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<NAME>Alexis Jakobson</NAME>
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
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<P>PIERS Plainnes &s;eauen yeres Prenti&s;hip.</P>
<P>By H. C.</P>
<P>Nuda &V;eritas.</P>
<P>Printed at London by I. Danter for Thomas Go&s;&s;on, and are to be &s;old at his &s;hop by London bridge Gate.</P>
<P>1595.</P>
</DIV1>
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<PB REF="2">
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<HEAD>PIERS PLAINNES &s;euen yeres Prenti&s;hip.</HEAD>
<P>_THE Sunne no &s;ooner entred <HI>Gemini,</HI> but Natures plentie and Earths pride, gaue the hu&s;bandman hope of gainefull Harue&s;t, and the &s;hepheard a&s;|&s;urance of happie in|crea&s;e; the fir&s;t cheri|&s;hed with the liuely Spring of his deade &s;owne &s;&eacute;ede: The &s;e|conde cheared by the liuing pre&s;ence of his late yeande Lambes.</P>
<P>In that months prime, <HI>Menalcas</HI> (no meane &s;hep|heard of <HI>The&s;&s;alie)</HI> &s;ate in a grone of Pines vnder the principall tr&eacute;e, pen&s;iue inough, though not pining ei|ther for loue or lo&s;&s;e: His &s;eruaunt (among other &s;waines) was the meane while vnfolding his &s;h&eacute;ep, the neighbring grounds to <HI>Tempe</HI> was their pa&s;ture, euen <HI>Tempe</HI> the plea&s;ure of <HI>The&s;&s;alie,</HI> and Paradice of <HI>Greece.</HI></P>
<P>To <HI>Menalcas</HI> thus &s;olitary, one day when the Sun had newly dried vp the Mornings balmy moy&s;ture, came a kinde companion of his, <HI>Coridon</HI> it was, no &s;hephearde, but a plough-&s;waine: no le&s;&s;e wealthy than the Heard&s;man, their credits equal, their wits not
<PB REF="3"> different: viewing the &s;hepheards heauine&s;&s;e, the hu&s;|bandman thus &s;aid.</P>
<P>I mu&s;e not a little <HI>Menalcas,</HI> nowe when euery creature takes delight in company, you &s;houlde de&s;ire this &s;olitude: Did &s;now couer the mountains, or &s;wel|ling flouds ouercharge the valleyes: Did y&s;icles dan|gle downe the dew laps of your Heard, or di&s;ea&s;es in|uade your flocks, &s;omewhat it were you &s;hould be thus &s;orrowfull: But &s;&eacute;eing on the hills your Goats brou&s;e on &s;w&eacute;ete &s;melling Thyme, in the dales your &s;h&eacute;epe chew no le&s;&s;e delightfull gra&s;&s;e: tho&s;e teaching their Kids to &s;kip the hollowe places of the crag, the&s;e wan|toning with their Lambes amonge the flowers of the meades: fields abounding with <HI>Floraes</HI> beauty, flouds not ouerchargde with <HI>Phoebes</HI> plenty: all y&eacute;elding you good, your &s;elfe exc&eacute;eding each neighboring &s;hepheard in goods: woonder it is, euery of them froliking, you &s;hould alone &s;it thus di&s;con&s;olate. Want which gr&eacute;eues you I knowe it is not, that my la&s;t rea&s;on hath refuted: Wealth that lifts you vp, I am &s;ure it cannot bee, that familiar conuer&s;ation hath refelled: for as yee are not poore, &s;o were ye neuer proud: that you hate any deadly, your woonted mildnes forbids me to &s;uppo&s;e, that you loue <HI>Lycoris</HI> alone, your vowes and her vertue, (be&s;ide your &s;eauen yeares marriage) a&s;&s;ures mee: &s;o that &s;&eacute;e|ing neither from loue, nor hate, nor wealth, nor want in my conceit, the&s;e pa&s;&s;ions of &s;olitarines are &s;prung, let <HI>Corydon</HI> your olde acquaintance intreat yee to vn|fold your griefs, which if it be not in my power wholly to redre&s;&s;e, I will indeuour to procure &s;ome remedy, if either countenance, coun&s;ell, or coyne can giue ayde. Di&s;clo&s;e it therefore <HI>Menalcas,</HI> I am prepard to heare, and will be as ready to adu&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>Kindely offered <HI>Corydon,</HI> replyed <HI>Menalcas:</HI> and well ha&s;t thou ge&s;t mee fr&eacute;e from euery incommodity before named, and &s;halt be immediatly re&s;olud whence
<PB REF="3"> now my meditation ari&s;es: being free from &s;orrowe I prote&s;t, yet full of &s;u&s;pect, I tru&s;t cau&s;eles: but when thou heare&s;t it, as thou &s;halt like, &s;o coun&s;aile me.</P>
<P>A two daies &s;ince, when la&s;t <HI>Lycoris</HI> and I vi&s;ited th&eacute;e and thy <HI>Palma,</HI> in our return home we entertaind a new &s;eruant, plaine in condition for any thing I can ge&s;&s;e, of body &s;trong, of wit prompt, of &s;p&eacute;ech not al|together rude, but exc&eacute;eding Satyrical: his bringing vp I know not, thence ari&s;es my doubt, &s;&eacute;eing la&s;t weeke <HI>Damon,</HI> la&s;t yeare <HI>Lyco&s;tes</HI> (both my neighhors, and thy familliars) had by entertaignement of &s;traglers &s;trange mi&s;fortunes. Coulde thy affaires <HI>Corydon</HI> permit th&eacute;e &s;o much ley&s;ure, I would require thy com|pany to conferre with him: About this time hath hee vnfolded his &s;h&eacute;epe, and thus haue I an&s;wered thy &s;u&s;|pect: what I doubted thou knowe&s;t, a&s;&s;i&s;t mee to be of this doubt re&s;olude if thou mai&s;t.</P>
<P>To this <HI>Corydon</HI> ea&s;ily con&s;ented, <HI>Menalcas</HI> ro&s;e, they left the Groue and entred the plaine, where <HI>Piers Plainnes</HI> (for &s;o was <HI>Menalcas</HI> mans name) hauing &s;et his &s;h&eacute;epe to f&eacute;ede, founde him&s;elfe no little worke with platting wheate &s;trawe for a &s;ummer bonnet, to to beare off the violence of the Sunnes beames: while his fingers went, his tonge lay not &s;till, but thus to his &s;h&eacute;epe and him&s;elfe he &s;ung:</P>
<LG>
<L>Feede on my flocke &s;ecurely,</L>
<L>Your &s;hepheard watcheth &s;urely;</L>
<L>Runne about my little Lambs,</L>
<L>Skipp and wanton with your Dams:</L>
<L>Your louing Heard with care will tend yee.</L>
</LG>
<LG>
<L>Sport on faire flocke at plea&s;ure,</L>
<L>Nip Ve&s;taes flouring trea&s;ure;</L>
<L>I my &s;elfe will duely harke,</L>
<PB REF="4">
<L>When my watchfull Dogg doth barke:</L>
<L>From Woolfe and Foxe wee will defende yee.</L>
</LG>
<P>As he was going on, he &s;pied his Ma&s;ter and <HI>Cory|don</HI> at hand: wherewith leauing his &s;ong, he attended <HI>Corydons</HI> words that fir&s;t &s;aluted him in this &s;ort: God morrow friend, well worthy the name of a &s;hepheard, if thy &s;eruice bee an&s;werable to thy &s;ong. If it bee not &s;aid <HI>Piers,</HI> I doo but imitate the mo&s;t, that what&s;oeuer they &s;ay, liue as they li&s;t.</P>
<P>Of them what think&s;t thou &s;aid <HI>Corydon?</HI> As they doo of them&s;elues replyed <HI>Piers,</HI> and you &s;u&s;pect of m&eacute;e: I ge&s;&s;e them to be hypocrites, which they knowe true, you doubt to be an eye-&s;eruant, wherein ye d&eacute;eme vn|truely. Thou art very plaine with mee quoth <HI>Cory|don.</HI> I cannot choo&s;e &s;aide <HI>Piers,</HI> for I am plaine by name and nature. Thou art too blunt quoth <HI>Menal|cas,</HI> he is my hone&s;t friend, and kinde familiar. Ma&s;ter &s;aid <HI>Piers,</HI> how long hath he b&eacute;ene your familiar? This twenty winters an&s;wered <HI>Menalcas.</HI> And hath hee e|uer &s;ince quoth <HI>Piers</HI> b&eacute;ene your a&s;&s;ured friend? He hath &s;aid the other. Happy is <HI>Piers</HI> then to happen in &s;uch a &s;eruice, for in <HI>Thrace</HI> and <HI>Creete</HI> haue I &s;euen yeares b&eacute;ene a prentice, howemany Ma&s;ters in that time I haue &s;erued, it were a &s;tory to tell, and were it worth the telling I would de&s;cribe it in a Story: but in al that time could I neuer be acquainted with any man &s;o hap|pie, that had a true friend of tenne dayes &s;tanding. <HI>Me|nalcas</HI> and <HI>Corydon</HI> hearing him &s;o plea&s;antly offer, what they onely required, willed him to deliuer as h&eacute;e thought be&s;t, the places of his &s;eruice, the per&s;ons h&eacute;e &s;erude with, and manner of his v&s;age: He as ready to performe as they to demaunde, craude pardon to &s;it be|cau&s;e the ta&s;ke was long, which they willingly graun|ted. Then in an artificiall &s;eate formde out of a fre&s;h
<PB REF="4"> budding thorne, &s;ate they all thr&eacute;e downe, and <HI>Piers</HI> ha|uing the preheminence of the middle place, beganne as followech.</P>
<P><HI>Hylenus</HI> now the &s;econd time gouerneth in <HI>Thrace:</HI> who&s;e fortunes, his Childrens, and <HI>Aeliana</HI> the Cretan Qu&eacute;ens (ouring my &s;euen yeres &s;eruice) I wil handle, that you may know both what I haue b&eacute;ene, and what the world is.</P>
<P><HI>Hylenus</HI> had two &s;onnes, <HI>Celinus</HI> and <HI>Aemilius,</HI> and one daughter, named <HI>Rhodope:</HI> the Daughters birth-day was her Mothers death&s;-day, by the trea|cherous complot of a Per&s;ian Hand-maid, that of pri|uate grudge poy&s;oned the new deliuered Qu&eacute;ene: and being apprehended, denide not the fact, for which &s;hee &s;uffered a de&s;erued death.</P>
<P>The &s;onnes were borne twinnes, about thr&eacute;e yeres elder than their &s;i&s;ter, <HI>Celinus</HI> &s;o like <HI>Aemilius</HI> in con|&s;titution of bodie, and &s;o vnlike in di&s;po&s;ition of mind, that it bred admiration in all that knew their bringing vp: <HI>Aemilius</HI> being no le&s;&s;e loued for his vertue, than <HI>Celinus</HI> hated for his vice.</P>
<P>In the Court (and in no meane account) &s;wayed a Noble man, named <HI>Celydon:</HI> one of his mens men was my ma&s;ter, a ma&s;ter to his ma&s;ter &s;o &s;eruiceable, as no &s;laue could be more &s;ubmi&s;&s;e. <HI>Celydon</HI> had the charge of <HI>Hylenus</HI> Name, hauing likewi&s;e charge of a Ca&s;tle on the mouth of <HI>Hebrus,</HI> to defend the entrie from forren inua&s;ion. Popular hee was and liberall, of King and people well beloued.</P>
<P>The remi&s;&s;e dealing of <HI>Celinus</HI> drew from him his fathers heart, who by publike Edict proclaimed <HI>Aemi|lius</HI> his heir apparant. <HI>Celydon</HI> vnder who&s;e &s;moothe looks ambitions fire lay couered, thinking to take the fitte&s;t of opportunities, pre&s;ently vpon this Edict &s;ent for <HI>Celinus,</HI> and in priuate demaunds how he tooke &s;o
<PB REF="5"> publike an iniurie? Who minding more the fulfilling of his lu&s;t than anie regall dignitie: made an&s;were, it was no wrong to him to liue at libertie. But with many rea&s;ons <HI>Celydon</HI> reprouing his remi&s;&s;enes, lay|ing open the glorie of e&s;tate, the power to will anye thing vncontrould, and &s;uch like: <HI>Celinus</HI> began a lit|tle to giue eare, prote&s;ting he would be <HI>Aemilius</HI> prie&s;t if his father immediately reuokd not the Edict. To calme this furie, yet kindle a more vnnaturall flame, <HI>Celydon</HI> thus &s;lily practi&s;de.</P>
<P>It is in vaine (&s;aith he) to purpo&s;e the ruine of <HI>Ce|linus</HI> alone, &s;ith your father (vtterly forgetting the fol|lies of his owne youth, exc&eacute;eding yours by infinite de|gr&eacute;es) hath ab&s;olutely di&s;po&s;&s;e&s;t you of all claime to the Kingdom, naming your &s;i&s;ter next in &s;ucce&s;&s;ion if <HI>Ae|milius</HI> die: if both he and &s;he depart i&s;lule&s;&s;e, he hath bequeathed the Kingdome to the election of the State. To this his will haue all a&s;&s;ented, and I dur&s;t not (b&eacute;e|ing alone, denie to giue con&s;ent: but how much again&s;t my will, &s;hall well appeare by this that followes. To morrow intends the King priuatly to di&s;port with me at my Ca&s;tle builded on the banke of <HI>Hebrus, Aemi|lius</HI> and <HI>Rhodope</HI> with &s;ome &s;mall traine &s;hall beare him companie: when they are there, wold your Lord|&s;hip con&s;ent, <HI>Celydon</HI> would &s;et the crowne of <HI>Thrace</HI> vpon your head, before the Sunne were twice &s;et.</P>
<P>Would I con&s;ent (&s;aith <HI>Celinus)</HI>? Why <HI>Celydon,</HI> what will I not doo? Shall we there murder <HI>Hyle|nus,</HI> no more of me meriting the name of father, b&eacute;e|ing &s;o vnnaturall: Shall we &s;trangle <HI>Aemilius</HI> my v&s;urping brother: commit <HI>Rhodope</HI> to the mercie of &s;ome rude mercenarie, that may crop the flower of her beautie, or drag her <HI>Polixena</HI>-like to &s;acrifice? What will not <HI>Celinus</HI> attempt that <HI>Celydon</HI> can &s;et downe to reuenge an iniurie &s;o notorious.</P>
<P>Then &s;aid <HI>Celydon,</HI> let your Highnes &s;&eacute;e this per|formd,
<PB REF="5"> Gather together again&s;t morning the de&s;pera|te&s;t a&s;&s;ociates you can con&s;ort your &s;elfe withall, ru&s;h violently into the Pallace, breake open the Trea&s;urie, &s;eaze on the diademe and kingly ornaments, while I make &s;ure <HI>Hylenus, Aemilius</HI> and <HI>Rhodope:</HI> for ne|uer &s;hall Prince of <HI>Thrace</HI> of his birth-right be di&s;po&s;|&s;e&s;t, while <HI>Celidon</HI> hath power to lift a &s;word.</P>
<P>With millions of thankes, and prote&s;tation of as manie rewards, <HI>Celinus</HI> embraces <HI>Celydon,</HI> giuing him the name of father, patrone and protector, promi|&s;ing the whole Realm &s;halbe at his direction, and thus this plot of con&s;piracie confirmd, <HI>Celinus</HI> and <HI>Celydon</HI> part. Thus went the matters of State: now to our hou&s;hold affaires, and yet no hou&s;hold affaires neither, for my ma&s;ter kept no hou&s;e: but be it hou&s;e or chamb|er, thus it was.</P>
<P>Being at my choyce of ma&s;ters, of &s;undrie ages &amp; occupations: I that had in my childhood bin experien&s;t in trades, and found in few of them plaine dealing, de|&s;perate to doo among them anie good, they had &s;o &s;mall delight in goodnes, I left Gods ble&s;&s;ing for the warme &s;unne: and wondring what braue life it was to bee a Courtier, I bound my &s;elfe for &s;euen yere with one <HI>Thra&s;ilio,</HI> as &s;mooth a tongud Gentleman, as euer <HI>Te|rences Gnatho</HI> was a Para&s;ite. At my fir&s;t entertain|ment, hee told me h&eacute;e was a retainer to Lord <HI>Celydon,</HI> who&s;e verie name in all the Countrey was highly re|uerenced: but the truth was as I afore &s;aid, he retayn|ed to <HI>Flauius</HI> a wa&s;tfull Gentleman, belonging to <HI>Ce|lidon:</HI> by attending on who&s;e trencher, hee got bare maintenance for him&s;elfe and me.</P>
<P>This <HI>Flauius</HI> v&s;de him as a Ie&s;ter: for if loud lyars be ie&s;ters, he was the excellent&s;t I euer knewe. Hee was acquainted with none but Kings and great Cap|taines of Armies, on whom he had be&s;towed infinite &s;ummes of money toward their expences: for he was
<PB REF="6"> &s;o well &s;&eacute;ene in the Philo&s;ophers &s;tene, that gold was to him as dro&s;&s;e. In &s;et Emperiall battells, on hor&s;e|backe and on foote, he had &s;erud &s;ome thirtie times, and alwaies on his part attended victorie: his wardrop &amp; iewels were without number. The&s;e were his brags notoriou&s;lie noted in Court and Citie. Yet tru&s;t m&eacute;e I take it he had &s;ome &s;kill in Alchymie, for hee helpt <HI>Flauius</HI> to connext much faire liuing into fine gold: for his valor, a purer coward knew I neuer, and for hys wealth, he hourely marched in the mid&s;t of it. In his diet he was verie &s;paring, becau&s;e he had &s;mall &s;tore of &s;pare money to buy meate: and had not the &s;cullerie at the Court b&eacute;en my be&s;t ambrie. I mu&s;t either haue left my ma&s;ter, or lo&s;t my life. With this Braggart had I &s;carce b&eacute;en two yeres, when the con&s;piracie of <HI>Celi|nus</HI> and <HI>Celydon</HI> began.</P>
