es of fresh Jaertis' stream,
The pride and beauty of her princely seat,
Be famous through the furthest continents;
For there my palace royal shall be placed,
Whose shining turrets shall dismay the heavens,
And cast the fame of Ilion's tower to hell:
Thorough the streets, with troops of conquered kings,
I'll ride in golden armour like the sun;
And in my helm a triple plume shall spring,
Spangled with diamonds, dancing in the air,
To note me emperor of the three-fold world;
Like to an almond tree y-mounted high
Upon the lofty and celestial mount
Of ever-green Selinus, quaintly decked
With blooms more white than Erycina's brows,
Whose tender blossoms tremble every one
At every little breath that thorough heaven is blown.
Then in my coach, like Saturn's royal son
Mounted his shining chariot gilt with fire
And drawn with princely eagles through the path
Paved with bright crystal and enchased with stars,
When all the gods stand gazing at his pomp,
So will I ride through Samarcanda-streets,
Until my soul, dissevered from this flesh,
Shall mount the milk-white way and meet him there.
To Babylon, my lords, to Babylon!

_The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus_ sets forth the well-known story
of the man who sold his soul to the devil in return for complete
gratification of his desires during his life on earth. Something of its
fame is due to its association, through its main plot, with Goethe's
masterpiece; something may be attributed to the fascination of its
theme; something must be granted to the terrible force of one or two
scenes. It is hard to believe that its own artistic and dramatic
qualities could have secured unaided the reputation which it appears to
possess among some critics. More even than _Tamburlaine_, this play
hangs upon one central figure. There is no Bajazeth, no Soldan, no
Orcanes, no Zenocrate to help to bear the weight of impressiveness. The
low characters, who are intended to be humorous, drag the plot down
instead of buoying it up. Other figures are hardly more than dummies,
unable to excite the smallest interest. Mephistophilis deserves our
notice, but his is a shadowy outline removed from humanity. One figure
alone stands forth to hold and justify our attention; and he proves
himself unfit for the task. Those who insist on tracing one guiding
principle in all Marlowe's plays have declared that Faus