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With a weak, unworldly king on the throne, the English nobility heightens its struggle for power in Henry VI, Part 2, leading to the brink of civil war.
At the start of the play, Henry meets his new bride, Margaret, to whom he has been married by proxy through Suffolk, her lover. Henry’s popular and powerful uncle Gloucester, the Lord Protector, soon comes under attack by Margaret, Suffolk, Cardinal Beaufort, and others.
Gloucester’s wife is shamed and exiled and Gloucester himself removed from office, then murdered on Suffolk’s orders. Suffolk is banished, captured by pirates, and killed. Meanwhile, the cardinal dies, raving in madness because of his part in Gloucester’s death.
A Kentish rebel, Jack Cade, leads a short-lived revolt, seizing London before his supporters desert him. He dies fighting in a garden. Soon another revolt emerges: Richard, Duke of York, leads an army against King Henry, who flees back to London. As the play ends, Richard’s forces also move toward London.
ACT 1
Scene 1
Enter King Henry , Duke Humphrey of Gloucester ,
Salisbury , Warwick , and Cardinal Beaufort , on the one
side ; Queen Margaret , Suffolk , York , Somerset , and
Buckingham , on the other .
I had in charge at my depart for France ,
As procurator to your Excellence ,
To marry Princess Margaret for your Grace ,
So , in the famous ancient city Tours ,
In presence of the Kings of France and Sicil ,
The Dukes of Orleance , Calaber , Britaigne , and
Alanson ,
Seven earls , twelve barons , and twenty reverend
bishops ,
I have performed my task and was espoused ;
And humbly now upon my bended knee ,
In sight of England and her lordly peers ,
Deliver up my title in the Queen
To your most gracious hands , that are the substance
Of that great shadow I did represent :
The happiest gift that ever marquess gave ,
The fairest queen that ever king received .
[9]ACT 1. SC. 1
I can express no kinder sign of love
Than this kind kiss .
O Lord , that lends me life ,
Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness !
For Thou hast given me in this beauteous face
A world of earthly blessings to my soul ,
If sympathy of love unite our thoughts .
The mutual conference that my mind hath had
By day , by night , waking and in my dreams ,
In courtly company or at my beads ,
With you , mine alderliefest sovereign ,
Makes me the bolder to salute my king
With ruder terms , such as my wit affords
And overjoy of heart doth minister .
Her words yclad with wisdom’s majesty ,
Makes me from wond’ring fall to weeping joys ,
Such is the fullness of my heart’s content .
Lords , with one cheerful voice welcome my love .
Here are the articles of contracted peace
Between our sovereign and the French king Charles ,
For eighteen months concluded by consent .
[11]ACT 1. SC. 1
French king Charles and William de la Pole , Marquess
of Suffolk , ambassador for Henry , King of England ,
that the said Henry shall espouse the Lady
Margaret , daughter unto Reignier , King of Naples ,
Sicilia , and Jerusalem , and crown her Queen of England
ere the thirtieth of May next ensuing . Item ,
that the duchy of Anjou and the county of Maine
shall be released and delivered to the King her
father —
Some sudden qualm hath struck me at the heart
And dimmed mine eyes , that I can read no further .
agreed between them that the duchies of
Anjou and Maine shall be released and delivered to
the King her father , and she sent over of the King of
England’s own proper cost and charges , without
having any dowry .
We here create thee the first Duke of Suffolk
And girt thee with the sword . Suffolk rises . Cousin
of York ,
We here discharge your Grace from being regent
I’ th’ parts of France till term of eighteen months
Be full expired . — Thanks , Uncle Winchester ,
Gloucester , York , Buckingham , Somerset ,
Salisbury , and Warwick ;
We thank you all for this great favor done
In entertainment to my princely queen .
[13] ACT 1. SC. 1 Come , let us in , and with all speed provide
To see her coronation be performed .
The rest remain .
To you Duke Humphrey must unload his grief ,
Your grief , the common grief of all the land .
What , did my brother Henry spend his youth ,
His valor , coin , and people in the wars ?
Did he so often lodge in open field ,
In winter’s cold and summer’s parching heat ,
To conquer France , his true inheritance ?
And did my brother Bedford toil his wits
To keep by policy what Henry got ?
Have you yourselves , Somerset , Buckingham ,
Brave York , Salisbury , and victorious Warwick ,
Received deep scars in France and Normandy ?
Or hath mine uncle Beaufort and myself ,
With all the learnèd council of the realm ,
Studied so long , sat in the Council House ,
Early and late , debating to and fro
How France and Frenchmen might be kept in awe ,
And had his Highness in his infancy
Crowned in Paris in despite of foes ?
And shall these labors and these honors die ?
Shall Henry’s conquest , Bedford’s vigilance ,
Your deeds of war , and all our counsel die ?
O peers of England , shameful is this league ,
Fatal this marriage , cancelling your fame ,
Blotting your names from books of memory ,
Razing the characters of your renown ,
Defacing monuments of conquered France ,
Undoing all , as all had never been !
[15] ACT 1. SC. 1 This peroration with such circumstance ?
For France , ’tis ours , and we will keep it still .
But now it is impossible we should .
Suffolk , the new-made duke that rules the roast ,
Hath given the duchy of Anjou and Maine
Unto the poor King Reignier , whose large style
Agrees not with the leanness of his purse .
These counties were the keys of Normandy .
But wherefore weeps Warwick , my valiant son ?
For , were there hope to conquer them again ,
My sword should shed hot blood , mine eyes no
tears .
Anjou and Maine ? Myself did win them both !
Those provinces these arms of mine did conquer .
And are the cities that I got with wounds
Delivered up again with peaceful words ?
Mort Dieu !
That dims the honor of this warlike isle !
France should have torn and rent my very heart
Before I would have yielded to this league .
I never read but England’s kings have had
Large sums of gold and dowries with their wives ;
And our King Henry gives away his own
To match with her that brings no vantages .
That Suffolk should demand a whole fifteenth
For costs and charges in transporting her !
[17] ACT 1. SC. 1 She should have stayed in France and starved in
France
Before —
It was the pleasure of my lord the King .
’Tis not my speeches that you do mislike ,
But ’tis my presence that doth trouble you .
Rancor will out . Proud prelate , in thy face
I see thy fury . If I longer stay ,
We shall begin our ancient bickerings . —
Lordings , farewell ; and say , when I am gone ,
I prophesied France will be lost ere long .
’Tis known to you he is mine enemy ,
Nay , more , an enemy unto you all ,
And no great friend , I fear me , to the King .
Consider , lords , he is the next of blood
And heir apparent to the English crown .
Had Henry got an empire by his marriage ,
And all the wealthy kingdoms of the West ,
There’s reason he should be displeased at it .
Look to it , lords . Let not his smoothing words
Bewitch your hearts ; be wise and circumspect .
What though the common people favor him ,
Calling him ‘Humphrey , the good Duke of
Gloucester ,’
Clapping their hands and crying with loud voice
‘Jesu maintain your royal Excellence !’
With ‘God preserve the good Duke Humphrey !’
I fear me , lords , for all this flattering gloss ,
He will be found a dangerous Protector .
[19]ACT 1. SC. 1
He being of age to govern of himself ? —
Cousin of Somerset , join you with me ,
And all together , with the Duke of Suffolk ,
We’ll quickly hoise Duke Humphrey from his seat .
I’ll to the Duke of Suffolk presently .
And greatness of his place be grief to us ,
Yet let us watch the haughty cardinal .
His insolence is more intolerable
Than all the princes’ in the land besides .
If Gloucester be displaced , he’ll be Protector .
Despite Duke Humphrey or the Cardinal .
While these do labor for their own preferment ,
Behooves it us to labor for the realm .
I never saw but Humphrey , Duke of Gloucester ,
Did bear him like a noble gentleman .
Oft have I seen the haughty cardinal ,
More like a soldier than a man o’ th’ Church ,
As stout and proud as he were lord of all ,
Swear like a ruffian and demean himself
Unlike the ruler of a commonweal . —
Warwick , my son , the comfort of my age ,
Thy deeds , thy plainness , and thy housekeeping
Hath won the greatest favor of the Commons ,
Excepting none but good Duke Humphrey . —
And , brother York , thy acts in Ireland ,
[21] ACT 1. SC. 1 In bringing them to civil discipline ,
Thy late exploits done in the heart of France ,
When thou wert regent for our sovereign ,
Have made thee feared and honored of the people .
Join we together for the public good
In what we can to bridle and suppress
The pride of Suffolk and the Cardinal ,
With Somerset’s and Buckingham’s ambition ;
And , as we may , cherish Duke Humphrey’s deeds
While they do tend the profit of the land .
And common profit of his country !
cause .
That Maine which by main force Warwick did win
And would have kept so long as breath did last !
Main chance , father , you meant ; but I meant Maine ,
Which I will win from France or else be slain .
York remains .
Paris is lost ; the state of Normandy
Stands on a tickle point now they are gone .
Suffolk concluded on the articles ,
The peers agreed , and Henry was well pleased
To change two dukedoms for a duke’s fair daughter .
I cannot blame them all . What is ’t to them ?
’Tis thine they give away , and not their own .
Pirates may make cheap pennyworths of their
pillage ,
[23] ACT 1. SC. 1 And purchase friends , and give to courtesans ,
Still reveling like lords till all be gone ;
Whileas the silly owner of the goods
Weeps over them , and wrings his hapless hands ,
And shakes his head , and trembling stands aloof ,
While all is shared and all is borne away ,
Ready to starve , and dare not touch his own .
So York must sit and fret and bite his tongue
While his own lands are bargained for and sold .
Methinks the realms of England , France , and
Ireland
Bear that proportion to my flesh and blood
As did the fatal brand Althaea burnt
Unto the Prince’s heart of Calydon .
Anjou and Maine both given unto the French !
Cold news for me , for I had hope of France ,
Even as I have of fertile England’s soil .
A day will come when York shall claim his own ;
And therefore I will take the Nevilles’ parts
And make a show of love to proud Duke Humphrey ,
And , when I spy advantage , claim the crown ,
For that’s the golden mark I seek to hit .
Nor shall proud Lancaster usurp my right ,
Nor hold the scepter in his childish fist ,
Nor wear the diadem upon his head ,
Whose churchlike humors fits not for a crown .
Then , York , be still awhile till time do serve .
Watch thou and wake , when others be asleep ,
To pry into the secrets of the state
Till Henry , surfeiting in joys of love
With his new bride and England’s dear-bought
queen ,
And Humphrey with the peers be fall’n at jars .
Then will I raise aloft the milk-white rose ,
With whose sweet smell the air shall be perfumed ,
And in my standard bear the arms of York ,
To grapple with the house of Lancaster ;
[25] ACT 1. SC. 2 And force perforce I’ll make him yield the crown ,
Whose bookish rule hath pulled fair England down .
Scene 2
the Duchess Eleanor .
Hanging the head at Ceres’ plenteous load ?
Why doth the great Duke Humphrey knit his brows ,
As frowning at the favors of the world ?
Why are thine eyes fixed to the sullen earth ,
Gazing on that which seems to dim thy sight ?
What seest thou there ? King Henry’s diadem ,
Enchased with all the honors of the world ?
If so , gaze on and grovel on thy face
Until thy head be circled with the same .
Put forth thy hand ; reach at the glorious gold .
What , is ’t too short ? I’ll lengthen it with mine ;
And , having both together heaved it up ,
We’ll both together lift our heads to heaven
And never more abase our sight so low
As to vouchsafe one glance unto the ground .
Banish the canker of ambitious thoughts !
And may that hour when I imagine ill
Against my king and nephew , virtuous Henry ,
Be my last breathing in this mortal world !
My troublous dreams this night doth make me sad .
With sweet rehearsal of my morning’s dream .
[27]ACT 1. SC. 2
Was broke in twain — by whom I have forgot ,
But , as I think , it was by th’ Cardinal —
And on the pieces of the broken wand
Were placed the heads of Edmund , Duke of
Somerset ,
And William de la Pole , first Duke of Suffolk .
This was my dream . What it doth bode God knows .
That he that breaks a stick of Gloucester’s grove
Shall lose his head for his presumption .
But list to me , my Humphrey , my sweet duke :
Methought I sat in seat of majesty ,
In the cathedral church of Westminster
And in that chair where kings and queens were
crowned ,
Where Henry and Dame Margaret kneeled to me
And on my head did set the diadem .
Presumptuous dame , ill-nurtured Eleanor ,
Art thou not second woman in the realm
And the Protector’s wife , beloved of him ?
Hast thou not worldly pleasure at command ,
Above the reach or compass of thy thought ?
And wilt thou still be hammering treachery
To tumble down thy husband and thyself
From top of honor to disgrace’s feet ?
Away from me , and let me hear no more !
With Eleanor for telling but her dream ?
Next time I’ll keep my dreams unto myself
And not be checked .
[29]ACT 1. SC. 2
You do prepare to ride unto Saint Albans ,
Whereas the King and Queen do mean to hawk .
