ACT THE SECOND.

EnterBosolaandCastruccio.

Bos.You say you would fain be taken for an eminent courtier?Cast.'Tis the very main of my ambition.

Bos.Let me see: you have a reasonable good face for't already, and your night-cap expresses your ears sufficient largely. I would have you learn to twirl the strings of your band with a good grace, and in a set speech, at the end of every sentence, to hum three or four times, or blow your nose till it smart again, to recover your memory. When you come to be a president in criminal causes, if you smile upon a prisoner, hang him; but if you frown upon him and threaten him, let him be sure to scape the gallows.

Cast.I would be a very merry president.

Bos.Do not sup o' nights; 'twill beget you an admirable wit.

Cast.Rather it would make me have a good stomach to quarrel; for they say, your roaring boys[113]eat meat seldom, and that makes them sovaliant. But how shall I know whether the people take me for an eminent fellow?

Bos.I will teach a trick to know it: give out you lie a-dying, and if you hear the common people curse you, be sure you are taken for one of the prime night-caps.[114]

Enter anOld Lady.

You come from painting now.

Old Lady.From what?

Bos.Why, from your scurvy face-physic. To behold thee not painted inclines somewhat near a miracle; these in thy face here were deep ruts and foul sloughs the last progress.[115]There was a lady in France that, having had the small-pox, flayed the skin off her face to make it more level; and whereas before she looked like a nutmeg-grater, after she resembled an abortive hedgehog.

Old Lady.Do you call this painting?

Bos.No, no, but you call it careening of an old morphewed[116]lady, to make her disembogue again: there's rough-cast phrase to your plastic.

Old Lady.It seems you are well acquainted with my closet.

Bos.One would suspect it for a shop of witchcraft, to find in it the fat of serpents, spawn of snakes, Jews' spittle, and their young children's ordure; and all these for the face. I would sooner eat a dead pigeon taken from the soles of the feet of one sick of the plague than kiss one of you fasting. Here are two of you, whose sin of your youth is the very patrimony of the physician; makes him renew his foot-cloth[117]with the spring, and change his high-priced courtezan with the fall of the leaf. I do wonder you do not loathe yourselves. Observe my meditation now.What thing is in this outward form of manTo be beloved? We account it ominous,If nature do produce a colt, or lamb,A fawn, or goat, in any limb resemblingA man, and fly from't as a prodigy:Man stands amazed to see his deformityIn any other creature but himself.But in our own flesh, though we bear diseasesWhich have their true names only ta'en from beasts,—As the most ulcerous wolf and swinish measle,—Though we are eaten up of lice and worms,And though continually we bear about usA rotten and dead body, we delightTo hide it in rich tissue: all our fear,Nay, all our terror, is lest our physicianShould put us in the ground to be made sweet.—Your wife's gone to Rome: you two couple, and get you to the wells at Lucca to recover your aches. I have other work on foot. [ExeuntCastruccioandOld Lady.I observe our duchessIs sick a-days, she pukes, her stomach seethes,The fins of her eye-lids looks most teeming blue,She wanes i' the cheek, and waxes fat i' the flank,And, contrary to our Italian fashion,Wears a loose-bodied gown: there's somewhat in't.I have a trick may chance discover it,A pretty one; I have bought some apricocks,The first our spring yields.

EnterAntonioandDelio.

Delio.And so long since married!You amaze me.Ant.Let me seal your lips for ever:For, did I think that any thing but the airCould carry these words from you, I should wishYou had no breath at all.—Now, sir, in your contemplation?You are studying to become a great wise fellow.

Bos.O, sir, the opinion of wisdom is a foul tether that runs all over a man's body: if simplicity direct us to have no evil, it directs us to a happy being; for the subtlest folly proceeds from the subtlest wisdom: let me be simply honest.

Ant.I do understand your inside.

Bos.Do you so?

Ant.Because you would not seem to appear to the worldPuffed up with your preferment, you continueThis out-of-fashion melancholy: leave it, leave it.

Bos.Give me leave to be honest in any phrase, in any compliment whatsoever. Shall I confess myself to you? I look no higher than I can reach: they are the gods that must ride on winged horses. A lawyer's mule of a slow pace will both suit my disposition and business; for, mark me, when a man's mind rides faster than his horse can gallop, they quickly both tire.

Ant.You would look up to Heaven, but I thinkThe devil, that rules i' the air, stands in your light.

Bos.O, sir, you are lord of the ascendant, chief man with the duchess; a duke was your cousin-german removed. Say you are lineally descended from King Pepin, or he himself, what of this? search the heads of the greatest rivers in the world, you shall find them but bubbles of water. Some would think the souls of princes were brought forth by some more weighty cause than those of meaner persons: they are deceived, there's the same hand to them; the like passions sway them; the same reason that makes a vicar to go to law for a tithe-pig, and undo his neighbours, makes them spoil a whole province, and batter down goodly cities with the cannon.

EnterDuchessandLadies.

Duch.Your arm, Antonio: do I not grow fat?I am exceeding short-winded.—Bosola,I would have you, sir, provide for me a litter;Such a one as the Duchess of Florence rode in.Bos.The duchess used one when she was great with child.Duch.I think she did.—Come hither, mend my ruff;Here, when? thou art such a tedious lady; andThy breath smells of lemon-pills; would thou hadst done!Shall I swoon under thy fingers! I amSo troubled with the mother![118]Bos.[Aside.] I fear too much.Duch.I have heard you say that the French courtiersWear their hats on 'fore the king.Ant.I have seen it.Duch.In the presence?Ant.Yes.Duch.Why should not we bring up that fashion?'Tis ceremony more than duty that consistsIn the removing of a piece of felt:Be you the example to the rest o' the court;Put on your hat first.Ant.You must pardon me:I have seen, in colder countries than in France,Nobles stand bare to the prince; and the distinctionMethought showed reverently.Bos.I have a present for your grace.Duch.For me, sir?Bos.Apricocks, madam.Duch.O, sir, where are they?I have heard of none to-year.Bos.[Aside.] Good; her colour rises.Duch.Indeed, I thank you: they are wondrous fair ones.What an unskilful fellow is our gardener!We shall have none this month.Bos.Will not your grace pare them?Duch.No: they taste of musk, methinks; indeed they do.Bos.I know not: yet I wish your grace had pared 'em.Duch.Why?Bos.I forgot to tell you, the knave gardener,Only to raise his profit by them the sooner,Did ripen them in horse-dung.Duch.O, you jest—You shall judge: pray taste one.Ant.Indeed, madam,I do not love the fruit.Duch.Sir, you are lothTo rob us of our dainties: 'tis a delicate fruit;They say they are restorative.Bos.'Tis a pretty art,This grafting.Duch.'Tis so; bettering of nature.Bos.To make a pippin grow upon a crab,A damson on a blackthorn.—[Aside.] How greedily she eats them!A whirlwind strike off these bawd farthingales!For, but for that and the loose-bodied gown,I should have discovered apparentlyThe young springal[119]cutting a caper in her belly.Duch.I thank you, Bosola: they are right good ones,If they do not make me sick.Ant.How now, madam!Duch.This green fruit and my stomach are not friends:How they swell me!Bos.[Aside.] Nay, you are too much swelled already.Duch.O, I am in an extreme cold sweat!Bos.I am very sorry.Duch.Lights to my chamber!—O good Antonio,I fear I am undone!

