The only free men, are the only slaves.
Happy the golden mean! had I been born
In a poor sordid cottage, not nursed up
With expectation to command a court,
I might, like such of your condition, sweetest,
Have took a safe and middle course, and not,
As I am now, against my choice compelled,
Or to lie grovelling on the earth, or raised
So high upon the pinnacles of state,

That I must either keep my height with danger,
Or fall with certain ruin.

Lyd. Your own goodness

Will be your faithful guard.
Giov. O Lydia!

Con. So passionate?

Giov. For, had I been your equal,

I might have seen and liked with mine own eyes,
And not, as now, with other's; I might still,
And without observation or envy,
As I have done, continued my delights
With you, that are alone, in my esteem,
The abstract of society: We might walk
In solitary groves, or in choice gardens;
From the variety of curious flowers
Contemplate Nature's workmanship and won-
ders;

And then, for change, near to the murmur of
Some bubbling fountain, I might hear you sing,
And, from the well-tuned accents of your tongue,
In my imagination conceive

With what melodious harmony a quire
Of angels sing, above, their maker's praises.
And then, with chaste discourse, as we returned,
Imp feathers to the broken wings of time;
And all this I must part from!

Con. You forget

The haste imposed upon us.

Giov. One word more,

And, then, I come. And, after this, when with
Continued innocence of love and service,
I had grown ripe for hymeneal joys,
Embracing you, but with a lawful flame,
I might have been your husband!
Lyd. Sir, I was,

And ever am, your servant; but it was,
And 'tis, far from me, in a thought, to cherish
Such saucy hopes. If I had been the heir

Of all the globes and sceptres mankind bows to,
At my best you had deserved me; as I am,
Howe'er unworthy, in my virgin zeal
I wish you, as a partner of your bed,
A princess equal to you; such a one
That may make it the study of her life,

With all the obedience of a wife, to please you.
May you have happy issue, and I live
To be their humblest handmaid.

Giop. I am dumb,

And can make no reply.

Con. Your excellence

Hier. And our loves

Enter Coziмo, the Duke.

To his person. Here he comes : Present it boldly.

Coz. What needs this form? We are not grown so proud

As to disdain familiar conference
With such as are to counsel and direct us.
This kind of adoration shewed not well
In the old Roman emperors, who, forgetting
That they were flesh and blood, would be styled
gods:

In us to suffer it, were worse. Pray you, rise.
Still the old suit? With too much curiousness

Acknowledge you their absolute lord.

Coz. You press us

With solid arguments, we grant; and, though
We stand not bound to yield account to any,
Why we do this or that (the full consent
Of our subjects being included in our will),
We, out of our free bounties, will deliver
The motives that divert us. You well know,
That three years since, to our much grief, we
lost

Our dutchess; such a dutchess, that the world,
In her whole course of life, yields not a lady
That can, with imitation, deserve

To be her second. In her grave we buried
All thoughts of women: Let this satisfy
For any second marriage. Now, whereas
You name the heir of Urbin, as a princess
Of great revenues, 'tis confessed she is so :
But for some causes, private to ourself,
We have disposed her otherwise. Yet despair
not;

For you, ere long, with joy, shall understand,
That, in our princely care, we have provided
One worthy to succeed us.

Hip. We submit,

And hold the counsels of great Cozimo
Oraculous.

Enter LODOVICO and SANAZArro.
Coz. My Sanazarro-Nay,

Forbear all ceremony. You look sprightly, friend,
And promise, in your clear aspect, some novel
That may delight us.

San. O sir, I would not be

The harbinger of aught that might distaste you.
And, therefore, know (for 'twere a sin to torture
Your highness' expectation) your vice-admiral,
By my directions, hath surprised the gallies
Appointed to transport the Asian tribute
Of the great Turk; a richer prize was never
Brought into Florence.

