With gift of pardon save unto the chiefe;
And that upon condicion that forthwith
They yelde the captaines of their enterprise,
To beare such guerdon 40 of their traiterous fact
As may be both due vengeance to themselves,
And holsome terrour to posteritic.

This shall I thinke, scatter the greatest parte,
That now are holden with desire of home,
Weried in field with cold of winter's nightes,
And some, no doubt, striken with dread of law.
Whan this is once proclamed, it shall make
The captaines to mistrust the multitude,
Whose safetie biddes them to betray their heads,
And so much more bycause the rascall routes,
In thinges of great and perillous attemptes,
Are never trustic to the noble race.

41

And while we treate and stand on termes of grace,
We shall both stay their furies rage the while,
And eke gaine time, whose onely helpe sufficeth
Withouten warre to vanquish rebelles power.
In the meane while, make you in redyness
Such band of horsemen as ye may prepare:
Horsemen, you kno, are not the commons strength,
But are the force and store of noble men,
Wherby the unchosen and unarmed sort
Of skillesse rebelles, whome none other power,
But nombre makes to be of dreadfull force,
With sodeyne brunt may quickely be opprest;
And if this gentle meane of proffered grace
With stubborne heartes cannot so farre avayle
As to asswage their desperate courages;
Then do I wish such slaughter to be made,
As present age and eke posteritie
May be adrad 42 with horrour of revenge,
That justly then shall on these rebelles fall:
This is, my lord, the summe of mine advise.

Clot. Neither this case admittes debate at large: And though it did, this speach that hath ben sayd Hath well abridged the tale I would have tolde. Fully with Eubulus do I consent

In all that he hath sayde; and if the same
Το you, my lordes, may seeme for best advise,
I wish that it should streight be put in ure.
Mand. My lordes, then let us presently depart,
And follow this that liketh 43 us so well.

Fer. If ever time to gaine a kingdome here
Were offred man, now it is offred me:
The realme is reft both of their king and queene,
The offspring of the prince is slaine and dead,
No issue now remaines, the heire unknowen,
The people are in armes and mutynies,
The nobles they are busied how to cease
These great rebellious tumultes and uproares.
And Brittayne land now desert left alone

Amyd these broyles uncertayn where to rest,
Offers herselfe unto that noble hart
That will or dare pursue to beare her crowne:
Shall I, that am the duke of Albanye,
Discended from that line of noble bloud,
Which hath so long flourished in worthy fame
Of valiaunt hartes, such as in noble brestes,
Of right should rest above the baser sort,
Refuse to adventure life to winne a crowne ?
Whom shall I finde enemies that will withstand
My fact herein, if I attempt by armes
To seeke the same now in these times of broyle?
These dukes power can hardly well appease
The people that already are in armes.
But if perhappes my force be once in field,
Is not my strength in power above the best
Of all these lordes now left in Brittayne land.
And though they should match me with power of

men,

Yet doubtfull is the chaunce of battailes joyned.
If victors of the field we may depart,
Ours is the scepter then of Great Brittayne.
If slayne amid the playne this body lye,
Mine enemies yet shall not deny me this,
But that I dyed geving the noble charge
To hazarde life for conquest of a crowne.
Forthwith therefore will I in post depart
To Albanye, and raise in armour there
All power I can: and here my secret frendes
By secret practise shall solicite still
To secke to wynne to me the people's hartes.

SCENA SECUNDA.

EUBULUS, CLOTYN, MANDUD, GWENARD, AROSTUS, NUNTIUS.

Eub. O Jove, how are these people's harts abusde?

What blind fury thus headlong caries them?
That though so many bookes, so many rolles
Of auncient time recorde what grevous plagues
Light on these rebelles aye, and though so oft
Their eares have heard their aged fathers tell
What juste reward these traitours still receyve;
Yea though themselves have sene depe death and
bloud

By strangling cord and slaughter of the sword
To such assigned, yet can they not beware,
Yet can not stay their lewde rebellious handes,
But suffring loe fowle treason to distaine
Their wretched myndes, forget their loyall hart,
Reject all truth, and rise against their prince.
A ruthefull case, that those whom duties bond,

40 Guerdon-reward.

41 Unchosen and unarmed sort-multitude.

Whom grafted law, by nature, truth and faith
Bound to preserve their countrey and their king,
Borne to defend their common wealth and prince,
Even they should geve consent thus to subvert
Thee Brittaine land, and from thy wombe should
bring,

