Iff
English Dramatists
GEORGE PEELE
VOLUME THE FIRST
•Sattwitgne •£>««»
BAI.LANTYNE, HANSON AND CO. EDINBURGH AND LONDON
THE WORKS
OF
GEORGE PEELE
EDITED BY
A. H. BULLEN, B.A.
IN TWO VOLUMES VOLUME THE FIRST
LONDON
JOHN C. NIMMO
14, KING WILLIAM STREET, STRAND, W.C.
MDCCCLXXXVIII
SEEN
DATE
DEC
PR
31 Bs
v.l
PREFACE.
THE works of George Peele were first collected in 1828, 2 vols., by Alexander Dyce • a second edition appeared in 1829. A supplementary third volume, containing Sir Clyomon and other pieces, followed in 1839. Dyce re-issued Peele's works (after careful revision), together with the plays and poems of Robert Greene, in 1861, i vol. It is hardly necessary to say that I have availed myself to the fullest extent of Dyce's labours.
In preparing my edition I have been greatly assisted by Mr. P. A. Daniel. It gives me no slight satisfaction to be able to state that every proof and every revise has been read by him. Those who are interested in knotty points of textual criticism will appreciate Mr. Daniel's admirable notes on difficult passages of that corrupt play Edward I.
I have also to thank Dr. Brinsley Nicholson for valuable notes and suggestions.
•Hth May 1888.
i YELVERTON VILLAS, RICHMOND ROAD, TWICKENHAM.
VOL. I.
CONTENTS OF VOL. I
PAGE
DEDICATION vii
PREFACE . ix
INTRODUCTION xiii
•THE ARRAIGNMENT OF PARIS i
EDWARD THE FIRST 75
THE BATTLE OF ALCAZAR 219
, THE OLD WIVES' TALE 297
»THE DEVICE OF THE PAGEANT, ETC . ' . . -349
DESCENSUS ASTR.M: .... 3s9
PUBLISHER'S NOTICE.
Seven hundred and fifty copies of this Edition have been printed and the type distributed ; viz :— Four hundred copies for the English Market, and three hundred and fifty for America. AT<? more will be published.
INTRODUCTION.
IN putting together my notice of George Peele I have an advantage over the poet's previous editor, that most vigilant of scholars, Alexander Dyce — quern toties honoris causa nomino. It was not through lack of inquiry that Dyce could learn nothing of Peele's parentage or school days ; nor is it from any researches of my own that I am able to supply Dyce's deficiencies. Collier confidently asserted that the poet was the son of Stephen Peele, a ballad-writing bookseller ; but Dyce wisely refrained from adopting that conjecture. It is now known that his father, James Peele, was Clerk of Christ's Hospital, where the poet was educated.1 An entry in the Court Book under date 26th October 1565 states that —
"James Peele Clerk is alowed bokes by order of the Gouv'nors for George his sonne who is in the Gram Skole, so farreforthe as he be diligent in his learning and honyst at the Gounors plesure."
1 This interesting discovery was first announced in the Athenaeum, and July 1 88 1, by Mr. John H. Ingram.
xiv Introduction.
Peele was not a foundation scholar, but attended the Hospital's Grammar School as a private pupil or as a "Free Scholar."1 Another entry, dated loth March 1570, records : —
" James Peele was grannted for George his sonne soche bokes as from tyme to tyme he shall nede duringe his abode here in the gram skole according to the iudge- met of the skole Mr."
The following entry is dated 2pth March 1571 : —
"Horses ii., by order of this Court, was hierid for the convainge of Edward Harris, one of the children of this house, to Oxford, what tyme George Peele, sonne of James Peele, Clerke of this Hospitall, went thether also."
In 1572 the name of "G. Peele" is found on the list of members of Broadgates Hall,2 now Pembroke College.
From Dec. 1574 to 1579 he was a student of Christ Church. He took his bachelor's degree i2th June 1577 ; determined during the following Lent; suppl. M.A. 2nd
1 See A. W. Lockhart's List of Exhibitioners sent to tJie Universities from Christ's Hospital since 1566, ed. 2, 1885.
2 See Reg. of Univ. of Oxford, vol. ii. pt. ii. p. 32 (Oxford Historical Society). Dyce in his first edition of Peele wrote " as in the first extant matriculation-book of the University of Oxford, about the year 1564, Peele is mentioned as a member of Broadgates Hall . . . we may reason ably carry back the date of his birth to 1552 or 1553." In his revised edition (1861) he saw that the date assigned to the matriculation-book must be wrong. The Rev. Andrew Clark, of Lincoln College, who is editing vol. ii. of the Register of the University of Oxford, clears up the difficulty. He states that "the Ch. Ch. list is dated 156* ; and hence jt has been assumed that the other lists are of that date and that the matriculation register begins in 1565. A comparison of these lists with the registers of degrees and with the College registers of admissions to Fellowships, completely disproves this, and shows that in the m?v
Introduction.
xv
June, lie. 6th July 1579, inc. 1579. 1 James Peele obtained five pounds from Christ's Hospital i5th June 1577 to wards defraying the expenses of his son's B. A. degree : —
" James Peele Clerk of this howse being a suter for somwhat towarde the chargis of his sonne George who is now vppon goeinge forth Batchelor of Arte wheruppon he is graunted the sum of fyve pounde, that is iij£ now at this present, and 40* against Lent next what tyme the same his sonne is to fynishe the same degree."
There is a curious entry dated i9th September 1579: —
"James Peele hath given his pmis to this coorte to discharge his howse of his sonne George Peele and all other his howsold wch have bene chargable to him, befor mychellmas day next cominge vppon paine of the gounos displeasure, as to their discressions shall seme convenient/7
Peele had evidently been making a convenience of his father's house, and the Court thought it was high time that he should scratch for himself. No doubt he had been carrying on high jinks at the Hospital with his j roystering companions, and the Court was scandalised. ' James Peele had another son, James, who was a pupil
cases the n atriculation registers do not begin till 1572, and that they are very imper'ect till 1582." Mr. Clark gives 1572 as the date of the Broadgates Hall register. Many Devonshire men went to Broadgates Hall — a fact which gives some countenance to Wood's statement that Peele was "a Devonian born." James Peele may have come from Devonshire.
1 For the dates here' given I am indebted to the Rev. T. Vere Bayne,
of Christ Church, and the Rev. Andrew Clark. Wood stated vaguely
that Pee1 was a ' ' student of Christ Church 1573, or thereabouts." The
snu jL;r. the inceptor's list is given as " Ket," but another hand has
VOL. re!e " at the side.
xvi Introduction.
at Christ's Hospital in 1574. Probably James (as part of the " howsold wch have bene chargable ") was obliged to seek other quarters when George was put to his plunges. The father died between i8th December 1585 andi5th January 1585-6, leaving a widow, Christian. On i8th December 1585, " being verie sicke," he made his humble petition to the Court that the Governors, in consideration of the services that he had rendered, " would be good vnto him in releaveing his necessitie " : his prayer was heard, and the Governors granted him five pounds. James Peele had been an author, in his way. He published in 1553 a treatise, a black-letter folio, on that most puzzling of sciences — bookkeeping. The title is The maner and fourme how to kepe a perfecte reconyng, after the order of the most worthie and notable accompte of Debitour and Creditour. In 1569 he pub lished another black-letter folio, The Pathe way to per- fectnes in ttt accomptes of debitour, and Creditour: in manner of a dialogue.
The following extract from a volume of MS. depositions in the University Court was communicated by Dr. Bliss to Dyce : —
" Testis inductus ex parte Johannis Yate super positi- onibus [possessionibus?] ex heris [et hseredita mentis?] juratus, in perpetuam rei memoriam, examina:us xxix° Martii 1583,—
" Georgius Peele, civitatis Londonensis, gem-rosus, ubi moram traxit fere per duos annos, et antea hi Univer- sitate Oxoniae per novem annos, etatis xxv r inorum, testis, &c. f F
Introduction. xvii
"Ad primum dicit esse verum, for so the executor Hugh Christian hath confessed to this deponent.
uAd secundum dicit that he thinketh it to be trewe, for Home hath tolde this deponent so.
"Ad tertium dicit esse verum, for that the land de scended to this deponent in the right of his wife, and that the said Home hath sayed to this deponent that he might make his choise whether he wold lay the band vppon the executor or the heyre of the land, being this deponent's wife, et aliter non habet deponere, ut dicit."
We learn from this deposition that Peele had spent nine years at the University, and that in 1581 he had removed to London. Wood states that Peele "was K esteemed a most noted poet at the University " ; and Dyce plausibly conjectures that the Tale of Troy, printed in 1589, and then described as "an old poem of mine own," was written during his academic course. A lost translation of the two Iphigenias of Euripides is known only by the following verses of Dr. Gager, which were first printed by Dyce from a MS. collection of Gager's miscellaneous poems (formerly in the possession of Rodd the bookseller and now preserved in the British Museum) : —
"In Jphigeniam Georgii Peeli Anglic anis versibus redditam.
" Aut ego te nimio forsan complector amore, Aut tua sunt aptis carmina scripta modis.
Nomen amicitiae non me pudet usque fateri ; Nee si forte velim, dissimulare queo.
Oxonise fateor subitum mirabar acumen, Et tua cum lepidis seria mista jocis.
x v i i i Introduction .
Hsec me suasit amor, sed non ego credulus illi ;
Nee tibi plus dabitur quam meruisse putem : Et forsan jussit, sed non quia scribere jussit,
In laudes ibit nostra Thalia tuas ; Sed quia, si similes dignemur laude labores,
Quicquid id est, merito vindicet iste liber. Ergo si quicquam, quod parvum est, carmine possim,
Si quid judicio detur, amice, meo, Cumque tui nimio non sim deceptus amore,
Hsec tua sunt aptis carmina scripta modis. Viveret Euripides, tibi se debere putaret,
Ipsa tibi grates Iphigenia daret. Perge, precor, priscos tibi devincire poetas ;
Si priscis, facile gratificere novis."
' ' In eandem.
" Carmina dum sero meditabar vespere rnecum
Scribere de libro qualiacunque tuo, Hie me nescio quis cubito deprendere ccepit,
Aut cubito saltern prendere visus erat. Hoc scio, quisquis erat, mire fuit is pede curtus,
Ore niger, luscus lumine, crine ruber. Et quid agis ? dixit ; nescis, temerarie, nescis
Quam facile in calamum fabula stulta venit : Graeca legunt docti, saltern Romana ; sed istis
Quem moveant tandem carmina scripta modis ? Ille sub his fugit : conantem scribere contra
Talia sunt dextram verba sequuta meam. Fabula sit certe ; sed non quia fabula, stulta est ;
Nee facile in calamum fabula docta venit : Fabula Nasonem fecit Senecamque legendos ;
Totus in his Sophocles, totus Homerus erat. Scilicet et segetes tellus et lilia profert,
Robora dat celsum, dat quoque fraga, nemus : Utile jucundo commistum fabula prsebet,
Introduction. xix
Quse placeat puero detineatque senem. Quin etiam quoties digitos mordere coegit,
Et caput et pluteum csedere, ficta licet ! Crede mihi nullo quse facta labore videntur,
Magni, si tentes, ilia laboris erunt : Nostra quidem fateor ; sed inest quoque gratia nostris,
Et satis ingenuis perplacuere viris. Grseca quidem doctis, etiam Romana, legantur ;
Sed tamen innumeros utraque lingua latet. lis [Is?] hsec scribuntur : quanquam bene reddita nostris,
Et doctis placeant ilia vel ilia modis. Aureus est Goulding 1 et pura purior unda,
Et multi quos haud commemorare libet ; Quos nee summa dies nee rugis cana vetustas
Tollere nee livor carpere possit edax. Hos tu perge sequi studiis, mi Peele ; sequendo
Propediem nulli laude secundus eris : Sin respondebunt tua primis ultima coeptis,
Non modo par primis, sed bene primus eris. Ergo perge, precor : cum tollat csetera fatum,
Effugiunt2 mcestos carmina sola rogos."
In June ij^S^Albertus Alasco, a Polish Prince Pala-1 tine, visited Oxford, and was entertained with a comedy / and tragedy at Christ Church. Peele's services were engaged on this occasion, as appears from the following extract (communicated to Dyce by Bliss) from an old account-book which gives the charges for the prince's entertainment : —
1 Arthur Golding, translator of Ovid's Metamorphosis.
2 " From Ovid, Am. iii. ix. 28 :
'Diffugiunt avidos carmina sola rogos.' " — Dyce.
xx Introduction.
" To Mr. Peele for provision for the playes at Christ- churche, xviij5.
"The Charges of a Comedie and a Tragedie and a shewe of fire worke, as appeareth by the particular bills of Mr. Vice-chancelor, Mr. Howson, Mr. Maxie, and Mr. Peele, 86U 18 2d."
The comedy represented was the Rivaks of Peele's friend Dr. Gager; and the "very statelie tragedie" (as Holinshed calls it) was the same writer's Dido. Both plays were in Latin. Possibly the researches of the Oxford Historical Society may show that Peele assisted on other occasions in arranging theatrical entertainments at Oxford.
From the deposition quoted above (pp. xvi.-xvii.) it appears that in 1583 Peele was married, and that he possessed some " land which had descended to him in the right of his wife." We hear more than once about his wife in " The Merry Jests of George Peele," which was first published in 1607. I do not attach much biographical importance to these Jests.1 Some of the stories may be as old as the pyramids ; but I am not inclined to regard the whole collection as fabulous. There is an air of truth about the opening sentence of " The Jest how George Peele was shaven and of the Revenge he took " : —
1 " The majority of the too celebrated Jests," says Mr. George Saints- bury in his excellent History of Elizabethan Literature (p. 65), "are directly traceable to Villon's Repues Franches and similar compilations, and have a suspiciously mythical and traditional air to the student of literary history."
Introduction. xxi
" There was a gentleman that dwelt in the west country [Peele is said to have come of a Devonshire family] and had stayed here in London a term longer than he in tended by reason of a book that George had to translate out of Greek into English ; and when he wanted money George had it of the gentleman : but the more he supplied him of coin, the further off he was from his book, and could get no end of it, neither by fair means, entreaty, or double payment; for George was of the poetical disposition, never to write so long as his money lasted ; some quarter of the book being done, and lying in his hands at random."
Incidentally we learn from this Jest that " George had a beard of an indifferent size and well grown," and that his voice was " more woman than man." I see no reason to question the accuracy of these little personal details. It may also be true that " George had a daughter of the age often years [no dates are given in the Jests], a girl of a pretty form but of an excellent wit," though it is to be hoped that she was not the precocious trickster that the Jests represent her to have been. Throughout the book l
1 One of the stories, "The Jest of George and the Barber," is drama tised in ThePiiritan, or the Widow of Waiting Street, "written by W, S. , 1607, a play usually attributed to Wentworth Smith (though it is much in the style of Middleton's town-comedies, and may be, as Mr. Fleay suggests, identical with Middleton's Puritan Maid, Modest Wife, and Wanton Widow, which was entered in the Stationers' Register 9th September 1653). There are other points of resemblance between the Jests and the comedy; the "George Pyeboard" of the comedy is George Peele,—- -peel signifying (as Dyce remarked) "a board with a long handle, with which bakers put things in and out of the oven."
The following Jest was printed by Collier from a MS. (temp. Charles I. )
xxii Introduction.
Peele figures as a shifty cozening companion, ever on the alert to bilk hostesses and tapsters ; a sharking toss pot This is certainly not the character that we should have imagined for him from an examination of his writings; but there is good reason for suspecting that
in his possession. To me it has a suspiciously modern look. Such a line as "He felt he must be under some delusion" is to my ears an undoubted piece of nineteenth century colloquial English. So again with " It may be Adam, or He loose [lose] my head." But I give it here for what it is worth. Singer was a well-known actor. The tale is originally found in a prose work A Sackfull of News ; but the introduction of Peele and Singer must be placed to the rhymester's credit : —
" A Jest of Peele and Singer. " G. Peele and Singer travelling together
Neare Cambridge towne, where they oft times had playde ; It was in summer, and full hot the weather ; Sitting beneath a spreading beeches shade, They saw a drove of pigs all coming thither,
A clownish hoggerd driving. ' Now,' Peele saide, ' He showe you sporte ; do you my councell keepe, And He perswade the clowne his pigges are sheepe.
" ' Go you on forward or he sees you here,
And meete him comming, and unto him say,
Holla, my friend ! are thy sheepe very deare ?
I would buy some ; soe stoppe them on the wave.'
Singer agreed, and made a circuit cleare Over the fieldes, and that without delaye,
That he might meet the hoggerd on his roade,
Some halfe mile on, whilst G. Peele there abode.
" Soone as the pigs came neare him and the man,
G. Peele slept forward and survey'd the drove, As he would buy some, and bespake him than : ' These truly are fine sheepe, I sweare by Jove,
Introduction. xxiii
in Peele's case Martial's " lasciva est pagina, vita proba " needs to be reversed. His verse was honest, but his life was wanton.
After settling in London Peele applied himself to writing for the stage, and was also ready with his pen whenever an opportunity occurred of addressing a gratu-
I nere saw finer since my time began :
Wilt thou sell one ? for mutton much I love.' And true it was stewde mutton he lov'd well As anie man twixt this and Clerkenwell.
" The hoggerd, hearing thus his pigs calde sheepe, Did laugh outright whilst G. continued on ;
' Tell me, my friend, what shall I give to keepe
One of thy sheepe ? Say, and the bargaines done.' —
* What ! ' cried the clowne, ' art thou not half asleepe, To take my pigs for sheepe ? sheepe are they none,
But pigs ; and harke how they squeake, grunt, and snore
Ich never heard a sheepe bleate soe before.' —
" ' Man, thou art mad,' quoth Peele, ' and I will wager These angels gainst a sheepe that sheepe they are.' —
' Done,' said the peasant to the humorous stager : ' Take which you will, for hang me if I care.' —
' Youle wish ere long,' said G., ' you had been sager, Ime very sure : but prithee now declare
Who shall be judge betweene us : shall we save
The first man that we meete upon the way ? ' —
" ' With all my hart,' the hoggerd answered. Singer, be sure, was not far off by now : They saw him coming on the road. Then said The hoggerd, ' Here's a stranger, as I vowe :
xxiv Introduction.
latory poem to some distinguished nobleman. There is evidence to show that he united, after the manner of the time, the professions of playwright and actor. The following letter (preserved among Henslowe's papers at
It may be Adam, or He loose my head.' —
' His verdict in the matter He alowe,' Geo. Peele replied : * to me to[o] he's a stranger. Thy sheepe, good friend, is mine and in my danger.' —
" ' When pigges are sheepe it is, but not till then,' The clowne replied. And so they drove along
To meete with Singer, who, some nine or ten Yardes distant, stood and gazde upon the throng
Of hogges, all grunting as when in a pen.
* How sell you, you, your sheepe ? for them among
I see some fine ones that I faine would buy :
How do you sell your sheepe ? He buy one, I. -
" ' There ! ' exclaimed G., ' does he not call them sheepe ?
And sheepe they are, albeit pigs you call them. I have won my wager : one is mine to keepe,
And you were lucky not to jeoperd all them.' The hoggerd starde, and cride, ' If so you clepe
Pigs sheepe, you have no eies, but faire befall them ! If you have eies, then I my wittes have lost.' — ' And that you have,' said George, ' unto your cost.'
" The hoggerd scrat his head in strange confusion, Rubbing his eyes and looking every waye :
He felt he must be under some delusion,
And pigs in truth were sheepe, as they did saye :
He never dreamed of the vilde abusion They put upon him in the open daye,
But paide his wager mid the players laughter,
And callde pigs sheepe, perchance, for ever after."
Introduction. xxv
Dulwich College), which was printed by Malone and is above suspicion, incidentally alludes to Peele's talents as an actor. " The wager probably was," says Malone, that Alleyn would equal his predecessors Knell and Bentley in some part which they had performed, and in which his contemporary George Peele had likewise been admired."
"Your answer the other nighte so well pleased the gentlemen, as I was satisfied therewith, though to the hazarde of the wager : and yet my meaninge was not to prejudice Peele's credit, neither wolde it, though it pleased you so to excuse it. But beinge now growen farther in question, the partie affected to Bentley scornynge to wynne the wager by your deniall, hath now given yow libertie to make choice of any one playe that either Bentley or Knell plaide ; and least this ad vantage agree not with your minde, he is contented both the plaie and the tyme shal be referred to the gentlemen here present. I see not how yow canne any waie hurte your credit by this action : for if yow excell them, yow will then be famous : if equall them, yow wynne both the wager and credit; yf short of them, we must and will saie, Ned Allen still.
" Your frend to his power,
" W. P.
"Deny mee not, sweete Nedd ; the wager's downe, And twice as muche commaunde of me or myne ; And if you wynne, I sweare the half is thyne, And for an overplus an English crowne ; Appoint the tyme, and stint it as you pleas Your labor's gaine, and that will prove it ease."
xxvi Iniroduction.
Collier suggested that Peele was the "humorous George addressed by the juggler in the Prologue to Wily Beguiled, and that he performed one of the characters in it, as well as delivering the Prologue ; " but Wily Beguiled was probably written after Peele's death.
Peele's best work, The Arraignment of Paris, was the first to find its way into print. It was published anonymously in 1584, 4to. The authorship is dis covered by a passage in Nashe's address "To the Gentlemen Students of Both Universities" prefixed to Greene's Menaphon, 1589. After speaking in praise of "divine Master Spencer" Nashe proceeds: — "Neither is he the only swallow of our summer, . . . but he being forborne there are extant about London many most able men to revive Poetrie though it were executed ten thousand times." He then instances Matthew Roydon, Thomas Achelow, and George Peele. Of Peele he has a very flattering notice : —
"For the last, thogh not the least of them all, I dare commend him to all that know him, as the chiefe sup porter of pleasance nowe living, the Atlas of Poetrie and primus verborum artifex: whose first encrease, the Arraignement of Paris, might plead to your opinions his pregnant dexteritie of wit, and manifold varietie of inuen- tion, wherein (me iudice) he goeth a steppe beyond all that write."
A real backing of your friends this ! But the Arraign ment is indeed a choice piece of work, quaint and fanciful as some old curiously-knotted garden pranked in all its summer-bravery. It should be read when one
Introduction. xxvii
is in the mood for appreciating it. If we are seeking in ( poetry a "criticism of life" it would be idle to turn to I the Arraignment ; but at times when we would fain forget life's perplexities, we shall find the pretty / cadences of Peele's pastoral as grateful as the plashing, of fountains in the dog-days.
A variety of metres is employed in the Arraignment. Rhymed lines of fourteen syllables (a pleasant measure, when properly handled, for pastoral subjects) and rhymed lines of ten syllables predominate ; but there are pas sages, notably Paris' oration before the Council of the Gods, which show that Peele wrote a more musical. L . blank verse than had yet been written by any English ' poet. As the pastoral was composed for the entertain ment of Elizabeth and the Court, it was necessary to introduce some complimentary reference to the Queen. Peele has been taken to task for his barefaced flattery in the closing scene ; but the censure is hardly deserved. It was the poetic fashion of the time to run into ex travagances of this sort ; and Peele has shown some ingenuity in the device by which he celebrates the beauty, virtue, and wisdom of " fair Zabeta." l
1 Malone (Shakespeare, by Boswell, ii. 248, &c.) suggested that Colin and the cruel shepherdess in the Arraignment were intended to repre sent Spenser and his Rosalind, and that Spenser, "offended at being exhibited in the scene as a hapless swain actually dying for love," alludes to Peele in Colin Clout under the name of Palin — "There eke is Palin, worthie of great praise,
Albe he envie at my rustick quill."
But it is more probable that the Palin of Colin Clout is Thomas Chaloner.
xxviii Introduction,
Peele wrote a second pastoral play, with the pleasing title of The Hunting of Cupid. This piece, which was entered in the Stationers' Register (Arber's Transcript, ii. 591) on 26th July 1591, appears to have been published, but unluckily no copy is now known to exist. Quotations from it are given in England's Parnassus, 1600, and Eng land's Helicon, 1600; and among the Drummond MSS. in the library of the Scottish Society of Antiquaries, Edin burgh, there are some extracts * of disconnected passages and expressions. Drummond mentions The Hunting of Cupid as one of the " Bookes red anno 1609 be [by] me." It is possible he may have read it in a MS. copy ; but it is highly probable — having regard to the fact that extracts from it are given in England's Parnassus and England's Helicon — that the pastoral was published. The amcebaean dialogue, " Melampus, when will Love be void of fears ? " is in Peele's best manner. There is an anonymous pastoral play, published in 1600, The Maid's Metamorphosis, which has been attributed without evidence to Lyly. It bears many marks of Peele's influence, but there is no ground for supposing that he was actually concerned in the authorship.
In 1585 Peele was employed to write the Lord Mayor's Pageant, The Device of the Pageant borne before Woolstone Dixi, Lord Mayor Dixi, which is the earliest of the City Pageants ; and in 1591 he prepared a Pageant, Descensus Astracz, for the mayoralty of Sir William
1 By kind permission of the Society I have been able to give a fac simile specimen of Drummond's MS. jottings (see vol. ii. p. 367).
Introduction. xxix
Webbe. On each occasion he acquitted himself credit ably.
A Farewell to Sir John Norris, Sir Francis Drake, and their companions, wishing them success in their expedition to Portugal in 1589, is a stirring address in well-sustained blank verse (infinitely better than the Eclogue Gratulatory, 1589, to the Earl of Essex on his return from Portugal). It has not the depth and weight of Chapman's fine De Guiana, Carmen Epicum, but it has more straightforward energy and a clearer ring. To the Farewell was appended A Tale of Troy, which, Peele assures us, was published in the hope of inducing the English warriors to emulate "their glorious and renowned predecessors the Trojans ; " but Dyce rightly remarks that it was printed merely to increase the size of the pamphlet. A revised edition of The Tale of Troy was published in a diminutive form (two lines to a page) in I604.1 There was little justification for its appear ance in the first instance, and less for the republication. Probably the revision was made in 1595-6, when Peele, in ill health and feeling the pinch of poverty, sent a " his tory of Troy in five hundred verses " to Lord Burleigh, with the following letter 2 : —
" Salue, Parens Patriae, tibi plebs, tibi curia nomen Hoc dedit, hoc dedimus nos tibi nomen, Eques.
1 I have seen only one copy of this curious little book. The owner kindly allowed me to reproduce the title-page in facsimile.— See vol. ii.
P- 235.
2 Lansdowne MS. xcix., No. 54. — Reproduced here in facsimile.
VOL. I. d
xxx Introduction.
" In these tearmes, r. honorable, am I bolde to salute yor Lordeship, whose highe desertes in or Englandes greate designes hatie earned large praises euen from Envies mouthe. Pardon, greate Patrone of Learninge & Vertue, this rude encounter, in that I presume, a scholler of so meane meritt, to present yor wisdome wth this small manuell, by this simple messenger, my eldest daughter and necessities seruat. Longe sicknes hauinge so enfeebled me maketh bashfulmes allmost become impudency. Sed quod [quis] psitaco suu x,atps ex- pediuit? Magister artis ingenijque largitor venter.1 The subiect wherewth I presume to greete yr honor, is the history of Troy in 500 verses sett downe & memorable accidents thereof. Receiue it, noble Senator of Englandes Councell-house, as a schollers duties significacon ; & Hue longe in honor & prosperitie as happie as Queene Elizabeths gracious countenance can make yow.
Ecce tibj nihilum magno pro munere mitto : Esse potest aliquid, te capiete, nihil.
Yr honors most
bounden, GEORGE PEELE."
1 A misquotation from the Prologue to Persius' satires. Our old poets took the words to heart. Day, in the dedicatory epistle prefixed to his Peregrinatio Scholastica, writes :—" What Persius, in the Pro logue to his Satires, spoke of the crow-poets of his time (perhaps in a cloudy irony), Venter artis magister, may truly be said (I am sure with out figure) of us poetic pies of this age, who are so pressed down under the hands of necessity and battered with the arrows of scornful dis grace," &c.
Introduction, xx x i
The letter is directed : —
" To the r. honorable & woorthie Patrone of Learninge, the L. Burleigh, L. highe Theasorer of England, &oneofhir Mties most honorable Priuie Counsell." It is endorsed : —
"17 Jan. 1595, Goorg. Peele mr of Arts
Presents ye tale of Troy in 500 Verses by his eldest daughter, necessities servaunte."
Let us hope that Burleigh responded to the appeal.
Polyhymnia, 1590, commemorates the retirement of Sir Henry Lee from the office of Queen's champion. Sir Henry had vowed to appear in the tilt-yard on each anniversary of the Queen's accession. On i;th November 1590 he solemnly resigned his office (on the score of old age) to the Earl of Cumberland. Polyhymnia describes, in good blank verse, the cere monies that took place. At the end is the song that was sung before Queen Elizabeth (see vol. ii. p. 302), " His golden locks time hath to silver turn'd." Thackeray has made the opening lines of that beautiful song known to a world of readers by quoting them in The Newcomes.
xxxii Introduction.
It is found set to music in John Dowland's First Book of Songs or Airs, 1597.
On loth May 1591 the Queen visited Burghley at Theobalds, and Peele composed some "Speeches" (of which Collier possessed a MS. copy) for her reception.1 Anglorum Fence? first printed about 1830 (from a MS. then in private hands and now preserved in the British Museum), describes the proceedings in the tilt-yard on i yth November 1595, the thirty-fifth anniversary of the Queen's accession.
The historical play of Edward I. , published in 1593, ^ is most unsatisfactory. It has descended in a muti lated form : some scenes have evidently been omitted altogether, others have been shuffled out of their proper places ; and the text throughout is vile. It is only fit reading for students of the rudest build. The labour
) of the treadmill is child's play to the editing of it.3 Yet this precious drama was actually republished in 1599 ! The outrage on the memory of Queen Elinor is
» Intolerable. Of course it was very proper that the feel ings of all Englishmen should have been roused against Spain, but there is no justification for Peele's slanderous attack on Edward's Spanish bride. It has been urged
1 I have a strong suspicion that the song "Time's eldest son, Old Age, the heir of Ease," &c., in Dowland's Second Book of Songs, 1600, was written for the same occasion.
2 On i8th May 1603 "a ballad called Englandes holliday " was entered in the Stationers' Register (Arber's Transcript, iii. 234). I do not for a moment suppose that it is to be identified with Anglorum Ferice.
3 I must again express my thanks to Mr. P. A. Daniel for his kind help in seeing it through the press.
Introduction. xxxiii
in his excuse that he merely followed an old ballad (see vol. i. pp. 77-83), which has been assigned to the days of Queen Mary. To me the ballad has a more modern look, and I suppose that it was written immediately after the destruction of the Armada, when the ballad-writers, headed by Tom Deloney, were engaged in briskly abusing the Spaniards. There are frequent notices in Henslowe's Diary of a popular play " longe shankes." The first mention is under date 29th August 1595. As the play is there marked "ne" (i.e. new, acted for the first time), Collier supposed that it was "a play by some other dramatist upon the same portion of English history." But Edward I. might in 1595 be called new as being an old play revived. In the Inventory of the Apparel of the Lord Admiral's Men, March 1598 (Henslowe's Diary, p. 276), is the entry " Item, j Longeshankes seute " — which doubtless refers to Longshank's "suit of glass" in Edward I.
In September 1592, the year before the publication of Edward /., Peele's friend Robert Greene died in squalor, and very soon after his death Greene's Groatsworth of Wit bought with a Million of Repentance was edited by Henry Chettle. At the conclusion of this pamphlet is the well- known Address "To those Gentlemen his quondam acquaintance that spend their wits in making playes," &c. It is unnecessary here to examine in detail that Address, about which so much ink has been spilt. After ad monishing Marlowe, the " famous gracer of tragedians," to turn from his impiety, Greene gives a word of counsel to "young Juvenall, that byting satyrist" (probably
xxx iv Introduction.
Nashe, though others stand for Lodge), and then turns to Peele :—
"And thou no lesse deseruing then the other two, in some things rarer, in nothing inferiour, driuen, as myselfe, to extreame shifts, a little haue I to say to thee ; and, were it not an idolatrous oath, I would sweare by sweet S. George, thou art vnworthy better hap, sith thou dependest on so meane a stay. Base-minded men all three of you, if by my misery yee bee not warned ; for vnto none of you, like me, sought those burs to cleaue ; those puppits, I meane, that speake from our mouths, those anticks garnisht in our colours. Is it not strange that I to whome they all haue bin beholding, is it not like that you to whom they all haue bin beholding, shall, were yee in that case that I am now, be both of them at once forsaken? Yes, trust them not; for there is an vpstart crow beautified with our feathers, that, with his Tygres heart wrapt in a players hyde, supposes hee is as well able to bombast out a blanke-verse as the best of you ; and, beeing an absolute Johannes-fac-totum, is in his owne conceyt the onely Shake-scene in a countrey."
Greene's abuse of Shakespeare does not concern Peele. Nor do I regard it as part of my duty to discuss here what share, if any, Peele had in the authorship of The True Tragedie (where occurs the line, " O tiger's heart wrapt in a woman's hide," which Greene parodies), or of The First Part of the Contention ; for that discussion more properly belongs to the province of Shakespearian criticism.
On 26th June 1593 Henry Earl of Northumberland,
Introduction. xxxv
Edward Earl of Worcester, and others, were invested with the order of the Garter at Windsor. Peele was ready with his Honour of the Garter, a well-written poem. There were few poets of the Elizabethan age who could write blank verse, for non-dramatic purposes, with Peele's"" fluency. The poem was dedicated to the Earl of Nor- ' thumberland, and Peele received from the Earl three pounds for the dedication (see vol. ii. p. 316). In the Prologus are some interesting notices of contemporary poets. It must be owned that Peele does not show a nice critical faculty (and the same remark applies to Spenser) in the judgment that he passes on his contem poraries. He warmly admired that paltry sonnetteer| Thomas Watson, to whose Hecatompathia, n.d. [1582], he had prefixed a copy of commendatory verses. In the Prologus Watson (then deceased) is declared
" worthy many epitaphs For his sweet poesy."
Abraham Fraunce must have been a friend both of Peele and Spenser ; for no unbiassed critic could praise Frauncer/" Nor is it easy to perceive what merit Peele could discover in Phaer's translation of Virgil, except for the reason that-^* praise of Phaer meant dispraise of Stanyhurst, who is ridiculed in The Old Wives' Tale (and drolly bantered, ini the epistle before Greene's Menaphon, by Nashe, who affected to have a vast admiration for Phaer). It is pleasant to notice Peele's enthusiastic praise of Marlowe,* who died a few weeks before the poem was published.
In The Phoenix Nest, 1593, is a poem by Peele, of small account, called The Praise of Chastitie. It will i
xxxvi Introduction.
occur to most readers that in his warm description of the attractions of the " lusty girl " and " fair Venus in her pride" Peele was preaching morality in a somewhat unorthodox style; but our old poets had a trick of moralising in this eccentric vein.
The Battle of Alcazar was published anonymously in 1594. Six lines from the second act ("We must affect our country as our parents," &c.) are quoted in England's Parnassus^ 1600, and are there assigned to "G. Peele." There can be little doubt that the play is entirely by Peele. Dyce gives a list of sundry expressions which are also found in undoubted productions of Peele. Here are a few of them : —
"And now prepares amain With sails and oars to cross the swelling waves." — B. of A.
" Aboard amain With stretching sails to plough the swelling waves."
— A Farewell, &c.
"Thereby to propagate religious truth." — B. of A. " To propagate religious piety." — A Farewell.
"Top and top-gallant, all in brave array." — B. of A. "Top and top-gallant in the bravest sort."
— Tale of Troy (ed. 1589).
" On that brave bridge, the bar that thwarts the Thames."
—B. of A. " To that brave bridge, the bar that thwarts her course."
— A Farewell, &c. " And by the bar that thwarts this silver stream."
— Descensus Astra<z.
There are other parallelisms, but these are enough. The Battle of Alcazar is luckily not in so hopeless a state as
Introduction. xxxvii
Edward /, but the text is bad enough. Little can be I said in praise of the play. It is tiresome, windy, bom- / bastical stuff, but it held the stage. Doubtless it is to be identified with the play which the illiterate Henslowe variously styles in his Diary " mulamulluco," "mulo^ mullocco," " mulomulco," &c. (i.e. "the brave barbarian lord, Muly Mulocco "). The first mention in the Diary (ed. Collier, p. 21) is under date 2Qth February 1591-2.
Peele wrote another play in what may have been the same extravagant style as The Battle of Alcazar, but it has not come down. The title of it, given in the Merry Jests (" How George read a play-book to a Gentleman "), was The Turkish Mahomet and Hiren the Fair Greeki It is to be identified with the play " mahomett " men tioned in Henslowe's Diary (in 1594). Henslowe also mentions " The Love of a Gresyan Lady " — which I take to be the after-title of " Mahoraett." Pistol's " Have we not Hiren here ? " doubtless carne from the lost play.
The Old Wives' Tate, published in 1595, is — with the exception of The Arraignment — the most attractive of / Peele's plays. It opens pleasantly. Three serving-men, ' having lost their way by night in a wood, are met by Clunch, a smith, who conducts them to his home, where they are hospitably received by his old wife Madge. A crab is laid in the fire to roast for lamb's wool, and Madge at the entreaty of one of the guests begins a merry winter's tale to drive away the time. She has not got her story pat, and makes several false starts. When, after cudgelling her brains, she at length hits on the right track, the actors enter and save the old wife further
xxxviii Introduction.
trouble by giving a dramatic representation of the tale — the guests and Madge throwing out from time to time an occasional comment The outline of the story may be briefly stated. Two brothers, who have circled the wide world in search of their lost sister Delia, at last arrive at " Albion's chalky cliffs." They discover that their sister is under the power of a magician, and that she can only be rescued by the plucking of the magic wreath from his head and the magic sword from his hand, and by the shattering of a magic lamp that is concealed in the earth. The lamp must be shattered, and the light extinguished, by one who is "neither maid, wife nor widow." Delia is completely under the magician's influence and has for gotten all the circumstances of her past life. The brothers fall into the magician's hands and are compelled to drudge for him, Delia acting as overseer. But Eumenides, the Wandering Knight, who is in love with Delia, arrives on the same quest. The knight, by the aid of the Ghost of Jack, succeeds in overcoming the magician and rescuing the lady and her brothers. Jack's ghost was actuated by a feeling of gratitude ; for when the parish- authorities had refused to give his body burial (on the ground that in his life-time Jack " was not worth a half penny and had drunk out every penny "), the knight had humanely defrayed the expenses of the funeral. Among the other characters introduced are the young man Erestus, who every night was turned into a bear and in the daytime sat at a cross in the shape of " an old miser able man" (the magician having assumed the young man's form and given his own in exchange) ; Venelia,
Introduction. xxxix
Erestus's bethrothed spouse ("neither maid, wife nor widow"), who has been driven mad by the magician's spells ; and Huanebango, a village-braggart, into whose mouth Peele puts one of Gabriel Harvey's hexameters, by way of ridiculing that pompous pedant.
It is highly probable that The Old Wives' Tale gave Milton some hints for Comus ; but it is hard that Peele's charming little play should suffer on that account. The critics have spoken of it too contemptuously. Mr. Saintsbury dismisses it in a sentence : — " The Old Wives' Tale pretty certainly furnished Milton with the subject of Comus, and this is its chief merit." Mr. J. A. Symonds (Predecessors of Shakspere, p. 566) remarks that "if Milton borrowed the conception of his Masque from this rustic comedy, he undoubtedly performed the pro verbial miracle of making a silk purse out of a sow's ear." But let us leave Milton out of account ; for if we allow our thoughts to wander away to Comus, we shall soon take Milton from the shelves and lay Peele aside. How is it that nobody has commended the lyrical snatches in The Old Wives' Tale ? The following verses, spoken by the Golden Head that rises from the Well of Life, are soft as the beat of a dove's wings : —
" Gently dip, but not too deep, For fear thou make the golden beard to weep. Fair maid, white and red, Comb me smooth, and stroke my head, And every hair a sheaf shall be, And every sheaf a golden tree."
xl Introduction.
Or take this airy little song :—
" All ye that lovely lovers be, Pray you for me :
Lo, here we come a-sowing, a-sowing, And sow sweet fruits of love ; In your sweet hearts well may it prove.
" Lo, here we come a-reaping, a-reaping, To reap our harvest fruit ! And thus we pass the year so long And never be we mute. "
The following lines seem to be familiar to me from earliest childhood ; they have all the charm of old-world nursery rhymes : —
" Spread, table, spread, Meat, drink, and bread, Ever may I have What I ever crave, When I am spread, Meat for my black cock, And meat for my red."
The Ghost of Jack ought to be an object of interest to folklorists. Karl Simrock1 in his essay Der gute Gerhard und die dankbaren Todten. Ein Beitrag zur deutschen Mythologie und Sagenkunde, 1856, has collected a number of stories of the gratitude of a dead man to the generous person who pays for his funeral. The gratitude is shown in various ways : one of the stories
i Prof. W. P. Ker, of Cardiff, kindly supplied me with these notes on the folk-lore of The Old Wives' Tale.
Introduction. xli
follows the plot of The Old Wives' Tale (to which Simrock makes no reference), — the dead man helping his benefactor to rescue the Lady from the Enchanter. Northern versions of the story are given in Dasent's Tales from the Norse. Hans Andersen's "Travelling Companion " is related to Peele's Jack. Here is matter for the folklorists to work upon. Rodd, the bookseller, pointed out to Dyce that an incident similar to that in the play of two sisters going to the well and there meeting the Golden Head occurs in a chap-book (which I have not been able to see) entitled Tales of the Three Kings of Colchester.
David and Bethsabe^- was first printed in 1599; but f the date of its composition is unknown. It has been highly praised by critics of distinction, but I confess that I do not care two straws for it. Lamb in his Specimens quotes a short passage from the opening scene, and observes in a note — " There is more of the same stuff, but I suppose the reader has a surfeit." In my opinion Lamb was absolutely right : the play is exasperatingly [ insipid, — a mess of cloying sugar-plums. As being the only Elizabethan play extant that deals with a purely r scriptural subject, it has a certain interest of its own; but judged on its literary merits it is surely a failure. Hawkins, who reprinted it in the Origin of the English Drama, is enthusiastic about its beauties. There are three lines that excite him beyond measure : —
1 Either some scenes of this play have been lost, or the promise that Peele makes in the Third Chorus was not fulfilled.
xlii Introduction.
" At him the thunder shall discharge his bolt ; And his fair spouse with bright and fiery wings, Sit ever burning on his hateful bones."
" A metaphor worthy of ^Eschylus ! " exclaims Hawkins. The lines would have looked well in The Rehearsal But there are better things than this in David and Bethsabe: there are touches of dignity, and a vein of tenderness.
As for Sir Clyomon and Sir Clamydes, first printed in 1599, I strongly doubt whether it has been properly assigned to Peele. " On the title-page of a copy of this play," says Dyce, " a MS. note in a very old hand attri butes it to Peele; and I have no doubt rightly." I should be slow to differ from Dyce ; yet I cannot but think that this drama is the work of some playwright of the older school.1 The heavy lumbering verse, the antique style of diction, and the introduction of the Vice, indi cate that it is a very early play. I suspect that it was written by some such person as Richard Edwards (author of Damon and Pythias), when Peele was in his teens.1 Still I have not thought fit to exclude it, and those readers who care to plough through it will find it a
1 A German scholar, Herr Richard Laemmerhirt, has sought to sub stantiate Peele's claim by collecting from the play expressions that occur in the poet's undoubted works. Here are some of his parallel passages : —"What tidings he doth bring" (Sir Clyomon) ; "What tidings bringeth Guenther ? " (Edward I. )— " Make his heart leap for joy " (Sir Clyomon) ; " The Trojans leap for joy" (Tale of Troy)— " Traitor, stay, and take with thee that mortal blow" (Sir Clyomon)', "Stand, traitor, stand, . . . and stir not ere thou die" — and so on. I fear that such parallel passages as these will not impress English readers.
Introduction. xliii
shade less tedious than Edward /, inasmuch as the text is fairly free from corruption (though the metre is very faulty).
When Meres in 1598 published Palladis Tamia Peele was dead.1 " As Anacreon died by the pot : so George Peele by the pox," writes Meres. A sad death for one who had sung The Praise of Chastity. Had Peele been faithful to his honest wife and borne in mind the words of his CEnone —
" They that do change old love for new, Pray God they change for worse ! "
the end might have been different. But he died a long
time ago, and possibly Meres was misinformed. He
lives as the author of a charming pastoral and some dainty lyrics.
1 Dekker in a Knight's Conjuring, 1607 (the enlarged edition of News from Hell, 1606), pleasantly pictures Greene, Marlowe, and Peele reposing in an elysian grove, ' ' under the shades of a large vine, laugh ing to see Nashe (that was but newly come to their college) still haunted with the sharp and satirical spirit that followed him here upon earth."
THE ARRAIGNMENT OF PARIS,
VOL. I.
The Araygnement of Paris A Pastorall/ Presented before the Queenes Mates fie, by the Children of her Chappett. Imprinted at London by Henrie Marsh. Anno. 1584. 4to.
DRAMATIS PERSONS.
SATURN.
JUPITER.
NEPTUNE.
PLUTO.
APOLLO.
MARS.
BACCHUS.
MERCURY.
VULCAN.
PAN.
FAUNUS. SILVAN us. PARIS. COLIN. HOBBINOL.
DlGGON.
THENOT.
Cupids, Cyclops, Shepherds, Knights, 6°r.
JUNO. CLOTHO.
PALLAS. LACHESIS.
VENUS. ATROPOS.
DIANA. The Muses.
POMONA. A Nymph of DIANA.
FLORA. (ENONE.
RHANIS. HELEN.
ATE. THESTYLIS.
\
'•-t
us.
Enter ATE.
ONDEMNED soul, Ate, from lowest hell, And deadly rivers of th' infernal Jove, Where bloodless ghosts in pains of endless date
Fill ruthless ears with never-ceasing cries, „ ^~ , ,-
Behold, I come in place, and bring beside The bane_Qf^TroyJ behold, the fatal fruit, Raught l from the golden free of Proserpme ! ( Proud^Tfoy urn st~faiy.sal)i4-t^ gods abave, And'i stately\ Ilium's lofty towers be razed
i». — .. jt-J , ~^>- — ' V \ '
By conquering hands of the victorious foe ; 10
.King Priam's palace waste withjlaming fire, \ Whose thick and foggy smoke, piercing~Tfre~slty, \ Must serve for messenger of sacrifice, T' appease the anger of the angry heavens ; And Priam's younger son, the shepherd swain, Paris, th' unhappy organ of the
1 Snatched.
2 "Something to complete the sense seems to be wanting here." — Dyce. I think that the sense can be restored by printing 11. 15-16 after 1. 10, thus : — '
" And Priam's younger son, the shepherd swain, Paris, th' unhappy organ of the Greeks, King Priam's palace waste with flaming fire," &c.
',1
( 6 )
f <
So, loth and weary of her heavy load, The Earth complains unto the hellish prince, Surcharged with the burden that she nill 1 sustain. Th' unpartial 2 daughters of Necessity 20
Bin aiders 3 in her suit : and so the twine I That holds old Priam's house, the thread of Troy,
Dame Atropos4 with knife in sunder cuts. ] Done be the ^leasure\of the powers above, —^Whose hests men must obey : and I my part Perform in Ida vales. Lordings, adieu ; Imposing silence for your task, I end, Till just assembly of the goddesses j Make me begin the^rSfetty) oTTrp^
\Exit ATE cum aureo porno.
Printers not unfrequently (crede expertd] contrive to shuffle verses into most admired disorder. If we adopt the simple transposition that I suggest, the meaning of the passage is perfectly clear : ' ' Proud Troy must fall, and the firebrand Paris, fated to bring ruin on his country by the hands of the Greeks, will burn King Priam's palace." Of course there is a reference to Hecuba's dream.
1 " Nill sustain" — is unwilling to sustain.
2 " Unpartial " is here used in the sense of " unkindly." Cf. William Smith's Chloris, 1597, eleventh sonnet : —
" No, it was not Nature's ornament,
But winged Love's impartial cruel wound." See p. 42, 1. 115.
3 Olded. "aydes." < Olded. "Atrops."
THE ARRAIGNMENT OF PARIS.
ACT I. SCENA I.
PAN, FAUNUS, and SILVANUS, with their Attendants, enter to give welcome to the goddesses : PAN'S Shep herd hath a lamb, FAUNUS' Hunter hath a fawn, SILVANUS' Woodman with an oaken-bough laden with acorns.
PAN incipit.
Pan. Silvanus, either Flora doth us wrong, Or Faunus made us tarry all too long, . •••*
For by this morning mirth it should appear, The Muses or the goddesses be near.
Faun. My fawn was nimble, Pan, and whipt apace, — 'Twas happy that we caught him up at last, — The fattest, fairest fawn in all the chace ; I wonder how the knave could skip so fast.
Pan. And I have brought a twagger 1 for the nones, A bunting 2 lamb ; nay, pray you, feel ; no bones : 10
1 Tusser has the word " twigger" for a sheep (a good breeder) ; but I have not met "twagger."
2 Plump.
8 The Arraignment of Paris. [ACT i.
Believe me now my cunning much I miss, If ever Pan felt fatter lamb than this.
Sil. Sirs, you may boast your flocks and herds that
bin both fresh and fair, Yet hath Silvanus walks, i-wis, that stand in wholesome
J>J /- air;
\J ^nd, lo, the honour of the woods, the jallant oaken- bough,
Do I bestow, laden with acorns and with mast enow ! Pan. Peace,1 man, for shame ! shalt have both lambs
and dams and flocks and herds and all, And all my pipes to make the[e] glee ; we meet not now
to brawl. Faun. There's no such matter, Pan ; we are all friends
assembled hither,
0CJW' To bid Queen Juno and her pheeres 2 most humbly welcome hither : 20
istress of our woods, her presence will not want ; /Her courtesy to all her friends, we wot, is nothing scant.
POMONA 3 entereth with her fruit, manentibus PAN cum reliquis.
Pom. Yea,4 Pan, no farther yet, and had the start of me?
1 A very long line ; but I fail to see that any words can be discarded.
2 Companions.
3 I keep the old stage-direction. The 4to marks a new scene at Pomona's entrance (" Act /., Scena If.").
4 Here the line is too short ; but I forbear to add anything.
SCENAI.] The Arraignment of Paris. 9
Why, then, Pomona with her fruit comes time enough,
I see. Come on a while ; with country store, like friends, we
venter forth : Think'st, Faunus, that these goddesses will take our
gifts in worth ? l Faun. Yea, doubtless, for shall tell thee, -damer*tweJre
better give a thing, "
A sign of love, unto a mighty person or a king, Than~l:6~arfude— aiidHrarbaroTIB swam, but bad and
basely born, For gently takes the gentleman that oft the clown will
scorn. 30
Pan. Say'st truly, Faunus ; I myself have given good
tidy lambs
To Mercury, may say to thee, to Phoebus, and to Jove ; When to a country mops, forsooth,, chave2 offered all
their dams, And piped and prayed for little worth, and ranged about
the grove. Pom. God Pan, that makes your flock so thin, and
makes you look so lean, To kiss in corners.
Pan. Well said, wench ! some other thing
you mean.
1 "Take in worth" — take in good part. Cf. the ninth song (by Watson?) in Byrd's Psalms, Songs, and Sonnets, 1611 —
' ' O beauteous Queen of second Troy, Take well in worth a simple toy."
2 The rustic form of " I have."
i o The A rraignment of Paris. [ACT i.
Pom. Yea, jest it out till it go alone: but marvel
where we miss
Fair Flora all this merry morn. Faun. Some news ; see where she is.
"1 FLORA l entereth to the country-gods.
Pan. Flora, well met, and for thy taken pain, Poor country gods, thy debtors we remain. 4o
Flo. Believe me, Pan, not all thy lambs and ewes, Nor, Faunus, all thy lusty bucks and does (But that I am instructed well to know What service to the hills and dales I owe), Could have enforced me to so strange a toil, Thus to enrich this gaudy, gallant soil.
Faun. But tell me, wench, hast done't so trick 2 indeed,
That heaven itself may wonder at the deed ?
i/L' Flo. Not Iris, in her pride and bravery,3
Adorns her arch with such variety ; 50
Nor doth the milk-white way, in frosty night,
Appear so fair and beautiful in sight,
As done these fields, and groves, and sweetest bowersN
Bestrew'd and deck'd with parti-colour'd flowers.
Along the bubbling brooks and silver glide,
That at the bottom doth in silence slide j
The water-flowers 4 and lilies on the banks.
Like blazing comets, burgen all in ranks ;
1 Old ed. marks a new scene— " Scena III."
2 Neatly, trimly.
3 Finery.
4 Old ed. " watery flowers."
SCENAI.] The Arraignment of Paris. n
Under the hawthorn and the poplar-tree,
Where sacred. Phoebe may delight to be, 6e
The primerose, and the purple hyacinth,
The dainty violet, and the wholesome minth,
The double daisy, and the cowslip, queen
Of summer flowers, do overpeer the green ;
And round about the valley as ye pass,
Ye may ne see for peeping flowers the grass :
That well the mighty Juno,1 and the rest,
Ma^Jaalrily .think to be a welcome guest
0n Ida mHs,2 when to approve the thing,
The Queen of Flowers prepares a second spring. 70
St7. Thou gentle nymph, what thanks shall we repay To thee that mak'st our fields and woods so gay ?
Flo. Sylvanus, when it is thy hap to see My workmanjhir3j.nj)ortraying all the three : • First statejyjuno with her port and grace, &k '
Her robes, her lawns, her crownet, and her mace^ ^ Would" make thee muse tmTpictu-re to beheld, Of yellow oxlips 3 bright as burnish'd gold.
Pom. A rare device ; and Flora well, perdy,4 Did paint her yellow for her jealousy. So
Flo. Pallas in flowers of hue and colours red j Her plumes, her hejm, her Iance4 her^GDrgotfs head,
1 Oldeds. "lono."
2 "Not a misprint for 'Ida hill.' Compare our author's Tale of Troy :—
' He lives a shepherd's lad on Ida hills,
And breathes a man, 'gainst Troy and Trojans' wills, &c."—Dyce. s Olded. "oxstips." Verily (far Dieu).
^
0
1 2 The Arraignment of Paris. [ACT i.
// r
Her trailing tresses that '/iang flaring round,
/Of July-flowers * so graffcVi in the ground, That, trust me, sirs, who did the cunning see, Would at a blush suppose it to be she.
Pan. Good Flora, by my flock, 'twas 2 very good To dight her all in red, resembling blood.
Flo. Fair Venus of sweet violets in blue, With other flowers infixed for change of hue ; 90
Her plumes, her pendants, bracelets, and her rings, Her dainty fan, and twenty other things, Her lusty mantle waving in the wind, And every part in colour and in kind ; And for her wreath of roses, she nill dare r With Flora's cunning counterfeit compare. i So that what living wight shall chance to see
These goddesses, each placed in her degree, "~ J Portrayed by Flora's workmanship alone, y \ » Must say that art and nature met in_ori£^ 100
Sil. A dainty draught to lay her down in blue, The colour commonly betokening true.
Flo. This piece of work, compact with many a flower, And "well laid in at entrance of the bower, rWhere^hoebe\ means to make this meeting joyal^ 1 ^^ Have I prepared to welcome them" withatT^
Pom. And are they yet dismounted, Flora, say, That we may wend to meet them on the way ?
* Qy. carnations?— Cf. Drayton's Polyolbion. Song XV. :—
"The brave carnation then, of sweet and sovereign power
(So of his colour called, although a July-flower}" a So P. A. Daniel. Old ed. "twere."
SCENAL] The Arraignment of Paris. 13
Flo. That shall not need : they are at hand by this, And the conductor of the train hight1 Rhanis. no
Juno hath left her chariot long ago, And hath returned her peacocks by her rainbow ; 2 And bravely, as becomes the wife of Jove, Doth honour by her presence to our grove. Fair Vejwjsk she hath let her sparrows fly, To tend on her and make her melody ; Her turtles and her swans unyoked be, And flicker near her side for company. Pallas hath set her tigers loose to feed, Commanding them to wait when she hath need. And hitherward with proud and stately pace, To do us honour in the sylvan chace, They march, like to the pomp of heaven above, ^ Juno the wife and sister of King Jove, The warlike Pallas, and the Queen of Love. I
/ Pan. Pipe, Pan, for joy, and let thy shepherds sing ; (Shall never age forget this memorable thing.
Flo. Clio, the sagest of the Sisters Nine, To do observance to this dame divine, Lady of learning and of chivalry, 130
Is here arrived in fair assembly ; 3
1 Called.
2 "Qy. 'bow'?" — Dyce. But there is the same metrical harshness in 1. 105 : see also iii. 2, 1. 86, iv. i, 1. 57, &c.
3 Equivalent to a quadrisyllable. So Shakespeare makes a quadri syllable of " resemble th : " —
' ' O how this spring of love resembleth The uncertain glory of an April day."
— Two Gentlemen of Verona, I. iii.
14 The Arraignment of Paris. [ACT r.
And wandering up and down th' unbeaten ways, Ring[s] through the wood sweet songs of Pallas' praise.
Pom. Hark, Flora, Faunus ! here is melody, A charm l of birds, and more than ordinary.
