General.
Where Spain and Portingal do jointly knit
Their frontiers, leaning on each other's bound,[21]
There met our armies in their proud array;
Both furnish'd well, both full of hope and fear,
Both menacing alike with daring shows,
Both vaunting sundry colours of device,
Both cheerly sounding trumpets, drums, and fifes,
Both raising dreadful clamours to the sky,[22]
That valleys, hills, and rivers made rebound,
And heav'n itself was frighted with the sound.
Our battles both were pitch'd in squadron form,
Each corner strongly fenc'd with wings of shot;
But ere we join'd, and came to push of pike,
I brought a squadron of our readiest shot
From out our rearward, to begin the fight:
They brought another wing t' encounter us:
Meanwhile, our ordnance play'd on either side,
And captains strove to have their valours[23] try'd.
Don Pedro, their chief horsemen's colonel,
Did with his cornet[24] bravely make attempt
To break the order of our battle ranks;
But Don Rogero, worthy man of war,
March'd forth against him with our musketeers,
And stopp'd the malice of his fell approach.
While they maintain hot skirmish to and fro,
Both battles join, and fall to handy-blows;[25]
Their violent shot resembling th' ocean's rage,
When, roaring loud and with a swelling tide,
It beats upon the rampiers of huge rocks,
And gapes to swallow neighbour-bounding lands.
Now while[26] Bellona rageth here and there,
Thick storms of bullets ran like winter's hail,
And shiver'd lances dark[27] the troubled air.
Pede pes et cuspide cuspis;
Arma sonant armis, vir petiturque viro.
On every side drop[28] captains to the ground,
And soldiers, some ill-maim'd,[29] some slain outright:
Here falls a body, sunder'd from his head,
There legs and arms lie bleeding on the grass,
Mingled with weapons, and unbowell'd[30] steeds,
That scattering overspread the purple plain.
In all this turmoil, three long hours and more,
The victory to neither part inclin'd;
Till Don Andrea, with his brave lanciers,
In their[31] main battle made so great a breach,
That (half dismay'd) the multitude retir'd:
But Balthazar, the Portingal's young prince,
Brought rescue, and encourag'd them to stay.
Here-hence the fight was eagerly renew'd,
And in that conflict was Andrea slain:
Brave man at arms, but weak to Balthazar.
Yet while the prince, insulting over him,
Breath'd out proud vaunts, sounding to our reproach,
Friendship and hardy valour join'd in one,
Prick'd[32] forth Horatio, our knight marshal's son,
To challenge forth that prince to single fight:
Not long between these twain the fight endur'd,
But straight the prince was beaten from his horse,
And forc'd to yield him prisoner to his foe.
When he was taken, all the rest they fled,
And our carbines pursu'd them to the death;
Till, Phœbus waving to the western deep,
Our trumpeters were charg'd to sound retreat.
King.
Thanks, good lord General, for these good news;
And for some argument of more to come,
Take this, and wear it for thy sovereign's sake.
[Gives him his chain.
But tell me now, hast thou confirm'd a peace?
General.