The Plays of William Shakespeare

I Keep. That cannot be the noise of thy cross- | And we his subjects, sworn in all allegiance,
bow
Will apprehend you as his enemy.

Will scare the herd, and so my shoot is lost.
Here stand we both, and aim we at the best :
And, for the time shall not seem tedious,
I'll tell thee what befelt me on a day,
In this self-place where now we mean to stand.
2 Keep. Here comes a man, let's stay till he be
past.

Enter King Henry, disguised, with a prayer-book.

K. Hen. From Scotland am I stol'n, even of pure
love,

To greet mine own land with my wishful sight.
No, Harry, Harry, 'tis no land of thine;

Thy place is fill'd, thy scepter wrung from thee,
Thy balm wash'd off, wherewith thou wast anoint-
ed:

No bending knee will call thee Cæsar now,
No humble suitors press to speak for right,
No, not a man comes for redress of thee;
For how can I help them, and not myself?
1 Keep. Ay, here's a deer whose skin's a keeper's

fee:

This is the quondam king; let's seize upon him.
K. Hen. Let me embrace these sour adversities:
For wiser men say, it is the wisest course.

2 Keep. Why linger we? let us lay hands upon
him.

1 Keep. Forbear a while; we'll hear a little

more.

K. Hen. My queen, and son, are gone to France
for aid;

And, as I hear, the great commanding Warwick
Is thither gone, to crave the French king's sister
To wife for Edward: If this news be true,
Poor queen and son, your labour is but lost;
For Warwick is a subtle orator,
And Lewis a prince soon won with moving words.
By this account, then, Margaret may win him;
For she's a woman to be pity'd much :
Her sighs will make a battery in his breast;
Her tears will pierce into a marble heart;
The tiger will be mild, while she doth mourn ;
And Nero will be tainted with remorse,
To hear, and see, her plaints, her brinish tears.
Ay, but she's come to beg; Warwick, to give :
She, on his left side, craving aid for Henry;
He, on his right, asking a wife for Edward.
She weeps, and says her Henry is depos'd;
He smiles, and says his Edward is install'd;
That she, poor wretch, for grief can speak no more:
Whiles Warwick tells his title, smooths the wrong,
Inferreth arguments of mighty strength;
And, in conclusion, wins the king from her,
With promise of his sister, and what else,
To strengthen and support king Edward's place.
O Margaret, thus 'twill be; and thou, poor soul,
Art then forsaken, as thou went'st forlorn.

2 Keep. Say, what art thou, that talk'st of kings
and queens?

K. Hen. More than I seem, and less than I was
born to:

A man at least, for less I should not be ;
And men may talk of kings, and why not I?

2 Keep. Ay, but thou talk'st as if thou wert a
king.

K. Hen. Why, so I am, in mind; and that's enough.

2 Keep. But, if thou be a king, where is thy crown?

K. Hen. My crown is in my heart, not on my
head;

Not deck'd with diamonds, and Indian stones,
Nor to be seen: my crown is call'd, content;
A crown it is, that seldom kings enjoy.

2 Keep. Well, if you be a king crown'd with

content,

Your crown content, and you, must be contented
To go along with us: for, as we think,

You are the king, king Edward hath depos'd;

K. Hen. But did you never swear, and break an

oath ?

2 Keep. No, never such an oath; nor will not

now.

K. Hen. Where did you dwell, when I was king of England?

2 Keep. Here in this country, where we now re-
main.

K. Hen. I was anointed king at nine months old;
My father, and my grandfather, were kings;
And you were sworn true subjects unto me:
And, tell me then, have you not broke your oaths?
1 Keep. No;

For we were subjects, but while you were king.
K. Hen. Why, am I dead? do I not breathe a

man ?

Ah, simple men, you know not what you swear.
Look, as I blow this feather from my face,
And as the air blows it to me again,
Obeying with my wind when I do blow,
And yielding to another when it blows,
Commanded always by the greater gust;
Such is the lightness of you common men.
But do not break your oaths; for, of that sin
My mild entreaty shall not make you guilty.
Go where you will, the king shall be commanded;
And be you kings; command, and I'll obey.
1 Keep. We are true subjects to the king, king
Edward.

