Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB
[blocks in formation]
[blocks in formation]

I saw not better sport these seven years' day:
Yet, by your leave, the wind was very high;
And, ten to one, old Joan had not gone out.
K.Henry. But what a point,my lord, your falcon
made, /

And what a pitch she flew above the rest!--
To see how God in all his creatures works!
Yea, man and birds are fain ' of climbing high.
Suf. No marvel, an it like your majesty,
My lord protector's hawks do tower so well;
They know, their master loves to be aloit,
And bears his thoughts above his falcon's pitch.
Glo. My lord, 'tis but a base ignoble mind
That mounts no higher than a bird can soar.
Car. I thought as much; he'd be above the

clouds.

25

30

Suf. No malice, sir; no more than well becomes So good a quarrel, and so bad a peer. Glo. As who, my lord?

Suf. Why, as yourself, my lord;

An't like your lordly lord-protectorship. [lence. Glo. Why, Suffolk, England knows thine inso2. Mar. And thy ambition, Gioster.

K. Henry. I pr'ythee, peace, good queen; And whet not on these too too furious peers, For blessed are the peace-makers on earth.

Car. Let me be blessed for the peace I make,
Against this proud protector, with my sword!
Glo. Faith, holy uncle, 'would 'twere
come to that!

Cur. Marry, when thou dar'st.
Glo. Make upno factious numbers for
the matter,

40In thine own person answer thy abuse.
Car. Ay, where thou dar'st not peep:
an if thou dar'st,

[that? 45

Glo. Ay, my lord cardinal; Iow think you by Were it not good, your grace could fly to heaven? K. Henry. The treasury of everlasting joy!

Car. Thy heaven is on earth; thine eyes and thoughts

This evening, on the cast side of thegrove. K. Henry. How now, my lords?

Aside.

Car. Believe me, cousin Gloster, Had not your man put up the fowl so suddenly, We'd had more sport.-Come with thy two-hand sword. [Aside to Gloster.

Glo. True, uncle.

50 Are you advis'd?-the cast side of the grove? Cardinal, I am with you.

Beat' on a crown, the treasure of thy heart;
Pernicious protector, dangerous peer,
That smooth'st it so with king and commonweal!
Glo. What, cardinal, is your priesthood grown so
Tantane nimis cælestibus ira? [peremptory 55

Churchmen so hot? good uncle, hide such malice;
With such holiness can you do it?

1

[Aside.

K. Henry. Why, how now, uncle Gloster?
Glo. Talking of hawking; nothing else, my

lord.

[for this, Now,byGod's mother,priest, I'll shaveyourcrown Or all my fence' shall fail. [Aside.

Car. [aside] Medice, teipsum;

This is the falconer's term for hawking at water-fowl. The meaning, according to Dr. Johnson, is, that the wind being high, it was ten to one that the old hawk had flown quite away; a trick which hawks often play their masters in windy weather; while Dr. Percy says, that the passare signifies, that the wind was so high, it was ten to one that old Joan would not have taken her flight at the game. Utrum horum maxis, accipe. i. e. glad. To bait or beat (bathe) is a term in taconry, Fence is the art of defence.

Protector,

Protector, see to't well, protect yourself.

K. Henry. The winds grow high; so do your
stomachs, lords.

How irksome is this music to my heart!
When such strings jar, what hopes of harmony? 5
I pray, my lords, let me compound this strife.
Enter one, crying, Â miracle !

Glo. What means this noise?

Fellow, what miracle dost thou proclaim?
One. A miracle! a miracle!

10

Suf. Come to the king, and tell him what miracle.
One. Forsooth,ablindman at saintAlban's shrine,
Within this half-hour, hath receiv'd his sight;
A man, that ne'er saw in his life before. [souls
K.Henry. Now, God be prais'd! that to believing 15
Gives light in darkness, comfort in despair!
Enter the Mayor of Saint Albans, and his brethren,
bearing Simpcox between two in a chair, Simp-
cox's wife following.

Car. Here come the townsmen on procession, 20
To present your highness with the man.

