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Excepting none but good duke Humphrey.-
And, brother York,7 thy acts in Ireland,

In bringing them to civil discipline;

Thy late exploits, done in the heart of France,
When thou wert regent for our sovereign,

Have made thee fear'd, and honour'd, of the people :-
Join we together, for the public good;

In what we can to bridle and suppress

The pride of Suffolk, and the cardinal,

With Somerset's and Buckingham's ambition;

And, as we may, cherish duke Humphrey's deeds,
While they do tend the profit of the land.

War. So God help Warwick, as he loves the land, And common profit of his country!

York. And so says York, for he hath greatest 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.

[Exeunt WAR. and SAL.

York. Anjou and Maine are given to the French ;
Paris is lost; the state of Normandy

Stands on a tickle point, now they are gone :8
Suffolk concluded on the articles;

The peers agreed; and Henry was well pleas'd,

To change two dukedoms for a duke's fair daughter,
I cannot blame them all; What is't to them?

'Tis thine they give away, and not their own.

Pirates may make cheap pennyworths of their 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.

[7] Richard Plantagenet, duke of York, married Cicely, the daughter of Ralph Nevil, earl of Westmoreland. Richard Nevil, earl of Salisbury, was son to the earl of Westmoreland, by a second wife. He married Alice, the only daughter of Thos. Montacute, earl of Salisbury, who was killed at the siege of Orleans [See this play, Part I. act I. sc. i.] and in consequence of that alliance obtained the title of Salisbury in 1428. His eldest son Richard, having married the sister and heir of Henry Beauchamp earl of Warwick, was created earl of Warwick in 1449. MAL.

[8] Tickle is very frequently used for ticklish by old writers.

STEEV.

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, Bear that proportion to my flesh and blood,

As did the fatal brand Althea burn'd,

Unto the prince's heart of Calydon. 9

Anjou and Maine, both given unto the French!
Cold news for me; for I had hope of France,
Even as I have of fertile England's soil.

A day will come, when York shall claim his own ;
And therefore I will take the Nevils' parts,

And make a show of love to proud duke Humphrey,
And, when I spy advantage, claim the crown,
For that's the golden mark I seek to hit :
Nor shall proud Lancaster usurp my right,
Nor hold his scepter in his childish fist,
Nor wear the diadem upon his head,

Whose church-like humours fit not for a crown.
Then, York, be still awhile, till time do serve :
Watch thou, and wake, when others be asleep,
To pry into the secrets of the state;

Till Henry, surfeiting in joys of love,

With his new bride, and England's dear-bought queen,
And Humphrey with the peers be fall'n at jars:
Then will I raise aloft the milk-white rose,

With whose sweet smell the air shall be perfum'd;
And in my standard bear the arms of York,
To grapple with the house of Lancaster ;
And, force perforce, I'll make him yield the crown,
Whose bookish rule hath pull'd fair England down.

The same.

SCENE II.

[Exit,

A Room in the Duke of GLOSTER's House. Enter
GLOSTER and the Duchess.

Duch. Why droops my lord, like over-ripen'd corn, Hanging the head at Ceres' plenteous load?

Why doth the great duke Humphrey knit his brows,
As frowning at the favours of the world?
Why are thine eyes fix'd to the sullen earth,
Gazing on that which seems to dim thy sight?
What see'st thou there? king Henry's diadem,

[9] According to the fable, Meleager's life was to continue only so long as a certain firebrand should last. His mother Althea having thrown it into the fire, he expired in great torments. MAL.

10

VOL. V.

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.

Glo. O Nell, sweet Nell, if thou dost love thy lord,
Banish the canker of ambitious thoughts:
And may that thought, when I imagine ill
Against my king and nephew, virtuous Henry,
Be my last breathing in this mortal world!

My troublous dream this night doth make me sad.
Duch. What dream'd my lord? tell me, and I'll re-·
quite it

With sweet rehearsal of my morning's dream.

Glo. Methought, this staff, mine office-badge in court, Was broke in twain; by whom, I have forgot, But, as I think, it was by the cardinal;

And on the pieces of the broken wand

Were plac'd the heads of Edmond duke of Somerset,
And William de la Poole first duke of Suffolk.

This was my dream; what it doth bode, God knows.
Duch. Tut, this was nothing but an argument,
That he that breaks a stick of Gloster's grove,
Shall lose his head for his presumption.

But list to me, my Humphrey, my sweet duke:
Methought, I sat in seat of majesty,

In the cathedral church of Westminster,

And in that chair where kings and queens are crown'd; Where Henry, and dame Margaret, kneel'd to me,

And on my head did set the diadem.

