SCENE I.
The Palace.

Flourish of Trumpets: then Hautboys. Enter King
Henry, Duke Humphrey, Salisbury, Warwick,
and Beaufort, on the one side; the Queen, Suffolk,
York, Somerset, and Buckingham, on the other.
Suf. AS by your high imperial majesty

France,

VAUX, a Sea Captain, and WALTER WHIT
MORE, Pirates.

HUME and SOUTHWELL, two

A Herald.
Priests.
BOLINGBROKE, an Astrologer.

A Spirit, attending on Jordan the Witch.
THOMAS HORNER, an Armourer. PETER,
his Man.

Clerk of Chatham. Mayor of Saint Albans.
SIMPCOX, an Impostor.

Petitioners, Aldermen, a Beadle, Sheriff, and Officers, Citizens, with Faulconers, Guards, Messen

gers, and other Attendants.

The SCENE is laid very dispersedly in several Parts of England.

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, Calabar, Bretaigne, Alen

JACK CADE, BEVIS, MICHAEL, JOHN HOL
LAND, DICK the Butcher, SMITH the
Weaver, and several others, Rebels.

A C T

çon,

Seven earls, twelve barons, twenty reverend bi-
I have perform'd my task, and was espous'd:
And humbly now upon my bended knee,

MARGARET, Queen to King Henry VI.
Dame ELEANOR, Wife to the Duke of Gloster,
Mother JORDAN, a Witch.
Wife to Simpcox.

I. ·

In sight of England, and her lordly peers,
Deliver up my title in the queen

5

To your most gracious hand, 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, queenMar-
garet:

I can express no kinder sign of love,

10 Than this kind kiss-O Lord, that lends me life,
Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness!
For thou hast given me, in this beauteous face,
A world of earthly blessings to my soul,
sympathy of love unite our thoughts.
2. Mar. Great king of England, and my gra
cious lord;

If [shops,-15

The mutual conference that my mind hath had
By day, by night; waking, and in my dreams;

'This and the Third Part, (which were first written under the title of The Contention of York and Lancaster, printed in 1600, and afterwards greatly improved by the author) contain that troublesome period of this prince's reign, which took in the whole contention betwixt the houses of York and Lancaster; and under that title were these two plays first acted and published. The present scene opens with king Henry's marriage, which was in the twenty-third year of his reign; and closes with the first battle fought at St. Alban's, and won by the York faction, in the thirty-third year of his reign: so that it comprises the history and transactions of ten years. It is apparent that this play begins where the former ends, and continues the series of transactions of which it pre-supposes the First Part already known.

In

Did he so often lodge in open field,
In winter's cold, and suminer'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, and Salisbury, victorious Warwick,
Receiv'd deep scars in France and Normandy?
Or hath mine uncle Beaufort, and myself,
With all the learned council of the realm,
Study'd so long, sat in the council-house
Early and late, debating to and fro [awe?
How France and Frenchmen might be kept in
Or hath his highness in his infancy

15

Been crown'd in Paris, in despight of foes;
And shall these labours, and these honours, die?
Shall Henry's conquest, Bedford's vigilance,
Your deeds of war, and all our councils 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;
Reversing monuments of conquer'd France;
Undoing all, as all had never been! [course?
Car. Nephew, what means this passionate dis-
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:

30 Suffolk, the new-made duke that rules the roast,
Hath given the dutchies 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 who dy'd 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 hotblood,mine eyes notears,
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!

In courtly company, or at my beads,
With you mine alder-liefest 'sovereign,
Makes me the bolder to salute my king
With ruder terms; such as my wit affords,
And over-joy of heart doth minister.

[specch, 5
K.Henry. Her sight did ravish: but her grace in
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. 10
All. Long live queen Margaret, England's hap-
piness!

-

2. Mar. We thank you all.

[Flourish. Suf. My lord protector, so it please your grace, Here are the articles of contracted peace, Between our sovereignandthe FrenchkingCharles, For eighteen months concluded by consent.

44

"f

Glo. reads.] Imprimis, "It is agreed between "the French Charles, and William de la Poole,marquess of Suffolk, embassador for Hen-20 ry king of England, that the said Henry shall espouse the lady Margaret, daughter to Reignier "king of Naples, Sicilia, and Jerusalem; and " crown her queen of England, ere the thirtieth "of May next ensuing.'

