to speak. War. Plantagenet shall speak first:-hear him, lords; And be you silent and attentive too, For he, that interrupts him, shall not live. K. Hen. Think'st thou, that I will leave my Wherein my grandsire, and my father, sat? Ay, and their colours often borne in France; And now in England, to our heart's great sorrow, Shall be my winding-sheet.1-Why faint you, lords? My title's good, and better far than his. War. But prove it, Henry, and thou shalt be king. K. Hen. Henry the Fourth by conquest got the crown. York. 'Twas by rebellion against his king. Whom I unnaturally shall disinherit. But, be it as it may:-I here entail K. Hen. I know not what to say; my title's weak. The crown to thee, and to thine heirs forever; Tell me, may not a king adopt an heir? York. What then? K. Hen. An if he may, then am I lawful king: 'For Richard in the view of many lords, Resign'd the crown to Henry the Fourth; Whose heir my father was, and I am his. York. He rose against him, being his sovereign, And made him to resign his crown perforce. War. Suppose, my lords, he did it unconstrain'd, Think you, 'twere prejudicial to his crown?2 Exe. No; for he could not so resign his crown, But that the next heir should succeed and reign. K. Hen. Art thou against us, duke of Exeter? Exe. His is the right, and therefore pardon me. York. Why whisper you, my lords, and answer not? Exe. My conscience tells me he is lawful king. K. Hen. All will revolt from me, and turn to him. North. Plantagenet, for all the claim thou lay'st, Think not, that Henry shall be so depos'd. War. Depos'd he shall be, in despite of all. North. Thou art deceiv'd: 'tis not thy southern power, Of Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk, nor of Kent, Conditionally, that here thou take an oath, To cease this civil war, and, whilst I live, To honour me as thy king and sovereign; * And neither by treason, nor hostility, * To seek to put me down, and reign thyself. York. This oath I willingly take, and will perform. [Coming from the Throne. War. Long live King Henry!-Plantagenet, embrace him. 'K. Hen. And long live thou, and these thy forward sons! York. Now York and Lancaster are reconcil'd. Exe. Accurs'd be he, that seeks to make them foes! [Senet. The Lords come forward. 'York. Farewell, my gracious lord; I'll to my castle.5 War. And I'll keep London, with my soldiers. Norf. And I to Norfolk, with my followers. Mont. And I unto the sea, from whence I came. [Exeunt York, and his Sons, WARWICK, NORFOLK, MONTAGUE, Soldiers, and Attendants. * K. Hen. And I, with grief and sorrow, to the court. Which makes thee thus presumptuous and proud, - Enter QUEEN MARGARET and the Prince of Wales. Can set the duke up, in despite of me. Clif. King Henry, be thy title right or wrong, Lord Clifford vows to fight in thy defence: K. Hen. O Clifford, how thy words revive my War. Do right unto this princely duke of York; Or I will fill the house with armed men, And, o'er the chair of state, where now he sits, Write up his title with usurping blood. [He stamps, and the Soldiers show themselves. K. Hen. My lord of Warwick, hear me but one word: 'Let me, for this my life time, reign as king. Enjoy the kingdom after my decease. Clif. What wrong is this unto the prince your son? War. What good is this to England, and himself? West. Base, fearful, and despairing Henry! Clif. How hast thou injur'd both thyself and us? West. I cannot stay to hear these articles. North. Nor I. Clif. Come, cousin, let us tell the queen these news. 1 Perhaps Gray had this passage in mind when he wrote:- Weave the warp, and weave the woof, 2 i. e. detrimental to the general rights of hereditary royalty. 3 They go away, not because they doubt the justice of this determination, but because they have been con Exe. Here comes the queen, whose looks bewrays her anger: I'll steal away. K. Hen. Exeter, so will I. [Going. Q. Mar. Nay, go not from me, I will follow thee. K. Hen. Be patient, gentle queen, and I will stay. Q. Mar. Who can be patient in such extremes? * Ah, wretched man! 'would, I had died a maid, * And never seen thee, never borne thee son, * Seeing thou hast prov'd so unnatural a father! * Hath he deserv'd to lose his birthright thus? * Hadst thou but lov'd him half so well as I; * Or felt that pain which I did for him once; * Or nourish'd him, as I did with my blood; * Thou would'st have left thy dearest heart-blood there, * Rather than have made that savage duke thine heir, * And disinherited thine only son. * * Prince. Father, you cannot disinherit me: If you be king, why should not I succeed? * K. Hen. Pardon me, Margaret; -pardon me, sweet son ; The earl of Warwick, and the duke, enforc'd me. * Q. Mar. Enforc'd thee! art thou king, and wilt be forc'd? I shame to hear thee speak. Ah, timorous wretch! quered, and seek to be revenged. They are not influenced by principle but passion.