Enter Leucippus and Urania. Leuc. Alas, poor boy, why dost thou follow me ?

[art. What canst thou hope for? I am poor as thou Ura. In good feth, I shall be weel and rich enough

If you will love me, and not put me from you!
Leuc. Why dost thou chuse out me, boy,
to undo thee?

Alas, for pity, take another master,
That may be able to deserve thy love [not,
In breeding thee hereafter! me thou knowest
More than my misery; and therefore canst

not

[able, Look for rewards at my hands: 'would I were My pretty knave, to do thee any kindness! Truly, good boy, I would, upon my faith; Thy harmless innocence moves me at heart. Wilt thou go save thyself? Why dost thou Alas, I do not chide thee.

Ura. I cannot tell;

[weep?

more:

If I go from you, sir, I shall ne'er draw day
Pray, if you can (I will be true to you),
Let me wait on you! If I were a man,
I would fight for you: sure you have some
I would slay 'em.

[iil-willers;

Leuc. Such harmless souls are ever pro-
phets.
[me still:
Well, take thy wish54; thou shalt be with
But, prithee eat, my good boy! thou wilt die,
My child, if thou fast one day more; these
four days

Th' hast tasted nothing: go into the cave,
And eat; thou shalt find something for thee,
To bring thy blood again, and thy fair colour.
Ura. I cannot eat, God thank you! but
To-morrow.

[I'll eat

[him.

A fine man should live, and no gay lady love
Leuc. Thou wilt love me?

Ura. Yes sure, till I die; and when

I am in Heaven, I'll e'en wish for you.
Leuc. And I'll come to thee, boy. -This
is a love
[sleepy, child;

I never yet heard tell of.-Come, thou'rt
Go in, and I'll sit with thee.-Heav'n, what
portends this?
[I could
Ura. You're sad, but I'm not sleepy: 'would
Do aught to make you merry; shall I sing?
Leuc. If thou wilt, good boy. Alas, my
boy, that thou

Shouldst comfort ine, and art far worse than I!
Enter Timantus, disguised.

Ura. La', master, there is one; look to
yourself!
Lplace,

Leuc. What art thou, that into this disinal
Which nothing could find out but misery,
Thus boldly step'st? Comfort was never here;
Here is no food, nor beds, nor any house
Built by a better architect than beasts;
And ere you get a dwelling from one of them,
You must fight for it: if you conquer him,
He is your meat; i not, you must be his.

Tim. I come to you (for, if I not mistake,
You are the prince) from that most noble lord
Ismenus, with a letter.

$2 Corncts. Cupid from above.] Seward, seeing no propriety' in the cornets belonging to Cupid,' places that direction at the end of the foregoing scene; but why displace the cornets here, since he inserts them on Cupid's other appearances? We have made this direction like the former.

53 Cupid. The time now, &c.] This speech, till Seward very properly introduced it here, was placed at the end of the play, notwithstanding the direction quoted in the last note tood where it now does.

54 Well, I take thy wpish.] The measure and sense both require us to expunge the I.

Seward.

Leuca

A nobler trial than thou dost deserve] Here a verb is evidently left out, being equally

necessary to the sense and measure, Seward,

If it be possible, I ask it Heav'n,
That your base issues may be ever monsters,
That must, for shame of nature and suc-
cession,
[to poison you 56 !
Be drown'd like dogs! 'Would I had breath
Leuc. 'Would you had love within you,
and such grief

As might become a mother! Look you there!
Know you that face? that was Urania :
These are the fruits of those unhappy mothers,
That labour with such horrid births as you do!
If you can weep, there's cause; poor innocent,
Your wickedness has kill'd her: I'll weep for
you.

Ism. Monstrous woman!

Mars would weep at this, and yet she cannot. Leuc. Here lies your minion too, slain by my hand:

I will not say you are the cause; yet certain, I know you were to blame: the gods forgive you!

Ism. See, she stands as if she were inventing • Some new destruction for the world.

