Paul. In your six years' travel, friend, no doubt, you have met with

Many and rare adventures, and observed
The wonders of each climate, varying in
The manners and the men; and so return,

For the future service of your prince and country,
In your understanding better'd.

Cle. Sir, I have made of it

The best use in my power, and hope my gleanings
After the full crop others reap'd before me,
Shall not, when I am call'd on, altogether
Appear unprofitable: yet I left

The miracle of miracles in our age

At home behind me; every where abroad,

Fame, with a true though prodigal voice, deliver'd
Such wonders of Pulcheria, the princess,

To the amazement, nay, astonishment rather,
Of such as heard it, that I found not one,

In all the states and kingdoms that I pass'd through,
Worthy to be her second.

Paul. She, indeed, is

A perfect phoenix, and disdains a rival.

Her infant years, as you know, promised much,
But, grown to ripeness, she transcends, and makes
Credulity her debtor. I will tell you,
In my blunt way, to entertain the time,
Until you have the happiness to see her,
How in your absence she hath born herself,
And with all possible brevity; though the subject
Is such a spacious field, as would require
An abstract of the purest eloquence
(Derived from the most famous orators

The nurse of learning, Athens, shew'd the world)
In that man, that should undertake to be
Her true historian.

Cle. In this you shall do me

A special favour.

Paul. Since Arcadius' death, Our late great master, the protection of The prince, his son, the second Theodosius, By a general vote and suffrage of the people, Was to her charge assign'd, with the disposure Of his so many kingdoms. For his person, She hath so train'd him up in all those arts That are both great and good, and to be wish'd In an imperial monarch, that the mother

Of the Gracchi, grave Cornelia, Rome still boasts of,
The wise Pulcheria but named, must be
No more remember'd. She, by her example,
Hath made the court a kind of academy,

In which true honour is both learn'd and practised:
Her private lodgings a chaste nunnery,

In which her sisters, as probationers, hear
From her, their sovereign abbess, all the precepts
Read in the school of virtue.

Cle. You amaze me.

Paul. I shall, ere I conclude; for here the wonder Begins, not ends. Her soul is so immense, And her strong faculties so apprehensive, To search into the depth of deep designs, And of all natures, that the burthen, which To many men were insupportable, To her is but a gentle exercise, Made, by the frequent use, familiar to her.

Cle. With your good favour, let me interrupt you. Being, as she is, in every part so perfect, Methinks that all kings of our eastern world Should become rivals for her.

Paul. So they have;

But to no purpose. She, that knows her strength
To rule and govern monarchs, scorns to wear
On her free neck the servile yoke of marriage;
And for one loose desire, envy itself

Dares not presume to taint her. Venus' son
Is blind indeed when he but gazes on her;
Her chastity being a rock of diamonds,

With which encounter'd, his shafts fly in splinters;
His flaming torches in the living spring
Of her perfections quench'd: and, to crown all,
She's so impartial when she sits upon
The high tribunal, neither sway'd with pity,
Nor awed by fear, beyond her equal scale,
That 'tis not superstition to believe
Astrea once more lives upon the earth,
Pulcheria's breast her temple.

Cle. You have given her

An admirable character.

Paul. She deserves it:

Enter, after a strain of solemn music, PHILANAX,
TIMANTUS, Patriarch, THEODOSIUS, PULCHERIA, FLAC-
CILLA, and ARCADIA; followed by CHRYSAPIUS and
GRATIANUS; Servants, and Officers.
Pul. Your patience, sir.

Let those corrupted ministers of the court,
Which you complain of, our devotions ended,
Be cited to appear for the ambassadors
Who are importunate to have audience,
From me you may assure them, that to-morrow
They shall in public kiss the emperor's robe,
And we in private, with our soonest leisure,
Will give them hearing. Have you especial care too,
That free access be granted unto all
Petitioners. The morning wears.-Pray you, on,
Time lost is ne'er recover'd.

[sir;

[Exeunt all but PAULINUS and CLEON.

Paul. Did you note

The majesty she appears in?

Cle. Yes, my good lord;

I was ravish'd with it.

Paul. And then, with what speed

She orders her dispatches, not one daring
To interpose; the emperor himself,
Without reply, putting in act whatever
She pleased to impose upon him.

Cle. Yet there were some,

That, in their sullen looks, rather confess'd
A forced constraint to serve her, than a will
To be at her devotion: what are they?

