Chloridia: Rites to Chloris and Her Nymphs · chunk 2 of 3
Jonson, Ben · published 1631 · first performed or written 1631 [Feb 22] (Annals) masque · before the Court T26 Devils, hell and fiends typicality 0.72 · 412 words
Marked words are the most distinguishing words of T26: devil, hell, devils, sure, soul, fiend, sr, wife, lord, men.
Hold my stirrup, my one Lackey; and look to my Curtal, the other: walk him well, Sirrah, while I expatiate myself here in the report of my office! oh the Furies! how I am joyed with the title of it! postilion of Hell! yet no Mercury. But a mere Cacodaemon, sent hither with a packet of news! news! never was Hell so furnished of the commodity of news! Love hath been lately there, and so entertained by Pluto, and Proserpine, and all the Grandees of the place as, it is there perpetual Holiday: and a cessation of torment granted, and proclaimed for ever! Half-famished Tantalus is fallen to his fruit, with that appetite, as it threatens to undo the whole company of costermongers, and has a river afore him, running excellent wine lxion is loosed from his wheel, and turned Dancer, does nothing but cut capreols, fetch friskals, and leads Lavaltoes, with the Lamiae! Sisyphus has left rolling the stone, and is grown a Mr. bowler; challenges all the prime gamesters, Parsons in hell, and gives them odds: upon Tityus his breast, that (for fix of the nine aeres) is counted the subtlest bowling-ground in all Tartary. All the Furies are at a game called nine pins, or keilles, made of old vsurers bones, and their souls looking on with delight, and betting on the game. Never was there such freedom of sport. Danaus' daughters have broke their bottomless tubs, and made bonfires of them. All is turned triumph there. Had hell gates been kept with half that strictness as the entry here has been tonight, Pluto would have had but a cola Court, & Proserpine a thin presence, though both have a vast territory We had such a stir to get in, I and my Curtal, and my two Lackeys all ventured through the eye of a Spanish needle, we had never come in else, & that was by the favour of one of the guard who was a woman's-tailor, and held ope the passage. Cupid by commission hath carried jealousy from Hell, Disdain, Fear, and Dissimulation, with other Goblins, to trouble the Gods. And I am sent after post, to raise Tempest, Winds, Lightnings, Thunder, Rain, and Snow, for some new exploit they have against the Earth, and the Goddess Chloris, Queen of the flowers, and Mistress of the Spring. For joy of which I will return to myself, mount my Bidet, in a dance; and curvet upon my Curtal.
nodes 51–51 (positions in the processed text, not lines of the printed book) · chunk 2 of 3 in this edition
Length
412 words · 569 tokens
Topic (seed 42)
T26 — Devils, hell and fiendscross-work theme (confirmed, in the genre comparison) · typicality 0.720 (cosine to the topic centroid)
Other seeds
seed 43: T23 · seed 44: T23 — topic numbers are assigned independently in each run; equal or different numbers say nothing by themselves
Original spelling (EEBO-TCP, unregularized)
Hold my stirrop, my one Lacquey; and looke to my Curtall, the other: walke him well, Sirrah, while I expatiate my selfe here in the report of my office! oh the Furies! how I am ioyed with the title of it! Postillion of Hell! yet no Mercury. But a mere Cacodaemon, sent hether with a packet of newes! newes! neuer was Hell so furnished of the commodity of newes! Loue hath bin lately there, and so entertained by Pluto, and Proserpine, and all the Grandees of the place as, it is there perpetuall Holy-day: and a cessation of torment granted, and proclaimed for euer! Halfe-famish'd Tantalus is fallen to his fruit, with that appetite, as it threaten's to vndoe the whole company of Costardmungers, and ha's ariuer afore him, running excellent wine lxion is loos'd from his wheele, and turn'd Dancer, does nothing but cut capreols, fetch friskals, and leades Laualtos, with the Lamiae! Sisyphus ha's left rowling the stone, and is growne a Mr. bowler; challenges all the prime gamesters, Parsons in hell, and giues them odds: vpon Tityus his brest, that (for fixe of the nine aeres) is counted the subtlest bowling-ground in all Tartary. All the Furies are at a game call'd nine pins, or keilles, made of old vsurers bones, and their soules looking on with delight, and betting on the game. Neuer was there such freedome of sport. Danaus daughters haue broke their bottomelesse tubs, and made bonfires of them. All is turn'd triumph there. Had hell gates bin kep't with halfe that strictnesse as the entry here ha's bin to night, Pluto would haue had but a cola Court, & Proserpine a thinne presence, though both haue a vast territory We had such a stirre to get in, I and my Curtall, and my two Lacqueys all ventur'd through the eye of a Spanish needle, we had neuer come in else, & that was by the fauour of one of the guard who was a womans-tayler, and held ope the passage. Cupid by commission hath carried Iealoufie from Hell, Disdaine, Feare, and Dissimulation, with other Goblins, to trouble the Gods. And I am sent after post, to rayse Tempest, Windes, Lightnings, Thunder, Rayne, and Snow, for some new exployt they haue against the Earth, and the Goddesse Chloris, Queene of the flowers, and Mistris of the Spring. For ioy of which I will returne to my selfe, mount my Bidet, in a dance; and coruet vpon my Curtall.