Act 3. Scene 1.
Enter Gardner, and Martha his wife.

1085
Gar.PRay lets agree upon’t good wife, you are my wife I
1086
take it, and I ſhould have the command, yet I entreate
[E3v]and


The Sparagus Garden.
1087
and am content you ſee.
1088
Mat.And ſo would any man I thinke that has ſuch a help
1089
and commings in by his wife as you have: tis not your durty
1090
Sparagus, your Artichoaks, your Carpes, your Tulips, your
1091
Strawberries, can bring you in five hundred pound a yeare,
1092
if my helping hand, and braine too were not in the buſineſſe.
1093
Gar.Let us agree upon’t: and two or three yeares toyle more,
1094
while our trade is in requeſt and faſhion, will make us purcha-
1095
ſers. I had once a hope to have bought this Mannor of Marſhland
1096
for the reſemblance it has to the Low Country ſoyle you came
1097
from, to ha’made you a Banke-ſide Lady. Wee may in time
1098
be ſomewhat. But what did you take yeſterday Mat in all, what
1099
had you, ha?
1100
Mat.Poore pidling doings; ſome foure and twenty pound.
1101
Gar.What did the rich old Merchant ſpend upon the poore
1102
young gentlemans wife in the yellow bed-chamber?
1103
Mat.But eight and twenty ſhillings, and kept the roome al-
1104
moſt two houres. I had no more of him.
1105
Gar.And what the Knight with the broken Citizens wife (that
1106
goes ſo Lady like) in the blew bed-chamber.
1107
Mat.Almoſt foure pound.
1108
Gar.That was pretty well for two.
1109
Mat.But her huſband, and a couple of ſerving-men had a diſh
1110
of Sparagus, and three bottles of wine, beſides the broken meate
1111
into one o’the Arbors.
1112
Gar.Every thing would live Mat : but here will be great
1113
Courtiers and Ladyes to day you ſay.
1114
Mat.Yes they ſent laſt night to beſpeake a ten pound dinner,
1115
but I halfe feare their comming will keep out ſome of our more
1116
conſtant, and more profitable cuſtomers.
1117
Gar.Twill make them the more eager to come another time
1118
then Mat . Ha’they paid their reckoning in the Parlour?
1119
Mat.Yes, but hutchingly, and are now going away.
Act 3. Scene 2.
Gentleman and Gentlewomen to them.

1120
Gar.O here they are going.
[E4]Gent.


The Sparagus Garden.
1121
Gent.I proteſt Mr. Gardner your wife is too deare: Sixteene
1122
ſhillings for a diſh of Sparagus, two bottles of wine, and a little
1123
Sugar, I wonder how you can reckon it.
1124
Mat.That was your reckoning in all ſir; wee make no ac-
1125
count of particulars, but all to Mall, as they doe in the Nether-
1126
lands.
1127
Gent.Your Dutch account Mrs. is too high for us to trouble you
1128
any more.
1129
Mat.That’s as you pleaſe ſir, a faire day after you:Ex. Gen.
1130
Who would be troubled with ſuch pinching gueſts?
1131
Gar.I, tis good to miſreckon ſuch to be rid of ’hem.
1132
Mat.They are ee’n as welcome as the Knight that comes hither
1133
alone alwayes, and walkes about the garden here halfe a
1134
day together, to feed upon Ladyes lookes, as they paſſe
1135
to and fro; the peeping Knight, what doe you call him?
1136
Gar.O Sir Arnold Cautious .
1137
Mat.You may call him Cautious, I never ſaw five ſhillings of
1138
his money yet.
1139
Gar.No, he comes but to feed his eyes, as you ſay, with leering
1140
at good faces, and peeping at pretty inſteps.
1141
Mat.Sir Hugh-Money-Lacke, our gather-gueſt as we call him,
1142
ſends us no ſuch dull cuſtomers: O that good Gentleman! never
1143
did any Taverne, Inne, or new Ordinary give tribute to a more
1144
deſerving gentleman –– oh here come gallants.
Act 3. Scene 3.
Enter Gilbert, Wat, and Sam (diſguis’d) to them.

1145
[Link] Three, and ne’re a woman! ſtrange! theſe are not the Courtiers
1146
wee look for.
1147
Gil.This is his daily haunt: I warrant thee we find him.
1148
Wat.And it ſhall take, ne’re feare it Sam.
1149
Gil.By your leave Mr. and Mrs. or rather Lord and Lady of the
1150
new plantation here.
1151
Wat.Nay Prince and Princeſſe of the Province of Aſparagus.
1152
Sam.The Iſland of two Acres here, more profitable
1153
than twice two thouſand in the Fens, till the drainers have done
1154
there.
[E4v]Mat.


