Project Gutenberg Etext of King Henry VI, Part 2, by Shakespeare
PG has multiple editions of William Shakespeare's Complete Works
Copyright laws are changing all over the world, be sure to check the copyright laws for your country before posting these files!!
Please take a look at the important information in this header. We encourage you to keep this file on your own disk, keeping an electronic path open for the next readers. Do not remove this.
**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts**
**Etexts Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971**
*These Etexts Prepared By Hundreds of Volunteers and Donations*
Information on contacting Project Gutenberg to get Etexts, and further information is included below. We need your donations.
King Henry VI, Second Part
by William Shakespeare [Rolfe edition]
October, 1998 [Etext #1501]
Project Gutenberg Etext of King Henry VI, Part 2 by Shakespeare
******This file should be named 1501.txt or 1501.zip******
This etext was prepared by the PG Shakespeare Team, a team of about twenty Project Gutenberg volunteers.
Project Gutenberg Etexts are usually created from multiple editions, all of which are in the Public Domain in the United States, unless a copyright notice is included. Therefore, we usually do NOT! keep these books in compliance with any particular paper edition.
We are now trying to release all our books one month in advance of the official release dates, leaving time for better editing.
Please note: neither this list nor its contents are final till midnight of the last day of the month of any such announcement. The official release date of all Project Gutenberg Etexts is at Midnight, Central Time, of the last day of the stated month. A preliminary version may often be posted for suggestion, comment and editing by those who wish to do so. To be sure you have an up to date first edition [xxxxx10x.xxx] please check file sizes in the first week of the next month. Since our ftp program has a bug in it that scrambles the date [tried to fix and failed] a look at the file size will have to do, but we will try to see a new copy has at least one byte more or less.
Information about Project Gutenberg (one page)
We produce about two million dollars for each hour we work. The time it takes us, a rather conservative estimate, is fifty hours to get any etext selected, entered, proofread, edited, copyright searched and analyzed, the copyright letters written, etc. This projected audience is one hundred million readers. If our value per text is nominally estimated at one dollar then we produce $2 million dollars per hour this year as we release thirty-six text files per month, or 432 more Etexts in 1999 for a total of 2000+ If these reach just 10% of the computerized population, then the total should reach over 200 billion Etexts given away this year.
The Goal of Project Gutenberg is to Give Away One Trillion Etext Files by December 31, 2001. [10,000 x 100,000,000 = 1 Trillion] This is ten thousand titles each to one hundred million readers, which is only ~5% of the present number of computer users.
At our revised rates of production, we will reach only one-third of that goal by the end of 2001, or about 3,333 Etexts unless we manage to get some real funding; currently our funding is mostly from Michael Hart's salary at Carnegie-Mellon University, and an assortment of sporadic gifts; this salary is only good for a few more years, so we are looking for something to replace it, as we don't want Project Gutenberg to be so dependent on one person.
We need your donations more than ever!
All donations should be made to "Project Gutenberg/CMU": and are tax deductible to the extent allowable by law. (CMU = Carnegie- Mellon University).
For these and other matters, please mail to:
Project Gutenberg
P. O. Box 2782
Champaign, IL 61825
When all other email fails. . .try our Executive Director: Michael S. Hart <[email protected]> [email protected] forwards to [email protected] and archive.org if your mail bounces from archive.org, I will still see it, if it bounces from prairienet.org, better resend later on. . . .
We would prefer to send you this information by email.
******
To access Project Gutenberg etexts, use any Web browser to view http://promo.net/pg. This site lists Etexts by author and by title, and includes information about how to get involved with Project Gutenberg. You could also download our past Newsletters, or subscribe here. This is one of our major sites, please email [email protected], for a more complete list of our various sites.
To go directly to the etext collections, use FTP or any Web browser to visit a Project Gutenberg mirror (mirror sites are available on 7 continents; mirrors are listed at http://promo.net/pg).
Mac users, do NOT point and click, typing works better.
Example FTP session:
ftp sunsite.unc.edu login: anonymous password: your@login cd pub/docs/books/gutenberg cd etext90 through etext99 dir [to see files] get or mget [to get files. . .set bin for zip files] GET GUTINDEX.?? [to get a year's listing of books, e.g., GUTINDEX.99] GET GUTINDEX.ALL [to get a listing of ALL books]
***
**Information prepared by the Project Gutenberg legal advisor**
(Three Pages)
***START**THE SMALL PRINT!**FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS**START*** Why is this "Small Print!" statement here? You know: lawyers. They tell us you might sue us if there is something wrong with your copy of this etext, even if you got it for free from someone other than us, and even if what's wrong is not our fault. So, among other things, this "Small Print!" statement disclaims most of our liability to you. It also tells you how you can distribute copies of this etext if you want to.
