bank * Erect his statue then, and worship it, * Or turn our stern upon a dreadful rock? *The pretty vaulting sea refus'd to drown me; * With tears as salt as sea, through thy unkindness: My earnest-gaping sight of thy land's view, * And so, I wish'd, thy body might my heart: To sit and watch me, as Ascanius did, Ah me, I can no more! Die, Margaret! By Suffolk and the cardinal Beaufort's means. That want their leader, scatter up and down, * Some violent hands were laid on Humphrey's life! Fain would I go to chafe his paly lips To tell my love unto his dumb deaf trunk, And, to survey his dead and earthly image, *War. Come hither, gracious sovereign, view *K. Hen. That is to see how deep my grave is For, with his soul, fled all my worldly solace; War. As surely as my soul intends to live Suff. A dreadful oath, sworn with a solemn 'What instance gives lord Warwick for his vow? War. See, how the blood is settled in his face! Oft have I seen a timely-parted ghost,2 Of ashy semblance, meagre, pale, and bloodless, 'Being all descended to the labouring heart; 'Who, in the conflict that it holds with death, 'Attracts the same for aidance 'gainst the enemy; 'Which with the heart there cools and ne'er returneth To blush and beautify the cheek again. 'His hands abroad display'd, as one that grasp'd 'Like to the summer's corn by tempest lodg'd. 'Suff. Why, Warwick, who should do the duke 'Myself, and Beaufort, had him in protection; War. But both of you were vow'd duke Hum- And you, forsooth, had the good duke to keep: K. Hen. That he is dead, good Warwick, 'tis Tis like, you would not feast him like a friend; too true; But how he died, God knows, not Henry: "Enter his chamber, view his breathless corpse, With the rude multitude, till I return. [Warwick goes into an inner room, and K. Hen. O thou that judgest all things, stay my thoughts: My thoughts, that labour to persuade my soul, (1). e. I see my life destroyed or endangered by nis death. 'And 'tis well seen, he found an enemy. 'Q. Mar. Then you, belike, suspect these noble Even so suspicious is this tragedy. 'Q. Mar. Are you a butcher, Suffolk? where's [Exeunt Cardinal, Som. and others. War. What dares not Warwick, if false Suffolk dare him? Q. Mar. He dares not calm his contumelious Nor cease to be an arrogant controller, Is slander to your royal dignity. Suff. Blunt-witted lord, ignoble in demeanour! War. But that the guilt of murder bucklers thee, If from this presence thou dar'st go with me. *Thrice is he arm'd, that hath his quarrel just; Q. Mar. What noise is this? 'K. Hen. Why, how now, lords? your wrath- 'Here in our presence? dare you be so bold?- Set all upon me, mighty sovereign. Noise of a crowd within. Re-enter Salisbury. * Sal. Sirs, stand apart; the king shall know your mind. [Speaking to those within. Dread lord, the commons send you word by me, Unless false Suffolk straight be done to death, Or banish'd fair England's territories, "They will by violence tear him from your palace, And torture him with grievious ling'ring death. They say, by him the good duke Humphrey died; 'They say, in him they fear your highness' death; And mere instinct of love, and loyalty,'Free from a stubborn opposite intent, As being thought to contradict your liking,;Makes them thus forward in his banishment. *They say, in care of your most royal person, That, if your highness should intend to sleep, Lest, being suffer'd in that harmful slumber, Suff. 'Tis like the commons, rude unpolish'd Could send such message to their sovereign: 'K. Hen. Go, Salisbury, and tell them all from me. 'K. Hen. Ungentle queen, to call him gentle Suffolk. No more, I say; if thou dost plead for him, Thou wilt but add increase unto my wrath. 'Had I but said, I would have kept my word; 'But, when I swear, it is irrevocable: If, after three days' space, thou here be'st found * any ground that I am ruler of, The world shall not be ransom for thy life.'Come, Warwick, come, good Warwick, go with me; I have great matters to impart to thee. [Exeunt K. Henry, Warwick, Lords, &c. 'Q. Mar. Mischance, and sorrow, go along with you! 