Henry VI Part 2

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Original text
Act I, Scene I
Flourish of Trumpets: Then Hoboyes. Enter King,
Duke Humfrey, Salisbury, Warwicke, and Beauford
on the one side. The Queene, Suffolke, Yorke,
Somerset, and Buckingham, on the other.

Suffolke.
AS by your high Imperiall Maiesty,
I had in charge at my depart for France,
As Procurator to your Excellence,
To marry Princes Margaret for your Grace;
So in the Famous Ancient City, Toures,
In presence of the Kings of France, and Sicill,
The Dukes of Orleance, Calaber, Britaigne, and Alanson,
Seuen Earles, twelue Barons, & twenty reuerend Bishops
I haue perform'd my Taske, and was espous'd,
And humbly now vpon my bended knee,

In sight of England, and her Lordly Peeres,
Deliuer vp my Title in the Queene
To your most gracious hands, that are the Substance
Of that great Shadow I did represent:
The happiest Gift, that euer Marquesse gaue,
The Fairest Queene, that euer King receiu'd.

King.
Suffolke arise. Welcome Queene Margaret,
I can expresse no kinder signe of Loue
Then this kinde kisse: O Lord, that lends me life,
Lend me a heart repleate with thankfulnesse:
For thou hast giuen me in this beauteous Face
A world of earthly blessings to my soule,
If Simpathy of Loue vnite our thoughts.

Queen.
Great King of England, & my gracious Lord,
The mutuall conference that my minde hath had,
By day, by night; waking, and in my dreames,
In Courtly company, or at my Beades,
With you mine Alder liefest Soueraigne,
Makes me the bolder to salute my King,
With ruder termes, such as my wit affoords,
And ouer ioy of heart doth minister.

King.
Her sight did rauish, but her grace in Speech,
Her words yclad with wisedomes Maiesty,
Makes me from Wondring, fall to Weeping ioyes,
Such is the Fulnesse of my hearts content.
Lords, with one cheerefull voice, Welcome my Loue.
All kneel.


Long liue Qu. Margaret, Englands happines.
Florish

Queene.
We thanke you all.

Suf.
My Lord Protector, so it please your Grace,
Heere are the Articles of contracted peace,
Betweene our Soueraigne, and the French King Charles,
For eighteene moneths concluded by consent.

Glo.
Reads.
Inprimis, It is agreed betweene the
French K. Charles, and William de la Pole Marquesse of
Suffolke, Ambassador for Henry King of England, That the
said Henry shal espouse the Lady Margaret, daughter
vnto Reignier King of Naples, Sicillia, and Ierusalem,
and Crowne her Queene of England, ere the thirtieth of May
next ensuing. Item, That
the Dutchy of Aniou, and the County of Main, shall be
released and deliuered to the King her father.

King.
Vnkle, how now?

Glo.
Pardon me gracious Lord,
Some sodaine qualme hath strucke me at the heart,
And dim'd mine eyes, that I can reade no further.

King.
Vnckle of Winchester, I pray read on.

Win.
Item, It is further agreed betweene them,
That the Dutchesse of Aniou and Maine, shall
be released and deliuered ouer to the King her Father,
and shee sent ouer of the King of Englands owne proper
Cost and Charges, without hauing any Dowry.

King.
They please vs well. Lord Marques kneel down,
We heere create thee the first Duke of Suffolke,
And girt thee with the Sword. Cosin of Yorke,
We heere discharge your Grace from being Regent
I'th parts of France, till terme of eighteene Moneths
Be full expyr'd. Thankes Vncle Winchester,
Gloster, Yorke, Buckingham, Somerset,
Salisburie, and Warwicke.
We thanke you all for this great fauour done,
In entertainment to my Princely Queene.
Come, let vs in, and with all speede prouide
To see her Coronation be perform'd.
Exit King, Queene, and Suffolke.
Manet the rest.

Glo.
Braue Peeres of England, Pillars of the State,
To you Duke Humfrey must vnload his greefe:
Your greefe, the common greefe of all the Land.
What? did my brother Henry spend his youth,
His valour, coine, and people in the warres?
Did he so often lodge in open field:
In Winters cold, and Summers parching heate,
To conquer France, his true inheritance?
And did my brother Bedford toyle his wits,
To keepe by policy what Henrie got:
Haue you your selues, Somerset, Buckingham,
Braue Yorke, Salisbury, and victorious Warwicke,
Receiud deepe scarres in France and Normandie:
Or hath mine Vnckle Beauford, and my selfe,
With all the Learned Counsell of the Realme,
Studied so long, sat in the Councell house,
Early and late, debating too and fro
How France and Frenchmen might be kept in awe,
And hath his Highnesse in his infancie,
Crowned in Paris in despight of foes,
And shall these Labours, and these Honours dye?
Shall Henries Conquest, Bedfords vigilance,
Your Deeds of Warre, and all our Counsell dye?
O Peeres of England, shamefull is this League,
Fatall this Marriage, cancelling your Fame,
Blotting your names from Bookes of memory,
Racing the Charracters of your Renowne,
Defacing Monuments of Conquer'd France,
Vndoing all as all had neuer bin.

Car.
Nephew, what meanes this passionate discourse?
This preroration with such circumstance:
For France, 'tis ours; and we will keepe it still.

