THE Maydes Metamorphosis As it hath bene sundrie times Acted by the Children of Powles LONDON Printed by Thomas Creede for Richard Oliue dwelling in long Lane 1600 The Prologue THe manifold great fauours we haue found By you to vs poore weaklings still extended Whereof your vertues haue bene only ground And no desert in vs to be so friended Bindes vs some way or other to expresse Though all our all be else defeated quite Of any meanes saue duteous thankefulnes Which is the vtmost measure of our might Then to the boundlesse Ocean of your woorth This little drop of water we present Where though it neuer can be singled foorth Let zeale be pleader for our good intent Drops not diminish but encrease great floods And mites impaire not but augment our goods The Maydes Metamorphosis Enter Phylander Orestes Eurymine Eurymine PHylander and Orestes what conceyt Troubles your silent mindes Let me intreat Since we are come thus farre as we do walke You would deuise some prettie pleasant talke The aire is coole the euening high and faire Why should your cloudie lookes then shew dispaire Phy. Beleeue me faire Eurimine my skill Is simple in discourse and vtterance ill Orestes if he were disposde to trie Can better manage such affaires than I Eu. Why then Orestes let me craue of you Some olde or late done story to renew Another time you shall request of me As good if not a greater curtesie Or. Trust me as now nor can I shew a reason All mirth vnto my mind comes out of season For inward I am troubled in such sort As all vnfit I am to make report Of any thing may breed the least delight Rather in teares I wish the day were night For neither can my selfe be merry now Nor treat of ought that may be likte of you Eu. That 's but your melancholike old disease That neuer are disposde but when ye please Ph. Nay mistresse then since he denies the taske My selfe will strait complish what ye aske And though the pleasure in my tale be small Yet may it serue to passe the time withall Eu. Thanks good Phylander when you please say on Better I deeme a bad discourse then none Phy. Sometime there liu'd a Duke not far from hence Mightie in fame and vertues excellence Subiects he had as readie to obey As he to rule beloued euery way But that which most of all he gloried in Hope of his age and comfort of his kin Was the fruition of one onely sonne A gallant youth inferior vnto none For vertue shape or excellence of wit That after him vpon his throne might sit This youth when once he came to perfect age The Duke would faine haue linckt in marriage With diuers dames of honourable blood But stil his fathers purpose he withstood Eu. How was he not of mettal apt to loue Phy. Yes apt enough as wil the sequel proue But so the streame of his affection lay As he did leane a quite contrary way Disprouing still the choyce his father made And oftentimes the matter had delaid Now giuing hope he would at length consent And then again excusing his intent Eu. What made him so repugnant in his deeds Phy. Another loue which this disorder breeds For euen at home within his fathers Court The Saint was shrinde whom he did honor most A louely dame a virgin pure and chaste And worthy of a Prince to be imbrac'te Had but her birth which was obscure they said Answerd her beautie this their opinion staid Yet did this wilful youth affect her still And none but she was mistres of his will Full often did his father him disswade From liking such a mean and low borne mayde The more his father stroue to change his minde The more the sonne became with fancy blinde Eu. Alas how sped the silly Louers then Phy. As might euen grieue the rude vnciuel'st men When herevpon to weane his fixed heart From such dishonour to his high desert The Duke had labourd but in vaine did striue Thus he began his purpose to contriue Two of his seruants of vndoubted troth He bound by vertue of a solemne oath To traine the silly damzel out of sight And there in secret to bereaue her quite Eu. Of what her life Phy. Yes Madame of her life Which was the cause of all the former strife Eu. And did they kill her Phy. You shall heare anon The question first must be discided on In your opinion what 's your iudgement say Who were most cruell those that did obay Or he that gaue commandment for the fact Eu. In each of them it was a bloody act Yet they deserue to speake my mind of both Most pardon that were bound thereto by oath Phy. It is enough we do accept your doome To passe vnblam'd what ere of you become Eu. To passe vnblamde what ere become of me What may the meaning of these speeches be Phy. Eurymine my trembling tongue doth saile My conscience yrkes my fainting sences quaile My faltring speech bewraies my guiltie thought And stammers at the message we haue brought Eu. Ay me what horror doth inuade my brest Or. Nay then Phylander I will tell the