The Third Part Of King Henry The Sixth

1 Alarum. Enter Duke of York, Edward, Richard, Norfolk, Montague, Warwick
2 and Soldiers, all wearing the white rose.
3 WARWICK.
4 I wonder how the King escaped our hands.
5 YORK.
6 While we pursued the horsemen of the north,
7 He slyly stole away and left his men;
8 Whereat the great Lord of Northumberland,
9 Whose warlike ears could never brook retreat,
10 Cheered up the drooping army; and himself,
11 Lord Clifford, and Lord Stafford, all abreast,
12 Charged our main battle’s front, and breaking in,
13 Were by the swords of common soldiers slain.
14 EDWARD.
15 Lord Stafford’s father, Duke of Buckingham,
16 Is either slain or wounded dangerous;
17 I cleft his beaver with a downright blow.
18 That this is true, father, behold his blood.
19 [_Showing his bloody sword._]
20 MONTAGUE.
21 And, brother, here’s the Earl of Wiltshire’s blood,
22 [_To York, showing his._]
23 Whom I encountered as the battles joined.
24 RICHARD.
25 Speak thou for me, and tell them what I did.
26 [_Throwing down the Duke of Somerset’s head._]
27 YORK.
28 Richard hath best deserved of all my sons.
29 But is your Grace dead, my Lord of Somerset?
30 NORFOLK.
31 Such hope have all the line of John of Gaunt!
32 RICHARD.
33 Thus do I hope to shake King Henry’s head.
34 WARWICK.
35 And so do I. Victorious Prince of York,
36 Before I see thee seated in that throne
37 Which now the house of Lancaster usurps,
38 I vow by heaven these eyes shall never close.
39 This is the palace of the fearful king,
40 And this the regal seat. Possess it, York,
41 For this is thine, and not King Henry’s heirs’.
42 YORK.
43 Assist me, then, sweet Warwick, and I will;
44 For hither we have broken in by force.
45 NORFOLK.
46 We’ll all assist you; he that flies shall die.
47 YORK.
48 Thanks, gentle Norfolk. Stay by me, my lords;
49 And, soldiers, stay and lodge by me this night.
50 WARWICK.
51 And when the King comes, offer him no violence,
52 Unless he seek to thrust you out perforce.
53 [_They retire._]
54 YORK.
55 The Queen this day here holds her parliament,
56 But little thinks we shall be of her council.
57 By words or blows here let us win our right.
58 RICHARD.
59 Armed as we are, let’s stay within this house.
60 WARWICK.
61 The bloody parliament shall this be called,
62 Unless Plantagenet, Duke of York, be king,
63 And bashful Henry deposed, whose cowardice
64 Hath made us bywords to our enemies.
65 YORK.
66 Then leave me not, my lords; be resolute.
67 I mean to take possession of my right.
68 WARWICK.
69 Neither the King, nor he that loves him best,
70 The proudest he that holds up Lancaster,
71 Dares stir a wing if Warwick shake his bells.
72 I’ll plant Plantagenet, root him up who dares.
73 Resolve thee, Richard; claim the English crown.
74 [_Warwick leads York to the throne, who seats himself._]
