Classic Poem

[Enter Mucedorus solus.]

MUCEDORUS.
Unknown to any here within these woods
With bloody Bremo do I led my life.
The monster, he doth murther all he meets,
He spareth none and none doth him escape.
Who would continue, who but only I,
In such a cruel cutthroat's company?
Yet Amadine is there; how can I choose?
Ah, silly soul, how often times she sits
And sighs, and calls: 'come, shepherd, come,
Sweet Mucedorus, come and set me free;
When Mucedorus present stands her by:
But here she comes.

[Enter Amadine.]

What news, fair Lady, as you walk these woods.

AMADINE.
Ah, hermit, none but bad & such as thou knowest.

MUCEDORUS.
How do you like your Bremo and his woods?

AMADINE.
Not my Bremo nor Bremo his woods.

MUCEDORUS.
And why not yours? me thinks he loves you well.

AMADINE.
I like him not, his love to me is nothing worth.

MUCEDORUS.
Lady, in this me thinks you offer wrong,
To hate the man that ever loves you best.

AMADINE.
Ah hermit, I take no pleasure in his love;
Neither yet doth Bremo like me best.

MUCEDORUS.
Pardon my boldness, fair lady: sith we both
May safely talk now out of Bremo's sight,
Unfold to me, if so you please, the full discourse
How, when, and why you came into these woods,
And fell into this bloody butcher's hands.

AMADINE.
Hermit, I will;
Of late a worthy shepherd I did love.

MUCEDORUS.
A shepherd, lady? sure a man unfit
To match with you.

AMADINE.
Hermit, this is true, and when we had--

MUCEDORUS.
Stay there, the wild man comes.
Refer the rest until another time.

[Enter Bremo.]

BREMO.
What secret tale is this? what whispering have we here?
Villain, I charge thee tell thy tale again.

MUCEDORUS.
If needs I must, lo, here it is again:
When as we both had lost the sight of thee,
It grieved us both, but specially thy queen,
Who in thy absence ever fears the worst,
Least some mischance befall your royal grace.
'Shall my sweet Bremo wander through the woods?
Toil to and fro for to redress my want,
Hazard his life; and all to cherish me?
I like not this,' quoth she,
And thereupon craved to know of me
If I could teach her handle weapons well.
My answer was I had small skill therein,
But glad, most mighty king, to learn of thee.
And this was all.

BREMO.
Wast so? none can dislike of this.
I'll teach
You both to fight: but first, my queen, begin.
Here, take this weapon; see how thou canst use it.

AMADINE.
This is too big, I cannot wield it in my arm.

BREMO.
Ist so? we'll have a knotty crabtree staff
For thee.--But, sirra, tell me, what saist thou?

MUCEDORUS.
With all my heart I willing am to learn.

BREMO.
Then take my staff & see how canst wield it.

MUCEDORUS.
First teach me how to hold it in my hand.

BREMO.
Thou holdest it well.
Look how he doth; thou maist the sooner learn.

MUCEDORUS.
Next tell me how and when tis best to strike.

BREMO.
Tis best to strike when time doth serve,
Tis best to loose no time.

MUCEDORUS.
[Aside.] Then now or never is my time to strike.

BREMO.
And when thou strikest, be sure thou hit the head.

MUCEDORUS.
The head?

BREMO.
The very head.

MUCEDORUS.
Then have at thine! [He strikes him down head.]
So, lie there and die,
A death no doubt according to desert,
or else a worse as thou deservest a worse.

AMADINE.
It glads my heart this tyrant's death to see.

MUCEDORUS.
Now, lady, it remains in you
To end the tale you lately had begun,
Being interrupted by this wicked wight.
You said you loved a shepherd.

AMADINE.
Aye, so I do, and none but only him,
And will do still as long as life shall last.

MUCEDORUS.
But tell me, lady; sith I set you free,
What course of life do you intend to take?

AMADINE.
I will disguised wander through the world,
Till I have found him out.

MUCEDORUS.
How if you find your shepherd in these woods?

AMADINE.
Ah, none so happy then as Amadine.

[He discloseth himself.]

MUCEDORUS.
In tract of time a man may alter much;
Say, Lady, do you know your shepherd well?

AMADINE.
My Mucedorus! hath he set me free?

MUCEDORUS.
Mucedorus he hath set thee free.

AMADINE.
And lived so long unknown to Amadine!

