The Ancient British Drama ...

completed by Chapman. Although the First Book of Lucan is mentioned in the title-page, not a line of that author is to be found with Marlow's Work.

2. Certaine of Ovid's Elegies; by C. Marlow, 12mo. at Middleburgh, no date. Afterwards published, with additions, under the title of All Ovid's Elegies, Three Books; by C. M. at Middleburgh, no date.

Mr Steevens says, (first volume of Shakespeare, p. 94,) that, in the forty-first of Queen Elizabeth, these translations from Ovid were commanded by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London to be burnt at Stationer's Hall.

He was also the author of that beautiful Sonnet, quoted in The Merry Wives of Windsor, A.3. S. 1. called The Passionate Shepherd to his Love; to which Sir Walter Raleigh wrote a Reply. Both these pieces are printed in Dr Percy's Reliques of Ancient Poetry, Vol. I. p. 218.

Is as Elysium to a new-come soul;
Not that I love the city, or the men,
But that it harbours him I hold so dear,
The king, upon whose bosom let me lie,
And with the world be still at enmity.
What need the artick people love star-light,
To whom the sun shines both by day and night?
Farewell base stooping to the lordly peers;
My knee shall bow to none but to the king.
As for the multitude, they are but sparks,
Raked up in embers of their poverty,
Tanti: I'll fan first on the wind,
That glanceth at my lips, and flieth away.
But how now, what are these?

Enter three Poor Men.

Shall bathe him in a spring; and there hard-by, 14 One, like Acteon peeping through the grove,

Poor men. Such as desire your worship's service. Shall by the angry goddess be transformed, Gav. What canst thou do?

1 Poor. I can ride.

[Exeunt.

Gav. Do:-these are not men for me; I must have wanton poets, pleasant wits, Musicians, that with touching of a string May draw the pliant king which way I please: 13 Musick and poetry are his delight; Therefore I'll have Italian masks by night, Sweet speeches, comedies, and pleasing shows; And in the day, when he shall walk abroad, Like Sylvan nymphs my pages shall be clad; My men, like satyrs grazing on the lawns, Shall with their goat-feet dance the antick hay. Sometimes a lovely boy in Dian's shape, With hair that gilds the water as it glides, Crownets of pearl about his naked arms, And in his sportful hands an olive-tree, To hide those parts which men delight to see,

And running in the likeness of an hart,
By yelping hounds pull'd down, shall seem to die;
Such things as these best please his majesty.
My lord here comes; the king and the nobles,
From the parliament. I'll stand aside.

Enter the King, LANCASTER, MORTIMER senior,
MORTIMER junior, EDMUND Earl of KENI,
GUY Earl of WARWICK, &c.

Gav. That villain, Mortimer, I'll be his death. [Aside.

Mort. jun. Mine uncle here, this earl, and I myself,

Were sworn unto your father at his death,
That he should ne'er return into the realme:
And know, my lord, ere I will break my oath,
This sword of mine, that should offend your foes,
Shall sleep within the scabbard at thy need,
And underneath thy banners march who will,
For Mortimer will hang his armour up.
Gav. Mort dieu!

[Aside. Edw. Well, Mortimer, I'll make thee ruc these words.

Beseems it thee to contradict thy king?
Frown'st thou thereat, aspiring Lancaster?
The sword shall plain the furrows of thy brows,
And hew these knees that now are grown so stifl
I will have Gaveston; and you shall know
What danger 'tis to stand against your king.

Gav. Well done, Ned.

[Aside

Lan. My lord, why do you thus incense your peers,

That naturally would love and honour you,
But for that base and obscure Gaveston?
Four earldoms have I, besides Lancaster;
Derby, Salisbury, Lincoln, Leicester:
These will I sell, to give my soldiers pay,
Ere Gaveston shall stay within the realm;
Therefore, if he be come, expel him straight.

13 Music and poetry, &c.-How exactly the author, as the learned Dr Hurd observes, has painted the humour of the times, which esteemed masks and shows as the highest indulgence that could be provided for a luxurious and happy monarch, we may see from the entertainment provided, not many years after, for the reception of King James at Althrop, in Northamptonshire; where this very design of Sileen Nymphs, Satyrs, and Acteon, was executed in a masque by Ben Jonson-Moral and Political Dialogues, Vol. I. p. 194.

14 One like Acteon, &c.-See Grim the Colier of Croyden.

Edw. Barons and earls, your pride hath made | I'll 16 bandy with the barons and the earls,

me mute;

But now I'll speak, and to the proof, I hope.
I do remember, in my father's days,
Lord Piercy of the North, being highly moved,
Braved Moubery in presence of the king;
For which, had not his highness loved him well,
He should have lost his head; but with his look
The undaunted spirit of Piercy was appeased,
And Moubery and he were reconciled.

