John. They have the more need to sleep now then. Geo. I tell thee, Jack Cade the clothier means to dress the commonwealth, and turn it, and set a new nap upon it. John. So he had need, for 'tis threadbare. Well, I say, , it was never merry world in England, since gentlemen came up. Geo. O miserable age! Virtue is not regarded in bandycrafts-men. John. The nobility think scorn to go in leather aprons. mon, and in Cheapside shall my palfry go to grass. 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 apparel them all in one livery, that they may agree 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 the skin of an innocent lamb should be made parchment? that parchment, being scribbled Geo. Nay more, the king's council are no good work- o'er, should undo a man? Some say, the bee stings: men. John. True; and yet it is said,-Labour in thy vocation; which is as much to say, as,-let the magistrates be labouring men; and therefore should we be magistrates. Geo. Thou hast hit it: for there's no better sign of a brave mind, than a hard hand. John. I see them! I see them! There's Best's son, the tanner of Wingham ;—— Geo. He shall have the skins of our enemies, to make dog's leather of. John, And Dick the butcher, Geo. Then is sin struck down like an ox, and iniquity's throat cut like a calf. Jokn. And Smith the weaver: Geo. Argo, their thread of life is spun. Drum. Enter Cade, Dick the Butcher, Smith the Cade. We John Cade, so termed of our supposed father, Dick. Or rather, of stealing a cade of herrings. [Aside. Cade. -for our enemies shall fall before us, inspired with the spirit of putting down kings and princes,— Command silence. ご Dick. No question of that; for I have seen him whipped three market days together. Cade. I fear neither sword nor fire. [Aside. Smith. He need not fear the sword, for his coat is of proof. [Aside. Dick. But, methinks, he should stand in fear of fire, being burnt i'the hand for stealing of sheep. [Aside. Cade. Be brave then; for your captain is brave, and vows reformation. There shall be, in England, seven half-penny loaves sold for a penny: the three-hooped pot shall have ten hoops; and I will make it felony, to drink small beer: all the realm shall be in con but I say, 'tis the bee's wax, for I did but seal once to a thing, and I was never mine own man since. How now? who's there? Enter some, bringing in the Clerk of Chatham. Smith. The clerk of Chatham: he can write and read, and cast accompt. Cade. O monstrous! Smith. We took him setting of boys' copies. Smith. H'as a book in his pocket, with red letters in't. Cade, Nay, then he is a conjurer. Dick. Nay, he can make obligations, and write court-hand. Cade. I am sorry for't: the man is a proper man, on mine honour; unless I find him guilty, he shal! not die.-Come hither, sirrah, I must examine thee: What is thy name? Clerk. Emmanuel. Dick. They use to write it on the top of letters :"Twill go hard with you. Cade. Let me alone:-Dost thou use to write thy name? or hast thou a mark to thyself, like an honest plain-dealing 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 inkhorn about his neck. [Exeunt some with the Clerk. Enter Michael. Mich. Where's our general? Cade. Stand, villain, stand, or I'll fell thee down: He shall be encountered with a man as good as himself: He is but a knight, is 'a? Mich. No. Cade. To equal him, I will make myself a knight presently; Rise up sir John Mortimer. Now have at him. Enter Sir Humphrey Stafford, and William his Broth Staff. Rebellious hinds, the filth and seum of Kent, W. Staff. But angry, wrathful, and inclined to blood, Cade. As for these silken-coated slaves, I pass not; And thou thyself a shearman, Art thou not? W. Staff. And what of that? Cade. Marry, this :-Edmund Mortimer, earl of March, Married the duke of Clarence' daughter; Did he not? Cade. By her, he had two children at one birth. Cade. Ay, there's the question; but, I say, 'tis true: The elder of them, being put to nurse, Was by a beggar-woman stol'n away; 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 alive at this day to testify it; therefore, deny it not. Staff. And will you credit this base drudge's words, That speaks he knows not what? All. Ay, marry, will we; therefore get ye gone. W. Staff. Jack Cade, the duke of York hath taught you this. Cade. He lies, for I invented it myself. [Aside.]