preseruatiue I founde it a poyson and to bee solitarie I found it the sinck of all sorrow for then strange thoughts vnacquainted passions pinching fancies waking visions and slumbering watchings disquieted my head Me thought I sawe the counterfaite of Doralicia before mine eyes then the harmonie of her spéech sounded in mine eares her lookes her gestures yea all her actions were particularly deciphered by a secret imagination Wrapped thus in a laborinth of endlesse fancies when reason coulde not suppresse will nor wisedome controule affection but that wit though inueagled yet disdained the vse of a guide I then cast my cardes and found by manifest proofe that the lunatike fit which so distempered my braines was that franticke passion which fooles and Poets call loue which knowne blaming my selfe of cowardise that beautie should make me bend I fel at last into these termes Why Arbasto quoth I art thou so squemish that thou canst not see Wine but thou must surfet canst thou not drawe nie the fire and warme thee but thou must with Satyrus kisse it and burne thee art thou so little master of thy affections that if thou gaze on a picture thou must with Pigmalion be passionate canst thou not passe thorough Paphos but thou must offer incense to Venus doost thou thinke it iniurie to Cupid to looke if thou doost not looue Ah fonde foole knowe this fire is to bée vsed but not to be handled the Baaran floure is to be worne in the hand not chawed in the mouth the precious stone Echites is to bee applied outwardly and not to be taken inwardly and beautie is made to féede the eye not to fetter the hart wilt thou then swallow vp the baite which thou knowest to be bane wilt thou hazarde at that which can not bee had without harme no stretch not too far wade not too deepe vse beautie but serue it not shake the tree but taste not of the fruite least thou find it too hard to be disgested Why but beautie is a God and will be obeyed loue looketh to commaunde not to be conquered Iuno stroue but once with Venus and she was vanquished Iupiter resisted Cupid but he went by the worst it is harde for thee with the Crabbe to swimme against the streame or with the Salamander to striue against the fire for in wrastling with a fresh wound thou shalt but make the sore more daungerous Can beautie fonde foole bee resisted which makes the Gods to bow Loue himselfe yeelded to the feature of Psyche and thinkest thou thy fancie of greater force yea but what fondnesse is that Arbasto to soothe thy selfe in thy folly Thou didst come a Captaine and wilt thou returne a captiue thy intent was to conquer not to be vanquished to fight with the Launce not to be foilde with loue to vse thy speare not thy pen to challenge Mars not to dallie with Venus Howe doost thou thinke to subdue Fraunce which canst not rule thine owne affections Art thou able to quaile a kingdome which canst not quell thine owne mind no it will be hard for thée to goe in triumph which art not so much as Lord of thy selfe But Arbasto if thou wilt needes loue vse it as a toye to passe away the time which thou maist take vppe at thy lust and lay downe at thine own pleasure Loue why Arbasto dost thou dreame whom shouldest thou loue Doralicia what thy foe one that wisheth thy mishap and partly prayeth to the Gods for thy mis-fortune no sure thou art not so fond And with that as I vttered these words such thoughts such sighes such sobs such teares assailed mee as I was striken dumbe with the extremitie of these hellish passions scarce being able to draw my breath for a good space til at last recouering my sences I fel to my former sorrow in this sort Yes alas Arbasto it is the lucklesse loue of Doralicia and therefore the more lucklesse because thou loouest Doralicia that hath thus inchaunted thy affections Shée is not thy friend whom thou maist hope to get but thy foe whom thou art sure not to gaine for dost thou think she wil requite thy merit with méed or repay thy loue with liking no she hateth thée Arbasto as sworne Pelorus foe and her enemie Can she loue thée which séekest her fathers life nay did she loue yet could she think thou dost like which layest siege to her Cittie no vnlesse by loue shee were blinded with too much looue Sith then to fancie thy foe is with the Cockatrice to peck against the stéele subdue thy affections bee maister of thy mind vse will as thy subiect not as thy soueraigne so maist thou triumph and laugh at Cupid saying Fonde boy I was in loue what then I had no sooner sealed vp these secrete meditations with a sorowfull sigh but least being solitarie I shold fal into farther dumps I went out of my Tent to passe away the time with some pleasant parle thinking this the fittest means to driue away idle fancies hoping that hote loue wold be soone cold that the greatest bauin was but a blaze and that the most violent storme was euer least permanent Wel to sée how Loue and Fortune can play false when they list I was not so drowned in desires towards Doralicia as pore Myrania burned with affection towards me For Venus willing to shew she was a woman by her wilful contrarieties so fiered her fancies with the forme of my feature as the poore Lady was perplered with a thousande sundrie passions one while shee sought with hate to rase out loue but that was with the Déere to féede against the wind another while shee deuised which way to obtaine her desire but then alas she heaped coales vpon her head for she sawe no spark of hope to procure so good happe Driuen thus into sundry dumpes she fell at last into these termes Alas Myrania ê™ she happy yea thrice happie are those maides which are borne in the I le Meroe which in their virginity are suffered to sée none but him whom they shall marry and béeing wiues are forbidden by the Law to sée any man but their husbande vntill they be past fifty In this Country Myrania beauty is vsed as a naturall gift not honored as a supernaturall God and they loue onely one because loue cannot force them to like any other so that they sowe their loue in ioy and reape it in pleasure Would God thou hadst béen borne in this soile or brought vp in the same sort so shouldest thou haue triumphed ouer beautie as a slaue which now leadeth thée as a seruile captiue O infortunate Myrania and therefore infortunate because Myrania hast thou so little force to withstand fancie as at the first alarum thou must yéeld to affection canst thou not looke with Salmacis but thou must looue canst thou not sée with Smylax but thou must sigh canst thou not viewe Narcissus with Eccho but thou must be vowed to his beautie Learne learne fond foole by
