Henry VI (Parts I, II and III) (Signet Classics)
How now? Why starts thou? What, doth death affright32?
SUFFOLK Thy name affrights me, in whose sound is death:
A cunning man34 did calculate my birth
And told me that by water I should die:
Yet let not this make thee be bloody-minded36:
Thy name is Gualtier, being rightly sounded37.
WHITMORE Gualtier or Walter, which it is, I care not:
Never yet did base dishonour blur our name,
But with our sword we wiped away the blot.
Therefore, when merchant-like I sell revenge41,
Broke be my sword, my arms42 torn and defaced,
And I proclaimed a coward through the world.
SUFFOLK Stay, Whitmore, for thy prisoner is a prince,
The Duke of Suffolk, William de la Pole.
WHITMORE The Duke of Suffolk muffled up in rags?
SUFFOLK Ay, but these rags are no part of the duke:
Jove48 sometimes went disguised, and why not I?
LIEUTENANT But Jove was never slain as thou shalt be,
Obscure and lousy swain50, King Henry's blood!
SUFFOLK The honourable blood of Lancaster
Must not be shed by such a jaded groom52:
Hast thou not kissed thy hand53 and held my stirrup?
Bare-headed plodded by my foot-cloth mule54
And thought thee happy when I shook my head55?
How often hast thou waited at my cup56,
Fed from my trencher, kneeled down at the board57,
When I have feasted with Queen Margaret?
Remember it, and let it make thee crest-fall'n59,
Ay, and allay this thy abortive pride:
How in our voiding lobby61 hast thou stood
And duly waited for my coming forth?
This hand of mine hath writ in thy behalf,
And therefore shall it charm64 thy riotous tongue.
WHITMORE Speak, captain, shall I stab the forlorn swain65?
LIEUTENANT First let my words stab him, as he hath me.
SUFFOLK Base slave, thy words are blunt67 and so art thou.
LIEUTENANT Convey him hence and on our longboat's68 side
Strike off his head.
SUFFOLK Thou dar'st not for thy own70.
LIEUTENANT Pole--
SUFFOLK Pole?72
LIEUTENANT Ay, kennel, puddle, sink73, whose filth and dirt
Troubles74 the silver spring where England drinks:
Now will I dam up this thy yawning75 mouth
For swallowing the treasure of the realm.
Thy lips that kissed the queen shall sweep the ground77:
And thou that smiled'st at good Duke Humphrey's death,
Against the senseless winds shalt grin79 in vain,
Who in contempt shall hiss at thee again80.
And wedded be thou to the hags of hell81,
For daring to affy82 a mighty lord
Unto the daughter of a worthless king,
Having neither subject84, wealth, nor diadem:
By devilish policy85 art thou grown great,
And like ambitious Sylla, overgorged86
With gobbets87 of thy mother's bleeding heart.
By thee Anjou and Maine were sold to France,
The false revolting Normans thorough89 thee
Disdain to call us lord, and Picardy90
Hath slain their governors, surprised91 our forts,
And sent the ragged soldiers wounded home.
The princely Warwick, and the Nevilles all,
Whose dreadful swords were never drawn in vain,
As hating95 thee, are rising up in arms:
And now the House of York, thrust from the crown
By shameful murder of a guiltless king97
And lofty proud encroaching98 tyranny,
Burns with revenging fire, whose hopeful colours99
Advance our half-faced sun100, striving to shine,
Under the which is writ. 'Invitis nubibus'101.
The commons102 here in Kent are up in arms,
And, to conclude, reproach and beggary
Is crept into the palace of our king,
And all by thee.-- Away, convey him hence.
SUFFOLK O, that I were a god, to shoot forth thunder106
Upon these paltry, servile, abject drudges107:
Small things make base men proud. This villain here,
Being captain of a pinnace109, threatens more
Than Bargulus the strong Illyrian pirate110.
Drones suck not eagles' blood, but rob beehives111:
It is impossible that I should die
By such a lowly vassal113 as thyself.
Thy words move rage and not remorse in me:
I go of115 message from the queen to France:
I charge thee waft116 me safely cross the Channel.
LIEUTENANT Walter--
WHITMORE Come, Suffolk, I must waft thee to thy death.
SUFFOLK Paene gelidus timor occupat artus119: it is thee I fear.
WHITMORE Thou shalt have cause to fear before I leave thee.
What, are ye daunted now? Now will ye stoop?
FIRST GENTLEMAN My gracious lord, entreat him, speak him fair122.
SUFFOLK Suffolk's imperial123 tongue is stern and rough:
Used to command, untaught to plead for favour.
Far be it we125 should honour such as these
With humble suit126: no, rather let my head
Stoop to the block than these knees bow to any,
Save to the God of heaven and to my king:
And sooner dance upon a bloody pole129
Than stand uncovered130 to the vulgar groom.
