Anon upon him rush’d once moreA throng of foes, and in this renew’d strife,
My sword met his and snapp’d off at the hilts.
Glocester.
Come, lead me to this Mars-and let us move
In silence, not insulting his sad doom
With clamorous trumpets. To the Empress bear
My salutation as befits the time.
[Exeunt Glocester and Forces.
Scene III
The Field of Battle. Enter Stephen unarmed. -
Stephen.
Another sword! And what if I could seize
One from Bellona’s gleaming armoury,
Or choose the fairest of her sheaved spears!
Where are my enemies? Here, close at hand,
Here come the testy brood. O for a sword!
I’m faint-a biting sword! A noble sword!
A hedge-stake- or a ponderous stone to hurl
With brawny vengeance, like the labourer Cain.
Come on! Farewell my kingdom, and all hail
Thou superb, plumb’d, and helmeted renown,
All hail-I would not truck this brilliant day
To rule in Pylos with a Nestor’s beard-
Come on! -
Enter De Kaims and Knights, &c. -
De Kaims.
Is’t madness, or a hunger after death,
That makes thee thus unarm’d throw taunts at us?
Yield, Stephen, or my sword’s point dip in
The gloomy current of a traitor’s heart.
Stephen.
Do it, De Kaims, I will not budge an inch.
De Kaims.
Yes, of thy madness thou shalt take the meed.
Stephen.
Darest thou?
De Kaims.
How dare, against a man disarm’d?
Stephen.
What weapons has the lion but himself?
Come not near me, De Kaims, for by the price
Of all the glory I have won this day,
Being a king, I will not yield alive
To any but the second man of the realm,
Robert of Glocester.
De Kaims.
Thou shalt vail to me.
Stephen.
Shall I, when I have sworn against it, sir?
Thou think’st it brave to take a breathing king,
That, on a court-day bow’d to haughty Maud
The awed presence-chamber may be bold
To whisper, there’s the man who took alive
Stephen-me- prisoner. Certes, De Kaims,
The ambition is a noble one.
De Kaims.
’Tis true,
And, Stephen, I must compass it.
Stephen.
No, no,
Do not tempt me to throttle you on the gorge,
Or with my gauntlet crush your hollow breast,
Just when your knighthood is grown ripe and full
For lordship.
A SOLDIER. Is an honest yeoman’s spear
Of no use at a need? Take that.
Stephen.
Ah, dastard!
De Kaims.
What, you are vulnerable! my prisoner!
Stephen.
No not yet. I disclaim it, and demand
Death as a sovereign right unto a king
Who ‘sdains to yield to any but his peer,
If not in title, yet in noble deeds,
The Earl of Glocester. Stab to the hilts, De Kaims,
For I will never by mean hands be led
From this so famous field. Do ye hear! Be quick! -
Trumpets.
Enter the Earl of Chester and Knights.
Scene IV
A Presence Chamber. Queen Maud in a Chair of State, the Earls of Glocester and Chester, Lords, Attendants. -
Maud.
Glocester, no more: I will behold that Boulogne:
Set him before me. Not for the poor sake
Of regal pomp and a vain-glorious hour,
As thou with wary speech, yet near enough,
Hast hinted.
Glocester.
Faithful counsel have I given;
If wary, for your Highness’ benefit.
Maud.
The Heavens forbid that I should not think so,
For by thy valour have I won this realm,
Which by thy wisdom I will ever keep.
To sage advisers let me ever bend
A meek attentive ear, so that they treat
Of the wide kingdom’s rule and government,
Not trenching on our actions personal.
Advis’d, not school’d, I would be; and henceforth
Spoken to in clear, plain, and open terms,
Not sideways sermon’d at.
Glocester.
Then, in plain terms,
Once more for the fallen king-
Maud.
Your pardon, Brother,
I would no more of that; for, as I said,
’Tis not for worldly pomp I wish to see
The rebel, but as dooming judge to give
A sentence something worthy of