'Heart's discontent, and sour affliction, Hast thou not spirit to curse thine enemies? (4) i. e. He shall not contaminate this air with This infected breath. T Were by his side; sometime, he calls the king, The secrets of his overcharged soul: 'Q. Mar. Go, tell this heavy message to the king. Would curses kill, as doth the mandrake's groan, Suff. If I depart from thee, I cannot live: Q. Mar. Enough, sweet Suffolk; thou torment'st thyself; *And these dead curses-like the sun 'gainst Now, by the ground that I am banish'd from, * Q. Mar. O, let me entreat thee, cease! Give *That I may dew it with my mournful tears; 'So, get thee gone, that I may know my grief; * Go, speak not to me; even now begone. O, go not yet!-Even thus two friends condemn'd *Embrace, and kiss, and take ten thousand leaves, * Loather a hundred times to part than die. * Yet now farewell; and farewell life with thee! Suff. Thus is poor Suffolk ten times banished, Once by the king, and three times thrice by thee. *'Tis not the land I care for, wert thou hence; *A wilderness is populous enough, So Suffolk had thy heavenly company: * I can no more:-Live thou to joy thy life; Enter Vaux. Dying with mother's dug between its líps: To die by thee, were but to die in jest; Q. Mar. Away! though parting be a fretful 'It is applied to a deathful wound. To France, sweet Suffolk: Let me hear from thee; Q. Mar. And take my heart with thee. This way for me. SCENE III.-London. Cardinal Beaufort's bed-chamber. Enter King Henry, Salisbury, Warwick, and others. The Cardinal in bed; attendants with him. * K. Hen. How fares my lord? speak, Beaufort, to thy sovereign. 'Car. If thou be'st death, I'll give thee England's treasure, Enough to purchase such another island, 'So thou wilt let ine live, and feel no pain. * K. Hen. Ah, what a sign it is of evil life, When death's approach is seen so terrible! * War. Beaufort, it is thy sovereign speaks to thee. *Car. Bring me unto my trial when you will. 'Died he not in his bed? where should he die? Can I make men live, whe'r they will or no? 'Q. Mar. Whither goes Vaux so fast? what O! torture me no more, I will confess. news, I pr'ythee? Vaux. To signify unto his majesty, That cardinal Beaufort is at point of death: 'For suddenly a grievous sickness took him, That makes him gasp, and stare, and catch the air, Blaspheming God, and cursing men on earth. Sometime, he talks as if duke Humprey's ghost (2) For whereas, (1) Curse. 'Alive again? then show me where he is; 'I'll give a thousand pound to look upen him.*He hath no eyes, the dust hath blinded them.'Comb down his hair; look! look! it stands upright, Like lime-twigs set to catch my winged soul!'Give me some drink; and bid the apothecary (3) The messenger of Juno, "Bring the strong poison that I bought of him. *K. Hen. O thou eternal Mover of the heavens, * Look with a gentle eye upon this wretch! * O, beat away the busy meddling fiend, *That lays strong siege unto this wretch's soul, And from his bosom purge this black despair! 'War. See, how the pangs of death do make him grin. * Sal. Disturb him not, let him pass peaceably. Suff. Thy name affrights me, in whose sound is death. 'A cunning man did calculate my birth, And told me that by Water I should die: 'Yet let not this make thee be bloody minded: 'Why name is-Gualtier, being rightly sounded. 'Whit. Guallier, or Walter, which it is, I care not; Ne'er yet did base dishonour blur our name, * K. Hen. Peace to his soul, if God's goodBut with our sword we wip'd away the blot; pleasure be! 'Lord cardinal, if thou think'st on heaven's bliss, 'Hold up thy hand, make signal of thy hope.'He dies, and makes no sign; O God, forgive him! 'War. So bad a death, argues a monstrous life. 'K. Hen. Forbear to judge, for we are sinners all. 'Close up his eyes, and draw the curtain close; 'And let us all to meditation.. [Exeunt. ACT IV. SCENE I.