Page images
PDF
EPUB
[graphic][subsumed]

King HENRY VI.

DRAMATIS PERSONE.

HUMPHREY, Duke of Gloster, uncle to Henry VL Cardinal BEAUFORT, Bishop of Winchester, great uncle to the King.

RICHARD PLANTAGENET, Duke of York.
EDWARD, son to the Duke of York.
RICHARD, son to the Duke of York.
Duke of SOMERSET, of the King's party.
Duke of SUFFOLK, of the King's party.
Duke of BUCKINGHAM, of the King's party.
Lord CLIFFORD, of the King's party.
Young CLIFFORD, son to Lord Clifford, of the
King's party.

Earl of SALISBURY, of the York faction.
Earl of WARWICK, of the York faction.
Lord SCALES, governor of the Tower.
Lord SAY.

Sir HUMPHREY STAFFORD.
WILLIAM STAFFORD.

Sir JOHN STANLEY.

A Sea Captain, Master, and Master's Mate. Walter Whitmore.

Two Gentlemen, prisoners with Suffolk. A Herald.

Vaux.
HUME, a priest.
SOUTHWELL a priest.
BOLINGBROKE, a conjurer.
Spirit, raised by Bolin broke.
THOMAS HORNER, an armourer.
PETER, servant to Horner.

Clerk of Chatham. Mayor of St. Albans,
SIMPCOX, an impostor.

Two Murderers.

JACK CADE, a rebel.

GEORGE, a follower of Jack Cade.
JOHN, a follower of Jack Cade.

DICK, a follower of Jack Cade.

SMITH, the weaver, a follower of Jack Cada.
MICHAEL, & follower of Jack Cade.
ALEXANDER IDEN, a Kentish Gentleman.
MARGARET, Queen to King Henry.
ELEANOR, Duchess of Gloster.
MARGERY JOURDAIN, a witch.
Wife to Simpcox

Lords, Ladies, and Attendants; Petitioners, Aldermen, a Beadle, Sheriff; and Officers; Citizens, Prentices, Falconers, Guards, Soldiers, Messengers, &c.

SCENE. In various Parts of England.

ACT I.

SCENE I.-London. A Room of State in the Palace.

Flourish of trumpets: then hautboys. Enter on one side, King HENRY, Duke of GLOSTER, SALISBURY, WARWICK, and Cardinal BEAUFORT; on the other, Queen MARGARET, led in by SUFFOLK; YORK, SOMERSET, BUCKINGHAM, and others following.

Suf. As by your high imperial majesty
I had in charge at my depart for France
As procurator to your excellence,

To marry Princess Margaret for your grace;
So, in the famous ancient city, Tours,-
In presence of the Kings of France and Sicil,
The Dukes of Orleans, Calaber, Bretaigne, and
Alençon,

Seven earls, twelve barons, and twenty reverend bishops,

I have performed my task, and was espous'd:
And humbly now upon my bended knee,
In sight of England and her lordly peers,
Deliver up my title in the queen

To your most gracious hands, that are the substance

Of that great shadow I did represent;
The happiest gift that ever marquess gave,
The fairest queen that ever king receiv'd.

K. Hen. Suffolk, arise.-Welcome, Queen
Margaret:

I can express no kinder sign of love,
Than this kind kiss.-O Lord, that lends me life,
Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness!
For thou hast given me, in this beauteous face,
A world of earthly blessings to my soul,
If sympathy of love unite our thoughts.

Q. Mar. Great King of England, and my gracious lord,

The mutual conference that my mind hath had,
By day, by night,-waking, and in my dreams,-
In courtly company, or at my beads,-
With you mine alder-liefest sovereign,
Makes me the bolder to salute my king
With ruder terms, such as my wit affords
And over-joy of heart doth minister.

K. Hen. Her sight did ravish; but her grace in speech,

Her words y-clad with wisdom's majesty,
Makes me from wondering fall to weeping joys;
Such is the fulness of my heart's content.
Lords, with one cheerful voice welcome my love.
All. [kneeling.] Long live Queen Margaret,
England's happiness!

Q. Mar. We thank you all. [Flourish. Suf. My lord protector, so it please your grace Here are the articles of contracted peace.