rest Damzell thus fares thy case demand not why You must forth with prepare your selfe to dye Therefore dispatch and set your mind at rest Eu. Phylander is it true or doth he iest Phy. There is no remedie but you must dye By you I framde my tragicke history The Duke my maister is the man I meant His sonne the Prince the mayd of meane discent Your selfe on whom Ascanio so doth doate As for no reason may remoue his thought Your death the Duke determines by vs two To end the loue betwixt his sonne and you And for that cause we trainde you to this wood Where you must sacrifice your dearest blood Eur. Respect my teares Orest. We must regard our oath Eur. My tender yeares Or. They are but trifles both Eu. Mine innocency Or. That would our promise breake Dispatch forthwith we may not heare you speake Eu. If neither teares nor innocency moue Yet thinke there is a heauenly power aboue Orest. A done and stand not preaching here all day Eu. Then since there is no remedie I pray Yet good my maisters do but stay so long Till I haue tane my farewell with a song Of him whom I shall neuer see againe Phy. We will affoord that respit to your paine Eu. But least the feare of death appall my mind Sweet gentlemen let me this fauour find That you wil vale mine eye-sight with this scarfe That when the fatall stroke is aymde at me I may not start but suffer patiently Orest. Agreed giue me I le shadow ye from feare If this may do it Eu. Oh I would it might But shadowes want the power to do that right Shee sings Ye sacred Fyres and powers aboue Forge of desires working loue Cast downe your eye cast downe your eye Vpon a Mayde in miserie My sacrifice is louers blood And
sake Ap. No Nymph although I loue this lawrel tree My fancy ten times more affecteth thee And as the bay is alwaies fresh and greene So shall my loue as fresh to thee be seene Eu. Now truly Sir you offer me great wrong To hold me from my busines here so long Ap. O stay sweet Nymph with more aduisement view What one he is that for thy grace doth sue I am not one that haunts on hills or Rocks I am no shepheard wayting on my flocks I am no boystrous Satyre no nor Faune That am with pleasure of thy beautie drawne Thou dost not know God wot thou dost not kno The wight whose presence thou disdainest so Eu. But I may know if you wold please to tell Ap. My father in the highest heauens doth dwel And I am knowne the sonne of Ioue to bee Whereon the folke of Delphos honor mee By me is knowne what is what was and what shall bee By me are learnde the Rules of harmonie By me the depth of Phisicks lore is found And power of hearbes that grow vpon the ground And thus by circumstances maist thou see That I am Phoebus who doth fancie thee Eu. No sir by these discourses may I see You mock me with a forged pedegree If sonne you be to Ioue as erst ye said In making loue vnto a mortall maide You worke dishonour to your deitie I must be gone I thanke ye for your curtesie Ap. Alas abandon not thy Louer so Eu. I pray sir hartily giue me leaue to goe Ap. The way ore-growne with shrubs and bushes thick The sharpned thornes your tender feete will prick The brambles round about your traine will lappe The burs and briers about your skirts will wrappe Eu. If Phoebus thou of Ioue the ofspring be Dishonor not thy deitie so much With profered force a silly mayd to touch For doing so although a god thou bee The earth and men on earth shall ring thy infamie Ap. Hard speech to him that loueth thee so well Eu. What know I that Ap. I know it and can tell and feele it too Eu. If that your loue be such As you pretend so feruent and so much For proofe thereof graunt me but one request Ap. I will by Ioue my father I protest Prouided first that thy petition bee Not hurtfull to thy selfe nor harme to mee For so sometimes did Phaeton my sonne Request a thing whereby he was vndonne He lost his life through crauing it and I Through graunting it lost him my sonne thereby Eu. Then Phoebus thus it is if thou be hee That art pretended in thy pedegree If sonne thou be to Ioue as thou doest faine And chalengest that tytle not in vaine Now heer bewray some signe of godhead than And chaunge me straight from shape of mayd to man Ap. Alas what fond desire doth moue thy minde To wish thee altered from thy natiue kinde If thou in this thy womans forme canst moue Not men but gods to sue and seeke thy loue Content thy selfe with natures bountie than And couet not to beare the shape of man And this moreouer will I say to thee Fairer man then may be thou shalt neuer bee Eu. These vaine excuses manifestly showe Whether you vsurp Appollos name or no Sith my demaund so far surmounts your Art Ye ioyne exceptions on the other part Ap. Nay then my doubtles Deitie to proue Although thereby for euer I loose my Loue I graunt thy wish thou art become a man I speake no more then