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West. Plantagenet, of thee, and these thy sons,
Thy kinsmen, and thy friends, I'll have more lives,
Than drops of blood were in my father's veins.

Clif. Urge it no more; lest that, instead of words,
I send thee, Warwick, such a messenger,
As shall revenge his death, before I stir.

War. Poor Clifford ! how I scorn his worthless threats!
York. Will you, we show our title to the crown?
If not, our swords shall plead it in the field.

K.Hen. What title hast thou, traitor, to the crown? Thy father was, as thou art, duke of York;

Thy grandfather, Roger Mortimer, earl of March:
I am the son of Henry the Fifth, 5

Who made the Dauphin and the French to stoop,
And seiz'd upon their towns and provinces.

War. Talk not of France, sith thou hast lost it all K.Hen. The lord protector lost it, and not I; When I was crown'd, I was but nine months old. Rich. You are old enough now, and yet, methinks, you lose:

Father, tear the crown from the usurper's head.
Edw. Sweet father, do so; set it on your head.
Mont. Good brother, [To YORK.] as thou lov'st and
honour'st arms,

Let's fight it out, and not stand cavilling thus.

Rich. Sound drums and trumpets, and the king will fly. York. Sons, peace!

K.Hen.Peace, thou! and give king Henry leave to speak. War. Plantagenet shall speak first:-hear him, lords: And be you silent and attentive too,

For he, that interrupts him, shall not live.

K.Hen. Think'st thou, that I will leave my kingly throne,

Wherein my grandsire, and my father, sat?
No: first shall war unpeople this my realm;
Ay, and their colours,-often borne in France;

And now in England, to our heart's great sorrow,-
Shall be my winding-sheet-Why faint you, lords?
My title's good, and better far than his.

War. But prove it, Henry, and thou shalt be king. K.Hen. Henry the Fourth by conquest got the crown. York. 'Twas by rebellion against his king.

K.Hen. I know not what to say; my title's weak.

[5] The military reputation of Henry the Fifth is the sole support of his son. The name of Henry the Fifth dispersed the followers of Cade. JOH.

Tell me, may not a king adopt an heir?
York. What then?

K.Hen. An if he may, then am I lawful king:
For Richard, in the view of many lords,
Resign'd the crown to Henry the Fourth;
Whose heir my father was, and I am his.

York. He rose against him, being his sovereign, And made him to resign his crown perforce.

War. Suppose, my lords, he did it unconstrain❜d, Think you, 'twere prejudicial to his crown?

Exe. No; for he could not so resign his crown, But that the next heir should succeed and reign. K.Hen. Art thou against us, duke of Exeter? Exe. His is the right, and therefore pardon me. York. Why whisper you, my lords, and answer not Exe. My conscience tells me, he is lawful king. K.Hen. All will revolt from me and turn to him. North. Plantagenet, for all the claim thou lay'st, Think not, that Henry shall be so depos'd.

War. Depos'd he shall be, in despight of all.

North. Thou art deceiv'd: 'tis not thy southern power, Of Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk, nor of Kent,

Which makes thee thus presumptuous and proud,-
Can set the duke up, in despight of me.

Clif. King Henry, be thy title right or wrong,

Lord Clifford vows to fight in thy defence:

May that ground gape, and swallow me alive,
Where I shall kneel to him that slew my father.

K.Hen. O Clifford, how thy words revive my heart
York. Henry of Lancaster, resign thy crown :-
What mutter you, or what conspire you, lords?
War. Do right unto this princely duke of York;
Or I will fill the house with armed men,

And o'er the chair of state, where now he sits,
Write up his title with usurping blood.

[He stamps, and the Soldiers show themselves. K.Hen. My lord of Warwick, hear me but one word: Let me, for this my life-time, reign as king.

York. Confirm the crown to me, and to mine heirs, And thou shalt reign in quiet while thou liv'st. K.Hen. I am content: Richard Plantagenet,

Enjoy the kingdom after my decease.

Clif. What wrong is this unto the prince your son ? War. What good is this to England, and himself? West. Base, fearful, and despairing Henry!

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Clif. How hast thou injur'd both thyself and us?
West. I cannot stay to hear these articles.
North. Nor I.

Clif. Come, cousin, let us tell the queen these news.

West. Farewell, faint-hearted and degenerate king,

In whose cold blood no spark of honour 'bides.

North. Be thou a prey unto the house of York,

And die in bands for this unmanly deed!

Clif. In dreadful war may'st thou be overcome ! Or live in peace, abandon'd, and despis'd!

[Exeunt NORTH. CLIF. and WEST. War. Turn this way, Henry, and regard them not. Exe. They seek revenge, and therefore will not yield.5 K.Hen. Ah, Exeter !

War. Why should you sigh, my lord?

K.Hen. Not for myself, lord Warwick, but my son, Whom I unnaturally shall disinherit.

But, be it as it may :-I here entail

The crown to thee, and to thine heirs for ever;
Conditionally, that here thou take an oath
To cease this civil war, and, whilst I live,
To honour me as thy king and sovereign;
And neither by treason, nor hostility,
To seek to put me down, and reign thyself.
York. This oath I willingly take, and will perform.
[Coming from the Throne.
War.Long live kingHenry!-Plantagenet,embrace him.
K.Hen. And long live thou, and these thy forward sons!
York. Now York and Lancaster are reconcil'd.
Exe. Accurs'd be he, that seeks to make them foes!
[Senet. The Lords come forward.
York. Farewell, my gracious lord; I'll to my castle.
War. And I'll keep London, with my soldiers.
Norf. And I to Norfolk, with my followers.
Mont. And I unto the sea, from whence I came.

