Title: King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Subject:
Author: William Shakespeare
Keywords:
Creator:
PDF Version: 1.2
Page No 1
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
William Shakespeare
Page No 2
Table of Contents
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII.............................................................................................1
William Shakespeare...............................................................................................................................1
King John .............................................................................................................................................................2
Act 1, Scene 1..........................................................................................................................................2
Act 2, Scene 1........................................................................................................................................12
Act 3, Scene 1........................................................................................................................................33
Act 3, Scene 2........................................................................................................................................45
Act 3, Scene 3........................................................................................................................................46
Act 3, Scene 4........................................................................................................................................49
Act 4, Scene 1........................................................................................................................................55
Act 4, Scene 2........................................................................................................................................62
Act 4, Scene 3........................................................................................................................................71
Act 5, Scene 1........................................................................................................................................79
Act 5, Scene 2........................................................................................................................................82
Act 5, Scene 3........................................................................................................................................87
Act 5, Scene 4........................................................................................................................................88
Act 5, Scene 5........................................................................................................................................90
Act 5, Scene 6........................................................................................................................................91
Act 5, Scene 7........................................................................................................................................94
Richard II........................................................................................................................................................100
Act 1, Scene 1......................................................................................................................................100
Act 1, Scene 2......................................................................................................................................106
Act 1, Scene 3......................................................................................................................................108
Act 1, Scene 4......................................................................................................................................119
Act 2, Scene 1......................................................................................................................................122
Act 2, Scene 2......................................................................................................................................132
Act 2, Scene 3......................................................................................................................................138
Act 2, Scene 4......................................................................................................................................145
Act 3, Scene 1......................................................................................................................................146
Act 3, Scene 2......................................................................................................................................148
Act 3, Scene 3......................................................................................................................................154
Act 3, Scene 4......................................................................................................................................162
Act 4, Scene 1......................................................................................................................................166
Act 5, Scene 1......................................................................................................................................178
Act 5, Scene 2......................................................................................................................................182
Act 5, Scene 3......................................................................................................................................188
Act 5, Scene 4......................................................................................................................................195
Act 5, Scene 5......................................................................................................................................195
Act 5, Scene 6......................................................................................................................................199
Richard III .......................................................................................................................................................203
Act 1, Scene 1......................................................................................................................................203
Act 1, Scene 2......................................................................................................................................209
Act 1, Scene 3......................................................................................................................................220
Act 1, Scene 4......................................................................................................................................236 .............................................................................................................................................................248
Act 2, Scene 2......................................................................................................................................254
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
i
Page No 3
Table of Contents
Act 2, Scene 3......................................................................................................................................260
Act 2, Scene 4......................................................................................................................................263
Act 3, Scene 1......................................................................................................................................267
Act 3, Scene 2......................................................................................................................................277
Act 3, Scene 3......................................................................................................................................284
Act 3, Scene 4......................................................................................................................................285
Act 3, Scene 5......................................................................................................................................290
Act 3, Scene 6......................................................................................................................................295
Act 3, Scene 7......................................................................................................................................295
Act 4, Scene 1......................................................................................................................................304
Act 4, Scene 2......................................................................................................................................309
Act 4, Scene 3......................................................................................................................................316
Act 4, Scene 4......................................................................................................................................318
Act 4, Scene 5......................................................................................................................................343
Act 5, Scene 1......................................................................................................................................344
Act 5, Scene 2......................................................................................................................................345
Act 5, Scene 3......................................................................................................................................346
Act 5, Scene 4......................................................................................................................................361
Act 5, Scene 5......................................................................................................................................361
Henry VIII.......................................................................................................................................................364
Act 1, Scene 1......................................................................................................................................364
Act 1, Scene 2......................................................................................................................................374
Act 1, Scene 3......................................................................................................................................382
Act 1, Scene 4......................................................................................................................................386
Act 2, Scene 1......................................................................................................................................393
Act 2, Scene 2......................................................................................................................................400
Act 2, Scene 3......................................................................................................................................407
Act 2, Scene 4......................................................................................................................................413
Act 3, Scene 1......................................................................................................................................420
Act 3, Scene 2......................................................................................................................................427
Act 4, Scene 1......................................................................................................................................447
Act 4, Scene 2......................................................................................................................................454
Act 5, Scene 1......................................................................................................................................461
Act 5, Scene 2......................................................................................................................................470
Act 5, Scene 3......................................................................................................................................472
Act 5, Scene 4......................................................................................................................................480
Act 5, Scene 5......................................................................................................................................484
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
ii
Page No 4
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
William Shakespeare
King John
Act I
Act II
Act III
Act IV
Act V
Richard II
Act I
Act II
Act III
Act IV
Act V
Richard III
Act I
Act II
Act III
Act IV
Act V
Henry VIII
Act I
Act II
Act III
Act IV
Act V
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII 1
Page No 5
King John
Act 1, Scene 1
KING JOHN'S palace.
Enter KING JOHN, QUEEN ELINOR, PEMBROKE, ESSEX, SALISBURY, and others, with
CHATILLON
KING JOHN
Now, say, Chatillon, what would France with us?
CHATILLON
Thus, after greeting, speaks the King of France
In my behavior to the majesty,
The borrow'd majesty, of England here.
QUEEN ELINOR
A strange beginning: 'borrow'd majesty!'
KING JOHN
Silence, good mother; hear the embassy.
CHATILLON
Philip of France, in right and true behalf
Of thy deceased brother Geffrey's son,
Arthur Plantagenet, lays most lawful claim
To this fair island and the territories,
To Ireland, Poictiers, Anjou, Touraine, Maine,
Desiring thee to lay aside the sword
Which sways usurpingly these several titles,
And put these same into young Arthur's hand,
Thy nephew and right royal sovereign.
KING JOHN
What follows if we disallow of this?
CHATILLON
The proud control of fierce and bloody war,
To enforce these rights so forcibly withheld.
King John 2
Page No 6
KING JOHN
Here have we war for war and blood for blood,
Controlment for controlment: so answer France.
CHATILLON
Then take my king's defiance from my mouth,
The farthest limit of my embassy.
KING JOHN
Bear mine to him, and so depart in peace:
Be thou as lightning in the eyes of France;
For ere thou canst report I will be there,
The thunder of my cannon shall be heard:
So hence! Be thou the trumpet of our wrath
And sullen presage of your own decay.
An honourable conduct let him have:
Pembroke, look to 't. Farewell, Chatillon.
Exeunt CHATILLON and PEMBROKE
QUEEN ELINOR
What now, my son! have I not ever said
How that ambitious Constance would not cease
Till she had kindled France and all the world,
Upon the right and party of her son?
This might have been prevented and made whole
With very easy arguments of love,
Which now the manage of two kingdoms must
With fearful bloody issue arbitrate.
KING JOHN
Our strong possession and our right for us.
QUEEN ELINOR
Your strong possession much more than your right,
Or else it must go wrong with you and me:
So much my conscience whispers in your ear,
Which none but heaven and you and I shall hear.
Enter a Sheriff
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
King John 3
Page No 7
ESSEX
My liege, here is the strangest controversy
Come from country to be judged by you,
That e'er I heard: shall I produce the men?
KING JOHN
Let them approach.
Our abbeys and our priories shall pay
This expedition's charge.
Enter ROBERT and the BASTARD
What men are you?
BASTARD
Your faithful subject I, a gentleman
Born in Northamptonshire and eldest son,
As I suppose, to Robert Faulconbridge,
A soldier, by the honourgiving hand
Of Coeurdelion knighted in the field.
KING JOHN
What art thou?
ROBERT
The son and heir to that same Faulconbridge.
KING JOHN
Is that the elder, and art thou the heir?
You came not of one mother then, it seems.
BASTARD
Most certain of one mother, mighty king;
That is well known; and, as I think, one father:
But for the certain knowledge of that truth
I put you o'er to heaven and to my mother:
Of that I doubt, as all men's children may.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
King John 4
Page No 8
QUEEN ELINOR
Out on thee, rude man! thou dost shame thy mother
And wound her honour with this diffidence.
BASTARD
I, madam? no, I have no reason for it;
That is my brother's plea and none of mine;
The which if he can prove, a' pops me out
At least from fair five hundred pound a year:
Heaven guard my mother's honour and my land!
KING JOHN
A good blunt fellow. Why, being younger born,
Doth he lay claim to thine inheritance?
BASTARD
I know not why, except to get the land.
But once he slander'd me with bastardy:
But whether I be as true begot or no,
That still I lay upon my mother's head,
But that I am as well begot, my liege,
Fair fall the bones that took the pains for me!
Compare our faces and be judge yourself.
If old sir Robert did beget us both
And were our father and this son like him,
O old sir Robert, father, on my knee
I give heaven thanks I was not like to thee!
KING JOHN
Why, what a madcap hath heaven lent us here!
QUEEN ELINOR
He hath a trick of Coeurdelion's face;
The accent of his tongue affecteth him.
Do you not read some tokens of my son
In the large composition of this man?
KING JOHN
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
King John 5
Page No 9
Mine eye hath well examined his parts
And finds them perfect Richard. Sirrah, speak,
What doth move you to claim your brother's land?
BASTARD
Because he hath a halfface, like my father.
With half that face would he have all my land:
A halffaced groat five hundred pound a year!
ROBERT
My gracious liege, when that my father lived,
Your brother did employ my father much,
BASTARD
Well, sir, by this you cannot get my land:
Your tale must be how he employ'd my mother.
ROBERT
And once dispatch'd him in an embassy
To Germany, there with the emperor
To treat of high affairs touching that time.
The advantage of his absence took the king
And in the mean time sojourn'd at my father's;
Where how he did prevail I shame to speak,
But truth is truth: large lengths of seas and shores
Between my father and my mother lay,
As I have heard my father speak himself,
When this same lusty gentleman was got.
Upon his deathbed he by will bequeath'd
His lands to me, and took it on his death
That this my mother's son was none of his;
And if he were, he came into the world
Full fourteen weeks before the course of time.
Then, good my liege, let me have what is mine,
My father's land, as was my father's will.
KING JOHN
Sirrah, your brother is legitimate;
Your father's wife did after wedlock bear him,
And if she did play false, the fault was hers;
Which fault lies on the hazards of all husbands
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
King John 6
Page No 10
That marry wives. Tell me, how if my brother,
Who, as you say, took pains to get this son,
Had of your father claim'd this son for his?
In sooth, good friend, your father might have kept
This calf bred from his cow from all the world;
In sooth he might; then, if he were my brother's,
My brother might not claim him; nor your father,
Being none of his, refuse him: this concludes;
My mother's son did get your father's heir;
Your father's heir must have your father's land.
ROBERT
Shall then my father's will be of no force
To dispossess that child which is not his?
BASTARD
Of no more force to dispossess me, sir,
Than was his will to get me, as I think.
QUEEN ELINOR
Whether hadst thou rather be a Faulconbridge
And like thy brother, to enjoy thy land,
Or the reputed son of Coeurdelion,
Lord of thy presence and no land beside?
BASTARD
Madam, an if my brother had my shape,
And I had his, sir Robert's his, like him;
And if my legs were two such ridingrods,
My arms such eelskins stuff'd, my face so thin
That in mine ear I durst not stick a rose
Lest men should say 'Look, where threefarthings goes!'
And, to his shape, were heir to all this land,
Would I might never stir from off this place,
I would give it every foot to have this face;
I would not be sir Nob in any case.
QUEEN ELINOR
I like thee well: wilt thou forsake thy fortune,
Bequeath thy land to him and follow me?
I am a soldier and now bound to France.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
King John 7
Page No 11
BASTARD
Brother, take you my land, I'll take my chance.
Your face hath got five hundred pound a year,
Yet sell your face for five pence and 'tis dear.
Madam, I'll follow you unto the death.
QUEEN ELINOR
Nay, I would have you go before me thither.
BASTARD
Our country manners give our betters way.
KING JOHN
What is thy name?
BASTARD
Philip, my liege, so is my name begun,
Philip, good old sir Robert's wife's eldest son.
KING JOHN
From henceforth bear his name whose form thou bear'st:
Kneel thou down Philip, but rise more great,
Arise sir Richard and Plantagenet.
BASTARD
Brother by the mother's side, give me your hand:
My father gave me honour, yours gave land.
Now blessed by the hour, by night or day,
When I was got, sir Robert was away!
QUEEN ELINOR
The very spirit of Plantagenet!
I am thy grandam, Richard; call me so.
BASTARD
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
King John 8
Page No 12
Madam, by chance but not by truth; what though?
Something about, a little from the right,
In at the window, or else o'er the hatch:
Who dares not stir by day must walk by night,
And have is have, however men do catch:
Near or far off, well won is still well shot,
And I am I, howe'er I was begot.
KING JOHN
Go, Faulconbridge: now hast thou thy desire;
A landless knight makes thee a landed squire.
Come, madam, and come, Richard, we must speed
For France, for France, for it is more than need.
BASTARD
Brother, adieu: good fortune come to thee!
For thou wast got i' the way of honesty.
Exeunt all but BASTARD
A foot of honour better than I was;
But many a many foot of land the worse.
Well, now can I make any Joan a lady.
'Good den, sir Richard!''Godamercy, fellow!'
And if his name be George, I'll call him Peter;
For newmade honour doth forget men's names;
'Tis too respective and too sociable
For your conversion. Now your traveller,
He and his toothpick at my worship's mess,
And when my knightly stomach is sufficed,
Why then I suck my teeth and catechise
My picked man of countries: 'My dear sir,'
Thus, leaning on mine elbow, I begin,
'I shall beseech you'that is question now;
And then comes answer like an Absey book:
'O sir,' says answer, 'at your best command;
At your employment; at your service, sir;'
'No, sir,' says question, 'I, sweet sir, at yours:'
And so, ere answer knows what question would,
Saving in dialogue of compliment,
And talking of the Alps and Apennines,
The Pyrenean and the river Po,
It draws toward supper in conclusion so.
But this is worshipful society
And fits the mounting spirit like myself,
For he is but a bastard to the time
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
King John 9
Page No 13
That doth not smack of observation;
And so am I, whether I smack or no;
And not alone in habit and device,
Exterior form, outward accoutrement,
But from the inward motion to deliver
Sweet, sweet, sweet poison for the age's tooth:
Which, though I will not practise to deceive,
Yet, to avoid deceit, I mean to learn;
For it shall strew the footsteps of my rising.
But who comes in such haste in ridingrobes?
What womanpost is this? hath she no husband
That will take pains to blow a horn before her?
Enter LADY FAULCONBRIDGE and GURNEY
O me! it is my mother. How now, good lady!
What brings you here to court so hastily?
LADY FAULCONBRIDGE
Where is that slave, thy brother? where is he,
That holds in chase mine honour up and down?
BASTARD
My brother Robert? old sir Robert's son?
Colbrand the giant, that same mighty man?
Is it sir Robert's son that you seek so?
LADY FAULCONBRIDGE
Sir Robert's son! Ay, thou unreverend boy,
Sir Robert's son: why scorn'st thou at sir Robert?
He is sir Robert's son, and so art thou.
BASTARD
James Gurney, wilt thou give us leave awhile?
GURNEY
Good leave, good Philip.
BASTARD
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
King John 10
Page No 14
Philip! sparrow: James,
There's toys abroad: anon I'll tell thee more.
Exit GURNEY
Madam, I was not old sir Robert's son:
Sir Robert might have eat his part in me
Upon GoodFriday and ne'er broke his fast:
Sir Robert could do well: marry, to confess,
Could he get me? Sir Robert could not do it:
We know his handiwork: therefore, good mother,
To whom am I beholding for these limbs?
Sir Robert never holp to make this leg.
LADY FAULCONBRIDGE
Hast thou conspired with thy brother too,
That for thine own gain shouldst defend mine honour?
What means this scorn, thou most untoward knave?
BASTARD
Knight, knight, good mother, Basiliscolike.
What! I am dubb'd! I have it on my shoulder.
But, mother, I am not sir Robert's son;
I have disclaim'd sir Robert and my land;
Legitimation, name and all is gone:
Then, good my mother, let me know my father;
Some proper man, I hope: who was it, mother?
LADY FAULCONBRIDGE
Hast thou denied thyself a Faulconbridge?
BASTARD
As faithfully as I deny the devil.
LADY FAULCONBRIDGE
King Richard Coeurdelion was thy father:
By long and vehement suit I was seduced
To make room for him in my husband's bed:
Heaven lay not my transgression to my charge!
Thou art the issue of my dear offence,
Which was so strongly urged past my defence.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
King John 11
Page No 15
BASTARD
Now, by this light, were I to get again,
Madam, I would not wish a better father.
Some sins do bear their privilege on earth,
And so doth yours; your fault was not your folly:
Needs must you lay your heart at his dispose,
Subjected tribute to commanding love,
Against whose fury and unmatched force
The aweless lion could not wage the fight,
Nor keep his princely heart from Richard's hand.
He that perforce robs lions of their hearts
May easily win a woman's. Ay, my mother,
With all my heart I thank thee for my father!
Who lives and dares but say thou didst not well
When I was got, I'll send his soul to hell.
Come, lady, I will show thee to my kin;
And they shall say, when Richard me begot,
If thou hadst said him nay, it had been sin:
Who says it was, he lies; I say 'twas not.
Exeunt
Act 2, Scene 1
France. Before Angiers.
Enter AUSTRIA and forces, drums, etc. on one side: on the other KING PHILIP and his
power; LEWIS, ARTHUR, CONSTANCE and attendants
LEWIS
Before Angiers well met, brave Austria.
Arthur, that great forerunner of thy blood,
Richard, that robb'd the lion of his heart
And fought the holy wars in Palestine,
By this brave duke came early to his grave:
And for amends to his posterity,
At our importance hither is he come,
To spread his colours, boy, in thy behalf,
And to rebuke the usurpation
Of thy unnatural uncle, English John:
Embrace him, love him, give him welcome hither.
ARTHUR
God shall forgive you Coeurdelion's death
The rather that you give his offspring life,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 1 12
Page No 16
Shadowing their right under your wings of war:
I give you welcome with a powerless hand,
But with a heart full of unstained love:
Welcome before the gates of Angiers, duke.
LEWIS
A noble boy! Who would not do thee right?
AUSTRIA
Upon thy cheek lay I this zealous kiss,
As seal to this indenture of my love,
That to my home I will no more return,
Till Angiers and the right thou hast in France,
Together with that pale, that whitefaced shore,
Whose foot spurns back the ocean's roaring tides
And coops from other lands her islanders,
Even till that England, hedged in with the main,
That waterwalled bulwark, still secure
And confident from foreign purposes,
Even till that utmost corner of the west
Salute thee for her king: till then, fair boy,
Will I not think of home, but follow arms.
CONSTANCE
O, take his mother's thanks, a widow's thanks,
Till your strong hand shall help to give him strength
To make a more requital to your love!
AUSTRIA
The peace of heaven is theirs that lift their swords
In such a just and charitable war.
KING PHILIP
Well then, to work: our cannon shall be bent
Against the brows of this resisting town.
Call for our chiefest men of discipline,
To cull the plots of best advantages:
We'll lay before this town our royal bones,
Wade to the marketplace in Frenchmen's blood,
But we will make it subject to this boy.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 1 13
Page No 17
CONSTANCE
Stay for an answer to your embassy,
Lest unadvised you stain your swords with blood:
My Lord Chatillon may from England bring,
That right in peace which here we urge in war,
And then we shall repent each drop of blood
That hot rash haste so indirectly shed.
Enter CHATILLON
KING PHILIP
A wonder, lady! lo, upon thy wish,
Our messenger Chatillon is arrived!
What England says, say briefly, gentle lord;
We coldly pause for thee; Chatillon, speak.
CHATILLON
Then turn your forces from this paltry siege
And stir them up against a mightier task.
England, impatient of your just demands,
Hath put himself in arms: the adverse winds,
Whose leisure I have stay'd, have given him time
To land his legions all as soon as I;
His marches are expedient to this town,
His forces strong, his soldiers confident.
With him along is come the motherqueen,
An Ate, stirring him to blood and strife;
With her her niece, the Lady Blanch of Spain;
With them a bastard of the king's deceased,
And all the unsettled humours of the land,
Rash, inconsiderate, fiery voluntaries,
With ladies' faces and fierce dragons' spleens,
Have sold their fortunes at their native homes,
Bearing their birthrights proudly on their backs,
To make hazard of new fortunes here:
In brief, a braver choice of dauntless spirits
Than now the English bottoms have waft o'er
Did nearer float upon the swelling tide,
To do offence and scath in Christendom.
Drum beats
The interruption of their churlish drums
Cuts off more circumstance: they are at hand,
To parley or to fight; therefore prepare.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 1 14
Page No 18
KING PHILIP
How much unlook'd for is this expedition!
AUSTRIA
By how much unexpected, by so much
We must awake endavour for defence;
For courage mounteth with occasion:
Let them be welcome then: we are prepared.
Enter KING JOHN, QUEEN ELINOR, BLANCH, the BASTARD, Lords, and forces
KING JOHN
Peace be to France, if France in peace permit
Our just and lineal entrance to our own;
If not, bleed France, and peace ascend to heaven,
Whiles we, God's wrathful agent, do correct
Their proud contempt that beats His peace to heaven.
KING PHILIP
Peace be to England, if that war return
From France to England, there to live in peace.
England we love; and for that England's sake
With burden of our armour here we sweat.
This toil of ours should be a work of thine;
But thou from loving England art so far,
That thou hast underwrought his lawful king
Cut off the sequence of posterity,
Outfaced infant state and done a rape
Upon the maiden virtue of the crown.
Look here upon thy brother Geffrey's face;
These eyes, these brows, were moulded out of his:
This little abstract doth contain that large
Which died in Geffrey, and the hand of time
Shall draw this brief into as huge a volume.
That Geffrey was thy elder brother born,
And this his son; England was Geffrey's right
And this is Geffrey's: in the name of God
How comes it then that thou art call'd a king,
When living blood doth in these temples beat,
Which owe the crown that thou o'ermasterest?
KING JOHN
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 1 15
Page No 19
From whom hast thou this great commission, France,
To draw my answer from thy articles?
KING PHILIP
From that supernal judge, that stirs good thoughts
In any breast of strong authority,
To look into the blots and stains of right:
That judge hath made me guardian to this boy:
Under whose warrant I impeach thy wrong
And by whose help I mean to chastise it.
KING JOHN
Alack, thou dost usurp authority.
KING PHILIP
Excuse; it is to beat usurping down.
QUEEN ELINOR
Who is it thou dost call usurper, France?
CONSTANCE
Let me make answer; thy usurping son.
QUEEN ELINOR
Out, insolent! thy bastard shall be king,
That thou mayst be a queen, and cheque the world!
CONSTANCE
My bed was ever to thy son as true
As thine was to thy husband; and this boy
Liker in feature to his father Geffrey
Than thou and John in manners; being as like
As rain to water, or devil to his dam.
My boy a bastard! By my soul, I think
His father never was so true begot:
It cannot be, an if thou wert his mother.
QUEEN ELINOR
There's a good mother, boy, that blots thy father.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 1 16
Page No 20
CONSTANCE
There's a good grandam, boy, that would blot thee.
AUSTRIA
Peace!
BASTARD
Hear the crier.
AUSTRIA
What the devil art thou?
BASTARD
One that will play the devil, sir, with you,
An a' may catch your hide and you alone:
You are the hare of whom the proverb goes,
Whose valour plucks dead lions by the beard;
I'll smoke your skincoat, an I catch you right;
Sirrah, look to't; i' faith, I will, i' faith.
BLANCH
O, well did he become that lion's robe
That did disrobe the lion of that robe!
BASTARD
It lies as sightly on the back of him
As great Alcides' shows upon an ass:
But, ass, I'll take that burthen from your back,
Or lay on that shall make your shoulders crack.
AUSTRIA
What craker is this same that deafs our ears
With this abundance of superfluous breath?
KING PHILIP
Lewis, determine what we shall do straight.
LEWIS
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 1 17
Page No 21
Women and fools, break off your conference.
King John, this is the very sum of all;
England and Ireland, Anjou, Touraine, Maine,
In right of Arthur do I claim of thee:
Wilt thou resign them and lay down thy arms?
KING JOHN
My life as soon: I do defy thee, France.
Arthur of Bretagne, yield thee to my hand;
And out of my dear love I'll give thee more
Than e'er the coward hand of France can win:
Submit thee, boy.
QUEEN ELINOR
Come to thy grandam, child.
CONSTANCE
Do, child, go to it grandam, child:
Give grandam kingdom, and it grandam will
Give it a plum, a cherry, and a fig:
There's a good grandam.
ARTHUR
Good my mother, peace!
I would that I were low laid in my grave:
I am not worth this coil that's made for me.
QUEEN ELINOR
His mother shames him so, poor boy, he weeps.
CONSTANCE
Now shame upon you, whether she does or no!
His grandam's wrongs, and not his mother's shames,
Draws those heavenmoving pearls from his poor eyes,
Which heaven shall take in nature of a fee;
Ay, with these crystal beads heaven shall be bribed
To do him justice and revenge on you.
QUEEN ELINOR
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 1 18
Page No 22
Thou monstrous slanderer of heaven and earth!
CONSTANCE
Thou monstrous injurer of heaven and earth!
Call not me slanderer; thou and thine usurp
The dominations, royalties and rights
Of this oppressed boy: this is thy eld'st son's son,
Infortunate in nothing but in thee:
Thy sins are visited in this poor child;
The canon of the law is laid on him,
Being but the second generation
Removed from thy sinconceiving womb.
KING JOHN
Bedlam, have done.
CONSTANCE
I have but this to say,
That he is not only plagued for her sin,
But God hath made her sin and her the plague
On this removed issue, plague for her
And with her plague; her sin his injury,
Her injury the beadle to her sin,
All punish'd in the person of this child,
And all for her; a plague upon her!
QUEEN ELINOR
Thou unadvised scold, I can produce
A will that bars the title of thy son.
CONSTANCE
Ay, who doubts that? a will! a wicked will:
A woman's will; a canker'd grandam's will!
KING PHILIP
Peace, lady! pause, or be more temperate:
It ill beseems this presence to cry aim
To these illtuned repetitions.
Some trumpet summon hither to the walls
These men of Angiers: let us hear them speak
Whose title they admit, Arthur's or John's.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 1 19
Page No 23
Trumpet sounds. Enter certain Citizens upon the walls
First Citizen
Who is it that hath warn'd us to the walls?
KING PHILIP
'Tis France, for England.
KING JOHN
England, for itself.
You men of Angiers, and my loving subjects
KING PHILIP
You loving men of Angiers, Arthur's subjects,
Our trumpet call'd you to this gentle parle
KING JOHN
For our advantage; therefore hear us first.
These flags of France, that are advanced here
Before the eye and prospect of your town,
Have hither march'd to your endamagement:
The cannons have their bowels full of wrath,
And ready mounted are they to spit forth
Their iron indignation 'gainst your walls:
All preparation for a bloody siege
All merciless proceeding by these French
Confronts your city's eyes, your winking gates;
And but for our approach those sleeping stones,
That as a waist doth girdle you about,
By the compulsion of their ordinance
By this time from their fixed beds of lime
Had been dishabited, and wide havoc made
For bloody power to rush upon your peace.
But on the sight of us your lawful king,
Who painfully with much expedient march
Have brought a countercheque before your gates,
To save unscratch'd your city's threatened cheeks,
Behold, the French amazed vouchsafe a parle;
And now, instead of bullets wrapp'd in fire,
To make a shaking fever in your walls,
They shoot but calm words folded up in smoke,
To make a faithless error in your ears:
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 1 20
Page No 24
Which trust accordingly, kind citizens,
And let us in, your king, whose labour'd spirits,
Forwearied in this action of swift speed,
Crave harbourage within your city walls.
KING PHILIP
When I have said, make answer to us both.
Lo, in this right hand, whose protection
Is most divinely vow'd upon the right
Of him it holds, stands young Plantagenet,
Son to the elder brother of this man,
And king o'er him and all that he enjoys:
For this downtrodden equity, we tread
In warlike march these greens before your town,
Being no further enemy to you
Than the constraint of hospitable zeal
In the relief of this oppressed child
Religiously provokes. Be pleased then
To pay that duty which you truly owe
To that owes it, namely this young prince:
And then our arms, like to a muzzled bear,
Save in aspect, hath all offence seal'd up;
Our cannons' malice vainly shall be spent
Against the invulnerable clouds of heaven;
And with a blessed and unvex'd retire,
With unhack'd swords and helmets all unbruised,
We will bear home that lusty blood again
Which here we came to spout against your town,
And leave your children, wives and you in peace.
But if you fondly pass our proffer'd offer,
'Tis not the roundure of your oldfaced walls
Can hide you from our messengers of war,
Though all these English and their discipline
Were harbour'd in their rude circumference.
Then tell us, shall your city call us lord,
In that behalf which we have challenged it?
Or shall we give the signal to our rage
And stalk in blood to our possession?
First Citizen
In brief, we are the king of England's subjects:
For him, and in his right, we hold this town.
KING JOHN
Acknowledge then the king, and let me in.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 1 21
Page No 25
First Citizen
That can we not; but he that proves the king,
To him will we prove loyal: till that time
Have we ramm'd up our gates against the world.
KING JOHN
Doth not the crown of England prove the king?
And if not that, I bring you witnesses,
Twice fifteen thousand hearts of England's breed,
BASTARD
Bastards, and else.
KING JOHN
To verify our title with their lives.
KING PHILIP
As many and as wellborn bloods as those,
BASTARD
Some bastards too.
KING PHILIP
Stand in his face to contradict his claim.
First Citizen
Till you compound whose right is worthiest,
We for the worthiest hold the right from both.
KING JOHN
Then God forgive the sin of all those souls
That to their everlasting residence,
Before the dew of evening fall, shall fleet,
In dreadful trial of our kingdom's king!
KING PHILIP
Amen, amen! Mount, chevaliers! to arms!
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 1 22
Page No 26
BASTARD
Saint George, that swinged the dragon, and e'er since
Sits on his horseback at mine hostess' door,
Teach us some fence!
To AUSTRIA
Sirrah, were I at home,
At your den, sirrah, with your lioness
I would set an oxhead to your lion's hide,
And make a monster of you.
AUSTRIA
Peace! no more.
BASTARD
O tremble, for you hear the lion roar.
KING JOHN
Up higher to the plain; where we'll set forth
In best appointment all our regiments.
BASTARD
Speed then, to take advantage of the field.
KING PHILIP
It shall be so; and at the other hill
Command the rest to stand. God and our right!
Exeunt
Here after excursions, enter the Herald of France, with trumpets, to the gates
French Herald
You men of Angiers, open wide your gates,
And let young Arthur, Duke of Bretagne, in,
Who by the hand of France this day hath made
Much work for tears in many an English mother,
Whose sons lie scattered on the bleeding ground;
Many a widow's husband grovelling lies,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 1 23
Page No 27
Coldly embracing the discolour'd earth;
And victory, with little loss, doth play
Upon the dancing banners of the French,
Who are at hand, triumphantly display'd,
To enter conquerors and to proclaim
Arthur of Bretagne England's king and yours.
Enter English Herald, with trumpet
English Herald
Rejoice, you men of Angiers, ring your bells:
King John, your king and England's doth approach,
Commander of this hot malicious day:
Their armours, that march'd hence so silverbright,
Hither return all gilt with Frenchmen's blood;
There stuck no plume in any English crest
That is removed by a staff of France;
Our colours do return in those same hands
That did display them when we first march'd forth;
And, like a troop of jolly huntsmen, come
Our lusty English, all with purpled hands,
Dyed in the dying slaughter of their foes:
Open your gates and gives the victors way.
First Citizen
Heralds, from off our towers we might behold,
From first to last, the onset and retire
Of both your armies; whose equality
By our best eyes cannot be censured:
Blood hath bought blood and blows have answered blows;
Strength match'd with strength, and power confronted power:
Both are alike; and both alike we like.
One must prove greatest: while they weigh so even,
We hold our town for neither, yet for both.
Reenter KING JOHN and KING PHILIP, with their powers, severally
KING JOHN
France, hast thou yet more blood to cast away?
Say, shall the current of our right run on?
Whose passage, vex'd with thy impediment,
Shall leave his native channel and o'erswell
With course disturb'd even thy confining shores,
Unless thou let his silver water keep
A peaceful progress to the ocean.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 1 24
Page No 28
KING PHILIP
England, thou hast not saved one drop of blood,
In this hot trial, more than we of France;
Rather, lost more. And by this hand I swear,
That sways the earth this climate overlooks,
Before we will lay down our justborne arms,
We'll put thee down, 'gainst whom these arms we bear,
Or add a royal number to the dead,
Gracing the scroll that tells of this war's loss
With slaughter coupled to the name of kings.
BASTARD
Ha, majesty! how high thy glory towers,
When the rich blood of kings is set on fire!
O, now doth Death line his dead chaps with steel;
The swords of soldiers are his teeth, his fangs;
And now he feasts, mousing the flesh of men,
In undetermined differences of kings.
Why stand these royal fronts amazed thus?
Cry, 'havoc!' kings; back to the stained field,
You equal potents, fiery kindled spirits!
Then let confusion of one part confirm
The other's peace: till then, blows, blood and death!
KING JOHN
Whose party do the townsmen yet admit?
KING PHILIP
Speak, citizens, for England; who's your king?
First Citizen
The king of England; when we know the king.
KING PHILIP
Know him in us, that here hold up his right.
KING JOHN
In us, that are our own great deputy
And bear possession of our person here,
Lord of our presence, Angiers, and of you.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 1 25
Page No 29
First Citizen
A greater power then we denies all this;
And till it be undoubted, we do lock
Our former scruple in our strongbarr'd gates;
King'd of our fears, until our fears, resolved,
Be by some certain king purged and deposed.
BASTARD
By heaven, these scroyles of Angiers flout you, kings,
And stand securely on their battlements,
As in a theatre, whence they gape and point
At your industrious scenes and acts of death.
Your royal presences be ruled by me:
Do like the mutines of Jerusalem,
Be friends awhile and both conjointly bend
Your sharpest deeds of malice on this town:
By east and west let France and England mount
Their battering cannon charged to the mouths,
Till their soulfearing clamours have brawl'd down
The flinty ribs of this contemptuous city:
I'ld play incessantly upon these jades,
Even till unfenced desolation
Leave them as naked as the vulgar air.
That done, dissever your united strengths,
And part your mingled colours once again;
Turn face to face and bloody point to point;
Then, in a moment, Fortune shall cull forth
Out of one side her happy minion,
To whom in favour she shall give the day,
And kiss him with a glorious victory.
How like you this wild counsel, mighty states?
Smacks it not something of the policy?
KING JOHN
Now, by the sky that hangs above our heads,
I like it well. France, shall we knit our powers
And lay this Angiers even to the ground;
Then after fight who shall be king of it?
BASTARD
An if thou hast the mettle of a king,
Being wronged as we are by this peevish town,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 1 26
Page No 30
Turn thou the mouth of thy artillery,
As we will ours, against these saucy walls;
And when that we have dash'd them to the ground,
Why then defy each other and pellmell
Make work upon ourselves, for heaven or hell.
KING PHILIP
Let it be so. Say, where will you assault?
KING JOHN
We from the west will send destruction
Into this city's bosom.
AUSTRIA
I from the north.
KING PHILIP
Our thunder from the south
Shall rain their drift of bullets on this town.
BASTARD
O prudent discipline! From north to south:
Austria and France shoot in each other's mouth:
I'll stir them to it. Come, away, away!
First Citizen
Hear us, great kings: vouchsafe awhile to stay,
And I shall show you peace and fairfaced league;
Win you this city without stroke or wound;
Rescue those breathing lives to die in beds,
That here come sacrifices for the field:
Persever not, but hear me, mighty kings.
KING JOHN
Speak on with favour; we are bent to hear.
First Citizen
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 1 27
Page No 31
That daughter there of Spain, the Lady Blanch,
Is niece to England: look upon the years
Of Lewis the Dauphin and that lovely maid:
If lusty love should go in quest of beauty,
Where should he find it fairer than in Blanch?
If zealous love should go in search of virtue,
Where should he find it purer than in Blanch?
If love ambitious sought a match of birth,
Whose veins bound richer blood than Lady Blanch?
Such as she is, in beauty, virtue, birth,
Is the young Dauphin every way complete:
If not complete of, say he is not she;
And she again wants nothing, to name want,
If want it be not that she is not he:
He is the half part of a blessed man,
Left to be finished by such as she;
And she a fair divided excellence,
Whose fulness of perfection lies in him.
O, two such silver currents, when they join,
Do glorify the banks that bound them in;
And two such shores to two such streams made one,
Two such controlling bounds shall you be, kings,
To these two princes, if you marry them.
This union shall do more than battery can
To our fastclosed gates; for at this match,
With swifter spleen than powder can enforce,
The mouth of passage shall we fling wide ope,
And give you entrance: but without this match,
The sea enraged is not half so deaf,
Lions more confident, mountains and rocks
More free from motion, no, not Death himself
In moral fury half so peremptory,
As we to keep this city.
BASTARD
Here's a stay
That shakes the rotten carcass of old Death
Out of his rags! Here's a large mouth, indeed,
That spits forth death and mountains, rocks and seas,
Talks as familiarly of roaring lions
As maids of thirteen do of puppydogs!
What cannoneer begot this lusty blood?
He speaks plain cannon fire, and smoke and bounce;
He gives the bastinado with his tongue:
Our ears are cudgell'd; not a word of his
But buffets better than a fist of France:
Zounds! I was never so bethump'd with words
Since I first call'd my brother's father dad.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 1 28
Page No 32
QUEEN ELINOR
Son, list to this conjunction, make this match;
Give with our niece a dowry large enough:
For by this knot thou shalt so surely tie
Thy now unsured assurance to the crown,
That yon green boy shall have no sun to ripe
The bloom that promiseth a mighty fruit.
I see a yielding in the looks of France;
Mark, how they whisper: urge them while their souls
Are capable of this ambition,
Lest zeal, now melted by the windy breath
Of soft petitions, pity and remorse,
Cool and congeal again to what it was.
First Citizen
Why answer not the double majesties
This friendly treaty of our threaten'd town?
KING PHILIP
Speak England first, that hath been forward first
To speak unto this city: what say you?
KING JOHN
If that the Dauphin there, thy princely son,
Can in this book of beauty read 'I love,'
Her dowry shall weigh equal with a queen:
For Anjou and fair Touraine, Maine, Poictiers,
And all that we upon this side the sea,
Except this city now by us besieged,
Find liable to our crown and dignity,
Shall gild her bridal bed and make her rich
In titles, honours and promotions,
As she in beauty, education, blood,
Holds hand with any princess of the world.
KING PHILIP
What say'st thou, boy? look in the lady's face.
LEWIS
I do, my lord; and in her eye I find
A wonder, or a wondrous miracle,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 1 29
Page No 33
The shadow of myself form'd in her eye:
Which being but the shadow of your son,
Becomes a sun and makes your son a shadow:
I do protest I never loved myself
Till now infixed I beheld myself
Drawn in the flattering table of her eye.
Whispers with BLANCH
BASTARD
Drawn in the flattering table of her eye!
Hang'd in the frowning wrinkle of her brow!
And quarter'd in her heart! he doth espy
Himself love's traitor: this is pity now,
That hang'd and drawn and quartered, there should be
In such a love so vile a lout as he.
BLANCH
My uncle's will in this respect is mine:
If he see aught in you that makes him like,
That any thing he sees, which moves his liking,
I can with ease translate it to my will;
Or if you will, to speak more properly,
I will enforce it easily to my love.
Further I will not flatter you, my lord,
That all I see in you is worthy love,
Than this; that nothing do I see in you,
Though churlish thoughts themselves should be your judge,
That I can find should merit any hate.
KING JOHN
What say these young ones? What say you my niece?
BLANCH
That she is bound in honour still to do
What you in wisdom still vouchsafe to say.
KING JOHN
Speak then, prince Dauphin; can you love this lady?
LEWIS
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 1 30
Page No 34
Nay, ask me if I can refrain from love;
For I do love her most unfeignedly.
KING JOHN
Then do I give Volquessen, Touraine, Maine,
Poictiers and Anjou, these five provinces,
With her to thee; and this addition more,
Full thirty thousand marks of English coin.
Philip of France, if thou be pleased withal,
Command thy son and daughter to join hands.
KING PHILIP
It likes us well; young princes, close your hands.
AUSTRIA
And your lips too; for I am well assured
That I did so when I was first assured.
KING PHILIP
Now, citizens of Angiers, ope your gates,
Let in that amity which you have made;
For at Saint Mary's chapel presently
The rites of marriage shall be solemnized.
Is not the Lady Constance in this troop?
I know she is not, for this match made up
Her presence would have interrupted much:
Where is she and her son? tell me, who knows.
LEWIS
She is sad and passionate at your highness' tent.
KING PHILIP
And, by my faith, this league that we have made
Will give her sadness very little cure.
Brother of England, how may we content
This widow lady? In her right we came;
Which we, God knows, have turn'd another way,
To our own vantage.
KING JOHN
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 1 31
Page No 35
We will heal up all;
For we'll create young Arthur Duke of Bretagne
And Earl of Richmond; and this rich fair town
We make him lord of. Call the Lady Constance;
Some speedy messenger bid her repair
To our solemnity: I trust we shall,
If not fill up the measure of her will,
Yet in some measure satisfy her so
That we shall stop her exclamation.
Go we, as well as haste will suffer us,
To this unlook'd for, unprepared pomp.
Exeunt all but the BASTARD
BASTARD
Mad world! mad kings! mad composition!
John, to stop Arthur's title in the whole,
Hath willingly departed with a part,
And France, whose armour conscience buckled on,
Whom zeal and charity brought to the field
As God's own soldier, rounded in the ear
With that same purposechanger, that sly devil,
That broker, that still breaks the pate of faith,
That daily breakvow, he that wins of all,
Of kings, of beggars, old men, young men, maids,
Who, having no external thing to lose
But the word 'maid,' cheats the poor maid of that,
That smoothfaced gentleman, tickling Commodity,
Commodity, the bias of the world,
The world, who of itself is peised well,
Made to run even upon even ground,
Till this advantage, this viledrawing bias,
This sway of motion, this Commodity,
Makes it take head from all indifferency,
From all direction, purpose, course, intent:
And this same bias, this Commodity,
This bawd, this broker, this allchanging word,
Clapp'd on the outward eye of fickle France,
Hath drawn him from his own determined aid,
From a resolved and honourable war,
To a most base and vileconcluded peace.
And why rail I on this Commodity?
But for because he hath not woo'd me yet:
Not that I have the power to clutch my hand,
When his fair angels would salute my palm;
But for my hand, as unattempted yet,
Like a poor beggar, raileth on the rich.
Well, whiles I am a beggar, I will rail
And say there is no sin but to be rich;
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 1 32
Page No 36
And being rich, my virtue then shall be
To say there is no vice but beggary.
Since kings break faith upon commodity,
Gain, be my lord, for I will worship thee.
Exit
Act 3, Scene 1
The French King's pavilion.
Enter CONSTANCE, ARTHUR, and SALISBURY
CONSTANCE
Gone to be married! gone to swear a peace!
False blood to false blood join'd! gone to be friends!
Shall Lewis have Blanch, and Blanch those provinces?
It is not so; thou hast misspoke, misheard:
Be well advised, tell o'er thy tale again:
It cannot be; thou dost but say 'tis so:
I trust I may not trust thee; for thy word
Is but the vain breath of a common man:
Believe me, I do not believe thee, man;
I have a king's oath to the contrary.
Thou shalt be punish'd for thus frighting me,
For I am sick and capable of fears,
Oppress'd with wrongs and therefore full of fears,
A widow, husbandless, subject to fears,
A woman, naturally born to fears;
And though thou now confess thou didst but jest,
With my vex'd spirits I cannot take a truce,
But they will quake and tremble all this day.
What dost thou mean by shaking of thy head?
Why dost thou look so sadly on my son?
What means that hand upon that breast of thine?
Why holds thine eye that lamentable rheum,
Like a proud river peering o'er his bounds?
Be these sad signs confirmers of thy words?
Then speak again; not all thy former tale,
But this one word, whether thy tale be true.
SALISBURY
As true as I believe you think them false
That give you cause to prove my saying true.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 1 33
Page No 37
CONSTANCE
O, if thou teach me to believe this sorrow,
Teach thou this sorrow how to make me die,
And let belief and life encounter so
As doth the fury of two desperate men
Which in the very meeting fall and die.
Lewis marry Blanch! O boy, then where art thou?
France friend with England, what becomes of me?
Fellow, be gone: I cannot brook thy sight:
This news hath made thee a most ugly man.
SALISBURY
What other harm have I, good lady, done,
But spoke the harm that is by others done?
CONSTANCE
Which harm within itself so heinous is
As it makes harmful all that speak of it.
ARTHUR
I do beseech you, madam, be content.
CONSTANCE
If thou, that bid'st me be content, wert grim,
Ugly and slanderous to thy mother's womb,
Full of unpleasing blots and sightless stains,
Lame, foolish, crooked, swart, prodigious,
Patch'd with foul moles and eyeoffending marks,
I would not care, I then would be content,
For then I should not love thee, no, nor thou
Become thy great birth nor deserve a crown.
But thou art fair, and at thy birth, dear boy,
Nature and Fortune join'd to make thee great:
Of Nature's gifts thou mayst with lilies boast,
And with the halfblown rose. But Fortune, O,
She is corrupted, changed and won from thee;
She adulterates hourly with thine uncle John,
And with her golden hand hath pluck'd on France
To tread down fair respect of sovereignty,
And made his majesty the bawd to theirs.
France is a bawd to Fortune and King John,
That strumpet Fortune, that usurping John!
Tell me, thou fellow, is not France forsworn?
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 1 34
Page No 38
Envenom him with words, or get thee gone
And leave those woes alone which I alone
Am bound to underbear.
SALISBURY
Pardon me, madam,
I may not go without you to the kings.
CONSTANCE
Thou mayst, thou shalt; I will not go with thee:
I will instruct my sorrows to be proud;
For grief is proud and makes his owner stoop.
To me and to the state of my great grief
Let kings assemble; for my grief's so great
That no supporter but the huge firm earth
Can hold it up: here I and sorrows sit;
Here is my throne, bid kings come bow to it.
Seats herself on the ground
Enter KING JOHN, KING PHILLIP, LEWIS, BLANCH, QUEEN ELINOR, the BASTARD,
AUSTRIA, and Attendants
KING PHILIP
'Tis true, fair daughter; and this blessed day
Ever in France shall be kept festival:
To solemnize this day the glorious sun
Stays in his course and plays the alchemist,
Turning with splendor of his precious eye
The meagre cloddy earth to glittering gold:
The yearly course that brings this day about
Shall never see it but a holiday.
CONSTANCE
A wicked day, and not a holy day!
Rising
What hath this day deserved? what hath it done,
That it in golden letters should be set
Among the high tides in the calendar?
Nay, rather turn this day out of the week,
This day of shame, oppression, perjury.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 1 35
Page No 39
Or, if it must stand still, let wives with child
Pray that their burthens may not fall this day,
Lest that their hopes prodigiously be cross'd:
But on this day let seamen fear no wreck;
No bargains break that are not this day made:
This day, all things begun come to ill end,
Yea, faith itself to hollow falsehood change!
KING PHILIP
By heaven, lady, you shall have no cause
To curse the fair proceedings of this day:
Have I not pawn'd to you my majesty?
CONSTANCE
You have beguiled me with a counterfeit
Resembling majesty, which, being touch'd and tried,
Proves valueless: you are forsworn, forsworn;
You came in arms to spill mine enemies' blood,
But now in arms you strengthen it with yours:
The grappling vigour and rough frown of war
Is cold in amity and painted peace,
And our oppression hath made up this league.
Arm, arm, you heavens, against these perjured kings!
A widow cries; be husband to me, heavens!
Let not the hours of this ungodly day
Wear out the day in peace; but, ere sunset,
Set armed discord 'twixt these perjured kings!
Hear me, O, hear me!
AUSTRIA
Lady Constance, peace!
CONSTANCE
War! war! no peace! peace is to me a war
O Lymoges! O Austria! thou dost shame
That bloody spoil: thou slave, thou wretch, thou coward!
Thou little valiant, great in villany!
Thou ever strong upon the stronger side!
Thou Fortune's champion that dost never fight
But when her humorous ladyship is by
To teach thee safety! thou art perjured too,
And soothest up greatness. What a fool art thou,
A ramping fool, to brag and stamp and swear
Upon my party! Thou coldblooded slave,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 1 36
Page No 40
Hast thou not spoke like thunder on my side,
Been sworn my soldier, bidding me depend
Upon thy stars, thy fortune and thy strength,
And dost thou now fall over to my fores?
Thou wear a lion's hide! doff it for shame,
And hang a calf'sskin on those recreant limbs.
AUSTRIA
O, that a man should speak those words to me!
BASTARD
And hang a calf'sskin on those recreant limbs.
AUSTRIA
Thou darest not say so, villain, for thy life.
BASTARD
And hang a calf'sskin on those recreant limbs.
KING JOHN
We like not this; thou dost forget thyself.
Enter CARDINAL PANDULPH
KING PHILIP
Here comes the holy legate of the pope.
CARDINAL PANDULPH
Hail, you anointed deputies of heaven!
To thee, King John, my holy errand is.
I Pandulph, of fair Milan cardinal,
And from Pope Innocent the legate here,
Do in his name religiously demand
Why thou against the church, our holy mother,
So wilfully dost spurn; and force perforce
Keep Stephen Langton, chosen archbishop
Of Canterbury, from that holy see?
This, in our foresaid holy father's name,
Pope Innocent, I do demand of thee.
KING JOHN
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 1 37
Page No 41
What earthy name to interrogatories
Can task the free breath of a sacred king?
Thou canst not, cardinal, devise a name
So slight, unworthy and ridiculous,
To charge me to an answer, as the pope.
Tell him this tale; and from the mouth of England
Add thus much more, that no Italian priest
Shall tithe or toll in our dominions;
But as we, under heaven, are supreme head,
So under Him that great supremacy,
Where we do reign, we will alone uphold,
Without the assistance of a mortal hand:
So tell the pope, all reverence set apart
To him and his usurp'd authority.
KING PHILIP
Brother of England, you blaspheme in this.
KING JOHN
Though you and all the kings of Christendom
Are led so grossly by this meddling priest,
Dreading the curse that money may buy out;
And by the merit of vile gold, dross, dust,
Purchase corrupted pardon of a man,
Who in that sale sells pardon from himself,
Though you and all the rest so grossly led
This juggling witchcraft with revenue cherish,
Yet I alone, alone do me oppose
Against the pope and count his friends my foes.
CARDINAL PANDULPH
Then, by the lawful power that I have,
Thou shalt stand cursed and excommunicate.
And blessed shall he be that doth revolt
From his allegiance to an heretic;
And meritorious shall that hand be call'd,
Canonized and worshipped as a saint,
That takes away by any secret course
Thy hateful life.
CONSTANCE
O, lawful let it be
That I have room with Rome to curse awhile!
Good father cardinal, cry thou amen
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 1 38
Page No 42
To my keen curses; for without my wrong
There is no tongue hath power to curse him right.
CARDINAL PANDULPH
There's law and warrant, lady, for my curse.
CONSTANCE
And for mine too: when law can do no right,
Let it be lawful that law bar no wrong:
Law cannot give my child his kingdom here,
For he that holds his kingdom holds the law;
Therefore, since law itself is perfect wrong,
How can the law forbid my tongue to curse?
CARDINAL PANDULPH
Philip of France, on peril of a curse,
Let go the hand of that archheretic;
And raise the power of France upon his head,
Unless he do submit himself to Rome.
QUEEN ELINOR
Look'st thou pale, France? do not let go thy hand.
CONSTANCE
Look to that, devil; lest that France repent,
And by disjoining hands, hell lose a soul.
AUSTRIA
King Philip, listen to the cardinal.
BASTARD
And hang a calf'sskin on his recreant limbs.
AUSTRIA
Well, ruffian, I must pocket up these wrongs, Because
BASTARD
Your breeches best may carry them.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 1 39
Page No 43
KING JOHN
Philip, what say'st thou to the cardinal?
CONSTANCE
What should he say, but as the cardinal?
LEWIS
Bethink you, father; for the difference
Is purchase of a heavy curse from Rome,
Or the light loss of England for a friend:
Forego the easier.
BLANCH
That's the curse of Rome.
CONSTANCE
O Lewis, stand fast! the devil tempts thee here
In likeness of a new untrimmed bride.
BLANCH
The Lady Constance speaks not from her faith,
But from her need.
CONSTANCE
O, if thou grant my need,
Which only lives but by the death of faith,
That need must needs infer this principle,
That faith would live again by death of need.
O then, tread down my need, and faith mounts up;
Keep my need up, and faith is trodden down!
KING JOHN
The king is moved, and answers not to this.
CONSTANCE
O, be removed from him, and answer well!
AUSTRIA
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 1 40
Page No 44
Do so, King Philip; hang no more in doubt.
BASTARD
Hang nothing but a calf'sskin, most sweet lout.
KING PHILIP
I am perplex'd, and know not what to say.
CARDINAL PANDULPH
What canst thou say but will perplex thee more,
If thou stand excommunicate and cursed?
KING PHILIP
Good reverend father, make my person yours,
And tell me how you would bestow yourself.
This royal hand and mine are newly knit,
And the conjunction of our inward souls
Married in league, coupled and linked together
With all religious strength of sacred vows;
The latest breath that gave the sound of words
Was deepsworn faith, peace, amity, true love
Between our kingdoms and our royal selves,
And even before this truce, but new before,
No longer than we well could wash our hands
To clap this royal bargain up of peace,
Heaven knows, they were besmear'd and overstain'd
With slaughter's pencil, where revenge did paint
The fearful difference of incensed kings:
And shall these hands, so lately purged of blood,
So newly join'd in love, so strong in both,
Unyoke this seizure and this kind regreet?
Play fast and loose with faith? so jest with heaven,
Make such unconstant children of ourselves,
As now again to snatch our palm from palm,
Unswear faith sworn, and on the marriagebed
Of smiling peace to march a bloody host,
And make a riot on the gentle brow
Of true sincerity? O, holy sir,
My reverend father, let it not be so!
Out of your grace, devise, ordain, impose
Some gentle order; and then we shall be blest
To do your pleasure and continue friends.
CARDINAL PANDULPH
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 1 41
Page No 45
All form is formless, order orderless,
Save what is opposite to England's love.
Therefore to arms! be champion of our church,
Or let the church, our mother, breathe her curse,
A mother's curse, on her revolting son.
France, thou mayst hold a serpent by the tongue,
A chafed lion by the mortal paw,
A fasting tiger safer by the tooth,
Than keep in peace that hand which thou dost hold.
KING PHILIP
I may disjoin my hand, but not my faith.
CARDINAL PANDULPH
So makest thou faith an enemy to faith;
And like a civil war set'st oath to oath,
Thy tongue against thy tongue. O, let thy vow
First made to heaven, first be to heaven perform'd,
That is, to be the champion of our church!
What since thou sworest is sworn against thyself
And may not be performed by thyself,
For that which thou hast sworn to do amiss
Is not amiss when it is truly done,
And being not done, where doing tends to ill,
The truth is then most done not doing it:
The better act of purposes mistook
Is to mistake again; though indirect,
Yet indirection thereby grows direct,
And falsehood falsehood cures, as fire cools fire
Within the scorched veins of one newburn'd.
It is religion that doth make vows kept;
But thou hast sworn against religion,
By what thou swear'st against the thing thou swear'st,
And makest an oath the surety for thy truth
Against an oath: the truth thou art unsure
To swear, swears only not to be forsworn;
Else what a mockery should it be to swear!
But thou dost swear only to be forsworn;
And most forsworn, to keep what thou dost swear.
Therefore thy later vows against thy first
Is in thyself rebellion to thyself;
And better conquest never canst thou make
Than arm thy constant and thy nobler parts
Against these giddy loose suggestions:
Upon which better part our prayers come in,
If thou vouchsafe them. But if not, then know
The peril of our curses light on thee
So heavy as thou shalt not shake them off,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 1 42
Page No 46
But in despair die under their black weight.
AUSTRIA
Rebellion, flat rebellion!
BASTARD
Will't not be?
Will not a calfsskin stop that mouth of thine?
LEWIS
Father, to arms!
BLANCH
Upon thy weddingday?
Against the blood that thou hast married?
What, shall our feast be kept with slaughter'd men?
Shall braying trumpets and loud churlish drums,
Clamours of hell, be measures to our pomp?
O husband, hear me! ay, alack, how new
Is husband in my mouth! even for that name,
Which till this time my tongue did ne'er pronounce,
Upon my knee I beg, go not to arms
Against mine uncle.
CONSTANCE
O, upon my knee,
Made hard with kneeling, I do pray to thee,
Thou virtuous Dauphin, alter not the doom
Forethought by heaven!
BLANCH
Now shall I see thy love: what motive may
Be stronger with thee than the name of wife?
CONSTANCE
That which upholdeth him that thee upholds,
His honour: O, thine honour, Lewis, thine honour!
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 1 43
Page No 47
LEWIS
I muse your majesty doth seem so cold,
When such profound respects do pull you on.
CARDINAL PANDULPH
I will denounce a curse upon his head.
KING PHILIP
Thou shalt not need. England, I will fall from thee.
CONSTANCE
O fair return of banish'd majesty!
QUEEN ELINOR
O foul revolt of French inconstancy!
KING JOHN
France, thou shalt rue this hour within this hour.
BASTARD
Old Time the clocksetter, that bald sexton Time,
Is it as he will? well then, France shall rue.
BLANCH
The sun's o'ercast with blood: fair day, adieu!
Which is the side that I must go withal?
I am with both: each army hath a hand;
And in their rage, I having hold of both,
They swirl asunder and dismember me.
Husband, I cannot pray that thou mayst win;
Uncle, I needs must pray that thou mayst lose;
Father, I may not wish the fortune thine;
Grandam, I will not wish thy fortunes thrive:
Whoever wins, on that side shall I lose
Assured loss before the match be play'd.
LEWIS
Lady, with me, with me thy fortune lies.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 1 44
Page No 48
BLANCH
There where my fortune lives, there my life dies.
KING JOHN
Cousin, go draw our puissance together.
Exit BASTARD
France, I am burn'd up with inflaming wrath;
A rage whose heat hath this condition,
That nothing can allay, nothing but blood,
The blood, and dearestvalued blood, of France.
KING PHILIP
Thy rage sham burn thee up, and thou shalt turn
To ashes, ere our blood shall quench that fire:
Look to thyself, thou art in jeopardy.
KING JOHN
No more than he that threats. To arms let's hie!
Exeunt
Act 3, Scene 2
The same. Plains near Angiers.
Alarums, excursions. Enter the BASTARD, with AUSTRIA'S head
BASTARD
Now, by my life, this day grows wondrous hot;
Some airy devil hovers in the sky
And pours down mischief. Austria's head lie there,
While Philip breathes.
Enter KING JOHN, ARTHUR, and HUBERT
KING JOHN
Hubert, keep this boy. Philip, make up:
My mother is assailed in our tent,
And ta'en, I fear.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 2 45
Page No 49
BASTARD
My lord, I rescued her;
Her highness is in safety, fear you not:
But on, my liege; for very little pains
Will bring this labour to an happy end.
Exeunt
Act 3, Scene 3
The same.
Alarums, excursions, retreat. Enter KING JOHN, QUEEN ELINOR, ARTHUR, the
BASTARD, HUBERT, and Lords
KING JOHN
[To QUEEN ELINOR] So shall it be; your grace shall
stay behind
So strongly guarded.
To ARTHUR
Cousin, look not sad:
Thy grandam loves thee; and thy uncle will
As dear be to thee as thy father was.
ARTHUR
O, this will make my mother die with grief!
KING JOHN
[To the BASTARD] Cousin, away for England!
haste before:
And, ere our coming, see thou shake the bags
Of hoarding abbots; imprisoned angels
Set at liberty: the fat ribs of peace
Must by the hungry now be fed upon:
Use our commission in his utmost force.
BASTARD
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 3 46
Page No 50
Bell, book, and candle shall not drive me back,
When gold and silver becks me to come on.
I leave your highness. Grandam, I will pray,
If ever I remember to be holy,
For your fair safety; so, I kiss your hand.
ELINOR
Farewell, gentle cousin.
KING JOHN
Coz, farewell.
Exit the BASTARD
QUEEN ELINOR
Come hither, little kinsman; hark, a word.
KING JOHN
Come hither, Hubert. O my gentle Hubert,
We owe thee much! within this wall of flesh
There is a soul counts thee her creditor
And with advantage means to pay thy love:
And my good friend, thy voluntary oath
Lives in this bosom, dearly cherished.
Give me thy hand. I had a thing to say,
But I will fit it with some better time.
By heaven, Hubert, I am almost ashamed
To say what good respect I have of thee.
HUBERT
I am much bounden to your majesty.
KING JOHN
Good friend, thou hast no cause to say so yet,
But thou shalt have; and creep time ne'er so slow,
Yet it shall come from me to do thee good.
I had a thing to say, but let it go:
The sun is in the heaven, and the proud day,
Attended with the pleasures of the world,
Is all too wanton and too full of gawds
To give me audience: if the midnight bell
Did, with his iron tongue and brazen mouth,
Sound on into the drowsy race of night;
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 3 47
Page No 51
If this same were a churchyard where we stand,
And thou possessed with a thousand wrongs,
Or if that surly spirit, melancholy,
Had baked thy blood and made it heavythick,
Which else runs tickling up and down the veins,
Making that idiot, laughter, keep men's eyes
And strain their cheeks to idle merriment,
A passion hateful to my purposes,
Or if that thou couldst see me without eyes,
Hear me without thine ears, and make reply
Without a tongue, using conceit alone,
Without eyes, ears and harmful sound of words;
Then, in despite of brooded watchful day,
I would into thy bosom pour my thoughts:
But, ah, I will not! yet I love thee well;
And, by my troth, I think thou lovest me well.
HUBERT
So well, that what you bid me undertake,
Though that my death were adjunct to my act,
By heaven, I would do it.
KING JOHN
Do not I know thou wouldst?
Good Hubert, Hubert, Hubert, throw thine eye
On yon young boy: I'll tell thee what, my friend,
He is a very serpent in my way;
And whereso'er this foot of mine doth tread,
He lies before me: dost thou understand me?
Thou art his keeper.
HUBERT
And I'll keep him so,
That he shall not offend your majesty.
KING JOHN
Death.
HUBERT
My lord?
KING JOHN
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 3 48
Page No 52
A grave.
HUBERT
He shall not live.
KING JOHN
Enough.
I could be merry now. Hubert, I love thee;
Well, I'll not say what I intend for thee:
Remember. Madam, fare you well:
I'll send those powers o'er to your majesty.
ELINOR
My blessing go with thee!
KING JOHN
For England, cousin, go:
Hubert shall be your man, attend on you
With all true duty. On toward Calais, ho!
Exeunt
Act 3, Scene 4
The same. KING PHILIP'S tent.
Enter KING PHILIP, LEWIS, CARDINAL PANDULPH, and Attendants
KING PHILIP
So, by a roaring tempest on the flood,
A whole armado of convicted sail
Is scatter'd and disjoin'd from fellowship.
CARDINAL PANDULPH
Courage and comfort! all shall yet go well.
KING PHILIP
What can go well, when we have run so ill?
Are we not beaten? Is not Angiers lost?
Arthur ta'en prisoner? divers dear friends slain?
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 4 49
Page No 53
And bloody England into England gone,
O'erbearing interruption, spite of France?
LEWIS
What he hath won, that hath he fortified:
So hot a speed with such advice disposed,
Such temperate order in so fierce a cause,
Doth want example: who hath read or heard
Of any kindred action like to this?
KING PHILIP
Well could I bear that England had this praise,
So we could find some pattern of our shame.
Enter CONSTANCE
Look, who comes here! a grave unto a soul;
Holding the eternal spirit against her will,
In the vile prison of afflicted breath.
I prithee, lady, go away with me.
CONSTANCE
Lo, now I now see the issue of your peace.
KING PHILIP
Patience, good lady! comfort, gentle Constance!
CONSTANCE
No, I defy all counsel, all redress,
But that which ends all counsel, true redress,
Death, death; O amiable lovely death!
Thou odouriferous stench! sound rottenness!
Arise forth from the couch of lasting night,
Thou hate and terror to prosperity,
And I will kiss thy detestable bones
And put my eyeballs in thy vaulty brows
And ring these fingers with thy household worms
And stop this gap of breath with fulsome dust
And be a carrion monster like thyself:
Come, grin on me, and I will think thou smilest
And buss thee as thy wife. Misery's love,
O, come to me!
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 4 50
Page No 54
KING PHILIP
O fair affliction, peace!
CONSTANCE
No, no, I will not, having breath to cry:
O, that my tongue were in the thunder's mouth!
Then with a passion would I shake the world;
And rouse from sleep that fell anatomy
Which cannot hear a lady's feeble voice,
Which scorns a modern invocation.
CARDINAL PANDULPH
Lady, you utter madness, and not sorrow.
CONSTANCE
Thou art not holy to belie me so;
I am not mad: this hair I tear is mine;
My name is Constance; I was Geffrey's wife;
Young Arthur is my son, and he is lost:
I am not mad: I would to heaven I were!
For then, 'tis like I should forget myself:
O, if I could, what grief should I forget!
Preach some philosophy to make me mad,
And thou shalt be canonized, cardinal;
For being not mad but sensible of grief,
My reasonable part produces reason
How I may be deliver'd of these woes,
And teaches me to kill or hang myself:
If I were mad, I should forget my son,
Or madly think a babe of clouts were he:
I am not mad; too well, too well I feel
The different plague of each calamity.
KING PHILIP
Bind up those tresses. O, what love I note
In the fair multitude of those her hairs!
Where but by chance a silver drop hath fallen,
Even to that drop ten thousand wiry friends
Do glue themselves in sociable grief,
Like true, inseparable, faithful loves,
Sticking together in calamity.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 4 51
Page No 55
CONSTANCE
To England, if you will.
KING PHILIP
Bind up your hairs.
CONSTANCE
Yes, that I will; and wherefore will I do it?
I tore them from their bonds and cried aloud
'O that these hands could so redeem my son,
As they have given these hairs their liberty!'
But now I envy at their liberty,
And will again commit them to their bonds,
Because my poor child is a prisoner.
And, father cardinal, I have heard you say
That we shall see and know our friends in heaven:
If that be true, I shall see my boy again;
For since the birth of Cain, the first male child,
To him that did but yesterday suspire,
There was not such a gracious creature born.
But now will cankersorrow eat my bud
And chase the native beauty from his cheek
And he will look as hollow as a ghost,
As dim and meagre as an ague's fit,
And so he'll die; and, rising so again,
When I shall meet him in the court of heaven
I shall not know him: therefore never, never
Must I behold my pretty Arthur more.
CARDINAL PANDULPH
You hold too heinous a respect of grief.
CONSTANCE
He talks to me that never had a son.
KING PHILIP
You are as fond of grief as of your child.
CONSTANCE
Grief fills the room up of my absent child,
Lies in his bed, walks up and down with me,
Puts on his pretty looks, repeats his words,
Remembers me of all his gracious parts,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 4 52
Page No 56
Stuffs out his vacant garments with his form;
Then, have I reason to be fond of grief?
Fare you well: had you such a loss as I,
I could give better comfort than you do.
I will not keep this form upon my head,
When there is such disorder in my wit.
O Lord! my boy, my Arthur, my fair son!
My life, my joy, my food, my all the world!
My widowcomfort, and my sorrows' cure!
Exit
KING PHILIP
I fear some outrage, and I'll follow her.
Exit
LEWIS
There's nothing in this world can make me joy:
Life is as tedious as a twicetold tale
Vexing the dull ear of a drowsy man;
And bitter shame hath spoil'd the sweet world's taste
That it yields nought but shame and bitterness.
CARDINAL PANDULPH
Before the curing of a strong disease,
Even in the instant of repair and health,
The fit is strongest; evils that take leave,
On their departure most of all show evil:
What have you lost by losing of this day?
LEWIS
All days of glory, joy and happiness.
CARDINAL PANDULPH
If you had won it, certainly you had.
No, no; when Fortune means to men most good,
She looks upon them with a threatening eye.
'Tis strange to think how much King John hath lost
In this which he accounts so clearly won:
Are not you grieved that Arthur is his prisoner?
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 4 53
Page No 57
LEWIS
As heartily as he is glad he hath him.
CARDINAL PANDULPH
Your mind is all as youthful as your blood.
Now hear me speak with a prophetic spirit;
For even the breath of what I mean to speak
Shall blow each dust, each straw, each little rub,
Out of the path which shall directly lead
Thy foot to England's throne; and therefore mark.
John hath seized Arthur; and it cannot be
That, whiles warm life plays in that infant's veins,
The misplaced John should entertain an hour,
One minute, nay, one quiet breath of rest.
A sceptre snatch'd with an unruly hand
Must be as boisterously maintain'd as gain'd;
And he that stands upon a slippery place
Makes nice of no vile hold to stay him up:
That John may stand, then Arthur needs must fall;
So be it, for it cannot be but so.
LEWIS
But what shall I gain by young Arthur's fall?
CARDINAL PANDULPH
You, in the right of Lady Blanch your wife,
May then make all the claim that Arthur did.
LEWIS
And lose it, life and all, as Arthur did.
CARDINAL PANDULPH
How green you are and fresh in this old world!
John lays you plots; the times conspire with you;
For he that steeps his safety in true blood
Shall find but bloody safety and untrue.
This act so evilly born shall cool the hearts
Of all his people and freeze up their zeal,
That none so small advantage shall step forth
To cheque his reign, but they will cherish it;
No natural exhalation in the sky,
No scope of nature, no distemper'd day,
No common wind, no customed event,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 4 54
Page No 58
But they will pluck away his natural cause
And call them meteors, prodigies and signs,
Abortives, presages and tongues of heaven,
Plainly denouncing vengeance upon John.
