And earth's base built on stubble.

let's on.

But come,

Against the opposing will and arm of heaven 600
May never this just sword be lifted up;

But for that damn'd magician, let him be girt
With all the grisly legions that troop

Under the sooty flag of Acheron,

Harpies and Hydras, or all the monstrous forms
'Twixt Africa and Ind, I'll find him out,
And force him to return his purchase back, what
Or drag him by the curls to a foul death,
Curs'd as his life.

SPIR. Alas! good vent'rous Youth,

a

I Henry II, 2, 1

610

I love thy courage yet, and bold emprise ;
But here thy sword can do thee little stead;
Far other arms and other weapons must
Be those that quell the might of hellish charms:
He with his bare wand can unthread thy joints,
And crumble all thy sinews.

1 BR. Why prithee, Shepherd,

How durst thou then thyself approach so near,
As to make this relation?

SPIR. Care and utmost shifts

How to secure the Lady from surprisal,

615

10

Brought to my mind a certain shepherd lad, iodate
Of small regard to see to, yet well skill'd
In every virtuous plant and healing herb,
That spreads her verdant leaf to th' morning ray:

804 sooty flag] P. Fletcher's Locusts, p. 58. (1627.)

'All hell run out, and sooty flagges display.' Todd.

He lov'd me well, and oft would beg me sing,
Which when I did, he on the tender grass
Would sit, and hearken e'en to ecstasy,
And in requital ope his leathern scrip,
And show me simples of a thousand names,
Telling their strange and vigorous faculties:
Amongst the rest a small unsightly root,
But of divine effect, he cull'd me out;
The leaf was darkish, and had prickles on it,
But in another country, as he said,

625

630

635

Bore a bright golden flow'r, but not in this soil:
Unknown, and like esteem'd, and the dull swain
Treads on it daily with his clouted shoon :
And yet more med'cinal is it than that moly
That Hermes once to wise Ulysses gave;
He call'd it hæmony, and gave it me,
And bad me keep it as of sovereign use
'Gainst all inchantments, mildew, blast, or damp,
Or ghastly furies' apparition.

I purs'd it up, but little reck'ning made,

636 moly] Golding's Ovid's Met. B. xiv. p. 170,

-a whyght

Faire flowre, whose roote is blacke, and of the Gods it moly

hyght.

Assurde by this, and heavenly hestes, he entred Circe's bowre,'

&c.

See Plin. N. Hist. xxv. c. 8, 4. Valen. viii. de fac. Simpl.
Med. p. 129. Sylvester's Du Bartas, p. 83.

637 wise] Valiant Welshman, by R. A. 1615.
-This precious soveraign herbe

That Mercury to wise Ulysses gave.'

Todd.

635 Clouts are then enarror platent vim officed with hot nail to

the erb- of the shoes off mites

Till now that this extremity compell'd:

But now I find it true; for by this means

I knew the foul inchanter though disguis'd, 645
Enter'd the very lime-twigs of his spells,

And yet came off: if have this about you,

you

like lypses

650 k

(As I will give you when we go) you may
Boldly assault the necromancer's hall;
Where if he be, with dauntless hardihood,
And brandish'd blade rush on him, break his glass,
And shed the luscious liquor on the ground,
But seize his wand; though he and his curs'd crew
Fierce sign of battle make, and menace high,
Or like the sons of Vulcan vomit smoke,
Yet will they soon retire, if he but shrink.

655

1 BR. Thyrsis, lead on apace, I'll follow thee, And some good Angel bear a shield before us.

The Scene changes to a stately palace, set out with all manner of deliciousness; soft music, tables spread with all dainties. CoмUs appears with his rabble, and the LADY set in an inchanted chair, to whom he offers his glass, which she puts by, and goes about to rise.

Coм. Nay, Lady, sit; if I but wave this wand,
651 rush] Ov. Metam. xiv. 293. Ulysses rushes on Circe.
-Intrat

Ille domum Circes, et ad insidiosa vocatus
Pocula, conantem virga mulcere capillos
Repulit; et stricto pavidam deterruit ense.

Warton.

Your nerves are all chain'd up in alabaster, 660
And you a statue, or as Daphne was
Root-bound, that fled Apollo.

LAD. Fool, do not boast,

Thou canst not touch the freedom of iny mind
With all thy charms, although this corporal rind
Thou hast immanacled, while heav'n sees good.
Coм. Why are you vext, Lady? why do you

frown?

Here dwell no frowns, nor anger; from these
gates

671

Sorrow flies far: See, here be all the pleasures
That fancy can beget on youthful thoughts,
When the fresh blood grows lively, and returns
Brisk as the April buds in primrose-season.
And first behold this cordial julep here,
That flames, and dances in his crystal bounds,
With spirits of balm, and fragrant syrups mix'd.
Not that Nepenthes, which the wife of Thone 675
In Egypt gave to Jove-born Helena,

Is of such pow'r to stir up joy as this,
To life so friendly, or so cool to thirst.
Why should you be so cruel to yourself

672 julep] Llewellyn's Poems, p. iii.

There no cold Julep can relieve
Those who in eternal fevers grieve.'

Sylvester's Du Bartas, p. 83.

I'll fetch a Julep for to cool your blood.'

679 cruel] Shaksp. Son. i.

Thyself thy foe, to thy sweet self so cruel.' Todd.

672 Julefs from the Persia reservater & злер

every from the

And to those dainty limbs which Nature lent 680
For gentle usage, and soft delicacy?

But you invert the covenants of her trust,

And harshly deal, like an ill borrower, contrast Measure for

With that which you receiv'd on other terms;
Scorning the unexempt condition

By which all mortal frailty must subsist,
Refreshment after toil, ease after pain,

That have been tir'd all day without repast,
And timely rest have wanted; but, fair Virgin,
This will restore all soon.

LAD. "Twill not, false traitor,

"Twill not restore the truth and honesty

685

690

That thou hast banish'd from thy tongue with lies.

Was this the Cottage, and the safe abode

Thou toldst me of? What grim aspects are these, both all
These ugly-headed monsters? Mercy guard me!
Hence with thy brew'd inchantments, foul de-

ceiver;

a

Hast thou betray'd my credulous innocence
With visor'd falsehood and base forgery? wearing
vizor to
conceal her farl
And would'st thou seek again to trap me here
With liquorish baits fit to ensnare a brute?
Were it a draft for Juno when she banquets,

700

I would not taste thy treasonous offer; none
But such as are good men can give good things,
And that which is not good, is not delicious
To a well-govern'd and wise appetite.

705

COм. O foolishness of men! that lend their

ears