Follow I must ; I cannot go before
While Gloucester bears this base and humble mind .
Were I a man , a duke , and next of blood ,
I would remove these tedious stumbling blocks
And smooth my way upon their headless necks ;
And , being a woman , I will not be slack
To play my part in Fortune’s pageant . —
Where are you there ? Sir John ! Nay , fear not , man .
We are alone ; here’s none but thee and I .
Your Grace’s title shall be multiplied .
With Margery Jourdain , the cunning witch ,
With Roger Bolingbroke , the conjurer ?
And will they undertake to do me good ?
[31]ACT 1. SC. 2
A spirit raised from depth of underground
That shall make answer to such questions
As by your Grace shall be propounded him .
When from Saint Albans we do make return ,
We’ll see these things effected to the full .
Here , Hume , take this reward .
Make merry , man ,
With thy confederates in this weighty cause .
Marry , and shall ! But , how now , Sir John Hume ?
Seal up your lips , and give no words but ‘mum’ ;
The business asketh silent secrecy .
Dame Eleanor gives gold to bring the witch ;
Gold cannot come amiss , were she a devil .
Yet have I gold flies from another coast —
I dare not say , from the rich cardinal
And from the great and new-made Duke of Suffolk ,
Yet I do find it so . For , to be plain ,
They , knowing Dame Eleanor’s aspiring humor ,
Have hirèd me to undermine the Duchess
And buzz these conjurations in her brain .
They say a crafty knave does need no broker ,
Yet am I Suffolk and the Cardinal’s broker .
Hume , if you take not heed , you shall go near
To call them both a pair of crafty knaves .
Well , so it stands ; and thus I fear at last
Hume’s knavery will be the Duchess’ wrack ,
And her attainture will be Humphrey’s fall .
Sort how it will , I shall have gold for all .
Scene 3
Armorer’s man , being one .
Lord Protector will come this way by and by , and
then we may deliver our supplications in the quill .
he’s a good man ! Jesu bless him !
and Queen Margaret .
Queen with him . I’ll be the first , sure .
of Suffolk , and not my Lord Protector .
me ?
you for my Lord Protector .
Lord Protector . Are your supplications to his Lordship ?
Let me see them . — What is thine ?
against John Goodman , my Lord Cardinal’s man ,
for keeping my house , and lands , and wife and all ,
from me .
What’s yours ? Taking a petition . What’s here ?
the commons of Melford . How now , sir knave ?
of our whole township .
[35] ACT 1. SC. 3 Thomas Horner , for saying that the Duke of York
was rightful heir to the crown .
York say he was rightful heir to the crown ?
said that he was and that the King was an
usurper .
Take this fellow in , and send for his master with a
pursuivant presently . — We’ll hear more of your
matter before the King .
Under the wings of our Protector’s grace ,
Begin your suits anew , and sue to him .
Away , base cullions . — Suffolk , let them go .
Is this the fashions in the court of England ?
Is this the government of Britain’s isle
And this the royalty of Albion’s king ?
What , shall King Henry be a pupil still
Under the surly Gloucester’s governance ?
Am I a queen in title and in style ,
And must be made a subject to a duke ?
I tell thee , Pole , when in the city Tours
Thou rann’st atilt in honor of my love
And stol’st away the ladies’ hearts of France ,
I thought King Henry had resembled thee
In courage , courtship , and proportion .
But all his mind is bent to holiness ,
[37] ACT 1. SC. 3 To number Ave Marys on his beads ;
His champions are the prophets and apostles ,
His weapons holy saws of sacred writ ,
His study is his tiltyard , and his loves
Are brazen images of canonized saints .
I would the College of the Cardinals
Would choose him pope and carry him to Rome
And set the triple crown upon his head !
That were a state fit for his holiness .
Your Highness came to England , so will I
In England work your Grace’s full content .
The imperious churchman , Somerset , Buckingham ,
And grumbling York ; and not the least of these
But can do more in England than the King .
Cannot do more in England than the Nevilles ;
Salisbury and Warwick are no simple peers .
As that proud dame , the Lord Protector’s wife .
She sweeps it through the court with troops of
ladies ,
More like an empress than Duke Humphrey’s wife .
Strangers in court do take her for the Queen .
She bears a duke’s revenues on her back ,
And in her heart she scorns our poverty .
Shall I not live to be avenged on her ?
Contemptuous baseborn callet as she is ,
She vaunted ’mongst her minions t’ other day
The very train of her worst wearing gown
[39] ACT 1. SC. 3 Was better worth than all my father’s lands
Till Suffolk gave two dukedoms for his daughter .
And placed a choir of such enticing birds
That she will light to listen to the lays
And never mount to trouble you again .
So let her rest . And , madam , list to me ,
For I am bold to counsel you in this :
Although we fancy not the Cardinal ,
Yet must we join with him and with the lords
Till we have brought Duke Humphrey in disgrace .
As for the Duke of York , this late complaint
Will make but little for his benefit .
So , one by one , we’ll weed them all at last ,
And you yourself shall steer the happy helm .
of Gloucester , Cardinal , Somerset , wearing the red
rose , Buckingham , Salisbury ; York and Warwick , both
wearing the white rose ; and the Duchess of
Gloucester .
Or Somerset or York , all’s one to me .
Then let him be denied the regentship .
Let York be regent ; I will yield to him .
Dispute not that . York is the worthier .
[41]ACT 1. SC. 3
Why Somerset should be preferred in this .
To give his censure . These are no women’s matters .
To be Protector of his Excellence ?
And at his pleasure will resign my place .
Since thou wert king — as who is king but thou ? —
The commonwealth hath daily run to wrack ,
The Dauphin hath prevailed beyond the seas ,
And all the peers and nobles of the realm
Have been as bondmen to thy sovereignty .
Are lank and lean with thy extortions .
Have cost a mass of public treasury .
Upon offenders hath exceeded law
And left thee to the mercy of the law .
[43]ACT 1. SC. 3
If they were known , as the suspect is great ,
Would make thee quickly hop without thy head .
you not ?
I cry you mercy , madam . Was it you ?
Could I come near your beauty with my nails ,
I’d set my ten commandments in your face .
She’ll hamper thee and dandle thee like a baby .
Though in this place most master wear no breeches ,
She shall not strike Dame Eleanor unrevenged .
And listen after Humphrey how he proceeds .
She’s tickled now ; her fume needs no spurs ;
She’ll gallop far enough to her destruction .
With walking once about the quadrangle ,
I come to talk of commonwealth affairs .
As for your spiteful false objections ,
Prove them , and I lie open to the law ;
But God in mercy so deal with my soul
[45] ACT 1. SC. 3 As I in duty love my king and country !
But , to the matter that we have in hand :
I say , my sovereign , York is meetest man
To be your regent in the realm of France .
To show some reason , of no little force ,
That York is most unmeet of any man .
First , for I cannot flatter thee in pride ;
Next , if I be appointed for the place ,
My lord of Somerset will keep me here
Without discharge , money , or furniture
Till France be won into the Dauphin’s hands .
Last time I danced attendance on his will
Till Paris was besieged , famished , and lost .
Did never traitor in the land commit .
Peter , under guard .
Pray God the Duke of York excuse himself !
these ?
[47]ACT 1. SC. 3
That doth accuse his master of high treason .
His words were these : that Richard , Duke of York ,
Was rightful heir unto the English crown ,
And that your Majesty was an usurper .
nor thought any such matter . God is my witness , I
am falsely accused by the villain .
them to me in the garret one night as we were
scouring my lord of York’s armor .
I’ll have thy head for this thy traitor’s speech ! —
I do beseech your royal Majesty ,
Let him have all the rigor of the law .
words . My accuser is my prentice ; and when I did
correct him for his fault the other day , he did vow
upon his knees he would be even with me . I have
good witness of this . Therefore I beseech your
Majesty , do not cast away an honest man for a
villain’s accusation !
Let Somerset be regent o’er the French ,
Because in York this breeds suspicion ;
And let these have a day appointed them
For single combat in convenient place ,
For he hath witness of his servant’s malice .
This is the law , and this Duke Humphrey’s doom .
[49]ACT 1. SC. 4
my case ! The spite of man prevaileth against me . O
Lord , have mercy upon me ! I shall never be able to
fight a blow . O Lord , my heart !
combat shall be the last of the next month . —
Come , Somerset , we’ll see thee sent away .
Scene 4
Hume and Southwell , and Bolingbroke , a conjurer .
expects performance of your promises .
Will her Ladyship behold and hear our
exorcisms ?
woman of an invincible spirit . But it shall be convenient ,
Master Hume , that you be by her aloft
while we be busy below ; and so , I pray you , go , in
God’s name , and leave us .
Mother Jourdain , be you prostrate and grovel on
the earth . She lies face downward . John Southwell ,
read you ; and let us to our work .
[51]ACT 1. SC. 4
with Hume , aloft .
this gear , the sooner the better .
Deep night , dark night , the silent of the night ,
The time of night when Troy was set on fire ,
The time when screech owls cry and bandogs howl ,
And spirits walk , and ghosts break up their graves —
That time best fits the work we have in hand .
Madam , sit you , and fear not . Whom we raise
We will make fast within a hallowed verge .
make the circle . Bolingbroke or Southwell reads
‘Conjuro te , etc.’
By the eternal God , whose name and power
Thou tremblest at , answer that I shall ask ,
For till thou speak , thou shalt not pass from hence .
writes
But him outlive and die a violent death .
[53]ACT 1. SC. 4
Safer shall he be upon the sandy plains
Than where castles mounted stand .
Have done , for more I hardly can endure .
False fiend , avoid !
with their Guard and Sir Humphrey Stafford , and
break in .
accomplices and seize their papers .
inch .
there ? The King and commonweal
Are deeply indebted for this piece of pains .
My Lord Protector will , I doubt it not ,
See you well guerdoned for these good deserts .
Injurious duke , that threatest where’s no cause .
Away with them ! Let them be clapped up close
And kept asunder . — You , madam , shall with us . —
Stafford , take her to thee .
We’ll see your trinkets here all forthcoming .
All away !
exit under guard , below ; Duchess and Hume
exit , under guard , aloft .
[55]ACT 1. SC. 4
A pretty plot , well chosen to build upon !
Now , pray , my lord , let’s see the devil’s writ .
What have we here ?
But him outlive and die a violent death .
Why , this is just Aio te , Aeacida ,
Romanos vincere posse . Well , to the rest :
Suffolk ?
By water shall he die and take his end .
What shall betide the Duke of Somerset ?
Let him shun castles ;
Safer shall he be upon the sandy plains
Than where castles mounted stand .
Come , come , my lord , these oracles
Are hardly attained and hardly understood .
The King is now in progress towards Saint Albans ;
With him the husband of this lovely lady .
Thither goes these news as fast as horse can carry
them —
A sorry breakfast for my Lord Protector .
To be the post , in hope of his reward .
Who’s within there , ho !
Invite my lords of Salisbury and Warwick
To sup with me tomorrow night . Away !
[59]
ACT 2
Scene 1
Lord Protector , Cardinal , and Suffolk , and
Attendants , with Falconers hallowing .
I saw not better sport these seven years’ day .
Yet , by your leave , the wind was very high ,
And , ten to one , old Joan had not gone out .
And what a pitch she flew above the rest !
To see how God in all his creatures works !
Yea , man and birds are fain of climbing high .
My Lord Protector’s hawks do tower so well ;
They know their master loves to be aloft
And bears his thoughts above his falcon’s pitch .
That mounts no higher than a bird can soar .
Were it not good your Grace could fly to heaven ?
[61]ACT 2. SC. 1
Beat on a crown , the treasure of thy heart .
Pernicious Protector , dangerous peer ,
That smooth’st it so with king and commonweal !
peremptory ?
Tantaene animis caelestibus irae ?
Churchmen so hot ? Good uncle , hide such malice .
With such holiness , can you do it ?
So good a quarrel and so bad a peer .
An ’t like your lordly Lord Protectorship .
Good queen , and whet not on these furious peers ,
For blessèd are the peacemakers on Earth .
Against this proud Protector with my sword !
dar’st !
In thine own person answer thy abuse .
[63]ACT 2. SC. 1
This evening , on the east side of the grove .
Had not your man put up the fowl so suddenly ,
We had had more sport .
Come with thy two-hand sword .
The east side of the grove .
I’ll shave your crown for this ,
Or all my fence shall fail .
Protector , see to ’t well ; protect yourself .
How irksome is this music to my heart !
When such strings jar , what hope of harmony ?
I pray , my lords , let me compound this strife .
Fellow , what miracle dost thou proclaim ?
[65] ACT 2. SC. 1 Within this half hour hath received his sight ,
A man that ne’er saw in his life before .
Gives light in darkness , comfort in despair .
bearing the man Simpcox between two in a chair ,
followed by Simpcox’s Wife and Others .
To present your Highness with the man .
