rank of fops thy praise advance To whom by instinct all thy stuff is dear Their loud claps eccho to the Theatre From breaths of Fools thy commendation spreads Fame sings thy praise with mouths of Loggerheads With noise and laughing each thy Fustian Greets 'T is clapt by Quires of empty headed Cits Who have their Tribute sent and Homage given As men in whispers send loud noise to Heaven Thus I have daubed him with his own Puddle And now we are come from Aboard his Dancing Masquing Rebounding Breathing Fleet and as if we had landed at Gotham we meet nothing but Fools and non-sense Sayes the King Wellcome true owner of the fame you bring A Conqueror is a Guardian to a King Conquest and Monarchy consistent are 'T is Victory secures the Crowns we wear An ingenious Speech every Line in it rises and is more foolish than other Wellcome true Owner As if a Man could be a false Owner or have a wrong right to a thing A Conquerour is a Guardian to a King Poor King the Poet makes thee here confess thy self fit to be beg'd for a Fool and so chuse thy Cousin Mulyhamet for thy Guardian But perhaps the Poet has a deeper search in Politiques and would imply that that King who trusts a Subject to Conquer for him makes himself the Conquerours ward and deserves to be beg'd But I doubt both Poet and King are too much Fool to have so wise a meaning The former therefore must be the Poets design and as if he had brought the King before a Court to be tryed whether he could count five tie a Knot and was fit to be beg'd or no he makes him say Conquest and Monarchy consistent are A wise Apothegme implying it is possible for a Monarch to Conquer or a Conquerour to be or to serve a Monarch And the sense rises well too from the former Line In the former he had said a Conquerour is a Kings Guardian or protects a King and here he says he is consistent with a King that is he is a brave fellow and 't is possible for him to be an honest fellow Just as if he had been askt how many are the Five Vowels and he had answered almost five Poor King thou art beg'd there is no saving thy Estate but perhaps the Poet thinks he helps him in the next Line 'T is Victory secures those Crowns we wear Not at all this Line is as silly as any of the rest 'T is Victory secures That is whilst we Conquer we shall not be Conquered and whilst we Conquer we are safe As if he had been asked which was safer to beat or to be beaten and he answers 't is as safe a thing to beat as to be beaten Now let us take the whole Speech together Wellcome Oh! thou owner of thy own Things Conquerour is a brave fellow and guards his King and 't is possible for him to be an honest fellow and for his King and him to agree and whilst we beat others others will not beat us and so we are safer than if we had been beaten Mulyhamet though a Conquerour is Humble and Civil aâ—d to comply with the Kings weakness answers in the same kind of non-sense cunningly I suppose to gain upon him and make him proceed in chusing him his Guardian which yet was his right as being his near Cousin and they have the same Laws you know at Morocco as we have My actions all are on your name enroll'd What it is to Enroll upon Parchment I know but not upon Names Strange kinds of Records they keep in Morocco With burning Ships made Beacons on the Sea He fired Beacons after the Victory Whose very looks so much your foes surprize That you like Beauty Conquer with your Eyes Here he gives Eyes to a Notion Beauty is a thing consists in Harmony features and proportion and to say the Eyes of Beauty is to say the Eyes of Harmony or the Eyes of Proportion that is the Eyes of Tallness and Streightness or the Eyes of evenness and the Eyes of Features that is the Eyes of ones Nose or of ones Mouth But perhaps he means you like a Beauty Conquer c. and then it is an Heroick Epithete to call a Generall a Beauty and tell him he Conquer'd with his Eyes like a pretty Wench No Madam War has taught my hands to aim As in the former Speech he gave Eyes to the Nose so here he makes Hands to aim in another place he makes 'em give a blast Blasted with the hand of Heaven Where me thinks he is very unkind to his Friend Breath to give to Hands what was its proper right I do command you love where I admire Mulyhamet is now absolutely chose Guardian and mighty fond his Ward is of him Though Mariamne's love appear'd before The highest happiness fate had in store Yet when I view it as an Offering Made by the hand of an obliging King It takes new charms looks brighter lends new heat No Objects are so glorious or so great But what may still a greater