"Welcome, sweete Maudlin, from the sea,125Where bitter stormes and tempests doe arise:The plesant bankes of ItalyWee may behold with mortal eyes.""Thankes, gentle master," then quoth shee;"A faithfull friend in sorrow hast thou beene;130If fortune once doth smile on mee,My thankfull heart shall well bee seene."Blest be the land that feedes my love!Blest be the place where as his person doth abide!No triall will I sticke to prove,135Whereby my true love may be tride."Nowe will I walke with joyful heart,To viewe the towne where as my darlinge doth remaine,And seeke him out in every part,Untill I doe his sight attaine."140"And I," quoth he, "will not forsakeSweete Maudlin in her sorrow up and downe:In wealth and woe thy part Ile take,And bring thee safe to Padua towne."And after many wearie steps145In Padua they safely doe arrive at last:For very joy her heart it leapes;She thinkes not of her sorrowes past.Condemned to dye hee was, alas!Except he would from his religion turne;150But rather then hee would to masse,In fiery flames he vow'd to burne.Now doth Maudlin weepe and waile:Her joy is chang'd to weeping, sorrow, griefe and care;But nothing could her plaints prevaile,155For death alone must be his share.Shee walkes under the prison walls,Where her true love doth lye and languish in distresse;Most wofully for foode he calls,When hunger did his heart oppresse.160He sighs and sobs and makes great moane:"Farewell," hee said, "sweete England, now for evermore,And all my friends that have me knowneIn Bristow towne with wealth and store."But most of all farewell," quoth hee,165"My owne true love, sweet Maudlin, whom I left behind;For never more shall I see thee.Woe to thy father most unkind!"How well were I, if thou wert here,With thy faire hands to close these wretched eyes:170My torments easie would appeare;My soule with joy shall scale the skies."When Maudlin heard her lover's moane,Her eyes with teares, her heart with sorrow filled was:To speake with him no meanes is knowne,175Such grievous doome on him did passe.Then she cast off her lad's attire;A maiden's weede upon her back she seemely set;To the judge's house shee did enquire,And there shee did a service get.180Shee did her duty there so well,And eke so prudently she did her selfe behave,With her in love her master fell;His servant's favour hee doth crave."Maudlin," quoth hee, "my heart's delight,185To whom my heart is in affection tied,Breed not my death through thy despight;A faithfull friend I will be tryed."Grant me thy love, faire maid," quoth hee,"And at my hands require what thou canst devise,190And I will grant it unto thee,Whereby thy credit may arise.""I have a brother, sir," she said,"For his religion is now condemned to dye:In loathsome prison hee is layd,195Opprest with griefe and misery."Grant me my brother's life," shee said,"And to you my love and liking I will give.""That may not be," quoth hee, "faire maid;Except he turne, he cannot live."200"An English Frier there is," shee said,"Of learning great and passing pure of life,Let him to my brother be sent,And he will finish soone the strife."Her master hearing this request,205The marriner in frier's weed she did array,And to her love, that lay distrest,Shee did a letter straight convey.When hee had read these gentle lines,His heart was ravished with sudden joy;210Where now shee was full well hee knew:The frier likewise was not coy;But did declare to him at largeThe enterprise for him his love had taken in hand.The young man did the frier charge,215His love should straight depart the land."Here is no place for her," hee said,"But woefull death and danger of her harmlesse life:Professing truth I was betraid,And fearfull flames must end my strife.220"For, ere I will my faith deny,And sweare my selfe to follow damned Antichrist,Ile yeeld my body for to die,To live in heaven with the highest.""O sir!" the gentle frier said,225"For your sweet love recant, and save your wished life.A wofull match," quoth hee, "is madeWhere Christ is lost to win a wife."When she had wrought all meanes that mightTo save her friend, and that she saw it would not bee,Then of the judge shee claimed her right,231To die the death as well as hee.When no perswasion could prevaile,Nor change her mind in any thing that shee had said,She was with him condemned to die,235And for them both one fire was made.And arme in arme most joyfullyThese lovers twaine unto the fire they did goe:The marriner most faithfullyWas likewise partner of their woe.240But when the judges understoodThe faithfull friendship did in them remaine,They saved their lives; and afterwardTo England sent them home againe.Now was their sorrow turned to joy,245And faithfull lovers had now their heart's desire:Their paines so well they did imploy,God granted that they did require.And when they were to England come,And in merry Bristow arrived at the last,250Great joy there was to all and someThat heard the dangers they had past.Her gentle master shee desiredTo be her father, and at the church to give her then:It was fulfilled as shee required,255Unto the joy of all good men.