75 Flourish. Enter King Henry, Clifford, Northumberland, Westmoreland,
76 Exeter and the rest, all wearing the red rose.
77 KING HENRY.
78 My lords, look where the sturdy rebel sits,
79 Even in the chair of state! Belike he means,
80 Backed by the power of Warwick, that false peer,
81 To aspire unto the crown and reign as king.
82 Earl of Northumberland, he slew thy father,
83 And thine, Lord Clifford; and you both have vowed revenge
84 On him, his sons, his favourites, and his friends.
85 NORTHUMBERLAND.
86 If I be not, heavens be revenged on me!
87 CLIFFORD.
88 The hope thereof makes Clifford mourn in steel.
89 WESTMORELAND.
90 What, shall we suffer this? Let’s pluck him down.
91 My heart for anger burns. I cannot brook it.
92 KING HENRY.
93 Be patient, gentle Earl of Westmoreland.
94 CLIFFORD.
95 Patience is for poltroons, such as he.
96 He durst not sit there had your father lived.
97 My gracious lord, here in the parliament
98 Let us assail the family of York.
99 NORTHUMBERLAND.
100 Well hast thou spoken, cousin. Be it so.
101 KING HENRY.
102 Ah, know you not the city favours them,
103 And they have troops of soldiers at their beck?
104 EXETER.
105 But when the Duke is slain, they’ll quickly fly.
106 KING HENRY.
107 Far be the thought of this from Henry’s heart,
108 To make a shambles of the Parliament House!
109 Cousin of Exeter, frowns, words, and threats
110 Shall be the war that Henry means to use.
111 [_They advance to the Duke._]
112 Thou factious Duke of York, descend my throne,
113 And kneel for grace and mercy at my feet;
114 I am thy sovereign.
115 YORK.
116 I am thine.
117 EXETER.
118 For shame, come down. He made thee Duke of York.
119 YORK.
120 ’Twas my inheritance, as the earldom was.
121 EXETER.
122 Thy father was a traitor to the crown.
123 WARWICK.
124 Exeter, thou art a traitor to the crown
125 In following this usurping Henry.
126 CLIFFORD.
127 Whom should he follow but his natural king?
128 WARWICK.
129 True, Clifford, that’s Richard, Duke of York.
130 KING HENRY.
131 And shall I stand, and thou sit in my throne?
132 YORK.
133 It must and shall be so. Content thyself.
134 WARWICK.
135 Be Duke of Lancaster. Let him be king.
136 WESTMORELAND.
137 He is both King and Duke of Lancaster;
138 And that the Lord of Westmoreland shall maintain.
139 WARWICK.
140 And Warwick shall disprove it. You forget
141 That we are those which chased you from the field
142 And slew your fathers, and with colours spread
143 Marched through the city to the palace gates.
144 NORTHUMBERLAND.
145 Yes, Warwick, I remember it to my grief;
146 And, by his soul, thou and thy house shall rue it.
147 WESTMORELAND.
148 Plantagenet, of thee and these thy sons,
149 Thy kinsmen, and thy friends, I’ll have more lives
150 Than drops of blood were in my father’s veins.
151 CLIFFORD.
152 Urge it no more; lest that, instead of words,
153 I send thee, Warwick, such a messenger
154 As shall revenge his death before I stir.
155 WARWICK.
156 Poor Clifford, how I scorn his worthless threats!
157 YORK.
158 Will you we show our title to the crown?
159 If not, our swords shall plead it in the field.
160 KING HENRY.
161 What title hast thou, traitor, to the crown?
162 Thy father was, as thou art, Duke of York;
163 Thy grandfather, Roger Mortimer, Earl of March.
164 I am the son of Henry the Fifth,
165 Who made the Dauphin and the French to stoop,
166 And seized upon their towns and provinces.
167 WARWICK.
168 Talk not of France, sith thou hast lost it all.
169 KING HENRY.
170 The Lord Protector lost it, and not I.
171 When I was crowned I was but nine months old.
172 RICHARD.
173 You are old enough now, and yet, methinks, you lose.
174 Father, tear the crown from the usurper’s head.
175 EDWARD.
176 Sweet father, do so; set it on your head.
177 MONTAGUE.
178 Good brother, as thou lov’st and honourest arms,
179 Let’s fight it out and not stand cavilling thus.
180 RICHARD.
181 Sound drums and trumpets, and the King will fly.
182 YORK.
183 Sons, peace!
184 KING HENRY.
185 Peace thou, and give King Henry leave to speak.
186 WARWICK.
187 Plantagenet shall speak first. Hear him, lords,
188 And be you silent and attentive too,
189 For he that interrupts him shall not live.
190 KING HENRY.
191 Think’st thou that I will leave my kingly throne,
192 Wherein my grandsire and my father sat?
193 No. First shall war unpeople this my realm;
194 Ay, and their colours, often borne in France,
195 And now in England, to our heart’s great sorrow,
196 Shall be my winding-sheet. Why faint you, lords?
197 My title’s good, and better far than his.
198 WARWICK.
199 Prove it, Henry, and thou shalt be king.
200 KING HENRY.
201 Henry the Fourth by conquest got the crown.
202 YORK.
203 ’Twas by rebellion against his king.
204 KING HENRY.
205 [_Aside_.] I know not what to say; my title’s weak.