in this that still she change Hir sweetest gifts time prooues but sowre I liue in care crost with her guile Through her I weepe at her I smile The old sire hauing with sighes sobbed out this sorrowfull dittie I was driuen into a maze what the contrarie contents of these verses should meane vntill at last casting his eye aside and séeing me stand so solemnlie he burst forth into these chollericke termes Friend quoth he if I may so terme thée thou hast eyther not heard much or learned very little either thy curtesie is small or thy conditions too currish that séekest to come to counsell before thou be called If the secrecie of my Cell or the reuerence of my age or thy small acquaintance with me were not sufficient to holde thée from preasing so nigh yet séeing me thus solemnly perplexed thou mightest for modestie sake haue left me to my secret and sorrowfull passions If it be the custome of thy Countrey to be so discourteous I like not the fruite of such a soyle If thy owne reckles follie to be thus rash I craue not to be acquainted with such a bold guest but whether it be as thou cammest in without my leaue I wishe thée to goe out by iust commaund He had no sooner vttered these words but he was readie to take vppe the picture if I had not hindered him with this replie Sir ê™ I where the offence is confessed there the fault is halfe pardoned and those facts that are committed by ignoraunce alwaies claime them pardons by course I graunt that I haue beene much too rash but I repent and therefore hope you will take the lesse offence and the sooner excuse my follie faults committed by will gaine oft times but a checke then mine doone by ignorance shall I hope escape without a mate Penalties are enioyned by the will more than by the worke and thinges doone amisse saith Tullie euer ought to be measured by the intent and not by the méere action Which considered if my presence hath béene preiudiciall to your passions I hope you will think I offended as a stranger and will pardon mee as one sorrie for so rash an enterprise The olde man very attentiuelie hearing my talke hauing somewhat digested his choller rysing vppe from his seate made me this friendly answer Friend ê™ he all is not gold that glisters the smoothest talk hath oft times the smallest trueth the Sunne when it glistreth most bright then bréedeth the greatest showre when the Bore laieth down his bristles theÌ„ he meaneth to strik The Painter casteth the fayrest colour ouer the foulest boord and strangers flatterings are oft times but méere fallacions yet whither thy talke be truth or tales whither thou commest to note my passions as a spie or hast by chaunce hit into my Cell as a stranger I care not for if thou enuie me as a foe I force thée not in that I feare not the spight of Fortune if thou muse at my suddaine motions as one desirous to be acquainted with my case it shall little auaile thée to heare it and be a great griefe for me to rehearse it O sir ê™ I if my credite might be such as without desert to obtaine so much fauour or if the Prayer of a poore stranger might preuaile to perswade you to vnfold the cause of these your suddaine passions I should thinke my former trauels counteruailed with this your friendly curtesie It is good indéed ê™ he by other mens harmes to learne to beware Phoebus had neuer béen so warie of Vulcane if Mars his mishap had not bid him take héede Vlisses had not so wisely eschewed Circes charms if he had not séene before his fellowes trans-formed and perhaps the hearing of my former cares may frée thée from ensuing calamitie I haue béen my selfe a Prince which am nowe subiect vnto power alate a mightie Potentate and now constrained to liue vnder a seruile law not coÌ„tented ere while with a princelie Pallace nowe sufficiently satis-fied with a poore Cell and yet this present want excéedes my wonted weale I then had too much in penury and now I lack in superfluitie being cloyed with aboundance yet hauing nothing in that my mind remaineth satis-fied Fortune yea Fortune in fauouring me hath made me most infortunate Syrenlike hiding vnder musick misery vnder pleasure paine vnder mirth mourning like the sugred Honicombe which while a man toucheth he is stoong with Bées She presenteth fayre shapes which proue but fading shadowes shee proffereth Mountaines and perhaps keepeth promise but the gaines of these golden Mines is losse misery None rode on Seianus horse which got not mishap None toucht the golde of Tholossa whom some desaster chaunce did not assaile neither hath any béen aduanced by fortune which in time hath not béen crossed with some haples calamitie I speake this by experience which I pray the gods thou neuer try by proofe for he onlie is to be thought happy whom the inconstant fauour of Fortune hath not made happy The Picture which thou séest heere is the perfect counterfaite of her inconstant conditions for she like to the Polype Fysh turneth herselfe into the likenes of euery obiect and with the Camelion taketh her whole delight in change beeing sure in nothing but in this that shee is not sure Which inconstancie after I had known by too much proofe I began to arme my selfe against her guiles and to count her fauning flatterie and her frownes of no force not to accept her as a friende but to despise her as a foe and in despight of her fained deitie to oppose my selfe against her fickle power which I haue found the greatest shielde to shrowde me from her secret iniuries I haue left my Pallace and taken me to a simple Cell in the one I found often displeasure but in the other neuer but contentation From a Prince of the earth I am become a Priest to the Gods séeking only by this obscure life to please my selfe and displease Fortune whose picture when I sée I wéepe that I was so fonde as to be subiect to such a seruile Dame and I laugh that at last I triumph bothe ouer myne owne affections and ouer Fortune Thus friend since thou hast hearde the cause of my care cease off to enquire farther in the case passe from my Cell and leaue me to my passions for to procure my griefe and not thy gaine were to offer me double losse After he had vttered these wordes perceiuing by his parle that he was a mighty Prince I beganne with more reuerence to excuse my rashnes framing my talke to this effect I am sorrie ê™ I if sorrowe might be amendes for that which is amisse that my hastie follie hath offended your highnesse and that my poore presence hath béen preiudiciall to your princely passions but since the fault once committed may be repented but not reclaimed I hope your highnesse will pardon my vnwitting wilfulnes and take had I will for an excuse of so
