University of Virginia Library

Scena secunda.

Eubulus. Clotyn. Mandud. Gwenard. Arostus Nuntius.
Eubulus.
O Ioue , Howe are these peoples hartes abusde
what blind Furie, thus headlong caries thē?
That though so many bokes, so many rolles
Of Auncient time recorde what greuous plagues,
Light on these Rebelles aye and thoughe so ofte
Their eares haue hard their aged fathers tell
What iust rewarde these Traitours still receyue.
Yea though them selues haue sene depe death and blod
By strangling cord & slaughter of the sword
To suche assigned, yet can they not beware:
Yet can they not staie their rebellious handes,
But suffring to fowle treason to distaine
Their wretched myndes, forget their loyall harte,
Reiecte all trueth and rise against their Prince,
A ruthefull case that those, whome duties bounde
Whome grafted Lawe by nature trueth and faith
Bounde to preserue their Coūtrey and their king
Borne to defende their Cōmon wealth & Prince,
Euen they shulde geue consent thus to subuerte
The Brittaine Land, & from the wombe shuld bring
(O natyue soile) those, that will nedes destroye
And ruyne thee and eke them selues in fine:
For lo, when ones the Duke had offred Grace
Of pardon sweete (the multitude mislead
By traiterous fraude of their vngracious heades)
One sorte that sawe the daungerous successe
Of stubborne standynge in rebellious warre
And knewe the difference of Princes power
From headles nombre of tumultuous routes,
Whom cōmen Countreies care and priuate feare
Taught to repent the terrour of their rage
Laide handes vpon the Capatines of their bande,
And brought them bound vnto the mightie Dukes
An other sorte not trusting yet so well
The trueth of Pardon or mistrusting more
Their owne offence than that thei could conceiue
Suche hope of pardon for so foule misdede:
Or for that they their Captaines could not yeld
Who fearinge to be yelded, flead before,
Stale home by scilence of the secrete night,
The thirde vnhappie and vnraged sorte
Of desperate harts, who stained in Princes blood
From trayterous furour could not be withdrawen
By loue, by lawe, by grace, ne yet by feare,
By proffered lyfe, ne yet by threatened Death,
With mindes hopeles of liefe, dreadles of Deathe,
Careles of Countrey, and aweles of God:
Stoode bente to fighte as Furies did them moue
With violent death to close their traiterous lyfe:
These all by power of Horsemen were opprest
And with reuenging sworde slayne in the fielde,
Or with the strangling Cord hanged on the trees
Where yet the carryen Carcases do proche
The fruites that Rebelles reape of their vproars,
And of the murder of their sacred Prince,
But loe, where do approche the noble Dukes,
By whom these tumults haue ben thus appeasde.

Clotyn.
I thinke the worlde wyll now at length beware
And feare to put on armes agaynst their Prince.

Mandud.
If not: those trayterous hartes that dare rebell
Let them beholde the wide and hugie fieldes
With bloode & bodie spread with rebelles slayne,
The lustie trees clothed with corpses dead
That strangled with the corde do hange therin.

Arostus.
A iust rewarde suche as all tymes before
Haue euer lotted to those wretched folkes.

Gwenard.
But what meanes he that cōmeth here so fast.

Nuntius.
My Lords, as duetie and my trouth doth moue
And of my Countrey worke and care in mee
That if the spendynge of my breath auaile
To do the Seruice that my harte desires,
I would not shunne to imbrace a present death,
So haue I nowe in that wherein I thought
My trauayle mought perfourme some good effecte
Uentred my liefe to bringe these tydinges here.
Fergus the mightie Duke of Albanye
Is nowe in Armes and lodgeth in the fielde
With twentie thousand men, hether he bendes
His spedie marche, & minds to inuade the Crowne
Dayly he gathereth strength and spreads abrode
That to this Realme no certeine Heire remaines,
That Brittayne Lande is left without a guyde,
That he the Scepter seekes, for nothing els
But to preserue the people and the Lande
Whiche now remaine as ship without a Sterne
Loe this is that whiche I haue hereto saide.

Clotyn.
Is this his fayth? and shall he falsely thus
Abuse the vauntage of vnhappie times?
O wretched Lande, if his outragious pride,
His cruell and vntempred wilfulnes
His deepe dissemblinge shewes of false pretence
Should once attaine the Crowne of Brittayn lande
Let vs my Lords, with tymely force resist
The newe attempt of this our cōmon foe
As we would quenche the flames of cōmen fire.