<P>The night before it brake foorth, <HI>Flauius</HI> &s;ent word to my ma&s;ter to prouide his weapons, for next day &s;hould be a de&s;perate fray, <HI>Flauius</HI> being a yong&s;ter of <HI>Celi|nus</HI> con&s;ort. But he that had &s;&eacute;ene the pitifull plight my ma&s;ter was in, whe~ the&s;e tidings of fighting came, might well haue ge&s;t his valour by his vi&s;age: yet he bragd it out, &s;aying the palenes of his colour came fro~ the anger of his heart, and &s;wore the quaking of hys ioynts onely pre&s;aged his impatience. All that night had I the office of an Armorer, but with his daily wea|ring rapier had I mo&s;t adoo, for it was almo&s;t two ho|wers ere I could draw it: how well he v&s;de it when he had it, you &s;hall heare when time &s;erues. Let vs now returne to <HI>Celydon.</HI></P>
<P>Night the darke &s;hrowd of euerie euill, had giuen courage to his de&s;perate abhord con&s;orts: who b&eacute;eing placed in the way, &amp; re&s;olued to performe this in&s;uing &s;tratageme, <HI>Celydon</HI> with &s;p&eacute;ede po&s;tes to conduct the vnmi&s;d&eacute;eming King and his innocent Children to the place appoynted for the perfection of his de&s;perate
<PB REF="6"> intent: while <HI>Celinus</HI> &s;cattered troupes await in the Citie their time.</P>
<P>That morning, no &s;ooner did the Forre&s;t Clearkes chaunt forth their variable noates, but <HI>Hylenus, Ae|milius</HI> and <HI>Rhodope,</HI> &s;lenderly accompanied, tru&s;tely relying on <HI>Celydon,</HI> &s;et forward to his Ca&s;tle: and ri|ding through an edge of <HI>Hemus,</HI> on &s;odaine were vio|lently a&s;&s;ailed, their followers &s;laine, them&s;elues &s;ur|prized, the intention by <HI>Celydons</HI> owne mouth vttred, death &s;harpe and ha&s;tie for them prepared. <HI>Hylenus</HI> at this &s;odaine con&s;piracie amazed, &s;&eacute;eing the traitreus butchers prouided for <HI>Aemilius</HI> and <HI>Rhodopes</HI> &s;laugh|ter, thus for a time &s;tayed them from their de&s;perate and diueli&s;h re&s;olution.</P>
<P><HI>Celydon</HI> (&s;aid he) the manie fauours <HI>Hylenus</HI> hath be&s;towed on th&eacute;e and thy fathers hou&s;e (were I &s;ilent) would plead my &s;orrow for this &s;inne of thine, beeing &s;o much the greater, by rea&s;on of my exc&eacute;eding loue to th&eacute;e. Beeing in thy infancie le&s;t fatherle&s;&s;e, I of thy prince became thy fatherly protector: and in the increa|&s;ing of thy yeares of a priuate man I haue made &s;h&eacute;e a Prince, and Protectour of the ch&eacute;efe&s;t &s;trength of <HI>Thrace:</HI> and ha&s;t thou thus (fal&s;e <HI>Celydon)</HI> requited all my good? But thou coloure&s;t thy vile trea&s;on, with <HI>Celinus</HI> charge: why <HI>(Celydon)</HI> when was he &s;worn thy King? what Nobles (with th&eacute;e) haue giuen theyr oathes to him? His leaud life, and manners la&s;ciui|ous, (by th&eacute;e mo&s;t of anie other noated, and mi&s;liked) drew me to fru&s;trate him of all hope to inherite. And is he now become thy King? wilt thou by him be &s;o &s;o|dainly commanded? No, no <HI>Celydon, celinus</HI> onely is thy &s;hadowe, thou the intruder, hee thy in&s;trument. Why delaye&s;t thou fal&s;e con&s;pirer, &s;eaze on me, &amp; com|mit both the&s;e &s;innes in one, <HI>Licaon</HI>-like murder thy gue&s;t, &s;o &s;inne again&s;t the Gods of ho&s;pitalitie, traitor|like &s;tab thy king, and expect the fit reward of treche|rie:
<PB REF="7"> but &s;pare the&s;e innocents, lea&s;t earth no longer beare thy vile impietie.</P>
<P><HI>Celydon</HI> (vending his browes) ruthle&s;ly comman|ded <HI>Aemilius</HI> and <HI>Rhodope</HI> to be &s;trangled, giuing no other reply to <HI>Hylenus:</HI> who &s;&eacute;eing reproofe of no po|wer to preuaile, humbled his heroicke heart, and pro|&s;trating him&s;elfe before <HI>Celydon,</HI> cryed out.</P>
<P>Stay, &s;tay, O let me once more &s;peake to th&eacute;e, be|fore thou lop off two &s;uch braunches from my wythe|red trunke. If not my kindnes, dignitie, and charge: yet let my age, humblene&s;&s;e, and teares, intreate th&eacute;e to &s;hew pitie. Be not more ruthle&s;&s;e than things &s;en&s;|le&s;&s;e: drops of raine pierce rockie marble, let my &s;ho|wers of teares enter thy &s;tonie heart. In this Wood <HI>Tereus</HI> raui&s;ht and wrongd <HI>Philomele,</HI> he &amp; his &s;onne did peri&s;h for her onely rape: if in this Wood thou kill the&s;e innocents, thinke&s;t thou to e&s;cape for &s;o great an outrage: he was a king thou but a &s;ubiect, his State &s;ure, thine vn&s;etled. I &s;weare to th&eacute;e by the immortal powers, and my children with like vow &s;hall confirme my oath, if thou exile vs together, or &s;euerall, &s;o thou pre&s;erue our liues, we will ob&s;cure our States, and ne|uer returne to <HI>Thrace,</HI> except recalled by th&eacute;e, <HI>Celinus,</HI> or both.</P>
<P><HI>Celydon</HI> at this relenting, knowing how religiou&s;|ly <HI>Hylenus</HI> euer regarded an oath, gaue charge they &s;hould foorthwith be conuayed to Sea in thr&eacute;e &s;euerall &s;hips, and landed where the fortune of the wind &s;hould fir&s;t driue them: which courte&s;ie (though it included &s;mall kindne&s;&s;e) all thr&eacute;e accepted of him verie grate|fully.</P>
<P>They being di&s;patcht to &s;ea, <HI>Celydon</HI> poa&s;ted to the Citie: where <HI>Celinus</HI> again&s;t his comming, had thus played his pageant.</P>
<P>Scarce were the King and his Companie departed two miles from the Citie, when <HI>Celinus</HI> (hauing ga|thered
<PB REF="7"> together a multitude of de&s;perate vnthrifts) &s;ea|&s;ed violently on the ancient Nobles, &s;lew &s;ome, forced other to flie: and po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ing him&s;elfe of the Regall orna|ments, proclaimed him&s;elfe King, and <HI>Celydon</HI> Pro|tector of the Realme.</P>
<P>The Citizens &s;hut vp their hou&s;es, the better &s;ort hidde their heads, onely the leaud and riotous Liuers flocked in bands, crying out, Long liue <HI>Celinus</HI> King of <HI>Thrace.</HI></P>
<P>To this vp&s;hot came <HI>Celydon</HI> with a companie of approoued &s;ouldiers: and looking &s;trangely at that <HI>Ce|linus</HI> had done, pacified the tumult with milde per&s;wa|&s;ions: and appoynted the fourth day following a time of hearing, when as <HI>Celinus</HI> &s;hould either an&s;were, or y&eacute;elde rea&s;on for that hee had attempted: &s;till making faire weather to the people, that <HI>Hylenus</HI> was onely withdrawen for feare of trea&s;on, not vttring the effec|tiue working of their trecherie: for had the Kings mi|&s;erie b&eacute;en knowne, the multitude could not haue b&eacute;en appea&s;d.</P>
<P>In the beginning of this broyle, <HI>Flauius</HI> had &s;ent for <HI>Thra&s;ilio</HI> my ma&s;ter: who hearing the On&s;et gi|uen, lea&s;urely armed him&s;elfe, and by then the tumult was appea&s;d, marching in &s;tately equipage with hys two hand &s;word on his &s;houlder, his rapier on one &s;ide his pi&s;toll on the other, mounted the &s;caffolde (among other &s;quaring cutters) where <HI>Celinus</HI> in viewe of all the people &s;ate royally inue&s;ted in his Regall &s;tate and dignitie.</P>
<P>Among other things, it is not to be omitted, how like a tall &s;quire I attended my ma&s;ter, with an old Morian on my head, and a iauelin in my hand, which he a thou|&s;and times &s;wore was the &s;ame leading &s;taffe that <HI>A|lexander</HI> v&s;de in his la&s;t battell again&s;t <HI>Darius:</HI> &amp; like inough it was of great antiquitie: for canker and ru&s;t had con&s;umde both &s;ub&s;tance and beautie.</P>
<PB REF="8">
<P>Ill weapond though we were, welcome wee were, and among our fellow Caualiers had the <HI>Bien venuto:</HI> for there euerie cobler was a captaine, and he that had but a bat on his necke, thought him&s;elfe a commander. O had you &s;&eacute;ene the mi&s;erie in tho&s;e few houres of In|&s;urrection, with what violence the giddie headed people were carried to ill, how ea&s;ely di&s;&s;waded from their al|leagance, how willingly mi&s;&s;ed, no man &s;carcely know|ing which part to take, the multitude were diuided in|to &s;o manie parts: you might haue thought &s;uch hap|pie, which had peri&s;hed by one mans &s;word, and not li|ued the torment of &s;o manie &s;laughterers: for in that broyle there peri&s;hed &s;ixe thou&s;and per&s;ons, &s;onne, fa|ther and kindred, each by other murdred, and mangled with manie wounds.</P>
<P>As I ear&s;t &s;aid, with <HI>Celydons</HI> faire &s;p&eacute;ech the peo|ple were &s;ati&s;fied. Euerie man withdrew him home, my ma&s;ter and I waiting at an inch on <HI>Flauius</HI> for re|ward of our daies &s;eruice and our &s;upper: where my ma&s;ters ie&s;ts &s;carcely pa&s;t currant, the companie were &s;o bu&s;ied about that bold attempt of <HI>Celinus,</HI> being in &s;uch di&s;grace, the ea&s;ie &s;hutting vp of the matter by <HI>Celydon,</HI> the ab&s;ence of the King, and &s;uch other acci|dents.</P>
<P>That night it was my de&s;tinie to be deliuered from the &s;eruice of <HI>Thra&s;ilio</HI> that ba&s;e Braggadoche: for wearied with my bluntnes (that could neither &s;ooth his leaudnes nor &s;moothe his lying) he began to indent for &s;ome crownes with <HI>Flauius</HI> to &s;ell my time. What mooud him to affect mee I knowe not well: this after|ward he &s;aid cau&s;ed it, that he &s;aw me plaine, &amp; among many &s;oothers, he n&eacute;eded one reprouer to acquaint him with their &s;euerall infirmities. In briefe, he bought my yeares, and I was rid from the bondage both of a foole and a flatterer, beeing my fir&s;t ma&s;ter in Court, farre wor&s;e than euer anie I had in the Countrey:
<PB REF="8"> he was euer begging, &s;till beggarly, prying, complai|ning, &s;oothing, &s;wearing, bold to accu&s;e, fearefull to con|tinue accu&s;ations: in fine he was as all flatterers are, the very tennis ball of them he &s;oothed, to to&s;&s;e and ban|die with at plea&s;ure.</P>
<P>Of him to &s;peake more I haue no plea&s;ure: to &s;or|rowfull <HI>Hylenus</HI> and his two children will I returne, &s;euered in thr&eacute;e &s;undry Barkes, mindefull of all their vowes, mournefull at their infortunate aduenture: to imagine their &s;euerall pa&s;&s;ions pa&s;&s;eth poore <HI>Piers</HI> his conceit, the cour&s;e of the &s;tory onely will I continue: One winde breathed on each &s;hips &s;hrowdes wherein the&s;e infortunate Princes &s;ailed: Before <HI>Crete</HI> they all anchored, where the Ma&s;ters of either ve&s;&s;ell com|pa&s;&s;ionating their &s;orrows, to &s;hew &s;ome kindnes thus deui&s;ed. Vnknowne to either of them they were all in <HI>Crete</HI> landed, <HI>Hylenus</HI> him&s;elfe vpon a plaine &s;and, the Continent of the Ile next neighboring was a plea|&s;ant forre&s;t: <HI>Aemilius</HI> was &s;et on &s;hore at <HI>Hydrutum,</HI> a Ca&s;tle frontering the &s;ea: and poore <HI>Rhodope</HI> &s;olde for a bonde woman to an aged fi&s;herman vppon the Coa&s;t: This done, they loo&s;ed toward <HI>Thrace</HI> againe to attend <HI>Celidon</HI> their ambitious Lord.</P>
<P>In <HI>Crete</HI> at this time was Soueraigne, the vertu|ous and famous virgin <HI>Aeliana,</HI> feared and loued not only in the Mediterranean Regions, but in the vtmo&s;t Ea&s;t admired. The managing of the Common|wealths affaires were committed by her authoritie to <HI>Rhegius</HI> her naturall Vnckle: A man for bountie, vertue, and magnanimity, vnequalled with any neigh|boring Prince. But as in earth there is no perfection without &s;ome impediment, no beauty without her ble|mi&s;h, ru&s;t fretting the pure&s;t &s;t&eacute;ele, cancker the fine&s;t &s;iluer: So this Noble man (otherwi&s;e for vertue ad|mirable) had giuen the rayne to one vice, which vio|lently ha&s;tned the di&s;quiet of the Realme, and drue him
<PB REF="9"> headlong to his de&s;truction: and this was it, ince&s;tuou&s;|ly he loued vertuous <HI>Ae~liana,</HI> drawen by the admira|ble woonder of her beauty, yet dur&s;t not vtter his affe|ction, he was &s;o daunted with remembrance of hir ex|celling vertue. Now would he begin to write his pa&s;|ons, imitating <HI>Phaedra</HI> when &s;he affirmed,
<Q>Dicere quae puduit, &s;cribere iu&s;&s;it Amor.</Q> then rend tho&s;e liues, as open &s;candals to his honour: Sometimes he intended to attempt by force, but that by rea&s;on of her Gard he feared: another while he practi&s;ed to a&s;&s;ay by charmes, but tho&s;e meanes old ex|ample had prooued vaine: For if neither <HI>Medea, cir|ces,</HI> no not <HI>Apollo</HI> him&s;elfe, were able by incantations, hearbes, or &s;pels, to inforce liking where there was no loue, in vaine hee ge&s;t his indeuours that way imploy|ed.</P>
<P>Now la&s;tly he determines &s;ometime while &s;hee is a hunting, (in which game <HI>Aeliana</HI> principally deligh|ted) by &s;ome fal&s;e cry to traine her from her traine, and then in di&s;gui&s;e of a &s;auage &s;eaze on her, and &s;o &s;ati&s;fie his long de&s;ired lu&s;t and returne vn&s;u&s;pected to Court. Re&s;oulde on this, the very day of <HI>Hylenus</HI> and his chil|drens landing, he had intreated the Qu&eacute;ene to a hou&s;e of plea&s;ure of his in the Forre&s;t, a&s;&s;uring her hee had lodgde &s;o Princelike game, as &s;hould bee highly to her Highnes contentment.</P>
<P><HI>Aeliana</HI> ea&s;ily con&s;ented, and <HI>Diana</HI>-like &s;hee furni|&s;heth her &s;elfe for that daies &s;port, on her head &s;he wore a Coronet of orientall Peatle, on it a chaplet of varia|ble flowers perfuming the Ayre with their diuers o|dors, thence carele&s;ly de&s;cended her amber coloured haire, with which the winde wantoning nowe &s;ome|time vncouered her frocke of white ti&s;&s;ue, anone &s;uf|fred the &s;ame to lye hidde, which then &s;&eacute;emed like cleare <HI>I&s;is</HI> when <HI>Titan</HI> de&s;cending, ca&s;ts his golden beames on her &s;iluer coloured &s;treames: her Bu&s;kins were
<PB REF="9"> richly wrought like the Dolphins &s;pangled Caba|zines, her Quiuer was of Vnicornes horne, her Darts of yuorie, in one hand &s;hee helde a Boare &s;peare, the o|ther guided her Barbary Iennet, proud by nature, but nowe more proude, in that he carried Natures faire&s;t worke, the Ea&s;terne worlds chiefe woonder. O what oyle added the&s;e faire ornaments to wretched <HI>Rhegius</HI> kindled fire, euery minute hee countes a yeare, till they be in the wood, till he po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e his will: But for all his ha&s;t, heere fell an accident, that cau&s;ed &s;ome time of more protraction.</P>
<P>On a &s;odaine from the Forre&s;t edge i&s;&s;ued an olde man, his &s;nowy heard couering his brea&s;t, his face re|uerend, yet repleate with apparant &s;ignes of &s;orrowe, his eyes &s;wolne with teares but lately &s;hed, his coun|tenance ca&s;t downe as one di&s;con&s;olate. On him a|boue all other <HI>Aeliana</HI> ca&s;t a gratious eye, and cau&s;ing him to be called n&eacute;ere, a&s;kt if hee were a Cretan or a &s;tranger in that Countrey: I was &s;aid he great Prin|ce&s;&s;e, &s;ometime a <HI>Samothracian,</HI> but now of no Coun|trey, beeing wrongfully expeld my owne: In <HI>Crete</HI> and all Countreys a &s;tranger I am to all good fortune, the mappe of di&s;content, and &s;laue of mi&s;ery.</P>