LEWIS
May be he will not touch young Arthur's life,
But hold himself safe in his prisonment.
CARDINAL PANDULPH
O, sir, when he shall hear of your approach,
If that young Arthur be not gone already,
Even at that news he dies; and then the hearts
Of all his people shall revolt from him
And kiss the lips of unacquainted change
And pick strong matter of revolt and wrath
Out of the bloody fingers' ends of John.
Methinks I see this hurly all on foot:
And, O, what better matter breeds for you
Than I have named! The bastard Faulconbridge
Is now in England, ransacking the church,
Offending charity: if but a dozen French
Were there in arms, they would be as a call
To train ten thousand English to their side,
Or as a little snow, tumbled about,
Anon becomes a mountain. O noble Dauphin,
Go with me to the king: 'tis wonderful
What may be wrought out of their discontent,
Now that their souls are topful of offence.
For England go: I will whet on the king.
LEWIS
Strong reasons make strong actions: let us go:
If you say ay, the king will not say no.
Exeunt
Act 4, Scene 1
A room in a castle.
Enter HUBERT and Executioners
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 1 55
Page No 59
HUBERT
Heat me these irons hot; and look thou stand
Within the arras: when I strike my foot
Upon the bosom of the ground, rush forth,
And bind the boy which you shall find with me
Fast to the chair: be heedful: hence, and watch.
First Executioner
I hope your warrant will bear out the deed.
HUBERT
Uncleanly scruples! fear not you: look to't.
Exeunt Executioners
Young lad, come forth; I have to say with you.
Enter ARTHUR
ARTHUR
Good morrow, Hubert.
HUBERT
Good morrow, little prince.
ARTHUR
As little prince, having so great a title
To be more prince, as may be. You are sad.
HUBERT
Indeed, I have been merrier.
ARTHUR
Mercy on me!
Methinks no body should be sad but I:
Yet, I remember, when I was in France,
Young gentlemen would be as sad as night,
Only for wantonness. By my christendom,
So I were out of prison and kept sheep,
I should be as merry as the day is long;
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 1 56
Page No 60
And so I would be here, but that I doubt
My uncle practises more harm to me:
He is afraid of me and I of him:
Is it my fault that I was Geffrey's son?
No, indeed, is't not; and I would to heaven
I were your son, so you would love me, Hubert.
HUBERT
[Aside] If I talk to him, with his innocent prate
He will awake my mercy which lies dead:
Therefore I will be sudden and dispatch.
ARTHUR
Are you sick, Hubert? you look pale today:
In sooth, I would you were a little sick,
That I might sit all night and watch with you:
I warrant I love you more than you do me.
HUBERT
[Aside] His words do take possession of my bosom.
Read here, young Arthur.
Showing a paper
Aside
How now, foolish rheum!
Turning dispiteous torture out of door!
I must be brief, lest resolution drop
Out at mine eyes in tender womanish tears.
Can you not read it? Is it not fair writ?
ARTHUR
Too fairly, Hubert, for so foul effect:
Must you with hot irons burn out both mine eyes?
HUBERT
Young boy, I must.
ARTHUR
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 1 57
Page No 61
And will you?
HUBERT
And I will.
ARTHUR
Have you the heart? When your head did but ache,
I knit my handercher about your brows,
The best I had, a princess wrought it me,
And I did never ask it you again;
And with my hand at midnight held your head,
And like the watchful minutes to the hour,
Still and anon cheer'd up the heavy time,
Saying, 'What lack you?' and 'Where lies your grief?'
Or 'What good love may I perform for you?'
Many a poor man's son would have lien still
And ne'er have spoke a loving word to you;
But you at your sick service had a prince.
Nay, you may think my love was crafty love
And call it cunning: do, an if you will:
If heaven be pleased that you must use me ill,
Why then you must. Will you put out mine eyes?
These eyes that never did nor never shall
So much as frown on you.
HUBERT
I have sworn to do it;
And with hot irons must I burn them out.
ARTHUR
Ah, none but in this iron age would do it!
The iron of itself, though heat redhot,
Approaching near these eyes, would drink my tears
And quench his fiery indignation
Even in the matter of mine innocence;
Nay, after that, consume away in rust
But for containing fire to harm mine eye.
Are you more stubbornhard than hammer'd iron?
An if an angel should have come to me
And told me Hubert should put out mine eyes,
I would not have believed him,no tongue but Hubert's.
HUBERT
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 1 58
Page No 62
Come forth.
Stamps
Reenter Executioners, with a cord, irons, TE>
Do as I bid you do.
ARTHUR
O, save me, Hubert, save me! my eyes are out
Even with the fierce looks of these bloody men.
HUBERT
Give me the iron, I say, and bind him here.
ARTHUR
Alas, what need you be so boisterousrough?
I will not struggle, I will stand stonestill.
For heaven sake, Hubert, let me not be bound!
Nay, hear me, Hubert, drive these men away,
And I will sit as quiet as a lamb;
I will not stir, nor wince, nor speak a word,
Nor look upon the iron angerly:
Thrust but these men away, and I'll forgive you,
Whatever torment you do put me to.
HUBERT
Go, stand within; let me alone with him.
First Executioner
I am best pleased to be from such a deed.
Exeunt Executioners
ARTHUR
Alas, I then have chid away my friend!
He hath a stern look, but a gentle heart:
Let him come back, that his compassion may
Give life to yours.
HUBERT
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 1 59
Page No 63
Come, boy, prepare yourself.
ARTHUR
Is there no remedy?
HUBERT
None, but to lose your eyes.
ARTHUR
O heaven, that there were but a mote in yours,
A grain, a dust, a gnat, a wandering hair,
Any annoyance in that precious sense!
Then feeling what small things are boisterous there,
Your vile intent must needs seem horrible.
HUBERT
Is this your promise? go to, hold your tongue.
ARTHUR
Hubert, the utterance of a brace of tongues
Must needs want pleading for a pair of eyes:
Let me not hold my tongue, let me not, Hubert;
Or, Hubert, if you will, cut out my tongue,
So I may keep mine eyes: O, spare mine eyes.
Though to no use but still to look on you!
Lo, by my truth, the instrument is cold
And would not harm me.
HUBERT
I can heat it, boy.
ARTHUR
No, in good sooth: the fire is dead with grief,
Being create for comfort, to be used
In undeserved extremes: see else yourself;
There is no malice in this burning coal;
The breath of heaven has blown his spirit out
And strew'd repentent ashes on his head.
HUBERT
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 1 60
Page No 64
But with my breath I can revive it, boy.
ARTHUR
An if you do, you will but make it blush
And glow with shame of your proceedings, Hubert:
Nay, it perchance will sparkle in your eyes;
And like a dog that is compell'd to fight,
Snatch at his master that doth tarre him on.
All things that you should use to do me wrong
Deny their office: only you do lack
That mercy which fierce fire and iron extends,
Creatures of note for mercylacking uses.
HUBERT
Well, see to live; I will not touch thine eye
For all the treasure that thine uncle owes:
Yet am I sworn and I did purpose, boy,
With this same very iron to burn them out.
ARTHUR
O, now you look like Hubert! all this while
You were disguised.
HUBERT
Peace; no more. Adieu.
Your uncle must not know but you are dead;
I'll fill these dogged spies with false reports:
And, pretty child, sleep doubtless and secure,
That Hubert, for the wealth of all the world,
Will not offend thee.
ARTHUR
O heaven! I thank you, Hubert.
HUBERT
Silence; no more: go closely in with me:
Much danger do I undergo for thee.
Exeunt
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 1 61
Page No 65
Act 4, Scene 2
KING JOHN'S palace.
Enter KING JOHN, PEMBROKE, SALISBURY, and other Lords
KING JOHN
Here once again we sit, once again crown'd,
And looked upon, I hope, with cheerful eyes.
PEMBROKE
This 'once again,' but that your highness pleased,
Was once superfluous: you were crown'd before,
And that high royalty was ne'er pluck'd off,
The faiths of men ne'er stained with revolt;
Fresh expectation troubled not the land
With any long'dfor change or better state.
SALISBURY
Therefore, to be possess'd with double pomp,
To guard a title that was rich before,
To gild refined gold, to paint the lily,
To throw a perfume on the violet,
To smooth the ice, or add another hue
Unto the rainbow, or with taperlight
To seek the beauteous eye of heaven to garnish,
Is wasteful and ridiculous excess.
PEMBROKE
But that your royal pleasure must be done,
This act is as an ancient tale new told,
And in the last repeating troublesome,
Being urged at a time unseasonable.
SALISBURY
In this the antique and well noted face
Of plain old form is much disfigured;
And, like a shifted wind unto a sail,
It makes the course of thoughts to fetch about,
Startles and frights consideration,
Makes sound opinion sick and truth suspected,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 2 62
Page No 66
For putting on so new a fashion'd robe.
PEMBROKE
When workmen strive to do better than well,
They do confound their skill in covetousness;
And oftentimes excusing of a fault
Doth make the fault the worse by the excuse,
As patches set upon a little breach
Discredit more in hiding of the fault
Than did the fault before it was so patch'd.
SALISBURY
To this effect, before you were new crown'd,
We breathed our counsel: but it pleased your highness
To overbear it, and we are all well pleased,
Since all and every part of what we would
Doth make a stand at what your highness will.
KING JOHN
Some reasons of this double coronation
I have possess'd you with and think them strong;
And more, more strong, then lesser is my fear,
I shall indue you with: meantime but ask
What you would have reform'd that is not well,
And well shall you perceive how willingly
I will both hear and grant you your requests.
PEMBROKE
Then I, as one that am the tongue of these,
To sound the purpose of all their hearts,
Both for myself and them, but, chief of all,
Your safety, for the which myself and them
Bend their best studies, heartily request
The enfranchisement of Arthur; whose restraint
Doth move the murmuring lips of discontent
To break into this dangerous argument,
If what in rest you have in right you hold,
Why then your fears, which, as they say, attend
The steps of wrong, should move you to mew up
Your tender kinsman and to choke his days
With barbarous ignorance and deny his youth
The rich advantage of good exercise?
That the time's enemies may not have this
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 2 63
Page No 67
To grace occasions, let it be our suit
That you have bid us ask his liberty;
Which for our goods we do no further ask
Than whereupon our weal, on you depending,
Counts it your weal he have his liberty.
Enter HUBERT
KING JOHN
Let it be so: I do commit his youth
To your direction. Hubert, what news with you?
Taking him apart
PEMBROKE
This is the man should do the bloody deed;
He show'd his warrant to a friend of mine:
The image of a wicked heinous fault
Lives in his eye; that close aspect of his
Does show the mood of a much troubled breast;
And I do fearfully believe 'tis done,
What we so fear'd he had a charge to do.
SALISBURY
The colour of the king doth come and go
Between his purpose and his conscience,
Like heralds 'twixt two dreadful battles set:
His passion is so ripe, it needs must break.
PEMBROKE
And when it breaks, I fear will issue thence
The foul corruption of a sweet child's death.
KING JOHN
We cannot hold mortality's strong hand:
Good lords, although my will to give is living,
The suit which you demand is gone and dead:
He tells us Arthur is deceased tonight.
SALISBURY
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 2 64
Page No 68
Indeed we fear'd his sickness was past cure.
PEMBROKE
Indeed we heard how near his death he was
Before the child himself felt he was sick:
This must be answer'd either here or hence.
KING JOHN
Why do you bend such solemn brows on me?
Think you I bear the shears of destiny?
Have I commandment on the pulse of life?
SALISBURY
It is apparent foul play; and 'tis shame
That greatness should so grossly offer it:
So thrive it in your game! and so, farewell.
PEMBROKE
Stay yet, Lord Salisbury; I'll go with thee,
And find the inheritance of this poor child,
His little kingdom of a forced grave.
That blood which owed the breadth of all this isle,
Three foot of it doth hold: bad world the while!
This must not be thus borne: this will break out
To all our sorrows, and ere long I doubt.
Exeunt Lords
KING JOHN
They burn in indignation. I repent:
There is no sure foundation set on blood,
No certain life achieved by others' death.
Enter a Messenger
A fearful eye thou hast: where is that blood
That I have seen inhabit in those cheeks?
So foul a sky clears not without a storm:
Pour down thy weather: how goes all in France?
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 2 65
Page No 69
Messenger
From France to England. Never such a power
For any foreign preparation
Was levied in the body of a land.
The copy of your speed is learn'd by them;
For when you should be told they do prepare,
The tidings come that they are all arrived.
KING JOHN
O, where hath our intelligence been drunk?
Where hath it slept? Where is my mother's care,
That such an army could be drawn in France,
And she not hear of it?
Messenger
My liege, her ear
Is stopp'd with dust; the first of April died
Your noble mother: and, as I hear, my lord,
The Lady Constance in a frenzy died
Three days before: but this from rumour's tongue
I idly heard; if true or false I know not.
KING JOHN
Withhold thy speed, dreadful occasion!
O, make a league with me, till I have pleased
My discontented peers! What! mother dead!
How wildly then walks my estate in France!
Under whose conduct came those powers of France
That thou for truth givest out are landed here?
Messenger
Under the Dauphin.
KING JOHN
Thou hast made me giddy
With these ill tidings.
Enter the BASTARD and PETER of Pomfret
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 2 66
Page No 70
Now, what says the world
To your proceedings? do not seek to stuff
My head with more ill news, for it is full.
BASTARD
But if you be afeard to hear the worst,
Then let the worst unheard fall on your bead.
KING JOHN
Bear with me cousin, for I was amazed
Under the tide: but now I breathe again
Aloft the flood, and can give audience
To any tongue, speak it of what it will.
BASTARD
How I have sped among the clergymen,
The sums I have collected shall express.
But as I travell'd hither through the land,
I find the people strangely fantasied;
Possess'd with rumours, full of idle dreams,
Not knowing what they fear, but full of fear:
And here a prophet, that I brought with me
From forth the streets of Pomfret, whom I found
With many hundreds treading on his heels;
To whom he sung, in rude harshsounding rhymes,
That, ere the next Ascensionday at noon,
Your highness should deliver up your crown.
KING JOHN
Thou idle dreamer, wherefore didst thou so?
PETER
Foreknowing that the truth will fall out so.
KING JOHN
Hubert, away with him; imprison him;
And on that day at noon whereon he says
I shall yield up my crown, let him be hang'd.
Deliver him to safety; and return,
For I must use thee.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 2 67
Page No 71
Exeunt HUBERT with PETER
O my gentle cousin,
Hear'st thou the news abroad, who are arrived?
BASTARD
The French, my lord; men's mouths are full of it:
Besides, I met Lord Bigot and Lord Salisbury,
With eyes as red as newenkindled fire,
And others more, going to seek the grave
Of Arthur, who they say is kill'd tonight
On your suggestion.
KING JOHN
Gentle kinsman, go,
And thrust thyself into their companies:
I have a way to win their loves again;
Bring them before me.
BASTARD
I will seek them out.
KING JOHN
Nay, but make haste; the better foot before.
O, let me have no subject enemies,
When adverse foreigners affright my towns
With dreadful pomp of stout invasion!
Be Mercury, set feathers to thy heels,
And fly like thought from them to me again.
BASTARD
The spirit of the time shall teach me speed.
Exit
KING JOHN
Spoke like a sprightful noble gentleman.
Go after him; for he perhaps shall need
Some messenger betwixt me and the peers;
And be thou he.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 2 68
Page No 72
Messenger
With all my heart, my liege.
Exit
KING JOHN
My mother dead!
Reenter HUBERT
HUBERT
My lord, they say five moons were seen tonight;
Four fixed, and the fifth did whirl about
The other four in wondrous motion.
KING JOHN
Five moons!
HUBERT
Old men and beldams in the streets
Do prophesy upon it dangerously:
Young Arthur's death is common in their mouths:
And when they talk of him, they shake their heads
And whisper one another in the ear;
And he that speaks doth gripe the hearer's wrist,
Whilst he that hears makes fearful action,
With wrinkled brows, with nods, with rolling eyes.
I saw a smith stand with his hammer, thus,
The whilst his iron did on the anvil cool,
With open mouth swallowing a tailor's news;
Who, with his shears and measure in his hand,
Standing on slippers, which his nimble haste
Had falsely thrust upon contrary feet,
Told of a many thousand warlike French
That were embattailed and rank'd in Kent:
Another lean unwash'd artificer
Cuts off his tale and talks of Arthur's death.
KING JOHN
Why seek'st thou to possess me with these fears?
Why urgest thou so oft young Arthur's death?
Thy hand hath murder'd him: I had a mighty cause
To wish him dead, but thou hadst none to kill him.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 2 69
Page No 73
HUBERT
No had, my lord! why, did you not provoke me?
KING JOHN
It is the curse of kings to be attended
By slaves that take their humours for a warrant
To break within the bloody house of life,
And on the winking of authority
To understand a law, to know the meaning
Of dangerous majesty, when perchance it frowns
More upon humour than advised respect.
HUBERT
Here is your hand and seal for what I did.
KING JOHN
O, when the last account 'twixt heaven and earth
Is to be made, then shall this hand and seal
Witness against us to damnation!
How oft the sight of means to do ill deeds
Make deeds ill done! Hadst not thou been by,
A fellow by the hand of nature mark'd,
Quoted and sign'd to do a deed of shame,
This murder had not come into my mind:
But taking note of thy abhorr'd aspect,
Finding thee fit for bloody villany,
Apt, liable to be employ'd in danger,
I faintly broke with thee of Arthur's death;
And thou, to be endeared to a king,
Made it no conscience to destroy a prince.
HUBERT
My lord
KING JOHN
Hadst thou but shook thy head or made a pause
When I spake darkly what I purposed,
Or turn'd an eye of doubt upon my face,
As bid me tell my tale in express words,
Deep shame had struck me dumb, made me break off,
And those thy fears might have wrought fears in me:
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 2 70
Page No 74
But thou didst understand me by my signs
And didst in signs again parley with sin;
Yea, without stop, didst let thy heart consent,
And consequently thy rude hand to act
The deed, which both our tongues held vile to name.
Out of my sight, and never see me more!
My nobles leave me; and my state is braved,
Even at my gates, with ranks of foreign powers:
Nay, in the body of this fleshly land,
This kingdom, this confine of blood and breath,
Hostility and civil tumult reigns
Between my conscience and my cousin's death.
HUBERT
Arm you against your other enemies,
I'll make a peace between your soul and you.
Young Arthur is alive: this hand of mine
Is yet a maiden and an innocent hand,
Not painted with the crimson spots of blood.
Within this bosom never enter'd yet
The dreadful motion of a murderous thought;
And you have slander'd nature in my form,
Which, howsoever rude exteriorly,
Is yet the cover of a fairer mind
Than to be butcher of an innocent child.
KING JOHN
Doth Arthur live? O, haste thee to the peers,
Throw this report on their incensed rage,
And make them tame to their obedience!
Forgive the comment that my passion made
Upon thy feature; for my rage was blind,
And foul imaginary eyes of blood
Presented thee more hideous than thou art.
O, answer not, but to my closet bring
The angry lords with all expedient haste.
I conjure thee but slowly; run more fast.
Exeunt
Act 4, Scene 3
Before the castle.
Enter ARTHUR, on the walls
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 3 71
Page No 75
ARTHUR
The wall is high, and yet will I leap down:
Good ground, be pitiful and hurt me not!
There's few or none do know me: if they did,
This shipboy's semblance hath disguised me quite.
I am afraid; and yet I'll venture it.
If I get down, and do not break my limbs,
I'll find a thousand shifts to get away:
As good to die and go, as die and stay.
Leaps down
O me! my uncle's spirit is in these stones:
Heaven take my soul, and England keep my bones!
Dies
Enter PEMBROKE, SALISBURY, and BIGOT
SALISBURY
Lords, I will meet him at Saint Edmundsbury:
It is our safety, and we must embrace
This gentle offer of the perilous time.
PEMBROKE
Who brought that letter from the cardinal?
SALISBURY
The Count Melun, a noble lord of France,
Whose private with me of the Dauphin's love
Is much more general than these lines import.
BIGOT
Tomorrow morning let us meet him then.
SALISBURY
Or rather then set forward; for 'twill be
Two long days' journey, lords, or ere we meet.
Enter the BASTARD
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 3 72
Page No 76
BASTARD
Once more today well met, distemper'd lords!
The king by me requests your presence straight.
SALISBURY
The king hath dispossess'd himself of us:
We will not line his thin bestained cloak
With our pure honours, nor attend the foot
That leaves the print of blood where'er it walks.
Return and tell him so: we know the worst.
BASTARD
Whate'er you think, good words, I think, were best.
SALISBURY
Our griefs, and not our manners, reason now.
BASTARD
But there is little reason in your grief;
Therefore 'twere reason you had manners now.
PEMBROKE
Sir, sir, impatience hath his privilege.
BASTARD
'Tis true, to hurt his master, no man else.
SALISBURY
This is the prison. What is he lies here?
Seeing ARTHUR
PEMBROKE
O death, made proud with pure and princely beauty!
The earth had not a hole to hide this deed.
SALISBURY
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 3 73
Page No 77
Murder, as hating what himself hath done,
Doth lay it open to urge on revenge.
BIGOT
Or, when he doom'd this beauty to a grave,
Found it too preciousprincely for a grave.
SALISBURY
Sir Richard, what think you? have you beheld,
Or have you read or heard? or could you think?
Or do you almost think, although you see,
That you do see? could thought, without this object,
Form such another? This is the very top,
The height, the crest, or crest unto the crest,
Of murder's arms: this is the bloodiest shame,
The wildest savagery, the vilest stroke,
That ever walleyed wrath or staring rage
Presented to the tears of soft remorse.
PEMBROKE
All murders past do stand excused in this:
And this, so sole and so unmatchable,
Shall give a holiness, a purity,
To the yet unbegotten sin of times;
And prove a deadly bloodshed but a jest,
Exampled by this heinous spectacle.
BASTARD
It is a damned and a bloody work;
The graceless action of a heavy hand,
If that it be the work of any hand.
SALISBURY
If that it be the work of any hand!
We had a kind of light what would ensue:
It is the shameful work of Hubert's hand;
The practise and the purpose of the king:
From whose obedience I forbid my soul,
Kneeling before this ruin of sweet life,
And breathing to his breathless excellence
The incense of a vow, a holy vow,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 3 74
Page No 78
Never to taste the pleasures of the world,
Never to be infected with delight,
Nor conversant with ease and idleness,
Till I have set a glory to this hand,
By giving it the worship of revenge.
PEMBROKE
|
| Our souls religiously confirm thy words.
BIGOT
|
Enter HUBERT
HUBERT
Lords, I am hot with haste in seeking you:
Arthur doth live; the king hath sent for you.
SALISBURY
O, he is old and blushes not at death.
Avaunt, thou hateful villain, get thee gone!
HUBERT
I am no villain.
SALISBURY
Must I rob the law?
Drawing his sword
BASTARD
Your sword is bright, sir; put it up again.
SALISBURY
Not till I sheathe it in a murderer's skin.
HUBERT
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 3 75
Page No 79
Stand back, Lord Salisbury, stand back, I say;
By heaven, I think my sword's as sharp as yours:
I would not have you, lord, forget yourself,
Nor tempt the danger of my true defence;
Lest I, by marking of your rage, forget
Your worth, your greatness and nobility.
BIGOT
Out, dunghill! darest thou brave a nobleman?
HUBERT
Not for my life: but yet I dare defend
My innocent life against an emperor.
SALISBURY
Thou art a murderer.
HUBERT
Do not prove me so;
Yet I am none: whose tongue soe'er speaks false,
Not truly speaks; who speaks not truly, lies.
PEMBROKE
Cut him to pieces.
BASTARD
Keep the peace, I say.
SALISBURY
Stand by, or I shall gall you, Faulconbridge.
BASTARD
Thou wert better gall the devil, Salisbury:
If thou but frown on me, or stir thy foot,
Or teach thy hasty spleen to do me shame,
I'll strike thee dead. Put up thy sword betime;
Or I'll so maul you and your toastingiron,
That you shall think the devil is come from hell.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 3 76
Page No 80
BIGOT
What wilt thou do, renowned Faulconbridge?
Second a villain and a murderer?
HUBERT
Lord Bigot, I am none.
BIGOT
Who kill'd this prince?
HUBERT
'Tis not an hour since I left him well:
I honour'd him, I loved him, and will weep
My date of life out for his sweet life's loss.
SALISBURY
Trust not those cunning waters of his eyes,
For villany is not without such rheum;
And he, long traded in it, makes it seem
Like rivers of remorse and innocency.
Away with me, all you whose souls abhor
The uncleanly savours of a slaughterhouse;
For I am stifled with this smell of sin.
BIGOT
Away toward Bury, to the Dauphin there!
PEMBROKE
There tell the king he may inquire us out.
Exeunt Lords
BASTARD
Here's a good world! Knew you of this fair work?
Beyond the infinite and boundless reach
Of mercy, if thou didst this deed of death,
Art thou damn'd, Hubert.
HUBERT
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 3 77
Page No 81
Do but hear me, sir.
BASTARD
Ha! I'll tell thee what;
Thou'rt damn'd as blacknay, nothing is so black;
Thou art more deep damn'd than Prince Lucifer:
There is not yet so ugly a fiend of hell
As thou shalt be, if thou didst kill this child.
HUBERT
Upon my soul
BASTARD
If thou didst but consent
To this most cruel act, do but despair;
And if thou want'st a cord, the smallest thread
That ever spider twisted from her womb
Will serve to strangle thee, a rush will be a beam
To hang thee on; or wouldst thou drown thyself,
Put but a little water in a spoon,
And it shall be as all the ocean,
Enough to stifle such a villain up.
I do suspect thee very grievously.
HUBERT
If I in act, consent, or sin of thought,
Be guilty of the stealing that sweet breath
Which was embounded in this beauteous clay,
Let hell want pains enough to torture me.
I left him well.
BASTARD
Go, bear him in thine arms.
I am amazed, methinks, and lose my way
Among the thorns and dangers of this world.
How easy dost thou take all England up!
From forth this morsel of dead royalty,
The life, the right and truth of all this realm
Is fled to heaven; and England now is left
To tug and scamble and to part by the teeth
The unowed interest of proudswelling state.
Now for the barepick'd bone of majesty
Doth dogged war bristle his angry crest
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 3 78
Page No 82
And snarleth in the gentle eyes of peace:
Now powers from home and discontents at home
Meet in one line; and vast confusion waits,
As doth a raven on a sickfall'n beast,
The imminent decay of wrested pomp.
Now happy he whose cloak and cincture can
Hold out this tempest. Bear away that child
And follow me with speed: I'll to the king:
A thousand businesses are brief in hand,
And heaven itself doth frown upon the land.
Exeunt
Act 5, Scene 1
KING JOHN'S palace.
Enter KING JOHN, CARDINAL PANDULPH, and Attendants
KING JOHN
Thus have I yielded up into your hand
The circle of my glory.
Giving the crown
CARDINAL PANDULPH
Take again
From this my hand, as holding of the pope
Your sovereign greatness and authority.
KING JOHN
Now keep your holy word: go meet the French,
And from his holiness use all your power
To stop their marches 'fore we are inflamed.
Our discontented counties do revolt;
Our people quarrel with obedience,
Swearing allegiance and the love of soul
To stranger blood, to foreign royalty.
This inundation of mistemper'd humour
Rests by you only to be qualified:
Then pause not; for the present time's so sick,
That present medicine must be minister'd,
Or overthrow incurable ensues.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 1 79
Page No 83
CARDINAL PANDULPH
It was my breath that blew this tempest up,
Upon your stubborn usage of the pope;
But since you are a gentle convertite,
My tongue shall hush again this storm of war
And make fair weather in your blustering land.
On this Ascensionday, remember well,
Upon your oath of service to the pope,
Go I to make the French lay down their arms.
Exit
KING JOHN
Is this Ascensionday? Did not the prophet
Say that before Ascensionday at noon
My crown I should give off? Even so I have:
I did suppose it should be on constraint:
But, heaven be thank'd, it is but voluntary.
Enter the BASTARD
BASTARD
All Kent hath yielded; nothing there holds out
But Dover castle: London hath received,
Like a kind host, the Dauphin and his powers:
Your nobles will not hear you, but are gone
To offer service to your enemy,
And wild amazement hurries up and down
The little number of your doubtful friends.
KING JOHN
Would not my lords return to me again,
After they heard young Arthur was alive?
BASTARD
They found him dead and cast into the streets,
An empty casket, where the jewel of life
By some damn'd hand was robb'd and ta'en away.
KING JOHN
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 1 80
Page No 84
That villain Hubert told me he did live.
BASTARD
So, on my soul, he did, for aught he knew.
But wherefore do you droop? why look you sad?
Be great in act, as you have been in thought;
Let not the world see fear and sad distrust
Govern the motion of a kingly eye:
Be stirring as the time; be fire with fire;
Threaten the threatener and outface the brow
Of bragging horror: so shall inferior eyes,
That borrow their behaviors from the great,
Grow great by your example and put on
The dauntless spirit of resolution.
Away, and glister like the god of war,
When he intendeth to become the field:
Show boldness and aspiring confidence.
What, shall they seek the lion in his den,
And fright him there? and make him tremble there?
O, let it not be said: forage, and run
To meet displeasure farther from the doors,
And grapple with him ere he comes so nigh.
KING JOHN
The legate of the pope hath been with me,
And I have made a happy peace with him;
And he hath promised to dismiss the powers
Led by the Dauphin.
BASTARD
O inglorious league!
Shall we, upon the footing of our land,
Send fairplay orders and make compromise,
Insinuation, parley and base truce
To arms invasive? shall a beardless boy,
A cocker'd silken wanton, brave our fields,
And flesh his spirit in a warlike soil,
Mocking the air with colours idly spread,
And find no cheque? Let us, my liege, to arms:
Perchance the cardinal cannot make your peace;
Or if he do, let it at least be said
They saw we had a purpose of defence.
KING JOHN
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 1 81
Page No 85
Have thou the ordering of this present time.
BASTARD
Away, then, with good courage! yet, I know,
Our party may well meet a prouder foe.
Exeunt
Act 5, Scene 2
LEWIS's camp at St. Edmundsbury.
Enter, in arms, LEWIS, SALISBURY, MELUN, PEMBROKE, BIGOT, and Soldiers
LEWIS
My Lord Melun, let this be copied out,
And keep it safe for our remembrance:
Return the precedent to these lords again;
That, having our fair order written down,
Both they and we, perusing o'er these notes,
May know wherefore we took the sacrament
And keep our faiths firm and inviolable.
SALISBURY
Upon our sides it never shall be broken.
And, noble Dauphin, albeit we swear
A voluntary zeal and an unurged faith
To your proceedings; yet believe me, prince,
I am not glad that such a sore of time
Should seek a plaster by contemn'd revolt,
And heal the inveterate canker of one wound
By making many. O, it grieves my soul,
That I must draw this metal from my side
To be a widowmaker! O, and there
Where honourable rescue and defence
Cries out upon the name of Salisbury!
But such is the infection of the time,
That, for the health and physic of our right,
We cannot deal but with the very hand
Of stern injustice and confused wrong.
And is't not pity, O my grieved friends,
That we, the sons and children of this isle,
Were born to see so sad an hour as this;
Wherein we step after a stranger march
Upon her gentle bosom, and fill up
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 2 82
Page No 86
Her enemies' ranks,I must withdraw and weep
Upon the spot of this enforced cause,
To grace the gentry of a land remote,
And follow unacquainted colours here?
What, here? O nation, that thou couldst remove!
That Neptune's arms, who clippeth thee about,
Would bear thee from the knowledge of thyself,
And grapple thee unto a pagan shore;
Where these two Christian armies might combine
The blood of malice in a vein of league,
And not to spend it so unneighbourly!
LEWIS
A noble temper dost thou show in this;
And great affections wrestling in thy bosom
Doth make an earthquake of nobility.
O, what a noble combat hast thou fought
Between compulsion and a brave respect!
Let me wipe off this honourable dew,
That silverly doth progress on thy cheeks:
My heart hath melted at a lady's tears,
Being an ordinary inundation;
But this effusion of such manly drops,
This shower, blown up by tempest of the soul,
Startles mine eyes, and makes me more amazed
Than had I seen the vaulty top of heaven
Figured quite o'er with burning meteors.
Lift up thy brow, renowned Salisbury,
And with a great heart heave away the storm:
Commend these waters to those baby eyes
That never saw the giant world enraged;
Nor met with fortune other than at feasts,
Full of warm blood, of mirth, of gossiping.
Come, come; for thou shalt thrust thy hand as deep
Into the purse of rich prosperity
As Lewis himself: so, nobles, shall you all,
That knit your sinews to the strength of mine.
And even there, methinks, an angel spake:
Enter CARDINAL PANDULPH
Look, where the holy legate comes apace,
To give us warrant from the hand of heaven
And on our actions set the name of right
With holy breath.
CARDINAL PANDULPH
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 2 83
Page No 87
Hail, noble prince of France!
The next is this, King John hath reconciled
Himself to Rome; his spirit is come in,
That so stood out against the holy church,
The great metropolis and see of Rome:
Therefore thy threatening colours now wind up;
And tame the savage spirit of wild war,
That like a lion foster'd up at hand,
It may lie gently at the foot of peace,
And be no further harmful than in show.
LEWIS
Your grace shall pardon me, I will not back:
I am too highborn to be propertied,
To be a secondary at control,
Or useful servingman and instrument,
To any sovereign state throughout the world.
Your breath first kindled the dead coal of wars
Between this chastised kingdom and myself,
And brought in matter that should feed this fire;
And now 'tis far too huge to be blown out
With that same weak wind which enkindled it.
You taught me how to know the face of right,
Acquainted me with interest to this land,
Yea, thrust this enterprise into my heart;
And come ye now to tell me John hath made
His peace with Rome? What is that peace to me?
I, by the honour of my marriagebed,
After young Arthur, claim this land for mine;
And, now it is halfconquer'd, must I back
Because that John hath made his peace with Rome?
Am I Rome's slave? What penny hath Rome borne,
What men provided, what munition sent,
To underprop this action? Is't not I
That undergo this charge? who else but I,
And such as to my claim are liable,
Sweat in this business and maintain this war?
Have I not heard these islanders shout out
'Vive le roi!' as I have bank'd their towns?
Have I not here the best cards for the game,
To win this easy match play'd for a crown?
And shall I now give o'er the yielded set?
No, no, on my soul, it never shall be said.
CARDINAL PANDULPH
You look but on the outside of this work.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 2 84
Page No 88
LEWIS
Outside or inside, I will not return
Till my attempt so much be glorified
As to my ample hope was promised
Before I drew this gallant head of war,
And cull'd these fiery spirits from the world,
To outlook conquest and to win renown
Even in the jaws of danger and of death.
Trumpet sounds
What lusty trumpet thus doth summon us?
Enter the BASTARD, attended
BASTARD
According to the fair play of the world,
Let me have audience; I am sent to speak:
My holy lord of Milan, from the king
I come, to learn how you have dealt for him;
And, as you answer, I do know the scope
And warrant limited unto my tongue.
CARDINAL PANDULPH
The Dauphin is too wilfulopposite,
And will not temporize with my entreaties;
He flatly says he'll not lay down his arms.
BASTARD
By all the blood that ever fury breathed,
The youth says well. Now hear our English king;
For thus his royalty doth speak in me.
He is prepared, and reason too he should:
This apish and unmannerly approach,
This harness'd masque and unadvised revel,
This unhair'd sauciness and boyish troops,
The king doth smile at; and is well prepared
To whip this dwarfish war, these pigmy arms,
From out the circle of his territories.
That hand which had the strength, even at your door,
To cudgel you and make you take the hatch,
To dive like buckets in concealed wells,
To crouch in litter of your stable planks,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 2 85
Page No 89
To lie like pawns lock'd up in chests and trunks,
To hug with swine, to seek sweet safety out
In vaults and prisons, and to thrill and shake
Even at the crying of your nation's crow,
Thinking his voice an armed Englishman;
Shall that victorious hand be feebled here,
That in your chambers gave you chastisement?
No: know the gallant monarch is in arms
And like an eagle o'er his aery towers,
To souse annoyance that comes near his nest.
And you degenerate, you ingrate revolts,
You bloody Neroes, ripping up the womb
Of your dear mother England, blush for shame;
For your own ladies and palevisaged maids
Like Amazons come tripping after drums,
Their thimbles into armed gauntlets change,
Their needles to lances, and their gentle hearts
To fierce and bloody inclination.
LEWIS
There end thy brave, and turn thy face in peace;
We grant thou canst outscold us: fare thee well;
We hold our time too precious to be spent
With such a brabbler.
CARDINAL PANDULPH
Give me leave to speak.
BASTARD
No, I will speak.
LEWIS
We will attend to neither.
Strike up the drums; and let the tongue of war
Plead for our interest and our being here.
BASTARD
Indeed your drums, being beaten, will cry out;
And so shall you, being beaten: do but start
An echo with the clamour of thy drum,
And even at hand a drum is ready braced
That shall reverberate all as loud as thine;
Sound but another, and another shall
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 2 86
Page No 90
As loud as thine rattle the welkin's ear
And mock the deepmouth'd thunder: for at hand,
Not trusting to this halting legate here,
Whom he hath used rather for sport than need
Is warlike John; and in his forehead sits
A bareribb'd death, whose office is this day
To feast upon whole thousands of the French.
LEWIS
Strike up our drums, to find this danger out.
BASTARD
And thou shalt find it, Dauphin, do not doubt.
Exeunt
Act 5, Scene 3
The field of battle.
Alarums. Enter KING JOHN and HUBERT
KING JOHN
How goes the day with us? O, tell me, Hubert.
HUBERT
Badly, I fear. How fares your majesty?
KING JOHN
This fever, that hath troubled me so long,
Lies heavy on me; O, my heart is sick!
Enter a Messenger
Messenger
My lord, your valiant kinsman, Faulconbridge,
Desires your majesty to leave the field
And send him word by me which way you go.
KING JOHN
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 3 87
Page No 91
Tell him, toward Swinstead, to the abbey there.
Messenger
Be of good comfort; for the great supply
That was expected by the Dauphin here,
Are wreck'd three nights ago on Goodwin Sands.
This news was brought to Richard but even now:
The French fight coldly, and retire themselves.
KING JOHN
Ay me! this tyrant fever burns me up,
And will not let me welcome this good news.
Set on toward Swinstead: to my litter straight;
Weakness possesseth me, and I am faint.
Exeunt
Act 5, Scene 4
Another part of the field.
Enter SALISBURY, PEMBROKE, and BIGOT
SALISBURY
I did not think the king so stored with friends.
PEMBROKE
Up once again; put spirit in the French:
If they miscarry, we miscarry too.
SALISBURY
That misbegotten devil, Faulconbridge,
In spite of spite, alone upholds the day.
PEMBROKE
They say King John sore sick hath left the field.
Enter MELUN, wounded
MELUN
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 4 88
Page No 92
Lead me to the revolts of England here.
SALISBURY
When we were happy we had other names.
PEMBROKE
It is the Count Melun.
SALISBURY
Wounded to death.
MELUN
Fly, noble English, you are bought and sold;
Unthread the rude eye of rebellion
And welcome home again discarded faith.
Seek out King John and fall before his feet;
For if the French be lords of this loud day,
He means to recompense the pains you take
By cutting off your heads: thus hath he sworn
And I with him, and many moe with me,
Upon the altar at Saint Edmundsbury;
Even on that altar where we swore to you
Dear amity and everlasting love.
SALISBURY
May this be possible? may this be true?
MELUN
Have I not hideous death within my view,
Retaining but a quantity of life,
Which bleeds away, even as a form of wax
Resolveth from his figure 'gainst the fire?
What in the world should make me now deceive,
Since I must lose the use of all deceit?
Why should I then be false, since it is true
That I must die here and live hence by truth?
I say again, if Lewis do win the day,
He is forsworn, if e'er those eyes of yours
Behold another day break in the east:
But even this night, whose black contagious breath
Already smokes about the burning crest
Of the old, feeble and daywearied sun,
Even this ill night, your breathing shall expire,
Paying the fine of rated treachery
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 4 89
Page No 93
Even with a treacherous fine of all your lives,
If Lewis by your assistance win the day.
Commend me to one Hubert with your king:
The love of him, and this respect besides,
For that my grandsire was an Englishman,
Awakes my conscience to confess all this.
In lieu whereof, I pray you, bear me hence
From forth the noise and rumour of the field,
Where I may think the remnant of my thoughts
In peace, and part this body and my soul
With contemplation and devout desires.
SALISBURY
We do believe thee: and beshrew my soul
But I do love the favour and the form
Of this most fair occasion, by the which
We will untread the steps of damned flight,
And like a bated and retired flood,
Leaving our rankness and irregular course,
Stoop low within those bounds we have o'erlook'd
And cabby run on in obedience
Even to our ocean, to our great King John.
My arm shall give thee help to bear thee hence;
For I do see the cruel pangs of death
Right in thine eye. Away, my friends! New flight;
And happy newness, that intends old right.
Exeunt, leading off MELUN
Act 5, Scene 5
The French camp.
Enter LEWIS and his train
LEWIS
The sun of heaven methought was loath to set,
But stay'd and made the western welkin blush,
When English measure backward their own ground
In faint retire. O, bravely came we off,
When with a volley of our needless shot,
After such bloody toil, we bid good night;
And wound our tattering colours clearly up,
Last in the field, and almost lords of it!
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 5 90
Page No 94
Enter a Messenger
Messenger
Where is my prince, the Dauphin?
LEWIS
Here: what news?
Messenger
The Count Melun is slain; the English lords
By his persuasion are again fall'n off,
And your supply, which you have wish'd so long,
Are cast away and sunk on Goodwin Sands.
LEWIS
Ah, foul shrewd news! beshrew thy very heart!
I did not think to be so sad tonight
As this hath made me. Who was he that said
King John did fly an hour or two before
The stumbling night did part our weary powers?
Messenger
Whoever spoke it, it is true, my lord.
LEWIS
Well; keep good quarter and good care tonight:
The day shall not be up so soon as I,
To try the fair adventure of tomorrow.
Exeunt
Act 5, Scene 6
An open place in the neighbourhood of Swinstead Abbey.
Enter the BASTARD and HUBERT, severally
HUBERT
Who's there? speak, ho! speak quickly, or I shoot.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 6 91
Page No 95
BASTARD
A friend. What art thou?
HUBERT
Of the part of England.
BASTARD
Whither dost thou go?
HUBERT
What's that to thee? why may not I demand
Of thine affairs, as well as thou of mine?
BASTARD
Hubert, I think?
HUBERT
Thou hast a perfect thought:
I will upon all hazards well believe
Thou art my friend, that know'st my tongue so well.
Who art thou?
BASTARD
Who thou wilt: and if thou please,
Thou mayst befriend me so much as to think
I come one way of the Plantagenets.
HUBERT
Unkind remembrance! thou and eyeless night
Have done me shame: brave soldier, pardon me,
That any accent breaking from thy tongue
Should 'scape the true acquaintance of mine ear.
BASTARD
Come, come; sans compliment, what news abroad?
HUBERT
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 6 92
Page No 96
Why, here walk I in the black brow of night,
To find you out.
BASTARD
Brief, then; and what's the news?
HUBERT
O, my sweet sir, news fitting to the night,
Black, fearful, comfortless and horrible.
BASTARD
Show me the very wound of this ill news:
I am no woman, I'll not swoon at it.
HUBERT
The king, I fear, is poison'd by a monk:
I left him almost speechless; and broke out
To acquaint you with this evil, that you might
The better arm you to the sudden time,
Than if you had at leisure known of this.
BASTARD
How did he take it? who did taste to him?
HUBERT
A monk, I tell you; a resolved villain,
Whose bowels suddenly burst out: the king
Yet speaks and peradventure may recover.
BASTARD
Who didst thou leave to tend his majesty?
HUBERT
Why, know you not? the lords are all come back,
And brought Prince Henry in their company;
At whose request the king hath pardon'd them,
And they are all about his majesty.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 6 93
Page No 97
BASTARD
Withhold thine indignation, mighty heaven,
And tempt us not to bear above our power!
I'll tell tree, Hubert, half my power this night,
Passing these flats, are taken by the tide;
These Lincoln Washes have devoured them;
Myself, well mounted, hardly have escaped.
Away before: conduct me to the king;
I doubt he will be dead or ere I come.
Exeunt
Act 5, Scene 7
The orchard in Swinstead Abbey.
Enter PRINCE HENRY, SALISBURY, and BIGOT
PRINCE HENRY
It is too late: the life of all his blood
Is touch'd corruptibly, and his pure brain,
Which some suppose the soul's frail dwellinghouse,
Doth by the idle comments that it makes
Foretell the ending of mortality.
Enter PEMBROKE
PEMBROKE
His highness yet doth speak, and holds belief
That, being brought into the open air,
It would allay the burning quality
Of that fell poison which assaileth him.
PRINCE HENRY
Let him be brought into the orchard here.
Doth he still rage?
Exit BIGOT
PEMBROKE
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 7 94
Page No 98
He is more patient
Than when you left him; even now he sung.
PRINCE HENRY
O vanity of sickness! fierce extremes
In their continuance will not feel themselves.
Death, having prey'd upon the outward parts,
Leaves them invisible, and his siege is now
Against the mind, the which he pricks and wounds
With many legions of strange fantasies,
Which, in their throng and press to that last hold,
Confound themselves. 'Tis strange that death
should sing.
I am the cygnet to this pale faint swan,
Who chants a doleful hymn to his own death,
And from the organpipe of frailty sings
His soul and body to their lasting rest.
SALISBURY
Be of good comfort, prince; for you are born
To set a form upon that indigest
Which he hath left so shapeless and so rude.
Enter Attendants, and BIGOT, carrying KING JOHN in a chair
KING JOHN
Ay, marry, now my soul hath elbowroom;
It would not out at windows nor at doors.
There is so hot a summer in my bosom,
That all my bowels crumble up to dust:
I am a scribbled form, drawn with a pen
Upon a parchment, and against this fire
Do I shrink up.
PRINCE HENRY
How fares your majesty?
KING JOHN
Poison'd,ill faredead, forsook, cast off:
And none of you will bid the winter come
To thrust his icy fingers in my maw,
Nor let my kingdom's rivers take their course
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 7 95
Page No 99
Through my burn'd bosom, nor entreat the north
To make his bleak winds kiss my parched lips
And comfort me with cold. I do not ask you much,
I beg cold comfort; and you are so strait
And so ingrateful, you deny me that.
PRINCE HENRY
O that there were some virtue in my tears,
That might relieve you!
KING JOHN
The salt in them is hot.
Within me is a hell; and there the poison
Is as a fiend confined to tyrannize
On unreprievable condemned blood.
Enter the BASTARD
BASTARD
O, I am scalded with my violent motion,
And spleen of speed to see your majesty!
KING JOHN
O cousin, thou art come to set mine eye:
The tackle of my heart is crack'd and burn'd,
And all the shrouds wherewith my life should sail
Are turned to one thread, one little hair:
My heart hath one poor string to stay it by,
Which holds but till thy news be uttered;
And then all this thou seest is but a clod
And module of confounded royalty.
BASTARD
The Dauphin is preparing hitherward,
Where heaven He knows how we shall answer him;
For in a night the best part of my power,
As I upon advantage did remove,
Were in the Washes all unwarily
Devoured by the unexpected flood.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 7 96
Page No 100
KING JOHN dies
SALISBURY
You breathe these dead news in as dead an ear.
My liege! my lord! but now a king, now thus.
PRINCE HENRY
Even so must I run on, and even so stop.
What surety of the world, what hope, what stay,
When this was now a king, and now is clay?
BASTARD
Art thou gone so? I do but stay behind
To do the office for thee of revenge,
And then my soul shall wait on thee to heaven,
As it on earth hath been thy servant still.
Now, now, you stars that move in your right spheres,
Where be your powers? show now your mended faiths,
And instantly return with me again,
To push destruction and perpetual shame
Out of the weak door of our fainting land.
Straight let us seek, or straight we shall be sought;
The Dauphin rages at our very heels.
SALISBURY
It seems you know not, then, so much as we:
The Cardinal Pandulph is within at rest,
Who half an hour since came from the Dauphin,
And brings from him such offers of our peace
As we with honour and respect may take,
With purpose presently to leave this war.
BASTARD
He will the rather do it when he sees
Ourselves well sinewed to our defence.
SALISBURY
Nay, it is in a manner done already;
For many carriages he hath dispatch'd
To the seaside, and put his cause and quarrel
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 7 97
Page No 101
To the disposing of the cardinal:
With whom yourself, myself and other lords,
If you think meet, this afternoon will post
To consummate this business happily.
BASTARD
Let it be so: and you, my noble prince,
With other princes that may best be spared,
Shall wait upon your father's funeral.
PRINCE HENRY
At Worcester must his body be interr'd;
For so he will'd it.
BASTARD
Thither shall it then:
And happily may your sweet self put on
The lineal state and glory of the land!
To whom with all submission, on my knee
I do bequeath my faithful services
And true subjection everlastingly.
SALISBURY
And the like tender of our love we make,
To rest without a spot for evermore.
PRINCE HENRY
I have a kind soul that would give you thanks
And knows not how to do it but with tears.
BASTARD
O, let us pay the time but needful woe,
Since it hath been beforehand with our griefs.
This England never did, nor never shall,
Lie at the proud foot of a conqueror,
But when it first did help to wound itself.
Now these her princes are come home again,
Come the three corners of the world in arms,
And we shall shock them. Nought shall make us rue,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 7 98
Page No 102
If England to itself do rest but true.
Exeunt
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 7 99
Page No 103
Richard II
Act 1, Scene 1
London. KING RICHARD II's palace.
Enter KING RICHARD II, JOHN OF GAUNT, with other Nobles and Attendants
KING RICHARD II
Old John of Gaunt, timehonour'd Lancaster,
Hast thou, according to thy oath and band,
Brought hither Henry Hereford thy bold son,
Here to make good the boisterous late appeal,
Which then our leisure would not let us hear,
Against the Duke of Norfolk, Thomas Mowbray?
JOHN OF GAUNT
I have, my liege.
KING RICHARD II
Tell me, moreover, hast thou sounded him,
If he appeal the duke on ancient malice;
Or worthily, as a good subject should,
On some known ground of treachery in him?
JOHN OF GAUNT
As near as I could sift him on that argument,
On some apparent danger seen in him
Aim'd at your highness, no inveterate malice.
KING RICHARD II
Then call them to our presence; face to face,
And frowning brow to brow, ourselves will hear
The accuser and the accused freely speak:
Highstomach'd are they both, and full of ire,
In rage deaf as the sea, hasty as fire.
Enter HENRY BOLINGBROKE and THOMAS MOWBRAY
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Richard II 100
Page No 104
Many years of happy days befal
My gracious sovereign, my most loving liege!
THOMAS MOWBRAY
Each day still better other's happiness;
Until the heavens, envying earth's good hap,
Add an immortal title to your crown!
KING RICHARD II
We thank you both: yet one but flatters us,
As well appeareth by the cause you come;
Namely to appeal each other of high treason.
Cousin of Hereford, what dost thou object
Against the Duke of Norfolk, Thomas Mowbray?
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
First, heaven be the record to my speech!
In the devotion of a subject's love,
Tendering the precious safety of my prince,
And free from other misbegotten hate,
Come I appellant to this princely presence.
Now, Thomas Mowbray, do I turn to thee,
And mark my greeting well; for what I speak
My body shall make good upon this earth,
Or my divine soul answer it in heaven.
Thou art a traitor and a miscreant,
Too good to be so and too bad to live,
Since the more fair and crystal is the sky,
The uglier seem the clouds that in it fly.
Once more, the more to aggravate the note,
With a foul traitor's name stuff I thy throat;
And wish, so please my sovereign, ere I move,
What my tongue speaks my right drawn sword may prove.
THOMAS MOWBRAY
Let not my cold words here accuse my zeal:
'Tis not the trial of a woman's war,
The bitter clamour of two eager tongues,
Can arbitrate this cause betwixt us twain;
The blood is hot that must be cool'd for this:
Yet can I not of such tame patience boast
As to be hush'd and nought at all to say:
First, the fair reverence of your highness curbs me
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Richard II 101
Page No 105
From giving reins and spurs to my free speech;
Which else would post until it had return'd
These terms of treason doubled down his throat.
Setting aside his high blood's royalty,
And let him be no kinsman to my liege,
I do defy him, and I spit at him;
Call him a slanderous coward and a villain:
Which to maintain I would allow him odds,
And meet him, were I tied to run afoot
Even to the frozen ridges of the Alps,
Or any other ground inhabitable,
Where ever Englishman durst set his foot.
Mean time let this defend my loyalty,
By all my hopes, most falsely doth he lie.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Pale trembling coward, there I throw my gage,
Disclaiming here the kindred of the king,
And lay aside my high blood's royalty,
Which fear, not reverence, makes thee to except.
If guilty dread have left thee so much strength
As to take up mine honour's pawn, then stoop:
By that and all the rites of knighthood else,
Will I make good against thee, arm to arm,
What I have spoke, or thou canst worse devise.
THOMAS MOWBRAY
I take it up; and by that sword I swear
Which gently laid my knighthood on my shoulder,
I'll answer thee in any fair degree,
Or chivalrous design of knightly trial:
And when I mount, alive may I not light,
If I be traitor or unjustly fight!
KING RICHARD II
What doth our cousin lay to Mowbray's charge?
It must be great that can inherit us
So much as of a thought of ill in him.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Look, what I speak, my life shall prove it true;
That Mowbray hath received eight thousand nobles
In name of lendings for your highness' soldiers,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Richard II 102
Page No 106
The which he hath detain'd for lewd employments,
Like a false traitor and injurious villain.
Besides I say and will in battle prove,
Or here or elsewhere to the furthest verge
That ever was survey'd by English eye,
That all the treasons for these eighteen years
Complotted and contrived in this land
Fetch from false Mowbray their first head and spring.
Further I say and further will maintain
Upon his bad life to make all this good,
That he did plot the Duke of Gloucester's death,
Suggest his soonbelieving adversaries,
And consequently, like a traitor coward,
Sluiced out his innocent soul through streams of blood:
Which blood, like sacrificing Abel's, cries,
Even from the tongueless caverns of the earth,
To me for justice and rough chastisement;
And, by the glorious worth of my descent,
This arm shall do it, or this life be spent.
KING RICHARD II
How high a pitch his resolution soars!
Thomas of Norfolk, what say'st thou to this?
THOMAS MOWBRAY
O, let my sovereign turn away his face
And bid his ears a little while be deaf,
Till I have told this slander of his blood,
How God and good men hate so foul a liar.
KING RICHARD II
Mowbray, impartial are our eyes and ears:
Were he my brother, nay, my kingdom's heir,
As he is but my father's brother's son,
Now, by my sceptre's awe, I make a vow,
Such neighbour nearness to our sacred blood
Should nothing privilege him, nor partialize
The unstooping firmness of my upright soul:
He is our subject, Mowbray; so art thou:
Free speech and fearless I to thee allow.
THOMAS MOWBRAY
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Richard II 103
Page No 107
Then, Bolingbroke, as low as to thy heart,
Through the false passage of thy throat, thou liest.
Three parts of that receipt I had for Calais
Disbursed I duly to his highness' soldiers;
The other part reserved I by consent,
For that my sovereign liege was in my debt
Upon remainder of a dear account,
Since last I went to France to fetch his queen:
Now swallow down that lie. For Gloucester's death,
I slew him not; but to my own disgrace
Neglected my sworn duty in that case.
For you, my noble Lord of Lancaster,
The honourable father to my foe
Once did I lay an ambush for your life,
A trespass that doth vex my grieved soul
But ere I last received the sacrament
I did confess it, and exactly begg'd
Your grace's pardon, and I hope I had it.
This is my fault: as for the rest appeall'd,
It issues from the rancour of a villain,
A recreant and most degenerate traitor
Which in myself I boldly will defend;
And interchangeably hurl down my gage
Upon this overweening traitor's foot,
To prove myself a loyal gentleman
Even in the best blood chamber'd in his bosom.
In haste whereof, most heartily I pray
Your highness to assign our trial day.
KING RICHARD II
Wrathkindled gentlemen, be ruled by me;
Let's purge this choler without letting blood:
This we prescribe, though no physician;
Deep malice makes too deep incision;
Forget, forgive; conclude and be agreed;
Our doctors say this is no month to bleed.
Good uncle, let this end where it begun;
We'll calm the Duke of Norfolk, you your son.
JOHN OF GAUNT
To be a makepeace shall become my age:
Throw down, my son, the Duke of Norfolk's gage.
KING RICHARD II
And, Norfolk, throw down his.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Richard II 104
Page No 108
JOHN OF GAUNT
When, Harry, when?
Obedience bids I should not bid again.
KING RICHARD II
Norfolk, throw down, we bid; there is no boot.
THOMAS MOWBRAY
Myself I throw, dread sovereign, at thy foot.
My life thou shalt command, but not my shame:
The one my duty owes; but my fair name,
Despite of death that lives upon my grave,
To dark dishonour's use thou shalt not have.
I am disgraced, impeach'd and baffled here,
Pierced to the soul with slander's venom'd spear,
The which no balm can cure but his heartblood
Which breathed this poison.
KING RICHARD II
Rage must be withstood:
Give me his gage: lions make leopards tame.
THOMAS MOWBRAY
Yea, but not change his spots: take but my shame.
And I resign my gage. My dear dear lord,
The purest treasure mortal times afford
Is spotless reputation: that away,
Men are but gilded loam or painted clay.
A jewel in a tentimesbarr'dup chest
Is a bold spirit in a loyal breast.
Mine honour is my life; both grow in one:
Take honour from me, and my life is done:
Then, dear my liege, mine honour let me try;
In that I live and for that will I die.
KING RICHARD II
Cousin, throw up your gage; do you begin.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Richard II 105
Page No 109
O, God defend my soul from such deep sin!
Shall I seem crestfall'n in my father's sight?
Or with pale beggarfear impeach my height
Before this outdared dastard? Ere my tongue
Shall wound my honour with such feeble wrong,
Or sound so base a parle, my teeth shall tear
The slavish motive of recanting fear,
And spit it bleeding in his high disgrace,
Where shame doth harbour, even in Mowbray's face.
Exit JOHN OF GAUNT
KING RICHARD II
We were not born to sue, but to command;
Which since we cannot do to make you friends,
Be ready, as your lives shall answer it,
At Coventry, upon Saint Lambert's day:
There shall your swords and lances arbitrate
The swelling difference of your settled hate:
Since we can not atone you, we shall see
Justice design the victor's chivalry.
Lord marshal, command our officers at arms
Be ready to direct these home alarms.
Exeunt
Act 1, Scene 2
The DUKE OF LANCASTER'S palace.
Enter JOHN OF GAUNT with DUCHESS
JOHN OF GAUNT
Alas, the part I had in Woodstock's blood
Doth more solicit me than your exclaims,
To stir against the butchers of his life!
But since correction lieth in those hands
Which made the fault that we cannot correct,
Put we our quarrel to the will of heaven;
Who, when they see the hours ripe on earth,
Will rain hot vengeance on offenders' heads.
DUCHESS
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 2 106
Page No 110
Finds brotherhood in thee no sharper spur?
Hath love in thy old blood no living fire?
Edward's seven sons, whereof thyself art one,
Were as seven vials of his sacred blood,
Or seven fair branches springing from one root:
Some of those seven are dried by nature's course,
Some of those branches by the Destinies cut;
But Thomas, my dear lord, my life, my Gloucester,
One vial full of Edward's sacred blood,
One flourishing branch of his most royal root,
Is crack'd, and all the precious liquor spilt,
Is hack'd down, and his summer leaves all faded,
By envy's hand and murder's bloody axe.
Ah, Gaunt, his blood was thine! that bed, that womb,
That metal, that selfmould, that fashion'd thee
Made him a man; and though thou livest and breathest,
Yet art thou slain in him: thou dost consent
In some large measure to thy father's death,
In that thou seest thy wretched brother die,
Who was the model of thy father's life.
Call it not patience, Gaunt; it is despair:
In suffering thus thy brother to be slaughter'd,
Thou showest the naked pathway to thy life,
Teaching stern murder how to butcher thee:
That which in mean men we intitle patience
Is pale cold cowardice in noble breasts.
What shall I say? to safeguard thine own life,
The best way is to venge my Gloucester's death.
JOHN OF GAUNT
God's is the quarrel; for God's substitute,
His deputy anointed in His sight,
Hath caused his death: the which if wrongfully,
Let heaven revenge; for I may never lift
An angry arm against His minister.
DUCHESS
Where then, alas, may I complain myself?
JOHN OF GAUNT
To God, the widow's champion and defence.
DUCHESS
Why, then, I will. Farewell, old Gaunt.
Thou goest to Coventry, there to behold
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 2 107
Page No 111
Our cousin Hereford and fell Mowbray fight:
O, sit my husband's wrongs on Hereford's spear,
That it may enter butcher Mowbray's breast!
Or, if misfortune miss the first career,
Be Mowbray's sins so heavy in his bosom,
They may break his foaming courser's back,
And throw the rider headlong in the lists,
A caitiff recreant to my cousin Hereford!
Farewell, old Gaunt: thy sometimes brother's wife
With her companion grief must end her life.
JOHN OF GAUNT
Sister, farewell; I must to Coventry:
As much good stay with thee as go with me!
DUCHESS
Yet one word more: grief boundeth where it falls,
Not with the empty hollowness, but weight:
I take my leave before I have begun,
For sorrow ends not when it seemeth done.
Commend me to thy brother, Edmund York.
Lo, this is all:nay, yet depart not so;
Though this be all, do not so quickly go;
I shall remember more. Bid himah, what?
With all good speed at Plashy visit me.
Alack, and what shall good old York there see
But empty lodgings and unfurnish'd walls,
Unpeopled offices, untrodden stones?
And what hear there for welcome but my groans?
Therefore commend me; let him not come there,
To seek out sorrow that dwells every where.
Desolate, desolate, will I hence and die:
The last leave of thee takes my weeping eye.
Exeunt
Act 1, Scene 3
The lists at Coventry.
Enter the Lord Marshal and the DUKE OF AUMERLE
Lord Marshal
My Lord Aumerle, is Harry Hereford arm'd?
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 3 108
Page No 112
DUKE OF AUMERLE
Yea, at all points; and longs to enter in.
Lord Marshal
The Duke of Norfolk, sprightfully and bold,
Stays but the summons of the appellant's trumpet.
DUKE OF AUMERLE
Why, then, the champions are prepared, and stay
For nothing but his majesty's approach.
The trumpets sound, and KING RICHARD enters with his nobles, JOHN OF GAUNT,
BUSHY, BAGOT, GREEN, and others. When they are set, enter THOMAS MOWBRAY in
arms, defendant, with a Herald
KING RICHARD II
Marshal, demand of yonder champion
The cause of his arrival here in arms:
Ask him his name and orderly proceed
To swear him in the justice of his cause.
Lord Marshal
In God's name and the king's, say who thou art
And why thou comest thus knightly clad in arms,
Against what man thou comest, and what thy quarrel:
Speak truly, on thy knighthood and thy oath;
As so defend thee heaven and thy valour!
THOMAS MOWBRAY
My name is Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk;
Who hither come engaged by my oath
Which God defend a knight should violate!
Both to defend my loyalty and truth
To God, my king and my succeeding issue,
Against the Duke of Hereford that appeals me
And, by the grace of God and this mine arm,
To prove him, in defending of myself,
A traitor to my God, my king, and me:
And as I truly fight, defend me heaven!
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 3 109
Page No 113
The trumpets sound. Enter HENRY BOLINGBROKE, appellant, in armour, with a Herald
KING RICHARD II
Marshal, ask yonder knight in arms,
Both who he is and why he cometh hither
Thus plated in habiliments of war,
And formally, according to our law,
Depose him in the justice of his cause.
Lord Marshal
What is thy name? and wherefore comest thou hither,
Before King Richard in his royal lists?
Against whom comest thou? and what's thy quarrel?
Speak like a true knight, so defend thee heaven!
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Harry of Hereford, Lancaster and Derby
Am I; who ready here do stand in arms,
To prove, by God's grace and my body's valour,
In lists, on Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk,
That he is a traitor, foul and dangerous,
To God of heaven, King Richard and to me;
And as I truly fight, defend me heaven!
Lord Marshal
On pain of death, no person be so bold
Or daringhardy as to touch the lists,
Except the marshal and such officers
Appointed to direct these fair designs.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Lord marshal, let me kiss my sovereign's hand,
And bow my knee before his majesty:
For Mowbray and myself are like two men
That vow a long and weary pilgrimage;
Then let us take a ceremonious leave
And loving farewell of our several friends.
Lord Marshal
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 3 110
Page No 114
The appellant in all duty greets your highness,
And craves to kiss your hand and take his leave.
KING RICHARD II
We will descend and fold him in our arms.
Cousin of Hereford, as thy cause is right,
So be thy fortune in this royal fight!
Farewell, my blood; which if today thou shed,
Lament we may, but not revenge thee dead.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
O let no noble eye profane a tear
For me, if I be gored with Mowbray's spear:
As confident as is the falcon's flight
Against a bird, do I with Mowbray fight.
My loving lord, I take my leave of you;
Of you, my noble cousin, Lord Aumerle;
Not sick, although I have to do with death,
But lusty, young, and cheerly drawing breath.
Lo, as at English feasts, so I regreet
The daintiest last, to make the end most sweet:
O thou, the earthly author of my blood,
Whose youthful spirit, in me regenerate,
Doth with a twofold vigour lift me up
To reach at victory above my head,
Add proof unto mine armour with thy prayers;
And with thy blessings steel my lance's point,
That it may enter Mowbray's waxen coat,
And furbish new the name of John a Gaunt,
Even in the lusty havior of his son.
JOHN OF GAUNT
God in thy good cause make thee prosperous!
Be swift like lightning in the execution;
And let thy blows, doubly redoubled,
Fall like amazing thunder on the casque
Of thy adverse pernicious enemy:
Rouse up thy youthful blood, be valiant and live.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Mine innocency and Saint George to thrive!
THOMAS MOWBRAY
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 3 111
Page No 115
However God or fortune cast my lot,
There lives or dies, true to King Richard's throne,
A loyal, just and upright gentleman:
Never did captive with a freer heart
Cast off his chains of bondage and embrace
His golden uncontroll'd enfranchisement,
More than my dancing soul doth celebrate
This feast of battle with mine adversary.
Most mighty liege, and my companion peers,
Take from my mouth the wish of happy years:
As gentle and as jocund as to jest
Go I to fight: truth hath a quiet breast.
KING RICHARD II
Farewell, my lord: securely I espy
Virtue with valour couched in thine eye.
Order the trial, marshal, and begin.
Lord Marshal
Harry of Hereford, Lancaster and Derby,
Receive thy lance; and God defend the right!
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Strong as a tower in hope, I cry amen.
Lord Marshal
Go bear this lance to Thomas, Duke of Norfolk.
First Herald
Harry of Hereford, Lancaster and Derby,
Stands here for God, his sovereign and himself,
On pain to be found false and recreant,
To prove the Duke of Norfolk, Thomas Mowbray,
A traitor to his God, his king and him;
And dares him to set forward to the fight.
Second Herald
Here standeth Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk,
On pain to be found false and recreant,
Both to defend himself and to approve
Henry of Hereford, Lancaster, and Derby,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 3 112
Page No 116
To God, his sovereign and to him disloyal;
Courageously and with a free desire
Attending but the signal to begin.
Lord Marshal
Sound, trumpets; and set forward, combatants.
A charge sounded
Stay, the king hath thrown his warder down.
KING RICHARD II
Let them lay by their helmets and their spears,
And both return back to their chairs again:
Withdraw with us: and let the trumpets sound
While we return these dukes what we decree.
A long flourish
Draw near,
And list what with our council we have done.
For that our kingdom's earth should not be soil'd
With that dear blood which it hath fostered;
And for our eyes do hate the dire aspect
Of civil wounds plough'd up with neighbours' sword;
And for we think the eaglewinged pride
Of skyaspiring and ambitious thoughts,
With rivalhating envy, set on you
To wake our peace, which in our country's cradle
Draws the sweet infant breath of gentle sleep;
Which so roused up with boisterous untuned drums,
With harsh resounding trumpets' dreadful bray,
And grating shock of wrathful iron arms,
Might from our quiet confines fright fair peace
And make us wade even in our kindred's blood,
Therefore, we banish you our territories:
You, cousin Hereford, upon pain of life,
Till twice five summers have enrich'd our fields
Shall not regreet our fair dominions,
But tread the stranger paths of banishment.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Your will be done: this must my comfort be,
Sun that warms you here shall shine on me;
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 3 113
Page No 117
And those his golden beams to you here lent
Shall point on me and gild my banishment.
KING RICHARD II
Norfolk, for thee remains a heavier doom,
Which I with some unwillingness pronounce:
The sly slow hours shall not determinate
The dateless limit of thy dear exile;
The hopeless word of 'never to return'
Breathe I against thee, upon pain of life.
THOMAS MOWBRAY
A heavy sentence, my most sovereign liege,
And all unlook'd for from your highness' mouth:
A dearer merit, not so deep a maim
As to be cast forth in the common air,
Have I deserved at your highness' hands.
The language I have learn'd these forty years,
My native English, now I must forego:
And now my tongue's use is to me no more
Than an unstringed viol or a harp,
Or like a cunning instrument cased up,
Or, being open, put into his hands
That knows no touch to tune the harmony:
Within my mouth you have engaol'd my tongue,
Doubly portcullis'd with my teeth and lips;
And dull unfeeling barren ignorance
Is made my gaoler to attend on me.
I am too old to fawn upon a nurse,
Too far in years to be a pupil now:
What is thy sentence then but speechless death,
Which robs my tongue from breathing native breath?
KING RICHARD II
It boots thee not to be compassionate:
After our sentence plaining comes too late.
THOMAS MOWBRAY
Then thus I turn me from my country's light,
To dwell in solemn shades of endless night.
