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<DATE>2009-11-17</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>Simon Charles</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed</ITEM>
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<STC T="W">A3023</STC>
<BIBNO T="oclc">17807422</BIBNO>
<VID>106649</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>THE AMOURS OF Me&s;&s;alina Late Queen of <HI>ALBION.</HI> IN
WHICH. Are Briefly Couch'd, Secrets of the IMPOSTURE OF THE <HI>CAMBRION
Prince,</HI> THE <HI REND="blackletterType">Gothick League,</HI> And other
<HI>COURT INTRIGUES</HI> of the Four la&s;t Years Reign, not yet made
<HI>PUBLICK</HI></P>
<P>By a Woman of Quality, a late Confident of Q.
<HI>MESSALINA.</HI></P>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed for <HI>John Lyford,</HI> 1689.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="translator to the reader">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>THE TRANSLATOR TO THE READER.</HEAD>
<P>HAving Corre&s;pondance with a Gentleman, Re&s;ident in
<HI>Cologne,</HI> the Repo&s;itorum of all the Oppre&s;&s;ed Sub|jects of
<HI>Gothland,</HI> where they fir&s;t unload their Grievances and thence
di&s;per&s;e them all over <HI>Europe.</HI></P>
<P>Among other pieces of <HI>Curio&s;ity</HI> received from the
&s;aid <HI>Gentleman,</HI> were the&s;e few Sheets, pre&s;ented to him by the
Man who prints them, and from whom he has a promi&s;e of the <HI>Second
Part</HI> (that was ju&s;t putting to the Pre&s;s) and as &s;oon as printed
off, I may expect them by the fir&s;t <HI>Po&s;t;</HI> they bear the Title of
<HI>Les Amours de MESSELI|NA DERNIERE REINE d'ALBION,</HI> and pen'd, as the
Printer informs my Friend, by a <HI>Woman</HI> of <HI>Quality</HI> &s;ometimes
a Confident of <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> late Queen of <HI>Albion,</HI> and one
that has been very familiar with her in the mo&s;t &s;ecret Intrigues; but upon
&s;ome di&s;gu&s;t received &s;ince their Retirement to the <HI>Gothi&s;h
Court</HI> (proceeding, as is &s;up|po&s;ed, from the <HI>Haughty</HI> and
<HI>Intolerable Humour</HI> of the <HI>Queen</HI>) has thereupon left the
<HI>Court,</HI> and being very much out of Favour, is retir'd unto the
<HI>Electorate</HI> of <HI>Cologne,</HI> it &s;eems to carry the appearance of
an <HI>Hi&s;torical Novel,</HI> and contains mo&s;t of the <HI>Cabinet
Contrivances</HI> of the <HI>Court</HI> of <HI>Albion</HI> for the&s;e la&s;t
four Years, it lays open the Villainous Contrivances of the <HI>Pagan
Prie&s;ts,</HI> e&s;pecially Father <HI>Pedro</HI>'s, again&s;t the <HI>Peace
and Welfare</HI> of the <HI>Chri&s;tian Religion</HI> in that Kingdom; it
di&s;covers the Life of the late <HI>Queen,</HI> with her Project to intail
<HI>PO|PERY</HI> and <HI>SLAVERY</HI> on the <HI>Nation:</HI> It di&s;covers
the<PB REF="3"><HI>Mufties</HI> or <HI>High Prie&s;t,</HI> together with the
<HI>Antichri&s;tian</HI>-King of <HI>Gothland<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">s Intrigues,</HI> at lea&s;t to <HI>Imbroil</HI> if not totally to
<HI>Subvert</HI> the Power and Interest of all the <HI>Chri|&s;tian
Princes</HI> in <HI>Europe:</HI> It gives an Acoount of the Weak|ne&s;s and
Over&s;ight of the late King <HI>Lycognes,</HI> in &s;uffering him&s;elf
fir&s;t to be led by the No&s;e by <HI>Polydorus</HI> King of the
<HI>Gauls,</HI> afterwards to become his <HI>Pentioner,</HI> and to have as it
were his whole dependance <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">pon him:
As la&s;tly his <HI>Ungenerous</HI> and <HI>Cruel LEAGUE</HI> with the &s;aid
King, not only to de&s;troy or ruin all his own <HI>Chri&s;tian Subjects</HI>
but even to Exterpate what they are plea&s;ed to call the <HI>No|thern
Heri&s;ie</HI> from the Face of the <HI>Earth.</HI></P>
<P>It further &s;hews the <HI>wicked</HI> and <HI>unparallel'd</HI>
De&s;ign of the late <HI>Queen Me&s;&s;alina,</HI> to impo&s;e upon and wrong
the <HI>King</HI> her <HI>Husbands Children,</HI> two lovely
<HI>Prince&s;&s;e,</HI> of their <HI>Ju&s;t</HI> and <HI>Lawful
Preten&s;ions</HI> to the <HI>Crown</HI> of <HI>Albion.</HI></P>
<P><HI>P. S.</HI> While I was Correcting this <HI>Preface</HI> for
the <HI>Prin|ter,</HI> in order to its Immediate publication, the
<HI>Dutch</HI> Po&s;t-man brings my <HI>Forreign</HI> Letters, one of which is
from my <HI>Cologne</HI> Friend, in which is Inclo&s;ed the printed Sheets of
the <HI>Second Part,</HI> where (on a Cur&s;olary view of them) I find the
Intrigues of his <HI>Britti&s;h Highne&s;s</HI> layed open, &s;hewing (after
the failure of Count <HI>Davila</HI> and Fa|ther <HI>Pedro</HI>) the Secret
Intrigues of the <HI>WARMING-PAN;</HI> in which is briefly Couch'd the whole
management of that <HI>Impo&s;ture.</HI> With a New Amour that has lately
happen<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">d &s;ince the Courts
retirement into <HI>Gothland,</HI> be|tween King <HI>Polydorus</HI> and
<HI>Queen Me&s;&s;alina:</HI> Wherein are &s;everal Secrets of the <HI>Pagan
League</HI> not yet expos'd: But &s;uch is the over eagerne&s;s of the
<HI>Book&s;eller,</HI> that I cannot per&s;wade him to &s;top the publication
of this, but I am over per&s;waded to publi&s;h them in two <HI>Parts,</HI> as
they are in the <HI>Original.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 N="1" TYPE="part">
<PB N="7" REF="3">
<P>FAir <HI>Albion</HI> had for many years enjoy'd all the
plea&s;ures that Peace and Plenty could afford, and by a long di&s;continuance
from War, &s;eem'd to have degenerated from tho&s;e inclinations to Glory which
have been accounted natural to the People of that Famous I&s;land; the la&s;t
time they carry'd out their Victorious Arms, was again&s;t their Neigh|bours on
the <HI>Belgick</HI> Coa&s;ts, where after many &s;ig|nal proofs of Courage and
Ability on both &s;ides, the Quarrel proceeding chiefly from Emulation of each
others Power and Trade, a firm and la&s;ting Peace was concluded between them:
And now <HI>Brito|mardes</HI> the Second of that Name, King of <HI>Albion,</HI>
having again&s;t his natural di&s;po&s;ition been obliged to &s;pend the
fir&s;t and better part of his Youth in all tho&s;e hazards and difficulties
which a Civil War with|in the Bowels of his own Countrey, and a twelve Years
Exile abroad laid him open to, he at la&s;t, to his wonderful &s;atisfaction,
finds him&s;elf at liberty to follow the current of his own Humour, and
re|&s;olves to Sacrifice the remaining part of his Life to the &s;oft
temptations of Love and Plea&s;ure: But &s;ee the fallibility of Humane
Re&s;olutions, and how ea&s;ily Providence can di&s;appoint our firme&s;t
Ex|pectations, for though <HI>Britomardes</HI> knew how to improve his Minutes
of Love and Delight to as great advantage as any Prince in the World, yet he
could very rarely find him&s;elf di&s;engaged from tho&s;e weighty Cares that
nece&s;&s;arily attend the Thrones of Great Princes, or from the
apprehen&s;ions of &s;ome<PB N="8" REF="4">impending Dangers which the many
di&s;coveries of Plots and Con&s;piracies again&s;t his Life, imprinted in him:
He at la&s;t dying, without lawful I&s;&s;ue, <HI>Lyco|genes</HI> the Second,
his only Brother, &s;ucceeded, a Prince who in his Youth and Adver&s;ity gave
&s;o &s;ig|nal proofs of his Virtue and Gallantry, that he ren|der'd him&s;elf
the Admiration of Forreign Countries, and the Delight and Love of his own, but
(I know not by what unhappy Councels thereunto incited) after his coming to the
Crown of <HI>Albion,</HI> he com|mitted &s;o many Irregularities again&s;t even
the Peace and Safety of his own People, that they were obliged to call in
<HI>Anaximander,</HI> Prince of the <HI>Low Lands,</HI> to their
A&s;&s;i&s;tance to defend their Lives, which they affirm'd <HI>Lycogenes</HI>
had expos'd and &s;old to <HI>Po|lydorus</HI> King of the <HI>Gaules,</HI> and
to recover their Rights and Liberties which, &s;ay, they their King had
encroach'd upon and taken from them: <HI>Lycogenes</HI> had by his fir&s;t Wife
(who was Daughter to a No|ble Peer of <HI>Albion</HI>) two Lovely
Prince&s;&s;es to his Daughters, the Elde&s;t called <HI>Artemi&s;ia,</HI>
Married to <HI>Anaximander,</HI> the other <HI>Philadelphia,</HI> Married to
<HI>Polycrates</HI> the Northern Prince. His &s;econd Wife was
<HI>Me&s;&s;alina,</HI> Daughter of a <HI>Huge Prince</HI> in <HI>Italy,</HI>
and nearly Related to <HI>Boanerges</HI> the High-Prie&s;t, a Lady &s;ent by
Heaven to determine the Fate of Poor <HI>Lycogenes,</HI> and to ruine the
growing greatne&s;s of the <HI>Pagan Intere&s;t</HI> in the Kingdom of
<HI>Albion:</HI> She was, as to her Per&s;on, all that could be wi&s;ht in a
great Woman, &s;he had a Maje&s;tick, Lofty Carriage, black Hair, delicate
&s;parkling Eyes of the &s;ame Colour, a hand&s;ome No&s;e, her Mouth extreamly
pretty when &s;he &s;mil'd, her Face Oval, her Look demure and &s;ullen, except
when &s;he was in Company with her Favourites; &s;he was tall and well
&s;hap'd, and to<PB N="9" REF="4">tho&s;e who only look'd on her, &s;he made
lovely Fi|gure; &s;he took, according to the mode of her Coun|try, a great
delight in Mu&s;ick and Amour; Before her arrival at <HI>Albion,</HI> &s;he had
&s;pent part of her time in the Court of <HI>Gothland,</HI> where &s;he behav'd
her &s;elf with that Gallantry, and &s;o far in&s;inuated into the fa|vour of
that Court, that 'tis believ'd <HI>Lycogenes</HI> receiv'd his fir&s;t
recommendation of her from the King of the <HI>Gaules;</HI> &s;he look'd upon
the Nobility of <HI>Albion</HI> either too ju&s;t to their King, or too
unworthy of her Favours, to entru&s;t them with any part of her In|trigues, and
therefore &s;he cho&s;e to be beholding to the High-Prie&s;t and to
<HI>Polydorus,</HI> for Per&s;ons that might at once &s;erve both her Love and
Ambition; and though <HI>Lycogenes</HI> did all to oblige her, that a fond
over-weening Love could prompt a Man to, yet he found it more than a difficulty
many times to prevail with her to keep within &s;uch rules as were mo&s;t
agreeable to his Honour, and requi&s;ite for the Peace and Security of his
Kingdom; <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> af|ter <HI>Lycogenes</HI> Acce&s;&s;ion to the
Crown, upon the Height and Eminence of her new Station, &s;eem'd to have
receiv'd a new Air and Temper too; for during the Reign of <HI>Britomardes</HI>
(her <HI>Lycogenes</HI> then but a Subject) &s;he bore her Grandeur with that
uni|ver&s;al Complai&s;ance and Conde&s;cention, that po&s;&s;i|bly the Renown
of her Pridele&s;s Meen and Deport|ment, out-ran the very Fame of her Beauty,
and the &s;ame Poetick Raptures that daily Deified the one, built Altars too to
the other. All Tongues were full of her Prai&s;es, and there wanted not her
Applau&s;e even in all Corners of the World. But as if For|tune had tried to
match her own Mutability in that Change which the Advance to a Crown &s;oon
wrought through her whole Temper and Carriage; the<PB N="10" REF="5">Anointing
Drops &s;eem'd to have infu&s;ed &s;o &s;trange a Spirit of Ambition and
Haughtine&s;s, that her for|mer Deare&s;t Darlings and Favourites were then
thought &s;carce worthy the Honour of being her Va&s;|&s;als, in&s;omuch that
that Univer&s;al Quire that before had &s;o chanted her Prai&s;es, were all of
a &s;udden &s;truck dumb; whil&s;t the Exaltation of her Pride, with that of
her Glory, had infinitely rebated the edge of the late popular Veneration. But
as di&s;|gu&s;ted as &s;o haughty a Behaviour &s;oon made her, not only by the
People, but the very Courtiers of <HI>Albion;</HI> We are to con&s;ider 'twas
in the Days of her more humble State, and gentler Charms, that &s;he gain'd the
Heart of her <HI>Lycogenes.</HI> 'Tis true, as her Pride became a Fault,
however it brought one Vertue with it, in giving a Check to her former
In|clination to Intrigue; her &s;ometimes Favourites (upon her A&s;cent to a
Throne) being now a little removed to a Di&s;tance unworthy of Graces &s;o
&s;ub|lime. The long expected and long &s;igh'd for Day of her Imperial Dignity
being come, &s;he could not without abundance of Regret behold tho&s;e Wrinkles
Age had already made in the Face of her <HI>Lycogenes,</HI> &s;he would often
ruminate on the Sen&s;ible Decay Time and continual Cares had wrought in the
Strength and Vigour of the King her Husband, &s;he could not con&s;ider his
weak and &s;eldom Care&s;&s;es any otherwi&s;e than as <HI>Memento Mori</HI> to
her own Glory and Ambition; &s;he &s;aw many whom the unkind|ne&s;s, &s;hall I
&s;ay Inju&s;tice of <HI>Lycogenes</HI> had render'd cold and di&s;affected to
his Intere&s;t, gaping with ex|pectation of a &s;peedy Change; &s;he was not
in&s;en&s;i|ble that the moment of his Death would probably be the Eternity of
her Ruine, and that at lea&s;t her Ho|nour, if not her Life, would be
endangr'd; the&s;e<PB N="11" REF="5">Con&s;iderations would often perplex the
Mind of <HI>poor Me&s;&s;alina,</HI> and would often check lhe current of her
Joy even in the height of all her Glory.
<Q REND="inline">'What? would &s;he cry, 'mu&s;t this be the weak
Foundation whereon all my future Hopes mu&s;t re&s;t? Mu&s;t all my Glorious
Projects lean on the uncertain Secu|rity of a Feeble Husband's Life? Shall the
pre&s;ent po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of a Crown &s;eem &s;o to tran&s;port my Thoughts,
as to leave me carele&s;s of all future Contingencies, or &s;hall I think the
high Station of a Queen of <HI>Albion</HI> &s;o far above my Per&s;onal Me|rit,
that like a cheating Game&s;ter, I can be willing to refund, or lay down my
Royalty? No, no, <HI>Me&s;|&s;alina,</HI> think of the Grandeur of thy Mighty
Hou&s;e, think of thy yet but Blooming Youth and Beauty; but above all, think
of thy boundle&s;s lofty Soul, which will &s;ooner break than bend to the
lea&s;t de|rogation of thy Honour: Remember <HI>Boanerges,</HI> thy holy Patron
and Kin&s;man, and the Mighty <HI>Poly|dorus,</HI> do &s;omething worthy their
great Alliance &amp; Friend&s;hip: Remember the Eyes of all thy Sect ex|pect
thy wonderful Operations; and &s;ince the nece&s;|&s;ity of Time requires thy
&s;peedy Re&s;olutions, re|move boldly whatever dare ob&s;truct thy Will, and
let thy Orders have a &s;peedy execution.'</Q> Such were the extravagant
Thoughts of Unhappy <HI>Me&s;&s;alina,</HI> which were yet heightned afterwards
by the perni|cious Coun&s;els of Count <HI>Davila,</HI> and Father
<HI>Pedro,</HI> her two chief A&s;&s;i&s;tants in all her Con&s;ultations, and
&s;ent on purpo&s;e to work on the re&s;tle&s;s Humour of this Queen, by
<HI>Boanerges</HI> the High-Prie&s;t, to pro|mote the Intere&s;t of the Pagan
Faction in the King|dom of <HI>Albion.</HI> The&s;e two, according to their
In|&s;tructions, draw fir&s;t a Scheme of what they had to do, and then like
crafty Workmen, proceed to<PB N="12" REF="6">the Manner, Time, and Place for
the execution of their Projects; they &s;oon come to a determination of the
manner of their proceedings, for being &s;en|&s;ible of the main points whereon
all the Queens Sa|tisfaction &s;eem'd to depend; to wit, Amour and Religion,
(two things &s;o relative and reciprocal to each other all over <HI>Italy</HI>
and great part of <HI>Gaule,</HI> that you &s;hall &s;eldom &s;ee a Devotee
without the at|tendance of her <HI>Enamouratto,</HI> or a Man at his Prayers
without mingling &s;ome pithy Ejaculations to the Saint that kneels by him)
that they &s;eem'd to have little el&s;e to do than to make &s;ea&s;onable
applicati|ons to the Queens humour, as time and opportu|nity &s;hould give
leave. The Count was a tall &s;lender Man, well &s;hap'd, black Ey'd, and
quick, a large No&s;e, but thin Fac'd, facetious in his Di&s;|cour&s;e, and
after the Italian way Mu&s;ical; he had been well acquainted with
<HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> in <HI>Italy,</HI> and had without any &s;ignal rea&s;on
to de&s;pair, made &s;e|veral addre&s;&s;es of Love to her; He was de&s;ign'd
and &s;ent by the High Prie&s;t <HI>Boanerges,</HI> to make what efforts he
could on the well known Inclina|tions of <HI>Me&s;&s;alina,</HI> though he came
not &s;o well pro|vided but that it was generally thought the Queen defray'd
even the expence of his Court&s;hip: Father <HI>Pedro</HI> was to ply the other
weak &s;ide of <HI>Me&s;&s;a|lina,</HI> and by his In&s;inuations of an
implicit faith to be given to every thing, he &s;hould a&s;&s;ert &s;he was to
u&s;e her utmo&s;t power and influence with <HI>Lycogenes,</HI> to promote and
put in execution without re&s;erve, what&s;oever &s;hould be propo&s;ed as
advanta|gious to the <HI>Pagan</HI> Intere&s;t: This was the purport of their
Commi&s;&s;ions, which they were to manage with all the Di&s;cretion,
Secre&s;ie, and Expedition ima|ginable.</P>
<P><PB N="13" REF="6">The Queen happening to be indi&s;po&s;ed a
while after the Counts arrival at Court, he was nece&s;&s;ita|ted to defer the
payment of his private devoirs for four or five days, though the &s;atisfaction
her Ma|je&s;ty was plea&s;ed to expre&s;s for his arrival, was thought to add
much to her recovery; She let him know about a Week after his coming, &s;he was
wil|ling to receive his Vi&s;it that day after Dinner, and to avoid all
inconveniency that might ari&s;e from the multiplicity of Attendance at the
Pallace Royal, &s;he takes her Chair privately, and cro&s;&s;es over to St.
<HI>Jaques,</HI> a &s;mall half Mile from <HI>Alba Regalis,</HI> and re|tiring
into her Clo&s;et, &s;he with impatience waited the coming of the Count, having
before given Orders to admit him without Ceremony; the Count by what
mi&s;chance detained is uncertain, came not till two hours after the time
appointed, and being conducted by <HI>A&s;pa&s;ia,</HI> one of the Queens Women
to the Clo&s;et door, went in, and found <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> thrown upon a
Couch fa&s;t a&s;leep, whereupon he &s;top'd, and being about to withdraw, the
Queen awoke, and perceiving the Count, &s;he &s;tarted up in &s;ome &s;eeming
di&s;order: The Count fearing &s;he was di&s;plea&s;ed to have been &s;een in
that po&s;ture, was in great confu&s;ion whether to &s;tay or go, till the
Queen making up to him, &s;aid,
<Q REND="inline">'My Lord, this is a piece of Gallantry in you
extraordinary, to make a Lady wait thus long for your attendance; I know not
how you will be able to acquit your &s;elf from the ju&s;tice of my
re&s;entment, of which hereto|fore you have expre&s;&s;ed great
apprehen&s;ions:'</Q> The Count was &s;o aba&s;h'd at this &s;hort but &s;evere
repri|mand, that for a great while he could not make any reply; but at la&s;t
coming to him&s;elf he fell on his Knees and humbly implored her Maje&s;ties
Pardon, telling<PB N="14" REF="7">her he hop'd Her Maje&s;ty was not now to be
con|vinc'd of his readine&s;s to &s;erve her with the utmo&s;t faculty of his
Soul; that &s;he could not be in&s;en&s;i|ble that the fir&s;t time he had had
the honour to &s;ee her in her own Country, he had made &s;o entire a
re&s;ignation of him&s;elf and his intere&s;t to her will and plea&s;ure, that
it was not now in his power to de|&s;ign any thing repugnant to her
&s;atisfaction, that he was too &s;en&s;ible of her Ju&s;tice, to believe that
one unfortunate error was able to blot out the remem|brance of a thou&s;and
demon&s;trations pa&s;t of the profound re&s;pect he always thought due to her;
that he hop'd his hearty repentance for this, would in|duce her not only to
confirm his Pardon for the pre&s;ent, but to give him a&s;&s;urance of her good
will for the future: The Queen who all this while with the greate&s;t
&s;atisfaction imaginable, had heard the Count thus zealous in his Apology for
an errour, &s;he had re&s;olved with a great deal le&s;s difficulty to have
pardoned, &s;tretching out her hand to the Count, told him roundly that &s;he
was &s;ufficiently &s;atisfied of his good inclinations towards her, that
be&s;ides the recommendation of her Kin&s;man the High-Prie&s;t, his own
per&s;onal merit had &s;o wrought on her opi|nion, as to make her re&s;olve to
commit a Secret of the greate&s;t importance to her Intere&s;t, that could be,
to his management and di&s;cretion, that as &s;he did already believe the
&s;incerity of his Prote&s;ta|tions, &s;o &s;he doubted the nece&s;&s;ity of
her Affairs, would in a little time cau&s;e her to exact his perfor|mance: The
Count was about to reply, when Madam Marchione&s;s <HI>de Tomazo,</HI> the
Queens chief Confident, and Father <HI>Pedro,</HI> were come into the
withdrawing Room, and advancing up to the Clo|&s;et, the Queen bid them enter,
where after the u|&s;ual<PB N="15" REF="7">Ceremony they fall into a deep
Con&s;ultation, the matter before them, was the means of advan|cing the Pagan
Intere&s;t throughout <HI>Albion,</HI> and next the &s;atisfaction of
<HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI>'s Ambition, as to her continuance in the Regency in
ca&s;e <HI>Lycogenes</HI> (which was very much fear'd) &s;hould in a &s;hort
time fail; they were each preparing to deliver their Opinion in this weighty
Affair, when news was brought that the King waited for <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI>'s
Company, to make a vi&s;it to the Queen Dowager; <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> before
&s;he departed, gave them in Charge to deliver in Writing to her &s;elf, within
three days, their Opini|ons &s;everally, and told them that within three days
more &s;he would have another Con&s;ult, wherein &s;he hoped they would come to
a final Re&s;olution: The Queen being gone, the&s;e three fell to deliberation
on the points already propo&s;ed; after a great many Arguments they conclude,
that nothing but the Queens having a Son, could in any humane pro|bability
&s;ecure both the Queens Power, and the Grandeur of their <HI>Diana</HI> and
her Temples in <HI>Albion</HI> after the death of <HI>L<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">cogenes;</HI> for &s;uppo&s;ing, &s;aid they, (which is
very much doubted) that <HI>Lycogenes</HI> live to bring in either by Fraud or
Arbitrary Power, the <HI>Pagans</HI> Religion in his own time, yet the root it
will take will be &s;o &s;lender and &s;hallow, that one breath of the next
Succe&s;&s;or (being a Chri&s;tian) will be able to bla&s;t it, and in the mean
time there will be no provi&s;ion made for the Queens &s;atisfaction; and alas!
cries the Marchione&s;s, the Queen can no more hope for a young Son from
<HI>Lycogenes</HI> now, than I can for a young Set of Teeth at three&s;core;
the Count &s;mil'd to him&s;elf at the quaintne&s;s of the Expre&s;&s;ion, and
as he gue&s;s'd at what her di&s;cour&s;e did tend to, &s;o he could not but be
glad that &s;he<PB N="16" REF="8">had fir&s;t broke the Ice: I pre&s;ume,
&s;aid Father <HI>Pedro,</HI> (addre&s;&s;ing him&s;elf to the Lady) her
Ma|je&s;ty upon a due Con&s;ideration of the Premi&s;es will not be offended at
what &s;hall be propo&s;ed by her Friends in order to her future as well as
pre&s;ent &s;atisfaction, and becau&s;e things of this nature may better be
imparted to the Queen, by your Ladi&s;hip than by us, we &s;hall refer our
thoughts of this point to your Ladi&s;hips management: Upon this they parted,
and the Count repairing to his Lodging, fell a ruminating on that days
Tran&s;actions, he be|gan to think his Ma&s;ter the High-Prie&s;t's
bu&s;ine&s;s would come on very favourably; nor did he &s;ee any great rea&s;on
to de&s;pair of &s;ome &s;ucce&s;s in his own Amour, he con&s;ider'd how
obligingly <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> had entertain'd him in the Clo&s;et, and
began to make &s;ome random Conjectures of what &s;he &s;aid &s;he had to
deliver to him, he remember'd the reports that had been given about Town
concerning him&s;elf, and how that the Queen had been plea&s;ed to &s;ay once,
&s;he believed Count <HI>Davila</HI> to be as capable of win|ning a Ladies
Favours as any man in <HI>Europe;</HI> he call'd to mind the Character
<HI>M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;&s;alina</HI> went under in
<HI>Italy,</HI> upon the account of the young Baron of
<HI>Sanctifor&eacute;,</HI> a Gentleman that was generally thought to have made
<HI>Effectual</HI> Love to her; he could ea&s;ily gue&s;s what entertainment
&s;he had with the King her Husband, who be&s;ide a failing contracted in his
youth, had the heavy burthen of age and cares lying on him; he knew the Queen
young and vigorous, and that the mi&s;tru&s;t &s;he had of the No|bility of
<HI>Albion</HI> in all probability, did re&s;train her from making any advances
of Intrigue or Amour with any of them; the&s;e and the like con&s;iderati|ons
made him re&s;olve to &s;ound <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI>'s inclina|tions
<PB N="17" REF="8">with the fir&s;t opportunity, and in the mean time to
pre&s;s her to come to a re&s;olution concern|ing his Ma&s;ter. The next Night
Father <HI>Pedro</HI> meets <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> retiring into her
Bed-chamber after Play, and the Queen &s;topping, asked what they had done in
her bu&s;ine&s;s? <HI>Pedro</HI> told her he thought the Mar|chione&s;s had ere
this imparted their Opinions to her Maje&s;ty, and implored her Maje&s;ty not
to be offended with the freedom of their thoughts, &s;ince the pre&s;ent State
of Affairs could not po&s;&s;ibly admit of any milder Re&s;olutions, he laid
before her the in|&s;tability of her Fortune, the danger of her Per&s;on, the
Age of <HI>Lycogenes,</HI> his Weakne&s;s, and Imperfe|ction; he pre&s;t her to
con&s;ider the merit of the thing, and how it would for ever advance the
In|tere&s;t of their Temples in <HI>Albion,</HI> and when &s;he objected her
Honour and Credit, he told her, her Station was above even Su&s;picion, for
<HI>who dur&s;t peep into the Cabinets of Princes?</HI> He told her he could
propo&s;e methods as &s;ecret as plea&s;ant, and begg'd her not to defer a
matter of &s;uch con&s;e|quence, and which he fear'd every day might de|termine
and make void: <HI>Me&s;&s;alina,</HI> who&s;e natu|ral temper had bean long
check'd by the &s;tiff rules of Maje&s;ty and Greatne&s;s, began now to
&s;often and melt at the pathetick Arguments of Father <HI>Pedro,</HI> and
eagerly gra&s;ping him by the hand, told him, <HI>That if ever &s;he could
conde&s;cend to any part of his di&s;|cour&s;e, it mu&s;t be upon
con&s;iderations more weighty than any of plea&s;ure; That &s;he wi&s;h'd &s;he
could live to &s;ee her Religion Re-e&s;tabli&s;hed, and a Son of her own
plac'd in the Throne of</HI> Albion; <HI>That &s;he could not in|deed without a
great deal of trouble con&s;ider the faint Care&s;&s;es and weak Efforts of the
King her Husband; and confe&s;s'd, that though Glory and Greatne&s;s had
<PB N="18" REF="9">gain'd the a&s;cendent of her heart, yet &s;he could not
without a great deal of regret, re&s;olve to bid d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">fiance to all the other &s;atisfactions of l<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">fe; That though the high Quality of</HI>
Lycogenes <HI>had rai&s;ed her heart a|bove the common Rank, yet &s;he could
not perceive but &s;he was &s;till &s;ubject to the common Failings of Fle&s;h
and Blood:</HI> The la&s;civious Prie&s;t, who all this while was tickling
him&s;elf with the coming Temper of <HI>Me&s;&s;alina,</HI> &s;uppo&s;ing he
had now rais'd her fancy, to the very Critical point indeed was re&s;olv'd to
pre&s;s the Di&s;cour&s;e home; but &s;ome of the Ladies of the Bed-Chamber
coming up, the Queen with|out any more words, walk'd forward into her
Bed-Chamber; Father <HI>Pedro</HI> at the &s;ame time retiring &s;omthing
di&s;&s;atisfied with his &s;uppo&s;ed di&s;appoint|ment, was making what way
he could to his Lodg|ings, but judging it not very late by the Company he &s;aw
yet &s;tirring in the Court, he re&s;olv'd to take a turn or two in the
Galleries that lead to the de|&s;cent into the <HI>Forre&s;t</HI> of St.