K.Heary.Great is his comfort in this earthlyvale,
Though by his sight his sin be multiply'd. [king.

Glo. Stand by, my masters, bring him near the
His highness' pleasure is to talk with him. [stance, 25
K. Henry. Good fellow, tell us here the circum-
That we for thee may glorify the Lord.
What, hast thou been long blind, and now restor'd
Simp. Born blind, an't please your grace.
Wife. Ay, indeed was he.

Suf. What woman is this?

Wife. His wife, an't like your worship.
Glo. Had'st thou been his mother, thou could'st
have better told.

Simp. Yes, master, clear as day; I thank God,
and saint Alban.
[cloak of?
Glo. Say'st thou me so? What colour is this
Simp. Red, master; red as blood. [gown of?
Glo. Why, that's well said; what colour is my
Simp. Black, forsooth; coal-black, as jet.
K. Henry. Why then, thou know'st what co
lour jet is of?

Suf. And yet, I think, jet did he never see.
Glo. But cloaks, and gowns, before this day, a
many.

Wife. Never, before this day, in all his life.
Glo. Tell me, sirrah, what's my name?
Simp. Alas, master, I know not.
Glo. What's his name?

Simp. I know not.

Glo. Nor his?

Simp. No, indeed, master.
Glo. What's thine own name?

Simp. Saunder Simpcox, an if it please you,

master.

Glo.Then, Saunder, sit there, the lyingest knave
In Christendom. If thou hadst been born blind,
Thou might'st as well have known all our names,
as thus

To name the several colours we do wear.
Sight may distinguish colours; but suddenly
To nominate them all, it is impossible.
My lords, saint Alban here hath done a miracle;
30 Would ye not think that cunning to be great,
That could restore this cripple to his legs again?
Simp. O, master, that you could!
Glo. My masters of saint Alban's,
Have you not beadles in your town, and things
Call'd whips?

K. Henry. Where wert thou born? [grace. 35
Simp. At Berwick in the north, an't like your
K.Henry. Poor soul! God's goodness hath been
great to thee:

Let never day nor night unhallow'd pass,
But still remember what the Lord hath done.

40

Queen. Tell me, good fellow, cam'st thou here
Or of devotion, to this holy shrine? [by chance,
Simp. God knows, of pure devotion; being call'd
A hundred times, and oftener, in my sleep
By good saint Alban; who said,-Saunder, come; 45
Come, offer at my shrine, and I will help thee.
Wife. Most true, forsooth; and many time and oft
Myself have heard a voice to call him so.
Car. What, art thou lame?

Simp. Ay, God Almighty help me!
Suf. How cam'st thou so?

Simp. A fall off of a tree.

Wife. A plum-tree, master.

Glo. How long hast thou been blind?
Simp. O, born so, master.

Mayor. Yes, my lord, if it please your grace.
Glo. Then send for one presently.
Mayor.Sirrah,go fetch thebeadlehitherstraight.
[Exit Messenger.
Glo. Now fetch me a stool hither by-and-by.
Now, sirrah, if you mean to save yourself from
whipping, leap me over this stool, and run away.
Simp. Alas, master, I am not able to stand alone;
You
go about to torture me in vain.

Enter a Beadle, with whips.
Glo. Well, sir, we must have you find your legs.
Sirrah, beadle, whip him 'till he feap over that same

stool.

Bead. I will, my lord.-Come on, sirrah; off 50 with your doublet quickly.

55

Glo. What, and would'st climb a tree?
Simp. But that in all my life, when I was a youth.
Wife.Tootrue;andboughthisclimbingverydear.
Glo. Mass,thou lov'dst plums well, that would'st
[damsons, 60

venture so.

Simp. Alas, master, what shall I do? I am not able to stand.

[After the Beadle hath hit him once, he leaps over the stool, and runs away; and the people follow and cry, A Miracle! K. Henry. O God, seest thou this, and bear'st

so long?