KING RICHARD II
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 3 114
Page No 118
Return again, and take an oath with thee.
Lay on our royal sword your banish'd hands;
Swear by the duty that you owe to God
Our part therein we banish with yourselves
To keep the oath that we administer:
You never shall, so help you truth and God!
Embrace each other's love in banishment;
Nor never look upon each other's face;
Nor never write, regreet, nor reconcile
This louring tempest of your homebred hate;
Nor never by advised purpose meet
To plot, contrive, or complot any ill
'Gainst us, our state, our subjects, or our land.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
I swear.
THOMAS MOWBRAY
And I, to keep all this.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Norfolk, so far as to mine enemy:
By this time, had the king permitted us,
One of our souls had wander'd in the air.
Banish'd this frail sepulchre of our flesh,
As now our flesh is banish'd from this land:
Confess thy treasons ere thou fly the realm;
Since thou hast far to go, bear not along
The clogging burthen of a guilty soul.
THOMAS MOWBRAY
No, Bolingbroke: if ever I were traitor,
My name be blotted from the book of life,
And I from heaven banish'd as from hence!
But what thou art, God, thou, and I do know;
And all too soon, I fear, the king shall rue.
Farewell, my liege. Now no way can I stray;
Save back to England, all the world's my way.
Exit
KING RICHARD II
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 3 115
Page No 119
Uncle, even in the glasses of thine eyes
I see thy grieved heart: thy sad aspect
Hath from the number of his banish'd years
Pluck'd four away.
To HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Six frozen winter spent,
Return with welcome home from banishment.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
How long a time lies in one little word!
Four lagging winters and four wanton springs
End in a word: such is the breath of kings.
JOHN OF GAUNT
I thank my liege, that in regard of me
He shortens four years of my son's exile:
But little vantage shall I reap thereby;
For, ere the six years that he hath to spend
Can change their moons and bring their times about
My oildried lamp and timebewasted light
Shall be extinct with age and endless night;
My inch of taper will be burnt and done,
And blindfold death not let me see my son.
KING RICHARD II
Why uncle, thou hast many years to live.
JOHN OF GAUNT
But not a minute, king, that thou canst give:
Shorten my days thou canst with sullen sorrow,
And pluck nights from me, but not lend a morrow;
Thou canst help time to furrow me with age,
But stop no wrinkle in his pilgrimage;
Thy word is current with him for my death,
But dead, thy kingdom cannot buy my breath.
KING RICHARD II
Thy son is banish'd upon good advice,
Whereto thy tongue a partyverdict gave:
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 3 116
Page No 120
Why at our justice seem'st thou then to lour?
JOHN OF GAUNT
Things sweet to taste prove in digestion sour.
You urged me as a judge; but I had rather
You would have bid me argue like a father.
O, had it been a stranger, not my child,
To smooth his fault I should have been more mild:
A partial slander sought I to avoid,
And in the sentence my own life destroy'd.
Alas, I look'd when some of you should say,
I was too strict to make mine own away;
But you gave leave to my unwilling tongue
Against my will to do myself this wrong.
KING RICHARD II
Cousin, farewell; and, uncle, bid him so:
Six years we banish him, and he shall go.
Flourish. Exeunt KING RICHARD II and train
DUKE OF AUMERLE
Cousin, farewell: what presence must not know,
From where you do remain let paper show.
Lord Marshal
My lord, no leave take I; for I will ride,
As far as land will let me, by your side.
JOHN OF GAUNT
O, to what purpose dost thou hoard thy words,
That thou return'st no greeting to thy friends?
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
I have too few to take my leave of you,
When the tongue's office should be prodigal
To breathe the abundant dolour of the heart.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 3 117
Page No 121
JOHN OF GAUNT
Thy grief is but thy absence for a time.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Joy absent, grief is present for that time.
JOHN OF GAUNT
What is six winters? they are quickly gone.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
To men in joy; but grief makes one hour ten.
JOHN OF GAUNT
Call it a travel that thou takest for pleasure.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
My heart will sigh when I miscall it so,
Which finds it an inforced pilgrimage.
JOHN OF GAUNT
The sullen passage of thy weary steps
Esteem as foil wherein thou art to set
The precious jewel of thy home return.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Nay, rather, every tedious stride I make
Will but remember me what a deal of world
I wander from the jewels that I love.
Must I not serve a long apprenticehood
To foreign passages, and in the end,
Having my freedom, boast of nothing else
But that I was a journeyman to grief?
JOHN OF GAUNT
All places that the eye of heaven visits
Are to a wise man ports and happy havens.
Teach thy necessity to reason thus;
There is no virtue like necessity.
Think not the king did banish thee,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 3 118
Page No 122
But thou the king. Woe doth the heavier sit,
Where it perceives it is but faintly borne.
Go, say I sent thee forth to purchase honour
And not the king exiled thee; or suppose
Devouring pestilence hangs in our air
And thou art flying to a fresher clime:
Look, what thy soul holds dear, imagine it
To lie that way thou go'st, not whence thou comest:
Suppose the singing birds musicians,
The grass whereon thou tread'st the presence strew'd,
The flowers fair ladies, and thy steps no more
Than a delightful measure or a dance;
For gnarling sorrow hath less power to bite
The man that mocks at it and sets it light.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
O, who can hold a fire in his hand
By thinking on the frosty Caucasus?
Or cloy the hungry edge of appetite
By bare imagination of a feast?
Or wallow naked in December snow
By thinking on fantastic summer's heat?
O, no! the apprehension of the good
Gives but the greater feeling to the worse:
Fell sorrow's tooth doth never rankle more
Than when he bites, but lanceth not the sore.
JOHN OF GAUNT
Come, come, my son, I'll bring thee on thy way:
Had I thy youth and cause, I would not stay.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Then, England's ground, farewell; sweet soil, adieu;
My mother, and my nurse, that bears me yet!
Where'er I wander, boast of this I can,
Though banish'd, yet a trueborn Englishman.
Exeunt
Act 1, Scene 4
The court.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 4 119
Page No 123
Enter KING RICHARD II, with BAGOT and GREEN at one door; and the DUKE OF
AUMERLE at another
KING RICHARD II
We did observe. Cousin Aumerle,
How far brought you high Hereford on his way?
DUKE OF AUMERLE
I brought high Hereford, if you call him so,
But to the next highway, and there I left him.
KING RICHARD II
And say, what store of parting tears were shed?
DUKE OF AUMERLE
Faith, none for me; except the northeast wind,
Which then blew bitterly against our faces,
Awaked the sleeping rheum, and so by chance
Did grace our hollow parting with a tear.
KING RICHARD II
What said our cousin when you parted with him?
DUKE OF AUMERLE
'Farewell:'
And, for my heart disdained that my tongue
Should so profane the word, that taught me craft
To counterfeit oppression of such grief
That words seem'd buried in my sorrow's grave.
Marry, would the word 'farewell' have lengthen'd hours
And added years to his short banishment,
He should have had a volume of farewells;
But since it would not, he had none of me.
KING RICHARD II
He is our cousin, cousin; but 'tis doubt,
When time shall call him home from banishment,
Whether our kinsman come to see his friends.
Ourself and Bushy, Bagot here and Green
Observed his courtship to the common people;
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 4 120
Page No 124
How he did seem to dive into their hearts
With humble and familiar courtesy,
What reverence he did throw away on slaves,
Wooing poor craftsmen with the craft of smiles
And patient underbearing of his fortune,
As 'twere to banish their affects with him.
Off goes his bonnet to an oysterwench;
A brace of draymen bid God speed him well
And had the tribute of his supple knee,
With 'Thanks, my countrymen, my loving friends;'
As were our England in reversion his,
And he our subjects' next degree in hope.
GREEN
Well, he is gone; and with him go these thoughts.
Now for the rebels which stand out in Ireland,
Expedient manage must be made, my liege,
Ere further leisure yield them further means
For their advantage and your highness' loss.
KING RICHARD II
We will ourself in person to this war:
And, for our coffers, with too great a court
And liberal largess, are grown somewhat light,
We are inforced to farm our royal realm;
The revenue whereof shall furnish us
For our affairs in hand: if that come short,
Our substitutes at home shall have blank charters;
Whereto, when they shall know what men are rich,
They shall subscribe them for large sums of gold
And send them after to supply our wants;
For we will make for Ireland presently.
Enter BUSHY
Bushy, what news?
BUSHY
Old John of Gaunt is grievous sick, my lord,
Suddenly taken; and hath sent post haste
To entreat your majesty to visit him.
KING RICHARD II
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 4 121
Page No 125
Where lies he?
BUSHY
At Ely House.
KING RICHARD II
Now put it, God, in the physician's mind
To help him to his grave immediately!
The lining of his coffers shall make coats
To deck our soldiers for these Irish wars.
Come, gentlemen, let's all go visit him:
Pray God we may make haste, and come too late!
All
Amen.
Exeunt
Act 2, Scene 1
Ely House.
Enter JOHN OF GAUNT sick, with the DUKE OF YORK, TE>
JOHN OF GAUNT
Will the king come, that I may breathe my last
In wholesome counsel to his unstaid youth?
DUKE OF YORK
Vex not yourself, nor strive not with your breath;
For all in vain comes counsel to his ear.
JOHN OF GAUNT
O, but they say the tongues of dying men
Enforce attention like deep harmony:
Where words are scarce, they are seldom spent in vain,
For they breathe truth that breathe their words in pain.
He that no more must say is listen'd more
Than they whom youth and ease have taught to glose;
More are men's ends mark'd than their lives before:
The setting sun, and music at the close,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 1 122
Page No 126
As the last taste of sweets, is sweetest last,
Writ in remembrance more than things long past:
Though Richard my life's counsel would not hear,
My death's sad tale may yet undeaf his ear.
DUKE OF YORK
No; it is stopp'd with other flattering sounds,
As praises, of whose taste the wise are fond,
Lascivious metres, to whose venom sound
The open ear of youth doth always listen;
Report of fashions in proud Italy,
Whose manners still our tardy apish nation
Limps after in base imitation.
Where doth the world thrust forth a vanity
So it be new, there's no respect how vile
That is not quickly buzzed into his ears?
Then all too late comes counsel to be heard,
Where will doth mutiny with wit's regard.
Direct not him whose way himself will choose:
'Tis breath thou lack'st, and that breath wilt thou lose.
JOHN OF GAUNT
Methinks I am a prophet new inspired
And thus expiring do foretell of him:
His rash fierce blaze of riot cannot last,
For violent fires soon burn out themselves;
Small showers last long, but sudden storms are short;
He tires betimes that spurs too fast betimes;
With eager feeding food doth choke the feeder:
Light vanity, insatiate cormorant,
Consuming means, soon preys upon itself.
This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demiparadise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall,
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England,
This nurse, this teeming womb of royal kings,
Fear'd by their breed and famous by their birth,
Renowned for their deeds as far from home,
For Christian service and true chivalry,
As is the sepulchre in stubborn Jewry,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 1 123
Page No 127
Of the world's ransom, blessed Mary's Son,
This land of such dear souls, this dear dear land,
Dear for her reputation through the world,
Is now leased out, I die pronouncing it,
Like to a tenement or pelting farm:
England, bound in with the triumphant sea
Whose rocky shore beats back the envious siege
Of watery Neptune, is now bound in with shame,
With inky blots and rotten parchment bonds:
That England, that was wont to conquer others,
Hath made a shameful conquest of itself.
Ah, would the scandal vanish with my life,
How happy then were my ensuing death!
Enter KING RICHARD II and QUEEN, DUKE OF AUMERLE, BUSHY, GREEN, BAGOT,
LORD ROSS, and LORD WILLOUGHBY
DUKE OF YORK
The king is come: deal mildly with his youth;
For young hot colts being raged do rage the more.
QUEEN
How fares our noble uncle, Lancaster?
KING RICHARD II
What comfort, man? how is't with aged Gaunt?
JOHN OF GAUNT
O how that name befits my composition!
Old Gaunt indeed, and gaunt in being old:
Within me grief hath kept a tedious fast;
And who abstains from meat that is not gaunt?
For sleeping England long time have I watch'd;
Watching breeds leanness, leanness is all gaunt:
The pleasure that some fathers feed upon,
Is my strict fast; I mean, my children's looks;
And therein fasting, hast thou made me gaunt:
Gaunt am I for the grave, gaunt as a grave,
Whose hollow womb inherits nought but bones.
KING RICHARD II
Can sick men play so nicely with their names?
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 1 124
Page No 128
JOHN OF GAUNT
No, misery makes sport to mock itself:
Since thou dost seek to kill my name in me,
I mock my name, great king, to flatter thee.
KING RICHARD II
Should dying men flatter with those that live?
JOHN OF GAUNT
No, no, men living flatter those that die.
KING RICHARD II
Thou, now adying, say'st thou flatterest me.
JOHN OF GAUNT
O, no! thou diest, though I the sicker be.
KING RICHARD II
I am in health, I breathe, and see thee ill.
JOHN OF GAUNT
Now He that made me knows I see thee ill;
Ill in myself to see, and in thee seeing ill.
Thy deathbed is no lesser than thy land
Wherein thou liest in reputation sick;
And thou, too careless patient as thou art,
Commit'st thy anointed body to the cure
Of those physicians that first wounded thee:
A thousand flatterers sit within thy crown,
Whose compass is no bigger than thy head;
And yet, incaged in so small a verge,
The waste is no whit lesser than thy land.
O, had thy grandsire with a prophet's eye
Seen how his son's son should destroy his sons,
From forth thy reach he would have laid thy shame,
Deposing thee before thou wert possess'd,
Which art possess'd now to depose thyself.
Why, cousin, wert thou regent of the world,
It were a shame to let this land by lease;
But for thy world enjoying but this land,
Is it not more than shame to shame it so?
Landlord of England art thou now, not king:
Thy state of law is bondslave to the law; And thou
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 1 125
Page No 129
KING RICHARD II
A lunatic leanwitted fool,
Presuming on an ague's privilege,
Darest with thy frozen admonition
Make pale our cheek, chasing the royal blood
With fury from his native residence.
Now, by my seat's right royal majesty,
Wert thou not brother to great Edward's son,
This tongue that runs so roundly in thy head
Should run thy head from thy unreverent shoulders.
JOHN OF GAUNT
O, spare me not, my brother Edward's son,
For that I was his father Edward's son;
That blood already, like the pelican,
Hast thou tapp'd out and drunkenly caroused:
My brother Gloucester, plain wellmeaning soul,
Whom fair befal in heaven 'mongst happy souls!
May be a precedent and witness good
That thou respect'st not spilling Edward's blood:
Join with the present sickness that I have;
And thy unkindness be like crooked age,
To crop at once a too long wither'd flower.
Live in thy shame, but die not shame with thee!
These words hereafter thy tormentors be!
Convey me to my bed, then to my grave:
Love they to live that love and honour have.
Exit, borne off by his Attendants
KING RICHARD II
And let them die that age and sullens have;
For both hast thou, and both become the grave.
DUKE OF YORK
I do beseech your majesty, impute his words
To wayward sickliness and age in him:
He loves you, on my life, and holds you dear
As Harry Duke of Hereford, were he here.
KING RICHARD II
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 1 126
Page No 130
Right, you say true: as Hereford's love, so his;
As theirs, so mine; and all be as it is.
Enter NORTHUMBERLAND
NORTHUMBERLAND
My liege, old Gaunt commends him to your majesty.
KING RICHARD II
What says he?
NORTHUMBERLAND
Nay, nothing; all is said
His tongue is now a stringless instrument;
Words, life and all, old Lancaster hath spent.
DUKE OF YORK
Be York the next that must be bankrupt so!
Though death be poor, it ends a mortal woe.
KING RICHARD II
The ripest fruit first falls, and so doth he;
His time is spent, our pilgrimage must be.
So much for that. Now for our Irish wars:
We must supplant those rough rugheaded kerns,
Which live like venom where no venom else
But only they have privilege to live.
And for these great affairs do ask some charge,
Towards our assistance we do seize to us
The plate, corn, revenues and moveables,
Whereof our uncle Gaunt did stand possess'd.
DUKE OF YORK
How long shall I be patient? ah, how long
Shall tender duty make me suffer wrong?
Not Gloucester's death, nor Hereford's banishment
Not Gaunt's rebukes, nor England's private wrongs,
Nor the prevention of poor Bolingbroke
About his marriage, nor my own disgrace,
Have ever made me sour my patient cheek,
Or bend one wrinkle on my sovereign's face.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 1 127
Page No 131
I am the last of noble Edward's sons,
Of whom thy father, Prince of Wales, was first:
In war was never lion raged more fierce,
In peace was never gentle lamb more mild,
Than was that young and princely gentleman.
His face thou hast, for even so look'd he,
Accomplish'd with the number of thy hours;
But when he frown'd, it was against the French
And not against his friends; his noble hand
Did will what he did spend and spent not that
Which his triumphant father's hand had won;
His hands were guilty of no kindred blood,
But bloody with the enemies of his kin.
O Richard! York is too far gone with grief,
Or else he never would compare between.
KING RICHARD II
Why, uncle, what's the matter?
DUKE OF YORK
O my liege,
Pardon me, if you please; if not, I, pleased
Not to be pardon'd, am content withal.
Seek you to seize and gripe into your hands
The royalties and rights of banish'd Hereford?
Is not Gaunt dead, and doth not Hereford live?
Was not Gaunt just, and is not Harry true?
Did not the one deserve to have an heir?
Is not his heir a welldeserving son?
Take Hereford's rights away, and take from Time
His charters and his customary rights;
Let not tomorrow then ensue today;
Be not thyself; for how art thou a king
But by fair sequence and succession?
Now, afore GodGod forbid I say true!
If you do wrongfully seize Hereford's rights,
Call in the letters patent that he hath
By his attorneysgeneral to sue
His livery, and deny his offer'd homage,
You pluck a thousand dangers on your head,
You lose a thousand welldisposed hearts
And prick my tender patience, to those thoughts
Which honour and allegiance cannot think.
KING RICHARD II
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 1 128
Page No 132
Think what you will, we seize into our hands
His plate, his goods, his money and his lands.
DUKE OF YORK
I'll not be by the while: my liege, farewell:
What will ensue hereof, there's none can tell;
But by bad courses may be understood
That their events can never fall out good.
Exit
KING RICHARD II
Go, Bushy, to the Earl of Wiltshire straight:
Bid him repair to us to Ely House
To see this business. Tomorrow next
We will for Ireland; and 'tis time, I trow:
And we create, in absence of ourself,
Our uncle York lord governor of England;
For he is just and always loved us well.
Come on, our queen: tomorrow must we part;
Be merry, for our time of stay is short
Flourish. Exeunt KING RICHARD II, QUEEN, DUKE OF AUMERLE, BUSHY, GREEN,
and BAGOT
NORTHUMBERLAND
Well, lords, the Duke of Lancaster is dead.
LORD ROSS
And living too; for now his son is duke.
LORD WILLOUGHBY
Barely in title, not in revenue.
NORTHUMBERLAND
Richly in both, if justice had her right.
LORD ROSS
My heart is great; but it must break with silence,
Ere't be disburden'd with a liberal tongue.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 1 129
Page No 133
NORTHUMBERLAND
Nay, speak thy mind; and let him ne'er speak more
That speaks thy words again to do thee harm!
LORD WILLOUGHBY
Tends that thou wouldst speak to the Duke of Hereford?
If it be so, out with it boldly, man;
Quick is mine ear to hear of good towards him.
LORD ROSS
No good at all that I can do for him;
Unless you call it good to pity him,
Bereft and gelded of his patrimony.
NORTHUMBERLAND
Now, afore God, 'tis shame such wrongs are borne
In him, a royal prince, and many moe
Of noble blood in this declining land.
The king is not himself, but basely led
By flatterers; and what they will inform,
Merely in hate, 'gainst any of us all,
That will the king severely prosecute
'Gainst us, our lives, our children, and our heirs.
LORD ROSS
The commons hath he pill'd with grievous taxes,
And quite lost their hearts: the nobles hath he fined
For ancient quarrels, and quite lost their hearts.
LORD WILLOUGHBY
And daily new exactions are devised,
As blanks, benevolences, and I wot not what:
But what, o' God's name, doth become of this?
NORTHUMBERLAND
Wars have not wasted it, for warr'd he hath not,
But basely yielded upon compromise
That which his noble ancestors achieved with blows:
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 1 130
Page No 134
More hath he spent in peace than they in wars.
LORD ROSS
The Earl of Wiltshire hath the realm in farm.
LORD WILLOUGHBY
The king's grown bankrupt, like a broken man.
NORTHUMBERLAND
Reproach and dissolution hangeth over him.
LORD ROSS
He hath not money for these Irish wars,
His burthenous taxations notwithstanding,
But by the robbing of the banish'd duke.
NORTHUMBERLAND
His noble kinsman: most degenerate king!
But, lords, we hear this fearful tempest sing,
Yet see no shelter to avoid the storm;
We see the wind sit sore upon our sails,
And yet we strike not, but securely perish.
LORD ROSS
We see the very wreck that we must suffer;
And unavoided is the danger now,
For suffering so the causes of our wreck.
NORTHUMBERLAND
Not so; even through the hollow eyes of death
I spy life peering; but I dare not say
How near the tidings of our comfort is.
LORD WILLOUGHBY
Nay, let us share thy thoughts, as thou dost ours.
LORD ROSS
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 1 131
Page No 135
Be confident to speak, Northumberland:
We three are but thyself; and, speaking so,
Thy words are but as thoughts; therefore, be bold.
NORTHUMBERLAND
Then thus: I have from Port le Blanc, a bay
In Brittany, received intelligence
That Harry Duke of Hereford, Rainold Lord Cobham,
That late broke from the Duke of Exeter,
His brother, Archbishop late of Canterbury,
Sir Thomas Erpingham, Sir John Ramston,
Sir John Norbery, Sir Robert Waterton and Francis Quoint,
All these well furnish'd by the Duke of Bretagne
With eight tall ships, three thousand men of war,
Are making hither with all due expedience
And shortly mean to touch our northern shore:
Perhaps they had ere this, but that they stay
The first departing of the king for Ireland.
If then we shall shake off our slavish yoke,
Imp out our drooping country's broken wing,
Redeem from broking pawn the blemish'd crown,
Wipe off the dust that hides our sceptre's gilt
And make high majesty look like itself,
Away with me in post to Ravenspurgh;
But if you faint, as fearing to do so,
Stay and be secret, and myself will go.
LORD ROSS
To horse, to horse! urge doubts to them that fear.
LORD WILLOUGHBY
Hold out my horse, and I will first be there.
Exeunt
Act 2, Scene 2
The palace.
Enter QUEEN, BUSHY, and BAGOT
BUSHY
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 2 132
Page No 136
Madam, your majesty is too much sad:
You promised, when you parted with the king,
To lay aside lifeharming heaviness
And entertain a cheerful disposition.
QUEEN
To please the king I did; to please myself
I cannot do it; yet I know no cause
Why I should welcome such a guest as grief,
Save bidding farewell to so sweet a guest
As my sweet Richard: yet again, methinks,
Some unborn sorrow, ripe in fortune's womb,
Is coming towards me, and my inward soul
With nothing trembles: at some thing it grieves,
More than with parting from my lord the king.
BUSHY
Each substance of a grief hath twenty shadows,
Which shows like grief itself, but is not so;
For sorrow's eye, glazed with blinding tears,
Divides one thing entire to many objects;
Like perspectives, which rightly gazed upon
Show nothing but confusion, eyed awry
Distinguish form: so your sweet majesty,
Looking awry upon your lord's departure,
Find shapes of grief, more than himself, to wail;
Which, look'd on as it is, is nought but shadows
Of what it is not. Then, thricegracious queen,
More than your lord's departure weep not: more's not seen;
Or if it be, 'tis with false sorrow's eye,
Which for things true weeps things imaginary.
QUEEN
It may be so; but yet my inward soul
Persuades me it is otherwise: howe'er it be,
I cannot but be sad; so heavy sad
As, though on thinking on no thought I think,
Makes me with heavy nothing faint and shrink.
BUSHY
'Tis nothing but conceit, my gracious lady.
QUEEN
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 2 133
Page No 137
'Tis nothing less: conceit is still derived
From some forefather grief; mine is not so,
For nothing had begot my something grief;
Or something hath the nothing that I grieve:
'Tis in reversion that I do possess;
But what it is, that is not yet known; what
I cannot name; 'tis nameless woe, I wot.
Enter GREEN
GREEN
God save your majesty! and well met, gentlemen:
I hope the king is not yet shipp'd for Ireland.
QUEEN
Why hopest thou so? 'tis better hope he is;
For his designs crave haste, his haste good hope:
Then wherefore dost thou hope he is not shipp'd?
GREEN
That he, our hope, might have retired his power,
And driven into despair an enemy's hope,
Who strongly hath set footing in this land:
The banish'd Bolingbroke repeals himself,
And with uplifted arms is safe arrived
At Ravenspurgh.
QUEEN
Now God in heaven forbid!
GREEN
Ah, madam, 'tis too true: and that is worse,
The Lord Northumberland, his son young Henry Percy,
The Lords of Ross, Beaumond, and Willoughby,
With all their powerful friends, are fled to him.
BUSHY
Why have you not proclaim'd Northumberland
And all the rest revolted faction traitors?
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 2 134
Page No 138
GREEN
We have: whereupon the Earl of Worcester
Hath broke his staff, resign'd his stewardship,
And all the household servants fled with him
To Bolingbroke.
QUEEN
So, Green, thou art the midwife to my woe,
And Bolingbroke my sorrow's dismal heir:
Now hath my soul brought forth her prodigy,
And I, a gasping newdeliver'd mother,
Have woe to woe, sorrow to sorrow join'd.
BUSHY
Despair not, madam.
QUEEN
Who shall hinder me?
I will despair, and be at enmity
With cozening hope: he is a flatterer,
A parasite, a keeper back of death,
Who gently would dissolve the bands of life,
Which false hope lingers in extremity.
Enter DUKE OF YORK
GREEN
Here comes the Duke of York.
QUEEN
With signs of war about his aged neck:
O, full of careful business are his looks!
Uncle, for God's sake, speak comfortable words.
DUKE OF YORK
Should I do so, I should belie my thoughts:
Comfort's in heaven; and we are on the earth,
Where nothing lives but crosses, cares and grief.
Your husband, he is gone to save far off,
Whilst others come to make him lose at home:
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 2 135
Page No 139
Here am I left to underprop his land,
Who, weak with age, cannot support myself:
Now comes the sick hour that his surfeit made;
Now shall he try his friends that flatter'd him.
Enter a Servant
Servant
My lord, your son was gone before I came.
DUKE OF YORK
He was? Why, so! go all which way it will!
The nobles they are fled, the commons they are cold,
And will, I fear, revolt on Hereford's side.
Sirrah, get thee to Plashy, to my sister Gloucester;
Bid her send me presently a thousand pound:
Hold, take my ring.
Servant
My lord, I had forgot to tell your lordship,
Today, as I came by, I called there;
But I shall grieve you to report the rest.
DUKE OF YORK
What is't, knave?
Servant
An hour before I came, the duchess died.
DUKE OF YORK
God for his mercy! what a tide of woes
Comes rushing on this woeful land at once!
I know not what to do: I would to God,
So my untruth had not provoked him to it,
The king had cut off my head with my brother's.
What, are there no posts dispatch'd for Ireland?
How shall we do for money for these wars?
Come, sister,cousin, I would saypray, pardon me.
Go, fellow, get thee home, provide some carts
And bring away the armour that is there.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 2 136
Page No 140
Exit Servant
Gentlemen, will you go muster men?
If I know how or which way to order these affairs
Thus thrust disorderly into my hands,
Never believe me. Both are my kinsmen:
The one is my sovereign, whom both my oath
And duty bids defend; the other again
Is my kinsman, whom the king hath wrong'd,
Whom conscience and my kindred bids to right.
Well, somewhat we must do. Come, cousin, I'll
Dispose of you.
Gentlemen, go, muster up your men,
And meet me presently at Berkeley.
I should to Plashy too;
But time will not permit: all is uneven,
And every thing is left at six and seven.
Exeunt DUKE OF YORK and QUEEN
BUSHY
The wind sits fair for news to go to Ireland,
But none returns. For us to levy power
Proportionable to the enemy
Is all unpossible.
GREEN
Besides, our nearness to the king in love
Is near the hate of those love not the king.
BAGOT
And that's the wavering commons: for their love
Lies in their purses, and whoso empties them
By so much fills their hearts with deadly hate.
BUSHY
Wherein the king stands generally condemn'd.
BAGOT
If judgement lie in them, then so do we,
Because we ever have been near the king.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 2 137
Page No 141
GREEN
Well, I will for refuge straight to Bristol castle:
The Earl of Wiltshire is already there.
BUSHY
Thither will I with you; for little office
The hateful commons will perform for us,
Except like curs to tear us all to pieces.
Will you go along with us?
BAGOT
No; I will to Ireland to his majesty.
Farewell: if heart's presages be not vain,
We three here art that ne'er shall meet again.
BUSHY
That's as York thrives to beat back Bolingbroke.
GREEN
Alas, poor duke! the task he undertakes
Is numbering sands and drinking oceans dry:
Where one on his side fights, thousands will fly.
Farewell at once, for once, for all, and ever.
BUSHY
Well, we may meet again.
BAGOT
I fear me, never.
Exeunt
Act 2, Scene 3
Wilds in Gloucestershire.
Enter HENRY BOLINGBROKE and NORTHUMBERLAND, with Forces
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 3 138
Page No 142
How far is it, my lord, to Berkeley now?
NORTHUMBERLAND
Believe me, noble lord,
I am a stranger here in Gloucestershire:
These high wild hills and rough uneven ways
Draws out our miles, and makes them wearisome,
And yet your fair discourse hath been as sugar,
Making the hard way sweet and delectable.
But I bethink me what a weary way
From Ravenspurgh to Cotswold will be found
In Ross and Willoughby, wanting your company,
Which, I protest, hath very much beguiled
The tediousness and process of my travel:
But theirs is sweetened with the hope to have
The present benefit which I possess;
And hope to joy is little less in joy
Than hope enjoy'd: by this the weary lords
Shall make their way seem short, as mine hath done
By sight of what I have, your noble company.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Of much less value is my company
Than your good words. But who comes here?
Enter HENRY PERCY
NORTHUMBERLAND
It is my son, young Harry Percy,
Sent from my brother Worcester, whencesoever.
Harry, how fares your uncle?
HENRY PERCY
I had thought, my lord, to have learn'd his health of you.
NORTHUMBERLAND
Why, is he not with the queen?
HENRY PERCY
No, my good Lord; he hath forsook the court,
Broken his staff of office and dispersed
The household of the king.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 3 139
Page No 143
NORTHUMBERLAND
What was his reason?
He was not so resolved when last we spake together.
HENRY PERCY
Because your lordship was proclaimed traitor.
But he, my lord, is gone to Ravenspurgh,
To offer service to the Duke of Hereford,
And sent me over by Berkeley, to discover
What power the Duke of York had levied there;
Then with directions to repair to Ravenspurgh.
NORTHUMBERLAND
Have you forgot the Duke of Hereford, boy?
HENRY PERCY
No, my good lord, for that is not forgot
Which ne'er I did remember: to my knowledge,
I never in my life did look on him.
NORTHUMBERLAND
Then learn to know him now; this is the duke.
HENRY PERCY
My gracious lord, I tender you my service,
Such as it is, being tender, raw and young:
Which elder days shall ripen and confirm
To more approved service and desert.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
I thank thee, gentle Percy; and be sure
I count myself in nothing else so happy
As in a soul remembering my good friends;
And, as my fortune ripens with thy love,
It shall be still thy true love's recompense:
My heart this covenant makes, my hand thus seals it.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 3 140
Page No 144
NORTHUMBERLAND
How far is it to Berkeley? and what stir
Keeps good old York there with his men of war?
HENRY PERCY
There stands the castle, by yon tuft of trees,
Mann'd with three hundred men, as I have heard;
And in it are the Lords of York, Berkeley, and Seymour;
None else of name and noble estimate.
Enter LORD ROSS and LORD WILLOUGHBY
NORTHUMBERLAND
Here come the Lords of Ross and Willoughby,
Bloody with spurring, fieryred with haste.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Welcome, my lords. I wot your love pursues
A banish'd traitor: all my treasury
Is yet but unfelt thanks, which more enrich'd
Shall be your love and labour's recompense.
LORD ROSS
Your presence makes us rich, most noble lord.
LORD WILLOUGHBY
And far surmounts our labour to attain it.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Evermore thanks, the exchequer of the poor;
Which, till my infant fortune comes to years,
Stands for my bounty. But who comes here?
Enter LORD BERKELEY
NORTHUMBERLAND
It is my Lord of Berkeley, as I guess.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 3 141
Page No 145
LORD BERKELEY
My Lord of Hereford, my message is to you.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
My lord, my answer isto Lancaster;
And I am come to seek that name in England;
And I must find that title in your tongue,
Before I make reply to aught you say.
LORD BERKELEY
Mistake me not, my lord; 'tis not my meaning
To raze one title of your honour out:
To you, my lord, I come, what lord you will,
From the most gracious regent of this land,
The Duke of York, to know what pricks you on
To take advantage of the absent time
And fright our native peace with selfborn arms.
Enter DUKE OF YORK attended
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
I shall not need transport my words by you;
Here comes his grace in person. My noble uncle!
Kneels
DUKE OF YORK
Show me thy humble heart, and not thy knee,
Whose duty is deceiveable and false.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
My gracious uncle
DUKE OF YORK
Tut, tut!
Grace me no grace, nor uncle me no uncle:
I am no traitor's uncle; and that word 'grace.'
In an ungracious mouth is but profane.
Why have those banish'd and forbidden legs
Dared once to touch a dust of England's ground?
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 3 142
Page No 146
But then more 'why?' why have they dared to march
So many miles upon her peaceful bosom,
Frighting her palefaced villages with war
And ostentation of despised arms?
Comest thou because the anointed king is hence?
Why, foolish boy, the king is left behind,
And in my loyal bosom lies his power.
Were I but now the lord of such hot youth
As when brave Gaunt, thy father, and myself
Rescued the Black Prince, that young Mars of men,
From forth the ranks of many thousand French,
O, then how quickly should this arm of mine.
Now prisoner to the palsy, chastise thee
And minister correction to thy fault!
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
My gracious uncle, let me know my fault:
On what condition stands it and wherein?
DUKE OF YORK
Even in condition of the worst degree,
In gross rebellion and detested treason:
Thou art a banish'd man, and here art come
Before the expiration of thy time,
In braving arms against thy sovereign.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
As I was banish'd, I was banish'd Hereford;
But as I come, I come for Lancaster.
And, noble uncle, I beseech your grace
Look on my wrongs with an indifferent eye:
You are my father, for methinks in you
I see old Gaunt alive; O, then, my father,
Will you permit that I shall stand condemn'd
A wandering vagabond; my rights and royalties
Pluck'd from my arms perforce and given away
To upstart unthrifts? Wherefore was I born?
If that my cousin king be King of England,
It must be granted I am Duke of Lancaster.
You have a son, Aumerle, my noble cousin;
Had you first died, and he been thus trod down,
He should have found his uncle Gaunt a father,
To rouse his wrongs and chase them to the bay.
I am denied to sue my livery here,
And yet my letterspatents give me leave:
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 3 143
Page No 147
My father's goods are all distrain'd and sold,
And these and all are all amiss employ'd.
What would you have me do? I am a subject,
And I challenge law: attorneys are denied me;
And therefore, personally I lay my claim
To my inheritance of free descent.
NORTHUMBERLAND
The noble duke hath been too much abused.
LORD ROSS
It stands your grace upon to do him right.
LORD WILLOUGHBY
Base men by his endowments are made great.
DUKE OF YORK
My lords of England, let me tell you this:
I have had feeling of my cousin's wrongs
And laboured all I could to do him right;
But in this kind to come, in braving arms,
Be his own carver and cut out his way,
To find out right with wrong, it may not be;
And you that do abet him in this kind
Cherish rebellion and are rebels all.
NORTHUMBERLAND
The noble duke hath sworn his coming is
But for his own; and for the right of that
We all have strongly sworn to give him aid;
And let him ne'er see joy that breaks that oath!
DUKE OF YORK
Well, well, I see the issue of these arms:
I cannot mend it, I must needs confess,
Because my power is weak and all ill left:
But if I could, by Him that gave me life,
I would attach you all and make you stoop
Unto the sovereign mercy of the king;
But since I cannot, be it known to you
I do remain as neuter. So, fare you well;
Unless you please to enter in the castle
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 3 144
Page No 148
And there repose you for this night.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
An offer, uncle, that we will accept:
But we must win your grace to go with us
To Bristol castle, which they say is held
By Bushy, Bagot and their complices,
The caterpillars of the commonwealth,
Which I have sworn to weed and pluck away.
DUKE OF YORK
It may be I will go with you: but yet I'll pause;
For I am loath to break our country's laws.
Nor friends nor foes, to me welcome you are:
Things past redress are now with me past care.
Exeunt
Act 2, Scene 4
A camp in Wales.
Enter EARL OF SALISBURY and a Welsh Captain
Captain
My lord of Salisbury, we have stay'd ten days,
And hardly kept our countrymen together,
And yet we hear no tidings from the king;
Therefore we will disperse ourselves: farewell.
EARL OF SALISBURY
Stay yet another day, thou trusty Welshman:
The king reposeth all his confidence in thee.
Captain
'Tis thought the king is dead; we will not stay.
The baytrees in our country are all wither'd
And meteors fright the fixed stars of heaven;
The palefaced moon looks bloody on the earth
And leanlook'd prophets whisper fearful change;
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 4 145
Page No 149
Rich men look sad and ruffians dance and leap,
The one in fear to lose what they enjoy,
The other to enjoy by rage and war:
These signs forerun the death or fall of kings.
Farewell: our countrymen are gone and fled,
As well assured Richard their king is dead.
Exit
EARL OF SALISBURY
Ah, Richard, with the eyes of heavy mind
I see thy glory like a shooting star
Fall to the base earth from the firmament.
Thy sun sets weeping in the lowly west,
Witnessing storms to come, woe and unrest:
Thy friends are fled to wait upon thy foes,
And crossly to thy good all fortune goes.
Exit
Act 3, Scene 1
Bristol. Before the castle.
Enter HENRY BOLINGBROKE, DUKE OF YORK, NORTHUMBERLAND, LORD ROSS,
HENRY PERCY, LORD WILLOUGHBY, with BUSHY and GREEN, prisoners
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Bring forth these men.
Bushy and Green, I will not vex your souls
Since presently your souls must part your bodies
With too much urging your pernicious lives,
For 'twere no charity; yet, to wash your blood
From off my hands, here in the view of men
I will unfold some causes of your deaths.
You have misled a prince, a royal king,
A happy gentleman in blood and lineaments,
By you unhappied and disfigured clean:
You have in manner with your sinful hours
Made a divorce betwixt his queen and him,
Broke the possession of a royal bed
And stain'd the beauty of a fair queen's cheeks
With tears drawn from her eyes by your foul wrongs.
Myself, a prince by fortune of my birth,
Near to the king in blood, and near in love
Till you did make him misinterpret me,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 1 146
Page No 150
Have stoop'd my neck under your injuries,
And sigh'd my English breath in foreign clouds,
Eating the bitter bread of banishment;
Whilst you have fed upon my signories,
Dispark'd my parks and fell'd my forest woods,
From my own windows torn my household coat,
Razed out my imprese, leaving me no sign,
Save men's opinions and my living blood,
To show the world I am a gentleman.
This and much more, much more than twice all this,
Condemns you to the death. See them deliver'd over
To execution and the hand of death.
BUSHY
More welcome is the stroke of death to me
Than Bolingbroke to England. Lords, farewell.
GREEN
My comfort is that heaven will take our souls
And plague injustice with the pains of hell.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
My Lord Northumberland, see them dispatch'd.
Exeunt NORTHUMBERLAND and others, with the prisoners
Uncle, you say the queen is at your house;
For God's sake, fairly let her be entreated:
Tell her I send to her my kind commends;
Take special care my greetings be deliver'd.
DUKE OF YORK
A gentleman of mine I have dispatch'd
With letters of your love to her at large.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Thank, gentle uncle. Come, lords, away.
To fight with Glendower and his complices:
Awhile to work, and after holiday.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 1 147
Page No 151
Exeunt
Act 3, Scene 2
The coast of Wales. A castle in view.
Drums; flourish and colours. Enter KING RICHARD II, the BISHOP OF CARLISLE, DUKE
OF AUMERLE, and Soldiers
KING RICHARD II
Barkloughly castle call they this at hand?
DUKE OF AUMERLE
Yea, my lord. How brooks your grace the air,
After your late tossing on the breaking seas?
KING RICHARD II
Needs must I like it well: I weep for joy
To stand upon my kingdom once again.
Dear earth, I do salute thee with my hand,
Though rebels wound thee with their horses' hoofs:
As a longparted mother with her child
Plays fondly with her tears and smiles in meeting,
So, weeping, smiling, greet I thee, my earth,
And do thee favours with my royal hands.
Feed not thy sovereign's foe, my gentle earth,
Nor with thy sweets comfort his ravenous sense;
But let thy spiders, that suck up thy venom,
And heavygaited toads lie in their way,
Doing annoyance to the treacherous feet
Which with usurping steps do trample thee:
Yield stinging nettles to mine enemies;
And when they from thy bosom pluck a flower,
Guard it, I pray thee, with a lurking adder
Whose double tongue may with a mortal touch
Throw death upon thy sovereign's enemies.
Mock not my senseless conjuration, lords:
This earth shall have a feeling and these stones
Prove armed soldiers, ere her native king
Shall falter under foul rebellion's arms.
BISHOP OF CARLISLE
Fear not, my lord: that Power that made you king
Hath power to keep you king in spite of all.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 2 148
Page No 152
The means that heaven yields must be embraced,
And not neglected; else, if heaven would,
And we will not, heaven's offer we refuse,
The proffer'd means of succor and redress.
DUKE OF AUMERLE
He means, my lord, that we are too remiss;
Whilst Bolingbroke, through our security,
Grows strong and great in substance and in power.
KING RICHARD II
Discomfortable cousin! know'st thou not
That when the searching eye of heaven is hid,
Behind the globe, that lights the lower world,
Then thieves and robbers range abroad unseen
In murders and in outrage, boldly here;
But when from under this terrestrial ball
He fires the proud tops of the eastern pines
And darts his light through every guilty hole,
Then murders, treasons and detested sins,
The cloak of night being pluck'd from off their backs,
Stand bare and naked, trembling at themselves?
So when this thief, this traitor, Bolingbroke,
Who all this while hath revell'd in the night
Whilst we were wandering with the antipodes,
Shall see us rising in our throne, the east,
His treasons will sit blushing in his face,
Not able to endure the sight of day,
But selfaffrighted tremble at his sin.
Not all the water in the rough rude sea
Can wash the balm off from an anointed king;
The breath of worldly men cannot depose
The deputy elected by the Lord:
For every man that Bolingbroke hath press'd
To lift shrewd steel against our golden crown,
God for his Richard hath in heavenly pay
A glorious angel: then, if angels fight,
Weak men must fall, for heaven still guards the right.
Enter EARL OF SALISBURY
Welcome, my lord how far off lies your power?
EARL OF SALISBURY
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 2 149
Page No 153
Nor near nor farther off, my gracious lord,
Than this weak arm: discomfort guides my tongue
And bids me speak of nothing but despair.
One day too late, I fear me, noble lord,
Hath clouded all thy happy days on earth:
O, call back yesterday, bid time return,
And thou shalt have twelve thousand fighting men!
Today, today, unhappy day, too late,
O'erthrows thy joys, friends, fortune and thy state:
For all the Welshmen, hearing thou wert dead.
Are gone to Bolingbroke, dispersed and fled.
DUKE OF AUMERLE
Comfort, my liege; why looks your grace so pale?
KING RICHARD II
But now the blood of twenty thousand men
Did triumph in my face, and they are fled;
And, till so much blood thither come again,
Have I not reason to look pale and dead?
All souls that will be safe fly from my side,
For time hath set a blot upon my pride.
DUKE OF AUMERLE
Comfort, my liege; remember who you are.
KING RICHARD II
I had forgot myself; am I not king?
Awake, thou coward majesty! thou sleepest.
Is not the king's name twenty thousand names?
Arm, arm, my name! a puny subject strikes
At thy great glory. Look not to the ground,
Ye favourites of a king: are we not high?
High be our thoughts: I know my uncle York
Hath power enough to serve our turn. But who comes here?
Enter SIR STEPHEN SCROOP
SIR STEPHEN SCROOP
More health and happiness betide my liege
Than can my caretuned tongue deliver him!
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 2 150
Page No 154
KING RICHARD II
Mine ear is open and my heart prepared;
The worst is worldly loss thou canst unfold.
Say, is my kingdom lost? why, 'twas my care
And what loss is it to be rid of care?
Strives Bolingbroke to be as great as we?
Greater he shall not be; if he serve God,
We'll serve Him too and be his fellow so:
Revolt our subjects? that we cannot mend;
They break their faith to God as well as us:
Cry woe, destruction, ruin and decay:
The worst is death, and death will have his day.
SIR STEPHEN SCROOP
Glad am I that your highness is so arm'd
To bear the tidings of calamity.
Like an unseasonable stormy day,
Which makes the silver rivers drown their shores,
As if the world were all dissolved to tears,
So high above his limits swells the rage
Of Bolingbroke, covering your fearful land
With hard bright steel and hearts harder than steel.
Whitebeards have arm'd their thin and hairless scalps
Against thy majesty; boys, with women's voices,
Strive to speak big and clap their female joints
In stiff unwieldy arms against thy crown:
The very beadsmen learn to bend their bows
Of doublefatal yew against thy state;
Yea, distaffwomen manage rusty bills
Against thy seat: both young and old rebel,
And all goes worse than I have power to tell.
KING RICHARD II
Too well, too well thou tell'st a tale so ill.
Where is the Earl of Wiltshire? where is Bagot?
What is become of Bushy? where is Green?
That they have let the dangerous enemy
Measure our confines with such peaceful steps?
If we prevail, their heads shall pay for it:
I warrant they have made peace with Bolingbroke.
SIR STEPHEN SCROOP
Peace have they made with him indeed, my lord.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 2 151
Page No 155
KING RICHARD II
O villains, vipers, damn'd without redemption!
Dogs, easily won to fawn on any man!
Snakes, in my heartblood warm'd, that sting my heart!
Three Judases, each one thrice worse than Judas!
Would they make peace? terrible hell make war
Upon their spotted souls for this offence!
SIR STEPHEN SCROOP
Sweet love, I see, changing his property,
Turns to the sourest and most deadly hate:
Again uncurse their souls; their peace is made
With heads, and not with hands; those whom you curse
Have felt the worst of death's destroying wound
And lie full low, graved in the hollow ground.
DUKE OF AUMERLE
Is Bushy, Green, and the Earl of Wiltshire dead?
SIR STEPHEN SCROOP
Ay, all of them at Bristol lost their heads.
DUKE OF AUMERLE
Where is the duke my father with his power?
KING RICHARD II
No matter where; of comfort no man speak:
Let's talk of graves, of worms, and epitaphs;
Make dust our paper and with rainy eyes
Write sorrow on the bosom of the earth,
Let's choose executors and talk of wills:
And yet not so, for what can we bequeath
Save our deposed bodies to the ground?
Our lands, our lives and all are Bolingbroke's,
And nothing can we call our own but death
And that small model of the barren earth
Which serves as paste and cover to our bones.
For God's sake, let us sit upon the ground
And tell sad stories of the death of kings;
How some have been deposed; some slain in war,
Some haunted by the ghosts they have deposed;
Some poison'd by their wives: some sleeping kill'd;
All murder'd: for within the hollow crown
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 2 152
Page No 156
That rounds the mortal temples of a king
Keeps Death his court and there the antic sits,
Scoffing his state and grinning at his pomp,
Allowing him a breath, a little scene,
To monarchize, be fear'd and kill with looks,
Infusing him with self and vain conceit,
As if this flesh which walls about our life,
Were brass impregnable, and humour'd thus
Comes at the last and with a little pin
Bores through his castle wall, and farewell king!
Cover your heads and mock not flesh and blood
With solemn reverence: throw away respect,
Tradition, form and ceremonious duty,
For you have but mistook me all this while:
I live with bread like you, feel want,
Taste grief, need friends: subjected thus,
How can you say to me, I am a king?
BISHOP OF CARLISLE
My lord, wise men ne'er sit and wail their woes,
But presently prevent the ways to wail.
To fear the foe, since fear oppresseth strength,
Gives in your weakness strength unto your foe,
And so your follies fight against yourself.
Fear and be slain; no worse can come to fight:
And fight and die is death destroying death;
Where fearing dying pays death servile breath.
DUKE OF AUMERLE
My father hath a power; inquire of him
And learn to make a body of a limb.
KING RICHARD II
Thou chidest me well: proud Bolingbroke, I come
To change blows with thee for our day of doom.
This ague fit of fear is overblown;
An easy task it is to win our own.
Say, Scroop, where lies our uncle with his power?
Speak sweetly, man, although thy looks be sour.
SIR STEPHEN SCROOP
Men judge by the complexion of the sky
The state and inclination of the day:
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 2 153
Page No 157
So may you by my dull and heavy eye,
My tongue hath but a heavier tale to say.
I play the torturer, by small and small
To lengthen out the worst that must be spoken:
Your uncle York is join'd with Bolingbroke,
And all your northern castles yielded up,
And all your southern gentlemen in arms
Upon his party.
KING RICHARD II
Thou hast said enough.
Beshrew thee, cousin, which didst lead me forth
To DUKE OF AUMERLE
Of that sweet way I was in to despair!
What say you now? what comfort have we now?
By heaven, I'll hate him everlastingly
That bids me be of comfort any more.
Go to Flint castle: there I'll pine away;
A king, woe's slave, shall kingly woe obey.
That power I have, discharge; and let them go
To ear the land that hath some hope to grow,
For I have none: let no man speak again
To alter this, for counsel is but vain.
DUKE OF AUMERLE
My liege, one word.
KING RICHARD II
He does me double wrong
That wounds me with the flatteries of his tongue.
Discharge my followers: let them hence away,
From Richard's night to Bolingbroke's fair day.
Exeunt
Act 3, Scene 3
Wales. Before Flint castle.
Enter, with drum and colours, HENRY BOLINGBROKE, DUKE OF YORK,
NORTHUMBERLAND, Attendants, and forces
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 3 154
Page No 158
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
So that by this intelligence we learn
The Welshmen are dispersed, and Salisbury
Is gone to meet the king, who lately landed
With some few private friends upon this coast.
NORTHUMBERLAND
The news is very fair and good, my lord:
Richard not far from hence hath hid his head.
DUKE OF YORK
It would beseem the Lord Northumberland
To say 'King Richard:' alack the heavy day
When such a sacred king should hide his head.
NORTHUMBERLAND
Your grace mistakes; only to be brief
Left I his title out.
DUKE OF YORK
The time hath been,
Would you have been so brief with him, he would
Have been so brief with you, to shorten you,
For taking so the head, your whole head's length.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Mistake not, uncle, further than you should.
DUKE OF YORK
Take not, good cousin, further than you should.
Lest you mistake the heavens are o'er our heads.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
I know it, uncle, and oppose not myself
Against their will. But who comes here?
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 3 155
Page No 159
Enter HENRY PERCY
Welcome, Harry: what, will not this castle yield?
HENRY PERCY
The castle royally is mann'd, my lord,
Against thy entrance.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Royally!
Why, it contains no king?
HENRY PERCY
Yes, my good lord,
It doth contain a king; King Richard lies
Within the limits of yon lime and stone:
And with him are the Lord Aumerle, Lord Salisbury,
Sir Stephen Scroop, besides a clergyman
Of holy reverence; who, I cannot learn.
NORTHUMBERLAND
O, belike it is the Bishop of Carlisle.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Noble lords,
Go to the rude ribs of that ancient castle;
Through brazen trumpet send the breath of parley
Into his ruin'd ears, and thus deliver:
Henry Bolingbroke
On both his knees doth kiss King Richard's hand
And sends allegiance and true faith of heart
To his most royal person, hither come
Even at his feet to lay my arms and power,
Provided that my banishment repeal'd
And lands restored again be freely granted:
If not, I'll use the advantage of my power
And lay the summer's dust with showers of blood
Rain'd from the wounds of slaughter'd Englishmen:
The which, how far off from the mind of Bolingbroke
It is, such crimson tempest should bedrench
The fresh green lap of fair King Richard's land,
My stooping duty tenderly shall show.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 3 156
Page No 160
Go, signify as much, while here we march
Upon the grassy carpet of this plain.
Let's march without the noise of threatening drum,
That from this castle's tatter'd battlements
Our fair appointments may be well perused.
Methinks King Richard and myself should meet
With no less terror than the elements
Of fire and water, when their thundering shock
At meeting tears the cloudy cheeks of heaven.
Be he the fire, I'll be the yielding water:
The rage be his, whilst on the earth I rain
My waters; on the earth, and not on him.
March on, and mark King Richard how he looks.
Parle without, and answer within. Then a flourish. Enter on the walls, KING RICHARD II,
the BISHOP OF CARLISLE, DUKE OF AUMERLE, SIR STEPHEN SCROOP, and EARL
OF SALISBURY
See, see, King Richard doth himself appear,
As doth the blushing discontented sun
From out the fiery portal of the east,
When he perceives the envious clouds are bent
To dim his glory and to stain the track
Of his bright passage to the occident.
DUKE OF YORK
Yet looks he like a king: behold, his eye,
As bright as is the eagle's, lightens forth
Controlling majesty: alack, alack, for woe,
That any harm should stain so fair a show!
KING RICHARD II
We are amazed; and thus long have we stood
To watch the fearful bending of thy knee,
To NORTHUMBERLAND
Because we thought ourself thy lawful king:
And if we be, how dare thy joints forget
To pay their awful duty to our presence?
If we be not, show us the hand of God
That hath dismissed us from our stewardship;
For well we know, no hand of blood and bone
Can gripe the sacred handle of our sceptre,
Unless he do profane, steal, or usurp.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 3 157
Page No 161
And though you think that all, as you have done,
Have torn their souls by turning them from us,
And we are barren and bereft of friends;
Yet know, my master, God omnipotent,
Is mustering in his clouds on our behalf
Armies of pestilence; and they shall strike
Your children yet unborn and unbegot,
That lift your vassal hands against my head
And threat the glory of my precious crown.
Tell Bolingbrokefor yond methinks he stands
That every stride he makes upon my land
Is dangerous treason: he is come to open
The purple testament of bleeding war;
But ere the crown he looks for live in peace,
Ten thousand bloody crowns of mothers' sons
Shall ill become the flower of England's face,
Change the complexion of her maidpale peace
To scarlet indignation and bedew
Her pastures' grass with faithful English blood.
NORTHUMBERLAND
The king of heaven forbid our lord the king
Should so with civil and uncivil arms
Be rush'd upon! Thy thrice noble cousin
Harry Bolingbroke doth humbly kiss thy hand;
And by the honourable tomb he swears,
That stands upon your royal grandsire's bones,
And by the royalties of both your bloods,
Currents that spring from one most gracious head,
And by the buried hand of warlike Gaunt,
And by the worth and honour of himself,
Comprising all that may be sworn or said,
His coming hither hath no further scope
Than for his lineal royalties and to beg
Enfranchisement immediate on his knees:
Which on thy royal party granted once,
His glittering arms he will commend to rust,
His barbed steeds to stables, and his heart
To faithful service of your majesty.
This swears he, as he is a prince, is just;
And, as I am a gentleman, I credit him.
KING RICHARD II
Northumberland, say thus the king returns:
His noble cousin is right welcome hither;
And all the number of his fair demands
Shall be accomplish'd without contradiction:
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 3 158
Page No 162
With all the gracious utterance thou hast
Speak to his gentle hearing kind commends.
We do debase ourselves, cousin, do we not,
To DUKE OF AUMERLE
To look so poorly and to speak so fair?
Shall we call back Northumberland, and send
Defiance to the traitor, and so die?
DUKE OF AUMERLE
No, good my lord; let's fight with gentle words
Till time lend friends and friends their helpful swords.
KING RICHARD II
O God, O God! that e'er this tongue of mine,
That laid the sentence of dread banishment
On yon proud man, should take it off again
With words of sooth! O that I were as great
As is my grief, or lesser than my name!
Or that I could forget what I have been,
Or not remember what I must be now!
Swell'st thou, proud heart? I'll give thee scope to beat,
Since foes have scope to beat both thee and me.
DUKE OF AUMERLE
Northumberland comes back from Bolingbroke.
KING RICHARD II
What must the king do now? must he submit?
The king shall do it: must he be deposed?
The king shall be contented: must he lose
The name of king? o' God's name, let it go:
I'll give my jewels for a set of beads,
My gorgeous palace for a hermitage,
My gay apparel for an almsman's gown,
My figured goblets for a dish of wood,
My sceptre for a palmer's walking staff,
My subjects for a pair of carved saints
And my large kingdom for a little grave,
A little little grave, an obscure grave;
Or I'll be buried in the king's highway,
Some way of common trade, where subjects' feet
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 3 159
Page No 163
May hourly trample on their sovereign's head;
For on my heart they tread now whilst I live;
And buried once, why not upon my head?
Aumerle, thou weep'st, my tenderhearted cousin!
We'll make foul weather with despised tears;
Our sighs and they shall lodge the summer corn,
And make a dearth in this revolting land.
Or shall we play the wantons with our woes,
And make some pretty match with shedding tears?
As thus, to drop them still upon one place,
Till they have fretted us a pair of graves
Within the earth; and, therein laid,there lies
Two kinsmen digg'd their graves with weeping eyes.
Would not this ill do well? Well, well, I see
I talk but idly, and you laugh at me.
Most mighty prince, my Lord Northumberland,
What says King Bolingbroke? will his majesty
Give Richard leave to live till Richard die?
You make a leg, and Bolingbroke says ay.
NORTHUMBERLAND
My lord, in the base court he doth attend
To speak with you; may it please you to come down.
KING RICHARD II
Down, down I come; like glistering Phaethon,
Wanting the manage of unruly jades.
In the base court? Base court, where kings grow base,
To come at traitors' calls and do them grace.
In the base court? Come down? Down, court!
down, king!
For nightowls shriek where mounting larks
should sing.
Exeunt from above
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
What says his majesty?
NORTHUMBERLAND
Sorrow and grief of heart
Makes him speak fondly, like a frantic man
Yet he is come.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 3 160
Page No 164
Enter KING RICHARD and his attendants below
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Stand all apart,
And show fair duty to his majesty.
He kneels down
My gracious lord,
KING RICHARD II
Fair cousin, you debase your princely knee
To make the base earth proud with kissing it:
Me rather had my heart might feel your love
Than my unpleased eye see your courtesy.
Up, cousin, up; your heart is up, I know,
Thus high at least, although your knee be low.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
My gracious lord, I come but for mine own.
KING RICHARD II
Your own is yours, and I am yours, and all.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
So far be mine, my most redoubted lord,
As my true service shall deserve your love.
KING RICHARD II
Well you deserve: they well deserve to have,
That know the strong'st and surest way to get.
Uncle, give me your hands: nay, dry your eyes;
Tears show their love, but want their remedies.
Cousin, I am too young to be your father,
Though you are old enough to be my heir.
What you will have, I'll give, and willing too;
For do we must what force will have us do.
Set on towards London, cousin, is it so?
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 3 161
Page No 165
Yea, my good lord.
KING RICHARD II
Then I must not say no.
Flourish. Exeunt
Act 3, Scene 4
LANGLEY. The DUKE OF YORK's garden.
Enter the QUEEN and two Ladies
QUEEN
What sport shall we devise here in this garden,
To drive away the heavy thought of care?
Lady
Madam, we'll play at bowls.
QUEEN
'Twill make me think the world is full of rubs,
And that my fortune rubs against the bias.
Lady
Madam, we'll dance.
QUEEN
My legs can keep no measure in delight,
When my poor heart no measure keeps in grief:
Therefore, no dancing, girl; some other sport.
Lady
Madam, we'll tell tales.
QUEEN
Of sorrow or of joy?
Lady
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 4 162
Page No 166
Of either, madam.
QUEEN
Of neither, girl:
For of joy, being altogether wanting,
It doth remember me the more of sorrow;
Or if of grief, being altogether had,
It adds more sorrow to my want of joy:
For what I have I need not to repeat;
And what I want it boots not to complain.
Lady
Madam, I'll sing.
QUEEN
'Tis well that thou hast cause
But thou shouldst please me better, wouldst thou weep.
Lady
I could weep, madam, would it do you good.
QUEEN
And I could sing, would weeping do me good,
And never borrow any tear of thee.
Enter a Gardener, and two Servants
But stay, here come the gardeners:
Let's step into the shadow of these trees.
My wretchedness unto a row of pins,
They'll talk of state; for every one doth so
Against a change; woe is forerun with woe.
QUEEN and Ladies retire
Gardener
Go, bind thou up yon dangling apricocks,
Which, like unruly children, make their sire
Stoop with oppression of their prodigal weight:
Give some supportance to the bending twigs.
Go thou, and like an executioner,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 4 163
Page No 167
Cut off the heads of too fast growing sprays,
That look too lofty in our commonwealth:
All must be even in our government.
You thus employ'd, I will go root away
The noisome weeds, which without profit suck
The soil's fertility from wholesome flowers.
Servant
Why should we in the compass of a pale
Keep law and form and due proportion,
Showing, as in a model, our firm estate,
When our seawalled garden, the whole land,
Is full of weeds, her fairest flowers choked up,
Her fruittrees all upturned, her hedges ruin'd,
Her knots disorder'd and her wholesome herbs
Swarming with caterpillars?
Gardener
Hold thy peace:
He that hath suffer'd this disorder'd spring
Hath now himself met with the fall of leaf:
The weeds which his broadspreading leaves did shelter,
That seem'd in eating him to hold him up,
Are pluck'd up root and all by Bolingbroke,
I mean the Earl of Wiltshire, Bushy, Green.
Servant
What, are they dead?
Gardener
They are; and Bolingbroke
Hath seized the wasteful king. O, what pity is it
That he had not so trimm'd and dress'd his land
As we this garden! We at time of year
Do wound the bark, the skin of our fruittrees,
Lest, being overproud in sap and blood,
With too much riches it confound itself:
Had he done so to great and growing men,
They might have lived to bear and he to taste
Their fruits of duty: superfluous branches
We lop away, that bearing boughs may live:
Had he done so, himself had borne the crown,
Which waste of idle hours hath quite thrown down.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 4 164
Page No 168
Servant
What, think you then the king shall be deposed?
Gardener
Depress'd he is already, and deposed
'Tis doubt he will be: letters came last night
To a dear friend of the good Duke of York's,
That tell black tidings.
QUEEN
O, I am press'd to death through want of speaking!
Coming forward
Thou, old Adam's likeness, set to dress this garden,
How dares thy harsh rude tongue sound this unpleasing news?
What Eve, what serpent, hath suggested thee
To make a second fall of cursed man?
Why dost thou say King Richard is deposed?
Darest thou, thou little better thing than earth,
Divine his downfall? Say, where, when, and how,
Camest thou by this ill tidings? speak, thou wretch.
Gardener
Pardon me, madam: little joy have I
To breathe this news; yet what I say is true.
King Richard, he is in the mighty hold
Of Bolingbroke: their fortunes both are weigh'd:
In your lord's scale is nothing but himself,
And some few vanities that make him light;
But in the balance of great Bolingbroke,
Besides himself, are all the English peers,
And with that odds he weighs King Richard down.
Post you to London, and you will find it so;
I speak no more than every one doth know.
QUEEN
Nimble mischance, that art so light of foot,
Doth not thy embassage belong to me,
And am I last that knows it? O, thou think'st
To serve me last, that I may longest keep
Thy sorrow in my breast. Come, ladies, go,
To meet at London London's king in woe.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 4 165
Page No 169
What, was I born to this, that my sad look
Should grace the triumph of great Bolingbroke?
Gardener, for telling me these news of woe,
Pray God the plants thou graft'st may never grow.
Exeunt QUEEN and Ladies
GARDENER
Poor queen! so that thy state might be no worse,
I would my skill were subject to thy curse.
Here did she fall a tear; here in this place
I'll set a bank of rue, sour herb of grace:
Rue, even for ruth, here shortly shall be seen,
In the remembrance of a weeping queen.
Exeunt
Act 4, Scene 1
Westminster Hall.
Enter, as to the Parliament, HENRY BOLINGBROKE, DUKE OF AUMERLE,
NORTHUMBERLAND, HENRY PERCY, LORD FITZWATER, DUKE OF SURREY, the
BISHOP OF CARLISLE, the Abbot Of Westminster, and another Lord, Herald, Officers, and
BAGOT
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Call forth Bagot.
Now, Bagot, freely speak thy mind;
What thou dost know of noble Gloucester's death,
Who wrought it with the king, and who perform'd
The bloody office of his timeless end.
BAGOT
Then set before my face the Lord Aumerle.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Cousin, stand forth, and look upon that man.
BAGOT
My Lord Aumerle, I know your daring tongue
Scorns to unsay what once it hath deliver'd.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 1 166
Page No 170
In that dead time when Gloucester's death was plotted,
I heard you say, 'Is not my arm of length,
That reacheth from the restful English court
As far as Calais, to mine uncle's head?'
Amongst much other talk, that very time,
I heard you say that you had rather refuse
The offer of an hundred thousand crowns
Than Bolingbroke's return to England;
Adding withal how blest this land would be
In this your cousin's death.
DUKE OF AUMERLE
Princes and noble lords,
What answer shall I make to this base man?
Shall I so much dishonour my fair stars,
On equal terms to give him chastisement?
Either I must, or have mine honour soil'd
With the attainder of his slanderous lips.
There is my gage, the manual seal of death,
That marks thee out for hell: I say, thou liest,
And will maintain what thou hast said is false
In thy heartblood, though being all too base
To stain the temper of my knightly sword.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Bagot, forbear; thou shalt not take it up.
DUKE OF AUMERLE
Excepting one, I would he were the best
In all this presence that hath moved me so.
LORD FITZWATER
If that thy valour stand on sympathy,
There is my gage, Aumerle, in gage to thine:
By that fair sun which shows me where thou stand'st,
I heard thee say, and vauntingly thou spakest it
That thou wert cause of noble Gloucester's death.
If thou deny'st it twenty times, thou liest;
And I will turn thy falsehood to thy heart,
Where it was forged, with my rapier's point.
DUKE OF AUMERLE
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 1 167
Page No 171
Thou darest not, coward, live to see that day.
LORD FITZWATER
Now by my soul, I would it were this hour.
DUKE OF AUMERLE
Fitzwater, thou art damn'd to hell for this.
HENRY PERCY
Aumerle, thou liest; his honour is as true
In this appeal as thou art all unjust;
And that thou art so, there I throw my gage,
To prove it on thee to the extremest point
Of mortal breathing: seize it, if thou darest.
DUKE OF AUMERLE
An if I do not, may my hands rot off
And never brandish more revengeful steel
Over the glittering helmet of my foe!
Lord
I task the earth to the like, forsworn Aumerle;
And spur thee on with full as many lies
As may be holloa'd in thy treacherous ear
From sun to sun: there is my honour's pawn;
Engage it to the trial, if thou darest.
DUKE OF AUMERLE
Who sets me else? by heaven, I'll throw at all:
I have a thousand spirits in one breast,
To answer twenty thousand such as you.
DUKE OF SURREY
My Lord Fitzwater, I do remember well
The very time Aumerle and you did talk.
LORD FITZWATER
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 1 168
Page No 172
'Tis very true: you were in presence then;
And you can witness with me this is true.
DUKE OF SURREY
As false, by heaven, as heaven itself is true.
LORD FITZWATER
Surrey, thou liest.
DUKE OF SURREY
Dishonourable boy!
That lie shall lie so heavy on my sword,
That it shall render vengeance and revenge
Till thou the liegiver and that lie do lie
In earth as quiet as thy father's skull:
In proof whereof, there is my honour's pawn;
Engage it to the trial, if thou darest.
LORD FITZWATER
How fondly dost thou spur a forward horse!
If I dare eat, or drink, or breathe, or live,
I dare meet Surrey in a wilderness,
And spit upon him, whilst I say he lies,
And lies, and lies: there is my bond of faith,
To tie thee to my strong correction.
As I intend to thrive in this new world,
Aumerle is guilty of my true appeal:
Besides, I heard the banish'd Norfolk say
That thou, Aumerle, didst send two of thy men
To execute the noble duke at Calais.
DUKE OF AUMERLE
Some honest Christian trust me with a gage
That Norfolk lies: here do I throw down this,
If he may be repeal'd, to try his honour.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
These differences shall all rest under gage
Till Norfolk be repeal'd: repeal'd he shall be,
And, though mine enemy, restored again
To all his lands and signories: when he's return'd,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 1 169
Page No 173
Against Aumerle we will enforce his trial.
BISHOP OF CARLISLE
That honourable day shall ne'er be seen.
Many a time hath banish'd Norfolk fought
For Jesu Christ in glorious Christian field,
Streaming the ensign of the Christian cross
Against black pagans, Turks, and Saracens:
And toil'd with works of war, retired himself
To Italy; and there at Venice gave
His body to that pleasant country's earth,
And his pure soul unto his captain Christ,
Under whose colours he had fought so long.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Why, bishop, is Norfolk dead?
BISHOP OF CARLISLE
As surely as I live, my lord.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Sweet peace conduct his sweet soul to the bosom
Of good old Abraham! Lords appellants,
Your differences shall all rest under gage
Till we assign you to your days of trial.
Enter DUKE OF YORK, attended
DUKE OF YORK
Great Duke of Lancaster, I come to thee
From plumepluck'd Richard; who with willing soul
Adopts thee heir, and his high sceptre yields
To the possession of thy royal hand:
Ascend his throne, descending now from him;
And long live Henry, fourth of that name!
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
In God's name, I'll ascend the regal throne.