Between our sovereign and the French King

Charles,

For eighteen months concluded by consent. Glo. [Reads.] "Inprimis, It is agreed between he French King, Charles, and William de la Poole, Marquess of Suffolk, ambassador for Henry King of England, that the said Henry shall espouse the Lady Margaret, daughter unto Reignier, King of Naples, Sicilia, and Jerusalem; and crown her Queen of England, ere the thirti eth of May next ensuing.-Item,-That the duchy of Anjou and the county of Maine shall be released and delivered to the king, her father"— K. Hen. Uncle, how now? Glo.

Pardon me, gracious 10rd: Some sudden qualm hath struck me at the heart, And dimm'd mine eyes, that I can read no further. K. Hen. Uncle of Winchester, I pray, read on. Car. "Item,-It is further agreed between them, that the duchies of Anjou and Maine shall be released and delivered over to the king her father; and she sent over of the King of England's own proper cost and charges, without having any dowry."

K. Hen. They please us well.-Lord marquess, kneel down;

We here create thee the first Duke of Suffolk,
And girt thee with the sword. Cousin of York,
We here discharge your grace from being regent
In the parts of France, till term of eighteen
months

Be full expir'd. Thanks, uncle Winchester,
Gloster, York, Buckingham, Somerset,
Salisbury, and Warwick;

We thank you all for this great favour done,
In entertainment to my princely queen.
Come, let us in; and with all speed provide
To see her coronation be perform'd.

[Exeunt KING, QUEEN, and SUFFOLK. Glo. Brave peers of England, pillars of the state,

To you Duke Humphrey must unload his grief;
Your grief, the common grief of all the land.
What did my brother Henry spend his youth,
His valour, coin, and people, in the wars?
Did he so often lodge in open field,

In winter's cold and summer's parching heat,
To conquer France, his true inheritance?
And did my brother Bedford toil his wits,
To keep by policy what Henry got?
Have you, yourselves, Somerset, Buckingham,
Brave York, Salisbury, and victorious Warwick,
Receiv'd deep scars in France and Normandy?
Or hath mine uncle Beaufort, and myself,
With all the learned counsel of the realm,
Studied so long, sat in the council-house,
Early and late, debating to and fro
How France and Frenchmen might be kept in awe?
And hath his highness in his infancy
Been crown'd in Paris, in despite of foes?
And shall these labours and these honours die?
Shall Henry's conquest, Bedford's vigilance,
Your deeds of war, and all our counsel, die?
O peers of England, shameful is this league !
Fatal this marriage, cancelling your fame;
Blotting your names from books of memory:
Razing the characters of your renown;
Defacing monuments of conquered France;
Undoing all, as all had never been!

Car. Nephew, what means this passionate discourse,

This peroration, with such circumstance?
For France, 'tis ours: and we will keep it still.

Glo. Ay, uncle, we will keep it, if we can
But now it is impossible we should:
Suffolk, the new-made duke, that rules the roast,
Hath given the ducbies of Anjou and Maine
Unto the poor King Reignier, whose large style
Agrees not with the leanness of his purse.
Sal. Now, by the death of Him that died for all,
These counties were the keys of Normandy:-
But wherefore weeps Warwick, my valiant son?
War. For grief that they are past recovery:
For were there hope to conquer them again,
My sword should shed hot blood, mine eyes no
tears,

Anjou and Maine! myself did win them both;
Those provinces these arms of mine did conquer.
And are the cities that I got with wounds
Deliver'd up again with peaceful words?
Mort Dieu !

York. For Suffolk's duke, may be be suffocate,
That dims the honour of this warlike isle!
France should have torn and rent my very heart
Before I would have yielded to this league.
I never read but England's kings have had
Large sums of gold, and dowries, with their
wives:

And our King Henry gives away his own,
To match with her that brings no vantages.

Glo. A proper jest, and never heard before,
That Suffolk should demand a whole fifteenth,
For costs and charges in transporting her!
She should have stay'd in France, and starv'd
in France,

[blocks in formation]

[Exit.