well performe I can And though thou walke in chaunged bodie now This pennance shall be added to thy vow Thy selfe a man shalt loue a man in vaine And louing wish to be a maide againe Eu. Appollo whether I loue a man or not I thanke ye now I will accept my lot And sith my chaunge hath disappointed you Ye are at libertie to loue anew Exit Ap. If euer I loue sith now I am forsaken Where next I loue it shall be better taken But what so ere my fate in louing bee Yet thou maist vaunt that Phoebus loued thee Exit Appollo Enter Ioculo Frisco and Mopso at three seuerall doores Mop. Ioculo whither iettest thou Hast thou found thy Maister Io. Mopso wel met hast thou found thy mistresse Mop. Not I by Pan Io. Nor I by Pot Mop. Pot what god 's that Io. The next god to a Pan and such a pot it may be As he shall haue moe seruants then all the Pannes in a Tinkers shop Mop. Frisco where hast thou bene frisking hast thou found Fris. I haue found Io. What hast thou found Frisco Fris. A couple of crack-roapes Io. And I Mop. And I Fris. I meane you two Io. I you two Mop. And I you two Fris. Come a trebble coniunction all three all three They all imbrace each other Mop. But Frisco hast not found the faire shepheardesse thy Maisters Mistresse Fris. Not I by God Priapus I meane Io. Priapus quoth a What in a God might that bee Fris. A plaine God with a good peg to hang a shepheardresse bottle vpon Io. Thou being a Forresters Boy shouldst sweare by the God of the woods Fris. My Maister sweares by Siluanus I must sweare by his poore neighbour Io. And heere 's a shepheards swaine sweares by a Kitchen God Pan Mop. Pan's the shepheardes God but thou swearest by Pot what God's that Io. The God of good-fellowship well you haue wicked Maisters that teach such little Boyes as you are to sweare so young Fris. Alas good old great man wil nor your master swear Io. I neuer heard him sweare six sound oaths in all my life Mop. May hap he cannot because hee s diseasd Fris. Peace Mopso I will stand too t hee 's neither braue Courtier bouncing Caualier nor boone Companion if he sweare not sometime for they will sweare forsweare and sweare Io. How sweare forsweare and sweare how is that Fris. They 'le sweare at dyce forsweare their debts And sweare when they loose their labour in loue Io. Well your maisters haue much to answere for that bring ye vp so wickedly Fris. Nay my maister is damn'd I le be sworne for his very soule burnes in the firie eye of his faire mistresse Mop. My maister is not damn'd but he is dead for he hath buried his ioyes in the bosome of his faire mistresse Io. My maister is neither damnde nor dead and yet is in the case of both your maisters like a woodden shepheard and a sheepish wood-man for he is lost in seeking of a lost sheepe and spent in hunting a Doe that hee would faine strike Fris. Faith and I am founderd with flinging too and fro with Ches-nuts Hazel-nuts Bullaze and wildings for presents from my maister to the faire shepherdesse Mop. And I am tierd like a Calfe with carrying a Kidde euery weeke to the Cottage of my maisters sweete Lambkin Io. I am not tierd but so wearie I cannot goe with following a maister that followes his mistresse that followes her shadow that followes the
sweet Eurymine make some report Why thou departedst from my fathers Court And how this straunge mishap to thee befell Let me intreat thou wouldst the processe tell Eu. To shew how I arriued in this ground Were but renewing of an auncient wound Another time that office I le fulfill Let it suffice I came against my will And wandring here about this Forrest side It was my chaunce of Phoebus to be spide Whose loue because I chastly did withstand He thought to offer me a violent hand But for a present shift to shun his rape I wisht my selfe transformde into this shape Which he perform'd God knowes against his wil And I since then haue wayld my fortune still Not for misliking ought I finde in mee But for thy sake whose wife I meant to bee Asca. Thus haue you heard our woful destenie Which I in heart lament and so doth she Ara. The fittest remedie that I can finde Is this to ease the torment of your minde Perswade your selues that great Apollo can As easily make a woman of a man As contrariwise he made a man of her Asca. I thinke no lesse Ara. Then humble suite preferre To him perhaps your prayers may attaine To haue her turnd into her forme againe Eu. But Phoebus such disdain to me doth beare As hardly we shall win his graunt I feare Ara. Then in these verdant fields al richly dide With natures gifts and Floras painted pride There is a goodly spring whose christal streames Beset with myrtles keepe backe Phoebus beames There in rich seates all wrought of Iuory The Graces sit listening the melodye The warbling Birds doo from their prettie billes Vnite in concord as the brooke distilles