-Kent. The sea-shore near Dover. Firing heard at sea. Then enter from a boat, a Captain, a Master, a Master's Mate, Walter Whitmore, and others; with them Suffolk, and other gentlemen, prisoners. * Cap. The gaudy, blabbing, and remorseful' day * Is crept into the bosom of the sea; * And now loud-howling wolves arouse the jades *That drag the tragic melancholy night; * Who with their drowsy, slow, and flagging wings, * Clip dead men's graves, and from their misty jaws * Breathe foul contagious darkness in the air. * Therefore, bring forth the soldiers of our prize; * For, whilst our pinnace anchors in the Downs, * Here shall they make their ransom on the sand, * Or with their blood stain this discolour'd shore.'Master, this prisoner freely give I thee;And thou that art his mate, make boot of this;"The other, [Pointing to Suff.] Walter Whitmore, is thy share. '1 Gent. What is my ransom, master? let me know. "Mast. A thousand crowns, or else lay down your head. Mate. And so much shall you give, or off goes yours. "Therefore, when merchant-like I sell revenge, Broke be my sword, my arms torn and defac'd, 'And I proclaim'd a coward through the world! [Lays hold on Suffolk, 'Suff. Stay, Whitmore; for thy prisoner is prince, The duke of Suffolk, William de la Poole. 'Whit. The duke of Suffolk, muffled up in rags. Suff. Ay, but these rags are no part of the duke Jove sometime went disguis'd, and why not I? Cap. But Jove was never slain, as thou shalt be. "Suff. Obscure and lowly swain, king Henry's The honourable blood of Lancaster, blood, Must not be shed by such a jaded groom.2 Hast thou not kiss'd thy hand, and held my stirrup? Bare-headed plodded by my foot-cloth mule, And thought thee happy when I shook my head? How often hast thou waited at my cup, Fed from my trencher, kneel'd down at the board, "When I have feasted with queen Margaret? *Remember it, and let it make thee crest-fall'n; Ay, and allay this thy abortive pride:3 How in our voiding lobby hast thou stood, And duly waited for my coming forth? "This hand of mine hath writ in thy behalf, 'And therefore shall it charm thy riotous tongue. *Whit. Speak, captain, shall I stab the forlorn swain? Сар. Poole? sir Poole? lord? * Cap. What, think you much to pay two thou-Ay, kennel, puddle, sink; whose filth and dirt sand crowns, * And bear the name and port of gentlemen? Troubles the silver spring where England drinks 'Now will I dam up this thy yawning mouth, * Cut both the villains' throats;-for die you shall;For swallowing the treasure of the realm: * Cannot be counterpois'd with such a petty sum. 2 Gent. And so will I, and write home for it Whit. I lost mine eye in laying the prize aboard, 'And therefore, to revenge it, shalt thou die ; [To Suffolk. 'Thy lips, that kiss'd the queen, shall sweep the ground; And thou, that smil'dst at good duke Humphrey's death, Against the senseless winds shalt grin in vain, Who, in contempt, shall hiss at thee again: And wedded be thou to the hags of hell, *For daring to affy a mighty lord *Unto the daughter of a worthless king, Having neither subject, wealth, nor diadem. By devilish policy art thou grown great, And, like ambitious Sylla, overgorg'd *With gobbets of thy mother's bleeding heart. By thee, Anjou and Maine were sold to France. The false revolting Normans, through thec, * Disdain to call us lord; and Picardy Hath slain their governors, surpris'd our forts, *And sent the ragged soldiers wounded home. *The princely Warwick, and the Nevils all, (4) To betroth in marriage. *Whose dreadful swords were never drawn in vain, ['of a lath; they have been up these two days. As hating thee, are rising up in arms: And now the house of York-thrust from the crown, *By shameful murder of a guiltless king, * And lofty proud encroaching tyranny,*Burns with revenging fire; whose hopeful colours * Advance our half-fac'd sun, striving to shine, * Under the which is writ-Invitis nubibus. * The commons here in Kent are up in arms: *And, to conclude, reproach, and beggary, *Is crept into the palace of our king, *And all by thee:-Away! convey him hence. Suff. O that I were a god, to shoot forth thunder *Upon these paltry, servile, abject drudges! * Small things make base men proud: this villain here, Being captain of a pinnace,' threatens more "Than Bargulus the strong Illyrian pirate. 'Drones suck not eagles' blood, but rob bee-hives. 'It is impossible, that I should die By such a lowly vassal as thyself. Thy words move rage, and not remorse, in me: 'I go of message from the queen to France; 'I charge thee, waft me safely cross the channel. Cap. Walter, 'Whit. Come, Suffolk, I must waft thee to thy death. *Suff. Gelidus timor occupat artus:-'tis thee I fear. 