Delio.Lights there, lights! [ExeuntDuchessandLadies.—Exit, on the other side,Bosola.]

Ant.O my most trusty Delio, we are lost!I fear she's fall'n in labour; and there's leftNo time for her remove.Delio.Have you preparedThose ladies to attend her? and procuredThat politic safe conveyance for the midwifeYour duchess plotted?Ant.I have.Delio.Make use, then, of this forced occasion:Give out that Bosola hath poisoned herWith these apricocks; that will give some colourFor her keeping close.Ant.Fie, fie, the physiciansWill then flock to her.Delio.For that you may pretendShe'll use some prepared antidote of her own,Lest the physicians should re-poison her.Ant.I am lost in amazement: I know not what to think on't.[Exeunt.

EnterBosola.

Bos.So, so, there's no question but her techiness and most vulturous eating of the apricocks are apparent signs of breeding.

Enter anOld Lady.

Now?

Old Lady.I am in haste, sir.

Bos.There was a young waiting-woman had a monstrous desire to see the glass-house—

Old Lady.Nay, pray let me go.

Bos.And it was only to know what strangeinstrument it was should swell up a glass to the fashion of a woman's belly.

Old Lady.I will hear no more of the glass-house. You are still abusing women?

Bos.Who, I? no; only, by the way now and then, mention your frailties. The orange-tree bears ripe and green fruit and blossoms all together; and some of you give entertainment for pure love, but more for more precious reward. The lusty spring smells well; but drooping autumn tastes well. If we have the same golden showers that rained in the time of Jupiter the thunderer, you have the same Danäes still, to hold up their laps to receive them. Didst thou never study the mathematics?

Old Lady.What's that, sir?

Bos.Why to know the trick how to make a many lines meet in one centre. Go, go, give your foster-daughters good counsel: tell them, that the devil takes delight to hang at a woman's girdle, like a false rusty watch, that she cannot discern how the time passes. [ExitOld Lady.

EnterAntonio, Roderigo,andGrisolan.

Ant.Shut up the court-gates.

Rod.Why, sir? what's the danger?

Ant.Shut up the posterns presently, and callAll the officers o' the court.

Gris.I shall instantly. [Exit.

Ant.Who keeps the key o' the park-gate?

Rod.Forobosco.

Ant.Let him bring't presently.

Re-enterGrisolanwithServants.

1st Serv.O, gentlemen o' the court, the foulest treason!

Bos.[Aside.] If that these apricocks should be poisoned now,Without my knowledge!

1st Serv.There was taken even now a Switzer in the duchess' bed chamber—

2nd Serv.A Switzer!

1st Serv.With a pistol in his great cod-piece.

Bos.Ha, ha, ha!

1st Serv.The cod-piece was the case for't.

2nd Serv.There was a cunning traitor: who would have searched his cod-piece?

1st Serv.True, if he had kept out of the ladies' chambers: and all the moulds of his buttons were leaden bullets.

2nd Serv.O wicked cannibal! a fire-lock in's cod-piece!

1st Serv.'Twas a French plot, upon my life.

2nd Serv.To see what the devil can do!

Ant.Are all the officers here?

Servants.We are.

Ant.Gentlemen,We have lost much plate you know; and but this eveningJewels, to the value of four thousand ducats,Are missing in the duchess' cabinet.Are the gates shut?Serv.Yes.Ant.'Tis the duchess' pleasureEach officer be locked into his chamberTill the sun-rising; and to send the keysOf all their chests and of their outward doorsInto her bed-chamber. She is very sick.Rod.At her pleasure.Ant.She entreats you take't not ill: the innocentShall be the more approved by it.Bos.Gentleman o' the wood-yard, where's your Switzer now?

1st Serv.By this hand, 'twas credibly reported by one o' the black guard.[120][Exeunt all exceptAntonioandDelio.

Delio.How fares it with the duchess?Ant.She's exposedUnto the worst of torture, pain and fear.Delio.Speak to her all happy comfort.Ant.How I do play the fool with mine own danger!You are this night, dear friend, to post to Rome:My life lies in your service.Delio.Do not doubt me.Ant.O, 'tis far from me: and yet fear presents meSomewhat that looks like danger.Delio.Believe it,'Tis but the shadow of your fear, no more:How superstitiously we mind our evils!The throwing down salt, or crossing of a hare.Bleeding at nose, the stumbling of a horse,Or singing of a cricket, are of powerTo daunt whole man in us. Sir, fare you well:I wish you all the joys of a blessed father:And, for my faith, lay this unto your breast,—Old friends, like old swords, still are trusted best. [Exit.

EnterCariola.

Cari.Sir, you are the happy father of a son:Your wife commends him to you.Ant.Blessèd comfort!—For Heaven' sake tend her well: I'll presentlyGo set a figure for's nativity. [Exeunt.

EnterBosola,with a dark lantern.

Bos.Sure I did hear a woman shriek: list, ha!And the sound came, if I received it right,From the duchess' lodgings. There's some stratagemIn the confining all our courtiersTo their several wards: I must have part of it;My intelligence will freeze else. List, again!It may be 'twas the melancholy bird,Best friend of silence and of solitariness,The owl, that screamed so.—Ha! Antonio!

EnterAntonio.