Car. So, there goes our protector in a rage.
'Tis known to you he is mine enemy:
Nay, more, an enemy unto you all;
And no great friend, I fear me, to the king.
Consider, lords, he is the next of blood,
And heir apparent to the English crown;
Had Henry got an empire by his marriage,
And all the wealthy kingdoms of the west,
There's reason he should be displeas'd at it.
Look to it, lords; let not his smoothing words
Bewitch your hearts; be wise and circumspect.
What, though the common people favour bim,
Calling him-"Humphrey, the good Duke of
Gloster;"

Clapping their hands, and crying with loud voice-
"Jesu maintain your royal excellence!
With-"God preserve the good Duke Humphrey!"
I fear me, lords, for all this flattering gloss,
He will be found a dangerous protector.
Buck. Why should he then protect our sovereign,
He being of age to govern of himself?
Cousin of Somerset, join you with me,
And all together with the Duke of Suffolk,
We'll quickly hoise Duke Humphrey from his
[delay;

seat.

Car. This weighty business will not brook I'll to the Duke of Suffolk presently. [Exit.

[blocks in formation]

And greatness of his place, be grief to us,
Yet let us watch the haughty cardinal;
His insolence is more intolerable
Than all the princes in the land beside;
If Gloster be displac'd, he'll be protector.
Buck. Or thou, or I, Somerset, will be protector,
Despite Duke Humphrey or the Cardinal.

[Exeunt BUCKINGHAM and SOMERSET.
Sal. Pride went before, ambition follows him.
While these do labour for their own preferment,
Behoves it us to labour for the realm.
I never saw but Humphrey duke of Gloster
Did bear him like a noble gentleman.
Oft have I seen the haughty cardinal-
More like a soldier than a man o' the church,
As stout and proud as he were lord of all-
Swear like a ruffian, and demean himself
Unlike the ruler of a commonweal.
Warwick, my son, the comfort of my age!
Thy deeds, thy plainness, and thy housekeeping
Hath won the greatest favour of the commons,
Excepting none but good Duke Humphrey.
And, brother York, thy acts in Ireland,
In bringing them to civil discipline;

Thy late exploits, done in the heart of France, When thou wert regent for our sovereign,

Unto the prince's heart of Calydon.
Anjou and Maine, both given unto the French!
Cold news for me; for I had hope of France,
Even as I have of fertile England's soil.
A day will come when York shall claim his own;
And therefore I will take the Nevils' parts,
And make a show of love toproud DukeHumphrey,
And, when I spy advantage, claim the crown,
For that's the golden mark I seek to hit:
Nor shall proud Lancaster usurp my right,
Nor hold the sceptre in his childish fist,
Nor wear the diadem upon his head,
Whose church-like humours fit not for a crown.
Then, York, be still awhile, till time do serve:
Watch thou, and wake, when others be asleep,
To pry into the secrets of the state;
Till Henry, surfeiting in joys of love,
With his new bride, and England's dear-bought

[blocks in formation]

Have made thee fear'd and honour'd of the people: SCENE II.-The same. A Room in the Duke

Join we together, for the public good;
In what we can, to bridle and suppress
The pride of Suffolk, and the cardinal,
With Somerset's and Buckingham's ambition;
And, as we may, cherish Duke Humphrey's deeds
While they do tend the profit of the land.
War. So God help Warwick, as he loves the
And common profit of his country! [land,
York. And so says York, for he hath greatest

cause.

Sal. Then let's make haste away, and look unto the main.

War. Unto the main! O father, Maine is lost; That Maine, which by main force Warwick did win,

And would have kept, so long as breath did last:
Main chance, father, you meant; but I meant
Maine;

Which I will win from France, or else be slain.
[Exeunt WAR. and SAL.
York. Anjou and Maine are given to the French;
Paris is lost; the state of Normandy
Stands on a tickle point, now they are gone :
Suffolk concluded on the articles; .
The peers agreed; and Henry was well pleas'd
To change two dukedoms for duke's fair

daughter.

