There is much in Timoleon's speeches in the senate[67] which seems to contain covert references to the England [pg 016] of the day, and notably in lines 203-213, where the unprepared state of the army and navy is referred to.
It has been thought with much probability that the Duke of Buckingham is satirized in the slight sketch of Gisco in The Bondman,[68] and in the more fully drawn character of Fulgentio in The Maid of Honour:[69]
Adorni. Pray you, sir, what is he?
Astutio. A gentleman, yet no lord. He hath some drops
Of the king's blood running in his reins, derived
Some ten degrees off. His revenue lies
In a narrow compass, the king's ear; and yields him
Every hour a fruitful harvest. Men may talk
Of three crops in a year in the Fortunate Islands,
Or profit made by wool; but, while there are suitors,