Hodge.

Call you this seeing of fashions? marry would I had staid at Putney still. O, master Thomas, we are spoil'd, we are gone.

Crom.

Content thee, man; this is but fortune.

Hodge.

Fortune! a plague of this fortune, it makes me go wet-shod; the rogues would not leave me a shoe to my feet.

For my hose,
They scorn'd them with their heels:
But for my doublet and hat,
O Lord, they embrac'd me,
And unlac'd me,
And took away my cloaths,
And so disgrac'd me.

Crom.

Well, Hodge, what remedy? What shift shall we make now?

Hodge.

Nay I know not. For begging I am naught; for stealing worse. By my troth, I must even fall to my old trade, to the hammer and the horse-heels again:—But now the worst is, I am not acquainted with the humour of the horses in this country; whether they are not coltish, given much to kicking, or no: for when I have one leg in my

hand, if he should up and lay t'other on my chaps, I were gone; there lay I, there lay Hodge.

Crom.

Hodge, I believe thou must work for us both.

Hodge.

O, master Thomas, have not I told you of this? Have not I many a time and often said, Tom, or master Thomas, learn to make a horse-shoe, it will be your own another day: this was not regarded.— Hark you, Thomas! what do you call the fellows that robb'd us?

Crom.

The banditti.

Hodge.

The banditti do you call them? I know not what they are call'd here, but I am sure we call them plain thieves in England. O, Tom, that we were now at Putney, at the ale there^{6 note}!

Crom.
Content thee, man: here set up these two bills,
And let us keep our standing on the bridge.
The fashion of this country is such,
If any stranger be oppress'd with want,
To write the manner of his misery;
And such as are dispos'd to succour him, [Hodge sets up the bills.
Will do it. What, Hodge, hast thou set them up?

Hodge.

Ay, they are up; God send some to read them^{7 note}


, and not only to read them, but also to look on us: and not altogether look on us, but to relieve us. O, cold, cold, cold!

Enter Frescobald.

Fres. [reads the bills.]
What's here?
Two Englishmen, and robb'd by the banditti!
One of them seems to be a gentleman.
'Tis pity that his fortune was so hard,
To fall into the desperate hands of thieves:
I'll question him of what estate he is.
God save you, sir. Are you an Englishman?

Crom.

I am, sir, a distressed Englishman.

Fres.

And what are you, my friend?

Hodge.

Who, I sir? by my troth I do not know myself, what I am now; but, sir, I was a smith, sir, a poor farrier of Putney. That's my master, sir, yonder; I was robb'd for his sake, sir.

Fres.
I see you have been met by the banditti,
And therefore need not ask how you came thus.
But Frescobald, why dost thou question them
Of their estate, and not relieve their need?
Sir, the coin I have about me is not much:
There's sixteen ducats for to clothe yourselves,
There's sixteen more to buy your diet with,
And there's sixteen to pay for your horse-hire.
'Tis all the wealth, you see, my purse possesses;
But if you please for to enquire me out,
You shall not want for aught that I can do.
My name is Frescobald, a Florence merchant,
A man that always lov'd your nation.

Crom.
This unexpected favour at your hands,
Which God doth know, if e'er I shall requite—
Necessity makes me to take your bounty,
And for your gold can yield you nought but thanks.
Your charity hath help'd me from despair;
Your name shall still be in my hearty prayer.

Fres.
It is not worth such thanks: come to my house;
Your want shall better be reliev'd than thus.

Crom.
I pray, excuse me; this shall well suffice,
To bear my charges to Bononia,
Whereas a noble earl is much distress'd^{8 note}

.
An Englishman, Russel the earl of Bedford,
Is by the French king sold unto his death.
It may fall out, that I may do him good;
To save his life, I'll hazard my heart-blood.
Therefore, kind sir, thanks for your liberal gift;
I must be gone to aid him; there's no shift.

Fres.
I'll be no hinderer to so good an act.
Heaven prosper you in that you go about!
If fortune bring you this way back again,
Pray let me see you: so I take my leave;
All good a man can wish, I do bequeath. [Exit Frescobald.

Crom.
All good that God doth send, light on your head!
There's few such men within our climate bred.
How say you Hodge? is not this good fortune?

Hodge.

How say you? I'll tell you what, master Thomas; if all men be of this gentleman's mind, let's keep our standings upon this bridge; we shall get more here, with begging in one day, than I shall with making horse-shoes in a whole year.

Crom.
No, Hodge, we must be gone unto Bononia,
There to relieve the noble earl of Bedford:
Where, if I fail not in my policy,
I shall deceive their subtle treachery.