[Exeunt YORK, and his Sons, WARWICK, NORFOLK, MONTAGUE, Soldiers, and Attendants. K.Hen. And I, with grief and sorrow, to the court. Enter Queen MARGARET and the Prince of Wales. Exe. Here comes the queen, whose looks bewray her anger:

6

[5] They go away, not because they doubt the justice of this determination, but because they have been conquered, and seek to be revenged. They are not influenced by principle, but passion. JOHNSON.

[6] Bewray-that is, betray, discover, STEEV.

I'll steal away.
K.Hen. Exeter, so will I.

[Going

Q.Mar. Nay, go not from me, I will follow thee.
K.Hen. Be patient, gentle queen, and I will stay.
Q.Mar. Who can be patient in such extremes?
Ah, wretched man! 'would I had died a maid,
And never seen thee, never borne thee son,
Seeing thou hast prov'd so unnatural a father!
Hath he deserv'd to lose his birthright thus ?
Hadst thou but lov'd him half so well as I ;
Or felt that pain which I did for him once;
Or nourish'd him, as I did with my blood;

Thou wouldst have left thy dearest heart-blood there,
Rather than made that savage duke thine heir,
And disinherited thine only son.

Prince. Father, you canot disinherit me :
If you be king, why should not I succeed?

K.Hen. Pardon me,Margaret ;-pardon me,sweet son; -The earl of Warwick, and the duke, enforc'd me. Q.Mar. Enforc'd thee! art thou king, and wilt be forc'd?

I shame to hear thee speak. Ah, timorous wretch!
Thou hast undone thyself, thy son, and me;
And given unto the house of York such head,
As thou shalt reign but by their sufferance.
To entail him and his heirs unto the crown,
What is it, but to make thy sepulchre,7
And creep into it far before thy time?
Warwick is chancellor, and the lord of Calais ;
Stern Faulconbridge commands the narrow seas ;8

[7] The Queen's reproach is founded on a position long received among politicians, that the loss of a king's power is soon followed by loss of life JOHNS.

[8] The person here meant was Thomas Nevil, bastard son to the lord Faulconbridge, "a man," says Hall, "of no lesse corage then audacitie, who for his uel condicions was such an apte person, that a more meter could not be chosen to set all the worlde in a broyle, and to put the estate of the realme on an yl hazard." He had been appointed by Warwick vice-admiral of the sea, and had in charge so to keep the passage between Dover and Calais, that none which either favoured King Henry or his friends should escape untaken or undrowned; such at least were his instructions, with respect to the friends and favourers of King Edward, after the rupture between him and Warwick. On Warwick's death, he fell into poverty, and robbed, both by sea and land, as well friends as enemies. He once brought his ships up the Thames, and with a considerable body of the men of Kent and Essex, made a spirited assault on the city, with a view to plunder and pillage, which was not repelled but after a sharp conflict and the loss of many lives; and, had it happened at a more critical period, might have been attended with fatal consequences to Edward. After roving on the sea some little time longer, he ventured to land at Southampton, where he was taken and beheaded. See Hall and Holinshed. RITSON.

The duke is made protector of the realm;
And yet shalt thou be safe? such safety finds
The trembling lamb, environed with wolves.
Had I been there, which am a silly woman,
The soldiers should have toss'd me on their pikes,
Before I would have granted to that act.

But thou preferr'st thy life before thine honour:
And seeing thou dost, I here divorce myself,
Both from thy table, Henry, and thy bed,
Until that act of parliament be repeal'd,
Whereby my son is disinherited.

The northern lords, that have forsworn thy colours,
Will follow mine, if once they see them spread :
And spread they shall be; to thy foul disgrace,
And utter ruin of the house of York.

Thus do I leave thee :-Come, son, let's away;
Our army's ready; come, we'll after them.

K.Hen. Stay, gentle Margaret, and hear me speak.
Q.Mar. Thou hast spoke too much already; get

thee gone.

K.Hen. Gentle son Edward, thou wilt stay with me? Q.Mar. Ay, to be murder'd by his enemies.

Prince. When I return with victory from the field, I'll see your grace: till then, I'll follow her.

Q.Mar. Come, son, away; we may not linger thus.
[Exeunt Queen MARGARET, and the Prince.
K.Hen. Poor queen! how love to me, and to her son,
Hath made her break out into terms of rage!
Reveng'd may she be on that hateful duke;
Whose haughty spirit, winged with desire,

Will cost my crown, and, like an empty eagle,
Tire on the flesh of me, and of my son !1

The loss of those three lords torments my heart:
I'll write unto them, and entreat them fair ;-

Come, cousin, you shall be the messenger.

Exe. And I, I hope, shall reconcile them all. [Exeunt.

[9] Cost and coast were ultimately derived of the same original. HENLEY.

To coast is a sea-faring expression, and means to keep along shore. We may, however, maintain the integrity of the figure, by inserting the word cote. To cote is to come up with, to overtake, to reach. STEEV. [1] To tire is to fasten, to fix the talons, from the French tirer. JOHNS. [2] That is, Of Northumberland, Westmoreland, and Clifford, who had left him in disgust. JOHNS.

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