The Mirror for Magistrates :: :: University of Virginia Library

What fooles be we to trust vnto our strength,
Our wit, our courage, or our noble fame,
Which time it selfe must nedes deuour at length
Though froward Fortune could not foyle the same.
But seing this Goddes gideth al the game,
Which still to chaunge doth set her onely lust,
Why toyle we so for thinges so hard to trust.

A goodly thing is surely good reporte,
Which noble hartes, do seke by course of kinde,
But seen the date so doubtful and so short,
The wayes so rough wherby we do it find:
I can not chuse but prayse the princely minde
That preaseth for it, though we find opprest
By foule defame those that deserve it best.

Concerning whom marke Baldwin what I say,
I meane the vertuous hindred of their brute,
Among which number reken wel I may
My valiaunt father Iohn lord Montacute,

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Who lost his life (I iudge) in iust pursute:
I say the cause and not the casual spede,
Is to be wayed in euery kinde of dede.

This rule obserued, how many shall we find
For vertues sake with infamy opprest?
How many agayn through helpe of fortune blind,
For yll attemptes atchiued, with honour blest?
Succes is wurst ofttimes whan cause is best,
Therfore say I: god send them sory happes,
That iudge the causes by their after clappes.

The ende in dede, is iudge of euery thing,
Which is the cause, or latter poynt of time:
The first true verdyct at the first may bryng,
The last is slow, or slipper as the slime,
Oft chaunging names of innocence and crime.
Duke Thomas death was Iustice two yeres long,
And euer sence sore tiranny and wrong.

Wherfore I pray the Baldwin waye the cause,
And prayse my father as he doth deserue:
Because erle Henry, king agaynst all lawes,
Endeuoured king Richard for to starve
In iayle, wherby the regal crowne might swarve
Out of the line to which it than was due,
(Wherby God knowes what euil might ensue)

My lord Iohn Holland duke of Excester,
Which was dere cosin to this wretched king,
Did mooue my father, and the erle of Glocester,
With other lordes to ponder well the thyng:
Who seing the mischiefe that began to spring,
Did all consent, this Henry to depose,
And to restore kyng Richard to the rose.

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And while they did deuise a prety trayne
Wherby to bring their purpose bettre about,
Which was in maske, this Henry to haue slayne:
The duke of Awmerle blew their counsayle out,
Yet was their purpose good there is no doubt.
What cause can be more wurthy for a knight,
Than save his king, and helpe true heires to right?

For this with them my father was destroyed,
And buryed in the dounghil of defame.
Thus evil chaunce theyr glory did auoyde,
Wheras their cause doth clayme eternal fame.
Whan dedes therfore vnluckely do frame,
Men ought not iudge the authours to be naught,
For right through might is often overraught.

And God doth suffer that it should be so,
But why, my wit is feble to decise,
Except it be to heape vp wrath and wo
Vpon their heades that iniuries devise.
The cause why mischiefes many times arise,
And light on them that wold mens wronges redresse,
Is for the rancour that they beare, I gesse.

God hateth rigour though it furder right,
For sinne is sinne, how euer it be vsed:
And therfore suffereth shame and death to light,
To punish vice, though it be wel abused.
Who furdereth right is not therby excused,
If through the same he do sum other wrong:
To every vice due guerdon doth belong.

146

What preach I now, I am a man of warre,
And that my body (I dare say) doth professe,
Of cured woundes beset with many a skarre,
My broken Iaw vnheald can say no lesse.
O Fortune, Fortune, cause of all distresse
My father had great cause thy fraude to cursse.
But much more I, abused ten times wursse.

Thou neuer flatteredst him in all his life,
But me thou dandledst like thy darling deare:
Thy giftes I found in every corner rife,
Where ever I went, I met thy smyling cheare:
Which was not for a day, or for a yeare,
But through the rayne of thre right worthy kynges,
I found the forward in al kind of thinges.

The while king Henry conquered in Fraunce
I sued the warres, and still found victory.
In all assaultes so happy was my chaunce,
Holdes yelde or wunne did make my enmies sory:
Dame Prudence eke augmented so my glory,
That in all treaties ever I was one
Whan weyghty matters were agreed vpon.

