SCENE V.-Mitylene. A Street before the Brothel. 1 Gent. Did you ever hear the like? 2 Gent. No; nor never shall do in such a place as this, she being once gone. 1 Gent. But to have divinity preach'd there, did you ever dream of such a thing? 2 Gent. No, no. Come, I am for no more bawdyhouses. Shall we go hear the vestals sing? 1 Gent. I'll do any thing now that is virtuous; but I am out of the road of rutting for ever. [Exeunt. SCENE VI.-The Same. A Room in the Brothel. Enter Pander, Bawd, and BOULt. Pand. Well, I had rather than twice the worth of her, she had ne'er come here. Bawd. Fie, fie upon her! she is able to freeze the god Priapus, and undo a whole generation: we must either get her ravished, or be rid of her. When she should do for clients her fitment, and do me the kindness of our profession, she has me her quirks, her reasons, her master reasons, her prayers, her knees, that she would make a puritan of the devil, if he should cheapen a kiss of her. Boult. Faith, I must ravish her, or she 'll disfurnish us of all our cavaliers, and make all our swearers priests. Pand. Now, the pox upon her green-sickness for me! Bawd. 'Faith, there's no way to be rid on 't, but by the way to the pox. Here comes the lord Lysimachus, disguised. Boult. We should have both lord and lown, if the peevish baggage would but give way to customers. Enter LYSIMACHUS. Lys. How now! How a dozen of virginities? Bawd. Now, the gods to-bless your honour! Boult. I am glad to see your honour in good health. Lys. You may so; 't is the better for you that your resorters stand upon sound legs. How now, wholesome iniquity! have you that a man may deal withal, and defy the surgeon? Bawd. We have here one, sir, if she would-but there never came her like in Mitylene. Lys. If she'd do the deeds of darkness, thou wouldst say. Bawd. Your honour knows what 't is to say, well enough. Lys. Well; call forth, call forth. Boult. For flesh and blood, sir, white and red, you shall see a rose; and she were a rose indeed, if she had but Lys. What, pr'ythee? Boult. O, sir! I can be modest. Lys. That dignifies the renown of a bawd, no less than it gives a good report to a number to be chaste. Enter MARINA. Lys. Faith, she would serve after a long voyage at Bea. indeed; but how honourable he is in that, I know not. Mar. If he govern the country, you are bound to him Bawd. 'Pray you, without any more virginal fencing, will you use him kindly? He will line your apron with gold. Mar. What he will do graciously, I will thankfully receive. Lys. Have you done? Bawd. My lord, she 's not paced yet; you must take some pains to work her to your manage.-Come, we will leave his honour and her together. Go thy ways. [Exeunt Bawd, Pander, and BoULT. Lys. Now, pretty one, how long have you been at this trade? Mar. What trade, sir? Lys. Why, I cannot name but I shall offend. Lys. How long have you been of this profession? Mar. Do you know this house to be a place of such resort, and will come into it? I hear say, you are of honourable parts, and are the governor of this place. Lys. Why, hath your principal made known unto you who I am? Mar. Who is my principal? Lys. Why, your herb-woman; she that sets seed and roots of shame and iniquity. O! you have heard something of my power, and so stand aloof for more serious wooing. But I protest to thee, pretty one, my authority shall not see thee, or else, look friendly upon thee. Come, bring me to some private place: come, come. Mar. If you were born to honour, show it now; Lys. How's this? how's this?-Some more;-be sage. Mar. For me, That am a maid, though most ungentle fortune Would set me free from this unhallow'd place, Had I brought hither a corrupted mind, Thy speech had alter'd it. Hold, here's gold for thee: Baud. Here comes that which grows to the stalk;-Persevere in that clear way thou goest, never pluck'd yet, I can assure you. Is she not a fair And the gods strengthen thee. creature? Mar. The gods preserve you! Lys. For me, be you thoughten That I came with no ill intent; for to me The very doors and windows savour vilely. Farewell. Thou art a piece of virtue, and I doubt not but thy training hath been noble. Hold, here's more gold for thee. A curse upon him, die he like a thief, That robs thee of thy goodness! If thou dost hear From me, it shall be for thy good. Enter BOULT. Bawd. I beseech your honour, give me leave: a word, and I'll have done presently. Lys. I beseech you, do. Bawd. First, I would have you note, this is an honourable man. [To MARINA. Mar. I desire to find him so, that I may worthily note him. Bawd. Next, he 's the governor of this country, and a man whom I am bound to. Boult. I beseech your honour, one piece for me Lys. Avaunt, thou damned door-keeper! Your house, But for this virgin that doth prop it, would Sink, and overwhelm you. Away! [Exit LYSIMACHUS. Boult. How's this? We must take