Lit. It pleases him to make a matter of it, sir; but there is no such matter, I assure you: I have only made it a little easy, and modern for the times, sir, that’s all. As for the Hellespont, I imagine our Thames here; and then Leander I make a dyer’s son about Puddle-wharf: and Hero a wench o’ the Bank-side, who going over one morning to Old Fish-street, Leander spies her land at Trig-stairs, and falls in love with her. Now do I introduce Cupid, having metamorphosed himself into a drawer, and he strikes Hero in love with a pint of sherry; and other pretty passages there are of the friendship, that will delight you, sir, and please you of judgment.
Cokes. I’ll be sworn they shall: I am in love with the actors already, and I’ll be allied to them presently.—They respect gentlemen, these fellows:—Hero shall be my fairing: but which of my fairings?—let me see—i’faith, my fiddle; and Leander my fiddlestick: then Damon my drum, and Pythias my pipe, and the ghost of Dionysius my hobby-horse. All fitted.
Enter WINWIFE and GRACE.
Winw. Look, yonder’s your Cokes gotten in among his play-fellows; I thought we could not miss him at such a spectacle.
Grace. Let him alone, he is so busy he will never spy us.
Leath. Nay, good sir! [To Cokes, who is handling the puppets.
Cokes. I warrant thee I will not hurt her, fellow; what, dost thou think me uncivil? I pray thee be not jealous; I am toward a wife.
Lit. Well, good master Lantern, make ready to begin that I may fetch my wife; and look you be perfect, you undo me else, in my reputation.
Leath. I warrant you, sir, do not you breed too great an expectation of it among your friends; that’s the hurter of these things.
Lit. No, no, no.