Page images
PDF
EPUB

That France must vail! her lofty-plumed crest,
And let her head fall into England's lap.
My ancient incantations are too weak,
And hell too strong for me to buckle with:
Now, France, thy glory droopeth to the dust. [Ex.
Alarums. Enter French and English, fighting.
La Pucelle and York fight hand to hand. La
Pucelle is taken. The French fly.

York. Damsel of France, I think I have you fast:
Unchain your spirits now with spelling charms,
And try if they can gain your liberty.---
A goodly prize, fit for the devil's grace!
See, how the ugly witch doth bend her brows,
As if, with Circe, she would change my shape.
Puc. Chang'd to a worser shape thou canst not be.
York. O, Charles the dauphin is a proper man;
No shape but his can please your dainty eye.
Puc. A plaguing mischief light on Charles, and
thee!

And may ye both be suddenly surpris'd
By bloody hands, in sleeping on your beds!
York. Fell, banning? hag! enchantress, hold thy
tongue.

stake.

Puc. I pr'ythee, give me leave to curse a while. York. Curse, miscreant, when thou comest to the [Exeunt. Alarums. Enter Suffolk, leading in Lady Margaret.

Suff. Be what thou wilt, thou art my prisoner. [Gazes on her. O fairest beauty, do not fear, nor fly; For I will touch thee but with reverent hands, And lay them gently on thy tender side.

I kiss these fingers [Kissing her hand.] for eternal

peace:

Who art thou? say, that I may honour thee.

Mar. Margaret my name; and daughter to a king, The king of Naples, whosoe'er thou art.

Suff. An earl I am, and Suffolk am I call'd.
Be not offended, nature's miracle,
Thou art allotted to be ta'en by me:
So doth the swan her downy cygnets save,
Keeping them prisoners underneath her wings.
Yet, if this servile usage once offend,
Go, and be free again as Suffolk's friend.

[She turns away as going.
O, stay!-I have no power to let her pass;
My hand would free her, but my heart says-no.
As plays the sun upon the glassy streams,
Twinkling another counterfeited beam,
So seems this gorgeous beauty to mine eyes.
Fain would I woo her, yet I dare not speak:
I'll call for pen and ink, and write my mind:
Fie, De la Poole! disable not thyself;3
Hast not a tongue? is she not here thy prisoner?
Wilt thou be daunted at a woman's sight?
Ay; beauty's princely majesty is such,
Confounds the tongue, and makes the senses rough.
Mar. Say, earl of Suffolk,--if thy name be so,-
What ransom must I pay before I pass?
For, I perceive, I am thy prisoner.

Suff How canst thou tell, she will deny thy suit, Before thou make a trial of her love? [Aside Mar. Why speak'st thou not? what ransom must I pay?

Suff. She's beautiful; and therefore to be woo'd: She is a woman; therefore to be won. [Aside Mar. Wilt thou accept of ransom, yea, or no? Suff. Fond man! remember, that thou hast a wife;

(1) Lower. (2) To ban is to curse. (3) Do not represent thyself so weak.'

Then how can Margaret be thy paramour?

(Aside. Mar. I were best leave him, for he will not hear. Suff. There all is marr'd; there lies a cooling card. Mar. He talks at random; sure the man is mad. Suff. And yet a dispensation may be had.

Mar. And yet I would that you would answer me. Suff. I'll win this lady Margaret. For whom? Why, for my king: Tush! that's a wooden thing.4 Mar. He talks of wood: It is some carpenter. Suff. Yet so my fancy5 may be satisfied,

And
peace established between these realms.
But there remains a scruple in that too:
For though her father be the king of Naples,
Duke of Anjou and Maine, yet he is poor,
And our nobility will scorn the match.

[Aside.

Mar. Hear ye, captain? Are you not at leisure? Suff. It shall be so, disdain they ne'er so much: Henry is youthful, and will quickly yield.— Madam, I have a secret to reveal.

Mar. What though I be enthrall'd? he seems a knight,

And will not any way dishonour me.

