Seed of him If Polidore is false whom may I trust Miletas Ev'n me Great Sir and sev'ral thousands more Who for our Prince and Churche's safety Will gladly sacrifice our Lives and Fortunes I 'm now new fram'd and moulded to another Thing And I hope my Loyalty may not seem the cheaper For springing out of Penitence Brisander It should be dearer rather and he that but reflects On th' Cause and Nature of your Discovery Must needs confess You are so far from meriting the least Blame That you seem particularly sent by Providence To be your Countrey 's Guardian Angel Teimurazez You 've made a full and clear discovery And unlock't all their Stygian Secrets But how your Lordship came conscious of their Practices I have not yet had cognisance Miletas My Father some three years since as Polidore is now In Georgia was the Pope's chief Agent And trusted me with all he did of Moment But on his Death-bed Reflecting on the horrour of his past Crimes In his Conscience felt such Racks and Tortures The wages of his Murthers Treasons and Perjury That he began to question that Religion Whose Essence do's consist in such black Principles And to prevent my being farther int'rested In th' carry'ng on of this Conspiracy On 's Blessing charg'd me to repair unto Some Kingdome where the Reform'd Religion flourishes Soon after his death I perform'd my Promise And having slightly view'd some Countries on the way I came to England Where a years conversation with the Doctors there Made me become a Proselyte to that Church There all the Cheats of Rome I saw display'd And th' Popish Plots which fill their Chronicles Made me begin to pity this poor Kingdome And use what haste I could to stop its ruine At my Return I thought it necessary To wear my former Face and mix again With those lost Villains and run all their Mazes with 'em In order to find out their subtile Roads And windings into Woods of Night and Darkness And I suppose I 've don 't effectually For the Truth of those black Treasons I have told you Not my self alone but two other Conspirators Who desire as yet to have their Names conceal'd On the assurance of their Pard'ns will justifie Teimurazez On a Princes word they shall be given ' em But as for you My Lord I know not what to offer you Ask what Georgia can bestow 't is yours She cannot be too bountiful to him that sav'd her Miletas It was but natural to save a Life so near And necessary to us as our Countreys She is our Common Mother and commands Protection from us But let 's not lose our time in words the Enemy Is active and next Thursday night's the time Destin'd for slaughter Let Polidore immediately be seiz'd Zolazer and the rest whose Pow'r and Greatness Render 'em more dangerous Teimurazez My Lord You 've spoken my resolution A I refer it to your management Not only Polydor's Commission But after he 's condemn'd that vast Estate His Treasons bought shall help to pay your Loyalty Miletas Your Bounty Sir surprizes me it is So great and unexpected Teimuraz Your Merits do exceed all Bounty and this Is but a glimps of what your Countrey owes you Morinus Miletas Let me kiss thy hand thou Saviour of Georgia What Honour hast thou purchas'd what Voices Titles And Applause through every Street will follow you The Citizens will have your Statue rais'd Although thy very name is one which will be fixt In th' Memory of all succeeding Ages And last whilst Monuments of Brass and Marble Decay and crumble to their first Principles Finis Actus Quarti Act. V. Scene I. Enter Dubois Tyrone Lumbus and Lucan Tyrone WHAT soft Ingredients make up Mortality Which thus we 've Pow'r to melt and mould into any thing Nay does not Custom teach us to impose Ev'n on our own belief and adore Chimera ' s Methinks 't is hard to force my self not to acknowledge A kind of Divinity to that false Relique Which owes to our Art its painted Being Dubois You need not fear to call this Relique as Authentick As any in Italy Spain or Germany can boast of What think you of the Hair Kerchief and Comb Nay the very Shift of the blessed Virgin The paring of her Nails Girdle Shoes and Slippers And all as fresh as if but new come out o' th' Shop Lucan But the several places they are in Dubois Why There 's the Wonder As her Shift in two and so her Kerchief But for her Hair no body knows in how many And of her milk there remains such an Ocean That had her Breasts been bigger than a Cowe's And plaid the Nurse all the dayes