"Welcome, sweete Maudlin, from the sea,125Where bitter stormes and tempests doe arise:The plesant bankes of ItalyWee may behold with mortal eyes."
"Thankes, gentle master," then quoth shee;"A faithfull friend in sorrow hast thou beene;130If fortune once doth smile on mee,My thankfull heart shall well bee seene.
"Blest be the land that feedes my love!Blest be the place where as his person doth abide!No triall will I sticke to prove,135Whereby my true love may be tride.
"Nowe will I walke with joyful heart,To viewe the towne where as my darlinge doth remaine,And seeke him out in every part,Untill I doe his sight attaine."140
"And I," quoth he, "will not forsakeSweete Maudlin in her sorrow up and downe:In wealth and woe thy part Ile take,And bring thee safe to Padua towne."
And after many wearie steps145In Padua they safely doe arrive at last:For very joy her heart it leapes;She thinkes not of her sorrowes past.
Condemned to dye hee was, alas!Except he would from his religion turne;150But rather then hee would to masse,In fiery flames he vow'd to burne.
Now doth Maudlin weepe and waile:Her joy is chang'd to weeping, sorrow, griefe and care;But nothing could her plaints prevaile,155For death alone must be his share.
Shee walkes under the prison walls,Where her true love doth lye and languish in distresse;Most wofully for foode he calls,When hunger did his heart oppresse.160
He sighs and sobs and makes great moane:"Farewell," hee said, "sweete England, now for evermore,And all my friends that have me knowneIn Bristow towne with wealth and store.
"But most of all farewell," quoth hee,165"My owne true love, sweet Maudlin, whom I left behind;For never more shall I see thee.Woe to thy father most unkind!
"How well were I, if thou wert here,With thy faire hands to close these wretched eyes:170My torments easie would appeare;My soule with joy shall scale the skies."
When Maudlin heard her lover's moane,Her eyes with teares, her heart with sorrow filled was:To speake with him no meanes is knowne,175Such grievous doome on him did passe.
Then she cast off her lad's attire;A maiden's weede upon her back she seemely set;To the judge's house shee did enquire,And there shee did a service get.180
Shee did her duty there so well,And eke so prudently she did her selfe behave,With her in love her master fell;His servant's favour hee doth crave.
"Maudlin," quoth hee, "my heart's delight,185To whom my heart is in affection tied,Breed not my death through thy despight;A faithfull friend I will be tryed.
"Grant me thy love, faire maid," quoth hee,"And at my hands require what thou canst devise,190And I will grant it unto thee,Whereby thy credit may arise."
"I have a brother, sir," she said,"For his religion is now condemned to dye:In loathsome prison hee is layd,195Opprest with griefe and misery.
"Grant me my brother's life," shee said,"And to you my love and liking I will give.""That may not be," quoth hee, "faire maid;Except he turne, he cannot live."200
"An English Frier there is," shee said,"Of learning great and passing pure of life,Let him to my brother be sent,And he will finish soone the strife."
Her master hearing this request,205The marriner in frier's weed she did array,And to her love, that lay distrest,Shee did a letter straight convey.
When hee had read these gentle lines,His heart was ravished with sudden joy;210Where now shee was full well hee knew:The frier likewise was not coy;
But did declare to him at largeThe enterprise for him his love had taken in hand.The young man did the frier charge,215His love should straight depart the land.
"Here is no place for her," hee said,"But woefull death and danger of her harmlesse life:Professing truth I was betraid,And fearfull flames must end my strife.220
"For, ere I will my faith deny,And sweare my selfe to follow damned Antichrist,Ile yeeld my body for to die,To live in heaven with the highest."