<HI>Jaques;</HI> he had ju&s;t turn'd the Corner of the fir&s;t Gallery, when a
Young Lady makes up to him with all the ha&s;te and &s;eeming Concern
imaginable: <HI>O Sir,</HI> &s;ays &s;he, <HI>my Lady has been in Bed almo&s;t
this hour, and wonders extreamly what &s;hould detain you &s;o long, the Clock
has &s;truck One, and all the Court almo&s;t are in Bed: Here, Sir, I be&s;eech
you, take the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, the Candle is in
the</HI> Lobby; <HI>make as little noi&s;e as may be; you need not lock the
Door; I'le but ju&s;t &s;tep to the Coun|te&s;s of</HI> Thunderlands
<HI>Lodging, and will be back in half an hour. Pedro</HI> was extreamly
&s;tartled at this Adventure, but judging (as indeed it was) &s;ome Amorous
A&s;&s;ignation, and his Spirits, by <HI>Me&s;&s;a|lina</HI>'s Charming
Di&s;cour&s;e, being a little before rais'd, he was re&s;olv'd to fill up the
vacant place,<PB N="19" REF="9">and an&s;wer the Longing Ladies expectation; he
was confident the Man de&s;ign'd mu&s;t be one of his own Tribe, for by the
little glimmering of the di&s;tant Lights, he was &s;ure the Maid could not
mi&s;|take their Garbes, all that troubled him was to find the right Door, if
the Maid &s;hould have gone be|fore &s;he had open'd it, and he dur&s;t not ask
her Ladies Name for fear of &s;u&s;picion: In &s;hort, he tells the Maid
&s;oftly, <HI>She mu&s;t go back with him a little, for that he had &s;ome
Bu&s;ine&s;s of Importance to leave with her till morning;</HI> The Maid
readily returns, and being ju&s;t come to the Door, <HI>he bids her make what
ha&s;te &s;he could back, and he would defer his Bu&s;ine&s;s till then.</HI>
The Maid being gone, he opens the door and perceives they were of
<HI>A&s;pa&s;ia</HI>'s Lodgings, ano|ther of the Queens Confidents, and Wife to
<HI>Latroon</HI> an <HI>Iberian</HI> Count, and lately made Viceroy of that
Kingdom by King <HI>Lycogenes. Pedro</HI> was well ac|quainted with the Lady,
and remembred that Fa|ther <HI>Seba&s;tian</HI> was reported to be very
intimate with her. <HI>A&s;pa&s;ia</HI> was about the Thirty fourth Year of her
Age, was always very Fair, had large Grey Eyes, very langui&s;hing and &s;weet,
&s;he had a very fine Carriage, <HI>debonaire</HI> in her Conver&s;ation, and
Witty, a huge lover of Intrigues, and in&s;atiate in her Wantonne&s;s; She had
formerly been Lov'd by <HI>Polydorus</HI> King of the <HI>Gauls;</HI> as al&s;o
by King <HI>Ly|cogenes,</HI> by whom &s;he was fir&s;t recommended to
<HI>Latroon</HI> for a Wife; She &s;eem'd to be the right hand of
<HI>Me&s;&s;alina,</HI> who would unload her mo&s;t &s;ecret Thoughts in her
Bo&s;om; She was a great Bigot in Pagani&s;m, and would often boa&s;t of the
Vertues and good Nature of the Pagan Prie&s;ts; She had, as it &s;eems, been
often Charm'd with the Conver&s;ation of Father <HI>Seba&s;tian,</HI> and had
<PB N="20" REF="10">that night, appointed him to come to her Cham|ber; Father
<HI>Pedro</HI> knowing the Lodgings, &s;huts the Door, and immediately repairs,
without Light, to <HI>A&s;pa&s;ia</HI>'s Bed, who by this time, with long
Expectation, was fallen into a &s;oft &s;lumber; he locks the Door of her
Bed-Chamber, and without &s;tay, undre&s;&s;ing, &s;teals &s;oftly in, and
cla&s;ping <HI>A&s;pa&s;ia</HI> in his Arms, &s;he pre&s;ently wakes;
Madamoi&s;elle <HI>de Elvira</HI>'s Beds head was near to
<HI>A&s;pa&s;ia</HI>'s, and &s;eparated only by a &s;light parti|tion, which
obliged them to whi&s;per low; <HI>A&s;pa|&s;ia</HI> fell a Cliding the
&s;uppos'd <HI>Seba&s;tian</HI> for his &s;tay, and Wantonly tells him, <HI>he
ought not to have made her &s;uffer Pennance before &s;he had committed the
Sin;</HI> he an&s;wers her with Ki&s;&s;es and repeated Ca|re&s;&s;es, and in
the intervals of their Amours, would whi&s;per and chat of all the little
Intrigues about the Court; Father <HI>Pedro</HI> asks her <HI>how the Queen
far'd, and whether</HI> Lycogenes <HI>had as yet been able to give her any
a&s;&s;urance of a Son and Heir?</HI> A&s;pa|&s;ia &s;ighing Replyes;
<Q REND="inline">'Alack! <HI>Lycogenes</HI> his mi&s;|fortune,
together with <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI>'s &s;evere Vertue, &s;he was afraid, would
go near to ruine the faire&s;t Hopes that ever the Pagans in <HI>Albion</HI>
had, or would have while the Sun &s;hone; and that un|le&s;s &s;ome &s;peedy
Application and Remedy be us'd, that glimmering Light, which by the influence
of <HI>Lycogenes</HI> they did at pre&s;ent enjoy, would with his Fall, be
turn'd into everla&s;ting Dark|ne&s;s: I know, my Dear <HI>Seba&s;tian,</HI>
&s;aid &s;he, that <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI>'s haughty Spirit alone, retards the
Complement of all our Hopes: She has all the common Frailties of our Sex; She
Loves, and &s;he Confe&s;&s;eth too, and yet her mighty Pride re|&s;trains her
Inclination: She la&s;t Night &s;aw Count<PB N="21" REF="10"><HI>Davila</HI>
pa&s;s by, when in a &s;ort of Fxta&s;ie, &s;he gra&s;p'd me eagerly, and
cry'd; <HI>Look, there's the Count,</HI> A&s;pa&s;ia: 'And when the King once
pre&s;t her to retire with him to Bed, &s;he turns to me, &amp; &s;igh|ing,
&s;aid, <HI>We are going to &s;leep,</HI> A&s;pa&s;ia.'</Q> Nothing could add
more to the &s;atisfaction of Father <HI>Pe|dro,</HI> than this knowledge of
the Queens Inclina|tion; and though he had not been mentioned by
<HI>A&s;pa&s;ia</HI> to be any way in the Queens Thoughts, he was re&s;olv'd,
to pu&s;h on his own Fortune, to watch the Counts &s;teps, and to come in, if
po&s;|&s;ibly, with him for a &s;hare in the Booty: <HI>A&s;pa&s;ia</HI>'s Maid
in the mean time being come back, and &s;up|po&s;ing <HI>Seba&s;tian</HI> and
her Lady &s;afe together, was preparing her &s;elf for Bed; &s;he was ju&s;t
putting out the Candle when &s;he heard a &s;mall knock|ing at the outward
Door; but &s;uppo&s;ing it to be only &s;ome of the Counte&s;s of
<HI>Thunderlands</HI> Maids, con&s;idering &s;he was to wake betimes to let out
Father <HI>Seba&s;tian,</HI> &s;he laid her &s;elf down without an&s;wering:
The two Lovers, who by this time had trodden all the &s;ecret paths of Love,
were now at length di&s;po&s;ing them&s;elves to &s;leep:
<HI>A&s;|pa&s;ia,</HI> who&s;e thoughts were pleas'd with this En|joyment of
her &s;uppos'd <HI>Seba&s;tian,</HI> was quickly wrapt in Dream and gentle
&s;lumbers; but Father <HI>Pedro</HI> was kept awake with the cares of
manage|ing this Nights Intrigue; he was one while think|ing to ri&s;e &s;oftly
and get off without di&s;covery, another while he hop'd by this accident, to
ren|der <HI>A&s;pa&s;ia</HI> in&s;trumental and a&s;&s;i&s;tant to his
de|&s;ign with the Queen; he fear'd not any thing from <HI>Seba&s;tian</HI>'s
di&s;covery, &s;ince his Fortune was in his power; be&s;ides,
<HI>A&s;pa&s;ia,</HI> for her own &s;ake, would be &s;ilent in the matter; &s;o
that at la&s;t he re|&s;olves<PB N="22" REF="11">to &s;tand it out, and without
any more con|cern, turns him&s;elf about to his re&s;t: In the morning early
<HI>Cleone, A&s;pa&s;ia</HI>'s tru&s;ty Maid, gets up, and gives the &s;ignal
at her Ladies door, to the &s;uppos'd <HI>Seba&s;tian</HI> to ri&s;e; Father
<HI>Pedro</HI> had taken care over night to draw the Curtains clo&s;e about,
and cla&s;ping <HI>A&s;pa&s;ia</HI> in his Arms, he tells her <HI>he was
mightily di&s;turb'd in his &s;leep with a Dream concerning Father</HI> Pedro:
<Q REND="inline">'Now you &s;peak of Fa|ther <HI>Pedro,</HI>
cries <HI>A&s;pa&s;ia,</HI> I can tell you, that of late he is mightily in
favour with <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> and the Count, and he &s;eems to &s;hare all
the favours of her good opinion; and to &s;peak the truth, Father
<HI>Pedro</HI> has all the qualifications in the World, that may be requi&s;ite
for the Conque&s;t of the mo&s;t &s;tubborn Ladies heart; for be&s;ides the
advantages of a comely Face and Per&s;on, he has &s;o many pretty ways of
in&s;inuating love and friend|&s;hip, that the Queen her &s;elf has told
me,'</Q> <HI>That next to Count</HI> Davila, <HI>&s;he did not know a Per&s;on
in the World &s;o charmin<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter"> in his
Conver&s;ation as Father Pedro:</HI>
<Q REND="inline">'You &s;peak, reply'd the &s;uppos'd
<HI>Seba&s;tian,</HI> &s;o feelingly of the Merit of Father <HI>Pedro,</HI>
that I have rea&s;on to fear and re&s;ent him as a Rival; and I can hardly
a&s;&s;ure my &s;elf I have rea&s;on to boa&s;t of your Favours, till I can
hear you &s;peak with more indifferency of him. But tell me, my Dear
<HI>A&s;pa&s;ia,</HI> &s;ays he, How long have you ob&s;erv'd
<HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI>'s &s;o advantagious Opinion and Character of Father
<HI>Pedro;</HI> the Count, in|deed, as well for his former acquaintance in
<HI>Italy,</HI> as for the Character he bears of the High-Prie&s;t's Legate
here, may give him a pretence to &s;ome &s;mall &s;hare in
<HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI>'s thoughts; but as there<PB N="23" REF="11">can be no
&s;uch rea&s;on on the other &s;ide, &s;o I cannot but wonder, by what Charm
Father <HI>Pedro</HI> could &s;o of a &s;uddain advance him&s;elf into the
favour of the Queen:'</Q> <HI>Ask me no more, my Dear, replies</HI>
A&s;pa&s;ia, <HI>to tell what I am both by Honour and Intere&s;t obiged to
conceal, and a&s;&s;ure thy &s;elf that the &s;ame motive that induceth the
Queen to re&s;pect Father</HI> Pedro, <HI>will oblige Father</HI> Pedro <HI>to
be both thy Friends and mine, and all of our Profe&s;&s;ion:</HI>
<Q REND="inline">'Accept then, Dear <HI>A&s;pa&s;ia,</HI> frome
this moment, &s;ays he, <HI>Pedro's</HI> a&s;&s;ured Love and Friend&s;hip;
<HI>Pedro</HI> can ne'r forget the favours of this night, Favours by Fate
de&s;ign'd alone for <HI>Pedro.</HI>'</Q> At the pronouncing the&s;e la&s;t
words, he rais'd his Voice a little, and withdrawing the Curt|ains, he at once
di&s;cover'd the Counterfeit <HI>Seba&s;tain,</HI> and the real <HI>Pedro.
A&s;pa&s;ia,</HI> who at the latter part of his Words, had perceiv'd not only
the Deceit, but the Deceiver, &s;eem'd to be in the greate&s;t con|fu&s;ion
imaginable, till Father <HI>Pedro</HI> fir&s;t imploring her pardon, told her,
<HI>He was extreamly &s;orry, if he rob'd her of the &s;atisfaction of a more
worthy Bedfellow, that Fortune, and her Maids unwitting importunity, had
prevail'd with him to lay hold of, and improve that lukie minuite which his
inclination, though with de&s;pair, had often made him wi&s;h for, that by his
future endea|vours and &s;ervices, he hop'd to make her &s;en&s;ible that</HI>
Seba<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">tian <HI>was was not the only
Man in the World worthy of her favours; and in the mean time he beg'd her
im|partially to con&s;ider whether it could be in the power of Man to re&s;ist
&s;o powerful Temptations, as yielding Beau|ty and per&s;wa&s;ive Opportunity.
A&s;pa&s;ia</HI> having with abundance of Patience heard the wanton Prie&s;t's
Apo|logy, had by this time very well recover'd out of her amazement, and having
fir&s;t reflected on the good Behaviour of the Prie&s;t in Bed, and the bad
con|&s;equences that ari&s;e from a di&s;covery of this Nights
<PB N="24" REF="12">Intrigue, &s;he thought it her be&s;t way to make a virtue
of nece&s;&s;ity, and clo&s;e with the Prie&s;t without farther jangling, &s;he
remember'd the Character &s;he her &s;elf had given him, and had now
experimented the height of his perfections, &s;he could not perceive her &s;elf
a lo&s;er by the change, nay, rather &s;he had all the advantage of the
bargain, nor could the &s;trang|ne&s;s of the Accident Afflict her, &s;ince the
&s;atisfaction of her life lay chiefly in Intrigues; having briefly run over
the&s;e con&s;iderations to her &s;elf, &s;he turns her &s;elf with a great
deal of a&s;&s;urance to her Lover, and throwing her Arm about his Neck, &s;he
tells him, that &s;ince he had been an Ear Witne&s;s of her good Opinion of
him, &s;he thought it now to no purpo&s;e to di&s;&s;emble; that though &s;he
had not de&s;ign'd her favours for him at that time, yet &s;he was too well
&s;atisfied of his merrit to find fault with the error; that if &s;he
apprehended any misfortune to her &s;elf, it was her fear that he had not found
the trea&s;ure an&s;wer|able to his hopes and expectations, and that
con&s;e|quently &s;he might find her &s;elf le&s;&s;en'd in his good Opinion
hereafter; the crafty Prie&s;t, who by this nights Accident had, to his
thinking, laid a &s;ure foun|dation to all his future Projects huggs the
well-pleas'd Lady in his Arms, and after a thou&s;and reciprocal
Wantonne&s;&s;es, they &s;wear an inviolable Friend&s;hip to each other: Father
<HI>Pedro</HI> repeats to her all the de&s;ign and project of advancing and
&s;ettling the <HI>Pagan</HI> Inte|re&s;t during <HI>Lycogenes</HI> his life,
and, engages her to pre&s;s the Queen continually to come to a &s;peedy
Re&s;olution as to the point of Regency and Succe&s;&s;ion; prevails with her
to give him a faithful account from time to time of all Tran&s;actions between
the <HI>Count</HI> and <HI>Me&s;|&s;alina&punc;</HI> as al&s;o to give him her
a&s;&s;i&s;tance in any mat|ters he &s;hould propo&s;e hereafter; to all which
<HI>A&s;pa|&s;ia</HI> readily A&s;&s;ents and &s;olemnly Swears; and now the
<PB N="25" REF="12">Morning being much advanc'd, <HI>Pedro</HI> takes leave of
<HI>A&s;pa&s;ia,</HI> and prepares to dre&s;s, when <HI>Cleone</HI> knocks at
her Ladys Door, to know if &s;he were &s;tirring; <HI>A|&s;pa&s;ia</HI>
de&s;ires <HI>Pedro</HI> to retire into a Clo&s;et, and &s;lip|ping on her
Night Gown opens the door to <HI>Cleone;</HI> the Maid having a while before
&s;een <HI>Seba&s;tian</HI> with &s;ome Company walking in the Court Yard,
merrily ask'd her Lady when the Lover got out, for that &s;he had not &s;een
him go; <HI>A&s;pa&s;ia</HI> fearing <HI>Seba&s;tian</HI> might ask
<HI>Cleone</HI> que&s;tions, thought it her be&s;t way to ac|quaint her with
her own mi&s;take, and bid her wait a while for her farther In&s;tructions; the
Maid had ju&s;t retir'd to the Window of the Withdrawing-Room, when &s;he
&s;traight runs back and tells her La|dy &s;he &s;aw <HI>Seba&s;tian</HI> in
the Court below making tow|ards her Lodgings; <HI>A&s;pa&s;ia</HI> in a great
fright runs to the Clo&s;et, and de&s;ires <HI>Pedro</HI> to be &s;ilent and
&s;till, for that <HI>Sebastian</HI> was coming; Father <HI>Pedro</HI> who by
this time had got him&s;elf dre&s;s'd, thought it would be tedious &s;taying
there, and immediately opens the Clo&s;et Door and marches off, having ju&s;t
got to the door going into the Gallery, he pops ju&s;t upon the Queen and Count
<HI>Davila</HI> going to the Mo&s;que at St. <HI>Jaques; Seba&s;tian</HI> had
got up among the Queens Re|tinue and had perceived Father <HI>Pedro</HI> coming
out of <HI>A&s;pa&s;ia</HI>'s Lodgings, he began to ruminate with him|&s;elf
what bu&s;ine&s;s Father <HI>Pedro</HI> could have there, and at that time of
day, and reflecting on <HI>A&s;pa&s;ia</HI>'s loo&s;e Life, his jealou&s;ie
prompted him to think that he had lo&s;t his A&s;&s;ignation, and had been
&s;upplanted the la&s;t Night by Father <HI>Pedro; Seba&s;tian</HI> was but an
Under|ling in the Prie&s;ts Tribe in compari&s;on of <HI>Pedro,</HI> but was of
a haughty revengeful humour; he was a lusty big Bon<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">d Man, and had an indifferent good Face,
he was a Renegado Chri&s;tian, and had by the influence and promi&s;es of
<HI>A&s;pa&s;ia,</HI> while &s;he was in <HI>Gaule,</HI> been perverted to
<HI>Pagani&s;m;</HI> he had had a long<PB N="26" REF="13">Amour with
<HI>A&s;pa&s;ia,</HI> and by her means had been pre|ferr'd to the Brotherhood
of the <HI>Pagan</HI> Prie&s;ts; upon his Jealou&s;ie afore&s;aid he
immediately repairs to <HI>A&s;pa|&s;ia</HI>'s Lodgings, to try if he could
make any Di&s;covery; <HI>A&s;pa&s;ia</HI> to prevent que&s;tions, immediately
chides him for his Di&s;appointment, he tells her he came not &s;o late but
that <HI>Cleone</HI> might have heard him knock; <HI>Cleone</HI> makes a little
faultre in her Speech and confirms <HI>Seba&s;|tian</HI> in his &s;u&s;picion,
and re&s;olving to be Reveng'dd, at lea&s;t on Father <HI>Pedro,</HI> he clears
up his look and falls a toying with <HI>A&s;pa&s;ia,</HI> &amp; owns him&s;elf
to blame for &s;tay|ing pa&s;t the time; in the mean while Father
<HI>Pedro</HI> ha|ving mingled among the Queens Retinue, perceived that
<HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> &amp; the Count, by the di&s;tance that the Attendants
kept, were in private di&s;cour&s;e, &amp; gue&s;&s;ing at the &s;ubiect of it,
he thought it be&s;t not to interrupt them, &s;o turning &s;hort he retir'd to
his own Lodgings; Count <HI>Davila</HI> having according to his la&s;t
re&s;olutions waited with diligence for an Opportunity to try the temper &amp;
de&s;igns of <HI>Me&s;&s;alina,</HI> had that Morning, up|on p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">etence of imparting &s;ome News to her
which he had lately received from <HI>Italy</HI> and <HI>France,</HI> been to
wait on the Queen, who after &s;ome extraordinary marks of her &s;atisfaction
for his pre&s;ence, ask'd him to attend her to St. <HI>Jaques;</HI> This kind
reception and in|vitation, confirm'd the Count in his re&s;olutions of
di&s;covering his love, and pre&s;&s;ing on the main bu&s;ine&s;s, &s;o that he
readily u&s;hers the Queen through the Lodgings to her Chair, and in one of her
Coaches follows her to St. <HI>Jaques,</HI> where wait|ing in the Antichamber
till the Queen had done her Devotions at the Mo&s;que, he was &s;ent for by
<HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> to her Clo&s;et. The Count was &s;o con|founded between
hope and fear, that the trembled all over when he went in; he was con&s;idering
what the con&s;equences of his Attempt might be, if by his over-weening fancy
he &s;hould have<PB N="27" REF="13">mi&s;interpreted the freedom of
<HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI>'s humour; it a|maz'd him to think of the dangers he
&s;hould lay him&s;elf open to, in owning Love to the Wife of a Potent Monarch,
if &s;he were plea&s;ed to put a bad con&s;truction on it, and in the lea&s;t
re&s;ent it; &s;uch were the doubts and fears of the Court before he came to
the Queen: But alas! the&s;e glooming thoughts were &s;oon blown over, for
<HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> very graciou&s;ly receiving him at the Clo&s;et-door,
and with an extraordinary gayety giving him her Hand, after a turn or two,
&s;eated her &s;elf on a Couch, and commanded the Count to &s;it by her, and
turning to him, ask'd him merrily, <HI>what News?</HI> The Count by this time
was come to him&s;elf, and with abundance of a&s;&s;urance, gra&s;ping her
Maje&s;ties Hand, told her,
<Q REND="inline">'That the Fame of her Maje&s;ties Beauty and
Merit had &s;o taken up the Hearts of the People of <HI>Albion,</HI> that where
ever he came, he could hear no other Di&s;cour&s;e.'</Q> <HI>Well, my
Lord,</HI> replies the Queen, <HI>I thank you for your Complement, and though I
am Ignorant of the People of</HI> Albion<HI>'s thoughts of me, I dare
pre&s;ume, my Character pa&s;&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">s
with advantage enough in your Opinion.</HI>
<Q REND="inline">'It is now my misfortune, replies the Count, not
to be able to expre&s;s the &s;incerity of my Zeal to your Maje&s;ties Service
any otherwi&s;e than in words, and that &s;everity with which your over nice
Vertues treats all your Admirers, limits and re&s;trains the Innocent freedom
even of them:'</Q> I mu&s;t confe&s;s, continued he,
<Q REND="inline">'the high Station, Fortune and Merit have
&s;ettled you in, may with rea&s;on render your Maje&s;ty regardle&s;s of any
pr<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1+ letters">er of Service from me; yet
&s;ince the nece&s;&s;ity of your Affairs (as &s;ometimes of the greate&s;t
Princes in the World) require the advice and a&s;&s;i&s;tance of your Subjects
and Friends, I hope your long experience of my Truth and Love, may now prevail
with your Maje&s;ty to make me the happy In&s;trument of your future
Satisfaction.'</Q></P>
<P>The Queen who by the &s;everal remon&s;trances of her three
Coun&s;ellors had been both pre&s;s'd and convinc'd of the danger of her
Affairs, and being partly overcome by the<PB N="28" REF="14">Solicitations and
Endearments of the Count in particular, re&s;olv'd now to give a loo&s;e to her
natural Inclinations, and thereupon turning to the Count, in a &s;oft
langui&s;hing Tone &s;he reply'd, <HI>I mu&s;t at length, dear</HI> Davila,
<HI>confe&s;s my own Frailty and thy Power, my haughty mind I &s;ee at la&s;t
will &s;toop, and thou art Born to be my Conqueror:</HI> The Count who was all
this while in a rapture, throwing him&s;elf at her Feet embrac'd her Knees,
extolling his own good Fortune and her happy Re&s;olutions; he gave her Ten
thou&s;and Thanks for her preference and good Opinion of him before any of the
Nobles in the Court of <HI>Albion</HI> that his whole thoughts and endeavours
&s;hould be employ'd to make good her Ex|pectation, and he did not doubt but
&s;he &s;hould in a little time find her &s;elf thoroughly di&s;engaged from
all &s;orrowful Apprehen&s;ions: This minutes Conde&s;cen&s;ion and freedom,
had &s;o emboldened and a&s;&s;ured <HI>M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;&s;alina</HI>'s Heart, that rai&s;|ing the Count, who at every
Word was pre&s;&s;ing and ki&s;&s;ing her fair Hand, &s;he threw her Arms about
his Neck, and in <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">morous Sighs and
Murmurs &s;he whi&s;per'd her Wi&s;hes in his Ears; Ten thou&s;and times &s;he
ki&s;s'd his Lips and Eyes, while with his bu&s;ie hand he rov'd o'er all the
Fields of Love, &s;ometimes with eager ha&s;t he'd climb the Snowy Hills of
Plea&s;ure, and then as quick retire down to the Valies and Fountain of D<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">light and Love; <HI>Dear</HI> Davila,
<HI>in Rapture would &s;he cry, Divine</HI> Me&s;&s;alina, <HI>would he reply;
Ah! can you&mdash;will you now refu&s;e,</HI> &s;aid he; <HI>Ah! do
not&mdash;do not ruin me,</HI> &s;aid &s;he; But the Count who through
<HI>Me&s;&s;a|lina</HI>'s Eyes &s;aw the Temper of her Heart, re&s;olv'd not to
&s;lip that lucky opportunity, and turning fir&s;t to make the Door &s;ecure he
like a hungry <HI>Lyon</HI> &s;eizes his trembling Prey and in his Arms conveys
her to the other &s;ide of the Clo&s;er, and throwing her gently on the Couch
thereby, in eager Raptures he lays open and unfolds her &s;ecret Trea&s;ure,
and rifles all the Stores of Love and Beauty; And now <HI>Me&s;&s;a|lina</HI>
having ta&s;ted the difference between a Vigorous Lover and a Feeble King,
cla&s;ping her yet panting <HI>Davila</HI> in her Arms, <HI>I &s;hall indeed be
happy now</HI> &s;aid &s;he, <HI>unle&s;s the Stars<PB N="29" REF="14">and
Heaven con&s;pire again&s;t me, I feel at length my Crown fit fa&s;t upon me,
and now my Fate is di&s;engaged from the weak &s;lender Thread of poor</HI>
Lycogenes's <HI>Life, my Soul at length will reach its proper Sphere, and I
&s;hall with Pride look down and &s;ee my mo&s;t malicious Enemi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">s bowing to my Royal P<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;terity; no more &s;hall proud</HI>
Albion <HI>rejoyce over the Age and Weakne&s;s of the King my Husband, no more
&s;hall they Triumph over my Bar|ren Mode&s;ty; thou my dear</HI> Davila
<HI>&s;halt make their Y<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1+ letters">k, and
with a Gordian Knot, I'll tie it on their Necks; I am big my dear already with
the Joy, and doubt not a happy re&s;ult of our undertakings.</HI> The Count who
all this while lay Ravi&s;h'd with his Victory, was running over the whole
Series of her Charms, one while he reflected on her high Quality and Station,
and then her Beauty, Riches, and her Love, did &s;o confound his Sences, he
could hardly convince him&s;elf his Happine&s;s was Real; &s;omtimes he'd of a
&s;udden gra&s;p her Hands, Embrace and Ki&s;s, doubting it was all Vi&s;ion,
Dream, and Fancy: Thus in the&s;e Tran&s;ports did they dally out the time,
till tru&s;ty <HI>A&s;pa&s;ia</HI> gave notice at the Door, that <HI>Lyc<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">genes</HI> was come into the Forre&s;t,
and pro|bably de&s;ign'd for St. <HI>Jaques;</HI> this news &s;trait rouz'd the
&s;tumb<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">ing wanton Lovers, and
ha&s;ten'd the Counts depar|ture: The Count conjures her to ble&s;s him
&s;peedily with &s;uch another opportunity; which with a thou&s;and Ki&s;&s;es
&s;he a&s;&s;ures him, and &s;o he takes his leave; he had not well got away
before Madam Marchione&s;s <HI>de Tomazo</HI> came up, and finding the Queen in
a very Plea&s;ant humour, thought to engage her in &s;ome di&s;cour&s;e
concerning their la&s;t Con|&s;ultations; the Marchione&s;s being a great Bigot
in the <HI>Pa|gan</HI> Principles, had been influenc'd by Father <HI>Pedro</HI>
to &s;tand his Friend privately, in gaining the Queens Favour upon this
juncture, and by his &s;ubtle in&s;inuations had
<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> de|luded into her Opinion, that
it would be much more meri|torious for the Queen in the ca&s;e before propos'd,
to make u&s;e of the endeavours of a holy Man, and that it was pro|bable their
bu&s;ine&s;s might better &s;ucceed if the Operation were begun by a Sanctifi'd
per&s;on; the&s;e and the like in&s;i|nuations<PB N="30" REF="15">had prevail'd
with the blind Zealot to a&s;&s;ure the lu&s;tful Prie&s;t of her
A&s;&s;i&s;tance and Intere&s;t, and ac|cordingly finding
<HI>Me&s;&s;alina,</HI> as is afore&s;aid, in a jaunty hu|mour, &s;he thought
it now a fit time to move the bu&s;ine&s;s,</P>
<P>So making up to <HI>Me&s;&s;alina,</HI> &s;he &s;aid,
<Q REND="inline">'Tis not a little &s;atisfaction to me, to &s;ee
your Maje&s;ty at this time &s;o plea&s;antly di&s;pos'd; and as I do believe
it proceeds from &s;ome con&s;iderable cau&s;e, &s;o I &s;hould receive it as a
peculiar obligation from your Maje&s;ty, if I might be made either a partaker
or an a&s;&s;i&s;tant of your Joy'</Q> <HI>Thou &s;halt be both, my dear</HI>
Tomazo, reply'd the Queen, <HI>and I &s;hall give th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">e rea&s;on to tax my Ju&s;tice and my Friend&s;hip,
&s;hould I let thee partici|pate only of my Sorrows; No, no, my dear</HI>
Tomazo, <HI>&s;ince by thy advice chiefly my &s;atisfaction came, 'twould be
unrea&s;onable not to let thee ta&s;t the fruit of thy own works; I have at
la&s;t o'recome that &s;ubtile Di&s;putant, Honour; I have reconcil'd tho&s;e
nice points of fla&s;hy Reputation, and begin to ta&s;t the &s;olid plea&s;ure
of Intere&s;t and Ambition: I &s;hall be a Queen now in|deed, my dear</HI>
Tomazo; <HI>the</HI> Count, <HI>the</HI> Count Tomazo, <HI>will make me a
Glorious Powerful Queen: Rejoyce, rejoyce</HI> Tomazo, <HI>and let the</HI>
Pagans <HI>of</HI> Albion <HI>all rejoyce;</HI> Mahomet <HI>now will &s;urely
hear our Prayers, the time will now draw near for our deliverance: Oh! that my
Youth and Beauty &s;hould be thus long Cur&s;t to trifle with Age, and
State-Impotency: Oh! How I nau&s;iate my former Re&s;olutions, when every
&s;crupulous thought of Honour lo&s;t me an Age of plea&s;ure: Forgive my
Indi&s;cretion, would &s;he cry, when with an awful Frown I'de check thy good
advice: How have I fretted when in thy long and grave Debates thou would urge
the nece&s;&s;ity of &mdash; I thought Maje&s;ty could live without Support,
vainly believing I could carb the Politition, as the Lover with my Frowns:
Forgive me, dear</HI> Tomazo, <HI>&s;ince at la&s;t</HI> I <HI>am reclaim'd.
