e, the
_Crowne_
and Owners
To ?
To ?
Ben Jonson - The Devil's Association
[240] 187 nothing] no things 1692, 1716
[241] 191 embrace 1692, f.
[242] 193 SN. om. 1641, 1692, 1716 || _Hee_ om. G
[243] 194 lighten'd 1716, f.
[244] 195 sad] said W, G
[245] 211 I am] I'm W
[246] 223 be wi' G
[247] 224 is mine] is mine owne 1641 is mine own
1692 's mine own 1716, W, G
[248] 226 I ha'] I've G [_Exit. _ G
[249] 229 Ya' have 1692 You've 1716 You W, G SN. om. G
[250] 230 [_Exit. _ G
[251] 235 Youug] Young 1641, f. || Gentlmans 1641 Gentleman's 1692,
1716 gentleman's W, G
[252] 240 him] it 1641
[253] 241 up. --[_Exit Mrs. Fitz. Enter_ PUG. G
ACT. I. SCENE. VII.
PVG. FITZDOTTREL. INGINE.
Heere is one _Ingine_, Sir, de? ires to ? peake with you.
FIT. I thought he brought ? ome newes, of a broker! Well,
Let him come in, good _Diuell_: fetch him el? e.
O, my fine _Ingine_! what's th'affaire? more cheats?
ING. No Sir, the Wit, the Braine, the great _Proiector_, 5
I told you of, is newly come to towne.
FIT. Where, _Ingine_?
ING. I ha' brought him (H'is without)
Ere hee pull'd off his boots, Sir, but ? o follow'd,
For bu? ine? ? es:
FIT. But what is a _Proiector_?
I would conceiue.
ING. Why, one Sir, that proiects 10
Wayes to enrich men, or to make 'hem great,
By ? uites, by marriages, by vndertakings:
According as he ? ees they humour it.
FIT. Can hee not coniure at all?
ING. I thinke he can, Sir.
(To tell you true) but, you doe know, of late, 15
The State hath tane ? uch note of 'hem, and compell'd 'hem,
To enter ? uch great bonds, they dare not practice.
FIT. 'Tis true, and I lie fallow for't, the while!
ING. O, Sir! you'll grow the richer for the re? t.
FIT. I hope I ? hall: but _Ingine_, you doe talke 20
Somewhat too much, o' my cour? es. My Cloake-cu? tomer
Could tell mee ? trange particulars.
ING. By my meanes? [111]
FIT. How ? hould he haue 'hem el? e?
ING. You do not know, S^r,
What he has: and by what arts! A monei'd man, Sir,
And is as great with your _Almanack-Men_, as you are! 25
FIT. That Gallant?
ING. You make the other wait too long, here:
And hee is extreme punctuall.
FIT. Is he a gallant?
ING. Sir, you ? hall ? ee: He'is in his riding ? uit,
As hee comes now from Court. But heere him ? peake:
Mini? ter matter to him, and then tell mee. 30
[254] SD. om. G
[255] 3 _Exit Pug. Re-enter_ ENGINE. G
[256] 4 th'] the G?
[257] 7 H'is] he's 1716, f. () ret. G
[258] 9 businesse 1641
[259] 12 undertaking 1641
[260] 16 'hem] 'em G
[261] 21 o' ret. G
[262] 27 a om. 1692, 1716, W
[263] 28 He'is] He's 1716 he's W, G
[264] 30 [_Exeunt. _ G
ACT. IJ. SCENE. I.
MEER-CRAFT. FITZ-DOTTREL. INGINE.
TRAINES. PVG.
Sir, money's a whore, a bawd, a drudge;
Fit to runne out on errands: Let her goe.
_Via pecunia! _ when ? he's runne and gone,
And fled and dead; then will I fetch her, againe,
With _Aqua-vitae_, out of an old Hogs-head! 5
While there are lees of wine, or dregs of beere,
I'le neuer want her! Coyne her out of cobwebs,
Du? t, but I'll haue her! Rai? e wooll vpon egge-? hells,
Sir, and make gra? e grow out o' marro-bones.
