Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

In courtly company, or at my beads,--
With you mine alder-liefeft1 fovereign,
Makes me the bolder to falute my king
With ruder terms; fuch as my wit affords,
And over-joy of heart doth minifter. [fpeech,
K. Henry. Her fight did ravith: but her grace in
Her words y-clad with wifdom'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. Long live queen Margaret, England's hap-
piness!

Did he fo often lodge in open field,

[awe?

In winter's cold, and fummer'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, Somerfet, Buckingham, Brave York, and Salisbury, victorious Warwick, Receiv'd deep fears in France and Normandy ? Or hath mine uncle Beaufort, and myself, With all the learned council of the realm, Study'd fo long, fat in the council-house Early and late, debating to and fro 9. Mar. We thank you all. [Flourish. How France and Frenchmen might be kept in Suf. My lord protector, fo it please your grace, Or hath his highnefs in his infancy Here are the articles of contracted peace, Been crown'd in Paris, in defpight of foes; Between our fovereign and the French king Charles, And fhall thefe labours, and thefe honours, die ? For eighteen months concluded by confent. Shall Henry's conqueft, Bedford's vigilance, Glo. reads.] Imprimis, "It is agreed between Your deeds of war, and all our counfels die? "the French king, Charles, and William de la O peers of England, fhameful is this league ! "Poole, marquefs of Suffolk, embaffador for Hen- Fatal this marriage! cancelling your fame; «ry king of England, that the faid Henry thall Blotting your names from books of memory; "efpouse the Lady Margaret, daughter to Reignier | Razing the characters of your renown; "king of Naples, Sicilia, and Jerufalem; and Reverfing monuments of conquer'd France; "crown her queen of England, ere the thirtieth Undoing all, as all had never been! of May next enfuing."

Item, "That the dutchies of Anjou and of "Maine fhall be releafed and delivered to the "king her fa—”

K. Henry. Uncle, how now?
Glo. Pardon me, gracious lord;

[courfe?
Car. Nephew, what means this paffionate dif-
This peroration with fuch circumftance2?
For France, 'tis ours; and we will keep it ftill.

Glo. Ay, uncle, we will keep it, if we can;
But now it is impoffible we fhould:
Suffolk, the new-made duke that rules the roaft,

Some fudden qualm hath ftruck me to the heart,Hath given the dutchies of Anjou and Maine
And dimm'd mine eyes, that I can read no further.
K. Henry. Uncle of Winchefter, I pray, read on.
Win. Item, "It is further agreed between them,
"that the dutchies of Anjou and Maine fhall be
❝ releafed and delivered to the king her father;
"and the fent over of the king of England's own
proper coft and charges, without having any
"dowry."

Unto the poor king Reignier, whose large style
Agrees not with the leannefs of his purfe.

Sal. Now, by the death of Him who dy'd for all,
Thefe counties were the keys of Normandy :-
But wherefore weeps Warwick, my valiant fon ?

[ocr errors]

K. Henry. They pleafe us well.-Lord marquefs,
kneel down;

We here create thee the firft duke of Suffolk,
And gird thee with the fword.-

Coufin of York, we here difcharge your grace
From being regent in the parts of France,
'Till term of eighteen months be full expir'd.
Thanks, uncle Winchefter, Glofter, York,
Buckingham,

Somerfet, 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 fee her coronation be perform'd.

and

[Exeunt King, Queen, and Suffolk. Glo. Brave peers of England, pillars of the itate, To you duke Humphrey muft 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 ?

War. For grief that they are past recovery:
For, were there hope to conquer them again,
My fword fhould shed hot blood, mine eyes no tears.
Anjou and Maine! myfelf did win them both;
Thofe provinces thefe 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 fuffocate,
That dims the honour of this warlike ifle !
France fhould 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 fums of gold, and dowries, with their wives:
And our king Henry gives away his own,
To match with her that brings no vantages.

Gl. A proper jeft, and never heard before,
That Suffolk fhould demand a whole fifteenth,
For cofts and charges in tranfporting her!
She fhould have ftaid in France, and starv'd in
Before-
[France,

Car. My lord of Glofter, now ye grow too hot;
It was the pleasure of my lord the king.

