of the circle , sternly and proudly surveying all around him , stretching himself , and taking lofty vast steps , compassing an ell at every stride . when he was come up before the council , hydaspes spoke to theagenes in greek ; it is the peoples desires that you undertake this combat : let is be so , said theagenes , but after what manner ? wrestling , said hydaspes : why not rather with swords , said theagenes , by which some honour might be gain'd ; at least , with my death , content chariclea , who , i find , conceals our affairs , and forsakes me at the last . what you mean by mentioning chariclea , said hydaspes , i know not ; but you must wrestle , and not fight with swords ; for we may not suffer any blood to be shed before that of sacrifice . he understanding hydaspes's meaning , that he fear'd lest he should be kill'd before he dy'd in sacrifice ; you do well , said he , to reserve me for the gods. with these words he put himself in pusture : fixing his feet firmly to the ground , his whole body put in the best order : thus he impatiently waited the assault of his adversary . the aethiop seeing this , with a look of derision and indignation mixt together , ran furiously upon him , hitting theagenes on the neck with his elbow , as heavily as if he had struck him with a leaver ; then drawing back , laughed out aloud at his own performance . theagenes , who was vers'd from his childhood in exercises , knew that such robustuous strength , wanot directly to be engag'd , but deluded by art , expos'd the other side of his neck for a second blow , which the barbarian repeated , and then withdrew as before : he therefore now despising him , and coming on the third time more carelessly , theagenes slipping under his elbow , and clasping his arms round his wast , which he was scarce able to embrance , cast him quite over his shoulders , and pitcht him all on a heap , with his head first to the ground , to the hazard of his neck . the people now shouted louder than before ; nor could hydaspes longer contain himself , but leaping down from his throne , cry'd ; o hard necessity of law , what a noble youth are we compell'd to destroy . then calling him to him , said , it only now remains , that thou be crown'd for the sacrifice . this famous though unserviceable victory , deserves a crown : that i should set you free is not in my power , but as much as i can do in favour of you , i will ; so that if you have any request to make to me before you die , propose it . with these words , he put a golden wreath on his head , beset with diamonds . grant me therefore , said theagenes , what i shall request , since you have promis'd it . if i may not escape being sacrific'd , at least let me be kill'd , by the hand of your new found daughter . hydaspes was stung at this motion , reflecting on chariclea's request , which was like this , yet thought it not worth his while , nicely to search the matter : those things , o stranger , said he , which were in my power , i commanded you to ask , and promis'd that i would grant : the law exacts , that the slayer of the sacrifice , be a wife and no virgin. but she has a husband , answer'd theagenes : you rave , said hydaspes , and these are words of a person under consternation of death . the fire has prov'd her free from man : unless you call meraebus here her husband , nor can i guess how you could come to surnize so much , neither is he yet her husband , but in intention only : neither shall he ever be , said theagenes , if i know any thing of chariclea's mind ; or as divine sacrifice , can fore-shew any future event . but sacrifices , said meraebus , can give no divination till they are slain , and their intrals laid open . wherefore , o father , you have rightly spoken , that the stranger raves with apprehension of death . therefore if you please , let some body take him to the altar . theagenes was accordingly led away : but chariclea , who was a little relieved at his victory , and conceiv'd better hopes ; when she saw him led again to the altar , relaps'd into sorrow . persina comforted her , saying , it was yet possible for him to be rescu'd , if she would plainly and fully declare , what she demanded to know . chariclea found there was no longer time for delay , and therefore freely began , to tell the principal parts of her story . hydaspes in the mean time , ask'd by his officers , if there were any of the embassadours yet unanswer'd ? only the syeneans , answer'd harmonias , who wait with letters from oroondates . they are newly arriv'd , and bring matters of some moment : let them also appear , said hydaspes . accordingly they were brought , presenting the letters which hydaspes read , of these contents : to the merciful and fortunate king of the aethiopians , oroondates , deputy to the great king. since after conquest over me in field , you again overcame me in clemency , restoring me to my office , it will not seem strange , if you farther grant me a small request : a certain virgin , as she was led along , became your prisoner of war ; that she was by you sent into aethiopia , i am inform'd : he i intreat you to restore to me , not only for her own sake , but her fathers , for whom i would preserve her . he has travelled far in search of her , and was taken prisoner during the war by my garrison at elephantina : he has therefore desired me to recommend him to your clemency . you have him therefore amongst other legates , such a person as by his aspect may be known to be noble , and deserve what the shall beg at your hands . send him therefore back to me pleased , and rejoice the heart of a disconsolate father . when hydaspes had read this , he ask'd which was the person amongst the leagates , who was mention'd in the letters , who is in search of his daughter : when they shew'd him the old man , o stranger , said hydaspes , i will do all that oroondates has d esired : ten virgin captives only we brought away , and whereas one of them is known not to be her , do you survey the other nine ; and if you find her , take her . the old man fell down to embrace his feet , and surveying the virgins , as they were brought before him , found not her amongst them ; therefore he sorrowfully said , none of these , o king , is she . i was ready to gratify you , said hydaspes , you must blame your fortune if you cannot find her ; for you are free to satisfie your self that none other came with our camp. when the old man had bent his brows , and wept a while , he lifted up his eyes , surveying the company around , and of a sudden ran forth as if he had been mad . when he was come up to the altar , taking off his cloak , and twisting it like a rope , he cast it about theagenes his neck , and cry'd out in all their hearing , i have found thee , o my enemy , i have gotten thee , thou mischievous and accursed man ! the officers would have taken him off , but he would not quit his hold , till he had leave to bring him before hydaspes and the council ; to whom he addrest himself in this manner , o king , said he , this man is the robber that has taken away my daughter even from the temple of apollo , and now , like a pious person , he kneels before the altar . all were astonish'd at what he said , not understanding the words , but surpriz'd with the action and manner . hydaspes commanding him to speak more plainly , charicles ( for he was the old man ) conceal'd the truth concerning chariclea , fearing lest if she were dead by the way , he should be troubled by her true parents . but he thus briefly utter'd what could little harm him . i had a daughter , o king , if you had seen how beautiful and surpassing in wisdom , you would not blame my sorrow . she led her life in virginity , and was priestess to diana , which is worshipp'd at delphos . that maid , this bold thessalian , has stoln out of the temple of apollo , while officiating a holy embassage to that city ; during the celebration of our festival . he must therefore be censur'd , to have offended your god the sun ( who is all one with our apollo , and done sacrilege on his temple . a false priest of memphis , was also his companion in this hainous fact. i went to memphis in search of them , which i suppos'd to be the place , whither calasiris would go : when i arrived there , i found that he was dead , and was inform'd by his son thyamis , of all that had befaln to my daughter ; wherefore you shall well perform the part of a king , in accepting the deputies request on my behalf . here he held his peace , and wept most bitterly . what say you to this , said hydaspes , turning to theagenes ? all that he has laid to my charge ( answer'd theagenes ) is true : as to him , i am a robber , but to you , i have perform'd good service . restore therefore , ( said hydaspes ) what is not your own , to become a pure sacrifice to the gods. not he that did the wrong ( said theagenes ) ought to make restitution ; but he that has the benefit : seeing therefore you have her , do you restore her , chariclea is the person , whom he also will own to be your daughter . no man could longer contain himself : sysimathres kept silence along time , notwithstanding he knew the whole mystery , till it were bolted our by little and little : then coming forth , he embraced charicles , and said , your adoptive daughter , whom i once deliver'd to you , is well , found , and prov'd to be daughter to the king , which you your self , also well know . chariclea also ran forth from the tabernacle , like one distracted , without regard to her quality , or years , and falling at charicles his feet , said , o father , no less dear to me , than my natural parent , take what revenge you please upon me , notwithstanding , all the excuse that i have of the gods , commands for what i did . persina also turning to hydaspes , said , assure your self , sir , that it is so , this young grecian is your daughters husband . the people were overjoy'd at the discovery , though they imperfectly , understood it , or rather were divinely inspired , with the knowledge thereof . contraries were reconcil'd to attend this wonder ; sorrow being joyn'd with mirth , and tears with smiles : the cruel slaughter , which was every moment expected , turn'd into a holy and bloodless sacrifice . o wisest of men , said hydaspes to sysimathres , instruct us what we are to do ? to decline the sacrifice of the gods , is sacrilege , and to kill the innocent , and such as they favour , impious . then sysimathres ( not in the grecian language as before ) but in aethiopian , to be understood of all , thus exprest himself . o king , said he , darkness is sometimes thrown over the most descerning understandings , to produce the greater joy . you ought long since , to have been sensible , that the gods would not permit this sacrifice , resolving to make your daughter chariclea , happy in all her desires ; accordingly they have hither brought her foster-father , from the midst of greece : they have likewise sent frights and disorder to disturb the sacrifices , as signifying , that more agreeable offerings should be made : they have lastly shewn you , a bridegroom for your daughter ; this grecian youth , whom they have with miracles deliver'd . wherefore let us obey their pleasure , and no more offend them with humane victims , whose best sacrifices , are prayers and obedience . sysimathres having said this with an audible voice , hydaspes took theagenes and chariclea by the hand , saying , you who are present , and see that these things are come to pass , by the direction of the divine powers , whose will it is impossible to resist , since you also seem to approve their choice , bear witness to the nuptials , which i here ratisie ; which we will farther confirm by holy rites , and so let us fall to worshiping our gods. the whole army , with redoubled shouts and clapping their hands , exprest their consent to the match . hydaspes then approach'd the altars , and ready to begin the solemnities , said , o sun our lord , and moon our patroness : since theagenes and chariclea , are by your good will , declared husband and wife , i doubt not , but you will accept their offerings , and suffer then to do sacrifice in our steads . having thus said , he took the mitres , the ensigns of priesthood , from his own and persina's head , placing them on theagenes and chariclea . when this was done , charicles call'd to mind , the oracle deliver'd to him at delphi , was now compleated , which foretold concerning this young pair , that they should arrive at a soil parch'd with heat ; where their prov'd vertue , just rewards should wear , and snowy wreaths from sun-burnt temples bear . being thus crown'd with mitres , and vested with priesthood by hydaspes , the ceremonies being now finish'd with lighted torches by their sides , they were born in chariots , with consorts of flutes and other instruments : theagenes with hydaspes , sysimathres in another chariot with charicles , persina in another with chariclea : with musick and congratulations towards the city : where the more retir'd ceremonies appertaining to the nuptials were to be perform'd . finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a -e * marquess of worcester's seat , last garrison held out for king charles i. the history of king lear acted at the duke's theatre / reviv'd with alterations by n. tate. tate, nahum, - . this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a of text r in the english short title catalog (wing s ). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish.this text has not been fully proofread approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo a wing s estc r ocm

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early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) the history of king lear acted at the duke's theatre / reviv'd with alterations by n. tate. tate, nahum, - . shakespeare, william, - . king lear. [ ], , [ ] p. printed for e. flesher, and are to be sold by r. bentley, and m. magnes ..., london : . an alteration of shakespeare's king lear. reproduction of original in university of michigan libraries.
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the history of king lear . acted at the duke's theatre .

reviv'd with alterations . by n. tate .

london , printed for e. flesher , and are to be sold by r. bentley , and m. magnes in russel-street near covent-garden , .

to my esteemed friend thomas boteler , esq sir ,

you have a natural right to this piece , since , by your advice , i attempted the revival of it with alterations . nothing but the power of your perswasion , and my zeal for all the remains of shakespear , cou'd have wrought me to so bold an undertaking . i found that the new-modelling of this story , wou'd force me sometimes on the difficult task of making the chiefest persons speak something like their character , on matter whereof i had no ground in my author . lear's real , and edgar's pretended madness have so much of extravagant nature ( i know not how else to express it ) as cou'd never have started but from our shakespear's creating fancy . the images and language are so odd and surprizing , and yet so agreeable and proper , that whilst we grant that none but shakespear cou'd have form'd such conceptions , yet we are satisfied that they were the only things in the world that ought to be said on those occasions . i found the whole to answer your account of it , a heap of jewels , unstrung and unpolisht ; yet so dazling in their disorder , that i soon perceiv'd i had seiz'd a treasure . 't was my good fortune to light on one expedient to rectifie what was wanting in the regularity and probability of the tale , which was to run through the whole a love betwixt edgar and cordelia , that never chang'd word with each other in the original . this renders cordelia's indifference and her father's passion in the first scene probable . it likewise gives countenance to edgar's disguise , making that a generous design that was before a poor shift to save his life . the distress of the story is evidently heightned by it ; and it particularly gave occasion of a new scene or two , of more success ( perhaps ) than merit . this method necessarily threw me on making the tale conclude in a success to the innocent distrest persons : otherwise i must have incumbred the stage with dead bodies , which conduct makes many tragedies conclude with unseasonable jests . yet was i rackt with no small fears for so bold a change , till i found it well receiv'd by my audience ; and if this will not satisfie the reader , i can produce an authority that questionless will. neither is it of so trivial an undertaking to make a tragedy end happily , for 't is more difficult to save than 't is to kill : the dagger and cup of poyson are alwaies in readiness ; but to bring the action to the last extremity , and then by probable means to recover all , will require the art and judgment of a writer , and cost him many a pang in the performance .

i have one thing more to apologize for , which is , that i have us'd less quaintness of expression even in the newest parts of this play. i confess 't was design in me , partly to comply with my author's style to make the scenes of a piece , and partly to give it some resemblance of the time and persons here represented . this , sir , i submit wholly to you , who are both a judge and master of style . nature had exempted you before you went abroad from the morose saturnine humour of our country , and you brought home the refinedness of travel without the affectation . many faults i see in the following pages , and question not but you will discover more ; yet i will presume so far on your friendship , as to make the whole a present to you , and subscribe my self

your obliged friend and humble servant , n. tate .
prologue . since by mistakes your best delights are made , ( for ev'n your wives can please in masquerade ) 't were worth our while t' have drawn you in this day by a new name to our old honest play ; but he that did this evenings treat prepare bluntly resolv'd before-hand to declare your entertainment should be most old fare . yet hopes , since in rich shakespear's soil it grew , 't will relish yet with those whose tasts are true , and his ambition is to please a few . if then this heap of flow'rs shall chance to wear fresh beauty in the order they now bear , ev'n this shakespear's praise ; each rustick knows 'mongst plenteous flow'rs a garland to compose , which strung by his course hand may fairer show , but 't was a pow'r : divine first made 'em grow . why shou'd these scenes lie hid , in which we find what may at once divert and teach the mind ? morals were alwaies proper for the stage , but are ev'n necessary in this age. poets must take the churches teaching trade , since priests their province of intrigue invade ; but we the worst in this exchange have got , in vain our poets preach , whilst church-men plot.
the persons . mr. betterton . mr. gillo . mr. wiltshire . mr. smith . mr. jo. williams . mr. norris . mr. bowman . mr. jevon . mrs. shadwell . lady slingsby . mrs. barry . guards , officers , messengers , attendants .
king lear . a tragedy . act i. enter bastard solus . bast. thou nature art my goddess , to thy law my services are bound , why am i then depriv'd of a son 's right because i came not in the dull road that custom has prescrib'd ? why bastard , wherefore base , when i can boast a mind as gen'rous and a shape as true as honest madam's issue ? why are we held base , who in the lusty stealth of nature take fiercer qualities than what compound the scanted births of the stale marriage-bed ? well then , legitimate edgar , to thy right of law i will oppose a bastard's cunning. our father's love is to the bastard edmund as to legitimate edgar : with success i 've practis'd yet on both their easie natures : here comes the old man chaf't with th' information which last i forg'd against my brother edgar , a tale so plausible , so boldly utter'd and heightned by such lucky accidents , that now the slightest circumstance confirms him , and base-born edmund spight of law inherits . enter kent and gloster . glost. nay , good my lord , your charity o'reshoots it self to plead in his behalf ; you are your self a father , and may feel the sting of disobedience from a son first-born and best belov'd : oh villain edgar ! kent . be not too rash , all may be forgery , and time yet clear the duty of your son. glost. plead with the seas , and reason down the winds , yet shalt thou ne're convince me , i have seen his foul designs through all a father's fondness : but be this light and thou my witnesses that i discard him here from my possessions , divorce him from my heart , my blood and name . bast. it works as i cou'd wish ; i 'll shew my self . glost. ha edmund ! welcome boy ; o kent see here inverted nature , gloster's shame and glory , this by-born , the wild sally of my youth , pursues me with all filial offices , whilst edgar , begg'd of heaven and born in honour , draws plagues on my white head that urge me still to curse in age the pleasure of my youth . nay weep not , edmund , for thy brother's crimes ; o gen'rous boy , thou shar'st but half his blood , yet lov'st beyond the kindness of a brother . but i 'll reward thy vertue . follow me . my lord , you wait the king who comes resolv'd to quit the toils of empire , and divide his realms amongst his daughters , heaven succeed it , but much i fear the change. kent . i grieve to see him with such wild starts of passion hourly seiz'd , as renders majesty beneath it self . glost. alas ! 't is the infirmity of his age , yet has his temper ever been unfixt , chol'rick and suddain ; hark , they approach . [ exeunt gloster and bast. flourish . enter lear , cornwall , albany , burgundy , edgar , goneril , regan , cordelia , edgar speaking to cordelia at entrance . edgar . cordelia , royal fair , turn yet once more , and e're successfull burgundy receive the treasure of thy beauties from the king , e're happy burgundy for ever fold thee , cast back one pitying look on wretched edgar . cord. alas what wou'd the wretched edgar with the more unfortunate cordelia ; who in obedience to a father's will flys from her edgar's arms to burgundy's ? lear. attend my lords of albany and cornwall with princely burgundy . alb. we do , my liege . lear. give me the mapp � know , lords , we have divided in three our kingdom , having now resolved to disengage from our long toil of state , conferring all upon your younger years ; you , burgundy , cornwall and albany long in our court have made your amorous sojourn and now are to be answer'd � tell me my daughters which of you loves us most , that we may place our largest bounty with the largest merit . gonerill , our eldest-born , speak first . gon. sir , i do love you more than words can utter , beyond what can be valu'd , rich or rare , nor liberty , nor sight , health , fame , or beauty are half so dear , my life for you were vile , as much as child can love the best of fathers . lear. of all these bounds , ev'n from this line to this with shady forests and wide-skirted meads , we make thee lady , to thine and albany's issue be this perpetual � what says our second daughter ? reg. my sister , sir , in part exprest my love , for such as hers , is mine , though more extended ; sense has no other joy that i can relish , i have my all in my dear lieges love ! lear. therefore to thee and thine hereditary remain this ample third of our fair kingdom . cord. now comes my trial , how am i distrest , that must with cold speech tempt the chol'rick king rather to leave me dowerless , than condemn me to loath'd embraces ! lear. speak now our last , not least in our dear love , so ends my task of state , � cordelia speak , what canst thou say to win a richer third than what thy sisters gain'd ? cord. now must my love in words fall short of theirs as much as it exceeds in truth � nothing my lord. lear. nothing can come of nothing , speak agen . cord. unhappy am i that i can't dissemble , sir , as i ought , i love your majesty , no more nor less . lear. take heed cordelia , thy fortunes are at stake , think better on 't and mend thy speech a little . cord. o my liege , you gave me being , bred me , dearly love me , and i return my duty as i ought , obey you , love you , and most honour you ! why have my sisters husbands , if they love you all ? happ'ly when i shall wed , the lord whose hand shall take my plight , will carry half my love , for i shall never marry , like my sisters , to love my father all. lear. and goes thy heart with this ? 't is said that i am chol'rick , judge me gods , is there not cause ? now minion i perceive the truth of what has been suggested to us , thy fondness for the rebel son of gloster , false to his father , as thou art to my hopes : and oh take heed , rash girl , lest we comply with thy fond wishes , which thou wilt too late repent , for know our nature cannot brook a child so young and so ungentle . cord. so young my lord and true. lear. thy truth then be thy dow'r , for by the sacred sun and solemn night i here disclaim all my paternal care , and from this minute hold thee as a stranger both to my blood and favour . kent . this is frenzy . consider , good my liege � lear. peace kent . come not between a dragon and his rage . i lov'd her most , and in her tender trust design'd to have bestow'd my age at ease ! so be my grave my peace as here i give my heart from her , and with it all my wealth : my lords of cornwall and of albany , i do invest you jointly with full right in this fair third , cordelia's forfeit dow'r . mark me , my lords , observe our last resolve , our self attended with an hundred knights will make aboad with you in monthly course , the name alone of king remain with me , yours be the execution and revenues , this is our final will , and to confirm it this coronet part between you . kent . royal lear , whom i have ever honour'd as my king , lov'd as my father , as my master follow'd , and as my patron thought on in my pray'rs � lear. away , the bow is bent , make from the shaft . kent . no , let it fall and drench within my heart , be kent unmannerly when lear is mad : thy youngest daughter � lear. on thy life no more . kent . what wilt thou doe , old man ? lear. out of my sight ! kent . see better first . lear. now by the gods � kent . now by the gods , rash king , thou swear'st in vain . lear. ha traytour � kent . do , kill thy physician , lear , strike through my throat , yet with my latest breath i 'll thunder in thine ear my just complaint , and tell thee to thy face that thou dost ill . lear. hear me rash man , on thy allegiance hear me ; since thou hast striv'n to make us break our vow and prest between our sentence and our pow'r , which nor our nature nor our place can bear , we banish thee for ever from our sight and kingdom ; if when three days are expir'd thy hated trunk be found in our dominions that moment is thy death ; away . kent . why fare thee well , king , since thou art resolv'd , i take thee at thy word , and will not stay to see thy fall : the gods protect the maid that truly thinks , and has most justly said . thus to new climates my old truth i bear , friendship lives hence , and banishment is here. [ exit . lear. now burgundy , you see her price is faln , yet if the fondness of your passion still affects her as she stands , dow'rless , and lost in our esteem , she 's yours , take her or leave her . burg. pardon me , royal lear , i but demand the dow'r your self propos'd , and here i take cordelia by the hand dutchess of burgundy . lear. then leave her sir , for by a father's rage i tell you all her wealth . away . burg. then sir be pleas'd to charge the breach of our alliance on your own will not my inconstancy . [ exeunt . manent edgar and cordelia . edg. has heaven then weigh'd the merit of my love , or is 't the raving of my sickly thought ? cou'd burgundy forgoe so rich a prize and leave her to despairing edgar's arms ? have i thy hand cordelia , do i clasp it , the hand that was this minute to have join'd my hated rivals ? do i kneel before thee and offer at thy feet my panting heart ? smile , princess , and convince me , for as yet i doubt , and dare not trust the dazling joy. cord. some comfort yet that 't was no vicious blot that has depriv'd me of a father's grace , but meerly want of that that makes me rich in wanting it , a smooth professing tongue : o sisters , i am loth to call your fault as it deserves ; but use our father well , and wrong'd cordelia never shall repine . edg. o heav'nly maid that art thy self thy dow'r , richer in vertue than the stars in light , if edgar's humble fortunes may be grac't with thy acceptance , at thy feet he lays ' em . ha my cordelia ! dost thou turn away ? what have i done t' offend thee ? cord. talk't of love. edg. then i 've offended oft , cordelia too has oft permitted me so to offend . cord. when , edgar , i permitted your addresses , i was the darling daughter of a king , nor can i now forget my royal birth , and live dependent on my lover's fortune . i cannot to so low a fate submit , and therefore study to forget your passion , and trouble me upon this theam no more . edg. thus majesty takes most state in distress ! how are we tost on fortune's fickle flood ! the wave that with surprising kindness brought the dear wreck to my arms , has snatcht it back , and left me mourning on the barren shore . [ aside . cord. this baseness of th' ignoble burgundy draws just suspicion on the race of men , his love was int'rest , so may edgar's be and he but with more complement dissemble ; if so , i shall oblige him by denying : but if his love be fixt , such constant flame as warms our breasts , if such i find his passion , my heart as gratefull to his truth shall be , and cold cordelia prove as kind as he. [ exit . enter bastard hastily . bast. brother , i 've found you in a lucky minute , fly and be safe , some villain has incens'd our father against your life . edg. distrest cordelia ! but oh ! more cruel ! bast. hear me sir , your life , your life 's in danger . edg. a resolve so sudden and of such black importance ! bast. 't was not sudden , some villain has of long time laid the train . edg. and yet perhaps 't was but pretended coldness , to try how far my passion would pursue . bast. he hears me not ; wake , wake sir. edg. say ye brother ? � no tears good edmund , if thou bringst me tidings to strike me dead , for charity delay not , that present will befit so kind a hand . bast. your danger sir comes on so fast that i want time t' inform you , but retire whilst i take care to turn the pressing stream . o gods ! for heav'ns sake sir. edg. pardon me sir , a serious thought had seiz'd me , but i think you talkt of danger and wisht me to retire ; must all our vows end thus ! � friend i obey you � o cordelia ! [ exit . bast. ha! ha ! fond man , such credulous honesty lessens the glory of my artifice , his nature is so far from doing wrongs that he suspects none : if this letter speed and pass for edgar's , as himself wou'd own the counterfeit but for the foul contents , then my designs are perfect � here comes gloster . [ enter gloster . glost. stay edmund , turn , what paper were you reading ? bast. a trifle sir. glost. what needed then that terrible dispatch of it into your pocket , come produce it sir. bast. a letter from my brother sir , i had just broke the seal but knew not the contents , yet fearing they might prove to blame endeavour'd to conceal it from your sight . glost. 't is edgar's character . [ reads .

this policy of fathers is intollerable that keeps our fortunes from us till age will not suffer us to enjoy 'em ; i am weary of the tyranny : come to me that of this i may speak more : if our father would sleep till i wak't him , you shou'd enjoy half his possessions , and live beloved of your brother

edgar .
slept till i wake him , you shou'd enjoy half his possessions � edgar to write this 'gainst his indulgent father ! death and hell ! fly , edmund , seek him out , wind me into him that i may bite the traytor 's heart , and fold his bleeding entrals on my vengefull arm. bast. perhaps 't was writ , my lord , to prove my vertue . glost. these late eclipses of the sun and moon can bode no less ; love cools , and friendship fails , in cities mutiny , in countrys discord , the bond of nature crack't 'twixt son and father : find out the villain , do it carefully and it shall lose thee nothing . [ exit . bast. so , now my project 's firm , but to make sure i 'll throw in one proof more and that a bold one ; i 'll place old gloster where he shall o're-hear us confer of this design , whilst to his thinking , deluded edgar shall accuse himself . be honesty my int'rest and i can be honest too , and what saint so divine that will successfull villany decline ! [ exit . enter kent disguis'd . kent . now banisht kent , if thou canst pay thy duty in this disguise where thou dost stand condemn'd , thy master lear shall find thee full of labours . enter lear attended . lear. in there , and tell our daughter we are here now ; what art thou ? kent . a man , sir. lear. what dost thou profess , or wou'dst with us ? kent .

i do profess to be no less then i seem , to serve him truly that puts me in trust , to love him that 's honest , to converse with him that 's wise and speaks little , to fight when i can't choose ; and to eat no fish.

lear. i say , what art thou ? kent . a very honest-hearted fellow , and as poor as the king. lear. then art thou poor indeed � what can'st thou do ? kent .

i can keep honest counsel , marr a curious tale in the telling , deliver a plain message bluntly , that which ordinary men are fit for i am qualify'd in , and the best of me is diligence .

lear. follow me , thou shalt serve me . enter one of gonerill's gentlemen . now sir ? gent. sir � [ exit ; kent runs after him . lear. what says the fellow ? call the clatpole back . att.

my lord , i know not , but methinks your highness is entertain'd with slender ceremony .

servant . he says , my lord , your daughter is not well . lear. why came not the slave back when i call'd him ? serv. my lord , he answer'd me i' th' surliest manner , that he wou'd not . re-enter gentleman brought in by kent . lear. i hope our daughter did not so instruct him : now , who am i sir ? gent. my ladies father . lear. my lord's knave � [ strikes him . [ gonerill at the entrance . gent. i 'll not be struck my lord. kent . nor tript neither , thou vile civet-box . strikes up his heels . gon. by day and night this is insufferable , i will not bear it . lear. now , daughter , why that frontlet on ? speak , do's that frown become our presence ? gon. sir , this licentious insolence of your servants is most unseemly , hourly they break out in quarrels bred by their unbounded riots , i had fair hope by making this known to you t' have had a quick redress , but find too late that you protect and countenance their out-rage ; and therefore , sir , i take this freedom , which necessity makes discreet . lear. are you our daughter ? gon. come , sir , let me entreat you to make use of your discretion , and put off betimes this disposition that of late transforms you from what you rightly are . lear. do's any here know me ? why this is not lear. do's lear walk thus ? speak thus ? where are his eyes ? who is it that can tell me who i am ? gon. come , sir , this admiration's much o' th' savour of other your new humours , i beseech you to understand my purposes aright ; as you are old , you shou'd be staid and wise , here do you keep an hundred knights and squires , men so debaucht and bold that this our palace shews like a riotous inn , a tavern , brothel ; be then advised by her that else will take the she beggs , to lessen your attendance , take half a way , and see that the remainder be such as may befit your age , and know themselves and you . lear. darkness and devils ! saddle my horses , call my train together , degenerate viper , i 'll not stay with thee ; i yet have left a daughter � serpent , monster , lessen my train , and call 'em riotous ? all men approv'd of choice and rarest parts , that each particular of duty know � how small , cordelia , was thy fault ? o lear , beat at this gate that let thy folly in , and thy dear judgment out ; go , go , my people . [ going off meets albany entring . ingratefull duke , was this your will ? alb. what sir ? lear. death ! fifty of my followers at a clap ! alb. the matter madam ? gon. never afflict your self to know the cause , but give his dotage way . lear. blasts upon thee , th' untented woundings of a father's curse pierce ev'ry sense about thee ; old fond eyes lament this cause again , i 'll pluck ye out and cast ye with the waters that ye lose to temper clay � no , gorgon , thou shalt find that i 'll resume the shape which thou dost think i have cast off for ever . gon. mark ye that . lear. hear nature ! dear goddess hear , and if thou dost intend to make that creature fruitfull , change thy purpose ; pronounce upon her womb the barren curse , that from her blasted body never spring a babe to honour her � but if she must bring forth , defeat her joy with some distorted birth , or monstrous form , the prodigy o' th' time , and so perverse of spirit , that it may live her torment as 't was born , to fret her cheeks with constant tears , and wrinkle her young brow. turn all her mother's pains to shame and scorn , that she may curse her crime too late , and feel how sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child ! away , away . [ exit cum suis. gon. presuming thus upon his numerous train he thinks to play the tyrant here , and hold our lives at will. alb. well , you may bear too far . [ ex. end of the first act.
act ii. scene , gloster's house . enter bastard . bast. the duke comes here to night , i 'll take advantage of his arrival to compleat my project , brother a word , come forth , 't is i your friend , [ enter edgar . my father watches for you , fly this place , intelligence is giv'n where you are hid , take the advantage of the night , bethink ye have not spoke against the duke of cornwall something might shew you a favourer of duke albany's party ? edg. nothing , why ask you ? bast. because he 's coming here to night in haste and regan with him � heark ! the guards , away . ed. let 'em come on , i 'll stay and clear my self . bast. your innocence at leisure may be heard , but gloster's storming rage as yet is deaf , and you may perish e're allow'd the hearing . [ ex. edgar . gloster comes yonder : now to my feign'd scuffle � yield , come before my father ! lights here , lights ! some blood drawn on me wou'd beget opinion [ stabs his arm. of our more fierce encounter � i have seen drunkards do more than this in sport . glost. now , edmund , where 's the traytour ? enter gloster and servants . bast. that name , sir , strikes horrour through me , but my brother , sir , stood here i' th' dark . glost. thou bleed'st , pursue the villain and bring him piece-meal to me . bast. sir , he 's fled . glost. let him fly far , this kingdom shall not hide him : the noble duke , my patron , comes to night , by his authority i will proclaim rewards for him that brings him to the stake , and death for the concealer . then of my lands , loyal and natural boy , i 'll work the means to make thee capable . exeunt . enter kent ( disguis'd still ) and goneril's gentleman , severally . gent. good morrow friend , belong'st thou to this house ? kent . ask them will answer thee . gent. where may we set our horses ? kent . i' th' mire . gent. i am in haste , prethee an' thou lov�st me , tell me . kent . i love thee not . gent. why then i care not for thee . kent . an' i had thee in lipsbury pinfold , i 'd make thee care for me . gent. what dost thou mean ? i know thee not . kent . but , minion , i know thee . gent. what dost thou know me for ? kent .

for a base , proud , beggarly , white-liver'd , glass-gazing , superserviceable finical rogue ; one that wou'd be a pimp in way of good service , and art nothing but a composition of knave , beggar , coward , pandar �

gent.

what a monstrous fellow art thou to rail at one that is neither known of thee nor knows thee ?

kent .

impudent slave , not know me , who but two days since tript up thy heels before the king : draw , miscreant , or i 'll make the moon shine through thee .

gent. what means the fellow ? � why prethee , prethee ; i tell thee i have nothing to do with thee . kent .

i know your rogueship's office , you come with letters against the king , taking my young lady vanity's part against her royal father ; draw rascal .

gent. murther , murther , help ho! kent . dost thou scream peacock , strike puppet , stand dappar slave . gent. help hea ' ! murther , help . [ exit . kent after him . flourish . enter duke of cornwal , regan , attended , gloster , bastard . glost. all welcome to your graces , you do me honour . duke . gloster w 'ave heard with sorrow that your life has been attempted by your impious son , but edmund here has paid you strictest duty . glost. he did betray his practice , and receiv'd the hurt you see , striving to apprehend him . duke . is he pursu'd ? glost. he is , my lord. reg. use our authority to apprehend the traytour and do justice on his head ; for you , edmund , that have so signaliz'd your vertue , you from henceforth shall be ours ; natures of such firm trust we much shall need . a charming youth and worth my further thought . aside . duke . lay comforts , noble gloster , to your breast , as we to ours , this night be spent in revels , we choose you , gloster , for our host to night , a troublesome expression of our love. on , to the sports before us � who are these ? enter the gentleman pursu'd by kent . glost. now , what 's the matter ? duke . keep peace upon your lives , he dies that strikes . whence and what are ye ? att. sir , they are messengers , the one from your sister , the other from the king. duke . your difference ? speak . gent. i 'm scarce in breath , my lord. kent . no marvel , you have so bestirr'd your valour , nature disclaims the dastard , a taylor made him . duke . speak yet , how grew your quarrel ? gent. sir this old ruffian here , whose life i spar'd in pity to his beard � kent . thou essence bottle ! in pity to my beard ? � your leave , my lord , and i will tread the muss-cat into mortar . duke . know'st thou our presence ? kent . yes , sir , but anger has a privilege . duke . why art thou angry ? kent . that such a slave as this shou'd wear a sword and have no courage , office and no honesty . not frost and fire hold more antipathy than i and such a knave . glost. why dost thou call him knave ? kent . his countenance likes me not . duke . no more perhaps does mine , nor his or hers. kent . plain-dealing is my trade , and to be plain , sir , i have seen better faces in my time than stands on any shoulders now before me . reg. this is some fellow that having once been prais'd , for bluntness , since affects a sawcy rudeness , but i have known one of these surly knaves that in his plainness harbour'd more design than twenty cringing complementing minions . duke . what 's the offence you gave him ? gent. never any , sir. it pleas'd the king his master lately to strike me on a slender misconstruction , whilst watching his advantage this old lurcher tript me behind , for which the king extold him ; and , flusht with th' honour of this bold exploit , drew on me here agen . duke . bring forth the stocks , we 'll teach you . kent . sir i 'm too old to learn ; call not the stocks for me , i serve the king , on whose employment i was sent to you , you 'll shew too small respect , and too bold malice against the person of my royal master , stocking his messenger . duke . bring forth the stocks , as i have life and honour , there shall he sit till noon . reg. till noon , my lord ? till night , and all night too . kent . why , madam , if i were your father's dog you wou'd not use me so . reg. sir , being his knave i will. glost. let me beseech your graces to forbear him , his fault is much , and the good king his master will check him for 't , but needs must take it ill to be thus slighted in his messenger . duke . wee 'l answer that ; our sister may receive it worse to have her gentleman assaulted : to our business lead . [ exit . glost. i am sorry for thee , friend , 't is the duke's pleasure whose disposition will not be controll'd , but i 'll entreat for thee . kent . pray do not , sir � i have watcht and travell'd hard , some time i shall sleep out , the rest i 'll whistle : [ ex. glost. fare-well t' ye , sir. all weary and o're-watcht , i feel the drowzy guest steal on me ; take advantage heavy eyes of this kind slumber , not to behold this vile and shamefull lodging [ sleeps . enter edgar . edg. i heard my self proclaim'd , and by the friendly hollow of a tree escapt the hunt , no port is free , no place where guards and most unusual vigilance do not attend to take me � how easie now 't were to defeat the malice of my trale , and leave my griefs on my sword 's reeking point ; but love detains me from death's peacefull cell , still whispering me cordelia's in distress ; unkinde as she is i cannot see her wretched , but must be neer to wait upon her fortune . who knows but the white minute yet may come when edgar may do service to cordelia , that charming hope still ties me to the oar of painfull life , and makes me too , submit to th' humblest shifts to keep that life a foot ; my face i will besmear and knit my locks , the country gives me proof and president of bedlam beggars , who with roaring voices strike in their numm'd and mortify'd bare arms pins , iron-spikes , thorns , sprigs of rosemary , and thus from sheep-coats villages and mills , sometimes with prayers , sometimes with lunatick banns enforce their charity , poor tyrligod , poor tom that 's something yet , edgar i am no more . [ exit kent in the stocks still ; enter lear attended . lear. 't is strange that they shou'd so depart from home and not send back our messenger . kent . hail , noble master . lear. how ? mak'st thou this shame thy pastime ? what 's he that has so much mistook thy place to set thee here ? kent . it is both he and she , sir , your son and daughter . lear. no. kent : yes : lear : no i say . kent : i say yea : lear. by jupiter i swear no. kent . by juno i swear , i swear i. lear. they durst not do 't they cou'd not , wou'd not do 't , 't is worse then murder to doe upon respect such violent out-rage . resolve me with all modest haste which way thou mayst deserve , or they impose this usage ? kent . my lord , when at their home i did commend your highness letters to them , e'er i was ris'n , arriv'd another post steer'd in his haste , breathless and panting forth from gonerill his mistress salutations , whose message being deliver'd , they took horse , commanding me to follow and attend the leisure of their answer ; which i did , but meeting that other messenger whose welcome i perceiv'd had poison'd mine , being the very fellow that of late had shew'n such rudeness to your highness , i having more man than wit about me , drew , on which he rais'd the house with coward cries : this was the trespass which your son and daughter thought worth the shame you see it suffer here . lear. oh! how this spleen swells upward to my heart and heaves for passage � down thou climing rage thy element's below ; where is this daughter ? kent . within , sir , at a masque . enter gloster . lear. now gloster ? � ha ! deny to speak with me ? th' are sick , th' are weary , they have travell'd hard to night � meer fetches ; bring me a better answer . glost. my dear lord , you know the fiery quality of the duke � lear. vengeance ! death , plague , confusion , fiery ? what quality � why gloster , gloster , i 'd speak with the duke of cornwal and his wife . glost. i have inform'd 'em so . lear. inform'd ' em ! dost thou understand me , man , i tell thee gloster � glost. i , my good lord. lear. the king wou'd speak with cornwal , the dear father wou'd with his daughter speak , commands her service . are they inform'd of this ? my breath and blood ! fiery ! the fiery duke ! tell the hot duke � no , but not yet , may be he is not well : infirmity do's still neglect all office ; i beg his pardon , and i 'll chide my rashness that took the indispos'd and sickly fit for the sound man � but wherefore sits he there ? death on my state , this act convinces me that this retiredness of the duke and her is plain contempt ; give me my servant forth , go tell the duke and 's wife i 'd speak with ' em . now , instantly , bid 'em come forth and hear me , or at their chamber door i 'll beat the drum till it cry sleep to death � enter cornwall and regan . oh! are ye come ? duke . health to the king. reg. i am glad to see your highness . lear. regan , i think you are , i know what cause i have to think so ; shoud'st thou not be glad i wou'd divorce me from thy mother's tomb ? beloved regan , thou wilt shake to hear what i shall utter : thou coud'st ne'r ha' thought it , kent here set at liberty . thy sister 's naught , o regan , she has ty'd ingratitude like a keen vulture here , i scarce can speak to thee . reg. i pray you , sir , take patience ; i have hope that you know less to value her desert , then she to slack her duty . lear. ha! how 's that ? reg. i cannot think my sister in the least would fail in her respects , but if perchance she has restrain'd the riots of your followers 't is on such grounds , and to such wholsome ends as clears her from all blame . lear. my curses on her . reg. o sir , you are old and shou'd content you to be rul'd and led by some discretion that discerns your state better than you yourself , therefore sir , return to our sister , and say you have wrong'd her . lear. ha! ask her forgiveness ? no , no , 't was my mistake thou didst not mean so , dear daughter , i confess that i am old ; age is unnecessary , but thou art good , and wilt dispense with my infirmity . reg. good sir , no more of these unsightly passions , return back to our sister . lear. never , regan , she has abated me of half of my train , lookt black upon me , stabb'd me with her tongue ; all the stor'd vengeances of heav'n fall on her ingratefull head ; strike her young bones ye taking ayrs with lameness . reg. o the blest gods ! thus will you wish on me when the rash mood � lear. no , regan , thou shalt never have my curse , thy tender nature cannot give thee o're to such impiety ; thou better know'st the offices of nature , bond of child-hood , and dues of gratitude : thou bear'st in mind the halfo'th ' kingdom which our love conferr'd on thee and thine . reg. good sir , toth ' purpose . lear. who put my man i' th' stocks ? duke . what trumpet 's that ? reg. i know 't , my sister 's , this confirms her letters . sir , is your lady come ? enter gonerill's gentleman . lear. more torture still ? this is a slave whose easie borrow'd pride dwells in the fickle grace of her he follows ; a fashion-fop that spends the day in dressing , and all to bear his ladie 's flatt'ring message , that can deliver with a grace her lie , and with as bold a face bring back a greater . out varlet from my sight . duke . what means your grace ? lear. who stockt my servant ? regan , i have hope thou didst not know it . enter gonerill . who comes here ! oh heavens ! if you do love old men , if your sweet sway allow obedience ; if your selves are old , make it your cause , send down and take my part ; why , gorgon , dost thou come to haunt me here ? art not asham'd to look upon this beard ? darkness upon my eyes they play me false , o regan , wilt thou take her by the hand ? gon. why not by th' hand , sir , how have i offended ? all 's not offence that indiscretion finds , and dotage terms so . lear. heart thou art too tough . reg. i pray you , sir , being old confessyou are so , if till the expiration of your month you will return and sojourn with your sister , dismissing half your train , come then to me , i am now from home , and out of that provision that shall be needfull for your entertainment . lear. return with her and fifty knights dismist ? no , rather i 'll forswear all roofs , and chuse to be companion to the midnight wolf , my naked head expos'd to th' merciless air then have my smallest wants suppli'd by her . gon. at your choice , sir. lear. now i prithee daughter do not make me mad ; i will not trouble thee , my child , farewell , wee 'l meet no more , no more see one another ; let shame come when it will , i do not call it , i do not bid the thunder-bearer strike , nor tell tales of thee to avenging heav'n ; mend when thou canst , be better at thy leisure , i can be patient , i can stay with regan , i , and my hundred knights . reg. your pardon , sir. i lookt not for you yet , nor am provided for your fit welcome . lear. is this well spoken now ? reg. my sister treats you fair ; what fifty followers is it not well ? what shou'd you need of more ? gon. why might not you , my lord , receive attendance from those whom she calls servants , or from mine ? reg. why not , my lord ? if then they chance to slack you we cou'd controll'em � if you come to me , for now isee the danger , i entreat you to bring but five and twenty ; to no more will i give place . lear. hold now my temper , stand this bolt unmov'd and i am thunder-proof ; the wicked when compar'd with the more wicked seem beautifull , and not to be the worst , stands in some rank of praise ; now , gonerill , thou art innocent agen , i 'll go with thee ; thy fifty yet , do's double five and twenty , and thou art twice her love. gon. hear me , my lord , what need you five and twenty , ten , or five , to follow in a house where twice so many have a command t' attend you ? reg. what need one ? lear. blood , fire ! hear � leaprosies and bluest plague room , room for hell to belch her horrors up and drench the circes in a stream of fire ; heark how th' infernals eccho to my rage their whips and snakes � reg. how lewd a thing is passion ! gon. so old and stomachfull . lightning and thunder . lear. heav'ns drop your patience down ; you see me here , ye gods , a poor old man as full of griefs as age , wretched in both � i 'll bear no more : no , you unnatural haggs , i will have such revenges on you both , that all the world shall � i will do such things what they are yet i know not , but they shall be the terrors of the earth ; you think i 'll weep , thunder again . this heart shall break into a thousand pieces before i 'll weep � o gods ! i shall go mad . [ exit . duke . 't is a wild night , come out o' th' storm . [ exeunt . end of the second act.
act iii. scene , a desert heath . enter lear and kent in the storm . lear. blow winds and burst your cheeks , rage louderyet , fantastick lightning singe , singe my white head ; spout cataracts , and hurricanos fall till you have drown'd the towns and palaces of proud ingratefull man. kent . not all my best intreaties can perswade him into some needfull shelter , or to bide this poor slight cov'ring on his aged head expos'd to this wild war of earth and heav'n . lear. rumble thy fill , fight whirlwind , rain and fire : not fire , wind , rain or thunder are my daughters : i tax not you ye elements with unkindness ; i never gave you kingdoms , call'd you children , you owe me no obedience , then let fall your horrible pleasure , here i stand your slave , a poor , infirm , weak and despis'd old man ; yet i will call you servile ministers , that have with two pernicious daughters join'd their high-engendred battle against a head so old and white as mine , oh! oh ! 't is foul. kent . hard by , sir , is a hovel that will lend some shelter from this tempest . lear. i will forget my nature , what ? so kind a father , i , there 's the point . kent . consider , good my liege , things that love night love not such nights as this ; these wrathfull skies frighten the very wanderers o' th' dark , and make 'em keep their caves ; such drenching rain , such sheets of fire , such claps of horrid thunder , such groans of roaring winds have ne're been known . lear. let the great gods , that keep this dreadfull pudder o're our heads find out their enemies now , tremble thou wretch that hast within thee undiscover'd crimes . hide , thou bloody hand , thou perjur'd villain , holy , holy hypocrite , that drinkst the widows tears , sigh now and cry these dreadfull summoners grace , i am a man more sin'd against than sinning . kent . good sir , to th' hovell . lear. my wit begins to burn , come on my boy , how dost my boy ? art cold ? i 'm cold my self ; shew me this straw , my fellow , the art of our necessity is strange , and can make vile things precious ; my poor knave , [ lond. storm . cold as i am at heart , i 've one place there [ exit . that 's sorry yet for thee . gloster's palace . enter bastard . bast. the storm is in our louder rev'lings drown'd . thus wou'd i reign cou'd i but mount a throne . the riots of these proud imperial sisters already have impos'd the galling yoke of taxes , and hard impositions on the drudging peasants neck , who bellow out . their loud complaints in vain � triumphant queens ! with what assurance do they tread the crowd . o for a tast of such majestick beauty , which none but my hot veins are fit t' engage ; nor are my wishes desp'rate , for ev'n now during the banquet i observed their glances shot thick at me , and as they left the room each cast by stealth a kind inviting smile , the happy earnest � ha ! two servants from several entrances deliver him each a letter , and ex. where merit is so transparent , not to behold it [ reads . were blindness , and not to reward it ingratitude . gonerill . enough ! blind , and ingratefull should i be not to obey the summons ofthis oracle . now for a second letter . [ opens the other . if modesty be not your enemy , doubt not to find me your friend . regan . excellent sybill ! o my glowing blood ! i am already sick of expectation , and pant for the possession � here gloster comes with bus'ness on his brow ; be husht my joys . glost.

i come to seek thee , edmund , to impart a business of importance ; i knew thy loyal heart is toucht to see the cruelty of these ingratefull daughters against our royal master .

