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Then down the lawns I ran with headlong haste,
Through paths and turnings often trod by day,
Till guided by mine ear I found the place,
Where that damn'd wizzard, 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'd prey;
Who gently ask'd if he had seen such two,
Supposing him some neighbour villager.
Longer I durst not stay, but soon I guess'd
Ye were the two she meant; with that I sprung

Into swift flight, till I had found

But further know I not.

Sec. Br.

you here,

O night and shades,

How are ye join'd with hell in triple knot,
Against th' unarm'd weakness of one virgin,
Alone, and helpless! Is this the confidence
You gave me, brother?

El. Br.

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

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;

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 settled to itself,

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
May never this just sword be lifted up;

But for that damn'd magician, let him be girt
With all the griesly legions that troop
Under the sooty flag of Acheron,

Harpies and Hydras, or all the monstrous forms
"Twixt Africa and Inde, I'll find him out,
And force him to return his purchase back,
Or drag him by the curls to a foul death,
Curs'd as his life.

Spir.

Alas! good vent'rous youth,

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.

El. Br.

Why, pr'ythee, shepherd,

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Come but keep thy wonted state!
With even stop and musing gait
And looks commercing with the skies
Thy rapt soul sitting in thine eyes

Pub & Cell 1799 by Edu & Harding 98 Pall Mall.

How durst thou then thyself approach so near,

As to make this relation?

Spir.

Care, and utmost shifts

How to secure the lady from surprisal,

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 ev'n to ecstasy,
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,

Bore a bright golden flow'r, but not in this soil:
Unknown, and like esteem'd, and the dull swain
Treads on it daily with his clouted shoon:
And yet more med'cinal is it than that Moly,
That Hermes once to wise Ulysses gave;
He call'd it Hæmony, and gave it me,
And bade me keep it as of sov'reign use
'Gainst all enchantments, mildew blast, or damp,
Or ghastly furies' apparition.

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