A Collection of Old English Plays, Vol. II | Page 4

yet Discharg'd your Companyes, Don Fernando.
Fer. Come, come; putt of your Jelousy, Drinke downe the remembrance. We forget Our fleetes arrivall; send your feares away; Nothing but wine and mirth should crowne this day.
[Exeunt.

SCENE 2.
_Enter two Devonshire Merchants, as being in Sherryes_[6]
1. Heare you the newes?
2. Yes, that an English fleete Is making up to Cales.[7]
1. Our Sherryes merchants, Though few of us be heere, shall soundly pay To the furnishing of this Navy.
2. Nay, I assure you Our shipps wilbe fast bound by Spanish charmes Not to get hence in hast.
1. The Divell allready Is furling up the sayles; would all the sackes Which we have bought for England were in Devonshire Turnd to small Beere, so we were but in Tavistocke To see it drawne out; were it nere so thin I'de drink a health to all the Dons in Sherryes And cry a pox upon 'em.
2. That word heard By any lowsy Spanish Picardo[8] Were worth our two neckes. Ile not curse my Diegoes But wish with all my heart that a faire wind May with great Bellyes blesse our English sayles Both out and in; and that the whole fleete may Be at home delivered of no worse a conquest Then the last noble voyage made to this Citty, Though all the wines and merchandize I have here Were ith' Seas bottome.
1. Troth, so would I mine.
2. I nere could tell yet from what roote this huge Large spreading Tree of hate from Spayne to us, From us agayne to _Spayne_, took the first growth.
1. No? then lie tell you: let us season our sorrow With this discourse.
2. With all my heart I long for't.
1. You shall not loose your longing: then, sir, know The hate a Spanyard beares an Englishman Nor naturall is, nor ancient; but as sparkes, Flying from a flint by beating, beget flames, Matter being neere to feed and nurse the fire, So from a tinder at the first kindled[9] Grew this heartburning twixt these two great Nations.
2. As how, pray?
1. Heare me: any Englishman That can but read our Chronicles can tell That many of our Kings and noblest Princes Have fetcht their best and royallest wives from _Spayne_, The very last of all binding both kingdomes Within one golden ring of love and peace By the marriage of Queene Mary with that little man (But mighty monarch) _Phillip_, son and heire To Charles the Emperour.
2. You say right.
1. Religion Having but one face then both here and there, Both Nations seemd as one: Concord, Commerce And sweete Community were Chaynes of Pearle About the neckes of eyther. But when England Threw of the Yoake of _Rome, Spayne_ flew from her; Spayne was no more a sister nor a neighbour, But a sworne Enemy. All this did but bring Dry stickes to kindle fire: now see it burne.
2. And warme my knowledge and experience by't.
1. Spaines anger never blew hott coales indeed Till in Queene Elizabeths Raigne when (may I call him so) That glory of his Country and Spaynes terror, That wonder of the land and the Seas minyon, _Drake_, of eternall memory, harrowed th'Indyes.
2. The King of Spaynes west _Indyes_?
1. Yes, when his Hands _Nombre de Dios, Cartagena, Hispaniola_, With Cuba and the rest of those faire Sisters, The mermaydes of those Seas, whose golden strings Give him his sweetest musicke, when they by Drake And his brave Ginges[10] were ravishd; when these red apples Were gather'd and brought hither to be payrd-- Then the Castilian Lyon began to roare.
2. Had he not cause, being vexd soe?
1. When our shipps Carrying such firedrakes in them that the huge Spanish Galleasses, Galleons, Hulkes and Carrackes[11] Being great with gold, in labour with some fright, Were all delivered of fine redcheekt Children At _Plymouth, Portsmouth_ and other English havens And onely by men midwives: had not Spayne reason To cry out, oh Diables _Ingleses_!
2. It had not spoke such Spanish else.
1. When we did sett our feete even on their Mynes And brought their golden fagotts thence, their Ingotts And silver wedges; when each ship of ours Was able to spread sayles of silke; the tacklings Of twisted gold; when every marryner At his arrivall here had his deepe pockets Crammd full of Pistoletts; when the poorest ship-boy Might on the Thames make duckes and drakes with pieces Of eight fetchd out of _Spayne_: These were the Bellowes Which blew the Spanish bonfires of revenge; These were the times in which they calld our Nation Borachos,[12] Lutherans and Furias del Inferno.
2. Would we might now give them the selfe same cause To call us soe.
1. The very name of Drake Was a Bugbear to fright Children; Nurses still'd Their little Spanish Nynnyes when they cryde "Hush! the Drake comes."
2. All this