""

""

125)

Item," That the dutchies of Anjou and of "Maine shall be released and delivered to the 'king her fa”

K. Henry. Uncle, how now?

Glo. Pardon me, gracious lord;

Some sudden quali hath struck me to the heart,
And dimm'd mine eyes, that I can read no further.

K.Henry.Uncle of Winchester, I pray, read on.
Win. Item, "It is further agreed between them,
"that the dutchies of Anjou and Maine shall be 35
"released and delivered to the king her father;
"and she sent over of the king of England's own
proper cost and charges, without having any
"dowry."
K.Henry.They please us well.-Lord marquess, 40
kneel down;
We here create thee the first duke of Suffolk,
And gird thee with the sword.-

66

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.-
Thanks, uncle Winchester, Gloster, York, and
Buckingham,

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,
Το
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?

45

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
50 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.

55

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
Before-
[France,
Car. My lord of Gloster, now ye grow too hot;
It was the pleasure of my lord the king.

'According to Warburton, alder-lievest is an old English word given to him to whom the speaker is supremely attached; lievest being the superlative of the comparative levar, rather, from lief; but Mr. Steevens asserts alder-liefest to be a corruption of the German word alder-liebste, beloved above all things; and adds, that the word is used by Chaucer. Meaning, this speech crowded with so many instances of aggravation.

Glo

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'.
Farewell, my lords; and say, when I am gore,
I prophesy'd-France will be lost ere long. [Exit.
Car. So, there goes our protector in a rage.
'Tis known to you, he is mine enemy:
Nay, more, an enemy unto you all;
And no great friend, I fear me, to the king.
Consider, lords-he is the next of blood,
And heir apparent to the English crown;
Had Henry got an empire by his marriage,
And all the wealthy kingdoms of the west,
There's reason he should be displeas'd at it.
Look to it, lords! let not his smoothing words
Bewitch your hearts; be wise, and circumspect.
What though the common people favour him,
Calling him-Humphrey, the good duke of Gloster;
Clapping their hands, and crying with loud voice-
Jesu maintain your royal excellence!
With-God preserve the good duke Humphrey!
I fear me, lords, for all this flattering gloss,
He will be found a dangerous protector.

Buck. Why should he then protect our sovereign,
He being of age to govern of himself?
Cousin of Somerset, join you with me,
And all together, with the duke of Suffolk,-
We'llquickly hoise duke Humphrey from his seat.

Car. This weighty business will not brook delay;
I'll to the duke of Suffolk presently. [Exit.
Som. Cousin of Buckingham, though Hum-
phrey's pride,

And greatness of his place, be grief to us,
Yet let us watch the haughty cardinal;
His insolence is more intolerable
Than all the princes in the land beside;
If Gloster be displac'd, he'll be protector.

Buck. Thou, or I, Somerset, will be protector,
Despight duke Humphrey, or the cardinal.
[Exeunt Buckingham and Somerset.
Sal. Pride went before, ambition follows him.
While these do labour for their own preferment, 45
Behoves it us to labour for the realm.
I never saw but Humphrey duke of Gloster
Did bear him like a noble gentleman.
Oft have I seen the haughty cardinal-
More like a soldier, than a man o' the church,
As stout, and proud, as he were lord of all,-
Swear like a ruffian, and demean himself
Unlike the ruler of a common weal.—
Warwick my son, the comfort of my age!
Thy deeds, thy plainness, and thy house-keeping,
Hath won the greatest favour of the commons,
Excepting none but good duke Humphrey.-
And, brother York, thy acts in Ireland,
In bringing them to civil discipline;
Thy late exploits done in the heart of France,
When thou wert regent for our sovereign, [ple:
Have made thee fear'd, and honour'd, of the peo-

! To bicker is to skirmish. 2 i. e. direct to.

10

Join we together, for the public good;
In what we can, to bridle and suppress
The pride of Suffolk, and the cardinal,
With Somerset's and Buckingham's ambition;
5 And, as we may, cherish duke Humphrey's deeds,
While they do tend the profit of the land.

