A model, which heaven makes like to itself:
As jewels lose their glory if neglected,
So princes their renown, if not respected.
'Tis now your honour, daughter, to explain
The labour of each knight in his device.

Thai. Which, to preserve mine honour, I'll perform. Enter a Knight: he passes over the Stage, and his Squire presents his Shield to the Princess.

Sim. Who is the first that doth prefer himself?
Thai. A knight of Sparta, my renowned father;
And the device he bears upon his shield
Is a black Æthiop, reaching at the sun;
The word, Lux tua vita mihi.

Sim. He loves you well that holds his life of you.
[The second Knight passes over.
Who is the second that presents himself?

Thai. A prince of Macedon, my royal father; And the device he bears upon his shield

fuerza.

Is an arm'd knight, that's conquer'd by a lady:
The motto thus, in Spanish, Piu per dulzura que per
[The third Knight passes over.
Sim. And what the third?
Thai.
The third of Antioch;
And his device, a wreath of chivalry :
The word, Me pompa provexit apex.

[The fourth Knight passes over.

Sim. What is the fourth?
Thai. A burning torch, that's turned upside down;
The word, Quod me alit, me extinguit.
Sim. Which shows that beauty hath his power and will,
Which can as well inflame, as it can kill.

[The fifth Knight passes over.
Thai. The fifth, a hand environed with clouds,
Holding out gold that's by the touchstone tried;
The motto thus, Sic spectanda fides.

[The sixth Knight passes over. Sim. And what's the sixth and last, the which the knight himself

With such a graceful courtesy deliver'd?

Prepare for mirth, for mirth becomes a feast:
You are princes, and my guests.

Thai. But you, [TO PER.] my knight and guest;
To whom this wreath of victory I give,
And crown you king of this day's happiness.

Per. 'Tis more by fortune, lady, than my merit.
Sim. Call it by what you will, the day is yours;
And here, I hope, is none that envies it.
In framing an artist art hath thus decreed,
To make some good, but others to exceed;
And you're her labour'd scholar. Come, queen o' the
.feast,

(For, daughter, so you are) here take your place:
Marshal the rest, as they deserve their grace.

Knights. We are honour'd much by good Simonides.
Sim. Your presence glads our days: honour we love,
For who hates honour hates the gods above.
Marshal. Sir, yond's your place.

Per.

Some other is more fit.

1 Knight. Contend not, sir; for we are gentlemen,
That neither in our hearts, nor outward eyes,
Envy the great, nor do the low despise.
Per. You are right courteous knights.
Sim.

Sit, sir; sit.

By Jove, I wonder, that is king of thoughts,
These cates resist me, he not thought upon.
Thai. By Juno, that is queen

Of marriage, all the viands that I eat
Do seem unsavoury, wishing him my meat.
Sure, he's a gallant gentleman.

Sim. He's but a country gentleman:

He has done no more than other knights have done,
He has broken a staff, or so; so, let it pass.

Thai. To me he seems like diamond to glass.
Per. Yond' king's to me like to my father's picture,
Which tells me in that glory once he was;
Had princes sit, like stars, about his throne,
And he the sun for them to reverence.
None that beheld him, but like lesser lights

Thai. He seems to be a stranger; but his present is Did vail their crowns to his supremacy;

A wither'd branch, that's only green at top:

The motto, In hac spe vivo.

Sim. A pretty moral:

From the dejected state wherein he is,

He hopes by you his fortunes yet may flourish.

1 Lord. He had need mean better, than his outward show

Can any way speak in his just commend;

For by his rusty outside he appears

To have practis'd more the whipstock than the lance. 2 Lord. He well may be a stranger, for he comes

To an honour'd triumph strangely furnished.

3 Lord. And on set purpose let his armour rust

Until this day, to scour it in the dust.

Sim. Opinion's but a fool, that makes us scan
The outward habit by the inward man.
But stay, the knights are coming: we'll withdraw
Into the gallery.

[Exeunt. [Great Shouts, and all cry, The mean knight! SCENE III.-The Same. A Hall of State. A Banquet prepared.

