Chapter V: Part III (2)

This tragicall example was of all the company well liked,
howbee it a doubt was found therein, and that by meanes of the
diuersity of the chronicles: for whereas _Hall_ (whose chronicle
in this worke wee chiefly followed) maketh _Mowbrey_ appellant
and _Bolinbroke_ defendant, _Fabian_ reporteth the matter quite
contrary, and that by record of the parliament roll, wherein
it is playne that _Bolinbroke_ was appellant and _Mowbrey_
defendant.[372] Wherefore whatsoeuer shall bee sayde here in the
person of _Mowbrey_, (who being a most noble prince, had too much
wrong to bee so causeles defamed after his death) imagine that
to bee spoken agaynst his accuser. Which matter[373] sith it is
more hard to decide than needefull to our purpose, which minde
only to disswade from vices and exalt vertue, wee referre to such
as may come by the recordes of the actes of the parliament,[374]
contented in the meane while with Maister _Halle’s_ iudgement,
which maketh best for[375] our forshewed purpose. This doubt thus
let passe. “I would,” sayde Maister _Ferrers_, “say somewhat
for king _Richard_,[376] after whose depriuing, his brother[377]
and diuers others made a maske, minding by king[378] _Henrye’s_
destruction to haue restored him, which masker’s matter so
runneth in this, that I doubt which ought to goe before, but
seeing no man is ready to say ought in theyr behalfe, I will giue
(who so listeth) leasure to looke[379] therevpon, and in the
meane time to furder your enterprise, I will in king _Richarde’s_
behalfe[380] recount such part of his story as I thinke most
necessary. And therefore imagine _Baldwine_ that you see the
corps of this prince all[381] to be mangled with blewe woundes,
lying pale and wan, all naked vpon the cold stones in[382]
_Paule’s_ church, the people standing round about him, and making
his complaynt in manner as followeth.”[383]

How King _Richard_ the second was for
his euill gouernaunce deposed from
his seate, in the yeare 1399,
and murdered in prison[384]
the yeare following.

1.

Happy is the prince, that hath in welth the grace
To followe vertue, keeping vices vnder,[385]
But woe to him whose will hath wisdome’s place:
For who so renteth right and lawe asunder,
On him at length all the worlde shall wonder:
High byrth, choyce fortune, force, nor princely mace,[386]
Can warrant king or keyser fro the case:
[Shame sueth sinne, as rayne drops doe the thunder:[387]
Let princes therefore vertuous life embrace,[388]
That wilfull pleasures[389] cause them not to blunder.]

2.

Behold my hap, see how the seely rout
On mee doo gaze,[390] and ech to other say:
See where hee lyeth, but late that was so stout,[391]
Loe how the power, the pride, and rich aray
Of mighty rulers[392] lightly fade away:
The king, which erst kept all the realme in doute,
The veriest rascall now dare checke and floute:[393]
[What moulde bee kinges made of, but carion clay?[394]
Behold his woundes how blew they bee about,
Which while hee liued, thought[395] neuer to decay.]

3.

Mee thinke I heare the people thus deuise:
Wherefore, _Baldwine_, sith thou wilt declare[396]
How princes fell, to make the liuing wise,
My lawlesse life[397] in no poynt see thou spare,
But paynt it out, that rulers may beware
Good counsayle, lawe, or vertue to despise:
For realmes haue rules, and rulers haue a sise,
[Which if they breake, thus much to say I dare[398]
That eyther’s griefes the other shall agrise
Till one[399] bee lost, the other brought to care.]

4.

I was a king, who ruled all by lust,
Forcing but light of[400] justice, right,[401] or lawe,
Putting alwayes flatterers false in trust,[402]
Ensuing such[403] as could my vices clawe,
By faythfull counsayle passing not an hawe,[404]
As pleasure prickt, so needes obay I must:
Hauing delight to feede and serue the gust,[405]
[Three meales a day could scarse content my mawe:[406]
Mee liked least to torney or to just,
To _Venus_ sport my fancy did mee[407] drawe:][408]

5.

Which to mayntayne, my people were sore polde[409]
With fines, fifteenes, and loanes by way of prest,[410]
Blanke charters,[411] othes, and shiftes not knowne of olde,
For which the commons[412] did mee sore detest:[413]
I also solde the noble towne[414] of _Brest_,
My fault wherein because mine vncle tolde,
[(For prince’s actes may no wise bee[415] controlde)]
I found the meanes his bowels to vnbrest,[416]
[The worthy peeres, which his cause did vpholde[417]
With long exile, or cruell death opprest.][418]

6.

None ayde I lackt in[419] any wicked deede,
For gaping gulles whome I promoted had,
Would furder all in hope of higher meede:
There can no king imagine[420] ought so bad,
But shall finde some that will[421] performe it glad:[422]
For sicknes seldome doth so swiftly breede,
As humours ill doe growe[423] the griefe to feede:
[Thus kinge’s estates of all bee worst[424] bestad,
Abusde in welth, abandoned at neede,
And nerest harme when they bee least adrad.]

7.

My life and death the trueth of this hath tryde:[425]
For while I fought in _Ireland_ with my foes,
Mine vncle _Edmund_[426] whome I left to guide
My realme at home, rebelliously arose
_Percyes_ to helpe,[427] which plied my depose:[428]
And calde fro _Fraunce_ earle _Bolenbroke_, whom I
Exiled had for ten yeares there to lye:[429]
[Who cruelly did put to death all those[430]
That in mine ayde durst looke but once awrye,
Whose numbre was but slender I suppose.][431]

8.

For comming backe this soden stur[432] to stay,
The earle of _Worcester_ whome[433] I trusted moste,
(Whiles I in _Wales_ at _Flint_ my castle[434] lay,
Both to refresh and multiply myne hoste)
There[435] in my hall, in sight of least and most,[436]
His staffe did breake, which was my householde stay,[437]
Bad ech make shift, and rode himselfe away:
[See princes, see the strength whereof wee bost,
Whom most wee trust, at neede doe vs betray:
Through whose false fayth my land and life I lost.][438]

9.

My stuard false, thus being fled and gone,
My seruants sly shranke of on euery side,
Then caught I was and led vnto my foen,
Who for theyr prince no pallace did prouide,
But pryson strong, where _Henry_ puft with pride
Causde mee resigne my kingly state and throne:[439]
And so forsaken and left as post[440] alone,
[These hollow friendes, by _Henry_ soone espyed,
Became suspect, and fayth was giuen to none,
Which caused them from fayth agayne to slyde.][441]

10.