Glo.
I Vnckle, we will keepe it, if we can:
But now it is impossible we should.
Suffolke, the new made Duke that rules the rost,
Hath giuen the Dutchy of Aniou and Mayne,
Vnto the poore King Reignier, whose large style
Agrees not with the leannesse of his purse.

Sal.
Now by the death of him that dyed for all,
These Counties were the Keyes of Normandie:
But wherefore weepes Warwicke, my valiant sonne?

War.
For greefe that they are past recouerie.
For were there hope to conquer them againe,
My sword should shed hot blood, mine eyes no teares.
Aniou and Maine? My selfe did win them both:
Those Prouinces, these Armes of mine did conquer,
And are the Citties that I got with wounds,
Deliuer'd vp againe with peacefull words?
Mort Dieu.

Yorke.
For Suffolkes Duke, may he be suffocate,
That dims the Honor of this Warlike Isle:
France should haue torne and rent my very hart,
Before I would haue yeelded to this League.
I neuer read but Englands Kings haue had
Large summes of Gold, and Dowries with their wiues,
And our King Henry giues away his owne,
To match with her that brings no vantages.

Hum.
A proper iest, and neuer heard before,
That Suffolke should demand a whole Fifteenth,
For Costs and Charges in transporting her:
She should haue staid in France, and steru'd in France
Before ---

Car.
My Lord of Gloster, now ye grow too hot,
It was the pleasure of my Lord the King.

Hum.
My Lord of Winchester I know your minde.
'Tis not my speeches that you do mislike:
But 'tis my presence that doth trouble ye,
Rancour will out, proud Prelate, in thy face
I see thy furie: 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 Humfrey.

Car.
So, there goes our Protector in a rage:
'Tis knowne to you he is mine enemy:
Nay more, an enemy vnto you all,
And no great friend, I feare me to the King;
Consider Lords, he is the next of blood,
And heyre apparant to the English Crowne:
Had Henrie got an Empire by his marriage,
And all the wealthy Kingdomes of the West,
There's reason he should be displeas'd at it:
Looke to it Lords, let not his smoothing words
Bewitch your hearts, be wise and circumspect.
What though the common people fauour him,
Calling him, Humfrey the good Duke of Gloster,
Clapping their hands, and crying with loud voyce,
Iesu maintaine your Royall Excellence,
With God preserue the good Duke Humfrey:
I feare me Lords, for all this flattering glosse,
He will be found a dangerous Protector.

Buc.
Why should he then protect our Soueraigne?
He being of age to gouerne of himselfe.
Cosin of Somerset, ioyne you with me,
And altogether with the Duke of Suffolke,
Wee'l quickly hoyse Duke Humfrey from his seat.

Car.
This weighty businesse will not brooke delay,
Ile to the Duke of Suffolke presently.
Exit Cardinall.

Som.
Cosin of Buckingham, though Humfries pride
And greatnesse of his place be greefe to vs,
Yet let vs watch the haughtie Cardinall,
His insolence is more intollerable
Then all the Princes in the Land beside,
If Gloster be displac'd, hee'l be Protector.

Buc.
Or thou, or I Somerset will be Protectors,
Despite Duke Humfrey, or the Cardinall.
Exit Buckingham, and Somerset.

Sal.
Pride went before, Ambition followes him.
While these do labour for their owne preferment,
Behooues it vs to labor for the Realme.
I neuer saw but Humfrey Duke of Gloster,
Did beare him like a Noble Gentleman:
Oft haue I seene the haughty Cardinall.
More like a Souldier then a man o'th' Church,
As stout and proud as he were Lord of all,
Sweare like a Ruffian, and demeane himselfe
Vnlike the Ruler of a Common-weale.
Warwicke my sonne, the comfort of my age,
Thy deeds, thy plainnesse, and thy house-keeping,
Hath wonne the greatest fauour of the Commons,
Excepting none but good Duke Humfrey.
And Brother Yorke, thy Acts in Ireland,
In bringing them to ciuill Discipline:
Thy late exploits done in the heart of France,
When thou wert Regent for our Soueraigne,
Haue made thee fear'd and honor'd of the people,
Ioyne we together for the publike good,
In what we can, to bridle and suppresse
The pride of Suffolke, and the Cardinall,
With Somersets and Buckinghams Ambition,
And as we may, cherish Duke Humfries deeds,
While they do tend the profit of the Land.

War.
So God helpe Warwicke, as he loues the Land,
And common profit of his Countrey.

Yor.
And so sayes Yorke, / For he hath greatest cause.

Salisbury.
Then lets make hast away, / And looke vnto the maine.

Warwicke.
Vnto the maine? / Oh Father, Maine is lost,
That Maine, which by maine force Warwicke did winne,
And would haue 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 slaine.
Exit Warwicke, and Salisbury. Manet Yorke.

