Place barrels of pitch upon the fatal stake,
That so her torture may be shortened.

Puc. Will nothing turn your unrelenting hearts?
Then, Joan, discover thine infirmity;
That warranteth by law to be thy privilege.-
I am with child, ye bloody homicides;
Murder not then the fruit within my womb,
Although ye hale me to a violent death.

York. Now heaven forefend! the holy maid with
child!

War. The greatest miracle that e'er ye wrought;
Is all your strict preciseness come to this?

York. She and the Dauphin have been juggling;
I did imagine what would be her refuge.
War. Well, go to; we will have no bastards live:
Especially, since Charles must father it.
Puc. You are deceived; my child is none of his;
It was Alençon, that enjoy'd my love.

York. Alençon! that notorious Machiavel!1
It dies, an if it had a thousand lives.

Puc. O, give me leave, I have deluded you; "Twas neither Charles, nor yet the duke I nam'd, But Reignier, king of Naples, that prevail'd.

War. A married man! that's most intolerable.
York. Why, here's a girl! I think, she knows not
well,

There were so many, whom she may accuse.
War. It's a sign, she hath been liberal and free.
York. And, yet, forsooth, she is a virgin pure.--
Strumpet, thy words condemn thy brat, and thee:
Use no entreaty, for it is in vain.

Puc. Then lead me hence; with whom I leave
my curse:

May never glorious sun reflex his beams
Upon the country where you make abode!
But darkness and the gloomy shade of death
Environ you; till mischief, and despair,
Drive you to break your necks, or hang yourselves!
[Exit, guarded.
York. Break thou in pieces, and consume to
ashes,

Thou foul accursed minister of hell!

Enter CARDINAL BEAUFORT, attended.
Car. Lord Regent, I do greet your excellence
With letters of commission from the king.
For know, my lords, the states of Christendom,
Mov'd with remorse2 of these outrageous broils,
Have earnestly implor'd a general peace
Betwixt our nation and the aspiring French;
And here at hand the Dauphin, and his train,
Approacheth, to confer about some matter.

York. Is all our travail turn'd to this effect?
After the slaughter of so many peers,
So many captains, gentlemen and soldiers,
That in this quarrel have been overthrown,
And sold their bodies for their country's benefit,
Shall we at last conclude effeminate peace?
Have we not lost most part of all the towns,
By treason, falsehood, and by treachery,
Our great progenitors had conquer'd ?-
O, Warwick, Warwick! I foresee with grief
The utter loss of all the realm of France.

War. Be patient, York: if we conclude a peace,
It shall be with such strict and severe covenants,
As little shall the Frenchman gain thereby.
Enter CHARLES, attended; ALENÇON, Bastard,
REIGNIER, and others.

Char. Since, lords of England, it is thus agreed,
That peaceful truce shall be proclaim'd in France,
We come to be informed by yourselves
What the conditions of that league must be.
York. Speak, Winchester; for boiling choler
chokes

The hollow passage of my poison'd voice,
By sight of these our baleful' enemies.

1 The character of Machiavel seems to have made Bo very deep an impression on the dramatic writers of this age, that he is many times introduced without regard to anachronism.

2 Compassion, pity.

Win. Charles, and the rest, it is enacted thus.
That-in regard King Henry gives consent,
Of mere compassion, and of lenity,
To ease your country of distressful war,
And suffer you to breathe in fruitful peace,-
You shall become nue liegemen to his crown;
And, Charles, upon condition thou wilt swear
To pay him tribute, and submit thyself,
Thou shalt be plac'd as viceroy under him,
And still enjoy thy regal dignity.

Alen. Must he be then as shadow of himself?
Adorn his temples with a coronet ;*
And yet, in substance and authority,
Retain but privilege of a private man?
This proffer is absurd and reasonless.

Char. 'Tis known, already, that I am possess'd
With more than half the Gallian territories,
And therein reverenc'd for their lawful king:
Shall I, for lucre of the rest unvanquish'd,
Detract so much from that prerogative,
As to be call'd but viceroy of the whole?
No, lord ambassador; I'll rather keep
That which I have, than, coveting for more,
Be cast from possibility of ail.

