Of such a time: - Being my servant sworn,
The duke retain'd him his.- But on; What hence?
Surv. If, quoth he, I for this had been committed,
As to the Tower, I thought, - I would have play'd
The part my father meant to act upon
The usurper Richard: who, being at Salisbury,
Made suit to come in his presence; which if granted,
As he made semblance of his duty, would
Have put his knife into him.
(For so run the conditions,) leave these remnants
Of fool, and feather, that they got in France,
With all their honourable points of ignorance,
Pertaining thereunto, (as fights, and fireworks;
Abusing better men than they can be,
Out of a foreign wisdom,) renouncing clean
The faith they have in tennis, and tall stockings,
Short blister'd breeches, and those types of travel,
And understand again like honest men ;
Or pack to their old playfellows: there, I take it,
Wol. Now, madam, may his highness live in They may, cum privilegio?, wear away
The lag end of their wildness, and be laugh'd at.
Sands. 'Tis time to give them physick, their diseases
Are grown so catching.
Well said, lord Sands;
Your colt's tooth is not cast yet.
Sands.
Nor shall not, while I have a stump.
Cham.
Exeunt. Whither were you a going?
SCENE III. A Room in the Palace. Enter the Lord Chamberlain, and LORD SANDS. Cham. Is it possible, the spells of France should juggle
Men into such strange mysteries?
Though they be never so ridiculous,
Nay, let them be unmanly, yet are follow'd.
Cham. As far as I see, all the good our English
Have got by the late voyage, if but merely
A fit or two o' the face; but they are shrewd ones;
For when they hold them, you would swear directly,
Their very noses had been counsellors
To Pepin, or Clotharius, they keep state so.
Sands. They have all new legs, and lame ones;
one would take it,
That never saw them pace before, the spavin,
A springhalt reign'd among them.
Cham.
Death! my lord,
Their clothes are after such a pagan cut too,
That, sure, they have worn out christendom. How
Sir Thomas, To the cardinal's;
No doubt, he's noble;
He had a black mouth, that said other of him.
Sands. He may, my lord, he has wherewithal; in
him,
Sparing would show a worse sin than ill doctrine:
Men of his way should be most liberal,
They are set here for examples.
Cham.
True, they are so;
But few now give so great ones. My barge stays;
Your lordship shall along: -Come, good sir Thomas,
We shall be late else: which I would not be,
For I was spoke to, with sir Henry Guildford,
This night to be comptrollers.
Sands.
Hautboys. A small Table under a State for the Car-
dinal, a longer Table for the Guests. Enter at one
Door ANNE BULLEN, and divers Lords, Ladies,
and Gentlewomen, as Guests; at another Door,
enter SIR HENRY GUILDFORD.
Guild. Ladies, a general welcome from his grace
Salutes ye all: This night he dedicates
To fair content, and you: none here, he hopes,
In all this noble bevy 8, has brought with her
One care abroad; he would have all as merry
8 Company.
1 Gent. Whither away so fast?
2 Gent.
Even to the hall, to hear what shall become
Of the great duke of Buckingham.
1 Gent.
I'll save you
That labour, sir. All's now done, but the ceremony
Of bringing back the prisoner.
Were you there? 1 Gent. Yes, indeed, was I. 2 Gent. Pray speak, what has happen'd? 1 Gent. You may guess quickly what. 2 Gent. Is he found guilty? 1 Gent. Yes, truly is he, and condemn'd upon it. 2 Gent. I am sorry for❜t. 1 Gent.
| No doubt, he will requite it. This is noted,
And generally; whoever the king favours,
The cardinal instantly will find employment,
And far enough from court too.
2 Gent.
All the commons
Hate him perniciously, and, o' my conscience,
Wish him ten fathom deep: this duke as much
They love, and dote on; call him, bounteous Buck-
ingham,
The mirror of all courtesy ; —
1 Gent.
Stay there, sir, The great duke And see the noble ruin'd man you speak of
So are a number more.
2 Gent. But, pray, how pass'd it?
1 Gent. I'll tell you in a little.
Came to the bar; where, to his accusations,
He pleaded still not guilty, and alleg'd
Many sharp reasons to defeat the law.