Ant.I heard some noise.—Who's there? what art thou? speak.Bos.Antonio, put not your face nor bodyTo such a forced expression of fear:I am Bosola, your friend.Ant.Bosola!—[Aside.] This mole does undermine me.—Heard you notA noise even now?Bos.From whence?Ant.From the duchess' lodging.Bos.Not I: did you?Ant.I did, or else I dreamed.Bos.Let's walk towards it.Ant.No: it may be 'twasBut the rising of the wind.Bos.Very likely.Methinks 'tis very cold, and yet you sweat:You look wildly.Ant.I have been setting a figureFor the duchess' jewels.Bos.Ah, and how falls your question?Do you find it radical?Ant.What's that to you?'Tis rather to be questioned what design,When all men were commanded to their lodgings,Makes you a night-walker.Bos.In sooth, I'll tell you:Now all the court's asleep, I thought the devilHad least to do here; I came to say my prayers;And if it do offend you I do so,You are a fine courtier.Ant.[Aside.] This fellow will undo me.—You gave the duchess apricocks to-day:Pray Heaven they were not poisoned!Bos.Poisoned! A Spanish figFor the imputation.Ant.Traitors are ever confidentTill they are discovered. There were jewels stol'n too:In my conceit, none are to be suspectedMore than yourself.Bos.You are a false steward.Ant.Saucy slave, I'll pull thee up by the roots.Bos.May be the ruin will crush you to pieces.Ant.You are an impudent snake indeed, sir:Are you scarce warm, and do you show your sting?You libel well, sir.Bos.No, sir: copy it out,And I will set my hand to't.Ant.[Aside.] My nose bleeds.One that were superstitious would countThis ominous, when it merely comes by chance:Two letters, that are wrote here for my name,Are drowned in blood!Mere accident.—For you, sir, I'll take orderI' the morn you shall be safe:—[Aside.] 'tis that must colourHer lying-in:—sir, this door you pass not:I do not hold it fit that you come nearThe duchess' lodgings, till you have quit yourself.—[Aside] The great are like the base, nay, they are the same,When they seek shameful ways to avoid shame. [Exit.Bos.Antonio hereabout did drop a paper:—Some of your help, false friend:—O, here it is.What's here? a child's nativity calculated! [Reads."The duchess was delivered of a son, 'tween the hours twelve and one in the night,Anno Dom.1504,"—that's this year—"decimo nono Decembris,"—that's this night,—"taken according to the meridian of Malfi,"—that's our duchess: happy discovery!—"The lord of the first house being combust in the ascendant, signifies short life; and Mars being in a human sign, joined to the tail of the Dragon, in the eighth house, doth threaten a violent death.Cætera non scrutantur."Why, now 'tis most apparent: this precise fellowIs the duchess' bawd:—I have it to my wish!This is a parcel of intelligencyOur courtiers were cased up for: it needs must followThat I must be committed on pretenceOf poisoning her; which I'll endure, and laugh at.If one could find the father now! but thatTime will discover. Old CastruccioI' the morning posts to Rome: by him I'll sendA letter that shall make her brothers' gallsO'erflow their livers. This was a thrifty way.Though lust do mask in ne'er so strange disguise,She's oft found witty, but is never wise. [Exit.

EnterCardinalandJulia.

Card.Sit: thou art my best of wishes. Prithee, tell meWhat trick didst thou invent to come to RomeWithout thy husband.Julia.Why, my lord, I told himI came to visit an old anchoriteHere for devotion.Card.Thou art a witty false one,—I mean, to him.Julia.You have prevailed with meBeyond my strongest thoughts: I would not nowFind you inconstant.Card.Do not put thyselfTo such a voluntary torture, which proceedsOut of your own guilt.Julia.How, my lord!Card.You fearMy constancy, because you have approvedThose giddy and wild turnings in yourself.Julia.Did you e'er find them?Card.Sooth, generally for women,A man might strive to make glass malleable,Ere he should make them fixèd.Julia.So, my lord.Card.We had need go borrow that fantastic glassInvented by Galileo the FlorentineTo view another spacious world i' the moon,And look to find a constant woman there.Julia.This is very well, my lord.Card.Why do you weep?Are tears your justification? the self-same tearsWill fall into your husband's bosom, lady,With a loud protestation that you love himAbove the world. Come, I'll love you wisely,That's jealously; since I am very certainYou cannot make me cuckold.Julia.I'll go homeTo my husband.Card.You may thank me, lady,I have taken you off your melancholy perch,Bore you upon my fist, and showed you game,And let you fly at it.—I pray thee, kiss me.—When thou wast with thy husband, thou wast watchedLike a tame elephant:—still you are to thank me:—Thou hadst only kisses from him and high feeding;But what delight was that? 'twas just like oneThat hath a little fingering on the lute,Yet cannot tune it:—still you are to thank me.Julia.You told me of a piteous wound i' the heartAnd a sick liver, when you wooed me first,And spake like one in physic.Card.Who's that?—

EnterServant.

Rest firm, for my affection to thee,Lightning moves slow to't.Serv.Madam, a gentleman,That's come post from Malfi, desires to see you.Card.Let him enter: I'll withdraw. [Exit.Serv.He saysYour husband, old Castruccio, is come to Rome,Most pitifully tired with riding post. [Exit.

EnterDelio.

Julia.[Aside.] Signior Delio! 'tis one of my old suitors.Delio.I was bold to come and see you.Julia.Sir, you are welcome.Delio.Do you lie here?Julia.Sure, your own experienceWill satisfy you no: our Roman prelatesDo not keep lodging for ladies.Delio.Very well:I have brought you no commendations from your husband,For I know none by him.Julia.I hear he's come to Rome.Delio.I never knew man and beast, of a horse and a knight,So weary of each other: if he had had a good back,He would have undertook to have borne his horse,His breech was so pitifully sore.Julia.Your laughterIs my pity.Delio.Lady, I know not whetherYou want money, but I have brought you some.Julia.From my husband?Delio.No, from mine own allowance.Julia.I must hear the condition, ere I be bound to take it.Delio.Look on't, 'tis gold: hath it not a fine colour?Julia.I have a bird more beautiful.Delio.Try the sound on't.Julia.A lute-string far exceeds it:It hath no smell, like cassia or civet;Nor is it physical, though some fond doctorsPersuade us seethe't in cullises.[121]I'll tell you,This is a creature bred by—

Re-enterServant.

Serv.Your husband's come,Hath delivered a letter to the Duke of CalabriaThat, to my thinking, hath put him out of his wits.[Exit.Julia.Sir, you hear:Pray, let me know your business and your suitAs briefly as can be.Delio.With good speed: I would wish you,At such time as you are non-residentWith your husband, my mistress.Julia.Sir, I'll go ask my husband if I shall,And straight return your answer. [Exit.Delio.Very fine!Is this her wit, or honesty, that speaks thus?I heard one say the duke was highly movedWith a letter sent from Malfi. I do fearAntonio is betrayed: how fearfullyShows his ambition now! unfortunate fortune!They pass through whirlpools, and deep woes do shun,Who the event weigh ere the action's done. [Exit.

