Scene IV At Bradford
Enter Lord Bonfield, Sir Gilbert Armstrong, Grime, and Bettris.
Bon. Now, gentle Grime, God-a-mercy for our good cheer;
Our fare was royal, and our welcome great:
And sith so kindly thou hast entertain’d us,
If we return with happy victory,
We will deal as friendly with thee in recompense.
Grime. Your welcome was but duty, gentle lord;
For wherefore have we given us our wealth,
But to make our betters welcome when they come?
[Aside]. O, this goes hard when traitors must be flatter’d!
But life is sweet, and I cannot withstand it:
God, I hope, will revenge the quarrel of my king.
Arm. What said you, Grime?
Grime. I say, Sir Gilbert, looking on my daughter,
I curse the hour that e’er I got the girl;
For, sir, she may have many wealthy suitors,
And yet she disdains them all,
To have poor George-a-Greene unto her husband.
Bon. On that, good Grime, I am talking with thy daughter;
But she, in quirks and quiddities of love,
Sets me to school, she is so over-wise.—
But, gentle girl, if thou wilt forsake the Pinner
And be my love, I will advance thee high;
To dignify those hairs of amber hue,
I’ll grace them with a chaplet made of pearl,
Set with choice rubies, sparks, and diamonds,
Planted upon a velvet hood, to hide that head
Wherein two sapphires burn like sparkling fire:
This will I do, fair Bettris, and far more,
If thou wilt love the Lord of Doncaster.
Bet. Heigh-ho! my heart is in a higher place,
Perhaps on the earl, if that be he.
See where he comes, or angry, or in love,
For why his colour looketh discontent.
Enter the Earl of Kendal and Sir Nicholas Mannering.
Ken. Come, Nick, follow me.
Bon. How now, my lord! what news?
Ken. Such news, Bonfield, as will make thee laugh,
And fret thy fill, to hear how Nick was us’d.
Why, the Justices stand on their terms:
Nick, as you know, is haughty in his words;
He laid the law unto the Justices
With threatening braves, that one look’d on another,
Ready to stoop; but that a churl came in,
One George-a-Greene, the Pinner of the town,
And with his dagger drawn laid hands on Nick,
And by no beggars swore that we were traitors,
Rent our commission, and upon a brave
Made Nick to eat the seals or brook the stab:
Poor Mannering, afraid, came posting hither straight.
Bet. O lovely George, fortune be still thy friend!
And as thy thoughts be high, so be thy mind
In all accords, even to thy heart’s desire!
Bon. What says fair Bettris?
Grime. My lord, she is praying for George-a-Greene:
He is the man, and she will none but him.
Bon. But him! why, look on me, my girl:
Thou know’st, that yesternight I courted thee,
And swore at my return to wed with thee.
Then tell me, love, shall I have all thy fair?
Bet. I care not for earl, nor yet for knight,
Nor baron that is so bold;
For George-a-Greene, the merry Pinner,
He hath my heart in hold.302
Bon. Bootless, my lord, are many vain replies:
Let us hie us to Wakefield, and send her the Pinner’s head.
Ken. It shall be so.—Grime, gramercy,
Shut up thy daughter, bridle her affects;303
Let me not miss her when I make return;
Therefore look to her, as to thy life, good Grime.
Grime. I warrant you, my lord.
Ken. And, Bettris,
Leave a base Pinner, for to love an earl.
[Exeunt Grime and Bettris.
Fain would I see this Pinner George-a-Greene.
It shall be thus:
Nick Mannering shall lead on the battle,
And we three will go to Wakefield in some disguise:
But howsoever, I’ll have his head to-day. [Exeunt.