[Aside. Suff Lady, vouchsafe to listen what I say. Mar. Perhaps, I shall be rescu'd by the French; And then I need not crave his courtesy. [Aside. Suff. Sweet madam, give me hearing in a cause-Mar. Tush! women have been captivate ere [Aside.

now.

Suff. Lady, wherefore talk you so? Mar. I cry you mercy, 'tis but quid for quo. Suff Say, gentle princess, would you not suppose Your bondage happy, to be made a queen?

Mar. To be a queen in bondage, is more vile, Than is a slave in base servility; For princes should be free.

Suff

And so shall you,

If happy England's royal king be free.
Mar. Why, what concerns his freedom unto me?
Suff. I'll undertake to make thee Henry's queen;
To put a golden sceptre in thy hand,
And set a precious crown upon thy head,
If thou wilt condescend to be my-
Mar.

Suff. His love.

What?

Mar. I am unworthy to be Henry's wife.
Suff. No, gentle madam; I unworthy am
To woo so fair a dame to be his wife,
And have no portion in the choice myself.
How say you, madam; are you so content?
Mar. An if my father please, I am content.
Suff. Then call our captains, and our colours,
forth:

And, madam, at your father's castle walls
We'll crave a parley, to confer with him.

[Troops come forward.
A parley sounded. Enter Reignier, on the walls.
Suff See, Reignier, see, thy daughter prisoner.
Reig. To whom?
Suff
Reig.

To me.

Suffolk, what remedy? I am a soldier; and unapt to weep, Or to exclaim on fortune's fickleness.

Suff Yes, there is remedy enough, my lord; Consent (and, for thy honour, give consent,) Thy daughter shall be wedded to my king; Whom I with pain have woo'd and won thereto; And this her easy-held imprisonment Hath gain'd thy daughter princely liberty.

(4) An awkward business, an undertaking no* likely to succeed. (5) Love.

Where I may have fruition of her love.

As is fair Margaret, he be link'd in love.

Suff. Tush! my good lord! this superficial tale Then yield, my lords; and here conclude with me

Is but a preface of her worthy praise:
The chief perfections of that lovely dame
(Had I sufficient skill to utter them,)
Would make a volume of enticing lines,
Able to ravish any dull conceit.

And, which is more, she is not so divine,
So full replete with choice of all delights,
But, with as humble lowliness of mind,
She is content to be at your command;
Command, I mean, of virtuous chaste intents,
To love and honour Henry as her lord.

K. Hen. And otherwise will Henry ne'er

sume.

Therefore, my lord protector, give consent, That Margaret may be England's royal queen. Glo. So should I give consent to flatter sin. You know, my lord, your highness is betroth'd Unto another lady of esteem;

How shall we then dispense with that contract, And not deface your honour with reproach?

Suff. As doth a ruler with unlawful oaths; Or one, that, at a triumph1 having vow'd To try his strength, forsaketh yet the lists By reason of his adversary's odds: A poor earl's daughter is unequal odds, And therefore may be broke without offence.

That Margaret shall be queen, and none but she. K. Hen. Whether it be through force of your

report,

My noble lord of Suffolk; or for that
My tender youth was never yet attaint
With any passion of inflaming love,
I cannot tell; but this I am assur'd,

I feel such sharp dissension in my breast,
Such fierce alarums both of hope and fear,
As I am sick with working of my thoughts.
Take, therefore, shipping, post my lord, to France;
pre-Agree to any covenants: and procure

Glo. Why, what, I pray, is Margaret more than that?

Her father is no better than an earl,
Although in glorious titles he excel.

Suff. Yes, my good lord, her father is a king,
The king of Naples, and Jerusalem;
And of such great authority in France,
As his alliance will confirm our peace,
And keep the Frenchmen in allegiance.

Glo. And so the earl of Armagnac may do, Because he is near kinsman unto Charles.

