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Glo. By so much is the wonder in extremes. K. Edw. Well, jest on, brothers, I can tell you both,

Her suit is granted for her husband's lands.

Enter a Nobleman.

Nob. My gracious lord, Henry your foe is taken, And brought your prisoner to your palace gate. K. Edw. See that he be convey'd unto the

Tower.

And go we, brothers, to the man that took him,
To question of his apprehension.
Widow, go you along; lords, use her honourable.
[Exeunt KING EDWARD, LADY GREY,
CLARENCE, and Lord.

Glo. Ay, Edward will use women honourably. 'Would he were wasted, marrow, bones, and all, That from his loins no hopeful branch may spring, To cross me from the golden time I look for! And yet, between my soul's desire and me, (The lustful Edward's title buried,)

Is Clarence, Henry, and his son young Edward,
And all the unlook'd-for issue of their bodies,
To take their rooms, ere I can place myself:
A cold premeditation for my purpose!
Why, then I do but dream on sovereignty;
Like one that stands upon a promontory,
And spies a far-off shore where he would tread,
Wishing his foot were equal with his eye;
And chides the sea that sunders him from thence,
Saying he'll lade it dry to have his way:
So do I wish the crown, being so far off;
And so I chide the means that keep me from it;
And so I say I'll cut the causes off,
Flattering me with impossibilities.

-

My eye's too quick, my heart o'erweens too much,
Unless my hand and strength could equal them.
Well, say there is no kingdom then for Richard;
What other pleasure can the world afford?
I'll deck my body in gay ornaments,
And witch sweet ladies with my words and looks.
O miserable thought! and more unlikely,
Than to accomplish twenty golden crowns!
Why, love foreswore me in my mother's womb :
And for I should not deal in her soft laws
She did corrupt frail nature with some bribe
To shrink mine arm up like a wither'd shrub ;
To make an envious mountain on my back;
Where sits deformity to mock my body;
To shape my legs of an unequal size;
To disproportion me in every part,
Like to a chaos, or an unlick'd bear-whelp,
That carries no impression like the dam.
And am I then a man to be belov'd?

O, monstrous fault, to harbour such a thought!
Then, since this earth affords no joy to me,
But to command, to check, to o'erbear such
As are of better person than myself,
I'll make my heaven to dream upon the crown;
And, whiles I live, to account this world but hell,
Until my mis-shap'd trunk, that bears this head,
Be round impaleds with a glorious crown.
And yet I know not how to get the crown,
For many lives stand between me and home:
And I, like one lost in a thorny wood,

That rents the thorns, and is rent with the thorns;
Seeking a way, and straying from the way;
Not knowing how to find the open air,
But oiling desperately to find it out, -

* Encircled.

Torment myself to catch the English crown:
And from that torment I will free myself,
Or hew my way out with a bloody axe.
Why, I can smile, and murder while I smile;
And cry, content, to that which grieves my heart
And wet my cheeks with artificial tears,
And frame my face to all occasions.
I'll drown more sailors than the mermaid shall;
I'll slay more gazers than the basilisk ;
I'll play the orator as well as Nestor,
Deceive more slily than Ulysses could,
And, like a Sinon, take another Troy.
I can add colours to the cameleon;
Change shapes, with Proteus, for advantages,
And set the murd'rous Machiavel to school.
Can I do this, and cannot get a crown?
Tut! were it further off, I'd pluck it down. [Exit.

SCENE III. - France. A Room in the Palace.
Flourish. Enter LEWIS the French King, and Lady
BONA, attended; the King takes his state. Then
enter QUEEN MARGARET, PRINCE EDWARD her
Son, and the EARL OF OXFORD.

K. Lew. Fair queen of England, worthy Margaret, [Rising.

Sit down with us; it ill befits thy state, And birth, that thou shouldst stand, while Lewis doth sit.

Q. Mar. No, mighty king of France; now Margaret

Must strike her sail, and learn a while to serve,
Where kings command. I was, I must confess,
Great Albion's queen in former golden days:
But now mischance hath trod my title down,
And with dishonour laid me on the ground,
Where I must take like seat unto my fortune,
And to my humble seat conform myself.

K. Lew. Why, say, fair queen, whence springs this deep despair?

Q. Mar. From such a cause as fills mine eyes with tears,

And stops my tongue, while heart is drown'd in

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K. Lew. Renowned queen, with patience calm the storm,

While we bethink a means to break it off.

