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 deceiv'd; my child is none of his; It was Alençon, that enjoy'd my love. York. Alençon! that notorious Machiavel! 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, By sight of these our baleful2 enemies. Alen. Must he be then as shadow of himself? 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 1, 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 War. It's sign, she hath been liberal and free. That which I have, than, coveting for more, York. And, yet, forsooth, she is a virgin pure!--Be cast from possibility of all. Strumpet, thy words condemn thy brat, and thee: Use no entreaty, for it is in vain. There were so many, whom she may accuse. Puc. Then lead me hence ;-with whom I leave my curse: May never glorious sun reflex his beams Enter Cardinal Beaufort, attended. 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 conquered? 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 Frenchmen 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, (1) Compassion. (2) Baneful. York. Insulting Charles! hast thou by secret means Used intercession to obtain a league; Alen. To say the truth, it is your policy, 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? Char. It shall: Only reserv'd, you claim no interest York. Then swear allegiance to his majesty, [Charles, and the rest, give tokens of fealty. So, now dismiss your army when you please; Hang up your ensigns, let your drums be still, For here we entertain a solemn peace. [Exeunt. SCENE V-London. A room in the palace. Enter King Henry, in conference with Suffolk ; Gloster and Exeter following, K. Hen. Your wond'rous rare description, noble 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 (4) 'Be content to live as the beneficiary of our king." Where I may have fruition of her love. As is fair Margaret, he be link'd in love. Suff. Tush! my good lord! this superficial tale Then yield, my lords; and here conclude with me Is but a preface of her worthy praise: The chief perfections of that lovely dame And, which is more, she is not so divine, 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 contract, And not deface your honour with reproach? Suff. As doth a ruler with unlawful oaths; Or one, that, at a triumph1 having vow'd To try his strength, forsaketh yet the lists By reason of his adversary's odds: Α poor earl's daughter is unequal odds, And therefore may be broke without offence. Glo. Why, what, I pray, is Margaret more than Her father is no better than an earl, Suff. Yes, my good lord, her father is a king, Glo. And so the earl of Armagnac may do, Because he is near kinsman unto Charles. Exe. 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, And not to seek a queen to make him rich: If with a lady of so high resolve, (1) A triumph then signified a public exhibition; such as a mask, or revel. 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 goes, As did the youthful Paris once to Greece; Of this play there is no copy earlier than that of the folio in 1623, though the two succeeding parts are extant 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 I 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, '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, had the author been the publisher. JOHNSON. (2) By the discretional agency of another. (3) Judge. SECOND PART OF KING HENRY VI. *The Contention of the two famous houses of York and Lancaster,' in two parts, was pub lished in quarto, in 1600; and the first part was entered on the Stationers' books, (as Mr. Steevens has observed,) March 12, 1593-4. On these two plays, which I believe to have been written by some preceding author, before the year 1590, Shakspeare formed, as I conceive, this and the following drama; altering, retrenching, or amplifying, as he thought proper. At present it is only necessary to apprize the reader of the method observed in the printing of these plays. All the lines printed in the usual manner are found in the original quarto plays (or at least with such minute variations as are not worth noticing :) and those, I conceive, Shakspeare adopted as he found them. The lines to which inverted commas are prefixed, were, if my hypothesis be well founded, retouched, and greatly improved by him and those with asterisks were his own original production; the embroidery with which he ornamented the coarse stuff that had been awkwardly made up for the stage by some of his contemporaries. The speeches which he new-modelled, he improved, sometimes by amplification, and sometimes by re trenchment. MALONE. PERSONS REPRESENTED. King Henry the Sixth: Hume and Southwell, two priests. Humphrey, duke of Gloster, his uncle. Bolingbroke, a conjurer. A Spirit raised by him. Cardinal Beaufort, bishop of Winchester, great Thomas Horner, an armourer. Peter, his man. uncle to the king. Richard Plantagenet, duke of York: Duke of Somerset, Edward and Richard, his sons. of the king's party. Duke of Suffolk, Duke of Buckingham, Lord Clifford, Young Clifford, his son. Earl of Salisbury, of the York faction. A Sea-captain, Master, and Master's Mate, and Walter Whitmore. Two Gentlemen, prisoners with Suffolk. Clerk of Chatham. Mayor of Saint Alban's. George, John, Dick, Smith, the Weaver, Michael, Alexander Iden, a Kentish gentleman. Margaret, queen to king Henry. Lords, Ladies, and Attendants; Petitioners, Al- Scene, dispersedly in various parts of England. Seven earls, twelve barons, twenty reverend bishops, K. Hen. Suffolk, arise.