1

Shall I so much dishonour my fair stars,
On equal terms to give him chastisement?
Either I must, or have mine honour soil'd
With the attainder of his sland'rous lips.
There is my gage, the manual seal of death,
That marks thee out for hell: I say, thou liest,
And will maintain, what thou hast said, is .false,
In thy heart-blood, though being all too base
To stain the temper of my knightly sword.

Boling. Bagot, forbear, thou shalt not take it

up.

Aum. Excepting one, I would he were the

best

In all this presence, that hath mov'd me so.

Fitz. If that thy valour stand on sympathies,
There is my gage, Aumerle, in gage to thine:
By that fair sun which shews me where thou
stand'st,

I heard thee say, and vauntingly thou spak'st it,
That thou wert cause of noble Gloster's death.
If thou deny'st it, twenty times thou liest;
And I will turn thy falshood to thy heart,
Where it was forged, with my rapier's point.
Aum. Thou dar'st not, coward, live to see
that day.

Fitz.

Aum,

Now, by my soul, I would it were this hour.

Fitzwater, thou art damn'd to hell for this.

Percy. Aumerle, thou liest; his honour is as

true,

In this appeal, as thou art all unjust:

And, that thou art so, there I throw my gage,
To prove it on thee to the extremest point
Of imortal breathing; seize it, if thou dar'st.
Aum. And if I do not, may my hands rot off,
And never brandish more revengeful steel
Over the glittering helmet of my foe!

Lord. I task the earth to the like, forsworn

Aumerle;

And spur thee on with full as many lies
As may be holla'd in thy treacherous ear
From sun to sun: there is my honour's pawn;
Engage it to the trial, if thou dar'st.

Aum. Who sets me else? by heaven, I'll 'throw at all:

I have a thousand spirits in one breast,
To answer twenty thousand such as you.
Surrey. My lord Fitzwater, I do remember
well

The very time Aumerle and you did talk.
Fitz. 'Tis very true: you were in presence
then ;

And you can witness with me, this is true. Surrey. As false, by heaven, as heaven itself

is true.

Fitz. Surrey, thou liest.

Surrey. Dishonourable boy!

That lie shall ly so heavy on my sword,
That it shall render vengeance and revenge,
Till thou the lie-giver, and that lie, do ly
In earth as quiet as thy father's scull.

In proof whereof, there is my honour's pawn;
Engage it to the trial, if thou dar'st.

Fitz. How fondly dost thou spur a forward horse ?

If I dare eat, or drink, or breathe, or live,
I dare meet Surrey in a wilderness,

And spit upon him, whilst I say, he lyes,
And lyes, and lyes: there is my bond of faith,
To tie thee to my strong correction.

As I intend to thrive in this new world,
Aumerle is guilty of my true appeal:

Besides, I heard the banish'd Norfolk say,
That thou, Aumerle, didst send two of thy

men

To execute the noble duke at Calais.

Aum. Some honest Christian trust me with a

gage,

That Norfolk lies: here do I throw down this,
If he may be repeal'd to try his honour.

Boling. These differences shall all rest under gage,

Till Norfolk be repeal'd: repeal'd he shall be,
And, though mine enemy, restor❜d again
To all his land and signories; when he's re-
turn'd,

Against Aumerle we will enforce his trial.
Car. That honourable day shall ne'er be

seen.

Many a time hath banish'd Norfolk fought
For Jesu Christ; in glorious Christian field
Streaming the ensign of the Christian cross,
Against black pagans, Turks, and Saracens :

And, toil'd with works of war, retir'd himself
To Italy; and there, at Venice, gave
His body to that pleasant country's earth,
And his pure soul unto his captain Christ,
Under whose colours he had fought so long.
Boling. Why, bishop, is Norfolk dead?
Car. As sure as I live, my lord.

Boling. Sweet peace conduct his sweet soul to the bosom

Of good old Abraham! Lords appellants,
Your differences shall all rest under gage,
Till we assign you to your days of trial.

Enter YORK, attended.

York. Great duke of Lancaster, I come to

thee

From plume-pluck'd Richard; who with wil.*

ling soul

Adopts thee heir, and his high scepter yields
To the possession of thy royal hand:

Ascend his throne, descending now from him,And long live Henry, of that name the fourth! Boling. In God's name, I'll ascend the regal

throne.

Car. Marry, God forbid!

Worst in this royal presence may I speak,
Yet best beseeming me to speak the truth.
Would God, that any in this noble presence
Were enough noble to be upright judge

Of noble Richard; then true noblesse would
Learn him forbearance from so foul a wrong.
What subject can give sentence on his king?
And who sits here, that is not Richard's sub-
ject?

Thieves are not judg'd, but they are by to hear,
Although apparent guilt be seen in them:
And shall the figure of God's majesty,
His captain, steward, deputy elect,
Anointed, crowned, planted many years,
Be judg'd by subject and inferior breath,
And he himself not present? O, forbid it, God,
That, in a Christian climate, souls refin'd
Should shew so heinous, black,, obscene a deed!
I speak to subjects, and a subject speaks,
Stirr'd up by heaven thus boldly for his king.
My lord of Hereford here, whom you call king,
Is a foul traitor to proud Hereford's king:
And if you crown him, let me prophesy,
The blood of English shall manure the ground,
And future ages groan for this foul act;
Peace shall go sleep with Turks and infidels,
And, in this seat of peace, tumultuous wars
Shall kin with kin, and kind with kind con-
found;

Disorder, horror, fear, and mutiny,

Shall here inhabit, and this land be call'd
The field of Golgotha and dead men's sculls.
O, if you rear this house against this house,

It will the woefullest division prove,
That ever fell upon this cursed earth:
Prevent, resist it, let it not be so,

Lest child, child's children, cry against you
woe!

North. Well have you argu'd, sir; and for your pains,

Of capital treason we arrest you here:
My lord of Westminster, be it your charge
To keep him safely till his day of trial.

May't please you, lords, to grant the commons' suit?

Boling.

Fetch hither Richard, that in common view

He may surrender; so we shall proceed

Without suspicion.

York. I will be his conduct.

[Exit.]

Boling. Lords, you that are here under our

arrest,

Procure your sureties for your days of answer: Little are we beholding to your love,

[to Carlisle.] And little look'd for at your helping hands.

Re-enter YORK, with king RICHARD, and officers bearing the Regalia.

K. Rich. Alack, why am I sent for to a king, Before I have shook off the regal thoughts Wherewith I reign'd? I hardly yet have learn'd To insinuate, flatter, bow, and bend my knee: Give sorrow leave a while to tutor me To this submission. Yet I well remember The favours of these men. Were they not mine? Did they not sometime cry, all hail! to me? So Judas did to Christ: but he in twelve, Found truth in all, but one; I, in twelve thou sand, none.

God'save the king! Will no man say, amen?