Don Zara del Fogo a mock-romance / written originally in the Brittish tongue, and made English by a person of much honor, Basilius Musophilus ; with a marginall comment, expounding the hard things of the history.

CHAP. V.

What Discoveries Zara and his Squire made, wandring up and down the Grove. The Lady Gylo comming thither to dis∣port her self, is encountred by the Cham∣pion. His most elegant Courtship. Her Responsion. With other pass••ges.

THrice happy ZARA, who art thought worthy of that Paradise which the first man forfeited for an Apple; But while the Champion slept, Soto (being surprized with the beauty of the place) was ranging up and down to make discoveries, here Potatoes & ripe Grapes offered them∣selvs to his lips, there Pomgranates and luscious Dates contended which first should salute his goodly-siz'd grinders; Soto was not nice in accep∣tation, but gathered greedily of all sorts, returning laden to his mag∣nanimous Lord and Master, who

snorted so lowd on his Rosie Cowch, that the verdant Grove reverberated his garulous repose, while Soto sang this Dormitory.

SONG.

SOmnus, O thou Protean God, That with woollen shooes art shod, Thou that hatest Trump and Drum, Loath'st the Cock, but lov'st the Combe: Grand enemies to Fifes and Forges, And the Daughters of Boanerges; Friend to Fishes and to dumb men, To silent women and to some men. great God of C••••s, of nods and naps, Clumzey Somnus now prepare-a, To rock the senses of Don Zara.

Soto had no sooner ended his Epi∣diction, but the Champions scales fell from his eyes, and he perceived his faithfull servant sitting at his feet, having prepared a Repast after his Repose; the Champion fed furiously on the Grapes, squeezing bunches of them by the dozen, as if he had search•• for * 1.1 Erigone, and now being suffici∣ently sated, he arose with a resolve

to explore for flesh, either Goat o•• Stag, but Nature had not played he•• paat so profusely, and indeed she had manifested a prodigious prodigallity, had she afforded a Shambles to her Fruiterie: The Champion and Sot•• had not long qu••sted, but they hap∣ned on a spacious Cave, scituate at the foot of a Cedar, it was a very vast Receptacle, seeming the work of som Sylvan, or Wood-god, for a Noctur∣nall Repository; Soto was first sensi∣ble of the novelty, and gave informa∣tion thereof to his Master, who com∣manded him forthwith to enter, but Soto gave a modest negation to his Masters mandate; for, quoth he, who knows but this may be the Mansion of that Genius which governs this goodly Grot, who being justly incen∣sed at such an intrusion, may meta∣morphose us into Mapl••s, or some more sordid sort of F••well: Thou speakest well, quoth Zara, but (that thou mayst know thou serv••st a Ma∣ster, whose courage is not a whit in∣feriour to the stoutest Champion that ever bore Buckler) I am resolved to enter this Cave were it wall'd wit••

Dragons, and inhabited with De∣mons; so unsheathing Kill-za-Cow, he resolutely leapt into the Cave, ex∣amining every angle therof, he found it a fit residence for an Errant Knight, yea, and a Lady Errant if occasion commanded it; in all respects most resembling that very Vault which Jo∣seph the son of Goron possessed, when that venerable Quack sold his Bre∣threns lives (by a Sortiligie) to save his own: Having taken strict notice of its Dimensions, he called Soto to the Caves mouth; Enter, quoth he, (thou sperm of a hen-harted Groom) and make it thy wonder, to survey what a subteranean shelter Fate has allotted us: Soto (though shaken with an Ague fit) confidently enter'd, and seeing no occasion of dread, took heart of grace, insomuch that he hard∣ly refrained upbraid his Master, as guilty of calumny in down-right terms; * 1.2 My Lord, quoth he, you are too much an Heretick, if you think your Soto refused to cast himself into this Cave out of any anxious cogita∣tion as to his person, for had it been the very throat of Tartarus, the gullet

of Gehenna, or the belly of Barathrum, his courage had afforded him a will to any attempt, though supetnatural, especially having the great Hercules for precedent, who forced the very Fiends to a compliance, & * 1.3 brought away Pluto's three-headed Porter; the truth is, it was my piety that perswa∣ded me to forbearance; I have read Sir those Lay Divines, Homer, Hesiod, and Theocritus, and do believe with them, that * 1.4 every Grove, Grot, and Stream has its tutelar and vehicular Deity; but these obscurities (my Lord) are too deep for your reason, you must sit down with a description, Periphrasis, o•• Adumbration; I say, had it not been impious for me to have rashly rushed upon the Genius of the place: ••rithee no more, quoth the Champion, these Puntillors befi•• not my observation, let feeble-soul'd Doradoes listen to such effeminate Axi∣omes, I am the Rod of Heaven, a man made to let Mortals know how much that fear'd thing may be indebted to my self, the great and true Amphi∣pium; for thee (Soto) I do not much wonder at thy fear, though I hope

thy converse with me, together with thy strict observation of my Actions, wil render thee after som few months sufficiently Heroick; Having said thus, he deserted the Cave (with a resolve to rest there that night) and returned to the place where he lately both slept and eat, neer which he be∣held the Thunder-crested Founder-foot feeding almost to a * 1.5 surfeit on the sweet and verdant Grass, which that plat of ground afforded of an incre∣dible height; Here arrived, he and Soto sat down, resolved to encounter with a second Collation, when they beheld a woman (an infallible Argu∣ment, that she was none of the soun∣dest Polititians) plucking Pomgra∣nates, and ripe Oranges, which grew there in abundance; Soto supposed that some new Minerva was dropt from Heaven, or another Venus newly born of the brackish waves, had cho∣sen this Grove as the most pertinent place of Aetheriall Delectation; she was cloathed in a rich and sparkling kind of stuffe, woven by * 1.6 Arach••es fingers, of the finest Calidonian Silk, buttoned before with green Eme∣raulds,