Yet dare you brave the king unto his face :-
Brother, revenge it, and let these their heads
Preach upon poles, for trespass of their tongues.
War. O, our heads!

Edw. Ay, yours; and therefore I would wish you grant

War. Bridle thy anger, gentle Mortimer.
Mor. jun. I cannot, nor I will not; I must
speak.

Cousin, our hands I hope shall fence our heads,
And strike off his that makes you threaten us.
Come, uncle, let us leave the brainsick king,
And henceforth parley with our naked swords.
Mor. sen. Wiltshire hath men enough to save
our heads.

War. All Warwickshire will love him for my sake.

Lan. And, northward, Gaveston hath many friends.

Adieu, my lord, and either change your mind,
Or look to see the throne, where you should sit,
To float in blood; and at thy wanton head,
The 15 glozing head of thy base minion thrown.
[Exeunt Nobles.
Edw. I cannot brook these haughty menaces;
And I a king, and must be over-rul'd ?—
Brother, display my ensigns in the field;

Aud either die or live with Gaveston.

Gave. I can no longer keep me from my lord.
Edw. What, Gaveston! welcome---Kiss not my
hand;

Embrace me, Gaveston, as I do thee.
Why should'st thou kneel?

Know'st thou not who I am?

Thy friend, thyself, another Gaveston!
Not Hilas was more mourned for Hercules,
Than thou hast been of me since thy exile.
Gave. And since I went from hence, no soul
in hell

Hath felt more torment than poor Gaveston.

Edw. I know it---Brother, welcome home my
friend.

Now let the treacherous Mortimers conspire,
And that high-minded earl of Lancaster:
I have my wish, in that I joy thy sight;
And sooner shall the sea o'erwhelm my land,
Than bear the ship that shall transport thee hence.
I here create thee lord high chamberlain,
Chief secretary to the state and me,
Earl of Cornwall, king and lord of Man.

Gave. My lord, these titles far exceed my

worth.

15 Glozing-Flattering. See Note 22 to Alexander and Campaspe, p. 111.

16 Bandy-Oppose with all my force, totis viribus se opponere, says skinner, voce bandy.

17 If for these dignities thou be envied-That is, hated; in this sense the word is frequently used. Green's Thieves falling out :-" The mayd replyed, that she spake not of envy to him, but of meere love she bare unto him."

Lyly's Euphues, p. 47:-" Although I have bene bolde to invay against many, yet am I not so brutish to envie them all."

Ben Jonson's Devil is an Ass, A. 2. S. 5 :—

"And, I am justly pay'd,

That might have made my profit of his service;

But by mistaking have drawn on his envy,

And done the worst defeat upon myself."

See also Mr Steevens's Note on the Merchant of Venice, A. 4. S. I.

18 Kingly regiment-Kingly government.

Euphues and his England, p. 111 :-The regiment that they have dependeth upon statute law, and that is by parliament, &c."

Again, Antony and Cleopatra, A. 3. S. 6 :—

"And gives his potent regiment to a trull.”

VOL. I.

See Mr Steevens's Note on the last passage.

Want'st thou gold? go to my treasury.
Would'st thou be loved and feared? receive my
seal,

Save or condemn, and in our name command
What so thy mind affects, or fancy likes.

Gave. It shall suffice me to enjoy your love,
Which whiles I have, I think myself as great
As Cæsar riding in the Roman street,
With captive kings at his triumphant car.

Enter the Bishop of COVENTRY.

Edw. Whither goes my lord of Coventry so fast?

Bish. To celebrate your father's exequies. But is that wicked Gaveston returned?

Edw. Ay, priest, and lives to be revenged on thee,

That wert the only cause of his exile.

Gave. 'Tis true; and but for reverence of these

robes,

me.

Edw. Throw off his golden mitre, rend his stole,

And in the channel christen him anew.

Kent. Ah, brother, lay not valiant hands on him,

For he'll complain unto the see of Rome.

Gave. Let him complain unto the see of hell, I'll be revenged on him for my exile.

Edw. No, spare his life, but seize upon his goods;

Be thou lord bishop, and receive his rents,
And make him serve thee as thy chaplain :
I give him thee---here, use him as thou wilt.

Gave. He shall to prison, and there die in bolts. Edw. Ay, to the Tower, the Flect, or where thou wilt.

Bish. For this offence, be thou accurst of God. Edw. Who's there? Convey this priest to the Tower.

Ah, wicked king! accursed Gaveston!
This ground, which is corrupted with their steps,
Shall be their timeless sepulchre, or mine.