And strayt conspyrde[442] theyr newe king[443] to put downe,
And to that end a solemp[444] oth they swore,
To render mee my royall seate[445] and crowne:
Whereof themselues depriued mee before:
But late medcynes can help no sothbynde sore:[446]
When swelling flouds haue ouer flowen the towne,
To late it is to saue them that shall drowne:
[Till sayles bee spred a ship may keepe the shore,
No anker holde can keepe the vessel downe,
With streme and stere perforce it will bee bore.][447]

11.

For though the peeres set _Henry_ in his state,[448]
Yet could they not displace him thence agayne:
And where they easely depriued[449] mee of late,[450]
They could restore mee by no manner payne:[451]
Thinges hardly mend, but may bee mard amayne,
And when a man is fallen in[452] froward fate,
Still mischiefs light one on[453] another’s pate:
[And meanes well meant all mishaps[454] to restrayne
Waxe wretched mones, whereby his ioyes abate,
Due proofe whereof in this appeared playne.][455]

12.

For whan the king did know[456] that for my cause,
His lordes in maske[457] would kill him on a night,[458]
To dash all doubtes hee tooke no farder pause,
But _Pierce_ of _Exton_, a cruell murdering[459] knight,
To _Pomfret_ castle sent him, armed bright,[460]
Who causelesse kild mee there against all lawes,[461]
Thus lawles life to lawles death ey drawes:
[Wherefore bid kinges bee rulde and rule by right:
Who worketh his will, and shunneth wisedome’s sawes,
In snares of woe, ere hee bee ware, shall light.][462]

G. F.[463]

[When hee had[464] ended this so woefull a tragedy,[465] and to
all princes a right worthy[466] instruction, wee paused:[467]
hauing passed through a miserable time full of piteous tragedies.
And seeing the raigne of _Henry_ the fourth ensued, a man[468]
more wary[469] and prosperous in his doings, although not
vntroubled with warres both of outforth and inward enemies, wee
began to searche what peeres[470] were fallen therein, whereof
the nombre was not small: and yet because theyr examples were
not much to be noted for our purpose, we passed ouer al the
maskers (of whom king _Richard’s_ brother was chief) which were
all slayn and put to death for theyr trayterous attempt. And
finding _Owen Glendour_ next, one of fortune’s owne whelpes, and
the _Percies_ his confederates, I thought them vnmeete to be
ouerpassed, and[471] therefore sayd thus to the sylent company:
“What my maisters is euery man at once in a browne study? hath
no man affection to any of these stories? you minde so much some
other belike, that these doe not moue you: and to say the[472]
truth, there is no speciall cause why they should.[473]How be it
_Owen Glendour_, because he was one of fortune’s owne darlings,
and affected to bee prince[474] of _Wales_, although to his
owne mischiefe and destruction, rather then he should bee
forgotten, I wil take vpon mee (by your fauour) to say somewhat
in his personne:[475] which[476] _Owen_ comming out of the wilde
mountaynes of _Wales_ like the image of death in all poyntes (his
harte onely excepted) as a ghost forpined with extreame famine,
cold, and hunger, may lament his great misfortune after[477] this
manner.”][478]

How _Owen Glendour_ seduced by false prophesies,
tooke vpon him to bee Prince of Wales, and
was by _Henry_ Prince[479] of England
chased[480] to the mountaynes,
where hee miserably died
for lack of foode.[481]
Anno 1401.[482]

1.

I pray thee, _Baldwine_, sith thou doest entende
To shewe the fall[483] of such as climbe to hie,
Remember mee, whose miserable end
May teach a man his vicious life to flye,[484]
Oh fortune, fortune, out on thee,[485] I crye:
My liuely corps thou hast made leane and slender,
For lacke of foode, whose name was _Owen Glendour_.[486]

2.

A _Welshman_ borne,[487] and of the _Troyan_ bloud,[488]
But ill brought vp, whereby full well I finde,
That neyther byrth nor linage make vs good,[489]
Though it bee true that cat will after kinde:
Fleshe gendreth fleshe, but not the soule or minde,[490]
They gender not, but fouly doe degender,
When men to vice from vertue them surrender.[491]

3.

Each thing by nature tendeth to the same
Whereof it came, and is disposed like:
Downe sinkes the mould, vp mounts the fiery flame,
With horne the hart, with hoofe the horse doth strike,
The wolfe doth spoile, the suttle foxe doth pike,
And to conclude,[492] no fishe, fleshe, foule or plant,
Of their true dame the property doth want.[493]

4.

But as for men, sith seuerally they haue
A minde, whose maners are by learning made,
Good bringing vp all only doth them saue
In honest actes,[494] which with their parents fade:
So that true gentry standeth in the trade
Of vertuous life,[495] not in the fleshely line:
For bloud is brute, but gentry is deuine.

5.

Experience doth cause mee thus to say,
And that the rather for my countreymen,
Which vaunt and boast themselues aboue the day,
If they may straine their stocke fro[496] worthy men:
Which let bee true, are they the better than?
Nay far the worse, if so they bee not good,
For why, they staine the bewty of their blood.

6.

How would wee mocke the burden bearing mule,
If hee would brag hee were an horse’s sonne,
To presse his pride[497] (might nothing else him rule)
His boastes to proue no more but bid him run:
The horse for swiftnes hath his glory wonne:
The mule[498] could neuer[499] the more aspyer,
Though hee should proue that _Pegas_ was[500] his sier.

7.

Each man may[501] crake of that which was[502] his owne,
Our parents’ vertues are theirs,[503] and no whit ours:[504]
Who therefore will of noble birth[505] bee knowne,
Ought[506] shine in vertue like his auncestours:
Gentry consisteth not in landes and towers:
Hee is a churle, though all the world were his,[507]
Yea _Arthur’s_ heyre, if that hee liue amis.

8.

For vertuous life a gentleman doth make[508]
Of her possessour all bee hee poore as _Iob_,
Yea though no name of elders hee can take,[509]
For proofe take _Merlin_ fathered by an hob:[510]
But who so sets his minde to spoyle and rob,
Although hee come by due discent from _Brute_,
Hee is a chorle, vngentle, vile, and brute.

9.

Well, thus did I for want of better wit,
Because my parents naughtely brought mee vp:
For gentlemen (they sayd) was nought so fyt,
As to attast by bold attempts the cup
Of conquest’s wine, whereof I thought to sup:
And therefore bent my selfe to rob and ryue,
And whome I could of landes and goodes depriue.

10.