York. Insulting Charles! hast thou by secre

means

Used intercession to obtain a league;
And, now the matter grows to compromise,
Stand'st thou aloof upon comparison?
Either accept the title thou usurp'st,
Of benefit proceeding from our king,
And not of any challenge of desert,
Or we will plague thee with incessant wars.
Reig. My lord, you do not well in obstinacy
To cavil in the course of this contract;
If once it be neglected, ten to one,
We shall not find like opportunity.

Alen. To say the truth, it is your policy,
To save your subjects from such massacre,
And ruthless slaughters, as are daily seen
By our proceeding in hostility:

And therefore take this compact of a truce,
Although you break it when your pleasure serves.
[Aside to CHARLES

War. How say'st thou, Charles? shall our condition stand?

earl,

Of beauteous Margaret hath astonish'd me:
Her virtues, graced with external gifts,
Do breed love's settled passions in my heart:
And like as rigour in tempestuous gusts
Provokes the mightiest hulk against the tide;
So am I driven, by breath of her renown,
Either to suffer shipwreck, or arrive
Where I may have fruition of her love.

Suff. Tush! my good lord' this superficial tate
Is but a preface of her worthy praise:
The chief perfections of that lovely dame
(Had I sufficient skill to utter them,)
Would make a volume of enticing lines,
Able to ravish any dull conceit.
And, which is more, she is not so divine,

ful. It is an epithet frequently bestowed on poisonous
plants and reptiles.

4 Coronet is here used for crown.

5 Be content to live as the beneficiary of our king

3 Baleful had anciently the same meaning as bane- Benefit is here a term of law.

So full replete with choice of all delights,
But, with as humble lowliness of mind,
She is content to be at your command;
Command, I mean, of virtuous chaste intents,
To love and honour Henry as her lord.

K. Hen. And otherwise will Henry ne'er pre

sume.

Therefore, my lord protector, give consent,
That Margaret may be England's royal queen.
Glo. So should I give consent to flatter sin.
You know, my lord, your highness is betroth'd
Unto another lady of esteem;

How shall we then dispense with that contrast,
And not deface your honour with reproach?

Suff. As doth a ruler with unlawful oaths;
Or one, that, at a triumph' having vow'd
To try his strength, forsaketh yet the lists
By reason of his adversary's odds:

A

poor earl's daughter is unequal odds: And therefore may be broke without offence.

Glo. Why, what, I pray, is Margaret more than
that?

Her father is no better than an earl,
Although in glorious titles he excel.

Suff. Yes, my good lord, her father is a king,
The king of Naples, and Jerusalem;
And of such great authority in France,
As his alliance will confirm our peace,
And keep the Frenchmen in allegiance.

Glo. And so the earl of Armagnac may do,
Because he is near kinsman unto Charles.

Ere. Beside, his wealth doth warrant liberal
dower;

While Reignier sooner will receive than give.
Suff. A dower, my lords! disgrace not so your
king,

That he should be so abject, base, and poor,
To choose for wealth, and not for perfect love.
Henry is able to enrich his queen,

And not to seek a queen to make him rich:
So worthless peasants bargain for their wives,
As market-men for oxen, sheep, or horse.
Marriage is a matter of more worth,
Than to be dealt in by attorneyship:2
Not whom we will, but whom his grace affects,
Must be companion of his nuptial bed:

And therefore, lords, since he affects her most,
It most of all these reasons bindeth us,
In our opinions she should be preferr'd.
For what is wedlock forced, but a hell,
An age of discord and continual strife?
Whereas the contrary bringeth forth bliss,
And is a pattern of celestial peace.
Whom should we match with Henry, being a king,
But Margaret, that is daughter to a king?
Her peerless feature, joined with her birth,
Approves her fit for none, but for a king?
Her valiant courage, and undaunted spirit
(More than in women commonly is seen,)
Will answer our hope in issue of a king;
For Henry, son unto a conqueror,
Is likely to be get more conquerors,
If with a lady of so high resolve,
As is fair Margaret, he be link'd in love.
Then yield, my lords; and here conclude with me,
That Margaret shall be queen, and none but she.
K. Hen. Whether it be through force of your
report,

My noble lord of Suffolk; or for that

1 A triumph then signified a public exhibition; such as a tournament, mask, or revel.

2 By the intervention of another man's choice; or the discretional agency of another. The phrase occurs twice in King Richard III. :—

'Be the attorney of my love to her.'

