did take some The Author assur'd it and told me at the same time that there was not any but Prometheus who would taste of this new dish And that he hath not mention'd it was because he conceiv'd that did nothing against the Poets no more hath he said that Mars durst drink neither wine nor nectar and that he had by him some Diet-drink in a bottle which Aesculapius had presented him whereof he drank now and then because Venus had given him the Running of the Reins In like manner divers other undescent things have been past by lest it should have prov'd of ill example to the Readers and particularly there hath been nothing said of Priapus who besides what hath been mentioned of him play'd some other pranks of his profession The Author reserves all that for the Commentaries he intends upon his Banquet of the Gods and in the mean time these good things are only spoken under the Rose and to Good-fellows But we are yet to know the opinion of our noble Shepherd of this Piece In good faith the Author is a crafty knave says Lysis yet he hath a good wit 't is his own fault if he make not good use of it but I should have wisht he had spoken of the Gods more reverently then he hath You do not apprehend the business replyes Montenor do you not see it is his design to abuse them The Ancients have left us many monstrous volumas wherein there is neither reason nor conduct Every one feigns and imagines a world of Divinities as they please themselves and if one hath assign'd them such a father and mother he that writ after him hath found them others As for the places of their birth and their several actions they agree as ill as the Clocks of the Suburbs do with those of the City Besides they relate Metamorphoses and other miracles that have not any probability at all Our Author would laugh at all this and note that all the Poets are much oblig'd to him for in this discourse he hath clear'd up abundance of obscure things which they themselves understood not and whereof they could not give any shadow of reason Consider all he hath said of the the Thread of the Destinies of the Signs of heaven of Aurora and the Sun they are things which though they render the Fables ridiculous yet give withal a greater discovery of their absurdities As for instance The Poets assure us that the Sun is a God fill'd with heat and light who walking through the heavens enlightens us here and yet they say withal that having lent his Chariot to Phaeton he gave the world the day instead of the other but that approaching too near the earth he was like to burn it up what an absurdity is this for seeing the Sun himself was not there what light and what heat could there be In what manner have those egregious Cockscombs ever explain'd this No they never troubled themselves to do it for they speak confusedly of the power of their Divinities without laying any foundation for things They have never given us any certain information whether that body which we see be the head of the God Apollo as it is likely because there is an appearance of a face or whether it be a Torch he carries in his hand or haply his Chariot all a fire Some call him Phoebus with the golden hair others the Torch of the day and others the burning Chariot How then shall we understand the Fable of Phaeton without question we must say that there is in the heaven a great Globe of fire which Apollo fastens behinde his Head or behinde his Chariot when he is to go his course and that it was possible he might have given it to his Son But wher 's he among the Poets that hath thus particulariz'd these things It is my Author hath found out this sleight and hath taught it me doth he not say that the Sun fastens his beams about his head I should never have done if I would specifie all the places where he hath clear'd up the Fables Remember it that you may observe them and believe what I tell you and that is that the discourse I have now read to you excels all the Poets have ever writ All will not grant you that says Anselme consider that the Fables of the Poets are Mystical things wherein all the ancient wisdom lies hid They have done well to make you believe that replyes Montenor There is Notalis Comes and some other Gentlemen of Leasure who have employ'd themselves to make Mythologies and have found out those expositions of the Fables which never came into the imaginations of the Poets But assure your self that if I had a minde to moralize on the Romance of Mellusin and Robin the Devil I could finde out as handsome things as upon that of the Syrens and Hercules What do you think my Author hath said any thing without reason If the Night-cap and Spectacles of Fate fall down in dancing he shall tell you what it signifies and he is able enough to make a Methologie on his Banquet of the Gods Be not angry we easily believe it says Lysis and I assure you withal that I have a great esteem of the ingenuity of this Author but I would not advise him to print this piece by it self because it is too short My Genius tells me he is design'd to compose my History 't is there he may dispose of it What know you whether it will be convenient says Anselme Men laugh at those who have foisted into their Romances things which were not to the purpose I 'll furnish you with another invention he must in its proper place mention that the Banquet of the Gods hath been read to you and then it shall be put in the end of the Book by it self If divers Anthors I could name had known this cunning slight their works would have been better by much and they could not have been tax'd to have interlarded them with Histories and Verses repeated to so little purpose that the Readers pass them over when they meet them Thus in the Argemi there are such long discourses as might make a Book apart besides that fine Story of the Excrement with the Verses on that subject which Barclay would needs thrust into his Romance for to give it a better sent in the world Thou art Satyrical friend says Lysis keep thy advise to thy self make thy own History after thy own fashion and let me alone to take order for mine This Banquet of the Gods is not improper for me as those pieces thou quotest It treats of those things which have most relation to what I have in design and it is so much to my purpose that I shall remember it as long as I live and he that should not put it in would commit an error and should not be a faithful Historian for seeing it is true it hath been read to me it is necessary it should be put