Although by his sight his sin be multiplied .
His Highness’ pleasure is to talk with him .
That we for thee may glorify the Lord .
What , hast thou been long blind and now restored ?
have better told .
Let never day nor night unhallowed pass ,
But still remember what the Lord hath done .
[67]ACT 2. SC. 1
Or of devotion to this holy shrine ?
A hundred times and oftener in my sleep
By good Saint Alban , who said ‘Simon , come ,
Come , offer at my shrine , and I will help thee .’
Myself have heard a voice to call him so .
wouldst venture so .
damsons , and made me climb , with danger of my
life .
Let me see thine eyes . Wink now . Now open them .
In my opinion , yet thou seest not well .
Saint Alban .
[69]ACT 2. SC. 1
in Christendom . If thou hadst been born blind ,
thou mightst as well have known all our names as
thus to name the several colors we do wear . Sight
may distinguish of colors ; but suddenly to nominate
them all , it is impossible . — My lords , Saint
Alban here hath done a miracle ; and would you
not think his cunning to be great that could
restore this cripple to his legs again ?
beadles in your town and things called whips ?
[71]ACT 2. SC. 1
One brings a stool . Now , sirrah , if you mean to
save yourself from whipping , leap me over this
stool , and run away .
You go about to torture me in vain .
legs . — Sirrah beadle , whip him till he leap over
that same stool .
your doublet quickly .
stand .
over the stool and runs away ;
and cry ‘A miracle !’
Till they come to Berwick , from whence they came .
Saint Albans exit .
You made in a day , my lord , whole towns to fly .
[73]ACT 2. SC. 1
A sort of naughty persons , lewdly bent ,
Under the countenance and confederacy
Of Lady Eleanor , the Protector’s wife ,
The ringleader and head of all this rout ,
Have practiced dangerously against your state ,
Dealing with witches and with conjurers ,
Whom we have apprehended in the fact ,
Raising up wicked spirits from under ground ,
Demanding of King Henry’s life and death
And other of your Highness’ Privy Council ,
As more at large your Grace shall understand .
Your lady is forthcoming yet at London .
your weapon’s edge ;
’Tis like , my lord , you will not keep your hour .
Sorrow and grief have vanquished all my powers ,
And , vanquished as I am , I yield to thee ,
Or to the meanest groom .
Heaping confusion on their own heads thereby !
And look thyself be faultless , thou wert best .
[75] ACT 2. SC. 2 How I have loved my king and commonweal ;
And , for my wife , I know not how it stands .
Sorry I am to hear what I have heard .
Noble she is ; but if she have forgot
Honor and virtue , and conversed with such
As , like to pitch , defile nobility ,
I banish her my bed and company
And give her as a prey to law and shame
That hath dishonored Gloucester’s honest name .
Tomorrow toward London back again ,
To look into this business thoroughly ,
And call these foul offenders to their answers ,
And poise the cause in Justice’ equal scales ,
Whose beam stands sure , whose rightful cause
prevails .
Scene 2
Our simple supper ended , give me leave ,
In this close walk , to satisfy myself
In craving your opinion of my title ,
Which is infallible , to England’s crown .
The Nevilles are thy subjects to command .
Edward the Third , my lords , had seven sons :
[77] ACT 2. SC. 2 The first , Edward the Black Prince , Prince of Wales ;
The second , William of Hatfield ; and the third ,
Lionel , Duke of Clarence ; next to whom
Was John of Gaunt , the Duke of Lancaster ;
The fifth was Edmund Langley , Duke of York ;
The sixth was Thomas of Woodstock , Duke of
Gloucester ;
William of Windsor was the seventh and last .
Edward the Black Prince died before his father
And left behind him Richard , his only son ,
Who , after Edward the Third’s death , reigned as
king
Till Henry Bolingbroke , Duke of Lancaster ,
The eldest son and heir of John of Gaunt ,
Crowned by the name of Henry the Fourth ,
Seized on the realm , deposed the rightful king ,
Sent his poor queen to France , from whence she
came ,
And him to Pomfret ; where , as all you know ,
Harmless Richard was murdered traitorously .
Thus got the house of Lancaster the crown .
For Richard , the first son’s heir , being dead ,
The issue of the next son should have reigned .
I claim the crown , had issue , Philippa , a daughter ,
Who married Edmund Mortimer , Earl of March .
Edmund had issue , Roger , Earl of March ;
Roger had issue : Edmund , Anne , and Eleanor .
[79] ACT 2. SC. 2 As I have read , laid claim unto the crown
And , but for Owen Glendower , had been king ,
Who kept him in captivity till he died .
But to the rest .
My mother , being heir unto the crown ,
Married Richard , Earl of Cambridge , who was son
To Edmund Langley , Edward the Third’s fifth son .
By her I claim the kingdom . She was heir
To Roger , Earl of March , who was the son
Of Edmund Mortimer , who married Philippa ,
Sole daughter unto Lionel , Duke of Clarence .
So , if the issue of the elder son
Succeed before the younger , I am king .
Henry doth claim the crown from John of Gaunt ,
The fourth son ; York claims it from the third .
Till Lionel’s issue fails , his should not reign .
It fails not yet , but flourishes in thee
And in thy sons , fair slips of such a stock .
Then , father Salisbury , kneel we together ,
And in this private plot be we the first
That shall salute our rightful sovereign
With honor of his birthright to the crown .
king
Till I be crowned , and that my sword be stained
With heart-blood of the house of Lancaster ;
And that’s not suddenly to be performed ,
But with advice and silent secrecy .
Do you as I do in these dangerous days :
Wink at the Duke of Suffolk’s insolence ,
[81] ACT 2. SC. 3 At Beaufort’s pride , at Somerset’s ambition ,
At Buckingham , and all the crew of them ,
Till they have snared the shepherd of the flock ,
That virtuous prince , the good Duke Humphrey .
’Tis that they seek ; and they , in seeking that ,
Shall find their deaths , if York can prophesy .
Shall one day make the Duke of York a king .
Richard shall live to make the Earl of Warwick
The greatest man in England but the King .
Scene 3
( Queen Margaret , Gloucester , York , Salisbury , Suffolk ,
and Others ) with Guard , to banish the Duchess of
Gloucester , who is accompanied by Margery Jourdain ,
Southwell , Hume , and Bolingbroke , all guarded .
wife .
In sight of God and us , your guilt is great .
Receive the sentence of the law for sins
Such as by God’s book are adjudged to death .
You four , from hence to prison back again ;
From thence unto the place of execution :
The witch in Smithfield shall be burnt to ashes ,
And you three shall be strangled on the gallows .
[83] ACT 2. SC. 3
born ,
Despoilèd of your honor in your life ,
Shall , after three days’ open penance done ,
Live in your country here in banishment
With Sir John Stanley in the Isle of Man .
I cannot justify whom the law condemns .
Mine eyes are full of tears , my heart of grief .
Ah , Humphrey , this dishonor in thine age
Will bring thy head with sorrow to the ground . —
I beseech your Majesty give me leave to go ;
Sorrow would solace , and mine age would ease .
Give up thy staff . Henry will to himself
Protector be ; and God shall be my hope ,
My stay , my guide , and lantern to my feet .
And go in peace , Humphrey , no less beloved
Than when thou wert Protector to thy king .
Should be to be protected like a child .
God and King Henry govern England’s realm ! —
Give up your staff , sir , and the King his realm .
As willingly do I the same resign
As e’er thy father Henry made it mine ;
And even as willingly at thy feet I leave it
As others would ambitiously receive it .
[85] ACT 2. SC. 3 Farewell , good king . When I am dead and gone ,
May honorable peace attend thy throne .
And Humphrey , Duke of Gloucester , scarce himself ,
That bears so shrewd a maim . Two pulls at once :
His lady banished and a limb lopped off .
This staff of honor raught , there let it stand
Where it best fits to be , in Henry’s hand .
Thus Eleanor’s pride dies in her youngest days .
This is the day appointed for the combat ,
And ready are the appellant and defendant —
The armorer and his man — to enter the lists ,
So please your Highness to behold the fight .
Left I the court to see this quarrel tried .
Here let them end it , and God defend the right !
Or more afraid to fight than is the appellant ,
The servant of this armorer , my lords .
Neighbors , drinking to him so much that he is drunk ;
and he enters with a Drum before him and his staff with
a sandbag fastened to it ; and at the other door his man
Peter , with a Drum and sandbag , and Prentices
drinking to him .
[87]ACT 2. SC. 3
in a cup of sack ; and fear not , neighbor , you shall
do well enough .
charneco .
neighbor . Drink , and fear not your man .
And a fig for Peter !
afraid .
master . Fight for credit of the prentices .
you , for I think I have taken my last draft in this
world . Here , Robin , an if I die , I give thee my
apron . — And , Will , thou shalt have my hammer . —
And here , Tom , take all the money that I have . He
distributes his possessions . O Lord , bless me , I
pray God , for I am never able to deal with my
master . He hath learnt so much fence already .
blows . Sirrah , what’s thy name ?
well .
my man’s instigation , to prove him a knave and
myself an honest man ; and touching the Duke of
York , I will take my death I never meant him any
ill , nor the King , nor the Queen . — And therefore ,
Peter , have at thee with a downright blow !
Sound , trumpets . Alarum to the combatants !
[89]ACT 2. SC. 4
the good wine in thy master’s way .
presence ? O Peter , thou hast prevailed in right !
For by his death we do perceive his guilt .
And God in justice hath revealed to us
The truth and innocence of this poor fellow ,
Which he had thought to have murdered
wrongfully . —
Come , fellow , follow us for thy reward .
Scene 4
in mourning cloaks .
And after summer evermore succeeds
Barren winter , with his wrathful nipping cold ;
So cares and joys abound , as seasons fleet .
Sirs , what’s o’clock ?
To watch the coming of my punished duchess .
Uneath may she endure the flinty streets ,
To tread them with her tender-feeling feet .
Sweet Nell , ill can thy noble mind abrook
[91] ACT 2. SC. 4 The abject people gazing on thy face
With envious looks laughing at thy shame ,
That erst did follow thy proud chariot wheels
When thou didst ride in triumph through the streets .
But , soft ! I think she comes , and I’ll prepare
My tearstained eyes to see her miseries .
white sheet , with papers pinned to her back and a
taper burning in her hand , with Sir John Stanley ,
the Sheriff , and Officers .
Now thou dost penance too . Look how they gaze !
See how the giddy multitude do point ,
And nod their heads , and throw their eyes on thee .
Ah , Gloucester , hide thee from their hateful looks ,
And , in thy closet pent up , rue my shame ,
And ban thine enemies , both mine and thine .
For whilst I think I am thy married wife
And thou a prince , Protector of this land ,
Methinks I should not thus be led along ,
Mailed up in shame , with papers on my back ,
And followed with a rabble that rejoice
To see my tears and hear my deep-fet groans .
The ruthless flint doth cut my tender feet ,
And when I start , the envious people laugh
[93] ACT 2. SC. 4 And bid me be advisèd how I tread .
Ah , Humphrey , can I bear this shameful yoke ?
Trowest thou that e’er I’ll look upon the world
Or count them happy that enjoys the sun ?
No , dark shall be my light , and night my day .
To think upon my pomp shall be my hell .
Sometimes I’ll say I am Duke Humphrey’s wife
And he a prince and ruler of the land ;
Yet so he ruled and such a prince he was
As he stood by whilst I , his forlorn duchess ,
Was made a wonder and a pointing-stock
To every idle rascal follower .
But be thou mild , and blush not at my shame ,
Nor stir at nothing till the ax of death
Hang over thee , as , sure , it shortly will .
For Suffolk , he that can do all in all
With her that hateth thee and hates us all ,
And York and impious Beaufort , that false priest ,
Have all limed bushes to betray thy wings ;
And fly thou how thou canst , they’ll tangle thee .
But fear not thou until thy foot be snared ,
Nor never seek prevention of thy foes .
I must offend before I be attainted ;
And had I twenty times so many foes ,
And each of them had twenty times their power ,
All these could not procure me any scathe
So long as I am loyal , true , and crimeless .
Wouldst have me rescue thee from this reproach ?
Why , yet thy scandal were not wiped away ,
But I in danger for the breach of law .
Thy greatest help is quiet , gentle Nell .
I pray thee , sort thy heart to patience ;
These few days’ wonder will be quickly worn .
[95]ACT 2. SC. 4
Holden at Bury the first of this next month .
This is close dealing . Well , I will be there .
My Nell , I take my leave . — And , master sheriff ,
Let not her penance exceed the King’s commission .
And Sir John Stanley is appointed now
To take her with him to the Isle of Man .
You use her well . The world may laugh again ,
And I may live to do you kindness , if
You do it her . And so , Sir John , farewell .
For none abides with me . My joy is death —
Death , at whose name I oft have been afeard ,
Because I wished this world’s eternity . —
Stanley , I prithee , go , and take me hence .