form put on As Optique Glasses magnifie the Sun Mulyhamet by this Speech seems to be a kind of jeering Companion under pretence of complementing the King and his Sister he abuses them both The King he calls by craft a pittifull Optique Glass a thing to see through and he tells Mariamne that her love seen through that Optique Glass called a King seems to be a greater happiness than it is indeed And that this is the sense of his words the following Lines plainly prove No Objects are so glorious or so great But what may still a greater forme put on As Optique Glasses magnifie the Sun That is though Mariamne's love be the most glorious thing in the World yet there is no Object so great or glorious but what may put on a greater form than it hath as the Sun does by the help of an Optique or Magnifying Glass By this he affirms too that an Optique Glass makes the Sun look bigger than â—t is No other tollerable sense can be made of this Speech for it would be most ridiculous to say no Objects are so great but what may appear almost as great as they are that would be as much as to say no Objects are so great but what may appear pretty great as if it were wonder for great Objects to appear great I wonder what should appear great but great Objects The wonder is that no Object is so great but may seem greater than it is by the help of Art and saying this he speaks sense but then his allusion abuses Mariamne as I said before and affirms an Optique Glass makes the Sun look bigger than it is Such blundring does the Poet make when he endeavours never so little to flie Your Subjects wait with eager Ioys to pay Their Tribute to your Coronation day Tributary Subjects again But the King is beg'd and so they only give him Tribute I suppose he means a small allowance to
this case The too frequent access he has had to this Great and Noble Person is that which swells him to this arrogance Besides if he owes the Story to his Lordships hands why does he pay it to his feet This is robbing Peter to pay Paul Every thing that he does as well as all he writes must be incongruous But I do also say the Story is not his Lordships I mean as this Poet has manag'd it for though I know not what story he received yet I am pretty sure it never was this barbarous and ridiculous Tale that he has pester'd us with He may well tell his Lordship he throws it at his Feet as his own that is as it were his own foâ— I am confident it is nothing like it as it came from him And his Lordship needed that information to know his own Story when he met it in that disguise And he was very patient when the Poet had the iâ—pudence to throw his Story at his feet so abus'd and mangl'd that he did not make one of his Grooms to throw him there after it But now to collect if possible out of this heap of Rubbish the grounds we heard so much talk of The sum total amounts to no more then this the honours condescended c Favours from a Person of Honour are incomparable grounds for being Sawcy with him Truly ingenious Men they use to render more modest and submissive but Fools it seems more arrogant And this heightned his sense of Gratitude beyond his power of expressing it And this so transported our Poet he has not been able to speak one wise word Poor Poet he has it seems a very weak head he cannot bear a little favour but he must presently be intoxicated and in his Drink he has another infirmity to be Sawcy But is this all he has to brag of Other Scriblers for ought he knows may be fuddled with Favour and sawcy in their Drink as well as he and then why must they be jerked and he be stroked What equity is there in that This it is â—o give a Babboon Brandy twenty to one but he sawcily Attacks you I have tyred my self and I fear my Reader with raking into the endless absurdities of this Epistle there are many more almost as many as words but I shall but touch at some few and the next that offers it self is I think worth observing I present it to your Patronage as the Jews made their Sacrifices which we read took Fire from Heaven the Incence was lighted by that Divinity to whom it was offered Here he compares presenting to making and has Tautology upon Tautology Made and Offered Fired and Lighted Heaven and Divinity and which is most gross of all Incence and Sacrifice must be added to the Tautology for it is apparent he takes 'em to be the same He says he presented it as the Iews made their Sacrifices which we read took fire from Heaven How did the Iews make such Sacrifices Answ. The Incence was lighted by the Divinity to whom it was offer'd Besides the absurdity of saying