of my sheep being not yet provided of a Dog for to keep them Let us go behold the Sun lies him down in the waters Anselme who desired nothing so much as to get him away seeing him in a good humour led him into the way to St Cloud And to try the subtilty of his spirit said to him as they went along But Shepherd you have a strange opinion concerning the Sun you think he goes to bed in the sea and that he reposes himself there till the morrow that he shall rise for to continue his wonted journy That indeed is it that I believe of it answers Lysis and who doth not the like betrayes much ignorance Consider then a little thus thing replies Anselme Behold the Sun sets on that side and to morrow he will rise on the other which is quite opposite how is that done There is as much way for to go thither as he had dispatch'd before when he was above us In what manner can he doe it if he rest himself upon a bed in the sea which the Nereides had prepared for him or if he stay a banqueting with Neptune as I believe you imagine The bed or chair wherein he is doe they go forward while he stirs not out of the same place But besides that how does he go to his Orient is it athwart the Earth that he returns thither is that pierced through to make him a passage We must grant it is so answers Lysis and though I have heard much talk of the Antipodes I do not believe there are any other then those we see when we look into a Well I have not so great appetite to your new Maxims as that for them to discredit so many good Authors from whom I learn that the Sun passes over the night in the sea It 's a thing so universally received that the Poets of this age doe not stick to avow it though they would dissent from all that their Predecessors have said I will contest no further with you replies Anselme Clear but my mind of one doubt If the Sun be all night in the sea hidden in some cave how can he communicate his light to the Moon for they say that if she be sometimes full and sometimes in her increase t is according as the Sun enlightens her Oh the blind minds of mortals says Lysis Is it not sufficiently known that whereas there hath never been but one Sun in the heaven there hath always been an infinite number on earth and that at present there is one that hath more light then a hundred thousand others which is the divine Charite T is from her that the Moon borrows her light and she is much more Sun then the Sun himself on high so that when the Marigold beholds her it looks straight up and is ravished into an extasie It does not know on which side it should direct its yellow and languishing leaves and which is the true Sun that it might follow it Truly says Anselme this is such a new Astrologie as Sacrobosco never imagined And you are able to comment on the Great Shepherds Calendar you can give the reason of Ecclipses Comets and Meteors and all other natural effects without having recourse to any thing but your Mistress As this dispute ended they entred St. Cloud and were presently at the Inn where Adrian was lodg'd which was just at the Towns end There was a world of people met them all being astonished at the strange habit of Lysis and at the sheep which he drove before him but no body durst say any thing to him seeing him with Anselme who was there much respected as being a person of quality Adrian who waited for them at the Inne-gate received them very courteously being very joyfull that his Cousin came with so good a will The first thing that Lysis did was to provide a Stable for his Flock there was one presently assigned him where he locks it up and afterwards returns to Anselme who was talking with Adrian and taking him aside put him in mind of drawing the Picture of Charite seeing he knew her and had the means to see her often Anselme assured him that he had already a Copper-peece for that purpose and that he would not rest till he had fallen in hand with it But I suppose it a very hard peece of work says Lysis For as a man cannot behold the Sun but in a glass so a man cannot see Charite but in what represents her Open my breast second Apelles take out my Heart her Figure is therein engraved That shall be thy Original But what doe I say I have no heart at all and though I had thou wouldst not commit that cruelty Take example from every thing that approaches the beauty of my Mistress I will teach thee how thou must guide thy self in they work Make first those fine twists of gold which adorn her head those inevitable snares those hooks those charms and those chains which surprise hearts Next paint me that Forehead where Love is as it were seated in his Throne below that put those two Bowes of Ebony and under them those two Suns which perpetually dart forth arrows and flames And then in the midst shall rise up that fair Nose which like a little Mountain separates the Cheeks and that not without reason seeing they continually striving which should be the fairest would sometimes or other fall out if they were not separated Thou shalt make those pretty Cheeks intermingled with Lilies and Roses And then that little Mouth whereof the Lips are branches of Coral If it were decent to leave them half open thou shouldst draw her Teeth which are two rowes of fine Pearl But content thy self with this and afterwards there is only the Neck to doe and her fair snowy Bosom When Anselme had heard this fine discourse as he was a person of the greatest courtesie in the world so he presently conceived an excellent Invention as to this Picture and being impatient till he were at his own house to fall about it he took leave of Lysis When he was departed Adrian believing that the folly of his Cousin proceeded from over-fasting had a mind to make him good cheer and asked him if he could not feed on a dish of Carps and Pikes because it was Saturn-day He considered a little thereupon and smiling to himself said The time is come that I shall doe the gallantry which I erewhile boasted I would I will outvie the fidelity of Sirenus and Celadon and doe a thing that shall be eternally memorable No no Cousin I am not for the Fish you have named Let me have a Dish of Gurnards some Salmon some Shrimps and some Beetroot or Carrets And for Fruits give me only Cherries and Apples of Calleville And doe not believe that this is without mysteries I will eat nothing but what is red because the fair Charite loves no colour but that Alas what excellent mysterie is this says Adrian What shall we
besides belong'd not to him and that he should rather have kill'd his own Eagle or his Wife's Peacock and not entertain his guests at their own charges You are angry at a small matter says Jupiter Is there any reason there should remain any Beasts in Heaven when we send so many generous Captains and learned Philosophers to Hell What service had we from so many creatures unless it were to find pastime for the petty Gods as Ganimed and Cupid who made it their employment to lead them up and down in a string Moreover if we had had he and she of every one you might stand upon 't that some profit might be made of them and that they might bring forth young But they were all disproportionable and if they had once but been any thing hot I leave you to consider what kind of monsters they had produced as if the Bull and the Hydra had gone together or the Ram and the Bear What 's more then all there would not have been any should have had any milk fit to make cheese of and I suppose there 's none will avow it had been any great revenue to go and milk them every day for nothing But if haply it be said they had some feathers or furs which would have served us to some purpose I have done well to kill them that we might have them And to the end there should be no partiality used as to all the other Signs of heaven both animate and inanimate I have caus'd them all to be taken away leaving nothing but the Stars to give their ordinary light As for the Demy-Gods Demy-Godesses as the Centaure and Andromedes I have also caus'd them to be removed to wait on me in my palace And as for whatever was insensible I