bast. most savage and unnatural . glost.

this change in the state sits uneasie . the commons repine aloud at their female tyrants , already they cry out for the re-installment of their good old king , whose injuries i fear will inflame 'em into mutiny .

bast. 't is to be hopt , not fear'd . glost. thou hast it boy , 't is to be hopt indeed , on me they cast their eyes , and hourly court me to lead 'em on , and whilst this head is mine i am theirs , a little covert craft , my boy , and then for open action , 't will be employment worthy such honest daring souls as thine . thou , edmund , art my trusty emissary , haste on the spur at the first break of day with these dispatches to the duke of combray ; gives him letters . you know what mortal feuds have alwaies flam'd between this duke of cornwall's family , and his full twenty thousand mountaners th invetrate prince will send to our assistance . dispatch ; commend us to his grace , and prosper . bast. yes , credulous old man , [ aside . i will commend you to his grace , his grace the duke of cornwall � instantly to shew him these contents in thy own character , and seal'd with thy own signet ; then forthwith the chol'rick duke gives sentence on thy life ; and to my hand thy vast revenues fall to glut my pleasure that till now has starv'd . gloster going off is met by cordelia entring , bastard observing at a distance . cord. turn , gloster , turn , by all the sacred pow'rs i do conjure you give my griefs a hearing , you must , you shall , nay i am sure you will , for you were always stil'd the just and good. glost. what wou'dst thou , princess ? rise and speak thy griefs . cord. nay , you shall promise to redress 'em too , or here i 'll kneel for ever ; i intreat thy succour for a father and a king , an injur'd father and an injur'd king. bast. o charming sorrow ! how her tears adorn her like dew on flow'rs , but she is virtuous , and i must quench this hopeless fire i' th' kindling . glost. consider , princess , for whom thou begg'st , 't is for the king that wrong'd thee . cord. o name not that ; he did not , cou'd not wrong me . nay muse not , gloster , for it is too likely this injur'd king e're this is past your aid , and gone distracted , with his savage wrongs . bast. i 'll gaze no more � and yet my eyes are charm'd . cord. or what if it be worse ? can there be worse ? as 't is too probable this furious night has pierc'd his tender body , the bleak winds and cold rain chill'd , or lightning struck him dead ; if it be so your promise is discharg'd , and i have only one poor boon to beg , that you 'd convey me to his breathless trunk , with my torn robes to wrap his hoary head , with my torn hair to bind his hands and feet , then with a shew'r of tears to wash his clay-smear'd cheeks , and die beside him . glost , rise , fair cordelia , thou hast piety enough t' attone for both thy sisters crimes . i have already plotted to restore my injur'd master , and thy vertue tells me we shall succeed , and suddenly . [ exit . cord. dispatch , arante , provide me a disguise , we 'll instantly go seek the king , and bring him some relief . ar. how , madam ? are you ignorant of what your impious sisters have decreed ? immediate death for any that relieve him . cord. i cannot dread the furies in this case . ar. in such a night as this ? consider , madam , for many miles about there 's scarce a bush to shelter in . cord. therefore no shelter for the king , and more our charity to find him out : what have not women dar'd for vicious love , and we 'll be shining proofs that they can dare for piety as much ; blow winds , and lightnings fall , bold in my virgin innocence , i 'll flie my royal father to relieve , or die. [ exit . bast. provide me a disguise , we 'll instantly go seek the king : � ha ! ha ! a lucky change , that vertue which i fear'd would be my hindrance has prov'd the bond to my design ; i 'll bribe two ruffians that shall at a distance follow , and seise 'em in some desert place , and there whilst one retains her t' other shall return t' inform me where she 's lodg'd ; i 'll be disguis'd too . whilst they are poching for me i 'll to the duke with these dispatches , then to th'field where like the vig'rous jove i will enjoy this semele in a storm , 't will deaf her cries like drums in battle , lest her groans shou'd pierce my pittying ear , and make the amorous fight less fierce . [ exit . storm still . the field scene . enter lear and kent . kent . here is the place , my lord ; good my lord enter ; the tyranny of this open night 's too rough for nature to endure . lear. let me alone . kent . good my lord , enter . lear. wilt break my heart ? kent . beseech you , sir. lear. thou think'st 't is much that this contentious storm invades us to the skin so , 't is to thee but where the greater malady is fixt the lesser is scarce felt : the tempest in my mind do's from my senses take all feeling else save what beats there . filial ingratitude ! is it not as this mouth shou'd tear this hand for lifting food to 't ? � but i 'll punish home . no , i will weep no more ; in such a night to shut me out � pour on , i will endure in such a night as this : o regan , gonerill , your old kind father whose frank heart gave all , o that way madness lies , let me shun that , no more of that . kent . see , my lord , here 's the entrance . lear. well , i 'll go in and pass it all , i 'll pray and then i 'll sleep : poor naked wretches wheresoe're you are , that ' bide the pelting of this pittiless storm , how shall your houseless heads and unfed sides sustain this shock ? your raggedness defend you from seasons such as these . o i have ta'ne too little care of this , take physick , pomp , expose thy self to feel what wretches feel , that thou may'st cast the superflux to them , and shew the heav'ns more just. edgar in the hovell . five fathom and a half , poor tom. kent . what art thou that dost grumble there i' th' straw ? come forth . edg.

away ! the foul fiend follows me � through the sharp haw-thorn blows the cold wind � mum , go to thy bed and warm thee . � ha ! what do i see ? by all my griefs the poor old king beheaded ,

[ aside . and drencht in this fow storm , professing syren , are all your protestations come to this ?
lear.

tell me , fellow , dist thou give all to thy daughters ?

edg.

who gives any thing to poor tom , whom the foul fiend has led through fire and through flame , through bushes and boggs , that has laid knives under his pillow , and halters in his pue , that has made him proud of heart to ride on a baytrotting horse over four inch'd bridges , to course his own shadow for a traytor . � bless thy five wits , tom's a cold [ shivers . ] bless thee from whirlwinds , star-blasting and taking : do poor tom some charity , whom the foul fiend vexes � sa , sa , there i could have him now , and there , and there agen .

lear. have his daughters brought him to this pass ? cou'dst thou save nothing ? didst thou give 'em all ? kent he has no daughters , sir. lear. death , traytor , nothing cou'd have subdu'd nature to such a lowness but his unkind daughters . edg. pillicock sat upon pillicock hill ; hallo , hallo , hallo . lear. is it the fashion that discarded fathers should have such little mercy on their flesh ? iudicious punishment , 't was this flesh begot those pelican daughters . edg.

take heed of the fow fiend , obey thy parents , keep thy word justly , swear not , commit not with man's sworn spouse , set not thy sweet heart on proud array : tom's a cold.

lear. what hast thou been ? edg.

a serving-man proud of heart , that curl'd my hair , us'd perfume and washes , that serv'd the lust of my mistresses heart , and did the act of darkness with her . swore as many oaths as i spoke words , and broke 'em all in the sweet face of heaven : let not the paint , nor the patch , nor the rushing of silks betray thy poor heart to woman , keep thy foot out of brothels , thy hand out of plackets , thy pen from creditors books , and defie the foul fiend � still through the hawthorn blows the cold wind � sess , suum , mun , nonny , dolphin my boy � hist ! the boy , sesey ! soft let him trot by .

lear.

death , thou wert better in thy grave , than thus to answer with thy uncover'd body this extremity of the sky . and yet consider him well , and man's no more than this ; thou art indebted to the worm for no silk , to the beast for no hide , to the cat for no perfume � ha ! here 's two of us are sophisticated ; thou art the thing it self , unaccommated man is no more than such a poor bare forkt animal as thou art .

off , off , ye vain disguises , empty lendings , i 'll be my original self , quick , quick , uncase me .
kent . defend his wits , good heaven ! lear. one point i had forgot ; what 's your name ? edg.

poor tom that eats the swimming frog , the wall-nut , and the water-nut ; that in the fury of his heart when the foul fiend rages eats cow-dung for sallets , swallows the old rat and the ditch-dog , that drinks the green mantle of the standing pool that 's whipt from tithing to tithing ; that has three suits to his back , six shirts to his body , horse to ride , and weapon to wear , but rats and mice , and such small deer have been tom's food for seven long year . beware , my follower ; peace , smulkin ; peace , thou foul fiend .

lear.

one word more , but be sure true councel ; tell me , is a madman a gentleman , or a yeoman ?

kent . i fear'd 't wou'd come to this , his wits are gone . edg.

fraterreto calls me , and tells me , nero is an angler in the lake of darkness . pray , innocent , and beware the foul fiend .

lear.

right , ha ! ha ! was it not pleasant to have a thousand with red hot spits come hizzing in upon ' em ?

edg. my tears begin to take his part so much they marr my counterfeiting . lear.

the little dogs and all , trey , blanch and sweet-heart , see they bark at me .

edg. tom will throw his head at 'em ; avaunt ye curs . be thy mouth or black or white , tooth that poysons if it bite , mastiff , grey-hound , mungrill , grim , hound or spanniel , brach or hym , bob-tail , tight , or trundle-tail , tom will make 'em weep and wail , for with throwing thus my head dogs leap the hatch , and all are fled .

ud , de , de , de . se , se , se. come march to wakes , and fairs , and market-towns , � poor tom , thy horn is dry .

lear.

you sir , i entertain you for one of my hundred , only i do not like the fashion of your garments , you 'll say they 're persian , but no matter , let 'em be chang'd .

enter gloster . edg.

this is the foul flibertigibet , he begins at curfew and walks at first cock , he gives the web and the pin , knits the elflock , squints the eye , and makes the hair-lip , mildews the white wheat , and hurts the poor creature of the earth ; swithin footed thrice the cold , he met the night-mare and her nine-fold , 't was there he did appoint her ; he bid her alight and her troth plight , and arroynt the witch arroynt her .

glost. what , has your grace no better company ? edg.

the prince of darkness is a gentleman ; modo he is call'd , and mahu .

glost. go with me , sir , hard by i have a tenant .

my duty cannot suffer me to obey in all your daughters hard commands , who have enjoyn'd me to make fast my doors , and let this tyrannous night take hold upon you . yet have i ventur'd to come seek you out , and bring you where both fire and food is ready .

kent . good my lord , take his offer . lear. first let me talk with this philosopher , say , stagirite , what is the cause of thunder . glost. beseech you , sir , go with me . lear. i 'll talk a word with this same learned theban . what is your study ? edg. how to prevent the fiend , and to kill vermin . lear. let me ask you a word in private . kent .

his wits are quite unsetled ; good sir , let 's force him hence .

glost.

canst blame him ? his daughters seek his death ; this bedlam but disturbs him the more . fellow , be gone .

edg. child rowland to the dark tow'r came , his word was still fie , fo , and fum , i smell the bloud of a british man. � oh torture ! [ exit . glost.

now , i prethee friend , let 's take him in our arms , and carry him where he shall meet both welcome , and protection .

good sir , along with us .
lear.

you say right , let 'em anatomize regan , see what breeds about her heart ; is there any cause in nature for these hard hearts ?

kent . beseech your grace . lear.

hist ! � make no noise , make no noise � so so ; we 'll to supper i' th' morning .

[ exeunt . enter cordelia and arante . ar. dear madam , rest ye here , our search is vain , look here 's a shed , beseech ye , enter here . cord. prethee go in thy self , seek thy own ease , where the mind 's free , the body's delicate : this tempest but diverts me from the thought of what wou'd hurt me more . enter two ruffians . ruff. we have dog'd 'em far enough , this place is private , i 'll keep 'em prisoners here within this hovell , whilst you return and bring lord edmund hither ; but help me first to house ' em . ruff. nothing but this dear devil [ shows gold. shou'd have drawn me through all this tempest ; but to our work. [ they seize cordelia and arante , who shriek out . soft , madam , we are friends , dispatch , i say . cord. help , murder , help ! gods ! some kind thunderbolt to strike me dead . enter edgar . edg. what cry was that ? � ha , women seiz'd by ruffians ? is this a place and time for villany ? avaunt ye bloud-hounds . [ drives'em with his quarter-staff . both. the devil , the devil ! [ run off . edg. o speak , what are ye that appear to be o' th' tender sex , and yet unguarded wander through the dead mazes of this dreadfull night , where ( tho' at full ) the clouded moon scarce darts imperfect glimmerings . cord. first say what art thou our guardian angel , that wer 't pleas'd t' assume that horrid shape to fright the ravishers ? we 'll kneel to thee . edg. o my tumultuous bloud ! by all my trembling veins cordelia's voice ! 't is she her self ! � my senses sure conform to my wild garb , and i am mad indeed . cord. whate're thou art , befriend a wretched virgin , and if thou canst direct our weary search . edg.

who relieves poor tom , that sleeps on the nettle , with the hedge-pig for his pillow .

whilst smug ply'd the bellows she truckt with her fellows , the freckle-fac't mab was a blouze and a drab , yet swithin made oberon jealous � oh! torture .
ar. alack , madam , a poor wandring lunatick . cord. and yet his language seem'd but now well temper'd . speak , friend , to one more wretched than thy self , and if thou hast one interval of sense , inform us if thou canst where we may find a poor old man , who through this heath has stray'd the tedious night � speak , sawest thou such a one ? edg. the king , her father , whom she's come to seek [ aside . through all the terrors of this night . o gods ! that such amazing piety , such tenderness shou'd yet to me be cruel � yes , fair one , such a one was lately here , and is convey'd by some that came to seek him , t' a neighb'ring cottage ; but distinctly where , i know not . cord. blessings on 'em , let 's find him out , arante , for thou seest we are in heavens protection . [ going off . edg. o cordelia ! cord. ha! � thou knowst my name . edg. as you did once know edgar's . cord. edgar ! edg. the poor remains of edgar , what your scorn has left him . cord. do we wake , arante ? edg. my father seeks my life , which i preserv'd in hopes of some blest minute to oblidge distrest cordelia , and the gods have giv'n it ; that thought alone prevail'd with me to take this frantick dress , to make the earth my bed , with these bare limbs all change ofseasons bide , noons scorching heat , and midnights piercing cold , to feed on offals , and to drink with herds , to combat with the winds , and be the sport of clowns , or what 's more wretched yet , their pity . ar. was ever tale so full ofmisery ! edg. but such a fall as this i grant was due to my aspiring love , for 't was presumptuous , though not presumptuously persu'd ; for well you know i wore my flames conceal'd , and silent as the lamps that burn in tombs , 'till you perceiv'd my grief , with modest grace drew forth the secret , and then seal'd my pardon . cord. you had your pardon , nor can you challenge more . edg. what do i. challenge more ? such vanity agrees not with these rags ; when in my prosp'rous state rich gloster's heir , you silenc'd my pretences , and enjoyn'd me to trouble you upon that theam no more ; then what reception must love's language find from these bare limbs and beggers humble weeds ? cord. such as the voice of pardon to a wretch condemn'd ; such as the shouts of succ'ring forces to a town besieg'd . edg. ah! what new method now of cruelty ? cord. come to my arms , thou dearest , best of men , and take the kindest vows that e're were spoke by a protesting maid . edg. is 't possible ? cord. by the dear vital stream that baths my heart , these hallow'd rags ofthine , and naked vertue , these abject tassels , these fantastick shreds , ( ridiculous ev'n to the meanest clown ) to me are dearer than the richest pomp of purple monarchs . edg. generous charming maid , the gods alone that made , can rate thy worth ! this most amazing excellence shall be fame's triumph , in succeeding ages , when thy bright example shall adorn the scene , and teach the world perfection . cord. cold and weary , we 'll rest a while , arante , on that straw , then forward to find out the poor old king. edg. look i have flint and steel , the implements of wandring lunaticks , i 'll strike a light , and make a fire beneath this shed , to dry thy storm-drencht garments , e're thou lie to rest thee ; then fierce and wakefull as th' hesperian dragon , i 'll watch beside thee to protect thy sleep ; mean while , the stars shall dart their kindest beams , and angels visit my cordelia's dreams [ exeunt . scene , the palace . enter cornwall , regan , bastard , servants . cornwall with gloster's letters . duke . i will have my revenge e're i depart his house . regan , see here , a plot upon our state , 't is gloster's character , that has betray'd his double trust of subject , and ofost . reg. then double be our vengeance , this confirms th' intelligence that we now now receiv'd , that he has been this night to seek the king ; but who , sir , was the kind discoverer ? duke . our eagle , quick to spy , and fierce to seize , our trusty edmund . reg. 't was a noble service ; o cornwall , take him to thy deepest trust , and wear him as a jewel at thy heart . bast. think , sir , how hard a fortune i sustain , that makes me thus repent of serving you ! [ weeps . o that this treason had not been , or i not the discoverer . duke . edmund , thou shalt find a father in our love , and from this minute we call thee earl of gloster ; but there yet remains another justice to be done , and that 's to punish this discarded traytor ; but least thy tender nature shou'd relent at his just sufferings , nor brooke the sight , we wish thee to withdraw . reg. the grotto , sir , within the lower grove , to edmund aside . has privacy to suit a mourner's thought . bast. and there i may expect a comforter , ha , madam ? reg. what may happen , sir , i know not , but 't was a friends advice . [ ex. bastard . duke . bring in the traytour . gloster brought in . bind fast his arms. glost. what mean your graces ? you are my guests , pray do me no foul play. duke . bind him , i say , hard , harder yet . reg. now , traytor , thou shalt find � duke . speak , rebel , where hast thou sent the king ? whom spight of our decree thou saw'st last night . glost. i 'm tide to th'stake , and i must stand the course . reg. say where , and why thou hast conceeal'd him . glost. because i wou'd not see thy cruel hands tear out his poor old eyes , nor thy fierce sister carve his anointed flesh ; but i shall see the swift wing'd vengeance overtake such childrer . duke . see 't shalt thou never , slaves perform your work , out with those treacherous eyes , dispatch , i say , if thou seest vengeance � glost. he that will think to live 'till he be old , give me some help � o cruel ! oh ! ye gods. they put out his eyes . serv. hold , hold , my lord , i bar your cruelty , i cannot love your safety and give way to such a barbarous practise . duke . ha , my villain . serv. i have been your servant from my infancy , but better service have i never done you then with this boldness � duke . take thy death , slave . serv. nay , then revenge whilst yet my bloud is warm . [ fight . reg. help here � are you not hurt , my lord ? glost. edmund , enkindle all the sparks of nature to quit this horrid act. reg. out , treacherous villain , thou call'st on him that hates thee , it was he that broacht thy treason , shew'd us thy dispatches ; there � read , and save the cambrian prince a labour , if thy eyes fail thee call for spectacles . glost. o my folly ! then edgar was abus'd , kind gods forgive me that . reg. how is 't , my lord ? duke . turn out that eye-less villain , let him smell his way to cambray , throw this slave upon a dunghill . regan , i bleed apace , give me your arm. [ exeunt . glost. all dark and comfortless ! where are those various objects that but now employ'd my busie eyes ? where those eyes ? dead are their piercing rays that lately shot o're flowry vales to distant sunny hills , and drew with joy the vast horizon in . these groping hands are now my only guids , and feeling all my sight . o misery ! what words can sound my grief ? shut from the living whilst among the living ; dark as the grave amidst the bustling world. at once from business and from pleasure bar'd ; no more to view the beauty of the spring , nor see the face of kindred , or of friend . yet still one way th' extreamest fate affords , and ev'n the blind can find the way to death . must i then tamely die , and unreveng'd ? so lear may fall : no , with these bleeding rings i will present me to the pittying crowd , and with the rhetorick of these dropping veins enflame 'em to revenge their king and me ; then when the glorious mischief is on wing , this lumber from some precipice i 'll throw , and dash it on the ragged flint below ; whence my freed soul to her bright sphear shall fly , through boundless orbs , eternal regions spy , and like the sun , be all one glorious eye . [ ex. end of the third act.
act iv. a grotto . edmund and regan amorously seated , listning to musick . bast. why were those beauties made another's right which none can prize like me ? charming queen take all my blooming youth , for ever fold me in those soft arms , lull me in endless sleep that i may dream of pleasures too transporting for life to bear . reg. live , live , my gloster , and feel no death but that of swooning joy , i yield thee blisses on no harder terms than that thou continue to be happy . bast. this jealousie is yet more kind , is 't possible that i should wander from a paradise to feed on sickly weeds ? such sweets live here that constancy will be no vertue in me , and yet must i forth with go meet her sister , [ aside . to whom i must protest as much � suppose it be the same ; why best of all , and i have then my lesson ready conn'd . reg. wear this remembrance of me � i dare now [ gives him a ring . absent my self no longer from the duke whose wound grows dangerous � i hope mortal . bast. and let this happy image of your gloster , [ pulling out a picture drops a note . lodge in that breast where all his treasure lies . [ exit . reg. to this brave youth a womans blooming beauties are due : my fool usurps my bed � what 's here ? confusion on my eyes . [ reads .

where merit is so transparent , not to behold it were blindness , and not to reward it , ingratitude .

gonerill .

vexatious accident ! yet fortunate too , my jealousie 's confirm'd , and i am taught to cast for my defence � [ enter an officer . now , what mean those shouts ? and what thy hasty entrance ?
off. a most surprizing and a sudden change , the peasants are all up in mutiny , and only want a chief to lead 'em on to storm your palace . reg. on what provocation ? off. at last day's publick festival , to which the yeomen from all quarters had repair'd , old gloster , whom you late depriv'd of sight , ( his veins yet streaming fresh ) presents himself , proclaims your cruelty , and their oppression , with the king's injuries ; which so errag'd 'em , that now that mutiny which long had crept takes wing , and threatens your best pow'rs . reg. white-liver'd slave ! our forces rais'd and led by valiant edmund , shall drive this monster of rebellion back to her dark cell ; young gloster's arm allays the storm , his father 's feeble breath did raise . [ exit . the field scene , enter edgar . edg. the lowest and most abject thing of fortune stands still in hope , and is secure from fear , the lamentable change is from the best , the worst returns to better � who comes here [ enter gloster , led by an old man. my father poorly led ? depriv'd of sight , the precious stones torn from their bleeding rings ! some-thing i heard of this inhumane deed but disbeliev'd it , as an act too horrid for the hot hell of a curst woman's fury , when will the measure of my woes be full ? glost. revenge , thou art afoot , success attend thee . well have i sold my eyes , if the event prove happy for the injur'd king. old m.

o , my good lord , i have been your tenant , and your father's tenant these fourscore years .

glost. away , get thee away , good friend , be gone , thy comforts can do me no good at all , thee they may hurt . old m. you cannot see your way . glost. i have no way , and therefore want no eyes , i stumbled when i saw : o dear son edgar , the food of thy abused father's wrath , might i but live to see thee in my touch i 'd say , i had eyes agen . edg. alas , he 's sensible that i was wrong'd , and shou'd i own my self , his tender heart would break betwixt th' extreams of grief and joy. old m. how now , who 's there ? edg.

a charity for poor tom. play fair , and defie the foul fiend .

o gods ! and must i still persue this trade , [ aside . trifling beneath such loads ofmisery ?
old m. 't is poor mad tom. glost. in the late storm i such a fellow saw , which made me think a man a worm , where is the lunatick ? old m. here , my lord. glost. get thee now away , if for my sake thou wilt o're-take us hence a mile or two i' th' way tow'rd dover , do 't for ancient love , and bring some cov'ring for this naked wretch whom i 'll intreat to lead me . old m. alack , my lord , he 's mad. glost. 't is the time's plague when mad-men lead the blind . do as i bid thee . old m. i 'll bring him the best ' parrel that i have come on 't what will. [ exit . glost. sirrah , naked fellow . edg. poor tom's a cold ; � i cannot fool it longer , and yet i must � bless thy sweet eyes they bleed , believe 't poor tom ev'n weeps his blind to see ' em . glost. know'st thou the way to dover ? edg.

both stile and gate , horse-way and foot-path , poor tom has been scar'd out of his good wits ; bless every true man's son from the foul fiend .

glost. here , take this purse , that i am wretched makes thee the happier , heav'n deal so still . thus let the griping userers hoard be scatter'd , so distribution shall undo excess , and each man have enough . dost thou know dover ? edg. i , master . glost. there is a cliff , whose high and bending head looks dreadfully down on the roaring deep . bring me but to the very brink of it , and i 'll repair the poverty thou bearst with something rich about me , from that place i shall no leading need . edg. give me thy arm : poor tom shall guid thee . glost. soft , for i hear the tread ofpassengers . enter kent and cordelia . cord. ah me ! your fear 's too true , it was the king ; i spoke but now with some that met him as mad as the vext sea , singing aloud , crown'd with rank femiter and furrow weeds , with berries , burdocks , violets , dazies , poppies , and all the idle flow'rs that grow in our sustaining corn , conduct me to him to prove my last endeavours to restore him , and heav'n so prosper thee . kent . i will , good lady . ha , gloster here ! � turn , poor dark man , and hear a friend's condolement , who at sight of thine forgets his own distress , thy old true kent . glost. how , kent ? from whence return'd ? kent . i have not since my banishment been absent , but in disguise follow'd the abandon'd king ; 't was me thou saw'st with him in the late storm . glost. let me embrace thee , had i eyes i now should weep for joy , but let this trickling blood suffice instead of tears . cord. o misery ! to whom shall i complain , or in what language ? forgive , o wretched man , the piety that brought thee to this pass , 't was i that caus'd it , i cast me at thy feet , and beg of thee to crush these weeping eyes to equal darkness , if that will give thee any recompence . edg. was ever season so distrest as this ? [ aside . glost. i think cordelia's voice ! rise , pious princess , and take a dark man's blessing . cord. o , my edgar , my vertue 's now grown guilty , works the bane of those that do befriend me , heav'n forsakes me , and when you look that way , it is but just that you shou'd hate me too . edg. o wave this cutting speech , and spare to wound a heart that 's on the rack . glost. no longer cloud thee , kent , in that disguise , there 's business for thee and of noblest weight ; our injur'd country is at length in arms , urg'd by the king 's inhumane wrongs and mine , and only want a chief to lead 'em on . that task be thine . edg. brave britains then there 's life in 't yet . [ aside . kent . then have we one cast for our fortune yet . come , princess , i 'll bestow you with the king , then on the spur to head these forces . farewell , good gloster , to our conduct trust . glost. and be your cause as prosp'rous as t is just. [ exeunt . gonerill's palace . enter gonerill , attendants . gon. it was great ignorance gloster's eyes being out to let him live , where he arrives he moves all hearts against us , edmund i think is gone in pity to his misery to dispatch him . gent. no , madam , he 's return'd on speedy summons back to your sister . gon. ha! i like not that , such speed must have the wings of love ; where 's albany . gent. madam , within , but never man so chang'd ; i told him of the uproar of the peasants , he smil'd at it , when i inform'd him of gloster's treason � gon. trouble him no further , it is his coward spirit , back to our sister , hasten her musters , and let her know i have giv'n the distaff into my husband's hands . that done , with special care deliver these dispatches in private to young gloster . enter a messenger . mess. o madam , most unseasonable news , the duke of cornwall's dead of his late wound , whose loss your sister has in part supply'd , making brave edmund general of her forces . gon. one way i like this well ; but being widow and my gloster with her may blast the promis'd harvest of our love. a word more , sir , � add speed to your journey , and if you chance to meet with that blind traytor , preferment falls on him that cuts him off . [ exeunt . field scene . gloster and edgar . glost. when shall we come to th' top of that same hill ? edg. we climb it now , mark how we labour . glost. methinks the ground is even . edg. horrible steep ; heark , do you hear the sea ? glost. no truly . edg. why then your other senses grow imperfect , by your eyes anguish . glost. so may it be indeed . methinks thy voice is alter'd , and thou speak'st in better phrase and matter than thou did'st . edg. you are much deceiv'd , in nothing am i alter'd but in my garments . glost. methinks y' are better spoken . edg. come on , sir , here 's the place , how fearfull and dizy 't is to cast one's eyes so low. the crows and choughs that wing the mid-way air shew scarce so big as beetles , half way down hangs one that gathers sampire , dreadfull trade ! the fisher-men that walk upon the beach appear like mice , and yon tall anch'ring barque seems lessen'd to her cock , her cock a buoy almost too small for sight ; the murmuring surge cannot be heard so high , i 'll look no more lest my brain turn , and the disorder make me tumble down head-long . glost. set me where you stand . edg. you are now within a foot of th' extream verge . for all beneath the moon i wou'd not now leap forward . glost. let go my hand , here , friend , is another purse , in it a jewel well worth a poor man's taking ; get thee further , bid me farewell , and let me hear thee going . edg. fare you well , sir , � that i do trifle thus with this his despair is with design to cure it . glost. thus , mighty gods , this world i do renounce , and in your sight shake my afflictions off ; if i cou'd bear 'em longer and not fall to quarrel with your great opposeless wills , my snuff and feebler part ofnature shou'd burn it self out ; if edgar live , o bless him . now , fellow , fare thee well . edg. gone , sir ! farewell . and yet i know not how conceit may rob the treasury oflife , had he been where he thought , by this had thought been past � alive , or dead ? hoa sir , friend ; hear you , sir , speak � thus might he pass indeed � yet he revives . what are you , sir ? glost. away , and let me die. edg. hadst thou been ought but gosmore , feathers , air , falling so many fathom down thou hadst shiver'd like an egg ; but thou dost breath hast heavy substance , bleedst not , speak'st , art sound ; thy live's a miracle . glost. but have i faln or no ? edg. from the dread summet of this chalky bourn : look up an height , the shrill-tun'd lark so high cannot be seen , or heard ; do but look up . glost. alack , i have no eyes . is wretchedness depriv'd that benefit to end it self by death ? edg. give me your arm. up , so , how is 't ? feel you your legs ? you stand . glost. too well , too well . edg. upon the crow o' th' cliff , what thing was that which parted from you ? glost. a poor unfortunate begger . edg. as i stood here below , me-thought his eyes were two full moons , wide nostrils breathing fire . it was some fiend , therefore thou happy father , think that th'all-powerfull gods who make them honours of mens impossibilities have preserv'd thee . glost. 't is wonderfull ; henceforth i 'll bear affliction till it expire ; the goblin which you speak of , i took it for a man : oft-times 't would say , the fiend , the fiend : he led me to that place . edg. bear free and patient thoughts : but who comes here ? enter lear , a coronet of flowers on his head. wreaths and garlands about him . lear.

no , no , they cannot touch me for coyning , i am the king himself .

edg. o piercing sight . lear.

nature's above art in that respect ; there 's your press-money : that fellow handles his bow like a cow-keeper , � draw me a clothier's yard . a mouse , a mouse ; peace hoa : there 's my gauntlet , i 'll prove it on a giant : bring up the brown bills : o well flown bird ; i' th white , i' th' white � hewgh ! give the word .

edg. sweet marjorum . lear. pass . glost. i know that voice . lear.

ha! gonerill with a white beard ! they flatter'd me like a dog , and told me i had white hairs on my chin , before the black ones were there ; to say i and no to every thing that i said , i and no too was no good divinity . when the rain came once to wet me , and the winds to make me chatter ; when the thunder wou'd not peace at my bidding . there i found'em , there i smelt'em out ; go too , they are not men of their words , they told me i was a king , 't is a lie , i am not ague proof .

glost. that voice i well remember , is 't not the king's ? lear. i , every inch a king , when i do stare see how the subject quakes . i pardon that man's life , what was the cause ? adultery ? thou shalt not die. die for adultery ! the wren goes to 't , and the small gilded flie engenders in my sight : let copulation thrive , for gloster's bastard son was kinder to his father than were my daughters got i' th' lawfull bed. to 't luxury , pell mell , for i lack souldiers . glost. not all my sorrows past so deep have toucht me , as the sad accents : sight were now a torment � lear. behold that simp'ring lady , she that starts at pleasure's name , and thinks her ear profan'd with the least wanton word , wou'd you believe it , the fitcher nor the pamper'd steed goes to 't

with such a riotous appetite : down from the wast they are centaurs , tho women all above ; but to the girdle do the gods inherit , beneath is all the fiends ; there 's hell , there 's darkness , the sulphurous unfathom'd � fie ! fie ! pah ! � an ounce of civet , good apothecary , to sweeten my imagination � there 's money for thee .

glost. let me kiss that hand . lear. let we wipe it first ; it smells of mortality . glost. speak , sir ; do you know me ? lear.

i remember thy eyes well enough : nay , do thy worst , blind cupid , i 'll not love � read me this challenge , mark but the penning of it .

glost. were all the letters suns i cou'd not see . edg. i wou'd not take this from report : wretched cordelia , what will thy vertue do when thou shalt find this fresh affliction added to the tale of thy unparrallel'd griefs . lear. read. glost. what with this case of eyes ? lear.

o ho ! are you there with me ? no eyes in your head , and no money in your purse ? yet you see how this world goes .

glost. i see it feelingly . lear.

what ? art mad ? a man may see how this world goes with no eyes . look with thy ears , see how yon justice rails on that simple thief ; shake'em together , and the first that drops , be it thief or justice , is a villain . � thou hast seen a farmer 's dog bark at a beggar .

glost. i , sir. lear.

and the man ran from the curr ; there thou mightst behold the great image of authority , a dog 's obey'd in office. thou rascal , beadle , hold thy bloody hand , why dost thou lash that strumpet ? thou hotly lust'st to enjoy her in that kind for which thou whipst her , do , do , the judge that sentenc'd herhas been before-hand with thee .

glost. how stiff is my vile sense that yields not yet ? lear.

i tell thee the usurer hangs the couz'ner , through tatter'd robes small vices do appear , robes and fur-gowns hide all : place sins with gold , why there 't is for thee , my friend , make much of it , it has the pow'r to seal the accuser's lips. get thee glass eyes , and like a scurvy politician , seem to see the things thou dost not . pull , pull off my boots , hard , harder , so , so .

glost. o matter and impertinency mixt reason in madness . lear. if thou wilt weep my fortunes take my eyes , i know thee well enough , thy name is gloster . thou must be patient , we came crying hither thou knowst , the first time that we tast the air we wail and cry � i 'll preach to thee , mark. edg. break lab'ring heart . lear. when we are born we cry that we are come to this great stage of fools . � enter two or three gentlemen . gent. o here he is , lay hand upon him , sir , your dearest daughter sends � lear.

no rescue ? what , a prisoner ? i am even the natural fool of fortune : use me well , you shall have ransome � let me have surgeons , oh i am cut to th' brains .

gent. you shall have any thing . lear.

no second's ? all my self ? i will die bravely like a smug bridegroom , flusht and pamper'd as a priest's whore. i am a king , my masters , know ye that ?

gent. you are a royal one , and we obey you . lear.

it were an excellent stratagem to shoe a troop of horse with felt , i 'll put in proof � no noise , no noise � now will we steal upon these sons in law , and then � kill , kill , kill , kill !

[ ex. running . glost. a sight most moving in the meanest wretch , past speaking in a king. now , good sir , what are you ? edg. a most poor man made tame to fortune's strokes , and prone to pity by experienc'd sorrows ; give me your hand . glost. you ever gentle gods take my breath from me , and let not my ill genius tempt me more to die before you please . enter gonerill's gentleman usher . gent. a proclaim'd prize , o most happily met , that eye-less head of thine was first fram'd flesh to raise my fortunes ; thou old unhappy traytor , the sword is out that must destroy thee . glost. now let thy friendly hand put strength enough to 't . gent. wherefore , bold peasant , darst thou support a publisht traytor , hence , lest i destroy thee too . let go his arm. edg. ' i hill not let go zir , without vurther ' casion . gent. let go slave , or thou dyest . edg.

good gentleman go your gate , and let poor volk pass , and'chu'd ha' bin zwagger'd out of my life it wou'd not a bin zo long as 't is by a vort-night � nay , an' thou com'st near th' old man , i'ce try whether your costard or my ballow be th' harder .

gent. out , dunghill . edg. ' i hill pick your teeth , zir ; come , no matter vor your voines . gent. slave , thou hast slain me ; oh untimely death . edg. i know thee well , a serviceable villain , as duteous to the vices of thy mistress as lust cou'd wish . glost. what , is he dead ? edg. sit you , sir , and rest you . this is a letter carrier , and may have some papers of intelligence that may stand our party in good stead , to know � what 's here ? [ takes a letter out of his pocket , opens , and reads . to edmund earl of glester .

let our mutual loves be remembred , you have many opportu nities to cut him off , if he return the conqueror then i am still a prisoner , and his bed my goal , from the loath'd warmth of which deliver me , and supply the place for your labour .

gonerill .

a plot upon her husband's life , and the exchange my brother � here i' th' sands . i 'll rake thee up thou messenger oflust , griev'd only that thou hadst no other deaths-man . in time and place convenient i 'll produce these letters to the sight of th' injur'd duke as best shall serve our purpose ; come , your hand . far off methinks i hear the beaten drum , come , sir , i will bestow you with a friend .
[ exeunt . a chamber . lear a sleep on a couch ; cordelia , and attendants standing by him . cord. his sleep is sound , and may have good effect to cure his jarring senses , and repair this breach of nature . phys. we have employ'd the utmost pow'r of art , and this deep rest will perfect our design . cord. o regan , gonerill , inhumane sisters , had he not been your father , these white hairs had challeng'd sure some pity , was this a face to be expos'd against the jarring winds ? my enemy's dog though he had bit me shou'd

have stood that night against my fire � he wakes , speak to him .

gent. madam , do you , 't is fittest . cord. how do's my royal lord ? how fares your majesty ? lear. you do me wrong to take me out o' th' grave . ha! is this too a world of cruelty ? i know my priviledge , think not that i will be us'd still like a wretched mortal , no , no more of that . cord. speak to me , sir , who am i ? lear. you are a soul in bliss , but i am bound upon a wheel of fire , which my own tears do scald like molten lead . cord. sir , do you know me ? lear. you are a spirit , i know , where did you die ? cord. still , still , far wide . phys.

madam , he 's scarce awake ; he 'll soon grow more compos'd .

lear. where have i been ? where am i ? fair day-light ! i am mightily abus'd , i shou'd ev'n die with pity to see another thus . i will not swear these are my hands . cord. o look upon me , sir , and hold your hands in blessing o're me , nay , you must not kneel . lear. pray do not mock me . i am a very foolish fond old man , fourscore and upward , and to deal plainly with you , i fear i am not in my perfect mind . cord. nay , then farewell to patience ; witness for me ye mighty pow'rs , i ne're complain'd till now ! lear. methinks i shou'd know you , and know this man , yet i am doubtfull , for i am mainly ignorant what place this is , and all the skill i have remembers not these garments , nor do i know where i did sleep last night � pray do not mock me � for , as i am a man , i think that lady to be my child cordelia . cord. o my dear , dear father ! lear. be your tears wet ? yes faith ; pray do not weep , i know i have giv'n thee cause , and am so humbled with crosses since , that i cou'd ask forgiveness of thee were it possible that thou cou'dst grant it , but i 'm well assur'd thou canst not ; therefore i do stand thy justice , if thou hast poyson for me i will drink it , bless thee and die. cord. o pity , sir , a bleeding heart , and cease this killing language . lear. tell me , friends , where am i ? gent. in your own kingdom , sir. lear. do not abuse me . gent. be comforted , good madam , for the violence of his distemper's past ; we 'll lead him in nor trouble him , till he is better setled . wilt please you , sir , walk into freer air. lear. you must bear with me , i am old and foolish . [ they lead him off : cord. the gods restore you � heark , i hear afar the beaten drum , old kent's a man of 's word . o for an arm like the fierce thunderer's , when th' earth-born sons storm'd heav'n , to fight this injur'd father's battle . that i cou'd shift my sex , and die me deep in his opposer's blood , but as i may with womens weapons , piety and pray'rs , i 'll aid his cause � you never-erring gods fight on his side , and thunder on his foes such tempest as his poor ag'd head sustain'd ; your image suffers when a monarch bleeds . 't is your own cause , for that your succours bring , revenge your selves , and right an injur'd king. end of the fourth act.
act v. scene , a camp. enter gonerill and attendants . gon. our sisters pow'rs already are arriv'd , and she her self has promis'd to prevent the night with her approach : have you provided the banquet i bespoke for her reception at my tent ? att. so , please your grace , we have . gon. but thou , my poysner , must prepare the bowl that crowns this banquet , when our mirth is high , the trumpets sounding and the flutes replying , then is the time to give this fatal draught to this imperious sister ; if then our arms succeed , edmund more dear than victory is mine . but if defeat or death it self attend me , 't will charm my ghost to think i 've left behind me [ trumpet . no happy rival : heark , she comes . [ exeunt . enter bastard in his tent. bast. to both these sisters have i sworn my love , each jealous of the other , as the stung are of the adder ; neither can be held if both remain alive ; where shall i fix ? cornwall is dead , and regan's empty bed seems cast by fortune for me , but already i have enjoy'd her , and bright gonerill with equal charms brings dear variety , and yet untasted beauty : i will use her husband's countenance for the battail , then usurp at once his bed and throne . [ enter officers . my trusty scouts y' are well return'd , have ye descry'd the strength and posture of the enemy ? off. we have , and were surpriz'd to find the banisht kent return'd , and at their head ; your brother edgar on the rear ; old gloster ( a moving spectacle ) led through their ranks , whose pow'rfull tongue , and more prevailing wrongs , have so enrag'd their rustick spirits , that with th' approaching dawn we must expect their battle . bast. you bring a welcome hearing ; each to his charge . line well your ranks and stand on your award , to night repose you , and i' th' morn we 'll give the sun a sight that shall be worth his rising . [ exeunt . scene , a valley near the camp. enter edgar and gloster . edg. here , sir , take you the shadow of this tree for your good host , pray that the right may thrive : if ever i return to you again i 'll bring you comfort . [ exit . glost. thanks ; friendly sir ; the fortune your good cause deserves betide you . an alarum , after which gloster speaks . the fight grows hot ; the whole war 's now at work , and the goar'd battle bleeds in every vein , whilst drums and trumpets drown loud slaughter's roar : where 's gloster now that us'd to head the fray , and scour the ranks where deadliest danger lay ? here like a shepherd in a lonely shade , idle , unarm'd , and listning to the fight . yet the disabled courser , maim'd and blind , when to his stall he hears the ratling war , foaming with rage tears up the batter'd ground , and tugs for liberty . no more of shelter , thou blind worm , but forth to th' open field ; the war may come this way and crush thee into rest. � here lay thee down and tear the earth , that work befits a mole . o dark despair ! when , edgar , wilt thou come to pardon and dismiss me to the grave ! [ a retreat sounded . heark ! a retreat , the king has lost or won . re-enter edgar , bloody . edg. away , old man , give me your hand , away ! king lear has loft , he and his daughter tane , and this , ye gods , is all that i can save of this most precious wreck : give me your hand . glost. no farther , sir , a man may rot even here . edg. what ? in ill thoughts again ? men must endure their going hence ev'n as their coming hither . glost. and that 's true too . [ exeunt . flourish . enter in conquest , albany , gonerill , regan , bastard . � lear , kent , cordelia prisoners . alb. it is enough to have conquer'd , cruelty shou'd ne're survive the fight , captain o' th' guards treat well your royal prisoners till you have our further orders , as you hold our pleasure . gon. heark , sir , not as you hold our husbands pleasure [ to the captain aside . but as you hold your life , dispatch your pris'ners . our empire can have no sure settlement but in their death , the earth that covers them binds fast our throne . let me hear they are dead . capt. i shall obey your orders . bast. sir , i approve it safest to pronounce sentence of death upon this wretched king , whose age has charms in it , his title more , to draw the commons once more to his side , 't were best prevent � alb. sir , by your favour , i hold you but a subject of this war , not as a brother . reg. that 's as we list to grace him . have you forgot that he did lead our pow'rs ? bore the commission , of our place and person ? and that authority may well stand up and call it self your brother . gon. not so hot , in his own merits he exalts himself more than in your addition . enter edgar , disguised . alb. what art thou ? edg. pardon me , sir , that i presume to stop a prince and conquerour , yet e'er you triumph , give ear to what a stranger can deliver of what concerns you more than triumph can . i do impeach your general there of treason , lord edmund , that usurps the name of gloster , of fowlest practice 'gainst your life and honour ; this charge is true , and wretched though i seem i can produce a champion that will prove in single combat what i do avouch ; if edmund dares but trust his cause and sword. bast. what will not edmund dare , my lord , i beg the favour that you 'd instantly appoint the place where i may meet this challenger , whom i will sacrifice to my wrong'd fame , remember , sir , that injur'd honour 's nice and cannot brook delay . alb. anon , before our tent , i' th' army's view , there let the herald cry . edg. i thank your highness in my champion's name , he 'll wait your trumpet 's call . alb. lead . [ exeunt . manent , lear , kent , cordelia , guarded . lear. o kent , cordelia ! you are the onely pair that i e'er wrong'd , and the just gods have made you witnesses of my disgrace , the very shame of fortune , to see me chain'd and shackled at these years ! yet were you but spectatours of my woes , not fellow-sufferers , all were well ! cord. this language , sir , adds yet to our affliction . lear. thou , kent , didst head the troops that fought my battel , expos'd thy life and fortunes for a master that had ( as i remember ) banisht thee . kent . pardon me , sir , that once i broke your orders , banisht by you , i kept me here disguis'd to watch your fortunes , and protect your person , you know you entertain'd a rough blunt fellow , one cajus , and you thought he did you service . lear. my trusty cajus , i have lost him too ! [ weeps . 't was a rough honesty . kent . i was that cajus , disguis'd in that course dress to follow you . lear. my cajus too ! wer 't thou my trusty cajus , enough , enough � cord. ah me , he faints ! his blood forsakes his cheek , help , kent � lear. no , no , they shall not see us weep , we 'll see them rot first , � guards lead away to prison , come , kent , cordelia come , we two will sit alone , like birds i' th' cage , when thou dost ask me blessing , i 'll kneel down and ask of thee forgiveness ; thus we 'll live , and pray , and sing , and tell old tales , and laugh at gilded butter-flies , hear sycophants . talk of court news , and we 'll talk with them too , who loses , and who wins , who 's in , who 's out , and take upon us the mystery of things as if we were heav'ns spies . cord. upon such sacrifices the gods themselves throw incense . lear. have i caught ye ? he that parts us must bring a brand from heav'n . together we 'll out-toil the spight of hell , and die the wonders of the world ; a way . [ exeunt , guarded . flourish : enter before the tents , albany , gonerill , regan , guards and attendants ; gonerill speaking apart to the captain of the guards entring . gon. here 's gold for thee , thou knowst our late command upon your pris'ners lives , about it streight , and at our ev'ning banquet let it raise our mirth to hear that they are dead . capt. i shall not fail your orders . [ ex. albany , gon. reg. take their seats . alb. now , gloster , trust to thy single vertue , for thy souldiers , all levied in my name , have in my name took their discharge ; now let our trumpets speak , and herald read out this. [ herald reads .

if any man of quality , within the lists of the army , will maintain upon edmund , suppos'd earl of gloster , that he is a manifold traytour , let him appear by the third sound of the trumpet ; he is bold in his defence . � agen , agen.

