That this might be the last gift he should give; How he should worshipped be, and reverenced; Mos. O, no: rich Implies it. Hood an ass with reverend purple, Volp. My caps, my caps, good Mosca. Fetch Now, my feigned cough, my phthisic, and my gout, My apoplexy, palsy, and catarrhs, Help, with your forced functions, this my posture, Wherein, this three year, I have milked their hopes. He comes; I hear him-Uh![coughing.] uh! uh! uh! O—— Re-enter Mosca, introducing Voltore with a piece of Plate. Volp. I thank you, Signior Voltore; Where is the plate? mine eyes are bad. Volt. [putting it into his hands.] I'm sorry To see you still thus weak. I Mos. That he's not weaker. Volp. You are too munificent. [Aside. Volt. No, sir; would to heaven, 160 could as well give health to you, as that plate! Volp. You give, sir, what you can; I thank you. Your love Hath taste in this, and shall not be unanswered: I pray you see me often. Volt. Yes, I shall, sir. Volp. Be not far from me. Volp. I cannot now last long Mos. You are his heir, sir. Volp. I feel me going: Uh! uh! uh! uh! Mos. You still are what you were, sir. Only And I am glad I am so near my haven. 170 I am a man that hath not done your love Volt. But am I sole heir? Or see a copy of the Will?-Anon11!— Mos. Keep you still, sir. Volp. Set the plate away: The vulture's gone, and the old raven's come. Mos. Betake you to your silence, and your 240 sleep. Stand there and multiply. [Putting the plate to the rest.] Now we shall see Mos. Without a partner, sir: confirmed this A wretch who is indeed more impotent morning: The wax is warm yet, and the ink scarce dry Upon the parchment. Volt. Happy, happy me! By what good chance, sweet Mosca? Mos. Your desert, sir; I know no second cause. Volt. Thy modesty Than this can feign to be; yet hopes to hop Over his grave. Enter Corbaccio. 200 You're very welcome, sir. Is not to know it10; well, we shall requite it. Mos. He ever liked your course, sir; that first took him. 210 I oft have heard him say how he admired scarce Lie still, without a fee; when every word And yet pretend you came, and went in haste; Mos. When will you have your inventory brought, sir? 230 13 sequin; an Italian coin worth about 9s Mos. He has no faith in physic: he does Most of your doctors are the greater danger, Corb. Not I his heir? Mos. Not your physician, sir. I do not mean it. Mos. No, sir, nor their fees He cannot brook: he says they flay a man 14 at once (addressed to the one knocking) 15 a 270 Mos. Flows a cold sweat, with a continual Give me it again. Mos. He smelt a carcase, sir, when he but If you will hear, sir. Corb. Yes, with all my heart. Mos. Now would I counsel you, make home I'll straight about it. with speed; Corb. Ay, do, do, do: [Going. Volp. O, but thy working, and thy placing it! I cannot hold; good rascal, let me kiss thee: 400 Pour oil into their ears, and send them hence. Corb. I thought on that too. See, how he Mos. should be 410 The very organ to express my thoughts! Corb. But multiplied it on my son. Is avarice to itself! BEAUMONT AND FLETCHER FROM THE KNIGHT OF THE BURNING INDUCTION. Several Gentlemen sitting on Stools upon the Stage. The Citizen, his Wife, and Ralph sitting below among the audience. Enter Speaker of the Prologue. S. of Prol. "From all that's near the court, from all that's great, 24 may cheat pursue you, 25 flow cheat! This play was written and acted about 1611. Like Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, it is made up of diverse elements-a romantic comedy and a burlesque. Herein are given a few scenes of the latter, which can easily be detached from the main plot. It S. of Prol. And a freeman ?3 Cit. Yea, and a grocer. S. of Prol. So, grocer, then, by your sweet favour, we intend no abuse to the city. Cit. No, sir! yes, sir: if you were not resolved to play the Jacks, what need you study for new subjects, purposely to abuse your betters? why could not you be contented, as well as others, with "The Legend of Whittington, ' or The Life and Death of Sir Thomas Gresham, with the building of the Royal Exchange,'' or "The story of Queen Eleanor, with the rearing of London Bridge upon wool sacks?''t S. of Proi. You seem to be an understand. ing man: what would you have us do, sir? Cit. Why, present something notably in honour of the commons of the city. S. of Prol. Why, what do you say to "The Life and Death of fat Drake, or the Repairing of Fleet Sewers?" Cit. I do not like that; but I will have a citizen, and he shall be of my own trade. S. of Prol. Oh, you should have told us your mind a month since; our play is ready to begin now. Cit. 'Tis all one for that; I will have a must be understood that it was the custom at theaters to admit gallants and others who liked to be conspicuous, and who were willing to pay an extra sixpence, to seats on the stage, where they often abused their privilege by indulging in audible criticism of the play and players. The authors of the present drama ingeniously staged that custom as a part of their own play and took the opportunity to satirize both the taste and understanding of their dunce-critics. Furthermore, they wove in a burlesque upon the romantic extravagance of knight-errantry, presenting in Ralph, the grocer's apprentice, another Don Quixote, like him whose immortal deeds had been given to the world's laughter but a few years before. 1 Supply "that." 4 play the knave (cp. 2 always The Tempest, IV., i., 918) 5 ordinary citizens 3 one invested with full citizen's rights These are titles of old plays, more or less distorted; the reference to London Bridge is a jesting addition. The title proposed five lines farther down is of course a jest. Cit. So he shall.-I'll have him kill a lion with a pestle. Wife. [below.] Husband! shall I come up, husband? Cit. Ay, cony.-Ralph, help your mistress this way.-Pray, gentlemen, make her a little room. I pray you, sir, lend me your hand to help up my wife: I thank you, sir.-So. [Wife comes on the Stage. 66 Wife. By your leave, gentlemen all; I'm something troublesome: I'm a stranger here; I was ne'er at one of these plays, as they say, before; but I should have seen 'Jane Shore' once; and my husband hath promised me, any time this twelvemonth, to carry me to "The Bold Beauchamps," but in truth he did not. I pray you, bear with me. Cit. Boy, let my wife and I have a couple of stools, and then begin; and let the grocer do rare things. [Stools are brought. S. of Prol. But, sir, we have never a boy to play him: every one hath a part already. Wife. Husband, husband, for God's sake, let Ralph play him! beshrew me, if I do not think he will go beyond them all. Cit. Well remembered, wife.-Come up, Ralph.-I'll tell you, gentlemen; let them but lend him a suit of reparel and necessaries, and, by gad, if any of them all put him to shame, I'll be hanged. [Ralph comes on the Stage. Wife. I pray you, youth, let him have a suit of reparel!-I'll be sworn, gentlemen, my husband tells you true: he will act you sometimes at our house, that all the neighbours cry out on him; he will fetch you up a couragings part so in the garret, that we are all as feared, I warrant you, that we quake again: we'll fears our children with him; if they be never so unruly, do but cry, "Ralph comes, Ralph comes!" to them, and they'll be as quiet as lambs.-Hold up thy head. Ralph; show the |