The first part of

Could breed revolt in this new peace of m inde.

La. Feare not my Lord, he's witty to deuife,
And strong to execute a preſent ſhift.

Cob. That power be ſtill his guide hath guided vs.
My drowſie eyes waxe heauy; earlyriling,
Together with the trauell we haue had,
Makes me that I could gladly take a nap,
Were I perſwaded we might be ſecure.

La. Let that depend on me, whilst you do ſleepe,
Ile watch that no misſoſtune happen vs.

Cob. I ſhall deere wife be too much trouble to thee.

La. Vrge not that,
My duty binds me, and your loue commands.
I would I had the skill with tuned voice
To draw on ſleepe with ſome ſweet melody,
But imperfection and vnaptneſſe too

Are both repugnant: ſeare inſerts the one,
The other nature hath denied me vſe.

But what talke I of meanes, to purchase that
Is freely happen'd? ſleepe with gentle hand,
Hath ſhut his eye-lids: Oh victorious labour,
How ſoone thy power can charme the bodies ſenſe ?

And now thou likewife climbſt vnto my braine,
Making my heauy temples ſtoope to thee,

Great God of heauen from danger keepe vs free. Fal aſleep.

Enter fir Richard Lee and his men.

Lee. A murther closely done, and in my ground?
Search carefully, if any where it were,
This obscure thicket is the likelyeſt place.

Ser. Sir I haue found the body ſtiffe with cold
And mangled cruelly with many wounds.

Lee. Looke if thou knowſt him, turne his body vp:
Alack it is my ſonne, my ſonne and heire,
Whom two yeeres ſince I ſent to Ireland,
To practise there the diſcipline of warre,
And comming home, for so he wrote to me,

Some

Sir John Old-Castle.

Some Sauage heart, some bloody diuelli sh hand,
Either in hate, or thirsting for his coine,
Hath here fluc'd out his blood. Vnhappy houre,
Accursed place, but most inconstant fate,
That hadst referu'd him from the bullets fire,
And suffered him to scape the wood-kernes fury,
Didst heere ordaine the treasure of his life,
Euen heere within the armes of tender peace,
To be consum'd by treasons wastefull hand ?
And which is most afflicting to my soule,
That this his death and murther should be wrought
VWithout the knowledge by whose meanes twas done.

2-Ser. Not so fir, I haue found the authors of it,
See where they fit, and in their bloody fifts
The fatall instruments of death and finne.

Lee. Iust iudgement of that power, whose gracious eye,
Loathing the fight of such a heinous fact,
Dazled their senes with benumming sleepe,
Till their vnhallowed treachery was knowne.
Awake ye monsters, murtherers awake,
Tremble for horror, blush you cannot choose,
Beholding this inhumane deede of yours.

Cob. What meane you fir to trouble weary foules,
And interrupt vs of our quiet sleepe ?

Lee. Oh diuellifsh! can you boast vnto your felues
Of quiet sleepe, hauing within your hearts
The guilt of murder waking, that with cries
Deafes the lowd thunder, and solicites heauen
With more than Mandrakes shreekes for your offence ?

La. What murther? you vpbraid vs wrongfully.

Lee. Can you deny the fact? See you not heere,
The body of my sonne by you misdone ?

Looke on his wounds, looke on his purple hew :
Do we not finde you where the deede was done ?
Vere not your kniues faft closed in your hands ?

Is not this cloth an argumente besides,

K

Thus

The first part of

Thus stain'd and spotted with his innocent blood?

These speaking characters were there nothing else

To plead against ye, would convict you both,

To Hartford with them, where the Siles now are kept,

Their liues shall answer for my sonnes lost life.

Cob. As we are innocent, so may we speede.

Lee. As I am wrong'd, so may the Law proceed.

Enter Rochester, Constable of St. Albons, with Priest, Doll, and the Irishman in Harpooles apparrell.

Bish. What intricate confusion haue we heere?

Not two hours since, we apprehended one

In habit Irish, but in speech not so;

And now you bring another, that in speech is Irish,

But in habit, English: yea, and more than so,

The seruant of that hereticke Lord Cobham.

Irish. Fait be me no seruant of de Lort Cobham,
Me be Mack Chane of Vlfter.

Bish. Otherwise cal'd Harpoole of Kent, go too sir,
You cannot blinde vs with your broken Irish.