<P>Be not di&s;couraged Father, &s;aid <HI>Aeliana,</HI> the goods of Fortune are as her &s;elf fickle, of their happines no man can glory till his ende: It is our vertues that in de|&s;pite of Fortune will make vs fortunate. Time now will not giue me leaue to make long que&s;tioning, but if in Court thou wilt content th&eacute;e to leade a quiete and contented life, I will immediately prouide for thy ea&s;e and &s;afety: If not, bethinke th&eacute;e &s;p&eacute;edily of any other cour&s;e, and commaunde <HI>Aeliana,</HI> that vnder the Gods commaundeth <HI>Crete:</HI> Deny me thou &s;halt not one of the&s;e, for in reuerence of thy Age I will doo th&eacute;e &s;ome good, therefore a&s;ke what&s;oeuer thou wilt, and it &s;hall be graunted.</P>
<PB REF="10">
<P>To this <HI>Hylenus</HI> (for it was hee) replied: By this thy charitie, &s;acred and &s;w&eacute;et Empre&s;&s;e, thou merite&s;t a greater name than either by thy beauty, wi&s;edome, or iu&s;tice, though for all and either of the&s;e thou art through <HI>Europe</HI> and <HI>A&s;ia</HI> famou&s;ed: And if old <HI>Saga|nes</HI> in this di&s;tre&s;&s;e &s;hould refu&s;e grace offred from one of &s;o high dignitie, hee were vnworthy to po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e any good: Plea&s;eth it therefore your Highne&s;&s;e to appoint mee &s;ome &s;olitary man&s;ion, where I may meditate on my follies pa&s;t, and quietly begge heauens fauour to bee powrde on you my Patrone&s;&s;e, I &s;hall be farre hap|pier than euer I was in Court, where I haue too long conuer&s;t.</P>
<P><HI>Aeliana,</HI> condi&s;cended to his &s;ute, and &s;ent him pre|&s;ently to a &s;olitary Lodge n&eacute;ere <HI>Hydrutum,</HI> comman|ding order to bee taken for his daily proui&s;ion. This d&eacute;ede of charity di&s;patcht, <HI>Aeliana, Rhegius,</HI> and all their traine enter the Forre&s;t, &s;ome choo&s;e the Stagge, &s;ome the Boare, others the Beare, all as their occa&s;ion fitted at fir&s;t &s;ight of game. They that were appoin|ted for rou&s;ing the game, hauing done their dilligence, the woods ecchoed with cry of houndes, &s;ounding of horns, and hallowing of hunters. <HI>Rhegius</HI> was pro|uided of his &s;auage &s;ute, and &s;till kept <HI>Aeliana</HI> compa|ny till &s;he had lo&s;t all other company, hauing a wilde Boare in cha&s;e, which he perceiuing, and knowing hir eagernes in pur&s;ute, followed &s;o long till hee &s;awe the wrathfull Boare returne and mortally wounde her St&eacute;ede, &s;o that <HI>Aeliana</HI> was for&s;t to leaue him, and with her darts and &s;peare, to offend him, and defend her &s;elfe. While thus the Qu&eacute;ene &s;troue for victory, the Boare for life, raging, fretting, foming, whetting his tu&s;kes on euery tr&eacute;e: <HI>Rhegius</HI> be&s;tird him to play the counterfet &s;auage, and the ince&s;tuous adulterer: fitted in all points, his face di&s;coloured, his head with &s;haggy haire couered, his body cloathed in a mo&s;&s;y &s;ute, his
<PB REF="10"> weapon being a yong Oake, he &s;lily paced to the place where faire <HI>Aeliana</HI> fiercely contended again&s;t this or|ped and ouergrowne &s;wine. There did he vnnaturally beholde his n&eacute;ece, and vndutifully refu&s;e to ayde his Prince&s;&s;e, n&eacute;ere hand &s;urpri&s;ed by a mertall and mer|ciles enemy. Her darts were all &s;pent, yet not vain|ly &s;pent: But as her obiect enemy was no le&s;&s;e fierce than the <HI>Erimanthian</HI> Boare, &s;o her fortune was more lucky than the maids, that among &s;o many vali|ant hunters drewe fir&s;t the blood of that bea&s;t, which <HI>Meleager</HI> too &s;oone for him&s;elfe and his Vnckles &s;lewe. For <HI>Aeliana</HI> had firmed thr&eacute;e dartes in her aduer&s;ary, one mo&s;t annoying him in the groyne, which when h&eacute;e offred to drawe foorth the Prince&s;&s;e with the poynt of her Boare &s;peare (being nowe her la&s;t refuge) in the &s;ame place made a farre wyder wound: which follow|ing with heroicke courage, &s;he buried halfe her &s;taffe i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> the body of the bea&s;t, who beating his wrathfull hea<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters"> again&s;t the vnder earth, di&s;tained it with fome &amp; blood, and finally gaue <HI>Aeliana</HI> the glory of the conque&s;t: who &s;ounded the fall, that her followers might heare, giuing heauens glory for her protection, and treading on that heade which lately a&s;&s;ailed her with in&s;trumentes of death and terror.</P>
<P>Shee had &s;carce breathed in this new ioy, but fre&s;h feare pre&s;ented it &s;elfe: For on a &s;odaine ru&s;hed forth this counterfet &s;auage, who&s;e fir&s;t &s;ight the more af|frighted her, for that &s;hee was vtterly weaponle&s;&s;e to make defence: yet when &s;he &s;aw no violence offred by the wilde man, but &s;igns of duty, and manife&s;t &s;howes to conduct her forth of the Forre&s;t, &s;hee offred to drawe foorth her &s;peare from the body of the deade Boare, which he e&s;pying, roughly laid hold of it him&s;elfe.</P>
<P>The Qu&eacute;ene thinking the &s;auage had before time bin cha&s;ed with &s;uch &s;taues, &s;miled at his feare and let him k&eacute;epe the &s;ame, and being of vndaunted courage, went
<PB REF="11"> boldly whether he led her, being into the thicke&s;t of the wood. There was a &s;pring &s;haded with tr&eacute;es, and cir|cled with marble, in which artificially were &s;eates framde, naturally furni&s;hed with hearbs and flowers: To this &s;pring brought the &s;auage the Qu&eacute;ene, and eft &s;oones ca&s;ting him&s;elf therein, offered by &s;ignes to teach her to doo the like, but when he &s;awe &s;he made no &s;em|blance of perceiuing him, he roughly begins to di&s;robe her royall body, and menacing her with &s;terne lookes mingled with &s;ome &s;trokes, he fir&s;t puls of her Bugle, which &s;hee had twice &s;ounded, and ca&s;ting her roughly on the earth, makes open his vile intent to her no little terror. <HI>Aeliana</HI> thus di&s;tre&s;t, cried to heauen for helpe, often called for her followers, oftner on <HI>Diana,</HI> but mo&s;t &s;he cried on her Vnkle, inuocating his helpe, that &s;auagely attempted hir hurt.</P>
<P>We left <HI>Aemilius</HI> landed at <HI>Hydrutum,</HI> who inqui|ring toward the Court, was certified of that royal hun|ting in the Forre&s;t: who de&s;irous to &s;&eacute;e the Countreys fa&s;hion, got to the woode &s;ide with other of the people that went to haue a &s;ight of <HI>Aeliana</HI> their Prince&s;&s;e. The time being long that the people attended, <HI>Aemili|us</HI> walked alone into the woode, meditating on the trea|cherie of <HI>Celinus</HI> &amp; <HI>Celidon,</HI> the wrong his aged father him&s;elf &amp; <HI>Rhodope</HI> &s;uffred, inuocating reuenge of hea|uens, &amp; humbly de&s;iring the de&s;tinies to fauour them in m&eacute;eting either with other before their deaths: Being in this contemplation, hee was vnawares &s;o far in the wood, that which way to returne hee knewe not. The better part of the day he &s;trayed vp &amp; downe, oft times a far off hearing the noy&s;e of hunters, but nere them he had no power to come. Faint he was both with trauell &amp; hunger, be&s;ide his &s;orrowe made him heauy. On the ground he dur&s;t not &s;l&eacute;epe, le&s;t &s;ome &s;auage bea&s;t &s;hould &s;eaze on him, therefore he climed a tr&eacute;e, in who&s;e toppe when he thought to re&s;t, he &s;cant had clo&s;ed eyes when
<PB REF="11"> he ea&s;ily heard a &s;mall bugle twice &s;ound very nere the place: &amp; li&s;tning again where it &s;hould be, he in a while after heard the lamentable &s;hr&eacute;ekes of <HI>Aeliana,</HI> where|with de&s;cending the tr&eacute;e, he pa&s;&s;ed through the thicke&s;t of the couert, &s;til folowing the voice, till he came where <HI>Aeliana</HI> with &s;triuing breathles, with w&eacute;eping &s;ight|les, with crying voyceles, and &s;orrowe &s;en&s;eles, lay at the mercy of an inhuman &s;auage, who &s;hameles of &s;in, relentles at her intreats, &amp; &s;ecure by rea&s;on of the place, was now ready to di&s;couer that hidden beauty, which had &s;o long b&eacute;ene de&s;ired by his bea&s;t-like appetite.</P>
<P><HI>Aemilius</HI> no &s;ooner &s;et eye on this &s;hame-forgetting Mon&s;ter, but he cryed out, Villaine attempt not to de|floure the Nymph, but looke to defend thy &s;elfe for thy barbarous a&s;&s;ailement. Both <HI>Rhegius</HI> &amp; <HI>Aeliana.</HI> wer at this &s;odaine voice &s;euerally pa&s;&s;ioned, he with feare, &s;he with hope, he &s;tarts to his weighty &s;taffe, &s;hee lifts vp her weeping eyes, he furiou&s;ly a&s;&s;ails <HI>Aemilius,</HI> &s;he f&eacute;eble, yet feruently impetrates heauens aid for his de|fence. <HI>Aemilius</HI> &s;hunning &s;undry fierce blowes of <HI>Rhe|gius,</HI> wounded him with his &s;word &s;o d&eacute;ep in the arme, that not able to hold his club, &amp; fearing to be di&s;couered, he flung the tr&eacute;e from him with violence, the fury wher of while <HI>Aemilius</HI> &s;ought to &s;hun, <HI>Rhegius</HI> giuing a great cry, betook him to his f&eacute;et: The wood being thick, the &s;ight of him was &s;oone lo&s;t, &amp; being doubtful what other company hee had at hande, he left him to comfort the Qu&eacute;en: who reuiued as it wer from a dedly trance, gazed on <HI>Aemilius,</HI> imagining him no mortal creature, but &s;ome cele&s;tiall power de&s;cended in her defence: he on the other &s;ide admired the excellence of her beauty, &amp; by her Coronet of golde that lay not far off, he thought hir no meane per&s;onage: which in&s;tantly de&s;iring to know &s;he immediately re&s;olude him off: and inquiring of his e&s;tate and name, he reported him&s;elfe to be atraueller, borne in <HI>Italie,</HI> his name he changed not.</P>
<PB REF="12">
<P>With &s;uch like parle, they come to the place where the Boare lay &s;laine, where <HI>Aeliana</HI> di&s;cour&s;ed the manner of his death, which <HI>Aemilius</HI> heard with no &s;mall woonder.</P>
<P><HI>Piers</HI> &s;aide <HI>Corydon,</HI> now thou ha&s;t ridde vs of this feare, &amp; &s;et <HI>Aeliana</HI> fr&eacute;e, I would wi&s;h th&eacute;e to remem|ber thy &s;elfe, what of thy &s;elfe thou promi&s;ed&s;t: Thou ha&s;t yet tolde but of one Ma&s;ter, and thy newe enter|taignement with another. Reach hither thy bottle that wee may drinke round, I am &s;ure thou mu&s;t n&eacute;edes bee dry with talking, when I am &s;o a thir&s;t with hearing.</P>
<P>I but &s;aid <HI>Piers</HI> will ye remember me where I leaue in <HI>Crete,</HI> els &s;hall you finde me too obliuious.</P>
<P>I warrant th&eacute;e &s;aid <HI>Menalcas,</HI> let that bee <HI>Corydons</HI> charge, mine to put th&eacute;e in minde where thou left&s;t in <HI>Thrace. celydon</HI> appointed the people within thr&eacute;e daies to hear <HI>Celinus</HI> publikely: they wer thus pacified, &amp; thou entertaind with <HI>Flauius</HI> the wa&s;tful gentleman.</P>
<P>True, true, quoth <HI>Piers,</HI> now wil I proc&eacute;ed with that. During the thr&eacute;e daies, the people were fea&s;ted, the Theaters were fild, <HI>Celydon</HI> and <HI>Celinus</HI> rid through the &s;tr&eacute;ets, mony was ca&s;t in euery corner, the &s;traight laws of <HI>Hylenus</HI> for execution of iu&s;tice repealed, &amp; li|berty proclaimed to the people. At the thr&eacute;e daies ende, the people were a&s;&s;embled, there <HI>Celydon</HI> in an Orati|on opened how &s;orrowful <HI>Hylenus</HI> was that he had at|tempted to di&s;inherit <HI>Celinus</HI> his &s;on, &amp; howe in &s;ati&s;fa|ction, he had giuen him then liberty to take the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;io~ therof, betaking him&s;elf to &s;olitary life, and committing <HI>Aemilius</HI> &amp; <HI>Rhodope</HI> to <HI>Celinus</HI> gouernement, &amp; that it was <HI>Hylenus</HI> plea&s;ure to haue them accept <HI>Celinus</HI> for their king, &amp; him&s;elf his Protector, vnder whom they &s;hould liue in that liberty, as for the thr&eacute;e daies before they had done: if not, &amp; that they would againe inforce the olde king to receiue his e&s;tate, they &s;hould bee as of late, &s;ubiect to tho&s;e &s;trict lawes by <HI>Celinus</HI> abrogated.</P>
<PB REF="12">
<P>Then was the choyce put foorth: and &s;uch de&s;ire had they to liue at libertie, that all the multitude with one voyce cryed out, Liue long <HI>Celinus</HI> King of <HI>Thrace,</HI> &amp; honored be <HI>Celydon</HI> the King and Realmes Protector.</P>
<P>This maygame thus pa&s;t, <HI>Celidon</HI> &s;waied <HI>Thrace, celinus</HI> had the kings name, he the &s;tate: for that which <HI>Celinus</HI> coueted more than anie Kingdom, was to liue in licentious ple&s;ure, which now vncontrouled he gr&eacute;e|dely followed: <HI>Celydon</HI> giuing him the reyne, in hope to raign him&s;elfe when <HI>Celinus</HI> had ouer-run him&s;elf.</P>
<P>But in this frolicke Common-wealth, who flaunt|ed it if <HI>Flauius</HI> were not fine? and if he farde well, I mu&s;t n&eacute;edes &s;ay hee was no niggard to let others fa&s;t. My &s;elfe was then mate with my olde ma&s;ter. Mate &s;aid I? nay I was quarter ma&s;ter with my new: for what I mi&s;liked I had libertie to reprooue, marry thys was one good helpe, it &s;hould be mended at lea&s;ure.</P>
<P>Be&s;ides me (among other n&eacute;edle&s;&s;e &s;eruaunts) my ma&s;ter kept a Baylie, as &s;ure a card as euer man tru|&s;ted. He per&s;waded my ma&s;ter to be a non-re&s;ident on his lands, and a remainer at the Court: noting what he &s;hould &s;pare in hou&s;-k&eacute;eping, &s;eruants and &s;uch like. He (ea&s;ely induced to follow &s;till the wor&s;t) courted it &s;o long, and &s;parde it &s;o fa&s;t, that the tenaunts, woont to be forborne &s;ometime a whole yere, now were for&s;t to pay their yeres rent afore hand. Well, how euer they &s;ighd to part with it and &s;wet to get it, my ma&s;ter and his merie companions &s;wild it in and &s;wore it out, til the cat able to y&eacute;eld no more than her &s;kin, we were faine to follow a new cour&s;e.</P>
<P>Our hone&s;t Bailie (liuing Lord-like on my Ma&s;ters liuing) found meanes to borrowe for him of a freend &s;ome foure thou&s;and poundes woorth of ware, vppon plaine pawne of all his Euidences: and withall thys kindnes he receiued, he paid not a penie intere&s;t more than was allowable, and the money &s;hould be return|ed
<PB REF="13"> by two thou&s;and a yere, each halfe yere a paiment, onely a little con&s;ideration to the Broker: who was a pretiepale faced &s;quire, halfe brother to our Baylie, that &s;ome two moneths before had &s;et vp a &s;hop in the Cities &s;uburbes, of olde &s;hooes, &s;tockings, and &s;words, the totall &s;umme of his &s;tanding &s;carce worth &s;ixe &s;hil|lings eight pence.</P>