*BEFORE!* YOU USE OR READ THIS ETEXT By using or reading any part of this PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm etext, you indicate that you understand, agree to and accept this "Small Print!" statement. If you do not, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for this etext by sending a request within 30 days of receiving it to the person you got it from. If you received this etext on a physical medium (such as a disk), you must return it with your request.
ABOUT PROJECT GUTENBERG-TM ETEXTS This PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm etext, like most PROJECT GUTENBERG- tm etexts, is a "public domain" work distributed by Professor Michael S. Hart through the Project Gutenberg Association at Carnegie-Mellon University (the "Project"). Among other things, this means that no one owns a United States copyright on or for this work, so the Project (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth below, apply if you wish to copy and distribute this etext under the Project's "PROJECT GUTENBERG" trademark.
To create these etexts, the Project expends considerable efforts to identify, transcribe and proofread public domain works. Despite these efforts, the Project's etexts and any medium they may be on may contain "Defects". Among other things, Defects may take the form of
LIMITED WARRANTY; DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES But for the "Right of Replacement or Refund" described below, [1] the Project (and any other party you may receive this etext from as a PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm etext) disclaims all liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal fees, and [2] YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE OR UNDER STRICT LIABILITY, OR FOR BREACH OF WARRANTY OR CONTRACT, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
If you discover a Defect in this etext within 90 days of receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending an explanatory note within that time to the person you received it from. If you received it on a physical medium, you must return it with your note, and such person may choose to alternatively give you a replacement copy. If you received it electronically, such person may choose to alternatively give you a second opportunity to receive it electronically.
THIS ETEXT IS OTHERWISE PROVIDED TO YOU "AS-IS". NO OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ARE MADE TO YOU AS TO THE ETEXT OR ANY MEDIUM IT MAY BE ON, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
Some states do not allow disclaimers of implied warranties or the exclusion or limitation of consequential damages, so the above disclaimers and exclusions may not apply to you, and you may have other legal rights.
INDEMNITY You will indemnify and hold the Project, its directors, officers, members and agents harmless from all liability, cost and expense, including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following that you do or cause: [1] distribution of this etext, [2] alteration, modification, or addition to the etext, or [3] any Defect.
DISTRIBUTION UNDER "PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm" You may distribute copies of this etext electronically, or by disk, book or any other medium if you either delete this "Small Print!" and all other references to Project Gutenberg, or:
[1] Only give exact copies of it. Among other things, this requires that you do not remove, alter or modify the etext or this "small print!" statement. You may however, if you wish, distribute this etext in machine readable binary, compressed, mark-up, or proprietary form, including any form resulting from conversion by word pro- cessing or hypertext software, but only so long as *EITHER*:
[*] The etext, when displayed, is clearly readable, and does *not* contain characters other than those intended by the author of the work, although tilde (~), asterisk (*) and underline (_) characters may be used to convey punctuation intended by the author, and additional characters may be used to indicate hypertext links; OR
[*] The etext may be readily converted by the reader at no expense into plain ASCII, EBCDIC or equivalent form by the program that displays the etext (as is the case, for instance, with most word processors); OR
[*] You provide, or agree to also provide on request at no additional cost, fee or expense, a copy of the etext in its original plain ASCII form (or in EBCDIC or other equivalent proprietary form).
[2] Honor the etext refund and replacement provisions of this "Small Print!" statement.
[3] Pay a trademark license fee to the Project of 20% of the net profits you derive calculated using the method you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. If you don't derive profits, no royalty is due. Royalties are payable to "Project Gutenberg Association/Carnegie-Mellon University" within the 60 days following each date you prepare (or were legally required to prepare) your annual (or equivalent periodic) tax return.
WHAT IF YOU *WANT* TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO? The Project gratefully accepts contributions in money, time, scanning machines, OCR software, public domain etexts, royalty free copyright licenses, and every other sort of contribution you can think of. Money should be paid to "Project Gutenberg Association / Carnegie-Mellon University".
*END*THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END*
This etext was prepared by the PG Shakespeare Team, a team of about twenty Project Gutenberg volunteers.