Paul. Eunuchs of the emperor's chamber, that repine

The globe and awful sceptre should give place
Unto the distaff; for, as such, they whisper
A woman's government, but dare not yet
Express themselves.

Cle. From whence are the ambassadors
To whom she promised audience?

Paul. They are

Employ'd by divers princes, who desire
Alliance with our emperor, whose years now,
As you see, write him man. One would advance
A daughter to the honour of his bed;
A second, his fair sister: to instruct you
In the particulars would ask longer time
Than my own designs give way to. I have letters
From special friends of mine, that to my care
Commend a stranger virgin, whom this morning
I purpose to present before the princess:
If you please, you may accompany me.
Cic. I'll wait on you.

[Exeunt.

I never found one man compell'd to come,
Before the seat of justice, under guard,
To receive honour.

Infor. No! it may be, you are The first example. Men of qualities, As I have deliver'd you to the protectress, Who knows how to advance them, cannot conceive A fitter place to have their virtues publish'd, Than in open court. Could you hope that the princess,

Knowing your precious merits, will reward them In a private corner? No; you know not yet How you may be exalted.

Min. To the gallows. Infor. Fie!

Nor yet depress'd to the gallies; in your names
You carry no such crimes; your specious titles
Cannot but take her :-President of the Projectors!
What a noise it makes! The Master of the Habit!
How proud would some one country be that I know,
To be your first pupil! Minion of the Suburbs,
And now and then admitted to the court,
And honour'd with the style of Squire of Dames!
What hurt is in it? One thing I must tell you,
As I am the state-scout, you may think me an in-
Mast. They are synonyma.
[former.

Infor. Conceal nothing from her

Of your good parts, 'twill be the better for you; Or if you should, it matters not; she can conjure, And I am her ubiquitary spirit,

Bound to obey her :-you have my instructions; Stand by, here's better company.

Enter PAULINUS, CLEON, and ATHENAIS, with a petition.
Athen. Can I hope, sir,

Oppressed innocence shall find protection
And justice among strangers, when my brothers,
Brothers of one womb, by one sire begotten,
Trample on my afflictions?

Paul. Forget them,

Remembering those may help you.

Athen. They have robb'd me

Of all means to prefer my just complaint,
With any promising hope to gain a hearing,
Much less redress: petitions not sweetened
With gold, are but unsavoury, oft refused;
Or, if received, are pocketed, not read.
A suitor's swelling tears by the glowing beams
Of choleric authority are dried up
Before they fall, or if seen, never pitied.
What will become of a forsaken maid!
My flattering hopes are too weak to encounter
With my strong enemy, despair, and 'tis
In vain to oppose her.

Cle. Cheer her up; she faints, sir.
Paul. This argues weakness; though your
brothers were

Cruel beyond expression, and the judges
That sentenced you, corrupt, you shall find here
One of your own fair sex to do you right;
Whose beams of justice, like the sun, extend
Their light and heat to strangers, and are not
Municipal or confined.

Athen. Pray you, do not feed me
With airy hopes; unless you can assure me
The great Pulcheria will descend to hear
My miserable story, it were better

I died without the trouble.

Paul. She is bound to it

By the surest chain, her natural inclination

Infor. Yes, or arraign'd; your lordship may speak too late else.

They are your own, and I will be content
With the fifth part of a share.

Paul. Hence, rogue !

Infor. Such rogues

In this kind will be heard and cherish'd too.
Fool that I was, to offer such a bargain
To a spiced-conscience chapman! but I care not;
What he disdains to taste, others will swallow.

Loud Music. Enter THEODOSIUS, PULCHERIA, ARCADIA,
FLACCILLA, Patriarch, PHILANAX, TIMANTUS, CHRYSA-
PIUS, GRATIANUS, and Attendants.

Cle. They are return'd from the temple.
Paul. See, she appears;

What think you now?

Athen. A cunning painter thus,

Her veil ta'en off, and awful sword and balance

Laid by, would picture Justice.

Pul. When you please,

You may intend those royal exercises

Suiting your birth and greatness: I will bear

The burthen of your cares, and having purged
The body of your empire of ill humours,
Upon my knees surrender it.

Chry. Will you ever

Be awed thus like a boy?

Grat. And kiss the rod

Of a proud mistress?

Tim. Be what you were born, sir.

Phil. Obedience and majesty never lodged

Some place where I may look on her demeanor: 'Tis a lovely creature!

