University of Virginia Library

SCENE IV.

Prologue to them, and divers others, pressing to behold the Pastime, and incompassing Philander and Bellinda, who seat themselves: Polydor, Euphanes, Flamette, entring afterwards.
Pro.
VVe, whose due Affections move
Us to congratulate your Love,
Are come in Dance, to personate
The Emblem of a Lovers state;
As how wav'ring 'twixt Hopes and Fears
He stands distracted, till appears
The Mistresse of his soul and mind
To's love propitiously enclin'd,
When Hopes and Fears no more annoy,
But are converted all to Joy.

The Dance.
Expressing in its Figure all that formerly hath been declared under the abstract persons of Hope and Fear, with the Lover, & Fruition & Joy, with his Mistress, all six properly Habited, &c. Fear with doubtfull and trembling pace, Hope more confident; the Lover as he converts himself to th'one or th'other, participating their several Affections, till at the Entrance of his Mistress the Dance changes into a more sprightly Measure; at the end of the Dance, Enter Polydor distractedly, with Flamette.
Pol.
Can Joy be ne'r sincere, but still some grief
Be intermixt, to bitter all its sweets?
And is there nothing permanent here below,
But all, like th'Sea, perpetually must ebb and flow?
Away with all light jollity then, and lets
With heavy sorrow prepare to weep again.

Bel.
Alas! for what?

Pol.
For poor Philena, who yonder lies
A dying, or rather by this time dead,
The lamentablest spectacle was ever exhibited
On Fortun's Theater!

Bel.
Alack! alack, the woful day!

Pol.
to Euph. entring & off'ring to go out agen seeing Philander and Bellinda.
Nay, nay, draw nigh,
Know you that hand? read there,
Cruel as thou art, if thou canst without a tear,
And whē th'ast read it, thou must have a heart of stone
Or rather none at all, if't be not mollified with't,
By Philena's own hand writ 'twixt tears and blood,
Who, after thrice she had cried out on Euphanes
Name,—as if't were he, cruel he alone that kill'd her,
Poor Gentle soul she dyed.

Fla.
Cruel, barbarous Euphanes,
Nurs'd sure with Tygers milk, if a Tygers self
Were not the Damm of thee.

Eup.
What writes she here?
[reads.]

Farewel my best Euphanes, from her, who since she
cou'd not live thine, chose to die thine at least.
Philena.

—Hum!

Fla.
Now triumph in your victory,
And glory in your triumph, to have slain
An innocent Nymph, with scorn and with disdain,
So great a glory t'ye, as Euphanes name
'Mongst Nymphs and Virgins shall ever be the mark
Of infamy and shame, to shoot their hatreds at.

Bel.
But why defer we to seek her out, and see
If possibly there may be any remedy yet
To save her life?

Eup.
I am awak'd
By their reproaches, but much more
By somwhat here within, now lets me see
I was to blame to use her so cruelly,
And now I perceive, for all our corporal and
External sight, we nothing see, till Heaven
Do give our souls within Internal light—
And art thou dead for me, for me?
O extremity of love, beyond even life it self—
And shall I nothing do for thee again?
I, it shall be so, thou'st got the start
Of honour of me, but I may o'retake thee yet.

[Exit hastily]
Pamphilus.
Pam.
Not so fast I pray,
H'ad like to overthrown me,
And I'm little better than overthrown already—for
No Wenches! no Wenches! for love nor money;
Tis a hard case, this you'll say—but I'm
Well enough serv'd, I long'd for change of Pasture,
And see what's come on't,
I shall return home again nothing
But skin and bones—but no flesh at all to be got—
But soft, what's this?—
He spies Philena as she is discovered lying dead.
What another Moppet?
They shall catch me no more I'll warrant 'um,
They know what baits to lay for me it seems,
And would make a Gudgeon of me,
But I'll watch 'um well enough for that.