The Court, my Dear, the Count will make us happy.</HI> The Marchione&s;s, tho
amaz'd at this extraordinary humour of the Queen could not however, but gue&s;s
how affairs &s;tood; and though &s;he had been pretty well &s;atisfied of the
Queens Re&s;olutions to &s;urrender, yet &s;he thought &s;he would have &s;pent
a little<PB N="31" REF="15">more time in Capitulation; however, &s;ince the
main de&s;ign was in all probability an&s;wer'd, &s;he thought &s;he could do
no more than be &s;orry that the Count had outleap'd her Frind Father
<HI>Pedro,</HI> and yet upon better con&s;ideration &s;he did not believe it
impo&s;&s;ible, if matters between the <HI>Count</HI> and the <HI>Queen</HI>
did not &s;peedily an&s;wer her expectation, but that &s;he might be able at
la&s;t to make good Father <HI>Pedro's</HI> pre|tentions.</P>
<P>The <HI>Queens</HI> thoughts were all this while taken up with
the <HI>Count,</HI> upon who&s;e Name in &s;udden raptures &s;he would often
call; <HI>Oh? my dear</HI> Davila; <HI>my Life, my Soul, my Deliverer my
Protector,</HI> would &s;he cry, till the Marchione&s;s making up to her broke
off her Contemplations, by telling her it was late, 'and ask'd her whether
&s;he would 'go back to <HI>Alba Regalis? Ay, any where,</HI> reply'd the
<HI>Queen, &s;o</HI> Davila <HI>be there.</HI> The <HI>King</HI> who all this
time was walking in the Forre&s;t, had been con&s;ulting and di&s;cour&s;ing
with the Count of <HI>Thunderland</HI> and another, about e&s;tabli&s;hing the
<HI>Pagan</HI> Intere&s;t in <HI>A<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">bion,</HI> he was deploring his unhappine&s;s in the want of an
Heir, and fear'd all his Endeavours without one, would prove ineffectual. The
wicked Prie&s;t and other corrupted Mini&s;ters about him, had buzz'd the
Nece&s;&s;ity and the Merit of this &s;o far, that Good <HI>Prince,</HI> he
told them,
<Q REND="inline">'He would be no way wanting to the fur|therance
and propagation of his Religion in his Kingdom.'</Q> The&s;e Blood-hounds
pre&s;ently &s;napt at this Gracious Con|de&s;en&s;ion, and communicate the
&s;ame to <HI>Me&s;&s;alina,</HI> The <HI>Queen,</HI> who was con&s;cious how
fair a &s;troke &s;he had made towards the accompli&s;hment of their de&s;ires,
and her own Ambition, told them,
<Q REND="inline">'She would leave all things to the advice and
will of the King her Husband; that &s;he did not altogether di&s;pare of the
ble&s;&s;ing of the <HI>Gods,</HI> and of bearing a Son yet to her Dear
<HI>Lycogenes;</HI> but that at the &s;ame time &s;he did verily believe, that
if the Powers above were not plea&s;ed to rai&s;e unto her a Son of her own to
Inherit the Crown of <HI>Albion,</HI> and to re-&s;ettle the <HI>Pagan</HI>
Religion there, neverthele&s;s &s;he could not in Con&s;cience
<PB N="32" REF="16">think her &s;elf di&s;engaged from her utmo&s;t Endeauours
to advance it by &s;ome other extravagant means; but as her fir&s;t Hopes were
not altogether as yet in vain, &s;o &s;he could not decend to particulars as to
the other.'</Q> The &s;ubtile Prie&s;ts who &s;aw both the Cunning and the Zeal
of <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> in this an&s;wer, went away with all the
&s;atisfaction imaginable, concluding now they had nothing more to do than to
pre&s;cribe a due method for the management of a <HI>&s;uppo&s;itious
Birth,</HI> in ca&s;e the <HI>Queen,</HI> which they extreamly fear'd &s;hould
fail in her hopes, as they &s;upposed of <HI>Lyco|genes.</HI> But alas! poor
Wretches; they &s;hot extravagantly wide of <HI>Me&s;&s;alina's</HI> thoughts,
while &s;he could not choo&s;e but laugh, to think how plea&s;antly &s;he
<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> them; She had had too long an
experience of the Capacity of <HI>Lyco|genes</HI> her Husband, to hope for the
lea&s;t encouragement or performace from him; and &s;he had too lately found
and approv'd the difference between the <HI>Count</HI> and the <HI>King,</HI>
to think of leaving her bu&s;ine&s;s unfini&s;hed, or repenting the change
&s;he had made: No, no, &s;he was &s;o far from relying on the Weakne&s;s of
her Husband, that &s;he was now con|tinually employ'd, in contriving
Opportunites to <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1+ letters">et and entertain
the <HI>Count,</HI> and the &s;atisfaction &s;he had received at her la&s;t
Conference with him, had &s;o enliven'd her hopes of an an&s;werable Succe&s;s,
that among her Con&s;iderats &s;he would talk very a&s;&s;uredly of the
Bu&s;ine&s;s, and would many times be Calculating the hour and time of her
Delivery, as if &s;he had known her &s;elf with Child by In&s;piration. But
alas! the&s;e were only the flights of a pa&s;&s;ionate Zeal, for when her more
lucid Intervals would give her judgment &s;cope, and free con&s;ideration,
&s;he found her principles too weak to infer &s;o weighty Conclu&s;ions, and
was loath to let her hopes re&s;t on &s;o weak a foundation. No doubt the
<HI>Count</HI> had been as obliging as a Man under tho&s;e cricum&s;tances
could be expected, and the va&s;t temptations of Honour and Riches, be&s;ides
the enjoyment of &s;o beautiful a Lady as <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> really was,
had without di&s;pute put a double Edge on his Vigour and her Expectation, but
notwith&s;tanding<PB N="33" REF="16">her own mighty Faith, &s;he re&s;olv'd to
have a repeated mixture of his good Works, and accordinly &s;ends him a &s;mall
Billet by <HI>A&s;pa&s;ia</HI> to this purpo&s;e,
<Q REND="inline">'Lycogenes de&s;igns within the&s;e two hours to
go to <HI>W&mdash;</HI> and will not be back till to morrow; I de&s;ign to go
up the River, and lie to night at <HI>R&mdash;d,</HI> my Retinue will be very
&s;mall; and perhaps I may wi&s;h for Company: I'll leave you to gue&s;s who
would be mo&s;t grateful to <HI>Me&s;&s;alina.</HI>'</Q> The <HI>Count</HI>
re|ceives the Summons with Joy; and with all &s;peed and &s;e|cre&s;y prepares
for the A&s;&s;ignation. The Queen took no body but <HI>A&s;pa&s;ia</HI> and
the <HI>Marchione&s;s de Tomazo</HI> with her: Within an hour after her Arrival
comes the <HI>Count;</HI> the La|dies know their Duty, and di&s;creetly retire;
<HI>Dalvia,</HI> who&s;e longing Appetite had, by his fir&s;t delicious ta&s;t
been en|crea&s;ed, now gluts him&s;elf in <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI>'s Charms,
while her officious Fancy builds worlds of Plea&s;ure for her &s;elf, and
vainly flatters her with la&s;ting Satisfaction: Oh! how &s;he'd dote and rave,
and k<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1+ letters">s, then &s;igh'd, and in
&s;oft Mur|murs wi&s;h, and wi&s;h, and then abruptly cea&s;e, and hide her
blu&s;hing amorous Looks in the <HI>Courts</HI> Bo&s;om: Thus did they dally
out the winged hours, till <HI>A&s;patia</HI> came and told them, the
Counte&s;s of <HI>Sunderland</HI> with another Lady, were landed, and coming to
wait on her Meje&s;ty; <HI>Me&s;&s;a|lina</HI> fearing they would &s;tay all
Night, as indeed they de|&s;ign'd, and not knowing how to be&s;tow the
<HI>Count,</HI> thought it be&s;t to go back to <HI>Alba Regalis</HI> that
Night, and accord|ingly gives order for her Gally with all &s;peed; and
meer|ing the <HI>Councels</HI> on the Stair head, told her, She was ju&s;t on
her return, and giving her her hand, they immediately take Water and away: The
<HI>Count</HI> al&s;o about an hour after, takes a &s;mall Gondola and
follow<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">. At this rate did the
<HI>Count</HI> and <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> corre&s;pond for two or three Months,
and no hopeful appearance yet of what they had with
<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">o much a&s;&s;urance promi&s;ed
them&s;elves. The <HI>Court</HI> even in <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI>'s Judgement,
had acquitted him&s;elf with all the Bravery imaginable, and
<HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> had not been wanting in her Endeavours ours to bring
about a Bu&s;ine&s;s of &s;o great Im|portance<PB N="34" REF="17">to her
Intere&s;t: She grieves, He wonders, at &s;o &s;trange a Di&s;appointment, they
mutually encourageing one another, they fall to fre&s;h Endeavours, and love,
and wi&s;h, and promi&s;e, but &s;till in vain: <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> had
during this amorous Juncture, con&s;idered both her Plea&s;ure and Inte|re&s;t,
but finding that the feeding on the one would &s;tarve the other, &s;he told
the Count frankly, That &s;he &s;aw plain|ly her Misfortune, and that &s;he
mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity have re|cour&s;e to &s;ome more immediate Remedy; that
as &s;he had intru&s;ted him with all her Secrets, &s;o &s;he doubted not of
his be&s;t Advice and Concurrence in a Matter &s;he &s;hould propo&s;e, that
&s;he &s;hould &s;till retain her good Opinion of him, and wholly imputed the
Di&s;appointment to Defects of her; That however &s;he mu&s;t make the be&s;t
of her Af|fairs, and help out by Art what Nature had deny'd: She put him in
mind of their Con&s;ult and Re&s;olution, and that nothing but a Son and Heir
could &s;ecure her Honour, and &s;ettle the <HI>Pagan</HI> Intere&s;t in
<HI>Albion,</HI> &s;he did therefore de&s;ire him forthwith to &s;ummon a
Convention of two or three di&s;creet Prie&s;ts, together with him&s;elf,
<HI>A&s;pa&s;ia,</HI> the <HI>Mar|chione&s;s,</HI> and &s;ome few &s;tanch
Courtiers, to propo&s;e Me|thods for the due management of this grand Concern,
and to engage <HI>Lycogines</HI> to con&s;ent to, and further, not only this,
but what&s;oever el&s;e they &s;hould in their Wi&s;doms think agreeable and
nece&s;&s;ary for the Advance of <HI>Pagani&s;m</HI> and the Extirpation of the
<HI>Chri&s;tians</HI> throughout <HI>Albion.</HI></P>
<TRAILER>The End of the FIRST PART</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="17">
<P>THE <HI REND="blackletterType">Second Part</HI> OF THE AMOURS OF
Me&s;&s;alina Late Queen of <HI>ALBION.</HI> WHEREIN The Secret Court Intrigues
of the Four la&s;t Years Reign are further pur&s;ued; Particularly the
IMPOSTURE OF THE CHILD.</P>
<P>By a Woman of Quality, a late Confidant of Q.
<HI>MESSALINA.</HI></P>
<P><HI>LONDON:</HI> Printed for <HI>John Lyford,</HI> 1689.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="bookseller to the reader">
<PB REF="18">
<PB REF="18">
<HEAD>THE BOOKSELLER TO THE READER.</HEAD>
<P>IT cannot be denied with how much Applau&s;e the <HI>Fir&s;t
Part</HI> of this Hi&s;tory has been re|ceived in the <HI>World,</HI> according
to the merits of it, which is in part demon&s;trable, from the Account mo&s;t
Book&s;ellers give of their being daily importun'd for the <HI>Second
Part,</HI> and there having been but one Party appear'd again&s;t it,
<HI>viz.</HI> the <HI>Pagans</HI> of <HI>Albion,</HI> the Publi&s;her begs to
be ex|cus'd for being &s;o Dilatory in Compleating this Hi&s;tory, not being
able to bring in the Secrets of the <HI>LEAGUE,</HI> the <HI>Amours</HI> of
<HI>MES|SALINA</HI> and <HI>Polydorus,</HI> and other In|trigues of the
<HI>Gothick Court</HI> into this Part, on the account the Tran&s;lator hath
lain under great Indi&s;po&s;ition of Body, for near the&s;e three Weeks
pa&s;t, and it was not thought advi&s;able to<PB N="4" REF="19">interpo&s;e the
&s;tile of any other; but he being now on the mending hand, you may expect the
<HI>Third Part,</HI> which Compleats the whole Hi|&s;tory, with all the &s;peed
imaginable; and he hopes it will prove in this as it does in
<HI>Mi|&s;tre&s;&s;es,</HI> who&s;e put-offs and delays in matters of
po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion, does but more whet on the Gal|lants Appetites; &s;o that
when they have once attained to Injoyment, it becomes &s;o Ravi&s;hing that
their Lovers fancy them&s;elves amply re|warded for all their forbearance and
expecta|tion.</P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 N="2" TYPE="part">
<PB N="1" REF="19">
<HEAD>The Second PART.</HEAD>
<P>THE <HI>Pagans</HI> of <HI>Albion,</HI> had from the beginning
of the Reign of <HI>Ly|cogenes</HI> with great a&s;&s;urance ex|pected &s;ome
hapy, and &s;peedy overtures for their eternal &s;ettlement in that Kingdom;
Nor had <HI>Lycogenes</HI> him&s;elf been wanting in his endeavours to
over-rule or de&s;troy all that pretended to oppo&s;e, or que&s;tion his
proceedings again&s;t the Foundamental Rights of his Chri&s;tian Subjects, he
had al|ready remov'd the mo&s;t of them from all Places of Tru&s;t, and
contrary to the known Laws of the Land had introduced Per&s;ons, by the &s;aid
Laws incapable to Serve; he had Rais'd and kept up an Army compo&s;|ed of
Mercenary's and Forreigners, not on|ly to Terrify, but upon the fir&s;t happy
occa&s;ion to Oppre&s;s all that &s;hould contra|dict his Re&s;olutions; he had
for the fir&s;t three years of his Reign, carry'd all things with &s;o high a
hand, that the People of <HI>Albion</HI> from the highe&s;t to the lowe&s;t,
were<PB N="2" REF="20">in a &s;trange Confu&s;ion to think of the di&s;mal
con&s;equences that would nece&s;&s;ari|ly flow from &s;uch Arbitrary
Proceedings: and though they had by the &s;ubtile In&s;in|uations of a Court
Party of Divines, been Poy&s;on'd with that pernicious po&s;ition of
Pa&s;&s;ive Obedience, yet they could not without a great deal of regret behold
all the fences and inclo&s;ures of their Laws, and Libertiy's thrown down and
tram|pled on, and be obliged to hold their Lives and E&s;tates on &s;o
precarious Terms as the will and di&s;cretion of an Antichri&s;ti|an pack'd
Councel: what related to the private &s;atisfaction of the King's humour they
did with all humility, and unexpect|ed alacrity &s;ubmit and yield to, but when
it was plain that the whole Kingdom was De&s;ign'd and Re&s;olv'd a Sacrifice,
to the Intere&s;t and Ambition of a few wicked Councellours, and a &s;mall
party of Men, that had been by publick Acts of the Realm declar'd the
Inveterate and Irrecon|cileable Enemies of all Chri&s;tians but chief|ly of the
<HI>Albionites,</HI> they then began to &s;earch into the mea&s;ures of their
&s;ubmi&s;&s;i|on, and diligently to enquire how far they were obliged to pay
Obedience to the Commands of their Magi&s;trates and Gov|ernours; and realy
upon the &s;crutiny they<PB N="3" REF="20">plainly perceiv'd their own
weakne&s;s, and the Impo&s;itions of their Enemies, who by this &s;ubtile
Doctrine had en&s;nar'd them to &s;et their Hands to and Sign as it were their
own De&s;truction, &s;everal of the Great and Wi&s;e&s;t Men in the Kingdom,
had been Debating on this Subject, and all concluded in an acknowledgment of
their weakne&s;s in &s;o manife&s;tly expo|&s;ing them&s;elves and their
Country to the Capricious Humours, or Tyrannical Prin|ciples that very often
are found in the greate&s;t Princes, and therefore though from their very Souls
they wi&s;h'd all hap|pine&s;s imaginable to their King and Go|vernor, yet they
thought their duty &s;tretch'd too far on the Tenter-hooks, when by a blind
&s;ubmi&s;&s;ion to irregular Commands they were oblig'd to forego the natural
principles of &s;elf pre&s;ervation, and that by &s;eeking officiou&s;ly to add
to their Loyalty they mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily detract from their Judgments,
Con&s;cience, and Hone&s;ty: But <HI>Lycogenes,</HI> who by a dili|gent
&s;crutiny, and long experience of the Natures of the people of
<HI>Albion,</HI> (to his great &s;atisfaction) knew how effe|ctually the
Doctrin of <HI>Non-re&s;i&s;tance</HI> (which he and his party, with great zeal
and in|du&s;try had in&s;inuated and promoted) had<PB N="4" REF="21">wrought on
his Chri&s;tian Subjects, thought he had laid a very &s;ure foundation for the
introduction of tho&s;e Novelties and Abu|&s;es we have &s;ince had impos'd on
us, and was by the a&s;&s;iduous In&s;tigations of his <HI>Pagan</HI>
Councellors prevail'd upon to re|&s;olve the total Extirpation, or at lea&s;t
en|&s;laving of the Chri&s;tian Hereticks, as he call'd them, in his Dominions,
and fear|ing that all he could do in his own life time, would be in&s;ufficient
to a&s;&s;ure and e&s;tabli&s;h the <HI>Pagan</HI> Faction and Intere&s;t,
unle&s;s he could find &s;uch a Succe&s;&s;our as &s;hould confirm and
&s;trengthen what he &s;hould now begin, upon the&s;e Con&s;idera|tions, I
&s;ay, he was ea&s;ily wrought on to con&s;ent to any thing his Coun&s;ellors
&s;hould propo&s;e for the benefit and e&s;tabli&s;hment of <HI>Pagani&s;m</HI>
in the &s;aid Kingdom, and now what more remain'd, than that the Prie&s;ts
con&s;ult and find the mo&s;t convenient and &s;peedy means to &s;ecure their
own Intere&s;ts to indulge <HI>Me&s;&s;elina</HI>'s Ambition, and to &s;ooth
<HI>Lycogenes</HI> his Bigotted Zeal: Several ways were propos'd, and
&s;ometime &s;pent in Arguments and Debates before they could come to a final
Re&s;olution.</P>
<P>The Chri&s;tians of <HI>Albion,</HI> by &s;everal Acts of their
General Diets, had their Laws, their Liberties, and their Religion &s;ecur'd to
<PB N="5" REF="21">them, and in all, or mo&s;t of their A&s;&s;em|blies for one
hundred years pa&s;t, they had one or other expre&s;s Law again&s;t
<HI>Pagani&s;m,</HI> though none did &s;o throughly di&s;able and le&s;&s;en
their intere&s;t in <HI>Albion</HI> as that com|monly call'd the
<HI>Te&s;ts;</HI> and though &s;ome good <HI>Chri&s;tian Di&s;&s;enters from
the Church of</HI> Albion, were therein &s;everely included, yet they were
chiefly intended for the di&s;|couragement and &s;uppre&s;&s;ion of that
per|nicious Sect of <HI>Pagans</HI> in <HI>Albion, Lycogenes</HI> his private
Coun&s;el therefore propo&s;ed the taking <HI>away</HI> the&s;e
<HI>Te&s;ts,</HI> as a nece&s;&s;ary Preliminary for the introduction of
<HI>Pagan|i&s;m;</HI> the Project indeed was good, but how to bring it about,
was the difficulty, for be|&s;ides that the general Diet would hardly be
induc'd to abrogate tho&s;e very Laws which &s;ome of them &s;o lately had
&s;tickl'd for and promoted, and &s;uch Laws whereon their own and the Kingdoms
&s;ecurity &s;eem'd more <HI>immediately</HI> to <HI>depend</HI> (the
<HI>Pagans</HI> having in all Reigns been proved the irreconcileable Enemys and
malicious de&s;igners again&s;t the peace and welfare of the Chri&s;tians in
<HI>Albion</HI>) be&s;ides, I &s;ay, this difficulty, they were obliged to gain
the con&s;ent of Prince <HI>Anaximander</HI> and the Prince&s;s
<HI>Artemi&s;ia,</HI> the Pre&s;umptive Hei|re&s;s of the Crown, for the
Abrogation of the &s;aid Laws, and this indeed was the<PB N="6" REF="22">great
bu&s;ine&s;s that &s;truck with <HI>Lycogenes,</HI> for as to what concern'd
the election of &s;uch Members as &s;hould &s;erve his turn in the next General
A&s;&s;embly, he bid them take no care, for he was &s;ure he could by his
influence procure &s;uch per&s;ons return'd as &s;hould effectually an&s;wer
his utmo&s;t ex|pectations: With all &s;peed therefore per|&s;ons are employ'd
to negotiate with the Prince and Prince&s;s for their con&s;ent a|fore&s;aid,
and to lay before them the &s;ince|rity of his Maje&s;ty's Intentions in that
mat|ter, and that his Maje&s;ties great and only alm was for the more general
accommo|dation of all his Di&s;&s;enting Subjects, and that as their
Highne&s;&s;es could not believe that his Maje&s;ty would re&s;olve on any
thing to their prejudice, &s;o he did not in the lea&s;t doubt of their
Highne&s;&s;es ready concurrence in &s;o pious an undertaking; but alas poor
<HI>Lycogenes</HI> and his Pen&s;iona|ry Coun&s;el had far over&s;hot
them&s;elves, when they believed &s;o wi&s;e a Prince as <HI>A|naximander</HI>
could be &s;o barefacedly decoy'd into an a&s;&s;ent to a matter &s;o
nece&s;&s;arily and plainly prejudicial to his own and his Prince&s;&s;es
intere&s;t, as well as to a Kingdom and People, they had rea&s;on to re&s;pect
and take care of as their future loving Sub|jects, and pre&s;ent hearty
Friends, they were not unacquainted with the mea&s;ures<PB N="7" REF="22"><HI>Lycogenes</HI> had taken from the beginning of his Reign, &s;o
directly contrary to the Prince&s;s his Daughters Intere&s;t, and perni|cious
and de&s;tructive to the Chri&s;tians, and that by pure force he had al|ready
obtruded &s;o many illegal things on his &s;aid Chri&s;tian Subjects, that he
won|dered <HI>Lycogenes</HI> could retend to make him or his Prince&s;s
in&s;truments of their further oppre&s;&s;ion and mi&s;ery; &s;uch were the
Princes re&s;entments, and &s;uch was the re&s;ult of <HI>Lycogenes</HI> his
endeavours to make him and his own Daughter Parties for the Subver&s;ion of
Chri&s;tianity in <HI>Albion;</HI> and now immediately a grand Gon&s;ult is
cal|led to con&s;ider of <HI>Anaximander</HI>'s re&s;oluti|ons, and of &s;ome
other way to promote the grand concern: In the mean time
<HI>Me&s;|&s;alina</HI> had been tormenting her &s;elf with the Apprehen&s;ions
of her utter di&s;appoint|ment; for though &s;he had kept a con&s;tant
corre&s;pondence with the <HI>Count,</HI> &s;he could not yet perceive her
affairs go on &s;o pro|&s;perou&s;ly as &s;he had promi&s;ed to her &s;elf, and
the lo&s;s of &s;o much time, to her Am|bition, did very much qualifie the
&s;atisfa|ction &s;he received in her Amour; howe|ver tho' &s;he had
<HI>promi&s;ed</HI> to repair to Art and Policy, to &s;upply the <HI>pre&s;ent
defects of Na|ture,</HI> &s;he could not re&s;olve to abandon the
<PB N="8" REF="23">Love and Service of the <HI>Count:</HI> Nay, upon mature
con&s;ideration, &s;he concluded, that the continuation of her Amour with him,
could not be any way prejudicial to the other de&s;ign they were now
undertaking, for &s;uppo&s;ing &s;he &s;hould really <HI>conceive</HI> any
con&s;iderable time after the feigned report of her being with Child, the
ab|&s;urdity of the report of this could not any way be prejudicial to the real
truth of the other, the a&s;&s;ured Birth of a Prince being all that could be
expected or de&s;ir'd; and con&s;equently, any reflections on the other would
vani&s;h as a mi&s;take, which Wo|men in &s;uch ca&s;es are very often
&s;ubject to. The <HI>Marchione&s;s de Tomazo,</HI> would daily encourage her
belief of &s;ucceeding, and promi&s;ed her a&s;&s;i&s;tance, by imparting to
her a Secret to help Conception; the <HI>Queen</HI> was wonderfully pleas'd,
even with the Flattery of the old Matron; but for fear of the wor&s;t, was
re&s;olv'd to have the other Project &s;peedily &s;et off foot, &s;he went to
the King's Apartment immediate|ly to hear what they had re&s;olv'd on, and how
it was agreed to be manag'd, where &s;he found the tru&s;ty Cabal in hot and
clo&s;e debate: She had order'd <HI>A&s;pa&s;ia,</HI> the <HI>Marchio|ne&s;s de
Tomazo,</HI> &amp;c <HI>Father Pedro</HI> to be there, &amp; <HI>Lycogenes</HI>
had introduc'd the <HI>Count</HI> &amp; <HI>Poli|orchetes</HI>
<PB N="9" REF="23">the Chief Commi&s;&s;ioner of his <HI>Court of
Con&s;cience,</HI> having <HI>exrerienc'd</HI> his Fidelity in matters of the
<HI>greate&s;t</HI> importance, and had rais'd him to that high Station
<HI>meerly</HI> to be an <HI>in&s;trument</HI> in his <HI>future
undertakings.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Lycogenes</HI> upon the Arrival of the <HI>Queen</HI>
aro&s;e, requiring the Company not to &s;e|parate till they had wholly
concluded on the means and manner of new modeling and &s;etling the Kingdom of
<HI>Albion,</HI> the <HI>Queen</HI> likewi&s;e as &s;oon as &s;he had &s;eated
her &s;elf commanded them to give her an account of their Proceedings.
<HI>Poliorchetes</HI> the Chancellor then ri&s;ing and making a profound
reverence to the <HI>Queen,</HI> deliver'd his Opinion thus:
<Q REND="inline">'It is not unknown, <HI>mighty Soveraign,</HI>
how zealous I have been in bringing about and promoting what&s;o|ever might be
thought advantageous to your intere&s;t; nor do I now pre&s;ume to recount my
Services for any other purpo&s;e than to manife&s;t my gratitude and
wil|lingne&s;s to engage again and again for e|ver on any action and de&s;ign
<HI>your Maje|&s;ties,</HI> or this Honourable Board, &s;hall think meet to
pre&s;cribe; I know the wi&s;dom of this Noble Company, cannot be wanting to
appoint &s;uch Rules as &s;hall for ever &s;e|cure the <HI>Pagan</HI>
intere&s;t in <HI>Albion,</HI> and &s;a|tisfie <HI>your Maje&s;ties</HI>
utmo&s;t Expectation;<PB N="10" REF="24">notwith&s;tanding &s;ince the nature
of my Employments, and &s;ome years &s;trict en|quiery into the ways and
Inclinations of the people of <HI>Albion,</HI> may with rea&s;on have render'd
me capable of judging of the mo&s;t &s;ecure, and convenient ways to deal with
them. I &s;hall not be thought vain if I pre&s;ume freely, to deliver my
opinion in this Matter. The <HI>Albionites</HI> where they have received Graces
or Favours from their Princes, are like the wanton A&s;s in the Fable, ready to
leap on their Ma&s;ter, and by the incouragement of two or three benefits, they
&s;awcily approach him with their ill natur'd Jea&s;ts, and con&s;tantly
pe&s;ter him with their rude Importunities, but when too much Indulgence has
ren|dred them In&s;upportable, do but &s;how them the Rod, and like Children
they &s;hrink, and with patience &s;ubmit to the Ju&s;tice of your Correction;
You remem|ber their In&s;olence in <HI>Perkin</HI>'s Rebellion, when with
unbounded Bla&s;phemy they would threaten the Safety and Honour of our Royal
Ma&s;ter, and yet the Sword of Ju&s;tice was no &s;ooner un&s;heath'd again&s;t
them, but with horror they fly, and call even to the Mountains to cover them,
you have heard with what patience they &s;ub|mitted to their Tryals, and
reproached<PB N="11" REF="24">even my Sentence with their <HI>Ba&s;e
Servile</HI> Sufferings, my advice therefore is to fol|low the example of the
Great <HI>Polydorus,</HI> to get an Army of <HI>Pagans</HI> from
<HI>Iberia</HI> and <HI>Gothland,</HI> and &s;o to Dragoon them inro a civil
compliance, Oh! that every year would produce a We&s;tern Expedition, I'de
&s;oon rid the Kingdom of all our An|tagoni&s;t's, and make every Circuit more
Terrible than an Inqui&s;ition, we have too long nur&s;ed them with the Milk of
our Affection, and like the profligate <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> they grumble at
their <HI>Manna, Albion</HI> has Surfeited on Ea&s;e and Pro&s;perity, and the
Feavour can't abate but by leting of Blood, let us make a full Harve&s;t of
the&s;e Hot-headed Chri&s;tians (as they boa&s;t them|&s;elves) and at once
root out the&s;e ob&s;ti|nate Di&s;turbers of our Peace: The Queen who was
naturally of a malicious &s;ullen Temper, and who was not ignorant how
&s;tubborn and a ver&s;e the <HI>Albionites</HI> were to her Intere&s;t, had
heard <HI>Poliorchetes</HI> &s;peak with a bundance of &s;atisfaction, but
being willing to hear what the re&s;t would propo&s;e, giving thanks to the
Chancel|lour &s;he expected with impatience their Thoughts and Opinions. When
<HI>Pedro</HI> ri&s;|ing up, &s;aid he could not but Applaud the Zeal and
Opinion of <HI>Poliorchetes,</HI><PB N="12" REF="25">and wi&s;h'd that his
de&s;ign could be as ea&s;i|ly executed as propos'd, that his aver&s;ion and
malice to the Chri&s;tians of <HI>Albion</HI> had in&s;pir'd him with &s;uch
de&s;ires of Revenge, that with <HI>Nero</HI> he wi&s;h'd they had all but one
Neck, and that he among his Frater|nity, did not doubt to find thou&s;ands that
would &s;trive to be their Executioner, but that to his &s;orrow he fear'd the
Chancel|lours project, however well de&s;ign'd, would not be fea&s;ible, for
be&s;ides the Alarm that Forreign Auxiliaries would rai&s;e through|out the
Kingdom, the natural antipathy, that the <HI>Albionites</HI> had both to the
<HI>Gauls,</HI> and <HI>Iberians</HI> was &s;uch, that they would incontinently
ri&s;e to Repel and De&s;troy them, and that if tho&s;e Foreigners &s;hould
fail in their Attempt, the reproach of the de&s;ign would be wholly thrown on
<HI>Lyco|genes</HI> and his Court, and that it would beget &s;o implacable a
malice in the Heart of the <HI>Albionites</HI> (who were mo&s;t of them
Chri&s;tians) that he might ju&s;tly fear a general revolt, and thereby the
total ru|ine of the <HI>Pagan</HI> Intere&s;t in <HI>Albion</HI> for e|ver, his
opinion therefore was, that they &s;hould rather en&s;nare and delude them, and
&s;o at advantage cut them off and de&s;troy them, tis known &s;aid he how
wonderfully our fraternity have promoted<PB N="13" REF="25">the
<HI>Mahometan</HI> Intere&s;t by their &s;ubtile and &s;ecret Plots and
Contrivances, have not we by fomenting and rai&s;ing Divi&s;ions be|tween the
Regular and Di&s;&s;enting <HI>Chri&s;ti|ans</HI> in <HI>Albion</HI> more
weakened the &s;trength of the pretended Reformado's than ever
<HI>Polydorus</HI> by his Dragoons or Contributi|ons? <HI>Albion</HI> (with
&s;ubmi&s;&s;ion to the <HI>Chan|cellor</HI>) is not by publick Ho&s;tility to
be forc'd, they are valiant in their Natures, and &s;tubborn in their
Principles, and though the hopeful Doctrine of <HI>Pa&s;&s;ive Obedience</HI>
and <HI>&s;weet Non-re&s;i&s;tence</HI> has been u&s;eful unto us, and lull'd
them for a while, yet it may be dangerous to rai&s;e tho&s;e <HI>&s;leeping
Lions</HI> within them, le&s;t we too late <HI>repent</HI> our over-fond
Credulity, and to our &s;orrow feel the effects of their
<HI>re&s;ent|ments;</HI> &s;et your Policies on work if you wi&s;h to prevail,
and if you mu&s;t <HI>&s;trike,</HI> let it be in the <HI>dark;</HI> we all of
us know we are &s;ick, and out of order, but few of us con|&s;ider the root and
cau&s;e of our di&s;temper, all di&s;intere&s;&s;ed per&s;ons would think at
fir&s;t view, that we were now in a hopeful way of thriving, we have a King not
only a <HI>Pagan</HI> and our Friend, but zealous and re&s;olv'd to go through
with his work; but alas is re&s;olution &s;ufficient without means? Tis true,
by his power he ran &s;ercure us for<PB N="14" REF="26">a while; but what will
that &s;ignifie to a la&s;ting &s;atisfaction? How do our Enemies wait and gape
for his death? And with the hopes of revenge after his di&s;&s;olution they
patiently &s;ubmit to their pre&s;ent Impo&s;iti|ons; we know the main Pillars
whereon they all lean, <HI>Anaximander</HI> and <HI>Artemi&s;ia</HI> are their
delight and their hope, the Prin|ce&s;s <HI>Philadelphia</HI> waits too in
rever&s;ion, and from <HI>the&s;e three</HI> do &s;pring all our fears and
misfortunes, and I and my Brethren bear the Title of our great Prophet, and
&s;uffer his Cau&s;e to be &s;haken by the weak inter|ce&s;&s;ion of <HI>three
&s;ingle Lives;</HI> Oh Holy <HI>Loy|old,</HI> our fir&s;t Holy Patron and
Founder, how would thy mighty Spirit fret and and grieve within thee,
&s;hould&s;t thou &s;ee the <HI>degenerate ba&s;ene&s;s</HI> of thy unworthy
Followers? Where are the Records of all our Glorious Hero's that have trod on
the Necks of Emperors, and pierc'd the Hearts of Kings, to propagate and
vindicate our Holy Religion, can we forget <HI>Borgia, Cle|ment, Ravilliac</HI>
and others, who have free|ly Sacrificed them&s;elves for their Religion, and
for rea&s;ons le&s;s con&s;iderable than ours, and can we tamely remit all our
pre&s;ent Advantages, and be bafled of our <HI>future hopes,</HI> by tue weak
puny oppo&s;ition of <HI>three petty pretenders?</HI>'</Q> No, no, continued
<PB N="15" REF="26">he, let us lay hold on the <HI>pre&s;ent</HI> opportu|nity,
and at once fini&s;h our long wi&s;h'd for deliverance: The&s;e <HI>three</HI>
mu&s;t fall a Sa|crifice to our Prophet, and from the re|moval of that cau&s;e
will all our other Ap|prehen&s;ions cea&s;e.</P>
<P>Father <HI>Pedro</HI> had always bore &s;uch re|putation with
<HI>Lycogenes</HI> and <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> that they look'd on his
Coun&s;els little inferiour to Oracles, and though the execution of them had
always prov'd prejudicial, through their great violence, to the <HI>Pagan</HI>
Intere&s;t, yet they could not but value the &s;incerity of his meaning, and
always ap|plauded his wi&s;e apprehen&s;ions, they knew his propo&s;als in this
Zealous Oration were very con&s;onant to rea&s;on, and agreeable to their true
intere&s;t, but knowing that the Eyes of all <HI>Europe</HI> were upon the&s;e
three Princes, and that the lea&s;t ba&s;ene&s;s and impo&s;ition upon, them
would engage all <HI>Chri&s;tendom</HI> in their quarrel, they could not &s;o
readily <HI>conclude,</HI> or re&s;olve upon any violence again&s;t their
per&s;ons; be&s;ides, <HI>Pe|dro</HI> in a &s;mall Apology afterwards
in&s;inua|ted to the Company, the <HI>inconvenience</HI> of letting the King
know any thing of this Project, if happily they &s;hould all agree upon it.
