'T must be a busy and bold hand, that would
Unlink a chain the gods themselves have made:
Peace to thy thoughts, Aglaura.[Exit
Zir. [steps back and speaks]. Whate'er he says, believe him not, Aglaura;
For lust and rage ride high within him now:145
He knows Thersames made th' escape from hence,
And does conceal it only for his ends;
For, by the favour of mistake and night,
He hopes t' enjoy thee in the prince's room.
I shall be miss'd, else I would tell thee more;150
But thou mayest guess, for our condition
Admits no middle ways: either we must
Send them to graves, or lie ourselves in dust.
Agl. Ha!
'Tis a strange act thought puts me now upon;155
Yet sure my brother meant the self-same thing,
And my Thersames would have done't for me:
To take his life, that seeks to take away
The life of life—honour—from me, and from
The world the life of honour—Thersames,160
Must needs be something, sure, of kin to justice.
If I do fail, th' attempt howe'er was brave;
And I shall have at worst a handsome grave.[Exit
Scene V
Enter Iolas on one side, Semanthe on the other: she steps back, Iolas stays her
Iol. What! are we grown, Semanthe, night and day?
Must one still vanish, when the other comes?
Of all that ever love did yet bring forth
(And 't has been fruitful too) this is
The strangest issue.5
Sem. What, my lord?
Iol. Hate, Semanthe.
Sem. You do mistake; if I do shun you, 'tis
As bashful debtors shun their creditors.
I cannot pay you in the self-same coin,10
And am asham'd to offer any other.
Iol. It is ill done, Semanthe, to plead bankrupt,
When with such ease you may be out of debt.