I cannot blame them all: what is't to them? 'Tis thine they give away, and not their own. Pirates may make cheap penny worths of their

pillage,

And purchase friends, and give to courtesans,
Still revelling, like lords, till all be gone:
While as the silly owner of the goods
Weeps over them, and wrings his hapless hands,
And shakes his head, and trembling stands aloof,
While all is shar'd, and all is borne away;
Ready to starve, and dare not touch his own.
So York must sit, and fret, and bite his tongue,
While his own lands are bargain'd for and sold.
Methinks, the realms of England, France, and
Ireland,

Bear that proportion to my flesh and blood
As did the fatal brand Althea burn'd

of Gloster's House.

Enter GLOSTER and the DUCHESS.

Duch. Why droops my lord, like over-ripen'd

corn,

Hanging the head at Ceres' plenteous load?
Why doth the great Duke Humphrey knit his
brows,
As frowning at the favours of the world?
Why are thine eyes fix'd to the sullen earth,
Gazing on that which seems to dim thy sight?
What scest thou there? King Henry's diadem,
Enchas'd with all the honours of the world?
If so, gaze on, and grovel on thy face,
Until thy head be circled with the same.
Put forth thy hand, reach at the glorious gold.
What, is't too short? I'll lengthen it with mine :
And, having both together heav'd it up,
We'll both together lift our heads to heav'n;
And never more abase our sight so low
As to vouchsafe one glance unto the ground.
Glo. O Nell, sweet Nell, if thou dost love thy

[blocks in formation]

[set.

Was broke in twain; by whom I have forgot,
But, as I think, it was by the cardinal;
And, on the pieces of the broken wand
Were plac'd the heads of Edmond duke of Somer-
And William de la Poole first duke of Suffolk.
This was my dream; what it doth bode, God
knows.

Duch. Tut, this was nothing but an argument,
That he that breaks a stick of Gloster's grove
Shall lose his head for his presumption.
But list to me my Humphrey, my sweet duke:

Methought, I sat in seat of majesty,

In the cathedral church of Westminster, And in that chair where kings and queens are crown'd;

Where Henry, and dame Margaret, kneel'd to me, And on my head did set the diadem.

Glo. Nay, Eleanor, then must Ichide outright. Presumptuous dame, ill-nurtur'd Eleanor! Art thou not second woman in the realm; And the protector's wife, belov'd of him? Hast thou not worldly pleasure at command, Above the reach or compass of thy thought? And wilt thou still be hammering treachery, To tumble down thy husband and thyself, From top of honour to disgrace's feet? Away from me, and let me hear no more.

Duch. What, what, my lord! are you so choleric With Eleanor, for telling but her dream? Next time I'll keep my dreams unto myself, And not be check'd.

Glo. Nay, be not angry, I am pleas'd again. Enter a Messenger.

Mee. My lord protector, 'tis his highness' pleasure,

You do prepare to ride unto St. Alban's,
Whereas the king and queen do mean to hawk.
Glo. I go.-
-Come, Nell, thou wilt ride with us?
Duch. Yes, my good lord, I'll follow presently.
[Exeunt GLOSTER and Messenger.

Follow I must, I cannot go before,
While Gloster bears this base and humble mind.
Were I a man, a duke, and next of blood,
I would remove these tedious stumbling-blocks,
And smooth my way upon their headless necks;
And, being a woman, I will not be slack
To play my part in fortune's pageant.
Where are you there? Sir John! nay, fear not,

man,

We are alone; here's none but thee and L.

Enter HUME.

Hume. Jesu preserve your royal majesty ! Duch. What say'st thou,majesty! Iam but grace. Hume. But, by the grace of God, and Hume's advice,

Your grace's title shall be multiplied.
Duch. What say'st thou, man? hast thou as
yet conferr'd

With Margery Jourdain, the cunning witch;
With Roger Bolingbroke, the conjurer?
And will they undertake to do me good?
Hume. This they have promised,-to show
your highness

A spirit rais'd from depth of underground,
That shall make answer to such questions
As by your grace shall be propounded him.
Duch. It is enough; I'll think upon the
questions:

When from St. Alban's we do make return,
We'll see these things effected to the full.
Here, Hume, take this reward; make merry, man,
With thy confederates in this weighty cause.
[Exit Duch.
Hume. Hume must make merry with the
duchess' gold;

Marry, and shall. But how now, Sir John Hume?
Seal up your lips, and give no words but-mum!
The business asketh silent secrecy.
Dame Eleanor gives gold, to bring the witch.
Gold cannot come amiss, were she a devil.
Yet have I gold, flies from another coast:
I dare not say from the rich cardinal