But whan this king this mighty conquerour,
Through death vnripe, was both his realmes bereft,
His sely infant did receyue his power,
Pore litle babe ful yong in cradell left,
Where crowne and Scepter hurt him with the heft:
Whose wurthy vncles had the governaunce,
The one at home, the other abrode in Fraunce.

147

And I which was in peace and war wel skilled,
With both these rulers greatly was estemed:
Bare rule at home as often as they willed,
And fought in Fraunce whan thei it nedeful demed.
And every where so good my seruice semed,
That Englishmen to me great loue did beare,
Our foes the French, my force fulfilled with feare.

I alwayes thought it fitly for a prince,
And such as haue the regiment of realmes,
His subiectes hartes with mildnes to convince,
Wyth iustice myxt, auoyding all extremes.
For like as Phebus with his chearfull beames,
Doth freshly force the fragrant floures to florish,
So rulers mildnes subiectes loue doth norish.

This found I true: for through my mild behauour
Their hartes I had with me to liue and dye:
And in their speache for to declare their fauour,
They called me styll good earle of Salisbury,
The lordes confest the commons did not lye.
For vertuous life, fre hart, and lowly mind,
With high and low shal alwayes fauour find.

Which vertues chief becum a man of war,
Wherof in Fraunce I founde experyence,
For in assaultes due mildnes passeth farre
Al rigour, force, and sturdy violence:
For men wil stoutly sticke to their defence
When cruel captaynes covet them to spoyle,
And so enforst, oft geue their foes the foyle.

148

But when they know they shall be frendly vsed,
They hazard not their heades, but rather yelde,
For this, my offers neuer were refused
Of any towne, or surely very seelde:
But force and furies fyt be for the feelde.
And there in dede I vsed so the same,
My foes would flye if they had heard my name.

For whan lord Steward and erle Vantadore,
Had cruelly besieged Crauant towne,
Which we had wunne, and kept long time before,
Which lieth in Awxer on the riuer Youne,
To rayse the siege the Regent sent me downe:
Where as I vsed all rigour that I might,
I killed all, that were not saued by flight.

When the erle of Bedford then in Fraunce lord regent,
Knew in what sort I had remoued the syege,
In Brye and Champayne he made me vice gerent,
And Lieutenaunt for him and for my Lyege:
Which caused me go to Bry, and ther besyege
Mountaguillon, with twenty wekes assaut,
Which at the last was yelded me for naught.

And for the duke of Britayns brother, Arthur,
Both erle of Richmonde and of Yvery,
Against his othe from vs had made departure,
To Charles the Dolphin, our chief enemy,
I with the regent went to Normandy,
To take his towne of Yvery, which of spight
Did to vs dayly al the harme they might.

149

They at the first compounded by a day
To yeeld, if rescues did not cum before.
And whiles in hope to fight, we at it lay,
The Dolphin gathered men two thousand skore,
With erles, lordes, and captaynes ioly store:
Of which the duke of Alanson was gide,
And sent them downe to see if we would bide.

But they left vs and downe to Vernoile went,
And made their vaunt they had our army slayne,
And through that lye, that towne from vs they hent,
Which shortly after turned to their payne:
For there both armies met vpon the plaine,
And we .viii. M. whom they flew, not slewe before,
Did kil of them, ten thousand men and more.

When we had taken Vernoile thus againe,
To driue the Dolphin vtterly out of Fraunce,
The Regent sent me to Aniowe and to Mayne,
Wher I besieged the warlik towne of Mawns:
Ther lord of Toysers Baldwins valiaunce
Did well appere, which wold not yeeld the towne,
Till all the towres & walles wer battred downe.

But here now Baldwin take it in good part,
Though that I brought this Baldwin ther to yeeld:
The Lion fearce for all his noble hart,
Being overmatched, is forst to flye the feeld.
If Mars him selfe had there ben with his sheeld,
And in my stormes had stoutly me withstoode,
He should haue yeeld, or els haue shed my bloode.

