SCENE II.-London. The Duke of York's gar den. Enter York, Salisbury, and Warwick."

"York. Now, my good lords of Salisbury und Warwick,

Our simple supper ended, give me leave,
In this close walk, to satisfy myself,
'In craving your opinion of my title,
Which is infallible to England's crown.
*Sal. My lord, I long to hear it at full.
War. Sweet York, begin: and if thy claim be
good,

The Nevils are thy subjects to command.
York. Then thus:-

*Glo. Follow the knave; and take this drab away. * Wife. Alas, sir, we did it for pure need. Glo. Let them be whipped through every market town, till they come to Berwick, whence they [Exeunt Mayor, Beadle, Wife, &c.The 'Car. Duke Humphrey has done a miracle to-day. Suff. True; made the lame to leap, and fly

came.

away.

Glo. But you have done more miracles than I; You made, in a day, my lord, whole towns to fly. Enter Buckingham.

'K. Hen. What tidings with our cousin ingham?

Edward the Third, my lords, had seven sons:
first, Edward the Black Prince, prince of
Wales;

The second, William of Hatfield; and the third,
'Lionel, duke of Clarence; next to whom,
Was John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster:
The fifth, was Edmund Langley, duke of York,
The sixth, was Thomas of Woodstock, duke of
Gloster;

Buck-William of Windsor was the seventh, and last.
Edward, the Black Prince, died before his father;
And left behind him Richard, his only son,
'Who, after Edward the Third's death, reign'd
as king;

Buck. 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 conjurors:
'Whom we have apprehended in the fact;
'Raising up wicked spirits from under ground,
'Demanding of king Henry's life and death,
'And other of your highness' privy council,
As more at large your grace shall understand.
3 Car. 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;

'Tis like, my lord, you will not keep your hour.
[Aside to Gloster.
'Glo. 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.

K. Hen. O God, what mischiefs work the
wicked ones;

*Heaping confusion on their own heads thereby! *Q. Mar. Gloster, see here the tainture of thy nest;

*And, look, thyself be faultless, thou wert best.

Glo. Madam, for myself, to heaven I do appeal,
'How I have lov'd my king, and commonweal:
'And, for my wife, I know not how it stands;
'Sorry I am to hear what I have heard:
Noble she is; but if she have forgot
'Honour and virtue, and convers'd with such
'As, like to pitch, defile nobility,
'I banish her, my bed, and company;
'And give her, as a prey, to law, and shame,
"That hath dishonour'd Gloster's honest name.
'K. Hen. Well, for this night, we will repose
us here:

'To-morrow, toward London, back again,
To look into this business thoroughly,
And call these foul offenders to their answers;
And poise the cause in justice' equal scales,

Till Henry Bolingbroke, duke of Lancaster, The eldest son and heir of John of Gaunt, 'Crown'd by the name of Henry the Fourth, Seiz'd on the realm; depos'd the rightful king; 'Sent his poor queen to France, from whence she

came,

And him to Pomfret; where, as all you know,
'Harmless Richard was murder'd traitorously.
*War. Father, the duke hath told the truth;
Thus got the house of Lancaster the crown.
*York. Which now they hold by force, and not
by right;

*For Richard, the first son's heir, being dead,
The issue of the next son should have reign'd.
*Sal. But William of Hatfield died without an heir.
*York. The third son, duke of Clarence (from

His eldest sister, Anne, 'My mother being heir unto the crown, 'Married Richard, earl of Cambridge; who was son 'To Edmund Langley, Edward the Third's fifth son. By her I claim the kingdom: she was heir

·

To Roger, earl of March; who was the son

6 Of Edmund Mortimer; who married Philippe, 'Sole daughter unto Lionel, duke of Clarence: 'So, if the issue of the elder son

'Succeed before the younger, I am king.

War. What plain proceedings are more plain
than this?

'Henry doth claim the crown from John of Gaunt,
The fourth son; York claims it from the third.
'Till Lionel's issue fails, his should not reign.

Whose beam stands sure, whose rightful causeIt fails not yet; but flourishes in thee,
[Flourish. Exeunt.

prevails.

·

And in thy sons, fair slips of such a stock.

(3) i. e. Your lady is in custody. (4) Weigh.

VOL. II.

Then, father Salisbury, kneel we both together; 'And, in this private plot,' be we the first, "Thai shall salute our rightful sovereign With honour of his birthright to the crown. Both. Long live our sovereign Richard, England's king!

'York. We thank you, lords. But I am not your
king,

'Till I be crown'd; and that my sword be stain'd
'With heart-blood of the house of Lancaster.
*And that's not suddenly to be perform'd;
But with advice, and silent secrecy.

