Or else some neighbour woodman, or, at worst,
Some roving robber calling to his fellows.

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Sec. Bro. Heav'n keep my sister! Again-again--and near! Best draw, and stand upon our guard.

Eld. Bro.

I'll hallow;
If he be friendly he comes well; if not,
Defence is a good cause, and Heav'n be for us!—

Enter the ATTENDANT SPIRIT, habited like a shepherd.
That hallow I should know; what are you? speak!-
Come not too near; you fall on iron stakes else.

Spirit. What voice is that? my young lord? speak again. Sec. Bro. O brother, 'tis my father's shepherd, sure! Eld. Bro. Thyrsis? whose artful strains have oft delay'd The huddling brook to hear his madrigal, And sweeten'd every musk-rose of the dale.How cam'st thou here, good swain? hath any ram Slip't from the fold, or young kid lost his dam, Or straggling wether the pen't flock forsook? How could'st thou find this dark sequester'd nook? Spirit. O my lov'd master's heir, and his next joy,

I came not here on such a trivial toy

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As a stray'd ewe, or to pursue the stealth

Of pilfering wolf ;-not all the fleecy wealth

That doth enrich these downs is worth a thought

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To this my errand, and the care it brought.

But O my virgin lady, where is she?

How chance she is not in your company?

Eld. Bro. To tell thee sadly, shepherd, without blame,

Or our neglect, we lost her as we came.

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Spirit. Ay me unhappy! then my fears are true.

Eld. Bro. What fears, good Thyrsis? Prithee briefly shew. Spirit. I'll tell ye;-'tis not vain or fabulous

(Though so esteem'd by shallow ignorance)

What the sage poets, taught by th' heav'nly Muse,
Storied of old in high immortal verse

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Of dire chimeras, and enchanted iles,

And rifted rocks whose entrance leads to hell;

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For such there be, but unbelief is blind.
Within the navel of this hideous wood,
Immur'd in cypress shades, a sorcerer dwells,
Of Bacchus and of Circe born,-great Comus,
Deep skill'd in all his mother's witcheries;
And here to every thirsty wanderer

With many murmurs mixt, whose pleasing poison

By sly enticement gives his baneful cup,

The visage quite transforms of him that drinks,
And the inglorious likeness of a beast

Fixes instead, unmoulding reason's mintage,

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Character'd in the face:--this have I learn't

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Tending my flocks hard by i' th' hilly crofts

That brow this bottom glade; whence, night by night,

He and his monstrous rout are heard to howl
Like stabl'd wolves, or tigers at their prey,
Doing abhorred rites to Hecate

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In their obscured haunts of inmost bowers.
Yet have they many baits, and guileful spells,
To inveigle and invite th' unwary sense
Of them that pass unweeting by the way.
This evening late, by then the chewing flocks
Had ta'en their supper on the savoury herb
Of knot-grass dew-besprent, and were in fold,
I sate me down to watch upon a bank
With ivy canopied, and interwove
With flaunting honeysuckle; and began,
Wrapt in a pleasing fit of melancholy,
To meditate my rural minstrelsy
Till fancy had her fill; but, ere a close,
The wonted roar was up amidst the woods,
And fill'd the air with barbarous dissonance;
At which I ceas't, and listen'd them a while,
Till an unusual stop of sudden silence
Gave respite to the drowsy frighted steeds
That draw the litter of close-curtain'd Sleep.
At last a soft and solemn-breathing sound
Rose like a steam of rich distill'd perfumes,

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And stole upon the air, that even Silence

Was took ere she was ware, and wish't she might

Deny her nature, and be never more,

Still to be so displac't. I was all ear,

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And took in strains that might create a soul

Under the ribs of Death; but O! ere long

Too well I did perceive it was the voice

Of my most honour'd Lady, your dear sister.

Amaz'd I stood, harrow'd with grief and fear;

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And "O, poor hapless nightingale," thought I,

"How sweet thou sing'st, how near the deadly snare!"

Then down the lawns I ran with headlong haste,

Through paths and turnings oft'n trod by day,

Till, guided by mine ear, I found the place

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Where that damn'd wisard, hid in sly disguise
(For so by certain signs I knew), had met
Already, ere my best speed could prevent,
The aidless, innocent lady, his wish't prey;
Who gently ask't if he had seen such two,
Supposing him some neighbour villager.
Longer I durst not stay, but soon I guess't

Ye were the two she mean't; with that I sprung

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Into swift flight, till I had found you here,

But further know I not.

Sec. Bro.
O night and shades!
How are ye join'd with hell in triple knot
Against th' unarmed weakness of one virgin,
Alone and helpless !-Is this the confidence
You gave me, brother?

Eld. Bro.

Yes, and keep it still; Lean on it safely; not a period

Shall be unsaid for me. Against the threats

Of malice or of sorcery, or that power

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Which erring men call Chance, this I hold firm:
Virtue may be assail'd, but never hurt,-

Surpris'd by unjust force, but not enthrall'd;

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Yea, even that which mischief meant most harm,

Shall in the happy trial prove most glory.
But evil on itself shall back recoil,

And mix no more with goodness; when, at last,

Gather'd like scum, and settl'd to itself,

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It shall be in eternal restless change

Self-fed and self-consumed. If this fail,

The pillar'd firmament is rottenness,

And earth's base built on stubble.-But come, let's on.