<HI>For</HI> (&s;aid he) <HI>though I know</HI> Ly|cogenes's <HI>Zeal would
make him overlook a<PB N="16" REF="27">thou&s;and difficulties, yet nature and
con&s;cience could not with any decency or rea&s;on be &s;uppos'd capable of
being &s;o wholly obliterated as to con|&s;ent to any barbarity upon the
per&s;ons of his own children; but again, what may prove a &s;ufficient ground
of &s;cruple in him, may at the &s;ame time leave us free and
di&s;intere&s;&s;ed from every thing and per&s;on that &s;tands in oppo&s;ition
to our de&s;igns.</HI> The Company however upon the Con&s;iderations
afore&s;aid were very unwilling to engage in <HI>Pedro</HI>'s Re&s;o|lutions or
Propo&s;als, and incontinently de&s;ir'd the <HI>Marchione&s;s de Tomazo,</HI>
to give her opinion of this grand Affair. The <HI>Marchione&s;s</HI> who had
<HI>been</HI> a Woman of Amour mo&s;t of her time, and who now, though
<HI>Age</HI> had <HI>ungenerou&s;ly</HI> depriv'd her of <HI>the power to
plea&s;e,</HI> was very fond and Ambitious of being thought a Woman of
<HI>Intrigue,</HI> had heard the violent Coun&s;els, and Propo&s;als of the
<HI>Chancellor</HI> and Father <HI>Pedro</HI> with a great deal of
<HI>impatience</HI> and <HI>di&s;plea&s;ure;</HI> &s;he could not dige&s;t
tho&s;e rough and hard terms of cutting of Throats, Poy&s;oning, or
A&s;&s;a&s;&s;inations, &s;he had been always us'd to Amorous Sighs, <HI>Billet
deux,</HI> and A&s;&s;ignations; therefore ri&s;ing and ma|king her Compliment
to <HI>Me&s;&s;alina,</HI> and giving a hard look on <HI>Poliorchetes</HI> and
<HI>Pedro,</HI><PB N="17" REF="27">&s;he thus began: <HI>'Tis not without the
greate&s;t regret imaginable, that I find my &s;elf obliged to contradict
per&s;ons who&s;e known wi&s;dom and experience in the world may with rea&s;on
claim an entire &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion of judgment from me, and though the command
and &s;ervice of her Maje&s;ty, may &s;ufficiently apologize for the freedom
and liberty of my opinion, yet I doubt not from the nature of the bu&s;ine&s;s
in hand to prove that what both the&s;e honourable per&s;ons have delivered as
their opinions, if fol|lowed, will be incon&s;i&s;tent with the &s;afety of her
Maje&s;ty, prejudicial to the</HI> Pagan <HI>inte|re&s;t in</HI> Albion <HI>for
ever, and extreamly difficult, if not impo&s;&s;ible to be brought about; nor
do I need to &s;ay much to di&s;&s;wade this Honourable Company from the
following their propo&s;als, &s;ince</HI> Father Pedro <HI>has already evinc'd
and made clear the fallacy of the</HI> Chancellor's <HI>pro|ject, and the
re&s;t of the Company have &s;uffici|ently &s;hew'd their di&s;like of
Father</HI> Pedro's; <HI>I &s;hall now therefore proceed to give my opinion,
and if I &s;hall have the good fortune to convince your rea&s;ons, and draw you
into a concurrence, you will then be &s;o ju&s;t to believe that the free|dom
of my cen&s;ue proceeds from other cau&s;es than that of meer contradiction; we
all agree in the main pint, that &s;ome cour&s;e mu&s;t be ta|ken for
re-e&s;tabli&s;hing and &s;ecuring the</HI> Pagan <HI>Intere&s;t in</HI>
Albion, <HI>&s;o as that it &s;hould not<PB N="18" REF="28">&s;eem entirely to
depend on the uncertain life of the</HI> King, <HI>and though the opinion of my
&s;elf and the</HI> Count Davila, <HI>who doubtle&s;s receives all his
mea&s;ures from the Conclave, and from</HI> Boanerges <HI>the High-prie&s;t,
have been by the&s;e two Gentlemen oppo&s;ed, at lea&s;t neglected, yet I have
not been &s;o apprehen&s;ive as to hear any new thing propo&s;ed, as is capable
of making me or the</HI> Count <HI>recede from our former re&s;olu|tions, I am
&s;ure if it take 'tis the only effectual way to pre&s;erve us entires; I am as
&s;ure 'tis as ea&s;ie, as in a matter of that importance can be wi&s;h'd, it
may be brought about with &s;o little di&s;compo&s;ure of the publick peace,
that it &s;hall rather gain the general applau&s;e of the King|dom; will not
the attaining our de&s;ires an&s;wer all expectations? what nece&s;&s;ity of
cutting tho&s;e Throats which with abundance of ea&s;e we can make
in&s;trumental and acce&s;&s;ary to our de&s;igns, the &s;uppo&s;ition of an
Heir Male qua&s;hes all o|ther pretenders in a moment; and &s;urely</HI> Albion
<HI>is not &s;o barren or ill natur'd as to deny</HI> Ly|cogenes <HI>a Son. No,
no,</HI> (replys <HI>Poliorchetes,</HI> interrupting the
<HI>Marchione&s;s</HI>) <HI>we have daily experience of the fruitfulne&s;s of
the Women of</HI> Albion, <HI>but yet we cannot apprehend how</HI> Ly|cogenes
<HI>can expect to reap where he has not had the power, or the will to &s;ow:
The will in|deed</HI> (&s;aid <HI>A&s;pa&s;ia</HI> &s;ighing) <HI>I believe her
Maje&s;ty can vouch for, but to the &s;orrow and<PB N="19" REF="28">confu&s;ion
of us all, he wants the power: Let us then</HI> (continued the
<HI>Marchione&s;s</HI>) <HI>no lon|ger deplore, but endeavour to &s;upply
tho&s;e un|fortunate defects of the King our Ma&s;ter, con|&s;ider on what nice
points our Honour and Inte|re&s;t depend, time will not &s;tay for vain and
fruitle&s;s wi&s;hes, and if we &s;lip &s;o fair an oppor|tunity, we &s;hall
&s;eem to de&s;pi&s;e providence, ruine our intere&s;t for ever, and fall the
reproach of our Enemies, and unpitied by all the</HI> Pa|gans <HI>throughout
the World. Polyorchetes</HI> had heard the&s;e la&s;t words with wonderful
&s;urpri&s;e, for his thoughts having run wholly on the extirpation of the
<HI>Chri&s;tians</HI> by Fire and Sword, he had not &s;o much as dream'd of any
po&s;&s;ibility of milder means, and now gue&s;&s;ing at what the
<HI>Marchione&s;s</HI> had in&s;inuated, he was ex|treamly tickl'd with the
project, and de|&s;ired the <HI>Marchione&s;s,</HI> That &s;ince &s;he had
propos'd &s;omething extraordinary, &s;he would be pleas'd to explain her
&s;elf, &s;o as that they might endeavour to &s;olve any difficulties that
might ari&s;e upon a &s;trict examination of the de&s;ign: <HI>The
difficulty's</HI> (reply'd the <HI>Marchione&s;s</HI>) <HI>are &s;o &s;mall, in
compari&s;on of that advantage we &s;hall reap, that among us they will not
admit of a di&s;pute; be|&s;ides, we have had a pre&s;ident of what I
propo&s;e, which though it mi&s;carried in the main, yet it<PB N="20" REF="29">was not for want of power, but will of &s;ome Partys concerned to
bring it about; That an Heir is ab&s;olutely nece&s;&s;ary to confirm and
&s;et|tle our otherwi&s;e fading hopes we all agree; and &s;hall not we
&s;ubmit to nece&s;&s;ity, and endeavour to re&s;tore by art what envious
nature, or cur&s;t fortune have ruin'd or withheld? It mu&s;t be &s;o,</HI>
(reply'd <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI>) <HI>it mu&s;t be &s;o, and there is no other
to uphold my tottering Crown: It mu&s;t be &s;o, and yet my boding Soul
foretells it won't &s;ucceed; the&s;e &s;aucy</HI> Albionites, <HI>will &s;till
be prying, and every &s;tep I make will have re|marks. Rejoyce, Dread
Soveraign,</HI> (reply'd <HI>Polyorchetes</HI>) (who had already taken that
hint) <HI>the</HI> Marchione&s;s <HI>has in one word fini|&s;hed what the
united &s;trength of my dull brain could ne're attempt, but now the game is up,
I'll keep the &s;cent, and work it on to a de&s;ired perfection. Why &s;hould
your Maje&s;ty</HI> (re|ply'd <HI>Pedro</HI>) <HI>de&s;pair at all of due
&s;ucce&s;s? Does your Maje&s;ty want power, or friends, or oppor|tunity to act
what a Predece&s;&s;or and Name&s;ake with &s;o much di&s;advantage had
effected if</HI> Philippo <HI>had prov'd but half &s;o generous as is the
brave</HI> Lycogenes: <HI>Can you doubt the &s;ucce&s;s of any Enterpri&s;e
when you have &s;o pow|erful a&s;&s;i&s;tance even from your Enemies? Could
&s;he carry on a de&s;ign of the &s;ame nature even to the brink of
performance, &s;o as to amu&s;e, nay, to convince all orders of the Kingdom of
the<PB N="21" REF="29">reality of it? And can you doubt at la&s;t of fail|ing?
She had a &s;harp-&s;ighted Parliament, near five hundred of the wi&s;e&s;t in
the Kingdom to combat with, who were &s;trict in their ob&s;er|vance,
&s;u&s;picious of her dealing, and re&s;olute again&s;t any impo&s;ition; &s;he
had the Nobility on one hand, the King her Husband of the other; and yet &s;he
baffled all but that narrow-hearted Prince, who like the Dog in the Manger
could wither eat the Hay him&s;elf, nor would &s;uffer the Hor&s;es; he had
&s;een him&s;elf incapable of re-e&s;tabli&s;hing the</HI> Pagan <HI>intere&s;t
by the a&s;&s;urance of an Heir, and was &s;o covetous and mean as to hinder
the propagation of it by another, whereas your Maje&s;ty &s;tands on &s;ure
grounds, you have a &s;trong party in the Court of wi&s;e and able men to
advi&s;e you, you have a potent Army ready to protect and defend you, but above
all you have a Husband and a King to a&s;&s;i&s;t, and further you; who dares
even &s;u&s;pect you? who would pre&s;ume to prove you? By your word, you
create an Heir, and your command &s;ettles the King|dom for ever.</HI> Thus
<HI>Pedro</HI> &s;poke, and a general applau&s;e run through the whole Company,
there remained only <HI>A&s;pa&s;ia</HI> and the Queen to give their Sentiments
and Opinions, and <HI>A&s;pa&s;ia</HI> declaring in &s;hort, that Father
<HI>Pedro</HI> had wholly &s;atis|fied her thoughts and de&s;ires in this
jun|cture, and that &s;he wholly &s;ubmitted to<PB N="22" REF="30">the judgment
of the Queen. <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> rai&s;ing her &s;elf, briefly gave her
re&s;olution thus: <HI>Nothing can give us greater encou|ragement and
a&s;&s;urance of &s;ucce&s;s, than the zeal and fidelity of you our beloved
Coun&s;ellors, and &s;ince our bu&s;ine&s;s pe&s;&s;eth for a &s;peedy
con|clu&s;ion, I &s;hall need &s;ay no more, than that I do, and &s;hall
a&s;&s;ent to what the Majority of you,</HI> viz. <HI>the</HI> Marchione&s;s de
Tomazo, A&s;pa&s;ia, <HI>and</HI> Pedro <HI>have laid down; there remains
therefore no more but that you imme|diately con&s;ult of the manner and method
of bringing it on, and from time to time to commu|nicate your advice to us; I
advi&s;e and think fit that</HI> Boanerges <HI>the High Prie&s;t our mo&s;t
Holy Kin&s;man, have timely notice of your pro|ceedings, as al&s;o</HI>
Polydorus <HI>our Royal Friend and Ally, that they may take care to order
Af|fairs in Forreign Parts, &s;o as that we way have the univer&s;al
a&s;&s;i&s;tance of all our Friends to promote a Project &s;o highly
advantageous to all their Intere&s;ts.</HI></P>
<P>This gracious Speech and Conde&s;cen|tion was received with
un&s;peakable joy by the Coun&s;el, and Father <HI>Pedro</HI> &s;tepping to the
Door, gave orders for private Thank&s;giving throughout all the
<HI>Mo&s;ques</HI> in <HI>Albion,</HI> as al&s;o for Proce&s;&s;ions? Fea&s;ts,
and other expre&s;&s;ions of joy; and having again &s;eated him&s;elf, they
immediately<PB N="23" REF="30">fall clo&s;e to the point. The fir&s;t
bu&s;ine&s;s hey re&s;olve on is, That being five in number, <HI>viz.</HI> the
<HI>Count, Pedro, Polyor|chetes,</HI> the <HI>Chancellor,</HI> the
<HI>Marchione&s;s de Toma|zo,</HI> and <HI>A&s;pa&s;ia,</HI> they &s;everally
have &s;everal Employments and Offices a&s;&s;igned them, for the more
effectual and &s;peedy accom|pli&s;hment of their bu&s;ine&s;s. The
<HI>Count</HI> who by his Office and Intere&s;t with <HI>Boa|nerges,</HI> could
claim a Domination over the <HI>Pagan</HI> Prie&s;ts, was to &s;ummon a
Con|vocation, and to give them in&s;tructions how to di&s;per&s;e the News of
her Con|ception, and to in&s;inuate, as if by Divine In&s;piration they knew it
would be a Prince, as al&s;o to qua&s;h any Objections or Doubts concerning it,
and to make re|marks of the per&s;ons: Father <HI>Pedro</HI> was to be made one
of the Privy-Council, and as he was one of the chief Contrivers at fir&s;t,
&s;o now he was to enliven and con|firm the report of the Queens Conception at
the publick Board, and to repre&s;ent it with all the &s;eeming Candour
imagina|ble, he was to &s;ilence all Di&s;putes and Conte&s;ts that might
happily ari&s;e upon it, and to make motions to the Board, to give &s;uch order
concerning her Maje&s;ty, and the Child, as &s;hould gain a General
<PB N="24" REF="31">Approbation and belief throughout the Kingdom, and though
there aro&s;e a Con|trover&s;ie whether it were not fitter for &s;ome other
<HI>Pagan</HI> Lords of <HI>Albion</HI> to e|&s;pou&s;e this part, yet they
&s;oon concluded on the ability of <HI>Pedro,</HI> who was better qualify'd to
repre&s;ent it in hand&s;om Co|lours, and con&s;equently would go down the
glibber, and pa&s;s &s;ecure with the peo|ple, &s;eeing they had &s;o good
Vouchers as Privy-Councellors: The <HI>Chancellor</HI> being a Man of an
hardned Con&s;titution, was appointed to wait with diligence again&s;t the time
of the pretended Birth, and by a po&s;itive A&s;&s;everation, if any
&s;u&s;picion &s;hould ari&s;e (as in all Cheats probably may happen) he was to
maintain the <HI>Rem in Re,</HI> which from &s;o grave a per&s;on as the chief
Judge of Con&s;cience, would &s;urely be believ'd, and as readily a&s;&s;ented
to, as the words of an Oracle: <HI>A&s;pa&s;ia</HI> be|ing concern'd &s;o near
<HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> as Lady of the Bed-Chamber, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> She was to
Care&s;s the Ladys with the joyful News of the Queens Conception, and from time
to time in&s;inuate pa&s;&s;ages belonging to Child-bearing, to give an account
of the growth of the Burthen, and to make the thing fea&s;ible &s;he was to
carry.<PB N="25" REF="31">on a &s;u&s;picion or fear of a Mi&s;carriage, and it
being once granted that &s;he could po&s;&s;ibly Mi&s;carry, included the
belief that &s;he was really Teeming: And now there was none but the
Marchione&s;s remaining, who being a Woman, as is before &s;aid, of a quick
Judgment in Intrigues, and who knew well how to manage an Impo&s;ture of that
nature, it was laid upon her with Secrecy and A&s;&s;urance to procure two or
three young whol&s;ome Women who&s;e time of Delivery &s;hould critically agree
with the Queen's time allotted and &s;et down by this Councel; the
Marchione&s;s was not di&s;&s;atisfied with the Task, though &s;he could not
but be &s;en&s;ible it requir'd depth of Judgment, a great deal of di&s;|creet
Enquiry, and continual Care to manage them to a Hairs breadth, le&s;t any
unlucky accident might &s;poil the whole Intregue, but upon a little
con&s;ideration &s;he remembred &s;he had heard an Inkling of a young
Kin&s;woman of her own, how that through weakne&s;s &s;he had been forc'd to
&s;urrender her Virginity to the A&s;|&s;aults of a young Spark, who had
&s;ince for&s;aken her, and had withal left her a &s;ure pledg of his Love and
Vigour, &s;o that being &s;o well encouraged at fir&s;t &s;he readily &s;ubmits
to the Commands of the<PB N="26" REF="32">Board, and engages upon Honour to
an|&s;wer their Expectation; and now the ge|nerals being concluded on and
appointed, they di&s;per&s;e, and forthwith apply them|&s;elves to their
&s;everal Employments, and as a Prologue to their intended Villany, they give
out, among their own Party, at lea&s;t, the nece&s;&s;ity of Unity in their
Prayers to their Saints and the Deity, to &s;end their Maje&s;ty's an Heir to
&s;ucceed him in his Throne and Dominions, and to &s;ettle their Holy Religion
in this Heretical Land, they cau&s;e Proce&s;&s;ions and Pilgri|mages,
Offerings and Supplications, to be made, fir&s;t to the great Saint at
<HI>Loretto,</HI> then to St. <HI>Winifred;</HI> and they cau&s;e
<HI>Me&s;|&s;alina</HI> to repair to &s;everal Waters that are famous Antidotes
again&s;t Barrenne&s;s, th&ocirc; at the &s;ame time they did not con&s;ider
that the People look'd upon it very awkard and &s;trange, that the Queen had
never found out this way of preparing for Child-bearing before; but &s;uch are
the practices of the Pagan Religion, that the greate&s;t Villanies and
Rogueries they intend to commit are &s;till preceded and u&s;her'd in with
great appearances of Sanctity; and now all things being in a readine&s;s; the
Queen declares her &s;elf publickly to be with Child, and Orders were given for
<PB N="37" REF="32">publick Thank&s;giving throughout the I&s;les, and in other
Forreign parts; Rejoycings and Fea&s;tings were made by the Kings Re&s;idents
and Amba&s;&s;adors; e&s;pecially in <HI>Rome</HI> and <HI>Gaule;</HI> as if it
were not enough to impo&s;e &s;o great a Villiany on the whole Kingdom, without
enforcing them to pre|varicate with the Deity in their Prayers, and to make
Petitions for that which really was not; but notwith&s;tanding all the
Contri|vance and Advice to carry on this Intrigue, the People, e&s;pecially the
Chri&s;tian Nobles and Gentry of <HI>Albion</HI> were mightily &s;ur|pri&s;ed
with &s;o improbable an Accident; &amp; though by rea&s;on of an
Indi&s;po&s;ition, which <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> for &s;ome while before lay
under, the Kings weakne&s;s and other circum&s;tan|ces, they could not readily
free them|&s;elves from a &s;u&s;picion of Treachery, yet they re&s;olv'd to
bear them&s;elves with all moderation, and to have a diligent Eye upon
<HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> and all about her, the f<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1+ letters">&s;t real occa&s;ion of di&s;like was, that the Queen
did not treat the Chri&s;tian Ladies of <HI>Albion,</HI> e&s;pecially the
Prince&s;s <HI>Philadelpha,</HI> with that freedom as the joy and pride of &s;o
great a happine&s;s, if real, would naturally have prompted her to; for &s;he
would re|&s;ent it highly if &s;he could but ob&s;erve any of the Chri&s;tians
making the lea&s;t ob&s;erva|tions <PB N="38" REF="33">of her Brea&s;ts, Belly,
her Look, or any other Symptome, by which Women in that Condition are ea&s;ily
di&s;tingui&s;hed; another great rea&s;on was, that &s;he &s;eem'd to &s;light
the Preten&s;ions of the Prince&s;s <HI>Artemi&s;ia,</HI> &s;o as there was not
the lea&s;t intimation given her to be at the Queens Labour till within a very
few days before &s;he was Deliver'd; be&s;ides, the Confidence of the
<HI>Pagan</HI> Party did &s;trangely &s;tartle the People, when like Oracles
they would affirm that of nece&s;&s;ity it mu&s;t be a Prince: The&s;e and many
other material circum|&s;tances made the <HI>Albionites</HI> talk broadly of
the bu&s;ine&s;s; nor were <HI>Lycogenes</HI> and <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI>
ignorant of their Sentiments; however having the Power ab&s;olutely in their
hands, they were re&s;olved to cut that knot which they found impo&s;&s;ible to
untie, and &s;ince they had thus far advan|ced in a bu&s;ine&s;s of that
importance, they re&s;olv'd to go through and bring it about, though with a
thou&s;and ab&s;urdities and in|coherences; for be&s;ides the alteration of her
Reckoning, which proceeded partly from a fear of di&s;appointment if the Wo|man
that came fir&s;t &s;hould have brought forth a Girl, but chiefly to amu&s;e
the Nobi|lity and Gentry of the Court and King|dom, who would doubtle&s;s have
made <PB N="39" REF="33">it their bu&s;ine&s;s in behalf of the Prince&s;s
<HI>Artemi&s;ia</HI> and the Kingdom, to attend and watch that all things might
have been carryed fairly and above-board; I &s;ay, be&s;ides the alteration of
her reckoning &s;he would give out upon every turn different places of her
pretended lying-in, &s;ometimes &s;he would give orders for <HI>R&mdash;d,</HI>
at other times &s;he would remove her fancy to <HI>H&mdash;</HI> Court, but in
reality St. <HI>Jaques</HI> was the place re&s;olv'd on, for <HI>Alba
Regalis</HI> the whole party di&s;|allow'd, becau&s;e by rea&s;on of the
multitude and concour&s;e of People that con&s;tantly at|tend there, &s;he
could not po&s;&s;ibly have been &s;o privately Deliver'd as the Intrigue did
nece&s;&s;arily require; be&s;ides, there was no conveniency for the Child to
be brought through the Galleries or Lodgings, but in the Palace of St.
<HI>Jaques,</HI> there was a Se|raglio and a Mo&s;que adjoyning with abun|dance
of winding by dark Chambers, &s;ecret Pa&s;&s;ages, Trap-doors and dark
Corners, where not only one or two of the Women were with great &s;ecurity and
&s;ecrecy kept till the time of their delivery, but where the Queen might have
the Child foi&s;ted into her Bed reaking and hot from the Womb, but in the heat
of all this in|trigue and de&s;ign <HI>Lycogenes</HI> was unlucki|ly
<PB N="40" REF="34">put in mind that by the Laws of <HI>Albion</HI> the
pre&s;ence of one or more of the Chri&s;ti|an Prelates was to be at the Birth
of every Royal Infant indi&s;pen&s;ably required; to re&s;olve this difficulty
a Council is immedi|ately call'd, and after &s;undry debates it is concluded,
that &s;ome way or other mu&s;t be found to bring all or mo&s;t of the
di&s;&s;ent|ing part into a premunire, and &s;o by ag|gravation either to
endanger their lives, or at lea&s;t to clap them up and &s;ecure them till the
Queens Delivery; accordingly a flaw was immediatly found and the Prelates
forthwith confin'd: and now nothing but the pre&s;ence of the Prin|ce&s;s
<HI>Philadelpha</HI> was fear'd, but what can|not the craft of the wicked
Jebu&s;ites bring about? that Prince&s;s had unfortunately complain'd of &s;ome
&s;mall indi&s;po&s;ition, when the Queen immediately takes the hint, and by
the means of <HI>Pedro</HI> and &s;ome other Malecontents, &s;he prevails with
her Phy&s;ician to per&s;wade her to take a Jour|ney to the Waters of
<HI>Baijae,</HI> though the Operation of tho&s;e Waters was manife&s;t|ly known
to be contrary to the Prince&s;s's Di&s;temper, they being loo&s;ening, and
&s;he wanting Re&s;tringents, but her ab&s;ence was ab&s;olutely nece&s;&s;ary,
and therefore by any means to be obtain'd; the Prince&s;s<PB N="41" REF="34">according to their wi&s;hes leaves the Court, and they were re&s;olv'd
to do their bu&s;ine&s;s before her return; and now all things to appearance
&s;eem'd to favour the de&s;ign, the time pre&s;crib'd drew near, their
greate&s;t Adver&s;aries were remov'd, the Court Party, and Pagan Prie&s;ts,
with daily Sto|ries and Shams were amu&s;ing and taking off the attention of
the Chri&s;tians; all things &s;eem'd &s;mooth, and the Critical Minute was at
hand, when news was brought to <HI>Me&s;&s;alina,</HI> that one of the Women
was in Labour, immediately the Queen takes her Chair, and ha&s;tes over to St.
<HI>Jaques,</HI> but before &s;he had well a&s;cended the Stairs, &s;he was
told, that Woman had brought forth a Girl, with which being for the pre&s;ent
confounded, &s;he de&s;cends, leaving before &s;uch Orders as were
nece&s;&s;ary; the other Women ex|pecting their Times Daily and Hourly; and
in|deed ere three Days were over &s;he receiving ano|ther Summons, repair
forthwith to St. <HI>Jaques,</HI> &s;he &s;tays there all Night with long
expectation of Succe&s;s, early the next Morning &s;he receives the glad
Tidings that a Man Child was Born, which with all &s;peed was convey'd to the
Dormitory ad|joining to her Bed-Chamber, in the &s;ame reeking Circum&s;tances
it was Born in, and having before taken care for the conducting of it to the
Queens Bed, the Alarm is given at <HI>Alba Regalis,</HI> that the Queen was in
Labour; <HI>Lycogenes</HI> had that Morn|ing ro&s;e &s;omething earlier than
ordinary, and had cro&s;t over to his own &s;ide on purpo&s;e to draw off the
Men with him, and con&s;equently to favour the Cheat, by leaving as few as
po&s;&s;ible about the Queens Apartment; in the mean time Madamoi|zell <HI>de
W&mdash;s</HI> having before given the Infant a &s;mall Opiate to hinder its
Crying for the pre&s;ent lays it gently in a large Warming-Pan made on
<PB N="42" REF="35">purpo&s;e, and lin'd with velvet for the more com|modious
and ea&s;ie carriage, and the Queen ri&s;ing under pretence of giving liberty
for warming the Bed Madomonelle unlades her ve&s;&s;el and leaves the Infant in
the place appointed; the Queen &s;trait re|turning to Bed the Room immediately
fill<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">, tho none were &s;ummon'd but
&s;uch as <HI>Lycogenes</HI> thought were afraid to make a doubt or a
&s;crutiny into the truth of it, or tho&s;e whom <HI>Lycogenes</HI> had already
prepar'd to &s;wallow and favour the impo&s;ition; and now the pretended Prince
being Born the <HI>Pagans</HI> of <HI>Albion</HI> begin their Jubilee,
<HI>Latroon</HI> Go|vernor of <HI>Iberia</HI> begins to double the
Per&s;ecution of the Chri&s;tians there, <HI>Polydorus</HI> by a &s;trict
Alli|ance and LEAGUE with <HI>Lycogenes,</HI> thinks of nothing but an
Univer&s;al Monarchy, <HI>Lycogenes</HI> doubles the Oppre&s;&s;ions of his
Chri&s;tian Subjects, <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> boa&s;ts of the downfall of
Here&s;ie, and a perpetual Regency, during her Life: The poor Chri&s;tians,
e&s;pecially the <HI>Albionites,</HI> though &s;ome|thing apprehen&s;ive of the
Con&s;equences of this Intrigue, were yet by their con&s;tant Remarques of all
Tran&s;actions &s;ince the Report of <HI>Me&s;&s;alina's</HI> Conception
&s;ufficiently &s;atisfied of the fallacy and cheat, and re&s;olv'd on
mea&s;ures which they doubt|ed not would in a little time unravel the whole
My&s;tery.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="35">
<P>THE <HI REND="blackletterType">Third Part</HI> OF THE AMOURS OF
Me&s;&s;alina. WHEREIN, The Secret Intrigues of the Four la&s;t Years Reign are
Compleated. AND THE Love Adventures of <HI>Polydorus</HI> King of the
<HI>Gauls,</HI> AND THE Late Queen of <HI>ALBION,</HI> Made Publick.</P>
<P>By a Woman of Quality, a late Confidant of Q.