'Whit. Thou shalt have cause to fear, before I leave thee. What, are ye daunted now? now will ye stoop? '1 Gent. My gracious lord, entreat him, speak him fair. 'Suff. Suffolk's imperial tongue is stern and rough, 'Us'd to command, untaught to plead for favour. 'Far be it, we should honour such as these "With humble suit: no, rather let my head 'Stoop to the block, than these knees bow to any, 'Save to the God of heaven, and to my king; And sooner dance upon a bloody pole, 'Than stand uncover'd to the vulgar groom. *True nobility is exempt from fear :'More can I bear, than you dare execute. Capt. Hale him away, and let him talk no more. Suff. Come, soldiers, show what cruelty you can, "That this my death may never be forgot! Great men oft die by vile bezonians :2 'A Roman sworder and banditto slave, 'Murder'd sweet Tully; Brutus' bastard hand 'Stabb'd Julius Cæsar; savage islanders, 'Pompey the great; and Suffolk dies by pirates. [Exeunt Suff. with Whit. and others. Capt. And as for these whose ransoms we have sect, It is our pleasure, one of them depart :Therefore come you with us, and let him go. [Exeunt all but the first Gentleman. Re-enter Whitmore, with Suffolk's body. 'Whit. There let his head and lifeless body lie, "Until the queen his mistress bury it. [Exit. 1 Gent. O barbarous and bloody spectacle! 'His body will I bear unto the king: 'If he revenge it not, yet will his friends; 'So will the queen, that living held him dear. [Exit with the body. SCENE II-Blackheath. Enter George Bevis and John Holland. 'Geo. Come, and get thee a sword, though made (1) A pinnace then signified a ship of small burden, John. They have the more need to sleep now 'then. "Geo. I tell thee, Jack Cade the clothier means 'to dress the commonwealth, and turn it, and set 'a new nap upon it. John. So he had need, for 'tis threadbare. Well, I say, it was never merry world in England, since gentlemen came up. *Geo. O miserable age! Virtue is not regarded *in handvcrafts-men. 'John. The nobility think scorn to go in leather 'aprons. *Geo. Nay more, the king's council are no good *workmen. *John. True; And yet it is said,-Labour in *thy vocation: which is as much to say, as,-let the magistrates be labouring men; and therefore *should we be magistrates. *Geo. Thou hast hit it: for there's no better sign *of a brave mind, than a hard hand. * *John. I see them! I see them! There's Best's son, the tanner of Wingham ; *Geo. He shall have the skins of our enemies, *to make dog's leather of. John. And Dick the butcher, *Geo. Then is sin struck down like an ox, and *iniquity's throat cut like a calf. *John. And Smith the weaver. *Geo. Argo, their thread of life is spun. Drum. Enter Cade, Dick the butcher, Smith the weaver, and others in great number. 'Cade. We John Cade, so termed of our sup'posed father, Dick. Or rather, of stealing a cade of herrings." [Aside, 'Cade. for our enemies shall fall before us, inspired with the spirit of putting down kings and princes,-Command silence. Dick. Silence! Cade. My father was a Mortimer, laver. Dick. He was an honest man, and a good brick [Aside. [Aside. Cade. My mother a Plantagenet,- Cade. My wife descended of the Lacies,Dick. She was, indeed, a pedlar's daughter, and sold many laces. [Aside. Smith. But, now of late, not able to travel with 'her furred pack, she washes bucks here at home. [Aside. 'Cade. Therefore am I of an honourable house. Dick. Ay, by my faith, the field is honourable; and there was he born, under a hedge; for his father had never a house, but the cage. [Aside. *Cade. Valiant I am. * Smith. 'A must needs; for beggary is valiant. [Aside. [Aside. Cade. I am able to endure much. Dick. No question of that; for I have seen him whipped three market days together. Cade. I fear neither sword nor fire. Smith. He need not fear the sword, for his coat is of proof. [Aside. Dick. But, methinks, he should stand in fear of fire, being burnt i'the hand for stealing of sheep. [Aside. Cade. Be brave then; for your captain is brave, and vows reformation. There shall be, in England, (2) Low men. (3) A barrel of he-rings. |