And from the great and new-made Duko of
Suffolk;

Yet I do find it so: for, to be plain,
They, knowing Dame Eleanor's aspiring humom,
Have hired me to undermine the duchess,
And buzz these conjurations in her brain.
They say, a crafty knave does need no broken
Yet am I Suffolk and the cardinal's broker.
Hume, if you take not need, you shall go near
To call them both a pair of crafty knaves.
Well, so it stands: And thus, I fear, at last,
Hume's knavery will be the duchess' wrack;
And her attainture will be Humphrey's fall:
Sort how it will, I shall have gold for all. [Exit.
SCENE III.-The same. A Room in the Palace.
Enter PETER, and others, with petitions.

1 Pet. My masters, let's stand close; my lord protector will come this way by and by, and then we may deliver our supplications in the quill. 2 Pet. Marry, the Lord protect him, for he's a good man! Jesu bless him!

Enter SUFFOLK and Queen Margaret. 1 Pet. Here 'a comes, methinks. and the queen with him: I'll be the first, sure.

2 Pet. Come back, fool; this is the Duke of Suffolk, and not my lord protector.

Suf. How now, fellow? wouldst anything with me?

1 Pet. I pray, my lord, pardon me! I took ye for my lord protector.

Q. Mar. [Reading the superscription.] "To my lord protector;" are your supplications to his lordship? Let me see them; What is thine?

1 Pet. Mine is, an't please your grace, against. John Goodman, my lord cardinal's man, for keeping my house, and lands, and wife, and all from me.

Suf. Thy wife too? that's some wrong indeed.— What's yours?-What's here! [Reads.] "Against the Duke of Suffolk, for enclosing the commons of Melford."-How now, sir knave?

2 Pet. Alas, sir, I am but a poor petitioner of our whole township.

Peter [Presenting his petition.] Against my master, Thomas Horner, for saying, That the Duke of York was rightful heir to the crown.

Q. Mar. What say'st thou? Did the Duke of York say he was rightful heir to the crown?

Peter. That my master was? No, forsooth: my master said that he was; and that the king was an usurper.

Suf. Who is there? [Enter Servants.]-Take this fellow in, and send for his master with a pursuivant presently:-we'll hear more of your inatter before the king.

[Exeunt Servants, with PETER. Q. Mar. And as for you that love to be protected Under the wings of our protector's grace, Begin your suits anew, and sue to him. [Tears the petition. Away, base cullions !-Suffolk, let them go. All. Come, let's be gone.

[Exeunt Petitioners. Q. Mar. My lord of Suffolk, say, is this the guise,

Is this the fashion in the court of England /
Is this the government of Britain's isle,
And this the royalty of Albion's king?
What, shall King Henry be a pupil still,
Under the surly Gloster's governance?
Am I a queen in title and in style

Buck. All in this presence are thy betters, Warwick.

And must be made a subject to a duke?
I tell thee, Poole, when in the city Tours
Thou rann'st a tilt in honour of my love,
And stol'st away the ladies' hearts of France,
I thought King Henry had resembled thee,
In courage, courtship, and proportion:
But all his mind is bent to holiness,
To number Ave-Maries on his beads:

His champions are the prophets and apostles;
His weapons, holy saws of sacred writ;
His study is his tilt-yard, and his loves
Are brazen images of canoniz'd saints.
I would the college of the cardinals
Would choose hita pope, and carry him to Rome,
And set the triple crown upon his head;
That were a state fit for his holiness.

Suf. Madam, be patient: as I was cause
Your highness came to England, so will I
In England work your grace's full content.
Q. Mar. Besides the haughty protector, have
we Beaufort,
[ham.
The imperious churchman; Somerset, Bucking-
And grumbling York: and not the least of these
But can do more in England than the king.