For[511] _Henry_ the fourth did then vsurpe the crowne,
Despoyled the king, with _Mortimer_ the heyre:
For which his subiects sought to put him downe,
And I, while fortune offered mee so fayre,
Did what I might his honour to appayre:
And tooke on mee to bee the prince of _Walles_,
Entiste thereto by prophesies and tales.[512]

11.

For which, such idle[513] as wayt vpon the spoyle,
From euery part of _Walles_ vnto mee drewe:
For loytering youth vntaught in any toyle,
Are ready aye, all mischiefe to ensue:
Through helpe of these so great my glory grewe,
That I defied my king through lofty hart,
And made sharpe warre on all that tooke his part.

12.

See lucke, I tooke lord _Raynold Gray of Rythen_,
And him enforst my daughter to espouse,
And so vnraunsomed I[514] held him still; and sythen
In _Wigmore_ land through battayle rigorous,
I caught the right heyre of the crowned house,
The earle of _March_, sir _Edmund Mortimer_,
And in a dungeon kept him prisoner.

13.

Than all the marches longing vnto _Wales_,
By _Syuerne_ west, I did inuade and burne:
Destroyed the townes in mountaynes, and in vales,
And rich in spoyles had[515] homeward[516] safe returne:
Was none so bolde durst once agaynst mee spurne:
Thus prosperously doth fortune forward call,
Those whome shee mindes to geue the sorest fall.

14.

Whan fame had brought these tidings to the king,
(Although the _Scots_ than vexed him right sore)
A mighty army against[517] mee hee did bring:
Whereof the _French_ king being warned afore,
Who mortall hate against king _Henry_ bore,
To greeue our foe hee quickely to mee sent
Twelue thousand _Frenchmen_, armed to warre and bent.

15.

A part of them led by the earle of _March_,
Lord _Iames_ of _Burbon_, a valiaunt tried knight,[518]
With held by wyndes to _Walles_ ward forth to march,
Tooke land at _Plimmouth_ priuely on a[519] night:
And whan hee had done all that[520] hee durst or might,
After that a[521] meyney of his men were slaine,
Hee stole to ship and sailed home agayne.

16.

Twelue thousand moe[522] in _Milford_ did ariue,
And came to mee, then lying at _Denbigh_:
With armed _Welshmen_ thousands double fiue,
With whome wee went to _Worcester_ well nigh,
And there encampt vs on a mount on high,
To abide[523] the king who shortly after came,
And pitched his field, on a hill hard[524] by the same.

17.

There eyght dayes long our hostes lay face to face,
And neyther durst other’s power[525] assayle:
But they so stopt the passages the space,
That vitayles could not come to our avayle,
Where through constraynde our hearts began to fayle,
So that the _Frenchmen_ shranke away by night,
And I with mine to th’ mountaynes[526] tooke our flight.

18.

The king pursued greatly to his cost,
From hilles to woods, from woods to valleys playne:
And by the way his men and stuffe hee lost:
And when hee sawe[527] hee gayned naught but payne,
Hee blewe retreate and gate[528] him home agayne:
Then with my power I boldly came abroade,
Taken in my countrey for a very god.[529]

19.

Immediately after fell a ioly jarre
Betweene the king, and _Percie’s_ worthy blouds,
Which grue at last vnto a deadly warre:
For like as drops engender mighty flouds,
And litle seedes sprout forth great leaues and buds,
Euen so small striues,[530] if they bee suffered run,
Breede wrath and war, and death or they be don.

20.

The king would haue the ransome of such _Scots_
As these the _Percies_ tane had in the fielde:
But see how strongly lucre knits her knots,
The king will haue, the _Percies_ will not yeelde,
Desire of goods some craues, but graunteth seelde:
Oh cursed goods, desire of you hath wrought
All wickednes, that hath or can bee thought.

21.

The _Percies_ deemde it meeter for the king
To haue redeemde theyr cosin _Mortimer_,
Who in his quarell all his power did bring
To fight with mee, that toke him prisoner,
Than of their pray to rob his souldier:
And therefore willed him see some meane were founde,
To quite forth him whome I kept vily bounde.

22.

Because the king misliked theyr request,
They came themselues and did accorde with mee,
Complayning how the kingdome was opprest
By _Henrye’s_ rule: wherefore wee did agree
To plucke[531] him downe, and part the realme in three:
The north part theyrs, _Wales_ wholy[532] to bee mine,
The rest, to rest to th’earle of _Marche’s_ line.

23.

And for to set vs hereon more agog,
A prophet came (a vengeaunce take them all)
Affirming _Henry_ to bee _Gogmagog_,
Whom _Merline_ doth a mouldwarp euer call,
Accurst of God that must bee brought in thrall
By a wolfe, a dragon, and a lion strong,
Which should deuide his kingdome them among.

24.

This crafty dreamer made vs three such beastes,
To thinke wee were the foresayde beastes in deede:
And for that cause our badges and our creastes
Wee searched out, which scarsly well agreede:
Howbeit the heroldes, ready[533] at such a neede,
Drewe downe such issues from olde auncesters,
As proued these ensignes to bee surely oures.[534]

25.

Yee crafty _Welshmen_, wherefore doe yee mocke,
The noble men thus with your fayned rymes?
Yee noble men, why fly yee not the flocke
Of such as haue seduced so many times?
False prophesies are plagues for diuers crimes,
Which God doth let the deuilish sort deuise,
To trouble such as are not godly wise.

26.

And that appearde by vs three beastes indeede,
Through false perswasion highly borne in hand,
That in our feate wee coulde not chuse but speede,
To kill the king and to enioy his land:
For which exployt wee bound our selues in band,
To stand contented ech man with his parte,
So fully folly assurde[535] our foolish hearte.

27.

But such, they say, as fishe before the net,
Shall seeldome surfet of the pray they take:
Of thinges to come the haps bee so vnset,
That none but fooles may warraunt of them make:
The full assured successe doth oft forsake:
For fortune findeth none so fit to flout,
As sure be[536] sots which cast no kinde of doubt.

28.

How sayst thou, _Henry Hotspur_, doe I lye:
For thou right manly gauest the king a fielde,
And there wast slayne because thou wouldest not fly:
Syr _Thomas Percy_ thine vncle forst[537] to yeelde,
Did cast his head (a wonder seene but seelde)
From _Shrewsbury_ towne to th’top of _London_ bridge:
Loe thus fond hope did both theyr liues abridge.

29.