Pri. Trust me, Lord Bishop, whether Irish or English,
Harpoole, or not Harpoole, that I leaue to the triall:

But sure I am, this man by face and speech,

Is he that murdred yong sir Richard Lee :

I met him presently vpon the fact,

And that he flew his master for that gold,

Those lewels, and that chaine I tooke from him.

Bish. Well, our faires do call vs backe to London,
So that we cannot prosecute the caufe

As we desire to do, therefore we leaue

The charge with you, to see they be conuey'd

To Hartford Size: both this counterfet,

And you sir Iohn of Wrotham, and your wench,

For you are culpable as well as they,

Though not for murther, yet for fellony.

But since you are the meanes to bring to light

This graceleffe murther, we shall beare with you.

Our

Sir John Old-Castle.

Our Letters to the Judges of the bench,
To be your friends in what they lawfull may.

Pri. I thanke your Lordship.

Enter Gaoler bringing forth Old-castle.

Gao. Bring foorth the prisoners, see the Court prepar'd,
The Justices are comming to the bench :

So, let him stand away, and fetch the rest.

Exeunt.

Cob. Oh give me patience to endure this scourge,
Thou that art fountaine of that vertuous streame,
And though contempt, false witnesse, and reproch
Hang on these iron gyues, to preffe my life
As low as earth, yet strengthen me with faith,
That I may mount in spirit aboue the cloudes.

Enter Gaoler, bringing in La. Cobham & Harpole.

Here come's my Lady, forrow tis for her.

Thy wound is greeuous, else I scoffe at thee.

What and poore Harpoole! art thou ith bryars too ?

Har. If faith my Lord, I am in, get out how I can.

La. Say (gentle Lord) for now we are alone,
And may conferre, shall we confesse in breefe,
Of whence, and what we are, and so preuent

The accusation is commenc'd against vs ?

Cob. What will that helpe vs? Being knowne sweet loue,
We shall for herefie be put to death,
For so they terme the Religion we professe.

No, if we dye let this our comfort bee,

That of the guilt impoſd our ſoules are free.

Har. I, I my Lord, Harpoole is so refolu'd,
I wreake of death the leſſe in that I dye

Not by the ſentence of that enuious Priest.

La. Well be it then according as heauen please.

Enter L. Iudge, Justices, Maior of S. Albons, Lord Powis & his
Lady, old fir Richard Lee: the Iudge & Justices take their places.

Ind. Now M. Maior, what Gentleman is that
You bring with you before vs to the bench ?

Mai. The Lord Powis if it like your honour,

K, 2

And

The first part of

And this his Lady trauelling toward VVales,
VWho for they lodg'd last night within my houſe,
And my Lord Byſhop did lay waite for ſuch,
VWere very willing to come on with me,
Left for their ſakes, ſuſpition we might wrong.

Iud. We cry your honor mercy good my Lord,
Wilt please you take your place. Madam your Ladyſhip,
May heere or where you will repoſe your ſelfe
Vntill this buſineſſe now in hand be paſt.

La.Po. I will withdraw into some other roome,
So that your Lordſhip and the reſt be pleaſde.

Iud. With all our hearts : attend the Lady there.

Pow. Wifc, I haue ey'd you ſpriners all this while.
And my conceite doth tell me, tis our friend
The noble Cobham, and his vertuous Lady.

La.Po. I think no leſſe, are they ſuſpecteſ for this murder ?

Po. What it meanes.

I cannot tell, but we ſhall know anon :
Meane time as you paſſe by them, aske the queſtion,
But do it secretly you be not ſeene,

And make some ſigne that I may know your minde.

As the paſſeth ouer the ſtage by them.

La-po. My Lord Cobham? Madam?

Cob. No Cobham now, nor Madam as you loue vs,
But Iohn of Lancaſhire, and Ione his wife.

La.Po. Oh tell, what is it that our loue can do,
To pleaſure you, for we are bound to you.

Cob. Nothing but this, that you conceale our names,
So gentle Lady paſſe for being ſpyed.

La.Po. My heart I leaue, to beare part of your griefe, exit.

Indg. Call the prisoners to the barre: fir Richard Lee,
What euidence can you bring against theſe people,
To proue them guilty of the murder done?

Lee. This bloody Towell, and theſe naked kniues,
Befide we found them fitting by the place,
Where the dead body lay within a buſh.

Indg

Sir John Old-castle.