[ trumpet answers from within . enter edgar , arm'd . alb. lord edgar ! bast. ha! my brother ! this is the onely combatant that i cou'd fear ; for in my breast guilt duels on his side , but , conscience , what have i to do with thee ? awe thou thy dull legitimate slaves , but i was born a libertine , and so i keep me . edg. my noble prince , a word � e'er we engage into your highness's hands i give this paper , it will the truth of my impeachment prove whatever be my fortune in the fight . alb. we shall peruse it . edg. now , edmund , draw thy sword , that if my speech has wrong'd a noble heart , thy arm may doe thee justice : here i' th' presence of this high prince , these queens , and this crown'd list , i brand thee with the spotted name of traytour , false to thy gods , thy father and thy brother , and what is more , thy friend ; false to this prince : if then thou shar'st a spark of gloster's vertue , acquit thy self , or if thou shar'st his courage , meet this defiance bravely . bast. and dares edgar , the beaten routed edgar , brave his conquerour ? from all thy troops and thee , i forc't the field , thou hast lost the gen'ral stake , and art thou now come with thy petty single stock to play this after-game ? edg. half-blooded man , thy father's sin first , then his punishment , the dark and vicious place where he begot thee cost him his eyes : from thy licentious mother thou draw'st thy villany ; but for thy part of gloster's blood , i hold thee worth my sword. bast. thou bear'st thee on thy mother's piety , which i despise ; thy mother being chaste thou art assur'd thou art but gloster's son , but mine , disdaining constancy , leaves me to hope that i am sprung from nobler blood , and possibly a king might be my sire : but be my birth 's uncertain chance as 't will , who 't was that had the hit to father me i know not ; 't is enough that i am i : of this one thing i 'm certain � that i have a daring soul , and so have at thy heart sound trumpet . [ fight , bastard falls . gon. and reg. save him , save him . gon. this was practice , gloster , thou won'st the field , and wast not bound to fight a vanquisht enemy , thou art not conquer'd but couz'ned and betray'd . alb. shut your mouth , lady , or with this paper i shall stop it � hold , sir , thou worse than any name , reade thy own evil , no tearing , lady , i perceive you know it . gon. say if i do , who shall arraign me for 't ? the laws are mine , not thine . alb. most monstrous ! ha , thou know'st it too . bast. ask me not what i know , i have not breath to answer idle questions . alb. i have resolv'd � your right , brave sir , has conquer'd , [ to edgar . along with me , i must consult your father . [ ex. albany and edgar . reg. help every hand to save a noble life ; my half o' th' kingdom for a man of skill to stop this precious stream . bast. away ye empericks , torment me not with your vain offices : the sword has pierc't too far ; legitimacy at last has got it . reg. the pride of nature dies . gon. away , the minutes are too precious , disturb us not with thy impertinent sorrow . reg. art thou my rival then profest ? gon. why , was our love a secret ? cou'd there be beauty like mine , and gallantry like his and not a mutual love ? just nature then had err'd : behold that copy of perfection , that youth whose story will have no foul page but where it says he stoopt to regan's arms : which yet was but compliance , not affection ; a charity to begging , ruin'd beauty ! reg. who begg'd when gonerill writ that ? expose it [ throws her a letter . and let it be your army's mirth , as 't was this charming youth 's and mine , when in the bow'r he breath'd the warmest ecstasies of love , then panting on my breast , cry'd matchless regan that gonerill and thou shou'd e'er be kin ! gon. die , circe , for thy charms are at an end , expire before my face , and let me see how well that boasted beauty will become congealing blood and death's convulsive pangs . die and be husht , for at my tent last night thou drank'st thy bane , amidst thy rev'ling bowls : ha! dost thou smile ? is then thy death thy sport or has the trusty potion made thee mad ? reg. thou com'st as short of me in thy revenge as in my gloster's love , my jealousie inspir'd me to prevent thy feeble malice and poison thee at thy own banquet . gon. ha! bast. no more , my queens , of this untimely strife , you both deserv'd my love and both possest it . come , souldiers , bear me in ; and let your royal presence grace my last minutes : now , edgar , thy proud conquest i forgive ; who wou'd not choose , like me , to yield his breath t' have rival queens contend for him in death ? [ exeunt . scene , a prison . lear asleep , with his head on cordelia's lap. cord. what toils , thou wretched king , hast thou endur'd to make thee draw , in chains , a sleep so sound ? thy better angel charm thy ravisht mind with fancy'd freedom ; peace is us'd to lodge on cottage straw , thou hast the begger 's bed , therefore shou'dst have the begger 's careless thought . and now , my edgar , i remember thee , what fate has seiz'd thee in this general wreck i know not , but i know thou must be wretched because cordelia holds thee dear . o gods ! a suddain gloom o'er-whelms me , and the image of death o'er-spreads the place . � ha ! who are these ? enter captain and officers with cords . capt. now , sirs , dispatch , already you are paid in part , the best of your reward 's to come . lear.

charge , charge upon their flank , their last wing haults ;

push , push the battel , and the day 's our own . their ranks are broke , down , down with albany . who holds my hands ? � o thou deceiving sleep , i was this very minute on the chace ; and now a prisoner here � what mean the slaves ? you will not murder me ?
cord. help earth and heaven ! for your souls sake's , dear sirs , and for the gods. offic.

no tears , good lady , no pleading against gold and preferment ;

come , sirs , make ready your c��ds .
cord. you , sir , i 'll seize , you have a humane form , and if no pray'rs can touch your soul to spare a poor king's life , if there be any thing that you hold dear , by that i beg you to dispatch me first . capt. comply with her request , dispatch her first . lear. off hell-hounds , by the gods i charge you spare her ; 't is my cordelia , my true pious daughter : no pity ? � nay then take an old man's vengeance . snatches a partizan , and strikes down two of them ; the rest quit cordelia , and turn upon him . enter edgar and albany . edg. death ! hell ! ye vultures hold your impious hands , or take a speedier death than you wou'd give . capt. by whose command ? edg. behold the duke your lord. alb. guards , seize those instruments of cruelty . cord. my edgar , oh! edg. my dear cordelia , lucky was the minute of our approach , the gods have weigh'd our suffrings ; w' are past the fire , and now must shine to ages . gent. look here , my lord , see where the generous king has slain two of 'em . lear. did i not , fellow ? i 've seen the day , with my good biting faulchion i cou'd have made 'em skip ; i am old now , and these vile crosses spoil me ; out of breath ! fie , oh! quite out of breath and spent . alb. bring in old kent , and , edgar , guide you hither your father , whom you said was near , [ ex. edgar . he may be an ear-witness at the least of our proceedings . [ kent brought in here . lear. who are you ? my eyes are none o'th'best , i 'll tell you streight ; oh albany ! . well , sir , we are your captives , and you are come to see death pass upon us . why this delay ? � or is't your highness pleasure to give us first the torture ? say ye so ? why here 's old kent and i , as tough a pair as e'er bore tyrant's stroke : � but my cordelia , my poor cordelia here , o pitty ! � alb. take off their chains � thou injur'd majesty , the wheel of fortune now has made her circle , and blessings yet stand 'twixt thy grave and thee . lear. com'st thou , inhumane lord , to sooth us back to a fool 's paradise of hope , to make our doom more wretched ? go too , we are too well acquainted with misfortune to be gull'd with lying hope ; no , we will hope no more . alb. i have a tale t' unfold so full of wonder as cannot meet an easy faith ; but by that royal injur'd head 't is true. kent . what wou'd your highness ? alb. know the noble edgar impeacht lord edmund since the fight , of treason , and dar'd him for the proof to single combat , in which the gods confirm'd his charge by conquest ; i left ev'n now the traytor wounded mortally . lear. and whither tends this story ? alb. e'er they fought lord edgar gave into my hands this paper , a blacker scrowl of treason , and of lust than can be found in the records of hell ; there , sacred sir , behold the character of gonerill the worst of daughters , but more vicious wife . cord. cou'd there be yet addition to their guilt ? what will not they that wrong a father doe ? alb. since then my injuries , lear , fall in with thine : i have resolv'd the same redress for both. kent . what says my lord ? cord. speak , for me thought i heard the charming voice of a descending god. alb. the troops by edmnnd rais'd , i have disbanded ; those that remain are under my command . what comfort may be brought to cheer your age and heal your savage wrongs , shall be apply'd ; for to your majesty we do refign your kingdom , save what part your self conferr'd on us in marriage . kent . hear you that , my liege ? cord. then there are gods , and vertue is their care. lear. is 't possible ? let the spheres stop their course , the sun make hault , the winds be husht , the seas and fountains rest ; all nature pause , and listen to the change. where is my kent , my cajus ? kent . here , my liege . lear. why i have news that will recall thy youth ; ha! didst thou hear 't , or did th' inspiring gods whisper to me alone ? old lear shall be a king again . kent . the prince , that like a god has pow'r , has said it . lear. cordelia then shall be a queen , mark that : cordelia shall be queen ; winds catch the sound and bear it on your rosie wings to heav'n . cordelia is a queen . re-enter edgar with gloster . alb. look , sir , where pious edgar comes leading his eye-less father : o my liege ! his wondrous story will deserve your leisure : what he has done and suffer'd for your sake , what for the fair cordelia's . glost.