EnterCardinal,andFerdinandwith a letter.

Ferd.I have this night digged up a mandrake.Card.Say you?Ferd.And I am grown mad with't.[122]Card.What's the prodigy?Ferd.Read there,—a sister damned: she's loose i' the hilts;Grown a notorious strumpet.Card.Speak lower.Ferd.Lower!Rogues do not whisper't now, but seek to publish't(As servants do the bounty of their lords)Aloud; and with a covetous searching eye,To mark who note them. O, confusion seize her!She hath had most cunning bawds to serve her turn,And more secure conveyances for lustThan towns of garrison for service.Card.Is't possible?Can this be certain?Ferd.Rhubarb, O, for rhubarbTo purge this choler! here's the cursèd dayTo prompt my memory; and here't shall stickTill of her bleeding heart I make a spongeTo wipe it out.Card.Why do you make yourselfSo wild a tempest?Ferd.Would I could be one,That I might toss her palace 'bout her ears,Root up her goodly forests, blast her meads,And lay her general territory as wasteAs she hath done her honours.Card.Shall our blood,The royal blood of Arragon and Castile,Be thus attainted?Ferd.Apply desperate physic:We must not now use balsamum, but fire,The smarting cupping-glass, for that's the meanTo purge infected blood, such blood as hers.There is a kind of pity in mine eye,—I'll give it to my handkercher; and now 'tis here,I'll bequeath this to her bastard.Card.What to do?Ferd.Why, to make soft lint for his mother's wounds,When I have hewed her to pieces.Card.Cursèd creature!Unequal nature, to place women's heartsSo far upon the left side!Ferd.Foolish men,That e'er will trust their honour in a barkMade of so slight weak bulrush as is woman,Apt every minute to sink it!Card.ThusIgnorance, when it hath purchased honour,It cannot wield it.Ferd.Methinks I see her laughing—Excellent hyena! Talk to me somewhat quickly,Or my imagination will carry meTo see her in the shameful act of sin.Card.With whom?Ferd.Happily with some strong-thighed bargeman,Or one o' the woodyard that can quoit the sledgeOr toss the bar, or else some lovely squireThat carries coals up to her privy lodgings.Card.You fly beyond your reason.Ferd.Go to, mistress!'Tis not your whore's milk that shall quench my wild fire,But your whore's blood.Card.How idly shows this rage, which carries you,As men conveyed by witches through the air,On violent whirlwinds! this intemperate noiseFitly resembles deaf men's shrill discourse,Who talk aloud, thinking all other menTo have their imperfection.Ferd.Have not youMy palsy?Card.Yes, but I can be angryWithout this rupture:[123]there is not in natureA thing that makes man so deformed, so beastly,As doth intemperate anger. Chide yourself.You have divers men who never yet expressedTheir strong desire of rest but by unrest,By vexing of themselves. Come, put yourselfIn tune.Ferd.So I will only study to seemThe thing I am not. I could kill her now,In you, or in myself; for I do thinkIt is some sin in us Heaven doth revengeBy her.Card.Are you stark mad?Ferd.I would have their bodiesBurnt in a coal-pit with the ventage stopped,That their cursed smoke might not ascend to Heaven;Or dip the sheets they lie in in pitch or sulphur,Wrap them in't, and then light them like a match;Or else to boil their bastard to a cullis,And give't his lecherous father to renewThe sin of his back.Card.I'll leave you.Ferd.Nay, I have done.I am confident, had I been damned in hell,And should have heard of this, it would have put meInto a cold sweat. In, in; I'll go sleep.Till I know who leaps my sister, I'll not stir:That known, I'll find scorpions to string my whips,And fix her in a general eclipse. [Exeunt.

EnterAntonioandDelio.

Ant.Our noble friend, my most belovèd Delio!O, you have been a stranger long at court;Came you along with the Lord Ferdinand?Delio.I did, sir: and how fares your noble duchess?Ant.Right fortunately well: she's an excellentFeeder of pedigrees; since you last saw her,She hath had two children more, a son and daughter.Delio.Methinks 'twas yesterday: let me but wink,And not behold your face, which to mine eyeIs somewhat leaner, verily I should dreamIt were within this half hour.Ant.You have not been in law, friend Delio,Nor in prison, nor a suitor at the court,Nor begged the reversion of some great man's place,Nor troubled with an old wife, which doth makeYour time so insensibly hasten.Delio.Pray, sir, tell me,Hath not this news arrived yet to the earOf the lord cardinal?Ant.I fear it hath:The Lord Ferdinand, that's newly come to court,Doth bear himself right dangerously.Delio.Pray, why?Ant.He is so quiet that he seems to sleepThe tempest out, as dormice do in winter:Those houses that are haunted are most stillTill the devil be up.Delio.What say the common people?Ant.The common rabble do directly sayShe is a strumpet.Delio.And your graver headsWhich would be politic, what censure they?Ant.They do observe I grow to infinite purchase,[124]The left hand way, and all suppose the duchessWould amend it, if she could; for, say they,Great princes, though they grudge their officersShould have such large and unconfinèd meansTo get wealth under them, will not complain,Lest thereby they should make them odiousUnto the people; for other obligationOf love or marriage between her and meThey never dream of.Delio.The Lord FerdinandIs going to bed.

EnterDuchess, Ferdinand,andAttendants.

Ferd.I'll instantly to bed,For I am weary.—I am to bespeakA husband for you.Duch.For me, sir! pray, who is't?Ferd.The great Count Malatesti.Duch.Fie upon him!A count! he's a mere stick of sugar-candy;You may look quite through him. When I chooseA husband, I will marry for your honour.Ferd.You shall do well in't.—How is't, worthy Antonio?Duch.But, sir, I am to have private conference with youAbout a scandalous report is spreadTouching mine honour.Ferd.Let me be ever deaf to't:One of Pasquil's paper bullets, court-calumny,A pestilent air, which princes' palacesAre seldom purged of. Yet say that it were true,I pour it in your bosom, my fixed loveWould strongly excuse, extenuate, nay, denyFaults, were they apparent in you. Go, be safeIn your own innocency.Duch.[Aside.] O blessed comfort!This deadly air is purged.[ExeuntDuchess, Antonio, Delio,andAttendants.

Ferd.Her guilt treads onHot-burning coulters.

EnterBosola.

