Shall suit the inward fashion of my mind'; It is too melancholy; we 'll remove Nearer the court: or what thinks my Penthea Pen. I am no mistress: Whither you please, I must attend; all ways Grau. "Island!" prison; A prison is as gaysome: we 'll no islands; And crabs, and mews, and dogfish; goodly gear You are a juggling jade.—This sadness, sweetest, Becomes not youthful blood;-I'll have you pounded [To GRAU. For my sake put on a more cheerful mirth; Grau. I am thick of hearing, [TO GRAU. Still, when the wind blows southerly.—What think you, If your fresh lady breed young bones, my lord! Would not a chopping boy do you good at heart! But, as you said Bass. I'll spit thee on a stake, Or chop thee into collops! Grau. Pray, speak louder. Sure, sure the wind blows south still. Pen. Thou prat'st madly. [Aside to GRAU. Bass. "Tis very hot; I sweat extremely.-Now? VOL. I.-14 Enter PHULAS. Phu. A herd of lords, sir. Bass. Ha! Phu. A flock of ladies. Bass. Where? Phu. Shoals of horses. Bass. Peasant, how? Phu. Caroches In drifts-th' one enter, th' other stand without, sir; And now I vanish. [Exit. Enter PROPHILUS, HEMOPHIL, GRONEAS, CHRISTALLA, and PHILEMA. Pro. Noble Bassanes! Bass. Most welcome, Prophilus; ladies, gentle men, To all, my heart is open; you all honour me,- Honour me bountifully.-How they flutter, Pro. From your brother, By virtue of your love to him, I require Your instant presence, fairest. Pen. He is well, sir? [Aside. [Aside. Pro. The gods preserve him ever! Yet, dear beauty, I find some alteration in him lately, Since his return to Sparta.-My good lord, I pray, use no delay. Bass. We had not needed An invitation, if his sister's health Had not fallen into question.-Haste, Penthea, Slack not a minute; lead the way good Prophilus, I'll follow step by step. Pro. Your arm, fair madam. [Exeunt all but BASS. and GRAu. Bass. One word with your old hagship; thou hadst better Rail'd at the saints thou worshipp'st than have thwarted My will; I'll use thee cursedly. Grau. You dote, You are beside yourself. A politician In jealousy? no, you're too gross, too vulgar. By which I shall know all; my trade 's a sure one. Grau. Fear not, I am no new-come-to-'t. Bass. Thy life 's upon it, And so is mine. My agonies are infinite. [Exeunt. SCENE II. The Palace. ITHOCLES's Apartment. Enter ITHOCLES. Ith. Ambition! 't is of viper's breed; it gnaws A passage through the womb that gave it motion. Ambition, like a seeled1 dove, mounts upwards, Higher and higher still, to perch on clouds, But tumbles headlong down with heavier ruin. So squibs and crackers fly into the air, Then, only breaking with a noise, they vanish In stench and smoke. Morality, applied To timely practice, keeps the soul in tune, At whose sweet music all our actions dance: But this is form['d] of books and school-tradition; 1 Ambition, like a seeled dove, mounts upwards, Higher and higher still, &c.] To seel is to blind by sewing up the eyelids. It is told in the Gen tleman's Recreation, that this wanton piece of cruelty is sometimes resorted to for sport. The poor dove, in the agonies of pain, soars, like the lark, as soon as dismissed from the hand, almost perpendicularly, and continues mounting till strength and life are totally exhausted, when she drops at the feet of her inhuman persecutors.-GIFFORD. It physics not the sickness of a mind Broken with griefs: strong fevers are not eased With counsel, but with best receipts, and means; Means, speedy means, and certain; that's the cure. Enter ARMOSTES and CROTOLON. Arm. You stick, lord Crotolon, upon a point Crot. Yet not so ripe, My lord Armostes, that it dares to dote Ith. Not yet Resolv'd, my lord? Why, if your son's consent For his repair to Sparta: the king's hand Will join with our desires; he has been mov'd to 't. Arm. Yes, and the king himself importuned Crotolon For a despatch. Crot. Kings may command; their wills Are laws not to be question'd. Ith. By this marriage You knit a union so devout, so hearty, Between your loves to me, and mine to yours, Crot. My lord, my lord! Ith. What, good sir? speak your thought. Arm. You are bold and bitter. [Aside. Ith. He presses home the injury; it smarts. No reprehensions, uncle: I deserve them. Since when experience, by th' extremes in others, Crot. I am conquer'd: if Euphranea Ith. Use my fortunes, Life, power, sword, and heart, all are your own. Enter BASSANES, PROPHILUS, CALANTHA, PENTHEA, Eu- Cal. I present you A stranger here in court, my lord; for did not We had not been made happy in her company. Holds too severe a passion in your nature, T'immure her in a chamber. Bass. "Tis her will: [TO BASS. |