chilling colde and your great promises to small performance In the meane time and with that she tooke Myrania and Doralicia by the handes we wil leaue you to returne to the Campe and we will repaire to the Cittie willing to giue you thanks for your good will when we finde you a friende and not before Nay Madame quoth I not so for construe of my meaning how you please or accept of my companie how you list I wil not be so discourteous to leaue you so slenderly guided as in the guarde of this little Page And with that taking Doralicia by the hand willing not to let slip so fit opportunitie I began to court her on this manner The choyse is harde Madame Doralicia quoth I where the party is compelled either by silence to die with griefe or by vnfolding his mind to liue with shame yet so swéet is the desire of life and so bitter the passions of loue that I am enforced to preferre an vnséemelie sute before an vntimelie death Loth I am to speake and in despaire I am to spéede in the one shewing my selfe a coward in the other weighing myne owne case For considering what loue is I fainte and thinking how I am counted a foe I feare But sith where loue commandeth there it is folly to resist so it is Madame that intending to be victor I am become a vassale comming to conquer I am caught a captiue seeking to bring other into thrall alas I haue lost mine owne libertie Your heauenly beautie hath brought me into bondage your exquisite perfection hath snared my fréedome your vertuous qualities hath subdued my mind as onely your curtesie may free mee from care or your crueltie crosse mee with calamitie To recount the sorrowes I haue sustained since I first was inâ—eigled with thy beautie or the seruice I haue vowed vnto thy vertue since thou dost count my talke though neuer so true but méere toyes were rather to bréede in thee an admiration then a beliefe But this I added for the time which the end shall try for a trueth that so faithfull is my affection and so loyall is my looue that if thou take not pittie of my passions eyther my life shall be too short or my miserie too long Doralicia hearing attentiuely my talk oft times chaunged colour as one in great choller being so inflamed with a melancholike kind of hate as shee was not of a long time able to vtter one word yet at last with a face full of fury shee burst foorth into these despightfull termes Why Arbasto ê™ she art thou of late become frantick or doost thou thinke mee in a frenzie hast thou béene bytten with the Serpent Amphisbena which procureth madnesse or doost thou suppose me fraught with some lunatick fits for thy speech makes mee thinke either thou art troubled with the one or that thou countes me combred with the other if this thy poisoned parle were in iest it was too broade weying the case if in earnest too bad considering the person for to talke of peace amidst the pikes sheweth either a cowarde or a counterfeit and to sue for loue by hate either frenzie or follie It is a mad Hare Arbasto that will be caught with a Taber a gréedy fishe that commeth to a bare hooke a blinde Goose that runneth to the Foxes sermon and shee a louing foole that stoopeth to her enemies lure No no think me not so fond or at least hope not to find me so foolish as with Phryne to fancie Cecrops with Harpalice to like Archemerus with Scilla to loue Mynos with carelesse Minions so far to forget my honor my honestie my parents and my Country as to loue nay not deadlie to hate him which is a foe to the least of these for experience teacheth me that the fairer the stone is in the Toades heade the more pestilent is the poyson in her bowels the brighter the Serpents scales bee the more infectious is her breath and the talke of an enemy the more it is seasoned with delight the more it sauoureth of despight cease then to séeke for loue where thou shalt finde nothing but hate for assure thy selfe if thou didst fancie as faithfully as thou dost flatter falsely yet the guerdon for thy looue should be only this that I will pray incessantly to the Gods in thy life to pesture thée with earthly torments and after death to plague thee with hellish tortures Although these bitter blastes of Doralicia had beene a sufficient cooling carde to quench fonde affection yet as the water causeth the seacoale to burne more freshlie so her despightfull termes far more inflamed my desire that I made her this friendly replie Alas Madame weigh my case with equitie if you hate me as I am foe to Pelorus yet fauour me as I am a friend to Doralicia If you lothe me as a conquerer of your Countrey yet pittie me as I am a captiue to your beautie If you vouchsafe not to listen to the lure of your enemie yet heare the passionate complaints of a perplexed louer who leading others in triumph yet he himselfe liueth in most haples seruitude If I haue doone amisse Doralicia I will make amendes if I haue committed a fault I will bothe requite it and recompence it as I haue beene thy fathers foe so I will bee his faithfull friend as I haue sought his bale I will procure his blisse yea I will goe against the haire in all thinges so I may please thée in any thing But as I was about to make a longer discourse she cutte me off in this wise In faith sir quoth shee so well doe I like you that you can not more displease me than in séeking to please mee for if I knew no other cause to hate thée yet this would suffise that I cannot but dislike thée be therfore my fathers friend or his foe like him or hate him yet this assure thy selfe that I will neuer loue thée And with that she floong from mee in a great chafe Replie I could not for by this we were come to the gates of the Cittie where though vnwilling I tooke my leaue of them in this sort I am sorrie Ladies that such is my luck and so vnhappie is my lotte that in offering my selfe a companion I haue greatly offended you with my companie yet sith I cannot striue against chance I think my selfe happy that Fortune hath honoured me with the fruition of your presence hoping when time shall trie my words no tales but trueth you will at last make me amends with crying peccaui in the meane while I commit you to the tuition of the Gods praying Fortune rather to plague me with all mishap then to crosse you with anie chip of mischance The thanks I had for this my friendly curtesie was a coy disdainfull looke of Doralicia and a churlish vale of the olde trot Vechia but Myrania as one stoong with the pricke of fancie bad me farewell with a more curteous gloze If