have dispos'd all to those uses whereto they are most fit as the Crown to put on Iuno's head and the Bowl for my self to drink in As for the River Eridan I have not conceiv'd we have any need of it for it runs so slowly that it is but as dead water which is not good either to drink or wash any thing withall and we had much ado to get so much clean water as to wash our hands before meat which we have been fain to strain through a cloth to make it look a little clearer Therefore I have caused certain holes to be made in that part of heaven where that River is so that it still glides down upon the earth and I believe men are somwhat amaz'd to see it rain so plentifully Now it is partly for their sakes that I have taken all these Signs out of heaven 't is for to punish them for the contempt which a while since they were guilty of towards me They shall not henceforward have the pleasure to see the heavens diversified with so many figures whence they easily foresaw things to come And this is the Remonstrance which Jupiter made to the rest of the Gods and to say truth he had entertained such a jealousie against Bacchus Love Sleep and some others who many times were ador'd in his stead that he was big with a design to bring some mischief on Gods and men together Yet was there not one in the Company durst discover his resentment bethinking themselves that if he was truly angry he was powerful enough to ruine them The fair Phoebus well remembred the day when he had banish'd him out of heaven and reduc'd him to a posture of begging in the earth till at last he was commended to some petty King to be his Cowherd There was not one who could not call to minde some such token of his indignation but as they were ruminating on this sad subject Comus enters the Hall with a Torch in his hand Momus follow'd him cloath'd like a King and Vulcan dress'd like a Queen but he would have been so much the more disguis'd if he could have forborn limping The other Maskers were clad some like Souldiers others like Philosophers and many like Tradesmen Pythagoras drest like a a Fool was going to express the moral of the Mask while there enters of a sudden into the place a sort of people which no body knew Iupiter thought they had had relation to the former Maskers but Vulcan and his fellow Actors had not brought them in The first of the troop who had a Flaxen curl'd head of hair and a Crown of Lawrel on his head advanc'd as far as the midst of the Hall and playing on a Harp he had in his hand snng these words O great Iupiter who art oblig'd to render justice to all the world how long wilt thou suffer there should be Gods Gods and Goddesses that intermeddle with the charges of others and are not content with their own Behold here we are a company of Divinities depriv'd of all wealth and honors who come and demand thy assistance I will tell thee one thing that never came into the consideration of the Gods There are in this place a sort of Affronters who besides the charge which hath been given them have encroached upon ours and have made believe we were not in the world whence it hath hapned that we were not invited to thy Banquet That yong Gallant that stands by thee who pretends to so much beauty with his golden Mustachoes should he not be content with the conduct of that Chariot which brings the day with it but that he must withal be the Conductor of the Muses 'T is I That am he I am the true Apollo the son of Iupiter and Latona and the God of Prophesie Poetry and Musick and he is but the Son of Tytan and some obscure Divinity Here is also my sister Diana comes after me who also complains of the Moon there who entrenches on her quality This Apollo would have sung more but his sister coming forwards as soon as he had spoken of her came and said to Luna What Imposture is this Thou mak'st the world believe that thou and I are but one There are many such testimonies of thy lewdness for thou wouldst sometimes fain perswade men that thou governest in Heaven in the Forrests and Hell How canst thou satisfie so many Professions 'T is well known that when thou shinest in heaven I am seen hunting in the woods I believe thou art so impudent as to say thou mayest be in several places and that when there appears but one half of thee in heaven thy other half is on earth But all this granted canst thou be Proserpina too who is the daughter of Ceres whereas 't is known thou art the daughter of Latona Thou sayst thou art chaste yet Proserpina is married to Pluto But wouldst thou not be called Lucina too interposing thy self in Iuno's affairs dost thou not betray thy want of discretion in desiring that women in childe-bed should invoke thee for Midwife Canst thou who art a Maid know any thing in that business This Diana had no sooner began this Harangue but she was
〈◊〉 he considered himself all about with certain gestures of admiration and cry'd out O God! how am I now assured that I shall please my Beauty in this new habit Such was the Phrygian Pastor when he gave sentence upon the difference of the three Goddesses After that he sate him on the ground and taking a little Loaf out of his bag drew out withall divers other things which he set in order by him that he might the better consider them There was a little dry Grass a withered Pink some very foul Paper and a Peece of old worn Leather Ah precious Reliques sayes he in the midst of his contemplation I must have a Box of Chrystal for you that I may always see you and not touch you Then did he fall a eating with such greediness as if he had been newly come out of a besieged City destitute of provision Anselme thinking he could not resume all â—hese excellent discourses and overcome with impatience rise from the place where he was to speak to him As soon as the other had perceived him he sayes to him Pan defend thee courteous Shepherd wilt thou partake of my Pastoral banquet I have in my Pocket some Apricocks whose skin seems to be interlined with Roses We will here participate with a fraternal concord what the Gods have sent us I give you thanks replies Anselme my stomach is not up so early But since your courtesie is so great I presume to ask you what fair things you have there exposed and why you esteem them so highly as if they were Peeces taken out of the Cabinet of some Antiquary I had rather for the present that you gave me part of your secret designs then of your breakfast I adore thy humour replies the Shepherd seeing thou betrayest so much curiosity thou must needs have a good wit Sit thee here down by me and I shall give thee an account of my self It 's a pleasure to discourse of our Loves while a gentle Zephir breaths yet upon the earth when the heat shall advance we will drive our Flocks into the shade Anselme hearing all these not so common things was unspeakably astonish'd and knew he had found one sick of the strangest folly in the world So that considering well that there is nothing gotten of such people but blows if they are contradicted and the greatest pleasure that may be when humour'd he presently placed himself by him He resolved within himself to bite his lips whenever he should say any thing that were ridiculous lest he should laugh and put on a countenance so modest that the Shepherd assuring himself that he