And consciences, that will not not die in debt,
Pay him the due of honey-tongu'd Boyet.

King. A blister on his sweet congue with my heart,
That put Armado's Fage out of bis Part !
Enter the Princess, Rosaline, Maria, Catharine, Boyet,

and attendants, Biron. See, where it comes; behaviour, what wert

thou,

'Till this man shew'd thee? and what art thou now? King. All hail, sweet Madam, and fair time of day!

Prin. Fair in all hail is foul, as I conceive. King. Construe my speeches better, if you may:

Prin. Then with me better, I will give you leave. King. We come to visit you, and purpose now

To lead you to our Court; vouchsafe it then. Prin. This field shall hold me, and so hold your vow:

Nor God, nor I, delight in perjur'd men. King. Rebuke me not for That, which you provoke;

The vertue of your eye must break my oath. « ftrate this Rule by the Example before us. A very complaisant,

finical, over-gracious Person was in our Author's time so commonly “ call'd a Flower, (or as he elsewhere ftyles it, the Pink of Courtefie.) “ that in common Talk, or in the lowest Style, it might be well used, “ without continuing the Discourse in the Terms of that Metaphor, but

turning them on the Person so denominated. And now I will give “ the Reason of my Rule. In the less-used Metaphors, our Mind is “ fo turn'd upon the Image which the Metaphor conveys, that it ex“ pects that that Image should be for a little time continued, by “ Terms proper to keep it up. But if, for want of these Terms, the

Image be no sooner presented, but dropt; the Mind suffers a • kind of Violence by being calld off unexpectedly and suddenly “ from its Contemplation : and from hence the broken, disjointed, and “ mixt Metaphor shocks us. But when the Metaphor is worn and

hickney'd by common Use, even the first Mention of it does not “ raise in the Mind the Image of it felf, but immediately presents the “ Idea of the Substance: And then to endeavour to continue the I

mage, and keep it up in the Mind by proper adapted Terms, “ would, on the other hand, have as ill an Effect; because the Mind “ is already gone off from the metaphorical Image to the Substance. “ Grammatical Criticks would do well to consider what has been here “ said, when they set upon amending Greek and Roman Writings. “For the much-used, hackney'd Metaphors in those Languages must

now be very imperfectly known : and consequently, without great Caution, they will be subject to act temerariously.

Prin. You nick-name virtue; vice you should have

spoke :
For virtue's office never breaks mens troth.
Now, by my maiden honour, yet as pure

As the unfully'd lilly, I proteft,
A world of torments though I should endure,

I would not yield to be your house's guest :
So much I hate a breaking cause to be
Of heav'nly oaths, vow'd with integrity.
King. O, you have liv'd in desolation here,

Unseen, unvisited, much to our shame.
Prin. Not so, my lord; it is not so, I swear;

We have had pastimes here, and pleasant game. A mess of Russians left us but of late.

King How, Madam? Russians ?

Prin. Ay, in truth, my lord ;
Trim gallants, full of courtship, and of state.

Refa. Madam, speak true. It is not so, my lord:
My lady (to the manner of the days)
In courtesie gives undeserving praise.
We four, indeed, confronted were with four,
In Rusian habit : here they stay'd' an hour,
And talk'd apace; and in that hour, my lord,
They did not bless us with one happy word.
I dare not call them fools; but this I think,
When they are thirsty, fools would fain have drink.

Biron. This jest is dry to me. Fair, gentle, sweet,
Your wit makes wise things foolish ; when we greet
With eyes beft seeing heaven's fiery, eye,
By light we lose light; your capacity
Is of that nature, as to your huge store
Wise things seem foolish, and rich things but poor.

Rofa. This proves you wise and rich; tor in my eye ---
Biron. I am a fool, and full of poverty.

Rofa. But that you take what doth to you belong, It were a fault to snatch words from my tongue.

Biron. O, I am yours, and all that I pofsels.
Rosa. All the fool mine?
Biron. I cannot give you

less.
Rofa. Which of the vizors was it, that you wore ?

Biron.

M 3

Biron. Where? when? what vizor? why demand

you this?

Rofa. There, then, thát 'vizor, that superfluous

Case, That hid the worse, and shew'd the better face. King. We are descried ; they'll mock us now down

right. Dum. Let us confess, and turn it to a jest. Prin. Amaz’d, my lord? why looks your Highness

sad? Rofa. Help, hold his brows, he'll swoon: why look

you pale? Sea-sick, I think, coming from Mufcovy. Biron. Thus pour the stars down plagues for Perjury.

