Rich. Speak thou for me, and tell them what I did.1 [Throwing down the DUKE of SOMERSET'S head. *York. Richard hath best deserved of all my sons. What, is your grace dead, my lord of Somerset ? Which now the house of Lancaster usurps, I vow by Heaven, these eyes shall never close. And this the regal seat: possess it, York; Norf. We'll all assist you; he that flies shall die. York. Thanks, gentle Norfolk.-Stay by me, my lords; 'And, soldiers, stay, and lodge by me this night. War. And, when the king comes, offer him no vio lence, Unless he seek to thrust you out by force. [They retire. *York. The queen, this day, here holds her parlia ment, *But little thinks we shall be of her council. *By words or blows here let us win our right. Rich. Armed as we are, let's stay within this house. War. The bloody parliament shall this be called, Unless Plantagenet, duke of York, be king; And bashful Henry deposed, whose cowardice Hath made us by-words to our enemies. 1 Shakspeare was also led into this anachronism by the old plays. At the time of the first battle of St. Albans, where Richard is represented to have fought in the last scene of the preceding play, he was not one year old; having been born at Fotheringay castle, October 21, 1454. At the time to which the third scene of the present act refers, he was but six years old; and in the fifth act, in which Henry is represented as having been killed by him in the Tower, not more than sixteen and eight months. 'York. Then leave me not, my lords; be resolute; I mean to take possession of my right. War. Neither the king, nor he that loves him best, The proudest he that holds up Lancaster, Dares stir a wing, if Warwick shake his bells.1 'I'll plant Plantagenet, root him up who dares.Resolve thee, Richard; claim the English crown. [WARWICK leads YORK to the throne, who seats himself. Flourish. Enter KING HENRY, CLIFFORD, NORTHUMBERLAND, WESTMORELAND, EXETER, and others, with red roses in their hats. K. Hen. My lords, look where the sturdy rebel sits, Even in the chair of state! Belike, he means (Backed by the power of Warwick, that false peer) To aspire unto the crown, and reign as king.Earl of Northumberland, he slew thy father;And thine, lord Clifford; and you both have vowed revenge On him, his sons, his favorites, and his friends. North. If I be not, Heavens, be revenged on me! Clif. The hope thereof makes Clifford mourn in steel. West. What, shall we suffer this? Let's pluck him down; My heart for anger burns; I cannot brook it. K. Hen. Be patient, gentle earl of Westmoreland. Clif. Patience is for poltroons, and such as he; He durst not sit there had your father lived. My gracious lord, here in the parliament Let us assail the family of York. North. Well hast thou spoken, cousin; be it so. K. Hen. Ah, know you not the city favors them, And they have troops of soldiers at their beck? Exe. But when the duke is slain, they'll quickly fly. 1 Hawks had sometimes little bells hung on them, perhaps to dare the birds; that is, to fright them from rising. K. Hen. Far be the thought of this from Henry's heart, To make a shambles of the parliament-house! [They advance to the Duke. Thou factious duke of York, descend my throne, And kneel for grace and mercy at my feet. I am thy sovereign. York. Thou art deceived; I am thine. Exe. For shame, come down; he made thee duke of York. York. 'Twas my inheritance, as the earldom was.1 In following this usurping Henry. Clif. Whom should he follow, but his natural king? War. True, Clifford; and that's Richard, duke of York. K. Hen. And shall I stand, and thou sit in my throne? • York. It must and shall be so. Content thyself. War. Be duke of Lancaster; let him be king. West. He is both king and duke of Lancaster; And that the lord of Westmoreland shall maintain. War. And Warwick shall disprove it. You forget, That we are those, which chased you from the field, And slew your fathers, and with colors spread Marched through the city to the palace gates. • North. Yes, Warwick, I remember it to my grief; And, by his soul, thou and thy house shall rue it. West. Plantagenet, of thee, and these thy sons, Thy kinsmen, and thy friends, I'll have more lives, Than drops of blood were in my father's veins. 6 Clif. "Urge it no more; lest that, instead of words, 1 The old play reads "as the kingdom is." Why Shakspeare altered it, it is not easy to say; for the new line only exhibits the same meaning more obscurely. York means that the dukedom was his inheritance from his father, as the earldom of March was his inheritance from his mother. His title to the crown was not as duke of York, but as earl of March, and by naming that he covertly asserts his right to the crown. I send thee, Warwick, such a messenger, As shall revenge his death, before I stir. • War. Poor Clifford! how I scorn his worthless threats! York. Will you, we show our title to the crown? If not, our swords shall plead it in the field. K. Hen. What title hast thou, traitor, to the crown? Who made the dauphin and the French to stoop, War. Talk not of France, sith2 thou hast lost it all. Father, tear the crown from the usurper's head. Let's fight it out, and not stand cavilling thus. York. Sons, peace! K. Hen. Peace thou! and give king Henry leave to speak. War. Plantagenet shall speak first.-Hear him, lords; And be you silent and attentive too, For he that interrupts him shall not live. · K. Hen. Think'st thou that I will leave my kingly throne, Wherein my grandsire and my father sat? No; first shall war unpeople this my realm; Ay, and their colors-often borne in France, 1 Another mistake of the author of the old play. York's father was earl of Cambridge, and was beheaded in the lifetime of his elder brother, Edward duke of York. 2 Since. A contraction of sithence. And now in England, to our heart's great sorrow— Shall be my winding-sheet.-Why faint you, lords? My title's good, and better far than his. War. But prove it, Henry, and thou shalt be king. K. Hen. Henry the Fourth by conquest got the crown. York. "Twas by rebellion against his king. K. Hen. I know not what to say; my title's weak. Tell me, may not a king adopt an heir? York. What then? · K. Hen. An if he may, then am I lawful king. For Richard, in the view of many lords, Resigned the crown to Henry the Fourth; York. He rose against him, being his sovereign, War. Suppose, my lords, he did it unconstrained, Think you 'twere prejudicial to his crown? 1 Exe. No; for he could not so resign his crown, But that the next heir should succeed and reign. K. Hen. Art thou against us, duke of Exeter? Exe. His is the right, and therefore pardon me. York. Why whisper you, my lords, and answer not? Exe. My conscience tells me he is lawful king. K. Hen. All will revolt from me, and turn to him. North. Plantagenet, for all the claim thou lay'st Think not, that Henry shall be so deposed. 'War. Deposed he shall be, in despite of all. North. Thou art deceived. 'Tis not thy southern power, 'Of Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk, nor of Kent, Which makes thee thus presumptuous and proud,— Clif King Henry, be thy title right or wrong, 1 i. e. detrimental to the general rights of hereditary royalty. |