Shall turn it to as many of the sun; Sur. Yes, when I see't, I will. Mam. Ha! why? Do you think I fable with you? I assure you, To whom he will. In eight-and-twenty days, Restore his years, renew him, like an eagle, That keep the fire alive there. Mam. "Tis the secret Of nature naturiz'd2 'gainst all infections, A month's grief in a day, a year's in twelve; Past all the doses of your drugging doctors. Mam. On cedar board. Sur. Oh that, indeed, they say, Will last 'gainst worms. Mam. "Tis like your Irish wood, 'Gainst cobwebs. I have a piece of Jason's fleece, too, Which was no other than a book of alchemy, The manner of our work; the bulls, our furnace, That keeps the whiteness, hardness, and the -biting; And they are gather'd into Jason's helm, Enter FACE, as a Servant. Do we succeed? Is our day come? and holds it? To see projection.1 Mam. Pertinax, my Suriy, Again I say to thee, aloud, Be rich. This day thou shalt have ingots; and, to-morrow, Give lords th' affront.2-Is it, my Zephyrus, right? Blushes the bolt's-head? 3 Face. Like a wench with child, sir, Be bound, the players shall sing you praises, That were but now discover'd to her master. then, Without their poets. Mam. Sir, I'll do't. Meantime, I'll give away so much unto my man, Shall serve the whole city, with preservative, Weekly; each house his dose, and at the rate Sur. As he that built the Waterwork, does with water? Mam. You are incredulous. Sur. Faith I have a humour, 4 I would not willingly be gull'd. Your stone Mam. Pertinax, [my] Surly, I'll show you a book where Moses and his sister, Sur. How! Mam. Of the philosopher's stone, and in High Sur. Did Adam write, sir, in High Dutch? Which proves it was the primitive tongue. 1 Pict-hatch-a noted tavern or brothel in Turnmill or Turnbull Street, Cow Cross, Clerkenwell; a haunt of the worst part of both sexes. A hatch with pikes upon it was a common mark of a bad house.-NARES. The 2 Our poet seems here to allude to the theological distinction of natura naturans and natura naturata. former applied to the Creator, as having imparted existence and nature to all things; and the latter to the creatures, as having received their nature and properties from the power of another.-GIFFOrd. The theatres were shut up during the plague. 4 humour-whim, way. This was a favourite and much-abused word in Jonson's days, and had a great variety of meanings. It is ridiculed both by him and Shakespeare. Mam. Excellent witty Lungs! my only care Where to get stuff enough now, to project on; This town will not half serve me. 1 projection-the twelfth and last process in alchemy; nothing is left but to pour the medicine on the baser metals, and make gold and silver amain.-GIFFORD. 2 i.e. look them in the front or face. 3 bolt's-head-a long straight-necked glass vessel, gradually rising to a conical figure.-WHALLEY. 4 These are all terms used by alchemists to express the several effects arising from the different degrees of fermentation. It would occupy too much space to explain them intelligibly; but an explanation of these is not necessary to the understanding of the drama. Sanguis agni-blood of the lamb.' Face. At his prayers, sir, he; Good man, he's doing his devotions For the success. Mam. Lungs, I will set a period To all thy labours; thou shalt be the master Of my seraglio. Face. Good, sir. Mam. But, do you hear? I'll geld you, Lungs. Face. Yes, sir. Mam. For I do mean To have a list of wives and concubines Thou art sure thou saw'st it blood? Face. Both blood and spirit, sir. Mam. I will have all my beds blown up, not stuft: Down is too hard: and then, mine oval room From Elephantis, and dull Aretine But coldly imitated. Then, my glasses And my flatterers Shall be the pure and gravest of divines, My meat shall all come in, in Indian shells, And I will eat these broths with spoons of amber, My foot-boy shall eat pheasants, calver'd salmons, A little, how it heightens. Mam. Do.