According to Warburton, alder-lieveft is an old English word given to him to whom the fpeaker is fupremely attached; heve being the fuperlative of the Mr. Steevens allerts alder-liefeft to be a corruption of the all things; and adds, that the word is ufed by Chaucer. many fultances of aggravation.

comparative levar, rather, from lief; but German word alder-helfte, beloved above 2 Meaning, this fpeech crowded with so

[ocr errors]

Glo. Mylord of Winchester, I know your mind;
'Tis not my fpeeches that you do mislike,
But 'tis my prefence that doth trouble you.
Rancour will out: Proud prelate, in thy face
I fee thy fury: if I longer stay,

Join we together, for the public good ;
In what we can, to bridle and fupprefs
The pride of Suffolk, and the cardinal,
With Somerfet's and Buckingham's ambition;
And, as we may, cherith duke Humphrey's deeds,
While they do tend the profit of the land.
War. So God help Warwick, as he loves the land,
And common profit of his country!

York. And fo fays York, for he hath greatest
[hide.

caufe.

Sal. Then let's make hafte, and look unto the main.

We fhall begin our ancient bickerings -
Farewel, my lords; and fay, when I am gone,
I prophefy'd-France will be loft ere lang. [Exit.
Car. 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.
Confider, 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 reafon he should be difpleas'd at it.
Look to it, lords! let not his fmoothing words
Bewitch your hearts; be wife, and circumfpect.
What though the common people favour him,
Calling him--Humphrey, the good duke of Glofter;
Clapping their hands, and crying with loud voice-Stands on a tickle 3 point, now they are gone.

Jefu maintain your royal excellence!
With-God preferve the good duke Humphrey!
I fear me, lords, for all this flattering glofs,
He will be found a dangerous protector.

War. Unto the main! Oh father, Maine is loft;
That Maine, which by main force Warwick did win,
And would have kept, fo long as breath did laft:
Main chance, father, you meant; but I meant
Maine;

Which I will win from France, or elfe be flain.
[Ex. Warwick and Salisbury.
York. Anjou and Maine are given to the French;
Paris is loft; the ftate of Normandy

Suffolk concluded on the articles;

The peers agreed; and Henry was well pleas'd,
To change two dukedoms for a duke's fair daughter.
I cannot blame them all; What it to them?
'Tis thine they give away, and not their own.
Pirates may make cheap pennyworth of their pillage,
And purchate friends, and give to courtezans,
Still revelling, like lords, 'till all be gone :
While as the filly owner of the goods
Wceps over them, and wrings his haplefs hands,
And thakes his head, and trembling ftands aloof,
Hum-While all is fhar'd, and all is borne away;

Buck. Why thould he then protect our fovereign,
He being of age to govern of himself?
Coufin of Somerfet, join you with me,
And all together, with the duke of Suffolk,--
We'll quickly hoite duke Humphrey from his feat.
Car. This weighty bufinefs will not brook delay;
I'll to the duke of Suffolk presently. [Exit.
Som. Coufin of Buckingham, though
phrey's pride,

And greatnefs of his place, be grief to us,
Yet let us watch the haughty cardinal;
His infolence is more intolerable
Than all the princes in the land befide;
If Glofter be difplac'd, he'll be protector.
Buck. Thou, or 1, Somerset, will be protector,
Defpight duke Humphrey, or the cardinal.

[Exeant Buckingham and Somerfet.
Sal. Pride went before, ambition follows him.
While thefe do labour for their own preferment,
Behoves it us to labour for the realm.
I never faw but Humphrey duke of Glofter
Did bear him like a noble gentleman.
Oft have I feen the haughty cardina!--
More like a foldier, than a man of the church,
As ftout, and proud, as he were lord of all,--
Swear like a ruffian, and demean himself
Unlike the ruler of a common-weal.-
Warwick my fon, the comfort of my age!
Thy deeds, thy plainnefs, and thy houfe-keeping,
Hath won the greateit favour of the commons,
Excepting none but good duke Humphrey-
And, brother York, thy acts in Ireland,
In bringing them to civil difcipline;

Ready to ftarve, and dares not touch his own.
So York muft fit, and fret, and bite his tongue,
While his own lands are bargain'd for, and fold.
Methinks, the realms of England, France, and Ire-
Bear that proportion to my ideth and blood, [land,
As did the fatal brand Althea burnt
Unto the prince's heart of Calydon 4.
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 foil.
A day will come, when York fhall claim his own;
And therefore I will take the Nevils' parts,
And make a fhew of love to proud duke Hua-
phrey,