When king _Henry_[538] this victory had wonne,
Destroyde the _Percyes_, put theyr power to flight,
Hee did apoynt prince _Henry_, his eldest sonne,
With all his power to meete mee if hee might:
But I discomfyt, through my partner’s fight,
Had not the heart to meete him face to face,
But fled away, and hee pursued the chase.

30.

Now, _Baldwine_, marke, for I, calde prince of _Wales_,
And made beleeue I should bee hee in deede,
Was made to fly among the hilles and dales,
Where all my men forsooke mee at my neede:
Who trusteth loyterers seelde hath lucky[539] speede:
And when the captayne’s courage doth him fayle,
His souldier’s hearts a litle thing may quayle.

31.

And so prince _Henry_ chased mee, that loe,
I found no place wherein I might abide:
For as the dogges pursue the seely doe,
The brache behinde, the houndes on euery side,
So traste they mee among the mountaynes wide:
Whereby I found I was the hartles hare,
And not the beast colprophet[540] did declare.

32.

And at the last: like as the litle roach,
Must eyther[541] be eate, or leape vpon the shore,
When as the hungry pickerell doth approch,
And there finde death which it escapt before:
So double death assaulted mee so sore,
That eyther I must vnto mine enmy yeelde,
Or starue for hunger in the barrayn feelde.

33.

Here shame and payne a while were at a strife,
Payne bade[542] mee yeelde, shame bad mee rather fast:
The one bad spare, the other bad spend my life,
But shame (shame haue it) ouercame at last:
Then hunger gnew,[543] that doth the stone wall brast,
And made mee eat both grauel, durt and mud,
And last of all, my dung, my flesh, and bloud.[544]

34.

This was mine end too horrible to heare,
Yet good enough for a[545] life that was so ill,[546]
Whereby, O _Baldwine_, warne all men to beare
Theyr youth such loue, to bring them vp in skill,[547]
Bid princes fly colprophet’s[548] lying byll,[549]
And not presume to climb aboue theyr states:[550]
For they bee faultes that foyle men, not theyr fates.

Th. Ph.[551]

[Whan starued _Owen_ had ended his hungry exhortation, it was
well enough liked, howbeit one founde a doubte[552] worth the
mouing, and that concerning this title, earle of _March_: for
as it appeareth, there were three men of three diuers nations
together in one time entituled by that honour: first syr _Edmund
Mortimer_, whom _Owen_ kept in pryson, an _Englishman_: the
second the lord _George_ of _Dunbar_, a valiaunt _Scot_, banished
out of his countrey, and well esteemed of _Henry_ the fouerth:
the thirde lord _Iames_ of _Bourbon_, a _Frenchman_, sent by the
_Frenche_ king to help _Owen Glendour_.

These three men had this title all at once, which caused him to
aske how it was true that euery one of these could bee earle
of _March_: whereto was answered, that euery countrey hath
_Marches_ belonging vnto them, and those so large, that they were
earledomes, and the lords thereof entituled thereby: so the[553]
lord _Edmund Mortimer_ was earle of _March_ in _England_, lord
_Iames_ of _Burbon_, of the _Marches_ of _Fraunce_, and lorde
_George_ of _Dunbar_, earle of the _Marches_ in _Scotland_.
For otherwise neyther coulde haue interest in other’s title.
This doubt thus dissolued, maister _Ferrers_ sayde: “If no man
haue affection to the _Percies_, let vs passe the times both of
_Henry_ the fourth and the fift, and come to _Henry_ the sixt,
in whose time fortune (as shee doth in the minority of princes)
bare a great stroke among the nobles. And yet in _Henry_ the
fourth’s time are examples which I would wish, _Baldewine_, that
you should not forget, as the conspiracy made by the byshop of
_Yorke_, and the lord _Mowbrey_, sonne of him whome you late
treated of, pricked forwarde by the earle of _Northumberland_,
father to sir _Henry Hotspur_, who fled himselfe, but his
parteners were apprehended and put to death, with _Bainton_ and
_Blinkinsops_, which could not see theyr duty to theyr king,
but tooke parte with _Percy_, that banished rebell.” As hee was
proceding, hee was desired to stay by one which had pondered
the story of the _Percies_, who briefly sayde: “To the end,
_Baldwine_, that you may knowe what to say of the _Percies_,
whose story is not all out of memory (and is a notable story) I
will take vpon mee the person of the lord _Henry Percy_,[554]
earle of _Northumberland_, father of sir[555] _Henry Hotspur_, in
whose behalfe this may be sayd as followeth.”][556]

How _Henry Percy_ Earle of Northumberland,
was for his couetous and trayterous
attempt put to death at Yorke,
Anno 1407.[557]

1.

O morall _Senec_, true finde I thy saying,
That neither kinne,[558] riches, strength, or fauour,
Are free from fortune, but are aye decaying:
No worldly welth is ought saue doubtfull labour,
Man’s life in earth is like vnto a tabour,
Which nowe to myrth doth mildly men prouoke
And straight to warre, with a more sturdy stroke.

2.

All this full true I _Percy_ finde by proofe,
Which whilom was earle of _Northumberland_:
And therefore, _Baldwine_, for my pier’s[559] behoofe,
To note men’s falles sith thou hast tane in hand,
I would thou should my state well vnderstand:
For fewe kinges were more than I redouted,[560]
Whom double fortune lifted vp and louted.

3.

As for my kinne their noblenesse is knowen,
My valiaunt acts were[561] folly for to prayse,
Where through the _Scots_[562] so oft were ouerthrowen,
That who but I was doubted in my dayes:
And that king _Richarde_ found at all assayes,
For neuer _Scots_[563] rebelled in his raigne,
But through my force were eyther caught or slayne.

4.

A brother I had was earle of _Worcester_,
Alwayes in office and fauour[564] with the king,
And by my wife dame _Elinor Mortimer_,
A sonne I had[565] which so the _Scots_[566] did sting,
That being yong, and but a very spring,
_Henry Hotspur_ they gaue him vnto name,[567]
And though I say it, hee did deserue the same.

5.

Wee three triumphed in king _Richard’s_ time,
Till fortune ought both him and vs a spite:
But chiefly mee, whome clerely from[568] any crime,
My king did banishe from his fauour quite,
Proclayming mee a trayterous knight:[569]
Where through false slaunder forced mee to bee,
That which before I did most deadly flee.

6.

Let men beware how they true folke defame,
Or threaten on them the blame of vices nought,
For infamy breedeth wrath, wreke followeth shame:
Eke open slannder often times hath brought
That to effect, that erst was neuer thought:
To bee misdeemed men suffer in a sort,
But none can beare the griefe of misreport.

