And in that ease I'll tell thee my disease.
This day, in argument upon a case,
Some words there grew 'twixt Somerset and me;
Among which terms he us'd his lavish tongue
And did upbraid me with my father's death:
Which obloquy set bars before my tongue,
Else with the like I had requited him.
Therefore, good uncle, for my father's sake,
In honour of a true Plantagenet,
And for alliance sake, declare the cause
My father, Earl of Cambridge, lost his head.
Mor. That cause, fair nephew, that imprison'd

me,

And hath detain'd me all my flow'ring youth Within a loathsome dungeon, there to pine, Was cursed instrument of his decease.

50

Mor. I will, if that my fading breath permit, And death approach not ere my tale be done. Henry the Fourth, grandfather to this king, Depos'd his nephew Richard, Edward's son, The first-begotten and the lawful heir Of Edward king, the third of that descent: During whose reign the Percies of the north, Finding his usurpation most unjust, Endeavour'd my advancement to the throne. The reason mov'd these war-like lords to this Was, for that, young King Richard thus remov'd, Leaving no heir begotten of his body, I was the next by birth and parentage; For by my mother I derived am

72

80

From Lionel, Duke of Clarence, the third son
To King Edward the Third; whereas he
From John of Gaunt doth bring his pedigree,
Being but fourth of that heroic line.
But mark as in this haughty great attempt
They laboured to plant the rightful heir,
I lost my liberty and they their lives.
Long after this, when Henry the Fifth,
Succeeding his father Bolingbroke, did reign,
Thy father, Earl of Cambridge, then deriv'd
From famous Edmund Langley, Duke of York,
Marrying my sister that thy mother was,
Again in pity of my hard distress
Levied an army, weening to redeem
And have install'd me in the diadem;
But, as the rest, so fell that noble earl,
And was beheaded. Thus the Mortimers,
In whom the title rested, were suppress'd.
Plan. Of which, my lord, your honour is the
last.

Mor. True; and thou seest that I no issue have, And that my fainting words do warrant death. Thou art my heir; the rest I wish thee gather: But yet be wary in thy studious care.

slaughterer doth

109

Which giveth many wounds when one will kill.
Mourn not, except thou sorrow for my good;
Only give order for my funeral :

And so farewell; and fair be all thy hopes,
And prosperous be thy life in peace and war!
Dies.

Plan. And peace, no war, befall thy parting soul!

In prison hast thou spent a pilgrimage,
And like a hermit overpass'd thy days.
Well, I will lock his counsel in my breast;
And what I do imagine let that rest.
Keepers, convey him hence; and I myself
Will see his burial better than his life.

120

Exeunt Gaolers, bearing out the body of MORTIMER. Here dies the dusky torch of Mortimer, Chok'd with ambition of the meaner sort: And for those wrongs, those bitter injuries, Which Somerset hath offer'd to my house, I doubt not but with honour to redress; And therefore haste I to the parliament, Either to be restored to my blood,

Or make my ill the advantage of my good. Exit.

ACT III.

SCENE I.-London. The Parliament House. Flourish.

Enter King HENRY, EXETER, GLOU CESTER, WARWICK, SOMERSET, and SUF FOLK; the Bishop of WINCHESTER, RICHARD PLANTAGENET, and Others. GLOUCESTER offers to put up a bill; WINCHESTER snatches it, and tears it.

Win. Com'st thou with deep premeditated lines,

With written pamphlets studiously devis'd,
Humphrey of Gloucester? If thou canst accuse,
Or aught intend'st to lay unto my charge,
Do it without invention, suddenly;
As I with sudden and extemporal speech
Purpose to answer what thou canst object.
Glou. Presumptuous priest! this place com-
mands my patience

10

Plan. Thy grave admonishments prevail with

me:

100

But yet methinks my father's execution
Was nothing less than bloody tyranny.
Mor. With silence, nephew, be thou politic:
Strong-fixed is the house of Lancaster,

20

30

To give me hearing what I shall reply.
If I were covetous, ambitious, or perverse,
As he will have me, how am I so poor?
Or how haps it I seek not to advance
Or raise myself, but keep my wonted calling?
And for dissension, who preferreth peace
More than I do, except I be provok'd?
No, my good lords, it is not that offends;
It is not that that hath incens'd the duke:
It is, because no one should sway but he;
No one but he should be about the king;
And that engenders thunder in his breast,
And makes him roar these accusations forth. 40
But he shall know I am as good-

Glow.

Thou bastard of my grandfather!

As good!

Win. Ay, lordly sir; for what are you, I pray, But one imperious in another's throne?