sir quoth she the secret intent of your friendship had beene agreeable to the outward manner of your curtesie wée had without rubbing our memories ere this yéelded you great thanks for your companie but sith you gréet vs with a Iudas kisse we thinke wee haue small cause to gratifie you for your kindnes notwithstanding least you shold accuse vs wholie of discourtesie we say we thank you whatsoeuer wée think and with that she cast on me such a louing looke as she seemed to play loth to depart Well they now returning to the Court and I now retiring to the Campe féeling my self déeply perplexed yet as much as I could dissembled my passions willing in loue not to be counted a louer iesting therefore with Egerio I thus began to draw him on How now Egerio ê™ I hath not the beautie of these faire Ladies brought you from your fonde heresie will you not be content for blaspheming of Looue in pennaunce to carrie a burning Faggot before Cupid me thought your eyes were gazing wheresoeuer your hart was gadding but tell mee in good troth is not Doralicia worthy to be loued Yes sir quoth he if shee were not Doralicia for as shee is beautifull shee is to bee liked of all but as shee is Pelorus daughter not to be desired of Arbasto least in séeking to gain her loue he get that which he least looketh for Why Egerio quoth I what ill lucke can ensue of loue when I meane not to venture but vppon trust nor to trust without triall Such quoth hee as happened to Achilles by Polexena and yet he feared Priamus But alas sir I sigh to think and I sorrow to sée that reason should yéeld to affection liberty to loue fréedome to fancie that Venus should beare the target and Mars the distaffe that Omphale shoulde handle the club and Hercules the spindle that Alexander shoulde crouch and Campaspe be coy that a warlike mind should yeelde to a little wauering beautie and that a Prince whose prowesse could not be subdued shoulde by loue become subiect at the first shot What Egerio quoth I knowest thou not that hee whem no mortall creature can controule loue can commaund that no dignitie is able to resist Cupids deitie Achilles was invulnerable yet wounded by fancie Hercules not to be conquered of anie yet quicklie vanquished by affection Mars able to resist Iupiter but not to withstande beautie Looue is not onely kindled in the eye by desire but ingrauen in the mind by destenie which neither reason can eschew nor wisdome expell The more pittie quoth hee for poore men and the greater impietie in the gods that in giuing loue frée libertie they graunted him a lawlesse priuiledge But sith Cupid will be obeyed Arbasto is willing to be obedient woulde God loue had either aimed amisse or els had not made Doralicia the marte I not vnwilling that Egerio shoulde be priuie to my passions tolde him that what I spoke was in iest and that if euer I did fancie as yet I knew not what it meant I would vse loue as the Persians did the Sunne who in the morning honor it as a God and at noone-tide curse it as a deuill Concealing thus my care the couered sparks burst into greate flames that comming to my Tent I was forst to cast my selfe vppon my bedde where I sobbed foorth sorrowfullie these wordes Alas Arbasto how art thou perplexed thou both liuest in ill hap and louest without hope thou burnest in desire and art cooled with disdaine thou art bidden to the feast by loue and art beaten with the spit by beautie But what then dost thou count it care which thou sufferest for Doralicia who shameth Venus for her hue and staineth Diana for her chastitie Yea but Arbasto the more beautie she hath the more pride and the more vertue the more precisenesse None must play on Mercuries pipe but Orpheus none rule Lucifer but Phoebus none were Venus in a tablet but Alexander nor none enioy Doralicia but such an one as farre exceedeth thee in person and parentage thou seest she hath denied thy sute disdained thy seruice lightly respected thy loue smally regarded thy liking onely promising this while she liues to be thy professed foe And what then fonde foole wilt thou shrinke for an Aprill shoure knowest thou not that a deniall at the first is a graunt and a gentle answere a flattering floâ—â—e that the more they seeme at the first to loathe the more they loue at the last Is not Venus painted catching at the ball with her handes which shee seemeth to spurue at with her feete Doth not the Mirre tree being hewen yéeld no sap which not mooâ—ed poureth foorth sirop and women beeing woed denie that which of themselues they most earnestlie desire The stone Sandrasta is not so hard but béeing heate in the fire it may be wrought no Iuory so tough but seasoned with Sutho it may be ingraueÌ„ no hawke so haggard which in time may not be called to the lure nor no woman so wilful which by some meanes may not bee won Hope the best then and be bold for Loue and Fortune careth not for cowardes Nay tush Arbasto what needest thou pine thus in haplesse passions or séeke for that with sorrow which thou maist obtaine with a small sute raise vp thy siege grant but conditions of peace shew but a friendlie countenance to Pelorus and he neither will nor dare denie thee his daughter Doralicia Doe this then Arbasto nay I will doe it and that with spéed for now I agree to Tullie that it is good Iniquissimam pacem iustissimo bello anteponere Well being resolued vpon this point I felt my minde disburthened of a thousand cares wherewith before I was clogged feeding my selfe with the hope of that pleasure which when I enioyed sholde recompence my former paine But alas poore Myrania coulde not feele one minute of such ease for she vncessantly turned the stone with Sysiphus rolled on the whéele with Ixion and filled the bottomlesse tubs with Belydes in so much that when shee could finde no meanes to mittigate her maladie shee fell into these bytter complaints Ah Myrania ah wretched wench Myrania how art thou without reason which sufferest reason to yeelde vnto appetite wisedome vnto sensuall wil and a frée mind vnto seruile loue but I perceiue when the Iuie riseth it wreatheth about the Elme when the Hop groweth high it hath need of a poale and when virgins waxe in yeeres they followe that which belongeth to their youth Loue loue yea but they loue expecting some good hap and alas both loue and liue without all hope for Arbasto is my foe and yet if he were my fréend he liketh not mee he looketh onelie vppon Doralicia Sith then Myrania thou art pinched and hast none to pittie thy passions dissemble thy loue though it shorten thy life for better it were to die with griefe than liue with shame The spunge is full of water yet is not seene The leafe
