BONAVIDA

You shall mount her—If pride will do't. Examine but plain Mantuan, and he'll tell you, what woman is. Yet arrogance in Truth may blemish it. Call' if you please, Selflove: Beside in man or woman, since the first Nature hath ye dead none so absolute, To whom she made no fellow. First for beauty, If Greece afforded a fair Hellen, Troy Her paralleled with a Polyxena: For Wisdom, Room presented a Cornelia, And Lidia a S sipatra: Chastity? Lucrece of whom the Romans so much boast: Did not the self same City breed a Portia, Who when she herd ber husband Brutus slain, Kept from all other Engines, swallowed fire, And by that means to meet with him in death, Of such I could produce yet Infinite; And Madam though I must confess you rare, And most completely perf ct in all these, Yet not sochoice a piece, but the wide world May yield you a competitor. Is this Truth's merit? Can the Court find place For none but flatterers, and must I be made The first example of her Tyranny? Shall I be made a president through Spain, To deter men from speaking in the Court What's Just and honest? Nay, we term this law, Or mere oppression. What and Infinite task Am I confined too? One as virtuous No Cloister scarce but could supply me with, And never travel further; but the doubt is, Whither it harbour in so smooth a skin; As fair a face, I might with ease produce, But Where's the Virtue then? since few there are That wear both these ascriptions, Chaste, and fair: In all his twelve great labours, Hercules Was not thus tasked by Juno. Had she proposed to find her match for pride, There had been then no help, no hope at all; For that had been the harder task of two. I am sure thou hearest the news. I both accept and will reward thy love, If ere my Fate be to revisit home. First these, then several Countries we will try, To find out this choice piece. AFter our tedious travels we at length Are safe arrived in England, speak what use Hast made of our long Voyage? But in our quest of this rare piece of beauty And Virtue mixed, to rival the great Princess, What thinkest thou of our trial made in Spain? What then of Portugal? What of the Russian then? Which only taking her great title of Is worth more than her self, of Italy Then give me thy true censure. For France. The women of high Germany? Of the Low-Countries then. And now, there's hope I shall, this Albion That fitly bears name of his chalky cliffs, Breeds wondrous choice of Beauty's, wise, and lovely, Scarce to be matched in all the world beside, amongst which I have took particular view of one, Whom had the Trojan Ravisher beheld, Troy had still stood, the Queen of Love disgraced, And she alone had gained the golden prize, For which the three celestial beauty's strove. I think none to be made. First for her birth, I have inquired her noble: For her breeding, It hath been amongst her equals, and so far From least taxation, to the sail of tongues, It merits imitation; of her chastity Some proofs I have made, and found it Like the Diamond, Save by a Diamond never to be wrought. Could opportunity have moved, words tempted, Persuasions took effect, or gifts prevailed, Beneath my much importance she had fallen: But Like a promontory rock she stands, At all the curled Ocean's wrath unmoved, Telling the gusts, and bearing every storm, Yet on such virtues are her bases fixed, She is not to be shaken, then in her My travels take their perjod. Madam, What say you to my suit? O, sweet Lady, It's good to play with such as use to sport, But with the stayed be serious. I vow it by my greatest bliss on earth, (My Hope's I have in you.) Yes, in all, And in each climb, of many. Last of my Hope's, Or perjod of my wishes, had you said, I should have answered then, only because Of all you are most perfect. As I confess you perfect, I entreat Let not my merited praises make you proud, And vie your own worth; I shall wonder then: Know Madam, that I left my Country Spain, And there my many honours, not of pleasure, But by compulsive force, unwillingly, My voyage purposely to find out you, Which ere I could, I have traveled Kingdoms through, Searched Courts, examined Cities, nay even Villages. For you; for the chief Paragon Of Beauty matched with Virtue; therefore you For one to rival the great Spanish Princess, Matchless in both, through half the world, save you, Indeed I flatter not, you are that Mine, (O Lady, might I truly say that Mine:) No India yields, save this, but thine; the