I care not whither , for I beg no favor ;
Only convey me where thou art commanded .
[97]ACT 2. SC. 4
There to be used according to your state .
And shall I , then , be used reproachfully ?
According to that state you shall be used .
Although thou hast been conduct of my shame .
Come , Stanley , shall we go ?
And go we to attire you for our journey .
No , it will hang upon my richest robes
And show itself , attire me how I can .
Go , lead the way . I long to see my prison .
[101]
ACT 3
Scene 1
Cardinal , Suffolk , York , Buckingham , Salisbury , and
Warwick , and Others to the Parliament .
’Tis not his wont to be the hindmost man ,
Whate’er occasion keeps him from us now .
The strangeness of his altered countenance ?
With what a majesty he bears himself ,
How insolent of late he is become ,
How proud , how peremptory , and unlike himself ?
We know the time since he was mild and affable ;
And if we did but glance a far-off look ,
Immediately he was upon his knee ,
That all the court admired him for submission .
But meet him now , and , be it in the morn
When everyone will give the time of day ,
He knits his brow and shows an angry eye
And passeth by with stiff unbowèd knee ,
Disdaining duty that to us belongs .
Small curs are not regarded when they grin ,
But great men tremble when the lion roars —
And Humphrey is no little man in England .
[103] ACT 3. SC. 1 First , note that he is near you in descent ,
And , should you fall , he is the next will mount .
Meseemeth then it is no policy ,
Respecting what a rancorous mind he bears
And his advantage following your decease ,
That he should come about your royal person
Or be admitted to your Highness’ Council .
By flattery hath he won the Commons’ hearts ;
And when he please to make commotion ,
’Tis to be feared they all will follow him .
Now ’tis the spring , and weeds are shallow-rooted ;
Suffer them now , and they’ll o’ergrow the garden
And choke the herbs for want of husbandry .
The reverent care I bear unto my lord
Made me collect these dangers in the Duke .
If it be fond , call it a woman’s fear ,
Which fear , if better reasons can supplant ,
I will subscribe and say I wronged the Duke .
My lords of Suffolk , Buckingham , and York ,
Reprove my allegation if you can ,
Or else conclude my words effectual .
And , had I first been put to speak my mind ,
I think I should have told your Grace’s tale .
The Duchess by his subornation ,
Upon my life , began her devilish practices ;
Or if he were not privy to those faults ,
Yet , by reputing of his high descent —
As next the King he was successive heir ,
And such high vaunts of his nobility —
Did instigate the bedlam brainsick duchess
By wicked means to frame our sovereign’s fall .
Smooth runs the water where the brook is deep ,
And in his simple show he harbors treason .
The fox barks not when he would steal the lamb .
[105] ACT 3. SC. 1 No , no , my sovereign , Gloucester is a man
Unsounded yet and full of deep deceit .
Devise strange deaths for small offenses done ?
Levy great sums of money through the realm
For soldiers’ pay in France , and never sent it ,
By means whereof the towns each day revolted ?
Which time will bring to light in smooth Duke
Humphrey .
To mow down thorns that would annoy our foot
Is worthy praise ; but , shall I speak my conscience ,
Our kinsman Gloucester is as innocent
From meaning treason to our royal person
As is the sucking lamb or harmless dove .
The Duke is virtuous , mild , and too well given
To dream on evil or to work my downfall .
Seems he a dove ? His feathers are but borrowed ,
For he’s disposèd as the hateful raven .
Is he a lamb ? His skin is surely lent him ,
For he’s inclined as is the ravenous wolves .
Who cannot steal a shape that means deceit ?
Take heed , my lord ; the welfare of us all
Hangs on the cutting short that fraudful man .
[107]ACT 3. SC. 1
Is utterly bereft you . All is lost .
As firmly as I hope for fertile England .
Thus are my blossoms blasted in the bud ,
And caterpillars eat my leaves away .
But I will remedy this gear ere long ,
Or sell my title for a glorious grave .
Pardon , my liege , that I have stayed so long .
Unless thou wert more loyal than thou art .
I do arrest thee of high treason here .
Nor change my countenance for this arrest .
A heart unspotted is not easily daunted .
The purest spring is not so free from mud
As I am clear from treason to my sovereign .
Who can accuse me ? Wherein am I guilty ?
And , being Protector , stayed the soldiers’ pay ,
By means whereof his Highness hath lost France .
[109] ACT 3. SC. 1 I never robbed the soldiers of their pay
Nor ever had one penny bribe from France .
So help me God as I have watched the night —
Ay , night by night — in studying good for England !
That doit that e’er I wrested from the King ,
Or any groat I hoarded to my use ,
Be brought against me at my trial day !
No , many a pound of mine own proper store ,
Because I would not tax the needy Commons ,
Have I dispursèd to the garrisons
And never asked for restitution .
Strange tortures for offenders , never heard of ,
That England was defamed by tyranny .
Pity was all the fault that was in me ;
For I should melt at an offender’s tears ,
And lowly words were ransom for their fault .
Unless it were a bloody murderer
Or foul felonious thief that fleeced poor passengers ,
I never gave them condign punishment .
Murder indeed , that bloody sin , I tortured
Above the felon or what trespass else .
But mightier crimes are laid unto your charge
Whereof you cannot easily purge yourself .
I do arrest you in his Highness’ name ,
And here commit you to my Lord Cardinal
To keep until your further time of trial .
[111]ACT 3. SC. 1
That you will clear yourself from all suspense .
My conscience tells me you are innocent .
Virtue is choked with foul ambition ,
And charity chased hence by rancor’s hand ;
Foul subornation is predominant ,
And equity exiled your Highness’ land .
I know their complot is to have my life ;
And if my death might make this island happy
And prove the period of their tyranny ,
I would expend it with all willingness .
But mine is made the prologue to their play ;
For thousands more , that yet suspect no peril ,
Will not conclude their plotted tragedy .
Beaufort’s red sparkling eyes blab his heart’s malice ,
And Suffolk’s cloudy brow his stormy hate ;
Sharp Buckingham unburdens with his tongue
The envious load that lies upon his heart ;
And dogged York , that reaches at the moon ,
Whose overweening arm I have plucked back ,
By false accuse doth level at my life . —
And you , my sovereign lady , with the rest ,
Causeless have laid disgraces on my head
And with your best endeavor have stirred up
My liefest liege to be mine enemy .
Ay , all of you have laid your heads together —
Myself had notice of your conventicles —
And all to make away my guiltless life .
I shall not want false witness to condemn me
Nor store of treasons to augment my guilt .
The ancient proverb will be well effected :
‘A staff is quickly found to beat a dog .’
[113]ACT 3. SC. 1
If those that care to keep your royal person
From treason’s secret knife and traitor’s rage
Be thus upbraided , chid , and rated at ,
And the offender granted scope of speech ,
’Twill make them cool in zeal unto your Grace .
With ignominious words , though clerkly couched ,
As if she had subornèd some to swear
False allegations to o’erthrow his state ?
Beshrew the winners , for they played me false !
And well such losers may have leave to speak .
Lord Cardinal , he is your prisoner .
Before his legs be firm to bear his body . —
Thus is the shepherd beaten from thy side ,
And wolves are gnarling who shall gnaw thee first .
Ah , that my fear were false ; ah , that it were !
For , good King Henry , thy decay I fear .
Do , or undo , as if ourself were here .
[115]ACT 3. SC. 1
Whose flood begins to flow within mine eyes ,
My body round engirt with misery ;
For what’s more miserable than discontent ?
Ah , uncle Humphrey , in thy face I see
The map of honor , truth , and loyalty ;
And yet , good Humphrey , is the hour to come
That e’er I proved thee false or feared thy faith .
What louring star now envies thy estate
That these great lords and Margaret our queen
Do seek subversion of thy harmless life ?
Thou never didst them wrong nor no man wrong .
And as the butcher takes away the calf
And binds the wretch and beats it when it strains ,
Bearing it to the bloody slaughterhouse ,
Even so remorseless have they borne him hence ;
And as the dam runs lowing up and down ,
Looking the way her harmless young one went ,
And can do naught but wail her darling’s loss ,
Even so myself bewails good Gloucester’s case
With sad unhelpful tears , and with dimmed eyes
Look after him and cannot do him good ,
So mighty are his vowèd enemies .
His fortunes I will weep and , ’twixt each groan ,
Say ‘Who’s a traitor , Gloucester he is none .’
and Others .
beams .
Henry my lord is cold in great affairs ,
Too full of foolish pity ; and Gloucester’s show
Beguiles him , as the mournful crocodile
With sorrow snares relenting passengers ,
Or as the snake , rolled in a flow’ring bank ,
[117] ACT 3. SC. 1 With shining checkered slough , doth sting a child
That for the beauty thinks it excellent .
Believe me , lords , were none more wise than I —
And yet herein I judge mine own wit good —
This Gloucester should be quickly rid the world ,
To rid us from the fear we have of him .
But yet we want a color for his death .
’Tis meet he be condemned by course of law .
The King will labor still to save his life ,
The Commons haply rise to save his life ,
And yet we have but trivial argument ,
More than mistrust , that shows him worthy death .
But , my Lord Cardinal , and you , my lord of Suffolk ,
Say as you think , and speak it from your souls :
Were ’t not all one an empty eagle were set
To guard the chicken from a hungry kite
As place Duke Humphrey for the King’s Protector ?
To make the fox surveyor of the fold —
Who , being accused a crafty murderer ,
His guilt should be but idly posted over
Because his purpose is not executed ?
No , let him die in that he is a fox ,
[119] ACT 3. SC. 1 By nature proved an enemy to the flock ,
Before his chaps be stained with crimson blood ,
As Humphrey , proved by reasons , to my liege .
And do not stand on quillets how to slay him —
Be it by gins , by snares , by subtlety ,
Sleeping or waking . ’Tis no matter how ,
So he be dead ; for that is good deceit
Which mates him first that first intends deceit .
For things are often spoke and seldom meant ;
But that my heart accordeth with my tongue ,
Seeing the deed is meritorious ,
And to preserve my sovereign from his foe ,
Say but the word and I will be his priest .
Ere you can take due orders for a priest .
Say you consent and censure well the deed ,
And I’ll provide his executioner .
I tender so the safety of my liege .
It skills not greatly who impugns our doom .
To signify that rebels there are up
And put the Englishmen unto the sword .
Send succors , lords , and stop the rage betime ,
[121] ACT 3. SC. 1 Before the wound do grow uncurable ;
For , being green , there is great hope of help .
What counsel give you in this weighty cause ?
’Tis meet that lucky ruler be employed —
Witness the fortune he hath had in France .
Had been the regent there instead of me ,
He never would have stayed in France so long .
I rather would have lost my life betimes
Than bring a burden of dishonor home
By staying there so long till all were lost .
Show me one scar charactered on thy skin .
Men’s flesh preserved so whole do seldom win .
If wind and fuel be brought to feed it with . —
No more , good York . — Sweet Somerset , be still . —
Thy fortune , York , hadst thou been regent there ,
Might happily have proved far worse than his .
all !
Th’ uncivil kerns of Ireland are in arms
And temper clay with blood of Englishmen .
[123] ACT 3. SC. 1 To Ireland will you lead a band of men ,
Collected choicely , from each county some ,
And try your hap against the Irishmen ?
And what we do establish he confirms .
Then , noble York , take thou this task in hand .
Whiles I take order for mine own affairs .
But now return we to the false Duke Humphrey .
That henceforth he shall trouble us no more .
And so break off ; the day is almost spent .
Lord Suffolk , you and I must talk of that event .
At Bristow I expect my soldiers ,
For there I’ll ship them all for Ireland .
And change misdoubt to resolution .
Be that thou hop’st to be , or what thou art
Resign to death ; it is not worth th’ enjoying .
Let pale-faced fear keep with the mean-born man
And find no harbor in a royal heart .
Faster than springtime showers comes thought on
thought ,
[125] ACT 3. SC. 1 And not a thought but thinks on dignity .
My brain , more busy than the laboring spider ,
Weaves tedious snares to trap mine enemies .
Well , nobles , well , ’tis politicly done
To send me packing with an host of men .
I fear me you but warm the starvèd snake ,
Who , cherished in your breasts , will sting your
hearts .
’Twas men I lacked , and you will give them me ;
I take it kindly . Yet be well assured
You put sharp weapons in a madman’s hands .
Whiles I in Ireland nourish a mighty band ,
I will stir up in England some black storm
Shall blow ten thousand souls to heaven or hell ;
And this fell tempest shall not cease to rage
Until the golden circuit on my head ,
Like to the glorious sun’s transparent beams ,
Do calm the fury of this mad-bred flaw .
And for a minister of my intent ,
I have seduced a headstrong Kentishman ,
John Cade of Ashford ,
To make commotion , as full well he can ,
Under the title of John Mortimer .
