Rich 1581

Rich, Barnabe. Riche his Farewell to Militarie Profession.

"Of Phylotus and Emelia"

Phylotus, old man, falls in love "with a young maiden far unfitting to his years" Emelia (292)

Emelia's father Alberto, "according to the custom of parents that desire to marry their daughters more for goods than for good will between the parties, more for lucre than for love, more for living than for learning, more for wealth than for wit, more for humor than for honostry, and so they may have great store of money, they never consider further the man" (293)

Riche recommens marrying for love; "for perfect love can never be without equality (293)

Emelia begs her father not to make her marry Phylotus but wants to please her father; so she begins imagining the life of wealth and luxury she would live; "she would not need to beat her brains about the practicing of housewifery, but should have servants at commandment to supply that turn" (293); after dinner she would be free to "go seek out her exemplars [books of patterns] and to peruse which work would do best in a ruff, which in a gorget, which in a sleeve, which in a coif, which in a caul, which in a handkerchief, what lace would do best to edge it, what seam, what stitch, what cut, what gard, and to sit her down and take it forth by little and little and thus with her needle to pass the afternoon with devising of things for her own wearing, this likewise pleased her passing well" (296)

but still can't get past that "at night she must go to bed to be lubber-leaped" (made love to by an old man) (296)

"Wherefore she remained in great perplexity, thinking her hapt o be over hard and the comfort very bare where the best choice had suc assurance of doubtful end. For to marry after her father's mind she knew would breed her loathed life, and to gainsay what he had determined would likewise lose her father's liking, that she wist not for her life whereon to resolve." (297)

young Roman gentleman Flanius falls in love with Emelia

they devise to steal Emelia away and elope -- "But Flanius, to avoid all these surmises, devised the next evening to convey her in at some back window of her father's house a suit of man's apparel, wherein the next day in the afternono, her father and mother being abroad, she should shift herself, and so come her ways unknown of any to such a place where he himself would be ready awaiting for her and so convey her home to his own house." (298)

father discovers this bc a servant tells on Emelia; they seek her in the strets, run into Phylerno, Alberto's son who'd been away since an infant; he looks so much like Emelia they mistake him for her

"she" marries Phylotus, who then dresses "her" in Emelia's outfits