Glo. Nay, Eleanor, then must I chide outright:
Presumptuous dame, ill-nurtur'd Eleanor !
Art thou not second woman in the realm;
And the protector's wife, belov'd of him?
Hast thou not worldly pleasure at command,
Above the reach or compass of thy thought?
And wilt thou still be hammering treachery,
To tumble down thy husband, and thyself,
From top of honour to disgrace's feet?
Away from me, and let me hear no more.

Duch. What, what, my lord! are you so choleric

With Eleanor, for telling but her dream?
Next time, I'll keep my dreams unto myself,
And not be check'd.

Glo. Nay, be not angry, I am pleas'd again.

Enter a Messenger.

Mess. My lord protector, 'tis his highness' pleasure, You do prepare to ride unto Saint Albans, Whereas the king and queen do mean to hawk.' Glo. I go.-Come, Nell, thou wilt ride with us? Duch. Yes, good my lord, I'll follow presently.

[Exeunt GLOSTER and Messenger.

Follow, I must, I cannot go before,

While Gloster bears this base and humble mind.
Were I a man, a duke, and next of blood,

I would remove these tedious stumbling-blocks,
And smooth my way upon their headless necks:
And, being a woman, I will not be slack

To play my part in fortune's pageant.

Where are you there? Sir John 2 nay, fear not, man, We are alone; here's none but thee, and 1.

Enter HUME.

Hume. Jesu preserve your royal majesty !

Duch. What say'st thou, majesty! I am but grace. Hume. But, by the grace of God, and Hume's advice, Your grace's title shall be multiplied.

Duc. What say'st thou, man? hast thou as yet conferr'd With Margery Jourdain, the cunning witch;

And Roger Bolingbroke, the conjurer?

And will they undertake to do me good?

Hume. This they have promised,-to show your highness

A spirit rais'd from depth of under ground,
That shall make answer to such questions,
As by your grace shall be propounded him.

Duch. It is enough; I'll think upon the questions:
When from Saint Albans we do make return,
We'll see these things effected to the full.

Here, Hume, take this reward; make merry, man,
With thy confederates in this weighty cause.

[Exit.

Hume.Hume must make merry with the duchess' gold; Marry, and shall. But how now, Sir John Hume?

[1] Whereas is the same as where; and seems to be brought into use only on account of its being a dissyllable. STEEV.

[2] A title frequently bestowed on the clergy.

STEEV

Seal up your lips, and give no words but-mum !
The business asketh silent secrecy.

Dame Eleanor gives gold, to bring the witch:
Gold cannot come amiss, were she a devil.
Yet have I gold, flies from another coast:

I dare not say, from the rich cardinal,

And from the great and new-made duke of Suffolk ;
Yet I do find it so: for, to be plain,

They, knowing dame Eleanor's aspiring humour,
Have hired me to undermine the duchess,
And buz these conjurations in her brain.
They say, A crafty knave does need no broker;
Yet am I Suffolk and the cardinal's broker.
Hume, if you take not heed, you shall go near
To call them both-a pair of crafty knaves.
Well, so it stands: And thus, I fear, at last,
Hume's knavery, will be the duchess' wreck ;
And her attainture will be Humphrey's fall :
Sort how it will, 3 I shall have gold for all.

The same.

SCENE III.

[Exit.

A Room in the Palace. Enter PETER, and others, with Petitions.

1 Pet. My masters, let's stand close; my lord protector will come this way by and by, and then we may deliver our supplications in the quill.4

2 Pet. Marry, the Lord protect him, for he's a good man! Jesu bless him!

Enter SUFFOLK, and Queen MARGARET.

1 Pet. Here 'a comes, methinks, and the queen with him I'll be the first, sure.

2 Pet. Come back, fool; this is the duke of Suffolk, and not my lord protector.

Suf. How now, fellow would'st any thing with me? 1 Pet. I pray, my lord, pardon me! I took ye for my lord protector.

Q.Mar. [Reading the superscription.] To my lord

[3] Let the issue be what it will.

JOHNS.

[4] In the quill may mean, with great exactness and observance of form, or with the utmost punctilio of ceremony. The phrase seems to be taken from part of the dress of our ancestors, whose ruffs were quilled. While these were worn, it might be the vogue to say, such a thing is in the quill, i.e. in the reigning mode of taste. TOLLET. To this observation I may add, that, after printing began, the similar phrase of a thing being in prist was used to express the same circumstance of exactness. STEEV.

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