7.

Because my king did shame mee wrongfully,
I hated him and in deede[570] became his foe:
And while hee did at warre in _Ireland_ lye,
I did conspire to turne his weale to woe:
And through the duke of _Yorke_ and other moe,
All royall power from him wee quickely tooke,
And gaue the same to _Henry Bolenbroke_.

8.

Neither did wee this onely[571] for this cause,
But to say truth, force draue vs to the same:
For hee despising God and all his lawes,
Slewe whome hee would, made sinne a very game:
And seeing neyther age[572] nor counsaile could him tame,
Wee thought it well done for the kingdome’s sake,
To leaue his rule, that did all rule forsake.

9.

But when sir _Henry_ had attaynde his place,
Hee strayght became in all poynts worse then hee,
Destroyed the peeres, and slewe king _Richard’s_ grace,
Against his othe made to the lordes and mee:
And seeking quarels how to disagree,
Hee shamelesly required mee and my sonne,
To yeelde hym _Scots_[573] which wee in fielde had wonne.

10.

My nephue also _Edmund Mortimer_,
The very heyre apparant to the crowne,
Whome _Owen Glendour_ held as prisoner,
Vilely bound[574] in dungeon deepe cast downe,
Hee would not raunsome, but did felly frowne
Against my brother and mee,[575] which[576] for him spake,
And him proclaymed traytour for our sake.

11.

This foule despite did cause vs to conspire,
To put him downe as wee did _Richard_ erst,
And that wee might this matter set on fire,
From _Owen’s_ jaile, our coosin wee remerst,
And vnto _Glendour_ all our griefes reherst,
Who made a bond with _Mortimer_ and mee,
To priue the king and part the realme in three.

12.

But when king _Henry_ heard of this deuise,
Toward[577] _Owen Glendour_ hee sped him very quicke,
Mynding by force to stop hur[578] enterprise:
And as the deuill would, than fell I sicke,
Howbeit my brother, and sonne, more polliticke
Than prosperous, with an hoast from _Scotland_ brought,
Encountred him at _Shrewesbury_, where they fought.

13.

The one was tane and kild, the other slayne,
And shortly after was _Owen_ put to flight,
By meanes whereof I forced was to fayne,
That I knewe nothing of the former fight:
Fraude oft auayles more then doth sturdy might,
For by my faining I brought him in beliefe,
I knewe not that wherein my part was chiefe.

14.

And while the king thus tooke mee for his frend,
I sought all meane my former wrong to wreake,
Which that I might bring to the sooner end,
To the bishop of _Yorke_ I did the matter breake,
And to th’earle marshall likewise did I speake,
Whose father was through _Henrie’s_ cause exiled,
The bishop’s brother with trayterous death defiled.

15.

These strayt assented to doe what they could,
So did the lord _Hastings_ and lord _Fauconbridge_:
Which altogether promised they would
Set all their power the king’s dayes to abridge:
But see the spite, before the byrdes were flydge
The king had word and seasoned[579] on the nest,
Whereby, alas, my freendes were all opprest.

16.

The bloudy tyrant brought them all to end
Excepted mee, which into _Scotland_ scapt,[580]
To _George_ of _Dunbar_ th’earle of _March_, my frend,
Who in my cause all that hee could ey scrapt:
And when I had for greater succour gapt,[581]
Both at the _Frenchmen_ and the _Fleming’s_ hand,
And could get none, I tooke such as I fand.

17.

And with the helpe of _George_ my very frend,
I did enuade _Northumberland_ full bolde,
Whereas the folke drewe to mee still on end,[582]
Bent to death my party to vpholde:
Through helpe of these, full many a fort and holde,
The which the king right manfully had mand,
I easely wonne, and seised in my hand.

18.

Not so content (for vengeaunce draue mee on)
I entred _Yorkeshire_, there to wast and spoile:
But ere I had far in the countrye gone,
The shiriffe thereof, _Rafe Rokesby_ did assoyle
My trobled hoast of much part of our toyle:
For hee assaulting freshly tooke through power,
Mee and lord _Bardolph_ both, at _Bramham_ More.

19.

And thence conueyed vs to the towne of _Yorke_,
Untill hee knewe what was the kinge’s entent:[583]
There loe lord _Bardolph_ kinder than the storke,
Did lose his head, which was to _London_ sent,
With whome for friendship mine in like case went,
This was my hap my fortune or my faute,
This life I led and thus I came to naught.

20.

Wherefore, good _Baldwine_, will the peeres take heede,
Of slaunder, malice, and conspiracy,
Of couetise, whence all the rest proceede,
For couetise ioynt with contumacy,
Doth cause all mischiefe in men’s hartes to breede:
And therefore this to _esperance_ my word,
Who causeth bloudshed shall not escape[584] the sword.[585]

[By that this was ended, I had found out the story of _Richard_
earle of _Cambridge_: and because it contained matter in it,
though not very notable, yet for the better vnderstanding of the
rest, I thought it meete to touch it, and therefore saide as
followeth: “You haue saide well of the _Percies_ and fauourably;
for in deede, as it should appeare, the chiefe cause of their
conspiracy against king _Henry_, was for _Edmund Mortimer_ their
cousin’s sake, whome the king very maliciously proclaymed to haue
yeelded him selfe to _Owen_ coulourably, when, as in deede, hee
was taken forcibly against his will and very cruelly ordered in
prison. And seeing wee are in hand with _Mortimer’s_ matter, I
will take vpon mee the person of _Richard Plantagenet_, earle
of _Cambridge_, who for his sake likewise died. And therefore I
let passe _Edmund Holland_, earle of _Kent_, whome _Henry_ the
fourth made admirall to scoure the seas, because the _Britayns_
were abroad. Which earle (as many thinges happen in war) was
slaine with an arrowe at the assaulte of _Briacke_:[586] shortly
after whose death this king died, and his sonne _Henry_ the fift
of that name, succeded in his place. In the beginning of this
_Henry_ the fifte’s raigne, died this _Richard_, and with him
_Henry_ the lord _Scrope_ and other, in whose behalfe this may
bee saide.”]

How _Richard Plantagenet_[587] Earle of
Cambridge entending the king’s
destruction, was put to
death at Southamton,
Anno Dom. 1415.[588]

1.

Haste maketh waste, hath commonly ben sayd,
And secrete mischiefe seelde hath lucky speede:
A murdering minde with proper poyze is wayd,
All this is[589] true, I finde it in[590] my creede:
And therefore, _Baldwine_, warne all states take heede,
How they conspire any other to betrappe,
Least mischiefe ment, light in the miner’s lappe.[591]

2.

