THE LAW OF LOMBARDY. 7
KING.
I have much serious matter for your ear;[To Paladore.
Our helms must be lac'd clofe, our swords new edg'd
'Gainst fiercer foes than these rude foresters,
That make us sport with peril.
PALADORE'
By my life!
My cruel heart beats high to give it welcome;
For Virtue's test is action.
KING.
Thus my paper:
(Brief its contents, but fearful) Burgundy,
Stung by refusal of my daughter's love,
Stirs up commotion 'gainst our kingdom's peace;
And soon the golden grain of Lombardy
Shall be trod down beneath the furious heel
Of peasants cas'd in iron.
PRINCESS.
Heaven avert it!
For sure 'twere better I had ne'er been born,
Than live the fatal cause why war's rude blast
Disturb'd the quiet of my father's age,
Which soft repose should foster. The griev'd people
Will chide your gentleness, that did not bend
My heart to this obedience; and your virtue,
Seen thro' th' unwelcome colour of the event,
For reverence find upbraiding.
KING.
No, Sophia!
I would not violate the meanest right
Of my least subject, for the fear or promise
Of any isue. Is my child, my daughter,
(Sweet, duteous, amiable, born free and royal)
Less charter'd from oppression than a stranger?
A self-invited wooer here he sojourn'd,
To thrive as your approving gave him licence:
I fed him not with promise, you with hope,
Nor
