Rouse, and prepare once more to take posses

sion,

To nestle in their ancient hives again :

Again they furbish up their holy trumpery,
Relicks and wooden wonder-working saints,
Whole loads of lumber and religious rubbish,
In high procession mean to bring them back,
And place the puppets in their shrines again :
While those of keener malice, savage Bonner,
And deep-designing Gardiner, dream of ven-
geance;

Devour the blood of innocents, in hope;
Like vultures, snuff the slaughter in the wind,
And speed their flight to havoc and the prey.
Haste, then, and save us, while 'tis given to save
Your country, your religion.

North. Save your friends!
Suff. Your father!
Duch. Suff. Mother!
Guild. Husband!

L. J. Gruy. Take me, crown me,
Invest me with this royal wretchedness!
Let me not know one happy minute more;
Let all my sleepless nights be spent in care,
My days be fixed with tumults and alarms;
If only I can save you, if my fate

Has marked me out to be the public victim,
I take the lot with joy! Yes, I will die
For that eternal truth my faith is fixed on,
And that dear native land which gave me birth.

Guil. Wake every tuneful instrument to tell it, And let the trumpet's sprightly note proclaim, My Jane is England's queen! Let the loud can

non

In peals of thunder speak it to Augusta;
Imperial Thames, catch thou the sacred sound,
And roll it to the subject-ocean down:
Tell the old deep, and all thy brother floods,
My Jane is empress of the watery world!
Now with glad fires our bloodless streets shall
shine,

With cries of joy our cheerful ways shall ring;
Thy name shall echo through the rescued isle,
And reach applauding Heaven!

L. J. Gray. Oh, Guilford! what do we give up for glory!

For glory? that's a toy I would not purchase;
An idle, empty bubble. But for England!
What must we lose for that? Since then my fate
Has forced this hard exchange upon my will,
Let gracious Heaven allow me one request:
For that blest peace in which I once did dwell,
For books, retirement, and my studious cell,
For all those joys my happier days did prove,
For Plato, and his academic grove;

All that I ask, is, though my fortune frown,
And bury me beneath this fatal crown;
Let that one good be added to my doom,
To save this land from tyranny and Rome.
[Exeunt.

SCENE I-Continues.
Enter PEMBROKE and GARDINER.
Gar. In an unlucky and accursed hour
Set forth that traitor duke, that proud Northum-
berland,

To draw his sword upon the side of heresy,
And war against our Mary's holy right;
Ill fortune fly before, and pave his way
With disappointments, mischief, and defeat!
Do thou, O holy Becket, the protector,
The champion, and the martyr of our church,
Appear, and once more own the cause of Rome;
Beat down his lance, break thou his sword in
battle,

And cover foul rebellion with confusion!

Pem. I saw him marching at his army's head; I marked him issuing through the city-gate, In harness all appointed, as he passed; And (for he wore his beaver up) could read Upon his visage, horror and dismay.

No voice of cheerful salutation cheered him, None wished his arms might thrive, or bade God

speed him,

But, through a staring ghastly-looking crowd,
Unhailed, unblessed, with heavy heart he went;
As if his traitor father's haggard ghost,
And Somerset, fresh bleeding from the axe,
On either hand had ushered him to ruin.

Gar. Nor shall the holy vengeance loiter long.

At Farmingham, in Suffolk, lies the queen,
Mary, our pious mistress: where each day
The nobles of the land, and swarming populace
Gather, and list beneath her royal ensigns,
The fleet, commanded by Sir Thomas Jerningham,
Set out in warlike manner to oppose her,
With one consent have joined to own her cause:
The valiant Sussex, and Sir Edward Hastings,
With many more of note, are up in arms,
And all declare for her.

Pem. The citizens,

Who held the noble Somerset right dear,
Hate this aspiring Dudley and his race,
And would upon the instant join to oppose him;
Could we but draw some of the lords o' th' council
To appear among them, own the same design,
And bring the reverend sanction of authority
To lead them into action. For that purpose,
To thee, as to an oracle, I come,

To learn what fit expedient may be found,
To win the wary council to our side.
Say thou, whose head is grown thus silver-white,
In arts of government, and turns of state,
How we may blast our enemies with ruin,
And sink the cursed Northumberland to hell!
Gar. In happy time be your whole wish ac-
complished.

Since the proud duke set out, I have had conference,

As fit occasion served, with divers of them,

The earl of Arundel, Mason, and Cheyney,
And find them all disposed as we could ask.
By holy Mary, if I count aright,
To-day the better part shall leave this place,
And meet at Baynard's castle in the city;
There own our sovereign's title, and defy
Jane and her gospel crew. But, hie you hence!
This place is still within our foe's command;
Their puppet-queen reigns here.

Enter an Officer with a Guard.