Enter SIMONIDES, THAISA, Ladies, Lords, Knights, and Attendants.

Where now his son, like a glow-worm in the night,
The which hath fire in darkness, none in light:
Whereby I see that Time's the king of men;
He's both their parent, and he is their grave,
And gives them what he will, not what they crave.
Sim. What are you merry, knights?

1 Knight. Who can be other, in this royal presence?
Sim. Here, with a cup that's stor'd unto the brim,
(As you do love, fill to your mistress' lips)
We drink this health to you.

Knights.

Sim. Yet pause a while;

We thank your grace.

Yond' knight doth sit too melancholy,

As if the entertainment in our court

Had not a show might countervail his worth.
Note it not you, Thaisa?

What is it

Thai.
To me, my father?
Sim.
O! attend, my daughter:
Princes, in this, should live like gods above,
Who freely give to every one that comes
To honour them; and princes, not doing so,
Are like to gnats, which make a sound, but kill'd
Are wonder'd at. Therefore,

To make his entrance more sweet, here say,
We drink this standing-bowl of wine to him.
Thai. Alas, my father! it befits not me
Unto a stranger knight to be so bold:
He may my proffer take for an offence,
Since men take women's gifts for impudence.

1 Lord. See! not a man, in private conference Or council, has respect with him but he.

Per. In those that practise them, they are, my lord.
Sim. O! that's as much, as you would be denied
[The Knights and Ladies dance.
Of your fair courtesy.-Unclasp, unclasp:
Thanks, gentlemen, to all; all have done well,
But you the best. [To PERICLES.] Pages and lights, to

These knights unto their several lodgings!-Yours, sir,
We have given order to be next our own.

A fire from heaven came, and shrivell'd up
Those bodies, even to loathing; for they so stunk,
That all those eyes ador'd them ere their fall,
Scorn now their hand should give them burial.
Esca. 'Twas very strange.
Hel.
And yet but just; for though
This king were great, his greatness was no guard
To bar heaven's shaft, but sin had his reward.

Per. Even in his throat, unless it be the king, That calls me traitor, I return the lie.

I like that well:-nay, how absolute she's in't,
Not minding whether I dislike or no.
Well, I commend her choice,

And will no longer have it be delay'd.

Soft! here he comes: I must dissemble it.

Enter PERICLES.

Per. All fortune to the good Simonides!

Sim. [Aside.] Now, by the gods, I do applaud his

courage.

Per. My actions are as noble as my thoughts,

That never relish'd of a base descent.

I came unto your court for honour's cause,

Sim. To you as much, sir. I am beholding to you And not to be a rebel to her state;

For your sweet music this last night: I do

Protest, my ears were never better fed
With such delightful pleasing harmony.

Per. It is your grace's pleasure to commend,
Not my desert.

Sim.

Sir, you are music's master.

Per. The worst of all her scholars, my good lord.
Sim. Let me ask one thing.

What do you think of my daughter, sir?
Per. As of a most virtuous princess.
Sim. And she is fair too, is she not?

Per. As a fair day in summer; wondrous fair.
Sim. My daughter, sir, thinks very well of you;
Ay, so well, sir, that you must be her master,
And she'll your scholar be: therefore, look to it.
Per. I am unworthy for her schoolmaster.
Sim. She thinks not so; peruse this writing else.
Per. [Aside.] What's here?

A letter, that she loves the knight of Tyre?
'Tis the king's subtilty, to have my life.

[To him.] Ŏ! seek not to entrap me, gracious lord,
A stranger and distressed gentleman,

That never aim'd so high to love your daughter,
But bent all offices to honour her.

And he that otherwise accounts of me,
This sword shall prove he's honour's enemy.

Sim. No!

Here comes my daughter, she can witness it.
Enter THAISA.

Per. Then, as you are as virtuous as fair,
Resolve your angry father, if my tongue
Did e'er solicit, or my hand subscribe
To any syllable that made love to you?
Thai. Why, sir, if you had,

Who takes offence at that would make me glad?
Sim. Yea, mistress, are you so peremptory?—
[Aside.] I am glad on't with all my heart.