am sure you woulde not die in any mans debt but if your prowesse had béene as good as your prattle you needed not haue daunced within so short a tedder crauen Cocks crowe lowdest fearefull curs barke most and a hartlesse cowarde hath alwaies more tongue than a hautie Captaine But I heare with you for I doubt the feare of death and danger hath driuen thy Maister into a cold palsey and hath made thée either frantick or lunatick the one shewing his melancholie the other bewraying thy choller willing therefore as a friende you should passe ouer your passions with more patience wee will leaue you as we found you vnlesse you mean to be shriuen and then I will send you a ghostlie father Our confession good Mistresse quoth Egerio requires but a small shrift for wee haue very little to say but that Arbasto repents that euer he loued such a peruerse Minion and I that euer I trusted such a periured Traytor The Gentlewomen tooke this for a farewell passing merilie to the Pallace and leauing vs sitting sorowfully in the prison bewayling our mishap with teares and exclaiming against Fortune with bitter curses what our cōplaints were it little auaileth to rehearse for it would but driue thée into dumpes and redouble my dolour Suffise this that we were so long tormented with care that at last we were past cure counting this our greatest calamity that liuing euery houre we looke to die Wel as thus we were drowned in distresse so poore Myrania had her minde doubtfullie perplexed Nature claymed by due to haue the preheminence and leue sought by force to winne the supremacie Nature brought in Pelorus aged haires to make the challenge and Loue presented Arbastoes sweete sweete face to be the Champion tossed thus wyth two contrarie tempests at last she began thus to plead with her passions Ah thrise infortunate Myrania what strange fits be these that burne thee with heate and yet thou shakest with colde thy body in a shiuering sweat and in a flaming Ice melting like waxe and yet as hard as the Adamant it is loue then woulde it were death for likelier it is thou shalt loose thy life than win thy loue Ah haplesse Arbasto woulde to God thy vertues were lesse than thy beautie or my vertues greater than my affections so should I either quickly frée my selfe from fancie or be lesse subiect vnto follie But alas I féele in my mind fierce skirmishes betweene reason and appetite loue wisedome danger and desire the one perswaded her to hate Arbasto as a foe the other constrained him as friend If I consent to the first I ende my daies with death if to the last I shall leade my life with infamie What shall I then doe Ah Myrania either swallow the iuyce of Mandrake which may cast thée into a dead sléep or chewe the herbe Carysium which may cause thée to hate euery thing so either shalt thou die in thy slumber or dislike Arbasto by thy potion Tush poore wench what follies be these wilt thou with the Wolfe barke at the Moone or wyth the yong Gryphons pecke against the starres Doest thou thinke to quench fire with a sword or with affection to mortifie loue No no if thou be wise suffer not the grasse to be cut from vnder thy féete strike while the yron is hote make thy market while the chaffer is to sale Nowe Arbasto is thine owne now thou maist win him by loue and weare him by law thou maist frée him from miserie without thy fathers mishappe thou maiest saue his life without thy Fathers losse thou maiest grant thy good wyll vnto loue and yet not falsifie thy faith vnto nature Can Arbasto which is so curteous become so cruell but he wil requite thy loue with loyalty thy faithful fancy with vnfained affection No no he will and must looue thée of force since thou hast graunted him his life of fréewill hee will like thée in thyne youth and honour thee in thine age he will be the porte of prosperitie wherein thou maist rest and the hauen of happinesse wherein thou maist harbour without harme so that thou maist say of him as Andromache said by Hector Tu Do◠minus tu vir tu mihi frater eris Yea but Myrania yet looke before thou leape and learn by other mens harmes to beware Ariadne loued Theseus fréed him from the monstrous Mynotaure taught him to passe the Laborinth yea forsooke Parents and Countrey for his cause and yet the guerdon hee gaue her for her good will was to leaue her a desolate wretche in a deserte wildernesse Medea saued Iason from the daunger of the Dragons and yet she found him trothlesse Phillis harboured Demiphoon and Dido Aeneas yet both repaied their loue with hate Tush the fairest floure hath not the best sent the Lapidaries choose not the stone by the outward colour but by the secrete vertue Paris was faire yet false Thiestes was beutiful but deceitfull Vulcan was carued in white Iuory yet a Smith The precious stones of Mansaulous sepulcher coulde not make the dead careasse sweete Beautie Myrania is not alwaies accompanied with vertue honestie and constancy but ofttimes fraught with vice periurie What then if some were Traytors shall Arbasto be trothlesse if some were false shal he be faithles no his beautie and vertue hath won me and he himselfe shal weare me I will forsake Father friends and Countrey for his cause yea I will venture lim and life to frée him from danger in despight of froward Fortune and the destinies Myrania being thus resolute in her opinion began to cast beyonde the Moone and to frame a thousande deuises in her heade to bring her purpose to passe fearing euery shaddowe doubting euerie winde stumbling at the least strawe yet at the last pricked forward by fancie she thought to preuent all cause of feare in this wise The euening before shee meant to atchiue her enterpryse she secretly sent for the Iaylor by one of her maids to whom she durst commit her secret affaires who beeing taught by her Mistresse to play her part cunninglie brought the Iaylor into Myranias chamber by a posterne gate so that they were neither séene nor suspected of any where he no sooner came but he was curteously entertained of the yong Ladie who faining that she had to debate with him of waighty affaires called him into her closet were treading vpon a false boorde he fell vp to the shoulders not béeing able to helpe himselfe but that he there ended his life Myrania hauing desperatlie atchiued this déede she straite sought not to rob him of his coyne but to bereaue him of his keyes which after she had gotten and conueied his carcasse into a secret place she went in her night gowne accompanied onely with her Maid to the prison Arbasto and Egerio hearing the dores open at such an vnaccustomed houre began straight to coniecture that Pelorus sought to murther them secretly least his owne people shold accuse him of
