he says. Sir, all our request is, since we are come, we may be admitted, if not for a masque, for an anticmasque; and as we shall deserve therein, we desire to be returned with credit to the buttery from whence we came, for reward, or to the porter's lodge with discredit, for our punishment." Groom. To be whipt with your bears! well, I could be willing to venture a good word in behalf of the game, if I were assured the aforesaid game would be cleanly, and not fright the ladies. Notch. For that, sir, the bearward hath put in security by warranting my lady and her women to dance the whole changes with them in safety; and for their abusing the place you shall not need to fear, for he hath given them a kind of diet-bread to bind them to their good behaviour. Groom. Well, let them come; if you need one, I'll help you myself. Enter JOHN URSON with his Bears, who dance while he sings the following BALLAD. Though it may seem rude For me to intrude, With these my bears, by chance-a: 'Twere sport for a king, If they could sing As well as they can dance-a. Then to put you out Of fear or doubt, We came from St. Katherine-a, 116 Or to the porter's lodge for our punishment.] The usual place of chastisement for the menials and humbler retainers of great families. See Massinger, vol. i. p. 294. These dancing three, By the help of me, Who am the post of the sign-a. We sell good ware, And we need not care Though court and country knew it ; Our ale's o' the best, And each good guest Prays for their souls that brew it." For any ale-house, We care not a louse. Nor tavern in all the town-a; Nor the Vintry-Cranes, Nor St. Clement's Danes, Nor the Devil can put us down-a. Who has once there been, Comes thither again, The liquor is so mighty; Beer strong and stale, And so is our ale, And it burns like aqua-vita. To a stranger there, If any appear, Where never before he has been: We shew the iron-gate, The wheel of St. Kate, And the place where the priest fell in. 8 And each good guest Prays for their souls that brew it.] Alluding to the proverb of that age, "Blessings on your heart, for you brew good ale." WHAL. 8 And the place where the priest fell in.] This was mentioned above. (p. 413.) I have met with nothing on the subject of this catastrophe, though it must have been sufficiently familiar at the time. The wives of Wapping, And often piss out our fire. From morning to night, They sit, and never grudge it; And the tinker pawns his budget. If their brains be not well, Or their bladders do swell, To ease them of their burden, My lady will come With a bowl and a broom, And her handmaid with a jorden. From court we invite Lord, lady, and knight, Squire, gentleman, yeoman, and groom; And all our stiff drinkers, Smiths, porters, and tinkers, And the beggars shall give ye room. Van. How like you, how like you ? Groom. Excellent! the bears have done learnedly, and sweetly. Van. Tis noting, tis noting; vill you see someting? ick sall bring in de Turkschen, met all zin bashaws, and zin dirty towsand Yanitsaries met all zin whooren, eunuken, all met an ander, de sofie van Persia, de Tartar cham met de groat king of Mogull, and made deir men, and deir horse, and deir elephanten, be seen fight in the ayr, and be all killen, and aliven, and no such ting. And all dis met de ars van de Catropricks, by de refleshie van de glassen. Notch. Oh, he is an admirable artist. Slug. And a half, sir. Groom. But where will he place his glasses? Van. Fow, dat is all ean, as it be two, dree, veir, vife towsand mile off; ick sall multiplien de vizioun, met an ander secret dat ick heb: Spreck, vat vill you haben? Groom. Good sir, put him to't, bid him do something that is impossible; he will undertake it, I warrant you. Notch. I do not like the Mogul, nor the great Turk, nor the Tartar, their names are somewhat too big for the room; marry, if he could shew us some country-players, strolling about in several shires, without license from the office, that would please I know whom; or some Welsh pilgrims in Van. Pilgrim! now yow talk of de pilgrim, it come my head. Ick vill show yow all de whole brave pilgrim o' de world: de pilgrim dat go now, now at de instant, two, dre towsand mile to de great Mahomet, at de Mecha, or here, dere, every where, make de fine labyrints, and shew all de brave error in de vorld. Slug. And shall we see it here? Van. Yaw, here, here, here in dis room, tis very room: vel vat is dat to you, if ick do de ting? vat an devil, vera boten devil? Groom. Nay, good sir, be not angry. Notch. 'Tis a disease that follows all excellent men, they cannot govern their passions; but let him alone, try him one bout. Groom. I would try him; but what has all this to do with our mask? Van. O sir, all de better vor an antick-mask, de more absurd it be, and vrom de purpose, it be ever all de better. If it go from de nature of de ting, it is de more art: for dere is art, and dere is nature, yow sall see. Hocos Pocos! paucos palabros! Here the second Antimasque. Which was a perplexed Dance of straying and deformed Pilgrims taking several paths, till with the opening of the light above, and breaking forth of APOLLO, they were all frighted away, and the main Masque begun : APOLLO descending, sung." It is no dream; you all do wake, and see; Artes eximias quatuor Apollini acceptas tulit antiquitas : b Sagittandi peritiam, unde apud Homerum, frequens illud epitheton Ekýẞodos, longe jaculans. c Medicinam, unde medici nomen adeptus. d Musicam, unde povonyérns appellatus. Et Divinationem (in qua etiam Augurium) unde Augur Apollo dictus. Virg. Æneid. lib. iv. et Hor. Car. lib. i. od. 2. Nube candentes humeros amictus Et Carm. Sæcul. ult. ubi doctissimus Poeta has artes totidem versibus complectitur, Augur ut fulgente decorus arcu Phoebus, acceptusque novem camoenis, Corporis artus. |