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266

PERSONS REPRESENTED.

KING HENRY THE SIXTH :

EDWARD, Prince of Wales, his Son

LEWIS XI. King of France.

DUKE of SOMERSET,

DUKE of EXETER,

EARL of OXFORD,

EARL of NORTHUMBERLAND,

EARL of WESTMORELAND,

LORD CLIFFORD,

Lords on King Henry's side.

RICHARD PLANTAGENET, Duke of York:

EDWARD, Earl of March, afterwards King

Edward IV.

EDMUND, Earl of Rutland,

GEORGE, afterwards Duke of Clarence,

RICHARD, afterwards Duke of Gloster,
DUKE of NORFolk,

MARQUIS of Montague,

EARL of WARWICK,

EARL of PEMBROKE,
LORD HASTINGS,

LORD STAFFORD,

SIR JOHN MORTIMER,

SIR HUGH MORTIMER,

his Sons.

of the Duke of York's Party.

Uncles to the Duke of York.

HENRY, Earl of Richmond, a Youth.

LEY.

LORD RIVERS, brother to Lady Grey. SIR WILLIAM STANSIR JOHN MONTGOMERY. SIR JOHN SOMERVILE. Tutor to Rutland. Mayor of York. Lieutenant of the A Nobleman. Two Keepers. A Huntsman. A Son that has killed his Father. A Father that has killed his Son.

Tower.

QUEEN MARGARET.

LADY GREY, afterwards Queen to Edward IV.

BONA, Sister to the French Queen.

Soldiers, and other Attendants on King Henry and King Ed. ward, Messengers, Watchmen, &c.

SCENE, during part of the third act, in France; during all the rest of the play, in England.

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Clifford. Here burns my candle out, ay, here it dies, Which, while it lasted, gave King Henry light.

ACT ii. SC. 6.

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SCENE I. London. The Parliament House.

Drums. Some Soldiers of York's Party break in. Then, Enter the DUKE OF YORK, EDWARD, RICHARD, NORFOLK, MONTAGUE, WARWICK, and Others, with white Roses in their Hats.

Warwick.

WONDER how the king escap'd our hands.
York. While we pursu'd the horsemen of
the north,

He slily stole away, and left his men:
Whereat the great lord of Northumberland,
Whose warlike ears could never brook retreat,
Cheer'd up the drooping army; and himself,
Lord Clifford, and Lord Stafford, all abreast,
Charg'd our main battle's front, and, breaking in,
Were by the swords of common soldiers slain?.

This play is only divided from the former for the convenience of exhibition; for the series of action is continued without interruption, nor are any two scenes of any play more closely connected than the first scene of this play with the last of the former. -Johnson.

* See the former play, p. 249, note 4. Shakespeare has fallen into this inconsistency by following the old plays in the construction of these dramas.

Edw. Lord Stafford's father, duke of Buckingham, Is either slain, or wounded dangerous : I cleft his beaver with a downright blow; That this is true, father, behold his blood.

[Showing his bloody Sword.

Mont. And, brother3, here's the earl of Wiltshire's [To YORK, showing his. Whom I encounter'd as the battles join'd.

blood,

Rich. Speak thou for me, and tell them what I did1. [Throwing down the DUKE OF SOMERSET'S Head. York. Richard hath best deserv'd of all my sons.— But, is your grace dead, my lord of Somerset ?

Norf. Such hope have all the line of John of Gaunt! Rich. Thus do I hope to shake King Henry's head. War. And so do I.-Victorious prince of York, Before I see thee seated in that throne Which now the house of Lancaster usurps, I vow by heaven, these eyes shall never close. This is the palace of the fearful king, And this the regal seat: possess it, York: For this is thine, and not King Henry's heirs'.

York. Assist me then, sweet Warwick, and I will; For hither we have broken in by force.

Norf. We'll all assist you; he that flies shall die. York. Thanks, gentle Norfolk.-Stay by me, my lords;

3 York and Montague address each other as brothers, but Montague was brother to the Earl of Warwick, and York's wife was naif-sister to Thomas Montague Earl of Salisbury, their father, consequently she was their aunt, not their sister. See note on Act i. Sc. 1 of the previous play.

✦ Shakespeare was also led into this anachronism by the old plays. At the time of the first battle of St. Albans, where Richard is represented to have fought in the last scene of the preceding play, he was not one year old; having been born at Fotheringay Castle, October 21, 1454. At the time to which the third scene of the present act refers, he was but six years old; and in the fifth act, in which Henry is represented as having been killed by him in the Tower, not more than sixteen and eight months.

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