|
Enter an old Captain and Citizens with P HARAMOND 1 CAP. Come, my brave myrmidons, let us fall on. | |
Let your caps swarm, my boys, and your nimble tongues | |
Forget your mother-gibberish of what do you lack? | |
And set your mouths ope, children, till your palates | 4 |
Fall frighted half a fathom past the cure | |
Of bay-salt and gross pepper, and then cry | |
Philaster, brave Philaster! Let Philaster | |
Be deeper in request, my ding-dongs, 2 | 8 |
My pairs of dear indentures, 3 kings of clubs, 4 | |
Than your cold water-camlets, 5 or your paintings | |
Spitted with copper. 6 Let not your hasty silks, | |
Or your branchd cloth of bodkin, 7 or your tissues, | 12 |
Dearly beloved of spiced cake and custard, | |
Your Robin Hoods, Scarlets, and Johns, tie your affections | |
In darkness to your shops. No, dainty duckers 8 | |
Up with your three-piled spirits, your wrought valours; 9 | 16 |
And let your uncut cholers 10 make the King feel | |
The measure of your mightiness. Philaster! | |
Cry, my rose-nobles, 11 cry! | |
ALL. Philaster! Philaster! | 20 |
CAP. How do you like this, my lord-prince? | |
These are mad boys, I tell you; these are things | |
That will not strike their top-sails to a foist, 12 | |
And let a man of war, an argosy, | 24 |
Hull 13 and cry cockles. 14 | |
PHA. Why, you rude slave, do you know what you do? | |
CAP. My pretty prince of puppets, we do know; | |
And give your greatness warning that you talk | 28 |
No more such bugs-words, 15 or that solderd crown | |
Shall be scratchd with a musket. 16 Dear prince Pippin, | |
Down with your noble blood, or, as I live, | |
Ill have you coddled. 17Let him loose, my spirits: | 32 |
Make us a round ring with your bills, my Hectors, | |
And let us see what this trim man dares do. | |
Now, sir, have at you! here I lie; | |
And with this swashing blow (do you see, sweet prince?) | 36 |
I could hulk 18 your grace, and hang you up cross-leggd, | |
Like a hare at a poulters, and do this with this wiper. 19 | |
PHA. You will not see me murderd, wicked villains? | |
1ST CIT. Yes, indeed, will we, sir; we have not seen one | 40 |
For a great while. | |
CAP. He would have weapons, would he? | |
Give him a broadside, my brave boys, with your pikes; | |
Branch 20 me his skin in flowers like a satin, | 44 |
And between every flower a mortal cut. | |
Your royalty shall ravel!Jag him, gentlemen; | |
Ill have him cut to the kell, 21 then down the seams. | |
O for a whip to make him galloon-laces! 22 | 48 |
Ill have a coach-whip. | |
PHA. Oh, spare me, gentlemen! | |
CAP. Hold, hold; | |
The man begins to fear and know himself. | 52 |
He shall for this time only be seeld up, 23 | |
With a feather through his nose, that he may only | |
See heaven, and think whither he is going. | |
Nay, my beyond-sea sir, we will proclaim you: | 56 |
You would be king! | |
Thou tender heir apparent to a church-ale, 24 | |
Thou slight prince of single sarcenet, 25 | |
Thou royal ring-tail, 26 fit to fly at nothing | 60 |
But poor mens poultry, and have every boy | |
Beat thee from that too with his bread and butter! | |
PHA. Gods keep me from these hell-hounds! | |
1ST CIT. Ill have a leg, thats certain. | 64 |
2ND CIT. Ill have an arm. | |
3RD CIT. Ill have his nose, and at mine own charge build | |
A college and clapt upon the gate. 27 | |
4TH CIT. Ill have his little gut to string a kit 28 with; | 68 |
For certainly a royal gut will sound like silver. | |
PHA. Would they were in thy belly, and I past | |
My pain once! | |
5TH CIT. Good captain, let me have his liver to feed ferrets. | 72 |
