Em.
To me, forsooth.
Elner.
To me, my gratious Lord.
William.
Speak, Manville: to whether didst thou give
thy faith?
Manville.
To say the troth, this maid had first my love.
Elner.
Yes, Manville, but there was no witness by.
Em.
Thy conscience, Manville, is a hundred witnesses.
Elner.
She hath stolen a conscience to serve her own turn;
but you
are deceived, yfaith, he will none of you.
Manville.
In deed, dread Lord, so dear I held her love
As in the same I put my whole delight;
But some impediments, which at that instant hapned,
Made me forsake her quite;
For which I had her fathers frank consent.
William.
What were the impediments?
Manville.
Why, she could neither hear nor see.
William.
Now she doth both. Maiden, how were you cured?
Em.
Pardon, my Lord, I’ll tell your grace the troth,
Be it not imputed to me as discredit.
I loved this Manville so much, that still my thought,
When he was absent, did present to me
The form and feature of that countenance
Which I did shrine an idol in mine heart.
And never could I see a man, methought,
That equaled Manville in my partial eye.
Nor was there any love between us lost,
But that I held the same in high regard,
Until repair of some unto our house,
Of whom my Manville grew thus jealous
As if he took exception I vouchsafed
To hear them speak, or saw them when they came:
On which I straight took order with my self,
To void the scrupule of his conscience,
By counterfaiting that I neither saw nor heard,
Any ways to rid my hands of them.
All this I did to keep my Manvilles love,
Which he unkindly seeks for to reward.
Manville.
And did my Em, to keep her faith with me,
Dissemble that she neither heard nor saw?
Pardon me, sweet Em, for I am only thine.
Em.
Lay off thy hands, disloyal as thou art!
Nor shalt thou have possession of my love,
That canst so finely shift thy matters off.
Put case I had been blind, and could not see—
As often times such visitations falls
That pleaseth God, which all things doth dispose—
Shouldest thou forsake me in regard of that?
I tell thee Manville, hadst thou been blind,
Or deaf, or dumb, or else what impediments might
Befall to man, Em would have loved and kept,
And honoured thee: yea begged, if wealth had
failed,
For thy relief.
Manville.
Forgive me, sweet Em.
Em.
I do forgive thee, with my heart,
And will forget thee too, if case I can:
But never speak to me, nor seem to know me.
Manville.
Then farewell, frost! Well fare a wench that
will!
Now, Elner, I am thine own, my girl.