For I lord _Richard_, heyre _Plantagenet_,
Was earle of _Cambridge_ and right fortunate,
If I had had the grace my wit to set,
To haue content mee with mine owne estate:
But, O, false honours, breeders of debate,
The loue of you our lewde hartes doth[592] allure,
To leese our selues by seeking you vnsure.

3.

Because my brother _Edmund Mortimer_,
Whose eldest sister was my wedded wife,
I meane that _Edmund_ that was prisoner
In _Walles_ so long, through _Owen’s_ busie strife,
Because I say that after _Edmunde’s_ life,
His rightes and titles must by lawe bee mine,
For hee ne had, nor could encrease his line.

4.

Because the right of realme and crowne was ours,
I searched meanes to helpe him thereunto:
And where the _Henries_ held it by theyr powres,
I sought a shift their tenures to vndoe,
Which being force, sith force or sleight must doe,
I voide of might, because their powre was strong,
Set priuy sleight against their open wrong.

5.

But sith the death of most part of my kin
Did dashe my hope, through out the father’s dayes
I let it slip, and thought it best begin,
Whan as the sonne should dred least such assaies:
For force through spede, sleight speedeth through delayes,
And seeld doth treason time so fitly finde,
As whan all daungers most bee out of minde.

6.

Wherefore while _Henry_, of that name the fifte,
Prepard his army to goe conquere _Fraunce_,
Lord _Scroope_ and I thought to attempt a drift
To put him downe, my brother to auaunce:
But were it[593] God’s will, my lucke, or his good chaunce
The king wist wholly where about wee went
The night before to shipward hee him bent.

7.

Then were wee straight as traytours apprehended,
Our purpose spied, the cause thereof was hid,
And therefore, loe a false cause wee pretended,
Where through my brother was fro daunger rid:
Wee sayd, for hire of[594] _French_ kinge’s coyne wee did
Behight to kill the king: and thus with shame
Wee staind our selues, to saue our frend fro blame.[595]

8.

When wee had thus confest so foule a treason,
That wee deserued, wee suffered by the lawe:
See, _Baldwine_, see, and note (as it is reason)
How wicked deedes to woefull endes doe drawe:
All force doth faile, no craft is worth a strawe
To attayne thinges lost, and therefore let them goe,
For might ruleth[596] right, and will though truth[597]
say no.[598]

[Whan stout _Richarde_ had stoutely sayd his minde: “Belike,”
sayd[599] one, “this _Richard_ was but a litle man, or els litle
fauoured of the[600] writers, for our cronicles speake very litle
of him. But seeing wee be come nowe to king _Henrie’s_ voyage
into _Fraunce_, we cannot lacke valiaunt men to speake of, for
among so many as were led and sent by the king out of this realme
thyther, it cannot be chosen but some, and that a great somme
were slayne among them: wherefore to speake of them all, I thinke
not needefull. And therefore to let passe _Edwarde_ duke of
_Yorke_, and the earle of _Suffolke_, slayne both at the battayl
of _Agïncourt_, as were also many other, let vs end the time of
_Henry_ the fift, and come to his sonne _Henry_ the sixt: whose
nonage brought _Fraunce_ and _Normandy_ out of bondage, and was
cause that so[601] few of our noble men died aged: of whome to
let passe the nombre, I will take vpon mee the person of _Thomas
Montague_, earle of _Salisbury_, whose name was not so good at
home (and yet hee was called the good earle) as it was dreadful
abroade: who exclayming vpon the mutability of fortune may iustly
say[602] in maner as followeth.”]

How _Thomas Montague_ Earle[603] of Salisbury in the
middest of his glory, was chaunceably slayne
at Orleaunce[604] with a piece of
ordinaunce, the 3. of Nouember,
Anno 1428.[605]

1.

What fooles bee 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 foile the same:
But seeing this goddesse guideth all the game,
Which still to chaunge doth set her onely lust,
Why toyle wee so for thinges so harde to trust?

2.

A goodly thing it is, surely, good report,[606]
Which noble hartes doe seeke by course of kinde:
But seeing[607] the date so doubtfull and so short,
The way so rough whereby wee doe it finde,
I cannot choose but prayse the princely minde
That preaseth for it, though wee finde opprest,
By foule defame, those that deserue it best.

3.

Concerning whome, marke, _Baldwine_, what I say,
I meane the vertuous, hindred of their brute,
Among which nombre reckon well I may
My valiaunt father _Iohn_ lord _Montacute_,
Who lost his life I iudge through[608] iust pursute:
I say the cause and not the casuall speede
Is to be wayed, in euery kinde of deede.

4.

This rule obserued, how many shall wee finde
For vertue’s sake with infamy opprest?
How many[609] againe, through helpe of fortune blinde,
For ill attemptes atchieued, with honour blest?
Successe is worst oftimes whan cause is best:
Therefore, say I, God send them sory haps,
That iudge the causes by their afterclaps.

5.

The end in deede is iudge of euery thing,
Which is the cause or latter poynt of time:
The first true verdict at the first may bring,
The last is slow, or slipper as the slime,
Oft chaunging names of innocence and crime:
Duke _Thomas’_ death was justice two yeares long,
And euer since, sore tyranny and wrong.

6.

Wherefore, I pray thee, _Baldwine_, way the cause,
And prayse my father as hee doth deserue?
Because earle _Henry_, king agaynst all lawes,
Endeuoured king _Richard_ for to starue
In iayle, whereby the regall crowne might swarue
Out of the line to which it than was due,
(Whereby God knowes what euill might ensue.)

7.

My lord _Iohn Holland_, duke of _Excester_,
Which was deare cosin to this wretched king,
Did moue my father, and the earle[610] of _Glocester_,
With other lordes to ponder well the thing:
Who seeing the mischiefe that began to spring,
Did all consent this _Henry_ to depose,
And to restore king _Richard_ to the rose.

8.

And while they did deuise a prety trayne,
Whereby to bring their purpose better[611] about,
Which was in maske this _Henry_ to haue slaine,
The duke of _Aumerle_ blew their counsaile out:
Yet was their purpose good there is no doubt:
What cause can bee more worthy for a knight,
Than saue his king, and helpe true heyres to right?

9.

For this with them my father was destroyde,
And buried in the dunghill of defame:
Thus euill chaunce their glory did auoide,
Whereas theyr cause doth claime eternall fame:
Whan deedes therefore vnluckely doe frame,
Men ought not iudge the aucthors to bee naught,
For right through might is often oueraught.