The king's attorney, on the contrary,
Urg'd on the examinations, proofs, confessions
Of divers witnesses; which the duke desir'd
To him brought, virâ voce, to his face:
At which appear'd against him, his surveyor;
Sir Gilbert Peck, his chancellor; and John Court,
Confessor to him; with that devil-monk,
Hopkins, that made this mischief.
That fed him with his prophecies?
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Enter BUCKINGHAM from his Arraignment; Tip-
staves before him, the Are with the Edge towards
him; Halberds on each Side: with him SIR THOMAS
LOVELL, SIR NICHOLAS VAUX, SIR WILLIAM
SANDS, and common People.
2 Gent. Let's stand close, and behold him.
Buck.
All good people,
You that thus far have come to pity me,
Hear what I say, and then go home and lose me.
I have this day receiv'd a traitor's judgment,
And by that name must die; yet, heaven bear witness,
And, if I have a conscience, let it sink me,
Even as the axe falls, if I be not faithful!
The law I bear no malice for my death,
It has done, upon the premises, but justice:
But those that sought it, I could wish more Chris-
tians :
Be what they will, I heartily forgive them :
Yet let them look they glory not in mischief,
Nor build their evils on the graves of great men ;
For then my guiltless blood must cry against them.
For further life in this world I ne'er hope,
Nor will I sue, although the king have mercies
More than I dare make faults. You few that lov'd
And dare be bold to weep for Buckingham,
His noble friends, and fellows, whom to leave
Is only bitter to him, only dying,
Go, with me, like good angels, to my end;
Sure, he does not, And, as the long divorce of steel falls on me,
Make of your prayers one sweet sacrifice,
And lift my soul to heaven.
He never was so womanish; the cause
He may a little grieve at.
The cardinal is the end of this.
Lov. I do beseech your grace, for charity, If ever any malice in your heart
Were hid against me, now to forgive me frankly.
Buck. Sir Thomas Lovell, I as free forgive you,
As I would be forgiven: I forgive all;
There cannot be those numberless offences
'Gainst me, I can't take peace with: no black envy
Shall make my grave.
Commend me to his grace;
And, if he speak of Buckingham, pray, tell him,
You met him half in heaven: my vows and prayers
Yet are the king's; and, till my soul forsake me,
Shall cry for blessings on him: May he live
Longer than I have time to tell his years!
Ever belov'd, and loving, may his rule be!
And, when old time shall lead him to his end,
Goodness and he fill up one monument !
Lov. To the water side I must conduct your grace; Then give my charge up to sir Nicholas Vaux, Who undertakes you to your end.
Prepare there, The duke is coming: see, the barge be ready; And fit it with such furniture, as suits
The greatness of his person.
Nay, sir Nicholas, Let it alone; my state now will but mock me. When I came hither, I was lord high constable, And duke of Buckingham; now, poor Edward Bohun :
Yet I am richer than my base accusers,
That never knew what truth meant: I now seal it; And with that blood will make them one day groan for't.
My noble father, Henry of Buckingham,
Who first rais'd head against usurping Richard,
Flying for succour to his servant Banister,
Being distress'd, was by that wretch betray'd,
And without trial fell; God's peace be with him!
Henry the Seventh succeeding, truly pitying
My father's loss, like a most royal prince,
Restor'd me to my honours, and, out of ruins,
Made my name once more noble. Now his son,
Henry the Eighth, life, honour, name, and all
That made me happy, at one stroke has taken
For ever from the world. I had my trial,
And, must needs say, a noble one; which makes me
A little happier than my wretched father:
Yet thus far we are one in fortunes: Both
Fell by our servants, by those men we lov'd most;
A most unnatural and faithless service!
Heaven has an end in all: Yet, you that hear me,
This from a dying man receive as certain :
Where you are liberal of your loves, and counsels,
Be sure, you be not loose; for those you make friends,
And give your hearts to, when they once perceive
The least rub in your fortunes, fall away
Like water from ye, never found again
But where they mean to sink ye. All good people,
Pray for me! I must now forsake ye; the last hour
Of my long weary life is come upon me.