Coz. Still my nightingale,

That with sweet accents dost assure me, that
My spring of happiness comes fast upon me.
Embrace me boldly. I pronounce that wretch
An enemy to brave and thriving action,

That dares believe, but in a thought, we are
Too prodigal in our favours to this man,
Whose merits, though with him we should divide
Our dukedom, still continue us his debtor.
Hip. 'Tis far from me.
Alph. We all applaud it.

Coz. Nay, blush not, Sanazarro; we are proud
Of what we build up in thee; nor can our
Election be disparaged, since we have not
Received into our bosom and our grace
A glorious lazy drone, grown fat with feeding
On other's toil, but an industrious bee,
That crops the sweet flowers of our enemies,
And every happy evening returns
Loaden with wax and honey to our hive.

San. My best endeavours never can discharge

The service I should pay.

Coz. Thou art too modest;

But we will study how to give, and when,

Enter GIOVANNI and CONTARINO.
Giovanni!

Before it be demanded.

My nephew! Let me eye thee better, boy.
In thee, methinks, my sister lives again:
For her love I will be a father to thee,
For thou art my adopted son.

Giov. Your servant,
And humblest subject.

Coz. Thy hard travel, nephew,
Requires soft rest; and, therefore, we forbear,
For the present, an account how thou hast spent
Thy absent hours. See, signiors, see, our care,
Without a second bed, provides you of

A hopeful prince! Carry him to his lodgings,
And, for his farther honour, Sanazarro,
With the rest, do you attend him.

Giov. All true pleasures
Circle your highness.

San. As the rising sun,

We do receive you.

Giov. May this never set, But shine upon you ever.

[Exeunt GIOVANNI, SANAZARRO, HIERONIMO, ALPHONSO, LODOVICO.

Coz. Contarino!

Con. My gracious lord.

Coz. What entertainment found you From Carolo de Charamonte ?

For a noble gentleman, and my worthy friend; But never heard of her.

Coz. She is delivered,

And feelingly, to us by Contarino,

For a master-piece in nature. I would have you
Ride suddenly thither, to behold this wonder:
But not as sent by us, that's our first caution.
The second is, and carefully observe it,
That, though you are a bachelor, and endowed
with

All those perfections that may take a virgin,
On forfeit of our favour, do not tempt her.
It may be her fair graces do concern us.
Pretend what business you think fit, to gain
Access into her father's house, and there
Make full discovery of her, and return me
A true relation. I have some ends in it,
With which we will acquaint you,

San. This is, sir,

An easy task,

Coz. Yet, one that must exact Your secrecy and diligence. Let not Your stay be long.

San. It shall not, sir.

Coz. Farewell,

And be, as you would keep our favour, careful. [Exeunt,

On a how d'ye, as they call it.

Cal. What would'st thou say?

To carry musk-cats.

Fio. Now the ceremony

Is passed, what is the substance? Caland. I'll peruse

My instructions, and then tell you. Her skirt kissed,

Inform her highness, that your lord

Cal. Who's that?

Caland. Prince Giovanni, who entreats your

grace,

That he, with your good favour, may have leave To present his service to you. I think I have nicked it,

For a courtier of the first form.

Fio. To my wonder.

Enter GIOVANNI and a Gentleman. Return unto the prince. But he prevents My answer. Calaminta, take him off; And, for the neat delivery of his message, Give him ten ducats; such rare parts as yours Are to be cherished.

Caland. We will share: I know

It is the custom of the court, when ten

Are promised, five is fair. Fie! fie! the prin

cess

Shall never know it, so you dispatch me quickly, And bid me not come to-morrow.

Cal. Very good, sir.

lodgings. Well.

Cal. Art thou an ass?

Caland. Peace! thou art a court wag-tail,

[CALANDRINO still looking on his instruc

tions.

To interrupt me.

Fio. He has given it you.

What he commanded.

Gent. I am proud to be employed, sir. [Exit gentleman. Giov. Madam, that, without warrant, I pre

sume

To 'trench upon your privacies, may argue Rudeness of manners: but the free access

rin-da

I have it. Which is she?

Cal. Why this, Fop-doodle.

That come to pay their services, gives me hope To find a gracious pardon.