10.

And God doth suffer that it should bee so,
But why, my wit is feeble to decise,
Except it bee to heape vp wrath[612] and wo
On wicked heades that iniuries deuise:
The cause why mischiefes many times arise,
And light on them that would men’s wronges redresse,
Is for the rancour that they beare, I gesse.

11.

God hates[613] rigour though it furder right,
For sinne is sinne, how euer it bee vsed:
And therefore suffereth shame and death to light,
To punishe vice, though it bee well abused:
Who furdereth right is not thereby excused,
If through the same hee doe some other wrong:
To euery vice due guerdon doth belong.

12.

What preach I now, I am a man of warre,
And that my body[614] I dare say doth professe,
Of cured woundes beset with many a skarre,
My broken jaw vnheald can say no lesse:
O fortune, fortune, cause of all distresse,
My father had great cause thy fraud to curse
But much more I, abused ten times worse.

13.

Thou neuer flatteredst him in all thy[615] life,
But mee thou dandledst like thy[616] darling deare:
Thy giftes I found in euery corner rife,
Where euer[617] I went I met thy smiling cheare:
Which was not for a day or for a yeare,
But through the raygne of three right worthy kinges,
I found thee forward in all kinde of thinges.

14.

The while king _Henry_ conquered in _Fraunce_
I sued the warres and still found victory,
In all assaultes, so happy was my chaunce,
Holdes yeelde or won did make my enemies sory:
Dame _Prudence_ eke augmented so my glory,
That in all treaties euer I was one,
Whan weyghty matters were agreed vpon.

15.

But when this king this mighty conquerour,
Through death vnripe was both his realmes bereft,
His seely infant did receiue his power,
Poore litle babe full yong in cradell left,
Where crowne and scepter hurt him with the heft,
Whose worthy vncles had the gouernaunce,
The one at home, the other abroad in _Fraunce_.

16.

And I which was in peace and warre well skilled,[618]
With both these rulers greately was esteemed:
Bare rule at home as often as they willed,
And fought in _Fraunce_ whan they it needefull deemed,
And euery where so good my seruice seemed,
That _English_ men to mee great loue did beare,
Our foes the _French_, my force fulfilled with feare.

17.

I alwayes thought it fitly for a prince,
And such as haue the regiment of realmes,
His subiecte’s hartes with mildnes to conuince,
With justice mixt, auoyding all extreames:
For like as _Phœbus_ with his cherefull beames,
Doth freshly force the fragrant flowres to florish,
So ruler’s mildnes subiect’s loue doth norish.[619]

18.

This found I true: for through my milde behauiour,
Their hartes I had with mee to liue and die,
And in their speach bewrayer of[620] theyr fauour,
They cald mee still good earle of _Salisbury_,[621]
The lordes confest the[622] commons did not lye:
For vertuous life, free hart, and lowly minde,
With high and lowe shall alwayes fauour finde.

19.

Which vertues chiefe become a man of warre,
Whereof in _Fraunce_ I found experience:
For in assautes due mildnes passeth farre
All rigour, force, and sturdy violence:
For men will stoutly sticke to their defence,
When cruell captaines couet after spoile,[623]
And so enforst, oft geue theyr foes the foile.

20.

But when they knowe they shal be frendly vsed,
They hazard not their heades but rather yeelde:
For this my offers neuer were refused
Of any towne, or surely very seelde:
But force and furies fyt bee for the fielde,
And there in deede I vsed so the same,
My foes would flye if they but[624] heard my name.

21.

For whan lord _Steward_ and earle _Vantadore_
Had cruelly besieged _Crauant_ towne,
Which we[625] had wonne, and kept long time before
Which lieth in _Awxer_ on the riuer _Youne_,
To raise the siege the regent sent mee downe:[626]
Where, as I vsed all rigour that I might,
I killed all that were not saued by flight.

22.

When th’erle of _Bedford_, then in _Fraunce_ lord regent,
Knewe in what sort I had remoued the siege,[627]
In _Brye_ and _Champayne_ hee made mee vicegerent,
And lieutenaunt for him and for my liege:
Which caused mee to goe[628] to _Brye_, and there besiege
_Mountaguillon_ with twenty weekes assaut,
Which at the last was yeelded mee for naught.[629]

23.

And for the duke of _Britayne’s_ brother, _Arthur_,
Both earle of _Richmond_ and of _Yuery_,
Against his oth from vs had made departure,
To _Charles_ the _Dolphin_ our chiefe enemy,
I with the regent went to _Normandy_,
To take his towne of _Yuery_ which of spight,
Did to vs daily all the harme they might.

24.

They at the first compounded by a day
To yeelde, if rescues did not come before,
And while in hope to fight, wee at it lay,
The dolphin gathered men two thousand score,
With earles, lordes,[630] and captaynes ioly store:
Of which the duke of _Alanson_ was guide,
And sent them downe to see if wee would bide.

25.

But they left vs, and downe to _Vernoyle_ 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 wee eight thousand, whom they [flew, not] slew before,
Did kill of them, ten thousand men and more.

26.

When wee had taken _Vernoyle_ thus againe,
To driue the Dolphin vtterly out of _Fraunce_,[631]
The regent sent mee to _Aniovy_[632] and to _Mayne_,
Where I besieged the warlike towne of _Mawns_:
There lord of _Toyser’s_, _Baldwin’s_ valiaunce
Did well appeare, which would not yeelde the towne,
Till all the towres and walles were battered downe.

27.

But here now, _Baldwine_, take it in good part,
Though that I brought this _Baldwine_ there to yeelde,
The lyon fearce for all his noble hart,
Being ouer matched, is forst to flye the fielde:[633]
If _Mars_ himselfe there had ben with his shielde,
And in my stormes had stoutly mee withstood,
Hee should haue yeeld, or els haue shed my bloud.

28.

This worthy knight both hardy, stout, and wise,
Wrought well his feat: as time and place require,
When fortune failes, it is the best aduise
To strike the sayle, least all lye in the mire:
This haue I sayd to th’end thou take no ire,
For though no cause bee found, so nature frames,
Men haue a zeale to such as beare theyr names.

29.

But to retourne, in _Mayne_ wan I at length,
Such townes and forts as might eyther helpe[634] or hurt,
I manned _Mayon_ and _Suzan’s_, townes of strength,
Fort _Barnard_, _Thanceaur_, and S. _Cales_ the curt,
With _Lile sues Bolton_, standing in the durt:
Eke _Gwerland_, _Suze_, _Loupeland_ and _Mountsure_,
With _Malycorne_, these wan I and kept full sure.