<P>This brogging Broker and broking Baily brought my ma&s;ter acquainted with the merchant for&s;ooth (for &s;o they called him) that had the&s;e commodities to &s;ell. Hee was a man of meane &s;tature, with a &s;ulphurous face richly be&s;et, his eyes &s;anguine, his breath &s;trong, his gate &s;tately: for he would &s;carcely haue gone his owne length in an hower he was &s;o well timbered be|neath.</P>
<P>To this money merchant we come, (for other mer|chandi&s;e v&s;ed he none, but &s;uch as his Broker on a &s;o|daine tooke vp, to thru&s;t into their hands that had n&eacute;ed of money) &s;itting he was with a yong woman by hys &s;ide: his daughter &s;he was, faire inough though hir fa|ther were ill fauoured, and proud inough I am &s;ure &s;he was, as I after prooued.</P>
<P>At our fir&s;t entrance we were entertained by the Broker, next &s;aluted by hir, la&s;tly by him, that after a &s;core of rotten coughes, found lea&s;ure to bidde vs wel|come. The matter was well knowen, the daughter was to deliuer her fathers minde, being to this effect: That he was verie &s;orie &s;o wor&s;hipfull a Gentleman &s;hould want his helpe, and he not able to furni&s;h him to his contentment wyth readie money: and &s;o &s;hut|ting it vp in few words, the Scriuener was &s;ent for, my ma&s;ter pa&s;t ouer his D&eacute;edes, and thought him&s;elfe ve|rie highly beholding to the Baylie, that had holpe him away with his lands. On the lenders Daughter hee be&s;towed a carcanet of golde, crauing with her to bee more acquainted.</P>
<PB REF="13">
<P>She that had often been the painted flie to angle for &s;uch trouts, gaue him kinde words, and offered hartie welcome, her father confirmd her &s;p&eacute;ech, and the yong nouice my ma&s;ter was by his Baylie and the Broker per&s;waded to get her for his wife, beeing her Fathers onely heire, a beauteous Gentlewoman, and &s;o forth. That verie day the principall of our ware was &s;olde, &s;ome eight hundred pounds of monie made, and then my ma&s;ter was no &s;mall fellow agen: we had ma&s;kes reuels, and co&s;tly deuices, to frolike with his frends, &amp; court mi&s;tres <HI>Vr&s;ula</HI> (for &s;o was the V&s;urers daugh|ter named). Be&s;ides, <HI>Celinus</HI> was not then of my ma|&s;ter altogether vnmindfull, but be&s;towed vpon him an Office of Cu&s;tomage, to &s;&eacute;e to the tran&s;porting of for|bidden commodities: which he likewi&s;e tourned into Angels, and to <HI>Petru&s;io</HI> his Baylie made &s;odaine &s;ale of it.</P>
<P>While this money la&s;ted, my ma&s;ter neuer minded the remnant of his ware, till the fir&s;t daye of paiment drew on, and by that time the mo&s;t part of it was wel|nigh worth nothing. Our figs (for we had &s;ome) were readie to runne about the fraile, our &s;ilkes had lo&s;t co|lour, yet had we by &s;ilkes &s;mall lo&s;&s;e, for we had &s;mall &s;tore, our pins were ru&s;tie, the tags of our laces can|kered, all our pedlerie ware being in a pitifull plight. On our negligence the Broker layde all the fault, hee could not vtter it (as by all his hone&s;tie he prote&s;ted) to halfe &s;o much as the tenth partes profite: and now to bol&s;ter vp <HI>Flauius</HI> prodigalitie, <HI>Piers Plainnes</HI> mu&s;t be a Packman.</P>
<P>Should I &s;pend time to tell my trauels from faire to faire, my manie &s;hort meales, my &s;horter markets, my care to get, my willingnes to &s;aue, my weekly ac|count to my ma&s;ter, his &s;lender reckoning at the quar|ter, you would thinke I went about to prai&s;e my &s;elfe, and therefore I let it pa&s;&s;e.</P>
<PB REF="14">
<P>But how euer my market went, as it came he &s;pent i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, &s;o that at the extreame&s;t day, of a thou&s;and pounds he had &s;carce ten to pay. Faire words of the father he had, fairer of the daughter: but all was nothing, when paiment failed, <HI>Flauius</HI> was as &s;ure iandle&s;&s;e, as mo|nile&s;&s;e. <HI>Celinus</HI> was &s;ude vnto, but he &s;pent &s;o fa&s;t, that now his trea&s;urie was drawen drie: and <HI>Celydon</HI> by degr&eacute;es grswing greater than h&eacute;e, curbd him from that wa&s;t which he was wont to v&s;e.</P>
<P>My ma&s;ter &s;&eacute;eing &s;uch cold comfort, &s;ued to <HI>Vlpians</HI> daughter to &s;tand his frend, but &s;hee was deafe on that &s;ide, &s;he could not, nay &s;he would not for al his intrea|tye, pitie one &s;o wa&s;tfull. I was &s;ent to <HI>Petru&s;io</HI> the old Bailie &amp; new Cu&s;tomer: where I had good words my &s;elfe, and prai&s;e for my hone&s;t care of him, that for him&s;elfe tooke no care: offer to &s;erue him if I wold, but for my ma&s;ter, no poynt pennie could be got.</P>
<P>With this wofull newes returning backe, <HI>Flauius</HI> exclaimd again&s;t ingratitude, cur&s;t euerie cau&s;e of hys prodigalitie, cryde out on Fortune, and accu&s;de her &s;icklenes. Comfort him I could not, bee pacified hee would not: to tel him of his pa&s;&s;ed riot, was but to ag|grauate his gr&eacute;efe: to put him in hope of after good, was pa&s;t hope, for he had no meanes left for rel&eacute;efe: only a few vaine &s;utes of apparell, with which I was &s;ent to the Brokers, that &s;carce &s;erued to &s;ati&s;fie a monthes bare commons.</P>
<P>All pawnd and morgagde, I per&s;waded my ma&s;ter to tru&s;t to his pen, and bereme &s;ome Lawiers Clearke: that was too ba&s;e, hee &s;wore no &s;mall oathes, hee could neither beg nor worke, and longer want he would not. Such aduice as I could I gaue him, but all auailed not: for the Broker he &s;ent, and &s;elling him all his odde fur|niture, onely furni&s;hed him&s;elfe with weapons, and to the wide world he would.</P>
<P>The Broker mindfull of my paines when I was a
<PB REF="14"> chapman, earne&s;tly de&s;ired him to part with my yeres: of which he intending neuer to make profit, ea&s;ely con|&s;ented.</P>
<P>A new Ma&s;ter, a new, for thus <HI>Piers Plainnes</HI> hath parted with Prodigalitie, and meanes to learne thrift of Brokerie: a &s;hrewd fall, from a Courtly waiter to be a Brokers booke-k&eacute;eper. Well, what remedie? nece&s;&s;itie they &s;ay hath no law: and &s;o it &s;&eacute;emd by m&eacute;e, for my n&eacute;ede droue mee to liue without lawe, if I had &s;aid with an outlaw, I had kept within compa&s;&s;e: for be&s;ides my ma&s;ter, a number of his my&s;terie, did not onely deale vncon&s;cionably without law, but were in|d&eacute;ed verie outlawes, banquerupts, what call ye them, or Brokers &s;till let vs call them, for a fitter name I haue not for them.</P>
<P>I &s;aw <HI>Menalcas</HI> &s;mile euen now, when I cald Bro|cage a my&s;terie: the terme was not much a mi&s;&s;e, for there are more my&s;ts v&s;ed therein, than in anie Trade be&s;ide. They couer their craft with charitie, pietie, pi|tie, neighborhood, frend&s;hip, equitie, and what not that good is, although in it there be no one poynt of goodnes. But to the purpo&s;e, I proued a quick &s;earcher into this my&s;terie, and made my ma&s;ter mi&s;&s;e manie of his gr&eacute;e|die prayes.</P>
<P>Being &s;et to his Book, and &s;&eacute;eing the manner of his Bills, I had no other charge but to deale plainly. O tis a iuel to v&s;e plain dealing among men of that trade. To note the deceit I &s;aw there, as changing of pawns, letting other mens garments out to hyre, receiuing of goods by night clo&s;ely, by day &s;ecretly, were a world to tell, and hardly to bee thought, there &s;hould bee in the world people liuing by pilfrie &s;o publikely, and &s;cape vnpuni&s;hed. Came they with anie thing woorth mo|ney, why they were welcome men: welcome, I &amp; en|couraged to come againe, with promi&s;e of &s;uch &s;ecrete conueyance, as no &s;u&s;pition &s;hould ari&s;e.</P>
<PB REF="15">
<P>Once a day we likely had &s;ome poore wretches cur&s;e or other, for pawnes abu&s;e, or forfets vn<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="4 letters">ly taken: one notable condition had my good ma&s;ter, among ma|nie bad, and that was this, he pitied poore fellowes de|&s;titute of bayle, hee was cheefe pillar to the knights of the po&s;t for common bayle and euidence, a notable ho|ne&s;t mate in tho&s;e matters: he would haue &s;uted a thred bare &s;laue in a frocke of dama&s;ke, his welted gowne, a &s;eald ring on his thumbe, and euerie appendix able to make a bankrupt both of welth and hone&s;tie &s;eeme like a Burge&s;&s;e of twelue yeares &s;tanding. Neuer was <HI>Feates</HI> the Iugler like the iugling Broker my ma&s;ter, for he had legions of Familiars to commaund. What craft would ye haue that he had not? Wanted ye good fellowes to goe among Merchaunts and Gentlemen of account, that (for their plea&s;ures) frequented game? Why he was excellent. Not &s;o few as a dozen Dice-makers had he at his reuer&s;ion, that he would furni&s;h in diuers fa&s;hions: &s;ome in the long &s;tocke &amp; little ruffe like Brabanters, &s;ome with &s;tanding capes and &s;lyced br&eacute;eches like Danes, &s;ome with their beards cut <HI>Alla Turque&s;a,</HI> theit ho&s;e hanging loo&s;e (like an emptie gut) after the Portugall manner, others Italionate in talk, others in all behauiours Courtlike, &s;triuing to imitate the French.</P>
<P>All the&s;e in&s;tructed by him, and &s;trengthned by olde <HI>Vlpian,</HI> e&s;&s;ence of V&s;urie it &s;elfe, would haue &s;euered them&s;elues into &s;undrie companies: and where euer they fell, they made manie light pur&s;es and heauye hearts: they had their barres, their flats, their fulm|ers, their hy-men, their low-men, them&s;elues playing euen the hang-men among tho&s;e men, who&s;e idle time and hard mi&s;fortune made them their luckle&s;&s;e compa|nions.</P>
<P>Lackt ye a &s;mooth tungd hypocrite to intrap young Gentlemen newly come from the Vniuer&s;itie? Hee
<PB REF="15"> was for ye. Hee had a &s;warme of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ye companions, that &s;huld haue b&eacute;en attyred <HI>&s;ecundum formam,</HI> and not a word out of their mouths but pure <HI>Pri&s;cian.</HI> Were they merrie, were they &s;ad, were they wi&s;e, were they wanton, he would be &s;ure to fit their humors: and for I could not &s;weare, for&s;weare, lye deceiue, and cog, I lo&s;t my &s;eruice in manner and forme folowing, and ex|alted my ma&s;ter to a high degr&eacute;e, as &s;hall appeare by the &s;equele.</P>
<P>The communitie of the bad indures neuer any long time: &s;o betw&eacute;ene my broking ma&s;ter, and <HI>Vlpian</HI> the V&s;urer it fortuned, that he (like an ill Crowe, hauing hatcht a wor&s;e egge) compacted with a notable vnthrift the debter of <HI>Vlpian,</HI> to cou&s;en the V&s;urer of foure thou&s;and crownes, due vpon bonds, by what extorti|on I know not rai&s;d, but &s;ure I am approoued at that time a true debt.</P>
<P>This Ruffler was arre&s;ted, fir&s;t by my ma&s;ters dili|gent paines, and at la&s;t relea&s;ed by his double dealing practi&s;e. For the youth beeing moneyed, (the onely meane to compa&s;&s;e matters aboue meane) gaue a hun|dred crownes to my ma&s;ter to procure him bayle. His odde &s;hauers were &s;o well knowen before the Iudge, that hardly in a matter of &s;uch import was he per&s;wa|ded of their acceptance: therefore was he very earne&s;t to put me in a &s;ute of &s;atten, compa&s;&s;e my necke with a chaine of golde, and giue mee a name I neuer knewe. being ind&eacute;ed the name of a wor&s;hipfull Gentleman: and with another confederate of the forenamed &s;tamp, attyred and trimmed as a Merchant of good worth, we two for&s;ooth mu&s;t &s;et a good face on it, and be this Vn|thrifts bayle.</P>
<P>I de&s;irde them to vnca&s;e me again, prote&s;ting I was vtterly out of league with the pillorie: and whether they would or no I di&s;chargde my &s;elfe of that decey|uing charge.</P>
<PB REF="16">
<P>But all was one with them, my refu&s;all damped not their deceiptfull: and damned re&s;olutions: for they were within an houre of another fitted: &s;cape-thrift &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">apde out of pri&s;on, <HI>Vlpian</HI> followd the &s;ute, the Gentleman and Merchant (who&s;e names the craftye hyrelings had v&s;ed) by my ma&s;ters euidence were in law conuicted. Which iniurie comming to my eare, I plainly vttered, di&s;couered the &s;hifters, the innocent were relea&s;t, the periurde Broker and his for&s;worne companions promoted to the pillorie, their eares pared off, their heads crownd with paper, condemnd be&s;ides to re&s;titution and impri&s;onment, their goods &s;olde at o|pen outcrie before all the people that openly cried out again&s;t their bad life and diueli&s;h practi&s;es. Then &s;cat|tered all tho&s;e ill got goods abroad, that by collu&s;ion h&eacute;e had raked together: there was not an old boot left (got|ten by brocage) but it was &s;olde to an&s;were for his per|iurie and cou&s;enage: nay my yeres were &s;old to &s;ati&s;fie old <HI>Vlpian,</HI> that commended my plaine dealing in ope|ning his deceipt, to whom he had &s;o manie waies b&eacute;en a d&eacute;ere frend.</P>
<P>And now <HI>Piers</HI> hauing parted with Flatterie, Pro|digalitie and Brokerie, is wor&s;hipfully entertained with V&s;urie. A &s;eruice of good credite I a&s;&s;ure ye, yet &s;uch was my de&s;tinie, that thinking to hold God by the hand, I tooke the diuell by the h&eacute;ele: &amp; where before I euer &s;erud one ma&s;ter, I was now made &s;laue vnto a mi&s;tres and a ma&s;ter, as farre different in nature as in yeares, he &s;o mi&s;erable, that he could &s;carcely affoorde him&s;elfe a meales meate: &s;hee on the other &s;ide &s;o deli|cate, that her curious ta&s;te could with no common diet be contented: &s;mall birds in precious gellyes concocted were hir ordinarie fare, Partridge was too gro&s;e, ma|rie of a Phea&s;ant (if intreated) &s;hee would &s;ometimes f&eacute;ede.</P>
<P>Of her, him, and my &s;elfe <HI>Plura &s;equuntur:</HI> but
<PB REF="16"> in this p&s;ace lay a &s;traw, all being &s;cant worth a &s;traw, and pa&s;&s;ing our e&s;tates, deale we with State matters. I remember wee left <HI>Aeliana</HI> re&s;cude from the &s;auage: her Re&s;cuer and &s;he returnd to her traine, her Vnckle &s;ought and not yet founde, <HI>Hylenus</HI> in a Hermitage, <HI>Rhodope</HI> with a Fi&s;her-man, whom we meddle not with till it be my de&s;teny to be her fellow prentice: <HI>Ce|linus</HI> and his con&s;piring a&s;&s;ociate are equall Rulers in <HI>Thrace.</HI></P>