Can any face of brass hold longer out? Here stand I, lady, dart thy skill at me;

Bruise me with scorn, confound me with a flout, Thrust thy sharp wit quite through my ignorance;

Cut me to pieces with thy keen conceit; And I will with thee never more to dance,

Nor never more in Ruffian habit wait. O! never will I trust to speeches pend,

Nor to the motion of a school-boy's tongue; Nor never.come in vizor to my friend,

Nor woo in rhime like a blind harper's fong; Taffata-phrases, silken terms precise,

Three-pil'd hyperboles, spruce affectation. Figures pedantical, these summer-flies,

Have blown me full of maggot oftentation, I do forswear them; and I here proteft,

By this white glove, (how. white the hand, God

knows!)
Henceforth my wooing mind shall be exprest

In russet yeas, and honest kersie noes :
And to begin, wench, so God help me, law,
My love to thee is sound, sans crack or flaw.

Rosa. Sans, sans, I pray you.

Biron. Yet I have a trick
Of the old rage : bear with me, I am fick.
I'll leave it by degrees : soft, let us sce;

to us.

Write, Lord have mercy on us, on those three;
They are infected, in their hearts it lyes ;
They have the plague, and caught it of your eyes:
There lords are visited, you are not free;
For the lord's tokens on you both I see.

Prin. No, they are free, that gave these tokens
Biron. Our states are forfeit, seek not to undo us.

Rofa. It is not so; for how can this be true,
That you stand forfeit, being those that sue ?

Biron. Peace, for I will not have to do with you.
Rofa. Nor Thall not, if I do as I intend.
Biron. Speak for your selves, my wit is at an end.
King. Teach us, sweet Madam, for our rude crans-

gression Some fair excuse.

Prin. The fairest is confeffion.
Were you not here, but even now, disguis’d?

King. Madam, I was.
Prin. And were you well advis'd?
King. I was, fair Madam.

Prin. When you then were here,
What did you whisper in your lady's car?
King. That more than all the world I did respect

her. Prin. When she shall challenge this, you will re

je& her. King. Upon mine honour, no.

Prin. Peace, peace, forbear: Your oath once broke, you force not to forswcar. King. Despise me, when I break this oath of minc.

Prin. I will, and therefore keep it. Rosaline, What did the Rusian whisper in your ear?

Rofa. Madam, he swore, that he did hold me dear As precious eye sight; and did value me Above this world, adding thereto moreover, That he would wed me, or else die my lover.

Prin. God give thee joy of him! the noble lord Moft honourably doth uphold his word.

King

M4

King. What mean you, Madam? by my life, my troth, I never swore this lady such an oath.

Rofa. By heav'n, you did ; and to confirm it plain, You gave me this: but take it, Sir, again.

King. My faith, and this, to th' Princess I did give; I knew her by this jewel on her sleeve.

Prin. Pardon me, Sir, this jewel did she wear:
And lord Biron, I thank him, is my Dear,
What? will you have me? or your pearl again?

Biron, Neither of either : I remit both twain.
I fee the trick on't; here was a consent,
(Knowing aforehand of our merriment)
To dash it like a Christmas comedy.
Some carry-tale, some please-man, some flight zany,
Some mumble-news, some trencher-knight, some Dick,
That smiles his cheek in jeers, and knows the trick (48)
To make my lady laugh, when she's disposid,
Told our intents before ; which once disclos'd,
The ladies did change Favours, and then we,
Following the signs, woo'd but the sign of she:
Now to our perjury to add more terror,
We are again forsworn, in will and error.
Much upon this it is. — And might not You [To Boyet.
Forestal our sport, to make us thus untrue?
Do not you know my lady's foot by th’squier,

And laugh upon the apple of her eye,
And stand between her back, Sir, and the fire,

Holding a trencher, jefting merrily?
You put our Page out: go, you are allow'd;
Die when you will, a smock shall be
You leer upon me, do you? there's an eye
Wounds like a leaden sword.

Boyet. Full merrily
Hath this brave Manage, this Career, been run.

Biron. Lo, he is tilting Itrait. Peace, I have done. (48) That smiles his Cheek in years,] Thus the whole Set of Impresfious : but I cannot for my Heart comprehend the Sense of this Phrase. 1 am perswaded, I have restor'd the Poet's Word and Meaning. Boyet's Character was That of a Fleerer, jeerer, mocker, carping Blade.

your fhrowd.

Enter