True nobility is exempt from fear:
More can I bear than you dare execute.
LIEUTENANT Hale133 him away, and let him talk no more.
SUFFOLK Come, soldiers, show what cruelty ye can,
That this my death may never be forgot.
Great men oft die by vile Besonians136:
A Roman sworder and banditto137 slave
Murdered sweet Tully: Brutus' bastard138 hand
Stabbed Julius Caesar: savage islanders
Pompey the Great140: and Suffolk dies by pirates.
Exit Walter [Whitmore] with Suffolk
LIEUTENANT And as for these whose ransom we have set,
It is our pleasure one of them depart:
Therefore come you with us and let him go.
Exit Lieutenant, and the rest [leaving] the First Gentleman
Enter Whitmore with the body [of Suffolk]
WHITMORE There let his head and lifeless body lie,
Until the queen his mistress145 bury it.
Exit
FIRST GENTLEMAN O, barbarous and bloody spectacle!
His body will I bear unto the king:
If he revenge it not, yet will his friends:
So will the queen, that living held him dear.
[Exit with the body]
[Act 4 Scene 2]
running scene 13
Enter [George] Bevis and John Holland [with long staves]
BEVIS Come and get thee a sword, though made of a lath1:
they have been up2 these two days.
HOLLAND They have the more need to sleep now then.
BEVIS I tell thee, Jack Cade the clothier means to dress4 the
commonwealth, and turn it, and set a new nap5 upon it.
HOLLAND So he had need, for 'tis threadbare. Well, I say it was
never merry world7 in England since gentlemen came up.
BEVIS O miserable age: virtue is not regarded8 in
handicraftsmen.
HOLLAND The nobility think scorn10 to go in leather aprons.
BEVIS Nay more, the King's Council are no good workmen.
HOLLAND True: and yet it is said, 'Labour in thy vocation'12:
which is as much to say as, 'Let the magistrates be labouring13
men', and therefore should
we be magistrates.
BEVIS Thou hast hit it: for there's no better sign of a brave15
mind than a hard16 hand.
HOLLAND I see them! I see them! There's Best's son, the tanner17
of Wingham18.
BEVIS He shall have the skins of our enemies to make
dog's leather20 of.
HOLLAND And Dick the Butcher.
BEVIS Then is sin struck down like an ox, and iniquity's
throat cut like a calf.
HOLLAND And Smith the weaver.
BEVIS Argo, their thread of life is spun25.
HOLLAND Come, come, let's fall in26 with them.
Drum. Enter Cade, Dick [the] Butcher, Smith the Weaver, and a Sawyer, with infinite numbers [with long staves]
CADE We, John Cade, so termed of27 our supposed father--
Aside
DICK Or rather of stealing a cade28 of herrings.
CADE For our enemies shall fail29 before us, inspired with
the spirit of putting down kings and princes.-- Command
silence.
DICK Silence!
CADE My father was a Mortimer--
Aside
DICK He was an honest man, and a good bricklayer34.
CADE My mother a Plantagenet--
Aside
DICK I knew her well, she was a midwife.
CADE My wife descended of the Lacys37--
Aside
DICK She was indeed a pedlar's daughter, and.
sold many laces39.
Aside
SMITH But now of late, not able to travel40 with her.
furred pack, she washes bucks41 here at home.
CADE Therefore am I of an honourable house.
Aside
DICK Ay, by my faith, the field43 is honourable, and.
there was he born, under a hedge44: for his father had never a
house but the cage45.
CADE Valiant I am--
Aside
SMITH A must needs, for beggary is valiant47.
CADE I am able to endure much--
Aside
DICK No question of that: for I have seen him.
whipped50 three market days together.
CADE I fear neither sword nor fire--
Aside
SMITH He need not fear the sword, for his coat is of.
proof53.
Aside
DICK But methinks he should stand54 in fear of.
fire, being burnt55 i'th'hand for stealing of sheep.
CADE Be brave, then, for your captain is brave, and vows
reformation. There shall be in England seven halfpenny
loaves sold for a penny: the three-hooped pot shall have ten
hoops, and I will make it felony to drink small59 beer. All the
realm shall be in common, and in Cheapside shall my palfrey60
go to grass61: and when I am king, as king I will be--
ALL God save your majesty!
CADE I thank you, good people. There shall be no money:
all shall eat and drink on my score, and I will apparel64 them
all in one livery, that they may agree65 like brothers, and
worship me their lord.
DICK The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers.
CADE Nay, that I mean to do. Is not this a lamentable
thing, that of the skin of an innocent lamb should be made
parchment? That parchment, being scribbled o'er, should
undo a man? Some say the bee stings, but I say, 'tis the bee's
wax: for I did but seal once to a thing72, and I was never mine
own man since. How now? Who's there?
Enter [some, bringing forward] a Clerk [of Chartham]
SMITH The Clerk of Chartham: he can write and read and
cast account75.
