Sivut kuvina
PDF
ePub

Fill me a bowl of wine. Give me a watch:

[To Catesby. Saddle white Surry for the field to-morrow.-Look that my staves be sound, and not too heavy. Ratcliff,

Rat. My lord?

[berland ? K. Rich. Saw'st thou the melancholy lord NorthumBat. Thomas the earl of Surry, and himself, Much about cock-shut time, from troop to troop, Went through the army, cheering up the soldiers.

K. Rich. I am satisfied. Give me a bowl of wine: I have not that alacrity of spirit,

Nor cheer of mind, that I was wont to have.-
So, set it down.-Is ink and paper ready?
Rat. It is my lord.
K. Rich.
Bid my guard watch; leave me.
About the mid of night, come to my tent
And help to arm me.-Leave me, I say.

[King Richard retires into his Tent. Exeunt
Ratcliff and Catesby.

Richmond's Tent opens, and discovers him and his Officers, &c.

Enter Stanley.

Stan. Fortune and victory sit on thy helm ! Richm. All comfort, that the dark night can afford, Be to thy person, noble father-in-law ! Tell me, how fares our loving mother?

Stan. I, by attorney, bless thee from thy mother, Who prays continually for Richmond's good: So much for that. The silent hours steal on, And flaky darkness breaks within the east. In brief, for so the season bids us be, Prepare thy battle early in the morning; And put thy fortune to the arbitrement Of bloody strokes, and mortal-staring war. I, as I may (that which I would, I cannot), With best advantage will deceive the time, And aid thee in this doubtful shock of arms: But on thy side I may not be too forward, Lest being seen, thy brother, tender George, Be executed in his father's sight. Farewell: The leisure and the fearful time Cuts off the ceremonious vows of love, And ample interchange of sweet discourse, Which so long sunder'd friends should dwell upon : God give us leisure for these rites of love! Once more adieu-Be valiant, and speed well!

Richm. Good lords, conduct him to his regiment: I'll strive, with troubled thoughts, to take a nap; Lest leaden slumber peise me down to-morrow, When I should mount with wings of victory: Once more, good night, kind lords and gentlemen. [Exeunt Lords, &c. with Stanley. O Thou! whose captain I account myself, Look on my forces with a gracious eye; Put in their hands thy bruising irons of wrath, That they may crush down with a heavy fall The usurping helmets of our adversaries! Make us thy ministers of chastisement, That we may praise thee in thy victory To thee I do commend my watchful soul, Ere I let fall the windows of mine eyes; Sleeping, and waking, O, defend me still! [Sleeps. The Ghost of Prince Edward, Son to Henry VI. rises between the two Tents.

1

Ghost. Let me sit heavy on thy soul to-morrow! [To King Richard. Think, how thou stab'dst me in my prime of youth At Tewksbury; Despair therefore, and die!

Be cheerful, Richmond; for the wronged souls
Of butcher'd princes fight in thy behalf:
King Henry's issue, Richmond, comforts thee.

The Ghost of King Henry VI. rises.
Ghost. When I was mortal, my anointed hody
[To King Richard.
By thee was punched full of deadly holes:
Think on the Tower, and me; Despair, and die;
Harry the Sixth bids thee despair and die !-
Virtuous and holy, be thou conqueror !
[To Richmond.
Harry, that prophecy'd thou shouldst be king,
Doth comfort thee in thy sleep! Live, and flourish!
The Ghost of Clarence rises.
Ghost. Let me sit heavy on thy soul to-morrow!
[To King Rickard.
I, that was wash'd to death with fulsome wine,
Poor Clarence, by thy guile betray'd to death!
To-morrow in the battle think on me,

And fall thy edgeless sword; Despair and die !-

[ocr errors]

Thou offspring of the house of Lancaster, [To Richmond. The wronged heirs of York do pray for thee; Good angels guard thy battle! Live, and flourish ! The Ghosts of Rivers, Grey, and Vaughan, rise. Riv. Let me sit heavy on thy soul to-morrow, [To King Richard. Rivers, that died at Pomfret! Despair, and die! Grey. Think upon Grey, and let thy soul despair! [To King Richard. Vaugh. Think upon Vaughan; and, with guilty fear, Let fall thy lance i Despair, and die!

bosom

[To King Richard. All. Awake! and think, our wrongs in Richard's [To Richmond. Will conquer him;-awake, and win the day! The Ghost of Hastings rises. Ghost. Bloody and guilty, guiltily awake; [To King Richard. And in a bloody battle end thy days! Think on lord Hastings; and despair, and die !— Quiet, untroubled soul, awake, awake! Arm, fight, and conquer, for fair England's sake!

