Where I may have fruition of her love. As is fair Margaret, he be link'd in love. Suff. Tush! my good lord! this superficial tale Then yield, my lords; and here conclude with me Is but a preface of her worthy praise: And, which is more, she is not so divine, K. Hen. And otherwise will Henry ne'er sume. Therefore, my lord protector, give consent, How shall we then dispense with that contract, Suff. As doth a ruler with unlawful oaths A poor earl's daughter is unequal odds, ; pre Glo. Why, what, I pray, is Margaret more than Her father is no better than an earl, Suff. Yes, my good lord, her father is a king, Glo. And so the earl of Armagnac may do, Exe. Beside, his wealth doth warrant liberal While Reignier sooner will receive, than give. That he should be so abject, base, and poor, And not to seeh So worthless pts bargain for their wives, And therefore, lords, since he affects her most, That Margaret shall be queen, and none but she. report, My noble lord of Suffolk; or for that I feel such sharp dissension in my breast, Of this play there is no copy earlier than that of the folio in 1623, though the two succeeding parts are extant in two editions in quarto. That the second and third parts were published without the first, may be admitted as no weak proof that the copies were surreptitiously obtained, and that the printers at that time gave the public those plays, not such as the author designed, but such as they could get them. That this play was written before the two others is indubitably collected from the series of events; that it was written and played before Henry the Fifth is apparent; because, in the epilogue there is mention made of this play, and not of the other parts: 'Henry the Sixth in swaddling bands crown'd king, Whose state so many had the managing, That they lost France, and made his England bleed: 'Which oft our stage hath shown.' France is lost in this play. The two following contain, as the old title imports, the contention of Whom should we match, with Henry, being a king, the houses of York and Lancaster. But Margaret, that is daughter to a king? (1) A triumph then signified a public exhibition; such as a mask, or revel. The second and third parts of Henry VI. were printed in 1600. When Henry V. was written, we know not, but it was printed likewise in 1600, and therefore before the publication of the first and second parts. The first part of Henry VI. had been often shown on the stage, and would certainly have appeared in its place, had the author been the publisher. JOHNSON. (2) By the discretional agency of another. SECOND PART OF KING HENRY VI. 'The Contention of the two famous houses of York and Lancaster,' in two parts, was pubhshed in quarto, in 1600; and the first part was entered on the Stationers' books, (as Mr. Steevens has observed,) March 12, 1593-4. On these two plays, which I believe to have been written by some preceding author, before the year 1590, Shakspeare formed, as I conceive, this and the following dran a; altering, retrenching, or amplifying, as he thought proper. At present it is only necessary to apprize the reader of the method observed in the printing of these plays. All the lines printed in the usual manner are found in the original quarto plays (or at least with such minute variations as a e not worth noticing) and those, I conceive, Shakspeare adopted as he found them. The lines to which inverted commas are prefixed, were, if my hypothesis be well founded, retouched, and greatly improved by him; and those with asterisks were his own original production; the embroidery with which he ornamented the coarse stuff that had been awkwardly made up for the stage by some of his contemporaries. The speeches which he new-modelled, he improved, sometimes by amplification, and sometimes by re trenchment. MALONE. PERSONS REPRESENTED. Hume and Southwell, two priests. Humphrey, duke of Gloster, his uncle. King Henry the Sixth: Bolingbroke, a conjurer. A Spirit raised by him. Cardinal Beaufort, bishop of Winchester, great Thomas Horner, an armourer. Peter, his man. uncle to the king. Richard Plantagenet, duke of York: Edward and Richard, his sons. Duke of Somerset, Duke of Suffolk, Duke of Buckingham, of the king's party. Lord Clifford, Young Clifford, his son. Earl of Salisbury, Earl of Warwick, of the York faction. Lord Say. A Sea-captain, Master, and Master's Mate, and Two Gentlemen, prisoners with Suffolk. Clerk of Chatham. Mayor of Saint Alban's. George, John, Dick, Smith, the Weaver, Michael, Alexander Iden, a Kentish Gentleman. Margaret, queen to king Henry. 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, dispersedly in various parts of England. Seven earls, twelve barons, twenty reverend bishops, K. Hen. Suffolk, arise.-Welcome, queen Mar- I can express no kinder sign of love, R The mutual conference that my mind hath had'-Studied so long, sat in the council-house, 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 b lder to salute my king With ruder terms; such as my wit affords, 'And over-joy of heart doth minister. How France and Frenchmen might be kept in awe? Been crown'd in Paris, in despite of foes? Early and late, debating to and fro And shall these labours, and these honours, die? 'K. Hen. Her sight did ravish: but her grace in Your deeds of war, and all our council, die? speech, 'O peers of England, shameful is this league! 'Her words y-clad with wisdom's majesty, 'Fatal this mariage, cancelling your fame: 'Makes me, from wondering fall to weeping joys;Blotting your names from books of memory. 'Such is the fulness of my heart's content.Razing the characters of your renown; 'Lords, with one cheerful voice welcome my love. Defacing monuments of conquered France; All. Long live queen Margaret, England's hap-Undoing all, as all had never been! piness! Q. Mar. We thank you all. [Flourish. Suff. My lord protector, so it please your grace, 'Car. Nephew, what means this passionate discourse? This peroration with such circumstance? 