crueltie but as they looked to to haue séene the Iaylor they spyed Myrania in her night gowne which suddaine and vnlooked for sight so appalled their sences as they were driuen into a maze till Myrania wakened them from their dumpes with this sugred harmonie I perceiue Arbasto quoth she that my presence dooth make thee to muze and my suddaine arriuall hath driuen thee into a maze what strange wind should land mee in thys coast In truth thou maist think either my message is great or my modestie little either that I take small care of my selfe or repose verie great trust in thee who at a time vnfit for my calling haue without any guarde come to a stranger a captiue yea and my fathers fatall foe I confesse it is a fault if I were not forst but sith necessitie hath no law I thinke I haue the lesse broken the law But to leaue off these needlesse preamples where delay breedes no lesse daunger then death know this Arbasto that since thy first arriuall at my fathers Court my eyes haue béen so dazeled with the beams of thy beautie and my minde so snared with the viewe of thy vertues as thou onely art the man whoÌ„ in hart I looue and like seeing thée therefore drowned héere by aduerse fortune in most haplesse distresse willing to manifest the loyaltie of my loue in effect which I haue protested in wordes I haue rather chosen to hazard both my life and honour than not to offer thée peace if thou wilt agrée vnto the conditions As my father hath wrought thy woe I will work thy weale as he hath sought thy bale I will procure thy blisse from penurie I will set thee in prosperitie I will frée thee from prison from daunger yea from death it selfe I will in yeelding to loue dissent from nature to leaue my father freendes and Countrey and passe with thee into Denmarke And to cutte off spéeches which might séeme to sauour either of flatterie or deceit as thou art the first vnto whom I haue vowed my loue so thou shalt be the last requiring no méede for my merite nor no other guerdon for my good wil but that thou wilt take mée to thy Wife and in pledge of my trueth sée héere the keyes and all other things prouided for our speedie passage Myrania had no sooner vttered these words but my minde was so rauished as I was driuen into an extasie for ioy seeing that the terror of my death was taken away with the hope of life that from heauines I shoulde bée restored to happines and from most carefull miserie to most secure felicity I therefore framed her this answer Ah Myrania the purest Emeralde shineth brightest when it hath no Oyle and trueth delighteth when it is apparrelled worst Flatter I wil not faithfull I must be willed from the one by conscience and driuen to the other by your curtesie which by howe much the lesse I haue merited it by deserte by so much the more I am bounde to requite it by duetie To decipher in coloured discourses and to painte out with curious shaddowes howe humbly I accept of your offer and howe greatlie I thinke my selfe beholding to the Gods for blessing me with such an happie chaunce what my loyaltia and truth shal be were but to prooue that which your Ladiship hoping of my constancie hath not put in question The guerdon you craue for your good will is such that if your curtesie had not forced me to it by constraint yet your beautie and vertues are so great as fancie woulde haue compelled mee by consent Myrania what thou canst wishe in a true and trusty Louer I promise to performe swearing vnto thee that the floodes shall flowe against their streames the earth shall mount against his course yea my carcasse shal be consumed vnto dust an ashes before my minde shall bee found disloyall and to this I call the Gods to witnesse of whom I desire no longer to liue than I meane simply to loue Oh Arbasto quoth she woulde God I had neuer seene thee or that I may find thy works according to thy wordes otherwise shall I haue cause to wishe I had been more cruell or lesse curteous But loue will not let mee doubt the worst but bids me hope the best yet thus much I may say when Iason was in danger who more faithfull when Theseus feared the Laborinth who more loyall when Demophon suffered shipwracke who more louing but I will not say what I thinke Arbasto because thou shalt not suspect I feare Madame ê™ Egerio Arbasto is my soueraigne I bothe honor and feare him as a subiect yet if he shoulde but once in hart think to be disloyall to Myrania the Gods confound mée with all earthly plagues if I would not of a trustie Freend become his mortall foe It is easie to perswade her Egerio quoth she who already is most willing to beléeue let vs leaue therefore these needelesse protestations and goe to the purpose delay bréedes danger time tarrieth no man speede in necessitie is the best spurre let vs haste therefore till we gette forth of France least if we be preuented if breede my mishap and your fatall miserie Upon this we staied not but shutting the pryson close gotte couertlie out of the Cittie passing through Fraunce with many fearefull perrils which to rehearse were either needlesse or bootlesse suffise this we at last happily arriued at Denmark where how I was welcommed home with triumphes were too long to relate But how Pelorus was perplexed after he knewe of our happy departure though God wot most haples vnto him I refer to thy good consideration to coniecture The old father fretted not so fast in his melancholie but Doralicia chafed as much in her choller blaspheming bitterlie both against me and her sister Myrania but as words breake no bones so wee cared the lesse for her scolding fearing not the noyse of the péece as long as wee were without daunger of the shot Well leauing them to theyr dumpes to vs againe which floted in delight Fickle Fortune hauing now hoysed vs vp to the toppe of her inconstant wheele seeing howe careles I slumbered in the cradle of securitie thought to make mee a verie mirrour of her mutabilitie for shee beganne a freshe to turne my typpet on this wise As dailie I flattered Myrania for fancie her I could not promising with spéed to call a parliament for the confirmation of the mariage I still felt the stumpes of the olde loue I bare Doralicia to stick in my stomacke the more closelie I couered the sparkes the more the flame burst forth I found absence to increase affection not to decrease fancie in the day my minde doted of her vertues in the night I dreamed of her beautie yea Cupid began to encounter mee with so fresh canmizados as by distance my distresse was far more augmented such sighes such sobs such thoughts such paines and passions perplexed mee as I felt the last assault worse
