_Iris. Hermes_ forbear, _Juno_ will chide and strike; Is great _Jove_ jealous that I am imploy'd On her Love-errands? she did never yet Claspe weak mortality in her white arms, As he has often done; I only come To celebrate the long wish'd Nuptials Here in _Olympia_, which are now perform'd Betwixt two goodly Rivers, [which] have mixt Their gentle [ris]ing waves, and are to grow Into a thousand streams, great as themselves. I need not name them, for the sound is loud In Heaven and Earth, and I am sent from her The Queen of marriage, that was present here, And smil'd to see them joyn, and hath not chid Since it was done. Good _Hermes_ let me goe. _Merc._ Nay, you must stay, _Jove's_ message is the same; Whose eyes are lightning, and whose voice is thunder, Whose breath is a[n]y wind, he will, who knows How to be first [o]n Earth, as well as Heaven. _Iris._ But what hath he to do with Nuptial rites? Let him [keepe state] upon his Starry throne, And fright poor mortals with his Thunder-bolts, Leaving to us the mutual darts of eyes. _Merc._ Alas, when ever offer'd he t'abridge Your Ladies power, but only now in these, Whose match concerns [his] general government? Hath not each God a part in these high joyes? And shall not he the King of gods presume Without proud _Juno's_ licence? let her know, That when enamour'd _Jove_ fir[st] gave her power To link soft hearts in undissolv[ed] b[o]nds, He then foresaw, and to himself reserv'd The honor of this marriage: thou shalt stand Still as a Rock, while I to bless this Feast Will summon up with mine all-charming rod The Nymphs of Fountains, from whose watry locks, (Hung with the dew of blessing and increase) The greedy Rivers take their nourishment. Y[ou] Nymphs, who bathing in your loved Springs, Beheld these Rivers in their infancy. And joy'd to see them, when their circled heads Refresh'd the Air, and spread the ground with Flowers; Rise from your Wells, and with your nimble feet Perform that office to this happy pair, Which in these Plains you to _Alpheus_ did, When passing hence, through many Seas unmixt, He gain'd the favour of his _Arethuse_. [_The Nymphs rise, and dance a little, and then make a stand._ _Iris._ Is _Hermes_ grown a Lover? by what power Unknown to us, calls he the [Naiades]?