[To Richmond.

The Ghosts of the two young Princes rise. Ghosts. Dream on thy cousins smother'd in the Tower,

Let us be lead within thy bosom, Richard,
And weigh thee down to ruin, shame, and death!
Thy nephews' souls bid thee despair and die.-

Sleep, Richmond, sleep in peace, and wake in joy;
Good angels guard thee from the boar's annoy!
Live, and beget a happy race of kings!
Edward's unhappy sons do bid thee flourish.

The Ghost of Queen Anne rises.

Ghost. Richard, thy wife, that wretched Anne thy
That never slept a quiet hour with thee, [wife,
Now fills thy sleep with perturbations:
To-morrrow, in the battle, think on me,
And fall thy edgeless sword! Despair, and die!-
Thou, quiet soul, sleep thou a quiet sleep;
[To Richmond.
Dream of success and happy victory;
Thy adversary's wife doth pray for thee.
The Ghost of Buckingham rises.
Ghost. The first was I, that help'd thee to the crown;
[To King Richard.

The last was I, that felt thy tyranny:
O, in the battle think on Buckingham,
And die in terror of thy guiltiness!
Dream on, dream on, of bloody deeds and death;
Fainting, despair; despairing, yield thy breath!-
I died for hope, ere I could lend thee aid:

[To Richmond.
But cheer thy heart, and be thou not dismay'd:
God, and good angels, fight on Richmond's side;
And Richard falls in height of all his pride.

[The Ghosts vanish. King Richard starts out of his Dream.

K. Rich. Give me another horse,-bind up my

wounds,

Have mercy, Jesu !-Soft; I did but dream.-
O coward conscience, how dost thou afflict me!-
The lights burn blue.-It is now dead midnight.
Cold fearful drops stand on my trembling flesh.
What do I fear? myself? there's none else by:
Richard loves Richard; that is, I am I.

Is there a murderer here? No;-Yes; I am :
Then fly,-What, from myself? Great reason: Why?
Lest I revenge. What? Myself on myself!

I love myself. Wherefore? for any good,
That I myself have done unto myself?
O, no: alas, I rather hate myself,
For hateful deeds committed by myself.

I am a villain: Yet I lie, I am not.
Fool, of thyself speak well:-Fool, do not flatter.
My conscience hath a thousand several tongues,
And every tongue brings in a several tale,
And every tale condemns me for a villain.
Perjury, perjury, in the highest degree;
Murder, stern murder, in the dir'st degree;
All several sins, all us'd in each degree,
Throng to the bar, crying all,--Guilty! guilty!
I shall despair.-There is no creature loves me;
And, if I die, no soul will pity me:-

Nay, wherefore should they? since that I myself
Find in myself no pity to myself.

Methought, the souls of all that I had murder'd

Came to my tent; and every one did threat
To-morrow's vengeance on the head of Richard.
Enter Rateliff.

Rat. My lord,

K. Rich. Who's there?

Rat. Ratcliff, my lord; 'tis I. The early village
Hath twice done salutation to the morn; [cock
Your friends are up, and buckle on their armour.
K. Rich. O, Ratcliff, I have dream'd a fearful
dream!-

What thinkest thou? will our friends prove all true?
Rat. No doubt, my lord.
K. Rich.

Rateliff, I fear, I fear,-
Rat. Nay, good my lord, be not afraid of shadows.
K. Rich. By the apostle Paul, shadows to-night
Have struck more terror to the soul of Richard,
Than can the substance of ten thousand soldiers,
Armed in proof, and led by shallow Richmond.
It is not yet near day. Come, go with me;
Under our tents I'll play the eaves-dropper,
To hear, if any mean to shrink from me.