[An artificial charm of birds being heard within,
PAN speaks. Pan. The silly birds make mirth ; then should we do
them wrong, Pomona, if we nill bestow an echo to their song.
An echo to their song. The Song. A quire within and without.
Gods. O Ida, O Ida, O Ida, happy hill ! This honour done to Ida may it continue still !
Muses [within}. Ye country gods that in this Ida won,2 I40
Bring down your gifts of welcome,
For honour done to Ida. Gods. Behold, in sign of joy we sing, And signs of joyful welcome bring,
For honour done to Ida. Muses \within~\. The Muses give you melody to gratu-
late this chance,
And Phoebe, chief of sylvan chace, commands you all to dance.
1 "/.*. singing, music. ('With charm of earliest birds.' Milton's Par. Lost, iv. 641)."— Dyce.
2 Dwell.
SCENAI.] The Arraignment of Paris. 15
Gods. Then l round in a circle our sportance must be ;
Hold hands in a hornpipe, all gallant in glee. [Dance.
Muses [within]. Reverence, reverence, most humble
reverence ! 150
Gods. Most humble reverence !
PALLAS,2 JUNO, and VENUS enter , RHANIS leading the way. PAN alone sings.
THE SONG.
The God of Shepherds, and his mates, With country cheer salutes yourjtates, Fair, wise^al1} ^worthy as you be, And thank th\ gracious ladies three
For hono r done to Ida. [The birds sing.
The song being done, JUNO speaks.
Juno. Venus, what shall I say? for, though I be a
dame divine,
This welcome and this melody exceed these wits of mine. Ven. Believe me, Juno, as I hight the Sovereign of
Love, ^^-XT
These rare delights in pleasures pass the banquets ot __ . _
Pal. Then, Venus, I conclude it easily may be seen, That in her chaste and pleasant walksfair_^hoebe is a ^queen,. _ "^ xp> Jjg^
1 Old ed. "The round . . . must, must be."
2 Old ed. marks a new scene — " Scena III I.'
1 6 The Arraignment of Paris. [ACT i.
Rha. Divine[st] Pallas, and you sacred dames, Juno and Venus, honour'd by your names, Juno, the wife and sis££rof King Jove, . / * Fair Venus, lady-^esidenr>pf love, If any entertainment in this place, That can afford but homely, rude, and base, It please your godheads to accept in gree,1 That gracious thought our happiness shall be. 170
My mistress Dian, this right well I know, / For love that to this presence she doth owe, Accounts more honour done to her this day, Than ever whilom in these woods of Ida ; And for our country gods, I dare be bold, They make such cheer, your presence to behold, Such jouisance, such mirth, and merriment, As nothing else their mind might more content : And that you do believe it to be so, Fair goddesses, your lovely looks do show. 180
It rests in fine, for to confirm my talk, 'Ye deign to pass along to Dian's walk ; Where she among .her troop of maids attends The fair arrival of her welcomelrienHs^
Flo. And we will wait with all observance due, And do just honour to this heavenly crew.
Pan. The God of Shepherds, Juno, ere thou go, Intends a lamb on thee for to bestow.
Faun. Faunus, high ranger in Diana's chace, Presents a fawn to Lady Venus' grace. 190
1 Engrt— in good part.
SCENAII.J The Arraignment of Paris.
SiL Silvanus gives to Pallas' deity This gallant bough raught l from the oaken-tree.
Pom. To them that do this honour to our fields Her mellow apples poor Pomona yields.
Juno. And, gentle gods, these signsjpf your_goodwill / We take in worth, and shall Accept thtuujjlillr^
Yen. And, Flora, this o thee among the rest,— Thy workmanship comparing with the best, Let it suffice thy cunning to have [power] To call Km^Jp^eJrjorjxJhrth^ Hadst thou a lover, Flora, credit me, I think thou wouldst bedeck him gallantly. But wend we on ; and, Rhanis, lead the way, That kens the painted paths of pleasant Ida.
SCENA II.2 Enter PARIS and (ENONE.
Par. CEnone, while 3 we bin disposed to walk, Tell me what shall be subject of our talk? Thou hast a sort 4 of pretty tales in store, Dare say no nymph in Ida woods hath more : Again, beside thy sweet alluring face, In telling them thou hast a special grace. Then, prithee, sweet, afford some pretty thing, Some toy that from thy pleasant wit doth spring.
1 Snatched. 2 Old ed. " Scena V. and ultima:'
3 Until. 4 Collection.
VOL. I. B
1 8 The Arraignment of Paris. [ACT i.
(En. Paris, my heart's contentment and my choice, Use thou thy pipe, and I will use my voice ; 10
So shall thy just request not be denied, And time well spent, and both be satisfied.
Par. Well, gentle nymph, although thou do me wrong, That can ne tune my pipe unto a song, Me list this once, GEnone, for thy sake, This idle task on me to undertake.
They sit under a tree together.
(En. And whereon, then, shall be my/rtfun delay ? For thou hast heard my store long since, dare say ;
1 How Saturn did divide his kingdom tho x
To Jove, to Neptune, and to Dis below ; 20
2 How mighty men made foul successless war Against the gods and state of Jupiter ;
3 HcAv Phorcys'2 imp, that was so tricks and fair, ThaTtangled Neptune in her golden hair, Became a Gorgon for her lewd misdeed, —
A pretty fable, Paris, for to read, ^ A piece of cunning, trust me, for the nones, ;» J That wealth and beauty alter men to stones ;
4 How Salmacis,^ resembling idleness,
Turns^rnen trrwomen all through wantonness ; 30
i Then. 2 Old. ed. "Phorcias." 3 Trim.
4 ''That Peele had an eye to Golding's Epistle to Leicester, pre fixed to his translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses, the following extracts from it will show : —
' Hermaphrodite and Salmacis declare that idlenesse Is cheefest nurce and cherisher of all voluptuousnesse.
SCENAII.] The Arraignment of Paris. 19
How Pluto raught Queen Ceres' daughter thence, And what did follow of that love-offence ; Of Daphne turned into the laurel-tree, That shows a mirror of virginity ;
fair Narcissus tooting 1 on his shade, Reproves disdain, and tells how form doth vade ; 2 -;How cunning Philomela's needle tells What force in love, what wit in sorrow dwells ; What pains unhappy souls abide in hell, They say because on earth they lived not well, — Ixion's wheel, proud Tantal's pining woe, ^Prometheus' torment, and a many mo, ^ow Danaus' daughters ply their endless task, What toil the toil of Sisyphus doth ask : All these are old and known I know, yet, if thou
have any,
Choose some of these, for, trust me, else CEnone not many.
40
wilt hath
As for example, in the tale of Daphnee turnd too bay. A myrror of virginitie appeere untoo us may.
Narcissus is of scornfulnesse and pryde a myrror cleere, Where beauties fading vanitie most playnly may appeere ! ' "-
-Dyce.
1 " Tooting (which generally means prying, searching narrowly) is here — poring, eagerly gazing on. Fairfax has : —
' As in his spring Narcissus tooting laid.'
Tasso's Godfrey of Bulloigne, B. xiv. st. 66."— Dyce.
2 Fall away, fade. ("Fane", bably from Lat. vadere.
Vaded, withered."— Cotgrave}. Pro-
2O The Arraignment of Paris. [ACTI.
Par. Nay, what thou wilt : but sith my cunning not
compares with thine, Begin some toy that I can play upon this pipe of
mine. (En. There is a pretty sonnet, then, we call it Cupid's
Curse,
' " They that do change old love for new, pray gods they change for worse ! " 50
The note is fine and quick withal, the ditty will agree, Paris, with that same vow of thine upon our poplar- tree. Par. No better thing ; begin it, then : (Enone, thou
shalt see
Our music figure of the love that grows 'twixt thee and me.
They sing ; and while CENONE singeth, he pipeth.
\Incipit CENONE. (En. Fair * and fair, and twice so fairr As fair as any may be ; The fairest shepherd on our green,
A love for any lady. Par. Fair and fair, and twice so fair,
As fair as any may be ; 60
" This old and passionate ditty— the very flower of an old forgotten pastoral, which had it been in all parts equal, the Faithful Shepherdess of Fletcher had been but a second name in this sort of writing."— Charles Lamb.
SCENAII.] The Arraignment of Paris. 21
Thy love is fair for thee alone,
And for no other lady. (En. My love is fair, my love is gay,
As fresh as bin the flowers in May, And of my love my roundelay,
My merry 1 merry merry roundelay, Concludes with Cupid's curse, — They that do change old love for new, 1
Pray gods they change for worse i
Ambo simul. They that do change, &c. 70
(En. Fair and fair, &c. Par. Fair and fair, &c.
Thy love is fair, &c.
(En. My love can pipe, my love can sing, My love can many a pretty thing, And of his lovely praises ring My merry merry roundelays, Amen to Cupid's curse, — They that do change, &c. Par. They that do change, &c. 80
Ambo. Fair and fair, &c.
[Finis Cam&nce.
The song being ended> they rise, and QENONE speaks.
(En. Sweet shepherd, for (Enone's sake be cunning
in this song,
And keep thy love, and love thy choice, or else thou dost her wrong.
1 One "merry " might be dropped with advantage.
22 Z#£ Arraignment of part's. [ACT i.
/^r. My vow is made and ^vitnessedj) tlifi__4)oplar
will not start, Nor shall the nymph GEnone's love from forth my
breathing heart. I will go bring thee on thy way, my flock are here
behind,
And I will have a lover's fe5 ; they say, unkiss'd unkind.
[Exeunt.
ACT II.
SCENA I. VENUS, JUNO, PALLAS.
Yen. ex alrupto. But pray you, tell me, Juno, was
it so, As Pallas told me here the tale of Echo?
Juno. She was a nymph indeed, as Pallas tells, A walker, such as in these thickets dwells ; And as she told what subtle juggling pranks She play'd with Juno, so she told her thanks : A tattling trull to come at every call, And now, forsooth, nor tongue nor life at all.^ And though perhaps she was a help to Jove, And held me chat while he might court his love,_ Believe me, dames, I am of this opinion, He took but little pleasure in the minion ; And whatsoe'er his scapes have been beside, Dare say for him, 'a never stray'd so wide : A lovely nut-brown lass or lusty trull
/i. luvciy nui-uiuwii ictsb ui ius>iy iiuu --»«^ — ^\ />
Have power perhaps to make a god a bull.
Ven. Gramercy, gentle Juno, for that jest ; I' faith, that item was worth all the rest.
24 The Arraignment of Paris. [ACT n.
Pal. No matter, Venus, howsoe'er you scorn, My father Jove at that time ware the horn. 20
Juno. Had every wanton god above, Venus, not better
luck, Then heaven would be a pleasant park, and Mars a
lusty buck. Ven. Tut, Mars hath horns to butt withal, although
no bull 'a shows, 'A never needs to mask in nets, 'a fears no jealous
froes.1 Juno. Forsooth, the better is his turn, for, if 'a speak
too loud, Must find some shift to shadow him, a net or else a
cloud. Pal. No more of this fair goddesses ; unrip not so
your shames, To stand all naked to the world, that bene such heavenly
dames. Juno. Nay, Pallas, that's a common trick with Venus
well we know,
/And all the gods in heaven have seen her naked long ago" 30
Ven. And then she was so fair and bright, and lovely
and so trim, As Mars is but for Venus' tooth, and she will sport with
him :
And, but me list not here to make comparison with Jove, Mars is no ranger, Juno, he, in every open grove.
1 Women.
SCENA i.] The Arraignment of Pdris.
Pal. Too much of this: we- wander far, the skies
begin to scowl ; Retire we to Diana's bower, the weather will be foul.
The storm being past of thunder and lightning, and ATE having trundled the ball into place, crying, " Fatum Trojae," JUNO taketh the ball up and speaketh.
funo. Pallas, the storm is past and gone, and Phoebus
clears the skies, And, lo, behold a ball of gold, a fair and worthy prize !
Ven. This posy wills the apple to the fairest given be ;
Then is it mine, for Venus hight the fairest of the
three. 40
Pal. The fairest here, as fair is meant, am I, ye do
me wrong ;
And if the fairest have it must, to me it doth belong. Jttno. Then Juno may it not enjoy, so every one
says no, But I will prove myself the fairest, ere I lose it so.
/ \They read the posy.
The brief1 is thi^ Detur pulcherrimcz, Let this unto the fairest given be, The fairest of the three,Aand I am she.
Pal. Detur pulcherrimtz, [PALLAS reads.
Let this unto the fairest given be,
The fairest of the three, — and I am she. 50
Ven. Detur pulcherrima, [VENUS reads.
26 The Arraignment of Paris. [ACT n.
Let this unto the fairest given be,
The fairest of the three, — and I am she.. .
' Juno. My face is fair ; but yet the _maj£s*jrjl
That all the gods in heaven have seen in me,
Have made them choose me, of the planets seven
To be the wife of Jove and queen of heaven.
If, then, this prize be but bequeathed-^ beauty,
The only she that wins this prize am I.
Ven. That Venus is the fairest^this^doth proVe,
That Venus is the lovely Queen of Love}
The name of Venus is indeed but beauty, d men me fairest call per excellency.
If, then, this prizeTbe but bequeathed to beauty,
The only she that wins this prize am I.
Pal. To stand on terms of beauty as you take i
Believe me, ladies, is but to mistake it.
The beauty that this subtle prize must win, ---— No outward beauty.Jjight, but dwells within ;
And sift it as you please, and you shall find, -This beauty is the_be^mtyj)f the mind :
This fairnesspvirtue hight in general, That many branches hath in special ;
This beauty wisdcjfn higbtr whereof arn I,
By^eavelT^^ worthiW.
And look how much the mirtd, the better part,
Doth overpass the body irT"3e"sert,
So much the mistress of those gifts divine
Excels thy beauty, and that state of thine.
Then, if this prize be thus bequeathed to beauty,
The only she that wins this prize am I.
70
80
SCENAI.] The Arraignment of Paris. 27
Ven, Nay, Pallas, by your leave you wander clean : We must not conster 1 hereof as you mean But take the sense as it is plainly meant ; And let the fairest ha't, I am content.
PaL Our reasons will be infinite, I trow, Unless unto some other point we grow : But first here's none, methinks, disposed to yield, And none but will with words maintain the field.^
Juno. Then, if you will, t' avoid a tedious grudge, Refer it to the sentence of a judge ; Whoe'er he be that cometh next In place, -\ Let him bestow the ball and end the'cas^} Ven. So can it not go wrong with me at all.2
PaL I am agreed, however it befal : And yet by common doom, so may it be, I may be said the fairest of the three.
Juno. Then yonder, lo, that shepherd swain is he, ' That must be umpire in this controversy]^
PARIS 3 alone. Manentibus PAL., JUNONE, VEN/RE.
Ven. Juno, in happy time, I do accept the m^n ; 100 It seemeth by his looks somejkill of Joys.
Par.TRtrEyf5pSTs gone, and j<jfa Must wend to tend my charge,^ oppressecTVith melan choly.
This day (or else me fails my shepherd's skill) Will tide me passing good or passing ill.
1 Old form of construe.
2 Old ed. " me not at all."
8 Old ed. marks a new scene
\Scena II."
I
. - >
/
rraigkment of Paris. [ACT n.
/««<?. Shepherd, abasl/not, though at sudden thus Thou be arrived by ignorance>mong us, Not earthly but divine, and goddesses all thre Juno, Pallas, Venus, these our titlej>be. Nor fear to speak for reverence of the place, "o
Chosen to end a hard and doubtfufcasj? ,
This apple, lo (nor ask thou whence it came), ' Is to be given unto the fairest dame ! And fairest is, nor she, nor she, but she, Whom, shepjted. thou shalt fairest name to be. This is thy charge ; fulfil without 'offenCe, >And she jhat wins shall give thee recompense.
Pal. Dread not to speakTlbr^we have chosen thee, A Sith in this 1 case we can no /judges be.
Ven. And, shepherd, sayjhat I the fairest am, I2° - And thou shalt win good guerdoh, for the same.
Juno. Nay, shepherd, look upon my stately grace, Because the pomp that 'longs to Juno's mace Thou 2 mayst not see ; and think ^tt€^n^Juno's name, ' whom old shepherds title works of fame,
•*
I
Is mighty, and may easily suffice, .At Phoebus' 3 hand, to gain a golden prize. J And for thy meed, sith I am queen of riches,' Shepherd, I will reward thee with great monarchies') Empires, and kingdoms, heaps of massy gold, o 130
i Old ed. "thie." 2 old ed. "They."
s So the old ed. Dyce reads "Phoebe's." Dr. Nicholson proposes " At Paris' hand," which promptly gets rid of the difficulty. But Mr. P. A. Daniel stands by the old reading: "See 11. 37-38, 'Pallas, the storm,' &c. The goddesses did not know that Ate's hand trundled the ball among them ; they supposed that it came from Phrebus."
'j^^^J\ I if
:
SCENAL] The Arraignment of Paris. 29
to behold,
Ilich rotres, of sumptuous workmanship and cost, And thousand things whereof I make no boast : The mould whereon thou treadest shall be of Tagus'
sands, Vnd Xanthus shall run liquid gold for thee to wash thy
hands ; And if thou like to tend thy flock, and not from them
to fly, Their fleeces shall be curled gold to please their master's
eye; And last, to set thy heart on fire, give this one fruit to
me, And, shepherd, lo, this tree of gold will I bestow on !
thee !
JUNO'S Show.
Hereupon did rise a Tree of Gold laden with diadems and crowns-' of gold. ~^~~— _— »
The ground whereon it grows, the grass, the root of
gold, 140
The body and the bark of gold, all glistering to behold,
The leaves of burnished gold, the fruits that thereon
grow Are diadems set with pearl in gold, in gorgeous glistering
show;
And if this tree of gold in lieu may not suffice, Require a grove of golden trees, so Juno bear the prize.
[The Tree sinketh.
30 The Arraignment of Paris. [ACT i,
Pal Me list not tempt thee with decaying wealth, Which is embased J by want of lusty health ; But if thou have a mind to fly above, Y-crown'd with fame, near to the seat of Jove, If thou aspire to wisdom's worthiness, 15°
Whereof thou mayst not see the brightness, If thou desire honour of chivalry, To be renown'd for happy victory, To fight it out, and in the champaign field To shroud thee under Pallas' warlike shield, , / To prance on barbed steeds, this honour, lo,
--Myself for guerdon shall on thee bestow ! . f ' And for encouragement, that thou mayst see
What famous knights Dame Pallas' warriors be, r- Behold in Pallas' honour here they come, 160
>^t Marching along with sound of thundering drum.
PALLAS' Show.
Hereupon did enter Nine Knights 2 in armour, treading a warlike almain? by drum and fife ; and then [they] having marched forth again, VENUS speaks.
Ven. Come, shepherd, come, sweet shepherd, look
on me,
These bene too hot alarums these for thee : But if thou wilt give me the golden ball,
1 "Avile. Imbased, disesteemed, made vile." — Cotgrave.
2 " I presume the Nine Worthies. Else why nine ? "—Nicholson,
3 A kind of dance.
v SCENA i.] The Arraignment of Paris. 3 1
c^upid my boy shall ha't to play withal,
jThat, whensoe'er this apple he shall see,
^The God of Love himself shall think on thee, "A , /
nAnd bid thee look and choose, and he will wound A
Whereso thy fancy's object shall be found;
And lightly, when he shoots, he doth not miss : 170
And I will give thee many a lovely kiss,
And come and play with thee on Ida here ;
And if thou wilt a face that hath no peer,
A gallant girl, a lusty minion trull,
That can give sport to thee thy bellyfull,
To ravish all thy beating veins with joy,
Here is a lass of Venus' court, my boy,1
Here, gentle shepherd, here's for thee a piece,
The fairest face, the flower of gallant Greece.
VENUS' Show.
Here HELEN entereth in her bravery ', with four Cupids attending on her, each having his fan in his hand to fan fresh air in her face : she singeth asfolloweth.
Se Diana nel cielo I una stella 180
Chiara e lucente, piena di splendore,
Che porge luc1 air affanato cuore ;
Se Diana nelferno *e una dea,
Che da conforto air anime dannate,
Che per amor son morte desperate ;
1 In old ed. there is a stage-direction, " HELEN entereth with 4. Cupides."
32 The Arraignment of Paris. [ACT n.
Se Diana, ch in terra e delle nimphe
Reina imperativa di dolti fiori,
Tra bosctt e selve da morte a pastori;
lo son un Diana dolce e rara,
Che con li guardi io posso far guerra \ 90
A Diarf infern', in cielo, e in terra.
The song being ended, HELEN departeth, and PARIS speaketh.
^ Par. Most heavenly dames, was never man as_J, Poor shepherd swain so happy and unhappy ; The least of these delights that you devise, Able to rape x and dazzle human eyes. But since my silence may not pardon'd be, And I appoint which is the fairest she, Pardon, most sacred dames, sith one, not all,
"\ By Paris' doom must have this golden ball. Thy beauty, Sately^uno, dame divine, That like to thoebus' golden beams doth shine, Approves itself to be most excellent ; But that fair face that doth me most content, Sith fair, fair dames, is neither she nor she, Bat she whom I shall fairest deem to be, That face is hers that hight the Queen of Love, I Whose sweetness doth both gods and creatures move ; \He givtth the golden ball to VENUS.
^j And if the fairest face o>-serve the ball, / Fair Venus^ ladies^ Vears il from ^e alL
Vm. And in Jhis ball doft Venus more delight 210
SCENA i.] The Arraignment of Paris,
33
Than in her lovely boy fair Cupid's sight.
Come, shepherd, come ; sweet Venus is thy friend ;
No matter how thou other gods offend.
[VENUS taketh PARIS away with her. Exeunt. Juno. But he shall rue and ban the dismal day Wherein his Venus bare the ball away ; ,
And heaven and earth just witnesses shall be,
,
be,
J
rr
Well, Juno, whether we be lief1 or loth, Venus hath got the apple from us both.
1 So Dyce. Old ed. " leyse."
VOL. I.
( 34 )
ACT III.
SCENA I.
Enter COLIN, who sings his passion of love.
O gentle Love, ungentle for thy deed,
Thou mak'st my heart
A bloody mark With piercing shot to bleed ! Shoot soft, sweet Love, for fear thou shoot amiss, \
For fear too keen
Thy arrows been,
And hit the heart where my beloved is. Too fair that fortune were, nor never I t r
Shall be so blest, $fy " 10
Among the rest,
That Love shall seize on her by sympathy. / Then since with Love my prayers bear no boot,
This doth remain
TTo cease 1 my pain, I take the^wound, and dieat Venus' foot. [Exit COLIN.
1 In England s Helicon, 1600, where this song is printed with Peele's signature, the reading is " ease."
SCENA i.j The A rraignment of Paris. 3 5 4
Iv T
Enter 1 HOBBINOL, DIGGON, and THENOT.
Hob. Poor Colin, woeful man, thy life forspoke by
love, What uncouth 2 fit, what malady, is this that thou dost
prove ? Dig. Or Love is void of physic clean, or Love's our
.common wrack, That gives us bane to bring, us low, and let[s] us medicine
laeST "Vr^i
Hob. That ever Love had reverence 'mongl sillvx
jhephenLswains ! Belike that humouTTiurts them most that most might '<
be 3 their pains. The. Hobbin, it is some other god that cherisheth
their4 sheep, For sure this Love doth nothing else but make our
herdmen weep. Dig. And what a hap is this, I pray, whenjill our woods/
rejoice,
For Colin thus to be denied his young and lovely choice ?-> , L^^ The. She hight indeed so fresh and fair that well itls
for thee, Colin, and kind 5 hath been thy friend, that Cupid could ('k
not see.
Hob. And whither wends yon thriveless swain ? like to the stricken deer,
1 Old ed. marks a new scene — " Scena II."
2 Strange, unaccustomed. 3 "Quy. 'bear'?" — P. A. Daniel. 4 So Dyce. Old ed. "her." • 5 Nature.
J
•
ff $6 The Arraignment of Pans. [ACTIH.
f * J - Seeks he dictam[n]um l for his wound within our forest
here? 30
Dig. He wends to greet the Queen of Love, that in
these woods doth won,2 1 v x$ With mirthless lays to make complaint to Venus of her
son.
The. Ah, Colin, thou art all deceived ! she dallies with ^ the boy,
VAnd winks at all his wanton pranks, and thinks thy love
a toy. Hob. Then leave him to his luckless love, let him abid&j?**!
MS^ </~P:
—^fThe sore is rankled all too far, our comfort comes too late. Dig. Though Thestylis the scorpion be that breaks his
sweet assault, Yet will Rhamnusia3 vengeance take on her disdainful
fault. A The. Lo, yonder comes the lovely nymph, that in these
Ida vales
Plays with Amyntas' lusty boy, and coys4 him in the dales ! 4o
Hob. Thenot, methinks her cheer is changed, her
mirthful looks are laid,
She frolics not ; pray god, the lad have not beguiled 5 the maid !
1 " Non ilia feris incognita capris
Gramina cum tergo volucres haesere sagittae."
— Virgil, j%Ln, xii. 414-5.
3 Nemesis had a temple at Rhamnus in Attica.
4 Fondles. 5 So Dyce. Old ed. "beguide."
SCENAL] The Arraignment of Paris. 37
CENONE1 enter eth with a wreath of poplar on her head. Manent Pastores.
(En. Beguiled, "disdained, and out of love! Live2 long, \
thou poplar-tree,
And let "triyTetlers" grow in length, to witness this with me, Ah, Venus, but for reverence unto thy sacred name, To steal a silly maiden's love, I might account it blame And if the tales be true I hear, and blush for to recite, Thou dost me wrong to leave the plains and dally out of
sight. False Paris, this was not thy vow, when thou and I were *x
one, To range and change old love for new ; but now those
days be gone.
But I will find the goddess out, that she thy vow may read, And fill these woods with my laments for thy unhappy
deed. Hob. So fair a face, so foul a thought to harbour in his
breast ! Thy hope consumed, poor nymph, thy hap is worse than
all the rest. (En. Ah, shepherds, you bin full of wiles, and whet
your wits on books, And rape3 poor maids with pipes and j>ojrig;s, and sweet
alluring looks !
1 Old ed. marks a new scene — " Scena III"
2 Cf. CEnone's Epistle to Paris (in Qv'KtySHeroides},^ Popule, vive precor, quse consita margine ripae," &c.
3 So Dyce. Old ed. "wrap."
' v /"I
! '•
f 38 77** A rraigrtment of Paris. [ACT m.
x £>/£-. Mis-speak not all for his amiss ; l there bin that
keepen flocks, That never chose but once, nor yet beguiled love with
mocks. <2?*z. False Paris, he is none of those ; his trothless
L A ^doubig-6^egV|— -^
! Will hurt a many shepherds elsejhat might go nigh to
speeds- 60
The. Poor Colip; that is ill for thee, that art as true in
trust - If
To thy sweet smart as to his nympkl Paris hath bin
unjust. (En. Ah, well is she hath Colin won, that nill no
other love !
And woe is me, my luck is loss, my pains no pity move ! Hob. Farewell, fair nymph, sith he must heal alone
that gave the wound ;
There grows no herb of such effect uponJDame Nature's ground. \Exeunt Pastores.
Manet CENONE. MERCURY entereth with VULCAN'S Cyclops^
Mer. Here is a nymph that sadly sits, and she beleek 2 Can tell some news, Pyracmon, of the jolly swain we seek :
1 Fault.
2 Old ed. "belike." The correction was made by Dyce, who points out that beleek is found in the Tale of Troy — " Unwares to wreak Patroclus' death beleek." (For the sake of the metre Dyce reads " and she to us beleek.")
SCENAL] The Arraignment of Paris. 39
Dare wage my wings, the lass doth love, she looks so
bleak and thin ;
And 'tis for anger or for grief: but I will talk begin. 70 (En. Break out, poor heart, and make complaint, the
mountain flocks to move, What proud repulse, and thankless scorn thou hast
received of love. Mer. She singeth ; sirs, be hush'd a while.
(ENONE singeth as she sits. (ENONE'S
elpomene,1 the
With mournful tunes, in stole of dismal hue, Assist a silly nymph to wail her woe, And leave thy lusty company behind.
Thou 2 luckless wreath ! becomes not me to wear The poplar-tree for triumph of my love : Then, as my joy, my pride of love, is left, 80
Be thou unclothed of thy lovely green ;
And in thy leaves my fortune written "be, And them 3 some gentle wind let blow abroad, That all the world may see how false of love False Paris hath to his (Enone been.
The song ended, (ENONE sitting still, MERCURY speaketh.
Mer. Good day, fair maid ; weary belike with follow ing of your game,
1 Olded. "Melponie." a England 's Helicon, "This." 3 E. H. "then."
40 The Arraignment of Paris. [ACT m.
I wish thee cunning at thy will, to spare or strike the
same. (En. I thank you, sir ; my game is quick, and rids l a
length of ground,
And yet I am deceived, or else 'a had a deadly wound. Mer. Your hand perhaps did swerve awry.2 (En. Or else it was my heart. 90
Mer. Then sure 'a plied his footmanship. (En. 'A play'd a ranging part.
Mer. You should have given a deeper wound. (En. I could not that for pity.
Mer. You should have eyed him better, then. (En. Blind love was not so witty.
Mer. Why, tell me, sweet, are you in love ? (En. Or 3 would I were not so.
Mer. Ye mean because 'a does ye wrong. (En. Perdy, the more my woe.
Mer. Why, mean ye Love, or him ye loved ? (En. Well may I mean them both.
Mer. Is love to blame ? (En. The Queen of Love hath made him false 4
his troth.
1 "Seraelles et du vin passent chemin. ... A strong foot and a light head rid way ^z.cQ."—Cotgrave. (Cf. 3 Henry VI., v. iii., " Willingness rids way.")
2 So Dyce. Old ed. ' ' awarie. ' '
3 "Quy. 'O.'or 'I'?"— P. A. Daniel.
4 The expression to false faith (or troth] was common. It occurs in one of Lodge's choicest lyrics : —
" First shall the heavens want starry light
The April flower and leaves and tree Before I false my faith to thee."
SCENAI.] The Arraignment of Paris. 41
Mer. Mean ye, indeed, the Queen of Love ?
(En. Even wanton Cupid's dame.
Mer. Why, was thy love so lovely, then ?
(En. His beauty hight his shame ;
The fairest shepherd on our green.
Mer. Is he a shepherd, than ? x 100
(En. And sometime kept a bleating flock.
Mer. Enough, this is the man.
Where wons he, then ?
(En. About these woods, far from the poplar-tree.
Mer. What poplar mean ye ?
(En. Witness of the vows 'twixt 2 him and me.
And come and wencTa little wayTand^you shall see his skill.
Mer. Sirs, tarry you.
(En. Nay, let them go.
Mer. Nay, not unless you will.
Stay, nymph, and hark [to] what I say of him thou
blamest so, And, credit me, I have a sad discourse to tell thee ere
I go.
Know then, my pretty mops, that I hight Mercury, L The messenger of heaven, and hither fly, TcTseize upon the marTwhom thou dost love, f " no To summon him before my fathe^Joye, ~1/ To^answer matter of ^jpat ronsequence : \j And Jove himself will not be long from hence.
1 Then.
3 Olded. "betwixt."
4 2 The A rraignment of Paris. [ACT m.
(En. Sweet Mercury, and have poor (Enon's cries For Paris' fault y-pierced l th' unpartial2 skies? Mer. The same is he, that jolly shepherd's swain. (En. His flock do graze upon Aurora's plain, The colour of his coat ^jS^i^en^ * That would these eyes of mine had never seen " His 'ticing curled hair, his front of ivory, 120
Then had not I, poor I, bin unhappy.3
Mer. No marvel, wench, although we cannot find
him, _When all too late the Queen of Heaven doth mind him.
But if thou wilt have physic for thy sore, i Mind him who list, remember tfrorr*~riim no more,
• And find some other game, and get thee gone ; For here will lusty suitors come anon,
Too hot and lusty for thy dying vein,
Such as ne'er wont 5 to make their suits in vain.
[Exit MERCURY cum Cyclop. * (En. I will go sit and pine under the poplar-tree, 130
- And write my answer to his vow, that every eye may \ I see. [Exit.
1 Old ed. "ypeircest."
2 See note 2, p. 6. Marlowe remembered the present passage when he wrote —
• " And with my prayers pierce impartial heavens."
—Jew of Malta, III. ii. 1. 33.
3 Mr. P. A. Daniel suggests " poor I, unhappy bin " — which destroys the last vestige of rhyme.
4 I should like to omit this word ; but if we alter the text wherever the scansion is irregular, we shall have to adopt very arbitrary measures.
5 Old ed. " were monte."
SCENA ii.] The Arraignment of Paris. 43
SCENA II.1 VENUS, PARIS, and a company of Shepherds.
Ven. Shepherds, I am content, for this sweet shep herd's sake,
Astrange re^vejjge_ji^ori_lke jnajd and her disdain to take.
Let Colin's corpse be brought in place, and buried 2 in the plain,
And let this be the verse, The love whom Thestylis hath
7 •
slain.
And, trust me, I will chide my son for partiality That gave the swain so deep a wound, and let her scape
him by. First Shep. Alas that ever Love was blind, to shoot
so far amiss !
Ven. Cupid my son was more to blame, the fault not mine, but his. &+f<**^
[Pastores exeunt. Manent* VEN. cum PAR. Par. O madam, if yourself would deign the handling ^ ^J?
of the bow, Albeit it be a task, yourself more skill,
Ven. Sweet shepherd, didst thou ever love ? Par. Lady, a little once.
Ven. And art thou changed ?
1 Old. ed. " Act III. Scena V." (Scena IV. is not marked.)
2 Dyce. Old ed. "burned." 3 I keep the old stage-direction.
'
P^r-T"
The Arraignment of Paris. [ACT m.
Par. Fair Queen of Love, I loved not all attonce.1 Ven. Well, wanton, wert thou wounded so deep as
some have been, It were a cunning cure to heal, and rueful to be seen. 'Par.' "But tell me, gracious goddess, for a start and
false offence
Hath Venus or her son the power at pleasure to dis pense? Ven. My boy, I will instruct thee in a piece of
poetry, That haply erst thou hast not heard : in hell there is a
tree, Where once a-day do sleep the souls of false forsworen
lovers, With open hearts; and there about in swarms the
number hovers 20
Of poor forsaken ghosts, whose wings from off this tree
do beat Round drops of fiery Phlegethon to scorch false hearts
with heat. This pain did Venus and her son entreat the prince
of hell T impose to such as faithless were to such as loved
them well : And, therefore, this, my lovely boy, fair Venus doth
advise thee, Be true and steadfast in thy love, beware thou do
disguise thee ;
1 Old form of " at once.'
SCENAII.] The Arraignment of Paris. 45
For he that makes but love a jest, when pleaseth him
to start, ^>hall feel those fiery water-drops consume his faithless
heart.
Par. Is Venus and her son so full of justice_an4 severity ?
ity it were that love should not be linked with"" indifferency^ 30
Howeverlovers can exclaim for hard success in love, Trust me, some more than common cause that painful
hap doth move :
And Cupid's bow is not alone his triumph, but hj^ro^ / jt^ Nor is he only but a boy, he hight a mighty god ; ~*<*st*f ^ And they that do him reverence have reason for the sam^pC^ His shafts keep heaven and earth in awe, and shape f
rewards or J shame. Par. And hath he reason to maintain why Colin died
for love ? Ven. Yea, reason good, I warrant thee, in right it "
might behove. Par. Then be the name of Love adored ; his bow is
full of might, His wounds are all but for desert, his laws arejdl but ^\/7 ,
right- 40 \l^
[ Ven.'] Well, for this once me list apply my speeches / to thy sense, I
And Thestylis shall feel the pain for Love's supposed / offence. ^
1 So P. A. Daniel. Old ed. " for."
46 The Arraignment of Paris. [ACTIH.
The Shepherds bring in COLIN'S hearse, singing,
Welladay, welladay, poor Colin, thou art going to the
ground,
The love whom Thestylis l hath slain, Hard heart, fair face, fraught with disdain, Disdain in love a deadly wound. Wound her, sweet Love, so deep again, That she may feel the dyiflg~pam~~ Of this unhappy shepherd's swain,
And die for love as Colin died, as Colin died. ^.-m. Fen. Shepherds, abide ; let Colin's corpse_be7 witness
of the pain
That The?fyTiTendures in love, a plague for her disdain. \Behold the organ of our wrath, this rusty churl is he ; She dotes on his ill-favour'd face, so much accurs'd is she.
w -
A 2 foul crooked Churl enters, and THESTYLIS, a fair Lass, wooeth him, and singeth an old song called The Wooing of Colman : he crabbedly refuseth her, and goeth out of place : she tarrieth behind.
Par. Ah, poor unhappy Thestylis, unpitied is thy pain ! \ Ven. Her fortune not unlike to hers 3 whom cruel thou hast slain.
"
Thestis."
2 Old ed. gives "She singeth . . . Colman. A foul . . . wooeth him: he crabbedly," &c.
3 So Dyce.— Old ed. "his."
of P
SCENA ii. ] 77/£ A rraignment of Paris.
THESTYLIS singeth, and the Shepherds reply.
THE SONG.
The strange affects 1 of my tormented heart, Whom cruel love hath woeful prisoner caught, ' v js Whom cruel hate hath into bondage brought, ^/f Whom, wit no way of safe escape hath taught, 60
<fei;jforce me say, in witness of my smart, There is no pain to foul disdain in hardy suits of love.
Shepherds. There is no pain, &c.
Thest. Cruel, farewell.
Shepherds. Cruel, farewell.
Thest. Most cruel thou, of all that nature fram'd,
Shepherds. Most cruel, &c.
Thest. To kill thy love with thy disdain.
Shepherds, To kill thy love with thy disdain.
Thest. Cruel Disdain, so live thou nam'd,
Shepherds. Cruel Disdain, &c.
Thest. And let me die of Iphis' pain,
Shepherds. A life 2 too good for thy disdain.
Thest. Sith this my stars to me allot, And thou thy love hast all forgot.
Shepherds. And thou, &c. {Exit THESTYLIS.
The 3 grace of this song is in the Shepherds' echo to her verse.
1 So Dyce. Old ed. "effects."
2 So the old ed. ; but it is hard to reject Mr. P. A. Daniel's emenda tion "death."
3 In old ed. this remark is preceded by the stage-direction which belongs to 1. 78.
70
, -I s
I 48 The Arraignment of Paris. [ACT m.
Yen. Now, shepherds, /bury Colin's corpse, perfume
And write whafltSdVefluTdid amid, these woods of yours.
\The Shepherds carry out COLIN'S hearse. How now, how cheers my lovely boy, after this dump
of love ?
Par. Such dumps, sweet lady, as bin these, are deadly
dumps to prove. 8o
Ven. Cease, shepherd, there1 are other news, after
this melancholy :
My mind presumes some tempest toward upon the speech 2 of Mercury.
MERCURY 3 with VULCAN'S Cyclops enter. Manentibus VEN. cum PAR.
^^~—~^^\r
Mer Fair Lady Venus, let me pardonep/be,
That have of long bin well-beloved of thee,
If, as my office bids, myself first brings
To my sweet madam these unwelcome tidings.
Ven. What news, what tidings, gentle Mercury, In midst of my deligh^ts, to trouble me ? /
Mer. At Juries suit^t alias assisting her, Sith both did join in suit to Jupiter, 90
Action IS enter'd in the court pf heaven :
^SSa^—- J
And me, the swiftest of the planets seven, , Witfi;wirrapt they have thence despatch'd away,
1 Olded. "these."
2 " Quy. ' upon th' approach ' ? "—P. A. Daniel.
3 Old ed. begins a new scene — " Scena VI"
SCENAII.] The Arraignment of Paris. 49
To^prehe>»a and find the man, they say, That gave from them that self-same ball of gold, Which, I presume, I do in place behold ; Which man, unless my marks be taken wide, Is he that sits so near thy gracious side. This being so, it rests he go from hence, Before the gods to answer his offence.^-'
~~Ven. WKaTtale is £ his f doth Juno and her mate Pursue this shepherd with such deadly hate, As what was then our general agreement, "" To stand unto they nill be now content? Lp&jf'z* Let Juno jet, and Pallas play her part, ifi^^ What here I have, I won it by (SeserH"'' ^r And heaven and earth shall both*romounded be, ' Ere wrong in this be done to him or me.
Mer. This little fruit, if Mercury can spell, ~J~u Will send, I fear, a world of souls to hell. . _J no Ven. What mean these Cyclops, Mercury fis Vulcan
wax'd so fine, To send his chimney-sweepers forth to fetter any friend
of mine ? — Abash not, shepherd, at the thing; myself thjt bairwft
be.-
He shall be present at thej_CQjucL.gf Jove, I warrant thee. Mer. Venus, give me your'pledgl) Ven. My ceston, or my fan, or both ?
Mer. \taketh herfaii\. Nay, this shall serve, your word J to me as sure as is your oath,
1 " Quy. ' word's ' or ' as sure is as ' ? " — P. A. Daniel. VOL. I. D
50 The Arraignment of Paris. [ACT m.
At Dian's 1 bower ; and, lady, if my wit or policy May profit him, for Venus' sake let him make bold with Mercury. [Exit with the Cyclops.
/f\^ Ven. Sweet Paris, whereon dost thou muse ? Par. The angry heavens, for this fatal jar, 120
Name me the instrument of dire and deadly war.
[Explicit Actus 7ffiiw:~~~'£tfeuntVmxvs and PARIS.
1 So Dyce. Old ed. "Diana's."
ACT IV.
SCENA I. Enter one of DIANA'S Nymphs, followed by VULCAN.
Vul. Why, nymph, what need ye run so fast? what
though but black I be ? I have more pretty knacks to please than every eye doth
see; And though I go not .so upright, and though I am a
smith, To make me gracious you may have some other thing
therewith.
Enter ^ BACCHUS.
Bac. Yea,2 Vulcan, will ye so indeed? — Nay, tuni,
and tell him, trull,
He hath a mistress of his own to take his bellyfull. Vul. Why sir, if Phoebe's dainty nymphs please lusty
Vulcan's tooth, Why may not Vulcan tread awry as well as Venus dotl
1 Old ed. marks a new scene {" Scena II."), and gives the stage- direction, "Bacchus, Vulcan, Nymphe." * 2 Olded. "Yee/
K
* \ ' ' 5 2 The Arraignment of Paris. [ACT iv.
•
Nym. Ye shall not taint your troth for me : you wot
it very well,
ll that be Dian's maids are vowed to halter apes 1 in hell. I0
Bac. I'faith, i'faith, my gentle mops, but I do know a
cast, Lead apes who list, that we would help t'unhalter them
as fast. Nym. Fie, fie, your skill is wondrous great ! had
thought the God of Wine Had tended but his tubs and grapes, and not ben half
so fine.
Vul Gramercy for that quirk, my girl. Bac. That's one of dainty's frumps.2
Nym. I pray, sir, take't with all amiss ; our cunning
comes by lumps.
Vul. Sh'ath capp'd his answer in the cue. Nym. How says Ja, has she so ?
As well as she that capp'd your head to keep you warm
below.
Vul. Yea, then you will be curst I see. Bac. Best let her even alone.
* Old ed. "apples." William Corkine, in his Second Book of Airs, 1612, tells a young lady who had vowed to live and die a maid—
" O if you knew what chance to them befell That dance about with bobtail apes in hell, Yourself your virgin girdle would divide . . . Rather than undergo such shame : no tongue can tell What injury is done to maids in hell."
2 " Mocquerie. A mock, flowt,/™^," &c.—Cotgrave.
SCENA i.] The Arraignment of Paris. 53
Nym. Yea, gentle gods, and find some other string to
harp upon. 20
Bac. Some other string ! agreed, i'faith, some other
pretty thing ; ;Twere shame fair maids should idle be : how say you,
will ye sing ? Nym. Some rounds or merry roundelays, we sing no
other songs j
Your melancholic notes not to our country mirth belongs. Vul. Here comes a crew will help us trim.
MERCURY * with the Cyclops.
Mer. Yea, now our task is done.
Bac. Then merry, Mercury ; more than time this round ,,, were well begun.
They sing " Hey down, down, down," &c.
The song done, she windjth a Horn in VULCAN'S ear, and runneth out. Manent VULCAN, MERCURY, Cyclops.
Vul. A harlotry, I warrant her.
Bac. A peevish elvish shroe.2
Mer. Have seen as far to come as near, for all her
ranging so.
But, Bacchus, time well-spent I wot, our sacred father Jove,
1 Old ed. marks a new scene (" Scena III."}.
2 Shrew. — InRavenscroft'sPammetia, 1609, there is a song beginning —
' ' What hap had I to marry a shroe ! For she hath given me many a blow. "
54 The Arraignment of Paris. [ACT iv.
With Phoebus and the God of War are met in Dian's grove. 3o
Vul Then we are here before them yet : but stay, the earth doth swell ;
God Neptune, too (this hap is good), doth meet the Prince of Hell.
PLUTO ascendeth from below in his chair ; NEPTUNE enter eth at another way.
^ f Plu. What jars are these, that call the gods of heaven and hell below?
^
Nep. It is a work of wit and toil torulel luste shroe.
-^p ...
Enter JUPITER, SATURN, APOLLO, MARS,1 JUNO, PALLAS,
and DIANA.
Jup. Bring fbrtn^|he_man of Troy, that he may hear i Whereof he is to be arraigned- here? _j jhr&>
Nep. Lo, where 'a corrre^ prepar'd to plead his case, Under conduct of lovely Venus' grace !
\Enter VENUS with PARIS.]
rJMer. I have not seen a more alluring boy. Apol. So beauty hight the wreck of Priam's Troy. 40*
1 Old ed. ' ' Mars, Pluto, Neptune, Bacchus, Vulcan, Mer. , luno, Pallas, Diana, Cyclops." (A new scene, " Scena ////.," is marked in old ed.)
55
'
The gods being set in DIANA'S bower, JUNO, PALLAS,1 VENUS, and PARIS stand on sides before them.
Ven. Lo, sacred Jove, at As erst I gave my pledge to Mercury, I bring the man whom he did late attaint, To answer his indictment orderly; And crave thik-gfcace "ofthis immortal', That ye allow the man his adyoc
Pal. That may not be ; "tfiie%5ffy§f heaven deny A rnan_tQ_^>lead. or answeLjjjjs^torney.
Ven. Pallas, thy doom is all too peremptory;-"
Apol. Venus, that favour is demed~TTmT"rTatly : He is a man, and therefore by our laws, Himself, without his 2 aid, must plead his cause.
Ven. Then 'bash not, shepherd, in so good a case ; And friends thou hast, as well as foes, inplace. Juno. Why, Mercury, why do ye not;lndicf^iim ?
Ven. Soft, gentle Juno, I pray you, do not bite him. Juno. Nay, gods, I trow, you are like to have great
silence,
Unless this parrot be commanded hence. Jup. Venus, forbear, be still. — Speak, Mercury.
Ven. If Juno jangle, Venus will reply. 60
Mer. Paris,_king Priam's son, thou art arraigned o
*j V
1 Old ed. " Pallas, Diana, Venus," &c.
2 I.e. without the aid of an advocate (1. 46).
A, <
56 The Arraignment of Paris. [ACTIV.
Of sentence partial and unjust; for that without in-
dirferency,
Beyond desert or merit far, as thine accusers say, From them, to Lady Venus here, thou gavest the prize
away: What is thine answer ? ; A/*V
PARIS' oration to the Council of the Gods, j
Sacred and just, thou great and dreadful Jove, And you thrice-reverend powers, whom love nof hate^ May wrest awry ; if this, to me a man, This fortune fatal be, that I must plead For safe excusal of my guiltless thought, 70
The honour more makes my mishap the less, That I a man must plead before the gods, ^"Gracious forbearers of the world's amiss,1 For her, whose beauty how it hath enticed, This heavenlyl;e~nate may with me aver. But sith nor that nor this may do me boot, And for myself myself must speaker be, A mortal man amidst this heavenly presence ; Let me not shape a long defence to them *<That ben beholders of my .guiltless thoughts. go
^h^rrlorttie^eed^— that I may notcleny, Wherein consists the full of mine offence, — I did upon command ; if then I erred, I didf't] no more than to a man belonged. And if, in verdit of their forms divine, My dazzled eye did swarve 2_or surfeit more
1 Fault, sin. 2 /i& swerve.
SCENAL] The Arraignment of Paris. 57
On Venus' face than any face of theirs,
It was no partial fault, but fault of his,
Belike, whose eyesight not so perfect^was^
As might discern theJbriglTtrres"s"ortrie rest. -^ 90
And if it were permittecTurito men,
Ye gods, to parie-with your-secret thought^
There ben that sit upon that sacred seat, /(/*
That would with Paris err in Venus' praise. /
But let me cease to speak of error here ;
Sith what my hand, the organ of my heart,"**!
Did give with good agreement of mine eye, I
My tongue is vow'd 1 with process to maintain.
Plu. A jolly shepherd, wise and eloquent.
Par. First, then, arraigned of partiality, 100
Paris replies, " Unguilty of the fact ; ;; His reason is, because he knew no more Fair Venus' ceston than Dame Juno's mace, Nor never saw wise Pallas' crystal shield. Then as I looked, I loved and liked attonce,2 And as it was referr'd from them to me, To give the prize to her whose beauty best My fancy did commend, so did I praise And judge as might my dazzled eye discern.
Nep. A piece of art, that cunningly, perdy, Refers the blame to weakness of his eye.
Par. Now, for I must add reason for my deed, Why Venus rather pleased me of the three ; First, in the intrails of my mortal ears,
1 So P. A. Daniel. Old ed. "void." 2 At once.
58 The Arraignment of Paris. .[ACTIV.
The question standing upon beauty's blaze,
The name of her that hight the Queen of Love,
Methought,1 in beauty should not be excelPd.
Had it been destined tainajesj^
(Yet will I not^afe^^nus of her grace),
Then stately Juno .Alight have borne the ball.. 120
Had it to^iscFo^been intituled,
My human wit had given it Pallap then.
But sith unto the fairest of the three
That power, that threw it for my farther ill,
I)id dedicate this ball ; and safest durst , My shepherd's skill adventure, as I thought, I To judge of form and beauty rather than
Of Juno's state or Pallas' worthiness, —
That learn'd to ken the fairest of the flock,
And praised beauty but by nature's aim ;— I30
Behold, to Venus Paris gave this fruit,
A daysman 2 chosen there by full consent,
J&axenljL^^ their deeds.
Where it is said, beyond desert of hers
I honour'd Venus with this golden prize,
Ye gods, alas, what can a mortal man
Discern betwixt the sacred gifts of heaven ?
Or, if I may with reverence reason thus ;
Suppose I gave, and judg'd corruptly then,
For hope of that that best did please my thought, 140
This apple not for beauty's praise alone ;
I might offend, sith I was guerdoned,3
i Old ed. " My thought." 2 Umpire.
3 This is my own emendation. Old ed. "pardoned." (Mr. P. A.
SCENA i.j The Arraignment of Paris.
59
150
And tempted more than ever creature was ^ With wealth, with beautv^nd with chivalry, ^ And so^Jreferr'd beauty before them a The thing that hath enchanted heaven itself. And for the one, contentment is my wealth • A shell of s.alt will serve a shepherd^ swain A slender Banquet in a homely scrip, And water running from the silver spring. For arms, they dread no foes that sit so low; "^ A thorn can keep the wind from off my back, | sheep-cote thatch'd a shepherd's palace hight. j Of tragic Muses shepherds con no skill ; Enough is them, if Cupid ben displeased, To sing his praise on slender oaten pipe. And thus, thrice-reverend, have I told my tale, And crave the torment of my guiltless soul To be measured by my faultless thought If warlike Pallas or the Queen of Heaven Sue to reverse my sentence by appeal, Be it as please your majesties divine ; The wrong, the hurt, not mine, if any be, But hers whose beauty claim'd the prize of me.
PARIS having ended, JUPITER speaketh.
Jup. Venus, withdraw your shepherd for a space, Till he again be call'd for into place.
[Exeunt VENUS and PARIS.
Daniel prefers the old reading, and takes the meaning to be : — "I was pardoned or excused beforehand for any failure of judgment or justice on my part ; moreover I was tempted," &c.)
160
6o 7 he Arraignment of Paris. [ACT iv.
Juno, what will ye after this reply, But doom with sentence of indifferency ? ~And if you will but justice in the cause, The man must quited l be by heaven's laws. 170
Juno. Yea, gentle Jove, when Juno's suits are moved, Then heaven may see how well she is beloved.
Apol. But, madam, fits it majesty divine In any sort from justice to decline ?
Pal. Whether the man be guilty, yea or no, That doth not hinder our appeal, I trow.
Juno. Phcebus, I wot, amid this heavenly crew, There be that have to say as well as you.
Apol. And, Juno, I with them, and they with me, In law and right must needfully agree. 180
Pal. I grant ye may agree, but be content To doubt upon regard of your agreement.
Plu. And if ye mark'd, the man in his defence Said thereof as 'a might with reverence.
Vul. And did ye very well, I promise ye.
Juno. No doubt, sir, you could note it cunningly.
Sat. Well, Juno, if ye will appeal, ye may, But first despatch the shepherd hence away.
Mars. Then Vulcan's dame is like to have the wrong.
Juno. And that in passion doth to Mars belong. 190
Jup. Call Venus and the shepherd in again.
[Exit MERCURY.2
Bac. And rid the man that he may know his pain. Apol. His pain, his pain, his never-dying pain, A cause to make a many more complain.
i Acquitted. 2 Not in old ed.
SCENA i.] The Arraignment of Paris. 61
MERCURY bringeth in VENUS and PARIS.
Jup. Shepherd, thou hast ben heard with equity and
>
And for my stars do thee to other calling draw, We here dismiss thee hence, by order of our senate : Go take thy way to Troy, and there abide thy fate.
Ven. Sweet shepherd, with such luck in love, while
thou dost live, As may the Queen of Love to any lover give. 200
Par. My luck is loss, howe'er my love do speed : I fear me Paris shall but rue his deed. [PARIS exit.
Apol. From Ida woods now wends the shepherd's boyT That in his bosom carries fire to Troy.
Jup. Venus, these ladies do appeal, you see, And that they may appeal the gods agree : It resteth, then, that you be well content To stand in this unto our final judgment; And if King Priam's son did well in this, The law of heaven will not lead amiss. 210
Ven. But, sacred Jupiter, might thy daughter choose, She might with reason this appeal refuse : Yet, if they be unmoved in their shames, Be it a stain and blemish to their names ; A deed, too, far unworthy of the place, Unworthy Pallas' lance or Juno's mace ; And if to beauty it bequeathed be, I doubt not but it will return to me.
[She layeth down the ball.
62 The Arraignment of Paris. [ACT iv.
Pal. Venus, there is no more ado than so, It resteth where the gods do it bestow. 22
Nep. But, ladies, under favour of your rage, Howe'er it be, you play upon the vantage.
Jup. Then, dames, that we more freely may debate, And hear th' indifferent sentence of this senate, Withdraw you from this presence for a space, Till we have throughly question 'd of the case : Dian shall be your guide ; nor shall you need Yourselves t' inquire how things do here succeed ; We will, as we resolve, give you to know, By general doom how everything doth go. 230
Dia. Thy will, my wish. — Fair ladies, will ye wend ? Juno. Beshrew her whom this sentence doth offend. Ven. Now, Jove, be just; and, gods, you that be
Venus' friends,
If you have ever done her wrong, then may you make amends.
\Manent Dii. Exeunt DIANA, JUNO, PALLAS,
and VENUS.
Jup. Venus is fair, Pallas and Juno too. Vul. But tell me now without some more ado, Who is the fairest she, and do not flatter.
Plu. Vulcan, upon comparison hangs all the matter : That done, the quarrel and the strife were ended. 239 Mars.
^ Vul. Mars, you have reason for your speech,
perdy ;
My dame, I trow, is fairest in your eye. Mars. Or, Vulcan, I should do her double wrong.
SCENA i.] The Arraignment of Paris. 63
Sat. About a toy we tarry here so l long. Give it by voices, voices give the odds ; A trifle so to trouble all the gods !
Nep. Believe me, Saturn, be it so for me.
Bac. For me.
Plu. For me.
Mars. For me, if Jove agree.
Mer. And, gentle gods, I am indifferent ; But then I know who's likely to be shent.2 250
Apol. Thrice-reverend gods, and thou, immortal Jove, If Phcebus may, as him doth much behove, Be licensed, according to our laws, To speak uprightly in this doubted cause (Sith women's wits work men's unceasing woes), ^
To make th^m friends, that now bin friendless foes. And peace to keep with them, with us, and all, ^> That make their title to this golden ball (Nor think, ye gods, my speech doth derogate From sacred power of this immortal senate) ; 26o
Refer this sentence where it doth belong : In this, say I, fair Phcebe hath the wrong ; Not that I mean her beauty bears the prize, ' *
But that the holy law of heaven denies One god to meddle in another's power And this befel so near Diana's bower, \ j As for th' appeasing this unpleasant grudge\ -) In my conceit, she hight the fittest judge. If Jove control not Pluto's hell with charms,
1 Dyce reads "too." 2 Blamed.
,
<X^ j^v w </ y^ $J^
64 The Arraignment of Paris. [ACTIV.
If Mars have sovereign power to manage arms,1 270 If Bacchus bear no rule in Neptune['s] sea, Nor Vulcan's fire doth Saturn's scythe obey, Suppress not, then, 'gainst law and equity, Diana's power in her own territory, Whose regiment,2 amid her sacred bowers, As proper hight as any rule of yours. Well may we so wipe all the speech away, That Pallas, Juno, Venus, hath to say, And answer that, by justice of our laws We were not suffer'd to conclude the cause. 280
And this to me most egal 3 doom appears, ,A woman to be judge among her pheeres.4
Mer. Apollo hath found out the only mean To rid the blame from us and trouble clean.