Iud. What anſwer you why Law should not proceede,
According to this evidence giuen in,
To taxe ye with the penalty of death?

Cob. That we are free from murders very thought,
And know not how the Gentleman was flaine.

1. Inſt. How came this linnen cloth so bloody then?

L. Cob. My husband hot with trauelling my Lord,
His noſe guſht out a bleeding, that was it.

2. Inſt. But how came your sharp edgd kniues vnſheathd

L. Cob. To cut ſuch ſimple victuall as we had.

Iud. Say we admit this anſwer to thofe articles,
What made you in ſo priuate a darke nooke,

So farre remote from any common path.

As was the thicke where the dead corpes was throwne?

Cob. Iournying my Lord from London from the Terme,
Downe into Lancaſhire where wee do dwell :

And what with age and trauell being faint,
We gladly ſought a place where we might reſt
Free from reſort of other paſſengers,
And ſo we ſtrayed into that ſecret corner.

Iud. These are but ambages to drive off time,
And linger iuſtice from her purpofd end.
But who are theſe?

Enter Conſtable with the Irishman, Priest, and Doll.

Con. Stay iudgement, and releaſe thofe innocents,
For here is he whose hand hath done the deed
For which they ſtand endited at the barre :
This ſauage villaine, this rude Irish ſlaue,
His tongue already hath confest the fact,
And heere is witneſſe to confirme as much.

Pri. Yes my good Lord, no sooner had he flaine
His louing mafter for the wealth he had,
But I vpon the instant met with him :
And what he purchaſd with the loffe of blood,
With ſtrokes I presently bereau'd him of,

Some

The first part of

Some of the which is spent, the rest remaining,
I willingly surrender to the hands
Of old Sir Richard Lee, as being his,
Beside my Lord Iudge, I greet your honor
With Letters from my Lord of Rochester.

Delivers them

Lee. Is this the wolfe whose thirsty throate did drinke
My deere Sonnes blood? Art thou the snake
He cherisht, yet with enuious piercing sting
Affaild him mortally? We'r not that the Law
Stands ready to reuenge thy cruelty,
Traitor to God, thy Master, and to me,
These hands should be thy executioner.

Iud. Patience fir Richard Lee, you shall haue iustice.³
The fact is odious, therefore take him hence,
And being hang'd vntill the wretch be dead,
His body after shall be hang'd in chaines,
Neere to the place where he did act the murther.

Irish. Prethee Lord shudge let me haue mine own clothes
my strouces there, and let me bee hang'd in a wyth after my
country the Irish fashion.

exit

Iud. Go too, away with him. And now fir Iohn,
Although by you this murther came to light:
Yet vpright law will not hold you excufde,
For you did rob the Irishman, by which
You stand attainted heere of fellony:
Beside, you haue bin lewd, and many yeares
Led a laſciuious vnbeſeeming life.

Pri. O but my Lord, fir Iohn repents, and he will mend.

Iud. In hope thereof, together with the fauour
My Lord of Rochester intreats for you,
We are content you ſhall be proued.

Pri. I thanke your good Lordſhip.
w. Ind. These other falfly heere accuſd, and brought
In perill wrongfully, we in like fort do ſet at liberty.

Lee. And for amends,
Touching the wrong vnwittingly I haue done,

I

Sir John Old-castle.

I giue theſe few Crownes.

Ind. Your kindneſſe merits priaſe fir Richard Lee,
So let vs hence. Exeunt all but L. Powis and Cobhams.

Powis. But Powis ſtill muſt ſtay,
There yet remaines a part of that true loue
He owes his noble friend vnſatisfied
And vnperform'd, which firſt of all doth binde me

To gratulate your Lordſhips ſafe deliuery :
And then intreate, that ſince vnlookt for thus
We heere are met, your honour would vouchſafe
To ride with me to Wales, where though my power,
(Though not to quittance thofe great benefits
I haue receiu'd of you) yet both my houſe,
My purſe, my ſeruants, and what else I haue
Are all at your command. Deny me not,
I know the Byſhops hate purſues ye ſo,
As there's no ſafety in abiding heere.

Cob. Tis true my Lord, and God forgiue him for it.
Pow. Then let vs hence, you ſhall be ſtraight prouided
Of luſty geldings: and once entred Wales,
Well may the Byſhop hunt, but ſpight his face,
He neuer more ſhall haue the game in chace.
Exeunt.

FINIS.