prepared him a favourable audience began to speak thus I put up my bread for the present that I may entertain thee with my sufferings Discourses are more pleasant then Banquets Know then that this common Tyrant of our souls this God that is so little in bulk and so great in power who if he were not Shepherds might dispute as to felicity with the Gods no sooner observed me in the world but he destin'd me for one of those Captives which he will have drawn after his triumphal Chariot Yet he alone could not have robbed me of my Liberty had he not been seconded by a fair Eye who conspired with him to make him Master of the Universe The incomparable Charite receives his pay or rather he hers so to perfect the conquest of all hearts 'T was in Paris that Epitome of the World that I saw that onely Wonder when I was in a richer habit but not so noble as this I now have on She dwelt about the quarter of St. Honore and that not without reason seeing she was honoured of all the World Fortune with her blind eyes denyed me often the means of seeing her and it was only at some uncertain hours that I enjoyed that object in passing by the house or rather the temple of that Goddess but wanted the opportunity of tendring my prayers and sacrifices to her I passed by that way above ten times in an afternoon and because I should have been ashamed that the neighbours should see me so often the first time I put on a black Cloak the second a gray one while I walked gravely another with a staff as if I had been lame lest I should have been observed When I would not pass quite through the street I was content to possess my self of a corner and see my Mistress afar off though the most commonly I could perceive but the extremity of her Petticoat But I did more then all this when I returned from some part where I had been at supper I went out of my way three streets to go into hers and it satisfied me to consider the walls that kept her in and to see the candle in her chamber and if the glass appear'd more obscure in one place then another I conceived it was she that was near the window and there I stood for to contemplate that fair shadow so long as it continued And though all this can be called no other then a false pleasure yet I was necessitated to continue in this torment a whole year A torment more cruel then that of Tantalus But these eight dayes since I have found the Heavens more favourable to me Charite is come to dwell here where I hope to find greater means to acquaint her with my flames The Shepherdesses doe oftentimes retire into the groves where the Shepherds may entertain them and yet no envious eye shall discover it as it falls out in Cities where a man is spied and suspected by every one To prosecute therefore my Love with more liberty I have put on this habit which I had wish'd long before and am resolved to pass away my dayes near those fair Rivers with this little Flock But that I may not conceal any thing from thee and that I may be known to thee as to a Brother I tell thee what I would not every body and that is this that my own proper name is Lewis but I have quitted that to take some Shepherd-name I would have one that came somwhat near my own that so I might be always known and sometimes I had a mind to be called Lodovick sometimes Lysidor but in the end I have not found any name more fit then Lysis a name that sounds somwhat I know not what that is amorous and gentle As for Charite not to dissemble her true name is Catherine I heard her so call'd but yesterday by a Nymph But thou knowest the artifice of Lovers We say Francina instead of Francis Diana instead of Anne Hyanthe instead of Jane Helene instead of Magdalene Armida instead of Mary Eliza instead of Elizabeth These old names sound far better then the new in the mouths of the Poets So after I had taken asunder this name of Catherine for to compose another out of it I found by way of Anagram that of Chariteé and there wants only an n but all the letters
conceiv'd he knew not what was become of her And however Gringalet advised him to be gone he told him he would not and that he had some extraordinary disquiets whereof he desired first to be delivered that is to say whether the window whence the water had been cast and that whereon he had left his Letter belong'd to the same chamber and if that Paper were so laid that his Mistress must perceive it Gringalet told him he doubted not but 't was But Lysis remonstrated to him that he was not so fully satisfied and that he would go up to the window which was above the gate to try if he could see Charite in her Chamber and speak to her and that to shew himself a true Lover his importunity must come to that point The Lacquay who knew not who Charite was and knew her not by any other name then Catherine diverted him not from his design and so plac'd the ladder where he bid him Lysis ascends and finding that window a great deal lower then the other was very joyfull and resolved in the first place to kiss the ground thereof because his Mistress had sometimes rested her elbow thereon But in the mean time Gringalet hearing people coming afar off forsakes the ladder which he held below and ran away fearing to be taken in an action which could not seem otherwise then wicked As for Lysis his amorous transportation kept him from thinking of any such thing and bowing himself down to kiss the stones which Charite had touch'd he put his head into a platter of blood which the Chirurgion had plac'd there after he had that morning bled the Kitchin-maid He hath'd his nose in it and overthrew it all on himself which put him into such a fright that in violently removing himself he caus'd the ladder which was not held by any thing to slip away and so came to the ground with it He recovered himself on his feet the best he could But as he was calling Gringalet with a low voice behold four men who passing by had heard the noise of his fall asked him what the matter was and perceiving the Ladder take him for a Robber scaling of houses seeing he refused to make them any answer As for the Platter which was also faln down they saw it not nor yet the Posies he had fastned for their greatest care was to make sure of him and carry him where they lodg'd which was not far that so they might secure his person and know who he was Lysis suffered himself to be led away peaceably seeing his resistance would have been to no purpose Only what he believ'd as to all the business was that they were Pyrates that would carry him away as hapned to divers Lovers mention'd in Histories Do not you believe you carry away Lysis says he at every turn You have but the one half of him To have him all you must have had Charite too And if you have but him alone you can make no advantage of him Those that led him were some Paris-Merchants coming from the Taveâ—n who understood nothing of all this They only answered him that he should give them a good account of his planting of ladders against the walls of houses But as for his part he no more regarded what they said And so falling into his extravagarces he imagin'd still that they carried him away for his beauty and that they would present him to some barbarous Princess that was in love with him As he would have spoken to them to that point they