<HI>MESSALINA.</HI></P>
<P><HI>LONDON:</HI> Printed for <HI>John Lyford,</HI> 1689.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="bookseller to the reader">
<PB REF="36">
<PB REF="36">
<HEAD>THE Book&s;eller TO THE READER.</HEAD>
<P>THE Promis'd, and long Expected <HI>Third Part of the Amours of
our</HI> MESSALINA, is here at your Service: And though &s;ome Criticks I am
inform'd (and indeed my <HI>Sale</HI> tells me as much) have not put an equal
value on the two foregoing <HI>Parts,</HI> the <HI>Second</HI> lying under the
Re|pute of much Inferiour to the <HI>Fir&s;t:</HI> My <HI>Hi&s;to|rian</HI>
makes no other Apology, than that the Fair <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> had &s;o many
Engines at Work, in turning that great Hinge of the <HI>Pagan Glory,</HI> Her
<HI>Warming-pan Plot;</HI> and her Hands and Head &s;o full of
<HI>Politicks</HI> on that Important Oc|ca&s;ion, that She then wanted
Lei&s;ure for <HI>Intrigue</HI><PB REF="37">and <HI>Amour;</HI> which indeed
being the main De|light of the Generality of my Readers, might per|haps
le&s;&s;en the Satisfaction expected from the <HI>Se|cond Part.</HI> But
&s;ince her Maje&s;ties Departure from the <HI>Heretick Albion,</HI> has
Tran&s;lated her to a more agreeable and natural Element, the <HI>Pagan
Court</HI> of <HI>Gothland;</HI> her heavier and &s;ul|len
<HI>Bu&s;ine&s;s</HI> &s;he begins to &s;hake off, and re&s;umes the lighter
Air of <HI>Love</HI> and <HI>Plea&s;ure.</HI> And accord|ingly we dare, without
Vanity, a&s;&s;ure our <HI>Kind Reader,</HI> That the former Defects are
&s;upplyed in the Entertainment of this <HI>Third Part</HI> of her Hi|&s;tory.
An Amorous <HI>Polydorus,</HI> little le&s;s famed under the Banners of
<HI>Cupid,</HI> than the &s;ometimes Glorious <HI>Britomard</HI> him&s;elf,
lying at the Feet of the Adored <HI>Me&s;&s;alina,</HI> affords a little
<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1+ letters">re Mat|ter of Adventure and
Diver&s;ion. With this Re|commendation to our little Volumn of the Great
<HI>Me&s;&s;alina,</HI> We beg your pre&s;ent generous Accept|ance. And if you
find your <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> warm with any extraordinary Spark for the
Imperial <HI>Po|lydorus;</HI> you are to con&s;ider, that the Sanctuary and
Glorious Reception &s;he meets in the Court of her ever firm Friend, the King
of the <HI>Gauls,</HI> have In&s;pired her with no &s;mall Gratitude to that
MOST PAGAN <HI>Heroe,</HI> and <HI>Champion</HI> of her <HI>Altars.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 N="3" TYPE="part">
<PB N="5" REF="37">
<HEAD>The Third PART.</HEAD>
<P>LOVE could no longer brook this inter|fering Bu&s;ine&s;s in the
Court of <HI>Albion;</HI> for &s;eeing with Indignation, how Ambi|tion daily
had intrench'd on his Prero|gative, he rea&s;&s;umes his long neglected Darts,
and vows &s;evere Revenge on his Rebellious Subjects. And now
<HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI>'s haughty Heart, which va&s;t a&s;piring Hopes had long
engaged, &s;oftens again in Gentlene&s;s and Love: She had &s;een the Languets
of her Charming Count, and heard his gentle Murmurs with Compa&s;&s;ion; &s;he
knew the great re&s;traint he forc'd upon his Heart, when by rea&s;on of her
numerous Atten|dants, and Vi&s;itours, he had not opportunity to breath his
Love; &s;ometimes a Wink, an Amorous Look, or Sigh, &s;he would by &s;tealth
return; or otherwi&s;e, in &s;ome Am|biguous Words, &s;he would di&s;cover her
Concern and Care, for his endearing Pa&s;&s;ion; but in &s;uch dumb &s;hows
alone, as there were more than Three Weeks &s;pent, e're &s;he could
po&s;&s;ibly engage, or &s;peak with him alone. Du|ring which time, her Beauty,
with the Satisfaction of her Mind, was much improved; and that forc'd
Ab&s;tinence, which her pretended Child-bearing had made her under|go, conduc'd
as well to carry on the Cheat, as to revive &s;ome fading Glories in her Face,
caus'd by the Fears and Apprehen&s;ions of Mi&s;carrying. Now, in Triumphant
Wi&s;e, &s;he'd Walk, and Look, and with Di&s;dainful Je&s;ts,
<PB N="6" REF="38">among her Confidents, Laugh at the weak dull
<HI>Chri&s;ti|ans</HI> of the Court. <HI>Come Dear</HI> A&s;pa&s;ia, would the
&s;ay, <HI>let us no longer doubt of good Succe&s;s; le<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1+ letters">s every Year bring forth a Son, and &s;tock the Kingdom
with a Race of</HI> Pagan <HI>Prin|ces; &s;hall my a&s;piring lofty Soul,
&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1+ letters">p to the ri<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">e De&s;tructive Rules of their in&s;ipid
Morals? One flight of</HI> Pagan <HI>Fancy quite out-&s;trips their heavy
tedious Motions; and till now, our Fears alone have been our Bugbear Appa<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1+ letters">ions: With how much ea&s;e, did we
Contrive and Fini&s;h what &s;ome faint puny hearted Creatures thought
impo&s;&s;ible? Oh how I am plea&s;ed to think how naturally I manag'd the
Intreague: Did&s;t thou ob&s;erve, how gravely &s;ome would &s;tand; and when
my feigned Groans and Cries, would reach their Ears, how then O<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1+ letters">ici<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">usly they'd &s;hake their Heads, devoutly lifting up their Hands,
and pray for my Delivery? Then, when my &s;eeming Pains would make me
fainti&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1+ letters">, with what Concern
they'd Sigh and Whi&s;per, while I would gently gra&s;p, and turn to thee, and
&s;mile at the Succe&s;s of our Invention. Come, Come, let's &s;ee this Darling
of our Hopes, this Ground-work of our Everla&s;ting Joy; long Live, and Live to
Reign, my little blooming Life, and Live to be the S<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">ourge of our Cur&s;t</HI> Chri&s;tian <HI>Foes; I'll
&s;wear thee, like another</HI> Hanibal, <HI>their Mortal Foe; each drop of
Milk thou &s;uck'&s;t, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> an Age
of Malice in thy Heart; A</HI> Chri&s;tia<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1+ letters"> <HI>Name &s;hall grate upon thy Soul, and thou &s;hall
prove the Plague of their Pro|fe&s;&s;ion; I'll breath my Spirit through thy
tender Pores, and make thy hatred of them Everla&s;ting; Down, down ye</HI>
Pa|gans, <HI>to your Great Deliverer; Adore your Mighty Prince, and your
Redeemer. See how the ba&s;e dejected</HI> Chri&s;tians <HI>&s;hrink; &s;ee how
they Tremble at his Awful Frown:</HI> Albion <HI>is once again Redeemed,</HI>
A&s;pa&s;ia, <HI>and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">ow my Crown
&s;its firm and ea&s;ie on my Head.</HI> Thus in Vain Raptures would the Queen
break out, and boa&s;t her Promi&s;es to be Prophe|tical; but &s;oon, alas,
&s;he found her &s;elf deceived, and all her Glorious Promi&s;es vani&s;h of a
&s;udden. <HI>Anaxi|mander,</HI> and the Prince&s;s <HI>Artemi&s;ia,</HI> while
<HI>Licogenes,</HI> and<PB N="7" REF="38">his <HI>Pagan</HI> Councellors,
continued only to make &s;ome &s;mall Encroachments, and Breaches on the Laws
of <HI>Al|bion,</HI> &s;eemingly de&s;igning, for no more than a &s;mall
To|leration of the <HI>Pagan</HI> Religion in <HI>Albion,</HI> kept
them|&s;elves within all bounds of Mode&s;ty and Submi&s;&s;ion, to the King
their Father; only in &s;ome &s;mall Remon&s;tran|ces, they did Declare their
Unwillingne&s;s to appear Par|ties in the Annulling, or Di&s;pen&s;ing with
tho&s;e Laws, made purely for the Security of the <HI>Chri&s;tian</HI>
Religion, again&s;t the Practices and Contrivances of the <HI>Pagans;</HI> but
when they plainly &s;aw, their Own, and the Kingdoms Intere&s;t, re&s;olved to
be made a Sacrifice to the Ambi|tion, and Covetou&s;ne&s;s of a &s;mall Party,
that by the known Laws of the Land, were declared the irreconcile|able Enemies
of the <HI>Chri&s;tians;</HI> they thought it then high time to look about
them, and though they paid all the Reverence imaginable to the King, their
Father; yet they could not re&s;olve to yield their Rights and Inheri|tance,
and hold precariou&s;ly their E&s;tates, at the Di&s;|cretion of an
<HI>Anti-Chri&s;tian</HI> pack'd Councel; be&s;ides, by &s;everal
Remon&s;trances and Petitions from the Chief of the Nobility and Gentry, they
had been &s;olicited to take them into their Protection, and to endeavour a
Re|dre&s;s of their Grievances, and heavy Oppre&s;&s;ions.
<HI>Anaxi|mander,</HI> being a Prince of a Va&s;t and Generous Spirit, was
ea&s;ily induc'd to conde&s;cend to their Relief; for, be&s;ides his proper
Intere&s;t in the Crown of <HI>Albion,</HI> which by the common Principles of
Nature, he was obliged to Main|tain and Defend; he often would revolve on the
Glory of the Action, and how Heroick and God like it would &s;hew, to appear
the Great and Glorious Champion of the Chri&s;tian Religion, which by a Secret
League, between <HI>Polydorus</HI> King of the <HI>Gauls,</HI> and the King
<HI>Licogenes,</HI> was re&s;olved to be wholly Extirpated, and Roured out of
<HI>Eur<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1+ letters">.</HI> Upon the&s;e
Con&s;iderations, the Prince <HI>Anaxi|mander</HI> immediately imp<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1+ letters"> his De&s;ires and Re&s;olutions
<PB N="8" REF="39">to the High and Mighty Lords and States of the
<HI>Low-Lands,</HI> de&s;ireing their Lord&s;hips Advice and A&s;&s;i&s;tance
in a Matter of that Importance, to the Security of them|&s;elves, as well as
all other <HI>Chri&s;tians;</HI> which upon due Con&s;iderations, they with all
Alacrity imaginable Grant: And now the Prince having a Gallant, though &s;mall
Fleet, equipp'd with all the &s;peed that could be, makes for the
<HI>We&s;t</HI> of <HI>Albion,</HI> and with &s;uch prudent Secrecy were all
things managed, that <HI>Lycogenes</HI> had not the lea&s;t Intima|tion in the
World of his De&s;igns, till his Fleet was rea|dy to Sail.
<HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> had, that Night the fatal News ar|rived, a&s;&s;ign'd
Count <HI>Davila</HI> to meet her at St. <HI>Jaques,</HI> and the Marchione&s;s
<HI>de Tomazo</HI> in the Ab&s;ence e&s;pecially of <HI>A&s;pa&s;ia</HI> (who a
while before was gone over to her Husband <HI>Latroon,</HI> Governour of
<HI>Iberia</HI>) being her chief Confident, was order'd to attend. The Count,
who had once or twice been Tardy in the Hour appointed, thought now by early
Diligence to make amends, &s;o that by Twi|light he was gotten up into the
Bed-Chamber, being a private Retirement for <HI>Me&s;&s;alina,</HI> during the
King's Ab|&s;ence at any Time, or her Indi&s;po&s;ition; where &s;itting down
near the Bed, he waited with Impatience for the Queen; and in the mean time,
was contemplating on the Happine&s;s of his Enjoyments; by this time,
Darkne&s;s had o'er-&s;pread the Earth, and the Marchione&s;s being to give the
Orders for the Candles of that private Apartment, e&s;pecially at that
&s;ea&s;on, the Count found him&s;elf for &s;ome time very &s;olitary, and
without Light, and being about to make to the Door, he heard &s;ome &s;tirring
and breathing on the Bed, when drawing the Curtain &s;oftly, he could ju&s;t
perceive by her Cloaths, it was a Lady fa&s;t a&s;leep; the Count was mightily
amaz'd at fir&s;t, but re|collecting him&s;elf, he thought it doubtle&s;s was
the Queen, who had retired thither before the Hour appointed, and had prevented
even his Dilligence in coming; &s;o with|out &s;cruple, throwing him&s;elf on
the Bed, he cla&s;ps<PB N="9" REF="39">the &s;uppo&s;ed <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI>
in his Arms, and having in his fir&s;t Tran&s;ports run with his curious Hand
o'er all the private Rece&s;&s;es of her Charms, he was ju&s;t preparing to
attack the Fort, mingling with his Ki&s;&s;es, his &s;hort Amorous Sighs,
foretelling Tran&s;ports, Exta&s;ies and Dyings; when <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI>
ha&s;tily comes in with a &s;mall Taper in her Hand, and calls:
<HI>Tomazo,</HI> is not my Dear Count yet come, <HI>Tomazo?</HI> The
Marchione&s;s at the very In&s;tant, whether the Amorous bu&s;tling of the
Count had operated on her waking Fancy, or whether by the Im|pre&s;&s;ion of
&s;ome plea&s;ing Dream, &s;he was thereto incited, Cryed pa&s;&s;ionately out,

<Q REND="inline">"Make ha&s;te my Dear <HI>Antonio,</HI> make
ha&s;te, the Marque&s;s will be here and Ruine us."</Q> The Queen who had heard
her &s;peak tho&s;e la&s;t Words, by this Time had opened the Curtain, and
there di&s;co|vered the Count, rai&s;ed on his Knees between <HI>Tomazo</HI>'s
Leggs, and in a po&s;ture which plainly di&s;covered the drift of his
Intentions; never were Three Per&s;ons (for by this Time the Marchiones had
wak'd) &s;o &s;everally a|&s;toni&s;hed and confounded; the Queen with Shame
had &s;hown her Face glowing Red, and then with Anger &s;traigt grown Pale; the
Count, though in that awkward Po&s;ture, was &s;o much confounded, he could not
move him&s;elf, nor had the Sen&s;e to cover the Marchione&s;s, or his own
Nakedne&s;s; but between Wonder, Anger and Fear, was wholly bereft of even
Sen&s;e or Motion: The Marchione&s;s, who&s;e Age and Experience had rendered
her familiar with the &s;ame or the like Adventures, was not &s;o much
A&s;hamed of being &s;een in that Condition and Po&s;ture, as Apprehen&s;ive of
the Queen's Re&s;entments, if, as was probable, &s;he &s;hould &s;uppo&s;e any
Amour be|tween her and the Count, her Lover, and whom &s;he had but that Night
appointed, and de&s;ign'd for her own U&s;e and Service. In &s;uch di&s;tracted
Thoughts and Manner, did they for a great while &s;tand and gaze, and wonder at
one another, without one Word between them, till<PB N="10" REF="40">at la&s;t
the Queen, whether heightend in her Fancy, with the plea&s;ing &s;ight and
intended Action of the <HI>Count,</HI> or upon due con&s;ideration, believing
and judging, by the Words &s;he had heard the <HI>Marchione&s;s</HI> utter,
that it was wholly a mi&s;take on all &s;ides, bur&s;t out in Laugh|ter, and
turning her Face a little, told the Count in Drollery, the Weather began to be
Cold, and there|fore he would do well to take care and cover his Mi|&s;tre&s;s
and him&s;elf. The <HI>Count</HI> with this &s;hort repri|mand was thoroughly
wak'd out of his Trance, and &s;lip|ping off the farther &s;ide of the Bed, was
bu&s;tling a long time to put him&s;elf in order, while the
<HI>Marchione&s;s,</HI> half di&s;tracted, ri&s;es and pulls the Curtains
clo&s;e about her; which the Queen &s;eeing, She calls out to her:
<HI>What</HI> Tomazo! <HI>You are re&s;olved then to keep the</HI> Count <HI>to
your Self this Night;</HI> and making to the Bed, She threw the Curtains again
open, and di&s;covered <HI>Tomazo</HI> in a fre&s;h Confu&s;ion: By this time
the <HI>Count</HI> had gathered a little more a&s;&s;urance, and coming from
behind the Bed, he &s;trait threw him&s;elf at <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI>'s Feet,
humbly ask'd her Pardon, and told her, he hop'd &s;he was not in&s;en|&s;ible
of the fatal mi&s;take he had like to have fallen in; and con&s;equently, he
doubted not of her favourable In|terpretation; he was &s;orry he had fir&s;t
appeared in &s;o indecent a Po&s;ture, and his continuance therein, She could
not but <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> the con&s;equence of
his A&s;toni&s;h|ment. The Queen, who upon a ju&s;t con&s;ideration of the
Circum&s;tances, was &s;ufficiently &s;atisfied of his Inno|cence, was &s;o far
from being angry or di&s;turb'd, that after two or three &s;its of Laughter,
She threw her de|licious Arms about his Neck, and with Ten Thou&s;and
Ki&s;&s;es Seal'd his Pardon: then turning to her dear <HI>To|mazo,</HI> She
would Laugh, and &s;ay, Make ha&s;t my Dear <HI>Antonio,</HI> make ha&s;te; O
Dear, my Husband comes! Alas, What &s;hall we do? we are ruin'd Dear
<HI>Antonio.</HI> Thus did <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">he Droll
on the poor <HI>M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1+ letters">chione&s;s,</HI>
'till the <HI>Count</HI><PB N="11" REF="40">putting her in mind of the time of
the Night, they were retiring to the Clo&s;et to Conver&s;e, when a
Me&s;|&s;enger from <HI>Alba Regalis,</HI> comes in ha&s;te, to give an account
of an Expre&s;s, <HI>Lycogenes</HI> had receiv'd from the <HI>Belgian
Lowlands,</HI> giving an Account of the Preparations and De&s;igns of the
Prince <HI>Anaximander,</HI> to come and re|dre&s;s the Grievances of the poor
<HI>Chri&s;tians</HI> of <HI>Albion:</HI> the Queen (who was no otherwi&s;e
read in the Politicks and Affairs of State, than as Father <HI>Pedro,</HI> the
<HI>Count,</HI> or &s;ome other of her Prie&s;ts upon particular occa&s;ions
had In&s;tructed her) was not at fir&s;t &s;o apprehen&s;ive of the Danger as
the <HI>Count,</HI> who was &s;o vehemently &s;tart|led at the News, that
without any more Complement than Bowing to the Queen, he de&s;cends and takes
Coach for <HI>Alba Regalis;</HI> where he was no &s;ooner Ar|rived, but he
&s;ound the whole Court Alarm'd; and <HI>Ly|cogenes</HI> in Solemn Council was
gone to Debate the Bu|&s;ine&s;s: The next Day the News was confirmed by
ano|ther Expre&s;s, and then all was in an Uproar; <HI>Lycogenes</HI> in a
great Fright comes to Council, tells them his ap|prehen&s;ions of
<HI>Anaximanders</HI> De&s;ign, requires their be&s;t and &s;peedy Advice, puts
them in Mind of all the Brea|ches he had made in the Laws for their Sakes; and
that now, without &s;peedy A&s;&s;i&s;tance, he was likely to be ru|in'd, and
the <HI>Pagans</HI> Hopes throughout <HI>Albion</HI> to be ut|terly lo&s;t.
Such dreadful Words as the&s;e, and coming from a Prince that had been in every
<HI>Panegyrick</HI> cry'd up and applauded for his Con&s;tancy of Mind, and
In|vincible Courage, did &s;o amaze and terrifie his Coun|&s;ellors, that they
could not in a long time &s;et their Hearts on any &s;erious Con&s;ultation;
&s;ome of them with|drew, then in again; pre&s;ently others that had been
ab&s;ent, came Po&s;ting to under&s;tand and enquire into the Bu&s;ine&s;s;
&s;ome would relate it as terrible as their Fears, and repre&s;ent the numbers
of the Princes Ships and Men double; here you &s;hould &s;ee a haughty
Stiff|necked<PB N="12" REF="41">Prie&s;t, come humbly fawning to a Chri&s;tian
Noble, as if confe&s;&s;ing pa&s;t Mi&s;-carriages and Crimes, he wi&s;h'd for
good Conditions: Some would be pack|ing up their Goods and Trea&s;ure, their
guilty boading Con&s;ciences fore-telling their forc'd Flight and Ruine: But
<HI>Pedro</HI> and <HI>Poliorchetes,</HI> the Chancellour, who were
&s;en&s;ible they were likely to &s;hare the &s;um and &s;ub&s;tance of all
unhappy Revolutions, thought it now no longer time to dally, or &s;pend the
precious Minutes in u&s;ele&s;s idle Fears, but to apply the mo&s;t healing
Medicines, that the pre&s;ent bleeding Wound would bear; and ac|cordingly
per&s;wade <HI>Lycogenes</HI> to re-call &s;everal Edicts, that by their
In&s;tigation and Council had been pro|mulg'd again&s;t the Intere&s;t and
Safety of his Chri&s;tian Subjects: And Father <HI>Pedro</HI> calling a
Convocation of his Inferiour Prie&s;ts, makes them Di&s;-robe, and in
di&s;gui&s;e to mingle among the Chri&s;tian A&s;&s;emblies, in the <HI>Forum,
Bur&s;e,</HI> Temples, and other publick Meeting-Places, and there with
Confidence to utter fal&s;e Re|ports, to le&s;&s;en the Strength of
<HI>Anaximander,</HI> to cry up the mi&s;eries of a Civil War, to Extol the
Loyalty of the King's Chri&s;tian Subjects, to make compari&s;on between young
<HI>Perkin's</HI> Expedition and this, and thence to conclude po&s;itively of
the like &s;ucce&s;s: The Court party al&s;o of Renegado Chri&s;tian Divines,
were order|ed to Preach up the nece&s;&s;ity of Obedience and Loyal|ty, to
with&s;tand the Prince in his Attempts, and to brand his Expedition with the
horrible Title of <HI>Inva|&s;ion.</HI> The&s;e, and many other Arts were
u&s;ed to take off the Edge of <HI>Anaximander</HI>'s Sword; &s;ometimes they'd
Brand His Royal Per&s;on with ba&s;e and ignominious Names; other times they
would think to terrifie the Rebels (as they would call all that &s;hould
a&s;&s;i&s;t him) with the Exemplary Puni&s;hments, inflicted by the
Chancellour <HI>Polyorchetes,</HI> in his bloody <HI>We&s;tern Cam|paigne:</HI>
But all would not do, the Chri&s;tians knew the<PB N="13" REF="41"><HI>Pagan</HI> Punick Faith, as well as Inhumane Cruelty, they &s;aw
their Laws, their Liberties, and Lives at Stake; and that now was the only time
to a&s;&s;ert and recover them; the <HI>Pagan</HI> Prie&s;ts had often mock'd
the King out of his mo&s;t Solemn Promi&s;es, and <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> had
endeavoured to entail their Slavery upon them to all Po&s;terity. Nothing
therefore could &s;tagger their for|mer Re&s;olutions, but like the Adder, they
were Deaf to all their treacherous Charms, and fal&s;e In&s;inuations:
Notwith&s;tanding, <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI>'s dauntle&s;s Pride could not 'till
the Princes Landing &s;toop to the apprehen&s;ion of any material Danger;
&s;he'd often chalk out time and place to &s;ee the &s;end weak Prince brought
bound to <HI>Troynovant;</HI> She'd Laugh and Jeer at his few puny For|ces, and
would in every Table Talk defeat his whole Battalions; &s;ometimes She'd call
her Melancholy Lov|er, who&s;e deeper apprehen&s;ions, now had chang'd his
u&s;ual Mirth; &s;ometimes, I &s;ay, She'd call him to her, and reproach his
needle&s;s Fears: <HI>What?</HI> would She &s;ay, <HI>Can</HI> Davila
<HI>&s;u&s;pect or fear, when</HI> Me&s;&s;alina<HI>'s Heart is free? Can thy
&s;o much applauded Courage &s;toop to what a poor weak Womans Soul can
&s;tand? Stand did I &s;ay? By all that's good, this Hand &s;hall bow the Neck
of that poor Spirited Prince, that weak pre&s;umptuous Wretch, that dare Invade
my Husbands lofty Crown: What my Dear</HI> Da|vila, <HI>can&s;t thou lament?
Ha&s;t thou a Diadem to loo&s;e, a Throne to be pull'd down, Subjects and
Slaves to be de&s;troy|ed before thy Face? The&s;e may create a Monarchs doubts
and fears: What then &s;hould thy Eyes &s;well with needle&s;s Tears? Remit,
remit, alas, thy u&s;ele&s;s apprehen&s;ions! I &s;ure am the Center of thy
Thoughts: In me thy utmo&s;t Wi&s;hes are determined; while then I &s;tand
&s;ecure, What need'&s;t thou fear? Chear up, chear up, my dear lov'd</HI>
Count; <HI>let us not lo&s;e our pre&s;ent happy Minutes, for vain weak doubts
of future Cares and Sorrows.</HI></P>
<P><PB N="14" REF="42">The <HI>Count</HI> both wondred and rejoyced
at the great Heroick Heart of his beloved Royal Mi&s;tre&s;s; and tho' he knew,
and was perfectly &s;en&s;ible that her words were rather the effect of her
dauntle&s;s Spirit, than of a &s;olid Con&s;ideration; yet he &s;aw &s;o much
Love expre&s;s'd in her frequent concernment for him, that he could not but in
common Gratitude and Honour, make her the &s;ame, or &s;uitable returns; he
therefore told her Maje&s;ty, That his apprehen&s;ion of being &s;eparated from
her, was with|out doubt, a &s;en&s;ible affliction to him; but above all he
deplor'd his great unhappine&s;s, in not being able to afford more than his own
per&s;onal a&s;&s;i&s;tance, to repell her own, and their great Prophet's
Enemies; that he cordially wi&s;h'd the Prince <HI>Anaximander</HI>'s
undertakings might prove as frivilous and ineffectual, as &s;he had de|clared
them; that his great care of her Maje&s;ty's Safe|ty and Honour, was the only
Foundation of his Fear; that he did indeed object the wor&s;t to him&s;elf, but
did not believe he had yet any rea&s;on to di&s;pair of the be&s;t; that he was
&s;en&s;ible her &s;uper-eminent Me|rit had render'd her Obnoxious to the
Slanderous re|proaches and envy of the Wicked Chri&s;tian <HI>Albionites;</HI>
that the King her Husband's Zeal, in a good and pious Cau&s;e, had incurred the
wicked Malice of his rebellious Subjects; and that if his Affairs (which Heaven
for|bid) &s;hould happen to fail, it would be the total ru|ine and
de&s;truction of his Life and happine&s;s, to think &s;he &s;hould fall into
the Hands of her Enemies, or be le&s;&s;ened in her Fortune or high Station;
that there|fore it was his humble and hearty reque&s;t, that &s;he would
&s;uffer him&s;elf, and &s;ome other &s;elect Friends, to con&s;ult and lay
before her &s;uch mea&s;ures for the &s;ecurity of her Per&s;on and Honour, as
&s;hould appear to be mo&s;t convenient; that providing again&s;t the wor&s;t,
would be no hindrance of her enjoyment of the be&s;t; but above all, that &s;he
would give him her re&s;olution and firm<PB N="15" REF="42">promi&s;e to let
him&s;elf accompany and wait on her in all, and every Misfortune that
po&s;&s;ibly could befal her. <HI>Me&s;|&s;alina</HI> was ravi&s;h'd with this
&s;o zealous and tender de|mon&s;tration of her Dear Counts Love, and in a
loving tran&s;port catching his Hand and Arm, &s;he pull'd him to her on a
Couch whereon &s;he &s;ate, where with un&s;peak|able Raptures &s;he would
Circle her Snowy Arms and Hands, about his Neck and Wa&s;t; Oh! how &s;he'd
&s;uck his Amorous ruddy Lipps and Checks, and with her Balmy melting Hand
&s;troak, and pre&s;s, and play with his Manly Neck, and Face,
<Q REND="inline">"Oh! could'&s;t thou think Dear Cruel Heart,
&s;aid &s;he, that e're my Panting Soul could yield to part with thee, the
Deare&s;t, ble&s;t Foun|tain of it's joy; Fortune, indeed with rude or
Imparti|al hands may catch and gra&s;p my Shaken, Tottering Crown; but &s;ure
my Heart and Will, are &s;till my own; and being mine, who Dare Pretend to
Stop, or Claim what I re&s;olve to Share, to Give, to Keep for only Thee."</Q>
No, no, my Life, my <HI>Davila,</HI> continued &s;he:
<Q REND="inline">"If Fate or Cur&s;t Incon&s;tant Fortune have
decreed my Seperation from this Ill-bred <HI>I&s;le,</HI> Thou like my better
Genius &s;halt attend me, thou like my happy Star &s;hal't lead the Way: where
e're we come we'll be each others Heaven, and in thy Bo&s;ome will I place my
Land of Joy, and Re&s;t."</Q> With the&s;e la&s;t words they fell together on
the Couch, and tir'd with bu&s;ie Love and Rapture, &s;oon dropt into a gentle
Slumber. Faithful <HI>Toma&s;o,</HI> in the mean time was hovering about the
Out-Guards to prevent &s;urprize, and to divert the acce&s;s of any
&s;u&s;pitious Per&s;ons: She had waited half an hour or little more, when
comes a Me&s;&s;enger from King <HI>Lycogenes</HI> to <HI>Me&s;&s;alina,</HI>
which brought account, the <HI>Prince</HI> was now at <HI>Sea,</HI> and with a
numerous Fleet was making all the Sail he could for <HI>Albion:</HI> the
<HI>Marchione&s;s</HI> receives the Me&s;&s;age, and all in Tears repairs with
open Mouth to the Queens Clo&s;et: the Queen waking abruptly at the
<PB N="16" REF="43">Noi&s;e &s;he made, &s;tarts up, and with a &s;udden Shriek
alarm's the <HI>Count; Anaximander</HI> comes, Dread Soveraign cries the
<HI>Marchione&s;s,</HI> he comes with Speed and Power and Swears to Unravel
all? O Mighty Operations! the Count who had hardly yet recovered him&s;elf, was
look|ing about when he had heard the <HI>Marchione&s;s</HI> declare he was
come, and putting him&s;elf on his Guard, &s;wore he'd Defend his Royal
Mi&s;tre&s;s to the la&s;t; Oh! that his Single Fate, Cries
<HI>Me&s;alina,</HI> were to be oppos'd to thine: In&s;pir'd by Love and my
au&s;picious Prayers, how would'&s;t thou cru&s;h his Puny Soul. Soon
&s;hould'&s;t thou nip the&s;e daring Chri&s;tians hopes, and with one happy
blow &s;e|cure our <HI>Pagan</HI> Friends and Intere&s;t for ever. In the mean
time <HI>Lycogenes</HI> in late and early Councels, was con|triving how to
&s;top this overflowing Current of the <HI>Princes</HI> de&s;igns; he had
ob&s;erv'd an unu&s;ual blithne&s;s in all his <HI>Chri&s;tian</HI> Nobles
Faces, and was &s;en&s;ible that the Prince <HI>Anaximander</HI> could not
pre&s;ume to attack the <HI>Al|bionites,</HI> without very good Incouragement
from the Gran|dee's: however, with all his indu&s;try he was not able to learn
out who were <HI>Anaximanders</HI> Abettors in this bold de&s;igne; Father
<HI>Pedro</HI> and others of his <HI>Anti-Chri&s;tian</HI> Councel were
advi&s;ing him to lay hold on, and &s;ecure all that he could but in the
lea&s;t &s;u&s;pect; but this being controverted was found too Violent, and
more than the pre&s;ent Circum&s;tances of affairs could bear; others
&s;ugge|&s;ting the doubtful Loyalty of the great City of <HI>Troynovant,</HI>
'twas thought advi&s;able to &s;ecure the <HI>Citadel,</HI> in &s;ome Peculiar
tru&s;ty hands, and thereby to &s;care that Populous and Powerful Place into a
ju&s;t Obedience: this was found good and Feazable, and &s;trait a new
Commander is or|dain'd, with &s;ecret orders how to manage things to the be&s;t
advantage. In the mean time, the Prince <HI>Anaximan|der,</HI> &s;teers away,
and without any lett or hindrance, in a few days arrives &s;afe at a convenient
Haven, in the <HI>We&s;t</HI> of <HI>Albion;</HI> and now the Thread of Poor
<HI>Lycogenes</HI> his Fate<PB N="17" REF="43">began to crack, now he could
plainly &s;ee the errours of his Government, and when it was unhappily too
late, might Cur&s;e the ba&s;e de&s;ignes of his pernicious Coun&s;el|lors: now
was he forc'd to &s;toop that Glorious Lofty Heart, which dauntle&s;s
heretofore had braved the mighti|e&s;t force of <HI>Europe.</HI> How was he
chang'd, alas, from that brave Invincible <HI>Lycogenes,</HI> that did through
Clouds of Smoake and Fire, Charge through the <HI>Belgian</HI> Fleet, and with
fre&s;h Lawrels Crown'd, return'd in Triumph to his joyfull Country: now every
little <HI>We&s;tern</HI> breeze that heretofore did &s;erve to blow and kindle
up his flaming Courage, like &s;ome cold Pe&s;tilential air damps his
Mi&s;|giving Soul; now Poor, for&s;aken of him&s;elf he &s;tands, Con&s;cience
alone of Ills pa&s;t done remains his tire&s;ome gue&s;t: Attend ye cur&s;ed
race of wicked <HI>Jebu&s;ites,</HI> &s;ee the Prodigious effects of your
Pernicious Councels, ye Cloggs to Crowns, and bane of Power.</P>
<Q><L>Empires to Shake, and <HI>Monarchs</HI> to Dethrone,</L>
<L>Cur&s;t Race of <HI>Loyala</HI>'s thy Work alone.</L>
<L><HI>Kings,</HI> Crowns, and States o're thrown! no more?