the same thing over again as if I should ask one how the paper come to be blotted and he should answer me by blotting the paper It further appears he takes them to be the same by his saying that of Incence which was only true of Sacrifice for Sacrifice indeed did take Fire from Heaven but Incence it is known had a distinct Altar appointed for it and if he would but have vouchsafed to have looked into the Bible he might have found Incence was lighted by the Priest with a Coal from the Altar of Sacrifice but I suppose he avoids reading the Bible as he says he does other books for fear of spoiling his Fancy I do not wonder he cannot distinguish betwixt Sense and Bulls sinâ—e he knows no difference betwixt Frankincence and Myrrh and Sheep and Oxen. To imitate his non-sense in presenting this Play to his Noble Patron he offers up the Incence of whole Hecatombs of Bulls in Sacrifice to him Thus has your Lordship shewed your self so great a Friend to the Muses that as in former Ages when all that is left of is that Maecenas c. That as in former Ages when all that is left of This Poet sure never learnt his Accidence no ten lines pass him without false English but he does by Tenses as he does by Words and Sentences put 'em together Higglety Pigglety first that come into his head first served and what stuff they make when they come together he is unconcerned at Your influence on the contrary makes the Poet. With all respect to his Honourable Patron be it spoken if he did make this Poet he is not the best Poet-maker in England but he does it like a Gentleman only for his Divertisement I thought the Poet was not of Natures making he is so awkard a piece But perhaps this is that Honourable Persons first Essay the next Poet he is pleased to make perhaps will be better ' Ere I let this pass I must beg pardon if tracing the footsteps of this Impudent Scribler I use any unfitting freedom but I am thrust upon it by my Authour whose non-sensicall and arrogant Epistle like a Fanatick Prayer is hard ro expose without seeming profaneness and entrenching upon things that are Sacred And if this Play live or have success enough to preserve a Name 't is by being your Creature and enjoying your Smiles Then the Play will live and live Merrily for it is impossible for any one to abstain from Smiling that ever sees or reads it it is so pleasant a Tragedy Will Doll the Sculptor too has a little helped on the Mirth with his Sculptures if the charge of 'em like the double rates at Foolish operaes does not spoil the Mirth among our Poets upper Gallery Friends and make 'em see his Plays with Smiles upon their Brows as in the fourth Act he makes his Queen-Mother meet Death that is with Frowns But that which is an abuse to them is a Complement to the Book-Seller who whisper'd the Poet and told him Sir your Play had misfortune was thought a little non-sensical and all that but if you would be at the charge of a Sculpture or two the Poet takes the hint le ts the Book-seller as 't is said pick his Pocket and all that 'T is not to be imagin'd how far a Sculpture or two at the Poets charge goes to make the Book-seller Rich and the Poet Ridiculous I will conclude my observations on this Epistle with four lines of our Poets Kings Bounties act like the Suns courteous Smiles Whose race produce kind Flowers on fruitful Soiles But cast on barren Sands and baser Earth Only breed poysons and give Monsters Birth I will not engage in the non-sense of these lines my buisness here being only to return his Simile upon him and leave the examination of the non-sense of the expression to another place it being too much for this
witness the plenty contained but in the first line Kings Bounties act like the Suns courteous Smiles He calls a Smile courteous and says a Kings Bounty acts like a Smile it had been more like sense to have said Kings in their bounties act like Smiles and yet it had been ridiculous enough to compare a King to a Smile But I observe our Poet is much delighted with Smiles and they are things that have great power over him In his Epilogue to Cambises he begg'd Smiles to help him to write a Play Faith for once grant it that the World may say Your Smiles have been the Authour of a Play In this Epistle he begs his Patrons Smiles to preserve his Play And in his Epilogue to this Play he begs Smiles in general for the Scribling Trade So your kind Smiles advance the Scribling Trade Oh Witty Smiles what cannot Smiles do write Plays preserve Plays and advance Play-making sure Smiles cannot but be very proud of themselves But I doubt our Poet means