M.  Mol. But are these all?  Speak you, that are their masters.

Must. All, upon my honour; if you will take them as their fathers got them, so; if not, you must stay till they get a better generation.  These christians are mere bunglers; they procreate nothing but out of their own wives, and these have all the looks of eldest sons.

M.  Mol. Pain of your lives, let none conceal a slave.

Must. Let every man look to his own conscience; I am sure mine shall never hang me.

Bend. Thou speak’st as if thou wert privy to concealments; then thou art an accomplice.

Must. Nay, if accomplices must suffer, it may go hard with me:  but here’s the devil on’t, there’s a great man, and a holy man too, concerned with me; now, if I confess, he’ll be sure to escape between his greatness and his holiness, and I shall be murdered, because of my poverty and rascality.

Muf. [Winking at him.] Then, if thy silence save the great and holy, ’Tis sure thou shalt go straight to paradise.

Must. ’Tis a fine place, they say; but, doctor, I am not worthy on’t.  I am contented with this homely world; ’tis good enough for such a poor, rascally Mussulman, as I am; besides, I have learnt so much good manners, doctor, as to let my betters be served before me.

M.  Mol. Thou talk’st as if the Mufti were concerned.

Must. Your majesty may lay your soul on’t.  But, for my part, though I am a plain fellow, yet I scorn to be tricked into paradise; I would he should know it.  The truth on’t is, an’t like you, his reverence bought of me the flower of all the market:  these—­these are but dogs-meat to them; and a round price he paid me, too, I’ll say that for him; but not enough for me to venture my neck for.  If I get paradise when my time comes, I can’t help myself; but I’ll venture nothing before-hand, upon a blind bargain.

M.  Mol. Where are those slaves? produce them.

Muf. They are not what he says.

M.  Mol. No more excuses. [One goes out to fetch them.
Know, thou may’st better dally
With a dead prophet, than a living king.

Muf. I but reserved them to present thy greatness An offering worthy thee.

Must. By the same token there was a dainty virgin, (virgin, said I! but I wont be too positive of that, neither) with a roguish leering eye! he paid me down for her upon the nail a thousand golden sultanins, or he had never had her, I can tell him that; now, is it very likely he would pay so dear for such a delicious morsel, and give it away out of his own mouth, when it had such a farewell with it too?

  Enter SEBASTIAN, conducted in mean Habit, with ALVAREZ, ANTONIO,
  and ALMEYDA, her Face veiled with a Barnus.

M.  Mol. Ay; these look like the workmanship of heaven; This is the porcelain clay of human kind, And therefore cast into these noble moulds.