BISHOP OF CARLISLE
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 1 170
Page No 174
Marry. God forbid!
Worst in this royal presence may I speak,
Yet best beseeming me to speak the truth.
Would God that any in this noble presence
Were enough noble to be upright judge
Of noble Richard! then true noblesse would
Learn him forbearance from so foul a wrong.
What subject can give sentence on his king?
And who sits here that is not Richard's subject?
Thieves are not judged but they are by to hear,
Although apparent guilt be seen in them;
And shall the figure of God's majesty,
His captain, steward, deputyelect,
Anointed, crowned, planted many years,
Be judged by subject and inferior breath,
And he himself not present? O, forfend it, God,
That in a Christian climate souls refined
Should show so heinous, black, obscene a deed!
I speak to subjects, and a subject speaks,
Stirr'd up by God, thus boldly for his king:
My Lord of Hereford here, whom you call king,
Is a foul traitor to proud Hereford's king:
And if you crown him, let me prophesy:
The blood of English shall manure the ground,
And future ages groan for this foul act;
Peace shall go sleep with Turks and infidels,
And in this seat of peace tumultuous wars
Shall kin with kin and kind with kind confound;
Disorder, horror, fear and mutiny
Shall here inhabit, and this land be call'd
The field of Golgotha and dead men's skulls.
O, if you raise this house against this house,
It will the woefullest division prove
That ever fell upon this cursed earth.
Prevent it, resist it, let it not be so,
Lest child, child's children, cry against you woe!
NORTHUMBERLAND
Well have you argued, sir; and, for your pains,
Of capital treason we arrest you here.
My Lord of Westminster, be it your charge
To keep him safely till his day of trial.
May it please you, lords, to grant the commons' suit.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Fetch hither Richard, that in common view
He may surrender; so we shall proceed
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 1 171
Page No 175
Without suspicion.
DUKE OF YORK
I will be his conduct.
Exit
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Lords, you that here are under our arrest,
Procure your sureties for your days of answer.
Little are we beholding to your love,
And little look'd for at your helping hands.
Reenter DUKE OF YORK, with KING RICHARD II, and Officers bearing the regalia
KING RICHARD II
Alack, why am I sent for to a king,
Before I have shook off the regal thoughts
Wherewith I reign'd? I hardly yet have learn'd
To insinuate, flatter, bow, and bend my limbs:
Give sorrow leave awhile to tutor me
To this submission. Yet I well remember
The favours of these men: were they not mine?
Did they not sometime cry, 'all hail!' to me?
So Judas did to Christ: but he, in twelve,
Found truth in all but one: I, in twelve thousand, none.
God save the king! Will no man say amen?
Am I both priest and clerk? well then, amen.
God save the king! although I be not he;
And yet, amen, if heaven do think him me.
To do what service am I sent for hither?
DUKE OF YORK
To do that office of thine own good will
Which tired majesty did make thee offer,
The resignation of thy state and crown
To Henry Bolingbroke.
KING RICHARD II
Give me the crown. Here, cousin, seize the crown;
Here cousin:
On this side my hand, and on that side yours.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 1 172
Page No 176
Now is this golden crown like a deep well
That owes two buckets, filling one another,
The emptier ever dancing in the air,
The other down, unseen and full of water:
That bucket down and full of tears am I,
Drinking my griefs, whilst you mount up on high.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
I thought you had been willing to resign.
KING RICHARD II
My crown I am; but still my griefs are mine:
You may my glories and my state depose,
But not my griefs; still am I king of those.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Part of your cares you give me with your crown.
KING RICHARD II
Your cares set up do not pluck my cares down.
My care is loss of care, by old care done;
Your care is gain of care, by new care won:
The cares I give I have, though given away;
They tend the crown, yet still with me they stay.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Are you contented to resign the crown?
KING RICHARD II
Ay, no; no, ay; for I must nothing be;
Therefore no no, for I resign to thee.
Now mark me, how I will undo myself;
I give this heavy weight from off my head
And this unwieldy sceptre from my hand,
The pride of kingly sway from out my heart;
With mine own tears I wash away my balm,
With mine own hands I give away my crown,
With mine own tongue deny my sacred state,
With mine own breath release all duty's rites:
All pomp and majesty I do forswear;
My manors, rents, revenues I forego;
My acts, decrees, and statutes I deny:
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 1 173
Page No 177
God pardon all oaths that are broke to me!
God keep all vows unbroke that swear to thee!
Make me, that nothing have, with nothing grieved,
And thou with all pleased, that hast all achieved!
Long mayst thou live in Richard's seat to sit,
And soon lie Richard in an earthly pit!
God save King Harry, unking'd Richard says,
And send him many years of sunshine days!
What more remains?
NORTHUMBERLAND
No more, but that you read
These accusations and these grievous crimes
Committed by your person and your followers
Against the state and profit of this land;
That, by confessing them, the souls of men
May deem that you are worthily deposed.
KING RICHARD II
Must I do so? and must I ravel out
My weavedup folly? Gentle Northumberland,
If thy offences were upon record,
Would it not shame thee in so fair a troop
To read a lecture of them? If thou wouldst,
There shouldst thou find one heinous article,
Containing the deposing of a king
And cracking the strong warrant of an oath,
Mark'd with a blot, damn'd in the book of heaven:
Nay, all of you that stand and look upon,
Whilst that my wretchedness doth bait myself,
Though some of you with Pilate wash your hands
Showing an outward pity; yet you Pilates
Have here deliver'd me to my sour cross,
And water cannot wash away your sin.
NORTHUMBERLAND
My lord, dispatch; read o'er these articles.
KING RICHARD II
Mine eyes are full of tears, I cannot see:
And yet salt water blinds them not so much
But they can see a sort of traitors here.
Nay, if I turn mine eyes upon myself,
I find myself a traitor with the rest;
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 1 174
Page No 178
For I have given here my soul's consent
To undeck the pompous body of a king;
Made glory base and sovereignty a slave,
Proud majesty a subject, state a peasant.
NORTHUMBERLAND
My lord,
KING RICHARD II
No lord of thine, thou haught insulting man,
Nor no man's lord; I have no name, no title,
No, not that name was given me at the font,
But 'tis usurp'd: alack the heavy day,
That I have worn so many winters out,
And know not now what name to call myself!
O that I were a mockery king of snow,
Standing before the sun of Bolingbroke,
To melt myself away in waterdrops!
Good king, great king, and yet not greatly good,
An if my word be sterling yet in England,
Let it command a mirror hither straight,
That it may show me what a face I have,
Since it is bankrupt of his majesty.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Go some of you and fetch a lookingglass.
Exit an attendant
NORTHUMBERLAND
Read o'er this paper while the glass doth come.
KING RICHARD II
Fiend, thou torment'st me ere I come to hell!
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Urge it no more, my Lord Northumberland.
NORTHUMBERLAND
The commons will not then be satisfied.
KING RICHARD II
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 1 175
Page No 179
They shall be satisfied: I'll read enough,
When I do see the very book indeed
Where all my sins are writ, and that's myself.
Reenter Attendant, with a glass
Give me the glass, and therein will I read.
No deeper wrinkles yet? hath sorrow struck
So many blows upon this face of mine,
And made no deeper wounds? O flattering glass,
Like to my followers in prosperity,
Thou dost beguile me! Was this face the face
That every day under his household roof
Did keep ten thousand men? was this the face
That, like the sun, did make beholders wink?
Was this the face that faced so many follies,
And was at last outfaced by Bolingbroke?
A brittle glory shineth in this face:
As brittle as the glory is the face;
Dashes the glass against the ground
For there it is, crack'd in a hundred shivers.
Mark, silent king, the moral of this sport,
How soon my sorrow hath destroy'd my face.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
The shadow of your sorrow hath destroy'd
The shadow or your face.
KING RICHARD II
Say that again.
The shadow of my sorrow! ha! let's see:
'Tis very true, my grief lies all within;
And these external manners of laments
Are merely shadows to the unseen grief
That swells with silence in the tortured soul;
There lies the substance: and I thank thee, king,
For thy great bounty, that not only givest
Me cause to wail but teachest me the way
How to lament the cause. I'll beg one boon,
And then be gone and trouble you no more.
Shall I obtain it?
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 1 176
Page No 180
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Name it, fair cousin.
KING RICHARD II
'Fair cousin'? I am greater than a king:
For when I was a king, my flatterers
Were then but subjects; being now a subject,
I have a king here to my flatterer.
Being so great, I have no need to beg.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Yet ask.
KING RICHARD II
And shall I have?
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
You shall.
KING RICHARD II
Then give me leave to go.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Whither?
KING RICHARD II
Whither you will, so I were from your sights.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Go, some of you convey him to the Tower.
KING RICHARD II
O, good! convey? conveyers are you all,
That rise thus nimbly by a true king's fall.
Exeunt KING RICHARD II, some Lords, and a Guard
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 1 177
Page No 181
On Wednesday next we solemnly set down
Our coronation: lords, prepare yourselves.
Exeunt all except the BISHOP OF CARLISLE, the Abbot of Westminster, and DUKE OF
AUMERLE
Abbot
A woeful pageant have we here beheld.
BISHOP OF CARLISLE
The woe's to come; the children yet unborn.
Shall feel this day as sharp to them as thorn.
DUKE OF AUMERLE
You holy clergymen, is there no plot
To rid the realm of this pernicious blot?
Abbot
My lord,
Before I freely speak my mind herein,
You shall not only take the sacrament
To bury mine intents, but also to effect
Whatever I shall happen to devise.
I see your brows are full of discontent,
Your hearts of sorrow and your eyes of tears:
Come home with me to supper; and I'll lay
A plot shall show us all a merry day.
Exeunt
Act 5, Scene 1
London. A street leading to the Tower.
Enter QUEEN and Ladies
QUEEN
This way the king will come; this is the way
To Julius Caesar's illerected tower,
To whose flint bosom my condemned lord
Is doom'd a prisoner by proud Bolingbroke:
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 1 178
Page No 182
Here let us rest, if this rebellious earth
Have any resting for her true king's queen.
Enter KING RICHARD II and Guard
But soft, but see, or rather do not see,
My fair rose wither: yet look up, behold,
That you in pity may dissolve to dew,
And wash him fresh again with truelove tears.
Ah, thou, the model where old Troy did stand,
Thou map of honour, thou King Richard's tomb,
And not King Richard; thou most beauteous inn,
Why should hardfavour'd grief be lodged in thee,
When triumph is become an alehouse guest?
KING RICHARD II
Join not with grief, fair woman, do not so,
To make my end too sudden: learn, good soul,
To think our former state a happy dream;
From which awaked, the truth of what we are
Shows us but this: I am sworn brother, sweet,
To grim Necessity, and he and I
Will keep a league till death. Hie thee to France
And cloister thee in some religious house:
Our holy lives must win a new world's crown,
Which our profane hours here have stricken down.
QUEEN
What, is my Richard both in shape and mind
Transform'd and weaken'd? hath Bolingbroke deposed
Thine intellect? hath he been in thy heart?
The lion dying thrusteth forth his paw,
And wounds the earth, if nothing else, with rage
To be o'erpower'd; and wilt thou, pupillike,
Take thy correction mildly, kiss the rod,
And fawn on rage with base humility,
Which art a lion and a king of beasts?
KING RICHARD II
A king of beasts, indeed; if aught but beasts,
I had been still a happy king of men.
Good sometime queen, prepare thee hence for France:
Think I am dead and that even here thou takest,
As from my deathbed, thy last living leave.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 1 179
Page No 183
In winter's tedious nights sit by the fire
With good old folks and let them tell thee tales
Of woeful ages long ago betid;
And ere thou bid good night, to quit their griefs,
Tell thou the lamentable tale of me
And send the hearers weeping to their beds:
For why, the senseless brands will sympathize
The heavy accent of thy moving tongue
And in compassion weep the fire out;
And some will mourn in ashes, some coalblack,
For the deposing of a rightful king.
Enter NORTHUMBERLAND and others
NORTHUMBERLAND
My lord, the mind of Bolingbroke is changed:
You must to Pomfret, not unto the Tower.
And, madam, there is order ta'en for you;
With all swift speed you must away to France.
KING RICHARD II
Northumberland, thou ladder wherewithal
The mounting Bolingbroke ascends my throne,
The time shall not be many hours of age
More than it is ere foul sin gathering head
Shalt break into corruption: thou shalt think,
Though he divide the realm and give thee half,
It is too little, helping him to all;
And he shall think that thou, which know'st the way
To plant unrightful kings, wilt know again,
Being ne'er so little urged, another way
To pluck him headlong from the usurped throne.
The love of wicked men converts to fear;
That fear to hate, and hate turns one or both
To worthy danger and deserved death.
NORTHUMBERLAND
My guilt be on my head, and there an end.
Take leave and part; for you must part forthwith.
KING RICHARD II
Doubly divorced! Bad men, you violate
A twofold marriage, 'twixt my crown and me,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 1 180
Page No 184
And then betwixt me and my married wife.
Let me unkiss the oath 'twixt thee and me;
And yet not so, for with a kiss 'twas made.
Part us, Northumberland; I toward the north,
Where shivering cold and sickness pines the clime;
My wife to France: from whence, set forth in pomp,
She came adorned hither like sweet May,
Sent back like Hallowmas or short'st of day.
QUEEN
And must we be divided? must we part?
KING RICHARD II
Ay, hand from hand, my love, and heart from heart.
QUEEN
Banish us both and send the king with me.
NORTHUMBERLAND
That were some love but little policy.
QUEEN
Then whither he goes, thither let me go.
KING RICHARD II
So two, together weeping, make one woe.
Weep thou for me in France, I for thee here;
Better far off than near, be ne'er the near.
Go, count thy way with sighs; I mine with groans.
QUEEN
So longest way shall have the longest moans.
KING RICHARD II
Twice for one step I'll groan, the way being short,
And piece the way out with a heavy heart.
Come, come, in wooing sorrow let's be brief,
Since, wedding it, there is such length in grief;
One kiss shall stop our mouths, and dumbly part;
Thus give I mine, and thus take I thy heart.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 1 181
Page No 185
QUEEN
Give me mine own again; 'twere no good part
To take on me to keep and kill thy heart.
So, now I have mine own again, be gone,
That I might strive to kill it with a groan.
KING RICHARD II
We make woe wanton with this fond delay:
Once more, adieu; the rest let sorrow say.
Exeunt
Act 5, Scene 2
The DUKE OF YORK's palace.
Enter DUKE OF YORK and DUCHESS OF YORK
DUCHESS OF YORK
My lord, you told me you would tell the rest,
When weeping made you break the story off,
of our two cousins coming into London.
DUKE OF YORK
Where did I leave?
DUCHESS OF YORK
At that sad stop, my lord,
Where rude misgovern'd hands from windows' tops
Threw dust and rubbish on King Richard's head.
DUKE OF YORK
Then, as I said, the duke, great Bolingbroke,
Mounted upon a hot and fiery steed
Which his aspiring rider seem'd to know,
With slow but stately pace kept on his course,
Whilst all tongues cried 'God save thee,
Bolingbroke!'
You would have thought the very windows spake,
So many greedy looks of young and old
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 2 182
Page No 186
Through casements darted their desiring eyes
Upon his visage, and that all the walls
With painted imagery had said at once
'Jesu preserve thee! welcome, Bolingbroke!'
Whilst he, from the one side to the other turning,
Bareheaded, lower than his proud steed's neck,
Bespake them thus: 'I thank you, countrymen:'
And thus still doing, thus he pass'd along.
DUCHESS OF YORK
Alack, poor Richard! where rode he the whilst?
DUKE OF YORK
As in a theatre, the eyes of men,
After a wellgraced actor leaves the stage,
Are idly bent on him that enters next,
Thinking his prattle to be tedious;
Even so, or with much more contempt, men's eyes
Did scowl on gentle Richard; no man cried 'God save him!'
No joyful tongue gave him his welcome home:
But dust was thrown upon his sacred head:
Which with such gentle sorrow he shook off,
His face still combating with tears and smiles,
The badges of his grief and patience,
That had not God, for some strong purpose, steel'd
The hearts of men, they must perforce have melted
And barbarism itself have pitied him.
But heaven hath a hand in these events,
To whose high will we bound our calm contents.
To Bolingbroke are we sworn subjects now,
Whose state and honour I for aye allow.
DUCHESS OF YORK
Here comes my son Aumerle.
DUKE OF YORK
Aumerle that was;
But that is lost for being Richard's friend,
And, madam, you must call him Rutland now:
I am in parliament pledge for his truth
And lasting fealty to the newmade king.
Enter DUKE OF AUMERLE
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 2 183
Page No 187
DUCHESS OF YORK
Welcome, my son: who are the violets now
That strew the green lap of the new come spring?
DUKE OF AUMERLE
Madam, I know not, nor I greatly care not:
God knows I had as lief be none as one.
DUKE OF YORK
Well, bear you well in this new spring of time,
Lest you be cropp'd before you come to prime.
What news from Oxford? hold those justs and triumphs?
DUKE OF AUMERLE
For aught I know, my lord, they do.
DUKE OF YORK
You will be there, I know.
DUKE OF AUMERLE
If God prevent not, I purpose so.
DUKE OF YORK
What seal is that, that hangs without thy bosom?
Yea, look'st thou pale? let me see the writing.
DUKE OF AUMERLE
My lord, 'tis nothing.
DUKE OF YORK
No matter, then, who see it;
I will be satisfied; let me see the writing.
DUKE OF AUMERLE
I do beseech your grace to pardon me:
It is a matter of small consequence,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 2 184
Page No 188
Which for some reasons I would not have seen.
DUKE OF YORK
Which for some reasons, sir, I mean to see.
I fear, I fear,
DUCHESS OF YORK
What should you fear?
'Tis nothing but some bond, that he is enter'd into
For gay apparel 'gainst the triumph day.
DUKE OF YORK
Bound to himself! what doth he with a bond
That he is bound to? Wife, thou art a fool.
Boy, let me see the writing.
DUKE OF AUMERLE
I do beseech you, pardon me; I may not show it.
DUKE OF YORK
I will be satisfied; let me see it, I say.
He plucks it out of his bosom and reads it
Treason! foul treason! Villain! traitor! slave!
DUCHESS OF YORK
What is the matter, my lord?
DUKE OF YORK
Ho! who is within there?
Enter a Servant
Saddle my horse.
God for his mercy, what treachery is here!
DUCHESS OF YORK
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 2 185
Page No 189
Why, what is it, my lord?
DUKE OF YORK
Give me my boots, I say; saddle my horse.
Now, by mine honour, by my life, by my troth,
I will appeach the villain.
DUCHESS OF YORK
What is the matter?
DUKE OF YORK
Peace, foolish woman.
DUCHESS OF YORK
I will not peace. What is the matter, Aumerle.
DUKE OF AUMERLE
Good mother, be content; it is no more
Than my poor life must answer.
DUCHESS OF YORK
Thy life answer!
DUKE OF YORK
Bring me my boots: I will unto the king.
Reenter Servant with boots
DUCHESS OF YORK
Strike him, Aumerle. Poor boy, thou art amazed.
Hence, villain! never more come in my sight.
DUKE OF YORK
Give me my boots, I say.
DUCHESS OF YORK
Why, York, what wilt thou do?
Wilt thou not hide the trespass of thine own?
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 2 186
Page No 190
Have we more sons? or are we like to have?
Is not my teeming date drunk up with time?
And wilt thou pluck my fair son from mine age,
And rob me of a happy mother's name?
Is he not like thee? is he not thine own?
DUKE OF YORK
Thou fond mad woman,
Wilt thou conceal this dark conspiracy?
A dozen of them here have ta'en the sacrament,
And interchangeably set down their hands,
To kill the king at Oxford.
DUCHESS OF YORK
He shall be none;
We'll keep him here: then what is that to him?
DUKE OF YORK
Away, fond woman! were he twenty times my son,
I would appeach him.
DUCHESS OF YORK
Hadst thou groan'd for him
As I have done, thou wouldst be more pitiful.
But now I know thy mind; thou dost suspect
That I have been disloyal to thy bed,
And that he is a bastard, not thy son:
Sweet York, sweet husband, be not of that mind:
He is as like thee as a man may be,
Not like to me, or any of my kin,
And yet I love him.
DUKE OF YORK
Make way, unruly woman!
Exit
DUCHESS OF YORK
After, Aumerle! mount thee upon his horse;
Spur post, and get before him to the king,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 2 187
Page No 191
And beg thy pardon ere he do accuse thee.
I'll not be long behind; though I be old,
I doubt not but to ride as fast as York:
And never will I rise up from the ground
Till Bolingbroke have pardon'd thee. Away, be gone!
Exeunt
Act 5, Scene 3
A royal palace.
Enter HENRY BOLINGBROKE, HENRY PERCY, and other Lords
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Can no man tell me of my unthrifty son?
'Tis full three months since I did see him last;
If any plague hang over us, 'tis he.
I would to God, my lords, he might be found:
Inquire at London, 'mongst the taverns there,
For there, they say, he daily doth frequent,
With unrestrained loose companions,
Even such, they say, as stand in narrow lanes,
And beat our watch, and rob our passengers;
Which he, young wanton and effeminate boy,
Takes on the point of honour to support
So dissolute a crew.
HENRY PERCY
My lord, some two days since I saw the prince,
And told him of those triumphs held at Oxford.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
And what said the gallant?
HENRY PERCY
His answer was, he would unto the stews,
And from the common'st creature pluck a glove,
And wear it as a favour; and with that
He would unhorse the lustiest challenger.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 3 188
Page No 192
As dissolute as desperate; yet through both
I see some sparks of better hope, which elder years
May happily bring forth. But who comes here?
Enter DUKE OF AUMERLE
DUKE OF AUMERLE
Where is the king?
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
What means our cousin, that he stares and looks
So wildly?
DUKE OF AUMERLE
God save your grace! I do beseech your majesty,
To have some conference with your grace alone.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Withdraw yourselves, and leave us here alone.
Exeunt HENRY PERCY and Lords
What is the matter with our cousin now?
DUKE OF AUMERLE
For ever may my knees grow to the earth,
My tongue cleave to my roof within my mouth
Unless a pardon ere I rise or speak.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Intended or committed was this fault?
If on the first, how heinous e'er it be,
To win thy afterlove I pardon thee.
DUKE OF AUMERLE
Then give me leave that I may turn the key,
That no man enter till my tale be done.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 3 189
Page No 193
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Have thy desire.
DUKE OF YORK
[Within] My liege, beware; look to thyself;
Thou hast a traitor in thy presence there.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Villain, I'll make thee safe.
Drawing
DUKE OF AUMERLE
Stay thy revengeful hand; thou hast no cause to fear.
DUKE OF YORK
[Within] Open the door, secure, foolhardy king:
Shall I for love speak treason to thy face?
Open the door, or I will break it open.
Enter DUKE OF YORK
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
What is the matter, uncle? speak;
Recover breath; tell us how near is danger,
That we may arm us to encounter it.
DUKE OF YORK
Peruse this writing here, and thou shalt know
The treason that my haste forbids me show.
DUKE OF AUMERLE
Remember, as thou read'st, thy promise pass'd:
I do repent me; read not my name there
My heart is not confederate with my hand.
DUKE OF YORK
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 3 190
Page No 194
It was, villain, ere thy hand did set it down.
I tore it from the traitor's bosom, king;
Fear, and not love, begets his penitence:
Forget to pity him, lest thy pity prove
A serpent that will sting thee to the heart.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
O heinous, strong and bold conspiracy!
O loyal father of a treacherous son!
Thou sheer, immaculate and silver fountain,
From when this stream through muddy passages
Hath held his current and defiled himself!
Thy overflow of good converts to bad,
And thy abundant goodness shall excuse
This deadly blot in thy digressing son.
DUKE OF YORK
So shall my virtue be his vice's bawd;
And he shall spend mine honour with his shame,
As thriftless sons their scraping fathers' gold.
Mine honour lives when his dishonour dies,
Or my shamed life in his dishonour lies:
Thou kill'st me in his life; giving him breath,
The traitor lives, the true man's put to death.
DUCHESS OF YORK
[Within] What ho, my liege! for God's sake,
let me in.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
What shrillvoiced suppliant makes this eager cry?
DUCHESS OF YORK
A woman, and thy aunt, great king; 'tis I.
Speak with me, pity me, open the door.
A beggar begs that never begg'd before.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Our scene is alter'd from a serious thing,
And now changed to 'The Beggar and the King.'
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 3 191
Page No 195
My dangerous cousin, let your mother in:
I know she is come to pray for your foul sin.
DUKE OF YORK
If thou do pardon, whosoever pray,
More sins for this forgiveness prosper may.
This fester'd joint cut off, the rest rest sound;
This let alone will all the rest confound.
Enter DUCHESS OF YORK
DUCHESS OF YORK
O king, believe not this hardhearted man!
Love loving not itself none other can.
DUKE OF YORK
Thou frantic woman, what dost thou make here?
Shall thy old dugs once more a traitor rear?
DUCHESS OF YORK
Sweet York, be patient. Hear me, gentle liege.
Kneels
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Rise up, good aunt.
DUCHESS OF YORK
Not yet, I thee beseech:
For ever will I walk upon my knees,
And never see day that the happy sees,
Till thou give joy; until thou bid me joy,
By pardoning Rutland, my transgressing boy.
DUKE OF AUMERLE
Unto my mother's prayers I bend my knee.
DUKE OF YORK
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 3 192
Page No 196
Against them both my true joints bended be.
Ill mayst thou thrive, if thou grant any grace!
DUCHESS OF YORK
Pleads he in earnest? look upon his face;
His eyes do drop no tears, his prayers are in jest;
His words come from his mouth, ours from our breast:
He prays but faintly and would be denied;
We pray with heart and soul and all beside:
His weary joints would gladly rise, I know;
Our knees shall kneel till to the ground they grow:
His prayers are full of false hypocrisy;
Ours of true zeal and deep integrity.
Our prayers do outpray his; then let them have
That mercy which true prayer ought to have.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Good aunt, stand up.
DUCHESS OF YORK
Nay, do not say, 'stand up;'
Say, 'pardon' first, and afterwards 'stand up.'
And if I were thy nurse, thy tongue to teach,
'Pardon' should be the first word of thy speech.
I never long'd to hear a word till now;
Say 'pardon,' king; let pity teach thee how:
The word is short, but not so short as sweet;
No word like 'pardon' for kings' mouths so meet.
DUKE OF YORK
Speak it in French, king; say, 'pardonne moi.'
DUCHESS OF YORK
Dost thou teach pardon pardon to destroy?
Ah, my sour husband, my hardhearted lord,
That set'st the word itself against the word!
Speak 'pardon' as 'tis current in our land;
The chopping French we do not understand.
Thine eye begins to speak; set thy tongue there;
Or in thy piteous heart plant thou thine ear;
That hearing how our plaints and prayers do pierce,
Pity may move thee 'pardon' to rehearse.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 3 193
Page No 197
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Good aunt, stand up.
DUCHESS OF YORK
I do not sue to stand;
Pardon is all the suit I have in hand.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
I pardon him, as God shall pardon me.
DUCHESS OF YORK
O happy vantage of a kneeling knee!
Yet am I sick for fear: speak it again;
Twice saying 'pardon' doth not pardon twain,
But makes one pardon strong.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
With all my heart
I pardon him.
DUCHESS OF YORK
A god on earth thou art.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
But for our trusty brotherinlaw and the abbot,
With all the rest of that consorted crew,
Destruction straight shall dog them at the heels.
Good uncle, help to order several powers
To Oxford, or where'er these traitors are:
They shall not live within this world, I swear,
But I will have them, if I once know where.
Uncle, farewell: and, cousin too, adieu:
Your mother well hath pray'd, and prove you true.
DUCHESS OF YORK
Come, my old son: I pray God make thee new.
Exeunt
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 3 194
Page No 198
Act 5, Scene 4
The same.
Enter EXTON and Servant
EXTON
Didst thou not mark the king, what words he spake,
'Have I no friend will rid me of this living fear?'
Was it not so?
Servant
These were his very words.
EXTON
'Have I no friend?' quoth he: he spake it twice,
And urged it twice together, did he not?
Servant
He did.
EXTON
And speaking it, he wistly look'd on me,
And who should say, 'I would thou wert the man'
That would divorce this terror from my heart;'
Meaning the king at Pomfret. Come, let's go:
I am the king's friend, and will rid his foe.
Exeunt
Act 5, Scene 5
Pomfret castle.
Enter KING RICHARD
KING RICHARD II
I have been studying how I may compare
This prison where I live unto the world:
And for because the world is populous
And here is not a creature but myself,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 4 195
Page No 199
I cannot do it; yet I'll hammer it out.
My brain I'll prove the female to my soul,
My soul the father; and these two beget
A generation of stillbreeding thoughts,
And these same thoughts people this little world,
In humours like the people of this world,
For no thought is contented. The better sort,
As thoughts of things divine, are intermix'd
With scruples and do set the word itself
Against the word:
As thus, 'Come, little ones,' and then again,
'It is as hard to come as for a camel
To thread the postern of a small needle's eye.'
Thoughts tending to ambition, they do plot
Unlikely wonders; how these vain weak nails
May tear a passage through the flinty ribs
Of this hard world, my ragged prison walls,
And, for they cannot, die in their own pride.
Thoughts tending to content flatter themselves
That they are not the first of fortune's slaves,
Nor shall not be the last; like silly beggars
Who sitting in the stocks refuge their shame,
That many have and others must sit there;
And in this thought they find a kind of ease,
Bearing their own misfortunes on the back
Of such as have before endured the like.
Thus play I in one person many people,
And none contented: sometimes am I king;
Then treasons make me wish myself a beggar,
And so I am: then crushing penury
Persuades me I was better when a king;
Then am I king'd again: and by and by
Think that I am unking'd by Bolingbroke,
And straight am nothing: but whate'er I be,
Nor I nor any man that but man is
With nothing shall be pleased, till he be eased
With being nothing. Music do I hear?
Music
Ha, ha! keep time: how sour sweet music is,
When time is broke and no proportion kept!
So is it in the music of men's lives.
And here have I the daintiness of ear
To cheque time broke in a disorder'd string;
But for the concord of my state and time
Had not an ear to hear my true time broke.
I wasted time, and now doth time waste me;
For now hath time made me his numbering clock:
My thoughts are minutes; and with sighs they jar
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 4 196
Page No 200
Their watches on unto mine eyes, the outward watch,
Whereto my finger, like a dial's point,
Is pointing still, in cleansing them from tears.
Now sir, the sound that tells what hour it is
Are clamorous groans, which strike upon my heart,
Which is the bell: so sighs and tears and groans
Show minutes, times, and hours: but my time
Runs posting on in Bolingbroke's proud joy,
While I stand fooling here, his Jack o' the clock.
This music mads me; let it sound no more;
For though it have holp madmen to their wits,
In me it seems it will make wise men mad.
Yet blessing on his heart that gives it me!
For 'tis a sign of love; and love to Richard
Is a strange brooch in this allhating world.
Enter a Groom of the Stable
Groom
Hail, royal prince!
KING RICHARD II
Thanks, noble peer;
The cheapest of us is ten groats too dear.
What art thou? and how comest thou hither,
Where no man never comes but that sad dog
That brings me food to make misfortune live?
Groom
I was a poor groom of thy stable, king,
When thou wert king; who, travelling towards York,
With much ado at length have gotten leave
To look upon my sometimes royal master's face.
O, how it yearn'd my heart when I beheld
In London streets, that coronationday,
When Bolingbroke rode on roan Barbary,
That horse that thou so often hast bestrid,
That horse that I so carefully have dress'd!
KING RICHARD II
Rode he on Barbary? Tell me, gentle friend,
How went he under him?
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 4 197
Page No 201
Groom
So proudly as if he disdain'd the ground.
KING RICHARD II
So proud that Bolingbroke was on his back!
That jade hath eat bread from my royal hand;
This hand hath made him proud with clapping him.
Would he not stumble? would he not fall down,
Since pride must have a fall, and break the neck
Of that proud man that did usurp his back?
Forgiveness, horse! why do I rail on thee,
Since thou, created to be awed by man,
Wast born to bear? I was not made a horse;
And yet I bear a burthen like an ass,
Spurr'd, gall'd and tired by jouncing Bolingbroke.
Enter Keeper, with a dish
Keeper
Fellow, give place; here is no longer stay.
KING RICHARD II
If thou love me, 'tis time thou wert away.
Groom
What my tongue dares not, that my heart shall say.
Exit
Keeper
My lord, will't please you to fall to?
KING RICHARD II
Taste of it first, as thou art wont to do.
Keeper
My lord, I dare not: Sir Pierce of Exton, who
lately came from the king, commands the contrary.
KING RICHARD II
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 4 198
Page No 202
The devil take Henry of Lancaster and thee!
Patience is stale, and I am weary of it.
Beats the keeper
Keeper
Help, help, help!
Enter EXTON and Servants, armed
KING RICHARD II
How now! what means death in this rude assault?
Villain, thy own hand yields thy death's instrument.
Snatching an axe from a Servant and killing him
Go thou, and fill another room in hell.
He kills another. Then Exton strikes him down
That hand shall burn in neverquenching fire
That staggers thus my person. Exton, thy fierce hand
Hath with the king's blood stain'd the king's own land.
Mount, mount, my soul! thy seat is up on high;
Whilst my gross flesh sinks downward, here to die.
Dies
EXTON
As full of valour as of royal blood:
Both have I spill'd; O would the deed were good!
For now the devil, that told me I did well,
Says that this deed is chronicled in hell.
This dead king to the living king I'll bear
Take hence the rest, and give them burial here.
Exeunt
Act 5, Scene 6
Windsor castle.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 6 199
Page No 203
Flourish. Enter HENRY BOLINGBROKE, DUKE OF YORK, with other Lords, and
Attendants
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Kind uncle York, the latest news we hear
Is that the rebels have consumed with fire
Our town of Cicester in Gloucestershire;
But whether they be ta'en or slain we hear not.
Enter NORTHUMBERLAND
Welcome, my lord what is the news?
NORTHUMBERLAND
First, to thy sacred state wish I all happiness.
The next news is, I have to London sent
The heads of Oxford, Salisbury, Blunt, and Kent:
The manner of their taking may appear
At large discoursed in this paper here.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
We thank thee, gentle Percy, for thy pains;
And to thy worth will add right worthy gains.
Enter LORD FITZWATER
LORD FITZWATER
My lord, I have from Oxford sent to London
The heads of Brocas and Sir Bennet Seely,
Two of the dangerous consorted traitors
That sought at Oxford thy dire overthrow.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Thy pains, Fitzwater, shall not be forgot;
Right noble is thy merit, well I wot.
Enter HENRY PERCY, and the BISHOP OF CARLISLE
HENRY PERCY
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 6 200
Page No 204
The grand conspirator, Abbot of Westminster,
With clog of conscience and sour melancholy
Hath yielded up his body to the grave;
But here is Carlisle living, to abide
Thy kingly doom and sentence of his pride.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Carlisle, this is your doom:
Choose out some secret place, some reverend room,
More than thou hast, and with it joy thy life;
So as thou livest in peace, die free from strife:
For though mine enemy thou hast ever been,
High sparks of honour in thee have I seen.
Enter EXTON, with persons bearing a coffin
EXTON
Great king, within this coffin I present
Thy buried fear: herein all breathless lies
The mightiest of thy greatest enemies,
Richard of Bordeaux, by me hither brought.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Exton, I thank thee not; for thou hast wrought
A deed of slander with thy fatal hand
Upon my head and all this famous land.
EXTON
From your own mouth, my lord, did I this deed.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
They love not poison that do poison need,
Nor do I thee: though I did wish him dead,
I hate the murderer, love him murdered.
The guilt of conscience take thou for thy labour,
But neither my good word nor princely favour:
With Cain go wander through shades of night,
And never show thy head by day nor light.
Lords, I protest, my soul is full of woe,
That blood should sprinkle me to make me grow:
Come, mourn with me for that I do lament,
And put on sullen black incontinent:
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 6 201
Page No 205
I'll make a voyage to the Holy Land,
To wash this blood off from my guilty hand:
March sadly after; grace my mournings here;
In weeping after this untimely bier.
Exeunt
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 6 202
Page No 206
Richard III
Act 1, Scene 1
London. A street.
Enter GLOUCESTER, solus
GLOUCESTER
Now is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious summer by this sun of York;
And all the clouds that lour'd upon our house
In the deep bosom of the ocean buried.
Now are our brows bound with victorious wreaths;
Our bruised arms hung up for monuments;
Our stern alarums changed to merry meetings,
Our dreadful marches to delightful measures.
Grimvisaged war hath smooth'd his wrinkled front;
And now, instead of mounting barded steeds
To fright the souls of fearful adversaries,
He capers nimbly in a lady's chamber
To the lascivious pleasing of a lute.
But I, that am not shaped for sportive tricks,
Nor made to court an amorous lookingglass;
I, that am rudely stamp'd, and want love's majesty
To strut before a wanton ambling nymph;
I, that am curtail'd of this fair proportion,
Cheated of feature by dissembling nature,
Deformed, unfinish'd, sent before my time
Into this breathing world, scarce half made up,
And that so lamely and unfashionable
That dogs bark at me as I halt by them;
Why, I, in this weak piping time of peace,
Have no delight to pass away the time,
Unless to spy my shadow in the sun
And descant on mine own deformity:
And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover,
To entertain these fair wellspoken days,
I am determined to prove a villain
And hate the idle pleasures of these days.
Plots have I laid, inductions dangerous,
By drunken prophecies, libels and dreams,
To set my brother Clarence and the king
In deadly hate the one against the other:
And if King Edward be as true and just
As I am subtle, false and treacherous,
This day should Clarence closely be mew'd up,
About a prophecy, which says that 'G'
Of Edward's heirs the murderer shall be.
Richard III 203
Page No 207
Dive, thoughts, down to my soul: here
Clarence comes.
Enter CLARENCE, guarded, and BRAKENBURY
Brother, good day; what means this armed guard
That waits upon your grace?
CLARENCE
His majesty
Tendering my person's safety, hath appointed
This conduct to convey me to the Tower.
GLOUCESTER
Upon what cause?
CLARENCE
Because my name is George.
GLOUCESTER
Alack, my lord, that fault is none of yours;
He should, for that, commit your godfathers:
O, belike his majesty hath some intent
That you shall be newchristen'd in the Tower.
But what's the matter, Clarence? may I know?
CLARENCE
Yea, Richard, when I know; for I protest
As yet I do not: but, as I can learn,
He hearkens after prophecies and dreams;
And from the crossrow plucks the letter G.
And says a wizard told him that by G
His issue disinherited should be;
And, for my name of George begins with G,
It follows in his thought that I am he.
These, as I learn, and such like toys as these
Have moved his highness to commit me now.
GLOUCESTER
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Richard III 204
Page No 208
Why, this it is, when men are ruled by women:
'Tis not the king that sends you to the Tower:
My Lady Grey his wife, Clarence, 'tis she
That tempers him to this extremity.
Was it not she and that good man of worship,
Anthony Woodville, her brother there,
That made him send Lord Hastings to the Tower,
From whence this present day he is deliver'd?
We are not safe, Clarence; we are not safe.
CLARENCE
By heaven, I think there's no man is secure
But the queen's kindred and nightwalking heralds
That trudge betwixt the king and Mistress Shore.
Heard ye not what an humble suppliant
Lord hastings was to her for his delivery?
GLOUCESTER
Humbly complaining to her deity
Got my lord chamberlain his liberty.
I'll tell you what; I think it is our way,
If we will keep in favour with the king,
To be her men and wear her livery:
The jealous o'erworn widow and herself,
Since that our brother dubb'd them gentlewomen.
Are mighty gossips in this monarchy.
BRAKENBURY
I beseech your graces both to pardon me;
His majesty hath straitly given in charge
That no man shall have private conference,
Of what degree soever, with his brother.
GLOUCESTER
Even so; an't please your worship, Brakenbury,
You may partake of any thing we say:
We speak no treason, man: we say the king
Is wise and virtuous, and his noble queen
Well struck in years, fair, and not jealous;
We say that Shore's wife hath a pretty foot,
A cherry lip, a bonny eye, a passing pleasing tongue;
And that the queen's kindred are made gentlefolks:
How say you sir? Can you deny all this?
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Richard III 205
Page No 209
BRAKENBURY
With this, my lord, myself have nought to do.
GLOUCESTER
Naught to do with mistress Shore! I tell thee, fellow,
He that doth naught with her, excepting one,
Were best he do it secretly, alone.
BRAKENBURY
What one, my lord?
GLOUCESTER
Her husband, knave: wouldst thou betray me?
BRAKENBURY
I beseech your grace to pardon me, and withal
Forbear your conference with the noble duke.
CLARENCE
We know thy charge, Brakenbury, and will obey.
GLOUCESTER
We are the queen's abjects, and must obey.
Brother, farewell: I will unto the king;
And whatsoever you will employ me in,
Were it to call King Edward's widow sister,
I will perform it to enfranchise you.
Meantime, this deep disgrace in brotherhood
Touches me deeper than you can imagine.
CLARENCE
I know it pleaseth neither of us well.
GLOUCESTER
Well, your imprisonment shall not be long;
Meantime, have patience.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Richard III 206
Page No 210
CLARENCE
I must perforce. Farewell.
Exeunt CLARENCE, BRAKENBURY, and Guard
GLOUCESTER
Go, tread the path that thou shalt ne'er return.
Simple, plain Clarence! I do love thee so,
That I will shortly send thy soul to heaven,
If heaven will take the present at our hands.
But who comes here? the newdeliver'd Hastings?
Enter HASTINGS
HASTINGS
Good time of day unto my gracious lord!
GLOUCESTER
As much unto my good lord chamberlain!
Well are you welcome to the open air.
How hath your lordship brook'd imprisonment?
HASTINGS
With patience, noble lord, as prisoners must:
But I shall live, my lord, to give them thanks
That were the cause of my imprisonment.
GLOUCESTER
No doubt, no doubt; and so shall Clarence too;
For they that were your enemies are his,
And have prevail'd as much on him as you.
HASTINGS
More pity that the eagle should be mew'd,
While kites and buzzards prey at liberty.
GLOUCESTER
What news abroad?
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Richard III 207
Page No 211
HASTINGS
No news so bad abroad as this at home;
The King is sickly, weak and melancholy,
And his physicians fear him mightily.
GLOUCESTER
Now, by Saint Paul, this news is bad indeed.
O, he hath kept an evil diet long,
And overmuch consumed his royal person:
'Tis very grievous to be thought upon.
What, is he in his bed?
HASTINGS
He is.
GLOUCESTER
Go you before, and I will follow you.
Exit HASTINGS
He cannot live, I hope; and must not die
Till George be pack'd with posthorse up to heaven.
I'll in, to urge his hatred more to Clarence,
With lies well steel'd with weighty arguments;
And, if I fall not in my deep intent,
Clarence hath not another day to live:
Which done, God take King Edward to his mercy,
And leave the world for me to bustle in!
For then I'll marry Warwick's youngest daughter.
What though I kill'd her husband and her father?
The readiest way to make the wench amends
Is to become her husband and her father:
The which will I; not all so much for love
As for another secret close intent,
By marrying her which I must reach unto.
But yet I run before my horse to market:
Clarence still breathes; Edward still lives and reigns:
When they are gone, then must I count my gains.
Exit
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Richard III 208
Page No 212
Act 1, Scene 2
The same. Another street.
Enter the corpse of KING HENRY the Sixth, Gentlemen with halberds to guard it; LADY
ANNE being the mourner
LADY ANNE
Set down, set down your honourable load,
If honour may be shrouded in a hearse,
Whilst I awhile obsequiously lament
The untimely fall of virtuous Lancaster.
Poor keycold figure of a holy king!
Pale ashes of the house of Lancaster!
Thou bloodless remnant of that royal blood!
Be it lawful that I invocate thy ghost,
To hear the lamentations of Poor Anne,
Wife to thy Edward, to thy slaughter'd son,
Stabb'd by the selfsame hand that made these wounds!
Lo, in these windows that let forth thy life,
I pour the helpless balm of my poor eyes.
Cursed be the hand that made these fatal holes!
Cursed be the heart that had the heart to do it!
Cursed the blood that let this blood from hence!
More direful hap betide that hated wretch,
That makes us wretched by the death of thee,
Than I can wish to adders, spiders, toads,
Or any creeping venom'd thing that lives!
If ever he have child, abortive be it,
Prodigious, and untimely brought to light,
Whose ugly and unnatural aspect
May fright the hopeful mother at the view;
And that be heir to his unhappiness!
If ever he have wife, let her he made
A miserable by the death of him
As I am made by my poor lord and thee!
Come, now towards Chertsey with your holy load,
Taken from Paul's to be interred there;
And still, as you are weary of the weight,
Rest you, whiles I lament King Henry's corse.
Enter GLOUCESTER
GLOUCESTER
Stay, you that bear the corse, and set it down.
LADY ANNE
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 2 209
Page No 213
What black magician conjures up this fiend,
To stop devoted charitable deeds?
GLOUCESTER
Villains, set down the corse; or, by Saint Paul,
I'll make a corse of him that disobeys.
Gentleman
My lord, stand back, and let the coffin pass.
GLOUCESTER
Unmanner'd dog! stand thou, when I command:
Advance thy halbert higher than my breast,
Or, by Saint Paul, I'll strike thee to my foot,
And spurn upon thee, beggar, for thy boldness.
LADY ANNE
What, do you tremble? are you all afraid?
Alas, I blame you not; for you are mortal,
And mortal eyes cannot endure the devil.
Avaunt, thou dreadful minister of hell!
Thou hadst but power over his mortal body,
His soul thou canst not have; therefore be gone.
GLOUCESTER
Sweet saint, for charity, be not so curst.
LADY ANNE
Foul devil, for God's sake, hence, and trouble us not;
For thou hast made the happy earth thy hell,
Fill'd it with cursing cries and deep exclaims.
If thou delight to view thy heinous deeds,
Behold this pattern of thy butcheries.
O, gentlemen, see, see! dead Henry's wounds
Open their congeal'd mouths and bleed afresh!
Blush, Blush, thou lump of foul deformity;
For 'tis thy presence that exhales this blood
From cold and empty veins, where no blood dwells;
Thy deed, inhuman and unnatural,
Provokes this deluge most unnatural.
O God, which this blood madest, revenge his death!
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 2 210
Page No 214
O earth, which this blood drink'st revenge his death!
Either heaven with lightning strike the
murderer dead,
Or earth, gape open wide and eat him quick,
As thou dost swallow up this good king's blood
Which his hellgovern'd arm hath butchered!
GLOUCESTER
Lady, you know no rules of charity,
Which renders good for bad, blessings for curses.
LADY ANNE
Villain, thou know'st no law of God nor man:
No beast so fierce but knows some touch of pity.
GLOUCESTER
But I know none, and therefore am no beast.
LADY ANNE
O wonderful, when devils tell the truth!
GLOUCESTER
More wonderful, when angels are so angry.
Vouchsafe, divine perfection of a woman,
Of these supposedevils, to give me leave,
By circumstance, but to acquit myself.
LADY ANNE
Vouchsafe, defused infection of a man,
For these known evils, but to give me leave,
By circumstance, to curse thy cursed self.
GLOUCESTER
Fairer than tongue can name thee, let me have
Some patient leisure to excuse myself.
LADY ANNE
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 2 211
Page No 215
Fouler than heart can think thee, thou canst make
No excuse current, but to hang thyself.
GLOUCESTER
By such despair, I should accuse myself.
LADY ANNE
And, by despairing, shouldst thou stand excused;
For doing worthy vengeance on thyself,
Which didst unworthy slaughter upon others.
GLOUCESTER
Say that I slew them not?
LADY ANNE
Why, then they are not dead:
But dead they are, and devilish slave, by thee.
GLOUCESTER
I did not kill your husband.
LADY ANNE
Why, then he is alive.
GLOUCESTER
Nay, he is dead; and slain by Edward's hand.
LADY ANNE
In thy foul throat thou liest: Queen Margaret saw
Thy murderous falchion smoking in his blood;
The which thou once didst bend against her breast,
But that thy brothers beat aside the point.
GLOUCESTER
I was provoked by her slanderous tongue,
which laid their guilt upon my guiltless shoulders.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 2 212
Page No 216
LADY ANNE
Thou wast provoked by thy bloody mind.
Which never dreamt on aught but butcheries:
Didst thou not kill this king?
GLOUCESTER
I grant ye.
LADY ANNE
Dost grant me, hedgehog? then, God grant me too
Thou mayst be damned for that wicked deed!
O, he was gentle, mild, and virtuous!
GLOUCESTER
The fitter for the King of heaven, that hath him.
LADY ANNE
He is in heaven, where thou shalt never come.
GLOUCESTER
Let him thank me, that holp to send him thither;
For he was fitter for that place than earth.
LADY ANNE
And thou unfit for any place but hell.
GLOUCESTER
Yes, one place else, if you will hear me name it.
LADY ANNE
Some dungeon.
GLOUCESTER
Your bedchamber.
LADY ANNE
I'll rest betide the chamber where thou liest!
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 2 213
Page No 217
GLOUCESTER
So will it, madam till I lie with you.
LADY ANNE
I hope so.
GLOUCESTER
I know so. But, gentle Lady Anne,
To leave this keen encounter of our wits,
And fall somewhat into a slower method,
Is not the causer of the timeless deaths
Of these Plantagenets, Henry and Edward,
As blameful as the executioner?
LADY ANNE
Thou art the cause, and most accursed effect.
GLOUCESTER
Your beauty was the cause of that effect;
Your beauty: which did haunt me in my sleep
To undertake the death of all the world,
So I might live one hour in your sweet bosom.
LADY ANNE
If I thought that, I tell thee, homicide,
These nails should rend that beauty from my cheeks.
GLOUCESTER
These eyes could never endure sweet beauty's wreck;
You should not blemish it, if I stood by:
As all the world is cheered by the sun,
So I by that; it is my day, my life.
LADY ANNE
Black night o'ershade thy day, and death thy life!
GLOUCESTER
Curse not thyself, fair creature thou art both.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 2 214
Page No 218
LADY ANNE
I would I were, to be revenged on thee.
GLOUCESTER
It is a quarrel most unnatural,
To be revenged on him that loveth you.
LADY ANNE
It is a quarrel just and reasonable,
To be revenged on him that slew my husband.
GLOUCESTER
He that bereft thee, lady, of thy husband,
Did it to help thee to a better husband.
LADY ANNE
His better doth not breathe upon the earth.
GLOUCESTER
He lives that loves thee better than he could.
LADY ANNE
Name him.
GLOUCESTER
Plantagenet.
LADY ANNE
Why, that was he.
GLOUCESTER
The selfsame name, but one of better nature.
LADY ANNE
Where is he?
GLOUCESTER
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 2 215
Page No 219
Here.
She spitteth at him
Why dost thou spit at me?
LADY ANNE
Would it were mortal poison, for thy sake!
GLOUCESTER
Never came poison from so sweet a place.
LADY ANNE
Never hung poison on a fouler toad.
Out of my sight! thou dost infect my eyes.
GLOUCESTER
Thine eyes, sweet lady, have infected mine.
LADY ANNE
Would they were basilisks, to strike thee dead!
GLOUCESTER
I would they were, that I might die at once;
For now they kill me with a living death.
Those eyes of thine from mine have drawn salt tears,
Shamed their aspect with store of childish drops:
These eyes that never shed remorseful tear,
No, when my father York and Edward wept,
To hear the piteous moan that Rutland made
When blackfaced Clifford shook his sword at him;
Nor when thy warlike father, like a child,
Told the sad story of my father's death,
And twenty times made pause to sob and weep,
That all the standersby had wet their cheeks
Like trees bedash'd with rain: in that sad time
My manly eyes did scorn an humble tear;
And what these sorrows could not thence exhale,
Thy beauty hath, and made them blind with weeping.
I never sued to friend nor enemy;
My tongue could never learn sweet smoothing word;
But now thy beauty is proposed my fee,
My proud heart sues, and prompts my tongue to speak.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 2 216
Page No 220
She looks scornfully at him
Teach not thy lips such scorn, for they were made
For kissing, lady, not for such contempt.
If thy revengeful heart cannot forgive,
Lo, here I lend thee this sharppointed sword;
Which if thou please to hide in this true bosom.
And let the soul forth that adoreth thee,
I lay it naked to the deadly stroke,
And humbly beg the death upon my knee.
He lays his breast open: she offers at it with his sword
Nay, do not pause; for I did kill King Henry,
But 'twas thy beauty that provoked me.
Nay, now dispatch; 'twas I that stabb'd young Edward,
But 'twas thy heavenly face that set me on.
Here she lets fall the sword
Take up the sword again, or take up me.
LADY ANNE
Arise, dissembler: though I wish thy death,
I will not be the executioner.
GLOUCESTER
Then bid me kill myself, and I will do it.
LADY ANNE
I have already.
GLOUCESTER
Tush, that was in thy rage:
Speak it again, and, even with the word,
That hand, which, for thy love, did kill thy love,
Shall, for thy love, kill a far truer love;
To both their deaths thou shalt be accessary.
LADY ANNE
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 2 217
Page No 221
I would I knew thy heart.
GLOUCESTER
'Tis figured in my tongue.
LADY ANNE
I fear me both are false.
GLOUCESTER
Then never man was true.
LADY ANNE
Well, well, put up your sword.
GLOUCESTER
Say, then, my peace is made.
LADY ANNE
That shall you know hereafter.
GLOUCESTER
But shall I live in hope?
LADY ANNE
All men, I hope, live so.
GLOUCESTER
Vouchsafe to wear this ring.
LADY ANNE
To take is not to give.
GLOUCESTER
Look, how this ring encompasseth finger.
Even so thy breast encloseth my poor heart;
Wear both of them, for both of them are thine.
And if thy poor devoted suppliant may
But beg one favour at thy gracious hand,
Thou dost confirm his happiness for ever.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 2 218
Page No 222
LADY ANNE
What is it?
GLOUCESTER
That it would please thee leave these sad designs
To him that hath more cause to be a mourner,
And presently repair to Crosby Place;
Where, after I have solemnly interr'd
At Chertsey monastery this noble king,
And wet his grave with my repentant tears,
I will with all expedient duty see you:
For divers unknown reasons. I beseech you,
Grant me this boon.
LADY ANNE
With all my heart; and much it joys me too,
To see you are become so penitent.
Tressel and Berkeley, go along with me.
GLOUCESTER
Bid me farewell.
LADY ANNE
'Tis more than you deserve;
But since you teach me how to flatter you,
Imagine I have said farewell already.
Exeunt LADY ANNE, TRESSEL, and BERKELEY
GLOUCESTER
Sirs, take up the corse.
GENTLEMEN
Towards Chertsey, noble lord?
GLOUCESTER
No, to WhiteFriars; there attend my coining.
Exeunt all but GLOUCESTER
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 2 219
Page No 223
Was ever woman in this humour woo'd?
Was ever woman in this humour won?
I'll have her; but I will not keep her long.
What! I, that kill'd her husband and his father,
To take her in her heart's extremest hate,
With curses in her mouth, tears in her eyes,
The bleeding witness of her hatred by;
Having God, her conscience, and these bars
against me,
And I nothing to back my suit at all,
But the plain devil and dissembling looks,
And yet to win her, all the world to nothing!
Ha!
Hath she forgot already that brave prince,
Edward, her lord, whom I, some three months since,
Stabb'd in my angry mood at Tewksbury?
A sweeter and a lovelier gentleman,
Framed in the prodigality of nature,
Young, valiant, wise, and, no doubt, right royal,
The spacious world cannot again afford
And will she yet debase her eyes on me,
That cropp'd the golden prime of this sweet prince,
And made her widow to a woful bed?
On me, whose all not equals Edward's moiety?
On me, that halt and am unshapen thus?
My dukedom to a beggarly denier,
I do mistake my person all this while:
Upon my life, she finds, although I cannot,
Myself to be a marvellous proper man.
I'll be at charges for a lookingglass,
And entertain some score or two of tailors,
To study fashions to adorn my body:
Since I am crept in favour with myself,
Will maintain it with some little cost.
But first I'll turn yon fellow in his grave;
And then return lamenting to my love.
Shine out, fair sun, till I have bought a glass,
That I may see my shadow as I pass.
Exit
Act 1, Scene 3
The palace.
Enter QUEEN ELIZABETH, RIVERS, and GREY
RIVERS
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 3 220
Page No 224
Have patience, madam: there's no doubt his majesty
Will soon recover his accustom'd health.
GREY
In that you brook it in, it makes him worse:
Therefore, for God's sake, entertain good comfort,
And cheer his grace with quick and merry words.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
If he were dead, what would betide of me?
RIVERS
No other harm but loss of such a lord.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
The loss of such a lord includes all harm.
GREY
The heavens have bless'd you with a goodly son,
To be your comforter when he is gone.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Oh, he is young and his minority
Is put unto the trust of Richard Gloucester,
A man that loves not me, nor none of you.
RIVERS
Is it concluded that he shall be protector?
QUEEN ELIZABETH
It is determined, not concluded yet:
But so it must be, if the king miscarry.
Enter BUCKINGHAM and DERBY
GREY
Here come the lords of Buckingham and Derby.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 3 221
Page No 225
BUCKINGHAM
Good time of day unto your royal grace!
DERBY
God make your majesty joyful as you have been!
QUEEN ELIZABETH
The Countess Richmond, good my Lord of Derby.
To your good prayers will scarcely say amen.
Yet, Derby, notwithstanding she's your wife,
And loves not me, be you, good lord, assured
I hate not you for her proud arrogance.
DERBY
I do beseech you, either not believe
The envious slanders of her false accusers;
Or, if she be accused in true report,
Bear with her weakness, which, I think proceeds
From wayward sickness, and no grounded malice.
RIVERS
Saw you the king today, my Lord of Derby?
DERBY
But now the Duke of Buckingham and I
Are come from visiting his majesty.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
What likelihood of his amendment, lords?
BUCKINGHAM
Madam, good hope; his grace speaks cheerfully.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
God grant him health! Did you confer with him?
BUCKINGHAM
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 3 222
Page No 226
Madam, we did: he desires to make atonement
Betwixt the Duke of Gloucester and your brothers,
And betwixt them and my lord chamberlain;
And sent to warn them to his royal presence.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Would all were well! but that will never be
I fear our happiness is at the highest.
Enter GLOUCESTER, HASTINGS, and DORSET
GLOUCESTER
They do me wrong, and I will not endure it:
Who are they that complain unto the king,
That I, forsooth, am stern, and love them not?
By holy Paul, they love his grace but lightly
That fill his ears with such dissentious rumours.
Because I cannot flatter and speak fair,
Smile in men's faces, smooth, deceive and cog,
Duck with French nods and apish courtesy,
I must be held a rancorous enemy.
Cannot a plain man live and think no harm,
But thus his simple truth must be abused
By silken, sly, insinuating Jacks?
RIVERS
To whom in all this presence speaks your grace?
GLOUCESTER
To thee, that hast nor honesty nor grace.
When have I injured thee? when done thee wrong?
Or thee? or thee? or any of your faction?
A plague upon you all! His royal person,
Whom God preserve better than you would wish!
Cannot be quiet scarce a breathingwhile,
But you must trouble him with lewd complaints.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Brother of Gloucester, you mistake the matter.
The king, of his own royal disposition,
And not provoked by any suitor else;
Aiming, belike, at your interior hatred,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 3 223
Page No 227
Which in your outward actions shows itself
Against my kindred, brothers, and myself,
Makes him to send; that thereby he may gather
The ground of your illwill, and so remove it.
GLOUCESTER
I cannot tell: the world is grown so bad,
That wrens make prey where eagles dare not perch:
Since every Jack became a gentleman
There's many a gentle person made a Jack.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Come, come, we know your meaning, brother
Gloucester;
You envy my advancement and my friends':
God grant we never may have need of you!
GLOUCESTER
Meantime, God grants that we have need of you:
Your brother is imprison'd by your means,
Myself disgraced, and the nobility
Held in contempt; whilst many fair promotions
Are daily given to ennoble those
That scarce, some two days since, were worth a noble.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
By Him that raised me to this careful height
From that contented hap which I enjoy'd,
I never did incense his majesty
Against the Duke of Clarence, but have been
An earnest advocate to plead for him.
My lord, you do me shameful injury,
Falsely to draw me in these vile suspects.
GLOUCESTER
You may deny that you were not the cause
Of my Lord Hastings' late imprisonment.
RIVERS
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 3 224
Page No 228
She may, my lord, for
GLOUCESTER
She may, Lord Rivers! why, who knows not so?
She may do more, sir, than denying that:
She may help you to many fair preferments,
And then deny her aiding hand therein,
And lay those honours on your high deserts.
What may she not? She may, yea, marry, may she
RIVERS
What, marry, may she?
GLOUCESTER
What, marry, may she! marry with a king,
A bachelor, a handsome stripling too:
I wis your grandam had a worser match.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
My Lord of Gloucester, I have too long borne
Your blunt upbraidings and your bitter scoffs:
By heaven, I will acquaint his majesty
With those gross taunts I often have endured.
I had rather be a country servantmaid
Than a great queen, with this condition,
To be thus taunted, scorn'd, and baited at:
Enter QUEEN MARGARET, behind
Small joy have I in being England's queen.
QUEEN MARGARET
And lessen'd be that small, God, I beseech thee!
Thy honour, state and seat is due to me.
GLOUCESTER
What! threat you me with telling of the king?
Tell him, and spare not: look, what I have said
I will avouch in presence of the king:
I dare adventure to be sent to the Tower.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 3 225
Page No 229
'Tis time to speak; my pains are quite forgot.
QUEEN MARGARET
Out, devil! I remember them too well:
Thou slewest my husband Henry in the Tower,
And Edward, my poor son, at Tewksbury.
GLOUCESTER
Ere you were queen, yea, or your husband king,
I was a packhorse in his great affairs;
A weederout of his proud adversaries,
A liberal rewarder of his friends:
To royalize his blood I spilt mine own.
QUEEN MARGARET
Yea, and much better blood than his or thine.
GLOUCESTER
In all which time you and your husband Grey
Were factious for the house of Lancaster;
And, Rivers, so were you. Was not your husband
In Margaret's battle at Saint Alban's slain?
Let me put in your minds, if you forget,
What you have been ere now, and what you are;
Withal, what I have been, and what I am.
QUEEN MARGARET
A murderous villain, and so still thou art.
GLOUCESTER
Poor Clarence did forsake his father, Warwick;
Yea, and forswore himself,which Jesu pardon!
QUEEN MARGARET
Which God revenge!
GLOUCESTER
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 3 226
Page No 230
To fight on Edward's party for the crown;
And for his meed, poor lord, he is mew'd up.
I would to God my heart were flint, like Edward's;
Or Edward's soft and pitiful, like mine
I am too childishfoolish for this world.
QUEEN MARGARET
Hie thee to hell for shame, and leave the world,
Thou cacodemon! there thy kingdom is.
RIVERS
My Lord of Gloucester, in those busy days
Which here you urge to prove us enemies,
We follow'd then our lord, our lawful king:
So should we you, if you should be our king.
GLOUCESTER
If I should be! I had rather be a pedlar:
Far be it from my heart, the thought of it!
QUEEN ELIZABETH
As little joy, my lord, as you suppose
You should enjoy, were you this country's king,
As little joy may you suppose in me.
That I enjoy, being the queen thereof.
QUEEN MARGARET
A little joy enjoys the queen thereof;
For I am she, and altogether joyless.
I can no longer hold me patient.
Advancing
Hear me, you wrangling pirates, that fall out
In sharing that which you have pill'd from me!
Which of you trembles not that looks on me?
If not, that, I being queen, you bow like subjects,
Yet that, by you deposed, you quake like rebels?
O gentle villain, do not turn away!
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 3 227
Page No 231
GLOUCESTER
Foul wrinkled witch, what makest thou in my sight?
QUEEN MARGARET
But repetition of what thou hast marr'd;
That will I make before I let thee go.
GLOUCESTER
Wert thou not banished on pain of death?
QUEEN MARGARET
I was; but I do find more pain in banishment
Than death can yield me here by my abode.
A husband and a son thou owest to me;
And thou a kingdom; all of you allegiance:
The sorrow that I have, by right is yours,
And all the pleasures you usurp are mine.
GLOUCESTER
The curse my noble father laid on thee,
When thou didst crown his warlike brows with paper
And with thy scorns drew'st rivers from his eyes,
And then, to dry them, gavest the duke a clout
Steep'd in the faultless blood of pretty Rutland
His curses, then from bitterness of soul
Denounced against thee, are all fall'n upon thee;
And God, not we, hath plagued thy bloody deed.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
So just is God, to right the innocent.
HASTINGS
O, 'twas the foulest deed to slay that babe,
And the most merciless that e'er was heard of!
RIVERS
Tyrants themselves wept when it was reported.
DORSET
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 3 228
Page No 232
No man but prophesied revenge for it.
BUCKINGHAM
Northumberland, then present, wept to see it.
QUEEN MARGARET
What were you snarling all before I came,
Ready to catch each other by the throat,
And turn you all your hatred now on me?
Did York's dread curse prevail so much with heaven?
That Henry's death, my lovely Edward's death,
Their kingdom's loss, my woful banishment,
Could all but answer for that peevish brat?
Can curses pierce the clouds and enter heaven?
Why, then, give way, dull clouds, to my quick curses!
If not by war, by surfeit die your king,
As ours by murder, to make him a king!
Edward thy son, which now is Prince of Wales,
For Edward my son, which was Prince of Wales,
Die in his youth by like untimely violence!
Thyself a queen, for me that was a queen,
Outlive thy glory, like my wretched self!
Long mayst thou live to wail thy children's loss;
And see another, as I see thee now,
Deck'd in thy rights, as thou art stall'd in mine!
Long die thy happy days before thy death;
And, after many lengthen'd hours of grief,
Die neither mother, wife, nor England's queen!
Rivers and Dorset, you were standers by,
And so wast thou, Lord Hastings, when my son
Was stabb'd with bloody daggers: God, I pray him,
That none of you may live your natural age,
But by some unlook'd accident cut off!
GLOUCESTER
Have done thy charm, thou hateful wither'd hag!
QUEEN MARGARET
And leave out thee? stay, dog, for thou shalt hear me.
If heaven have any grievous plague in store
Exceeding those that I can wish upon thee,
O, let them keep it till thy sins be ripe,
And then hurl down their indignation
On thee, the troubler of the poor world's peace!
The worm of conscience still begnaw thy soul!
Thy friends suspect for traitors while thou livest,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 3 229
Page No 233
And take deep traitors for thy dearest friends!
No sleep close up that deadly eye of thine,
Unless it be whilst some tormenting dream
Affrights thee with a hell of ugly devils!
Thou elvishmark'd, abortive, rooting hog!
Thou that wast seal'd in thy nativity
The slave of nature and the son of hell!
Thou slander of thy mother's heavy womb!
Thou loathed issue of thy father's loins!
Thou rag of honour! thou detested
GLOUCESTER
Margaret.
QUEEN MARGARET
Richard!
GLOUCESTER
Ha!
QUEEN MARGARET
I call thee not.
GLOUCESTER
I cry thee mercy then, for I had thought
That thou hadst call'd me all these bitter names.
QUEEN MARGARET
Why, so I did; but look'd for no reply.
O, let me make the period to my curse!
GLOUCESTER
'Tis done by me, and ends in 'Margaret.'
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Thus have you breathed your curse against yourself.
QUEEN MARGARET
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 3 230
Page No 234
Poor painted queen, vain flourish of my fortune!
Why strew'st thou sugar on that bottled spider,
Whose deadly web ensnareth thee about?
Fool, fool! thou whet'st a knife to kill thyself.
The time will come when thou shalt wish for me
To help thee curse that poisonous bunchback'd toad.
HASTINGS
Falseboding woman, end thy frantic curse,
Lest to thy harm thou move our patience.
QUEEN MARGARET
Foul shame upon you! you have all moved mine.
RIVERS
Were you well served, you would be taught your duty.
QUEEN MARGARET
To serve me well, you all should do me duty,
Teach me to be your queen, and you my subjects:
O, serve me well, and teach yourselves that duty!
DORSET
Dispute not with her; she is lunatic.
QUEEN MARGARET
Peace, master marquess, you are malapert:
Your firenew stamp of honour is scarce current.
O, that your young nobility could judge
What 'twere to lose it, and be miserable!
They that stand high have many blasts to shake them;
And if they fall, they dash themselves to pieces.
GLOUCESTER
Good counsel, marry: learn it, learn it, marquess.
DORSET
It toucheth you, my lord, as much as me.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 3 231
Page No 235
GLOUCESTER
Yea, and much more: but I was born so high,
Our aery buildeth in the cedar's top,
And dallies with the wind and scorns the sun.
QUEEN MARGARET
And turns the sun to shade; alas! alas!
Witness my son, now in the shade of death;
Whose bright outshining beams thy cloudy wrath
Hath in eternal darkness folded up.
Your aery buildeth in our aery's nest.
O God, that seest it, do not suffer it!
As it was won with blood, lost be it so!
BUCKINGHAM
Have done! for shame, if not for charity.
QUEEN MARGARET
Urge neither charity nor shame to me:
Uncharitably with me have you dealt,
And shamefully by you my hopes are butcher'd.
My charity is outrage, life my shame
And in that shame still live my sorrow's rage.
BUCKINGHAM
Have done, have done.
QUEEN MARGARET
O princely Buckingham I'll kiss thy hand,
In sign of league and amity with thee:
Now fair befal thee and thy noble house!
Thy garments are not spotted with our blood,
Nor thou within the compass of my curse.
BUCKINGHAM
Nor no one here; for curses never pass
The lips of those that breathe them in the air.
QUEEN MARGARET
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 3 232
Page No 236
I'll not believe but they ascend the sky,
And there awake God's gentlesleeping peace.
O Buckingham, take heed of yonder dog!
Look, when he fawns, he bites; and when he bites,
His venom tooth will rankle to the death:
Have not to do with him, beware of him;
Sin, death, and hell have set their marks on him,
And all their ministers attend on him.