<P>The <HI>Cretan</HI> Qu&eacute;ene, hauing recouered fight of <HI>Rhegius</HI> her Vnckle (who after long &s;earch for, at la&s;t came with his arme wounded) cau&s;ed him &s;p&eacute;edily to be dre&s;t, and then di&s;cour&s;ed her daungers, her re&s;cue by <HI>Aemilius,</HI> and euery &s;uch perticular, willing her Vn|kle to doe <HI>Aemilius</HI> all due honour for a &s;eruice &s;o ex|cellent. As he was commaunded, he gaue him kind entertainement, though his thoughts farre differed from his words, enuying him as well for deliuerie of <HI>Aeliana</HI> from his hands, as the fre&s;h wounds he then felt, giuen him by <HI>Aemilius:</HI> But he hid his hate with a &s;mooth looke, making &s;emblance of honourable v&s;age, and &s;o toward the Court they ride. <HI>Aeliana</HI> noting the &s;&eacute;emelines of <HI>Aemilius</HI> beeing mounted, and remem|bring his valour on foote, entertained newe fires in her vntainted thoughtes which neither moy&s;ture nor charmes nor prayers had power to quench: <HI>Aemilius</HI> on the other &s;ide, noting the beauty of the Prince&s;&s;e, her valour, vnwoonted in her &s;exe: her affabilitie not common in per&s;onages of &s;uch E&s;tate, made fuell of his heart for the &s;elfe &s;ame fier that inflamed her. <HI>Rhe|gius</HI> burning in wrath and lu&s;t, &s;erued for a trouble betw&eacute;ene the&s;e twaine: and hauing giuen raynes to his de&s;ires, &s;&eacute;eing his la&s;t intention tooke no effect, de|termined to be as de&s;perate in his &s;ute as he was di&s;&s;o|lute in his de&s;ire: And thus the&s;e thr&eacute;e &s;euerally pa&s;&s;io|ned, helde on their iourney with &s;mall conference, till
<PB REF="17"> comming to the Court where a &s;umptuous fea&s;t was prouided, <HI>Aeliana</HI> before &s;he intended any plea&s;ure, ei|ther priuate or publike, in the pre&s;ence of hir Nobles, gaue <HI>Aemilius</HI> the order of Knighthode, with offer of entertaignement into her &s;eruice, if hee plea&s;ed to re|maine in <HI>Crete:</HI> Which for a time <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e v<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">wed.</P>
<P>Their with <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 span"> &s;ounds of mu&s;ique the Pallace re&s;ounded and the tables were furni&s;hed with Prince|ly &s;eruice: to de&s;cribe the fea&s;ts and bankets, were but to pre&s;ent ye with <HI>Tantalus</HI> foode, making &s;how of that you f&eacute;ele no &s;ub&s;tance, inough to fami&s;h one that were fa&s;ting, or cau&s;e a full &s;tomacke to &s;urfet. Well &s;uppo&s;e it &s;uch as be&s;eemes a Princes State, the mo&s;t table talke being of <HI>Aeliana</HI> hir Combate with the Boare, hir danger by the Sauage, and <HI>Aemilius</HI> fortunate re&s;|cue. Of <HI>Aemilius, Aeliana</HI> neuer heard inough. Sup|per ended, Ma&s;kes, playes, and other pa&s;times pa&s;&s;ed, the Prince&s;&s;e in hir priuate Clo&s;et, thus complaines of loue and prai&s;eth Fortune.</P>
<P><HI>Aeliana</HI> what newe fires are the&s;e kindled in thy bo|&s;ome? What &s;odaine changes, what vnwoonted pa&s;&s;i|ons? Ha&s;t thou thus long offered oliue boughs to <HI>Pal|las,</HI> and wilt thou nowe pre&s;ent <HI>Venus</HI> with myrtle branches? Ha&s;t thou followed <HI>Diana</HI> ouer the Launds with exerci&s;e, and wilt thou prooue the follower of hir aduer&s;ary by idlenes? No <HI>Aeliana,</HI> extingui&s;h the&s;e fond loues with minds labour, and nip thy affections in the bloome, that they may neuer bee of power to budde.</P>
<P>I but <HI>Aeliana</HI> it is <HI>Aemilius</HI> thou like&s;t, louely as <HI>A|donis,</HI> couragious as <HI>Peleus,</HI> vertuous (if the ey be the mindes true gla&s;&s;e) as <HI>Admetus,</HI> then why &s;hould not <HI>Aeliana</HI> de&s;ire to be his <HI>Venus,</HI> delight to be his <HI>Thetis,</HI> and die to doo him good as did <HI>Alce&s;te?</HI> Tu&s;h <HI>Aeliana,</HI> bridle the&s;e affections, remember thy e&s;tate and his &s;tayle&s;&s;e cour&s;e: &s;uppo&s;e hee had infinite more perfecti|ons
<PB REF="17"> than po&s;&s;ibly thou can&s;t yet perceiue: yet hee is a &s;tranger, to thee vnknowne, and as one ounce of <HI>An|timonium,</HI> corrupteth a ve&s;&s;ell of the pure&s;t wine, &s;o one defect may dimme the glory of all other his perfe|ctions: <HI>Aeneas</HI> was wi&s;e, Ia&s;on valiant; <HI>Demopho|on</HI> louely, but thr&eacute;e infortunate Queenes of <HI>Carthage, The&s;&s;aly,</HI> and <HI>Thrace,</HI> &s;ounde them as thou mai&s;t doo this, bereauers of their Honours, deceiuers of their hopes, and betrayers of their liues: But <HI>Aen<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ilius</HI> is young, and hath not yet learned to deceiue&punc; But h&eacute;e is an Italian <HI>Aeliana,</HI> who &s;ucke pollicie from the feate and learne beeing little ones to loue. Fie on this oyle that doth increa&s;e my fire. <HI>Aeliana</HI> loueth <HI>Aemilius</HI> woone by his de&s;art, and cannot ende this affection but by hir owne death.</P>
<P>But what will <HI>Rhegius</HI> and the Nobles of <HI>Crete</HI> &s;ay? that <HI>Aeliana</HI> &s;houlde &s;o forget hir &s;elfe, to affect a &s;tranger, his parentage vnknown, vnacquainted with his behauiour, perhaps for &s;ome crime bani&s;hed?</P>
<P>Why if they &s;houlde, am not I &s;ole Soueraigne of <HI>Crete,</HI> able to make him Lord of the free-borne, allye him to my kindred, and wype out the blemi&s;h of any conceited crime.</P>
<P>But if they oppo&s;e them&s;elues what then? Banni|&s;hing <HI>Aemilius</HI> from <HI>Crete,</HI> from <HI>Aelianaes</HI> company? Well may they banni&s;h him from <HI>Crete,</HI> but woulde he vouch&s;afe of <HI>Aelianaes</HI> company, him would &s;he fol|low to the vtmo&s;t <HI>India,</HI> to the burning Zone, to the frozen Pole, to the depth of death.</P>
<P>But what if hee prooue <HI>The&s;eus,</HI> and leaue th&eacute;e as <HI>Ariadne</HI> in &s;ome vnhaunted de&s;ert? Away with th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;e fond doubts, <HI>Aemilius</HI> is not &s;o obdurate, hee that in a a de&s;ert deliuered me from death, will neuer in a de&s;ert leaue mee de&s;olate: The aforenamed for&s;akers neuer made &s;how of affect but in wordes onely, this di&s;coue|red his affection fir&s;t by workes.</P>
<PB REF="18">
<P>Fie <HI>Aeliana,</HI> what madding pa&s;&s;ion po&s;&s;e&s;&s;eth th&eacute;e? Suppo&s;e he were con&s;tant, Noble, and a <HI>Cretan,</HI> that thy P&eacute;eres and people loude him as thy &s;elfe: what rea|&s;on ha&s;t thou of his affection to bee per&s;waded? Per|chaunce thou imagine&s;t, &s;&eacute;eing thy beauty hath cau&s;ed the <HI>Rhodian</HI> Gouernour, the Kings of <HI>Sicilie</HI> and <HI>Cy|prus</HI> to &s;ollicite th&eacute;e of loue, <HI>Aemilius</HI> will be ea&s;ily in|tangled or in regard of thy Princely &s;eate, thinke him|&s;elfe happy to be thy kingly hu&s;band: No fond Prin|ce&s;&s;e, the middle earth Iles &s;&eacute;eme not &s;o rich to <HI>Aemili|us,</HI> for true vertue holdeth Kingdomes contemptible. Well, how euer loue deale tyrant-like, I will honour Fortune, that left not <HI>Aeliana</HI> in di&s;tre&s;&s;e, but &s;ent <HI>Ae|milius</HI> to be my deliuerer: Of who&s;e loue were I a&s;&s;u|red, than were I more than fortunate.</P>
<P>With &s;uch &s;peeches pa&s;&s;ed <HI>Aeliana</HI> ouer her pa&s;&s;ion, re&s;oluing to loue or not to liue.</P>
<P><HI>Aemilius</HI> likewi&s;e being &s;olitary, thus participated his &s;orrowe to the &s;ilent night: Blacke &s;hrowde of griefe (&s;ayth he) the Outlawes day, Nur&s;e of &s;ilence, &s;ecure &s;hadow for the fearefull, let me acquaint thy &s;til|nes with my hearts &s;ting, being otherwi&s;e &s;o haples as I haue no friend els, in who&s;e bo&s;ome I may vnloade my griefe. Froward change onely to me, in ill chan|ging forward, hindrer of my re&s;t, bereauer of my hopes, when wilt thou leaue to ob&s;erue truth in my torment, and fal&s;hood in my felicitie? If my euill &s;tarres vrge the&s;e euents, &s;w&eacute;ete Night bee thou intreated ne|uer to giue place to day, till my vnlucky lights be pourd as gelly on the earth. Poore <HI>Aemilius,</HI> exilde from <HI>Thrace,</HI> in <HI>Crete</HI> captitude, my brother forcing the one, beauty con&s;training the other: By the fir&s;t thou wert &s;eperated from thy father and &s;i&s;ter, by the la&s;t be|reft of thy woonted &s;en&s;es. Winde, &s;eas, &s;aylers, con|&s;pirators of my &s;orrow, that haue brought <HI>Aemilius</HI> to this haplesharbor, where hee beholdes with de&s;perate
<PB REF="18"> &s;oules the felicitie of Angels, and is de&s;perate of the fruition.</P>
<P><HI>Aeliana</HI> center of all my ioy, diuine&s;t beauties e&s;&s;ence, light of my &s;oule, my liues load-&s;tarre, how mi&s;erable am I to &s;&eacute;e th&eacute;e placed in &s;o high a &s;pheare, my &s;elfe de|iected in &s;o lowe a clyme: Thou mo&s;t happy, I mo&s;t haples, I a &s;laue, thou a &s;oueraigne.</P>
<P>Why exclaim&s;t thou <HI>Aemillus</HI> thus again&s;t For|tune and De&s;teny? It is loue that makes thy ca&s;e de&s;|perate: that robber of re&s;t, bereauer of &s;en&s;e, hee hath con&s;pired in thy extreamity to make thy mi&s;ery more than extreame. What foole painted thee blinde, that art thus &s;harpe &s;ighted, able to wound concealed harts? or rather what foole am I that confirme th&eacute;e not blinde both of &s;en&s;e and &s;ight, &s;&eacute;eing thou &s;&eacute;ek&s;t to vnite harts &s;o farre different? So dealt&s;t thou with thy mother, with <HI>Sapho,</HI> with <HI>Cornelia:</HI> But &s;ome comfort were it knewe I thou had&s;t a&s;&s;ailed <HI>Aeliana</HI> &s;o. Immortall powers why doate I &s;o? Sh&eacute;e that hath refu&s;ed all the Princes in the Ilands of the middle earth, can I thinke loue hath any &s;uch power to enforce hir to fancie m&eacute;e. It is vnlikely, for thee <HI>Diana</HI> like leades loue fettered, and placing him as her va&s;&s;aile where &s;he plea&s;e, darts from her eyes his fire. But comfort thy &s;elfe <HI>Aemilius,</HI> &s;he hath vouch&s;afed to be thy Princely Mi&s;tris, namde th&eacute;e her Knight, enioind th&eacute;e &s;eruice in hir Court: the&s;e pre&s;umptions of farther fauour. I, that ri&s;es from hir Princely bounty to requite thy trauell in hir re&s;cue, no colour of hope that as a louer &s;hee will regard th&eacute;e: but as &s;hee hath beautified thy poore e&s;tate with rich orna|ments and Honorable tytles, &s;o for thy ouerdaring &s;he wil cau&s;e thy Plumes to be puld, and thou mai&s;t appear naked like <HI>Ae&s;ops</HI> Crow.</P>
<P>Therefore <HI>Aemilius</HI> be circum&s;pect, thou art here a &s;tranger, and on thy behauiour will each eye be fixt. Follow a while thy fortunes, if de&s;tenies haue ordai|ned
<PB REF="19"> thee happines, nowe hope the be&s;t, if markt th&eacute;e to mi&s;erie, ineuitable are their doomes, and better thou wert to dye where thou loue&s;t, than liue where thou art loathed.</P>
<P>This while <HI>Rhegius</HI> tooke &s;mall re&s;t, but was &s;un|dry waies perplexed in his minde, &s;ometimes blaming his vnlawfull lu&s;t, another while exclaiming again&s;t his euill lucke: &s;ometimes intreating heauens to giue him power to de&s;i&s;t his &s;ute, againe impetrating ayde of hell to per&s;i&s;t in his enterpri&s;e.</P>
<P>The la&s;t determination and the wor&s;t continued longe&s;t, and furni&s;hing him&s;elfe with &s;undry exam|ples of mo&s;t vnnaturall and prepo&s;tereus loues, he left his chamber, and euen when day beganne to cha&s;e nights cloudes from hindering the morninges beauty, <HI>Rhegius</HI> vnder colour of mo&s;t vrgent and &s;erious af|faires, came towarde <HI>Aelianaes</HI> Chamber, that then was &s;inging a Dittie whil&s;t thr&eacute;e of hir Ladies with rare mu&s;ique both of voyce and In&s;trument, kept true time with their Empre&s;&s;e, Carroling an vnder&s;ong at each &s;tanzoes ende.</P>
<P><HI>Rhegius</HI> raui&s;hed with this Angelique Harmonie, &s;taide at the Chamber doore to heare the remaine of <HI>Aelianaes</HI> Dittie, for euen then all their voyces were like a Quiere of Nightingales chanting on this foote:</P>
<LG>
<L>Quickly &s;triue the Boy to binde,</L>
<L>Feare him not for hee is blinde:</L>
<L>If hee get loo&s;e hee &s;howes no pittie.</L>
</LG>
<P><HI>Aeliana</HI> then beganne the la&s;t Stanzo alone (as &s;h&eacute;e had done all the re&s;t) in this &s;ort.</P>
<LG>
<PB REF="19">
<L>Tru&s;t not his wanton teares, le&s;t they beguile yee:</L>
<L>Tru&s;t not his childi&s;h &s;ight, he breatheth &s;lilie.</L>
<L>Tru&s;t not his tutch, his feeling may defile yee,</L>
<L>Tru&s;t nothing that hee doth, the Wagge is wilie.</L>
<L>If you &s;uffer him to prate,</L>
<L>You will rue it ouer late:</L>
<L>Beware of him for hee is wittie.</L>
<L>Quickly &s;triue the Boy to binde,</L>
<L>Feare him not for hee is blinde:</L>
<L>If hee get loo&s;e hee &s;howes no pittie.</L>
</LG>
<P>With this the mu&s;ique cea&s;t, and <HI>Aeliana</HI> was a|bout to di&s;cour&s;e &s;omewhat of that &s;ubiect whereon her &s;ong was grounded; when &s;odainely <HI>Rhegius</HI> de&s;i|red to enter the Chamber, whether when hee was ad|mitted, hee certified the Qu&eacute;ene that hee had &s;erious af|faires to conferre with her of, whereupon &s;hee com|maunded hir Ladies to auoyde: Attending when hir Vnckle would beginne to &s;peake, who thr&eacute;e times of|fered, and thr&eacute;e times was &s;troken &s;ilent, &s;tanding as it were in a traunce: vntill <HI>Aeliana</HI> had thus reuiued him.</P>
<P>D&eacute;ere Vnckle, on who&s;e weale con&s;i&s;tes the wel|fare of our Per&s;on: and by who&s;e wi&s;edome our E|&s;tate is warely guided, tell me (for I long to knowe) what great important cau&s;e concerning the State or other affaires, vrgeth this early approach, and &s;odaine alteration.</P>
<PB REF="20">
<P>Why are ye thus &s;ilent, your looks deiected, your face bloodles? Are there confederacies towarde of forren Princes, or con&s;piracies of home-bred Traytors? Haue the Gods &s;howen intentions of wrath by &s;ome prodigious &s;igne, or haue our Prie&s;ts opened any in|&s;uing euills by vnluckie Augurie: If either of the fir&s;t, let power bee gathered to preuent, if any of the la&s;t, doubt not by prayer wee &s;hall preuaile: Onely let your Honour &s;howe the cau&s;e, and our dilligence &s;hall indeuour for &s;ome good cour&s;e.</P>
<P><HI>Rhegius</HI> reuiued by her &s;w&eacute;ete voyce, beganne to gather his &s;pirites together, when &s;hame companion of &s;inne tainted his pale cheekes with vermillion co|lour. Offring to &s;peake hee &s;ighd, and windy &s;ighes giuing way to words, hee mingled his &s;tormy &s;peech with &s;howres of teares, that fell not fruitles, but en|for&s;t from <HI>Aeliana</HI> &s;uch compa&s;&s;ion, that when againe &s;hee woulde haue vrgde him to proc&eacute;ede, the vttrance of hir wordes were &s;topped with the aboundant wa|ter that fell from hir eyes, vntill <HI>Rhegius</HI> thus brake foorth.</P>
<P>Cea&s;e Princely Cou&s;in the&s;e &s;adde teares, and &s;or|rowe not for my lament, no way by griefe able to be le&s;&s;ened. Onely cleare this heauen of beauty, and let no dimme clowds of di&s;content ob&s;eure that bright|nes, wherein con&s;ortes no &s;mall portion of the diuine e&s;&s;ence, and abides the chiefe part of my earthly being. <HI>Aeliana, Cretes</HI> Empre&s;&s;e, Godde&s;&s;e of my hart, if e|uer <HI>Rhegius</HI> merited of th&eacute;e kinde fauour for his faith|full &s;eruice, grant him one boone ea&s;ie for th&eacute;e to grant, which grant will giue thy wretched Vnckle life, thy deniall marke him for the &s;onne of death.</P>
<P>Woonder not faire Qu&eacute;ene to &s;&eacute;e my countenance thus often chaunged, for nowe pale feare benummeth my f&eacute;eble heart, anone redde &s;hame tainteth my blu|&s;hing ch&eacute;ekes: La&s;tly, Loue forces me thus to an&s;were.