My tender youth was never yet attaint
With any passion of inflaming love,
I cannot tell; but this I am assur'd,
I feel such sharp dissension in my breast,
Such fierce alarums both of hope and fear,
As I am sick with working of my thoughts.
Take, therefore, shipping: post, my lord, to France;
Agree to any covenants: and procure
That Lady Margaret do vouchsafe to come
To cross the seas to England, and be crown'd
King Henry's faithful and anointed queen:
For your expenses and sufficient charge,
Among the people gather up a tenth.
Be gone, I say; for, till you do return,
I rest perplexed with a thousand cares.-
And you, good uncle, banish all offence:
If you do censure3 me by what you were,
Not what you are, I know it will excuse
This sudden execution of my will.
And so conduct me, where from company,
I may revolve and ruminate my grief. [Exit.
Glo. Ay, grief, I fear me, both at first and last.
[Exeunt GLOSTER and EXETER.
Suff. Thus Suffolk hath prevail'd: and thus he

OF this play there is no copy earlier than that of the folio in 1623, though the two succeeding parts are ex tant in two editions in quarto. That the second and third parts were published without the first, may be admitted as no weak proof that the copies were surreptitiously obtained, and that the printers of that time gave the public those plays, not such as the author designed, but such as they could get them. That this play was written before the two others is indubitably collected from the series of events; that it was written and played before Henry the Fifth is apparent, because in the epilogue there is mention made of this play, and not of the other parts:

Henry the Sixth in swaddling bands crown'd king;
Whose state so many had the managing,

That they lost France, and made his England bleed:
Which oft our stage hath shown.'

France is lost in this play. The two following contain,
as the old title imports, the contention of the houses of
York and Lancaster.

The Second and Third Parts of Henry VI. were printed in 1600. When Henry V. was written, we know not, but it was printed likewise in 1600, and therefore before the publication of the first and second parts. The First Part of Henry VI. had been often shown on the stage, and would certainly have appeared in its place, JOHNSON. had the anthor been the publisher.

THAT the second and third parts, as they are now called, were printed without the first, is a proof, in my apprehension, that they were not written by the same author: and the title of The Contention of the Houses of York and Lancaster, being affixed to the two pieces which were printed in quarto, is a proof that they were a distinct work, commencing where the other ended, but not written at the same time; and that this play was never known by the title of The First Part of King Henry VI. till Heminge and Condell gave it that name in their volume, to distinguish it from the two subsequent plays; which being altered by Shakspeare, assumed the new titles of the Second and Third Parts of King Henry VI. that they might not be confounded with the original pieces on which they were formed. The first part was originally called The Historical P'ay of MALONE. King Henry VI.

3 To censure is here simply to judge. If in judging me you consider the past frailties of your own youth.' 4 Grief, in the first line, stands for pain, uneasiness, in the second, especially for sorrow

SECOND PART OF

KING HENRY THE SIXTH.

RELIMINARY REMARKS.

THIS and the Third Part of King Henry VI. contain | wrote new beginnings to the Acts; he new versified, he that troublesone period of this prince's reign, which new modelled, he transposed many of the parts; and took in the whole contention between the houses of York greatly amplified and improved the whole. Several and Lancaster: and under that title were these two lines, however, and whole speeches, which he thought plays first acted and published. The present play sufficiently polished, he accepted, and introduced, withopens with King Henry's marriage, which was in the out any, or very slight, alterations. twenty-third year of his reign [A. D. 1445], and closes with the first battle fought at St. Albans, and won by the York faction, in the thirty-third year of his reign [A. D. 1455]: so that it comprises the history and transactions of ten years.