of her Life She could never have afforded so much Lumbus Are not Paul's and Peter's Bodies shew'd entire at Rome One Moiety at St. Peter's the other at St. Paul's Yet all other Churches dedicated to 'em Pretend to have some or other of their Reliques Tyrone But of John the Baptist they make a very Cerberus For less than three Heads shan't serve his Turn Lumbus Though th' Scriptures say they were single hearted There 's Care taken they should not be so body'd Lucan Then for the Platter in which the Pascal Lamb was eaten What lasting Metall was it made of 'T is strange it being conceal'd so many hundred years It should thus pop up its head on a suddain And know as well whose goods it was As if the Goldsmith had aver'd to whom he sould it But what is stranger yet they shew it At Rome at Genoa and at Orleanss too Dubois I 've hear'd of a Monk who pretended H' ad brought from th' East some o' the Sound of the Bells Which hung in the Temple of Solomon And that they shew at Jerusalem a three corner'd Stone Assuring 'm 't is the same of which King David said The stone which the Builders refus'd is become The head of the Corner Scene II. Is a Temple discovering the pretended Relique of Queen Ceteba with several other Reliques with Polidorus Zolazer Dubois Tyrone Lumbus Lucan and several diseas'd persons c. Tyrone Hail glorious Mirrour in whose sacred Rays Declining Nature basks her sickly Days Where Aesculap'e unties Fates strong Decree And Doses gives of Immortality Dubois Hail happy Fair in whose ennobled Breast Kind Heaven was pleas'd his glorious Shrine should rest Where other Saints the bended Clouds convey Whose lofty Spire is made a milky way The Skilful'st Angels come Physitians here And call this their retiring Hemisphere Lucan 'T is here Apollo rests his weary Car Load'n with what Juice all healing Plants do bear Physitians vainly into Nature prie Since all its Vertues to this Centre flie Lumbus So let each Suppliant straight approach this Shrine And drossie Nature with a touch refine Whilst your Devotion willingly does flow Either 't will find or else will make it so All the Assembly kneel before the Relique and touch it all which while there is heard
I Do Appoint Thomas Parkhurst Dorman Newman Thomas Cockerill and Thomas Simmons to Print this Excommunicated Prince c. A Tragedy and that no other Print the same July 16. 1679. WILLIAM BEDLOE THE Excommunicated PRINCE OR The False Relique A TRAGEDY As it was ACTED BY His Holiness's Servants Being the Popish PLOT in a PLAY By Capt. WILLIAM BEDLOE LONDON Printed for Tho. Parkhurst D. Newman Tho. Cockerill and Tho. Simmons 1679. TO HIS GRACE GEORGE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter c. May it please your Grace IF Art Wit and Ingenuity be Accomplishments no less than Illustrious even in the meanest Pedant advancing him to the embraces of Men of Dignity in the world then how much more do these Oriental Gemms send forth their luster when rightly set within the highest Nobility Such splendid men cannot be supposed to cultivate barren Nature by unwearied industry to make it bloom and bear such honourable Endowments only if at all to make a Trade of Art and Wit or to use Ingenuity upon a Principle of meer necessity thereby to advance a Livelyhood 'T is not a little crediting to those whose Birth hath placed them among the most ignoble and mean to bestow their Time and Life upon the good use and wise improvement of the intellectual and reasoning faculty if so be their design tend to the lawful Pleasure or necessary Profit of Mankind but certainly Art Wit and Ingenuity can never be more magnificent than where they are the off-spring of pure choice and where there is enough of the world to tempt the Owner to other Divertisements and such as much more gratifie or humour the Animal Life that which Sense and the lower appetite doth much more incline unto I am confident that these Excellencies which I have been magnifying are truly the Character of your Grace and here I doubt not to obtain the Votes of all experienced and impartial men to the truth of what I affirm It 's true that in some other cases your Grace hath sometimes been bespattered by evil tongues and confronted by malign endeavours but here it hath been your Glory to be vindicated by the Justice of the Nation which by a small inspection into these mens Lives and Actions hath placed them in the number of the most treacherous and vile