Adur. And love thee for it.
Fut. “Phew! let that pass,” quoth she, “and

“

now we prattle
Of handsome gentlemen, in my opinion,
Malfato is a very pretty fellow;
Is he not, pray, sir ?” I had then the truth
Of what I roved at, and with more than praise
Approv'd her judgment in so high a strain,
Without comparison, my honour'd lord,
That soon we both concluded of the man,
The match and business.

Adur. For delivering
A letter to Malfato?

Fut. Whereto I
No sooner had consented, with protests —
(I did protest, my lord)—of secrecy
I
And service, but she kiss'd me, as I live,
Of her own free accord-I trust your lordship
Conceives not me amiss-pray rip the seal,
My lord, you'll find sweet stuff, I dare believe.

Adur. [reads.] Present to the most accomplished
of men, Malfato, with this love a service.
Kind superscription ! prithée, find him out,
Deliver it with compliment; observe
How ceremoniously he does receive it.

Fut. Will not your lordship peruse the contents?
Adur. Enough, I know too much; be just and

cunning;
A wanton mistress is a common sewer.-
Much newer project labours in my brain.?

Much newer project, fc.] The old copy, by a slight mistake, reads--"Much neder project," &c.

7

Enter PIERO.

Your friend! here's now the Gemini of wit:
What odd conceit is next on foot? some cast
Of neat invention, ha, sirs?

Piero. Very fine,
I do protest my

lord. Fut. Your lordship's ear Shall share i' th’ plot.

Adur. As how ?

Piero. You know, my lord,
Young Amoretta, old Trelcatio's daughter;
An honest man, but poor.

Fut. And, my good lord,
He that is honest must be poor, my lord;
It is a common rule.

Adur. Well,- Amoretta.-
Pray, one at once-my knowledge is not much
Of her, instruct me.

Piero. Speak, Futelli.

Fut. Spare me.
Piero has the tongue more pregnant.

Piero. Fie!
Play on your creature ?

Fut. Shall be your's.
Piero. Nay, good.
Adur. Well, keep your mirth, my dainty honies;

agree
Some two days hence, till when-

Piero. By any means, Partake the sport, my lord; this thing of youth

a

a

Fut. Handsome enough, good face, quick eye,

well bred. Piero. Is yet possest so strangely

Fut. With an humour
Of thinking she deserves

Piero. A duke, a count,
At least a viscount, for her husband, that ----

Fut. She scorns all mention of a match beneath
One of the foresaid nobles, will not ride
In a caroch without eight horses.

Piero. Six She

may be drawn to; four--Fut. Are for the poor: But for two horses in a coach

Piero. She says, They're not for creatures of Heaven's making;

fitterFut. Fitter for litters to convey hounds in, Than people Christian : yet herself—-

Piero. Herself
Walks evermore a-foot, and knows not whether
A coach doth trot or amble

Fut. But by hearsay.
Adur. Stop, gentlemen, you run a gallop

both;
Are out of breath sure: 'tis a kind of compliment
Scarce enter'd to the times; but certainly
You coin a humour; let me understand
Deliberately your fancy.

Piero. In plain troth,
My lord, the she whom we describe is such,
And lives here, here in Genoa, this city,
This very city, now, the very now.

а.

a

Adur. Trelcatio's daughter?

Fut. Has refused suitors
Of worthy rank, substantial and free parts,
Only for that they are not dukes, or counts;
Yet she herself, with all her father's store,
Can hardly weigh above four hundred ducats.

Adur. Now, your design for sport?

Piero. Without prevention : Guzman, the Spaniard late cashier'd, most gravely Observes the full punctilios of his nation; And him have we beleaguer'd to accost This she-piece, under a pretence of being Grandee of Spain, and cousin to twelve princes.

Fut. For rival unto whom we have enraged Fulgoso, the rich coxcomb lately started A gentleman, out of a sutler's hut, In the late Flemish wars; we have resolv'd him He is descended from Pantagruel, Of famous memory, by the father's side, And by the mother from dame Fusti-Bunga, Who, troubled long time with a strangury, Vented at last salt-water so abundantly, As drown'd the land 'twixt Zirick-see and Vere, Where steeples' tops are only seen. He casts Beyond the moon, and will be greater yet, In spight of Don.

Adur. You must abuse the maid, Beyond amends.

As drown'd the land 'twixt Ziríck-see and Vere.] The old copy reads Sirixia and Vere. The allusiou is to the great inundation which overwhelmed a considerable part of Zealand in the early part of the 16th century.

8

a

Fut. But countenance the course, My lord, and it may chance, beside the mirth, To work a reformation on the maiden: Her father's leave is granted, and thanks pro

mised;
Our ends are harmless trials.

Adur. I betray
No secrets of such use.
Piero and Fut. Your lordship’s humblest.

[Exeunt,

SCENE III.

A Room in MALFATO's House..

Enter AURELIO and MALFATO.

a

Aurel. A melancholy, grounded, and resolv'd,
Received into a habit, argues love,
Or deep impression of strong discontents.
In cases of these rarities a friend,
Upon whose faith, and confidence, we may
Vent with security our grief, becomes
Oft-times the best physician; for, admit
We find no remedy, we cannot miss
Advice instead of comfort; and believe,
It is an ease, Malfato, to disburthen
Our souls of secret clogs, where they may find
A rest in pity, though not in redress.

Mal. Let all this sense be yielded to.
Aurel. Perhaps