where is my liege ? conduct me to his knees to hail

his second birth of empire ; my dear edgar has , with himself , reveal'd the king's blest restauration .
lear. my poor dark gloster ; glost. o let me kiss that once more sceptred hand ! lear. hold , thou mistak'st the majesty , kneel here ; cordelia has our pow'r , cordelia's queen . speak , is not that the noble suffring edgar ? glost. my pious son , more dear than my lost eyes . lear. i wrong'd him too , but here 's the fair amends . edg. your leave , my liege , for an unwelcome message . edmund ( but that 's a triflle ) is expir'd ; what more will touch you , your imperious daughters gonerill and haughty regan , both are dead , each by the other poison'd at a banquet ; this , dying , they confest . cord. o fatal period of ill-govern'd life ! lear. ingratefull as they were , my heart feels yet a pang of nature for their wretched fall ; � but , edgar , i defer thy joys too long : thou serv'dst distrest cordelia ; take her crown'd : th' imperial grace fresh blooming on her brow ; nay , gloster , thou hast here a father's right ; thv helping hand t'heap blessings on their head. kent . old kent throws in his hearty wishes too . edg. the gods and you too largely recompence what i have done ; the gift strikes merit dumb. cord. nor do i blush to own my self o'er paid for all my suffrings past . glost. now , gentle gods , give gloster his discharge . lear. no , gloster , thou hast business yet for life ; thou , kent and i , retir'd to some cool cell will gently pass our short reserves of time in calm reflections on our fortunes past , cheer'd with relation of the prosperous reign of this celestial pair ; thus our remains shall in an even course of thought be past , enjoy the present hour , nor fear the last . edg. our drooping country now erects her head , peace spreads her balmy wings , and plenty blooms . divine cordelia , all the gods can witness how much thy love to empire i prefer ! thy bright example shall convince the world ( whatever storms of fortune are decreed ) that truth and vertue shall at last succeed . [ ex. omnes . finis .
epilogue , spoken by mrs. barry . inconstancy , the reigning sin o' th' age , will scarce endure true lovers on the stage ; you hardly ev'n in plays with such dispense , and poëts kill 'em in their own defence . yet one bold proof i was resolv'd to give , that i cou'd three hours constancy out-live . you fear , perhaps , whilst on the stage w' are made such saints , we shall indeed take up the trade ; sometimes we threaten � but our vertue may for truth i fear with your pit-valour weigh : for ( not to flatter either ) i much doubt when we are off the stage , and you are out , we are not quite so coy , nor you so stout . we talk of nunn'ries � but to be sincere whoever lives to see us cloyster'd there , may hope to meet our critiques at tangier . for shame give over this inglorious trade of worrying poëts , and go maule th' alcade . well � since y' are all for blustring in the pit , this play 's reviver humbly do's admit your abs'lute pow'r to damn his part of it ; but still so many master-touches shine of that vast hand that first laid this design , that in great shakespear's right , he 's bold to say if you like nothing you have seen to day the play your judgment damns , not you the play.
notes, typically marginal, from the original text
notes for div a -e mr. dryd . pref. to the span. fryar .
an epistolary poem to n. tate, esquire, and poet laureat to his majesty, occasioned by the taking of namur by mr. pittis. pittis, william, - . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing p estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) an epistolary poem to n. tate, esquire, and poet laureat to his majesty, occasioned by the taking of namur by mr. pittis. pittis, william, - . tate, nahum, - . [ ], p. printed for r. baldwin ..., london : mdxcxvi [i.e. ] date of publication from wing. reproduction of original in harvard university libraries. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng namur (belgium) -- history -- siege, -- poetry. - tcp assigned for keying and markup - apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images - tcp staff (oxford) sampled and proofread - emma (leeson) huber text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion an epistolary poem to n. tate , esquire : and poet laureat to his majesty : occasioned by the taking of namur . by mr. pittis . — aut mihi carmen quale meo codro concedite , proxima phoebi versibus ille facit , aut si non possumus omnes , hic arguto sacra pendebit fistula pinu . virg. ecl. vii . london , printed for r. baldwin , near the oxford-arms in warwick-lane . mdxcxvi . the preface . i should have thought it unnecessary to have troubled the reader with an account of a paper of verses , which i fear he will but too soon give his judgment of ; had i not perceived my self lyable to be censured for two faults ( amongst the many other ) which people are but too ready to take for granted . the first which i am like to be tax'd with , is speaking too much of my heroe : the second , speaking too much of my self . both are so unpardonable and apt to give offence , that i am unwilling either amongst the religious to be taken for a libertine , or amongst the profane ( i mean the poets ) for one that is arrogant or presumputous . therefore when i call upon heaven to take care of its defender , it is not to be received in so strict a sense , as if heaven could not subsist without him , but that he fights its battles , and defends its cause , which is no more than our very prayers say of him . as for the last crime i am like to be arraign'd for ( viz. ) my imitation of virgil's fortunati ambo siquid mea carmina possunt ; my meaning is so far from the vanity which the criticks falsely ascribe to the original , that it is thus , if my poor endeavours can add any thing to the perpetuation of their fame , the remembrance of 'em shall be eternal . now as i take this to be the sense of this prince of poets , i know no reason why i have not the priviledge of a subject to quote him . for his meaning cannot be otherwise , if we observe what cautious modesty runs through his whole writings , and how industriously he avoids the mentioning of himself , even when he has so many opportunities of doing it to his own advantage . nor are we to suppose that he who in his eclogues , says , me quoque vatem — dicunt pastores , sed non ego credulus illis , should in his aeneids run into such high raptures , and excursions about himself , as to say , nisus and euryalus were happy , because such an excellent poet as himself had the recital of their story . as it is absurd to believe these things of our authour ; so i hope the reader ( especially the judicious ) will acquit the copyst : as for the conduct of the poem , since i can't excuse the faults it abounds with , i shall say but little about it . my intention at first was to have spoken more particularly of the brave assailants , especialy those of our own nation ; but that design requiring more time than i have to lay out on poetry , and more pains than i can be at present perswaded to take , i laid it aside . being contented with the mentioning of his grace the duke of ormond , whom i think my self oblig'd to name in a double respect , both as chancellour of the university of oxford , and as one whose extraordinary quality and performances in the siege deserv'd the next place to his majesty and his highness the elector of bavaria . others extremely signaliz'd themselves , and i hope some abler pen will do them justice : all that i have to say is — ab uno — disce omnes . as for my taking notice of mr. c — 's ode , i have this to say for my self , that as every man is master of his own sentiments , so he may vent 'em when they are agreeable to truth and good-manners . and i can't see why mr. c — should take it amiss , that he is not counted the best pindarick writer , when he has so large a share of reputation in pastoral . a stander-by often see 's things a gamester himself does not perceive , and i may tell him his faults , when perhaps i am so fond of my self as not to discern my own . i am so far from using a gentleman of his character ungenteely , that tho i can't say of his ode , as mr. norris said of mr. lock 's humane understanding , ( viz. ) that he would not after all its faults part with it for a vatican ; yet i can't but tell the world i have an extraordinary value for it . i can't see why the same liberty may not be taken with a gentleman of will 's , as those gentlemen took with dr. blackmore , and that they who would have christned a certain poem arthur of bradly , should have their own examin'd by the friends of prince arthur . if i have misinterpreted any of his beauties , i beg his pardon , but if i have found out his faults i think i may have the liberty to show them . dr. sherlock says , he that writes , lies down , which ( if i may be the reveverend deans expositor ) is , every one that comes en passant , may make him exercise his faculty of feeling ; and if a man finds out bays's similies at any time , i see no reason why they should not lye under bays's correction . i have nothing more than to beg my friend mr. tate's pardon for publishing an epistle design'd only for his perusal , and for making use of his name no better , when i had so fair a field to have wrought in . an epistolary poem : occasioned by the taking of namur . since evr'y pen and evr'y tongue employ their forward zeal , to speak their forward joy : and by their quick productions , early show . how much they pay , though not how much they owe ; why is thy sacred pencil laid aside , no lays made choise of , and no numbers try'd ? o tate , if ever glorious acts infuse a warmth to poets , or create a muse : if bards inspir'd of laurell'd heroes dream , and wars in triumph ended be their theme , these these , thy labours , and thy numbers claim , the task of wonder , and the toil of fame . lo ! c — 's dairy-muse forgets her charge , tricks up her self , and roams about at large , and thinks in flights and raptures to excell because she tun'd the lowly reed so well ! as at some wake , where joan or nell appear , and represent the queen in sundays gear , with hobbling steps the rabble rout advance , and trample round , and form a kind of dance : susan amidst the rest , with awkward mien capers , and shows her feet , and will be seen , thinks what she does , deserves the most esteem , because she makes good cheese , and skim's the better cream . on pindar's wings she takes her aery course , but pindar's judgment 's wanting to his force . up to the head of fame she boldly flies , ( and † fames a mischief , or the poet lies ) o youth take heed , let virgill's hallow'd page escape thy fury , and avoid thy rage , with holy dread approach the reverend bard , nor play with wit , when sense should be prefer'd , a fine digression , and with judgment wrote , is more esteem'd a beauty than a fau't , but when a muse impatient of delay , leaps o're the bounds , and frollicks all the way , forces through oppositions self , and climbs with all the tinckling chime of pack-horse rhimes ; we damn the muse , and justly blame her skill , who leaves good beaten ways , and chuses ill , and sweats and drudges upward with her load , when she might go beneath , and keep the road. but above all ( for he that verse endites shou'd know his sense and meaning as he writes ) thy verse shou'd speak thee loyal , not compare the siege of namure to the gyants war : nor make mars tumble from the empyreal-skie . those whom their † author never brought so high : thy power unseen , and boundless force restrain , nor make those rebells who deserve to reign . other 's have wrote , and with dissembled pains , rack'd all their little magazine of brains : squeez'd hard for tropes and figures , to express their satisfaction in the kings success and like some muster-master's scrow'l , have taught the reader all the names of those that fought : rang'd all their heroes up in rank and file , and with dutch bulky names provok'd his smile . for who can hold his laughter , or refuse a smile , when peter b — prints jones his news , and hands about his limping rhimes , and showes what yard's gazett had told before in prose . ah! for a while the mausoleum leave , and in thy stead let weeping angels grieve , they 'l guard the structure which thy numbers rais'd , and mourn the queen , thy verse so sweetly prais'd . the queen . — oh , let her sacred urn rejoyce at thy loud song , and bless thy tuneful voice , which echoing round the mournful dome , conveys her subjects joys , and bears her husband's praise , and justly daring , and correctly bold form's heroes with their kindred gods enroll'd , does cities storm'd , and routed aamies sing , and once forgets maria in the king. so when the mantuan bard with rapture fir'd , had sung the boy , the roman † dame admir'd , and with successful and exalted strains , bewail'd marcellus in his last remains , spread blooming lillies o're the regal herse , and wep't the dead still living in his verse , with sudden and unimitable joy , through lation seas he brings the war and troy : forgets his sorrows , and disowns his grief , as he with wondrous verse proclaims the wondrous chief . such be thy task , and dareing thy design , thy muse as graceful as thy theme divine , thy numbers beautious , and thy beauties strong , and artful warmth enforce an artful song . quick turns of thought , should eager foree reveal , no word come slow that speaks thy grateful zeal . o let thy muse her timely joy declare ! the laurell'd king shou'd be the laurell'd poets care . and see him still the glorious task essay ! through groves of pikes enlarge the doubtful way ! now wing'd with speed to subjects aid repair , himself their guardian angel , and himself a war. through flouds and steep ascents the chase pursue ! hang on the rear and keep the foe in view , whilst europe sheltred by the sword he draws adores the monarch and applauds the cause . guard him ye sacred powers , let angels give that help to him , which they from him receive . all heav'n is interest'd to preserve his throne , defending his the gods defend their own . vain would their altars and their incense rise , no costly clouds of smoke ascend their skies , their shrines ungifted , and their temples show , unless he fed the flames & brib'd the gods below . andthou bright orb , whose influence yet presides o're thy late charge , and brittish counsels guides , behold thy mourning widdow'd prince , and see deeds that are past belief , and worthy thee . how grief sits sullen on his brow , and dares the fate of france , and awful silence wears ! maria's image fills his lab'ring mind , and vengeance broods within , and actions close design'd . see him alone through gasping squadrons wield his sword , and bear the war upon his shield ; o're dying gauls , and mangled heroes ride : the god's , and fame , and conquest by his side ! maria spreads the warriours glowing flame , maria — thousands fall beneath the name . so when some lybian hunter's spear has slain a lyoness in scorch'd numidia's plain . and in high pomp the rugged trophy bore , which aw'd and check'd the neighbouring flocks before , the partner of her den expands his jaws , looks grizly round him , and contracts his paws , now summons all his sorrows to the prize , leaps bounding forth , and grinning as he flies , then fastning on the bleating flocks , withholds the shepherds care , and mourns his consort in the folds . but ! oh what matchless heroe's that , who 's arms reflect such dreadful rays , and horrid charms ? feirce manly beauty through the warriour reigns , and austria's worth's collected in his veins . view him distinctly muse , and boldly trace those features , whence their beams such awful grace . near the nassovian's side , with artful force he reins his steed , and eggs him to the course . which champs and foams , and joys amidst the slain , and bears aloof the tow'ring hopes of spain . if europe 'mongst her numerous sons had bore but two such heroes , and such warriours more , the spaniards , and batavian troops had come to gallick towns , and brought the war from home , and france invested by their arms , had mourn'd her fate revers'd , and wept her fortune turn'd . and if thy sons , o phoebus , can declare unerring truths , and thy dread message bear : if at thy shrines by thee posess'd , they date the rize of empires or the change of state. ev'n these , shall yet compel her to restore the thefts she ravish'd , and she snatch'd before : and lewis with submissive hands resign the spoils of conquer'd kingdoms , and decline . and happy both , and if my verse can raise their fame , immortal as they 'l make my lays , no day shall blot their dear remembrance from the list of time , and ages yet to come : whilst the nassovian house it self supplies europe with heroes , and with gods the skies : whilst austrian princes as their right obtain the western empire , and the crown of spain . from pindus top , ye sacred nine repair , let ev'ry muse her costly spices bear . scarce all their incense and their sweets suffice , when on their balmy wings an ormonds fame must rise . with kings he conquers , and with kings shall share a part of honour , as he parts the war. o isis , isis ! raise thy drooping head at his dear name , and quit thy ouzy bed : thy patron conquers , and thy lord 's return'd , for whom thy streams withdrew , for whom thy waters mourn'd . and ye learn'd bards , whom sacred isis owns for her lov'd charge , and justly calls her sons , with speed your incense , and your gifts prepare , and pay your praises where ye paid your pray'r . much have ye promis'd , and have much to pay , for the dear blessings of this genial day : in which kind heav'n its sacred pledge resigns , and gives him back , who finish'd its designs . o sons of art , let ev'ry language show , what ev'ry land does speak , and ev'ry nation owe , not barely † two amidst the numerous throng adventure forth , and dare a noble song . yon' town , behold it , what stupendous hight demands your wonder , and provokes your sight ! beneath , rough mounds and craggy cliffs surprize , above , strong forts , and spacious bulwarks rise , nature her self has fix'd th' eternal base : art and vauban defend its upper space . out from its flinty breast , and rocky side a thousand engines gape , where thousand deaths reside , and in whose womb the close destructions glow , and lie unseen though pointed on the foe : from brazen mouths , they pour their wondrous hail , sweep squadrons off , and graze upon the vale. but these , nor thousands more , nor art , nor fate , change ormond's high resolves , or force him to retreat . what wondrous deeds his youthful hands perform ! see him through fate , through art and nature storm ! now raise himself , supported by his spear ! and up the steep ascent the brittish lyons bear ! then forward with redoubled fury press , make strength and danger yield to his success ; and through the flames the burning ramparts reach , and fix himself , and standard in the breach ! sing jo triumph , lo the lillies fail ! sing jo triumph ormond's arms prevail ! but these ( my friend ) are wondrous acts , and claim a nobler muse , and more distinguish'd flame : the task is worthy , and the verse should shine with tempting lusture , and with grace like thine . a dorsetts judgment , and a drydens rage inform , and eternize the sacred page , strong nervous sense in ev'ry line appear , and beauty glad the sight , and fancy charm the ear : till what is justly and succinctly wrote , approves the heroe , and the poets thought . oh! if my languid numbers might provoke some lasting piece , and court some finish'd stroke ; or make thee write what i confus'dly feel , and try the task my muse performs so ill ! thrice happy i , though with the scribling rest , expos'd to every drivling coxcomb's jest : martyr'd on pies , when ev'ry fopling fills his senseless gut , and only reads at meals ; o tate , with speed begin th' advent'rous song , to thee alone the sacred rites belong . whilst i again to chymick flames retire , and quitt feign'd warmth , for true substantial fire : seek herbs and plants , and ev'ry healing juice , and learn their mixture as i learn their use . tyson thy aid , direct my dareing course , for nature stoops to thy resistless force , unveils her beauties , and reveals her grace to thy discerning eys which ev'ry secret trace o guide me , through the bold pursuit ; impart thy healing vertues , and thy wondrous art , as i through worlds unknown thy gifts explore , resolv'd to triffle with a muse no more . finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a -e † fama malum - virg . aen. † ovid . † octavia . virg. ae● . the xi . virg. aen. ix . † mr. addison and mr. talden . a duke and no duke as it is acted by their majesties servants : to which is now added, a preface concerning farce : with an account of the personæ and larvæ, &c. of the ancient theatre / by n. tate ... tate, nahum, - . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing c b estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) a duke and no duke as it is acted by their majesties servants : to which is now added, a preface concerning farce : with an account of the personæ and larvæ, &c. of the ancient theatre / by n. tate ... tate, nahum, - . lady. person of quality. etherege, george, sir, ?- . cokain, aston, sir, - . trappolin creduto principe. draghi, giovanni battista, ca. - . tell me no more i am deceiv'd. king, robert, fl. - . ah, poor olinda. draghi, giovanni battista, ca. - . who can resist my celia's charms? [ ], , [ ] p. printed for henry bonwicke ..., london : . three songs at end: "a song written by sir george etheridge, and set to music by signior baptist", "a song written by a lady, and set to music by mr. king", "a song written by a person of quality, and set to music by signior baptist". an alteration of cokayne's trappolin creduto principe. reproduction of original in huntington library. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng - tcp assigned for keying and markup - aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images - emma (leeson) huber sampled and proofread - emma (leeson) huber text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a duke and no duke . as it is acted by their majesties servants . to which is now added , a preface concerning farce : with an account of the personae and larvae , &c. of the ancient theatre . by n. tate , servant to their majesties . london : printed for henry bonwicke , at the red-lion in st. paul's church-yard , . the preface . both italy and france have swarm'd with critiques upon the business of the stage , and trac'd it's history up to thespis's cart. the mimica satyra tragoedia comoediá have been thoroughly canvass'd . a man might almost conjure with their planipedes , attalanae , praetextatae , tabernariae , &c. distinctions , divisions and subdivisions , but amongst them all not one word of a farce . none have taken into consideration , or condescended to tell us , whether the trappolin , scapin , harlequin or scaramouch be originals ; or if france be a species of stage-poetry unknown to the ancients . this subject therefore being yet untouch'd , and the bookseller having occasion to re-print this short play , i thought it worth the business of a preface to speak my sentiments of the matter , though but to provoke some learned person to clear the doubt , and set the question in a true light. in order to this enquiry , 't will be proper first to speak something of those stage-properties or implements called personae and larvae , used by players of former times ; for harlequill was not the first that acted in a vizard . athanaeus in his twelfth book mentions one aristophanes of byzantium , with several others , who had written particularly on this subject . amongst latin writers anlon . codr . vre . is said to have published an elegant epistle concerning this matter . caelius calcagn . in his book entituled , personati , speaks pretty home to the point ; and above all , the learned bullinger , lib. . de theatro . but i meet with enough for my purpose in the syntagm . of marischott , who , for the benefit of most readers , contents himself with citing the latin version of lucian * , and others , which i have so transcribed on occasion as i there found them . neither can my abstract of his book seem needless , because the treatise it self having been only printed in italy , is scarce to be met with in england . 't is agreed that the word persona in a restrained sence signifies only the vizard or counterfeit face worn by the actor : but in larger and more frequent acceptation , the whole habit or dress of him that enter'd the scene ; which ( under the reign of old comedy ) was contrived exactly like the usual wearing garb of some person whom they had a mind to represent upon the stage . an instance hereof against no less a person than socrates we find described at large by aelian . the substance of the story is this : that aristophanes in his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 represented both the figure , gesture and habit of socrates , with which spectacle the athenians were at first surprized . however , the common sort presently expressed their applause . socrates himself being then amongst the audience , not by chance but design , and seated where he might be most exposed to view , encountring with his grave , steddy and unconcerned countenance at once the mimickry of the actor , and rallery of the poet. but whether the stage-dresses and masks were made in imitation of some particular person , or contrived by humour and fancy , as might be most agreeable to the fable , ( in which they always observed a decorum . ) 't is evident , says my author , that they never enter'd the scene nisi personis induti . but who was the first inventor of them is a matter of no small dispute . they appear to be as ancient as the practice of plays and drolls themselves , which were of as old a date as the worship of bacchus , or perhaps any other gods. that this manner of celebrating the rites of bacchus was in use not only among the thracians and greeks , but also very frequent and ancient among the latins . we have evident proof from virgil's georgicks , lib. . with a most elegant description of the personae in these words : — baccho caper omnibus aris caeditur & veteres ineunt proscenia ludi : praemiaqùe ingentes pagos & compita circum thesidae posuêre , atque inter pocula laeti mollibus in pratis unctos salire per utres ; neo non ausonii trojâ gens missa celoni versibus incomptis ludunt , risuque soluto oraque corticibus sumunt horrenda cavatis . ovid hints almost as much in the minores quinquatrus celebrated in honour of minerva . et jam quinquatrus jubeor narrare minores huc ades o caeptis slava minerva meis ; cur vagus incedat tota tibicen in urbe . quid sibi personae , quid toga picta velint . suidas affirms chaerilus the athenian to have been the first that erected a stage , and used the larva ; yet elsewhere ( according to diomedes and other greek writers ) he makes thespis inventor of the persona , who at first discoloured his face with vermilion , before he came to use the juyce of purslane ; or , according to horace , the lees of wine . — plaustris vexisse poemata thespis quae canerent agerentur peruncti faecibus ora . this practice , and cartshow's of thespis were performed about the th olympiad . others give the honour of this invention to aeschylus , and presume that they have likewise horace's word for their opinion . post hunc personae pallaeque repertor honest● aeschylus — but horace is still consistent , if rightly understood ; for he does not affirm aeschylus to be the absolute inventor of the persona , but of the persona honesta , of more graceful masks and habits than were contrived by others ; for which reason we may suppose , as philostratus relates , this aeschylus was called the father of tragedy . after aeschylus stage-habits for women were also invented by phrynicus . amongst the romans till livius andronicus his time , the galeri and not personae were used upon the stage ; and suidas will have roscius gallus to be the first that brought the personae into custom with the romans ; but donatus tells us , that minutius and prothonius were the first players that acted tragedy , personati : which fashion afterwards obtained that degree , that nero caesar himself is recorded by suetonius to have appeared in such dresses upon the open stage . tragoedias cantaverit personatus ; herôum deorumque item heroidum & dearum , personis effictis . that pompous and splendid dresses were proper for tragedy , both pollux and donatus affirm . next to tragedy came satyr , which was but a species of the former , as appears by the cyclops of euripides . this sort of dramma ( though less practised as the world grew more civilized ) had also it 's peculiar personae or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , made of goats skins and hides , and other beasts , which are described by dyonisius , pollux and causabon . the personal habits used in the licentious comdiaaevetus were contrived ( as we instanced ) to represent particular persons , * which therefore could he no constant or fix'd garb ; for suidus says expresly , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , &c. — that is , moris fuit ut comici personas histrionibus darent eorum similes quos imitarentur . horace alludes to the same custom , sat. . l. . — quivis stomacheter eodem quo personatus pater . their resembling dresses ( says the scholiast upon aristoph . ) were so aptly contrived , that the spectators knew what person the actor mimick'd at his first appearance , before he spoke a word . while athens was a popular state , the rabble were so much delighted with these representations of particular men , that isocrates complains they would run to those entertainments from their orators , while they were haranguing upon matters of greatest importance to the publick . 't is true , this practice of exposing men upon the stage , was at its beginning more justifiable , while confin'd to those limits mentioned by horace , si quis erat dignus describi quod malus aut fur , quod maechusve foret , aut sicarius , aut alioqui famosus . — nay , it did not a little conduce to the reforming of the state , in deterring men from wickedness ; upon which dionys. halycarn . did not stick to * affirm of eupolis cratinus and aristophanes , that they perform'd the office of philosophers and states-men as well as of poets . but when from representation of evil men , the practice declin'd to the traducing of the good and vertuous , and even to the dishonour of religion , and ridiculing their very gods , 't was high time for the government to take cognizance of the matter , and enact laws to restrain their license . — lex est accepta chorusque turpiter obticuit sublato jure nocendi , horace , art. poet. — iam saevus apertam in rabiem verti caepit focus & per honestas , ire domos , &c. and a little after , — lex paenaque lata malo quae nollet carmine quemquam , describi . epist. lib. . upon this regulation succeed the media and nova comedia , in which the personae ludicrae & ad risum accommodatae were invented and made famillar to the stage . one contriv'd a peculiar habit , when the part of a paedagogue was to be plaid , another of a parisite , others of bawds , cooks , &c. all which are recited by * donatus , and more largely by * pollux . that comedians acted personati in terence his time appears by an ancient copy of that author preserved in the vatican , where figures are drawn of the actors in the play , as they were larvati and personati . 't is impossible for us to conceive the art and curiosity in the contrivance and making of these shapes , in which these players acted , or how much the player himself was sometimes enamour'd on his persona , or stage-dress , attributing his success and theatrical applause to the semblance in which he acted . as to this particular , pliny has given us an instance of memorable event in his natural history , lib. . cap. . speaking of m. opilius hilarius . he tells us , that this actor having wonderfully pleas'd the people in performance of a certain part ; he invited his friends to a treat upon his birth-day , and this shape in which he succeeded so well being brought into his sight , he pull'd off his banqueting wreath from his head to put it upon the figure , which he survey'd with such pleasure , that he lost his sense , grew stiff and cold , and unperceived by the company , expir'd with transport . hitherto we have discoursed of the persona in the larger acceptation , as it signified amongst them , the intire stage-habit . but must acknowledge that it was sometimes taken in a more restrain'd sense , and used by actors for only the larva or vizard , as the larva again is sometimes mentioned to express the persona intire . martial uses the word for a border or perriwigg , epigr. . lib. . mentiris juvenem tinctis lentine capillis , tam subito corvus , qui modo cignus eras ; non omnes fallis , scit te proserpina canum , personam capiti detrahet illa tuo . but seneca expresly for a mask or vizard , quid tantopere te supinat ? quid vultum habitumque oris praevertit ut malis habere personam quam faciem . the advantages of using these persona or disguises on the stage were , in comedy , that they might first have resemblance to the person imitated , and afterwards adapted for humour , and to excite mirth ; besides the consulting the decency of the actors , who were in those days generally too modest to act barefac'd , † and in usual habits . in tragedy the dress assisted to the pomp and show . the tragedian's vizard making the voice to come forth more sonorous , being made with a larger * mouth that seem hiare as the actor spoke , which i could almost suppose persius to hint at in that verse , fabula seu maesto ponatur hianda tragedo . the convenience of these disguises on other occasions , as in interludes at sacred rites ( as they call'd them ) is manifest from servius on our fore-cited place of * virgil , quia necesse erat pro ratione sacrorum aliqua ludicra & turpia fieri quibus populo possit risus moveri , qui ea exercebant , propter verecundiam remedium hoc adhibuerunt , ne agnoscerentur . yet were not disguises masks and maskers , employ'd only in the service of the theatre and temples , but promiscuously used by the ancients on many other occasions , as in triumphs , feasts , marriages , funerals , &c. the history whereof would be furnish'd with many entertaining circumstances ; but i must remember that i am confin'd to the scanty limits of a preface . the good uses that have been made of vizards and counterfeit-habits , without the compass of the theatre would make no small collection , but the abuses of them much greater . this would afford more horror than diversion . the yearly harvest of wickedness , and evil consequences occasion'd by the carnival at venice , give too sufficient proofs of the mischief . larvati took their appellation from larva , a vizard ; and larva from the lares , whom the ancients supposed to possess men's minds with madness . this was ascribed as peculiar to those powers . can there be greater demonstration of distraction and frenzy of all sorts , than in the impious practices and debaucheries at the fore-mentioned festival ? can all their mortifications of the ensuing lent make any tolerable amends for the lewdness then committed ? has the devil at any time such a jubilee , where vice like an infernal cebele sees all her black offspring assembled together ? what are the effects of this masquerade , but whoredoms , adulteries , incests , brawls , murders , and a general corruption of manners . pollydor . recites it to the honour of our english ancestors , that they had law in force against masqueradings , capitale fuisse si quis personam induisset . de rev. invent. l. . c. . ludovicus vives , lib. de christianâ faeminâ , thinks he did the masquerading ladies no wrong , in affirming , that detrimentum quod sub personâ earum accepit verecundia citra personam se proferat & ostendat . that they proved after wearing those disguises just as modest out of their masques as they were in them . and honest iuvenal civilly puts the question , quem praestare potest mulier larvata pudorem ? but restoring these guises to their proper owners , the stage-players , let us proceed from the consideration of th larva to our first enquiry about farce , and whether or no the ancients had any such species of stage-poetry . in the first place i would ask the readers opinion , if he can suppose any more genuine and natural use of those larvae or vizards which we have described , than for farce-players , especially if we take in those other implements mentioned by lucian , de salt. thus rendred by marisch . mitto adscitia pectora & ventres fictitios , adjunctam & arte compositam corporis crassitudinem . one would almost conclude from this description of their stage-properties , that they could be contrived for nothing but farce . i have not yet seen any definition of farce , and dare not be the first that ventures to define it . i know not by what fate it happens ( in common notion ) to be the most contemptible sort of the drama . 't is thought to bring least reputation to an author . but if the difficulty of the task were to decide the case , we should soon alter our opinion . i would desire him who thinks it an easie thing , to make tryal of it with all the speed he can , it being such a work * as every man may think to write , and not without much pains be undeceiv'd . the reason of the difficulty i presume to be this , ( and the undertakers will find it true ) that comedy properly so called , is an imitation of humane life , ( quicquid agunt homines ) and subsists upon nature ; so that whosoever has a genius to coppy her , and will take the pains , is assured of success , and all the world affords him subject . whereas the business of farce extends beyond nature and probability . but then there are so few improbabilities that will appear pleasant in the representation , that it will strain the best invention to find them out , and require the nicest judgment to manage them when they are conceived . extravagant and monstrous fancies are but sick dreams , that rather torment than divert the mind ; but when extravagancy and improbability happen to please at all , they do it to purpose , because they strike our thought with greatest surprise . but to our question . i cannot averr , that the ancients had entertainments on the stage entirely resembling the harlequin and scaramouch , but 't is highly probable that the satyrical diversions and interludes invented to * relieve the heaviness of tragedy were of this nature ▪ for that they were introduced for mirth and rallery , and thereby to help off the serious action , is expresly told us . carmine qui tragico vilem certavit ob hircum mox etiam egrestes satyros nudavit , & asper incolumi gravitate , jocum te●tavit : eò quod illecebris erat & gratâ novitate morandus spectator . for as madam le fevre * says , the stage-satyr ; or satyrizing scenes must by no means be confounded with satyrique poems written by lucilius , horace , or greek satyrist . the business of the satyr-actors was not to lash out into long invectives , only now and then a elurt of such harmless sarcasm as used to be sometimes thrown out by harlequin or scaramouch , because as horace adds , ita risores ita commendare dicaoes conveniet satyros , &c. which shews they were to keep within bounds ; and what he subjoyns — ita vertere seria ludo . seems to emply drollery , banter , buffoonry , vagaries , whimsies , which are so many ingredients of modern farce . nay , i have some where read ( though i cannot at present recollect my author ) that their comick actors used to deliver what they had to say in various and feigned tones , which was harlequin's manner . nor will this appear unlikely , if we consider particularly the gesticulations , tricks , feats of activity and wonderful performances of another sort of actors whom they called mimi and pantomimi , from their admirable knack at mimickry ; which was not the least of harlequin's and scaramouch's talents . 't is unconceivable how expert these persons were in humorous actions , as will appear by a few testimonies very well worth our mentioning . their performance was so extraordinary , that as strabo informs us , lib. . their art was called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . their legerdemain shifts , slights and postures , magical arts , praestigia : and further asserts , eos quam saepissime argumento è comoediis desumpto varias personas representasse , nunc foeminae , nunc lenonis , nunc adulteri , nunc temulenti . to which we may add that old epigram , tot linguae quot membra viro , mirabilis ars est , quae facit articulos , ore tacente , loqui . there was no fable accommodated to the stage , which these mute-actors could not represent by gestures and movements of their body . for as lucian says , personis in scenam introductis , gestibus per omnia responderent , neque ea quae dicuntur ab introductit optimatibus , aut agricolis , aut mendicis discrepabant sed in unoquoque illorum proprietas & excellentia demonstrabantur . in dumb action and gestures they could express , and as it were , speak what they pleased . wherefore * tigranes amongst all the rarities the world's imperial city afforded , begged one of these pantomimes to serve him as it were for an interpreter to all nations . pantomimus ( says cassiod . var. . epist. ult . ) a multifaria imitatione nomen est , idem corpus herculem designat & venerem , f●●minam presentat & marem ; regem facit & militem ; senam reddit & iuvenem ut in uno videas esse multos . and lucian seeing a pantomime prepare to personate five representations , cries , that the mimick seem'd to him to have five souls , who could exhibit so many personages with one body . what was all this but farce to the degree of harlequin with his cloak , whisk'd about , and acting a windmil . all this , you 'll say , was only farce of action , farce in the player , nothing on the poets part , no proof that the ancients had any written farce . i will not affirm they had any stage-play entirely of harlequin and scarramouch's cast ; but if molier's comedies come under the denomination of farce , ( as every body allows ) 't is plain that both the greeks and romans had farcical plays . the comedies of aristophanes and plautus are mostly of this cut , call them palliatae , togatae , mixt comedy , low comedy , or what you will. their old comedy , generally speaking , had the very air of farce . aristophanes his socrates philosophing in a basket , &c. is as much farce as any thing in the character of mr. shadwell's virtuoso . the frog and swimming-master , tame spider , bottled air , &c. are not more humorous and farcy . aristophanes his frogs were a very rehearsal of those days ; as our fletcher's knight of the burning pestle was a sort of quixot on the stage . which teaches us , that farce is not inconsistent with good sence , because 't is capable of satyr , which is sence with a vengeance . the amphytrio and menae●h of plautus through the whole contrivance and course of accidents are all farce . they were the originals of shakespear's comedy of errours , and the italian trappoline . i would not be a heretick in poetry , but reason and experience convince us , that the best comedies of ben. iohnson are near a-kin to farce ; nay , the most entertaining parts of them are farce it self . the alchymist which cannot be read by any sensible man without astonishment , is farce from the opening of the first scene to the end of the intr●igue . 't is farce but such farce as bequeaths that blessing ( pronounced by horace ) on him that shall attempt the like . — sudet multum frustraque lab●ret ausus idem . the whole business is carry'd on with shuffles , sh●m and banter , to the greatest degree of pleasantness in the world. for farce ( in the notion i have of it ) may admit of most admirable plot , as well as subsist sometimes without it . nay , it has it's several species or distinctions as well as comedy amongst the romans stataria mixta , &c. but still 't was comedy . so comedy may admit of humour , which is a great province of farce ; but then it might be such humour as comes within compass of nature and probability : for where it exceeds these bounds it becomes farce . which freedom i would allow a poet , and thank him into the bargain , provided he has the judgment so to manage his excursion , as to heighten my mirth without too grosly shocking my senses . i cannot call to mind one humour in all terence's pl●ys , but what he might have taken by observation , all lies within the compass of conversation ; but therefore caesar ( amidst all his beauties and excellencies ) says he , wants the vis comica , which made plaurus so diverting . there is so much said for these two authors by their respective admirers , that a man knows not where to give the preference . all that i would presume to say , ●s , that i esteem them both admirable in their way ; that one chose to write pure comedy in the strictest notion , and the other liberty of extending comedy sometimes into farce ; and each got his point , terence of being exact , and plautus pleasant . neat terence , witty plautus , says our greatest * master of comedy , who scorn'd not to copy sometimes from the ancients ; yet for one hint he has taken from terence , he has borrowed three from plautus . i will instance only that pleasant passage in his alchymist , where the confederates banter and play upon surly disguised like a spanish don , not supposing that he understood them . we find the same humour in the paenulus of plautus , where the old carthaginian speaks in the punick language ; milphio a roman servant plays the wagg , and drolls upon him , under pretence of interpreting for him ; the stranger suffers him to run himself out of breath with his ribaldry , and then surprizes him with thundring out as good latin as the best of them could speak . vulpone's playing the mountebank in the fox is farce ; and sir politick's turning himself into a tortoise . this passage however is undiverting , which proves ( as i said ) the nicety of judgment required in managing improbabilities . had this been told to the audience like other projects which are only recited , it might have made a pleasant relation . now if we enquire into the best of our modern comedies , we should find the most diverting parts of them to be farce , or near a-kin to it . remembrancer iohn in the cutter , sir martin turn'd east-india gentleman , the tryal scene in the spanish fryar , where gomes menac'd by the colonel in dumb shew , runs counter in his evidence , says and unsays in a breath , till he confounds himself and the court. such pleasantry as this is i cannot think below it's great author , who in the serious scenes of the same play , has shewn us the refinedness and perfection of the english style . quintilian , speaking of repartees , after these words , * longè venustiora omnia in respondendo quam in provocando ; that more wit 's required to retort a jest than to break one , adds this expression , accedit difficultati quod ejus rei nulla exercitatio est , nulli praeceptores . the same may be said of farce ; there are no rules to be prescribed for that sort of wit , no patterns to copy , 't is altogether the creature of imagination . and our english mec●●nas ( to whose judgment the muses willingly subscribe ) has declared that he approves genius and invention beyond the best performances of imitation . such is the farce-writers task . neither can i assume any thing to my self by the preference i have given to farce on account of the trapoline , which i only new modell'd : i pretend but to have improv'd what i would be proud to have invented . prologue written by a friend of the author 's upon the first drinking of islington water . gallants , who would have thought to have seen so many here , at such a rambling season of the year ; and , what 's more strange , all well and sound , to the eye ! pray gentlemen forgive me if i lie. i thought this season to have turn'd physician , but now i see small hopes in that condition : yet how if i should hire a black flower'd jump , and ply at islington , doctor to sadler's pump ? but first let me consult old erra pater , and see what he advises in the matter . let 's see — venus and mars , i find in aries are , in the ninth house — a dull dry bobbing year . the price of mutton , will run high , 't is thought , and vizard masks will fall to ten a groat . the moon 's in scorpio's house or capricorns , friends of the city govern well your horns : your wives will have a mighty trade this quarter , i find they 'l never leave their natural charter . for once take my advice as a true friend , when they a walk to the new wells pretend . if you 'll avoid your fate quick hasten after , they use more ways to cool , than drinking water . the persons . lavinio , the great duke of tuscany . brunetto , alias horatio , prince of savoy . barberino alberto . lords , councellors to lavinio . trappolin . a parasite , pimp , fidler , and buffoon , transform'd by magick , and usurper to lavinio . mago . a conjurer . captain of the guards . isabella . the dutchess . prudentia . sister to lavinio . flametta . trappolin's sweet-heart . women . puritan . embassadours . servants and attendants . the scene florence . a duke and no duke . act i. trappolin and flametta . trap. for ever thine flametta . fla. thanks my dear . but am not i a fond fool to believe you , when you have been from me these two long days ? i 'm sensible i love you but too well , for truly dear you are a naughty man. trap. pretty rogue ! how she fires my heart ! now could i cry like any roasted lobster . — what would old lord barberino give for one such kind word from her . but young and poor as she is , she is yet most constant and virtuous . — not that i care much for virtue neither . — alas my dear , i have been much opprest with business since i saw thee . my honour was at stake for procuring convenients for no less than five ministers of state. it'as been dead trading of late , but 't is a comfort to see times mend , now we are upon our matrimony . fla. let me conjure you leave these vitious courses , you must indeed , or we must never marry ; but you will be my convert and reform . trap. all in good time love ; it becomes me to see my betters go before me , when i do mend i shall certainly do it to purpose , i am so long about it . — in the mean time i give thee leave to be honest ; and i think that 's fair . — enter barberino and officers . whose here my rival lord ? barb. here is the villain with his handsome wench , and what ( afflicts me more ) an honest one ; i have these many weeks attempted her , but neither threats nor presents can prevail , she must be virtuous , or her poverty could ne'r withstand the offers i have made ; yet were she virtuous she would ne'r allow this wicked pandar so familiar with her ; this fidling parasite , buffoon and beggar : but on pretence of his enormities , i have procur'd this order from the duke for his immediate banishment from florence . most certainly , he bears some spell about him , and when he 's once remov'd , i shall succeed . trap. again my dear — my good lord barberino , your honours humble servant . — for this free promise , love , i ne'er enough can thank thee — your lordships to command — no fortune shall divide or change our wills. — your honours humble slave — what 's wealth or power where hearts consent like ours ? — your lordships vassal — when thou dost sigh , thy trappolin shall weep . — your honour always shall command me — and when thou sings't — fla. we are observ'd . learn to be honest , and i am thine for ever . [ exit . trap. i beg your lordships pardon . your lordship saw how i was employ'd . the poor wretch has taken a fancy to me , and your lordship knows i am a person of liberal education : that i bear not a breast of flint , nor was nurs't with the milk of hircanian bulls . now if your lordship has any thing to command me , here i stand ready , i 'l fido trappolino , your honours humble servant in all things possible and impossible . barb. you are a sawcy peremptory villain , and have too long escap'd the stroak of justice . off. nor is there such a coward in all tuscany , he 's able to corrupt an army . trap. fear not that seignior capitano , for i never mean to come into one. barb. so lewd a pandar ne're infected city , what wife or daughter of the noblest blood is safe , where such a hellish factor breaths . trap. and can your lordship on your honour tax me for want of diligence in my vocation ? barb. industrious hast thou been in villany , but florence must no longer be the scene ; this is your warrant , captain , from the duke , to drive this miscreant from our city gates . and when he 's seen again in tuscany . that minute forfeits his abandon'd life . thus has our duke decreed . trap. at whose request ? barb. on mine . trap. i am glad to find your honour has so much interest in his highness , and therefore make choice of your honour as the most proper person to sollicit my repeal . barb. audacious slave . trap. his highness knows travelling is chargeable , and besides my stomach is of no ordinary dimensions . barb. away with him if he dispute your orders , call for the parish whips to your assistance . trap , seignior officer you may take his lordships word when he says a thing . you hear his lordship hath private business with me , and desires your absence — for certain then his highness is upon treaty of marriage with the millanese ; your lordship and i , were always of opinion it would come to that . barb. such harden'd impudence was never seen . take him away . trap. my lord , my lord — such a primrose in a corner for your lordship , never blown upon my lord , — barb. force him along . trap. flametta my lord , what says your lordship to flametta ? there 's eyes and bubbies ! shall i bring her to your lordship — nay my lord , my lord. ( they bear him off ) [ exeunt . enter duke lavinio , alberto , guards , and attendants . lav. i 'm stung with adders and shall go distracted ; let me have breathing room . alb. your highness knows i ever have been watchful for your honour , and next to that i would preserve your quiet . lav. choice method , first blow poyson in my ears , and after that preach patience to me . alb. i fear my duty has been too officious ; dread sir , reflect where was the mighty harm in holding talk with him by open day ? i hope this fanning will incense the flame . [ aside . lav. what harm ? the very bawd to their desires could never have forehead to dispute the harm : a virgin and a princess seen to walk and hold discourse apart with one of race obscure , at least unknown , and no harm in 't ? 't were lewd , though they had only pray'd together : bring the audacious traytor to our presence . ( brunetto brought in here . enter brunetto . bru. dread sir , and twice my noble conquerour , [ kneeling . first in the field , in which your self alone could stop my conquest with resistless might , and since in gen'rous princely favours . lav. rise . i am not us'd to hearken after praise , or thanks for benefits by me conferr'd , for hitherto they always fell on merit , which can at best be call'd but paying debts . only in this acknowledgment , i hear ingratitude from it's own mouth condemn'd : this lord , the watchful argus of my honour , has charg'd you with a crime will stain the worth you shew'd in battel , and make valour blush . alb. i but inform'd your highness what i saw . bru. he 's prejudic'd , i kill'd his son in fight in service of my prince , as he of you . lav. i have a sister , dear to me as fame , our royal father's only care and comfort , ' my dukedom ( said he dying ) i bequeath thee , ' a slender present and thy due by birth ; ' but with it all the glory of our race , ' the spotless honour of the medices ; ' preserve the princely blood from base-born taint , ' but most secure it in the weaker part , ' and match prudentia with her peer in birth ; ' so shall i with my ancestors have rest . ' now sir , how far you have infring'd these orders , and brought a guilt unknown upon my head . i leave your self to judge : confess your crime , and torture shall revenge it ; smother it , and tortures shall extort it . bru. my charmed soul came panting to my lips to meet your charge , and beg forgiveness for its high presumption . but since you talk of tortures , i disdain the servile threats , and dare your utmost rage ; i love the princess , and have urg'd my passion , tho' i confess all hopeless of return . this with a soldiers freedom i avouch , who scorns to lodge that thought he dares not own : now sir , inflict what punishment you please . but let me warn you , that your vengeance reach my head , or neither of us can have rest . lav. chains , straw and darkness ! this is meer distraction ! to prison with him ; you that waited on him ( they lead off brunetto . be now his guard : thin diet and no light ; such usage may restore him — vengeance thus converts to charity . enter prudentia . prudentia , your entrance has prevented me a visit to your apartment , and half sav'd a chiding ; yet i must tell you , you have been to blame , but sister learn reserv'dness for the future , such as becomes your quality , and hold that place which nature and unspotted virtue has hitherto secur'd you in my heart . pru. most gracious sir , if e're my secret soul admits one thought that is not first submitted for approbation to your royal will , the curse of disobedience fall upon me ; as i in you have found a fathers love , i shall repay 't with more than filial duty . lav. vertue and honour ever guide thy way . thou' rt solitary , but shalt quickly enjoy a sweet companion in our royal bride . sforza the duke of millain , our old friend , who always in our wars hath sent us aid , here offers me the beauteous isabella his daughter for my wife , and instantly we will to millain on the expedition . that treatment once determin'd , wee 'l return to florence , where wee 'l celebrate our nuptials with that magnificence becomes our state. pru go and be happy sir in your fair choice , barb. that blessing 's only wanting to our state. lav. lord barberino and alberto , you whom i have always found most faithful to me , to you i do commit the government of tuscany 'till my return ; your power i leave unlimited , keep open ear to just complaints : allow and act no wrong ; look closely to our prisoner brunetto . alb. so may your wish't return be safe and speedy . lav. sister , your tears afflict us ; a few weeks shall grace our court with the fair millanese . lead on , 't is time we were upon our way . exeunt . scene . a desart . enter trappolin . trap. this banisht life is very doleful — what an inhumane duke was this to banish me , that never banisht him ? at every step i take , my poor flametta comes into my mind : she met me at the towns end , and would fain have come along with me , but that i told her she was not banisht and might not . — methinks this is a very melancholy place , i have not met a living body yet , but they had wings or four legs . let me bethink me where to betake my self , i would to rome , and turn friar , but that i have too much learning . a man of my occupation might once have singer'd the polux ryals in venice , but now the gentry go a more compedious way to work , and pimp for one another ; ' tquite spoils all trading . [ soft music in the air. ] what sound is this ? sure this place must needs be haunted : this with a good dinner were something , but as it is , it feels as if they were playing upon my small guts . [ storm and thunder . ] so now , my airy fidlers are fallen out amongst themselves ; i lik'd their first strein somewhat better . i would his highness would come and banish me from this place too . [ storm again , mago the conjurer rises . ] what 's here ? a decrepit old man ? now and i were sure he was of mortal race , i would set upon him in the name of famine — but if he should blow brimstone in my face there were a hopeful beginner baulk't . mag. son , thou art banish'd — i know all the matter . trap. 't is true old friend , i am banish'd — but how the devil came you to know it ? mag. why , the devil told me . trap. the devil he did ? — why 't was e'en his own doing , and so he could give you the best account of it . mag. be not dismay'd , preferment waits upon thee , i am so far from hurting thee , that from poor trappolin , i 'le make thee a prince . trap. look you there again , he knows my name too — for certain , this must be the devils kinsman — a prince ! poor trappolin thanks you father conjurer , but has no mind to domineer in hell : i know where your territories lye . mag. besotted wretch , thou dost not understand me ; i tell thee son , thou shalt return to florence — trap. and be hang'd there for my labour . mag. be honour'd there , exalted o're thy fellows . trap. on a gibbet . mag. there shalt thou shine in wealth , and roul in plenty , the treasures of the east shall court thy wearing ; the haughty nobles shall seem pigmies to thee ; all nature shall be ransack'd for thy board , and art be tir'd to find thee choice of banquets ; each day and hour shall yield new scenes of pleasure , and crowding beauties sue for thy embraces . trap. sure i have pimp'd for this old fellow formerly , he 's so kind — well , as you say , father conjurer ( on some private considerations that i have ) this may not do amiss : but how shall it be done ? mag. by eo , meo , and areo. trap. what they mean , i know not , but i am satisfi'd 't is by going to the devil for it , and so much for that matter . mag. here , seat thee in this chair . trap. to be shav'd father conjurer by one of your black valets ? i shall lather under their hands without a ball. mag. sit still , and see the wonders of my art ; eo , meo , and areo , rise . trap. what will become of this temporal body of mine ? — i am glu'd to my seat here . — but hear you good father , must this retinue of yours needs appear ? mag. of indispensible necessity . trap. then good father let them appear invisibly , i have no great inclination to their company : for to tell you the truth , i like yours none of the best , you are like the devil enough to serve my turn . mag. now by the most prevailing spell that e're amaz'd the powers of hell ; that mid-night witches ever try'd , while cynthia did her cresent hide ; while watchful dogs to bark forbore , the wolf to howl , the sea to roar ; while robbin do's his midnight chare , and plowmen sweat beneath the mare ; by all the terrours of my skill , ascend , ascend , and execute my will. [ lightning and thunder , spirits rise , and sink down with trappolin . now proud lavinio , little dost thou know this secret practice of my just revenge . [ after a dance the spirits rise again , with trappolin dressed exactly like the duke lavinio . trap. oh father what metal do you take me to be made of ? i am not us'd to travel under ground ? oh for a dram of the bottle of a quart or two ! call you this preferment ? marry he deserves it that goes to the devil for 't , but i see no preferment neither . mag. thou dost not know thy self , look in that mirrour . [ shews him a looking glass . ] trap. whose there , the duke ? — your highness is well return'd : your faithful servant yrappolin begs of your grace to call him home , and hang up this old wizard ; he 'l conjure your grace out of your wits else , and your subjects ou● of your dominions . — what 's he gone again ? he 's for his frisque under ground too . i have made way for him , i have work'd like any mole , and made holes you may thrust churches through . mag. 't is thou thy self that represents the duke ; what in that glass thou saw'st is but thy picture . trap. if that be my picture i am the picture of the duke . mag. and shalt be taken for the duke himself . trap. the dress is just like him , and for ought i know , it is dress that makes a duke . — let me see , what must i say now ? my highness is your highness's humble servant . — this conjurer is a rare fellow . mag. as thou didst here seem to thy self . so shalt thou to the world appear the perfect duke : to florence then and take thy state upon thee . trap. trust me for duking of it : i long to be at it . i know not why every man should not be duke in his turn — father conjurer , time is precious with us great persons : however , i should be glad to see you at court. it may be the better for you , for as i take it , we shall have some change of ministers , and so farewel . mag. stay son , take this inchanted powder with thee , preserve it carefully , for at thy greatest need 't will give thee old : when any foe assaults , cast but this magick powder in his face , and thou shalt see most wonderful effects . trap. good , now i 'm satisfi'd i am the duke which some shall rue : good father , fare you well . eo , meo , and areo — pass . [ exit . conju . vanishes . scene . the palace . barberino and flametta . flam. i do beseech your honour to repeal my only joy , my banisht trappolin ; take pity on a helpless virgins tears , abandon'd to distress — you must — you will — for as our sov'raign left his power with you he left his mercies too . barb. her tears inflame me : and were this dukedom which i hold in trust my due by birth , i 'd give it in exchange for this sweet innocence , this artless beauty . indeed ( my pretty one ) you wrong your charms ; nay i must say , you wrong your virtue too by this concern , for an abandon'd slave . devoted to all crimes ; forget and scorn him . fla. i gave my heart before i knew his vices but it will be my triumph to reclaim him , i do beseech your honour to call him home . barb. and what return may i expect for this ▪ fla. goodness has always been it 's own reward ; but to convince you that your courtesie shall not be wholly thrown away upon me , by day or night you shall command — barb. what ? fla. my prayers . barb. a very hopeful recompence ; what statesman ever yet took prayers for pay ? deluded maid , thou dost not know thy worth , this beauty must not be a beggars prize , design'd by nature for a nobler sphere . what can this minion whose repeal you seek perform for thee what can a peasant do to deck thy youth , or to inrich thy age ? come be advis'd , here 's gold and jewels for thee , the pride , the pomp of nature shall be thine : make all your study how to please your self , fortune shall wait to see your wish perform'd . fla. are you our prince , my lord ? barb. what means that question ? fla. if you were , the prince should be deny'd . barb. then much more i. why do i trifle thus ? i am no prince , yet will not be deny'd ; — who waits without ? fla. heaven shield me ! you intend no violence . barb. what i intend is love ; if you refuse , you make the rape , that 's all : who waits i say ? enter servant . fla. help heaven ! serv. my lord , my lord most unexpected news ! barb. come near and bear this peevish girl to my apartment , shee 'l thank me for the force . serv. the duke , my lord , his highness . barb. take her slave . serv. his highness is return'd from millain . barb. ha! the duke return'd from millain ? thou art mad . serv. just now arriv'd my lord , and coming hither . barb. here ! dispose of her as i commanded thee , 'till i find out the meaning of this dream . ha! that 's his voice — and here he comes in person : let her go slave . — away dear maid , away . [ puts her out . enter trappolin with his spirits invisible . alberto from the other side . barb. great sir , upon our knees we welcome your return , trap. and upon our legs we take it : — hem ! hem ! [ he struts about . alb. your highness comes unlook't for , we did not expect this happy time so soon by fourteen days . barb. so please : your grace , where is our dutchess ? trap. your dutchess will not come 'till the gods know when ; for my part i know nothing of the matter . i left my train behind me and came unlookt for , to see how you governed in my absence , which i fear you have done scurvily enough . alb. how wild he talks ! trap. eo , meo , and areo , well stuck to me i'faith — well lords , you never pity my misfortunes ; i have been robb'd in my journey , had my horse taken from me , and if it had not been for father conjurer . barb. how sir ? trap. i say , if i had not been a conjurer , i had ne're got home in my royal skin ; — well stuck there again , boys , well stuck . alb. what means your highness ? trap. our highness means to take exact account of affairs ; i left an honest fellow here , call'd trappolin . what 's become of him ? barb. your highness gave me charge to banish him . trap. why there 's the pillar of our state gone . you took him for buffoon , but i found him one of the best politicians in christendom ; other countries will value him , and for ought i know , he 's a prince by this time — eo , meo , and areo true lads still . alb. i am amaz'd ! trap. hear me , you lord barb. i love dispatch in affairs , tell me therefore quickly what you take to be the duty of a statesman ? barb. to study first his royal masters profit , and next to that his pleasure ; to pursue no sinister design of private gain ; nor pillage from the crown to raise his heirs , his base-born brood in pomp above the race of old descended worth ; to know desert , and turn the princes favour on his friends ; and keep an open ear to just complaints . trap. why there ' t is . i have travel'd , and can tell you what a statesman should be . i will have him ten times prouder than his master ; i , and ten times richer too . to know none of his old friends , when he is once in office ; to inform himself who has merit , that he may know whom to do nothing for ; to make sollicitors wait seven years to no purpose , and to bounce thr'o a whole regiment of 'em , like a souldier through the gantlet . alb. this is meer frenzy . trap. and there is another good friend of mine , brunetto , where is he ? alb. dread sir , you highness knows that for his presumption in courting of your sister , you confin'd him . trap. nothing but lying in this world ! i confine him : 't is well known i never had a sister in my life . barb. no sister , sir ? trap. no , iack sawce , none that 's worth imprisoning a friend for ; honest brunetto i 'le be with thee in the twinkling of a — eo , meo , and areo , fit fast ; pass . [ exit . alb. he cannot counterfeit so much . barb. i know not ; but if he do not , he is surely mad . alb. the heav'ns be merciful ! what wild fantastick things he do's ? and talks of eo , meo , and areo ; names unheard of in the court before . barb. some millain counts i warrant you . this kindness to brunetto is most strange . alb. let 's after him , and wait his better leisure . [ exeunt . scene . a prison . re-enter trappolin . trap. what a dismal place is here ? i 'le have it carry'd bodily out of my dukedom . alass poor brunetto , what has he done to be shut up here ? — oh here he comes ! enter brunetto . bru. what can the duke design by coming hither ? for certain , it must be to see me strangled : well let him execute his tyrant will , for death itself were mercy to this dungeon , great prince . trap. he makes a very low leg , but i scorn to be out done in courtesie . bru. what can this cruel mockery intend ? your highness does forget your self extreamly i am your prisoner . trap. my best friend brunetto . bru. i am astonish't ! sir , upon my knees i do congratulate your safe return . trap. and upon my knees i do embrace thee , honest brunetto . bru. i know not what to think or speak . i do beseech your highness rise . trap. not without thee : therefore up i say ; away with complements , i cannot abide them . bru. you honour me above expression . trap. a fig for honour , i love thee man ; sirrah jayler , bring chairs hither presently . bru. your highness . — trap. away with highness , i say , away with it ; call me lavin , plain medicos . bru. sure i am awake , this is no dream ? trap. we will live merrily together , i'saith we will ! come sirrah what a while have you been bringing these chairs ? i have known a pimp made a prince in less time . brunetto sit thee down , sit down i say . bru. i will attend your highness on my knees . trap. why , i am not thy father , am i ? sit thee here . bru. on the right hand — that must not be . trap. why an'thou wilt have it there , there let it be — but hold , i am mistaken , that is on the left hand ; that must not be : dost thou think i have no manners in me . [ they remove their chairs several times . ] bru. there is no remedy , i must obey . trap. very well , — what now art thou afraid of me ? marry an'thou draws't back , i 'le draw back too : therefore sit still i say , and let us talk . bru. great sir , i am unworthy of these honours . your noblest florentines would be most proud to be thus grac't . trap. i love not these set speeches . let us talk as if we were in a tavern together . — now , i prithee man , how cams't thou into this damn'd dungeon ? bru. i , now the storm comes , — pardon me dread soveraign . trap. what , on thy knees again ? dost take me for mahomet ? as well as i can pardon thee , i do pardon thee whatever it be , tho' thou hast kill'd every body . bru. wherefore this torture sir , before my death , 't is tyranny ; your highness knows my crime was in aspiring to your royal sister . trap. wast thou laid up for that : alas for thee ! hast marry'd her ? bru. beseech your grace . trap. well , an'thou hast not , i would thou hads't ; get her consent , and here i give thee mine . so come along with me to dinner . bru. your highness shall command me to my death . trap. i say , thou shalt have her , and if i had two sisters thou shoulds't have them both — who waits there ? [ barberino , alberto , attendants enter . ] now my good lords , you see this apartment , and you thought sit to have brunetto shut up here for making love to my sister . alb. it was your highness judgment and command . trap. jayler , take me these two coxcombly lords , and keep them under lock : they are never well but when they are doing mischief . in my conscience and soul , here is such incumbrance of perplexity , that i protest — come along friend . [ exit . with brunetto . barb. why , this is meer distraction . alb. we must endure it . [ they go in . act ii. scene . the palace . enter trappolin . trap. this dukes life is very pleasant ! did ever any man come to preferment upon lighter terms , i am made a prince ; and father conjurer goes to the devil for 't . enter flametta . whose here my pretty little rogue ? i mar'l what makes her at court , tho' i fear this affair will cost lord barberino a castration . fla. here is the duke alone , whom i so long have sought for , to petition for repeal of my dear trappolin : — i do beseech your grace take pity on a miserable maid bereav'd of all her joys . trap. all her joys , that 's me ! fla. i humbly beg poor banish't trappolin may be recall'd . trap. dear honeysuckle , she even makes me weep . fla. great sir , that you have noble thoughts . trap. i have so . fla. the world is witness , and by consequence a heart full of commiseration . trap. 't is so ; what a torment is this now , that i must counterfeit with her ? fair maiden rise ; what is your name ? fla. flametta . trap. thou shal't fare the better for that : — trouble not your self , your trappolin shall be recall'd ; and i would i were sacrific'd , if i do not love him as well as i do my self . — who comes yonder ? the princess . enter prudentia . fla. this is most gracious . — trap. some of my roguy lords talk't of hanging him , if er'e he come home again ; but upon my honour i swear it , that if they hang him , they shall hang me ; and so set thy heart at rest . fla. heav'n bless your highness . [ exit . trap. if this be the princess , i 'le be sworn brunetto was in the right of it . pru. ten thousand welcomes , sir : i never found such tedious hours since you left the court. trap. fair lady , come hither — you are our sister you 'l say . prud. i hope my conduct sir , has ne'er giv'n cause for you to doubt of my relation to you : i am your sister sir , and servant . trap. i am sorry for 't . prud. i do beseech your highness , on what ground ? trap. for a carnal reason , that shall be nameless . but since we are brother and sister , we must content our selves as well as we can . prud. i am surpriz'd at this : i heard indeed his language and deportment was much alter'd ; — sir , i am glad to see you safe return'd , but should have been more joyful , had you brought your dutchess with you . trap. she 'l come soon enough , never fear it : but sister , to our affair in hand ( for i am vengeance hungry . ) at my return here i found brunetto in goal , and it appear'd to be for love of you : tell me sister , can you fancy him ? prud. your will , sir , is the square of all my actions ; i have no aversion for brunetto's passion : besides , his quality , tho' yet conceal'd , is worthy of your blood , he is a prince ; his name horatio , and the second son to savoy's duke . trap. my friend a prince ; besworn i no more thought of seeing him a prince than my self : sister , you shall have my consent to marry him , and so there 's an end . [ a confused noise without . ] what 's there to do ? enter officer . off. dread sir , this is the day and hour , in which your highness is wont to determine causes in your chair of state here . and accordingly here are several persons come to appeal to your highness for justice . trap. what! justice before i have dined ? i tell you , it is a dangerous thing : i had like to have been hang'd once my self , because the judge was fasting ; — well , let them enter . [ he takes the chair of state. ] well , here sits the government : in the first place i would have the court take notice , that in affairs of state , i think that words are not to be multiply'd , and i think so i shall not do so ; and if i do not , no body else must : so that in this assembly , he that speaks little , will speak better than he that talks much ; and he that says nothing , better than they both . [ the people being brought in , a woman with her daughter stand forth . ] wom. i do beseech your highness to do me justice ; i have liv'd long with fame amongst my neighbours ; my husband too bore office in the parish 'till he was kill'd in fighting for your highness , and left me but this dear and only daughter , whom this old sinner has debauch'd , and spoil'd her fortune . trap. debauch'd ? that is to say , lay with her ? and got her maidenhead . wom. your highness has a most discerning judgment . trap. and how did he do this ? lawfully by the help of a pimp , or without it ? wom. o most unlawfully ! for sir , he has a wife and son too of his own inches . trap. a son of this own inches ; good , then the decision of this cause is easie : do you hear woman , we will have that son debauch'd , you shall get that son's maidenhead , and spoil his fortune . wom. i do beseech your grace , what ? — trap. no replying after sentence . — whose cause is next . [ another woman stands forth . ] wom. great duke of tuscany , vouchsafe to hear me : i am a poor and helpless widow , one that had no comfort left me but my child , whom this vile minion whipp the coach-man here being drunk , drove over him and left him dead . i do beseech your highness , make my case your own , and think what sad distress — trap. hold , hold , i will have no flourishing — this cause requires some half a minutes consideration more than the former : whipp you say , being drunk drove over your child and kill'd him : why look you woman , drink will make a coach man a prince , and vice versâ by the rule of proportion , a prince a coachman , so that this may be my own case another time ; however , that shall make no obstruction of justice : — therefore whipp shall lye with you , and be suspended from driving , till he has got you another child . — wom. so please your grace , this is still worse . trap. no replying after sentence . — whose next ? [ a puritan stands forth . ] pur. so please your temporal authority . trap. how now ! my mortifi'd brother of geneva , what carnal controversie are you ingaged in ? pur. verily , there is nothing carnal in my cause : i have sustained violence , much violence , and must have much compensation from the ungodly . trap. what is your grievance ? pur. i will pour it forth in the words of sincerity . trap. i care not a farthing for sincerity , let me have it in brevity . pur. this person here is by occupation a mason or tiler , as the language of the world termeth it ; whilest therefore i stood contemplating a new mansion that i had prepared unto my self at the same time that this person occupied his vocation aloft thereon , or rather should have occupied ; such was his wicked negligence , that he fell from the top of the building most unconscionably upon my outward man , even with all his carnal weight , and almost bruised me unto the death , i being clad in thin array ( through the immoderate heat of the season , ) namely , five cassocks or coats , seven cloaks , and one dozen of quilted caps . trap. believe me sirs , a most important matter ! if such enormities go unpunish'd , what subject can be safe ? why , if any perverse fellow take a pique against his neighbour , it is but getting up or or stories high , and so fall down upon him as he stands thinking no harm in the street : i do therefore decree , that this tiler shall stand below , while you get upon the battlements of the house , and fall down upon him . pur. this is still most monstrous . trap. as for petty causes , let them wait till we have dined — eo , meo , and areo ! — come along sister . [ exeunt . enter duke lavinio , isabella the dutchess , ladies , and attendants . lav. my hearts best treasure , charming isabella ; you are most welcome to the court of florence , and when i lose the sense of such a blessing ; and cease to make your happiness my study , let me become a tributary lord , and hold my birth-right at anothers will. isab. dread sir , i know and prize my happiness : blest doubly in your fortunes and your love. lav. my absence from affairs so long , requires my close attendance now for some few hours ; then i 'le return to settle loves account , with flaming heart at beauties altar bow , and pay my vows with double adoration . mean while , our princess and her train once more shall welcome you to florence : attend the dutchess in . [ ex. all but lavinio and guards . the face of things seems alter'd since i went ; some strange fantastick humour has possest in general the citizens of florence . as yet i have met with none , but who amaze me ; and speak of matters done by me , as if i had been here before my dutchess came . call barberino and alberto to me ; they 'l soon resolve — [ barberino and alberto appear through the grates . ] barb. most gracious sir , pitty your subjects , and most faithful servants . lav. confusion ! are my eyes and ears both charm'd ? our deputies whom we did leave in trust of our whole power , chain'd , shackl'd , and in jayl ! set them at large , and in my presence now before this minute can expire , or i shall go distracted ' ere i know the cause . sure some ill spirit has possest my subjects minds when i was gone ; d' ye know me ? barb. the duke of florence our most gracious master . lav. are not you call'd barberino , you alberto , my prudent faithful counsellours to whom i left the government of tuscany ? alb. we are your loyal subjects , tho' your prisoners . lav. how came you so ? barb. great sir , your self knows well ▪ 't was only for obeying your commands . lav. a plot , a general plot upon my wits ; tell me the meaning , jest not with my rage , i charge you do not , therefore speak sense to me ; or on your naked hearts i 'le read the riddle . alb. alas ! what shall we say ? great sir , you know that none except your royal self could do it , and to your sacreed justice we appeal how far we have deserv'd . lav. perdition ! furies where will this end ? gods ! i shall burst with choler . be merciful good heav'n , and give me temper . alb. amen good heaven : i fear the fatal want . lav. some frenzie has on the poor wretches seiz'd , or else they durst not thus to tempt my fury . indeed i was to blame in threatning you . who so much need my pity : my good lords , i do beseech you to collect your wits , and tell me gently how you came in prison . barb. by the prosperity of tuskany , your highness left us there . lav. when did i so ? alb. the self same time you went in person thither to free brunetto . lav. the self same time that i went thither to free brunetto : death , whom ? what brunetto ? barb. your prisoner taken in the mantuan wars . lav. the more i search , the more i am confounded , quite lost within a labyrinth of wonders . alb. gods ! how he speaks , as if all we were mad , and he had done nothing . lav. i will yet have patience : tell me my lords , if you are very sure that you are well and masters of your sense . barb. if e're your highness knew us so we are . lav. yet give me leave to think what i do know ; i can sustain no more . — come hither captain . these lords affirm , that i put them in prison , how say you to 't ? capt. great sir , your highness did , you saw them left in custody that minute you freed brunetto . lav. he 's in the same tale : tho' they are all alike depriv'd of sense , yet do they all agree in what they say ; but why , good captain , i will reason't with you , should i desire brunetto's liberty ? would it not be a foul dishonour think you to the great family of medices , to cast away our sister upon one we neither yet know whom , nor what he is : i pray you therefore captain , if you have any small fragment of your wits remaining reply accordingly . capt. sir , it is certain , that if your highness should bestow your sister , on such a one as you are pleas'd to mention , the conduct would surprize the world ; but sir , i heard your self , distinctly i did hear you , to call brunetto , prince horatio , the second son to the duke of savoy . lav. vengeance ! my wonder is so great , that i want words wherewith to give it vent : i see that all my subjects being distracted , think me mad . capt. nay more , your highness gave the princess charge that she prepar'd herself , for in two days you 'd see her marry'd to the prince horatio . lav. enough ! yet gods i 'le hold my reason yet florence i left a most ingenious city , but find it wofully at my return possest with strange unheard of lunacy . captain , i swear to you by my dukedom , i 'd rather send for that brunetto's head , than such a message as you say i did . capt. beseech your highness look , let your own eyes convince you of the truth of what i said . enter brunetto and prudentia . bru. divine prudentia , all thy sexes charms in thee are centred , and from that fair union receive a fresh unspeakable addition ; your brother 's good ev'n to a miracle , and gave me thraldom , but to raise my joy. prud. indeed it speaks a noble nature in him to crown desert , though in an enemy . and now i must confess without a blush , you long have been my hearts dear secret choice , but never durst give ear to your addresses 'till by my brothers free consent allow'd . bru. said you consent ? alass ! that name falls short of his transcendent grace : he 's earnest for us , urges and drives us to the bow'r of joy. lav. furies and scorpions drive you , whirlwinds part you . prud. my royal brother . lav. damn'd infernal creature ! more false than helen , and the greater plague . bru. i did suspect at first 't was his distraction that favour'd my aspiring hopes , and now i fear 't has chang'd his mind to my undoing . prud. wherein dear sir , have i deserv'd this usage ? was 't not your order ? lav. sulphur choak thy voice : i 'le spend no breath upon a thing so vile . you sir , my new made favourite , come near and tell me , are you son to savoy's duke ? bru. your highness knows i am his second . lav. i know you are his second ? blood and fire . this frenzy has feiz'd him too . then know sir , were you savoy's eldest son , my sister once deserv'd a better match ; and she shall rather in a monastery sigh out a weary life without devotion , than be your wife . — to prison with the boaster 'till savoy fetch him thence . [ the guards hurry him off . ] barb. this relishes of reason . alb. heav'n preserve this temper , and restore the state of florence . lav. come lords , and lend your best assistance to me , sleep shall not close my eyes , nor food refresh me , 'till we have search't this mischief to the core ; wee 'l stop at no extreams of blood or torture , baulk no rough means that may our peace secure ; such desp'rate ill 's , must have as desp'rate cure. [ exeunt . manet prudentia . prud. unhappy florence ! more unhappy i to see a prince and brother thus decay'd , bereav'd of reason , and made less than man ! my dear horatio , grieve not at this usage , but rather pity thy oppressors fate . enter trappolin . trap. whose here ? the princess in tears ? dear sister , how dost thou do ? come , i know your grievance , and out of my natural affection have taken care for you ; you marry the prince horatio this night . prud. one minute then has chang'd his sullen humour ! why then sir , have you made him a close prisoner ? trap. a prisoner say you ? — run guards and fetch him to our presence . — do not so much abuse your self dear sister , to think i would confine my friend to prison . prud. you did it sir this minute , he 's scarce there yet . trap. madam sister , if i did , it was in my drink , and certainly i had some politick reason for it , which i have now forgot . — some more wine slave to clear my understanding . [ brunetto brought in here . ] bru. how soon his mind is chang'd ? the heaven's be prais'd . trap. dear prince horatio an' you do not forgive my locking you in prison , i shall never be merry again , and so here is to you dear prince horatio . bru. upon my knees i pay my humblest thanks . trap. come , come , take her along man , take her along , i know lovers would be private , and to agree the rest among your selves . [ brunetto leads off prudentia . [ barberino and alberto passing over the stage ] trap. who 's yonder ? my lords banishers at large agen ? will the government never be able to drink in quiet for ' em ? seize these traytors there , and carry them to prison . and do you hear sirrah , it shall be treason for any body to let them out . off. unless by order from your highness . trap. orders from my highness ? i tell you rascal , it shall be treason to let them out , tho' i command it my self . away with them , go . enter isabella . what bona roba have we hear now ? isab. my dearest lord. trap. for her dress and beauty , she may be a dutchess , who are you madam ? isab. do you not know me sir ? trap. it seems she is none of the wisest , tho' . isab. how am i alter'd since i came from millain ? trap. oh! 