HISTORY OF KING HENRY THE SIXTH, SECOND PART
by William Shakespeare
Dramatis Personae
KING HENRY THE SIXTH.
HUMPHREY, Duke of Gloster, his uncle.
CARDINAL BEAUFORT, Bishop of Winchester,
great-uncle to the King.
RICHARD PLANTAGENET, Duke of York.
EDWARD and RICHARD, his sons.
DUKE OF SOMERSET.
DUKE OF SUFFOLK.
DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM.
LORD CLIFFORD.
YOUNG CLIFFORD, his son.
EARL OF SALISBURY.
EARL OF WARWICK.
LORD SCALES.
LORD SAY.
SIR HUMPHREY STAFFORD, and WILLIAM
STAFFORD, his brother.
SIR JOHN STANLEY.
VAUX.
MATTHEW GOFFE.
A Sea-Captain, Master, and Master's-Mate, and WALTER
WHITMORE.
Two Gentlemen, prisoners with Suffolk.
JOHN HUME and JOHN SOUTHWELL, priests.
ROGER BOLINGBROKE, a conjurer.
THOMAS HORNER, an armourer. PETER, his man.
Clerk of Chatham. Mayor of Saint Albans.
SIMPCOX, an impostor.
ALEXANDER IDEN, a Kentish gentleman.
JACK CADE, a rebel.
GEORGE BEVIS, JOHN HOLLAND, DICK the butcher,
SMITH the weaver, MICHAEL, etc., followers of Cade.
Two Murderers.
MARGARET, Queen to King Henry.
ELEANOR, Duchess of Gloster.
MARGARET JOURDAIN, a witch.
Wife to Simpcox.
Lords, Ladies, and Attendants, Petitioners, Aldermen, a Herald, a Beadle, Sheriff, and Officers, Citizens, Prentices, Falconers, Guards, Soldiers, Messengers, &c.
A Spirit.
SCENE: England.
ACT I
SCENE I. London. The palace
[Flourish of trumpets: then hautboys. Enter the KING, GLOSTER,
SALISBURY, WARWICK, and CARDINAL BEAUFORT, on the
one side; the QUEEN, SUFFOLK, YORK, SOMERSET, and
BUCKINGHAM, on the other.]
SUFFOLK.
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, Bretagne, and Alencon,
Seven earls, twelve barons, and twenty reverend bishops,
I have perform'd 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
The fairest queen that ever king receiv'd.
KING.
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.
QUEEN.
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.
KING.
Her sight did ravish, but her grace in speech,
Her words yclad 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!
QUEEN.
We thank you all.
[Flourish.]
SUFFOLK.
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.
GLOSTER. [Reads] 'Imprimis, It is agreed between the French king Charles and William de la Pole, 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'—
[Lets the paper fall.]
KING.
Uncle, how now!
GLOSTER.
Pardon me, gracious lord;
Some sudden qualm hath struck me at the heart
And dimm'd mine eyes, that I can read no further.
KING.
Uncle of Winchester, I pray, read on.
CARDINAL. [Reads] '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.'
KING.
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
I' 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.]
GLOSTER.
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 had his highness in his infancy
Crowned 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!
CARDINAL.
Nephew, what means this passionate discourse,
This peroration with such circumstance?
For France, 't is ours; and we will keep it still.
GLOSTER.
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 duchy of Anjou and Maine
Unto the poor King Reignier, whose large style
Agrees not with the leanness of his purse.
SALISBURY.
Now, by the death of Him that died for all,
These counties were the keys of Normandy!—
But wherefore weeps Warwick, my valiant son?
WARWICK.
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 he 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.
GLOSTER.
A proper jest, and never heard before,
That Suffolk should demand a whole fifteenth
For costs and charges in transporting her!
She should have staid in France, and starv'd in France,
Before—
CARDINAL.
My Lord of Gloster, now ye grow too hot;
It was the pleasure of my lord the King.
GLOSTER.
My Lord of Winchester, I know your mind;
'T is not my speeches that you do mislike,
But 't is my presence that doth trouble ye.
Rancour will out.
Proud prelate, in thy face
I see thy fury; if I longer stay,
We shall begin our ancient bickerings.—
Lordings, farewell; and say, when I am gone,
I prophesied France will be lost ere long.
[Exit.]
CARDINAL.
So, there goes our protector in a rage.
'T is 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 him,
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.
BUCKINGHAM.
Why should he, then, protect our sovereign,
He being
Cousin of Somerset, join you with me,
And all together, with the Duke of Suffolk,
We'll quickly hoise Duke Humphrey from his seat.