GLOUCESTER
What doth she say, my Lord of Buckingham?
BUCKINGHAM
Nothing that I respect, my gracious lord.
QUEEN MARGARET
What, dost thou scorn me for my gentle counsel?
And soothe the devil that I warn thee from?
O, but remember this another day,
When he shall split thy very heart with sorrow,
And say poor Margaret was a prophetess!
Live each of you the subjects to his hate,
And he to yours, and all of you to God's!
Exit
HASTINGS
My hair doth stand on end to hear her curses.
RIVERS
And so doth mine: I muse why she's at liberty.
GLOUCESTER
I cannot blame her: by God's holy mother,
She hath had too much wrong; and I repent
My part thereof that I have done to her.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
I never did her any, to my knowledge.
GLOUCESTER
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 3 233
Page No 237
But you have all the vantage of her wrong.
I was too hot to do somebody good,
That is too cold in thinking of it now.
Marry, as for Clarence, he is well repaid,
He is frank'd up to fatting for his pains
God pardon them that are the cause of it!
RIVERS
A virtuous and a Christianlike conclusion,
To pray for them that have done scathe to us.
GLOUCESTER
So do I ever:
Aside
being welladvised.
For had I cursed now, I had cursed myself.
Enter CATESBY
CATESBY
Madam, his majesty doth call for you,
And for your grace; and you, my noble lords.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Catesby, we come. Lords, will you go with us?
RIVERS
Madam, we will attend your grace.
Exeunt all but GLOUCESTER
GLOUCESTER
I do the wrong, and first begin to brawl.
The secret mischiefs that I set abroach
I lay unto the grievous charge of others.
Clarence, whom I, indeed, have laid in darkness,
I do beweep to many simple gulls
Namely, to Hastings, Derby, Buckingham;
And say it is the queen and her allies
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 3 234
Page No 238
That stir the king against the duke my brother.
Now, they believe it; and withal whet me
To be revenged on Rivers, Vaughan, Grey:
But then I sigh; and, with a piece of scripture,
Tell them that God bids us do good for evil:
And thus I clothe my naked villany
With old odd ends stolen out of holy writ;
And seem a saint, when most I play the devil.
Enter two Murderers
But, soft! here come my executioners.
How now, my hardy, stout resolved mates!
Are you now going to dispatch this deed?
First Murderer
We are, my lord; and come to have the warrant
That we may be admitted where he is.
GLOUCESTER
Well thought upon; I have it here about me.
Gives the warrant
When you have done, repair to Crosby Place.
But, sirs, be sudden in the execution,
Withal obdurate, do not hear him plead;
For Clarence is wellspoken, and perhaps
May move your hearts to pity if you mark him.
First Murderer
Tush!
Fear not, my lord, we will not stand to prate;
Talkers are no good doers: be assured
We come to use our hands and not our tongues.
GLOUCESTER
Your eyes drop millstones, when fools' eyes drop tears:
I like you, lads; about your business straight;
Go, go, dispatch.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 3 235
Page No 239
First Murderer
We will, my noble lord.
Exeunt
Act 1, Scene 4
London. The Tower.
Enter CLARENCE and BRAKENBURY
BRAKENBURY
Why looks your grace so heavily today?
CLARENCE
O, I have pass'd a miserable night,
So full of ugly sights, of ghastly dreams,
That, as I am a Christian faithful man,
I would not spend another such a night,
Though 'twere to buy a world of happy days,
So full of dismal terror was the time!
BRAKENBURY
What was your dream? I long to hear you tell it.
CLARENCE
Methoughts that I had broken from the Tower,
And was embark'd to cross to Burgundy;
And, in my company, my brother Gloucester;
Who from my cabin tempted me to walk
Upon the hatches: thence we looked toward England,
And cited up a thousand fearful times,
During the wars of York and Lancaster
That had befall'n us. As we paced along
Upon the giddy footing of the hatches,
Methought that Gloucester stumbled; and, in falling,
Struck me, that thought to stay him, overboard,
Into the tumbling billows of the main.
Lord, Lord! methought, what pain it was to drown!
What dreadful noise of waters in mine ears!
What ugly sights of death within mine eyes!
Methought I saw a thousand fearful wrecks;
Ten thousand men that fishes gnaw'd upon;
Wedges of gold, great anchors, heaps of pearl,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 4 236
Page No 240
Inestimable stones, unvalued jewels,
All scatter'd in the bottom of the sea:
Some lay in dead men's skulls; and, in those holes
Where eyes did once inhabit, there were crept,
As 'twere in scorn of eyes, reflecting gems,
Which woo'd the slimy bottom of the deep,
And mock'd the dead bones that lay scatter'd by.
BRAKENBURY
Had you such leisure in the time of death
To gaze upon the secrets of the deep?
CLARENCE
Methought I had; and often did I strive
To yield the ghost: but still the envious flood
Kept in my soul, and would not let it forth
To seek the empty, vast and wandering air;
But smother'd it within my panting bulk,
Which almost burst to belch it in the sea.
BRAKENBURY
Awaked you not with this sore agony?
CLARENCE
O, no, my dream was lengthen'd after life;
O, then began the tempest to my soul,
Who pass'd, methought, the melancholy flood,
With that grim ferryman which poets write of,
Unto the kingdom of perpetual night.
The first that there did greet my stranger soul,
Was my great fatherinlaw, renowned Warwick;
Who cried aloud, 'What scourge for perjury
Can this dark monarchy afford false Clarence?'
And so he vanish'd: then came wandering by
A shadow like an angel, with bright hair
Dabbled in blood; and he squeak'd out aloud,
'Clarence is come; false, fleeting, perjured Clarence,
That stabb'd me in the field by Tewksbury;
Seize on him, Furies, take him to your torments!'
With that, methoughts, a legion of foul fiends
Environ'd me about, and howled in mine ears
Such hideous cries, that with the very noise
I trembling waked, and for a season after
Could not believe but that I was in hell,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 4 237
Page No 241
Such terrible impression made the dream.
BRAKENBURY
No marvel, my lord, though it affrighted you;
I promise, I am afraid to hear you tell it.
CLARENCE
O Brakenbury, I have done those things,
Which now bear evidence against my soul,
For Edward's sake; and see how he requites me!
O God! if my deep prayers cannot appease thee,
But thou wilt be avenged on my misdeeds,
Yet execute thy wrath in me alone,
O, spare my guiltless wife and my poor children!
I pray thee, gentle keeper, stay by me;
My soul is heavy, and I fain would sleep.
BRAKENBURY
I will, my lord: God give your grace good rest!
CLARENCE sleeps
Sorrow breaks seasons and reposing hours,
Makes the night morning, and the noontide night.
Princes have but their tides for their glories,
An outward honour for an inward toil;
And, for unfelt imagination,
They often feel a world of restless cares:
So that, betwixt their tides and low names,
There's nothing differs but the outward fame.
Enter the two Murderers
First Murderer
Ho! who's here?
BRAKENBURY
In God's name what are you, and how came you hither?
First Murderer
I would speak with Clarence, and I came hither on my legs.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 4 238
Page No 242
BRAKENBURY
Yea, are you so brief?
Second Murderer
O sir, it is better to be brief than tedious. Show
him our commission; talk no more.
BRAKENBURY reads it
BRAKENBURY
I am, in this, commanded to deliver
The noble Duke of Clarence to your hands:
I will not reason what is meant hereby,
Because I will be guiltless of the meaning.
Here are the keys, there sits the duke asleep:
I'll to the king; and signify to him
That thus I have resign'd my charge to you.
First Murderer
Do so, it is a point of wisdom: fare you well.
Exit BRAKENBURY
Second Murderer
What, shall we stab him as he sleeps?
First Murderer
No; then he will say 'twas done cowardly, when he wakes.
Second Murderer
When he wakes! why, fool, he shall never wake till
the judgmentday.
First Murderer
Why, then he will say we stabbed him sleeping.
Second Murderer
The urging of that word 'judgment' hath bred a kind
of remorse in me.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 4 239
Page No 243
First Murderer
What, art thou afraid?
Second Murderer
Not to kill him, having a warrant for it; but to be
damned for killing him, from which no warrant can defend us.
First Murderer
I thought thou hadst been resolute.
Second Murderer
So I am, to let him live.
First Murderer
Back to the Duke of Gloucester, tell him so.
Second Murderer
I pray thee, stay a while: I hope my holy humour
will change; 'twas wont to hold me but while one
would tell twenty.
First Murderer
How dost thou feel thyself now?
Second Murderer
'Faith, some certain dregs of conscience are yet
within me.
First Murderer
Remember our reward, when the deed is done.
Second Murderer
'Zounds, he dies: I had forgot the reward.
First Murderer
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 4 240
Page No 244
Where is thy conscience now?
Second Murderer
In the Duke of Gloucester's purse.
First Murderer
So when he opens his purse to give us our reward,
thy conscience flies out.
Second Murderer
Let it go; there's few or none will entertain it.
First Murderer
How if it come to thee again?
Second Murderer
I'll not meddle with it: it is a dangerous thing: it
makes a man a coward: a man cannot steal, but it
accuseth him; he cannot swear, but it cheques him;
he cannot lie with his neighbour's wife, but it
detects him: 'tis a blushing shamefast spirit that
mutinies in a man's bosom; it fills one full of
obstacles: it made me once restore a purse of gold
that I found; it beggars any man that keeps it: it
is turned out of all towns and cities for a
dangerous thing; and every man that means to live
well endeavours to trust to himself and to live
without it.
First Murderer
'Zounds, it is even now at my elbow, persuading me
not to kill the duke.
Second Murderer
Take the devil in thy mind, and relieve him not: he
would insinuate with thee but to make thee sigh.
First Murderer
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 4 241
Page No 245
Tut, I am strongframed, he cannot prevail with me,
I warrant thee.
Second Murderer
Spoke like a tail fellow that respects his
reputation. Come, shall we to this gear?
First Murderer
Take him over the costard with the hilts of thy
sword, and then we will chop him in the malmseybutt
in the next room.
Second Murderer
O excellent devise! make a sop of him.
First Murderer
Hark! he stirs: shall I strike?
Second Murderer
No, first let's reason with him.
CLARENCE
Where art thou, keeper? give me a cup of wine.
Second murderer
You shall have wine enough, my lord, anon.
CLARENCE
In God's name, what art thou?
Second Murderer
A man, as you are.
CLARENCE
But not, as I am, royal.
Second Murderer
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 4 242
Page No 246
Nor you, as we are, loyal.
CLARENCE
Thy voice is thunder, but thy looks are humble.
Second Murderer
My voice is now the king's, my looks mine own.
CLARENCE
How darkly and how deadly dost thou speak!
Your eyes do menace me: why look you pale?
Who sent you hither? Wherefore do you come?
Both
To, to, to
CLARENCE
To murder me?
Both
Ay, ay.
CLARENCE
You scarcely have the hearts to tell me so,
And therefore cannot have the hearts to do it.
Wherein, my friends, have I offended you?
First Murderer
Offended us you have not, but the king.
CLARENCE
I shall be reconciled to him again.
Second Murderer
Never, my lord; therefore prepare to die.
CLARENCE
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 4 243
Page No 247
Are you call'd forth from out a world of men
To slay the innocent? What is my offence?
Where are the evidence that do accuse me?
What lawful quest have given their verdict up
Unto the frowning judge? or who pronounced
The bitter sentence of poor Clarence' death?
Before I be convict by course of law,
To threaten me with death is most unlawful.
I charge you, as you hope to have redemption
By Christ's dear blood shed for our grievous sins,
That you depart and lay no hands on me
The deed you undertake is damnable.
First Murderer
What we will do, we do upon command.
Second Murderer
And he that hath commanded is the king.
CLARENCE
Erroneous vassal! the great King of kings
Hath in the tables of his law commanded
That thou shalt do no murder: and wilt thou, then,
Spurn at his edict and fulfil a man's?
Take heed; for he holds vengeance in his hands,
To hurl upon their heads that break his law.
Second Murderer
And that same vengeance doth he hurl on thee,
For false forswearing and for murder too:
Thou didst receive the holy sacrament,
To fight in quarrel of the house of Lancaster.
First Murderer
And, like a traitor to the name of God,
Didst break that vow; and with thy treacherous blade
Unrip'dst the bowels of thy sovereign's son.
Second Murderer
Whom thou wert sworn to cherish and defend.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 4 244
Page No 248
First Murderer
How canst thou urge God's dreadful law to us,
When thou hast broke it in so dear degree?
CLARENCE
Alas! for whose sake did I that ill deed?
For Edward, for my brother, for his sake: Why, sirs,
He sends ye not to murder me for this
For in this sin he is as deep as I.
If God will be revenged for this deed.
O, know you yet, he doth it publicly,
Take not the quarrel from his powerful arm;
He needs no indirect nor lawless course
To cut off those that have offended him.
First Murderer
Who made thee, then, a bloody minister,
When gallantspringing brave Plantagenet,
That princely novice, was struck dead by thee?
CLARENCE
My brother's love, the devil, and my rage.
First Murderer
Thy brother's love, our duty, and thy fault,
Provoke us hither now to slaughter thee.
CLARENCE
Oh, if you love my brother, hate not me;
I am his brother, and I love him well.
If you be hired for meed, go back again,
And I will send you to my brother Gloucester,
Who shall reward you better for my life
Than Edward will for tidings of my death.
Second Murderer
You are deceived, your brother Gloucester hates you.
CLARENCE
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 4 245
Page No 249
O, no, he loves me, and he holds me dear:
Go you to him from me.
Both
Ay, so we will.
CLARENCE
Tell him, when that our princely father York
Bless'd his three sons with his victorious arm,
And charged us from his soul to love each other,
He little thought of this divided friendship:
Bid Gloucester think of this, and he will weep.
First Murderer
Ay, millstones; as be lesson'd us to weep.
CLARENCE
O, do not slander him, for he is kind.
First Murderer
Right,
As snow in harvest. Thou deceivest thyself:
'Tis he that sent us hither now to slaughter thee.
CLARENCE
It cannot be; for when I parted with him,
He hugg'd me in his arms, and swore, with sobs,
That he would labour my delivery.
Second Murderer
Why, so he doth, now he delivers thee
From this world's thraldom to the joys of heaven.
First Murderer
Make peace with God, for you must die, my lord.
CLARENCE
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 4 246
Page No 250
Hast thou that holy feeling in thy soul,
To counsel me to make my peace with God,
And art thou yet to thy own soul so blind,
That thou wilt war with God by murdering me?
Ah, sirs, consider, he that set you on
To do this deed will hate you for the deed.
Second Murderer
What shall we do?
CLARENCE
Relent, and save your souls.
First Murderer
Relent! 'tis cowardly and womanish.
CLARENCE
Not to relent is beastly, savage, devilish.
Which of you, if you were a prince's son,
Being pent from liberty, as I am now,
if two such murderers as yourselves came to you,
Would not entreat for life?
My friend, I spy some pity in thy looks:
O, if thine eye be not a flatterer,
Come thou on my side, and entreat for me,
As you would beg, were you in my distress
A begging prince what beggar pities not?
Second Murderer
Look behind you, my lord.
First Murderer
Take that, and that: if all this will not do,
Stabs him
I'll drown you in the malmseybutt within.
Exit, with the body
Second Murderer
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 4 247
Page No 251
A bloody deed, and desperately dispatch'd!
How fain, like Pilate, would I wash my hands
Of this most grievous guilty murder done!
Reenter First Murderer
First Murderer
How now! what mean'st thou, that thou help'st me not?
By heavens, the duke shall know how slack thou art!
Second Murderer
I would he knew that I had saved his brother!
Take thou the fee, and tell him what I say;
For I repent me that the duke is slain.
Exit
First Murderer
So do not I: go, coward as thou art.
Now must I hide his body in some hole,
Until the duke take order for his burial:
And when I have my meed, I must away;
For this will out, and here I must not stay.
Act 2, Scene 1
London. The palace.
Flourish. Enter KING EDWARD IV sick, QUEEN ELIZABETH, DORSET, RIVERS,
HASTINGS, BUCKINGHAM, GREY, and others
KING EDWARD IV
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
248
Page No 252
Why, so: now have I done a good day's work:
You peers, continue this united league:
I every day expect an embassage
From my Redeemer to redeem me hence;
And now in peace my soul shall part to heaven,
Since I have set my friends at peace on earth.
Rivers and Hastings, take each other's hand;
Dissemble not your hatred, swear your love.
RIVERS
By heaven, my heart is purged from grudging hate:
And with my hand I seal my true heart's love.
HASTINGS
So thrive I, as I truly swear the like!
KING EDWARD IV
Take heed you dally not before your king;
Lest he that is the supreme King of kings
Confound your hidden falsehood, and award
Either of you to be the other's end.
HASTINGS
So prosper I, as I swear perfect love!
RIVERS
And I, as I love Hastings with my heart!
KING EDWARD IV
Madam, yourself are not exempt in this,
Nor your son Dorset, Buckingham, nor you;
You have been factious one against the other,
Wife, love Lord Hastings, let him kiss your hand;
And what you do, do it unfeignedly.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Here, Hastings; I will never more remember
Our former hatred, so thrive I and mine!
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
249
Page No 253
KING EDWARD IV
Dorset, embrace him; Hastings, love lord marquess.
DORSET
This interchange of love, I here protest,
Upon my part shall be unviolable.
HASTINGS
And so swear I, my lord
They embrace
KING EDWARD IV
Now, princely Buckingham, seal thou this league
With thy embracements to my wife's allies,
And make me happy in your unity.
BUCKINGHAM
Whenever Buckingham doth turn his hate
On you or yours,
To the Queen
but with all duteous love
Doth cherish you and yours, God punish me
With hate in those where I expect most love!
When I have most need to employ a friend,
And most assured that he is a friend
Deep, hollow, treacherous, and full of guile,
Be he unto me! this do I beg of God,
When I am cold in zeal to yours.
KING EDWARD IV
A pleasing cordial, princely Buckingham,
is this thy vow unto my sickly heart.
There wanteth now our brother Gloucester here,
To make the perfect period of this peace.
BUCKINGHAM
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
250
Page No 254
And, in good time, here comes the noble duke.
Enter GLOUCESTER
GLOUCESTER
Good morrow to my sovereign king and queen:
And, princely peers, a happy time of day!
KING EDWARD IV
Happy, indeed, as we have spent the day.
Brother, we done deeds of charity;
Made peace enmity, fair love of hate,
Between these swelling wrongincensed peers.
GLOUCESTER
A blessed labour, my most sovereign liege:
Amongst this princely heap, if any here,
By false intelligence, or wrong surmise,
Hold me a foe;
If I unwittingly, or in my rage,
Have aught committed that is hardly borne
By any in this presence, I desire
To reconcile me to his friendly peace:
'Tis death to me to be at enmity;
I hate it, and desire all good men's love.
First, madam, I entreat true peace of you,
Which I will purchase with my duteous service;
Of you, my noble cousin Buckingham,
If ever any grudge were lodged between us;
Of you, Lord Rivers, and, Lord Grey, of you;
That without desert have frown'd on me;
Dukes, earls, lords, gentlemen; indeed, of all.
I do not know that Englishman alive
With whom my soul is any jot at odds
More than the infant that is born tonight
I thank my God for my humility.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
A holy day shall this be kept hereafter:
I would to God all strifes were well compounded.
My sovereign liege, I do beseech your majesty
To take our brother Clarence to your grace.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
251
Page No 255
GLOUCESTER
Why, madam, have I offer'd love for this
To be so bouted in this royal presence?
Who knows not that the noble duke is dead?
They all start
You do him injury to scorn his corse.
RIVERS
Who knows not he is dead! who knows he is?
QUEEN ELIZABETH
All seeing heaven, what a world is this!
BUCKINGHAM
Look I so pale, Lord Dorset, as the rest?
DORSET
Ay, my good lord; and no one in this presence
But his red colour hath forsook his cheeks.
KING EDWARD IV
Is Clarence dead? the order was reversed.
GLOUCESTER
But he, poor soul, by your first order died,
And that a winged Mercury did bear:
Some tardy cripple bore the countermand,
That came too lag to see him buried.
God grant that some, less noble and less loyal,
Nearer in bloody thoughts, but not in blood,
Deserve not worse than wretched Clarence did,
And yet go current from suspicion!
Enter DERBY
DORSET
A boon, my sovereign, for my service done!
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
252
Page No 256
KING EDWARD IV
I pray thee, peace: my soul is full of sorrow.
DORSET
I will not rise, unless your highness grant.
KING EDWARD IV
Then speak at once what is it thou demand'st.
DORSET
The forfeit, sovereign, of my servant's life;
Who slew today a righteous gentleman
Lately attendant on the Duke of Norfolk.
KING EDWARD IV
Have a tongue to doom my brother's death,
And shall the same give pardon to a slave?
My brother slew no man; his fault was thought,
And yet his punishment was cruel death.
Who sued to me for him? who, in my rage,
Kneel'd at my feet, and bade me be advised
Who spake of brotherhood? who spake of love?
Who told me how the poor soul did forsake
The mighty Warwick, and did fight for me?
Who told me, in the field by Tewksbury
When Oxford had me down, he rescued me,
And said, 'Dear brother, live, and be a king'?
Who told me, when we both lay in the field
Frozen almost to death, how he did lap me
Even in his own garments, and gave himself,
All thin and naked, to the numb cold night?
All this from my remembrance brutish wrath
Sinfully pluck'd, and not a man of you
Had so much grace to put it in my mind.
But when your carters or your waitingvassals
Have done a drunken slaughter, and defaced
The precious image of our dear Redeemer,
You straight are on your knees for pardon, pardon;
And I unjustly too, must grant it you
But for my brother not a man would speak,
Nor I, ungracious, speak unto myself
For him, poor soul. The proudest of you all
Have been beholding to him in his life;
Yet none of you would once plead for his life.
O God, I fear thy justice will take hold
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
253
Page No 257
On me, and you, and mine, and yours for this!
Come, Hastings, help me to my closet.
Oh, poor Clarence!
Exeunt some with KING EDWARD IV and QUEEN MARGARET
GLOUCESTER
This is the fruit of rashness! Mark'd you not
How that the guilty kindred of the queen
Look'd pale when they did hear of Clarence' death?
O, they did urge it still unto the king!
God will revenge it. But come, let us in,
To comfort Edward with our company.
BUCKINGHAM
We wait upon your grace.
Exeunt
Act 2, Scene 2
The palace.
Enter the DUCHESS OF YORK, with the two children of CLARENCE
Boy
Tell me, good grandam, is our father dead?
DUCHESS OF YORK
No, boy.
Boy
Why do you wring your hands, and beat your breast,
And cry 'O Clarence, my unhappy son!'
Girl
Why do you look on us, and shake your head,
And call us wretches, orphans, castaways
If that our noble father be alive?
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 2 254
Page No 258
DUCHESS OF YORK
My pretty cousins, you mistake me much;
I do lament the sickness of the king.
As loath to lose him, not your father's death;
It were lost sorrow to wail one that's lost.
Boy
Then, grandam, you conclude that he is dead.
The king my uncle is to blame for this:
God will revenge it; whom I will importune
With daily prayers all to that effect.
Girl
And so will I.
DUCHESS OF YORK
Peace, children, peace! the king doth love you well:
Incapable and shallow innocents,
You cannot guess who caused your father's death.
Boy
Grandam, we can; for my good uncle Gloucester
Told me, the king, provoked by the queen,
Devised impeachments to imprison him :
And when my uncle told me so, he wept,
And hugg'd me in his arm, and kindly kiss'd my cheek;
Bade me rely on him as on my father,
And he would love me dearly as his child.
DUCHESS OF YORK
Oh, that deceit should steal such gentle shapes,
And with a virtuous vizard hide foul guile!
He is my son; yea, and therein my shame;
Yet from my dugs he drew not this deceit.
Boy
Think you my uncle did dissemble, grandam?
DUCHESS OF YORK
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 2 255
Page No 259
Ay, boy.
Boy
I cannot think it. Hark! what noise is this?
Enter QUEEN ELIZABETH, with her hair about her ears; RIVERS, and DORSET after her
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Oh, who shall hinder me to wail and weep,
To chide my fortune, and torment myself?
I'll join with black despair against my soul,
And to myself become an enemy.
DUCHESS OF YORK
What means this scene of rude impatience?
QUEEN ELIZABETH
To make an act of tragic violence:
Edward, my lord, your son, our king, is dead.
Why grow the branches now the root is wither'd?
Why wither not the leaves the sap being gone?
If you will live, lament; if die, be brief,
That our swiftwinged souls may catch the king's;
Or, like obedient subjects, follow him
To his new kingdom of perpetual rest.
DUCHESS OF YORK
Ah, so much interest have I in thy sorrow
As I had title in thy noble husband!
I have bewept a worthy husband's death,
And lived by looking on his images:
But now two mirrors of his princely semblance
Are crack'd in pieces by malignant death,
And I for comfort have but one false glass,
Which grieves me when I see my shame in him.
Thou art a widow; yet thou art a mother,
And hast the comfort of thy children left thee:
But death hath snatch'd my husband from mine arms,
And pluck'd two crutches from my feeble limbs,
Edward and Clarence. O, what cause have I,
Thine being but a moiety of my grief,
To overgo thy plaints and drown thy cries!
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 2 256
Page No 260
Boy
Good aunt, you wept not for our father's death;
How can we aid you with our kindred tears?
Girl
Our fatherless distress was left unmoan'd;
Your widowdolour likewise be unwept!
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Give me no help in lamentation;
I am not barren to bring forth complaints
All springs reduce their currents to mine eyes,
That I, being govern'd by the watery moon,
May send forth plenteous tears to drown the world!
Oh for my husband, for my dear lord Edward!
Children
Oh for our father, for our dear lord Clarence!
DUCHESS OF YORK
Alas for both, both mine, Edward and Clarence!
QUEEN ELIZABETH
What stay had I but Edward? and he's gone.
Children
What stay had we but Clarence? and he's gone.
DUCHESS OF YORK
What stays had I but they? and they are gone.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Was never widow had so dear a loss!
Children
Were never orphans had so dear a loss!
DUCHESS OF YORK
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 2 257
Page No 261
Was never mother had so dear a loss!
Alas, I am the mother of these moans!
Their woes are parcell'd, mine are general.
She for an Edward weeps, and so do I;
I for a Clarence weep, so doth not she:
These babes for Clarence weep and so do I;
I for an Edward weep, so do not they:
Alas, you three, on me, threefold distress'd,
Pour all your tears! I am your sorrow's nurse,
And I will pamper it with lamentations.
DORSET
Comfort, dear mother: God is much displeased
That you take with unthankfulness, his doing:
In common worldly things, 'tis call'd ungrateful,
With dull unwilligness to repay a debt
Which with a bounteous hand was kindly lent;
Much more to be thus opposite with heaven,
For it requires the royal debt it lent you.
RIVERS
Madam, bethink you, like a careful mother,
Of the young prince your son: send straight for him
Let him be crown'd; in him your comfort lives:
Drown desperate sorrow in dead Edward's grave,
And plant your joys in living Edward's throne.
Enter GLOUCESTER, BUCKINGHAM, DERBY, HASTINGS, and RATCLIFF
GLOUCESTER
Madam, have comfort: all of us have cause
To wail the dimming of our shining star;
But none can cure their harms by wailing them.
Madam, my mother, I do cry you mercy;
I did not see your grace: humbly on my knee
I crave your blessing.
DUCHESS OF YORK
God bless thee; and put meekness in thy mind,
Love, charity, obedience, and true duty!
GLOUCESTER
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 2 258
Page No 262
[Aside] Amen; and make me die a good old man!
That is the buttend of a mother's blessing:
I marvel why her grace did leave it out.
BUCKINGHAM
You cloudy princes and heartsorrowing peers,
That bear this mutual heavy load of moan,
Now cheer each other in each other's love
Though we have spent our harvest of this king,
We are to reap the harvest of his son.
The broken rancour of your highswoln hearts,
But lately splinter'd, knit, and join'd together,
Must gently be preserved, cherish'd, and kept:
Me seemeth good, that, with some little train,
Forthwith from Ludlow the young prince be fetch'd
Hither to London, to be crown'd our king.
RIVERS
Why with some little train, my Lord of Buckingham?
BUCKINGHAM
Marry, my lord, lest, by a multitude,
The newheal'd wound of malice should break out,
Which would be so much the more dangerous
By how much the estate is green and yet ungovern'd:
Where every horse bears his commanding rein,
And may direct his course as please himself,
As well the fear of harm, as harm apparent,
In my opinion, ought to be prevented.
GLOUCESTER
I hope the king made peace with all of us
And the compact is firm and true in me.
RIVERS
And so in me; and so, I think, in all:
Yet, since it is but green, it should be put
To no apparent likelihood of breach,
Which haply by much company might be urged:
Therefore I say with noble Buckingham,
That it is meet so few should fetch the prince.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 2 259
Page No 263
HASTINGS
And so say I.
GLOUCESTER
Then be it so; and go we to determine
Who they shall be that straight shall post to Ludlow.
Madam, and you, my mother, will you go
To give your censures in this weighty business?
QUEEN ELIZABETH
|
| With all our harts.
DUCHESS OF YORK
|
Exeunt all but BUCKINGHAM and GLOUCESTER
BUCKINGHAM
My lord, whoever journeys to the Prince,
For God's sake, let not us two be behind;
For, by the way, I'll sort occasion,
As index to the story we late talk'd of,
To part the queen's proud kindred from the king.
GLOUCESTER
My other self, my counsel's consistory,
My oracle, my prophet! My dear cousin,
I, like a child, will go by thy direction.
Towards Ludlow then, for we'll not stay behind.
Exeunt
Act 2, Scene 3
London. A street.
Enter two Citizens meeting
First Citizen
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 3 260
Page No 264
Neighbour, well met: whither away so fast?
Second Citizen
I promise you, I scarcely know myself:
Hear you the news abroad?
First Citizen
Ay, that the king is dead.
Second Citizen
Bad news, by'r lady; seldom comes the better:
I fear, I fear 'twill prove a troublous world.
Enter another Citizen
Third Citizen
Neighbours, God speed!
First Citizen
Give you good morrow, sir.
Third Citizen
Doth this news hold of good King Edward's death?
Second Citizen
Ay, sir, it is too true; God help the while!
Third Citizen
Then, masters, look to see a troublous world.
First Citizen
No, no; by God's good grace his son shall reign.
Third Citizen
Woe to the land that's govern'd by a child!
Second Citizen
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 3 261
Page No 265
In him there is a hope of government,
That in his nonage council under him,
And in his full and ripen'd years himself,
No doubt, shall then and till then govern well.
First Citizen
So stood the state when Henry the Sixth
Was crown'd in Paris but at nine months old.
Third Citizen
Stood the state so? No, no, good friends, God wot;
For then this land was famously enrich'd
With politic grave counsel; then the king
Had virtuous uncles to protect his grace.
First Citizen
Why, so hath this, both by the father and mother.
Third Citizen
Better it were they all came by the father,
Or by the father there were none at all;
For emulation now, who shall be nearest,
Will touch us all too near, if God prevent not.
O, full of danger is the Duke of Gloucester!
And the queen's sons and brothers haught and proud:
And were they to be ruled, and not to rule,
This sickly land might solace as before.
First Citizen
Come, come, we fear the worst; all shall be well.
Third Citizen
When clouds appear, wise men put on their cloaks;
When great leaves fall, the winter is at hand;
When the sun sets, who doth not look for night?
Untimely storms make men expect a dearth.
All may be well; but, if God sort it so,
'Tis more than we deserve, or I expect.
Second Citizen
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 3 262
Page No 266
Truly, the souls of men are full of dread:
Ye cannot reason almost with a man
That looks not heavily and full of fear.
Third Citizen
Before the times of change, still is it so:
By a divine instinct men's minds mistrust
Ensuing dangers; as by proof, we see
The waters swell before a boisterous storm.
But leave it all to God. whither away?
Second Citizen
Marry, we were sent for to the justices.
Third Citizen
And so was I: I'll bear you company.
Exeunt
Act 2, Scene 4
London. The palace.
Enter the ARCHBISHOP OF YORK, young YORK, QUEEN ELIZABETH, and the
DUCHESS OF YORK
ARCHBISHOP OF YORK
Last night, I hear, they lay at Northampton;
At StonyStratford will they be tonight:
Tomorrow, or next day, they will be here.
DUCHESS OF YORK
I long with all my heart to see the prince:
I hope he is much grown since last I saw him.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
But I hear, no; they say my son of York
Hath almost overta'en him in his growth.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 4 263
Page No 267
YORK
Ay, mother; but I would not have it so.
DUCHESS OF YORK
Why, my young cousin, it is good to grow.
YORK
Grandam, one night, as we did sit at supper,
My uncle Rivers talk'd how I did grow
More than my brother: 'Ay,' quoth my uncle
Gloucester,
'Small herbs have grace, great weeds do grow apace:'
And since, methinks, I would not grow so fast,
Because sweet flowers are slow and weeds make haste.
DUCHESS OF YORK
Good faith, good faith, the saying did not hold
In him that did object the same to thee;
He was the wretched'st thing when he was young,
So long agrowing and so leisurely,
That, if this rule were true, he should be gracious.
ARCHBISHOP OF YORK
Why, madam, so, no doubt, he is.
DUCHESS OF YORK
I hope he is; but yet let mothers doubt.
YORK
Now, by my troth, if I had been remember'd,
I could have given my uncle's grace a flout,
To touch his growth nearer than he touch'd mine.
DUCHESS OF YORK
How, my pretty York? I pray thee, let me hear it.
YORK
Marry, they say my uncle grew so fast
That he could gnaw a crust at two hours old
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 4 264
Page No 268
'Twas full two years ere I could get a tooth.
Grandam, this would have been a biting jest.
DUCHESS OF YORK
I pray thee, pretty York, who told thee this?
YORK
Grandam, his nurse.
DUCHESS OF YORK
His nurse! why, she was dead ere thou wert born.
YORK
If 'twere not she, I cannot tell who told me.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
A parlous boy: go to, you are too shrewd.
ARCHBISHOP OF YORK
Good madam, be not angry with the child.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Pitchers have ears.
Enter a Messenger
ARCHBISHOP OF YORK
Here comes a messenger. What news?
Messenger
Such news, my lord, as grieves me to unfold.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
How fares the prince?
Messenger
Well, madam, and in health.
DUCHESS OF YORK
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 4 265
Page No 269
What is thy news then?
Messenger
Lord Rivers and Lord Grey are sent to Pomfret,
With them Sir Thomas Vaughan, prisoners.
DUCHESS OF YORK
Who hath committed them?
Messenger
The mighty dukes
Gloucester and Buckingham.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
For what offence?
Messenger
The sum of all I can, I have disclosed;
Why or for what these nobles were committed
Is all unknown to me, my gracious lady.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Ay me, I see the downfall of our house!
The tiger now hath seized the gentle hind;
Insulting tyranny begins to jet
Upon the innocent and aweless throne:
Welcome, destruction, death, and massacre!
I see, as in a map, the end of all.
DUCHESS OF YORK
Accursed and unquiet wrangling days,
How many of you have mine eyes beheld!
My husband lost his life to get the crown;
And often up and down my sons were toss'd,
For me to joy and weep their gain and loss:
And being seated, and domestic broils
Clean overblown, themselves, the conquerors.
Make war upon themselves; blood against blood,
Self against self: O, preposterous
And frantic outrage, end thy damned spleen;
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 4 266
Page No 270
Or let me die, to look on death no more!
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Come, come, my boy; we will to sanctuary.
Madam, farewell.
DUCHESS OF YORK
I'll go along with you.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
You have no cause.
ARCHBISHOP OF YORK
My gracious lady, go;
And thither bear your treasure and your goods.
For my part, I'll resign unto your grace
The seal I keep: and so betide to me
As well I tender you and all of yours!
Come, I'll conduct you to the sanctuary.
Exeunt
Act 3, Scene 1
London. A street.
The trumpets sound. Enter the young PRINCE EDWARD, GLOUCESTER, BUCKINGHAM,
CARDINAL, CATESBY, and others
BUCKINGHAM
Welcome, sweet prince, to London, to your chamber.
GLOUCESTER
Welcome, dear cousin, my thoughts' sovereign
The weary way hath made you melancholy.
PRINCE EDWARD
No, uncle; but our crosses on the way
Have made it tedious, wearisome, and heavy
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 1 267
Page No 271
I want more uncles here to welcome me.
GLOUCESTER
Sweet prince, the untainted virtue of your years
Hath not yet dived into the world's deceit
Nor more can you distinguish of a man
Than of his outward show; which, God he knows,
Seldom or never jumpeth with the heart.
Those uncles which you want were dangerous;
Your grace attended to their sugar'd words,
But look'd not on the poison of their hearts :
God keep you from them, and from such false friends!
PRINCE EDWARD
God keep me from false friends! but they were none.
GLOUCESTER
My lord, the mayor of London comes to greet you.
Enter the Lord Mayor and his train
Lord Mayor
God bless your grace with health and happy days!
PRINCE EDWARD
I thank you, good my lord; and thank you all.
I thought my mother, and my brother York,
Would long ere this have met us on the way
Fie, what a slug is Hastings, that he comes not
To tell us whether they will come or no!
Enter HASTINGS
BUCKINGHAM
And, in good time, here comes the sweating lord.
PRINCE EDWARD
Welcome, my lord: what, will our mother come?
HASTINGS
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 1 268
Page No 272
On what occasion, God he knows, not I,
The queen your mother, and your brother York,
Have taken sanctuary: the tender prince
Would fain have come with me to meet your grace,
But by his mother was perforce withheld.
BUCKINGHAM
Fie, what an indirect and peevish course
Is this of hers! Lord cardinal, will your grace
Persuade the queen to send the Duke of York
Unto his princely brother presently?
If she deny, Lord Hastings, go with him,
And from her jealous arms pluck him perforce.
CARDINAL
My Lord of Buckingham, if my weak oratory
Can from his mother win the Duke of York,
Anon expect him here; but if she be obdurate
To mild entreaties, God in heaven forbid
We should infringe the holy privilege
Of blessed sanctuary! not for all this land
Would I be guilty of so deep a sin.
BUCKINGHAM
You are too senselessobstinate, my lord,
Too ceremonious and traditional
Weigh it but with the grossness of this age,
You break not sanctuary in seizing him.
The benefit thereof is always granted
To those whose dealings have deserved the place,
And those who have the wit to claim the place:
This prince hath neither claim'd it nor deserved it;
And therefore, in mine opinion, cannot have it:
Then, taking him from thence that is not there,
You break no privilege nor charter there.
Oft have I heard of sanctuary men;
But sanctuary children ne'er till now.
CARDINAL
My lord, you shall o'errule my mind for once.
Come on, Lord Hastings, will you go with me?
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 1 269
Page No 273
HASTINGS
I go, my lord.
PRINCE EDWARD
Good lords, make all the speedy haste you may.
Exeunt CARDINAL and HASTINGS
Say, uncle Gloucester, if our brother come,
Where shall we sojourn till our coronation?
GLOUCESTER
Where it seems best unto your royal self.
If I may counsel you, some day or two
Your highness shall repose you at the Tower:
Then where you please, and shall be thought most fit
For your best health and recreation.
PRINCE EDWARD
I do not like the Tower, of any place.
Did Julius Caesar build that place, my lord?
BUCKINGHAM
He did, my gracious lord, begin that place;
Which, since, succeeding ages have reedified.
PRINCE EDWARD
Is it upon record, or else reported
Successively from age to age, he built it?
BUCKINGHAM
Upon record, my gracious lord.
PRINCE EDWARD
But say, my lord, it were not register'd,
Methinks the truth should live from age to age,
As 'twere retail'd to all posterity,
Even to the general allending day.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 1 270
Page No 274
GLOUCESTER
[Aside] So wise so young, they say, do never
live long.
PRINCE EDWARD
What say you, uncle?
GLOUCESTER
I say, without characters, fame lives long.
Aside
Thus, like the formal vice, Iniquity,
I moralize two meanings in one word.
PRINCE EDWARD
That Julius Caesar was a famous man;
With what his valour did enrich his wit,
His wit set down to make his valour live
Death makes no conquest of this conqueror;
For now he lives in fame, though not in life.
I'll tell you what, my cousin Buckingham,
BUCKINGHAM
What, my gracious lord?
PRINCE EDWARD
An if I live until I be a man,
I'll win our ancient right in France again,
Or die a soldier, as I lived a king.
GLOUCESTER
[Aside] Short summers lightly have a forward spring.
Enter young YORK, HASTINGS, and the CARDINAL
BUCKINGHAM
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 1 271
Page No 275
Now, in good time, here comes the Duke of York.
PRINCE EDWARD
Richard of York! how fares our loving brother?
YORK
Well, my dread lord; so must I call you now.
PRINCE EDWARD
Ay, brother, to our grief, as it is yours:
Too late he died that might have kept that title,
Which by his death hath lost much majesty.
GLOUCESTER
How fares our cousin, noble Lord of York?
YORK
I thank you, gentle uncle. O, my lord,
You said that idle weeds are fast in growth
The prince my brother hath outgrown me far.
GLOUCESTER
He hath, my lord.
YORK
And therefore is he idle?
GLOUCESTER
O, my fair cousin, I must not say so.
YORK
Then is he more beholding to you than I.
GLOUCESTER
He may command me as my sovereign;
But you have power in me as in a kinsman.
YORK
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 1 272
Page No 276
I pray you, uncle, give me this dagger.
GLOUCESTER
My dagger, little cousin? with all my heart.
PRINCE EDWARD
A beggar, brother?
YORK
Of my kind uncle, that I know will give;
And being but a toy, which is no grief to give.
GLOUCESTER
A greater gift than that I'll give my cousin.
YORK
A greater gift! O, that's the sword to it.
GLOUCESTER
A gentle cousin, were it light enough.
YORK
O, then, I see, you will part but with light gifts;
In weightier things you'll say a beggar nay.
GLOUCESTER
It is too heavy for your grace to wear.
YORK
I weigh it lightly, were it heavier.
GLOUCESTER
What, would you have my weapon, little lord?
YORK
I would, that I might thank you as you call me.
GLOUCESTER
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 1 273
Page No 277
How?
YORK
Little.
PRINCE EDWARD
My Lord of York will still be cross in talk:
Uncle, your grace knows how to bear with him.
YORK
You mean, to bear me, not to bear with me:
Uncle, my brother mocks both you and me;
Because that I am little, like an ape,
He thinks that you should bear me on your shoulders.
BUCKINGHAM
With what a sharpprovided wit he reasons!
To mitigate the scorn he gives his uncle,
He prettily and aptly taunts himself:
So cunning and so young is wonderful.
GLOUCESTER
My lord, will't please you pass along?
Myself and my good cousin Buckingham
Will to your mother, to entreat of her
To meet you at the Tower and welcome you.
YORK
What, will you go unto the Tower, my lord?
PRINCE EDWARD
My lord protector needs will have it so.
YORK
I shall not sleep in quiet at the Tower.
GLOUCESTER
Why, what should you fear?
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 1 274
Page No 278
YORK
Marry, my uncle Clarence' angry ghost:
My grandam told me he was murdered there.
PRINCE EDWARD
I fear no uncles dead.
GLOUCESTER
Nor none that live, I hope.
PRINCE EDWARD
An if they live, I hope I need not fear.
But come, my lord; and with a heavy heart,
Thinking on them, go I unto the Tower.
A Sennet. Exeunt all but GLOUCESTER, BUCKINGHAM and CATESBY
BUCKINGHAM
Think you, my lord, this little prating York
Was not incensed by his subtle mother
To taunt and scorn you thus opprobriously?
GLOUCESTER
No doubt, no doubt; O, 'tis a parlous boy;
Bold, quick, ingenious, forward, capable
He is all the mother's, from the top to toe.
BUCKINGHAM
Well, let them rest. Come hither, Catesby.
Thou art sworn as deeply to effect what we intend
As closely to conceal what we impart:
Thou know'st our reasons urged upon the way;
What think'st thou? is it not an easy matter
To make William Lord Hastings of our mind,
For the instalment of this noble duke
In the seat royal of this famous isle?
CATESBY
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 1 275
Page No 279
He for his father's sake so loves the prince,
That he will not be won to aught against him.
BUCKINGHAM
What think'st thou, then, of Stanley? what will he?
CATESBY
He will do all in all as Hastings doth.
BUCKINGHAM
Well, then, no more but this: go, gentle Catesby,
And, as it were far off sound thou Lord Hastings,
How doth he stand affected to our purpose;
And summon him tomorrow to the Tower,
To sit about the coronation.
If thou dost find him tractable to us,
Encourage him, and show him all our reasons:
If he be leaden, icycold, unwilling,
Be thou so too; and so break off your talk,
And give us notice of his inclination:
For we tomorrow hold divided councils,
Wherein thyself shalt highly be employ'd.
GLOUCESTER
Commend me to Lord William: tell him, Catesby,
His ancient knot of dangerous adversaries
Tomorrow are let blood at Pomfretcastle;
And bid my friend, for joy of this good news,
Give mistress Shore one gentle kiss the more.
BUCKINGHAM
Good Catesby, go, effect this business soundly.
CATESBY
My good lords both, with all the heed I may.
GLOUCESTER
Shall we hear from you, Catesby, ere we sleep?
CATESBY
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 1 276
Page No 280
You shall, my lord.
GLOUCESTER
At Crosby Place, there shall you find us both.
Exit CATESBY
BUCKINGHAM
Now, my lord, what shall we do, if we perceive
Lord Hastings will not yield to our complots?
GLOUCESTER
Chop off his head, man; somewhat we will do:
And, look, when I am king, claim thou of me
The earldom of Hereford, and the moveables
Whereof the king my brother stood possess'd.
BUCKINGHAM
I'll claim that promise at your grace's hands.
GLOUCESTER
And look to have it yielded with all willingness.
Come, let us sup betimes, that afterwards
We may digest our complots in some form.
Exeunt
Act 3, Scene 2
Before Lord Hastings' house.
Enter a Messenger
Messenger
What, ho! my lord!
HASTINGS
[Within] Who knocks at the door?
Messenger
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 2 277
Page No 281
A messenger from the Lord Stanley.
Enter HASTINGS
HASTINGS
What is't o'clock?
Messenger
Upon the stroke of four.
HASTINGS
Cannot thy master sleep these tedious nights?
Messenger
So it should seem by that I have to say.
First, he commends him to your noble lordship.
HASTINGS
And then?
Messenger
And then he sends you word
He dreamt tonight the boar had razed his helm:
Besides, he says there are two councils held;
And that may be determined at the one
which may make you and him to rue at the other.
Therefore he sends to know your lordship's pleasure,
If presently you will take horse with him,
And with all speed post with him toward the north,
To shun the danger that his soul divines.
HASTINGS
Go, fellow, go, return unto thy lord;
Bid him not fear the separated councils
His honour and myself are at the one,
And at the other is my servant Catesby
Where nothing can proceed that toucheth us
Whereof I shall not have intelligence.
Tell him his fears are shallow, wanting instance:
And for his dreams, I wonder he is so fond
To trust the mockery of unquiet slumbers
To fly the boar before the boar pursues,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 2 278
Page No 282
Were to incense the boar to follow us
And make pursuit where he did mean no chase.
Go, bid thy master rise and come to me
And we will both together to the Tower,
Where, he shall see, the boar will use us kindly.
Messenger
My gracious lord, I'll tell him what you say.
Exit
Enter CATESBY
CATESBY
Many good morrows to my noble lord!
HASTINGS
Good morrow, Catesby; you are early stirring
What news, what news, in this our tottering state?
CATESBY
It is a reeling world, indeed, my lord;
And I believe twill never stand upright
Tim Richard wear the garland of the realm.
HASTINGS
How! wear the garland! dost thou mean the crown?
CATESBY
Ay, my good lord.
HASTINGS
I'll have this crown of mine cut from my shoulders
Ere I will see the crown so foul misplaced.
But canst thou guess that he doth aim at it?
CATESBY
Ay, on my life; and hopes to find forward
Upon his party for the gain thereof:
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 2 279
Page No 283
And thereupon he sends you this good news,
That this same very day your enemies,
The kindred of the queen, must die at Pomfret.
HASTINGS
Indeed, I am no mourner for that news,
Because they have been still mine enemies:
But, that I'll give my voice on Richard's side,
To bar my master's heirs in true descent,
God knows I will not do it, to the death.
CATESBY
God keep your lordship in that gracious mind!
HASTINGS
But I shall laugh at this a twelvemonth hence,
That they who brought me in my master's hate
I live to look upon their tragedy.
I tell thee, Catesby
CATESBY
What, my lord?
HASTINGS
Ere a fortnight make me elder,
I'll send some packing that yet think not on it.
CATESBY
'Tis a vile thing to die, my gracious lord,
When men are unprepared and look not for it.
HASTINGS
O monstrous, monstrous! and so falls it out
With Rivers, Vaughan, Grey: and so 'twill do
With some men else, who think themselves as safe
As thou and I; who, as thou know'st, are dear
To princely Richard and to Buckingham.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 2 280
Page No 284
CATESBY
The princes both make high account of you;
Aside
For they account his head upon the bridge.
HASTINGS
I know they do; and I have well deserved it.
Enter STANLEY
Come on, come on; where is your boarspear, man?
Fear you the boar, and go so unprovided?
STANLEY
My lord, good morrow; good morrow, Catesby:
You may jest on, but, by the holy rood,
I do not like these several councils, I.
HASTINGS
My lord,
I hold my life as dear as you do yours;
And never in my life, I do protest,
Was it more precious to me than 'tis now:
Think you, but that I know our state secure,
I would be so triumphant as I am?
STANLEY
The lords at Pomfret, when they rode from London,
Were jocund, and supposed their state was sure,
And they indeed had no cause to mistrust;
But yet, you see how soon the day o'ercast.
This sudden stag of rancour I misdoubt:
Pray God, I say, I prove a needless coward!
What, shall we toward the Tower? the day is spent.
HASTINGS
Come, come, have with you. Wot you what, my lord?
Today the lords you talk of are beheaded.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 2 281
Page No 285
LORD STANLEY
They, for their truth, might better wear their heads
Than some that have accused them wear their hats.
But come, my lord, let us away.
Enter a Pursuivant
HASTINGS
Go on before; I'll talk with this good fellow.
Exeunt STANLEY and CATESBY
How now, sirrah! how goes the world with thee?
Pursuivant
The better that your lordship please to ask.
HASTINGS
I tell thee, man, 'tis better with me now
Than when I met thee last where now we meet:
Then was I going prisoner to the Tower,
By the suggestion of the queen's allies;
But now, I tell theekeep it to thyself
This day those enemies are put to death,
And I in better state than e'er I was.
Pursuivant
God hold it, to your honour's good content!
HASTINGS
Gramercy, fellow: there, drink that for me.
Throws him his purse
Pursuivant
God save your lordship!
Exit
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 2 282
Page No 286
Enter a Priest
Priest
Well met, my lord; I am glad to see your honour.
HASTINGS
I thank thee, good Sir John, with all my heart.
I am in your debt for your last exercise;
Come the next Sabbath, and I will content you.
He whispers in his ear
Enter BUCKINGHAM
BUCKINGHAM
What, talking with a priest, lord chamberlain?
Your friends at Pomfret, they do need the priest;
Your honour hath no shriving work in hand.
HASTINGS
Good faith, and when I met this holy man,
Those men you talk of came into my mind.
What, go you toward the Tower?
BUCKINGHAM
I do, my lord; but long I shall not stay
I shall return before your lordship thence.
HASTINGS
'Tis like enough, for I stay dinner there.
BUCKINGHAM
[Aside] And supper too, although thou know'st it not.
Come, will you go?
HASTINGS
I'll wait upon your lordship.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 2 283
Page No 287
Exeunt
Act 3, Scene 3
Pomfret Castle.
Enter RATCLIFF, with halberds, carrying RIVERS, GREY, and VAUGHAN to death
RATCLIFF
Come, bring forth the prisoners.
RIVERS
Sir Richard Ratcliff, let me tell thee this:
Today shalt thou behold a subject die
For truth, for duty, and for loyalty.
GREY
God keep the prince from all the pack of you!
A knot you are of damned bloodsuckers!
VAUGHAN
You live that shall cry woe for this after.
RATCLIFF
Dispatch; the limit of your lives is out.
RIVERS
O Pomfret, Pomfret! O thou bloody prison,
Fatal and ominous to noble peers!
Within the guilty closure of thy walls
Richard the second here was hack'd to death;
And, for more slander to thy dismal seat,
We give thee up our guiltless blood to drink.
GREY
Now Margaret's curse is fall'n upon our heads,
For standing by when Richard stabb'd her son.
RIVERS
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 3 284
Page No 288
Then cursed she Hastings, then cursed she Buckingham,
Then cursed she Richard. O, remember, God
To hear her prayers for them, as now for us
And for my sister and her princely sons,
Be satisfied, dear God, with our true blood,
Which, as thou know'st, unjustly must be spilt.
RATCLIFF
Make haste; the hour of death is expiate.
RIVERS
Come, Grey, come, Vaughan, let us all embrace:
And take our leave, until we meet in heaven.
Exeunt
Act 3, Scene 4
The Tower of London.
Enter BUCKINGHAM, DERBY, HASTINGS, the BISHOP OF ELY, RATCLIFF, LOVEL,
with others, and take their seats at a table
HASTINGS
My lords, at once: the cause why we are met
Is, to determine of the coronation.
In God's name, speak: when is the royal day?
BUCKINGHAM
Are all things fitting for that royal time?
DERBY
It is, and wants but nomination.
BISHOP OF ELY
Tomorrow, then, I judge a happy day.
BUCKINGHAM
Who knows the lord protector's mind herein?
Who is most inward with the royal duke?
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 4 285
Page No 289
BISHOP OF ELY
Your grace, we think, should soonest know his mind.
BUCKINGHAM
Who, I, my lord I we know each other's faces,
But for our hearts, he knows no more of mine,
Than I of yours;
Nor I no more of his, than you of mine.
Lord Hastings, you and he are near in love.
HASTINGS
I thank his grace, I know he loves me well;
But, for his purpose in the coronation.
I have not sounded him, nor he deliver'd
His gracious pleasure any way therein:
But you, my noble lords, may name the time;
And in the duke's behalf I'll give my voice,
Which, I presume, he'll take in gentle part.
Enter GLOUCESTER
BISHOP OF ELY
Now in good time, here comes the duke himself.
GLOUCESTER
My noble lords and cousins all, good morrow.
I have been long a sleeper; but, I hope,
My absence doth neglect no great designs,
Which by my presence might have been concluded.
BUCKINGHAM
Had not you come upon your cue, my lord
William Lord Hastings had pronounced your part,
I mean, your voice,for crowning of the king.
GLOUCESTER
Than my Lord Hastings no man might be bolder;
His lordship knows me well, and loves me well.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 4 286
Page No 290
HASTINGS
I thank your grace.
GLOUCESTER
My lord of Ely!
BISHOP OF ELY
My lord?
GLOUCESTER
When I was last in Holborn,
I saw good strawberries in your garden there
I do beseech you send for some of them.
BISHOP OF ELY
Marry, and will, my lord, with all my heart.
Exit
GLOUCESTER
Cousin of Buckingham, a word with you.
Drawing him aside
Catesby hath sounded Hastings in our business,
And finds the testy gentleman so hot,
As he will lose his head ere give consent
His master's son, as worshipful as he terms it,
Shall lose the royalty of England's throne.
BUCKINGHAM
Withdraw you hence, my lord, I'll follow you.
Exit GLOUCESTER, BUCKINGHAM following
DERBY
We have not yet set down this day of triumph.
Tomorrow, in mine opinion, is too sudden;
For I myself am not so well provided
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 4 287
Page No 291
As else I would be, were the day prolong'd.
Reenter BISHOP OF ELY
BISHOP OF ELY
Where is my lord protector? I have sent for these
strawberries.
HASTINGS
His grace looks cheerfully and smooth today;
There's some conceit or other likes him well,
When he doth bid good morrow with such a spirit.
I think there's never a man in Christendom
That can less hide his love or hate than he;
For by his face straight shall you know his heart.
DERBY
What of his heart perceive you in his face
By any likelihood he show'd today?
HASTINGS
Marry, that with no man here he is offended;
For, were he, he had shown it in his looks.
DERBY
I pray God he be not, I say.
Reenter GLOUCESTER and BUCKINGHAM
GLOUCESTER
I pray you all, tell me what they deserve
That do conspire my death with devilish plots
Of damned witchcraft, and that have prevail'd
Upon my body with their hellish charms?
HASTINGS
The tender love I bear your grace, my lord,
Makes me most forward in this noble presence
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 4 288
Page No 292
To doom the offenders, whatsoever they be
I say, my lord, they have deserved death.
GLOUCESTER
Then be your eyes the witness of this ill:
See how I am bewitch'd; behold mine arm
Is, like a blasted sapling, wither'd up:
And this is Edward's wife, that monstrous witch,
Consorted with that harlot strumpet Shore,
That by their witchcraft thus have marked me.
HASTINGS
If they have done this thing, my gracious lord
GLOUCESTER
If I thou protector of this damned strumpet
Tellest thou me of 'ifs'? Thou art a traitor:
Off with his head! Now, by Saint Paul I swear,
I will not dine until I see the same.
Lovel and Ratcliff, look that it be done:
The rest, that love me, rise and follow me.
Exeunt all but HASTINGS, RATCLIFF, and LOVEL
HASTINGS
Woe, woe for England! not a whit for me;
For I, too fond, might have prevented this.
Stanley did dream the boar did raze his helm;
But I disdain'd it, and did scorn to fly:
Three times today my footcloth horse did stumble,
And startled, when he look'd upon the Tower,
As loath to bear me to the slaughterhouse.
O, now I want the priest that spake to me:
I now repent I told the pursuivant
As 'twere triumphing at mine enemies,
How they at Pomfret bloodily were butcher'd,
And I myself secure in grace and favour.
O Margaret, Margaret, now thy heavy curse
Is lighted on poor Hastings' wretched head!
RATCLIFF
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 4 289
Page No 293
Dispatch, my lord; the duke would be at dinner:
Make a short shrift; he longs to see your head.
HASTINGS
O momentary grace of mortal men,
Which we more hunt for than the grace of God!
Who builds his hopes in air of your good looks,
Lives like a drunken sailor on a mast,
Ready, with every nod, to tumble down
Into the fatal bowels of the deep.
LOVEL
Come, come, dispatch; 'tis bootless to exclaim.
HASTINGS
O bloody Richard! miserable England!
I prophesy the fearful'st time to thee
That ever wretched age hath look'd upon.
Come, lead me to the block; bear him my head.
They smile at me that shortly shall be dead.
Exeunt
Act 3, Scene 5
The Towerwalls.
Enter GLOUCESTER and BUCKINGHAM, in rotten armour, marvellous illfavoured
GLOUCESTER
Come, cousin, canst thou quake, and change thy colour,
Murder thy breath in the middle of a word,
And then begin again, and stop again,
As if thou wert distraught and mad with terror?
BUCKINGHAM
Tut, I can counterfeit the deep tragedian;
Speak and look back, and pry on every side,
Tremble and start at wagging of a straw,
Intending deep suspicion: ghastly looks
Are at my service, like enforced smiles;
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 5 290
Page No 294
And both are ready in their offices,
At any time, to grace my stratagems.
But what, is Catesby gone?
GLOUCESTER
He is; and, see, he brings the mayor along.
Enter the Lord Mayor and CATESBY
BUCKINGHAM
Lord mayor,
GLOUCESTER
Look to the drawbridge there!
BUCKINGHAM
Hark! a drum.
GLOUCESTER
Catesby, o'erlook the walls.
BUCKINGHAM
Lord mayor, the reason we have sent
GLOUCESTER
Look back, defend thee, here are enemies.
BUCKINGHAM
God and our innocency defend and guard us!
GLOUCESTER
Be patient, they are friends, Ratcliff and Lovel.
Enter LOVEL and RATCLIFF, with HASTINGS' head
LOVEL
Here is the head of that ignoble traitor,
The dangerous and unsuspected Hastings.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 5 291
Page No 295
GLOUCESTER
So dear I loved the man, that I must weep.
I took him for the plainest harmless creature
That breathed upon this earth a Christian;
Made him my book wherein my soul recorded
The history of all her secret thoughts:
So smooth he daub'd his vice with show of virtue,
That, his apparent open guilt omitted,
I mean, his conversation with Shore's wife,
He lived from all attainder of suspect.
BUCKINGHAM
Well, well, he was the covert'st shelter'd traitor
That ever lived.
Would you imagine, or almost believe,
Were't not that, by great preservation,
We live to tell it you, the subtle traitor
This day had plotted, in the councilhouse
To murder me and my good Lord of Gloucester?
Lord Mayor
What, had he so?
GLOUCESTER
What, think You we are Turks or infidels?
Or that we would, against the form of law,
Proceed thus rashly to the villain's death,
But that the extreme peril of the case,
The peace of England and our persons' safety,
Enforced us to this execution?
Lord Mayor
Now, fair befall you! he deserved his death;
And you my good lords, both have well proceeded,
To warn false traitors from the like attempts.
I never look'd for better at his hands,
After he once fell in with Mistress Shore.
GLOUCESTER
Yet had not we determined he should die,
Until your lordship came to see his death;
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 5 292
Page No 296
Which now the loving haste of these our friends,
Somewhat against our meaning, have prevented:
Because, my lord, we would have had you heard
The traitor speak, and timorously confess
The manner and the purpose of his treason;
That you might well have signified the same
Unto the citizens, who haply may
Misconstrue us in him and wail his death.
Lord Mayor
But, my good lord, your grace's word shall serve,
As well as I had seen and heard him speak
And doubt you not, right noble princes both,
But I'll acquaint our duteous citizens
With all your just proceedings in this cause.
GLOUCESTER
And to that end we wish'd your lordship here,
To avoid the carping censures of the world.
BUCKINGHAM
But since you come too late of our intents,
Yet witness what you hear we did intend:
And so, my good lord mayor, we bid farewell.
Exit Lord Mayor
GLOUCESTER
Go, after, after, cousin Buckingham.
The mayor towards Guildhall hies him in all post:
There, at your meet'st advantage of the time,
Infer the bastardy of Edward's children:
Tell them how Edward put to death a citizen,
Only for saying he would make his son
Heir to the crown; meaning indeed his house,
Which, by the sign thereof was termed so.
Moreover, urge his hateful luxury
And bestial appetite in change of lust;
Which stretched to their servants, daughters, wives,
Even where his lustful eye or savage heart,
Without control, listed to make his prey.
Nay, for a need, thus far come near my person:
Tell them, when that my mother went with child
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 5 293
Page No 297
Of that unsatiate Edward, noble York
My princely father then had wars in France
And, by just computation of the time,
Found that the issue was not his begot;
Which well appeared in his lineaments,
Being nothing like the noble duke my father:
But touch this sparingly, as 'twere far off,
Because you know, my lord, my mother lives.
BUCKINGHAM
Fear not, my lord, I'll play the orator
As if the golden fee for which I plead
Were for myself: and so, my lord, adieu.
GLOUCESTER
If you thrive well, bring them to Baynard's Castle;
Where you shall find me well accompanied
With reverend fathers and welllearned bishops.
BUCKINGHAM
I go: and towards three or four o'clock
Look for the news that the Guildhall affords.
Exit BUCKINGHAM
GLOUCESTER
Go, Lovel, with all speed to Doctor Shaw;
To CATESBY
Go thou to Friar Penker; bid them both
Meet me within this hour at Baynard's Castle.
Exeunt all but GLOUCESTER
Now will I in, to take some privy order,
To draw the brats of Clarence out of sight;
And to give notice, that no manner of person
At any time have recourse unto the princes.
Exit
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 5 294
Page No 298
Act 3, Scene 6
The same.
Enter a Scrivener, with a paper in his hand
Scrivener
This is the indictment of the good Lord Hastings;
Which in a set hand fairly is engross'd,
That it may be this day read over in Paul's.
And mark how well the sequel hangs together:
Eleven hours I spent to write it over,
For yesternight by Catesby was it brought me;
The precedent was full as long adoing:
And yet within these five hours lived Lord Hastings,
Untainted, unexamined, free, at liberty
Here's a good world the while! Why who's so gross,
That seeth not this palpable device?
Yet who's so blind, but says he sees it not?
Bad is the world; and all will come to nought,
When such bad dealings must be seen in thought.
Exit
Act 3, Scene 7
Baynard's Castle.
Enter GLOUCESTER and BUCKINGHAM, at several doors
GLOUCESTER
How now, my lord, what say the citizens?
BUCKINGHAM
Now, by the holy mother of our Lord,
The citizens are mum and speak not a word.
GLOUCESTER
Touch'd you the bastardy of Edward's children?
BUCKINGHAM
I did; with his contract with Lady Lucy,
And his contract by deputy in France;
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 6 295
Page No 299
The insatiate greediness of his desires,
And his enforcement of the city wives;
His tyranny for trifles; his own bastardy,
As being got, your father then in France,
His resemblance, being not like the duke;
Withal I did infer your lineaments,
Being the right idea of your father,
Both in your form and nobleness of mind;
Laid open all your victories in Scotland,
Your dicipline in war, wisdom in peace,
Your bounty, virtue, fair humility:
Indeed, left nothing fitting for the purpose
Untouch'd, or slightly handled, in discourse
And when mine oratory grew to an end
I bid them that did love their country's good
Cry 'God save Richard, England's royal king!'
GLOUCESTER
Ah! and did they so?
BUCKINGHAM
No, so God help me, they spake not a word;
But, like dumb statues or breathing stones,
Gazed each on other, and look'd deadly pale.
Which when I saw, I reprehended them;
And ask'd the mayor what meant this wilful silence:
His answer was, the people were not wont
To be spoke to but by the recorder.
Then he was urged to tell my tale again,
'Thus saith the duke, thus hath the duke inferr'd;'
But nothing spake in warrant from himself.
When he had done, some followers of mine own,
At the lower end of the hall, hurl'd up their caps,
And some ten voices cried 'God save King Richard!'
And thus I took the vantage of those few,
'Thanks, gentle citizens and friends,' quoth I;
'This general applause and loving shout
Argues your wisdoms and your love to Richard:'
And even here brake off, and came away.
GLOUCESTER
What tongueless blocks were they! would not they speak?
BUCKINGHAM
No, by my troth, my lord.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 6 296
Page No 300
GLOUCESTER
Will not the mayor then and his brethren come?
BUCKINGHAM
The mayor is here at hand: intend some fear;
Be not you spoke with, but by mighty suit:
And look you get a prayerbook in your hand,
And stand betwixt two churchmen, good my lord;
For on that ground I'll build a holy descant:
And be not easily won to our request:
Play the maid's part, still answer nay, and take it.
GLOUCESTER
I go; and if you plead as well for them
As I can say nay to thee for myself,
No doubt well bring it to a happy issue.
BUCKINGHAM
Go, go, up to the leads; the lord mayor knocks.
Exit GLOUCESTER
Enter the Lord Mayor and Citizens
Welcome my lord; I dance attendance here;
I think the duke will not be spoke withal.
Enter CATESBY
Here comes his servant: how now, Catesby,
What says he?
CATESBY
My lord: he doth entreat your grace;
To visit him tomorrow or next day:
He is within, with two right reverend fathers,
Divinely bent to meditation;
And no worldly suit would he be moved,
To draw him from his holy exercise.
BUCKINGHAM
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 6 297
Page No 301
Return, good Catesby, to thy lord again;
Tell him, myself, the mayor and citizens,
In deep designs and matters of great moment,
No less importing than our general good,
Are come to have some conference with his grace.
CATESBY
I'll tell him what you say, my lord.
Exit
BUCKINGHAM
Ah, ha, my lord, this prince is not an Edward!
He is not lolling on a lewd daybed,
But on his knees at meditation;
Not dallying with a brace of courtezans,
But meditating with two deep divines;
Not sleeping, to engross his idle body,
But praying, to enrich his watchful soul:
Happy were England, would this gracious prince
Take on himself the sovereignty thereof:
But, sure, I fear, we shall ne'er win him to it.
Lord Mayor
Marry, God forbid his grace should say us nay!
BUCKINGHAM
I fear he will.
Reenter CATESBY
How now, Catesby, what says your lord?
CATESBY
My lord,
He wonders to what end you have assembled
Such troops of citizens to speak with him,
His grace not being warn'd thereof before:
My lord, he fears you mean no good to him.
BUCKINGHAM
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 6 298
Page No 302
Sorry I am my noble cousin should
Suspect me, that I mean no good to him:
By heaven, I come in perfect love to him;
And so once more return and tell his grace.
Exit CATESBY
When holy and devout religious men
Are at their beads, 'tis hard to draw them thence,
So sweet is zealous contemplation.
Enter GLOUCESTER aloft, between two Bishops. CATESBY returns
Lord Mayor
See, where he stands between two clergymen!
BUCKINGHAM
Two props of virtue for a Christian prince,
To stay him from the fall of vanity:
And, see, a book of prayer in his hand,
True ornaments to know a holy man.
Famous Plantagenet, most gracious prince,
Lend favourable ears to our request;
And pardon us the interruption
Of thy devotion and right Christian zeal.
GLOUCESTER
My lord, there needs no such apology:
I rather do beseech you pardon me,
Who, earnest in the service of my God,
Neglect the visitation of my friends.
But, leaving this, what is your grace's pleasure?
BUCKINGHAM
Even that, I hope, which pleaseth God above,
And all good men of this ungovern'd isle.
GLOUCESTER
I do suspect I have done some offence
That seems disgracious in the city's eyes,
And that you come to reprehend my ignorance.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 6 299
Page No 303
BUCKINGHAM
You have, my lord: would it might please your grace,
At our entreaties, to amend that fault!
GLOUCESTER
Else wherefore breathe I in a Christian land?