Hodge.

Nay, I'll follow you. God bless us from the thieving banditti again.

SCENE II. Bononia^{9 note}. A room in an hotel. Enter Bedford and Host.

Bed.
Am I betray'd? was Bedford born to die
By such base slaves, in such a place as this?
Have I escap'd so many times in France,
So many battles have I over-pass'd,
And made the French stir, when they heard my name^{1 note}

Host.
They do desire, my lord, to speak with you.

Bed.
The traitors do desire to have my blood;
But by my birth, my honour, and my name,
By all my hopes, my life shall cost them dear.
Open the door; I'll venture out upon them,
And if I must die, then I'll die with honour.

Host.
Alas, my lord, that is a desperate course:
They have begirt you round about the house.
Their meaning is, to take you prisoner,
And so to send your body unto France.

Bed.
First shall the ocean be as dry as sand,
Before alive they send me unto France.

I'll have my body first bor'd like a sieve,
And die as Hector, 'gainst the Myrmidons^{2 note}


,
Ere France shall boast, Bedford's their prisoner.
Treacherous France! that, 'gainst the law of arms,
Hath here betray'd thine enemy to death.
But be assur'd, my blood shall be reveng'd
Upon the best lives that remain in France. Enter a Servant.
Stand back, or else thou run'st upon thy death.

Ser.
Pardon, my lord; I come to tell your honour,
That they have hir'd a Neapolitan,
Who by his oratory hath promis'd them,
Without the shedding of one drop of blood,
Into their hands safe to deliver you;
And therefore craves none but himself may enter,
And a poor swain that attends upon him.

Bed.
A Neapolitan? bid him come in. [Exit Servant.
Were he as cunning in his eloquence,
As Cicero, the famous man of Rome,
His words would be as chaff against the wind.
Sweet-tongu'd Ulysses, that made Ajax mad,
Were he, and his tongue in this speaker's head,
Alive he wins me not; then 'tis no conquest, dead. Enter Cromwell in a Neapolitan habit, and Hodge.

Crom.
Sir, are you the master of the house?

Host.
I am, sir.

Crom.
By this same token you must leave this place,

And leave none but the earl and I together,
And this my peasant here to tend on us.

Host.
With all my heart: God grant you do some good. [Exit Host. Cromwell shuts the door.

Bed.
Now, sir, what is your will with me?

Crom.
Intends your honour not to yield yourself?

Bed.
No, good-man goose, not while my sword doth last.
Is this your eloquence for to persuade me?

Crom.
My lord, my eloquence is for to save you:
I am not, as you judge, a Neapolitan,
But Cromwell, your servant, and an Englishman.

Bed.
How! Cromwell? not my farrier's son?

Crom.
The same, sir; and am come to succour you.

Hodge.

Yes 'faith, sir; and I am Hodge, your poor smith: many a time and oft have I shod your dapple-grey^{3 note}.

Bed.
And what avails it me that thou art here?

Crom.
It may avail, if you'll be rul'd by me.
My lord, you know, the men of Mantua
And these Bononians are at deadly strife;
And they, my lord^{4 note}, both love and honour you.
Could you but get out of the Mantua port^{5 note}

Bed.
Tut, man, thou talk'st of things impossible;
Dost thou not see, that we are round beset?

How then is't possible we should escape?

Crom.
By force we cannot, but by policy.
Put on the apparel here that Hodge doth wear,
And give him yours: The states, they know you not^{6 note}

Bed.
O, wond'rous good.—But wilt thou venture, Hodge?

Hode.
Will I?

  O noble lord,
  I do accord,
In any thing I can:
  And do agree,
  To set thee free,
Do Fortune what she can.

Bed.
Come then, let us change our apparel straight.

Crom.
Go, Hodge; make haste, lest they should chance to call.

Hodge.
I warrant you I'll fit him with a suit. [Exeunt Bedford and Hodge.

Crom.
Heavens grant this policy doth take success,
And that the earl may safely scape away!
And yet it grieves me for this simple wretch,
For fear lest they should offer him violence:
But of two evils 'tis best to shun the greatest;
And better is it that he live in thrall,
Than such a noble earl as he should fall.
Their stubborn hearts, it may be, will relent,
Since he is gone, to whom their hate is bent. Re-enter Bedford and Hodge.
My lord, have you dispatch'd?

Bed.
How dost thou like us, Cromwell? is it well?

Crom.

O, my good lord, excellent. Hodge, how dost feel thyself?

Hodge.