The Sparagus Garden.
1155
Mat.You are pleaſant gentlemen: what is your pleaſure?
1156
Gil.Saw you Sir Arnold Cautious here to day?
1157
Mat.Not yet ſir.
1158
Gil.Ha’you a roome i’your houſe for us?
1159
Mat.Have you any more company to come to you?
1160
Wat.Yes, we expect ſome gentlemen.
1161
Mat.Gentlemen did you ſay?
1162
Gil.Yes indeed gentlemen, no gentlewomen I
1163
aſſure you.
1164
Mat.Intruth ſir all the roomes within are
1165
gone.
1166
Gil.What they are not gone abroad, are they?
1167
Mat.You are alwayes pleaſant ſir: I meane they are all taken up.
1168
Gil.There are ſome taken up in’hem, is’t not ſo?
1169
Mat.Still you are pleaſant ſir: they are indeed beſpoken for
1170
great Courtiers, and Ladyes that are to dine here.
1171
Gar.If you will beſtow your ſelves in the garden, and make
1172
choice of your Arbour: you ſhall have the beſt cheer the houſe can
1173
afford yee, and you are welcome.
1174
Gil.Be it ſo then; let’s walke about gentlemen.
1175
Pray ſend us ſome wine.
1176
Wat.And a diſh of your Sparagus.
1177
Mat.You ſhall have it gentlemen.Exit.
1178
Gil.Did you note the wit o’the woman?
1179
Wat.I, becauſe we had no wenches we muſt have no chamber-
1180
roome, for feare ſhe diſappoynt ſome that may bring’hem.
1181
Sam.Shee ſpake of great Courtiers and Ladyes that are to
1182
come.
1183
Wat.Some good ſtuffe perhaps.
1184
Gil.Why I aſſure you, right noble, and right vertuous perſons,
1185
and of both ſexes doe frequent the place.
1186
Sam.And I aſſure you, as ignoble and vicious doe peſter it too
1187
much; and theſe that reſpect profit meerely have not the wit, and
1188
leſſe the vertue to diſtinguiſh betwixt the beſt and the worſt, but
1189
by their purſes.
1190
Wat.’Tis enough for them to weed their garden, not their gueſts:
1191
O here comes our collation.
FAct.


The Sparagus Garden.
Act 3. Scene 4.
Enter two boyes, they cover a Table, two bottles of wine,
Diſhes of Sugar, and a diſh of Sparagus.

1192
Gil.ANd what’s the price of this feaſt boy?
1193
Boy.Plaiſt ill Monſieur.
1194
Gil.What art thou a French-man?
1195
Boy.No, I tooke you for one ſir, to bargaine for your meate be-
1196
fore you eate it, that is not the generous Engliſh faſhion, you
1197
ſhall know anon ſir.
1198
Gil.Goe get you gone with your wit, and tell your prodigall
1199
fooles ſo.
1200
Wat.Goe, we’ll call when we want attendance.Ex. Boy.
1201
Gil.Sam you are too ſad; let not your diſguiſe alter you with us:
1202
Come here’s a health to the Hans in Kelder, and the mother of
1203
the boy, if it prove ſo.
1204
Sam.Ile pledge it.
1205
Wat.We want Sir Hugh Mony-lacke here to diſcourſe the
1206
vertues of this precious plant Aſparagus, and what wonders it
1207
hath wrought in Burgundy, Almaine, Italy, and Languedoc before
1208
the herboriſts had found the ſkill to plant it here.
1209
Sam.What’s he to whom wee ſeeke?
1210
Wat.Who mine Vncle, Sir Arnold Cautious; he’ll come, ne’re
1211
doubt him; he ſeldom miſſes a day to pry and piere upon the beau-
1212
ties that come to walke here.
1213
Gil.Tis ſuch a Knightling, Ile but give yee his Character, and
1214
he comes I warrant thee; he is an infinite admirer of beauty,
1215
and dares not touch a woman: he is aged about fifty, and a batche-
1216
lour: he defies wedlocke, becauſe he thinkes there is not a mai-
1217
den-head in any marriageable beauty to be found among Wo-
1218
men.
1219
Sam.Yet you ſay he is an admirer and hunter after the ſight
1220
of beauty.
1221
Gil.He gets a crick in his neck oft-times with ſquinting up at
1222
windowes and Belconies; and as he walkes the ſtreets, he peepes
1223
on both ſides at faire breaſts and faces, as he were ſeeking Birds-
1224
neſts; and followes pretty feet and inſteps like a hare tracker.
[F1v]Wat.


