Bead. I will, my lord.-Come on, sirrah; off | SCENE II.-London. The duke of York's garwith your doublet quickly. den. Enter York, Salisbury, and Warwick. Simp. Alas, master, what shall I do? I am not able to stand. [After the Beadle hath hit him once, he leaps over the stool, and runs away; and the people follow, and cry, A miracle! *K. Hen. O God, seest thou this, and bear'st so long? *Q. Mar. It made me laugh, to see the villain Glo. But you have done more miracles than I; •You made, in a day, my lord, whole towns to fly. Enter Buckingham. • K. Hen. What tidings with our cousin Buckingham? 'Buck. Such as my heart doth tremble to unfold. The ringleader and head of all this rout,— 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. Car. And so, my lord protector, by this means "Your lady is forthcoming yet at London. This news, I think, hath turn'd your weapon's edge; my 'Tis like, my lord, you will not keep your hour. [Aside to Gloster. 'Glo. Ambitious churchman, leave to afflict heart! *Sorrow and grief have vanquish'd all my powers: * And, vanquish'd as I am, I yield to thee, *Or to the meanest groom. * K. Hen. O God, what mischiefs work the wicked ones; *Heaping confusion on their own heads thereby! *Q. Mar. Gloster, see here the tainture of thy nest; *And, look, thyself be faultless, thou wert best. 'Glo. Madam, for myself, to heaven I do appeal, 'How I have lov'd 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 Honour and virtue, and convers'd 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 dishonour'd Gloster's honest name. K. Hen. Well, for this night, we will repose us here: To-morrow, toward London, back again, To look into this business thoroughly, And call these foul offenders to their answers; And poise4 the cause in justice' equal scales, Whose beam stands sure, whose rightful cause prevails. [Flourish. Exeunt. (2) Wickedly. (1) A company. VOL. II. York. Now, my good lords of Salisbury and Our simple supper ended, give me leave, In craving your opinion of my title, Which is infallible, to England's crown. *Sal. My lord, I long to hear it at full. War. Sweet York, begin: and if thy claim be The Nevils are thy subjects to command. good, York. Then thus: Edward the Third, iny lords, had seven sons: Lionel, duke of Clarence; next to whom, The second, William of Hatfield; and the third, Was John of Gaunt, the duke of Lancaster: Edward, the Black Prince, died before his father; Till Henry Bolingbroke, duke of Lancaster, came, And him to Pomfret; where, as all you know, Harmless Richard was murder'd traitorously. * War. Father, the duke hath told the truth; *Thus got the house of Lancaster the crown. *York. Which now they hold by force, and not For Richard, the first son's heir, being dead, by right; *The issue of the next son should have reign'd. *Sal. But William of Hatfield died without an heir. *York. The third son, duke of Clarence (from whose line *I claim the crown,) had issue--Philippe, a daughter, *Who married Edmund Mortimer, earl of March: Edmund had issue-Roger, earl of March: *Roger had issue-Edmund, Anne, and Eleanor. Sal. This Edmund, in the reign of Bolingbroke, 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. 'York. His eldest sister, Anne, 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 Philippe, 'Sole daughter unto Lionel, duke of Clarence: So, if the issue of the elder son Succeed before the younger, I am king. War. What plain proceedings are more plain than this? Henry doth claim the crown from John of Gaunt, (3) i. e. Your lady is in custody. (4) Weigh. Then, father Salisbury, kneel we both together; "York. We thank you, lords. But I am not your Till I be crown'd; and that my sword be stain'd War. My heart assures me, that the earl of Shall one day make the duke of York a king. *Should be to be protected like a child.- As ere thy father Henry made it mine; York. And, Nevil, this do I assure myself,Richard shall live to make the earl of Warwick The greatest man in England but the king. [Exe. SCENE III.-The same. A hall of justice. Trumpets sounded. Enter King Henry, Queen Margaret, Gloster, York, Suffolk, and Salisbury; the Duchess of Gloster, Margery Jourdain, Southwell, Hume, and Bolingbroke, under* guard. K. Hen. Stand forth, dame Eleanor Cobham, Gloster's wife : This is the day appointed for the combat; *Left I the court, to see this quarrel tried. things fit; Here let them end it, and God defend the right! In sight of God, and us, your guilt is great; Despoiled of your honour 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. 