-My shirts I'll have of taffeta-sarsnet, soft and light [Exit. 1 Apicius' diet. Apicius was the name of three notorious gluttons; the one alluded to above lived in the time of Tiberius, and is said to have squandered £800,000 on his stomach, and then hanged himself because he had only a pittance of £80,000 left. 2 caiver'd salmon-i.e. salmon cut in slices, scalded with wine, water, and salt, boiled up in white wine vinegar, and set by to cool-NARES. 3 Knots-a small bird of the snipe kind, as was also the godwit. It shall be such as might provoke the Persian, Sur. And do you think to have the stone with this? Mam. No, I do think t' have all this with the stone. Sur. Why, I have heard, he must be homo frugi,1 A pious, holy, and religious man, One free from mortal sin, a very virgin. Mam. That makes it, sir; he is so: but I buy it; Has worn his knees bare, and his slippers bald, you, With your ungovern'd haste. I should be sorry Not prosper where my love and zeal hath placed them. Which (heaven I call to witness, with yourself, To whom I have pour'd my thoughts) in all my ends, Have look'd no way, but unto public good, Now grown a prodigy with men. Wherein, Mam. I know, sir; You shall not need to fear me: I but come, Indeed, sir, somewhat costive of belief, All that I can convince him in is this, Sub. Look well to the register. And let your heat still lessen by degrees, Face. [within.] Yes, sir. Sub. Did you look On the bolt's-head yet? To draw his volatile substance and his tincture: And let the water in glass E be filter'd, And put into the gripe's egg. And leave him closed in balneo.3 Lute him well; Sur. What a brave language here is! next to canting. Sub. I have another work, you never saw, son, That three days since passed the philosopher's wheel + In the lent heat of Athanor," and's become Mam. But 'tis for me? Sub. What need you? You have enough in that is perfect. Sub. Why, this is covetise!? Mam. No, I assure you, I shall employ it all in pious uses, Founding of colleges and grammar schools, Of fresh materials? Mam. Is't no more? Face. No more, sir, Of gold, t' amalgame with some six of mercury. Mam. Away, here's money. What will serve? Face. Ask him, sir. Mam. How much? Sub. Son, be not hasty, I exalt our med'cine, By hanging him in balneo vaporoso, And giving him solution; then congeal him; And then dissolve him; then again congeal him: For look, how oft I iterate the work, So many times I add unto his virtue. As, if at first one ounce convert a hundred, Get you your stuff here against afternoon, Your brass, your pewter, and your andirons. Sub. Yes, you may bring them too: We'll change all metals. Sur. I believe you in that. Mam. Then I may send my spits? 1 pelican-a kind of alembic. signed with Hermes' seul-i.e. hermetically sealed. 3 inceration-reducing to the consistency of, or covering with wax. bolted-started, dislodged, still alluding to the rabbitnet.-GIFFord. 5 amalgame-amalgamate. 6a vapour bath.' 154 Sub. Why, I think that the greater miracle. No but differs from a chicken more egg Than metals in themselves. Sur. That cannot be. The egg's ordain'd by nature to that end, And is a chicken in potentia. Sub. The same we say of lead and other metals, Which would be gold, if they had time. Mam. And that Our art doth further. Sub. Ay, for 'twere absurd To think that nature in the earth bred gold Perfect in the instant: something went before. There must be remote matter. Sur. Ay, what is that? Sub. Marry, we say Mam. Ay, now it heats: stand, father, Pound him to dust. Sub. It is, of the one part, A humid exhalation, which we call On the other part, a certain crass and vicious That both do act and suffer. But these two Mam. Well said, father! Nay, if he take you in hand, sir, with an argument, He'll bray you in a mortar. Sur. Pray you, sir, stay. Rather than I'll be bray'd, sir, I'll believe That alchemy is a pretty kind of game, Somewhat like tricks o' the cards, to