To make her come. (Commend mee to your Mi? tre? ? e, 10
_To a waiter. _
Say, let the thou? and pound but be had ready,
And it is done) I would but ? ee the creature
(Of fle? h, and blood) the man, the _prince_, indeed,
That could imploy ? o many millions
As I would help him to.
FIT. How, talks he? millions? 15
MER. (I'll giue you an account of this to morrow. )
Yes, I will talke no le? ? e, and doe it too;
_To another. _
If they were _Myriades_: and without the _Diuell_,
By direct meanes, it ? hall be good in law.
ING. Sir. [112]
MER. Tell M^r. _Wood-cock_, I'll not faile to meet him 20
_To a third. _
Vpon th' _Exchange_ at night. Pray him to haue
The writings there, and wee'll di? patch it. Sir,
_He turnes to_ Fitz-dottrel.
You are a Gentleman of a good pre? ence,
A hand? ome man (I haue con? idered you)
As a fit ? tocke to graft honours vpon: 25
I haue a proiect to make you a _Duke_, now.
That you mu? t be one, within ? o many moneths,
As I ? et downe, out of true rea? on of ? tate,
You ? ha' not auoyd it. But you mu? t harken, then.
ING. Harken? why S^r, do you doubt his eares? Alas! 30
You doe not know Ma? ter _Fitz-dottrel_.
FIT. He do's not know me indeed. I thank you, _Ingine_,
For rectifying him.
MER. Good! Why, _Ingine_, then
_He turnes to_ Ingine.
I'le tell it you. (I see you ha' credit, here,
And, that you can keepe coun? ell, I'll not que? tion. ) 35
Hee ? hall but be an vndertaker with mee,
In a mo? t fea? ible bus'ne? ? e. It shall cost him
Nothing.
ING. Good, S^r.
MER. Except he plea? e, but's count'nance;
(That I will haue) t'appeare in't, to great men,
For which I'll make him one. Hee ? hall not draw 40
A ? tring of's pur? e. I'll driue his pattent for him.
We'll take in Cittizens, _Commoners_, and _Aldermen_,
To beare the charge, and blow 'hem off againe,
Like ? o many dead flyes, when 'tis carryed.
The thing is for recouery of drown'd land, 45
Whereof the _Crowne's_ to haue his moiety,
If it be owner; El?
e, the _Crowne_ and Owners
To ? hare that moyety: and the recouerers
T'enioy the tother moyety, for their charge.
ING. Thorowout _England_?
MER. Yes, which will ari? e 50
To eyghteene _millions_, ? euen the fir? t yeere:
I haue computed all, and made my ? uruay
Vnto an acre. I'll beginne at the Pan,
Not, at the skirts: as ? ome ha' done, and lo? t,
All that they wrought, their timber-worke, their trench, 55
Their bankes all borne away, or el? e fill'd vp
By the next winter. Tut, they neuer went
The way: I'll haue it all.
ING. A gallant tract
Of land it is!
MER. 'Twill yeeld a pound an acre.
Wee mu? t let cheape, euer, at fir? t. But Sir, 60
This lookes too large for you, I ? ee. Come hither,
We'll haue a le? ? e. Here's a plain fellow, you ? ee him,
Has his black bag of papers, there, in Buckram,
Wi' not be ? old for th'Earledome of _Pancridge_: Draw,
Gi' me out one, by chance. Proiect. 4. _Dog-skinnes? _ 65
Twelue thou? and pound! the very wor? t, at fir? t. [113]
FIT. Pray, you let's ? ee't Sir.
MER. 'Tis a toy, a trifle!
FIT. Trifle! 12. thou? and pound for dogs-skins?
MER. Yes,
But, by my way of dre? ? ing, you mu? t know, Sir,
And med'cining the leather, to a height 70
Of improu'd ware, like your _Borachio_
Of _Spaine_, Sir. I can fetch nine thou? and for't--
ING. Of the Kings glouer?
MER. Yes, how heard you that?
ING. Sir, I doe know you can.
