No starting now, son; if you offer it, Piso. So I may have the means, I do not much care what the woman is: Come, my sweetheart! as long as I shall find Thy kisses sweet, and thy means plentiful, Let people talk their tongues out. Enter Frederick. Fred. First, joy unto you all! And next, I think we shall have wars. Jac. Give me some wine! Jac. Not a whit, wench; I'll teach thee presently to be a soldier. Jac. Bring me four glasses then! Ang. You shall not drink 'em here. It is [stir And from my house no creature here shall These three days; mirth shall flow as well ir you EPILOGUE. you mislike (as shall ever be Your own free judges) this play utterly, For your own nobleness yet do not hiss! But, as you go by, say it was anniss, And we will mend: Chide us, but let it be Never in cold blood! O' my honesty, (If I have any) this I'll say for all; Our meaning was to please you still, and shalf. A TRAGICAL HISTORY, The Commendatory Verses by Gardiner and Hills ascribe this Play solely to Fletcher. It was first printed in the folio of 1647. Mr. Seward, on the authority of Langbaine, says, it was revived by Dryden: But in this particular, we apprehend, they are both mistaken; as Downes, the prompter, in his Roscius Anglicanus, positively assigns the revival of it, and the alterations and additions made to it, to Betterton. The piece, thus altered, after the manner of an Opera, was represented at the Queen's Theatre, and printed in quarto, 1690. Purcell composed the musick, and Priest the dances: It appears to have been revived at a considerable expence, and has within a few years been performed at Covent Garden Theatre. 1 Out of your wonted goodness to give credit.] Sympson thinks it would be better to read, -to give ear to't.' [ful. I see a truth would break out: Be not fear- For in his litter, as he bore him company, [men; [ther, Aur. Oh, most pernicious, Most bloody, and most base! Alas, dear broArt thou accus'd, and after death thy memory Loaden with shames and lies? those pious [nument, tears Thou daily shower'dst upon my father's mo(When in the Persian expedition He fell unfortunately by a stroke of thunder) Made thy defame and sins? those wept-out eyes, The fair examples of a noble nature, Those holy drops of love, turn'd by depravers (Malicious poison'd tongues) to thy abuses? We must not suffer this. Char. It shews a truth now: And sure this Aper is not right nor honest, He will not now come near me. Niger. No; he dare not: [science, He has an inmate here, that's call'd a ConBids him keep off. Char. My brother honour'd him, Made him first captain of his guard, his next friend; Then to my mother (to assure him nearer) He made him husband. Niger. And withal ambitions; [sir, For when he trod so nigh, his false feet itch'd, To step into the state. Aur. If you believe, brother, Aper a bloody knave, as 'tis apparent, [ble. Let's leave disputing, and do something noChar. Sister, be rul'd. I am not yet so pow'rful To meet him in the field: H' has under him The flower of all the empire, and the strength, The Britain and the German cohorts; 'pray you be patient. Niger, how stands the soldier to him? Niger. In fear more, sir, Than love or honour: He has lost their fair [too. Char. You shall not, sister: But you shall know, my love shall go along See a proscription drawn; and for his recompense, My sister, and half partner in the empire; And I will keep my word. Aur. Now you do bravely. Niger. And, tho' it cost my life, I'll see Char. Away then, for the business. You shall have all dispatch'd to-night. Aur. And let the villain fall. Niger. Fear nothing, madam. [Exeunt. SCENE II. Enter Delphia and Drusilla. Drus. 'Tis true, that Diocles is courteous, And of a pleasant nature, sweet and temperate; His cousin Maximinian, proud and bloody. Altho' he seem to love thee, and affect, Drus. You know all my affection, How dull and heavily he looks upon me! Altho' I wooe him sometimes beyond modesty, [me! Beyond a virgin's care, how still he slights And puts me still off with your prophecy, And the performance of your late prediction, That when he's emp'ror, then he'll marry me ! Alas, what hope of that? Delph. Peace, and be patient; For tho' he be now a man most miserable, Of no rank, nor no badge of honour on him, Bred low and poor, no eye of favour shining; When I am Cæsar, then I will be liberal:' I presently, inspir'd with holy fire, And my prophetic spirit burning in me, Gave answer from the gods; and this it was: Imperator eris Roma, cum Aprum grandem interfeceris3: Thou shalt be emperor, oh, Diocles, When thou hast kill'd a mighty boar.' From that time, [ploy'd As giving credit to my words, he has emMuch of his life in hunting: Many boars, Hideous and fierce, with his own hands h' has kill'd too, But yet not lighted on the fatal one, [niece; Should raise him to the