yet not so close but that those hills of snow, her immaculate breasts were visible, ••urking under the shad∣dow of Lawn; that Globe of blisses her head was covered with a Tyre of green Sarcenet, fringed with blew Flanders Lace, studded with Bristoll Saphyres, which (could it be possible) augmented the lustre of her heavenly face, so that she seemed like another * 1.7 Aphrodite finifi'd for the imbraces of Adonis, or a second Helen proud of the lime-hound Paris: The Champion (though otherwise too tough for such tender Creatures, having been train'd up in the School of Mars, and not of Cyprides) melted before the eyes of this Sunny substance, waxing * 1.8 proud beneath the navell, and in a minute was moulded into a perfect ••••amorate; Soto felt the same flames about his heart, but durst not mani∣fest the itching of his soul; our Cham∣pion a long time feasted his eys with∣out speaking (resembling the Statue of Mark Anthony gazing on the beau∣teous Idea of Cleopatra) remaining as it were extaside.

Such is thy force, O mighty Cupid, Thou canst make Mortalls dull and stupid, And when thy Tyrant pleasure varies, Dick is all fire, and Tom all Ayre is; From the Flayle unto the Miter, From the Galeon to the Liter; From the Stall unto the Stye, Are thy Trophies rais'd on hye.

But at length recollecting himself, he commanded Soto to make up to the Lady, and to Complement her in his name: Sir (quoth Soto) under your correction, I think it would make more for your Honour, and pre∣dict a surer Accomplishment of your wishes, if you accosted her in person, rather then by Proxey; The Champion could not withstand this Oraculous Incitement; And therefore willing SOTO to wait upon him in the most Ceremonious posture that could be thought on; hee hasted to the place where this Piece of Divine perfection resided, who seeing (as shee thought) a couple of Champions drawing neer her, began to flie, as in a wild amaze∣ment,

but the Knights * 1.9 courteous comportment perswaded her, that harm could not be intended, where such officious zeale was intimated; Fortifi'd with this resolve, she stood still, expecting the Champions ap∣proach, who almost * 1.10 out of breath, could not express himself with that fluent Accuracie, which otherwise he had done; but after some respirati∣on, taking her by that moyst Ada∣mant, her Lilly-white hand, he de∣livered himself very volubly, Thus;

Most fair and beauteous Lady, whose eyes are the Sun and Moon of the Earth, whose face, whose fore∣head, whose lip, whose hair, whose mouth, whose hand, and whose all, pronounces all other of your Sex, but meer dashes, stroaks, a la vole••, or at randome, that face was not formed for any beneath the degree of a knight Errant to kneel to that lip (most fair Venus) was not Vermillion'd o∣ver for any to kiss, that cannot boast the spoils of War, & the Trophies of Victory; Behold (Natures best Piece) where Don Zara (whom Kings have kneel'd to for their lives, and Queens

obsicrated as pensive Lovers) pro∣strates his Horse, Armour, Sword, Mace, Shield, Servant, and Self at your bright feet, imploring what the most resplendent beauties on earth * 1.11 have beg'd of him, it is Love most worshipfull woman that Don Zara im∣plores, without which this soul of his (though to the whole worlds loss, if not ruine) must forsake its mansion, and your self (all too late) repent your coyness, that has destroyed the most fidelious fighting Servitor that ever laid just claime to honourable beauty, and beautifull honour.

Gylo (for so was the Lady called) knew not what Responsion to yield to this facetious Rhodomontado (a Complement not to be paralell'd in any Grubstreet Romance) but at last making most humble ••beysance to our Heroe (with cheeks blushing like Aurora) she answered:

Thrice Noble Sir, your manly fi∣gure, and soul-slaving Oratory, as they command my wonder, so they constraine me to an ingenuous ac∣knowledgement, that I am no way worthy of your notice, whose won∣der-working

Valour merits a Miner∣va for Mistris, and whose copious elo∣cution makes Mercury ashamed of his emptinesse; but if the candour of my Starres allot me so bounteous a blisse, that your honoured self shall think I deserve your commands, yonder Mansion made of Marble is my abode, and in the bowels of that room ador∣ned with a Balconey do I constantly cover my self.

Gylo had no sooner uttered this, but lowting low, she and her Maid forsook the place, leaving the Cham∣pion and his Servitour in much a∣mazement.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Bacchus his beloved a plump brown Nymph. See Cardan de ••••btilitate••.
• * 1.2

  Soto his Apologie.
• * 1.3

  An. Mun. 75••9.
• * 1.4

  Witnes•• the Aqu••∣tick and Te restiall An∣gel••.
• * 1.5

  Not but that the Champion•• Horse was of a mode∣rate temper, but this is spoken by a figure, cal∣led Aequo, intimating what might have hap∣ned to a more luxu∣riant Pal∣fray.
• * 1.6

  An emi∣nent Spin∣ster.
• * 1.7

  A Venetia•• Cou••teza••.
• * 1.8

  A Disease called the swelling of the ••e••. Se•• ••arnelius & Culpepers ••egaci••.
• * 1.9

  with his Helmet in his hand, and bowing him∣self often to the earth.
• * 1.10

  Being used to ride, not run.
• * 1.11

  Meaning a retalliation of Love. See Cupids Mes∣senger. pag. 10000.