Exe. Beside, his wealth doth warrant liberal dower;

While Reignier sooner will receive, than give. Suff. A dower, my lords! disgrace not so your king,

That he should be so abject, base, and poor,
To choose for wealth, and not for perfect love.
Henry is able to enrich his queen,
And not to seek a queen to make him rich:
So worthless peasants bargain for their wives,
As market-men for oxen, sheep, or horse.
Marriage is a matter of more worth,
Than to be dealt in by attorneyship;2
Not whom we will, but whom his grace affects,
Must be companion of his nuptial bed:

And therefore, lords, since he affects her most,
It most of all these reasons bindeth us,

In our opinion she should be preferr'd.
For what is wedlock forced, but a hell,
An age of discord and continual strife?
Whereas the contrary bringeth forth bliss,
And is a pattern of celestial peace.
Whom should we match, with Henry, being a king,
But Margaret, that is daughter to a king?
Her peerless feature, joined with her birth,
Approves her fit for none, but for a king:
Her valiant courage, and undaunted spirit
(More than in women commonly is seen,)
Will answer our hope in issue of a king;
For Henry, son unto a conqueror,
Is likely to beget more conquerors,

If with a lady of so high resolve,

(1) A triumph then signified a public exhibition; such as a mask, or revel.

[ocr errors]

That lady Margaret do vouchsafe to go he
To cross the seas to England, and brown'd
King Henry's faithful and anointed queen
For your expenses and sufficient charge,
Among the people gather up a tenth.
Be gone, I say; for, till you do return,
I rest perplexed with a thousand cares.-
And you, good uncle, banish all offence:
If you do censure3 me by what you were,
Not what you are, I know it will excuse
This sudden execution of my will.
And so conduct me, where from company,
[Exit.
I may revolve and ruminate my grief.
Glo. Ay, grief, I fear me, both at first and last.
[Exeunt Gloster and Exeter.
Suff. Thus folk hath prevail'd: and thus he

[blocks in formation]

Of this play there is no copy earlier than that of the folio in 1623, though the two succeeding parts are extant in two editions in quarto. That the second and third parts were published without the first, may be admitted as no weak proof that the copies were surreptitiously obtained, and that the printers of that time gave the public those plays, not such as the author designed, but such as they could get them. That this play was written before the two others is indubitably collected from the series of events; that it was written and played before Henry the Fifth is apparent; because, in the epilogue there is mention made of this play, and not of the other parts:

Henry the Sixth in swaddling bands crown'd king,
Whose state so many had the managing,
That they lost France, and made his England
bleed:

Which oft our stage hath shown.'

France is lost in this play. The two following contain, as the old title imports, the contention of the houses of York and Lancaster.

The second and third parts of Henry VI. were printed in 1600. When Henry V. was written, we know not, but it was printed likewise in 1600, and therefore before the publication of the first and second parts. The first part of Henry VI. had been often shown on the stage, and would certainly have appeared in its place, had the author been the publisher.

JOHNSON.

(2) By the discretional agency of another. (3) Judge.

SECOND PART OF

KING HENRY VI.

'The Contention of the two famous houses of York and Lancaster,' in two parts, was pub. lished in quarto, in 1600; and the first part was entered on the Stationers' books, (as Mr. Steevens has observed,) March 12, 1593-4. On these two plays, which I believe to have been written by some preceding author, before the year 1590, Shakspeare formed, as I conceive, this and the following drama; altering, retrenching, or amplifying, as he thought proper. At present it is only necessary to apprize the reader of the method observed in the printing of these plays. All the lines printed in the usual manner are found in the original quarto plays (or at least with such minute variations as are not worth noticing :) and those, I conceive, Shakspeare adopted as he found them. The lines to which inverted commas are prefixed, were, if my hypothesis be well founded, retouched, and greatly improved by him; and those with asterisks were his own original production; the embroidery with which he ornamented the coarse stuff that had been awkwardly made up for the stage by some of his contemporaries. The speeches which he new-modelled, he improved, sometimes by amplification, and sometimes by retrenchment.

MALONE.

Bolingbroke, a conjurer. A Spirit raised by him.

Cardinal Beaufort, bishop of Winchester, great Thomas Horner, an armourer. Peter, his man.

PERSONS REPRESENTED.

King Henry the Sixth:

Hume and Southwell, two priests.

Humphrey, duke of Gloster, his uncle.

[blocks in formation]

Clerk of Chatham. Mayor of Saint Alban's.
Simpcox, an impostor. Two Murderers.
Jack Cade, a rebel:

George, John, Dick, Smith, the Weaver, Michael,
&c. his followers.

