honour,

Is this a fitting time o' night, think you,
To send a duke home without e'er a man?

I would fain know where lies the mass of wealth
Which you have hoarded for my maintenance,
That I may bear my beard out of the level

Of my lord's stirrup.

Cor. What! because we are poor Shall we be vicious?

Flam. Pray, what means have you

To keep me from the galleys or the gallows?

My father prov'd himself a gentleman,
Sold all's land, and, like a fortunate fellow,
Died ere the money was spent. You brought
me up

At Padua, I confess, where, I protest,

For want of means (the university judge me)
I have been fain to heel my tutor's stockings,
At least seven years: conspiring with a beard,
Made me a graduate; then to this duke's service.
I visited the court, whence I return'd
More courteous, more lecherous by far,
But not a suit the richer: and shall I,
Having a path so open and so free
To my preferment, still retain your milk
In my pale forehead? no, this face of mine.
I'll arm, and fortify with lusty wine,
'Gainst shame and blushing.

Cor. O, that I ne'er had borne thee!
Flam. So would I;

I would the common'st courtezan in Rome
Had been my mother, rather than thyself.

Nature is very pitiful to whores,

To give them but few children, yet those children

Plurality of fathers: they are sure

They shall not want. Go, go,

Complain unto my great lord cardinal;

Yet* may be he will justify the act.

Lycurgus wonder'd much men would provide Good stallions for their mares, and yet would suffer

Their fair wives to be barren.

Cor. Misery of miseries!

[Exit.

Flam. The duchess come to court! I like not that.

We are engag'd to mischief, and must on :
As rivers to find out the ocean

Flow with crook bendings beneath forced banks;
Or as we see, to aspire some mountain's top,
The way ascends not straight, but imitates
The subtle foldings of a winter's † snake;

* Yet] The 4to. of 1631 "it."

† winter's] The 4to. of 1631 "winter.”

Shall find her ways winding and indirect. [Exit.

Enter FRANCISCO DE MEDICIS,* Cardinal MONTICELSO, MARCELLO, ISABELLA, young GIOVANNI, with little JAQUES the Moor.

Fran. de Med. Have you not seen your husband since you arriv'd?

Isab. Not yet, sir.

Fran. de Med. Surely he is wondrous † kind: If I had such a dove-house as Camillo's,

I would set fire on't, were't but to destroy
The pole-cats that haunt to it.-My sweet cousin!
Giov. Lord uncle, you did promise me a horse
And armour.

Fran. de Med. That I did, my pretty cousin.— Marcello, see it fitted.

Mar. My lord, the duke is here.

Fran. de Med. Sister, away! you must not yet be seen.

Isab. I do beseech you,

Entreat him mildly; let not your rough tongue
Set us at louder variance: all my wrongs
Are freely pardon'd; and I do not doubt,
As men, to try the precious unicorn's horn,‡
Make of the powder a preservative circle,
And in it put a spider, so these arms
Shall charm his poison, force it to obeying,
And keep him chaste from an infected straying.
Fran. de Med. I wish it may. Be gone, void
the chamber.

[Exeunt ISABELLA, GIOVANNI, and JAQUES.

Enter BRACHIANO and FLAMINEO.

You are welcome: will you sit ?—I pray, my lord,
Be you my orator, my heart's too full;
I'll second you anon.

Mont. Ere I begin,

Let me entreat your grace forgo all passion,
Which may be raised by my free discourse.
Brach. As silent as i'the church: you may
proceed.

Mont. It is a wonder to your noble friends, That you, having,§ as 'twere, enter'd the world With a free sceptre in your able hand,

* Enter Francisco de Medicis, &c.] Scene.-The same. A room in Francisco's palace.

† wondrous] The 4to. of 1631 "wonderful."

‡ unicorn's horn] "The substance vended as such used to be esteemed a counter-poison. 'Andrea Racci, a physician of Florence, affirms the pound of 16 ounces to have been sold in the apothecaries' shops for 1536 crowns, when the same weight of gold was only worth 148 crowns.' Chambers's Dict. See also Sir Thomas Brown's Vulgar Errors. B. 3. C. 23." REED.

§ having] So all the 4tos. except that of 1612, which has "have."

And to the use of nature * well applied

High gifts of learning, should in your prime age
Neglect your awful throne for the soft down
Of an insatiate bed. O, my lord,

The drunkard after all his lavish cups
Is dry, and then is sober: so at length,
When you awake from this lascivious dream,
Repentance then will follow, like the sting
Plac'd in the adder's tail. + Wretched are princes
When fortune blasteth but a petty flower
Of their unwieldy crowns, or ravisheth
But one pearl from their sceptres: but, alas,
When they to wilful shipwreck lose good fame,
All princely titles perish with their name!
Brach. You have said, my lord.
Mont. Enough to give you taste

How far I am from flattering your greatness. Brach. Now you that are his second, what say you?

Do not like young hawks fetch a course about: Your game flies fair and for you.