CADE O, monstrous76.
SMITH We took him setting of boys' copies77.
CADE Here's a villain!
SMITH H'as a book in his pocket with red letters79 in't.
CADE Nay, then he is a conjurer80.
DICK Nay, he can make obligations, and write court hand81.
CADE I am sorry for't: the man is a proper82 man, of mine
honour: unless I find him guilty, he shall not die. Come
hither, sirrah, I must examine thee: what is thy name?
CLERK Emmanuel85.
DICK They use to write it on the top of letters: 'twill go86
hard with you.
To the Clerk
CADE Let me alone.-- Dost thou use to88 write.
thy name? Or hast thou a mark to thyself89, like an honest
plain-dealing90 man?
CLERK Sir, I thank God, I have been so well brought up that
I can write my name.
ALL He hath confessed: away with him: he's a villain
and a traitor.
CADE Away with him, I say: hang him with his pen and
inkhorn96 about his neck.
Exit one with the Clerk
Enter Michael
MICHAEL Where's our general?
CADE Here I am, thou particular98 fellow.
MICHAEL Fly, fly, fly! Sir Humphrey Stafford and his brother
are hard100 by, with the king's forces.
CADE Stand, villain, stand, or I'll fell thee down: he shall
be encountered102 with a man as good as himself. He is but a
knight, is a103?
MICHAEL No104.
Kneels
CADE To equal him I will make myself a knight presently105.
Rises
Rise up Sir John Mortimer.
Now have at him!
Enter Sir Humphrey Stafford and his brother, with Drum, [Herald] and Soldiers
STAFFORD Rebellious hinds108, the filth and scum of Kent,
Marked for the gallows: lay your weapons down:
Home to your cottages: forsake this groom110.
The king is merciful, if you revolt111.
STAFFORD'S BROTHER But angry, wrathful, and inclined to blood,
If you go forward: therefore yield, or die.
CADE As for these silken-coated slaves, I pass114 not:
It is to you, good people, that I speak,
Over whom, in time to come, I hope to reign:
For I am rightful heir unto the crown.
STAFFORD Villain, thy father was a plasterer,
And thou thyself a shearman119, art thou not?
CADE And Adam120 was a gardener.
STAFFORD'S BROTHER And what of that?
CADE Marry, this: Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March,
married the Duke of Clarence' daughter, did he not?
STAFFORD Ay, sir.
CADE By her he had two children at one birth125.
STAFFORD'S BROTHER That's false.
CADE Ay, there's the question127: but I say 'tis true:
The elder of them, being put to nurse128,
Was by a beggar-woman stol'n away,
And, ignorant of his birth and parentage,
Became a bricklayer when he came to age.
His son am I: deny it if you can.
DICK Nay, 'tis too true: therefore he shall be king.
SMITH Sir, he made a chimney in my father's house, and the
bricks are alive135 at this day to testify it: therefore deny it not.
STAFFORD And will you credit this base drudge's words,
That speaks he knows not what?
ALL Ay, marry, will we: therefore get ye gone.
STAFFORD'S BROTHER Jack Cade, the Duke of York hath taught
you this.
Aside
CADE He lies, for I invented it myself.--
Go to142, sirrah, tell the king from me, that for his father's sake,
Aloud
Henry the Fifth, in whose time boys went to.
span-counter144 for French crowns, I am content he shall reign:
but I'll be Protector145 over him.
DICK An
d furthermore, we'll have the lord Saye's head for
selling the dukedom of Maine.
CADE And good reason: for thereby is England mained148,
and fain to go with a staff, but that my puissance149 holds it up.
Fellow kings, I tell you that that Lord Saye hath gelded150 the
commonwealth, and made it an eunuch: and more than
that, he can speak French, and therefore he is a traitor.
STAFFORD O gross and miserable153 ignorance!
CADE Nay, answer if you can: the Frenchmen are our
enemies: go to, then, I ask but this: can he that speaks with
the tongue156 of an enemy be a good counsellor, or no?
ALL No, no, and therefore we'll have his head.
STAFFORD'S BROTHER Well, seeing gentle158 words will not prevail,
Assail them with the army of the king.
STAFFORD Herald, away, and throughout every town
Proclaim them traitors that are up161 with Cade,
That162 those which fly before the battle ends
May, even in their wives' and children's sight,
Be hanged up for164 example at their doors:
And you that be the king's friends, follow me.
Exeunt [Stafford, Stafford's brother and Soldiers]
CADE And you that love the commons, follow me:
Now show yourselves men, 'tis for liberty.
We will not leave one lord, one gentleman:
Spare none but such as go in clouted shoon169,
For they are thrifty170 honest men, and such
As would, but that they dare not, take our parts.
DICK They are all in order172 and march toward us.
CADE But then are we in order when we are most out of173