BUCKINGHAM
Then know, it is your fault that you resign
The supreme seat, the throne majestical,
The scepter'd office of your ancestors,
Your state of fortune and your due of birth,
The lineal glory of your royal house,
To the corruption of a blemished stock:
Whilst, in the mildness of your sleepy thoughts,
Which here we waken to our country's good,
This noble isle doth want her proper limbs;
Her face defaced with scars of infamy,
Her royal stock graft with ignoble plants,
And almost shoulder'd in the swallowing gulf
Of blind forgetfulness and dark oblivion.
Which to recure, we heartily solicit
Your gracious self to take on you the charge
And kingly government of this your land,
Not as protector, steward, substitute,
Or lowly factor for another's gain;
But as successively from blood to blood,
Your right of birth, your empery, your own.
For this, consorted with the citizens,
Your very worshipful and loving friends,
And by their vehement instigation,
In this just suit come I to move your grace.
GLOUCESTER
I know not whether to depart in silence,
Or bitterly to speak in your reproof.
Best fitteth my degree or your condition
If not to answer, you might haply think
Tonguetied ambition, not replying, yielded
To bear the golden yoke of sovereignty,
Which fondly you would here impose on me;
If to reprove you for this suit of yours,
So season'd with your faithful love to me.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 6 300
Page No 304
Then, on the other side, I cheque'd my friends.
Therefore, to speak, and to avoid the first,
And then, in speaking, not to incur the last,
Definitively thus I answer you.
Your love deserves my thanks; but my desert
Unmeritable shuns your high request.
First if all obstacles were cut away,
And that my path were even to the crown,
As my ripe revenue and due by birth
Yet so much is my poverty of spirit,
So mighty and so many my defects,
As I had rather hide me from my greatness,
Being a bark to brook no mighty sea,
Than in my greatness covet to be hid,
And in the vapour of my glory smother'd.
But, God be thank'd, there's no need of me,
And much I need to help you, if need were;
The royal tree hath left us royal fruit,
Which, mellow'd by the stealing hours of time,
Will well become the seat of majesty,
And make, no doubt, us happy by his reign.
On him I lay what you would lay on me,
The right and fortune of his happy stars;
Which God defend that I should wring from him!
BUCKINGHAM
My lord, this argues conscience in your grace;
But the respects thereof are nice and trivial,
All circumstances well considered.
You say that Edward is your brother's son:
So say we too, but not by Edward's wife;
For first he was contract to Lady Lucy
Your mother lives a witness to that vow
And afterward by substitute betroth'd
To Bona, sister to the King of France.
These both put by a poor petitioner,
A carecrazed mother of a many children,
A beautywaning and distressed widow,
Even in the afternoon of her best days,
Made prize and purchase of his lustful eye,
Seduced the pitch and height of all his thoughts
To base declension and loathed bigamy
By her, in his unlawful bed, he got
This Edward, whom our manners term the prince.
More bitterly could I expostulate,
Save that, for reverence to some alive,
I give a sparing limit to my tongue.
Then, good my lord, take to your royal self
This proffer'd benefit of dignity;
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 6 301
Page No 305
If non to bless us and the land withal,
Yet to draw forth your noble ancestry
From the corruption of abusing times,
Unto a lineal truederived course.
Lord Mayor
Do, good my lord, your citizens entreat you.
BUCKINGHAM
Refuse not, mighty lord, this proffer'd love.
CATESBY
O, make them joyful, grant their lawful suit!
GLOUCESTER
Alas, why would you heap these cares on me?
I am unfit for state and majesty;
I do beseech you, take it not amiss;
I cannot nor I will not yield to you.
BUCKINGHAM
If you refuse it,as, in love and zeal,
Loath to depose the child, Your brother's son;
As well we know your tenderness of heart
And gentle, kind, effeminate remorse,
Which we have noted in you to your kin,
And egally indeed to all estates,
Yet whether you accept our suit or no,
Your brother's son shall never reign our king;
But we will plant some other in the throne,
To the disgrace and downfall of your house:
And in this resolution here we leave you.
Come, citizens: 'zounds! I'll entreat no more.
GLOUCESTER
O, do not swear, my lord of Buckingham.
Exit BUCKINGHAM with the Citizens
CATESBY
Call them again, my lord, and accept their suit.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 6 302
Page No 306
ANOTHER
Do, good my lord, lest all the land do rue it.
GLOUCESTER
Would you enforce me to a world of care?
Well, call them again. I am not made of stone,
But penetrable to your. kind entreats,
Albeit against my conscience and my soul.
Reenter BUCKINGHAM and the rest
Cousin of Buckingham, and you sage, grave men,
Since you will buckle fortune on my back,
To bear her burthen, whether I will or no,
I must have patience to endure the load:
But if black scandal or foulfaced reproach
Attend the sequel of your imposition,
Your mere enforcement shall acquittance me
From all the impure blots and stains thereof;
For God he knows, and you may partly see,
How far I am from the desire thereof.
Lord Mayor
God bless your grace! we see it, and will say it.
GLOUCESTER
In saying so, you shall but say the truth.
BUCKINGHAM
Then I salute you with this kingly title:
Long live Richard, England's royal king!
Lord Mayor
|
| Amen.
Citizens
|
BUCKINGHAM
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 6 303
Page No 307
Tomorrow will it please you to be crown'd?
GLOUCESTER
Even when you please, since you will have it so.
BUCKINGHAM
Tomorrow, then, we will attend your grace:
And so most joyfully we take our leave.
GLOUCESTER
Come, let us to our holy task again.
Farewell, good cousin; farewell, gentle friends.
Exeunt
Act 4, Scene 1
Before the Tower.
Enter, on one side, QUEEN ELIZABETH, DUCHESS OF YORK, and DORSET; on the
other, ANNE, Duchess of Gloucester, leading Lady Margaret Plantagenet, CLARENCE's
young Daughter
DUCHESS OF YORK
Who meets us here? my niece Plantagenet
Led in the hand of her kind aunt of Gloucester?
Now, for my life, she's wandering to the Tower,
On pure heart's love to greet the tender princes.
Daughter, well met.
LADY ANNE
God give your graces both
A happy and a joyful time of day!
QUEEN ELIZABETH
As much to you, good sister! Whither away?
LADY ANNE
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 1 304
Page No 308
No farther than the Tower; and, as I guess,
Upon the like devotion as yourselves,
To gratulate the gentle princes there.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Kind sister, thanks: we'll enter all together.
Enter BRAKENBURY
And, in good time, here the lieutenant comes.
Master lieutenant, pray you, by your leave,
How doth the prince, and my young son of York?
BRAKENBURY
Right well, dear madam. By your patience,
I may not suffer you to visit them;
The king hath straitly charged the contrary.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
The king! why, who's that?
BRAKENBURY
I cry you mercy: I mean the lord protector.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
The Lord protect him from that kingly title!
Hath he set bounds betwixt their love and me?
I am their mother; who should keep me from them?
DUCHESS OF YORK
I am their fathers mother; I will see them.
LADY ANNE
Their aunt I am in law, in love their mother:
Then bring me to their sights; I'll bear thy blame
And take thy office from thee, on my peril.
BRAKENBURY
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 1 305
Page No 309
No, madam, no; I may not leave it so:
I am bound by oath, and therefore pardon me.
Exit
Enter LORD STANLEY
LORD STANLEY
Let me but meet you, ladies, one hour hence,
And I'll salute your grace of York as mother,
And reverend looker on, of two fair queens.
To LADY ANNE
Come, madam, you must straight to Westminster,
There to be crowned Richard's royal queen.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
O, cut my lace in sunder, that my pent heart
May have some scope to beat, or else I swoon
With this deadkilling news!
LADY ANNE
Despiteful tidings! O unpleasing news!
DORSET
Be of good cheer: mother, how fares your grace?
QUEEN ELIZABETH
O Dorset, speak not to me, get thee hence!
Death and destruction dog thee at the heels;
Thy mother's name is ominous to children.
If thou wilt outstrip death, go cross the seas,
And live with Richmond, from the reach of hell
Go, hie thee, hie thee from this slaughterhouse,
Lest thou increase the number of the dead;
And make me die the thrall of Margaret's curse,
Nor mother, wife, nor England's counted queen.
LORD STANLEY
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 1 306
Page No 310
Full of wise care is this your counsel, madam.
Take all the swift advantage of the hours;
You shall have letters from me to my son
To meet you on the way, and welcome you.
Be not ta'en tardy by unwise delay.
DUCHESS OF YORK
O illdispersing wind of misery!
O my accursed womb, the bed of death!
A cockatrice hast thou hatch'd to the world,
Whose unavoided eye is murderous.
LORD STANLEY
Come, madam, come; I in all haste was sent.
LADY ANNE
And I in all unwillingness will go.
I would to God that the inclusive verge
Of golden metal that must round my brow
Were redhot steel, to sear me to the brain!
Anointed let me be with deadly venom,
And die, ere men can say, God save the queen!
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Go, go, poor soul, I envy not thy glory
To feed my humour, wish thyself no harm.
LADY ANNE
No! why? When he that is my husband now
Came to me, as I follow'd Henry's corse,
When scarce the blood was well wash'd from his hands
Which issued from my other angel husband
And that dead saint which then I weeping follow'd;
O, when, I say, I look'd on Richard's face,
This was my wish: 'Be thou,' quoth I, ' accursed,
For making me, so young, so old a widow!
And, when thou wed'st, let sorrow haunt thy bed;
And be thy wifeif any be so mad
As miserable by the life of thee
As thou hast made me by my dear lord's death!
Lo, ere I can repeat this curse again,
Even in so short a space, my woman's heart
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 1 307
Page No 311
Grossly grew captive to his honey words
And proved the subject of my own soul's curse,
Which ever since hath kept my eyes from rest;
For never yet one hour in his bed
Have I enjoy'd the golden dew of sleep,
But have been waked by his timorous dreams.
Besides, he hates me for my father Warwick;
And will, no doubt, shortly be rid of me.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Poor heart, adieu! I pity thy complaining.
LADY ANNE
No more than from my soul I mourn for yours.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Farewell, thou woful welcomer of glory!
LADY ANNE
Adieu, poor soul, that takest thy leave of it!
DUCHESS OF YORK
[To DORSET]
Go thou to Richmond, and good fortune guide thee!
To LADY ANNE
Go thou to Richard, and good angels guard thee!
To QUEEN ELIZABETH
Go thou to sanctuary, and good thoughts possess thee!
I to my grave, where peace and rest lie with me!
Eighty odd years of sorrow have I seen,
And each hour's joy wrecked with a week of teen.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Stay, yet look back with me unto the Tower.
Pity, you ancient stones, those tender babes
Whom envy hath immured within your walls!
Rough cradle for such little pretty ones!
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 1 308
Page No 312
Rude ragged nurse, old sullen playfellow
For tender princes, use my babies well!
So foolish sorrow bids your stones farewell.
Exeunt
Act 4, Scene 2
London. The palace.
Sennet. Enter KING RICHARD III, in pomp, crowned; BUCKINGHAM, CATESBY, a page,
and others
KING RICHARD III
Stand all apart Cousin of Buckingham!
BUCKINGHAM
My gracious sovereign?
KING RICHARD III
Give me thy hand.
Here he ascendeth his throne
Thus high, by thy advice
And thy assistance, is King Richard seated;
But shall we wear these honours for a day?
Or shall they last, and we rejoice in them?
BUCKINGHAM
Still live they and for ever may they last!
KING RICHARD III
O Buckingham, now do I play the touch,
To try if thou be current gold indeed
Young Edward lives: think now what I would say.
BUCKINGHAM
Say on, my loving lord.
KING RICHARD III
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 2 309
Page No 313
Why, Buckingham, I say, I would be king,
BUCKINGHAM
Why, so you are, my thrice renowned liege.
KING RICHARD III
Ha! am I king? 'tis so: but Edward lives.
BUCKINGHAM
True, noble prince.
KING RICHARD III
O bitter consequence,
That Edward still should live! 'True, noble prince!'
Cousin, thou wert not wont to be so dull:
Shall I be plain? I wish the bastards dead;
And I would have it suddenly perform'd.
What sayest thou? speak suddenly; be brief.
BUCKINGHAM
Your grace may do your pleasure.
KING RICHARD III
Tut, tut, thou art all ice, thy kindness freezeth:
Say, have I thy consent that they shall die?
BUCKINGHAM
Give me some breath, some little pause, my lord
Before I positively herein:
I will resolve your grace immediately.
Exit
CATESBY
[Aside to a stander by]
The king is angry: see, he bites the lip.
KING RICHARD III
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 2 310
Page No 314
I will converse with ironwitted fools
And unrespective boys: none are for me
That look into me with considerate eyes:
Highreaching Buckingham grows circumspect.
Boy!
Page
My lord?
KING RICHARD III
Know'st thou not any whom corrupting gold
Would tempt unto a close exploit of death?
Page
My lord, I know a discontented gentleman,
Whose humble means match not his haughty mind:
Gold were as good as twenty orators,
And will, no doubt, tempt him to any thing.
KING RICHARD III
What is his name?
Page
His name, my lord, is Tyrrel.
KING RICHARD III
I partly know the man: go, call him hither.
Exit Page
The deeprevolving witty Buckingham
No more shall be the neighbour to my counsel:
Hath he so long held out with me untired,
And stops he now for breath?
Enter STANLEY
How now! what news with you?
STANLEY
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 2 311
Page No 315
My lord, I hear the Marquis Dorset's fled
To Richmond, in those parts beyond the sea
Where he abides.
Stands apart
KING RICHARD III
Catesby!
CATESBY
My lord?
KING RICHARD III
Rumour it abroad
That Anne, my wife, is sick and like to die:
I will take order for her keeping close.
Inquire me out some meanborn gentleman,
Whom I will marry straight to Clarence' daughter:
The boy is foolish, and I fear not him.
Look, how thou dream'st! I say again, give out
That Anne my wife is sick and like to die:
About it; for it stands me much upon,
To stop all hopes whose growth may damage me.
Exit CATESBY
I must be married to my brother's daughter,
Or else my kingdom stands on brittle glass.
Murder her brothers, and then marry her!
Uncertain way of gain! But I am in
So far in blood that sin will pluck on sin:
Tearfalling pity dwells not in this eye.
Reenter Page, with TYRREL
Is thy name Tyrrel?
TYRREL
James Tyrrel, and your most obedient subject.
KING RICHARD III
Art thou, indeed?
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 2 312
Page No 316
TYRREL
Prove me, my gracious sovereign.
KING RICHARD III
Darest thou resolve to kill a friend of mine?
TYRREL
Ay, my lord;
But I had rather kill two enemies.
KING RICHARD III
Why, there thou hast it: two deep enemies,
Foes to my rest and my sweet sleep's disturbers
Are they that I would have thee deal upon:
Tyrrel, I mean those bastards in the Tower.
TYRREL
Let me have open means to come to them,
And soon I'll rid you from the fear of them.
KING RICHARD III
Thou sing'st sweet music. Hark, come hither, Tyrrel
Go, by this token: rise, and lend thine ear:
Whispers
There is no more but so: say it is done,
And I will love thee, and prefer thee too.
TYRREL
'Tis done, my gracious lord.
KING RICHARD III
Shall we hear from thee, Tyrrel, ere we sleep?
TYRREL
Ye shall, my Lord.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 2 313
Page No 317
Exit
Reenter BUCKINGHAM
BUCKINGHAM
My Lord, I have consider'd in my mind
The late demand that you did sound me in.
KING RICHARD III
Well, let that pass. Dorset is fled to Richmond.
BUCKINGHAM
I hear that news, my lord.
KING RICHARD III
Stanley, he is your wife's son well, look to it.
BUCKINGHAM
My lord, I claim your gift, my due by promise,
For which your honour and your faith is pawn'd;
The earldom of Hereford and the moveables
The which you promised I should possess.
KING RICHARD III
Stanley, look to your wife; if she convey
Letters to Richmond, you shall answer it.
BUCKINGHAM
What says your highness to my just demand?
KING RICHARD III
As I remember, Henry the Sixth
Did prophesy that Richmond should be king,
When Richmond was a little peevish boy.
A king, perhaps, perhaps,
BUCKINGHAM
My lord!
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 2 314
Page No 318
KING RICHARD III
How chance the prophet could not at that time
Have told me, I being by, that I should kill him?
BUCKINGHAM
My lord, your promise for the earldom,
KING RICHARD III
Richmond! When last I was at Exeter,
The mayor in courtesy show'd me the castle,
And call'd it Rougemont: at which name I started,
Because a bard of Ireland told me once
I should not live long after I saw Richmond.
BUCKINGHAM
My Lord!
KING RICHARD III
Ay, what's o'clock?
BUCKINGHAM
I am thus bold to put your grace in mind
Of what you promised me.
KING RICHARD III
Well, but what's o'clock?
BUCKINGHAM
Upon the stroke of ten.
KING RICHARD III
Well, let it strike.
BUCKINGHAM
Why let it strike?
KING RICHARD III
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 2 315
Page No 319
Because that, like a Jack, thou keep'st the stroke
Betwixt thy begging and my meditation.
I am not in the giving vein today.
BUCKINGHAM
Why, then resolve me whether you will or no.
KING RICHARD III
Tut, tut,
Thou troublest me; am not in the vein.
Exeunt all but BUCKINGHAM
BUCKINGHAM
Is it even so? rewards he my true service
With such deep contempt made I him king for this?
O, let me think on Hastings, and be gone
To Brecknock, while my fearful head is on!
Exit
Act 4, Scene 3
The same.
Enter TYRREL
TYRREL
The tyrannous and bloody deed is done.
The most arch of piteous massacre
That ever yet this land was guilty of.
Dighton and Forrest, whom I did suborn
To do this ruthless piece of butchery,
Although they were flesh'd villains, bloody dogs,
Melting with tenderness and kind compassion
Wept like two children in their deaths' sad stories.
'Lo, thus' quoth Dighton, 'lay those tender babes:'
'Thus, thus,' quoth Forrest, 'girdling one another
Within their innocent alabaster arms:
Their lips were four red roses on a stalk,
Which in their summer beauty kiss'd each other.
A book of prayers on their pillow lay;
Which once,' quoth Forrest, 'almost changed my mind;
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 3 316
Page No 320
But O! the devil'there the villain stopp'd
Whilst Dighton thus told on: 'We smothered
The most replenished sweet work of nature,
That from the prime creation e'er she framed.'
Thus both are gone with conscience and remorse;
They could not speak; and so I left them both,
To bring this tidings to the bloody king.
And here he comes.
Enter KING RICHARD III
All hail, my sovereign liege!
KING RICHARD III
Kind Tyrrel, am I happy in thy news?
TYRREL
If to have done the thing you gave in charge
Beget your happiness, be happy then,
For it is done, my lord.
KING RICHARD III
But didst thou see them dead?
TYRREL
I did, my lord.
KING RICHARD III
And buried, gentle Tyrrel?
TYRREL
The chaplain of the Tower hath buried them;
But how or in what place I do not know.
KING RICHARD III
Come to me, Tyrrel, soon at after supper,
And thou shalt tell the process of their death.
Meantime, but think how I may do thee good,
And be inheritor of thy desire.
Farewell till soon.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 3 317
Page No 321
Exit TYRREL
The son of Clarence have I pent up close;
His daughter meanly have I match'd in marriage;
The sons of Edward sleep in Abraham's bosom,
And Anne my wife hath bid the world good night.
Now, for I know the Breton Richmond aims
At young Elizabeth, my brother's daughter,
And, by that knot, looks proudly o'er the crown,
To her I go, a jolly thriving wooer.
Enter CATESBY
CATESBY
My lord!
KING RICHARD III
Good news or bad, that thou comest in so bluntly?
CATESBY
Bad news, my lord: Ely is fled to Richmond;
And Buckingham, back'd with the hardy Welshmen,
Is in the field, and still his power increaseth.
KING RICHARD III
Ely with Richmond troubles me more near
Than Buckingham and his rashlevied army.
Come, I have heard that fearful commenting
Is leaden servitor to dull delay;
Delay leads impotent and snailpaced beggary
Then fiery expedition be my wing,
Jove's Mercury, and herald for a king!
Come, muster men: my counsel is my shield;
We must be brief when traitors brave the field.
Exeunt
Act 4, Scene 4
Before the palace.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 4 318
Page No 322
Enter QUEEN MARGARET
QUEEN MARGARET
So, now prosperity begins to mellow
And drop into the rotten mouth of death.
Here in these confines slily have I lurk'd,
To watch the waning of mine adversaries.
A dire induction am I witness to,
And will to France, hoping the consequence
Will prove as bitter, black, and tragical.
Withdraw thee, wretched Margaret: who comes here?
Enter QUEEN ELIZABETH and the DUCHESS OF YORK
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Ah, my young princes! ah, my tender babes!
My unblown flowers, newappearing sweets!
If yet your gentle souls fly in the air
And be not fix'd in doom perpetual,
Hover about me with your airy wings
And hear your mother's lamentation!
QUEEN MARGARET
Hover about her; say, that right for right
Hath dimm'd your infant morn to aged night.
DUCHESS OF YORK
So many miseries have crazed my voice,
That my woewearied tongue is mute and dumb,
Edward Plantagenet, why art thou dead?
QUEEN MARGARET
Plantagenet doth quit Plantagenet.
Edward for Edward pays a dying debt.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Wilt thou, O God, fly from such gentle lambs,
And throw them in the entrails of the wolf?
When didst thou sleep when such a deed was done?
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 4 319
Page No 323
QUEEN MARGARET
When holy Harry died, and my sweet son.
DUCHESS OF YORK
Blind sight, dead life, poor mortal living ghost,
Woe's scene, world's shame, grave's due by life usurp'd,
Brief abstract and record of tedious days,
Rest thy unrest on England's lawful earth,
Sitting down
Unlawfully made drunk with innocents' blood!
QUEEN ELIZABETH
O, that thou wouldst as well afford a grave
As thou canst yield a melancholy seat!
Then would I hide my bones, not rest them here.
O, who hath any cause to mourn but I?
Sitting down by her
QUEEN MARGARET
If ancient sorrow be most reverend,
Give mine the benefit of seniory,
And let my woes frown on the upper hand.
If sorrow can admit society,
Sitting down with them
Tell o'er your woes again by viewing mine:
I had an Edward, till a Richard kill'd him;
I had a Harry, till a Richard kill'd him:
Thou hadst an Edward, till a Richard kill'd him;
Thou hadst a Richard, till a Richard killed him;
DUCHESS OF YORK
I had a Richard too, and thou didst kill him;
I had a Rutland too, thou holp'st to kill him.
QUEEN MARGARET
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 4 320
Page No 324
Thou hadst a Clarence too, and Richard kill'd him.
From forth the kennel of thy womb hath crept
A hellhound that doth hunt us all to death:
That dog, that had his teeth before his eyes,
To worry lambs and lap their gentle blood,
That foul defacer of God's handiwork,
That excellent grand tyrant of the earth,
That reigns in galled eyes of weeping souls,
Thy womb let loose, to chase us to our graves.
O upright, just, and truedisposing God,
How do I thank thee, that this carnal cur
Preys on the issue of his mother's body,
And makes her pewfellow with others' moan!
DUCHESS OF YORK
O Harry's wife, triumph not in my woes!
God witness with me, I have wept for thine.
QUEEN MARGARET
Bear with me; I am hungry for revenge,
And now I cloy me with beholding it.
Thy Edward he is dead, that stabb'd my Edward:
Thy other Edward dead, to quit my Edward;
Young York he is but boot, because both they
Match not the high perfection of my loss:
Thy Clarence he is dead that kill'd my Edward;
And the beholders of this tragic play,
The adulterate Hastings, Rivers, Vaughan, Grey,
Untimely smother'd in their dusky graves.
Richard yet lives, hell's black intelligencer,
Only reserved their factor, to buy souls
And send them thither: but at hand, at hand,
Ensues his piteous and unpitied end:
Earth gapes, hell burns, fiends roar, saints pray.
To have him suddenly convey'd away.
Cancel his bond of life, dear God, I prey,
That I may live to say, The dog is dead!
QUEEN ELIZABETH
O, thou didst prophesy the time would come
That I should wish for thee to help me curse
That bottled spider, that foul bunchback'd toad!
QUEEN MARGARET
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 4 321
Page No 325
I call'd thee then vain flourish of my fortune;
I call'd thee then poor shadow, painted queen;
The presentation of but what I was;
The flattering index of a direful pageant;
One heaved ahigh, to be hurl'd down below;
A mother only mock'd with two sweet babes;
A dream of what thou wert, a breath, a bubble,
A sign of dignity, a garish flag,
To be the aim of every dangerous shot,
A queen in jest, only to fill the scene.
Where is thy husband now? where be thy brothers?
Where are thy children? wherein dost thou, joy?
Who sues to thee and cries 'God save the queen'?
Where be the bending peers that flatter'd thee?
Where be the thronging troops that follow'd thee?
Decline all this, and see what now thou art:
For happy wife, a most distressed widow;
For joyful mother, one that wails the name;
For queen, a very caitiff crown'd with care;
For one being sued to, one that humbly sues;
For one that scorn'd at me, now scorn'd of me;
For one being fear'd of all, now fearing one;
For one commanding all, obey'd of none.
Thus hath the course of justice wheel'd about,
And left thee but a very prey to time;
Having no more but thought of what thou wert,
To torture thee the more, being what thou art.
Thou didst usurp my place, and dost thou not
Usurp the just proportion of my sorrow?
Now thy proud neck bears half my burthen'd yoke;
From which even here I slip my weary neck,
And leave the burthen of it all on thee.
Farewell, York's wife, and queen of sad mischance:
These English woes will make me smile in France.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
O thou well skill'd in curses, stay awhile,
And teach me how to curse mine enemies!
QUEEN MARGARET
Forbear to sleep the nights, and fast the days;
Compare dead happiness with living woe;
Think that thy babes were fairer than they were,
And he that slew them fouler than he is:
Bettering thy loss makes the bad causer worse:
Revolving this will teach thee how to curse.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 4 322
Page No 326
QUEEN ELIZABETH
My words are dull; O, quicken them with thine!
QUEEN MARGARET
Thy woes will make them sharp, and pierce like mine.
Exit
DUCHESS OF YORK
Why should calamity be full of words?
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Windy attorneys to their client woes,
Airy succeeders of intestate joys,
Poor breathing orators of miseries!
Let them have scope: though what they do impart
Help not all, yet do they ease the heart.
DUCHESS OF YORK
If so, then be not tonguetied: go with me.
And in the breath of bitter words let's smother
My damned son, which thy two sweet sons smother'd.
I hear his drum: be copious in exclaims.
Enter KING RICHARD III, marching, with drums and trumpets
KING RICHARD III
Who intercepts my expedition?
DUCHESS OF YORK
O, she that might have intercepted thee,
By strangling thee in her accursed womb
From all the slaughters, wretch, that thou hast done!
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Hidest thou that forehead with a golden crown,
Where should be graven, if that right were right,
The slaughter of the prince that owed that crown,
And the dire death of my two sons and brothers?
Tell me, thou villain slave, where are my children?
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 4 323
Page No 327
DUCHESS OF YORK
Thou toad, thou toad, where is thy brother Clarence?
And little Ned Plantagenet, his son?
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Where is kind Hastings, Rivers, Vaughan, Grey?
KING RICHARD III
A flourish, trumpets! strike alarum, drums!
Let not the heavens hear these telltale women
Rail on the Lord's enointed: strike, I say!
Flourish. Alarums
Either be patient, and entreat me fair,
Or with the clamorous report of war
Thus will I drown your exclamations.
DUCHESS OF YORK
Art thou my son?
KING RICHARD III
Ay, I thank God, my father, and yourself.
DUCHESS OF YORK
Then patiently hear my impatience.
KING RICHARD III
Madam, I have a touch of your condition,
Which cannot brook the accent of reproof.
DUCHESS OF YORK
O, let me speak!
KING RICHARD III
Do then: but I'll not hear.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 4 324
Page No 328
DUCHESS OF YORK
I will be mild and gentle in my speech.
KING RICHARD III
And brief, good mother; for I am in haste.
DUCHESS OF YORK
Art thou so hasty? I have stay'd for thee,
God knows, in anguish, pain and agony.
KING RICHARD III
And came I not at last to comfort you?
DUCHESS OF YORK
No, by the holy rood, thou know'st it well,
Thou camest on earth to make the earth my hell.
A grievous burthen was thy birth to me;
Tetchy and wayward was thy infancy;
Thy schooldays frightful, desperate, wild, and furious,
Thy prime of manhood daring, bold, and venturous,
Thy age confirm'd, proud, subdued, bloody,
treacherous,
More mild, but yet more harmful, kind in hatred:
What comfortable hour canst thou name,
That ever graced me in thy company?
KING RICHARD III
Faith, none, but Humphrey Hour, that call'd
your grace
To breakfast once forth of my company.
If I be so disgracious in your sight,
Let me march on, and not offend your grace.
Strike the drum.
DUCHESS OF YORK
I prithee, hear me speak.
KING RICHARD III
You speak too bitterly.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 4 325
Page No 329
DUCHESS OF YORK
Hear me a word;
For I shall never speak to thee again.
KING RICHARD III
So.
DUCHESS OF YORK
Either thou wilt die, by God's just ordinance,
Ere from this war thou turn a conqueror,
Or I with grief and extreme age shall perish
And never look upon thy face again.
Therefore take with thee my most heavy curse;
Which, in the day of battle, tire thee more
Than all the complete armour that thou wear'st!
My prayers on the adverse party fight;
And there the little souls of Edward's children
Whisper the spirits of thine enemies
And promise them success and victory.
Bloody thou art, bloody will be thy end;
Shame serves thy life and doth thy death attend.
Exit
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Though far more cause, yet much less spirit to curse
Abides in me; I say amen to all.
KING RICHARD III
Stay, madam; I must speak a word with you.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
I have no more sons of the royal blood
For thee to murder: for my daughters, Richard,
They shall be praying nuns, not weeping queens;
And therefore level not to hit their lives.
KING RICHARD III
You have a daughter call'd Elizabeth,
Virtuous and fair, royal and gracious.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 4 326
Page No 330
QUEEN ELIZABETH
And must she die for this? O, let her live,
And I'll corrupt her manners, stain her beauty;
Slander myself as false to Edward's bed;
Throw over her the veil of infamy:
So she may live unscarr'd of bleeding slaughter,
I will confess she was not Edward's daughter.
KING RICHARD III
Wrong not her birth, she is of royal blood.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
To save her life, I'll say she is not so.
KING RICHARD III
Her life is only safest in her birth.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
And only in that safety died her brothers.
KING RICHARD III
Lo, at their births good stars were opposite.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
No, to their lives bad friends were contrary.
KING RICHARD III
All unavoided is the doom of destiny.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
True, when avoided grace makes destiny:
My babes were destined to a fairer death,
If grace had bless'd thee with a fairer life.
KING RICHARD III
You speak as if that I had slain my cousins.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 4 327
Page No 331
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Cousins, indeed; and by their uncle cozen'd
Of comfort, kingdom, kindred, freedom, life.
Whose hand soever lanced their tender hearts,
Thy head, all indirectly, gave direction:
No doubt the murderous knife was dull and blunt
Till it was whetted on thy stonehard heart,
To revel in the entrails of my lambs.
But that still use of grief makes wild grief tame,
My tongue should to thy ears not name my boys
Till that my nails were anchor'd in thine eyes;
And I, in such a desperate bay of death,
Like a poor bark, of sails and tackling reft,
Rush all to pieces on thy rocky bosom.
KING RICHARD III
Madam, so thrive I in my enterprise
And dangerous success of bloody wars,
As I intend more good to you and yours,
Than ever you or yours were by me wrong'd!
QUEEN ELIZABETH
What good is cover'd with the face of heaven,
To be discover'd, that can do me good?
KING RICHARD III
The advancement of your children, gentle lady.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Up to some scaffold, there to lose their heads?
KING RICHARD III
No, to the dignity and height of honour
The high imperial type of this earth's glory.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Flatter my sorrows with report of it;
Tell me what state, what dignity, what honour,
Canst thou demise to any child of mine?
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 4 328
Page No 332
KING RICHARD III
Even all I have; yea, and myself and all,
Will I withal endow a child of thine;
So in the Lethe of thy angry soul
Thou drown the sad remembrance of those wrongs
Which thou supposest I have done to thee.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Be brief, lest that be process of thy kindness
Last longer telling than thy kindness' date.
KING RICHARD III
Then know, that from my soul I love thy daughter.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
My daughter's mother thinks it with her soul.
KING RICHARD III
What do you think?
QUEEN ELIZABETH
That thou dost love my daughter from thy soul:
So from thy soul's love didst thou love her brothers;
And from my heart's love I do thank thee for it.
KING RICHARD III
Be not so hasty to confound my meaning:
I mean, that with my soul I love thy daughter,
And mean to make her queen of England.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Say then, who dost thou mean shall be her king?
KING RICHARD III
Even he that makes her queen who should be else?
QUEEN ELIZABETH
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 4 329
Page No 333
What, thou?
KING RICHARD III
I, even I: what think you of it, madam?
QUEEN ELIZABETH
How canst thou woo her?
KING RICHARD III
That would I learn of you,
As one that are best acquainted with her humour.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
And wilt thou learn of me?
KING RICHARD III
Madam, with all my heart.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Send to her, by the man that slew her brothers,
A pair of bleedinghearts; thereon engrave
Edward and York; then haply she will weep:
Therefore present to heras sometime Margaret
Did to thy father, steep'd in Rutland's blood,
A handkerchief; which, say to her, did drain
The purple sap from her sweet brother's body
And bid her dry her weeping eyes therewith.
If this inducement force her not to love,
Send her a story of thy noble acts;
Tell her thou madest away her uncle Clarence,
Her uncle Rivers; yea, and, for her sake,
Madest quick conveyance with her good aunt Anne.
KING RICHARD III
Come, come, you mock me; this is not the way
To win our daughter.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
There is no other way
Unless thou couldst put on some other shape,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 4 330
Page No 334
And not be Richard that hath done all this.
KING RICHARD III
Say that I did all this for love of her.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Nay, then indeed she cannot choose but hate thee,
Having bought love with such a bloody spoil.
KING RICHARD III
Look, what is done cannot be now amended:
Men shall deal unadvisedly sometimes,
Which after hours give leisure to repent.
If I did take the kingdom from your sons,
To make amends, Ill give it to your daughter.
If I have kill'd the issue of your womb,
To quicken your increase, I will beget
Mine issue of your blood upon your daughter
A grandam's name is little less in love
Than is the doting title of a mother;
They are as children but one step below,
Even of your mettle, of your very blood;
Of an one pain, save for a night of groans
Endured of her, for whom you bid like sorrow.
Your children were vexation to your youth,
But mine shall be a comfort to your age.
The loss you have is but a son being king,
And by that loss your daughter is made queen.
I cannot make you what amends I would,
Therefore accept such kindness as I can.
Dorset your son, that with a fearful soul
Leads discontented steps in foreign soil,
This fair alliance quickly shall call home
To high promotions and great dignity:
The king, that calls your beauteous daughter wife.
Familiarly shall call thy Dorset brother;
Again shall you be mother to a king,
And all the ruins of distressful times
Repair'd with double riches of content.
What! we have many goodly days to see:
The liquid drops of tears that you have shed
Shall come again, transform'd to orient pearl,
Advantaging their loan with interest
Of ten times double gain of happiness.
Go, then my mother, to thy daughter go
Make bold her bashful years with your experience;
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 4 331
Page No 335
Prepare her ears to hear a wooer's tale
Put in her tender heart the aspiring flame
Of golden sovereignty; acquaint the princess
With the sweet silent hours of marriage joys
And when this arm of mine hath chastised
The petty rebel, dullbrain'd Buckingham,
Bound with triumphant garlands will I come
And lead thy daughter to a conqueror's bed;
To whom I will retail my conquest won,
And she shall be sole victress, Caesar's Caesar.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
What were I best to say? her father's brother
Would be her lord? or shall I say, her uncle?
Or, he that slew her brothers and her uncles?
Under what title shall I woo for thee,
That God, the law, my honour and her love,
Can make seem pleasing to her tender years?
KING RICHARD III
Infer fair England's peace by this alliance.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Which she shall purchase with still lasting war.
KING RICHARD III
Say that the king, which may command, entreats.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
That at her hands which the king's King forbids.
KING RICHARD III
Say, she shall be a high and mighty queen.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
To wail the tide, as her mother doth.
KING RICHARD III
Say, I will love her everlastingly.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 4 332
Page No 336
But how long shall that title 'ever' last?
KING RICHARD III
Sweetly in force unto her fair life's end.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
But how long fairly shall her sweet lie last?
KING RICHARD III
So long as heaven and nature lengthens it.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
So long as hell and Richard likes of it.
KING RICHARD III
Say, I, her sovereign, am her subject love.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
But she, your subject, loathes such sovereignty.
KING RICHARD III
Be eloquent in my behalf to her.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
An honest tale speeds best being plainly told.
KING RICHARD III
Then in plain terms tell her my loving tale.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Plain and not honest is too harsh a style.
KING RICHARD III
Your reasons are too shallow and too quick.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
O no, my reasons are too deep and dead;
Too deep and dead, poor infants, in their grave.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 4 333
Page No 337
KING RICHARD III
Harp not on that string, madam; that is past.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Harp on it still shall I till heartstrings break.
KING RICHARD III
Now, by my George, my garter, and my crown,
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Profaned, dishonour'd, and the third usurp'd.
KING RICHARD III
I swear
QUEEN ELIZABETH
By nothing; for this is no oath:
The George, profaned, hath lost his holy honour;
The garter, blemish'd, pawn'd his knightly virtue;
The crown, usurp'd, disgraced his kingly glory.
if something thou wilt swear to be believed,
Swear then by something that thou hast not wrong'd.
KING RICHARD III
Now, by the world
QUEEN ELIZABETH
'Tis full of thy foul wrongs.
KING RICHARD III
My father's death
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Thy life hath that dishonour'd.
KING RICHARD III
Then, by myself
QUEEN ELIZABETH
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 4 334
Page No 338
Thyself thyself misusest.
KING RICHARD III
Why then, by God
QUEEN ELIZABETH
God's wrong is most of all.
If thou hadst fear'd to break an oath by Him,
The unity the king thy brother made
Had not been broken, nor my brother slain:
If thou hadst fear'd to break an oath by Him,
The imperial metal, circling now thy brow,
Had graced the tender temples of my child,
And both the princes had been breathing here,
Which now, two tender playfellows to dust,
Thy broken faith hath made a prey for worms.
What canst thou swear by now?
KING RICHARD III
The time to come.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
That thou hast wronged in the time o'erpast;
For I myself have many tears to wash
Hereafter time, for time past wrong'd by thee.
The children live, whose parents thou hast
slaughter'd,
Ungovern'd youth, to wail it in their age;
The parents live, whose children thou hast butcher'd,
Old wither'd plants, to wail it with their age.
Swear not by time to come; for that thou hast
Misused ere used, by time misused o'erpast.
KING RICHARD III
As I intend to prosper and repent,
So thrive I in my dangerous attempt
Of hostile arms! myself myself confound!
Heaven and fortune bar me happy hours!
Day, yield me not thy light; nor, night, thy rest!
Be opposite all planets of good luck
To my proceedings, if, with pure heart's love,
Immaculate devotion, holy thoughts,
I tender not thy beauteous princely daughter!
In her consists my happiness and thine;
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 4 335
Page No 339
Without her, follows to this land and me,
To thee, herself, and many a Christian soul,
Death, desolation, ruin and decay:
It cannot be avoided but by this;
It will not be avoided but by this.
Therefore, good mother,I must can you so
Be the attorney of my love to her:
Plead what I will be, not what I have been;
Not my deserts, but what I will deserve:
Urge the necessity and state of times,
And be not peevishfond in great designs.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Shall I be tempted of the devil thus?
KING RICHARD III
Ay, if the devil tempt thee to do good.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Shall I forget myself to be myself?
KING RICHARD III
Ay, if yourself's remembrance wrong yourself.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
But thou didst kill my children.
KING RICHARD III
But in your daughter's womb I bury them:
Where in that nest of spicery they shall breed
Selves of themselves, to your recomforture.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Shall I go win my daughter to thy will?
KING RICHARD III
And be a happy mother by the deed.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 4 336
Page No 340
I go. Write to me very shortly.
And you shall understand from me her mind.
KING RICHARD III
Bear her my true love's kiss; and so, farewell.
Exit QUEEN ELIZABETH
Relenting fool, and shallow, changing woman!
Enter RATCLIFF; CATESBY following
How now! what news?
RATCLIFF
My gracious sovereign, on the western coast
Rideth a puissant navy; to the shore
Throng many doubtful hollowhearted friends,
Unarm'd, and unresolved to beat them back:
'Tis thought that Richmond is their admiral;
And there they hull, expecting but the aid
Of Buckingham to welcome them ashore.
KING RICHARD III
Some lightfoot friend post to the Duke of Norfolk:
Ratcliff, thyself, or Catesby; where is he?
CATESBY
Here, my lord.
KING RICHARD III
Fly to the duke:
To RATCLIFF
Post thou to Salisbury
When thou comest thither
To CATESBY
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 4 337
Page No 341
Dull, unmindful villain,
Why stand'st thou still, and go'st not to the duke?
CATESBY
First, mighty sovereign, let me know your mind,
What from your grace I shall deliver to him.
KING RICHARD III
O, true, good Catesby: bid him levy straight
The greatest strength and power he can make,
And meet me presently at Salisbury.
CATESBY
I go.
Exit
RATCLIFF
What is't your highness' pleasure I shall do at
Salisbury?
KING RICHARD III
Why, what wouldst thou do there before I go?
RATCLIFF
Your highness told me I should post before.
KING RICHARD III
My mind is changed, sir, my mind is changed.
Enter STANLEY
How now, what news with you?
STANLEY
None good, my lord, to please you with the hearing;
Nor none so bad, but it may well be told.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 4 338
Page No 342
KING RICHARD III
Hoyday, a riddle! neither good nor bad!
Why dost thou run so many mile about,
When thou mayst tell thy tale a nearer way?
Once more, what news?
STANLEY
Richmond is on the seas.
KING RICHARD III
There let him sink, and be the seas on him!
Whiteliver'd runagate, what doth he there?
STANLEY
I know not, mighty sovereign, but by guess.
KING RICHARD III
Well, sir, as you guess, as you guess?
STANLEY
Stirr'd up by Dorset, Buckingham, and Ely,
He makes for England, there to claim the crown.
KING RICHARD III
Is the chair empty? is the sword unsway'd?
Is the king dead? the empire unpossess'd?
What heir of York is there alive but we?
And who is England's king but great York's heir?
Then, tell me, what doth he upon the sea?
STANLEY
Unless for that, my liege, I cannot guess.
KING RICHARD III
Unless for that he comes to be your liege,
You cannot guess wherefore the Welshman comes.
Thou wilt revolt, and fly to him, I fear.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 4 339
Page No 343
STANLEY
No, mighty liege; therefore mistrust me not.
KING RICHARD III
Where is thy power, then, to beat him back?
Where are thy tenants and thy followers?
Are they not now upon the western shore.
Safeconducting the rebels from their ships!
STANLEY
No, my good lord, my friends are in the north.
KING RICHARD III
Cold friends to Richard: what do they in the north,
When they should serve their sovereign in the west?
STANLEY
They have not been commanded, mighty sovereign:
Please it your majesty to give me leave,
I'll muster up my friends, and meet your grace
Where and what time your majesty shall please.
KING RICHARD III
Ay, ay. thou wouldst be gone to join with Richmond:
I will not trust you, sir.
STANLEY
Most mighty sovereign,
You have no cause to hold my friendship doubtful:
I never was nor never will be false.
KING RICHARD III
Well,
Go muster men; but, hear you, leave behind
Your son, George Stanley: look your faith be firm.
Or else his head's assurance is but frail.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 4 340
Page No 344
STANLEY
So deal with him as I prove true to you.
Exit
Enter a Messenger
Messenger
My gracious sovereign, now in Devonshire,
As I by friends am well advertised,
Sir Edward Courtney, and the haughty prelate
Bishop of Exeter, his brother there,
With many more confederates, are in arms.
Enter another Messenger
Second Messenger
My liege, in Kent the Guildfords are in arms;
And every hour more competitors
Flock to their aid, and still their power increaseth.
Enter another Messenger
Third Messenger
My lord, the army of the Duke of Buckingham
KING RICHARD III
Out on you, owls! nothing but songs of death?
He striketh him
Take that, until thou bring me better news.
Third Messenger
The news I have to tell your majesty
Is, that by sudden floods and fall of waters,
Buckingham's army is dispersed and scatter'd;
And he himself wander'd away alone,
No man knows whither.
KING RICHARD III
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 4 341
Page No 345
I cry thee mercy:
There is my purse to cure that blow of thine.
Hath any welladvised friend proclaim'd
Reward to him that brings the traitor in?
Third Messenger
Such proclamation hath been made, my liege.
Enter another Messenger
Fourth Messenger
Sir Thomas Lovel and Lord Marquis Dorset,
'Tis said, my liege, in Yorkshire are in arms.
Yet this good comfort bring I to your grace,
The Breton navy is dispersed by tempest:
Richmond, in Yorkshire, sent out a boat
Unto the shore, to ask those on the banks
If they were his assistants, yea or no;
Who answer'd him, they came from Buckingham.
Upon his party: he, mistrusting them,
Hoisted sail and made away for Brittany.
KING RICHARD III
March on, march on, since we are up in arms;
If not to fight with foreign enemies,
Yet to beat down these rebels here at home.
Reenter CATESBY
CATESBY
My liege, the Duke of Buckingham is taken;
That is the best news: that the Earl of Richmond
Is with a mighty power landed at Milford,
Is colder tidings, yet they must be told.
KING RICHARD III
Away towards Salisbury! while we reason here,
A royal battle might be won and lost
Some one take order Buckingham be brought
To Salisbury; the rest march on with me.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 4 342
Page No 346
Flourish. Exeunt
Act 4, Scene 5
Lord Derby's house.
Enter DERBY and SIR CHRISTOPHER URSWICK
DERBY
Sir Christopher, tell Richmond this from me:
That in the sty of this most bloody boar
My son George Stanley is frank'd up in hold:
If I revolt, off goes young George's head;
The fear of that withholds my present aid.
But, tell me, where is princely Richmond now?
CHRISTOPHER
At Pembroke, or at Harfordwest, in Wales.
DERBY
What men of name resort to him?
CHRISTOPHER
Sir Walter Herbert, a renowned soldier;
Sir Gilbert Talbot, Sir William Stanley;
Oxford, redoubted Pembroke, Sir James Blunt,
And Rice ap Thomas with a valiant crew;
And many more of noble fame and worth:
And towards London they do bend their course,
If by the way they be not fought withal.
DERBY
Return unto thy lord; commend me to him:
Tell him the queen hath heartily consented
He shall espouse Elizabeth her daughter.
These letters will resolve him of my mind. Farewell.
Exeunt
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 5 343
Page No 347
Act 5, Scene 1
Salisbury. An open place.
Enter the Sheriff, and BUCKINGHAM, with halberds, led to execution
BUCKINGHAM
Will not King Richard let me speak with him?
Sheriff
No, my good lord; therefore be patient.
BUCKINGHAM
Hastings, and Edward's children, Rivers, Grey,
Holy King Henry, and thy fair son Edward,
Vaughan, and all that have miscarried
By underhand corrupted foul injustice,
If that your moody discontented souls
Do through the clouds behold this present hour,
Even for revenge mock my destruction!
This is AllSouls' day, fellows, is it not?
Sheriff
It is, my lord.
BUCKINGHAM
Why, then AllSouls' day is my body's doomsday.
This is the day that, in King Edward's time,
I wish't might fall on me, when I was found
False to his children or his wife's allies
This is the day wherein I wish'd to fall
By the false faith of him I trusted most;
This, this AllSouls' day to my fearful soul
Is the determined respite of my wrongs:
That high AllSeer that I dallied with
Hath turn'd my feigned prayer on my head
And given in earnest what I begg'd in jest.
Thus doth he force the swords of wicked men
To turn their own points on their masters' bosoms:
Now Margaret's curse is fallen upon my head;
'When he,' quoth she, 'shall split thy heart with sorrow,
Remember Margaret was a prophetess.'
Come, sirs, convey me to the block of shame;
Wrong hath but wrong, and blame the due of blame.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 1 344
Page No 348
Exeunt
Act 5, Scene 2
The camp near Tamworth.
Enter RICHMOND, OXFORD, BLUNT, HERBERT, and others, with drum and colours
RICHMOND
Fellows in arms, and my most loving friends,
Bruised underneath the yoke of tyranny,
Thus far into the bowels of the land
Have we march'd on without impediment;
And here receive we from our father Stanley
Lines of fair comfort and encouragement.
The wretched, bloody, and usurping boar,
That spoil'd your summer fields and fruitful vines,
Swills your warm blood like wash, and makes his trough
In your embowell'd bosoms, this foul swine
Lies now even in the centre of this isle,
Near to the town of Leicester, as we learn
From Tamworth thither is but one day's march.
In God's name, cheerly on, courageous friends,
To reap the harvest of perpetual peace
By this one bloody trial of sharp war.
OXFORD
Every man's conscience is a thousand swords,
To fight against that bloody homicide.
HERBERT
I doubt not but his friends will fly to us.
BLUNT
He hath no friends but who are friends for fear.
Which in his greatest need will shrink from him.
RICHMOND
All for our vantage. Then, in God's name, march:
True hope is swift, and flies with swallow's wings:
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 2 345
Page No 349
Kings it makes gods, and meaner creatures kings.
Exeunt
Act 5, Scene 3
Bosworth Field.
Enter KING RICHARD III in arms, with NORFOLK, SURREY, and others
KING RICHARD III
Here pitch our tents, even here in Bosworth field.
My Lord of Surrey, why look you so sad?
SURREY
My heart is ten times lighter than my looks.
KING RICHARD III
My Lord of Norfolk,
NORFOLK
Here, most gracious liege.
KING RICHARD III
Norfolk, we must have knocks; ha! must we not?
NORFOLK
We must both give and take, my gracious lord.
KING RICHARD III
Up with my tent there! here will I lie tonight;
But where tomorrow? Well, all's one for that.
Who hath descried the number of the foe?
NORFOLK
Six or seven thousand is their utmost power.
KING RICHARD III
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 3 346
Page No 350
Why, our battalion trebles that account:
Besides, the king's name is a tower of strength,
Which they upon the adverse party want.
Up with my tent there! Valiant gentlemen,
Let us survey the vantage of the field
Call for some men of sound direction
Let's want no discipline, make no delay,
For, lords, tomorrow is a busy day.
Exeunt
Enter, on the other side of the field, RICHMOND, Sir William Brandon, OXFORD, and
others. Some of the Soldiers pitch RICHMOND's tent
RICHMOND
The weary sun hath made a golden set,
And by the bright track of his fiery car,
Gives signal, of a goodly day tomorrow.
Sir William Brandon, you shall bear my standard.
Give me some ink and paper in my tent
I'll draw the form and model of our battle,
Limit each leader to his several charge,
And part in just proportion our small strength.
My Lord of Oxford, you, Sir William Brandon,
And you, Sir Walter Herbert, stay with me.
The Earl of Pembroke keeps his regiment:
Good Captain Blunt, bear my good night to him
And by the second hour in the morning
Desire the earl to see me in my tent:
Yet one thing more, good Blunt, before thou go'st,
Where is Lord Stanley quarter'd, dost thou know?
BLUNT
Unless I have mista'en his colours much,
Which well I am assured I have not done,
His regiment lies half a mile at least
South from the mighty power of the king.
RICHMOND
If without peril it be possible,
Good Captain Blunt, bear my goodnight to him,
And give him from me this most needful scroll.
BLUNT
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 3 347
Page No 351
Upon my life, my lord, I'll undertake it;
And so, God give you quiet rest tonight!
RICHMOND
Good night, good Captain Blunt. Come gentlemen,
Let us consult upon tomorrow's business
In to our tent; the air is raw and cold.
They withdraw into the tent
Enter, to his tent, KING RICHARD III, NORFOLK, RATCLIFF, CATESBY, and others
KING RICHARD III
What is't o'clock?
CATESBY
It's suppertime, my lord;
It's nine o'clock.
KING RICHARD III
I will not sup tonight.
Give me some ink and paper.
What, is my beaver easier than it was?
And all my armour laid into my tent?
CATESBY
If is, my liege; and all things are in readiness.
KING RICHARD III
Good Norfolk, hie thee to thy charge;
Use careful watch, choose trusty sentinels.
NORFOLK
I go, my lord.
KING RICHARD III
Stir with the lark tomorrow, gentle Norfolk.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 3 348
Page No 352
NORFOLK
I warrant you, my lord.
Exit
KING RICHARD III
Catesby!
CATESBY
My lord?
KING RICHARD III
Send out a pursuivant at arms
To Stanley's regiment; bid him bring his power
Before sunrising, lest his son George fall
Into the blind cave of eternal night.
Exit CATESBY
Fill me a bowl of wine. Give me a watch.
Saddle white Surrey for the field tomorrow.
Look that my staves be sound, and not too heavy.
Ratcliff!
RATCLIFF
My lord?
KING RICHARD III
Saw'st thou the melancholy Lord Northumberland?
RATCLIFF
Thomas the Earl of Surrey, and himself,
Much about cockshut time, from troop to troop
Went through the army, cheering up the soldiers.
KING RICHARD III
So, I am satisfied. Give me a bowl of wine:
I have not that alacrity of spirit,
Nor cheer of mind, that I was wont to have.
Set it down. Is ink and paper ready?
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 3 349
Page No 353
RATCLIFF
It is, my lord.
KING RICHARD III
Bid my guard watch; leave me.
Ratcliff, about the mid of night come to my tent
And help to arm me. Leave me, I say.
Exeunt RATCLIFF and the other Attendants
Enter DERBY to RICHMOND in his tent, Lords and others attending
DERBY
Fortune and victory sit on thy helm!
RICHMOND
All comfort that the dark night can afford
Be to thy person, noble fatherinlaw!
Tell me, how fares our loving mother?
DERBY
I, by attorney, bless thee from thy mother
Who prays continually for Richmond's good:
So much for that. The silent hours steal on,
And flaky darkness breaks within the east.
In brief,for so the season bids us be,
Prepare thy battle early in the morning,
And put thy fortune to the arbitrement
Of bloody strokes and mortalstaring war.
I, as I maythat which I would I cannot,
With best advantage will deceive the time,
And aid thee in this doubtful shock of arms:
But on thy side I may not be too forward
Lest, being seen, thy brother, tender George,
Be executed in his father's sight.
Farewell: the leisure and the fearful time
Cuts off the ceremonious vows of love
And ample interchange of sweet discourse,
Which so long sunder'd friends should dwell upon:
God give us leisure for these rites of love!
Once more, adieu: be valiant, and speed well!
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 3 350
Page No 354
RICHMOND
Good lords, conduct him to his regiment:
I'll strive, with troubled thoughts, to take a nap,
Lest leaden slumber peise me down tomorrow,
When I should mount with wings of victory:
Once more, good night, kind lords and gentlemen.
Exeunt all but RICHMOND
O Thou, whose captain I account myself,
Look on my forces with a gracious eye;
Put in their hands thy bruising irons of wrath,
That they may crush down with a heavy fall
The usurping helmets of our adversaries!
Make us thy ministers of chastisement,
That we may praise thee in the victory!
To thee I do commend my watchful soul,
Ere I let fall the windows of mine eyes:
Sleeping and waking, O, defend me still!
Sleeps
Enter the Ghost of Prince Edward, son to King Henry VI
of Prince Edward
[To KING RICHARD III]
Let me sit heavy on thy soul tomorrow!
Think, how thou stab'dst me in my prime of youth
At Tewksbury: despair, therefore, and die!
To RICHMOND
Be cheerful, Richmond; for the wronged souls
Of butcher'd princes fight in thy behalf
King Henry's issue, Richmond, comforts thee.
Enter the Ghost of King Henry VI
of King Henry VI
[To KING RICHARD III]
When I was mortal, my anointed body
By thee was punched full of deadly holes
Think on the Tower and me: despair, and die!
Harry the Sixth bids thee despair, and die!
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 3 351
Page No 355
To RICHMOND
Virtuous and holy, be thou conqueror!
Harry, that prophesied thou shouldst be king,
Doth comfort thee in thy sleep: live, and flourish!
Enter the Ghost of CLARENCE
Ghost of CLARENCE
[To KING RICHARD III]
Let me sit heavy on thy soul tomorrow!
I, that was wash'd to death with fulsome wine,
Poor Clarence, by thy guile betrayed to death!
Tomorrow in the battle think on me,
And fall thy edgeless sword: despair, and die!
To RICHMOND
Thou offspring of the house of Lancaster
The wronged heirs of York do pray for thee
Good angels guard thy battle! live, and flourish!
Enter the Ghosts of RIVERS, GRAY, and VAUGHAN
Ghost of RIVERS
[To KING RICHARD III]
Let me sit heavy on thy soul tomorrow,
Rivers. that died at Pomfret! despair, and die!
Ghost of GREY
[To KING RICHARD III]
Think upon Grey, and let thy soul despair!
Ghost of VAUGHAN
[To KING RICHARD III]
Think upon Vaughan, and, with guilty fear,
Let fall thy lance: despair, and die!
All
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 3 352
Page No 356
[To RICHMOND]
Awake, and think our wrongs in Richard's bosom
Will conquer him! awake, and win the day!
Enter the Ghost of HASTINGS
Ghost of HASTINGS
[To KING RICHARD III]
Bloody and guilty, guiltily awake,
And in a bloody battle end thy days!
Think on Lord Hastings: despair, and die!
To RICHMOND
Quiet untroubled soul, awake, awake!
Arm, fight, and conquer, for fair England's sake!
Enter the Ghosts of the two young Princes
of young Princes
[To KING RICHARD III]
Dream on thy cousins smother'd in the Tower:
Let us be led within thy bosom, Richard,
And weigh thee down to ruin, shame, and death!
Thy nephews' souls bid thee despair and die!
To RICHMOND
Sleep, Richmond, sleep in peace, and wake in joy;
Good angels guard thee from the boar's annoy!
Live, and beget a happy race of kings!
Edward's unhappy sons do bid thee flourish.
Enter the Ghost of LADY ANNE
Ghost of LADY ANNE
[To KING RICHARD III]
Richard, thy wife, that wretched Anne thy wife,
That never slept a quiet hour with thee,
Now fills thy sleep with perturbations
Tomorrow in the battle think on me,
And fall thy edgeless sword: despair, and die!
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 3 353
Page No 357
To RICHMOND
Thou quiet soul, sleep thou a quiet sleep
Dream of success and happy victory!
Thy adversary's wife doth pray for thee.
Enter the Ghost of BUCKINGHAM
of BUCKINGHAM
[To KING RICHARD III]
The last was I that helped thee to the crown;
The last was I that felt thy tyranny:
O, in the battle think on Buckingham,
And die in terror of thy guiltiness!
Dream on, dream on, of bloody deeds and death:
Fainting, despair; despairing, yield thy breath!
To RICHMOND
I died for hope ere I could lend thee aid:
But cheer thy heart, and be thou not dismay'd:
God and good angel fight on Richmond's side;
And Richard falls in height of all his pride.
The Ghosts vanish
KING RICHARD III starts out of his dream
KING RICHARD III
Give me another horse: bind up my wounds.
Have mercy, Jesu!Soft! I did but dream.
O coward conscience, how dost thou afflict me!
The lights burn blue. It is now dead midnight.
Cold fearful drops stand on my trembling flesh.
What do I fear? myself? there's none else by:
Richard loves Richard; that is, I am I.
Is there a murderer here? No. Yes, I am:
Then fly. What, from myself? Great reason why:
Lest I revenge. What, myself upon myself?
Alack. I love myself. Wherefore? for any good
That I myself have done unto myself?
O, no! alas, I rather hate myself
For hateful deeds committed by myself!
I am a villain: yet I lie. I am not.
Fool, of thyself speak well: fool, do not flatter.
My conscience hath a thousand several tongues,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 3 354
Page No 358
And every tongue brings in a several tale,
And every tale condemns me for a villain.
Perjury, perjury, in the high'st degree
Murder, stem murder, in the direst degree;
All several sins, all used in each degree,
Throng to the bar, crying all, Guilty! guilty!
I shall despair. There is no creature loves me;
And if I die, no soul shall pity me:
Nay, wherefore should they, since that I myself
Find in myself no pity to myself?
Methought the souls of all that I had murder'd
Came to my tent; and every one did threat
Tomorrow's vengeance on the head of Richard.
Enter RATCLIFF
RATCLIFF
My lord!
KING RICHARD III
'Zounds! who is there?
RATCLIFF
Ratcliff, my lord; 'tis I. The early villagecock
Hath twice done salutation to the morn;
Your friends are up, and buckle on their armour.
KING RICHARD III
O Ratcliff, I have dream'd a fearful dream!
What thinkest thou, will our friends prove all true?
RATCLIFF
No doubt, my lord.
KING RICHARD III
O Ratcliff, I fear, I fear,
RATCLIFF
Nay, good my lord, be not afraid of shadows.
KING RICHARD III
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 3 355
Page No 359
By the apostle Paul, shadows tonight
Have struck more terror to the soul of Richard
Than can the substance of ten thousand soldiers
Armed in proof, and led by shallow Richmond.
It is not yet near day. Come, go with me;
Under our tents I'll play the eavesdropper,
To see if any mean to shrink from me.
Exeunt
Enter the Lords to RICHMOND, sitting in his tent
LORDS
Good morrow, Richmond!
RICHMOND
Cry mercy, lords and watchful gentlemen,
That you have ta'en a tardy sluggard here.
LORDS
How have you slept, my lord?
RICHMOND
The sweetest sleep, and fairestboding dreams
That ever enter'd in a drowsy head,
Have I since your departure had, my lords.
Methought their souls, whose bodies Richard murder'd,
Came to my tent, and cried on victory:
I promise you, my soul is very jocund
In the remembrance of so fair a dream.
How far into the morning is it, lords?
LORDS
Upon the stroke of four.
RICHMOND
Why, then 'tis time to arm and give direction.
His oration to his soldiers
More than I have said, loving countrymen,
The leisure and enforcement of the time
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 3 356
Page No 360
Forbids to dwell upon: yet remember this,
God and our good cause fight upon our side;
The prayers of holy saints and wronged souls,
Like highrear'd bulwarks, stand before our faces;
Richard except, those whom we fight against
Had rather have us win than him they follow:
For what is he they follow? truly, gentlemen,
A bloody tyrant and a homicide;
One raised in blood, and one in blood establish'd;
One that made means to come by what he hath,
And slaughter'd those that were the means to help him;
Abase foul stone, made precious by the foil
Of England's chair, where he is falsely set;
One that hath ever been God's enemy:
Then, if you fight against God's enemy,
God will in justice ward you as his soldiers;
If you do sweat to put a tyrant down,
You sleep in peace, the tyrant being slain;
If you do fight against your country's foes,
Your country's fat shall pay your pains the hire;
If you do fight in safeguard of your wives,
Your wives shall welcome home the conquerors;
If you do free your children from the sword,
Your children's children quit it in your age.
Then, in the name of God and all these rights,
Advance your standards, draw your willing swords.
For me, the ransom of my bold attempt
Shall be this cold corpse on the earth's cold face;
But if I thrive, the gain of my attempt
The least of you shall share his part thereof.
Sound drums and trumpets boldly and cheerfully;
God and Saint George! Richmond and victory!
Exeunt
Reenter KING RICHARD, RATCLIFF, Attendants and Forces
KING RICHARD III
What said Northumberland as touching Richmond?
RATCLIFF
That he was never trained up in arms.
KING RICHARD III
He said the truth: and what said Surrey then?
RATCLIFF
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 3 357
Page No 361
He smiled and said 'The better for our purpose.'
KING RICHARD III
He was in the right; and so indeed it is.
Clock striketh
Ten the clock there. Give me a calendar.
Who saw the sun today?
RATCLIFF
Not I, my lord.
KING RICHARD III
Then he disdains to shine; for by the book
He should have braved the east an hour ago
A black day will it be to somebody. Ratcliff!
RATCLIFF
My lord?
KING RICHARD III
The sun will not be seen today;
The sky doth frown and lour upon our army.
I would these dewy tears were from the ground.
Not shine today! Why, what is that to me
More than to Richmond? for the selfsame heaven
That frowns on me looks sadly upon him.
Enter NORFOLK
NORFOLK
Arm, arm, my lord; the foe vaunts in the field.
KING RICHARD III
Come, bustle, bustle; caparison my horse.
Call up Lord Stanley, bid him bring his power:
I will lead forth my soldiers to the plain,
And thus my battle shall be ordered:
My foreward shall be drawn out all in length,
Consisting equally of horse and foot;
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 3 358
Page No 362
Our archers shall be placed in the midst
John Duke of Norfolk, Thomas Earl of Surrey,
Shall have the leading of this foot and horse.
They thus directed, we will follow
In the main battle, whose puissance on either side
Shall be well winged with our chiefest horse.
This, and Saint George to boot! What think'st thou, Norfolk?
NORFOLK
A good direction, warlike sovereign.
This found I on my tent this morning.
He sheweth him a paper
KING RICHARD III
[Reads]
'Jockey of Norfolk, be not too bold,
For Dickon thy master is bought and sold.'
A thing devised by the enemy.
Go, gentleman, every man unto his charge
Let not our babbling dreams affright our souls:
Conscience is but a word that cowards use,
Devised at first to keep the strong in awe:
Our strong arms be our conscience, swords our law.
March on, join bravely, let us to't pellmell
If not to heaven, then hand in hand to hell.
His oration to his Army
What shall I say more than I have inferr'd?
Remember whom you are to cope withal;
A sort of vagabonds, rascals, and runaways,
A scum of Bretons, and base lackey peasants,
Whom their o'ercloyed country vomits forth
To desperate ventures and assured destruction.
You sleeping safe, they bring to you unrest;
You having lands, and blest with beauteous wives,
They would restrain the one, distain the other.
And who doth lead them but a paltry fellow,
Long kept in Bretagne at our mother's cost?
A milksop, one that never in his life
Felt so much cold as over shoes in snow?
Let's whip these stragglers o'er the seas again;
Lash hence these overweening rags of France,
These famish'd beggars, weary of their lives;
Who, but for dreaming on this fond exploit,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 3 359
Page No 363
For want of means, poor rats, had hang'd themselves:
If we be conquer'd, let men conquer us,
And not these bastard Bretons; whom our fathers
Have in their own land beaten, bobb'd, and thump'd,
And in record, left them the heirs of shame.
Shall these enjoy our lands? lie with our wives?
Ravish our daughters?
Drum afar off
Hark! I hear their drum.
Fight, gentlemen of England! fight, bold yoemen!
Draw, archers, draw your arrows to the head!
Spur your proud horses hard, and ride in blood;
Amaze the welkin with your broken staves!
Enter a Messenger
What says Lord Stanley? will he bring his power?
Messenger
My lord, he doth deny to come.
KING RICHARD III
Off with his son George's head!
NORFOLK
My lord, the enemy is past the marsh
After the battle let George Stanley die.
KING RICHARD III
A thousand hearts are great within my bosom:
Advance our standards, set upon our foes
Our ancient word of courage, fair Saint George,
Inspire us with the spleen of fiery dragons!
Upon them! victory sits on our helms.
Exeunt
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 3 360
Page No 364
Act 5, Scene 4
Another part of the field.
Alarum: excursions. Enter NORFOLK and forces fighting; to him CATESBY
CATESBY
Rescue, my Lord of Norfolk, rescue, rescue!
The king enacts more wonders than a man,
Daring an opposite to every danger:
His horse is slain, and all on foot he fights,
Seeking for Richmond in the throat of death.
Rescue, fair lord, or else the day is lost!
Alarums. Enter KING RICHARD III
KING RICHARD III
A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!
CATESBY
Withdraw, my lord; I'll help you to a horse.
KING RICHARD III
Slave, I have set my life upon a cast,
And I will stand the hazard of the die:
I think there be six Richmonds in the field;
Five have I slain today instead of him.
A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!
Exeunt
Act 5, Scene 5
Another part of the field.
Alarum. Enter KING RICHARD III and RICHMOND; they fight. KING RICHARD III is
slain. Retreat and flourish. Reenter RICHMOND, DERBY bearing the crown, with divers
other Lords
RICHMOND
God and your arms be praised, victorious friends,
The day is ours, the bloody dog is dead.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 4 361
Page No 365
DERBY
Courageous Richmond, well hast thou acquit thee.
Lo, here, this longusurped royalty
From the dead temples of this bloody wretch
Have I pluck'd off, to grace thy brows withal:
Wear it, enjoy it, and make much of it.
RICHMOND
Great God of heaven, say Amen to all!
But, tell me, is young George Stanley living?
DERBY
He is, my lord, and safe in Leicester town;
Whither, if it please you, we may now withdraw us.
RICHMOND
What men of name are slain on either side?
DERBY
John Duke of Norfolk, Walter Lord Ferrers,
Sir Robert Brakenbury, and Sir William Brandon.
RICHMOND
Inter their bodies as becomes their births:
Proclaim a pardon to the soldiers fled
That in submission will return to us:
And then, as we have ta'en the sacrament,
We will unite the white rose and the red:
Smile heaven upon this fair conjunction,
That long have frown'd upon their enmity!
What traitor hears me, and says not amen?
England hath long been mad, and scarr'd herself;
The brother blindly shed the brother's blood,
The father rashly slaughter'd his own son,
The son, compell'd, been butcher to the sire:
All this divided York and Lancaster,
Divided in their dire division,
O, now, let Richmond and Elizabeth,
The true succeeders of each royal house,
By God's fair ordinance conjoin together!
And let their heirs, God, if thy will be so.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 4 362
Page No 366
Enrich the time to come with smoothfaced peace,
With smiling plenty and fair prosperous days!
Abate the edge of traitors, gracious Lord,
That would reduce these bloody days again,
And make poor England weep in streams of blood!
Let them not live to taste this land's increase
That would with treason wound this fair land's peace!
Now civil wounds are stopp'd, peace lives again:
That she may long live here, God say amen!
