PERSONS REPRESENTED.

King HENRY the Sixth:

HUMPHREY, duke of Gloster, his uncle.

Cardinal BEAUFORT, bishop of Winchester, great uncle to the king.

RICHARD PLANTAGENET, duke of York:

EDWARD and RICHARD, his sons.

Duke of SOMERSET,

Duke of SUFFOlk,

Duke of BUCKINGHAM,

Lord CLIFFORD,

of the king's party.

Young CLIFFORD, his son,

Earl of SALISBURY,

Earl of WARWICK,

}

of the York faction.

Lord SCALES, Governor of the Tower. Lord SAY.

Sir HUMPHREY STAFFORD, and his brother. Sir JoHN STANLEY.

A Sea-captain, Master, and Master's Mate, and WALTER WHITMORE.

Two gentlemen, prisoners with Suffolk.

A Herald.

VAUX.

HUME and SOUTHWELL, two priests.

BOLINGBROKE, a conjurer. A Spirit raised by him.
THOMAS HORNER, an armourer. PETER, his man.

Clerk of Chatham. Mayor of Saint Albans.

SIMPCOX, an imposter. Two Murderers.

JACK CADE, a rebel:

GEORGE, JOHN, DICK, SMITH the weaver, MICHAEL, &c.

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.

THE SECOND PART OF

KING HENRY VI.

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 GLOSTER, SALISBURY, WARWICK, and Cardinal BEAUFORT; on the other, Queen MARGARET, led in by SUFFOLK; YORK, SOMERSET, BUCKINGHAM, and others, following.

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,

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

Seven earls, twelve barons, twenty reverend Bishops,I have perform'd my task, and was espous'd:

And humbly now upon my bended knee,

In sight of England and her lordly peers,

Deliver up my title in the queen

To your most gracious hands, that are the substance
Of that great shadow I did represent;

The happiest gift that ever marquess gave,

The fairest queen that ever king receiv'd.

K. Hen. Suffolk, arise.-Welcome, queen Margaret :

I can express no kinder sign of love,

Than this kind kiss.-O Lord, that lends me life,
Lend me an heart replete with thankfulness!

For thou hast given me, in this beauteous face,

A world of earthly blessings to my soul,

If sympathy of love unite our thoughts.

Q. Mar. Great king of England, and my gracious lord; The mutual conference that my mind hath had

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

Vide Hall's Chronicle, fol. 66, year 23. init. POPE.

[2] I am the bolder to address you, having already familiarized you to my imagination. JOHNSON.

In courtly company, or at my beads,-
With you mine alder-liefest sovereign,3
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 happiness!
Q. Mar. We thank you all.
[Flourish.
Suf. 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.

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.Ítem, That the duchy of Anjou and the county of Maine, shall be released and delivered to the king her fatherK. 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.—

[3] Alder-lievest is an old English word given to him to whom the speaker is su premely attached: liefest being the superlative of the comparative levar, rather, from lief. WARBURTON.Alder-liefest is a corruption of the German word alder-liebste, beloved of all things, dearest of all. STEEVENS.

Thanks, uncle Winchester, Gloster, York, and Buckingnam,
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.

[Exeunt King, Queen, and SUFFOLK.
Glo. Brave peers of England, pillars of the state,
To 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 my uncle Beaufort, and myself,
With all the learned counsel of the realm,
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 conquer'd France
Undoing all, as all had never been!

Car. Nephew, what means this passionate discourse?

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,

[4] This speech crowded with so many instances of aggravation. JOHNSON.

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 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.—
Lordlings, farewell; and say, when I am gone,
I prophesied France will be lost ere long.
Car. So, there goes our protector in a rage.
'Tis known to you, he is mine enemy:
Nay, more, an enemy unto you all;

[Exit.

[5] The indignation of Warwick is natural, and I wish it had been better expressed; there is a kind of jingle intended in wounds and words. JOHNSON. [6] To bicker is to skirmish. In the ancient metrical romance of Guy earl of Warwick, bl. 1. no date, the heroes consult whether they should bicker on the walls or descend to battle on the plain. STEEVENS.