The Sparagus Garden.
1225
Wat.This is ſtill mine Vncle.
1226
Gil.And when he ſees a Coach of Ladies about to alight, hee
1227
makes a ſtand, in hope to ſee a delicate legge ſlip through a lac’d
1228
ſmocke, which if he chance to diſcover he drivells.
1229
Sam.Well, how your plot may hold to my purpoſe I cannot
1230
ſee: he is the unlikelieſt man to have a wench put upon that you
1231
can mention.
1232
Gil.I grant the attempt is hard, but the higher will be the at-
1233
chievement: truſt my experience Sam : for as in every inſtru-
1234
ment are all tunes to him that has the ſkill to find out the ſtops, ſo
1235
in every man there are all humours to him that can find their
1236
fauſſets, and draw’hem out to his purpoſe.
1237
Wat.Feare not the plot, as we have caſt it, nor the perfor-
1238
mance in the Comedy, though againſt mine owne Naturall
1239
Vncle.
1240
Gil.Thy unnaturall Vncle thou wouldſt ſay: hee ne’re did
1241
thee good in’s life: Act but thine owne part, and be not out Sam,
1242
and feare nothing.
1243
Wat.He’s ſomewhat too yong to act a rorer: but what lads
1244
have we ſeene paſſe for ſouldiers?
Act 3. Scene 5.
Enter three Courtiers and Ladies : Cautious aloofe.

1245
Sam.O here come the great gueſts.
1246
Gil.And theſe are nobles ones indeed; theſe are Courtiers
1247
Clinquant, and no counterfeit ſtuffe upon ’hem: I know’hem all,
1248
every Lady with her owne huſband too: what a vertuous honeſt
1249
age is this: and ſee if thine Vncle bee not at his old game,
1250
bopeepe i’the taile of’hem. Hee ſhall follow’hem no fur-
1251
ther: Sir Arnold Cautious, Noble Knight you are well en-
1252
counter’d.Ex. Court.
1253
Caut.Good Maſter Gold wyer, doe you know theſe Ladies; or
1254
be they Ladyes, ha?
1255
Gil.Yes, and noble ones, the three Graces of the Court, the
1256
Lady Stately, the Lady Handſome, and the Lady peereleſſe, doe
1257
not you know’hem?
1258
Caut.No not I.
F 1Gil.


The Sparagus Garden.
1259
Gil.How the ſlave twitters; you look not up at greatnes, you
1260
mind too much the worldly things that are beneath you: if you
1261
had ſuch a Lady under you, (of your owne I meane) you would
1262
mind her.
1263
Caut.Oh fie, fie, fie.
1264
Gil.Looke no more after’hem, they are gone: beſides they
1265
are vertuous, and too great for you: when will you get a
1266
convenient wife of your owne, to work out the dry itch of a ſtale
1267
Batchelour?
1268
Caut.Goe, goe, you are a wag, I itch not that way.
1269
Gil.Will you goe this way with me then, and heare what I will
1270
ſay to you?
1271
Caut.With all my heart, I am free from buſineſſe.
1272
Gil.You have a Nephew, whoſe ſiſter I marryed, a vertuous
1273
wife ſhe is, and I love him the better for’t; he is a younger bro-
1274
ther, and borne to no great fortune: now you are very rich, a
1275
Batchelour, and therefore I think childleſſe ––
1276
Caut.Introth Mr. Gold-wyer you muſt pardon mee, I may
1277
not ſtay with you: I had almoſt forgot a moſt important buſi-
1278
neſſe.
1279
Sam.Ee’n now he had none.
1280
Gil.Nay good Sir Arnold Cautious, you know not what Ile ſay.
1281
Caut.I ſay he is an unthrift, a Squanderer, and muſt not expect
1282
ſupplyes from me.
1283
Gil.He does not, ſhall not, not to the value of a token: pray
1284
ſtay, and heare me ſir; tis no ill ayre to ſtay in.
1285
Caut.I withall my heart good Mr. Gold-wyer; I like the aire
1286
well, and your motion hitherto.
1287
Gill.Will you be pleas’d to doe your kinſman the favour to fur-
1288
ther him in a match; I mean an honeſt lawful marriage match––
1289
but with your countenance, and a good word at moſt.
1290
Caut.The moſt unthankfull office in the world: pray uſe ſome
1291
other friend in’t: indeed I ſtay too long.
1292
Gil.Heare but who it is that he loves, how likely he is to ob-
1293
taine, what abundant profit the match may bring him, and the
1294
deſperate undoing danger he falls into if he be not matched, and
1295
then doe your pleaſure.
1296
Caut.Why what new danger is he towards, more than the old
[F2v]ill