Whose gentle murmure with his buzzing noates Is as a base vnto their hollow throates Garlands beside they weare vpon their browes Made of all sorts of flowers earth allowes From whence such fragrant sweet perfumes arise As you would sweare that place is Paradise To them let vs repaire with humble hart And meekly shew the manner of your smart So gratious are they in Apollos eies As their intreatie quickly may suffice In your behalfe I le tell them of your states And craue their aides to stand your aduocates Asca. For euer you shall bind vs to you than Ara. Come go with me I le doo the best I can Io. Is not this hard luck to wander so long And in the end to finde his wife markt wrong Enter Phylander A proper iest as euer I heard tell In sooth me thinks the breech becomes her well And might it not make their husbands feare then Wold all the wiues in our town might wear them Tell me youth art a straunger here or no Io. Is your commission sir to examine me so Phy. What is it thou now by my troth wel met Io. By your leaue it 's well ouertaken yet Phy. I litle thought I should a found thee here Io. Perhaps so sir Phy. I prethee speake what cheere Io. What cheere can here be hopte for in these woods Except trees stones bryars bushes or buddes Phy. My meaning is I faine would heare thee say How thou doest man why thou tak'st this another way Io. Why then sir I doo as well as I may And to perswade ye that welcome ye bee Wilt please ye sir to eate a crab with mee Phy. Beleeue me Ioculo reasonable hard cheere Io. Phylander t is the best we can get heere But when returne ye to the Court againe Phy. Shortly now I haue found thee Io. To requite your paine Shall I intreat you beare a present from me Phy. To whom Io. To the Duke Phy. What shall it be Io. Because Venson so conuenient doth not fall A pecke of Acornes to make merry withall Phy. What meanest thou by that Io. By my troth sir as ye see Acornes are good enough for such as hee I wish his honour well and to doo him good Would he had eaten all the Acorns in th' wood Phy. Good words Ioculo of your Lord mine Io. As may agree with such a churlish swine How dooes his honor Phy. Indifferently well Io. I wish him better Phy. How Io. Vice-gerent in hell Phy. Doest thou wish so for ought that he hath done Io. I for the loue he beares vnto his sonne Phy. Hee s growne of late as fatherly and milde As euer father was vnto his childe And sent me forth to search the coast about If so my hap might be to finde him out And if Eurymine aliue remaine To bring them both vnto the Court againe Where is thy maister Io. Walking about the ground Phy. Oh that his Loue Eurymine were found Io. Why so she is come follow me and see I le bring ye strait where they remaining bee Exeunt Enter three or foure Muses Aramanthus Ascanio Siluio and Gemulo Asca. Cease your contention for Eurymine Nor words nor vowes can helpe her miserie But he it is that did her first transforme Must calme the gloomy rigor of this storme Great Phoebus whose Pallace we are neere Salute him then in his celestiall sphere That with the notes of cheerfull harmonie He may be mou'd to shewe his Deitie Sil. But where 's Eurymine haue we lost her sight As. Poore soule within a caue with fear affright She sits to shun Apollos angry view Vntill she see what of our prayers ensue If we can reconcile his loue or no Or that she must continue in her woe 1. Mu. Once haue we tried Ascanio for thy sake And once againe we will his power awake Not doubting but as he is of heauenly race At length he will take pitie on her case Sing therefore and each partie from his heart In this our musicke beare a chearefull part Song All haile faire Phoebus in thy purple throne Vouchsafe the regarding of our deepe mone Hide not oh hide not thy comfortable face But pittie but pittie a virgins poore case Phoebus appeares 1. Muse. Illustrate bewtie Christall heauens eye Once more we do entreat thy clemencie That as thou art the power of vs all Thou would'st redeeme Eurymine from thrall Graunt gentle God graunt this our small request And if abilitie in vs do rest Whereby we euer may deserue the same It shal be seene we reuerence Phoebus name Phoe. You sacred sisters of faire Hellion On whom my fauours euermore haue shone In this you must haue patience with my vow I cannot graunt what you aspire vnto Nor was 't my fault she was transformed so But her owne fond desire as ye well know We told her too before her vow was past That cold repentance would ensue at last And sith her selfe did wish the shape of man She causde the abuse digest it how she can 2. Muse. Alas if vnto her you be so hard Yet of Ascanio haue some more regard And let him not endure such endlesse wrong That hath pursude her constant loue so long Asca. Great God the greeuous trauells I haue past In restlesse search to find her out at last