he will write the Plays and Smiles shall have the credit of them an excellent Whedle Truly if Smiles get no more credit by their Plays then they get by Morocco Smiles will give over Smiling or Smile upon the Brow which is worse And I believe Smiles cannot but be vext that they were drawn in to be the Authours of a Play since it was such a wretched one A barbarous thing it is of the Poet with his non-sense to force Smiles to Smile and then accuse Smiles of all his non-sense If this be the trade there will be no end of Smiling and Non-sense for his Non-sense will beget Smiles and Smiles will beget Non-sense and so to the end of the Chapter unless Smiles convinced of the evil consequence contain themselves though never so much provok'd But to apply his Simile As the Suns raies cast on fruitful Soils produce Flowers but on barren Sands and baser Earth only breed Monsters and Poisons where by the way it is hard to find any baser Earth then barren Sands nor are those Sands properly barren that produce poisons nor the Womb that breeds Monsters but the Sands or Womb that produce nothing So the favours of persons of Honour and Generosity cast on ingenious Men encourage them to produce excellent things and are bestowed for the advantage of the World but thrown away on such unimprovable Dunces as this only produce such things as they say are bred of Sun and Slime in Aegypt things half Mud and half Monster and such another thing is this Play a thing made up of Fustian and non-sense which with much a do after two years painful hatching crawl'd out of the muddy head where it was engendred ERRATA PAg. 34. l. 29. r. this news p. 45. l. 32. r. ravisher p. 50. l. 2. dele To expiate p. 51. l. 9. r. signifie both l. 32. r. to Martyr`d Monarchs p. 54. l. 29. r. thy fame p. 55. l. II. r. raising p. 54. l. 12. r. little better than fools bolts p. 68. l. 26. dele with the story p. 70. l. 11. r. fancy is p. 71. l. 5. r. he would be thought l. 34. r. quote p. 72. l. 2. dele own l. 3. r. out of l. 5. r. but not the Excellencies which Schoolmasters c. l. 8. r. disertis The First ACT. Condemn'd to Fetters and to Scepters born THAT we may know what to expect our Poet stuffs non-sence in the very first Line of his Play and condemns his simple Mulylabas before he was born To have said he had a knock in his Cradle had been good sense and every one would have believed it but to damn him to Fetters before he was so much as in Swadling-cloaths is very severe But this kind of Figure is frequent with out Poet who not only damns People before they die as Pluto in the Masque does Orpheus Thy Breath has damn'd thee thou shalt die But before they are born and Routs Armies before they fight As if our Poets Plays should be damn'd before they were made to say our Poet is a damn'd Poet is not only Sense but Truth but to say his Plays are damn'd Plays before he writes them is I think as great non-sense as any he can write 'T is in this Garb unhappy Princes mourn Fetters are the Crape the Purple or what you will that Princes mourn in or else Princes are out of humour and mourn when they are in Fetters Yet Fortune to great Courages is kind Here he makes the King call himself a Man of small Courage for immediately before he makes him complain of his Fetters and by consequence of Fortunes unkindness to him and here he says Yet Fortune to great Courages is kind An excellent Character of a King both Fool and Coward But perhaps he means Fortune is kind to great Courages in their very misfortunes and then it is absolute non-sense That is Great Courages though unfortunate are fortunate 'T is he wants liberty whose Soul 's confin'd Then all the people in the world want liberty for all their Souls are confin'd within their Bodies But there is farther non-sense in it for this Line is design'd for a proof of the former else it is all empty Tautology 'T is he wants liberty whose Soul 's confin'd He means not Corporal Liberty it is plain for his King who speaks it and who would fain proove if he would speak sense that he does not want the nobler kind of Liberty which is that of the Mind yet confesses himself to want the former and shews his Fetters And therefore the sense is he who has a confin'd Soul has a confin'd Soul But if it relates to the former Line there is this non-sence in it Yet Fortune to great Courages is kind 'T is he wants liberty whose Soul 's confin'd 'T is apparent that great Courages and unconfin'd Souls are here the same thing and then the sence is this Great Courages or unconfin'd Souls are unconfin'd by the kindness of Fortune that is great