The Sparagus Garden.
1297
ill company he was wont to keep?
1298
Gil.Oh ſir, he is now in league with a companion more dread-
1299
full than’hem all, a fellow that is in part a Poet, and in part a
1300
Souldier.
1301
Caut.Bounce, bounce.
1302
Gil.You have hit upon his name: his name is Bounce, do you
1303
know him, ſir?
1304
Caut.Not I, nor deſire acquaintance with either of his qua-
1305
lities.
1306
Gil.He is a gentleman, ſir, that has been upon ſome unfortunate
1307
late ſervices that have not anſwer’d his merit.
1308
Caut.And now he is come home to right himſelfe, by writing
1309
his owne meritorious acts, is he?
1310
Gil.Good introth, I wiſh you would ſee’hem, to come over
1311
’hem with a jeere or two; I know you are good at it: They are
1312
in an Arbour here cloſe by, drinking to their Muſes, and glori-
1313
fying one another for eithers excellency in the art moſt Poe-
1314
tically.
1315
Caut.Glorifie doe you ſay? I have heard Poets the moſt en-
1316
vious detractors of one another of all Creatures, next to the very
1317
Beggers.
1318
Gil.Abroad perhaps and aſunder, but together there’s no ſuch
1319
amity: You never ſaw’hem drinke: pray ſee hem ſir, it may take
1320
your Nephew off of his Ningle, who hath infected him with Poe-
1321
try already: and twenty to one, if he faile in the match, which I
1322
was about to mention; he will winne him away to the wars too,
1323
and then he may be loſt for ever.
1324
Caut.Good Mr. Gold-wyer goe you to your company, I am not a
1325
man of reckoning amongſt ſuch; beſides I ſeldome drink betwixt
1326
meales.
1327
Wat.At his owne coſt he meanes.
1328
Gil.I commend your temper: you ſhall not bee in the recko-
1329
ning; but I beſeech you let me prevaile with you: See, wee are
1330
upon’hem: ſave you Gentlemen: I have brought you a noble
1331
friend, your Vncle: I know he is welcome to you brother Wat;
1332
and you I am ſure will make him ſo Mr. Bounce : when you ſhall
1333
heare he is an admirer of Poetry and warre.
1334
Caut.Even a farre off I aſſure yee: I never durſt approach near
F 3the


The Sparagus Garden.
1335
the fury of either of the fiery qualities.
1336
Sam.It is your modeſty, not feare that keeps you at diſtance I
1337
imagine.
1338
Caut.Poets may imagine any thing: imagination is their
1339
wealth, ſome of’hem would be but poore elſe: are you turn’d
1340
Poet Nephew?
1341
Wat.For my private recreation ſir.
1342
Caut.What by writing Verſes to win ſome Miſtreſſes to your
1343
private recreation: meane you ſo?
1344
Sam.You dare not ſir blaſpheme the vertuous uſe
1345
Of ſacred Poetry, nor the fame traduce
1346
Of Poets, who not alone immortall be,
1347
But can give others immortality.
1348
Poets that can men into ſtars tranſlate,
1349
And hurle men downe under the feete of Fate:
1350
Twas not Achilles ſword, but Homers pen,
1351
That made brave Hector dye the beſt of men:
1352
And if that powerfull Homer likewiſe wou’d,
1353
Hellen had beene a hagge, and Troy had ſtood.
1354
Gil.Well ſaid Poet, thou tumbleſt out old ends as well as the
1355
beſt of’hem.
1356
Sam.Poets they are the life and death of things,
1357
Queens give them honour, for the greateſt Kings
1358
Have bin their ſubjects.
1359
Caut.Enough, enough; you are the firſt good Poet that e’re I
1360
ſaw weare ſo good a Countenance: leave it, I would not have a
1361
gentleman meddle with Poetry for ſpoyling of his face: you ſel-
1362
dome ſee a Poet look out at a good Viſnomy.
1363
Sam.Think you ſo ſir?
1364
Caut.Yes, and that is a Poeticall Policy: where the face is
1365
naturally good without ſpot or blemiſh, to deface it by drinking,
1366
or wenching, to get a name by’t.
1367
Sam.A death deſerving ſcandall.
1368
Gil.Hold, hold.They ſcuffle, and Wat
1369
Sam.Thy malice, and thy ignorancethrowes Sam, and of–
1370
Have doom’d thee.fers to ſtab him. Gil.
1371
Gil.Gentlemen what meane yee?holds his Dagger.
1372
Wat.My blood muſt not endure it.
[F3v]Gil.