-Welcome, queen Mar- I can express no kinder sign of love, R 'The mutual conference that my mind hath had1-1' By day, by night; waking, and in my dreains; 'K. Hen. Her sight did ravish: but her grace in 'Her words y-clad with wisdom's majesty, Makes 4 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 happiness! Q. Mar. We thank you all. [Flourish. 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. Studied so long, sat in the council-house, Early and late, debating to and fro How France and Frenchmen might be kept in awe? Been crown'd in Paris, in despite of foes? Shall Henry's conquest, Bedford's vigilance, Your deeds of war, and all our counsel, die? 'Car. Nephew, what means this passionate dis This peroration with such circumstance ?3 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. * 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 Glo. [Reads.] Imprimis, It is agreed between the French king, Charles, and William de la Poole, marquess of Suffolk, ambassador for Henry king* of England, 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 ་ ་ 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 duchies 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. K. Hen. They please us well.-Lord marquess, We here create thee the first duke of Suffolk, Cousin of York, we here discharge your grace Somerset, Salisbury, and Warwick; We thank you all for this great favour done, [Exeunt King, Queen, and Suffolk. • With all the learned council of the realm, (1) I am the bolder to address you, having already familiarized you to my imagination. (2) Beloved above all things. tears. Anjou and Maine! myself did win them both; * York. For Suffolk's duke--may he be suffocate, wives: *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.4 Lordings, farewell; and say, when I am gone, I prophesied-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. (3) This speech crowded with so many circum stances of aggravation. (4) Skirmishings. *Look to it, lords; let not his smoothing words * Bewitch your hearts; be wise, and circumspect. "What though the common people favour him, 4 *The peers agreed; and Henry was well pleas'd, To change two dukedoms for a duke's fair daughter. Calling him-Humphrey, the good duke of Glos-* I cannot blame them all; What is't to them? ter; *Tis thine they give away, and not their own. • Clapping their hands, and crying with a loud voice* Pirates may make cheap pennyworths of their Jesu maintain your royal excellence! 4 With-God preserve the good duke Humphrey ! * Buck. Why should he then protect our sovereign, * He being of age to govern of himself?— Cousin of Somerset, join you with me, pillage, *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; *Ready to starve, and dare 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 Ireland, And all together-with the duke of Suffolk,- I'll to the duke of Suffolk presently. And greatness of his place be grief to us, [Exit. Bear that proportion to my flesh and blood, 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, * Despite duke Humphrey, or the cardinal. [Exeunt Buckingham and Somerset. Sal. Pride went before, ambition follows him. While these do labour for their own preferment, 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 cardinalMore 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, Join we together, for the public good; * War. So God help Warwick, as he loves the land, *And common profit of his country! A day will come, when York shall claim his own; Hanging the head at Ceres' plenteous load? *As frowning at the favours of the world? * York. And so says York, for he hath greatest* Gazing on that which seems to dim thy sight? cause. Sal. Then let's make haste away, and look unto* the main. War. Unto the main ! O father, Maine is lost; That Maine, which by main force Warwick did win, *And would have kept, so long as breath did last : Main chance, father, you meant; but I meant Maine; Which I will win from France, or else be slain. What see'st thou there? king Henry's diadem, Enchas'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. [Exeunt Warwick and Salisbury. York. Anjou and Maine are given to the French;* * Paris is lost; the state of Normandy *Stands on a ticklel point, now they are gone: *Suffolk concluded on the articles; (1) For ticklish. (2) Meleager; whose life was to continue only so long as a certain firebrand should last. Hi mother Althea having thrown it into the fire, he lexpired in torment. |