The Two Merry Milkmaids, or The Best Words Wear the Garland · chunk 50 of 54
Cumber, John · published 1620 · first performed or written 1619 [1619-1620] (Annals) comedy · Red Bull (Revels) Company (first) · before the Court T32 Rings and jewels as tokens typicality 0.80 · 510 words
Marked words are the most distinguishing words of T32: ring, ti, gave, finger, jewel, lady, lord, love, invisible, away.
Lay hands upon him for a sorcerer. Assist me my dear Ring, no hands upon me, For being invisible, I am a Prince, And being a Prince no hands is to be laid on me; Treason doth never prosper. He is gone again. You follow me by scent, but never find me by sight. I'll warrant you. Seize it and fly. I am gone. O, O, O. How, who is that exclaims. The cramps in my finger. The Cramp. O sir, now you are visible again. My Ring is gone now, the devil go with it, for a my conscience he fetched it. What have you lost your Ring. ay, ay, and my middle finger, which served me for more use than all the rest. That's strange. But what is become of the Ring. Pardon me Liege, that virtue that it held, Came from my Art, and at some fitter time, I will acquaint you with the passages, How, and the cause for what it was intended: Your gracious Duchess knows and felt the worth, Thy knowledge in good arts is found Landoff, Nor will we be inquisitive of more. Then thou shalt think it fit to be revealed: For all thy Actions have been just and loyal, What means this Trumpet, Perhaps some new delights and rarer. Thus was I bidden to my sovereign, Fall on my face, now rise I up again To render to the lady's fair salutes, And give them all their worthy attributes, Wonder not that I resolutely come, Boldly thus daring press into this room, For from a Lord and knight of eminent note, I bring this challenge; such as can read may know't. Very succinct and peremptory. For this day I am master of the Revels. Be it known unto all men that I,— of the Court, of Saxonie, traveler, by degree a Lord, and a professed Champion for all Ladies in the lists of peace, do challenge all Courtiers whatsoever, without exceptions, native or strangers, to confer, court, or compliment, in silence with discursive motion and true action of the face, hand, body, & leg, & afterward with the volubility of the tongue, to talk longest, fastest & loudest, for sense I stand not upon it, being seldom regarded by the party courted, therefore indeed belongs not to the Courtier: also be it farther known that my assistants, Agents, or seconds, doth challenge likewise all Courtiers whatsoever, at the true compendious form of compiling Epistles, alias love-letters, to Ladies or Mistresses, either in Prose or Verse, with Proverbs, or without Proverbs, with Sentences, or without Sentences, Figures, or any other matter, to be performed Extempore, or not Extempore, according as it shall please the Challenged, which is to say, the Defendant to determine: All which, that aforesaid, as well as this now spoken of, shall be performed by the said Challengers instantly; who only staying to hear of any Opponents, are both ready to enter. Here is unexpected Sport. Let 'em enter, they shall be answered; Smirke, thou shalt be my Second.
nodes 2474–2517 (positions in the processed text, not lines of the printed book) · chunk 50 of 54 in this edition
Length
510 words · 684 tokens
Topic (seed 42)
T32 — Rings and jewels as tokenscross-work theme (confirmed, in the genre comparison) · typicality 0.803 (cosine to the topic centroid)
Other seeds
seed 43: T33 · seed 44: T32 — topic numbers are assigned independently in each run; equal or different numbers say nothing by themselves
Original spelling (EEBO-TCP, unregularized)
Lay hands vpon him for a forcerer. Assist me my deare Ring, no hands vpon me, For being inuisible, I am a Prince, And being a Prince no hands is to be laid on me; Treason doth neuer prosper. He is gone againe. You follow me by sent, but neuer find me by sight. Ile warrant you. Seize it and flie. I am gone. O, O, O. How, who'es that exclaimes. The cramps in my finger. The Crampe. O sir, now you are visible againe. My Ring is gone now, the diuell go with it, for a my conscience he fetcht it. What haue you lost your Ring. I, I, and my middle finger, which serued me for more vse then all the rest. Thats strange. But what is become of the Ring. Pardon me Liedge, that vertue that it held, Came from my Art, and at some fitter time, I will acquaint you with the passages, How, and the cause for what it was intended: Your gracious Dutchesse knowes and felt the worth, Thy knowledge in good arts is found Landoff, Nor will we be inquisitiue of more. Then thou shalt thinke it fit to be reueal'd: For all thy Actions haue bin iust and loyall, What meanes this Trumpet, Perhaps some new delights and rarer. Thus was I bidden to my soueraigne, Fall on my face, now rise I vp againe To render to the Ladies faire salutes, And giue them all their worthy attributes, Wonder not that I resesolutely come, Boldly thus daring presse into this roome, For from a Lord and knight of eminent note, I bring this challenge; such as can reade may know't. Very suceinct and peremptory. For this day I am master of the Reuels. Bee it knowne vnto all men that I,—of the Court, of Saxonie, traueller, by degree a Lord, and a professed Champion for all Ladies in the lists of peace, doe challenge all Courtiers whatsoeuer, without exceptions, natiue or strangers, tocōfer, court, orcōplement, in silence with discorsiue motion and true action of the face, hand, body, & leg, & afterward with the vollubily of thetong, to talk longest, fastest & lowd'st, for sence I stand not vpō it, being seldome regarded by the party courted, therfore indeed belongs not to the Courtier: also bee it farther knowne that my assistants, Agents, or seconds, doth challenge likewise all Courtiers whatsoeuer, at the true compendious forme of compiling Epistles, alias Loue-Letters, to Ladies or Mistresses, either in Prose or Verse, with Prouerbes, or without Prouerbes, with Sentences, or without Sentences, Figures, or any other matter, to be performed Extempore, or not Extempore, according as it shall please the Challenged, which is to say, the Defendant to determine: All which, that aforesaid, as well as this now spoken of, shall be performed by the said Challengers instantly; who onely staying to heare of any Opponents, are both ready to enter. Here is vnexpected Sport. Let 'hem enter, they shall be answer'd; Smirke, thou shalt be my Second.