Offi. Seize on them both,

[Guards seize PEMBROKE and GARDINER. My lord, you are a prisoner to the state. Pem. Ha! by whose order?

Offi. By the queen's command,

Signed and delivered by lord Guilford Dudley. Pem. Curse on his traitor's heart!

Gar. Rest you contented :

To plant even all the power I have before thee, And fence thee from destruction with my life. Pem. Friendship from thee!-But my just soul disdains thee..

Hence! take the prostituted bauble back! Hang it to grace some slavering idiot's neck, For none but fools will praise the tinsel toy. But thou art come, perhaps, to vaunt thy great

ness,

And set thy purple pomp to view before me;
To let me know that Guilford is a king,
That he can speak the word, and give me free

dom.

patience;

These bonds shall not be lasting.
Offi. As for you, sir, (To GARDINER.
'Tis the queen's pleasure you be close confined:
You have used that fair permission was allowed

you,

To walk at large within the Tower, unworthily.
You are noted for an over-busy meddler,
A secret practiser against the state;
For which, henceforth, your limits shall be straiter.
Hence, to your chamber!

Gar. Farewell, gentle Pembroke;

I trust that we shall meet on blither terms: Till then, amongst my beads I will remember you,

And give you to the keeping of the saints.

[Exeunt part of the guards with GARDINER. Pem. Now, whither must I go? Offi. This way, my lord.

Enter GUILFORD.

[Going off.

Guil. Hold, captain! ere you go, I have a word or two

For this your noble prisoner.
Offi. At your pleasure;

I know my duty, and attend your lordship.
[The Officer and Guards retire to the far-
thest part of the stage.

Guil. Is all the gentleness, that was betwixt us, So lost, so swept away from thy remembrance, Thou canst not look upon me?

Pem. Ha! not look!

What terrors are there in the Dudley's race,
That Pembroke dares not look upon, and scorn?
And yet, 'tis true, I would not look upon thee:
Our eyes avoid to look on what we hate,
As well as what we fear.

Guil. You hate me, then!

Pem. I do and wish perdition may o'ertake Thy father, thy false self, and thy whole name. Guil, And yet, as sure as rage disturbs thy

reason,

And masters all the noble nature in thee,
As sure as thou hast wronged me, I am come,
In tenderness of friendship, to preserve thee;

And secret as the shaft that flies by night,
Is aiming at thy life.-Captain, a word!

[To the Officer. I take your prisoner to my proper charge; Draw off your guard, and leave his sword with me. [The Officer delivers the sword to Lord GUILFORD, and goes out with his guard, [Lord GUILFORD offering the sword te PEMBROKE.

Receive this gift, even from a rival's hand;
And, if thy rage will suffer thee to hear
The counsel of a man, once called thy friend,
Fly from this fatal place, and seek thy safety!
Pem. How now! what shew, what mockery
is this!

Is it in sport you use me thus? What means
This swift fantastic changing of the scene?

Guil. Oh, take thy sword, and let thy valiant
hand

Be ready armed to guard thy noble life.
The time, the danger, and thy wild impatience,
Forbid me all to enter into speech with thee,
Or I could tell thee-

Pem. No, it needs not, traitor!
For all thy poor, thy little arts are known.
Thou fear'st my vengeance, and art come to fawn,
To make a merit of that proffered freedom,
Which, in despite of thee, a day shall give me.
Nor can my fate depend on thee, false Guilford;
For know, to thy confusion, ere the sun
Twice gild the east, our royal Mary comes
To end thy pageant reign, and set me free.
Guil. Ungrateful and unjust! Hast thou then

known me

So little, to accuse my heart of fear?
Hast thou forgotten Musselborough's field?
Did I then fear, when by thy side I fought,
And dyed my maiden sword in Scottish blood?
But this is madness all.

Pem. Give me my sword. [Taking his sword.
Perhaps, indeed, I wrong thee. Thou hast thought;
And, conscious of the injury thou hast done me,
Art come to proffer me a soldier's justice,
And meet my arm in single opposition.
Lead, then, and let me follow to the field.

vengeance,

And write thy bloody purpose on my bosom ; But let death wait to-day. By our past friendship,

In honour's name, by every sacred tie,

I beg thee ask no more, but haste from hence. Pem. What mystic meaning lurks beneath thy words?

What fear is this, which thou wouldst awe my soul with?

Is there a danger Pembroke dares not meet? Guil. Oh, spare my tongue a tale of guilt and horror!

Trust me this once: believe me when I tell thee, Thy safety and thy life is all I seek.

Away.

Pem. By Heaven, I will not stir a step! Curse on this shuffling, dark, ambiguous phrase! If thou wouldst have me think thou mean'st me

fairly,

Speak with that plainness honesty delights in, And let thy double tongue for once be true.