O native soile, those that will needs destroy
And ruyne thee and eke themselves in fine:
For lo, when once the duke had offred grace
Of pardon sweete, (the multitude misledde
By traiterous fraude of their ungracious heades,)
One sort that saw the dangerous successe
Of stubborne standing in rebellious warre,
And knew the difference of princes power,
From headlesse nombre of tumultuous routes,
Whom common countries care and private feare
Taught to repent the errour of their rage,
Layde hands upon the captaines of their band,
And brought them bound unto the mightie dukes.
And other sort, not trusting yet so well
The truth of pardon, or mistrusting more
Their owne offence than that they could conceive
Sure hope of pardon for so foule misdede,
Or for that they their captaines could not yeld,
Who fearing to be yelded fled before,
Stale home by silence of the secret night.
The third unhappy and enraged sort
Of desperate hartes, who stained in princes bloud,
From trayterous furour could not be withdrawen
By love, by law, by grace, ne yet by feare,
By proffered life, ne yet by threatened death,
With mindes hopelesse of life, dreadlesse of death,
Carelesse of countrey, and awelesse of God,
Stoode bent to fight as furies did them move
With violent death to close their traiterous life:
These all by power of horsemen were opprest,
And with revenging sworde slayne in the field,
Or with the strangling cord hangd on the tree,
Where yet the caryen carcases do preach
The fruites that rebelles reape of their uproares,
And of the murder of their sacred prince.
But loe, where do approche the noble dukes,
By whom these tumults have ben thus appeasde.
Clot. I thinke the world will now at length be-

ware,

And feare to put on armes agaynst their prince. Man. If not, those trayterous hartes that dare rebell,

Let them beholde the wide and hugie fieldes
With bload and bodies spread of rebelles slayne;
The lofty trees clothed with corpses dead,
That strangled with the cord do hang thereon.
Aros. A just rewarde, such as all times before
Have ever lotted to those wretched folkes.
Gwen. But what meanes he that commeth here
so fast?

Nun. My lordes, as dutie and my trouth doth move,

And of my countrey worke a care in me,
That if the spending of my breath availed
To do the service that my hart desires,
I would not shunne to imbrace a present death,
So have I now in that wherein I thought
My travayle mought performe some good effect
Ventred my life to bring these tydings here.
Fergus, the mightie duke of Albanye,

Is nowe in armes, and lodgeth in the fielde
With twentie thousand men, hether he bendes
His spedy march, and mindes to invade the crowne,
Dayly he gathereth strength, and spreads abrode
That to this realme no certaine heire remaines,
That Brittayne land is left without a guide,
That he the scepter seekes, for nothing els
But to preserve the people and the land
Which now remaine as shippe without a sterne : 4+
Loe this is that which I have here to say.

Clot. Is this his fayth? and shall he falsely thus
Abuse the vauntage of unhappie times?
O wretched land, if his outragious pride,
His cruell and untempred wilfulnesse,
His deepe dissembling, shewes of false pretence,
Should once attaine the crowne of Brittaine land.
Let us, my lordes, with timely force resist
The new attempt of this our common foe,
As we would quench the flames of common fire.
Man. Though we remaine without a certain
prince

To weld the realm, or guide the wandring rule,
Yet now the common mother of us all,
Our native land, our countrey that conteines
Our wives, children, kindred, ourselves, and all
That ever is or may be deare to man,
Cries unto us to helpe ourselves and her:
Let us advaunce our powers to represse
This growing foe of all our liberties.

Gwen. Yea let us so, my lordes, with hasty speede :

And ye, O goddes, send us the welcome death,
To shed our bloud in field, and leave us not
In lothesome life to lenger out our dayes,
To see the hugie heapes of these unhappes,
That now roll downe upon the wretched land,
Where emptie place of princely governaunce,
No certaine stay now left of doubtlesse heire,
Thus leave this guidelesse realme an open pray
To endlesse stormes and waste of civill warre.

Aros. That ye, my lordes, do so agrec in one To save your countrcy from the violent reigne And wrongfully usurped tyrannie

Of him that threatens conquest of you all,
To save your realme, and in this realme yourselves
From forreine thraldome of so proud a prince,
Much do I prayse; and I besech the goddes
With happy honour to requite it you.
But O, my lords, sith now the heavens wrath
Hath reft this lande the issue of their prince;