Orf. Why, Warwick, canst thou speak against thy liege,

Whom thou obeyedst thirty and six years,

Q. Mar. The more we stay, the stronger grows And not bewray thy treason with a blush? our foe.

K. Lew. The more I stay, the more I'll succour thee. Q. Mar. O, but impatience waiteth on true sorrow: And see, where comes the breeder of my sorrow.

Enter WARWICK, attended.

K. Lew. What's he, approacheth boldly to our presence?

Q. Mar. Our earl of Warwick, Edward's greatest friend.

K. Lew. Welcome, brave Warwick! What brings thee to France?

[Descending from his state. QUEEN MARGARET

rises.

Q. Mar. Ay, now begins a second storm to rise;
For this is he, that moves both wind and tide.

War. From worthy Edward, king of Albion,,
My lord and sovereign, and thy vowed friend,
I come,- in kindness, and unfeigned love,
First, to do greetings to thy royal person;
And, then, to crave a league of amity;
And, lastly, to confirm that amity

With nuptial knot, if thou vouchsafe to grant
That virtuous lady Bona, thy fair sister,
To England's king in lawful marriage.

Q. Mar. If that go forward, Henry's hope is done.
War. And, gracious madam, [To BONA.] in our
king's behalf,

I am commanded, with your leave and favour,
Humbly to kiss your hand, and with my tongue
To tell the passion of my sovereign's heart:
Where fame, late entering at his heedful ears,
Hath plac'd thy beauty's image, and thy virtue.
Q. Mar. King Lewis, -and lady Bona,
me speak,

hear

Before you answer Warwick. His demand
Springs not from Edward's well-meant honest love,
But from deceit, bred by necessity;
For how can tyrants safely govern home,
Unless abroad they purchase great alliance?
To prove him tyrant, this reason may suffice,
That Henry liveth still: but were he dead,
Yet here prince Edward stands, king Henry's son.
Look therefore, Lewis, that by this league and mar-
riage

Thou draw not on thy danger and dishonour :
For though usurpers sway the rule awhile,
Yet heavens are just, and time suppresseth wrongs.
War. Injurious Margaret.

Prince.

And why not queen?
War. Because thy father Henry did usurp;
And thou no more art prince, than she is queen.
Orf. Then Warwick disannuls great John of Gaunt,
Which did subdue the greatest part of Spain;
And after John of Gaunt, Henry the Fourth,
Whose wisdom was a mirror to the wisest ;
And, after that wise prince, Henry the Fifth,
Who by his prowess conquered all France:
From these our Henry lineally descends.

War. Oxford, how haps it, in this smooth discourse,
You told not, how Henry the Sixth hath lost
All that which Henry the Fifth had gotten?
Methinks, these peers of France should smile at that.
But for the rest, You tell a pedigree
Of threescore and two years; a silly time
To make prescription for a kingdom's worth.

War. Can Oxford, that did ever fence the right,
Now buckler falsehood with a pedigree?
For shame, leave Henry, and call Edward king.
Orf. Call him my king, by whose injurious doom
My elder brother, the lord Aubrey Vere,
Was done to death? and more than so my father,
Even in the downfall of his mellow'd years,
When nature brought him to the door of death?
No, Warwick, no; while life upholds this arm,
This arm upholds the house of Lancaster.
War. And I the house of York.

K. Lew. Queen Margaret, prince Edward, and
Oxford,

Vouchsafe, at our request, to stand aside,
While I use further conference with Warwick.
Q. Mar. Heaven grant that Warwick's words
bewitch him not!

[Retiring with the PRINCE and OXFORD. K. Lew. Now, Warwick, tell me, even upon thy conscience,

Is Edward your true king? for I were loath,
To link with him that were not lawful chosen.

War. Thereon I pawn my credit and mine honour.
K. Lew. But is he gracious in the people's eye?
War. The more, that Henry was unfortunate.
K. Lew. Then further,—all dissembling set aside,
Tell me for truth the measure of his love
Unto our sister Bona.

War.

Such it seems,

As may beseem a monarch like himself.
Myself have often heard him say, and swear,-
That this his love was an eternal plant;
Whereof the root was fix'd in virtue's ground,
The leaves and fruit maintain'd with beauty's sun
Exempt from envy, but not from disdain,
Unless the lady Bona quit his pain.

K. Lew. Now, sister, let us hear your firm resolve.
Bona. Your grant, or your denial, shall be mine
Yet I confess, [To WAR.] that often ere this day,
When I have heard your king's desert recounted,
Mine ear hath tempted judgment to desire.