Guil. Forgive me, filial piety and nature, If, thus compelled, I break your sacred laws, Reveal my father's crime, and blot with infamy The hoary head of him who gave me being, To save the man, whom my soul loves, from death! [Giving a paper. Read there the fatal purpose of thy foe, A thought which wounds my soul with shame and horror!

Somewhat that darkness should have hid for ever, But that thy life-Say, hast thou seen that cha

racter?

Pem. I know it well; the hand of proud Northumberland,

Directed to his minions, Gates and Palmer... What's this? [Reads. 'Remember, with your closest care, to observe 'those whom I named to you at parting; espe*cially keep your eye upon the earl of Pembroke; 'as his power and interest are most considerable, 'so his opposition will be most fatal to us. Re'member the resolution was taken, if you should 'find him inclined to our enemies. The forms * of justice are tedious, and delays are dangerous. 'If he falters, lose not the sight of him till your 'daggers have reached his heart.' My heart! Oh, murderous villain! Guil. Since we parted,

Thy ways have all been watched, thy steps been marked;

Thy secret treaties with the malecontents,
That harbour in the city, thy conferring
With Gardiner here in the Tower; all is known:
And, in pursuance of that bloody mandate,
A set of chosen ruffians wait to end thee:
There was but one way left me to preserve thee;
I took it; and this morning sent my warrant
To seize upon thy person-But begone!

Pem. "Tis so-'tis truth-I see his honest heart

Guil. I have a friend of well-tried faith and

courage,

Attends without, to guide thee hence with safety. Pem. What is Northumberland? And what art thou?

Guil. Waste not the time. Away
Pem. Here let me fix,

And

gaze. with everlasting wonder on thee. What is there good or excellent in man, That is not found in thee? Thy virtues flash, They break at once on my astonished soul; As if the curtains of the dark were drawn, To let in day at midnight,

Guil. Think me true;

And though ill fortune crossed upon our friendship

Pem. Curse on our fortune!-Think I know

Oh, Guilford! hide me, shield me from her sight;
Every mad passion kindles up again,..
Love, rage, despair-and yet I will be master-
I will remember thee-Oh, my torn heart!
I have a thousand thousand things to say,
But cannot, dare not, stay to look on her.
Thus gloomy ghosts, where'er the breaking morn
Gives notice of the cheerful sun's return,
Fade at the light, with horror stand oppressed,
And shrink before the purple dawning east ;
Swift with the fleeting shades they wing their

Deserves the least regard? Is it not time
To bid our souls look out, explore hereafter,
And seek some better, sure abiding place,
When all around our gathering foes come on,
To drive, to sweep us from this world at once?
Guil. Does any danger new-

L. J. Gray. The faithless counsellors
Are fled from hence to join the princess Mary.
The servile herd of courtiers, who so late
In low obedience bent the knee before me;
They, who with zealous tongues, and hands up-
lifted,

Besought me to defend their laws and faith; Vent their lewd execrations on my name, Proclaim me traitress now, and to the scaffold Doom my devoted head.

Guil. The changeling villains!
That pray for slavery, fight for their bonds,
And shun the blessing, liberty, like ruin.
What art thou, Human Nature, to do thus?
Does fear of folly make thee, like the Indian,
Fall down before this dreadful devil, Tyranny,
And worship the destroyer?—

But wherefore do I loiter tamely here?
Give me my arms: I will preserve my country,
Even in her own despite. Some friends I have,
Who will or die or conquer in thy cause,
Thine and religion's, thine and England's cause.
L. J. Gray. Art thou not all my treasure, all
my guard?

And wilt thou take from me the only joy,
The last defence is left me here below?
Think not thy arm can stem the driving torrent,
Or save a people, who with blinded rage
Urge their own fate, and strive to be undone.
Northumberland, thy father, is in arms;

And if it be in valour to defend us,

His sword, that long has known the way to conquest,

Shall be our surest safety.

Enter the Duke of SUFFOLK.

Suff. Oh, my children!

L. J. Gray. Alas! what means my father?
Suff. Oh, my son,

Thy father, great Northumberland, on whom
Our dearest hopes were built-

Guil. Ha! What of him?
Suff. Is lost! betrayed!

His army, onward as he marched, shrunk from him,

Mouldered away, and melted by his side,
Like falling hail thick strewn upon the ground,
Which, ere we can essay to count, is vanished.
With some few followers he arrived at Can-
bridge;

But there even they forsook him, and himself
Was forced, with heavy heart and watery eye,
To cast his cap up, with dissembled cheer,
And cry, God save queen Mary! But, alas!
Little availed the semblance of that loyalty:
For soon thereafter, by the earl of Arundel
With treason he was charged, and there arrested;
And now he brings him prisoner up to London.