Yorke.
Aniou and Maine are giuen to the French,
Paris is lost, the state of Normandie
Stands on a tickle point, now they are gone:
Suffolke concluded on the Articles,
The Peeres agreed, and Henry was well pleas'd,
To change two Dukedomes for a Dukes faire daughter.
I cannot blame them all, what is't to them?
'Tis thine they giue away, and not their owne.
Pirates may make cheape penyworths of their pillage,
And purchase Friends, and giue to Curtezans,
Still reuelling like Lords till all be gone,
While as the silly Owner of the goods
Weepes ouer them, and wrings his haplesse hands,
And shakes his head, and trembling stands aloofe,
While all is shar'd, and all is borne away,
Ready to sterue, and dare not touch his owne.
So Yorke must sit, and fret, and bite his tongue,
While his owne Lands are bargain'd for, and sold:
Me thinkes the Realmes of England, France, & Ireland,
Beare that proportion to my flesh and blood,
As did the fatall brand Althaa burnt,
Vnto the Princes heart of Calidon:
Aniou and Maine both giuen vnto theFrench?
Cold newes for me: for I had hope of France,
Euen as I haue of fertile Englands soile.
A day will come, when Yorke shall claime his owne,
And therefore I will take the Neuils parts,
And make a shew of loue to proud Duke Humfrey,
And when I spy aduantage, claime the Crowne,
For that's the Golden marke I seeke to hit:
Nor shall proud Lancaster vsurpe my right,
Nor hold the Scepter in his childish Fist,
Nor weare the Diadem vpon his head,
Whose Church-like humors fits not for a Crowne.
Then Yorke be still a-while, till time do serue:
Watch thou, and wake when others be asleepe,
To prie into the secrets of the State,
Till Henrie surfetting in ioyes of loue,
With his new Bride, & Englands deere bought Queen,
And Humfrey with the Peeres be falne at iarres:
Then will I raise aloft the Milke-white-Rose,
With whose sweet smell the Ayre shall be perfum'd,
And in in my Standard beare the Armes of Yorke,
To grapple with the house of Lancaster,
And force perforce Ile make him yeeld the Crowne,
Whose bookish Rule, hath pull'd faire England downe.
Exit Yorke.
Original text
Act I, Scene II
Enter Duke Humfrey and his wife
Elianor.

Elia.
Why droopes my Lord like ouer-ripen'd Corn,
Hanging the head at Ceres plenteous load?
Why doth the Great Duke Humfrey knit his browes,
As frowning at the Fauours of the world?
Why are thine eyes fixt to the sullen earth,
Gazing on that which seemes to dimme thy sight?
What seest thou there? King Henries Diadem,
Inchac'd with all the Honors of the world?
If so, Gaze on, and grouell on thy face,
Vntill thy head be circled with the same.
Put forth thy hand, reach at the glorious Gold.
What, is't too short? Ile lengthen it with mine,
And hauing both together heau'd it vp,
Wee'l both together lift our heads to heauen,
And neuer more abase our sight so low,
As to vouchsafe one glance vnto the ground.

Hum.
O Nell, sweet Nell, if thou dost louethy Lord,
Banish the Canker of ambitious thoughts:
And may that thought, when I imagine ill
Against my King and Nephew, vertuous Henry,
Be my last breathing in this mortall world.
My troublous dreames this night, doth make me sad.

Eli.
What dream'd my Lord, tell me, and Ile requite it
With sweet rehearsall of my mornings dreame?

Hum.
Me thought this staffe mine Office-badge in Court
Was broke in twaine: by whom, I haue forgot,
But as I thinke, it was by'th Cardinall,
And on the peeces of the broken Wand
Were plac'd the heads of Edmond Duke of Somerset,
And William de la Pole first Duke of Suffolke.
This was my dreame, what it doth bode God knowes.

Eli.
Tut, this was nothing but an argument,
That he that breakes a sticke of Glosters groue,
Shall loose his head for his presumption.
But list to me my Humfrey, my sweete Duke:
Me thought I sate in Seate of Maiesty,
In the Cathedrall Church of Westminster,
And in that Chaire where Kings & Queens wer crownd,
Where Henrie and Dame Margaret kneel'dto me,
And on my head did set the Diadem.

Hum.
Nay Elinor, then must I chide outright:
Presumptuous Dame, ill-nurter'd Elianor,
Art thou not second Woman in the Realme?
And the Protectors wife belou'd of him?
Hast thou not worldly pleasure at command,
Aboue the reach or compasse of thy thought?
And wilt thou still be hammering Treachery,
To tumble downe thy husband, and thy selfe,
From top of Honor, to Disgraces feete?
Away from me, and let me heare no more.

Elia.
What, what, my Lord? Are you so chollericke
With Elianor, for telling but her dreame?
Next time Ile keepe my dreames vnto my selfe,
And not be check'd.

Hum.
Nay be not angry, I am pleas'd againe.
Enter Messenger.

Mess.
My Lord Protector, 'tis his Highnes pleasure,
You do prepare to ride vnto S. Albons,
Where as the King and Queene do meane to Hawke.

Hu.
I go. Come Nel thou wilt ride withvs?

Eli.
Yes my good Lord, Ile follow presently.
Ex. Hum
Follow I must, I cannot go before,
While Gloster beares this base and humble minde.
Were I a Man, a Duke, and next of blood,
I would remoue these tedious stumbling blockes,
And smooth my way vpon their headlesse neckes.
And being a woman, I will not be slacke
To play my part in Fortunes Pageant.
Where are you there? Sir Iohn; nay feare not man,
We are alone, here's none but thee, & I.
Enter Hume.

Hume.
Iesus preserue your Royall Maiesty.