Now, Bosola,How thrives our intelligence?Bos.Sir, uncertainly:'Tis rumoured she hath had three bastards, butBy whom we may go read i' the stars.Ferd.Why, someHold opinion all things are written there.Bos.Yes, if we could find spectacles to read them.I do suspect there hath been some sorceryUsed on the duchess.Ferd.Sorcery! to what purpose?Bos.To make her dote on some desertless fellowShe shames to acknowledge.Ferd.Can your faith give wayTo think there's power in potions or in charms,To make us love whether we will or no?Bos.Most certainly.Ferd.Away! these are mere gulleries, horrid things,Invented by some cheating mountebanksTo abuse us. Do you think that herbs or charmsCan force the will? Some trials have been madeIn this foolish practice, but the ingredientsWere lenitive poisons, such as are of forceTo make the patient mad; and straight the witchSwears by equivocation they are in love.The witchcraft lies in her rank blood. This nightI will force confession from her. You told meYou had got, within these two days, a false keyInto her bed-chamber.Bos.I have.Ferd.As I would wish.Bos.What do you intend to do?Ferd.Can you guess?Bos.No.Ferd.Do not ask, then:He that can compass me, and know my drifts,May say he hath put a girdle 'bout the world,And sounded all her quicksands.Bos.I do notThink so.Ferd.What do you think, then, pray?Bos.That you areYour own chronicle too much, and grosslyFlatter yourself.Ferd.Give me thy hand; I thank thee:I never gave pension but to flatterers,Till I entertainèd thee. Farewell.That friend a great man's ruin strongly checks,Who rails into his belief all his defects. [Exeunt.

EnterDuchess, Antonio,andCariola.

Duch.Bring me the casket hither, and the glass.—You get no lodging here to-night, my lord.Ant.Indeed, I must persuade one.Duch.Very good:I hope in time 'twill grow into a custom,That noblemen shall come with cap and kneeTo purchase a night's lodging of their wives.Ant.I must lie here.Duch.Must! you are lord of mis-rule.Ant.Indeed, my rule is only in the night.Duch.To what use will you put me?Ant.We'll sleep together.Duch.Alas,What pleasure can two lovers find in sleep!Cari.My lord, I lie with her often; and I knowShe'll much disquiet you.Ant.See, you are complained of.Cari.For she's the sprawling'st bedfellow.Ant.I shall like her the better for that.Cari.Sir, shall I ask you a question?Ant.Ay, pray thee, Cariola.Cari.Wherefore still, when you lie with my lady,Do you rise so early?Ant.Labouring menCount the clock oftenest, Cariola,Are glad when their task's ended.Duch.I'll stop your mouth. [Kisses him.Ant.Nay, that's but one; Venus had two soft dovesTo draw her chariot; I must have another—[She kisses him again.When wilt thou marry, Cariola?Cari.Never, my lord.Ant.O, fie upon this single life! forego it.We read how Daphne, for her peevish[125]flight,Became a fruitless bay-tree; Syrinx turnedTo the pale empty reed; AnaxareteWas frozen into marble: whereas thoseWhich married, or proved kind unto their friends,Were by a gracious influence transhapedInto the olive, pomegranate, mulberry,Became flowers, precious stones, or eminent stars.Cari.This is a vain poetry: but I pray you tell me,If there were proposed me, wisdom, riches, and beauty,In three several young men, which should I choose.Ant.'Tis a hard question: this was Paris' case,And he was blind in't, and there was great cause;For how was't possible he could judge right,Having three amorous goddesses in view,And they stark naked? 'twas a motionWere able to benight the apprehensionOf the severest counsellor of Europe.Now I look on both your faces so well formed,It puts me in mind of a question I would ask.Cari.What is't?Ant.I do wonder why hard-favoured ladies,For the most part, keep worse-favoured waiting-womenTo attend them, and cannot endure fair ones.Duch.O, that's soon answered.Did you ever in your life know an ill painterDesire to have his dwelling next door to the shopOf an excellent picture-maker? 'twould disgraceHis face-making, and undo him. I prithee,When were we so merry?—My hair tangles.Ant.Pray thee, Cariola, let's steal forth the room,And let her talk to herself: I have divers timesServed her the like, when she hath chafed extremely.I love to see her angry. Softly, Cariola.[ExeuntAntonioandCariola.Duch.Doth not the colour of my hair 'gin to change?When I wax gray, I shall have all the courtPowder their hair with arras,[126]to be like me.You have cause to love me; I entered you into my heartBefore you would vouchsafe to call for the keys.

EnterFerdinandbehind.

We shall one day have my brothers take you napping;Methinks his presence, being now in court,Should make you keep your own bed; but you'll sayLove mixed with fear is sweetest. I'll assure you,You shall get no more children till my brothersConsent to be your gossips. Have you lost your tongue?'Tis welcome:For know, whether I am doomed to live or die,I can do both like a prince.Ferd.Die, then, quickly! [Giving her a poniard.Virtue, where art thou hid? what hideous thingIs it that doth eclipse thee?Duch.Pray, sir, hear me.Ferd.Or is it true thou art but a bare name,And no essential thing?Duch.Sir,—Ferd.Do not speak.Duch.No, sir:I will plant my soul in mine ears, to hear you.Ferd.O most imperfect light of human reason,That mak'st us so unhappy to foreseeWhat we can least prevent! Pursue thy wishes,And glory in them: there's in shame no comfortBut to be past all bounds and sense of shame.Duch.I pray, sir, hear me: I am married.Ferd.So!Duch.Happily, not to your liking: but for that,Alas, your shears do come untimely nowTo clip the bird's wing that's already flown!Will you see my husband?Ferd.Yes, if I could changeEyes with a basilisk.Duch.Sure, you came hitherBy his confederacy.Ferd.The howling of a wolfIs music to thee, screech-owl: prithee, peace.—Whate'er thou art that hast enjoyed my sister,For I am sure thou hear'st me, for thine own sakeLet me not know thee. I came hither preparedTo work thy discovery; yet am now persuadedIt would beget such violent effectsAs would damn us both. I would not for ten millionsI had beheld thee: therefore use all meansI never may have knowledge of thy name;Enjoy thy lust still, and a wretched life,On that condition.—And for thee, vile woman,If thou do wish thy lecher may grow oldIn thy embracements, I would have thee buildSuch a room for him as our anchoritesTo holier use inhabit. Let not the sunShine on him till he's dead; let dogs and monkeysOnly converse with him, and such dumb thingsTo whom nature denies use to sound his name;Do not keep a paraquito, lest she learn it;If thou do love him, cut out thine own tongue,Lest it bewray him.Duch.Why might not I marry?I have not gone about in this to createAny new world or custom.Ferd.Thou art undone;And thou hast ta'en that massy sheet of leadThat hid thy husband's bones, and folded itAbout my heart.Duch.Mine bleeds for't.Ferd.Thine! thy heart!What should I name't unless a hollow bulletFilled with unquenchable wild-fire?Duch.You are in thisToo strict; and were you not my princely brother,I would say, too wilful: my reputationIs safe.Ferd.Dost thou know what reputation is?I'll tell thee,—to small purpose, since the instructionComes now too late.Upon a time Reputation, Love, and Death,Would travel o'er the world; and it was concludedThat they should part, and take three several ways.Death told them, they should find him in great battles,Or cities plagued with plagues: Love gives them counselTo inquire for him 'mongst unambitious shepherds,Where dowries were not talked of, and sometimes'Mongst quiet kindred that had nothing leftBy their dead parents: "Stay," quoth Reputation,"Do not forsake me; for it is my nature.If once I part from any man I meet,I am never found again." And so for you:You have shook hands with Reputation,And made him invisible. So, fare you well:I will never see you more.Duch.Why should only I,Of all the other princes of the world,Be cased up, like a holy relic? I have youthAnd a little beauty.Ferd.So you have some virginsThat are witches. I will never see thee more. [Exit.