consent to loue him whose sight if I may say with modestie is more bitter vnto me than death Short I am thogh sharpe for I loue not to flatter take this therefore for thy farewell that I liue to hate thee Willing after death if it could be thy foe Doralicia After that the Messenger was returned to Denmarke and that I had receiued and reade the Letter such sundrie thoughts assailed me that I became almost franticke feare dispaire griefe hate choller wrathe desire of reuenge and what not so tormented my minde that I fell to raging against the Gods to rayling at Doralicia and to cursing of all womankind conceiuing such an extreame hate against her as before I loued her not so hartilie as nowe I loathed her hatefullie counting my selfe an vngrate wretch towarde Myrania and calling to mind her beautie vertue her bountie and curtesie I fel more déeply in loue with her than euer with Doralicia so that I coulde not spare one glaunce from gazing vpon her person nor draw my minde from musing on her perfection A suddaine change but alas a sorrowfull chance For Myrania séeing me soused in these sorrowful dumps began straight without casting anie water to coniecture my disease and to shoot at that which indeede she hytte without anie great ayme But as loue is most suspicious so she began to doubt the worst fearing that as yet the beautie of Doralicia was not blotted out of my minde searching therfore narowly what she could eyther heare or learne of my secretes at last she found out that which wrought her finall mishap and my fatall miserie For by lucklesse chaunce leauing the doore of my closet open Myrania thinking to finde me at my Muses stumbled on the copie of my Letter which I sent vnto Doralicia and vpon the answer which I receiued from that ruthles Minion which after shee had reade perceiuing how traiterously I had requited her loue with hate she conueied herselfe couertlie into her Chamber where after shee had almost dimmed her sight with floods of teares and burst her hart with blowing sighes she fel into these complaints O infortunate Myrania O haples Myrania yea O thrise accursed Myrania whom Fortune by spight séeketh to foyle whom the destinies by fate are appointed to plague whom the Gods by iustice will must most cruelly reuenge Thou hast béen a paracide to thy father in séeking to destroy him by thy disobedience thou art a traytor to thy Country in sauing the enemie of the Common welth and thou art a foe to nature in louing disloyall Arbasto and can the Gods but plague these monstrous iniuries no no Myrania thou hast deserued more mishap then either Fortune can or wil affoord thée Ah cruell and accursed Arbasto I sée now that it fareâ—h with thée as with the Panther which hauing made one astonished with his faire sight seeketh to deuâ—ure him wyth bloodie pursute and with me poore wench as it dooth with them that view the Basiliske whose eies procure delight to the looker at the first glimse but death at the second glance Alas was there none to like but thy foe none to looue but Arbasto none to fancie but a periured Dame none to match with but a flattering mate Nowe hath thy lawlesse loue gained a lucklesse end nowe thou triâ—st by experience that the trée Alpina is smooth to be touched but bitter to bee tasted that the fairest Serpent is most infectious the finest colour soonest stained the cléerest glasse most brittle and that louers though they beare a delicate shewe yet they haue a deceitfull substance that if they haue hony in their mouthes yet they haue gall in their harts the more is the pittie in thee to trust without triall and the greater impietie for him to be a traytor beeing so well trusted Is this the curtesie of Denmark towardes friends to intreate them so despightfullie is my good will not onelie reiected without cause but also disdained without colour Alas what shall I doe to this extremitie beeing a forlorne wretch in a forraine Country which way shall I turne me of whoÌ„ shall I seeke remedie Pelorus wil reiect me and why shold he not Arbasto hath reiected me and why should hee the one I haue offended with too much greefe the other I haue serued with too great good will the one is lost with loue the other with hate Pelorus because I cared not for him Arbasto because I cared for him but alas too much And with that she fetcht such a sigh as witnessed a hart pained wyth most intollerable passions yea care and griefe so fiercely and freshly assaulted her as she fell into a Feuer refusing all sustenance wishing and calling for nothing but death While shee thus pined away with gréefe I thought to search out her sore but I could not perceiue the cause of her sorrow onely I did coniecture this that she doubted my Nobles would not consent to our mariage to rid her therefore of this care I presently called a parliament where without anie great controuersie it was concluded This newes being come to the eares of Myrania it no whit decreased her dolor but did rather farre the more augment her distresse which made Egerio to muse draue mee into a great maze so that accompanied with my Nobles I went to comfort her to carrie her newes that if she coulde but come into the Chamber of presence she should there bee crowned Quéene But alas when I came and sawe her so altered in one weeke wasted to the hard bones more like a ghost than a liuing creature I began thus to comfort her Ah Myrania ê™ I more loued of mee then myne owne life and more déere vnto me than my selfe woulde God I might be plagâ—ed with all earthly diseases so I might see thée free from distresse howe can Arbasto bee without sorrow to sée Myrania oppressed with sicknes how can hee but sinke in calamitie to sée her but once toucht with care alas vnfold vnto me thy sore I will apply the salue make me priuie to thy maladie I will procure a medicine If want of welth work thy woe thou hast the kingdom of Denmarke to dispose at thy pleasure if absence from fréends thou hast such a fréende of thy louing spouse Arbasto as death it selfe shall neuer dissolue our loue I had no sooner vttered this worde but Myrania as one possessed with some hellish furie start vp in her bed with staring lookes and wrathfull countenaunce séeming by her raging gestures to bee in a frenzie but béeing kept downe by her Ladies she roared out these hatefull curses O vile wretches ê™ she will you not suffer me in my life to reuenge my selfe on that periured Traytor Arbasto yet shall you not denie me but after death my ghost shal tormeÌ„t him with gastlie visions O thrise accursed caitife doost thou seeme to helpe me with thy scabbard and secretly hurte mee with thy sword dost thou offer me hony openlie and priuilie
