SCENE IV.
Albumazar, Trincalo.
Alb. Stand forth, transformed Antonio, fully mued
From brown soar feathers[314] of dull yeomanry,
To th' glorious bloom of gentry: prune yourself sleek;[315]
Swear boldly y' are the man you represent
To all that dare deny it.
Trin. I find my thoughts
Most strangely alter'd; but methinks my face
Feels still like Trincalo.
Alb. You imagine so.
Senses are oft deceiv'd. As an attentive angler,
Fixing his steady eyes on the swift streams
Of a steep tumbling torrent, no sooner turns
His sight to land, but (giddy) thinks the firm banks
And constant trees more like the running water;
So you, that thirty years have liv'd in Trincalo.
Chang'd suddenly, think y' are so still; but instantly
These thoughts will vanish.
Trin. Give me a looking-glass
To read your skill in these new lineaments.
Alb. I'd rather give you poison; for a glass,
By secret power of cross reflections
And optic virtue, spoils the wond'rous work
Of transformation; and in a moment turns you,
Spite of my skill, to Trincalo as before.
We read that Apuleius[316] was[317] by a rose
Chang'd from an ass to man: so by a mirror
You'll lose this noble lustre, and turn ass.
I humbly take my leave; but still remember
T' avoid the devil and a looking-glass.
Newborn Antonio, I kiss your hands.
Trin. Divine Albumazar, I kiss your hands.
[Exit Albumazar.