Hengo. Thou darest as well

skin of man?

The youngest daughter to the queen entreats you
To give this privately to captain Junius;
This for your pains.

Judas. I rest her humble servant;

Commend me to thy lady. Keep your files, boys. Serv. I must instruct you further.

Judas. Keep your files there!

Uncle, I will not hear this.

Judas. Tie up your whelp.

a sword

For thy sake, thou dried dog!

Car. What a mettle

This little vermin carries!

Hengo. Kill mine uncle?

Car. He shall not, child.

Hengo. He cannot; he is a rogue,

An only eating rogue! kill my sweet uncle?
Oh, that I were a man!

Judas. By this wine, which I

Will drink to captain Junius, who loves

The queen's most excellent majesty's little daugh

ter

Most sweetly, and most fearfully, I'll do it.

Hengo. Uncle, I'll kill him with a great pin. Car. No more, boy!

I'll pledge thy captain. To ye all, good fellows! 2 Daugh. In love with me? that love shall cost your lives all.

Come, sister, and advise me; I have here
A way to make an easy conquest of them,
If fortune favour me. [Exeunt daughters.

Car. Let's see you sweat,
Tomorrow, blood and spirit, boys; this wine
Turned to stern valour.

1 Sold. Hark you, Judas;

If he should hang us after all this?
Judas. Let him:

I'll hang like a gentleman, and a Roman.
Car. Take away there;

They have enough.

Judas. Captain, we think you heartily

For your good cheer; and if we meet tomorrow, One of us pays for it.

Car. Get them guides; their wine Has over-mastered them.

Enter second Daughter and a Servant. 2 Daugh. That hungry fellow

With the red beard there, give it him, and this, To see it well delivered.

Car. Farewell, knaves!

Speak nobly of us; keep your words to-morrow,

boys!

SCENE IV.

[Exeunt.

Suet. No, by no means; he's a torrent

We cannot easily stem.

Pet. I think, a traitor.

Suct. No ill words! let his own shame first re

vile him.

That wine I have, see it, Demetrius,

Distributed amongst the soldiers,

To make them high and lusty; when that's done,
Petillius, give the word through, that the eagles
May presently advance; no man discover,
Upon his life, the enemies' full strength,
But make it of no value. Decius,

Are your starved people yet come home?
Dec. I hope so.

Suet. Keep them in more obedience: This is
no time

To chide, I could be angry else, and say more to you;

But come, let's order all. Whose sword is sharpest,
And valour equal to his sword this day,
Shall be my saint.

Pet. We shall be holy all, then. [Exeunt. Manet DECIUS. Enter JUDAS and his company, Judas. Captain, captain, I've brought them off again;

The drunkennest slaves!

Dec. Pox confound your rogueships!
I'll call the general, and have ye hanged all.
Judas. Pray who will you command, then?
Dec. For you, sirrah,

That are the ringleader to these devices,
Whose maw is never crammed, I'll have an en-

gine

Judas. I think will do all;

I cannot tell; I think so.

Dec. How to Junius?

I'll more enquire of this. You'll fight now!
Judas. Promise,

Take heed of promise, captain!

Dec. Away, and rank then.

Judas. But, hark you, captain; there is wine distributing;

I would fain know what share I have.
Dec. Be gone;

You have too much.

Judas. Captain, no wine, no fighting:
There's one called Caratach, that has wine,
Dec. Well, sir,

If you'll be ruled now, and do well-
Judas. Do excellent.

Dec. You shall have wine, or any thing. Go file;

I'll see you have your share. Drag out your dor

mice,

And stow them somewhere, where they may sleep handsomely; They'll hear a hunts-up shortly.

Judas. Now I love thee:
But no more forks nor whips!

Dec. Deserve them not then.
Up with your men; I'll meet you presently;
And get them sober quickly.

Judas. Arm, arm, bullies !

All's right again and straight; and, which is more. More wine, more wine, Awake, ye men of Memphis!

Be sober and discreet; we've much to do, boys,

[Exeunt,

Cur. [reading.] "Health to thy heart, my honoured Junius,

All thy love requited! I am thine,
Thine everlastingly; thy love has won me;
And led it breed no doubt, our new acquaintance
Compels this; 'tis the gods' decree to bless us.
The times are dangerous to meet, yet fail not;
By all the love thou bear'st me I conjure thee,
Without distrust of danger, to come to me!
For I have purposed a delivery

Both of myself and fortune this blessed day
Into thy hands, if thou thinkest good. To shew thee
How infinite my love is, even my mother
Shall be thy prisoner, the day yours without
hazard;

For I beheld your danger like a lover,
A just affecter of thy faith: Thy goodness,
I know, will use us nobly; and our marriage,
If not redeem, vet lessen Rome's ambition:
I'm weary of these miseries. Use my mother
(If you intend to take her) with all honour;
And let this disobedience to my parent
Be laid on love, not me. Bring with thee, Junius,
Spirits resolved to fetch me off, the noblest;
Forty will serve the turn, just at the joining
Of both the battles; we will be weakly guarded,
And for a guide, within this hour, shall reach thee
A faithful friend of mine. The gods, my Junius,
Keep thee, and me to serve thee! Young Bon-
vica."

