Which mates265 him first that first intends deceit.
QUEEN MARGARET Thrice-noble Suffolk, 'tis resolutely spoke.
SUFFOLK Not resolute, except267 so much were done:
For things are often spoke and seldom meant:
But that my heart accordeth269 with my tongue,
Seeing the deed is meritorious270,
And to preserve my sovereign from his foe,
Say but the word, and I will be his priest272.
CARDINAL But I would have him dead, my lord of Suffolk,
Ere you can take due orders for a priest274:
Say you consent and censure275 well the deed,
And I'll provide his executioner,
I tender so277 the safety of my liege.
SUFFOLK Here is my hand, the deed is worthy doing.
QUEEN MARGARET And so say I.
YORK And I: and now we three have spoke it,
It skills not greatly who impugns our doom281.
Enter a Post
POST Great lords, from Ireland am I come amain282
To signify283 that rebels there are up
And put the Englishmen unto the sword.
Send succours, lords, and stop the rage betime285,
Before the wound do grow uncurable:
For, being green287, there is great hope of help.
CARDINAL A breach288 that craves a quick expedient stop!
What counsel give you in this weighty cause289?
YORK That Somerset be sent as regent thither:
'Tis meet that lucky ruler be employed:291
Witness the fortune he hath had in France.
SOMERSET If York, with all his far-fet293 policy,
Had been the regent there instead of me,
He never would have stayed in France so long.
YORK No, not to lose it all, as thou hast done.
I rather would have lost my life betimes297
Than bring a burden of dishonour home
By staying there so long till all were lost.
Show me one scar charactered300 on thy skin:
Men's flesh301 preserved so whole do seldom win.
QUEEN MARGARET Nay, then, this spark will prove a raging fire
If wind and fuel be brought to feed it with:
No more, good York: sweet Somerset, be still:
Thy fortune, York, hadst thou been regent there,
Might happily306 have proved far worse than his.
YORK What, worse than naught? Nay, then a shame take all!
SOMERSET And, in the number308, thee that wishest shame.
CARDINAL My lord of York, try309 what your fortune is:
The uncivil kerns310 of Ireland are in arms
And temper clay311 with blood of Englishmen.
To Ireland will you lead a band of men,
Collected choicely313, from each county some,
And try your hap314 against the Irishmen?
YORK I will, my lord, so please his majesty.
SUFFOLK Why, our authority is his consent,
And what we do establish he confirms:
Then, noble York, take thou this task in hand.
YORK I am content: provide me soldiers, lords,
Whiles I take order320 for mine own affairs.
SUFFOLK A charge, Lord York, that I will see performed.
But now return we to the false Duke Humphrey.
CARDINAL No more of him: for I will deal with him
That henceforth he shall trouble us no more:
And so break off: the day is almost spent.
Lord Suffolk, you and I must talk of that event.
YORK My lord of Suffolk, within fourteen days
At Bristol I expect my soldiers,
For there I'll ship them all for Ireland.
SUFFOLK I'll see it truly done, my lord of York.
Exeunt [leaving] York
YORK Now, York, or never, steel thy fearful thoughts,
And change misdoubt332 to resolution:
Be that333 thou hop'st to be, or what thou art
Resign to death: it is not worth th'enjoying:
Let pale-faced fear keep with the mean-born335 man,
And find no harbour336 in a royal heart.
Faster than springtime showers comes thought on thought,
And not a thought but thinks on dignity338.
My brain, more busy than the labouring spider,
Weaves tedious340 snares to trap mine enemies.
Well, nobles, well: 'tis politicly341 done,
To send me packing with an host of men:
I fear me343 you but warm the starved snake,
Who, cherished in your breasts, will sting your hearts.344
'Twas men I lacked and you will give them me:
I take it kindly: yet be well assured
You put sharp weapons in a madman's hands.
Whiles I in Ireland nourish348 a mighty band,
I will stir up in England some black storm
Shall350 blow ten thousand souls to heaven or hell:
And this fell351 tempest shall not cease to rage
Until the golden circuit352 on my head,
Like to the glorious sun's transparent beams,
Do calm the fury of this mad-bred flaw354.
And for a minister of my intent355,
I have seduced a headstrong Kentishman,
John Cade of Ashford357,
To make commotion358, as full well he can,
Under the title of John Mortimer359.
In Ireland have I seen this stubborn Cade
Oppose himself against a troop of kerns,
And fought so long, till that his thighs with darts362
Were almost like a sharp-quilled porcupine:
And in the end, being rescued, I have seen
Him caper upright like a wild Morisco365,
Shaking the bloody darts as he his bells366.
Full often, like a shag-haired367 crafty kern,
Hath he conversed with the enemy,
And, undiscovered, come to me again
And given me notice370 of their villainies.
This devil here shall be my substitute:
For that John Mortimer, which now is dead372,
In face, in gait373, in speech, he doth resemble.