Re-enterAntoniowith a pistol, andCariola.

Duch.You saw this apparition?

Ant.Yes: we areBetrayed. How came he hither? I should turnThis to thee, for that.Cari.Pray, sir, do; and whenThat you have cleft my heart, you shall read thereMine innocence.Duch.That gallery gave him entrance.Ant.I would this terrible thing would come again,That, standing on my guard, I might relateMy warrantable love.—[She shows the poniard.Ha! what means this?Duch.He left this with me.Ant.And it seems did wishYou would use it on yourself.Duch.His actionSeemed to intend so much.Ant.This hath a handle to't,As well as a point: turn it towards him,And so fasten the keen edge in his rank gall.[Knocking within.How now! who knocks? more earthquakes?Duch.I standAs if a mine beneath my feet were readyTo be blown up.Cari.'Tis Bosola.Duch.Away!O misery! methinks unjust actionsShould wear these masks and curtains, and not we.You must instantly part hence: I have fashioned it already.[ExitAntonio.

EnterBosola.

Bos.The duke your brother is ta'en up in a whirlwind;Hath took horse, and's rid post to Rome.Duch.So late?Bos.He told me, as he mounted into the saddle,You were undone.Duch.Indeed, I am very near it.Bos.What's the matter?Duch.Antonio, the master of our household,Hath dealt so falsely with me in's accounts:My brother stood engaged with me for moneyTa'en up of certain Neapolitan Jews,And Antonio lets the bonds be forfeit.Bos.Strange!—[Aside.] This is cunning.Duch.And hereuponMy brother's bills at Naples are protestedAgainst.—Call up our officers.Bos.I shall. [Exit.

Re-enterAntonio.

Duch.The place that you must fly to is Ancona:Hire a house there; I'll send after youMy treasure and my jewels. Our weak safetyRuns upon enginous wheels: short syllablesMust stand for periods. I must now accuse youOf such a feignèd crime as Tasso callsMagnanima menzogna, a noble lie,'Cause it must shield our honours.—Hark! they are coming.

Re-enterBosolaandOfficers.

Ant.Will your grace hear me?Duch.I have got well by you; you have yielded meA million of loss: I am like to inheritThe people's curses for your stewardship.You had the trick in audit-time to be sick,Till I had signed your quietus; and that cured youWithout help of a doctor.—Gentlemen,I would have this man be an example to you all;So shall you hold my favour; I pray, let him;For h'as done that, alas, you would not think of,And, because I intend to be rid of him,I mean not to publish.—Use your fortune elsewhere.Ant.I am strongly armed to brook my overthrow,As commonly men bear with a hard year:I will not blame the cause on't; but do thinkThe necessity of my malevolent starProcures this, not her humour. O, the inconstantAnd rotten ground of service! you may see,'Tis even like him, that in a winter night,Takes a long slumber o'er a dying fire,A-loth to part from't; yet parts thence as coldAs when he first sat down.Duch.We do confiscate,Towards the satisfying of your accounts,All that you have.Ant.I am all yours; and 'tis very fitAll mine should be so.Duch.So, sir, you have your pass.Ant.You may see, gentlemen, what 'tis to serveA prince with body and soul. [Exit.

Bos.Here's an example for extortion: what moisture is drawn out of the sea, when foul weather comes, pours down, and runs into the sea again.

Duch.I would know what are your opinionsOf this Antonio.

2nd Off.He could not abide to see a pig's head gaping: I thought your grace would find him a Jew.

3rd Off.I would you had been his officer, for your own sake.

4th Off.You would have had more money.

1st Off.He stopped his ears with black wool, and to those came to him for money said he was thick of hearing.

2nd Off.Some said he was an hermaphrodite, for he could not abide a woman.

4th Off.How scurvy proud he would look when the treasury was full! Well, let him go.

1st Off.Yes, and the chippings of the buttery fly after him, to scour his gold chain.