Vul. We are beholding to his sacred wit. Jup. I can commend and well allow of it ; And so derive the matter from us all, That Dian have the giving of the ball.
Vul. So Jove may clearly excuse him in the case, Where Juno else would chide and brawl apace. 290
\All they rise to 5 go forth.
Mer. And now it were some cunning to divine To whom Diana will this prize resign.
Vul. Sufnceth me, it shall be none of mine.
J Marlowe has the expression "manage arms " in Tamburlaine. 2 Rule. 3 Equal. 4 Companions.
5 Olded. "and."
SCENAI.] The Arraignment of Paris. 65
Bac. Vulcan, though thou be black, thou'rt nothing
fine.
Vul Go bathe thee, Bacchus, in a tub of wine ; The ball's as likely to be mine as thine.
\Exeunt omnes. Explicit Act IV.
VOL. I.
ACT V.
SCENA I.1 DIANA, JUNO, PALLAS, VENUS.
Dia. Lo, ladies, far beyond my hope and will, you see, This thankless office is imposed to me ; Wherein if you will rest as well content, As Dian will be judge indiffeient^ My egal doom shall none of youoffend, And of this quarrel make a final end : And therefore, whether you be lief or 2 loath, Confirm your promise with some sacred oath.
Pal. Phoebe, chief mistress of this sylvan chace, Whom gods have chosen to conclude the case 10
That yet in balance undecided lies, Touching bestowing of this golden prize, I give my promise and mine oath withal, By Styx, by heaven's power imperial, By all that 'longs to Pallas' deity, ] Her shield, her lance, ensigns of chivalry,
1 Old ed. "Act. V. & ultimi, Scena /."
2 Olded. "of."
SCENA i.] The Arraignment of Paris. 67
Her sacred wreath of olive and of bay, Her crested helm, and else what Pallas may, That wheresoe'er this ball of purest gold, That chaste Diana here in hand doth hold, Unpartially her wisdom shall bestow, Without mislike or quarrel any mo, Pallas shall rest content and satisfied, And say the best desert doth there abide.
Juno. And here I promise and protest withal, By Styx, by heaven's power imperial, By all that 'longs to Juno's deity, Her grown, her mace, ensigns of majesty, Her spotless marriage-rites, her league divine, And by that holy narmTof Proserpine, 30
That wheresoe'er this ball of purest gold, That chaste Diana here in hand doth hold, Unpartially her wisdom shall bestow, Without mislike or quarrel any mo, Juno shall rest content and satisfied, And say the best desert doth there abide.
Ven. And, lovely Phcebe, for I know thy doom Will be no other than shall thee become, Behold, I take thy dainty hand to kiss, And with my solemn oath confirm my promise, 40
By Styx, by Jove's immortal empery, By Cupid's bow, by Venus' myrtle-tree, By Vulcan's gift, my ceston and my fan, By this red rose, whose colour first began When erst my wanton boy (the more his blame) Did draw his bow awry and hurt his dame,
H/J
|
The A rraignment of Paris. [ vex v.
] 5y all the honour and the sacrifice f\That from Cithseron1 and from Paphos rise,
That 2 wheresoe'er this ball of purest gold,
That chaste Diana here in hand doth hold, 50
vj^ Unpartially her wisdom shall bestow, M Without mislike or quarrel any mo, * Venus shall rest content and satisfied,
And say the best desert doth there abide.
DIANA, having taken their oaths, speaketJi. DIANA describeth the Nymph ELIZA, a figure of the Queen.
Dia. It is enough, and, goddesses, attend.
__There wons3 within these pleasaunt shady woods.- , Where neither storm nor sun's distemperature
\ Have power to hurt by cruel heat or cold,
I Under the climate of the milder heaven ; Where seldom lights Jove's angry thunderbolt, For favour_ofjhat sovereign earthly peer ; Where wtetJjr^wmds make music 'mong the trees, — \ Far from IdisturbanSeof our country gods," Amids the cypress-springs,4 a gracious nyrhph, Thatjipnour[s] Dian for her chastityT" And likes theTaBouTTweirbT Phoebe's groves ;
1 Often put for " Cythera" by old poets. In William Byrd's Songs c/ Sundry Natures, 1589, is £ song beginning " From Citheron the war like boy {i.e. Cupid] is fled."
/2 In old ed. the passage stlands thus : —
llTheconclu-\ That wheresoere, &c. (
sion aboue. } Vtous shall rest, &c. \ ' 3 Dwells. . 4 Cypress-groves.
\
( 73 )
EPILOGUS.
O M N ES s i M u L. Vive diufelix votis homin umquc deumqite, Corpore, mente, libro, doctissima, Candida, casta.
[Exeunt omnes.
FINIS.
EDWARD THE FIRST.
The Famous Chronicle of king Edward the first, sirnanied Edward Longshankes, with his returne from the holy land. Also the life of
j Llevellen rebell in Wales. Lastly, the sinking of Queene Elinor, who sunck at Charingcrosse, and rose againe at Potters-kith, now named Queenehith. London Printed by A bell Jeffes, and are to be solde by William Barley, at his shop in Gratious streete. 1593. 4to.
Another edition appeared, Imprinted at London by W. White dwelling in Cow-Lane. 1599. 4to.
A WARNING-PIECE TO ENGLAND AGAINST PRIDE AND WICKEDNESS:1
Being the Jail of Queen Eleanor, •wife to Ed-ward the First, King of England ; who, for her pride, by God's judgments, sunk into the ground at Char ing- Cross, and rose at Queenhithe.
WHEN Edward was in England king,
The first of all that name, Proud Ellinor he made his queen,
A stately Spanish dame ; Whose wicked life, and sinful pride,
Thro' England did excel : To dainty dames and gallant maids
This queen was known full well.
/ She was the first that did invent
In coaches brave to ride ; She was the first that brought this land
To deadly sin of pride. No English taylor here could serve
To make her rich attire \ But sent for taylors into Spain,
To feed her vain desire :
1 Concerning this anonymous ballad see Introduction.
( 78 )
They brought in fashions strange and new,
With golden garments bright ; The farthingale, and mighty ruff,
With gowns of rich delight : The London dames in Spanish pride
Did flourish everywhere ; Our English men, like women then,
Did wear long locks of hair.
Both man and child, both maid and wife,
Were drown'd in pride of Spain, And thought the Spanish taylors then
Our English men did stain : Whereat the queen did much despight,
To see our English men In vestures clad as brave to see
As any Spaniard then.
She crav'd the king, that every man
That wore long locks of hair, Might then be cut and polled all,
Or shaved very near. Whereat the king did seem content,
And soon thereto agreed ; And first commanded, that his own
Should then be cut with speed ;
And after that, to please his queen,
Proclaimed thro' the land, That ev'ry man that wore long hair,
Should poll him out of hand.
( 79 )
But yet this Spaniard, not content,
To women bore a spite, And then requested of the king,
Against all law and right,
That ev'ry womankind should have »
Their right breast cut away, And then with burning irons sear'd,
The blood to stanch and stay. King Edward then, perceiving well
Her spite to womankind, Devised soon by policy
To turn her bloody mind :
He sent for burning irons straight,
All sparkling hot to see ; And said, " O queen, come on thy way :
I will begin with thee." Which words did much displease the queen,
That penance to begin ; But ask'd him pardon on her knees ;
Who gave her grace therein.
But afterwards she chanc'd to pass
Along brave London streets, Whereas the mayor of London's wife
In stately sort she meets ; With music, mirth, and melody,
Unto the church they went, To give God thanks, that to th' lord mayor,
A noble son had sent.
It grieved much this spiteful queen
To see that any one Should so exceed in mirth and joy,
Except herself alone : For which she after did devise
Within her bloody mind, And practis'd still more secretly
To kill this lady kind.
Unto the mayor of London then
She sent her letters straight, To send his lady to the court,
Upon her grace to wait. But when the London lady came
Before proud El'nor's face, She stript her of her rich array,
And kept her vile and base.
She sent her into Wales with speed,
And kept her secret there ; And us'd her still more cruelly
Than ever man did hear : She made her wash, she made her starch,
She made her drudge alway ; She made her nurse up children small,
And labour night and day.
But this contented not the queen, But show'd her most despite ;
•She bound this lady to a post, At twelve a clock at night ;
8i
And as, poor lady, she stood bound,
The queen (in angry mood) Did set two snakes unto her breast,
That suck'd away her blood.
Thus died the mayor of London's wife,
Most grievous for to hear ; Which made the Spaniard grow more proud,
As after shall appear. The wheat that daily made her bread
Was bolted twenty times ; The food that fed this stately dame
Was boiPd in costly wines.
The water that did spring from ground
She would not touch at all ; But wash'd her hands with the dew of heav'n,
That on sweet roses fall. She bath'd her body many a time
In fountains filPd with milk ; And ev'ry day did change attire,
In costly Median silk.
But coming then to London back,
Within her coach of gold, A tempest strange within the skies
This queen did there behold : Out of which storm she could not go,
But there remain'd a space ; For horses could not stir the coach
A foot out of the place :
( 82 )
A judgment lately sent from heav'n,
For shedding guiltless blood, Upon this sinful queen that slew
The London lady good. King Edward then, as wisdom will'd,
Accus'd her of that deed ; But she denied, and wish'd that God
Would send his wrath with speed ;
If that upon so vile a thing
Her heart did ever think, She wish'd the ground might open wide,
And therein she might sink ! With that at Charing-cross she sunk
Into the ground alive ; .And after rose with life again,
In London, at Queenhithe.
When, after that, she languish'd sore,
Full twenty days in pain, At last confess'd the lady's blood
Her guilty hand had slain ; And likewise how that by a friar
She had a base-born child, Whose sinful lusts and wickedness
Her marriage-bed defil'd.
Thus have you heard the fall of pride,
A just reward of sin ; For those who will forswear themselves
God's vengeance daily win.
' Beware of pride, ye courtly dames,
Both wives and maidens all ; Bear this imprinted on your mind, That pride must have a fall
DRAMATIS
EDWARD I., King of England, surnamed LONGSHANKS. EDMUND, Duke of Lancaster, his brother. GILBERT DE CLARE, Earl of Glocester. MORTIMER, Earl of March. EARL OF SUSSEX. SIR THOMAS SPENCER. CRESSINGHAM.
JOHN BALIOL, elected King of Scotland. VERSSES.
LLUELLEN, Prince of Wales. SIR DAVID OF BRECKNOCK, his brother. RICE AP MEREDITH. OWEN AP RICE. GUENTHER.
FRIAR HUGH AP DAVID. JACK, his novice. Harper. Farmer. JOHN.
Bishop, English Lords, Scottish Lords, Welsh Barons, Messengers, Soldiers, &c.
QUEEN-MOTHER.
QUEEN ELINOR.
JOAN OF ACON, her daughter.
LADY ELINOR.
MARY, Duchess of Lancaster.
MAYORESS OF LONDON.
GUENTHIAN, the Friar's wench.
Potter's Wife.
KATHERINE.
Ladies.
1 There is no list of characters in old eds.
THE FAMOUS CHRONICLE HISTORY
OF
KING EDWARD THE FIRST, ETC.
[SCENE L]
Enter GILBERT DE CLARE, Earl of GLOCESTER, with the Earl of SUSSEX, MORTIMER, the Earl of MARCH, and DAVID, LLUELLEN'S brother, waiting on ELINOR, the Queen-Mother.
Q. Mother. My Lord Lieutenant of Glocester, and
Lord Mortimer,
To do you honour in your sovereign's eyes, That, as we hear, is newly come a-land * From Palestine, with all his men-of-war (The poor remainder of the royal fleet, Preserved by miracle in Sicil road), Go mount your coursers, meet him on the way : Pray him to spur his steed ; minutes are 2 hours,
1 " Edward returned to England, 25th July 1274, having been absent from May 1270. His brother, Edmund Crouchback, returned in 1272." —P. A. Daniel.
2 So Collier and Dyce.— Old eds. "and."
86 Edward L [SCENE i.
Until his mother see her princely son
Shining in glory of his safe return. \Exeunt Lords. 10
Illustrious England, ancient seat of kings,
Whose chivalry hath royalised thy fame,
That sounding bravely through terrestrial vale,
Proclaiming conquests, spoils, and victories,
Rings glorious echoes through the farthest world ;
What warlike nation, trained in feats of arms,
What barbarous people, stubborn, or untamed,
What climate under the meridian signs,
Or frozen zone under his brumal plage,1
Erst have not quaked and trembled at the name 20
Of Britain and her mighty conquerors?
Her neighbour realms, as Scotland, Denmark, France,
Awed with their2 deeds, and jealous of her arms,
Have begged defensive and offensive leagues.
Thus Europe, rich and mighty in her kings,
Hath feared brave England, dreadful in her kings.
And now, t' eternise Albion's champions
Equivalent with Trojans' 3 ancient fame,
Comes lovely Edward from Jerusalem,
1 Old eds. "stage," and so Dyce. But plage (Lat. plaga) must be what Peele wrote. In Second Part of Tamburlaine, i. i, 1. 68, we have
" From Scythia to the oriental plage of India ; "
and Dyce has himself restored the word in First Part of Tamburlaine, iv. 4, 1. 126,
"As far as from the frozen plage of heaven,"
where the old copies give "place of heaven."
2 I.e. the " mighty conquerors " of 1. 21.
"Alluding to their reputed descent from Brutus and his Trojans." — Nicholson.
SCENEL] Edward I. 87
Veering before the wind, ploughing the sea ; 30
His stretched sails filled with the breath of men
That through the world admires his manliness.
And, lo, at last arrived in Dover-road,
Longshank[s], your king, your glory, and our son,
With troops of conquering lords and warlike knights,
Like bloody-crested Mars, o'erlooks his host,
Higher than all his army by the head,
Marching along as bright as Phoebus' eyes !
And we, his mother, shall behold our son,
And England's peers shall see their sovereign. 40
The trumpets sound, and enter the train, viz., his maimed Soldiers with head-pieces and garlands on them, every man with his red-cross on his coat ; the Ancient borne in a chair, his garland and his plumes on his head piece, his ensign in his hand. Enter, after them, GLOCESTER and MORTIMER bareheaded, and others, as many as may be. Then enter LONGSHANKS and his wife ELINOR, EDMOND COUCHBACK, and JOAN, and Signer MOUNTFORT, the Earl of LEICESTER'S prisoner, with Sailors and Soldiers, and CHARLES DE MOUNTFORT his brother^
Glocester ! 2 Edward ! O my sweet sons !
[And then she falls and sounds?
1 ' ' For the last three lines of this ' Entrance ' we should probably read, ' and Elinor de Mountfort, the Earl of Leicester's daughter, prisoner, with Emerick de Mountfort her brother, and sailors and soldiers.' See Guenther's account of their capture, sc. ii. pp. in, 112." — P. A. Daniel.
2 "Can this be right? Why should she here exclaim 'Glocester'? (Her ' sweet sons' are Edward and Lancaster.) " — Dyce. s Swoons.
88 Edward L [SCENE i.
Longsh. Help, ladies !— O ingrateful destiny, To welcome Edward with this tragedy !
Glocester. Patient, your highness: 'tis but mother's
love
Ravish'd * with sight of her thrice-valiant sons.— Madam, amaze not : see his majesty Return'd with glory from the holy land.
Q. Mother. Brave sons, the worthy champions of our
God,
The honourable soldiers of the Highest, Bear with your mother, whose abundant love 50
With tears of joy2 salutes your sweet return From famous journeys hard and fortunate. But, lords, alas, how heavy is our loss Since your departure to these Christian wars ! The king your father, and the prince your son, And your brave uncle, Almain's emperor, Ay me, are dead ! 3
Longsh. Take comfort, madam ; leave these sad
laments :
Dear was my uncle, dearer was my son, And ten times dearer was my noble father ; 60
Yet, were their lives valued at thousand worlds, They cannot scape th' arrest of dreadful death,
1 So Dyce. — Old eds. " Receiu'd" (which suggests " Revived ").
2 Old eds. " ioyes " (which Dr. Nicholson would retain as = joyess).
3 " Henry_III. died i6th Nov. 1272. Two sons of Edward, John and Henry, died in childhood during his absence. 'Almain's emperor' was Richard, Earl of Cornwall ; he was elected emperor 1257 ; but was never emperor but in name. He died in the last year of his brother Henry the Third's reign." — P. A. Daniel.
SCENE i.] Edward I. 89
Death that doth seize and summon all alike.
Then, leaving them to heavenly blessedness,
To join in thrones of glory with the just,
I do salute your royal majesty,
My gracious mother-queen, and you, my lords,
Gilbert de Clare, Sussex, and Mortimer,
And all the princely states of England's peers,
With health and honour to your hearts' content. 70
And welcome, wished England, on whose ground
These feet so often have desired to tread :
Welcome, sweet queen, my fellow-traveller,
Welcome, sweet Nell, my fellow-mate in arms,
Whose eyes have seen the slaughtered Saracens
Piled in the ditches of Jerusalem :
And lastly welcome, manly followers,
That bears the scars of honour and of arms,
And on your war-drums carry crowns as kings,
Crown mural, naval, and triumphant all ; 80
At view of whom the Turks have trembling fled,
And Saracens, like sheep before the wolves,1
Have made 2 their cottages in walled towns ;
But bulwarks had no fence to beat you back.
Lords, these are 3 they will enter brazen gates,
And tear down lime and mortar with their nails :
1 Mitford's correction. — Old eds. "walles."
2 Dyce, with diffidence, adopts Mitford's emendation : —
' ' At view of whom the Turks have trembling fled Like sheep before the wolves, and Saracens Have made," &c.
3 Old eds. "and."
90 Edward I. [SCENE i.
Embrace them, barons : these have got the name
Of English gentlemen and knights-at-arms ;
Not one of these but in the champaign field
Hath won his crown, his collar, and his spurs. 90
Not Caesar, leading though the streets of Rome
The captive kings of conquered nations,
Was in his princely triumphs honoured more
Than English Edward in this martial sight.
Countrymen,1 your limbs are lost in service of the Lord,
Which is your glory and your country's fame :
For limbs you shall have living, lordships, lands,
And be my counsellors in war's affairs.2
Soldiers, sit down. — Nell, sit thee by my side. —
These be Prince Edward's pompous treasury. 100
{The QUEEN-MOTHER being set on the one side, and QUEEN ELINOR on the other, the King sitteth in the midst, mounted highest, and at his feet the ensign underneath him.
O glorious Capitol ! beauteous senate-house ! Triumphant Edward, how, like sturdy oaks, Do these thy soldiers circle thee about, To shield and shelter thee from winter's storms ! Display thy cross, old Aimes of the Vies : Dub on your drums, tanned with India's sun, My lusty western lads : Matrevers, thou
1 This word is extra-metrical ; it is printed as part of the verse, but has no metrical reckoning. * Ed. 1599 "affaire."
SCENE i.] Edward /. 91
Sound proudly here a perfect point of war x In honour of thy sovereign's safe return. Thus Longshanks bids his soldiers Bien venn. no
\Use drums, ; trumpets •, and ensigns^ and then speak
EDWARD.
O God, my God, the brightness of my day, How oft hast thou preserved thy servant safe, By sea and land, yea, in the gates of death ! O God, to thee how highly am I bound For setting me with these on English ground ! One of my mansion-houses will I give To be a college for my maimed men, Where every one shall have an hundred marks Of yearly pension to his maintenance : A soldier that for Christ and country rights r2o
Shall want no living whilst King Edward lives. Lords, you that love me, now be liberal, And give your largess to these maimed men.
Q. Mother. Towards this erection doth thy mother
give,
Out of her dowry,2 five thousand pounds of gold, To find them surgeons to recure their wounds ; And whilst this ancient standard-bearer lives, He shall have forty pound of yearly fee, And be my beadsman, father, if you please.
Longsh. Madam, I tell you, England never bred 130 A better soldier than your beadsman is ; And that the Soldan and his army felt.
1 " Point of war " — note of martial music.
2 ' ' Qy. ' dower ' ? " — Dyce.
92 Edward I. [SCENE i.
Lancaster. Out of the duchy of rich Lancaster, To find soft bedding for their bruised bones, Duke Edmund gives [thee here] three thousand pounds.
Longsh. Grammercies, brother Edmund. Happy is England under Edward's reign, When men are had so highly in regard That nobles strive who shall remunerate The soldiers' resolution with regard.1 140
My Lord of Glocester, what is your benevolence ?
Glocester. A thousand marks, and please your majesty.
Longsh. And yours, my Lord of Sussex ?
Sussex. Five hundred pound, and please your majesty.
Longsh. What say you, Sir David of Brecknock ?
Sir David. To2 a soldier Sir David cannot be too liberal : yet that I may give no more than a poor knight is able, and not presume as a mighty earl, I give, my lord, four hundred, fourscore, and nineteen pounds. — And so, my Lord of Sussex, I am behind you an ace. 150
Sussex. And yet, Sir David, ye amble after apace.
Longsh. Well 2 said, Da[vid] ; thou couldst not be a Camber-Briton, if thou didst not love a soldier with thy heart. Let me see now if my arithmetic will serve to total the particulars.
Q. Elinor. Why,2 my lord, I hope you mean I shall be a benefactor to my fellow-soldiers.
Longsh. And 2 well said, Nell ! what wilt thou I set down for thee ?
1 The repetition of this word, from 1. 138, is very flat ; but I do not suspect that the text is corrupt.
2 Printed as verse in old eds.
SCENE i.] Edward I. 93
Q. Elinor. Nay,1 my lord, I am of age to set it down for myself. You will allow what I do, will you not ? 161
Longsh. That : I will, madam, were it to the value of my kingdom.
Q. Elinor. What is the sum, my lord ?
Longsh. Ten thousand pounds, my Nell.
Q. Elinor. Then, Elinor, bethink thee of a gift worthy the King of England's wife and the King of Spain's daughter, and give such a largess that the chronicles of this land may crake with record of thy liberality.
Parturiunt^ monies, nascetur ridiculus mus. 170
\She makes a cipher.
There,1 my lord ; neither one, two, nor three, but a poor cipher in agrum,3 to enrich good fellows, and compound their figure in their kind.
Longsh. Madam,1 I commend your composition, an argument of your honourable disposition. Sweet Nell, thou shouldst not be thyself, did not, with thy mounting4 mind, thy gift surmount the rest.
Glocester. Call1 you this ridiculus mus? Marry, sir, this mouse would make a foul hole in a fair cheese. 'Tis but a cipher in agrum) and it hath made of ten thousand pounds a hundred thousand pounds. i%l
1 Printed as verse in old eds.
2 Old eds. "Parturient."
3 " Cipher in agrum "^cipher in algorism ; the figure O. Algorism is a corruption Qiel-Khowdrazmi, the surname of the Arab mathematician Abu Ja'far Mohammed Ben Musa. See Murray's New Dictionary, s. " Algorism."
4 " So Shakespeare, Loves Labour s Lost, act iv. sc. i : —
1 Whoe'er he was, he show'd a mounting mind.'" — Dyce.
94
Edward I. [SCENE i.
Lancaster. A princely gift and worthy memory.
Glocester. My1 gracious lord, as erst I was assigned Lieutenant to his majesty, here render I up the crown, left in charge with me by your princely father King Henry ;
Who on his death-bed still did call for you, And dying will'd to you the diadem.
Longsh. Thanks, worthy lord : 2
And seeing by doom of heavens it is decreed, 190
And lawful line of our succession, Unworthy Edward is become your king, We take it as a blessing from on high, And will our coronation be solemnised Upon the fourteenth 3 of December next.
Q. Elinor. Upon the fourteenth 3 of December next ! Alas, my lord, the time is all too short And sudden for so great solemnity : A year were scarce enough to set a-work Tailors, embroiderers, and men of rare device, 2oo
For preparation of so great estate. Trust me, sweet Ned, hardly shall I bethink me In twenty weeks what fashion robes to wear. I pray thee, then, defer it till the spring, That we may have our garments point-device.4 I mean to send for tailors into Spain, That shall confer of some fantastic suits With those that be our cunning'st Englishmen. What, let me brave it now or never, Ned !
1 Printed as verse in old eds. 2 Old eds. " Lordes."
3 Old eds. " 14." 4 Scrupulously precise.
SCEN EX.] Edward I. 95
Longsh. Madam, content ye : would that were greatest care ! 210
You shall have garments to your heart's desire. I never read but Englishmen excell'd For change of rare devices every way.
Q. Elinor. Yet pray thee, Ned, my love, my lord, and
king,
My fellow-soldier, and compeer in arms, Do so much honour to thy Elinor, To wear a suit that she shall give thy grace ; Of her own cost and workmanship perhaps.
Q. Mother. 'Twill come by leisure, daughter, then, I
fear : Thou'rt too fine-nnger'd to be quick at work. 220
Longsh. 'Twixt us a greater matter breaks no square,1 So be it such, my Nell, as may beseem The majesty and greatness of a king. — And now, my lords and [all my] loving friends, Follow your general [un]to the court, After his travels, to repose him then,2 There to recount with pleasure what is past Of war's alarums, showers, and sharpest storms.
[Exeunt all except Q. ELINOR and JOAN.S
Q. Elinor. Now, Elinor, now England's lovely queen,
1 " Breaks no square " = gives no offence ; does no harm. So Nashe in his Four Letters Confuted, 1593 : — " For calling me calf, it breaks no square ; but if I be a calf, it is in comparison of such an ox as thyself." (Works, ed. Grosart, ii. 281.)
2 "Qy. 'there'?"—/3. A. Daniel.
3 "Joan was born 1272. About two years old therefore when this scene begins." — P. A Daniel.
96 Edward /. [SCENE i.
Bethink thee of the greatness of thy state,1 230
And how to bear thyself with royalty
Above the other queens of Christendom ;
That Spain reaping renown by Elinor,
And Elinor adding renown to Spain,
Britain may her magnificence admire. —
I tell thee, Joan, what time our highness sits
Under our royal canopy of state,
Glistering with pendants of the purest gold,
Like as our seat were spangled all with stars,
The world shall wonder at our majesty, 240
As if the daughter of eternal Ops,2
Turn'd to the likeness of vermilion fumes,
Where 3 from her cloudy womb the Centaurs leapt,
Were in her royal seat enthronised.
Joan. Madam, if Joan thy daughter may advise, Let not your honour make your manners change. The people of this land are men of war, The women courteous, mild, and debonair ; Laying their lives at princes' feet 4 That govern with familiar majesty. 250
But if their sovereigns once gin swell with pride, \3 Disdaining commons' love, which is the strength J'jAnd sureness of the richest commonwealth, ^r (That prince were better live a private life Than rule with tyranny and discontent.
1 Ed. 1599 "estate."
2 Ed. 1599 " the et email Ops."
3 Dyce proposes "When."
4 " Qy. ' lives down at those princes' feet ' ? " — Dyce.
SCENE IL] Edward I. 97
Q. Elinor. Indeed, we count them headstrong English men;
But we shall hold them in a Spanish yoke, And make them know their lord and sovereign. Come, daughter, let us home for to provide ; For all the cunning workmen of this isle 260
In our great chamber shall be set a-work, And in my hall shall bountifully feed. My king, like Phoebus, bridegroom-like, shall march With lovely Thetis 1 to her glassy bed, And all the lookers-on shall stand amazed To see King Edward and his lovely queen Sit loftily 2 in England's stately throne. / \Exeunt.
[SCENE IL]
Enter LLUELLEN, g/gg^Prince of Wales, RICE AP MERE DITH, OWEN AP RiCEpze>//^ swords and bucklers^ and frieze jerkins.
Lluellen. Come, Rice, and rouse thee for thy country's
good:
Follow the man that means to make you great ; Follow Lluellen, rightful Prince of Wales, Sprung from the loins of great Cadwallader,
1 So Collier and Dyce.— Old eds. " Xheeis."
2 Old eds. "louely." Dyce reads "royally." (Dr. Nicholson pro poses " lovingly" ; and this emendation had occurred to me.)
G
98 Edward /. [SCENE ii.
Descended from the loins1 of Trojan Brute. And though the traitorous Saxons, Normans, Danes, Have pent 2 the true remains 3 of glorious Troy Within the western mountains of this isle, "Yet have we hope to climb these stony pales, When Londoners, as Romans erst, amazed, 10
Shall trembling cry, " Lluellen's at the gate ! " T' accomplish this, thus have I brought you forth Disguised to Milford-Haven : here attend The landing of the Lady Elinor. Her stay doth make me muse : the wind stands fair, And ten days hence we did expect them here. Neptune, be favourable to my love, And steer her keel with thy three-forked mace, That from this shore I may behold her sails, And in mine arms embrace my dearest dear. 20
Rice ap Mer. Brave Prince of Wales, this honourable
match
Cannot but turn to Cambria's common good. Simoji_de_Montfort, her thrice-valiant sire,4 That in the barons' wars was general, Was loved and honour'd of the Englishmen : When they shall hear she's your espoused wife, Assure your grace we shall have great supply To make our roads 5 in England mightily.
1 Peele is fond of these tasteless repetitions.
2 Old eds. "spent." The correction was made by Dyce.
3 Old eds. " Romans." The correction is made in the margin of one of the old copies in the Garrick collection.
* So P. A. Daniel.— Old eds. "son." 5 Inroads.
SCENE ii.] Edward I. 99
Owen ap Rice. What we resolved must strongly be
perform'd,
Before the king return from Palestine. 30
Whilst he wins glory at Jerusalem, Let us win ground upon the Englishmen.
Lluellen. Owen ap Rice, 'tis that Lluellen fears : I fear me Edward will be come ashore Ere we can make provision for the war. But be it as it will, within his court My brother Da,yjjiis, that bears a face As if he were my greatest enemy. He by this craft shall creep into his x heart, And give intelligence from time to time 40
Of his i intentions, drifts, and stratagems. Here let us rest upon the salt sea shore, And while our eyes long for our hearts' desires, Let us, like friends, pastime us on the sands. Our frolic minds are ominous for good.
Enter FRIAR HUGH AP DAVID, GUENTHIAN his wench in flannel, and JACK his novice.
Friar. Guenthian, as I am true man, So will I do the best I can ; Guenthian, as I am true priest, So will I be at thy behest ;
Guenthian, as I am true friar, 50
So will I be at thy desire.
i So Dyce.— Old eds. " her."
1OO
Edward L [SCENE ii.
Jack. My master stands too near the fire : Trust him not, wench ; he'll l prove a liar.
Lluellen. True man, true friar, true priest, and true knave, These four in one this trull shall have.
Friar. Here swear I by my shaven crown, Wench, if I give thee a gay green gown,2 I'll take thee up as I laid thee down, And never bruise nor batter thee.
Jack. O, swear not, master; flesh is frail. — 60
Wench, when the sign is in the tail, Mighty is love and will prevail : This churchman doth but flatter thee.
Lluellen. A pretty worm, and a lusty friar, Made for the field, not for the quire.
Guenthian. Mas friar, as I am true maid, So do I hold me well apaid : 'Tis churchman's lay 3 and verity To live in love and charity ;
And therefore ween I, as my creed, 70
Your words shall company your 4 deed. Davy, my dear, I yield in all, Thine own to go and come at call.
Rice ap Mer. And 5 so far forth begins our brawl.
Friar. Then, my Guenthian, to begin, Sith idleness in love is sin, —
1 So Dyce.— Old eds. "he will."
2 The meaning of the expression "give a green gown" is fairly obvious. See Middleton, iv. 202 (note).
3 Law. 4 So Dyce.— Old eds. " my."
5 Should this line be given to Jack ? or to Guenthian ?
SCENE ii.] Edward I. i o i
Boy, to the town I will thee hie,
And so return even by and by,
When thou with cakes and muscadine,
And other junkets good and fine, 80
Hast filled thy bottle and thy bag.
Jack. Now, master, as I am true wag, I will be neither late nor lag, But go and come with gossip's cheer, Ere Gib our cat can lick her ear. For long ago I learned in school, That love's desires and pleasures cool Sans Ceres' wheat and Bacchus' vine : l Now, master, for the cakes and wine. \_Exit Novice.
Friar. Wench,2 to pass away the time in glee, 90
Guenthian, sit 3 thee down by me, And let our lips and voices meet In a merry country song.
Guenthian. Friar, I am at beck and bay, And at thy commandment to sing and say, And other sports among.
Owen ap Rice. Ay, marry, my lord, this is somewhat like a man's money. Here's a wholesome Welsh wench
1 Old eds.
' ' That louers desire and pleasures coole : Sanct [and ' Sainct '] Ceres sweetes and Bacchus vine. "
' ' Corrected partly by a writer in Churton's Literary Register for April 1845, and partly by Mr. Keightley in Notes and Queries for January 7, 1869, p. 8." — Dyce.
2 The word " Wench " is otiose and unmetrical.
3 Ed. 1593 "set."
IO2 Edward I. [SCENE ii.
lapt in her flannel, as warm as wool, and as fit as a pudding for a friar's mouth.1 100
The Friar and GUENTHIAN sing. LLUELLEN speaks to them.
Lluellen. Pax* vobis, Pax vobis ! good fellows, fair fall ye !
Friar. Et cum spiritu tuo ! Friends, have you any thing else to say to the friar ?
Owen ap Rice. Much good do you, much good [do] you, my masters, heartily.
Friar. And you, sir, when ye eat. Have ye any thing else to say to the friar ?
Lluellen. Nothing j but I would gladly know, if mutton3 be your first dish, what shall be your last service? no
Friar. It may be, sir, I count it physic to feed but on one dish at a sitting. Sir, would you any thing else with the friar ?
Rice ap Mer. O, nothing, sir : but if you had 4 any manners, you might bid us fall to.
Friar. Nay, and that be the matter, good enough. Is this all ye have to say to the friar ?
Lluellen. All we have to say to you, sir : it may be, sir, we would walk aside with your wench a little. n9
Friar. My masters and friends, I am a poor friar, a man of God's making, and a good fellow as you are, legs,
1 An old proverb. — See Proverbial Similes, in Ray's Proverbs.
2 Lines 101-119 are printed as verse in old eds.
3 " A cant term for a prostitute." — Dyce.
4 Ed. 1599 "haue."
SCENE ii.] Edward I. 103
feet, face, and hands, and heart, from top to toe, of my word, right shape and Christendom j and I love a wench as a wench should be loved ; and if you love yourselves,1 walk, good friends, I pray you,2 and let the friar alone with his flesh.
Lluellen. O friar, your holy mother, the Church, teaches you to abstain from these morsels. — Therefore, my mas ters, 'tis a deed of charity to remove this stumbling- block, a fair wench, a shrewd temptation to a friar's conscience. 131
Guenthian. Friend, if you knew the friar half so well as the Bailey of Brecknock, you would think you might as soon move Monk Davy 3 into the sea as Guenthpan] from his side.
Lluellen. Mass, by your leave, we'll prove.
Guenthian. At your peril, if you move his patience.
Friar. Brother, brother, and my good countrymen, —
Lluellen. Countrymen ! nay, I cannot think that an English friar will come so far into Wales barefooted. 140
Owen ap Rice. That's more than you know ; and yet, my lord, he might ride, having a filly so near.
Friar. Hands off, good countrymen,4 at few words and fair warnings.
Lluellen. Countrymen ! not so, sir ; we renounce thee, friar, and refuse your country.
1 So Collier.— Old eds. "your selfe."
2 Omitted in ed. 1599.
3 "Probably a misprint for Mounchdeny, Monuch-denny, or, as in sc. vii., Mannock-deny. See note, p. 140." — P. A. Daniel.
4 So Dyce. — Old eds. " countriman. "
1 04 Edward I. [SCENE ii.
Friar. Then, brother, and my good friends, hands off, and if you love your ease.
, Rice ap Mer. Ease me no casings : we'll ease you 01 this carriage. 150
Friar. Fellow, be gone quickly, or my pikestaff and I will set thee away with a vengeance.
Lluellen. I am sorry, trust me, to see the Church so unpatient.
Friar. Ye * dogs, ouns ! do me a shrewd turn and mock me too ? flesh and blood will not bear this. Then rise up, Robert, and say to Richard, Redde^ rationem mllicationis tuce. Sir countryman, kinsman, English man, Welshman, you with the wench, return your habeas corpus ; here's a certiorari for your procedendo. 160
{Attacks them with his staff?
Owen ap Rice. Hold, friar ! we are thy countrymen.
Rice ap Mer. Paid, paid ! Digon ! we are thy country men, Mon Dieu ! 4
Friar. My countrymen ! nay, marry, sir, shall you not be my countrymen ; you, sir, you, specially you, sir, that refuse the friar and renounce his country.
Lluellen. Friar, hold thy hands. I swear as I am a gentleman,5 I am a Welshman, and so are the rest, of honesty.
1 Ed. 1599 "yea."
2 "Luc. xvi. 2 (Vulgate)."— Dyce.
3 This stage-direction is not in the old eds. " Richard" (cf. 11. 179, 194, " Richard my man ") is a jocular name for the friar's staff.
4 So Collier and Dyce.— Old eds. " Mundue."
5 Welshmen were supposed to take a particular pride in their gentility. See note on Middleton, iii. 23.
SCENE ii.] Edward I. 107
Friar. Of1 honesty, sayest thou ? they are^od my gentlemen nor Welshmen that will deny their country. Come hither, wench ; I'll have a bout with them once more for denying of their country. 173
[Make as if ye would fight.
Rice ap Mer. Friar, thou wottest not what thou sayest : this is the prince, and we are all his train, disposed to be pleasant with thee a little ; but I perceive, friar, thy nose will bide no jest.
Friar. As much as you will with me, sir, but not at any hand with my wench : I and Richard my man, sir, are 2 here contra omnes gentes — but is this Lluellen, the great Camber-Briton ? 181
Lluellen. It is he, friar : give me thy hand, and gra- mercies twenty times. I promise thee thou hast cud gelled two as good lessons into my jacket as ever churchman did at so short warning : the one is, not to be too busy with another man's cattle ; the other, not in haste to deny my country.
Friar. 'Tis pity, my lord, but you should have more of this learning, you profit so well by it. 189
Lluellen. 'Tis pity, friar, but thou shouldst be Llu- ellen's chaplain, thou edifiest so well ; and so shalt thou be, of mine honour : here I entertain thee, thy boy, and thy trull, to follow my fortune in secula seculorum.
Friar. And Richard my man, sir, and you love me, —
1 Lines 170-189, 195-198 are printed as verse in old eds.
2 Old eds. " my man heere. For here." ("Qy. I and Richard my man here, are here contra, &c. ?" — P. A. Daniel.)
IO4 Edward I. [SCENE ii.
Friar stands by me and shrunk not at all weathers ; ar-? then you have me in my colours. Lluellen. Friar,1 agreed. — Rice, welcome the ruffians.
Enter the Harper [with JACK], and sing to the tune of " Who list to lead a soldier's life." 2
Harper. Go to, go to, you Britons all, And play the men, both great and small : A wondrous matter hath befall, 200
That makes the prophets cry and call, Turn date 3 dite dote dum, That you must march, both all and some, Against your foes with trump and drum : I speak to you from God, that you shall overcome.
[ With a turn both ways.
Lluellen. What now ? Who have we here ? " Turn date dite dote dum " !
Friar. ,4 What, have we a fellow dropt out of the element ? What's he for a man ? 5
Rice ap Mer. Knowest thou this goose-cap ? 6 210
Friar.^ What, not Morgan Pigot, our good Welsh prophet ? O, 'tis a holy harper !
1 So Collier.— Old eds. "Friars."
2 For this tune see Chappell's Popular Music of the Olden Time, p. 144. 3 So Collier.— Old eds. " Turn da et di te de te dum."
4-4 "Qy. The first of these Friar's speeches to be given to one of Lluellen's followers ; or else give the second speech to Jack?"— P. A. Daniel.
s ' ' What's he for a man ? "— i. e. , What kind of man is he ? Cf. The Widow, ii. 2, " And what, I pray, are you, sir, for a coxcomb?" (The form of expression is very common.) 6 Ed. 1593 " Goscup."
SCENE ii.] Edward I. 107
Rice ap Mer. A 1 prophet, with a murrain ! Good my lord, let's hear a few of his lines, I pray you.
Jack. My lords, 'tis an odd fellow, I can tell you, as any is in all Wales. He can sing, rhyme with reason, and rhyme without reason, and without reason or rhyme.
Lluellen. The divel, he can ! Rhyme with reason, and rhyme without reason, and reason without rhyme ! Then, good Morgan Pigot, pluck out thy spigot, and draw us a fresh pot from the kinder-kind 2 of thy knowledge. 221
Friar. Knowledge, my son, knowledge, I warrant ye. — How sayest thou, Morgan, art thou not a very prophet ?
Harper. Friar, friar, a prophet verily, For great Lluellen's love, Sent 3 from above To bring him victory.
Rice ap Mer. Come, then, gentle prophet, let's see how thou canst salute thy prince. Say, shall we have good success in our enterprise or no ? 230
Harper. When the weathercock of Carnarvon 4 steeple shall engender young ones in the belfry, and a herd of goats leave their pasture to be clothed in silver, Then shall Brute be born anew, And Wales record their ancient hue. Ask Friar David if this be not true.
Friar. This my lord, 'a 5 means by you. >O, he is a prophet, a prophet.
1 Lines 213-223 are printed as verse in old eds.
2 A corruption of "kilderkin."
3 "Sent . . victory" — printed as one line in old eds.
4 So Collier. — Old eds. " Carmarthen "—but see 1. 244.
5 Ed. 1599 "he."
IO8 Edward I. , [SCENE ii.
Lluellen. Soft a you now, good Morgan Pigot, and take us with ye 2 a little, I pray. What means your wisdom by all this ? 241
Harper. The weathercock, my lord, was your father, who by foul weather of war was driven to take sanctuary in Saint Mary's at Carnarvon, where he begat young ones on your mother in the belfry, viz. your worship and your brother David.
Lluellen. But what didst thou mean by the goats?
Harper. The goats that leave the pasture to be clothed in silver, are the silver goats your men wear 3 on their sleeves. 250
Friar. O, how I love thee, Morgan Pigot, our sweet prophet !
Lluellen. Hence, rogue, with your prophecies, out of my sight !
Rice ap Mer. Nay, good my lord, let's have a few more of these metres : he hath great store in his head.
Jack. Yea, and of the best in the market, an your lordship would vouchsafe to hear them.
Lluellen. Villain, away ! I'll hear no more of your prophecies. 260
Harper. When legs shall lose their length, And shanks yield up their strength,4
1 Printed as verse in old eds.
2 I.e., Go no faster than we can follow ; let us understand you.
3 Dyce proposed this correction.— Old eds. " wore."
4 "This line is not found here in the 4tos, but, from the repetition of the prophecy by Jack, we are certain that it has been omitted by accident."— Dyce, from a suggestion of Collier.
SCENE IL] Edward I. 109
Returning weary home from out the holy land,
A Welshman shall be king1 and govern merry England.
Rice ap Mer. Did I not tell your lordship he would hit it home anon ?
Friar. My lord, he comes to your time, that's flat.
Jack. Ay, master, and you mark him, he hit the mark pat.
Friar. As how, Jack ?
Jack. Why,2 thus : 270
When legs shall lose their length, And shanks yield up their strength, Returning weary home from out the holy land, A Welshman shall be king l and govern merry England.) Why, my lord, in this prophecy is your advancement as plainly seen as a three half-pence through a dish of butter in a sunny day.
Friar. I think so, Jack ; for he that sees three half pence must tarry till the butter be melted in the sun : and so forth : apply, boy. 280
Jack. Non ego, master : do you, and you dare.
Lluellen. And so, boy, thou meanest, he that tarries this prophecy may see Longshanks shorter by the head and Lluellen wear the crown in the field ?
Friar. By Lady, my lord, you go near the matter. — But what saith Morgan Pigot more ? 286
Harper. In the year of our Lord God 1272, shall spring from the loins of Btute, one whose wife's name being the perfect end of his own,3 shall consummate the
1 Old eds. begin a new line after this word.
2 "Why . . . length" — printed as one line in old eds.
3 Collier's correction for "ground " of old eds.
HO Edward L [SCENE ii.
peace betwixt England and Wales, and be advanced to ride through Cheapside with a crown on his head j and that's meant by your lordship, for your wife's name being Ellen, and your own Lluellen, beareth the perfect end of your own name : so must it needs be that, [though] for a time Ellen flee from Lluellen, ye being betrothed in heart each to others, must needs be advanced to be highest of your kin.
Lluellen. Jack,1 1 make him thy prisoner. Look, what way my fortune inclines, that way goes he.
Rice ap Mer. Sirrah, see you run swiftest. 300
Friar. Farewell : be far from the spigot.
[The Friar and GUENTHIAN retire to the back of the stage?
Jack. Now, sir, if our country ale were as good as your metheglin, I would teach you to play the knave, or you should teach me to play the harper.
Harper. Ambo, boy j you are too light-witted as I am light-minded.
Jack. It seems 3 to me thou art fitted 4 and passing well. [JACK and Harper /0/# the Friar and GuENTHiAN.5
Enter GUENTHER to LLUELLEN with letters.
Lluellen. What tidings bringeth Guenther with his haste? Say, man, what bodes thy message, good or bad ?
1 Printed as verse in old eds.
2 So P. A. Daniel.— The stage-direction in old eds. is " Exit."
3 Proposed by Dyce.— Old eds. "seemed."
4 So Dr. Brinsley Nicholson.— Old eds, "fittest."
5 So P. A. Daniel.— Old eds. " Exeunt ambo."
SCENE ii.] Edward /. 1 1 1
Guenther. Bad, my lord j and all in vain, I wot, Thou dart'st x thine eyes upon the wallowing main, 310 As erst did ^Egeus 2 to behold his son, To welcome and receive thy welcome 3 love ; And sable sails he saw, and so mayst thou, For whose mishap the brackish seas lament. Edward, O Edward !
Lluellen. And what of him ?
Guenther. Landed he is at Dover with his men, ) /y*" From Palestine safe ; by his English lords Received in triumph like an earthly god : He lives to wear his father's diadem, 320
And sway the sword of British Albion. But Elinor, thy Elinor !
Lluellen. And what of her ? Hath amorous Neptune gazed upon my love, And stopt her passage with his forked mace ? Or, that I rather fear,— O deadly fear ! — Enamour'd 4 Nereus doth he withhold My Elinor ?
Guenther. Nor Neptune, Nereus, nor other god Withholdeth from my gracious lord his love : 330
But cruel Edward, that injurious king, Withholds thy liefest lovely Elinor • Ta'en 5 in a pinnace on the narrow seas
1 So Dyce.— Old eds. " darest." 2 So Dyce.— Old eds. " Aegen."
3 Dyce thinks that this word is "repeated by mistake ; " but Peele is fond of these repetitions.
4 "Enamour'd . . Elinor" — printed as one line in old eds.
5 So Dyce.— Old eds. "Taking."
I i 2 Edward I. [SCENE ii.
By four tall ships of Bristow, and with her Lord Emerick, her unhappy noble brother, As from Montargis hitherward they sail'd. This say in brief1 these letters tell at large.
[LLUELLEN reads his brother DAVID'S letters. Lluellen. Is Longshanks, then, so lusty now become ? Is my fair love, my beauteous Elinor, ta'en ? Villains,2 damned villains, not to guard her safe, 340 Or fence her sacred person from her foes ! Sun, couldst thou shine, and see my love beset, And didst not clothe thy clouds in fiery coats, O'er all the heavens, with winged sulphur flames, As when thy 3 beams, like mounted combatants, Battled with Python 4 in the fallowed lays ? 5 But if kind Cambria deign me good aspect, To make me chiefest Brute of western Wales, I'll short that gain-legg'd 6 Longshankfs] by the top, And make his flesh my murdering falchion's food. 350 To arms, true Britons, sprung of Trojans' seed,
1 " This say in brief, i.e., this short account. The 4to of 1599 ' This say I in breefe.' "—Dyce. 2 So Collier.— Old eds " Villaine."
3 So Collier.— Old eds. "the."
4 So Collier.— Old eds. " Pyetion."
5 Leas. So in the famous ballad of The Courteous Knight (first printed by Ravenscroft) —
" Yonder comes a courteous knight, Lustily raking over the lay."
6 "Coles, Eng. Lat. Die. 1679, has ' Gain [person] agilis, dexter,' and in his Eng. Die. 1708, has 'Gain (man) active, expert.' Gain-legg'd would therefore be equivalent to active, or nimble- legg'd, a sense good enough here, as applied to ' The famous runagate of Christendom ? ' sc. v. 1. ii." — P. A. Daniel.
SCENE ii.] Edward I. 113
And with your swords write in the Book of Time
Your British names in characters of blood !
Owen ap Rice, while we stay for further force,
Prepare, away in post, and take with thee
A hundred chosen of thy countrymen,
And scour the marches with your Welshmen's hooks,
That Englishmen may think the divel is come.
Rice shall remain with me : make thou thy bode
In resolution to revenge these wrongs 360
With blood of thousands guiltless of this rage.
Fly thou on them amain ! — Edward, my love
Be thy life's bane ! — Follow me, countrymen !
Words make no way : my Elinor is surprised ;
Robb'd am I of the comfort of my life :
And know I this, and am not venged on him ?
[Exeunt LLUELLEN and the other Lords.
The l Friar and JACK his Novice, with GUENTHIAN and Harper, come forward.
Friar. Come,2 boy, we must buckle I see, the prince is of my profession right : rather than he will lose his wench, he will fight Ab ovo usque ad mala.
Novice. O master, doubt you not, but your Novice
will prove a hot shot, with a bottle of Metheglin. 371
\Here* the wench fall\s\ into a Welsh song, and the
Friar answer\s\, and the Novice between. Exeunt.
1 So P. A. Daniel.— Old eds. "Manet the Friar and Novice." . 2 Printed as verse in old eds., the lines ending see, right, wench, mala. 3 Old eds. " Exeunt, ere the wenche . . . betweene."
H
H4 Edward I. [SCENE in.
[SCENE III.]
Enter the Nine Lords of Scotland, with //*«>Nine Pages ; GLOCESTER, SUSSEX, KING EDWARD in his suit of glass, QUEEN ELINOR, QUEEN-MOTHER, [andJOAS]: the King and Queen under a canopy.
Longsh. Nobles of Scotland, we thank you all For this day's gentle princely service done To Edward, England's king and Scotland's lord. Our coronation's due solemnity Is ended with applause of all estates : Now, then, let us repose l and rest us here. But specially we thank you, gentle lords, That you so well have governed your griefs, As, being grown unto a general jar, You choose King Edward by your messengers, 10
To calm, to qualify, and to compound Th' ambitious strife 2 of Scotland's climbing peers. I have no doubt, fair lords, but you well wot How factions waste the richest commonwealth, And discord spoils the seats of mighty kings. The barons' war, a tragic wicked war, Nobles, how hath it shaken England's strength ! Industriously, it seems to me, you have Loyally ventured to prevent this shock ;
1 So Dyce. — Old eds. "appose."
2 Keightley's correction for "Thanke Britains strife" of the old eds. He was afterwards dissatisfied with his emendation, and proposed to read " Th' enkindled strife."
SCENE in.] Edward I. 115
For which, sith you have chosen me your judge, 20
My lords, will you stand to what I shall award ?
Baliol. Victorious Edward, to whom the Scottish kings Owe homage as their lord and sovereign, Amongst us nine is but one lawful king : But might we all be judges in the * case, Then should in Scotland be nine kings at once, And this contention never set or limited. To stay these jars we jointly make appeal To thy imperial throne, who knows our claims. We stand not on our titles 'fore 2 your grace, 30
But do submit ourselves to your award ; And whom your majesty shall name our 3 king, To him we'll yield obedience as a king. Thus willingly, and of their 4 own accord, Doth Scotland make great England's king their 4 judge.
Longsh. Then, nobles, since you all agree in one, That for a crown so disagree in all, Since what I do shall rest inrevocable,5 And,6 lovely England, to thy lovely queen, Lovely Queen Elinor, unto her turn thy eye, 40
Whose honour cannot but love thee well ; Hold up your hands in sight, with general voice, That are content to stand to our award.
[They all hold up their hands and say " He shall." 7
1 Ed. 1599 "this." 2 So Dyce.— Old eds. "before."
3 So Dyce. — Old eds. "name to be our."
4 Perhaps a misprint for " her."
5 So the word stands in the old eds.
6 Lines 39-41 seem to be both corrupt and misplaced.
7 I.e. ,' Edward shall " name our king" (1. 32).
Il6 Edward I. [SCENE in.
Deliver me the golden diadem.
Lo, here I hold the goal for which ye strived,
And here behold, my worthy men-at-arms,
For chivalry and worthy wisdom's praise,
Worthy each one to wear a diadem :
Expect my doom, as erst at Ida hills
The goddesses divine waited th' award 50
Of Dardan's * son. Baliol, stand farthest forth :
Baliol, behold, I give thee the Scottish crown :
Wear it with heart2 and with thankfulness.
Sound trumpets, [sound,] and say all after me,
God save King Baliol, the Scottish king !
\The trumpets sound ; all cry aloud^ "God save KING
BALIOL, the Scottish King." Thus, lords, though you require no reason why, According to the conscience in the cause, I make John Baliol your anointed king. Honour and love him, as behoves him best That is in peace of Scotland's crown possess'd. 60
Baliol. Thanks, royal England, for thy honour done. This justice that hath calmed our civil strife, Shall now be seized 3 with honourable love. So moved of remorse and pi[e]ty, We will erect a college of my name ; In Oxford will I build ['t], for memory
1 Old eds. "Danaes sonne." I adopt Mitford's correction; but perhaps it would be better to boldly read " Priam's son."
2 Dyce suggests " heart's ease," comparing sc. xiii. 1. 26, " God bless thee with long life, honour, and hearts ease."
3 Used in its legal sense. (Old eds. " ceas'd.")
SCENE in.] Edward I. 117
Of Baliol's bounty and his gratitude ; And let me happy days no longer see Than here to England loyal I shall be.
Q. Elinor. Now, brave John Baliol, Lord of Galloway And King of Scots, shine with thy golden head ; 71
Shake thy spears, in honour of his name, Under whose royalty thou wear'st the same.
QUEEN ELINOR'S Speech.
: welkin, spangled through with golden spots, Reflects no finer in a frosty night Than lovely Longshanks in his Elinor's eye : So, Ned, thy Nell in every part of thee, Thy person's guarded with a troop of queens, And every queen as brave as Elinor. Give glory to these glorious crystal quarries, 80
Where every robe an object entertains Of rich device and princely majesty. Thus like Narcissus, diving in the deep, I die in honour and in England's arms ; And if I drown, it is in my delight, Whose company is chiefest life in death, From forth whose coral lips I suck the sweet Wherewith are dainty Cupid's caudles x made. Then live or die, brave Ned, or sink or swim, An earthly bliss it is to look on him. 90
On thee, sweet Ned, it shall become thy Nell
1 So Collier.— Old eds. " candles."
I 1 8 Edward I. [SCENE in.
Bounteous to be unto the beauteous :
O'er-pry the palms, sweet fountains of my bliss,
And I will stand on tiptoe for a kiss.
Longsh. He had no thought of any gentle heart, That would not seize desire for such desart. If any heavenly joy in women be, Sweet of all sweets, sweet Nell, it is in thee. — Now, lords, along : by this the Earl of March, Lord Mortimer, o'er Cambria's mountain-tops 100
Hath ranged his men, and feels Lluellen's mind : To which confines, that well in wasting be, Our solemn service of coronation past, We will amain to back our friends at need ; And into Wales our men-at-arms shall march, And we with them in person, foot by foot.— Brother of Scotland, you shall to your home, And live in honour there fair England's friend. — And thou, sweet Nell, Queen of King Edward's heart, Shall now come lesser at thy dainty love, no
And at coronation meet thy loving peers, When storms are past, and we have cooled the rage Of these rebellious Welshmen, that contend 'Gainst England's majesty and Edward's crown. Sound, trumpets ! Harolds, lead the train along : This be King Edward's feast and holiday.
\Exeunt all except QUEEN ELINOR, JOAN, and
GLOCESTER.1
i So Dyce, adopting Collier's conjecture.— The stage-direction in old eds. is simply "Exeunt."
SCENE in.] Edward /. 119
Enter the MAYORESS OF LONDON, from church, and music
before her. Q. Elinor. Glocester, who may this be ? A bride or
what ?—
I pray ye, Joan, go see, And know the reason of the harmony.
Joan. Good woman, let it not offend you any whit 120 For to deliver unto me the cause That [thus] in this unusual kind of sort You pass the streets with music so[lemnly].
Mayoress. Mistress, or madam, what[so]e'er you be, Wot you I am the Mayor of London's wife, Who, for I have been delivered of a son, Having not these dozen years had any before, Now in my husband's year of mayoralty, Bringing him a goodly boy,
I pass unto my house a maiden bride : 130
Which private pleasure, touching godliness, Shall here no way, I hope, offend the good.
Q. Elinor. You hope so, gentle mistress ; do you
indeed ? But do not make it parcel of your creed.