— Go to, sirrah, Tell the king from me that-for his father's sake, Henry the fifth, in whose time boys went to span-counter for French crowns,-I am content he shall reign; but I'll be protector over him. -The Lent shall be as long again as it is; and thou shalt have a license to kill for a hundred lacking one. Dick. I desire no more. Cade. And, to speak truth, thou deservest no less. This monument of the victory will I bear; and the bodies shall be dragged at my horse' heels, till I do come to London, where we will have the mayor's sword borne before us. Dick. If we mean to thrive and do good, break open the gaols, and let out the prisoners. Cade. Fear not that, I warrant thee. Come, let's march towards London. [Exeunt. SCENE IV-London. A Room in the Palace. En ter King Henry, reading a Supplication; the Duke of Buckingham, and Lord Say, with him: at a dis tance, Queen Margaret, mourning over Suffolk's head. Q. Mar. Oft have I heard-that grief softens the mind, And makes it fearful and degenerate; 'Think therefore on revenge, and cease to weep. || But who can cease to weep, and look on this? Here may his head lie on my throbbing breast: But where's the body that I should embrace? Buck. What answer makes your grace to the rebels supplication! K. Hen. I'll send some holy bishop to entreat: For God forbid, so many simple souls Dick. And, furthermore, we'll have the lord Say's Should perish by the sword! And I myself, head, for selling the dukedom of Maine. Cade. And good reason; for thereby is England maimed, and fain to go with a staff, but that my puissance holds it up. Fellow kings, I tell you, that that lord Say hath gelded the commonwealth, and made it an eunuch: and more than that, he can speak French, and therefore he is a traitor. Staff. O gross and miserable 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 tongue of an enemy, be a good counsellor, or no? All. No, no; and, therefore we'll have his head. W. Staff. Well, seeing gentle words will not prevail, Assail them with the army of the king. Staff. Herald, away; and, throughout every town, Proclaim them traitors that are up with Cade; That those, which fly before the battle ends, May, even in their wives' and children's sight, Be bang'd up for example at their doors :And you, that be the king's friends, follow me. [Exeunt the two Staffords, and Forces. 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 shoon; For they are thrifty honest men, and such As would (but that they dare not,) take our parts. Dick. They are all in order, and march toward us. Cade. But then are we in order, when we are most out of order. Come, march forward. [Exeunt. SCENE III-Another Part of Blackheath. Alarums. The two Parties enter and fight, and both the Staffords are slain. Cade. Where's Dick, the butcher of Ashford? Cade. They fell before thee like sheep and oxen, and thou behavedst thyself, as if thou hadst been in thine own slaughter-house: therefore thus will I reward thee, Rather than bloody war shall cut them short, Q. Mar. Ah, barbarous villains! hath this lovely face K. Hen. Lord Say, Jack Cade hath sworn to have thy head. Say. Ay, but I hope, your highness shall have his. K. Hen, How now, madam? Still Lamenting, and mourning for Suffolk's death? I fear, my love, if that I had been dead, Thou wouldest not have mourn'd so much for me. Q. Mar. No, my love, I should not mourn, but die for thee. Enter a Messenger. K. Hen. How now! what news? why com'st thou in such baste? Mess. The rebels are in Southwark; Fly, my lord! Of hinds and peasants, rude and merciless: Buck. My gracious lord, retire to Kenelworth, Q. Mar. Ah! were the duke of Suffolk now alive, These Kentish rebels would be soon appeas'd. K. Hen. Lord Say, the traitors hate thee, Therefore away with us to Kenelworth. Say. So might your grace's person be in danger; The sight of me is odious in their eyes: And therefore in this city will I stay, And live alone as secret as I may. Enter another Messenger. 2 Mess. Jack Cade hath gotten London-bridge; the citizens Fly and forsake their houses: The rascal people, thirsting after prey, Join with the traitor; and they jointly swear, To spoil the city, and your royal court. Buck. Then linger not, my lord; away, take horse. K. Hen. Come, Margaret; God, our hope, will suc cour us. Q. Mar. My hope is gone, now Suffolk is deceas'd. K. Hen. Farewell, my lord; [To Lord Say.] trust not the Kentish rebels. Buck. Trust no body, for fear you be betray'd. