The Dramatic Works of William Shakspeare

Suf. My lord protector, soit 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.] Imprimis, It is agreed between the French King, Charles, and William de la Poole, marquis 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 thirtieth of May next ensuing. Item, That the dutchy 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 lord;

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.

Win. Item,-It is further agreed between them, that the dutchies 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 dowry.

K. Hen. They please us well.-Lord marquis, 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, and
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 War-

wick, Receiv'd deep scars in France and Normandy? Or hath my uncle Beaufort, and myself, With all the learned council of the realm, Studied so long, sat in the council-house, Early and late, debating to and fro How France and Frenchmen might be

in awe?

kept

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 conquer'd 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 dutchies 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?

Car. My lord of Gloster, now you grow too hot; It was the pleasure of my lord the king. Glo. My lord of Winchester, I know your mind;

'Tis not my speeches that you do mislike,
But 'tis my presence that doth trouble you.
Rancour will out: Proud prelate, in thy face
I see thy fury: if I longer stay,
We shall begin our ancient bickerings.t-
Lordings, farewell; and say, when I am gone,
I prophesied-France will be lost ere long.
[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 circum-
spect.

What though the common people favour him, Calling him-Humphrey, the good duke of Gloster; Clapping their hands, and crying with loud Jesu maintain your royal excellence! [voiceWith-God preserve the good duke Humphrey!

* This speech crowded with so many circumstances of aggravation., + Skirmishings.

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

seat.

Car. This weighty business will not brook delay;

I'll to the duke of Suffolk presently.

[Exit. Som. Cousin of Buckingham, though Humphrey's pride,

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 pro

tector,

Despight duke Humphrey, or the cardinal.
[Exeunt BUCKINGHAM and SOMERSET.
Sal. Pride went before, ambition follows
him.
[ment,
While these do labour for their own prefer-
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 common-weal.-

Warwick, my son, the comfort of my age!
Thy deeds, thy plainness, and thy house-keep-

ing,

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,
Have made thee fear'd, and honour'd, of the

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

And purchase frienas, ana give to courtezans,
Still revelling, like lords, till all be gone:
While as the silly owner of the goods
Weeps over them, and wrings his hapless
hands,
[aloof,
And shakes his head, and trembling stands
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
[Ireland,
Methinks, the realms of England, France, and
Bear that proportion to my flesh and blood,
As did the fatal brand Althea burn'd,
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

sold.

own;

And therefore I will take the Nevil's parts,
And make a show of love to proud duke
Humphrey,

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 queen,

[jars: And Humphrey with the peers be fall'n at Then will I raise aloft the milk-white rose, With whose sweet smell the air shall be perfum'd;

people:

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 Buckingham's ambition
And, as we may, cherish duke Humphrey's

And in my standard bear the arms of York,
To grapple with the house of Lancaster;
And, force perforce, I'll make him yield the

crown,

;

Whose bookish rule hath pull'd fair England down. Exit.

deeds,

SCENE II. - The same. -A Room in the Duke of GLOSTER'S House.

While they do tend the profit of the land. War. So God help Warwick, as he loves the land,

And common profit of his country!

York And so says York, for he hath greatest Sal. Then let's make haste away, and look

cause.

unto the main.

War. Unto the main! O father, Maine is lost;

That Maine, which by main force

did win,

Warwick [last:

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

Which I will win from France, or else be slain.
[Exeunt WARWICK and SALISBURY.
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 a duke's fair daughter.

For ticklish.

Enter GLOSTER and the DUCHESS.

Duch. Why droops my lord, like over-ripen 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 f
What see'st 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:[mine: What, is't too short? I'll lengthen it with And, having both together heav'd it up, We'll both together lift our heads to heaven; And never more abase our sight so low, As to vouchsafe one glance unto the ground.

* Meleager; whose life was to continue only so long as a certain firebrand should last. His mother Althea having thrown it into the fire, he expired in torment.

Glo. O Nell, sweet Nell, if thou dost love
thy lord,

Banish the canker of ambitious thoughts:
And may that thought, when I imagine ill
Against my king and nephew, virtuous Henry,
Be my last breathing in this mortal world!
My troublous dream this night doth make me
sad.

Duch. What dream'd my lord? tell me, and
I'll requite it

With sweet rehearsal of my morning's dream.
Glo. Methought, this staff, mine office-badge
in court,

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
Somerset,

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 argu-
ment,

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

Glo. Nay, Eleanor, then must I chide out-
right:
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.

leric

When from Saint Albans 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 DUCHESS.
Hume. Hume must make merry with the du-
chess' gold;
[Hume?
Marry, and shall. But how now, Sir John
Seal up your lips, and give no words but-
The business asketh silent secrecy. [mum!
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 duke of
Suffolk;

Yet I do find it so: for, to be plain,
(mour,
They, knowing dame Eleanor's aspiring hu-
Have hired me to undermine the duchess,
And buz these conjurations in her brain.
They say, A crafty knave does need no broker;
Yet am I Suffolk and the cardinal's broker.
Hume, if you take not heed, you shall go near
To call them both a pair of crafty knaves.
Well, so it stands: And thus, I fear, at last,

Duch. What, what, my lord! are you so cho- Hume's knavery will be the duchess' wreck;
With Eleanor, for telling but her dream?
And not be check'd.
Next time, I'll keep my dreams unto myself,

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

Mess. My lord protector, 'tis his highness'
pleasure,
You do prepare to ride unto Saint Albans,
Whereast the king and queen do mean to

hawk.

us?

