Fame from her stately bower doth descend,
And on the tree as fruit new ripe to fall,
Placeth the crowns of these unhappy kings,
That erst she kept in eye of all the world.

[Here the blazing star. Now fiery stars, and streaming comets blaze, That threat the earth and princes of the same.

[Fireworks.

Fire, fire about the axletree of heaven
Whirls round, and from the foot of Cassiope,
In fatal hour consumes these fatal crowns.

Down falls the diadem of Portugal.

[One falls.

[The other falls.

The crowns of Barbary and kingdoms fall;
Aye me, that kingdoms may not stable stand!
And now approaching near the dismal day,
The bloody day wherein the battles join,
Monday the fourth of August seventy eight,
The sun shines wholly on the parched earth,
The brightest planet in the highest heaven.
The heathens eager bent against their foe,
Give onset with great ordnance to the war;
The Christians with great noise of cannon shot
Send angry onsets to the enemy.

Give ear and hear, how war begins his song,

With dreadful clamours, noise, and trumpets' sound.

[Exit.

[Alarums within; let the chambers be discharged: then enter to the battle; and the Moors fly.

[Skirmish still then enter ABDILMELEC in his chair, ZAREO, and their train. ABDILM. Say on, Zareo, tell me all the news, Tell me what fury rangeth in our camp,

That hath inforc'd our Moors to turn their backs;

Zareo, say what chance did bode this ill,

What ill inforc'd this dastard cowardice?

ZAREO. My lord, such chance as wilful war affords;

Such chances and misfortunes, as attend

On him, the god of battle and of arms.

My lord, when with our ordnance fierce we sent
Our Moors with smaller shot, as thick as hail
Follows apace, to charge the Portugal;

The valiant duke, the devil of Avero,

The bane of Barbary, fraughted full of ire,
Breaks through the ranks, and with five hundred
horse

All men at arms, forward and full of might,
Assaults the middle wing, and puts to flight
Eight thousand harquebuze that serv'd on foot,
And twenty thousand Moors with spear and shield,
And therewithal the honour of the day.

ABDILM. Ah, Abdilmelec! dost thou live to hear
This bitter process of this first attempt?
Labour, my lords, to renew our force

Of fainting Moors, and fight it to the last.

My horse, Zareo! O, the goal is lost,
The goal is lost! Thou king of Portugal,
Thrice happy chance it is for thee and thine
That heaven* abates my strength and calls me hence.
My sight doth fail; my soul, my feeble soul
Shall be releas'd from prison on this earth:
Farewell, vain world, for I have play'd my part.

[He dieth.

A long skirmish: and then enter his Brother
MULY MAHAMET SETH.

MULY MAH. SETH. Brave Abdilmelec, thou thrice
noble lord!

Not such a wound was given to Barbary,

Had twenty hosts of men been put to sword,
As death, pale death, with fatal shaft hath given.
Lo, dead is he, my brother, and my king,

Whom I might have reviv'd with news I bring! ZAREO. His honours and his types he hath resign'd

Unto the world, and of a manly man,

Lo, in a twinkling, a senseless stock we see !
MULY MAH. SETH. You trusty soldiers of this

warlike king,

Be counsell'd now by us in this advice ;

Let not his death be bruited in the camp,
Lest with the sudden sorrow of the news

The army wholly be discomfited.

My lord Zareo, thus I comfort you;

Our Moors have bravely borne themselves in fight,
Likely to get the honour of the day,

If ought may gotten be where loss is such.
Therefore, in this apparel as he died,

My noble brother will we here advance,
And set him in his chair with cunning props,
That our barbarians may behold their king,
And think he doth repose him in his tent.
ZAREO. Right politic and good is your advice;
Go, then, to see it speedily perform❜d.
Brave lord, if Barbary recover this,

Thy soul with joy will sit and see the fight. [Exeunt.

Alarums: enter to the battle; and the Christians fly : the Duke of AVERO slain. Enter SEBASTIAN and STUKELey.

SEB. See'st thou not, Stukeley, O Stukeley, see'st thou not

The great dishonour done to Christendom?
Our cheerful onset crost in springing hope;
The brave and mighty prince, duke of Avero,
Slain in my sight: now joy betide his ghost,
For like a lion did he bear himself!
Our battles are all now disordered,
And by our horses' strange retiring back,
Our middle wing of foot-men over-rode.
Stukeley, alas, I see my oversight!
False-hearted Mahamet, now to my cost,
I see thy treachery, warn'd to beware
A face so full of fraud and villainy.

Alarums within, and they run out, and two set upon

STUKELEY, and he driveth them in.

the MOOR and his Boy flying.

MOOR. Villain, a horse !

Then enter

Boy. O, my lord, if you return, you die!
MOOR. Villain, I say, give me a horse to fly,
To swim the river, villain, and to fly. [Exit Boy.
Where shall I find some unfrequented place,
Some uncouth walk, where I may curse my fill,
My stars, my dam, my planets, and my nurse,
The fire, the air, the water, and the earth,
All causes that have thus conspir'd in one,
To nourish and preserve me to this shame ?
Thou that wert at my birth predominate,
Thou fatal star, what planet e'er thou be,
Spit out thy poison bad, and all the ill
That fortune, fate, or heaven, may bode a man.
Thou nurse infortunate, guilty of all,

Thou mother of my life, that brought'st me forth,
Curst may'st thou be for such a cursed son;
Curst be thy son with every curse thou hast.
Ye elements of whom consists this clay,
This mass of flesh, this cursed crazed corpse,
Destroy, dissolve, disturb, and dissipate,
What water, earth, and air congeal'd.

Alarums, and enter the Boy.

Boy. O, my lord,

These ruthless Moors pursue you at the heels,

And come amain to put you to the sword!