A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 12Dodsley, Robert
General
A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 12
Dodsley, Robert
English drama
BRI. And place their trophies 'bout their smoky halls;
There hang a gauntlet bright, here a stabb'd buckler,
Pile up long pikes,[318] and in that corner plant
A weighty sword, brandish'd by some centurion:
Not he, who ne'er on snaky perils trod,
But happy he, who hath them stoutly pass'd:
For danger's sauce gives joy a better taste.
GUER. Great monarch, if thy summons call us back,
We tender here our service, men and arms,
As duty bids and binds.
CAS. Should he return, our province dares him front.
So a most kind adieu unto all three.
[_Exeunt_ CRIDOUS, BRITAEL, _and_ GUERTHED.
Cingetorix, Carvilius, Taximagulus, Segonax,
I know your faithful love: Kent's fourfold head
Will check rash rebels, and as firmly stand
As hearty oaks, who bear off Æolus' blows,
And with a whistle but deride his force.
[_Exeunt four Kings of Kent._
Burst, gall, and dye my actions in flame-colour!
I saw Hirildas fall, and breathe his soul
Even in my face; as though hell watch'd a time
To crush our pomp and glory into sighs.
The conduits of his vital spring being ripp'd,
Spurtl'd my robes, soliciting revenge. Belinus,
Attach the murderer, and if abettors
Deny obedience, then with sword and fire
Waste their dominions. For a traitor's sake,
Whole towns shall tremble, and the ground shall quake. [_Exeunt._
SCENE VIII.
ANDROGEUS, TENANTIUS, MANDUBRATIUS.
AND. Shall justice and just Libra ne'er forsake
Th' embroider'd belt? no sign of them on earth?
Are gods dim-sighted grown, or do they sleep
The morning, and carouse the afternoon,
That mortal motions tumble thus by chance?
Cleave, thou blue marble ceiling, that heaven's king
With clearer aim may strike a tyrant's crown,
Nor spend his brimstone bullets 'gainst some hill
Or innocent pine.
MAN. Your injuries run low; mine break all bounds.
My father butcher'd at his lawless will:
I banish'd from my lands, depos'd from rule,
Owing my life to night and flight.
TEN. I do confess, you may complain aloud,
And tear the element with a dolorous note:
Call down Astræa from her crystal chair,
Or call up Nemesis from the direful deep,
To expiate your wrongs.
Else would the manes of your father slain
In a white sheet come sliding to your bed,
And be reveng'd on you. He gave you life;
How can you better spend it, than to wreak
His death and slaughter? but our case and cause,
Brother, is not the same. Eulinus slew
His innocent friend, and we defend the fact,
With hostile noise drowning law's reverend voice;
But murder outcries both. Give me then leave
To be a neutral: my young years, unfit
For any desperate course, can but complain,
The king our uncle doth not use us well. [_Exit._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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