alas;</L>
<L>Tho&s;e <HI>Records</HI> fill not half thy Leaves of
<HI>Bra&s;s.</HI></L>
<L>What need tho&s;e &s;tor'd up Coals (&s;car&s;e worth
<HI>Heavens</HI> while)</L>
<L>For mighty <HI>Doomsday,</HI> Nature's Funeral Pile:</L>
<L>Let Thee but loo&s;e for th' <HI>Univer&s;e</HI> o're
turning,</L>
<L>Thy Single <HI>Brand</HI> would &s;et the <HI>Globe</HI> a
Burning.</L></Q>
<P>The Prince <HI>Anaximander</HI> no &s;ooner appear'd with his
Fleet, but the <HI>Chri&s;tians</HI> all about the Country flock'd to the
Shore, and with loud &s;houts and all other demon|&s;trations of Joy, welcomed
the arrival of their great De|liverer: and &s;everal with Boats &s;tock'd with
fre&s;h Pro|vi&s;ion put off and di&s;pers'd them about the Fleet, for the
refre&s;hment of the Seamen and Souldiers, and having provided before &s;mall
Bridges and other conveniencies for the Landing his Army, and his Carriages, he
found<PB N="18" REF="44">him&s;elf in a condition within three days to draw up
and mu&s;ter his Men, who had by this time heartily recovered the Fatigue of
their Voyage. <HI>Lycogenes</HI> in the mean time, though very much dejected,
had taken care to Levy a Gallant Army, and it was one while thought a very
doubtful thing, to which, to a&s;cribe the Victory. <HI>Anaxi|mander</HI> had
not brought with him above Fourteen Thou|&s;and Hor&s;e and Foot, but tho&s;e
indeed Experienc'd <HI>Vete|rane Bands,</HI> very Compleatly Arm'd; be&s;ides,
<HI>Lycogenes</HI> before the Prince landed, had at lea&s;t Thirty Thou&s;and
well appointed Souldiers, &s;o that when he began tho|roughly to compute his
own &s;trength, and his Enemies weakne&s;s, he thought to take heart, and
re&s;olv'd for the greater Incouragement of his Men to appear at the head of
them him&s;elf, and withal &s;peed to give his Enemies Battle, and hinder their
further Progre&s;s into the Country; but alas, while he was flatter'd and
amus'd with the &s;trength and bravery of his own Army, <HI>Anaximander</HI>
was mu&s;tering and entertaining the Choice Young Men of all the
<HI>We&s;tern</HI> Country&punc; for the People con&s;idering the Cau&s;e, and
that their Liberties and Lives, were now their only la&s;t &s;take, they came
flocking in &s;o fa&s;t to the Prince, that he had in eight days more
Sub&s;tantial choice Men than he could hand&s;omely make u&s;e of; be&s;ides,
the Major part of <HI>Lycogenes</HI> his Army, being <HI>Chri&s;tians,</HI>
they could not but be &s;en&s;ible that tho&s;e Swords that they &s;hould draw
again&s;t their Brethren in the <HI>We&s;t,</HI> would at the long run be
employ'd again&s;t their own Throats and Lives; and therefore, being already
weary of &s;ubmitting their Free-Born Souls to the Bondage and Tyranny of their
<HI>Pagan</HI> Officers, they a&s;&s;ociate and take Council to|gether how to
free them&s;elves and their Country, by either, laying down their Arms, or
going over to the Prince <HI>Anaximander,</HI> and now the fatal Period of
<HI>Ly|cogenes</HI> his Reign drew near, for fir&s;t whole Companies, Troops,
and Regiments of his Army revolt from him, and<PB N="19" REF="44">then his
Friends and Near Relations, touch'd with the &s;ence of deeper obligations due
to their Country, their Religion and their God: Thus the Trump being turned,
the <HI>Pagans</HI> quickly find their di&s;advantage of the Game, and in
Confu&s;ion, like di&s;tracted Men fling up their Cards, and &s;camper to
&s;ecure them&s;elves from payment. <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> al&s;o to her Sorrow
&s;ees what hitherto &s;he ne|ver would believe; now <HI>Pedro</HI> finds the
fallacy of his con|clu&s;ions, while <HI>Polyorchetes, Sunderania,</HI> and
others of that wicked Grue cur&s;e their unlucky Stars, and &s;eek in every
corner for &s;ome place of refuge: Poor <HI>Lycogenes</HI> flies in confu&s;ion
from his di&s;tant Foes, not able to endure even the report of their approach:
He that like another <HI>Xerxes</HI> &s;aw him&s;elf begirt even with a world
of Guards, now flies bereft almo&s;t of nece&s;&s;ary Attendance: He no
&s;ooner arriv'd at his old Pallace of <HI>Alba Regalis,</HI> but in ha&s;t he
calls a Secret and Solemn Council of all his few remaining Friends, and after
&s;uch Debates as the time would afford and permit, they re&s;olve to &s;end
propo&s;als to the Prince, who like a Swelling Tide had now o're &s;pread the
Country; and the danger being grown be|yond recovery, <HI>Me&s;&s;alina,</HI>
at la&s;t thinks it high time to prepare for her retirement, and with all
&s;peed provide for her Security; the Young Child al&s;o by the advice of the
Council was to be nicely taken care of, being likely to prove a very good after
Game. The Queen therefore immediatly &s;ends for the <HI>Count</HI> to a
private Conference, who as greedily comes, in hopes to per&s;wade her to a
&s;peedy Flight: Ju&s;t as he approach'd the Clo&s;et Door, the Queen all in
tears gets up, and not being able for a while to &s;peak, leans on his Neck,
and after many grow|ing Sobs and heavy Sighs, falls Fainting in his Arms: never
was Lover in &s;o &s;ad di&s;tre&s;s as was the <HI>Count</HI> at this unhappy
accident; call out he dare not, for fear of any Su&s;pition or ill
interpretation of his being with the Queen alone; to go and leave her Dying as
he thought, his<PB N="20" REF="45">Soul could ne're agree to; how to
a&s;&s;i&s;t, what remedy to u&s;e, where to get any thing to apply he knew
not: di&s;tracted thus he Tore him&s;elf, and Rav'd, and Cur&s;t his
misfortune, then would he kneel by the Couch where|on he had laid her, and
ki&s;s, and &s;igh, and Pray, and call, till at la&s;t the Queen coming to her
&s;elf open'd her dying Eyes, and ca&s;ting a Langui&s;hing look at her Dear
<HI>Count,</HI> who was now in a bitter Agony of Sorrow, and hardly able to
&s;upport his oppre&s;&s;ed Spirits, &s;he rais'd her &s;elf a little on the
Couch, and in a Sorrowful manner lifting up her Hands and Eyes, recounts a
fre&s;h the &s;um of her Misfortunes: All, all, is lo&s;t, Dear
<HI>Davila,</HI> &s;aid &s;he, my Hopes, my Peace, my Joy, my Glories, my All.
And if I have ought left me worth the Thought of Life, it is, that I enjoy thy
Love. That Coronet's my own, though my Crown's lo&s;t. <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI>
is now driven to the Fatal Period of her Grandure in <HI>Albion,</HI> a &s;hock
&s;o di&s;mal, that the Agonies of &s;uch a Fall, to &s;uch Soaring Ambitition
as <HI>Me&s;alina</HI>'s, are only to be conceived by tho&s;e that feel them.
In her fit of De&s;paration (for 'twas almo&s;t come to that) &s;he is Mrs.
however of Rea&s;on enough &s;till to provide at lea&s;t again&s;t the Wor&s;t
of &s;hames, and La&s;t of Mi&s;eries, her falling into her Enemies Hands, the
<HI>Chri&s;ti|ans,</HI> a Danger at that Time much threatned; the united
Murmurs of <HI>Albion</HI> looking up to no other Fountain, and Original of the
Woes and Calamities, of the Pittyed and Deplored <HI>Lycogenes,</HI> then the
Hot Coun&s;els, or rather Inchantments of <HI>Me&s;&s;alina,</HI> and her
<HI>Pagan</HI> Abettors. And how heavy the weight of &s;uch an
<HI>Inqui&s;ition</HI> would fall, even her Flatterers are but too
&s;en&s;ible. Her Flight therefore, being now the la&s;t Plank &s;he has to lay
hold off to &s;cape &s;inking, &s;he prepares a &s;mall Diminitive Yatcht, and
hires (command &s;he could not, &s;o feeble is Soveraignty without Hearts) a
handful of Select Sea|men, all well bribed, and well &s;worn, privately, to
waft her &s;afe to <HI>Gothland,</HI> the only Sanctuary. (Such
<PB N="21" REF="45">Univer&s;al Enemies had her Politicks pull'd down) the
World could yield her. Oh Zeal, Zeal, mad Zeal! what Humane Di&s;tre&s;&s;es,
Mi&s;eries, Ruines are Thine, and Thy only Creation?&mdash;Nay, is there
&s;carce that one Con|flagration, that ever &s;et whole Nations in a Flame,
that has not been lighted by a Cole from an Altar? Unfor|tunate
<HI>Me&s;&s;alina,</HI> and de&s;ervedly &s;o, the late Royal Part|ner, to no
le&s;s than <HI>Neptune</HI>'s Soveraign, the Oceans Lord, and the &s;till
Terror of the World, had not Zeal, Infatu|ating, De&s;troying, Dethroning Zeal,
blazed out; Poor mi&s;guided, deluded, hard-fated <HI>Lycogenes!</HI> This very
<HI>Me&s;&s;alina,</HI> of all tho&s;e Floating Ca&s;tles, the late attend|ing
Pageants of her Triumph, all tho&s;e once Impreg|nable Famed Walls of
<HI>Albion;</HI> left Mi&s;tri&s;s of no more than a poor Cock-boat! In&s;tead
of glittering Flaggs, and flowing Streamers, u&s;hered by all the
<HI>Tritons</HI> of the <HI>Main,</HI> and as She pa&s;t, Saluted by all the
Ecchoing Thunder from the Shoar; now to Steal away by Night, Skulk like a
Fugitive, ob&s;cured by Shades and Coverts! Yes, De&s;tiny and Zeal have &s;o
Decreed it! For Sea therefore (&s;uch her Equippment, and &s;uch the
ha&s;ten|ing Cau&s;e that call'd her) She prepares; and takes with her, her
<HI>Tomazo, Sunderania,</HI> Count <HI>Davila, Seba&s;tian,</HI> and
<HI>Pedro,</HI> and &s;ome others of her Cabinet Friends; the la&s;t Three only
being a little Transformed, by Di&s;|gui&s;es of Buff, Scarlet and Feather,
metamorpho&s;ed in|to down-right Militants: For indeed her Eccle&s;ia&s;tick
Confidents, e&s;pecially Father <HI>Pedro,</HI> were grown &s;o no|toriou&s;ly
Infamous, that they dur&s;t not tru&s;t them&s;elves in their own Shapes, even
with Sworn Hirelings and Mercenaries; not Gold it &s;elf being &s;ufficient to
pur|cha&s;e Tru&s;t or Safety. The Queen had but very little left, to &s;ave
and carry with her, except her Jewels; for truly in &s;pight of all that good
Husbandry, that eminent and &s;ingular good Quality in <HI>Lycogenes;</HI> yet
what with Stand|ing Armies, and no Taxes (for he neither lov'd or plea&s;'d
<PB N="22" REF="46">Senates enough, for any new Donations from them) and from
the continual daily Dreine, he received from tho&s;e innumerable Spiritual
Hor&s;e-leeches, that hung upon his Pur&s;e-&s;trings, his Exchequer was but
low. <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI>'s Jewels therefore, being all the Trea&s;ure &s;he
could &s;ave; tho&s;e by Father <HI>Pedro</HI>'s par|ticular Advice, were
committed to the Charge and Cu&s;tody of an <HI>Italian</HI> Prie&s;t,
recommended to her by him, as a Heavenly minded man, a Reclu&s;e from the
World, and who as a Per&s;on under a Vow of Poverty, of a Character and
Profe&s;&s;ion above any Temptation, was the only man &s;he could be&s;t
repo&s;e that Tru&s;t in. Thus Embarqued, with their be&s;t Sails to their
&s;mall Frigat; with a Fair Wind, and Pro&s;perous Gale, they arrive at
<HI>Gothland:</HI> for indeed the ju&s;t Ordaining Pow|ers, that had puni&s;ht
her with the lo&s;s of a Crown, af|ter &s;o heavy a Wreck at Land, thought fit
to bound their Indignation there.</P>
<P>From her Arrival in <HI>Gothland,</HI> the Scene begins a little
to Change: For the <HI>Pagans</HI> there, with no &s;mall Homage and Adoration,
re&s;ound her Welcome. The Entertainment &s;he received, as peculiarly
influenc'd by the Commands of <HI>Polydorus,</HI> was every where Splen|did and
Magnificent: I dare not call it his Bounty, or Genero&s;ity. For truly, all the
utmo&s;t Services, Re&s;pect, Obligations, Protections, or A&s;&s;i&s;tance;
and indeed, all, and more then <HI>Polydorus</HI> has, or can do for
<HI>Lycogenes,</HI> or <HI>Me&s;&s;alina,</HI> &s;o near a part of him; are but
poor and faint Returns, to compen&s;ate tho&s;e Mi&s;eries and Suffer|ings, in
which his own private Leagues and Cabals, and the too prevailing
<HI>Gallick</HI> Councels and Mea&s;ures in <HI>Albion,</HI> have involved the
ruined <HI>Lycogenes.</HI> With a No|ble Train of Per&s;ons of the Highe&s;t
Quality, and a Band of Guards, a truly Royal Retinue, is <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI>
Conducted to the <HI>Gothick</HI> Court; whil&s;t <HI>Polydorus</HI> him&s;elf,
with that &s;olemn State and Grandeur, comes to meet her, and
<PB N="23" REF="46">Congratulate her Arrival; paying her all that Humble and
Profound Re&s;pect, and Awful Attendance, as if &s;he came nor from Quitting,
but to the Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ing of a Di|adem: So Pompous was her Entry, that
&s;carce an An|tique Roman Triumph could exceed it. And indeed &s;he came to
Triumph, the very fir&s;t Sally of her Eye, bringing her back no le&s;s a
Trophy, than the Heart of <HI>Polydorus.</HI> To give her her Right, even
without Flattery; never was Conque&s;t &s;o Expeditious: No &s;ooner was the
very Lightning &s;een, but the Bolt had Executed. So Daz|ling were her Charms,
to the &s;urpri&s;ed <HI>Polydorus,</HI> that he truly dated his intire
Va&s;&s;allage, from the fir&s;t Moment he &s;aw her. His once Adored Dear
Ve&s;tal Divinity, or his Haughtier <HI>Montezania</HI>'s Charms, were nothing
to the Influence of <HI>Me&s;&s;alina:</HI> &s;o unaccountable is the Archery
of the Blind God: For <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> had been no Stranger to
<HI>Polydorus:</HI> when before her Marriage with <HI>Lycogenes,</HI> in her
Travel from her own <HI>Italick</HI> Dutchy, to the King|dom of
<HI>Albion,</HI> &s;he took the Court of <HI>Polydorus</HI> in her way; yet,
then her Beauties, though in their Younger Bloom, could be beheld without half
the pre&s;ent Fatality. For, whether his then Regnant Ve&s;tal Mrs had &s;o
fill'd his Soul, as had left no Room for any other Gue&s;t, or for what
Rea&s;on el&s;e; a common Veneration was all the Of|fering he made her then;
when Sighing, De&s;iring, Langui&s;hing, Dying, whole Hecatombs are all too
little Sacrifices now. In fine, &s;o Capricious an A&s;cendant had his
pre&s;ent Governing Planets, that that very <HI>Polydorus</HI> fated for the
Dethroning of the Unfortunate <HI>Lycogenes;</HI> the &s;ame
<HI>Matchivilian</HI> Part, before Practi&s;ed again&s;t his Crown, mu&s;t now
be Acted again&s;t his Bed. For from this Hour, Friend&s;hip, Honour,
Ho&s;pitality, (Obligations not the fir&s;t time di&s;pen&s;ed withal by
<HI>Polydorus</HI>) and all other ties quite cancell'd; the Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion
of <HI>Me&s;&s;alina,</HI> though at the price of a Kingdom, is his whole and
&s;ole Ambition. For <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> he Burns, and were her
<PB N="24" REF="47">Virtue a Rock of Ice, (which for ought he knows it may be);
for though indeed he was no Stranger to all other her Intrigues and Affairs,
however in her Curtain <HI>Arcana,</HI> her Amours, he was no Cabinet
Coun&s;ellour) he re&s;olves to melt it down; and that &s;o far from a
&s;cruple at the Undertaking, that he &s;hould account it not only the
&s;weete&s;t, but the mo&s;t glorious of all his Atchievements. For &s;etting
all other Con&s;iderations apart, what <HI>Polydorus</HI> once but will'd, he
could not will unju&s;tly; his Ambition was Commi&s;&s;ion'd of his
Con&s;ci|ence's High Chancellour, whil&s;t to De&s;ire was to Deter|mine; and
whatever but once Determined, took the immediate Stamp of Right and Equity to
pa&s;s it into an irrevocable Decretal; in&s;omuch, that the very Dethroning of
a God, if once thought practicable, to de&s;ire it was enough to render it
ju&s;tifiable.</P>
<P>As there wanted no Magnificence in all her Enter|tainment from
her fir&s;t Landing, even before the Cap|tivity of the enamour'd
<HI>Polydorus,</HI> you may imagine no exce&s;&s;es of the highe&s;t &s;tudied
Gallantry were omitted now. The Adored <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> is Lodged in a
Pallace &s;o Glorious, as might have fitted the Reception of a &s;e|cond
<HI>Cleopatra</HI> in all her Pride; and which her <HI>Antho|ny,</HI> the then
Competitor for Univer&s;al Empire, and in all that Love that lo&s;t him the
World for her, could not have furni&s;h'd out more rich and Splendid: Nor did
the Brightne&s;s and Richne&s;s of her Pallace con&s;i&s;t only in the
out&s;ide Wealth and Beauty of her Shining Beds, Embroidered Canopys, the
riche&s;t of Tapi&s;tries, Ca|binets, Seruitores, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> The un&s;een
Trea&s;ures, outvy'd the glittering Fronti&s;piece: In this Drawer of a Cabinet
Fourty, 'tother Fifty, a Third a Hund|red Thou&s;and Pieces of Gold; a Fourth,
Lockets of Diamonds, a Fifth, Ropes of Pearl, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> And all too mean
a Tribute to his Soveraign <HI>Me&s;&s;alina.</HI> And tru|ly
<PB N="25" REF="47">now we talk of Pearl and Diamonds, her own Cargo of Jewels,
committed to the true and tru&s;ty <HI>Italian</HI> Prie&s;t afore&s;aid, were
under Su&s;pition of mi&s;|carriage; both the Trea&s;ure and the Trea&s;urer
being at pre&s;ent Invi&s;ible: We dare not &s;urmize &s;o unkindly, that
Avarice, or filthy Worldly Lucre, could pre|vail upon &s;o Sanctify'd a
Reclu&s;e from the World, un|der a particular Vow of Poverty; and above all,
thought worthy (as we told you) of the peculiar recommenda|tions of Father
<HI>Pedro,</HI> could make <HI>Him</HI> tardy in &s;uch a Ca&s;e. But whether,
on the more charitable &s;ide, by &s;ome impul&s;e of Religion he re&s;erv'd
them for Holy &amp; Pious U&s;es; as to pre&s;ent them to the Shrine of the
<HI>Lor|rettian</HI> Diana, to implore from her Coele&s;tial Bene|diction, her
<HI>Albion Maje&s;ties</HI> Conception of a Duke of <HI>Eborac,</HI> to her
Prince of <HI>Cambria;</HI> or for any other like Dedication to Holy Mother
Church, &s;o it is, that he was no &s;ooner gotten on Shoar, but mode&s;t good
Man, he withdrew, and was never &s;een after it. And notwith&s;tanding
<HI>Polydorus</HI> publi&s;h'd an Edict, pro|mi&s;ing a very ample Reward to
that Per&s;on that &s;hould find him, and recall the Wanderer: Either his
Divine Contemplations, and &s;ublimer Meditations, had rapt him above the
li&s;tening to humane and mundane Proclamations; or el&s;e his Devout
Pilgrimage had carryed him beyond the hearing of them, &s;o that his Recallment
is utterly De&s;paired of; in&s;omuch, that unle&s;s her <HI>Albion
Maje&s;ty</HI> be content to take out their Price in <HI>Dirges</HI> for her
Soul, 'tis thought for any other Re&s;titution or Payment, &s;he now hopes but
little. <HI>Polydorus</HI> now begins his approach to <HI>Me&s;&s;alina,</HI>
re|&s;olving an immediate vigorous Siege, with all the For|ces he can bring to
lye down before her: His dayly Vi&s;its, Ob&s;ervance, and con&s;tant
Attendance, which at fir&s;t carried onely the Face of common Gallantry,
<PB N="26" REF="48">and look'd upon by all Eyes as no other than the Ge|nerous
Treatment of a Royal Ho&s;pitality to Greatne&s;s in Di&s;tre&s;s, and under
his Protection; are now both by his Looks, Behaviour, and Addre&s;s, &s;o
Indu&s;tri|ou&s;ly managed, that <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> (unle&s;s &s;he wanted
Eyes) mu&s;t find that in the A&s;&s;iduous <HI>Polydorus,</HI> there was
&s;omething more then a kind Ho&s;t, <HI>viz.</HI> an Adoring Slave.</P>
<P>The Queen now fully &s;atisfied how great a Va&s;&s;al her Eyes
had won her, begins to con&s;ider the Wi&s;e Management of &s;o Important a
Conque&s;t. <HI>Polydorus</HI>'s Addre&s;s and Per&s;onage, even ab&s;tracted
from his Im|perial Character, and the Lu&s;ter of a Crown, were &s;uch as
always &s;tood fair in the Female Eyes, and ren|der'd his Heart no
di&s;-acceptable Pre&s;ent to the very Proude&s;t and mo&s;t Di&s;dainful
Beauty. And our <HI>Me&s;|&s;alina</HI> who was neither the Coye&s;t, or mo&s;t
In-&s;en|&s;ible of her Sex, already felt a Commi&s;eration about her, that
told her the Sighs of &s;o Royal a Langui&s;her mu&s;t not go unpittied. Time,
A&s;&s;iduity, and Ap|pl<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">cation,
&s;he plainly fore&s;aw, would at la&s;t inevitably prevail; and therefore
fancying it no le&s;s then the Ab|&s;olute Ordainment of her Fate, &s;he has no
farther Thought then an entire Re&s;ignation to Immutable Decree. However,
though the Stake mu&s;t at la&s;t be lo&s;t, yet the Playing her Game out
Politickly, and managing her Cards to her be&s;t Advantage, are in her own
Choice and Power. Yes, that, and that onely takes up all the bu&s;ine&s;s of
her waking, and indeed &s;leeping Thoughts. The Terms and Conditions of a
Surrender; What Parly and Capitulations fir&s;t; what Re&s;olution and
Ob&s;tinacy (for the Victory mu&s;t not be Cheap) &s;he mu&s;t hold out with,
before the White Flag is at la&s;t to be hung out. Her Meditations on this
&s;ubject had one Evening led her alone from all<PB N="27" REF="48">Company
into an Inner and Private Walk of the Garden; When <HI>Polydorus,</HI> who&s;e
unre&s;ting Soul had led his Body abroad too with much the &s;ame
Contem|plations, fortunately meets her. This opportunity as it gave him the
Ble&s;&s;ing of a more Private Interview, then before he had met, &s;o it
in&s;pired him with the Courage of making a more ample and particular
De|claration of his Love, then all his hitherto fainter and di&s;tant
Addre&s;&s;es had made. Accordingly throwing him&s;elf at her Feet, in the
Tendere&s;t and mo&s;t Pa&s;|&s;ionate Expre&s;&s;ions (the never wanted
Eloquence of Love) he told her how intirely the Soul of <HI>Polydorus</HI> was
&s;ubjected to the Eyes of <HI>Me&s;&s;alina:</HI> Nor did he more heighten the
Progre&s;s of her Victories, &amp; Power of her Charms, then the Fatality of
them; that with|out a Return of Pity his Death was Inevitable, whil&s;t his
Peace, Happine&s;s and Life were ab&s;olutely in her Hands. The Queen, who&s;e
part was now to Play, with a &s;eeming Amazement, rather than a li&s;tening
At|tention, gave him the Liberty of fini&s;hing his whole Declaration; when as
Wakeing from a Frightful Dream, or Starting from a di&s;turbing Vi&s;ion,
<HI>Good Gods,</HI> &s;he cry'd, <HI>are not your Quivers Empty yet? Have
<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1+ letters">e more Shafts re&s;erved &s;till
for the unfortu|nate</HI> Me&s;&s;alina? <HI>Is it not enough that your
Per&s;e|cuting Powers have Ravi&s;ht an Empire from me, and Driven me out an
Exile, a Wanderer of the World; but I mu&s;t yet fall lower; low as the mo&s;t
ab|ject of my Sex, when my Cha&s;t Ears mu&s;t be Profan|ed with the Rude
Sounds of Lawle&s;s Love; Oh!</HI> Po|lydorus, <HI>Cruel</HI> Polydorus,
<HI>has Mi&s;ery and Ruine made the fallen</HI> Me&s;&s;alina <HI>&s;o little,
&s;o de&s;picably little&mdash;No, Glorious Madam,</HI> (Pa&s;&s;ionately
reply'd <HI>Polydorus</HI>) <HI>&s;o Great, &s;o Divinely Great, that the Gods
have &s;ingled you out to Weild their Thunder, whil&s;t<PB N="28" REF="49">there's not one Bolt of Heaven that Strikes with Fate but</HI>
Me&s;&s;alina<HI>'s. Oh! Madam, if ever Compa&s;&s;ion, Mercy, Charity, Enter'd
the faire&s;t Temple that ever Lodg'd a God, have Pity on the Adoring,
Kneeling, Dying</HI> Polydorus. <HI>My Life,&mdash;alas, my very Soul depends
upon no other Doom but</HI> Me&s;&s;alina<HI>'s; for if the Deaf, the Cruel,
the Inexorable</HI> Me&s;&s;alina <HI>mu&s;t not, cannot, will not Pity me, to
Die is but half the Tribute my De&s;pair mu&s;t pay her: The Tran&s;ports of a
Pa&s;&s;ion like mine are &s;uch, that when I lo&s;e all Hopes of one kind
Smile from</HI> Me&s;&s;alina, <HI>&s;he leaves me abandoned to that Wild
Torrent of unbounded Hor|rours, that le&s;s then the Abjuring of Humanity, the
Execrating of Providence, and Cur&s;ing the very Authour of my Being, will be
the fatal Con&s;equences of my irre&s;i&s;tible De&s;peration; a De&s;peration
&s;o hideous, that when I fall a Victim to her Scorn, will &s;hut me out at
once from Earth and Heaven. Me&s;&s;alina,</HI> not at all Di&s;plea&s;ed at
&s;o Pa&s;&s;ionate a Declaration, however to continue the Ma&s;que of a mo&s;t
Rigid and Obdurate Virtue, Reprimands him with all the Se|vere&s;t
Re&s;entments imaginable, de&s;ires him, nay, Conjures him for ever to Cea&s;e
a S<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1+ letters">it &s;o Fruitle&s;s, and a
Thought &s;o I<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1+ letters">pious, a Language
that her un|blemi&s;ht never &s;h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1+ letters">ken Virtue can &s;o little hear, that rather then liv<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter"> within the Air of &s;o much Guilt, her
wounded Innocence mu&s;t be forced to Fly a Cruel Court, and &s;eek a Refuge in
&s;ome kinder and more Ho&s;pitable De&s;art. <HI>Ah! Madam,</HI> reply'd
<HI>Polyderus, Then you have Decreed Mankind mu&s;t be undone! Shall Empires,
Nations, People, have Peace, when I have none! No Madam, 'tis re&s;olv'd
that</HI> Me&s;&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">lina <HI>Hate,
Scorn, Loath the &V;nworthy</HI> Polydorus. <HI>Yes, his De&s;truction, his
Irrevocable De&s;truction's Sealed; and by the Malice of my Stars, the World
&s;hall Groan<PB N="29" REF="49">as I do.</HI> He was once more falling at her
Feet, when a Princely Train of the~ Noble&s;t Quality of the <HI>Gothland</HI>
Court appearing in the Garden, interrupted him. He had &s;carce recovered
Rea&s;on enough to &s;uppre&s;s the too vi&s;ible concern and di&s;order, that
appeared in his Eyes, much le&s;s the Load that lay at his Heart, when one of
his Generals Advancing from the re&s;t of the Noble Company, threw him&s;elf at
his Feet, telling him, <HI>He was immediately in Obedience to his Royal
Commands, &s;etting forward to the Gene|ral Randezvous on the Banks of the
Rhine, and came in Duty to Receive his farther Commi&s;|&s;ion and Orders.