In Ireland have I seen this stubborn Cade
Oppose himself against a troop of kerns ,
And fought so long till that his thighs with darts
Were almost like a sharp-quilled porpentine ;
And in the end being rescued , I have seen
Him caper upright like a wild Morisco ,
Shaking the bloody darts as he his bells .
Full often , like a shag-haired crafty kern ,
Hath he conversèd with the enemy ,
And undiscovered come to me again
And given me notice of their villainies .
This devil here shall be my substitute ;
For that John Mortimer , which now is dead ,
[127] ACT 3. SC. 2 In face , in gait , in speech he doth resemble .
By this , I shall perceive the Commons’ mind ,
How they affect the house and claim of York .
Say he be taken , racked , and torturèd ,
I know no pain they can inflict upon him
Will make him say I moved him to those arms .
Say that he thrive , as ’tis great like he will ,
Why then from Ireland come I with my strength
And reap the harvest which that rascal sowed .
For , Humphrey being dead , as he shall be ,
And Henry put apart , the next for me .
Scene 2
murder of Duke Humphrey .
We have dispatched the Duke as he commanded .
Didst ever hear a man so penitent ?
I will reward you for this venturous deed .
The King and all the peers are here at hand .
Have you laid fair the bed ? Is all things well ,
According as I gave directions ?
[129]ACT 3. SC. 2
Margaret , Cardinal , Somerset , with Attendants .
Say we intend to try his Grace today
If he be guilty , as ’tis publishèd .
Proceed no straiter ’gainst our uncle Gloucester
Than from true evidence of good esteem
He be approved in practice culpable .
That faultless may condemn a nobleman !
Pray God he may acquit him of suspicion !
How now ? Why look’st thou pale ? Why tremblest
thou ?
Where is our uncle ? What’s the matter , Suffolk ?
The Duke was dumb and could not speak a word .
[131]ACT 3. SC. 2
Came he right now to sing a raven’s note ,
Whose dismal tune bereft my vital powers ,
And thinks he that the chirping of a wren ,
By crying comfort from a hollow breast ,
Can chase away the first-conceivèd sound ?
Hide not thy poison with such sugared words .
Lay not thy hands on me . Forbear , I say !
Their touch affrights me as a serpent’s sting .
Thou baleful messenger , out of my sight !
Upon thy eyeballs , murderous Tyranny
Sits in grim majesty to fright the world .
Look not upon me , for thine eyes are wounding .
Yet do not go away . Come , basilisk ,
And kill the innocent gazer with thy sight ;
For in the shade of death I shall find joy ,
In life but double death , now Gloucester’s dead .
Although the Duke was enemy to him ,
Yet he most Christian-like laments his death .
And for myself , foe as he was to me ,
Might liquid tears or heart-offending groans
Or blood-consuming sighs recall his life ,
I would be blind with weeping , sick with groans ,
[133] ACT 3. SC. 2 Look pale as primrose with blood-drinking sighs ,
And all to have the noble duke alive .
What know I how the world may deem of me ?
For it is known we were but hollow friends .
It may be judged I made the Duke away ;
So shall my name with slander’s tongue be wounded
And princes’ courts be filled with my reproach .
This get I by his death . Ay me , unhappy ,
To be a queen and crowned with infamy !
What , dost thou turn away and hide thy face ?
I am no loathsome leper . Look on me .
What , art thou , like the adder , waxen deaf ?
Be poisonous too , and kill thy forlorn queen .
Is all thy comfort shut in Gloucester’s tomb ?
Why , then , Dame Margaret was ne’er thy joy .
Erect his statue and worship it ,
And make my image but an alehouse sign .
Was I for this nigh-wracked upon the sea
And twice by awkward wind from England’s bank
Drove back again unto my native clime ?
What boded this , but well forewarning wind
Did seem to say ‘Seek not a scorpion’s nest ,
Nor set no footing on this unkind shore’ ?
What did I then but cursed the gentle gusts
And he that loosed them forth their brazen caves
And bid them blow towards England’s blessèd shore
Or turn our stern upon a dreadful rock ?
Yet Aeolus would not be a murderer ,
But left that hateful office unto thee .
The pretty-vaulting sea refused to drown me ,
Knowing that thou wouldst have me drowned on
shore
[135] ACT 3. SC. 2 With tears as salt as sea , through thy unkindness .
The splitting rocks cow’red in the sinking sands
And would not dash me with their ragged sides
Because thy flinty heart , more hard than they ,
Might in thy palace perish Margaret .
As far as I could ken thy chalky cliffs ,
When from thy shore the tempest beat us back ,
I stood upon the hatches in the storm ,
And when the dusky sky began to rob
My earnest-gaping sight of thy land’s view ,
I took a costly jewel from my neck —
A heart it was , bound in with diamonds —
And threw it towards thy land . The sea received it ,
And so I wished thy body might my heart .
And even with this I lost fair England’s view ,
And bid mine eyes be packing with my heart ,
And called them blind and dusky spectacles
For losing ken of Albion’s wishèd coast .
How often have I tempted Suffolk’s tongue ,
The agent of thy foul inconstancy ,
To sit and watch me , as Ascanius did
When he to madding Dido would unfold
His father’s acts commenced in burning Troy !
Am I not witched like her , or thou not false like
him ?
Ay me , I can no more . Die , Margaret ,
For Henry weeps that thou dost live so long .
and many Commons .
That good Duke Humphrey traitorously is murdered
By Suffolk and the Cardinal Beaufort’s means .
The Commons , like an angry hive of bees
That want their leader , scatter up and down
[137] ACT 3. SC. 2 And care not who they sting in his revenge .
Myself have calmed their spleenful mutiny ,
Until they hear the order of his death .
But how he died God knows , not Henry .
Enter his chamber , view his breathless corpse ,
And comment then upon his sudden death .
With the rude multitude till I return .
Commons exit through another .
My thoughts that labor to persuade my soul
Some violent hands were laid on Humphrey’s life .
If my suspect be false , forgive me , God ,
For judgment only doth belong to Thee .
Fain would I go to chafe his paly lips
With twenty thousand kisses , and to drain
Upon his face an ocean of salt tears ,
To tell my love unto his dumb deaf trunk
And with my fingers feel his hand unfeeling ;
But all in vain are these mean obsequies .
And to survey his dead and earthy image ,
What were it but to make my sorrow greater ?
Enter Warwick .
For with his soul fled all my worldly solace ;
For seeing him , I see my life in death .
[139]ACT 3. SC. 2
With that dread King that took our state upon Him
To free us from His Father’s wrathful curse ,
I do believe that violent hands were laid
Upon the life of this thrice-famèd duke .
What instance gives Lord Warwick for his vow ?
Oft have I seen a timely-parted ghost ,
Of ashy semblance , meager , pale , and bloodless ,
Being all descended to the laboring heart ,
Who , in the conflict that it holds with death ,
Attracts the same for aidance ’gainst the enemy ,
Which with the heart there cools and ne’er
returneth
To blush and beautify the cheek again .
But see , his face is black and full of blood ;
His eyeballs further out than when he lived ,
Staring full ghastly , like a strangled man ;
His hair upreared , his nostrils stretched with
struggling ;
His hands abroad displayed , as one that grasped
And tugged for life and was by strength subdued .
Look , on the sheets his hair , you see , is sticking ;
His well-proportioned beard made rough and
rugged ,
Like to the summer’s corn by tempest lodged .
It cannot be but he was murdered here .
The least of all these signs were probable .
[141] ACT 3. SC. 2 Myself and Beaufort had him in protection ,
And we , I hope , sir , are no murderers .
to keep .
’Tis like you would not feast him like a friend ,
And ’tis well seen he found an enemy .
As guilty of Duke Humphrey’s timeless death .
And sees fast by a butcher with an ax ,
But will suspect ’twas he that made the slaughter ?
Who finds the partridge in the puttock’s nest
But may imagine how the bird was dead ,
Although the kite soar with unbloodied beak ?
Even so suspicious is this tragedy .
Is Beaufort termed a kite ? Where are his talons ?
But here’s a vengeful sword , rusted with ease ,
That shall be scoured in his rancorous heart
That slanders me with murder’s crimson badge . —
Say , if thou dar’st , proud lord of Warwickshire ,
That I am faulty in Duke Humphrey’s death .
Nor cease to be an arrogant controller ,
Though Suffolk dare him twenty thousand times .
[143]ACT 3. SC. 2
For every word you speak in his behalf
Is slander to your royal dignity .
If ever lady wronged her lord so much ,
Thy mother took into her blameful bed
Some stern untutored churl , and noble stock
Was graft with crab-tree slip , whose fruit thou art
And never of the Nevilles’ noble race .
And I should rob the deathsman of his fee ,
Quitting thee thereby of ten thousand shames ,
And that my sovereign’s presence makes me mild ,
I would , false murd’rous coward , on thy knee
Make thee beg pardon for thy passèd speech
And say it was thy mother that thou meant’st ,
That thou thyself wast born in bastardy ;
And after all this fearful homage done ,
Give thee thy hire and send thy soul to hell ,
Pernicious bloodsucker of sleeping men !
If from this presence thou dar’st go with me .
Unworthy though thou art , I’ll cope with thee
And do some service to Duke Humphrey’s ghost .
Thrice is he armed that hath his quarrel just ,
And he but naked , though locked up in steel ,
Whose conscience with injustice is corrupted .
[145]ACT 3. SC. 2
drawn
Here in our presence ? Dare you be so bold ?
Why , what tumultuous clamor have we here ?
Set all upon me , mighty sovereign .
Dread lord , the Commons send you word by me ,
Unless Lord Suffolk straight be done to death
Or banishèd fair England’s territories ,
They will by violence tear him from your palace
And torture him with grievous ling’ring death .
They say , by him the good duke Humphrey died ;
They say , in him they fear your Highness’ death ;
And mere instinct of love and loyalty ,
Free from a stubborn opposite intent ,
As being thought to contradict your liking ,
Makes them thus forward in his banishment .
They say , in care of your most royal person ,
That if your Highness should intend to sleep ,
And charge that no man should disturb your rest ,
In pain of your dislike or pain of death ,
Yet , notwithstanding such a strait edict ,
Were there a serpent seen with forkèd tongue
That slyly glided towards your Majesty ,
It were but necessary you were waked ,
Lest , being suffered in that harmful slumber ,
[147] ACT 3. SC. 2 The mortal worm might make the sleep eternal .
And therefore do they cry , though you forbid ,
That they will guard you , whe’er you will or no ,
From such fell serpents as false Suffolk is ,
With whose envenomèd and fatal sting
Your loving uncle , twenty times his worth ,
They say , is shamefully bereft of life .
Could send such message to their sovereign !
employed ,
To show how quaint an orator you are .
But all the honor Salisbury hath won
Is that he was the lord ambassador
Sent from a sort of tinkers to the King .
I thank them for their tender loving care ;
And , had I not been cited so by them ,
Yet did I purpose as they do entreat .
For , sure , my thoughts do hourly prophesy
Mischance unto my state by Suffolk’s means .
And therefore , by His Majesty I swear ,
Whose far unworthy deputy I am ,
He shall not breathe infection in this air
But three days longer , on the pain of death .
[149] ACT 3. SC. 2 No more , I say . If thou dost plead for him ,
Thou wilt but add increase unto my wrath .
Had I but said , I would have kept my word ;
But when I swear , it is irrevocable .
be’st found
On any ground that I am ruler of ,
The world shall not be ransom for thy life . —
Come , Warwick , come , good Warwick , go with me .
I have great matters to impart to thee .
Warwick
Heart’s discontent and sour affliction
Be playfellows to keep you company !
There’s two of you ; the devil make a third ,
And threefold vengeance tend upon your steps !
And let thy Suffolk take his heavy leave .
Hast thou not spirit to curse thine enemies ?
them ?
Could curses kill , as doth the mandrake’s groan ,
I would invent as bitter searching terms ,
As curst , as harsh , and horrible to hear ,
Delivered strongly through my fixèd teeth ,
With full as many signs of deadly hate ,
As lean-faced Envy in her loathsome cave .
My tongue should stumble in mine earnest words ;
Mine eyes should sparkle like the beaten flint ;
Mine hair be fixed on end , as one distract ;
[151] ACT 3. SC. 2 Ay , every joint should seem to curse and ban ;
And even now my burdened heart would break
Should I not curse them . Poison be their drink !
Gall , worse than gall , the daintiest that they taste ;
Their sweetest shade , a grove of cypress trees ;
Their chiefest prospect , murd’ring basilisks ;
Their softest touch , as smart as lizards’ stings !
Their music , frightful as the serpent’s hiss ,
And boding screech owls make the consort full !
All the foul terrors in dark-seated hell —
And these dread curses , like the sun ’gainst glass ,
Or like an over-chargèd gun , recoil
And turn the force of them upon thyself .
Now , by the ground that I am banished from ,
Well could I curse away a winter’s night ,
Though standing naked on a mountain top
Where biting cold would never let grass grow ,
And think it but a minute spent in sport .