War. So God help Warwick, as he loves the land,
And common profit of his country!

York. And so says York, for he hath

cause.

greatest Aside. Sal. Then let's make haste, and look unto the main.

War. Unto the main! Oh father, Maine is lost; That Maine, which by main force Warwick did win, 15 And would have kept, so long as breath did last : Main chance, father, you meant; but I meant Maine;

20

Which I will win from France, or else be slain.
[Exeunt Warwick and Salisbury.
York. Anjou and Maine are given to the French;
Paris is lost; the state of Normandy
Stands on a tickle 'point, now they are gone.
Suffolk concluded on the articles;

30

The peers agreed; and Henry was well pleas'd,
25 To change two dukedoms fora duke'sfairdaughter.
I cannot blame them all: What is't to them?
'Tis thine they give away, and not their own.
Pirates maymake cheappennyworthoftheirpillage,
And purchase friends, and give to courtezans,
Still revelling, like lords, 'till all be gone:
While as the silly owner of the goods
Weeps over them, and wrings his hapless hands,
And shakes his head, and trembling stands aloof,
While all is shar'd, and all is borne away;
35 Ready to starve, and dares not touch his own.

So York must sit, and fret, and bite his tongue,
While his own lands are bargain'd for, and sold.
Methinks, the realms of England, France, and Ire-
Bear that proportion to my flesh and blood, [land,
40As did the fatal brand Althea burnt

Unto the prince's heart of Calydon.

Anjou and Maine, both given unto the French!
Cold news for me; for I had hope of France,
Even as I have of fertile England's soil.

A day will come, when York shall claim his own;
And therefore I will take the Nevils' parts,
And make a shew of love to proud duke Hum-
phrey,

And, when I spy advantage, claim the crown,
50 For that's the golden mark I seek to hit :
Nor shall proud Lancaster usurp my right,
Nor hold the sceptre in his childish fist,
Nor wear the diadem upon his head,
Whose church-like humour fits not for a crown.
55 Then, York, be still a while, 'till time do serve:
Watch thou, and wake, when others be asleep,
To
pry into the secrets of the state;
Till Henry, surfeiting in joys of love, [queen,
With his new bride, and England's dear-bought
60 And Humphrey with the peers be fall'n at jars:
Then will I raise aloft the milk-white rose,
With whose sweet smell the air shall be perfum'd;

3 Tickle for ticklish. * i. e. Meleager.

And

And in my standard bear the arms of York,
To grapple with the house of Lancaster;
And, force perforce, I'll make him yield the crown,
Whose bookish rule hath pull'd fair England down.
[Exit York.

SCENE II.

The Duke of Gloster's House.

Enter Duke Humphrey and his wife Eleanor.
Elean. Why droops my lord, like over-ripen'd

corn,

Hanging the head at Ceres' plenteous load?
Why doth the great duke Humphreyknit hisbrows,
As frowning at the favours of the world?
Why are thine eyes fix'd to the sullen earth,
Gazing on that which seems to dim thy sight?
What see'st thou there? king Henry's diadem,
Inchas'd with all the honours of the world?
If so, gaze on, and grovel on thy face,
Until thy head be circled with the same.
Put forth thy hand, reach at the glorious gold:-
What, is't too short? I'll lengthen it with mine:
And, having both together heav'd it up,
We'll both together lift our heads to heaven;
And never more abase our sight so low
As to vouchsafe one glance unto the ground.

Glo. O Nell, sweet Nell, if thou dost love thy
Banish the canker of ambitious thoughts: [lord,
And may that thought, when I imagine ill
Against my king and nephew, virtuous Henry,
Be my last breathing in this mortal world!
My troublous dream this night doth make me sad.
Elean. What dream'd my lord? tell me, and
I'll requite it
With sweet rehearsal of my morning's dream.
Glo. Methought, this staff, mine office-badge
in court,

Where Henry, and dame Margaret, kneel'd to me,
And on my head did set the diadem.

Elean. What, what, my lord! are you so choleric
With Eleanor, for telling but her dream?
Next time, I'll keep my dreams unto myself,
And not be check'd.

5

Glo. Nay, be not angry, I am pleas'd again.