Commi&s;&s;ion and Orders!</HI> An|&s;wered <HI>Polydorus; Why, Burn, Ravage,
Ruine, De&s;troy; make Nations w<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;te, and King|doms De&s;olate; &s;pare neither Age nor Sex; but
above all, where e'er thou meet&s;t that loath'd dete&s;ted Thing, that calls
it &s;elf a</HI> Chri&s;tian, <HI>dou|ble thy Fury there, Bani&s;h all thoughts
of Pity or Remor&s;e; be Bloody and be Canonized: Remember the Chri&s;tian
Pride is &s;well'd to &V;lceration; and 'tis the Glory of our Sword to Lance
it. And if thou meete&s;t a Temple, lay the Accur&s;ed Con&s;ecrated Roof in
A&s;hes; the God that &s;ills it is my Enemy; and 'tis but Ju&s;t my Vengeance
Battail Heavens. If thou mak'&s;t Treaties or Capitulations, my Orders are, you
break 'em all. Betray and Conquer. Heav'n ne'er kept Faith with me, and 'tis
but Rea&s;on, we the Vicegerents of the Gods &s;hould Copy their own
everla&s;ting Fal&s;ehood, and Reign Immortal Infidels like them&s;elves. You
have my Orders; to your Po&s;t; Obey and Pro&s;per.</HI> The General, upon the
Kings Command, makes his Humble Obey&s;ance to the King, and Retreats,
Ruminating with &s;ome little Sur|prize on the &s;everity of his pre&s;ent
rough Commi&s;&s;ion;<PB N="30" REF="50">which however, on what unknown
occa&s;ion that had tran&s;ported him into &s;uch Vehemence and Bitterne&s;s in
the expre&s;&s;ing him&s;elf, he neverthele&s;s knew to be the true and
con&s;tant Sen&s;e of that Great Monarch; and all his former Orders, though
perhaps &s;omething gentler and &s;ofter worded, carried in reality the &s;ame
Contents and Mandats; and accordingly in all Duty prepares to Execute.</P>
<P>But to return to our <HI>Polydorus,</HI> who&s;e Tormenting
Reflections on the Cruelty of <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> had, with|drawn him from
all Company to his Clo&s;et; In all the Agonies of defeated Love, he could not
yet in|tirely yield to De&s;pair: Were her Virtue a Rock of Adamant: Nay, were
&s;he po&s;&s;ibly as Deaf, as Pitile&s;s, and Remor&s;ele&s;s to all his
Bleeding Sighs, as him&s;elf to a Dying Chri&s;tians la&s;t Prayer, he will not
quit the Siege yet. Accordingly not a day, nor &s;carce an hour pa&s;&s;es that
he does not Vi&s;it, Court, Sue, Plead, and &s;pight of all Denials, all her
Pleas of Virtue and Cha&s;tity, that Mountain Honour &s;hall not block his way.
Sometimes he Woes her with the Promis'd Re|&s;tauration of her <HI>Albion,</HI>
the Re-in&s;tating her in all her former Grandeur; and if the Crown of
<HI>Albion</HI> will not purcha&s;e a Smile, he'll throw his own in, to make up
the Sum. In &s;hort, No Gallantry, Ad|dre&s;s; no Prote&s;tations, Vows or
Oaths, though ne'er &s;o Extravagant, are wanting to pur&s;ue the Coy
Di&s;|dainful <HI>Me&s;&s;alina:</HI> till one Morning in her Walk in the
&s;ame Garden, his &s;ucce&s;sful Rhetorick prevails; or rather
<HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> thinks &s;he has now held out long enough to yield with
Honour: For after his Repea|ted Prote&s;tations of the Crowns and Scepters he
would lay at her Feet, and the Va&s;&s;al World he would make her Mi&s;tre&s;s
of; He told her, <HI>If Me&s;&s;alina would but Conde&s;cend to Crown his Love,
he would pay his<PB N="31" REF="50">Acknowledgment of &s;o Divine a
Ble&s;&s;ing, with no le&s;s a Sacrifice then a hundred thou&s;and Chri&s;tian
Lives.</HI> A hundred thou&s;and Chri&s;tian Lives! my Generous
<HI>Polydorus,</HI> replyed <HI>Me&s;&s;alina. Such Merit, &s;uch
Tran|&s;cendent Merit! An Offering of that price enough to Court a Saint, and
Win a Godde&s;s.</HI> Such Eloquence is irre&s;i&s;table; nay, the name of
&s;uch a Sacrifice &s;o plea&s;ed her, that had the &s;tronge&s;t Bonds of
<HI>Con&s;cience</HI> held her, that &s;ingle Thought had bur&s;t the Feeble
Manacle; and the offering of &s;o much Heretick &s;treaming Blood, were &s;uch
an Atonement, as would not only expiate but con&s;ecrate the very Sin it
&s;elf. So plea&s;ed and &s;o conquer'd, &s;he generou&s;ly tells the
Ravi&s;h'd <HI>Polydorus, That &s;he will expect him at Ve&s;per-time, when
&s;he will &s;end all her Retinue to the Mo&s;que to their Devotion, and Attend
his Com|pany in her Clo&s;et.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Polydorus</HI> being now Arrived at the Haven, ju&s;t up|on
entring to the Inland of Paradice; the Hour, the Place, the Means and
Opportunity all a&s;&s;igned for the Con&s;ummating of his Happine&s;s; and
what heightned the Charm, his Divine <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> her &s;elf the
generous De&s;igner of the whole Scene of Felicity; the Plot, the Introduction
and Conduct to this more then happy Meeting, &s;o much her own&punc; that
po&s;&s;ibly, our Amorous Monarch could not conceive more Rapture at the Queens
Conce&s;&s;ion of her Highe&s;t Fa|vours them&s;elves, then at the Endearing
management of the ble&s;t Minute to be&s;tow them; even the Portal to
Happine&s;s being oftentimes with Lovers no le&s;s Ra|vi&s;hing, then the very
Temple of Bli&s;s, to which it leads.&mdash;In &s;hort, All things contributing
to make him the Happie&s;t Prince in the World; whether a Soul, &s;o unbounded,
as that of <HI>Polydorus,</HI> whom the Empire of the Univer&s;e ('tis very
well known) would<PB N="32" REF="51">hardly &s;atisfy, had the Tran&s;ports of
his Pa&s;&s;ion, as exalted as tho&s;e of his Ambition; and was thereby
elevated above the Common Height of an ordinary L<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">vers Exta&s;y; let it &s;uffice, his Joy, his u<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">expre&s;&s;i|ble Joy was &s;uch, as
burnt in his Face, and glowed in his very Eyes; and the expected Enjoyment of
<HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> was at that Moment a Trophy above all the Conque&s;ts
that either his Sword, or his more Vi|ctorious GOLD ever won him. But to leave
our Royal Lover to all his Furious Longings, Impatient Expectings, and
Re&s;tle&s;s Burnings, tho&s;e Amorous crowding Attendants, that always make
the Leading Cavalcade to the Coronation of Love: My Reader mu&s;t be intreated
to interrupt his Expectation of the &s;ucce&s;s of this Grand Scene of our two
Imperial Ina|morato's, by the interpo&s;ing of a little Comical In|trigue of
<HI>Lactilla,</HI> the <HI>Cambrian</HI> Princes Nur&s;e; which, whether by a
Frolick of Fortune, for &s;ome par|ticular Diver&s;ion of that Fickle Deity, or
by meer common chance, it matters not; ca&s;ually intermixing it &s;elf in this
Sublimer Amour, mu&s;t make up a part of our Hi&s;tory.</P>
<P>It is not unknown to the World what Artful Ten|derne&s;s our
<HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> has all along expre&s;t for that dear Infant. But
indeed, 'twas the &s;ubtle&s;t part &s;he had to Play, and therefore it mu&s;t
be Acted to the Life. In the late Storm that drove her from the lo&s;t Kingdom
of <HI>Albion,</HI> and ca&s;t her on the <HI>Gallick</HI> Shore, however that
darling Infant, with all the Tendere&s;t Care, was pre&s;erved from the
Univer&s;al Shipwrack, and not only the hone&s;t Bric-kill Nur&s;e that Suckled
it, was carried over with the Queen, and her <HI>Cambrian</HI> Nur&s;ery; but
al&s;o the very Warming-<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">an Midwife
too, cro&s;t the Hering-pond with her Royal M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">i&s;tre&s;s; and as &s;ome think very timely and prudently, for
<PB N="33" REF="51">fear of that Inqui&s;ition from the Grandees of
<HI>Albi|on,</HI> had &s;he ventured to have &s;taid behind, that po&s;|&s;ibly
would have put her to that Te&s;t her Circum|&s;tances would not well bear;
though truly for a fairer Face to the World, 'twas Indu&s;triou&s;ly given out,
That her Maje&s;ty was with Child again, and therefore the Midwife's Attendance
being her Maje|&s;ties &s;pecial Command, 'twas her Duty to wait on her Royal
Mi&s;tre&s;s to what part of the World &s;oever her Misfortunes &s;hould carry
her.</P>
<TAILNOTE>
<P>The Amour of <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> with <HI>Polydorus,</HI>
&amp;c. (&s;ince <HI>Lycogenes</HI> Retiring to <HI>Ibernia,</HI>) &s;welling
&s;o big, we are forced to make the Compleating of the Hi&s;tory the Subject of
a Fourth Part.</P>
</TAILNOTE>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="notice">
<PB REF="52">
<PB REF="52">
<PB REF="53">
<HEAD>Adverti&s;ement</HEAD>
<P>TO this part is Pre|fixt a <HI>Key,</HI> which renders the
Hi&s;tory of the Four Parts, Intel|ligible to the meane&s;t Capacity.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="53">
<P>THE AMOURS OF THE <HI REND="blackletterType">French King</HI> WITH
THE Late Queen of <HI>ALBION.</HI> BEING The Fourth and La&s;t Part of the
Hi&s;tory of Me&s;&s;alina.</P>
<P>By a Woman of QUALITY.</P>
<P><HI>LONDON:</HI> Printed for <HI>John Lyford,</HI> 1689.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="54">
<PB REF="54">
<HEAD>TO THE READER.</HEAD>
<P>THE Book&s;eller has been Advi&s;ed to Add the fol|lowing
<HI>Key,</HI> for the benefit of the meane&s;t Capacity, in under|&s;tanding
the whole Hi&s;tory of <HI>Me&s;&s;alina.</HI></P>
<DIV2 TYPE="glossary">
<P><HI>ALbion,</HI> England. <HI>Belgick,</HI> Holland.
<HI>Gothland,</HI> France. <HI>Iberia,</HI> Ireland. <HI>St. Jaques,</HI> St.
James<HI>'s Alba-Regalis,</HI> Whitehall. <HI>Forre&s;t of St. Jaques,</HI> St.
James<HI>'s</HI> Park. <HI>Pagan Temples, Mo&s;ques of Albion, Temples of
Diana;</HI> all &s;ignifies Romi&s;h Ma&s;s-Hou&s;es, and Chappels. <HI>Waters
of Baijae,</HI> the Minerals of Bath, <HI>Britomardes,</HI> C. II.
<HI>Lycogenes,</HI> J. II. two Brothers, late Kings of England. <HI>Anaximander
Prince of the Lowlands,</HI> The then Prince of Orange, our now, our Gracious
Sovereign. <HI>Artemi&s;a,</HI> the then Prin|ce&s;s of Orange, our now
Gracious Sovereign Queen.<PB REF="55"><HI>Philadelpha,</HI> Her Royal
Highne&s;s the Prince&s;s of Den|mark. <HI>Polycrates, the Northern
Prince,</HI> His Royal Highne&s;s the Prince of Denmark.
<HI>Me&s;&s;alina,</HI> the late Queen. <HI>The huge Prince in Italy,</HI> the
late Duke of Modena. <HI>Bonerges the High Prie&s;t,</HI> the Pope.
<HI>Pagan,</HI> Papi&s;t. <HI>Count Davila, Dada,</HI> the Popes late Nuncio at
the Court of England. <HI>Father Pedro,</HI> the Je&s;uit Peters.
<HI>Latroon,</HI> Tyrconnel, the Rebbel De|puty of Ireland.
<HI>A&s;pa&s;ia,</HI> the Deputies Wife. <HI>Marchione&s;s de Tomazo</HI> a
great Friend of Don Tomazo <HI>ali<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">s,</HI> Tom Dangerfield <HI>Young Sanctifore,</HI> a Baron of Rome,
and Gallant of Me&s;&s;alina before &s;he came for England. <HI>Father
Seba&s;tian,</HI> A. B. Ellis, Titular A. B. of York. <HI>Madam de Elvira,</HI>
An Italian Jilt, one concern'd in the Warming-pan Intrigue. <HI>Cleone,</HI> a
Doxie of Tyrconnels. <HI>Madam Wilks,</HI> The Queens doughty Midwife. <HI>The
Water of St. Winifred,</HI> A Spring in Wales. <HI>Lady of Lorretto,</HI> The
Popi&s;h term for the Virgin Mary. <HI>Traynovant,</HI> London.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 N="4" TYPE="part">
<HEAD>The Fourth Part.</HEAD>
<P>IT is not unknown to the World what Artful Ten|derne&s;s our
dear <HI>Me&s;&s;alina,</HI> all along has expre&s;t for her <HI>Cambrion
Prince,</HI> that &s;he carried over not only the hone&s;t Brick-Kiln Nur&s;e
that Suckled it, But al&s;o the <HI>Warming-pan</HI> Midwife to Cro&s;s the
Herring-pond with her Royal Mi&s;tre&s;s, and as &s;ome think very timely and
prudently, for<PB N="33" REF="55">fear of that Inqui&s;ition from the Grandees
of <HI>Albion,</HI> had &s;he ventured to have &s;tayed behind, that
po&s;&s;ibly might have put her to that Te&s;t her Circum&s;tances would not
well bear; though truly for a fairer Face to the World, 'twas indu&s;triou&s;ly
given out, That Her Maje&s;ty was with Child again, and therefore the Mid|wifes
Attendance being Her Maje&s;ty's Special Com|mand, 'twas her Duty to wait on
Her Royal Mi&s;tre&s;s, to what part of the World &s;oever her Misfortunes
&s;hould carry her; Her late Able performance in De|livering the Queen of her
<HI>Cambrian</HI> Heir, having re|commended and call'd her (as &s;he pretended)
to the Queens particular Choice for her Skilful hand at her next Lying-In.</P>
<P>But to return to our Nur&s;e, and her Intrigue we promi&s;ed
you; Among&s;t the publick and &s;olemn Ad|dre&s;&s;es and Veneration made and
paid by the Nobility of the Gauls to the Fair Queen of <HI>Albion,</HI> a great
part of the Dayly Devotion, you may well gue&s;s, was offered to that young
Prince. For if &s;uch Sub|lime Blood, as was thought to run in that little
<HI>Heroes</HI> Veins, exalted him at &s;carce three Days old to the &s;olemn
Reception of Foreign Emba&s;&s;adours, and gi|ving Audience to publick
Mini&s;ters, and that too in the Heretick Land of <HI>Albion;</HI> You may
ea&s;ily think that the great <HI>Gallican</HI> Votaries, tho&s;e
<HI>Pagan</HI> Wi&s;e men of the <HI>We&s;t,</HI> (pardon the
<HI>Allu&s;ion</HI>) brought him no common Oblation of Myrrh, Frankincen&s;e,
<HI>&amp;c,</HI> But of the Princely Crowd of Devotes, that among&s;t their
Ori&s;ons to <HI>Me&s;&s;alina,</HI> made their Homages to this Imperial Babe;
it happened that a young <HI>Gal|lick</HI> Lord, Named <HI>Lafor&s;e,</HI> a
Man of a Noble Per|&s;onage, making no little Figure in <HI>Polydorus</HI>
Court, but above all a mighty Adorer of the Female Sex; and like the natural
Con&s;titution of the <HI>Gauls,</HI> a ge|neral<PB N="34" REF="56">Admirer of
every new Face, without any great Sin of Con&s;tancy to an&s;wer for: This
<HI>Lafor&s;e</HI> paying his Devoire to the <HI>Cambrian</HI> Prince,
entertained a &s;trong Inclination to his Nur&s;e. What he &s;aw in her more
then a good whole&s;ome Complexion, and a plain-&s;pun Cleanly Woman, we can't
imagine; but take her altogether, as the maggot bit with him, no|thing would
&s;atisfy him but an Amour with <HI>Lactilla.</HI> Her downright Country
Innocence even to Clowni&s;h|ne&s;s and Ru&s;ticity, had &s;omething in it,
that at this time Captivated him more then all the Allurements of Wit, Humour,
Gayety, High Blood, and H<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">gher
Pride. None of all the Court Stars, in all their Glory, at pre&s;ent took up
&s;o much of his Thoughts as Madam Nur&s;e. <HI>Lactilla</HI> he fancies for a
Mi&s;s, and <HI>Lactilla</HI>'s Affection he mu&s;t Vanqui&s;h if he can.
Ac|cordingly our Lordly Lover under pretence of making Court to the
<HI>Cambrian</HI> Prince, takes the dayly op|portunity of Addre&s;&s;ing a Kind
Look, and Kinder Complement to <HI>Lactilla;</HI> which he carefully
pro&s;e|cutes with that particular A&s;&s;iduity and Application, as would
be&s;t &s;uite the Humour and Breeding of &s;uch a Mi&s;tre&s;s. The poor
Nur&s;e whether dazied with the Pre&s;ence, the Looks and Garb of &s;o Glorious
a Ser|vant; or co<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">founded with &s;o
fine Words from &s;o fine a Per&s;on, began at la&s;t not only to li&s;ten, but
<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">o be plea&s;ed and tickled with
&s;o Gallant a Suitor. It is not worth our while to recount the &s;everal
Court|&s;hip Scenes between them; to draw therefore to the Con&s;ummating part
of the Amour, it fell out &s;o, that what through the Importunities of the
A&s;&s;ayling Mon|&s;eigneur, together with poor <HI>Lactilla</HI>'s being
&s;everal Months tyed up from all Recreations of that kind, (a &s;hackle for
&s;ome Phy&s;ical Rea&s;ons always laid upon Mil<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">h Nur&s;es to Heirs of Quality;) which po&s;&s;ibly
<PB N="35" REF="56">might heighten her Longing for what &s;he had &s;o long
been kept Fa&s;ting from, and &s;o facilitate his Conque&s;t upon her; however
&s;o 'twas, that the Creature came to yield at la&s;t. And by an odd Caprice of
Fortune, it happened that <HI>Lactilla</HI> was brought to the deliver|ing up
of her Fort, the very &s;ame day her Royal Mi|&s;tre&s;s had Capitulated and
Sign'd the Surrender of hers. For the Fortunate Lover for his la&s;t Effort,
lighting of a lucky Hour, when the Queen and all her Attendants, for the
curio&s;ity of &s;eeing ten new Rais'd Regiments of Light-Hor&s;e pa&s;s under
her Pal|lace Window, in their March towards the <HI>Rhine,</HI> were withdrawn
into the Balcone of an outer Room; had the &s;atisfaction of finding his Dear
<HI>Lactilla</HI> with her little Nur&s;ery all alone. To improve therefore
&s;o kind a Minute to the be&s;t advantage, throwing his Arms a|bout her Neck,
and A&s;&s;aulting her Lips (for tho&s;e outworks he had long &s;ince won) with
a whole Vol|ley of Ki&s;&s;es; at la&s;t he cryed, <HI>Oh my Dear, dear Sweet
Rogue, are the&s;e empty Embraces, the&s;e half-Joys all I mu&s;t expect? When,
Dear</HI> Lactilla, <HI>Oh when, will that Ble&s;t, happy, Ravi&s;hing Minute
come?</HI> Poor <HI>Lactilla</HI> Interrupting him, Replyed, <HI>Nay, fye my
Lord; a Man of your great Quality throw away your Thoughts upon &s;o poor a
Creature as I am; If you would talk like your &s;elf, methinks you Lordfolks
&s;hould make your fine Speeches to none but Kings and Queens; if you have a
mind then to &s;how your great Breeding, you would do well to make your High
Compliments to that little pretty young King in the Cradle there.</HI> No my
Dear <HI>Lactilla,</HI> Replyed <HI>Lafor&s;e, I have other better work to do
at this time; 'tis time enough to make fine Speeches to that little young King,
as you call him,</HI> 20 <HI>years hence.</HI> Twenty years, quotha, [An&s;wers
<HI>Lactilla</HI>] By my troth, my Lord, <HI>no lon|ger
<PB N="36" REF="57" MS="y">ago then we were la&s;t in</HI> Albion, <HI>as young
as he is, and as many years as he wants, we have had Your outlandi&s;h great
Lords and Ba&s;&s;adours have made ma|ny a Scholarly Speech, and a great many
fine Compli|ments to him too; But above all, I &s;hall never forget the
Ba&s;&s;adour of</HI> Catalonia: <HI>that great tall Man, with a rueful dun
Face, and a &s;winging pair of black Whiskers, no &s;ooner came to receive
Audience of my little Ma&s;ter here, but the poor Baby fell a Roaring at him,
and would not endure the &s;ight of bim. On my Con&s;cience, my Lord, the poor
Lamb was as much frighted, as ever his Father was at</HI> S&mdash;Bury; <HI>and
upon my Womanhood I believe it, had it been able, would have run away as fa&s;t
too: I vow and &s;wear my Lord, 'twas &s;o terribly &s;cared at him, that I
profe&s;s I could &s;carce get it &s;weet again in an hour after.</HI> The Lord
could not forbear Smiling at this Innocent Relation; which downright Language
of <HI>Lactilla</HI>'s, as a Novel Charm to him, was one of the g<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">eate&s;t Whets to his Inclination for
her. But as Talking was not his pre&s;ent bu&s;ine&s;s, he pu&s;ht on the
matter a little more Vigorou&s;ly, and told her a meeting &s;he mu&s;t and
&s;hould give him, that &s;hould more com|pleatly Ble&s;s him, then all the
fainter Favours &s;he had already b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;towed upon him. The poor Nur&s;e, after a great many other
urging, and at la&s;t prevail|ing Arguments, could re&s;i&s;t no longer; and
truly at la&s;t told him, <HI>That if he had any thing more to &s;ay to her,
the only time &s;he had to give him the hearing with Convenience, was at
Ve&s;per time; for,</HI> &s;ays &s;he, <HI>the Queen and her Attendants are all
then &s;o devout, (though truly I know not how it comes about that they are
&s;o over and above Religious here, then they u&s;ed to be in</HI> Albion,
<HI>unle&s;s Misfortune and Mi&s;eries make Folk Pious) that they never mi&s;s
Prayers; and be|cau&s;e <PB N="37" REF="57">I, and only I am one of tho&s;e Paw
Things they call Hereticks, my little Ma&s;ter, and my &s;elf, except|ing
&s;ome Guards in the outer Rooms, are always left alone; and if your
Lord&s;hips Intentions are Hone&s;t and Virtuous (as I tru&s;t in Heaven, they
are,) if you have any thing more to talk to me, you may come then and
welcome.</HI> The Happy Mon&s;eigneur at this ge|nerous and cunning
A&s;&s;ignation made by his kind <HI>Lactilla,</HI> (for there never wants
Womans Wit even in Simplicity it &s;elf on &s;uch an occa&s;ion) felt a Delight
An&s;werable to the &s;atisfaction &s;o acceptable a Min|ute would give him,
and re&s;olving to Return at the appointed Hour with that de&s;ired Hone&s;ty
and Vir|tue as &s;hould be be&s;t agreeable to her, leaves his fare|wel in a
Ki&s;s, and Whi&s;pers in her Ear, that &s;he &s;hould find him a Man of
Honour; and &s;o Retires, and falls in with the Ladies in the Balcone. The poor
Nur&s;e waiting for the Ve&s;pers, (which in|deed was the fir&s;t time that
ever &s;he had a kindne&s;s for the Pagan Wor&s;hip before) found her
Expecta|tion a little baulkt, when the Queen pretending In|di&s;po&s;ition
refu&s;ed to go to Prayers; at which the Ladies likewi&s;e in Complai&s;ance to
her Maje&s;ty re|&s;olved not to go neither, but &s;tay and pay their
At|tendance to the Queen; which the Queen ab&s;olute|ly forbid, Commanding them
all to go to Prayers, and leave her onely to her Nur&s;e till their Return. The
Ladies accordingly Retiring; at their Depar|ture, the Queen in&s;tead of
Staying in the Bed-Cham|ber with the Child and Nur&s;e, bid <HI>Lactilla</HI>
have a Care of the Prince, for &s;he had occa&s;ions to Retire into her
Clo&s;et, where &s;he would not be di&s;turb'd. This gave <HI>Lactilla</HI>
&s;ome little hopes again; for the Clo&s;et being on the farther &s;ide of a
large Room of State lying beyond the Bed-Chamber, &s;he fancied
<PB N="38" REF="58">her dear Lord might gain Acce&s;s without any Baulk, at
that Di&s;tance and Retirement, from any thing of the Queens Interruption of
them. No &s;ooner was the Queen got into the Clo&s;et, but <HI>Count
Davilah,</HI> having received a Packet from <HI>Albion</HI> ju&s;t at the
Chappel Door, defers his Devotion, and finding matter of Importance in it,
together with an inclo&s;ed Packet for <HI>Me&s;&s;alina,</HI> with Commands of
a Delivery at &s;ight, and with Orders of Immediate Communi|cation with the
Queen, about Affairs that required a &s;peedy Re&s;ult; the <HI>Count</HI> in
pur&s;uance of his Orders received, ha&s;tes in&s;tantly to the Queen, and
deliver|ing her her Packet, together with the In&s;tructions contain'd in his
own, reque&s;ts her &s;peedy Conference. The Queen was much &s;urprized at his
Approach, and in no &s;mall <HI>Dilemma,</HI> for if &s;he di&s;mi&s;t him
with|out Reading her Packet, and Conferring with him as de&s;ired by the King
her Husband, &s;he &s;hould be Guilty of a Fault highly again&s;t the Character
of that Re&s;pect and Duty &s;he ever paid him, and which in his pre&s;ent
Circum&s;tances would be an unpardonable neg|lect; and if on the other &s;ide
&s;he &s;tay'd in her Clo&s;et or Chamber to Read her Letters, and Debate their
Contents, &s;he was Jealous that the appointed Vi&s;it of <HI>Polydorus</HI> at
&s;o un&s;ea&s;onable an Hour as the Queens known Retirement, would give matter
of Su&s;picion to the <HI>Count;</HI> and which be&s;ides her unwillingne&s;s
to di&s;gu&s;t a Per&s;on whom &s;he was not yet prepared to di&s;oblige and
quite break with, might thereby rai&s;e &s;ome Blemi&s;h upon her Reputation.
Between the&s;e two Con&s;iderations, with a &s;uddain Pre&s;ence of Mind,
&s;he thought of this Expedient, which was to Invite the <HI>Count</HI> down
into the Garden, and there Di&s;patch the Conference: whereupon &s;he de&s;ired
him to Walk down with her; and as &s;he pa&s;t by the Bed-Chamber,
<PB N="39" REF="58">&s;he told the Nur&s;e whither and with whom &s;he was
going, and bid her expect her Return immediately. By this Projection &s;he
thought <HI>Polydorus</HI> coming in her ab&s;ence according to appointment,
and not find|ing her within, would undoubtedly ask the Nur&s;e for her, and
thereby informed, be Invited to &s;tay, and Attend her Return.</P>
<P>At the Queens Departure it was ju&s;t drawing to|wards the
Evening, being a little pa&s;t Sun-&s;et: And <HI>Lactilla</HI> extraordinarily
plea&s;ed to think &s;he &s;hould have the whole Lodgings free, and by that
means, if her Lord kept Touch, enjoy all the Privacy and Freedom her Heart
could wi&s;h; being truly in her Nature a little more fearful, and &s;omething
ba&s;hfuller in an Amourous Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion, then the Fairer Court Sinners
generally more harden'd, and more Couragious at a Love Adventure, had already
drawn all the very Window Curtains of the Bed-Chamber clo&s;e, to be as much
Retired as po&s;&s;ibly &s;he could.&mdash;Ju&s;t as the Queen was got down the
Back-Stairs, Enters the King by the other Stairs, and immediately with all the
ha&s;te of an Invited Lover makes to the Clo&s;et; but finding the Queen not
there, and imagining &s;he might be in the Bed-Chamber Trips as Nimbly thither.