and so hath brought your Glory and Innocence from under the obscuring Cloud without your own seeking This hath tended much to your Greatning in the esteem of all those whose sobriety and consideration hath made them valuable Let it be also observed That your Grace hath well demonstrated your Religious Principles to be hearty and devout towards the Church of England and therein with great zeal displaid your Loyalty towards His Majesty by your constant encouraging the discovery of this late Damnable Popish Plot which designed to cut off our Soveraign and so our Church at one stroke These things laid together must needs render your Grace the most fit Judg and best Patron of what may in the least pretend to Art Wit or Ingenuity of what also refers to an abused Prince under all his Dangers and Sufferings and in the last place of what belongs to the Intrigues and Malignity of cunning and desperate Plotters I do therefore most humbly present what ensues to your Graces perusal and acceptance begging leave to be ever Your Grace's most humble most obliged and most obedient Servant WILLIAM BEDLOE DRAMATIS PERSONAE TEimurazez Prince of Georgia Excommunicated by the Pope Morinus Brizander Friends to the Prince and Zealous for the establish't Religion and Government Salvirus Another of the Prince's Friends poyson'd by Zolazer Piazer A Divine of the Grecian Church A fierce Preacher and Writer against the Papists most unmercifully Murther'd by some of the Conspirators Polidorus General of the Prince's Forces who by the instigation of the Pope Conspires the Prince's Death and the Subversion of the Grecian Religion For the better carrying on of this Design he insinuates himself into the favour and good opinion of Teimurazez pretending to be of the Grecian Church though really he 's of none at all Zolazer Governor of the Tower a disguis'd Papist another of the Pope's creatures Miletas At first one of the Conspirators but travelling into England was there converted to the Protestant Religion and afterwards returning to Georgia discovered the whole Conspiracy Pedro Servant to Miletas Dubois Lucan Tyrone Lumbus Jesuits employ'd by the Pope to propagate the Popish Religion in Georgia and to whose care the pretended Relique of Queen Ceteba was committed Ceteba Queen Dowager of Georgia an Amcrous old Woman in love with Polidorus and in hopes of obliging him is a great furtherer of the Conspiracy against her Son Maada Maid of Honour to the Queen and taken prisoner with her Cosmelia Known for some time by the name of Melanthus She was Wife to Miletas in whose absence Polidorus intic'd her to be his Miss and afterwards growing weary of her forceth her to serve him in a mans habit With Guards Soldiers Attendants several diseas'd persons and strangers which came to see the Reliques The Scene is Cremen in Georgia THE PROLOGUE THough Limners in a face the Prospect see Of Nature varying in deformity The biass'd Pencil can new-mould the frame And set to Venus picture any Name Had the Pope brib'd me well I 'd done so too Not speak the truth so plain as now I do Faith I 'd a friend propos'd it to a Priest And did advise him that he 'd grease my Fist. He did at the propasal smile and say That humour had more wit than all my Play But he has found a cheaper way than that He 'l swear by all the Saints 't is a meer cheat Like the feign'd Book of Martyrs and a blot False as the story of the Powder-Plot So th' Sexton swore his Clock did never lye What e're the Sun said to the contrary THE Excommunicated Prince A TRAGEDY ACT I. SCENE I. Polidorus Solus I 'Ve so long worn a borrow'd Shape that now Deception is the only thing I know Tracing Religions various Paths I find Profit 's the Centre whither they 're inclin'd But did I fear Heav'n should my Actions know I 'd Cheat the Devil and 'scape his Clutches too Those who would thrive in State must bravely shun Those Narrow Paths where Vertue sneaks alone And prove new wilder Wayes Religion there Is but Designe what ere it is else-where But yet that dark and jugg'ling Mystery Must to a Crown my Grave procurer be Nor can the Queen an idle Agent prove Whose doting Passion to that heighth does move She 'll put off Nature to promote her Love And Kill her Son Tho one would think she was so parch't with Age That Cupid could not pierce with all his Rage Enter Queen having the Excommunication in her Hand Oh here she comes whom I must gently sooth And with soft Praise her Aged Wrinkles smooth But know not which