cheat a man With charming. Sub. Sir? Sur. What else are all your terms, Your stone, your med'cine, and your chrysosperme, Your sun, your moon, your firmament, your adrop, Of piss and egg-shells, women's terms, man's blood, Hair o' the head, burnt clouts, chalk, merds, and clay, Powder of bones, scalings of iron, glass, And worlds of other strange ingredients, Sub. And all these named, Intending but one thing: which art our writers Used to obscure their art. Mam. Sir, so I told him Because the simple idiot should not learn it, Sub. Was not all the knowledge Of the Egyptians writ in mystic symbols; That were the fountains and first springs of wisdom, Wrapp'd in perplexèd allegories? Mam. I urg'd that, And clear'd to him, that Sysiphus was damn'd To roll the ceaseless stone, only because He would have made ours1 common. [DoL appears at the door.]-Who is this? Sub. 'Sprecious!-What do you mean? go in, good lady, Let me entreat you. [DoL retires.]-Where's this varlet? Face. Sir, to be cured. Sub. [within.] Why, rascal! Face. Lo you!-Here, sir! [Exit. Mam. 'Fore God, a Bradamante, a brave piece. Sur. 'Heart, this is a bawdy-house! I will be burnt else. Mam. Oh, by this light, no: do not wrong him. Too scrupulous that way: it is his vice. If you but name a word touching the Hebrew, As you would run mad too, to hear her, sir. Face. Oh divers have run mad upon the conference: I do not know, sir. I am sent in haste Sur. Be not gull'd, Sir Mammon. Mam. Wherein? Pray ye, be patient. Sur. Yes, as you are, And trust confederate knaves, and bawds, and whores. Mam. You are too foul, believe it.-Come here, Ulen, One word. Face. I dare not, in good faith. Mam. Stay, knave. [Going. Face. He is extreme angry that you saw her, sir. Mam. Drink that. [Gives him money.] What is she when she's out of her fit? Face. Oh, the most affablest creature, sir! so merry! So pleasant! she'll mount you up, like quicksilver, Of mathematics, bawdry, anything Mam. Is she no way accessible? no means, No trick to give a man a taste of her—wit— Or so? Sub. [within.] Ulen! Face. I'll come to you again, sir. [Exit. Mam. Surly, I did not think one of your breeding Would traduce personages of worth. Sur. Sir Epicure, Your friend to use; yet still loth to be gull'd: Mam. 'Heart, you abuse yourself. I know the lady, and her friends, and means, The original of this disaster. Her brother Has told me all. Sur. And yet you never saw her Till now! The name of a heroine in Orlando Furioso. Mr. Hugh Broughton, a celebrated rabbin in Queen Elizabeth's days, and a great publisher.-WHALLEY. Till we meet next. Mam. Nay, by this hand, 'tis true. He's one honour, and my noble friend; And I respect his house. Sur. 'Heart, can it be, That a grave sir, a rich, that has no need, A wise sir, too, at other times, should thus, means To gull himself? An this be your elixir, [Walks aside. But, by attorney," and to a second purpose. Now, I am sure it is a bawdy-house; I'll swear it, were the marshal here to thank me: Who lies with whom, and at what hour; what price; Which gown, and in what smock; what fall; what tire. Him will I prove, by a third person, to find To laugh: for you that are, 'tis thought, shall weep. 1 Mineral stone.' A once very fashionable game. Each player got four cards: the 7 was the highest in point of number he could avail himself of, which counted for 21; the 6 counted for 18; the 5 and ace for 15 each; the 2, 4, and knave for their respective points. The knave of diamonds was commonly fixed on for chief card. If the cards were of different suits, the highest number was the primero, or prime; but if all of one colour, he that held them won the flush.-NARES. Gleek was played by three persons with forty-four cards, each hand having twelve, and eight being left for the stock. 3 lute of the wise.' Lute was a composition for securing the joints of chemical vessels. 4 Meaning with less danger of being salivated for it. -UPTON. |