WELLBORN: There's no help; Disarm him first, then bind him. MARGARET: Oh, my dear father! [_They force_ OVERREACH _off_. ALLWORTH: You must be patient, mistress. LOVELL: Pray take comfort. I will endeavour you shall be his guardians In his distraction: and for your land, Master Wellborn, Be it good or ill in law, I'll be an umpire Between you and this the undoubted heir Of Sir Giles Overreach; for me, here's the anchor That I must fix on. [_Takes_ LADY ALLWORTH'S _hand_. FOOTNOTES: [Z] Of all Shakespeare's immediate successors one of the most powerful, as well as the most prolific, was Philip Massinger. The son of a retainer in the household of the Earl of Pembroke, he was born during the second half of 1583, and entered St. Alban's Hall, Oxford, in 1602, but left without a degree four years later. Coming to London, he appears to have mixed freely with writers for the stage, and soon made a reputation as playwright. The full extent of his literary activities is not known, inasmuch as a great deal of his work has been lost. He also collaborated with other authors, particularly with Fletcher (see Vol. XVI, p. 133) in whose grave he was buried on March 18, 1639. It is certain, however, that he wrote single-handed fifteen plays, of which the best known is the masterly and satirical comedy, "A New Way to Pay Old Debts." Printed in 1633, but probably written between 1625 and 1626, the piece retained its popularity longer than any other of Massinger's plays. The construction is ingenious, the dialogue witty, but the _dramatis personæ_, with the exception of Sir Giles Overreach, are feeble and without vitality. JOHN MILTON[AA] Paradise Lost _I.--The Army of the Rebel Angels_ The poem opens with an invocation to the Heavenly Muse for enlightenment and inspiration.