"O sir!" the gentle frier said,225"For your sweet love recant, and save your wished life.A wofull match," quoth hee, "is madeWhere Christ is lost to win a wife."
When she had wrought all meanes that mightTo save her friend, and that she saw it would not bee,Then of the judge shee claimed her right,231To die the death as well as hee.
When no perswasion could prevaile,Nor change her mind in any thing that shee had said,She was with him condemned to die,235And for them both one fire was made.
And arme in arme most joyfullyThese lovers twaine unto the fire they did goe:The marriner most faithfullyWas likewise partner of their woe.240
But when the judges understoodThe faithfull friendship did in them remaine,They saved their lives; and afterwardTo England sent them home againe.
Now was their sorrow turned to joy,245And faithfull lovers had now their heart's desire:Their paines so well they did imploy,God granted that they did require.
And when they were to England come,And in merry Bristow arrived at the last,250Great joy there was to all and someThat heard the dangers they had past.
Her gentle master shee desiredTo be her father, and at the church to give her then:It was fulfilled as shee required,255Unto the joy of all good men.
☞Figures placed after words denote the pages in which they occur.
Transcriber's NotesIrregular and inconsistent spellings have been retained as in the original. Typographical errors such as wrongly placed line numbers and punctuation have been corrected without comment. Where substantive changes have been made these are listed as follows:Page90, line 14: added missing apostrophe (In simmer, 'mid the flowers?)Page93, line 34: added missing end quotation mark (And the cauld rain on your breist.")Page177, line 26: added missing open quotation mark ("O come to your bed, my dearie; ...)Page120, line 41: added missing open quotation mark ("But wha will bake my bridal bread, ...)Page160, line 40: added missing (or uninked) comma ("She is dead, sir, long agoe.")Page168, line 12: changed period to comma (Against the brave wedding of pretty Bessee.)Page191, final paragraph: added closing quotation mark ( ... to no other shrine than that of Venus.[A]")Page192, second paragraph: open quotation mark moved to start of paragraph ("As I went to Walsinghamis quoted in Nashe'sHave with you to Saffron-Walden, ...)Note that the corrections to punctuation on pages191and192are consistent with interpreting the three paragraphs as attributed to "Chappell".Page224, line 206: added missing open quotation mark ("Upon thy wife and children,)Page227, line 145: deleted erroneous opening quotation mark (So they hae gane before the king,)Page278, line 178: added missing period ("To seal her tocher wi' thee.")Page316, line 128: changed "be" to "he" (For the young Lord Arundel he shall be.")Page332, line 110: changed "merehants" to "merchants" (Beare me a letter to the English merchants there,)
Irregular and inconsistent spellings have been retained as in the original. Typographical errors such as wrongly placed line numbers and punctuation have been corrected without comment. Where substantive changes have been made these are listed as follows:
Page90, line 14: added missing apostrophe (In simmer, 'mid the flowers?)
Page93, line 34: added missing end quotation mark (And the cauld rain on your breist.")
Page177, line 26: added missing open quotation mark ("O come to your bed, my dearie; ...)
Page120, line 41: added missing open quotation mark ("But wha will bake my bridal bread, ...)
Page160, line 40: added missing (or uninked) comma ("She is dead, sir, long agoe.")
Page168, line 12: changed period to comma (Against the brave wedding of pretty Bessee.)
Page191, final paragraph: added closing quotation mark ( ... to no other shrine than that of Venus.[A]")
Page192, second paragraph: open quotation mark moved to start of paragraph ("As I went to Walsinghamis quoted in Nashe'sHave with you to Saffron-Walden, ...)
Note that the corrections to punctuation on pages191and192are consistent with interpreting the three paragraphs as attributed to "Chappell".
Page224, line 206: added missing open quotation mark ("Upon thy wife and children,)
Page227, line 145: deleted erroneous opening quotation mark (So they hae gane before the king,)
Page278, line 178: added missing period ("To seal her tocher wi' thee.")
Page316, line 128: changed "be" to "he" (For the young Lord Arundel he shall be.")
Page332, line 110: changed "merehants" to "merchants" (Beare me a letter to the English merchants there,)