<PB REF="20"> Bea&s;ts entrailes haue &s;hown our Prie&s;ts no vnluckie &s;igne, the heauens no prodigies, the Cretans are not rebellious, neither are the neighbring Kingdomes en|uious: onely <HI>Rhegius</HI> inward &s;oule is &s;taind with con|ceipt of &s;inne, his thoughts prodigious, his hart rebel|lious, his minde enuious. Of which enuie, rebellion, prepo&s;terous and impure &s;inne, Loue is onely origi|nall: who&s;e fires haue kindled contrarie thoughts in wretched <HI>Rhegius,</HI> &s;uch as him&s;elfe &s;hames to vtter, &s;uch as I &s;ee your Highnes blu&s;h to conceiue.</P>
<P>Herewith <HI>Aeliana</HI> &s;tepped backe, and <HI>Phoebe</HI>-like (when <HI>Cadmus</HI> nephew behold her naked in the fount|aine) &s;hee frownd on <HI>Rhegius,</HI> who taking her by the hand, intreated her a while to heare patiently, what Loue compeld him vtter.</P>
<P>Cea&s;e, cea&s;e &s;aid <HI>Aeliana,</HI> let not the glorie of thy worthie gouernment, be dimd with this lu&s;tfull &amp; ince|&s;tuous practi&s;e. Thy change of pa&s;&s;ion a&s;&s;ures me this is not done to trie me: but too-too &s;urely I perceiue by thy troubled lookes, thou ha&s;t giuen libertie to vnbride|led appetite: which on thy alleageaunce I charge th&eacute;e to de&s;i&s;t, or I will exterminate thy lawles loue, by vn|timely death.</P>
<P>At the name of death, <HI>Rhegius</HI> &s;miled, and &s;aide, that is the period ind&eacute;ed of my lament. More haple&s;&s;e is this life to me than anie death can be Cur&s;t be tho&s;e lawes that binde men from that which Nature deny|eth not to bea&s;ts. The lightfoote Roe is conuer&s;aunt with his Damme, the Birde billeth with tho&s;e of the &s;ame nea&s;t, the Dolphin wantonneth with fi&s;h of the &s;ame &s;pawne: but men haue impo&s;ed burthens on men which neither they them&s;elues, nor their fathers before them could k&eacute;epe. <HI>Myrrha</HI> loued hir father, <HI>Byblis</HI> hir brother: this in the worlds eye was prepo&s;terous, to Nature not abhorring, to loue agr&eacute;eing: why &s;houlde not Loue and Nature then commaund Lawe, &s;&eacute;eing
<PB REF="21"> from them Law onely holdes hir ch&eacute;efe po&s;itions. Sup|po&s;e it were not thus, but the&s;e bounds of Law, were from pure Loue, and vn&s;potted Nature deriued: what then? Affection blindly iudgeth, and will neyther bee by rea&s;on re&s;trained, nor by extremitie bridled. Your Highnes threatens me with death: heere is my naked brea&s;t, make me ble&s;&s;ed by that doome, I be&s;&eacute;ech you. Pierce this bo&s;ome, and let foorth my con&s;piring &s;pirit: pull out the&s;e la&s;ciuious eyes, betrayers of my y&eacute;elded heart: and &s;acrifice my lu&s;t-burning bodie, before the altare of your diuine beautie: other re&s;traint for <HI>Rhe|gius</HI> or re&s;t for your Excellence can none be found, my pa&s;&s;ions are &s;o ouer-daring fond.</P>
<P><HI>Aeliana</HI> pitying his extreames, and &s;&eacute;eing that her &s;harpe deniall made him almo&s;t de&s;perate, &s;hee tooke him vp from the ground (whereon he kn&eacute;eled) and thus comforted him.</P>
<P>Noble Vnckle, &s;&eacute;eing outragious lu&s;t hath clowded the precious vertues of your minde: and that I &s;&eacute;e yee &s;o giuen ouer to your loo&s;e de&s;ires, that you neglect re|gard of honour, and feare of death, &s;&eacute;eking to violate cha&s;titie, who&s;e royaltie you &s;hould defend: that I may giue &s;ome ea&s;e to your gr&eacute;efe, (&s;tanding with the plea|&s;ure of the heauens, our dignitie, and your account) I fir&s;t pardon what in the&s;e ca&s;es hath pa&s;&s;ed, and vowe my &s;elfe euer readie to mini&s;ter you Princely comfort. My &s;elfe will daylie vi&s;ite you, walke with ye, conferre with ye, rea&s;on again&s;t your vnrea&s;onable loue, per|&s;wade yee to honourable thoughts, di&s;&s;wade yee from the&s;e di&s;&s;olute determinations.</P>
<P>If you be &s;icke, I will be your Phi&s;ition: if faynt your comforter: if froward (as at this time ye &s;&eacute;eme) your coun&s;eller: onely learne by degr&eacute;es to cutbe the&s;e humours, that (&s;uffered) will with a head-long furie ob&s;cure the former brightnes of your vertues, and &s;ub|uert our e&s;tate.</P>
<PB REF="21">
<P>Time will change (I doubt not) your di&s;&s;olute in|tent, and make you (as of old) re&s;olute in dooing well. Come &s;w&eacute;ete Vnckle, be comforted, and in all things that mode&s;tie will permit, <HI>Aeliana</HI> that is borne thy Souereigne, will endeuour her&s;elfe to bee thy Hand|maid.</P>
<P><HI>Rhegius</HI> (ouercome with the&s;e &s;w&eacute;ete &s;p&eacute;eches) be|gan to be more a&s;hamed of his loo&s;e attempt, than hee was before earne&s;t to pro&s;ecute it: but &s;oone that moti|on fayled, and he returning to his vomit, tooke aduan|tage of the Princes offer, and intended if he once &s;eazd on her againe, not to be preuented, re&s;oluing that <HI>vi &s;i non verbis</HI> &s;he &s;hould be wonne.</P>
<P>But he couered his hatefull intention with a &s;mooth|ed brow, awayting his time till he could drawe the in|nocent Prince&s;&s;e within his power. And &s;o with infi|nite thankes, promi&s;ing to endeuour him&s;elfe to bridle his pa&s;&s;ions, and crauing pardon for his vndecent pre|&s;umption, they parted, &s;he to her meditation of <HI>Aemi|lius</HI> perfections, hee to practi&s;e &s;ome plot for their de|&s;tructions.</P>
<P>All this while we haue forgot the old King, liuing in his &s;olitarie cell, who&s;e proportion of re&s;t to him was more plea&s;ing in that &s;olitude, than in the frequent co~|panies at his Court. And becau&s;e we will not di&s;turb his contemplation, we only cur&s;orily pa&s;&s;e by, for that we are for&s;t to poa&s;t by, and &s;&eacute;eke for pa&s;&s;age ouer into <HI>Thrace,</HI> where all things (like an vnmundified vlcer) fe&s;tred inwardly, though outwardly there appeared a cloaked &s;haddow and painted &s;how of ciuill and hone&s;t gouernment.</P>
<P><HI>Celinus</HI> onely attends la&s;ciuious companie, <HI>Cely|don</HI> intends to appropriate to him&s;elfe the dignitie and become &s;eale Souereigne, awayting onely opportu|nitie to effect in act what he had long conceiud, euen the la&s;t &s;cene of <HI>Celinus</HI> Tragedie.</P>
<PB REF="22">
<P>While thus the one priuely practi&s;ed to win, the o|ther publiquely endeuoured to lo&s;e, euerie mans feare foretold in&s;uing mi&s;chiefe. And as the Ocean cea&s;eth not to boyle again&s;t a tempe&s;t, till high billowes make rough &s;mooth waters: &s;o the di&s;turbed imaginations of mens brains, produced variable mutterings: &s;ome vttering their feares, others their affectation: euerie one like a Sphinx deliuering his opinion doubtfullye, fearfull lea&s;t &s;ome <HI>Oedipus</HI> would expound it too plain|ly.</P>
<P>During the time the Court and Common-wealth were thus troubled, I tru&s;t ye thinke not <HI>Piers Plain|nes</HI> &s;o ill a hu&s;band to be idle: for in my ma&s;ters hou&s;e we kept the e&s;&s;ence of the one, and image of the other. For as in the Court were two Kings, &s;o had wee two commaunders: videlicet <HI>Vlpian</HI> my mi&s;erable ma&s;ter, and <HI>Vr&s;ula</HI> my la&s;ciuious mi&s;tres. Wonder not to heare, that riot &s;hould k&eacute;epe hou&s;e with wretchednes: for &s;uch is the plea&s;ure of the heauens, that one iniqui|tie &s;hould con&s;ume another, commonly ill-getting fa|thers hauing loo&s;e &s;pending children, verifiing the olde approoued prouerbe, <HI>Male partae male dilibuntur.</HI> If when I &s;erud Flatterie my &s;oule were afflicted to hear his foothing lyes: when Prodigalitie, my hart gr&eacute;eued to &s;&eacute;e his la&s;ciuious wa&s;te: when Brokerie, my eyes mourned to be witnes to extreame extortion: here had I occa&s;ion all at once of eyes mouing, harts gr&eacute;euing, and &s;oules affliction. O mi&s;erable condition of coue|tous parents, and de&s;perate re&s;olution of riotous chil|dren: the fir&s;t wearying out it &s;elfe immoderately to get: the la&s;t tyring out it &s;elfe with in&s;atiate de&s;ire to &s;pend. But why digre&s;&s;e I&punc; The Swines declining bounds me in a limit: for with the day intend I to end my di&s;cour&s;e. <HI>Vlpian</HI> my ma&s;ter (who&s;e &s;paring lyfe not Niggardize her&s;elfe can well expre&s;&s;e) albeit he v|&s;ed <HI>Vr&s;ula</HI> his daughter as a propertie to inthrall yong
<PB REF="22"> Gentlemen, as hee had ear&s;t done <HI>Flauius:</HI> yet would grudge at anie money he parted with to maintaine her in fit e&s;tate, either for diet or apparell to entertain &s;uch, as in hope to bee heires of <HI>Vlpians</HI> trea&s;ure, dailye re|paired to their de&s;truction. She on the other &s;ide, I mu&s;t n&eacute;edes &s;ay, (as &s;uch kinde creatures be) was kind harted inough, and when &s;he could haue met wyth his coffers, &s;he was no le&s;&s;e laui&s;h of his bags, than loo&s;e of her behauiour. For her part, &s;hee was a right Ana|bapti&s;t, all things were with her, and &s;hee with euerie one in common.</P>
<P>When fir&s;t &s;he thus attempted by pilfrie to breake into his ill purcha&s;e, and hee e&s;pied the decrea&s;e of hys beloued crownes: Furie it &s;elfe was not &s;o furious. Me hee tormented to acknowledge my &s;elfe an acce&s;&s;a|rie, and for her part (Ile be her witnes) &s;he was hand|led as a principall. For when at my handes nothing could bee gotten, (becau&s;e I was ignorant of all) hee tooke vpon him to di&s;ple his Daughter, and neuer left &s;courging till &s;he plaid one part of a true penitenciary, and made open confe&s;&s;ion, marrie re&s;titution &s;he could not otherwi&s;e make, but with promi&s;e to cou&s;en for him as manie Gentlemen as &s;he might. For want of other &s;ecuritie, he was glad to take her word for a bond, and &s;o for a month or two the ca&s;e was wondrou&s;ly altred, for while her woundes were healing, wee kept a long Lent. To de&s;cribe our diet, were inough to fill all the Countrie with a dearth: with remembraunce thereof, Famine it &s;elf hath &s;eazed on me, and except I here f&eacute;ed I can proc&eacute;ed no farther.</P>
<P>Pitie it were (quoth <HI>Corydon)</HI> thou &s;houlde&s;t now faint. <HI>Menalcas,</HI> reach hether thy &s;crip, my bag is emp|tie: heres wine inough, and theres a part of a roa&s;ted kid, either of power to reuiue thy fainting &s;pirites, and refre&s;h thy tyred &s;en&s;es. <HI>Menalcas</HI> drinke to him, and proue a better ma&s;ter than this <HI>vlpian,</HI> of who&s;e &s;eruice
<PB REF="23"> thy &s;eruant now intreates. Here <HI>Piers</HI> &s;aid <HI>Menalcas</HI> drinke well, and after thy refre&s;hing, goe forward.</P>
<P>I marry quoth <HI>Piers,</HI> the Sailer and Souldier are happie, that in the quiet hauen or other &s;ecure harbour may di&s;cour&s;e the e&s;caped daungers on &s;ea and in field: therefore (with a full &s;tomacke) I will (as merely as I may) de&s;cribe the daylie proportion of our hungrie face.</P>
<P>The day no &s;ooner appeared, but <HI>Piers</HI> poa&s;ted to the Poticaries for oyntment to recouer <HI>Vr&s;ulas</HI> &s;ore &s;kin to the wonted &s;oundnes: and by then I returned, olde <HI>Vlpian</HI> my ma&s;ter was readie to ri&s;e, and read a lecture of thrift to me and her: other breakfa&s;t had wee none. At dinner my allowaunce was two Anchoues, &s;h&eacute;ere water my drinke: and at night drie ryce (or rather rye bread) my be&s;t repa&s;t: my ma&s;ter pretending a &s;olemn Fa&s;t, till <HI>Vr&s;ula</HI> were recouered, without who&s;e helth he a&s;&s;ured me our commons mu&s;t n&eacute;edes faile, for that &s;he was the common vpholder of the hou&s;e: for praier ind&eacute;ede we had no Iniunction, yet made he daylie exe|erable Orizons honouring gold as the ch&eacute;efe&s;t good, and one day it was my chance to heare the ground of his deuotion.</P>
<P>B&eacute;eing entred his &s;tudie, and opening his coffers, he vttered the intention of his &s;oule in the&s;e tearmes. O gold, adored gold, my &s;oules ch&eacute;efe &s;oueraigne, my liues be&s;t Genius, for whom the n&eacute;edy va&s;&s;aile toyles, the Souldier fightes, the Scholler &s;tudieth, howe doth thy diuine e&s;&s;ence comfort my troubled &s;pirite, again&s;t who&s;e opulencie the enuious beggers of the earth re|pine. O bee thou re&s;ident with me in &s;pite of all their rage: for where thou art there enuy cannot hurt. Clo&s;e vp my &s;en&s;es from all other thoughts than of thy exe|lence: A little Grammer learning I haue, and were it no more than to holde th&eacute;e fa&s;t it were &s;ufficient: for what account are Schollers made of, or Friendes or
<PB REF="23"> Gods, without golden Oratorie, giuing frend&s;hip, or all-y&eacute;elding Deitie.</P>
<P>Then my religion, frend, Art, all I haue, to th&eacute;e I &s;acrifice my &s;elfe: without who&s;e pre&s;ence I am not my &s;elfe: in th&eacute;e alone remaines Beatitude, without th&eacute;e know I no ble&s;&s;ednes.</P>
<P>The&s;e and the like were my Ma&s;ters daylie inno|cations, his exerci&s;e was turning ouer money, and &s;earching euerie corner of the hou&s;e lea&s;t &s;ome thinge wer hid. During <HI>Vr&s;ulas</HI> &s;icknes, or rather &s;orenes we had no great re&s;ort, but vpon her recouerie wee had o|pen proclimation for dayes of <HI>Iubile.</HI> She like a gra|tious Childe remembring her late gr&eacute;efe, in &s;t&eacute;ede of &s;orrowe for her Fathers wrong, practi&s;de of her owne iniurie to be wreakt: &amp; mee &s;he makes the in&s;trument of her reuenge being altogether ignorant of hir cour&s;e; My old Ma&s;ter <HI>Flauius</HI> driuen to the extreame&s;t exi|gent of want &s;he &s;ends me too, prote&s;ting &s;he would in &s;ome mea&s;ure onely rel&eacute;eue his n&eacute;ed, not accquaint|ing me with any other intent. To be br&eacute;efe they met, and thus con&s;pirde, that <HI>Flauius</HI> &s;hould to <HI>Celinus,</HI> and accu&s;e her Father for clipping of gold, which according to the law of <HI>Thrace</HI> was hie trea&s;on, her onely de&s;ire was to bee the happie po&s;&s;e&s;&s;or of his po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions and goods, of all which &s;he would put <HI>Flauius</HI> in po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion by her marriage. The fir&s;t parte of her deuice tooke ef|fect, <HI>Flauius</HI> accu&s;ed <HI>Vlpian,</HI> our hou&s;e was &s;earcht, the clippings found, his iudgment followed, and <HI>Vl|pians</HI> execution was not farre behinde, whereto with notable acclamation of the people he was brought. In &s;t&eacute;ede of penitence hee died de&s;perate hauing liued de|te&s;tablie, cur&s;ing his daughter execrablie, and ble&s;&s;ing the beholders with his goutie h&eacute;eles, deliuered him|&s;elfe ouer to the hangmans mercie. Here ends the tra|gedie of true Auarice, a worde or two of <HI>Vr&s;ula</HI> and <HI>Flauius.</HI></P>
<PB REF="24">
<P>Contrarie to their expectation, the goods of <HI>Vlpian</HI> were &s;eazd on to <HI>Celinus</HI> v&s;e, and &s;he nakedly tourned forth as the betraier of her father: whom (in di&s;tre&s;&s;e) <HI>Flauius</HI> refu&s;de, the Court &s;corned, the Citie ie&s;ted at. Being ioly brought vp, &s;he could no way indeuour her &s;elfe to helpe her &s;elfe, and &s;o in fine mi&s;erably died. My &s;elfe (as a moueable) was &s;olde, and <HI>Flauius quondam</HI> Baylie the Cu&s;tomer became my ma&s;ter.</P>
<P>A bodie would think I had b&eacute;en where deceit inough before had b&eacute;en: but to this all my pa&s;&s;ed life was &s;anc|timonie. In euerie other place I &s;aw deceipt, &amp; &s;hund it: but here I was a daily deceiuer, &amp; could &s;carce &s;&eacute;e it. Well, ere I goe forward with what I there did, let vs &s;&eacute;e what hapned at Court.</P>
<P><HI>Celydon</HI> (as I before &s;aid) onely awaited occa&s;ion to quarrell with <HI>Celinus,</HI> and now vppon partition of olde <HI>Vlpians</HI> goods, the long hid fier brake into flame. <HI>Celinus</HI> had the goods in po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion, and becau&s;e they were of great worth was loath to leaue them. <HI>Cely|don</HI> (on the other &s;ide) pretended to haue them deliue|red into the Common Trea&s;urie: but that was by <HI>Ce|linus</HI> to the publique officers denied. Whereupon <HI>Ce|lydon</HI> armed him&s;elfe, and with a multitude of &s;ouldi|ers be&s;et the Pallaice and Coun&s;ell-hou&s;e: whereinto entring, he thus inueighed again&s;t <HI>Celinus.</HI></P>