-Johnson. 4 Malone asserts that neither, either, brother, and many similar words, were used by Shakspeare as monosyllables. Steevens doubts this, with seeming propriety, and observes that the versification of this and the preceding play, has many lines as unmetrical and irregular as this. 5 Sandal Castle, near Wakefield, in Yorkshire. 6 Betray, discover Thou hast undone thyself, thy son, and me, * Warwick is chancellor, and the lord of Calais; Stern Faulconbridge commands the narrow seas ; The duke is made protector of the realm; And yet shalt thou be safe? * such safety finds * The trembling lamb, environed with wolves. 'Had I been there, which am a silly woman, The soldiers should have toss'd me on their pikes, 'Before I would have granted to that act. * But thou preferr'st thy life before thine honour: And seeing thou dost, I here divorce myself, 'Both from thy table, Henry, and thy bed, Until that act of parliament be repeal'd, • Whereby my son is disinherited. The northern lords, that have forsworn thy colours, Will follow mine, if once they see them spread: And spread they shall be; to thy foul disgrace, And utter ruin of the house of York. Thus do I leave thee: -Come, son, let's away; speak. thee gone. * Edw. Now you are heir, therefore enjoy it now: * By giving the house of Lancaster leave to breathe, * It will outrun you, father, in the end. Q. Mar. Thou hast spoke too much already; get، K, Hen. Gentle son Edward, thou wilt stay with me? Q. Mar. Ay, to be murder'd by his enemies. Prince. When I return with victory from the field, I'll see your grace: till then, I'll follow her. Q. Mar. Come, son, away; we may not linger thus. [Exeunt QUEEN MARGARET, and the Prince. K. Hen. Poor queen! how love to me, and to her son, Hath made her break out into terms of rage! Reveng'd may she be on * Whose haughty spirit, winged with desire, * Will coast3 my crown, and, like an empty eagle, * Tire on the flesh of me, and of my son! * The loss of those three lords torments my heart: * I'll write unto them, and entreat them fair;* Come, cousin, you shall be the messenger. * Ere. And I, I hope, shall reconcile them all. [Exeunt. SCENE II. A Room in Sandal Castle, near Wakefield in Yorkshire. Enter EDWARD, RICHARD, and MONTAGUE. 'Rich. Brother, though I be youngest, give me leave. Edw. No, I can better play the orator. * York. I took an oath that he should quietly reign. Edw. But, for a kingdom, any oath may be broken:" I'd break a thousand oaths, to reign one year. Rich. No; God forbid, your grace should be forsworn. York. I shall be, if I claim by open war. 'Rich. I'll prove the contrary, if you'll hear me speak. York. Thou canst not, son; it is impossible. Rich. An oath is of no moment, being not took Before a true and lawful magistrate, That hath authority over him that swears; *How sweet a thing it is to wear a crown; * And all that poets feign of bliss and joy. * Why do we linger thus? I cannot rest, Until the white rose, that I wear, be dyed Even in the lukewarm blood of Henry's heart 'York. Richard, enough; I will be king or die.'Brother, thou shalt to London presently, And whet on Warwick to this enterprise. * ، Thou, Richard, shalt unto the duke of Norfolk, 'And tell him privily of our intent. 'You, Edward, shall unto my Lord Cobham, With whom the Kentishmen will willingly rise: 'In them I trust; for they are soldiers, Witty and courteous, liberal, full of spirit.While you are thus employ'd, what resteth more, But that I seek occasion how to rise; 'And yet the king not privy to my drift, Nor any of the house of Lancaster? Enter a Messenger.9 'But, stay; What news? Why com'st thou in such post? 'Mess. The queen, with all the northern earls and lords, 10 1 The queen's reproach is founded on a position long received among politicians, that the loss of kingly power is soon followed by loss of life. 2 The person here meant was Thomas Nevil, bastard son to the Lord Faulconbridge, 'a man (says Hall) of no lesse corage than audacitie, who for his cruel condicions was such an apte person, that a more meter could not be chosen to set all the world in a broyle, and to put the estate of the realme on an ill hazard. He had been appointed by Warwick, vice-admiral of the sea, and had in charge so to keep the passage between Dover and Calais, that none which either favoured King Henry or his friends, should escape untaken or undrowned: such, at least, were his instructions with respect to the friends and favourers of King Edward after the rupture between him and Warwick. On Warwick's death, he fell into poverty, and robbed, both by sea and land as well friends as enemies. He once brought his ships up the Thames, and with a considerable body of the men of Kent and Essex, made a spirited assault on the city, with a view to plunder and pillage, which was not repelled but after a sharp conflict, and the loss of many lives; and, had it happened at a more critical period, might have been attended with fatal consequences to Edward. After roving on the sea some little time longer, he ventured to land at Southampton, where he was taken and beheaded. See Hall and Holinshed. - Ritson. 