Alexander Iden, a Kentish gentleman.

Margaret, queen to king Henry.
Eleanor, duchess of Gloster.

Margery Jourdain, a witch. Wife to Simpcox.

Lords, Ladies, and Attendants; Petitioners, Aldermen, a Beadle, Sheriff, and Officers; Citizens, Prentices, Falconers, Guards, Soldiers, Messengers, &c.

Scene, dispersedly in various parts of England.

ACT I.

SCENE I-London.-A room of state in the
palace. Flourish of Trumpets: then Hautboys.
Enter, on one side, King Henry, Duke of Glos-
ter, Salisbury, Warwick, and Cardinal Beaufort;
on the other, Queen Margaret, led in by Suffolk;
York, Somerset, Buckingham, and others, fol-
lowing.
Suffolk.

AS by your high imperial majesty

I had in charge at my depart for France,
As procurator to your excellence,

To marry princess Margaret for your grace;
So, in the famous ancient city, Tours,-
In presence of the kings of France and Sicil,

[ocr errors]

The dukes of Orleans, Calaber, Bretaigne, and
Alençon,

VOL. II.

[merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small]
[ocr errors]

'The mutual conference that my mind hath had1

By day, by night; waking, and in my dreams;

In courtly company, or at my beads,-
With you mine alder-liefest? sovereign,
Makes me the bolder to salute my king
'With ruder terms; such as my wit affords,
And over-joy of heart doth minister.

K. Hen. Her sight did ravish: but her grace in
speech,

• Her words y-clad with wisdom's majesty,
Makes me, from wondering fall to weeping joys;
Such is the fulness of my heart's content.-
'Lords, with one cheerful voice welcome my love. ||'
All. Long live queen Margaret, England's hap-
piness!

Q. Mar. We thank you all.

[Flourish.

Suff. My lord protector, so it please your grace, Here are the articles of contracted peace, Between our sovereign and the French king Charles, "For eighteen months concluded by consent.

Studied so long, sat in the council-house,
Early and late, debating to and fro
How France and Frenchmen might be kept in awe?
And hath his highness in his infancy
Been crown'd in Paris, in despite of foes?
And shall these labours, and these honours, die?
Shall Henry's conquest, Bedford's vigilance,
Your deeds of war, and all our counsel, die
O peers of England, shameful is this league!
Fatal this marriage, cancelling your fame:
Blotting your names from books of memory:
Razing the characters of your renown;
Defacing monuments of conquered France;
Undoing all, as all had never been!

'Car. Nephew, what means this passionate dis-
course?

This peroration with such circumstance? For France, 'tis ours; and we will keep it still. *Glo. Ay, uncle, we will keep it, if we can; But now it is impossible we should: Suffolk, the new-made duke that rules the roast, Hath given the duchies of Anjou and Maine Unto the poor king Reignier, whose large style Agrees not with the leanness of his purse. *Sal. Now, by the death of him that died for all, *These counties were the keys of Normandy:But wherefore weeps Warwick, my valiant son? 'War. For grief, that they are past recovery: For, were there hope to conquer them again, My sword should shed hot blood, mine eyes no

Glo. [Reads. Imprimis, It is agreed between the French king, Charles, and William de la Poole, marquess of Suffolk, ambassador for Henry king* of England,-that the said Henry shall espouse * the lady Margaret, daughter unto Reignier king of Naples, Sicilia, and Jerusalem; and crown her queen of England, ere the thirtieth of May next ensuing. -Item,-That the duchy of Anjou and the county of Maine, shall be released and delivered to the king her father

K. Hen. Uncle, how now?
Glo.
Pardon me, gracious lord;
Some sudden qualm hath struck me at the heart,
And dimm'd mine eyes, that I can read no further.
K. Hen. Uncle of Winchester, I pray, read on.
Win. Item,-It is further agreed between them,
--that the duchies of Anjou and Maine shall be
released and delivered over to the king her father;
and she sent over of the king of England's own
proper cost and charges, without having dowry.
K. Hen. They please us well.-Lord marquess,
kneel down;

We here create thee the first duke of Suffolk,
And girt thee with the sword.-

Cousin of York, we here discharge your grace
From being regent in the parts of France,
Till term of eighteen months be full expir'd.-
Thanks, uncle Winchester, Gloster, York, and
Buckingham,

Somerset, Salisbury, and Warwick;

We thank you all for this great favour done,
In entertainment to my princely queen.
Come, let us in; and with all speed provide
To see her coronation be perform'd.