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.

Glo. I go. Come, Nell, thou wilt ride with Duch. Yes, good my lord, I'll follow presently. [Exeunt GLOSTER and MRSSENGER. 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[necks: And smooth my way upon their headless 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 my lord protector! are your supplications to

blocks,

not, man,

We are alone; here none but thee, and I.

Suf. How now, fellow? would'st any thing with me?

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

Q. Mar. [Reading the superscription.] 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 is some wrong, in- | She vaunted 'mongst her minions t'other day,

deed.-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 matter before the king.

[Exeunt Servants, with PETER. Q. Mar. And as for you, that love to be pro

tected
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,
And must be made a subject to a duke?
I tell thee, Poole, when in the city Tours
Thou ran'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 sawst of sacred writ;
His study is his tilt-yard, and his loves
Are brazen images of canoniz'd saints.
I would, the college of cardinals
[Rome,
Would choose him pope, and carry him to
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. Beside the haught protector, have
we Beaufort,

The imperious churchman; Somerset, Buck-
ingham,
[these,
And grumbling York: and not the least of
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 scorns her poverty:
Shall I not live to be aveng'd on her?
Contemptuous base-born callat; as she is,

Scoundrcis. + Sayings, ‡ Drab, trull

The very train of her worst wearing-gown
Was better worth than all my father's lands,
Till Suffolk gave two dukedoms for his daugh-
ter.

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 dis-

grace.

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.
York. If York have ill demean'd himself in
France,

Then let him be denay'dt 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.
Buck. All in this presence are thy betters,
Warwick.

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?

lence.

Glo. Madam, I am protector of the realm; And, at his pleasure, will resign my place. Suf. Resign it then, and leave thine inso[thou?) Since thou wert king, (as who is king, but The commonwealth hath daily run to wreck: The Dauphin hath prevail'd beyond the seas; And all the peers and nobles of the realm Have been as bondmen 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,

*1. e. The complaint of Peter the armourer's man against his master.

+ Denay is frequently used instead of deny among the old writers. † Censure here means simply judgement or opinion.

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.

Duch. Against her will! Good king, look to't in time;

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 can need no spurs, She'll gallop fast enough to her destruction. [Exit BUCKINGHAM.

Re-enter GLOSTER.

Glo. Now, lords, my choler being over-blown, With walking once about the quadrangle, 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, As I in duty love my king and country! 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.

York. I'll tell thee, Suffolk, why I am unmeet.

First, for I cannot flatter thee in pride:
Next, if I be appointed for the place,
My lord of Somerset will keep me here,
Without discharge, money, or furniture,
Till France be won into the Dauphin's hands.
Last time, I danc'd attendance on his will,
Till Paris was besieg'd, famish'd, and lost.
War. That I can witness; and a fouler fact
Did never traitor in the land commit.
Suf. Peace, head-strong Warwick!
War. Image of pride, why should I hold my
peace?

Enter Servants of SUFFOLK, bringing in HORNER

and PETER.

said nor thought any such matter: God is my witness, I am falsely accused by the villain.

Pet. By these ten bones, my lords, [Holding up his Hands.] he did speak them to me in the garret one night, as we were scouring my lord of York's armour.

York. Base dunghill villain, and mechanical, I'll have thy head for this thy traitor's speech :I do beseech your royal majesty, Let him have all the rigour of the law.

Hor. Alas, my lord, hang me, if ever I spake the words. My accuser is my prentice; and when I did correct him for his fault the other day, he did vow upon his knees he would be even with me: I have good witness of this; therefore, I beseech your majesty, do not cast away an honest man for a villain's accusation. K. Hen. Uncle, what shall we say to this in law?

Glo. This doom, my lord, if I may judge. Let Somerset be regent o'er the French, Because in York this breeds suspicion : And let these have a day appointed them For single combat in convenient place; For he hath witness of his servant's malice: This is the law, and this duke Humphrey's doom.

K. Hen. Then be it so. My lord of Somerset, We make your grace lord regent o'er the French.

Som. I humbly thank your royal majesty. Hor. And I accept the combat willingly. Pet. Alas, my lord, I cannot fight; for God's sake, pity my case! the spite of man prevaileth against me. O, Lord, have mercy upon me! I shall never be able to fight a blow: O Lord, my heart!

Glo. Sirrah, or you must fight, or else be hang'd.

K. Hen. Away with them to prison: and the day Of combat shall be the last of the next month. Come, Somerset, we'll see thee sent away. [Exeunt.

SCENE IV. The same. The duke of GLOSTER'S Garden.

Enter MARGERY JOURDAIN, HUME, SOUTHWELL, and BOLINGBROKE.

Hume. Come, my masters; the duchess, I tell you, expects performance of your promises. Boling. Master Hume, we are therefore provided: Will her ladyship behold and hear our exorcisms?*

Hume. Ay; What else? fear you not her courage.

Boling. I have heard her reported to be a woman of an invincible spirit: But it shall be convenient, master Hume, that you be by her aloft, while we be busy below; and so, I pray you, go in God's name, and leave us. [Exit HUME.] Mother Jourdain, be you prostrate, and grovel on the earth:-John Southwell, read you; and let us to our work.

Enter DUCHESS, above.

Duch. Well said, my masters; and welcome all. To this geer;f the sooner the better. Boling. Patience, good lady; wizards know their times;

Deep night, dark night, the silent of the night, The time of night when Troy was set on fire;

* By exorcise Shakspeare invariably means to raise spirits, and not to lay them. + Matter or business.

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