CAP. Who will have parcels else? Speak. | |
PHA. Good gods, consider me! I shall be torturd. | |
1ST CIT. Captain, Ill give you the trimming of your two-hand sword, | |
And let me have his skin to make false scabbards. | 76 |
2ND CIT. He had no horns, sir, had he? | |
CAP. No, sir, hes a pollard. 29 | |
What wouldst thou do with horns? | |
2ND CIT. Oh, if he had had, | 80 |
I would have made rare hafts and whistles of em; | |
But his shin-bones, if they be sound, shall serve me. | |
|
Enter PHILASTER ALL. Long live Philaster, the brave Prince Philaster! | |
PHI. I thank you, gentlemen. But why are these | 84 |
Rude weapons brought abroad, to teach your hands | |
Uncivil trades? | |
CAP. My royal Rosicleer, 30 | |
We are thy myrmidons, thy guard, thy roarers; 31 | 88 |
And when thy noble body is in durance, | |
Thus do we clap our musty murrions 32 on, | |
And trace the streets in terror. Is it peace, | |
Thou Mars of men? Is the King sociable, | 92 |
And bids thee live? Art thou above thy foemen, | |
And free as Phbus? Speak. If not, this stand 33 | |
Of royal blood shall be abroach, a-tilt, | |
And run even to the lees of honour. | 96 |
PHI. Hold, and be satisfied. I am myself; | |
Free as my thoughts are; by the gods, I am! | |
CAP. Art thou the dainty darling of the King? | |
Art thou the Hylas to our Hercules? | 100 |
Do the lords bow, and the regarded scarlets 34 | |
Kiss their gummed golls, 35 and cry, We are your servants? | |
Is the court navigable, and the presence stuck | |
With flags of friendship? If not, we are thy castle, | 104 |
And this man sleeps. | |
PHI. I am what I desire to be, your friend; | |
I am what I was born to be, your prince. | |
PHA. Sir, there is some humanity in you; | 108 |
You have a noble soul. Forget my name, | |
And know my misery; set me safe aboard | |
From these wild cannibals, and, as I live, | |
Ill quit this land for ever. There is nothing, | 112 |
Perpetual prisonment, cold, hunger, sickness | |
Of all sorts, of all dangers, and all together, | |
The worst company of the worst men, madness, age, | |
To be as many creatures as a woman, | 116 |
And do as all they do, nay, to despair, | |
But I would rather make it a new nature, | |
And live with all these, than endure one hour | |
Amongst these wild dogs. | 120 |
PHI. I do pity you.Friends, discharge your fears; | |
Deliver me the prince. Ill warrant you | |
I shall be old enough to find my safety. | |
3RD CIT. Good sir, take heed he does not hurt you; | 124 |
He is a fierce man, I can tell you, sir. | |
CAP. Prince, by your leave, Ill have a surcingle, 36 | |
And make 37 you like a hawk. [PHAR.] strives. | |
PHI. Away, away, there is no danger in him: | 128 |
Alas, he had rather sleep to shake his fit off! | |
Look you, friends, how gently he leads! upon my word, | |
Hes tame enough, he needs no further watching. | |
Good my friends, go to your houses, | 132 |
And by me have your pardons and my love; | |
And know there shall be nothing in my power | |
You may deserve, but you shall have your wishes. | |
To give you more thanks, were to flatter you. | 136 |
Continue still your love; and, for an earnest, | |
Drink this. [Gives money.] | |
ALL. Long mayst thou live, brave prince, brave prince, brave prince! Exeunt PHIL. and PHAR. | |
CAP. Go thy ways, thou art the king of courtesy! | 140 |
Fall off again, my sweet youths. Come, | |
And every man trace to his house again, | |
And hang his pewter up; then to the tavern, | |
And bring your wives in muffs. We will have music; | 144 |
And the red grape shall make us dance and rise, boys. Exeunt. | |