Chry. There's some hope in this yet.

[Flourish. Exeunt THEODOSIUS, Patriarch, PHILANAX, TIMANTUS, CHRYSAPIUS, and GRATIANUS. Pul. No: you have done your parts. Paul. Now opportunity courts you, Prefer your suit.

Athen. [Kneeling.] As low as misery
Can fall, for proof of my humility,

A poor distressed virgin bows her head,
And lays hold on your goodness, the last altar
Calamity can fly to for protection.
Great minds erect their never-falling trophies
On the firm base of mercy; but to triumph
Over a suppliant, by proud fortune captived,
Argues a bastard conquest :-'tis to you
I speak, to you, the fair and just Pulcheria,
The wonder of the age, your sex's honour;
And as such, deign to hear me. As you have
A soul moulded from heaven, and do desire
To have it made a star there, make the means
Of your ascent to that celestial height
Virtue, wing'd with brave action: they draw near
The nature and the essence of the gods,
Who imitate their goodness.

Pul. Pray you, rise;

And, as you rise, receive this comfort from me.
Beauty, set off with such sweet language, never

Can want an advocate; and you must bring
More than a guilty cause if you prevail not.
Some business, long since thought upon, dispatch'd,
You shall have hearing, and, as far as justice
Will warrant me, my best aids.

Infor. Justify it, man,

And tell her in what thou'rt useful.

Proj. That is apparent;

And if you please, ask some about the court,
And they will tell you, to my rare inventions
They owe their bravery, perhaps means to purchase,
And cannot live without me. I, alas!

Lend out my labouring brains to use, and sometimes
For a drachma in the pound,-the more the pity
I am all patience, and endure the curses
Of many, for the profit of one patron.
Pul. I do conceive the rest.
Infor. The Minion of the Suburbs.
Pul. What hath he

To do in Constantinople?

Min. I steal in now and then,

What is the se[cond?

Pul. Pray you, discover

This hidden mystery.

Mast. If the foresaid courtier

(As it may chance sometimes) find not his name Writ in the citizen's books, with a state hum He may salute them after three days waiting; But, if he owe them money, that he may Preserve his credit, let him in policy never

For one of the last edition; and for him
I have composed a dictionary, in which
He is instructed, how, when, and to whom
To be proud or humble; at what times of the year
He may do a good deed for itself, and that is
Writ in dominical letters; all days else

Are his own, and of those days the several hours
Mark'd out, and to what use.

Pul. Shew us your method; I am strangely taken with it.

Mast. 'Twill deserve

A pension, I hope. First, a strong cullis
In his bed, to heighten appetite; shuttle-cock,
To keep him in breath when he rises: tennis courts
Are chargeable, and the riding of great horses
Too boisterous for my young courtier; let the old
I think not of, use it: next, his meditation [ones
How to court his mistress, and that he may seem
Let him be furnish'd with confederate jests [witty,
Between him and his friend, that, on occasion,
They may vent them mutually: what his pace and
garb

Must be in the presence, then the length of his
The fashion of the hilt-what the blade is [sword,
It matters not, 'twere barbarism to use it,
Unless to shew his strength upon an andiron;
So, the sooner broke the better.
Pul. How I abuse

This precious time! Projector, I treat first
Of you and your disciples: you roar out,
All is the king's, his will above his laws;
And that fit tributes are too gentle yokes
For his poor subjects: whispering in his ear,
If he would have their fear, no man should dare
To bring a salad from his country garden,
Without the paying gabel; kill a hen,
Without excise; and that if he desire

To have his children or his servants wear
Their heads upon their shoulders, you affirm
In policy 'tis fit the owner should

Pay for them by the poll; or, if the prince want
A present sum, he may command a city
Impossibilities, and for non-performance,
Compel it to submit to any fine

His officers shall impose. Is this the way
To make our emperor happy? can the groans
Of his subjects yield him music? must his

thresholds

To feel myself a rogue again.

Pul. But you are

[tears,

his page

This female and that wanton sir; your art
Can blind a jealous husband, and, disguised
Like a milliner or shoemaker, convey
A letter in a pantofle or glove,
Without suspicion, nay, at his table,
In a case of pick tooths; you instruct them how
To parley with their eyes, and make the temple
A mart of looseness :-to discover all
Your subtile brokages, were to teach in public
Those private practices which are, in justice,
Severely to be punish'd.

Min. I am cast:

A jury of my patronesses cannot quit me.