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O miserable Pandosto, what surer witnes then conscience: what thoughtes more sower then suspition: What plague more bad then Iealousie: Unnatural actions offend the Gods, more than men, and causelesse cruelty neuer scapes without reuenge: I haue committed such a bloudy fact, as repent I may, but recal I cannot. Ah Iealousie, a hel to the mind and a horrour to the conscience, suppressing reason, and inciting rage: a worse passion then phrensie, a greater plague than madnes. Are the Gods iust: Then let them reuenge such brutish crueltie: my innocent babe I haue drowned in the seas: my louing wife I haue slaine with slaunderous suspition: my trusty friend I haue sought to betray, and yet the Gods are slacke to plague such offences. Ah vniust Apollo, Pandosto is the man that hath committed the fault: why should Garinter, seely child, abide the paine: Wel, sith the Gods mean to prolong my daies, to increase my dolour, I will offer my guilty bloud a sacrifice to those sacklesse soules, whose lives are lost by my rigorous folly. And with that he reached at a rapier, to haue murdered himselfe, but his Peeres being present, stayed him from such a bloudy act: perswading him to thinke, that the commonwealth consisted on his safety, and that those sheepe could not but perish, that wanted a sheepheard: wishing that if he woulde not liue for himselfe, yet he should haue care of his subiects, and to put such fancies out of his mind, sith in sores past helpe, salues do not heale, but hurt: and in things past cure, care is a corasiue: with these and such like perswasions the king was ouercome, an began somewhat to quiet his minde: so that assoone as hee could goe abroad, hee caused his wife to be embalmed, and wrapt in lead with her yong sonne Garinter: erecting a rich and famous Sepulchre, wherein he intumbed them both, making such solemne obsequies at her funeral, as all Bohemia might perceiue he did greatly repent him of his forepassed folly: causing this Epitaph to be ingrauen on her Tombe in letters of gold:

The Epitaph.

Here lies intommbde Bellaria, faire,

Falsly accused to be vnchaste:

Cleared by Apollos sacred doome,

Yet slaine by Iealousie at last.

What ere thou be that passest by,

Curse him that causde this Queene to die.,

This Epitaph being ingrauen, Pandosto would once a day repaire to the Tombe, and there with watry plaints bewaile his misfortune: coueting no other companion but sorrow, nor no other harmonie, but repentance. But leauing him to his dolorous passions, at last let vs come to shewe the tragicall discourse of the yong infant.

Who beeing tossed with winde, and wave, floated two whole dayes without succour, readie at euerie puffe to be drowned in the sea, till at last the tempest ceased, and the little boate was driuen with the tide into the coast of Sycilia, where sticking vpon the sands, it rested. Fortune mynding to be wanton, willing to shew that as she hath wrinckles on her browes: so shee hath dimples in her cheekes: thought after so many sower looks, to lend a fayned smile, and after a puffing storme, to bring a pretty calme: she began thus to dally. It fortuned a poore mercenary shepheard, that dwelled in Sycilia, who got his liuing by other mens flockes, missed one of his sheepe, and thinking it had straied into the covert, that was hard by, sought very diligently to find that which he could not see, fearing either that the wolves, or Eagles had vndone him (for he was so poore, as a sheepe was halfe his substance) wandered down toward the sea cliffes, to see if perchance the sheep was browseing on the sea Iuie, whereon they greatly do feed, but not finding her there, as he was ready to returne to his flock, hee heard a child cry: but knowing there was no house neere, thought he had mistaken the sound, and that it was the bleating of his sheep. Wherefore looking more narrowly, as he cast his eie to the Sea, he spied a little boat, from whence as he attentively listened, he might heare the cry to come: standing a good while in a maze, at last he went to the shoare, and wading