CARDINAL.
This weighty business will not brook delay;
I'll to the Duke of Suffolk presently.
[Exit.]
SOMERSET.
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.
BUCKINGHAM.
Or thou or I, Somerset, will be protector,
Despite Duke Humphrey or the cardinal.
[Exeunt Buckingham and Somerset.]
SALISBURY.
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,
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.
WARWICK.
So God help Warwick, as he loves the land
And common profit of his country!
YORK.
[Aside.] And so says York, for he hath greatest cause.
SALISBURY.
Then let's make haste away, and look unto the main.
WARWICK.
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 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 changes two dukedoms for a duke's fair daughter.
I cannot blame them all: what is't to them?
'T is thine they give away, and not their own.
Pirates may make cheap pennyworths of their pillage,
And purchase friends, and give to courtesans,
Still revelling like lords till all be gone;
Whileas 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 Althaea 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 own;
And therefore I will take the Nevils' 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 fits 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,
And Humphrey with the peers be fallen at jars.
Then will I raise aloft the milk-white rose,
With whose sweet smell the air shall be perfum'd,
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.]
SCENE II. The Duke of Gloster's House.
[Enter DUKE HUMPHREY and his wife ELEANOR]
DUCHESS.
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 vouchsafe one glance unto the ground.
GLOSTER.
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 dreams this night doth make me sad.
DUCHESS.
What dream'd my lord? Tell me, and I'll requite it
With sweet rehearsal of my morning's dream.
GLOSTER.
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 Edmund Duke of Somerset
And William de la Pole, first duke of Suffolk.
This was my dream; what it doth bode, God knows.
DUCHESS.
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.
GLOSTER.
Nay, Eleanor, then must I chide 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!
DUCHESS.
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.
GLOSTER.
Nay, be not angry; I am pleas'd again.
[Enter Messenger.]
MESSENGER.
My lord protector, 't is his highness' pleasure
You do prepare to ride unto Saint Alban's,
Whereas the king and queen do mean to hawk.
GLOSTER.
I go.—Come, Nell, thou wilt ride with us?
DUCHESS.
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 I.
[Enter HUME.]
HUME.
Jesus preserve your royal majesty!
DUCHESS.
What say'st thou? majesty! I am but grace.
HUME.
But, by the grace of God, and Hume's advice,
Your grace's title shall be multiplied.
DUCHESS.
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.
DUCHESS.
It is enough; I'll think upon the questions.
When from Saint 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.]
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 Duke of Suffolk,
Yet I do find it so; for, to be plain,
They, knowing Dame Eleanor's aspiring humour,
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 its 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. London. The palace.
[Enter PETER and other PETITIONERS.]
1 PETITIONER. 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 PETITIONER. Marry, the Lord protect him, for he's a good man! Jesu bless him!
[Enter SUFFOLK and QUEEN.]
PETER.
Here 'a comes, methinks, and the queen with him.
I'll be the first, sure.
2 PETITIONER. Come back, fool; this is the Duke of Suffolk and not my lord protector.
SUFFOLK.
How now, fellow! wouldst any thing with me?
1 PETITIONER. I pray, my lord, pardon me; I took ye for my lord protector.
QUEEN. [Reading] 'To my Lord Protector!' Are your supplications to his lordship? Let me see them; what is thine?
1 PETITIONER.
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.
SUFFOLK. 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 PETITIONER. Alas, sir, I am but a poor petitioner of our whole township.
PETER. [Giving his petition] Against my master, Thomas Horner, for saying that the Duke of York was rightful heir to the crown.
QUEEN. 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.
SUFFOLK. Who is there? [Enter Servant.] Take this fellow in, and send for his master with a pursuivant presently.—We'll hear more of your matter before the king.
[Exit Servant with Peter.]
QUEEN.
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 supplications.]
Away, base cullions!—Suffolk, let them go.
ALL.
Come, let's be gone.
[Exeunt.]
QUEEN.
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, Pole, 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 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 him pope and carry him to Rome,
And set the triple crown upon his head;
That were a state fit for his holiness.
SUFFOLK.
Madam, be patient; as I was cause
Your highness came to England, so will I
In England work your grace's full content.
QUEEN.
Beside the haughty protector, have we Beaufort
The imperious churchman, Somerset, Buckingham,
And grumbling York; and not the least of these
But can do more in England than the king.
SUFFOLK.
