50

* Yet I will stay at Otterbourne,

Where you shall welcome be;
And, if you come not at three dayis end,

A fause lord I'll ca' thee.'
• Thither will I come,' proud Percy said,

* By the might of Our Ladye!'• There will I bide thee,' said the Douglas, 55

• My trowth I plight to thee.' They lighted high on Otterbourne,

Upon the bent sae brown;
They lighted high on Otterbourne,
And threw their pallions down.

60 And he that had a bonnie boy,

Sent out his horse to grass ;
And he that had not a bonnie boy,

His ain servant he was.
But up then spake a little page,

Before the peep of dawn-
' waken ye, waken ye, my good lord,

For Percy's hard at hand.' 'Ye lie, ye lie, ye liar loud! Sae loud I hear ye lie:

70 For Percy had not men yestreen,

To dight my men and me.
*But I hae dream'd a dreary dream,

Beyond the Isle of Skye;
I saw a dead man win a fight,

75 And think that man was 1.'

65

&

He belted on his good braid sword,

And to the field he ran;
But he forgot the helmet good,

That should have kept his brain.

80

58. bent) field.

72. dight) doom.

60. pallions) tents.

85

90

95

When Percy wi' the Douglas met,

I wat he was fu' fain! They swakked their swords, till sair they swat,

And the blood ran down like rain.
But Percy with his good braid sword,

That could so sharply wound,
Has wounded Douglas on the brow,

Till he fell to the ground.
Then he call'd on his little foot-page,

And said—Run speedilie,
And fetch my ain dear sister's son,

Sir Hugh Montgomery.'
• My nephew good,' the Douglas said,

• What recks the death of ane! Last night I dream'd a dreary dream,

And I ken the day's thy ain. • My wound is deep; I fain would sleep;

Take thou the vanguard of the three, And hide me by the braken bush,

That grows on yonder lilye lee. O bury me by the braken bush,

Beneath the blooming briar, Let never living mortal ken

That ere a kindly Scot lies here.' He lifted up that noble lord,

Wi' the saut tear in his e'e; He hid him in the braken bush,

That his merrie men might not see. The moon was clear, the day drew near,

The spears in flinders flew, But many a gallant Englishman

Ere day the Scotsmen slew.

100

105

83. swakked swords) exchanged blows.

115

The Gordons good in English blood

They steep'd their hose and shoon;
The Lindsays flew like fire about,

Till all the fray was done.
The Percy and Montgomery met,

That either of other were fain ;
That swapped swords, and they twa swat,

And aye the blude ran down between.
• Yield thee, O yield thee, Percy!' he said,

Or else I vow I'll lay thee low! Whom to shall I yield,' said Earl Percy,

Now that I see it must be so ?'

I 20

125

• Thou shall not yield to lord nor loun,

Nor yet shalt thou yield to me; But yield thee to the braken bush,

That grows upon yon lilye lee!' I will not yield to a braken bush,

Nor yet will I yield to a briar; But I would yield to Earl Douglas,

Or Sir Hugh the Montgomery, if he were here.'

130

As soon as he knew it was Montgomery,

He stuck his sword's point in the gronde; And the Montgomery was a courteous knight, 135

And quickly took him by the honde.

This deed was done at Otterbourne,

About the breaking of the day;
Earl Douglas was buried at the braken bush,
And the Percy led captive away.

140 ANONYMOUS (from Scott's Minstrelsy of the Border).

PANEGYRIC ON ENGLAND

(1399)

Shakespeare makes John of Gaunt the mouthpiece of the discontent and unrest in England during the last years of the reign of Richard II.

6

IO

Gaunt. Methinks I am a prophet new inspir'd, And thus expiring do foretell of him: His rash fierce blaze of riot cannot last, For violent fires soon burn out themselves; Small showers last long, but sudden storms are short; He tires betimes that spurs too fast betimes; With eager feeding food doth choke the feeder: Light vanity, insatiate cormorant, Consuming means, soon preys upon itself. This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle, This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, This other Eden, demi-paradise, This fortress built by Nature for herself Against infection and the hand of war, This happy breed of men, this little world,

15 This precious stone set in the silver sea, Which serves it in the office of a wall, Or as a moat defensive to a house, Against the envy of less happier lands, This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England, This nurse, this teeming womb of royal kings, Fear'd by their breed and famous by their birth, Renowned for their deeds as far from home,For Christian service and true chivalry,As is the sepulchre in stubborn Jewry Of the world's ransom, blessed Mary's Son: This land of such dear souls, this dear, dear land, Dear for her reputation through the world, Is now leas'd out,—I die pronouncing it,

21

25 30

Like to a tenement, or pelting farm:
England, bound in with the triumphant sea,
Whose rocky shore beats back the envious siege
Of watery Neptune, is now bound in with shame,
With inky blots, and rotten parchment bonds :
That England, that was wont to conquer others, 35
Hath made a shameful conquest of itself.
Ah! would the scandal vanish with my life,
How happy then were my ensuing death.

W. SHAKESPEARE (from Richard 11).

29. leas'd out. A reference to Richard II's alliance with France, over whom in Gaunt's youth England had won such brilliant victories. The noble, always contemptuous of the lawyer, uses legal terms to express his disgust at the agreement between the two countries.

34. inky blots. Richard compelled men to seal bonds by which they promised to pay any amount he might choose to ask for,

DEPOSITION OF RICHARD II

(1399) The chief cause which led to the deposition of Richard II was his unpopularity with the nobility on account of his desire to rule absolutely. The war party keenly resented the peace with France; and Bolingbroke, coming back ostensibly to claim his father's estate, found a strong party ready to force Richard to resign and put him on the throne.

Scene. Westminster Hall. The Lords Spiritual on the right side of the throne: the Lords Temporal on the left : the Commons below. Enter Richard, and officers bearing the crown, &c.

King Richard. Alack ! why am I sent for to a king Before I have shook off the regal thoughts Wherewith I reign'd? I hardly yet have learn'd To insinuate, flatter, bow, and bend my limbs :

30. pelting] paltry.