present mee with gall doost thou say thou wilt cure mee with loue when thou séekest to kill mee with hate haue I redeemed thée from mishap and wilt thou requite me with miserie was I the meanes to saue thy life and wilt thou without cause procure my death haue I forsaken my Countrey betraied my father and yet wilt thou kill me with dyscurtesie O haples Myrania coulde not Medeas mishap haue made thee beware could not Ariadnes ill lucke haue taught thée to take heed coulde not Phillis mis-fortune haue feared thee from the like folly but thou must like and loue a stragling stranger Aie me that repentance shoulde euer come too late for now I sigh and sorrow but had I wist comes out of time follie is sooner remembred than redressed and time may be repented but not recalled But I sée it is a practise in men to haue as little care of their own othes as of their Ladies honors imitating Iupiter who neuer kept othe he sware to Iuno diddest thou not false Arbasto protest with sollemne vowes when thy life did hang in the ballance that thy loue to Myrania should bee alwaies loyall and hast thou not since sent and suâ—d secretlie to win the good will of Doralicia diddest thou not sweare to take mee to thy mate and hast thou not since sought to contract with her a newe match thou didst promise to bee true vnto me but hast prooued trustie vnto her what shoulde I say thou hast presented her with pleasant drinks and poysoned me with bitter potions the more is my penury the greater is thy periurie But vile wretch doost thou thinke this thy villanie shall be vnreuenged No no Egerio I hope the Gods haue appointed thée to reuenge my iniuries thou hast sworne it and I feare not but thou wilt performe it And that thou maist know I exclaime not without cause see heere the Letters which haue passed betwéen this false traytor and Doralicia The sight of these Letters so galled my guiltie conscience as I stood as one astonished not knowing what to do excuse my selfe I could not confirme my loue I durst not yet at last the water standing in mine eyes clasping her hanâ—e in mine I was readie to craue pardon if she had not preuented me with these iniurious spéeches Cleere thy selfe trayterous Arbasto thou canst not perswade me thou shalt not forgiue thée I will not cease therefore to speake for in none of these thou shalt spéede Egerio I saued thy life then reuenge my death and so content I die yet onelie discontent in this that I cannot liue to hate Arbasto so long as I loued him And with that turning vppon her left side with a gasping sigh she gaue vp the ghost which sight draue me into such a desperate minde that if Egerio and the rest had not holden me I had sent my soule with hers to the graue But béeing carried by force to my bed I lay for certaine daies oppressed with such sorrowe as if I had béene in a trance cursing and accusing my selfe of ingratitude of periury and of most despightfull disloyalty I lay perplexed with incessant passions Well this heauie and haplesse newes béeing noysed in France Pelorus taking the death of his daughter to hart in short time died leauing Doralicia the onely inheritour of his kingdome But yet sée how Fortune framed vp this tragedie who meant to cast Doralicia from most happie felicitie to most haplesse miserie for she séeing that no sinister chance coulde change my affection that neither the length of time nor the distance of place the spight of Fortune the feare of death nor her most cruell discurtesie coulde diminish my loue musing I say on this my inuiolable constancie Cupid meaning to reuenge séeing her nowe at discouert drewe home to the heade and strooke her so déepe at the hart as in despight of Vesta shee valed bonnet and giuing grounde sobbed foorth secretly to herselfe these words Alas I loue Arbasto and none but Arbasto Venus séeing that her boy had so well plaide the man began to triumph ouer Doralicia who now was in her dumps striuing as yet betwéene loue and hate till fancie sette in her foote and then ye yéelded vp the bulwark in these peaceable termes Why how now Doralicia quoth she dost thou dreame or dote Is it follie or frenzie melanchollie or madnesse that driueth thée thus into dumps and so strangly distresseth thée with dolor what fonde thoughts what vnacquainted passions what slumbring imaginations are these which perplexeth thée dost thou now féele fire to spring out of the cold flint heate to fry amids the chilling frost loue to come from hate and desire from disdaine Doost thou fare as though thou hadst béen drenched in the Riuer Iellus in Phrigia which at the first breedeth sorrow through extreame colde but foorthwith burneth the sinewes through raging heat Hath Venus nowe in despight of Vesta made thée vale bonnet the more poore wenche is thy mishap and the worse is thy fortune for loue though neuer so swéet cannot yet be digested without a most sharpe sauce faring like the golde that is neuer perfect till it hath past through the furnace Loue Doralicia but whom dost thou loue Arbasto what the man whom euen now thou diddest so deadlie hate hast thou so little force ouer thy affections as to fancy thy foe No no fond foole Arbasto is thy fréend and one that honoureth thée as a Saint and would serue thée as his soueraigne that loueth and liketh thée as much as thou canst desire but more than thou doost deserue who beeing bitterly crossed with discurtesie could neuer be touched of inconstancie but still remaineth like to Aristotles Quadratus which howsoeuer it is turned alwaies standeth stedfast Thou canst not then of conscience Doralicia but repay his loue with liking and hys firme fancie with mutuall affection he is beautiful to please the eye vertuous to content the minde rich to maintaine thy honor of birth to counteruaile thy parentage wise curteous and constant and what wouldest thou haue more Yea but alas I haue reiected his seruice and nowe he will not respect my sute I haue detested him and nowe hee will despise me I haue requited his good will with crueltie and he will reuenge me with contempt Better hadst thou then conceale it with gréefe than reueale it to thine owne shame for if thou aime at the white and misse the marke thou shalt bee pointed at of those that hate thée pittred of those that looue thée scorned of by him and falked of by all suffer rather theÌ„ poore Doralicia death by silence than derision by reuealing thy secretes for death cutteth of all care but derision bréedeth endles calamitie Tush dost thou think Arbasto can so harden his hart as to hate thée so maister his affections as to flée froÌ„ fancy that hee will become so proud as to refuse thy proffer No if thou sendest him but one line it wil more charme him than al