To her.] I'll tame you; I'll bring you in subjection. Will you, not having my consent,

Bestow your love and your affections

Upon a stranger? [Aside.] who, for aught I know,
May be (nor can I think the contrary)

As great in blood as I myself.

[To her.] Therefore, hear you, mistress; either frame
Your will to mine; and you, sir, hear you,
Either be rul'd by me, or I will make you-
Man and wife. Nay, come; your hands,
And lips must seal it too;

Sim. Thou hast bewitch'd my daughter, and thou art And being join'd, I'll thus your hopes destroy;

A villain.

And for farther grief,-God give you joy!—
What, are you both pleas'd?

Thai.
Yes, if you love
me, sir.
Per. Even as my life, my blood that fosters it.
Sim. What are you both agreed?

Both. Yes, if't please your majesty.

Sim. It pleaseth me so well, I'll see you wed;
Then, with what haste you can, get you to bed. [Exeunt.

ACT III.

Gow. Now sleep yslaked hath the rout;
No din but snores the house about,
Made louder by the o'er-fed breast
Of this most pompous marriage feast.
The cat with eyne of burning coal,
Now couches 'fore the mouse's hole;
And crickets sing at the oven's mouth,
Are the blither for their drouth.
Hymen hath brought the bride to bed,
Where, by the loss of maidenhead,
A babe is moulded.-Be attent,
And time that is so briefly spent,
With your fine fancies quaintly eche;
What's dumb in show, I'll plain with speech.
Dumb Show.

Enter PERICLES and SIMONIDES at one door, with At-
tendants; a Messenger meets them, kneels, and gives
PERICLES a Letter: PERICLES shows it to SIMONIDES;
the Lords kneel to PERICLES. Then, enter THAISA
with child, and LYCHORIDA: SIMONIDES shows his
Daughter the Letter; she rejoices: she and PERICLES
take leave of her Father, and all depart.

Gow. By many a dern and painful perch Of Pericles the careful search

By the four opposing coignes,
Which the world together joins,
Is made, with all due diligence,

That horse, and sail, and high expence,

Can stead the quest. At last from Tyre
(Fame answering the most strange inquire,)

To the court of king Simonides

Are letters brought, the tenour these:-
Antiochus and his daughter dead:

The men of Tyrus on the head

Of Helicanus would set on

The crown of Tyre, but he will none :

The mutiny he there hastes t' oppress;

Says to them, if king Pericles
Come not home in twice six moons,

He, obedient to their dooms,

Will take the crown. The sum of this,
Brought hither to Pentapolis,
Yravished the regions round,

And every one with claps 'gan sound,
"Our heir apparent is a king!

Who dream'd, who thought of such a thing?"
Brief, he must hence depart to Tyre:
His queen, with child, makes her desire
(Which who shall cross?) along to go.
Omit we all their dole and woe:

Lychorida, her nurse, she takes,

And so to sea. Then, vessel shakes
On Neptune's billow; half the flood
Hath their keel cut; but fortune's mood
Varies again: the grizzly north
Disgorges such a tempest forth
That, as a duck for life that dives,
So up and down the poor ship drives.
The lady shrieks, and well-a-near,
Does fall in travail with her fear:
And what ensues in this self storm
Shall for itself itself perform.
I nill relate, action may
Conveniently the rest convey,

Which might not what by me is told.
your imagination hold

In

This stage the ship, upon whose deck
The seas-tost Pericles appears to speak.
SCENE I.

Enter PERICLES, on shipboard.

1 Sail. Slack the bowlines there; thou wilt not, wilt thou?-Blow, and split thyself.

2 Sail. But sea-room, an the brine and cloudy billow kiss the moon, I care not.

1 Sail. Sir, your queen must overboard: the sea works high, the wind is loud, and will not lie till the ship be cleared of the dead.

Per. That's your superstition.