Glou. Am I not protector, saucy priest? Win. And am not I a prelate of the church? Glou. Yes, as an outlaw in a castle keeps, And useth it to patronage his theft. Win. Unreverent Gloucester ! Glou. Thou art reverent, Touching thy spiritual function, not thy life. 50 Win. Rome shall remedy this. War. Roam thither then. Som. My lord, it were your duty to forbear. War. Ay, see the bishop be not overborne. Som. Methinks my lord should be religious, And know the office that belongs to such. War. Methinks his lordship should be humbler;

It fitteth not a prelate so to plead.

Som. Yes, when his holy state is touch'd so

near.

60

War. State holy or unhallow'd, what of that? Is not his grace protector to the king? Plan. Aside. Plantagenet, I see, must hold his tongue,

Lest it be said 'Speak, sirrah, when you should; Must your bold verdict enter talk with lords?' Else would I have a fling at Winchester.

K. Hen. Uncles of Gloucester and of Win-
chester,

The special watchmen of our English weal,
I would prevail, if prayers might prevail,
To join your hearts in love and amity.
O! what a scandal is it to our crown,
That two such noble peers as ye should jar.
Believe me, lords, my tender years can tell
Civil dissension is a viperous worm,
That gnaws the bowels of the commonwealth.
A noise within. 'Down with the tawny coats!'
What tumult 's this?

First Serv. Nay, if we be forbidden stones, we'll fall to it with our teeth.

Second Serv. Do what ye dare; we are as resolute. Skirmish again.

Glou. You of my household, leave this peevish broil,

And set this unaccustom'd fight aside.

First Serv. My lord, we know your grace to be a man

100

Just and upright, and, for your royal birth,
Inferior to none but to his majesty ;
And ere that we will suffer such a prince,
So kind a father of the commonweal,
To be disgraced by an inkhorn mate,
We and our wives and children all will fight,
And have our bodies slaughter'd by thy foes.
Third Serv. Ay, and the very parings of our

nails

And if you love me, as you say you do,
Let me persuade you to forbear awhile.
K. Hen. O! how this discord doth afflict my
soul.

111

Can you, my lord of Winchester, behold
My sighs and tears and will not once relent?
Who should be pitiful if you be not?
Or who should study to prefer a peace
If holy churchmen take delight in broils?
War. Yield, my lord protector; yield, Win-
chester;

Except you mean with obstinate repulse
To slay your sovereign and destroy the realm.
You see what mischief and what murder too
Hath been enacted through your enmity:
Then be at peace, except ye thirst for blood.
Win. He shall submit, or I will never yield.
Glou. Compassion on the king commands me
stoop;

121

See here, my friends and loving countrymen,
This token serveth for a flag of truce
Betwixt ourselves and all our followers.
So help me God, as I dissemble not!

Win. Aside. So help me God, as I intend it not! K. Ilen. O loving uncle, kind Duke of Gloucester,

How joyful am I made by this contract !
Away, my masters! trouble us no more;
But join in friendship, as your lords have done.
First Serv. Content: I'll to the surgeon's.
Second Serv.
And so will I.
Third Serv. And I will see what physic the
tavern affords.

Exeunt Mayor, Servingmen, etc. War. Accept this scroll, most gracious sovereign,

Which in the right of Richard Plantagenet
We do exhibit to your majesty.

150

Glou. Well urg'd, my Lord of Warwick: for, sweet prince,

An if your grace mark every circumstance,
You have great reason to do Richard right;
Especially for those occasions

At Eltham-place I told your majesty.

K. Hen. And those occasions, uncle, were of force:

Therefore, my loving lords, our pleasure is
That Richard be restored to his blood.

160

War. Let Richard be restored to his blood; So shall his father's wrongs be recompens'd. Win. As will the rest, so willeth Winchester. K. Hen. If Richard will be true, not that alone, But all the whole inheritance I give That doth belong unto the house of York, From whence you spring by lineal descent. Plan. Thy humble servant vows obedience And humble service till the point of death. K. Hen. Stoop then and set your knee against my foot;

And, in reguerdon of that duty done,

I gird thee with the valiant sword of York:
Rise, Richard, like a true Plantagenet,
And rise created princely Duke of York.

170

Plan. And so thrive Richard as thy foes may fall!

And as my duty springs, so perish they
That grudge one thought against your majesty!
All. Welcome, high prince, the mighty Duke
of York!

Som. Aside. Perish, base prince, ignoble Duke

of York!

Glou. Now will it best avail your majesty 189 To cross the seas and to be crown'd in France. The presence of a king engenders love Amongst his subjects and his royal friends, As it disanimates his enemies.

K. Hen. When Gloucester says the word, King
Henry goes;

For friendly counsel cuts off many foes.
Glou. Your ships already are in readiness.
Flourish. Exeunt all but EXETER.

Exe. Ay, we may march in England or in France, Not seeing what is likely to ensue.