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.
QUEEN.
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,
More like an empress than Duke Humphrey's wife.
Strangers in court do take her for the queen;
She bears a duke's revenues on her back,
And in her heart she scorns 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 better worth than all my father's land
Till Suffolk gave two dukedoms for his daughter.
SUFFOLK.
Madam, myself have lim'd a bush for her,
And
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.
[Sennet. Enter the KING, DUKE HUMPHREY, CARDINAL
BEAUFORT, BUCKINGHAM, YORK, SOMERSET, SALISBURY,
WARWICK, and the DUCHESS OF GLOSTER.]
KING.
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'd the regentship.
SOMERSET.
If Somerset be unworthy of the place,
Let York be regent; I will yield to him.
WARWICK.
Whether your grace be worthy, yea or no,
Dispute not that; York is the worthier.
CARDINAL.
Ambitious Warwick, let thy betters speak.
WARWICK.
The cardinal's not my better in the field.
BUCKINGHAM.
All in this presence are thy betters, Warwick.
WARWICK.
Warwick may live to be the best of all.
SALISBURY.
Peace, son!—and show some reason, Buckingham,
Why Somerset should be preferr'd in this.
QUEEN.
Because the king, forsooth, will have it so.
GLOSTER.
Madam, the King is old enough himself
To give his censure; these are no women's matters.
QUEEN.
If he be old enough, what needs your grace
To be protector of his excellence?
GLOSTER.
Madam, I am protector of the realm,
And, at his pleasure, will resign my place.
SUFFOLK.
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 bondmen to thy sovereignty.
CARDINAL.
The commons hast thou rack'd; the clergy's bags
Are lank and lean with thy extortions.
SOMERSET.
Thy sumptuous buildings and thy wife's attire
Have cost a mass of public treasury.
BUCKINGHAM.
Thy cruelty in execution
Upon offenders hath exceeded law,
And left thee to the mercy of the law.
QUEEN.
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 ye not?
[She gives the Duchess a box on the ear.]
I cry your mercy, madam; was it you?
DUCHESS.
Was 't I! yea, I it was, proud Frenchwoman.
Could I come near your beauty with my nails,
I'd set my ten commandments in your face.
KING.
Sweet aunt, be quiet; 't was against her will.
DUCHESS.
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.]
BUCKINGHAM.
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.]
[Re-enter GLOSTER.]
GLOSTER.
Now, lords, my choler being overblown
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.
SUFFOLK.
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.
WARWICK.
That can I witness; and a fouler fact
Did never traitor in the land commit.
SUFFOLK.
Peace, headstrong Warwick!
WARWICK.
Image of pride, why should I hold my peace?
[Enter HORNER and his man PETER, guarded.]
SUFFOLK.
Because here is a man accus'd of treason.
Pray God the Duke of York excuse himself!
YORK.
Doth any one accuse York for a traitor?
KING.
What mean'st thou, Suffolk? tell me, what are these?
SUFFOLK.
Please it your majesty, this is the man
That doth accuse his master of high treason.
His words were these: that Richard Duke of York
Was rightful heir unto the English crown,
And that your majesty was an usurper.
KING.
Say, man, were these thy words?
HORNER. An 't shall please your majesty, I never said nor thought any such matter; God is my witness, I am falsely accused by the villain.
PETER.
By these ten bones, my lords, 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.
HORNER. 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.
KING.
Uncle, what shall we say to this in law?
GLOSTER.
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.
SOMERSET.
I humbly thank your royal Majesty.
HORNER.
And I accept the combat willingly.
PETER.
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!
GLOSTER.
Sirrah, or you must fight or else be hang'd.
KING.
[Flourish. Exeunt.]
SCENE IV. Gloster's Garden
[Enter MARGERY JOURDAIN, HUME, SOUTHWELL, and BOLINGBROKE.]
HUME. Come, my masters; the duchess, I tell you, expects performance of your promises.
BOLINGBROKE. Master Hume, we are therefore provided; will her ladyship behold and hear our exorcisms?
HUME.
Ay, what else? fear you not her courage.
BOLINGBROKE. 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 aloft, HUME following.]
DUCHESS. Well said, my masters; and welcome all. To this gear the sooner the better.
BOLINGBROKE.
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,
The time when screech-owls cry and ban-dogs howl
And spirits walk and ghosts break up their graves,
That time best fits the work we have in hand.
Madam, sit you and fear not; whom we raise,
We will make fast within a hallow'd verge.