And, when I ipy advantage, claim the crown,
For that's the golden mark I feek to hit :
Nor thall proud Lancaster ufurp my right,
Nor hold the feepter in his childish fift,
Nor wear the diadem upon his head,

whole church-like humour fits not for a crown.
Then, York, be ftill a while, 'till time do ferve :
Watch thou, and wake, when others be afleep,
To pry into the fecrets of the ftate;
'Till Henry, furfeiting in joys of love,
With his new bride, and England's dear-bought
And Humphrey with the peers be fall'n at jars:
Then will I raife aloft the milk-white rofe,

[queen,

Thy late exploits done in the heart of France,
When thou wert regent for our fovereign, [ple :-
Have made thee fear'd, and honour'd, of the peo-With whofe fweet fmell the air fhall be perfum'd;

1 To bicker is to firmish. 2 i. e. direct to. 3 Tickle for ticklish. 4 i. e. Melcager,

And

[blocks in formation]

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 fullen earth,
Gazing on that which feems to dim thy fight?
What fee'ft thou there? king Henry's diadem,
Inchas'd with all the honours of the world?
If fo, gaze on, and grovel on thy face,
Until thy head be circled with the fame.
Put forth thy hand, reach at the glorious gold :--
What, is't too fhort? 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 abafe our fight fo low
As to vouchfafe one glance unto the ground.

[lord,

Gl. O Nell, fweet Nell, if thou doft love thy 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 dream this night doth make me fad. Elean. What dream'd my lord? tell me, and I'll requite it

With fweet rehearfal of my morning's dream. Gin. Methought, this ftaff, 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 Somerfet,
And William de la Poole firft duke of Suffolk.
This was my dream; what it doth bode, God knows.
Elean. Tut, this was nothing but an argument,
That he, that breaks a flick of Glofter's grove,
Shall lofe his head for his prefumption.
But lift to me, my Humphrey, my fweet duke:
Methought, I fat in feat 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
And on my head did fet the diadem.

me,

Glo. Nay, Eleanor, then muft I chide outright: Prefumptuous dame, ill-nurtur'd Eleanor ! Art thou not fecond woman in the realm; And the protector's wife, belov'd of him? Haft thou not worldly pleafure at command, Above the reach or compafs of thy thought? And wilt thou still be hammering treachery, To tumble down thy hufband, and thyself, From top of honour to difgrace's feet? Away from me, and let me hear no more. Whereas is the fame as where.

Elean. What, what, my lord! are you fo choleric
With Eleanor, for telling but her dream?
Next time, I'll keep my dreams unto myself,
And not be check'd.

Glo. Nay, be not angry, I am pleas'd again.
Enter a Melonger.

Mef. My lord protector, 'tis his highness' pleasure, You do prepare to ride unto Saint Albans, Whereas the king and queen do mean to hawk. Glo. I go.-Come, Nell, thou wilt ride with us? Elean. Yes, my good lord, I'll follow prefently. [Exit Glofter.

Follow I muft, I cannot go before,
While Glofter bears this bafe and humble mind.
Were I a man, a duke, and next of blood,
I would remove thefe tedious ftumbling-blocks,
And imooth my way upon their headless necks:
And, being a woman, I will not be flack
To play my part in fortune's pageant. [mm,
Where are you there? Sir John! nay, fear not,
We are alone; here's none but thee and I.

[blocks in formation]

Marry, and fhall. But, how now, Sir John Hume?
Seal up your lips, and give no words but-mum!
The bufinefs afketh filent fecrecy.

| Dame Eleanor gives gold, to bring the witch:
Gold cannot come amifs, were the a devil.
Yet have I gold flies from another coaft:
I dare not fay, from the rich cardinal,

And from the great and new-made duke of Suffolk ;
Yet I do find it fo: for, to be plain,
They, knowing dame Eleanor's afpiring humour,
Have hired me to undermine the dutchefs,
And buz thefe conjurations in her brain.
They fay, A crafty knave does need no broker
Yet am I Suffolk's and the cardinal's broker.
Hume, if you take not heed, you fhall go near
To call them both-a pair of crafty knaves.

[blocks in formation]

Well, fo it ftands: And thus, I fear, at laft,
Hume's knavery will be the dutchefs' wreck ;
And her attainture will be Humphrey's fall:
Sort how it will, I fhall have gold for all. [Exit.
SCENE 1II.