Queen. It made me laugh, to see the villain run. Glo. Follow the knave; and take this drab away. Wife. Alas, sir, we did it for pure need. [town Glo. Let them be whipt through every market Until they come to Berwick, whence they came. [Exit Beadle, with the woman, &e. Car.DukcHumphrey has done a miracleto-day. Suf, True; made the lame to leap, and fly away. Pp2

Simp. Alas, good master, my wife desir'd some
And made me climb, with danger of my life.
Glo. A subtle knave! but yet it shall not serve.-
Let me see thine eyes:-wink now;-now open
In my opinion, yet thou see'st not well. [them:-65)

[ocr errors]

Glo. But you have done more miracles than I ;] You made, in a day, my lord, whole towns to fly. Enter Buckingham.

K. Henry. What tidings with our cousin Buck-
ingham?

Buck. Such as my heart doth tremble to unfold.
A sort of naughty persons, lewdly' bent,-
Under the countenance and confederacy
Of lady Eleanor, the protector's wife,
The ring-leader and head of all this rout,-
Have practis'd dangerously against your state,
Dealing with witches, and with conjurers:
Whom we have apprehended in the fact;
Raising up wicked spirits from under ground,
Demanding of king Henry's life and death,
And other of your highness' privy council,
As more at large your grace shali understand.

The first, Edward the Black Prince, prince of
Wales;

The second, William of Hatfield; and the third,
Lionel, duke of Clarence; next to whom
5 Was John of Gaunt, the duke of Lancaster:
The fifth was Edmund Langley, duke of York;
The sixth was Thomas of Woodstock, duke of
Gloster;

William of Windsor was the seventh, and last.
10 Edward, the Black Prince, dy'd before his father;
And left behind him Richard, his only son,
Who,after Edward the third's death, reign'd king;
Till Henry Bolingbroke, duke of Lancaster,
The eldest son and heir of John of Gaunt,
15 Crown'd by the name of Henry the fourth,
Seiz'd on the realm; depos'd the rightful king;
Sent his poor queen to France, from whence she

Car. And so, my lord protector, by this means Your lady is forth-coming yet at London2. Thisnews, I think, hath turn'd your weapon's edge; 20 'Tis like, my lord, you will not keep your hour. [Aside to Gloster.

Glo. Ambitious churchman, Ïeave to afflict my

heart!

Sorrow and grief have vanquish'd all my powers, 25
And, vanquish'd as I am, I yield to thee,
Or to the meanest groom.

[ed ones
K.Henry.O God, what mischiefs work the wick-
Heaping confusion on their own heads thereby!
Queen. Gloster, see here the tainture of thy nest; 30
And, lock, thyself be faultless, thou wert best.

Glo. Madam, for myself, to heaven I do appeal,
How I have lov'd my king, and common-weal:
And, for my wife, I know not how it stands;
Sorry I am to hear what I have heard:
Noble she is; but, if she have forgot
Honour and virtue, and convers'd with such
As, like to pitch, defile nobility,

I banish her my bed and company;
And give her, as a prey, to law, and shame,
That hath dishonour'd Gloster's honest name.
K. Henry. Well, for this night, we will repose
us here:

To-morrow, toward London, back again,
To look into this business thoroughly,
And call these foul offenders to their answers;
And poise the cause in justice' equal scales,
Whose beam stands sure, whose rightful cause
prevails.
[Flourish. Exeunt.

SCENE II.

The Duke of York's Garden.
Enter York, Salisbury, and Warwick.

York. Now, my good lords of Salisbury and
Warwick,

Our simple supper ended, give me leave,
In this close walk, to satisfy myself,
In craving your opinion of my title,
Which is intallible, to England's crown.

came,

And him to Pomfret; where, as both you know,
Harmless Richard was murder'd traitorously.

War. Father, the duke hath told the truth;
Thus got the house of Lancaster the crown.
York. Which now they hold by force, and not
by right;

For Richard, the first son's heir, being dead,
The issue of the next son should have reign'd.
Sal. But William of Hatfield died without an

heir.

