But I shall like it.

Evad. What look likes you best?

Amin. Why do you ask?

Evad. Now I shall try thy
dost love me,

Thou weigh'st not any thing co
Life, honour, joys eternal, all
This world can yield, or hopef
Or in the life to come, are lig
To a true lover when his lady
And bids him do this. Wilt tho
Swear, my Amintor, and I'll
Off from thy lips.

Amin. I will not swear, sw
Till I do know the cause.

Evad. I would, thou would Why, it is thou that wrong'st m Thou should'st have kill'd thy Amin. If I should know t quickly kill

The man you hated.

Evad. Know it then, and d
Amin. Oh, no; what look s
put on

To try my faith, I shall not th
I cannot find one blemish in t
Where falshood should abide.

If
you have sworn to any of t
That were your old companion
Your maidenhead a night, it
Without this means.

Evad. A maidenhead, Am
At my years? 19

Amin. Sure, she raves.

T

Evad. That I may shew you one less pleas- Thy natural temper. Shall I

ing to you.

Amin. How's that?

Amin. Why, who has done thee wrong? Name me the man, and by thyself I swear, Thy yet-unconquer'd self, I will revenge thee.

19 -A maidenhead, Amintor,

Either thy healthful sleep hat
Or else some fever rages in th

Evad. Neither, Amintor: 1
Because I speak the truth?
Amin. Will you not lie wi
Evad. To-night! you talk
hereafter.

Amin. Hereafter! yes, I do Evad. You are deceiv'd. Put off amazement, and with What I shall utter; for the of

At my years?] Mr. Rhymer, (in his Tragedies of the last age consider by the practice of the ancients) not without justice exclaims against the effro dence of Evadne's character. But as the colouring of his critical reflections gross and glaring, I shall refer those readers, who have curiosity enough, to hi quoting from him on this subject. Mr. Theobald.

Mr. Theobald allows the justice of Mr. Rhymer's exclamation at the effro dence of Evadne's character; as if the poets were not as sensible of it as M had not sufficiently punished her for it. The anger of these gentlemen at the very passion designed to be raised by it; but they mistook the object of their an much in the wrong as an audience would be, who were violently angry with a representing Macbeth, Iago, or Richard, as such consummate villains. The a critic should ask are, whether the character is natural? and whether proper not? As to the first; Nature, we fear, gives but too many sad examples of su women, who, when abandoned to their vices, are observed to be sometimes m them than the worst of men. Beside this, there is a remarkable beauty in th haughtiness of Evadne's character; she has a family likeness to her brother; Melantius depraved by vicious love. And if there are any of her expressions too gross for the stage, it is sufficient to say, they were far from being thought they were wrote. Mr. Seward.

Much in support of this observation may be seen in Mr. Seward's preface.

Why does not Heaven speak in thunder to us?] The Poets seem manifestly to have had in their eye this passage of Seneca, in his Hippolytus.

21 That my flesh, &c.] The sense plainly requires tho'. Tho' my nature, says Amintor, could brook the injury, my honour would oblige me to revenge it.'

22 I have left one desire; ('tis not his crown

Shall buy me to thy bed, now I resolve,

He has dishonour'd thee;) give me thy hand,

Be careful, &c.] Thus Mr. Theobald prints these lines, preferring the word left (which he found in no edition but the first) to lost. He has, as appears by his note, misunderstood the whole passage; the obvious meaning of which is, I have so totally given up the desire of con'summating our nuptials, that, I resolve, even the regal power should not induce me to partake 'your bed now, as the king has dishonour'd you.' Either word will make sense, have left meaning have departed from, got rid of.

Mr. Theobald's explanation is, I have one desire left; for it is not his crown should buy me to thy bed, now I resolve, (i. e. am resolved, ascertained,) that he has dishonoured thee. The desire is, to be careful of her credit, and sin close.' Had this been our Author's meaning, they surely would not have so glaringly bid defiance to grammar, as thus wantonly to use an active verb passively; we say wantonly, because, while the use of it embarrasses the sense, it does not in the least assist the poetry; to which I'm resolv'd would have been fully as agreeable; and, besides, it is most probable they would have said,

'Tis not his crown

Shall buy me to thy bed, now I'm convinc'd

He has dishonour'd thee.

We have followed the majority of the editions; to which our principal inducement was, that, as the word lost appears so early as 1622, it was probably a correction by Mr. Fletcher.

1

Enter Aspatia, Antiphila and Olympias.23

Asp. Away, you are not sad; force it no further.

[colour

Good gods, how will you look! Such a full
Young bashful brides put on. Sure, you are
new married!
Ant. Yes, madam, to your grief.
Asp. Alas, poor wenches!

Go learn to love first; learn to lose yourselves;
Learn to be flatter'd, and believe, and bless
The double tongue that did it.24 Make a faith
Out of the miracles of ancient lovers, [me,
Such as spake truth, and dy'd in't; and, like
Believe all faithful, and be miserable.
Did you ne'er love yet, wenches? Speak,
Olympias:

Thou hast an easy temper, fit for stamp.
Olym. Never.

