entreate you to conuay this afflicted prince to fome place of reft and fecuritie. Amongst your worthie actes it fhall be none of the leaft, that a king, of fuch might and fame, and so vniuftlie oppreffed, is in any fort by you relieved.

"But before they coulde make him aunfwere, his father began to fpeake. Ah, my fonne, (faid he) how euill an hiftorian are you, that leave out the chief knot of all the difcourfe? my wickednes, my wickednes. And if thou doeft it to spare my ears, (the onely fenfe now left mee proper for knowledge,) affure thy felfe thou doeft miftake me. And I take witneffe of that funne which you fee, (with that he caft vp his blinde eies, as if he would hunt for light,) and with my felfe in worse case then I doe with my felfe, which is as euill as may bee, if I speake vntruely, that nothing is fo welcome to my thoughts, as the publishing of my fhame. Therefore know you, gentlemen, (to whome from my heart I wish that it may not proue some ominous foretoken of misfortune to haue met with such a miser as I am,) that whatsoeuer my fonne (ô God, that truth bindes me to reproch him with the name of my fon!) hath faide, is true. But befides thofe truthes, this also is true; that hauing had in lawfull marriage, of a mother fitte to beare roiall children, this fonne, (fuch a one as partly you fee, and better fhall knowe by my fhort declaration,) and fo enjoyed the expectations in the world of him, till he was growen to iuftifie their expectations, (fo as I needed enuie no father for the chiefe comfort of mortalitie, to leaue an other ones felfe after me,) I was carried by a baftard fonne of mine (if at least I be bounde to beleeue the words of that base woman my concubine, his mother,) first to miflike, then to hate, laftly to destroy, or to doo my best to deftroy, this fonne (I thinke you thinke) vndeferuing deftruction. What waies he vfed to bring me to it, if I fhoulde tell you, I fhoulde tediouflie trouble you with as much poisonous hypocrifie, defperate fraud, fmooth malice, hidden ambition, and smiling enuie, as in any liuing perfon could be harbored. But I lift it not; no remembraunce of naughtineffe delightes me, but mine owne; and me thinkes, the accufing his trappes might in fome manner excuse my fault, which certainelie Iloth to doo. But the conclufion is, that I gaue order to fome feruauntes of mine, whom I thought as apte for fuch charities as my felfe, to lead him out into a forreft, and there to kill him.

"But thofe theeues (better natured to my fonne than my felfe) fpared his life, letting him goe, to learne to liue poorlie: which he did, giuing himfelfe to be a priuate fouldier, in a countrey here by. But as he was ready to be greatlie aduaunced for fome noble peeces of feruice which he did, he heard newes