44

Sith of the body of our late soveraigne lorde
Remaines no moe, since the yong kinges be slaine,
And of the title of discended crowne,
Uncertainly the diverse mindes do thinke
Even of the learned sort, and more uncertainly
Will parciall fancie and affection deeme :
But most uncertainly will climbing pride
And hope of reigne withdraw to sundry partes
The doubtfull right und hopefull lust to reigne:
When once this noble service is atchieved,
For Brittaine land, the mother of ye all,
When once ye have with armed force represt,
The proude attemptes of this Albanian prince,
That threatens thraldome to your native land,
When ye shall vanquishers returne from field,
And find the princely state an open pray,
To greedie lust and to usurping power;
Then, then, my lordes, if ever kindly care
Of auncient honour of your auncesters,
Of present wealth and noblesse of your stockes,
Yea of the lives and safetie yet to come
Of your deare wives, your children, and yourselves,
Might move your noble hartes with gentle ruth,
Then, then have pitie on the torne estate,
Then helpe to salve the wel neare hopelesse sore:
Which ye shall do, if ye yourselves withholde
The slaying knife from your owne mother's throate,
Her shall you save, and you and yours in her,
If
ye shall all with one assent forbeare
Once to lay hand, or take unto yourselves,
The crowne by colour of pretended right;
Or by what other meanes so ever it be,
Till first by common counsell of you all
In parliament, the regall diademe

Be set in certaine place of governaunce,
In which your parliament and in your choise,
Preferre the right, my lordes, without 45 respect
Of strength or frendes, or whatsoever cause
That may set forward any others part,
For right will last, and wrong can not endure.
Right meane I his or hers, upon whose name
The people rest, by meane of native line,
Or by the vertue of some former lawe,
Already made their title to advaunce:
Such one, my lordes, let be your chosen king,
Such one so borne within your native land,
Such one preferre, and in no wise admitte,
The heavie yoke of forreine governance :
Let forreine titles yield to publike wealth,
And with that hart wherewith ye now prepare,
Thus to withstand the proude invading foe,
With that same hart, my lordes, keepe out also
Unnaturall thraldome of strangers reigne,
Ne suffer you against the rules of kinde,
Your mother land to serve a forreine prince.
Eub. Loe here the end of Brutus royall line,
And loe the entry to the wofull wracke,
And utter ruine of this noble realme.
The royall king, and eke his sonnes are slaine,

No ruler restes within the regall seate:
The heire to whom the scepter longes unknowen;
That to eche force of forreine princes power,
Whom vauntage of your wretched state may move,
By sodeine armes to gaine so riche a realme,
And to the proud and gredie minde at home,
Whom blinded lust to reigne leades to aspire,
Loe Brittaine realme is left an open pray,
A present spoyle by conquest to ensue.
Who seeth not now, how many rising mindes
Do feede their thoughts, with hope to reach a
realme?

And who will not by force attempt to winne,
So great a gaine that hope perswades to have?
A simple colour shall for title serve,
Who winnes the royall crowne will want no right,
Nor such as shall display by long discent,
A lineall race to prove him lawful king.
In the meane while these civil armes shall rage,
And thus a thousand mischiefes shall unfolde,
And farre and neare spread thee, O Brittaine land,
All right and lawe shall cease, and he that had
Nothing to-day, to-morrowe shall enjoye
Great heapes of golde, and he that flowed in wealth,
Loe, he shall be bereft of life and all;
And happiest he that then possesseth least.
The wives shall suffer rape, the maides defloured,
And children fatherlesse shall weepe and waile=
With fire and sworde thy native folke shall perishe,
One kinsman shall bereave an others life,
The father shall unwitting slay the sonne,
The sonne shall slay the sire and know it not;
Women and maides, the cruel souldiers sword
Shall perse to death, and sillie children loe,
That playing in the streetes and fieldes are found
By violent hand shall close their latter day.
Whom shall the fierce and bloudy souldier
Reserve to life? whom shall he spare from death!
Even thou, O wretched mother, halfe alive,
Thou shalt beholde thy deare and only childe
Slaine with the sworde, while he yet suckes thy

46

brest.

Loe, giltlesse bloud shall thus eche where be shed;
Thus shall the wasted soyle yelde forth no fruite,
But dearth and famine shall possesse the land.
The townes shall be consumed, and burnt with fire;
The peopled cities shall waxe desolate,
And thou, O Brittaine, whilome in renowne,
Whilome in wealth and fame shalt thus be torne.
Dismembred thus, and thus be rent in twaine,
Thus wasted and defaced, spoyled and destoyed,
These be the fruites your civill warres will bring.
Hereto it commes when kinges will not consent
To grave advise, but follow wilfull will:
This is the end, when in fonde princes hartes
Flattery prevailes, and sage rede hath no place :
These are the plages when murder is the meane,
To make new heires unto the royall crowne.
Thus wreke the Gods when that the mother's wrath

45 Without-with, edit. 1570.

46 Playing--play. edit. 1570.