_Lid._ Sir, I was, And ever am, your servant; but it was, And 'tis, far from me in a thought to cherish Such saucy hopes. If I had been the heir Of all the globes and sceptres mankind bows to, At my best you had deserved me; as I am, Howe'er unworthy, in my virgin zeal I wish you, as a partner of your bed, A princess equal to you; such a one That may make it the study of her life, With all the obedience of a wife, to please you. May you have happy issue, and I live To be their humblest handmaid! _Giov._ I am dumb, And can make no reply. _Cont._ Your excellence Will be benighted. _Giov._ This kiss, bathed in tears, May learn you what I should say. _Lid._ Give me leave To wait on you to your horse. _Char._ And me to bring you To the one half of your journey. _Giov._ Your love puts Your age to too much trouble. _Char._ I grow young, When most I serve you. _Cont._ Sir, the duke shall thank you. [_Exeunt._ FOOTNOTES: [60] _Giovanni._] This word is used as a quadrisyllable. This is incorrect, and shows that Massinger had studied the language in books only: no Italian would or could pronounce it in this manner. He makes the same mistake in the name of the duchess:--Fiorinda is a trisyllable; yet he adopts the division of poor Calandrino, and constantly pronounces it Fi-o-rin-da.--GIFFORD. [61] _Running at the ring._] This amusement made a part of nearly all those magnificent spectacles which used to be given on public occasions. A ring of a very small diameter was suspended by a string from a kind of gibbet, of which the horizontal beam moved on a swivel. At this the competitors ran with their spears couched, with loose reins, and, as the public regulations have it, "as much speed as the horses have." The object was to carry off the ring on the point of the spear, which was light, taper, and adapted to the purpose. It was of difficult attainment; for, from an account of a match made by King Edward the Sixth, seventeen against seventeen, of which he has left a description, it appears, that "in one hundred and twenty courses the ring was carried off but three times."--_King Edward's Journal, p. 26._ The victor was usually rewarded with a ring set with precious stones, and bestowed by the lady of the day. [62] _So passionate!_] i. e. _so deeply affected_. In this sense the word perpetually occurs in our old writers. [63] _To imp._] i. e. _to insert a new feather into the wing of a hawk in the place of a broken one_.--These lines are perhaps the most beautiful of a scene eminently graceful and elegant. SCENE II. _Florence. A Room in the Palace._ _Enter_ ALPHONSO, HIPPOLITO, _and_ HIERONIMO. _Alph._ His highness cannot take it ill. _Hip._ However, We with our duties shall express our care For the safety of his dukedom.