K. Hen. So would you be again to Henry,
If he were seated as king Edward is.

1 Keep. We charge you, in God's name, and in the king's,

To go with us unto the officers.

K. Hen. In God's name, lead; your king's name

be obey'd:

And what God will, then let your king perform;
And what he will, I humbly yield unto. [Exeunt.

SCENE II.-London. A Room in the Palace.
Enter King Edward, Gloster, Clarence, and Lady
Grey.

K. Edw. Brother of Gloster, at Saint Alban's
field

This lady's husband, sir John Grey, was slain,
His lands then seiz'd on by the conqueror;
Her suit is now, to repossess those lands;
Which we in justice cannot well deny,
Because in quarrel of the house of York
The worthy gentleman did lose his life.
Glo. Your highness shall do well, to grant her
suit ;

It were dishonour, to deny it her.

K. Edw. It were no less; but yet I'll make a pause.

Glo. Yea! is it so ?

I see, the lady hath a thing to grant,
Before the king will grant her humble suit.
Clar. He knows the game; How true he keeps
the wind!
Glo. Silence!

[Aside. Aside.

K. Edw. Widow, we will consider of your suit;
And come some other time, to know our mind.
L. Grey. Right gracious lord, I cannot brook
delay:

May it please your highness to resolve me now;
And what your pleasure is, shall satisfy me.

Glo. [Aside.] Ay, widow? then I'll warrant you
all your lands,

An if what pleases him, shall pleasure you.
Fight closer, or, good faith, you'll catch a blow.
Clar. I fear her not, unless she chance to fall.

[Aside.

two.

Glo. Nay, whip me then; he'll rather give her | [Aside. L. Grey. Three, my most gracious lord. Glo. You shall have four, if you'll be rul'd by him. [Aside, K. Edw. 'Twere pity, they should lose their father's land.

L. Grey. Be pitiful, dread lord, and grant it then.

K. Edw. Lords, give us leave; I'll try this widow's wit.

Glo. Ay, good leave have you; for you will have| leave,

Till youth take leave, and leave you to the crutch. [Gloster and Clarence retire to the other side. K. Edw. Now tell me, madam, do you love your children?

L. Grey. Ay, full as dearly as I love myself. K. Edn, And would you not do much to do them good?

L. Grey. To do them good, I would sustain some harm.

K. Edw. Then get your husband's lands, to do them good.

L. Grey. Therefore I came unto your majesty. K. Edw. I'll tell you how these lands are to be got.

L. Grey. So shall you bind me to your highness' service.

K. Edw. What service wilt thou do me, if I give them ?

L. Grey. What you command, that rests in me to do.

K. Edw. But you will take exceptions to my boon.

L. Grey. No, gracious lord, except I cannot do it. K. Edw. Ay, but thou canst do what I mean to ask.

L. Grey. Why, then I will do what your grace commands.

Glo. He plies her hard; and much rain wears the marble. [Aside. wax must [Aside. L. Grey. Why stops my lord? shall I not hear my task?

Clar. As red as fire! nay, then her melt.

K. Edw. An easy task; 'tis but to love a king. L. Grey. That's soon perform'd, because I am a subject.

K. Edn. Why then, thy husband's lands I freely give thee.

L. Grey. I take my leave with many thousand

thanks.

L. Grey. My mind will never grant what I perceive

Your highness aims at, if I aim aright.

K. Edw. To tell thee plain, I aim to lie with thee.

L. Grey. To tell you plain, I had rather lie in prison.

K, Edw. Therein, thou wrong'st thy children mightily.

L. Grey. Herein your highness wrongs both them and me.

But, mighty lord, this merry inclination
Accords not with the sadness of my suit;
Please you dismiss me, either with ay, or no.
K. Edw. Ay; if thou wilt say ay, to my re-
quest:

No; if thou dost say no, to my demand.

L. Grey. Then, no, my lord. My suit is at an end.

brows.

Glo. The widow likes him not, she knits her [Aside. Clar. He is the bluntest wooer in Christendom. [Aside.