Mandud.
Though we remaine without a certayn Prince
To weld the Realme or guide the wandring rule
Yet nowe the cōmen Mother of vs all,
Our Natiue Lande, our Countrey that conteines
Our wiues, children, kyndred, our selues and all
That euer is or maye be deare to man
Cries vnto vs to helpe our selues and her:
Let vs aduaunce our powers to represse
This growynge foe of all our liberties.

Gwenard.
Yea let vs so my Lordes with hastie spede,
And ye (O Goddes) sende vs the welcome death,
To shed our bloode in fielde and leaue vs not,
In lothesome life to lenger out our lyues
To see the hugie heapes of these vnhappes,
That nowe roll downe vpon the wretched Lande
Where emptie place of Princelie gouernaunce
No certayne staie nowe left of doubtles heire,
Thus leaue this guidelesse Realme an open pray,
To endlesse stormes and wast of ciuyll warre.

Arostus.
That ye (my Lordes) do so agree in one
To saue your Countrey from the violent reigne
And wrongfullie vsurped Tirrannie
Of him that threatens conquest of you all
To saue your realme, & in this realme your selues
From forreyne thraldome of so proude a Prince,
Muche do I praise, and I beseche the Goddes,
With happie honour to requite it you.
But (O my Lords) sithe now the Heauens wrath
Hath reft this Lande the issue of their Prince:
Sithe of the body of our late Soueraine Lorde
Remaines no mo, since the yong kinges be slaine
And of the Title of the discended Crowne,
Uncerteynly the diuerse mindes do thinke
Euen of the Learned sorte, and more vncertainlye
Will perciall fancie and affection deeme:
But most vncertenlye wyll clymbynge pride
And hope of Reigne withdrawe frō sondrie partes
The doubtfull right and hopefull lust to reigne.
When ones this noble seruice is atchieued
For Brittayne Lande the Mother of ye all,
When ones ye haue with armed force represt,
The proude attemptes of this Albanyan Prince,
That threatens thraldome to your Natiue Lande,
When ye shall vanquishers retourne from fielde
And finde the Princely state an open praye,
To gredie lust and to vsurping power,
Then, then (my Lordes) if euer kindely care
Of auncient Honour of your auncestoures,
Of present wealth and noblesse of your stockes:
Yea of the lyues and safetie yet to come
Of your deare wyues, your children & your selues,
Might moue your noble hartes with gentle ruthe,
Then, then haue pytie on the torne estate,
Then helpe to salue the well neare hopeles sore
Whiche ye shall do, if ye your selues with holde
The sleayng knife from your own mothers throte
Her shall you saue, and you, and yours in her
If ye shall all with one assent forbeare
Ones to laye hande or take vnto your selues
The Crowne by colour of pretended right,
Or by what other meanes so euer it be
Tyll first by cōmen counsell of you all
In Parliament the Regall Diademe
Be set in certayne place of gouernaunce,
In whiche your Parliament and in your choise,
Preserve the right (my Lordes,) without respecte
Of strength of frendes, or what so euer cause
That maye set forwarde, any others parte,
For right will last, and wrong can not endure,
Right meane I his or hers, vpon whose name
The people rest by meane of Natiue lyne,
Or by the vertue of some former Lawe,
Alreadie made their title to aduaunce:
Suche one (my Lordes) let be your chosen kynge
Suche one so borne within your Natyue Lande
Suche one preferre, and in no wise admitte,
The heauie yoke of forreine gouernaunce,
Let forreine Titles yelde to Publike wealthe,
And with that hart wherewith ye nowe prepare
Thus to withstande the proude inuadynge foe,
With that same harte (my Lordes) kepe out also
Unnaturall thraldome of straungers reigne,
Ne suffre you against the rules of kinde
Your Mother Lande to serue a Forreine Prince.