This late dissension grown betwixt the peers 190

| Burns under feigned ashes of fog'd love,
And will at last break out into a flame:
As fester'd members rot but by degree,
Till bones and flesh and sinews fall away,
So will this base and envious discord breed.
And now I fear that fatal prophecy
Which in the time of Henry nam'd the Fifth
Was in the mouth of every sucking babe;
That Henry born at Monmouth should win all,
And Henry born at Windsor should lose all : 200
Which is so plain that Exeter doth wish
His days may finish ere that hapless time. Exit.

SCENE II. France. Before Rouen.

Enter JOAN LA PUCELLE disguised, and Soldiers dressed like countrymen, with sacks upon their backs.

Joan. These are the city gates, the gates of
Roan,

Through which our policy must make a breach:
Take heed, be wary how you place your words;
Talk like the vulgar sort of market men
That come to gather money for their corn.
If we have entrance, as I hope we shall,
And that we find the slothful watch but weak,
I'll by a sign give notice to our friends,
That Charles the Dauphin may encounter them.
First Sold. Our sacks shall be a mean to sack
the city,

And we be lords and rulers over Roan;
Therefore we 'll knock.

Watch. Within. Qui est là?

Knocks.

Joan. Paysans, pauvres gens de France: Poor market folks that come to sell their corn. Watch. Opens the gate. Enter, go in; the market

bell is rung.

Joan. Now, Roan, I'll shake thy bulwarks to the ground.

JOAN LA PUCELLE, etc., enter the city. Enter CHARLES, the Bastard of ORLEANS, ALENÇON, and Forces.

Cha. Saint Denis bless this happy stratagem! And once again we 'll sleep secure in Roan. Bast. Here enter'd Pucelle and her practisants; Now she is there how will she specify Where is the best and safest passage in? Alen. By thrusting out a torch from yonde: tower;

21

Exit.

Alarum. Excunt.

An alarum.

Enter TALBOT in an excursion. Tal. France, thou shalt rue this treason with thy tears,

If Talbot but survive thy treachery.
Pucelle, that witch, that damned sorceress,
Hath wrought this hellish mischief unawares,
That hardly we escap'd the pride of France. 40
Exit.

Alarum. Excursions. Enter, from the town, BEDFORD, brought in sick in a chair. Enter TALBOT and BURGUNDY without. Then, enter on the walls, JOAN LA PUCELLE, CHARLES, the Bastard of ORLEANS, ALENÇON, REIGNIER,

and Others.

Tal. Foul fiend of France, and hag of all despite, Encompass'd with thy lustful paramours! Becomes it thee to taunt his valiant age And twit with cowardice a man half dead? Damsel, I'll have a bout with you again, Or else let Talbot perish with this shame. Joan. Are ye so hot, sir? Yet, Pucelle, hold thy peace;

If Talbot do but thunder, rain will follow.

The English whisper together in council. God speed the parliament! who shall be the speaker?

Tal. Dare ye come forth and meet us in the field?

Joan. Belike your lordship takes us then for fools,

To try if that our own be ours or no.

Tal. I speak not to that railing Hecate,
But unto thee, Alençon, and the rest;
Will ye, like soldiers, come and fight it out?
Alen. Signior, no.

Tal. Signior, hang! base muleters of France! Like peasant foot-boys do they keep the walls, And dare not take up arms like gentlemen.

70

Joan. Away, captains! let's get us from the walls,

For Talbot means no goodness by his looks. God be wi' you, my lord: we came but to tell you That we are here.

Exeunt JOAN LA PUCELLE, etc., from the walls. Tal. And there will we be too ere it be long, Or else reproach be Talbot's greatest fame! Vow, Burgundy, by honour of thy house, Prick'd on by public wrongs sustain'd in France, Either to get the town again or die; And I, as sure as English Henry lives, And as his father here was conqueror, As sure as in this late-betrayed town

89

Great Coeur-de-Lion's heart was buried,
So sure I swear to get the town or die.
Bur. My vows are equal partners with thy vows.
Tal. But ere we go, regard this dying prince,
The valiant Duke of Bedford. Come, my lord,
We will bestow you in some better place,
Fitter for sickness and for crazy age.

91

Bed. Lord Talbot, do not so dishonour me; Here will I sit before the walls of Roan, And will be partner of your weal or woe. Bur. Courageous Bedford, let us now persuade you.

Bed. Not to be gone from hence; for once I read That stout Pendragon in his litter sick Came to the field and vanquished his foes. Methinks I should revive the soldiers' hearts, Because I ever found them as myself.

Tal. Undaunted spirit in a dying breast! Then be it so heavens keep old Bedford safe! And now no more ado, brave Burgundy, But gather we our forces out of hand, And set upon our boasting enemy.

101

Tal. Lost, and recover'd in a day again!
This is a double honour, Burgundy:
Yet heavens have glory for this victory!