The Sparagus Garden.
1373
Gil.You have wrong’d us all, and me the moſt.
1374
Wat.The wrong is chiefely mine; yet you adde to it
1375
By hindring my juſt vengeance.
1376
Sam.Ile find a time to right you, or my ſelfe.Exit
1377
Wat.My next ſight of thee is thy death:
1378
I feare you are hurt ſir; are you, pray ſir tell me?
1379
Caut.Let me firſt admire thy goodneſſe and thy pitty:
1380
My owne true naturall Nephew.
1381
Gil.Now it workes.
1382
Caut.I now conſider, and will anſwer thee
1383
In a full meaſure of true gratitude.
1384
Wat.But good ſir are you not hurt? if you bleed, I bleed with
1385
you.
1386
Caut.Oh ſincere Nephew, good boy I am not hurt,
1387
Nor can I thinke of hurt, my thoughts are bent
1388
Upon thy good; you were ſpeaking of a choyſe ſir,
1389
My Nephew would be matcht to, let me know the party.
1390
Gil.Will you ſir ſtand his friend?
1391
Caut.Let me but know the party and her friend,
1392
And inſtantly about it.
1393
Gil.He is catch’d.
1394
Wat.How am I bound to you!
1395
Caut.Nephew, I am yet bound to thee, and ſhall not reſt till I
1396
am dis-ingag’d by doing this office for thee: what is ſhe, let me
1397
know?
1398
Gil.Sir, as we walk you ſhall know all; ile pay the reckoning
1399
within as we paſſe.
1400
Caut.But by the way Nephew, I muſt bind you from Poetry.
1401
Wat.For a Wife you ſhall ſir.
1402
Gil.Poetry, though it be of a quite contrary nature, is as pretty
1403
a jewell as plaine dealing, but they that uſe it forget the Pro-
1404
verb.Ex.
Act 3. Scene 6.
Enter Courtiers and Ladyes.
1405
1 Cour.COme Madams, now if you pleaſe after your garden
1406
To exerciſe your numerous feet, and tread (Feaſt,
1407
A curious knot upon this graſſie ſquare;
[F4]You


The Sparagus Garden.
1408
You ſhall freſh vigour adde unto the ſpring,
1409
And double the encreaſe, ſweetneſſe and beauty
1410
Of every plant and flower throughout the garden.
1411
1 Lad.If I thought ſo my Lord, we would not doe
1412
Such precious worke for nothing; we would be
1413
Much better huſwifes, and compound for ſhares
1414
O’th’gardners profit.
1415
2 Lad.Or at leaſt hedge in
1416
Our Sparagus dinner reckoning.
1417
2 Cour.I commend your worldly providence:
1418
Madam, ſuch good Ladies will never dance
1419
Away their huſbands Lands.
1420
1 Lad.But Madams will yee dance?
1421
1 Lad.Not to improve the garden good my Lord,
1422
A little for digeſtion if you pleaſe.
1423
1 Cour.Muſicke, play.They Dance.
1424
1 Cour.You have done Nobly Ladyes, and much honour’d
1425
This peece of earth here, with your gracefull footing.
1426
1 Lad.By your faire imitation, good my Lords.
1427
1 Cour.May the example of our harmleſſe mirth
1428
And Civill recreation purge the place
1429
Of all foule purpoſes.
1430
1 Lad.Tis an honeſt wiſh:
1431
But wiſhes weed no gardens; hither come
1432
Some wicked ones they ſay.
1433
1 Cour.We ſeek not to abridge their priviledge;
1434
Nor can their ill hurt us; we are ſafe.
1435
1 Lad.But let us walke, the time of day calls hence.
1436
1 Cour.Agreed.Exeunt.
Act 3. Scene 7.
Money-Lacke, Hoyden, Springe, Brittle-ware, rebecca, Coulter.

1437
Mon.YOu are now welcome to th’Aſparagus Garden Land-
1438
lady.
1439
Reb.I have beene long a comming for all my longings: but
1440
now I hope I ſhall have my belly full on’t.
1441
Mon.That you ſhall, feare not.
[F4v]Reb.


