UR. Thus shall Urias' heart be best content,
Till thou dismiss me back to Joab's bands;
This ground before the king my master's doors,
[He lies down.

Shall be my couch, and this unwearied arm,
The proper pillow of a soldier's head;

For never will I lodge within my house,

Till Joab triumph in my secret vows.

DAV. Then fetch some flagons of our purest wine,
That we may welcome home our hardy friend
With full carouses to his fortunes past,

And to the honours of his future arms;

Then will I send him back to Rabbah siege
And follow with the strength of Israel.

[Enter one with the flagons of wine.

Arise, Urias; come, and pledge the king.
UR. If David think me worthy such a grace,
[He riseth.

I will be bold, and pledge my lord the king.
DAV. Absalon, and Cusay, both shall drink

To good Urias, and his happiness.

ABS. We will, my lord, to please Urias' soul.
DAV. I will begin, Urias, to thyself,

And all the treasure of the Ammonites,
Which here I promise to impart to thee,
And bind that promise with a full carouse.

UR. What seemeth pleasant in my sovereign's eyes,
That shall Urias do till he be dead.

DAV. Fill him the cup; follow, ye lords, that love Your sovereign's health, and do as he hath done.

a.

ABS. Ill may he thrive, or live in Israel, That loves not David, or denies his charge. Urias, here is to Abisai's health,

Lord Joab's brother, and thy loving friend.

UR. I pledge lord Absalon, and Abisai's health.

[He drinks. Cu. Here now, Urias, to the health of Joab, And to the pleasant journey we shall have, When we return to mighty Rabbah siege.

UR. Cusay, I pledge thee all with all my heart.— Give me some drink, ye servants of the king;

Give me my drink.

[He drinks.

DAV. Well done, my good Urias; drink thy fill,

That in thy fulness David may rejoice.

UR. I will, my lord.

ABS. Now, lord Urias, one carouse to me.

UR. No, sir, I'll drink to the king;

Your father is a better man than you.

DAV. Do so, Urias, I will pledge thee straight. UR. I will indeed, my lord, and sovereign;

I'll* once in my days be so bold.

DAV. Fill him his glass.

UR. Fill me my glass. [He gives him the glass. DAV. Quickly, I say, Urias, quickly I say.

* I'll] Old copy “I.”

+ DAV. Quickly, I say, Urias, &c.] From the manner in which this line is printed in the old copy, I incline to think that part of it belongs to Urias, and that we should read;

"DAV. Quickly, I say.

“UR. Quickly, I say :

Here, my lord, by your favour now I drink to you."

UR. Here, my lord, by your favour now I drink

to you.

DAV. I pledge thee, good Urias, presently.

[He drinks.

ABS. Here then, Urias, once again for me,

And to the health of David's children.

UR. David's children?

ABS. Ay, David's children; wilt thou pledge me, man?

UR. Pledge me man !

ABS. Pledge me, I say, or else thou lov'st us not. UR. What, do you talk? do you talk?

I'll no more, I'll lie down here.

DAV. Rather, Urias, go thou home and sleep. UR. O, ho, sir! would you make me break my [He lies down.

sentence?

Home, sir, no, indeed, sir: I'll sleep upon mine arm, Like a soldier, sleep like a man as long as I live in Israel.

DAV. If nought will serve to save his wife's re

nown,

I'll send him with a letter unto Joab

To put him in the forefront of the wars,

That so my purposes may take effect.-
Help him in, sirs.

[Exeunt Dav. and Abs.

Cu. Come, rise, Urias; get thee in and sleep.
UR. I will not go home, sir; that's flat.

Cu. Then come, and rest thee upon David's bed.
UR. On, afore, my lords; on, afore. [Exeunt.

CHORUS.

O proud revolt of a presumptuous man,
Laying his bridle in the neck of sin,
Ready to bear him past his grave to hell!
Like as the fatal raven, that in his voice
Carries the dreadful summons of our deaths,
Flies by the fair Arabian spiceries,

Her pleasant gardens, and delightsome parks,*
Seeming to curse them with his hoarse exclaims,
And yet doth stoop with hungry violence
Upon a piece of hateful carrion:

So wretched man, displeas'd with those delights
Would yield a quickening savour to his soul,
Pursues with eager and unstaunched thirst
The greedy longings of his loathsome flesh.
If holy David so shook hands with sin,
What shall our baser spirits glory in?
This kingly + giving lust her rein
Pursues the sequel with a greater ill.
Urias in the forefront of the wars

Is murther'd by the hateful heathens' sword,
And David joys his too dear Bethsabe.
Suppose this past, and that the child is born,
Whose death the prophet solemnly doth mourn.

delightsome parks] England's Parnassus, (where several lines of this chorus are given, p. 195, under the head man, in,)" delightful parts."

† kingly} Qy. "king by.”

Tui

Enter BETHSABE, with her handmaid.

BETH. Mourn, Bethsabe, bewail thy foolishness,
Thy sin, thy shame, the sorrow of thy soul:
Sin, shame, and sorrow swarm about thy soul;
And in the gates, and entrance of my heart,
Sadness, with wreathed arms, hangs her complaint.
No comfort from the ten-string'd instrument,

*

The tinkling cymbal, or the ivory lute;

Nor doth the sound of David's kingly harp,
Make glad the broken heart of Bethsabe:
Jerusalem is fill'd with thy complaint,
And in the streets of Sion sits thy grief.
The babe is sick, sick to the death, I fear,

The fruit that sprung from thee to David's house;
Nor may the pot of honey and of oil

Glad David, or his handmaid's countenance.
Urias-wo is me to think hereon!

For who is it among the sons of men,

That saith not to my soul, the king hath sinn'd ;

David hath done amiss, and Bethsabe

Laid snares of death unto Urias' life?

My sweet Urias, fallen into the pit

Art thou, and gone even to the gates of hell

For Bethsabe, that wouldst not shroud her shame.
O, what is it to serve the lust of kings!

How lion-like they rage, when we resist!
But, Bethsabe, in humbleness attend

The grace that God will to his handmaid send.

tinkling] Old copy "twinkling."

[Exit.

Pepore.