K. Edw. [Aside.] Her looks do argue her replete with modesty ;

Her words do show her wit incomparable.
All her perfections challenge sovereignty:
One way, or other, she is for a king;
And she shall be my love, or else my queen.—
Say, that king Edward take thee for his queen?
L. Grey. 'Tis better said than done, my gracious
lord:

I am a subject fit to jest withal,"
But far unfit to be a sovereign.

K. Edw. Sweet widow, by my state I swear to thee,

I speak no more than what my soul intends;
And that is, to enjoy thee for my love.

L. Grey. And that is more than I will yield unto :

I know, I am too mean to be your queen:
And yet too good to be your concubine,
K. Edw. You cavil, widow; I did mean, my
queen.

L. Grey. "Twill grieve your grace, my son should call you-father.

K. Edw. No more, than when thy daughters

call thee mother.

Nob. My gracious lord, Henry your foe is taken, And brought your prisoner to your palace gate. K. Ed. See, that he be convey'd unto the

Tower:

And go we, brothers, to the man that took him, To question of his apprehension.

Widow, go you along ;-Lords, use her honourable.

[Exeunt King Edward, Lady Grey, Clarence, and Lord. Glo. Ay, Edward will use women honourably.

K. Edn. Why, then thou shalt not have thy hus-Would he were wasted, marrow, bones, and all, band's lands.

That from his loins no hopeful branch may spring,
To cross me from the golden time I look for!
And yet, between my soul's desire, and me,
(The lustful Edward's title buried,)

Is Clarence, Henry, and his son young Edward,
And all the unlook'd-for issue of their bodies,
To take their rooms, ere I can place myself:
A cold premeditation for my purpose!
Why, then I do but dream on sovereignty;
Like one that stands upon a promontory,
And spies a far-off shore where he would tread,
Wishing his foot were equal with his eye;
And chides the sea that sunders him from thence,
Saying-he'll lade it dry to have his way:
So do I wish the crown, being so far off;
And so I chide the means that keep me from it;
And so I say-I'll cut the causes off,
Flattering me with impossibilities.-

My eye's too quick, my heart o'erweens too much,
Unless my hand and strength could equal them.
Well, say there is no kingdom then for Richard;
What other pleasure can the world afford?
I'll make my heaven in a lady's lap,
And deck my body in gay ornaments,
And witch sweet ladies with my words and looks.
O miserable thought! and niore unlikely,
Than to accomplish twenty golden crowns!
Why, love forswore me in my mother's womb :
And, for I should not deal in her soft laws,
She did corrupt frail nature with some bribe
To shrink mine arm up like a wither'd shrub ;
To make an envious mountain on my back,
Where sits deformity to mock my body;
To shape my legs of an unequal size;
To disproportion me in every part,

Like to a chaos, or an unlick'd bear-whelp,
That carries no impression like the dam.
And am I then a man to be belov'd?

O, monstrous fault, to harbour such a thought!
Then, since this earth affords no joy to me,
But to command, to check, to o'erbear such
As are of better person than myself,

I'll make my heaven-to dream upon the crown;
And, whiles I live, to account this world but hell,
Until my mis-shap'd trunk that bears this head,
Be round impaled with a glorious crown.
And yet I know not how to get the crown,
For many lives stand between me and home;
And I,-like one lost in a thorny wood,

That rents the thorns, and is rent with the thorns;
Seeking a way, and straying from the way:
Not knowing how to find the open air,
But toiling desperately to find it out,-
Torment myself to catch the English crown:
And from that torment I will free myself,
Or hew my way out with a bloody axe.
Why, I can smile, and murder while I smile :
And cry, content, to that which grieves my heart;
And wet my cheeks with artificial tears,
And frame my face to all occasions.

K. Lew. Whate'er it be, be thou still like thyself,
And sit thee by our side: yield not thy neck
[Seats her by him.
To fortune's yoke, but let thy dauntless mind
Still ride in triumph over all mischance.
Be plain, queen Margaret, and tell thy grief;
It shall be eas'd, if France can yield relief.

