University of Virginia Library

[Scene II]

Round about Bethlehem.
i Miles.
Comes furth, felowes, in feere;
Loo! fondelyngis fynde we here.

i Mul.
Owte on ȝou! theves, I crye!
Ȝe slee my semely sone.

ii Miles.
Ther browls schall dere abye
This bale þat is be-gonne,
Þer-fore lay fro þe faste.

ii Mul.
Allas! for doule I dye,
To saue my son schall I,
Aye whils my liff may last.

i Miles.
A! dame, þe deuyll þe spede.
And me, but itt be quytte.

i Mul.
To dye I haue no drede,
I do þe wele to witte,
To saue my sone so dere.

i Miles.
As armes! for nowe is nede,
But yf we do yone dede,
Ther quenys will quelle us here.

ii Mul.
Allas! þis lothly striffe!
No blisse may be my bette,
þe knyght vppon his knyffe
Hath slayne my sone so swette;
And I hadde but hym allone.

i Mul.

i Miles.
Þe deuell myght spede you bothe,
False wicchis, are ye woode?

ii Mul.
Nay false lurdayns, ye lye.

[i Miles.]
Yf ȝe be woode or wrothe,
Ye schall noȝt skape fro skathe,
Wende we vs hense in hye.

i Mul.
Allas! þat we wer wroughte,
In worlde women to be,
Þe barne þat wee dere bought,
Þus in oure sighte to see
Disputuously spill.

ii Mul.
And certis, þer nott is noght,
The same þat þei haue soughte,
Schall þei neuere come till.

i Miles.
Go we to þe kyng,
Of all þis contek kene
I schall nott lette for no-thyng
To saie as we haue sene.

ii Miles.
And certis, no more shall I.
We haue done his bidding,
We schall saie sothfastly,
How so they wraste or wryng.