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Bacon, Herbert and Fitton
SONNET NO. 134
So now I have confess'd that he is thine,
And I myself am mortgag'd to thy will,
Myself I'll forfeit, so that other mine
Thou wilt restore, to be my comfort still,
But thou wilt not, nor he will not be free,
For thou art covetous, and he is kind;
He learn'd but surety like to write for me,
Under that bond that him as fast doth bind,
The statute of thy beauty, thou wilt take,
Thou usurer that put'st forth all to use,
And sue a friend, came debtor for my sake,
So him I lose through my unkind abuse,
Him have I lost-thou hast both him and me
He pays the whole and yet am I not free.
Note the repetition of the following words, we find-thou,
thou, thou, thou, thou, thou, he, he, he, he, he, him, him, him
This sonnet like No. 42 appears to concern I (Bacon) he
(Herbert) and thou (Mistress Fitton). First note the legal terms
in this sonnet-we find-mortgage, forfeit, surety, bond, statute,
sue, debtor. We read-that I (Bacon) have confessed that he
(Herbert) is thine (Mistress Fitton's). That Bacon is mortgaged
to her will (command) that Bacon will forefeit (give up volun-
tarily) himself so that Herbert (that other mine) will be restored
by her to be a comfort to Bacon. But that neither Mistress
Fitton or Herbert shall be free (at liberty to do anything they
wished) because Mistress Fitton is covetous and Herbert is
kind-that Herbert like a surety (a safeguard) has learned to
write for Bacon under a bond (obligation) which did bind
(impose an obligation upon) Herbert. Bacon tells Mistress
Fitton that the statute (bond of her beauty) she will take (like
a usurer that puts forth all to use) and sue Herbert (a friend)
who became a debtor for Bacon's sake-so Bacon loses Herbert
who has gone after Mistress Fitton, tells her that she now
has both Bacon and Herbert-that Herbert as the surety has
to pay the whole debt but in spite of this Bacon is still not free
(guiltless).