Elia.
What saist thou? Maiesty: I am but Grace.

Hume.
But by the grace of God, and Humes aduice,
Your Graces Title shall be multiplied.

Elia.
What saist thou man? Hast thou as yet confer'd
With Margerie Iordane the cunning Witch,
With Roger Bollingbrooke the Coniurer?
And will they vndertake to do me good?

Hume.
This they haue promised to shew your Highnes
A Spirit rais'd from depth of vnder ground,
That shall make answere to such Questions,
As by your Grace shall be propounded him.

Elianor.
It is enough, Ile thinke vpon the Questions:
When from Saint Albones we doe make returne,
Wee'le see these things effected to the full.
Here Hume, take this reward, make merry man
With thy Confederates in this weightie cause.
Exit Elianor.

Hume.
Hume must make merry with the Duchesse Gold:
Marry and shall: but how now, Sir Iohn Hume?
Seale vp your Lips, and giue no words but Mum,
The businesse asketh silent secrecie.
Dame Elianor giues Gold, to bring the Witch:
Gold cannot come amisse, were she a Deuill.
Yet haue I Gold flyes from another Coast:
I dare not say, from the rich Cardinall,
And from the great and new-made Duke of Suffolke;
Yet I doe finde it so: for to be plaine,
They (knowing Dame Elianors aspiring humor)
Haue hyred me to vnder-mine the Duchesse,
And buzze these Coniurations in her brayne.
They say, A craftie Knaue do's need no Broker,
Yet am I Suffolke and the Cardinalls Broker.
Hume, if you take not heed, you shall goe neere
To call them both a payre of craftie Knaues.
Well, so it stands: and thus I feare at last,
Humes Knauerie will be the Duchesse Wracke,
And her Attainture, will be Humphreyes fall:
Sort how it will, I shall haue Gold for all.
Exit.
Original text
Act I, Scene III
Enter three or foure Petitioners, the Armorers Man
being one.

1. Pet.
My Masters, let's stand close, my
Lord Protector will come this way by and by, and then
wee may deliuer our Supplications in the Quill.

2. Pet.
Marry the Lord protect him,
for hee's a good man, Iesu blesse him.
Enter Suffolke, and Queene.

Peter.
Here a comes me thinkes, and the Queene with him:
Ile be the first sure.

2. Pet.
Come backe foole, this is the Duke
of Suffolk, and not my Lord Protector.

Suff.
How now fellow: would'st any thing with me?

1. Pet.
I pray my Lord pardon me, I tooke ye
for my Lord Protector.

Queene.
To my Lord Protector? Are your Supplications
to his Lordship? Let me see them: what is thine?

1. Pet.
Mine is, and't please your Grace,
against Iohn Goodman, my Lord Cardinals Man, for
keeping my House, and Lands, and Wife and all, from me.

Suff.
Thy Wife too? that's some Wrong indeede.
What's yours? What's heere? Against the Duke
of Suffolke, for enclosing the Commons of Melforde.
How now, Sir Knaue?

2. Pet.
Alas Sir, I am but a poore Petitioner
of our whole Towneship.

Peter.
Against my Master Thomas
Horner, for saying, / That the Duke of Yorke was rightfull
Heire to the Crowne.

Queene.
What say'st thou? Did the Duke of Yorke say, hee was
rightfull Heire to the Crowne?

Peter.
That my Mistresse was? No forsooth: my Master said,
That he was, and that the King was an Vsurper.

Suff.
Who is there?
Enter Seruant.
Take this fellow in, and send for his Master with a
Purseuant presently: wee'le heare more of your matter
before the King.
Exit.

Queene.
And as for you that loue to be protected
Vnder the Wings of our Protectors Grace,
Begin your Suites anew, and sue to him.
Teare the Supplication.
Away, base Cullions: Suffolke let them goe.

All.
Come, let's be gone.
Exit.

Queene.
My Lord of Suffolke, say, is this the guise?
Is this the Fashions in the Court of England?
Is this the Gouernment of Britaines Ile?
And this the Royaltie of Albions King?
What, shall King Henry be a Pupill still,
Vnder the surly Glosters Gouernance?
Am I a Queene in Title and in Stile,
And must be made a Subiect to a Duke?
I tell thee Poole, when in the Citie Tours
Thou ran'st a-tilt in honor of my Loue,
And stol'st away the Ladies hearts of France;
I thought King Henry had resembled thee,
In Courage, Courtship, and Proportion:
But all his minde is bent to Holinesse,
To number Aue-Maries on his Beades:
His Champions, are the Prophets and Apostles,
His Weapons, holy Sawes of sacred Writ,
His Studie is his Tilt-yard, and his Loues
Are brazen Images of Canonized Saints.
I would the Colledge of the Cardinalls
Would chuse him Pope, and carry him to Rome,
And set the Triple Crowne vpon his Head;
That were a State fit for his Holinesse.

Suff.
Madame be patient: as I was cause
Your Highnesse came to England, so will I
In England worke your Graces full content.

Queene.
Beside the haughtie Protector, haue we Beauford
The imperious Churchman; Somerset, Buckingham,
And grumbling Yorke: and not the least ofthese,
But can doe more in England then the King.