[Exeunt King Richard and Ratcliff.
Richmond wakes. Enter Oxford and others.
Lords. Good morrow, Richmond.
Richm. 'Cry mercy, lords, and watchful gentlemen,
That you have ta'en a tardy sluggard here.
Lords. How have you slept, my lord?
Richm. The sweetest sleep, and fairest-boding
That ever enter'd in a drowsy head, [dreams,
Have I since your departure had, my lords.
Methought their souls, whose bodies Richard mur-
Came to my tent, and cried-On! victory! [der'd,
I promise you, my heart is very jocund
In the remembrance of so fair a dream.
How far into the morning is it, lords?
Lords. Upon the stroke of four.
Richm. Why, then 'tis time to arm, and give di-
[He advances to the Troops.
More than I have said, loving countrymen,
The leisure and enforcement of the time
Forbids to dwell on: Yet remember this,-
God, and our good cause, fight upon our side;
The prayers of holy saints, and wronged souls,
Like high-rear'd bulwarks, stand before our faces:
Richard except, those, whom we fight against,
Had rather have us win, than him they follow.
For what is he they follow? truly, gentlemen,
A bloody tyrant, and a homicide;

rection.

One rais'd in blood, and one in blood establish'd ;
One that made means to come by what he hath,
And slaughter'd those that were the means to help him:
A base foul stone, made precious by the foil
Of England's chair, where he is falsely set;
One that hath ever been God's enemy:
Then, if you fight against God's enemy,
God will, in justice, ward you as his soldiers:
If you do sweat to put a tyrant down,
You sleep in peace, the tyrant being slain;
If you do fight against your country's foes,
Your country's fat shall pay your pains the hire;
If you do fight in safeguard of your wives,
Your wives shall welcome home the conquerors;
If you do free your children from the sword,
Your children's children quit it in your age.
Then, in the name of God, and all these rights,
Advance your standards, draw your willing swords;
For me, the ransom of my bold attempt
Shall be this cold corpse on the earth's cold face;
But if I thrive, the gain of my attempt
The least of you shall share his part thereof.
Sound, drums and trumpets, boldly and cheerfully;
God, and saint George! Richmond, and victory!

[Exeunt. Re-enter King Richard, Rateliff, Attendants, and Forces.

K. Rich. What said Northumberland, as touching
Richmond?

Rat. That he was never trained up in arms.
K. Rich. He said the truth: And what said Surry
then?

Rat. He smil'd and said, the better for our purpose.
K. Rich. He was i'the right; and so, indeed, it is.
[Clock strikes.
Tell the clock there.-Give me a calendar.-
Who saw the sun to-day?

Rat.

Not I, my lord.
K.Rich. Then he disdains to shine, for, by the book,
He should have brav'd the east an hour ago:

A black day will it be to somebody.-
Ratcliff,-

Rat. My lord?
K. Rich. The sun will not be seen to-day;
The sky doth frown and lower upon our army,
I would, these dewy tears were from the ground..
Not shine to-day! Why, what is that to me,
More than to Richmond? for the self-same heaven,
That frowns on me, looks sadly upon him.
Enter Norfolk.

Nor. Arm, arm, my lord; the foe vaunts in the field.
K. Rich. Come, bustle, bustle;-Caparison my
horse ;-

Call up lord Stanley, bid him bring his power:
I will lead forth my soldiers to the plain,
And thus my battle shall be ordered.
My foreward shall be drawn out all in length,
Consisting equally of horse and foot;
Our archers shall be placed in the midst :
John duke of Norfolk, Thomas earl of Surry,
Shall have the leading of this foot and horse.
In the main battle; whose puissance on either side
They thus directed, we ourself will follow
Shall be well winged with our chiefest horse.
This, and saint George to boot!--What think'st thou,
Norfolk !

Nor. A good direction, warlike sovereign.
This found I on my tent this morning.

[Giving a Scroll. K. Rich. Jocky of Norfolk, be not too bold, [Reais. For Dickon thy master is bought and sold.

A thing devised by the enemy.
Let not our babbling dreams affright our souls;
Go, gentlemen, every man unto his charge:
Conscience is but a word that cowards use,
Devis'd at first to keep the strong in awe;
Our strong arms be our conscience, swords our law.
If not to heaven, then hand in hand to hell.
March on, join bravely, let us to't pell-mell;