By this I shall perceive the commons'374 mind,
How they affect375 the house and claim of York.
Say he be taken, racked376 and tortured,
I know no pain they can inflict upon him
Will make him say I moved378 him to those arms.
Say that he thrive, as 'tis great like379 he will,
Why then from Ireland come I with my strength
And reap the harvest which that rascal381 sowed.
For Humphrey being dead, as he shall be,
And Henry put apart383, the next for me.
Exit
[Act 3 Scene 2]
running scene 10
Enter two or three [Murderers] running over the stage, from the murder of Duke Humphrey [Gloucester]
FIRST MURDERER Run to my lord of Suffolk: let him know
We have dispatched2 the duke, as he commanded.
SECOND MURDERER O, that it were to do3! What have we done?
Didst ever hear a man so penitent?
Enter Suffolk
FIRST MURDERER Here comes my lord.
SUFFOLK Now, sirs, have you dispatched this thing?
FIRST MURDERER Ay, my good lord, he's dead.
SUFFOLK Why, that's well said. Go, get you to my house:
I will reward you for this venturous9 deed:
The king and all the peers are here at hand.
Have you laid fair11 the bed? Is all things well,
According as I gave directions?
FIRST MURDERER 'Tis, my good lord.
SUFFOLK Away! Be gone.
Exeunt [Murderers]
Sound trumpets. Enter the King [Henry VI], the Queen [Margaret], Cardinal, Somerset, with At
tendants
KING HENRY VI Go call our uncle to our presence straight15:
Say we intend to try his grace today
If he be guilty, as 'tis published17.
SUFFOLK I'll call him presently, my noble lord.
Exit
KING HENRY VI Lords, take your places: and, I pray you all,
Proceed no straiter20 gainst our uncle Gloucester
Than from true evidence of good esteem21
He be approved in practice culpable22.
QUEEN MARGARET God forbid any malice should prevail,
That faultless may condemn a noble man24:
Pray God he may acquit him25 of suspicion!
KING HENRY VI I thank thee, Meg: these words content me much.
Enter Suffolk
How now? Why look'st thou pale? Why tremblest thou?
Where is our uncle? What's the matter, Suffolk?
SUFFOLK Dead in his bed, my lord: Gloucester is dead.
QUEEN MARGARET Marry, God forfend30!
CARDINAL God's secret judgement: I did dream tonight31
The duke was dumb and could not speak a word.
King [Henry VI] swoons
QUEEN MARGARET How fares my lord?-- Help, lords, the king is dead!
SOMERSET Rear up his body: wring34 him by the nose.
QUEEN MARGARET Run, go, help, help! O Henry, ope thine eyes!
SUFFOLK He doth revive again: madam, be patient.
KING HENRY VI O heavenly God!
QUEEN MARGARET How fares my gracious lord?
SUFFOLK Comfort, my sovereign: gracious Henry, comfort.
KING HENRY VI What, doth my lord of Suffolk comfort me?
Came he right now to sing a raven's note41,
Whose dismal tune bereft42 my vital powers:
And thinks he that the chirping of a wren,
By crying comfort from a hollow44 breast,
Can chase away the first-conceived45 sound?
Hide not thy poison with such sugared words:
Lay not thy hands on me: forbear I say,
Their touch affrights48 me as a serpent's sting.
Thou baleful49 messenger, out of my sight:
Upon thy eyeballs murderous tyranny
Sits in grim majesty, to fright the world.
Look not upon me, for thine eyes are wounding:
Yet do not go away: come, basilisk53,
And kill the innocent gazer with thy sight:
For in the shade of death I shall find joy:
In life, but double death, now Gloucester's dead.
QUEEN MARGARET Why do you rate57 my lord of Suffolk thus?
Although the duke was enemy to him,
Yet he most Christian-like laments his death:
And for myself, foe as he was to me,
Might liquid tears, or heart-offending61 groans,
Or blood-consuming sighs recall his life,
I would be blind with weeping, sick with groans,
Look pale as primrose with blood-drinking sighs,
And all to have the noble duke alive.
What know I how the world may deem66 of me?
For it is known we were but hollow67 friends:
It may be judged I made the duke away.
So shall my name with slander's tongue be wounded,
And princes' courts be filled with my reproach70:
This get I by his death: ay me, unhappy,
To be a queen, and crowned with infamy.
KING HENRY VI Ah, woe is me for Gloucester, wretched man!
QUEEN MARGARET Be woe74 for me, more wretched than he is.
What, dost thou turn away and hide thy face?
I am no loathsome leper: look on me.
What, art thou, like the adder, waxen77 deaf?
Be poisonous too and kill thy forlorn78 queen.
Is all thy comfort shut in Gloucester's tomb?
Why, then, Dame Margaret was ne'er thy joy.
Erect his statue and worship it,
And make my image but an ale-house sign.
Was I for this nigh83 wracked upon the sea
And twice by awkward wind from England's bank84
Drove back again unto my native clime85?