Zolazer E're our Designs on Prosp'rous ' pinions rise Salvirus too must fall our Sacrifice Polidorus 'T is best let neither for his Part'ner stay They may walk hand-in-hand in the Broad-way Zolazer No we th'Maturity of Things must wait And for Salvirus lay a Private Bait. A Cottage may with unheard-Noise fall down Whil'st th'Noise of greater Ruins will be known There does a Potion in his Chamber lye In which I will his speedy Death convey That shall all Thoughts of Treachery expell And fill that Room where his Curst Sould does dwell The two Ruffians Re-enter with a Chafing-Dish of Coals Brimstone long Knives c. with which they variously Torment Piazer who makes most doleful Cryes Polidorus Since this close Place only our selves contain Our unheard-Cries but Eccho back your Pain There Descends a Spirit which Sings as followeth I. Come Glorious Soul make hast Let me Conduct you to Eternal Rest You Linger as if you despair'd to gain Any other Bliss besides Content with Pain But Heav'n whose chiefest Care you are Does all its Happyness prepare For to Reward those Torments now you bear II. Such little Pain as this Is to give Relish to your Future Bliss And your pure Breast lies panting at your Death But to improve the Heavens with your Breath And Heav'n whose chiefest Care you are Does all c. Polidorus What suddain Extasie Sir has hurried you Into this wild Demeanor of your Looks Was you thus strucken with a Planet or have you seen A Gorgon ' s-Head You thus seem Metamorphos'd Into a Marble-Statue Zolazer Do those Marriners whom a furious Wrack Has render'd equally Unfortunate Demand the Cause of each others Extremity Your Eyes and Ears must needs be Witnesses Of what you seem to doubt And did you retain the least Sense you may By your own measure my Discontentedness Polidorus I 've neither heard or seen any Reason Why I should be Discompos'd Besides the Suspence hanging on your Dubious Lips Zolazer Then angry Heav'n did cast a Mist between your Eyes And that Glorious Spirit which but now Warbl'd forth an Heav'nly Anthem but to continue Your Artheistical Opinion of there being No such Thing Polidorus What now seem'd to represent it self to You Was but the Effects of your Distemper'd Brain The nobler Part our Reason not blind Sense Must be Decider of this Mystery And did I seem To hear and see a thousand such Phantasms My better Reason will not let me trust Such treacherous VVitnesses But grant there were Such things this Traitor's Ghost we need not fear The Dev'l will find him work enough else-where His Corps shall in the Dungeon Pris'ner lye Whilst his Damn'd Soul shall on Hells Gridir'n fry Thus my Designs by Heaven's kind Influence grow As undiscern'd as th' Cause which made 'em so Blood is the Basis of my Rising-state I 'm Character'd with Blood in th'Book of Fate So am I free from Anxious Care who know VVhat made me Cruel will preserve me so Exeunt Finis Actus Tertij Act. IV. Scen. I. The Scene discovers Teimurazez and Polidorus Teimurazez BE not so passionate my Lord Let this suffice My opinion of your Love and Loyalty Is in my heart so deeply rooted That all the Winds of Prejudic want Power To raise a Storm to shake it Polidorus Hold correspondence with the Pope conspire your Death And by such various means Plot the Subversion Of the establish'd Church and Government What I 'm a Beast a Villain then a Traitor A Monster Africa would blush to own If this be true why live I yet or sleeps Heav'ns Justice or are Humane Laws too weak If my Offence be publick let my Punishment be so Or if you think I 'm wrong'd let my Accusers suffer At least for injuring you Sir in your Friend So I dare call my self for were I as guiltless Of all other Crimes as oâ— these false Whispers Heav'n ne're did entertain more spotless Innocence than mine Were their whole Bodies stuck with Eyes thick as Was Argus head And all the walls of m' House Transparent as the Air nay were their Ears Long enough to reach my inner Closet I would not whisper any Thought to be A second Jupiter Teimurazez To day they parted from me swol'n with Discontent To see me slight their too officious Care I calling it Malice or at least Mistake And this my Lord I 'll promise you if I find That Prejudice gave birth to these Reports The Authors were they a thousand times my Brothers Should fall a Sacrifice to Justice for you Polidorus Would you but