Courages are valiant by chance or by good luck What stuff may not a silly unattending Audience swallow wrapt up in Rhime certainly our Poet writes by chance is resolv'd upon the Rhime before hand and for the rest of the Verse has a Lottery of words by him and draws them that come next let them make sense or non-sense when they come together he matters not that and his luck is so bad that he seldom hits upon any that agree any more than so many Men of several Languages would do My thoughts out-fly that mighty Conqueror Who having one world vanquisht wept for more Fetter'd in Empires he enlargement crav'd To the short walk of one poor Globe enslav'd My Soul mounts higher and fates power disdains And makes me Reign a Monarch in my Chains To pass by the non-sense of enslaving a Man to a walk and to the walk of a Globe a thing so improper for a walk that a Woman upon a Globe is the Embleme of
the Love it held How could a Hand touch Love or a Dagger Stab Love c. But says Morena Good Gentle Kind give me the Dagger back c. If my Request appear too burdensome Grant but this one That pointed Steel restore c. That is give me back the Dagger or if my Request appear for appears too burdensome give me the Dagger back Oh cruel Queen what has your fury done That made you lose a Husband me a Son This Realm a King the world a Virtue grown Too fit for Heaven but not to go so soon The Question is an Answer to it self she asks what her fury had done that made her loose a Husband c. Why it answers it self it made one loose a Husband the other a Son 'T was a very impertinent Question The World a Virtue Here the Poet calls a Man viz. Muly Labas a Virtue What non-sense that is need not be demonstrated Too fit for Heaven is a Bull nothing can be too fit for any end it is designed for much less for Heaven But after he calls Muly Labas a Virtue too fit for Heaven he says but not to go so soon viz. he was too fit to go to Heaven at all but not too fit to go to Heaven so soon VVas it not you that arm'd me to this guilt Told me I should a Ravishers Blood have spilt No 't was by your design c. Arming one to guilt is base English besides I should have spilt before she did it is non-sense It must be I should spill But what does he mean by no there But this â—twas your Design No 't was your Design Madness always ushers in great Sins Madness takes away all Sin Mad-men cannot sin This is no news to that which she has done Done News to use a Phrase like this this is no non-sense to that which he has done She mov'd star'd walk'd storm'd rag'd curs'd rav'd and damn'd This is the sillyest Line of Mono-syllables that ever was written She moved and walked as if any body could walk without moving She stormed raged and raved that is raged raged and raged What he means by damned unless she swore God Damn her I cannot tell Her Face discolour'd grew to a deep Red. That is either her Red Face grew Red or her Tawny or Black and Blew Face grew Red. Then with an Infant rage more soft and mild She plaid with madness leap'd sung danc'd and smil'd She plaid leap'd sung danc'd and smil'd these are pretty effects of rage but t is an Infant rage rage is the excess of passion but he means either Childish rage and that way it is not sense because Children when they rage Bite scratch stare stamp cry and roare If he means little or moderate rage then 't is moderate excess which is a Bull. But see how idly her wild Fancies walk But she who acts so ill as ill may talk Though the Poet thinks his own Fancy flies he makes the Queens Wild Fancy but walk and walk idly too But she who acts so ill The word Act refers not to the Queen but to Mrs. Iohnson who acted the Part and then he does her wrong for she acted very well though she talked ill he having put such foolish words into her mouth Her action exceeds his Poetry as much as her Beauty and Meene does his The Wits and Senses lost the Soul may stray That is as he meanes when the wits and senses are gone 't is possible to be mad never was any man so unlicky at sentences similes or descriptions as this Fumbler in poetry by name Elkanah Settle I' st not enough that my dear Lord I slew But must be Actor and Designer too No barbarous stepmother It should be but I must I being as necessary as any word in the Verse But she saies no Barbarous Stepmother viz. no 't is not enough This is as good a No as that before How she disowns that blood which she has spilt She did not disown his blood for she said before 't was her Sonns but I suppose though the Poet dos not say so he means she disowns the spilling of it but I will pass by