sun. To outshine that candle, none but this clear splendour, Dims her imperfect glories; You by this Shall win your self a name through all the world, And purchase admiration: me that so Have prised you, and esteemed you, marking you Amongst thousands, for a piece unparralleld: Before all things, my Country, Honours, Friends, That else Like a poor exile forfeit all, And Lady, you the cause on't: If my Love, Grounded upon such strong opinion Merit repulse; if you will lose your self, And hazard me, that have my head engaged To make this good: I only shall report The strangest thing in my long search I find, Beauty with Virtue mixed, proved both unkind. Now, your answer. That you may know it is not lust, but love, And the true speculation I have taken, In both these adjuncts, that proclaim you rare, That it's to have you denison'd in Spain, Be instated in my liberal Fortune's there, To appear in Court a foreign miracle, And not to make you here my Prostitute; I only beg your promise, that, being granted, I'll back into my Country, tell the Princess, What here in England I have seen and found, My peace being made, I will return thus far, To fix you in that a splendant star, And this is all I crave And Lady, I your creature: For by you I am new made; as Mistress of this contract. Accept this Ring, which never partly withal, But to my self in person. To prove your constancy, One Imposition more; there may be trains Laid to entrap our love, to injure you, And forfeit me, therefore till my return, Which shall be with what suddenness I can: Be shown unto no stranger. Thou hast lost Isabella; and I gained Me and Empire by my travel: I by you Am new created, being lost and gone, With this most sweet addition, two in one. All the delights of earth, and joys above, For ever crown your Temples. That success, I had in expectation, Royal sir, I am now possessed of, really. The pride of Nature, and of Love; Beauty and Virtue in most high contention Which should exceed each other. England. Of their chief Cities, the Metropolis, London. Hellena. Noble by birth, yet not so High degreed, As her great virtues merit: nor her means, To counterpoise her beauty. With any Lady, Europe or Asia yields, them padon, Lady, I hope without the least offence to you. Passing thousands; I will insist in one: At my departure, Only one Ring I left with her in change, Which if she living partly with, lend, or give Till my return, I'll hold my self disgraced, Her evermore disparidg'd: In exchange, She did bestow on me this Carcanett, Which I as long shall keep. Madam, I dare expose to you my life, Then much more this. Pardon Lady: She's yet in her own Country; But that Careanet Can quickly fetch her over. Yet hear me Royal sir. If you deny me freedom, grant me that Which I more prize, my precious Can canet, That which you with no Justice can detain. And her constancy Hath purchased my release, Is't not so Madam? So I said, And Royal Mistress, had you seen that face, And made such proof, as I did of her heart, You would esteem it no disgrace at all, To honour her, that's your solemnizing pa agon, O, my fair Hellena! Thou hast filled my soul with rapture, and released me From melancholy durance; Madam what were they That made this happy trial, and informed you That truth, to make her this acknowledgement? They're noble Lords, By whose approved censures, you have made, Here highness to confess e mine injuries. At you return, in what plighted did you leave the unequaled Lady? Be proud my genius on't. Was she seen? O, my blood! why fliest thou from my hear ? Centalla spak't. O, my rage! Whither wilt thou transport me? Villain, Dog, False and unworthy and noble style, Scarce the attribute of man, Patience Devil? Let it fl e to the Antipodes, and we Wraste in wrath and fury, that base lie I'll ab with my steelet to down thy throat, And make thee swallow both. King, it's false, Believe him not great Princess, it's injust; Unless and Angel should descend and speak't, And for and instance straight produce that Ring. It wins with me no credence. Would, this—I do, and therewithal dare swear That there's no faith in woman. That there's not one (give my allegiance leave) I durst suspect even you, since she is fallen. That I have callumnis'd, Your fame and virtue, that I merit death, That I am now professed Antagonist, (Saving your majesty) to all your sex, That I am weary now the air I bre that, And should you grant it Madam, would not live, That