An Apartment in the Palace.
Enter three or four Petitioners, Peter, the Armourer's
Man, being one.

1 Pet. My mafters, let's ftand clofe; my lord
protector will come this way by and by, and then
we may deliver our fupplications in the quill 2.
2 Pet. Marry, the Lord protect him, for he's a
good man! Jefu blefs him!

Enter Suffolk, and Queen.

Away, bafe cullions !-Suffolk, let them go.
All. Come, let's be gone. [Exeunt Petitioners.
2. Mar. My lord of Suffolk, fay, is this the guife,
Is this the fashion in the court of England ?
Is this the government of Britain's ifle,
And this the royalty of Albion's king?
What! fhall king Henry be a pupil still,
Under the furly Glofter's governance ?
Am I a queen in title and in ftyle,
And muft be made a fubject to a duke?
I tell thee, Poole, when in the city Tours
Thou ran't a tilt in honour of my love,
And stofft away the ladies' hearts of France ;
I thought, king Henry had refembled thee,
In courage, courtship, and proportion:

1 Pet. Here a' comes, methinks, and the queen But all his mind is bent to holiness, with him: I'll be the firft, fure.

To number Ave-Maries on his beads:

2 Pet. Come back, fool; this is the duke of His champions are--the prophets, and apostles; Suffolk, and not my lord protector. Suf. How now, fellow wouldft any thing

with me?

1 Pet. I pray, iny lord, pardon me! I took ye for my lord protector.

2. Mar. For my lord protector! are your fupplications to his lordthip? Let me fee them: what is thine ?

His weapons, holy faws of facred writ;
His ftudy is his tilt-yard, and his loves
Are brazen images of canoniz'd faints.
I would, the college of the cardinals
Would chufe him pope, and carry him to Rome,
And fet the triple crown upon his head;
That were a ftate fit for his holinel's.

Suf. Madam, be patient: as I was caufe 1 Pet. Mine is, an't please your grace, against Your highness came to England, fo will I John Goodman, my lord cardinal's man, for keep-In England work your grace's full content. 2. Mar. Befide the haught protector, have we Beaufort,

ing my houfe, and land's, and wife and all, from

me.

Suf. Thy wife too? that is fome wrong, indeed. The imperious churchman; Somerset, Buckingham, What's your's? what's here! [reads.] Againf the| Aad grambling York: and not the least of these, dike of Suffolk for enclosing the cominons of Melford.-- But can do more in England than the king. How now, fir knave?

2 Pet. Alas, fir, I am but a poor petitioner of our whole township.

Peter. Against my mafter, Thomas Horner, for faying, That the duke of York was rightful heir

[blocks in formation]

Suf. And he of thefe, that can do most of all, Cannot do more in England than the Nevils: Salibury and Warwick are no fumple peers.

2. Mar. Not all thefe lords do vex me half fe
much,

As that proud dame, the lord protector's wife.
She fweeps it through the court with troops of
ladies,

More like an emprefs, 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 bafe-born callat as the 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.
Suf. Madam, myself have lim'd a bush for her;
And plac'd a quire of fuch enticing birds,

1 i. e. happen. 2 Mr. Steevens thinks, that the phrafe in the quill, or in quill, implies no more than our written or penn'd fupplications. Mr. Tollet fuppofes it may mean, with great exactness and obfervance of form, or with the utmost punctilio of ceremony; that it feems to be taken from part of the dress of our ancestors, whofe ruffs were quilied; and that while thefe were worn, it might be the vogue to fay, fuch a thing is in the quill, i. e. in the reigning mode of tafte, as it has been fince customary to ufe the fimilar phrafe of a thing being in print, to exprefs the fame circumftance of exactness. Another critic and commentator, however, conjectures, that this may be fuppofed to have been a phrafe formerly in ufe, and the fame with the French en quille, which is faid of a man when he stands upright upon his feet without firring from the place. The proper fenfe of quille in French is a nine-pin, and in fome parts of England nine-pins are ftill called cayls. Quelle in the old British language alfo fignifics any piece of wood fet upright.

That

That the will light to liften to their lays,
And never mount to trouble you again.
So, let her reft: And, madam, lift to me;
For I am bold to counfel you in this.
Although we fancy not the cardinal,

Yet muft we join with him, and with the lords,
'Till we have brought duke Humphrey in difgrace.
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 fhall fteer the happy helm.
To them enter King Henry, Duke Humphrey, Cardinal
Beaufort, Puckingham, York, Salibury, Jarwick,
and the Dutchess of Glofier.

