and purpose she loued him. And this amorous passion incredibly
growing in hir, the rootes whereof be planted in the restlesse
humor of melancholy, and wanting all hope and comforte to stay
that Ranke and Rammishe weede, it so increased in her, as shee
franticke in raging loue gaue hir selfe ouer to the spoyle of
herself: and to rid her from the griefe, she determined to kill
hir selfe, imagining whych way she might do the same. At length
she was resolued, with hir father's sword to peerce hir body:
but hir heart not seruing hir thereunto, deuised by the halter
to end her lyfe, saying thus to herselfe: "Thys death yet shal
do me good, that the cruel man may know that for his sake I haue
done this fact: and if his heart be not made of Iron or steele,
he can not chose but sorrowe and lament, that a poore mayde
whych loued him better than hir owne lyfe, hath made sutch
wretched ende onely for his cruelty." Elisa concludinge vpon
this intent, prepared a Halter: and being alone in her house, in
the chamber where the Casket lay vpon the beame, placed a stoole
vnder the same, and began to tye the halter about the beame: in
doinge whereof, she espied the casket, and reached the same vnto
hir, who feeling it to be heauy and weighty, immediatly did open
it, and founde the Byll within, which Chera had written with hir
owne hand, agreable to that which she had deliuered to hir
daughter, wherein were particularly remembred the Iewels and
other riches fast closed within the casket. Who disclosing the
bagges wherein the gold and Iewels were bound vp, and seeing the
great value of the same, wondred thereat, and ioyfull for that
fortune, hid the rope which she had prepared for hir death, in
the place where she found the casket, and with great gladnesse
and mirth went vnto hir father, and shewed him what she had
found, whereat the father reioyced no lesse, then his daughter
Elisa did, bicause he sawe himselfe thereby to be discharged of
his former poore life, and like to proue a man of inestimable
wealth and substance: and saw likewise that the poore wench his
daughter, by the addicion of those riches, was like to attayne
the party whom shee loued. When he had taken forth those bagges
and well surueyed the value, to the intent no man might suspect
the sodayne mutation of his state, tooke his daughter with him,
and went to Rome, where after he had remayned certayne monethes,
hee returned to Carthage, and began very galantly to apparell