Leuc. Ismenus,

Thou'rt welcome yet to my sad company.
Ism. I come to make you somewhat sadder,
[already.

sir.
Leuc. You cannot; I am at the height
Ism. Your father's dead!

Leuc. I thought so; Heav'n be with him!
Oh, woman, woman, weep now or never! thou
Hast made more sorrows than we've cyes to
utter.

Baha. Now let Heav'n fall! I'm at the
worst of evils;

A thing so miserably wretched, that
Ev'ry thing, the last of human comforts, hath
left me!

I will not be so base and cold to live,

And wait the mercies of these men I hate :
No, it is just I die, since fortune hath left me.
My steep descent attends me 57: hand,
strike thou home!

I've soul enough to guide; and let all know,

'As I stood a queen, the same I'll fall,
And one with me!

[Stabs the Prince, then herself. Leuc. Oh! Ism. How do you, sir? [here. Leuc. Nearer my health than I think any My tongue begins to falter: what is man? Or who would be one, when he sees a poor Weak woman can in an instant make him、 Dor. She's dead already. [none? Ism. Let her be damn'd Already, as she is! Post all for surgeons! Leuc. Let not a man stir! for I am but dead. I've some few words which I would have you hear,

L'em:

And am afraid I shall want breath to speak
First to you, my lords; you know Ismenus is
Undoubted heir of Lycia 58; I do beseech
you all,

When I am dead, to shew your duties to him.
Lords. We vow to do't.

Leuc. I thank you. Next to you, Cousin Ismenus, that shall be the duke, pray you let the broken images 59

I

Of Cupid be re-edified! I know

All this is done by him.

Ism. It shall be so.

Dor. There's a full point!

[in-law

[Dies.

[burial

Ism. I will interpret for him: she shall have

According to her own deserts, with dogs!

Dor. I would your majesty would haste

Of the people.

Ism. I'm ready.

[for settling

56 Would I had breath to poison you.] Some editions (Seward's among the number) read, Would I had breath to please you.

57 My step descent attends me.] Corrected in 1750.

58 Undoubtedly heir.] Varied by Seward.

59 I pray you let the broken image of Cupid.] Altered in 1750.

In the course of Mr. Seward's notes on this play, he remarks, that Had this whole plot, 'a father marrying his son's whore, the son's penitence and distress, and her plots for his 'destruction, been wrought into a tragedy, without the idle machinery of Cupid and his Revenge, it would have afforded sufficient matter to such geniuses as our authors:' and afterwards says, I cannot take leave of this play without again regretting the farcical inter' mixture of the machinery of Cupid, from whence it takes its name. Without this, and the ' ridiculous death of the princess, what a noble tragedy would our authors have left us! The 'character of the king, from his ridiculous dotage on his children, to a still more ridiculous dotage on a wanton wife; the misfortunes of a virtuous young prince, from taking one vicious step, and endeavouring to conceal it by a falsity, are finely describ'd; but how is the just moral arising from thence spoil'd, by making this only Cupid's Revenge!

In our opinion, the plot and the machinery are equally ridiculous; and we cannot avoid expressing our concern, that so much admirable poetry should be bestowed on so absurd a drama. VOL. III. 3 D

THE

THE TWO NOBLE KINSMEN.

This Play was first printed in quarto, anno 1634, under the following title: 'The Two Noble 'Kinsmen: presented at the Blackfriers by the Kings Maiesties Servants, with great ap'plause: written by the memorable Worthies of their time, Mr. John Fletcher, and 'Mr. William Shakspeare, Gent.;' and has always been received as the production of those Poets. In the year 1668, it was altered by Sir William Davenant, who gave it the title of The Rivals; when it appears to have been acted with great success.

PROLOGUE.

Hymen has hitherto stood as a personage of this drama, and even the first: as he only appears in the dumb-show, we have expunged the name. The Wooer, though a character of some consideration, has always been omitted; and so has Valerius.