another course with you. If your peevish chastity, which is not worth a breakfast in the cheapest country under the cope,' shal. undo a whole household, let me be gelded like a spaniel. Come your ways. Mar. Whither would you have me? Boult. I must have your maidenhead taken off, or the common hangman shall execute it. Come your way. We'll have no more gentlemen driven away. Come your ways, I say. I Re-enter Bawd. Bawd. How now! what's the matter? Boult. Why, I could wish him to be my master; or rather, my mistress. Mar. Neither of these are so bad as thou art, Since they do better thee in their command. Thou hold'st a place, for which the pained'st fiend Of hell would not in reputation change: Thou 'rt the damn'd door-keeper to every coystrel' That hither comes inquiring for his Tib; To the cholerick fisting of each rogue thy ear Is liable; thy food is such As hath been belch'd on by infected lungs. Boult. What would you have me do? go to the wars would you? where a man may serve seven years for the loss of a leg, and have not money enough in the end to buy him a wooden one? Boult. Worse and worse, mistress: she has here Old receptacles, or common sewers, of filth; spoken holy words to the lord Lysimachus. Baud. O, abominable! Mar. Do any thing but this thou doest. Empty Serve by indenture to the common hangman: Any of these ways are yet better than this; Boult. She makes our profession as it were to stink For what thou professest, a baboon, could he speak, afore the face of the gods. Baud. Marry, hang her up for ever! Boult. The nobleman would have dealt with her like a nobleman, and she sent him away as cold as a snowball; saying his prayers, too. Bawd. Boult, take her away; use her at thy pleasure: crack the glass of her virginity, and make the rest malleable. Boult. An if she were a thornier piece of ground than she is, she shall be ploughed. Mar. Hark, hark, you gods! Bawd. She conjures: away with her. Would she had never come within my doors.-Marry, hang you! She's born to undo us.-Will you not go the way of women-kind? Marry come up, my dish of chastity with rosemary and bays! [Exit Bawd. Boult. Come, mistress; come your way with me. Boult. To take from you the jewel you hold so dear. Mar. What canst thou wish thine enemy to be? Would own a name too dear. That the gods If that thy master would gain by me, Boult. But can you teach all this you speak of? Boult. Well, I will see what I can do for thee: if I can place thee, I will. Mar. But, amongst honest women? Boult. Faith, my acquaintance lies little amongst them. But since my master and mistress have bought you, there's no going but by their consent; therefore, I will make them acquainted with your purpose, and I doubt not but I shall find them tractable enough. ! Come; I'll do for thee what I can come your ways. [ Exeunt. ACT V. Enter GoWER. Gow. Marina thus the brothel scapes, and chances Into an honest house, our story says. She sings like one immortal, and she dances, As goddess-like, to her admired lays. Deep clerks she dumbs, and with her needle composes Nature's own shape, of bud, bird, branch, or berry, That even her art sisters the natural roses; 3 Her inkle, silk, twin with the rubied cherry: That pupils lacks she none of noble race, His banners sable, trimm'd with rich expense; 1 Cope, or covering of the sky a Low groom.-Dyce. • Thread. And to him in his barge with fervour hies. Enter Two Sailors, one belonging to the Tyrian Vessel. O here he is. Sir, there's a barge put off from Mitylene, You wish me well. Lys. I made to it to know of whence you are. Lys. I am the governor of this place you lie before. Our vessel is of Tyre, in it the king; A man, who for this three months hath not spoken But to prorogue his grief. Lys. Upon what ground is his distemperature? But the main grief of all springs from the loss Lys. May we not see him, then? Hel. You may, But bootless is your sight; he will not speak Lys. Yet, let me obtain my wish. Lys. See, she will speak to him. Mar. I am a maid, My lord, that ne'er before invited eyes, Hel. Behold him. [PERICLES discovered.] This was a But time hath rooted out my parentage, goodly person, Till the disaster that one mortal night Drove him to this. Lys. Sir king, all hail! the gods preserve you! Hail, royal sir! Hel. It is in vain; he will not speak to you. 1 Lord. Sir, we have a maid in Mitylene, I durst Would win some words of him. Lys. She is all happy as the fair'st of all, [He whispers one of the attendant Lords.-Exit Lord. Hel. Sure, all effectless; yet nothing we 'll omit, That bears recovery's name. But, since your kindness we have stretch'd thus far, That for our gold we may provision have, Lys. And so afflict our province.-Yet once more Hel. Sit, sir, I will recount it to you. 1 defended in old copies. 2 inflict in old copies. 3 Own. And to the world and awkward casualties I do think so. |