'Duch. Welcome is banishment, welcome were my death. * Glo. Eleanor, the law, thou seest, hath judged *I cannot justify whom the law condemns.- 'Mine eyes are full of tears, my heart of grief. thou go, 1 Neigh. Here, neighbour Horner, I drink to you in a cup of sack; And fear not, neighbour, 2 Neigh. And here, neighbour, here's a cup of charneco.5 3 Neigh. And here's a pot of good double beer, neighbour: drink, and fear not your man. Hor. Let it come, i'faith, and I'll pledge you all; And a fig for Peter! 1 Pren. Here, Peter, I drink to thee; and be not afraid. 2 Pren. Be merry, Peter, and fear not thy master; fight for credit of the prentices. Peter. I thank you all: * drink, and pray for me, *I pray you; for, I think, I have taken my last draught 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.-O Lord, bless me, I pray God! for I am never able to deal with my master, he hath learnt so much fence already. Sal. Come, leave your drinking, and fall to blows. -Sirrah, what's thy name? and myself an honest man: * and touching the duke of York,-will take my death, I never neant him any ill, nor the king, nor the queen: *And, therefore, Peter, have at thee with a downright blow, as Bevis of Southampton fell upon Ascapart. *York. Despatch:-this knave's tongue begins to double. *Sound trumpets, alarum to the combatants. treason. [Alarum. They fight, and Peter strikes Hor. Hold, Peter, hold! I confess, I confess [Dies. * York. Take away his weapon:- -Fellow, * thank God, and the good wine in thy master's way. Peter. O God! have I overcome mine enemies in this presence? O Peter, thou hast prevailed in right! K. Hen. Ge, take hence that traitor from oursight; * And follow'd with a rabble, that rejoice Ah, Humphrey, can I bear this shameful yoke? With her, that hateth thee, and hates us all,And York, and impious Beaufort, that false priest, Have all lim'd bushes to betray thy wings, wrong-And, fly thou how thou canst, they'll tangle thee: *But fear not thou, until thy foot be snar'd, Come, fellow, follow us for thy reward. [Exeunt. Nor never seek prevention of thy foes. * Glo. Ah, Nell, forbear; thou aimest all awry; *I must offend, before I be attainted: *And had I twenty times so many foes, day* And each of them had twenty times their power, * All these could not procure me any scathe,8 * And, after summer, evermore succeeds Serv. Ten, my lord. 'Glo. Ten is the hour that was appointed me, To watch the coming of my punish'd duchess: • Uneath3 may she endure the flinty streets, To tread them with her tender-feeling feet. Sweet Nell, ill can thy noble mind abrook The abject people, gazing on thy face, With envious looks, still 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 tear-stain'd eyes to see her miseries. Enter the Duchess of Gloster, in a white sheet, with papers pinned upon her back, her feet bare, and a taper burning in her hand; Sir John Stanley, a Sheriff, and Officers. Serv. So please your grace, we'll take her from the sheriff. Glo. No, stir not, for your lives; let her pass by. Duch. Come you, my lord, to see my open shame? Now thou dost penance too. Look, how they gaze! • And nod their heads, and throw their eyes on thee! Glo. Be patient, gentle Nell; forget this grief. Methinks, I should not thus be led along, (1) The death of the vanquished person was always regarded as certain evidence of his guilt. (2) Change. (3) Not easily. (4) Malicious. (5) Curse. *So long as I am loyal, true, and crimeless. Would'st have me rescue thee from this reproach? Why, yet thy scandal were not wip'd 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; 'I care not whither, for I beg no favour, Only convey me where thou art commanded. *Stan. Why, madam, that is to the Isle of Man ; * There to be used according to your state. *Duch. That's bad enough, for I am but reproach: *And shall I then be us'd reproachfully? * Stan. Like to a duchess and duke Humphrey's lady, Suff. Well hath your highness seen into this duke; And, had I first been put to speak my mind, think, I should have told your grace's tale. The duchess, by his subornation, *According to that state you shall be used. charg'd. 'Come, Stanley, shall we go? *Upon my life, began her devilish practices: * Or if he were not privy to those faults, *(As next the king, he was successive heir,) *And such high vaunts of his nobility, 'Stan. Madam, your penance done, throw off* Did instigate the bedlam brain-sick duchess, this sheet, By wicked means to frame our sovereign's fall. Smooth runs the water, where the brook deep; And go we to attire you for our journey. 