empire. Be not sad, Ere long he shall. Come; let's go entertain [hunting: him: For by this time, I guess, he comes from And, by my art, I find this very instant Some great design's o' foot. Drus. The gods give good, aunt! Excunt. SCENE III. Enter Diocles, Maximinian, and Geta with a bour. Dio. Lay down the boar. Geta. With all my heart; I'm weary on't: Or allied to a seemly family of souse-wives. Dio. Come, leave your fooling, sirrah, And think of what thou shalt be when I'm emperor. O' my conscience I should be at least a seMaxi. A sowter; For that's a place more fitted to thy nature, Geta. Yes; and bear it too, And bear it swimmingly. I'm not the first ass, sir, [rendly. Has borne good office, and perforin'd it reveDio. Thou being the son of a tiler, canst thon hope to be a senator? Geta. Thou being the son of a tanner, canst thou hope to be an emperor? Dio. Thou say'st true, Geta; there's a stop indeed: But yet the bold and virtuous Geta. You're right, master, Right as a gun! For we, the virtuous, Tho' we be kennel-rakers, scabs, and scoundrels, We, the discreet and bold -And yet, now I remember it, We tilers may deserve to be senators, (And there we step before you thick-skin'd tanners) [ones, For we are born three stories high; no base None of your groundlings, master. Dio. I like thee well; [honour+. Thou hast a good mind, as I have, to this Geta. As good a mind, sir, of a simple This whole speech is almost a translation from Vopiscus. Sympson. 3 I could wish this splendidus pannus, this Latin piece of patch-work, was not to be found in the oldest edition: It might very well have been spared, and the Author's learning have suffered no detriment. Sympson. Never was a more injudicious censure, than this of Mr. Sympson upon the above Latin line; it being absolutely necessary, to preserve the pun (for so it must be called) upon the name of Aper, for the prediction to be delivered in that language: But perhaps Mr. Syurp son would have had the traitor's name Anglicised, and have called him Volatius Bour. Thou hast a good mind] Betterton, in his alteration of this play, reads, Thou hast as good a mind as I have,' &c. Sympson follows him, but claims the merit of the variation. VOL. II. 2 Z Go, take it up, and carry 't in. 'Tis a huge We never kill'd so large a swine; so fierce too, I never met with yet. Maxi. Take heed! it stirs again. How nimbly the rogue runs up! he climbs like a squirrel. [dead? Dio, Come down, you dunce! Is it not Geta. I know not. Dio. His throat is cut, and his bowels out. Geta. That's all one. [I know, I'm sure his teeth are in; and, for any thing He may have pigs of his own nature in's belly. Dio. Come, take him up, I say, and see him dress'd; [him, He's fat, and will be lusty meat; away with And get some of him ready for our dinner. Geta. Shall he be roasted whole, [vice! And serv'd up in a souce-tub? a portly serI'll run i'th' wheel myself. Mari. Sirrah, leave your prating, And get some piece of him ready presently; We're weary both, and hungry. Geta. I'll about it. Dio. Certain, you much mistake her. Mari. Mistake her? hang her! To be made her purveyors, To feed her old chaps, to provide her daily, And bring in feasts, whilst she sits farting at us, And blowing out her Prophecies at both ends! Dio. 'Prithee be wise: Dost thou think, Maximinian, [ledge So great a rev'rence, and so staid a knowMari. Sur-rev'rence, you would say! What truth? what knowledge? continually. What any thing, but eating, is good in her? Twould make a fool prophesy, to be fed [danger, What do you get? Your labour and your Whilst she sits bathing in her larded fury. Inspir'd with full deep cups, who cannot prophesy? A tinker, out of ale, will give predictions; But who believes? Dio. She is a holy druid, A woman noted for that faith, that piety, Maxi. Heav'n knows, I don't believe it. Indeed, I must confess, they're excellent jugglers; [fidence: Their age upon some fools too flings a conBut what grounds have they, what elements to work on? Shew me but that! the sieve and sheers; a Old women will lie monstrously, so will the (Or else h' has had much wrong, upon my knowledge); Old women are malicious, so is he; They're proud, and covetous, revengeful, lech'rous, All which are excellent attributes o' th' devil: They would at least seem holy, so would he; And, to veil o'er these villainics, they'd prophesy; He gives them leave now and then to use their cunnings, Which is to kill a cow, or blast a harvest, Make young pigs pipe themselves to death, choke poultry, And chafe a dairy-wench into a fever 5 Thine honour.] To preserve thy honour from the tooth of a mad beast' is scarcely sense. The deficiency of the verse gives room to suspect that something is dropt. I read: of a mad beast, and the tongue of 'A slanderer, preserve thee (or thyself) and honour.' Seward. |
