He never fail'd me; what have I deserv'd

To lose this good man's heart, or he his own?
Urs. The night doth waste, this passion ill becomes

Urswick, command straight Stanley to his chamber. 'Tis well we are i' th' Tower: set a guard on him. Clifford, to bed; you must lodge here to-night; We'll talk with you to-morrow. My sad soul Divines strange troubles.

Daw. [within.] Ho! the king, the king!

I must have entrance.

K. Hen. Dawbeney's voice; admit him. What new combustions huddle next, to keep Our eyes from rest ?-the news?

Enter DAWBENEY.

Daw. Ten thousand Cornish,

Grudging to pay your subsidies, have gather'd
A head; led by a blacksmith and a lawyer,
They make for London, and to them is join'd
Lord Audley as they march, their number daily
Increases; they are-

K. Hen. Rascals!-talk no more;

Such are not worthy of my thoughts to-night.
To bed-and if I cannot sleep,-I'll wake.-
When counsels fail, and there's in man no trust,
Even then, an arm from heaven fights for the just.
Exeunt

ACT II. SCENE L

Edinburgh.-The Presence-Chamber in the Palace." Enter above, the Countess of CRAWFORD, Lady KATHERINE, JANE, and other Ladies.

Countess. Come, ladies, here's a solemn preparation

For entertainment of this English prince;

The king intends grace more than ordinary; "Twere pity now, if he should prove a counterfeit. Kath. Bless the young man, our nation would be laugh'd at

For honest souls through Christendom! my father Hath a weak stomach to the business, madam, But that the king must not be cross'd.

Countess. He brings

A goodly troop, they say, of gallants with him:
But very modest people, for they strive not
To fame their names too much; their godfathers
May be beholding to them, but their fathers

Scarce owe them thanks: they are disguised princes,"
Brought up, it seems, to honest trades; no matter,
They will break forth in season.

Jane. Or break out:

For most of them are broken by report.

The king!

Kath. Let us observe them and be silent.

[Music.

A Flourish.-Enter King JAMES, HUNTLEY, CRAWFORD, DALYELL, and other Noblemen.

1

K. Ja. The right of kings, my lords, extends not only

-they are disguised princes, &c.] The Countess is pleased to be facetious. It appears, however, from better authorities than those before us, that Perkin was very respectably, not to say honourably, attended on this occasion.-GIFFORD.

VOL. I.-22

To the safe conservation of their own,
But also to the aid of such allies,

As change of time and state hath oftentimes
Hurl'd down from careful crowns, to undergo
An exercise of sufferance in both fortunes;
So English Richard, surnam'd Coeur-de-Lion,
So Robert Bruce our royal ancestor,

Forced by the trial of the wrongs they felt,
Both sought, and found, supplies from foreign
kings,

To repossess their own; then grudge not, lords,
A much-distressed prince; king Charles of France,
And Maximilian of Bohemia, both

Have ratified his credit by their letters;

Shall we then be distrustful? No; compassion
Is one rich jewel that shines in our crown;.
And we will have it shine there.

Hunt. Do your will, sir.

K. Ja. The young duke is at hand; Dalyell, from us First greet him, and conduct him on; then Crawford Shall meet him next, and Huntley, last of all, Present him to our arms.-[Exit DAL.]-Sound ⚫ sprightly music,

While majesty encounters majesty.

[Flourish.

Re-enter DALYELL, with PERKIN WARBECK, followed at a distance by FRION, HERON, SKETON, ASTLEY, and JOHN A-WATER. CRAWFORD advances, and salutes PERKIN at the door, and afterward HUNTLEY, who presents him to the King; they embrace; the Noblemen slightly salute his followers.

War. Most high, most mighty king!1 that now there stands

IWar. Most high, most mighty king, &c.] This speech is skilfully abridged from the historian. When it could be done with proper effect, the words are taken with no greater change than was necessary for the metrical arrangement; in other places the poet is content with clothing the sentiments in his own language; but always with the original in view.-GIFFORD.

Before your eyes, in presence of your peers,
A subject of the rarest kind of pity
That hath in any age touch'd noble hearts,
The vulgar story of a prince's ruin,
Hath made it too apparent: Europe knows,
And, all the western world, what persecution
Hath raged in malice against us, sole heir
To the great throne of th' old Plantagenets.
How, from our nursery, we have been hurried
Unto the sanctuary, from the sanctuary
Forced to the prison, from the prison haled
By cruel hands, to the tormentor's fury,
Is register'd already in the volume

Of all men's tongues; whose true relation draws
Compassion, melted into weeping eyes

And bleeding souls: but our misfortunes since Have rang'd a larger progress thro' strange lands, Protected in our innocence by Heaven.

Edward the Fifth, our brother, in his tragedy, Quench'd their hot thirst of blood, whose hire to mur. ther

Paid them their wages of despair and horror;
The softness of my childhood smiled upon

The roughness of their task, and robb'd them farther
Of hearts. to dare, or hands to execute.

Great king, they spared my life, the butchers spared it!

Return'd the tyrant, my unnatural uncle,
A truth of my despatch; I was convey'd
With secrecy and speed to Tournay; foster'd
By obscure means, taught to unlearn myself:
But as I grew in years, I grew in sense
Of fear and of disdain; fear of the tyrant
Whose power sway'd the throne then: when disdain
Of living so unknown, in such a servile
And abject lowness, prompted me to thoughts
Of recollecting who I was, I shook off
My bondage, and made haste to let my aunt
Of Burgundy acknowledge me her kinsman;

Heir to the crown of England, snatch'd by Henry From Richard's head; a thing scarce known i' th' world.

K. Ja. My lord, it stands not with your counsel

now

To fly upon invectives; if you can

Make this apparent what you have discours'd
In every circumstance, we will not study
An answer, but are ready in your cause.

War. You are a wise and just king, by the powers
Above reserv'd, beyond all other aids,
To plant me in mine own inheritance:
To marry these two kingdoms in a love
Never to be divorced while time is time.
As for the manner, first of my escape,
Of my conveyance next, of my life since,
The means, and persons who were instruments,
Great sir, 'tis fit I over pass in silence;
Reserving the relation to the secrecy

Of your own princely ear, since it concerns
Some great ones living yet, and others dead,
Whose issue might be question'd. For your bounty,
Royal magnificence to him that seeks it,

We vow hereafter to demean ourself,
As if we were your own and natural brother;
Omitting no occasion in our person,

To express a gratitude beyond example.

K. Ja. He must be more than subject who can

utter

The language of a king, and such is thine.
Take this for answer; be whate'er thou art,
Thou never shalt repent that thou hast put
Thy cause and person into my protection.
Cousin of York, thus once more we embrace thee;
Welcome to James of Scotland! for thy safety,
Know, such as love thee not shall never wrong thee.
Come, we will taste a while our court-delights,
Dream hence afflictions past, and then proceed
To high attempts of honour. On, lead on!