Mayoress \aside\. Alas, I am undone ! it is the Queen ; The proudest Queen that ever England knew,
[Exeunt Attendants and MAYORESS.1 Q. Elinor. Come, Glocester, let's to the court, and revel there.
\Exeunt GLOCESTER, [Jo AN,] and the QUEEN.
1 Old eds. "Exeunt Maris & omnes."
1 2O Edward I. [SCENE iv.
[SCENE IV.] Enter MEREDITH, DAVID, and LLUELLEN.
Sir David. Soft ! is it not Meredith I behold ?
Lluellen. All good, all friends. — Meredith, see the
man
Must make us great, and raise Lluellen's head : Fight thou, Lluellen, for thy friend and thee.
Rice ap Mer. Fight, — maugre fortune strong, our
battle's strong, — And bear thy foes before thy pointed lance.
Sir David. Not too much prowess, good my lord, at
once. Some talk of policy another while.
Rice ap Mer. How comes my1 limbs hurt at this assault ?
Lluellen. Hurt for our good, Meredith, make account. Sir David's wit is full of good device, 11
And kindly will perform what he pretends.2
Sir David. Enough of this, my lord, at once. What will you, that I hold the king in hand ? Or what shall I especially advise, Sitting in council with the English lords, That so my counsel may avail my friends ?
Lluellen. David, if thou wilt best for me devise, Advise my love be rendered to my hand.
1 Collier and Dyce "thy." 2 intends, purposes.
SCENE iv.] Edward I. 121
Tell them the chains that Mulciber erst made 20
To tie l Prometheus' limbs to Caucasus,
Nor Furies' fangs shall hold me long from her,
But I will have her from th' usurper's tent,
My beauteous Elinor ! If aught in this,
If in this case thy wit may boot thy friends,
Express it, then, in this, in nothing else.
Sir David. Ay, there's a card that puts us to our
trump ; 2
For might I see the star of Leicester's loins, It were enough to darken and obscure This Edward's glory, fortune, and his pride. 30
First, hereof can I put you out of doubt : Lord Mortimer of the king hath her in charge, And honourably entreats your Elinor. Some think he prays Lluellen were in heaven, And thereby hopes to couch 3 his love on earth.
Lluellen. No : where Lluellen mounts, there Ellen flies.4 Inspeakable are my thoughts for her : She's not from me in death to be divorced. Go 5 to, it shall be so ; so shall it be. Edward is full resolved of thy faith, 40
So are the English lords and barons all :
1 Ed. 1593 "trie."
2 Cf. Nashe's Lenten Stuff: — "Our mitred Archpatriarch Leopald (?) herring exacts no such Muscovian vassailage of his liegemen, though \izputs them to their trumps other while" (Works, ed. Grossart, v. 241).
3 So Dyce.— Old eds. "coache."
4 Soed. 1593.— Ed. 1599 "flie."
5 Lines 39-43 are given to David in old eds. Collier gives them to Meredith ; Dyce to Lluellen, as in our text.
122 Edward I. [SCENE v.
Then what may let thee to intrude on them Some new-found stratagem to feel their wit ?
Sir David. It is enough. Meredith, take my weapons ; I am your prisoner ; say so at the least. Go hence, and when you parle on the walls, Make show of monstrous tyranny you intend To execute on me, as on the man That shamefully rebels 'gainst kin and kind ; And 'less l thou have thy love, and make thy peace 50 With such conditions as shall best concern, David must die, say thou, a shameful death. Edward, perhaps, with ruth and pity moved, Will in exchange yield Elinor to thee, And thou by me shalt gain thy heart's desire.
Lluellen. Sweetly advised : David, thou blessest me, My brother David, lengthener of my life ! — • Friends, gratulate to me my joyful hopes. \Exeunt.
[SCENE V.] Enter LONGSHANKS, SUSSEX, [MORTIMER.] and others.
Longsh. Why, barons, suffer ye our 2 foes to breathe ? Assault, assault, and charge them all amain ! They fear, they fly, they faint, they fight in vain. But where is gentle David in [t]his den? Loth were I aught but good should him betide.
[Sound an alarum.
1 So Collier.— Old eds. "least." 2 Ed. 1599 "your."
SCENE v.] Edward I. 123
On the walls enter [LLUELLEN], DAVID/ the Friar, MEREDITH holding DAVID by the collar, with a dagger in his hand.
Where is the proud disturber of our state, Traitor to Wales and to his sovereign ?
Lluellen. Usurper, here I am. What dost thou crave ?
Longsh. Welshman, allegiance, which thou ow'st thy 2 king.
Lluellen. Traitor, no king, that seeks thy country's sack, The famous runagate of Christendom. 1 1
Longsh. Ambitious rebel, know'st thou what I am, How great, how famous, and how fortunate ? And dar'st thou carry arms against me here, Even when thou shouldst do reverence at my feet ? Yea, feared and honoured in the farthest parts Hath Edward been, the 3 noble Henry's son. Traitor, this sword unsheathed hath shined oft With reeking in the blood of Saracens ; When, like to Perseus on his winged steed, 20
\ Brandishing bright the blade4 of adamant JThat aged Saturn gave fair Maia's son, / Conflicting tho 5 with Gorgon in the vale, Sitting 6 before the gates of Nazareth, My horse's hoofs I stain'd in pagan's gore,
1 Old eds. " Longshanks, Sussex, Mortimer, David," &c.
2 Ed. 1599 " the." s So Dyce.— Old eds. " thy."
4 So Dyce. Old eds. " bloud " and " blood."
5 Then. 6 Old eds. "Setting."
124
Edward I. [SCENE v.
Sending whole centuries l of heathen souls
To Pluto's house : this sword, this thirsty sword,
Aims at thy head, and shall, I hope, ere long,
Gash 2 and divide thy bowels and thy bulk,
Disloyal villain, thou, and what is more ? 3 30
Lluellen. Why, Longshanks, think'st thou I'll4 be
scared with words ?
No : didst thou speak in thunder like to Jove, Or shouldst, as Briareus, shake at once A hundred bloody swords with bloody hands, I tell thee, Longshanks, here he faceth thee Whom naught can daunt, no, not the stroke of death. Resolved ye see : but see the chance of war : Know'st thou a traitor an thou seest his head ? Then, Longshanks, look this villain in the face : This rebel, he hath wrought his country's wreck ; 40 Base rascal, bad 5 and hated in his kind, Object of wrath, and subject of revenge.
Longsh. Lluellen, call'st thou this the chance of war ? Bad for us all, pardie, but worse for him.— Courage, Sir David ! kings thou know'st must die, And noble minds all dastard fear defy.6
1 Walker's correction suggested by Collier, for "countries" of the old eds.
2 Old eds. (and Collier and Dyce) "gage."
3 " I.e., and what is more disloyal. "—Dyce.
4 Old eds. "I will."
5 So Collier.— Old eds. "had."
6 So Collier.— Old eds. "defies"; but "defy" is needed for the rhyme.
SCENE v.] Edward I. 125
Sir David. Renowmed 1 Edward, star of England's 2
globe,
My liefest lord and sweetest sovereign, Glorious and happy is this chance to me, To reap this fame and honour in my death, — 50
That I was hewed with foul-defiled hands For my beloved king and country's good, And died in grace and favour with my prince. — Seize on me, bloody butchers, with your paws : It is but temporal that you can inflict.
Lo?igsh. Bravely resolv'd, brave soldier, by my life !
Friar. Hark you, sir, I am afeard you will not be so resolved by that time you know so much as I can show you : here be hot dogs, I can tell you, means to have the baiting of you. 60
Mortimer. Lluellen, in the midst of all thy braves,3 How wilt thou use thy brother thou hast ta'en ? Wilt thou [not] let his master ransom him ?
Lluellen. No, nor his mistress, gallant Mortimer, With all the gold and silver of the land.
Rice ap Mer. Ransom this Judas to his father's line ! Ransom this traitor to his brother's life ! No. — Take that earnest-penny of thy death. — This touch, my lord, comes nothing near the mark.
[MEREDITH \in seeming] stabs him into the arms and shoulders.
1 Old form of " renowned."
2 So Dyce.— Old eds. " England, star of Edwards." 8 Bravadoes.
T 2 6 Edward I. [SCENE v.
Longsh. O damned villain, hold thy hands ! 70
Ask and have.
Lluellen. We will not ask nor have. Seest thou these tools? [He shows him hot pincers.
These be the dogs shall bait him to the death, And shall by piece-meals tear his cursed flesh ; And in thy sight here shall he hang and pine.
Longsh. O villains, traitors, how will I be veng'd !
Lluellen. What, threats thou, Edward? Desperate
minds contemn That fury menaceth : see thy words' effects.
[He [seemingly] cuts his nose.
Sir David. O gracious heavens, dissolve me into clay ! This tyranny is more than flesh can bear. 80
Longsh. Bear it, brave mind, sith nothing but thy
blood May satisfy in this extreme estate.
Sussex. My lord, it is in vain to threaten them ; They are resolv'd, ye see, upon his death.
Longsh. Sussex, his death, they all shall buy it dear : Offer them any favour for his life, Pardon, or peace, or aught what is beside : So love me God as I regard my friends ! — Lluellen, let me have thy brother's life Even at what rate and ransom thou wilt name. 90
Lluellen. Edward, King Edward, as thou list be term'd, Thou know'st thou hast my beauteous Elinor : Produce her forth to plead for David's life ; She may obtain more than an host of men.
Longsh. Wilt thou exchange thy prisoner for thy love ?
SCENE v.] Edward L 127
Lluellen. Talk no more to me ; let me see her face.
Mortimer. Why, will your majesty be all so base To stoop to his demands in every thing ?
Longsh. Fetch her at once ; good Mortimer, be gone.
Mortimer [aside].1 I go; but how unwilling heavens doth know. 100
Rice ap Mer. Apace, Mortimer, if thou love thy friend.
Mortimer \aside\J- I go for dearer than I leave behind. [MORTIMER goes for ELINOR and conducts her in.
Longsh. See, Sussex, how he bleedeth in my eye, That beareth fortune's shock triumphantly.
Friar. Sa-ha, master ! I have found, I have found.
Lluellen. What hast thou found, friar, ha?
Rice-ap-Mer. News, my lord, a star from out the sea ; The same is risen and made a summer's day.
Then LLUELLEN spieth ELINOR and MORTIMER, and sayeth thus.
Lluellen. What, Nell, sweet Nell, do I behold thy
face?
Fall heavens, fleet stars, shine Phoebus' lamp no more ! This is the planet lends this world her light ; m
Star of my fortune this, that shineth bright, Queen of my heart, loadstar of my delight, Fair mould of beauty, miracle of fame. O, let me die with Elinor in mine arms !
1 These asides are not marked in old eds.
! 2 8 Edward I. [SCENE v.
What honour shall I lend thy loyalty Or praise unto thy sacred deity ? l
Rice ap Mer. Marry, this, my lord, if I may give you counsel : sacrifice this tyke in her sight, her friend ; which being done, one of your soldiers may dip his foul shirt in his blood ; so shall you be waited with as many crosses as King Edward. 122
Lonsgh. Good cheer, Sir David ; we shall up anon.
Mortimer \aside\ Die, Mortimer; thy life is almost gone.
Elinor. Sweet Prince of Wales, were I within thine
arms,
Then should I in peace possess my love, And heavens open fair their crystal gates, That I may see the palace of my intent.
Longs h. Lluellen, set thy brother free : Let me have him, thou shalt have Elinor. 130
Lluellen. Sooth, Edward, I do prize my Elinor Dearer than life ; but there belongeth more To these affairs than my2 content in love :
1 "So the Editor of Dodsley's O. P. Both 4tos 'dietie.1 Qy. 'piety'?" — Dyce. There is no need to read "piety." The spelling " diety " (for " deity") was very common. Cf. Rowley's Alls Lost by Lust, 1633, sig. C. 4 :—
" Can lust be cal'd love? then let man seeke hell, For there that fiery diety doth dwell. "
Again, in the same play, sig. D. 2 : —
" Descend thy spheare thou burning Diety"
See more examples in the Index to vol. iv. of my collection of Old Plays (ist series).
2 Ed. 1599 "may."
SCENE v.] Edward /. 129
And to be short, if thou wilt have thy man,
Of whom, I swear, thou thinkest over- well,
The safety of Lluellen and his men
Must be regarded highly in this match.
Say, therefore, and be short, wilt thou give peace
And pardon to Lluellen and his men ?
Longsh. I will herein have time to be advised. 140
Lluellen. King Edward, no : we will admit no pause, For goes this wretch, this traitor, to the pot.1 And if Lluellen he pursued so near, May chance to show thee such a tumbling-cast, As erst our father when he thought to scape,' And broke his neck2 from Julius Caesar's tower.3
Sussex. My lord, these rebels all are desperate.
Mortimer \aside\. And Mortimer of all most miserable.
Longsh. How, say you, Welshmen, will you leave your
arms, And be true liegemen unto Edward's crown? 150
All the Sold. If Edward pardon surely what is past, Upon conditions we are all content.
Longsh. Belike you will condition with us, then?
\Firsi\ Soldier. Special conditions for our safety first, And for our country Cambria's common good, T' avoid the fusion of our guilty blood.
1 I.e. to destruction. John Heywood in his Proverbs has —
" And where the small with the great cannot agree, The weaker goeth to the pot we all day see."
2 " Gryffyth, father of Lluellen, so died in attempting to escape from the Tower of London." — P. A. Daniel.
3 So Collier and Dyce.— Old eds. " towne."
VOL. I. I
130
Edward I. [SCENE v.
Longsh. Go to ; say on.
[First] Soldier. First, for our followers, and ourselves,
and all,
We ask a pardon in the prince's word ; Then for this lord's possession in his love ; 160
But for our country chief these boons we beg, And England's promise princely to thy Wales, That none be Cambria's prince to govern us But he that is a Welshman, born in Wales : Grant this, and swear it on thy knightly sword, And have thy man and us and all in peace.
Lluellen. Why, Cambria-Britons, are you so incensed ? Will you deliver me to Edward's hands ?
\Firsi\ Soldier. No, Lord Lluellen ; we will x back for
thee Thy life, thy love, and golden liberty. 170
Mortimer [aside']. A truce with honourable condi tions ta'en ; Wales' happiness, England's glory, and my bane.
Longsh. Command retreat be sounded in our camp. — Soldiers, I grant at full what you request. — David, good cheer. — Lluellen, ope 2 the gates.
Lluellen. The gates are opened : enter thee and thine.
Sir David. The sweetest sun that e'er I saw to shine !
Longsh. Madam, a brabble 3 well begun for thee ; Be thou my guest and Sir Lluellen's love.
[Exeunt MORTIMER solus.
1 Quy. " win back," or " will beg " ? (" Is not we will back equivalent to we will maintain or support?" — P. A. Daniel.]
2 Old eds. " open." 3 Quarrel.
SCENE vi.] Edward I. 131
Mortimer. Mortimer, a brabble ill begun for thee ; A truce with capital conditions ta'en, 181
A prisoner saved and ransomed with thy life. Edward, my king, my lord, and lover dear, Full little dost thou wot how this retreat, As with a sword, hath slain poor Mortimer. Farewell the flower, the gem of beauty's blaze, Sweet Ellen, miracle of nature's hand ! Hell 1 in thy name, but heaven is in thy looks ,: Sweet Venus, let me saint or divel be In that sweet heaven or hell that is in thee. 190
[Exit.
[SCENE VI.]
Enter JACK and the Harper, getting a standing against the Queen comes in.
The trumpets sound: QUEEN ELINOR, in her Utter, borne by four Negro-Moors, JOAN OF ACON with her, attended on by the EARL OF GLOCESTER and her four Footmen : one having set a ladder to the side of the litter, she descendeth? and her daughter followeth.
Q. Elinor. Give me my pantables.3 Fie, this hot weather how it makes me sweat \ Heigh-ho, my heart ! ah, I am passing faint ! Give me my fan that I may cool my face.
1 "The 4to of 1593 ' Fuellen,' that of 1599 'Lluellen.' I have adopted the conjecture of the Editor of Dodsley's O. P." — Dyce.
2 Old eds. "discended."
3 Slippers. Ed. 1599 " Pantaphels. "
1 3 2 Edward L [SCENE vi.
Hold, take my mask, but see you rumple it not.i This wind and dust, see how it smolders me ! Some drink, good Glocester, or I die for drink ! 2 Ah, Ned, thou hast forgot thy Nell I see, That she is thus enforced to follow thee !
Glocester. This air's distemperature, and please your majesty, 10
Noisome through mountains' vapours and 3 thick mist, Unpleasant needs must be to you and your company, That never [erst] was wont to take the air Till Flora have perfum'd the earth with sweets, With lilies, roses, mints, and eglantine.
Q. Elinor. I tell thee [that] the ground is all too base For Elinor to honour with her steps ; Whose footpace, when she progress'd in the street[s] Of Aeon and the fair Jerusalem,
Was [upon] naught but costly arras-points, 20
Fair island-tapestry, and azured silk ; My milk-white steed treading on cloth of ray,4 And trampling proudly underneath the feet Choice of our English woollen drapery. This clime 5 o'er-lowering with black congeal'd clouds, That take their swelling from the marish soil, Fraught with infectious fogs 6 and misty damps, Is far unworthy to be once embalm'd With redolence of this refreshing breath,
' Romple not," ed. 1593; "romple it not," ed. 1599; "rumple't not," Dyce. 2 Dyce reads " thirst."
3 So Collier.— Old eds. "send." 4 Striped cloth.
6 Proposed by Dyce.— Old eds. "climate." 6 Ed. 1593 "frogges."
SCENE vi.] Edward I. 133
That sweetens 1 where it lights, as do the flames 30
And holy fires of Vesta's sacrifice. Joan. Whose 2 pleasant fields new-planted with the spring,
Make Thamesis to mount above the banks,
And, like a wanton, wallowing up and down
On Flora's beds and Napae's silver down.
Glocester. And Wales for me, madam, while you are here ;
No climate good unless your grace be near.
Would Wales had aught could please you half so well,
Or any precious thing in Glocester's gift,
Whereof your ladyship would challenge me ! 40
Joan. Well said, my lord ! 'tis as my mother says ;
You men have learnt to woo a thousand ways.
Glocester. O madam, had I learnt, against my need,
Of all those ways to woo, one way to speed,
My cunning, then, had been my fortune's guide.
Q. Elinor. Faith, Joan, I think thou must be Glo cester's bride. —
[Aside] Good earl, how near he steps unto her side !
So soon this eye these younglings had espied. —
I'll tell thee, girl, when I was fair and young,
I found such honey in sweet Edward's tongue, 50
As I could never spend one idle walk
But Ned and I would piece it out with talk.—
1 Ed. 1599 " sweetnesse."
2 Evidently some lines have been dropped at the beginning of this speech. Joan prefers the neighbourhood of Windsor to Aeon and Jerusalem. — For "new-planted" Dyce suggests " new- painted," and " wallow " for " wallowing " (1. 34).
1 34 Edward L [SCENE vi.
So you, my lord, when you have got your Joan, No matter, let queen-mother be alone. Old Nell is mother now, and grandmother may ; The greenest grass doth droop and turn to hay. Woo on, kind clerk, good Glocester, love thy Joan : Her heart is thine, her eyes is not her own.
Glocester. This comfort, madam, that your grace doth
give
Binds me in double duty whilst I live. 60
Would God, King Edward see and say no less !
Q Elinor. Glocester, I warrant thee upon my life My king vouchsafes his daughter for thy wife. Sweet Ned hath not forgot, since he did woo, The gall of love and all that 'longs thereto.
Glocester. Why, was your grace so coy to one so kind ?
Q. Elinor. Kind, Glocester ! so, methinks, indeed : It seems he loves his wife no more than needs, That sends for us in all the speedy haste, Knowing his queen to be so great with child, 70
And make[s] me leave my princely pleasant seats To come into his ruder part of Wales.
Glocester. His highness hath some secret reason why He wisheth you to move from England's pleasant court.1 The Welshmen have of long time suitors been, That when the war of rebels sorts an end,2 None might be prince and ruler over them
1 Oldeds. "courts."
2 " I.e. arrives at an end. Sortir effect, Fr. "— Collier ; who refers to Reed's note, 27, to Marlowe's Edward II. on 'sort out/ Dodsley's O. P., ed. 1780, vol. ii. p. 343.
SCENE vi.] Edward I. 135
But such a one as was their countryman ; Which suit, I think, his grace hath granted them.
Q. Elinor. So, then, it is King Edward's policy 80 To have his son — forsooth, son if it be — ^L A Welshman : well, Welshman it liketh me. And here he comes.
Enter EDWARD LONGSHANKS and his Lords to the QUEEN and her Footman.
Longsh. Nell, welcome into Wales ! How fares my Elinor ?
Q. Eli?ior. Ne'er * worse : beshrow Their hearts, 'tis long on.
Longsh. Hearts, sweet Nell?
[Bejshrow 2 no hearts where such sweet saints do dwell.
\He holds her hand fast.
Q. Elinor. Nay, then, I see I have my dream : I pray,
let go :
You will not will you, whether I will or no ? You are disposed to move me.
Longsh. Say any thing but so. Once, Nell, thou gavest me this.
Q. Elinor. 1 3 pray, let go ; 90
Ye are disposed,4 I think.
Longsh. Ay, madam, very well.
1 " Ne'er worse ... on " — printed as one line in old eds.
2 The first three words of this line are printed as part of the former line in old eds.
3 " I pray . . . think "—printed as one line in old eds.
4 I.e. disposed to be mirthful.
136 Edward I. [SCENE vi.
Q. Elinor. Let go and be naught,1 I say !
Longsh. What ails my Nell ?
Q. Elinor. Ay me, what sudden fits is this I prove ? What grief, what pinching pain, like young men's love, That makes me madding run thus to and fro ?
Longsh. What, melancholy, Nell?
Q. Elinor. My lord, pray, let me go. Give me sweet water. Why, how hot it is !
Glocester [aside]. These 2 be the fits
Trouble men's wits.
Longsh. Joan, ask thy beauteous mother3 how she doth. Joan. How fares your majesty?
Q. Elinor. Joan,4 aggrieved at the heart, 101
And angered worse, because I cannot right me : 5 I think the king comes purposely to spite me. My fingers itch till I have had my will : Proud Edward, call in thy Elinor ; be still. It will not be, nor rest I anywhere Till I have set it soundly on his ear. Joan. Is that the matter ? then let me alone.
Q. Elinor. Fie, how I fret with grief !
Longsh. Come 6 hither, Joan : Know'st thou what ails my queen ?
1 " Equivalent to — and be hanged ! " — Dyce.
2 " These . . . wits "—printed as one line in old eds. The "aside " is not marked.
3 So Dyce.— Old eds. "mistres." (The compositor probably had only " M." to guide him.)
* " Joan . . . worse "—printed as one line in old eds. 5 So Dyce. Old eds. " came not right in."
• "Come hither . . . queen "—printed as one line in old eds.
SCENE vi.] Edward I. 137
Joan. Not1 I, my lord : no
She longs, I think, to give your grace a box on th' ear.
Longsh. Nay, wench, if that be all, we'll ear it well. — What all amort ! 2 How doth my dainty Nell ? Look up, sweet love : unkind ! not kiss me once ? That may not be.
Q. Elinor. My lord, I think you do it for the nonce.
Longsh. Sweetheart, one kiss.
Q. Elinor. For God's sake, let me go.
Longsh. Sweetheart, a kiss.
Q. Elinor. What,3 whether I will or no ? You will not leave ? let be I say.
Longsh. I must be better chid.
Q. Elinor. No, will? [striking him on the ear4] Take that, then, lusty lord : sir, leave when you are bid.
Longsh. Why, so, this chare is chared.5
Glocester. A good one, by the rood. 120
Q. Elinor. No force, no harm.
Longsh. No harm that doth my Elinor any good. — Learn, lords, 'gainst you be married men, to bow to
women's yoke ; And sturdy though you be, you may not stir for every
stroke. — Now, my sweet Nell, how doth my queen ?
Q. Elinor. She 6 vaunts
1 " Not I . . . th' ear" — printed as one line in oldeds.
2 A U a mart— dejected.
3 "What . . . say" — one line in old eds.
4 This stage-direction is not marked in old eds.
5 I.e. this business is done. A proverbial saying.
6 " She . . . fist" — printed as one line in old eds.
1 3 g Edward L [SCENE vn.
That mighty England hath felt her fist, Taken a blow basely at Elinor's hand.
[Longsh.] And vaunt she may, good leave, being curst
and coy : Lack nothing, Nell, whilst 1 thou hast brought thy lord a
lovely boy.
Q. Elinor. Yen aca ; 2 I am sick ; Good Katherine,3 I pray thee, be at hand. 130
Kath. This sickness, I hope, Will bring King Edward a jolly boy.
Longsh. And,4 Katherine, Who brings me that news shall not go empty-handed.
\Exite omnes.
[SCENE VII.]
Enter MORTIMER, LLUELLEN, MEREDITH,5 [and the LADY ELINOR].
Mortimer. Farewell, Lluellen, with thy loving Nell. Lluellen. God-a-mercy, Mortimer ; and so farewell.
[MORTIMER6 retires to the back of the stage. Rice ap Mer. Farewell and be hanged, false Sinon's serpent brood.7
1 Until.
2 "I.e. Come hither. — The 4tos. ' Veniacion ' and ' Veniacian. ' " — Dyce. The two lines are printed as one in old eds.
3 Ed. 1593 " Katherina."
4 "And . . . empty-handed" — prose in old eds.
5 Old eds. " and MEREDITH."
6 Old eds. ''Exit MORTIMER."
7 Dyce's correction for "half Sinon's sapons brood " of the old eds.
SCENE vii.] Edward L 139
Lluellen. Good words, Sir Rice : wrongs have best
remedy,
So taken with time, patience, and policy. But where is the friar? who can tell?
Enter Friar.
Friar. That can I, master, very well ; And say, i'faith, what hath befel, Must we at once to heaven or hell ?
Elinor. To heaven, friar ! friar, no, fie ! 10
Such heavy souls mount not so high.
Friar [lies down]. Then, friar, lie thee down and die ; And if any ask the reason why, Answer and say thou canst not tell, Unless because thou must to hell.
Elinor. No, friar, because thou didst rebel : Gentle Sir Rice, ring out thy knell.
Lluellen. And Haddock toll thy passing-bell. So,1 there lies a straw, And now to the law. 20
Masters and friends ; naked came we into the world, naked are we turned out of the good towns into the wilderness. Let me see ; 2 mass, methinks we are a handsome commonwealth, a handful of good fellows, set a-sunning to dog on our own discretion. What say you, sir[s] ? We are enough to keep a passage : will you be ruled by me? We'll get the next day from
1 " So . . . law " — prose in old eds.
2 So Dyce. — Old eds. "saie" and "say.
140 Edward I. [SCENE vii.
Brecknock the Book of Robin Hood ; the friar he shall instruct us in this l cause, and we'll even here fare and well : since the king hath put us amongst the discarding cards, and, as it were, turned us with deuces and treys out of the deck,2 every man take his standing on Man- nock-deny,3 and wander like irregulars up and down the wilderness. I'll be Master of Misrule, I'll be Robin Hood, that's once : 4 cousin Rice, thou shalt be Little John : and here's Friar David as fit as a die for Friar Tuck. Now, my sweet Nell, if you will make up the mess 5 with a good heart for Maid Marian, and dwell 6 with Lluellen under the green-wood trees, with as good a will as in the good towns, why, plena est curia. 40
Elinor. My 7 sweetest love, and this my infract fortune Could never vaunt her sovereignty, And shouldst thou pass the ford of Phlegethon, Or with Leander swim 8 the Hellespont, In deserts ^Ethiopian 9 ever dwell,
1 Soed. 1599. Ed. 1593 "his."
2 Pack of cards.
3 " Cadir Arthur, otherwise the Brecknock beacons : the highest point of the mountain range some three miles south of Brecknock. In Drayton (Poly-olbion, Song 4) ; in Harrison (Description, of England, bk. i. cap. 14) ; and in Speed ( Theatre of the Empire of Gt. Britaine} the name of this mountain occurs as Mounchdeny, Monuch, and Menuch- denny." — P. A. Daniel.
4 "I.e. that's once for all, that's flat. The 4to of 1593 'that once.' So Nash in his Have with you to Saffron-walden : ' But when I doo ptep my prizes in print, He be paid for my paines, thafs once, and not n^ke myself e a gazing stocke,' &c. Sig. T. 4, ed. 1596."— Dyce.
s/Set of fdur. 6 So Dyce. -Old eds. "doe well."
f This speech (which is quite unintelligible) is printed as prose in o\d eds. 8 So Collier.— Old eds. "win."
8 So Mitford. —Old eds. " CEnophrius."
SCENE vii.j Edward /. 141
Or build thy bower on ^Etna's fiery tops,
Thy Nell would follow thee and keep with thee,
Thy Nell would feed with thee and sleep with thee.
Friar. O Cupido quantus^ quantus ! 49
Rice ap Mer. Bravely resolved, madam. — And then what rests my Lord Robin, but we will live and die to gether like Camber-Britons, — Robin Hood, Little John, Friar Tuck, and Maid Marian ?
Lluellen. There rests nothing now, cousin, but that I sell my chain * to set us all in green, and we'll all play the pioners2 to make us a cave and cabin3 for all weathers.
Elinor. My sweet Lluellen, though this sweet be gall, Patience doth conquer by 4 out-suffering all.
Friar. Now,5 Mannock-deny,
I hold thee a penny, 60
Thou shalt have neither sheep nor goat But Friar David will fleece 6 his coat : Wherever Jack, my novice, jet, All is fish with him that comes to net ; David, this year thou pay'st no debt. [Exeunt?
Mortimer \comingforwardfrom his concealment^ Why,
friar, is it so plain, indeed ? Lluellen, art thou flatly so resolv'd To roist it out, and roost so near the king ?
1 Gold chains were formerly worn round the neck by persons of dignity.
2 Old form (found in Shakespeare and Milton) of " pioneers."
3 Ed. 1599 "and a cabin." 4 Old eds. " me by."
5 "Now . . . penny" — one line in old eds.
6 Old eds. " fleeces." 7 Old eds. " Exeunt ambo." 8 Old eds. " Enter MORTIMER solus. "
142 Edward I. [SCENE vii.
What, shall we have a passage kept in Wales
For men-at-arms and knights adventurous ? 70
By cock, Sir Rice, I see no reason why
Young Mortimer should [not] make one among,
And play his part on Mannock-deny l here,
For love of his beloved Elinor.
His Elinor ! [his ! 2] were 3 she his, I wot,
The bitter northern wind upon the plains,
The damps that rise from out the queachy 4 plots,
Nor influence of contagious air should touch ;
But she should court it 5 with the proudest dames,
Rich in attire, and sumptuous in her fare, So
And take her ease in beds of softest 6 down.
Why, Mortimer, may not thy offers move,
And win sweet Elinor from Lluellen's love ?
Why, pleasant gold and gentle eloquence
Have 'ticed the chastest nymphs, the fairest dames,
And vaunts of words, delights of wealth and ease
Have made a nun to yield. Lluellen's [sun],7
Being set to see the last of desperate chance,
1 Old eds. " Manmocke dying. "
2 I have added the bracketed word at Dr. Nicholson's suggestion.
3 Old eds. "where."
4 Properly bushy ; but often used, as here, in the sense of fenny, dank. Dyce quotes from Chettle's Hoffman's Tragedy, 1631, sig. i. ;—
" Nor doth the sun sucke from the queachy plot The ranknes and the venom of the earth."
5 So Collier.— Old eds. "yet."
« So Collier.— Old eds. "safest."
7 The bracketed word is added at the suggestion of P. A. Daniel. Without it the passage is unintelligible.
SCENE vii. ] Edward I. 143
Why should so fair a star stand in a vale,
And not be l seen to sparkle in the sky ? 90
It is enough Jove change his glittering robes
To see 2 Mnemosyne and the flies.
Masters,3 have after gentle Robin Hood.
You're not so well accompanied, I hope,
But if a potter come to play his part,
You'll give him stripes or welcome, good or worse.
Go, Mortimer, and make there love-holidays :
The King will take a common 'scuse of thee,
And 4 hath more men to attend than Mortimer.
[Exit.
1 Ed. 1599 "to be."
2 The text is horribly corrupt. Mnemosyne was the mother of the Muses by Jupiter (see Apollodorus). Is it possible that Peele wrote—
" To woo the mother of the Muses nine ; "
and that the word " Mnemosyne " is a marginal note imported into the text? A proper name may perhaps be concealed under " the flies." — Mitford proposed : —
" It is enough. Jove changes glittering robes,
And then he flies to see Mnemosyne."
3 This line is addressed to the audience. ( " ? Masters, [meaning those who have gone out] have after. Gentle Robin Hood, You're not so well, &c."—P. A. Daniel.}
4 So P. A. Daniel.— Old eds. "And who hath," &c.
144
Edward L [SCENE vm.
[SCENE VIII.]
Enter LLUELLEN, MEREDITH, Friar, ELINOR, and their train.
They are all clad in green, 6°<r./ sing, &*c., "Blithe and bonny." The song ended, LLUELLEN singeth.
Lluellen. Why, so, I see, my mates, of old All were not lies that beldames 1 told Of Robin Hood and Little John, Friar Tuck and Maid Marian.
Friar. Ay, forsooth, master.
Lluellen. How well they couched in forest green, Frolic and lively withouten teen,2 And spent their day in game and glee : Lluellen, do seek 3 if aught please thee, Nor, though thy foot be out of town, I0
Let eyne look back 4 on Edward's crown ; Nor think this green is not so gay As was the golden rich array ; And O,5 sweet Nell, my Marian, Trust me, as I am gentleman, Thou art as fine in this attire, As fine and fit to my desire,
1 Oldeds. "Bedlams."
2 Dyce's correction. Old eds. "with oaten teene."
3 Very corrupt. Quy. " Lluellen leeks [i.e. likes, is content] if aught please thee [i.e. Elinor] " ?
* My own correction. Old eds. " Let thine look black." s Oldeds. "if." •
SCENE viii.] Edward I. 145
As when of Leicester's hall and bower
Thou wert the rose and sweetest flower.
How say'st thou, friar, say I well ? 20
For anything becomes my Nell.
Friar. Never made man of a woman born A bullock's tail a blowing horn ; Nor can an ass's hide disguise A lion, if he ramp and rise.
Elinor. My lord, the friar is wondrous wise.
Lluellen. Believe him, for he tells no lies. — But what doth Little John devise ?
Rice ap Mer. That Robin Hood beware of spies. An aged saying and a true, 30
Black will take no other hue He that of old hath been thy foe Will die but will continue so.
Friar. O,1 masters, whither, shall we [go] ? Doth any living creature know ?
Lluellen. Rice and I will walk the round. Friar, see about the ground,
Enter MORTIMER {disguised as a Potter].
And spoil what prey is to be found.
My love I leave within in trust,
Because I know thy dealing just. — 40
Come, potter,2 come, and welcome too,
1 " O, masters . . . know " — one line in old eds.
2 Ed. 1599 "porter."
VOL. I. K
146 Edward /. [SCENE viii.
Fare as we fare, and do as we do. — Nell,1 adieu : we go for news.
[Exeunt 2 LLUELLEN and RICE AP MEREDITH.
Friar. A little serves the friar's lust, When nolens volens fast I must : Master, at all,3 that you refuse.
Mortimer [aside]. Such a potter 4 would I choose, When I mean to blind a 'scuse : While Robin walk[s] with Little John, The Friar will lick his Marian : 50
So will the potter4 if he can.
Elinor. Now, friar, sith your lord is gone, And you and I are left alone, What can the friar do or say To pass the weary time away ? — Weary, God wot, poor wench, to thee, That never thought these days to see.
Mortimer [aside]. Break, heart ! and split, mine eyes,
in twain ! Ne'er 5 let me hear those words again.
Friar. What can the friar do or say 60
To pass the weary time away ? More dare he 6 do than he dare say, Because he doubts to have a nay.7
1 Old eds. give this line to the Friar.
2 Old eds. "Exit."
3 " At all " — a term in card-playing.
4 Old eds. "porter."
5 Old eds. " neuer." So Dyce.— Old eds. "I." 7 So Dyce. — Old eds. read ' away."
SCENE VIIL] Edward L 147
Elinor. Do somewhat, friar, say or sing, That may to sorrows solace bring ; And I meanwhile will garlands make.
Mortimer \aside~\. O, Mortimer, were 't * for thy sake, A garland were the happiest stake, That e'er 2 this hand unhappy drew !
Friar. Mistress, shall I tell you true ? 70
I have a song, I learn'd it long ago : I wot not whether you'll like it well or no.3 'Tis short and sweet, but somewhat brawled 4 before : Once let me sing it, and I ask no more.
Elinor. What, friar, will you' so indeed? Agrees it somewhat with your need ?
Friar. Why, mistress, shall I sing my creed ?
Elinor. That's fitter of the two at need.
Mortimer \aside\. O, wench, how mayst thou hope to speed?
Friar. O, mistress, out it goes : 80
Look what comes next, the friar throws.
[ The Friar sits along and sings.
Mortimer \aside\. Such a sitting who ever saw ? An eagle's bird of a jackdaw.
Elinor. So, sir, is this all ?
Mortimer [coming forward '5J. Sweetheart, here's no more.
1 So Dyce.— Old eds. " were it."
2 So Dyce.— Old eds. "euer."
3 So Dyce.— Old eds. "ill."
4 So Dyce ; Collier has trvird.—Q\d eds. " brolde."
5 This stage-direction is not marked in old eds.
1 48 Edward I. [SCENE vin.
Elinor. How now, good fellow ! more indeed by T one than was before.
Friar. How now ! the divel instead of a ditty !
Mortimer. Friar,2 a ditty Come late from the city, To ask some pity
Of this lass so pretty : — 90
Some pity, sweet mistress, I pray you.
Elinor. How now, friar ! where are we now, and you play not the man ?
Friar. Friend 3 copesmate, you that Came late from the city, To ask some pity Of this lass so pretty, In likeness of a doleful ditty, — Hang me if I do not pay ye. 99
Mortimer. O, friar, you grow choleric : well, you'll have no man to court your mistress but yourself. On my word, I'll take you down a button-hole.
Friar. Ye talk, ye talk, child. {They fight ^
Rt-enter LLUELLEN and [RICE AP] MEREDITH.
Lluellen. 'Tis well, potter \ you fight in a good quarrel.
1 A new line in old eds.
2 "Friar. . . city," "To ask . . . pretty "—printed as single lines in old eds.
3 " Friend . . . city," " To ask . . . pretty "—single lines in old eds.
SCENE VIIL] Edward I. 149
Rice ap Mer. Mass, this blade will hold : let "me see, then, friar.1
Friar. Mine's for mine own turn, I warrant : give him his tools. Rise, and let's to it; but no change, and if you love me. I scorn the odds, I can tell you : see fair play, and you be gentlemen. in
Lluellen. Marry, shall we, friar. Let us see : be their staves of a length ? Good : so, now Let us deem of the matter, Friar 2 and potter, Without more clatter ; I have cast your water, And see as deep into your desire, As he that had dived 3 every day into your bosom.
O, friar,
Will nothing serve your turn but larks ? 120
Are such fine birds for such coarse clerks ? None but my Marian can serve your turn.
Elinor. Cast water, for the house will burn.
Friar. O, mistress, mistress, flesh is frail ; 'Ware when the sign is in the tail : Mighty is love and doth prevail.
Lluellen. Therefore, friar, shalt thou not fail But mightily your foe assail, And thrash this potter with thy flail : — And, potter, never rave nor rail, 130
Nor ask questions what I ail,
1 " Qy. 'Let me see thine, friar' ?"— P. A. Daniel.
2 Friar and potter . . . but larks " — prose in old eds.
3 Ed. 1593 "dined."
I JO Edward I. [SCENE viii.
But take this tool, and do not quail,
But thrash this friar's russet coat ;
And make him sing a dastard's note,
And cry, Peaavi, miserere David,
In amo amavi. Goto. \Theytaketheflails.
Mortimer. Strike, strike.
Friar. Strike, potter, be thou lief or loth : An if you'll not strike, I'll strike for both.
Mortimer [strikes]. He must needs go that the divel drives. 140
Then, friar, beware of other men's wives.
Friar [strikes']. I wish, master proud potter, the devil
have my soul, But I'll make my flail circumscribe your noul.1
Lluellen. Why, so; now it cottens,2 now the game
begins; One knave currieth another for his sins.
Friar [kneels]. O, master, shorten my offences in mine
eyes !
If this crucifix 3 do not suffice, Send me to heaven in a hempen sacrifice.
Mortimer [kneels~]. O, masters, masters, let this be
warning ! The friar hath infected me with his learning. 150
Lluellen. Villains, do not touch the forbidden tree,4 Now 5 to delude or to dishonour me.
1 Head. 2 Goes forward successfully.
3 Ed. 1593 "crucifige."
4 Collier's correction. Old eds. "haire."
5 Dr. Nicholson proposes " Nor."
SCENE ix.] Edward /. 151
Friar. O, master, qua negata sunt grata sunt.
Lluellen. Rice,1 every day thus shall it be : We'll have a thrashing set among the friars ; and he That of these challengers lays on slowest load,2 Be thou at hand, Rice, to gore him with thy goad.
Friar. Ah, potter, potter, the friar may rue That ever this day this our quarrel he knew ; My pate addle, mine arms black and blue. 160
Mortimer. Ah, friar, who may his fate's force eschew ? I think, friar, you are prettily school'd.
Friar. And I think the potter is handsomely cool'd. [Exeunt* all except MORTIMER.
Mortimer. No, Mortimer; here['s] that eternal fire That burns and flames with brands of hot desire : Why, Mortimer, why dost thou not discover Thyself her knight, her liegeman, and her lover ?
[Exit.
[SCENE IX.]
Enter JOHN BALIOL King of Scots, with his train [and VERSSES.]
Baliol. Lords of Albania,4 and my peers in France, Since Baliol is invested in his rights, And wears the royal Scottish diadem,
1 This speech is printed as prose in old eds.
2 "Lay on load "= strike lustily. Cf. Gascoigne's Praise of Philip Sparrow : —
" If I command, she lays on load With lips, with teeth, with tongue and all."
3 Old eds. "Exeunt ambo." 4 Old eds. " Albana."
152 Edward /. [SCENE ix.
Time is to rouse him, that the world may wot
Scotland disdains to carry England's yoke.
Therefore, my friends, thus put in readiness,
Why slack we time to greet the English king
With resolute message, to let him know our minds ?
Lord Versses, though thy faith and oath be ta'en
To follow BalioPs arms for Scotland's right, 10
Yet is thy heart to England's honour knit :
Therefore, in spite of England and thyself,
Bear thou defiance proudly to thy king ;
Tell him, Albania finds heart and hope
To shake off England's tyranny betime,
To rescue Scotland's honour with her l sword. —
Lord Bruce, see cast about [Lord] Versses' neck
A strangling halter, that he mind his haste. —
How say'st thou, Versses, wilt thou do this message ?
Versses. Although no common post, yet, for my king, I will to England, maugre England's might, 2i
And do mine errand boldly, as becomes ; Albeit I honour English Edward's name, And hold this slavish contemnent 2 to scorn.
Baliol. Then hie away, as swift as swallow flies, And meet me on our roads 3 on England's ground 'Way4 then ! think of thy message and thy haste.
[Sound trumpets. Exeunt .b
1 So Dyce.— Old eds. "his."— Collier has "the."
2 Dyce suggests " 'coutrement."
3 Inroads. 4 old eds. "We there."— Dyce "Whither ! 5 Old eds. " Exit Baliol."
SCENE x.] Edward I. 153
[SCENE X.]
Enter KING EDWARD LONGSHANKS, EDMUND Duke of Lancaster, GLOCESTER, SUSSEX, DAVID, CRES- siNGHAM,1 booted from Northam.
Longsk. Now have I leisure, lords, to bid you wel come into Wales : Welcome, sweet Edmund, to christen thy young
nephew ; —
And welcome, Cressingham ; give me thy hand. — But, Sussex, what became of Mortimer ? We have not seen the man this many a 2 day.
Sussex. Before your highness rid from hence to
Northam,
Sir Roger was a suitor to your grace Touching fair Elinor, Lluellen's love ; And so belike, denied, with discontent A discontinues from your royal presence. 10
Longsh. Why, Sussex, said we not for Elinor, So she would leave whom she had lov'd too long, She might have favour with my queen and me ? But, man, her mind above her fortune mounts, And that's a cause she fails in her accounts. —
[Exit SUSSEX.] But go with me, my Lord of Lancaster ;
1 So Collier.— Old eds. " Crespall. ' (" Booted" = in their riding- boots. 2 Omitted in ed. 1599.
154 Edward I. [SCENE x.
We will go see my beauteous lovely queen, That hath enrich'd me with a goodly boy.
KING EDWARD, EDMUND, and GLOCESTER goes into the QUEEN'S chamber ; the QUEEN'S tent opens ; she is discovered in her bed, attended by MARY Duchess of Lancaster,1 JOAN OF AGON her daughter ; and the QUEEN dandles his young son.
Ladies,2 by your leave. —
How doth my Nell, mine own, my love, my life, 20
My heart, my dear, my dove, my queen, my wife?
Q. Elinor. Ned, art thou come, sweet Ned ? welcome,
my joy !
Thy Nell presents thee with a lovely boy : Kiss him, and christen him after thine own name. Heigh-ho ! 3
Whom do I see ? my Lord of Lancaster ! Welcome heartily.
Lancaster. I thank your grace : sweet Nell, well met withal.
Q. Elinor. Brother4 Edmund, here's a kinsman of
yours : You must needs be acquainted. 30
1 " Edmund (Lancaster) was twice married : (i) Aveline, daughter of Earl of Albermarle ; (2) Blanche, daughter of Earl of Artois. I suspect that 'Mary Duchess of Lancaster" is a corruption of Mary Mayoress of London; she is the nurse, and her name is Mary (see sc. xvi.). Edward of Caernarvon (Edward II.), born i5th April 1284." — P. A. Daniel.
2 " Ladies . . . my wife " — prose in old eds.
3 "Heigh-ho ! . . . heartily" — prose in old eds.
4 "Brother . . . acquainted" — prose in old eds.
SCENE x.] Edward /. 155
Lancaster. A goodly 1 boy ; God bless him ! — Give me
your hand, sir : You are welcome into Wales.
Q. Elinor. Brother, there's a fist, I warrant you, will hold a mace as fast as ever did father or grandfather before him.
Longsh. But tell me 2 now, lapped in lily bands, How with my3 queen, my lovely boy it stands, After thy journey and these childbed pains ?
Q. Elinor. Sick, mine own Ned, Nell4 for thy com pany;
That lured her with thy lies all so far, 40
To follow thee unwieldy in thy war. But I forgive thee, Ned, my life's 5 delight, So thy young son thou see be bravely dight, And in Carnarvon christen'd royally. Sweet love, let him be lapp'd most curiously : He is thine own, as true as he is mine ; 6 Take order, then, that he be passing fine.
Longsh. My lovely lady, let that care be least : 7 For my young son the country will I feast, And have him borne as bravely to the font 8 50
As ever yet king's son to christening went.
1 "A goodly . . . Wales" — prose in old eds.
2 Ed. 1593 " in." s Ed. 1599 "the."
4 Old eds. "thy Nell."
5 So Dyce.— Old eds. "lims."
6 So Collier.— Old eds. " thine."
7 Old eds. " lesse." (A rhyme to " feast " is required.)
8 So Collier.— Old eds. "funt."
1 56 Edward I. [SCENE x.
Lack thou no precious thing to comfort thee, Dearer 1 than England's diadem unto me.
Q. Elinor. Thanks, gentle lord. — Nurse, rock the
cradle : fie,
The king so near, and hear the boy to cry ! — Joan, take him up, and sing a lullaby.
Longsh. 'Tis well, believe me, wench : Godamercy,
Joan! Lancaster. She learns, my lord, to lull a young one of
her own.
Q. Elinor. Give me some drink. Longsh. Drink nectar, my sweet Nell ; Worthy for seat in heaven with Jove to dwell. 60
Q. Elinor. Gramercies, Ned. Now, well remember'd
yet;
I have a suit, sweet lord ; but you must not deny it. — Where's 2 my Lord of Glocester, good Clare,3 mine host,
my guide ? —
Good Ned, let Joan of Aeon be his bride : Assure yourself that they are throughly wooed.
Glocester.^ [aside]. God send the king be taken in the
mood !
Lancaster.** Then, niece, 'tis like that you shall have a husband.
1 So Collier.— Ed. 1593 " De reare" ; ed. 1599 " Deare are."
2 So Dyce.— Old eds. "Whereas."
3 So Collier.— Ed. 1593 "Clace"; ed. 1599 "Gloster."
4 So Collier.— Old eds. give the line to Longshanks.
8 So P. A. Daniel.— Old eds. give this line as well as lines 68-71 to Longshanks.
SCENE x.] Edward I. 157
Longsh. Come hither, Glocester : hold, give her thy
hand; Take her, sole daughter to the Queen of England. —
[LONGSH. gives her to GLOCESTER.
For news he brought me,1 Nell, of my young son, 70 I promised him as much as I have done.
Glocester and Joan [hand in hand\ We humbly thank
your majesty.
Lancaster. Much joy may them betide. A gallant bridegroom and a princely bride !
Longsh. Now say, sweet queen, what doth my lady
crave ?
Tell me what name shall this young Welshman have, Born Prince of Wales by Cambria's full consent ?
Q. Elinor. Edward the name that doth me well content. Lonsgh. Then Edward of Carnarvon shall he be. And Prince of Wales, christened in royalty. 80
Lancaster. My lord, I think the queen would take a
nap.
Joan. Nurse, take the child, and hold it 2 in your lap. Longsh. Farewell, good Joan; be careful of my
queen. — Sleep, Nell, the fairest swan mine eyes have seen.
[ They close the tent.
Lancaster. I had forgot to ask your majesty How do you with the abbeys 3 here in Wales ?
1 Old eds. omit " me " (which was suggested by Dyce).
2 Omitted in ed. 1593.
3 There seems to be some corruption here.
158 Edward I. [SCENE x.
Longsh. As kings with rebels, Mun; our right pre vails.
We have good Robin Hood and Little John, The Friar and the good Maid Marian : Why, our Lluellen is a mighty man. 9o
Glocester. Trust me, my lord, methinks 'twere very
good
That some good fellows went and scoured the wood, And take in hand to cudgel Robin Hood. I think the Friar, for all his lusty looks, Nor Robin's rabble x with their glaives and hooks, But would be quickly driven to the nooks.
Sir David. I can assure your highness what I know : The false Lluellen will not run nor go, Or give an inch of ground, come man for man -} Nor that proud rebel called Little John, 100
To him that wields the massiest sword of England.
Glocester. Welshman, how wilt thou that we under stand ?
But for Lluellen, David, I deny ; England hath men will make Lluellen fly, Matigre his beard, and hide him in a hole, Weary of England's dints and manly dole.2
Lancaster. Glocester, grow not so hot in England's
right, That paints his honour out in every fight
1 "Both 4tos 'Nor Robin rule with their gleames and hookes.' (A little farther on, mention is made of ' Robin Hood and his rabble.') " —Dyce. (The correction " glaives " was made by Collier.)
2 "I.e. blows dealt out." — Dyce.
SCENE x,j Edward L 159
Longsh. By Gis,i fair lords, ere many days be
past,
England shall give this Robin Hood 2 his breakfast. — David, be secret, friend, to that I say, in
And if I use thy skill, thou know'st the way Where this proud Robin and his yeomen roam.
Sir David. I do, my lord, and blindfold thither can I run.
Longsh. David, enough : as I am a gentleman, I'll have one merry flirt with Little John, And Robin Hood, and his Maid Marian. Be thou my counsel and my company, And thou mayst England's resolution see. 119
Enter SUSSEX before the Four Barons, of Wales.
Sussex. May it please your majesty, here are four good squires of the cantreds 3 where they do dwell, come in the name of the whole country to gratulate unto your high ness all your good fortunes, and by me offer their most humble service to your young son, their prince, whom they most heartily beseech God to bless with long life and honour.
Longsh. Well said, Sussex! I pray, bid them come
1 Jesus.
2 "Strike out Hood. This restores metre and sense. It is an ironi cally jocular allusion to feeding the bird so called." — Dr. Nicholson.
3 " ' Cantred is as much iri Wales as hundred in England, for cantre in Welsh is centum.1 Minsheu." — Dyce.
1 60 Edward L [SCENE x
near. [Exit SUSSEX. 1] Sir David, trust me, this is kindly done of your countrymen. 129
Sir David [aside]. Villains, traitors to the ancient glory and renown of Cambria ! Morris Vaughan, art thou there ? And thou, proud Lord of Anglesey ?
Enter SUSSEX with the Four Barons of Wales, with the mantle of frieze. They kneel down.
Mantle Barons. The poor country of Cambria, by us unworthy messengers, gratulates to your majesty the birth of your young son, Prince of Wales, and in this poor present express 2 their most zealous duty and affec tion, which with all humbleness we present to your high ness' sweet and sacred hands. I3g
Longsh. Gramercies, barons, for your gifts and good wills : by this means my boy shall wear a mantle of country's3 weaving to keep him warm, and live for England's honour and Cambria's good. I shall not need, I trust, courteously to invite you ; I doubt not, lords, but you will be all in readiness to wait on your young prince, and do him honour at his christening.
Sussex. The whole country of Cambria round about, all well-horsed and attended on, both men and women in their best array, are come down to do service of love and honour to our late-born prince, your majesty's son
1 There is no stage direction in old eds.
2 So Collier. —Old eds. " prest exprest."
3 Qy. " Cambria's " ? (" Qy. ' of s country's ' ? "—P. A. Daniel. )
SCENE x.j Edward I. 1 6 1
and honey : * the men and women of S[n]owdon especially have sent in great abundance of cattle and corn, enough by computation for your highness' household a whole month and more. 153
Longsh. We thank them all; and will present our queen with these courtesies and presents bestowed on her young son, and greatly account you for our friends.
\_Exite Four Barons.2
The QUEEN'S tent opens ; the KING, his brother, \and\ the EARL OF GLOCESTER enter.
Q. Elinor. Who talkettt there ?
Lonsgh. A friend, madam.
Joan. Madam, it is the king.
Elinor. Welcome, my lord. Heigh-ho, what have we there? 161
Longsh. Madam, the country, in all kindness and duty, recommend their service and good-will to your son ; and, in token of their pure good-will, presents him by us with a mantle of frieze, richly lined to keep him warm.
Elinor. A mantle of frieze ! fie, fie ! for God's sake let me hear no more of it, and if you love me. Fie,3 my lord !
1 " Qy. read and heir, or transpose and honey to next line, after cattle and corn1?" — P. A. Da?iieL
2 ' ' Perhaps here might be inserted lines 36, 37, sc. xiii. , which Dyce relegates to the margin : — ' Sir David, you may command all ample welcome in our court for your countrymen.' " — P. A. Daniel.
3 Ed. 1599 "hee."
VOL. I. L
1 62 Edward I. [SCENE x.
is this the wisdom and kindness of the country ? Now I commend me to them all, and if Wales have no more wit or manners than to clothe a king's son in frieze, I have a mantle in store for my boy that shall, I trow, make him shine like the sun, and perfume the streets where he comes. 174
Longsh. In good time, madam ; he is ycur own ; lap him as you list : but I promise thee, Nell, I would not for ten thousand pounds the country should take un- kindness at thy words.
Elinor. 'Tis no marvel, sure j you have been royally received at their hands. 180
No,1 Ned, but that thy Nell doth want her 2 will, Her boy should glister like the summer's 3 sun, In robes as rich as Jove when he triumphs. His pap should be of precious nectar made, His food ambrosia — no earthly woman's milk ; Sweet fires of cinnamon to open him by ; The Graces on his cradle should attend ; Venus should make his bed and wait on him, And Phoebus' daughter sing him still asleep. Thus would I have my boy used as divine, 190
Because he is King Edward's son and mine : And do you mean to make him up in frieze ? For God's sake lay it up charily and perfume it against winter ; it will make him a goodly warm Christmas coat.
Longsh. Ah, Mun, my brother, dearer than my life,
1 "No, Ned . . . like the" — prose in old eds.
2 Ed. 1599 "of her."
3 " Summer's sun . . . triumphs" — one line in old eds.
SCENE x.] Edward I. 163
How this proud humour 1 slays my heart with grief ! —
Sweet queen, how much I pity the effects !
This Spanish pride 'grees not with England's
Mild is the mind where honour builds his bower,
And yet is earthly honour but a flower. 200
Fast to those looks are all my fancies tied,
Pleas'd with thy sweetness, angry with thy pride.
Q. Elinor. Fie, fie ! methinks I am not where I should
be; Or at the least I am not where I would be.
Longsh. What wants my queen to perfect her content ? But ask and have, the king will not repent.
Q. Elinor. Thanks, gentle Edward. — Lords, have at
you, then !
Have at you all, long-bearded Englishmen ! Have at you, lords and ladies ! when I crave To give your English pride a Spanish brave. 210
Longsh. What means my queen ?
Glocester* [aside]. This is a Spanish fit.
Q. Elinor. Ned, thou hast granted, and canst not revoke it.
Longsh. Sweet queen, say on : my word shall be my deed.