MUCEDORUS.
Aye that's a question where of you may not be resolved.
You know that I am banisht from the court;
I know likewise each passage is best,
So that we cannot long escape unknown:
Therefore my will is this, that we return
Right through the thickets to the wild man's cave,
And there a while live on his provision,
Until the search and narrow watch be past.
This is my counsel, and I think it best.

AMADINE.
I think the very same.

MUCEDORUS.
Come, let's begone.

[Enter the Clown who searches and falls over the wild
man and so carry him away.]

MOUSE.
Nay, soft, sir; are you here? a bots on you! I was like to
be hanged for not finding you. We would borrow a
certain stray king's daughter of you: a wench, a wench,
sir, we would have.

MUCEDORUS.
A wench of me! I'll make thee eat my sword.

MOUSE.
Oh Lord! nay, and you are so lusty, I'll call a cooling card
for you. Ho, master, master, come away quickly.

[Enter Segasto.]

SEGASTO.
What's the matter?

MOUSE.
Look, master, Amadine & the shepherd: oh, brave!

SEGASTO.
What, minion, have I found you out?

MOUSE.
Nay, that's a lie, I found her out myself.

SEGASTO.
Thou gadding huswife,
What cause hadst thou to gad abroad,
When as thou knowest our wedding day so nigh?

AMADINE.
Not so, Segasto, no such thing in hand;
Shew your assurance, then I'll answer you.

SEGASTO.
Thy father's promise my assurance is.

AMADINE.
But what he promist he hath not performed.

SEGASTO.
It rests in thee for to perform the same.

AMADINE.
Not I.

SEGASTO.
And why?

AMADINE.
So is my will, and therefore even so.

MOUSE.
Master, with a nonie, nonie, no!

SEGASTO.
Aye, wicked villain, art thou here?

MUCEDORUS.
What needs these words? we weigh them not.

SEGASTO.
We weigh them not, proud shepherd! I scorn
thy company.

MOUSE.
We'll not have a corner of thy company.

MUCEDORUS.
I scorn not thee, nor yet the least of thine.

MOUSE.
That's a lie, a would have killed me with his
pugsnando.

SEGASTO.
This stoutness, Amadine, contents me not.

AMADINE.
Then seek an other that may you better please.

MUCEDORUS.
Well, Amadine, it only rests in thee
Without delay to make thy choice of three:
There stands Segasto, here a shepherd stands,
There stands the third; now make thy choice.

MOUSE.
A Lord at the least I am.

AMADINE.
My choice is made, for I will none but thee.

SEGASTO.
A worthy mate, no doubt, for such a wife.

MUCEDORUS.
And, Amadine, why wilt thou none but me?
I cannot keep thee as thy father did;
I have no lands for to maintain thy state.
Moreover, if thou mean to be my wife,
Commonly this must be thy use:
To bed at midnight, up at four,
Drudge all day and trudge from place to place,
Whereby our daily vittel for to win;
And last of all, which is the worst of all,
No princess then but plain a shepherd's wife.

MOUSE.
Then, god ge you go morrow, goody shepherd!

AMADINE.
It shall not need; if Amadine do live,
Thou shalt be crowned king of Arragon.

MOUSE.
Oh, master, laugh! when he's King, then I'll be a
queen.

MUCEDORUS.
Then know that which ne'er tofore was known:
I am no shepherd, no Arragonian I,
But born of Royal blood--my father's of
Valentia King, my mother queen--who for
Thy secret sake took this hard task in hand.

AMADINE.
Ah how i joy my fortune is so good.

SEGASTO.
Well now i see, Segasto shall not speed;
But, Mucedorus, I as much do joy,
To see thee here within our Court of Arragon,
As if a kingdom had befain me. This time
I with my heart surrender it to thee.

[He giveth her unto him.]

And loose what right to Amadine I have.

MOUSE.
What a barn's door, and born where my father
Was cunstable! a bots on thee, how dost thee?

MUCEDORUS.
Thanks, Segasto; but yet you leveled at the crown.

MOUSE.
Master, bear this and bear all.

SEGASTO.
Why so, sir?

MOUSE.
He says you take a goose by the crown.

SEGASTO.
Go to, sir: away, post you to the king,
Whose heart is fraught with careful doubts,
Glad him up and tell him these good news,
And we will follow as fast as we may.

MOUSE.
I go, master; I run, master.

[Exeunt.]