[whose line
York. The third son, duke of Clarence, (from
I claim the crown)had issue-Philippe,a daughter,
Who married Edmund Mortimer, earl of March.
Edmund had issue-Roger, earl of March:
Roger had issue-Edmund, Anne, and Eleanor.

Sal. This Edmund, in the reign of Bolingbroke,
35 As I have read, laid claim unto the crown;
And, but for Owen Glendower, had been king,
Who kept him in captivity, 'till he dy'd.
But, to the rest.

York, His eldest sister, Anne,

40 My mother, being heir unto the crown,
Married Richard earl of Cambridge; who was son
To Edmund Langley, Edward the third's fifth son.
By her I claim the kingdom: She then was heir
To Roger, earl of March; who was the son
45 Of Edmund Mortimer; who married Philippe,
Sole daughter unto Lionel, duke of Clarence:
So, if the issue of the elder son
Succeed before the younger, I am king.

50

[this?

War. What plain proceeding is more plain than Henry doth claim the crown from John of Gaunt, The fourth son; York claimeth it from the third. "Till Lionel's issue fails, his should not reign:

It fails not yet; but flourishes in thee,

And in thy sons, fair slips of such a stock.

55 Then, father Salisbury, kneel we both together;
And, in this private plot, be we the first,
That shall salute our rightful sovereign
With honour of his birth-right to the crown.
Both. Longlive oursovereign Richard, England's

Sal. My lord, I long to hear it at full. [good,
War. Sweet York, begin: and if thy claim be60|
The Nevils are thy subjects to cominand.
York. Then thus:-

Edward the third, my lords, had seven sons:

1i. e. wickedly.

king!

[king York. We thank you, lords. But I am not your Till I be crown'd; and that my sword be stain'd With heart-blood of the house of Lancaster:

[blocks in formation]

And that's not suddenly to be perform'd;
But with advice, and silent secrecy.
Do you, as I do, in these dangerous days,
Wink at the duke of Suffolk's insolence,
At Beaufort's pride, at Soinerset's ambition,
At Buckingham, and all the crew of them,
Till they have snar'd the shepherd of the flock,
That virtuous prince, the good duke Humphrey;
'Tis that they seek; and they, in seeking that,
Shall find their deaths, if York can prophesy.
Sal. My lord, break we off; we know your
mind at full.
[wick
War. My heart assures me, that the earl of War-
Shall one day make the duke of York a king.
York. And, Nevil, this I do assure myself,-
Richard shall live to make the earl of Warwick
The greatest man in England, but the king.

[blocks in formation]

[Exeunt.

Sound Trumpets. Enter King Henry, Queen Mar-
garet, Gloster, York, Suffolk, and Salisbury; the
Dutchess, Mother Jourdain, Southwel, Hume,
and Bolingbroke, und. r guard.

K. Henry. Stand forth, dame Eleanor Cobham,
Gloster's wife:

[blocks in formation]

garet queen;

And Humphrey duke of Gloster scarce himself,
That bears so shrewd a maim; two pulls at once,-
15 His lady banish'd, and a limb lopp'd off.
This staff of honour raught:-There let it stand,
Where best it fits to be, in Henry's hand. [sprays;
Suf. Thus droops this lofty pine, and hangs his
Thus Eleanor's pride dies in her youngest days.
York. Lords, let him go'.-Pleaseityourmajesty,
This is the day appointed for the combat;
And ready are the appellant and defendant,
The armourer and his man, to enter the lists,
So please your highness to behold the fight. [fore
2. Mar. Ay, good my lord; for purposely there-
Left I the court, to see this quarrel try'd.

20

25

In sight of God, and us, your guilt is great;
Receive the sentence of the law, for sins
Such as by God's book are adjudg'd to death.-30
You four, from hence to prison back again;
[To the other prisoners.
From thence, unto the place of execution:
The witch in Smithfield shall be burnt to ashes,
And you three shall be strangled on the gallows.-35
You, madam, for you are more nobly born,
Despoiled of your honour in your life,
Shall, after three days open penance done,
Live in your country here, in banishment,
With Sir John Stanley, in the isle of Man.
Elean. Welcome is banishment, welcome were
my death.

