Till now that this extremity compell'd:
But now I find it true; for by this means
I knew the foul inchanter though disguis'd, 645 Enter'd the very lime-twigs of his spells,
And yet came off: if you have this about you,
(As I will give you when we go) you may
Boldly assault the necromancer's hall;
Where if he be, with dauntless hardihood,
And brandish'd blade rush on him, break his glass,
And shed the luscious liquor on the ground,
But seize his wand; though he and his curs'd crew
Fierce sign of battle make, and menace high,
Or like the sons of Vulcan vomit smoke,
Yet will they soon retire, if he but shrink.
1 BR. Thyrsis, lead on apace, I'll follow thee, And some good Angel bear a shield before us.
The Scene changes to a stately palace, set out with all manner of deliciousness; soft music, tables spread with all dainties. CoмUS appears with his rabble, and the LADY set in an inchanted chair, to whom he offers his glass, which she puts by, and goes about to rise.
Coм. Nay, Lady, sit; if I but wave this wand, 651 rush] Ov. Metam. xiv. 293. Ulysses rushes on Circe. -Intrat
Ille domum Circes, et ad insidiosa vocatus
Pocula, conantem virga mulcere capillos
Repulit; et stricto pavidam deterruit ense.
Your nerves are all chain'd up in alabaster, 660
And you a statue, or as Daphne was
Root-bound, that fled Apollo.
LAD. Fool, do not boast,
Thou canst not touch the freedom of my mind With all thy charms, although this corporal rind Thou hast immanacled, while heav'n sees good. COм. Why are you vext, Lady? why do you
Here dwell no frowns, nor anger; from these gates
Sorrow flies far: See, here be all the pleasures
That fancy can beget on youthful thoughts,
When the fresh blood grows lively, and returns
Brisk as the April buds in primrose-season.
And first behold this cordial julep here,
That flames, and dances in his crystal bounds,
With spirits of balm, and fragrant syrups mix'd.
Not that Nepenthes, which the wife of Thone 675
In Egypt gave to Jove-born Helena,
Is of such pow'r to stir up joy as this,
To life so friendly, or so cool to thirst.
Why should you be so cruel to yourself,
672 julep] Llewellyn's Poems, p. iii.
• There no cold Julep can relieve
Those who in eternal fevers grieve.'
Sylvester's Du Bartas, p. 83.
I'll fetch a Julep for to cool your blood.'
679 cruel] Shaksp. Son. i.
'Thyself thy foe, to thy sweet self so cruel.' Todd.
And to those dainty limbs which Nature lent 680 For gentle usage, and soft delicacy?
you invert the covenants of her trust,
And harshly deal, like an ill borrower,
With that which you receiv'd on other terms;
Scorning the unexempt condition
By which all mortal frailty must subsist,
Refreshment after toil, ease after pain,
That have been tir'd all day without repast,
And timely rest have wanted; but, fair Virgin,
This will restore all soon.
LAD. "Twill not, false traitor,
'Twill not restore the truth and honesty
That thou hast banish'd from thy tongue with lies.
Was this the Cottage, and the safe abode
Thou toldst me of? What grim aspects are these,
These ugly-headed monsters? Mercy guard me!
Hence with thy brew'd inchantments, foul de-
ceiver;
Hast thou betray'd my credulous innocence
With visor'd falsehood and base forgery?
And would'st thou seek again to trap me here
With liquorish baits fit to ensnare a brute?
Were it a draft for Juno when she banquets,
I would not taste thy treasonous offer; none
But such as are good men can give good things,
And that which is not good, is not delicious
To a well-govern'd and wise appetite.
Cом. O foolishness of men! that lend their
To those budge doctors of the Stoic fur,
And fetch their precepts from the Cynic tub,
Praising the lean and sallow Abstinence.
Wherefore did Nature pour her bounties forth,
With such a full and unwithdrawing hand,
Covering the earth with odours, fruits, and flocks,
Thronging the seas with spawn innumerable,
But all to please, and sate the curious taste?
And set to work millions of spinning worms,
That in their green shops weave the smooth-hair'd
To deck her sons; and that no corner might
Be vacant of her plenty, in her own loins [gems,
She hutch'd th' all-worshipp'd ore, and precious
To store her children with: if all the world
Should in a pet of temp'rance feed on pulse,
Drink the clear stream, and nothing wear but
frieze,
707 budge] Skeltons Magnificence, 4to. p. 13. In the stede of a budge furre.' Rump Songs (1662) p. 211. With Presbyterian budge.' Rowland's Satires, Sat. 2. p. C. 3. His Jacket fac'd with moth eaten budge.' Bugg, Buge, Budge, is lamb's fur.-Budge Batchlors, a company of poor old men clothed in long gowns lined with lamb's fur, who attend on the Lord Mayor the first day he enters on his office. Cullum's H. of Haustead, P. 11.
707 fur] Shirley's Triumph of Peace, p. 2. a grim philosophical-fac'd fellow in his gowne furr'd. Brome's Love-sick Court, p. 141. He clothes his words in furrs and hoods.' P. Plowman, p. 35. That Physicke shall his furr'd hood for his fode sell.' And Censura Literaria, vol. vii. p.18.
710 Nature] Heywood's Golden Age, p. 56. 4to. 1611.
Th' All-giver would be unthank'd, would be unprais'd,
Not half his riches known, and yet despis'd;
And we should serve him as a grudging master,
As a penurious niggard of his wealth;
And live like Nature's bastards, not her sons,
Who would be quite surcharg'd with her own
weight,
And strangled with her waste fertility;
Th' earth cumber'd, and the wing'd air dark'd with
The herds would over-multitude their lords,
The sea o'erfraught would swell, and th' unsought
diamonds
Would so emblaze the forehead of the deep,
And so bestud with stars, that they below
Would grow inur'd to light, and come at last 735
To gaze upon the sun with shameless brows.
List, Lady, be not coy, and be not cozen'd
With that same vaunted name Virginity.
Beauty is Nature's coin, must not be hoarded,
But must be current, and the good thereof
Consists in mutual and partaken bliss,
Unsavoury in th' enjoyment of itself;
If you let slip time, like a neglected rose
It withers on the stalk with languish'd head.
Beauty is nature's brag, and must be shown
In courts, at feasts, and high solemnities,
730 air] See Drayton's Polyolbion, Song 25. p. 1156.
132 The sea] See Benlowes's Theophila, st. xvii. p. 97.
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