206 Tell me, may not a king adopt an heir?
207 YORK.
208 What then?
209 KING HENRY.
210 An if he may, then am I lawful king;
211 For Richard, in the view of many lords,
212 Resigned the crown to Henry the Fourth,
213 Whose heir my father was, and I am his.
214 YORK.
215 He rose against him, being his sovereign,
216 And made him to resign his crown perforce.
217 WARWICK.
218 Suppose, my lords, he did it unconstrained,
219 Think you ’twere prejudicial to his crown?
220 EXETER.
221 No, for he could not so resign his crown
222 But that the next heir should succeed and reign.
223 KING HENRY.
224 Art thou against us, Duke of Exeter?
225 EXETER.
226 His is the right, and therefore pardon me.
227 YORK.
228 Why whisper you, my lords, and answer not?
229 EXETER.
230 My conscience tells me he is lawful king.
231 KING HENRY.
232 [_Aside_.] All will revolt from me and turn to him.
233 NORTHUMBERLAND.
234 Plantagenet, for all the claim thou lay’st,
235 Think not that Henry shall be so deposed.
236 WARWICK.
237 Deposed he shall be, in despite of all.
238 NORTHUMBERLAND.
239 Thou art deceived. ’Tis not thy southern power,
240 Of Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk, nor of Kent,
241 Which makes thee thus presumptuous and proud,
242 Can set the Duke up in despite of me.
243 CLIFFORD.
244 King Henry, be thy title right or wrong,
245 Lord Clifford vows to fight in thy defence.
246 May that ground gape and swallow me alive,
247 Where I shall kneel to him that slew my father!
248 KING HENRY.
249 O Clifford, how thy words revive my heart!
250 YORK.
251 Henry of Lancaster, resign thy crown.
252 What mutter you, or what conspire you, lords?
253 WARWICK.
254 Do right unto this princely Duke of York,
255 Or I will fill the house with armed men,
256 And over the chair of state where now he sits,
257 Write up his title with usurping blood.
258 [_He stamps with his foot, and the Soldiers show themselves._]
259 KING HENRY.
260 My Lord of Warwick, hear but one word:
261 Let me for this my lifetime reign as king.
262 YORK.
263 Confirm the crown to me, and to mine heirs,
264 And thou shalt reign in quiet while thou liv’st.
265 KING HENRY.
266 I am content. Richard Plantagenet,
267 Enjoy the kingdom after my decease.
268 CLIFFORD.
269 What wrong is this unto the Prince your son!
270 WARWICK.
271 What good is this to England and himself!
272 WESTMORELAND.
273 Base, fearful, and despairing Henry!
274 CLIFFORD.
275 How hast thou injured both thyself and us!
276 WESTMORELAND.
277 I cannot stay to hear these articles.
278 NORTHUMBERLAND.
279 Nor I.
280 CLIFFORD.
281 Come, cousin, let us tell the Queen these news.
282 WESTMORELAND.
283 Farewell, faint-hearted and degenerate king,
284 In whose cold blood no spark of honour bides.
285 NORTHUMBERLAND.
286 Be thou a prey unto the house of York,
287 And die in bands for this unmanly deed!
288 CLIFFORD.
289 In dreadful war mayst thou be overcome,
290 Or live in peace abandoned and despised!
291 [_Exeunt Westmoreland, Northumberland and Clifford._]
292 WARWICK.
293 Turn this way, Henry, and regard them not.
294 EXETER.
295 They seek revenge, and therefore will not yield.
296 KING HENRY.
297 Ah, Exeter!
298 WARWICK.
299 Why should you sigh, my lord?
300 KING HENRY.
301 Not for myself, Lord Warwick, but my son,
302 Whom I unnaturally shall disinherit.
303 But be it as it may, [_To York._] I here entail
304 The crown to thee and to thine heirs for ever;
305 Conditionally, that here thou take an oath
306 To cease this civil war, and whilst I live,
307 To honour me as thy king and sovereign,
308 And neither by treason nor hostility
309 To seek to put me down and reign thyself.
310 YORK.
311 This oath I willingly take and will perform.
312 [_Coming from the throne._]
