ABDELMELEC
Now,
tell me, Celibin, what doth the enemy?
CELIBIN
The
enemy, dread lord, hath left the town
Of
Arzil, with a thousand soldiers arm’d,
To
guard his fleet of thirteen hundred sail;
And
mustering of his men befor the walls,
He
found he had two thousand armed horse,
And
fourteen thousand men that serve on foot,
Three
thousand pioneers, and a thousand coachmen,
Besides
a number almost numberless
Of
drudges, negroes, slavesand muleteers,
Horse-boys,
laundresses and courtezans,
And
fifteen hundred wagons full og stuff
For
niblemen brought up in delicate.
ABDELMELEC
Alas,
good king, thy foresight hath ben small,
To
come with women into Brbary,
With
laundresses, with baggage, and with trash,
Numbers
unfit to multiply thy host.
CELIBIN
Their
payment in the camp is passing slow,
And
victuales scarce, that many faint and die.
ABDELMELEC
But
whither marcheth he in all this haste?
CELIBIN
Some
think he marcheth hitherward,
And
means to take this city of Alcazar.
ABDELMELEC
Unto
Alcazar? O
unconstant chance!
CELIBIN
The
brave and valiant King of Portugal
Quarters
his power in four battalions,
Afont
the which, to welcome us withal,
Are
six and thirty roaring-pir*eces placed:
The
first, consisting of light-armed horse,
And
of the garrisons from tanger brought,
Is
led by tavero peres de Tavero;
The
left or middle battle,of italians
And
German horsemen, Stukeley doth command,
A
warlike Englishman sent by the Pope,
That
vainly calls himself the Marquis of Ireland;
Alonso
Aquilaz conducts the third,-
That
wing of German soldiers most consists;
The
fourth legion is none but Portugals,
Of
whom Lodowick Caesar hath the chiefest change:
Besides
there stand six thousand hours
Bravely
attired, prest where need requires.
Thus
have I told your royal majesty
How
he is placed to brave his fight.
ABDELMELEC
But
where’s our nephew, Muly Mahamet?
CELIBIN
He
marcheth in the middle, gurded about
With
full five hundred harquebuze on foot,
And
twice three thousand nedless armed pikes.
ARGERD ZAREO
Great
soverign, vouchsafe to hear me speak,
And
let Zareo’s counsel now prevail:
Whilst
time doth serve, and that these Christians dare
Approch
the field with werlike ensigns spread,
Lat
us in haste with all our forces meet,
And
hem them in, that not a man escape;
So
will they be advised another time
How
they do touch the shore of Barbary.
ABDELMELEC
Zareo,
hear our resolution:
And
thus our forces we will first dispose.
Hamet,
my brother with a thousand shot
On
horseback, and choice harquebuziers all,
Having
ten thousand with horse spear and shield,
Sall
make the right wing of the battle up,
Zareo,
you shall have in charge the left,
Two
thousand argolets and ten thousand horse;
The
main battle of harquebuze on foot,
And
twenty thousand horsemen in their troops;
Myself,
environ’d with my trusty guard
Of
Janizaries, fortunate in war;
And
toward Arzil will we take our way.
If,
then our enemy will balk our force,
In
God’s name let him, it will be his best;
But
if he level at Alcazar walls,
Then
beat him back with bullets as thick as hail,
And
make him know and rue his oversight,
That
rashly seeks the ruin of this land.
Exeunt.