1 Sail. Pardon us, sir; with us at sea it hath been still observed, and we are strong in earnest. Therefore briefly yield her, for she must overboard straight. Per. As you think meet.-Most wretched queen! Lyc. Here she lies, sir.

Per. A terrible child-bed hast thou had, my dear;
No light, no fire: the unfriendly elements
Forgot thee utterly; nor have I time

To give thee hallow'd to thy grave, but straight
[Exit. Must cast thee, scarcely coffin'd, in the ooze;
Where, for a monument upon thy bones,
And aye-remaining lamps, the belching whale,
And humming water must o'erwhelm thy corpse,
Lying with simple shells.-O Lychorida!
Bid Nestor bring me spices, ink and paper,
My casket and my jewels; and bid Nicander
Bring me the satin coffer: lay the babe
Upon the pillow. Hie thee, whiles I say
A priestly farewell to her: suddenly, woman.
[Exit LYCHORIDA.
2 Sail. Sir, we have a chest beneath the hatches,
caulk'd and bitumed ready.

Per. Thou God of this great vast, rebuke these surges,
Which wash both heaven and hell; and thou, that hast
Upon the winds command, bind them in brass,
Having call'd them from the deep. O! still
Thy deafening, dreadful thunders; duly quench
Thy nimble, sulphurous flashes!-O! how, Lychorida,
How does my queen?-Thou storm, venomously
Wilt thou spit all thyself?-The seaman's whistle
Is as a whisper in the ears of death,
Unheard.-Lychorida!-Lucina, O!
Divinest patroness and midwife, gentle
To those that cry by night, convey thy deity
Aboard our dancing boat; make swift the pangs
Of my queen's travails!-Now, Lychorida-

Enter LYCHORIDA, with an Infant.

Lyc. Here is a thing too young for such a place,
Who, if it had conceit, would die as I

Am like to do. Take in your arms this piece
Of your dead queen.

Per.

How! how, Lychorida!

Lyc. Patience, good sir; do not assist the storm.
Here's all that is left living of your queen,

A little daughter: for the sake of it,

Be manly, and take comfort.

Per.

O you gods!

Why do you make us love your goodly gifts,

And snatch them straight away? We, here below,
Recall not what we give, and therein

Use honour with you.

Lyc.

Even for this charge.

Per.

may

Patience, good sir,

Now, mild may be thy life;
For a more blust'rous birth had never babe:
Quiet and gentle thy conditions;

For thou'rt the rudeliest welcome to this world,
That e'er was prince's child. Happy what follows!
Thou hast as chiding a nativity,

As fire, air, water, earth, and heaven can make,
To herald thee from the womb: even at the first,
Thy loss is more than can thy portage quit,
With all thou canst find here.-Now the good gods
Throw their best eyes upon it!

Enter Two Sailors.

1 Sail. What, courage, sir!

God save you.

Per. Courage enough. I do not fear the flaw;
It hath done to me the worst: yet, for the love
Of this poor infant, this fresh new sea-farer,
I would it would be quiet.

Per. I thank thee. Mariner, say what coast is this?
2 Sail. We are near Tharsus.
Per. Thither, gentle mariner,

Alter thy course for Tyre. When canst thou reach it?
2 Sail. By break of day, if the wind cease.
Per. O make for Tharsus.--

There will I visit Cleon, for the babe
Cannot hold out to Tyrus: there I'll leave it
At careful nursing. Go thy ways, good mariner:
I'll bring the body presently.
[Exeunt.

SCENE II.-Ephesus. A Room in CERIMON'S
House.

Enter CERIMON, a Servant, and some Persons who
have been Shipwrecked.

2 Gent. Your honour has through Ephesus pour'd Her eyelids, cases to those heavenly jewels forth

Your charity, and hundreds call themselves
Your creatures, who by you have been restor❜d:
And not your knowledge, your personal pain, but even
Your purse, still open, hath built lord Cerimon
Such strong renown as time shall never-

Enter Two Servants with a Chest.

Serv. So; lift there.