Bur. War-like and martial Talbot, Burgundy Enshrines thee in his heart, and there erects Thy noble deeds as valour's monument.

120

Tal. Thanks, gentle duke. But where is Pucelle now?

I think her old familiar is asleep :
Now where's the Bastard's braves, and Charles
his gleeks?

What! all amort? Roan hangs her head for grief
That such a valiant company are fled.
Now will we take some order in the town,
Placing therein some expert officers,
And then depart to Paris to the king;
For there young Henry with his nobles lie.
Bur. What wills Lord Talbot pleaseth Bur-
gundy.

Tal. But yet, before we go, let's not forget

130

SCENE III.-The Same. The Plains near Rouen.
Enter CHARLES, the Bastard of ORLEANS,
ALENÇON, JOAN LA PUCELLE, and Forces.
Joan. Dismay not, princes, at this accident,
Nor grieve that Roan is so recovered:
Care is no cure, but rather corrosive,
For things that are not to be remedied.
Let frantic Talbot triumph for a while,
And like a peacock sweep along his tail;
We'll pull his plumes and take away his train
If Dauphin and the rest will be but rul'd.

Cha. We have been guided by thee hitherto,
And of thy cunning had no diffidence:
One sudden foil shall never breed distrust.

10

And not have title of an earldom here.

Joan. Your honours shall perceive how I will work

To bring this matter to the wished end.

Drum sounds afar off. Hark! by the sound of drum you may perceive Their powers are marching unto Paris-ward. 30 Here sound an English March. Enter, and pass over at a distance, TALBOT and his Forces. There goes the Talbot, with his colours spread, And all the troops of English after him. A French March.

Enter the Duke of BURGUNDY and Forces.

Now in the rearward comes the duke and his : Fortune in favour makes him lag behind. Summon a parley; we will talk with him.

Trumpets sound a parley. Cha. A parley with the Duke of Burgundy! Bur. Who craves a parley with the Burgundy? Joan. The princely Charles of France, thy countryman.

Bur. What say'st thou, Charles? for I am marching hence.

Cha. Speak, Pucelle, and enchant him with thy words.

40

Joan. Brave Burgundy, undoubted hope of France!

Stay, let thy humble handmaid speak to thee. Bur. Speak on; but be not over-tedious.

Joan. Look on thy country, look on fertile France,

49

And see the cities and the towns defac'd
By wasting ruin of the cruel foe.
As looks the mother on her lowly babe
When death doth close his tender dying eyes,
See, see the pining malady of France;
Behold the wounds, the most unnatural wounds,
Which thou thyself hast given her woeful breast.
O! turn thy edged sword another way;
Strike those that hurt, and hurt not those that
help.

One drop of blood drawn from thy country's

bosom

Should grieve thee more than streams of foreign gore:

Return thee therefore with a flood of tears, And wash away thy country's stained spots. Bur. Either she hath bewitch'd me with her words,

Or nature makes me suddenly relent.

Joan. Besides, all French and France exclains on thee,

Who join'st thou with but with a lordly nation
Doubting thy birth and lawful progeny.
That will not trust thee but for profit's sake!
When Talbot hath set footing once in France,
And fashion'd thee that instrument of ill,

70

Who then but English Henry will be lord,
And thou be thrust out like a fugitive?
Call we to mind, and mark but this for proof,
Was not the Duke of Orleans thy foe,
And was he not in England prisoner ?
But when they heard he was thine enemy,
They set him free without his ransom paid,
In spite of Burgundy and all his friends.
And join'st with them will be thy slaughter-men,
See then, thou fight'st against thy countrymen,
Come, come, return; return, thou wand'ring lord;
Charles and the rest will take thee in their arms.
Bur. I am vanquished; these haughty words

of hers

80

Have batter'd me like roaring cannon-shot,
And made me almost yield upon my knees.
Forgive me, country, and sweet countrymen!
And, lords, accept this hearty kind embrace:
My forces and my power of men are yours.
So, farewell, Talbot; I'll no longer trust thee.
Joan. Aside. Done like a Frenchman: turn,
and turn again!

Cha. Welcome, brave duke! thy friendship makes us fresh.

Bast. And doth beget new courage in our breasts.

Alen. Pucelle bath bravely play'd her part in this,

And doth deserve a coronet of gold.

Cha. Now let us on, my lords, and join our powers,

And seek how we may prejudice the foe. Ixeunt.

SCENE IV.-Paris. The Palace.

Enter King HENRY, GLOUCESTER, Bishop of
WINCHESTER, YORK, SUFFOLK, SOMERSET.
WARWICK, EXETER; VERNON, BASSET, and
Others. To them with his soldiers, TALBOT.
Tal. My gracious prince, and honourable peers,
Hearing of your arrival in this realm,

I have awhile given truce unto my wars,