How do I feel myself? why, as a nobleman should do. O how I feel honour come creeping on! My nobility is wonderful melancholy^{7 note}

Bed.

Yes, Hodge: now go sit down in the study, and take state upon thee.

Hodge.

I warrant you, my lord; let me alone to take state upon me: But hark, my lord, do you feel nothing bite about you?

Bed.

No, trust me, Hodge.

Hodge.

Ay, they know they want their old pasture. 'Tis a strange thing of this vermin, they dare not meddle with nobility.

Crom.
Go take thy place, Hodge; I will call them in.
Now all is done:—Enter an if you please. Enter the Governour and other States and Citizens of Bononia, and Officers with halberts.

Gov.
What, have you won him? will he yield himself?

Crom.
I have, an't please you; and the quiet earl
Doth yield himself to be dispos'd by you.

Gov.
Give him the money that we promis'd him;
So let him go, whither it please himself.

Crom.
My business, sir, lies unto Mantua;
Please you to give me a safe conduct thither.

Gov.
Go, and conduct him to the Mantua port,
And see him safe deliver'd presently. [Exeunt Cromwell, Bedford, and an Officer.
Go draw the curtains, let us see the earl^{8 note}

O, he is writing; stand apart a while.

Hodge. [reads.]

Fellow William, I am not as I have been; I went from you a smith, I write to you as a lord. I am at this present writing, among the Polonian sausages^{9 note}

^note, they being famous for this kind of viand,—which in vulgar language is at this day called a Polony. In the quarto the word is spelled, in one place, sasigis, in another casiges. Malone.

I suppose he means cossacks, or as it was then written, cossaques. Percy.

From a subsequent line it appears that a word of three syllables was intended. Malone.

Gov.
Sure these are the names of English noblemen,
Some of his special friends, to whom he writes:— [Hodge sounds a note.
But stay, he doth address himself to sing. [Hodge sings a song.
My lord, I am glad you are so frolick and so blithe:
Believe me, noble lord, if you knew all,
You'd change your merry vein to sudden sorrow.

Hodge.
I change my merry vein? no, thou Bononian, no;
I am a lord, and therefore let me go.
I do defy thee and thy sausages;
Therefore stand off, and come not near my honour.

Gov.
My lord, this jesting cannot serve your turn.

Hodge.
Dost think, thou black Bononian beast,
That I do flout, do gibe, or jest?

No, no, thou beer pot, know that I,
A noble earl, a lord par-dy— [A trumpet sounds.

Gov.
What means this trumpet's sound? Enter a Messenger.

Cit.
One is come from the states of Mantua.

Gov.
What, would you with us? speak thou man of Mantua.

Mes.
Men of Bononia, this my message is;
To let you know, the noble earl of Bedford
Is safe within the town of Mantua,
And wills you send the peasant that you have,
Who hath deceiv'd your expectation:
Or else the states of Mantua have vow'd,
They will recall the truce that they have made;
And not a man shall stir from forth your town,
That shall return, unless you send him back.

Gov.
O this misfortune, how it mads my heart!
The Neapolitan hath beguil'd us all.
Hence with this fool. What shall we do with him,
The earl being gone? A plague upon it all!

Hodge.

No, I'll assure you, I am no earl, but a smith, sir, one Hodge, a smith at Putney, sir; one that hath gulled you, that hath bored you, sir^{1 note}
.

Gov.
Away with him; take hence the fool you came for.

Hodge.
Ay, sir, and I'll leave the greater fool with you.

Mes.
Farewel, Bononians. Come, friend, along with me.

Hodge.
My friend, afore; my lordship will follow thee. [Exeunt Hodge and Messenger.

Gov.
Well, Mantua, since by thee the earl is lost,
Within few days I hope to see thee crost. [Exeunt Governour, States, Attendants, &c.

Enter Chorus.

Cho.
Thus far you see how Cromwell's fortune pass'd.
The earl of Bedford, being safe in Mantua,
Desires Cromwell's company into France,
To make requital for his courtesy;
But Cromwell doth deny the earl his suit,
And tells him that those parts he meant to see,
He had not yet set footing on the land^{2 note}
;
And so directly takes his way to Spain;
The earl to France^{3 note}

SCENE III. London. A room in sir Christopher Hales's house. Musick plays; then a banquet is brought in. Enter sir Christopher Hales, Cromwell, and two Servants.