That I may dew it with my mournful tears ;
Nor let the rain of heaven wet this place
To wash away my woeful monuments .
O , could this kiss be printed in thy hand ,
That thou mightst think upon these by the seal ,
Through whom a thousand sighs are breathed for
thee !
So , get thee gone , that I may know my grief ;
’Tis but surmised whiles thou art standing by ,
As one that surfeits thinking on a want .
I will repeal thee , or , be well assured ,
[153] ACT 3. SC. 2 Adventure to be banishèd myself ;
And banishèd I am , if but from thee .
Go , speak not to me . Even now be gone !
O , go not yet ! Even thus two friends condemned
Embrace and kiss and take ten thousand leaves ,
Loather a hundred times to part than die .
Yet now farewell , and farewell life with thee .
Once by the King , and three times thrice by thee .
’Tis not the land I care for , wert thou thence .
A wilderness is populous enough ,
So Suffolk had thy heavenly company ;
For where thou art , there is the world itself ,
With every several pleasure in the world ;
And where thou art not , desolation .
I can no more . Live thou to joy thy life ;
Myself no joy in naught but that thou liv’st .
That Cardinal Beaufort is at point of death ;
For suddenly a grievous sickness took him
That makes him gasp and stare and catch the air ,
Blaspheming God and cursing men on Earth .
Sometimes he talks as if Duke Humphrey’s ghost
Were by his side ; sometimes he calls the King
And whispers to his pillow , as to him ,
The secrets of his overchargèd soul .
And I am sent to tell his Majesty
That even now he cries aloud for him .
[155] ACT 3. SC. 2 Ay me ! What is this world ? What news are these !
But wherefore grieve I at an hour’s poor loss ,
Omitting Suffolk’s exile , my soul’s treasure ?
Why only , Suffolk , mourn I not for thee ,
And with the southern clouds contend in tears —
Theirs for the earth’s increase , mine for my
sorrows’ ?
Now get thee hence . The King , thou know’st , is
coming ;
If thou be found by me , thou art but dead .
And in thy sight to die , what were it else
But like a pleasant slumber in thy lap ?
Here could I breathe my soul into the air ,
As mild and gentle as the cradle babe
Dying with mother’s dug between its lips ;
Where , from thy sight , I should be raging mad
And cry out for thee to close up mine eyes ,
To have thee with thy lips to stop my mouth .
So shouldst thou either turn my flying soul ,
Or I should breathe it so into thy body ,
And then it lived in sweet Elysium .
To die by thee were but to die in jest ;
From thee to die were torture more than death .
O , let me stay , befall what may befall !
It is applièd to a deathful wound .
To France , sweet Suffolk . Let me hear from thee ,
For wheresoe’er thou art in this world’s globe ,
I’ll have an Iris that shall find thee out .
[157] ACT 3. SC. 3 That ever did contain a thing of worth !
Even as a splitted bark , so sunder we .
This way fall I to death .
Scene 3
Cardinal in bed , raving and staring .
Enough to purchase such another island ,
So thou wilt let me live and feel no pain .
Where Death’s approach is seen so terrible !
Died he not in his bed ? Where should he die ?
Can I make men live , whe’er they will or no ?
O , torture me no more ! I will confess .
Alive again ? Then show me where he is .
I’ll give a thousand pound to look upon him .
He hath no eyes ! The dust hath blinded them .
Comb down his hair . Look , look . It stands upright ,
Like lime-twigs set to catch my wingèd soul .
Give me some drink , and bid the apothecary
Bring the strong poison that I bought of him .
[159] ACT 3. SC. 3 Look with a gentle eye upon this wretch !
O , beat away the busy meddling fiend
That lays strong siege unto this wretch’s soul ,
And from his bosom purge this black despair !
Lord Card’nal , if thou think’st on heaven’s bliss ,
Hold up thy hand ; make signal of thy hope .
He dies and makes no sign . O , God forgive him !
Close up his eyes , and draw the curtain close ,
And let us all to meditation .
the bed , they exit . The bed is removed .
[163]
ACT 4
Scene 1
and Others , including a Master , a Master’s Mate ,
Walter Whitmore , and Prisoners .
Is crept into the bosom of the sea ,
And now loud-howling wolves arouse the jades
That drag the tragic melancholy night ,
Who , with their drowsy , slow , and flagging wings
Clip dead men’s graves , and from their misty jaws
Breathe foul contagious darkness in the air .
Therefore bring forth the soldiers of our prize ;
For , whilst our pinnace anchors in the Downs ,
Here shall they make their ransom on the sand ,
Or with their blood stain this discolored shore . —
Master , this prisoner freely give I thee . —
And , thou that art his mate , make boot of this . —
The other , Walter Whitmore , is thy share .
are handed over .
[165]ACT 4. SC. 1
And bear the name and port of gentlemen ? —
Cut both the villains’ throats — for die you shall ;
The lives of those which we have lost in fight
Be counterpoised with such a petty sum !
And therefore to revenge it shalt thou die ;
And so should these , if I might have my will .
Rate me at what thou wilt , thou shalt be paid .
How now , why starts thou ? What , doth death
affright ?
A cunning man did calculate my birth
And told me that by water I should die .
Yet let not this make thee be bloody-minded ;
Thy name is Gualtier , being rightly sounded .
[167] ACT 4. SC. 1 Never yet did base dishonor blur our name
But with our sword we wiped away the blot .
Therefore , when merchantlike I sell revenge ,
Broke be my sword , my arms torn and defaced ,
And I proclaimed a coward through the world !
The Duke of Suffolk , William de la Pole .
Jove sometimes went disguised , and why not I ?
The honorable blood of Lancaster ,
Must not be shed by such a jaded groom .
Hast thou not kissed thy hand and held my stirrup ?
Bareheaded plodded by my footcloth mule ,
And thought thee happy when I shook my head ?
How often hast thou waited at my cup ,
Fed from my trencher , kneeled down at the board ,
When I have feasted with Queen Margaret ?
Remember it , and let it make thee crestfall’n ,
Ay , and allay this thy abortive pride .
How in our voiding lobby hast thou stood
And duly waited for my coming forth ?
This hand of mine hath writ in thy behalf ,
And therefore shall it charm thy riotous tongue .
[169]ACT 4. SC. 1
Strike off his head .
Ay , kennel , puddle , sink , whose filth and dirt
Troubles the silver spring where England drinks !
Now will I dam up this thy yawning mouth
For swallowing the treasure of the realm .
Thy lips that kissed the Queen shall sweep the
ground ,
And thou that smiledst at good Duke Humphrey’s
death
Against the senseless winds shall grin in vain ,
Who in contempt shall hiss at thee again .
And wedded be thou to the hags of hell
For daring to affy a mighty lord
Unto the daughter of a worthless king ,
Having neither subject , wealth , nor diadem .
By devilish policy art thou grown great ,
And , like ambitious Sylla , overgorged
With gobbets of thy mother’s bleeding heart .
By thee Anjou and Maine were sold to France .
The false revolting Normans thorough thee
Disdain to call us lord , and Picardy
Hath slain their governors , surprised our forts ,
And sent the ragged soldiers wounded home .
The princely Warwick , and the Nevilles all ,
Whose dreadful swords were never drawn in vain ,
As hating thee , are rising up in arms .
And now the house of York , thrust from the crown
[171] ACT 4. SC. 1 By shameful murder of a guiltless king
And lofty , proud , encroaching tyranny ,
Burns with revenging fire , whose hopeful colors
Advance our half-faced sun , striving to shine ,
Under the which is writ ‘Invitis nubibus .’
The commons here in Kent are up in arms ,
And , to conclude , reproach and beggary
Is crept into the palace of our king ,
And all by thee . — Away ! Convey him hence .
Upon these paltry , servile , abject drudges !
Small things make base men proud . This villain
here ,
Being captain of a pinnace , threatens more
Than Bargulus , the strong Illyrian pirate .
Drones suck not eagles’ blood , but rob beehives .
It is impossible that I should die
By such a lowly vassal as thyself .
Thy words move rage and not remorse in me .
I go of message from the Queen to France .
I charge thee waft me safely cross the Channel .
It is thee I fear .
What , are you daunted now ? Now will you stoop ?
Used to command , untaught to plead for favor .
[173] ACT 4. SC. 1 Far be it we should honor such as these
With humble suit . No , rather let my head
Stoop to the block than these knees bow to any
Save to the God of heaven and to my king ;
And sooner dance upon a bloody pole
Than stand uncovered to the vulgar groom .
True nobility is exempt from fear . —
More can I bear than you dare execute .
That this my death may never be forgot !
Great men oft die by vile bezonians :
A Roman sworder and banditto slave
Murdered sweet Tully ; Brutus’ bastard hand
Stabbed Julius Caesar ; savage islanders
Pompey the Great , and Suffolk dies by pirates .
Suffolk and Others .
It is our pleasure one of them depart .
and let him go .
The First Gentleman remains .
and severed head of Suffolk .
Until the Queen his mistress bury it .
His body will I bear unto the King .
[175] ACT 4. SC. 2 If he revenge it not , yet will his friends .
So will the Queen , that living held him dear .
Scene 2
lath . They have been up these two days .
the commonwealth , and turn it , and set a new nap
upon it .
say , it was never merry world in England since
gentlemen came up .
handicraftsmen .
aprons .
workmen .
which is as much to say as ‘Let the magistrates
be laboring men .’ And therefore should we
be magistrates .
brave mind than a hard hand .
tanner of Wingham —
dog’s leather of .
throat cut like a calf .
[177]ACT 4. SC. 2
weaver , and a Sawyer , with infinite numbers ,
all with staves .
father —
with the spirit of putting down kings and princes —
command silence .
bricklayer .
sold many laces .
her furred pack , she washes bucks here at home .
and there was he born , under a hedge , for his
father had never a house but the cage .
whipped three market-days together .
is of proof .
[179]ACT 4. SC. 2
fire , being burnt i’ th’ hand for stealing of sheep .
vows reformation . There shall be in England seven
halfpenny loaves sold for a penny . The three-hooped
pot shall have ten hoops , and I will make it
felony to drink small beer . All the realm shall be in
common , and in Cheapside shall my palfrey go to
grass . And when I am king , as king I will be —
money ; all shall eat and drink on my score ; and I
will apparel them all in one livery , that they may
agree like brothers and worship me their lord .
thing , that of the skin of an innocent lamb should
be made parchment ? That parchment , being scribbled
o’er , should undo a man ? Some say the bee
stings , but I say , ’tis the beeswax ; for I did but seal
once to a thing , and I was never mine own man
since . How now ? Who’s there ?
and cast account .
hand .
mine honor . Unless I find him guilty , he shall not
[181] ACT 4. SC. 2 die . — Come hither , sirrah ; I must examine thee .
What is thy name ?
go hard with you .
name ? Or hast thou a mark to thyself , like an
honest , plain-dealing man ?
up that I can write my name .
and a traitor .
and inkhorn about his neck .
brother are hard by , with the King’s forces .
shall be encountered with a man as good as himself .
He is but a knight , is he ?
presently . He kneels . Rise up Sir John Mortimer .
He rises . Now have at him !
a Herald , Drum , and Soldiers .
Marked for the gallows , lay your weapons down !
Home to your cottages ; forsake this groom .
The King is merciful , if you revolt .
[183]ACT 4. SC. 2
If you go forward . Therefore yield , or die .
It is to you , good people , that I speak ,
Over whom , in time to come , I hope to reign ,
For I am rightful heir unto the crown .
And thou thyself a shearman , art thou not ?
Married the Duke of Clarence’ daughter , did he not ?
The elder of them , being put to nurse ,
Was by a beggar-woman stol’n away ,
And , ignorant of his birth and parentage ,
Became a bricklayer when he came to age .
His son am I . Deny it if you can .
and the bricks are alive at this day to testify it .
Therefore deny it not .
That speaks he knows not what ?
[185]ACT 4. SC. 2
sirrah . Tell the King from me that , for his father’s
sake , Henry the Fifth , in whose time boys went to
span-counter for French crowns , I am content he
shall reign , but I’ll be Protector over him .
head for selling the dukedom of Maine .
and fain to go with a staff , but that my puissance
holds it up . Fellow kings , I tell you that that Lord
Saye hath gelded the commonwealth and made it
an eunuch ; and , more than that , he can speak
French , and therefore he is a traitor .
enemies . Go to , then , I ask but this : can he that
speaks with the tongue of an enemy be a good
counselor , or no ?
Assail them with the army of the King .
Proclaim them traitors that are up with Cade ,
That those which fly before the battle ends
May , even in their wives’ and children’s sight
Be hanged up for example at their doors . —
And you that be the King’s friends , follow me .
[187]ACT 4. SC. 3
Now show yourselves men . ’Tis for liberty !
We will not leave one lord , one gentleman ;
Spare none but such as go in clouted shoon ,
For they are thrifty , honest men and such
As would , but that they dare not , take our parts .
of order . Come , march forward .