'For France, 'tis ours; and we will keep it still. Glo. Reads. Imprimis, It is agreed between the 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 thirtieth 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. Ay, uncle, we will keep it, if we can; Sal. Now, by the death of him that died for all, tears. Pardon me, gracious lord;'Anjou and Maine! myself did win them both; Some sudden qualm hath struck me at the heart, K. Hen. They please us well.-Lord marquess We here create thee the first duke of Suffolk, Cousin of York, we here discharge your grace Somerset, Salisbury, and Warwick; and York. For Suffolk's duke-may he be suffocate, I never read but England's kings have had wives : And our king Henry gives away his own, Glo. A proper jest, and never heard before, *That Suffolk should demand a whole fifteenth, For costs and charges in transporting her! *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, state,But 'tis my presence that doth trouble you. Rancour will out: Proud prelate, in thy face I see thy fury: If I longer stav, [Exeunt King, Queen, and Suffolk. Glo. Brave peers of England, pillars of the 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 council of the realm, (1) I am the bolder to address you, having already familiarized you to my imagination. (2) Beloved above all things. We shall begin our ancient bickerings."- (3) This speech crowded with so many circum *Look to it, lords; let not his smoothing words *Bewitch your hearts; be wise, and circumspect. "What though the common people favour him, 'Calling him-Humphrey, the good duke of Glos ter ; * Clapping their hands, and crying with a 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 reign, He being of age to govern of himself?'Cousin of Somerset, join you with me, The peers agreed; and Henry is well pleas'd, I cannot blame them all; What is't to them? *And purchase friends, and give to courtezans, And all together-with the duke of Suffolk,"We'll quickly hoise duke Humphrey from his seat. * Car. This weighty business will not brook de-* lay; *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 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 common-weal. Warwick, my son, the comfort of my age! Thy deeds, thy plainness, and thy house-keeping, 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 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 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 land, And common profit of his country! *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. Bear that proportion to my flesh and blood, A day will come, when York shall claim his own; Till Henry, surfeiting in joys of love, With his new bride, and England's dear-bought queen, And Humphrey with the peers be fall'n at jars: SCENE II-The same. A room in the duke 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 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: 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 heaven; And never more abase our sight so low, As to vouchafe one glance unto the ground. [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; (1) For ticklish. (2) 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 Your grace's title shall be multiplied. lord, 'Banish the canker of ambitious thoughts: And may that thought, when I imagine ill Be my last breathing in this mortal world! 'My troublous dream this night doth make me sad. 6 With sweet rehearsal of my morning's dream. "Was broke in twain, by whom I have forgot, And on the pieces of the broken wand' Act. I Duch. What say'st thou, man? hast thou as yet With Margery Jourdain, the cunning witch; Hume. This they have promised,-to show A spirit rais'd from depth of under ground, tions: 'When from Saint Albans we do make return, We'll see these things effected to the full. 'Were plac'd the heads of Edmond duke of Here Hume, take this reward: make merry, man, Somerset, 'And William de la Poole first duke of Suffolk. This was my dream; what it doth bode, God knows. But list to ine, my Humphrey, my sweet duke: In the cathedral church of Westminster, And in that chair where kings and queens are grown'd; Where Henry, and dame Margaret, kneel'd to me, 'And on my head did set the diadem. With thy confederates in this weighty cause. 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 duke of Suffolk, They knowing dame Eleanor's aspiring humour, 'Yet I do find it so: for, to be plain, 'Have hired me to undermine the duchess, And buzz 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, * Hume's knavery will be the duchess' wreck; so* Sort how it will, I shall have gold for all. [Exit. *And her attaintre will be Humphrey's fall: SCENE III-The same. A room in the palace. Enter Peter, and others, with petitions. Glo. Nay, Eleanor, then must I chide outright: *Presumptuous dame, ill-nurtur'd' Eleanor! Art thou not second woman in the realin; 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 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. 'Mess. My lord protector, 'tis his highness'' pleasure, "You do prepare to ride unto Saint Albans, "Whereas the king and queen do mean to hawk. Glo. I go.-Come, Nell, thou wilt ride with us?* 'Duch. Yes, good my 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 re nove 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 I. Hume. Jesu preserve your royal majesty! grace. Hume. But, by the grace of God, and Hume's advice, (1) Ill-educated. (2) For where. 3) A title frequently bestowed on the clergy. '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 good man! Jesu bless him! 2 Pet. Marry, the Lord protect him, for he's a quill. Enter Suffolk, and Queen Margaret. Suffolk, and not my lord protector. Suff. How now, fellow? would'st any thing with me? 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 keep'ing my house and lands, and wife and all, from me. Suff. Thy wife too? that is some wrong indeed.. our whole township. Peter. [Presenting his petition] |