Fran. de Med. Do not fear it :

I'll answer you in your own hawking phrase. Some eagles that should gaze upon the sun Seldom soar high, but take their lustful ease; Since they from dunghill birds their prey can seize. You know Vittoria ?

Thy galleys, nor thy sworn confederates,
Durst not supplant her.

Fran. de Med. Let's not talk on thunder.
Thou hast a wife, our sister: would I had given
Both her white hands to death, bound and lock'd

fast

In her last winding-sheet, when I gave thee
But one!

Brach. Thou hadst given a soul to God, then.
Fran. de Med. True:

Thy ghostly father, with all's absolution,
Shall ne'er do so by thee.

Brach. Spit thy poison.

Fran. de Med. I shall not need; lust carries

her sharp whip

At her own girdle. Look to't, for our anger Is making thunder-bolts.

Brach. Thunder in faith,

They are but crackers.

Fran. de Med. We'll end this with the cannon. Brach. Thou'lt get naught by it but iron in

thy wounds,

And gunpowder in thy nostrils.
Fran. de Med. Better that,

Than change perfumes for plasters.

Brach. Pity on thee:

'Twere good you'd show your slaves or men condemn'd

Your new-plough'd* forehead-defiance! and I'll meet thee,

Even in a thicket of thy ablest men.

Mont. My lords,† you shall not word it any further

Without a milder limit.

Fran. de Med. Willingly.

Brach. Have you proclaim'd a triumph, that you bait

A lion thus ?

Mont. My lord!

Brach. I am tame, I am tame, sir.

Fran. de Med. We send unto the duke for conference

'Bout levies 'gainst the pirates; my lord duke Is not at home: we come ourself in person; Still my lord duke is busied. But we fear,

have delighted in making themselves merry with the Swiss mercenaries, whose poverty, perhaps, rather than their natural inclination, induced them to lend their military services to their wealthier and contending neighbours; till, as Osborne cleverly expresses it, 'they became the cudgels with which the rest of the world did, upon all occasions, beat one another.' (431. Edit. 1682.)” O. GILCHRIST. plough'd] Spelt in all the 4tos. 'plow'd.' "plum'd?"

*

lords] The 4to. of 1631 "lord."

Qy.

When Tiber to each prowling passenger
Discovers flocks of wild ducks; then, my lord,
'Bout moulting time I mean, we shall be certain
To find you sure enough, and speak with you.
Brach. Ha!

Brach. Forward lap-wing! * He flies with the shell on's head. Fran. de Med. Pretty cousin! Giov. The first year, uncle, that I go to war, All prisoners that I take I will set free

Your son, the prince Giovanni. See, my lords, What hopes you store in him: this is a casket For both your crowns, and should be held like dear.

Now is he apt for knowledge; therefore know,
It is a more direct and even way

To train to virtue those of princely blood
By examples than by precepts: if by examples,
Whom should he rather strive to imitate
Than his own father? be his pattern, then;
Leave him a stock of virtue that may last,
Should fortune rend his sails and split his mast.
Brach. Your hand, boy: growing to a* soldier?
Giov. Give me a pike.

Fran. de Med. What, practising your pike so young, fair cuz ?

Giov. Suppose me one of Homer's frogs, my lord,

Tossing my bull-rush thus. Pray, sir, tell me, Might not a child of good discretion

We now will leave you, and expect from you
Nothing but kind entreaty.

Brach. You have charm'd me.

[Exeunt FRANCISCO DE MEDICIS, MONTICELSO, and GIOVANNI.

FLAMINEO retires.

Re-enter ISABELLA.

You are in health, we see.

Isab. And above health,

To see my lord well.

Brach. So. I wonder much

What amorous whirlwind hurried you to Rome. Isab. Devotion, my lord.

Brach. Devotion !

Is your soul charg'd with any grievous sin?
Isab. 'Tis burden'd with too many; and I think,

*

Forward lap-wing!

He flies with the Hamlet, A. 5. S. 2. shell on his head.'

shell on's head] "So Horatio says in "This lap-wing runs away with the See Mr. Steevens's note thereon.”

† Dansk] i. e. Danish.

REED.

Brach. I do not use to kiss :

If that will dispossess your jealousy,

I'll swear it to you.

Isab. O my lovèd lord,

I do not come to chide: my jealousy!

I am † to learn what that Italian means.

You are as welcome to these longing arms
As I to you a virgin.

Brach. O, your breath!

Out upon sweet-meats and continu'd physic,--
The plague is in them!

Isab. You have oft, for these two lips,
Neglected cassia or the natural sweets

Of the spring-violet: they are not yet much wither'd.

My lord, I should be merry: these your frowns
Show in a helmet lovely; but on me,
In such a peaceful interview, methinks
They are too-too roughly knit.

Brach. O, dissemblance !

Do you bandy factions 'gainst me? have you learnt The trick of impudent baseness, to complain Unto your kindred?