'Duch. My shame will not be shifted with my And in his simple show he harbours treason. sheet: *No, it will hang upon my richest robes, *And show itself, attire ine how I can. *Go, lead the way; I long to see my prison. ACT III. [Exeunt.* The fox barks not, when he would steal the lamb. No, no, my sovereign; Gloster is a man Unsounded yet, and full of deep deceit. *Car. Did he not, contrary to form of law, Devise strange deaths for small offences done? York. And did he not, in his protectorship, *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? *Buck. Tut! these are petty faults to faults unknown, *Which time will bring to light in smooth duke Humphrey. *K. Hen. My lords, at once: The care you have of us, *To mow down thorns that would annoy our foot, not* From meaning treason to our royal person, 'The strangeness of his alter'd countenance? 'With what a majesty he bears himself; 'How insolent of late he is become, 'How proud, 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 admir'd him for submission: • But meet him now, and, be it in the morn, When every one will give the time of day, 'He knits his brow, and shows an angry eye, And passeth by with stiff unbowed 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. First, note, that he is near you in descent; And should you fall, he is the next will mount. Me seemeth 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. *Q. Mar. Ah, what's more dangerous than this * Seems he a dove? his feathers are but borrow'd, By flattery hath he won the commons' hearts; And when he please to make commotion, 'Tis to be fear'd, 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 collect3 these dangers in the duke. (2) Wonder. (1) For conductor. (3) i. e. Assemble by observation. (4) Foolish. Enter Gloster. [Aside. *Glo. All happiness unto my lord the king! Pardon, my liege, that I have staid so long. (5) i. e. Valuing himself on his high descent. Suff. Nay, Gloster, know, that thou art come too soon, 'Unless thou wert more loyal than thou art: I do arrest thee of high treason here. Glo. Well, Suffolk, yet thou shalt not see me blush, Nor change my countenance for this arrest; *The purest spring is not so free from mud, 2 York. 'Tis thought, my lord, that you took bribes of France, By false accuse2 doth level at my life: And you, my sovereign lady, with the rest, 'Causeless have laid disgraces on my head; *And, with your best endeavour, have stirr'd up My liefest liege to be mine enemy : Ay, all of you have laid your heads together, *Myself had notice of your conventicles. 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. *Car. My liege, his railing is intolerable: And, being protector, stayed the soldiers' pay; think it? 'I never robb'd the soldiers of their pay, No! many a pound of mine own proper store, * Car. It serves you well, my lord, to say so much. * Glo. I say no more than truth, so help me God! York. In your protectorship, you did devise Strange tortures for offenders, never heard of, That England was defam'd by tyranny. Glo. Why, 'tis well known, that whiles I was protector, Pity was all the fault that was in me; * For I should melt at an offender's tears, 'Or foul felonious thief that fleec'd poor passengers, Suff. My lord, these faults are easy, quickly 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. *Twill make them cool in zeal unto your grace. Beshrew the winners, for they play'd me false ! Lord cardinal, he is your prisoner. 'Car. Sirs, take away the duke, and guard him sure. Glo. Ah, thus king Henry throws away his crutch, Do, or undo, as if ourself were here. Q. Mar. What, will your highness leave the parliament ? K. Hen. Ay, Margaret; my heart is drown'd with grief, *Whose flood begins to flow within mine eyes; *For what's more miserable than discontent?- K. Hen. My lord of Gloster, 'tis my special hope,* And yet, good Humphrey, is the hour to come, That you will clear yourself from all suspects; * Virtue is chok'd with foul ambition, *And equity exíl'd your highness' land. *I know, their complot is to have my life; *That e'er I prov'd thee false, or fear'd thy faith. And, if my death might make this island happy,* Even so, remorseless, have they borne him hence. And prove the period of their tyranny, 'I would expend it with all willingness: •And Suffolk's cloudy brow his stormy hate; (1) For easily. (2) For accusation. (3) Dearest. *And as the dam runs lowing up and down, With sad unhelpful tears; and with dimm'd eyes His fortunes I will weep; and, 'twixt each groan, *Henry my lord is cold in great affairs, |