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of me who, dronke in my affection to that vnlawfull and ve naturall fonne of mine, fuffered my felfe fo to be gouerned by him, that all fauours and punishments paffed by him; all offices, and places of importance, diftributed to his fauourites; fo that ere I was aware, I had left my felfe nothing but the name of a king: which he thortly wearie of too, with manie indignities, if any thing may be called an indignitie, which was laide vpon me, threw me out of my seate, and put out my eies; and then, proud in his tirannie, let me goe, neither imprisoning nor killing me: but rather delighting to make me feele my miferie; miferie in deede, if euer there were any; full of wretchedneffe, fuller of difgrace, and fulleft of guiltines. And as he came to the crowne by fo vniuft meanes, as vniuftlie he kept it, by force of ftraunger fouldiers in cittadels, the neftes of tirannie, and murderers of libertie; difarming all his own countrimen, that no man durft fhew himfelfe a well-willer of mine; to fay the truth, (I thinke) few of them being fo, confidering my cruell folly to my good fonne, and foolish kindneffe to my vnkind bastard: but if there were any who felt a pitty of fo great a fall, and had yet any sparkes of vnflaine duety lefte in them towards me, yet durft they not fhewe it, scarcely with giuing mee almes at their doores; which yet was the onely fuftenaunce of my diftreffed life, no body daring to fhowe fo much charitie, as to lende mee a hande to guide my darke steppes: till this fonne of mine, (God knowes, woorthy of a more vertuous, and more fortunate father,) forgetting my abhominable wronges, not recking daunger, and neglecting the prefent good way hee was in of doing himfelfe good, came hether to doo this kind office you fee him performe towardes me, to my vnfpeakable griefe; not only because his kindnes is a glaffe euen to my blind eies, of my naughtines, but that, aboue all griefes, it greeues me he should defperatlie aduenture the loffe of his well deferuing life for mine, that yet owe more to fortune for my deferts; as if hee would cary mudde in a cheft of chriftall. For well I know, he that now raigneth, howe much foeuer (and with good reafon) he defpifeth me, of all men defpifed, yet hee will not let flippe any aduantage to make away him, whofe iuft title, enobled by courage and goodnes, may one day thake the feate of a neuerfecure tyrannie. And for this caufe I craued of him to leade mee to the toppe of this rocke, indeede I must confeffe, with meaning to free him from fo ferpentine a companion as I am. But he finding what I purpofed, onely therein fince hee was borne, fhewed himfelfe disobedient vnto mee. And now, gentlemen, you haue the true ftorie, which I pray you publish to the world, that my mifchieuous proceedings may bee the glorie of his filial pietie, the onely reward now left for so greate a

merite. And if it may be, let me obtaine that of you, which my fonne denies me: for neuer was there more pity in fauing any, then in ending me; both because therein my agonies fhall ende, and so shall you preferue this excellent young man, who els wilfully followes his owne ruine.

"The matter in it felfe lamentable, lamentably expreffed by the old prince, which needed not take to himselfe the geftures of pitie, fince his face coulde not put of the markes thereof, greatly moued the two princes to compaffion, which coulde not ftay in fuch harts as theirs without feeking remedie. But by and by the occafion was prefented: for Plexirtus (fo was the bastard called) came thether with fortie horse, onely of purpose to murder this brother; of whofe comming he had foone aduertifement, and thought no eyes of fufficient credite in such a matter, but his owne; and therefore came himselfe to be actor, and fpectator. And as foone as hee came, not regarding the weake (as hee thought) garde of but two men, commaunded fome of his followers to fet their handes to his, in the killing of Leonatus. But the young prince, though not otherwise armed but with a fworde, howe falfely foeuer he was dealt with by others, would not betray him felfe; but brauely drawing it out, made the death of the first that affayled him warne his fellowes to come more warily after him. But then Pyrocles and Mufidorus were quickly become parties, (fo iuft a defence deferving as much as old friendship,) and fo did behave them among that companie, more iniurious then valiant, that many of them loft their liues for their wicked maister.

"Yet perhaps had the number of them at laft prevailed, if the king of Pontus (lately by them made fo) had not come vnlooked for to their fuccour. Who, hauing had a dreame which had fixt his imagination vehemently vpon fome great daunger prefently to follow thofe two princes whom hee most dearely loued, was come in all haft, following as wel as he could their track with a hundreth horfes, in that countrie which he thought, confidering who then raigued, a fitte place inough to make the ftage of any tragedie.

"But then the match had beene fo ill made for Plexirtus, that his ill-led life, and worfe gotten honour, thould haue tumbled together to destruction, had there not come in Tydeus and Telenor, with forty or fifty in their fuité, to the defence of Piexirtus. These two were brothers, of the noblest house of that country, brought vppe from their infancy with Plexirtus: men of fuch proweife, as not to knowe feare in themfelues, and yet to teach it others that fhoulde deale with them; for they had often made their liues triumph ouer moft terrible daungers; neuer difmaied, and euer fortunate; and truely no more fetled