What shall I say more than I have inferr'd?
Remember whom you are to cope withal;-
A sort of vagabonds, rascals, and run-aways,
A scum of Bretagnes, and base lackey peasants,
Whom their o'er-cloyed country vomits forth
To desperate ventures and assur'd destruction.
You sleeping safe, they bring you to unrest;
You having lands, and bless'd with beauteous wives,
They would restrain the one, distain the other.
And who doth lead them, but a paltry fellow,
Long kept in Bretagne at our mother's cost!
A milk-sop, one that never in his life
Felt so much cold as over shoes in snow?
Let's whip these stragglers o'er the seas again;
Lash hence these over-weening rags of France,
These famish'd beggars, weary of their lives;
Who, but for dreaming on this fond exploit,
For want of means, poor rats, had hang'd themselves:
If we be conquer'd, let men conquer us,
And not these bastard Bretagnes; whom our fathers
Have in their own land beaten, hobb'd, and thump'd,
And, on record, left them the heirs of shame.
Shall these enjoy our lands? lie with our wives?
Ravish our daughters ?-Hark, I hear their drum.
Drum afar of

Fight, gentlemen of England! fight, bold yeomen!
Draw, archers, draw your arrows to the head!
Spur your proud horses hard, and ride in blood;
Amaze the welkin with your broken staves!

Enter a Messenger.

What says lord Stanley? will he bring his power?
Mess. My lord, he doth deny to come.
K. Rich. Off instantly with his son George's head.
Nor. My lord, the enemy is pass'd the marsh;
After the battle let George Stanley die. [bosom:
K. Rich. A thousand hearts are great within my
Advance our standards, set upon our foes;
Our ancient word of courage, fair saint George,
Inspire us with the spleen of fiery dragons!
Upon them! Victory sits on our Lelms.

[Exeunt.

SCENE IV. Another Part of the Field. Alarum: Excursions. Enter Norfolk, and Forces; to him Catesby.

Cafe. Rescue, my lord of Norfolk, rescue, rescue!
The king enacts more wonders than a man,
Daring an opposite to every danger;
His horse is slain, and all on foot he fights,
Seeking for Richmond, in the throat of death:
Rescue, fair lord, or else the day is lost!

M M

Alarum. Enter King Richard. K. Kich. A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse! Cate. Withdraw, my lord, I'll help you to a horse. K. Rich. Slave, I have set my life upon a cast, And I will stand the hazard of the die: I think, there be six Richmonds in the field; Five have I slain to-day, instead of him :A horse! a horse ! my kingdom for a horse! [Exeunt. Alarums. Enter King Richard and Richmond; and exeunt, fighting. Retreat, and flourish, Then enter Richmond, Stanley, bearing the Crown, with divers other Lords, and Forces.

Richm. God, and your arms, be prais'd, victorious The day is ours, the bloody dog is dead. [friends; Stan. Courageous Richmond, well hast thou acquit Lo, here, this long-usurped royalty, [thee! From the dead temples of this bloody wretch Have I pluck'd off, to grace thy brows withal; Wear it, enjoy it, and make much of it.

Richm. Great God of heaven, say, Amen, to all! But tell me first, is young George Stanley living? Stan. He is, my lord, and safe in Leicester town; Whither, if it please you, we may now withdraw us. Richm. What men of name are slain on either side? Stan. John duke of Norfolk, Walter lord Ferrers, Sir Robert Brakenbury, and sir William Brandon."

King Henry VIII.

Richm. Inter their bodies as becomes their births. Proclaim a pardon to the soldiers fled, That in submission will return to us; And then, as we have ta'en the sacrament, We will unite the white rose with the red :Smile, heaven, upon this fair conjunction, That long hath frown'd upon their enmity !What traitor hears me, and says not,-Amen? England bath long been mad, and scarr'd herself; The father rashly slaughter'd his own son, The brother blindly shed the brother's blood, The son, compell'd, been butcher to the sire; All this divided York and Lancaster, Divided, in their dire division.O, now, let Richmond and Elizabeth, The true succeeders of each royal house, By God's fair ordinance conjoin together! And let their heirs (God, if thy will be so), Enrich the time to come with smooth-fac'd peace, With smiling plenty, and fair prosperous days! Abate the edge of traitors, gracious Lord, That would reduce these bloody days again, And make poor England weep in streams of blood! Let them not live to taste this land's increase, That would with treason wound this fair land's peace! Now civil wounds are stopp'd, peace lives again; That she may long live here, God say-Amen.

King Henry the Eighth.

Cardinal Wolsey. Cardinal Campeins.

DRAMATIS PERSONE.