What boded this, but86 well forewarning wind
Did seem to say 'Seek not a scorpion's nest,
Nor set no footing on this unkind88 shore'?
What did I then, but cursed the gentle89 gusts
And he that loosed them forth90 their brazen caves,
And bid them blow towards England's blessed shore,
Or turn our stern upon a dreadful rock?
Yet Aeolus93 would not be a murderer,
But left that hateful office unto thee.
The pretty95 vaulting sea refused to drown me,
Knowing that thou wouldst have me drowned on shore
With tears as salt as sea, through thy unkindness.
The splitting rocks cowered in the sinking sands98,
And would not dash me with their ragged sides,
Because100 thy flinty heart, more hard than they,
Might in thy palace perish101 Margaret.
As far as I could ken102 thy chalky cliffs,
When from thy shore the tempest beat us back,
I stood upon the hatches104 in the storm,
And when the dusky sky began to rob
My earnest-gaping106 sight of thy land's view,
I took a costly jewel from my neck --
A heart it was, bound in with108 diamonds --
And threw it towards thy land. The sea received it,
And so I wished thy body might my heart:
And even with this, I lost fair England's view,
And bid mine eyes be packing with my heart112,
And called them blind and dusky spectacles,
For losing ken of Albion's wished114 coast.
How often have I tempted Suffolk's tongue,
The agent116 of thy foul inconstancy,
To sit and witch117 me as Ascanius did,
When he to madding118 Dido would unfold
His father's acts commenced in burning Troy.
Am I not witched like her? Or thou not false120 like him?
Ay me, I can no more121: die, Margaret,
For Henry weeps that thou dost live so long.
Noise within. Enter Warwick, [Salisbury] and many Commons
WARWICK It is reported, mighty sovereign,
That good Duke Humphrey traitorously is murdered
By Suffolk and the Cardinal Beaufort's means:
The commons, like an angry hive of bees
That want127 their leader, scatter up and down
And care not who they sting in his revenge128.
Myself have calmed their spleenful129 mutiny,
Until they hear the order130 of his death.
KING HENRY VI That he is dead, good Warwick, 'tis too true:
But how he died, God knows, not Henry:
Enter his chamber, view his breathless corpse,
And comment then upon134 his sudden death.
WARWICK That shall I do, my liege.-- Stay, Salisbury,
With the rude136 multitude till I return.
[Exeunt Warwick, Salisbury and Commons]
KING HENRY VI O, thou that judgest all things, stay137 my thoughts:
My thoughts, that labour to persuade my soul
Some violent hands were laid on Humphrey's life:
If my suspect140 be false, forgive me, God,
For judgement only doth belong to thee:
Fain would I go to chafe his paly142 lips
With twenty thousand kisses, and to drain
Upon his face an ocean of salt tears,
To tell my love unto his dumb deaf trunk145,
And with my fingers feel his hand unfeeling:
But all in vain are these mean obsequies147;.
Bed put forth
And to survey his dead and earthy image:
What were it but to make my
sorrow greater?
[Enter Warwick to reveal Gloucester's body in his bed]
WARWICK Come hither, gracious sovereign, view this body.
KING HENRY VI That is to see how deep my grave is made,
For with his soul fled all my worldly solace:
For seeing him, I see my life in death153.
WARWICK As surely as my soul intends to live
With that dread king155 that took our state upon him
To free us from his father's wrathful curse,
I do believe that violent hands were laid
Upon the life of this thrice-famed158 duke.
SUFFOLK A dreadful oath, sworn with a solemn tongue:
What instance160 gives Lord Warwick for his vow?
WARWICK See how the blood is settled161 in his face.
Oft have I seen a timely-parted ghost162,
Of ashy semblance, meagre163, pale and bloodless,
Being164 all descended to the labouring heart,
Who in the conflict that it holds with death,
Attracts the same for aidance166 gainst the enemy,
Which167 with the heart there cools, and ne'er returneth
To blush and beautify the cheek again.
But see, his face is black and full of blood:
His eyeballs further out than when he lived,
Staring full ghastly like a strangled man:
His hair upreared172, his nostrils stretched with struggling:
His hands abroad displayed173, as one that grasped
And tugged for life and was by strength subdued.
Look, on the sheets his hair, you see, is sticking.
His well-proportioned beard, made rough and rugged176,
Like to the summer's corn by tempest lodged177:
It cannot be but he was murdered here:
The least of all these signs were probable179.
SUFFOLK Why, Warwick, who should do the duke to death?
Myself and Beaufort had him in protection,
And we, I hope, sir, are no murderers.
WARWICK But both of you were vowed Duke Humphrey's foes,
And you, forsooth, had the good duke to keep184:
'Tis like you would not feast185 him like a friend,
And 'tis well seen186 he found an enemy.
QUEEN MARGARET Then you, belike187, suspect these noblemen
As guilty of Duke Humphrey's timeless188 death.