How the Lady Sabrine daughter of King Locrinus and Elstride, was drowned by Queene Guendoline, the yeare before Christ, 1064.

Beholde mee Sabrine orphane erst bereft

Of all my friends, by cruell case of warre:

When as not one to treat for mee was left,

But Ielosie did all their powers debarre.

When as my father eke was slaine in warre,

And when my mother euen before my sight

Was drown’d to death, O wretch in woefull plight.

Trust who so will the staffe of hye estate,

And bring mee word what stay thereby you haue:

For why, if Fortune once displeasure take,

Shee geues the foyle, though lookes bee neuer so braue,

Tis wisedome when you winne, to winne to saue:[309]

For oft who trustes to get a Prince his trayne,

Would at the length of begger’s life be fayne.

This might the Hunne erst Humber well haue sayd,

And this my mother Elstride prou’d to true,

When as his life by striuing streames was stayd,

And when the tyraunts her in waters threwe.

What I may say, my selfe reportes to you,

Which had more terrour shew’d then twice such twayne:

Geue eare, and iudge if I abode no payne.

First when my fathers corps was striken downe

With deadly shaft, I came to mourne and see:

And as hee lay with bleeding brest in sowne,

Hee cast aside his watring eyes on mee.

“Flye, flye, (quoth hee) thy stepdame[310] seekes for thee,

My woefull childe: what flight maist thou to take,

My Sabrine poore, I must thee needes forsake.

“See here mine end, behold thy father’s fall,

Fly hence, thy stepdame seekes thy staylesse life:[311]

Thy mother eke or[312] this is wrapt in thrall,

You cannot scape of gelous griefe her knife,[313]

Farewell my childe, mine Elstride and my wife,

Adew (quoth hee) I may no longer byde:”

And euen with that hee gasped breath,[314] and dyde.

What birde can flye, and soare, if stormes doe rage?

What shippe can sayle if once the windes resist?

What wight is that can force of warres asswage?

Or elss what warre can bridle Fortune’s list?

What man is hee, that dare an hoast resist?

What woman only dare withstand a fielde?

If not, what childe but must to enemies yeelde?

My father’s souldiers fled away for feare,

As soone as once theyr Captayne’s death they scand:

The Queene proclaym’d a pardon euery where

To those would yeelde, and craue it at her hand:

Excepting such as did her aye withstand.

For so the course alwayes of pardons goes,

As saues the souldier, and entraps the foes.

Then wist I flight could nothing mee preuayle,

I fearde her pardon would not saue my life:

The storme was such I durst not beare a sayle,

I durst not goe t’intreate my father’s wife,

Although I neuer was the cause of strife:

For gelosie, deuoyde of reason’s raygne,

With frenzyes fume enragde her restles brayne.

But see the chaunce: Thus compast rounde with feare,

In broyles of bloude, as in the fielde I stand,

I wisht to God my corps were any where,

As out of life, or of this hatefull land.

No sooner wisht, but there was euen at hand

A souldier vile: “In haste (quoth hee) come on,

“Queene Elstride will, before thou come, begon.”

10.

The rascall rude, the roag, the clubfist griepte

My sclender[315] arme, and pluckt mee on in hast:

And with my robes the bloudy ground hee sweepte:

As I drue backe hee hal’d mee on full fast.

Vnder his arme my carefull[316] corps hee cast.

“Sith that (quoth hee) thou put’st mee to this payne,

“Thou shalt thereby at length but little gayne.”[317]

11.

So[318] at the length wee came where wee descri’d

A number huge of folkes about the Queene:

As when you see some wonder great betide,

Or else the place where some straunge sight hath bene:

So might you there the people standing seene,

And gazed all when as they see mee brought,

Then sure I deem’d I was not come for nought.

12.

And in the prease, some prays’d my comely face,

In beauty Elstride which resembled right:[319]

Some sayd I looked like my father’s grace,

But[320] others sayd it was a piteous sight

I should so dye: the Queene mee pardon might.

Then sayd the beast[321] mee bore did mee abuse,

Which[322] not so rudely ought a Pryncesse vse.

13.

But what did this redresse my woefull care,

You wotte the commons vse suche prouerbes still:

And yet the captiues poore no better are,

It rather helpes theyr payned hearts to kill.

To pittie one in griefe doth worke him ill.

Bemone his woe, and cannot ease his thrall,

It killes his heart, but comforts none[323] at all.

14.

Thus past wee through the prease: at length wee came

Into the presence of the gelous Queene,

Who nought at all the rascall rude did blame

That bare mee so, but askte if I had seene

My father slayne, that cause thereof had beene.

“O Queene (quoth I) God knowes my whole intent

Of slaughter giltlesse: I am innocent.”[324]

15.

With that I sawe the people looke aside,

To vewe a mourning voice: I heard thereby

It was my woefull mother by, that cry’d

“Lo Sabrine, bound at brinke of death I lie.”

What pen, or tongue, or teares with weeping eye

Could tell my woes, that sawe my mother bound

On waters shoare, wherein shee should bee droun’d!

16.

With that I fell before the Queene, and pray’d

For mercy, but with fierie eyes shee bent

Her browes on mee: “Out bastard vile (shee sayd)

Thou wot’st not yet wherefore for thee I sent.”