Q. Mar. Those gracious words revive my droop-
ing thoughts,

And give my tongue-tied sorrows leave to speak.
Now, therefore, be it known to noble Lewis,-
That Henry, sole possessor of my love,
Is, of a king, become a banish'd man,
And forc'd to live in Scotland a forlorn;
While proud ambitious Edward, duke of York,
Usurps the regal title, and the seat

Of England's true-anointed lawful king.
This is the cause, that I, poor Margaret,-
With this my son, prince Edward, Henry's heir,-
Am come to crave thy just and lawful aid;
And, if thou fail us, all our hope is done :
Scotland hath will to help, but cannot help;
Our people and our peers are both misled,
Our treasure seiz'd, our soldiers put to flight,
And, as thou see'st, ourselves in heavy plight,
K. Len. Renowned queen, with patience calm

the storm,

While we bethink a means to break it off.

Q. Mar. The more we stay, the stronger grows our foe.

K. Lew. The more I stay, the more I'll succour

thee.

Q. Mar. O, but impatience waiteth on true sor

row :

And see, where comes the breeder of my sorrow.

Enter Warwick, attended.

K. Lew. What's he, approacheth boldly to our presence ?

Q. Mar. Our earl of Warwick, Edward's greatest friend.

K. Lew. Welcome, brave Warwick! What brings thee to France ?

[Descending from his state. Queen
Margaret rises.

Q. Mar. Ay, now begins a second storm to rise;
For this is he, that moves both wind and tide.
War. From worthy Edward, king of Albion,
My lord and sovereign, and thy vowed friend.
I come, in kindness and unfeigned love,-
First, to do greetings to thy royal person;
And, then, to crave a league of amity :
And, lastly, to confirm that amity
With nuptial knot, if thou vouchsafe to grant
That virtuous lady Bona, thy fair sister,
To England's king in lawful marriage.

I'll drown more sailors than the mermaid shall;
I'll slay more gazers than the basilisk;
I'll play the orator as well as Nestor,
Deceive more slily than Ulysses could,
And, like a Sinon, take another Troy :
I can add colours to the cameleon;
Change shapes, with Proteus, for advantages,
And set the murd'rous Machiavel to school.
Can I do this, and cannot get a crown?
Tut! were it further off, I'll pluck it down. [Exit.
SCENE III.-France. A Room in the Palace. Q. Mar. If that go forward, Henry's hope is done.
War. And, gracious madam, [to Bona.] in our
I lourish. Enter Lewis the French King, and Lady
Bona, attended; the King takes his state. Then I am commanded, with your leave and favour,
king's behalf,
enter Queen Margaret, Prince Edward her son,

and the Earl of Oxford.

K. Lew. Fair queen of England, worthy Mar-
garet,
[Rising.

Sit down with us; it ill befits thy state,
And birth, that thou should'st stand, while Lewis
doth sit.

Q. Mar. No, mighty king of France; now Mar-
garet

Must strike her sail, and learn awhile to serve,
Where kings command. I was, I must confess,

Humbly to kiss your hand, and with my tongue
To tell the passion of my sovereign's heart;
Where fame, late entering at his heedful ears,
Hath plac'd thy beauty's image, and thy virtue.
Q. Mar. King Lewis,-and lady Bona, hear me

speak,

Before you answer Warwick. His demand
Springs not from Edward's well-meant honest love,
But from deceit, bred by necessity;
For how can tyrants safely govern home,
Unless abroad they purchase great alliance ?

To prove him tyrant, this reason may suffice,-
That Henry liveth still: but were he dead,
Yet here prince Edward stands, king Henry's son.
Look therefore, Lewis, that by this league and
marriage

Thou draw not on thy danger and dishonour..
For though usurpers sway the rule a while,
Yet heavens are just, and time suppresseth wrongs.
War. Injurious Margaret!
Prince.

And why not queen ?
War. Because thy father Henry did usurp;
And thou no more art prince, than she is queen.
Orf. Then Warwick disannuls great John

Gaunt,

Which did subdue the greatest part of Spain; And, after John of Gaunt, Henry the Fourth, Whose wisdom was a mirror to the wisest ; And, after that wise prince, Henry the Fifth, Who by his prowess conquered all France: From these our Henry lineally descends.