came to the house or the chiefest of the company who had brought the rest with him from Paris to be merry They had no sooner knock'd but the Maid opens to them having a candle by the light whereof they perceiv'd that he whom they led had his face and cloaths all bloody which made all cry out together Ah mischievous man ah murtherer 'T is not enough for him to take away peoples goods but he must take away their lives But where 's his sword Hath he thrown it in at some cellarwindow or hath he 〈◊〉 it in the wound of him whom he hath kill'd Tell us was 't in the street that thou hast committed this murther or in some house whence thou camest out Lysis set on thus with all their demands began to apprehend what they would say to him and viewing himself all about was amaz'd to see his cloaths in that pickle If you see any blood on me says he it is none but my own and it must needs be that I have hurt my self in the place where you found me Alas it is not I that commit murthers on the contrary 't is on my person they are committed every day and Love himself hath taken away my life above a thousand times already If you wonder you found me with a ladder know I took it with me to do my devotions to a Beauty which is so wonderfull that if there were such another in Heaven there would be new Gyants who should heap Ossa upon I elion for to scale it This so extravagant a discourse confirm'd to those Citizens that the fellow had a soft place in his head and finding in him more simplicity then mischief they thought to make sport with him and so ask'd him What he would give them to be set at Liberty He told them he had no money and that if he had he would not give them any seeing he was not their Prisoner of War that he should be obliged to pay his ransome While they were in this discourse one of the company considering his extraordinary habit remembred he had heard say that Anselme had at his house such a one and thereupon acquainting the rest therewith they concluded that their Prisoner belong'd to that gallant man who was their especial â—râ—end but it being too late to carry him thither they dispos'd of him for that night They assign'd him a bed apart where he imagin'd more then slept but the others being burthened somewhat with their drink were in a contrary posture The next morning Lysis being gotten up walkt in his Chamber and the Mistress of the house who had not seen him because she was-a-bed when he was brought in came to visit him being charg'd to make him believe they would not set him at Liberty Fair Keeper of my Prison says he to her in saluting her 'T is of you that I demanding Liberty you are oblig'd to restore it me according to the rules of all good History where do you see any Heroes in a Romance that being a Prisoner recovers not his Liberty by the means of some Lady who visits him in his Captivity Pamphilus of Lopa de Vega is delivered by Fleria Clyantes in the Polyxena of Moliere is delivered by Elismena and Arsace delivered by Theagenes in Heliodorus Imitate these Ladies that so you may not disturb this order and if you cannot do it for love do it for compassion The Cockney was of such a
said in himself No no there is no shame to put on this garb when Love commands it The great Alcides chang'd his club into a distaff and put on Joles gown instead of his Lyons skin Was not Poliarchus cloath'd like a maid and was called Theocrine and did not Celadon do the like and was called Alexis This is the principal subject of Romances and an amorous history is never good if there be not a young man puts on maids cloathes or a maid a mans I appeal to all those who pass away their days in that delightful reading I would to God Charite would imitate me and put on the habit of my sex as I have put on that of hers Then must she pretend to love me and if we were married the change of cloaths would not deceive any body all would be very well In the midst of these noble thoughts the disguis'd Shepherd came to Orontes's house and having ask'd to speak with Leonora he was carried into the hall where she was together with the rest of the Company Hircan stood up presently and said to her Madam here is a maid wants a service she is a kinswoman of my farmers wife if you will take her I will be accountable for her true service Leonora bid her draw near and striving as much as she could to refrain laughing ask'd her what she could do Amarillis promis'd to do any thing was commanded her with a little shewing I see well saies Leonora how the case stands this maid is not good for the Chamber nor for the Kitchin but may serve to do somewhat every where What say you as to wages you need not think of that replies Hircan you shall reward her according as she shall have served you So Leonora resolved to take this fine servant who presently told her name whereat those that were present could not any longer forbear laughing As for Amaryllis she look'd like a scar-crow in a Hemp-yard Her back was long and flat as if she had carried a flat basket on it and for her breast it was no more plump then a Trencher the rest was streight as if it had been a distaff swadled about Hircan being gone away they gave Amarillis divers things to do which she did as well as any other should have done She laid the cloath rinsed the glasses and made clean the chambers and all with such modesty that all wonder'd at it The fair one durst not as much as lift up her eyes and when she was at dinner with the men she would have been very much out of countenance had it not been that there were other maids as well as she and especially Charite whom she perpetually considered and view'd The men and maids knew all that it was Lysis but they were expresly forbidden to discover that they knew any thing nor to call her by any other name then Amarillis so that lest she might betray any thing there was but little spoken to her In the afternoon came thither Anselme and Montenor who had sent their people all about to look for Lysis of whom not having receiv'd any tidings they were come to Leonora to have some news of him She told them that she had not seen him and thereupon call'd Amarillis to bid her do somewhat As soon as they saw her they were so surpris'd that they said not a word but when she was gone Anselme cryes out well Madam if that be not Lysis it is a Maid extreamly like him Leonora told him he was not mistaken and acquainted him what adventures the Shepherd had run through at Hircans the Magician Anselme was infinitely pleas'd at the narration and went into a Chamber where Amarillis was She made as if she knew him not nor did she discover her self so that he left her and beset himself to talk with Angelica About an hour after came Hircan and Clarimond whom he had sent for then was the time come that they resolved to make good sport with the new maid Clarimond made it his business to play tricks with her and would have kist her She thrust him back still as hard as she could but that which most discover'd her was that she could not sufficiently counterfeit her speech and instead of speaking like a simple Country wench she spoke a quaint Court phrase Let me alone says she at every word I would be touch'd no more then if I were a vestal Be quiet you would ravish me have you any attempt on the