Suff.
And he of these, that can doe most of all,
Cannot doe more in England then the Neuils:
Salisbury and Warwick are no simple Peeres.

Queene.
Not all these Lords do vex me halfe so much,
As that prowd Dame, the Lord Protectors Wife:
She sweepes it through the Court with troups of Ladies,
More like an Empresse, then Duke Humphreyes Wife:
Strangers in Court, doe take her for the Queene:
She beares a Dukes Reuenewes on her backe,
And in her heart she scornes our Pouertie:
Shall I not liue to be aueng'd on her?
Contemptuous base-borne Callot as she is,
She vaunted 'mongst her Minions t'other day,
The very trayne of her worst wearing Gowne,
Was better worth then all my Fathers Lands,
Till Suffolke gaue two Dukedomes for his Daughter.

Suff.
Madame, my selfe haue lym'd a Bush for her,
And plac't a Quier of such enticing Birds,
That she will light to listen to the Layes,
And neuer mount to trouble you againe.
So let her rest: and Madame list to me,
For I am bold to counsaile you in this;
Although we fancie not the Cardinall,
Yet must we ioyne with him and with the Lords,
Till we haue brought Duke Humphrey in disgrace.
As for the Duke of Yorke, this late Complaint
Will make but little for his benefit:
So one by one wee'le weed them all at last,
And you your selfe shall steere the happy Helme.
Sound a Sennet. Enter the King, Duke Humfrey,
Cardinall, Buckingham, Yorke, Salisbury, Warwicke,
and the Duchesse.

King.
For my part, Noble Lords, I care not which,
Or Somerset, or Yorke, all's one to me.

Yorke.
If Yorke haue ill demean'd himselfe in France,
Then let him be denay'd the Regent-ship.

Som.
If Somerset be vnworthy of the Place,
Let Yorke be Regent, I will yeeld to him.

Warw.
Whether your Grace be worthy, yea or no,
Dispute not that, Yorke is the worthyer.

Card.
Ambitious Warwicke, let thy betters speake.

Warw.
The Cardinall's not my better in the field.

Buck.
All in this presence are thy betters, Warwicke.

Warw.
Warwicke may liue to be the best of all.

Salisb.
Peace Sonne, and shew some reason Buckingham
Why Somerset should be preferr'd in this?

Queene.
Because the King forsooth will haue it so.

Humf.
Madame, the King is old enough himselfe
To giue his Censure: These are no Womens matters.

Queene.
If he be old enough, what needs your Grace
To be Protector of his Excellence?

Humf.
Madame, I am Protector of the Realme,
And at his pleasure will resigne my Place.

Suff.
Resigne it then, and leaue thine insolence.
Since thou wert King; as who is King, but thou?
The Common-wealth hath dayly run to wrack,
The Dolphin hath preuayl'd beyond the Seas,
And all the Peeres and Nobles of the Realme
Haue beene as Bond-men to thy Soueraigntie.

Card.
The Commons hast thou rackt, the Clergies Bags
Are lanke and leane with thy Extortions.

Som.
Thy sumptuous Buildings, and thy Wiues Attyre
Haue cost a masse of publique Treasurie.

Buck.
Thy Crueltie in execution
Vpon Offendors, hath exceeded Law,
And left thee to the mercy of the Law.

Queene.
Thy sale of Offices and Townes in France,
If they were knowne, as the suspect is great,
Would make thee quickly hop without thy Head.
Exit Humfrey.

Giue me my Fanne: what, Mynion, can ye not?
She giues the Duchesse a box on the eare.
I cry you mercy, Madame: was it you?

Duch.
Was't I? yea, I it was, prowd French-woman:
Could I come neere your Beautie with my Nayles,
I could set my ten Commandements in your face.

King.
Sweet Aunt be quiet, 'twas against her will.

Duch.
Against her will, good King? looke to't in time,
Shee'le hamper thee, and dandle thee like a Baby:
Though in this place most Master weare no Breeches,
She shall not strike Dame Elianor vnreueng'd.
Exit Elianor.

Buck.
Lord Cardinall, I will follow Elianor,
And listen after Humfrey, how he proceedes:
Shee's tickled now, her Fume needs no spurres,
Shee'le gallop farre enough to her destruction.
Exit Buckingham.
Enter Humfrey.

Humf.
Now Lords, my Choller being ouer-blowne,
With walking once about the Quadrangle,
I come to talke of Common-wealth Affayres.
As for your spightfull false Obiections,
Proue them, and I lye open to the Law:
But God in mercie so deale with my Soule,
As I in dutie loue my King and Countrey.
But to the matter that we haue in hand:
I say, my Soueraigne, Yorke is meetest man
To be your Regent in the Realme of France.

Suff.
Before we make election, giue me leaue
To shew some reason, of no little force,
That Yorke is most vnmeet of any man.

Yorke.
Ile tell thee, Suffolke, why I am vnmeet.
First, for I cannot flatter thee in Pride:
Next, if I be appointed for the Place,
My Lord of Somerset will keepe me here,
Without Discharge, Money, or Furniture,
Till France be wonne into the Dolphins hands:
Last time I danc't attendance on his will,
Till Paris was besieg'd, famisht, and lost.

Warw.
That can I witnesse, and a fouler fact
Did neuer Traytor in the Land commit.