a great deal of unpardonable stuff to come to the end of this tedious Act. Morena's hand shall wash the staine she wears As condemn'd men turne Executioners This is one of his similes which are commonly the most unlike things to what they are compar'd in the world Morena must execute her self as condemn'd men execute others and she must wash the staine off her â—elf as condemnd men wash the staine off themselves by being Hangmen To explate thy blood I let out mine His blood was good to expiate and had no Crime in it In his next two lines he makes Skyes and Sighes to Rhime Wing'd by my Love I will my passage steer To steer a flight is a phrase which none but he would have used and then his reason why he cannot miss his way is excellent and undeniable Nor can I miss my way when you shine there And thus ends the most tedious insipid dull Act I ever read The Fifth Act. Mysterious Majesty best fitts a Throne THis is one of his Sentences which are commonly sounding Nonsense For why Misterious Majesty becomes a Throne better than plain Majesty is to me a Misterious riddle But this fellow has a Buz of poetry in his head aâ—d never thinking clearely can never expresse him self intelligibly Men have ador'd and have made Offerings To unknown Gods why not to unknown Kings Hâ—â—eâ—is a bundle of Nonsense for his Tyrant who speakes it was no unknown King though he was an Vsurper They all saw him knew him and were forc'd to acknowledge him Next his Phrase of makeing offerings is improper English No man makes the Oxen and the Sheep he Sacrifices I confess our Authour makes Bulls not seldom Expecting when the Martiall Summon calls That is when the Summon Summons a Figure called Taâ—tology â—ery frequent in this Authour The number of my Foes enhance my Crown Numbers of Foes most Commonly pull down Crownes but the â—â—own of Morocco has the priviledge onely to be inhanc'd by them 〈◊〉 number of his Faults inhance his Play by the same reason And â—â—nhance a Crown is excellent English into the bargain Muley Hamet and Mariamne are the last Wou'd any one take this for a Verse it runs like a foundred Jade upon pebbles and must be pronounc'd thus Muley Hamet and Marjamne are the last to write not onely non-sense but hobling non-sense too But though your hand did of his Murder miss How ' ere his Exile has restraind his pov'r In profe thus But though howere your hand did miss but though and Howere signifies all one thing but he would have you think he immitates Homers Expletives 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he fils a Verse as Masons do Brick-walls with broken peeces in the middle Iv'e shook my late familiars from my brest I shook is English and I have shaken he constantly
heroe indeed and a very bold one to fly upon the old Gentlewoman with so much violence to forsake the Daughter for the Mother and to attempt a rape in her own Seraglio in the midst of her Servants Yet Muley Labas is foole enough to beeive all this But how came Crimalhaâ— to her rescue He had not the Emperours signet too did he drop from the Clouds into the Seraglio this is so manifestly absur'd that it is not to be suffered Muley Hamet all this while sayes nothing to the purpose in his own defence but onely that their mystique Language does his sense confound and can th' eternal powers such Trechery permit oh horrour and such balderdash stuff he suffers himself to be run down without telling his own Story Onely he offers Crimalhaz the duel in these words That justice by his hand might give him death And stifle with his Blood his perjur'd breath Put that a man should stiffle anothers breath with his Blood seems rather a desire to be his Hangman than to fight with him The Emperour is ever sure to take all things wrong and therefore in stead of granting the Combat to Muley Hamet he thinks his offering it a proof of his guilt If you this rash attempt pursue you 'l make me thinks that what he sayes is true That is if you will offer to cleare your selfe I shall conclude you guilty Admirably argued If you dare fight I am sure you are a Rascall presently upon this he pronounces the sentence of his Death And now what can the Poet do to save his heroe Of all the world who could imagine the Queen Mother should be the Woman yet the Poet makes use of her to do it and gives his reason in these lines aside But hold the King will then my cheat descry I wish his Death who tamely see him die Which i confess I either do not understand or if I do they are flat non-sense The Queen-Mother's great design with her Gallant was to ruine Muley Hamet Now she has