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"Such childish humour from weak minds proceeds: "Thy wretched wife mistook the matter so, "To slay herself, that should have slain her foe.

"Courageous Roman, do not steep thy heart "In such relenting dew of lamentations, "But kneel with me, and help to bear thy part, "To rouse our Roman gods with invocations, "That they will suffer these abominations,

66

(Since Rome herself in them doth stand disgrac'd)

[chas'd. "By our strong arms from forth her fair streets

"Now, by the Capitol that we adore,

"And by this chaste blood so unjustly stain'd, "By heaven's fair sun, that breeds the fat earth's

store,

"By all our country rights in Rome maintain'd, "And by chaste Lucrece' soul that late complain'd "Her wrongs to us, and by this bloody knife, "We will revenge the death of this true wife."

58

This said, he struck his hand upon his breast,
And kiss'd the fatal knife to end his vow;
And to his protestation urg'd the rest,
Who wondering at him, did his words allow :
Then jointly to the ground their knees they bow;
And that deep vow which Brutus made before,
He doth again repeat, and that they swore.

58 allow] i. e. approve.

When they had sworn to this advised doom,
They did conclude to bear dead Lucrece thence;
To show her bleeding body thorough Rome,
And so to publish Tarquin's foul offence:
Which being done with speedy diligence,
The Romans plausibly 59 did give consent
To Tarquin's everlasting banishment.

59 plausibly] i. e. with acclamations.

SONNETS.

TO THE

ONLY BEGETTER OF THESE ENSUING SONNETS,

MR. W. H.

ALL HAPPINESS

AND THAT ETERNITY

PROMISED BY OUR EVER-LIVING POET,

WISHETH THE

WELL-WISHING ADVENTURER

IN SETTING FORTH,

T. T.1

1 T. T.] i. e. Thomas Thorpe.

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