in valure, then difpofed to goodnes and iuftice, if either they had lighted on a better friend, or could haue learned to make friendship a childe, and not the father of vertue. But bringing vp, rather then choife, hauing firft knit their mindes vnto him, (indeede crafty inough, either to hide his faultes, or neuer to thowe them, but when they might pay home,) they willingly helde out the course, rather to fatisfic him then all the worlde; and rather to be good friendes, then good men: fo as though they did not like the euill hee did, yet they liked him that did the cuill; and though not councellors of the offence, yet protectors of the offender. Now they hauing heard of this fodaine going out, with fo fmall a company, in a countrey fall of euill withing mindes toward him, though they knew not the caufe, followed him; till they founde him in fuch cafe as they were to venture their liues, or else he to loofe his: which they did with fuch force of minde and bodie, that truely I may iuftly fay, Pyrocles and Mufidorus had neuer till then found any, that could make them fo well repeate their hardest leffon in the feates of armes. And briefly fo they did, that if they ouercame not, yet were they not ouercome, but caried away that vngratefull maister of theirs to a place of fecurity; howfoeuer the princes laboured to the contrary. But this matter being thus farre begun, it became not the conftancy of the princes fo to leaue it; but in all haft making forces both in Pontus and Phrigia, they had in fewe daies lefte him but onely that one ftrong place where he was. For feare hauing beene the onely knot that had fastned his people vnto him, that once vntied by a greater force, they all scattered from him; like fo many birdes, whofe cage had beene broken.

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"In which season the blinde king, hauing in the chiefe cittie of his realme fet the crown vppon his fon Leonatus head, with many teares (both of ioy and forrow) fetting forth to the whole people his owne fault and his fonnes vertue, after he had kift him, and forft his fonne to accept honour of him, as of his new-become fubject, euen in a moment died as it fhould feeme, his heart broken with vnkindenes and affliction, ftretched fo farre beyond his limits with this exceffe of comfort, as it was able no longer to keepe fafe his vitall fpirites. But the new king, hauing no leffe louingly performed all duties to him dead, then aliue, pursued on the fiege of his vnnaturall brother, afmuch for the reuenge of his father, as for the establishing of his owne quiet. In which fiege truely I cannot but acknowledge the proweffe of those two brothers, then whome the princes neuer found in all their trauaile two of greater hability to performe, nor of habler tkil for conduct.

"But Plexirtus finding, that if nothing elfe, famine would at last bring him to destruction, thought better by humblenes to

ereepe, where by pride he coulde not marche. For certainely fo had nature formed him, and the exercise of craft conformed him, to all turningnes of fleights, that though no man had leffe goodnes in his foule than he, no man could better find the places whence arguments might grow of goodneffe to another: though no man felt leffe pitie, no man could tel better how to ftir pitie: no man more impudent to deny, where proofes were not manifeft; no man more ready to confeffe with a repenting manner of aggrauating his owne euill, where denial would but make the fault fowler. Now he tooke this way, that hauing gotten a pasport for one (that pretended he would put Plexirtus aliue into his hands) to fpeake with the king his brother, he himselfe (though much against the minds of the valiant brothers, who rather wished to die in braue defence,) with a rope about his necke, barefooted, came to offer himselfe to the difcretion of Leonatus. Where, what fubmiffion hee vfed, how cunningly in making greater the faulte he made the faultines the leffe, how artificially he could fet out the torments of his owne confcience, with the burdensome comber he had found of his ambitious defires, how finely feeming to defire nothing but death, as afhamed to liue, he begd life in the refufing it, I am not cunning inough to be able to expreffe: but fo fell out of it, that though at first fight Leonatus faw him with no other eie then as the murderer of his father, and anger already began to paint reuenge in many colours, ere long he had not onely gotten pitie, but pardon; and if not an excufe of the faulte paft, yet an opinion of a future amendment: while the poore villaines chiefe minifters of his wickednes, now betraied by the author thereof, were deliuered to many cruell forts of death; he fo handling it, that it rather feemed, hee had more come into the defence of an vnremediable mifchiefe already committed, then that they had done it at firft by his confent." MALONE.