 | The Cheat |  |
SCENE I.
Enter BOY.Whene'er the gods decree a boy should be
A slave to a procurer, and especially
If he be basely treated too, it must
Be own'd, they heap misfortune and distress,
Great as I feel this present at my heart,
So wretched, so deplorable my servitude.
By miseries small and great of every kind
I am hemm'd in; nor can I find a friend
Who'll love me well enough to find the means
To keep me clean, or treat me with good cheer.
This is the birth-day of the pandar here,
And every mother's son from high to low
Who sends him not a present on this day,
He swears with threats, shall pay for it to-morrow.
Troth, in my case, I know not what to do.
Nor can I do like others who are able.
Unless I send some present here to-day,
I'm beaten like a fuller's cloth to-morrow.
356
In this affair? And how much, wretched I
Still dread this man—If any make a present
That feels more heavy in the hand than mine,
However hard and grudgingly they pay for it,
I seem, as 'twere, to grind my teeth with fear.
But I must keep my tongue within my teeth,
For here my master comes—With him a cook.
| The Cheat | |