L. J. Gray. Then there's an end of greatness; the vain dream

Of empire, and a crown, that danced before me,
With all those unsubstantial empty forms:
The gaudy mask, tedious, and nothing meaning,
Is vanished all at once- -Why, fare it well.

Guil. And canst thou bear this sudden turn of fate, With such unshaken temper?

L. J. Gray. For myself,

If I could form a wish for Heaven to grant,
It should have been, to rid me of this crown.
And thou, o'er-ruling, great, all-knowing Power!
Thou who discern'st our thoughts, who see'st them

rising

And forming in the soul! Oh, judge me, thou,
If e'er ambition's guilty fires have warmed me,
If e'er my heart inclined to pride, to power,
Or joined in being a queen. I took the sceptre
To save this land, thy people, and thy altars:
And now, behold, I bend my grateful knee,

[Kneeling.

In humble adoration of that mercy,
Which quits me of the vast unequal task.

Enter the Duchess of SUFFOLK.
Duch. Suff. Nay, keep that posture still, and
let us join,

Fix all our knees by thine, lift up our hands,
And seek for help and pity from above;
For earth and faithless man will give us none!
L. J. Gray. What is the worst our cruel fate
ordains us?

Duch. Suff. Cursed be my fatal counsels, cursed my tongue,

That pleaded for thy ruin, and persuaded
Thy guiltless feet to tread the paths of greatness!

My child-I have undone thee! L. J. Gray. Oh, my mother!

Should I not bear a portion in thy sorrows? Duch. Suff. Alas! thou hast thy own, a double portion.

Mary is come, and the revolting Londoners,
Who beat the heavens with thy applauding name,
Now crowd to meet, and hail her as their queen.
Sussex is entered here, commands the Tower,
Has placed his guards around, and this sad place,
So late thy palace, is become our prison.
I saw him bend his knee to cruel Gardiner,
Who, freed from his confinement, ran to meet
him,

Embraced and blest him with a hand of blood;
Each hastening moment I expect them here,
To seize and pass the doom of death upon us.
Guil. Ha! seized! Shalt thou be seized? and
shall I stand,

And tamely see thee borne away to death?
Then blasted be my coward name for ever!
No, I will set myself to guard this spot,

To which our narrow empire now is shrunk:
Here I will grow, the bulwark of my queen;
Nor shall the hand of violence profane thee,
Until my breast have borne a thousand wounds,
Till this torn mangled body sink at once,
A heap of purple ruin, at thy feet.

L. J. Gray. And could thy rash distracted
rage do thus?

Draw thy vain sword against an armed multitude,
Only to have my poor heart split with horror,
To see thee stabbed and butchered here before me?
Qh, call thy better, nobler courage to thee,
And let us meet this adverse fate with patience,
Greet our insulting foes with equal tempers,
With even brows, and souls secure of death;
Here stand unmoved, as once the Roman senate
Received fierce Brennus, and the conquering
Gauls,

Till even the rude barbarians stood amazed
At such superior virtue. Be thyself,
$ For see, the trial comes!

#Enter SUSSEX, GARDINER, Officers and Soldiers. Suss. Guards, execute your orders; seize the traitors:

Here my commission ends. To you, my lord,
[To GAR.

So our great mistress, royal Mary, bids,
I leave the full disposal of these prisoners.
To your wise care the pious queen commends
Her sacred self, her crown, and, what's yet more,
The holy Roman church; for whose dear safety,
She wills your utmost diligence be shewn,
To bring rebellion to the bar of justice.
Yet farther, to proclaim how much she trusts
In Winchester's deep thought, and well-tried
faith,

The seal attends to grace those reverend hands;
And when I next salute you, I must call you
Chief minister and chancellor of England.

Gar. Unnumbered blessings fall upon her head,
My ever-gracious lady! to remember
With such full bounty her old humble beadsman!

Lieutenant, see my orders are obeyed.

[Exit GAR. Guil. Inhuman, monstrous, unexampled cruelty!

Oh, tyrant! but the task becomes thee well;
Thy savage temper joys to do death's office;
To tear the sacred bands of love asunder,
And part those hands which Heaven itself hath
joined.

Duch. Suff. To let us waste the little rest of life

Together, had been merciful.

Suff. Then it had not

Been done like Winchester.

Guil. Thou stand'st unmoved; Calm temper sits upon thy beauteous brow; Thy eyes, that flowed so fast for Edward's loss, Gaze unconcerned upon the ruin round thee; As if thou hadst resolved to brave thy fate, And triumph in the midst of desolation. Ha! see, it swells; the liquid crystal rises, It starts, in spite of thee,but I will catch it; Nor let the earth be wet with dew so rich.

L. J. Gray. And dost thou think, my Guilford,

I can see