Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	chief_a	young_a	youth_n	20	3	7.1454	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A89527	Heptameron or the history of the fortunate lovers; written by the most excellent and most virtuous princess, Margaret de Valoys, Queen of Navarre; published in French by the privilege and immediate approbation of the King; now made English by Robert Codrington, Master of Arts.	Marguerite, Queen, consort of Henry II, King of Navarre, 1492-1549.; Codrington, Robert, 1601-1665.	1654 (1654)	Wing M593; Thomason E1468_2; ESTC R208683	403,927	599

you an Account of one concerning whom I my self may serve for Witnesse and I have often heard it affirmed that how much the more that Virtue in a weak and seeble subject is assaul●ed by a strong and powerful Contrary by so much she is the more admirable and doth shew her self more clearly to be such as indeed she is for it is no wonder at all that the strong Man doth defend himself from the strong but that the feeble hath the Victory is the greatest glory in the world To understand aright the persons of whom I am to speak I shall peradventure do some little wrong to the truth as also that I shall cloath their story in so poor a Dresse that none will regard it Howsoever the Accomplishments of the young Maid by whom such worthy things were done do inforce me to declare them The Continence of a young Maid against the obstinate and amorous Sute of one of the greatest Lords of France and the happy Successe which the Damsell did obtain The second Novel IN one of the greatest Towns of Tourain there did dwell a Lord of a great and honourable house who had there his education from his Infancy I will make no mention in this place of the perfections the grace and beauty and the great virtues of this young Prince I shall only exhibite to you that France had not his equal Being at fifteen years of age he took more pleasure to ride and to hunt than to behold the beauties of Ladies One day when he was at Church he fixed his eyes upon a young Maid who in her Infancy had been brought up in the Castle where he lived and after the death of her Mother her Father did remove to another place whereupon she did goe to Poictou with her Brother This Maid whose name was Frances had a Bastard Sister whom her Father loved very well and married her to the chief Butler of this young Prince who did esteem as well of her as of any in his House The Father died and left unto Frances for her portion all the demeans and houses which he had in this great Town Wherefore after her Fathers death she removed from Poictou unto this place where her Estate was and because she was but 16 years of age unmarried she would not live alone in her own house but agreed for her bord with her Sister who was the Butlers Wife The young Prince observing this Maid to be very lovely being of a brown hair but of a clear complexion and having a carriage that did transcend her Estate for she seemed rather a Princesse than the Daughter of a Citizen he a long time with a stedfast eye did look upon her and being never in love before did find in his heart an unaccustomed heat and retiring into his Chamber he did enquire after her whom he saw in the Church and remembred that it was she who in her infancy was accustomed to come unto the Castle to play with his Sister and acquainted his Sister with it His Sister did send for her and made her very welcom desiring her that she would take the pains to come often to her which she did as often as there were any Marriages or publick Meetings where the young Prince would behold her with such a greedy eye that he did begin to love her intirely and because he knew shew was but of mean parentage he hoped easily to obtain that which he desired but having not the means to speak unto her he sent unto her a Gentleman of his Chamber to sollicite her for him But she who was as wife as she was young and feared God did allege unto him that she could not believe that his Master who was so gallant and so accomplished a Prince would so undervalue himself as to look upon a Creature so imperfect as her self especially seeing in the Castle where he had his residence there were so many great and beautiful Ladies she therefore conceived that what he did speak was from himself and not from the commandment of his Master When the young Prince had understood this answer Love which always doth grow more strong where it finds most resistance did make him more hotly to pursue his enterprise Whereupon he did write a Letter to her desiring her that she would believe that whatsoever this Messenger did say unto her did proceed from himself She who very well could both read write did read the Letter all over to which whatsoever entreaty the Gentleman did make she would return no answer at all affirming that it did not belong to a Person of so base a condition as her self to write unto such a Prince as he was but did beseech him not to suppose her so weak as to believe that he had so good an opinion of her as to bear any love unto her and if he thought by reason of her poor estate to have her at hs pleasure he did much deceive himself for she had as honest a heart as the greatest Princesse in Christendom and esteemed no treasure in the World comparable to her Honour and her Conscience She humbly besought him that he would not hinder her to preserve that treasure for should she die she would never alter her resolution The young Prince did not find this answer to be agreeable unto him neverthelesse he continued passionately to love her and failed not every day to be present at the Masse in that Church to which she repaired and all the while that Masse was saying he perpetually addressed the Devotion of his eyes to that fair image which when she perceived she changed her place and repaired to another Church not to avoid the sight of him for she had not been a reasonable creature if she had not taken pleasure to look upon him but she was afraid to be seen by him for since she conceived her self not worthy to be beloved by him in the way of Honour and Marriage she would not that it should be by the way of folly and of pleasure and whenever she saw any place in the Church where she might seat her self the Prince would fit as close by her as possibly he could which made her to goe from Church to Church to hear Masse dayly and to the furthest Churches that possibly she could and when any great marriages were solemnized at the Castle she did forbear to be present at them and although the Sister of the Prince did invite her she would always excuse her self by some indisposition or other The Prince perceiving that he could not have that accesse nor speak unto her as he desired did aid himself by his Butler and promised him many great rewards if he would assist him in this affair The Butler did promise to doe the utmost of his indeavour as well to please his Master as for the profit which he hoped to receive from him and every day he did give an account unto the Prince of what she both said and did and