[Here they do the ceremonies belonging, and make the circle;
Bolingbroke or Southwell reads, Conjuro te, etc.
It thunders and lightens terribly; then the Spirit riseth.]
SPIRIT.
Adsum.
M. JOURDAIN.
Asmath,
By the eternal God, whose name and power
Thou tremblest at, answer that I shall ask;
For till thou speak thou shalt not pass from hence.
SPIRIT.
Ask what thou wilt. That I had said and done!
BOLINGBROKE. [Reads] 'First of the king: what shall of him become?'
SPIRIT.
The duke yet lives that Henry shall depose,
But him outlive and die a violent death.
[As the Spirit speaks, Southwell writes the answer.]
BOLINGBROKE.
'What fates await the Duke of Suffolk?'
SPIRIT.
By water shall he die and take his end.
BOLINGBROKE.
[Reads] 'What shall befall the Duke of Somerset?'
SPIRIT.
Let him shun castles;
Safer shall he be upon the sandy plains
Than where castles mounted stand.
Have done, for more I hardly can endure.
BOLINGBROKE.
Descend to darkness and the burning lake!
False fiend, avoid!
[Thunder and lightning. Exit Spirit.]
[Enter the DUKE OF YORK and the DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM with their Guard and break in YORK.]
Lay hands upon these traitors and their trash.—
Beldam, I think we watch'd you at an inch.
What, madam, are you there? the king and commonweal
Are deeply indebted for this piece of pains;
My lord protector will, I doubt it not,
See you well guerdon'd for these good deserts.
DUCHESS.
Not half so bad as thine to England's king,
Injurious duke, that threatest where's no cause.
BUCKINGHAM.
True, madam, none at all; what call you this?—
Away with them! let them be clapp'd up close,
And kept asunder.—You, madam, shall with us.—
Stafford, take her to thee.—
[Exeunt above, Duchess and Hume, guarded.]
We'll see your trinkets here all forthcoming.—
All, away!
[Exeunt guard with Jourdain, Southwell, etc.]
YORK.
Lord Buckingham, methinks you watch'd her well;
A pretty plot, well chosen to build upon!
Now, pray, my lord, let's see the devil's writ.
What have we here?
[Reads] 'The duke yet lives that Henry shall depose.
But him outlive and die a violent death.'
Why, this is just
'Aio te, Aeacida, Romanos vincere posse.'
Well, to the rest:
'Tell me what fate awaits the Duke of Suffolk?
By water shall he die and take his end.
What shall betide the Duke of Somerset?
Let him shun castles;
Safer shall he be upon the sandy plains
Than where castles mounted stand.'—
Come, come, my lords;
These oracles are hardly attain'd,
And hardly understood.
The king is now in progress towards Saint Alban's,
With him the husband of this lovely lady.
Thither go these news, as fast as horse can carry them;
A sorry breakfast for my lord protector.
BUCKINGHAM.
Your Grace shall give me leave, my
Lord of York,
To be the post, in hope of his reward.
YORK.
At your pleasure, my good lord.—
Who's within there, ho!
[Enter a Servingman.]
Invite my Lords of Salisbury and Warwick
To sup with me to-morrow night. Away!
[Exeunt.]
ACT II
SCENE I. Saint Alban's.
[Enter the KING, QUEEN, GLOSTER, CARDINAL, and SUFFOLK, with FALCONERS halloing.]
QUEEN.
Believe me, lords, for flying at the brook,
I saw not better sport these seven years' day;
Yet, by your leave, the wind was very high,
And, ten to one, old Joan had not gone out.
KING.
But what a point, my lord, your falcon made,
And what a pitch she flew above the rest!
To see how God in all His creatures works!
Yea, man and birds are fain of climbing high.
SUFFOLK.
No marvel, an it like your majesty,
My lord protector's hawks do tower so well;
They know their master loves to be aloft,
And bears his thoughts above his falcon's pitch.
GLOSTER.
My lord, 't is but a base ignoble mind
That mounts no higher than a bird can soar.
CARDINAL.
I thought as much; he would be above the clouds.
GLOSTER.
Ay, my lord cardinal? how think you by that?
Were it not good your grace could fly to heaven?
KING.
The treasury of everlasting joy.
CARDINAL.
Thy heaven is on earth; thine eyes and thoughts
Beat on a crown, the treasure of thy heart,
Pernicious protector, dangerous peer,
That smooth'st it so with king and commonweal.
GLOSTER.