[thee; Glo. Eleanor, the law, thou seest, hath judged I cannot justify whom the law condemns.

40

[Exeunt Eleanor, and the others, guarded. 45
Mine eyes are full of tears, iny heart of grief.
Ah, Humphrey, this dishonour in thine age
Will bring thy head with sorrow to the ground!-
I beseech your majesty, give me leave to go;
Sorrow would solace, and mine age would ease.
K. Henry. Stay, Humphrey duke of Gloster:
ere thou go,

Give up thy staff; Henry will to himself
Protector be; and God shall be my hope,
My stay, my guide, and lauthorn to my feet:
And go in peace, Humphrey; no less belov'd,
Than when thou wert protector to thy king.

2, Mar. I see no reason, why a king of years Should be to be protected like a child.

50

K. Henry. O' God's name, see the lists and all
things fit;

Herc let then end it, and God defend the right!
York. I never saw a fellow worse bested*,
Or more afraid to fight, than is the appellant,
The servant of this armourer, my lords.
Enter at one door the Armourer and his Neighbours,
drinking to him so much, that he is drunk; and he
enters with a drum before him, and his staff with
a sand-bag fastened to it; and at the other door
enters his Man, with a drum and a sand-bag, and
Prentices drinking to him.

1 Neigh. Here, neighbour Horner, I drink to you in a cup of sack; And, fear not, neighbour, you shall do well enough.

2 Neigh. And here, neighbour, here's a cup of charneco.

3 Neigh. And here's a pot of good double beer, neighbour: drink, and fear not your man. Arm. Let it come, i' faith, and I'll pledge you all; And a fig for Peter!

1 Pren. Here, Peter, I drink to thee; and be not afraid.

2 Pren. Be merry, Peter, and fear not thy master: fight for credit of the prentices.

Peter. I thank you all: drink, and pray for me, I pray you; for I think I have taken my last draught in this world. Here, Robin, an if I die, I 55 give thee my apron;-and, Will, thou shalt have my hammer; and here, Tom,take all the money that I have.-O Lord, bless me, I pray God! for I am never able to deal with my niaster, he hath learn'd so much fence already,

'That is, sorrow requires solace, and age requires ease. * Raught is the ancient preterite of the verb reach. 1i. e. let him pass out of your thoughts. 4 i. e. in a worse plight, perhaps worse betyd. As, according to the old laws of duels, knights were to fight with the lance and sword; so those of inferior rank fought with an ebon staff or battoon, to the farther end of which was fixed a bag cramm'd hard with sand. ⚫ A name for a sort of sweet wine, probably much in use in our author's time.

Pp3

Sal.

[blocks in formation]

5

Arm. Masters, I am come hither, as it were, upon my man's instigation, to prove him a knave, and myself an honest man: and touching the duke 10 of York, I will take my death, I never meant him any ill, nor the king, nor the queen; And therefore, Peter, have at thee with a downright blow, as Bevis of Southampton fell upon Ascapart'. York. Dispatch:-this knave's tongue begins to 15

double.

Sound, trumpets, alarum to the combatants.

[They fight, and Peter strikes him down. Arm. Hold, Peter, hold! I confess, I confess treason. [Dies. 20

York. Take away his weapon:-Fellow, thank God, and the good wine in thy master's way. Peter. O God! have I overcome mine enemy in this presence?

O Peter, thou hast prevailed in right!

[sight; 25

K. Henry, Go, take hence that traitor from our
For, by his death, we do perceive his guilt 2:
And God, in justice, hath reveal'd to us
The truth and innocence of this poor fellow,
Which he had thought to have murder'd wrong-30
fully.-

Come, fellow, follow us for thy reward. [Exeunt.
SCENE
The Street.

IV.

Enter Duke Humphrey, and his men, in mourning 35 cloaks,

Glo. Thus, sometimes, hath the brightest day a And, after summer, evermore succeeds [cloud; Barren winter, with his wrathful nipping cold : So cares and joys abound, as seasons fleet'.Sirs, what's o'clock?