Malone adopted the following expedient to mark these alterations and adoptions, which has been followed in the present edition:-All those lines which the poet adopted without any alteration, are printed in the usual manner; those speeches which he altered or expanded The Contention of the Two Famous Houses of York are distinguished by inverted commas; and to all lines and Lancaster was published in quarto; the first part in entirely composed by himself asterisks are prefixed. 1594; the second, or True Tragedy of Richard Duke of The internal evidences upon which Malone relies to York, in 1595; and both were reprinted in 1600. In a establish his position are, 1. The variations between the dissertation annexed to these plays, Mr. Malone has old plays in quarto, and the corresponding pieces in the endeavoured to establish the fact that these two dramas folio edition of Shakspeare's dramatic works, which were not originally written by Shakspeare, but by some are of so peculiar a nature as to mark two distinct preceding author or authors before the year 1590; and hands. Some circumstances are mentioned in the old that upon them Shakspeare formed this and the follow-quarto plays, of which there is not the least trace in the ing drama, altering, retrenching, or amplifying as he folio; and many minute variations occur that prove the thought proper. I will endeavour to give a brief ab-pieces in the quarto to have been original and distinct stract of the principal arguments. 1. The entry on the compositions. No copyist or shorthand writer would Stationers' books, in 1594, does not mention the name invent circumstances totally different from those which of Shakspeare; nor are the plays printed with his name appear in Shakspeare's new-modelled draughts, as exIn the early editions; but, after the poet's death, an edi-hibited in the first folio; or insert whole speeches, of tion was printed by one Pavier without date, but really, which scarcely a trace is found in that edition. In some in 1619, with the name of Shakspeate on the title-page. places a speech in one of these quartos consists of ten This he has shown to be a common fraudulent prac- or twelve lines: in Shakspeare's folio the same speech tice of the booksellers of that period. When Pavier re- consists perhaps of only half the number. A copyist by published The Contention of the Two Houses, &c. in the ear, or an unskilful shorthand writer, might mutilate 1619, he omitted the words as it was acted by the earl and exhibit a poet's thoughts or expressions imperfectly; of Pembrooke his servantes,' which appeared on the but he would not dilate and amplify them, or introduce original title-page,-just as on the republication of the totally new matter. old play of King John, in two parts, in 1611, the words Malone then exhibits a sufficient number of instances 'as it was acted in the honourable city of London,' were to prove, beyond the possibility of doubt, his position: omitted, because the omitted words in both cases mark- so that (as he observes) we are compelled to admit, ed the respective pieces not to be the production of either that Shakspeare wrote two sets of plays on the Shakspeare. And, as in King John, the letters W. Sh. story which forms his Second and Third Parts of King were added, in 1611, to deceive the purchaser; so in Henry VI.. hasty sketches, and entirely distinct and the republication of The whole Contention, &c. Pavier, more finished performances; or else we must acknowhaving dismissed the words above-mentioned, inserted ledge that he formed his pieces on a foundation laid by these Newly corrected and enlarged by William another writer or writers; that is upon the two parts of Shakspere: knowing that these pieces had been made The Contention of the Two Houses of York, &c. It is the groundwork of two other plays: that they had in a striking circumstance that almost all the passages in fact been corrected and enlarged, (though not in his co-the Second and Third Parts of King Henry VI. which py, which was a mere reprint from the edition of 1600,) resemble others in Shakspeare's undisputed plays, are and exhibited under the titles of the Second and Third not found in the original pieces in quarto, but in his ri Parts of King Henry VI.; and hoping that this new edi-faccimento in folio. As these resemblances to his other tion of the original plays would pass for those altered plays, and a peculiar Shakspearian phraseology, ascerand augmented by Shakspeare, which were then un-tain a considerable portion of these disputed dramas to published. be the production of that poet; so, on the other hand,

A passage from Greene's Groatsworth of Wit, ad-other passages, discordant, in matters of fact, from his duced by Mr. Tyrwhitt, first suggested and strongly other plays, are proved by this discordancy not to have supports Malone's hypothesis. The writer, Robert been composed by him; and these discordant passages, Greene, is supposed to address himself to his poetical being found in the original quarto plays, prove that friend, George Peele, in these words:- Yes, trust them those pieces were composed by another writer. not [alluding to the players], for there is an upstart It is observable that several portions of English hiscrowe beautified with our feathers, that with history had been dramatised before the time of Shakspeare. tygre's heart wrapped in a player's hide, supposes hee is well able to bombaste out a blank verse as the best of you; and, being an absolute Joannes factotum, is, in his own conceit, the only Shakescene in a country.

O tyger's heart wrapped in a woman's hide! is a line in the old quarto play entitled The First Part of the Contention, &c. There seems to be no doubt that the allusion is to Shakspeare, that the old plays may have been the production of Greene, Peele, and Marlowe, or some of them; and that Greene could not conceal his mortification, at the fame of himself and his associates, old and established play wrights, being eclipsed by a new upstart writer, (for so he calls the poet,) who had then perhaps first attracted the notice of the public by exhibiting two plays formed upon old dramas written by them, considerably enlarged and improved. The very term that Greene uses, to bombaste out a blank verse, exactly corresponds with what has been now suggested. This new poet, says he, knows as well as any man how to amplify and swell out a blank verse.

