250

Flourish: Enter Hubert, armed with shields and swords.
Bellina and a company of Souldiers with him.

**Hub.** What meanes this cry, 'a Hubert'? Where's your King?

**Omnes.** Strucke dead by thunder.

**Hub.** So I heare; you see, then,
There is an arme more rigorous than your Iove,
An arme stretcht from above to beate down Gyants,
The mightiest Kings on Earth, for all their shoulders
Carry Colossi heads: the memory
Of Genzericks name dyes here: Henricke gives buriall
To the successive glory of that race
Who had both voyce and title to the Crowne,
And meanes to guard it.—Who must now be King?

**Anton.** We know not till we call the Lords together.

**Hub.** What Lords?

**Cosmo.** Our selves and others.

**Hub.** Who makes you Lords?

The Tree upon whose boughs your honours grew,
Your Lordships and your lives, is falne to th' ground.

**Dam.** We stand on our owne strength.

**Hub.** Who must be King?

Within: A Hubert, a Hubert a Hubert!

**Hub.** Deliver to my hand that reverent [sic] man.
**Epi.** Take him and torture him, for he cald down
Vengeance
On Henricks head.

**Hub.** Good Eugenius, lift thy hands up,
For thou art sav'd from Henricke and from these.
You heare what ecchoes

251

Rebound from earth to heaven, from heaven to earth,
Casting the name of King onely on me?
This golden apple is a tempting fruit;
It is within my reach; this sword can touch it,
And lop the weake branch off on which it hangs.
Which of you all would spurne at such a Starre,
Lay it i'th the dust when 'tis let down from heaven
For him to weare?

**Anton.** Who then must weare that Starre?

Within: Hubert, Hubert, Hubert!

**Hub.** The Oracle tells you; Oracle? 'tis a voyce
From above tells you; for the peoples tongues,
When they pronounce good things, are ty'd to chaines
Of twenty thousand linkes, which chaines are held
By one supernall hand, and cannot speake
But what that hand will suffer. I have then
The people on my side; I have the souldiers;
I have that army which your rash young King
Had bent against the Christians,— they now are
mine:

I am the Center, and they all are lines
Meeting in me. If, therefore, these strong sinewes,
The Souldiers and the Commons, have a vertue
To lift me into the Throne, Ile leape into it.
Will you consent or no? be quick in answer;
I must be swift in execution else.

**Omnes.** Let us consult.

**Hub.** Doe, and doe't quickly.

**Eugen.** O noble Sir, if you be King shoot forth
Bright as a Sunne-beame, and dry up these vapours
That choake this kingdome; dry the seas of blood
Flowing from Christians, and drinke up the teares
Of those alive, halfe slaughter'd in their feares.

252

*Hub.* Father, Ile not offend you.—Have you done?
So long chusing one Crowne?

*Anton.* Let Drums and Trumpets proclaime
*Hubert* our King!

*Omnes.* Sound Drummes and Trumpets!
*Hub.* I have it, then, as well by voyce as sword;
For should you holde it backe it will be mine.
I claime it, then, by conquest; fields are wonne
By yeelding as by strokes: Yet, noble *Vandals*,
I will lay by the Conquest and acknowledge
That your hands and your hearts the pinnacles are
On which my greatnesse mounts unto this height.

And now in sight of you and heaven I sweare
By those new sacred fires kindled within me,
'Tis not your ho[o]pe of Gold my brow desires;
A thronging Court to me is but a Cell;
These popular acclamations, which thus dance
I'ch Aire, should passe by me as whistling windes
Playing with leaves of trees. I'me not ambitious
Of Titles glorious and maiesticall;
But what I doe is to save blood, save you;
I meane to be a husband for you all,
And fill you all with riches.

*Epi.* 'Tis that we thirst for;
For all our bagges are emptied in these warres
Rais'd by seditious Christians.

*Hub.* Peace, thou foole:
They are not bags of gold, that melts in fire,
Which I will fill your coffers with; my treasury
Are riches for your soules; my armes are spread
Like wings to protect Christians. What have you
done?

Proclaim'd a Christian King; and Christian Kings
Should not be bloody.

*Omnes.* How? turn'd Christian?

253

*Eugen.* O blest King! happy day!

*Omnes.* Must we forsake our Gods then?

*Hub.* Violent streames

Must not bee stopt by violence; there's an art
To meete and put by the most boysterous wave;
'Tis now no policy for you to murmure
Nor will I threaten. A great counsell by you
Shall straight be cal'd to set this frame in order
Of this great state.

*Omnes.* To that we all are willing.

*Hub.* Are you then willing this noble maid
Shall be my Queene?

*Omnes.* With all our hearts.

*Hub.* By no hand but by thine will we be crown'd:
Come, my *Bellina*.

*Bellina.* Your vow is past to me that I should
ever
Preserve my virgin honour, that you would never
Tempt me unto your bed.

*Hub.* That vow I keepe:
I vow'd so long as my knees bow'd to *Iove*
To let you be your selfe; but, excellent Lady,
I now am seal'd a Christian as you are:
And you have sworne oft that, when upon my fore-
head

That glorious starre was stucke, you would be
mine

In holy wedlocke. Come, sweete, you and I
Shall from our loynes produce a race of Kings,
And ploughing up false gods set up one true;
Christians unborne crowning both me and you
With praise as now with gold.

*Bellina.* A fortunate day;
A great power prompts me on and I obey.

(Flourish.)

254

*Omnes.* Long live *Hubert* and *Bellina*, King and
Queene
Of Goths and Vandals.

*Hub.* Two royall Iewels you give me, this and this :
Father, your hand is lucky, I am covetous
Of one Gift more: After your sacred way
Make you this Queene a wife: our Coronation
Is turn'd into a bridall.

*Omnes.* All ioy and happinesse.

*Hub.* To guard your lives will I lay out mine owne,
And like Vines plant you round about my throne.

*The end of the fifth and last Act.*

255

## To the Reader of this Play now come in Print.

That this play's old 'tis true; but now if any
Should for that cause despise it we have many
Reasons, both iust and pregnant, to maintaine
Antiquity, and those, too, not all vaine.
We know (and not long since) there was a time
Strong lines were not lookt after, but, if Rime,
O then 'twas excellent. Who but beleeves
That Doublets with stuft bellies and big sleeves
And those Trunk-hose¹ which now our life doth
scorne

Were all in fashion and with custome worne ?
And what's now out of date who is't can tell
But it may come in fashion and suite well ?
With rigour therefore iudge not but with reason,
Since what you read was fitted to that season.

¹ 'Trunk-hose' wide breeches stuffed with wool, &c.