I no batter than a Traitor am, And in the highest degree, have injured these, Buy most, your sacred self: if for all these You do not mount me on the public seaffold, I will lay violent hands upon my see e: I beg my merited doom, my sentence crave, Which with severest rigour let me have. My Hellena prove base? Mount thoughts towards heaven, you have on earth no place. The Queen plays with my death, And bids me act a bold Tragedians partly, To which, such moving Actium I will give, That it shall glaze this Theater round with tears, And all that shall behold me on this stage, Pitying my fate: shall tax her cruelty, And to the Spanish Chronicles let this a de, That he whose tongue hath justified their sex, Whose fword hath coapt brave Champions for their fame Whose travels have been to maintain their honours, And of their virtues to give large approof, That he, whose labour was their praise t'uphold, Should by a woman fallen; a fair false woman: And be it not the least stain to that Country, That she was bred in England. Now farewell Royal Sovereign and great Queen, Unto whose high and sacred Majesty My forfeit head thus stoops: and best loved Peers, I only wish this blood you shall see drawn Had dropped before the common enemy, The barbarous Turk: in some just Christian cause Not in this feminine quarrel. I had then Died a crowa'd Martyr: that offendor Like Now bow to the Axe of Justice: farewell to Thee, for whose love I undergo this shame, May thy repentance for thy gilded beg pardon, That we may meet in blessed Eliz m, There our oh less kiss together: Farewell world, Grown so corru to, thou wilt not suffer Virtue And Beauty roof together may thy charity Guide me to yond safe harbonr. Thus I fallen Beneath my 'offences, and take leave of— This is a conflict worse. Then in the sad Duell'tweene death and life, When neither's certain, both in difficulty, As it is now with me I pray would done That I were posted to your Country, there To finish all my Travels. What prostrates them Mounts me to expectations: my blessed choice, Now I have seen thy apparent innocence, Queen I shall die contented. I am wronged. And thou hast don't, try both, I should be first, But be thou what thou canst be, he or thou, So freely hath this Lady showed her self Mine, so I now dare term her, that in spite Of spleen or envy's opposition; It is a thing I do desire to embrace And meet in violent lightnings: and then I speak it, she is mine: and this encounter Concerns me, only me; who intercepts me Is guilty of my challenge, his own death, Her injury, and my most just revenge. Oh base flattery! Know then Madam, I must confess (although a woman's son) Yet cannot I dissemble, neither would I, Should I be racked and tortured, then with pardon Unto the Prince and you, thus much I think, I not deny, but you by birth are royal. Beauteous, or else I should condemn mine eyes, And say they wore false lights; for your known virtues, Traitor he were, that should but question them, I make this attestation, yet sweet Prin esse, These praises you con err upon your self Though they be just and true from your own Tongue Lose partly of their great luster, in these, or me, They would have had more sweetness, better sound, But from a Tuskan tongue, or Porteguise, English or French, or any Strangers mouth, Much more harmonious relish; I have held it Still as a Maxim, my best Judging days, Such doubt their worths are for worser themselves to praise. Now you are kind: I now with what prepared speed I can Will come to kiss my Fate. Queen here's your sport, And this the mark you aim at: yet in this Deal gently with me, do not mock my death, And I'll expose my life as willingly, As in my ripest joys and best of pleasures. In love which most I wish to have preserved, Nor trouble me with vain intergatories To turn my soul (in the high road to heaven Into some dangerous bypath) grant but this, My death I freely pardon. I am wrapped: Spain show thy Justice; now, where, or from whence Canst thou desire so rare a president: Wouldst thou see Beauty? Look upon that face: Or Virtue? here, see thy true Innocence, Valour in him, true nobleness in them all, And happy them, that naked of all these, Hath sent thee hither foreign presidents, For instruction, and example. Unriddle me, and let me know thy meaning. But she the woman, For whom the sword thus thirsts: is this a vision? Or else some waking dream. Methinks addition great enough For any mortal Woman.