<P>Lords of <HI>Thrace,</HI> di&s;may not that <HI>Celydon</HI> enters armed among&s;t the&s;e reuerend Senators: for no &s;light cau&s;e hath hethertoo vrged me, but the pre&s;eruation of your ancient Honors, and the good of this wealpublike. I know it is not vnknowen to all of you, with what zealous care I haue laboured to vphold this mi&s;gouer|ned e&s;tate, of which <HI>Celinus</HI> hath endeuoured to work the downfall. If I &s;hould be &s;ilent, your &s;elues are to me te&s;timonies, hauing giuen me more honor, than ei|ther I de&s;erue or expect.</P>
<P>But neyther may my cares nor your endeuours
<PB REF="24"> preuaile, &s;o long as this vnbrideled Gentleman <HI>Celi|nus</HI> is &s;uffered to ouerrule what we determine. Should I but vrge a &s;ecrete long from your knowledge concea|led, howe euer by your wi&s;edomes &s;u&s;pected, I &s;hould giue you more occa&s;ion to dete&s;t his vnnaturall euill, than yet you haue had to inueigh again&s;t his vnbride|led life, wherein what ill hath not b&eacute;ene pro&s;ecuted, that corruption could inuent, or wickednes enact. I meane the trecherous exile of our Lord <HI>Hylenus</HI> and his chil|dren, who&s;e vertues by how much they were greatly to our auaile, <HI>Celinus</HI> vices are to be held more vile: &s;&eacute;e|ing the vertuous father by the vicious &s;onne, the harm|les brother and &s;i&s;ter by their hatefull and hurtfull bro|ther, are bani&s;hed we knowe not whether, or murdred we know not howe? But here it may bee to my &s;elfe it will bee obiected, that long &s;ince <HI>Celinus</HI> had for v&s;ur|ping b&eacute;en puni&s;hed, had not <HI>Celydon</HI> &s;upported him. I graunt graue fathers this is true, whereby it may be, &s;ome will inferre, I was a principall in this con&s;pira|cie. But that part I deny. For vtterly without my knowledge was our King and his children exiled, <HI>Ce|linus</HI> backt with riotous companies, the people tumul|tuou&s;ly gathred on heapes, when fearefull of ciuill mu|teny, I y&eacute;elded to the times as likewi&s;e you all did, and &s;wore to vphold <HI>Celinus</HI> le&s;t in the contentio~ the whole people &s;houlde haue peri&s;hed. Nowe that wee are of power, requi&s;it it is to reuenge royall <HI>Hylenus</HI> wro~gs, our owne wrongs, the peoples iniuries: &s;&eacute;eing he hath not onely expul&s;ed his father from his e&s;tate, but in a manner ruined the whole State. For which of your wiues or daughters are priuiledged from his lu&s;t? who of you are owners of your owne wealth, but &s;ubiect to his la&s;ciuious deua&s;tation? Now is the time, and here is the effect of the pre&s;cription drawne. Bee not aba&s;ht graue fathers, <HI>Nero, Phalaris,</HI> diuers Kings and Em|perours, haue for mi&s;gouernement not onely b&eacute;ene de|po&s;ed
<PB REF="25"> but al&s;o put to death: they beeing true Princes, <HI>Celinus</HI> an v&s;urper. He is now carow&s;ing among his riotous Caualiers, or wantoning with his Concu|bines, if you will &s;hew your &s;elues worthy the name of <HI>Thracians,</HI> of Senators, of men, &s;ub&s;cribe to this pre|&s;cription, my bands of armed &s;ouldiers are ready to ex|ecute the v&s;urper: if you delay, my &s;elfe will take vpon me the glory of this action to your perpetuall reproofe, and immortall indignities. When hee had thus &s;po|ken, with a frowning countenance hee awayted their an&s;were: Who &s;&eacute;eing into the drift of <HI>Celydon,</HI> and noting the power he had at that time, &s;uppre&s;&s;ed the ful|nes of their conceite, and con&s;ented to &s;ub&s;cribe to the pre&s;cription.</P>
<P>Whereto they had no &s;ooner &s;igned, but <HI>Celydon</HI> with his power went into the market place, and there in the publique iudgement &s;eate accu&s;ed <HI>Celinus</HI> of the fore&s;aid crimes, exa&s;perating again&s;t him all malitious indignities done vnto his father, his brother, and &s;i&s;ter, and all other his mi&s;demeanors: Wherewith he drew forth the pre&s;cription &s;igned with the Senates handes, and demaunded of them if they woulde giue their voyce.</P>
<P>The people confu&s;edly cryed out, let <HI>Celinus</HI> the traytor be drawen forth to death: Then ran the mul|titude hedlongly to <HI>Celinus</HI> Pallace, who being taken at vnawares, made head again&s;t them with &s;uch pow|er as he had, but being a troup of loo&s;e per&s;ons, for no other attended his traine, hee and they were &s;oone di&s;|comfited.</P>
<P>The A&s;&s;i&s;taunts were in a manner number|le&s;&s;e, theyr cryes confu&s;ed and tumultuous, &s;o that <HI>Ce|linus</HI> could neither &s;peake to make excu&s;e, nor had pow|er to make re&s;i&s;t.</P>
<P>Wherefore withdrawing him&s;elfe hee e&s;caped thorough a vault into the wood ioyning to the Pallace,
<PB REF="25"> who was no &s;ooner mi&s;t, but his followers y&eacute;elded to the mercie of <HI>Celydon,</HI> who cau&s;ed diuers to bee tor|mented, to confe&s;&s;e where <HI>Celinus</HI> was: what was become of him there coulde not any tell, &s;o the moates were dragde, thinking hee had de&s;perately ca&s;t him|&s;elfe in, and then the &s;ecrete vaultes were founde, but <HI>Celinus</HI> could not be found, neither &s;hall yee heare a|nie more of him, till it bee my owne good hap to finde him.</P>
<P>Returne to <HI>Celydon,</HI> who with the furious multi|tude vtterly raced the pallace of <HI>Celinus,</HI> and with|out pittie cruelly murdered and inhumanely ma&s;&s;acred his concubine sand a&s;&s;ociates, among whom fell both <HI>Thra&s;ilio</HI> and <HI>Flauius:</HI> the one for an vnthrift, the o|ther for a fletterer that had not their fellowes in all <HI>Thrace.</HI></P>
<P>While in this manner <HI>Celydon</HI> in&s;ulted ouer <HI>Ce|linus</HI> mi&s;erable e&s;tate, and breathed threatenings a|gain&s;t all his other vntaken Fauourites, proclay|ming high m&eacute;ede to anie one that brought <HI>Celinus</HI> either quicke or dead, and threatning &s;harpe death, and confi&s;cation of goods, to euerie one that &s;uccoured him: the Senatours by adui&s;e of an eloquent Oratour, and reuerent Coun&s;eller named <HI>Lico&s;tenes,</HI> had thus de|cr&eacute;ed, that &s;&eacute;eing <HI>Celydon</HI> was culpable of &s;elfe trea|&s;on with <HI>Celinus,</HI> as &s;oone as his handes of Souldi|ers were di&s;&s;olued, he &s;hould bee publiquely executed in &s;uch manner as for <HI>Celinus</HI> him&s;elfe ordained, and that they would pre&s;ently di&s;patch me&s;&s;engers to all neighbryng Nations, if happely they might heare of <HI>Hylenus</HI> and his children.</P>
<P>This they determined with all po&s;&s;ible &s;p&eacute;ede to effect, while <HI>Celydon</HI> (nothing of their intent &s;u&s;|pecting) left not the ruinating of <HI>Celinus</HI> Pallayce, and tormenting his &s;eruants, till nightes darkne&s;&s;e denied them meanes to execute farther their mallice.</P>
<PB REF="26">
<P>But <HI>Celydon</HI> thinking him&s;elfe nothing &s;afe till <HI>Celinus</HI> wer &s;urpri&s;ed, di&s;chargde not as yet his bands of &s;oldiers, but &s;ent &s;peedy me&s;&s;engers to lay the Ports about <HI>Hebrus,</HI> and companies to &s;earch the forre&s;t of <HI>Hemus</HI> and the waies to the next Prouinces adioy|ning: but e&s;pecially the Ports hee &s;u&s;pected, and to the Hauen where my Ma&s;ter was Cu&s;tomer, at once came Proclamation and commi&s;&s;ion, that who &s;o euer harbored <HI>Celinus</HI> &s;houlde immediately as traytors bee executed, and he that brought him foorth &s;hould receiue a thou&s;and Crownes. <HI>Celinus</HI> de&s;tiny was &s;uch to hap|pen to that Port, and for that he pre&s;umed he had &s;ome intere&s;t in my Ma&s;ter, as well for helping him to <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">he Office, as al&s;o for &s;moothering many of his offences, in tran&s;porting forbidden commodities: and &s;&eacute;eing wee are here, touch the faults we wil a litle that my Ma&s;ter the Cu&s;tomer v&s;ed, and let &s;lip the matter a while of <HI>Celinus</HI> handling. Fir&s;t, in the fir&s;t part of this di&s;|cour&s;e you vnder&s;tood he was <HI>Flauius</HI> Baily, a deceiuer of his Ma&s;ter, and now is Baily for the King, and dooth his be&s;t to vndoo the Countrey. Hee was a V&s;urer, a Broker, a Farmer, and what not in that place: Corne, leather, mettall, any forbidden commodities, might pa&s;&s;e if he were paid, &s;pices vngarbled, letters clo&s;e pac|ked, fugitiues, outlawes, any thing, powder, ordinance, artillery, &s;o they paide him priuy cu&s;tome. A &s;ort of bankerupt Brokers wer his retainers, that at the lan|ding of any merchant &s;tranger, confedered either to co~mende others credite, thereby to take into their handes their whole commodities: And when daies of payment comes, the merchant hath no other helpe of them, but we are &s;ory, and would haue &s;worne their credits had b&eacute;ene &s;uch and &s;uch. When like deceiuing cou&s;oners they &s;hare quarters, and my Ma&s;ter for countenancing their knaueries had his halfe part. Among other de|ceites, for tran&s;porting of vittels, this plaine guile hee
<PB REF="26"> &s;uffered, when ve&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters">ls were bound foorth, thr&eacute;e times more than due proportion hee let pa&s;&s;e, vnder colour to &s;erue the voyage: but without hee were paid nothing could pa&s;&s;e, and then they might pa&s;&s;e and repa&s;&s;e with|out controll. What though the garbler cryed out, his vailes were wa&s;ted, the Commons the corne was tran&s;ported, euery one of wrong, &s;o he had the right he lookt for, all was well: for in all the&s;e wrongs <HI>Celi|nus</HI> was his &s;upporter. Now came the time of triall, whether the ill &s;eruant wold proue true to his bad ma|&s;ter. <HI>Celinus</HI> (in the dead of night) gets to our hou&s;e, tells my ma&s;ter his e&s;tate, and requires to be tran&s;por|ted. He was no &s;ooner entred, but the towne was pri|uily rai&s;d: yet <HI>Petru&s;io</HI> v&s;ed great prote&s;tations for his a&s;&s;urance. <HI>Celinus</HI> (notwith&s;tanding their manye oathes) liked not his lookes, and in the end by priuie whi&s;prings, and ru&s;tling of armed men without, was &s;ure of his deceit: but remembring <HI>Petru&s;io</HI> to be no|tably couetous, he thus dallyed with him.</P>
<P><HI>Petru&s;io,</HI> how I haue preferd th&eacute;e thou know&s;t, and how thou loue&s;t me I am a&s;&s;ured: yet that I may make thee more beholding, I will vtter one &s;ecrete ere I take &s;hipping, that &s;hall bind th&eacute;e to me aboue all other kind|ne&s;&s;es. How euer I haue &s;&eacute;emed to liue &s;ecure, yet a|gain&s;t this expected daye of my downefall haue I not b&eacute;en altogether improuident, but &s;ecretely haue hidd<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n two hundred thou&s;and crownes: one half I make th&eacute;e ma&s;ter of, the other I intreate th&eacute;e (as thou ha&s;t found me louing) to conuay me when I &s;hall write to th&eacute;e fro~ anie forren coa&s;t. Doo this <HI>Petru&s;io,</HI> and be now more enriched, and if againe Fortune fauour me, looke to bee mo&s;t fortunate. Vnworthie am I (quoth <HI>Petru&s;io)</HI> to obtaine this fauor, and as I proue to your Highnes faithfull, let my fortunes bee &s;ucce&s;full: onely re&s;olue your &s;eruant where the trea&s;ure is. Fir&s;t &s;aid <HI>Celinus</HI> bring me to Ship, I am els in this ca&s;e re&s;olued to bee
<PB REF="27"> euer &s;ilent. <HI>Petru&s;io</HI> not willing to loo&s;e this pray, pre|tended to goe cl&eacute;ere the Key, and leauing him, went to the Officers, a&s;&s;uring them the pri&s;ner was &s;afe, &amp; for &s;peciall matter concerning the State, mu&s;t bee carried &s;ecretly aboord a Barke, that anchored before the Har|bor: to bring him thether him&s;elf vndertooke the charge, and appointed a hundred well armed to goe before vn|to the Barke, giuing them a watch-woord when they &s;hould apprehend <HI>Celinus:</HI> the re&s;t of the People to a|uoyd tumult he di&s;charged. They counting him the forman of the pari&s;h, brake vp the Watch, and obeyed his words: and <HI>Petru&s;io</HI> returning to <HI>Celinus,</HI> brought him to a Cocke boate, and me he appointed for the wa|terman.</P>
<P>But here the ca&s;e begins to alter. Wee were no &s;oo|ner in the mid&s;t of the Riuer, but <HI>Celinus</HI> taking my ma&s;ter by the throate, v&s;ed the&s;e terames. <HI>Petru&s;io,</HI> I know th&eacute;e for a villaine, and am a&s;&s;ured of thy notable intention to betray me. What thou ha&s;t, my gift hath holpe th&eacute;e too, thy goods are mine borrowed, thy life to my &s;eruice vowed: yet for all this, my mi&s;giuing heart compels me to mi&s;tru&s;t thy con&s;tancie. V&s;e no words, for they are fal&s;e like thy faultie life: no oathes, for they are more deceiuing than thy wordes: no teares, for they haue learned trecherie of either: only in death will I beleeue th&eacute;e: and with that giuing him a mortal wound, he heaude him ouer boord, and &s;tept to me &s;ay|ing, Pe&s;ant exclaime not, for if thou doo thy life is lo&s;t, and with this mi&s;erable wretch thou &s;halt in death con|&s;ort. Be firme to me, and as I am a Gentleman, I wil pre&s;erue thy life, and v&s;e th&eacute;e well.</P>
<P>I that was acquainted with <HI>Petru&s;ioes</HI> trecherie, pitying his youth, remembring his royall progenie, &amp; in plaine tearmes fearing my owne tragedie, quicklie re&s;olud to prouide for his e&s;cape, and embracing certain danger to auoyd pre&s;ent feare, we put out into the d&eacute;e|pe&s;t
<PB REF="27"> of the maine, yet not &s;o &s;ecretly but they in the Barke e&s;pied vs, and &s;etting out their owne and other ve&s;&s;ells boates to bring vs vnder their l&eacute;e, had &s;urely ta|ken vs, had not the Guider of the Windes (further|ing our flight) let loo&s;e their ragefull breathings, that &s;cattred the Men of warre, who&s;e boates pur&s;ued vs: the billowes prowdly mounting their vpper deckes, made them more carefull to attend their owne &s;afetie, than intend our pur&s;ute. And if they in ve&s;&s;els of great burden were di&s;tre&s;&s;ed, we then that had onely a boate could not but be greatly endangered.</P>
<P>Let vs &s;hift with the &s;torme awhile, and &s;&eacute;e what &s;or|ted that night to <HI>Celydon.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Lico&s;thenes</HI> (before named) hauing a&s;&s;embled al the chiefe Senators, &s;ent for the <HI>Praetor</HI> of the Citie &amp; hys Brethren: before whom he laid open the whole trea|&s;ons of <HI>Celydon.</HI> As, that rai&s;ed from meane e&s;tate to high dignitie by <HI>Hylenus</HI> their lawfull Souereign, he had con&s;ented to &s;o great a trea&s;on, as the exile of him, <HI>Aemilius</HI> his Heire, and <HI>Rhodope</HI> their beauteous Prince&s;&s;e. In this he vrged rea&s;ons to proue <HI>Celydon</HI> principall: fir&s;t the remi&s;&s;e life of <HI>Celinus</HI> (an argument in him of &s;mall ambition) by <HI>Celydon</HI> &s;oothed in ill, by his coun&s;ell di&s;inherited, then to this vnnaturall <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">re&s;on animated, and now at la&s;t either brought to de&s;perate flight, or a&s;&s;ured confu&s;ion. To this he added, the re|membrance of tho&s;e Citizens &s;laine the fir&s;t day of the con&s;piracie, the fea&s;ting of the multitude for thr&eacute;e daies following, the light pa&s;&s;ing ouer of <HI>Hylenus</HI> ab&s;ence &amp; his children, the abu&s;ing of <HI>Celinus</HI> youth, his owne ambition to be &s;ole Protector, concluding with the bar|barous murder of <HI>Celinus</HI> &s;eruants. This he laid open with &s;uch effectiue woordes, mingling his &s;p&eacute;ech with teares, and filling their harts with terror, a&s;well by old example of V&s;urpers tyrannies, as pre&s;ent in&s;tance of late performed Tragedies, that the Magi&s;trates with
<PB REF="28"> one voice de&s;ired him not onely to adui&s;e what &s;hould be done: but al&s;o to lead them, and what hee enioyned they would performe.</P>
<P><HI>Lico&s;thenes</HI> then cau&s;ed foure thou&s;and to be armed, and with them went to the Pallace, where <HI>Celydon</HI> all fearle&s;&s;e of that accident, was plotting which of the Senators fir&s;t to murder after <HI>Celinus</HI> death: hauing &s;ent the greate&s;t number of his &s;ouldiers towards <HI>Pe|truo&s;is</HI> hou&s;e, wherein he heard he was kept pri&s;oner. <HI>Lico&s;thenes</HI> cau&s;ing the Companies to bee placed on each &s;ide of the &s;tr&eacute;ete leading to the Pallace gate, was by the Captain of <HI>Celydons</HI> Gard demanded a rea&s;on for his armed approach? Who an&s;wered, it was onely to defend the Pallace and Trea&s;urie: &s;&eacute;eing a number of the Commons (by &s;ome turbulent per&s;on &s;tirred vp) were gathered in the Market place, and would by no rea&s;ons bee allayed, till <HI>Celinus</HI> were deliuered them: wi&s;hing him to informe <HI>Celydon,</HI> that his Princelye pre&s;ence was the only meane to allay the people, being gracious in their eyes: and therefore had he armed the better &s;ort of citizens to be his &s;trong gard, if he vouch|&s;afed in per&s;on to prouide for the Cities &s;afetie. <HI>Cely|don</HI> hearing of this, ha&s;ted toward the Market place, of all other lea&s;t fearing <HI>Lico&s;thenes:</HI> who by the way arre&s;ted him of high trea&s;on, to which re&s;i&s;ting, a &s;mal &s;airmi&s;h began: which with <HI>Celydons</HI> death &s;oone en|ded, who &s;uppre&s;&s;ed with many wounds, breathd forth his a&s;piring &s;pirite from his blood-defiled trunke.</P>