Serv. Ten, my lord.

Now thou dost penance too. Look,how they gaze!
See, how the giddy multitude do point,
And nod their heads, and throw their eyes on thee!
Ah, Gloster, hide thee from their hateful looks;
And, in thy closet pent up, rue my shame,
And ban thine eneinies, both mine and thine.

Gla. Be patient, gentle Nell; forget this grief.
Elean. Ah, Gloster, teach me to forget myself;
For, whilst I think I am thy marry'd wife,
And thou a prince, protector of this land,
Methinks, I should not thus be led along,
Mail'd up in shame, with papers on my back;
And follow'd with a rabble, that rejoice
To see my tears, and hear my deep-fet groans.
The ruthless flint doth cut my tender feet;
And, when I start, the envious people laugh,
And bid me be advised how I tread.

Ah, Humphrey, can I bear this shameful yoke ?
Trow'st thou, that e'er I'll look upon the world;
Or count them happy, that enjoy the sun?
No; dark shall be my light, and night my day;
To think upon my pomp, shall be my hell.
Sometime I'll say, I am duke Humphrey's wife;
And he a prince, and ruler of the land:
Yet so he rul'd, and such a prince he was,
That he stood by, whilst I, his forlorn dutchess,
Was made a wonder, and a pointing-stock,
To every idle rascal follower.

But be thou mild, and blush not at my shame;
Nor stir at nothing, 'till the axe of death
Hang over thee, as, sure, it shortly will.
For Suffolk,-he that can do all in all
With her, that hateth thee, and hates us all,—
And York, and impious Beaufort, that false priest,
Have all lin❜d bushes to betray thy wings,
And, fly thou how thou canst, they'll tangle thee;
But fear not thou, until thy foot be snar'd,
Nor never seek prevention of thy faes.

Glo. Ah, Nell, forbear; thou aimest all awry;
40I must offend, before I be attainted:
And had I twenty times so many foes,
And each of them had twenty times their power,
All these could not procure me any scathe",
So long as I am loyal, true, and crimeless.
45 Would'st have me rescue thee from this reproach?
Why, yet thy scandal were not wip'd away,
But I in danger for the breach of law.
Thy greatest help is quiet, gentle Nell:
I pray thee, sort thy heart to patience;
50 These few-days' wonder will be quickly worn.
Enter a Herald.

Glo. Ten is the hour that was appointed me,
To watch the coming of my punish'd dutchess:
Uneath may she endure the flinty streets,
To tread them with her tender-feeling feet!
Sweet Nell, ill can thy noble mind abrook
The abject people, gazing on thy face,
With envious looks still laughing at thy shame;
That erst did follow thy proud chariot-wheels,
When thou didst ride in triumph thro' the streets.
But, soft! I think, she comes; and I'll prepare
My tear-stain'd eyes to see her miseries.
Enter the Dutchessina white sheet, her feet bare,and
a taper burning in her hand, with Sir John Stan-55
ley, a Sherif, and Officers.

[ocr errors]

Serv. So please your grace, we'll take her from
the sheriff.

Glo. No, stir not for your lives; let her pass by.
Elean.Come you,my lord, to seemy openshame:(60

Her. I summon your grace to his majesty's parliament, holden at Bury the first of this next month. Glo. And my consent ne'er ask'd herein before! This is close dealing.-Well, I will be there.

[Exit Herald. My Nell, I take my leave:-and, master sheriff, Let not her penance exceed the king's commission, Sher. An't please your grace, here my com

mission stays:

Ascapart-the giant of the story-was a name familiar to our ancestors. The figures of these combatants are still preserved on the gates of Southampton. According to the ancient usage of the duel, the vanquished person not only lost his life but his reputation, and his death was always regarded as a certain evidence of his guilt. To fleet is to change. Eath is the ancient word for ease. Uneath, therefore, implies uneasily or painfully. i. e. wrapped up in disgrace; alluding to the sheet of penance. Think st,

?Scathe is harm or mischief.

And

« AnteriorContinuar »