What, cardinal, is your priesthood grown peremptory?
Tantaene animis coelestibus irae?
Churchmen so hot? good uncle, hide such malice;
With such holiness can you do it?
SUFFOLK.
No malice, sir; no more than well becomes
So good a quarrel and so bad a peer.
GLOSTER.
As who, my lord?
SUFFOLK.
Why, as you, my lord,
An 't like your lordly lord-protectorship.
GLOSTER.
Why, Suffolk, England knows thine insolence.
QUEEN.
And thy ambition, Gloster.
KING.
I prithee, peace, good queen,
And whet not on these furious peers;
For blessed are the peacemakers on earth.
CARDINAL.
Let me be blessed for the peace I make
Against this proud protector, with my sword!
CARDINAL.
[Aside to Gloster.] Marry, when thou dar'st.
GLOSTER.
[Aside to Cardinal.] Make up no factious numbers
for the matter;
In thine own person answer thy abuse.
CARDINAL.
[Aside to Gloster.] Ay, where thou dar'st not peep;
an if thou dar'st,
This evening, on the east side of the grove.
KING.
How now, my lords!
CARDINAL.
Believe me, cousin Gloster,
Had not your man put up the fowl so suddenly,
We had had more sport.—[Aside to Gloster.] Come with thy
two-hand sword.
GLOSTER.
True, uncle.
CARDINAL. [Aside to Gloster.] Are ye advis'd? the east side of the grove?
GLOSTER.
[Aside to CARDINAL.] Cardinal, I am with you.
KING.
Why, how now, uncle Gloster!
GLOSTER.
Talking of hawking; nothing else, my lord.—
[Aside to Cardinal.] Now, by God's mother, priest,
I'll shave your crown for this,
Or all my fence shall fail.
CARDINAL.
[Aside to Gloster.] Medice, teipsum—
Protector, see to 't well, protect yourself.
KING.
The winds grow high; so do your stomachs, lords.
How irksome is this music to my heart!
When such strings jar, what hope of harmony?
I pray, my lords, let me compound this strife.
[Enter a Townsman of Saint Alban's, crying 'A miracle!']
GLOSTER.
What means this noise?
Fellow, what miracle dost thou proclaim?
TOWNSMAN.
A miracle! A miracle!
SUFFOLK.
Come to the king, and tell him what miracle.
TOWNSMAN.
Forsooth, a blind man at Saint Alban's shrine,
Within this half hour, hath receiv'd his sight;
A man that ne'er saw in his life before.
KING.
Now, God be prais'd, that to believing souls
Gives light in darkness, comfort in despair!
[Enter the Mayor of Saint Alban's and his brethren, bearing SIMPCOX, between two in a chair, SIMPCOX's Wife following.]
CARDINAL.
Here comes the townsmen on procession,
To present your highness with the man.
KING HENRY.
Great is his comfort in this earthly vale,
Although by his sight his sin be multiplied.
GLOSTER.
Stand by, my masters.
Bring him near the king;
His highness' pleasure is to talk with him.
KING.
Good fellow, tell us here the circumstance,
That we for thee may glorify the Lord.
What, hast thou been long blind and now restor'd?
SIMPCOX.
Born blind, an 't please your grace.
WIFE.
Ay indeed was he.
SUFFOLK.
What woman is this?
WIFE.
His wife, an 't like your worship.
GLOSTER. Hadst thou been his mother, thou couldst have better told.
KING.
Where wert thou born?
SIMPCOX.
At Berwick in the north, an 't like your grace.
KING.
Poor soul, God's goodness hath been great to thee;
Let never day nor night unhallow'd pass,
But still remember what the Lord hath done.
QUEEN.
Tell me, good fellow, cam'st thou here by chance,
Or of devotion, to this holy shrine?
SIMPCOX.
God knows, of pure devotion; being call'd
A hundred times and oftener, in my sleep,
By good Saint Alban, who said 'Simpcox, come,
Come, offer at my shrine, and I will help thee.'
WIFE.
Most true, forsooth; and many time and oft
Myself have heard a voice to call him so.
CARDINAL.
What, art thou lame?
SIMPCOX.
Ay, God Almighty help me!
SUFFOLK.
How cam'st thou so?
SIMPCOX.
A fall off of a tree.
WIFE.
A plum-tree, master.
GLOSTER.
How long hast thou been blind?
SIMPCOX.
O, born so, master!
GLOSTER.
What, and wouldst climb a tree?
SIMPCOX.