Scene 3
slain . Enter Cade and the rest .
thou behaved’st thyself as if thou hadst been in
thine own slaughterhouse . Therefore , thus will I
reward thee : the Lent shall be as long again as it is ,
and thou shalt have a license to kill for a hundred
lacking one .
monument of the victory will I bear . He puts on
Sir Humphrey Stafford’s armor and helmet , or sallet .
And the bodies shall be dragged at my horse
heels till I do come to London , where we will have
the Mayor’s sword borne before us .
the jails and let out the prisoners .
towards London .
[189]ACT 4. SC. 4
Scene 4
Queen Margaret with Suffolk’s head , the Duke
of Buckingham , and the Lord Saye .
And makes it fearful and degenerate .
Think therefore on revenge , and cease to weep .
But who can cease to weep and look on this ?
Here may his head lie on my throbbing breast ,
But where’s the body that I should embrace ?
supplication ?
For God forbid so many simple souls
Should perish by the sword ! And I myself ,
Rather than bloody war shall cut them short ,
Will parley with Jack Cade , their general .
But stay , I’ll read it over once again .
Ruled , like a wandering planet , over me ,
And could it not enforce them to relent
That were unworthy to behold the same ?
Still lamenting and mourning for Suffolk’s death ?
I fear me , love , if that I had been dead ,
Thou wouldst not have mourned so much for me .
[191]ACT 4. SC. 4
haste ?
Jack Cade proclaims himself Lord Mortimer ,
Descended from the Duke of Clarence’ house ,
And calls your Grace usurper , openly ,
And vows to crown himself in Westminster .
His army is a ragged multitude
Of hinds and peasants , rude and merciless .
Sir Humphrey Stafford and his brother’s death
Hath given them heart and courage to proceed .
All scholars , lawyers , courtiers , gentlemen
They call false caterpillars and intend their death .
Until a power be raised to put them down .
These Kentish rebels would be soon appeased !
Therefore away with us to Killingworth .
The sight of me is odious in their eyes ;
And therefore in this city will I stay
And live alone as secret as I may .
[193]ACT 4. SC. 5
The citizens fly and forsake their houses .
The rascal people , thirsting after prey ,
Join with the traitor , and they jointly swear
To spoil the city and your royal court .
And therefore am I bold and resolute .
Scene 5
two or three Citizens below .
they have won the Bridge , killing all those that
withstand them . The Lord Mayor craves aid of
your Honor from the Tower to defend the city
from the rebels .
But I am troubled here with them myself :
The rebels have essayed to win the Tower .
[195] ACT 4. SC. 6 But get you to Smithfield and gather head ,
And thither I will send you Matthew Gough .
Fight for your king , your country , and your lives .
And so farewell , for I must hence again .
Scene 6
London Stone .
upon London Stone , I charge and command
that , of the city’s cost , the Pissing Conduit run
nothing but claret wine this first year of our reign .
And now henceforward it shall be treason for any
that calls me other than Lord Mortimer .
Cade more . I think he hath a very fair warning .
reads the message .
My lord , there’s an army gathered together in
Smithfield .
and set London Bridge on fire , and , if you can ,
burn down the Tower too . Come , let’s away .
[197]ACT 4. SC. 7
Scene 7
others to th’ Inns of Court . Down with them all !
your mouth .
was thrust in the mouth with a spear , and ’tis not
whole yet .
his breath stinks with eating toasted cheese .
Burn all the records of the realm . My mouth shall
be the Parliament of England .
statutes — unless his teeth be pulled out .
common .
Saye , which sold the towns in France , he that
made us pay one-and-twenty fifteens , and one
shilling to the pound , the last subsidy .
thou say , thou serge , nay , thou buckram lord , now
art thou within point-blank of our jurisdiction
regal . What canst thou answer to my Majesty for
giving up of Normandy unto Monsieur Basimecu ,
the Dauphin of France ? Be it known unto thee by
[199] ACT 4. SC. 7 these presence , even the presence of Lord Mortimer ,
that I am the besom that must sweep the
court clean of such filth as thou art . Thou hast
most traitorously corrupted the youth of the realm
in erecting a grammar school ; and whereas ,
before , our forefathers had no other books but the
score and the tally , thou hast caused printing to be
used , and , contrary to the King his crown and dignity ,
thou hast built a paper mill . It will be proved
to thy face that thou hast men about thee that usually
talk of a noun and a verb and such abominable
words as no Christian ear can endure to hear .
Thou hast appointed justices of peace to call poor
men before them about matters they were not able
to answer . Moreover , thou hast put them in prison ;
and , because they could not read , thou hast
hanged them , when indeed only for that cause
they have been most worthy to live . Thou dost ride
on a footcloth , dost thou not ?
cloak when honester men than thou go in their
hose and doublets .
that am a butcher .
Latin .
Kent , in the commentaries Caesar writ ,
Is termed the civil’st place of all this isle .
Sweet is the country , because full of riches ;
The people liberal , valiant , active , wealthy ;
[201] ACT 4. SC. 7 Which makes me hope you are not void of pity .
I sold not Maine ; I lost not Normandy ;
Yet to recover them would lose my life .
Justice with favor have I always done ;
Prayers and tears have moved me ; gifts could never .
When have I aught exacted at your hands
Kent to maintain , the King , the realm , and you ?
Large gifts have I bestowed on learnèd clerks ,
Because my book preferred me to the King .
And seeing ignorance is the curse of God ,
Knowledge the wing wherewith we fly to heaven ,
Unless you be possessed with devilish spirits ,
You cannot but forbear to murder me .
This tongue hath parleyed unto foreign kings
For your behoof —
Those that I never saw , and struck them dead .
folks ?
red again .
Hath made me full of sickness and diseases .
the help of hatchet .
even with you .’ I’ll see if his head will stand steadier
on a pole , or no . Take him away , and behead
him .
[203]ACT 4. SC. 7
Have I affected wealth or honor ? Speak .
Are my chests filled up with extorted gold ?
Is my apparel sumptuous to behold ?
Whom have I injured , that you seek my death ?
These hands are free from guiltless blood-shedding ,
This breast from harboring foul deceitful thoughts .
O , let me live !
bridle it . He shall die , an it be but for pleading so
well for his life . Away with him ! He has a familiar
under his tongue ; he speaks not i’ God’s name . Go ,
take him away , I say , and strike off his head
presently ; and then break into his son-in-law’s
house , Sir James Cromer , and strike off his head ;
and bring them both upon two poles hither .
God should be so obdurate as yourselves ,
How would it fare with your departed souls ?
And therefore yet relent , and save my life .
The proudest peer in the realm shall not wear a
head on his shoulders unless he pay me tribute .
There shall not a maid be married but she shall
pay to me her maidenhead ere they have it . Men
shall hold of me in capite ; and we charge and command
that their wives be as free as heart can wish
or tongue can tell .
up commodities upon our bills ?
[205]ACT 4. SC. 8
Cromer on poles .
for they loved well when they were alive . The
heads are brought together . Now part them again ,
lest they consult about the giving up of some more
towns in France . Soldiers , defer the spoil of the
city until night , for , with these borne before us
instead of maces , will we ride through the streets
and at every corner have them kiss . Away !
Scene 8
all his rabblement .
Kill and knock down ! Throw them into Thames !
What noise is this I hear ? Dare any be so bold to
sound retreat or parley when I command them
kill ?
Know , Cade , we come ambassadors from the King
Unto the Commons , whom thou hast misled ,
And here pronounce free pardon to them all
That will forsake thee and go home in peace .
And yield to mercy whil’st ’tis offered you ,
Or let a rabble lead you to your deaths ?
[207] ACT 4. SC. 8 Who loves the King and will embrace his pardon ,
Fling up his cap and say ‘God save his Majesty !’
Who hateth him and honors not his father ,
Henry the Fifth , that made all France to quake ,
Shake he his weapon at us and pass by .
brave ? — And , you base peasants , do you believe
him ? Will you needs be hanged with your pardons
about your necks ? Hath my sword therefore broke
through London gates , that you should leave me at
the White Hart in Southwark ? I thought you
would never have given out these arms till you had
recovered your ancient freedom . But you are all
recreants and dastards , and delight to live in slavery
to the nobility . Let them break your backs with
burdens , take your houses over your heads , ravish
your wives and daughters before your faces . For
me , I will make shift for one , and so God’s curse
light upon you all !
That thus you do exclaim you’ll go with him ?
Will he conduct you through the heart of France
And make the meanest of you earls and dukes ?
Alas , he hath no home , no place to fly to ,
Nor knows he how to live but by the spoil ,
Unless by robbing of your friends and us .
Were ’t not a shame that , whilst you live at jar ,
The fearful French , whom you late vanquishèd ,
Should make a start o’er seas and vanquish you ?
Methinks already in this civil broil
I see them lording it in London streets ,
Crying ‘Villiago !’ unto all they meet .
Better ten thousand baseborn Cades miscarry
[209] ACT 4. SC. 9 Than you should stoop unto a Frenchman’s mercy .
To France , to France , and get what you have lost !
Spare England , for it is your native coast .
Henry hath money ; you are strong and manly .
God on our side , doubt not of victory .
Clifford !
fro as this multitude ? The name of Henry the Fifth
hales them to an hundred mischiefs and makes
them leave me desolate . I see them lay their heads
together to surprise me . My sword make way for
me , for here is no staying ! — In despite of the devils
and hell , have through the very middest of you !
And heavens and honor be witness that no want of
resolution in me , but only my followers’ base and
ignominious treasons , makes me betake me to my
heels .
And he that brings his head unto the King
Shall have a thousand crowns for his reward .
Follow me , soldiers . We’ll devise a means
To reconcile you all unto the King .
Scene 9
and Somerset on the terrace , aloft .
And could command no more content than I ? [211] ACT 4. SC. 9
No sooner was I crept out of my cradle
But I was made a king at nine months old .
Was never subject longed to be a king
As I do long and wish to be a subject !
Or is he but retired to make him strong ?
And , humbly thus , with halters on their necks ,
Expect your Highness’ doom of life or death .
To entertain my vows of thanks and praise !
Soldiers , this day have you redeemed your lives
And showed how well you love your prince and
country .
Continue still in this so good a mind ,
And Henry , though he be infortunate ,
Assure yourselves , will never be unkind .
And so with thanks and pardon to you all ,
I do dismiss you to your several countries .
The Duke of York is newly come from Ireland
And , with a puissant and a mighty power
[213] ACT 4. SC. 9 Of gallowglasses and stout kerns ,
Is marching hitherward in proud array ,
And still proclaimeth , as he comes along ,
His arms are only to remove from thee
The Duke of Somerset , whom he terms a traitor .
distressed ,
Like to a ship that , having scaped a tempest ,
Is straightway calmed and boarded with a pirate .
But now is Cade driven back , his men dispersed ,
And now is York in arms to second him .
I pray thee , Buckingham , go and meet him ,
And ask him what’s the reason of these arms .
Tell him I’ll send Duke Edmund to the Tower . —
And , Somerset , we will commit thee thither
Until his army be dismissed from him .
I’ll yield myself to prison willingly ,
Or unto death , to do my country good .
For he is fierce and cannot brook hard language .
As all things shall redound unto your good .
For yet may England curse my wretched reign .
[215]ACT 4. SC. 10
Scene 10
sword and yet am ready to famish ! These five days
have I hid me in these woods and durst not peep
out , for all the country is laid for me . But now am
I so hungry that , if I might have a lease of my life
for a thousand years , I could stay no longer .
Wherefore , o’er a brick wall have I climbed into
this garden , to see if I can eat grass , or pick a sallet
another while , which is not amiss to cool a man’s
stomach this hot weather . And I think this word
sallet was born to do me good ; for many a time ,
but for a sallet , my brainpan had been cleft with a
brown bill ; and many a time , when I have been dry
and bravely marching , it hath served me instead of
a quart pot to drink in ; and now the word sallet
must serve me to feed on .
And may enjoy such quiet walks as these ?
This small inheritance my father left me
Contenteth me , and worth a monarchy .
I seek not to wax great by others’ waning ,
Or gather wealth , I care not with what envy .
Sufficeth that I have maintains my state
And sends the poor well pleasèd from my gate .
me for a stray , for entering his fee-simple without
leave . — Ah , villain , thou wilt betray me and get a
thousand crowns of the King by carrying my head
to him ; but I’ll make thee eat iron like an ostrich
[217] ACT 4. SC. 10 and swallow my sword like a great pin , ere thou
and I part .
I know thee not . Why , then , should I betray thee ?
Is ’t not enough to break into my garden
And , like a thief , to come to rob my grounds ,
Climbing my walls in spite of me the owner ,
But thou wilt brave me with these saucy terms ?
broached , and beard thee too . Look on me well : I
have eat no meat these five days , yet come thou
and thy five men , and if I do not leave you all as
dead as a doornail , I pray God I may never eat
grass more .
That Alexander Iden , an esquire of Kent ,
Took odds to combat a poor famished man .