3 To coast is, apparently, to pursue, to hover about any thing. The old form of the word appears to have 5 i. e. of Northumberland, Westmoreland, and Clifford, who had left him in disgust. 6 Shakspeare seems to have thought York and Montague brothers-in-law. But Montague was brother to Warwick; Warwick's daughter was married to a son of York, but not during the life of York. Steevens thought that as Shakspeare uses the expression brothers of the war in King Lear, something of the kind might be meant here. 7 The obligation of an oath is here eluded by a very despicable sophistry. A lawful magistrate alone has the power to exact an oath, but the oath derives no part of its force from the magistrate. The plea against the ob ligation of an oath obliging to maintain a usurper, taken from the unlawfulness of the oath itself, in the forego ing play, was rational and just---Johnson. 8 Of sound judgment. 9 The folio reads Enter Gabriel. It was the name of the actor, probably Gabriel Singer, who played this insignificant part. The emendation is from the old play, and was made by Theobald. 10 I know not (says Johnson) whether the author intended any moral instruction, but he that reads this has • Intend here to besiege you in your castle : • She is hard by with twenty thousand men; And therefore fortify your hold, my lord. * York. Ay, with my sword. What! think'st thou, that we fear them? • Edward and Richard, you shall stay with me; * Mont. Brother, I go; I'll win them, fear it not: * And thus most humbly I do take my leave. [Exit. Enter SIR JOHN and SIR HUGH MORTIMER. York. Sir John, and Sir Hugh Mortimer, mine uncles! You are come to Sandal in a happy hour; The army of the queen mean to besiege us. Sir John. She shall not need, we'll meet her in York. What, with five thousand men ? [A March afar off. Edw. I hear their drums; let's set our men in order; • And issue forth, and bid straight. York. Five men to twenty-though the odds be great, ' I doubt not, uncle, of our victory. When as the enemy hath been ten to one; [Alarum. Exeunt. SCENE III. Plains near Sandal Castle. Alarums: Excursions. Enter RUTLAND, and his Tutor.1 'Rut. Ah, whither shall I fly to 'scape their Ah, tutor! look, where bloody Clifford comes! Clif. Thy father hath. Rut. But 'twas ere I was born.4 Thou hast one son, for his sake pity me; Thy father slew my father; therefore, die. [CLIFFORD stabs him. Clif. Plantagenet! I come, Plantagenet! SCENE IV. The same. Alarum. Enter YORK 'York. The army of the queen hath got the field. 'My uncles both are slain in rescuing me;" And all my followers to the eager foe 'Turn back, and fly, like ships before the wind, Or lambs pursu'd by hunger-starved wolves. Clif. Chaplain, away! thy priesthood saves thy My sons-God knows, what hath bechanced life. As for the brat of this accursed duke, Tut. And I, my lord, will bear him company. Tut. Ah, Clifford! murder not this innocent 'Lest thou be hated both of God and man. Cliff. How now! is he dead already? Or, is it That makes him close his eyes? I'll open them. Ah, gentle Clifford, kill me with thy sword, enter. a striking admonition against precipitancy, by which we often use unlawful means to do that which a little delay would put honestly in our power. Had York stayed but a few moments, he had saved his cause from the stain of perjury. 1 A priest called Sir Robert Aspall. Hall, fo. 99. 2 i. e. the father of which brat, namely the duke of York. 3 Steevens remarks that the epithet devouring, which might well have characterized the whole animal, is oddly enough bestowed on his paws. 4 Rutland was born in 1443; or at latest, according to Hail, in 1449, and Clifford's father was slain at the battle of St. Albans, in 1455. Consequently Rutland was then at least seven years old, more probably twelve. them: But this I know, they have demean'd themselves And full as oft came Edward to my side, 'In blood of those that had encounter'd him ground! And cried,-A crown, or else a glorious tomb! 'Ah, hark! the fatal followers do pursue; 5 Since. 6 This line is in Ovid's Epistle from Phillis to Demophoon. The same quotation is in Nash's Have with you to Saffron Walden, 1596. 