K. Lew. Then, Warwick, thus, - Our sister shall
be Edward's;

And now forthwith shall articles be drawn
Touching the jointure that your king must make,
Which with her dowry shall be counterpois'd:-
Draw near, queen Margaret; and be a witness,
That Bona shall be wife to the English king.

Prince. To Edward, but not to the English king.
Q. Mar. Deceitful Warwick! it was thy device
By this alliance to make void my suit;
Before thy coming, Lewis was Henry's friend.

K. Lew. And still is friend to him and Margaret.
But if your title to the crown be weak, -
As may appear by Edward's good success, —
Then 'tis but reason, that I be releas'd
From giving aid, which late I promised.
Yet shall you have all kindness at my hand,
That your estate requires, and mine can yield.

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I hope all's for the best

K. Lew. Warwick, what are thy news? and yours, fair queen?

Q. Mar. Mine, such as fill my heart with unhop'd joys.

War. Mine, full of sorrow, and heart's discontent.
K. Lew. What! has your king married the lady
Grey?

And now, to soothe your forgery and his,
Sends me a paper to persuade me patience?
Is this the alliance that he seeks with France?
Dare he presume to scorn us in this manner?

Q. Mar. I told your majesty as much before : This proveth Edward's love, and Warwick's honesty. War. King Lewis, I here protest,-in sight of heaven,

And by the hope I have of heavenly bliss, –
That I am clear from this misdeed of Edward's ;
No more my king, for he dishonours me;
But most himself, if he could see his shame.
Did I forget, that by the house of York
My father came untimely to his death?
Did I let pass the abuse done to my niece?
Did I impale him with the regal crown?
Did I put Henry from his native right;
And am I guerdon'd' at the last with shame?
Shame on himself! for my desert is honour.
And to repair my honour lost for him,

I here renounce him, and return to Henry:
My noble queen, let former grudges pass,
And henceforth I am thy true servitor;
I will revenge his wrong to lady Bona,
And replant Henry in his former state.

Bona. Dear brother, how shall Bona be reveng'd, But by thy help to this distressed queen?

Q. Mar. Renowned prince, how shall poor Henry live,

Unless thou rescue him from foul despair?

Bona. My quarrel, and this English queen's, are one.
War. And mine, fair lady Bona, joins with yours.
K. Lew. And mine, with hers, and thine, and
Margaret's.

Therefore at last, I firmly am resolv'd,
You shall have aid.

Q. Mar. Let me give humble thanks for all at once. K. Lew. Then England's messenger, return in post;

And tell false Edward, thy supposed king, -
That Lewis of France is sending over maskers,
To revel it with him and his new bride:
Thou seest what's past, go fear thy king withal.
Bona. Tell him, In hope he'll prove a widower
shortly,

I'll wear the willow garland for his sake.

Q. Mar. Tell him, My mourning weeds are laid aside,

And I am ready to put armour on.

War. Tell him from me, That he hath done me

wrong;

And therefore I'll uncrown him ere't be long.
There's thy reward; be gone.

[Exit Mess.
K. Lew.
But, Warwick, thou,
And Oxford, with five thousand men,
Shall cross the seas, and bid false Edward battle:
And, as occasion serves, this noble queen
And prince shall follow with a fresh supply.
Yet, ere thou go, but answer me one doubt;
What pledge have we of thy firm loyalty?

War. This shall assure my constant loyalty: That if our queen and this young prince agree, I'll join mine eldest daughter, and my joy, To him forthwith in holy wedlock bands.

Q. Mar. Yes, I agree, and thank you for your

motion:

Son Edward, she is fair and virtuous,
Therefore delay not, give thy hand to Warwick:
And, with thy hand, thy faith irrevocable,
That only Warwick's daughter shall be thine.
Prince. Yes, I accept her, for she well deserves it:
And here to pledge my vow, I give my hand.

[He gives his hand to WARWICK. K. Lew. Why stay we now? These soldiers shall be levied,

And thou, lord Bourbon, our high admiral,

Q. Mar. Warwick, these words have turn'd my Shall waft them over with our royal fleet.

hate to love;

And I forgive and quite forget old faults,
And joy that thou becom'st king Henry's friend.
War. So much his friend, ay, his unfeigned friend,
That, if king Lewis vouchsafe to furnish us
With some few bands of chosen soldiers,
I'll undertake to land them on our coast,
And force the tyrant from his seat by war.
'Tis not his new-made bride shall succour him:
And as for Clarence, -as my letters tell me,
He's very likely now to fall from him;
For matching more for wanton lust than honour,
Or than for strength or safety of our country.