Hales.
Come, sirs, be careful of your master's credit;
And as our bounty now exceeds the figure
Of common entertainment, so do you,
With looks as free as is your master's soul,
Give formal welcome to the thronged tables,
That shall receive the cardinal's followers,
And the attendants of the great lord chancellor.
But all my care, Cromwell, depends on thee:
Thou art a man differing from vulgar form,
And by how much thy spirit's rank'd 'bove these,
In rules of art, by so much it shines brighter
By travel, whose observance pleads his merit,
In a most learn'd, yet unaffecting spirit.
Good Cromwell, cast an eye of fair regard
'Bout all my house; and what this ruder flesh^{5 note},
Through ignorance, or wine, do miscreate,
Salve thou with courtesy. If welcome want,
Full bowls and ample banquets will seem scant^{6 note}



.

Crom.
Sir, as to whatsoever lies in me,
Assure you, I will shew my utmost duty.

Hales.
About it then; the lords will straight be here. [Exit Cromwell.
Cromwell, thou hast those parts would rather suit
The service of the state than of my house:
I look upon thee with a loving eye,
That one day will prefer thy destiny. Enter a Servant.

Ser.
Sir, the lords be at hand.

Hales.
They are welcome: bid Cromwell straight attend us,
And look you all things be in perfect readiness. [Exit Servant. The musick plays. Enter cardinal Wolsey, sir Thomas More, Gardiner, Cromwell, and other attendants.

Wol.
O, sir Christopher,
You are too liberal: What! a banquet too?

Hales.
My lords, if words could show the ample welcome
That my free heart affords you, I could then
Become a prater; but I now must deal
Like a feast-politician with your lordships;
Defer your welcome till the banquet end,
That it may then salve our defect of fare:
Yet welcome now, and all that tend on you.

Wol.
Our thanks to the kind Master of the rolls.
Come and sit down; sit down sir Thomas More.
'Tis strange, how that we and the Spaniard differ;
Their dinner is our banquet after dinner,9Q1360
And they are men of active disposition.
This I gather, that, by their sparing meat,
Their bodies are more fitter for the wars;
And if that famine chance to pinch their maws,
Being us'd to fast, it breeds in them less pain.

Hales.
Fill me some wine; I'll answer cardinal Wolsey.

My lord, we English are of more freer souls,
Than hunger-starv'd and ill-complexion'd Spaniards.
They that are rich in Spain, spare belly-food,
To deck their backs with an Italian hood,
And silks of Seville; and the poorest snake^{7 note}

More.
Indeed it is a plague unto their nation,
Who stagger after* ^note in blind imitation.

Hales.
My lords, with welcome, I present your lordships
A solemn health.

More.
I love healths well; but when as healths do bring
Pain to the head, and body's surfeiting,
Then cease I healths:

Nay spill not friend; for though the drops be small,
Yet have they force to force men to the wall.

Wol.
Sir Christopher, is that your man?

Hales.
An't like
Your grace, he is a scholar, and a linguist;
One that hath travelled through many parts
Of Christendom, my lord.

Wol.
My friend, come nearer: have you been a traveller?

Crom.
My lord,
I have added to my knowledge, the Low Countries,
With France, Spain, Germany, and Italy;
And though small gain of profit I did find,
Yet it did please my eye, content my mind.

Wol.
What do you think then of the several states
And princes' courts as you have travelled?

Crom.
My lord, no court with England may compare,
Neither for state, nor civil government.
Lust dwells in France, in Italy, and Spain,
From the poor peasant, to the prince's train.
In Germany and Holland, riot serves;
And he that most can drink, most he deserves.
England I praise not for I here was born^{1 note}
,
But that she laughs the others unto scorn.

Wol.
My lord, there dwells within that spirit more
Than can be discern'd by the outward eye:—
Sir Christopher, will you part with your man?

Hales.
I have sought to proffer him unto your lordship;
And now I see he hath preferr'd himself.

Wol.
What is thy name?

Crom.
Cromwell, my lord.

Wol.
Then, Cromwell, here we make thee solicitor

Of our causes, and nearest, next ourself:
Gardiner, give you kind welcome to the man. [Gardiner embraces him.

More.
My lord cardinal, you are a royal winner* ^note
,
Have got a man, besides your bounteous dinner.
Well, my good knight, pray, that we come no more;
If we come often, thou may'st shut thy door.

Wol.
Sir Christopher, hadst thou given me half thy lands,
Thou could'st not have pleas'd me so much as with
This man of thine. My infant thoughts do spell,
Shortly his fortune shall be lifted higher;
True industry doth kindle honour's fire:
And so, kind master of the rolls, farewel.

Hales.
Cromwell, farewel.

Crom.
Cromwell takes his leave of you,
That ne'er will leave to love and honour you^{2 note}
. [Exeunt. The musick plays as they go out.

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