Fio. If you please, not

As you were ever, the greatest mistress of
Fair entertainment.

Fio. You are, sir, the master,

And in the country have learnt to out-do

All that in court is practised. But why should we
Talk at such a distance? You are welcome, sir.
We have been more familiar; and since

You will impose the province you should govern,
Of boldness on me, give me leave to say
You are too punctual. Sit, sir, and discourse
As we were used.

Giov. Your excellence knows so well
How to command, that I can never err
When I obey you.

In

your relation-hath the country life

Afforded you?

Giov. All pleasures, gracious madam,

This worthy must be cherished, Giov. 'Twas a bounty

You never can repent.

Fio. I glory in it.

virtues.

I had a grave instructor, and my hours,
Designed to serious studies, yielded me
Pleasure with profit, in the knowledge of
What before I was ignorant in; the signior
Carolo de Charomonte being skilful

To guide me through the labyrinth of wild passions,

That laboured to imprison my free soul,

A slave to vicious sloth.

Fio. You speak him well.

Giov. But short of his deserts. Then, for the time

Of recreation, I was allowed

(Against the form followed by jealous parents
In Italy) full liberty to partake

His daughter's sweet society. She's a virgin,
Happy in all endowments which a poet
Could fancy in his mistress; being herself
A school of goodness, where chaste maids may
learn,

Without the aids of foreign principles,
By the example of her life and pureness,
To be, as she is, excellent. I but give you
A brief epitome of her virtues, which,
Dilated on at large, and to their merit,
Would make an ample story.

Fio. Your whole age,

So spent with such a father, and a daughter,
Could not be tedious to you.

Giov. True, great princess:

And now, since you have pleased to grant the hearing

Of my time's expence in the country, give me leave

To entreat the favour, to be made acquainted
What service, or what objects in the court
Have, in your excellence's acceptance, proved
Most gracious to you?

Fio. I'll meet your demand,

And make a plain discovery. The duke's care For my estate and person, holds the first

And choicest place; then, the respect the courtiers

Pay gladly to me, not to be contemned.

But that which raised in me the most delight,
For I'm a friend to valour, was to hear
The noble actions truly reported

Of the brave count Sanazarro. I profess,
When it hath been, and fervently, delivered,
How boldly in the horror of a fight,
Covered with fire and smoke, and, as if nature
Had lent him wings, like lightning he hath fallen
Upon the Turkish gallies, I have heard it
With a kind of pleasure, which hath whispered

to me

Render a man's society dear to ladies,
Like pages waiting on him; and it does
Work strangely on me.

Giov. To divert your thoughts,
Though they are fixed upon a noble subject,
I am a suitor to you.

Fio. You will ask,

I do presume, what I may grant, and then It must not be denied.

Giov. It is a favour,

For which, I hope, your excellence will thank me, Fio. Nay, without circumstance.

Giov. That you would please

To take occasion to move the duke,
That you, with his allowance, may command
This matchless virgin, Lydia, of whom

I cannot speak too much, to wait upon you.
She's such a one, upon the forfeit of
Your good opinion of me, that will not
Be a blemish to your train.

Fio. 'Tis rank, he loves her:

But I will fit him with a suit. [Aside.] I pause

not,

As if it bred or doubt or scruple in me,
To do what you desire; for I'll effect it,
And make use of a fair and fit occasion.
Yet, in return, I ask a boon of you,

And hope to find you, in your grant to me,
As I have been to you.

Giov. Command me, madam.

Fio. 'Tis near allied to yours. That you would be

A suitor to the duke, not to expose,

After so many trials of his faith,
The noble Sanazarro to all dangers,
As if he were a wall, to stand the fury
Of a perpetual battery: But now,
To grant him, after his long labours, rest
And liberty to live in court; his arins,
And his victorious sword and shield hung up
For monuments.

Giov. Hum! I'll embrace, fair princess,
Enter CozIMO.

The soonest opportunity. The duke!

Coz. Nay, blush not; we smile on your pri