<P>Much adoo there was next morning to allay mute|nies, but by the diligence of the Magi&s;trates the Peo|ple were appea&s;ed: and me&s;&s;engers were di&s;patched to euerie neighboring Kingdome, to enquire of <HI>Hylenus</HI> or his children: and the &s;ea-bankes were all about the coa&s;t &s;earched for the bodie of <HI>Celinus,</HI> whome of cer|taintie they thought the &s;torme had wracked.</P>
<P>It is long &s;ince I was in <HI>Crete,</HI> but when we come
<PB REF="28"> there, we will ende there. In the meane time, I will forward with the &s;torme, wherein the Prince <HI>Celinus</HI> and I wer mi&s;erably di&s;tre&s;t: for &s;ome while the moun|ting waues heavd vs to the clouds, another while &s;unk vs to the depth, which euerie moment wee accounted &s;hould be our &s;epulcher. Be&s;ide this &s;ea-&s;torme, hea|uens windows were opened, powring another &s;ea vp|pon our heads: our oares were borne ouer boord, and we poore wretches (like condemned per&s;ons in the Ser|geants hands) hurried whether violence it &s;elfe would driue vs. Our chiefe&s;t powers were imployed, either to hold other fa&s;t, lea&s;t the mercile&s;&s;e waters &s;huld haue wa&s;ht vs from the boate. And while we lay thus infol|ded, I y&eacute;elding my &s;elfe to death, he lamenting his de&s;|perate life: I was not a little comforted, that the&s;e mi|&s;eries made him remember his mi&s;chieuous cour&s;es, and &s;&eacute;eke reconciliation with God, being vtterly hope|les to enioy anie more the companie of men.</P>
<P>Nothing violent can bee permanent. This &s;torme ere morning cea&s;ed, and &s;ome ea&s;e was giuen to our af|flictions: the cloudie vapors were cha&s;ed to the South, and the gray Morning blu&s;hingly &s;aluted the Sunne, who&s;e orient beames wantonned on the quiet waters. But the&s;e plea&s;ures little comforted vs, who fainting with extreame labor, had no meanes to obtaine foode. He that had heard the penitent Prince exclaime on <HI>Ce|lydons</HI> per&s;wa&s;ion to that vnnaturall trea&s;on, a&s;k par|don of his wronged father, iniurde brother, harmle&s;&s;e &s;i&s;ter: would haue relented into teares, in compa&s;&s;io|nating his gr&eacute;efe.</P>
<P>Thr&eacute;e nights and two daies we huld along the Me|diterrane &s;ea, oarele&s;&s;e, foodle&s;&s;e, and &s;trengthle&s;&s;e. A|bout the mid-watch of the la&s;t night, a &s;torme more fu|rious than the fir&s;t a&s;&s;ailed vs, driuing our &s;mal boate again&s;t a rocke, where &s;plitting in &s;under our wether|beaten bodies were with the parted &s;ides of the boate
<PB REF="29"> &s;eperated. My happie chance was &s;uch, euen when my vitall powers were pa&s;t all &s;en&s;e, to bee pre&s;erued by a fi&s;herman, with whom <HI>Rhodope</HI> the Thracian Prin|ce&s;&s;e (calling her &s;elfe <HI>Serena)</HI> dwelt, of him and all the neighbors derely beloued. At his hou&s;e (with warme broaths and other helpes) my benummed limbs found f&eacute;eling of life: <HI>Serena</HI> more carefully attending me for that I was of <HI>Thrace,</HI> who&s;e turmoyled e&s;tate when &s;he heard of, teares fell from hir eyes: but when I di&s;|cour&s;ed my wretched parting with <HI>Celinus,</HI> &s;hee &s;unke to the ground. The Fi&s;herman, his wife, my &s;elfe with much adoo recouered hir, who weakely lifting vp hir head, cryed, A haples brother, haue heauens &s;o little pit|tie of thy life, that they permitted not thy penitent &s;oule to be reconciled to thy exiled father? With that the Fi|&s;herman a&s;kt if &s;h&eacute;e were daughter to a king? No &s;aid &s;h&eacute;e, but I was a handmaid to that haples Princes, and <HI>Celinus</HI> often woulde in Courtlike di&s;cour&s;es account me for his &s;i&s;ter. The Fi&s;herman replied that to <HI>Aeli|ana</HI> &s;hee &s;houlde bee pre&s;ented, if &s;he were of &s;o high a byrth. But <HI>Serena</HI> on hir kn&eacute;es be&s;ought &s;hee might liue &s;till in that meane e&s;tate, wherein as &s;he had b&eacute;ene duetifull to him and hir, &s;o &s;he would continue: And fur|ther be&s;ought they woulde giue entertainement to hir &s;ea-wrackt countriman. Both hir reque&s;ts were gran|ted, and I in a &s;mall boate was &s;et to fi&s;h in the riuer, on which riuer about two miles from the &s;ea, <HI>Rhegius</HI> had a &s;umptuous Ca&s;tle, for plea&s;ure and &s;trength vn|matcheable in all <HI>Crete.</HI> And &s;ince we are in <HI>Crete:</HI> let vs &s;&eacute;e how the affaires goe there. <HI>Rhegius</HI> vnable to quench his vnnaturall lu&s;t to <HI>Aeliana</HI> his kin&s;woman and &s;oueraigne: grew enuiou&s;ly impatient at <HI>Aemilius</HI> fauour, for <HI>Aeliana</HI> the Qu&eacute;ene graced him with all ho|nors, and he by his demeanor obtained the frend&s;hip of each Courtier.</P>
<P>A wicked Coun&s;ellour &s;eruant to <HI>Rhegius,</HI> &s;oother of
<PB REF="29"> his lu&s;t-burning loue, was one day drawen by <HI>Rhe|gius</HI> abroade, to whom in a groue not far from the &s;ea, in a thicket &s;eldome frequented, <HI>Rhegius</HI> di&s;couered his grefe, and de&s;ired his adui&s;e. There leaue we him a while, and &s;&eacute;e what &s;hift <HI>Celinus</HI> made to get the &s;hore: being immediately after the &s;plitting of the Boate ca&s;t into the hollowe of a rocke, in which by degr&eacute;es a&s;cen|ding, he obtained the top of the crag, and the tyde going out continued there til morning, who&s;e light gaue him no &s;mall comfort, for that he &s;oone di&s;couered the &s;hore: being a thicke wood within two furlongs of the rocks di&s;cent. Faint though hee were, the &s;ight of land gaue him vigor, what Coa&s;t it was he knew not, but inten|ded to try, and ca&s;ting him&s;elf into the calme water (for betw&eacute;ene the woode and the rocke there was a good l&eacute;e, in &s;hort &s;pace he attained the &s;hoare, entered the Wood, and finding certaine wilde fruit, refre&s;ht therewith his fainting lims. And tooke &s;ome &s;mall re&s;t vppon the ground, hauing had no &s;l&eacute;epe in thr&eacute;e daies before. H&eacute;e was but newly awaked, when <HI>Rhegius</HI> with his wic|ked coun&s;eller were hard at hand conferring about the practi&s;e touching <HI>Aemilius</HI> and <HI>Aeliana:</HI> His &s;eruant thus adui&s;ing; <HI>Aemilius</HI> &s;aid he, is this day a hunting n&eacute;ere your Ca&s;tle, and as I vnder&s;tand, intendeth in your ab&s;ence to &s;&eacute;e the beautye thereof. There your Honorable cu&s;tome giueth entertaignment as well to &s;traungers as fr&eacute;e-borne <HI>Cretans,</HI> and thither if you plea&s;e will I poa&s;t, inuite him all night to &s;tay, a&s;&s;ure him and his company, the Qu&eacute;ene within two daies will be there, and hath commanded him there to abide hir Graces comming: which graunted, in his bedde I will either murther him, or commit him pri&s;oner (&s;ince I know your Honorable nature hateth murder) into the d&eacute;epe vault of your Ca&s;tle, where hee &s;hall be kept till the Qu&eacute;ene bee woon to y&eacute;eld to your intent. Her Grace you &s;hall inuite to the &s;ame Ca&s;tle, and in the
<PB REF="30"> dead of night enter hir chamber, be re&s;olute, let not hir teares intreate ye, feare not we will attende ye, if once you &s;enze on hir, &s;uffer hir not to e&s;cape, for though maydenly ba&s;hfulnes cau&s;e hir to be ouer-coy, yet once entred &s;he will euer yeelde. I, this is &s;omewhat &s;aide <HI>Rhegius,</HI> murder <HI>Aemi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ius</HI> I will not, but gladly would I remooue him, therefore his inthralment I con|&s;ent vnto: For <HI>Aeliana</HI> my kin&s;woman, my &s;oueraign, my &s;oules chiefe health, faine would I v&s;e her forcea|bly, whome faire meanes cannot intreate, but that my feare to offend is almo&s;t equall to my loue. Ah tell me &s;hould &s;he exclaime, in what ca&s;e then were <HI>Rhegius?</HI> di&s;honored, pointed at, not only held a traytor, but e&s;t&eacute;e|med ince&s;tuous? My Lord &s;aid <HI>Dolon,</HI> (for &s;o was h&eacute;e named) be not preci&s;e, if euer ye intend to effect the per|fect fulnes of your affection. To you more than her is <HI>Crete</HI> beholding: &s;he being lawfull heire hath onelie the title of Qu&eacute;ene, you hold the Souereignitie: and would &s;he not con&s;ent, I would compell her. If your affections bee &s;etled as you &s;ay, you mu&s;t v&s;e force: if not, you may re&s;olue otherwi&s;e as you plea&s;e. Then as thou ha&s;t &s;aid (quoth <HI>Rhegius)</HI> let vs conclude: my ouer-ma&s;tred rea&s;on hath no rea&s;on to re&s;i&s;t thy aduice. Herewith they heard a heauie groane &s;ent by <HI>Celinus,</HI> that now knew him&s;elfe in <HI>Crete</HI> by the name of <HI>Aeli|ana,</HI> and had hope to finde his Brother when hee heard mention of <HI>Aemilius.</HI> With his &s;igh, <HI>Rhegius</HI> &amp; <HI>Do|lon</HI> looked backe, and &s;awe him faintly &s;itting vnder a Palme tr&eacute;e, neere the place they &s;tood, and demaunded what he was? I am quoth he a mi&s;erable man, late &s;ea-wrackt on this &s;hore, pined welnere with famine, gr&eacute;eued to talke, yet de&s;trous to adui&s;e one of you, that of his owne nature &s;&eacute;emeth not ill inclinde, to &s;hun the per&s;wa&s;ions of the other: for by like coun&s;ell &amp; &s;elf con|&s;piracie, a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters"> I ca&s;t downe from Princely dignitie vnto this extremitie.</P>
<PB REF="30">
<P>Had&s;t thou &s;aid <HI>Dolon</HI> b&eacute;en Monarch of the earth, yet thus &s;hould&s;t thou peri&s;h for playing the eaue&s;dropper: and therewith doubling wound on wound, left hym with his out-&s;tretcht limmes all &s;en&s;eles on the earth. <HI>Rhegius</HI> reprooued his bloodines, yet &s;lightly pa&s;t it, &amp; leauing him without &s;epulcher, &s;et forward with their dete&s;table re&s;olution.</P>
<P><HI>Dolon</HI> at <HI>Rhegius</HI> Ca&s;tle finds <HI>Aemilius,</HI> intertains him, &s;tayes him, betrayes him, and in a d&eacute;epe dungeon impri&s;ons him, where day equalled the night in darke|nes, only a &s;mall glimmering through a cranny in the wall de&s;cended. <HI>Aemilius</HI> that knew no re&s;on for this wrong, doubtle&s;&s;e of <HI>Aelianaes</HI> fauor, a&s;&s;ured of <HI>Rhe|gius</HI> honorable thoughts, could not but complaine in that di&s;con&s;olate place. Often he remembers his Fa|ther, meanes his &s;i&s;ter, blames his brother, exclaymes on de&s;tinie, that had re&s;erued him to &s;uch di&s;tre&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>This night it was my hap to be placing w&eacute;eles in &s;undrie places of the riuer, and from a &s;mall loope hole to who&s;e barre I fa&s;tned my boate, I heard the wofull accents of his &s;orrowfull voyce, and at my returne cer|tified <HI>Serena</HI> of the accident: who with me deui&s;ed, that next night I &s;hould take a number of canes, that being hollow and ioynted, I might from my mouth que&s;tion him, and he to the hollow of my eare returne an&s;were. By which meanes being a&s;certained it was h&eacute;e, I fur|ni&s;ht me with a long ladder of roapes, and engines to loo&s;en the &s;tone for his e&s;cape, which the third night w&eacute;e effected.</P>
<P>I &s;uppo&s;e you thinke there was &s;ome ioy when hys &s;i&s;ter and he met: thr&eacute;e daies he there continued couert|ly, intending to heare the vulgar report about his ab|&s;ence, all which time hardly &s;crud them for conference.</P>
<P>We left <HI>Celinus</HI> mortally wounded in the Wood: whom olde <HI>Hylenus</HI> (as hee was walking to gather hearbes) found: who powring balme into his wounds
<PB REF="31"> and pretious wine into his mouth, began a little <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">o re|turne red blood to his a&s;hie-coloured ch&eacute;ekes, and &s;ome weake moouing to his benumbed limmes. At length he opened the heauie windowes of his dimmed eyes, and &s;taring <HI>Hylenus</HI> in the face, with a f&eacute;eble voyce thus que&s;tiond him: O what art thou that recal&s;t from death, the &s;onne of all mi&s;chaunce and mi&s;erie? Why &s;hould thy age be pittifull to my yong yeares, that haue to kingly age b&eacute;en cruell, and on Princely youth &s;hew|ed no compa&s;&s;ion? <HI>Hylenus</HI> better marking this di&s;co|loured man, knew him at the&s;e words to bee <HI>Celinus:</HI> wherewith abundance of teares dewed his &s;iluer hair, and true compa&s;&s;ion toucht his princely heart: indeuo|ring both to recure him, and knowe what accident had brought him into that place and plight? <HI>Celinus</HI> as he was lead to the Hermitage, vttered the con&s;piracie be|tw&eacute;ene <HI>Rhegius</HI> and <HI>Dolon,</HI> referring his owne wret|chedne&s;&s;e till hee were more refre&s;ht. As &s;oone as <HI>Hy|lenus</HI> had dre&s;&s;ed <HI>Celinus</HI> wounds, and giuen him pre|cious re&s;toratiues, with what &s;p&eacute;ed he might hee went to the Court, and to the Qu&eacute;ene vttred the whole con|&s;piracie of <HI>Rhegius.</HI> Who ob&s;eruing his importunate loue, the Sauages a&s;&s;ailment, the ab&s;ence of <HI>Aemili|us,</HI> and withall that next day &s;he was inuited to hir vn|kles Ca&s;tle, called a Coun&s;ell, before whom the Her|mit againe opened the whole plot: whereat <HI>Rhegius</HI> confounded, confe&s;&s;ed the fault. The Ca&s;tle was &s;ercht, but <HI>Aemilius</HI> could not be found: wherupon <HI>Rhegius</HI> &amp; <HI>Dolon</HI> wer condemned of traitrous con&s;piracie &amp; mur|der, the third day following appointed for their execu|tion. <HI>Aemilius</HI> hearing of this tooke <HI>Rhodope,</HI> my ma|&s;ter, and my proper &s;elfe with him, appointing to bee at Court again&s;t the day of execution. <HI>Hylenus</HI> the daye before had brought thether his reconciled Sonne, who opened before the Qu&eacute;ene and States <HI>Rhegius</HI> vnwil|lingnes, and <HI>Dolons</HI> often tempting him: yet nothing
<PB REF="31"> could alter <HI>Aelianaes</HI> iudgement, till <HI>Amilius</HI> leading <HI>Rhodope</HI> by the hand, &s;hewed him&s;elfe aliue. His on|ly &s;ight pleaded her Vnckles pardon: and <HI>Rhodopes</HI> fir&s;t view &s;odainly changed <HI>Rhegius</HI> lawles affections. Short tale to make (for now the Sunne is &s;etled in the We&s;t) <HI>Dolon</HI> was &s;ent to banni&s;hment, <HI>Celinus</HI> and <HI>Rhegius</HI> were to either Souereigne reconciled, <HI>Aemi|lius</HI> by marriage with <HI>Aeliana</HI> was crowned King of <HI>Crete, Rhodope</HI> giuen to <HI>Rhegius,</HI> the Fi&s;her-man &amp; my &s;elfe richly rewarded. While fea&s;ts and triumphs continued in <HI>Crete,</HI> me&s;&s;engers were &s;ent into <HI>Thrace,</HI> whence &s;undrie Nobles came to attend <HI>Hylenus</HI> in his returne: where being ioyfully receiued, <HI>Lico&s;thenes</HI> was honored with <HI>Celydons</HI> offices, and <HI>Celinus</HI> pro|claimed heir apparant. My &s;elfe might in either Court haue &s;erued, but for my plaine condition I found them too curious: therefore hetherward I bent my cour&s;e, intending to liue <HI>Menalcas</HI> man if he accept it, or k&eacute;epe my owne Heard, when I can get it.</P>
<P>Godamercie <HI>Piers</HI> (&s;aid <HI>Corydon)</HI> for thy good ende. The Euening Starre is vp, and ruddie <HI>Thetis</HI> wel|commeth the Sunne. After long troubles I like thy de|&s;ire of re&s;t: for in a &s;hepheards life is both repo&s;e &amp; re|creation. I quoth <HI>Menalcas,</HI> Young <HI>DAPHNIS</HI> hath giuen his verdict of <HI>The Shepheards Content:</HI> due|ly prai&s;ing it, as it meriteth. My bleating Lambes (&s;aid <HI>Piers)</HI> tell me it is time to folde, my Dogge hath brought my Heard into a head: you that haue hindred me all day helpe me a little at night, that I may in this kinde hereafter the willinger await your will. Here|to they both y&eacute;elded: and <HI>Corydon</HI> &s;upping that Night with <HI>Menalcas,</HI> enioyned him to bring <HI>Piers</HI> to theyr Plough-mans Holidaye. Where what happened, if <HI>Piers Plainnes</HI> plea&s;e, &s;hall peraduenture be publi&s;hed.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