7 These were two bastard uncles by the mother's side, Sir John and Sir Hugh Mortimer. See Grafton's Chronicle, p. 649. 8 Bodged is probably the same as budged, from bouger, French. Steevens thought that it was the same as boggled, i. e. made bad, or bungling work of the attempt to raliy. But the following passage, in which Coriolanus speaks of his army who had fled from their adversaries, seems decisive : The mouse ne'er shunn'd the cat, as they did budge From rascals worse than they." Enter QUEEN MARGARET, CLIFFORD, NORTH- | Made issue from the bosom of the boy: UMBERLAND, and Soldiers. Come, bloody Clifford, -rough Northumberland, I dare your quenchless fury to more rage; I am your butt, and I abide your shot. North. Yield to our mercy, proud Plantagenet. Clif. Ay, to such mercy, as his ruthless arm, With downright payment, show'd unto my father. Now Phaeton hath tumbled from his car, And made an evening at the noontide prick.1 York. My ashes, as the Phenix, may bring forth A bird that will revenge upon you all: And, in that hope, I throw mine eyes to heaven, Scorning whate'er you can afflict me with. Why come you not? what! multitudes, and fear? Clif. So cowards fight, when they can fly no further; So doves do peck the falcon's piercing talons; So desperate thieves, all hopeless of their lives, Breathe out invectives 'gainst the officers. York. O, Clifford, but bethink thee once again, And, in thy thought o'errun my former time: * And, if thou canst for blushing, view this face; And bite thy tongue that slanders him with cowardice, • Whose frown hath made thee faint and fly ere this. Clif. I will not bandy with thee word for word; But buckle with thee blows, twice two for one. [Draws. Q. Mar. Hold, valiant Clifford! for a thousand causes, I would prolong awhile the traitor's life: Wrath makes him deaf: speak thou, Northumberland. North. Hold, Cliford; do not honour him so much, To prick thy finger, though to wound his heart: What valour were it, when a cur doth grin, For one to thrust his hand between his teeth, When he might spurn him with his foot away? It is war's prize to take all vantages; And ten to one is no impeach of valour. [They lay hands on YORK, who struggles. Clif. Ay, ay, so strives the woodcock with the gin. North. So doth the coney struggle in the net. [YORK is taken prisoner. York. So triumph thieves upon their conquer'd booty; So true men yield, with robbers so o'ermatch'd. North. What would your grace have done unto him now? Q. Mar. Brave warriors, Clifford and Northumberland, Come make him stand upon this molehill here; That raught at mountains with outstretched arms, Yet parted but the shadow with his hand.* What! was it you that would be England's king? Was't you that revell'd in our parliament, And made a preachment of your high descent? Where are your mess of sons to back you now? The wanton Edward, and the lusty George? ' And where's that valiant crookback prodigy, Dicky, your boy, that, with his grumbling voice, Was wont to cheer his dad in mutinies? Or, with the rest, where is your darling Rutland ? Look, York; I stain'd this napkins with the blood That valiant Clifford, with his rapier's point, 1 Noontide point on the dial. 2 Prize here must have the same meaning as prise in French, or presa in Italian, i. e. a hold or advantage that may be taken. Unless we can imagine that it signifies licitum est, it is prized or esteemed lawful in war, &c. Price, prise, and prize were used indiscriminately by our ancestors. And, if thine eyes can water for his death, ، Alas, poor York! but that I hate thée deadly, I should lament thy miserable state. I pr'ythee, grieve, to make me merry, York; Stamp, rave, and fret, that I may sing and dance. What, hath thy fiery heart so parch'd thine entrails, That not a tear can fall for Rutland's death? * Why art thou patient, man? thou should'st be mad; * And I, to inake thee mad, do mock thee thus. [Putting a paper Crown on his Head. Ay, marry, sir, now looks he like a king! Is crown'd so soon, and broke his solemn oath? makes. Thy father bears the type of king of Naples, That beggars, mounted, run their horse to death. Thou art as opposite to every good, As the Antipodes are unto us, Or as the south to the septentrion.11 3 Honest men. upon a molehill, on whose heade they put a garland in stead of a crown, which they had fashioned and made of segges or bulrushes, and having so crowned him with that garlande, they kneeled down afore him, as the Jews did to Christe, in scorne, saying to him, Hayle king without rule, hayle, king without heritage, hayle, duke and prince without people or possessions. And, at length, having thus scorned hym with these and diverse other the like despitefull woordes, they strooke 4 Reached. Vide note on Part II. of this play, Act ii. off his heade, which (as ye have heard) they presented Sc. 3. 