let me know their names I wou'd But ye good Gods resign me all your patience And vindicate my Innocence lest when My Injuries are heard the world may think That you want Will or Power to do Justice Scene 2. Morinus solus Then can't I be believ'd Phoebus What harm did I thy Godhead do That thus Cassandra's Curse should me pursue The Trojans thought she dream'd nor did just Fate Revenge too soon 'cause they believ'd too late But Heav'n prevent the Omen here and call Back your Revenge though by a Miracle How often have these Knees kiss'd the cold ground Whil'st to the Prince I shew'd my Countrys Wound Then I ev'n wept till Show'rs of Tears did seem Rather to change my Sex than soften Him They blind his Eyes and will not let him see And Seas and Rocks are far less deaf than he Enter Brizander Brizander What News my Lord methinks your Eyes declare Some Discontent which almost looks like Fear For Passions angry Torrents overflow And Neptune sits a storming on your Brow Morinus Sir If my Looks such angry Billows wear 'T is cause my Shipwrackt Country labours there You may the Cause in the Effect descrie For nothing less could raise my Grief so high The Prince still sleeps a Lethargy like death Will seal his Eyes until it stops his Breath Polidore's th' evil Guardian of his Mind Knows his soft hours and free access can find Has fathom'd ev'ry corner of his Heart And new Impressions to his Soul imparts Hence through the Court such treach'rous nets are spread That only Romans must those pavements tread All Offices that Faction has engross'd And they grow greatest that can flatter most They do with Oaths and Execrations own The Truth of our reform'd Religion Whil'st either Rome's they practise or else none Ye Gods that our unblemisht Church should be An holy Mask for their black Perjury Yet with such Paint they shaddow the Deceit That the good Prince will not believe the Cheat. They have such Poyson for his Reason found No Antidote can reach to cure the Wound Corky and light our best Advice appears Which fleets but on the Surface of his Ears Not reach his Heart Brizander Heav'n op'e his Eyes that he At once their Treasons and our Faith may see Morinus But for Salvirus too I needs must grieve He was too honest and too good to live His Loyalty was all
the Fault he knew And that will be the end of me and you They know we into all their Actions prie And Treason through their closest Vizards see But Fate does th' Prospect of our dangers shew Not for prevention but to edge the blow All care is vain when Pow'r is once deny'd And Courage faints when all it's hands are ty'd Brizander Yet still the Prince with Rev'rence we must name His too good Nature not himself we blame He thinks it near unpossible that they Who owe him theirs should take His Life away They do with him to our Devotions come Droll and protest against the See of Rome And none like them Faith and Allegiance vow Nay seem to pers'cute their own Party too But did the Prince believe things as they are He 'ld soon these Vipers from his Bosom tear These Vipers which would Natures Laws betray And through their Mothers Bowels force their way Morinus True thus disguis'd they cheat him for they know He hates the Papist when he knows him so Nor can they hope t' engage him to forgoe That firm Religion he was born unto Whose Ancestors two Centuries or more Withstood Rome's secret Crafts and open Pow'r But these last Herds increast we know not how Grown up like Mushroms in a night or two Queen Ceteka was the first one of note Georgia produc'd curst Ceteka that Root That Womb of Fiends a sort of Africk Dung From whence so many Thousand Monsters sprung Yet she with all her Jesuitick Train Could not the Prince to her Perswasion gain He stood unshaken and continues so But oh the late ill Action he did do Th' Allowance of his Mothers Relique here I would not rail but yet can scarce forbear Was the severest Blow our Church e're felt But what could n't Polidore perswade him to Zolazer and the rest of that false Crew This is his greatest nay his only Guilt No other Blemish in his Vertue lies Though Envy searcht it with its thousand Eyes Brizander Unhappy State of those who Scepters sway None are so chain'd to faithless Friends as they That knowledg which does all their Actions guide Through th' Eyes and Ears of others is convey'd And does a Tincture from each Channel take Which either private Ends or Flattery make Nor is 't