Asp. Nor you, Antiphila?

Ant. Nor I,

Asp. Then, my good girls, be more than
women, wise:

At least, be more than I was; and be sure
You credit any thing the light gives light to,
Before a man. Rather believe the sea
Weeps for the ruin'd merchant, when he

roars ;

Rather, the wind courts but the pregnant sails,
When the strong cordage cracks; rather, the sun
Comes but to kiss the fruit in wealthy Autumn,
When all falls blasted. If you needs must love,
(Forc'd by ill fate) take to your maiden bosoms
Two dead-cold aspicks,25 and of them make
lovers:

They cannot flatter, nor forswear; one kiss
Makes a long peace for all. But man,
Oh, that beast man! Come, let's be sad, my
girls!

That down-cast of thine eye, Olympias,
Shews a fine sorrow. Mark, Antiphila;
Just such another was the nymph Enone,
When Paris brought home Helen. Now, a

The Carthage queen, when, from a cold sea-
rock,

Full with her sorrow, she ty'd fast her eyes
To the fair Trojan ships; and, having lost them,
Just as thine eyes do, down stole a tear. An-
tiphila,
[patia?
What would this wench do, if she were As-
Here she would stand, till some more pitying
god
[wench!
Turn'd her to marble? 'Tis enough, my
Shew me the piece of needlework you wrought.
Ant. Of Ariadne, madam?

Asp. Yes, that piece.

This should be Theseus; h'as a coz'ning face:
You meant him for a man?
Ant. He was so, madam.

Asp. Why, then, 'tis well enough. Never
look back;
[Theseus!
You have a full wind, and a false heart,
Does not the story say, his keel was split,
Or his masts spent, or some kind rock or other
Met with his vessel?

Ant. Not as I remember.

Asp. It should have been so. Could the
gods know this,

And not, of all their number, raise a storm?
But they are all as ill! This false smile was
Well express'd; just such another caught me!
You shall not go on so,26 Antiphila:
In this place work a quicksand,

And over it a shallow smiling water,
And his ship ploughing it; and then a Fear:
Do that Fear to the life, wench.

Ant. "Twill wrong the story.

Asp. "Twill make the story, wrong'd by

wanton poets,

[lady?

Live long, and be believ'd. But where's the
Ant. There, madam.

[phila;

Asp. Fie! you have miss'd it here, Anti-
You are much mistaken, wench:
These colours are not dull and pale enough
To shew a soul so full of misery

As this sad lady's was. Do it by me;

Do it again, by me, the lost Aspatia,
And you shall find all true, but the wild island.27

23 Mr. Seward, in his Preface, proposes several alterations in the scene which is now coming on; all of which we intended mentioning, and giving our reasons for dissenting from, as the passages occurred. But as a gentleman, to whose opinion and abilities the greatest respect is due, has remarked to us, that thereby the pages would be so much occupied by notes as would be disagreeable to many readers, when the same observations might appear, with even more propriety, in our Preface, for that we shall reserve them.

24 The double tongue that did it.

Make a faith out of the miracles of ancient lovers.
Did you ne'er love yet, wenches? speak Olympias,
Such as speak truth and dy'd in't,

And, like me, believe all faithful, and be miserable;

Thou hast an easy temper, fit for stamp.] The transposition in these lines is prescribed (with great propriety) by Mr. Theobald.

25 Two dead cold aspicks.] These must not be two distinct epithets, but one compound adjective with a hyphen, dead cold, i. e. cold as death: for if the aspicks were dead, how could the kiss of them do any hurt?

Mr. Theobald.

26 You shall not go so.] Mr. Seward here restores the verse, by introducing the particle on. 27 And you shall find all true but the wild island.] Ariadne, the daughter of Minos, king of Crete, it is well known, was desperately in love with Theseus. She by the help of a clue ex

tricated

tricated him from the labyrinth to which he was confined; and embark'd with him on his return to Athens: But he ungenerously gave her the drop on the shore of the island Naxos. Aspatia says, her case is in every particular similar, except as to the wild island.

28 Suppose, I stand.] This is one of those passages, where the poets, rapt into a glorious enthusiasm, soar on the rapid wings of fancy. Enthusiasm I would call the very essence of poetry, since, without it, neither the happy conduct of the fable, the justness of characters or sentiments, nor the utmost harmony of metre, can altogether form the poet. It is the frequency of such noble flights as these, and their amazing rapidity, that sets the immortal Shakespeare above all other dramatic poets; and suffers none of our own nation in any degree to approach him, but Beaumont and Fletcher. Mr. Seward.

Be teares of my story.] Thus reads the oldest copies; from which Mr. Theobald alters the passage to be teachers of my story.' The second edition, printed in Fletcher's time, and every other till Mr. Theobald's, exhibit the reading we have adopted.

Mr. Theobald's reading, however, coming so near that of the oldest copy, and resembling the manner of our Authors, is extremely plausible.

30 What, are you grown so resty, &c.] The old man, in this allusion, compares these young wenches to lazy, resty mares, that want to be rid so many heats.