MER. Within this houre:
And re? erue halfe my ? ecret. Pluck another; 75
See if thou ha? t a happier hand: I thought ? o.
_Hee pluckes out the 2. Bottle-ale. _
The very next wor? e to it! Bottle-ale.
Yet, this is two and twenty thou? and! Pr'y thee
Pull out another, two or three.
FIT. Good, ? tay, friend,
By bottle-ale, two and twenty thou? and pound? 80
MER. Yes, Sir, it's ca? t to penny-hal'penny-farthing,
O' the back-? ide, there you may ? ee it, read,
I will not bate a _Harrington_ o' the ? umme.
I'll winne it i' my water, and my malt,
My furnaces, and hanging o' my coppers, 85
The tonning, and the ? ubtilty o' my ye? t;
And, then the earth of my bottles, which I dig,
Turne vp, and ? teepe, and worke, and neale, my ? elfe,
To a degree of _Porc'lane_. You will wonder,
At my proportions, what I will put vp 90
In ? euen yeeres! for ? o long time, I aske
For my inuention. I will ? aue in cork,
In my mere ? top'ling, 'boue three thou? and pound,
Within that terme: by googing of 'hem out
Iu? t to the ? ize of my bottles, and not ? licing, 95
There's infinite lo? ? e i' that. What ha? t thou there?
O' making wine of rai? ins: this is in hand, now,
_Hee drawes out another_. Rai? ines.
ING. Is not that ? trange, S^r, to make wine of rai? ins?
MER. Yes, and as true a wine, as the wines of _France_,
Or _Spaine_, or _Italy_, Looke of what grape 100
My rai? in is, that wine I'll render perfect,
As of the _mu? catell_ grape, I'll render _mu? catell_;
Of the _Canary_, his; the _Claret_, his;
So of all kinds: and bate you of the prices,
Of wine, throughout the kingdome, halfe in halfe. 105
ING. But, how, S^r, if you rai? e the other commodity, Ray? ins?
MER. Why, then I'll make it out of blackberries:
And it ? hall doe the ? ame. 'Tis but more art,
And the charge le? ? e. Take out another.
FIT. No, good Sir.
Saue you the trouble, I'le not looke, nor heare 110
Of any, but your fir? t, there; the _Drown'd-land_:
If't will doe, as you ? ay.
MER. Sir, there's not place,
To gi' you demon? tration of the? e things. [114]
They are a little to ? ubtle. But, I could ? hew you
Such a nece? ? ity in't, as you mu? t be 115
But what you plea? e: again? t the receiu'd here? ie,
That _England_ beares no Dukes. Keepe you the land, S^r,
The greatne? ? e of th' e? tate ? hall throw't vpon you.
If you like better turning it to money,
What may not you, S^r, purcha? e with that wealth? 120
Say, you ? hould part with two o' your millions,
To be the thing you would, who would not do't?
As I prote? t, I will, out of my diuident,
Lay, for ? ome pretty principality,
In _Italy_, from the Church: Now, you perhaps, 125
Fancy the ? moake of _England_, rather? But--
Ha' you no priuate roome, Sir, to draw to,
T'enlarge our ? elues more vpon.
FIT. O yes, _Diuell_!
MER. The? e, Sir, are bus'ne? ? es, aske to be carryed
With caution, and in cloud.
FIT. I apprehend, 130
They doe ? o, S^r. _Diuell_, which way is your Mi? tre? ? e?
PVG. Aboue, S^r. in her chamber.
FIT. O that's well.
Then, this way, good, Sir.
MER. I ? hall follow you; _Traines_,
Gi' mee the bag, and goe you pre? ently,
Commend my ? eruice to my Lady _Tail-bu? h_. 135
Tell her I am come from Court this morning; ? ay,
I'haue got our bus'ne? ? e mou'd, and well: Intreat her,
That ? hee giue you the four-? core Angels, and ? ee 'hem
Di? pos'd of to my Councel, Sir _Poul Eyther? ide_.
Sometime, to day, I'll waite vpon her Ladi? hip, 140
With the relation.