Glo. Nay, Eleanor, then must I chide outright:
Presumptuous dame, ill-nurtur'd Eleanor!
Art thou not second woman in the realm;
And the protector's wife, belov'd of him?
Hast thou not worldly pleasure at command,
Above the reach or compass of thy thought?
And wilt thou still be hammering treachery,
To tumble down thy husband, and thyself,
From top of honour to disgrace's feet?
Away from me, and let me hear no more.

Whereas is the same as where.

Enter a Messenger.

1

10

Mes.Mylordprotector, 'tis his highness'pleasure,
You do prepare to ride unto Saint Albans,
Whereas the king and queen do mean to hawk.
Glo. I go.-Come, Nell, thou wilt ride with us?
Elean. Yes, my good lord, I'll follow presently.
[Exit Gloster.
Follow I must, I cannot
go before,
While Gloster bears this base and humble mind.
15 Were I a man, a duke, and next of blood,

I would remove these tedious stumbling-blocks,
And smooth my way upon their headless necks:
And, being a woman, I will not be slack
To play my part in fortune's pageant.
20 Where are you there? Sir John! nay, fear not,
We are alone; here's none but thee and I.

[man,

25

Was broke in twain; by whom, I have forgot,
But, as I think, it was by the cardinal;
And on the pieces of the broken wand
Were plac'd the heads of Edmund duke of Somer-
And William de la Poole first duke of Suffolk.
This was my dream; what it doth bode, God knows.

[set, 40

Elean. Tut, this was nothing but an argument,
That he, that breaks a stick of Gloster's grove, 45
Shall lose his head for his presumption.
But list to me, my Humphrey, my sweet duke:
Methought, I sat in seat of majesty,
In the cathedral church of Westminster,
And in that chair where kings and queens are
crown'd;

Enter Hume.

Hume. Jesu preserve your royal majesty!
Elean. My majesty! why, man, I am but grace.
Hume. But, by the grace of God, and Hume's
advice,

Your grace's title shall be multiply'd.
Elean. What say'st thou, man? hast thou as
yet conferr'd

30

With Margery Jourdain, the cunning witch;
And Roger Bolingbroke, the conjurer?
And will they undertake to do me good?
Hume. This they have promised,-to shew
your highness

35

A spirit rais'd from depth of under ground,
That shall make answer to such questions,
As by your grace shall be propounded him.
Elcan. It is enough; I'll think upon the
questions:

When from Saint Albans we do make return,
We'll see those things effected to the full.
Here,Hume, take this reward: make merry, man,
With thy confederates in this weighty cause.
[Exit Eleanor.
Hume. Hume must make merry with the
dutchess' gold;

Marry, and shall. But, how now, Sir John Hume? Seal up your lips, and give no words but-mum! 50 The business asketh silent secrecy.

Dame Eleanor gives gold, to bring the witch:
Gold cannot come amiss, were she a devil.
Yet have I gold flies from another coast:
I dare not say, from the rich cardinal,
55 And from the great and new-made duke of Suffolk;
Yet I do find it so: for, to be plain,

They, knowing dame Eleanor's aspiring humour,
Have hired me to undermine the dutchess,
And buz these conjurations in ber brain.
60 They say, A crafty knave does need no broker2;
Yet am I Suffolk's and the cardinal's broker.
Hume, if you take not heed, you shall go near
To call them both a pair of crafty knaves.

2 This is a proverbial expression.

Well

Well, so it stands: And thus, I fear, at last,
Hume's knavery will be the dutchess' wreck;
And her attainture will be Humphrey's fall:
Sort how it will, I shall have gold for all. [Exit.

¿

SCENE III.

An Apartment in the Palace.

Enter three or four Petitioners, Peter, the Armourer's Man, being one.

1 Pet. My masters, let's stand close; my lord protector will come this way by-and-by, and then we may deliver our supplications in the quill'. 2 Pet. Marry, the Lord protect him, for he's good man! Jesu bless him!

a

Enter Suffolk, and Queen.

1 Pet. Here a' comes, methinks, and the queen with him: I'll be the first, sure.

2 Pet. Come back, fool; this is the duke of Suffolk, and not my lord protector. Suf. How now, fellow? wouldst any thing 20 with me?