Thus we have King John, in two parts, by an anonymous writer; Edward I. by George Peele; Edward II. by Christopher Marlowe; Edward III. anonymous; Henry IV. containing the deposition of Richard II, and the accession of Henry to the crown, anonymous; Henry V. and Richard III. both by anonymous authors. It is therefore highly probable that the whole of the story of Henry VI. had been brought on the scene, and that the first of the plays here printed, formerly called The Historical Play of King Henry VI. and now named The First Part of King Henry VI. as well as the Two Parts of the Contention of the Houses of York and Lancaster, were the compositions of some of the authors who had produced the historical dramas above enume. rated.

Mr. Boswell, speaking of the originals of the second and third of these plays, says, "That Marlowe may have had some share in these compositions, I am not disposed to deny, but I cannot persuade myself that they entirely proceeded from his pen. Some passages Shakspea did for the old plays, what Berni had beare possessed of so much merit, that they can scarcely fore done to the Orlando Innamorato of Boiardo. He be ascribed to any one except the most distinguished of

Shakspeare's predecessors; but the tameness of the ge-produced previous to 1592, but were not printed until mera' style is very different from the peculiar characte-they appeared in the folio of 1623 Testies of that poet's mighty line, which are great energy To Johnson's high panegyric of that impressive scene both of thought and language, degenerating too fre- in this play, the death of Cardinal Beaufort, we may quently into tumour and extravagance. The versifica-add that Schlegel says, 'It is sublime beyond all praise. tion appears to me to be of a different colour.-That Can any other poet be named who has drawn aside the Marlowe, Peele, and Greene, may all of them have had curtain of eternity at the close of this life in such an a share in these dramas, is consonant to the frequent overpowering and awful manner? And yet it is not practice of the age; of which ample proofs may be mere horror with which we are filled, but solemn emofound in the extracts from Henslowe's MS. printed by tion; we have an exemplification of a blessing and a Mr. Malone.” curse in close proximity; the pious king is an image of the heavenly mercy, which, even in his last moments, labours to enter into the soul of the sinner.'

From the passage alluding to these plays, in Greene's Groatsworth of Wit, it seems probable that they were

PERSONS REPRESENTED

I have perform'd my task, and was espous'd;
And humbly now upon my bended knee,
In sight of England and her lordly peers,
Deliver up my title in the queen

To your most gracious hands, 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, Queen

garet;

A Herald. VAUX.

HUME and SOUTHWELL, two Priests.
BOLINGBROKE, a Conjuror. A Spirit raised by him.
THOMAS HORNER, an Armourer, PETER, his Man.
Clerk of Chatham. Mayor of St. Albans.
SIMPCOX, an Impostor. Two Murderers.
JACK CADE, a Rebel :

GEORGE, JOHN, DICK, SMITH the Weaver, Mi-
CHAEL, &c. his Followers.
ALEXANDER IDEN, a Kentish Gentleman.
MARGARET, Queen to King Henry.
ELEANOR, Duchess of Gloster.

MARGERY JOURDAIN, a Witch. Wife to Simpcox.
Lords, Ladies, and Attendants; Petitioners, Al-
dermen, a Beadle, Sheriff, and Officers; Citi-
zens, Prentices, Falconers, Guards, Soldiers.
Messengers, &c.

SCENE, dispersedly in various parts of England.

Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness!
For thou hast given me, in this beauteous face,
A world of earthly blessings to my soul,
If sympathy of love unite our thoughts.

Q. Mar. Great king of England, and my gra-
cious lord;

The mutual conference that my mind hath had3-
By day, by night; waking, and in my dreams;
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.

K. Hen. Her sight did ravish: but her grace in
speech,

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.
All. Long live Queen Margaret, England's hap-
piness!

[Flourish.

Q. Mar. We thank you all.
Suff. My lord protector, so it please your grace,
Here are the articles of contracted peace,
Between our sovereign and the French king Charles,
For eighteen months concluded by consent.