[Ereunt King, Queen, and Suffolk.
Glo. Brave peers of England, pillars of the state,
• Το
you duke Humphrey must unload his grief,
Your grief, the common grief of all the land.
'What did my brother Henry spend his youth,
His valour, coin, and people, in the wars?
Did he so often lodge in open field,

In winter's cold, and summer's parching heat,
To conquer France, his true inheritance?
And did my brother Bedford toil his wits,
To keep by policy what Henry got?
Have you yourselves, Somerset, Buckingham,
Brave York, Salisbury, and victorious Warwick,
Receiv'd deep scars in France and Normandy?
Or hath mine uncle Beaufort, and myself,
With all the learned council of the realm,

(1) I am the bolder to address you, having already familiarized you to my imagination. (2) Beloved above all things.

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

tears.

Anjou and Maine! myself did win them both;

Those provinces these arms of mine did conquer:
And are the cities, that I got with wounds,
'Deliver'd up again with peaceful words?
Mort Dieu!

* York. For Suffolk's duke-may he be suffocate,
That dims the honour of this warlike isle!
*France should have torn and rent my very heart,
* Before I would have yielded to this league.
'I never read but England's kings have had
Large sums of gold, and dowries, with their
wives:

And our king Henry gives away his own, To match with her that brings no vantages. *Glo. A proper jest, and never heard before, *That Suffolk should demand a whole fifteenth, *For costs and charges in transporting her!

* She should have staid in France, and starv'd in France,

*Before

*Car. My lord of Gloster, now you grow too hot; *It was the pleasure of my lord the king.

*Glo. My lord of Winchester, I know your mind; 'Tis not my speeches that you do mislike, But 'tis my presence that doth trouble you. Rancour will out: Proud prelate, in thy face I see thy fury: If I longer stay,

We shall begin our ancient bickerings.
Lordings, farewell; and say, when I am gone,

I prophesied-France will be lost ere long. [Exit.
Car. So, there goes our protector in a rage.
'Tis known to you, he is mine enemy:

*

Nay, more, an enemy unto you all; *And no great friend, I fear me, to the king. *Consider, lords, he is the next of blood, *And heir apparent to the English crown; *Had Henry got an empire by his marriage,

And all the wealthy kingdoms of the west, *There's reason he should be displeas'd at it.

(3) This speech crowded with so many circumstances of aggravation.

(4) Skirmishings.

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small]

SECOND PART OF KING HENRY VI.

Look to it, lords; let not his smoothing words *Bewitch your hearts; be wise, and circumspect. What though the common people favour him,

• Calling him-Humphrey, the good duke of Glos

ter;

• Clapping their hands, and crying with a loud voice Jesu maintain your royal excellence!

With-God preserve the good duke Humphrey! 'I fear me, lords, for all this flattering gloss, "He will be found a dangerous protector.

*Buck. Why should he then protect our sovereign,

* He being of age to govern of himself?—

Cousin of Somerset, join you with me,

And all together-with the duke of Suffolk,

[ocr errors]

• We'll quickly hoise duke Humphrey from his seat. *Car. This weighty business will not brook de-* lay;

I'll to the duke of Suffolk presently.

[ocr errors]

Som Cousin of Buckingham, though phrey's pride,

And greatness of his place be grief to us, Yet let us watch the haughty cardinal;

His insolence is more intolerable

[Exit.

*The peers agreed; and Henry was well pleas'd,
* To change two dukedoms for a duke's fair

daughter.