1 Pet. I pray, my lord, pardon me! I took ye for my lord protector.

2. Mar. For my lord protector! are your supplications to his lordship? Let me see them: 25 what is thine?

Away, base cullions!--Suffolk, let them go.

All. Come, let's be gone. [Exeunt Petitioners.
2. Mar. My lord of Suffolk, say, is this the guise,
Is this the fashion in the court of England?
5 Is this the govrenment of Britain's isle,
And this the royalty of Albion's king?
What, shall king Henry be a pupil still,
Under the surly Gloster's governance?
Am I a queen in title and in style,
10 And must be made a subject to a duke?
I tell thee, Poole, when in the city Tours
Thou ran'st a tilt in honour of my love,
And stol'st away the ladies' hearts of France;
I thought, king Henry had resembled thee,
15n courage, courtship, and proportion:
But all his mind is bent to holiness,
To number Ave-Maries on his beads:
His champions are--the prophets, and apostles;
His weapons, holy saws of sacred writ;
His study is his tilt-yard, and his loves
Are brazen images of canoniz'd saints.
I would, the college of the cardinals
Would chuse him pope, and carry him to Rome,
And set the triple crown upon his head;
That were a state fit for his holiness.

Suf. Madam, be patient: as I was cause
Your highness came to England, so will I
In England work your grace's full content.
2. Mar. Beside the haught protector, have we
Beaufort,
Theimperiouschurchman; Somerset, Buckingham,
And grumbling York: and not the least of these,
But can do more in England than the king.

Suf. And he of these, that can do most of all,
Cannot do more in England than the Nevils :
Salisbury and Warwick are no simple peers.

2. Mar. Not all these lords do vex me half so much,

As that proud dame, the lord protector's wife. 40 She sweeps it through the court with troops of ladies,

1 Pet. Mine is, an't please your grace, against John Goodman, my lord cardinal's man, for keeping my house, and lands, and wife and all, from me.

30

Suf. Thy wife too? that is some wrong, indeed. What's your's! what's here! [reads.] Against the duke of Suffolk for enclosing the commons of Melford.-How now, sir knave?

2 Pet. Alas, sir, I am but a poor petitioner of our whole township.

35

Peter. Against my master, Thomas Horner, for saying, That the duke of York was rightful heir to the crown.

2. Mar. What say'st thou? Did the duke of York say, he was rightful heir to the crown?

Peter. That my mistress was? No, forsooth: my master said, That he was; and that the king was an usurper.

Under the wings of our protector's grace,
Begin your suits anew, and sue to him.
[Tears the petitions.

Suf. Who is there?-Take this fellow in, and 45 send for his master with a apoursuivant presently:we'll hear more of your matter before the king. [Exit Peter guarded. 2. Mar. And as for you, that love to be protected

More like an empress, thandukeHumphrey's wife;
Strangers in court do take her for the queen:
She bears a duke's revenues on her back,
And in her heart she scorns our poverty:
Shall I not live to be aveng'd on her?
Contemptuous base-born callat as she is,
She vaunted 'mongst her minions t'other day,
The very train of her worst wearing-gown
50 Was better worth than all my father's lands,
Till Suffolk gave two dukedoms for his daughter.
Suf. Madam, myself have lim'd a bush for her;
And plac'd a quire of such enticing birds,

' i. e. happen. 2 Mr. Steevens thinks, that the phrase in the quill, or in quill, implies no more than our written or penn'd supplications. Mr. Tollet supposes it may mean, with great exactness and observance of form, or with the utmost punctilio of ceremony; that it seems to be taken from part of the dress of our ancestors, whose ruffs were quilled; and that while these were worn, it might be the vogue to say, such a thing is in the quill, i. e. in the reigning mode of taste, as it has been since customary to use the similar phrase of a thing being in print, to express the same circumstance of exactness. Another critic and commentator, however, conjectures, that this may be supposed to have been a phrase formerly in use, and the same with the French en quille, which is said of a man when he stands upright upon his feet without stirring from the place. The proper sense of quille in French is a nine-pin, and in some parts of England nine-pins are still called cayls. Quelle in the old British language also signifies any piece of wood set upright.

That