't is the dutchess : you are our wife , you 'l say ? isab. sir : trap. i am glad of it i promise you ; come kiss then incontnently . isab. what mean you sir , you are merrily dispos'd . trap. madam dutchess , i am somewhat jovial indeed , i have been drinking freely , and so kiss me again . isab. my lord. trap. you are a handsome woman i promise you , and tell me madam dutchess , am not i a proper handsome fellow ? isab. sir , do not jest with me , you know you are the man whom i esteem above the world. trap. what a winning look was there too ? — to bed my dear , to bed. — i 'le but take 'tother flask , to put state affairs out of my head , and then — ah! ha ! ha ! [ exeunt . act iii. enter lavinio . lav. you glorious planets that do nightly guide the giddy ships upon the ocean waves , if some of your malignant influences have rais'd this madness in my subjects minds , let some of your more gentle aspects now restore them to their sense . [ barberino and alberto appear in prison . ] i am astonish'd , heaven's ! what do i see ? my lords imprison'd ? free them instantly without reply , for should you answer me , i know you 'l say i did it , and distract me . capt. his ill fit 's off again . lav. i do not think that since the infancy and first creation of the world , a madness pestiferous and equal unto this was ever known , all-gracious heav'n reveal the fatal cause , or lay our cities waste . barb. most gracious soveraign , how have we deserv'd thus to be made the scorn of vulgar eyes ? lav. yet send me patience heav'n ! i wonder lords , that you of all my subjects , whom i have known to bear the noblest judgments , should thus distract your selves in your wild fits : you run to prison of your own accord , and say , i sent you . alb. most royal , sir , we grieve to see these days ; you did command us thither , lav. i ? barb. your highness self . lav. you are both deceived , to act such idle errors , and lay the blame on me . capt. so please your grace , you did again commit 'em , that very hour in which you set them free . lav. i commit them ? i tell you all with sorrow , witness heav'n how deep that sorrow is ! you are all mad therefore in this small interval of sense , betake you with one voice to your devotion , and pray the incens'd gods to be appeas'd and keep you from relapse . both. heav'n bless your highness . [ ex. all but lavinio . lav. plague , famine , war , the ruinous instruments wherewith incensed deities do punish poor mankind for mis-deeds , had they all fall'n upon this city , it had been a thing to be lamented , but not wonder'd at . enter isabella . isab. my lord , i have this hour expected you . lav. o , my dear isabella , i have brought thee from millain flourishing with all delights , into a city full of men distracted . isab. he is not sober yet : go in and sleep sir. you do not well my lord , thus to betray your weakness to the publick view . lav. oh , heavens ! my wife and all . isab. what say you sir ? lav. my isabella , thou hast cause to curse me for bringing thee into a place infected ; the air is poyson'd , and i wonder now how i have scap'd so long . isab. i pray go sleep . lav. why isabella ? isab. you have drunk too much . lav. madness unmatch'd ! she 's farther gone than any of the rest . dear isabella retire into thy chamber ; compose thy thoughts a while , and i 'le come to thee , there we 'l beseech the angry gods together , that they would yet remove this heavy ill. [ ex. isab. enter brunetto and prudentia . what do i see ? brunetto unconfin'd ; i am astonish'd how he came at large ; whom i would have to lie in prison , walk in freedom , and whom i would have in freedom , run of themselves to prison . — hell ! they kiss , embrace before my eyes ! my guards there . bru. ha! he 's chang'd again . prud. my noble brother . lav. off. hadst thou thy reason , and shouldst offer this , i 'd study tortures for thee ; as thou art , i pity thy misfortunes . — seize your prisoner : next time i see him free , your head is forfeit . prud. wonders on wonders , i beseech you sir by all the bonds of nature , for what cause ? lavin . it is vain to answer frantick people . [ exeunt . scene draws , and shews trappolin asleep , flasks of wine by him . trap. what a princely nap have i taken ! — but as i remember i was to have gone to my dutchess , or dreamt so . — give me a bumper . [ barberino and alberto enter . ] my lords at large again ? barb. long live your highness . trap. amen . alb. and happily . trap. amen for that too — but my small friends how came you hither ? i thought you had been under lock and key . barb. alass ! he is relaps'd as bad as ever . trap. sirrah captain , why kept you not these vermine up till i bid you let them out ? capt. so please your grace i did . trap. will you lie rascal to my princely face ? [ he throws wine in his face . capt. gods ! will this humor never leave him ? barb. we must in again . trap. to kennel with them , walk my good lords banishers ▪ your honours know the way . along with them . trugh ! trugh ! alb. there is no remedy . [ they are carried off . trap. thus far i take it , we have kept the government in good order ; now for my dutchess , lead to her graces apartment . [ officer enters . ] off. ambassadours from savoy desire admittance . trap. what are their names ? off. sir , i presum'd not to enquire . trap. then what 's their business ? off. that sir were worse presumption . trap. thou insolent varlet , what a vulgar fellow dost thou take me for , to speak with strangers before i know their business ? — well sirrah , set a bumper by our chair of state , and bring them to our presence . off. what can this mean ? trap. suppose now , that those should be spies upon our government , in the shape of ambassadours : loving subjects , if that be their business , i shall be frank and tell them , they have the wrong sow by the ear. for as the ancients were wont to say , ( those ancients were a wise nation ) it was with them a principle maxime , some wiser than some : trust me for politicks , i'faith . enter ambassadours . . emb. dread sir , by us the duke of savoy sends to greet your nuptials with the millanese , wishing all happiness to great lavinio . trap. 't is civilly done , by my troth , and there is no love lost , i can assure him . . emb. is this the so much fam'd lavinio , renown'd for wisdom and severity . trap. i say , it shews his good nature as well as his breeding , and so here 's his good health . . emb. this is most strange . trap. so much for ceremony , now to our business : for what can more befit a prince than business , which always is best done propriâ personâ : i therefore spice my mornings draught my self . . emb. i am astonish'd . trap. the next prime quality is for a prince well to inform him of neighbouring courts , what customs and diversions are in use ; but chiefly by what politicks they steer , what method in affairs of state they take , whereby to square his own concerns at home : i therefore ask , what wine you have in savoy ? . emb. this is gross mockery . . emb. or utter frenzy . we come not sir to trifle , and 't is time we now declare the order of our message : our royal master is at last informed , his only brother , and his dukedoms heir , lyes here confin'd in close imprisonment ; release him instantly , and we are friends : refuse us ; and our sole reply is war. trap. if you bring nothing but war , e'en carry it back with you again : we can drink and quarrel fast enough amongst our selves ; — but heark you , for the sake of some dukes that shall be nameless , before i treat with your master , i must know by what title he holds . . emb. by native and legitimate claim . trap. that is as much as to say , i am an usurper . . emb. by most unquestion'd and immediate right from heav'n . trap. as who should say , my preferment came from the devil . . emb. we ask your final answer , peace or war. trap. my final answer is , to tell no man my pleasure , till i know it my self . . emb. let us declare for arms then , and away . . emb. it cannot be with this fantastick tale ; to bring this strange account , will speak us mad , and with our prince ne'er gain the least belief . trap. look you sirs , your master and i , can agree to fall out at our leisure ; but if he pretend to love the prince horatio better than i do , he is a very uncivil person , and so i shall tell him when i next light into his company . . emb. heaven's ! this is still more strange . trap. will he fight for him ? . emb. he 'l conquer for him , florence shall confess it . trap. then i have one familiar question more , will he pimp for him ? . emb. prodigious ! trap. not pimp for him ? let him pretend no further ; if he ne'er pimp'd for him , his claim is done . will he give him his sister ? . emb. that were foul incest ; and besides , he has none . trap. why no more have i , nor ever had in my life , and yet i have given him mine . — but as for your princess , let her set her heart at rest ; for if my friend must not have her , i will marry her my self . . emb. what , while your millanese is living ? trap. that i confess i had forgot , care for the state has turn'd my brain : — but here is to our better understanding . [ drinks . . emb. this is beyond all sufferance , gross affront ; and florence shall in blood lament the folly. trap. in the name of mars , then let your master know , i care not , when we meet at the head of our army — to crack a bottle . [ exeunt severally . enter lavinio hastily . lav. i 've found , i 've found at last the fatal riddle : it must be so , the gods inspire the thought , call barberino and alberto to me . serv. from prison sir ? lav. from prison slave , what mean'st thou ? serv. your highness but this minute sent them thither ; nor will your officer at my request release them , 't was so strict a charge you gave . lav. here take my signet for a token : bid them attend me instantly in my apartment . it must , it must be so , some spiteful fiend permitted by the heav'ns assumes my shape : and what i do , undoes ; no other cause remains in nature for these strange effects ; pity me gods , your lab'ring minister ; remove this plague , and save the state of florence . [ exit . enter trappolin , as going to the dutchesse 's bed-chamber . trap. the next is the dutchesse's bed-chamber . — and yonder she is fast asleep . — what a neck and breast is there ? — now do i reckon that my friend brunetto and i shall encounter much about a time . i ought to have seen him a bed first , but my natural affection to my dutchess prevail'd above my manners . re-enter servant . serv. here is your ring again sir , trap. what ring ? serv. your signet sir , which you sent me with , i have according to your order releas'd the lords . trap. give it me : now , go slave commend me to brunetto , and bid him start fair . serv. from prison sir ? trap. prom prison say you ? — here take my signet with you again , and release him : and say , i charge him on his allegiance to go to bed to the princess immediately ; make all fast without there ; i can find the way to her grace by my self : away . [ ex. servants , &c. [ as he is going in , he meets lavinio entring . ] lav. 't is strange they come not yet ; — what do i see ? this is the hellish phantasm that has bred all this confusion in our court ; good gods how he resembles me ! that i my self would almost take him for my self : what art thou ? trap. i am lavinio duke of tuscany . lav. he speaks too , and usurps my name . if thou art a fiend , the gracious heav'ns be kind , and put a period to thy wild proceedings ; but if thou art a witch , i 'le have thee burnt . trap. burnt ? traytor , burn your lawful duke ! lav. i 'le try if thou hast substance , struggle not , for thou mayst sooner break from hercules : i 'le have thee ●●ead from thy enchanted skin , in which thou represents my person . trap. i say , beware of treason ; flea off my skin ? lav. guards , guards , guards . trap. guards , guards . lav. a traytor , a traytor . trap. a traytor , a traytor . [ as they strive and call together , trappolin flings the enchanted powder in his face , lav. quits his hold . there 's some of father conjurer's powder for you ; what it will do for me i know not , but there ' t is . lav. the sorcerer has blinded me . trap. ay , so would powder of post for the present ; but if this be all the wonderful effects , i 'le save my skin while i may . [ he runs off . lav. stop , stop the traytor , help ? guards , guards ! [ runs after him . enter isabella in her night-gown . isab. sure i did hear the duke my husbands voice as in distress , and calling out for help ; or did i dream ? it must be more than so : nay , as i thought , i saw two figures of him one coursing of the other : — the noise continues still — who waits ? all deaf ? [ rings a bell . what , no attendance here ? what can this mean ? this is the private passage to the princesse's chamber . i 'le see if all be as silent there . [ exit . re-enter trappolin . trap. what will become of me ? i shall never have the heart to swagger it out with him : the guards are coming too : — oh rare powder ! 'thas done the work i'faith . re-enter lavinio , transform'd into the likeness of trappolin . lav. i have thee , and will hold thee , wert thou proteus . enter captain and guards . trap. help subjects , help your duke 's assaulted . capt. audacious slave . lav. death and furies . capt. what trappolin return'd : off. he is distracted sure . trap. no , no , trappolin was too honest to assault his natural prince , this is some villain transform'd by magick to his likeness , and i will have him flea'd out of his enchanted skin . lav. blood and vengeance . trap. look to him carefully , till you have our further orders : now once more for my dutchess . [ exit . lav. unhand me slaves , i am the duke your soveraign . all. ha! ha ! ha ! lav. that villain that went out , a damn'd imposter . off. foul treason , stop his mouth . capt. alass ▪ he is lunatick . lav. why did you let th'impostor devil scape ? capt. compose thy self poor trappolin . lav. what mean the slaves by trappolin ? enter servant . sir , are you come ? where is my ring ? serv. trappolin come home ? and as great a knave , it seems , as ever : he has heard the duke sent me with his ring , and this impudent rogue thinks to get it . lav. the slaves are now gone mad another way . they take the counterfeit for their true prince , and me it seem for one i do not know . sure some amongst my subjects yet will know me , then slaves , your heads shall answer for this crim● . enter flametta . fla. i am or'ejoy'd . you are welcome home my dear ; i fear'd alass , i ne're should see you more : indeed my dear , you are beholden to me ; 't was i that won the duke for your repeal . lav. blood and fire ! fla. this is unkind to treat me with such coldness ▪ after so long an absence ; have you then forgot my truth and constancy ? lav. off strumpet . fla. dost thou reward me thus for all the pains i took for thy return to florence ? lav. leave me , or i will spurn thee from me . fla. o faithless men ! women by me take heed how you give credit to the perjur'd sex. have i all thy long banishment been true , refus'd lord barberino with his gifts ; and am i slighted thus ? lav. what means the harlot ? heav'n , earth , and hell , have all conspir'd together , to load me with a crime unknown before . enter barberino and alberto . my lords , you never came in better season . for never was your prince so much distres't ; my very guards deny me for their master , and take a wizard for the duke of florence . barb. what means the vagabond , how came he home ? i hope the duke will take care to reward him . say captain , which way is our royal master ? lav. nay then , destruction is turned loose upon me . fla. alas , he is mad ! distracted with his banishment . enter isabella and prudentia . pru. the vision you relate is wonderful , and all these strange disorders in the court must needs proceed from some prodigious cause . lav. that is the princesse's voice ; prudentia , sister , pity your brother , speak to these mad subjects that do not know their prince . pru. what fellow 's this ? capt , off sirrah . lav. is she bewitched too ? — my dear isabella thou sure wilt own the duke thy husband : — ha! she turns away in wonder ! by the bonds of duty , and of nature , i conjure you to do me right , and own the duke your lord. alberto , barberino , prudentia , isabella . all. ha! ha ! ha ! isab. what do you with this frantick wretch ? look to him and lodge him in the hospital . lav. confusion ! nay then 't is time to lay me thus on earth , and grow one piece with it . [ throws himself down . enter brunetto . bru. your highness humble servant , — dear prudentia , the duke once more consents to make us happy , here is his royal signet for our marriage . enter trappolin . trap. eo , meo , and areo , rare boys still . — i am out of breath with looking for her ; the bed i found , but no dutchess , and not one of her women can tell me where she is : — why here they are now all on a bundle . dear pigs-ney , what a naughty trick was this , to spirit your self away , when you know how frighted i am with lying alone ? — my princely friend , hast thou consummated ? that sneaking look of thine confesses thee guilty : well , marry'd or not marry'd , i am resolv'd to see you a bed together incontinently . lav. the devil you shall . [ rising up hastily . fla. dear trappolin be quiet . you will destroy yourself and me — i do beseech your grace , forgive him ; alass , he is lunatick . lav. oh heav'ns ! endure this impostor thus with his enchantments to bewitch your eyes . trap. alass , poor trappolin ! that ever such good parts as thine should come to this . alb. will he e're suffer this abuse ? barb. i know not perhaps one madman will pity another . lav. ye florentines , i am lavinio ; i am the tuscan duke ; this an impostor that by damn'd magick , and infernal arts has rais'd these strange chimaera's in the court. alb. your highness is too patient . fla. sweet trappolin be rul'd . trap. shew him a glass . lav. what do i see ? even thus i seem to them : plagues , death , and furies , this is witchcraft all : [ breaks the glass . still i assert my right , i am lavinio . trap. nay then , i see hee 'l ne're come to good ; to prison with him , take him away . [ as they seize him , thunder and lightning breaks forth , mago rises . ] mag. turn thee lavinio duke of tuscany . lav. ha! who art thou that own'st my power and title , disclaim'd by all my subjects ? all. this is strange . trap. father conjurer here ? — i warrant he 's going to the devil now , and calls at court for company . lav. what e're thou art , dissolve this magick mist ; restore my state , and right an injur'd prince . mag. my spells alone can do it . lav. i know that voice . mag. remember guicardi the tuscan count , whom twelve years since , thou didst unjustly banish ; which tedious hours i chiefly have apply'd to magick studies , and in just revenge have rais'd these strange disorders in thy court ; now , pardon what is past , i 'le set all right . lav. i swear by all the honours of my state , by both my dukedoms , florence and siena , i pardon what is past . trap. so here is his grace and the devil upon articles of agreement , and excluding me from the treaty : — well , i 'le e'en banish my self whilest i have the authority in my own hands : i have got a handsome face by the bargain , and it would grieve me to be flea'd out of it , and therefore i will steal off as silently as i can . mag. then take that chair . [ he places lavinio in the chair . thunder and lightning again . ] bru. what mean those prodigies ? mag. ye noble florentines suspend your fears , and you shall see the wonders of my skill . thus with my powerful wand i crown thy brow with grateful slumbers till my charms are wrought . you spirits fram'd of milder elements , you that controul the black malicious fiends , ascend , ascend , and execute my will. [ soft musick . spirits rise and dance about lavinio , who by a device is transform'd before the audience into his own appearance , and habit. all. the duke ! good heav'n ! how have our eyes been charm'd ? long live your highness . lav. where have i been ? sure all has been a dream . mag. your royal word is past , you pardon all ; lav. i do , and weep for joy to see my subjects to their sense restor'd . mag. brave prince horatio , your elder brother , [ to brunetto . the duke of savoy's dead . lav. then he is savoy . sir , i entreat forgiveness of what 's past , and wish you joy. [ gives him prudentia . brun. prud. you crown our happiness . lav. methinks , we have all been scatter'd in a storm , and thus by miracle met here together upon the happy shore . — horatio , lords , prudentia , wife , let me embrace you all . [ trappolin brought in by spirits , in his own likeness . ] lav. here is th' impostor , gods ! what abject things , when in your hands , prove scourages of a state. trap. good father conjurer , for old acquaintance sake beseech your grace , use moderation : [ to lavinio . you see by me what a prince may come to . lav. thy pardon 's granted , but depart the realm . fla. dear trappolin embrace the happy fate , and take me with thee . trap. my lord , — i have stood your lordship's friend . [ to brunetto . bru. in savoy i 'le requite thee trappolin : trap. savoy , girl , savoy — a count , a count i warrant thee . mag. son trappolin ▪ i am thy natural father ; and since my banishment from florence , have sustain'd much hardship , serv'd the turk in 's galleys . trap. by your leave father conjurer , you have serv'd the devil too . mag. but from this hour renounce my wicked arts. lav. so , lasting happiness on florence fall ; our plague's remov'd , and now we 'l pass the time in courtly joys ; our tuscan poets shall from these disorders , frame fantastick scenes to entertain our beauteous millanese : each accident at leisure well recite , misfortunes past , prove stories of delight . songs . a song written by sir george etheridge . tell me no more i am deceiv'd , while silvia seems so kind ; and takes such care to be believ'd , the cheat i fear to find to flatter me should falshood lye coinceal'd in her soft youth ; a thousand times i 'd rather die , than see the unhappy truth ; ii. my love all malice shall outbrave , let fops in libels rail ; if she the appearances will save , no scandal can prevail : she makes me think i have her heart , how much for that is due ? thô she but act the tender part , the joy she gives is true . a song written by a lady ah poor olinda ! never boast of charms that have thy freedom cost , they threw at hearts , and thine is lost . yet none thy ruine ought to blame , his wit first blew me to a flame , and fans it with the wings of fame . ii. in vain i do his person shun , i cannot from his glory run , that 's universal as the sun , in crowds his praises fill my ear , alone his genius does appear , he , like a god , is ev'ry where . a song written by a person of quality . who can resist my celia's charms ? her beauty wounds and wit disarms ; when these their mighty forces joyn , what heart 's so strong but must resign ? love seems to promise in her eyes , a kind and lasting age of joys ; but have a care , their treason shun , i look'd , believ'd , and was undone , in vain a thousand ways i strive , to keep my fainting hopes alive ; my love can never find reward , since pride and honour is her guard. the epilogue . trappolin suppos'd a duke , this action shows strange matters may depend on meer suppose . one may suppose masks chast , loud nonsence witty , no flatterers at court , no cheat i' th' city — i am my self by one i' th' world thought pretty . [ pulling off his perriwig . whereas you see no lillies grow nor roses , so masks for beauty pass , that want their noses . the reverend citizen , sixty and above , that by poor inch of candle buys his love , supposes that his son and heir he got , but ask his wife and she supposes not . mean time the sot , whil'st he 's a cuckold made , supposes she's at church praying for trade . the country squire newly come up to town , by parents doom'd to lawyers daggl'd gown , supposes some bright angel he has gotten , in our lewd gallery till proving rotten , his study soon he leaves for swearing tubs , and cook and littleton , for honest hobs. nor had dull cit sent spouse to drink the waters , and found them helping to her sons and daughters , had he suppos'd when so the belly swells , there must be something in 't besides the wells . there 's no man here had married i 'm afraid , had he not first suppos'd his wife a maid . thus , 't is opinion must our peace secure , for no experiment can do 't i 'me sure . in paths of love no foot-steps e're were troc'd , all we can do is to suppose her chast ; for women are of that deep subtile kind , the more we dive to know , the less me find ah ladies ! what strange fate still rules us men ? for whil'st we wisely would escape the gin , a kind suppose still draws the woodcocks in ▪ in all affairs 't is so , the lawyers baul , and with damn'd noise and nonsense fill the hall , supposing after seven years being a drudge , 't will be his fortune to be made a iudge . all things are helpt out by suppose , but wit ; but what shall we by that suppose to get . unless a kind suppose your minds possess , for on that charm depends our play 's success . then tho you like it not , sirs , don't disclose it , but tho you are not satisfi'd , suppose it . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a -e * de personis & larvis . * poet. lib. c. . . lib. xi . c. . l. . c. ix . morum charact. ch. . * dionys. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . * in prolegom . ad terent. * lib. . c. . † yet nero that monster having compell'd noblemen to act parts in a play , he commanded them to pull off their vizards on the stage , histrionum apparatu eos patefaciens hominibus apud quos ipsi paulò ante magistratum gesserant . * lucian de salt describing the mimick-mask , says it was larva pulcherrima , quae non immane hint ut tragica . * vpon the — baccho caper omnibus aris , &c. georg. l. . * ld. roscom . transl. * as the french now make use of their farces . * in her admirable preface to her version of amphitrio . * vid. scalig. poet. l. . * ben. ialmson 's verses on shakespear . * lib. vi . c. . de risu . mausolæum, a funeral poem on our late gracious sovereign queen mary of blessed memory by n. tate ... tate, nahum, - . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing t estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) mausolæum, a funeral poem on our late gracious sovereign queen mary of blessed memory by n. tate ... tate, nahum, - . [ ], , [ ] p. printed for b. aylmer ..., and w. rogers ..., and r. baldwin ..., london : . first edition. advertisement: p. [ ] at end. reproduction of original in huntington library. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng mary -- ii, -- queen of england, - -- poetry. - tcp assigned for keying and markup - apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images - tcp staff (michigan) sampled and proofread - john latta text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion mausolaeum : a funeral poem on our late gracious sovereign queen mary , of blessed memory . by n. tate , servant to his majesty . london : printed for b. aylmer , at the three pigeons against the royal-exchange in cornhill . and w. rogers , at the sun against st. dunstan's church in fleet-street . and r. baldwin , near the oxford-arms in warwick-lane . . mausolaeum . a funeral poem on our late gracious sovereign queen mary , of blessed memory . to solitude , but such as ne er inspir'd one tuneful thought , a pensive bard retir'd . stretcht as he lay , and lean'd his drooping head against a jetting cliff , the earth his bed , maria's fate and fame , from distant plains he heard resounded by melodious swains . he blest their powerful raptures , that could warm the tomb's cold mansion , and make sorrow oharm . while , sweetly sad , their accents strike the skies , he only with distracted sighs replies . his groans awak'd the mid-night raven's knell e'er balmy slumber on his temples fell ; when long-absented morpheus interpos'd to charm his sorrow , and this scene disclos'd . thrice did the god his drowzy wand extend , and thrice invok'd the vision to ascend ; the signal was obey'd — from side to side the vale , her flinty arms unfolding wide , in prospect brings the sacred * dome , renown'd for british monarch's there entomb'd and crown'd : whose guardian-care , when thither they return , is there rewarded with a peaceful urn ; where now that safe repose their ashes have , which they , when living , to their subjects gave . thus was the visionary fabrick rear'd , whose portalls ( while harmonious sounds are heard ) did leisurely the shining quire disclose , as once the solemn stage at athens rose ; while breaking clouds a glorious scene display'd , where gods and goddesses the circle made . a mausolaean pile erected high , threatning the temple's roof , as that the sky ; with starry lamps and banners blazing round , in all the pageantry of death is crown'd . for ah ! with flatt'ring pride and triumph vain , you pyramids the dazling pomp sustain ; while high in state your glitt'ring trophies rise , low , at your basis , britain's glory lies . nor sleep those blest remains in dead of night , watcht only by unactive tapers light , for thronging seraphs , from coelestial bow'rs , descend to strew the royal hearse with flow'rs ; whose fragrance heav'nly balm distilling meets , together blending their ambrosial sweets : what sov'reign odour from that mixture springs , fann'd and sublim'd by hov'ring angels wings ! these rites perform'd , th' etherial troop resign , to forms divine as their's , the royal shrihe . for lo ! four matrons , deep in sables clad , ( of solemn mien , and aspect charming sad ) advance ; with each her ensigns waving high , the emblems of her pow'r , or piety . august britannia the procession leads ; in state the belgian matron her succeeds . britannia's train , in grandure of a court ; her globe , her scepter , and her crown support . batavia with her own escutchions grac't , where lions rampant grasp her arrows sast . * eusebia next appears , in pomp divine , see how her mitre , and her crosier shine ! * irene brings the rear , — but she , forlorn ! no badge but of distress before her born . a wreath of lillies her sad herald wore , but lillies crimson'd in her off-spring's gore ! now to their sundry stations they disperse , the high-arch'd inlets to the sov'reign hearse ; where solemnly each matron takes her stand , with each a fuming censer in her hand . all mute a while , with awful sorrow strook , till belgia thus in troubled accents spoke . when late to albion's throne i did resign the princess , i still thought , still found her mine , while , like aurora , from beyond the streams ; she , brightly rising , reacht me with her beams ; warm lustre shot , that did my griefs beguile , and in her absence made our hague to smile ; so cinthia , when she takes her sphere above , shines down , and gilds her once-frequented grove . so cinthia mounts her wain , for publick good , tho better pleas'd , retir'd within her wood. but , ah ! what halcyon days on europe shone , when cinthia with her phoebus grac'd one throne ! charm'd by their godlike reign , so just and mild , my states to monarchy grew reconcil'd . britain and belgia's blessings to compleat , they made , from distant shores , our interest 's meet . not so , when blind in fury heretofore , with naval thunder we each other tore ; while both , by mutual tragick wounds brought low , made scenes of pastime for the common foe . insulting o're the sight , the tyrant stood , while our sad wrecks enrich'd the guilty flood , blushing with british and batavian blood. 'twixt treach'rous courts thus was ambition bred , while our exhausted veins the monster fed . but when her fangs with terror she disclos'd , heav'n and my nassau's virtue interpos'd . convulsions seiz'd me when he left my shore . not ariadne fear'd for theseus more ; such doubtful hopes possest the colchian maid , when jason his adventrous task essay'd . at last i saw him fixt on britain's throne ; and blest the day , and thought the storm o'er-blown : yet , from alarms secur'd of gallick pow'r , a hasty tomb do's half my joys devour . ah how transform'd from what i was of late ! how blest , ye pow'rs , how prosp'rous was my state ! my flourishing towns with pleasure i survey'd , the world 's great mart and seat of commèrce made ; cov'ring with floating colonies the main , while gallick rage at home i could sustain ; visit both poles , to spicy climates run , and spread my naval wings before the rising sun. no more can populous towns , or swelling seas , the stronger deluge of my grief appease , my spicy eastern groves no longer please . matrons sad vigils through my cities keep , with streaming tears my saylors swell the deep ; there tritons , started from their coral cells , rang'd on the rocks to dirges tune their shells : on sep'rate cliffs their pensive nereids sit , no chearful song or am'tous glance admit ; no more with pearl and amber deck their head , but mourn , forlorn , their amphitrite dead , from dawn to dusk , and weep the stars to bed. ye winds that waft my freighted fleets away neglect your charge ; let useless traffick stay till you to java's isle my sighs convey . fate 's triumph over nature there proclaim , and say , maria's nothing but a name ! a hearse , an urn , as vulgar mortals are ; to earth no more , but to the skies a star. she said — irene next her plaints addrest , plaints , which her looks too sensibly exprest : an exile from her native shore she fled , by innocence and mourning angels led . while slowly from the hallowed floor she rears her eyes , still orient through a cloud of cares , may's brightness mix'd with april's gloom appears ; a pearly show'r her fairer face bedews , while thus , what passion dictates , she pursues ; is mis'ry boundless ? can we never know , in wretchedness the outmost sphere of woe ? condemn'd , on cruelties inhumane stage , to all the shapes of persecuting rage ; bereav'd of ev'ry blessing i enjoy'd , my temples sack'd , my votaries destroy'd ; till with my sons expos'd ( a poor reserve ! ) to foreign bondage , or at best to starve . these injuries sustain'd , ah ! vain belief ! i fondly deem'd the last degrees of grief . but here a weeping penitent i come , to mourn my error at maria's tomb ! rank'd with divine eliza , distant fame early resounded my maria's name , but when that brighter phoenix i survey'd , i blest the fate that me an exile made ; forgave , and for my persecutors pray'd . me , prostrate and astonish'd at her charms , the royal saint rais'd , gently to her arms ; in hast she stept from her imperial throne , to dry my tears — but not restrain'd her own. ah! where is all that heav'n of pity fled ? life's sov'reign patroness her self is dead ! death reap'd in her the full revenge he crav'd , reprizal made of all the lives she sav'd . now tyrants , with uninterrupted joy , may you once more your meager fiend employ , give famine new commission to destroy . no more shall streaming charity o'erspread the thirsty vales , in thousand currents led , fate 's envious hand has here seal'd up the gen'rous fountain's head. instruct me , grief , unable to sustain thy pressing weight , to whom shall i complain ? to earth or skies ? — 't is they that have engross'd , 't is they that share the treasure i have lost . to seas ? — ' there thetis comfortless appears , and for her self reserves the ocean's tears . to gentle winds and air if i complain , they can but sigh , and sigh like me in vain ! nature replies , when her relief i try , that she has lost , and grieves as much as i. or would i to maria's self address , ( the royal refuge of my past distress ) the queen of pity i no longer find enthron'd , but here ( ah ! fatal change ) enshrin'd . high rapt in heav'nly bow'rs her spirit remains , her breathless reliques a deaf tomb contains ; them , sleeping here , my cries no more can move than reach her soul 's transcendant sphere above ! ye happier rivals in our common grief ! you mourn , but not , like me , without relief . britain and belgia through the main can roam , enrich'd with treasures of both indies come , and , like an altar , deck maria's tomb. her hierarchy does fair eusebia bless , secure she does her sacred rights possess , and stores of gratesul incense can address . what tribute to her ashes can i give , who only did by her indulgence live ? a wretche's last reserve i will bestow , my tears — but see — they , uncommanded , flow ! like weeping niobe's their streams renew : o that , like her , i could turn marble too ! she ceas'd — eusebia then her starry head with mournful grace unveil'd , and , sighing , said . if strangers can such deep concern express , what accents will susfice for my distress ! of these remains can i sustain the sight , who claim a subject's and a daughter 's right ; nurs'd with her warmest beams , whose lustre fill'd my front with stars , and did my mitre gild . she fix'd my altars first , her guardian-care ; then to enlarge my courts did gen'rous schemes prepare . adorn'd my shrines with lamps so heavenly bright , they cou'd at once astonish and invite . me , swift-advancing glory did presage once more triumphant o'er the dragon's rage . eve , new created , no such pleasure took her own bright form discov'ring in the brook ; and , wheresoe're her ravish'd eyes she threw , still to have blooming paradise in view . so i at my own happiness admir'd — ah where are now those golden dreams retir'd ? their faint idea my sick thought employs , a cold remembrance of departed joys . as ship-wreckt mariners , on some bleak shore , the riches of their perisht freight deplore , recount its value , to indulge their grief , ( of wretchednefs the sad but sole relief ) let me , the treasure i have lost , declare , too vast for time and nature to repair . be husht ye winds , ye skies serene and clear , no lowring cloud or angry wave appear , while my maria's virtues i recite : o were my language like her virtues , bright thecharming sounds wou'dguests from heav'n invite , heav'n wou'd be here , and with immortal lays , my self a seraph while i sung her praise . what ancient poets did , inspir'd , aver of female worth , was prophecy of her ; and what their age by revelation saw , posterity must from her story draw . her breast each cent'ring excellence cou'd boast , the scatter'd virtues of her sex engrost ; nor did those beams on her refracted fall , she all possest , and in perfection all. cou'd majesty and mildness reconcile , hold sov'raign awe , yet on her subjects smile ; and when of sov'raignty she slack'd the rein , charm duty most , and condescending , gain . her thoughts , unruffled with affairs of state , stood like the heights of teneriff , sedate ; like phoebe in her empire of the skies , to glory's zenith did serenely rise . nor only calm , but constant was her mind , fix'd as the centre to earth's globe assign'd : a fortress which the fates in vain assail'd , and where the baffled king of terrors fail'd . chearful as angels , or the springing day that tunes the groves , and makes the meadows gay for blameless mirth heaven 's off spring is confest , and heav'n was ever in maria's breast . her words and actions , all exactly weigh'd in reason's scale , and by discretion sway'd , alike from prejudice and passion free , henceforth of prudence shall the standart be . her freedoms just , and her diversions taught to shun the very shadow of a fault . let heav'n ( with heav'n she correspondence held ) say how my saint in piety excell'd . its sinking empire how she did support , and to a sanctu'ry reform'd a court. say , how her bright example cou'd disarm establish'd vice , and make religion charm. what frequent visits to my temple pay , and there instruct devotion how to pray : where thronging cherubs did her zeal attend , ambitious who should with her vows ascend . but charity , her souls essential grace , in tend'rest strokes was pictur'd in her face , who like an angel cou'd at suff'rings melt , condole the mis'ry she had never felt . reliev'd , till royal bounty she had drein'd , then with her tears th' exhausted store maintain'd ; kind as the pelican , in times of need , when for her craving off-spring said to bleed . such was my sov'reign ! such , and yet expir'd ! to earth so needfull , yet from earth retir'd . earth's harmony , life , lustre and delight , have hence with my astraea took their flight . yet see ! no wreck of elements is found ; time journeys on , and nature keeps her round : our vales may bloom again , our groves be green , no more the goddess of the spring be seen ! she 's fled ! divine maria's vanisht hence , and sleeps with queens of common providence . like them , she has to fate resign'd her breath ; o triumph of the grave ! o pomp of death ! with her entomb'd — youth , beauty , vertue , their interment have , o pomp of death ! o tryumph of the grave ! yet tyrants live , ah ! what can reason say ? they keep their thrones , who iron scepters sway . support me faith , if faith too feeble be , support my faith , maria's piety . she pauz'd , and wept . britannia , tho' with equal grief opprest ; majestick , thus her orisons addrest . hail saint and queen , — too weak alas that style ! hail heroin and goddess of our isle ! my pallas , who cou'd absent mars supply ; and jove withdrawn , like juno rule the sky . empire she priz'd not , tho' to empire born , nor sought the pow'r she cou'd so well adorn : yet held her british throne securely calm , as deborah within her grove of palm ; from whose orac'lous shade she cou'd prescribe , and audience gave to each consulting tribe . my regent with such grandeur , such address in councel sway'd ; and prest with last distress , like her , spoke victory , and look'd success . in publick storms she heard the billows rave , and cheerfully the needfull orders gave . with pious hope adjusted her commands , and left th' event on providences hands . thus , from insulting danger she secur'd her regency , and thus her realms ensur'd ; such conduct shewn , and gen'rous trust repos'd , engag'd heav'ns honour , and fate 's pow'r fore-clos'd . she knew what mein the sceptre , crown and globe , what majesty became th' imperial robe ; but from th' incumbrance freed of sov'reign awe ; what artist can her milder beauties draw ? what colours shall express ? what pencil trace the charms that did her conversation grace ? how beaming joys her aspect did adorn , and how she mov'd the goddess of the morn . what harmony did in her language dwell ; how sullen griefs her accents cou'd dispell , while softer they than shedding roses fell . methinks i hear lamenting april say , unwelcome now returns my latest * day , that once eclips'd the blooming pride of may. the day that with auspicious hours did smile , and gave a jubilee to britain's isle . no more that festival shall entertain the court with revel or harmonious strain : for chearfull songs , my bards must now retreat , and dirges breath to some forsaken seat. seek gloomy vales , where blasted nature pines , and grief with night her cold embraces joyns ; where no fresh breeze relieves the sulph'rous steams , and poplars languish o'er infectious streams ; where never did auspicious bird frequent , till thither on despair's sad errand sent , some nightingall of nest and young depriv'd , or turtle who her slaughter'd mate surviv'd . let there , what never must in crouds be told , your mourning muse that dismal scene unfold ! let fancy there rehearse in wild complaint , the sickning sov'reign , the expiring saint . when sacrilegious maladies , combin'd , beauty's imperial temple undermin'd . how ravaging through her rich veins they flew , till all in one assault — against her gen'rous heart their forces drew . while nature cou'd no more the fort supply , and vanquisht art it self stood sighing by . well may his sons despair , when * phoebus shrouds his baffl'd head , and sculks in conscious clouds ; drives wide his wain , shuns his meridian way , and through continu'd darkness steals the day . immortal pow'rs , can you behold , ungriev'd , her agonies , who nations had reliev'd ? the royal saint who had your altars crown'd ! for pray'rs and alms is no compassion found ? amidst her pangs , see how she lies resign'd to your disposal , while you seem unkind ! undaunted , yet to your allegiance true , bids death defiance , but submits to you. she sees distraction through her palace spread , she sees the graces weeping round her bed , yet still compos'd ; till her expiring sight her swooning hero. — here let deepest night her mantle spread , and nature's face disguise , while caesar sinks , and while maria's eyes closing , transferr their glories to the skies . oh what convulsions now shook britain's breast ! her sun and moon in one eclipse opprest . as when the sov'reign of the ocean , try'd in tempests , and had neptune's frowns defy'd , founders on shelves ; conspiring tides prevail ; the hurrying crew , with looks agast and pale , wringing their helpless hands , theglorious wreck bewail ! such consternation shew'd britannia's court , when toil and skill had made their last effort . yet , o alcides of our age , sustain thy last and greatest task to live and reign ! this conquest must distinguish your bright name , and write you foremost in the list of fame . your loyal and addressing senate view , o pity them , as they condole with you ! see your augusta too , who bath'd in tears , sad europe's representative appears . death ne'er is distant when perfection's near ; vertue sublim'd will quickly disappear . maria's fall'n ! worthy to have surviv'd , till caesar's promis'd tryumphs were arriv'd ; till harras'd europe's freedom she survey'd , and crown'd the halcyon days for which she pray'd . speak you , who commerce with immortals hold , these labarynths of providence unfold ! eusebia speak . eusebia's sacred breast with rapture fill'd , th' inspiring god confest , divinely bright her frontlet-stars appear'd , while up tow'rds heav'n her ravish'd eyes she rear'd : the temple shakes , the yielding roof gives way , and ope's a prospect to eternal day . through all the dome ambrosial fragrance spread , while thus , in extasie , the matron said ; with robes invested of caelestial dye , she towrs and treads the empyraean sky ! angelick choirs , skill'd in triumphant song , heav'ns battlements and chrystal turrets throng . the signal 's giv'n , th' eternal gates unfold , blazing with jasper , wreath'd in burnish'd gold , and myriads now of flaming minds i see , pow'rs , potentates , heav'ns awfull hierarchy ; in gradual orbs enthron'd , but all divine ; ineffably those sons of glory shine . from bow'rs of amaranth and nectar streams , ( mansions of rapture and inspiring dreams ) the host of saints maria's tryumph meet , maria , all , their own maria greet . behold ! a rev'rend shade steps forth , his head mitred in glory , deep his vestments spread ; o patriarch mild ! thy aspect still i know , that ev'n on earth so much of heav'n did show . heav'ns messenger to us thou first didst prove , and now maria's to the blest above . o worthiest envoy , to the realms of bliss , of her approaching apotheosis . now , pointing up , he shews , prepar'd on high , her chair of state and starry canopy , she takes her throne , but there install'd , so bright her form , i lose her in excess of light. finis . advertisement . a poem on the late promotions of several eminent persons in church and state. an elegy on the most reverend father in god , his grace , john , late lord archbishop of canterbury . written by n. tate . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a -e * abbey of westminst . * church of england . * protestant church of france . * the queen's birth-day . * the gloomy weather during her majesty's sickness . the original, nature, and immortality of the soul a poem : with an introduction concerning humane knowledge / written by sir john davies ... ; with a prefatory account concerning the author and poem. nosce teipsum davies, john, sir, - . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing d estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) the original, nature, and immortality of the soul a poem : with an introduction concerning humane knowledge / written by sir john davies ... ; with a prefatory account concerning the author and poem. nosce teipsum davies, john, sir, - . tate, nahum, - . [ ], p. printed for w. rogers ..., london : . epistle dedicatory signed by the editor: n. tate. originally published in with title: nosce teipsum. reproduction of original in cambridge university library. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng soul. immortality. - tcp assigned for keying and markup - aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images - andrew kuster sampled and proofread - andrew kuster text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the original , nature , and immortality of the soul . the original , nature , and immortality of the soul . a poem . with an introduction concerning humane knowledge . written by sir john davies , attorney-general to q. elizabeth . with a prefatory account concerning the author and poem . london : printed for w. rogers , at the sun against st. dunstan's church in fleet street . . to his excellency the right honourable charles , earl of dorset and middlesex , one of the lords justices of england , knight of the most noble order of the garter , &c. my lord , i was oblig'd to your lordship for the first sight i had of this poem ; your lordship was then pleas'd to express some commendation of it . since that time i have waited an opportunity of getting it publish'd in a more convenient and portable volume ; the subject-matter being of that importance to every person , as requir'd its being made a manual for people to carry about them . nor can my pains and care herein be unacceptable to your lordship , who are not only the patron of the muses , but of publick good in all kinds . the book has a just claim to your lordship's protection , both for the solidity of judgment , and extraordinary genius that appear in it . 't is the portraicture of a humane soul in the perfection of its faculties and operations ( so far as its present state is capable of , ) which naturally directed me where i ought to present it . but as justice engag'd me in this address , i must upon all occasions confess my obligations to your lordship , and particularly for placing me in his majesty's service ; a favour which i had not the presumption to seek . i was conscious how short i came of my predecessors in performances of wit and diversion ; and therefore , as the best means i had of justifying your lordship's kindness , employ'd my self in publishing such poems as might be useful in promoting religion and morality . but how little i have consulted my immediate interest in so doing , i am severely sensible . i engaged in the service of the temple at my own expence , while others made their profitable markets on the stage . this , i confess , may seem improper in a dedication , especially where i have so large a field of panegyrick before me . but your lordship's character , by consent of mankind , is above all our encomiums ; and persons of greatest worth and accomplishments are always least fond of their own praises . i shall therefore only mention the business of my present waiting on your lordship . i have here got a useful poem reprinted , and beg to have it recommended to every body's perusal by your lordship's acceptance of it ; desiring only from its readers the same candour your lordship has been pleas'd to use , in making some allowances for the time in which it was written . nor will the author often have occasion for favour ; in the main he will need only to have justice done him . but i will not forestal the business of the ensuing preface , written by an ingenious and learned divine ; who has both done right to the great manes of the author , and made some amends for this unpolish'd address from me , who am only ambitious of professing my self with utmost zeal and gratitude , my lord , your lordship 's most humble , most oblig'd and devoted servant , n. tate . preface to sir john davies's poem . there is a natural love and fondness in english-men for whatever was done in the reign of q. elizabeth ; we look upon her time as our golden age ; and the great men who lived in it , as our chiefest hero's of virtue , and greatest examples of wisdom , courage , integrity and learning . among many others , the author of this poem merits a lasting honour ; for , as he was a most eloquent lawyer , so , in the composition of this piece , we admire him for a good poet , and exact philosopher . 't is not rhyming that makes a poet , but the true and impartial representing of virtue and vice , so as to instruct mankind in matters of greatest importance . and this observation has been made of our countrymen , that sir john suckling wrote in the most courtly and gentleman-like style ; waller in the most sweet and flowing numbers ; denham with the most accurate judgment and correctness ; cowley with pleasing softness , and plenty of imagination : none ever utter'd more divine thoughts than mr. herbert ; none more philosophical than sir john davies . his thoughts are moulded into easie and significant words ; his rhymes never mislead the sense , but are led and govern'd by it : so that in reading such useful performances , the wit of mankind may be refin'd from its dross , their memories furnish'd with the best notions , their judgments strengthen'd , and their conceptions enlarg'd , by which means their mind will be rais'd to the most perfect ideas it is capable of in this degenerate state. but as others have labour'd to carry out our thoughts , and to entertain them with all manner of delights abroad ; 't is the peculiar character of this author , that he has taught us ( with antoninus ) to meditate upon our selves ; that he has disclos'd to us greater secrets at home ; self-reflection being the only way to valuable and true knowledge , which consists in that rare science of a man's self , which the moral philosopher loses in a crowd of definitions , divisions and distinctions : the historian cannot find it amongst all his musty records , being far better acquainted with the transactions of a years past , than with the present age , or with himself : the writer of fables and romances wanders from it , in following the delusions of a wild fancy , chimera's and fictions that do not only exceed the works , but also the possibility of nature . whereas the resemblance of truth is the utmost limit of poetical liberty , which our author has very religiously observ'd ; for he has not only placed and connected together the most amiable images of all those powers that are in our souls , but he has furnish'd and squar'd his matter like a true philosopher ; that is , he has made both body and soul , colour and shadow of his poem out of the store-house of his own mind , which gives the whole work a real and natural beauty ; when that which is borrow'd out of books ( the boxes of counterfeit complexion ) shews well or ill as it has more or less likeness to the natural . but our author is beholding to none but himself ; and by knowing himself thoroughly , he has arriv'd to know much ; which appears in his admirable variety of well-chosen metaphors and similitudes that cannot be found within the compass of a narrow knowledge . for this reason the poem , on account of its intrinsick worth , would be as lasting as the iliad , or the aeneid , if the language 't is wrote in were as immutable as that of the greeks and romans . now it wou'd be of great benefit to the beau's of our age to carry this glass in their pocket , whereby they might learn to think , rather than dress well : it would be of use also to the wits and virtuoso's to carry this antidote about them against the poyson they have suck'd in from lucretius or hobbs . this would acquaint them with some principles of religion ; for in old times the poets were their divines , and exercised a kind of spiritual authority amongst the people . verse in those days was the sacred stile , the stile of oracles and laws . the vows and thanks of the people were recommended to their gods in songs and hymns . why may they not retain this privilege ? for if prose should contend with verse , 't would be upon unequal terms , and ( as it were ) on foot against the wings of pegasus . with what delight are we touch'd in hearing the stories of hercules , achilles , cyrus , and aeneas ? because in their characters we have wisdom , honour , fortitude , and justice , set before our eyes . 't was plato's opinion , that if a man cou'd see virtue , he wou'd be strangely enamour'd on her person . which is the reason why horace and virgil have continued so long in reputation , because they have drawn her in all the charms of poetry . no man is so senseless of rational impressions , as not to be wonderfully affected with the pastorals of the ancients , when under the stories of wolves and sheep , they describe the misery of people under hard masters , and their happiness under good. so the bitter but wholsome lambick was wont to make villany blush ; the satyr incited men to laugh at folly ; the comedian chastised the common errors of life ; and the tragedian made kings afraid to be tyrants , and tyrants to be their own tormentors . wherefore , as sir philip sidney said of chaucer , that he knew not which he should most wonder at , either that he in his dark time should see so distinctly , or that we in this clear age should go so stumblingly after him ; so may we marvel at and bewail the low condition of poetry now , when in our plays scarce any one rule of decorum is observed , but in the space of two hours and an half we pass through all the fits of bethlem ; in one scene we are all in mirth , in the next we are sunk into sadness ; whilst even the most labour'd parts are commonly starv'd for want of thought , a confused heap of words , and empty sound of rhyme . this very consideration should advance the esteem of the following poem , wherein are represented the various movements of the mind ; at which we are as much transported as with the most excellent scenes of passion in shakespear , or fletcher : for in this , as in a mirrour ( that will not flatter ) we see how the soul arbitrates in the understanding upon the various reports of sense , and all the changes of imagination : how compliant the will is to her dictates , and obeys her as a queen does her king. at the same time acknowledging a subjection , and yet retaining a majesty . how the passions more at her command , like a well-disciplined army ; from which regular composure of the faculties , all operating in their proper time and place , there arises a complacency upon the whole soul , that infinitely transcends all other pleasures . what deep philosophy is this ! to discover the process of god's art in fashioning the soul of man after his own image ; by remarking how one part moves another , and how those motions are vary'd by several positions of each part , from the first springs and plummets , to the very hand that points out the visible and last effects . what eloquence and force of wit to convey these profound speculations in the easiest language , expressed in words so vulgarly received , that they are understood by the meanest capacities . for the poet takes care in every line to satisfy the understandings of mankind : he follows step by step the workings of the mind from the first strokes of sense , then of fancy , afterwards of judgment , into the principles both of natural and supernatural motives : hereby the soul is made intelligible , which comprehends all things besides ; the boundless tracks of sea and land , and the vaster spaces of heaven ; that vital principle of action , which has always been busied in enquiries abroad , is now made known to its self ; insomuch that we may find out what we our selves are , from whence we came , and whither we must go ; we may perceive what noble guests those are , which we lodge in our bosoms , which are nearer to us than all other things , and yet nothing further from our acquaintance . but here all the labyrinths and windings of the humane frame are laid open : 't is seen by what pullies and wheels the work is carry'd on , as plainly as if a window were opened into our breast : for it is the work of god alone to create a mind . — the next to this is to shew how its operations are perform'd . upon the present corrupted state of poetry . in happy ages past , when justice reign'd , the muses too their dignity maintain'd ; were only then in shrines and temples found , with innocence instead of lawrel crown'd ; anthems and hallelujahs did resound . in these seraphick tasks their hours they pass'd , pious as sybil's , and as vestals , chast they justly then were stil'd the sacred nine , nor were the heav'n-born graces more divine . like them with heav'n they did alliance claim , and wisest kings their votaries became : who , though by art and nature form'd to reign , their homage paid amongst the muses train : they thought extent of empire less renown , and priz'd their poet's wreath above their prince's crown . heav'ns praise was then the only theme of verse , which kings of earth were honour'd to rehearse . their songs did then fair salem's temple fill , and sion was the muses sacred hill. at length , transplanted from the holy land , to pagan regions pass'd the sacred band ; in greece they settled , but with lessen'd grace , and chang'd their manners as they chang'd their place . here poetry , beginning to decline , first mingled humane praises with divine . yet still they sung alone some worthy's name , and only gave restoring hero's fame . but grew at last a mercenary trade , the gift of heav'n the price of gold was made . brib'd poets with encomiums did pursue the worst of men , and prais'd their vices too . they gave destroying tyrants most applause , who shed most blood , regardless of their cause . if meerly to destroy can merit fame ; famines and plauges the larger trophies claim . but this and worse , with our licentious times compar'd , in poets were but venial crimes . that poetry which did at first inspire coelestial rapture , and seraphick fire , her talent in hell's service now employs , the prostitute and bawd of sensual joys . on mischief's side engages all her charms , against religion her offensive arms : whilst lust , extortion , sacrilege pass free , she points her satyr , virtue , against thee , and turns on heav'n its own artillery . but wit 's fair stream when from its genuine course constrain'd , runs muddy and with lessen'd force . our poets , when deserters they became to virtue 's cause , declin'd as much in fame . that curse was on the lewd apostates sent , who , as they grew debauch'd , grew impotent . wit 's short-liv'd off-springs in our later times confess too plain their vicious parents crimes . no spencer's strength , or davies , who sustain'd wit 's empire when divine eliza reign'd . but sure , when foreign toils will time allow our age's hydra-vices to subdue , victorious william's piety will chase from these infested realms th' infernal race ; and , when alarms of war are heard no more , with europe's peace the muse's state restore . the author's dedication to q. elizabeth . to that clear majesty , which in the north , doth , like another sun , in glory rise , which standeth fix'd , yet spreads her heavenly worth ; load-stone to hearts , and load star to all eyes . like heaven in all , like earth in this alone , that though great states by her support do stand ; yet she her self supported is of none , but by the finger of the almighty's hand . to the divinest and the richest mind , both by art's purchase , and by nature's dower , that ever was from heaven to earth confin'd , to shew the utmost of a creature 's power : to that great spring , which doth great kingdom 's move ; the sacred spring ' , whence right and honour streams , distilling virtue , shedding peace and love , in every place , as cynthia sheds her beams : i offer up some sparkles of that fire , whereby we reason , live , and move , and be , these sparks by nature evermore aspire , which makes them now to such a highness flee . fair soul , since to the fairest body joyn'd , you give such lively life , such quickning power , and influence of such celestial kind , as keeps it still in youth's immortal flower : as where the sun is present all the year , and never doth retire his golden ray , needs must the spring be everlasting there , and every season like the month of may. o many , many years may you remain a happy angel to this happy land : long , long may you on earth our empress reign , e're you in heaven a glorious angel stand . stay long ( sweet spirit ) e're thou to heaven depart , who mak'st each place a heaven wherein thou art . her majesty' 's devoted subject and servant , john davies . july . . the contents . the introduction to humane knowledge . page of the original , nature , and immortality of the soul. sect. i. that the soul is a thing subsisting by its self and has proper operations without the body . sect. ii. that the soul is more than a perfection , or reflection of the sense . sect. iii. that the soul is more than the temperature of the humours of the body . sect. iv. that the soul is a spirit . sect. v. erroneous opinions of the creation of souls . sect. vi. that the soul is not ex traduce . sect. vii . reasons drawn from nature . sect. viii . reasons drawn from divinity . sect. ix . why the soul is united to the body . sect. x. in what manner the soul is united to the body . sect. xi . how the soul exercises her powers in the body . sect. xii . the vegetative power of the soul. sect. xiii . the power of sense . sect. xiv . seeing . sect. xv. hearing . sect. xvi . taste . sect xvii . smelling . ibid. sect. xviii . feeling . sect. xix . of the imagination , or common sense . sect. xx. fantasy . sect. xxi . sensitive memory . sect. xxii . the passion of the sense . sect. xxiii . local motion . sect. xxiv . the intellectual powers of the soul. sect. xxv . wit , reason , vnderstanding , opinion , judgment , wisdom . sect. xxvi . innate ideas in the soul. sect. xxvii . the power of will , and relation between the wit and will. sect. xxviii . the intellectual memory . sect. xxix . the dependency of the soul's faculties upon each other . ibid. sect. xxx . that the soul is immortal , proved by several reasons . sect. xxxi . that the soul cannot be destroy'd . sect. xxxii . objections against the immortality of the soul , with their respective answers . sect. xxxiii . three kinds of life , answerable to the three powers of the soul. sect. xxxiv . the conclusion . the introduction . why did my parents send me to the schools , that i with knowledge might enrich my mind ? since the desire to know first made men fools , and did corrupt the root of all mankind : for when god's hand had written in the hearts of our first parents all the rules of good ; so that their skill infus'd surpass'd all arts that ever were before , or since the flood . and when their reason's eye was sharp and clear , and ( as an eagle , can behold the sun ) could have approach'd th' eternal light as near as th' intellectual angels could have done ; ev'n then to them the spirit of lyes suggests , that they were blind , because they saw not ill ; and breath'd into their incorrupted breasts a curious wish , which did corrupt their will. from that same ill they streight desir'd to know ; which ill , being nought but a defect of good , in all god's works the devil could not show , while man , their lord , in his perfection stood . so that themselves were first to do the ill , e'er they thereof the knowledge could attain ; like him that knew not poison's power to kill , until ( by tasting it ) himself was slain . ev'n so , by tasting of that fruit forbid , where they sought knowledge , they did error find : ill they desir'd to know , and ill they did ; and to give passion eyes , made reason blind . for then their minds did first in passion see those wretched shapes of misery and woe , of nakedness , of shame , of poverty , which then their own experience made them know . but then grew reason dark , that she no more could the fair forms of good and truth discern : batts they became , who eagles were before ; and this they got by their desire to learn. but we , their wretched off-spring ! what do we ? do not we still taste of the fruit forbid , while with fond fruitless curiosity , in books prophane we seek for knowledge hid ? what is this knowledge , but the sky stoll'n fire , for which the thief still chain'd in ice doth sit ; and which the poor rude satyr did admire , and needs would kiss , but burnt his lips with it ? what is it , but the cloud of empty rain , which , when jove's guest embrac'd , he monsters got ? or the false pails , which oft being fill'd with pain , receiv'd the water , but retain'd it not ? in fine ; what is it , but the fiery coach which the youth sought , and sought his death withal ? or the boy 's wings , which , when he did approach the sun 's hot beams , did melt and let him fall ? and yet , alas ! when all our lamps are burn'd , our bodies wasted , and our spirits spent ; when we have all the learned volumes turn'd , which yield mens wits both help and ornament ; what can we know , or what can we discern , when error clouds the windows of the mind ? the divers forms of things how can we learn , that have been ever from our birth-day blind ? when reason's lamp , which ( like the sun in sky ) throughout man's little world her beams did spread , is now become a sparkle , which doth lie under the ashes , half extinct and dead ; how can we hope that through the eye and ear , this dying sparkle , in this cloudy place , can recollect those beams of knowledge clear , which were insus'd in the first minds by grace ? so might the heir , whose father hath , in play , wasted a thousand pounds of ancient rent , by painful earning of one groat a day , hope to restore the patrimony spent . the wits that div'd most deep , and soar'd most high , seeking man's powers , have found his weakness " skill comes so slow , and life so fast doth fly ; ( such : " we learn so little , and forget so much . for this the wisest of all moral men said , he knew nought , but that he nought did know . and the great mocking master mock'd not then , when he said , truth was buried here below . for how may we to other things attain , when none of us his own soul understands ? for which the devil mocks our curious brain , when , know thy self , his oracle commands . for why should we the busy soul believe , when boldly she concludes of that and this ; when of her self she can no judgment give , nor how , nor whence , nor where , nor what she is ? all things without , which round about we see , we seek to know , and have therewith to do : but that whereby we reason , live and be , within our selves , we strangers are thereto . we seek to know the moving of each sphere , and the strange cause o' th' ebbs and floods of nile ; but of that clock which in our breasts we bear , the subtile motions we forget the while . we that acquaint our selves with ev'ry zone , and pass the tropicks , and behold each pole ; when we come home , are to our selves unknown , and unacquainted still with our own soul. we study speech , but others we persuade ; we leech-craft learn , but others cure with it : w'interpret laws which other men have made , but read not those which in our hearts are writ . is it because the mind is like the eye , through which it gathers knowledge by degrees ; whose rays reflect not , but spread outwardly ; not seeing it self , when other things it sees ? no , doubtless ; for the mind can backward cast upon her self , her understanding light ; but she is so corrupt , and so defac'd , as her own image doth her self afright . as is the fable of the lady fair , which for her lust was turn'd into a cow ; when thirsty , to a stream she did repair , and saw her self transform'd she wist not how ; at first she startles , then she stands amaz'd ; at last with terrour she from thence doth fly , and loaths the wat'ry glass wherein she gaz'd , and shuns it still , although for thirst she die . ev'n so man's soul , which did god's image bear ; and was at first fair , good , and spotless pure ; since with her sins , her beauties blotted were , doth , of all sights , her own sight least endure : for ev'n at first reflection she espies such strange chimera's , and such monsters there ; such toys , such anticks , and such vanities , as she retires and shrinks for shame and fear . and as the man loves least at home to be , that hath a sluttish house , haunted with sprites ; lights . so she , impatient her own faults to see , turns from her self , and in strange things de . for this ▪ few know themselves : for merchants broke , view their estate with discontent and pain ; and seas as troubled , when they do revoke their slowing waves into themselves again . and while the face of outward things we find pleasing and fair , agreeable and sweet , these things transport , and carry out the mind , that with her self , the mind can never meet . yet if affliction once her wars begin , and threat the feebler sense with sword and fire , the mind contracts her self , and shrinketh in , and to her self she gladly doth retire ; as spiders touch'd , seek their web's inmost part ; as bees in storms , back to their hives return ; as blood in danger , gathers to the heart ; as men seek towns , when foes the country burn . if ought can teach us ought , affliction 's looks ( making us pry into our selves so near ) teach us to know our selves , beyond all books , or all the learned schools that ever were . this mistress lately pluck'd me by the ear , and many a golden lesson hath me taught ; hath made my senses quick , and reason clear ; reform'd my will , and rectify'd my thought . so do the winds and thunders cleanse the air : so working seas settle and purge the wine : so lopp'd and pruned trees do flourish fair : so doth the fire the drossy gold refine . neither minerva , nor the learned muse , nor rules of art , nor precepts of the wise could in my brain those beams of skill infuse , as but ' the glance of this dame's angry eyes . she within lists my ranging mind hath brought , that now beyond my self i will not go ; my self am centre of my circling thought ; only my self i study , learn and know . i know my body 's of so frail a kind , as force without , fevers within can kill : i know the heavenly nature of my mind , but t is corrupted both in wit and will : i know my soul hath power to know all things , yet is she blind and ignorant in all : i know i 'm one of nature's little kings ; yet to the least and vilest things am thrall : i know my life 's a pain , and but a span : i know my sense is mock'd in ev'ry thing : and to conclude , i know my self a man ; which is a proud , and yet a wretched thing . of the original , nature and immortality of the soul . the lights of heav'n ( which are the world 's fair eyes ) look down into the world , the world to see ; and as they turn , or wander in the skies , survey all things that on the centre be . and yet the lights which in my tower do shine , mine eyes , which view all objects nigh and far , look not into this little world of mine , nor see my face , wherein they fixed are . since nature fails us in no needful thing , why want i means my inward self to see ? which sight the knowledge of my self might bring , which to true wisdom is the first degree . that pow'r which gave me eyes the world to view , to view my self infus'd an inward light , whereby my soul , as by a mirror true , of her own form may take a perfect sight . but as the sharpest eye discerneth nought , except the sun-beams in the air do shine ; so the best soul , with her reflecting thought , sees not her self , without some light divine . o light , which mak'st the light which makes the day ! which sett'st the eye without , and mind within ; lighten my spirit with one clear heavenly ray , which now to view it self doth first begin . for her true form , how can my spark discern , which , dim by nature , art did never clear ? when the great wits , from whom all skill we learn , are ignorant both what she is , and where . one thinks the soul is air ; another , fire ; another , blood diffus'd about the heart ; another saith , the elements conspire , and to her essence each doth give a part . musicians think our souls are harmonies ; physicians hold , that they complexion 's be ; epicures make them swarms of atomies , which do by chance into our bodies flee . some think one gen'ral soul fill's ev'ry brain , as the bright sun sheds light in ev'ry star ; and others think the name of soul is vain , and that we only well mix'd bodies are . in judgment of her substance thus they vary , and vary thus in judgment of her seat ; for some her chair up to the brain do carry , some sink it down into the stomach's heat . some place it in the root of life , the heart ; some in the liver , fountain of the veins : some say , she 's all in all , and all in ev'ry part : some say , she 's not contain'd , but all contains . thus these great clerks their little wisdom show , while with their doctrines they at hazard play ; tossing their light opinions to and fro , to mock the lewd , as learn'd in this as they. for no craz'd brain could ever yet propound , touching the soul , so vain and fond a thought ; but some among these masters have been found , which in