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-

I long, till Edward fall by war's mischance,
For mocking marriage with a dame of France.
[Exeunt all but WARWICK.
War. I came from Edward as ambassador,
But I return his sworn and mortal foe:
Matter of marriage was the charge he gave me,
But dreadful war shall answer his demand.
Had he none else to make a stale 3, but me?
Then none but I shall turn his jest to sorrow.
I was the chief that rais'd him to the crown,
And I'll be chief to bring him down again :
Not that I pity Henry's misery,
But seek revenge on Edward's mockery.

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[Exit.

ACT IV.

London. A Room in the Palace.

SCENE I..

Clar. For this one speech, lord Hastings well deserves

Enter GLOSTER, CLARENCE, SOMERSET, MONTAGUE, To have the heir of the lord Hungerford.

and others.

Glo. Now tell me, brother Clarence, what think you
Of this new marriage with the lady Grey?
Hath not our brother made a worthy choice?

Clar. Alas, you know, 'tis far from hence to France;
How could he stay till Warwick made return?
Som. My lords, forbear this talk; here comes the
king.

Flourish.

Enter KING EDWARD, attended; LADY GREY, as Queen; PEMBROKE, STAFFORD, HASTINGS, and others.

Glo. And his well-chosen bride.

Clar. I mind to tell him plainly what I think.
K. Edw. Now, brother of Clarence, how like you
our choice,

That you stand pensive, as half malcontent?

K. Edw. Ay, what of that? it was my will, and grant;

And, for this once, my will shall stand for law.
Glo. And yet, methinks, your grace hath not
done well,

To give the heir and daughter of lord Scales
Unto the brother of your loving bride;
She better would have fitted me, or Clarence :
But in your bride you bury brotherhood.

Clar. Or else you would not have bestow'd the heir
Of the lord Bonville on your new wife's son,
And leave your brothers to go speed elsewhere.
K. Edw. Alas, poor Clarence! is it for a wife,
That thou art malcontent? I will provide thee.
Clar. In choosing for yourself, you show'd your
judgment;

Which being shallow, you shall give me leave

Clar. As well as Lewis of France, or the earl of To play the broker in mine own behalf;

Warwick;

Which are so weak of courage, and in judgment,
That they'll take no offence at our abuse.

K. Edw. Suppose they take offence without a cause,
They are but Lewis and Warwick; I am Edward,
Your king and Warwick's, and must have my will.
Glo. And you shall have your will, because our
king:

Yet hasty marriage seldom proveth well.

K. Edw. Yea, brother Richard, are you offended too?

Glo. Not I:

No; God forbid, that I should wish them sever'd
Whom he hath join'd together: ay, and 'twere pity,
To sunder them that yoke so well together.

K. Edw. Setting your scorns, and your mislike,
aside,

Tell me some reason, why the lady Grey
Should not become my wife, and England's queen:
And you too, Somerset, and Montague,
Speak freely what you think.

Clar. Then this is my opinion, that king Lewis
Becomes your enemy, for mocking him
About the marriage of the lady Bona.

Glo. And Warwick, doing what you gave in charge,
Is now dishonoured by this new marriage.

K. Edw. What, if both Lewis and Warwick be appeas'd,

By such invention as I can devise?

Mont. Yet to have join'd with France in such alliance,

Would more have strengthen'd this our commonwealth

'Gainst foreign storms, than any home-bred marriage.
Hast. Why, knows not Montague, that of itself
England is safe, if true within itself?

Mont. Yes; but the safer, when 'tis back'd with
France.

Hast. 'Tis better using France, than trusting

France :

Let us be back'd with heaven, and with the seas,
Which God hath given for fence impregnable,
And with their helps only defend ourselves;
In them, and in ourselves, our safety lies.

And, to that end, I shortly mind to leave you.
K. Edw. Leave me, or tarry, Edward will be king,
And not be tied unto his brother's will.

Q. Eliz. My lords, before it pleas'd his majesty
To raise my state to title of a queen,
Do me but right, and you must all confess
That I was not ignoble of descent,
And meaner than myself have had like fortune.
But as this title honours me and mine,
So your dislikes, to whom I would be pleasing,
Do cloud my joys with danger and with sorrow.

K. Edw. My love, forbear to fawn upon their

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Tell him, in hope he'll prove a widower shortly,
I'll wear the willow garland for his sake.