The Sparagus Garden.
1442
Reb.Would I were at it once.
1443
Mon.Well, becauſe ſhe deſires to bee private, goe in with
1444
your wife Mr. Brittleware, take a roome, call for a feaſt, and ſatif-
1445
ie your wife, and bid the Mrs. of the houſe to provide for us.
1446
Brit.I will ſir.Ex. Brit. Wife.
1447
Mon.And how doe you feele your ſelfe, Mr. Hoyden after your
1448
bleeding, purging, and bathing, the killing of your groſſe humors
1449
by your ſpare dyet, and your new infuſion of pure blood, by your
1450
queint feeding on delicate meates and drinks? how doe
1451
you feele your ſelfe?
1452
Hoy.Marry I feele that I am hungry, and that my ſhrimpe dyet
1453
and ſippings have almoſt famiſhed me, and my purſe too: ſlid I
1454
dare be ſworne, as I am almoſt a gentleman, that every bit and e-
1455
very ſpoonfull that I have ſwallowed theſe ten dayes, has coſt me
1456
ten ſhillings at leaſt.
1457
Spr.Is it poſſible that you conſider this, and bee almoſt a
1458
gentleman?
1459
Hoy.Small acquaintance I doe not lye to you: truth’s truth, as
1460
well in a Gentleman as a begger, or I am both almoſt, and per-
1461
haps not the firſt that can write ſo.
1462
Spr.Doe you note how his wit riſes?
1463
Hoy.There’s one of my hundred pounds gone that way, all but
1464
theſe twelve pieces.
1465
Coul.You ſee now what a fine hand you have made of your mo-
1466
ney, ſince you got it out of my clutches.
1467
Hoy.Then there’s my apparell, a hundred pound went all in
1468
three ſuits, of which this is the beſt.
1469
Spr.But what doe you thinke of your wit hundred pound?
1470
Hoy.Marry I thinke that was the beſt laid out: for by it I have
1471
got wit enough to know that I was as cleerely coſen’d out of it as
1472
heart can wiſh: o’my ſoule and conſcience, and as I am almoſt a
1473
gentleman, and a man had come to London for nothing elſe but
1474
to be Cheated, hee could not bee more roundlier rid of his
1475
money.
1476
Mon.Well ſir, if you repine at your expences now, that you
1477
want nothing but your Belly-full of Sparagus to finiſh my worke
1478
of a gentleman in you; I will, if you pleaſe, in lieu of that
1479
ſtuffe up your paunch with Bacon and Bagge-pudding and put you
Gbacke


The Sparagus Garden.
1480
backe againe as abſolute a Clowne as ever you came from plough.
1481
Coult.I would he’re come to that once.
1482
Sprin.Take heed how you croſſe him.
1483
Hoy.Nay pray ſir bee not angry, (though to the ſhame of a
1484
Gentleman I ſay it) my teeth doe ee’ne water at the name of the
1485
ſweet Country diſh you ſpoke of (bacon and bag-pudding) yet
1486
I will forbeare it: but you ſay I ſhall fill my belly with this new
1487
Daintrill that you ſpake of: theſe Sparowbills, what doe you
1488
call’hem.
1489
Mon.You ſhall have your belly full.
1490
Hoy.Top full I beſeech you.
1491
Coul.Humh –––
1492
Mon.You ſhall: but I muſt tell you, I muſt ha you turn away
1493
this grumbling Clowne that followes you: he is as dangerous
1494
about you, as your fathers blood was within you, to croſſe and
1495
hinder your gentility.
1496
Hoy.True, you ſaid you would help me to a boy no bigger than
1497
a Monkey.
1498
Spr.And you ſhall have him, a pretty little knave, you may
1499
put him in your pocket.
1500
Coul.Yes wuſſe, to pick’s money out if he had it; ſhortly’twill
1501
come to that bevore’t be long.
1502
Hoy.Coulter you muſt to the plough again; you are too heavy
1503
a clog at the heeles of a gentleman.
1504
Coult.I with all my heart, and I con you thanks too.
1505
Hoy.The Clowne, my fathers heire, will be glad of you.
1506
Mon.Have you an elder brother?
1507
Hoy.You doe not heare me ſay he is my brother; but the clown
1508
my father had a former ſon by a former wife, that was no gentle-
1509
woman as my mother was, and he is a Clowne all over, and incu-
1510
rable, even get you to him, like to like will agree well: here’s a
1511
Crowne for you,’twill carry you a foote to Tanton; and ſo get
1512
you gone like a Clowne as you are.
1513
Coult.’Tis well you allow me ſome money yet: we ſhall have
1514
you begge all the way home ſhortly, when your Cheaters have
1515
done we’yee.
1516
Mon.How villaine!
1517
Spr.Why doe you not correct him ſir?
[G1v]Coult.