Candor of my Chastity and would see the wack of the Vessel of my Continency Sometimes she spoke of her self in the masculine gender instead of the feminine yet no body seem'd to take any notice Clarimond set on her still with fine complements in which he call'd her his Goddess and his Nymph They could not refrain laughing to see that he gave such qualities to a Wench so ill drest and Angelica ask'd whether the Nymphs wore coifs You need not doubt but there are some that do says Anselme for they are ever drest according to the fashion of the Countrey where they reside That 's the reason that those of the river of Marâ— wear coifes such as are made at Meaux and those of the River Seine wear french-hoods after the Paris fashion There past divers other pleasant discourses on the like occasions but all this was not much for they conceiv'd they might have made much more sport with Amarillis yet they made as nothing were and those who were not of the house returned every one to his own home leaving Leonora and her new maid Amarillis pass'd over four days with all the satisfaction in the world They had assign'd her a little chamber where she lay alone and never went out before she was fully dress'd by a glass she had Though she spoke not to Charite but as to another ordinary servant yet she thought the heavens very favorable to her that she had the opportunity to see her when she pleas'd Leonora was not weary of keeping her for she took a pleasure to see with what diligence she served her and on the other side she fear'd not any ill report might come to her house by her means She was of those that are in love by way of contemplation whose pleasure are rather those of the minde then those of the body and she always set before her eyes the chastity of Alexis who when he had his Mistress naked in his arms had not the presumption to do any thing to her if she thought it a happiness to love Charite she thought it no less to be her self loved by Marcel Orontes's Gentleman This young Lad made excellent sport with her when he spoke to her of love but she thought his discourses nothing but vanity When she look'd into the glass she thought her self very handsome and she was not far from a misfortune dangerous as that of Narcissus for the soul of Lysis lov'd that countenance of Amarillis which she saw that made her often kiss
the reasons you alledg'd to your Gardian to perswade him that you ought to be a Shepherd and that he should be one too if he had any design to be happy There hath been laughing enough at that impertinence already I shall only mention that simplicity of yours to go and speak to a country Lobcock in Poetical and Romantick terms The poweâ— you attributed to Charite put him into such a fright that he and all his acquaintance were alarm'd all that night imagining the end of the world to be at hand I know not whether any dyed upon that fright If any such thing had happened you had been the cause of their death and you would have been punish'd as a murtherer You would also needs interrogate the Eccho but you were neatly cheated for whereas you imagin'd it was the Eccho of the Poets that had answered you it was this Anselme whom you see who cannot deny it You might have perceiv'd then how much he slighted and laught at the extravagances of the Poets by the stories he told you about that repetition of the voyce and concerning the three Destinies He also laugh'd at that opinion of yours about the Sun taking what is said of it litterally You are to know there is but one and if we finde it in the morning in another quarter though he hath been hidden from us yet it did only pass under us to enlighten the other Hemisphere and did not rest in the sea as your impertinent Authors tell you Yet Anselme comply'd with you so far as to make you another promise of Charites picture I pass by your extravagance in the Inn of not eating ought but what was red This you would needs do and your humor was satisfied You perceived well enough that you had already deceiv'd your self when Anselme told you that it was not handsome to play the Shepherd at St. Clou and it was a great argument he told you the truth when such a rout bore you company with stones You were also pittifully abus'd when you took a Country fellow for a Satyre for who hath ever seen any in France unless it be in picture or only by disguise in Pastorals and Masks Nay where were there ever any seen in the world There 's mention only of two or three but they were monsters things extraordinary in nature As for the picture which Anselme gave you do you not see he did it only to abuse those descriptions of beauty which are in the Poets Do you think your self that the features of that Metaphorical face are like those of the Natural face of your Mistress Though that were possible amidst so many several colours 't is not Anselme hath done it for he is not so good a painter as that there can any excellent things come from him he can only shadow Copper-pieces I stick not to say this before him because his reputation lies another way 'T was also out of abuse that he permitted you to be Judge in the difference between him and Montenor and though you had not given judgement on his side Geneura had nevertheless been frustated of her expectation He seem'd to attribute great authority to your words your Serenade and your Love-letters were in his opinion ridiculous enough but you abus'd your self more egregiously when you kiss'd the clapper of Leonora's door while you perceiv'd not you were sprinkled with Urine instead of Rose-water I omit many little particulars as the Garlands wherewith you would adorn the portalls of Charites pallace and the meeting with the Merchants of Paris whom you took for Pirates In all these were you as strangely deluded as could be imagin'd When you were one evening at Charite's 't was pleasantly imagin'd of you that the candle could have been lighted at her eyes If the Poets finde out so many conceptions upon the flames which issue out of their Mistresses eyes they must be esteem'd no other then Poetical impertinences I cannot but laugh at your extravagant jealousie the day following when you found Charite asleep in the garden You were jealous of your own shadow nay of the very Atoms and therefore with much more reason of any thing that touch'd her as the grass whereon she lay You imagin'd the Sun made a noise as he went through the heaven and that the plants did the like in growing You afterwards committed a world of fooleries and the perfection of your extravagance was that being near Charite in the Court you believed the fire of her eyes had burnt your hat when it was one of Anselmes Lacqueys had done it with a Burning-glass In consequence of this opinion you imagin'd the next day that you were all afire and went and cast your self into a fountain where you had been drown'd had not sudden relief come Being after this at Paris you went to Burgundy-house where you took the Comedy for a truth making better sport to all the world then any play 'T was another good humor of yours when you believed that the picture of an imaginary Shepherd was your own and when you astonish'd the Stationer in St. James street with your words and actions The discourse you held with Cecilia when you lay at her