The History of Antonio and Mellida The first part |
The Play called Antonio and Mellida. Induction.
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 | The History of Antonio and Mellida |  |
The Play called Antonio and Mellida. Induction.
Enter Galeatzo, Piero, Alberto, Antonio, Forobosco, Balurdo, Matzagente, & Feliche, with parts in their hands: hauing cloakes cast ouer their apparell.
Come sirs, come: the musique will sounde
straight for entrance. Are yee readie, are
yee perfect?
Pier.
Faith, we can say our parts: but wee
are ignorant in what mould we must cast our Actors.
Albert.
Whome doe you personate?
Pie,
Piero, Duke of Venice.
Alb.
O, ho: then thus frame your exterior shape,
To hautie forme of elate maiestie;
As if you held the palsey shaking head
Of reeling chaunce, vnder your fortunes belt,
In strictest vassalage: growe big in thought,
As swolne with glory of succesfull armes.
Pie.
If that be all, feare not, Ile sute it right.
Who can not be proud, stroak vp the haire, and strut!
Al.
Truth: such ranke custome is growne popular;
And now the vulgar fashion strides as wide,
And stalkes as proud, vpon the weakest stilts
Of the slight'st fortunes, as if Hercules,
Or burly Atlas shouldred vp their state.
Pi.
Good: but whome act you?
Alb.
The necessitie of the play forceth me to act two
parts; Andrugio, the distressed Duke of Genoa, and
Alberto, a Venetian gentleman, enamoured on the Ladie
Rossaline: whose fortunes being too weake to sustaine
the port of her, he prou'd alwaies desastrous in
loue: his worth being much vnderpoised by the vneuen
stamp of opiniō.
Gal.
Wel, and what dost thou play?
Ba.
The part of all the world.
Alb.
The part of all the world? What's that?
Bal.
The foole. I in good deede law now, I play Balurdo,
a wealthie mountbanking Burgomasco's heire
of Venice.
Alb.
Ha, ha: one, whose foppish nature might seem
great, only for wise mens recreation; and, like a Iuicelesse
barke, to preserue the sap of more strenuous spirits.
A seruile hounde, that loues the sent of forerunning
fashion, like an emptie hollow vault, still giuing
an eccho to wit: greedily champing what any other
well valued iudgement had before hand shew'd.
Foro.
Ha, ha, ha: tolerably good, good faith sweet wag.
Alb.
Vmh, why tolerably good, good faith sweet wag?
Go, goe; you flatter me.
Foro.
Right, I but dispose my speach to the habit of
my part.
Alb.
Why, what plaies he?
To Feliche.
Fe.
The wolfe, that eats into the breast of Princes; that
breeds the Lethargy and falling sicknesse in honour;
makes Iustice looke asquint, and blinks the eye of merited
rewarde from viewing desertfull vertue.
Alb.
Whats all this Periphrasis? ha?
Fe.
The substance of a supple-chapt flatterer.
Alb.
O, doth he play Forobosco, the Parasite? Good ifaith.
Sirrah, you must seeme now as glib and straight
in outward semblance, as a Ladies buske; though inwardly,
as crosse as a paire of Tailors legs: hauing a
tongue as nimble as his needle, with seruile patches of
glauering flattery, to stitch vp the bracks of vnworthily
honourd.
I warrant you, I warrant you, you shall see mee
prooue the very Perewig to couer the balde pate of
brainelesse gentilitie.
Ho, I will so tickle the sense of bella gratiosa madonna,
with the titillation of Hyperbolicall praise, that Ile
strike it in the nick, in the very nick, chuck.
Fel.
Thou promisest more, than I hope any Spectator
giues faith of performance: but why looke you so
duskie? ha?
To Antonio.
Ant.
I was neuer worse fitted since the natiuitie of my
Actorshippe: I shalt be hist at, on my life now.
Fel.
Why, what must you play?
Ant.