Q. Elinor. Then shall thy word 3 make many a bosom bleed.
1 So Dyce. — Old. eds. "honor."
2 So Dyce. — In old eds. this prefix is printed as part of the text, and the "aside " is not marked.
3 So Dyce. — Old eds. "my wordes."
164 Edward L [SCENE x.
Read, Ned, thy queen's request lapt up in rhyme, And say thy Nell had skill to choose her time.
Longsh. [reads].1 The pride of Englishmen's long hair Is more than England's Queen can bear: Women's right breast, cut them off all ; And let the great tree perish with the small. 220
What means my lovely Elinor by this ?
Q. Elinor. Not [to] be denied, for my request it is.
\The rhyme is that mens beards and women s
breasts be cut off, ore. Lancaster. Glocester, an old said saying, — He that
grants all is ask'd, Is much harder than Hercules task'd.2
Glocester \aside~\? Were the king so mad as the queen
is wood,4 Here were an end of England's good.
Longsh. My word is pass'd, — I am well agreed ; Let men's beards milt5 and women's bosoms bleed. — Call forth my barbers ! Lords, we'll first begin.
Enter two Barbers.
Come, sirrah, cut me close unto the chin, 230
And round me even, see'st thou, by a dish ; Leave not a lock : my queen shall have her wish.
1 So Dyce.— Old eds. " Read the paper, Rice"
2 So Dyce.— Old eds. " taske."
3 The " aside " is not marked in old eds.
4 Mad.
5 Collier suggested "moult."
SCENE x.] Edward I. 165
Q. Elinor. What, Ned, those locks that ever pleased
thy Nell,
W[h]ere her desire, where her delight doth dwell ! Wilt thou deface that silver labyrinth, More orient than purpled * hyacinth ? Sweet Ned, thy sacred person ought not droop, Though my command make other gallants stoop.
Longsh. Madam, pardon me and pardon all ; No justice but the great runs with the small. — 240
Tell me, good Glocester, art thou not afeard ?
Glocester. No, my lord, but resolv'd to lose my beard.
Longsh. Now, madam, if you purpose to proceed To make so many guiltless ladies bleed, Here must the law begin, sweet Elinor, at thy breast, ) And stretch itself with violence to the rest. Else princes ought no other do, Fair lady, than they would be done unto.
Q. Elinor. What logic call you this ? Doth Edward mock his love ?
Longsh. No, Nell ; he doth as best in honour doth
behove. 250
And prays thee, gentle queen, — and let my prayers 2
move, —
Leave these ungentle thoughts, put on a milder mind ; Sweet looks, not lofty, civil mood become a woman's kind : 3
1 So Collier.— Old eds. "pimpilde."
2 Ed. 1593 "praies." 8 Nature.
1 66 Edward I. [SCENE x.
And live, as, being dead and buried in the ground, Thou mayst for affability and honour be renown'd.
Q. Elinor. Nay, and you preach, I pray, my lord, be
gone: The child will cry and trouble you anon.
[The1 Nurse doseth the tent.
Mayoress \aside\. Quo 2 semel est imbuta rccens servabit
odorem Testa diu.
Proud,3 infect in the cradle with disdain. 260
Bred up in court of pride, brought up in Spain, Dost thou command him coyly from thy sight, That is thy 4 star, the glory of thy light ? 5
Longsh. O, could I with the riches of my crown Buy better thoughts for my renowned Nell, Thy mind, sweet queen, should be as beautiful As is thy face, as is thy features all, Fraught with pure honour's treasure,6 and enrich'd With virtues and glory incomparable. — 269
Ladies about her majesty, see that the queen your
1 Dyce removes this stage-direction to the end of the scene. At Mr. P. A. Daniel's suggestion I have followed the old copies, for ' ' from this point it seems obvious that no portion of the dialogue is spoken in the Queen's presence."
2 This quotation from Horace (Epist. /. n, 69) is without any prefix in old eds. Collier supposes that it was intended as a side-note. Dyce gives it to the Mayoress.
3 Old eds. " Proud incest in the cradle of." It is tolerably clear that these lines are spoken aside.
4 Old eds. "the." 5 Ed. 1593 "sight."
6 Ed. 1593 "pure honor, treasure"; ed. 1599 "true honor, treasure."
SCENE x.] Edward I. 167
mistress l know not so much ; but at any hand our plea sure is that our young son be in this mantle borne to his christening, for special reasons are thereto moving ; from the church, as best it please your women's wits to devise. [Exeunt^ Mayoress and Ladies into the tent.~\ You,3 sweet Joan, see this faithfully performed; and, hear you, daughter, look you be not last up when this day comes, lest Glocester find another bride in your stead. — David, go with me. [Exit with SIR DAVID.]
Glocester. She riseth early, Joan, that beguileth thee of a Glocester. 281
Lancaster. Believe him not, sweet niece : we men can speak smooth for advantage.
Joan. Women,4 do you mean, my good uncle ? Well, be the accent where it will, women are women. — I will believe you for as great a matter as this comes to, my lord.
Glocester. Gramercies, sweet lady, et habebis fidei mer- cedem contra. \Exeunt.
1 So Dyce.— Old eds. "mother."
2 Stage-direction added by P. A. Daniel, s So Dyce.— Old eds. "Yet."
4 Old writers are fond of playing on the words, we men and •women. Cf. Robert Jones' First Book of Airs, 1601—
" Women, what are they? virtue's stumbling blocks, Whereat weak fools do fall, the wiser spurn. We men, what are we ? fools and idle boys To spend our time in sporting in such toys."
1 68 Edward I. [SCENE xii.
[SCENE XL]
Enter [JACK] the Novice and his company r, to give the QUEEN music at her tent.
Jack. Come, fellows, cast yourselves even round in a string — a ring I would say : come, merrily on my word, for the queen is most liberal, and if you will please her well, she will pay you royally : so, lawful to brave well thy British lustily to solace our good queen : God save her grace, and give our young prince a carpell in their kind ! 1 Come on, come on, set your crowds,2 and beat your heads together, and behave you handsomely.
[Here they sing \and then exeunt].
[SCENE XII.] Enter the Friar DAVID alone.
Friar. I have a budget in my nose this gay morning, and now will I try how clerkly the friar can behave himself. 'Tis a common fashion to get gold with " Stand : deliver your purses ! " Friar Davies will once in his days get money by wit. There is a rich farmer should pass this ways to receive a round sum of money : if he come to me, the money is mine, and the law shall take no vantage ; I will cut off the law as the hangman would cut a man down when he hath shaken his heels
1 " ' Lawful to brave well . . . a carpell in their kind.' Of this I can make nothing satisfactory."—/^. For "brave" I would read "brawl." 2 Fiddles.
SCENE xii.] Edward I. 169
half-an-hour under the gallows. Well, I must take some pains for this gold • and have at it ! 1 1
[ The Friar spreads the lappet of 'his gown, and falls to dice.
Enter a Farmer.
Farmer. Tis an old said saying, I remember I read it in Cato's1 Pueriles , that Cantabit^ vacuus coram latrone viator; a man 's purse-penniless 3 may sing before a thief : true, as I have not one penny, which makes me so pertly pass through these thickets. But indeed I am to 4 re ceive a hundred marks ; and all the care is how I shall pass again. Well, I am 5 resolved either to ride twenty miles about, or else to be so well accompanied that I will not care for these rufflers. 20
Friar. Did ever man play with such uncircumcised hands ? size-ace to eleven and lose the chance !
Farmer. God speed, good fellow ! why chafest thou so fast ? there's nobody will win thy money from thee.
Friar. Zounds, you offer me injury, sir, to speak in my cast.
Farmer \aside\. The friar undoubtedly is lunatic. — I pray thee, good fellow, leave chafing, and get some warm drink to comfort thy brains. 29
1 Dionysius Cato's Disticha Moralia was a famous old school-book ; and there was another school-book Pueriles Confabiatiunculce. But Cato's Disticha was also known as Sententia Pueriles.
2 Juvenal, Sat. x. 22.
3 Old eds. " purse pennilesse " (without hyphen). The meaning is, " A man who is without a penny in his purse may sing," &c.
4 So Dyce. — Old eds. omit "am to."
5 So Collier. — Old eds. omit "am."
1 70 Edward I. [SCENE xii.
Friar. Alas, sir, I am not lunatic : 'tis not so well, for I have lost my money, which is far worse. I have lost five gold nobles to Saint Francis ; and if I knew where to meet with his receiver, I would pay him presently.
Farmer. Wouldst thou speak with Saint Francis' receiver ?
Friar. O Lord, ay, sir, full gladly.
Farmer. Why, man, I am Saint Francis' receiver, if you would have anything with him.
Friar. Are you Saint Francis' receiver ? Jesus, Jesus ! are you Saint Francis' receiver ? and how does all ? 40
Farmer. I am his receiver, and am now going to him : ?a bids Saint Thomas a' Waterings to breakfast this morning to a calf's-head and bacon.
Friar. Good Lord, sir, I beseech you carry l him these five nobles, and tell him I deal honestly with him as if he were here present. [Gives money.]
Farmer. I will of my word and honesty, friar ; and so farewell.
Friar. Farewell, Saint Francis' receiver, even heartily. [£xtt2 Farmer.] Well, now the friar is out of cash five nobles, God knows how he shall come into cash again : but I must to it again. There's nine for your holiness and six for me. 53
Enter LLUELLEN, RICE AP MEREDITH and [MORTIMER, disguised as a] Potter with their Prisoners.
Lluellen. Come on, my hearts : bring forth your
1 Ed. 1599 "you to carrie"
2 There is no stage-direction in old eds.
I
SCENE xii.] Edward I. 171
prisoners, and let us see what store of fish is there in their purse-nets.— Friar, why chafest thou, man ? here's nobody will offer thee any foul play, I warrant thee.
Friar. O, good master, give me leave : my hand is in a little ; I trust I shall recover my losses.
Lluellen. The friar is mad ; but let him alone with his device. — And now to you, my masters, Pedler, Priest, and Piper: throw down your budgets in the mean while, and when the friar is at leisure he shall tell you what you shall trust to. 64
Pedler. Alas, Sir, I have but three pence in the corner of my shoe.
Rice ap Mer. Never a shoulder of mutton, Piper, in your tabor ? — But soft ! here comes company.
Enter LONGSHANKS, DAVID, Farmer.
Farmer. Alas, gentlemen, if you love yourselves, do not venter through this mountain : here's such a coil with Robin Hood and his rabble, that every cross * in my purse trembles for fear. 72
Longsh. Honest man, as I said to thee before, conduct us through this wood, and if thou beest robbed or have any violence offered thee, as I am a gentleman, I will repay it thee again.
Sir David. How much money hast thou about thee ?
Farmer. Faith, sir, a hundred marks ; I received it even now at Brecknock. But, out alas, we are undone ! yonder is Robin Hood and all the strong thieves in the
1 Piece of money marked with a cross.
172 Edward I. [SCENE xii.
mountain. I have no hope left but your honour's assurance. 82
Longsh. Fear not ; I will be my word's master.
Friar. Good 1 master, and if you love the friar, Give 2 aim a while, I you desire, And as you like of my device, So love him that holds the dice.
Farmer. What, friar, art thou still labouring so hard ? Will you have anything more to Saint Francis ?
Friar. Good Lord, are you here, sweet Saint Francis' receiver? How doth his holiness, and all his good family ? 92
Farmer. In good health, faith, friar : hast thou any nobles for him ?
Friar. You know the dice are not partial : and Saint Francis were ten saints, they will favour him no more than they would favour the devil, if he play at dice. In very truth, my friend, they have favoured the friar, and I have won a hundred marks of Saint Francis. Come, sir ; I pray, sirrah, draw it over : I know, sirrah, he is a good man, and never deceives none. 101
Farmer. Draw it over ! what meanest thou by that ?
Friar. Why, in numeratis pecuniis legem pone ; 3 pay me my winnings.
Farmer. What ass is this ! should I pay thee thy winnings ?
1 This speech is printed as prose in old eds.
2 Give aim — stand near the target and mark where the arrows fall.
3 " Legem pone" was a cant term for ready money. See Halliwell's Dictionary of Arch, and Prov. Words.
SCENE xii.] Edward I. 1 73
Friar. Why, art not thou, sirrah, Saint Francis' re ceiver?
Farmer. Indeed, I do receive for Saint Francis.
Friar. Then I'll make you pay for Saint Francis, that's flat. in
Farmer. Help, help ! I am robbed, I am robbed !
[Bustling on both sides.
Longsh. Villain, you wrong the man : hands off !
Friar. Masters, I beseech you leave this brawling, and give me leave to speak. So it is, I went to dice with Saint Francis, and lost five nobles : by good fortune his cashier came by, and 1 received it of me in ready cash. I, being very desirous to try my fortune further, played still ; and as the dice, not being bound prentice to him or any man, favoured me, I drew a hand and won a hundred marks. Now I refer it to your judgments, whether the friar is to seek his winnings. 122
Longsh. Marry, friar, the farmer must and shall pay thee honestly ere he pass.
Farmer. Shall I, sir ? Why, will you be content to pay half as you promised me ?
Longsh. Ay, farmer, if you had been robbed of it; but if you be a gamester, I'll take no charge of you, I.
Farmer. Alas, I am undone ! [Gives'2- money and exit.}
Lluetten. So, Sir Friar, now you have gathered up your winnings, I pray you stand up and give the passengers 3 their charge, that Robin Hood may receive his toll. 131
1 So Dyce. — Old eds. omit "and."
2 Stage-direction added by Dyce.
3 So Dyce (from a suggestion of Collier). — Old eds. " messengers."
1 74 Edward L [SCENE xn.
Friar. And shall, my lord. Our thrice-renowmed Lluellen, Prince of Wales and Robin Hood of the great mountain, doth will and command all passengers, at the sight of Richard,1 servant unto me Friar David ap Tuck, to lay down their weapons, and quietly to yield, for custom towards the maintenance of his highness' wars, the half of all such gold, silver, money, and money-worth, as the said passenger 2 hath then about him ; but if he conceal any part or parcel of the same, then shall he forfeit all that he possesseth at that present. And this sentence is irrevocable, confirmed by our lord Lluellen Prince of Wales and Robin Hood of the great mountain.3
Lluellen. So vail 4 your budgets to Robin of the moun tain. — But what art thou that disdainest to pay this custom, as if thou scornest the greatness of the Prince of Wales? 147
Longsh. Faith, Robin, thou seemest to be a good fellow : there's my bag ; half is mine, and half is thine. But let's to it, if thou darest, man for man, to try who shall have the whole.
Lluellen. Why, thou speakest as thou shouldst speak. — My masters, on pain of my displeasure, depart the place, and leave us two to ourselves. I must lop his longshanks, 'fore I'll ear5 to a pair oflongshanks.
1 The friar's staff. See note 3, p. 104.
2 So Dyce. — Oldeds. "messenger."
3 So Collier. — Old eds. " mountaines."
4 Lower.
5 This word cannot be right. Dr. Nicholson proposes "lower." (Oldeds. "forileeare.")
SCENE xii.] Edward I. 175
Longsh. They are fair marks, sir, and I must defend
as I may. — Davy, be gone. — Hold here, my hearts :
long-legs gives you this amongst you to spend blows
one with another. 159
\Exeunt Friar, and MEREDITH with Prisoners.
Sir David1 [aside]. Now Davy's days are almost come at end. [Retires].
Mortimer [aside]. But, Mortimer, this sight is strange. Stay thou in some corner to see what will befall in this battle. [Retires].
Longsh. Now, Robin of the Wood, alias Robin Hood, be it known to your worship by these presents, that the longshanks which you aim at have brought the King of England into these mountains to visit2 Lluellen, and to crack a blade with his man that supposeth himself Prince of Wales. 170
Lluellen. What, Sir King ! welcome to Cambria.3 What, foolish Edward, darest thou endanger thyself to travel these mountains ? Art thou so foolish-hardy as to combat with the Prince of Wales ?
Longsh. What I dare, thou seest ; what I can perform, thou shalt shortly know. I think thee a gentleman, and therefore hold no scorn to fight with thee.
Lluellen. No, Edward; I am as good a man as thyself.
1 " Both 4103 (making this a portion of the preceding speech) ' Dauie now Dauie dazes,' &c." — Dyce (adopting Collier's conjecture).
2 Suggested by Dyce. — Old eds. "vse."
3 So Collier.— Old eds. " Cambrias."
176 Edward L [SCENE xii.
Longsh. That shall I try.
\They fight, and DAVID takes his brother's part ',
and MORTIMER the KING'S.
Hallo, Edward ! how are thy senses confounded ! — What, Davy, is it possible thou shouldst be false to England? 182
Sir David. Edward, I am true to Wales, and so have been friends since my birth, and that shall the King of England know to his cost.
Lluellen. What, potter, did not I charge you to be gone with your fellows ?
Mortimer. No traitor, no potter I, but Mortimer, the Earl of March; whose coming to these woods is to deceive thee of thy love, and reserved to save my sove reign's life. 191
Sir David. Upon them, brother ! let them not breathe.
\The KING hath LLUELLEN down, and DAVID hath MORTIMER down.
Longsh. Villain, thou diest ! God and my right have prevailed.
Sir David. Base earl ! now doth David triumph in thine overthrow. — Ay is me! Lluellen at the feet of Longshanks !
Longsh. What, Mortimer under the sword of such a traitor ! 200
Mortimer. Brave king, run thy sword up to the hilts into the blood of the rebel.
Longsh. O, Mortimer, thy life is dearer to me than millions of rebels
SCENE xii.] Edward I. 177
Sir David. Edward, release1 my brother, and Mortimer lives.
Longsh. Ay, villain, thou knowest too well how dear I hold my Mortimer. [To LLUELLEN.] Rise, man, and assure thee that2 the hate I bear to thee is love3 in re spect of the deadly hatred I bear to that notorious rebel.
Mortimer. Away ! his sight to me is like the sight of a
cockatrice. — Villain, I go to revenge me on thy treason,
and to make thee pattern to the world of monstrous 4
treason, falsehood, and ingratitude. 214
\_Exeuntb KING EDWARD and MORTIMER.
Sir David. Brother, 'a chafes ; but hard was your hap to be overmastered by the coward.
Lluelkn. No coward, David: his courage is like to the lion, and were it not that rule and sovereignty set us at jar, I could love and honour the man for his valour.
Sir David. But the potter, — O, the villain will never out of my mind whilst I live ! and I will lay 6 to be revenged on his villany. 223
Lluelkn. Well, David, what will be shall be ; therefore casting these matters out of our heads, David, thou art welcome to Cambria. Let us in and be merry after this cold cooling, and to7 prepare to strengthen ourselves against the last threatenings. [Exeunt ambo.
i So Dyce.— Old eds. "relieue." 2 So Dyce.— Old eds. "and."
3 Collier's emendation. — Old eds. "long."
4 Colliers's emendation. (Cf. scene xix, 1. 3. "monstrous treason.") Old eds. "mountains."
5 Old eds. "Exit MORTIMER." 6 Devise, scheme. 7 Collier omits "to." — Dyce conjectures "so."
VOL. I. M
178 Edward L [SCENE xiii.
[SCENE XIII.]
After the christening and marriage done, the Harrolds having attended, they pass over ; the Bride is led by two Noblemen, EDMUND of Lancaster and the EARL OF SUSSEX ; and the Bishop.
Glocester. Welcome, Joan, Countess of Glocester, to Gilbert de Clare for ever !
Sussex.1 God give them joy ! — Cousin Glocester, let us now go visit the king and queen, and present their majesties with their young son, Edward Prince of Wales.
Then all pass in their order to the KING'S pavilion ; the KING sits in his tentt with his Pages about him.
Bishop. We here present 2 your highness most humbly with your young son, Edward of Carnarvon, Prince of Wales. \Sound trumpets.
Omnes. God save Edward of Carnarvon, Prince of Wales ! 10
Longsh. [kisses them both']. Edward, Prince of Wales, God bless thee with long life and honour ! — Welcome, Joan, Countess of Glocester ! God bless thee and thine for ever ! — Lords, let us visit my queen and wife, whom
1 So Collier. — Old eds. make this speech a continuation of the preceding.
2 Old eds. "represent," the two last letters of the previous word having been repeated (a very common mistake).
SCENE xiii.] Edward I. 1 79
we will at once present with a son and daughter honoured to her desire.
Sound trumpets : they all march to the chamber ; Bishop speaks to her in her bed.
Bishop. We humbly present your majesty with your young son, Edward of Carnarvon, Prince of Wales ! 18
[Sound trumpets.
All. God save Edward of Carnarvon, Prince of Wales.
Elinor [she kisses him]. Gramercies, bishop : hold, take that to buy thee a rochet.1— [Gives purse].2 — Wel come, Welshman ! — Here, nurse, open him and have him to the fire, for God's 3 sake ; they have touzed him, and washed him4 throughly, and that be good. — And wel come, Joan, Countess of Glocester ! God bless thee with long life, honour, and heart's-ease ! — I am now as good as my word, Glocester ; she is thine : make much of her, gentle earl.
Longsh. Now, my sweet Nell, what more commandeth my queen, that nothing may want to perfect her content ment? 31
Elinor. Nothing, sweet Ned; but pray my king to feast the lords and ladies royally : and thanks a thousand times, good men and women, to you all for this duty and honour done to your prince.
Longsh. Master bridegroom, by old custom this is
1 So Dyce.— Old eds. " rochell." 2 Not marked in old eds.
3 Ed. 1593 "God."
4 Ed. 1593 "washthim." — Ed. 1599 "wash him."
I So Edward I. [SCENE xiii.
your waiting-day.1— Sir David,2 you may command all ample welcome in our court for your countrymen.— Brother Edmund, revel it now or never for honour of your England's son. — Glocester, now, like a brave bride groom, marshal this meny,3 and set these lords and ladies to dancing; so shall you fulfil the old English proverb, "Tis merry in hall when beards wag all." 43
After the show, and the KING and QUEEN, with all the Lords and Ladies, in place, LONGSHANKS speaketh.
Longsh. What tidings brings [Lord] Versses to our court ?
Enter in VERSSES with a halter about his neck.
Versses. Tidings to make thee tremble, English king. Longsh. Me 4 tremble, boy ! must not be news from
Scotland Can once make English Edward stand aghast.
1 ' ' Waiting-day. Was it not the custom for the bridegroom on the wedding-day to wait on his bride and guests ? Can't refer you to any authority, but I think there's an allusion to it in A Cure for a Cuckold. Webster, ed. Dyce, I. ii., p. 291, col. i, ' This day I am your servant ' — 'True this day . . . Only this day a groom to do her service.'" — P. A. Daniel.
2 It is evident that "Sir David" is not the person addressed ; for in the last scene Longshanks had parted from him in high dudgeon. The king is addressing the leading Welsh representative, whoever he may be. (An unusually bold critic might suggest that the MS. read " S.D. ," which was intended for " Salutem dico," addressed to the bridegroom. A less violent emendation would be "By St. David. ")
3 Company. — Old eds. "many."
4 This line and the next are printed as prose in old eds.
SCENE XIIL] Edward I. 181
Versses. Baliol hath chosen at this time to stir ; To rouse him lion-like, and cast the yoke That Scots ingloriously have borne from thee 50
And all the predecessors of thy line ; And make[s] his roads l to re-obtain his right,2 And for his homage sends thee this despite.3
Lancaster. Why, how now, princox ! 4 prat'st thou to a king?
Versses. I do my message truly from my king : This sword and target chide in louder terms. I bring defiance from King John Baliol To English Edward and his barons all.
Longsh. Marry, so, methinks, thou defiest me with a witness.
Versses. Baliol, my king, in Barwick makes his court : His camp he spreads upon the sandy plain, 61
And dares thee to the battle in his right.
Lancaster. What, court and camp in Englishmen's despite ?
Longsh. Hold, messenger : commend me to thy king : Wear thou my chain, and carry this 5 to him. Greet all his rout of rebels more or less ; Tell them such shameful end will hit them all : And wend with this as resolutely back As thou to England brought'st thy Scottish braves.6
1 Inroads. (Old eds. "roddes.")
2 So Collier.— Old eds. " rights."
3 Old eds. " al [and all] this despight."
4 Saucy fellow. 5 I.e. the halter. 6 Bravadoes.
1 82 Edward I. [SCENE XITI.
Tell, then, disdainfully1 Baliol from us, 70
We'll rouse him from his hold, and make him soon Dislodge his camp and take 2 his walled town. Say what I bid thee, Versses, to his teeth, And earn this favour and a better thing.
Versses. Yes, King of England, whom my heart beloves : Think, as I promised him to brave thee here, So shall I bid John Baliol base3 from thee.
Longsh. So shalt thou earn my chain and favour,
Versses, And carry him this token that 'a sends.4
[Exit VERSSES.]
Why, now is England's harvest ripe : 80
Barons, now may you reap the rich renown That under warlike colours springs in field, And grows where ensigns wave5 upon the plains. False Baliol, Barwick 6 is no hold of proof To shroud thee from the strength of Edward's arm : No, Scot ; thy treason's fear shall make the breach For England's pure renown to enter in.7
AIL Amain, amain, upon these treacherous Scots ! Amain, say all, upon these treacherous Scots !
Longsh. While we with Edmund, Glocester, and the rest, 90
" Qy. ' disdainful ' ? "—P. A. Daniel. 2 I.e. betake him to.
3 Bid base— challenge to an encounter. A term in the game of Prisoner's Base.
4 Old eds. " that thou sendst."
5 So Collier. — Old eds. "wan." 6 Ed. 1593 " Warwicke." 7 So Collier. — Old eds. "one" and "on."
SCENE xiv.] Edward I. 183
With speedy journeys gather up our forces,
And beat these braving Scots from England's bounds,
Mortimer, thou shalt take the rout in task
That revel here and spoil fair Cambria.
My queen, when she is strong and well a-foot,
Shall post to London and repose1 her there.
Then God shall send us haply all to meet,
And joy the honours of our victories.
Take vantage of our foes and see the time,
Keep still our hold, our fight yet on the plain. 100
Baliol, I come, — proud Baliol and ingrate, —
Prepared ? to chase thy men from England's gate.
[Exit EDWARD KING [with his train].
[SCENE XIV.] Enter BALIOL with his train.
Baliol. Princes of Scotland and my loving friends, Whose necks are overwearied with the yoke And servile bondage of these Englishmen, Lift up your horns, and with your brazen hoofs Spurn3 at the honour of your enemies. 'Tis not ambitious thoughts of private rule Have forced your king to take on him these arms ;
1 So Dyce. — Old eds. "repaste."
2 So Dyce, following a conjecture of Collier.— Old eds. " Perswaded.
3 So Collier. — Old eds. "Spurre."
184 Edward I. [SCENE xiv.
'Tis country's cause; it is the common1 good
Of2 us and of our brave posterity.
To arms, to arms ! 10
Versses by this hath told the king our minds,
And he hath braved proud England to the proof:
We will remunerate his resolution
With gold, with glory, and with kingly gifts.
First Lord. By sweet Saint Jerome, Versses will not
spare
To tell his message to the English king, And beard the jolly Longshanks to his face, Were he the greatest monarch in the world. And here he comes : his halter makes him haste. 19
Enter VERSSES.
Versses. Long live my lord, the rightful king of Scots !
Baliol Welcome, Versses ! what news from England ? Like to the messenger 3 of Scotland's king ?
Versses. Versses, my lord, in terms like to himself, Like to the messenger of Scottish king, Defied the peers of England and their swords,4 That all his barons trembles at my threats, And Longshanks' self,5 as daunted and amazed, Gazed on my face, not witting what to say ; Till rousing up he shaked his threatening hair :
1 So Collier. — Old eds. "commons."
2 "Of us . . . to arms !" — one line in old eds.
3 So Dyce. — Old eds. "measure."
< Old eds. "lords." 6 So Dyce.— Old eds. "himselfe."
SCENE xv.] Edward I. 185
" Versses," quoth he, " take thou King Edward's chain,
Upon condition thou a message do 31
To Baliol, false perjured Baliol ; "
For in these terms he bade me greet your grace,
And give l this halter to your excellence.2
I took the chain, and give3 your grace the rope.
Baliol. You took the chain, and give my grace the
rope ! —
Lay hold on him. — Why, miscreate recreant, And darest thou bring a halter to thy king ? But I will quite thy pain, and in that chain, Upon a silver gallows shalt thou hang, 40
That honour'd with a golden rope of England, And a silver gibbet of Scotland, thou mayst4 Hang in the air for fowls to feed upon, And men to wonder at. — Away with him ! Away ! 5 [Exeunt.
[SCENE XV.]
After the sight of JOHN BALIOL is done, enter MORTIMER pursuing of the rebels.
Mortimer. Strike up that drum ! follow, pursue, and chase !
1 So Dyce.— Old ed. " gaue."
2 So Collier.— Old eds. " excellcenes. "
3 So Collier.— Old eds. "gaue."
4 In old eds. the last two words of this line are printed at the beginning of the next. The text is again corrupt.
5 Printed at the end of the previous line in old eds.
1 86 Edward I. [SCENE xvi.
Follow, pursue ! spare not the proudest he That havocks England's sacred royalty !
[Exit MORTIMER.
Then make the proclamation upon the walls. Sound trumpets.
[SCENE XVI.] Enter QUEEN ELINOR.
Q. Elinor. Now * fits the time to purge our melancholy, And be revenged upon this London dame. — Katherina !
Enter KATHERINA.
Katherina. At hand, madam.
Q. Elinor. Bring forth our London Mayoress here.
Katherina. I will, madam. [Exit.
Q. Elinor. Now,2 Nell, Bethink thee of some tortures for the dame, And purge thy choler to the uttermost.
Enter Mayoress and KATHERINA.
Now, Mistress Mayoress, you have attendance urged, And therefore to requite your courtesy, IT
Our mind is to bestow an office on you straight.
1 This speech is printed as prose in old eds. 3 " Now . . . dame"— one line in old eds.
SCENE xvi.] Edward I. 187
Mayoress. Myself, my life, and service, mighty queen, Are humbly at your majesty's command.
Q. Elinor. Then,1 Mistress Mayoress, say whether will
you be Our nurse or laundress ?
Mayoress. Then1 may it please your majesty To entertain your handmaid for your nurse, She will attend the cradle carefully. 19
Q. Elinor. O, no, nurse; the babe needs no great rocking ; it can lull itself. — Katherina, bind her in the chair, and let me see how she'll become a nurse. \The Mayoress 2 is bound to the chairj] So : now, Katherina, draw forth her breast, and let the serpent suclr'fiis filT.X^ \_The 2 serpent is applied to her breast.~\ Why, so ; now she \ is a nurse. — Suck on, sweet babe.
Mayoress. Ah, queen, sweet queen, seek not my blood
to spill, For I shall die before this adder have his fill !
Q. Elinor. Die or die not, my mind is fully pleased. — Come, Katherina : to London now will we, 30
And leave our Mayoress with her nursery.
Katherina. Farewell, sweet Mayoress, look unto the babe. \_Exeunt QUEEN and KATH.
Mayoress, Farewell, proud queen, the author of my
death,
The scourge of England and to English dames ! — Ah, husband, sweet John Bearmber, Mayor of London,
1 This speech is printed as prose in old eds.
2 This stage-direction is not in old eds.
.
1 88 Edward I. [SCENE xvn.
Ah, didst thou know how Mary is perplex'd,
Soon wouldst thou come to Wales, and rid me of this
pain; But, O, I die ! my wish is all in vain. [Here she dies.
[SCENE XVIL]
Enter LLUELLEN running out before, and DAVID with a
halter ready to hang himself.
Lluellen. The angry heavens frown'd on Britain's face To eclipse the glory of fair Cambria : With sour1 aspects the dreadful planets lower. Lluellen, basely turn thy back and fly ? No, Welshmen fight it to the last and die ; For if my men safely have got the bride, Careless of chance I'll reck no sour event. England's broad womb hath not that armed band That can expel Lluellen from his land.
Enter DAVID.
Sir David. Fly, Lord of Cambria ! fly, Prince of Wales ! Sweet brother, fly ! the field is won and lost : n
Thou art beset with England's furious troops, And cursed Mortimer, like a lion, leads. Our men have got the bride, but all in vain : The Englishmen are come upon our backs.
1 I follow Dyce's conjecture.— Old eds. " soror " and ' 'sorar. "—Collier has "sore."
SCENE xviii.] Edward I. 189
Either flee or die, for Edward hath the day. For me, I have my rescue in my hand : England on me no torments shall inflict. Farewell, Lluellen, while1 we meet in heaven.
{Exit DAVID.
Enter Soldiers.
{First Soldier^ Follow, pursue ! — Lie there, whate'er thou be. '[LLUELLEN is slain with a pike-staff. Yet soft, my hearts ! let us his countenance see. 21
This is the prince ; I know him by his face :
0 gracious fortune, that me happy made To spoil the weed that chokes fair Cambria ! Hale him from hence, and in this busky2 wood Bury his corpse j but for his head, I vowed
1 will present our governor with the same.
{Exeunt omnes.
[SCENE XVIII.] Enter the Friar with a halter about his neck.
Friar. Come, my gentle Richard,3 my true servant,4 that in some storms have stood thy5 master; hang thee, I pray thee, lest I hang for thee ; and down on thy marrowbones, like a foolish fellow that have gone far astray, and ask forgiveness of God and King Edward for
i Till. 2 Bushy.
3 He is addressing his staff. See note 3, p. 104.
4 So Dyce. — Old eds. "master seruant." (Qy. "thy master's true servant " ?) 5 So Dyce.—" Old eds. " my."
190
Edward I. [SCENE xix.
playing the rake-hell and the rebel here in Wales. Ah,
gentle Richard, many a hot breakfast have we been at
together ! and now since, like one of Mars his frozen 1
knights, I must hang up my weapon upon this tree, and
come per misericordiam to the mad potter Mortimer,
wring thy hands, friar, and sing a pitiful farewell to thy
pike-staff at parting. 12
\The Friar having sung his farewell to his pike-staff ^
'a takes his leave of Cambria^ and exit the Friar.
[SCENE XIX.]
Enter MORTIMER with his Soldiers [DAVID led captive\ and the LADY ELINOR.
Mortimer. Bind fast the traitor, and bring him away, that the law may justly pass upon him, and he 2 receive the reward of monstrous treasons and villany, stain to the name and honour of his noble country ! — For you that slew Lluellen and presented us with his head, the king shall reward your fortune and chivalry. — Sweet lady, abate3 not thy looks so heavenly to the earth : God and
1 "Qy. 'chosen,' says the editor of Dodsley's O. P. But perhaps Peele alludes to some incident in some romance." — Dyce. There may be an allusion to the gladiators' custom of hanging up their weapons, when they retired from their profession, as a votive offering to the patron deity. " Frozen " = numbed with age.
2 So Collier.— Old eds. omit "he."
3 Dyce adopts Sidney Walker's reading ' ' abase not thy looks so heavily." There is no need to change "abate," which has the mean ing "deject, cast down" ; and " heavily" is a doubtful improvement.
SCENE xix.] Edward /. 191
the King of England hath honour for thee in store, and Mortimer's heart is at thy l service and at thy com mandment. 10
Elinor. Thanks, gentle lord ; but, alas, who can blame Elinor to accuse her stars, that in one hour hath lost honour and contentment ?
Mortimer. And in one hour may your ladyship recover both, if you vouchsafe to be advised by your friends. — [Enter the Friar, and kneels].2 — But what makes the friar here upon his marrowbones ?
Friar. O, potter, potter, the friar doth sue, Now his old master is slain and gone, to have a new !
Elinor [aside].2 Ah, sweet Lluellen, how thy death I rue ! 20
Mortimer. Well said, friar ! better once than never. Give me thy hand [raising him 2] : my cunning shall fail me but we will be fellows yet ; and now Robin Hood is gone, it shall cost me hot water but thou shalt be King Edward's man : only I enjoin thee this — come not too near the fire ; 3 but, good friar, be at my hand.
Friar. O, sir ; no, sir, not so, sir ; 7a was warned 4 too lately ; none of that flesh I love.
Mortimer. Come on : and for those that have made their submission and given their names, in the king's name I pronounce their pardons ; and so God save King Edward ! [Exeunt* 32
1 So Dyce. — Old eds. omit " is " and " thy."
2 This stage-direction is not in old eds.
3 So Collier. — Ed. 1593 " the Frier" ; ed. 1599 " her Friar."
4 Qy. "warmed"? 5 Old eds. " Exeunt ambo from Wales."
Edward I. [SCENE xx.
[SCENE XX.]
Here's thunder and lightning when the QUEEN comes in. Enter QUEEN ELINOR and JOAN.
Q. Elinor. Why, Joan,1 Is this the welcome that the clouds affords ? How dare these disturb our thoughts, knowing That I am Edward's wife and England's Queen, Here thus on Charing-Green to threaten me ? 2
Joan. Ah, mother,1 blaspheme not so ! Your blaspheming and other wicked deeds Hath caused our God to terrify your thoughts. And call to mind your sinful fact committed Against the Mayoress here of lovely London, 10
And better Mayoress London never bred, So full of ruth and pity to the poor : Her have you made away, That London cries for vengeance on your head.
Q. Elinor. I rid x her not ; I made her not away : By heaven I swear, traitors They are to Edward and to England's Queen That say I made away the Mayoress.
Joan. Take heed,1 sweet lady-mother, swear not so : A field of prize-corn will not stop their mouths 2o
That say 3 you have made away that virtuous woman.
1 This speech is printed as prose in old eds.
2 I suspect the speech ended with a rhyme,— "to threaten me on Charing-Green."
3 So Dyce.— Old eds. "said."
SCENE xxi.] Edward I. 193
Q. Elinor. Gape, earth,1 and swallow me, and let my
soul
Sink down to hell, if I were autor 2 of That woman's tragedy ! O, Joan, help, Joan, Thy mother sinks !
[ The 3 earth opens and swallows her up. Joan. O, mother,1 my help is nothing ! — O, she is sunk, And here the earth is new-closed up again ! Ah, Charing-Green, for ever change thy hue, And never may the grass grow green again, But wither and return to stones, because 30
That beauteous Elinor sunk 4 on thee ! Well, I Will send unto the king my father's grace, And satisfy him of this strange mishap. \_Exit JOAN.
[SCENE XXL]
Alarum ; a charge : after long skirmish, assault ; flourish. 'Enter KING EDWARD with his train^ and BALIOL prisoner. EDWARD speaketh.
Longsh. Now, trothless king, what fruits have braving
boasts ?
What end hath treason but a sudden fall ? Such as have known thy life and bringing up,
1 This speech is printed as prose in old eds.
2 Old form of " author."
3 There is no stage-direction in old eds.
4 So Collier and Dyce.— Old eds. "sincke. VOL. I. N
194 Edward I. [SCENE xxi.
Have praised thee for thy learning and thy art :
How comes it, then, that thou forgett'st thy books
That school'd thee to forget ingratitude ?
Unkind ! this hand hath 'nointed thee a king ;
This tongue pronounced the sentence of thy ruth :
If thou, in lieu of mine unfeigned love,
Hast levied arms for to attempt my crown, i0
Now see thy fruits : thy glories are dispersed j
And heifer-like,1 sith thou hast pass'd thy bounds,
Thy sturdy neck must stoop to bear this yoke.
Baliol I took this lesson, Edward, from my book, — To keep a just equality of mind, Content with every fortune as it comes : So canst thou threat no more than I expect.
Longsh. So, sir : your moderation is enforced ; Your goodly glosses cannot make it good.
Baliol Then will I keep in silence what I mean, 20 Since Edward thinks my meaning is not good.
Longsh? Nay, Baliol, speak forth, if there yet remain, A little remnant of persuading art.
Baliol. If cunning may 3 have power to win the king, Let those employ it that can flatter him ; If honour'd deed may reconcile the king, It lies in me to give and him to take.
Longsh. Why, what remains for Baliol now to give ?
Baliol Allegiance, as becomes a royal king.
1 Dyce's correction. — Old eds. "his, for like."
2 Old eds. "Edmund."
3 So Dyce.— Old eds. omit "may."
SCENE xxii. ] Edward I. 195
Longsh. What league of faith where league is broken once ? 30
BalioL The greater hope in them that once have fall'n.
Longsh. But foolish are those monarchs that do yield A conquered realm upon submissive vows.
Baliol. There, take my crown, and so redeem my life.
Longsh. Ay, sir ; that was the choicest plea of both ; For whoso quells the pomp of haughty minds, And breaks their staff whereon they build their trust, Is sure in wanting power they cannot * harm. Baliol shall live ; but yet within such bounds That, if his wings grow flig,2 they may be clipt. 40
[Exeunt.
[SCENE XXIL]
Enter 3 the Potter's Wife and JOHN her man, near the Potter's dwelling, called the Potter's Hive.
Potter's Wife. John, come away : you go as though you slept. A great knave and be afraid of a little thun dering and lightening !
John. Call you this a little thundering ? I am sure my breeches find it a great deal, for I am sure they are stuft with thunder.
Potter's Wife. They are stuft with a fool, are they not? Will it please you to carry the lantern a little
1 Collier's correction. — Old eds. ' ' carrie not. "
2 Fledged.
3 Old eds. ' ' Enter the Potter and the Potters wife, called the Potters hiue dwelling there, and John her man."
196 Edward /. [SCENE xxii.
handsomer, and not to carry it with your hands in your slops? 10
John. Slops, quoth you ! Would I had tarried at home by the fire, and then I should not have need to put my hands in my pockets ! But I'll lay my life I know the reason of this foul weather.
Potter's Wife. Do you know the reason ? I pray thee, John, tell me, and let me hear this reason.
John. I lay my life some of your gossips be cross- legged1 that we came from : but you are wise, mistress, for you come now away, and will not stay a-gossipping in a dry house all night. 20
Potter's Wife. Would it please you to walk and leave off your knavery? [QUEEN 2 ELINOR slowly rises out of the earth^\ But stay, John : what's that riseth out of the ground ? Jesus bless us, John ! look how it riseth higher and higher !
John. By my troth, mistress, 'tis a woman. Good Lord, do women grow ? I never saw none grow before,
Potter's Wife. Hold thy tongue, thou foolish knave ; it is the spirit of some woman. 29
Q. Elinor. Ha, let me see ; where am I ? On Charing- Green? Ay, on Charing-Green here, hard by West minster, where I was crowned, and Edward there made king. Ay, 'tis true; so it is: and therefore, Edward, kiss not me, unless you will straight perfume your lips, Edward.
1 John suggests that the storm has been raised by some witches of his mistress' acquaintance.
2 This stage-direction is not in old eds.
SCENE xxii.] Edward I. 197
Potter's Wife. Or a pro nobis ! John, I pray, fall to your prayers. For my life, it is the queen that chafes thus, who sunk this day on Charing-Green, and now is risen up on Potter's Hive ; and therefore truly, John, I'll go to her. [Here let the Potter's Wife go to the QUEEN.
Q. Elinor. Welcome, good woman. What place is this ? sea or land ? I pray show to me. 41
Potter's Wife. Your grace need not to fear ; you are on firm ground : it is the Potter's Hive : and therefore cheer your majesty, for I will see you safe conducted to the court, if case your highness be therewithal pleased.
Q. Elinor. Ay,1 good woman, conduct me to the court, That there I may bewail my sinful life, And call to God to save my wretched soul.
{Make a noise — " Westward, ho ! "2 Woman, what noise is this I hear ?
Potter's Wife. And like your grace, it is the watermen that calls for passengers to go westward now. 51
Q. Elinor. That 3 fits my turn, for I will straight with
them
To King's-town to the court, And there repose me till the king come home. And therefore, sweet woman, conceal what thou hast seen, And lead me to those watermen, for here Doth Elinor droop.
John. Come, come • here's a goodly leading of you, is
1 This speech is printed as prose in old eds.
2 The cry of the watermen on the Thames.
3 This speech is printed as prose in old eds.
198 Edward I. [SCENE xxin.
there not? first, you must make us afeard, and now I must be troubled in carrying of you. I would you were honestly laid in your bed, so that I were not troubled with you. [Exeunt.1 62
[SCENE XXIIL]
[Enter LONGSHANKS, LANCASTER, and Lords. To them] Enter Two Messengers, the one that DAVID shall be hanged, the other [SiR THOMAS SPENCER] of the QUEEN'S sinking.
Messenger? Honour and fortune wait upon the crown Of princely Edward, England's valiant king !
Longsh. Thanks, messenger ; and if my God vouchsafe That winged Honour wait upon my throne, Til make her spread her plumes upon their heads Whose true allegiance doth confirm the crown. What news in Wales ? how wends our business there ?
Messenger? The false disturber of that wasted soil, With his adherents, is surprised, my king ; And in assurance he shall start no more, 10
Breathless he lies, and headless too, my lords. The circumstance these lines shall here unfold.
[Gives letter*
Longsh. A harmful weed, by wisdom rooted out, Can never hurt the true engrafted plant. But what's the news Sir Thomas Spencer brings ?
1 Old eds. "Exeunt ambo." 2 Old eds. " i. Mes"
3 Old eds. "2. Messeng."
4 There is no stage-direction in old eds.
SCENE xxiii.] Edward I. 199
Spencer. Wonders, my lord, wrapt up in homely words, And letters to inform your majesty.
Longsh. O heavens, what may these miracles portend? Nobles, my queen is sick ; but what is more — Read, brother Edmund, read a wondrous chance. 20 [EDMUND reads a line of the QUEEN'S sinking.
Lancaster. And I not heard nor read so strange a thing !
Longsh. Sweet queen, this sinking is a surfeit ta'en Of pride, wherewith thy woman's heart did swell ; A dangerous malady in the heart to dwell. — Lords, march we towards London now in haste : I will go see my lovely Elinor, And comfort her after this strange affright. And where she is importune to have talk And secret conference with some friars of France, Mun, thou with me, and I with thee will go, 30
And take the sweet confession of my Nell ; We'll l have French enough to parle with the queen.
Lancaster. Might I advise your royal majesty, I would not go for millions of gold. What knows your grace, disguised if you wend, What you may hear, in secrecy revealed, That may appal 2 and discontent your highness ? A goodly creature is your Elinor, Brought up in niceness and in delicacy : Then listen not to her confession, lord, 40
1 Oldeds. " We will."
2 "So I read with the MS. annotator on the first edition in the Garrick collection. Both 4tos ' appeale.' " — Dyce.
2OO Edward /. [SCENE xxiv.
To wound thy heart with some unkind conceit. But as for Lancaster, he may not go.
Longsh. Brother, I am resolv'd, and go I will, If God give life, and cheer my dying queen. Why, Mun, why, man, whate'er King Edward hears, It lies in God and him to pardon all. I'll have no ghostly fathers l out of France : England hath learned clerks and confessors To comfort and absolve, as men may do ; And I'll be ghostly father for this once. 50
Lancaster [aside]. Edmund, thou mayst not go,
although thou die :
And yet how mayst thou here thy king deny ? Edward is gracious, merciful, meek, and mild ; But furious when he finds he is beguiled.
Longsh. Messenger, hie thee back to Shrewsbury ; Bid Mortimer, thy master, speed him fast, And with his fortune welcome us to London. I long to see my beauteous lovely queen.
[Exeunt omnes.
[SCENE XXIV.]
Enter DAVID drawn on a hurdle, with MORTIMER and OfUcers, accompanied with the Friar, the Novice, the Harper, and LLUELLEN'S head on a spear.
Friar. On afore, on afore ! Jack. Hold up your torches for dropping. Eriar. A fair procession. — Sir David, be of good
1 Ed. 1599 "father."
SCENE xxiv.] Edward I. 201
cheer : you cannot go out of the way, having so many guides at hand.
Jack. Be sure of that ; for we go all the highway to the gallows, I warrant you.
Sir David. I go where my star leads me, and die in my country's just cause and quarrel.
Harper. The star that twinkled at thy birth, 10
Good brother mine, hath marred thy mirth : An old said saw, earth must to earth. Next year will be a piteous dearth Of hemp, I dare lay a penny, This year is hang'd so many.
Friar. Well said, Morgan Pigot, harper and prophet for the king's own mouth.
Jack. " Turn date l dite dote dum," This is the day, the time is come ;
Morgan Pigot's prophecy, 20
And Lord Lluellen's tragedy.
Friar. Who 2 saith the prophet is an ass Whose prophecies come so to pass ? Said he not oft, and sung it too, Lluellen, after much ado, Should in spite heave up his chin And be the highest of his kin? And see, aloft Lluellen's head, Empaled with a crown of lead ! —
1 See scene ii., 1. 201. — Old eds. "Tunda tedi tedo dote dum." (Printed as prose in old eds.)
2 "Who saith . . . pass," "Said he ... ado," "Should . . . kin " — printed as single lines in old eds.
2O2 Edward /. [SCENE xxv.
My lord, let not this sooth sayer lack, 30
That hath such cunning in his jack.1
Harper. David, hold [you] still your clack, Lest your heels make your neck crack.
Friar. Gentle prophet, and ye 2 love me, forspeak me not : 'tis the worst luck in the world to stir a witch or anger a wise man. — Master Sheriff, have we any haste ? Best give my horses some more hay. {Exeunt omnes.
[SCENE XXV.]
ELINOR in child-bed? with her daughter JOAN and other Ladies.
Q. Elinor. Call forth those renowmed friars come from France ; [Exit a Lady.4
And raise me, gentle ladies, in my bed, That while this faltering engine of my speech I learn 5 to utter my concealed guilt, I may repeat 6 and so repent my sins. Joan. What plague afflicts your royal majesty? Q. Elinor. Ah, Joan, I perish through a double
war ! 7 First in this painful prison of my soul,
i Jerkin. 2 Ed. 1599 "you."
3 So the old eds. 4 There is no stage-direction in old eds.
5 Dyce's emendation. (" Learn "= teach.) Old eds. "leane." Collier reads " I leave," but suggests "Gives leave."
6 Dyce's emendation. — Old eds. "respect."
7 So Collier.— Old. eds. "warres."
SCENE xxv.] Edward I. 203
A world of dreadful sins holp thee l to fight,
And nature, having lost her working power, 10
Yields up her earthly fortunes unto death.
Next of a war 2 my soul is over-preased,
In that3 my conscience loaded with misdeeds,
Sits seeing my confusion4 to ensue,
Without especial favour from above.
Joan. Your grace must account it a warrior's cross, To make resist where danger there is none. Subdue 5 your fever by precious 6 art, And help you still through hope of heavenly aid.
Q. Elinor. The careless shepherds7 on the moun tain's tOpS, 20 That see the seaman floating on the surge, The threatening winds conspiring 8 with the floods To overwhelm and drown his crazed keel, His -tack[l]es torn, his sails borne overboard, How pale, like mallow 9 flowers, the master 10 stands
1 The unintelligible reading of the old eds. Collier has "holp here " Dyce reads " holp there." Qy. "hale me to fight "? (In the previous line " this painful prison of my soul " = my body. In contrast with 1. 12, ' ' Next of a war my soul is over-preased.")
2 So Dyce.— Old eds. " Next ouer War." 3 Old eds. "thee."
4 Old eds. "conscience." — Collier and Dyce "condition."
5 So Collier. — Old eds. " Superdewe."
6 Qy. "religious" or "religion's"?
7 This speech is hideously corrupt. "Shepherds " is Collier's emenda tion; old eds. read "sleeperule." — Dr. Nicholson proposes "sheep-ruler."
8 So Dyce. — Old eds. " comes springing." — Collier "up-springing."
9 Dr. Nicholson's emendation. — Old eds. "Vallowe." — Collier "yellow."
10 So Dr. Nicholson.— Old eds. "mountaine." — Collier and Dyce " captain."
204 Edward I. [ SCENE xxv.
Upon his hatches, waiting for his jerk,
Wringing his hands that ought to play the pump,
May blame his fear that laboureth not for life :
So thou, poor soul, may tell a servile 1 tale,
May counsel me ; but I that prove the 2 pain 30
May hear thee talk but not redress my harm.
But ghastly death already is address'd
To glean the latest blossom of my life :
My spirit fails me. Are these friars come ?
Enter [ Lady with'] the KING and his Brother in Friars' weeds?
Longsh. Dominus vobiscum /
Lancaster. Et cum spiritu tuo !
Q. Elinor. Draw near, grave fathers, and approach
my bed. —
Forbear our presence, ladies, for a while, And leave us to our secret conference.
[Exeunt* JOAN and Ladies. Longsh. What cause hath moved your royal majesty
1 Qy. "suasive," or "soothing"?
2 So Collier.— Old eds. "thy."
3 " ' For a husband in the disguise of a Friar to take his wife's con fession was not an uncommon incident in Italian novels, and from these it is perhaps borrowed in the play. A number of instances are pointed out in Dunlop's Hist, of Fiction, ii. 305.' — Editor of Dods ley's O. P. Compare the ballad entitled Queen Eleanor s Confession. Shewing how King Henry [the Second], with the Earl Marshal, in Fryars' habits came to her, instead of two Fryars from France, which she sent for (Utterson's Little Book of Ballads, 1836, p. 22). See it also in A Collec tion of Old Ballads, &c., 1723, vol. i. p. 18.' —Dyce.
4 Not marked in old eds.
SCENE xxv.] Edward I. 205
To call your servants from their country's bounds, 4i For to attend your pleasure here in England's court ?
Q. Elinor. See you not, holy friars, mine estate, My body weak, inclining to my grave ?
Lancaster. We see and sorrow for thy pain, fair queen.
Q. Elinor. By these external * signs of my defects, Friars, conceive ye 2 mine internal 3 grief. My soul, ah, wretched soul, within this breast, Faint for to mount the heavens with wings of grace, Is hindered 4 by flocking troops of sin, 50
That stop my passage to my wished bowers.5
Longsh. The nearer,6 so the greatest hope of health : And deign to us for to impart your grief,7 Who by our prayers and counsel ought to arm Aspiring souls to scale the heavenly grace.
Q Elinor. Shame and remorse doth stop my course , of speech.
Longsh. Madam, you need not dread our conference, Who, by the order of the holy church, Are all enjoined8 to sacred secrecy.
Q. Elinor. Did I not think, nay, were I not assured, Your wisdoms 9 would be silent in that cause, 61
1 So Collier.— Old eds. " this eternall."
2 Old eds. " Friers, consecrate." (Collier "conceit of " ; Dyce, follow ing Mitford, "conjecture.")
3 So Collier.— Old eds. "in eternall."
4 Old eds. "A hundred."
6 So Collier.— Old eds "howres."
6 Old eds. "The nearer, Elinor, so," &c.
7 So Collier.— Old eds. "quiet."
8 So Collier. — Old eds. "annoynted." (Dr. Nicholson would read " anoint "= anointed.) 9 Ed. 1599 " wisedome."
2O6 Edward L [SCENE xxv.
No fear could make me to bewray myself.
But, gentle fathers, I have thought it good
Not to rely upon these Englishmen,
But on your troths, you holy men of France :
Then, as you love your life and England's weal,
Keep secret my confession from the king ;
Fo why l my story nearly toucheth him,
Whose love compared with my loose 2 delights,
With many sorrows that my heart affrights. 70
Lancaster. My heart misgives.
Longsh. Be silent, fellow friar.
Q. Elinor. In pride of youth, when I was young and fair, And gracious in the King of England's sight, The day before that night his highness should Possess the pleasure of my wedlock's bed, Caitiff, accursed monster as I was, His brother Edmund, beautiful and young, Upon my bridal couch 3 by my consent Enjoys the flower and favour of my love,
[The KING beholdeth his Brother woefully. And I became a traitress to my lord. 80
Longsh. Facinus, scelus, infandum nefas !
Lancaster. Madam, through sickness, weakness of4 your wits, 'twere very good to bethink yourself before you speak.
1 ' ' For why ' ' = because.
2 So Collier.—" Both 4tos ' losse.' But the couplet, as it now stands, is nonsense." — Dyce.
3 Ed. 1599 " touch."
4 So Collier.— Old eds. "and." The passage has been corrupted ; it was doubtless verse as Peele wrote it.
SCENE xxv.] Edward I. 207
Q. Elinor. Good father, not so weak, but that, I wot, My heart doth rent to think upon the time. But why exclaims this holy friar so ? O, pray, then, for my faults, religious man I
Longsh. 'Tis charity in men of my degree To sorrow for our neighbours' heinous sins : 90
And madam, though some promise love to you, And zeal to Edmund, brother to the king, I pray the heavens you both may soon repent. But might it please your highness to proceed ?
Q. Elinor.1 Unto this sin a worser doth succeed ; For, Joan of Aeon, the supposed child And daughter of my lord the English king, Is basely born, begotten of a friar, Such time as I was there arrived 2 in France. His only true and lawful son, my friends, 100
He is my hope, his son that should succeed, Is Edward of Carnarvon, lately born. Now all the scruples of my troubled mind I sighing sound within your reverent 3 ears. O, pray, for pity ! pray, for I must die. Remit, my God, the folly of my youth ! My grieved4 spirits attends thy mercy-seat.5 Fathers, farewell ; commend me to my king,
1 So Collier. — Old eds. give this line to Longshanks.
2 Old eds. "their anued." I have followed Collier's reading; but the line is doubtless corrupt.
3 Old form of " reverend."
4 So Dyce. — Old eds. " groaned."
5 Old eds. " mercies seate. "
208 Edward I. [SCENE xxv.
Commend me to my children and my friends, And close mine eyes, for death will have his due. no
[ QUEEN ELINOR dies.