house were very pleasant and 't was pretty to see you come into this Country when you thought you had gone into Forrests This cheat you are convinc'd of you can say nothing to it Here 's Anselme present that can Witness it and not only this but all the rest in case you will deny them Anselme upon this advanc'd and very seriously confirm'd all that Clarimond had said whereat Lysis was so dash'd that he suffered the other to proceed in his reproaches Do you not also remember saies Clarimond that I began to discover you by another error of yours at my house You took my mother for the sage Felicia 't is true she is sage but not Felicia You were afterward mightily deceived when you thought I would have taken your part and again when you gave your Mistress a Serenade you thought it was an Hamadryad that answered you on the Lute for it was our friend Hircan whom I had given notice to of your enterprise The good Hermit here present can also witness that you spoke to him as if he had been a Druid or some Magician because you had read in your books that the Hermites did sometimes practise Magick and thought there was no sin in it The most matchless delusion was that when you afterwards met Hircan you took him for a Magician and thought the Gentlewoman whom you called Synopa a Nymph of the waters 'T was as good a trick when you imagined that this cunning man had changed you so perfectly into a maid that you were taken for no other Being a servant in that sex at Orontes's you were accused of incontinence and for tryal they made you get up on a brass plate which could not hurt you there being no fire under I came and proffered to dye for you and when
were no more sheep in the world saies Philiris I undertake you shall find enough you must not be troubled for such a small matter That which adds to my grief saies Lysis to him softly taking him aside is that thou hast not done as I desired thee by the Lacquay thou art not come privately to me that so no body might know where I was but hast brought Adrian along who is the only man in the world that I fear and whom I desire not to be near I must tell you the reason why I did it replies Philiris 't is because we have prevailed so far with this your troublesome Cousin as that he is not so eager to take you away Nay it 's more likely he and his wife will stay with us O God! what good news is that cries out Lysis if it be so I will never be sad for this adventure will furnish me with joy as long as I live It is then true my dear and sweet Cousins that it is not your desire I should return any more to Paris continues he turning towards his friends all these Shepherds will be obliged to you because they esteem my company but I am moreover assured that you will enter into Shepherdry as well as we O what a commendable thing it is you shall be added to the number of the Parisian Shepherds that are to come hither can you tell any news of them I will not contradict you for the present saies Adrian do me only the favour as to tell me what kind of life you have led since you left Paris for these Gentlemen whom I have born company hither have told me strange things whereof I would be assured from your own mouth You desire what 's most just and reasonable as I am an Heroick Shepherd saies Lysis since you are he among my friends to whom Authority hath given me in charge 't is fit I give you an account of my actions It 's only necessary we go into the shade Here we have it saies Polidor shewing him a little thicket but is there no need you feed your own body before you entertain the minds of others I and Carmelin have just now been at a banquet where a man fears neither poyson nor excess replies Lysis bread nuts and grapes which we bought of the Countrey-people have been varieties wherewith we have satisfied nature to reduce our selves to moderation after the sumptuous Feasts at the Marriages of Hircan and Anselme A little water taken up in the hollow of the hand out of the fluid Cristal of a Fountain hath afterward banished our thirst in commemoration of that happy time of the Golden Age which knew no other drink nor other cup. There needs not much to satisfie the man who bridles his appetite with his reason but he that suffers himself to be carried away by the flattery of his sence though there were a thousand worlds yet 't were not enough to satisfie him These indeed are golden words saies Adrian who was a lover of Temperance if you speak thus alwaies I shall have a better opinion of you then ever I had yet He having said so they made towards the thicket where all being sate down on the grass Lysis spoke thus Since you are already acquainted with a good part of my life Cousin Adrian you desire not I should lose time in long relations I shall only tell you briefly the sum of my affairs Being come into this Countrey with Anselme and Montenor the first thing we did was to go and see Leonara and Angelica at Orontes's house where I must confess to you I love to be above any place because Charite lives there which Charite is that incomparable Beauty by whom I have long since bin enchanted The amorous discourses we had together are unseasonable as to the present occasion It shall suffice to tell you that when I parted thence I made acquaintance with Clarimond who lives here hard by one whose disposition pleases me extreamly were it not that he bestows his wit in abuses The next day I gave my fair one a Serenade with much reputation for I did wonders on the Gitarre but in pursuing a Hamadryad that plaid on the Lute I lost my way so that I lay that night in the fields which was an adventure rather pleasant then troublesome The next day I met with a Hermit who put me into my way which I lost again but so fortunately that I met with the Magician Hircan who entertaining me very courteously did me the honour to let me see his Nayad Synopa He afterward changed me into a Maid and I lived in that condition at Orontes's with all the content in the world He after that unchang'd me again because they would have put me to death upon a false accusation And awhile after I met in the fields this Carmelin whom you see who told me I was in Brie and not in Forrests upon which consideration as also because of his great learning I took him into my service and went my waies to Clarimonds resolv'd to have no more to do with Anselme and Montenor who had put such an affront upon me I sent to buy Sheep which done I went to Hircans where I had almost quarrelled with Fontenay I was once like to be imprisoned by the Vineyard-keeper I received a unsatisfactory answer to a love Letter I sent to Charite and at last my afflictions obliged the Gods to change me into a Tree I could not become a man again for all Clarimond could do he did nothing but water me to make me bud forth and when it was once night I play'd I danc'd I collation'd with tâ—e Divinities of the Country Carmelin would not believe any of these miracles but I made him taste part of our entertainments After this Hircan restored me to my former shape I returned again to Orontes's being as much a man as ever I was I sent a Letter and a Bill to be posted up and down to Paris to invite the Wits of the times to come and see me which hath already had its effect About that time I received a heavy Command without Command from Charite and was sick in imitation of her I met with Philiris Polidor and Meliantes who were newly arrived into this Country and I saw two converted Shepherdesses Parthenice and Amaryllis one is married to Hircan and the other was chang'd into a great Stone These brave Shepherds here present have all related their Histories to me which are most admirable They have seen the Ambassadors were sent to me from the Shepherds of Paris We have acted Playes before them to shew them how pleasantly we pass away our time you came hither when we were at one but since that Hircan sent me to an Inchanted Castle whence I delivered the fair Pamphilia but the dangers I ran through were so great that the very relation is enough to cause horror I was fifteen daies in the air with Carmelin much higher then the region