* Do you, as I do, in these dangerous days,
Wink at the duke of Suffolk's insolence,
*At Beaufort's pride, at Somerset's ambition,
At Buckingham, and all the crew of them,
*Till they have snar'd the shepherd of the flock,
*That virtuous prince, the good duke Humphrey :
'Tis that they seek; and they, in seeking that,
*Shall find their deaths, if York can prophesy.

* Sal. My lord, break we off; we know your
mind at full.

'War. My heart assures me, that the earl of Warwick

'Shall one day make the duke of York a king.

York. And, Nevil, this do I assure myself,'Richard shall live to make the earl of Warwick 'The greatest man in England but the king. [Exe. SCENE III.-The same. A hall of justice. Trumpets sounded. Enter King Henry, Queen Margaret, Gloster, York, Suffolk, and Salisbury; the Duchess of Gloster, Margery Jourdain, Southwell, Hume, and Bolingbroke, under guard.

K. Hen. Stand forth, dame Eleanor Cobham,

Gloster's wife:

In sight of God, and us, your guilt is great; 'Receive the sentence of the law, for sins

Such as by God's book are adjudg'd to death.—
You four, from hence to prison back again;

[To Jourd. &c.

*Should be to be protected like a child.-
'God and king Henry govern England's helm:
Give up your staff, sir, and the king his realm.
'Glo. My staff?-here, noble Henry, is my staff
'As willingly do I the same resign,
'As ere thy father Henry made it mine;
And even as willingly at thy feet I leave it
As others would ambitiously receive it.
Farewell, good king: When I am dead and gone
May honourable peace attend thy throne! [Erit

Q. Mar. Why, now is Henry king, and Mar

jesty,

'This is the day appointed for the combat;

And ready are the apellant, and defendant, 'The armourer and his man, to enter the lists, So please your highness to behold the fight.

Q. Mar. Ay, good my lord; for purposely therefore *Left I the court, to see this quarrel tried. 'K. Hen. O' God's name, see the lists and al things fit:

Here let them end it, and God defend the right! *York. I never saw a fellow worse bested, Or more afraid to fight, than is the appellant, *The servant of this armourer, my lords. Enter on one side, Horner, and his Neighbours, drinking to him so much that he is drunk; and he enters bearing his staff with a sand-bag fastened to it; a drum before him; at the other side, Peter, with a drum and a similar staff; accompanied by Prentices drinking to him.

1 Neigh. Here, neighbour Horner, I drink to you in a cup of sack; And fear not, neighbour,

2 Neigh. And here, neighbour, here's a cup of charneco.

*From thence, unto the place of execution:
The witch in Smithfield shall be burn'd to ashes,
*And you three shall be strangled on the gallows.-you shall do well enough.
'You, madam, for you are more nobly born,
'Despoiled of your honour in your life,
'Shall, after three days' open penance done,
'Live in your country here, in banishment,
With sir John Stanley, in the Isle of Man.
'Duch. Welcome is banishment, welcome were
my death.

* Glo. Eleanor, the law, thou seest, hath judged
thee;

I cannot justify whom the law condemns.—
[Exeunt the Duchess, and the other prisoners,
guarded.

'Mine eyes are full of tears, my heart of grief.
Ah, Humphrey, this dishonour in thine age

3 Neigh. And here's a pot of good double beer, neighbour: drink, and fear not your man.

Hor. Let it come, i'faith, and I'll pledge you all; And a fig for Peter!

1 Pren. Here, Peter, I drink to thee; and be not afraid.

2 Pren. Be merry, Peter, and fear not thy master; fight for credit of the prentices.

Peter. I thank you all: drink, and pray for me, I pray you; for, I think, I have taken my last * draught in this world.*-Here, Robin, an if I die, I give thee my apron; and, Will, thou shalt have

Will bring thy head with sorrow to the ground!-my hammer :-and here, Tom, take all the money

'I beseech your majesty, give me leave to go;
'Sorrow would solace, and mine age would ease.
'K. Hen. Stay, Humphrey duke of Gloster erc

thou go,
'Give up thy staff; Henry will to himself
'Protector be: and God shall be my hope,
My stay, my guide, and lantern to my feet;
And go in peace, Humphrey; no less belov'd,
Than when thou wert protector to thy king.

* Q. Mar. I see no reason, why a king of years

that I have.-O Lord, bless me, I pray God! for I am never able to deal with my master, he hath learnt so much fence already.

Sal. Come, leave your drinking, and fall to blows. -Sirrah, what's thy name?

and myself an honest man: * and touching the * And follow'd with a rabble, that rejoice
* duke of York,-will take my death, I never
meant him any ill, nor the king, nor the queen:
* And, therefore, Peter, have at thee with a down-
right blow, as Bevis of Southampton fell upon
Ascapart.

York. Despatch:-this knave's tongue begins
to double.

