1 Are. There are sundry kinds Of this disturbance? Cor. Infinite it were More easy to conjecture every hour We have to live than reckon up the kinds Or causes of this anguish of the mind. Soph. Thus you conclude that, as the cause is doubtful, The cure must be impossible; and then Our prince, poor gentleman, is lost for ever As well unto himself as to his subjects. Cor. My lord, you are too quick: thus much I dare Promise and do; ere many minutes pass I will discover whence his sadness is, Or undergo the censure of my ignorance. Are. You are a noble scholar. Soph. You shall make your own demand. Cor. For reward May I be sure ? 'Tis soon performed: Are. We both will pledge our truth. That I may be discharged from my attendance At court, and never more be sent for after; all If I get home once, and come here again! Cor. I'll acquaint ye With what is to be done; and you shall fashion it. [Exeunt. SCENE II.-A Room in THAMASTA's House. Enter KALA and PARTHENOPHIL. Kal. My lady does expect ye, thinks all time Too slow till you come to her: wherefore, young man, If you intend to love me, and me only, Before we part, without more circumstance, Let us betroth ourselves. Par. You are too violent. Kal. I dare not wrong ye ; Wrong me no more Than I wrong you; be mine, and I am yours: I cannot stand on points. Par. Then, to resolve All further hopes, you never can be mine, Must not, and-pardon though I say-you shall not. Kal. [Aside]. The thing is sure a gelding.-Shall not! Well, You're best to prate unto my lady now, What proffer I have made. Par. Never, I vow. Kal. Do, do! 'tis but a kind heart of mine own, And ill luck can undo me.-Be refused! O scurvy!-Pray walk on, I'll overtake ye. [Exit PARTHENOPHIL. What a green-sickness-livered boy is this! Enter MENAPHON. Men. Parthenophil passed this way: prithee, Kala, Direct me to him. Your bounty has engaged my truth: receive A secret, that will, as you are a man, Dear sir, The stranger whom your courtesy received Men. Rival, Kala! My lady Take heed; thou art too credulous. Kal. Dotes on him. I will place you in a room Where, though you cannot hear, yet you shall see Of my intelligence. Men. Kal. Yes, yes. "Twill make me mad. It makes me mad too, that a gentleman Se excellently sweet, so liberal, So kind, so proper, should be so betrayed By a young smooth-chinned straggler: but for love's sake, Bear all with manly courage. Not a word; I am undone then. Men. Honest, most honest Kala, 'tis thy care, Thy serviceable care. Kal. That were too much pity: You have even spoken I will reward thee: All can be said or thought. Men. But as for him, ungentle boy, I'll whip His falsehood with a vengeance. Kal. O, speak little. Walk up these stairs; and take this key: it opens A chamber-door, where, at that window yonder, You may see all their courtship. Men. I am silent. Kal. As little noise as may be, I beseech ye: There is a back-stair to convey ye forth Unseen or unsuspected. [Exit MENAPHON. He that cheats A waiting-woman of a free good turn She longs for must expect a shrewd revenge. Sheep-spirited boy! although he had not married me, He might have proffered kindness in a corner, And ne'er have been the worse for't.-They are come: On goes my set of faces most demurely. Enter THAMASTA and PARTHENOPHIL. Tha. Forbear the room. Kal. Yes, madam. Tha. Whosoever Requires access to me, deny him entrance Kal. I shall. Sweet Venus, turn his courage to a snow-ball; [Aside, and exit. The honour of my birth, my fame, my youth, In seeking an adventure of a parley, So private, with a stranger: if your thoughts Which should preserve a virtuous name unstained. Of your most noble nature, that to question 1 Base-bred; and, which is most of all, unthankful. Tha. The constant loadstone and the steel are found In several mines; yet is there such a league Between these minerals as if one vein Of earth had nourished both. The gentle myrtle Is not engraft upon an olive's stock, Yet nature hath between them locked a secret Of sympathy, that, being planted near, They will, both in their branches and their roots, 1 Ignorant of the language and manners of good society. Embrace each other: twines of ivy round The well-grown oak; the vine doth court the elm; Yet these are different plants. Parthenophil, Consider this aright; then these slight creatures Will fortify the reasons I should frame For that ungrounded-as thou think'st-affection Which is submitted to a stranger's pity. True love may blush, when shame repents too late But in all actions nature yields to fate. Par. Great lady, 'twere a dulness must exceed The grossest and most sottish kind of ignorance Not to be sensible of your intents; I clearly understand them. Yet so much The difference between that height and lowness To every law of noble honesty, That to transgress the vows of perfect friendship I hold a sacrilege as foul and cursed As if some holy temple had been robbed, And I the thief. Tha. T'enrage a lioness. Par. Thou art unwise, young man, It were unjust To falsify a faith, and ever after, Disrobed of that fair ornament, live naked, A scorn to time and truth. Tha. Remember well That remembrance Who I am, and what thou art. Par. Prompts me to worthy duty. O, great lady, Ford. E |