Duch.Leave us. [ExeuntOfficers.What do you think of these?Bos.That these are rogues that in's prosperity,But to have waited on his fortune, could have wishedHis dirty stirrup rivetted through their noses,And followed after's mule, like a bear in a ring;Would have prostituted their daughters to his lust;Made their first-born intelligencers; thought none happyBut such as were born under his blest planet,And wore his livery: and do these lice drop off now?Well, never look to have the like again:He hath left a sort of flattering rogues behind him;Their doom must follow. Princes pay flatterersIn their own money: flatterers dissemble their vices,And they dissemble their lies; that's justice.Alas, poor gentleman!Duch.Poor! he hath amply filled his coffers.Bos.Sure, he was too honest. Pluto,[127]the god of riches,When he's sent by Jupiter to any man,He goes limping, to signify that wealthThat comes on God's name comes slowly; but when he's sentOn the devil's errand, he rides post and comes in by scuttles.Let me show you what a most unvalued jewelYou have in a wanton humour thrown away,To bless the man shall find him. He was an excellentCourtier and most faithful; a soldier that thought itAs beastly to know his own value too littleAs devilish to acknowledge it too much.Both his virtue and form deserved a far better fortune:His discourse rather delighted to judge itself than show itself:His breast was filled with all perfection,And yet it seemed a private whispering-room,It made so little noise of't.Duch.But he was basely descended.Bos.Will you make yourself a mercenary herald,Rather to examine men's pedigrees than virtues?You shall want him:For know an honest statesman to a princeIs like a cedar planted by a spring;The spring bathes the tree's root, the grateful treeRewards it with his shadow: you have not done so.I would sooner swim to the Bermoothes[128]onTwo politicians' rotten bladders, tiedTogether with an intelligencer's heart-string,Than depend on so changeable a prince's favour.Fare thee well, Antonio! since the malice of the worldWould needs down with thee, it cannot be said yetThat any ill happened unto thee, considering thy fallWas accompanied with virtue.Duch.O, you render me excellent music!Bos.Say you?Duch.This good one that you speak of is my husband.Bos.Do I not dream! can this ambitious ageHave so much goodness in't as to preferA man merely for worth, without these shadowsOf wealth and painted honours? possible?Duch.I have had three children by him.Bos.Fortunate lady!For you have made your private nuptial bedThe humble and fair seminary of peace.No question but many an unbeneficed scholarShall pray for you for this deed, and rejoiceThat some preferment in the world can yetArise from merit. The virgins of your landThat have no dowries shall hope your exampleWill raise them to rich husbands. Should you wantSoldiers, 'twould make the very Turks and MoorsTurn Christians, and serve you for this act.Last, the neglected poets of your time,In honour of this trophy of a man,Raised by that curious engine, your white hand,Shall thank you, in your grave, for't; and make thatMore reverend than all the cabinetsOf living princes. For Antonio.His fame shall likewise flow from many a pen,When heralds shall want coats to sell to men.Duch.As I taste comfort in this friendly speech,So would I find concealment.Bos.O, the secret of my prince,Which I will wear on the inside of my heart!Duch.You shall take charge of all my coin and jewels,And follow him; for he retires himselfTo Ancona.Bos.So.Duch.Whither, within few days,I mean to follow thee.Bos.Let me think:I would wish your grace to feign a pilgrimageTo our Lady of Loretto, scarce seven leaguesFrom fair Ancona; so may you departYour country with more honour, and your flightWill seem a princely progress, retainingYour usual train about you.Duch.Sir, your directionShall lead me by the hand.Cari.In my opinion,She were better progress to the baths at Lucca,Or go visit the SpaIn Germany; for, if you will believe me,I do not like this jesting with religion,This feignèd pilgrimage.Duch.Thou art a superstitious fool:Prepare us instantly for our departure.Past sorrows, let us moderately lament them;For those to come, seek wisely to prevent them.[ExeuntDuchessandCariola.Bos.A politician is the devil's quilted anvil;He fashions all sins on him, and the blowsAre never heard: he may work in a lady's chamber,As here for proof. What rests but I revealAll to my lord? O, this base qualityOf intelligencer! why, every quality i' the worldPrefers but gain or commendation:Now for this act I am certain to be raised,And men that paint weeds to the life are praised.[Exit.

EnterCardinal,Ferdinand, Malatesti, Pescara, Delio,andSilvio.

Card.Must we turn soldier, then?Mal.The emperor,Hearing your worth that way, ere you attainedThis reverend garment, joins you in commissionWith the right fortunate soldier the Marquis of Pescara,And the famous Lannoy.Card.He that had the honourOf taking the French king prisoner?[129]Mal.The same.Here's a plot[130]drawn for a new fortificationAt Naples.Ferd.This great Count Malatesti, I perceive,Hath got employment?Delio.No employment, my lord;A marginal note in the muster-book, that he isA voluntary lord.Ferd.He's no soldier.Delio.He has worn gunpowder in's hollow tooth for the toothache.Sil.He come to the leaguer[131]with a full intentTo eat fresh beef and garlic, means to stayTill the scent be gone, and straight return to court.Delio.He hath read all the late serviceAs the city chronicle relates it;And keeps two pewterers going, only to expressBattles in model.Sil.Then he'll fight by the book.Delio.By the almanac, I think,To choose good days and shun the critical;That's his mistress' scarf.Sil.Yes, he protestsHe would do much for that taffeta.Delio.I think he would run away from a battle,To save it from taking prisoner.Sil.He is horribly afraidGunpowder will spoil the perfume on't.Delio.I saw a Dutchman break his pate onceFor calling him pot-gun; he made his headHave a bore in't like a musket.Sil.I would he had made a touchhole to't.He is indeed a guarded[132]sumpter-cloth,Only for the remove of the court.

EnterBosola.

Pes.Bosola arrived! what should be the businessSome falling-out amongst the cardinals.These factions amongst great men, they are likeFoxes, when their heads are divided,They carry fire in their tails, and all the countryAbout them goes to wreck for't.

Sil.What's that Bosola?

Delio.I knew him in Padua—a fantastical scholar, like such who study to know how many knots was in Hercules' club, of what colour Achilles' beard was, or whether Hector were not troubled with the toothache. He hath studied himself half blear-eyed to know the true symmetry of Cæsar's nose by a shoeing-horn; and this he did to gain the name of a speculative man.

Pes.Mark Prince Ferdinand:A very salamander lives in's eye,To mock the eager violence of fire.

Sil.That cardinal hath made more bad faces with his oppression than ever Michael Angelo made good ones: he lifts up's nose, like a foul porpoise before a storm.

Pes.The Lord Ferdinand laughs.

Delio.Like a deadly cannonThat lightens ere it smokes.Pes.These are your true pangs of death,The pangs of life, that struggle with great statesmen.Delio.In such a deformed silence witches whisper their charms.Card.Doth she make religion her riding-hoodTo keep her from the sun and tempest?Ferd.That,That damns her. Methinks her fault and beauty,Blended together, show like leprosy,The whiter, the fouler. I make it a questionWhether her beggarly brats were ever christened.Card.I will instantly solicit the state of AnconaTo have them banished.Ferd.You are for Loretto:I shall not be at your ceremony; fare you well.—Write to the Duke of Malfi, my young nephewShe had by her first husband, and acquaint himWith's mother's honesty.

Bos.I will.

Ferd.Antonio!A slave that only smelled of ink and counters,And never in's life looked like a gentleman,But in the audit-time.—Go, go presently,Draw me out an hundred and fifty of our horse,And meet me at the fort-bridge.[Exeunt.

EnterTwo Pilgrims.

1st Pil.I have not seen a goodlier shrine than this;Yet I have visited many.2nd Pil.The Cardinal of ArragonIs this day to resign his cardinal's hat:His sister duchess likewise is arrivedTo pay her vow of pilgramage. I expectA noble ceremony.1st Pil.No question.—They come.