Suff.
Peace head-strong Warwicke.

Warw.
Image of Pride, why should I hold my peace?
Enter Armorer and his Man.

Suff.
Because here is a man accused of Treason,
Pray God the Duke of Yorke excuse himselfe.

Yorke.
Doth any one accuse Yorke for a Traytor?

King.
What mean'st thou, Suffolke? tell me, what are these?

Suff.
Please it your Maiestie, this is the man
That doth accuse his Master of High Treason;
His words were these: That Richard, Duke of Yorke,
Was rightfull Heire vnto the English Crowne,
And that your Maiestie was an Vsurper.

King.
Say man, were these thy words?

Armorer.
And't shall please your Maiestie, I neuer sayd nor
thought any such matter: God is my witnesse, I am falsely
accus'd by the Villaine.

Peter.
By these tenne bones, my Lords, hee did speake them
to me in the Garret one Night, as wee were scowring my
Lord of Yorkes Armor.

Yorke.
Base Dunghill Villaine, and Mechanicall,
Ile haue thy Head for this thy Traytors speech:
I doe beseech your Royall Maiestie,
Let him haue all the rigor of the Law.

Armorer.
Alas, my Lord, hang me if euer I spake the words:
my accuser is my Prentice, and when I did correct him
for his fault the other day, he did vow vpon his knees
he would be euen with me: I haue good witnesse of this;
therefore I beseech your Maiestie, doe not cast away an
honest man for a Villaines accusation.

King.
Vnckle, what shall we say to this in law?

Humf.
This doome, my Lord, if I may iudge:
Let Somerset be Regent o're the French,
Because in Yorke this breedes suspition;
And let these haue a day appointed them
For single Combat, in conuenient place,
For he hath witnesse of his seruants malice:
This is the Law, and this Duke Humfreyes doome.

Som.
I humbly thanke your Royall Maiestie.

Armorer.
And I accept the Combat willingly.

Peter.
Alas, my Lord, I cannot fight; for Gods sake
pitty my case: the spight of man preuayleth against me. O
Lord haue mercy vpon me, I shall neuer be able to fight
a blow: O Lord my heart.

Humf.
Sirrha, or you must fight, or else be hang'd.

King.
Away with them to Prison: and the day of Combat,
shall be the last of the next moneth. Come Somerset,
wee'le see thee sent away.
Flourish. Exeunt.
Original text
Act I, Scene IV
Enter the Witch, the two Priests,
and Bullingbrooke.

Hume.
Come my Masters, the Duchesse I tell you expects
performance of your promises.

Bulling.
Master Hume, we are therefore prouided:
will her Ladyship behold and heare our Exorcismes?

Hume.
I, what else? feare you not her courage.

Bulling.
I haue heard her reported to be a Woman of
an inuincible spirit: but it shall be conuenient, Master
Hume, that you be by her aloft, while wee be busie below;
and so I pray you goe in Gods Name, and leaue vs.
Exit Hume.
Mother Iordan, be you prostrate, and grouell on the
Earth; Iohn Southwell reade you, and let vs to our worke.
Enter Elianor aloft.

Elianor.
Well said my Masters, and welcome all: To this
geere, the sooner the better.

Bullin.
Patience, good Lady, Wizards know their times:
Deepe Night, darke Night, the silent of the Night,
The time of Night when Troy was set on fire,
The time when Screech-owles cry, and Bandogs howle,
And Spirits walke, and Ghosts breake vp their Graues;
That time best fits the worke we haue in hand.
Madame, sit you, and feare not: whom wee rayse,
Wee will make fast within a hallow'd Verge.
Here doe the Ceremonies belonging, and make the
Circle, Bullingbrooke or Southwell reades, Coniuro
te, &c. It Thunders and Lightens terribly: then the
Spirit riseth.

Spirit.
Ad sum.

Witch.
Asmath,
by the eternall God, / Whose name and power
thou tremblest at, / Answere that I shall aske:
for till thou speake, / Thou shalt not passe from hence.

Spirit.
Aske what thou wilt; that I had sayd, and done.

Bulling.
First of the King: What shall of him become?

Spirit.
The Duke yet liues, that Henry shall depose:
But him out-liue, and dye a violent death.

Bulling.
What fates await the Duke of Suffolke?

Spirit.
By Water shall he dye, and take his end.

Bulling.

What shall befall the Duke of Somerset?

Spirit.
Let him shun Castles,
Safer shall he be vpon the sandie Plaines,
Then where Castles mounted stand.
Haue done, for more I hardly can endure.

Bulling.
Discend to Darknesse, and the burning Lake:
False Fiend auoide.
Thunder and Lightning. Exit Spirit.
Enter the Duke of Yorke and the Duke of Buckingham
with their Guard,
and breake in.

Yorke.
Lay hands vpon these Traytors, and their trash:
Beldam I thinke we watcht you at an ynch.
What Madame, are you there? the King & Commonweale
Are deepely indebted for this peece of paines;
My Lord Protector will, I doubt it not,
See you well guerdon'd for these good deserts.

Elianor.
Not halfe so bad as thine to Englands King,
Iniurious Duke, that threatest where's no cause.