Longsh. Blushing I shut these thine enticing lamps, The wanton baits that made l me suck my bane. Pyropus' 2 harden'd flames did ne'er reflect More hideous flames than from my breast arise. What fault more vild unto thy dearest lord ! Our daughter base-begotten of a priest, And Ned, my brother, partner of my love ! O, that those eyes that lighten 'd Caesar's brain, O, that those looks that master'd Phoebus' 3 brand, Or else those looks that stain Medusa's4 far, 120
Should shrine deceit,5 desire, and lawless lust ! Unhappy king, dishonour'd in thy stock ! Hence, feigned weeds ! unfeigned is my grief.
Lancaster. Dread prince, my brother, if my vows avail, I call to witness heaven in my behalf; If zealous prayer might drive you from suspect, I bend my knees, and humbly crave this boon, That you will drive misdeeds 6 out of your mind. May never good betide my life, my lord, If once I dream'd upon this damned deed ! 130
But my deceased sister and your queen, Afflicted with recureless maladies, Impatient of her pain, grew lunatic,
1 So Dyce.— Old eds. " make." 2 So Dyce.— Old eds. " Pirpus."
3 So Collier.— Old eds. "Phucebus."
4 So Collier.— Old eds. " Melisaes."
5 So Collier. — Old eds. "discreet." 6 " Qy. ' mistrust '?" —Dyce.
SCENE xxiv.] Edward I. 209
Discovering errors never dreamed upon. To prove this true, the greatest men of all Within their learned volumes do record 1 That 2 all extremes end in naught but extremes. Then think, O king, her agony in death Bereaves her sense and memory at once, So that she spoke she knew nor3 how or what. 140
Longsh. Sir, sir, fain would your highness hide your
faults
By cunning vows and glozing terms of art ; And well thou mayst delude these listening ears, Yet never assuage by proof this jealous heart. Traitor, thy head shall raunsom my disgrace. Daughter of darkness, whose accursed bower The poet feigned to lie 4 upon Avernus, Whereas Cimmerian 5 darkness checks the sun, Dread 6 Jealousy, afflict me not so sore ! Fair Queen 7 Elinor could never be so false : — 150
Ay, but she 'vowed these treasons at her death, A time not fit to fashion monstrous lies. Ah, my ungrateful brother as thou art, Could not my love, nay, more, could not the law, Nay, further, could not nature thee allure
1 So Collier. Old eds. "discord." (Qy. 'discourse'?)
2 "So the Rev. J. Mitford, Gent. Mag. for February 1833, p. 102. Both 4tos —
' That all extreames, and al and in naught but extreames.' " — Dyce.
3 Ed. 1599 "not."
* So Collier. Old eds. "liue."
5 So Collier. Old eds. " Cimerians."
« So Collier. Old eds. " Dauids." ? Probably an interpolation.
VOL. I. O
2IO Edward 1. [SCENE xxiv.
For to refrain from this incestuous sin ?
Haste from my sight ! [Exit EDMUND.
[To those within.1] Call Joan of Aeon here ! — The lukewarm spring distilling from his eyes, His oaths, his vows, his reasons wrested with remorse From forth his breast, — impoison'd with suspect, 160 Fain would I deem that false I find too true.
Enter JOAN of ACON.
[foan.~\ I come to know what England's king com mands.
I wonder why your highness greets me thus, With strange regard and unacquainted terms.2
Longsh. Ah, Joan, this wonder needs must wound thy
breast, For it hath well-nigh slain my wretched heart.
Joan. What, is the queen, my sovereign mother, dead ? Woe's me,3 unhappy lady, woe-begone ! 4
Longsh. The queen is dead ; yet, Joan, lament not
thou :
Poor soul, guiltless art thou of this deceit, 170
That hath more cause to curse than to complain.
Joan. My dreadful soul, assailed with doleful speech, 'Joins me to bow my knees unto the ground, Beseeching your most royal majesty To rid your woeful daughter of suspect.
1 There is no stage-direction in old eds.
2 We must suppose that the King utters frantic exclamations of grief at the sight of Joan. ( " Qy. for ' terms ' read ' tears ' ? "—P. A. Daniel. }
s Ed. 1593 "in."
4 Ed. 1593 "we begonne."
SCENE xxiv.] Edward /. 211
Longsk. Ay,1 daughter ! Joan, poor soul, thou art
deceived ! The king of England is no scorned priest.
Joan. Was not the Lady Elinor your spouse, And am not I the offspring of your loins ?
Longsh. Ay, but when ladies list to run astray, 180 The poor supposed father wears the horn, And pleating leave their liege in princes' laps.2 Joan, thou art daughter to a lecherous friar ; A friar was thy father, hapless Joan • Thy mother in confession.3 vows no less, And I, vild wretch, with 4 sorrow heard no less.
Joan. What, am I, then, a friar's base-born brat ? Presumptuous wretch, why prease I 'fore my king ? How can I look my husband in the face ? Why should I live since my renown is lost ? 190
Away, thou wanton weed ! hence, world's delight
\Shefalls grovelling on the ground.
Longsh. Uorecchie abbassaf come vinto e stanco Destrier <* ha in bocca ilfren, git sproni alfianco. —
1 Dr. Nicholson proposes to read " My." (Old eds. " I.")
2 Mitford proposed —
' ' Ay, but when ladies list to run astray, And leave their plighted liege in princes' laps, The poor supposed father wears the horn."
But the text would still be wretchedly unintelligible. The transposition of lines 181-2 is, I think, right. For " pleating" I would read "fleet ing " ; but the rest of the verse is unmanageable. Quy. " And fleeting leave their liege lords' princely bed " ? (Very unsatisfactory.)
3 So Collier. Old eds. "profession."
4 So Collier. Old eds. " which sorrowed."
5 "The two first of these Italian lines (which both 4tos make a portion of Joan's speech) are from Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, c. xx. 131,
212 Edward I. [SCENE xxiv.
O sommo Dio, come t giudidi umani Spesso offuscati son da un nembo oscuro I — Hapless and wretched, lift up thy heavy head ; Curse l not so much at 2 this unhappy chance ; Unconstant Fortune still will have her course.
Joan. My king, my king, let Fortune have her course : — Fly thou, my soul, and take a better course. 200
Ay's me, from royal state I now am fall'n ! You purple springs that wander in my veins, And whilom wont 3 to feed my heavy heart, Now all at once make haste, and pity me, And stop your powers, and change your native course ; Dissolve to air, you 4 lukewarm bloody streams, And cease to be, that I may be no more. You 5 curled locks, draw from this cursed head : Abase her pomp, for Joan is basely born ! — 209
Ah, Glocester, thou, poor Glocester, hast the wrong ! — Die, wretch ! haste 6 death, for Joan hath lived too long. \She suddenly dies 7 at the QUEEN'S bed? s feet,
Longsh. Revive thee, hapless lady ; grieve not thus. —
the two second from the same poem, c. x. 15. Both 4tos give them thus :—
' Force ine abbassa come vinto et stanco. Defluer chain bocea il fren gli sproni [4to of 1599 "sprons"] al
fianco. King. O sommo Dio come i guidneo humans,
Spesse offuscan son danu membo oscunro.' " — Dyce, after Collier.
1 Ed. 1593 "Nurse." z Old eds "as."
s Old eds. "wants." 4 Old eds. "your."
5 Old eds. "Your." 6 Old eds. "hate."
7 "Joan died 1307, in the first year of Edward II."— P. A. Daniel.
SCENE xxiv.] Edward /. 213
In vain speak I, for she revives no more. Poor hapless soul, thy own espected l moans Have wrought thy 2 sudden and untimely death. — Lords, ladies, haste !
Enter GLOCESTER 3 running with Ladies.4
Ah, Glocester, art thou come ? Then must I now present a tragedy. Thy Joan is dead : yet grieve thou not her fall • She was too base a spouse for such a prince.
Glocester. Conspire you, then, with heavens to work my harms ? 220
O sweet assuager of our mortal 'miss,5 Desired death, deprive me of my life, That I in death may end my life and love !
Longsh. Glocester, thy king is partner of thy heaviness, Although nor tongue nor eyes bewray his mean \ 6 For I have lost a flower as fair as thine, A love more dear, for Elinor is dead. But since the heavenly ordinance decrees That all things change in their prefixed time, Be thou content, and bear it in thy breast, 230
Thy swelling grief, as needs I must [bear] mine.
1 The text is again corrupt. Collier and Dyce read "repeated." Quy. "thine unexpected woes " ?
2 Old eds. "her." 3 Old eds. "Edmund, Glocester"
4 Old eds. add " and conuaies lone of Aeon awaie."
5 "Assuager . . . mortal 'miss — miss, i.e. misfortune, suffering. Both^os 'asswagers . . . martiall misse.'"— Dyce.
6 I.e. "moan." — Dyce. I suspect that "mean" (a north-country form) is here a misprint for ' ' moan." Collier printed " moan."
214 Edward L [SCENE xxiv.
Thy Joan of Aeon, and my queen deceased, Shall have that honour as beseems their state. You peers of England, see in royal pomp These breathless bodies be entombed straight, With 'tired 1 colours cover'd all with black. Let Spanish steeds, as swift as fleeting wind, Convey these princes to their funeral : Before them let a hundred mourners ride.
I In every time of their enforced abode, 240
Rear up a cross in token of their worth,2 Whereon fair Elinores picture shall be placed. Arrived at London near our palace-bounds, Inter my lovely Elinor, late deceased ; And, in remembrance of her royalty, Erect a rich and stately carved cross, Whereon her stature 3 shall with glory shine, And henceforth see you call it Charing-cross ; For why 4 the chariest 5 and the choicest queen, That ever did delight my royal eyes, 250
There dwell[s] in darkness whilst I die in grief. But, soft ! what tidings with these pursuivants ?
1 So Collier. Old eds. "tried." (Dr. Nicholson suggests "tied.")
2 So Collier. Old eds. "worke."
3 An old form of " statue." 4 " For why "= because.
5 " Both 4tos. 'chancest.' There is an absurd and vulgar tradition that Charing-cross was so named because the body of Edward's chere reine rested there : does Peele allude to it here ?
' And henceforth see you call it Charing-cross ; For why the chariest? &c.
The Editor of Dodsley's O. P. reads ' chastest.' "—Dyce.
SCENE xxiv.] Edward I. 215
Messenger approaches from MORTIMER.1
Mess. Sir Roger Mortimer, with all success,2 As erst your grace by message did command, Is here at hand, in purpose to present Your highness with his signs of victory. And 3 trothless Baliol, their accursed king, With fire and sword doth threat Northumberland.
Longsh. How one affliction calls another over ! First death torments me, then I feel disgrace ! 260
Again, Lluellen 4 he rebels in Wales ; And false Baliol means to brave me too ; But I will find provision for them all : My constancy shall conquer death and shame.5
\Exeunt all except GLOCESTER.
1 Old eds. "Enter Messenger approch" &c.
2 So Collier. Old eds. "Sussex." (This speech is printed as prose in old eds.)
3 We have above (1. 252) ' ' what tidings with these pursuivants ? " The old stage-direction marks the entrance of only one messenger ; but it is clear that two messengers — one from Wales and the other from the North — should enter, and that the lines "And trothless Baliol . . . Northumberland " (which doubtless formed part of a longer speech) belong to the second messenger. The amount of confusion towards the close of this play is terrible. The lines ' ' Sir Roger Mortimer . . . his signs of victory " might well be placed at the beginning of the messenger's speech in Scene xxiii.
"The false disturber of that wasted soil," &c.
4 Lluellen was slain long ago : see stage-direction at beginning of scene xxiv.
5 Old eds. proceed —
"And Mortimer tis thou must hast to Wales, And rouse that Rebel from his starting holes,
2 1 6 Edward /. [SCENE xxiv.
Glocester. Now, Joan of Aeon, let me mourn thy fall. Sole, here alone, now set thee down and sigh, Sigh, hapless Glocester, for thy sudden loss : Pale death, alas, hath banish'd all thy pride, Thy wedlock-vows ! * How oft have I beheld Thy eyes, thy looks, thy lips, and every part, 270
How nature strove in them to show her art,2 In shine, in shape, in colour, and compare ! But now hath death, the enemy of love, Stain'd and deform'd the shine, the shape, the red, With pale and dimness, and my love is dead. Ah, dead, my love ! vile wretch, why 3 am I living ? So willeth fates, and I must be contented : All pomp in time must fade, and grow to nothing.
And rid thy King of his contentious foe,
Whilst I with Elinor, Gloster, and the rest,
With speedie iourney gather vp our force,
And beat these brauing Scots from out our bounds.
Courage braue Soldiers fates hath done their worst,
Now Vertue let me triumphe in thine aide.
\Exite Ed-ward. Gloster solus. - Gloster. Now lone of Aeon," &c.
1 " More corruption, and past cure. Both 4tos —
' Thy wedlocke vowes how ought haue I beheld ? Enter Mortimor with the head [of ' Lluellen~\ Thy eies, thy lookes,9 &c. Quy. is ' looks ' a misprint for ' locks ' ? " — Dyce.
2 So Collier. Old eds. "store in them to shew their Art."
3 Ed. 1599 "while."
SCENE xxiv.] Edward L 217
Wept I like Niobe, yet it profits nothing :
Then cease, my sighs, since I may not regain her, 280
And woe to wretched death that thus hath slain her !
[Exit.
Yours. By GEORGE PEELE, Master of Arts in Oxenford.
\
THE BATTLE OF ALCAZAR.
The Battell Of Alcazar, Fovght in Barbaric, betweene Sebastian king of Portugall, and Abdelmelec king of Marocco. With the death of Captaine Stukeley. As it was sundrie times plaid by the Lord high Admirall his seruants. Imprinted at London by Edward Allde for Richard Bankworth, and are to be solde at his shoppe in Pauls Church yard at the signe of the Sunne. 1594. 4to.
Dr. Brinsley Nicholson points out the dramatist drew some of the materials for his play from a tract entitled Historia de Bella Africano : In quo Sebastianus, Serenissimus PortugallitS Rex, periit. . . .Ex Lusitano sermone primo in Gallicum: inde in Latinum translata per loannem Thomam Freigium D. Noribergce, CIODXXC.
" So far as I have looked," he observes, "the author of the play had read the Latin version ; there are, however, one or two discrepancies as to the numbers, and it may be remarked that where these occur both Latin and French versions differ from him and from one another.
Act iv. Sc. i. Cel. In the original we find that Sebastian had 14,000 foot and 2000 horse, 3 millia fossorum, more than i mille aurigse, et infinita fere multitudo lixarum, calonum, servorum, aliorum- que mancipiorum Maurorum, mulionum, mulierum et Amazonum (quas Galliper jocu filles de joye, &c). The French has 'une multitude infinie de pages, laquais, gojats, serviteurs, et plusieurs esclaves Mores, force mulletiers, et des femmes pour servir, et grade multitude de filles de joye.'
Then there is mention of 36 tormenta campestria, which Celybin afterwards mentions in the same scene, and then come noo (unze cent vingt, Fr. ) currus plenos storeis, vasis et suppellectile pro nobilibus, the play giving ' 1500 waggons full of stuff For noblemen brought up in delicate.'
The book, followed by Cel. in the play, has, 'et harum copiarum major pars parce et maligne stipendia accipiebat, inopiaq. et aliis multis malis laborabat. Jam enim commeatus deficere incipiebat, qui tarn parce illis distribuebatur, ut multi fame extincti sint.'
Ch. xi. ' Nam totum exercitum \Seb~\ divisit in quatuor acies quadratas. In dextro latere [he gives references to B.C., &c., on a plate which
( 222 )
accompanies the booklet] * * primum agmen erat velitum et militum Tingitanoru, eosq. ductabat Alvarus Peresius de Tavora. Sinistram aciem seu mediam [note how exactly the play follows the words] tenebant Germani et Itali, quibus imperabat Marchio Irlandiae [Stukely]. Tertiam subsidiariam aciem (C., &c.) occuparant Hispaniet aliquot Itali quorum dux erat Alonzo Aquilarius. Quartam aciem (D. , &c. ) tenebant milites Lusitani, sub imperio cujusdam nobilis ejus nationis, cui nomen Ludovicus [Lewis, Fr.] Caesar. Singulae acies habebant fere tria millia militum, sed alias plures, aliae pauciores. . . Ultra has copias habebat decem millia equitum optime instructa et per quingenos divisa, tarn in primo agmine et subsidiaria acie quam in utroq. cornu [B., &c.].'
Abdelmelec's disposal of his forces is given in the book, before Sebastian's.
'Dextrum cornu [Q. , &c.] ducebat princeps frater Abdelmeleci [Hamet] qui secum habebat mille sclopetarios equites lectissimos, numero binario notatos. Habuit autem etiam decem millia equitum hastatorum et scutatorum [O in engraving] sinistrum lunulae cornu [P.] tenuerunt duo millia Argoletorum et decem millia equitum hastatorum, eodem ordine quo in dextro cornu. Hos ducebat prorex Mahametus Zareo. Tertia acies numero quaternario signata (quse princeps acies erat, et in qua Rex Abdelmelecus constiterat) peditibus sclopetariis munita erat. Hos sequebatur rex praetoria cohorte ducentoru abjuratae religionis militum circumdatus, qui omnes Alabardis seu bipennibus armati erant. [No mention of these renegades in play.] In subsidiaria vero acie habebat viginti millia equitum, per bina millia divisorum.'
Act iv. 2. The Moor. The original has ' quod multi Mauri equites ad se ab Abdelmeleco transiissent, quodque, reliquas exercitus idem facere conaretur.' But the playwriter seems to have applied to the opposing forces a sentence spoken by the Moor of Sebastian's army, ' Quod si ipse Lerissam iret, fore ut quasi timidus et in fuga salutem ponens,' &c.
Where (iv. i) Cel says,
'And twice three thousand needless armed pikes,'
the original has ' octo millia * * quag hastis praelongis erant armata : quo genere militum ad bellum in Barbaria gerendum nihil est inutilius aut ineptius, ut eventus postea docuit.'
Act v. Sc. i. ' The heathens * * || give onset,' Ch. xii. ' Mauri quide primi tormenta in Christianos ejaculari coeperunt : sed vix tres globos miserant, cum ecce Christiani eosdem suis quoq. pilis excipiunt.
Statimq. sclopetarii milites ab utraq. acie parvas pilas instar nimbi aut grandinis effuderunt.' ' Our Moors with smaller shot as thick as hail.'
Afterwards the book gives the Duke of Avero's charge with 500 horse, and the mistake of the Christians in not following it up with their other forces — a mistake which led to their overthrow.
As to the arrival of Stukeley in Portugal, the book says, ch. vii., 'Venerunt . . etiam sexcenti Itali quos Papa subministrarat Comiti Irlandias : qui cum Ulysbonae tribus instructis navibus appulisset, regi operam suam condixit, eumq. in bellum sequi promisit. ' The 600 are in the play increased to 6000, and the three ships to seven ships and , two pinnaces, evidently to magnify Stukeley, in whose fate the English" audiences were chiefly concerned.
So the book tells us of the conferences with Spain, but says nothing of the king waiting vainly at Cadiz for the Spanish troops. Indeed there were in the force 2000 Spaniards, and many others would have joined, but that Sebastian 'exautoravit.' The difference probably arose from the English national feeling against Spain — the same that caused Eleanor in Edward I. to be so defamed.
I had forgotten to say that the drowning of the Moor in the river when on a horse that he had taken, on which to escape, and the recovery of the body are also given.
The following genealogical table, given in the Latin book on Sebastian, might be useful.
reg : Maroc : et Fessanm Mulejus Xarifius. Mulejus Mahametus Xequus.
|
[Mulejus.] Abdallas. |
[Mulejus.] Abdelmunem. |
[Mulejus.] Abdelmelecus. |
[Mulejus.] Hametus. |
Ill I
Mahametus. Banacar. Hazar. Ismail.
Xequus.
In the Adventure Admirable, &c., MDCI., a book in favour of the pretended Sebastian, who made his appearance after Alkazar, we have at its commencement — ' de Muley Mahamet Xarife, et Muley Maluco surnomme" Abdelmelech ([ = ] Serviteur de Tres Hault).' "
The late Mr. Richard Simpson reprinted The Famous History of the
( 224 )
Life and Death of Captain Thomas Stukeley, 1605, in the first volume of his School of Shakspere, prefacing the play with an elaborate memoir of Stukeley. It has not been discovered from what source Peele drew his information about this extravagant and erring spirit. Anthony a Wood, giving a brief notice of Thomas Stukeley, remarks, " I have by me a little book 1 printed in an English character, entitled The famous History of Stout Study: or, his Valiant Life, and Death."
Peele certainly made no use of this chap-book ; but there may have been other popular narratives, long ago thumbed out of existence, of Stukeley's adventures.
i Wood's copy is preserved in the Bodleian Library. No other copy is known.
DRAMA TIS PERSONsEl
The Moor, MULY MAHAMET. MULY MAHAMET, his son.
ABDELMELEC, uncle to the Moor, MULY MAHAMET. MULY MAHAMET SETH, brother to ABDELMELEC. Son of RUBIN ARCHIS. ABDEL RAYES. CELYBIN. ARGERD ZAREO. ZAREO.
PISANO, a captain to the Moor, MULY MAHAMET. CALSEPIUS BASSA. SEBASTIAN, King of Portugal. DUKE OF AVERO. DUKE OF BARCELES. LORD LODOWICK. LEWES DE SILVA. CHRISTOPHERO DE TAVERA. DON DIEGO LOPEZ, Governor of Lisbon. DON DE MENYSIS, Governor of Tangier. STUKELEY. Irish Bishop. HERCULES. JONAS.
Moorish Ambassadors, Spanish Ambassadors anJ Legate, Boy, Soldiers, Messengers, &c.
CALIPOLIS, wife to the Moor, MULY MAHAMET. RUBIN ARCHIS, widow of ABDELMUNEN. A Queen. Ladies.
The Presenter. ABDELMUNEN. Two young Brothers of the Moor, I ,- JT ~ , .
MULY MAHAMET. I In the .Dumb-shows.
Two Murderers. Fame.
1 There is no list of characters in the old ed.
THE
TRAGICAL BATTLE OF ALCAZAR IN BARBARY,
WITH THE DEATH OF THREE KINGS AND [OF] CAPTAIN STUKELEY AN ENGLISHMAN.
[ACT L]
Enter the Presenter.
HONOUR, the spur that pricks the princely mind
To follow rule and climb the stately chair,
With great desire inflames the Portingal,
An honourable and courageous king,
To undertake a dangerous dreadful war,
And aid with Christian arms the barbarous Moor,
The negro Muly Hamet, that withholds
The kingdom from his uncle Abdelmelec,
Whom proud Abdallas wrong'd,
And in his throne installs his cruel son, 10
That now usurps upon this prince,
This brave Barbarian lord, Muly Mollocco.
The passage to the crown by murder made,
228 The Battle of A Icazar. [ACT i.
Abdallas dies, and leaves x this tyrant king ;
Of whom we treat, sprung from th' Arabian Moor,
Black in his look, and bloody in his deeds ;
And in his shirt, stain'd with a cloud of gore,
Presents himself, with naked sword in hand,
Accompanied, as now you may behold,
With devils coated in the shapes of men. 20
The First Dumb-show.
Enter MULY MAHAMET and his Son, and his two young Brethren. The Moor showeth them the bed, and then takes his leave of them, and they betake them to their rest. And then the Presenter speaketh.
Like those that were by kind of murder mumm'd,2 Sit down 3 and see what heinous stratagems These damned wits contrive ; and, lo, alas, How like poor lambs prepared for sacrifice, This traitor-king hales to their longest home These tender lords, his younger brethren both !
The Second Dumb-show.
Enter the Moor and two Murderers, bringing in his uncle ABDELMUNEN : then they draw the curtains, and
1 So Dyce. Old ed. " deisnes."
2 If this word, spelt in the 410. "mumd," is retained it must mean "struck dumb," but Mr. P. A. Daniel plausibly suggests "numb'd." The Presenter is addressing the audience. (The words "kind of murder " are awkward : quy. " sight of murder " ?)
3 Quy. "Sit dumb"?
ACT i.] The Battle of Alcazar. 229
smother the young Princes in the bed ; which done in sight of the uncle, they strangle him in his chair, and then go forth. Then the Presenter saith —
His brethren thus in fatal bed behearsed,
His father's brother, of too light belief,
This negro puts to death by proud command.
Say not these things are feign'd, for true they are ;J 30
And understand how, eager to enjoy
His father's crown, this unbelieving Moor,
Murdering his uncle and his brethren,
Triumphs in his ambitious tyranny ;
frill Nem.gs^higl^rmsjtr£sjjo^ev
That with her scourge keeps all the world in awe,
With thundering drums awakes the God of War,
And calls the Furies from Avernus' crags,
To range and rage, and vengeance to inflict,
Vengeance on this accursed Moor for sin. 40
And now behold how Abdelmelec comes,
Uncle to this unhappy * traitor-king,
Arm'd with great aid that Amurath hath 2 sent,
Great Amurath, [great] Emperor of the East,
For service done to Sultan Solimon,
Under whose colours he had served in field,
Flying the fury of this negro's father,
That wrong'd his brethren to install his son.
Sit you, and see this toio^nd-tragic, war,
A modern matter full of blood and ruth, 50
i Wicked. 2 Olded. "had."
230 The Battle of Alcazar. [ACT i.
Where three bold kings, confounded in their height,
Fell to the earth, contending for a crown ;
And call this war The battle of Alcazar. [Exit.
[SCENE I.]
Sound drums and trumpets, and enter ABDELMELEC, CALSEPIUS BASSA and his Guard, and ZAREO, a ^ with Soldiers.
Abdelm. All hail, Argerd Zareo ; and, ye Moors, Salute the frontiers of your native home : Cease, rattling drums ; and, Abdelmelec, here Throw up thy trembling hands to heaven's throne, Pay to thy God due thanks, and thanks to him That strengthens thee with mighty gracious arms Against the proud usurper of thy right, The royal seat and crown of Barbary, Great Amurath, great Emperor of the East : x The world bear witness how I do adore 10
The sacred name of Amurath the Great. Calsepius Bassa, Bassa Calsepius, To thee, and to thy trusty band of men That carefully attend us in our camp, Pick'd soldiers, comparable to the guard Of Myrmidons that kept Achilles' tent, Such thanks we give to thee and to them all,
1 "The 410 'world '—the transcriber's or compositor's eye having caught that word in the next line."— Dyce.
SCENE i.] The Battle of Alcazar. 231
As may concern a poor distressed king, In honour and in princely courtesy.
Cal. Bas. Courteous and honourable Abdelmelec, 20 We are not come, at Amurath's command, As mercenary men, to serve for pay, But as sure friends, by our great master sent To gratify and to remunerate Thy love, thy loyalty, and forwardness, Thy service in his father's dangerous war ; And to perform, in view of all the world, The true office of right and royalty ; To see thee in thy kingly chair enthroned, To settle and to seat thee in the same, 30
To make thee Emperor of this Barbary, Are come the viceroys and sturdy janizaries Of Amurath, son to Sultan Solimon.
Enter MULY MAHAMET SETH,1 RUBIN ARCHIS, ABDEL RAYES, with others.
Abd. Rayes. Long live my lord, the sovereign of my
heart,
Lord Abdelmelec, whom the god of kings, The mighty Amurath hath happy made ! And long live Amurath for this good deed !
Muly Mah. Seth. Our Moors have seen the silver
moons to wave In banners bravely spreading o'er the plain,
1 Old ed. "Xeque" — only in this scene. In Historia de Bello Africano we have " Xequus " as the name of the usurper's son.
232 The Battle of A Icazar. [ACT i.
And in these T semicircles have descried, 40
All in a golden field, a star to rise, A glorious comet that begins to blaze, Promising happy sorting to us all.
Rub. Ar. Brave man-at-arms, whom Amurath hath
sent
To sow the lawful true-succeeding seed In Barbary, that bows and groans withal Under a proud usurping tyrant's 'mace, Right thou the wrongs this rightful king hath borne.
Abdelm. Distressed ladies, and ye dames of Fess, Sprung from the true Arabian Muly Xarif, 50
The loadstar and the honour of our line, Now clear your watery eyes, wipe tears away, And cheerfully give welcome to these arms : Amurath hath sent scourges by his men, To whip that tyrant traitor-king from hence, That hath usurp'd from us, and maim'd you all, } Soldiers, sith rightful quarrels [by heaven's] aid Successful are, and men that manage them Fight not in fear as traitors and their pheres ; 2 That you may understand what arms we bear, 60
What lawful arms against our brother's son, In sight of heaven, even of mine honour's worth, Truly I will deliver and discourse The sum of all. Descended from the line Of Mahomet, our grandsire Muly Xarif With store of gold and treasure leaves Arabia,
1 So Dyce.— Old ed. "this." % Companions.
SCENE i. ] The Battle of A kazar. 233
And strongly plants himself in Barbary ;
And of the Moors that now with us do wend
Our grandsire Muly Xarif was the first.
From him well wot ye Muly Mahamet Xeque, 7°
Who in his lifetime made a perfect law,
Confirm'd with general voice of all his peers,
That in his kingdom should successively
His sons succeed. Abdallas was the first,
Eldest of four,1 Abdelmunen the second,
And we the rest, my brother and myself.
Abdallas reign'd his time : but see the change !
He labours to invest his son in all,
To disannul the law our father made,
And disinherit us his brethren ; 80
And in his lifetime wrongfully proclaims
His son for king that now contends with us.
Therefore I crave to re-obtain my right,
That Muly Mahamet the traitor holds,
Traitor and bloody tyrant both at once,
That murdered his younger brethren both :
But on this damned wretch, this traitor-king,
The gods shall pour down showers of sharp revenge.
And thus a matter not to you unknown
I have deliver'd ; yet for no distrust 90
Of loyalty, my well-beloved friends,2
But that th1 occasions fresh in memory
Of these encumbers so may move your minds,
As for the lawful true-succeeding prince
1 So Dyce.— Old ed. "faire." 2 So Dyce.— Old ed. "friend."
234 The Battle of Alcazar. [ACTI.
Ye neither think your lives nor honours dear, Spent in a quarrel just and honourable.
Cal. Bas. Such and no other we repute the cause That forwardly for thee we undertake, Thrice-puissant and renowmed x Abdelmelec, And for thine honour, safety,2 and crown, 100
Our lives and honours frankly to 3 expose To all the dangers that on 4 war attends, As freely and as resolutely all As any Moor whom thou commandest most.
Muly Mah. Seth. And why is Abdelmelec, then, so
slow
To chastise him with fury of the sword Whose pride doth swell to sway beyond his reach ? Follow this pride 5 with fury of revenge. Rub. Ar. Of death, of blood, of wreak, and deep
revenge,
Shall Rubin Archis frame her tragic songs : no
In blood, in death, in murder, and misdeed, This heaven's malice did begin and end. . Abdelm. Rubin, these rites to Abdelmunen's ghost Have pierced by this to Pluto's cave 6 below ; The bells of Pluto ring revenge amain, The Furies and the fiends conspire with thee ; War bids me draw my weapons for revenge Of my deep wrongs and my dear brother's death.
1 Old form of " renowned."
2 A trisyllable (like "brethren " in 1. 80).
3 " Qy. • we ' ? "—P. A. Daniel. 4 So Dyce.— Old ed. "our." s After " pride " old ed. adds " then." 6 Old ed. " graue."
SCENE IL] The Battle of Alcazar. 235
Muly Mah. Seth. Sheath not your swords, you soldiers
of Amurath,
Sheath not your swords, you Moors of Barbary, 120
That fight in right of your anointed king, But follow to the gates of death and hell, Pale death and hell, to entertain his soul ; Follow, I say, to burning Phlegethon, This traitor- tyrant and his companies.
Cat. Bas. Heave up your swords against these stony
holds,
Wherein these barbarous rebels are enclosed : Call'd for is Abdelmelec by the gods To sit upon the throne of Barbary.
Abd. Rayes. Bassa, great thanks, the * honour of the Turks.— 130
Forward, brave lords, unto this rightful war ! How can this battle but successful be, Where courage meeteth with a rightful cause ?
Rub. Ar. Go in good time, my best-beloved lord, Successful in thy work thou undertakes ! \Exeunt.
[SCENE IL]
Enter the Moor in his chariot, attended with [CALIPOLIS ?] ; his Son ; PISANO, his captain, with his Guard and treasure.
The Moor. Pisano, take a cornet of our horse, As many argolets 2 and armed pikes,
1 I.e. thou who art the honour. Dyce reads " thou honour." 2 Light horsemen.
236 The Battle of Alcazar. [ACT i.
And with our carriage march away before
By Scyras, and those plots of ground
That to Moroccus lead the lower way :
Our enemies keep upon the mountain-tops,
And have encamp'd themselves not far from Fess. —
Madam, gold1 is the glue, sinews, and strength of
war,
And we must see our treasure may go safe. — Away ! {Exit** PISANO with the treasure and some of the
Guard.] Now, boy, what's the news ! 10
The Moor's Son? The news, my lord, is war, war and
revenge ;
And, if I shall declare the circumstance, 'Tis thus.
Rubin, our uncle's wife, that wrings her hands For Abdelmunen's death, accompanied With many dames of Fess in mourning weeds, Near to Argier encounter'd Abdelmelec, That bends his force, puff d up with Amurath's aid, Against your holds and castles of defence. The younger brother, Muly Mahamet Seth, 20
Greets the great Bassa that the King of Turks Sends to invade your right and royal realm ;
1 If we retain the comma after " Madam," we must suppose that the Moor is addressing his wife Calipolis (whose presence is not marked). But qy. " Madam Gold "=" Lady Pecunia " ?
2 There is no stage-direction in the 410. It was added by Dyce.
3 " The 410 ' Muly Mah. ' : but to his speech in the Third Act the 4to prefixes ' The Moores sonne ' — which prefix, to avoid the confusion caused by the family name, I have adopted throughout. "—Dyce.
SCENE IL] The Battle of Alcazar. 237
And basely beg revenge, arch-rebels all, To be inflict upon our progeny.1
The Moor. Why, boy, is Amurath's Bassa such a
bug *
That he is mark'd to do this doughty deed ? Then, Bassa, lock the winds in wards of brass, Thunder from heaven, damn wretched men to death, Bear 3 all the offices of Saturn's sons, Be Pluto, then, in hell, and bar the fiends, • 3°
Take Neptune's force to thee and calm the seas, And execute Jove's justice on the world ; Convey Tamburlaine into our Afric here, To chastise and to menace lawful kings : Tamburlaine, triumph not, for thou must die,4 As Philip did, Caesar, and Caesar's peers.
The MooSs Son. The Bassa grossly flatter'd5 to his
face,
And Amurath's praise advanced above the clouds ; 6 Upon the plains, the soldiers being spread, And that brave guard of sturdy janizaries 40
That Amurath to Abdelmelec gave, And bade him boldly be with 7 them as safe
1 Race. 2 Bugbear.
3 So Sidney Walker.— Old ed. "Barre."
4 " In the Second Part of the celebrated tragedy that bears his name, the last words of Tamburlaine are —
' For Tamburlaine, the scourge of God, must die.' " — Dyce.
s I.e. Muly Mahamet Seth grossly flatter'd the Bassa?
6 Old ed. " sound."
7 So Dyce.— Old ed. "to."
238 The Battle of Alcazar. [ACT i.
As if he slept within a walled town ;
Who take them to their weapons, threatening revenge,
Bloody revenge, bloody revengeful war.
The Moor. Away, and let me hear no more of this. Why, boy,1
Are we successors to the great Abdallas 2 Descended from th' Arabian Muly Xarif, And shall we be afraid of Bassas and of bugs, 5°
Raw-head and Bloody-bone ? Boy, seest here this scimitar3 by my side? Sith they begin to bathe [their swords] in blood, Blood be the theme whereon our time shall tread ; 4 Such slaughter with my weapon shall I make As through the stream and bloody channels deep Our Moors shall sail in ships and pinnaces From Tangier-shore unto the gates of Fess.
The Moor's Son. And of those slaughter'd bodies shall
thy son
A hugy 5 tower erect like Nimrod's frame, 60
To threaten those unjust and partial gods That to Abdallas' lawful seed deny A long, a happy, and triumphant reign.
1 " Why, boy " — printed in old ed. as part of the following line.
2 So P. A. Daniel.— Old ed. " Abdilmelec."
3 So Dyce.— Old ed. " semitarie."
4 This line is very corrupt. Quy. " Blood be the theme whereof our stile shall treat"? The emendation would give a grimly jocular turn to the line. The " stile " (Lat. stilus) would be cold steel.
5 " I.e. huge. The 4to ' huge ' : but in Act IV. Sc. 2 it has ' A hugie company of invading Moores ' ; and in the Prologue to our author's Sir Clyomon and Sir Clamydes we find ' hugy heaps of care.' " — Dyce.
SCENE ii.] The Battle of Alcazar. 239
An alarum within, and enter a Messenger.
Mess. Fly, King of Fess, King of Moroccus, fly, Fly with thy friends, Emperor of Barbary ; O, fly the sword and fury of the foe, That rageth as the ramping lioness In rescue of her younglings from the bear ! Thy towns and holds by numbers basely yield, Thy land to Abdelmelec's rule resigns, 7°
Thy carriage and thy treasure taken is By Amurath's soldiers, that have sworn thy death : Fly Amurath's power and Abdelmelec's threats, Or thou and thine look here to breathe your last.
The Moor. Villain, what dreadful sound of death and
flight
Is this wherewith thou dost afflict our ears ? But if there be no safety to abide The favour, fortune, and success of war, Away in haste ! roll on, my chariot-wheels, Restless till I be safely set in shade So
Of some unhaunted 1 place, some blasted grove
1 An uncommon word. In one of Campion's delightful songs (Fourth Book of Airs, circ. 1617) we have —
" O then we both will sit in some ttnhaunted shade, And heal each other's wound which Love hath justly made."
Campion has the word again in A Book of Airs, 1601 —
' ' Have I seized my heavenly delight In this unhaunted grove? "
240 The Battle of Alcazar. [ACT i.
Of deadly yew 1 or dismal cypress-tree,
Far from the light or comfort of the sun,
There to curse heaven and he that heaves me
hence ;
To sick 2 as Envy at Cecropia's gate, And pine with thought and terror of mishaps : Away ! [Exeunt.
1 So Dyce.— Old ed. "hue."
2 "Sick, i.e. sicken (so in Shakspeare's Henry IV., Part Second, Act IV. Sc. 4—
' A little time before That our great-grandsire, Edward, sick'd and died ').
' Cecropia's Gate,' i.e. the gate of Athens. The allusion is to a story in the Second Book of Ovid's Metamorphoses. The 410 —
' To seeke as Enuie at Cecropes gate, And pine the thought,' &c." — Dyce.
[ACT II.1]
Alarum, and then the Presenter speaketh.
Now war begins his rage and ruthless reign, And Nemesis, with bloody whip in hand, Thunders for vengeance on this Negro-Moor ; Nor may the silence of the speechless night, Dire architect 2 of murders and misdeeds, Of tragedies and tragic tyrannies, Hide or contain the 3 barbarous cruelty Of this usurper to his progeny.
[Three Ghosts crying " Vindicta ! " 4 Hark, lords, as in a hollow place afar,
1 Old eds. " Actus Secunda. Scaena prima."
2 So Dyce. Old ed. " Diuine architects."
3 So Dyce.— Old ed. "this."
4 It was the stage-practice of ghosts to cry " Vindicta." Cf. Induction to Warning for Fair Women —
" Then too a filthy whining ghost, Lapt in some foul sheet or a leather pilch, Comes screaming like a pig half stick'd, And cries, Vindicta/" So in Heywood's The Captives—
" Help, help ! his murder'd ghost is come from Hell
On earth to cry Vindicta I" VOL. I. Q
242 The Battle of Alcazar. [ACTH.
The dreadful shrieks and clamours that resound, 10
And sound revenge upon this traitor's soul^
Traitor to kin and kind, to gods and men !
Now Nemesis upon her doubling drum, ,
Moved with this ghastly moan, this sad complaint,
'Larums aloud into Alecto's ears,
And with her thundering wakes, whereas they lie
In cave as dark as hell and x beds of steel,
The Furies, just imps of dire revenge.
" Revenge ! " cries Abdelmunen's 2 grieved ghost,
And rouseth with the terror of this noise 20
These nymphs of Erebus ; " Wreak and revenge ! "
Ring out the souls of his unhappy brethren.
And now start up these torments of the world,
Waked with the thunder of Rhamnusia's 3 drum
And fearful echoes of these grieved ghosts, —
Alecto with her brand and bloody torch,
Megaera with her whip and snaky hair,
Tisiphone with her fatal murdering iron :
These three conspire, these three complain and moan.
Thus, Muly Mahamet, is a council held 30
To wreak the wrongs and murders thou hast done.
By this imagine was this barbarous Moor
Chased from his dignity and his diadem,
And lives forlorn among the mountain-shrubs,
And makes his food the flesh of savage beasts.
1 " Qy. ' on ' ? "—P. A. Daniel.
2 So Dyce.— Old ed. " Abdilmelecs. "
3 So Dyce. — Old ed. " Ramuisans," (" Rhamnusia" = Nemesis).
SCENE i.] The Battle of Alcazar. 243
Amurath's soldiers have by this installed Good Abdelmelec in his royal seat. The dames of Fess and ladies of the land, In honour of the son of Soliman,
Erect a statue made of beaten gold, 40
And sing to Amurath songs of lasting praise. Muly Mahamet's fury over-ruled, His cruelty controll'd, and pride rebuked, Now1 at last when sober thoughts renew'd Care of his kingdom and desired crown, The aid that once was offer'd and refused By messengers he furiously implores,2 Sebastian's aid, brave King of Portugal. He, forward in all arms and chivalry, Hearkens to his ambassadors, and grants 50
What they in letters and by words entreat. \ Now listen, lordings, now begins the game, Sebastian's tragedy in this tragic war. \Exit.
[SCENE I.]
Alarum within^ and then enter ABDELMELEC, MULY MAHAMET SETH, CALSEPIUS BASSA, with Moors and Janizaries.3
Abdelm. Now hath the sun display'd his golden beams,
1 Emphatic monosyllable followed by pause, — equivalent to a dis syllable.
2 So Dyce. Old ed. " imployes."
8 The old stage-direction adds " and the Ladies."
244 The Battle of Alcazar. [ACT n.
And, dusky clouds dispersed, the welkin clears, Wherein the twenty-colour'd rainbow shows. After this fight happy and fortunate, Wherein pur Moors have lost the day, And Victory, adorn'd with Fortune's plumes, Alights on Abdelmelec's glorious crest, Here find we time to breathe, and now begin To pay thy due and duties thou dost owe To heaven and earth, to gods and Amurath. i0
\Sound trumpets.
And now draw near, and heaven and earth give ear, Give ear and record, heaven and earth, with me ; Ye lords of Barbary, hearken and attend, Hark to the words I speak, and vow I make To plant the true succession of the crown : Lo, lords, in our seat royal to succeed Our only brother here we do install, And by the name of Muly Mahamet Seth Intitle him true heir unto the crown. Ye gods of heaven gratulate this deed, 20
That men on earth may therewith stand content ! Lo, thus my due and duty is done, I pay 1 To heaven and earth, to gods and Amurath !
[Sound trumpets.
Muly Mah. Seth. Renowmed Bassa, to remunerate Thy worthiness and magnanimity, Behold, the noblest ladies of the land Bring present tokens of their gratitude.
1 Dyce's emendation " due and duties do I pay " is perhaps correct.
SCENE L] The Battle of Alcazar. 245
{Enter RUBIN ARCHIS, her Son, a Queen, and Ladies.]
Rub. Ar. Rubin, that breathes but for revenge, Bassa, by this commends herself to thee, Resignfs] the token of her thankfulness : 30
To Amurath the god of earthly kings Doth Rubin give and sacrifice her son : Not with sweet smoke of fire or sweet perfume, But with his father's sword, his mother's thanks, Doth Rubin give her son to Amurath.
Queen. As Rubin gives her son, so we ourselves To Amurath give, and fall before his face. Bassa, wear thou the gold of Barbary, And glister like the palace of the Sun,1 In honour of the deed that thou hast done. 40
Cal Bas. Well worthy of the aid of Amurath Is Abdelmelec, and these noble dames. — Rubin, thy son I shall ere long bestow, Where thou dost him bequeath in honour's fee, On Amurath mighty Emperor of the East, That shall receive the imp of royal race With cheerful looks and gleams of princely grace.— This chosen guard of Amurath's janizaries I leave to honour and attend on thee, King of Morocco, conqueror of thy foes, 50
True King of Fess, Emperor of Barbary ;
1 " An allusion to the story of Phaeton in Ovid, as Walker remarks, Crit. Exam, of the text of Shakespeare, &c., vol. i. p. 155."— Dyce.
246 The Battle of Alcazar. [ACT n.
Muly Molocco, live and keep thy seat, In spite of fortune's spite or enemies' threats. — Ride, Bassa, now, bold Bassa, homeward ride, As glorious as great Pompey in his pride.
[Exeunt1 omnes.
[SCENE II.]
Enter DIEGO LOPEZ, Governor of Lisbon, the Irish Bishop, STUKELEY, JONAS, and HERCULES.
Die. Welcome to Lisbon,2 valiant Catholics, Welcome, brave Englishmen, to Portugal : Most reverent 3 primate of the Irish church, And, noble Stukeley, famous by thy name, Welcome, thrice-welcome to Sebastian's town ; And welcome, English captains, to you all : It joyeth us to see his Holiness' fleet Cast anchor happily upon our coast.
Bish. These welcomes, worthy governor of Lisbon, Argue an honourable mind in thee, 10
But treat of our misfortune therewithal. To Ireland by Pope Gregory's command Were we all bound, and therefore thus embark'd, To land our forces there at unawares, Conquering the island 4 for his Holiness,
1 Olded. "Exit."
2 Old ed. gives sometimes " Lisborne," sometimes " Lisbon."
3 An old form of " reverend."
4 So Dyce.— Old ed. "land."
SCENE ii.] The Battle of Alcazar. 247
And so restore it to the Roman faith : This was the cause of our expedition, And Ireland long ere this had been subdued, Had not foul weather brought us to this bay.
Die. Under correction, are ye not all Englishmen, 20 And 'longs not Ireland to that kingdom, lords ? Then, may I speak my conscience in the cause Sans scandal to the holy see of Rome, Unhonourable is this expedition, And misbeseeming you to meddle in.
Stuke. Lord governor of Lisbon, understand, As we are Englishmen, so are we men, And I am Stukeley so resolved in all To follow rule, honour, and empery, Not to be bent so strictly to the place 3°
Wherein at first I blew the fire of life, But that I may at liberty make choice Of all the continents that bounds the world ; For why 1 I make it not so great desert To be begot or born in any place, Sith that's a thing of pleasure and of ease That might have been perform'd elsewhere as well.
Die. Follow what your good pleasure will, Good Captain Stukeley : be it far from me To take exceptions beyond my privilege. 40
Bish. Yet, captain, give me leave to speak ; We must affect our country as our parents, And if at any time we alienate
1 " For why " — because.
248 T lie Battle of Alcazar. [ACT n.
Our love or industry from doing it .honour, It must respect effects 1 and touch the soul, Matter of conscience and religion, And not desire of rule or benefit.
Stuke. Well said, bishop ! spoken like yourself, The reverent, lordly Bishop of Saint Asses.
Here. The bishop talks according to his coat, 5C
And takes not measure of it by his mind : You see he hath it made thus large and wide, Because he may convert it, as he list, To any form may fit the fashion best.
Bish. Captain, you do me wrong to descant thus Upon my coat or double conscience, And cannot answer it in another place.
Die. 'Tis but in jest, lord bishop ; put it up : And all as friends deign to be entertain'd As my ability here can make provision. 60
Shortly shall I conduct you to the king, Whose welcomes evermore to strangers are Princely and honourable, as his state becomes.
Stuke. Thanks, worthy governor. — Come, bishop,
come,
Will you show fruits of quarrel and of wrath ? Come, let's in with my Lord of Lisbon here, And put all conscience into one carouse,
1 The word "effects" seems unintelligible. The bishop says that a man is justified in alienating himself from his country only where matters of conscience and religion are concerned. Should we therefore read "respect [—concern] our faiths "?
SCENE ii.] The Battle of Alcazar. 249
Letting it out again as we may live.1
[Exeunt all except STUKELEY. There shall no action pass my hand or sword. That cannot make a step to gain a crown ; 7°
No word shall pass the office of my tongue, That sounds not of affection to a crown ; No thought have being in my lordly breast, That works not every way to win a crown : Deeds, words, and thoughts, shall all be as a king's ; My chiefest company shall be with kings ; And my deserts shall counterpoise a king's : Why should not I, then, look to be a king ? I am the Marquis now of Ireland 2 made, And will be shortly King of Ireland : /* 80
King 3 of a mole-hill had I rather be, |i Than the richest subject of a monarchy. Huff it, brave mind, and never cease t'aspire, Before thou reign sole king of thy desire. [Exit.
1 "I.e. as we may be live or lief — i.e. willing, inclined." — Dyce.
2 He had received this title from the Pope.
3 Dyce in his prefatory note to this play extracts from Fuller's Worthies (ed. 1672, pp. 258-9) an account of Stukeley. Fuller writes: — "So confident his ambition that he blushed not to tell Queen Elizabeth, that he preferred rather to be soveraign of a mole-hill than the highest subject to the greatest king in Christendome ; adding, moreover, that he was assured he should be a prince before his death. I hope (said Queen Elizabeth) I shall hear from you, when you are stated in your principality. I will write unto you (quoth Stukeley). In what lan guage ? (said the Queen). He returned, In the stile of Princes ; To our dear sister."
250 The Battle of Alcazar. [ACT n.
[SCENE III.]
Enter the Moor, with CALIPOLIS his wife> MULY MAHAMET his son, and two others.
The Moor. Where1 art thou, boy? Where is Cali-
polis ?
O deadly wound that passeth by mine eye, The fatal poison 2 of my swelling heart ! O fortune constant in unconstancy ! Fight earthquakes in the intrails of the earth, And eastern whirlwinds in the hellish shades ! Some foul contagion of th* infected heaven Blast all the trees, and in their cursed tops The dismal night-raven and tragic owl Breed, and become foretellers 3 of my fall, 10
The fatal ruin of my name and me ! Adders and serpents hiss at my disgrace, And wound the earth with anguish of their stings ! Now, Abdelmelec, now triiimph in Fess • Fortune hath made thee King of Barbary.
Calip. Alas, my lord, what boot these huge exclaims TJ advantage us in this distress'd estate ? O, pity our perplex'd estate, my lord, And turn all curses to submiss complaints, And those complaints to actions of relief ! 20
1 Some lines from this speech are selected for ridicule by Ben Jonson in the Third Act of The Poetaster.
2 So Dyce. Old ed. "prison."
3 In The Poetaster, act iii., the reading is "forerunners."
SCENE in.] The Battle of Alcazar. 251
I faint, my lord ; and naught may cursing plaints Refresh the fading substance of my life.
The Moor. Faint all the world, consume and be
accursed, Since my state faints, [consumes,] and is accursed.
Calip. Yet patience, lord, to conquer sorrows so.1
The Moor. What patience is for him that lacks his
crown ?
There is no patience where the loss is such : The shame of my disgrace hath put on wings, And swiftly flies about this earthly ball. Carest thou to live, then, fond Calipolis, 3°
When he that should give essence to thy soul, He on whose glory all thy joy should stay, Is soulless, gloryless, and desperate, Crying for battle, famine, sword, and fire, Rather than calling for relief or life ? But be content, thy hunger shall have end ; Famine shall pine to death, and thou shalt live : I will go hunt these cursed solitaries,2 And make the sword and target here my hound To pull down lions and untamed beasts. \Exit. 4°
The Moor's Son. Tush, mother, cherish your un-
hearty soul,
And feed with hope of happiness and ease ; For if by valour or by policy My kingly father can be fortunate,
1 Quy. " to conquer sorrows owe1' ? (The meaning would be " Own patience — have patience — to conquer sorrows." Owe was an old form of own. ) 2 < « /. e> deserts. ' ' —Dyce.
252 The Battle of Alcazar. [ACTH.
We shall be Jove's commanders once again, And flourish in a threefold happiness.
Zareo. His majesty hath sent Sebastian, • The good and harmless King of Portugal, A promise to resign the royalty
And kingdom of Morocco to his hands ; 50
And when this haughty * offer takes effect, And works affiance in Sebastian, My gracious lord, warn'd wisely to advise, I doubt not but will watch occasion, I And take her fore-top by the slenderest hair, To rid us of this miserable life.
The Moor's Son. Good madam, cheer yourself: my
father's wise ; 2
He can submit himself and live below,3 Make show of friendship, promise, vow, and swear, Till, by the virtue of his fair pretence, 60
Sebastian trusting his integrity, He makes himself possessor of such fruits As grow upon such great advantages.
Calip. But more dishonour hangs on such misdeeds Than all the profit their return can bear : Such secret judgments have the heavens imposed Upon the drooping state of Barbary, As public merits in such lewd attempts Have drawn with violence upon our heads.
1 If the text is correct, "haughty" must have the sense of " mag nanimous." 2 Walker's correction. Old ed. " wife. "
3 The text may be right, but "live below" is a very strange ex pression. For "live below " I would read "dive below."
SCENE in.] The Battle of Alcazar. 253
Enter MULY MAHAMET with flesh x upon his sword.
The Moor. Hold thee, Calipolis, feed, and faint no ,
more ; 70
This flesh I forced from a lioness,
Meat of a princess, for a princess meet : \
Learn by her noble stomach to esteem Penury plenty in extremest dearth ; Who, when she saw her foragement bereft, Pined not in melancholy or childish fear, But as brave minds are strongest in extremes, So she, redoubling 2 her former force, Ranged through3 the woods, and rent the breeding
vaults
Of proudest savages to save 4 herself. 80
Feed, then, and faint not, fair Calipolis ; 5 For rather than fierce Famine shall prevail To gnaw thy in trails with her thorny teeth, The conquering lioness shall attend on thee, And lay huge heaps of slaughter'd carcasses, As bulwarks in her way, to keep her back. I will provide thee of a princely osprey,
1 Old ed. "lyons flesh."
2 Equivalent to a quadrisyllable.
3 So Dyce. — Old ed. "thorough."
4 "Qy. 'serve'?"—/'. A. Daniel
5 Parodied by Pistol in 2 Henry IV —
" Then feed and be fat, my fair Calipolis."— Cf. Marston (ed. Bullen), ii. 404.
254 The Battle of Alcazar. [ACTH.
That as she flieth over fish in pools,1
The fish shall turn their glistering bellies up,
And thou shalt take thy liberal choice of all : 9°
Jove's stately bird with wide-commanding wings
Shall hover still about thy princely head,
And beat down fowl by shoals into thy lap :
Feed, then, and faint not, fair Calipolis.
Calip. Thanks, good my lord, and though my stomach be Too queasy to disgest 2 such bloody meat, Yet, strength I it with virtue of my mind, I doubt no whit but I shall live, my lord.
The Moor. Into the shades, then, fair Calipolis, And make thy son and negroes here good cheer : 100 Feed and be fat, that we may meet the foe With strength and terror, to revenge our wrong.
\Exeunt.
[SCENE IV.]
Enter SEBASTIAN, King of Portugal, the DUKE of AVERO, the DUKE OF BARCELES, LEWES DE SILVA, CHRISTO PHERO DE TAVERA, [and Attendants].
K. Seb. Call forth those Moors, those men of Barbary, That came with letters from the King of Fess.
[Exit one.
1 Cf. Drayton's Polyolbion, Song xxv. : —
" The osprey, oft here seen, though seldom here it breeds, Which over them the fish no sooner doth espy, But, betwixt him and them by an antipathy, Turning their bellies up, as though their death they saw, They at his pleasure lie to stuff his gluttonous maw."
2 Old form of "digest."
SCENE iv.] The Battle of Alcazar. 255
\The Moorish Ambassadors are brought m.]
Ye warlike lords, and men of chivalry, Honourable ambassadors of this high regent, Hark to Sebastian King of Portugal. These letters sent from your distressed lord, Torn from his throne by Abdelmelec's hand, Strengthened and raised by furious Amurath, Import a kingly favour at our hands, For aid to re-obtain his royal seat, 10
And place his fortunes in their former height. For 'quital of which honourable arms, By these his letters he doth firmly vow Wholly to yield and to surrender up The kingdom of Moroccus to our hands, And to become to us contributary ; And to content himself with th3 x realm of Fess, These lines, my lords, writ in extremity, Contain therefore but 2 during fortune's date ; How shall Sebastian, then, believe the same ? 20
First Amb. Viceroys,3 and most Christian king of
Portugal,
To satisfy thy doubtful mind herein, Command forthwith a blazing brand of fire Be brought in presence of thy majesty ; Then shalt thou see, by our religious vows
1 Olded. "the."
2 There must be some corruption here. Quy. " Contain their force but " ?
3 Corruption again, seemingly. Quy. " Thrice royal and most Christian King"?
256 The Battle of Alcazar. [ACT n.
And ceremonies most inviolate,
How firm our sovereign's protestations are.
[A brand is brought in.~\
Behold, my lord, this binds our faith to thee :
In token that great Muly Mahamet's hand
Hath writ no more than his stout heart allows, 30
And will perform to thee and to thine heirs,
We offer here our hands into this flame ;
And as this flame doth fasten on this flesh,
So from our souls we wish it may consume
The heart of our great lord and sovereign,
Muly Mahamet King of Barbary,
If his intent agree not with his words !