Farewell:
And when you would say something that is sad, Speak how I fell. - I have done; and God forgive me! [Exeunt BUCKINGHAM and Train. 1 Gent. O, this is full of pity! Sir, it calls, I fear, too many curses on their heads, That were the authors.
If the duke be guiltless, 'Tis full of woe: yet I can give you inkling Of an ensuing evil, if it fall,
Is found a truth now: for it grows again
Fresher than e'er it was; and held for certain,
The king will venture at it. Either the cardinal,
Or some about him near, have, out of malice
To the good queen, possess'd him with a scruple
That will undo her: To confirm this too,
Cardinal Campeius is arriv'd, and lately;
As all think, for this business.
1 Gent. 'Tis the cardinal; And merely to revenge him on the emperor, For not bestowing on him, at his asking, The archbishoprick of Toledo, this is purpos'd. 2 Gent. I think, you have hit the mark: but is't not cruel,
That she should feel the smart of this? The cardinal Will have his will, and she must fall.
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Enter the Lord Chamberlain, reading a Letter. Cham. My lord, - The horses your lordship sent for, with all the care I had, I saw well chosen, ridden, and furnished. They were young, and handsome; and of the best breed in the north. When they were ready to set out for London, a man of my lord cardinal's, by commission, and main power, took 'em from me; with this reason, His master would be served before a subject, if not before the king; which stopped our mouths, sir.
Nor. How holily he works in all his business! And with what zeal! For now he has crack'd the league
Between us and the emperor, the queen's great nephew.
He dives into the king's soul; and there scatters
Dangers, doubts, wringing of the conscience,
Fears, and despairs, and all these for his marriage:
And, out of all these to restore the king,
He counsels a divorce: a loss of her,
That, like a jewel, has hung twenty years
About his neck, yet never lost her lustre;
Of her, that loves him with that excellence
That angels love good men with; even of her
That, when the greatest stroke of fortune falls,
Will bless the king: And is not this course pious?
Cham. Heaven keep me from such counsel! 'Tis
most true,
These news are every where; every tongue speaks them,
K. Hen. Go to; I'll make ye know your times of business : Is this an hour for temporal affairs? ha?.
Enter WOLSEY and CAMPEIUS.
Nor. This priest has no pride in him?
Suf.
I would not be so sick though, for his
place:
But this cannot continue.
Nor.
If it do,
I'll venture one heave at him.
Suf.
[Exeunt NORFOLK and SUFFOLK. Wol. Your grace has given a precedent of wisdom Above all princes, in committing freely Your scruple to the voice of Christendom: Who can be angry now? what envy reach you? The Spaniard, tied by blood and favour to her, Must now confess, if they have any goodness, The trial just and noble. All the clerks,
I mean, the learned ones, in Christian kingdoms,
Have their free voices; Rome, the nurse of judgment,
Invited by your noble self, hath sent
One general tongue unto us, this good man,
This just and learned priest, cardinal Campeius;
Whom, once more, I present unto your highness.
K. Hen. And, once more, in mine arms, I bid him
welcome,
And thank the holy conclave for their loves;
They have sent me such a man I would have wish'd
for.
Cam. Your grace must needs deserve all strangers' loves,
You are so noble: To your highness' hand
I tender my commission; by whose virtue,
(The court of Rome commanding,)—you, my lord
Cardinal of York, are join'd with me their servant,
In the impartial judging of this business.
K. Hen. Two equal men. The queen shall be
acquainted Forthwith, for what you come :- - Where's Gardiner? Wol. I know your majesty has always lov'd her So dear in heart not to deny her that A woman of less place might ask by law, Scholars, allow'd freely to argue for her.
K. Hen. Ay, and the best she shall have; and my favour
To him that does best; God forbid else. Cardinal, Prythee, call Gardiner to me, my new secretary; [Exit WOLSEY.
K. Hen. Come hither, Gardiner.
[They converse apart. Cam. My lord of York, was not one doctor Pace
Who's there? my good lord cardinal? O my In this man's place before him?
4 So sick as he is proud.
|