Cur. This letter carries much belief, and most objections

Answered, we must have doubted.

Dec. Is that fellow

Come to you for a guide yet?

Jun. Yes.

Dec. And examined?

He vows he knows no more than this truth, Dec. Strange!'

Cur. If she mean what she writes, as it may be probable,

Twill be the happiest vantage we can lean to. Jun. I'll pawn my soul she means truth. Dec. Think an hour more;

Then if your confidence grow stronger on you, We'll set in with you.

Jun. Nobly done! I thank ye. Ye know the time.

Cur. We will be either ready

To give you present counsel, or join with you. Enter SUETONIUS, PETILLIUS, DEMETRIUS, and MACER.

Jun. No more, as ye are gentlemen.

neral!

The ge

Jun. All our troops attend, sir.

Suet. I am glad to hear you say so, Junius;

I hope you are dispossessed.

Jun. I hope so too, sir.

Suet. Continue so. And, gentlemen, to you
now!

To bid you fight is needless; ye are Romans;
The name will fight itself: To tell ye who
You go to fight against, his power, and nature,
But loss of time; ye know it, know it
poor,
And oft have made it so: To tell ye further,
His body shews more dreadful than it has done,
To him that fears, less possible to deal with,
Is but to stick more honour on your actions,
Load ye with virtuous names, and to your me-
mories

Tie never-dying time and fortune constant.
Go on in full assurance! draw your swords
As daring and as confident as justice;

The gods of Rome fight for ye; loud Fame calls ye,

Pitched on the topless Apennine, where the snow dwells,

And blows to all the under-world, all nations,
The seas and unfrequented deserts; wakens
The ruined monuments; and there, where no-
thing

But eternal death and sleep is, informs again
The dead bones with your virtues. Go on, I say:
Valiant and wise rule heaven, and all the great
Aspects! attend them, do but blow upon
This enemy, who, but that we want foes,
Cannot deserve that name; and, like a mist,
A lazy fog, before your burning valours
You'll find him fly to nothing. This is all;
We have swords, and are the sons of ancient Ro-

mans,

Heirs to their endless valours; fight and conquer' Dec. Dem. It is done.

Pet. That man, that loves not this day,

yet VOL. I.

May he die fameless and forgot! N

Car. Very likely;

He shews no less than general. See how bravely
The body moves, and in the head how proudly
The captains stick like plumes; he come apace on.
Good Nennius, go, and bid my stout lieutenant
Bring on the first square body to oppose them,
And, as he charges, open to enclose them;
The queen move next with her's, and wheel about,
To gain their backs, in which I'll lead the van-
guard.

We shall have bloody crowns this day, I see by it.
Haste thee, good Nennius; I'll follow instantly.
[Exit Nennius.
How close they march, as if they grew together,

[March.

No place but lined alike, sure from oppression! They will not change this figure; we must charge them,

And charge them home at both ends, van and rear; [Drums in another place afar off. They never totter else. I hear our music, And must attend it: Hold, good sword, but this day,

And bite hard, where I hound thee! and here

after

Cur. I think it is true.

Jun. Alas, if it were a question, If any doubt or hazard fell into it, Do ye think mine own discretion so self-blind, My care of ye so naked, to run headlong? Dec. Let us take Petillius with us! Jun. By no means;

He is never wise but to himself, nor courteous, But where the end is his own: we are strong enough,

If not too many. Behind yonder hill,
The fellow tells me, she attends, weak guarded,
Her mother and her sister.

Cur. I would venture.

Drus. The dust

Hides them; we cannot see what follows.
Pen. They are gone,

Gone, swallowed, Drusius; this eternal sun
Shall never see them march more.

Drus. Oh, turn this way,

And see a model of the field! some forty,
Against four hundred !

Pen. Well fought, bravely followed!
Oh, nobly charged again, charged home too!
Drusius,

They seem to carry it. Now they charge all; [Loud shouts.

Close, close, I say! they follow it. Ye gods, Can there be more in men? more daring spirits? Still they make good their fortunes. Now they

are gone too,

For ever gone! see, Drusius, at their backs A fearful ambush rises. Farewell, valours,