K. Seb. These ceremonies and protestations Sufficeth us, ye lords of Barbary,
Therefore return this answer to your king : 40
Assure him by the honour of my crown, And by Sebastian's true unfeigned faith, He shall have aid and succour to recover, And seat him in, his former empery. Let him rely upon our princely word : Tell him by August we will come to him With such a power of brave impatient minds, As Abdelmelec and great Amurath Shall tremble at the strength of Portugal. 49
First Amb. Thanks to th'1 renowmed King of Portugal, On whose stout promises our state dependfs],
1 Olded. "the."
SCENE iv.] The Battle of Alcazar. 257
K. Seb. Barbarians, go ; glad your distressed king, And say Sebastian lives to right his wrong.
[Exeunt Ambassadors. Duke of Avero, call in those Englishmen, Don Stukeley, and those captains of the fleet, That lately landed in our bay of Lisbon. Now breathe, Sebastian, and in breathing blow Some gentle gale of thy new-formed joys. Duke of Avero, it shall be your charge To take the muster of the Portugals, 60
And bravest bloods of all our country.
[Exit DUKE OF AVERO. Lewes de Silva, you shall be despatch'd With letters unto Philip King of Spain : Tell him we crave his aid in this behalf; I know our brother Philip nill * deny His furtherance in this holy Christian war. Duke of Barceles, as thy ancestors Have always loyal been to Portugal, So now, in honour of thy toward youth, Thy charge shall be to Antwerp speedily, 70
To hire us mercenary men-at-arms : Promise them princely pay ; and be thou sure Thy word is ours, — Sebastian speaks the word.
Christo. I beseech your majesty, employ me in this war.
K. Seb. Christopher de Tavera, next unto myself, My good Hephsestion,2 and my bedfellow,
1 Will not. 2 Old ed. " Efestian."
VOL. I. R
258 The Battle of Alcazar. [ACTH.
Thy cares and mine shall be alike in this, And thou and I will live and die together.
Re-enter**- the DUKE OF AVERO, with the Irish Bishop, STUKELEY, JONAS, HERCULES, and others.
And now, brave Englishmen, to you [I turn]
Whom angry storms have put into our bay ; 80
Hold not your fortune e'er the worse in this :
We hold our stranger's honours in our hand,
And for distressed frank and free relief.
Tell me, then, Stukeley, for that's thy name I trow,
Wilt thou, in honour of thy country's fame,
Hazard thy person in this brave exploit,
And follow us to fruitful Barbary,
With these six thousand soldiers thou hast brought,
And choicely pick'd through wanton Italy ?
Thou art a man of gallant personage, 90
Proud in thy looks, and famous every way :
Frankly tell me, wilt thou go with me ?
Stuke. Courageous king, the wonder of my thoughts ! And yet, my lord, with pardon understand, Myself and these whom weather hath enforced To lie at road upon thy gracious coast, Did bend our course and made amain for Ireland.
K. Seb. For Ireland, Stukeley, thou mistak'st2 won drous much !
1 So Dyce.— Old ed, " Enter STUKELEY and the rest"
2 Old ed. " thou mistakst me wonderous much." But Dyce's emen dation " thou mak'st me wonder much " is very plausible.
SCENE iv.] The Battle of Alcazar. 259
With seven ships, two pinnaces, and six thousand men ?
I tell thee, Stukeley, they are far too weak 100
To violate the Queen of Ireland's right ;
For Ireland's Queen commandeth England's force.
Were every ship ten thousand on the seas,
Mann'd with the strength of all the eastern kings,
Conveying all the monarchs of the world,
T' invade the island where her highness reigns,
'Twere all in vain, for heavens and destinies
Attend and wait upon her majesty.
Sacred, imperial, and holy is her seat,
Shining with wisdom, love, and mightiness : no
Nature that everything imperfect made,
Fortune that never yet was constant found,
Time that defaceth every golden show,
Dare not decay, remove, or her impair ; *
Both nature, time, and fortune, all agree,
To bless and serve her royal majesty.
The wallowing ocean hems her round about ;
Whose raging floods do swallow up her foes,
And on the rocks their ships in pieces split,
And2 even in Spain, where all the traitors dance 120
1 So Dyce. Old ed. " or be impure."
2 Dyce makes no comment here ; but it is plain that this line and the next are hideously corrupt. We should put a full stop after "split " (1. 119) ; and some reckless emendator might then propose —
" Th' Atlantic main, where gayly dolphins dance And 'joy themselves upon the sunny wave, Securely guards," &c.
Very far from the original ; but the original is nonsense.
260 The Battle of Alcazar. [ACTH.
And play themselves upon a sunny day,
Securely guard the west part of her isle ;
The south the narrow Britain-sea begirts,
Where Neptune sits in triumph to direct
Their course to hell that aim at her disgrace ;
The German seas alongst the east do run,
Where Venus banquets all her water-nymphs,
That with her beauty glancing on the waves
Distains the cheek x of fair Proserpina.
Advise thee, then, proud Stukeley, ere thou pass 130
To wrong the wonder of the highest God j
Sith danger, death, and hell do follow thee,
Thee, and them all, that seek to danger her.
If honour be the mark whereat thou aim'st,
Then follow me in holy Christian wars,
And leave to seek thy country's overthrow.
Stuke. Rather, my lord, let me admire these words, Than answer to your firm objections. His Holiness Pope Gregory the Seventh Hath made us 'four the leaders of the rest : i40
Amongst the rest, my lord, I am but one ; If they agree, Stukeley will be the first To die with honour for Sebastian.
K. Seb. Tell me, lord bishop, captains, tell me all, Are you content to leave this enterprise Against your country and your countrymen, To aid Mahamet King of Barbary ?
1 This is Dyce's excellent emendation. Old ed. " Disdaines the checke." {Distains— excels, outshines.)
SCENE iv.] The Battle of A Icazar. 2 6 1
Bish. To aid Mahamet King of Barbary ! 'Tis 'gainst our vows, great King of Portugal.
K. Seb. Then, captains, what say you? 150
Jon. I say, my lord,1 as the bishop said, We may not turn from conquering Ireland.
Here. Our country and our countrymen will condemn Us 2 worthy of death, if we neglect our vows.
K. Seb. Consider, lords, you are now in Portugal, And I may now dispose of you and yours : Hath not the wind and weather given you up, And made you captives at our royal will ?
Jon. It hath, my lord, and willingly we yield To be commanded by your majesty ; 160
But if you make us voluntary men, Our course is then direct for Ireland.
K. Seb. That course will we direct for Barbary. — Follow me, lords : Sebastian leads the way To plant the Christian faith in Africa.
Stuke. Saint George for England ! and Ireland now
adieu, For here Tom Stukeley shapes his course anew.
[Exeunt.
1 Equivalent to a dissyllable.
2 This word should probably stand at the end of the previous line, unless we adopt Dyce's suggested reading, " Us worthy death."
( 262 )
[ACT III.]
Enter the Presenter and speaks.
Lo, thus into a lake of blood and gore
The brave courageous King of Portugal
Hath drench'd himself, and now prepares amain
With sails and oars to cross the swelling seas,
With men and ships, courage and cannon-shot,
To plant this cursed Moor in fatal hour ;
And in this Catholic case the King of Spain
Is calPd upon by sweet Sebastian,
Who surfeiting in prime time1 -of his youth
Upon ambition's 2 poison, dies thereon. 10
By this time is the Moor to Tangier come,
A city 'longing to the Portugal ;
And now doth Spain promise with holy face,
As favouring the honour of the cause,
His aid of arms, and levies men apace :
1 For the use of " prime time " (where to-day, as did the Elizabethans generally, we should say simply "prime") cf. a song in Robert Jones' Muses Garden of Delights, 1610 —
" For hopes revealed may thy hopes prolong, Or cut them off vs. prime time of desire."
2 Olded. "ambitious."
SCENE L] The Battle of A Icazar. 263
But nothing less than King Sebastian's good
He means ; yet at Sucor de Tupea
He met, some say, in person with the Portugal,
And treateth of a marriage with the king :
But 'ware ambitious wiles and poison'd eyes ! 20
There was nor aid of arms nor marriage,
For * on his way without those Spaniards
King Sebastian went. \Exit.
[SCENE L]
Enter the KING OF PORTUGAL and his Lords, LEWES DE SILVA, and the Ambassadors \and Legate] of Spain.
K. Seb. Honourable lords, ambassadors of Spain, The many favours by our meetings done From our beloved and renowmed brother, Philip the Catholic King of Spain,2 Say therefore, good my lord ambassador, Say how your mighty master minded is To propagate the fame of Portugal.
First Amb. To propagate the fame of Portugal, And plant religious truth in Africa, Philip the great and puissant king of Spain, 10
For love and honour of Sebastian's name, Promiseth aid of arms, and swears by us To do your majesty all the good he can,
1 "For . . . went" — one line in old ed. 3 " Something has dropt out here." — Dyce.
264 The Battle of Alcazar. [ACT m.
With men, munition, and supply of war, Of Spaniards proud, in king Sebastian's aid, To spend their bloods in honour of their Christ.
Legate. And farther, to manifest unto your majesty How much the Catholic king of Spain affects This war with Moors and men of little faith, The honour of your everlasting praise, 20
Behold, to honour and enlarge thy name, He maketh offer of his daughter Isabel To link in marriage with the brave Sebastian ; And to enrich Sebastian's noble wife, His majesty doth * promise to resign The titles of the Islands of Moloccus,2 That by his royalty in India 3 he commands. These favours with unfeigned love and zeal Voweth King Philip to King Sebastian.
K. Seb. And God so deal with King Sebastian's
soul 30
As justly he intends to fight for Christ ! Nobles of Spain, sith our renowmed brother, Philip the king of honour and of zeal, By you the chosen orators of Spain The offer of the holds 4 he makes Are not so precious in our account, As is the peerless dame whom we adore,
1 Olded. "with."
2 This may be a recognised old form of " Moluccas ; " but I have not met it elsewhere.
3 So Dyce.— Old ed. " ludah."
4 There has been no mention of any " holds." From the next scene
SCENE i.] The Battle of Alcazar. 265
His daughter, in whose loyalty consists
The life and honour of Sebastian.
As for the aid of arms he promiseth, 40
We will expect and thankfully receive,
At Cardis,1 as we sail alongst the coast. —
Sebastian, clap thy hands for joy,
Honoured by this meeting and this match. —
Go, lords, and follow to the famous war
Your king ; and be his fortune such in all
As he intends to manage arms in right.
[Exeunt. Mane\n\t STUKELEY and another.
Stuke. Sit fast, Sebastian, and in this work God and good men labour for Portugal ! For Spain, disguising with a double face, 50
Flatters thy youth and forwardness, good king. Philip, whom some call the Catholic king, I fear me much thy faith will not be firm, But disagree with thy profession.
The other. What, then, shall of those 2 men of war
become, Those numbers that do multiply in Spain ?
Stuke. Spain hath a vent for them and their supplies : The Spaniard ready to embark himself, Here gathers to a head ; but all too sure Flanders, I fear, shall feel the force of Spain. 60
we learn that Abdelmelec offered "seven holds" (1. 18) to Philip ; but that is another matter. It is impossible to suggest any tolerable emen dation ; for a line or more seems to have been dropped.
1 A corruption of "Cadiz."
2 So Dyce.— Old ed. "these,"
266 The Battle of Alcazar. [ACT m.
Let Portugal fare as he may or can,
Spain means to spend no powder on the Moors.
The other. If kings do dally so with holy oaths, The heavens will right the wrongs that they sustain. Philip, if these forgeries be in thee, Assure thee, king, 'twill light on thee at last ; And when proud Spain hopes soundly to prevail, The time may come that thou and thine shall fail.
[Exeunt.
[SCENE II.]
Enter ABDELMELEC, MULY MAHAMET SETH, ZAREO, and their train.
Abdelm. The Portugal, led with deceiving hope, Hath raised his power, and received our foe With honourable welcomes and regard, And left his country-bounds, and hither bends In hope to help Mahamet to a crown, And chase us hence, and plant this Negro-Moor, That clads himself in coat of hammer'd steel To heave us from the honour we possess. But, for I have myself a soldier been, I have, in pity to the Portugal, 10
Sent secret messengers to counsel him. As for the aid of Spain, whereof they hoped, We have despatch'd our letters to their prince, To crave that in a quarrel so unjust, He that entitled is the Catholic king, Would not assist a careless Christian prince.
SCENE in.] The Battle of Alcazar. 267
And, as by letters we are let to know,
Our offer of the seven holds we made
He thankfully receives with all conditions,
Differing in mind [as] far from all his words 20
And promises to King Sebastian,
As we would wish, or you, my lords, desire.
Ar. Zareo. What resteth, then, but Abdelmelec may Beat back this proud invading Portugal, And chastise this ambitious Negro-Moor With thousand deaths for thousand damned deeds ?
Abdelm. Forward, Zareo, and ye manly Moors ! — Sebastian, see in time unto thyself : If thou and thine misled do thrive amiss, Guiltless is Abdelmelec of thy blood. \Exeunt. 30
[SCENE III.]
Enter DON DE MENYSIS, Governor of Tangier, speaking to the Captain[s].
De Men. Captainfs], we have received letters from the
king,
That with such signs and arguments of love We entertain the King of Barbary, That marcheth toward Tangier with his men, The poor remainders 1 of those that fled from Fess, When Abdelmelec got the glorious day, And stalPd himself in his imperial throne.
1 "Qy. 'remains'?" — Dyce.
268 The Battle of Alcazar. [ACTIH.
First Cap. Lord governor, we are in readiness To welcome and receive this hapless king, Chased from his land by angry Amurath ; 10
And if the right rest in this lusty Moor, Bearing a princely heart unvanquishable, A noble resolution then it is In brave Sebastian our Christian king, To aid this Moor with his victorious arms, Thereby to propagate religious truth, And plant his springing praise in Africa.
Sec. Cap. But when arrives this brave Sebastian, To knit his forces with this manly Moor, That both in one, and one in both, may join 20
In this attempt of noble consequence ? Our men of Tangier long to see their king, His 1 princely face, that like the summer's sun, Glads all these hither parts of Barbary.
De Men. Captains, he cometh hitherward amain, Top and top-gallant, all in brave array : The 2 six-and-twentieth day of June he left The bay of Lisbon, and with all his fleet At Cardis happily he arrived in Spain The eighth of July, tarrying for the aid 3°
That Philip King of Spain had promised : And fifteen days he there remain'd aboard,
1 Old ed. " Whose."
2 Lines 27-30 are arranged thus in old ed. —
" The 26. daie of June he lefte the bay of Lisborne, And with all his fleete at Cardis happily he Ariu'de in Spain the eight of July, tarrying for the aide."
SCENE iv.] The Battle of Alcazar. 269
Expecting when this Spanish force would come,
Nor stept ashore, as he were going still.
But Spain, that meant and minded nothing less,
Pretends a sudden fear and care to keep
His own from Amurath's fierce invasion,
And to excuse his promise to our king ;
For which he storms as great Achilles erst
Lying for want of wind in Aulis' 1 gulf, 4°
And hoiseth up his sails and anchors weighs,
And hitherward he comes, and looks to meet
This manly Moor whose case he undertakes.
Therefore go we to welcome and receive,2
With cannon-shot and shouts of young and old,
This fleet of Portugals and troop of Moors. \Exeunt?
[SCENE IV.]
The trumpets sound, the chambers are discharged. Then enter the KING OF PORTUGAL and the Moor, with all their train.
K. Seb. Muly Mahamet, King of Barbary, Well met, and welcome to our town of Tangier, After this sudden shock and hapless war. — Welcome, brave Queen of Moors : repose thee here, Thou and thy noble son. — And, soldiers all,
So Dyce— Old ed. " Aldest."
So Dyce.— Old ed. " rescue." (Cf. 1. 9.)
Olded. "Exit"
270 The Battle of Alcazar. [ACT m.
Repose you here in King Sebastian's town. —
Thus far in honour of thy name and aid,
Lord Mahamet, we have adventured,
To win for thee a kingdom, for ourselves
Fame, and performance of those promises I0
That in thy faith and royalty thou hast
Sworn to Sebastian King of Portugal ;
And thrive it so with thee as thou dost mean,
And mean thou so as thou dost wish to thrive !
And if our Christ, for whom in chief we fight,
Hereby t' enlarge the bounds of Christendom,
Favour this war, and, as I do not doubt,
Send victory to light upon my crest,
Brave Moor, I will advance thy kingly son,
And with a diadem of pearl and gold 20
Adorn thy temples and enrich thy head.
The Moor. O brave Sebastian, noble Portugal, Renowm'd and honour'd ever mayst thou be, Triiimpher over those that menace thee ! The hellish prince, grim Pluto, with his mace Ding ! down my soul to hell, and with this soul This son of mine, the honour of my house, But I perform religiously to thee That I have holily erst underta'en ! And that thy lords and captains may perceive 30
My mind in this single and pure to be, — As pure as is the water of the brook, — My dearest son to thee I do engage :
Dash.
SCENE iv.] The Battle of Alcazar. 271
Receive him, lord, in hostage of my vow ; For even my mind presageth to myself, That in some slavish sort I shall behold Him J dragg'd along this running river shore, A spectacle to daunt the pride of those That climb aloft by force, and not by right.
The Moor's Son. Nor can it otherwise befall the man 4°
That keeps his seat and sceptre all in fear ; That wears his crown in eye of all the world, Reputed theft and not inheritance. What title, then, hath Abdelmelec here To bar our father or his progeny ? Right royal prince, hereof you make no doubt, Agreeing with your wholesome Christian laws : Help, then, courageous lord, with hand and sword, To clear his way, whose lets are lawless men ; And for this deed ye all shall be renowm'd, 5°
Renowm'd and chronicled in books of fame, In books of fame, and characters of brass, Of brass, nay, beaten gold : fight, then, for fame, And find th' Arabian Muly Hamet here Adventurous, bold, and full of rich reward.
Stuke. Brave boy, how plain this princely mind in
thee
Argues the height and honour of thy birth ! And well have I observed thy forwardness ; — Which being tender'd by your majesty,
i "Abdelmelec, it is to be supposed."— -P. A. Daniel.
272 The Battle of Alcazar. [ACTHI.
No doubt the quarrel, open'd by the mouth 60
Of this young prince unpartially to us,
May animate and hearten all the host
To fight against the devil for Lord Mahamet.
K. Seb. True, Stukeley ; and so freshly to my mind Hath this young prince reduced 1 his father's wrong, That in good time I hope this honour's fire, Kindled already with regard of right, Bursts into open flames, and calls for wars, Wars, wars, to plant the true-succeeding prince. — Lord Mahamet, I take thy noble son 7°
A pledge of honour, and shall use him so. — Lord Lodowick, and my good Lord of Avero, See this young prince convey'd safe to Messegon, And there accompanied as him fitteth best : And to this war prepare ye more and less, This rightful war, that Christians' God will bless.
[Exeunt.
1 Brought back,
273
[ACT IV.]
Enter the Presenter.
Now harden'd is this hapless heathen prince,
And strengthen'd by the arms of Portugal,
This Moor, this murderer of his progeny ;
And war and weapons now, and blood and death,
Wait on the counsels of this cursed king j
And to a bloody banket he invites
The brave Sebastian and his noble peers.
Enter to the bloody banket.
In fatal hour arrived this peerless prince, To lose his life, his life, and many lives Of lusty men, courageous Portugals, 10
Drawn by [proud] ambition's 1 golden hooks.2 Let fame of him no wrongful censure sound ; Honour was object of his thoughts, ambition was his ground. [Exit.
1 Old ed. "ambitious." The same misprint has occurred earlier in the play (p. 262, 1. 10). Drawn (old ed. " Drawen ") has the value of a dissyllable.
2 So Dyce.— Old ed. "looks."
VOL. I. S
2/4 The Battle of Alcazar. [ACT iv.
[SCENE L] Enter ABDELMELEC and his train.
Abdelm. Now tell me, Celybin, what doth the enemy ?
Cel. The enemy, dread lord, hath left the town Of Arzil with a thousand soldiers arm'd, To guard his fleet of thirteen hundred sail ; And mustering of his men before the walls, He found he had two thousand armed horse, And fourteen thousand men that serve on foot, Three thousand pioners,1 and a thousand coachmen, Besides a number almost numberless Of drudges, negroes, slaves, and muleters,2 10
Horse-boys, laundresses, and courtezans, And fifteen hundred waggons full of stuff For noblemen brought up in delicate.
Abdelm. Alas, good king, thy foresight hath been
small,
To come with women into Barbary, With laundressefs], with baggage, and with trash, Numbers unfit to multiply thy host.
Cel. Their payment in the camp is passing slow, And victuals scarce, that many faint and die.
Abdelm. But whither marcheth he in all this haste ?
Cel. Some think, my lord,3 he marcheth hitherward, 21 And means to take this city of Alcazar.
1 Old form of pioneers. 2 old form of muleteers.
3 " My lord"— not in old ed. ; suggested by Dyce.
SCENE i.] The Battle of Alcazar. 275
Abdelm. Unto Alcazar ? O unconstant chance !
Cel. The brave and valiant King of Portugal Quarters his power in four battalions, Afront the which, to welcome us withal, Are six and thirty roaring-pieces x placed : The first, consisting of light-armed horse And of the garrisons from Tangier brought, Is led by Alvaro Peres de Tavero ; 30
The left or middle battle, of Italians And German horsemen, Stukeley doth command, A warlike Englishman sent by the Pope, That vainly calls himself Marquis of Ireland ; Alonso Aquilaz conducts the third, — That wing of German soldiers most consists ; The fourth legion is none but Portugals, Of whom Lodevico Caesar hath the chiefest charge : Besides there stand six thousand horse Bravely attired, prest 2 where need requires. 40
Thus have I told your royal majesty How he is placed to brave us in the fight.3
Abdelm. But where's our nephew, Muly Mahamet ?
Cel. He marcheth in the middle, guarded about With full five hundred harquebuze on foot, And twice three thousand needless armed pikes.
Ar. Zareo. Great sovereign, vouchsafe to hear me speak, And let Zareo's counsel now prevail : Whilst time doth serve, and that these Christians dare
1 Pieces of ordnance. 2 Ready.
3 So Dyce. Old ed, " to braue his fight."
276 The Battle of Alcazar. [ACTIV.
Approach the field with warlike ensigns spread, 50
Let us in haste with all our forces meet, And hem them in, that not a man escape ; So will they be advised another time How they do touch the shore of Barbary.
Abdelm. Zareo, hear our resolution : And thus our forces we will first dispose. Hamet, my brother, with a thousand shot * On horseback, and choice harquebuziers all, Having ten thousand foot 2 with spear and shield, Shall make the right wing of the battle up j 60
Zareo, you shall have in charge the left, Two thousand argolets and ten thousand horse ; The main battle of harquebuze on foot, And twenty thousand horsemen in their troops j Myself, environ'd with my trusty guard Of janizaries, fortunate in war; And toward Arzil will we take our way. : If, then, our enemy will balk our force, In God's name let him, it will be his best j But if he level at Alcazar walls, 7o
Then beat him back with bullets as thick as hail, And make him know and rue his oversight, That rashly seeks the ruin of this land. {Exeunt.
1 Armed soldiers (usually foot-soldiers). Cf. Lord Vaux's Assault of Cupid:—
" Good Will, the master of the shot, Stood in the rampire brave and proud."
2 " Foot " — not in old ed. ; suggested by Dyce.
SCENE ii.] The Battle of Alcazar. 277
[SCENE IL]
Enter SEBASTIAN, King of Portugal, the DUKE OF AVERO, STUKELEY, [HERCULES], and others.
K. Seb. Why, tell me, lords, why left ye Portugal, And cross'd the seas with us to Barbary ? Was it to see the country and no more, Or else to fly 1 before ye were assail'd ? I am ashamed to think that such as you, Whose deeds have been renowmed heretofore, Should slack in such an act of consequence : We come to fight, and fighting vow to die, Or else to win the thing for which we came. Because Abdelmelec, as pitying us, 10
Sends messages to counsel quietness, You stand amazed, and think it sound advice, As if our enemy would wish us any good : No, let him know we scorn his courtesy, And will resist his forces whatsoe'er. Cast fear aside : myself will lead the way, And make a passage with my conquering sword, Knee-deep in blood of these accursed Moors ; And they that love my honour, follow me.2 Were you as resolute as is your king, 20
1 So Dyce. Old ed. "slay."
2 " Resembles a line in Shakespeare's Richard HI., Act III. Sc. 4-
' The rest, that love me, rise and follow me. ' " — Dyce.
2 7 8 The Battle of A Icazar. [ACT iv.
Alcazar walls should fall before your face, And all the force of this Barbarian lord Should be confounded, were it ten times more.
Avero. So well become these words a kingly mouth, That are of force to make a coward fight ; But when advice and prudent x foresight Is joined with such magnanimity, Trophies 2 of victory and kingly spoils Adorn his crown, his kingdom, and his fame.
Here. We have descried upon the mountain-tops 30 A hugy company of invading Moors ; And they, my lord, as thick as winter's hail, Will fall upon our heads at unawares : Best, then, betimes t' avoid this gloomy storm ; It is in vain to strive with such a stream.
Enter MULY MAHAMET.
The Moor. Behold, thrice-noble lord, uncalPd I come To counsel where necessity commands ; And honour of undoubted victory Makes me exclaim upon this dastard flight. Why, King Sebastian, wilt thou now foreslow,3 40
And let so great a glory slip thy hands ? Say you do march unto Tarissa now, The forces of the foe are come so nigh,
1 Perhaps a misprint for " provident."
2 So Dyce. Old ed. "Troupes."
3 Hang back, be negligent.
SCENE ii.] The Battle of Alcazar. 279
That he will let 1 the passage of the river ;
So unawares you will be forced to fight
But know, O king, and you, thrice-valiant lords,
Few blows will serve. I ask but only this,
That with your power you march into the field ;
For now is all the army resolute
To leave the traitor helpless in the fight, 50
And fly to me as to their rightful prince.
Some horsemen have already led the way,
And vow the like for their companions :
The host is full of tumult and of fear.
Then as you come to plant me in my seat,
And to enlarge your fame in Africa,
Now, now or never, bravely execute
Your resolution sound and honourable,
And end this war together with his life
That doth usurp the crown with tyranny. 60
K. Seb. Captains, you hear the reasons of the king, Which so effectually have pierced mine ears, That I am fully resolute to fight ; And who refuseth now to follow me, Let him be ever counted cowardly.
Avero. Shame be his share that flies when kings do
fight ! Avero lays his life before your feet.
Stuke. For my part, lords, I cannot sell my blood Dearer than in the company of kings.
{Exeunt. Manet MULY MAHAMET.
i Hinder.
280 The Battle of Alcazar. [ACTIV.
The Moor. Now have I set these Portugals a-work 70 To hew a way for me unto the crown, Or with their 1 weapons here to dig their 1 graves. You bastards 2 of the Night and Erebus, Fiends, Fairies,3 hags that fight in beds of steel,4 Range through this army with your iron whips, Drive forward to this deed this Christian crew, And let me triumph in the tragedy, Though it be seal'd and honour'd with the 5 blood Both of the Portugal and barbarous Moor. Ride, Nemesis, ride in thy fiery cart, 80
And sprinkle gore amongst these men of war, That either party, eager of revenge, May honour thee with sacrifice of death ; And having bathed thy chariot-wheels in blood, Descend and take to thy tormenting hell The mangled body of that traitor-king That scorns the power and force of Portugal : Then let the earth discover to his ghost
1 So Dyce.— Old ed. "your."
2 "The 4.10 ' You dastards of,' &c. One of the passages which may be cited as going far to prove that, in the opening of Milton's L Allegro—
' Hence, loathed Melancholy, Of Cerberus and blackest Midnight born,' —
1 Cerberus ' is a misprint for ' Erebus.' " — Dyce.
3 Dyce reads " Furies " — perhaps rightly. But we often find " fairy " where we should expect "fury."
4 Mitford proposed "fight with bats of steel;" but the suspicious word is "fight," for in ii. i, 1. 17, we have had the "beds of steel" mentioned.
6 So Dyce.— Old ed. "my."
SCENE IL] The Battle of Alcazar. 281
Such tortures as usurpers feel below ;
Rack'd let him be in proud Ixion's wheel, 90
Pined let him be with Tantalus' * endless thirst,
Prey let him be to Tityus' 2 greedy bird,
Wearied with Sisyphus' immortal toil :
And lastly for revenge, for deep revenge,
Whereof thou goddess and deviser art,
Damn'd let him be, damn'd, and condemn'd to bear
All torments, tortures, plagues, and pains of hell. \Exit.
1 Perhaps Peele wrote "Tantal's." (Tantalus was often shortened to Tantal.)
2 SoDyce.— Old ed. "Tisons."
( 282 )
[ACT V.]
Enter the Presenter before the last Dumb-show^ and speaketh.
Ill be to him that so much ill bethinks ;
And ill betide this foul ambitious Moor,
Whose wily trains with smoothest course of speech
Have tied and tangled in a dangerous war
The fierce and manly King of Portugal.
\Lightning and thunder.
Now throw the heavens forth their lightning-flames, And thunder over Afric's fatal fields : Blood will have blood, foul murder scape no scourge.
Enter FAME, like an angel, and hangs the crowns upon a tree.
At last descendeth Fame, as Iris [did]
To finish fainting Dido's dying life ; 10
Fame from her stately bower doth descend,
And on the tree, as fruit new-ripe to fall,
Placeth the crowns of these unhappy kings,
That erst she kept in eye of all the world.
[Here the blazing star.
ACT v. ] The Ba ttle of A Icazar. 283
Now fiery stars, and streaming comets blaze, That threat the earth and princes of the same.
[Fireworks.
Fire, fire about the axletree of heaven Whirls round, and from the foot of Cassiope, In fatal hour, consumes these fatal crowns.
[One/alls. Down falls the diadem of Portugal.
[The other falls.
The crowns of Barbary and kingdoms fall j1 21
Ay me, that kingdoms may not stable stand ! And now approaching near the dismal day, The bloody day wherein the battles join, Monday the fourth of August, seventy-eight, The sun shines wholly on the parched earth, The brightest planet in the highest heaven. The heathens, eager bent against their foe, Give onset with great ordnance to the war ; The Christians with great noise of cannon-shot 30
Sound 2 angry onsets to the enemy. Give ear, and hear how war begins his song With dreadful clamours, noise, and trumpets' sound.
{Exit.
1 ' ' Quy. ' The crown of Barbary and Morocco falls ' (the word ' kingdoms' having crept in here from the next line)?" — Dyce.
2 Old ed. "Send "—which Dyce retained, suggesting that we should read "answers" for "onsets."
284 The Battle of Alcazar. [ACTV-
[SCENE L]
Alarums within; let the chambers be discharged ; then
enter to the battle ; and the Moors fly.
Skirmish still ; then enter ABDELMELEC in his chair,
ZAREO, and their train.
Abdelm. Say on, Zareo, tell me all the news, Tell me what Fury rangeth in our camp, That hath enforced our Moors to turn their backs ; Zareo, say what chance did bode this ill, What ill enforced this dastard cowardice ?
Ar. Zareo. My lord, such chance as wilful war
affords ;
Such chances and misfortunes as attend On him, the god of battle and of arms. My lord, when with our ordnance fierce we sent * Our Moors with smaller shot, as thick as hail 10
Follows apace, to charge the Portugal ; The valiant duke, the devil of Avero, The bane of Barbary, fraughted full of ire, Breaks through the ranks, and with five hundred horse, All men-at-arms, forward and full of might, Assaults the middle wing, and puts to flight Eight thousand harquebuze that served on foot,
1 The text is corrupt. I suggest the following emendation : — " My lord, when we our ordnance' force had spent, Our Moors with smaller shot, as thick as hail, Follows [i.e., Follow] apace."
SCENE i.] The Battle of A Icazar. 285
And twenty thousand Moors with spear and shield, And therewithal the x honour of the day.
Abdelm. Ah, Abdelmelec, dost thou live to hear 20 This bitter process of this first attempt ? — Labour, my lords, to renew our force Of fainting Moors, and fight it to the last. — My horse, Zareo ! — O, the goal is lost, The goal is lost !— Thou King of Portugal. Thrice-happy chance it is for thee and thine That heavens abates my strength and calls me hence. — My sight doth fail ; my soul, my feeble soul Shall be released from prison on this earth : Farewell, vain world ! for I have play'd my part. 30
[He dieth.
A long skirmish ; and then enter his brother MULY MAHAMET SETH.
Muly Mah. Seth. Brave Abdelmelec, thou thrice-noble
lord!
Not such a wound was given to Barbary, Had twenty hosts of men been put to sword, As death, pale death, with fatal shaft hath given. Lo, dead is he, my brother and my king, Whom I might have revived with news I bring !
Zareo. His honours and his types he hath resign'd
1 We could restore the sense by reading "gains th' honour;" but probably, as Dyce suggests, a line has been omitted at the end of the speech (unless we suppose that Abdelmelec does not allow Zareo to finish his narration).
286 The Battle of Alcazar. [ACTV.
Unto the world, and of a manly man,
Lo, in a twinkling,1 a senseless stock we see !
Muly Mah. Seth. You trusty soldiers of this warlike king, 40
Be counsell'd now by us in this advice ; Let not his death be bruited in the camp, Lest with the sudden sorrow of the news The army wholly be discomfited. My Lord Zareo, thus I comfort you j Our Moors have bravely borne themselves in fight, Likely to get the honour of the day, If aught may gotten be where loss is such. Therefore, in this apparel as he died, My noble brother will we here advance, 50
And set him in his chair with cunning props, That our Barbarians may behold their king, And think he doth repose him in his tent.
Zareo. Right politic and good is your advice.
Muly Mah. Seth.2 Go, then, to see it speedily
perform'd. —
Brave lord, if Barbary recover this, Thy soul with joy will sit and see the fight. [Exeunt,
1 ' ' Qy. ' twink ' ? " — Dyce.
2 "Muly Mah, Seth."— not in old ed. ; added by Dyce.
SCENEL] The Battle of Alcazar. 287
Alarums : enter to the battle ; and the Christians^.- the DUKE OF AVERO slain. Enter SEBASTIAN and STUKELEY.
K. Seb. Seest thou not, Stukeley, O Stukeley, seest
thou not
The great dishonour done to Christendom ! Our cheerful onset cross'd in springing hope ; 60
The brave and mighty prince, Duke of Avero, Slain in my sight : now joy betide his ghost, For like a lion did he bear himself ! Our battles are all now disordered, And by our horses' strange retiring-back Our middle wing of footmen overrode. Stukeley, alas, I see my oversight ! False-hearted Mahamet, now, to my cost, I see thy treachery, warn'd to beware A face so full of fraud and villany. 70
Alarums within, and they run out, and two set upon STUKELEY, and he driveth them in. Then enter the Moor and his Boy, flying.
The Moor. Villain, a horse !
Boy. O, my lord, if you return, you die !
The Moor. Villain, I say, give me a horse to fly, To swim the river, villain, and to fly. \Exit Boy.
Where shall I find some unfrequented place,
288 The Battle of Alcazar. [ACT v.
Some uncouth * walk, where I may curse my fill,
My stars, my dam, my planets, and my nurse,
The fire, the air, the water, and the earth,
All causes that have thus conspired in one,
To nourish and preserve me to this shame ? 80
Thou that wert at my birth predominate,
Thou fatal star, what planet e'er thou be,
Spit out thy poison bad, and all the ill
That fortune, fate, or heaven, may bode a man.
Thou nurse infortunate, guilty of all,
Thou mother of my life, that brought'st me forth,
Cursed mayst thou be for such a cursed son !
Cursed be thy son with every curse thou hast !
Ye elements of whom consists this clay,
This mass of flesh, this cursed crazed corpse, 90
Destroy, dissolve, disturb, and dissipate,
What water, earth, and air congeal'd.2
Alarums, and enter the Boy.
Boy. O, my lord,
These ruthless Moors pursue you at the heels,3 And come amain to put you to the sword !
1 Solitary, remote.
2 The line is imperfect ; and there is no mention of the element •« fire."
Quy. " What fire and water, earth and air congeal'd? " Dyce reads " What water, [fire,], earth," &c.
3 " O, my lord ... at the heels " — one line in old ed.
SCENE i.] The Battle of Alcazar. 289
The Moor. A horse, a horse, villain, a horse ! «/ That I may take the river straight and fly.
Boy. Here is a horse, my lord, As swiftly paced as Pegasus ; Mount thee thereon, and save thyself by flight. 100
The Moor. Mount me I will : But may I never pass the river, till I be Revenged upon thy soul, accursed Abdelmelec ! l If not on earth, yet when we meet in hell, Before grim Minos, Rhadamanth, and ^Eacus, The combat will I crave upon thy ghost, And drag thee thorough the loathsome pools Of Lethes,2 Styx, and fiery Phlegethon. {Exeunt.
Alarums. Enter STUKELEY with two Italians, HERCULES and JONAS.
Here. Stand, traitor, stand, ambitious Englishman, Proud Stukeley, stand, and stir not ere thou die. no Thy forwardness to follow wrongful arms, And leave our famous expedition erst Intended by his Holiness for Ireland, Foully hath here betray'd and tied us all To ruthless fury of our heathen foe ; For which, as we are [here] sure to die, Thou shalt pay satisfaction with thy blood.
Stuke. Avaunt, base villains ! twit ye me with shame Or infamy of this injurious war,
1 The metrical arrangement of lines 98-100 is unsatisfactory : I have followed the old copy. 2 An old form of "Lethe."
VOL. I. T
290 The Battle of Alcazar. [ACTV.
When he that is the judge of right and wrong 120
Determines battle as him pleaseth best ?
But sith my stars bode me this tragic end,
That I must perish by these barbarous Moors,
Whose weapons have made passage for my soul
That breaks from out the prison of my breast ;
Ye proud malicious dogs of Italy,
Strike on, strike down this body to the earth,
Whose mounting mind stoops to no feeble stroke.
\_Stabs him.
Jon. Why suffer we this Englishman to live ?— Villain, bleed on; thy blood in channels run, 130
And meet with those whom thou to death hast done.
[Exeunt HERCULES and JONAS.
Stuke. Thus Stukeley, slain with many a deadly stab, Dies in these desert fields of Africa. Hark, friends j and with the story of my life Let me beguile the torment of my death. In England's London, lordings, was I born, On that brave bridge, the bar that thwarts the Thames.1 My golden days, my younger careless years, Were when I touch'd the height of Fortune's wheel, And lived in affluence of wealth and ease. i40
Thus in my country carried long aloft, A discontented humour drave me thence To cross the seas to Ireland, then to Spain.
i By parentage Stukeley was a Devonian,— third son of Sir Hugh Stucley of Affton, near Ilfracombe. See the Memoir in Simpson's School of Shakspere, vol. i.
SCENE L] The Battle of Alcazar. 291
There had I welcome and right royal pay
Of Philip, whom some call the Catholic King :
There did Tom Stukeley glitter all in gold,
Mounted upon his jennet white as snow,
Shining as Phoebus in King Philip's court :
There, like a lord, famous Don Stukeley lived,
For so they call'd me in the court of Spain, 150
Till, for a blow I gave a bishop's man,
A strife gan rise between his lord and me,
For which we both were banish'd by the king.
From thence to Rome rides Stukeley all aflaunt :
Received with royal welcomes of the Pope,
There was I graced by Gregory the Great,
That then created me Marquis of Ireland.
Short be my tale, because my life is short.
The coast of Italy and Rome I left :
Then was I made lieutenant-general 160
Of those small forces that for Ireland went,
And with my companies embark'd at Ostia.1
My sails I spread, and with these men of war
In fatal hour at Lisbon we arrived.
From thence to this, to this hard exigent,
Was Stukeley driven, to fight or else to die,
Dared to the field, that never could endure
To hear God Mars his drum but he must march.
Ah, sweet Sebastian, hadst thou been well advised,
Thou mightst have managed arms successfully ! 170
But from our cradles we were marked all
1 So Dyce.— Old ed. "Austria."
292 The Battle of Alcazar. [ACTV.
And destinate to die in Afric here. Stukeley, the story of thy life is told ; Here breathe thy last, and bid thy friends farewell : And if thy country's kindness be so much, Then let thy country kindly ring thy knell. Now go and in that bed of honour die, Where brave Sebastian's breathless corse doth lie. Here endeth Fortune['s] rule and bitter rage ; Here ends Tom Stukeley's earthly * pilgrimage. 180
[He dieth.
Re-enter MULY MAHAMET SETH and his train, with drums and trumpets.
Muly Mah. Seth. Retreat is sounded through our
camp, and now
From battle's fury cease our conquering Moors. Pay thanks to heaven with sacrificing fire, Alcazar, and ye towns of Barbary. — Now hast thou sit 2 as in a trance, and seen, To thy soul's joy and honour of thy house, The trophies and the triumphs of thy men, Great Abdelmelec ; and the god of kings Hath made thy war successful by thy right, His 3 friends, whom death and fates hath ta'en from thee.
1 Not in old ed. — Suggested by Dyce.
2 Qy. "sat"? — Addressed to Abdelraelec's lifeless body, which is propped up in a chair : see 1. 48.
3 Either this line is misplaced or some previous lines have been omitted. It is just possible that the line should follow 1. 207, " From him to thee," &c. (the sense being, "We, the friends of him whom death," &c.)
SCENEL] The Battle of Alcazar. 293
Lo, this was he that was the people's pride, I9I
And cheerful sunshine to his subjects all !
Now have him hence, that royally he may
Be buried and embalmed as is meet.
Zareo, have you through the camp proclaim'd
As erst we gave in charge ?
Ar. Zareo. We have, my lord, and rich rewards pro posed
For them that find the body of the king ;
For by those guard [s] that had him in their charge
We understand that he was done to death, 2oo
And for his search two prisoners, Portugals,
Are set at large to find their royal king.
Muly Mah. Seth. But of the traitorous Moor you hear no news
That fled the field and sought to swim the ford ?
Ar. Zareo. Not yet, my lord ; but doubtless God will tell
And with his finger point out where he haunts.
Muly Mah. Seth. So let it rest, and on this earth bestow
This princely corse,
Till further for his funerals x we provide.
Ar. Zareo. From him to thee as true-succeeding prince, 210
With all allegiance and with honour's types,
In name of all thy people and thy land,
We give this kingly crown and diadem.
1 Funeral rites, obsequies.
294 The Battle of Alcazar. [ACTV.
Muly Mah. Seth. We thank you all, and as my lawful
right, With God's defence and yours, shall I it 1 keep.
Enter two Portugals with the body of the King.
First Port. As gave your grace in charge, right royal
prince,
The fields and sandy plains we have survey'd, And even among the thickest of his lords The noble King of Portugal we found, Wrapt in his colours coldly on the earth, 220
And done to death with many a mortal wound.
Muly Mah. Seth. Lo, here, my lords, this is the earth
and clay
Of him that erst was mighty King of Portugal ! — There let him lie, and you for this be free To make return from hence to Christendom.
Enter two Peasants bringing in [the body of\ the Moor.
First Peas. Long live the mighty king of Barbary !
Muly Mah. Seth. Welcome, my friend : what body hast thou there ?
First Peas. The body of th' ambitious enemy That squander'd all this blood in Africa, Whose malice sent so many souls to hell, 230
1 Not in old ed.— Added by Dyce.
SCENE i.] The Battle of Alcazar. 295
The traitor Muly Mahamet do I bring, And for thy slave I throw him at thy feet.
Muly Mah. Seth. Zareo, give this man a rich reward ; And thanked be the god of just revenge, That he hath given our foe into our hands, Beastly, unarmed, slavish, full of shame. — But say, how came this traitor to his end ?
First Peas. Seeking to save his life by shameful flight, He mounteth on a hot Barbarian horse, And so in purpose to have pass'd the stream, 240
His headstrong steed throws him from out his seat ; Where, diving oft for lack of skill to swim, It was my chance alone to see him drown'd, Whom by the heels I dragg'd from out the pool, And hither have him brought thus filed with mud.
Muly Mah. Seth. A death too good for such a damned
wretch :
But sith our rage and rigour of revenge By violence of his end prevented is, That all the world may learn by him t' avoid To hale on princes to injurious war, 250
His skin we will J be parted from his flesh, And being stiffen'd out and stuff'd with straw,2 So to deter and fear the lookers-on From any such foul fact or bad attempt : Away with him !
[Exeunt Attendants with the body of the Moor.]
1 I.e. "We command that his skin be parted," &c.
2 "After these words a line (about the stuffed skin being set up in some conspicuous place) is certainly wanting." — Dyce.
296 The Battle of Alcazar. [ACTV.
And now, my lords, for this Christian king :
My Lord Zareo, let it be your charge
To see the soldiers tread a solemn march,
Trailing their pikes and ensigns on the ground,
So to perform the prince's funerals. 260
Here endeth the tragical battle of Alcazar.
THE OLD WIVES' TALE.
The Old Wives Tale. A pleasant conceited Comedie, played by the Queenes Maiesties players. Written by G. P. Printed at London by John Danter, and are to be sold by Raph Hancocke, and John Hardie. 1S95- 4to- The imprint at the end is —
Printed at London by John Danter, for Raph Hancocke, and John Hardie, and are to be solde at the shop ouer against Saint Giles his Church without Criplegate. 1595.
" ' This very scarce and curious piece exhibits, among other parallel inci dents [to Milton's Comus], two Brothers wandering in quest of their Sister, whom an Enchanter had imprisoned. This magician had learned his art from his mother Meroe, as Comus had been instructed by his mother Circe. The Brothers call out on the Lady's name, and Echo replies. The Enchanter had given her a potion which suspends the powers of reason, and superinduces oblivion of herself. The Brothers afterwards meet with an Old Man who is also skilled in magic ; and by listening to his soothsayings, they recover their lost Sister. But not till the Enchanter's wreath had been torn from his head, his sword wrested from his hand, a glass broken, and a light extinguished. The names of some of the characters, as Sacrapant, Chorebus, and others, are taken from the Orlando Furioso. The history of Meroe a witch may be seen in ' The xi. Bookes of the Golden Asse, containing the Metamorphosie of Lucius Apuleius interlaced with sundrie pleasant and delectable Tales, &c. Translated out of Latin into English by William Adlington, Lond. 1566.' See Chap. iii. ' How Socrates in his returne from Macedony to Larissa was spoyled and robbed, and how he fell acquainted with one Meroe a witch.' And Chap. iv. ' How Meroe the witch turned divers persons into miserable beasts.1 Of this book there were other editions in 1571, 1596, 1600, and 1639. All in quarto and the black letter. The trans lator was of University College. See also Apuleius in the original. A Meroe is mentioned by Ausonius, Epigr. xix.' — T. Warton : Milton's Poems upon several occasions, &c., pp. 135-6, ed. 1791. ' There is another circumstance in this play taken from the old English
( BOO )
Apuleius. It is where the Old Man every night is transformed by our magician into a bear, recovering in the daytime his natural shape. Ib. p. 576.
An incident similar to that in this play of the two sisters going to the well and meeting with the golden head, is to be found (as Mr. T. Rodd, one of the best-informed of booksellers, observes to me) in a penny history called the Tales of the Three Kings of Colchester." —Dyce.
DRAMATIS PERSON^.1
SACRAPANT.2
First Brother, named CALYPHA.
Second Brother, named THELEA.
EUMENIDES.
ERESTUS.
LAMPRISCUS.
HUANEBANGO.
COREBUS. WlGGEN.
Churchwarden.
Sexton.
Ghost of JACK.
Friar, Harvest-men, Furies, Fiddlers, &c.
DELIA, sister to CALYPHA and THELEA. VENELIA, betrothed to ERESTUS.
CELANTA ' ! dau£hters to LAMPRISCUS. Hostess.
ANTIC. FROLIC. FANTASTIC. CLUNCH, a smith. MADGE, his wife.
1 There is no list of characters in the old edition. It was added by Dyce.
2 " So Peele most probably chose to write this name : but the proper spelling is ' Sacripant ' (as in Ano&to)."—Dyce.
THE OLD WIVES' TALE.
Enter ANTIC, FROLIC, and FANTASTIC.
Ant. How now, fellow Frolic ! x what, all amort ? 2 doth this sadness become thy madness ? What though we have lost our way in the woods ? yet never hang the head as though thou hadst no hope to live till to morrow ; for Fantastic and I will warrant thy life to night for twenty in the hundred.
Fro. Antic, and Fantastic, as I am frolic franion,3 never in all my life was I so dead slain. What, to lose our way in the wood, without either fire or candle, so uncomfortable? O cozlum! O terra! O maria ! O Neptune! n
Fan. Why makes thou it so strange, seeing Cupid hath led our young master to the fair lady, and she is the only saint that he hath sworn to serve ?
Fro. What resteth, then, but we commit him to his wench, and each of us take his stand up in a tree, and
1 Old ed. "Franticke."
2 "All amort" — alamort, dejected.
3 A gay, careless fellow.
The Old Wives' Tale
proverb-
the old
2I
of the White Hose
****
George
The Old Wives' Tale. 307
Strawberries swimming in the cream, 80
And school-boys playing in the stream ; Then, O, then, O, then, O, my true-love said, Till that time come again She could not live a maid.
Ant. This sport does well ; but methinks, gammer, a ytnerry winter's tale would drive away the time trimly : come, I am sure you are not without a score.
Fan. I'faith, gammer, a tale of an hour long were as good as an hour's sleep, 89
Fro. Look you, gammer, of the giant and the king's daughter, and I know not what : I have seen the day, when I was a little one, you might have drawn me a mile after you with such a discourse.
Madge. Well, since you be so importunate, my good- man shall fill the pot and get him to bed ; they that ply their work must keep good hours : one of you go lie with him; he is a clean-skinned man I tell you, without either spavin or windgall : so I am content to it rive away the time with an old wives' winter's tale. 99 j. Fan. No better hay in Devonshire ; o' my word, gammer, I'll be one of your audience.
Fro. And I another, that's flat.
Ant. Then must I to bed with the good-man. — Bona nox, gammer. — God * night, Frolic.
Clunch. Come on, my lad, thou shalt take thy un natural rest with me. \Exeunt ANTIC and the Smith.
1 Perhaps a rr sprint for ' ' good night ; " or it may be an elliptical form of " God (j>ve you] good night."
308 The Old Wives' Tale.
Fro. Yet this vantage shall we have of them in the morning, to be ready at the sight thereof extempore. 108
Madge. Now this bargain, my masters, must I make with you, that you will say hum and ha to my tale, so shall I know you are awake.
Both. Content, gammer, that will we do.
Madge. Once upon a time, there was a king, or a lord, or a duke, that had a fair daughter, the fairest that ever was ; as white as snow and as red as blood : and once upon a time his daughter was stolen away : and he sent all his men to seek out his daughter ; and he sent so long, that he sent all his men out of his land.
Fro. Who drest his dinner, then ?
Madge. Nay, either hear my tale, or kiss my tail. 120
Fan. Well said ! on with your tale, gammer.
Madge. O Lord, I quite forgot ! there was a conjurer, and this conjurer could do anything, and he turned himself into a great dragon, arid carried the king's daughter away in his mouth to a castle that he made of stone j and there he kept her I know not how long, till at last all the king's men went out so long that her two brothers went to seek her. O, I forget ! she (he, I would say), turned a proper x young man to a bear in the night, and a man in the day, and keeps 2 by a cross that parts three several ways ; and he made his lady run mad, — Gods me bones, who comes here? 132
1 Handsome.
2 I.e. the " proper young man " keeps [dwells] by the cross.
The Old Wives' Tale. 309
Enter the Two Brothers.
Fro. Soft, gammer, here some come to tell your tale for you.
Fan. Let them alone; let us hear what they will say.
First Bro. Upon these chalky cliffs of Albion We are arrived now with tedious toil ; And compassing the wide world round about, To seek our sister, seek 1 fair Delia forth, I4o
Yet cannot we so much as hear of her.
Second Bro. O fortune cruel, cruel and unkind ! Unkind in that we cannot find our sister, Our sister, hapless in her cruel chance. — Soft ! who have we here ?
Enter [ERESTUS] Sen ex at the Cross > stooping to gather.
First Bro. Now, father, God be your speed ! what do you gather there ?
Erest. Hips and haws, and sticks and straws, and things that I gather on the ground, my son. 149
First Bro. Hips and haws, and sticks and straws ! why, is that all your food, father?
Erest. Yea, son.
Second Bro. Father, here is an alms-penny for me ; and if I speed in that I go for, I will give thee as good a gown of grey as ever thou didst wear.
1 Olded. "to seek."
3io The Old Wives' Tale.
First Bro. And, father, here is another alms-penny for me ; and if I speed in my journey, I will give thee a palmer's staff of ivory, and a scallop-shell1 of beaten gold.
Erest. Was she fair ? 159
Second Bro. Ay, the fairest for white, and the purest for red, as the blood of the deer, or the driven snow.
Erest. Then hark well, and mark well, my old
spell : —
Be not afraid of every stranger ; Start not aside at every danger ; Things that seem are not the same : Blow a blast at every flame ; For when one flame of fire goes out, Then come your wishes well about : If any ask who told you this good, Say, the white bear of England's wood. 1 70
First Bro. Brother, heard you not what the old man
said ?
Be not afraid of every stranger ; Start not aside for every danger ; Things that seem are not the same ; Blow a blast at every flame ; [For when one flame of fire goes out, Then come your wishes well about :] If any ask who told you this good, Say, the white bear of England's wood.
1 "Scallop-shells . . . may fitly," says Fuller (in the Holy War), ' ' for the workmanship thereof be called artificiiim natures. It seemeth Pilgrims carried them constantly with them, as Diogenes did his dish, to drink."
The Old Wives' Tale. 3 1 1
Second Bro. Well, if this do us any good, igo
Well fare the white bear of England's wood !
\Exeunt the Two Brothers.
Erest. Now sit thee here, and tell a heavy tale, Sad in thy mood, and sober in thy cheer : Here sit thee now, and to thyself relate The hard mishap of thy most wretched state. In Thessaly I lived in sweet content, Until that fortune wrought my overthrow ; For there I wedded was unto a dame, That lived in honour, virtue, love, and fame. But Sacrapant, that cursed sorcerer, 190
Being besotted with my beauteous love, My dearest love, my true betrothed wife, Did seek the means to rid me of my life. But worse than this, he with his 'chanting spells Did turn me straight unto an ugly bear ; And when the sun doth settle in the west, Then I begin to don my ugly hide : And all the day I sit, as now jrpu see, \ And speak in riddles, all inspired with rage^j Seeming an old and miserable man, 200
And yet I am in April of my age.
Enter VENELIA his lady mad ; and goes in again.
See where Venelia, my betrothed love,
Runs madding, all enraged, about the woods
All by his cursed and enchanting spells. —
But here comes Lampriscus, my discontented neighbour.
3I2
The Old Wives' Tale.
Enter LAMPRISCUS with a pot of honey.
How now, neighbour ! you look toward the ground as well as I : you muse on something.
Lamp. Neighbour, on nothing but on the matter I so often moved to you : if you do anything for charity, help me ; if for neighbourhood or brotherhood, help me : never was one so cumbered as is poor Lampriscus ; and to begin, I pray receive this pot of honey, to mend your fare. 213
Erest. Thanks, neighbour, set it down ; honey is always welcome to the bear. And now, neighbour, let me hear the cause^ of your coming.
Lamp. I am, as you know, neighbour, a man un married, and lived so unquiet-ly with my"~two wives, that I keep every year holy the day wherein I buried them both : the first was on Saint Andrew's day, the other on Saint Luke's.1 221
Erest. And now, neighbour, you of this country say, your custom is out. But on with your tale, neighbour.
Lamp. By my first wife, whose tongue wearied me alive, and sounded in my ears like the clapper of a great bell, whose talk was a continual torment to all that dwelt by her or lived nigh her, you have heard me say I had a handsome daughter.
1 St. Luke's Day (i8th October) was the day of Horn Fair ; and St. Luke was jocularly regarded as the patron saint of cuckolds. St. Andrew was supposed to bring good luck to lovers, as we are told in the Popish Kingdom — " To Andrew all the lovers and the lusty wooers come," &c. — (" And as St. Valentine's day is fortunate to choose Louers, St. Lukes to choose Husbandes ; So shall this day," etc. Chapman, Monsieur D Olive, p. 235, Pearson's reprint, iv. ii. — P. A. Daniel.}
The Old Wives' Tale. 313
Erest. True, neighbour. 229
Lamp. She it is that afflicts me with her continual clamours, and hangs on me like a bur : poor she is, and proud she is; as poor as a sheep new-shorn, and as proud of her hopes as a peacock of her tail well-grown.
Erest. Well said, Lampriscus ! you speak it like an Englishman.
Lamp. As curst as a wasp, and as froward as a child new-taken from the mother's teat ; she is to my age, as smoke to the eyes, or as vinegar to the teeth.
Erest. Holily praised, neighbour. As much for the next. 240
Lamp. By my other wife I had a daughter so hard- favoured, so foul, and ill-faced, that I think a grove full of golden trees, and the leaves of rubies and diamonds, would not be a dowry answerable to her deformity.
Erest. Well, neighbour, now you have spoke, hear me speak : send them to the well for the water of life ; there shall they find their fortunes unlocked for. Neighbour, farewell.