Capucius, Ambassador from the Emperor Charles V.
Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury.
Duke of Norfolk. Duke of Buckingham.
Duke of Suffolk. Earl of Surry.
Lord Chamberlain. Lord Chancellor.
Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester.

Bishop of Lincoln. Lord Abergavenny. Lord Sands.
Sir Henry Guildford. Sir Thomas Lovell.
Sir Anthony Denny. Sir Nicholas Vaux.
Secretaries to Wolsey.

Cromwell, Servant to Wolsey.

Griffith, Gentleman Usher to Queen Katharine.
Three other Gentlemen.

Doctor Butts, Physician to the King.
Garter, King at Arms.

Surveyor to the Duke of Buckingham. Brandon, and a Sergeant at Arms.

[Exeunt.

Door-keeper of the Council-chamber. Porter, and his Man.

Page to Gardiner. A Crier.

Queen Katharine, Wife to King Henry; afterwards divorced.

Anne Bullen, her Maid of Honour; afterwards Queen.
An old Lady, Friend to Anne Bullen.
Patience, Woman to Queen Katharine.

Several Lords and Ladies in the dumb Shows; Women attending upon the Queen; Spirits, which appear to her; Scribes, Officers, Guards, and other Attendants.

SCENE, chiefly in London and Westminster; once at Kimbolton,

PROLOGUE.

I COME no more to make you laugh; things now,
That bear a weighty and a serious brow,
Sad, high, and working, full of state and woe,
Such noble scenes as draw the eye to flow,
We now present. Those that can pity, here
May, if they think it well, let fall a tear;
The subject will deserve it. Suck, as give
Their money out of hope they may believe,
May here find truth too. Those, that come to see
Only a show or two, and so agree,

The play may pass; if they be still, and willing,
I'll undertake, may see away their shilling
Richly in two short hours. Only they,
That come to hear a merry, bawdy play,
A noise of targets; or to see a fellow
In a long motley coat, guarded with yellow,
Will be deceiv'd: for, gentle hearers, know,
To rank our chosen truth with such a show
As fool and fight is, beside forfeiting
Our own brains, and the opinion that we bring
(To make that only true we now intend),
Will leave us never an understanding friend.
Therefore, for goodness' sake, and as you are known
The first and happiest hearers of the town,
Be sad, as we would make ye: Think, ye see
The very persons of our noble story,

As they were living; think, you see them great,
And follow'd with the general throng, and sweat,
Of thousand friends; then, in a moment, see
How soon this mightiness meets misery!
And, if you can be merry then, I'll say,
A man may weep upon his wedding-day.

[blocks in formation]

Show'd like a mine. Their dwarfish pages were
As cherubins, all gilt: the madams too,
Not us'd to toil, did almost sweat to bear
The pride upon them, that their very labour
Was to them as a painting now this mask
Was cried incomparable; and the ensuing night
Made it a fool, and beggar. The two kings,
Equal in lustre, were now best, now worst,
As presence did present them: him in eye,
Still him in praise: and being present both,
'Twas said, they saw but one; and no discerner
Durst wag his tongue in censure. When these suns
(For so they phrase them), by their heralds challeng'd
The noble spirits to arms, they did perform
Beyond thought's compass; that former fabulous story,
Being now seen possible enough, got credit,
That Bevis was believ'd.

Buck.

O, you go far.

Nor. As I belong to worship, and affect In honour honesty, the tract of every thing Would by a good discourser lose some life, Which action's self was tongue to. Ali was royal; To the disposing of it nought rebeli'd, Order gave each thing view; the office did Distinctly his full function.

Buck.

Who did guide, I mean, who set the body and the limbs Of this great sport together, as you guess? Nor. One, certes, that promises no element

In such a business.

Buck.

I pray you, who, my lord?

Nor. All this was order'd by the good discretion Of the right reverend cardinal of York.

Buck. The devil speed him! no man's pie is freed From his ambitious finger. What had he To do in these fierce vanities? I wonder, That such a keech can with his very bulk Take up the rays o'the beneficial sun, And keep it from the earth.

Surely, sir,

Nor.
There's in him stuff that puts him to these ends:
For, being not propp'd by ancestry (whose grace
Chalks successors their way), nor call'd apon
For high feats done to the crown; neither allied
To eminent assistants, but, spider-like,
Out of his self-drawing web, he gives us note,
The force of his own merit makes his way;
A gift that heaven gives for him, which buys
A place next to the king.
Aber.