313 WARWICK.
314 Long live King Henry! Plantagenet, embrace him.
315 KING HENRY.
316 And long live thou, and these thy forward sons!
317 YORK.
318 Now York and Lancaster are reconciled.
319 EXETER.
320 Accursed be he that seeks to make them foes!
321 Sennet. Here they come down.
322 YORK.
323 Farewell, my gracious lord. I’ll to my castle.
324 WARWICK.
325 And I’ll keep London with my soldiers.
326 NORFOLK.
327 And I to Norfolk with my followers.
328 MONTAGUE.
329 And I unto the sea from whence I came.
330 [_Exeunt York and his Sons, Warwick, Norfolk, Montague and their
331 Soldiers._]
332 KING HENRY.
333 And I with grief and sorrow to the court.
334 Enter Queen Margaret and the Prince of Wales.
335 EXETER.
336 Here comes the Queen, whose looks bewray her anger.
337 I’ll steal away.
338 KING HENRY.
339 Exeter, so will I.
340 [_Going._]
341 QUEEN MARGARET.
342 Nay, go not from me; I will follow thee.
343 KING HENRY.
344 Be patient, gentle Queen, and I will stay.
345 QUEEN MARGARET.
346 Who can be patient in such extremes?
347 Ah, wretched man, would I had died a maid,
348 And never seen thee, never borne thee son,
349 Seeing thou hast proved so unnatural a father.
350 Hath he deserved to lose his birthright thus?
351 Hadst thou but loved him half so well as I,
352 Or felt that pain which I did for him once,
353 Or nourished him as I did with my blood,
354 Thou wouldst have left thy dearest heart-blood there,
355 Rather than have made that savage duke thine heir
356 And disinherited thine only son.
357 PRINCE EDWARD.
358 Father, you cannot disinherit me.
359 If you be king, why should not I succeed?
360 KING HENRY.
361 Pardon me, Margaret; pardon me, sweet son.
362 The Earl of Warwick and the Duke enforced me.
363 QUEEN MARGARET.
364 Enforced thee! Art thou King, and wilt be forced?
365 I shame to hear thee speak. Ah, timorous wretch,
366 Thou hast undone thyself, thy son, and me,
367 And given unto the house of York such head
368 As thou shalt reign but by their sufferance.
369 To entail him and his heirs unto the crown,
370 What is it but to make thy sepulchre
371 And creep into it far before thy time?
372 Warwick is Chancellor and the lord of Calais;
373 Stern Falconbridge commands the narrow seas;
374 The Duke is made Protector of the realm;
375 And yet shalt thou be safe? Such safety finds
376 The trembling lamb environed with wolves.
377 Had I been there, which am a silly woman,
378 The soldiers should have tossed me on their pikes
379 Before I would have granted to that act.
380 But thou prefer’st thy life before thine honour.
381 And seeing thou dost, I here divorce myself
382 Both from thy table, Henry, and thy bed,
383 Until that act of parliament be repealed
384 Whereby my son is disinherited.
385 The northern lords that have forsworn thy colours
386 Will follow mine if once they see them spread;
387 And spread they shall be, to thy foul disgrace
388 And utter ruin of the house of York.
389 Thus do I leave thee. Come, son, let’s away:
390 Our army is ready; come, we’ll after them.
391 KING HENRY.
392 Stay, gentle Margaret, and hear me speak.
393 QUEEN MARGARET.
394 Thou hast spoke too much already. Get thee gone.
395 KING HENRY.
396 Gentle son Edward, thou wilt stay with me?
397 QUEEN MARGARET.
398 Ay, to be murdered by his enemies.
399 PRINCE EDWARD.
400 When I return with victory from the field
401 I’ll see your Grace. Till then I’ll follow her.
402 QUEEN MARGARET.
403 Come, son, away; we may not linger thus.
404 [_Exeunt Queen Margaret and the Prince._]
405 KING HENRY.
406 Poor queen! How love to me and to her son
407 Hath made her break out into terms of rage!
408 Revenged may she be on that hateful Duke,
409 Whose haughty spirit, winged with desire,
410 Will cost my crown, and like an empty eagle
411 Tire on the flesh of me and of my son.
412 The loss of those three lords torments my heart.
413 I’ll write unto them and entreat them fair.
414 Come, cousin, you shall be the messenger.
415 EXETER.
416 And I, I hope, shall reconcile them all.
417 [_Flourish. Exeunt._]