'Tis thine they give away, and not their own.
I cannot blame them all; What is't to them?
* Pirates may make cheap pennyworths of their

pillage,

*And purchase friends, and give to courtezans,
Still revelling, like lords, till all be gone:
*While as the silly owner of the goods
*Weeps over them, and wrings his hapless hands,
*And shakes his head, and trembling stands aloof,
*While all is shar'd, and all is borne away;
*Ready to starve, and dare not touch his own.
*So York must sit, and fret, and bite his tongue,
*While his own lands are bargain'd for, and sold.
Methinks, the realms of England, France, and

Ireland,

Bear that proportion to my flesh and blood,
Unto the prince's heart of Calydon.2
Hum-* As did the fatal brand Althea burn'd,
Anjou and Maine, both given unto the French!
Cold news for me; for I had hope of France,
Even as I have of fertile England's soil.

Than all the princes in the land beside;
If Gloster be displac'd, he'll be protector.
Buck. Or thou, or I, Somerset, will be protector,
Despite duke Humphrey, or the cardinal.

[Exeunt Buckingham and Somerset. Sal. Pride went before, ambition follows him. While these do labour for their own preferment, • Behoves it us to labour for the realm. 'I never saw but Humphrey duke of Gloster •Did bear him like a noble gentleman. 'Oft have I seen the haughty cardinal'More like a soldier, than a man o'the church,

'As stout, and proud, as he were lord of all,-
Swear like a ruffian, and demean himself

Unlike the ruler of a common-weal.-
Warwick, my son, the comfort of my age!
Thy deeds, thy plainness, and thy house-keeping,
Hath won the greatest favour of the commons,
"Excepting none but good duke Humphrey.-
And, brother York, thy acts in Ireland,

[ocr errors]

In bringing them to civil discipline;
Thy late exploits, done in the heart of France,
• When thou wert regent for our sovereign,
Have made thee fear'd, and honour'd, of the
people:-

Join we together, for the public good;
In what we can to bridle and suppress
The pride of Suffolk, and the cardinal,

• With Somerset's and Buckingham's ambition;
And, as we may, cherish duke Humphrey's deeds,
While they do tend the profit of the land.

* War. So God help Warwick, as he loves the land,

*And common profit of his country!

* York. And so says York, for he hath greatest

cause.

A day will come, when York shall claim his own;
And therefore I will take the Nevils' parts,
And, when I spy advantage, claim the crown,
And make a show of love to proud duke Humphrey,
Nor shall proud Lancaster usurp my right,
For that's the golden mark I seek to hit :
Nor wear the diadem upon his head,
Nor hold his sceptre in his childish fist,
Whose church-like humours fit not for a crown.
Then, York, be still a while, till time do serve:
Watch thou, and wake, when others be asleep,
To pry into the secrets of the state;

Till Henry, surfeiting in joys of love,
With his new bride, and England's dear-bought

[blocks in formation]

Sal. Then let's make haste away, and look unto*
the main.

War. Unto the main! O father, Maine is lost;
That Maine, which by main force Warwick did win
*And would have kept, so long as breath did last :
Main chance, father, you meant; but I meant Maine;
Which I will win from France, or else be slain.

[Exeunt Warwick and Salisbury. York. Anjou and Maine are given to the French; *Paris is lost; the state of Normandy *Stands on a ticklel point, now they are gone: *Suffolk concluded on the articles;

(1) For ticklish.

A room in the duke Enter Gloster and the

Duch. Why droops my lord, like over-ripen'd

corn,

Why doth the great duke Humphrey knit his brows, Hanging the head at Ceres' plenteous load?

*As frowning at the favours of the world? Why are thine eyes fix'd to the sullen earth, What see'st thou there? king Henry's diadem, Gazing on that which seems to dim thy sight? *If so, gaze on, and grovel on thy face, Enchas'd with all the honours of the world? *Until thy head be circled with the same. Put forth thy hand, reach at the glorious gold: What, is't too short? I'll lengthen it with mine: *We'll both together lift our heads to heaven; And, having both together heav'd it up, And never more abase our sight so low, As to vouchsafe one glance unto the ground.

(2) Meleager; whose life was to continue only so long as a certain firebrand should last. His mother Althea having thrown it into the fire, he lexpired in torment.

« PreviousContinue »