Wife. Alas, sir, we did it for pure need.

Glou. Let them be whipp'd through every market-town, till they come to Berwick, from whence they came.

[Exeunt Wife, Beadle, Mayor, etc.

Car. Duke Humphrey has done a miracle to-day. Suf. True; made the lame to leap and fly away. Glou. But you have done more miracles than I; You made in a day, my lord, whole towns to fly.

Enter BUCKINGHAM.

King. What tidings with our cousin Buckingham?
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 conjurers:
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.

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170

Car. [Aside to Glou.] 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.

Glou. 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.

King. O God, what mischiefs work the wicked ones, Heaping confusion on their own heads thereby!

Queen. Glou'ster, see here the tainture of thy nest,

And look thyself be faultless, thou wert best.

Glou. 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,

180

I banish her my bed and company

190

And give her as a prey to law and shame,

That hath dishonour'd Glous'ter's honest name. 160 A sort a company. lewdly basely.

King. 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,

Whose beam stands sure, whose rightful cause prevails.

[Flourish. Exeunt

SCENE II. London.

The DUKE OF YORK's garden.

Enter YORK, SALISBURY, and WARWICK.

York. Now, my good Lords of Salisbury and 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:

Edward the Third, my lords, had seven sons:

The 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 Gloucester;
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;
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 murther'd traitorously.
War. Father, the Duke hath told the truth;

Thus got the house of Lancaster the crown.

For Richard, the first son's heir, being dead,

ΙΟ

20

York. Which now they hold by force and not by right;

30

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 whose line

10 Edward the Third. This pedigree is incorrect; but whether it is correct or not is of no importance.

I claim the crown, had issue, Philippe, a daughter,
Who married Edward Mortimer, Earl of March:
Edmund had issue, Roger Earl of March;
Roger had issue, Edmund, Anne and Eleanor.

Sal. This Edmund, in the reign of Bolingbroke,
As I have read, laid claim unto the crown;
And, but for Owen Glendower, had been king,
Who kept him in captivity till he died.

But to the rest.

York.

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
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 proceeding is 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:

It fails not yet, but flourishes in thee
And in thy sons, fair slips of such a stock.
Then, father Salisbury, kneel we together;
And in this private plot be we the first
That 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.

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50

60

79

York. And, Nevil, this I do assure myself: Richard shall live to make the Earl of Warwick The greatest man in England but the King.

SCENE III. A hall of justice.

80

[Exeunt.

Sound trumpets. Enter the KING, the QUEEN, GLOUCESTER, YORK, SUFFOLK, and SALISBURY; the DUCHESS OF GLOUCESTER, MARGERY JOURDAIN, SOUTHWELL, HUME, and BOLINGBROKE, under guard.

King. Stand forth, Dame Eleanor Cobham, Gloucester'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;
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, 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.
Glou. Eleanor, the law, thou see'st, hath judged thee:

I cannot justify whom the law condemns.

IO

[Exeunt Duchess and other prisoners, guarded.

Mine eyes are full of tears, my heart of grief.
Ah, Humphrey, this dishonour in thine age
Will bring thy head with sorrow to the ground!
I beseech your majesty, give me leave to go;
Sorrow would solace and mine age would ease.

King. Stay, Humphrey Duke of Glou'ster: ere 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.

Queen. I see no reason why a king of years
Should be to be protected like a child.
God and King Henry govern England's realm.
Give up your staff, sir, and the King his realm.
Glou. My staff? here, noble Henry, is my staff :

As willingly do I the same resign

As e'er thy father Henry made it mine;
And even as willingly at thy feet I leave it

As others would ambitiously receive it.

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30

Farewell, good king: when I am dead and
May honourable peace attend thy throne!

gone,

Queen. Why, now is Henry king, and Margaret queen ;

And Humphrey Duke of Glou'ster scarce himself,
That bears so shrewd a maim; two pulls at once;
His lady banish'd, and a limb lopp'd off.
This staff of honour raught, there let it stand
Where it best fits to be, in Henry's hand.

Suf. Thus droops this lofty pine and hangs his
Thus Eleanor's pride dies in her youngest days.

sprays;

York. Lords, let him go. Please it your majesty,
This is the day appointed for the combat;
And ready are the appellant and defendant,
The armourer and his man, to enter the lists,
So please your highness to behold the fight.

Queen. Ay, good my lord; for purposely therefore

Left I the court, to see this quarrel tried.

King. O' God's name, see the lists and all 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.

[Exit.

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50

Enter at one door, HORNER, the Armourer, and his Neighbours, drinking to him so much that he is drunk: and he enters with a drum before him and his staff with a sand-bag fastened to it; and at the other door PETER, his man, with a drum and sand-bag, and "Prentices drinking to him.

First Neigh. Here, neighbour Horner, I drink to you in a cup of sack and fear not, neighbour, you shall do well enough. Sec. Neigh. And here, neighbour, here's a cup of charneco. Third 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!

First 'Pren. Here, Peter, I drink to thee: and be not afraid. Sec. 'Pren. Be merry, Peter, and fear not thy master: fight for credit of the 'prentices.

:

68

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 my hammer: and here, Tom, take all the money 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?

43 raught reached, obtained.

46 her youngest days its youngest days, referring to pride; "her" for "its." 1 charneco: a kind of Portuguese wine.