Oppose thy steadfast gazing eyes to mine ;
See if thou canst outface me with thy looks .
Set limb to limb , and thou art far the lesser ;
Thy hand is but a finger to my fist ,
Thy leg a stick comparèd with this truncheon .
My foot shall fight with all the strength thou hast ;
And if mine arm be heavèd in the air ,
Thy grave is digged already in the earth .
As for words , whose greatness answers words ,
Let this my sword report what speech forbears .
ever I heard ! Steel , if thou turn the edge or cut not
out the burly-boned clown in chines of beef ere
thou sleep in thy sheath , I beseech God on my
knees thou mayst be turned to hobnails .
[219] ACT 4. SC. 10 O , I am slain ! Famine , and no other , hath slain me .
Let ten thousand devils come against me , and give
me but the ten meals I have lost , and I’d defy them
all . Wither , garden , and be henceforth a burying
place to all that do dwell in this house , because the
unconquered soul of Cade is fled .
Sword , I will hallow thee for this thy deed ,
And hang thee o’er my tomb when I am dead .
Ne’er shall this blood be wipèd from thy point ,
But thou shalt wear it as a herald’s coat
To emblaze the honor that thy master got .
Kent from me she hath lost her best man , and
exhort all the world to be cowards ; for I , that never
feared any , am vanquished by famine , not by valor .
Die , damnèd wretch , the curse of her that bare thee !
And as I thrust thy body in with my sword ,
So wish I , I might thrust thy soul to hell .
Hence will I drag thee headlong by the heels
Unto a dunghill , which shall be thy grave ,
And there cut off thy most ungracious head ,
Which I will bear in triumph to the King ,
Leaving thy trunk for crows to feed upon .
[223]
ACT 5
Scene 1
Irish , with Attendants , Drum and Colors .
And pluck the crown from feeble Henry’s head .
Ring , bells , aloud ! Burn , bonfires , clear and bright
To entertain great England’s lawful king !
Ah , sancta maiestas , who would not buy thee dear ?
Let them obey that knows not how to rule .
This hand was made to handle naught but gold .
I cannot give due action to my words
Except a sword or scepter balance it .
A scepter shall it have , have I a soul ,
On which I’ll toss the fleur-de-luce of France .
disturb me ?
The King hath sent him , sure . I must dissemble .
Art thou a messenger , or come of pleasure ?
[225]ACT 5. SC. 1
To know the reason of these arms in peace ;
Or why thou , being a subject as I am ,
Against thy oath and true allegiance sworn ,
Should raise so great a power without his leave ,
Or dare to bring thy force so near the court .
O , I could hew up rocks and fight with flint ,
I am so angry at these abject terms !
And now , like Ajax Telamonius ,
On sheep or oxen could I spend my fury .
I am far better born than is the King ,
More like a king , more kingly in my thoughts .
But I must make fair weather yet awhile ,
Till Henry be more weak and I more strong . —
Buckingham , I prithee , pardon me ,
That I have given no answer all this while .
My mind was troubled with deep melancholy .
The cause why I have brought this army hither
Is to remove proud Somerset from the King ,
Seditious to his Grace and to the state .
But if thy arms be to no other end ,
The King hath yielded unto thy demand :
The Duke of Somerset is in the Tower .
Soldiers , I thank you all . Disperse yourselves .
[227] ACT 5. SC. 1 Meet me tomorrow in Saint George’s field ;
You shall have pay and everything you wish .
And let my sovereign , virtuous Henry ,
Command my eldest son , nay , all my sons ,
As pledges of my fealty and love ;
I’ll send them all as willing as I live .
Lands , goods , horse , armor , anything I have
Is his to use , so Somerset may die .
We twain will go into his Highness’ tent .
That thus he marcheth with thee arm in arm ?
York doth present himself unto your Highness .
And fight against that monstrous rebel Cade ,
Who since I heard to be discomfited .
May pass into the presence of a king ,
Lo , I present your Grace a traitor’s head ,
The head of Cade , whom I in combat slew .
[229] ACT 5. SC. 1 O , let me view his visage , being dead ,
That living wrought me such exceeding trouble .
Tell me , my friend , art thou the man that slew him ?
A poor esquire of Kent that loves his king .
He were created knight for his good service .
rises .
We give thee for reward a thousand marks ,
And will that thou henceforth attend on us .
And never live but true unto his liege !
wearing the red rose .
Go bid her hide him quickly from the Duke .
But boldly stand and front him to his face .
Then , York , unloose thy long-imprisoned thoughts ,
And let thy tongue be equal with thy heart .
Shall I endure the sight of Somerset ? —
False king , why hast thou broken faith with me ,
[231] ACT 5. SC. 1 Knowing how hardly I can brook abuse ?
‘King’ did I call thee ? No , thou art not king ,
Not fit to govern and rule multitudes ,
Which dar’st not — no , nor canst not — rule a traitor .
That head of thine doth not become a crown ;
Thy hand is made to grasp a palmer’s staff ,
And not to grace an awful princely scepter .
That gold must round engirt these brows of mine ,
Whose smile and frown , like to Achilles’ spear ,
Is able with the change to kill and cure .
Here is a hand to hold a scepter up
And with the same to act controlling laws .
Give place . By heaven , thou shalt rule no more
O’er him whom heaven created for thy ruler .
Of capital treason ’gainst the King and crown .
Obey , audacious traitor . Kneel for grace .
If they can brook I bow a knee to man .
bail .
I know , ere they will have me go to ward ,
They’ll pawn their swords for my enfranchisement .
To say if that the bastard boys of York
Shall be the surety for their traitor father .
Outcast of Naples , England’s bloody scourge !
The sons of York , thy betters in their birth ,
Shall be their father’s bail , and bane to those
That for my surety will refuse the boys .
[233] ACT 5. SC. 1
wearing the white rose .
See where they come ; I’ll warrant they’ll make it
good .
Nay , do not fright us with an angry look .
We are thy sovereign , Clifford ; kneel again .
For thy mistaking so , we pardon thee .
But thou mistakes me much to think I do . —
To Bedlam with him ! Is the man grown mad ?
Makes him oppose himself against his king .
And chop away that factious pate of his .
His sons , he says , shall give their words for him .
[235]ACT 5. SC. 1
I am thy king and thou a false-heart traitor .
Call hither to the stake my two brave bears ,
That , with the very shaking of their chains ,
They may astonish these fell-lurking curs .
to me .
white rose .
And manacle the bearherd in their chains ,
If thou dar’st bring them to the baiting place .
Run back and bite because he was withheld ,
Who , being suffered with the bear’s fell paw ,
Hath clapped his tail between his legs and cried ;
And such a piece of service will you do
If you oppose yourselves to match Lord Warwick .
As crooked in thy manners as thy shape !
Old Salisbury , shame to thy silver hair ,
Thou mad misleader of thy brainsick son !
What , wilt thou on thy deathbed play the ruffian
And seek for sorrow with thy spectacles ?
O , where is faith ? O , where is loyalty ? [237]
If it be banished from the frosty head ,
Where shall it find a harbor in the earth ?
Wilt thou go dig a grave to find out war ,
And shame thine honorable age with blood ?
Why art thou old and want’st experience ?
Or wherefore dost abuse it , if thou hast it ?
For shame ! In duty bend thy knee to me
That bows unto the grave with mickle age .
The title of this most renownèd duke ,
And in my conscience do repute his Grace
The rightful heir to England’s royal seat .
But greater sin to keep a sinful oath .
Who can be bound by any solemn vow
To do a murd’rous deed , to rob a man ,
To force a spotless virgin’s chastity ,
To reave the orphan of his patrimony ,
To wring the widow from her customed right ,
And have no other reason for this wrong
But that he was bound by a solemn oath ?
I am resolved for death or dignity .
[239]ACT 5. SC. 1
To keep thee from the tempest of the field .
Than any thou canst conjure up today ;
And that I’ll write upon thy burgonet ,
Might I but know thee by thy house’s badge .
The rampant bear chained to the ragged staff ,
This day I’ll wear aloft my burgonet —
As on a mountaintop the cedar shows
That keeps his leaves in spite of any storm —
Even to affright thee with the view thereof .
And tread it under foot with all contempt ,
Despite the bearherd that protects the bear .
To quell the rebels and their complices .
For you shall sup with Jesu Christ tonight .
[241]ACT 5. SC. 2
Scene 2
An if thou dost not hide thee from the bear ,
Now , when the angry trumpet sounds alarum
And dead men’s cries do fill the empty air ,
Clifford , I say , come forth and fight with me ;
Proud northern lord , Clifford of Cumberland ,
Warwick is hoarse with calling thee to arms .
How now , my noble lord ? What , all afoot ?
But match to match I have encountered him
And made a prey for carrion kites and crows
Even of the bonny beast he loved so well .
For I myself must hunt this deer to death .
As I intend , Clifford , to thrive today ,
It grieves my soul to leave thee unassailed .
But that thou art so fast mine enemy .
[243]ACT 5. SC. 2
But that ’tis shown ignobly and in treason .
As I in justice and true right express it !
Peace with his soul , heaven , if it be thy will !
Fear frames disorder , and disorder wounds
Where it should guard . O war , thou son of hell ,
Whom angry heavens do make their minister ,
Throw in the frozen bosoms of our part
Hot coals of vengeance ! Let no soldier fly .
He that is truly dedicate to war
Hath no self-love ; nor he that loves himself
Hath not essentially , but by circumstance ,
The name of valor . He sees his father , lying dead . O ,
let the vile world end
And the premised flames of the last day
Knit Earth and heaven together !
Now let the general trumpet blow his blast ,
Particularities and petty sounds
To cease ! Wast thou ordained , dear father ,
[245] ACT 5. SC. 2 To lose thy youth in peace , and to achieve
The silver livery of advisèd age ,
And , in thy reverence and thy chair-days , thus
To die in ruffian battle ? Even at this sight
My heart is turned to stone , and while ’tis mine ,
It shall be stony . York not our old men spares ;
No more will I their babes . Tears virginal
Shall be to me even as the dew to fire ;
And beauty , that the tyrant oft reclaims ,
Shall to my flaming wrath be oil and flax .
Henceforth I will not have to do with pity .
Meet I an infant of the house of York ,
Into as many gobbets will I cut it
As wild Medea young Absyrtis did .
In cruelty will I seek out my fame .
Come , thou new ruin of old Clifford’s house ;
As did Aeneas old Anchises bear ,
So bear I thee upon my manly shoulders .
But then Aeneas bare a living load ,
Nothing so heavy as these woes of mine .
wearing the red rose , to fight .
For underneath an alehouse’ paltry sign ,
The Castle in Saint Albans , Somerset
Hath made the wizard famous in his death .
Sword , hold thy temper ! Heart , be wrathful still !
Priests pray for enemies , but princes kill .
Margaret , both wearing the red rose , and Others .
[247]ACT 5. SC. 3
Now is it manhood , wisdom , and defense
To give the enemy way , and to secure us
By what we can , which can no more but fly .
If you be ta’en , we then should see the bottom
Of all our fortunes ; but if we haply scape ,
As well we may — if not through your neglect —
We shall to London get , where you are loved
And where this breach now in our fortunes made
May readily be stopped .
I would speak blasphemy ere bid you fly ;
But fly you must . Uncurable discomfit
Reigns in the hearts of all our present parts .
Away , for your relief ! And we will live
To see their day and them our fortune give .
Away , my lord , away !
Scene 3
Warwick , and Soldiers , all wearing the white rose ,
with Drum and Colors .
That winter lion , who in rage forgets
Agèd contusions and all brush of time ,
And , like a gallant in the brow of youth ,
[249] ACT 5. SC. 3 Repairs him with occasion ? This happy day
Is not itself , nor have we won one foot ,
If Salisbury be lost .
Three times today I holp him to his horse ,
Three times bestrid him . Thrice I led him off ,
Persuaded him from any further act ;
But still , where danger was , still there I met him ,
And , like rich hangings in a homely house ,
So was his will in his old feeble body .
But , noble as he is , look where he comes .
Now , by my sword , well hast thou fought today !
God knows how long it is I have to live ,
And it hath pleased Him that three times today
You have defended me from imminent death .
Well , lords , we have not got that which we have ;
’Tis not enough our foes are this time fled ,
Being opposites of such repairing nature .
For , as I hear , the King is fled to London
To call a present court of Parliament .
Let us pursue him ere the writs go forth . —
What says Lord Warwick ? Shall we after them ?
Now , by my hand , lords , ’twas a glorious day .
Saint Albans battle won by famous York
Shall be eternized in all age to come . —
Sound drum and trumpets , and to London all ;
And more such days as these to us befall !
Appendix A
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- Citation Suggestion for this Edition
- TextGrid Repository (2025). Shakespeare, William. Henry VI, Part 2. The Folger Digital Texts in TextGrid. https://hdl.handle.net/21.11113/0000-0016-847D-7