Eubulus.
Loe here the ende of Brutus royall Lyne,
And loe the entrie to the wofull wracke
And vtter ruyne of this noble Realme.
The royall kinge, and eke his sonnes are slaine,
No Ruler restes within the Regall Seate:
The Heire, to whō the Scepter longs, vnknowen
That to eche force of Forreine Princes power
Whome vauntage of your wretched state
By sodaine Armes to gaine so riche a Realme
And to the proude and gredie minde at home
Whom blinded lust to reigne leades to aspire.
Loe Brittaine Realme is left an open praye,
A present spoile by Conquest to ensue,
Who seeth not nowe howe many risyng mindes
Do feede their thoughts, wt hope to reach a Realm
And who will not by force attempt to winne
So great a gaine that hope perswades to haue:
A simple colour shall for title serue.
Who winnes the Royal crown wil want no right
Nor suche as shall displaye by longe discent
A lyneall race to proue him selfe a kynge,
In the meane while these ciuyll armes shall rage,
And thus a thousande mischiefes shall vnfolde
And farre & neare spread thee (O Brittayne Lande)
All right and Lawe shall cease, and he that had
Nothyng to daye, to morowe shall enioye
Great heapes of good, & he that flowed in wealth,
Loe he shall be reft of lyfe and all,
And happiest he that than possesseth least.
The wyues shall suffre rape, the maydes defloured
And children fatherles shall weepe and wayle:
With fire & sworde thy Natiue folke shal perisshe.
One kinsman shall bereaue an other life,
The father shall vnwittynge slaye the sonne,
The sonne shall slea the sire and knowe it not:
Women and maides the cruell Souldiours sword
Shall perse to death, and sillie children loe
That playinge in the streates & fieldes are founde
By violent hande shall close their latter daye.
Whome shall the ferce and bloudie Souldiour
Reserue to liefe, whome shall he spare from death
Euen thou (O wretched mother) half alyue
Thou shalt beholde thy deare and onely childe
Slaine wt the sworde while he yet suckes thy brest:
Loe, giltles bloode shall thus eche where be shed:
Thus shall the wasted soile yelde forth no fruite
But derth and famyne shal possesse the Lande.
The Townes shal be consumed & brent with fire,
The peopled Cities shall waxe desolate,
And thou (O Brittaine Land) whilom in renowme
Whilome in wealth and fame shalt thus be torne,
Dismembred thus, and thus be rent in twayne,
Thus wasted and defaced, spoiled and destroied:
These be the fruits your ciuill warres wil bring.
Hereto it cōmes when kinges will not consent,
To graue aduise, but folow wilfull wyll:
This is the ende, when in yonge Princes hartes
Flattery preuayles, and sage rede hath no place:
These are the plages, when murder is the meane
To make newe Heires vnto the Royall Crowne.
Thus wreke the Gods, whē yt the mothers wrath
Nought but ye blood of her owne child may swage.
These mischiefes springs whē Rebelles wil arise,
To worke reuenge and iudge their Princes facte:
This, this ensues when noble men do faile
In loyall trouthe, and subiectes will be kinges.
And this doth growe when loe vnto the Prince,
Whome death or sodeyne happe of liefe bereaues,
No certayne Heire remaines, suche certentie
As not all onely is the rightfull Heire,
But to the Realme is so made vnknowen to be
And trouth therby vested in Subiectes hartes,
To owe faith there, where right is knowen to rest
Alas, in Parliament what hope can bee,
When is of Parliament no hope at all,
Whiche thoughe it be assembled by consent,
Yet is it not likely with consent to ende:
While eche one for him selfe, or for his frende
Against his foe, shall trauaile what he maye,
While nowe the state left open to the man,
That shall with greatest force inuade the same,
Shall fill ambicious minds with gapynge hope:
When will they ones with yelding harts agree?
Or in the while, howe shall the Realme be vsed?
No, no: then Parliament should haue ben holden
And certaine Heires appoyncted to the Crowne
To staie their title of establisshed righte:
And plant the people in obedience
While yet the Prince did liue, whose name and power
By lawfull Sōmons and auctorytie
Might make a Parliament to be of force,
And might haue set the state in quiet staye:
But nowe (O happie man) whome spedie death
Depriues of lyfe, ne is enforced to see
These hugie mischiefes and these miseries,
These ciuyll wars, these murders & these wrongs
Of Iustice, yet must Ioue in fyne restore
This noble Crowne vnto the lawfull Heire:
For right will alwayes liue, and rise at lengthe,
But wronge can neuer take deepe roote to last.