Against th' opposing will and arm of Heaven'

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May never this just sword be lifted up;

But for that damn'd magician, let him be girt

With all the grisly legions that troop

Under the sooty flag of Acheron,

Harpies and hydras, or all the monstrous forms

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"Twixt Africa and Ind, I'll find him out, And force him to return his purchase back,

Spirit.

Alas! good ventrous youth,

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Or drag him by the curls to a foul death,
Curs'd as his life.

I love thy courage yet, and bold emprise,
But here thy sword can do thee little stead;
Far other arms, and other weapons, must
Be those that quell the might of hellish charms:
He with his bare wand can unthread thy joints,
And crumble all thy sinews.

Eld. Bro.

Why, prithee, shepherd,
How durst thou then thyself approach so near
As to make this relation?

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Care and utmost shifts

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Brought to my mind a certain shepherd lad,

Of small regard to see to, yet well skill'd
In every virtuous plant and healing herb

That spreads her verdant leaf to th' morning ray ;—

He lov'd me well, and oft would beg me sing;
Which when I did, he on the tender grass
Would sit, and hearken even to ecstacy;
And in requital ope his leathern scrip,
And show me simples of a thousand names,
Telling their strange and vigorous faculties:
Amongst the rest a small unsightly root,
But of divine effect, he cull'd me out;
The leaf was darkish, and had prickles on it,
But in another country, as he said,

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Bore a bright golden flower, but not in this soil:

Unknown, and like esteem'd, and the dull swain

Treads on it daily with his clouted shoon;

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And yet more med'cinal is it than that moly

That Hermes once to wise Ulysses gave:

He call'd it haemony, and gave it me,

And bade me keep it as of sovran use

'Gainst all enchantments, mildew blast, or damp,
Or ghastly furies' apparition.

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I purs't it up, but little reck'ning made,

Till now that this extremity compell'd:
But now I find it true; for by this means

I knew the foul enchanter, though disguis'd,
Enter'd the very lime-twigs of his spells,
And yet came off. If you have this about you
(As I will give you when we go), you may
Boldly assault the necromancer's hall;

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Where if he be, with dauntless hardihood

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And brandish't blade rush on him; break his glass,
And shed the luscious liquor on the ground;

But seize his wand: though he and his curst crew
Fierce sign of battle make, and menace high,
Or like the sons of Vulcan vomit smoke,

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Yet will they soon retire, if he but shrink.

Eld. Bro. Thyrsis, lead on apace, I'll follow thee;
And some good angel bear a shield before us.

The Scene changes to a stately palace, set out with all manner of deliciousness; soft music, tables spread with all dainties. Comus appears with his rabble, and the LADY set in an enchanted chair, to whom he offers his glass, which she puts by, and goes about to rise.

COMUS.

Nay, lady, sit! if I but wave this wand,
Your nerves are all chain'd up in alablaster,

And you a statue; or as Daphne was,
Rootbound, that fled Apollo.

Lady.

Fool! do not boast;

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Thou canst not touch the freedom of my mind
With all thy charms, although this corporal rind
Thou hast immanacl'd, while Heav'n sees good.

Comus. Why are you vext, lady? why do you frown?
Here dwell no frowns, nor anger; from these gates
Sorrow flies far. See! here be all the pleasures
That fancy can beget on youthful thoughts,
When the fresh blood grows lively, and returns
Brisk as the April buds in primrose-season.
And first behold this cordial julep here,
That flames and dances in his crystal bounds,
With spirits of balm and fragrant syrops mixt.
Not that Nepenthes, which the wife of Thone
In Egypt gave to Jove-born Helena,
Is of such power to stir up joy as this,

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To life so friendly, or so cool to thirst.
Why should you be so cruel to yourself,

And to those dainty limbs which Nature lent
For gentle usage, and soft delicacy?
But you invert the cov'nants of her trust,
And harshly deal, like an ill borrower,
With that which you receiv'd on other terms;
Scorning the unexempt condition

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By which all mortal frailty must subsist,-
Refreshment after toil, ease after pain,-
That have been tir'd all day without repast,

And timely rest have wanted: but, fair virgin,
This will restore all soon.

Lady.

"Twill not, false traitor!

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"Twill not restore the truth and honesty

That thou hast banish't from thy tongue with lies.
Was this the cottage, and the safe abode,

Thou told'st me of?-What grim aspects are these,
These ugly-headed monsters? Mercy guard me!
Hence with thy brew'd enchantments, foul deceiver!
Hast thou betray'd my credulous innocence
With visor'd falsehood and base forgery,
And wouldst thou seek again to trap me here
With lickerish baits fit to ensnare a brute?
Were it a draught for Juno when she banquets,
I would not taste thy treasonous offer: none
But such as are good men can give good things;
And that which is not good, is not delicious
To a well-govern'd and wise appetite.

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Comus. O foolishness of men that lend their ears

To those budge doctors of the Stoic fur,

And fetch their precepts from the Cynic tub,
Praising the lean and sallow Abstinence.

Wherefore did Nature pour her bounties forth

710