War. Oxford, how haps it, in this smooth discourse,

You told not, how Henry the Sixth hath lost
All that which Henry the Fifth had gotten?

Draw near, queen Margaret, and be a witness,” ** »
That Bona shall be wife to the English king.
Prince. To Edward, but not to the English king.
Q. Mar. Deceitful Warwick! it was thy device
By this alliance to make void my suit;
Before thy coming, Lewis was Henry's friend.
K. Lew. And still is friend to him and Mar-
garet:

But if your title to the crown be weak,-
As may appear by Edward's good success,-
Then 'tis but reason, that I be releas'd
From giving aid, which late I promised.
Yet shall you have all kindness at my hand,
That your estate requires, and mine can yield.
War. Henry now lives in Scotland, at his ease;
Where having nothing, nothing he can lose.
And as for you yourself, our quondam queen,→→
You have a father able to maintain you;

And better 'twere, you troubled him than France. Q. Mar. Peace, impudent and shameless Warwick, peace;

Proud setter-up and puller-down of kings!
I will not hence, till with my talk and tears,
Both full of truth, I make king Lewis behold

Methinks, these peers of France should smile at Thy sly conveyance, and thy lord's false love;

that.

But for the rest,-You tell a pedigree

Of threescore and two years; a silly time

To make prescription for a kingdom's worth.

Oxf. Why, Warwick, canst thou speak against thy liege,

Whom thou obey'dst thirty and six years,
And not bewray thy treason with a blush?
War. Can Oxford, that did ever fence the right,
Now buckler falsehood with a pedigree?
For shame, leave Henry, and call Edward king.

Orf. Call him my king, by whose injurious doom
My elder brother, the lord Aubrey Vere,
Was done to death? and more than so, my father,
Even in the downfall of his mellow'd years,
When nature brought him to the door of death?
No, Warwick, no; while life upholds this arm,
This arm upholds the house of Lancaster.
War. And I the house of York.

K. Lew. Queen Margaret, prince Edward, and
Oxford,

Vouchsafe, at our request, to stand aside,
While I use further conference with Warwick.
Q. Mar. Heaven grant, that Warwick's words
bewitch him not!

[Retiring with the Prince and Oxford. K. Lew. Now, Warwick, tell me, even upon thy conscience,

Is Edward your true king? for I were loath,
To link with him that were not lawful chosen.
War. Thereon I pawn my credit and mine ho-

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For both of you are birds of self-same feather. [A horn sounded within. K. Lew. Warwick, this is some post to us, or thee.

K. Lew. What! has your king married the lady
Grey?

And now, to sooth your forgery and his,
Sends me a paper to persuade me patience?
Is this the alliance that he seeks with France?
Dare he presume to scorn us in this manner?
Q. Mar. I told your majesty as much before:
This proveth Edward's love, and Warwick's ho-
nesty..

War. King Lewis, I here protest,-in sight of heaven,

And by the hope I have of heavenly bliss,-
That I am clear from this misdeed of Edward's;
No more my king, for he dishonours me;
But most himself, if he could see his shame.-
Did I forget, that by the house of York
My father came untimely to his death?
Did I let pass the abuse done to my niece?
Did I impale him with the regal crown?
Did I put Henry from his native right;
And am I guerdon'd at the last with shame?...
Shame on himself: for my desert is honour.
And to repair my honour lost for him,
I here renounce him, and return to Henry:
My noble queen, let former grudges pass,
And henceforth I am thy true servitor;
I will revenge his wrong to lady Bona,
And replant Henry in his former state.

Q. Mar. Warwick, these words have turn'd my

hate to love,

And I forgive and quite forget old faults,
And joy, that thou becom'st king Henry's friend.

ACT IV.

War. So much his friend, ay, his unfeigned friend,

That, if king Lewis vouchsafe to furnish us
With some few bands of chosen soldiers,
I'll undertake to land them on our coast,
And force the tyrant from his seat by war.
'Tis not his new-made bride shall succour him:
And as for Clarence,-as my letters tell me,
He's very likely now to fall from him;

For matching more for wanton lust than honour,
Or than for strength and safety of our country.
Bona. Dear brother, how shall Bona be reveng'd,
But by thy help to this distressed queen ?