150

This wurthy knight both hardy, stout, and wise,
Wrought well his feate: as time and place require,
Whan fortune fayles, it is the best advice
To strike the sayle, least al lie in the mire.
This have I sayd to thend thou take no yre,
For though no cause be found, so nature frames,
Men haue a zeale to such as beare their names.

But to returne, in Mayne wan I at length,
Such towns & fortes as might either helpe or hurt,
I manned Mayon & Suzans townes of strength,
Fort Barnarde, Thanceaux, & S. Cales the curt,
With Lile sues Bolton, standing in the durt:
Eke Gwerland, Susze, Loupeland and Mountsure,
With Malicorne, these wan I and kept full sure.

Besides al this, I tooke nere forty holdes,
But those I razed even with the grounde.
And for these dedes, as sely shepe in foldes
Do shrinke for feare at every litle sound,
So fled my foes before my face ful round:
Was none so hardy durst abide the fight,
So Mars and Fortune furdered me their knight.

I tel no lye, so gastful grewe my name,
That it alone discomfited an host:
The Scots and Frenchmen wil confesse the same,
Els wil the towne which they like cowardes lost.
For whan they sieged Bewron with great bost,
Being fourty .M. Britayns, French, and Scottes,
Fiue hundred men did vanquish them like sottes.

151

For while the Frenchmen did assault them stil,
Our Englishmen came boldly furth at night,
Criyng sainct George, Salisbury, kil, kil, kil,
And offred freshly with their foes to fight,
And they as frenchly tooke them selves to flight,
Supposing surely that I had ben there.
Se how my name did put them all in feare.

Thus was the Dolphins power discomfited,
Fower .M. slayne, their campe tane as it stoode,
Wherby our towne and souldiers profited,
For there were vitayles plentifull and good:
This while was I in England by the rood
To appeace a strife that was right foule befall,
Betwene Duke Humfrey and the Cardinall.

The Duke of Exceter shortly after died,
Which of the king at home had gouernaunce,
Whose roume the earle of Warwike then supplied,
And I tooke his, and sped me into Fraunce.
And hauing a zeale to conquer Orlyaunce,
With much ado I gat the regentes ayde,
And marched thither and siege about it layde.

But in the way I tooke the towne of Yayn,
Wher murdred wer for stoutnes many a man:
But Baugency I tooke with litle payne,
For which to shew them fauour I began:
This caused the townes of Mewne and Iargeman,
That stoode on Loyer, to profer me the keyes,
Ere I came nere them, welny by two dayes.

152

See here how Fortune forward can allure,
What baytes she layeth to bring men to their endes.
Who having hap like this, but would hope sure
To bring to bale what euer he entendes?
But soone is sowre the sweete that Fortune sendes:
Whan hope and hap, whan helth and welth is hyest,
Than wo and wracke, desease, and nede be nyest.

For while I, suing this so good successe,
Layd siege to Orlyaunce on the river syde,
The Bastard (Cuckold Cawnyes sonne I gesse,
Tho thought the dukes) who had the towne in gide,
Came fearcely forth, when he his time espide,
To raise the siege, but was beat backe agayne,
And hard pursued both to his losse and payne.

For there we wan the bulwarke on the bridge
With a mighty tower standing fast therby.
Ah cursed tower that didst my dayes abridge,
Would god thou hadst bene furder, eyther I.
For in this tower a chamber standes on hie,
From which a man may view through al the towne
By certayne windowes yron grated downe.

Where on a day (now Baldwin note mine ende)
I stoode in vewing where the towne was weake,
And as I busily talked with my frend,
Shot fro the towne, which al the grate did breake,
A pellet came, and drove a mighty fleake,
Agaynst my face, and tare away my cheeke,
For payne wherof I dyed within a weeke.

153

See Baldwin see the vncertaynty of glory,
How sodayne mischief dasheth all to dust.
And warne all princes by my broken story,
The happiest Fortune chiefly to mistrust.
Was neuer man that alway had his lust.
Than such be fooles, in fancy more then mad,
Which hope to haue that neuer any had.