The Nur&s;e hearing &s;ome body Walk cro&s;s the Room of State, with that eager
pace that &s;poke him a Lover, as &s;he thought by his Tread; and not doubting
any other, but that her Dear Lord was come; in a kind of a Panick Fear, fitting
Perdue upon the Bed behind the Cu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">tains, and almo&s;t Trembling to con&s;ider what &s;he was going to
do, not daring as &s;he thought to Expo&s;e her Blu&s;hes to the Light, (being
the fir&s;t time of her offending in that kind) out of pure Mode&s;ty puts out
the Candle. The King ju&s;t upon his En|trance into the Bed-Chamber, fancying
nothing el&s;e<PB N="40" REF="59">but Love cou'd put out the Light, that it's
own might blaze the bolder, and con&s;equently the Golden Minute was now his
own, makes his In&s;tant Approach to the Bed, and Gra&s;ping in his Arms his
yeilding though mi&s;taken Sacrifice, and breaking out into a Rapture of
&mdash; <HI>My Life, my Soul, my Heaven, my Eternity,</HI> with Two or Three
more &s;uch Pious and high flown Ejaculations, the u&s;ual Devotion of Lovers,
(tho&s;e few &s;hort Preliminaries (to &s;ay Truth) being as much as the little
Patience of much Love cou'd di&s;pen&s;e with) without &s;taying for one
Syllable of Reply from his Twining Mi&s;tre&s;s, for indeed her Elevated
Thoughts we<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">e too full for her
Tongue to get Vent; be&s;ides &s;he had her Mouth &s;o &s;weetly &s;topt, that
&s;he wanted Power as well as Lei&s;ure for talking; <HI>Polydorius</HI>
with|out farther Ceremony immediately Ru&s;hes into her Bo&s;om, Launches into
a Torrent of Bli&s;s, and Riots and Revels in unutterable Delight; for
<HI>Me&s;&s;alina,</HI> his Angel <HI>Me&s;&s;alina,</HI> fill'd both his Arms
and his Soul; &s;o Potent is Imagination, that Deity-like, what &s;he Enjoys
&s;he Creates. The Ravi&s;hing Dalliance ended, with no Love lo&s;t on either
&s;ide: For <HI>Mon&s;igneur</HI> was as Divinely Charming to the Ravi&s;ht
<HI>Lactilla,</HI> as <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> could be to <HI>Polydorus,</HI>
and the very Grandeur of a Lord in her Arms, (though otherwi&s;e perhaps no
heartier a Performer then her own hone&s;t Lime-Pit Clod-Pate Drudge in
<HI>Albion,</HI>) had &s;o much outvyed the poore<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;atisfaction of her Man of Clay and Sea-Cole, her
Spou&s;e at home; that in pure Gratitude for the Honour as well as the
Plea&s;ure &s;he had received, having not only recovered both breath and
lei&s;ure for a kind word or two of her own, but al&s;o gotten a little more
A&s;&s;urance then before (for Love &s;oon makes Equal<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">ty) &s;he turn'd to her Pant|ing, as &s;he thought
<HI>Lafor&s;e,</HI> and throwing her Arms<PB N="41" REF="59">about his Neck,
thinking it her turn to talk a little Amorou&s;ly now; <HI>Well my dear
Lafor&s;e</HI> (&s;ays &s;he) <HI>I hope you have no rea&s;on now, to think
your poor</HI> Lactilla <HI>&s;o hard-hearted as you have &s;ometimes told her
&s;he was, for if &s;uch Love as mine</HI>&mdash;Lactilla!&mdash;cries
<HI>Polydorus,</HI> &s;tarting up from the Bed, in a &s;urprize &s;o killing,
that not the Gho&s;ts and Spectres of all the Chri&s;tian Victims his own
Edicts had ever doom'd, or his Booted Di&s;ciples executed; nay, nor all his
broken Leagues turn'd Goblins, could have Stagger'd him more. At fir&s;t, in
the heighth of Agony and Bitterne&s;s of Soul, he thought 'twas a Trick of
<HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI>'s; that his high-flown Ambition of attempting the Queen
of <HI>Albion</HI>'s Vertue, had put her Pride and Scorn upon this Stratagem of
pu|ni&s;hing his Audacious Love by &s;o contemptible and de&s;picable a
Creature Foy&s;ter'd upon him: Such Dirt and Rubbi&s;h in the Arms of
<HI>Polydorus!</HI> The Tran&s;|port of that thought, and his enraged
Sentiments of &s;o unpardonable an Affront, could hardly with-hold him from
drawing his Sword and Executing his Fury, (though never &s;o unmanly,) on the
Heart of that Sordid Engine and Tool, in this In&s;olent manner made u&s;e of,
to abu&s;e him. But the&s;e &s;ugge&s;tions were &s;oon &s;uppre&s;t by &s;ome
kinder thoughts of <HI>Me&s;&s;a|lina,</HI> it being impo&s;&s;ible, as he
thought, for &s;o Excel|lent a Creature to be &s;o great a Jilt, or rather
greater Devil, as this piece of Impo&s;ture mu&s;t render her. Be&s;ides, were
&s;he all the Furies and Feinds of her whole Sex put together, yet, as a Woman
of Im|perial Quality, her very Character, if nothing el&s;e, would never
&s;uffer her to make choice of this, of all the Revenges in the World, (if any
&s;uch &s;he had a|gain&s;t him.) For whatever Stratagems a Great Wo|man might
make u&s;e of to Gratifie her Spleen, Spight, <PB N="42" REF="60">Malice, Hate,
or any other Pa&s;&s;ion; &s;he would never turn Bawd for any of them. That
part of his Fear upon the&s;e Recollections being pretty well clear'd up, he
re&s;olved however to &s;atisfie him&s;elf by &s;ome Inter|rogatories to
<HI>Lactilla</HI> (as much as he could make with|out di&s;covery of his
Per&s;on,) what Sorcery, Enchant|ment, or Malicious Devil of Fortune had Snared
him into &s;o poor a Noo&s;e as the Arms of <HI>Lactilla;</HI> a Thought that
&s;o much Di&s;gu&s;ted his Haughty Pride, that he would not, for half the
Price of a Kingdom, be made &s;o much the Je&s;t of the World, as &s;o Humble
and Cour&s;e a Love Adventure, (he fancied) if it &s;hould take Air, would
render him; more e&s;pecially if it &s;hould get to the Ear of
<HI>Me&s;&s;alina;</HI> for his meer Indignation could never dige&s;t &s;o
&s;hameful a Re|proach, that his Imperial Care&s;&s;es (though never &s;o
innocently) &s;hould be Deba&s;ed to &s;o Sordid an Em|brace. And therefore, if
for no other Rea&s;on, from Her above the re&s;t of the World he mu&s;t
endeavour to &s;tifle the Di&s;covery of this Accur&s;ed Accident: Turning then
to <HI>Lactilla,</HI> (who &s;till lay upon the Bed in no &s;mall Surprize, and
as you may imagine, in no le&s;s trouble at her Dear Lords &s;o abrupt and
unkind Start from her Arms.) <HI>Well, Dear</HI> Lactilla, &s;ays
<HI>Poly|dorus, I hope the Queen has no Su&s;picion of our
kind|ne&s;s&mdash;The Queen!</HI> &s;uddenly reply'd <HI>Lactilla, Good Heaven
forbid! &s;hould my Lady</HI> Me&s;&s;alina <HI>know what I have been doing,
the more Naughty Man you,&mdash;But what do you fear? Who, I, her Nur&s;e, and
let the Queen know I Lay with a Man, and Spoil'd the Princes Milk! Not for a
Thou&s;and Pound! To be Burnt for Here&s;ie, or Hang'd for High Trea&s;on
a|gain&s;t that little Princely Babe, would be the lea&s;t I mu&s;t look for in
this Pagan Land. No, my Dear Lord, we poor Countrey Folks are not &s;o dull
neither;<PB N="43" REF="60">how &s;imple &s;oever we may be in other matters,
we have always Wit enough in our Loves: and if my Dear Lord can be kind to &s;o
Worthle&s;s a Thing as I am; never fear Queens nor Empere&s;&s;es di&s;covering
of us: let me alone to take care of that.</HI> This Innocent An&s;wer of
<HI>Lactilla</HI>'s, (excepting the Re&s;entments of &s;o Nau&s;e|ous a
mi&s;take, and &s;o unhappy a di&s;appointment, which he could not yet &s;o
ea&s;ily, Conquer) &s;atisfied all the re&s;t of <HI>Polydorus</HI>
di&s;quiets; for now he plainly found, that the Nur&s;es mi&s;taking him for
the Lord <HI>Lafor&s;e,</HI> had not onely di&s;pel'd all his fir&s;t
ungenerous Su&s;picions of <HI>Me&s;&s;alina,</HI> (a Thought, which how
Momentary &s;oever it la&s;ted, he could now hardly for|give him&s;elf for) by
convincing him, that not only Fortune was the true and only Jilt that had put
this Trick upon him; but al&s;o by Vertue of his &s;till pa&s;&s;ing for the
&s;uppo&s;ed <HI>Lafor&s;e,</HI> together with the Favour of the Dark, he had
now an opportunity of Marching off utterly undi&s;covered, and defying the
utmo&s;t Malice of his Stars them&s;elves to expo&s;e his &s;hame. Without any
&s;tay therefore, or any other parting Compliment, then <HI>Adieu Dear</HI>
Lactilla, <HI>I'le &s;ee thee again very &s;peedily,</HI> he Starts out of the
Chamber, and clapping the Door after him, le&s;t any of the Lights in the Room
of State &s;hould give her &s;o much as a glimp&s;e of his Back-&s;ide, he
bolts down the Back-Stairs with all the Expedition he could make. He was not
gotten three paces below the Foot of the Stairs, but <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI>
cro&s;&s;ing a Walk in the Garden popt ju&s;t upon him, who by this time having
adju&s;ted matters, and di&s;patcht the <HI>Count,</HI> was indeed with no
le&s;s ha&s;te Returning to her Clo&s;et in Expectance of <HI>Po|lydorus,</HI>
who&s;e Expectation by this time &s;he might po&s;|&s;ibly have over
heighten'd; if not a little, tryed Pa|tience. But meeting him moving off in
&s;uch ha&s;te.<PB N="44" REF="61"><HI>My Lord the King, why &s;o fa&s;t? I
hope the Face of</HI> Me&s;&s;alina <HI>has nothing &s;o Terrible in it, as to
fright you.</HI> The King, between Surprize and Confu&s;ion, (occa&s;ion'd by
the &s;ight of <HI>Me&s;&s;alina,</HI> and the fre&s;h Remembrance of his
unfortunate Adventure with the Nur&s;e, his own Con&s;ciou&s;ne&s;s of which,
though unknown to the World be&s;ide, made him Redden with a Blu&s;h almo&s;t
Scarlet deep, though the growing Night partly conceal'd the di&s;covery of it;)
what through the &s;uddenne&s;s of this Encounter, and the perplexity of his
Thoughts, being not well provided with words to An&s;wer her, was &s;tudying
for a Reply, when the Queen continued; <HI>Well,</HI> Polydorus, <HI>I
&s;uppo&s;e you found but dull Entertainment above, by your ha&s;te in running
away; though if the Expectation of my Company had been worthy of one Minutes
long|er Di&s;pen&s;ation, and your patience not quite Ex|hau&s;ted, I had
return'd to tell you, that the Receipt of an Expre&s;s from</HI> Lycogenes,
<HI>brought me by</HI> Count Davilah, <HI>drew me &s;ome Minutes into the
Garden. The Contents of which requiring &s;ome &s;hort Confer|ence between us,
I took him down thither for it, le&s;t your expected Vi&s;it at that time, to a
prying Eye, or a cen&s;uring Thought, might have afforded matter of Surmi&s;e
to my di&s;advantage. But that fear is now pa&s;t, for I have given him &s;uch
a Di&s;patch as may a&s;|&s;ure</HI> Polydorus, <HI>that</HI> Me&s;&s;alina
<HI>cannot be guilty of forgetfulne&s;s</HI>&mdash;This obliging Language of
the Queen, as it could not but infinitely Charm the A|morous
<HI>Polydorus,</HI> &s;o it could not but as much di&s;tract him too. For to
tell her, he had been in her Apartment, and &s;tay'd there for her not full a
Quarter of an hour, (for indeed his whole Ingre&s;s, Egre&s;s and Regre&s;s
from <HI>Lactilla,</HI> was an Execution of no more Minutes di&s;patch,) and
that truly (let him<PB N="45" REF="61">mince it in as fine words as he pleas'd)
he had not patience to wait longer, though for &s;o Divine a Ble&s;|&s;ing as
the Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ing of <HI>Me&s;&s;alina,</HI> would be an ex|cu&s;e
impardonable. And on the other &s;ide, to own the Truth of his Adventure, that
frighted him thence; that Thought was all Death and Hell, and not Wild Hor&s;es
could draw him to &s;o &s;hameful a Confe&s;&s;ion. In this di&s;traction of
Thought, it came at la&s;t into his Head, to tell her, <HI>That if her
&s;urpriz|ing Ab&s;ence at &s;o ble&s;t an hour, and after &s;o Solemn and
Generous an Engagement, that had &s;o intirely fill'd his Heart, and taken up
every Faculty of his Soul, might run him into any Impatiences or Extravagances
worthy a Rebuke, as his not waiting longer for her Return, and his over-zealous
coming down in Que&s;t after her, might be; however, he hoped &s;he would
excu&s;e all Effects, how blameable &s;oever, that had no other than the
Tran&s;port of her Charms, and his own Pa&s;&s;ion for their Cau&s;e.</HI> The
Queen made him an obliging An&s;wer, and told him, <HI>She was very well
&s;atisfied, the Fault that was, being of her own &s;ide. But &s;ince
interpo&s;ing Bu&s;ine&s;s had made her lap&s;e &s;ome Minutes in her
Promi&s;e, however, &s;he would make Re|paration for it, and if he plea&s;ed to
Return with her, as &s;he had Expedited her Husbands Expre&s;s, &s;he was now
at lei&s;ure to li&s;ten to any Expre&s;&s;es of</HI> Polydorus, <HI>and as
ready to Di&s;patch them.</HI> At which, giving her Hand to <HI>Polydorus,</HI>
which he received with a pro|found Reverence, they Returned back again, the
King only Murmuring all the way to him&s;elf, to think what good
&s;ub&s;tantial Love he had lately Pro|digally Lavi&s;ht, or rather thrown
away; and which in his pre&s;ent Payment might be &s;omething wanted to make up
his Sum. But above all it grated his very Soul to think, that &s;o Abject a
Creature as<PB N="46" REF="62"><HI>Lactilla</HI> had
<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> con&s;iderable a part of what
was <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> to the Divinity of
<HI>Me&s;&s;alina.</HI> Nay, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">,
had got the fir&s;t &s;tart too in
<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, that he mu&s;t be forced to
come all S<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1+ letters">lye<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter"> and Defiled, (for a le&s;s Taint he could not fancy it)
to &s;uch Cele&s;tial Embraces. But to bring our Lovers to the Clo&s;et; the
Door Shut; and the Queen thrown upon her Couch, and <HI>Polydorus</HI> by her
&s;ide; &s;he ca&s;t tho&s;e Langui&s;hing Dying Looks upon him enough to Thaw
a Stoick, and Fire an Anchoret. The King who needed no Invitation, but already
Melted into Ki&s;&s;ing, Toying, Dallying, Em|bracing, Twining, all tho&s;e
Outworks of Felicity, the Supreme Beatitude onely unpo&s;&s;e&s;t; Nay, and
even That too ju&s;t entring, and on the very Brink of Paradice; Oh! too
imbecile to gra&s;p at &s;o Divine a Trea&s;ure, though admitted even into all
the whole fragrant Ravi&s;hing Bed of Sweets; Alas, he wanted &s;trength to
Crop the Flower.&mdash;At this accur&s;ed Damn'd Defeat (no Name too black, nor
Thought to hideous for it) poor <HI>Polydorus</HI> fell down by her &s;ide upon
the Couch &s;o Aba&s;ht, and &s;o Confounded, that he could have wi&s;ht all
the Graves, that his own Sword e're Digg'd, to Swallow him; or &s;ome kind
Mountain, high as the Cryes, if po&s;&s;ible, of all his own Martyr'd
Chri&s;tians Blood, to cover his &s;hame.</P>
<P>The Queen her &s;elf no le&s;s Defeated, though not &s;o much
Aba&s;ht, (for in &s;uch Ca&s;es the Failure is ne|ver in their Sex) perceiving
his Confu&s;ion, threw her Arms about his Neck, and laid her Cheek &s;o clo&s;e
to his, as if &s;he had re&s;olved to &s;hew, that &s;he either did not, or
would not &s;ee his Di&s;order; a Behaviour, which carryed not only Endearment
in it but Policy too. For to triumph over Weakne&s;s, and jocque or cajole an
unperforming Lover, as &s;ome fooli&s;h re&s;enting<PB N="47" REF="62">Beauties
in &s;uch di&s;appointments have done, has &s;ometimes been too well known, to
their own lo&s;s, to have given that intire Check even to much younger and
abler Nerves, than <HI>Polydorus,</HI> as has Inva|lidated a whole
A&s;&s;ignation: Whereas, on the con|trary, an Unconcern or Endearing
Connivance at Frailty, has encouraged the Retreating Un&s;ucceeding
A&s;&s;ailant, to Rally again, come on, new Storm, and Conquer.
<HI>Polydorus</HI> in all this &s;taggering Shock, ex|cepting &s;ome
Re&s;tle&s;s Starts and Flings, and now and then a Murmuring rougher &s;ort of
Breathing betwixt a Sigh and a Groan, that &s;poke better for him, ut|tered not
one Syllable; his Rage being too big for Words, and his Shame, alas, too Odious
to be Pal|liated with Eloquence, had he Recollection or Sen&s;e enough about
him to &s;tudy for any. <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> all this while, as a Cordial
again&s;t a Pang &s;o violent, ge|nerou&s;ly plyed him with all the healing
Balm that her kinde&s;t Ki&s;&s;es, Toying, Care&s;&s;es, and Embraces, could
give him: till <HI>Polydorus</HI> at length &s;o &s;weeten'd, new warm'd, and
enlivened again, by &s;uch Langui&s;h|ing, Melting, but above all (her
brighte&s;t Attribute) &s;uch Forgiving Divinity, began to feel new Anima|ting
Fires; and to Retrieve his Honour, with all the Prowe&s;s of a Recovered
Champion, he Renews the A&s;&s;ault once more. But the &s;econd &s;ucce&s;s too
like the fir&s;t; a meer thin Airy Fla&s;h and ineffectual Fire.&mdash;At this
la&s;t Defeat he could hold no longer, but &s;tarted from the Couch, and flew
into that Storm and Rage, Madne&s;s and half De&s;peration, that no Execrations
again&s;t him&s;elf, or Invocations again&s;t Heaven and Earth were too
terrible for him: till the Queen Interpo&s;ing&mdash;<HI>Fye, Fye, my Lord, why
all this Rage, this mo&s;t Unmanly Rage! Why do you thus unkindly play your own
Tormentor? Can</HI> Polydorus<PB N="48" REF="63"><HI>Execute before I Sentence?
The Puni&s;hment's Unju&s;t that comes before the Sin: and I know
none</HI>&mdash;No Sin! Not <HI>Polydorus</HI> &s;inn'd again&s;t his
<HI>Me&s;&s;alina!</HI> [Interrupting her.] Oh Injur'd Madam, Your Di|vine
Innocence knows not the Weight of my Accur&s;|ed Guilt, a Load would &s;ink a
World. Oh that Vile, Black, Infernal, Damn'd &mdash; [Ca&s;ting a Furious Eye
towards the Bed-Chamber] and then turning towards the Queen.] <HI>Bea&s;t,
Mon&s;ter, Traytor as I am</HI>&mdash;The Queen [&s;topping him.] <HI>Nay, no
more my Lord, Wrong not your &s;elf with the&s;e unju&s;t Reproaches; what you
would call your Crime, perhaps I've rea&s;on to e&s;teem your Glory; perhaps
you Love me too well, and that has been the cau&s;e. De&s;ire &s;ometimes has
been foil'd even by De&s;ire; and Loving bauk'd by Love. Alas, my Lord, there
are Heavens even above Hea|ven, and it may be your Exta&s;ie has rapt you above
your Paradice. And to recall your Peace, I am con|tent to be &s;o Vain, to
think my Charms have had that Power.</HI> Oh Royal Excellence (replyed
<HI>Polydorus</HI>) [A&s;toni&s;h'd at &s;o Amazing a Kindne&s;s.] <HI>You are
&s;o Divinely good, that to lay hold of &s;uch Tran&s;cendent Grace to &s;ave
me, without De&s;ert, would but double my Damnation.</HI> At which he began to
launch out into &s;uch bitter Reviling and Railing again&s;t him|&s;elf, that
the Queen not knowing their true Cau&s;e, began to think of a new Style to
recover his Rea&s;on, and therefore was re&s;olved to Rally him into his right
Wits again. <HI>Well Sir, If this won't &s;atisfy you, per|haps I have a new
Di&s;covery will an&s;wer all. I have either Heard or Read &s;omewhere (no
matter which) [Smilingly] of Enchantments u&s;ed in this ca&s;e. 'Tis not the
fir&s;t time, that Malice, and the Malice of a Woman too (for &s;uch they &s;ay
there are in the World) has made u&s;e of Spells to defeat the Expectation
<PB N="49" REF="63">of Lovers; and the tying of a Magical Knot (as &s;ome
&s;uch practice, you know not, may have been u&s;ed upon you) and the
Winchcraft of an Ill-Tongue have &s;ome|times had that &s;trange Power.</HI>
Bewitcht by an Ill-Tongue, Madam! (replyed <HI>Polydorus</HI>) <HI>Oh Madam!
[Sighing] There went more then all Ill-Tongues (Con|found the Enchante&s;s) to
the Bewitching of me.</HI> Ty|ing of Knots too &s;ay you? <HI>A Plague of the
Knots I Tye! Oh that Sprightful, Confounded Witch, Hag, Forcere&s;s, Bea&s;t,
Bawd, Strumpet</HI>&mdash;[he had almo&s;t &s;aid <HI>Lactilla</HI>]
<HI>Bea&s;t, Bawd, Strumpst!</HI> When <HI>Me&s;&s;a|lina</HI> Interrupting
him, What <HI>Bea&s;t, Bawd?</HI> Fortune Madam, Fortune, (Recollecting
him&s;elf) <HI>that Jilt, that Cheat, that Harlot, that Impudent Harlot,</HI>
For|tune, <HI>the &s;pight of my Stars, and the Malice of the Gods, that envyed
my Immortal Happine&s;s, and in downright Gall, rank Gall, Hemlock, Wormwood,
Poi&s;on, have ran&s;akt Hell, and Mu&s;ter'd all the Imps of Lucifer to rob me
of my Bli&s;s.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">A nece&s;&s;ary precaution often wanted by
<HI>Me&s;|&s;alina.</HI></NOTE>The Harange had went on, had not
<HI>Fornacos</HI> Ap|proach, a nimble Forerunner before the re&s;t of the
Zealots returned from their Devotion, giving them warning to retreat from the
Clo&s;&s;et, and the King to prepare him&s;elf for the appearance of a more
indiffe|rent Vi&s;itor, which with much ado he endeavour'd; though the
con|cernment in his Face was not ea&s;ily ma&s;terable. The Court beginning to
fill &s;oon after, <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> produced, and Read her Expre&s;&s;es,
im|porting the Landing of her <HI>Lycogenes</HI> in one of the Ports of
<HI>Gothland,</HI> a piece of News not ungrateful to the whole Company, &s;ince
it brought them the Ex|pectation of the &s;peedy Honour of &s;o Royal a Gue&s;t
in the <HI>Gallick</HI> Court, and which indeed had been the<PB N="50" REF="64">Subject of no Common &s;aying, had not the fatal Cau&s;e that lent
them that Honour much rebated the De|light. The Queen told them further,
<HI>That &s;he had before communicated the Contents to</HI> Polydorus, <HI>to
which indeed &s;he was obliged to him for his plea&s;ant Vi|&s;it.</HI> Yes
Madam, readily an&s;wered <HI>Polydorus, I came to obey your Commands, and the
Care and Application I &s;hall make for a Reception &s;uitable to the Maje&s;ty
of</HI> Albion, <HI>&s;hall Convince the World that the Bonds that have tied
the Hearts of</HI> Lycogenes <HI>and</HI> Polydorus <HI>are Eternal.</HI></P>
<P>Some Days after <HI>Lycogenes</HI> arrives, neither unlookt for,
neither welcome; for they knew he came to them like a Game&s;ter at an
Ordinary, that had lo&s;t all his Money, and came for a new Recruit. By my
Soul, our <HI>Lycogenes,</HI> I have had ill Luck; but I'le Play t'other Game
for't. 'Tis ill venturing upon a Loo&s;ers Hand quoth <HI>Polydorus.</HI> Sir,
quoth <HI>Lycogenes,</HI> Lend me but t'other Three&s;core Tou&s;and Pounds,
and you &s;hall have all <HI>Ireland</HI> for it. Sir, &s;aid he, then
proceeding, Remember the Proverb, <HI>He that</HI> England <HI>means to win,
with</HI> Ireland <HI>mu&s;t begin.</HI> That is a Proverb I have often heard,
quoth <HI>Polydorus;</HI> but if I Lend you this Three&s;core Thou&s;and
Pounds, I'le have all <HI>Ireland</HI> to my &s;elf, I'le &s;end Officers of my
own to take Charge of all the Imployments in that Kingdom; you &s;hall have
nothing to do there. Not I by my Soul, quoth <HI>Lycogenes,</HI> I will have
no|thing to do there; I'le only be your Deputy there, I'le receive the Sword
from <HI>Tyrconnel</HI> in your Name, and Execue your Commands by your
Authority.</P>
<P>The&s;e Conditions being Sign'd and Sealed between
<HI>Polydorus</HI> and <HI>Lycogenes,</HI> Men and Money were pro|vided with
all the &s;peed imaginable. For <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> was &s;oon weary of his
Cold Embraces; having by<PB N="51" REF="64">this time a fair Cover for whatever
&s;hould after had|pen, &s;hould &s;he really chance to be Impregnated. And
therefore being pre&s;ent at the Colloque between her Husband
<HI>Lycogenes</HI> and her Champion <HI>Polydorus.</HI> She at the &s;ame time
tipt the wink upon <HI>Polydorus,</HI> and pointed to the middle of her
Placket; which &s;o inflam'd <HI>Polydorus,</HI> that he was as ready to
Conde&s;|cend to <HI>Lycogenes,</HI> as <HI>Lycogenes</HI> was to Demand of
him.</P>
<P>During the&s;e Tran&s;actions of a higher Nature, and a deep
Intrigue between the two Monarchs and the Monarche&s;s. <HI>La Force</HI> plyd
his bu&s;ine&s;s with <HI>Lactil|la.</HI> 'Tis true <HI>La Force</HI> had
brought her to his Bow, but the Con&s;ummation of Plea&s;ure being interrupted,
as you have already heard; that interruption brought <HI>Lactilla</HI> to
bethi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">k her &s;elf. For, not to
conceal the Truth, <HI>Lactilla,</HI> hone&s;t <HI>Lactilla,</HI> Nur&s;e in
Ordinary to the <HI>Gallick</HI> Prince, &s;he from whom the Sovereign Swayer
of the <HI>Briti&s;h</HI> Scepter was to &s;uck his Ma&s;culine Inclinations,
had been dabling al|ready. Which made her out of a Scruple of Con|&s;cience
begin to contrive, which way &s;he &s;hould put off <HI>La Force.</HI> For,
Lord quoth &s;he, mu&s;t I Adul|terate the Milk that Suckles the Monarch of
Three Kingdoms. So that when <HI>La Force</HI> came to Reite|rate his
Addre&s;&s;es to her, &s;he dealt with him like a plain good hone&s;t Country
Nur&s;e, and told him, that &s;he had placed her Affections before upon a
certain Souldier in the Life-Guard of <HI>Lycogenes</HI> (for tho&s;e &s;ort of
Cattel will be always endeavouring to get be|tween the Thighs of your Court
Lawndry-Women and Nur&s;es, to Eek out their Preferment) who had overcome her;
and that by him &s;he was Young with Child: And truly her Pains were &s;o
extraordi|nary, that being afraid &s;omething more then ordina|ry
<PB N="52" REF="65">would come of it, &s;he was re&s;olv'd to prepare her
&s;elf for Repentance. <HI>La Force</HI> who had an Eye that could pierce
through a Mill-&s;tone, pre&s;ently ap|prehended what <HI>Lactilla</HI> would
beat, which was en|hancing the Price; and therefore pretending to be a Doctor;
Oh Madam quoth he, I under&s;tand the rea|&s;on of your extraordinary Pains:
The Gentleman who the la&s;t time had your la&s;t Favours, left his work
unfini&s;h'd; &s;o that what you carry in the Womb, mu&s;t want either an Arm,
or a Leg, or a Thigh; and then if it come forth &s;o imperfect, it will be the
cau&s;e of great Trouble and Affliction to you. But for that, be of good
Comfort, give but me the liberty, and I will make all things well and perfect,
and your Travel &s;hall be as Ea&s;ie as the flipping of a Cherry-Stone from
between your Thumb and Fore-finger. <HI>La Force</HI> made this &s;o
demon&s;trable by Dent of Argument to <HI>Lactilla,</HI> that for future
Convenience-&s;ake &s;he conde&s;cended to whatever he could de&s;ire.</P>
<P>While <HI>Laforce</HI> lay thus at Rack and Manger with his dear
<HI>Lactilla, Polydorus</HI> cha&s;&s;ing for his la&s;t mi&s;|fortune, long'd
for a &s;econd Tryal of his Abilities. But the pre&s;ence of <HI>Lycogenes</HI>
was a new rub in his way. ,Twas therefore thought convenient to march him off
with all the &s;peed that po&s;&s;ible might be; nor was <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI>
le&s;s de&s;irous to be rid of him, as one who&s;e Reign over her Affections
was now as much at an end, as his Reign over the hearts of his People.
<HI>Polydorus</HI> therefore &s;ends for <HI>Lycogenes,</HI> and having agreed
upon Conditions, ha&s;tens him away into <HI>Hibernia,</HI> with permi&s;&s;ion
to retain the Title of <HI>Lycogenes</HI> the Second, King of
<HI>Hibernia,</HI> but to deliver the real Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of the Kingdom to
<HI>Polydorus,</HI> and the Command of all his Souldiers and Forces to &s;uch
Officers and Com|manders,<PB N="53" REF="65">as he had order'd to accompany
him.</P>
<P>So &s;oon as <HI>Lycogenes</HI> was departed, <HI>Polydorus</HI>
pro&s;e|cutes his Amour with great heat; nor was <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> who had
already &s;urrender'd up her Fort, le&s;s diligent to afford <HI>Polydorus</HI>
all the Opportunities that could be with Circum&s;pection and Caution omitted:
She was mainly de&s;irous of a Prince to be Born of her Body; by which means
&s;he might bequeath perpetual vex|ation to the Chri&s;tians: And to that
purpo&s;e &s;he thought that now &s;he had both change of Air and variety of
Per&s;ons, &s;he could not fail; and as for the Legality of it, &s;he never
minded that, &s;ince &s;he could have Ab&s;olution when &s;he plea&s;ed.</P>
<P><HI>Polydorus</HI> therefore therefore &s;ends her an Invitation
to his Country Palace of <HI>Ver&s;ellais,</HI> and appoints her an Apartment
not far from his own, with &s;o many private avenues to it, that it was
impo&s;&s;ible one would have thought to have made the lea&s;t di&s;covery of
their private Congre&s;&s;es.</P>
<P>Under the Covert of this Retirement, <HI>Polydorus</HI> had
&s;everal Opportunities to enjoy the Carre&s;ies of his endearing
<HI>Me&s;&s;alina;</HI> while &s;he on the one &s;ide la|bour'd for Pregnancie,
and he on the other endea|voured to recover the Reputation he had lo&s;t in his
fir&s;t Venereal Attempts: Nothing could out-vie the Dalliances of the&s;e two
Royal Lovers, unle&s;s the efforts of Youthful <HI>Clepatra,</HI> to plea&s;e
her <HI>Mark Anthony,</HI> or the Gallantries of <HI>Mark Anthony,</HI> to
gratifie his adored <HI>Cleopatra.</HI> Moreover, <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI>
thought that if now &s;he &s;hould prove with Child, the World would be the
&s;ooner Convinc'd of the Truth of her being Deliver'd of the Prince of the
<HI>Cambro Britans;</HI> which made her more eager to devote her &s;elf to the
&s;ati&s;|faction of her <HI>Polydorus.</HI> However Love had only
<PB N="54" REF="66">a De&s;ign to exert his power, and would not admit
<HI>Lucina</HI> to come in for a &s;hare, in ble&s;&s;ing the &s;trong
Endeavours of the Amorous Pair with effectual Suc|ce&s;s: 'Tis true Fame did
her part and &s;pread abroad a rumour over all <HI>Gothland</HI> and
<HI>Albion,</HI> that <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> was with Child, and &s;o it holds;
but as to that, it is le&s;t to Time to make out the truth of it.</P>
<P>By this time <HI>Cupid,</HI> who &s;eem'd to &s;tudy nothing
more then to enlarge the Conque&s;ts of <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI>'s Charming Eyes,
had &s;mitten the Heart of Young <HI>Delphinus,</HI> only Son of
<HI>Polydorus,</HI> who began to be no le&s;s Enamour'd of the Bewitching
<HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI> then his Father. 'Tis true he knew nothing of certainty
of what pa&s;s'd every Day between his Father and her. For now it being known
that <HI>Lycogenes</HI> was gone of <HI>Polydorus</HI>'s Errand, it was ea&s;ie
to feign pretences of Frequent Con&s;ultations with <HI>Me&s;&s;alina;</HI> but
as the Actions of Princes will be pry'd into, in &s;pight of Fate,
<HI>Delphinus</HI> had &s;ome Inkling of the Intrigue. And indeed the more then
ordinary Credulity and Ob&s;equiou&s;nes of <HI>Polydorus</HI> to an Exild
Prince&s;s, could not choo&s;e but Enhance her Su&s;pition. How|ever Love is
&s;uch a Tyrant, that what he will, he will have done. The Young
<HI>Delphinus</HI> is enflam'd, and tho' he were pretty &s;ure, that in giving
way to his Pa&s;&s;ion, he mu&s;t be his Father's Rival, and Fi&s;h in the
&s;ame Stream with his own Parent, yet his Ardour was &s;o Violent, that
tho&s;e Con&s;iderations could not with-hold him, nor &s;tem the violent
Current of his Affection: So that he never came into <HI>Me&s;&s;alina</HI>'s
Company but his Amorous Looks betray'd the Pa&s;|&s;ion of his Heart; &s;o
ea&s;ily di&s;cernable, that <HI>Me&s;&s;a|lina</HI> could not perceive the
double Conque&s;t &s;he had made both of the Father and the Son. But
<HI>Me&s;&s;ali|na</HI> who had Abandon'd her &s;elf over to the Father,
<PB N="55" REF="66">made the Punctillio of Honour &s;o much her pre&s;ent
Excu&s;e for not conde&s;cending to the Son's Addre&s;&s;es, that &s;he &s;till
put him off with fair Complements, &s;o that all his Efforts prov'd
ineffectual.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</GROUP>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
