Cap. Be not so rash: take ransom; let him live. Suf. Look on my George: I am a gentleman: Rate me at what thou wilt, thou shalt be paid. Whit. And so am I: my name is Walter Whitmore.

How now! why start'st thou? what, doth death affright?

Suf. 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:
Thy name is Gaultier, being rightly sounded.
Whit. Gaultier or Walter, which it is I care not:
Ne'er yet did base dishonour blur our name,
But with our sword we wiped away the blot.
Therefore when, merchant-like, I sell revenge,
Broke be my sword, my arms torn and defaced,
And I proclaimed a coward through the world!

[Lays hold on SUFFOLK.

Suf. Stay, Whitmore: for thy prisoner is a prince :

The Duke of Suffolk, William de la Poole.

Whit. The Duke of Suffolk muffled up in rags! Suf. Ay, but these rags are no part of the duke:

Jove sometime went disguised, and why not I?
Cap. But Jove was never slain, as thou shalt be.
Suf. Obscure and lowly swain, King Henry's
blood,

The honourable blood of Lancaster,
Must not be shed by such a jaded groom.
Hast thou not kissed thy hand and held my stirrup:
Bareheaded 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, kneeled down at the board,
When I have feasted with Queen Margaret?
Remember it, and let it make thee crestfallen :
Ay, and allay this thy abortive pride.
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?

Cap. First let my words stab him, as he hath

Ay, kennel, puddle, sink! whose filth and dirt
Troubles the silver spring where England drinks.
Now will I dam up this thy yawning mouth,
For swallowing the treasure of the realm:
Thy lips, that kissed 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, overgorged
With gobbets of thy mother's bleeding heart.
By thee Anjou and Maine were sold to France:
The false revolting Normans thorough thee
Disdain to call us lord: and Picardy
Hath slain their governors, surprised our forts,
And sent the ragged soldiers wounded home.
The princely Warwick and the Nevils all,
Whose dreadful swords were never drawn in vain,
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-faced 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.

Suf. 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 beehives
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.

Suf. "Penè 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? 1st Gent. My gracious lord, entreat him, speak

him fair.

Suf. Suffolk's imperial tongue is stern and rough, Used 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 uncovered to the vulgar groom. True nobility is exempt from fear :More can I bear than you dare execute.

Cap. Hale him away, and let him talk no more. Suf. Come, soldiers, shew what cruelty ye can, That this my death may never be forgot! Great men oft die by vile Bezonians : A Roman sworder and banditto slave Murdered sweet Tully; Brutus' bastard hand Stabbed Julius Cæsar; savage islanders, Pompey the great: and Suffolk dies by pirates.

[Exit SUFFOLK, with WHITMORE and others. Cap. And as for these whose ransom we have set, It is our pleasure one of them depart :Therefore come you with us, and let him go.

[Exeunt all but the first Gentleman.

Enter GEORGE BEVIS and JOHN HOLLAND. Geo. Come, and get thee a sword, though made of a lath: they have been up these two days. 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 handicraftsmen.

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: fs 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's.

John. And Smith the weaver ;

Geo. Argo, their thread of life is spun. John. Come, come, let's fall in with them. Drum.

Enter CADE, Dick the butcher, SMITH the weaver, and others in great number. Cade. We John Cade, so termed of our supposed 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,

Dick. He was an honest man and a good bricklayer. [Aside.

Cade. My mother a Plantagenet,-
Dick. I knew her well, she was a midwife.

[Aside. 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.

Cade. I am able to endure much. Dick. No question of that; for I have seen him whipped three market days together.

[Aside.

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 seven halfpenny loaves sold for a penny; the three-hooped pot shall have ten hoops; and I will make it felony to drink small

beer: all the realm shall be in common, and in Cheapside shall my palfrey go to grass. And when I am king (as king I will be),

All. God save your majesty!

Cade. I thank you, good people :-there shall be no money; all shall eat and drink on my score: and I will apparel them all in one livery, that they may agree like brothers, and worship me their lord.

Dick. The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers.

Cade. Nay, that I mean to do. Is not this a lamentable thing, that of the skin of an innocent lamb should be made parchment: that parchment, being scribbled o'er, should undo a man? Some say the bee stings: but I say 'tis the bee's wax; for I did but seal once to a thing, and I was never mine own man since.-How now: who's there?

Enter some, bringing in the CLERK of CHATHAM. Smith. The Clerk of Chatham: he can write and read, and cast accompt.

Cade. O monstrous!

Smith. We took him setting of boys' copies. Cade. Here's a villain!

Smith. H'as a book in his pocket with red letters in 't.

Cade. Nay, then he is a conjuror.

Dick. Nay, he can make obligations and write court-hand.

Cade. I am sorry for 't: the man is a proper man, on mine honour: unless I find him guilty he shall not die.-Come hither, sirrah, I must examine thee what is thy name?

Enter SIR HUMPHREY STAFFORD, and WILLIAM

his brother, with drum and Forces.

Staff. Rebellious hinds, the filth and scum of
Kent,

Marked for the gallows, lay your weapons down,
Home to your cottages, forsake this groom:
The King is merciful, if you revolt.

W. Staf. But angry, wrathful, and inclined to blood,

If you go forward: therefore yield, or die.
Cade. As for these silken-coated slaves, I pass not:
It is to you, good people, that I speak,
O'er whom in time to come I hope to reign:
For I am rightful heir unto the crown.

Staf. Villain, thy father was a plasterer;
And thou thyself a shearman, art thou not?
Cade. And Adam was a gardener.
W. Staf. And what of that?
Cade. Marry, this :-Edmund Mortimer, Earl
of March,

Married the Duke of Clarence' daughter: did he not?