it in her power she sayes the King will descry her cheat if she desires his Death If the Poet had so thought fit it was the onely way in the World to keepe her cheat undiscover'd for who should reveale it when he was dead on whom it was practised or doth he meane the King will find out the Cheat that she wishes his death is she tamely see him die take his bad English in the most favourable meaning Yet what reason had she to caâ—e if the King knew she desired Muley Hamets death who was supposed to have attempted a rape upon her So that ti 's false reasoning and non-sense every way onely Muley Hamet was not to be kild and therefore rather then faile the Queen must preserve him against her intâ—est and her Character for when he askes her aside how â—ofowle a treason gaind admission to her Soule She answers him in very refin'd â—ustian Without the help of Soules when I think good Such Crimes I do as i 'm meer flesh and blood That is without reason thought or understanding without sense I am sure Another part of the Heroes Character is that he will not plead for himself because the Kings-Mother accuses him Believe me her intended Ravisher Appearing so I take the guilt from her A very well bred Heroe to be hang'd out of pure respect to her who accused him His Mistres coming to see him in Prison and freeing him is one of our Poets Generosityes 't is an usuall saying with him that 't is an easy thing to make an Heroicke play Som forty rants and some four or five Generosityes and the buisness is done at least for ought he knows But this Generosity by his favour was a very Senseless one for Mariomne to free Muley Hamet because he had been false to love and would have ravished her own mother I am affraid she had some other design in coming thither and hearing of his manhood in enterprising upon an old Woman she thought he would do miracles to her But how knew she he was in Prison she was not by when he was committed and yet within Ten or Twelve lines after his going off she has not onely heard of it but has gone to his Jaile and bribd his Keeper for his delivery very quick work of a nimble witted Poet and yet all this is suppos'd too for we heare nothing of those Circumstances So the Play goes forward till it comes to a broad place and there the Authours comes tothe ditch leaps over with the Story and leaves the plot to come after as it can When it was not for his purpose that Muley Hamet should clâ—ea himselâ— then he had not a word to say in his own defence But when the buisness is over he makes out his innocence to Mariomne But when Muley Labas and that close mourner the Queen-mother came in the second time he is bewitchd againe and cannot speake to the King So though he be the Heroe and the Emperour the Foole of the Play yet the the Foole rides the Heroe and has the whip hand of him perpetually Once more the King will have his blood and once more the Queen-mother whose second thoughts are no wiser than her first would save him At last t is concluded he must be banished Upon this the old Queen and Crimalhaz plot a new to destroy him by an Ambuscade which they would lay for him in his way to Banishment They might have done it more easily and less Suspiciously by the Kings otder and by Law but they will needs wave the certain way for the uncertain and the plausible for the Suspicious So her 's a Play spun out of Accidents as unnatural as Scaramoucha's farcâ—s and a heaping Adventure upon Adventure without any probable way of producing them from each other He has given us a Babell instead of a Morocco and had need have a whole Audience as favourable as that good natur'd Gentle man was who being ask'd by another at some Tragady as absur'd as this how such a man in the play came thither answerd very civily what needâ—st thou care how he came so long as thou hast him here for thy half Crown POSTSCRIPT SOme who are pleased with the bare sound of Verse or the Rumbling of Robustuous non-sense will be apt to think Mr. Settle too severely handled in this Pamphlet but I do assure the Reader that there are a vast number of Errors past by perhaps as many or more then are taken notice of both to avoid the Tediousness of the work and the greatness it might have occasion'd of a volume upon such a trifle I dare affirm that no objections in this Book are fruitless cavills but if through too much hast Mr. Settle may be accused of any seeming fault which may reasonably be defended Let the passing by many gross Errors without reprehension compound for it I am not ignorant that his admirers who most commonly are Women will resent this