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

Who made the Dauphin and the French to stoop And seized 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, me

thinks, you lose.

Father, tear the crown from the usurper's head.

EDW. Sweet father, do so; set it on your head. MONT. Good brother, as thou lovest and honourest 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. 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. [Aside] I know not what to say; my

title's weak.—

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. [Aside] 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 deposed.

WAR. Deposed he shall be, in despite of all. NORTH. Thou art deceived: '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 despite 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 over the chair of state, where now he sits,
Write up his title with usurping blood.

[He stamps with his foot, 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 livest.
KING. 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!
CLIF. How hast thou injured 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 mayst thou be overcome, Or live in peace abandon'd and despised!

[Exeunt NORTH., CLIFF., and WEST. WAR. Turn this way, Henry, and regard them not. EXE. They seek revenge and therefore will not

yield.

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.

WAR. Long live King Henry! Plantagenet, embrace him.

K. HEN. And long live thou and these thy forward sons!

YORK. Now York and Lancaster are reconciled. EXE. Accursed be he that seeks to make them [Sennet. Here they come down. YORK. Farewell, my gracious lord; I'll to my

foes!

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, their 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:

I'll steal away.

K. HEN.

Exeter, so will I.

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 proved so unnatural a father! Hath he deserved to lose his birthright thus? Hadst thou but loved 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,