Glo. [Reads.] Imprimis, It is agreed between the
French king, Charles, and William de la Poole, mar-
Marquess of Suffolk, ambassador for Henry king of Eng-
land,--that the said Henry shall espouse the lady
Margaret, daughter unto Reignier king of Naples,
Sicilia, and Jerusalem; and crown her queen of
England, ere the thirtieth of May next ensuing.-
Item-That the duchy of Anjou and the county of
Maine, shall be released and delivered to the king her
father-

I can express no kinder sign of love,
Than this kind kiss.-O Lord, that lends me life,

1 The marquesse of Suffolk, as procurator to King Henry, espoused the said ladie in the church of St. Martins. At the which marriage were present, the father and mother of the bride; the French king himself, that was uncle to the husband; and the French queen also, that was aunt to the wife. There were also the Dukes of Orleance, of Calabre, of Alanson, and of Britaine seven earles, twelve barons, twenty bishops.'-Hall and Holinshed.

2 i. e. to the gracious hands of you, my sovereign, who are, &c. In the old play the line stands :

'Unto your gracious excellence, that are.'

3 I am the bolder to address you, having already fa miliarized you to my imagination.

4 i. e. most beloved of all: from alder, of all; for merly used in composition with adjectives of the superlative degree: and liefest, dearest, or most loved.

5 This weeping joy, of which there is no trace in the original play, Shakspeare frequently uses. It is introduced in Much Ado about Nothing, King Richard IL Macbeth, and King Lear.

K. Hen. Uncle, how now? Glo. Pardon me, gracious lord; Some sudden qualm hath struck me at the heart, And dimm'd mine eyes, that I can read no further. K. Hen. Uncle of Winchester, I pray, read on. Win. Item,-It is further agreed between them,that the duches of Anjou and Maine shall be released and delivered over to the king her father; and she sent over of the king of England's own proper cost and charges, without having dowry.

* 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 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. *Glo. A proper jest, and never heard before *That Suffolk should demand a whole fifteenth, For costs and charges in transporting her!

K. Hen. They please us well.-Lord marquess,*
kneel down;

We here create thee the first duke of Suffolk,
And girt thee with the sword.-

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,
To 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?
'Did he so often lodge in open field,

In winter's cold, and summer'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, Salisbury, and victorious Warwick,
Receiv'd deep scars in France and Normandy?
Or hath my uncle Beaufort, and myself,
With all the learned council of the realm,
Studied so long, sat in the council-house,
Early and late, debating to and fro

How France and Frenchmen might be kept in awe?
And hath his highness in his infancy
Been crown'd in Paris, in despite of foes?
And shall these labours, and these honours, die?
Shall Henry's conquest, Bedford's vigilance,
Your deeds of war, and all our counsel, 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:
Defacing monuments of conquer'd France;
Undoing ali, as all had never been!

*Car. Nephew, what means this passionate dis-
course?

*This peroration with such circumstance?1
*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:
Suffolk, the new-made duke that rules the roast,
Hath given the duchies of Anjou and Maine.
* Unto the poor king Reignier, whose large style
*Agrees not with the leanness of his purse.2

Sal. Now, by the death of him that died 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 hot blood, mine eyes no

* She should have staid in France, and starv'd in France,

*Before

I

*Car. My lord of Gloster, now you grow too hot;
It was the pleasure of my lord the king.
*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.
Lordings, farewell; and say, when I am gone,
prophesied-France will be lost ere long. [Ent.
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 word * Bewitch your hearts; be wise, and circumspect, What though the common people favour him,

6

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 sove-
reign,

*He being of age to govern of himself,
'Cousin of Somerset, join you with me,

And all together-with the duke of Suffolk,
"We'll quickly 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. Or 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,
'Behooves 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 confort of my ag!
Thy deeds, thy plainness, and thy housekeeping,
Hath won the greatest favour of the commons,
Excepting none but good duke Humphrey.-
And, brother York, thy acts in Ireland,
intended in wounds and words. In the old play he n
gle is different. And must that then which we won
with our swords, be given away with words?

4 Richard Plantagenet, duke of York, married Cicely, the daughter of Rall Neville, earl of Westmoreland, by Joan, daughter to John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, by his third wife, dame Catharine Swinford. Richard Ne ville, earl of Salisbury, was son to the earl of Westmore.