Exeunt
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 4 363
Page No 367
Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 1
London. An antechamber in the palace.
Enter NORFOLK at one door; at the other, BUCKINGHAM and ABERGAVENNY
BUCKINGHAM
Good morrow, and well met. How have ye done
Since last we saw in France?
NORFOLK
I thank your grace,
Healthful; and ever since a fresh admirer
Of what I saw there.
BUCKINGHAM
An untimely ague
Stay'd me a prisoner in my chamber when
Those suns of glory, those two lights of men,
Met in the vale of Andren.
NORFOLK
'Twixt Guynes and Arde:
I was then present, saw them salute on horseback;
Beheld them, when they lighted, how they clung
In their embracement, as they grew together;
Which had they, what four throned ones could have weigh'd
Such a compounded one?
BUCKINGHAM
All the whole time
I was my chamber's prisoner.
NORFOLK
Henry VIII 364
Page No 368
Then you lost
The view of earthly glory: men might say,
Till this time pomp was single, but now married
To one above itself. Each following day
Became the next day's master, till the last
Made former wonders its. Today the French,
All clinquant, all in gold, like heathen gods,
Shone down the English; and, tomorrow, they
Made Britain India: every man that stood
Show'd like a mine. Their dwarfish pages were
As cherubins, all guilt: the madams too,
Not used to toil, did almost sweat to bear
The pride upon them, that their very labour
Was to them as a painting: now this masque
Was cried incomparable; and the ensuing night
Made it a fool and beggar. The two kings,
Equal in lustre, were now best, now worst,
As presence did present them; him in eye,
Still him in praise: and, being present both
'Twas said they saw but one; and no discerner
Durst wag his tongue in censure. When these suns
For so they phrase 'emby their heralds challenged
The noble spirits to arms, they did perform
Beyond thought's compass; that former fabulous story,
Being now seen possible enough, got credit,
That Bevis was believed.
BUCKINGHAM
O, you go far.
NORFOLK
As I belong to worship and affect
In honour honesty, the tract of every thing
Would by a good discourser lose some life,
Which action's self was tongue to. All was royal;
To the disposing of it nought rebell'd.
Order gave each thing view; the office did
Distinctly his full function.
BUCKINGHAM
Who did guide,
I mean, who set the body and the limbs
Of this great sport together, as you guess?
NORFOLK
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Henry VIII 365
Page No 369
One, certes, that promises no element
In such a business.
BUCKINGHAM
I pray you, who, my lord?
NORFOLK
All this was order'd by the good discretion
Of the right reverend Cardinal of York.
BUCKINGHAM
The devil speed him! no man's pie is freed
From his ambitious finger. What had he
To do in these fierce vanities? I wonder
That such a keech can with his very bulk
Take up the rays o' the beneficial sun
And keep it from the earth.
NORFOLK
Surely, sir,
There's in him stuff that puts him to these ends;
For, being not propp'd by ancestry, whose grace
Chalks successors their way, nor call'd upon
For high feats done to the crown; neither allied
For eminent assistants; but, spiderlike,
Out of his selfdrawing web, he gives us note,
The force of his own merit makes his way
A gift that heaven gives for him, which buys
A place next to the king.
ABERGAVENNY
I cannot tell
What heaven hath given him,let some graver eye
Pierce into that; but I can see his pride
Peep through each part of him: whence has he that,
If not from hell? the devil is a niggard,
Or has given all before, and he begins
A new hell in himself.
BUCKINGHAM
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Henry VIII 366
Page No 370
Why the devil,
Upon this French going out, took he upon him,
Without the privity o' the king, to appoint
Who should attend on him? He makes up the file
Of all the gentry; for the most part such
To whom as great a charge as little honour
He meant to lay upon: and his own letter,
The honourable board of council out,
Must fetch him in the papers.
ABERGAVENNY
I do know
Kinsmen of mine, three at the least, that have
By this so sickened their estates, that never
They shall abound as formerly.
BUCKINGHAM
O, many
Have broke their backs with laying manors on 'em
For this great journey. What did this vanity
But minister communication of
A most poor issue?
NORFOLK
Grievingly I think,
The peace between the French and us not values
The cost that did conclude it.
BUCKINGHAM
Every man,
After the hideous storm that follow'd, was
A thing inspired; and, not consulting, broke
Into a general prophecy; That this tempest,
Dashing the garment of this peace, aboded
The sudden breach on't.
NORFOLK
Which is budded out;
For France hath flaw'd the league, and hath attach'd
Our merchants' goods at Bourdeaux.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Henry VIII 367
Page No 371
ABERGAVENNY
Is it therefore
The ambassador is silenced?
NORFOLK
Marry, is't.
ABERGAVENNY
A proper title of a peace; and purchased
At a superfluous rate!
BUCKINGHAM
Why, all this business
Our reverend cardinal carried.
NORFOLK
Like it your grace,
The state takes notice of the private difference
Betwixt you and the cardinal. I advise you
And take it from a heart that wishes towards you
Honour and plenteous safetythat you read
The cardinal's malice and his potency
Together; to consider further that
What his high hatred would effect wants not
A minister in his power. You know his nature,
That he's revengeful, and I know his sword
Hath a sharp edge: it's long and, 't may be said,
It reaches far, and where 'twill not extend,
Thither he darts it. Bosom up my counsel,
You'll find it wholesome. Lo, where comes that rock
That I advise your shunning.
Enter CARDINAL WOLSEY, the purse borne before him, certain of the Guard, and two
Secretaries with papers. CARDINAL WOLSEY in his passage fixeth his eye on
BUCKINGHAM, and BUCKINGHAM on him, both full of disdain
CARDINAL WOLSEY
The Duke of Buckingham's surveyor, ha?
Where's his examination?
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Henry VIII 368
Page No 372
First Secretary
Here, so please you.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Is he in person ready?
First Secretary
Ay, please your grace.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Well, we shall then know more; and Buckingham
Shall lessen this big look.
Exeunt CARDINAL WOLSEY and his Train
BUCKINGHAM
This butcher's cur is venommouth'd, and I
Have not the power to muzzle him; therefore best
Not wake him in his slumber. A beggar's book
Outworths a noble's blood.
NORFOLK
What, are you chafed?
Ask God for temperance; that's the appliance only
Which your disease requires.
BUCKINGHAM
I read in's looks
Matter against me; and his eye reviled
Me, as his abject object: at this instant
He bores me with some trick: he's gone to the king;
I'll follow and outstare him.
NORFOLK
Stay, my lord,
And let your reason with your choler question
What 'tis you go about: to climb steep hills
Requires slow pace at first: anger is like
A fullhot horse, who being allow'd his way,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Henry VIII 369
Page No 373
Selfmettle tires him. Not a man in England
Can advise me like you: be to yourself
As you would to your friend.
BUCKINGHAM
I'll to the king;
And from a mouth of honour quite cry down
This Ipswich fellow's insolence; or proclaim
There's difference in no persons.
NORFOLK
Be advised;
Heat not a furnace for your foe so hot
That it do singe yourself: we may outrun,
By violent swiftness, that which we run at,
And lose by overrunning. Know you not,
The fire that mounts the liquor til run o'er,
In seeming to augment it wastes it? Be advised:
I say again, there is no English soul
More stronger to direct you than yourself,
If with the sap of reason you would quench,
Or but allay, the fire of passion.
BUCKINGHAM
Sir,
I am thankful to you; and I'll go along
By your prescription: but this topproud fellow,
Whom from the flow of gall I name not but
From sincere motions, by intelligence,
And proofs as clear as founts in July when
We see each grain of gravel, I do know
To be corrupt and treasonous.
NORFOLK
Say not 'treasonous.'
BUCKINGHAM
To the king I'll say't; and make my vouch as strong
As shore of rock. Attend. This holy fox,
Or wolf, or both,for he is equal ravenous
As he is subtle, and as prone to mischief
As able to perform't; his mind and place
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Henry VIII 370
Page No 374
Infecting one another, yea, reciprocally
Only to show his pomp as well in France
As here at home, suggests the king our master
To this last costly treaty, the interview,
That swallow'd so much treasure, and like a glass
Did break i' the rinsing.
NORFOLK
Faith, and so it did.
BUCKINGHAM
Pray, give me favour, sir. This cunning cardinal
The articles o' the combination drew
As himself pleased; and they were ratified
As he cried 'Thus let be': to as much end
As give a crutch to the dead: but our countcardinal
Has done this, and 'tis well; for worthy Wolsey,
Who cannot err, he did it. Now this follows,
Which, as I take it, is a kind of puppy
To the old dam, treason,Charles the emperor,
Under pretence to see the queen his aunt
For 'twas indeed his colour, but he came
To whisper Wolsey,here makes visitation:
His fears were, that the interview betwixt
England and France might, through their amity,
Breed him some prejudice; for from this league
Peep'd harms that menaced him: he privily
Deals with our cardinal; and, as I trow,
Which I do well; for I am sure the emperor
Paid ere he promised; whereby his suit was granted
Ere it was ask'd; but when the way was made,
And paved with gold, the emperor thus desired,
That he would please to alter the king's course,
And break the foresaid peace. Let the king know,
As soon he shall by me, that thus the cardinal
Does buy and sell his honour as he pleases,
And for his own advantage.
NORFOLK
I am sorry
To hear this of him; and could wish he were
Something mistaken in't.
BUCKINGHAM
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Henry VIII 371
Page No 375
No, not a syllable:
I do pronounce him in that very shape
He shall appear in proof.
Enter BRANDON, a Sergeantatarms before him, and two or three of the Guard
BRANDON
Your office, sergeant; execute it.
Sergeant
Sir,
My lord the Duke of Buckingham, and Earl
Of Hereford, Stafford, and Northampton, I
Arrest thee of high treason, in the name
Of our most sovereign king.
BUCKINGHAM
Lo, you, my lord,
The net has fall'n upon me! I shall perish
Under device and practise.
BRANDON
I am sorry
To see you ta'en from liberty, to look on
The business present: 'tis his highness' pleasure
You shall to the Tower.
BUCKINGHAM
It will help me nothing
To plead mine innocence; for that dye is on me
Which makes my whitest part black. The will of heaven
Be done in this and all things! I obey.
O my Lord Abergavenny, fare you well!
BRANDON
Nay, he must bear you company. The king
To ABERGAVENNY
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Henry VIII 372
Page No 376
Is pleased you shall to the Tower, till you know
How he determines further.
ABERGAVENNY
As the duke said,
The will of heaven be done, and the king's pleasure
By me obey'd!
BRANDON
Here is a warrant from
The king to attach Lord Montacute; and the bodies
Of the duke's confessor, John de la Car,
One Gilbert Peck, his chancellor
BUCKINGHAM
So, so;
These are the limbs o' the plot: no more, I hope.
BRANDON
A monk o' the Chartreux.
BUCKINGHAM
O, Nicholas Hopkins?
BRANDON
He.
BUCKINGHAM
My surveyor is false; the o'ergreat cardinal
Hath show'd him gold; my life is spann'd already:
I am the shadow of poor Buckingham,
Whose figure even this instant cloud puts on,
By darkening my clear sun. My lord, farewell.
Exeunt
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Henry VIII 373
Page No 377
Act 1, Scene 2
The same. The councilchamber.
Cornets. Enter KING HENRY VIII, leaning on CARDINAL WOLSEY's shoulder, the Nobles,
and LOVELL; CARDINAL WOLSEY places himself under KING HENRY VIII's feet on his
right side
KING HENRY VIII
My life itself, and the best heart of it,
Thanks you for this great care: I stood i' the level
Of a fullcharged confederacy, and give thanks
To you that choked it. Let be call'd before us
That gentleman of Buckingham's; in person
I'll hear him his confessions justify;
And point by point the treasons of his master
He shall again relate.
A noise within, crying 'Room for the Queen!' Enter QUEEN KATHARINE, ushered by
NORFOLK, and SUFFOLK: she kneels. KING HENRY VIII riseth from his state, takes her
up, kisses and placeth her by him
QUEEN KATHARINE
Nay, we must longer kneel: I am a suitor.
KING HENRY VIII
Arise, and take place by us: half your suit
Never name to us; you have half our power:
The other moiety, ere you ask, is given;
Repeat your will and take it.
QUEEN KATHARINE
Thank your majesty.
That you would love yourself, and in that love
Not unconsider'd leave your honour, nor
The dignity of your office, is the point
Of my petition.
KING HENRY VIII
Lady mine, proceed.
QUEEN KATHARINE
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 2 374
Page No 378
I am solicited, not by a few,
And those of true condition, that your subjects
Are in great grievance: there have been commissions
Sent down among 'em, which hath flaw'd the heart
Of all their loyalties: wherein, although,
My good lord cardinal, they vent reproaches
Most bitterly on you, as putter on
Of these exactions, yet the king our master
Whose honour heaven shield from soil!even he
escapes not
Language unmannerly, yea, such which breaks
The sides of loyalty, and almost appears
In loud rebellion.
NORFOLK
Not almost appears,
It doth appear; for, upon these taxations,
The clothiers all, not able to maintain
The many to them longing, have put off
The spinsters, carders, fullers, weavers, who,
Unfit for other life, compell'd by hunger
And lack of other means, in desperate manner
Daring the event to the teeth, are all in uproar,
And danger serves among then!
KING HENRY VIII
Taxation!
Wherein? and what taxation? My lord cardinal,
You that are blamed for it alike with us,
Know you of this taxation?
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Please you, sir,
I know but of a single part, in aught
Pertains to the state; and front but in that file
Where others tell steps with me.
QUEEN KATHARINE
No, my lord,
You know no more than others; but you frame
Things that are known alike; which are not wholesome
To those which would not know them, and yet must
Perforce be their acquaintance. These exactions,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 2 375
Page No 379
Whereof my sovereign would have note, they are
Most pestilent to the bearing; and, to bear 'em,
The back is sacrifice to the load. They say
They are devised by you; or else you suffer
Too hard an exclamation.
KING HENRY VIII
Still exaction!
The nature of it? in what kind, let's know,
Is this exaction?
QUEEN KATHARINE
I am much too venturous
In tempting of your patience; but am bolden'd
Under your promised pardon. The subjects' grief
Comes through commissions, which compel from each
The sixth part of his substance, to be levied
Without delay; and the pretence for this
Is named, your wars in France: this makes bold mouths:
Tongues spit their duties out, and cold hearts freeze
Allegiance in them; their curses now
Live where their prayers did: and it's come to pass,
This tractable obedience is a slave
To each incensed will. I would your highness
Would give it quick consideration, for
There is no primer business.
KING HENRY VIII
By my life,
This is against our pleasure.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
And for me,
I have no further gone in this than by
A single voice; and that not pass'd me but
By learned approbation of the judges. If I am
Traduced by ignorant tongues, which neither know
My faculties nor person, yet will be
The chronicles of my doing, let me say
'Tis but the fate of place, and the rough brake
That virtue must go through. We must not stint
Our necessary actions, in the fear
To cope malicious censurers; which ever,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 2 376
Page No 380
As ravenous fishes, do a vessel follow
That is newtrimm'd, but benefit no further
Than vainly longing. What we oft do best,
By sick interpreters, once weak ones, is
Not ours, or not allow'd; what worst, as oft,
Hitting a grosser quality, is cried up
For our best act. If we shall stand still,
In fear our motion will be mock'd or carp'd at,
We should take root here where we sit, or sit
Statestatues only.
KING HENRY VIII
Things done well,
And with a care, exempt themselves from fear;
Things done without example, in their issue
Are to be fear'd. Have you a precedent
Of this commission? I believe, not any.
We must not rend our subjects from our laws,
And stick them in our will. Sixth part of each?
A trembling contribution! Why, we take
From every tree lop, bark, and part o' the timber;
And, though we leave it with a root, thus hack'd,
The air will drink the sap. To every county
Where this is question'd send our letters, with
Free pardon to each man that has denied
The force of this commission: pray, look to't;
I put it to your care.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
A word with you.
To the Secretary
Let there be letters writ to every shire,
Of the king's grace and pardon. The grieved commons
Hardly conceive of me; let it be noised
That through our intercession this revokement
And pardon comes: I shall anon advise you
Further in the proceeding.
Exit Secretary
Enter Surveyor
QUEEN KATHARINE
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 2 377
Page No 381
I am sorry that the Duke of Buckingham
Is run in your displeasure.
KING HENRY VIII
It grieves many:
The gentleman is learn'd, and a most rare speaker;
To nature none more bound; his training such,
That he may furnish and instruct great teachers,
And never seek for aid out of himself. Yet see,
When these so noble benefits shall prove
Not well disposed, the mind growing once corrupt,
They turn to vicious forms, ten times more ugly
Than ever they were fair. This man so complete,
Who was enroll'd 'mongst wonders, and when we,
Almost with ravish'd listening, could not find
His hour of speech a minute; he, my lady,
Hath into monstrous habits put the graces
That once were his, and is become as black
As if besmear'd in hell. Sit by us; you shall hear
This was his gentleman in trustof him
Things to strike honour sad. Bid him recount
The forerecited practises; whereof
We cannot feel too little, hear too much.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Stand forth, and with bold spirit relate what you,
Most like a careful subject, have collected
Out of the Duke of Buckingham.
KING HENRY VIII
Speak freely.
Surveyor
First, it was usual with him, every day
It would infect his speech, that if the king
Should without issue die, he'll carry it so
To make the sceptre his: these very words
I've heard him utter to his soninlaw,
Lord Abergavenny; to whom by oath he menaced
Revenge upon the cardinal.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 2 378
Page No 382
Please your highness, note
This dangerous conception in this point.
Not friended by by his wish, to your high person
His will is most malignant; and it stretches
Beyond you, to your friends.
QUEEN KATHARINE
My learn'd lord cardinal,
Deliver all with charity.
KING HENRY VIII
Speak on:
How grounded he his title to the crown,
Upon our fail? to this point hast thou heard him
At any time speak aught?
Surveyor
He was brought to this
By a vain prophecy of Nicholas Hopkins.
KING HENRY VIII
What was that Hopkins?
Surveyor
Sir, a Chartreux friar,
His confessor, who fed him every minute
With words of sovereignty.
KING HENRY VIII
How know'st thou this?
Surveyor
Not long before your highness sped to France,
The duke being at the Rose, within the parish
Saint Lawrence Poultney, did of me demand
What was the speech among the Londoners
Concerning the French journey: I replied,
Men fear'd the French would prove perfidious,
To the king's danger. Presently the duke
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 2 379
Page No 383
Said, 'twas the fear, indeed; and that he doubted
'Twould prove the verity of certain words
Spoke by a holy monk; 'that oft,' says he,
'Hath sent to me, wishing me to permit
John de la Car, my chaplain, a choice hour
To hear from him a matter of some moment:
Whom after under the confession's seal
He solemnly had sworn, that what he spoke
My chaplain to no creature living, but
To me, should utter, with demure confidence
This pausingly ensued: neither the king nor's heirs,
Tell you the duke, shall prosper: bid him strive
To gain the love o' the commonalty: the duke
Shall govern England.'
QUEEN KATHARINE
If I know you well,
You were the duke's surveyor, and lost your office
On the complaint o' the tenants: take good heed
You charge not in your spleen a noble person
And spoil your nobler soul: I say, take heed;
Yes, heartily beseech you.
KING HENRY VIII
Let him on.
Go forward.
Surveyor
On my soul, I'll speak but truth.
I told my lord the duke, by the devil's illusions
The monk might be deceived; and that 'twas dangerous for him
To ruminate on this so far, until
It forged him some design, which, being believed,
It was much like to do: he answer'd, 'Tush,
It can do me no damage;' adding further,
That, had the king in his last sickness fail'd,
The cardinal's and Sir Thomas Lovell's heads
Should have gone off.
KING HENRY VIII
Ha! what, so rank? Ah ha!
There's mischief in this man: canst thou say further?
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 2 380
Page No 384
Surveyor
I can, my liege.
KING HENRY VIII
Proceed.
Surveyor
Being at Greenwich,
After your highness had reproved the duke
About Sir William Blomer,
KING HENRY VIII
I remember
Of such a time: being my sworn servant,
The duke retain'd him his. But on; what hence?
Surveyor
'If,' quoth he, 'I for this had been committed,
As, to the Tower, I thought, I would have play'd
The part my father meant to act upon
The usurper Richard; who, being at Salisbury,
Made suit to come in's presence; which if granted,
As he made semblance of his duty, would
Have put his knife to him.'
KING HENRY VIII
A giant traitor!
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Now, madam, may his highness live in freedom,
and this man out of prison?
QUEEN KATHARINE
God mend all!
KING HENRY VIII
There's something more would out of thee; what say'st?
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 2 381
Page No 385
Surveyor
After 'the duke his father,' with 'the knife,'
He stretch'd him, and, with one hand on his dagger,
Another spread on's breast, mounting his eyes
He did discharge a horrible oath; whose tenor
Was,were he evil used, he would outgo
His father by as much as a performance
Does an irresolute purpose.
KING HENRY VIII
There's his period,
To sheathe his knife in us. He is attach'd;
Call him to present trial: if he may
Find mercy in the law, 'tis his: if none,
Let him not seek 't of us: by day and night,
He's traitor to the height.
Exeunt
Act 1, Scene 3
An antechamber in the palace.
Enter Chamberlain and SANDS
Chamberlain
Is't possible the spells of France should juggle
Men into such strange mysteries?
SANDS
New customs,
Though they be never so ridiculous,
Nay, let 'em be unmanly, yet are follow'd.
Chamberlain
As far as I see, all the good our English
Have got by the late voyage is but merely
A fit or two o' the face; but they are shrewd ones;
For when they hold 'em, you would swear directly
Their very noses had been counsellors
To Pepin or Clotharius, they keep state so.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 3 382
Page No 386
SANDS
They have all new legs, and lame ones: one would take it,
That never saw 'em pace before, the spavin
Or springhalt reign'd among 'em.
Chamberlain
Death! my lord,
Their clothes are after such a pagan cut too,
That, sure, they've worn out Christendom.
Enter LOVELL
How now!
What news, Sir Thomas Lovell?
LOVELL
Faith, my lord,
I hear of none, but the new proclamation
That's clapp'd upon the courtgate.
Chamberlain
What is't for?
LOVELL
The reformation of our travell'd gallants,
That fill the court with quarrels, talk, and tailors.
Chamberlain
I'm glad 'tis there: now I would pray our monsieurs
To think an English courtier may be wise,
And never see the Louvre.
LOVELL
They must either,
For so run the conditions, leave those remnants
Of fool and feather that they got in France,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 3 383
Page No 387
With all their honourable point of ignorance
Pertaining thereunto, as fights and fireworks,
Abusing better men than they can be,
Out of a foreign wisdom, renouncing clean
The faith they have in tennis, and tall stockings,
Short blister'd breeches, and those types of travel,
And understand again like honest men;
Or pack to their old playfellows: there, I take it,
They may, 'cum privilegio,' wear away
The lag end of their lewdness and be laugh'd at.
SANDS
'Tis time to give 'em physic, their diseases
Are grown so catching.
Chamberlain
What a loss our ladies
Will have of these trim vanities!
LOVELL
Ay, marry,
There will be woe indeed, lords: the sly whoresons
Have got a speeding trick to lay down ladies;
A French song and a fiddle has no fellow.
SANDS
The devil fiddle 'em! I am glad they are going,
For, sure, there's no converting of 'em: now
An honest country lord, as I am, beaten
A long time out of play, may bring his plainsong
And have an hour of hearing; and, by'r lady,
Held current music too.
Chamberlain
Well said, Lord Sands;
Your colt's tooth is not cast yet.
SANDS
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 3 384
Page No 388
No, my lord;
Nor shall not, while I have a stump.
Chamberlain
Sir Thomas,
Whither were you agoing?
LOVELL
To the cardinal's:
Your lordship is a guest too.
Chamberlain
O, 'tis true:
This night he makes a supper, and a great one,
To many lords and ladies; there will be
The beauty of this kingdom, I'll assure you.
LOVELL
That churchman bears a bounteous mind indeed,
A hand as fruitful as the land that feeds us;
His dews fall every where.
Chamberlain
No doubt he's noble;
He had a black mouth that said other of him.
SANDS
He may, my lord; has wherewithal: in him
Sparing would show a worse sin than ill doctrine:
Men of his way should be most liberal;
They are set here for examples.
Chamberlain
True, they are so:
But few now give so great ones. My barge stays;
Your lordship shall along. Come, good Sir Thomas,
We shall be late else; which I would not be,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 3 385
Page No 389
For I was spoke to, with Sir Henry Guildford
This night to be comptrollers.
SANDS
I am your lordship's.
Exeunt
Act 1, Scene 4
A Hall in York Place.
Hautboys. A small table under a state for CARDINAL WOLSEY, a longer table for the
guests. Then enter ANNE and divers other Ladies and Gentlemen as guests, at one door; at
another door, enter GUILDFORD
GUILDFORD
Ladies, a general welcome from his grace
Salutes ye all; this night he dedicates
To fair content and you: none here, he hopes,
In all this noble bevy, has brought with her
One care abroad; he would have all as merry
As, first, good company, good wine, good welcome,
Can make good people. O, my lord, you're tardy:
Enter Chamberlain, SANDS, and LOVELL
The very thought of this fair company
Clapp'd wings to me.
Chamberlain
You are young, Sir Harry Guildford.
SANDS
Sir Thomas Lovell, had the cardinal
But half my lay thoughts in him, some of these
Should find a running banquet ere they rested,
I think would better please 'em: by my life,
They are a sweet society of fair ones.
LOVELL
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 4 386
Page No 390
O, that your lordship were but now confessor
To one or two of these!
SANDS
I would I were;
They should find easy penance.
LOVELL
Faith, how easy?
SANDS
As easy as a downbed would afford it.
Chamberlain
Sweet ladies, will it please you sit? Sir Harry,
Place you that side; I'll take the charge of this:
His grace is entering. Nay, you must not freeze;
Two women placed together makes cold weather:
My Lord Sands, you are one will keep 'em waking;
Pray, sit between these ladies.
SANDS
By my faith,
And thank your lordship. By your leave, sweet ladies:
If I chance to talk a little wild, forgive me;
I had it from my father.
ANNE
Was he mad, sir?
SANDS
O, very mad, exceeding mad, in love too:
But he would bite none; just as I do now,
He would kiss you twenty with a breath.
Kisses her
Chamberlain
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 4 387
Page No 391
Well said, my lord.
So, now you're fairly seated. Gentlemen,
The penance lies on you, if these fair ladies
Pass away frowning.
SANDS
For my little cure,
Let me alone.
Hautboys. Enter CARDINAL WOLSEY, and takes his state
CARDINAL WOLSEY
You're welcome, my fair guests: that noble lady,
Or gentleman, that is not freely merry,
Is not my friend: this, to confirm my welcome;
And to you all, good health.
Drinks
SANDS
Your grace is noble:
Let me have such a bowl may hold my thanks,
And save me so much talking.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
My Lord Sands,
I am beholding to you: cheer your neighbours.
Ladies, you are not merry: gentlemen,
Whose fault is this?
SANDS
The red wine first must rise
In their fair cheeks, my lord; then we shall have 'em
Talk us to silence.
ANNE
You are a merry gamester,
My Lord Sands.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 4 388
Page No 392
SANDS
Yes, if I make my play.
Here's to your ladyship: and pledge it, madam,
For 'tis to such a thing,
ANNE
You cannot show me.
SANDS
I told your grace they would talk anon.
Drum and trumpet, chambers discharged
CARDINAL WOLSEY
What's that?
Chamberlain
Look out there, some of ye.
Exit Servant
CARDINAL WOLSEY
What warlike voice,
And to what end is this? Nay, ladies, fear not;
By all the laws of war you're privileged.
Reenter Servant
Chamberlain
How now! what is't?
Servant
A noble troop of strangers;
For so they seem: they've left their barge and landed;
And hither make, as great ambassadors
From foreign princes.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 4 389
Page No 393
Good lord chamberlain,
Go, give 'em welcome; you can speak the French tongue;
And, pray, receive 'em nobly, and conduct 'em
Into our presence, where this heaven of beauty
Shall shine at full upon them. Some attend him.
Exit Chamberlain, attended. All rise, and tables removed
You have now a broken banquet; but we'll mend it.
A good digestion to you all: and once more
I shower a welcome on ye; welcome all.
Hautboys. Enter KING HENRY VIII and others, as masquers, habited like shepherds,
ushered by the Chamberlain. They pass directly before CARDINAL WOLSEY, and gracefully
salute him
A noble company! what are their pleasures?
Chamberlain
Because they speak no English, thus they pray'd
To tell your grace, that, having heard by fame
Of this so noble and so fair assembly
This night to meet here, they could do no less
Out of the great respect they bear to beauty,
But leave their flocks; and, under your fair conduct,
Crave leave to view these ladies and entreat
An hour of revels with 'em.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Say, lord chamberlain,
They have done my poor house grace; for which I pay 'em
A thousand thanks, and pray 'em take their pleasures.
chooses ANNE]
KING HENRY VIII
The fairest hand I ever touch'd! O beauty,
Till now I never knew thee!
Music. Dance
CARDINAL WOLSEY
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 4 390
Page No 394
My lord!
Chamberlain
Your grace?
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Pray, tell 'em thus much from me:
There should be one amongst 'em, by his person,
More worthy this place than myself; to whom,
If I but knew him, with my love and duty
I would surrender it.
Chamberlain
I will, my lord.
Whispers the Masquers
CARDINAL WOLSEY
What say they?
Chamberlain
Such a one, they all confess,
There is indeed; which they would have your grace
Find out, and he will take it.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Let me see, then.
By all your good leaves, gentlemen; here I'll make
My royal choice.
KING HENRY VIII
Ye have found him, cardinal:
Unmasking
You hold a fair assembly; you do well, lord:
You are a churchman, or, I'll tell you, cardinal,
I should judge now unhappily.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 4 391
Page No 395
I am glad
Your grace is grown so pleasant.
KING HENRY VIII
My lord chamberlain,
Prithee, come hither: what fair lady's that?
Chamberlain
An't please your grace, Sir Thomas Bullen's daughter
The Viscount Rochford,one of her highness' women.
KING HENRY VIII
By heaven, she is a dainty one. Sweetheart,
I were unmannerly, to take you out,
And not to kiss you. A health, gentlemen!
Let it go round.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Sir Thomas Lovell, is the banquet ready
I' the privy chamber?
LOVELL
Yes, my lord.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Your grace,
I fear, with dancing is a little heated.
KING HENRY VIII
I fear, too much.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
There's fresher air, my lord,
In the next chamber.
KING HENRY VIII
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 1, Scene 4 392
Page No 396
Lead in your ladies, every one: sweet partner,
I must not yet forsake you: let's be merry:
Good my lord cardinal, I have half a dozen healths
To drink to these fair ladies, and a measure
To lead 'em once again; and then let's dream
Who's best in favour. Let the music knock it.
Exeunt with trumpets
Act 2, Scene 1
Westminster. A street.
Enter two Gentlemen, meeting
First Gentleman
Whither away so fast?
Second Gentleman
O, God save ye!
Even to the hall, to hear what shall become
Of the great Duke of Buckingham.
First Gentleman
I'll save you
That labour, sir. All's now done, but the ceremony
Of bringing back the prisoner.
Second Gentleman
Were you there?
First Gentleman
Yes, indeed, was I.
Second Gentleman
Pray, speak what has happen'd.
First Gentleman
You may guess quickly what.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 1 393
Page No 397
Second Gentleman
Is he found guilty?
First Gentleman
Yes, truly is he, and condemn'd upon't.
Second Gentleman
I am sorry for't.
First Gentleman
So are a number more.
Second Gentleman
But, pray, how pass'd it?
First Gentleman
I'll tell you in a little. The great duke
Came to the bar; where to his accusations
He pleaded still not guilty and alleged
Many sharp reasons to defeat the law.
The king's attorney on the contrary
Urged on the examinations, proofs, confessions
Of divers witnesses; which the duke desired
To have brought viva voce to his face:
At which appear'd against him his surveyor;
Sir Gilbert Peck his chancellor; and John Car,
Confessor to him; with that devilmonk,
Hopkins, that made this mischief.
Second Gentleman
That was he
That fed him with his prophecies?
First Gentleman
The same.
All these accused him strongly; which he fain
Would have flung from him, but, indeed, he could not:
And so his peers, upon this evidence,
Have found him guilty of high treason. Much
He spoke, and learnedly, for life; but all
Was either pitied in him or forgotten.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 1 394
Page No 398
Second Gentleman
After all this, how did he bear himself?
First Gentleman
When he was brought again to the bar, to hear
His knell rung out, his judgment, he was stirr'd
With such an agony, he sweat extremely,
And something spoke in choler, ill, and hasty:
But he fell to himself again, and sweetly
In all the rest show'd a most noble patience.
Second Gentleman
I do not think he fears death.
First Gentleman
Sure, he does not:
He never was so womanish; the cause
He may a little grieve at.
Second Gentleman
Certainly
The cardinal is the end of this.
First Gentleman
'Tis likely,
By all conjectures: first, Kildare's attainder,
Then deputy of Ireland; who removed,
Earl Surrey was sent thither, and in haste too,
Lest he should help his father.
Second Gentleman
That trick of state
Was a deep envious one.
First Gentleman
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 1 395
Page No 399
At his return
No doubt he will requite it. This is noted,
And generally, whoever the king favours,
The cardinal instantly will find employment,
And far enough from court too.
Second Gentleman
All the commons
Hate him perniciously, and, o' my conscience,
Wish him ten fathom deep: this duke as much
They love and dote on; call him bounteous Buckingham,
The mirror of all courtesy;
First Gentleman
Stay there, sir,
And see the noble ruin'd man you speak of.
Enter BUCKINGHAM from his arraignment; tipstaves before him; the axe with the edge
towards him; halberds on each side: accompanied with LOVELL, VAUX, SANDS, and
common people
Second Gentleman
Let's stand close, and behold him.
BUCKINGHAM
All good people,
You that thus far have come to pity me,
Hear what I say, and then go home and lose me.
I have this day received a traitor's judgment,
And by that name must die: yet, heaven bear witness,
And if I have a conscience, let it sink me,
Even as the axe falls, if I be not faithful!
The law I bear no malice for my death;
'T has done, upon the premises, but justice:
But those that sought it I could wish more Christians:
Be what they will, I heartily forgive 'em:
Yet let 'em look they glory not in mischief,
Nor build their evils on the graves of great men;
For then my guiltless blood must cry against 'em.
For further life in this world I ne'er hope,
Nor will I sue, although the king have mercies
More than I dare make faults. You few that loved me,
And dare be bold to weep for Buckingham,
His noble friends and fellows, whom to leave
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 1 396
Page No 400
Is only bitter to him, only dying,
Go with me, like good angels, to my end;
And, as the long divorce of steel falls on me,
Make of your prayers one sweet sacrifice,
And lift my soul to heaven. Lead on, o' God's name.
LOVELL
I do beseech your grace, for charity,
If ever any malice in your heart
Were hid against me, now to forgive me frankly.
BUCKINGHAM
Sir Thomas Lovell, I as free forgive you
As I would be forgiven: I forgive all;
There cannot be those numberless offences
'Gainst me, that I cannot take peace with:
no black envy
Shall mark my grave. Commend me to his grace;
And if he speak of Buckingham, pray, tell him
You met him half in heaven: my vows and prayers
Yet are the king's; and, till my soul forsake,
Shall cry for blessings on him: may he live
Longer than I have time to tell his years!
Ever beloved and loving may his rule be!
And when old time shall lead him to his end,
Goodness and he fill up one monument!
LOVELL
To the water side I must conduct your grace;
Then give my charge up to Sir Nicholas Vaux,
Who undertakes you to your end.
VAUX
Prepare there,
The duke is coming: see the barge be ready;
And fit it with such furniture as suits
The greatness of his person.
BUCKINGHAM
Nay, Sir Nicholas,
Let it alone; my state now will but mock me.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 1 397
Page No 401
When I came hither, I was lord high constable
And Duke of Buckingham; now, poor Edward Bohun:
Yet I am richer than my base accusers,
That never knew what truth meant: I now seal it;
And with that blood will make 'em one day groan for't.
My noble father, Henry of Buckingham,
Who first raised head against usurping Richard,
Flying for succor to his servant Banister,
Being distress'd, was by that wretch betray'd,
And without trial fell; God's peace be with him!
Henry the Seventh succeeding, truly pitying
My father's loss, like a most royal prince,
Restored me to my honours, and, out of ruins,
Made my name once more noble. Now his son,
Henry the Eighth, life, honour, name and all
That made me happy at one stroke has taken
For ever from the world. I had my trial,
And, must needs say, a noble one; which makes me,
A little happier than my wretched father:
Yet thus far we are one in fortunes: both
Fell by our servants, by those men we loved most;
A most unnatural and faithless service!
Heaven has an end in all: yet, you that hear me,
This from a dying man receive as certain:
Where you are liberal of your loves and counsels
Be sure you be not loose; for those you make friends
And give your hearts to, when they once perceive
The least rub in your fortunes, fall away
Like water from ye, never found again
But where they mean to sink ye. All good people,
Pray for me! I must now forsake ye: the last hour
Of my long weary life is come upon me. Farewell:
And when you would say something that is sad,
Speak how I fell. I have done; and God forgive me!
Exeunt BUCKINGHAM and Train
First Gentleman
O, this is full of pity! Sir, it calls,
I fear, too many curses on their beads
That were the authors.
Second Gentleman
If the duke be guiltless,
'Tis full of woe: yet I can give you inkling
Of an ensuing evil, if it fall,
Greater than this.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 1 398
Page No 402
First Gentleman
Good angels keep it from us!
What may it be? You do not doubt my faith, sir?
Second Gentleman
This secret is so weighty, 'twill require
A strong faith to conceal it.
First Gentleman
Let me have it;
I do not talk much.
Second Gentleman
I am confident,
You shall, sir: did you not of late days hear
A buzzing of a separation
Between the king and Katharine?
First Gentleman
Yes, but it held not:
For when the king once heard it, out of anger
He sent command to the lord mayor straight
To stop the rumor, and allay those tongues
That durst disperse it.
Second Gentleman
But that slander, sir,
Is found a truth now: for it grows again
Fresher than e'er it was; and held for certain
The king will venture at it. Either the cardinal,
Or some about him near, have, out of malice
To the good queen, possess'd him with a scruple
That will undo her: to confirm this too,
Cardinal Campeius is arrived, and lately;
As all think, for this business.
First Gentleman
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 1 399
Page No 403
'Tis the cardinal;
And merely to revenge him on the emperor
For not bestowing on him, at his asking,
The archbishopric of Toledo, this is purposed.
Second Gentleman
I think you have hit the mark: but is't not cruel
That she should feel the smart of this? The cardinal
Will have his will, and she must fall.
First Gentleman
'Tis woful.
We are too open here to argue this;
Let's think in private more.
Exeunt
Act 2, Scene 2
An antechamber in the palace.
Enter Chamberlain, reading a letter
Chamberlain
'My lord, the horses your lordship sent for, with
all the care I had, I saw well chosen, ridden, and
furnished. They were young and handsome, and of the
best breed in the north. When they were ready to
set out for London, a man of my lord cardinal's, by
commission and main power, took 'em from me; with
this reason: His master would be served before a
subject, if not before the king; which stopped our
mouths, sir.'
I fear he will indeed: well, let him have them:
He will have all, I think.
Enter, to Chamberlain, NORFOLK and SUFFOLK
NORFOLK
Well met, my lord chamberlain.
Chamberlain
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 2 400
Page No 404
Good day to both your graces.
SUFFOLK
How is the king employ'd?
Chamberlain
I left him private,
Full of sad thoughts and troubles.
NORFOLK
What's the cause?
Chamberlain
It seems the marriage with his brother's wife
Has crept too near his conscience.
SUFFOLK
No, his conscience
Has crept too near another lady.
NORFOLK
'Tis so:
This is the cardinal's doing, the kingcardinal:
That blind priest, like the eldest son of fortune,
Turns what he list. The king will know him one day.
SUFFOLK
Pray God he do! he'll never know himself else.
NORFOLK
How holily he works in all his business!
And with what zeal! for, now he has crack'd the league
Between us and the emperor, the queen's great nephew,
He dives into the king's soul, and there scatters
Dangers, doubts, wringing of the conscience,
Fears, and despairs; and all these for his marriage:
And out of all these to restore the king,
He counsels a divorce; a loss of her
That, like a jewel, has hung twenty years
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 2 401
Page No 405
About his neck, yet never lost her lustre;
Of her that loves him with that excellence
That angels love good men with; even of her
That, when the greatest stroke of fortune falls,
Will bless the king: and is not this course pious?
Chamberlain
Heaven keep me from such counsel! 'Tis most true
These news are every where; every tongue speaks 'em,
And every true heart weeps for't: all that dare
Look into these affairs see this main end,
The French king's sister. Heaven will one day open
The king's eyes, that so long have slept upon
This bold bad man.
SUFFOLK
And free us from his slavery.
NORFOLK
We had need pray,
And heartily, for our deliverance;
Or this imperious man will work us all
From princes into pages: all men's honours
Lie like one lump before him, to be fashion'd
Into what pitch he please.
SUFFOLK
For me, my lords,
I love him not, nor fear him; there's my creed:
As I am made without him, so I'll stand,
If the king please; his curses and his blessings
Touch me alike, they're breath I not believe in.
I knew him, and I know him; so I leave him
To him that made him proud, the pope.
NORFOLK
Let's in;
And with some other business put the king
From these sad thoughts, that work too much upon him:
My lord, you'll bear us company?
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 2 402
Page No 406
Chamberlain
Excuse me;
The king has sent me otherwhere: besides,
You'll find a most unfit time to disturb him:
Health to your lordships.
NORFOLK
Thanks, my good lord chamberlain.
Exit Chamberlain; and KING HENRY VIII draws the curtain, and sits reading pensively
SUFFOLK
How sad he looks! sure, he is much afflicted.
KING HENRY VIII
Who's there, ha?
NORFOLK
Pray God he be not angry.
KING HENRY VIII
Who's there, I say? How dare you thrust yourselves
Into my private meditations?
Who am I? ha?
NORFOLK
A gracious king that pardons all offences
Malice ne'er meant: our breach of duty this way
Is business of estate; in which we come
To know your royal pleasure.
KING HENRY VIII
Ye are too bold:
Go to; I'll make ye know your times of business:
Is this an hour for temporal affairs, ha?
Enter CARDINAL WOLSEY and CARDINAL CAMPEIUS, with a commission
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 2 403
Page No 407
Who's there? my good lord cardinal? O my Wolsey,
The quiet of my wounded conscience;
Thou art a cure fit for a king.
To CARDINAL CAMPEIUS
You're welcome,
Most learned reverend sir, into our kingdom:
Use us and it.
To CARDINAL WOLSEY
My good lord, have great care
I be not found a talker.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Sir, you cannot.
I would your grace would give us but an hour
Of private conference.
KING HENRY VIII
[To NORFOLK and SUFFOLK]
We are busy; go.
NORFOLK
[Aside to SUFFOLK]
This priest has no pride in him?
SUFFOLK
[Aside to NORFOLK] Not to speak of:
I would not be so sick though for his place:
But this cannot continue.
NORFOLK
[Aside to SUFFOLK] If it do,
I'll venture one haveathim.
SUFFOLK
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 2 404
Page No 408
[Aside to NORFOLK] I another.
Exeunt NORFOLK and SUFFOLK
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Your grace has given a precedent of wisdom
Above all princes, in committing freely
Your scruple to the voice of Christendom:
Who can be angry now? what envy reach you?
The Spaniard, tied blood and favour to her,
Must now confess, if they have any goodness,
The trial just and noble. All the clerks,
I mean the learned ones, in Christian kingdoms
Have their free voices: Rome, the nurse of judgment,
Invited by your noble self, hath sent
One general tongue unto us, this good man,
This just and learned priest, Cardinal Campeius;
Whom once more I present unto your highness.
KING HENRY VIII
And once more in mine arms I bid him welcome,
And thank the holy conclave for their loves:
They have sent me such a man I would have wish'd for.
CARDINAL CAMPEIUS
Your grace must needs deserve all strangers' loves,
You are so noble. To your highness' hand
I tender my commission; by whose virtue,
The court of Rome commanding, you, my lord
Cardinal of York, are join'd with me their servant
In the unpartial judging of this business.
KING HENRY VIII
Two equal men. The queen shall be acquainted
Forthwith for what you come. Where's Gardiner?
CARDINAL WOLSEY
I know your majesty has always loved her
So dear in heart, not to deny her that
A woman of less place might ask by law:
Scholars allow'd freely to argue for her.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 2 405
Page No 409
KING HENRY VIII
Ay, and the best she shall have; and my favour
To him that does best: God forbid else. Cardinal,
Prithee, call Gardiner to me, my new secretary:
I find him a fit fellow.
Exit CARDINAL WOLSEY
Reenter CARDINAL WOLSEY, with GARDINER
CARDINAL WOLSEY
[Aside to GARDINER] Give me your hand much joy and
favour to you;
You are the king's now.
GARDINER
[Aside to CARDINAL WOLSEY]
But to be commanded
For ever by your grace, whose hand has raised me.
KING HENRY VIII
Come hither, Gardiner.
Walks and whispers
CARDINAL CAMPEIUS
My Lord of York, was not one Doctor Pace
In this man's place before him?
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Yes, he was.
CARDINAL CAMPEIUS
Was he not held a learned man?
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Yes, surely.
CARDINAL CAMPEIUS
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 2 406
Page No 410
Believe me, there's an ill opinion spread then
Even of yourself, lord cardinal.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
How! of me?
CARDINAL CAMPEIUS
They will not stick to say you envied him,
And fearing he would rise, he was so virtuous,
Kept him a foreign man still; which so grieved him,
That he ran mad and died.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Heaven's peace be with him!
That's Christian care enough: for living murmurers
There's places of rebuke. He was a fool;
For he would needs be virtuous: that good fellow,
If I command him, follows my appointment:
I will have none so near else. Learn this, brother,
We live not to be grip'd by meaner persons.
KING HENRY VIII
Deliver this with modesty to the queen.
Exit GARDINER
The most convenient place that I can think of
For such receipt of learning is BlackFriars;
There ye shall meet about this weighty business.
My Wolsey, see it furnish'd. O, my lord,
Would it not grieve an able man to leave
So sweet a bedfellow? But, conscience, conscience!
O, 'tis a tender place; and I must leave her.
Exeunt
Act 2, Scene 3
An antechamber of the QUEEN'S apartments.
Enter ANNE and an Old Lady
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 3 407
Page No 411
ANNE
Not for that neither: here's the pang that pinches:
His highness having lived so long with her, and she
So good a lady that no tongue could ever
Pronounce dishonour of her; by my life,
She never knew harmdoing: O, now, after
So many courses of the sun enthroned,
Still growing in a majesty and pomp, the which
To leave a thousandfold more bitter than
'Tis sweet at first to acquire,after this process,
To give her the avaunt! it is a pity
Would move a monster.
Old Lady
Hearts of most hard temper
Melt and lament for her.
ANNE
O, God's will! much better
She ne'er had known pomp: though't be temporal,
Yet, if that quarrel, fortune, do divorce
It from the bearer, 'tis a sufferance panging
As soul and body's severing.
Old Lady
Alas, poor lady!
She's a stranger now again.
ANNE
So much the more
Must pity drop upon her. Verily,
I swear, 'tis better to be lowly born,
And range with humble livers in content,
Than to be perk'd up in a glistering grief,
And wear a golden sorrow.
Old Lady
Our content
Is our best having.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 3 408
Page No 412
ANNE
By my troth and maidenhead,
I would not be a queen.
Old Lady
Beshrew me, I would,
And venture maidenhead for't; and so would you,
For all this spice of your hypocrisy:
You, that have so fair parts of woman on you,
Have too a woman's heart; which ever yet
Affected eminence, wealth, sovereignty;
Which, to say sooth, are blessings; and which gifts,
Saving your mincing, the capacity
Of your soft cheveril conscience would receive,
If you might please to stretch it.
ANNE
Nay, good troth.
Old Lady
Yes, troth, and troth; you would not be a queen?
ANNE
No, not for all the riches under heaven.
Old Lady:
'Tis strange: a threepence bow'd would hire me,
Old as I am, to queen it: but, I pray you,
What think you of a duchess? have you limbs
To bear that load of title?
ANNE
No, in truth.
Old Lady
Then you are weakly made: pluck off a little;
I would not be a young count in your way,
For more than blushing comes to: if your back
Cannot vouchsafe this burthen,'tis too weak
Ever to get a boy.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 3 409
Page No 413
ANNE
How you do talk!
I swear again, I would not be a queen
For all the world.
Old Lady
In faith, for little England
You'ld venture an emballing: I myself
Would for Carnarvonshire, although there long'd
No more to the crown but that. Lo, who comes here?
Enter Chamberlain
Chamberlain
Good morrow, ladies. What were't worth to know
The secret of your conference?
ANNE
My good lord,
Not your demand; it values not your asking:
Our mistress' sorrows we were pitying.
Chamberlain
It was a gentle business, and becoming
The action of good women: there is hope
All will be well.
ANNE
Now, I pray God, amen!
Chamberlain
You bear a gentle mind, and heavenly blessings
Follow such creatures. That you may, fair lady,
Perceive I speak sincerely, and high note's
Ta'en of your many virtues, the king's majesty
Commends his good opinion of you, and
Does purpose honour to you no less flowing
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 3 410
Page No 414
Than Marchioness of Pembroke: to which title
A thousand pound a year, annual support,
Out of his grace he adds.
ANNE
I do not know
What kind of my obedience I should tender;
More than my all is nothing: nor my prayers
Are not words duly hallow'd, nor my wishes
More worth than empty vanities; yet prayers and wishes
Are all I can return. Beseech your lordship,
Vouchsafe to speak my thanks and my obedience,
As from a blushing handmaid, to his highness;
Whose health and royalty I pray for.
Chamberlain
Lady,
I shall not fail to approve the fair conceit
The king hath of you.
Aside
I have perused her well;
Beauty and honour in her are so mingled
That they have caught the king: and who knows yet
But from this lady may proceed a gem
To lighten all this isle? I'll to the king,
And say I spoke with you.
Exit Chamberlain
ANNE
My honour'd lord.
Old Lady
Why, this it is; see, see!
I have been begging sixteen years in court,
Am yet a courtier beggarly, nor could
Come pat betwixt too early and too late
For any suit of pounds; and you, O fate!
A very freshfish herefie, fie, fie upon
This compell'd fortune!have your mouth fill'd up
Before you open it.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 3 411
Page No 415
ANNE
This is strange to me.
Old Lady
How tastes it? is it bitter? forty pence, no.
There was a lady once, 'tis an old story,
That would not be a queen, that would she not,
For all the mud in Egypt: have you heard it?
ANNE
Come, you are pleasant.
Old Lady
With your theme, I could
O'ermount the lark. The Marchioness of Pembroke!
A thousand pounds a year for pure respect!
No other obligation! By my life,
That promises moe thousands: honour's train
Is longer than his foreskirt. By this time
I know your back will bear a duchess: say,
Are you not stronger than you were?
ANNE
Good lady,
Make yourself mirth with your particular fancy,
And leave me out on't. Would I had no being,
If this salute my blood a jot: it faints me,
To think what follows.
The queen is comfortless, and we forgetful
In our long absence: pray, do not deliver
What here you've heard to her.
Old Lady
What do you think me?
Exeunt
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 3 412
Page No 416
Act 2, Scene 4
A hall in BlackFriars.
Trumpets, sennet, and cornets. Enter two Vergers, with short silver wands; next them, two
Scribes, in the habit of doctors; after them, CANTERBURY alone; after him, LINCOLN, Ely,
Rochester, and Saint Asaph; next them, with some small distance, follows a Gentleman
bearing the purse, with the great seal, and a cardinal's hat; then two Priests, bearing each a
silver cross; then a Gentlemanusher bareheaded, accompanied with a Sergeantatarms
bearing a silver mace; then two Gentlemen bearing two great silver pillars; after them, side
by side, CARDINAL WOLSEY and CARDINAL CAMPEIUS; two Noblemen with the sword
and mace. KING HENRY VIII takes place under the cloth of state; CARDINAL WOLSEY and
CARDINAL CAMPEIUS sit under him as judges. QUEEN KATHARINE takes place some
distance from KING HENRY VIII. The Bishops place themselves on each side the court, in
manner of a consistory; below them, the Scribes. The Lords sit next the Bishops. The rest of
the Attendants stand in convenient order about the stage
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Whilst our commission from Rome is read,
Let silence be commanded.
KING HENRY VIII
What's the need?
It hath already publicly been read,
And on all sides the authority allow'd;
You may, then, spare that time.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Be't so. Proceed.
Scribe
Say, Henry King of England, come into the court.
Crier
Henry King of England,
KING HENRY VIII
Here.
Scribe
Say, Katharine Queen of England, come into the court.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 4 413
Page No 417
Crier
Katharine Queen of England,
QUEEN KATHARINE makes no answer, rises out of her chair, goes about the court, comes
to KING HENRY VIII, and kneels at his feet; then speaks
QUEEN KATHARINE
Sir, I desire you do me right and justice;
And to bestow your pity on me: for
I am a most poor woman, and a stranger,
Born out of your dominions; having here
No judge indifferent, nor no more assurance
Of equal friendship and proceeding. Alas, sir,
In what have I offended you? what cause
Hath my behavior given to your displeasure,
That thus you should proceed to put me off,
And take your good grace from me? Heaven witness,
I have been to you a true and humble wife,
At all times to your will conformable;
Ever in fear to kindle your dislike,
Yea, subject to your countenance, glad or sorry
As I saw it inclined: when was the hour
I ever contradicted your desire,
Or made it not mine too? Or which of your friends
Have I not strove to love, although I knew
He were mine enemy? what friend of mine
That had to him derived your anger, did I
Continue in my liking? nay, gave notice
He was from thence discharged. Sir, call to mind
That I have been your wife, in this obedience,
Upward of twenty years, and have been blest
With many children by you: if, in the course
And process of this time, you can report,
And prove it too, against mine honour aught,
My bond to wedlock, or my love and duty,
Against your sacred person, in God's name,
Turn me away; and let the foul'st contempt
Shut door upon me, and so give me up
To the sharp'st kind of justice. Please you sir,
The king, your father, was reputed for
A prince most prudent, of an excellent
And unmatch'd wit and judgment: Ferdinand,
My father, king of Spain, was reckon'd one
The wisest prince that there had reign'd by many
A year before: it is not to be question'd
That they had gather'd a wise council to them
Of every realm, that did debate this business,
Who deem'd our marriage lawful: wherefore I humbly
Beseech you, sir, to spare me, till I may
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 4 414
Page No 418
Be by my friends in Spain advised; whose counsel
I will implore: if not, i' the name of God,
Your pleasure be fulfill'd!
CARDINAL WOLSEY
You have here, lady,
And of your choice, these reverend fathers; men
Of singular integrity and learning,
Yea, the elect o' the land, who are assembled
To plead your cause: it shall be therefore bootless
That longer you desire the court; as well
For your own quiet, as to rectify
What is unsettled in the king.
CARDINAL CAMPEIUS
His grace
Hath spoken well and justly: therefore, madam,
It's fit this royal session do proceed;
And that, without delay, their arguments
Be now produced and heard.
QUEEN KATHARINE
Lord cardinal,
To you I speak.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Your pleasure, madam?
QUEEN KATHARINE
Sir,
I am about to weep; but, thinking that
We are a queen, or long have dream'd so, certain
The daughter of a king, my drops of tears
I'll turn to sparks of fire.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Be patient yet.
QUEEN KATHARINE
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 4 415
Page No 419
I will, when you are humble; nay, before,
Or God will punish me. I do believe,
Induced by potent circumstances, that
You are mine enemy, and make my challenge
You shall not be my judge: for it is you
Have blown this coal betwixt my lord and me;
Which God's dew quench! Therefore I say again,
I utterly abhor, yea, from my soul
Refuse you for my judge; whom, yet once more,
I hold my most malicious foe, and think not
At all a friend to truth.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
I do profess
You speak not like yourself; who ever yet
Have stood to charity, and display'd the effects
Of disposition gentle, and of wisdom
O'ertopping woman's power. Madam, you do me wrong:
I have no spleen against you; nor injustice
For you or any: how far I have proceeded,
Or how far further shall, is warranted
By a commission from the consistory,
Yea, the whole consistory of Rome. You charge me
That I have blown this coal: I do deny it:
The king is present: if it be known to him
That I gainsay my deed, how may he wound,
And worthily, my falsehood! yea, as much
As you have done my truth. If he know
That I am free of your report, he knows
I am not of your wrong. Therefore in him
It lies to cure me: and the cure is, to
Remove these thoughts from you: the which before
His highness shall speak in, I do beseech
You, gracious madam, to unthink your speaking
And to say so no more.
QUEEN KATHARINE
My lord, my lord,
I am a simple woman, much too weak
To oppose your cunning. You're meek and
humblemouth'd;
You sign your place and calling, in full seeming,
With meekness and humility; but your heart
Is cramm'd with arrogancy, spleen, and pride.
You have, by fortune and his highness' favours,
Gone slightly o'er low steps and now are mounted
Where powers are your retainers, and your words,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 4 416
Page No 420
Domestics to you, serve your will as't please
Yourself pronounce their office. I must tell you,
You tender more your person's honour than
Your high profession spiritual: that again
I do refuse you for my judge; and here,
Before you all, appeal unto the pope,
To bring my whole cause 'fore his holiness,
And to be judged by him.
She curtsies to KING HENRY VIII, and offers to depart
CARDINAL CAMPEIUS
The queen is obstinate,
Stubborn to justice, apt to accuse it, and
Disdainful to be tried by't: 'tis not well.
She's going away.
KING HENRY VIII
Call her again.
Crier
Katharine Queen of England, come into the court.
GRIFFITH
Madam, you are call'd back.
QUEEN KATHARINE
What need you note it? pray you, keep your way:
When you are call'd, return. Now, the Lord help,
They vex me past my patience! Pray you, pass on:
I will not tarry; no, nor ever more
Upon this business my appearance make
In any of their courts.
Exeunt QUEEN KATHARINE and her Attendants
KING HENRY VIII
Go thy ways, Kate:
That man i' the world who shall report he has
A better wife, let him in nought be trusted,
For speaking false in that: thou art, alone,
If thy rare qualities, sweet gentleness,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 4 417
Page No 421
Thy meekness saintlike, wifelike government,
Obeying in commanding, and thy parts
Sovereign and pious else, could speak thee out,
The queen of earthly queens: she's noble born;
And, like her true nobility, she has
Carried herself towards me.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Most gracious sir,
In humblest manner I require your highness,
That it shall please you to declare, in hearing
Of all these ears,for where I am robb'd and bound,
There must I be unloosed, although not there
At once and fully satisfied,whether ever I
Did broach this business to your highness; or
Laid any scruple in your way, which might
Induce you to the question on't? or ever
Have to you, but with thanks to God for such
A royal lady, spake one the least word that might
Be to the prejudice of her present state,
Or touch of her good person?
KING HENRY VIII
My lord cardinal,
I do excuse you; yea, upon mine honour,
I free you from't. You are not to be taught
That you have many enemies, that know not
Why they are so, but, like to villagecurs,
Bark when their fellows do: by some of these
The queen is put in anger. You're excused:
But will you be more justified? You ever
Have wish'd the sleeping of this business; never desired
It to be stirr'd; but oft have hinder'd, oft,
The passages made toward it: on my honour,
I speak my good lord cardinal to this point,
And thus far clear him. Now, what moved me to't,
I will be bold with time and your attention:
Then mark the inducement. Thus it came; give heed to't:
My conscience first received a tenderness,
Scruple, and prick, on certain speeches utter'd
By the Bishop of Bayonne, then French ambassador;
Who had been hither sent on the debating
A marriage 'twixt the Duke of Orleans and
Our daughter Mary: i' the progress of this business,
Ere a determinate resolution, he,
I mean the bishop, did require a respite;
Wherein he might the king his lord advertise
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 4 418
Page No 422
Whether our daughter were legitimate,
Respecting this our marriage with the dowager,
Sometimes our brother's wife. This respite shook
The bosom of my conscience, enter'd me,
Yea, with a splitting power, and made to tremble
The region of my breast; which forced such way,
That many mazed considerings did throng
And press'd in with this caution. First, methought
I stood not in the smile of heaven; who had
Commanded nature, that my lady's womb,
If it conceived a male child by me, should
Do no more offices of life to't than
The grave does to the dead; for her male issue
Or died where they were made, or shortly after
This world had air'd them: hence I took a thought,
This was a judgment on me; that my kingdom,
Well worthy the best heir o' the world, should not
Be gladded in't by me: then follows, that
I weigh'd the danger which my realms stood in
By this my issue's fail; and that gave to me
Many a groaning throe. Thus hulling in
The wild sea of my conscience, I did steer
Toward this remedy, whereupon we are
Now present here together: that's to say,
I meant to rectify my conscience,which
I then did feel full sick, and yet not well,
By all the reverend fathers of the land
And doctors learn'd: first I began in private
With you, my Lord of Lincoln; you remember
How under my oppression I did reek,
When I first moved you.
LINCOLN
Very well, my liege.
KING HENRY VIII
I have spoke long: be pleased yourself to say
How far you satisfied me.
LINCOLN
So please your highness,
The question did at first so stagger me,
Bearing a state of mighty moment in't
And consequence of dread, that I committed
The daring'st counsel which I had to doubt;
And did entreat your highness to this course
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 2, Scene 4 419
Page No 423
Which you are running here.
KING HENRY VIII
I then moved you,
My Lord of Canterbury; and got your leave
To make this present summons: unsolicited
I left no reverend person in this court;
But by particular consent proceeded
Under your hands and seals: therefore, go on:
For no dislike i' the world against the person
Of the good queen, but the sharp thorny points
Of my alleged reasons, drive this forward:
Prove but our marriage lawful, by my life
And kingly dignity, we are contented
To wear our mortal state to come with her,
Katharine our queen, before the primest creature
That's paragon'd o' the world.
CARDINAL CAMPEIUS
So please your highness,
The queen being absent, 'tis a needful fitness
That we adjourn this court till further day:
Meanwhile must be an earnest motion
Made to the queen, to call back her appeal
She intends unto his holiness.
KING HENRY VIII [Aside]
I may perceive
These cardinals trifle with me: I abhor
This dilatory sloth and tricks of Rome.
My learn'd and wellbeloved servant, Cranmer,
Prithee, return: with thy approach, I know,
My comfort comes along. Break up the court:
I say, set on.
Exeunt in manner as they entered
Act 3, Scene 1
London. QUEEN KATHARINE's apartments.
Enter QUEEN KATHARINE and her Women, as at work
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 1 420
Page No 424
QUEEN KATHARINE
Take thy lute, wench: my soul grows sad with troubles;
Sing, and disperse 'em, if thou canst: leave working.
SONG
Orpheus with his lute made trees,
And the mountain tops that freeze,
Bow themselves when he did sing:
To his music plants and flowers
Ever sprung; as sun and showers
There had made a lasting spring.
Every thing that heard him play,
Even the billows of the sea,
Hung their heads, and then lay by.
In sweet music is such art,
Killing care and grief of heart
Fall asleep, or hearing, die.
Enter a Gentleman
QUEEN KATHARINE
How now!
Gentleman
An't please your grace, the two great cardinals
Wait in the presence.
QUEEN KATHARINE
Would they speak with me?
Gentleman
They will'd me say so, madam.
QUEEN KATHARINE
Pray their graces
To come near.
Exit Gentleman
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 1 421
Page No 425
What can be their business
With me, a poor weak woman, fall'n from favour?
I do not like their coming. Now I think on't,
They should be good men; their affairs as righteous:
But all hoods make not monks.
Enter CARDINAL WOLSEY and CARDINAL CAMPEIUS
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Peace to your highness!
QUEEN KATHARINE
Your graces find me here part of a housewife,
I would be all, against the worst may happen.
What are your pleasures with me, reverend lords?
CARDINAL WOLSEY
May it please you noble madam, to withdraw
Into your private chamber, we shall give you
The full cause of our coming.
QUEEN KATHARINE
Speak it here:
There's nothing I have done yet, o' my conscience,
Deserves a corner: would all other women
Could speak this with as free a soul as I do!
My lords, I care not, so much I am happy
Above a number, if my actions
Were tried by every tongue, every eye saw 'em,
Envy and base opinion set against 'em,
I know my life so even. If your business
Seek me out, and that way I am wife in,
Out with it boldly: truth loves open dealing.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Tanta est erga te mentis integritas, regina
serenissima,
QUEEN KATHARINE
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 1 422
Page No 426
O, good my lord, no Latin;
I am not such a truant since my coming,
As not to know the language I have lived in:
A strange tongue makes my cause more strange,
suspicious;
Pray, speak in English: here are some will thank you,
If you speak truth, for their poor mistress' sake;
Believe me, she has had much wrong: lord cardinal,
The willing'st sin I ever yet committed
May be absolved in English.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Noble lady,
I am sorry my integrity should breed,
And service to his majesty and you,
So deep suspicion, where all faith was meant.
We come not by the way of accusation,
To taint that honour every good tongue blesses,
Nor to betray you any way to sorrow,
You have too much, good lady; but to know
How you stand minded in the weighty difference
Between the king and you; and to deliver,
Like free and honest men, our just opinions
And comforts to your cause.
CARDINAL CAMPEIUS
Most honour'd madam,
My Lord of York, out of his noble nature,
Zeal and obedience he still bore your grace,
Forgetting, like a good man your late censure
Both of his truth and him, which was too far,
Offers, as I do, in a sign of peace,
His service and his counsel.
QUEEN KATHARINE [Aside]
To betray me.
My lords, I thank you both for your good wills;
Ye speak like honest men; pray God, ye prove so!
But how to make ye suddenly an answer,
In such a point of weight, so near mine honour,
More near my life, I fear,with my weak wit,
And to such men of gravity and learning,
In truth, I know not. I was set at work
Among my maids: full little, God knows, looking
Either for such men or such business.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 1 423
Page No 427
For her sake that I have been,for I feel
The last fit of my greatness,good your graces,
Let me have time and counsel for my cause:
Alas, I am a woman, friendless, hopeless!
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Madam, you wrong the king's love with these fears:
Your hopes and friends are infinite.
QUEEN KATHARINE
In England
But little for my profit: can you think, lords,
That any Englishman dare give me counsel?
Or be a known friend, 'gainst his highness' pleasure,
Though he be grown so desperate to be honest,
And live a subject? Nay, forsooth, my friends,
They that must weigh out my afflictions,
They that my trust must grow to, live not here:
They are, as all my other comforts, far hence
In mine own country, lords.
CARDINAL CAMPEIUS
I would your grace
Would leave your griefs, and take my counsel.
QUEEN KATHARINE
How, sir?
CARDINAL CAMPEIUS
Put your main cause into the king's protection;
He's loving and most gracious: 'twill be much
Both for your honour better and your cause;
For if the trial of the law o'ertake ye,
You'll part away disgraced.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
He tells you rightly.
QUEEN KATHARINE
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 1 424
Page No 428
Ye tell me what ye wish for both,my ruin:
Is this your Christian counsel? out upon ye!
Heaven is above all yet; there sits a judge
That no king can corrupt.
CARDINAL CAMPEIUS
Your rage mistakes us.
QUEEN KATHARINE
The more shame for ye: holy men I thought ye,
Upon my soul, two reverend cardinal virtues;
But cardinal sins and hollow hearts I fear ye:
Mend 'em, for shame, my lords. Is this your comfort?
The cordial that ye bring a wretched lady,
A woman lost among ye, laugh'd at, scorn'd?
I will not wish ye half my miseries;
I have more charity: but say, I warn'd ye;
Take heed, for heaven's sake, take heed, lest at once
The burthen of my sorrows fall upon ye.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Madam, this is a mere distraction;
You turn the good we offer into envy.
QUEEN KATHARINE
Ye turn me into nothing: woe upon ye
And all such false professors! would you have me
If you have any justice, any pity;
If ye be any thing but churchmen's habits
Put my sick cause into his hands that hates me?
Alas, has banish'd me his bed already,
His love, too long ago! I am old, my lords,
And all the fellowship I hold now with him
Is only my obedience. What can happen
To me above this wretchedness? all your studies
Make me a curse like this.
CARDINAL CAMPEIUS
Your fears are worse.
QUEEN KATHARINE
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 1 425
Page No 429
Have I lived thus longlet me speak myself,
Since virtue finds no friendsa wife, a true one?
A woman, I dare say without vainglory,
Never yet branded with suspicion?
Have I with all my full affections
Still met the king? loved him next heaven?
obey'd him?
Been, out of fondness, superstitious to him?
Almost forgot my prayers to content him?
And am I thus rewarded? 'tis not well, lords.
Bring me a constant woman to her husband,
One that ne'er dream'd a joy beyond his pleasure;
And to that woman, when she has done most,
Yet will I add an honour, a great patience.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Madam, you wander from the good we aim at.
QUEEN KATHARINE
My lord, I dare not make myself so guilty,
To give up willingly that noble title
Your master wed me to: nothing but death
Shall e'er divorce my dignities.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Pray, hear me.
QUEEN KATHARINE
Would I had never trod this English earth,
Or felt the flatteries that grow upon it!
Ye have angels' faces, but heaven knows your hearts.
What will become of me now, wretched lady!
I am the most unhappy woman living.
Alas, poor wenches, where are now your fortunes!
Shipwreck'd upon a kingdom, where no pity,
No friend, no hope; no kindred weep for me;
Almost no grave allow'd me: like the lily,
That once was mistress of the field and flourish'd,
I'll hang my head and perish.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
If your grace
Could but be brought to know our ends are honest,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 1 426
Page No 430
You'ld feel more comfort: why should we, good lady,
Upon what cause, wrong you? alas, our places,
The way of our profession is against it:
We are to cure such sorrows, not to sow 'em.
For goodness' sake, consider what you do;
How you may hurt yourself, ay, utterly
Grow from the king's acquaintance, by this carriage.