Here the ceremony of theCardinal'sinstalment, in the habit of a soldier, is performed by his delivering up his cross, hat, robes, and ring, at the shrine, and the investing of him with sword, helmet, shield, and spurs; thenAntonio,theDuchess,and their children, having presented themselves at the shrine, are, by a form of banishment in dumb-show expressed towards them by theCardinaland the state of Ancona, banished: during all which ceremony, this ditty is sung, to very solemn music, by divers churchmen.

Arms and honours deck thy story,To thy fame's eternal glory!Adverse fortune ever fly thee;No disastrous fate come nigh thee!I alone will sing thy praises,Whom to honour virtue raises;And thy study, that divine is,Bent to martial discipline is.Lay aside all those robes lie by thee;Crown thy arts with arms, they'll beautify thee.O worthy of worthiest name, adorned in this manner,Lead bravely thy forces on under war's warlike banner!O, mayst thou prove fortunate in all martial courses!Guide thou still by skill in arts and forces!Victory attend thee nigh, whilst fame sings loud thy powers;Triumphant conquest crown thy head, and blessings pour down showers![Exeunt all except theTwo Pilgrims.1st Pil.Here's a strange turn of state! who would have thoughtSo great a lady would have matched herselfUnto so mean a person? yet the cardinalBears himself much too cruel.2nd Pil.They are banished.1st Pil.But I would ask what power hath this stateOf Ancona to determine of a free prince?2nd Pit.They are a free state, sir, and her brother showedHow that the Pope, fore-hearing of her looseness,Hath seized into the protection of the churchThe dukedom which she held as dowager.1st Pil.But by what justice?2nd Pil.Sure, I think by none,Only her brother's instigation.1st Pil.What was it with such violence he tookOff from her finger?2nd Pil.'Twas her wedding-ring;Which he vowed shortly he would sacrificeTo his revenge.1st Pil.Alas, Antonio!If that a man be thrust into a well,No matter who sets hand to't, his own weightWill bring him sooner to the bottom. Come, let's hence.Fortune makes this conclusion general,All things do help the unhappy man to fall. [Exeunt.

EnterDuchess, Antonio, Children,Cariola,andServants.

Duch.Banished Ancona!Ant.Yes, you see what powerLightens in great men's breath.Duch.Is all our trainShrunk to this poor remainder?Ant.These poor men,Which have got little in your service, vowTo take your fortune: but your wiser buntings,Now they are fledged, are gone.Duch.They have done wisely.This puts me in mind of death: physicians thus,With their hands full of money, use to give o'erTheir patients.Ant.Right the fashion of the world:From decayed fortunes every flatterer shrinks;Men cease to build where the foundation sinks.Duch.I had a very strange dream to-night.Ant.What was't?Duch.Methought I wore my coronet of state,And on a sudden all the diamondsWere changed to pearls.Ant.My interpretationIs, you'll weep shortly; for to me the pearlsDo signify your tears.Duch.The birds that live i' the fieldOn the wild benefit of nature liveHappier than we; for they may choose their mates,And carol their sweet pleasures to the spring.

EnterBosolawith a letter.

Bos.You are happily o'erta'en.Duch.From my brother?Bos.Yes, from the Lord Ferdinand your brotherAll love and safety.Duch.Thou dost blanch mischief,Wouldst make it white. See, see, like to calm weatherAt sea before a tempest, false hearts speak fairTo those they intend most mischief. [Reads."Send Antonio to me; I want his head in a business."A politic equivocation!He doth not want your counsel, but your head;That is, he cannot sleep till you be dead.And here's another pitfall that's strewed o'erWith roses; mark it, 'tis a cunning one: [Reads."I stand engaged for your husband, for several debts at Naples: let not that trouble him; I had rather have his heart than his money:"—And I believe so too.Bos.What do you believe?Duch.That he so much distrusts my husband's love,He will by no means believe his heart is with himUntil he sees it: the devil is not cunning enoughTo circumvent us in riddles.Bos.Will you reject that noble and free leagueOf amity and love which I present you?Duch.Their league is like that of some politic kings,Only to make themselves of strength and powerTo be our after-ruin: tell them so.Bos.And what from you?Ant.Thus tell him; I will not come.Bos.And what of this?Ant.My brothers have dispersedBlood-hounds abroad; which till I hear are muzzled,No truce, though hatched with ne'er such politic skill,Is safe, that hangs upon our enemies' will.I'll not come at them.Bos.This proclaims your breeding:Every small thing draws a base mind to fear,As the adamant draws iron. Fare you well, sir:You shall shortly hear from's. [Exit.Duch.I suspect some ambush:Therefore by all my love I do conjure youTo take your eldest son, and fly towards Milan.Let us not venture all this poor remainderIn one unlucky bottom.Ant.You counsel safely.Best of my life, farewell, since we must part:Heaven hath a hand in't; but no otherwiseThan as some curious artist takes in sunderA clock or watch, when it is out of frame,To bring't in better order.Duch.I know not which is best,To see you dead, or part with you.—Farewell, boy:Thou art happy that thou hast not understandingTo know thy misery; for all our witAnd reading brings us to a truer senseOf sorrow.—In the eternal church, sir,I do hope we shall not part thus.Ant.O, be of comfort!Make patience a noble fortitude,And think not how unkindly we are used:Man, like to cassia, is proved best being bruised.Duch.Must I, like a slave-born Russian,Account it praise to suffer tyranny?And yet, O Heaven, thy heavy hand is in't!I have seen my little boy oft scourge his top,And compared myself to't: naught made me e'erGo right but Heaven's scourge-stick.Ant.Do not weep:Heaven fashioned us of nothing, and we striveTo bring ourselves to nothing.—Farewell, Cariola,And thy sweet armful.—If I do never see thee more,Be a good mother to your little ones,And save them from the tiger: fare you well.Duch.Let me look upon you once more, for that speechCame from a dying father: your kiss is colderThan that I have seen an holy anchoriteGive to a dead man's skull.Ant.My heart is turned to a heavy lump of lead,With which I sound my danger: fare you well.[ExeuntAntonioand hisSon.Duch.My laurel is all withered.Cari.Look, madam, what a troop of armèd menMake towards us.Duch.O, they are very welcome:When Fortune's wheel is over-charged with princes,The weight makes it move swift: I would have my ruinBe sudden.

Re-enterBosolavisarded, with aGuard.

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