I cannot tell
What heaven hath given him, let some graver eye
Pierce into that; but I can see his pride

Peep through each part of him: Whence has he that?
If not from hell, the devil is a niggard;
Or has given all before, and he begins.
A new hell in himself."

[blocks in formation]
[blocks in formation]

'Like it your grace,

The state takes notice of the private difference
Betwixt you and the cardinal. I advise you
(And take it from a heart that wishes towards you
Honour and plenteous safety), that you read
The cardinal's malice and his potency
Together to consider further, that

What his high hatred would effect, wants not
A minister in his power: You know his nature,
That he's revengeful; and I know, his sword
Hath a sharp edge: it's long, and, it may be said,
It reaches far; and where 'twill not extend,
Thither he darts it. Bosom up my counsel,
You'll find it wholesome. Lo, where comes that rock,
That I advise your shunning.

Enter Cardinal Wolsey (the Purse borne before him), certain of the Guard, and two Secretaries with Papers. The Cardinal in his Passage fixeth his Eye on Buckingham, and Buckingham on him, both full of disdain.

Wol. The duke of Buckingham's surveyor, ha ?
Where's his examination!
1 Secr.
Here, so please you.

Wol. Is he in person ready?

1 Secr.

Ay, please your grace. Wol. Well, we shall then know more; and Buckingham

Shall lessen this big look.[Exeunt Wolsey and Train.
Buck. This butcher's cur is venom-mouth'd, and I
Have not the power to muzzle him; therefore, best
Not wake him in his slumber. A beggar's book
Out-worths a noble's blood.

Nor.

Buck.

What, are you chaf'd? Ask God for temperance; that's the appliance only, Which your disease requires. I read in his looks Matter against me; and his eye revil'd Me, as his abject object at this instant He bores me with some trick: He's gone to the king, I'll follow, and out-stare him.

Nor.

Stay, my lord, And let your reason with your chofer question What 'tís you go about: To climb steep hills, Requires slow pace at first: Anger is like A full-hot horse; who being allow'd his way, Self-mettle tires him. Not a man in England Can advise me like you be to yourself As you would to your friend. Buck.

I'll to the king: And from a mouth of honour quite cry down This Ipswich fellow's insolence; or proclaim, There's difference in no persons.

Nor.

Be advis'd:
Heat not a furnace for your foe so hot
That it do singe yourself: We may outron,
By violent swiftness, that which we run at,
And lose by overrunning. Know you not,
The fire, that mounts the liquor till it run o'er,
In seeming to augment it, wastes it? Be advis'd:
I say again, there is no English soul

More stronger to direct you than yourself;
If with the sap of reason you would quench,
Or but allay, the fire of passion.

Buck.

Sir,

I am thankful to you; and I'll go along
By your prescription:-but this top-proud fellow
(Whom from the flow of gall I name not, but
From sincere motions), by intelligence,
And proofs as clear as founts in July, when
We see each grain of gravel, I do know
To be corrupt and treasonous.

Nor.

Say not, treasonous. Buck. To the king I'll say't; and make my vouch

as strong

As shore of rock. Attend. This holy fox,
Or wolf, or both (for he is equal ravenous,
As he is subtle; and as prone to mischief,
As able to perform it: his mind and place
Infecting one another, yea, reciprocally),
Only to show his pomp as well in France
As here at home, suggests the king our master
To this last costly treaty, the interview,
That swallow'd so much treasure, and like a glass
Did break i'the rinsing.

Nor.

'Faith, and so it did. Buck. Pray, give me favour, sir. This cunning The articles o'the combination drew, [cardinal As himself pleas'd; and they were ratified,

As he cried, Thus let be: to as much end,
As give a crutch to the dead: But our count-cardinal
Has done this, and 'tis well; for worthy Wolsey,
Who cannot err, he did it. Now this follows
(Which, as I take it, is a kind of puppy
To the old dam, treason), -Charles the emperor,
Under pretence to see the queen his aunt
(For 'twas, indeed, his colour; but he came
To whisper Wolsey), here makes visitation:
His fears were, that the interview, betwixt
England and France, might, through their amity,
Breed him some prejudice; for from this league
Peep'd harms that menac'd him: He privily
Deals with our cardinal: and, as I trow,-
Which I do well; for, I am sure, the emperor
Paid ere he promis'd; whereby his suit was granted,
Ere it was ask'd ;-but when the way was made,
And pav'd with gold, the emperor thus desir'd;—
That he would please to alter the king's course,
And break the foresaid peace. Let the king know
(As soon he shall by me), that thus the cardinal
Does buy and sell his honour as he pleases,
And for his own advantage.