W. Staf. Ay, sir.

Cade. By her he had two children at one birth. W. Staf. That's false.

Cade. Ay, there's the question: but I say 't is true.
The elder of them, being put to nurse,
Was by a beggar-woman stolen away;
And, ignorant of his birth and parentage,

Became a bricklayer when he came to age.
His son am I: deny it if you can.

Dick. Nay, 't is too true: therefore he shall be king.

Smith. Sir, he made a chimney in my father's house, and the bricks are alive at this day to testify it therefore deny it not.

Staf. And will you credit this base drudge's words,

That speaks he knows not what?

All. Ay, marry will we therefore get ye gone. W. Staf. Jack Cade, the Duke of York hath taught you this.

Cade. He lies, for I invented it myself. [Aside.] -Go to, sirrah: Tell the King from me, that, for his father's sake, Henry the fifth (in whose time boys went to span-counter for French crowns), I am content he shall reign: but I'll be protector over him.

Dick. And furthermore, we 'll have the Lord Say's head, for selling the dukedom of Maine.

Cade. And good reason; for thereby is England maimed, and fain to go with a staff, but that my puissance holds it up. Fellow kings, I tell you that that Lord Say hath gelded the commonwealth and made it an eunuch: and more than that, he can speak French; and therefore he is a traitor. Staf. O gross and miserable ignorance!

Cade. Nay, answer if you can :-The Frenchmen are our enemies: go to, then, I ask but this: Can he that speaks with the tongue of an enemy be a good counsellor or no?

All. No, no; and therefore we 'll have his head. W. Staf. Well, seeing gentle words will not prevail,

Assail them with an army of the King.

Staf. Herald,away: and, throughout every town, Proclaim them traitors that are up with Cade; That those which fly before the battle ends May, even in their wives' and children's sight, Be hanged up for example at their doors :And you that be the King's friends, follow me.

[Exeunt the two STAFFORDS and Forces. Cade. And you that love the commons, follow me. Now shew yourselves men; 't is for liberty. We will not leave one lord, one gentleman: Spare none but such as go in clouted shoon; For they are thrifty honest men, and such As would (but that they dare not) take our parts. Dick. They are all in order, and march toward us. Cade. But then are we in order when we are most out of order. Come, march forward. [Exeunt.

SCENE III.-Another part of Blackheath.

Alarums. The two parties enter and fight, and both the STAFFORDS are slain.

Cade. Where's Dick, the butcher of Ashford? Dick. Here, sir.

Cade. They fell before thee like sheep and

SCENE IV.-London. A Room in the Palace.

Enter KING HENRY, reading a supplication; the DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM and LORD SAY with him; at a distance, QUEEN MARGARET, mourning over SUFFOLK's head.

Q. Mar. Oft have I heard that grief softens
the mind,

And makes it fearful and degenerate:
Think therefore on revenge, and cease to weep.
But who can cease to weep, and look on this?
Here may his head lie on my throbbing breast:
But where's the body that I should embrace?

Buck. What answer makes your grace to the rebels' supplication?

K. Hen. I'll send some holy bishop to entreat : For God forbid so many simple souls Should perish by the sword! And I myself, Rather than bloody war should cut them short, Will parley with Jack Cade their general.— But stay, I'll read it over once again.

Q. Mar. Ah, barbarous villains! hath this lovely face

Ruled like a wandering planet over me
And could it not enforce them to relent
That were unworthy to behold the same?

K. Hen. Lord Say, Jack Cade hath sworn to

have thy head.

Say. Ay, but I hope your highness shall have his. K. Hen. How now, madam? Still lamenting and mourning for Suffolk's death? I fear, my love, if that I had been dead, Thou wouldst not have mourned so much for me. Q. Mar. No, my love; I should not mourn, but die for thee.

Enter a Messenger.

K. Hen. How now: what news? why com'st thou in such haste?

Mess. The rebels are in Southwark: fly, my lord!

Jack Cade proclaims himself Lord Mortimer,
Descended from the Duke of Clarence' house;
And calls your grace usurper openly,

And vows to crown himself in Westminster.
His army is a ragged multitude

Of hinds and peasants, rude and merciless.
Sir Humphrey Stafford's and his brother's death
Hath given them heart and courage to proceed:
All scholars, lawyers, courtiers, gentlemen,
They call false caterpillars, and intend their death.
K. Hen. O graceless men! they know not

what they do.

Buck. My gracious lord, retire to Kenilworth Until a power be raised to put them down.

Q. Mar. Ah! were the Duke of Suffolk now

alive,

These Kentish rebels would be soon appeased. K. Hen. Lord Say, the traitors hate thee; Therefore away with us to Kenilworth.

Say. So might your grace's person be in
danger:

The sight of me is odious in their eyes.
And therefore in this city will I stay,
And live alone as secret as I may.

Enter another Messenger.

2nd Mess. Jack Cade hath gotten London-
bridge:

The citizens fly and forsake their houses.
The rascal people, thirsting after prey,
Join with the traitor; and they jointly swear
To spoil the city and your royal court.
Buck. Then linger not, my lord: away, take
horse.

K. Hen. Come, Margaret: God, our hope,
will succour us.

Q. Mar. My hope is gone now Suffolk is deceased.

K. Hen. Farewell, my lord (to LORD SAY): trust not the Kentish rebels. Buck. Trust nobody, for fear you be betrayed. Say. The trust I have is in mine innocence; And therefore am I bold and resolute. [Exeunt.