Q. Mar. Renowned prince, how shall poor Henry live,

Unless thou rescue him from foul despair?
Bona. My quarrel and this English queen's are

one.

War. And mine, fair lady Bona, joins with yours.
K. Lew. And mine with hers, and thine, and
Margaret's.

Therefore, at last, I firmly am resolv'd,
You shall have aid.

Q. Mar. Let me give humble thanks for all at

once.

K. Lem. Then England's messenger, return in post;

And tell false Edward, thy supposed king,—
That Lewis of France is sending over maskers,
To revel it with him and his new bride:
Thou seest what's past, go fear thy king withal.
Bona. Tell him, In hope he'll prove a widower
shortly,

I'll wear the willow garland for his sake.

Q. Mar. Tell him, My mourning weeds are laid aside,

And I am ready to put armour on.

War. Tell him from me, That he hath done me 'wrong;

And therefore I'll uncrown him, ere't be long.
There's thy reward; be gone.
[Exit Mess.
K. Lew.
But, Warwick, thou,
And Oxford, with five thousand men,
Shall cross the seas, and bid false Edward battle:
And, as occasion serves, this noble queen
And prince shall follow with a fresh supply.
Yet, ere thou go, but answer me one doubt;-
What pledge have we of thy firm loyalty?

War. This shall assure my constant loyalty:-
That if our queen and this young prince agree,
I'll join mine eldest daughter and my joy,
To him forth with in holy wedlock bands.

you

Of this new marriage with the lady Grey?
Hath not our brother made a worthy choice!
Clar. Alas, you know, 'tis far from hence to
France;

How could he stay till Warwick made return? Som. My lords, for bear this talk; here comes the .king.

Flourish. Enter King Edward, attended; Lady Grey, as Queen; Pembroke, Stafford, Hastings, and others.

Glo. And his well-chosen bride.

Clar. I mind to tell him plainly what I think.
K. Edm. Now, brother of Clarence, how like you
our choice,

That you stand pensive, as half malcontent ?
Clar, As well as Lewis of France, or the earl of
Warwick;

Which are so weak of courage, and in judgment,
That they'll take no offence at our abuse.

K. Edw. Suppose they take offence without a

cause,

Tell me some reason, why the lady Grey
Should not become my wife, and England's queen
And you too, Somerset, and Montague,

Speak freely what you think.

Clar. Then this is my opinion, that king Lewis Becomes your enemy, for mocking him About the marriage of the lady Bona.

Q. Mar. Yes, I agree, and thank you for your Glo. And Warwick, doing what you gave in

motion :

Son Edward, she is fair and virtuous,

Therefore delay not, give thy hand to Warwick;
And, with thy hand, thy faith irrevocable,
That only Warwick's daughter shall be thine.
Prince. Yes, I accept her, for she well deserves
it

And here, to pledge my vow, I give my hand.
[He gives his hand to Warwick.
K.-Lew. Why stay we now? These soldiers shall
be levied,

And thou, lord Bourbon, our high admiral,
Shall waft them over with our royal fleet.
I long, till Edward fall by war's mischance,
For mocking marriage with a dame of France.
[Exeunt all but Warwick.
War. I came from Edward as embassador,
But I return his sworn and mortal foe:
Matter of marriage was the charge he gave me,
But dreadful war shall answer his demand.
Had he none else to make a stale, but me?
Then none but I shall turn his jest to sorrow.
I was the chief that rais'd him to the crown,
And I'll be chief to bring him down again:
Not that I pity Henry's misery,
But seek revenge on Edward's mockery..

Exit.

charge,

Is now dishonoured by this new marriage.

K. Edw. What, if both Lewis and Warwick be

appeas'd,

By such invention as I can devise?

Mont. Yet to have join'd with France in such

alliance,

Would more have strengthen'd this our commonwealth

'Gainst foreign storms, than any home-bred marriage.

Hast. Why, knows not Montague, that of itself England is safe, if true within itself?

Mont. Yes; but the safer, when it is back'd with France.