The Sparagus Garden.
1518
Coult.Nay why do not you, he dares not? though he could ſpare
1519
his Clowne blood, he dares not venture his Gentleman blood ſo,
1520
nor you yours, tis all too fine I doubt; therefore keepe it, make
1521
much on’t: I would be loath a jaile ſhould ſtay my journey, or by
1522
my Curſen ſoule I would ſee what colour the beſt on’t were be-
1523
fore I goe. But if I don’t your errand to your brother, and tell’n
1524
how you doe vlout’n behinde’s back, then ſay Cut’s a Curre:
1525
And ſo a vart vor a varewell to the proudeſt o’yee; and if
1526
you be an anger’d, tak’t in your angry teeth.Exit.
1527
Spr. Mon.Ha, ha, ha.
1528
Spr.What a rude Raſcall’tis? you are happy that he is gone.
1529
Mon.And ſo am I, he hindred halfe my worke; ſeven yeares
1530
time is too little to make a gentleman of one that can ſuffer ſuch
1531
a Clowne within ſeven mile of him.
1532
Hoy.Would hee were beyond Brainford on his way then by
1533
this time for me. But you forget the way you were in; you ſaid
1534
you would fill my belly; and then fall to practice fine comple-
1535
ments and congies to make me a perfecgt gentleman, and fit to ſee
1536
my unknowne Vncle.
1537
Mon.All ſhall be done.
Act 3. Scene 8.
Enter Brittleware and Rebecca to them.

1538
Hoy.See if my Surgeon and his wife have not fil’d themſelves,
1539
and come wiping their lips already?
1540
Mon.So ſhall you preſently: now Landlady are you pleaſd with
1541
your Aſparagus?
1542
Reb.With the Aſparagus I am; and yet but halfe pleas’d nei-
1543
ther, as my huſband ſhall very well know.
1544
Mon.Well, wee will leave you to talk with him about it:
1545
come ſir let us into the houſe.Ex.
1546
Brit.But halfe pleas’d ſweet-heart?
1547
Reb.No indeed John Brittleware; the Aſparagus has done its
1548
part; but you have not done your part John ; and if you were an
1549
honeſt man John, you would make ſir Hughes words good of the
1550
aſparagus, and be kinder to me: you are not kinde to your owne
1551
wife John in the Aſparagus way; you underſtand me : for ought
G 2I ſee


The Sparagus Garden.
1552
I ſee Pompeons are as good meat for ſuch a hoggiſh thing as thou art.
1553
Brit.Well when we come at home Beck, I know what I know.
1554
Reb.At home, is’t come to that? and I know what I know: I
1555
know he cannot love his wife enough at home, that won’t bee
1556
kind to her abroad: but the beſt is I know what my next lon-
1557
ging ſhall be.
1558
Brit.More longings yet! now out of the unſearchable depth
1559
of womans imagination, what may it be?
1560
Reb.It beginnes to poſſeſſe me already, ſtill more and more:
1561
now tis an abſolute longing, and I ſhall be ſick till I have it.
1562
Brit.May I know it forſooth, tell it that you may have it.
1563
Reb.I dare tell it you, but you muſt never know that I have it.
1564
Brit.If you dare tell it.
1565
Reb.Dare; nay be as jealous as you will: thus it is, I do long
1566
to ſteale out of mine owne houfe, unknowne to you as other wo-
1567
men doe, and their huſbands nere the wiſer, hither to this ſame
1568
Sparagus Garden, and meet ſome friend that will be kind to me.
1569
Brit.How, how!
1570
Reb.in private; unknowne to you, as I told you;’tis unpos-
1571
ſible I ſhall ever have a child elſe, and you ſo jealous over me as
1572
you are?
1573
Brit.Art thou a woman and ſpeak this?
1574
Reb.Art thou a man, fve yeares married to me; and aſke mee
1575
now if I be a woman?
1576
Brit.Art thou ſo full of the Devill to flye out in this rnanner?
1577
Reb.Why his hornes flye not out of me to fright thee, do they?
1578
Bri.Oh for a hell that has not a woman in’t?
Act 3. Scene 9.
Enter a Gentleman and a City Wife.
1579
Reb.Look you there John jealouſie, there’s an example before
1580
your eyes, if nothing hang i’your ſight; there you may ſee the dif-
1581
ference between a ſower huſband and a ſweet natur’d gentleman!
1582
good heart! how kindly he kiſſes her! and how feately ſhe holds
1583
up the neb to him! little heart! when will you be ſo kind to your
1584
owne wife John.
1585
Brit.Is that his wife thinke you?
[G2v]Reb.