to your body that he deserved to lose both together He who doth now possesse your body is not worthy to have your heart wherfore neither is your Body his nor can it properly appertain unto him But I Madam for the continued space of five or six years have endured so much love and travel for you that you cannot be ignorant that both your heart and your body do pertain to me for which I have so often hazarded my own And if you think to defend your self by Conscience be you assured that those who have proved the power of Love will lay all the blame upon you who have so ravished my liberty from me and by your divine perfections blinded my understanding that for the time to come not knowing what to do I am constrained to be gone from you without any hope of ever seeing you again Neverthelesse you may be most confident that in any part of the World wheresoever I shall be whether it be on the Sea or on the Land or in the hands of my most cruel Enemies you shall have my heart which shall continue for ever yours And if before my departure I could have that assurance from you which my great love doth merit I should be made strong to endure with patience the affliction of my long absence And if you please not to grant me my request you will quickly hear it spoken that your cruelty hath given me an unhappy Death Florinda being transported with as much sorrow as amazement to hear these words to proceed from him of whom she had never the least suspition did reply in tears unto him And woe is me now Amadour Are these the effects of the virtuous Discourses which from my Youth hither to we have had together Is this the Honour of Conscience which so oftentimes you have counselled me rather to die than to abandon Have you forgotten the great Examples you have instanced to me of so many excellent Ladies who have resisted that foolish Love Have you forgotten the neglect which you your self have had of light and inconstant Ladies I cannot beleeve O Amadour that you should be so far from your self or that God your Conscience and my Honour should be all dead in you But if it be accordingly as you speak I blesse the Divine goodnesse which hath prevented the mischief into which I headlong was falling by shewing me by your words your heart of which I was so much ignorant for having lost the Son of the Infant Fortunate not only by being married my self unto another but because I found and sufficiently understood that he loved another Lady and seeing my self married to one whom I cannot love and that let me do what I can he cannot be agreeable unto me I considered and intirely resolved with my self to love you with all my heart and affections grounding my love upon the Virtue which I have found in you and which by your means I have in some measure attain'd my self which is to love my Honour and my Conscience more than my life To this rock of Honour I am come where I was confident I should find a most sure foundation but in one moment Amadour you have shewn me that in the place of a Rock sure as I thought and beautifull the foundation of the building is upon loose and uncertain Sands or upon a soft and ruinous Bogg And although I had already begun a great part of the building where I resolved to have made my perpetual residence you on the sudden have overthrown it Wherefore you ought by degrees to forsake all hopes which you have promised to your self of me and to resolve with your self that in whatsoever place you see me not to court me at all either by words or countenance And be not so vain to hope that I either can or will ever change my thoughts I speak them to you with so much sorrow that it is impossible it should be greater but if I had proceeded so far as to have sworn unto you perfect love I do well perceive my heart to be such that it would have been dead within me in this rupture although the amazement that is upon me to be deceived by you is so great that I am confident it will render my life either short or dolorous And on these words I do bid you Adieu for ever I will not here undertake to tell you the grief which entred into the heart of Amadour hearing these words for it is not only impossible for a pen to expresse it but for a heart to conceive it unlesse it be such a heart who by experience hath found the like And observing on that ●●el conclusion that she was going away he did stay her by the arm knowing very well that if he should not take from her again that evil opinion of him which he had caused her to entertain he should lose her for ever wherefore he said unto her with the most dejected countenance that he could put on Madam Through the whole travels of my life I have desired to love a virtuous Lady and because I have found so few I thought good to make experience to see if by your virtue you were as worthy to be esteemed as you are to be loved which now I understand for certain and I thank God who hath put it into my heart to love such great perfection beseeching you to pardon that foolish and presumptuous enterpise and the rather because it turns to your honour and to my great contentment Florinda who by him did begin to understand the subtility of men as she was difficult to believe the Evil in which he was so she was more difficult to believe the Good in which he was not did say unto him I would to God that you did speak the truth but I am not so ignorant but the estate of Mariage in which I am doth make me clearly enough to understand that a blind and a violent passion did make you to do that which you have done for if God had suffered me to let loose my hand I am sure enough that you would have gone away with the bridle Those Signior Amadour who make it their businesse to follow virtue must not tread in that path in which you would go But it is enough that heretofore I have lightly believed any Good in you it is now time that I should know the truth which doth deliver me from you And speaking those words she departed out of the Chamber and did weep away that night finding so great a grief in this change that her heart had enough to do to sustain the assaults of sorrow which love had given her For although according to her Reason she resolved never to love him more yet he heart which now was not subject to the rules of Reason would not consent unto it wherefore being not able to love him lesse than she was accustomed to do and knowing that love was the occasion of that defect she determined with