30.

Besides all this I tooke nere forty holdes,
But those I razed euen with the ground:
And for these deedes, as scely sheepe in foldes
Doe shrinke for feare at euery litle sound,
So fled my foes before my face, full round
Was none so hardy that durst abide the fight,
So _Mars_ and fortune furdered mee their knight.

31.

I tell no lye, so gastfull grewe my name,
That it alone discomfited an hoast:
The _Scots_ and _Frenchmen_[635] well[636] confesse the same,
Els will the towne which they like cowards lost:
For whan they sieged _Beauron_ with great boast,
Being fourty thousand _Britaynes_, _French_, and _Scots_,
Fiue hundred men did vanquish them like sots.[637]

32.

For while the _Frenchmen_ freshly assaulted[638] still,
Our _Englishmen_ came boldly forth at night,
Crying: “Sainct _George_, _Salisbury_, kill, kill, [kill:”]
And offered freshly with their foes to fight,
And they as _Frenchly_ tooke themselues to flight:
Supposing surely that I had bene there,
See how my name did put them all in feare.

33.

Thus was the Dolphin’s power discomfited,
Four thousand slayne, theyr campe tane as it stood,
Whereby our towne and souldiers profited,
For there were vitayles plentifull and good:
This while was I in _England_, by the rood,
To appease a strife that was right foule befall,
Betweene duke _Humfrey_ and the cardinall.

34.

The duke of _Exeter_ shortly[639] after died,
Which of the king at home had gouernaunce,
Whose roume the earle of _Warwicke_ then supplied,
And I tooke his and sped mee into _Fraunce_,
And hauing a zeale to[640] conquere _Orliaunce_,
With much a doe I gat the regent’s aide,
And marched thither,[641] and siege about it layde.

35.

But in the way I tooke the towne of _Yayne_,
Where murdered were for stoutnes many a man:
But _Baugencey_ I tooke with litle payne,
For which to shewe them fauour I began:
This caused the townes of _Mewne_ and _Iargeman_,
That stoode on _Loyer_, to profer mee the keyes,
Ere I came nere them, wel nigh by two dayes.

36.

See here how fortune froward[642] can allure,
What baytes shee layeth to bring men to their endes:
Who hauing hap like this, but hopeth sure,[643]
To bring to bale what euer hee entendes?
But soone is sower the sweete that fortune sendes:
Whan hope and hap, when health and wealth is highest,
Then woe and wracke, disease, and neede bee nighest.

37.

For while I, suing this so good successe,
Layde siege to _Orliaunce_ on the riuer side,
The bastard (cuckold _Cawnie’s_ sonne I gesse,
Tho thought the duke’s) who had the towne in guide,
Came fiercely forth, when hee his time espyde,
To rayse the siege, but was bet backe agayne,
And hard pursued both to his losse and payne.

38.

For there wee wan the bulwarke on the bridge,
With a mighty tower standing fast thereby:
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 all the towne
By certayn windowes iron grated downe.

39.

Where on a day, now, _Baldwine_, note mine end,
I stoode in viewing where the towne was weake,
And as I busily talked with my frend,
Shot fro the towne, which all the grate did breake,
A pellet came, and droue a mighty fleake
Against my face and tare away my cheeke,
For payne whereof I died within a weeke.[644]

40.

See, _Baldwine_, see the vncertayne glory,[645]
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:
Then such be[646] fooles, in fancy more then mad,
Which hope to haue that neuer any had.[647]

[This straunge aduenture of the good earle draue vs all into
a dumpe, inwardly lamenting his woefull destiny, out of which
wee were awaked after this sort. “To what end,” sayde[648] one,
“muse we so much on the matter. This earle is neyther first nor
last[649] whom fortune hath foundred in the height of theyr
prosperity. For all through the raigne of this vnfortunate king
_Henry_, we shall finde many which haue beene likewise serued,
whose chaunces sith they be martiall, and therefore honourable,
may the better be omitted. And therefore wee will let goe the
lordes _Molines_, and _Poyninges_, slayne both at the siege
of _Orleaunce_, shortly after the death of this earle. Also
the valiaunt earle of _Arundel_ destroyed with a bowlet at the
assault of _Gerborye_,[650] whose stories neuerthelesse are worth
the hearing. And to quicken vp your spirites, I will take vpon
mee a tragicall person in deede, I meane king _Iamy_ slayn by his
seruauntes in his priuy chamber: who although he be a _Scot_,
yet seeing hee was brought vp in _England_, where hee learned
the language, his example also so notable, it were not meete it
should bee forgotten. And therfore marke, _Baldwine_, what, I
thinke, he may say.”]

[Howe King _Iames_ the first, for breaking
his othes and bondes, was by God’s
sufferaunce miserably murdered
of his owne subiectes,
Anno 1437.[651]

1.

If for example’s sake thou wrote[652] thy booke,
I charge thee, _Baldwine_, thou forget mee not,
Whom fortune alwayes frowardly forsooke,
Such was my lucke, my merite, or my lot:
I am that _Iames_, king _Robert’s_ sonne, the _Scot_
That was in _England_ prysoner all his youth,
Through mine vncle _Walter’s_ trayterous vntruth.

2.

For when my father through disease and age,
Unwieldy was to gouerne well his land,
Because his brother _Walter_ seemed sage,
Hee put the rule thereof into his hand:
Than had my father (you shall vnderstand)
Of lawfull barnes mee and one only other,
Nempt _Dauy Rothsay_, who was mine elder brother.

3.

This _Dauy_ was prince of _Scotland_, and so take
Till his aduoutry caused men complayne:
Which that hee might by monishment forsake,
My father prayed mine uncle take the payne,
To threaten him his vices to refrayne:
But hee false traytor, bucherly, murdering wretch,
To get the crowne began to fetch a fetch.

4.

And finding now a proffer to his pray,
Deuised meanes my brother to deuour,
And for that cause conuayde him, day by day,
From place to place, from castle vnto towre,
To _Faulkland_ fort, where like a tormentour
Hee starued him, and put to death a wife
Whom through a reede hee suckt to saue his life.

5.

O wretched death, fye cruell tyranny,
A prince in pryson lost for want of foode![653]
Was neuer enmy wrought such vilany,
A trusty brother destroy his brother’s bloode:[654]
Woe worth so friendly, fye on double hoode:
Ah, wretched father, see thy sonne is lost,
Starued by thy brother whome thou trustedst most.

6.