their schools the self-same thing have taught . god only wise , to punish pride of wit , among men's wits hath this confusion wrought ; as the proud tow'r , whose points the clouds did hit , by tongues confusion was to ruin brought . but ( thou ) which didst man 's soul of nothing make , and when to nothing it was fall'n again , " to make it new , the form of man didst take ; " and god with god , becam'st a man with men. thou that hast fashion'd twice this soul of ours , so that she is by double title thine , thou only know'st her nature , and her pow'rs ; her subtile form , thou only canst define . to judge her self , she must her self transcend , as greater circles comprehend the less : but she wants pow'r , her own pow'rs to extend , as fetter'd men cannot their strength express . but thou bright morning-star , thou rising - sun , which in these latter times hast brought to light those mysteries , that since the world begun , lay hid in darkness , and eternal night . thou ( like the sun ) dost , with an equal ray , into the palace and the cottage shine ; and shew'st the soul both to the clerk and lay , by the clear lamp of th' oracle divine . this lamp , through all the regions of my brain , where my soul sits , doth spread such beams of grace , as now , methinks , i do distinguish plain , each subtile line of her immortal face . the soul a substance and a spirit is , which god himself doth in the body make , which makes the man , for every man from this , the nature of a man , and name doth take . and though this spirit be to th' body knit , as an apt means her pow'rs to exercise , which are life , motion , sense , and will , and wit ; yet she survives , although the body dies . sect . i. that the soul is a thing subsisting by its self , and has proper operations without the body . she is a substance , and a real thing ; . which hath its self an actual , working might ; . which neither from the senses power doth spring , . nor from the body's humours temper'd right . she is a vine , which doth no propping need , to make her spread her self , or spring upright . she is a star , whose beams do not proceed from any sun , but from a native light. for when she sorts things present with things past , and thereby things to come doth oft fore-see ; when she doth doubt at first , and chuse at last , these acts her own , without her body be . when of the dew , which th' eye and ear do take from flow'rs abroad , and bring into the brain , she doth within both wax and honey make : this work is her's , this is her proper pain . when she from sundry acts , one skill doth draw ; gath'ring from divers fights , one art of war ; from many cases like , one rule of law : these her collections , not the senses are . when in th' effects she doth the causes know ; and seeing the stream thinks where the spring doth ▪ rise ; and seeing the branch , conceives the root below : these things she views , without the body's eyes . when she , without a pegasus , doth fly swifter than lightning's fire , from east to west ; about the centre , and above the sky , she travels then , although the body rest . when all her works she formeth first within , proportions them , and sees their perfect end , e'er she in act doth any part begin : what instruments doth then the body lend ? when without hands she doth thus castles build , sees without eyes , and without feet doth run ; when she digests the world , yet is not fill'd : by her own pow'rs these miracles are done . when she defines , argues , divides , compounds , considers virtue , vice , and general things ; and marrying divers principles and grounds , out of their match , a true conclusion brings . these actions in her closet , all alone , ( retir'd within her self ) she doth fulfil ; use of her body's organs she hath none , when she doth use the pow'rs of wit and will. yet in the body's prison so she lies , as through the body's windows she must look , her divers powers of sense to exercise , by gath'ring notes out of the world 's great book nor can her self discourse or judge of ought , but what the sense collects , and home doth bring ; and yet the pow'rs of her discoursing thought , from these collections , is a diverse thing . for though our eyes can nought but colours see , yet colours give them not their pow'r of sight : so , though these fruits of sense her objects be , yet she discerns them by her proper light. the workman on his stuff his skill doth show , and yet the stuff gives not the man his skill : kings their affairs do by their servants know , but order them by their own royal will. so , though this cunning mistress , and this queen , doth , as her instruments , the senses use , to know all things that are felt , heard , or seen ; yet she her self doth only judge and chuse . ev'n as a prudent emperor , that reigns by sovereign title , over sundry lands , borrows , in mean affairs , his subjects pains , sees by their eyes , and writeth by their hands ; but things of weight and consequence indeed , himself doth in his chamber them debate ; where all his counsellors he doth exceed , as far in judgment , as he doth in state. or as the man whom princes do advance , upon their gracious mercy-seat to sit , doth common things , of course and circumstance , to the reports of common men commit : but when the cause it self must be decreed , himself in person , in his proper court , to grave and solemn hearing doth proceed , of ev'ry proof , and ev'ry by-report . then , like god's angel , he pronounceth right , and milk and honey from his tongue doth flow : happy are they that still are in his sight , to reap the wisdom which his lips do sow . right so the soul , which is a lady free , and doth the justice of her state maintain : because the senses ready servants be , attending nigh about her court , the brain ; by them the forms of outward things she learns , for they return into the fantasie , whatever each of them abroad discerns ; and there inrol it for the mind to see . but when she sits to judge the good and ill , and to discern betwixt the false and true , she is not guided by the senses skill , but doth each thing in her own mirror view . then she the senses checks , which oft do err , and ev'n against their false reports decrees ; and oft she doth condemn what they prefer ; for with a pow'r above the sense , she sees . therefore no sense the precious joys conceives , which in her private contemplations be ; for then the ravish'd spirit th' senses leaves , hath her own pow'rs , and proper actions free . her harmonies are sweet , and full of skill , when on the body's instruments she plays ; but the proportions of the wit and will , those sweet accords are even th' angels lays . these tunes of reason are amphion's lyre , wherewith he did the thebane city found : these are the notes wherewith the heavenly choir , the praise of him which made the heav'n , doth sound . then her self-being nature shines in this , that she performs her noblest works alone : " the work , the touch-stone of the nature is ; and by their operations , things are known . sect . ii. that the soul is more than a perfection , or reflection of the sense . are they not senseless then , that think the soul nought but a fine perfection of the sense , or of the forms which fancy doth inrol ; a quick resulting , and a consequence ? what is it then that doth the sense accuse , both of false judgment , and fond appetites ? what makes us do what sense doth most refuse , which oft in torment of the sense delights ? sense thinks the planets spheres not much asunder : what tells us then their distance is so far ? sense thinks the lightning born before the thunder : what tells us then they both together are ? when men seem crows far off upon a tow'r , sense saith , they 're crows : what makes us think them men ? when we , in agues , think all sweet things sowre , what makes us know our tongue 's false judgment then ? what pow'r was that , whereby medea saw , and well approv'd , and prais'd the better course ; when her rebellious sense did so withdraw her feeble pow'rs , that she pursu'd the worse ? did sense perswade vlysses not to hear the mermaid's songs , which so his men did please , that they were all perswaded , through the ear , to quit the ship , and leap into the seas ? could any pow'r of sense the roman move , to burn his own right hand with courage stout ? could sense make marius sit unbound , and prove the cruel lancing of the knotty gout ? doubtless , in man there is a nature found , beside the senses , and above them far ; " though most men being in sensual pleasures drown'd . it seems their souls but in their senses are . if we had nought but sense , then only they should have sound minds , which have their senses sound : but wisdom grows , when senses do decay ; and folly most in quickest sense is found . if we had nought but sense , each living wight , which we call brute , would be more sharp than we ; as having sense's apprehensive might , in a more clear , and excellent degree . but they do want that quick discoursing pow'r , which doth in us the erring sense correct ; therefore the bee did suck the painted flow'r , and birds , of grapes , the cunning shadow peck'd . sense outsides knows , the soul through all things sees : sense , circumstance ; she doth the substance view : sense sees the bark ; but she the life of trees : sense hears the sounds ; but she the concords true . but why do i the soul and sense divide , when sense is but a pow'r , which she extends ; which being in divers parts diversify'd , the divers forms of objects apprehends ? this power spreads outward , but the root doth grow in th' inward soul , which only doth perceive ; for th' eyes and ears no more their objects know , than glasses know what faces they receive . for if we chance to fix our thoughts elsewhere , though our eyes open be , we cannot see : and if one pow'r did not both see and hear , our sights and sounds would always double be . then is the soul a nature , which contains the pow'r of sense , within a greater pow'r ; which doth employ and use the sense's pains , but sits and rules within her private bow'r . sect . iii. that the soul is more than the temperature of the humours of the body . if she doth then the subtile sense excel , how gross are they that drown her in the blood ? or in the body's humours temper'd well ; as if in them such high perfection stood ? as if most skill in that musician were , which had the best , and best tun'd instrument ? as if the pensil neat , and colours clear , had pow'r to make the painter excellent ? why doth not beauty then resine the wit , and good complexion rectify the will ? why doth not health bring wisdom still with it ? why doth not sickness make men brutish still . who can in memory , or wit , or will , or air , or fire , or earth , or water find ? what alchymist can draw , with all his skill , the quintessence of these out of the mind ? if th' elements which have nor life , nor sense , can breed in us so great a pow'r as this , why give they not themselves like excellence , or other things wherein their mixture is ? if she were but the body's quality , then would she be with it sick , maim'd and blind : but we perceive , where these privations be , an healthy , perfect , and sharp sighted mind . if she the body's nature did partake , her strength would with the body's strength decay : but when the body's strongest sinews slake , then is the soul most active , quick and gay . if she were but the body's accident , and her sole being did in it subsist , as white in snow , she might her self absent , and in the body's substance not be miss'd . but it on her , not she on it depends ; for she the body doth sustain and cherish : such secret pow'rs of life to it she lends , that when they fail , then doth the body perish . since then the soul works by her self alone , springs not from sense , nor humours well agreeing , her nature is peculiar , and her own ; she is a substance , and a perfect being . sect . iv. that the soul is a spirit . bvt though this substance be the root of sense , sense knows her not , which doth but bodies know : she is a spirit , and heav'nly influence , which from the fountain of god's spirit doth flow . she is a spirit , yet not like air , or wind ; nor like the spirits about the heart , or brain ; nor like those spirits which alchymists do find , when they in ev'ry thing seek gold in vain . for she all natures under heav'n doth pass , being like those spirits , which god's bright face do see ; or like himself , whose image once she was , though now ( alas ! ) she scarce his shadow be . for of all forms , she holds the first degree , that are to gross , material bodies knit ; yet she her self is bodyless , and free ; and though confin'd , is almost infinite . were she a body , how could she remain within this body , which is less than she ? or how could she the world 's great shape contain , and in our narrow breasts contained be ? all bodies are confin'd within some place , but she all place within her self confines . all bodies have their measure , and their space ; but who can draw the soul 's dimensive lines ? no body can at once two forms admit , except the one the other do deface ; but in the soul ten thousand forms do sit , and none intrudes into her neighbour's place . all bodies are with other bodies fill'd , but she receives both heav'n and earth together : nor are their forms by rash encounter spill'd , for there they stand , and neither toucheth either . nor can her wide embracements filled be ; for they that most and greatest things embrace , enlarge thereby their mind's capacity , as streams enlarg'd , enlarge the channel 's space . all things receiv'd , do such proportion take , as those things have , wherein they are receiv'd : so little glasses little faces make , and narrow webs on narrow frames are weav'd . then what vast body must we make the mind , wherein are men , beasts , trees , towns , seas and lands ; and yet each thing a proper place doth find , and each thing in the true proportion stands ? doubtless , this could not be , but that she turns bodies to spirits , by sublimation strange ; as fire converts to fire the things it burns ; as we our meats into our nature change . from their gross matter she abstracts the forms , and draws a kind of quintessence from things ; which to her proper nature she transforms , to bear them light on her celestial wings . this doth she , when , from things particular , she doth abstract the universal kinds , which bodyless and immaterial are , and can be only lodg'd within our minds . and thus , from divers accidents and acts , which do within her observation fall , she goddesses , and pow'rs divine abstracts ; as nature , fortune , and the vertues all . again ; how can she sev'ral bodies know , if in her self a body's form she bear ? how can a mirror sundry faces show , if from all shapes and forms it be not clear ? nor could we by our eyes all colours learn , except our eyes were of all colours void ; nor sundry tastes can any tongue discern , which is with gross and bitter humours cloy'd . nor can a man of passions judge aright , except his mind be from all passions free : nor can a judge his office well acquit , if he possess'd of either party be . if , lastly , this quick pow'r a body were , were it as swift as is the wind , or fire , ( whose atoms do the one down side-ways bear , and th' other make in pyramids aspire ) her nimble body yet in time must move , and not in instants through all places slide : but she is nigh and far , beneath , above , in point of time , which thought cannot divide : she 's sent as soon to china , as to spain ; and thence returns , as soon as she is sent : she measures with one time , and with one pain , an ell of silk , and heav'ns wide-spreading tent. as then the soul a substance hath alone , besides the body , in which she is confin'd ; so hath she not a body of her own , but is a spirit , and immaterial mind . since body and soul have such diversities , well might we muse , how first their match began ; but that we learn , that he that spread the skies , and fix'd the earth , first form'd the soul in man. this true prometheus first made man of earth , and shed in him a beam of heav'nly fire ; now in their mother's wombs , before their birth , doth in all sons of men their souls inspire . and as minerva is in fables said , from jove , without a mother , to proceed ; so our true jove , without a mother's aid , doth daily millions of minerva's breed . sect . v. erroneous opinions of the creation of souls . then neither from eternity before , nor from the time , when time 's first point begun , made he all souls , which now he keeps in store ; some in the moon , and others in the sun : nor in a secret cloyster doth he keep these virgin-spirits , until their marriage-day ; nor locks them up in chambers , where they sleep , till they awake within these beds of clay . nor did he first a certain number make , infusing part in beasts , and part in men ; and , as unwilling further pains to take , would make no more than those he framed then . so that the widow - soul , her body dying , unto the next-born body married was ; and so by often changing , and supplying , mens souls to beasts , and beasts to men did pass . ( these thoughts are fond ; for since the bodies born be more in number far , than those that die , thousands must be abortive , and forlorn , e're others deaths to them their souls supply : ) but as god's handmaid , nature , doth create bodies in time distinct , and order due ; so god gives souls the like successive date , which himself makes , in bodies formed new : which himself makes of no material thing ; for unto angels he no pow'r hath giv'n , either to form the shape , or stuff to bring from air , or fire , or substance of the heav'n . nor herein doth he nature's service use ; for though from bodies , she can bodies bring , yet could she never souls from souls traduce , as fire from fire , or light from light doth spring . sect . vi. that the soul is not ex traduce . alas ! that some who were great lights of old , and in their hands the lamp of god did bear ! some rev'rend fathers did this error hold , having their eyes dimm'd with religious fear . objection . for when ( say they ) by rule of faith we find , that ev'ry soul , unto her body knit , brings from the mother's womb the sin of kind , the root of all the ill she doth commit . how can we say that god the soul doth make , but we must make him author of her sin ? then from man's soul she doth beginning take , since in man's soul corruption did begin . for if god make her first , he makes her ill , ( which god forbid our thoughts should yield unto ; ) or makes the body her fair form to spill , which , of it self , it had not pow'r to do . not adam's body , but his soul did sin , and so her self unto corruption brought ; but our poor soul corrupted is within , er'e she had sinn'd , either in act , or thought : and yet we see in her such pow'rs divine , as we could gladly think , from god she came : fain would we make him author of the wine , if for the dregs we could some other blame . answer . thus these good men with holy zeal were blind , when on the other part the truth did shine ; whereof we do clear demonstrations find , by light of nature , and by light divine . none are so gross , as to contend for this , that souls from bodies may traduced be ; between whose natures no proportion is , when root and branch in nature still agree . but many subtile wits have justify'd , that souls from souls spiritually may spring ; which ( if the nature of the soul be try'd ) will ev'n in nature prove as gross a thing . sect . vii . reasons drawn from nature . for all things made , are either made of nought , or made of stuff that ready made doth stand : of nought no creature ever formed ought , for that is proper to th' almighty's hand . if then the soul another soul do make , because her pow'r is kept within a bound , she must some former stuff , or matter take : but in the soul there is no matter found . then if her heav'nly form do not agree with any matter which the world contains , then she of nothing must created be ; and to create , to god alone pertains . again , if souls do other souls beget , 't is by themselves , or by the bodies pow'r : if by themselves , what doth their working let , but they might souls engender ev'ry hour ? if by the body , how can wit and will join with the body only in this act , since when they do their other works fulfil , they from the body do themselves abstract ? again , if souls of souls begotten were , into each other they should change and move : and change and motion still corruption bear ; how shall we then the soul immortal prove ? if , lastly , souls do generation use , then should they spread incorruptible seed : what then becomes of that which they do lose , when th' acts of generation do not speed ? and though the soul could cast spiritual seed , yet would she not , because she never dies ; for mortal things desire their like to breed , that so they may their kind immortalize . therefore the angels , sons of god are nam'd , and marry not , nor are in marriage giv'n : their spirits and ours are of one substance fram'd , and have one father , ev'n the lord of heaven ; who would at first , that in each other thing , the earth and water living souls should breed , but that man's soul , whom he would make their king , should from himself immediately proceed . and when he took the woman from man's side , doubtless himself inspir'd her soul alone : for 't is not said , he did man's soul divide , but took flesh of his flesh , bone of his bone. lastly , god being made man , for man's own sake , and being like man in all , except in sin , his body from the virgin 's womb did take ; but all agree , god form'd his soul within . then is the soul from god ; so pagans say , which saw by nature's light her heavenly kind ; naming her , kin to god , and god's bright ray , a citizen of heav'n , to earth confin'd . but now i feel , they pluck me by the ear , whom my young muse so boldly termed blind ; and crave more heav'nly light , that cloud to clear ; which makes them think , god doth not make the mind . sect . viii . reasons from divinity . god , doubtless , makes her , and doth make her good , and grafts her in the body , there to spring ; which , though it be corrupted flesh and blood , can no way to the soul corruption bring : yet is not god the author of her ill , though author of her being , and being there : and if we dare to judge our maker's will , he can condemn us , and himself can clear . first , god from infinite eternity decreed , what hath been , is , or shall be done ; and was resolv'd , that ev'ry man should be , and in his turn , his race of life should run : and so did purpose all the souls to make , that ever have been made , or ever shall ; and that their being they should only take in humane bodies , or not be at all . was it then fit that such a weak event ( weakness it self , the sin and fall of man ) his counsel's execution should prevent , decreed and fix'd before the world began ? or that one penal law by adam broke , should make god break his own eternal law ; the settled order of the world revoke , and change all forms of things which he foresaw ? could eve's weak hand , extended to the tree , in sunder rend that adamantine chain , whose golden links , effects and causes be ; and which to god's own chair doth fix'd remain ? o , could we see how cause from cause doth spring ! how mutually they link'd , and folded are ! and hear how oft one disagreeing string the harmony doth rather make , than marr ! and view at once , how death by sin is brought ; and how from death , a better life doth rise ! how this god's justice , and his mercy taught ! we this decree would praise , as right and wise . but we that measure times by first and last , the sight of things successively do take , when god on all at once his view doth cast , and of all times doth but one instant make . all in himself , as in a glass , he sees ; for from him , by him , thrô him , all things be : his sight is not discoursive , by degrees ; but seeing the whole , each single part doth see . he looks on adam , as a root , or well ; and on his heirs , as branches , and as streams : he sees all men , as one man , though they dwell in sundry cities , and in sundry realms . and as the root and branch are but one tree , and well and stream do but one river make ; so , if the root and well corrupted be , the stream and branch the same corruption take . so , when the root and fountain of mankind did draw corruption , and god's curse , by sin ; this was a charge , that all his heirs did bind , and all his off-spring grew corrupt therein . and as when th' hand doth strike , the man offends , ( for part from whole , law severs not in this ) so adam's sin to the whole kind extends ; for all their natures are but part of his . therefore this sin of kind , not personal , but real , and hereditary was ; the guilt thereof , and punishment to all , by course of nature , and of law doth pass . for as that easie law was giv'n to all , to ancestor and heir , to first and last ; so was the first transgression general ; and all did pluck the fruit , and all did taste . of this we find some foot-steps in our law , which doth her root from god and nature take ; ten thousand men she doth together draw , and of them all , one corporation make : yet these , and their successors , are but one ; and if they gain , or lose their liberties , they harm , or profit not themselves alone , but such as in succeeding times shall rise . and so the ancestor , and all his heirs , though they in number pass the stars of heav'n , are still but one ; his forfeitures are theirs , and unto them are his advancements giv'n : his civil acts do bind and bar them all ; and as from adam , all corruption take , so , if the father's crime be capital , in all the blood , law doth corruption make . is it then just with us , to disinherit th' unborn nephews , for the father's fault ; and to advance again , for one man's merit , a thousand heirs , that have deserved nought ? and is not god's decree as just as ours , if he , for adam's sin , his sons deprive of all those native virtues , and those pow'rs , which he to him , and to his race did give ? for , what is this contagious sin of kind , but a privation of that grace within , and of that great rich dowry of the mind , which all had had , but for the first man's sin ? if then a man , on light conditions , gain a great estate , to him , and his , for ever ; if wilfully he forfeit it again , who doth bemoan his heir , or blame the giver ? so , though god make the soul good , rich and fair , yet when her form is to the body knit , which makes the man , which man is adam's heir , justly forthwith he takes his grace from it : and then the soul , being first from nothing brought , when god's grace fails her , doth to nothing fall ; and this declining proneness unto nought , is ev'n that sin that we are born withal . yet not alone the first good qualities , which in the first soul were , deprived are ; but in their place the contrary do rise , and real spots of sin her beauty marr . nor is it strange , that adam's ill desert should be transferr'd unto his guilty race , when christ his grace and justice doth impart to men unjust , and such as have no grace . lastly , the soul were better so to be born slave to sin , than not to be at all ; since ( if she do believe ) one sets her free , that makes her mount the higher for her fall. yet this the curious wits will not content ; they yet will know ( since god foresaw this ill ) why his high providence did not prevent the declination of the first man's will. if by his word he had the current stay'd of adam's will , which was by nature free , it had been one , as if his word had said , i will henceforth , that man no man shall be . for what is man without a moving mind , which hath a judging wit , and chusing will ? now , if god's pow'r should her election bind , her motions then would cease , and stand all still . and why did god in man this soul infuse , but that he should his maker know and love ? now , if love be compell'd , and cannot chuse , how can it grateful , or thank-worthy prove ? love must free-hearted be , and voluntary ; and not inchanted , or by fate constrain'd : nor like that love , which did vlysses carry to circe's isle , with mighty charms enchain'd . besides , were we unchangeable in will , and of a wit that nothing could mis deem ; equal to god , whose wisdom shineth still , and never errs , we might our selves esteem . so that if man would be unvariable , he must be god , or like a rock or tree ; for ev'n the perfect angels were not stable , but had a fall more desperate than we . then let us praise that pow'r , which makes us be men as we are , and rest contented so ; and knowing man's fall was curiosity , admire god's counsels , which we cannot know . and let us know that god the maker is of all the souls , in all the men that be ; yet their corruption is no fault of his , but the first man's , that broke god's first decree . sect . ix . why the soul is united to the body . this substance , and this spirit , of god's own making , is in the body plac'd , and planted here , " that both of god , and of the world partaking , " of all that is , man might the image bear . god first made angels bodiless , pure minds ; then other things , which mindless bodies be ; last , he made man , th' horizon 'twixt both kinds , in whom we do the world's abridgment see . besides , this world below did need one wight , which might thereof distinguish ev'ry part ; make use thereof , and take therein delight ; and order things with industry and art : which also god might in his works admire , and here beneath yield him both pray'r and praise ; as there , above , the holy angels choir doth spread his glory forth with spiritual lays . lastly , the brute , unreasonable wights , did want a visible king , o're them to reign : and god himself thus to the world unites , that so the world might endless bliss obtain . sect . x. in what manner the soul is united to the body . bvt how shall we this vnion well express ? nought ties the soul , her subtilty is such ; she moves the body , which she doth possess ; yet no part toucheth , but by virtue 's touch. then dwells she not therein , as in a tent ; nor as a pilot in his ship doth sit ; nor as the spider in his web is pent ; nor as the wax retains the print in it ; nor as a vessel water doth contain ; nor as one liquor in another shed ; nor as the heat doth in the fire remain ; nor as a voice throughout the air is spread : but as the fair and chearful morning light doth here and there her silver-beams impart , and in an instant doth her self unite to the transparent air , in all , and ev'ry part : still resting whole , when blows the air divide ; abiding pure , when th' air is most corrupted ; throughout th' air , her beams dispersing wide ; and when the air is toss'd , not interrupted : so doth the piercing soul the body fill , being all in all , and all in part diffus'd ; indivisible , incorruptible still ; not forc'd , encounter'd , troubled , or confus'd . and as the sun above the light doth bring , though we behold it in the air below ; so from th' eternal light the soul doth spring , though in the body she her pow'rs do show . sect . xi . how the soul exercises her powers in the body . bvt as the world's sun doth effects beget diff'rent , in divers places ev'ry day ; here autumn's temperature , there summer's heat ; here flow'ry spring-tide , and there winter-gray : here ev'n , there morn ; here noon , there day , there night , melts wax , dries clay , makes flow'rs , some quick , some dead ; makes the moor black , the european white ; th' american tawny , and th' east-indian red : so in our little world , this soul of ours being only one , and to one body ty'd , doth use , on divers objects , divers powers ; and so are her effects diversify'd . sect . xii . the vegetative power of the soul. her quick'ning power in ev'ry living part , doth as a nurse , or as a mother serve ; and doth employ her oeconomick art , and buisy care , her houshold to preserve . here she attracts , and there she doth retain ; there she decocts , and doth the food prepare ; there she distributes it to ev'ry vein , there she expels what she may fitly spare . this pow'r to martha may compared be , who buisy was , the houshold-things to do : or to a dryas , living in a tree ; for ev'n to trees this pow'r is proper too . and though the soul may not this pow'r extend out of the body , but still use it there ; she hath a pow'r which she abroad doth send , which views and searcheth all things ev'ry where . sect . xiii . the power of sense . this pow'r is sense , which from abroad doth bring the colour , taste , and touch , and scent , and sound , the quantity and shape of ev'ry thing within earth's centre , or heav'n's circle found . this pow'r , in parts made fit , fit objects takes ; yet not the things , but forms of things receives ; as when a seal in wax impression makes , the print therein , but not it self , it leaves . and though things sensible be numberless , but only five the sense's organs be ; and in those five , all things their forms express , which we can touch , taste , feel , or hear , or see . these are the windows , through the which she views the light of knowledge , which is life's load-star : " and yet while she these spectacles doth use , " oft worldly things seem greater than they are . sect . xiv . seeing . first , the two eyes , which have the seeing pow'r , stand as one watchman , spy , or sentinel , being plac'd aloft , within the head 's high tow'r ; and though both see , yet both but one thing tell . these mirrors take into their little space , the forms of moon and sun , and ev'ry star , of ev'ry body , and of ev'ry place , which with the world 's wide arms embraced are : yet their best object , and their noblest use , hereafter in another world will be , when god in them shall heav'nly light infuse , that face to face they may their maker see . here are they guides , which do the body lead , which else would stumble in eternal night : here in this world they do much knowledge read , and are the casements which admit most light : they are her farthest reaching instrument , yet they no beams unto their objects send ; but all the rays are from their objects sent , and in the eyes with pointed angles end . if th' objects be far off , the rays do meet in a sharp point , and so things seem but small : if they be near , their rays do spread and fleet , and make broad points , that things seem great withal . lastly , nine things to sight required are ; the pow'r to see , the light , the visible thing , being not too small , too thin , too nigh , too far , clear space and time , the form distinct to bring . thus see we how the soul doth use the eyes , as instruments of her quick pow'r of sight : hence doth th' arts optick , and fair painting rise ; painting , which doth all gentle minds delight . sect . xv. hearing . now let us hear how she the ears employs : their office is , the troubled air to take ; which in their mazes forms a sound or noise , whereof her self doth true distinction make . these wickets of the soul are plac'd on high , because all sounds do lightly mount aloft ; and that they may not pierce too violently , they are delay'd with turns and windings oft . for should the voice directly strike the brain , it would astonish and confuse it much ; therefore these plaits and folds the sound restrain , that it the organ may more gently touch . as streams , which with their winding banks do play , stopp'd by their creeks , run softly through the plain : so in th' ear 's labyrinth the voice doth stray , and doth with easy motion touch the brain . this is the slowest , yet the daintiest sense ; for ev'n the ears of such as have no skill , perceive a discord , and conceive offence ; and knowing not what 's good , yet find the ill. and though this sense first gentle musick found , her proper object is the speech of men ; but that speech chiefly which god's harolds sound , when their tongues utter what his spirit did pen. our eyes have lids , our ears still ope we see , quickly to hear how ev'ry tale is prov'd : our eyes still move , our ears unmoved be ; that though we hear quick , we be not quickly mov'd . thus by the organs of the eye and ear , the soul with knowledge doth her self endue : " thus she her prison may with pleasure bear , " having such prospects , all the world to view . these conduit-pipes of knowledge feed the mind , but th' other three attend the body still ; for by their services the soul doth find , what things are to the body good or ill . sect . xvi . taste . the body's life with meats and air is fed , therefore the soul doth use the tasting pow'r in veins , which through the tongue and palate spread , distinguish ev'ry relish , sweet , and sow'r . this is the body's nurse ; but since man's wit found th' art of cook'ry to delight his sense , more bodies are consum'd and kill'd with it , than with the sword , famine , or pestilence . sect . xvii . smelling . next , in the nostrils she doth use the smell : as god the breath of life in them did give ; so makes he now this pow'r in them to dwell , to judge all airs , whereby we breath and live . this sense is also mistress of an art , which to soft people sweet perfumes doth sell ; though this dear art doth little good impart , " since they smell best , that do of nothing smell . and yet good scents do purify the brain , awake the fancy , and the wits refine : hence old devotion , incense did ordain , to make men's spirits more apt for thoughts divine . sect . xviii . feeling . lastly , the feeling pow'r , which is life's root , through ev'ry living part it self doth shed by sinews , which extend from head to foot ; and like a net , all o'er the body spread . much like a subtile spider , which doth sit in middle of her web , which spreadeth wide ; if ought do touch the utmost thread of it , she feels it instantly on ev'ry side . by touch , the first pure qualities we learn , which quicken all things , hot , cold , moist , and dry : by touch , hard , soft , rough , smooth , we do discern : by touch , sweet pleasure , and sharp pain we try . sect . xix . of the imagination , or common sense . these are the outward instruments of sense ; these are the guards which ev'ry thing must pass , e'er it approach the mind's intelligence , or touch the fantasy , wit 's looking-glass . and yet these porters , which all things admit , themselves perceive not , nor discern the things : one common pow'r doth in the forehead sit , which all their proper forms together brings . for all those nerves , which spirits of sense do bear , and to those outward organs spreading go , united are , as in a centre , there ; and there this pow'r those sundry forms doth know . those outward organs present things receive , this inward sense doth absent things retain ; yet strait transmits all forms she doth perceive , unto an higher region of the brain , sect . xx. fantasy . where fantasy , near hand maid to the mind , sits , and beholds , and doth discern them all ; compounds in one , things diff'rent in their kind ; compares the black and white , the great and small . besides , those single forms she doth esteem , and in her ballance doth their values try ; wheresome things good , and some things ill do seem , and neutral some , in her fantastick eye . this buisy pow'r is working day and night ; for when the outward senses rest do take , a thousand dreams , fantastical and light , with flutt'ring wings , do keep her still awake : sect . xxi . sensitive memory . yet always all may not afore her be ; successively she this and that intends ; therefore such forms as she doth cease to see , to memory's large volume she commends . this ledger-book lies in the brain behind , like janus eye , which in his poll was set : the lay-man's tables , store-house of the mind ; which doth remember much , and much forget . here sense's apprehension end doth take ; as when a stone is into water cast , one circle doth another circle make , till the last circle touch the bank at last . sect . xxii . the passion of the sense . but though the apprehensive pow'r do pause , the motive vertue then begins to move ; which in the heart below doth passions cause , joy , grief , and fear , and hope , and hate , and love. these passions have a free commanding might , and divers actions in our life do breed ; for all acts done without true reason's light , do from the passion of the sense proceed . but since the brain doth lodge the pow'rs of sense , how makes it in the heart those passions spring ? the mutual love , the kind intelligence 'twixt heart and brain , this sympathy doth bring . from the kind heat , which in the heart doth reign , the spirits of life do their beginning take ; these spirits of life ascending to the brain , when they come there , the spirits of sense do make . these spirits of sense , in fantasy's high court , judge of the forms of objects , ill or well ; and so they send a good or ill report down to the heart , where all affections dwell . if the report be good , it causeth love , and longing hope , and well assured joy : if it be ill , then doth it hatred move , and trembling fear , and vexing griefs annoy . yet were these natural affections good , ( for they which want them , blocks or devils be ) if reason in her first perfection stood , that she might nature's passions rectify . sect . xxiii . local motion . besides , another motive-power doth arise out of the heart , from whose pure blood do spring the vital spirits ; which born in arteries , continual motion to all parts do bring . this makes the pulses beat , and lungs respire : this holds the sinews like a bridle 's reins ; and makes the body to advance , retire , to turn , or stop , as she them slacks , or strains . thus the soul tunes the body's instruments , these harmonies she makes with life and sense ; the organs fit are by the body lent , but th' actions flow from the soul's influence . sect . xxiv . the intellectual powers of the soul. bvt now i have a will , yet want a wit , t' express the working of the wit and will ; which , though their root be to the body knit , use not the body , when they use their skill . these pow'rs the nature of the soul declare , for to man's soul these only proper be ; for on the earth no other wights there are that have these heav'nly pow'rs , but only we . sect . xxv . wit , reason , understanding , opinion , judgment , wisdom . the wit , the pupil of the soul 's clear eye , and in man's world , the only shining star , look in the mirror of the fantasy , where all the gath'rings of the senses are . from thence this pow'r the shapes of things abstracts , and them within her passive part receives , which are enlightned by that part which acts ; and so the forms of single things perceives . but after , by discoursing to and fro , anticipating , and comparing things , she doth all vniversal natures know , and all effects into their causes brings . when she rates things , and moves from ground to ground , the name of reason she obtains by this : but when by reason she the truth hath found , and standeth fix'd , she vnderstanding is . when her assent she lightly doth incline to either part , she his opinion's light : but when she doth by principles define a certain truth , she hath true judgment 's sight . and as from senses , reason's work doth spring , so many reasons vnderstanding gain ; and many vnderstandings , knowledge bring , and by much knowledge , wisdom we obtain . so , many stairs we must ascend upright , e're we attain to wisdom's high degree : so doth this earth eclipse our reason's light , which else ( in instants ) would like angels see . sect . xxvi . innate ideas in the soul. yet hath the soul a dowry natural , and sparks of light , some common things to see ; not being a blank where nought is writ at all , but what the writer will , may written be . for nature in man's heart her laws doth pen , prescribing truth to wit , and good to will ; which do accuse , or else excuse all men , for ev'ry thought or practice , good or ill : and yet these sparks grow almost infinite , making the world , and all therein , their food ; as fire so spreads , as no place holdeth it , being nourish'd still with new supplies of wood. and though these sparks were almost quench'd with sin , yet they whom that just one hath justify'd , have them increas'd with heav'nly light within ; and like the widow's oil , still multiply'd . sect . xxvii . the power of will , and relation between the wit and will. and as this wit should goodness truly know , we have a will , which that true good should chuse , tho will do oft ( when wit false forms doth show ) take ill for good , and good for ill refuse . will puts in practice what the wit deviseth : will ever acts , and wit contemplates still : and as from wit , the pow'r of wisdom riseth , all other virtues daughters are of will. will is the prince , and wit the counsellor , which doth for common good in council sit ; and when wit is resolv'd , will lends her power to execute what is advis'd by wit. wit is the mind 's chief judge , which doth controul of fancy's court the judgments false and vain : will holds the royal scepter in the soul , and on the passions of the heart doth reign . will is as free as any emperor , nought can restrain her gentle-liberty : no tyrant , nor no torment hath the pow'r to make us will , when we unwilling be . sect . xxviii . the intellectual memory . to these high pow'rs a store-house doth pertain , where they all arts , and gen'ral reasons lay ; which in the soul , ev'n after death , remain , and no lethaean flood can wash away . sect . xxix . the dependency of the soul's faculties upon each other . this is the soul , and these her virtues be ; which , though they have their sundry proper ends ▪ and one exceeds another in degree , yet each on other mutually depends . our wit is giv'n , almighty god to know ; our will is giv'n to love him , being known : but god could not be known to us below , but by his works , which through the sense are shown . and as the wit doth reap the fruits of sense , so doth the quick'ning pow'r the senses feed : thus while they do their sundry gifts dispence , " the best the service of the least doth need . ev'n so the king his magistrates do serve , yet commons feed both magistrates and king : the common's peace the magistrates preserve , by borrow'd pow'r , which from the prince doth spring . the quick'ning power would be , and so would rest ; the sense would not be only , but be well : but wit 's ambition longeth to the best , for it desires in endless bliss to dwell . and these three pow'rs ▪ three sorts of men do make ; for some , like plants , their veins do only fill ; and some , like beasts , their senses pleasure take ; and some , like angels , do contemplate still . therefore the fables turn'd some men to flow'rs , and others did with brutish forms invest ; and did of others make celestial pow'rs , like angels , which still travel , yet still rest . yet these three pow'rs are not three souls , but one ; as one and two are both contain'd in three ; three being one number by it self alone , a shadow of the blessed trinity . oh! what is man ( great maker of mankind ! ) that thou to him so great respect dost bear ! that thou adorn'st him with so bright a mind , mak'st him a king , and ev'n an angel's peer ! oh! what a lively life , what heav'nly pow'r , what spreading virtue , what a sparkling fire , how great , how plentiful , how rich a dow'r dost thou within this dying flesh inspire ! thou leav'st thy print in other works of thine ; but thy whole image thou in man hast writ : there cannot be a creature more divine , except ( like thee ) it should be infinite . but it exceeds man's thought , to think how high god hath rais'd man , since god a man became : the angels do admire this mystery , and are astonish'd when they view the same . nor hath he giv'n these blessings for a day , nor made them on the body's life depend : the soul , though made in time , survives for ay ; and though it hath beginning , sees no end. sect . xxx . that the soul is immortal , proved by several reasons . her only end , is never ending bliss ; which is , the eternal face of god to see ; who , last of ends , and first of causes is : and to do this , she must eternal be . how senseless then , and dead a soul hath he , which thinks his soul doth with his body dye : or thinks not so , but so would have it be , that he might sin with more security ? for though these light and vicious persons say , our soul is but a smoak , or airy blast , which , during life , doth in our nostrils play , and when we die , doth turn to wind at last : although they say , come , let us eat and drink ; our life is but a spark , which quickly dies : though thus they say , they know not what to think ; but in their minds ten thousand doubts arise . therefore no hereticks desire to spread their light opinions , like these epicures ; for so their stagg'ring thoughts are comforted , and other men's assent their doubt assures . yet though these men against their conscience strive , there are some sparkles in their flinty breasts , which cannot be extinct , but still revive ; that though they would , they cannot quite be beasts . but whoso makes a mirror of his mind , and doth with patience view himself therein , his soul's eternity shall clearly find , though th' other beauties be defac'd with sin. . reason . first , in man's mind we find an appetite to learn and know the truth of ev'ry thing , which is co-natural , and born with it , and from the essence of the soul doth spring . with this desire , she hath a native might to find out ev'ry truth , if she had time ; th' innumerable effects to sort aright , and by degrees , from cause to cause to climb . but since our life so fast away doth slide , as doth an hungry eagle through the wind ; or as a ship transported with the tide , which in their passage leave no print behind ; of which swift little time so much we spend , while some few things we through the sense do strain , that our short race of life is at an end , e're we the principles of skill attain . or god ( who to vain ends hath nothing done ) in vain this appetite and pow'r hath giv'n ; or else our knowledge , which is here begun , hereafter must be perfected in heav'n . god never gave a pow'r to one whole kind , but most part of that kind did use the same : most eyes have perfect sight , though some be blind ; most legs can nimbly run , though some be lame . but in this life no soul the truth can know so perfecty , as it hath pow'r to do : if then perfection be not found below , an higher place must make her mount thereto . . reason . again , how can she but immortal be , when with the motions of both will and wit , she still aspireth to eternity , and never rests , till she attain to it ? water in conduit-pipes , can rise no higher than the well-head , from whence it first doth spring : then since to eternal god she doth aspire , she cannot be but an eternal thing . " all moving things to other things do move , " of the same kind , which shews their nature such : so earth falls down , and fire doth mount above , till both their proper elements do touch . and as the moisture , which the thirsty earth sucks from the sea , to fill her empty veins , from out her womb at last doth take a birth , and runs a nymph along the grassy plains : long doth she stay , as loth to leave the land , from whose soft side she first did issue make : she tasts all places , turns to ev'ry hand , her flow'ry banks unwilling to forsake : yet nature so her streams doth lead and carry , as that her course doth make no final stay , till she her self unto the ocean marry , within whose watry bosom first she lay . ev'n so the soul , which in this earthly mould the spirit of god doth secretly infuse , because at first she doth the earth behold , and only this material world she views : at first her mother earth she holdeth dear , and doth embrace the world , and worldly things ; she flies close by the ground , and hovers here , and mounts not up with her celestial wings : yet under heav'n she cannot light on ought that with her heav'nly nature doth agree ; she cannot rest , she cannot fix her thought , she cannot is this world contented be . for who did ever yet , in honour , wealth , or pleasure of the sense , contentment find ? who ever ceas'd to wish , when he had health ? or having wisdom , was not vex'd in mind ? then as a bee which among weeds doth fall , which seem sweet flow'rs , with lustre fresh and gay ; she lights on that , and this , and tasteth all ; but pleas'd with none , doth rise , and soar away : so , when the soul finds here no true content , and , like noah's dove , can no sure footing take , she doth return from whence she first was sent , and flies to him that first her wings did make . wit , seeking truth , from cause to cause ascends , and never rests , till it the first attain : will , seeking good , finds many middle ends ; but never stays , till it the last do gain . now god the truth , and first of causes is ; god is the last good end , which lasteth still ; being alpha and omega nam'd for this ; alpha to wit , omega to the will. since then her heav'nly kind she doth display , in that to god she doth directly move ; and on no mortal thing can make her stay , she cannot be from hence , but from above . and yet this first true cause , and last good end , she cannot here so well , and truely see ; for this perfection she must yet attend , till to her maker she espoused be . as a king's daughter , being in person sought of divers princes , who do neighbour near , on none of them can fix a constant thought , though she to all do lend a gentle ear : yet can she love a foreign emperor , whom of great worth and pow'r she hears to be , if she be woo'd but by ambassador , or but his letters , or his pictures see : for well she knows , that when she shall be brought into the kingdom where her spouse doth reign ; her eyes shall see what she conceiv'd in thought , himself , his state , his glory , and his train . so while the virgin-soul on earth doth stay , she woo'd and tempted is ten thousand ways , by these great pow'rs , which on the earth bear sway ; the wisdom of the world , wealth , pleasure , praise : with these sometimes she doth her time beguile , these do by fits her fantasie possess ; but she distastes them all within a while , and in the sweetest finds a tediousness . but if upon the world 's almighty king she once doth fix her humble loving thought , who by his picture drawn in ev'ry thing , and sacred messages , her love hath sought ; of him she thinks she cannot think too much ; this honey tasted still , is ever sweet ; the pleasure of her ravish'd thought is such , as almost here she with her bliss doth meet : but when in heav'n she shall his essence see , this is her sov'reign good , and perfect bliss ; her longing , wishings , hopes , all finish'd be ; her joys are full , her motions rest in this : there is she crown'd with garlands of content ; there doth she manna eat , and nectar drink : that presence doth such high delights present , as never tongue could speak , nor heart could think . . reason . for this , the better souls do oft despise the body's death , and do it oft desire ; for when on ground the burthen'd ballance lies , the empty part is lifted up the higher : but if the body's death the soul should kill , then death must needs against her nature be ; and were it so , all souls would fly it still , for nature hates and shuns her contrary . for all things else , which nature makes to be , their being to preserve , are chiefly taught ; and though some things desire a change to see , yet never thing did long to turn to nought . if then by death the soul were quenched quite , she could not thus against her nature run ; since ev'ry sensless thing , by nature's light , doth preservation seek , destruction shun . nor could the world's best spirits so much err , if death took all , that they should all agree , before this life , their honour to prefer : for what is praise to things that nothing be ? again , if by the body's prop she stand ; if on the body's life , her life depend , as meleagers on the fatal brand , the body's good she only would intend : we should not find her half so brave and bold , to lead it to the wars , and to the seas , to make it suffer watchings , hunger , cold , when it might feed with plenty , rest with ease . doubtless , all souls have a surviving thought , therefore of death we think with quiet mind ; but if we think of being turn'd to nought , a trembling horrour in our souls we find . . reason . and as the better spirit , when she doth bear a scorn of death , doth shew she cannot die ; so when the wicked soul death's face doth fear , ev'n then she proves her own eternity . for when death's form appears , she feareth not an utter quenching , or extinguishment ; she would be glad to meet with such a lot , that so she might all future ill prevent : but she doth doubt what after may befal ; for nature's law accuseth her within , and saith , 't is true what is affirm'd by all , that after death there is a pain for sin. then she who hath been hood wink'd from he birth , doth first her self within death's mirrour see ; and when her body doth return to earth , she first takes care , how she alone shall be . who ever sees these irreligious men , with burthen of a sickness weak and faint , but hears them talking of religion then , and vowing of their souls to ev'ry saint ? when was there ever cursed atheist brought unto the gibbet , but he did adore that blessed pow'r , which he had set at nought , scorn'd and blasphemed all his life before ? these light vain persons still are drunk and mad , with surfeitings , and pleasures of their youth ; but at their death they are fresh , sober , sad ; then they discern , and then they speak the truth . if then all souls , both good and bad , do teach , with gen'ral voice , that souls can never die ; 't is not man's flatt'ring gloss , but nature's speech , which , like god's oracles , can never lye . . reason . hence springs that universal strong desire , which all men have of immortality : not some few spirits unto this thought aspire , but all men's minds in this united be . then this desire of nature is not vain , " she covets not impossibilities ; " fond thoughts may fall into some idle brain , " but one assent of all , is ever wise . from hence that gen'ral care and study springs , that launching , and progression of the mind , which all men have so much of future things , that they no joy do in the present find . from this desire , that main desire proceeds , which all men have surviving fame to gain , by tombs , by books , by memorable deeds ; for she that this desires , doth still remain . hence , lastly , springs care of posterities , for things their kind would everlasting make : hence is it , that old men do plant young trees , the fruit whereof another age shall take . if we these rules unto our selves apply , and view them by reflection of the mind , all these true notes of immortality in our heart's tables we shall written find . . reason . and though some impious wits do questions move , and doubt if souls immortal be , or no ; that doubt their immortality doth prove , because they seem immortal things to know . for he who reasons on both parts doth bring , doth some things mortal , some immortal call ; now , if himself were but a mortal thing , he could not judge immortal things at all . for when we judge , our minds we mirrors make ; and as those glasses which material be , forms of material things do only take ; for thoughts or minds in them we cannot see : so when we god and angels do conceive , and think of truth , which is eternal too ; then do our minds immortal forms receive , which if they mortal were , they could not do . and as if beasts conceiv'd what reason were , and that conception should distinctly show , they should the name of reasonable bear ; for without reason , none could reason know : so when the soul mounts with so high a wing , as of eternal things she doubts can move ; she proofs of her eternity doth bring , ev'n when she strives the contrary to prove . for ev'n the thought of immortality , being an act done without the body's aid , shews , that her self alone could move and be , although the body in the grave were laid . sect . xxxi . that the soul cannot be destroy'd and if her self she can so lively move , and never need a foreign help to take ; then must her motion everlasting prove , " because her self she never can forsake . but though corruption cannot touch the mind by any cause that from it self may spring , some outward cause fate hath perhaps design'd , which to the soul may utter quenching bring . perhaps her cause may cease , and she may die : god is her cause , his word her maker was ; which shall stand fix'd for all eternity , when heav'n and earth shall like a shadow pass . perhaps some thing repugnant to her kind , by strong antipathy , the soul may kill : but what can be contrary to the mind , which holds all contraries in concord still ? she lodgeth heat , and cold , and moist , and dry , and life , and death , and peace , and war together ; ten thousand fighting things in her do lie , yet neither troubleth , or disturbeth either . perhaps for want of food , the soul may pine ; but that were strange , since all things bad and good ; since all god's creatures , mortal and divine ; since god himself is her eternal food . bodies are fed with things of mortal kind , and so are subject to mortality : but truth , which is eternal , feeds the mind ; the tree of life , which will not let her die . yet violence , perhaps the soul destroys , as lightning , or the sun-beams dim the sight ; or as a thunder clap , or cannon's noise , the pow'r of hearing doth astonish quite : but high perfection to the soul it brings , t' encounter things most excellent and high ; for , when she views the best and greatest things , they do not hurt , but rather clear the eye . besides , as homer's gods , ' gainst armies stand , her subtil form can through all dangers slide : bodies are captive , minds endure no band ; " and will is free , and can no force abide . but lastly , time perhaps at last hath pow'r to spend her lively pow'rs , and quench her light ; but old god saturn , which doth all devour , doth cherish her , and still augment her might . heav'n waxeth old , and all the spheres above shall one day faint , and their swift motion stay ; and time it self , in time shall cease to move ; only the soul survives , and lives for ay . " our bodies , ev'ry footstep that they make , " march towards death , until at last they dye : " whether we work or play , or sleep or wake , " our life doth pass , and with time's wings doth fly : but to the soul , time doth perfection give , and adds fresh lustre to her beauty still ; and makes her in eternal youth to live , like her which nectar to the gods doth fill . the more she lives , the more she feeds on truth ; the more she feeds , her strength doth more increase : and what is strength , but an effect of youth , which if time nurse , how can it ever cease ? sect . xxxii . objections against the immortality of the soul , with their respective answers . bvt now these epicures begin to smile , and say , my doctrine is more safe than true ; and that i fondly do my self beguile , while these receiv'd opinions i ensue . for , what , say they ? doth not the soul wax old ? how comes it then that aged men do dote ; and that their brains grow sottish , dull and cold , which were in youth the only spirits of note ? what ? are not souls within themselves corrupted ? how can there idiots then by nature be ? how is it that some wits are interrupted , that now they dazled are , now clearly see ? these questions make a subtil argument to such as think both sense and reason one ; to whom nor agent , from the instrument , nor pow'r of working , from the work is known . but they that know that wit can shew no skill , but when she things in sense's glass doth view , do know , if accident this glass do spill , it nothing sees , or sees the false for true . for , if that region of the tender brain , where th' inward sense of fantasy should sit , and th' outward senses , gath'rings should retain ; by nature , or by chance , become unfit : either at first uncapable it is , and so few things , or none at all receives ; or marr'd by accident , which haps amiss ; and so amiss it ev'ry thing perceives . then , as a cunning prince that useth spies , if they return no news , doth nothing know ; but if they make advertisement of lies , the prince's counsels all awry do go : ev'n so the soul to such a body knit , whose inward senses undisposed be ; and to receive the forms of things unfit , where nothing is brought in , can nothing see . this makes the idiot , which hath yet a mind , able to know the truth , and chuse the good : if she such figures in the brain did find , as might be found , if it in temper stood ▪ but if a phrensy do possess the brain , it so disturbs and blots the forms of things , as fantasy proves altogether vain , and to the wit no true relation brings . then doth the wit , admitting all for true , build fond conclusions on those idle grounds : then doth it fly the good , and ill pursue ; believing all that this false spy propounds ▪ but purge the hamours , and the rage appease , which this distemper in the fansy wrought ; then shall the wit , which never had disease , discourse , and judge discreetly , as it ought . so , though the clouds eclipse the sun 's fair light , yet from his face they do not take one beam ; so have our eyes their perfect pow'r of sight , ev'n when they look into a troubled stream . then these defects in sense's organs be ; not in the soul , or in her working might : she cannot lose her perfect pow'r to see , though mists and clouds do choak her window-light . these imperfections then we must impute , not to the agent , but the instrument : we must not blame apollo , but his lute , if false accords from her false strings be sent . the soul in all hath one intelligence ; though too much moisture in an infant 's brain , and too much driness in an old man's sense , cannot the prints of outward things retain : then doth the soul want work , and idle sit , and this we childishness and dotage call ; yet hath she then a quick and active wit , if she had stuff and tools to work withal : for , give her organs fit , and objects fair ; give but the aged man , the young man's sense ; let but medea , aeson's youth repair , and straight she shews her wonted excellence . as a good harper , stricken far in years , into whose cunning hands the gout doth fall , all his old crotchets in his brain he bears , but on his harp plays ill , or not at all . but if apollo takes his gout away , that he his nimble fingers may apply ; apollo's self will envy at his play , and all the world applaud his minstralsy . then dotage is no weakness of the mind , but of the sense ; for if the mind did waste , in all old men we should this wasting find , when they some certain term of years had pass'd : but most of them , ev'n to their dying hour , retain a mind more lively , quick and strong ; and better use their understanding pow'r , then when their brains were warm , and limbs were young . for , though the body wasted be , and weak , and though the leaden form of earth it bears ; yet when we hear that half-dead body speak , we oft are ravish'd to the heav'nly spheres . yet say these men , if all her organs die , then hath the soul no pow'r her pow'rs to use : so , in a sort , her pow'rs extinct do lie , when unto act she cannot them reduce . and if her pow'rs be dead , then what is she ? for since from ev'ry thing some pow'rs do spring ; and from those pow'rs , some acts proceeding be ; then kill both pow'r and act , and kill the thing . doubtless , the body's death , when once it dies , the instruments of sense and life doth kill ; so that she cannot use those faculties , although their root rest in her substance still . but ( as the body living ) wit and will can judge and chuse , without the body's aid ; though on such objects they are working still , as through the body's organs are convey'd : so , when the body serves her turn no more , and all her senses are extinct and gone , she can discourse of what she learn'd before , in heav'nly contemplations , all alone . so , if one man well on the lute doth play , and have good horsemanship , and learning's skill ; though both his lute and horse we take away , doth he not keep his former learning still ? he keeps it , doubtless , and can use it too ; and doth both th' other skills in pow'r retain ; and can of both the proper actions do , if with his lute or horse he meet again , so though the instruments , ( by which we live , and view the world ) the body's death do kill ; yet with the body they shall all revive , and all their wonted offices fulfil . but how , till then , shall she her self employ ? her spies are dead , which brought home news before : what she hath got , and keeps , she may enjoy , but she hath means to understand no more . then what do those poor souls , which nothing get ? or what do those which get , and cannot keep ? like buckets bottomless , which all out-let ; those souls , for want of exercise , must sleep . see how man's soul against it self doth strive : why should we not have other means to know ? as children , while within the womb they live , feed by the navil : here they feed not so . these children , if they had some use of sense , and should by chance their mother's talking hear , that in short time they shall come forth from thence , would fear their birth , more than our death we fear . they would cry out , if we this place shall leave , then shall we break our tender navil-strings : how shall we then our nourishment receive , since our sweet food no other conduit brings ? and if a man should to these babes reply , that into this fair world they shall be brought , where they shall view the earth , the sea , the sky , the glorious sun , and all that god hath wrought : that there ten thousand dainties they shall meet , which by their mouths they shall with pleasure take ; which shall be cordial too , as well as sweet ; and of their little limbs , tall bodies make : this world they 'd think a fable , ev'n as we do think the story of the golden age ; or as some sensual spirits ' mongst us be , which hold the world to come , a feigned stage : yet shall these infants after find all true , tho' then thereof they nothing could conceive : as soon as they are born , the world they view , and with their mouths , the nurses milk receive . so when the soul is born ( for death is nought but the soul's birth , and so we should it call ) ten thousand things she sees beyond her thought ; and in an unknown manner , knows them all . then doth she see by spectacles no more , she hears not by report of double spies ; her self in instants doth all things explore ; for each thing 's present , and before her lies . but still this crew with questions me pursues : if souls deceas'd ( say they ) still living be , why do they not return , to bring us news of that strange world , where they such wonders see ? fond men ! if we believe that men do live under the zenith of both frozen poles , though none come thence , advertisement to give , why bear we not the like faith of our souls ? the soul hath here on earth no more to do , than we have bus'ness in our mother's womb : what child doth covet to return thereto , although all children first from thence do come ? but as noah's pigeon , which return'd no more , did shew , she footing found , for all the flood ; so when good souls , departed through death's door , come not again , it shews their dwelling good . and doubtless , such a soul as up doth mount , and doth appear before her maker's face , holds this vile world in such a base account , as she looks down and scorns this wretched place . but such as are detruded down to hell , either for shame , they still themselves retire ; or ty'd in chains , they in close prison dwell , and cannot come , although they much desire . well , well , say these vain spirits , thought vain it is to think our souls to heav'n or hell do go ; politick men have thought it not amiss , to spread this lye , to make men virtuous so . do you then think this moral virtue good ? i think you do , ev'n for your private gain ; for commonwealths by virtue ever stood , and common good the private doth contain . if then this virtue you do love so well , have you no means , her practice to maintain ; but you this lye must to the people tell , that good souls live in joy , and ill in pain ? must virtue be preserved by a lye ? virtue and truth do ever best agree ; by this it seems to be a verity , since the effects so good and virtuous be . for , as the devil , the father is of lies , so vice and mischief do his lies ensue : then this good doctrine did not he devise ; but made this lye , which saith , it is not true . for , how can that be false , which ev'ry tongue of ev'ry mortal man affirms for true ? which truth hath in all ages been so strong , as , load-stone-like , all hearts it ever drew . for , not the christian , or the jew alone , the persian , or the turk , acknowledge this ; this mystery to the wild indian known , and to the canibal and tartar is . this rich assyrian drug grows ev'ry where ; as common in the north , as in the east : this doctrine doth not enter by the ear , but of it self is native in the breast . none that acknowledge god , or providence , their souls eternity did ever doubt ; for all religion takes root from hence , which no poor naked nation lives without . for since the world for man created was , ( for only man the use thereof doth know ) if man do perish like a wither'd grass , how doth god's wisdom order things below ? and if that wisdom still wise ends propound , why made he man , of other creatures , king ; when ( if he perish here ) there is not found in all the world so poor and vile a thing ? if death do quench us quite , we have great wrong , since for our service all things else were wrought ; that daws , and trees , and rocks should last so long , when we must in an instant pass to nought . but bless'd be that great pow'r , that hath us bless'd with longer life than heav'n or earth can have ; which hath infus'd into our mortal breast immortal pow'rs not subject to the grave . for though the soul do seem her grave to bear , and in this world is almost buri'd quick , we have no cause the body's death to fear ; for when the shell is broke , out comes a chick . sect . xxxiii . three kinds of life answerable to the three powers of the soul. for as the soul 's essential pow'rs are three ; the quick'ning pow'r , the pow'r of sense and reason ; three kinds of life to her designed be , which perfect these three pow'rs in their due season . the first life in the mother's womb is spent , where she her nursing pow'r doth only use ; where , when she finds defect of nourishment , sh'expels her body , and this world she views . this we call birth ; but if the child could speak , he death would call it ; and of nature plain , that she would thrust him out naked and weak , and in his passage pinch him with such pain . yet out he comes , and in this world is plac'd , where all his senses in perfection be ; where he finds flowers to smell , and fruits to taste , and sounds to hear , and sundry forms to see . when he hath pass'd some time upon the stage , his reason then a little seems to wake ; which , though she spring when sense doth fade with age , yet can she here no perfect practice make . then doth aspiring soul the body leave , which we call death ; but were it known to all , what life our souls do by this death receive , men would it birth , or goal-deliv'ry call . in this third life , reason will be so bright , as that her spark will like the sun-beams shine , and shall of god enjoy the real sight , being still increas'd by influence divine . sect . xxxiv . the conclusion . o ignorant poor man ! what dost thou bear , lock'd up within the casket of thy breast ? what jewels , and what riches hast thou there ? what heav'nly treasure in so weak a chest ? look in thy soul , and thou shalt beauties find , like those which drown'd narcissus in the flood : honour and pleasure both are in thy mind , and all that in the world is counted good. think of her worth , and think that god did mean , this worthy mind should worthy things embrace : blot not her beauties with thy thoughts unclean , nor her dishonour with thy passion base . kill not her quickn'ng pow'r with surfeitings : mar not her sense with sensuality : cast not her serious wit on idle things : make not her free will slave to vanity . and when thou think'st of her eternity , think not that death against her nature is ; think it a birth : and when thou go'st to die , sing like a swan , as if thou went'st to bliss . and if thou , like a child , didst fear before , being in the dark , where thou didst nothing see ; now i have brought thee torch-light , fear no more ; now when thou dy'st , thou canst not hood wink'd and thou , my soul , which turn'st with curious eye , to view the beams of thine own form divine , know , that thou canst know nothing perfectly , while thou art clouded with this flesh of mine . take heed of over-weening , and compare thy peacock's feet with thy gay peacock's train : study the best and highest things that are , but of thy self an humble thought retain . cast down thy self , and only strive to raise the glory of thy maker's sacred name : use all thy pow'rs , that blessed pow'r to praise , which gives thee pow'r to be , and use the same . finis . books printed for , and are to be sold by w. rogers . archbishop tillotson's works ; containing fifty four sermons and discourses on several occasions . together with the rule of faith. being all that were published by his grace himself ; and now collected into one volume . to which is added , an alphabetical table of the principal matters . folio . price s. — discourse against transubstantiation , octavo , alone . price d. sticth'd . — persuasive to frequent communion in the sacrament of the lord's supper . octavo . stitcht d. in twelves , bound d. — sermons concerning the divinity of our b. saviour . octavo . — six sermons . i. of stedfastness in religion . ii. of family-religion . iii. iv. v. of the education of children . vi. of the advantages of an early piety . in octavo . price s. in twelves . s. d. bishop of worcester's doctrines and practices of the church of rome truly represented , &c. quarto . — doctrine of the trinity and transubstantiation compar'd . in two parts . quarto . bishop of norwich's two sermons of the wisdom and goodness of providence , before the queen at whitehall . quarto . — sermon preached at st. andrews holbourn , on gal. . . — of religious melancholy . a sermon preach'd before the queen at whitehall . quarto . — of the immortality of the soul , preach'd before the king and queen at whitehall , on palm-sunday . quarto . bishop kidder's commentary on the five books of moses ; with a dissertation concerning the writer or author of the books . vol. . octavo . dr. sherlock , dean of st. paul 's , answer to a discourse , entituled , papists protesting against protestant popery . second edition . quarto . — answer to the amicable accommodation of the differences between the representer and the answerer . quarto . — vindication of some protestant principles of church-unity and catholick communion , &c. quarto . — preservative against popery . in two parts , with the vindication . — discourse concerning the nature , unity , and communion of the catholick church . first part. quarto . — vindication of the doctrine of the trinity . third edition . quarto . — case of allegiance to sovereign powers stated , &c. quarto . — vindication of the case of allegiance , &c. quarto . — sermon at the funeral of the reverend dr. calamy . quarto . — sermon before the lord-mayor , november . . quarto . — fast-sermon before the queen at whitehall , june . quarto . — sermon before the house of commons , jan. . . quarto . — sermon preach'd before the queen , feb. . . quarto . — the charity of lending without usury . in a sermon before the lord-mayor , on easter-tuesday , . quarto . — sermon at the temple-church , may . . quarto . — sermon preach'd before the queen , june . . quarto . — sermon preach'd at the funeral of the reverend dr. meggot , late dean of winchester , decemb. . . quarto . — a sermon at the temple-church , december . . upon the sad occasion of the death of our gracious queen . quarto . — practical discourse concerning death . in octavo . eighth edition . price s. in twelves , price s. — practical discourse concerning judgment . third edition . octavo . — a discourse concerning the divine providence . second edition . quarto . — apology for writing against socinians . quarto . dr. claget's state of the church of rome when the reformation began . quarto . — school of the eucharist , translated and published ( with an excellent preface by dr. claget ) in quarto , price s. in octavo , price d. — sermons in two volumes . octavo . dr. wake 's discourse concerning the nature of idolatry . quarto . — sermons and discourses on several occasions . octavo . mr. gee's history of the persecutions of the protestants in the principality of orange , by the french king. quarto . mr. johnson's impossibility of transubstantiation demonstrated . mr. hodges sermon of the necessity , &c. of gospel-ministers . — treatise of the lawfulness of the marriage of the clergy . molins of the muscles , &c. octavo . mr. perk's new and easy method to sing by book . octavo . erasmus's weapon for a christian soldier . twelves . bulstrode's reports , in three parts , the second edition . folio . bendloe and dalison's reports , published by mr. rowe , . folio . fitz-herbert's natura brevium , corrected and revised , octavo . two dialogues in english between a doctor and a student , octavo . wentworth's office and duty of executors , with the appendix . hind and panther transvers'd , quarto . mr. elis's necessity of serious consideration , and speedy repentance . octavo . — folly of atheism demonstrated to the capacity of the most unlearned reader . octavo . — a short scripture-catechism . twelves . mr. tyrrel's brief disquisition of the law of nature , &c. octavo . — general history of england . folio . price s. a defence of the dean of st. paul's apology for writing against the socinians . quarto . a defence of dr. sherlock's notion of a trinity in unity . quarto . the distinction between real and nominal trinitarians , examined . quarto . the knowledg of medals , or instructions for those who apply themselves to the study of medals , both ancient and modern ; from the french. dr. pelling's discourse concerning the existence of god. octavo . mr. wilson's discourse of religion , shewing its truth and reality ; or the suitableness of religion to humane nature . octavo . — discourse of the resurrection , shewing the import and certainty of it . octavo . dr. prideaux's life of mahomet , with a letter to the deists . octavo . a letter to a member of parliament , occasioned by a letter to a convocation-man , concerning the rights , powers , and priviledges of that body . together with an enquiry into the ecclesiastical power of the university of oxford , particularly to decree and declare heresy , occasioned by that letter . quarto . mr. tate's elegy on his grace , john late lord archbishop of canterbury . folio . — mausolaeum : a funeral poem on our late gracious sovereign queen mary of blessed memory . folio . — ovid's metamorphosis , translated by several hands . vol. . containing the first five books . octavo . the island-princess as it is acted at the theatre royal / reviv'd with alterations by n. tate ... tate, nahum, - . this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a of text r in the english short title catalog (wing t ). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish.this text has not been fully proofread approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo a wing t estc r ocm