Sound trumpets, alarum to the combatants.
[Alarum. They fight, and Peter strikes
down his master.

treason.

Hor. Hold, Peter, hold! I confess, I confess [Dies. York. Take away his weapon :-Fellow, thank God, and the good wine in thy master's

way.

Peter. O God! have I overcome mine enemies in this presence? O Peter, thou hast prevailed in 'right!

K. Hen. Go, take hence that traitor from our sight;
For, by his death, we do perceive his guilt:1
And God, in justice, hath reveal'd to us
The truth and innocence of this poor fellow,
Which he had thought to have murder'd
fully.-

[Exeunt.

Come, fellow, follow us for thy reward.
SCENE IV.-The same. A street. Enter
Gloster and Servants, in mourning cloaks.
* Glo. Thus, sometimes, hath the brightest day
a cloud;

* And, after summer, evermore succeeds

To see my tears, and hear my deep-fet" groans.
The ruthless flint doth cut my tender feet,
And, when I start, the envious people laugh,
And bid me be advised how I tread.
Ah, Humphrey, can I bear this shameful yoke?
Trow'st thou, that e'er I'll look upon the world.
*Or count them happy, that enjoy the sun?
*No; dark shall be my light, and night my day;
To think upon my pomp, shall be my hell.
Sometime I'll say, I am duke Humphrey's wife;
And he a prince, and ruler of the land:"
Yet so he rul'd, and such a prince he was,
As he stood by, whilst I, his forlorn duchess,
Was made a wonder, and a pointing-stock,
To every idle rascal follower.
But be thou mild, and blush not at my shame ;
Nor stir at nothing, till the axe of death
Hang over thee, as, sure, it shortly will.
For Suffolk,-he that can do all in all

With her, that hateth thee, and hates us all,-
And York, and impious Beaufort, that false priest,
Have all lim'd bushes to betray thy wings,
wrong-And, fly thou how thou canst, they'll tangle thee.
*But fear not thou, until thy foot be snar'd,
Nor never seek prevention of thy foes.
*Glo. Ah, Nell, forbear; thou aimest all awry;
I must offend, before I be attainted:
And had I twenty times so many foes,
And each of them had twenty times their power,
*All these could not procure me any scathe,
*So long as I am loyal, true, and crimeless.
Would'st have me rescue thee from this reproach?
Why, yet thy scandal were not wip'd away,
But I in danger for the breach of law.
Thy greatest help is quiet, gentle Nell:
I pray thee, sort thy heart to patience;
'These few days' wonder will be quickly worn.
Enter a Herald.

* Barren winter, with his wrathful nipping cold; So cares and joys abound, as seasons fleet.2 Sirs, what's o'clock ?

4

Serv.

Ten, my lord.

Glo. Ten is the hour that was appointed me, To watch the coming of my punish'd duchess: Uneath may she endure the flinty streets, 'To tread them with her tender-feeling feet. Sweet Nell, ill can thy noble mind abrook The abject people, gazing on thy face, With envious looks, still laughing at thy shame; That erst did follow thy proud chariot-wheels, When thou didst ride in triumph through the streets. But, soft! I think, she comes; and I'll prepare * My tear-stain'd eyes to see her miseries." Enter the Duchess of Gloster, in a white sheet, with papers pinned upon her back, her feet bare, and a taper burning in her hand; Sir John Stanley, a Sheriff, and Officers.

Serv. So please your grace, we'll take her from the sheriff.

'Glo. No, stir not, for your lives; let her pass by.
Duch. Come you, my lord, to see my open
shame?

Now thou dost penance too. Look, how they gaze!
'See, how the giddy multitude do point,
'And nod their heads, and throw their eyes on thee!
Ah, Gloster, hide thee from their hateful looks;
And, in thy closet pent up, rue my shame,
And ban thine enemies, both mine and thine.

Glo. Be patient, gentle Nell; forget this grief.
Duch. Ah, Gloster, teach me to forget myself:
For, whilst I think I am thy married wife,
And thou a prince, protector of this land,
'Methinks, I should not thus be led along,
Mail'd up in shame, with papers on my back;

(1) The death of the vanquished person was
BIways regarded as certain evidence of his guilt.
(2) Change. (3) Not easily. (4) Malicious.
(5) Curse.

Duch. Sheriff, farewell, and better than I fare: 'Although thou hast been conduct of thy shame! Sher. It is my office; and, madam, pardon me. 'Duch. Ay, ay, farewell; thy office is dis-* Yet, by reputing of his high descent

*(As next the king, he was successive heir,)
*And such high vaunts of his nobility,

off* Did instigate the bedlam brain-sick duchess,
By wicked means to frame our sovereign's fall.
Smooth runs the water, where the brook is deep;

'Duch. My shame will not be shifted with my And in his simple show he harbours treason.