Mor. jun. Well, let that peevish Frenchman guard him sure;

Unless his breast be sword-proof, he shall die. Mor. sen. How now! why droops the earl of Lancaster?

Mor. jun. Wherefore is Guy of Warwick discontent?

Lan. That villain Gaveston is made an earl. Mor. sen. An earl!

War. Ay, and besides, lord chamberlain of the realm,

And secretary too, and lord of Man.

Mor. sen. We may not, nor we will not suffer

this.

Mor. jun. Why post we not from hence to levy men?

Lan. My lord of Cornwall now, at every word! And happy is the man whom he vouchsafes, 19 For vailing of his bonnet, one good look. Thus, arm in arm, the king and he doth march: And all the court begins to flatter him. Nay more, the guard upon his lordship waits;

War. Thus leaning on the shoulder of the king, He nods, and scorns, and smiles at those that pass. Mor, sen. Doth no man take exceptions at the slave?

Lan. All stomach him, but none dare speak a word.

Mor. jun. Ah, that bewrays their baseness,
Lancaster.

Were all the earls and barons of my mind,
We'll hale him from the bosom of the king,
And at the court-gate hang the peasant up;
Who, swoln with venom of ambitious pride,
Will be the ruin of the realm and us.

Enter the Archbishop of CANTERBURY.

War. Here comes my lord of Canterbury's grace.

Lan. His countenance bewrays he is displeased. Arch. First were his sacred garments rent and

torn,

Then laid they violent hands upon him; next
Himself imprisoned, and his goods asseized:
This certify the pope ;-away, take horse.

Lan. My lord, will you take arms against the king?

Arch. What need I? God himself is up in

arins,

When violence is offered to the church.

19 For vailing of his bonnet, See Note to The Pinner of Wakefield.

Mor. jun. Then, will you join with us, that be| That hath more earldoms than an ass can bear,

his peers,

To banish or behead that Gaveston?

Arch. What else, my lords? for it concerns me

near;

The bishopric of Coventry is his.

Enter the QUEEN.

Mor. jun. Madam, whither walks your majesty so fast?

Queen. Unto the forest, gentle Mortimer,
To live in grief and baleful discontent;
For now my lord the king regards me not,
But doats upon the love of Gaveston.

He claps his cheeks, and hangs about his neck,
Smiles in his face, and whispers in his ears;
And when I come he frowns, as who should
say,

Go whither thou wilt, seeing I have Gaveston.
Mor. sen. Is it not strange, that he is thus be-

witched?

Mor. jun. Madam, return unto the court again: That sly inveigling Frenchman we'll exile, Or lose our lives: and yet ere that day come, The king shall lose his crown; for we have power, And courage too, to be revenged at full.

Arch. But yet lift not your swords against the king.

Lan. No; but we'll lift Gaveston from hence. War. And war must be the means, or he'll stay still.

Queen. Then let him stay; for rather than my lord

Shall be oppressed with civil mutinies,
I will endure a melancholy life,
And let him frolic with his minion.

Arch. My lords, to ease all this, but hear me
speak.

We and the rest, that are his counsellors,
Will meet, and with a general consent
Confirm his banishment with our hands and seals.
Lan. What we confirm, the king will frustrate.
Mor. jun. Then may we lawfully revolt from

him.

War. But say, my lord, where shall this meeting be?

Arch. At the new Temple.

Mor. jun. Content.

Arch. And, in the meantime, I'll intreat you all

To cross to Lambeth, and there stay with me.
Lan. Come then, let's away.
Mor. jun. Madam, farewell!

Queen. Farewell, sweet Mortimer; and, for
my sake,

Forbear to levy arms against the king.

Mor. jun. Aye, if words will serve; if not, I [Exeunt.

must.

Enter GAVESTON, and the Earl of KENT. Gave. Edmund, the mighty prince of Lancaster,

And both the Mortimers, two goodly men, With Guy of Warwick, that redoubted knight, Are gone towards Lambeth-there let them remain. [Exeunt.

en not.

Gave. No! threaten not, my lord, but pay them home! Were I a king

Mor. jun. Thou villain! wherefore talk'st thou of a king,

That hardly art a gentleman by birth?

Edw. Were he a peasant, being my minion, I'll make the proudest of you stoop to him. Lan. My lord, you may not thus disparage us.--Away, I say, with hateful Gaveston.

Mor. sen. And with the earl of Kent, that favours him.

Edw. Nay, then lay violent hands upon your king. Here, Mortimer, sit thou in Edward's throne; Warwick and Lancaster, wear you my crown: Was ever king thus over-ruled as I?

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