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early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) the island-princess as it is acted at the theatre royal / reviv'd with alterations by n. tate ... tate, nahum, - . fletcher, john, - . [ ], p. printed by r.h. for w. canning, at his shop ..., london : . caption title: the island princess, or, generous portugals. an adaptation by nahum tate of john fletcher's work of the same name--cf. cambridge hist. eng. lit., viii, . imperfect: pages - torn with slight loss of print. reproduction of original in the harvard university library.
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the island-princess : as it is acted at the theatre royal , reviv'd with alterations .

by n. tate . gent.

london : printed by r. h. for w. canning , at his shop in vine-court middle-temple . .

to the right honourable henry ld. walgrave , baron of chewton , comptroller of his majesty's houshold . my lord ,

vvhen i consider'd that the design of my authors in this poem , was to shew transcendent vertue , piety and constancy successful ; i was directed by duty , as well as inclination , to present it to your lordship's protection . the same pious affections and habits of mind , were no less your lordship's choice than education . nor is our armusia more happy than your lordship in a beauteous and royal recompence , whose perfections are but faintly shadowed in the character of quisara : no single merit obtain'd your lordship so great a blessing , but those universal endowments and eminent qualifications of mind , by which you have charm'd the affections of all good men , and which will adorn your lordship's name as long as learning , piety and loyalty , shall preserve a reputation in the world. amongst the present ornaments of our court , whose accomplishments have rendred them happy objects of their prince's favour , your lordship is allow'd to have no inferiour claim . for as in the natural body , our animal spirits are supply'd by our most refin'd and vital blood , such noble and ancient families , as your lordship's , are the proper supplements to a declining nobility . many are your advantages , both of birth and fortune . but not contented with descended glories , your lordship has imbellished those honours with no less noble and acquir'd endowments . to you , my lord , our foreign ministers may resort , to inform themselves of the manners and languages of their own courts . your lordship with the experience and prudence of ulysses has seen both men and countries , from which you have inrich'd your self with all that was good , and left all their vices and vanities behind . but these , my lord , your excellent qualifications are fitter to adorn our annals , than a private dedication . all my present ambition is to beg your lordship's favourable censure on this following essay . it had been presumptuous in me without some obligation ( which i could not well de cline ) to attempt an alteration in any composure of beaumont and fletcher . those defects in manners , that were too palpable through the work , must be imputed to the age in which they wrote ; but still there are so many and transcending beauties in all their writings , that i iudg'd it safest to rob their treasure for a tribute to your lordship . the metal is still the same , but whether it has gain'd or lost by the new stamp , must be submitted to your lordship , by him , that is only ambitious to be allow'd

your lordship's most humble servant and admirer , n. tate .
the persons . islanders . mr. kynaston . mrs. cook. mrs. momford . mr. gillo . mr. powel . mr. harris . portuguese's . mr. griffin . mr. smith . mr. norris . mr. powel junior . mr. momford .

scene tedore .

the island princess : or , generous portugals .
act i. scene i. the entrance to the temple in the palace . pymero , chrystopheso , pedro. pym. you're early pedro. ped. not so early , sir , but i 've already seen our watch reliev'd , and bid our guards be careful of their charge , the fort being all our strength . chryst. our common safety requires strict eyes upon these islanders : believe me , sirs , they 're false and desperate people , and cruel as they 're crafty , when they find the least advantage of surprize . ped. 't is plain : their late attempt is yet too fresh amongst us , in which against all arms and honesty the governour of ternata seiz'd by stealth this islands monarch , our confederate king , while for diversion coasting in his barge . chryst. his royal sister , the fair quisara , has shew'd a noble mind , and tendrest love to her afflicted brother , and the nobler , because his ruin stiles her absolute , the heiress and possessour of his throne . ped. such charms and vertue with just admiration have robb'd the neighbouring courts , and fill'd her palace with royal suiters . pym. good. chryst. you smile pymero. pym. yet � ped. what ? pym. if fame has left her old trick of lying , our countryman and general , brave riudias is in amongst 'em too , and has the start or my she-oracle deceives me . chryst. i have observ'd him oft , how privately he has stoln from us , and how readily feigned business too , yea bid the fort farewel : sure there is something in 't . pym. yet this grave uncle has read me lectures . ped. yet you car'd not for 't . pym. i' faith not much , i ventur'd on still easily , and took my chance , danger 's a souldiers honour . chryst. might he succeed � pym. fear not , our family ne'er fail'd . chryst. but have you , pedro , seen the young armusia ? the handsome portuguese arrived here lately ? 't is odds , pymero , but he marrs your game . ped. a youth of noble promise , goodly , courteous , without reservedness , grave , and doubtless valiant ; for he that dares come hither , dares fight any where . chryst. remember w' are i' th' palace of the island , not our own fort : d' ye mark those preparations ? those doors give entrance to the princess shrine , the seat of her devotion , where this morning she summons all her suiters to assemble ; but for what purpose in such solemn state , and that most awful place , we are yet to learn. pym. work for her myrmedons . ped. but who are chief ? chryst. there 's first your king of bakam , that speaks louder in his own commendations than a cannon ; yet he 's struck dumb with her . ped. syana's prince too , a sprightly lover , wise , and temperate : the chief sport , or rather wonder , is ; the haughty governour , her mortal enemy , he that surpriz'd her brother , is struck too ; and under formal hostages arriv'd . but see the noble stranger we describ'd . enter armusia , and his companions . pym. you're welcome sir : know there is nothing in our power to serve you , but you may freely challenge . arm. sir , we thank you , and rest your servants . chryst. brave armusia , you never saw this court before . arm. no sir , and therefore least in wonder and delight such government � chryst. you shall see more anon , that which will make you start ; but hark , the signal 's giv'n , and see the pageants enter . enter bakam , syana , and governour with their respective attendants . arm. these sure are islanders . chryst. and princes . arm. they are goodly persons : what might hebe , seignior , that bears so proud a port ? pym. the king of bakam , a fellow that looks so highly , as if he had been begot on the top of a steeple . chryst. this is syana , a braver temper'd fellow , and more valiant . sfor. what rugged face is that ? chryst. the governour ; he that surpriz'd the king , and keeps him captive . pym. see , their eyes lighten ; ware thunder , gentlemen . ba. away ye trifles , am i in competition with such toys ? sy. you speak loud , sir. ba. young man , i will speak louder ; can any man but i deserve her favour ? ye petty princes ! pym. he 'll put 'em all in 's pocket . sy. thou proud vain thing , whom nature � ba. i contemn thee , and that fort-keeping fellow . pym. how the dog looks ! the bandog governour , gov. ha! ba. keep thy rank , thing , with thy own petty peers : call out the princess . gov. dost thou know me , bladder ? art thou acquainted with my nature ? what canst thou merit ? ba. merit ! i 'm above it . honour 's my servant , fortune is my slave ; i slight ye insects : had not the vain people bestow'd some titles on ye , i should forget your names . ped. mercy on me what a blown fool has self-affection made ! chryst. his mother long'd for bellows sure and bag-pipes . pym. swallow'd a drum , and was deliver'd of an alarm . sy. sir , talk a little handfomer ; talk softlier , that we may be able tohold pace with you ; we are princes , but those are petty things with you : talk wiser , as 't will become your mightiness : talk less , that men may think you can do more . gov. talk truth , that men may think y' are honest , and believe you . ba. why , i can talk and do . i 'll tell you , only i deserve the princess , and make good only i ; if you dare , you , or you , syana's prince . sy. here lies my proof . gov. i 'll be short with you , for those long arguments i was never good at . pym. how white the boaster looks . [ the temple opens . enter ruidias ; quisara , in state with her attendants . ru. for shame forbearye princes , rule your anger 's ; you violate the freedom of this place , the state and royalty � gov. he 's well content i see , so i have done . arm. is this she seignior ? pym. this is the princess , sir. arm. an admirable form : they had cause to justle . quis. you wrong me and my court , contentious princes : comes your love drest in violence to seek us ? is 't fit our palace ; this most sacred shrine should be polluted with your bloody rage ? my very altar's frighted with your swords . he that loves me , loves my commands ; be temperate , or be no more what you profess , my servants . omn. we are calm as peace . arm. heav'n ! what command she carries , and what a sparkling majesty flies from her . qui. since you 're for action , i shall find you danger ; but not this way : 't is not this mean contention amongst your selves , nor courtship to my face : who best can love , or who can flatter most , shall guide my choice ; he that will hope my favour must winn me with his worth. omn. propose the way . quis. i shall , and then shew you a will to tread that way , i 'll say you 're worthy . pym. what task now will she turn them to ? these hot youths i fear will find a cooling card. quis. first i shall call our country gods to witness with highest adorations , what i promise . [ goes up to the altar , kneels and kisses it . now give me hearing : 't is well known to you i had a royal brother , now most wretched , and prisoner to this man : were i ambitious , or coveted these glories not born mine , his miseries should bear a lasting date ; or were i covetous ; had my heart set on riches , or on pleasures uncontroul'd , there he should die ; his death would give me these , for then stood i up absolute . yet all theseflattering shews of dignity , these golden dreams of greatness cannot force me to forget nature and a king's distress . pym. now uncle play the marks-man . quick , watch her word , and shoot on the wing . quis. thereforethe man that would be known my lover , must first be known my brothers faim'd redeemer : bring him alive or dead to my embraces , ( for even his bones must scorn such slavery ) or seek another mistress . arm. divine creature ! chryst. how they stand gaping all ! quis. i grant ye princes 't will be hard to do this , wondrous hard , a great adventure : but finish't , the reward is worthy of it . you hear your task . pym. tell her 't is done , sir ; you 'll ride upon a whirlwind , and bring him home on lightning . arm. ruidias , cold ? not fly like fire into 't . perhaps you doubt me , princes , he that shall do this is my husband ; by that most bright and sacred shrine i swear , before these holy men i here proclaim it . no stirring yet . [ looks on ruidias . rui. if , madam , to attempt this royal rescue , through all forms of danger , might crown our hope , i had not lost this minute ; but here , where conduct must keep pace with courage , the starting fiery will is rein'd with torment to judgment 's flower march. quis. take your own method . ba. madam , believe him here : i 'll raise an army , shall bring him to your island , fort and all , and fix it here . gov. how long will this be doing ? you should have begun this in your grandsire's days . sy. what may be , madam , and what my power can promise , i engage : my will i 'm fure stands fair . gov. ha! ha ! madam , their power and arts are all too weak , 't is only in my will to give your wishes . the king your brother is my prisoner ; then thus the bargains finish'd , take your prisoner , and make me yours , close prisonerto these arms : say but the word , your brother shall be rendred . quick as your wish . quis. know base ravisher , i hate both you , your country , and your love : heav'n knows how dear i prize his liberty , but ' ere i would so basely buy his freedom , i 'd study to forget he was my brother . by force you took him ; he that would possess me , must fetch him back by force , or ne'er succeed . arm. noble spirit . pym. now could i love her , though she 's vertuous . quis. by force , and make you glad to let him go . gov. you may look nobler on me . quis. i say by force , and suddenly ; he lies there till he rots else : so return , sir , and glad we have kept faith for your safe passage , rather than take him as thy courtesy ; though no condition were propos'd , i 'd see him far sunk in earth , and there forget him . gov. how 's this ? pym. your hopes are great , good governour . gov. am i then made a property ? i 'll check this pride , i 'll quench this bravery , and turn your glorious scorn to tears and howling ; i will , proud princess : this neglect of me shall make your brother king most miserable ; for as till now i 've us'd him like a king , and seen all royal offices perform'd , he now shall lie a sad l�a��� dungeon , loaden with chains and fetters , cold and hunger , darkness and lingring death for his companions : and let me see who dares attempt his rescue ; what desperate fool look towards it : farewel : and when you find him thus lament your scorn . nay , i shall make you kneel to take my offer . once more farewell ; and put your trust in puppits . [ ex. quis. if none dare undertake 't , i 'll live a mourner . now ruidias . [ ex. with her train . rui. cousin we must resolve and speedily . walk with me , gentlemen . [ exeunt . manent armus . sforza , emanuel . em. now , sir , you stand as you were charm'd . arm. o sforza and emanuel ! sfor. what now ? arm. this captive king ! sfor. i see your drift , and fear'd the consequence . consult your safety , sir , we know your worth , and must not see you perish ; you are my charge . arm. what an action would this be to put forward , sirs ? what glory ? em. and what an everlasting wealth to crown it ? arm. to step into 't while they are thinking . sfor. sir , 't is impossible , the fort 's impregnable without a guard. arm. by heav'n i 'll rule in this . sfor. if it must be ! arm. stay not for second thoughts � o she 's an angel ! at least we can attempt , our very fate will sometimes be the theam of her discourse , and i would die ten thousand thousand deaths to have her talk of me . away . [ exeunt .
scene iii. a prison . enter keeper and two or three moors . keep. i have kept many men , and many great , but must confess i never saw till now a person of such sufferance ; he lies now where i would not have laid my enemies dog , where neither light nor comfort can approach him , nor air nor earth that 's wholesome . moor. 't is most strange , load him with irons , oppress him with contempts , such are our governours orders ; give him nothing to feed life , or so small 't is next to nothing , it moves not him , he smiles upon his miseries , and bears 'em with such strength , as if his nature had been nurst-up , and foster'd with calamities . keep. he gives no ill words , curses not , repines not , blames nothing , hopes in nothing . . moor. and in the midst of all these frights , fears nothing . keep. he fears not , even when i my self shake for him , as many times my pity will constrain me ; when other souls that bear not half his burden , shrink in their powers , and burst with their oppression , then will he sing ; wooe his afflictions , and court them in sad airs , as he wou'd wed'em . [ open that vault and give him breath [ king appears in chains , his head and arms only above the dungeon . . moor. what stubborn weight of chains ? . moor. yet he looks temperately . no wildness , no distemper'd touch upon him ; how constantly he smiles , and how undaunted . keep. mark with what majesty he heaves his head up . hark now . [ musick and song . . moor. o charming grief ! keep. do not disturb him � [ goes forward with the provisions . sir , your allowance from the governour ; wou'd 't were more , or in my pow'r to make it handsomer . king. do not transgress thy charge , i take his bounty ; fate hurts not him that bears a mind contented , and hangs not on vain hopes , that may corrupt him . enter governour . keep. the governour himself . gov. what , at your banquet ? and in such state , and with such change of service ? king. nature 's no glutton , sir ; a little serves her . gov. this diet 's wholesom then . king. i beg no better . gov. give him less next , these full meals will oppress his health ; his grace is of a tender constitution . king. mock on , it moves not me , sir. i cast your mirth and malice both behind me . gov. you carry 't handsomly but tell me , patience , do you not curse the brave and royal lady , your gracious sister ? do you not dam her pity ? dam twenty times a day ? dam seriously ? coud'st thou not wish her a bastard , whore , or that thou had'st no sister ? blaspheming heav'n for making such a mischief ; for giving pow'r to pride , and will to women ? king. no , tyrant , no , i love and bless her for 't ; and though her scorn of thee should heap upon me as many plagues as air corrupted breeds ; as many mischiefs , as the hours have minutes ; as many forms of death , as doubt can frame , i still should love her more ; more honour her . all thou can'st lay upon me , cannot bend me , not even the stroak of death , that i despise too . so let quisara always scorn thy love ; as i for ever shall despise thy cruelty . cou'd fear possess me thou shouldest ever win her : and that she is not mistress of this temper , she is no kin to me , and i contemn her . gov. you are valiant , sir. king. yes sir , and fortunate ; for he that holds my constancy , still conquers . gov. you will relent for all this talk , i fear not . king. you are cozen'd ; or if i were so weak , to be wrought to it , i still should curse her heart , if she consented . gov. you shall write , and entreat , or � king. do thy outmost . i' th' mid'st of all thy tortures , i 'll laugh at thee ; and think thee not more valiant , but more villain : nothing thou hast done brave , but like a thief atchiev'd by craft , and kept by cruelty . gov. down with him lower yet , there let him murmur , and see his diet be so spare , and little , he grow not thus high-hearted on 't � i 'll cool ye . give him no liberty , let his bands be doubled ; let him not sleep , nothing that 's dear to nature let him enjoy � yet take heed he dies not ; keep him as near death , as wishing for 't , as possible : but let him not arrive to 't . i 'll humble him , [ they sink the king down . and her proud heart , that stands on such defiance ; and let me see her champions , that dare venture ; her high and blustering suiters � keep close guard , and as you prize your lives , be diligent , and what i charge , observe . omn. we shall be dutiful . [ exeunt .
act ii. scene i. a vault under the castle . armusia , sforza , emanuel , with powder barrels , and light matches . arm. our prosperous voyage , was a lucky omen ; a lucky , and fair omen . sfor. may it prove so . arm. the sea and wind strove which shou'd most befriend us . where lies our boat ? sfor. safe lodg'd within the reeds behind the castle ; where no eye can perceive , or thought suspect . arm. these merchants habits too have done us service ; unquestion'd thus i 've travell'd through the town ; view'd all the tyrants magazines ; got knowledge ev'n of the prison , and the pow'r that guards it where the king 's dungeon'd . sfor. you attempt strong work . arm. courage is strong , beside a monarchs fate 's in 't ; yet loose or win , there 's no retiring now . sfor. i see 't ; your valiour , sir , has seal'd your fate ; yet must confess your ruin will be glorious . arm. thus far our game holds fair , as merchants we have hired this vault , and stow'd those mettled wares that soon will vent themselves without a chap-man . em. the trains are all laid , sir. arm. come nearer then , that no false ear may reach us , o'er this vault the castle stands , where this proud governour has stor'd his arms and treasure , next to that the prison where the injur'd king is kept . sfor. what of all this ? arm. you 're dull , if ye perceive not : these friends which we have here bestowed , will soon speak out for us . sfor. too loud ! arm. the fire i here brought with me shall break into material flames , and bright ones ; that all the island shall stand wondering at an hour hence ; noble friends , look for the fury , the fire to light us to our honour'd purpose . sfor. our funeral . arm. sforza , i have seen thee braver . sfor. hell catch my soul , if for my self i fear ; but with what eyes , can i behold your fate , your sinews stretch'd on the revenging rack . ( less cannot be expected ) that dear breast , torn piece-meal , and that noble heart lie panting . the castle 's ribbed with rock , the prison warded . arm. i say we have a chance for 't , when the towns full of fright , the governour out of his wits , to see th' imperious flames : the people there imploy'd to stop the ruins , and few regarding any private office : then fly we to the prison instantly , and push for the king's rescue . em. fortune speed us . arm. let us be worthy of it by our courage , and so take leave , but keep still within sight , till the flames rise , then meet to do or die : fail not dear fire , and powder , hold thy nature [ ex. sfor. my heart bodes with thy fate brave youth ; but we will sell thee dearly . [ exeunt severally . enter governour and captain . gov. no , captain , for those troops , we need them not , the town is strong enough to stand their furies ; i wou'd see 'em come and offer to do something , they are high in words . cap. 't is safer , sir , than doing . gov. do'st thou think they dare attempt . cap. may be , by treaty , but sure , by force , they will not prove so forward . gov. no faith , i warrant thee , they know me well enough , and know they have no child in hand to play with : they know my naturetoo i have bit some of them , and to the bones ; they havereason to remember me . it makes me laugh to think how glorious the fools are in their promise , and how pregnant their wits and power are to bring things to pass ; am not i grown lean with loss of sleep , and care to prevent these threatnings , captain ? cap. you look well , sir : upon my conscience , you are not like to sicken upon any such conceit . gov. i hope i shall not : well , wou'd i had this wench , for i must have her , she must be mine ; and there 's another charge , captain ; what betwixt love and brawling , i got nothing : all goes in maintenance � heark , what 's that , [ the train takes . that noise there , it went with a violence . cap. some old wall , belike , sir , that hath no neighbour-help to hold it up , is fallen suddenly . gov. i must discard these rascals , that are not able to maintain their buildings , they blur the beauty of the town . [ within . fire , fire . gov. i hear another tune , good captain ; it comes on fresher still , 't is loud and fearful : look up into the town , how bright the air shews ; upon my life some sudden fire . [ ex. capt. the bell too ? [ bell rings . i hear the noise more clear . enter citizen . cit. fire , fire . gov. where ? where ? cit. suddenly taken in a merchants vault , sir , fearful and high it blazes ; help , good people . gov. pox o' their paper houses , how they smother ; they light , like candles ; how the roar still rises ? enter captain . cap. your magazin's a fire , sir , help , help suddenly , all will be lost , get the people presently ; and all that are your guard , and all help , all hands , sir , your wealth , your stength is burnt else , the town perish'd , the castle now begins to flame . gov. my soul shakes . cap. a merchant's house next joyning ? shame light on him , that ever such a neighbour , such a villain � gov. go raise all the garrison , and bring them up . enter other citizens . and beat the people forward � oh i have lost all in one house , all my hopes , good worthy citizens , follow me all , and all your powers give to me ; i will reward you all . oh cursed fortune � the flames more , arise still , help , help , citizens , freedom and wealth to him that helps ; follow , oh follow , fling wine , or any thing , i 'll see it recompenc'd . buckets , more buckets , fire , fire , fire . [ ex. omnes . then enter armusia and his company breaking open a door . arm. so , thou art open , keep the way clear behind still , now for the place . sould. 't is here , sir. arm. sure , this is it , force open the door � a miserable creature , yet , by his manly face � [ the king discovered . king. why stare ye on me ? you cannot put on faces to fright me : in death , i am a king still , and contemn ye : where is that governour ? methinks his manhood should be well pleas'd to see my tragedy , and come to bath his stern eyes in my sorrows ; i dare him to the sight , bring his scorn with him , and all his rugged threats , here 's a throat , souldiers , come see who can strike deepest . em. break the chain there . king. what does this mean ? arm. come , talk of no more governours , he has other business ; sir , put your legs forward , and gather up your courage , like a man , we are friends , and come to give your sorrows ease . sfor. on bravely ; delays may lose all agen . enter guard. arm. the guard. sfor. upon ' em . arm. make speedy and sure work . em. they fly . arm. up with them , & to the boat stand , fast , now be speedy , when this heat 's past , we 'll sing our history away like thought . sfor. now sacred chance be ours . em. pray when we have done , sir. [ exeunt bearing off the king. enter four townsmen . .

what , is the fire out ? or past the worst yet ?

.

't is out neighbour , i can tell you , but whether past the worst , or no , i know not . i never wrought so stoutly since i was a man ; i have been burnt at both ends like a squib , � i liv'd two long hours in the fire : the flame at last got down my throat , and broke out again at my north-door . if they had not clap'd in a dozen buckets upon me as they did , i had flam'd up , and been one of the seven stars by this time .

.

he wou'd have made a rare flambeau .

.

well said wax-chandler ; thou art in thy element .

.

now you talk of elements , 'pray' neighbours how many elements are there ?

.

why , there 's but one , fool , where the sun and moon dwell , and all their little prentices .

.

well said shopkeeper : thou art in thy element too . dost call 'em prentices , i have known 'em these threescore years , and sure they are out of their time by this , or they do not serve by our charter . i tell ye there are four elements ; water and malt , are two of 'em ; and fire and brimstone t'other . they have past through me a little too late , i thank ' em .

.

my wife took leave of me a hundred times after i was burnt to a cinder , yet i bore up still , and tost the buckets , boys .

.

i' th' latter end o' th' hurry , me thought i heard a voice cry , treason .

.

murder you might , by timbers falling , but for my part as a house fell , i still stept into th' chimney .

.

ay , neighbour , if ev'ry man had wrought as you did .

.

why ? i stole nothing neighbour .

.

how many rogues were there pretending to help remove goods , and ran away with them ?

.

and your damn'd , suburb cart-rogues : an i were governour , i would not leave a carter unhang'd for twenty miles round . this honesty is my ruin , neighbours ; i could have born my poverty , had fortune not made me honest ; or honesty , if she had not made me poor , but both together � the devil himself were not able to live on 't .

.

right neighbour , my conscience whisper'd me to steal in the fire , but my honesty would not suffer it . o for some drink ; get me a whole tun of drink , whole cisterns , for i have four dozen of fire-brands in my belly , and smoak enough in my throat , to bloat a shoal of herrings .

.

we 'll lay you under the tap , and let the tub run through you .

.

and , neighbour , you shall lie at my bung again , to take 't at second-hand .

.

well , since we have no plunder our selves , let 's set our selves to drink , and rail at them that have .

.

look , yonder comes our governour , a worse plague than the fire ; he has beams enough yet standing to hang all for helping him . away .