Isab. Never, my dear lord.

Brach. Must I be hunted ‡ out? or was't your
trick

To meet some amorous gallant here in Rome,
That must supply our discontinuance?

Isab. I pray, sir, burst§ my heart; and in my
death

Turn to your ancient pity, though not love.

Brach. Because your brother is the corpulent

duke,

That is, the great duke, 'sdeath, I shall not shortly
Racket away five hundred crowns at tennis,
But it shall rest upon record! I scorn him
Like a shav'd Polack: || all his reverend wit
Lies in his wardrobe; he's a discreet fellow

* now] Omitted in the two earliest 4tos.

am] The 4to. of 1612 "come."

hunted] The three earliest 4tos. "haunted.”

§ burst] i. e. break.

|| shav'd Polack] "i. e. Polander. See the Notes of Mr. Pope, Dr. Johnson, Mr. Steevens, on Hamlet, A. 1. S. 1. In Moryson's Itinerary, 1617, pt. 3. p. 170. it is said, 'The Polonians shave all their heads close, excepting the haire of the forehead, which they nourish very long, and cast backe to the hinder part of the head.""

REED.

That sang the wedding-mass, and even my

issue!

Isab. O, too-too far you have curs'd!

Brach. Your hand I'll kiss;

This is the latest ceremony of my love. Henceforth I'll never lie with thee; by this, This wedding-ring, I'll ne'er more lie with thee: And this divorce shall be as truly kept

As if the judge had doom'd it. Fare you well: Our sleeps are sever'd.

Isab. Forbid it, the sweet union

Of all things blessèd! why, the saints in heaven Will knit their brows at that.

Fran. de Med. Sister!-This is not well, my

lord. Why, sister!—

She merits not this welcome.

Brach. Welcome, say!
She hath given a sharp welcome.

Fran. de Med. Are you foolish?

Come, dry your tears: is this a modest course,
To better what is naught, to rail and weep?
Grow to a reconcilement, or, by heaven,
I'll ne'er more deal between you.

Isab. Sir, you shall not;

No, though Vittoria, upon that condition,
Would become honest.

Fran. de Med. Was your husband loud

Since we departed?

Isab. By my life, sir, no;

I swear by that I do not care to lose.
Are all these ruins of my former beauty
Laid out for a whore's triumph?

Fran. de Med. Do you hear?

Look upon other women, with what patience They suffer these slight wrongs, with what justice They study to requite them: take that course.

Isab. O, that I were a man, or that I had power To execute my apprehended wishes!

I would whip some with scorpions.

Fran, de Med. What! turn'd Fury!

Isab. To dig the strumpet's eyes out; let

her lie

Some twenty months a dying; to cut off
Her nose and lips, pull out her rotten teeth;
Preserve her flesh like mummia, for trophies
Of my just anger! Hell to my affliction
Is mere snow-water. By your favour, sir;
Brother, draw near, and my lord cardinal ;-
Sir, let me borrow of you but one kiss :
Henceforth I'll never lie with you, by this,
This wedding-ring.

Fran. de Med. How, ne'er more lie with him!
Isab. And this divorce shall be as truly kept
As if in throngèd court a thousand ears
Had heard it, and a thousand lawyers' hands
Seal'd to the separation.

Brach. Ne'er lie with me!

Isab. Let not my former dotage

Make thee an unbeliever: this my vow

Shall never, on my soul, be satisfied

With my repentance; manet alta mente repostum.* Fran. de Med. Now, by my birth, you are a

foolish, mad,

And jealous woman.

Brach. You see 'tis not my seeking.

* manet alta, &c.] Virgil, En. i. 26.

Fran. de Med. Was this your circle of pure

unicorn's horn

You said should charm your lord? now, horns

upon thee,

For jealousy deserves them! Keep your vow And take your chamber.

Isab. No, sir, I'll presently to Padua ;

I will not stay a minute.

Mont. O good madam !

Brach. 'Twere best to let her have her humour: Some half day's journey will bring down her stomach,

And then she'll turn in post.

Fran. de Med. To see her come

To my lord cardinal for a dispensation

Of her rash vow, will beget excellent laughter. Isab. Unkindness, do thy office; poor heart,

break:

Those are the killing griefs which dare not speak.* [Exit.

Re-enter MARCELLO with CAMILLO.

Mar. Camillo's come, my lord.
Fran. de Med. Where's the commission?
Mar. 'Tis here.

Fran. de Med. Give me the signet.

[FRANCISCO DE MEDICIS, MONTICELSO, CAMILLO, and MARCELLO, retire to the back of the stage. Flam. My lord, do you mark their whispering? I will compound a medicine, out of their two heads, stronger than garlic, deadlier than stibium:† the cantharides, which are scarce seen to stick upon the flesh when they work to the heart, shall not do it with more silence or invisible cunning.

Brach. About the murder?

Flam. They are sending him to Naples, but I'll send him to Candy.