5 Handkerchief. 6 According to Hall the paper crown was not placed on York's head till after he was dead; but Holinshed, after having copied Hall, says:-- Some write that the duke was taken alive and in derision caused to stand to the queen.' 7 Impale, encircle with a crown. s Kill him. 9 i. e. the crown, the emblem or symbol of royalty. 10 Government, in the language of the time signified evenness of temper, and decency of manners. 11 The north. Bidd'st thou me rage, why, now thou hast thy * Or, had he 'scap'd, methinks, we should have wish: Would'st have me weep? why, now thou hast * The happy tidings of his good escape. thy will: For raging wind blows up incessant showers. And, when the rage allays, the rain begins.1 heard 'How fares my brother? why is he so sad? As doth a lion in a herd of neat : 'Gainst thee, fell Clifford, and thee, false French-Methought, he bore him in the thickest troop, woman. North. Beshrew me, but his passions move me * Or as a bear, encompass'd round with dogs; So, That hardly can I check my eyes from tears. York. That face of his the hungry cannibals Would not have touch'd, would not have stain'd with blood: But you are more inhuman, more inexorable,- [He gives back the Handkerchief. And, if thou tell'st the heavy story right, And say, Alas, it was a piteous deed! *Who having pinch'd a few, and made them cry, sun; 9 Not separated with the racking clouds, 10 There, take the crown, and, with the crown, my Now are they but one lamp, one light, one sun. In this the heaven figures some event. heard of. * Edw. 'Tis wondrous strange, the like yet never I think, it cites us, brother, to the field; North. Had he been slaughterman to all my kin, 'I should not for my life but weep for him, To see how inly sorrow gripes his soul. Q. Mar. What, weeping-ripe, my Lord Think but upon the wrong he did us all, * Rich. Nay, bear three daughters;-by your leave I speak it, Clif. Here's for my oath, here's for my father's * You love the breeder better than the male. death. [Stabbing him. Q. Mar. And here's to right our gentle-hearted king. [Stabbing him. York. Open thy gate of mercy, gracious God! My soul flies through these wounds to seek out thee. [Dies. Q. Mar. Off with his head, and set it on York gate; So York may overlook the town of York.4 [Exeunt. ACT II. SCENE I. A. Plain near Mortimer's Cross in * Edw. I wonder, how our princely father 'scap'd; * Or whether he be 'scap'd away, or no, * From Clifford's and Northumberland's pursuit; * Had he been ta'en, we should have heard the news; Had he been slain, we should have heard the news; 1 We meet with the same thought in Shakspeare's Rape of Lucrece : This windy tempest, till it blow up rain, 3 'Tell thou the lamentable tale of me, And send the hearers weeping to their beds.' 4 This gallant prince fell by his own imprudence, in consequence of leading an army of only five thousand men to engage with twenty thousand, and not waiting for the arrival of his son the earl of March, with a large body of Welshmen. He and Cecily his wife, with his son Edmund, earl of Rutland, were originally buried in the chancel of Fotheringay church. Peacham, in his Complete Gentleman, 1627, p. 153, gives an account of the destruction of their monuments, of the disinterment, &c.; and of their reinterment in the church, by command Enter a Messenger. 'But what art thou, whose heavy looks foretell Rich. Say how he died, for I will hear it all. * And stood against them as the hope of Troy 13 6 Neat cattle, cows, oxen, &c. 7 Prize is here again used for estimation. 8 Aurora takes for a time her farewell of the sun, when she dismisses him to his diurnal course. 9 This circumstance is mentioned both by Hall and Holinshed. At which tyme the sun (as some write) appeared to the earl of March like three sunnes, and sodainely joyned altogether in one; upon whiche sight hee tooke such courage, that he fiercely setting on his enemyes put them to flight; and for this cause menne ymagined that he gave the sun in his full bryghtnesse for his badge or cognizance.'-Holinshed. 10 i. e. the clouds floating before the wind like a reek or vapour. This verb, though now obsolete, was for merly in common use; and it is now provincially com mon to speak of the rack of the weather. 11 Meed anciently signified merit as well as reward, and is so explained by Cotgrave, Philips, and others. 12 The generous tenderness of Edward, and savage fortitude of Richard, are well distinguished by their dif of Queen Elizabeth, under a mean monument of plaster. ferent reception of their father's death. Demeaned himself. 13 Hector |