Faith, I know not what: an Hermaphrodite; two
parts in one: my true person being Antonio, son to the
Duke of Genoa; though for the loue of Mellida, Pieros
daughter, I take this fained presence of an Amazon, calling
my selfe Florizell, and I know not what. I a voice
to play a lady! I shall nere doe it.
Al.
O, an Amazon should haue such a voice, virago-like.
Not play two parts in one? away, away: tis common
fashion. Nay if you cannot bear two subtle frōts
vnder one hood, Ideot goe by, goe by; off this worlds
stage. O times impuritie!
An.
I, but whē vse hath taught me actiō, to hit the right
point of a Ladies part, I shall growe ignorant when I
must turne young Prince againe, how but to trusse my
hose.
Fe.
Tush neuer put them off: for women weare the breaches still.
Mat.
By the bright honour of a Millanoise, and the resplendent
fulgor of this steele, I will defende the feminine
to death; and ding his spirit to the verge of hell,
that dares diuulge a Ladies preiudice.
Exit Ant. & Al.
Rampum scrampum, mount tuftie Tamburlaine.
What rattling thunder clappe breakes from his lips?
Alb.
O, 'tis natiue to his part. For, acting a moderne
Bragadoch vnder the person of Matzagente, the Duke of
Millaines sonne, it may seeme to suite with good fashion
of coherence.
Pie.
But me thinks he speakes with a spruce Attick accent
of adulterate Spanish.
Al.
So 'tis resolu'd. For, Millane being halfe Spanish,
halfe high Dutch, and halfe Italians, the blood of chifest
houses, is corrupt and mungrel'd: so that you shal
see a fellow vaine-glorious, for a Spaniard; gluttonous,
for a Dutchman; proud, for an Italian; and a fantastick
Ideot, for all. Such a one conceipt this Matzagente.
Fe.
But I haue a part allotted mee, which I haue neither
able apprehension to conceipt, nor what I conceipt
gratious abilitie to vtter.
Gal.
Whoop, in the old cut? good shew vs a draught of thy spirit.
Fel.
Tis steddie, and must seeme so impregnably
fortrest with his own cōtent, that no enuious thought
could euer inuade his spirit: neuer surueying any man
so vnmeasuredly happie, whome I thought not iustly
hatefull for some true impouerishment: neuer beholding
any fauour of Madam Felicity gracing another,
which his well bounded content perswaded not to
hang in the front of his owne fortune: and therefore
as farre from enuying any man, as he valued all men
infinitely distant from accomplisht beatitude. These
natiue adiuncts appropriate to me the name of Feliche.
But last, good thy humour.
Exit Alb.
A.
Tis to be describ'd by signes & tokens. For vnlesse I
were possest with a legiō of spirits, 'tis impossible to be made
take austere state, as for the person of Galeatzo, the
sonne of the duke of Florence, & possesse his exteriour
presence with a formall maiestie: keepe popularitie
in distance, and on the sudden fling his honour so prodigally
into a common Arme, that hee may seeme to
giue vp his indiscretion to the mercy of vulgar cēsure:
Now as solemne as a trauailer, and as graue as a Puritanes
ruffe: with the same breath as slight and scatterd
in his fashion as as as a a any thing. Now, as
sweet and neat as a Barbours casting-bottle; straight
as slouenly as the yeasty breast of an Ale-knight: now,
lamenting: then chafing: straight laughing: then
Feli.
What then?
Anto.
Faith I know not what: 'tad bene a right part
for Proteus or Gew: ho, blinde Gew would ha don't
rarely, rarely.
Feli.
I feare it is not possible to limme so many persons
in so small a tablet as the compasse of our playes
afford.
Anto.
Right: therefore I haue heard that those persons,
as he & you Feliche, that are but slightly drawen
in this Comedie, should receiue more exact accomplishment
in a second Part: which, if this obtaine gratious
acceptance, meanes to try his fortune.
Feli.
Peace, here comes the Prologue, cleare the
Stage.
Exeunt.
| The History of Antonio and Mellida | |