The hearts of princes kiss obedience,
So much they love it; but to stubborn spirits
They swell, and grow as terrible as storms.
I know you have a gentle, noble temper,
A soul as even as a calm: pray, think us
Those we profess, peacemakers, friends, and servants.
CARDINAL CAMPEIUS
Madam, you'll find it so. You wrong your virtues
With these weak women's fears: a noble spirit,
As yours was put into you, ever casts
Such doubts, as false coin, from it. The king loves you;
Beware you lose it not: for us, if you please
To trust us in your business, we are ready
To use our utmost studies in your service.
QUEEN KATHARINE
Do what ye will, my lords: and, pray, forgive me,
If I have used myself unmannerly;
You know I am a woman, lacking wit
To make a seemly answer to such persons.
Pray, do my service to his majesty:
He has my heart yet; and shall have my prayers
While I shall have my life. Come, reverend fathers,
Bestow your counsels on me: she now begs,
That little thought, when she set footing here,
She should have bought her dignities so dear.
Exeunt
Act 3, Scene 2
Antechamber to KING HENRY VIII's apartment.
Enter NORFOLK, SUFFOLK, SURREY, and Chamberlain
NORFOLK
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 2 427
Page No 431
If you will now unite in your complaints,
And force them with a constancy, the cardinal
Cannot stand under them: if you omit
The offer of this time, I cannot promise
But that you shall sustain moe new disgraces,
With these you bear already.
SURREY
I am joyful
To meet the least occasion that may give me
Remembrance of my fatherinlaw, the duke,
To be revenged on him.
SUFFOLK
Which of the peers
Have uncontemn'd gone by him, or at least
Strangely neglected? when did he regard
The stamp of nobleness in any person
Out of himself?
Chamberlain
My lords, you speak your pleasures:
What he deserves of you and me I know;
What we can do to him, though now the time
Gives way to us, I much fear. If you cannot
Bar his access to the king, never attempt
Any thing on him; for he hath a witchcraft
Over the king in's tongue.
NORFOLK
O, fear him not;
His spell in that is out: the king hath found
Matter against him that for ever mars
The honey of his language. No, he's settled,
Not to come off, in his displeasure.
SURREY
Sir,
I should be glad to hear such news as this
Once every hour.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 2 428
Page No 432
NORFOLK
Believe it, this is true:
In the divorce his contrary proceedings
Are all unfolded wherein he appears
As I would wish mine enemy.
SURREY
How came
His practises to light?
SUFFOLK
Most strangely.
SURREY
O, how, how?
SUFFOLK
The cardinal's letters to the pope miscarried,
And came to the eye o' the king: wherein was read,
How that the cardinal did entreat his holiness
To stay the judgment o' the divorce; for if
It did take place, 'I do,' quoth he, 'perceive
My king is tangled in affection to
A creature of the queen's, Lady Anne Bullen.'
SURREY
Has the king this?
SUFFOLK
Believe it.
SURREY
Will this work?
Chamberlain
The king in this perceives him, how he coasts
And hedges his own way. But in this point
All his tricks founder, and he brings his physic
After his patient's death: the king already
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 2 429
Page No 433
Hath married the fair lady.
SURREY
Would he had!
SUFFOLK
May you be happy in your wish, my lord
For, I profess, you have it.
SURREY
Now, all my joy
Trace the conjunction!
SUFFOLK
My amen to't!
NORFOLK
All men's!
SUFFOLK
There's order given for her coronation:
Marry, this is yet but young, and may be left
To some ears unrecounted. But, my lords,
She is a gallant creature, and complete
In mind and feature: I persuade me, from her
Will fall some blessing to this land, which shall
In it be memorised.
SURREY
But, will the king
Digest this letter of the cardinal's?
The Lord forbid!
NORFOLK
Marry, amen!
SUFFOLK
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 2 430
Page No 434
No, no;
There be moe wasps that buzz about his nose
Will make this sting the sooner. Cardinal Campeius
Is stol'n away to Rome; hath ta'en no leave;
Has left the cause o' the king unhandled; and
Is posted, as the agent of our cardinal,
To second all his plot. I do assure you
The king cried Ha! at this.
Chamberlain
Now, God incense him,
And let him cry Ha! louder!
NORFOLK
But, my lord,
When returns Cranmer?
SUFFOLK
He is return'd in his opinions; which
Have satisfied the king for his divorce,
Together with all famous colleges
Almost in Christendom: shortly, I believe,
His second marriage shall be publish'd, and
Her coronation. Katharine no more
Shall be call'd queen, but princess dowager
And widow to Prince Arthur.
NORFOLK
This same Cranmer's
A worthy fellow, and hath ta'en much pain
In the king's business.
SUFFOLK
He has; and we shall see him
For it an archbishop.
NORFOLK
So I hear.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 2 431
Page No 435
SUFFOLK
'Tis so.
The cardinal!
Enter CARDINAL WOLSEY and CROMWELL
NORFOLK
Observe, observe, he's moody.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
The packet, Cromwell.
Gave't you the king?
CROMWELL
To his own hand, in's bedchamber.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Look'd he o' the inside of the paper?
CROMWELL
Presently
He did unseal them: and the first he view'd,
He did it with a serious mind; a heed
Was in his countenance. You he bade
Attend him here this morning.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Is he ready
To come abroad?
CROMWELL
I think, by this he is.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Leave me awhile.
Exit CROMWELL
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 2 432
Page No 436
Aside
It shall be to the Duchess of Alencon,
The French king's sister: he shall marry her.
Anne Bullen! No; I'll no Anne Bullens for him:
There's more in't than fair visage. Bullen!
No, we'll no Bullens. Speedily I wish
To hear from Rome. The Marchioness of Pembroke!
NORFOLK
He's discontented.
SUFFOLK
May be, he hears the king
Does whet his anger to him.
SURREY
Sharp enough,
Lord, for thy justice!
CARDINAL WOLSEY
[Aside] The late queen's gentlewoman,
a knight's daughter,
To be her mistress' mistress! the queen's queen!
This candle burns not clear: 'tis I must snuff it;
Then out it goes. What though I know her virtuous
And well deserving? yet I know her for
A spleeny Lutheran; and not wholesome to
Our cause, that she should lie i' the bosom of
Our hardruled king. Again, there is sprung up
An heretic, an arch one, Cranmer; one
Hath crawl'd into the favour of the king,
And is his oracle.
NORFOLK
He is vex'd at something.
SURREY
I would 'twere something that would fret the string,
The mastercord on's heart!
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 2 433
Page No 437
Enter KING HENRY VIII, reading of a schedule, and LOVELL
SUFFOLK
The king, the king!
KING HENRY VIII
What piles of wealth hath he accumulated
To his own portion! and what expense by the hour
Seems to flow from him! How, i' the name of thrift,
Does he rake this together! Now, my lords,
Saw you the cardinal?
NORFOLK
My lord, we have
Stood here observing him: some strange commotion
Is in his brain: he bites his lip, and starts;
Stops on a sudden, looks upon the ground,
Then lays his finger on his temple, straight
Springs out into fast gait; then stops again,
Strikes his breast hard, and anon he casts
His eye against the moon: in most strange postures
We have seen him set himself.
KING HENRY VIII
It may well be;
There is a mutiny in's mind. This morning
Papers of state he sent me to peruse,
As I required: and wot you what I found
There,on my conscience, put unwittingly?
Forsooth, an inventory, thus importing;
The several parcels of his plate, his treasure,
Rich stuffs, and ornaments of household; which
I find at such proud rate, that it outspeaks
Possession of a subject.
NORFOLK
It's heaven's will:
Some spirit put this paper in the packet,
To bless your eye withal.
KING HENRY VIII
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 2 434
Page No 438
If we did think
His contemplation were above the earth,
And fix'd on spiritual object, he should still
Dwell in his musings: but I am afraid
His thinkings are below the moon, not worth
His serious considering.
King HENRY VIII takes his seat; whispers LOVELL, who goes to CARDINAL WOLSEY
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Heaven forgive me!
Ever God bless your highness!
KING HENRY VIII
Good my lord,
You are full of heavenly stuff, and bear the inventory
Of your best graces in your mind; the which
You were now running o'er: you have scarce time
To steal from spiritual leisure a brief span
To keep your earthly audit: sure, in that
I deem you an ill husband, and am glad
To have you therein my companion.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Sir,
For holy offices I have a time; a time
To think upon the part of business which
I bear i' the state; and nature does require
Her times of preservation, which perforce
I, her frail son, amongst my brethren mortal,
Must give my tendence to.
KING HENRY VIII
You have said well.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
And ever may your highness yoke together,
As I will lend you cause, my doing well
With my well saying!
KING HENRY VIII
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 2 435
Page No 439
'Tis well said again;
And 'tis a kind of good deed to say well:
And yet words are no deeds. My father loved you:
His said he did; and with his deed did crown
His word upon you. Since I had my office,
I have kept you next my heart; have not alone
Employ'd you where high profits might come home,
But pared my present havings, to bestow
My bounties upon you.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
[Aside] What should this mean?
SURREY
[Aside] The Lord increase this business!
KING HENRY VIII
Have I not made you,
The prime man of the state? I pray you, tell me,
If what I now pronounce you have found true:
And, if you may confess it, say withal,
If you are bound to us or no. What say you?
CARDINAL WOLSEY
My sovereign, I confess your royal graces,
Shower'd on me daily, have been more than could
My studied purposes requite; which went
Beyond all man's endeavours: my endeavours
Have ever come too short of my desires,
Yet filed with my abilities: mine own ends
Have been mine so that evermore they pointed
To the good of your most sacred person and
The profit of the state. For your great graces
Heap'd upon me, poor undeserver, I
Can nothing render but allegiant thanks,
My prayers to heaven for you, my loyalty,
Which ever has and ever shall be growing,
Till death, that winter, kill it.
KING HENRY VIII
Fairly answer'd;
A loyal and obedient subject is
Therein illustrated: the honour of it
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 2 436
Page No 440
Does pay the act of it; as, i' the contrary,
The foulness is the punishment. I presume
That, as my hand has open'd bounty to you,
My heart dropp'd love, my power rain'd honour, more
On you than any; so your hand and heart,
Your brain, and every function of your power,
Should, notwithstanding that your bond of duty,
As 'twere in love's particular, be more
To me, your friend, than any.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
I do profess
That for your highness' good I ever labour'd
More than mine own; that am, have, and will be
Though all the world should crack their duty to you,
And throw it from their soul; though perils did
Abound, as thick as thought could make 'em, and
Appear in forms more horrid,yet my duty,
As doth a rock against the chiding flood,
Should the approach of this wild river break,
And stand unshaken yours.
KING HENRY VIII
'Tis nobly spoken:
Take notice, lords, he has a loyal breast,
For you have seen him open't. Read o'er this;
Giving him papers
And after, this: and then to breakfast with
What appetite you have.
Exit KING HENRY VIII, frowning upon CARDINAL WOLSEY: the Nobles throng after him,
smiling and whispering
CARDINAL WOLSEY
What should this mean?
What sudden anger's this? how have I reap'd it?
He parted frowning from me, as if ruin
Leap'd from his eyes: so looks the chafed lion
Upon the daring huntsman that has gall'd him;
Then makes him nothing. I must read this paper;
I fear, the story of his anger. 'Tis so;
This paper has undone me: 'tis the account
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 2 437
Page No 441
Of all that world of wealth I have drawn together
For mine own ends; indeed, to gain the popedom,
And fee my friends in Rome. O negligence!
Fit for a fool to fall by: what cross devil
Made me put this main secret in the packet
I sent the king? Is there no way to cure this?
No new device to beat this from his brains?
I know 'twill stir him strongly; yet I know
A way, if it take right, in spite of fortune
Will bring me off again. What's this? 'To the Pope!'
The letter, as I live, with all the business
I writ to's holiness. Nay then, farewell!
I have touch'd the highest point of all my greatness;
And, from that full meridian of my glory,
I haste now to my setting: I shall fall
Like a bright exhalation m the evening,
And no man see me more.
Reenter to CARDINAL WOLSEY, NORFOLK and SUFFOLK, SURREY, and the
Chamberlain
NORFOLK
Hear the king's pleasure, cardinal: who commands you
To render up the great seal presently
Into our hands; and to confine yourself
To Asher House, my Lord of Winchester's,
Till you hear further from his highness.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Stay:
Where's your commission, lords? words cannot carry
Authority so weighty.
SUFFOLK
Who dare cross 'em,
Bearing the king's will from his mouth expressly?
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Till I find more than will or words to do it,
I mean your malice, know, officious lords,
I dare and must deny it. Now I feel
Of what coarse metal ye are moulded, envy:
How eagerly ye follow my disgraces,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 2 438
Page No 442
As if it fed ye! and how sleek and wanton
Ye appear in every thing may bring my ruin!
Follow your envious courses, men of malice;
You have Christian warrant for 'em, and, no doubt,
In time will find their fit rewards. That seal,
You ask with such a violence, the king,
Mine and your master, with his own hand gave me;
Bade me enjoy it, with the place and honours,
During my life; and, to confirm his goodness,
Tied it by letterspatents: now, who'll take it?
SURREY
The king, that gave it.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
It must be himself, then.
SURREY
Thou art a proud traitor, priest.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Proud lord, thou liest:
Within these forty hours Surrey durst better
Have burnt that tongue than said so.
SURREY
Thy ambition,
Thou scarlet sin, robb'd this bewailing land
Of noble Buckingham, my fatherinlaw:
The heads of all thy brother cardinals,
With thee and all thy best parts bound together,
Weigh'd not a hair of his. Plague of your policy!
You sent me deputy for Ireland;
Far from his succor, from the king, from all
That might have mercy on the fault thou gavest him;
Whilst your great goodness, out of holy pity,
Absolved him with an axe.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
This, and all else
This talking lord can lay upon my credit,
I answer is most false. The duke by law
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 2 439
Page No 443
Found his deserts: how innocent I was
From any private malice in his end,
His noble jury and foul cause can witness.
If I loved many words, lord, I should tell you
You have as little honesty as honour,
That in the way of loyalty and truth
Toward the king, my ever royal master,
Dare mate a sounder man than Surrey can be,
And all that love his follies.
SURREY
By my soul,
Your long coat, priest, protects you; thou
shouldst feel
My sword i' the lifeblood of thee else. My lords,
Can ye endure to hear this arrogance?
And from this fellow? if we live thus tamely,
To be thus jaded by a piece of scarlet,
Farewell nobility; let his grace go forward,
And dare us with his cap like larks.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
All goodness
Is poison to thy stomach.
SURREY
Yes, that goodness
Of gleaning all the land's wealth into one,
Into your own hands, cardinal, by extortion;
The goodness of your intercepted packets
You writ to the pope against the king: your goodness,
Since you provoke me, shall be most notorious.
My Lord of Norfolk, as you are truly noble,
As you respect the common good, the state
Of our despised nobility, our issues,
Who, if he live, will scarce be gentlemen,
Produce the grand sum of his sins, the articles
Collected from his life. I'll startle you
Worse than the scaring bell, when the brown wench
Lay kissing in your arms, lord cardinal.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 2 440
Page No 444
How much, methinks, I could despise this man,
But that I am bound in charity against it!
NORFOLK
Those articles, my lord, are in the king's hand:
But, thus much, they are foul ones.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
So much fairer
And spotless shall mine innocence arise,
When the king knows my truth.
SURREY
This cannot save you:
I thank my memory, I yet remember
Some of these articles; and out they shall.
Now, if you can blush and cry 'guilty,' cardinal,
You'll show a little honesty.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Speak on, sir;
I dare your worst objections: if I blush,
It is to see a nobleman want manners.
SURREY
I had rather want those than my head. Have at you!
First, that, without the king's assent or knowledge,
You wrought to be a legate; by which power
You maim'd the jurisdiction of all bishops.
NORFOLK
Then, that in all you writ to Rome, or else
To foreign princes, 'Ego et Rex meus'
Was still inscribed; in which you brought the king
To be your servant.
SUFFOLK
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 2 441
Page No 445
Then that, without the knowledge
Either of king or council, when you went
Ambassador to the emperor, you made bold
To carry into Flanders the great seal.
SURREY
Item, you sent a large commission
To Gregory de Cassado, to conclude,
Without the king's will or the state's allowance,
A league between his highness and Ferrara.
SUFFOLK
That, out of mere ambition, you have caused
Your holy hat to be stamp'd on the king's coin.
SURREY
Then that you have sent innumerable substance
By what means got, I leave to your own conscience
To furnish Rome, and to prepare the ways
You have for dignities; to the mere undoing
Of all the kingdom. Many more there are;
Which, since they are of you, and odious,
I will not taint my mouth with.
Chamberlain
O my lord,
Press not a falling man too far! 'tis virtue:
His faults lie open to the laws; let them,
Not you, correct him. My heart weeps to see him
So little of his great self.
SURREY
I forgive him.
SUFFOLK
Lord cardinal, the king's further pleasure is,
Because all those things you have done of late,
By your power legatine, within this kingdom,
Fall into the compass of a praemunire,
That therefore such a writ be sued against you;
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 2 442
Page No 446
To forfeit all your goods, lands, tenements,
Chattels, and whatsoever, and to be
Out of the king's protection. This is my charge.
NORFOLK
And so we'll leave you to your meditations
How to live better. For your stubborn answer
About the giving back the great seal to us,
The king shall know it, and, no doubt, shall thank you.
So fare you well, my little good lord cardinal.
Exeunt all but CARDINAL WOLSEY
CARDINAL WOLSEY
So farewell to the little good you bear me.
Farewell! a long farewell, to all my greatness!
This is the state of man: today he puts forth
The tender leaves of hopes; tomorrow blossoms,
And bears his blushing honours thick upon him;
The third day comes a frost, a killing frost,
And, when he thinks, good easy man, full surely
His greatness is aripening, nips his root,
And then he falls, as I do. I have ventured,
Like little wanton boys that swim on bladders,
This many summers in a sea of glory,
But far beyond my depth: my highblown pride
At length broke under me and now has left me,
Weary and old with service, to the mercy
Of a rude stream, that must for ever hide me.
Vain pomp and glory of this world, I hate ye:
I feel my heart new open'd. O, how wretched
Is that poor man that hangs on princes' favours!
There is, betwixt that smile we would aspire to,
That sweet aspect of princes, and their ruin,
More pangs and fears than wars or women have:
And when he falls, he falls like Lucifer,
Never to hope again.
Enter CROMWELL, and stands amazed
Why, how now, Cromwell!
CROMWELL
I have no power to speak, sir.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 2 443
Page No 447
CARDINAL WOLSEY
What, amazed
At my misfortunes? can thy spirit wonder
A great man should decline? Nay, an you weep,
I am fall'n indeed.
CROMWELL
How does your grace?
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Why, well;
Never so truly happy, my good Cromwell.
I know myself now; and I feel within me
A peace above all earthly dignities,
A still and quiet conscience. The king has cured me,
I humbly thank his grace; and from these shoulders,
These ruin'd pillars, out of pity, taken
A load would sink a navy, too much honour:
O, 'tis a burthen, Cromwell, 'tis a burthen
Too heavy for a man that hopes for heaven!
CROMWELL
I am glad your grace has made that right use of it.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
I hope I have: I am able now, methinks,
Out of a fortitude of soul I feel,
To endure more miseries and greater far
Than my weakhearted enemies dare offer.
What news abroad?
CROMWELL
The heaviest and the worst
Is your displeasure with the king.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
God bless him!
CROMWELL
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 2 444
Page No 448
The next is, that Sir Thomas More is chosen
Lord chancellor in your place.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
That's somewhat sudden:
But he's a learned man. May he continue
Long in his highness' favour, and do justice
For truth's sake and his conscience; that his bones,
When he has run his course and sleeps in blessings,
May have a tomb of orphans' tears wept on em! What more?
CROMWELL
That Cranmer is return'd with welcome,
Install'd lord archbishop of Canterbury.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
That's news indeed.
CROMWELL
Last, that the Lady Anne,
Whom the king hath in secrecy long married,
This day was view'd in open as his queen,
Going to chapel; and the voice is now
Only about her coronation.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
There was the weight that pull'd me down. O Cromwell,
The king has gone beyond me: all my glories
In that one woman I have lost for ever:
No sun shall ever usher forth mine honours,
Or gild again the noble troops that waited
Upon my smiles. Go, get thee from me, Cromwell;
I am a poor fall'n man, unworthy now
To be thy lord and master: seek the king;
That sun, I pray, may never set! I have told him
What and how true thou art: he will advance thee;
Some little memory of me will stir him
I know his noble naturenot to let
Thy hopeful service perish too: good Cromwell,
Neglect him not; make use now, and provide
For thine own future safety.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 2 445
Page No 449
CROMWELL
O my lord,
Must I, then, leave you? must I needs forego
So good, so noble and so true a master?
Bear witness, all that have not hearts of iron,
With what a sorrow Cromwell leaves his lord.
The king shall have my service: but my prayers
For ever and for ever shall be yours.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Cromwell, I did not think to shed a tear
In all my miseries; but thou hast forced me,
Out of thy honest truth, to play the woman.
Let's dry our eyes: and thus far hear me, Cromwell;
And, when I am forgotten, as I shall be,
And sleep in dull cold marble, where no mention
Of me more must be heard of, say, I taught thee,
Say, Wolsey, that once trod the ways of glory,
And sounded all the depths and shoals of honour,
Found thee a way, out of his wreck, to rise in;
A sure and safe one, though thy master miss'd it.
Mark but my fall, and that that ruin'd me.
Cromwell, I charge thee, fling away ambition:
By that sin fell the angels; how can man, then,
The image of his Maker, hope to win by it?
Love thyself last: cherish those hearts that hate thee;
Corruption wins not more than honesty.
Still in thy right hand carry gentle peace,
To silence envious tongues. Be just, and fear not:
Let all the ends thou aim'st at be thy country's,
Thy God's, and truth's; then if thou fall'st,
O Cromwell,
Thou fall'st a blessed martyr! Serve the king;
And,prithee, lead me in:
There take an inventory of all I have,
To the last penny; 'tis the king's: my robe,
And my integrity to heaven, is all
I dare now call mine own. O Cromwell, Cromwell!
Had I but served my God with half the zeal
I served my king, he would not in mine age
Have left me naked to mine enemies.
CROMWELL
Good sir, have patience.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 3, Scene 2 446
Page No 450
So I have. Farewell
The hopes of court! my hopes in heaven do dwell.
Exeunt
Act 4, Scene 1
A street in Westminster.
Enter two Gentlemen, meeting one another
First Gentleman
You're well met once again.
Second Gentleman
So are you.
First Gentleman
You come to take your stand here, and behold
The Lady Anne pass from her coronation?
Second Gentleman
'Tis all my business. At our last encounter,
The Duke of Buckingham came from his trial.
First Gentleman
'Tis very true: but that time offer'd sorrow;
This, general joy.
Second Gentleman
'Tis well: the citizens,
I am sure, have shown at full their royal minds
As, let 'em have their rights, they are ever forward
In celebration of this day with shows,
Pageants and sights of honour.
First Gentleman
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 1 447
Page No 451
Never greater,
Nor, I'll assure you, better taken, sir.
Second Gentleman
May I be bold to ask at what that contains,
That paper in your hand?
First Gentleman
Yes; 'tis the list
Of those that claim their offices this day
By custom of the coronation.
The Duke of Suffolk is the first, and claims
To be highsteward; next, the Duke of Norfolk,
He to be earl marshal: you may read the rest.
Second Gentleman
I thank you, sir: had I not known those customs,
I should have been beholding to your paper.
But, I beseech you, what's become of Katharine,
The princess dowager? how goes her business?
First Gentleman
That I can tell you too. The Archbishop
Of Canterbury, accompanied with other
Learned and reverend fathers of his order,
Held a late court at Dunstable, six miles off
From Ampthill where the princess lay; to which
She was often cited by them, but appear'd not:
And, to be short, for not appearance and
The king's late scruple, by the main assent
Of all these learned men she was divorced,
And the late marriage made of none effect
Since which she was removed to Kimbolton,
Where she remains now sick.
Second Gentleman
Alas, good lady!
Trumpets
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 1 448
Page No 452
The trumpets sound: stand close, the queen is coming.
Hautboys
THE ORDER OF THE CORONATION
1. A lively flourish of Trumpets.
2. Then, two Judges.
3. Lord Chancellor, with the purse and mace
before him.
4. Choristers, singing.
Music
5. Mayor of London, bearing the mace. Then
Garter, in his coat of arms, and on his
head a gilt copper crown.
6. Marquess Dorset, bearing a sceptre of gold,
on his head a demicoronal of gold. With
him, SURREY, bearing the rod of silver with
the dove, crowned with an earl's coronet.
Collars of SS.
7. SUFFOLK, in his robe of estate, his coronet
on his head, bearing a long white wand, as
highsteward. With him, NORFOLK, with the
rod of marshalship, a coronet on his head.
Collars of SS.
8. A canopy borne by four of the Cinqueports;
under it, QUEEN ANNE in her robe; in her hair
richly adorned with pearl, crowned. On each
side her, the Bishops of London and
Winchester.
9. The old Duchess of Norfolk, in a coronal of
gold, wrought with flowers, bearing QUEEN
ANNE's train.
10. Certain Ladies or Countesses, with plain
circlets of gold without flowers.
They pass over the stage in order and state
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 1 449
Page No 453
Second Gentleman
A royal train, believe me. These I know:
Who's that that bears the sceptre?
First Gentleman
Marquess Dorset:
And that the Earl of Surrey, with the rod.
Second Gentleman
A bold brave gentleman. That should be
The Duke of Suffolk?
First Gentleman
'Tis the same: highsteward.
Second Gentleman
And that my Lord of Norfolk?
First Gentleman
Yes;
Second Gentleman
Heaven bless thee!
Looking on QUEEN ANNE
Thou hast the sweetest face I ever look'd on.
Sir, as I have a soul, she is an angel;
Our king has all the Indies in his arms,
And more and richer, when he strains that lady:
I cannot blame his conscience.
First Gentleman
They that bear
The cloth of honour over her, are four barons
Of the Cinqueports.
Second Gentleman
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 1 450
Page No 454
Those men are happy; and so are all are near her.
I take it, she that carries up the train
Is that old noble lady, Duchess of Norfolk.
First Gentleman
It is; and all the rest are countesses.
Second Gentleman
Their coronets say so. These are stars indeed;
And sometimes falling ones.
First Gentleman
No more of that.
Exit procession, and then a great flourish of trumpets
Enter a third Gentleman
First Gentleman
God save you, sir! where have you been broiling?
Third Gentleman
Among the crowd i' the Abbey; where a finger
Could not be wedged in more: I am stifled
With the mere rankness of their joy.
Second Gentleman
You saw
The ceremony?
Third Gentleman
That I did.
First Gentleman
How was it?
Third Gentleman
Well worth the seeing.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 1 451
Page No 455
Second Gentleman
Good sir, speak it to us.
Third Gentleman
As well as I am able. The rich stream
Of lords and ladies, having brought the queen
To a prepared place in the choir, fell off
A distance from her; while her grace sat down
To rest awhile, some half an hour or so,
In a rich chair of state, opposing freely
The beauty of her person to the people.
Believe me, sir, she is the goodliest woman
That ever lay by man: which when the people
Had the full view of, such a noise arose
As the shrouds make at sea in a stiff tempest,
As loud, and to as many tunes: hats, cloaks
Doublets, I think,flew up; and had their faces
Been loose, this day they had been lost. Such joy
I never saw before. Greatbellied women,
That had not half a week to go, like rams
In the old time of war, would shake the press,
And make 'em reel before 'em. No man living
Could say 'This is my wife' there; all were woven
So strangely in one piece.
Second Gentleman
But, what follow'd?
Third Gentleman
At length her grace rose, and with modest paces
Came to the altar; where she kneel'd, and saintlike
Cast her fair eyes to heaven and pray'd devoutly.
Then rose again and bow'd her to the people:
When by the Archbishop of Canterbury
She had all the royal makings of a queen;
As holy oil, Edward Confessor's crown,
The rod, and bird of peace, and all such emblems
Laid nobly on her: which perform'd, the choir,
With all the choicest music of the kingdom,
Together sung 'Te Deum.' So she parted,
And with the same full state paced back again
To Yorkplace, where the feast is held.
First Gentleman
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 1 452
Page No 456
Sir,
You must no more call it Yorkplace, that's past;
For, since the cardinal fell, that title's lost:
'Tis now the king's, and call'd Whitehall.
Third Gentleman
I know it;
But 'tis so lately alter'd, that the old name
Is fresh about me.
Second Gentleman
What two reverend bishops
Were those that went on each side of the queen?
Third Gentleman
Stokesly and Gardiner; the one of Winchester,
Newly preferr'd from the king's secretary,
The other, London.
Second Gentleman
He of Winchester
Is held no great good lover of the archbishop's,
The virtuous Cranmer.
Third Gentleman
All the land knows that:
However, yet there is no great breach; when it comes,
Cranmer will find a friend will not shrink from him.
Second Gentleman
Who may that be, I pray you?
Third Gentleman
Thomas Cromwell;
A man in much esteem with the king, and truly
A worthy friend. The king has made him master
O' the jewel house,
And one, already, of the privy council.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 1 453
Page No 457
Second Gentleman
He will deserve more.
Third Gentleman
Yes, without all doubt.
Come, gentlemen, ye shall go my way, which
Is to the court, and there ye shall be my guests:
Something I can command. As I walk thither,
I'll tell ye more.
Both
You may command us, sir.
Exeunt
Act 4, Scene 2
Kimbolton.
Enter KATHARINE, Dowager, sick; led between GRIFFITH, her gentleman usher, and
PATIENCE, her woman
GRIFFITH
How does your grace?
KATHARINE
O Griffith, sick to death!
My legs, like loaden branches, bow to the earth,
Willing to leave their burthen. Reach a chair:
So; now, methinks, I feel a little ease.
Didst thou not tell me, Griffith, as thou led'st me,
That the great child of honour, Cardinal Wolsey, Was dead?
GRIFFITH
Yes, madam; but I think your grace,
Out of the pain you suffer'd, gave no ear to't.
KATHARINE
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 2 454
Page No 458
Prithee, good Griffith, tell me how he died:
If well, he stepp'd before me, happily
For my example.
GRIFFITH
Well, the voice goes, madam:
For after the stout Earl Northumberland
Arrested him at York, and brought him forward,
As a man sorely tainted, to his answer,
He fell sick suddenly, and grew so ill
He could not sit his mule.
KATHARINE
Alas, poor man!
GRIFFITH
At last, with easy roads, he came to Leicester,
Lodged in the abbey; where the reverend abbot,
With all his covent, honourably received him;
To whom he gave these words, 'O, father abbot,
An old man, broken with the storms of state,
Is come to lay his weary bones among ye;
Give him a little earth for charity!'
So went to bed; where eagerly his sickness
Pursued him still: and, three nights after this,
About the hour of eight, which he himself
Foretold should be his last, full of repentance,
Continual meditations, tears, and sorrows,
He gave his honours to the world again,
His blessed part to heaven, and slept in peace.
KATHARINE
So may he rest; his faults lie gently on him!
Yet thus far, Griffith, give me leave to speak him,
And yet with charity. He was a man
Of an unbounded stomach, ever ranking
Himself with princes; one that, by suggestion,
Tied all the kingdom: simony was fairplay;
His own opinion was his law: i' the presence
He would say untruths; and be ever double
Both in his words and meaning: he was never,
But where he meant to ruin, pitiful:
His promises were, as he then was, mighty;
But his performance, as he is now, nothing:
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 2 455
Page No 459
Of his own body he was ill, and gave
The clergy in example.
GRIFFITH
Noble madam,
Men's evil manners live in brass; their virtues
We write in water. May it please your highness
To hear me speak his good now?
KATHARINE
Yes, good Griffith;
I were malicious else.
GRIFFITH
This cardinal,
Though from an humble stock, undoubtedly
Was fashion'd to much honour from his cradle.
He was a scholar, and a ripe and good one;
Exceeding wise, fairspoken, and persuading:
Lofty and sour to them that loved him not;
But to those men that sought him sweet as summer.
And though he were unsatisfied in getting,
Which was a sin, yet in bestowing, madam,
He was most princely: ever witness for him
Those twins Of learning that he raised in you,
Ipswich and Oxford! one of which fell with him,
Unwilling to outlive the good that did it;
The other, though unfinish'd, yet so famous,
So excellent in art, and still so rising,
That Christendom shall ever speak his virtue.
His overthrow heap'd happiness upon him;
For then, and not till then, he felt himself,
And found the blessedness of being little:
And, to add greater honours to his age
Than man could give him, he died fearing God.
KATHARINE
After my death I wish no other herald,
No other speaker of my living actions,
To keep mine honour from corruption,
But such an honest chronicler as Griffith.
Whom I most hated living, thou hast made me,
With thy religious truth and modesty,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 2 456
Page No 460
Now in his ashes honour: peace be with him!
Patience, be near me still; and set me lower:
I have not long to trouble thee. Good Griffith,
Cause the musicians play me that sad note
I named my knell, whilst I sit meditating
On that celestial harmony I go to.
Sad and solemn music
GRIFFITH
She is asleep: good wench, let's sit down quiet,
For fear we wake her: softly, gentle Patience.
The vision. Enter, solemnly tripping one after another, six personages, clad in white robes,
wearing on their heads garlands of bays, and golden vizards on their faces; branches of bays
or palm in their hands. They first congee unto her, then dance; and, at certain changes, the
first two hold a spare garland over her head; at which the other four make reverent curtsies;
then the two that held the garland deliver the same to the other next two, who observe the
same order in their changes, and holding the garland over her head: which done, they
deliver the same garland to the last two, who likewise observe the same order: at which, as it
were by inspiration, she makes in her sleep signs of rejoicing, and holdeth up her hands to
heaven: and so in their dancing vanish, carrying the garland with them. The music continues
KATHARINE
Spirits of peace, where are ye? are ye all gone,
And leave me here in wretchedness behind ye?
GRIFFITH
Madam, we are here.
KATHARINE
It is not you I call for:
Saw ye none enter since I slept?
GRIFFITH
None, madam.
KATHARINE
No? Saw you not, even now, a blessed troop
Invite me to a banquet; whose bright faces
Cast thousand beams upon me, like the sun?
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 2 457
Page No 461
They promised me eternal happiness;
And brought me garlands, Griffith, which I feel
I am not worthy yet to wear: I shall, assuredly.
GRIFFITH
I am most joyful, madam, such good dreams
Possess your fancy.
KATHARINE
Bid the music leave,
They are harsh and heavy to me.
Music ceases
PATIENCE
Do you note
How much her grace is alter'd on the sudden?
How long her face is drawn? how pale she looks,
And of an earthy cold? Mark her eyes!
GRIFFITH
She is going, wench: pray, pray.
PATIENCE
Heaven comfort her!
Enter a Messenger
Messenger
An't like your grace,
KATHARINE
You are a saucy fellow:
Deserve we no more reverence?
GRIFFITH
You are to blame,
Knowing she will not lose her wonted greatness,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 2 458
Page No 462
To use so rude behavior; go to, kneel.
Messenger
I humbly do entreat your highness' pardon;
My haste made me unmannerly. There is staying
A gentleman, sent from the king, to see you.
KATHARINE
Admit him entrance, Griffith: but this fellow
Let me ne'er see again.
Exeunt GRIFFITH and Messenger
Reenter GRIFFITH, with CAPUCIUS
If my sight fail not,
You should be lord ambassador from the emperor,
My royal nephew, and your name Capucius.
CAPUCIUS
Madam, the same; your servant.
KATHARINE
O, my lord,
The times and titles now are alter'd strangely
With me since first you knew me. But, I pray you,
What is your pleasure with me?
CAPUCIUS
Noble lady,
First mine own service to your grace; the next,
The king's request that I would visit you;
Who grieves much for your weakness, and by me
Sends you his princely commendations,
And heartily entreats you take good comfort.
KATHARINE
O my good lord, that comfort comes too late;
'Tis like a pardon after execution:
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 2 459
Page No 463
That gentle physic, given in time, had cured me;
But now I am past an comforts here, but prayers.
How does his highness?
CAPUCIUS
Madam, in good health.
KATHARINE
So may he ever do! and ever flourish,
When I shall dwell with worms, and my poor name
Banish'd the kingdom! Patience, is that letter,
I caused you write, yet sent away?
PATIENCE
No, madam.
Giving it to KATHARINE
KATHARINE
Sir, I most humbly pray you to deliver
This to my lord the king.
CAPUCIUS
Most willing, madam.
KATHARINE
In which I have commended to his goodness
The model of our chaste loves, his young daughter;
The dews of heaven fall thick in blessings on her!
Beseeching him to give her virtuous breeding
She is young, and of a noble modest nature,
I hope she will deserve well,and a little
To love her for her mother's sake, that loved him,
Heaven knows how dearly. My next poor petition
Is, that his noble grace would have some pity
Upon my wretched women, that so long
Have follow'd both my fortunes faithfully:
Of which there is not one, I dare avow,
And now I should not lie, but will deserve
For virtue and true beauty of the soul,
For honesty and decent carriage,
A right good husband, let him be a noble
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 4, Scene 2 460
Page No 464
And, sure, those men are happy that shall have 'em.
The last is, for my men; they are the poorest,
But poverty could never draw 'em from me;
That they may have their wages duly paid 'em,
And something over to remember me by:
If heaven had pleased to have given me longer life
And able means, we had not parted thus.
These are the whole contents: and, good my lord,
By that you love the dearest in this world,
As you wish Christian peace to souls departed,
Stand these poor people's friend, and urge the king
To do me this last right.
CAPUCIUS
By heaven, I will,
Or let me lose the fashion of a man!
KATHARINE
I thank you, honest lord. Remember me
In all humility unto his highness:
Say his long trouble now is passing
Out of this world; tell him, in death I bless'd him,
For so I will. Mine eyes grow dim. Farewell,
My lord. Griffith, farewell. Nay, Patience,
You must not leave me yet: I must to bed;
Call in more women. When I am dead, good wench,
Let me be used with honour: strew me over
With maiden flowers, that all the world may know
I was a chaste wife to my grave: embalm me,
Then lay me forth: although unqueen'd, yet like
A queen, and daughter to a king, inter me.
I can no more.
Exeunt, leading KATHARINE
Act 5, Scene 1
London. A gallery in the palace.
Enter GARDINER, Bishop of Winchester, a Page with a torch before him, met by LOVELL
GARDINER
It's one o'clock, boy, is't not?
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 1 461
Page No 465
Boy
It hath struck.
GARDINER
These should be hours for necessities,
Not for delights; times to repair our nature
With comforting repose, and not for us
To waste these times. Good hour of night, Sir Thomas!
Whither so late?
LOVELL
Came you from the king, my lord
GARDINER
I did, Sir Thomas: and left him at primero
With the Duke of Suffolk.
LOVELL
I must to him too,
Before he go to bed. I'll take my leave.
GARDINER
Not yet, Sir Thomas Lovell. What's the matter?
It seems you are in haste: an if there be
No great offence belongs to't, give your friend
Some touch of your late business: affairs, that walk,
As they say spirits do, at midnight, have
In them a wilder nature than the business
That seeks dispatch by day.
LOVELL
My lord, I love you;
And durst commend a secret to your ear
Much weightier than this work. The queen's in labour,
They say, in great extremity; and fear'd
She'll with the labour end.
GARDINER
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 1 462
Page No 466
The fruit she goes with
I pray for heartily, that it may find
Good time, and live: but for the stock, Sir Thomas,
I wish it grubb'd up now.
LOVELL
Methinks I could
Cry the amen; and yet my conscience says
She's a good creature, and, sweet lady, does
Deserve our better wishes.
GARDINER
But, sir, sir,
Hear me, Sir Thomas: you're a gentleman
Of mine own way; I know you wise, religious;
And, let me tell you, it will ne'er be well,
'Twill not, Sir Thomas Lovell, take't of me,
Till Cranmer, Cromwell, her two hands, and she,
Sleep in their graves.
LOVELL
Now, sir, you speak of two
The most remark'd i' the kingdom. As for Cromwell,
Beside that of the jewel house, is made master
O' the rolls, and the king's secretary; further, sir,
Stands in the gap and trade of moe preferments,
With which the time will load him. The archbishop
Is the king's hand and tongue; and who dare speak
One syllable against him?
GARDINER
Yes, yes, Sir Thomas,
There are that dare; and I myself have ventured
To speak my mind of him: and indeed this day,
Sir, I may tell it you, I think I have
Incensed the lords o' the council, that he is,
For so I know he is, they know he is,
A most arch heretic, a pestilence
That does infect the land: with which they moved
Have broken with the king; who hath so far
Given ear to our complaint, of his great grace
And princely care foreseeing those fell mischiefs
Our reasons laid before him, hath commanded
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 1 463
Page No 467
Tomorrow morning to the councilboard
He be convented. He's a rank weed, Sir Thomas,
And we must root him out. From your affairs
I hinder you too long: good night, Sir Thomas.
LOVELL
Many good nights, my lord: I rest your servant.
Exeunt GARDINER and Page
Enter KING HENRY VIII and SUFFOLK
KING HENRY VIII
Charles, I will play no more tonight;
My mind's not on't; you are too hard for me.
SUFFOLK
Sir, I did never win of you before.
KING HENRY VIII
But little, Charles;
Nor shall not, when my fancy's on my play.
Now, Lovell, from the queen what is the news?
LOVELL
I could not personally deliver to her
What you commanded me, but by her woman
I sent your message; who return'd her thanks
In the great'st humbleness, and desired your highness
Most heartily to pray for her.
KING HENRY VIII
What say'st thou, ha?
To pray for her? what, is she crying out?
LOVELL
So said her woman; and that her sufferance made
Almost each pang a death.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 1 464
Page No 468
KING HENRY VIII
Alas, good lady!
SUFFOLK
God safely quit her of her burthen, and
With gentle travail, to the gladding of
Your highness with an heir!
KING HENRY VIII
'Tis midnight, Charles;
Prithee, to bed; and in thy prayers remember
The estate of my poor queen. Leave me alone;
For I must think of that which company
Would not be friendly to.
SUFFOLK
I wish your highness
A quiet night; and my good mistress will
Remember in my prayers.
KING HENRY VIII
Charles, good night.
Exit SUFFOLK
Enter DENNY
Well, sir, what follows?
DENNY
Sir, I have brought my lord the archbishop,
As you commanded me.
KING HENRY VIII
Ha! Canterbury?
DENNY
Ay, my good lord.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 1 465
Page No 469
KING HENRY VIII
'Tis true: where is he, Denny?
DENNY
He attends your highness' pleasure.
Exit DENNY
LOVELL
[Aside] This is about that which the bishop spake:
I am happily come hither.
Reenter DENNY, with CRANMER
KING HENRY VIII
Avoid the gallery.
LOVELL seems to stay
Ha! I have said. Be gone. What!
Exeunt LOVELL and DENNY
CRANMER
[Aside]
I am fearful: wherefore frowns he thus?
'Tis his aspect of terror. All's not well.
KING HENRY VIII
How now, my lord! you desire to know
Wherefore I sent for you.
CRANMER
[Kneeling] It is my duty
To attend your highness' pleasure.
KING HENRY VIII
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 1 466
Page No 470
Pray you, arise,
My good and gracious Lord of Canterbury.
Come, you and I must walk a turn together;
I have news to tell you: come, come, give me your hand.
Ah, my good lord, I grieve at what I speak,
And am right sorry to repeat what follows
I have, and most unwillingly, of late
Heard many grievous, I do say, my lord,
Grievous complaints of you; which, being consider'd,
Have moved us and our council, that you shall
This morning come before us; where, I know,
You cannot with such freedom purge yourself,
But that, till further trial in those charges
Which will require your answer, you must take
Your patience to you, and be well contented
To make your house our Tower: you a brother of us,
It fits we thus proceed, or else no witness
Would come against you.
CRANMER
[Kneeling]
I humbly thank your highness;
And am right glad to catch this good occasion
Most throughly to be winnow'd, where my chaff
And corn shall fly asunder: for, I know,
There's none stands under more calumnious tongues
Than I myself, poor man.
KING HENRY VIII
Stand up, good Canterbury:
Thy truth and thy integrity is rooted
In us, thy friend: give me thy hand, stand up:
Prithee, let's walk. Now, by my holidame.
What manner of man are you? My lord, I look'd
You would have given me your petition, that
I should have ta'en some pains to bring together
Yourself and your accusers; and to have heard you,
Without indurance, further.
CRANMER
Most dread liege,
The good I stand on is my truth and honesty:
If they shall fail, I, with mine enemies,
Will triumph o'er my person; which I weigh not,
Being of those virtues vacant. I fear nothing
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 1 467
Page No 471
What can be said against me.
KING HENRY VIII
Know you not
How your state stands i' the world, with the whole world?
Your enemies are many, and not small; their practises
Must bear the same proportion; and not ever
The justice and the truth o' the question carries
The due o' the verdict with it: at what ease
Might corrupt minds procure knaves as corrupt
To swear against you? such things have been done.
You are potently opposed; and with a malice
Of as great size. Ween you of better luck,
I mean, in perjured witness, than your master,
Whose minister you are, whiles here he lived
Upon this naughty earth? Go to, go to;
You take a precipice for no leap of danger,
And woo your own destruction.
CRANMER
God and your majesty
Protect mine innocence, or I fall into
The trap is laid for me!
KING HENRY VIII
Be of good cheer;
They shall no more prevail than we give way to.
Keep comfort to you; and this morning see
You do appear before them: if they shall chance,
In charging you with matters, to commit you,
The best persuasions to the contrary
Fail not to use, and with what vehemency
The occasion shall instruct you: if entreaties
Will render you no remedy, this ring
Deliver them, and your appeal to us
There make before them. Look, the good man weeps!
He's honest, on mine honour. God's blest mother!
I swear he is truehearted; and a soul
None better in my kingdom. Get you gone,
And do as I have bid you.
Exit CRANMER
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 1 468
Page No 472
He has strangled
His language in his tears.
Enter Old Lady, LOVELL following
Gentleman
[Within] Come back: what mean you?
Old Lady
I'll not come back; the tidings that I bring
Will make my boldness manners. Now, good angels
Fly o'er thy royal head, and shade thy person
Under their blessed wings!
KING HENRY VIII
Now, by thy looks
I guess thy message. Is the queen deliver'd?
Say, ay; and of a boy.
Old Lady
Ay, ay, my liege;
And of a lovely boy: the God of heaven
Both now and ever bless her! 'tis a girl,
Promises boys hereafter. Sir, your queen
Desires your visitation, and to be
Acquainted with this stranger 'tis as like you
As cherry is to cherry.
KING HENRY VIII
Lovell!
LOVELL
Sir?
KING HENRY VIII
Give her an hundred marks. I'll to the queen.
Exit
Old Lady
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 1 469
Page No 473
An hundred marks! By this light, I'll ha' more.
An ordinary groom is for such payment.
I will have more, or scold it out of him.
Said I for this, the girl was like to him?
I will have more, or else unsay't; and now,
While it is hot, I'll put it to the issue.
Exeunt
Act 5, Scene 2
Before the councilchamber. Pursuivants, Pages,
attending.
Enter CRANMER
CRANMER
I hope I am not too late; and yet the gentleman,
That was sent to me from the council, pray'd me
To make great haste. All fast? what means this? Ho!
Who waits there? Sure, you know me?
Enter Keeper
Keeper
Yes, my lord;
But yet I cannot help you.
CRANMER
Why?
Enter DOCTOR BUTTS
Keeper
Your grace must wait till you be call'd for.
CRANMER
So.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 2 470
Page No 474
DOCTOR BUTTS
[Aside] This is a piece of malice. I am glad
I came this way so happily: the king
Shall understand it presently.
Exit
CRANMER [Aside]
'Tis Butts,
The king's physician: as he pass'd along,
How earnestly he cast his eyes upon me!
Pray heaven, he sound not my disgrace! For certain,
This is of purpose laid by some that hate me
God turn their hearts! I never sought their malice
To quench mine honour: they would shame to make me
Wait else at door, a fellowcounsellor,
'Mong boys, grooms, and lackeys. But their pleasures
Must be fulfill'd, and I attend with patience.
Enter the KING HENRY VIII and DOCTOR BUTTS at a window above
DOCTOR BUTTS
I'll show your grace the strangest sight
KING HENRY VIII
What's that, Butts?
DOCTOR BUTTS
I think your highness saw this many a day.
KING HENRY VIII
Body o' me, where is it?
DOCTOR BUTTS
There, my lord:
The high promotion of his grace of Canterbury;
Who holds his state at door, 'mongst pursuivants,
Pages, and footboys.
KING HENRY VIII
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 2 471
Page No 475
Ha! 'tis he, indeed:
Is this the honour they do one another?
'Tis well there's one above 'em yet. I had thought
They had parted so much honesty among 'em
At least, good manners, as not thus to suffer
A man of his place, and so near our favour,
To dance attendance on their lordships' pleasures,
And at the door too, like a post with packets.
By holy Mary, Butts, there's knavery:
Let 'em alone, and draw the curtain close:
We shall hear more anon.
Exeunt
Act 5, Scene 3
The CouncilChamber.
Enter Chancellor; places himself at the upper end of the table on the left hand; a seat being
left void above him, as for CRANMER's seat. SUFFOLK, NORFOLK, SURREY,
Chamberlain, GARDINER, seat themselves in order on each side. CROMWELL at lower
end, as secretary. Keeper at the door
Chancellor
Speak to the business, mastersecretary:
Why are we met in council?
CROMWELL
Please your honours,
The chief cause concerns his grace of Canterbury.
GARDINER
Has he had knowledge of it?
CROMWELL
Yes.
NORFOLK
Who waits there?
Keeper
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 3 472
Page No 476
Without, my noble lords?
GARDINER
Yes.
Keeper
My lord archbishop;
And has done half an hour, to know your pleasures.
Chancellor
Let him come in.
Keeper
Your grace may enter now.
CRANMER enters and approaches the counciltable
Chancellor
My good lord archbishop, I'm very sorry
To sit here at this present, and behold
That chair stand empty: but we all are men,
In our own natures frail, and capable
Of our flesh; few are angels: out of which frailty
And want of wisdom, you, that best should teach us,
Have misdemean'd yourself, and not a little,
Toward the king first, then his laws, in filling
The whole realm, by your teaching and your chaplains,
For so we are inform'd, with new opinions,
Divers and dangerous; which are heresies,
And, not reform'd, may prove pernicious.
GARDINER
Which reformation must be sudden too,
My noble lords; for those that tame wild horses
Pace 'em not in their hands to make 'em gentle,
But stop their mouths with stubborn bits, and spur 'em,
Till they obey the manage. If we suffer,
Out of our easiness and childish pity
To one man's honour, this contagious sickness,
Farewell all physic: and what follows then?
Commotions, uproars, with a general taint
Of the whole state: as, of late days, our neighbours,
The upper Germany, can dearly witness,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 3 473
Page No 477
Yet freshly pitied in our memories.
CRANMER
My good lords, hitherto, in all the progress
Both of my life and office, I have labour'd,
And with no little study, that my teaching
And the strong course of my authority
Might go one way, and safely; and the end
Was ever, to do well: nor is there living,
I speak it with a single heart, my lords,
A man that more detests, more stirs against,
Both in his private conscience and his place,
Defacers of a public peace, than I do.
Pray heaven, the king may never find a heart
With less allegiance in it! Men that make
Envy and crooked malice nourishment
Dare bite the best. I do beseech your lordships,
That, in this case of justice, my accusers,
Be what they will, may stand forth face to face,
And freely urge against me.
SUFFOLK
Nay, my lord,
That cannot be: you are a counsellor,
And, by that virtue, no man dare accuse you.
GARDINER
My lord, because we have business of more moment,
We will be short with you. 'Tis his highness' pleasure,
And our consent, for better trial of you,
From hence you be committed to the Tower;
Where, being but a private man again,
You shall know many dare accuse you boldly,
More than, I fear, you are provided for.
CRANMER
Ah, my good Lord of Winchester, I thank you;
You are always my good friend; if your will pass,
I shall both find your lordship judge and juror,
You are so merciful: I see your end;
'Tis my undoing: love and meekness, lord,
Become a churchman better than ambition:
Win straying souls with modesty again,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 3 474
Page No 478
Cast none away. That I shall clear myself,
Lay all the weight ye can upon my patience,
I make as little doubt, as you do conscience
In doing daily wrongs. I could say more,
But reverence to your calling makes me modest.
GARDINER
My lord, my lord, you are a sectary,
That's the plain truth: your painted gloss discovers,
To men that understand you, words and weakness.
CROMWELL
My Lord of Winchester, you are a little,
By your good favour, too sharp; men so noble,
However faulty, yet should find respect
For what they have been: 'tis a cruelty
To load a falling man.
GARDINER
Good master secretary,
I cry your honour mercy; you may, worst
Of all this table, say so.
CROMWELL
Why, my lord?
GARDINER
Do not I know you for a favourer
Of this new sect? ye are not sound.
CROMWELL
Not sound?
GARDINER
Not sound, I say.
CROMWELL
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 3 475
Page No 479
Would you were half so honest!
Men's prayers then would seek you, not their fears.
GARDINER
I shall remember this bold language.
CROMWELL
Do.
Remember your bold life too.
Chancellor
This is too much;
Forbear, for shame, my lords.
GARDINER
I have done.
CROMWELL
And I.
Chancellor
Then thus for you, my lord: it stands agreed,
I take it, by all voices, that forthwith
You be convey'd to the Tower a prisoner;
There to remain till the king's further pleasure
Be known unto us: are you all agreed, lords?
All
We are.
CRANMER
Is there no other way of mercy,
But I must needs to the Tower, my lords?
GARDINER
What other
Would you expect? you are strangely troublesome.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 3 476
Page No 480
Let some o' the guard be ready there.
Enter Guard
CRANMER
For me?
Must I go like a traitor thither?
GARDINER
Receive him,
And see him safe i' the Tower.
CRANMER
Stay, good my lords,
I have a little yet to say. Look there, my lords;
By virtue of that ring, I take my cause
Out of the gripes of cruel men, and give it
To a most noble judge, the king my master.
Chamberlain
This is the king's ring.
SURREY
'Tis no counterfeit.
SUFFOLK
'Tis the right ring, by heaven: I told ye all,
When ye first put this dangerous stone arolling,
'Twould fall upon ourselves.
NORFOLK
Do you think, my lords,
The king will suffer but the little finger
Of this man to be vex'd?
Chancellor
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 3 477
Page No 481
'Tis now too certain:
How much more is his life in value with him?
Would I were fairly out on't!
CROMWELL
My mind gave me,
In seeking tales and informations
Against this man, whose honesty the devil
And his disciples only envy at,
Ye blew the fire that burns ye: now have at ye!
Enter KING, frowning on them; takes his seat
GARDINER
Dread sovereign, how much are we bound to heaven
In daily thanks, that gave us such a prince;
Not only good and wise, but most religious:
One that, in all obedience, makes the church
The chief aim of his honour; and, to strengthen
That holy duty, out of dear respect,
His royal self in judgment comes to hear
The cause betwixt her and this great offender.
KING HENRY VIII
You were ever good at sudden commendations,
Bishop of Winchester. But know, I come not
To hear such flattery now, and in my presence;
They are too thin and bare to hide offences.
To me you cannot reach, you play the spaniel,
And think with wagging of your tongue to win me;
But, whatsoe'er thou takest me for, I'm sure
Thou hast a cruel nature and a bloody.
To CRANMER
Good man, sit down. Now let me see the proudest
He, that dares most, but wag his finger at thee:
By all that's holy, he had better starve
Than but once think this place becomes thee not.
SURREY
May it please your grace,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 3 478
Page No 482
KING HENRY VIII
No, sir, it does not please me.
I had thought I had had men of some understanding
And wisdom of my council; but I find none.
Was it discretion, lords, to let this man,
This good man,few of you deserve that title,
This honest man, wait like a lousy footboy
At chamberdoor? and one as great as you are?
Why, what a shame was this! Did my commission
Bid ye so far forget yourselves? I gave ye
Power as he was a counsellor to try him,
Not as a groom: there's some of ye, I see,
More out of malice than integrity,
Would try him to the utmost, had ye mean;
Which ye shall never have while I live.
Chancellor
Thus far,
My most dread sovereign, may it like your grace
To let my tongue excuse all. What was purposed
Concerning his imprisonment, was rather,
If there be faith in men, meant for his trial,
And fair purgation to the world, than malice,
I'm sure, in me.
KING HENRY VIII
Well, well, my lords, respect him;
Take him, and use him well, he's worthy of it.
I will say thus much for him, if a prince
May be beholding to a subject, I
Am, for his love and service, so to him.
Make me no more ado, but all embrace him:
Be friends, for shame, my lords! My Lord of
Canterbury,
I have a suit which you must not deny me;
That is, a fair young maid that yet wants baptism,
You must be godfather, and answer for her.
CRANMER
The greatest monarch now alive may glory
In such an honour: how may I deserve it
That am a poor and humble subject to you?
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 3 479
Page No 483
KING HENRY VIII
Come, come, my lord, you'ld spare your spoons: you
shall have two noble partners with you; the old
Duchess of Norfolk, and Lady Marquess Dorset: will
these please you?
Once more, my Lord of Winchester, I charge you,
Embrace and love this man.
GARDINER
With a true heart
And brotherlove I do it.
CRANMER
And let heaven
Witness, how dear I hold this confirmation.
KING HENRY VIII
Good man, those joyful tears show thy true heart:
The common voice, I see, is verified
Of thee, which says thus, 'Do my Lord of Canterbury
A shrewd turn, and he is your friend for ever.'
Come, lords, we trifle time away; I long
To have this young one made a Christian.
As I have made ye one, lords, one remain;
So I grow stronger, you more honour gain.
Exeunt
Act 5, Scene 4
The palace yard.
Noise and tumult within. Enter Porter and his Man
Porter
You'll leave your noise anon, ye rascals: do you
take the court for Parisgarden? ye rude slaves,
leave your gaping.
Within
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 4 480
Page No 484
Good master porter, I belong to the larder.
Porter
Belong to the gallows, and be hanged, ye rogue! is
this a place to roar in? Fetch me a dozen crabtree
staves, and strong ones: these are but switches to
'em. I'll scratch your heads: you must be seeing
christenings? do you look for ale and cakes here,
you rude rascals?
Man
Pray, sir, be patient: 'tis as much impossible
Unless we sweep 'em from the door with cannons
To scatter 'em, as 'tis to make 'em sleep
On Mayday morning; which will never be:
We may as well push against Powle's, as stir em.
Porter
How got they in, and be hang'd?
Man
Alas, I know not; how gets the tide in?
As much as one sound cudgel of four foot
You see the poor remaindercould distribute,
I made no spare, sir.
Porter
You did nothing, sir.
Man
I am not Samson, nor Sir Guy, nor Colbrand,
To mow 'em down before me: but if I spared any
That had a head to hit, either young or old,
He or she, cuckold or cuckoldmaker,
Let me ne'er hope to see a chine again
And that I would not for a cow, God save her!
Within
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 4 481
Page No 485
Do you hear, master porter?
Porter
I shall be with you presently, good master puppy.
Keep the door close, sirrah.
Man
What would you have me do?
Porter
What should you do, but knock 'em down by the
dozens? Is this Moorfields to muster in? or have
we some strange Indian with the great tool come to
court, the women so besiege us? Bless me, what a
fry of fornication is at door! On my Christian
conscience, this one christening will beget a
thousand; here will be father, godfather, and all together.
Man
The spoons will be the bigger, sir. There is a
fellow somewhat near the door, he should be a
brazier by his face, for, o' my conscience, twenty
of the dogdays now reign in's nose; all that stand
about him are under the line, they need no other
penance: that firedrake did I hit three times on
the head, and three times was his nose discharged
against me; he stands there, like a mortarpiece, to
blow us. There was a haberdasher's wife of small
wit near him, that railed upon me till her pinked
porringer fell off her head, for kindling such a
combustion in the state. I missed the meteor once,
and hit that woman; who cried out 'Clubs!' when I
might see from far some forty truncheoners draw to
her succor, which were the hope o' the Strand, where
she was quartered. They fell on; I made good my
place: at length they came to the broomstaff to
me; I defied 'em still: when suddenly a file of
boys behind 'em, loose shot, delivered such a shower
of pebbles, that I was fain to draw mine honour in,
and let 'em win the work: the devil was amongst
'em, I think, surely.
Porter
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 4 482
Page No 486
These are the youths that thunder at a playhouse,
and fight for bitten apples; that no audience, but
the tribulation of Towerhill, or the limbs of
Limehouse, their dear brothers, are able to endure.
I have some of 'em in Limbo Patrum, and there they
are like to dance these three days; besides the
running banquet of two beadles that is to come.
Enter Chamberlain
Chamberlain
Mercy o' me, what a multitude are here!
They grow still too; from all parts they are coming,
As if we kept a fair here! Where are these porters,
These lazy knaves? Ye have made a fine hand, fellows:
There's a trim rabble let in: are all these
Your faithful friends o' the suburbs? We shall have
Great store of room, no doubt, left for the ladies,
When they pass back from the christening.
Porter
An't please
your honour,
We are but men; and what so many may do,
Not being torn apieces, we have done:
An army cannot rule 'em.
Chamberlain
As I live,
If the king blame me for't, I'll lay ye all
By the heels, and suddenly; and on your heads
Clap round fines for neglect: ye are lazy knaves;
And here ye lie baiting of bombards, when
Ye should do service. Hark! the trumpets sound;
They're come already from the christening:
Go, break among the press, and find a way out
To let the troop pass fairly; or I'll find
A Marshalsea shall hold ye play these two months.
Porter
Make way there for the princess.
Man
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 4 483
Page No 487
You great fellow,
Stand close up, or I'll make your head ache.
Porter
You i' the camlet, get up o' the rail;
I'll peck you o'er the pales else.
Exeunt
Act 5, Scene 5
The palace.
Enter trumpets, sounding; then two Aldermen, Lord Mayor, Garter, CRANMER, NORFOLK
with his marshal's staff, SUFFOLK, two Noblemen bearing great standingbowls for the
christeninggifts; then four Noblemen bearing a canopy, under which the Duchess of
Norfolk, godmother, bearing the child richly habited in a mantle, train borne by a Lady; then
follows the Marchioness Dorset, the other godmother, and Ladies. The troop pass once about
the stage, and Garter speaks
Garter
Heaven, from thy endless goodness, send prosperous
life, long, and ever happy, to the high and mighty
princess of England, Elizabeth!
Flourish. Enter KING HENRY VIII and Guard
CRANMER
[Kneeling] And to your royal grace, and the good queen,
My noble partners, and myself, thus pray:
All comfort, joy, in this most gracious lady,
Heaven ever laid up to make parents happy,
May hourly fall upon ye!
KING HENRY VIII
Thank you, good lord archbishop:
What is her name?
CRANMER
Elizabeth.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 5 484
Page No 488
KING HENRY VIII
Stand up, lord.
KING HENRY VIII kisses the child
With this kiss take my blessing: God protect thee!
Into whose hand I give thy life.
CRANMER
Amen.
KING HENRY VIII
My noble gossips, ye have been too prodigal:
I thank ye heartily; so shall this lady,
When she has so much English.
CRANMER
Let me speak, sir,
For heaven now bids me; and the words I utter
Let none think flattery, for they'll find 'em truth.
This royal infantheaven still move about her!
Though in her cradle, yet now promises
Upon this land a thousand thousand blessings,
Which time shall bring to ripeness: she shall be
But few now living can behold that goodness
A pattern to all princes living with her,
And all that shall succeed: Saba was never
More covetous of wisdom and fair virtue
Than this pure soul shall be: all princely graces,
That mould up such a mighty piece as this is,
With all the virtues that attend the good,
Shall still be doubled on her: truth shall nurse her,
Holy and heavenly thoughts still counsel her:
She shall be loved and fear'd: her own shall bless her;
Her foes shake like a field of beaten corn,
And hang their heads with sorrow: good grows with her:
In her days every man shall eat in safety,
Under his own vine, what he plants; and sing
The merry songs of peace to all his neighbours:
God shall be truly known; and those about her
From her shall read the perfect ways of honour,
And by those claim their greatness, not by blood.
Nor shall this peace sleep with her: but as when
The bird of wonder dies, the maiden phoenix,
Her ashes new create another heir,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 5 485
Page No 489
As great in admiration as herself;
So shall she leave her blessedness to one,
When heaven shall call her from this cloud of darkness,
Who from the sacred ashes of her honour
Shall starlike rise, as great in fame as she was,
And so stand fix'd: peace, plenty, love, truth, terror,
That were the servants to this chosen infant,
Shall then be his, and like a vine grow to him:
Wherever the bright sun of heaven shall shine,
His honour and the greatness of his name
Shall be, and make new nations: he shall flourish,
And, like a mountain cedar, reach his branches
To all the plains about him: our children's children
Shall see this, and bless heaven.
KING HENRY VIII
Thou speakest wonders.
CRANMER
She shall be, to the happiness of England,
An aged princess; many days shall see her,
And yet no day without a deed to crown it.
Would I had known no more! but she must die,
She must, the saints must have her; yet a virgin,
A most unspotted lily shall she pass
To the ground, and all the world shall mourn her.
KING HENRY VIII
O lord archbishop,
Thou hast made me now a man! never, before
This happy child, did I get any thing:
This oracle of comfort has so pleased me,
That when I am in heaven I shall desire
To see what this child does, and praise my Maker.
I thank ye all. To you, my good lord mayor,
And your good brethren, I am much beholding;
I have received much honour by your presence,
And ye shall find me thankful. Lead the way, lords:
Ye must all see the queen, and she must thank ye,
She will be sick else. This day, no man think
Has business at his house; for all shall stay:
This little one shall make it holiday.
Exeunt
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 5 486
Page No 490
EPILOGUE
'Tis ten to one this play can never please
All that are here: some come to take their ease,
And sleep an act or two; but those, we fear,
We have frighted with our trumpets; so, 'tis clear,
They'll say 'tis naught: others, to hear the city
Abused extremely, and to cry 'That's witty!'
Which we have not done neither: that, I fear,
All the expected good we're like to hear
For this play at this time, is only in
The merciful construction of good women;
For such a one we show'd 'em: if they smile,
And say 'twill do, I know, within a while
All the best men are ours; for 'tis ill hap,
If they hold when their ladies bid 'em clap.
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII
Act 5, Scene 5 487
Bookmarks
1. Table of Contents, page = 3
2. King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry VIII, page = 5
3. William Shakespeare, page = 5
4. King John, page = 6
5. Act 1, Scene 1, page = 6
6. Act 2, Scene 1, page = 16
7. Act 3, Scene 1, page = 37
8. Act 3, Scene 2, page = 49
9. Act 3, Scene 3, page = 50
10. Act 3, Scene 4, page = 53
11. Act 4, Scene 1, page = 59
12. Act 4, Scene 2, page = 66
13. Act 4, Scene 3, page = 75
14. Act 5, Scene 1, page = 83
15. Act 5, Scene 2, page = 86
16. Act 5, Scene 3, page = 91
17. Act 5, Scene 4, page = 92
18. Act 5, Scene 5, page = 94
19. Act 5, Scene 6, page = 95
20. Act 5, Scene 7, page = 98
21. Richard II, page = 104
22. Act 1, Scene 1, page = 104
23. Act 1, Scene 2, page = 110
24. Act 1, Scene 3, page = 112
25. Act 1, Scene 4, page = 123
26. Act 2, Scene 1, page = 126
27. Act 2, Scene 2, page = 136
28. Act 2, Scene 3, page = 142
29. Act 2, Scene 4, page = 149
30. Act 3, Scene 1, page = 150
31. Act 3, Scene 2, page = 152
32. Act 3, Scene 3, page = 158
33. Act 3, Scene 4, page = 166
34. Act 4, Scene 1, page = 170
35. Act 5, Scene 1, page = 182
36. Act 5, Scene 2, page = 186
37. Act 5, Scene 3, page = 192
38. Act 5, Scene 4, page = 199
39. Act 5, Scene 5, page = 199
40. Act 5, Scene 6, page = 203
41. Richard III, page = 207
42. Act 1, Scene 1, page = 207
43. Act 1, Scene 2, page = 213
44. Act 1, Scene 3, page = 224
45. Act 1, Scene 4, page = 240
46. , page = 252
47. Act 2, Scene 2, page = 258
48. Act 2, Scene 3, page = 264
49. Act 2, Scene 4, page = 267
50. Act 3, Scene 1, page = 271
51. Act 3, Scene 2, page = 281
52. Act 3, Scene 3, page = 288
53. Act 3, Scene 4, page = 289
54. Act 3, Scene 5, page = 294
55. Act 3, Scene 6, page = 299
56. Act 3, Scene 7, page = 299
57. Act 4, Scene 1, page = 308
58. Act 4, Scene 2, page = 313
59. Act 4, Scene 3, page = 320
60. Act 4, Scene 4, page = 322
61. Act 4, Scene 5, page = 347
62. Act 5, Scene 1, page = 348
63. Act 5, Scene 2, page = 349
64. Act 5, Scene 3, page = 350
65. Act 5, Scene 4, page = 365
66. Act 5, Scene 5, page = 365
67. Henry VIII, page = 368
68. Act 1, Scene 1, page = 368
69. Act 1, Scene 2, page = 378
70. Act 1, Scene 3, page = 386
71. Act 1, Scene 4, page = 390
72. Act 2, Scene 1, page = 397
73. Act 2, Scene 2, page = 404
74. Act 2, Scene 3, page = 411
75. Act 2, Scene 4, page = 417
76. Act 3, Scene 1, page = 424
77. Act 3, Scene 2, page = 431
78. Act 4, Scene 1, page = 451
79. Act 4, Scene 2, page = 458
80. Act 5, Scene 1, page = 465
81. Act 5, Scene 2, page = 474
82. Act 5, Scene 3, page = 476
83. Act 5, Scene 4, page = 484
84. Act 5, Scene 5, page = 488