K. Edw. I blame not her, she could say little less; She had the wrong. But what said Henry's queen? For I have heard that she was there in place.

Mess. Tell him, quoth she, my mourning weeds are done,

And I am ready to put armour on.

K. Edw. Belike, she minds to play the Amazon. But what said Warwick to these injuries?

Mess. He, more incens'd against your majesty Than all the rest, discharg'd me with these words; Tell him from me, that he hath done me wrong, And therefore, I'll uncrown him, ere't be long.

K. Edw. Ha! durst the traitor breathe out so proud words?

Well, I will arm me, being thus forewarn'd: They shall have wars, and pay for their presumption. is Warwick friends with Margaret? Mess. Ay, gracious sovereign; they are so link'd in friendship,

But say,

That young prince Edward marries Warwick's daughter.

Clar. Belike, the elder; Clarence will have the
younger.

Now, brother king, farewell, and sit you fast,
For I will hence to Warwick's other daughter;
That, though I want a kingdom, yet in marriage
I may not prove inferior to yourself.
You, that love me and Warwick, follow me.
[Erit CLARENCE, and SOMERSET follows.
Glo. Not I:

My thoughts aim at a further matter; I
Stay not for love of Edward, but the crown. [Aside.
K. Edw. Clarence and Somerset both gone to
Warwick!

you.

Yet am I arm'd against the worst can happen;
And haste is needful in this desperate case. —
Pembroke, and Stafford, you in our behalf
Go levy men, and make prepare for war;
They are already, or quickly will be landed:
Myself in person will straight follow
[Exeunt PEMBROKE and STAFFORD.
But, ere I go, Hastings, and Montague,
Resolve my doubt. You twain, of all the rest,
Are near to Warwick, by blood, and by alliance:
Tell me, if you love Warwick more than me?
If it be so, then both depart to him;

I rather wish you foes than hollow friends;
But if you mind to hold your true obedience,
Give me assurance with some friendly vow,
That I may never have you in suspect.

Mont. So God help Montague, as he proves true!

Hast. And Hastings, as he favours Edward's cause!

K. Edw. Now, brother Richard, will you stand by us?

Glo. Ay, in despite of all that shall withstand you. K. Edw. Why so; then am I sure of victory. Now therefore let us hence; and lose no hour, Till we meet Warwick with his foreign power.

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[Exeunt.

A Plain in Warwickshire.

Enter WARWICK and OXFORD, with French and other Forces.

War. Trust me, my lord, all hitherto goes well; The common people by numbers swarm to us.

Enter CLARENCE and SOMERSET.

Speak suddenly, my lords, are we all friends? But, see, where Somerset and Clarence come; Clar. Fear not that, my lord.

War. Then, gentle Clarence, welcome unto Warwick;

And welcome, Somerset: - I hold it cowardice,
Hath pawn'd an open hand in sign of love;
To rest mistrustful where a noble heart
Else might I think, that Clarence. Edward's brother,
Were but a feigned friend to our proceedings:
But welcome, Clarence; my daughter shall be thine.
And now what rests, but, in night's coverture,
Thy brother being carelessly encamp'd,
His soldiers lurking in the towns about,
And but attended by a simple guard,

We

Our scouts have found the adventure very easy:
may surprize and take him at our pleasure?
With sleight and manhood stole to Rhesus' tents,
That as Ulysses, and stout Diomede,
So we, well cover'd with the night's black mantle,
And brought from thence the Thracian fatal steeds;
At unawares may beat down Edward's guard,
And seize himself: I say not - slaughter him,
For I intend but only to surprize him.
You, that will follow me to this attempt,
Applaud the name of Henry, with your leader.

[They all cry HENRY! Why, then, let's on our way in silent sort : For Warwick and his friends, God and saint George! [Exeunt.

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3 Watch. O, is it so? But why commands the king, That his chief followers lodge in towns about him, While he himself keepeth in the cold field?

2 Watch. 'Tis the more honour, because more dangerous.

3 Watch. Ay; but give me worship and quietness, I like it better than a dangerous honour. If Warwick knew in what estate he stands, 'Tis to be doubted, he would waken him.

1 Watch. Unless our halberds did shut up his passage.

2 Watch. Ay; wherefore else guard we his royal

tent,

But to defend his person from night-foes?

Enter WARWICK, CLARENCE, OXFORD, SOMERSET, and Forces.

War. This is his tent; and see, where stand his

guard.

Courage, my masters; honour now, or never!
But follow me, and Edward shall be ours.

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