Lamp. Farewell, and a thousand.1 [Exit ERESTUS.] And now goeth poor Lampriscus to put in execution this excellent counsel. [Exit. 251
Fro. Why, this goes round without a fiddling-stick: but, do you hear, gammer, was this the man that was a bear in the night and a man in the day ?
Madge. Ay, this is he ! and this man that came to
1 " Fairwell and a thousand" — a thousand times farewell. Cf. Shakespeare's " sweet and twenty." See Middleton, ii. 338. 1-
314 The Old Wives' Tale.
him was a beggar, and dwelt upon a green. But soft ! who come here ? O, these are the harvest-men ; ten to one they sing a song of mowing.
Enter the Harvest-men a-singing, with this song double repeated.
All ye that lovely lovers be,
Pray you for me : 260
Lo, here we come a-sowing, a-sowing,
And sow sweet fruits of love ;
In your sweet hearts well may it prove !
\Exeunt
Enter HUANEBANGO with his two-hand sword, and COREBUS a the Clown.
Fan. Gammer, what is he ?
Madge. O, this is one that is going to the conjurer : let him alone, hear what he says. 266
Huan. Now, by Mars and Mercury, Jupiter and Janus, Sol and Saturnus, Venus and Vesta, Pallas and Proserpina, and by the honour of my house, Poli- mackeroeplacidus, it is a wonder to see what this love will make silly fellows adventure, even in the wane of their wits and infancy of their discretion. Alas, my friend ! what fortune calls thee forth to seek thy fortune among brazen gates, enchanted towers, fire and brim stone, thunder and lightning ? Beauty, I tell thee, is
1 Old ed. " Booby" (which is also the prefix to his speeches in this scene) ; but Corebus is the name in later scenes.
The Old Wives' Tale. 315
peerless, and she precious whom thou affectest. Do off these desires, good countryman : good friend, run away from thyself; and, so soon as thou canst, forget her, whom none must inherit but he that can monsters tame, labours achieve, riddles absolve, loose enchantments, murder magic, and kill conjuring, — and that is the great and mighty Huanebango. 282
Cor. Hark you, sir, hark you. First know I have here the flurting feather, and have given the parish the start for the long stock ! 1 now, sir, if it be no more but running through a little lightning and thunder, and "riddle me, riddle me what's this?" I'll have the wench from the conjurer, if he were ten conjurers.
Huan. I have abandoned the court and honourable company, to do my devoir against this sore sorcerer and mighty magician : if this lady be so fair as she is said to be, she is mine, she is mine ; meus, mea, meum, in con- tempium omnium grammaticorum. 293
Cor. O falsum Latinum ! The fair maid is minum, Cum apurtinantibus gibletis and all.
1 " I.e. sword, I believe. Corebus means, as it appears to me, that he has run away from the parish, and become a sort of knight-errant. " — Dyce. Dr. Brinsley Nicholson understands the passage differently : — " He has started and they may catch him (if they can) and as a vagabond put him in the stocks." Neither explanation appears to be satisfactory. It seems to me that the clown is pluming himself on his finery. He points with pride to his feather ; and he is equally proud of his fashion able "long stock" (i.e. the stocking fastened high above the knee). Cf. Middleton's Blurt, Master Constable, ii. 2, " I was a reveller in a long stock." The meaning of the passage is, as I take it, "I have been the first beau in the parish to adopt the long stocking of the town- gallants."
316 The Old Wives' Tale.
Huan. If she be mine, as I assure myself the heavens will do somewhat to reward my worthiness, she shall be allied to none of the meanest gods, but be invested in the most famous stock1 of Huanebango, — Polimackeroe- placidus my grandfather, my father Pergopolineo, my mother Dionora de Sardinia, famously descended. 302
Cor. Do you hear, sir? had not you a cousin that was called Gusteceridis ?
Huan. Indeed, I had a cousin that sometime followed the court infortunately, and his name Bustegusteceridis.
Cor. O lord, I know him well ! he is the knight of the neat's-feet.
Huan. O, he loved no capon better ! he hath often times deceived his boy of his dinner ; that was his fault, goodJBustegusteceridis. , 311
Cor. Come, shall we go along ?
[Enter ERESTUS at the Cress.]
Soft ! here is an old man at the cross : let us ask him the way thither. — Ho, you gaffer ! I pray you tell where the wise man the conjurer dwells.
Huan. Where that earthly goddess keepeth her abode, the commander of my thoughts, and fair mistress of my heart.
Erest. Fair enough, and far enough from thy fingering, son. 320
1 " Here Peele seems to have had an eye to the hard names in the Miles Gloriosus of Plautus." — Dyce.
The Old Wives' Tale. 319
Huan. I will follow my fortune after m and do according to mine own discretion.
Erest. Yet give something to an ol(2n ? you go. ing water, and
Huan. Father, methinks a piece of th 371
serve your turn.
Erest. Yea, son.
Huan. Huanebango giveth no cakes fo them that give gifts for poor beggars. — Fa? wert once shrined in this bosom, I woulcou wilt, haratantara.
Cor. Father, do you see this man? y- the best meat he'll run a mile or two for such a cake,ae best wine in pudding. I tell you, father, he has kept re in all Spain. of me for a piece of this cake ! Whoo ! leasant : 381 me with "a superfantial substance, and the earth," that I know not what he came to me thus, and said, " My friend so, why, I could spare him a piece with but when he tells me how God hath enric other fellows with a cake, why, he makes deaf at once. Yet, father, here is a piec you, as hard as the world goes.3 [Gi
Erest. Thanks, son, but list to me : TT u n u j r i_ i_ 'pot of wine.
He shall be deaf when thou shalt not see.
390
Pass for " — care for. Olded. "Booby."
3 "As hard as the world goes"— i.e. though thevhen • • • cock Dyce quotes from the Return from Pernassus, i. 2.- temples with a cup of claret, as hard as the world goes
OI5 The Old Wives' Tale.
Huan. If shson : thin°s may so hit> will do somewlave wealth to mend th^ wit allied to none'ell> fatner> farewell; for I must make haste
the most famoaand sword that is Sone before'
placidus my g [&****.]
mother ^^ SACRAPANT in his
Cor. Do yo was called Guiay is clear, the welkin bright and grey, 350
Huan. Inde^rry and records x her notes ; the court infon'oiceth underneath the sky,
Cor. O lordiom heaven hath in hate, the neat's-feet.- miserable Sacrapant.
Huan. O, he^s I born and brought up ; times deceived sroe hight, a famous witch, good JBustegust aning I of her did learn
Cor. Come, -1 alter shapes of mortal men. irn myself into a dragon, ay the daughter to the king, 360
Le mistress of my heart ; Soft ! here is 'ier n^tner to revive the man, the way thithe1 y°UDS and Peasant to behold, the wise man £d» crooked, weak, and numb.
Huan. WheantinS sPells I do deceive
the commandehold and look uPon my face '> jieart [ bid youthful years adieu.
Erest Fair : comes fr°m whence my sorrows grow !
son.
i Sings.
1 "HerePeele Gloriosus of Plau
The Old Wives' Tale. 319
Enter DELIA with a pot in her hand.
How now, fair Delia ! where have you been ?
Del At the foot of the rock for running water, and gathering roots for your dinner, sir. 37!
Sac. Ah, Delia,
Fairer art thou than the running water, Yet harder far than steel or adamant !
Del. Will it please you to sit down, sir ?
Sac. Ay, Delia, sit and ask me what thou wilt, Thou shalt have it brought into thy lap.
Del. Then, I pray you, sir, let me have the best meat from the King of England's table, and the best wine in all France, brought in by the veriest knave in all Spain.
Sac. Delia, I am glad to see you so pleasant : 381 Well, sit thee down. — Spread,1 table, spread, Meat, drink, and bread, Ever -may I have What I ever crave, When I am spread, Meat 2 for my black cock, And meat for my red.
Enter a Friar with a chine of beef and a pot of wine.
Here, Delia, will ye fall to ? 390
Del. Is this the best meat in England ?
1 "Spread . . . bread," " Ever . . . crave," "When . . . cock — printed as single lines in old ed.
2 So Mitford.— Old ed. "for meate for."
320 The Old Wives' Tale.
Sac. Yea.
Del. What is it?
Sac. A chine of English beef, meat for a king and a king's followers.
Del. Is this the best wine in France?
Sac. Yea.
Del. What wine is it ?
Sac. A cup of neat wine of Orleans, that never came near the brewers in England. 400
Del. Is this the veriest knave in all Spain ?
Sac. Yea.
Del. What, is he a friar?
Sac. Yea, a friar indefinite, and a knave infinite.
Del. Then, I pray ye, Sir Friar, tell me before you go, which is the most greediest Englishman?
Fri. The miserable and most covetous usurer.
Sac. Hold thee there, friar. [Exit Friar.] But, soft ! Who have we here ? Delia, away, be gone !
Enter the Two Brothers.
Delia, away ! for beset are we. — 4IO
But heaven [n]or hell shall rescue her from * me.
[Exeunt DELIA and SACRAPANT.
First Bro. Brother, was not that Delia did appear, Or was it but her shadow that was here ?
Second Bro. Sister, where art thou ? Delia, come again ! He calls, that of thy absence doth complain. —
1 Olded. "for."
The Old Wives' Tale. 321
Call out, Calypha, that she may hear, And cry aloud, for Delia is near.
Echo. Near.
First Bro. Near ! O, where ? hast thou any tidings ?
Echo. Tidings. 420
Second Bro. Which way is Delia, then? or that, or this?
Echo. This.
First Bro. And may we safely come where Delia is ?
Echo. Yes.
Second Bro. Brother, remember you the white bear of England's wood ?
" Start not aside for every danger, Be not afeard of every stranger ; Things that seem are not the same."
First Bro. Brother, 430
Why do we not, then, courageously enter ?
Second Bro. Then, brother, draw thy sword and follow me.
Enter [SACRAPANT] the Conjurer : // lightens and thunders ; the Second Brother falls down.
First Bro. What, brother, dost thou fall ? Sac. Ay, and thou too, Calypha. \Fall First Brother. Adeste, dczmones !
Enter Two Furies.
Away with them : Go carry them straight to Sacrapanto's cell,
VOL. I. X
o
22 The Old Wives' Tale.
There in despair and torture for to dwell.
[Exeunt Furies with the Two Brothers. These are Thenores' sons of Thessaly, That come to seek Delia their sister forth : But, with a potion I to her have given, 440
My arts have made her to forget herself.
[.Removes a turf, and shows a light in a glass. See here the thing which doth prolong my life, With this enchantment I do anything ; And till this fade, my skill shall still endure, And never none shall break this little glass, But she that's neither wife, widow, nor maid : Then cheer thyself; this is thy destiny, Never to die but by a dead man:s hand. [Exit.
Enter EUMENIDES, the Wandering Knight, and [ERESTUS] the Old Man at the Cross.
Eum. Tell me, Time,
Tell1 me, just Time, when shall I Delia see? 450
When shall I see the loadstar of my life ? When shall my wandering course end with her sight, Or I but view my hope, my heart's delight ! — Father, God speed ! if you tell fortunes, I pray, good father, tell me mine.
Erest. Son, I do see in thy face Thy blessed fortune work apace : I do perceive that thou hast wit ;
1 In old ed. the first four words of this line are printed as part of the preceding line.
The Old Wives" Tale. 323
Beg of thy fate to govern it,
For wisdom govern'd by advice, 460
Makes many fortunate and wise.
Bestow thy alms, give more than all,
Till dead men's bones come at thy call.
Farewell, my son : dream of no rest,
Till thou repent that thou didst best. {Exit Old Man.
Eum. This man hath left me in a labyrinth : He biddeth me give more than all, " Till dead men's bones come at thy call;" He biddeth me dream of no rest, Till I repent that I do best. \Lies down and sleeps^ 470
Enter WIGGEN, CoREBUS,1 Churchwarden, and Sexton.
Wig. You may be ashamed, you whoreson scald2 Sexton and Churchwarden, if you had any shame in those shameless faces of yours, to let a poor man lie so long above ground unburied. A rot on you all, that have no more compassion of a good fellow when he is gone !
Church* What, would you have us to bury him, and to answer it ourselves to the parish ?
Sex. Parish me no parishes ; pay me my fees, and let the rest run on in the quarter's accounts, and put it down for one of your good deeds, o' God's name ! for I am not one that curiously stands upon merits. 482
1 Old ed. "Corobus."
2 Scabby.
3 So Dyce. — Old ed. "Simon." (The churchwarden's name was " Steeven." Probably the prefix in the MS. was " S.")
324 The Old Wives' Tale.
Cor. You whoreson, sodden-headed sheep's face, shall a good fellow do less service and more honesty to the parish, and will you not, when he is dead, let him have Christmas burial ?
Wig. Peace, Corebus ! as sure as Jack was Jack, the frolic'st franion * amongst you, and I, Wiggen, his sweet sworn brother, Jack shall have his funerals,2 or some of them shall lie on God's dear earth for it, that's once.3 490
Church. Wiggen, I hope thou wilt do no more than thou darest answer.
Wig. Sir, sir, dare or dare not, more or less, answer or not answer, do this, or have this.
Sex. Help, help, help !
[WIGGEN sets upon the parish -with a pike-staff V4 EUMENIDES awakes and comes to them.
Eum. Hold thy hands, good fellow.
Cor. Can you blame him, sir, if he take Jack's part against this shake-rotten parish that will not bury Jack ?
Eum. Why, what was that Jack ?
Cor. Who, Jack, sir? who, our Jack, sir? as good a fellow as ever trod upon neat's-leather. 501
Wig. Look you, sir; he gave fourscore and nineteen mourning gowns to the parish, when he died, and because he would not make them up a full hundred, they would not bury him : was not this good dealing ?
1 Gay fellow.
2 Funeral rites.
3 " That's once" — that's settled once for all.
4 "Wiggen . . . pike-staff" is printed in old ed. as* part of the sexton's speech.
The Old Wives' Tale. 325
Church. O Lord, sir, how he lies ! he was not worth a halfpenny, and drunk out every penny ; and now his fellows, his drunken companions, would have us to bury him at the charge of the parish. And we make many such matches, we may pull down the steeple, sell the bells, and thatch the chancel : he shall lie above ground till he dance a galliard about the churchyard, for Steeven Loach. ,^3
Wig. Sic argumentariS) Domine Loach, — "And we make many such matches, we may pull down the steeple, sell the bells, and thatch the chancel": — in good time, sir, and hang yourself in the bell-ropes, when you have done. r Domine opponens, prapono tibi hanc qucestionem, whether will you have the ground broken or your pates broken first ? for one of them shall be done presently, and to begin mine,1 I'll seal it upon your coxcomb. 521
Eum. Hold thy hands, I pray thee, good fellow ; be not too hasty.
Cor. You capon's face, we shall have you turned out of the parish one of these days, with never a tatter to your arse ; then you are in worse taking than Jack.
Eum. Faith, and he is bad enough. This fellow does but the part of a friend, to seek to bury his friend : how much will bury him ?
Wig. Faith, about some fifteen or sixteen shillings will bestow him honestly. 531
Sex. Ay, even thereabouts, sir.
1 " Begin mine"— open the argument from my side (with the aid of the pike-staff).
326 The Old Wives Tale.
Eum. Here, hold it, then : — [aside] and I have left me but one poor three half-pence : now do I remember the words the old man spake at the cross, " Bestow all thou hast," and this is all, "till dead men's bones come at thy call : " — here, hold it [gives money\ ; and so fare well.
Wig. God, and all good, be with you, sir ! {Exit EUMENDIES.] Nay, you cormorants, I'll bestow one peal of Jack at mine own proper costs and charges. 541
Cor. You may thank God the long staff and the bilbo- blade crossed not your coxcomb[s]. — Well, we'll to the church-stile * and have a pot, and so trill-lill.
[Exit with WIGGEN.]
Church. I Com^ kt,s ga {Exeunt.
i^COC* }
Fan. But, hark you, gammer, methinks this Jack bore a great sway in the parish.
Madge. O, this Jack was a marvellous fellow ! he was but a poor man, but very well beloved : you shall see anon what this Jack will come to. 550
Enter the Harvest-men singing? with women in their hands.
Fro. Soft ! who have we here ? our amorous harvesters.3 Fan. Ay, ay, let us sit still, and let them alone.
1 "Qy. 'church-ale'?"—/3. A. Daniel.
2 Warton (Milton's Minor Poems] suggests, somewhat unnecessarily, that Shakespeare had this scene in his mind when he introduced the " sun-burn'd sicklemen" into The Tempest, iv. i.
3 So Dyce. — Old ed. "haruest starres."
The Old Wives' Tale. 327
Here they begin to sing, the song doubled.
Lo, here we come a-reaping, a-reaping, To reap our harvest-fruit ! And thus we pass the year so long, And never be we mute.
{Exeunt the Harvest-men.
Enter HuANEBANGO.1
Fro. Soft ! who have we here ?
Madge. O, .this is a choleric gentleman ! All you that
love your lives, keep out of the smell of his two-hand
sword : now goes he to the conjurer. 56o
Fan. Methinks the conjurer should put the fool into
a juggling-box.
Huan. Fee,2 fa, fum,
Here is the Englishman, — Conquer him that can, — Come 3 for his lady bright, To prove himself a knight, And win her love in fight.
[Enter COREBUS the Clown.}
Cor. Who-haw, Master Bango, are you here? hear you, you had best sit down here, and beg an alms with me. 571
1 Old ed. adds " and Corebus the clown ; " but Corebus enters later.
2 "Fee, fa, ... Englishman," "Conquer . . . fight" — printed as single lines in old ed.
3 So Dyce.— Old ed. "Came."
328 The Old Wives' Tale.
Huan. Hence, base cullion ! here is he that com- mandeth ingress and egress with his weapon, and will enter at his voluntary, whosoever saith no.
[A voice and flame of fire ; and HUANEBANGO
falls down. Voice. No.
Madge. So with that they kissed, and spoiled the edge of as good a two-hand sword as ever God put life in. Now goes Corebus in, spite of the conjurer.
Enter SACRAPANT the Conjurer and Two Furies.1 .
Sac. Away with him into the open fields, To be a ravening prey to crows and kites : 580
[HUAN. is carried out by the Two Furies.] And for this villain, let him wander up and down, In naught but darkness and eternal night.
[Strikes COREBUS blindj]
Cor. Here hast thou slain Huan, a slashing knight, And robbed poor Corebus of his sight.
Sac. Hence, villain, hence ! [Exit COREBUS.
Now 2 I have unto Delia Given a potion of forgetfulness,
That, when she comes, she shall not know her brothers. Lo, where they labour, like to country-slaves, With spade and mattock, on this enchanted ground ! Now will I call her by another name ; 590
For never shall she know herself again.
1 Old ed. " Enter the Conjurer and strike COREBUS blind."
2 " Now . . . Delia "—printed as part of the next line in old ed.
1
The Old Wives' Tale. 329
Until that Sacrapant hath breath'd his last. See where she comes.
Enter DELIA.
Come hither, Delia, take this goad ; here * hard At hand two slaves do work and dig for gold : Gore them with this, and thou shalt have enough.
\He gives her a goad.
Del. Good sir, I know not what you mean.
Sac. \aside\. She hath forgotten to be Delia, But not forgot the same 2 she should forget ; But I will change her name. — 600
Fair Berecynthia, so this country calls you, Go ply these strangers, wench ; they dig for gold.
[Exit SACRAPANT.
Del O heavens, how Am I beholding to this fair young man ! But I must ply these strangers to their work : See where they come.
Enter the Two Brothers in their shirts^ with spades, digging.
First Bro. O brother, see where Delia is ! Second Bro. O Delia, Happy are we to see thee here !
1 The words "here hard" are printed at the beginning of the next line in old ed.
2 Even if we read " name " (as Dr. Nicholson proposes), the text is far from intelligible.
330 The Old Wives' Tale.
Del. What tell you me of Delia, prating swains ? I know no Delia, nor know I what you mean. 610
Ply you your work, or else you're like to smart.
First Bro. Why, Delia, know'st thou not thy brothers
here?
We come from Thessaly to seek thee forth ; And thou deceiv'st thyself, for thou art Delia.
Del. Yet more of Delia ? then take this, and smart :
[Pricks them with the goad. What, feign you shifts for to defer your labour ? Work, villains, work ; it is for gold you dig.
Second Bro. Peace, brother, peace : this vild enchanter Hath ravish'd Delia of her senses clean, And she forgets that she is Delia. 620
First Bro. Leave, cruel thou, to hurt the miserable. — Dig, brother, dig, for she is hard as steel.
Here they dig, and descry a light [in a glass] under a little hill.
Second Bro. Stay, brother ; what hast thou descried ? Del. Away, and touch it not ; ;tis x something that My lord hath hidden there. [She covers it again.
Re-enter SACRAPANT.
Sac. Well said ! 2 thou plyest these pioners3 well. — Go get you in, you labouring slaves.
[Exeunt the Two Brothers.
1 Old ed. (where this speech is printed as prose) " it is."
2 "Equivalent to— Well done! — in which sense, as I was the first to observe, the words are frequently used by our early writers." — Dyce.
3 Old form of pioneers.
The Old Wives' Tale. 331
Come, Berecynthia, let us in likewise, 628
And hear the nightingale record her notes. [Exeunt.
Enter ZANTIPPA, the curst Daughter, to the well, with a pot in her hand.
Zan. Now for a husband, house, and home : God send a good one or none, I pray God ! My father hath sent me to the well for the water of life, and tells me, if I give fair words, I shall have a husband. But here comes Celanta my sweet sister: I'll stand by and hear what she says. {Retires.
Enter [CELANTA,] the foul Wench, to the well for water, with a pet in her hand.
Cel. My father hath sent me to the well for water, and he tells me, if I speak fair, I shall have a husband, and none of the worst. Well, though I am black, I am sure all the world will not forsake me ; and, as the old proverb is, though I am black I am not the divel. 640
Zan. [coming forward]. Marry-gup with a murren, I know wherefore thou speakest that: but go thy ways home as wise as thou earnest, or I'll set thee home with a wanion.1
Here she strikes her pitcher against her sister's, and breaks them both, and goes her way.
Cel. I think this be the curstest quean in the world :
you see what she is, a little fair, but as proud as the
^_____ i — . ,
i "With a wanion "—with a plague.
332 The Old Wives' Tale.
devil, and the veriest vixen that lives upon God's earth. Well, I'll let her alone, and go home, and get another pitcher, and, for all this, get me to the well for water.
[Exit.
Enter Two Furies out of the Conjurer's cell, and lays HUANEBANGO by the Well of Life. Enter ZANTIPPA with a pitcher to the well.
Zan. Once again for a husband ; and, in faith, Celanta, I have got the start of you ; belike husbands grow by the well-side. Now my father says I must rule my tongue : why, alas, what am I, then ? a woman without a tongue is as a soldier without his weapon : but I'll have my water, and be gone. 655
Here she offers to dip her pitcher in, and a Head speaks in the well.
Head. Gently dip, but not too deep, For fear you make the golden beard to weep. Fair maiden, white and red, Stroke me smooth, and comb my head, And thou shalt have some cockell-bread.1 660
1 Dyce quotes in full a long article on cockle bread from Thorns' Anecdotes and Traditions ; but the following extract will be enough for the present purpose : — ' ' Young wenches [Aubrey loquitur] have a wanton sport which they call moulding of Cockle-bread, viz. they get upon a table-board, and then gather up their knees and their coates with their hands as high as they can, and then they wabble to and fro, as if they were kneading of dowgh, and say these words, viz.
My dame is sick and gonne to bed,
And I'le go mould my Cockle-bread. I did imagine nothing to have been in this but meer wantonnesse of
The Old Wives' Tale. 333
Zan. What is this ?
V
"Fair maiden, white and red,
Comb me smooth, and stroke my head,
And thou shalt have some cockell-bread " ?
"Cockell" callest thou it, boy? faith, I'll give you
cockell-bread.
She breaks her pitcher upon the * Head : then it thunders and lightens ; and HUANEBANGO rises up : HUANE- BANGO is deaf and cannot hear.
Huan. Philida, phileridos, pamphilida, florida, flortos : Dub dub-a-dub, bounce, quoth the guns, with a sulphurous huff-snuff:
youth. But I find in Burchardus, in his ' Methodus Confitendi,' printed at Colon, 1549 (he lived before the Conquest), one of the Articles (on the vii. Commandment) of interrogating a young woman is, ' If she did ever ' subigere panem clunibus," and then bake it, and give it to one she loved to eate, ' ut in majorem modum exardesceret amor.' So here 1 find it to be a relique of naturall magick — an unlawful philtrum."
1 Olded. "his."
2 "So Stanyhurst in The First Fovre Books of Virgils ^Eneis, with, other Poeticall deiiises thereto annexed, 1583 —
' Lowd dub a dub tabering with frapping rip rap of y£tna.'
The Description of Liparen, p. 91.
' Thee whil'st in the skie seat great bouncing rumbelo thundring Rattle th,1 &c.
dlneid iv. p. 66.
' Linckt was in wedlock a loftye Thrasonical huf ' snuffe.'
Of a cracking Cutter, p. 95." — Dyce.
Nashe, in the preface to Greene's Arcadia, selects the same passages of Stanyhurst for ridicule.
334 The Old Wives' Tale.
Waked with a wench, pretty peat, pretty love, and my
sweet pretty pigsnie,1
Just by thy side shall sit surnamed great Huanebango : Safe in my arms will I keep thee, threat Mars, or thunder Olympus. 671
Zan. [aside]. Foh, what greasy groom have we here ? He looks as though he crept out of the backside of the well, and speaks like a drum perished at the west end. Huan. O, that I might, — but I may not, woe to my
destiny therefore ! 2 Kiss that I clasp ! but I cannot : tell me, my destiny,
wherefore ?
Zan. [aside]. Whoop ! now I have my dream. Did you never hear so great a wonder as this, three blue beans in a blue bladder, rattle, bladder, rattle ? 679
Huan. [aside]. I'll now set my countenance, and to her in prose; it may be, this rim-ram-rurT3 is too rude an encounter. — Let me, fair lady, if you be at leisure,
1 Little pig. A pet-name.
2 This hexameter (as Dyce has not failed to notice) is from Gabriel Harvey's Encomium Lauri. From the fact that ridicule is here cast upon Gabriel Harvey's hexameters, Dr. Nicholson infers that Greene (Harvey's antagonist) had a hand in the Old Wives' Tale. But the Harveys and their hexameters were a laughing-stock to the world. In the Induction to the Malcontent two hexameters by Gabriel's, younger brother John are derisively quoted.
3 "So the copy of the 4to in the British Museum (King's Library, Pamphlets) ; while my copy reads ' this rude ram ruffe ' ; — the passage having been corrected before the whole of the impression was struck off. Compare Stanyhurst —
' Of ru/e raffe roaring, mens harts with terror agrysing.'
The Description of Li far en t p. 91." — Dyce.
The Old Wives' Tale. 335
revel with your sweetness, and rail upon that cowardly conjurer, that hath cast me, or congealed me rather, into an unkind sleep, and polluted my carcass.
Zan. [aside]. Laugh, laugh, Zantippa; thou hast thy fortune, a fool and a husband under one.
Huan, Truly, sweet-heart, as I seem, about some twenty years, the very April of mine age.
Zan. [aside]. Why, what a prating ass is this ? 690
Huan. Her coral lips, her crimson chin, Her silver teeth so white within, Her golden locks, her rolling eye, Her pretty parts, let them go by, Heigh-ho, have wounded me, That I must die this day to see !
Za?i. By Gogs-bones, thou art a flouting knave : " her coral lips, her crimson chin ! " ka, wilshaw ! 698
Huan, True, my own, and my own because mine, and mine because mine, ha, ha ! above a thousand pounds in possibility, and things fitting thy desire in possession.
Zan. [aside]. The sot thinks I ask of his lands. Lob x be your comfort, and cuckold be your destiny ! — Hear you, sir ; and if you will have us, you had best say so betime.
Huan. True, sweet-heart, and will royalize thy progeny with my pedigree.2 {Exeunt.
1 I.e. may you be brought into "Lob's Pound," the thraldom of the hen-pecked married man. Dekker, discoursing in The Bachelors Banquet on the woes of married men, winds up each chapter with a reference to " Lob's Pound." ( " He is up to the ears in Lob's Pound," " Thus is he plunged into Lob's Pound," &c.)
2 This looks like a slap at Gabriel Harvey, the rope-maker's son.
336 The Old Wives' Tale.
Enter EUMENIDES, the Wandering Knight.
Eum. Wretched Eumenides, still unfortunate, Envied by fortune and forlorn by fate, Here pine and die, wretched Eumenides, Die in the spring, the April of thy 1 age ! 710
Here sit thee down, repent what thou hast done ! I would to God that it were ne'er begun !
Enter the [GHOST OF] JACK.
G. of Jack. You are well overtaken, sir.
Eum. Who's that ?
G. of Jack. You are heartily well met, sir.
Eum. Forbear, I say : who is that which pincheth me ?
G. of Jack. Trusting in God, good Master Eumenides, that you are in so good health as all your friends were at the making hereof, — God give you good morrow, sir ! Lack you not a neat, handsome, and cleanly young lad, about the age of fifteen or sixteen years, that can run by your horse, and, for a need, make your mastership's shoes as black as ink? how say you, sir? 723
Eum. Alas, pretty lad, I know not how to keep myself, and much less a servant, my pretty boy; my state is so bad.
G. of Jack. Content yourself, you shall not be so ill a master but I'll be as bad a servant. Tut, sir, I know you, though you know not me : are not you the man,
1 So Dyce.— Old ed. "my."
The Old Wives' Tale. 337
sir, deny it if you can, sir, that came from a strange place in the land of Catita, where Jack-an-apes flies with his tail in his mouth, to seek out a lady as white as snow and as red as blood ? ha, ha ! have I touched you now? 734
Eum. [aside], I think this boy be a spirit. — How knowest thou all this ?
G. of Jack. Tut, are not you the man, sir, deny it if you can, sir, that gave all the money you had to the burying of a poor man, and but one three half-pence left in your purse? Content you, sir, I'll serve you, that is flat.
Eum. Well, my lad, since thou art so imporftujnate, I am content to entertain thee, not as a servant, but a copartner in my journey. But whither shall we go? for I have not any money more than one bare three half pence. 746
G. of Jack. Well, master, content yourself, for if my divination be not out, that shall be spent at the next inn or alehouse we come to; for, master* I know you are passing hungry : therefore I'll go before and provide dinner until that you come ; no doubt but you'll come fair and softly after.
Eum. Ay, go before ; I'll follow thee.
G. of Jack. But do you hear, master ? do you know my name ?
Eum. No, I promise thee, not yet.
G. of Jack. Why, I am Jack. [Exit.
Eum. Jack ! why, be it so, then.
VOL. i. Y
338 The Old Wives Tale.
Enter the Hostess and JACK, seiting meat on the table ; and Fiddlers come 1 to play. EUMENIDES walks up and down, and will eat no meat.
Host. How say you, sir? do you please to sit down ? 760
Eum. Hostess, I thank you, I have no great stomach.
Host. Pray, sir, what is the reason your master is so strange ? doth not this meat please him ?
G. of Jack. Yes, hostess, but it is my master's fashion to pay before he eats ; therefore, a reckoning, good hostess.
Host. Marry, shall you, sir, presently. [Exit.
Eum. Why, Jack, what dost thou mean ? thou knowest I have not any money; therefore, sweet Jack, tell me what shall I do ? 770
G. of Jack. Well, master, look in your purse.
Eum. Why, faith, it is a folly, for I have no money.
G. of Jack. Why, look you, master; do so much for me.
Eum. [looking into his purse~\. Alas, Jack, my purse is full of mond(£jj
Jack. "Alas," master! does that word belong to this accident? why, methinks I should have seen you cast away your cloak, and in a bravado dance2 a galliard round about the chamber : why, master, your man can teach you more wit than this. 781
1 Old ed. "came."
2 Olded. "daunced."
The Old Wives' Tale. 339
[Re-enter Hostess.]
Come, hostess, cheer up my master.
Host. You are heartily welcome ; and if it please you to eat of a fat capon, a fairer bird, a finer bird, a sweeter bird, a crisper bird, a neater bird, your worship never eat of.
Eum. Thanks, my fine, eloquent hostess.
G. of Jack. But hear you, master, one word by the way : are you content I shall be halves in all you get in your journey ? 79o
Eum. I am, Jack ; here is my hand.
G. of Jack. Enough, master, I ask no more.
Eum. Come, hostess, receive your money ; and I thank you for my good entertainment. {Gives money.
Host. You are heartily welcome, sir.
Eum. Come, Jack, whither go we now ?
G. of Jack. Marry, master, to the conjurer's presently.
Eum. Content, Jack. — Hostess, farewell. [Exeunt.
Enter COREBUS, and CELANTA,1 the foul Wench, to the well for water.
Cor. Come, my duck, come : I have now got a wife : thou art fair, art thou not ? 2 800
Cel. My Corebus, the fairest alive ; make no doubt of that.
1 Throughout this scene in old ed. the name is " Zelanto."
2 Corebus, it will be remembered, had been struck blind by the enchanter.
340 The Old Wives' Tale.
Cor. Come, wench, are we almost at the well ? Cel. Ay, Corebus, we are almost at the well now. I'll go fetch some water : sit down while I dip my pitcher in.
A Head comes up with ears of corn , and she combs them
in her lap.
Voice. Gently dip, but not too deep, For fear you make the golden beard to weep. Fair maiden, white and red, Comb me smooth, and stroke my head, , And thou shalt have some cockell-bread. 810
A Second Head comes up full of gold, which she combs into her lap.
Sec. Head. Gently dip, but not too deep, For fear thou make the golden beard to weep. Fair maid, white and red, Comb me smooth, and stroke my head, And every hair a sheaf shall be, And every sheaf a golden tree.
Cel. O, see, Corebus, I have combed a great deal of gold into my lap, and a great deal of corn !
Cor. Well said, wench ! now we shall have just 1 enough : God send us coiners to coin our gold. But come, shall we go home, sweet-heart ? 821
Cel. Nay, come, Corebus, I will lead you.
Cor. So, Corebus, things have well hit ; Thou hast gotten wealth to mend thy wit. [Exeunt.
1 "So the Museum copy of the 410; while my "copy has 'tost.'" — Dyce. Neither reading is intelligible. Quy. "grist"? (Quy. "toast"? —P. A. Daniel}
The Old Wives' Tale. 341
Enter the [GHOST OF] JACK and EUMENIDES, the Wandering Knight.
G. of Jack. Come away, master, come.
Eum. Go along, Jack, I'll follow thee. Jack, they say it is good to go cross-legged, and say prayers * back ward ; how sayest thou ?
G. of Jack. Tut, never fear, master; let me alone. Here sit you still ; speak not a word ; and because you shall not be enticed with his enchanting speeches, with this same wool I'll stop your ears [puts 2 wool into the ears of EUMENIDES] : and so, master, sit still, for I must to the conjurer. [Exit. 834
Enter [SACRAPANT] the Conjurer to the Wandering Knight.
Sac. How now ! what man art thou, that sits so sad ? Why dost thou gaze upon these stately trees Without the leave and will of Sacrapant ? What, not a word but mum ? 3 Then, Sacrapant, Thou art betray'd.
1 Old ed. " his prayers."
2 There is no stage-direction in old eds.
3 "What, not a word but mum?" i.e. What, quite silent? Cf. a song in Morley's First Book of Airs, 1600 —
" Oh shake thy head, but not a word but mum : The heart once dead, the tongue is stroken dumb."
342 The Old Wives Tale.
Enter the [GHOST OF] JACK invisible, and take SACRA- PANT'S wreath from his head, and his sword out of his hand.
What hand invades the head of Sacrapant ? 840
What hateful 1 Fury doth envy my happy state ?
Then, Sacrapant, these are thy latest days.
Alas, my veins are numb'd, my sinews shrink,
My blood is pierced,2 my breath fleeting away,
And now my timeless date is come to end !
He in whose life his acts 3 hath been so foul,
Now in his death to hell descends his soul. [ffe dieth.
G. of Jack. O, sir, are you gone ? now I hope we shall have some other coil. — Now, master, how like you this? the conjurer he is dead, and vows never to trouble us more : now get you to your fair lady, and see what you can do with her. — Alas, he heareth me not all this while ! but I will help that. 853
[Pulls the wool out of his ears.
JEum. How now, Jack ! what news ?
G. of Jack. Here, master, take this sword, and dig with it at the foot of this hill. [Gives sword.']
He digs, and spies a light.
Eum. How now, Jack ! what is this ? G. of Jack. Master, without this the conjurer could do nothing ; and so long as this light lasts, so long doth
1 As the metre of this play is regular, either "hateful " or " happy " should be expunged.
2 So old ed. — But I suspect that Mr. P. A. Daniel's emendation " iced " should be accepted. 3 So Dyce. — Old ed. "actions."
The Old Wives' Tale. 343
his art endure, and this being out, then doth his art decay. 861
Eum. Why, then, Jack, I will soon put out this light.
G. of Jack. Ay, master, how ?
Eum. Why, with a stone I'll break the glass, and then blow it out.
G. of Jack. No, master, you may as soon break the smith's anvil as this little vial : nor the biggest blast that ever Boreas blew cannot blow out this little light ; but she that is neither maid, wife, nor widow. Master, wind this horn, and see what will happen. [Gives horn.~\ 870
He winds the horn. Here enters VENELIA, and breaks the glass, and blows out the light, and goeth in again.
So, master, how like you this? this is she that ran madding in the woods, his betrothed love that keeps the cross ; and now, this light being out, all are restored to their former liberty : and now, master, to the lady that you have so long looked for.
He draweth a curtain^ and there DELIA sitteth asleep.
Eum. God speed, fair maid, sitting alone,1 — there is once ; God speed, fair maid, — there is twice ; God speed, fair maid, — that is thrice.
Del. Not so, good sir, for you are by.
G. of Jack. Enough, master, she hath spoke ; now I will leave her with you. [Exit.} 88 1
i " Perhaps sitting alone should follow the third God speed."— P. A. Daniel.
344 The Old Wives' Tale.
Eum. Thou fairest flower of these western parts, Whose beauty so reflecteth in my sight As doth a crystal mirror in the sun ; For thy sweet sake I have cross'd the frozen Rhine ; * Leaving fair Po, I saiPd up Danuby, As far as Saba, whose enhancing streams Cut twixt the Tartars and the Russians : These have I cross'd for thee, fair Delia : Then grant me that which I have sued for long. 890
Del Thou gentle knight, whose fortune is so good To find me out and set my brothers free, My faith, my heart, my hand I give to thee.
Eum. Thanks, gentle madam : but here comes Jack ; thank him, for he is the best friend that we have.
Enter \the GHOST OF] JACK, with a head in his hand.
How now, Jack ! what hast thou there ?
G. of Jack. Marry, master, the head of the conjurer.
Eum. Why, Jack, that is impossible ; he was a young man. 899
G. of Jack. Ah, master, so he deceived them that be held him ! but he was a miserable, old, and crooked man, though to each man's eye he seemed young and fresh ; for, master, this2 conjurer took the shape of the old man that kept the cross, and that old man was in the likeness of the conjurer. But now, master, wind your horn.
1 " This and the next three lines are found, with slight variations, in Greene's Orlando Furioso [i. i]." — Dyce.
3 ' ' Qy. ' this old conjurer took the shape of the man . . . and that man was in the likeness of the old conjurer ' ? " — P. A. Daniel.
The Old Wives Tale. 345
He winds his horn. Enter VENELIA, the Two Brothers, and he that was at the Cross.
Eum. Welcome, Erestus ! welcome, fair Venelia ! Welcome, Thelea and Calypha 1 both ! Now have I her that I so long have sought ; So saith fair Delia, if we have your consent. 909
First Bro. Valiant Eumenides, thou well deservest To have our favours ; so let us rejoice That by thy means we are at liberty : Here may we joy each in other's sight, And this fair lady have her wandering knight.
G. of Jack. So, master, now ye think you have done ; but I must have a saying 2 to you : you know you and I were partners, I to have half in all you got.
Eum. Why, so thou shalt, Jack.
G. of Jack. Why, then, master, draw your sword, part your lady, let me have half of her presently. 920
Eum. Why, I hope, Jack, thou dost but jest : I pro mised thee half I got, but not half my lady.
G. of Jack. But what else, master ? have you not gotten her ? therefore divide her straight, for I will have half; there is no remedy.
Eum. Well, ere I will falsify my word unto my friend, \ take her all : here, Jack, I'll give her thee.
G. of Jack. Nay, neither more nor less, master, but even just half. 929
i Olded. "Kalepha." 8 Cf. Jew of Malta, ii. 3—
"I'll have a saying to that nunnery."
346 The Old Wives Tale.
Eum. Before I will falsify my faith unto my friend, I will divide her : Jack, thou shalt have half.
First Bro. Be not so cruel unto our sister, gentle knight.
Second Bro. O, spare fair Delia ! she deserves no death.
Eum. Content yourselves ; my word is passed to him. — Therefore prepare thyself, Delia, for thou must die.
Del. Then farewell, world ! adieu, Eumenides !
\He offers to strike, and [the GHOST OF] JACK stays him.
G. of Jack. Stay, master; it is sufficient I have tried your constancy. Do you now remember since you paid for the burying of a poor fellow ? 941
Eum. Ay, very well, Jack.
G. of Jack. Then, master, thank that good deed for this good turn : and so God be with you all !
\Leaps down in the ground.
Eum. Jack, what, art thou gone? then farewell,
Jack I— Come, brothers, and my beauteous Delia, Erestus, and thy dear Venelia, We will to Thessaly with joyful hearts.
All. Agreed : we fellow thee and Delia.
\Exeunt1 all but FROLIC, FANTASTIC, and MADGE.
Fan. What, gammer, asleep? 950
Madge. By the mass, son, 'tis almost day; and my windows shut at the cock's-crow.
1 Olded. " Exeunt omnes."
The Old Wives Tale. 347
Fro. Do you hear, gammer ? methinks this Jack bore a great sway amongst them.
Madge. O, man, this was the ghost of the poor man that they kept such a coil to bury ; and that makes him to help the wandering knight so much. But come, let us in : we will have a cup of ale and a toast this morning, and so depart.1
Fan. Then you have made an end of your tale, gammer? 96i
Madge. Yes, faith : when this was done, I took a piece of bread and cheese, and came my way ; and so shall you have, too, before you go, to your breakfast.
[Exeunt.
Part.
DEVICE OF THE PAGEANT
BORNE BEFORE
WOLSTAN DIXIE.
The Device of the Pageant borne before Woolstone Dixi, Lord Maior of the Citie of London. An. 1585. October 29. Imprinted at London by Edward Allde. 1585. qto.
Fanner's copy of this pageant is preserved in the Bodleian Library. On the fly-leaf he has written, — "This is probably the only copy remain ing. It was given up to me as a favour at Mr. West's Auction for £ s. d. o 8 o. I have seen a fine Wooden Print of Sir Wolston at Christ's
Hospital. See Stow by Strype."
Sir Wolston was twice married, but died without issue in January 1594. He left the bulk of his property to charitable uses. He was a liberal benefactor to Christ's Hospital ; founded the grammar-school of Market Bosworth in Leicestershire ; and assisted in building Peterhouse College, Cambridge. See Overall's Remembrancia.
THE DEVICE OF THE PAGEANT, ETC.
A Speech spoken by him that rid on a luzern T before the Pageant^ apparelled like a Moor.
FROM where the Sun doth settle in his wain,
And yokes his horses to his fiery cart,
And in his way gives life to Ceres' corn,
Even from the parching zone, behold, I come,
A stranger, strangely mounted, as you see,
Seated upon a lusty luzern's back ;
And offer to your honour, good my lord,
This emblem thus in show significant.
Lo, lovely London, rich and fortunate,
Famed through the world for peace and happiness, 10
Is here advanced, and set in highest seat,
Beautified throughly as her state requires !
First, over her a princely trophy stands,
1 Lynx, — a creature often introduced into pageants. In Middleton's Triumphs of Love and Antiquity , the " Triumphant chariot of Love " was " drawn with two luzerns."
352 The Device of the Pageant, etc.
Of beaten gold, a rich and royal arms,
Whereto this London ever more bequeaths
Service of honour and of loyalty.
Her props are well-advised magistrates,
That carefully attend her person still.
The honest franklin and the husbandman
Lays down his sacks of corn at London's feet, 20
And brings such presents as the country yields.
The pleasaunt Thames, a sweet and dainty nymph,
For London's good conveys, with gentle stream
And safe and easy passage, what she can,
And keeps her leaping fishes in her lap.
The soldier and the sailor, frankly both,
For London's aid, are all in readiness,
To venture and to fight by land and sea.
And this thrice-reverend honourable dame,
Science, the sap of every commonwealth, 30
Surnamed mechanical or liberal,
Is vow'd to honour London with her skill.
And London, by these friends so happy made,
First thanks her God, the author of her peace,
And next with humble gesture, as becomes,
In meek and lowly manner doth she yield
Herself, her wealth, with heart and willingness,
Unto the person of her gracious queen,
Elizabeth, renowned through the world,
Stall'd and anointed by the highest power, 40
The God of kings, that with his holy hand
Hath long defended her and her England.
This now remains, right honourable lord,
The Device of the Pageant, etc. 353
That carefully you do attend and keep
This lovely lady, rich and beautiful,
The jewel wherewithal your sovereign queen
Hath put your honour lovingly in trust,
That you may add to London's dignity,
And London's dignity may add to yours,
That worthily you may be counted one 50
Among the number of a many more
Careful lieutenants, careful magistrates,
For London's welfare and her worthiness.
DIXI. Spoken by the Children in the Pageant^ viz.
LONDON.
New Troy I hight, whom Lud my lord surnamed,
London the glory of the western side ; Throughout the world is lovely London famed,
So far as any sea comes in with tide : Whose peace and calm, under her royal queen, Hath long been such as like was never seen.
Then let me live to carol of her name, 60
That she may ever live and never die,
Her sacred shrine set in the House of Fame,
Consecrate to eternal memory : My peerless mistress, Sovereign of my peace, Long may she joy with honour's great increase.
VOL. i. z
354 The Device of the Pageant, etc.
MAGNANIMITY.
The country and the Thames afford their aid, And careful magistrates their care attend ;
All English hearts are glad and well apaid,1 In readiness their London to defend.
Defend them, Lord, and these fair nymphs likewise, 70
That ever they may do this sacrifice.
LOYALTY.
The greatest treasure that a prince can have
Doth lovely London offer to her queen,
Such loyalty as like was never seen, And such as any English heart can crave.
THE COUNTRY.
For London's aid the country gives supply Of needful things, and store of every grain.
London, give thanks to Him that sits on high (Had never town less cause for to complain),
And love and serve the sovereign of thy peace, go
Under whose reign thou hast this rich increase.
THE THAMES.
With silver glide my pleasant streams do run,
Where leaping fishes play betwixt the shores : This gracious good hath God and Kind 2 begun
1 Satisfied. a Nature.
The Device of t lie Pageant, etc. 355
For London's use with help of sails and oars. London, rejoice, and give thy God the praise For her whose highness lengths thy happy days.
THE SOLDIER.
Armour of safe defence the soldier hath :
So lovely London carefully attends To keep her sacred sovereign from scath, 9o
That all this English land so well defends ; And so far London bids her soldiers go, As well may serve to shield this land from woe.
THE SAILOR.
The sailor that in cold and quaking tide The wrathful storms of winter's rage doth bide, With streamers stretch'd prepares his merry bark, For country's wealth to set his men a-wark ; That queen and country easily may see The seaman serves his prince in his degree.
SCIENCE.
For London's safety and her happiness 100
The soldier and the sailor may you see All well prepared, and put in readiness
To do such service as may fitting be ;
And Art with them do[th] join, and they with me. London, then, joy, and let all ages know What duty to thy sovereign thou dost owe.
356 The Device of the Pageant } etc.
THE FIRST NYMPH.
Thus with the morning sun and evening star These holy lights shall burn, the cheerful flame
With sweetest odour shall perfume as far
As India stands, in honour of her name, no
Whose trophy we adore with sacred rites,
With sweetest incense, and with endless lights.
THE SECOND NYMPH.
So long as sun doth lend the world his light, Or any grass doth grow upon the ground>
With holy flame our torches shall burn bright,
And Fame shall bruit with golden trumpet's sound
The honour of her sacred regiment,1
That claims this honourable monument.
THE THIRD NYMPH.
Our holy lights shall burn continually,
To signify our duties to her state, 120
Whose excellent and princely majesty
Approves 2 itself to be most fortunate.
THE FOURTH NYMPH.
Virtue shall witness of her worthiness,
And Fame shall register her princely deeds ;
1 Rule. 2 Proves.
The Device of the Pageant, etc. 357
The world shall still pray for her happiness, From whom our peace and quietness proceeds.
Verses written under the Arms of England.
Gallia victa dedit flores^ invicta leones Anglia,jus belli inflore^ leone suum ; O sic, O semper ferat Anglia fata triumphos, Indyta Gallorumflore, leone suo. 130
DONE BY GEORGE PEELE, MASTER OF ARTS IN OXFORD.
Descensus Astraa. The Device of a Pageant, borne before M. William Web, Lord Maior of the Citie of London on the day he took his oath, beeing the 29. of October. 1591. Wherevnto is annexed a Speech deli vered by one, clad like a Sea Nymph ; "who presented a Finesse on the •water, brauely rigd and mand, to the Lord Maior, at the time he tooke Barge to go to Westminster. Done by G. Peele Maister of Arts in Oxford. Printed for William Wright, qto.
Sir William Web, son of John Web (or Webbe), of Reading, died in 1599. His sister Lucy, by her second marriage with William Laud, clothier of Reading, was the mother of Archbishop Laud. His wife Bennet was the daughter of Sir Christopher Draper, Lord Mayor, 1566 ; her sister Anne married Sir Wolstan Dixie, Lord Mayor, 1585.
A copy of this pageant is in the library of the Corporation of the City of London. It formerly belonged to James Bindley, who has remarked on the fly-leaf that it is "as far as is known at present unique."
( 36
[DESCENSUS
The PRESENTER'S Speech.
SEE, lovely lords, and you, my lord, behold How Time hath turn'd his restless wheel about, And made the silver moon and heaven's bright eye Gallop the zodiac, and end the year, Whose revolution now begets anew The days that have created and confirm'd A worthy governor, for London's good, To underbear, under his sovereign's sway, Unpartial Justice' beam, and weaved a Web l For your content, and her command in all, 10
You citizens of this metropolis, Whose honour and whose oath to gratulate, Lordings, behold what emblem I present. Astraea, daughter of th' 2 immortal Jove, Great Jove, defender of this ancient town, Descended of the Trojan Brutus' line, Offspring of that 3 courageous conquering king,
i Lord Mayor Web. 2 Old ed. " the."
3 So old ed. Dyce reads " a courageous," and remarks that "a " is
not in the 4to. (Either Dyce was not acquainted with the original ; or
the Guildhall copy is not unique.)
362 Descensus Astrczcz.
Whose pure renown hath pierced the world's large ears,
In golden scrolls rolling about the heavens ;
Celestial sacred Nymph, that tends her flock 20
With watchful eyes, and keeps this fount in peace,
Guarded with Graces, and with gracious trains,
Virtues divine, and gifts incomparable,
Nor lets blind superstitious Ignorance
Corrupt so pure a spring : O happy times,
That do beget such calm and quiet days,
Where sheep and shepherd breathe in such content !
Honour attends her throne ; in her bright eyes Sits Majesty ; Virtue and Steadfastness Possess her heart ; sweet Mercy sways her sword ; 30 Her Champion, arm'd with resolution, Sits at her feet to chastise malcontents That threat her honour's wrack ; and Time and Kind 1 Produce 2 her years to make them numberless ; While Fortune for her service and her sake With golden hands doth strengthen and enrich The Web that they for fair Astrsea weave. Long may she live, long may she govern us, In peace triumphant, fortunate in wars, Our fair Astraea, our Pandora fair, 40
Our fair Eliza, o[u]r Zabeta fair ; Sweet Cynthia's darling, beauteous Cypria's 3 peer ; As dear to England and true English hearts As Pompey to the citizens of Rome \
1 Nature. 2 Draw out.
3 Quy. "Cypris'peer"?
Des census As trace. 363
As merciful as Caesar in his might ; As mighty as the Macedonian king, Or Trojan Hector, terror to the Greeks.
Goddess, live long, whose honours we advance, Strengthen thy neighbours', propagate thine own : Guide well thy helm, lay thine anointed hand 50
To build the temple of triumphant Truth, That while thy subjects draw their peace from thee, Thy friends with aid of arms may succour'd be.
ASTR/EA, with her sheephook, on the top of the Pageant.
Feed on, my flock, among the gladsome green, Where heavenly nectar flows above the banks ;
Such pastures are not common to be seen : Pay to immortal Jove immortal thanks,
For what is good fro x heaven's high throne doth fall ;
And heaven's great architect be praised for all.
SUPERSTITION. A friar, sitting by the fountain.
Stir, priest, and with thy beads poison this 'spring ; 60 I tell thee all is baneful that I bring.
IGNORANCE, a priest.
It is in vain : her eye keeps me in awe,
Whose heart is purely fixed on the law,
The holy law ; and bootless we contend,
While this chaste nymph this fountain doth defend.
1 From.
Descensus Astrczcz.
EUPHROSYNE.
Whilom, when Saturn's golden reign did cease,
And iron age had kindled cruel wars, Envy in wrath perturbing common peace,
Engendering canker'd hate and bloody jars ; Lo, then Olympus' king, the thundering Jove, 70
Raught x hence this gracious nymph Astraea fair : Now once again he sends her from above,
Descended through the sweet transparent air; And here she sits in beauty fresh and sheen, Shadowing the person of a peerless queen.
AGLAIA.
A peerless queen, a royal princely dame, Enroll'd in register of eternal fame.
THALIA.
The Graces throw2 their balm about her sacred head, Whose government her realm's true happiness hath bred
CHARITY.
That happiness continue in her land,
Great Israel's God, spring of all heavenly peace, And let thine angels in her rescue stand :
With her life's wane done 3 England's joys decrease :
1 Snatched. 2 Old ed. "through."
3 Doen, do.
Descensus Astrcea. 365
O, let her princely days never have fine,1 Whose virtues are immortal and divine !
HOPE.
Such virtues as her throne do beautify,
And make her honours mount and scale the sky.
FAITH.
Where hope of her eternal bliss doth rest, Conceived in her sweet and sacred breast.
HONOUR.
With radiant beams, reflecting on the earth, 90
Even from the snowy brows of Albion,
Beyond the utmost verge of Christendom,
As bright as is the burning lamp of heaven,
Shineth my mistress' honour, in whose fame
The heathen carols sing, and all admire,
From icy Tanais to the sevenfold Nile,
Her glory, that commands this western isle.
CHAMPION.
In whose defence my colours I advance,
And girt me with my sword, and shake my lance :
These British lions, rampant in this field, 100
That never learn'd in battle's rage to yield,
Breathe terror to the proud aspiring foe,
End.
366 Descensus Astrczcz.
Ranging the world, commanding where they go ; Therefore in vain this misproud malcontent Threatens her state, whose harms the heavens prevent Sit safe, sweet nymph, among thy harmless sheep : Thy sacred person angels have in keep.
FIRST MALCONTENT.
What meaneth this ? I strive, and cannot strike ; She is preserved by miracle belike : If so, then wherefore threaten we in vain no
That queen whose cause the gracious heavens maintain ?
SECOND MALCONTENT.
No marvel, then, although we faint and quail, For mighty is the truth and will prevail.
In the hinder part of the Pageant did sit a child, repre senting Nature, holding in her hand a distaff, and spinning a web, which passed through the hand of Fortune, and was wheeled up by Time, who spake as followeth.
TIME.
Thus while my wheel with ever-turning gyres, At heaven's high hest, serves earthly men's desires, I wind the Web that Kind so well begins, While Fortune doth enrich what Nature spins.
Descensus Astrcecs. 367
A Speech on the water, delivered in the morning, at my Lord Mayor's going to Westminster.
List, gentle lords, and, bubbling stream, be still,
And, whistling winds, your angry murmur cease ;
Let Thetis' nymph unfold the goddess' hest. i20
Behold, embark'd thus bravely as you see,
Laden with treasure and with precious ore,
From where in Tellus' veins the parching sun
Doth gold and glittering minerals x create,
Are come these strangers lovingly inflamed,
To gratulate to you, my lovely lord,
This gladsome day wherein your honours spring :
And by the bar that thwarts this silver stream,
Even to the beauteous verge of Troy-novant,
That decks this Thamesis on either side, 130
Thus far these friends have pierced, and all by me
Salute your honour and your company,
Thrice-worthy pretor of this ancient town.
The mortar of these walls, temper'd in peace,
Yet holds the building sure, as are the sprigs
Woven from the spreading root in knotty box.
Labour, fair lord, as other mayors of yore,
To beautify this city with deserts.
So with 2 these friendly strangers, man by man,
Pass with advisement to receive thy oath ; 140
Keep it inviolate for thy sovereign's hope,
i Olded. "numerals." 2 So Dyce.— Old ed. "wish."
368 Descensus Astrcecz.
Virtue's pure mirror, London's great mistress ; Unsheath the sword committed to thy sway, With merciful regard of every cause. So -go in peace, happy by sea and land, Guided by grace and heaven's immortal hand.
END OF VOL. I.
PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO EDINBURGH AND LONDON.
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