Buck.
True Madame, none at all: what call you this?
Away with them, let them be clapt vp close,
And kept asunder: you Madame shall with vs.
Stafford take her to thee.
Wee'le see your Trinkets here all forth-comming.
All away.
Exit.

Yorke.
Lord Buckingham, me thinks you watcht her well:
A pretty Plot, well chosen to build vpon.
Now pray my Lord, let's see the Deuils Writ.
What haue we here?
Reades. The Duke yet liues, that Henry shall depose:
But him out-liue, and dye a violent death.
Why this is iust,
Aio Aeacida Romanos vincere posso.
Well, to the rest:
Tell me what fate awaits the Duke of Suffolke?
By Water shall he dye, and take his end.
What shall betide the Duke of Somerset?
Let him shunne Castles,
Safer shall he be vpon the sandie Plaines,
Then where Castles mounted stand.
Come, come, my Lords, / These Oracles
are hardly attain'd, / And hardly vnderstood.
The King is now in progresse towards Saint Albones,
With him, the Husband of this louely Lady:
Thither goes these Newes, / As fast as Horse can carry them:
A sorry Breakfast for my Lord Protector.

Buck.
Your Grace shal giue me leaue, my Lord of York,
To be the Poste, in hope of his reward.

Yorke.
At your pleasure, my good Lord. / Who's within there, hoe?
Enter a Seruingman.
Inuite my Lords of Salisbury and Warwick
To suppe with me to morrow Night. Away.
Modern text
Act I, Scene I
Flourish of trumpets, then hautboys. Enter the King,
Gloucester, 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 Alençon,
Seven earls, twelve barons, and twenty reverend bishops,
I have performed my task and was espoused;
And humbly now upon my bended knee,
(He kneels)
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 marquess gave,
The fairest queen that ever king received.

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 alderliefest sovereign,
Makes me the bolder to salute my king
With ruder terms, such as my wit affords,
And overjoy of heart doth minister.

KING
Her sight did ravish, but her grace in speech,
Her words y-clad 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 kneel

ALL
Long live Queen Margaret, England's happiness!
Flourish

QUEEN
We thank you all.

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.

GLOUCESTER
(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, it is further agreed between them that
the duchy of Anjou and the county of Maine shall be
released and delivered over to the King her father –
(Gloucester lets the contract fall)

KING
Uncle, how now?

GLOUCESTER
Pardon me, gracious lord.
Some sudden qualm hath struck me at the heart
And dimmed 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 duchy of Anjou and the county of 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 gird 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 expired. Thanks, uncle Winchester,
Gloucester, 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 performed.
Exeunt King, Queen, and Suffolk
Gloucester stays all the rest

GLOUCESTER
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,
Received deep scars in France and Normandy?
Or hath mine uncle Beaufort and myself,
With all the learned Council of the realm,
Studied so long, sat in the Council House
Early and late, debating to and fro
How France and Frenchmen might be 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 conquered France,
Undoing all, as all had never been!

CARDINAL
Nephew, what means this passionate discourse,
This peroration with such circumstance?
For France, 'tis ours; and we will keep it still.

GLOUCESTER
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
Delivered 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.

GLOUCESTER
A proper jest, and never heard before,
That Suffolk should demand a whole fifteenth
For costs and charges in transporting her!
She should have stayed in France, and starved in France,
Before –

CARDINAL
My Lord of Gloucester, now ye grow too hot;
It was the pleasure of my lord the King.

GLOUCESTER
My Lord of Winchester, I know your mind;
'Tis not my speeches that you do mislike,
But 'tis 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 Gloucester

CARDINAL
So there goes our Protector in a rage.
'Tis known to you he is mine enemy;
Nay more, an enemy unto you all,
And no great friend, I fear me, to the King.
Consider, lords, he is the next of blood
And heir apparent to the English crown.
Had Henry got an empire by his marriage,
And all the wealthy kingdoms of the west,
There's reason he should be displeased 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 Gloucester,’
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 of age to govern of himself?
Cousin of Somerset, join you with me,
And all together, with the Duke of Suffolk,
We'll quickly hoise Duke Humphrey from his seat.

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 Gloucester be displaced, 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 Gloucester
Did bear him like a noble gentleman.
Oft have I seen the haughty Cardinal,
More like a soldier than a man o'th' 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 feared and honoured 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
And so says York – (aside) 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 pleased
To change two dukedoms for a duke's fair daughter.
I cannot blame them all; what is't to them?
'Tis thine they give away, and not their own.
Pirates may make cheap pennyworths of their pillage
And purchase friends and give to courtesans,
Still revelling like lords till all be gone;
While as 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 shared 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 bargained 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 burnt
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 perfumed,
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 pulled fair England down.
Exit
Modern text
Act I, Scene II
Enter the Duke of Gloucester and his wife the
Duchess

DUCHESS
Why droops my lord like overripened 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 fixed to the sullen earth,
Gazing on that which seems to dim thy sight?
What seest thou there? King Henry's diadem,
Enchased 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 heaved 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.

GLOUCESTER
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 dreamed my lord? Tell me, and I'll requite it
With sweet rehearsal of my morning's dream.

GLOUCESTER
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 placed 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 Gloucester'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 were crowned,
Where Henry and Dame Margaret kneeled to me,
And on my head did set the diadem.

