The Bride | Page 3

Consider beast, and fish and foule, all creatures,
How there is male
and female of their kinde,
And how in loue they doe inlarge their
natures:
Even by constrayn'd necessity inclyn'd:
To paire and match, and couple tis decreed,
To stocke and store the
earth, with what they breed.
In that most powerfull word, still power doth lye,
To whose
obedience all must subiect bee,
That sayd at first, Increase and
multiply,
Which still enduers from age to age we see:
Dutie obligeth every one should frame,
To his dread will, that did

commaund the same.
It is not good for Man to be alone,
Sayd that great God, who only
knowes whats best:
And therefore made a wife of Adams bone,

While he reposing slept, with quyet rest,
Which might presage, the great Creator ment,
In their coniunction,
sume of earths content,
Mistris Susan.
Good Mistris Bride, now we haue hard your speach
In commendation
of your Nuptiall choyse,
Giue me a little favour I beseech,
To
speake vnto you with a Virgins voyce:
Though diuers elder maydes in place there be,
Yet ile begin, trusting
they'le second me.
We are your fellows but to Church you say,
As custome is that
maydes, should bring the Bride
And for no longer then the wedding
day,
You hould with vs, but turne to tother side:
Boasting of Honour you affend vnto,
And so goe forward making
much adoe.
But this vnto you lustly I obiect,
In the defence of each beloued
mayde,
Virginity, is life of chast respect,
No worldly burden
thereupon is layd:
Our syngle life, all peace and quiet bringes,
And
we are free from carefull earthly things.
We may doe what we please, goe where we list,
Without pray
husband will you giue me leaue
Our resolutions no man can resist,

Our own's our owne, to giue or to receiue,
We live not under this same word obay:
Till Death depart us, at our
dying day.

We may delight in fashion, weare the same,
And chuse the stuffe of
last devised sale:
Take Taylors counsell in it free from blame,
And
cast it off assone as it growes stale:
Goe out, come in, and at selfe pleasure liue,
And kindly take, what
kind youngmen do giue.
Wee have no checking churlish taunts to feare us,
We have no
grumbling at our purse expence:
We seeke no misers favour to
forbeare us,
We use no houshold wranglings and offence:
We have no cocke to over crowe our combe,
Cate.
Well said good Susan, now thou pay'st her home.
Bride.
A little favour pray, good Mistris Sue,
You haue a time to heare
aswell as speake:
You challenge more by odds then is your due,

And stand on Arguments are childish weake:
Of freedome, liberty, and all content,
But in the aire your breath is
vainely spent.
It is your shame to bost you haue your will,
And that you are in feare
of no controwle,
Your cases Sufan, are more bad and ill,
Most
dangerous to body and to soule:
A woman to her will hath oft bin try'd,
To run with errour, on the left
hand side.
Pray did not danger then to Eue befall,
When she tooke liberty
without her heda,
The Serpent ouercame her therwithall,
And
thorow will, she wilfull was misled:

Yelding assoone as Sathan did intice,
And of her husband neuer
tooke aduise.
In wit to men we are inferiour far,
For arts for learning, and Ingenious
things,
No rare Inuentions in our braynes there are,
That publique
profit to a kingdome brings:
Tis they that must all callings execute,
And wee of all their labours
reape the fruite.
They are Diuines for soules true happines,
They Maiestraites to right
offensiue wronges,
They souldiers for their martiall valiantnes,

They artizans, for all to vse belonges:
They husbandmen to worke the earths increase,
And they the some of
womens ioye and peace.
And shall not we performe obedience then?
As wee are bound by law
of God and nature,
Yealding true harts affection unto men,
Ordain'd
to rule and gouerne euery creature:
Why then of all on earth that liue and moue,
We should degenerate
and monsters proue.
Besse.
Monsters (forsoth) nere sleepe in maidens beds,
But they are lodged
with your married wiues,
The knotty browes, and rugged butting heds,

Concerne not vs, professing single liues,
To learne your horne-booke we have no deuotion
Keepe monsters to
your selues, we scorne the motion.
Bride.
Besse, of such shapes, when your turne coms to marry
A carefull

mynd, in choyse of husband beare,
For if your browes from former
smothnes varry,
Thinke on this speach, It commeth with a feare:
Which I am past, perplexe me no feare can.
Being sure I haue a
constant honest man.
Iane.
Belieue you haue, and t'is enough they say,
But you and I agree not in
a mynde,
I read in storyes men will run astray,
Yet make their
foolish wiues beleeue th'are kind:
And therefore since they are so cunning knowne
He keepe my selfe a
maide and trust to none.
Had I one sutor swore himselfe loue-sicke,
Another for his Mistris
sake would die,
A third thorow Cupids power growne lunaticke,
A
fourth that