The Sparagus Garden.
1586
Reb.No, no, I know her, tis Mris. Holy-hocke the preciſe Dra-
1587
pers wife; oh, how my longing growes ſtronger in me: J ſee
1588
what ſhift ſoever a woman makes with her huſband at home, a
1589
friend does beſt abroad.
Act 3. Scene 10.
Enter Servant to them.
1590
Ser.Jndeed my Mris. will not take this money, there wants two
1591
ſhillings.
1592
Wom.Why is my peece too light?
1593
Ser.Two light for the reckoning Mrs. it comes to two and twen-
1594
ty ſhillings, and this is but twenty.
1595
Gent.Unreaſonable; how can ſhe reckon it.
1596
Ser.I know what you had ſir, and we make no bills.
1597
Gent.Well fare the Taverns, yet, that though they coſen’d never
1598
ſo much, would downe with it one way or other: and their
1599
Jacks, go agen; now tell your Mris.& that will hinder her ſomwhat.
1600
Ser.Not a jot ſir.
1601
Gent.Then tell her the Counteſſe of Copt Hall is comming to
1602
be her neighbour againe, and ſhe may decline her trade very dan-
1603
gerouſly.
1604
Ser.My Mris ſcorns your words ſir.
1605
Gent.You Rogue.
1606
Wom.Nay ſweet Coſen, make no uprore for my reputation’s ſake;
1607
here youth there’s two ſhillings more, commend me to your mis-
1608
treſſe.Ex. Ambo.
1609
Brit.She payes the reckoning it ſeems.
1610
Reb.It ſeems then he has beene kinde to her another way.Ex.
Act 3. Scene 11.
Enter Money-Lacke, Hoyden, Springe, Martha.
1611
Mon.How is’t? I hope you are not wrangling now, but better
1612
pleas’d than ſo.
1613
Reb.No, no, ſir Hugh; tis not the Sparagus can do’t, unleſſe the
1614
man were better:
1615
Hoy.But may I now be confident that I am almoſt a gentleman.
1616
Spr.Without that confidence you are nothing.
1617
Mon.There wants nothing now, but that you may learn the rules &
1618
rudiments, the principles and inſtructions for the carriages, con-
1619
gies, & complements, which we’ll quickly put into you by practice.
1620
Hoy.And then the ſpending the little reſt of my mony, and I am a
1621
cleare gentleman; & may ſee my uncle.
[G3]Mon.


The Sparagus Garden.
1622
Mon.Right, right.
1623
Hoy.And I will write it, and crowd it into as many Bonds as
1624
I can a purpoſe to write gentlemen; Timothy Hoyden of Tanton–
1625
no, of London, Gentleman: London is a common place for all
1626
gentlemen of my ranke, is it not?
1627
Spr.Excellent, doe you not marke how finely he comes on?
1628
Hoy.But as I hope to live and dye a gentleman Mrs. what ſhi’
1629
call, your reckoning was devilliſh deare: s’daggers three pound
1630
for a few Cuckoe pintles, they were no better I thinke.
1631
Spr.Now you fall backe againe, and derogate from the condi-
1632
tion of a gentleman moſt groſy, to think any thing too deare you
1633
eate or drinke.
1634
Hoy.Poxe on’t, I had forgot.
1635
Mon.When he has his rules and principles, which muſt be his
1636
next ſtudy, he will remember.
1637
Hoy.Pray let’s about it quickly.
1638
Mon.Now we’ll goe; but you forget me Miſtreſſe.
1639
Mat.No indeed ſir Hugh, here’s two Peeces for laſt week and
1640
this.
1641
Mon.Tis well: Landlord and Landlady will you goe?
1642
Brit.Would you wou’d long to be at home once.
1643
Wif.So I doe perhaps, and to be here againe, and there againe;
1644
and here, and there, and here againe; and all at once.
1645
Brit.Hey kickſie winſie.
1646
Wif.And I doe long to goe to Windfor too, to know if the pro-
1647
pheſie be as true there, as tis reported here.
1648
Mat.How did you heare it goes forſooth?
1649
Wif.That all old women ſhall die, and many young wives ſhal
1650
have Cuckolds to their huſbands.
1651
Mat.I heard forfooth that all young wives ſhould dye that
1652
were pure maids when they were marryed.
1653
Wif.And none other?
1654
Mat.So report goes forſooth.
1655
Wif.You ſpeake very comfortably: It may be a long journey
1656
to the worlds end yet.
1657
Brit.It ſeems you are not proſcribed by the propheſie then?
1658
Wif.I thank my deſtiny.
1659
Hoy.My firſt worke when I am compleat gentleman ſhall bee
[G3v]to


The Sparagus Garden.
1660
to get them a Child, and make ’hem friends.
1661
Mon.A moſt gentlemanly reſolution.
1662
Wif.And truely the City is much bound to ſuch well affected
1663
gentlemen.Exeunt.