wherein the Meteors are formed I have bin in places blacker then the abode of Pluto I have fought with Gyants so high as that they might have scal'd heaven without Ladders and with crump-back'd and breasted fellows who seemed to be made to disgrace nature I overcame also a Dragon which rose up out of the foam of the Serpent Python which was killed by Phoebus And these are my principal adventures which I am very glad I have had the occasion to relate both that you may believe aud to rub Philiris's memory who hath undertaken to dispose them into a Book When it is perfected you will find these things better described and more adorn'd for being to speak to you in haste I have not had the leasure to scrue my self up to any imbellishments of discourse Lysis having spoken thus Adrian was quite beside himself to find that what he said answered to what the other Shepherds had told him He knew not what to think of it and yet he told his Cousin that he did not half understand his language because his terms were extreamly Poetical He thereupon takes Carmelin aside and there being no other of whom to enquire the truth of what he desired said to him I see thou hast the countenance of an honest fellow and therefore am I glad my Cousin hath entertained thee for he must have one to help him in a place which is not his native Countrey I will do any thing lies in my power for thy preferment thou shalt in requital only tell me whether all thy Master hath related be true or no I shall tell you no more then I know replies Carmelin as concerning his transformation into a Tree 't was not so much as he thought it for his face could be seen but for the Divinities which visited him to pass away the time I have known by experience but too much of the certainty thereof as a punishment of my incredulity As for our Combats with Monsters they are as true as that I am Carmelin though we got the victory yet did we receive good blowes but I cannot shew you any marks to verifie what I say for Hircan had made us both as he cals it invulnerable that is to say that we could not be wounded Carmelin having said thus Adrian turned to the rest and said to them this honest man doth also confirm what his Master told me but though I should believe all more firmly then I do yet it but obliges me the more to take him with me to the good City of Paris for there 's not so much danger there nor any Monsters to fight with If any one have done you wrong there 's justice to do you right and if a Witch should change one thing into another she may be burnt in the Greve What simplicities do you speak good man replies Meliantes if your Cousin hath run any danger for me he hath done the greatest work of charity in the world and besides that the Gods will reward him he hath gotten eternal renown thereby such a reputation as his cannot be too dear bought That he hath undergone a Metamorphosis in this Country and suffered much affliction it hath been on occasion so noble that there 's not any but could have wished the same fortune 'T is for love that he sighs 't is for love that he weeps and which is yet more remarkable 't is for the love of the fair Charite would you forbid him so noble a passion would you put off humanity to commit such a signal act of brutality Since you have married the Gentlewoman your wife is it to be questioned whether you love her If it be so would you forbid another man that you could not be without your self But is it in your power or any mans in the world to hinder Lysis to love since Nature hath furnished us with the precepts thereof from our infancy All this is well and good saies Adrian I know well that as one hand washes the other and both the face so the husband and the wife help one another mutually and may afterward do good to their whole race and this is the reason why I married and I should not be sorry if my cousin were so too nor consequently can I find fault with him for being in love but there are many things to be wished in his person before we entertain any thoughts of that business We have it from Plutarch that Lycurgus put a note of Infamy on those that did not marry saies Carmelin They durst not appear at the publick Festivities and in mid-winter they were forced to dance naked singing a certain Song made in abuse of themselves Besides all this when they were old the younger sort of people went before them and did them no respect Thus you see how the ancients detested Coelibate and desired nothing so much as to propagate man who is the King of all the other creatures Moreover happy marriages make us enjoy on earth the felicity of heaven T is all the comfort we have against the miseries of this life There is no affliction so grievous which the hearts of a husband and a wife joyn'd together cannot support Thus the wife of Mithridates having caused her hair to be cut off bore arms as well as he which comforted him infinitely Carmelin having ended his discourse scratch'd his head a little as if he would have made somewhat more come out by the stirring it received from his nails This start of Carmelin is not to be wondred at saies Philiris we know he hath his common places as a Sergeant of a Company his Halbards If all his ancient Lectures came but into his mind there 's no Subject on which he is not able to entertain us Truly saies Carmelin when I heard Marriage spoken of I could not but out with what was at my tongues end There 's somewhat else in the wind saies Meliantes questionless thou hast a great mind to be married and wouldst fain have us find out a wife for thee But not to quit the discourse we were in before let 's speak to Adrian We desire him to tell us what fault he finds in his Cousin He wants many things replies Adrian especially that he knows neither Trade nor Traffick to get his living by How shall he maintain a wife and children what quality shall he be of in the world He will be slighted every where and taken for an idle person 'T is true saies Carmelin that since man sinned God hath condemned him to get his bread in the sweat of his brows 't is said that he that doth not labor shal not eat and that to do nothing is to do ill so Solomon sends the idle person to school to the Ant. Hold thou thy peace Carmelin saies Lysis to him no body asks thee any thing Thou wilt anon speak more against me then thou canst for me for thou powrest out thy sentences as they come without any consideration Be not thou among those that