Suf. And he of these that can do most of all
Cannot do more in England than the Nevils:
Salisbury and Warwick are no simple peers.
Q. Mar. Not all these Lords do vex me half
so much

As that proud dame, the lord protector's wife.
She sweeps it through the court with troops of
ladies,
[wife;
More like an empress than Duke Humphrey's
Strangers in court do take her for the queen:
She bears a duke's revenues on her back,
And in her heart she scorus our poverty:
Shall I not live to be aveng'd on her?
Contemptuous base-born callat as she is,
She vaunted 'mongst her minions t'other day,
The very train of her worst wearing-gown
Was letter worth than all my father's lands,
Till Suffolk gave two dukedoins for his daughter.
Suf. Madam, myself have lim'd a bush for her;
And plac'd a quire of such enticing birds,
That she will light to listen to the lays,
And never mount to trouble you again.
So, let her rest: And, madam, list to me;
For I am bold to counsel you in this:
Although we fancy not the cardinal,
Yet must we join with him, and with the lords,
Till we have brought Duke Humphrey in disgrace.
As for the Duke of York, this late complaint
Will make but little for his benefit:
So, one by one, we'll weed them all at last,
And you yourself shall steer the happy helm.
Enter King HENRY, YORK, and SOMERSET
conversing with him; Duke and Duchess of
GLOSTER, Cardinal BEAUFORT, BUCKINGHAM,
SALISBURY, and WARWICK.

K. Hen. For my part, noble lords, I care not
which;

Or Somerset, or York, all's one to me.

War. Warwick may live to be the best of all. Sal. Peace, son; and show some reason, Buckingham,

Why Somerset should be preferr'd in this. Q. Mar. Because the king, forsooth, will have it so.

Glo. Madam, the king is old enough himself To give his censure; these are no women's matters. Q. Mar. If he be old enough, what needs your grace

To be protector of his excellence?

Glo. Madam, I am protector of the realm; And at his pleasure will resign my place.

Suf. Resign it then, and leave thine insolence. Since thou wert king (as who is king but thou?) The commonwealth hath daily run to wrack: The dauphin hath prevail'd beyond the seas; And all the peers and nobles of the realm Have been as bondinen to thy sovereignty. Car. The commons hast thou rack'd; the clergy's bags

Are lank and lean with thy extortions.
Som. Thy sumptuous buildings and thy wife's
attire,

Have cost a mass of public treasury.
Buck. Thy cruelty in execution,
Upon offenders, hath exceeded law,
And left thee to the mercy of the law.

Q.Mar. Thy sale of offices, and towns in France, If they were known, as the suspect is great, Would make thee quickly hop without thy head. [Exit GLOSTER. The QUEEN drops her fan.

Give me my fan: What, minion! can you not? [Gives the DUCHESS a box on the ear.

I cry you mercy, madam; was it you?
Duch. Was't I? yea, I it was, proud French.

woman:

Could I come near your beauty with my nails, I'd set my ten commandments in your face. K. Hen. Sweet aunt, be quiet; 'twas against her will. [in time; Duch. Against her will! Good king, look to't She'll hamper thee, and dandle thee like a baby. Though in this place most master wear no breeches,

She shall not strike Dame Eleanor unreveng'd. [Exit DUCHESS.

Buck. Lord cardinal, I will follow Eleanor. And listen after Humphrey, how he proceeds: She's tickled now: her fume needs no spurs, She'll gallop far enough to her destruction. [Exit BUCKINGHAM.

Re-enter GLOSTER.

With walking once about the quadrangle,
Glo. Now, lords, my choler being over-blown,
I come to talk of commonwealth affairs.
As for your spiteful false objections,
Prove them, and I lie open to the law:
But God in mercy so deal with my soul,

York. If York have ill demean'd himself in As I in duty love my king and country!

France,

Then let him be denay'd the regentship.

Som. If Somerset be unworthy of the place, Let York be regent, I will yield to him. War. Whether your grace be worthy, yea or no, Dispute not that: York is the worthier. Car. Ambitious Warwick, let thy betters speak.

War. The cardinal's not my better in the field.

But, to the matter that we have in hand:
I say, my sovereign, York is meetest man
To be your regent in the realm of France.
Suf. Before we make election, give me leave
To show some reason, of no little force,
That York is most unmeet of any man.

am unneet.

York. I'll tell thee, Suffolk, why First, for I cannot flatter thee in pride: Next if I be appointed for the place,

« PreviousContinue »