But that in all my life, when I was a youth.
WIFE.
Too true; and bought his climbing very dear.
GLOSTER.
Mass, thou lov'dst plums well that wouldst venture so.
SIMPCOX.
Alas, good master, my wife desir'd some damsons,
And made me climb, with danger of my life.
GLOSTER.
A subtle knave! but yet it shall not serve.—
Let me see thine eyes.—Wink now;—now open them.
In my opinion yet thou seest not well.
SIMPCOX.
Yes, master, clear as day, I thank God and Saint Alban.
GLOSTER.
Say'st thou me so? What colour is this cloak of?
SIMPCOX.
Red, master, red as blood.
GLOSTER.
Why, that's well said. What colour is my gown of?
SIMPCOX.
Black, forsooth, coal-black as jet.
KING.
Why, then, thou know'st what colour jet is of?
SUFFOLK.
And yet, I think, jet did he never see.
GLOSTER.
But cloaks and gowns before this day, a many.
WIFE.
Never before this day in all his life.
GLOSTER.
Tell me, sirrah, what's my name?
SIMPCOX.
Alas, master, I know not.
GLOSTER.
What's his name?
SIMPCOX.
I know not.
GLOSTER.
Nor his?
SIMPCOX.
No, indeed, master.
GLOSTER.
What's thine own name?
SIMPCOX.
Saunder Simpcox, an if it please you, master.
GLOSTER. Then, Saunder, sit there, the lyingest knave in Christendom. If thou hadst been born blind, thou mightst as well have known all our names as thus to name the several colours we do wear. Sight may distinguish of colours; but suddenly to nominate them all, it is impossible.—My lords, Saint Alban here hath done a miracle; and would ye not think his cunning to be great that could restore this cripple to his legs again?
SIMPCOX.
O master, that you could!
GLOSTER. My masters of Saint Alban's, have you not beadles in your town, and things called whips?
MAYOR.
Yes, my lord, if it please your grace.
GLOSTER.
Then send for one presently.
MAYOR.
Sirrah, go fetch the beadle hither straight.
[Exit an Attendant.]
GLOSTER. Now fetch me a stool hither by and by.—Now, sirrah, if you mean to save yourself from whipping, leap me over this stool and run away.
SIMPCOX.
Alas, master, I am not able to stand alone;
You go about to torture me in vain.
[Enter a Beadle with whips.]
GLOSTER.
Well, sir, we must have you find your legs.—
Sirrah beadle, whip him till he leap over that same stool.
BEADLE. I will, my lord.—Come on, sirrah; off with your doublet
SIMPCOX.
Alas, master, what shall I do? I am not able to stand.
[After the Beadle hath hit him once, he leaps over the stool and runs away; and they follow and cry, 'A miracle!']
KING.
O God, seest Thou this, and bearest so long?
QUEEN.
It made me laugh to see the villain run.
GLOSTER.
Follow the knave, and take this drab away.
WIFE.
Alas, sir, we did it for pure need!
GLOSTER. Let them be whipped through every market-town till they come to Berwick, from whence they came.
[Exeunt Wife, Beadle, Mayor, etc.]
CARDINAL.
Duke Humphrey has done a miracle to-day.
SUFFOLK.
True; made the lame to leap and fly away.
GLOSTER.
But you have done more miracles than I;
You made in a day, my lord, whole towns to fly.
[Enter BUCKINGHAM.]
KING.
What tidings with our cousin Buckingham?
BUCKINGHAM.
Such as my heart doth tremble to unfold.
A sort of naughty persons, lewdly bent,
Under the countenance and confederacy
Of Lady Eleanor, the protector's wife,
The ringleader and head of all this rout,
Have practis'd dangerously against your state,
Dealing with witches and with conjurers,
Whom we have apprehended in the fact,
Raising up wicked spirits from underground,
Demanding of King Henry's life and death,
And other of your highness' privy-council,
As more at large your Grace shall understand.
CARDINAL.
[Aside to Gloster.] And so, my lord protector,
by this means
Your lady is forthcoming yet at London.
This news, I think, hath turn'd your weapon's edge;
'T is like, my lord, you will not keep your hour.
GLOSTER.
Ambitious churchman, leave to afflict my heart.
Sorrow and grief have vanquish'd all my powers;
And, vanquish'd as I am, I yield to thee,
Or to the meanest groom.
KING.
O God, what mischiefs work the wicked ones,
Heaping confusion on their own heads thereby!