“O Queene (quoth I) haue pittie, bee content,

And if thou minde of mercy ought to showe,

Drowne mee, and let my mother harmelesse goe.

17.

“For why, shee was a Prince his daughter, borne

In Germany, and thence was brought away

Perforce, by Humber, who by warres forlorne

Thy King as captiue tooke her for his pray.

Thou mayst full well her case with reason weye.

What could shee doe, what more then shee or I

Thy captiues now, thine owne to liue or die?

18.

“Take pittie then on Princely race, O Queene,

Haue[325] pittie, if remorce may ought require,

Take pittie, on a captiue thrise hath beene,

Let pittie pearce the rage of all thine ire.

But if thy breast burne with reuenging fire,

Then let my death quench out that fuming flame,

Sith of thy husband’s bloud and hers I came.”

19.

Much more I sayd while teares out streaming went,

But nought of ease at all thereby I gayn’d.

My mother eke, did, as shee lay, lament,

Wherewith my heart a thousand fold shee payn’d.

And though the Queene my playnts to fauour fayn’d,

Yet at the last shee bad shee should prepare

Her selfe to die, and end her course of care.

20.

Then all her friends my mother Elstride nam’d,

And pleasures past, and bade them all adue:

Eke as shee thus her last farewell had fram’d,

With losse of him from whom her sorowes grue.

At length to mee (which made my heart to rue)

Shee sayd: “Farewell my childe, I feare thy fall.

“Ten thowsand times adue, my Sabrine small.”

21.

And as the cruell caytiffes came to take

Her vp, to cast and drowne her in the floud,

I fast mine armes about her clipt did make,

And cry’d, “O Queene let mercy meeke thy moode,

Doe rather reaue my heart of vitall bloud,

Then thus I liue:” with that they slakt my hold,

And drencht my mother in the waters cold.

22.

For loue to ayde her, venter in would I

That sawe my mother striue aloft for winde.

To land shee lookte and sayd: “Farewell, I die!”

“O let mee goe (quoth I) like fate to finde!”

Sayd Guendoline: “Come on likewise, and binde

This Sabrine here likewise, for so shall shee

At once receiue[326] her whole request of mee.

23.

“Eke as I wish to haue in minde her fame,

As Humber’s is, which should her father beene:

So shall this floude of Sabrine haue the name,

That men thereby may say, a righteous Queene

Here drown’d her husband’s childe of concubine.

Therefore leaue Sabrine here thy name and life,

Let Sabrine waters end our mortall strife.”

24.

“Dispatch!” (quoth shee:) With that they bound mee fast,

My slender armes and feete, with[327] little neede:

And sans all mercy, mee in waters cast,

Which drewe mee downe, and cast mee vp with speede,

And downe mee drencht the Sabrine fish to feede:

Where I abode till now from whence I came,

And there the waters hold as yet my name.[328]

25.

Lo thus this gelous Queene, in raging sort,

With bloudy hate bereft her husband’s health:

And eke my mother Elstride’s life (God wot)

Which neuer ment to hurt this common wealth.

And mee, Locrinus’ childe, begot by stealth:

Agaynst all reason was it for to kill

The childe, for that her parents erst did ill.

26.

But here[329] you see, what time our pompe doth hyde,

Hereby you see th’vnsteady trust in warre,

Hereby you see the stay of states etride,

Hereby you see, our hope to make doth marre,

Hereby you see, wee fall from bench to barre.

From bench,[330] (quoth I) yea from the Princely seate,

You see how soone vs Fortune downe doth beate.

27.

And here you see, how lawlesse loue doth thriue,

Hereby you see, how gelous folkes doe fare:

Here may you see, with wisedome they that wiue,

Neede neuer recke Cupidoe’s cursed snare,

Here may you see, deuorcement breedeth care,

Here seldome thriue the children may you see,[331]

Which in vnlawfull wedlocke gotten bee.

28.

Declare thou then our fall and great mishap,

Declare the hap, and glory wee were in:

Declare how soone wee taken were in trap,

When wee suppos’d wee had most safest bin.

Declare what losse they haue that hope to win.

When Fortune most doth sweetely seeme to smile,[332]

Then will shee froune: she laughes but euen a while.[333]

LENUOY.

A woefull thing mee thought this tale to heare,

That pittie could not moue Queene Guendoline,

When Locrine both and Elstride ended were,

Which had committed facts adulterine,

Th’adulter slayne and eke his concubine,

Not so her cruell minde could bee content,

But in reuenge to slay the Innocent.

What maruayle though shee were of such a minde,

So cruell not to spare her husband’s bastard small:

Sith that of gelosie wee often finde

Examples passing reason naturall.

Of Porrex mother, reade the life who shall,

Which slew her only sonne, eke Progne was content,

To sley her sonne an harmelesse Innocent.

Medæa eke when Iason her forsooke,

And children twayne, which yong by him shee had,

Full cruelly a sword in hand shee tooke,

Reft both their liues, as cruell monster mad.

Was not Agaue’s cruelty so bad,

Which Pentheus her sonne to sley could bee content.

Because hee nilde to Bacchanalls assent?

I will no more of these as now recite,

Whose cruelty deserued all disgrace:

Nor yet in generall thus wise I write,

The worthy sexe of women to deface.

Tis gelosie reproued here in place.

But now I turne to Madan all to rent,

Which next on stage thus wise to talke him bent.