an easie Province to remove These spacious Objects of a Princes Love For th' Polititian like a well-grow'n Oak Fixes his Sturdy Root near some strong Rock Where firmly plac'd it ev'n the Thundrer dares And spreads whilst Tempests rattle round his Ears Exeunt Br. and Mor. Scene 3. Miletas solus For my long Absence this just Curse I see She 's either dead or fled to search for Me. But that none knew of her does me amaze Can Lamps depart and no one see the Blaze If Heav'n when Kings and Kingdoms do expire Emblems with blazing-Stars their Funeral Fire Ev'n for her private Fate what could suffice Less than the Tributes of a thousand Eyes Sure was she murthered we each Muse might see Weep on her Tomb th' Aonian Fountain drie And the griev'd Sun would a black Robe put on And such a Loss discover with a Groan Yet though my Trouble for her Loss is great I hardly can be angry with that Fate Which was the Cause and did perswade my Stay For thence I saw the Cheats of Popery I went and heard what Wonders Rome could tell Then came and weigh'd 'em in an English scale England to thee this happy cure I owe And by this means Georgia its safety too Thy purer Air my sickly Faith refin'd From Popish Superstitions and I find Those Characters of Treason disappear Which interwoven with my Education were Hence on the wings of Loyalty I fly For to prevent my Countries Destiny I 'll to the Prince and all their Treasons shew When they design and how to give the blow Enter Polidorus Polidorus may I trust my Eves A sudden extasie dazles my belief And my excess of Joy makes it self less They embrace Methinks our throbbing hearts meet and catch at each other As if they had an Instinct to incorporate Polidorus Did we longer dwell in each others arms Our Bodies perhaps might melt and as The amorous Nymph and her Hermaphroditus mix in one But nothing can make our hearts more congenial Than they are Miletas To me this happy interview Welcome as that of Blessed Angels is Who still come loaded with new Heav'ns of Happiness Low as dispair your absence made me lie Till your kind presence mounts me up as high So Flow'rs in Storms faint on their sickly Beds Till Heav'ns kind Beams prop up their drooping heads Polidor Sir If such Charms my welcome Presence wear Perhaps 't is 'cause some happy News sits there What Fortune bids me speak my Looks may shew Whil'st weighty Joys make the right Organ slow Miletas What! is our Fortune made by'ts bounty poor Yet grown recruited to oblige us more Has here the Pope any more work to do Does not all Georgia stoop to kiss his Toe He who procur'd it does expect to bear No small advantage from the Persian War Polidorus Tho' with our private aid they storm'd the Town They were repuls'd and Ceteba alone To Persia was a Trophie brought where she For her Religion did a Martyr die Milet. She was a Saint whose Soul was so sublime That Separation could not more refine Her death I fear has weaken'd our Design Polidor No like the Phoenix she resign'd her breath Her teeming Dust gave a more active Birth To new Designs which I was Midwife to Miletas With haste the meaning of this Riddle shew Polidor Four Jesuites by my advice a Stranger slew Whom not the King from his dead Mother knew Each knee this as her Relique does adore And most believe the very Touch a Cure The Prince its keeping to these Jesuites gave Who annual Stipends for their Craft receive This Miracle you 'll in our Temple see In Pomp above th' Athenian Deity Whose Rayes will soon as far as Phoebus shine And draw whole Nations to its painted Shrine Thousands already on this Wonder wait As an Asylum where they 'll fly from Fate Where to these Odours as a Saint they bow They 'll strive to tread those ways which made her so Miletas But how will this pretence the Touch endure Or can a meer Belief create a Cure Emp'ricks may sooth the Admiring Crowd to buy But time and practice will the Cheat discry Polydor. True but these Doctors for all cures excel They 'll to its Function the loth Soul compel Then into Natures strange Meanders prie And her declining frame re-edifie Yet all this Relique as their Doctress greet 'T is thought the Centre where all healing Virtues meet Miletas But some Diseases will all Art o'recome Pol. Such they pretend she with dark threatnings dooms To die and Cures long lingring in dispute They to their Patients hainous Sins impute Miletas Like Gods you make the servile World obey Frame new