GLOUCESTER
Nay, Eleanor, then must I chide outright:
Presumptuous dame! Ill-nurtured Eleanor!
Art thou not second woman in the realm,
And the Protector's wife, beloved 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 checked.

GLOUCESTER
Nay, be not angry; I am pleased again.
Enter a Messenger

MESSENGER
My Lord Protector, 'tis his highness' pleasure
You do prepare to ride unto Saint Albans,
Where as the King and Queen do mean to hawk.

GLOUCESTER
I go. Come, Nell, thou wilt ride with us?

DUCHESS
Yes, my good lord, I'll follow presently.
Exeunt Gloucester and Messenger
Follow I must; I cannot go before
While Gloucester 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 John Hume

HUME
Jesus preserve your royal majesty!

DUCHESS
What sayst 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 sayst thou, man? Hast thou as yet conferred
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 raised from depth of under ground,
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 Albans we do make return,
We'll see these things effected to the full.
Here, Hume, take this reward. Make merry, man,
With thy confederates in this weighty cause.
Exit

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 it 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
Modern text
Act I, Scene III
Enter four Petitioners, Peter, the armourer's man,
being one

FIRST 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.

SECOND PETITIONER
Marry, the Lord protect him,
for he's a good man. Jesu bless him!
Enter Suffolk and the Queen

PETER
Here a' comes, methinks, and the Queen with him.
I'll be the first, sure.

SECOND PETITIONER
Come back, fool. This is the Duke
of Suffolk and not my Lord Protector.

SUFFOLK
How now, fellow? Wouldst anything with me?

FIRST PETITIONER
I pray, my lord, pardon me; I took ye
for my Lord Protector.

QUEEN
(reads)
‘ To my Lord Protector ’? Are your supplications
to his lordship? Let me see them. What is thine?

FIRST 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!

SECOND PETITIONER
Alas, sir, I am but a poor petitioner
of our whole township.

PETER
(offering his petition)
Against my master, Thomas
Horner, for saying that the Duke of York was rightful
heir to the crown.

QUEEN
What sayst 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 a 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.
She tears the supplications
Away, base cullions! Suffolk, let them go.

ALL PETITIONERS
Come, let's be gone.
Exeunt

QUEEN
My lord of Suffolk, say, is this the guise,
Is this the fashions 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 Gloucester'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 rannest a tilt in honour of my love
And stolest 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 canonized 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 haught 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 avenged on her?
Contemptuous base-born callet 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 lands,
Till Suffolk gave two dukedoms for his daughter.

SUFFOLK
Madam, myself have limed a bush for her,
And placed a choir of such enticing birds
That she will light to listen to the lays,
And never mount to trouble you again.
So let her rest; and, madam, list to me,
For I am bold to counsel you in this:
Although we fancy not the Cardinal,
Yet must we join with him and with the lords
Till we have brought Duke Humphrey in 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.
Sound a sennet. Enter the King, Gloucester, the
Cardinal, Buckingham, York, Salisbury, Warwick,
Somerset, and the Duchess of Gloucester

KING
For my part, noble lords, I care not which;
Or Somerset or York, all's one to me.

YORK
If York have ill demeaned himself in France,
Then let him be denayed 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 preferred in this.

QUEEN
Because the King, forsooth, will have it so.

GLOUCESTER
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?

GLOUCESTER
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 prevailed beyond the seas,
And all the peers and nobles of the realm
Have been as bondmen to thy sovereignty.

CARDINAL
The commons hast thou racked; 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 Gloucester
The Queen lets fall her fan
Give me my fan. What, minion, can ye not?
She gives the Duchess of Gloucester a box on the ear
I cry you 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 could set my ten commandments on your face.

KING
Sweet aunt, be quiet; 'twas 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 unrevenged.
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
Enter Gloucester

GLOUCESTER
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 danced attendance on his will
Till Paris was besieged, famished, 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 the armourer and his man Peter, guarded

SUFFOLK
Because here is a man accused of treason.
Pray God the Duke of York excuse himself!

YORK
Doth anyone accuse York for a traitor?

KING
What meanest 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?

GLOUCESTER
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 never shall be able to fight
a blow. O Lord, my heart!

GLOUCESTER
Sirrah, or you must fight or else be hanged.

KING
Away with them to prison; and the day of combat
shall be the last of the next month. Come, Somerset,
we'll see thee sent away!
Flourish. Exeunt
Modern text
Act I, Scene IV
Enter the witch, Margery Jourdain, the two priests,
Hume and 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 the Duchess of Gloucester 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 hallowed 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.

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, Bolingbroke writes the answer

BOLINGBROKE
(reads)
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, Sir Humphrey Stafford as captain,
and break in

YORK
Lay hands upon these traitors and their trash.
Beldam, I think we watched 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 guerdoned 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 clapped up close,
And kept asunder. You, madam, shall with us.
Stafford, take her to thee.
Exeunt above the Duchess and Hume, guarded
We'll see your trinkets here all forthcoming.
All away!
Exeunt Jourdain, Southwell,
Bolingbroke, escorted by Stafford
and the guard

YORK
Lord Buckingham, methinks you watched 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 befall 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 attained and hardly understood.
The King is now in progress towards Saint Albans;
With him the husband of this lovely lady.
Thither goes 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 tomorrow night. Away!
Exeunt
x

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