SALISBURY

I take it Mountsort, thus I hope ear long, The whole Dominions of the Realm of France Will be surrendered to his conquering hand: Exit Now if I knew but safely how to pass, I would to Calais gladly meet his Grace, Whither I am by letters certified. Yet he intends to have his host remooude, It shall be so, this policy will serve, Ho whose within? bring Villiers to me. Villiers, thou knowest thou art my prisoner, And that I might for ransom if I would, Require of thee a hundred thousand Francks, Or else retain and keep thee captive still: But so it is, that for a smaller charge, Thou mayest be quit and if thou wilt thy self, And this it is, procure me but a passport, Of Charles the Duke of Normandy, that I, Without restraint may have recourse to Calais, Through all the Countries where he hath to do. Which thou mayest easily obtain I think, By reason I have often herd thee say, He and thou were students once together: And then thou shalt be set at liberty, How sayest thou, wilt thou undertake to do it? My Lord of Normandy, I have your pass, And warrant for my safety through this land. And Earl in England, though a prisoner here, And those that know me call me Salisbury. This mighty king, the Country we have wone, And Charles de Mountford regent of that place, Presents your highness with this Coronet, Protesting true allegiance to your Grace. But now my Lord, as this is joyful news, So must my voice be tragical again, and I must sing of doleful accidents, Why so thou shalt, take Horse and post from hence, Only before thou goest, swear by thy faith, That if thou canst not compass my desire, Thou wilt return my prisoner back again, And that shall be sufficient warrant for me. To Calais where my liege king Edward is. He was my Lord, and as my worthless self, With forty other serviceable knights, Under safe conduct of the Dolphins seal, Did travail that way, finding him distressed, A troop of Lances met us on the way, Surprised and brought us prisoners to the king, Who proud of this, and eager of revenge, Commanded straight to cut of all our heads, And surely we had died but that the Duke, More full of honour then his angry sire, Procured our quick deliverance from thence, But ere we went, salute your king, quoth he, Bid him provide a funeral for his son, To day our sword shall cut his thread of life, And sooner then he thinks wele be with him: To quittance those displeasures he hath done, This said, we passed, not daring to reply, Our hearts were dead, our looks diffused and won, Wandering at last we clymd unto a hill, From whence although our grief were much be before Yet now to see the occasion with our eyes, Did thrice so much increase our heaviness, For there my Lord, o there we did descry Down in a valley how both armies lay: The French had cast their trenches Like a ring, And every Barricados open front, Was thick embossed with brazen ordinance. Here stood a battle of ten thousand horse, There twice as many pikes in quadrant wise, Here Crossbows and deadly wounding darts, And in the amid Like to a slender point, Within the compass of the horison, as it a rising bubble in the sea. A Hast wand a amid a wood of Pynes, Or as a bear fast chained unto a stake, Stood famous Edward still expecting when Those dogs of France would fasten on his flesh Anon the death procuring knell begins, Off go the Cannons that with trembling noise, Did shake the very Mountain where they stood, Then found the Trumpets clangor in the air, The battles join, and when we could no more, Discern the difference betwixt the friend and so, So intricate the dark confusion was, Away we turned our watery eyes with sighs, as black as powder fuming into smoke, And thus I fear, unhappy have I told, The most untimely tale of Edwards fallen. Farewell Villiers, Thus once I mean to try a French men faith. He did.