Nor.

I am sorry

To hear this of him; and could wish, he were Something mistaken in't.

Buck.

No, not a syllable;

I do pronounce him in that very shape,
He shall appear in proof.

Enter Brandon; a Sergeant at Arms before him,
and two or three of the Guards.
Bran. Your office, sergeant; execute it.
Serg

My lord the duke of Buckingham, and earl
Of Hereford, Stafford, and Northampton, I
Arrest thee of high treason, in the name
Of our most sovereign king,
Buck.

Sir,

Lo you, my lord, The net has fall'n upon me, I shall perish Under device and practice.

Bran.

I am sorry

To see you ta'en from liberty, to look on
The business present: "Tis his highness' pleasure,
You shall to the Tower.

Buck.
It will help me nothing,
To plead mine innocence; for that die is on me,"
Which makes my whitest part black. The will of
Be done in this and all things!-I obey. [heaven
O my lord Aberga'ny, fare you well.
Bran. Nay, he must bear you company:-The king
[To Abergavenny.
Is pleas'd, you shall to the Tower, till you know
How he determines further.
Aber.
As the duke said,
The will of heaven be done, and the king's pleasure
By me obey'd.
Bran.

Here is a warrant from The king, to attach lord Montacute; and the bodies Of the dake's confessor, John de la Court, One Gilbert Peck, his chancellor,Buck.

So, so; These are the limbs of the plot: no more, I hope. Bran. A monk o'the Chartreux. Buck.

[blocks in formation]

O, Nicholas Hopkins? Buck. My surveyor is false; the o'er-great cardinal Hath show'd him gold: my life is spann'd already I am the shadow of poor Buckingham; Whose figure even this instant cloud puts on, By dark'ning my clear sun. My lord, farewell.

[Exeunt.

SCENE II. The Council-Chamber.

Cornets. Enter King Henry, Cardinal Wolsey, the Lords of the Council, Sir Thomas Lovell, Officers, and Attendants. The King enters, leaning on the Cardinal's Shoulder.

K. Hen. My life itself, and the best heart of it,
Thanks you for this great care: I stood i'the level
Of a full-charg'd confederacy, and give thanks
To you that chok'd it.-Let be call'd before us
That gentleman of Buckingham's in person
I'll hear him his confessions justify;

And point by point the treasons of his master
He shall again relate.

The King takes his State. The Lords of the Council
take their several Places. The Cardinal places him-
self under the King's Feet, on his right side.
A Noise within, crying, Room for the Queen. Enter
the Queen, ushered by the Dukes of Norfolk and

[blocks in formation]

K. Hen.

Still exaction! The nature of it? In what kind, let's know, Is this exaction ? Q. Kath. I am much too venturous In tempting of your patience; but am bolden'd Under your promis'd pardon. The subject's grief Comes through commissions, which compel from each The sixth part of his substance, to be levied Without delay; and the pretence for this [mouths: Is nam'd, your wars in France: This makes bold Tongues spit their duties out, and cold hearts freeze

Live where their prayers did; and it's come to pass, Allegiance in them; their curses now,

That tractable obedience is a slave

To each incensed will. I would, your highness
Would give it quick consideration, for
There is no primer business.

K. Hen.

This is against our pleasure.

Wol.

By my life,

And for me,

I have no further gone in this, than by
A single voice; and that not pass'd me, but
By learned approbation of the judges.

If I am traduc'd by tongues, which neither know
My faculties, nor person, yet will be
The chronicles of my doing,-let me say,
'Tis but the fate of place, and the rough brake
That virtue must go through. We must not stint
Our necessary actions, in the fear
To cope malicious censurers; which ever,
As ravenous tishes, do a vessel follow
That is new trimm'd; but benefit no further
Than vainly longing. What we oft do best,
By sick interpreters, once weak ones, is
Not ours, or not allow'd; what worst, as oft,
Hitting a grosser quality, is cried up

« EdellinenJatka »