OCR Text |
Show The MknAtiont Of, ^ ^ _ -- '-~~~ '- ' [Exeunt Duke and Valerio. And do not hate his Father. , W . - the doo,] N^XtlircTnnllo^Benito. fcr Your Pardon, Madam, that we thus intrude Bes7«.^ign;Prlcesbeara^i,ege of entring when they P^fe wuhur our AA alls, in others! 'tisa Crime paft Di^nfat'on. And therefore, to avoid a publick Scnndal *J2F& *il'^'^ttmf^Swe may do it with lefs Regret, we hope you will give thefe Ladies leave to accompany us. Soph. They fhall. Andf Neeces; for m y felf, Ionyaskyou To juftifie m y Conduct to the World, That none may think I have betray d a Truft, But freed you from a Tyranny. v I««. Our Duty binds us to acknowledge it, C»* And our Gratitude to Witnefs it. ^ Wilh aHoly, and lafting Remembrance of your Favour. K d it fhall be m y Care? either by Reafon to bend your Uncle s Will, or bv m y Father's Intereft, to force your Dowry from his Hands. Bel To Aur 1 Pray Sir, let us make hafte over thefe Walls again: Thefe Gar. dens«^unlucky time- I have loft m y Reputation of Mufick in the one o f 'em, and of Wit in the other. , . • ,, ' Aur. to Lou. N o w , Laura, you may take your choice betwixt the two Benito s and confider whether you had rather he fhould Serenade you in the Garden, or I in Bed to night. . _ ~ r Z.4K You may be fure I fhall give Sentence for fie»»^, for the effeft of >our Serenading, would be to make me pay the Mufick Nine Months hence Hip to Afca.] You fee, Brother, here's a General Jay 1-dehvery: There has been a great deal of buftle and difturbance in the Cloyfter to night, enough to diffract a Soul which is given up, like me, to Contemplation: And therefore, if you think fit, I could e'en be content to retire, with you, into the World, and, by way of Penance, to Marry you, which, as Husbands and Wives go now, is a greater Mortification than a Nunnery. Afca. No, Sifter, if you love me, keep to your Monaftery: I11 come n ow and then to the Grate and beg you a Recreation. But I know m y felf fo well, that if I had you one Twelve-Month in the World, I ihould run m y felf into a Cloyfter, to be rid of you. Soph. Neeces, once more Farewel. Adieu, Lucretia. M y Wifhes, and m y Prayers attend you alL Luc. to Fred. ] I am fo fearful, That tho' I gladly run to your Embraces, Yet, venturing in the World a fecond time, Methinks I put to Sea in a rough Storm, With Shipwracks round about me. Fred. M y Dear, be kinder to your felf, and me, And let not Fear fright back our coming Joys , For we, at length, ftand reconcil'd to Fate : And now to Fear, when to fuch Blifs we move, Were not to doubt our Fortune, but our Love, FINIS: 555 T O T HE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE Lord Clifford of Chudleigk My LORD, A F t e r fo many Favours, and thofe fo great, confer'd on me, by your Lordfhip, thefe many Years; which, I may call, more properly, one Continued A d of Your Generofity and Goodntfs; I know not whether I mould appear either more Ungreateful in m y Silence, or more extravagantly Vain in m y Endeavours to acknowledge them. For, fince all Acknowledgments bear a Face of Payment, it may be thought, That I have flatter'd m y felf into an Opinion of being able to return fome part of m y Obligements to Y o u ; the juft defpair of which Attempt, and the due Veneration I have for his Perfon, to w h o m I muft Addrefs, have almoft driven me, to Receieve only, with a profound Submiifion, the Effects of that Virtue, which is never to be comprehended but by Admiration : And the greateft Note of Admiration is Silence. 'Tis that Noble Palfion, to which Poets raife their Audience in higheft Subjects, and they have then gain'd over them the greateft Viaory, when they are Ravifh'd into a Pleafure, which is not to be exprefs'd by Words. T o this Pitch, my Lord, the Senfe of m y Gratitude had almoft rais d m e : T o receive your Favours, as the Jews ot Old receiv'd their Law with a mute Wonder, to think, that the Loudnefs of Acclamation, was only the Praile ot M e n to M e n , and chat the iecret Homage of the Soul was a greater Mark ot Reverence than an outward Ceremonious Joy, which might be counterteit, and muft be irreverent in its Tumult, Neither, my Lord, have I a particular Right to pay you m y Acknowledgments • Y o u have been a Good fb Univerfal, that almoft every M a n in three Nations mav think m e injurious to his Propriety, that I invade your Praifes, in undertaking to celebrate them alone, and, that I have alfum'd to m y felf a Patron, w h o was^no more to be circumfcribed than the Sun and Elements, which are of Publick Benefit to Flu- 111 As iTwas much in your Power to oblige all who could pretend to Merit from the Publick, fo it was more in your Nature and Inclination. If any went ill-lathed from the Treafury while it was in your LordJhip's Management, it p.ociaim'd the want of Defert, and no of Friends: You diftributed your Mallei's Favour with fo equal hands that Tl«harftK c*.id * * have held the Scales more even: But, with that natural Pro- "oenfity to do good, that had that Treafure been you. own, your Inclination: to Bounty S Lve ruin^ you: N o M a n attended to be deny'd : N o M a n bnbd for Expedition: Want and Defert were Pleas lufficient. By your o w n Integrity and your prudent Choja of thofe w h o m you employ*, the King gave all that H e intended, a n d G r a c e s j o his Officers made not vain His Bounty, This, my L»d, you were in your Publck Capacity of Hfch S u r e r , to which you afcended by fuch Degrees that your Royal Mafter law vour V rtues 1 ill growing to His Favours, fafter than they could rile to you Both at home, n d a b o witl your Sword, and with your Counfel, you have ferv'dI him mth un- Kafc'd Honour and with unfhaken Reiblution : Making tfis Greatnefs, and the true Intereftof vour Country, the Standard and Mealure of your A W . Fortune may defat heWife Z A Brave: but, true Virtue never will forfake it felf. Tis the Intereft ol the World that Vituous M e n mould attain to Greatnels, becaufe it gwes them the Power of dofau: Eood But when by the Iniquity of the Times, they are brought to that Extremity, » y ^ M E S S ' S inSur W p , tl 5 £ o u | t judg? of fuch Principles, which W aiTerted with fo generous and io unconitrain d a lryai. . • a rV„r.hi" vo,„„tarySneg,ca of Honours h a s b - o rM= E ^ p c ,n Wo d. F ew Me Whe rours befoic a -Crowd of Followers and the « ™ ™ £ ? £ W p S of others the Poftcftour ot his Reft and Quiet, t o^Vru!f-ffi of Virtue Heontye. <™h rhP helo wth the help of hhiiss PPbbiihlfoo(pobpyb y, could never attain to that Pitch ot v ue. and Privacy of a Gracious King. ° ^ ™ ^ n ' e Z »ii |