[ exeunt .
scene changes to the isle of tedore . enter ruidias and sailers : rui. make ready all , we 'll sail with the next flood . 't is fit i should be foremost in the attempt , as in her favour , i stand first � let 's see . [ shouts of triumph at distance . my self , my cousin , and my garrison ; with our confederate neighbours o' th' out-isles . i trust we cannot fail . � what means that shout ? enter pymero. pym. where are you , sir ? rui. not yet aboard , pymero ? pym. alas we are topt , sir : turn'd all to shotten herrings , the king , sir : the king 's come home agen . rui. the devil � pym. nay , sure he came o'gods name . rui. who shou'd attempt him : the princes are all here . pym. 't is done , sir , and most bravely . rui. it cannot be ! done ! who dares do it ? pym. an honest fellow , who it seems has ended his market , ' ere you were up . shout again . enter quisara , panura , and her train . quis. can it be possible , a stranger , that i have not known nor seen ; a man i never grac'd : o captain , captain ! [ to ruidias . what shall we do ? i am betray'd by fortune : it cannot , shall not be . rui. 't was witch-craft did it : no mortal means cou'd take effect so soon . quis. must i then be given to a man i never saw , nor spoke withal , and know not of what nation ? � o ruidias , this might have your lot � [ shout again . the general joy comes on , and i must meet it : but with what comfort � enter as in triumph , the king , armusia , sforza , emanuel , and crowds of people : the princes with their train meet them from the other side . king. rise my sister ! i am not welcome yet , till you embrace me . quis. my dear , and royal brother ! joy o'er pow'rs me , to see you safe again , your self and mighty . rui. a general gladness , sir , spreads through the city , and mirth possesses all for your redemption , 't was a brave venture , whosoever put for it ; a high and noble one , worthy much honour ; yet had it mist , my project had not fail'd , andin short time � king. i thank you noble , sir ; i know you love me . ba. i have an army , sir , that wou'd have scowr'd your tyrant , and his confines , and rung him such a peal . pym. yes , backward , to make a dog howl . sya. i have done nothing , sir , and therefore think 't convenient to say little what i purpos'd , and what my love design'd . king. i like your modesty . my royal friends , i thank ye all : i know it griev'd ye to hear my misery � but this man , princes , i must thank heartily indeed ; for this man saw me in it , and redeem'd me ; he look't upon me sinking , and plundg'd for me : this wondrous man , even from the grave of sorrow , has new begot my name , and once more made me : o sister , if there may be thanks for this , or any thing near recompence , invent it . arm. you are too noble , sir ; there is reward , reward above my action too , by millions ; a recompence so rich and glorious , i durst not dream it mine � but that it was promis'd , but that it was propounded , sworn and seal'd before the face of heav'n . for nothing in the life of man or merit , ( it is so truly great ) cou'd else embrace it . king. o speak it , speak it , bless my ear to hear it ; make me a happy man to know 't may be ; for still methinks i am a prisoner , and feel no liberty , till i find that . arm. it is � but first to heav'n , and you i bend , if either can forgive the high demand ; it is your sister , royal sir ; she 's mine : i claim her , by her own word , and her honour : it was her open promise to the man , that durst redeem you � beauty set me on , and fortune crowns me fair , if she receive me . king. receive you , sir , � why sister � ha � turn from him ? stand as you knew not me , nor what he has ventur'd , my dearest sister ? arm. good , sir , your pardon : there is a blushing modesty about her that holds her back ; virgins are nice to love ; i wou'd not have her forc'd ; give her fair liberty : creatures of such soft nature , if compell'd , turn into fears , and fly from their own wishes . king. look on him princess , is there such another ? oh! all ye pow'rs so excellent in nature ; in honour , so abundant ! quis. i confess , my word is pass'd , and he by that has purchas'd ; but , good sir , give me leave to think some time to be acquainted with his worth � we are strangers . for love like power , must pass through ceremonies , ' ere he can fix in virgin hearts . king. be sudden , you will respect your word , i know you will ; i 'll be your pledge , my hero , come my sister , let 's see what welcome you can give a prisoner , and what fair looks , a friend � thus in my arms , once more . arm. you make me blush , sir. king. lead on , this day shall see our whole court crown'd with pleasure . quis. o ruidias .
act iii. scene i. the palace . armusia , sforza , emanuel . em. why are you sad , sir ? what can grieve or vex you ? that have the pleasures ofthe of the world , the profits , the honours , and the loves at your dispose ? arm. i want what beggars are allow'd i mean content . i want the grace i have merited , the favour , the due respect . sfor. does not the king allow it ? arm. yes , and all honours else that i can ask , or he has power to give : but oh! his sister , that scornsul cruelty ; forgive me , beauty , that i transgress from her , that shou'd look on me ; that shou'd a little smile upon my service , and fosten my deserts , for her own faith's sake : that shou'd at least acknowledge me , speak to me . em. and you go sighing up and down for this ; lamenting and disputing of your grievances ? arm. what wou'd you have me do ? do what a man wou'd in this case , a wise man , an understanding man , that knows the sex. go to her . sfor. that 's the way . em. and talk as you fought for her boldly ; both what you are , and what you have deserv'd . arm. it makes me smile . em. now you look handsomely ; had i so fair a prize to win , i wou'd so flatter . sfor. pray take our counsel . arm. i shall do something , but not your way , it seems too boisterous , for my affections are as fair , and gentle , as her i serve . friends leave me to my thoughts an hour or two , anon you shall command me . em. i hate this thinking , it marrs all business . sfor. we shall look for you , sir. [ ex. sforza , emanuel . arm. what shall i do to make her know my misery , to make her sensible � this is her woman . enter panura . i have a toy come to me suddenly , that may work for the best , she can but scorn me , lower i cannot fall � i try my fate : may i presume , fair one � pan. 't is the brave stranger . now by my ladies hand , a handsome gentleman . how happy shall she be in such a husband : wou'd i were so provided . arm. can you have so much charity for a stranger ; to let him pass this evening in your company , and what must be a charity indeed ( in one whose youth and beauty dart such charms ) to think my meaning fair . pan. i dare believe you ; or if it were not , that 's no great matter , what have we vertue for , but to be exercis'd ; besides we take mens promises � wou'd you speak with me , sir ? arm. that you wou'd favour me with your acquaintance ; i wou'd say friendship , for my grief requires it . you are the princess confident , and wait upon her near ? pan. i understand you . arm. with one kind office , you may bind a gentleman hereafter to be yours . such beauteous faces shou'd have courteous minds , and ready faculties . pan. tell me your business ; yet if it be to her , i think your self , sir , wou'd do much better : the princess must be pleased with your addresses ; i 'm sure i shou'd . arm. i want assurance , and yet am but a stranger , wou'd fain speak with her pan. 't is growing late , and on her hour of sleep . arm. pray wear this , and believe my meaning civil . my business of that fair respect and carriage . pan. i must do 't now , an'i were to be hang'd : nay , and i will do 't ; for another so good , and from a gentleman so handsom , i shou'd even venture upon high treasure . arm. i wou'd speak to her , and privately . pan. so you shall , sir. my service were not else worth thanks : you must make hast , sir. arm. this minute . pan. and i must leave you in my chamber , sir : where you must lock your self , that none may see you : 't is next to hers � you cannot miss the entrance , when she comes down to bed. arm. once more i thank ye , lady . pan. thank me but thus . [ exeunt .
scene ii. enter king , governour , like a moor priest. king. so far and truly you have discovered to me the former currents of my life and fortunes , that i am bold to acknowledge you most holy , and certainly to credit your predictions , of what are yet to come . gov. i am no lyer , 't is strange i should , and live so near a neighbour ; but these are not my ends . king. i pray you sit , good father , certain a reverend man , and most religious . gov. i ; that belief 's well now , and let me work then , i 'll make ye curse religion before i leave ye ; i have liv'da long time , son , a mew'd up man , seauestred by the special hand of heaven , from the world's vanity , all to find out knowledge , which i have now attained to , thanks to heaven , all for my countries good too , and many a vision , many a mystick vision , have i seen son. and many a sight from heaven , which has been terrible , wherein the goods and evils of these islands , were lively shadowed ; many a charge have i had too . still as the time grew ripe , to reveal these , to travel and discover , now i am come , son , the hour is now appointed , and now i speak . king. do holy man , i 'll hear ye . gov. beware these portugals , i say , beware'em , these smooth-fac'd strangers , have an eye on 'em , the cause is now the gods ; hear and believe , king. king. � i do hear , but before i give rash credit , or hang too-light on belief , which is a sin , father ; know i have found 'em gentle , faithful , valiant , and am in my particular bound to 'em , i mean to some for my most strange deliverance . gov. o son , the future aims of men ! observe me , above their present actions , and their glory , are to be looked at , the stars show many turnings if you could see , mark but with my eye , pupil ; these men came hither , as my vision tells me , poor , weather-beaten , almost starved , feebled , their vessels like themselves , most miserable , made a long sute for trafique , and for comfort , to vend their childrens toys , cure their diseases : they had their sute , they landed and to the rate , grew rich and powerful , suck'd the fat and freedom of thy most noble isle , taught her to tremble , witness the castle here , the citadel , they have clapt up the neek of your tidore , this happy town , till that she knew these strangers ; to check her , when she is jolly . king. they have so , indeed father . gov. take heed , take heed , i find your fair delivery , though you be pleased to glorifie that fortune , and think these strangers goods , take heed , i say , i find it but a handsome preparation , a fair fac'd prologue to future mischief : mark but the end , good king , the pin he shoots at , that was the man delivered ye ; the mirrour . your sister is his due , what 's she , your heir , sir ? and what 's he a kin then to the kingdom ? but heirs are not ambitious , who then suffers ? what reverence shall the gods have ? and what justice ? the miserable people , what shall they do ? king. he points at truth directly . gov. think of these , son : the person , nor the manner i dislike not of your preserver , nor the whole man together , were he but season'd in the faith we are , or our devotions learned . king. you say right , father . gov. to change our worships now , and our religion ; to be traytor to our god. king. you have well advis'd me , and i will seriously consider , father , in the mean time you shall have your fair access unto my sister , advise her to your purpose , and let me still know how the gods determine . gov. i will , but my main end is to advise the destruction of you all , a general ruine , and when i am reveng'd , let the gods whistle . [ exeunt .
scene iii. quisara laid melancholy . panura waiting . soft musick and song . quis. make me unready , i slept but ill last night . pan. you 'll sleep the better to night i hope , madam . quis. a little rest contents me � fetch my book . pan. i 'm glad of that . [ aside . quis. i 'll read awhile before i sleep . and if ruidias meet you , and be importunate , he may come in . pan. i have better fare for you . aside . now least in sight play i. exit panura . quisara alone . quis. ye gods how happy is that shepherdess , who through love is to the plains confined , and ne're aspires above the shepherds tribe ; yet still she 's free to take the swain she loves , while royal virgins hearts are publick pawns to serve the needs of state ; barter'd and sold : nor can i only blame my birth or fortune ; virtue and honour have alike betrayed me . the kings restor'd , but i a prisoner made . by promise his restorer's sacrifice . oh fortune ! fatal virtue ! oh ruidas ! enter armusia , who locks the door after him . shield me ye powers ! what 's here ? sure 't is the phantasm of the man i dread ; form'd by my fears : who are you ; and whence come you ? arm. you sure may know me : i bring no such amazement . quis. who waits there ? rude intruder speak ? what means this treachery ? who let you in ? arm. my restless love that serves you . quis. this is an impudence unparallell'd , a rudeness that becomesa thief or ruffian . nor shall my brother's love protect this boldness ; my rooms are sanctuaries , and shall be approach'd with reverence equal to the temples of our gods. arm. mine are not less . quis. i am mistress of my self , and will not be thus visited , spight of boasted service . arm. most royal. � [ approaches her respectfully . quis. stand off , i see dishonour in your eyes . [ draws a poniard . arm. there 's none . by all that beauty they are innocent ; 'pray' tremble not , you have no cause . quis. so base a violation of my privacy ? arm. if there be in you any female pity , and that your fears have not proclaimed me monstrous , look on me and believe me ; is this violence ? the griefs and sorrows that grow here , impudence ? is it to fall thus prostrate to your beauty , a ruffian's boldness ? is humility rudeness ? far be it from my heart to fright your quiet , and heaviest curse fall on me , when i intend it . quis. may i believe ? arm. had i been mischievous , as then i must be mad , or were a monster , if any such base thoughts had harbour'd here , or violence becoming not a man , you have a thousand bulwarks to assure you , the holy powers bear shields for chastity . if you misdoubt me still , or yet retain a fear i am not honest , or come with impure thoughts to these blest mansions , take this and sheath it here ; be your own safety : make hast to rid fears , and let me perish . how willing shall i sleep to satisfie you ! quis. what came you then for ? arm. to complain , my angel , but modestly . quis. of what ? arm. your cruelty . for though i die i will not blame the doer . to instance what i have done to obtain you , if any thing that love commands , may reach you , to have remember'd you � but i 'm unworthy , and to that misery falls all my fortune , that oh i fear to claim what you have promised ! ( so much more easy was the task proposed , than to demand the recompence ) to have told you , that as my love is honest 't is confirm'd . beyond the power even of your dread commands , to change or make it less ; beyond your scorn : for though despairing i have sworn to marry you or your memory � 'pray' be not angry . quis. then you would have me pass a fair opinion of this untimely entrance ; that it meant no violation to my peace or honour , and but the rash effects of love's excess ? arm. no more by heaven . quis. and that you are hereafter devoted to my service . arm. life and fortune . quis. i 'll try then your obedience . arm. i am ready , without demanding what . quis.

then from this hour expect no farther favour , nor once remember services you have done , nor dangers past , nor the rewards due to them .

arm. is this my doom , and is there no redress ? quis. but one , which you must wholly to my favour owe ; for i must blush to tell your cure � i love � my heart was all dispos'd before you claim'd it ; fancy had got the start of your deserts , which yet i prize so high , that for your ease , i force my modesty on this confession , to disengage your hopes : nor let the man , that has so highly serv'd , depend on fruitless air. arm. this is indeed court mercy , to let the suitor know his doom betimes . but , madam , was . � quis. i 've said and must enjoyn you , to quit this place immediately . arm. i obey you . as he is going out he justles with ruidias entring . rui. ha! who is this ? arm. who art thou ? rui. a gentleman . arm. thou art no more i am sure . � oh'tis ruidias , and i perceive her favour'd lover . rui. is there not door enough , you takesuch elbow room ? arm. what i take i 'll carry . rui. do's this become you princess ? arm. jealousalas of mee ! how blind is man. go , freely go , i give thee leave . rui. your leave ? rui. the place and you are privileged ; therefore go . [ exit armusia . quis. what a pure soul inhabits in this youth ? courage and temper ; such transcending worth , as cannot fail to make impress of love in heart not pre-engaged : my choice is past ! rui. am i then made your property ? are these , madam , the banquets that you bid me to ? the trust i build my goodly hopes on ? quis. be more temperate ; your love stands yet upon my courtesie ; i never gave you promise , bare permission , to tell your love was all i 've yet allow'd , and if you do abuse your privilege � rui. armusia here , and in the dead of night ? may i not , madam , take the leave to ask , how he came hither ; pressing , or invited ? quis. you are too bold . rui. what , at these private hours ? quis. you are to rash to tax me with an error . know what i am , and my prerogative , i never taught you too dispose my freedom . how durst you touch my honour , blot my meaning , and name an action and of mine , but noble ! are those the gratitudes you bring , ruidias , the thanks , the services ? how have i grac'd thee ? and dost thou in return upbraid my vertue ? rui. i was to blame . quis. armusia wou'd not pass so rash a censure , and justice tells me i should punish thee : but 't was a fault of love � yet learn henceforth less jealousie , nay i had almost said , more gallantry .. rui. more gallantry ! she cannot doubt my courage , this isle has found it � but armusia 's lawrels bear fresher date � yet still i hold her heart , and must with him dispute the point of fame , and when i have o'ercome him the field , his ruin'd glories mine shall firmer build .
act iv. scene i. enter pymero. pym.

my uncle haunts me up and down , looks melancholy , wondrous proof-melancholy , sometimes swears , then whistles , starts , cries , groans , as he had got the botts : i think he has little better . and wou'd sain speak to me ; bids me good-morrow at midnight , and good-night when it is noon : has something hovers about his brains , that 's loath to out .

[ enter ruidias .

still he follows me . how he looks still , and how he beats about like an old dog at a dead scent � i marry therewas a sigh to set a ship a sailing � these winds of love and honour blow at all ends � now speak an 't be thy will ? good-morrow uncle .

rui. good morrow , sir. pym. this is a new salute . sure h 'as forgot me : this pur-blind cupid . rui. my nephew . pym. yes , sir , if i am not chang'd . rui. i wou'd fain speak with you . pym. i wou'd fain have you , sir. rui. you know i love you : next to my self , you stand in all employments , your counsels , cares , assignments with me equal ; so is my study still to plant your person , o my pymero ! pym. sir , what hangs upon you ? what heavy weight oppresses you ? y 'ave lost an opportunity to gain a mistress , time will cure that . rui. but oh the reputation ! to have another get the start in glory , what time cures that ? pym. your fame already has enough to live on ; it may be you fear her too , doubt your mistress may fall away , or be forced from you . rui. o she is true , but i undone for ever . oh that armusia , that new thing , that stranger , that flagg stuck up to rob me of my honour , that murdering chain shot at me from my country , that goodly plague , that i must court to kill me ! pym. has he not done a brave thing ? rui. i confess it , nephew , must allow it , but that brave thing has undone me , has sunk me , has trod me like a name in sand , to nothing ; hangs betwixt hopes and me and threats my ruine : if he thus rise and blaze , farewel my fortune . pym. in complaisance t' ye uncle , a pox-on-him , and pox-a-me for saying so , he 's brave , and like enough to hold � rui. then i must perish : had he set up at any rest but this , done any thing but what concern'd my fame , the everlasting losing of my worth � pym. which yet you must retrive , i know your drift . rui. my sword is in my hand , my cause upon 't , and man to man , one valour to another , my hope to his . pym. why , this is like ruidias . rui. the difference of our state flung by , forgotten , the full opinion , each was won in service , laid handsomly aside , only our fortunes , our single manhoods . pym. i conceive you , sir. rui. you guess what this means . pym. yes , a portion of scripture , that has puzled many an interpreter . rui. as soon as you can find him � pym. that won't be long , uncle , and o' my conscience , he 'll be ready as quickly . rui. be sure you carry 't so , that we may fight . pym. assure your self � rui. pray' hear me , in some such place , where 't may be possible the princess may behold us . pym. i conceive you : upon the sands behind the castle , sir ; a place remote enough , and there are windows out of her lodging too , or i 'm mistaken . rui. you 're in the right � if you can work this handsomly . pym. let me alone , i pray you be prepar'd some three hours hence . if you have a few light prayers that may befriend you � run 'em over quickly . rui. farewel , nephew , � and when we meet again � [ exit . pym. i shall dispatch , sir , � i have seen this uncle curry a fellows carcase handsomly , and in the head of a troop , stand as he had been rooted there , dealing large doles of death � success be with him � what a rascal was that , did not not see his will drawn . [ exit .
scene ii. enter governour , quisara , and panura . gov. bless you my royal daughter , and in you bless this island , heav'n . quis. panura , what thinkest thou of this man ? pan. sure he 's a wise man , and a religious ; he tells us things have happen'd so many years ago almost forgotten , as readily as if they were come this hour . quis. do's he not meet with your sharp tongue ? pan. he tells me , madam , marriage and mouldy cheese will make me tamer . gov. lady , i would talk with you . quis. do , reverend sir. gov. and for your good , for that , that must concern you , and give ear wisely to me . quis. i shall , father . gov. you are a princess of that excellence , sweetness and grace , that angel-like fair feature : nay , do not blush , i do not flatter you , nor do i dote in telling this ; i am amazed , lady , and as i think the gods bestowed these on ye , the gods that love ye . quis. i confess their bounty . gov. apply it then to their use , to their honour , to them and to their service give this sweetness , they have an instant great use of your goodness ; you are a saint esteemed here for your beauty ; and many a longing heart � quis. i seek no fealty , nor will i blemish that heaven hath seal'd on me , i know my worth . indeed the portugals i have at those commands , and their last services ; nay , even their lives ; so much i think my power , that what i shall enjoyn � gov. use it disereetly , for i perceive ye understand me rightly , for here the gods regard your help , and suddenly ; the portugals , like sharp thorns ( mark me , lady , ) stick in our sides like razors , wound religion , draw deep , they wound till the life-blood follows , our gods they spurn at , and their worships scorn , a mighty hand they bear upon our government , these are the men your miracle must work on , your heavenly form either to root them out , which as you may endeavour , will be easie , remember whose great cause you have to exceute , to nip their memory , that may not spring more , or fairly bring 'em home to our devotions , which will be blessed , and for which you sainted , but cannot be , and they go , let me buzzle . quis. go up with me , where we 'll converse more privately ; i 'll shew you shortly , how i hold their temper , and in what chain their souls . gov. keep fast that , hold still , and either bring that chain , and those bound in it , and link it to our gods , and their fair worships , or daughter , pinch their hearts a pieces with it , i 'll wait upon your grace . quis. come , reverend father , wait you below . [ ex. quis. and gov. pan. if this prophet were a young thing , i should suspect him now , he cleaves so close to her , these holy coats are long , and hide iniquities . quis. away , away fool ; a poor wretch . pan. these poor ones , warm but their stomach once � quis. come in , thou art foolish . [ ex. quis. and pan. enter armusia , emanuel , and pymero. arm. i am sorry , sir , my fortune is so stubborn , to court my sword against my country-man ; i love my nation well , and where i find a portugal of noble name and virtue , i am his humble servant , signiour pymero , your person , nor your uncle , am iangry with , you are both fair gentlemen , in my opinion , and i protest i had rather use my sword in your defences , than against your safeties ; 't is methinks , a strange dearth of enemies , when we seek foes amongst our selves . em. you are injured , and ye must make the best on 't now , and readiest � arm. you see i am ready in the place , and arm'd to his desire that call'd me . pym. ye speak worthily , and i could wish ye had met on terms more friendly , but it cannot now be so . [ enter ruidias . em. turn , sir , and see . pym. i have kept my word with ye , uncle , the gentleman 's ready . enter governour and quisara above . arm. ye are welcome . rui. bid those fools welcome that affect your courtesie , i come not to use complements , ye have wrong'd me , and ye shall feel , proud man , ' ere i part from ye , the effects of that , if fortune do not fool me , thy life is mine , and no hope shall redeem it . arm. that 's a proud word , more than your faith can justifie . quis. sure they will fight . rui. she 's there , i am happy . gov. let 'em alone , let 'em kill one another , these are the main posts , if they fall , the buildings will tumble quickly . quis. how temperate , armusia ? no more , be quiet yet . [ gov. offers to speak , arm. i am not bloody , nor do feel such mortal malice in me , but since we cannot both enjoy the princess , i am resolved to fight . rui. fight home , armusia , for if thou faint'st or fail'st � arm. do you make all advantages ? rui. all ways unto thy life , i will not spare thee , nor look not for thy mercy . arm. i am arm'd then . rui. stand still i charge ye , nephew , as ye honour me . arm. and good emanuel � not � . pym. ye speak fitly , for we had not stood idle else . gov. i am sorry for 't . em. but since you will have it so � rui. come , sir. arm. i wait ye . pym. i marry , this looks handsomly , this is warm work . gov. both fall , an 't be thy will. [ ruidias fall's . pym. my uncle dead ? em. stand still , my sword in � arm. now brave ruidias , now where 's your confidence , your prayers ? quickly , your own spite has condemned ye . quis. hold ! armusta . arm. most happy lady . quis. hold , and let him rise , spare him for me . arm. a long life may he enjoy , lady . gov. what have you done ? 't is better they had all perish'd . quis. peace , father , i work for thebest ; armusia , meet me in the temple , an hour hence . [ ex. quis. and gov. arm. i shall , madam . pym now as i live , a gentleman , at all inches , so brave a mingled temper , saw i never . arm. why are you sad , sir ? how would this have griev'd ye , if you had fallen under a profest enemy ? under one had taken vantage of your shame too ? pray you be at peace , i am so far from wronging , or glorying in the pride of such victory , that i desire to serve you ; 'pray' be cheerful . pym. d' ye hear this , sir ? why do you hold your head down ? 't is no high treason , i take it to be equall'd : to have a slip i' the field no mortal sin. arm. it may be , you think my tongue may be your enemy , and though restrain'd sometimes out of a bravery , may take a privilege to dishonour you . believe me , sir , so much i hate that freedom , that in a strangers mouth , 't will prove an injury , and i shall right you in 't [ exit . rui. let me curse fortune yet � nephew , your arm. [ exeunt .
scene iii. enter king and governour . gov. sir , sir , you must do something suddainly , to stop his pride , so great and high he shoots , upon his person too , your state sinks else . you must not stand now on terms of gratitude , and let a simple tenderness besot you ; i 'll bring you instantly , where you shall see him , attempting your fair sister privately : mark but his high behaviour then . king. i will , father . gov. and with what scorn , i fear contempt too , against our deities . king. i hope not . gov. i say , attempting to corrupt her soul , the worst debauchery � i will not name lust ; it may be that also . a little force must be apply'd upon him , now , now , apply a little force to humble him ; these kind caresses do but make him wanton . king. take heed you wrong him not . gov. take you heed to your safety , the freedom of your people ; to the gods : i but forewarn you , king ; if you misdoubt me , or think i come unsent � king. no , i 'll go with you . [ exeunt ,
scene iv. the temple . quisara , armusia . arm. madam , you see there 's nothing i can reach , either in my obedience , or my service , that can deserve your love , but i pursue it ; take pleasure in your will ; even in your anger , i study new humility to please you ; and take a kind of joy in my afflictions , because they come from you . quis. i know you have deserv'd , and know that in the rigour of strict justice , i should endeavour to requite your service , i know you love. arm. if ever love was mortal , and dwelt in man , so fix'd i find it here , respect of such a greatness as allows what i have done already , weak performance , and unproportion'd to the vast reward . it is but just , that who aspires to heav'n , shou'd win it by his worth , and not sleep to it . enter king and governour above . gov. now , sir , stand close , to hear , and as you find him , believe me right or let religion suffer . quis. i dare believe your worth , without additions : you had my summons to attend me here , on some commands of weight arm. i am prepar'd : but point to me the course , you 'd have me steer , and if i shrink � quis. i know you are no coward ; then take the outmost tryal of your duty ; you hold there 's nothing dear that may oblige me , doubted or dangerous . arm. nothing , madam . let me but know , that i may fly into 't . quis. i 'll tell you then � change your religion , and be of one belief with me . arm. how ! quis. mark me , worship our gods , renounce the faith you were bred in . arm. ha! i 'll die first . quis. offer as we do . arm. to the devil ? gov. o blasphemy ! king. peace . arm. offer to him , i hate ! offer to dogs and cats ! to them you offer , to ev'ry bird that flies , to every worm : is this the tryal ? quis. i will reason with you ; are not our powers eternal , and their comforts as great and full of hopes , as yours ? arm. they are shadows . gov. now mark him , sir , observe him nearly . arm. their comforts , like themselves , meer fictions : you make 'em sick , as we are , peevish , mad , subject to age , and how can they cure us , that are not able to refine themselves ? quis. the sun and moon we worship ; they are heavenly . arm. but i the maker of that sun and moon , that gave those bodies light , and influence , that pointed out their paths , and taught their motions : excuse me , princess , if my zeal for truth extort a generous freedom of my tongue ; what ' ere restraints my private griefs have born , yet for heav'ns cause i must proclaim aloud . take privilege even to oppose your will , and call for justice to th' eternal due : i hop'd you wou'd have said , make me a christian ; work that great cure , for 't is a great one , princess . to mortify the sense , subdue the will , refining earth to immortality . i hop'd your royal brother , in return of providence , that by my arm retriev'd him , wou'd have e're this , before the face of heaven , destroy'd those idol gods you here adore , beat down their altars , ruin'd these false temples . gov. now sir. � king. i 'll hear no more � [ king and governor descend . quis. thus far in charity i was obliged to rectifie the errors of your thought , nor can the blame be mine to want success , 't was by these pow'ers that i was sworn to wed the kings deliverer ; these you blaspheme , them and their pow'r you frankly have renounced , and thereby free me from all obligation . arm. you are too just to make this slight evasion , and with religious subtlety destroy . quis. you shall both find me just , sincere and plain , therefore resolve to quit your faith or me . arm. my life and love forever must be your's , butmy religion heav'ns . quis. you heard you task . arm. name any task but that ; extreamest danger , and certain death , to gratifie your will ; i dare do any thing but injure heaven , and stab th' almighty's image in my soul. can i renounce the power , the whole creation , which every plant and element confess , that gave this very breath , with which i plead ? shall i abjure the author of that form ? a temple fit for angels to inhabit , when once the mist of error is withdrawn . quis. acknowledge our belief , and instantly ; for if you let this happy minute pass , no recantation shall prevail hereafter . arm. call you this charity ? quis. nay then . � arm. you must not go . what have i done to merit this hard sentence ? to have my very soul rack't , forc't to quit my heaven above , or paradise on earth ? how well i love , how much i do prefer your charms to all that 's good beneath the stars , truth must declare ; but to th' eternal being can never be apostate � heart or soul must perish on this sea � ; then sink my heart , to save th' immortal treasure , thus i quit your love 's rich claim , tho while i so resign no martyrdom sure ever equall'd mine . quis. noble armusia , i am now confirmed , in quiting you have gain'd me : i resolv'd to make the outmost tryal of your faith , and in your faith of you : i know your doctrine is heavenly all , and you have prov'd the practice . while her you love you cou'd for heaven resign , the faith that rules your breast must be divine , that faith and you for ever now are mine . arm. is 't possible ! o unexpected bliss ! look down ye sacred quires and share my joy. enter king , governour and guards . king. nay , start not , take my confirmation too , you had my promise , sir , of recompence , for your high service : 't was my free consent , t o let quisara's hand in nuptial tye , be joyn'd with yours : this sir was my engagement ; which in the presence of this holy man i ratifie . [ the kings joyns their hands . gov. the devil ! [ aside . what can this mean ? king. but as the holy powers that here reside , have seen me just to your deserts and you ; to their own altars they must see me just , and to those laws , with which no claim of friendship or interest can dispense � . guards seize your prisoner . gov. that 's well retriev'd ; be sure ye bind him fast . quis. bind your restorer , prince ? arm. are these the nuptials you promised my free service ? quis. 't is an office , that only can become a tyrant fiend , such as ternusa's governour . gov. that 's right . [ aside . quis. such vile returns as these , must stagger nature ; and banish virtue from the world. king. o sister ! heavens knows what sense of gratitude i bear , and to his friendship how sublime regard : had he offended me i had forgiven , though to th'attempting of my life and crown : i own them both his gift , but to our gods , our sacred powers the injury is done , basphemed , reviled . gov. and think you they will bear it ? i see ripe vengeance teeming from the heavens , if you dispense with this , on you and me , and all tedore , whose marble ribs shall rend and sink beneath the main : spare us kind powers , forgive our impious clemency , that yet the proud blaspemer lives . king. most holy father , urge not the vengeance ofthe of the gods too far : must he needs dye ? gov. 't is next to blasphemy to make a doubt on 't . king. true ! our most dear affections must yield to sacred laws . arm. use all your violence , i ask no mercy nor recant my words . quis. his virtue serves a power will give him strength to scorn your idol-gods . king. how 's this , quisara ! quis. know king that if your laws require his blood , they challenge mine ; our love and faith are one. king. quisara too ! o sister wound not thus my tortured heart ? good father , your assistance . what means this frenzy ? gov. these are tokens , sir , the gods displeasure is gone out ; be quick , and e'er it fall , do something to appease them . king. quisara own his faith ! what must be done , gov. they must die both , in sacrifi�e , and instantly ; to those dread powers they have blasphemed : it makes me weep to urge their punishment . king. most gracious and compassionate soul. gov. yet if you mitigate or defer their doom , i then must curse you from the gods ; call up their vengeance from the flaming lake , and hurl it on your land ; i have charge for it ! king. bear them to justice , for i dare not trust my nature with the parly : your hand father . our gods exact their blood and they must die ; yet shall their obsequies this comfort have , their judge shall be their mourner � o support me . gov. my heart akes too . [ exit king and governour . manent armusia , quisara , guards . arm. such cruel piety was never known . princess , i have betrayedyou , but to eternal rest . quis. our souls shall meet , and celebrate in paradise their nuptials . arm. seraphick maid ? thy name shall stand recorded with virgin-saints , the first in vertue 's roll , through many years experience they arriv'd . consumate piety , with matchless speed , you take you progress on the sacred way , a convert and a martyr in a day . exeunt guarded .
act v. scene i. a grove . an idol , and altar of thor , at distance . enter king and governour . king. i am ungrateful , and a wretch , ( persuade me not ) forgetful of the mercy he shew'd me , the timely noble pity . why shou'd i , why should i make him die , who set me free ? why shou'd it come from me ? why , i command it ? will not all tongues , and truths call me ungrateful ? gov. had the offencebeen aim'd at you , 't is certain it had been in you power , and your discretion , to have turn'd it into mercy , and forgiven it ; it then had shew'd a vertuous point of gratitude . timely and nobly paid ; but since the cause concerns the honour of the gods , their title , 't is in their wills , their mercies , or revenges : and these revolts in you show plain rebellion . king. they are mild and pitiful . gov. to those repent . king. their natures soft , and tender . gov. to true hearts , that feel compunction for their trespasses : this pair defies 'em still , threaten destruction and demolition to their arms and worship ; therefore take heed , sir , that you be not found , and mark'd a favourer of their dishonour : they use no common justice . king. you say right . but see ; behold the pomp of death comes on ! what shall i do to merit of this man. i 'll once more try if i can fairly win ' em . solemn mufick . enter a procession of priests , as to the sacrifice . [ armusia and quisara wreath'd , and bound . guards . croud following . the king goes up to armusia , and speaks . king. once more , armusia , because i love you tenderly and dearly , and wou'd be glad to win you mine ; i wish you , ev'n from my heart , i wish and wooe you � arm. what , sir ? take heed how you persuade me falsly , then you hate me ; take heed how you intrap me . king. i advise you , and tenderly and truly i advise you , both for your souls health and your safety . arm. stay , and name my soul no more ; she is too precious , too glorious for your flatteries ; too secure too . gov. consider the reward , sir , and the honour that is prepar'd , the glory you shall grow to . arm. they are not to be considered in these cases , not to be nam'd when souls are question'd ; they are vain and flying vapours : touch my life , 't is ready for you , put it to what test it shall please you , i am patient ; but for the rest � gov. we must use tortures then . arm. your worst , and painfull'st i am joyful to accept . gov. you must our sharpest ; for such has been your hate against our deities , deliver'd openly ; your threats , and scornings ; and either your repentance must be mighty , which is your free conversion to our customs , or equal punishment , which is your life , sir. arm. i am glad i have it for you ; take it , priest , and all the misery that shall attend it : let the gods glut themselves with christian blood , it will be ask'd again , and so far follow'd , so far reveng'd , and with such holy justice , your gods of gold shall melt and sink before it ; your altars and your temples shake to nothing , and you , false worshippers , blind fools of ceremonies , shall seek for holes to hide your heads and fears in ; for seas to swallow you from this destruction ; darkness to dwell about you and conceal you . gov. make the fires ready , and bring the several tortures out . quis. stand fast , sir , and fear'em not ; you that have stept so nobly into this pious tryal , start not now : keep on your way , a virgin will assist you , a virgin , won by your fair constancy , and glorying that she is won , so will die with you . arm. let me begin my triumph ; come , clap your terrors on . quis. all your fell tortures ; for there is nothing he shall suffer , brother , i swear by my new faith , which is most sacred , and i will keep it so , but i will follow in , and follow to a scruple of affliction . in spite of all your gods , without prevention . gov. s'death , she amazes me ! king. what shall be done now ? gov. they must die both , and suddenly , they will corrupt all else . go you in , sir , i 'll see the execution . king. 't is cruel ; you injur'd powers , that i permit you justice ; but for the sight � gov. you are excus'd for that , i 'll bear that torture for you ; good sir , in ; you see all 's ready , sir , and we must strike before your eyes else . king. well , what must be as the king is going off , and the priests address to their work , the whole company is alarmed by the noise of great guns . enter a messenger . mess. arms , arms , sir ; seek for defence , the castle plays , and thunders , our town rocks , and our houses fly in air , the people die for fear ; general ruidias has sent t' inform us , he 'll not leave a stone , no , not the memory there has stood a city , unless armusia be deliver'd fairly . king. father , what can our gods do for us now ? gov. ruidias do this ! what , to free armusia , his rival ? 't is impossible . mess. this was his summons , which still you hear him thunder from the fort. gov. wou'd i were safe at home again . [ aside . come , sir , leave me to see the execution done , while you return and fortifie the palace : nothing but mischief , till th' incensed powers are satisfied with these blasphemers blood ; earthquakes and hurricanes will seize us next : dispatch , dispatch there . king. by heaven i 'll rule in this : they shall not die , till i have seen this furious storm allay'd , bear back the prisoners to the palace , guards ; all to your charge , how desperately they thunder ! [ ex. arm. brave ruidias , this is like a souldier , a portuguese and christian , to do favours without the form of promise . quis. 't is but a debt of honour nobly paid . gov. plague on your bellowing . [ exeunt . enter four towns-men . .

blessus , what a thundring is here ! what fire-spitting ! we can't drink but the cans are maul'd out of our hands .

i wou'd they wou'd maul our scores too . a shame of their guns , how devilishy they bounce ! and how the bullets borrow the side of a house here , and there another , and mend those up again with another ward !

i had the roof of my house taken off with a chain-shot , and half an hour after , i found another standing in the room on 't .

.

we shall make a wonderful siege on 't , if we talk at this rate .

.

you think he lyesnow : why , i have seen a steeple taken off , and another clapt i'th-place , with twenty men ringing the bells in 't .

.

thou boy !

.

why then , we shall not know our own streets again .

.

nor where to pay our duties . i hope i shou'd love chain-shot the better as long as i live , for that good turn , i'faith : i know not , it may fall out so ; for these guns make strange work . here flies a powdring tub ; and there the soldiers go together by the ears , for the meat in 't : there flies the roast-meat , spit and all : here a barrel pisses vinegar .

.

a vengeance fire 'em all .

.

they fire fast enough ; they need no help .

.

are these the portugal bulls ? how loud they bellow ?

.

their horns are wonderful strong , they push down palaces ; they toss our little habitations like whelps , like trundle-tails , with their hells upwards : all the windows in the town dance trenchmore ; 't is like to prove a blessed age for glasiers ; i met a hand and a hand and a letter in 't , in great hast ; and by and by , a leg running after it , as if the hand had forgot part of its errand .

.

heads fly like foot-balls every where : what shall we do ?

.

i care not , my shop 's cancell'd , and all the pots and pipkins vanished ; there was a single bullet and they , together by the ears , you would have thought tom tumbler , and all his troop of devils had been there .

.

well , for my part , i 'll to the templeand pray for you all : i tell you neighbours , i trouble heaven so seldom , that sure i may be heard , when i come . for i begin to like this portugals kerson religion : what can these worm-eaten gods of ours do for us ?

.

worm-eaten gods ! i tell you , neighbour , you do our gods wrong , and me wrong : i made 'em of the best season'd timber the island wou'd afford .

.

but do the cannon bullets think there is no law ?

.

no , nor gospel neither ; law , prithee run to a granado , when it comes piping hot out of a mortar-piece into the town , and tell it there 's law ; 't will seratch they face for thee , worse than e'er thy wife did . law ! i do but think , what lanes a chain-shot wou'd make in the law ! and how like an ass a judge wou'd sit upon the bench , with his head shot off .

.

let 's to the king , and get this gentleman deliver'd handsomely , by this hand there 's no walking above ground else .

.

by this leg , ( let me swear nimbly by it , for i know not how long ) if i were out o'th'town , if i came in again to fetch my breakfast , i 'd give 'em leave to cram me with a portugal pudding . but come neighbours , our best way will be to go to the insurance-office and compound : i am a fencer ; i 'll give 'em one arm , to secure t'other . thou art a dancing-master ; thou shalt give thy head to secure thy heels .

.

why my head ?

.

because that 's of least use to thee , of any thing about thee : so every man shall give aw�y the rest of his body , to insure the limbs that are of most use in his calling .

enter pymero , and panura . pym. art ' sure it was the blind priest ? pan. yes , most certain , he has provok'd all this : the king is merciful , and wondrous loving , but he fires him on still , and when he cools inrages him ; i know it : threatens new vengeance , and the gods fierce justice , when he but looks with fair eyes on armufia ; will lend him no time to relent ; my royal mistress , she has entertain'd a christian hope . pym. speak truly . pan. nay 't is most true ; but lord , how he lies at her , and threatens her , and flatters her , and damns her ; and i fear , if not speedily prevented ; if she continues stout , both shall be executed . pym. i 'll kiss thee for this news : nay , poor panura , if thou wilt give me leave , i 'll get thee with christian ; the best way to convert thee . pan. make me believe so . pym. i will i'faith : but which way cam'st thou hither ? the palace is close guarded and barricado'd . pan. i camethrough a private vault , which few there know of , it rises in a temple not far hence , close by the castle here . pym. how � to what end ? pan. a good one , to give you knowledge of my new born mistress , and in what doubt armusia stands : think any present means , or hope , to stop 'em from their fell ends . the princes are come in too , and they are hard'ned also . pym. the damn'd priest. � pan. sure he 's a cruel man ? methinks religion shou'd teach more temperate lessons . pym. he , the firebrand ! he dare to touch at such fair lives as theirs are ! well , prophet , i prophecy i shall catch you , when all your prophesies will not redeem you : wilt thou do one thing bravely ? pan. any good i am able . pym. and by thy own white hand , swear thou art vertuous , and a brave wench , durst thou but guide me presently through the same vault thou cam'st into the palace , and those i shall appoint , such as i shall think fit . pan. yes , i will do it , and suddenly and truly . pym. i would fain behold this prophet . pan. now i have you . and i shall bring you where you shall behold him , alone too , and unfurnish'd of defences : that shall be my care ; but you must not betray me . pym. dost think we are so base ? such slavish rogues ? pan. i do not , and you shall see how fairly i 'll work for you . pym. i must needs steal that priest , steal him , and hang him . pan. do any thing to remove his mischiefs , strangle him . pym. come , prithee . pan. you 'll offer me no foul play. the vault is dark . pym. 't was well remembred . pan. and you may � . but i hold you honest . pym. honest enough , i 'll warrant thee . pan. i am but a poor weak wench ; and what with the place , and your perswasion sir , � but i hope you will not . you know we are often cozen'd . pym. if thou dost fear me , why dost thou put me in mind ? pan. to let you know , sir , though it be in your power , and things sitting to it , yet a true gentleman � pym. i know what he 'll do ? come , and remember me , and i 'll answer thee ; i 'll answer to the full : wee 'll call at the castle , and then , my good guide , do thy will , ' shalt find me a very tractable man. pan. i hope i shall , sir. exeunt . enter bakam , syana , and soldiers . bak. let my men guard the gates . sya. and mine the temple , for fear the honour of our gods shou'd suffer ; and on your lives be watchful . bak. and be valiant , and le ts see if these portugals dare enter , what their high hearts dare do ; let 's see how readily the great ruidias will redeem his countryman : he speaks proud words and threatens . sya. he is approv'd , sir , and will put fair for what he promises : i cou'd wish friendlier terms ; yet for our liberties , and for our gods , we are bound in our best services , even in the hazard of our lives . enter the king above . king. come up , princes , and give your counsels , and your helps ; the fort still plays fearfully upon us , beats our buildings , and turns our people wild with fears . bak. send for the prisoner , and give us leave to argue . [ ex. bakam and syana . enter ruidias , emanuel , christophero , pedro with soldiers . rui. come on nobly , and let the fort play still : we are strong enough to look upon 'em , and return at pleasure ; it may be on our view they will return him . eman. how the people stare ! and some cry , some pray , and some curse heartily ; but it is the king � � enter syana , bakam , quisara , armusia , with soldiers above . i cannot blame their wisdom . they are all above , armusia chain'd and bound too ! o , these are thankful squires . bak. hear ruidias : command thy cannon instantly to cease , no more to trouble the afficted people , or suddenly armusia's head goes off , as suddenly as said : stay and be temperate . arm. do nothing that 's dishonourable , brave ruidias ; let not the care of me restrain your valour ; pursue 'em still , they are base malicious people . king. be not thus desperate . arm : i scorn your courtesies , strike when you dare , a fair aim guide the gunner , and may he still let fly with fortune . friend , do me the honour of a souldiers funeral , the last fair christian rites , see me i'th'ground ; then make these idol temples burn , on their scorn'd gods erect my monument ; touch not the princess , as you are a souldier . quis. your fate , sir , must be mine ; one life , one death . king. be wise , and beg for truce yet . rui. let our cannon answer . shoot again . king. so resolute ! draw all our forces out , and make the general assault . as the guards sallv , they are met by pymero and his party , who bring the governour . pym. no , no , go on ; look here 's your god and prophet . king. heaven , i 'm amaz'd ! how came he taken ? pym. i conjur'd for him , king ; i 'm a sure cur at an old blind prophet , i 'll hunt you such a false knave admirably , a terrier i ; i earth'd him , and then snapt him . em. by your good favour , sir , we stole him , ev'n from the next chamber to you . king. i am amaz'd at these mens courage , guards , rescue our prophet first , then storm the fort. pym. come , come , begin , king , begin this bloody contest , when you please , your minion first shall go to th' dogs : and yet i soorn my sword should touch the rascal . we 'll tear him piece-meal thus before you � ha! [ pulls of the governours false hair and beard . king. how 's this ? art thou a prophet ? what a dangerous mist have i been wrapt in ! noble ruidias , our strife is at an end ; i was abus'd , my dear armusia , o my injur'd sister , what shall i urge in my defence ? ruidias , descend in peace , and meet me , on a kings word . king and his company , ruidias and his , come down upon the stage . pym. this isa precious prophet ! why , don govenour , what makes you here ? how long have you taken orders ? king. i can't speak for wonder . gov. i had paid you all , but fortune plaid the jade . king. generous souls ! y'have half persuaded me to be a christian. once more , armusia , let me do you justice . rui. which i , sir , needs must own , tho' once your rival . arm. brave ruidias , you have in honour started now beyond me , 't was my ambition but to quit the score . rui. and fortune made me blest with the occasion . king. to prison with that wretch , there let him howl� and , if he can repent , sigh out his villanies : his island we shall seize into our hands , his father and himself have both usurpt it , and kept it by oppression ; the town and castle ( in which i lay my self most miserably , till my most honourable friend redeem'd me ) signior pymero , i bestow on you ; the rest of next command upon these gentlemen , and on you all , my love. arm. i am o'er-prest with fortune , past my merit . king. our court and island , sir , shall share your joy ; our interests are one ; let mirth and triumph , and universal gladness freely flow . what ever false and subtile men dare cast , just heav'n on vertue show'rs rewards at last .
advertisement .

that famous powder , called arcanum magnum , formerly prepared by the learned riverius physician regent to the french king , and approved by most persons of quality in christendom , for preserving and beautifying the face , even to old age ; it cures red faces , it takes away all heat , pimples , sun-burn , and morphew ; it prevents , and takes away superfluous hair , growing on the face ; in short , it adds more lustre and beauty , than any powder or wash known , as many persons of quality can testifie , who daily use it , with the greatest approbation : it is prepared only by i. h. doctor in phyfick in great knight-rider-street , nigh doctors-commons gate , a blew ball being over the door , where it may be had for . . d. the paper with diractions for the use .

la montre : or the lavers-watch , a paraphrase from the french , likewise the last new comedy , called the lucky chance , or �n aldermans bargain , both written by mrs. a. behn , sold by w. �anning , at his shop in the temple-cloysters .

finis .
the anniversary ode for the fourth of december, his majesty's birth-day another for new-year's-day, / : both set to musick and perform'd at kensington / the words by n. tate ... tate, nahum, - . approx. kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from -bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : - (eebo-tcp phase ). a wing t estc r ocm this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons . universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase , no. a ) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set ) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, - ; : ) the anniversary ode for the fourth of december, his majesty's birth-day another for new-year's-day, / : both set to musick and perform'd at kensington / the words by n. tate ... tate, nahum, - . staggins, nicholas, ?- . [ ], p. printed for richard baldwin ..., london : . "set to musick by dr. staggins", p. . without the music. reproduction of original in huntington library. created by converting tcp files to tei p using tcp tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between and available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the , texts created during phase of the project have been released into the public domain as of january . anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. % (or pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf- unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p , characters represented either as utf- unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng william -- iii, -- king of england, - -- poetry. - tcp assigned for keying and markup - spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images - tcp staff (oxford) sampled and proofread - judith siefring text and markup reviewed and edited - pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the anniversary ode for the fourth of december , . his majesty's birth-day . another for new-year's-day , / . both set to musick , and perform'd at kensington . the words by n. tate servant to his majesty . london : printed for richard baldwin near the oxford-arms in warwick-lane . mdcxcviii . to the reader . the glorious occasion upon which these odes were written , viz. his majesty's birth-day , and the new year , accompanied with the consummation of an honourable peace , requir'd the utmost liberties of poetry ; but i was confin'd ( for the present ) to such measures and compass as the musical performance would admit ; upon which consideration the reader 's favourable allowance is requested , by his humble servant , n. t. the ode upon his majesty's birth-day . set to musick by dr. staggins . summon to the chearful plain the graces and the muses train . they come , they come , in pompous throng , and , as in state they march along , this is the burthen of their song : chorus . virtue is at last regarded , and the hero's toils rewarded . hark how the neighb'ring nations round to britain's eccho'd mirth resound ! and various languages employ to speak the universal joy. let winter smile , the fields be gay , woods and vales in confort sing , flowing tides their tribute bring to welcome peace and caesar's day . the trumpet 's sound and cannon's roar , no longer are the voice of war ; yet both shall speak , and both be heard as far in triumph now as in alarms before . in ancient times of lawless sway , when nations groaning lay , despairing all , and all forlorn , then was the great alcides born. such was europe's late distress , when for the suffering world's repose , with equal courage and success , our second hercules arose . o favour'd both of earth and heav'n ! to thee , and only thee , 't is giv'n rome's first caesars to out-do ; our iulius and augustus too . war 's dismal scene is chang'd to peace , yet shall not his herculean labours cease : nobler wars he now will wage , against infernal pow'rs engage , and quell the hydra-vices of the age. grand chorus . so glorious a task does a hero require , whom valour and virtue alike do inspire : 't is a triumph reserv'd for the just and the brave , who fights to give freedom , and conquers to save . finis . the ode for new-year's-day , / . set to musick by dr. blow . musick now thy charms display , let all thy tuneful sons appear , to entertain the genial day , and kindly treat the infant-year . young as 't is , it brings along blessings on its tender wing ; blessings to requite your song ; blessings that forestal the spring . chorus . the promis'd year is now arriv'd , that has the golden age reviv'd . the prize our daring warrior sought , is now compleatly gain'd ; not poorly begg'd , nor dearly bought , but nobly , in the field , obtain'd . peace her self could boast no charms to draw our hero from alarms , from glorious danger — till she came in honour's recommending name , and all the splendid pomp of fame . bellona else had still been heard , thundring through the listed plain ; europe still , with restless pain , had for her fearless champion fear'd . harrass'd nations , now at rest , eccho to each other's joy , their breath in grateful songs employ , for him who has their griefs redrest . chorus . ] what then should happy brittain do ? blest with the gift and giver too . on warlike enterprizes bent to foreign fields the hero went ; the dreadful part he there perform'd of battels fought , and cities storm'd : but now the drum and trumpet cease , and wish'd success his sword has sheath'd , to us returns , with olive wreath'd , to practice here the milder arts of peace . grand chorus . happy , happy , past expressing , britain , if thou know'st thy blessing ; home-bred discord ne'er alarm thee , other mischief cannot harm thee . happy , if thou know'st thy blessing . happy , happy , past expressing . finis .