Of good opinion from a noble nature,
They take upon them boldness to abuse
Such interest, and lord it o'er their fellows,
As if they were exempt from that condition.

Oct. He is unfit to manage public matters,
Who knows not how to rule at home his household.
You must be jealous, puppy,-of a boy too!
Raise uproars, bandy noise, amongst young mai-
dens;

Keep revels in your madness, use authority
Of giving punishment: a fool must fool ye;
And this is all but pastime, as you think it!

Nit. With your good lordship's favour, since,
Spadone

Confess'd it was a gullery put on 'Secco,
For some revenge meant me.

Troy. He vow'd it truth,

Before the ladies, in my hearing.

Oct. Sirrah,

I'll turn you to your shop again and trinkets, Your suds and pan of small-coal: take your damsel, The grand old rag of beauty, your death's head, Try then what custom reverence can trade in; Fiddle, and play your pranks amongst your neighbours,

That all the town may roar ye! now you simper," And look like a shaved skull.

Nit. This comes of prating.

now you simper.] This, I think, should be, now you whimper; as Secco seems little disposed to indulge a smile of any kind.

A better brother, he a better friend
Than my dull brains could fashion.

Rom. Am I cozen'd?

Oct. You are not, Romanello: we examined On what conditions your affections fix'd,

And found them merely courtship; but my nephew Loved with a faith resolv'd, and used his policy To draw the lady into this society,

More freely to discover his sincerity;

Even without Livio's knowledge; thus succeeded3 And prosper'd:-he's my heir, and she deserv'd him. Jul. Storm not at what is past.

Flav. A fate as happy

May crown you with a full content.

Oct. Whatever

[To Rom.

Report hath talk'd of me abroad, and these,
Know they are all my nieces, are the daughters
To my dead only sister; this their guardianess
Since they first saw the world: indeed, my mis-

tresses

They are, I have none other; how brought up,
Their qualities may speak. Now, Romanello,
And gentlemen, for such I know ye all,

Portions they shall not want, both fit and worthy;
Nor will I look on fortune; if you like,
Court them and win them; here is free access,
In mine own court henceforth: only for thee,
Livio, I wish Clarella were allotted.

8

Liv. Most noble lord, I am struck silent.

thus succeeded, &c.] Meaning,

perhaps, thus he (Troylo) succeeded: if this be not admitted, it will be expedient to read, this succeeded, for thus.

Troy. But when time shall wonder

How much it was mistaken in the issue
Of honourable and secure contrivements;

Your wisdom, crown'd with laurels of a justice
Deserving approbation, will quite foil

The ignorance of popular opinion.

Oct. Report is merry with my feats; my dotage,

Undoubtedly, the vulgar voice doth carol it.

Troy. True, sir; but Romanello's late admission Warrants that giddy confidence of rumour Without all contradiction; now 'tis oracle, And so receiv'd: I am confirm'd the lady, By this time, proves his scorn as well as laughter Oct. And we with her his table-talk ;-she stands not

In any firm affection to him?

Troy. None, sir,

More than her wonted nobleness afforded

Out of a civil custom.

Oct. We are resolute

In our determination, meaning quickly

To cause these clouds fly off; the ordering of it, Nephew, is thine.

Troy. Your care, and love commands me.

Enter LIVIO.

Liv. I come, my lord, a suitor.

Oct. Honest Livio,

Perfectly honest, really; no fallacies,

design, for the story is capable of furnishing, in judicious hands, a series of events neither uninstructive nor unamusing; but, with his usual ill-fortune, he entangled himself at the outset with a worthless rabble of comic characters, and after debasing his plot to the utmost, is compelled by their outrages on decorum, to terminate it prematurely. The Fancies are wholly insignificant, great marquess' must have imbibed strange notions of female elegance and delicacy, when he confided the education of his nieces to the vulgar and profligate set who conduct his boasted Academy.

and the

All, however, is not in this reprobate strain. The leading characters are well conceived, and judiciously sustained. Castamela, in particular, is beautifully depicted. Though indigent, and affectionately attached to her brother, she indignantly resents the compromise which she supposes him to have made with fortune at her expense; and when he appears willing to abandon his hopes, and, apprehensive of her danger, to return with her to their pristine poverty, she rejects the thought with scorn, and, secure in her high sense of female decorum, and of virtue, resolves to brave the severe trial to which his impatience of want had exposed her. Livio is only inferior to his sister; and his struggles to extricate himself with honour from the toils which appear to lie in his way, are described in that strong, free, and vivid language which marks the more serious parts of this singular play.

The second or under-plot of Julio and Flavia, like most of our author's intermedes, contributes nothing to the advancement of the main-story; it is not, however, without merit. Flavia is skilfully drawn, and has many touches of sensibility, for which we are not prepared by her first appearance; and her brother Romanello, perplexed, like Livio, in the extreme, but less fortunate, is entitled, both for language and sentiment, to considerable praise.

EPILOGUE.

Spoken by MOROSA, CLARELLA, CASTAMELA, and FLAVIA.

Mor. A while suspected, gentlemen, I look For no new law, being quitted by the book. Clar. Our harmless pleasures, free, in every sort, Actions of scandal; may they free report!

Cast. Distrust is base, presumption urgeth wrongs; But noble thoughts must prompt as noble tongues. Flav. Fancy and judgment are a play's full matter; If we have err'd in one, right you the latter.