K. Henry. For my part, noble lords, I care

not which;

Or Somerfet, or York, all's one to me.

York. If York have ill demean'd himself in France,
Then let him be deny'd the regentthip.

Som. If Somerfet be unworthy of the place,
Let York be regent, I will yield to him.
War. Whether your grace be worthy, yea, or no,
Difpute not that; York is the worthier.

[blocks in formation]

Buck. Lord cardinal, I will follow Eleanor, And liften after Humphrey, how he proceeds: She's tickled now; her fume can need no fpurs, She'll gallop fait enough to her deftruction.

[Exit Buckingham. Re-enter Duke Humphrey.

Glo. Now, lords, my choler being over-blown
With walking once about the quadrangle,
I come to talk of commonwealth affairs.
As for your pightful falfe objections,
Prove them, and I lie open to the law :
But God in mercy deal fo with my foul,
As I in duty love my king and country!
But, to the matter that we have in hand :-
I tay, my fovereign, York is meeteft man

Car. Ambitious Warwick, let thy betters speak.
War. The cardinal's not my better in the field.
Buck. All in this prefence are thy betters, War-To be your regent in the realm of France,

wick.

War. Warwick may live to be the best of all. Sal. Peace, fon ;-and fhew fome reafon, Buckingham,

Why Somerfet thould be preferr' in this.

[fo.

9. Mar. Because the king, forfooth, will have it Glo. Madam, the king is old enough himself To give his cenfure 2: thefe are no women's [grace Q. Mar. If he be old enough, what needs your To be protector of his excellence?

matters.

Glo. Madam, I am protector of the realm;
And, at his pleasure, will refign my place.

Suf. Refign it then, and leave thine infolence.
Since thou wert king, (as who is king, but thou)
The commonwealth bath daily run to wreck :
The Dauphin hath prevail'd beyond the feas;
And all the peers and nobles of the realm
Have been as bondmen to thy fovereignty.!
Car. The commons haft thou rack'd; the
clergy's bags

Are lank and lean with thy extortions.

[attire,

Som. Thy fumptuous buildings, and thy wife's Have coft a mafs of publick treasury.

Euck. Thy cruelty in execution. Upon offenders, hath exceeded law, And left thee to the mercy of the law.

Q. Mar. Thy fale of offices, and towns in France,If they were known, as the fufpect great,Would make thee quickly hop without thy head.

[Exit Glofter. The Queen drops her fan. Give me my fan: What, minion! can you not? Gives the Duchefs a box on the car. 'I cry you mercy, madam; Was it you ?

Suf. Before we make election, give me leave
To fhew fome reaton, of no little force,
That York is moft uumeet of any man.

York. I'll tell thee, Suffolk, why I am unmeet.
Firft, for I cannot flatter thee in pride:
Next, if I be appointed for the place,
My lord of Somerfet will keep me here,
Without difcharge, money, or furniture,
Till France be won into the Dauphin's hands.
Laft time, I danc'd attendance on his will,
'Till Paris was belieg'd, famith'd, and loft.

War. That can I witnefs; and a fouler fact
Did never traitor in the land commit.

Suf. Peace, head-ftrong Warwick!
War. Image of pride, why thould I hold my
peace?

Enter Horner the Armourer, and bis Man Peter,
guarded.

Suf. Becaufe here is a man accus'd of treafon :
Pray God, the duke of York excufe himself!
York. Dot'r any one accufe York for a traitor?
K. Henry. What mean't thou, Suffolk ? tell me :

What are these?

Suf. Please it your majefty, this is the man
That doth accufe his matter of high treafon:
His words were thefe ;-that Richard, duke of
York,

Was rightful heir unto the English crown ;,
And that your majefty was an ufurper.

K. Hen y. Say, man, were there thy words? “**
Arm. An't fhall please your majefty, I never faid
nor thought any fuch matter: God is my witnefs,
I am falfely accus'd by the villain.

Peter. By thefe ten bones, my lords, [bolding up

1. e. the complaint of Peter the armourer's man against his master, for faying that York was the Fightful king.

21. c. judgement or opinion,

[ocr errors]
« AnteriorContinuar »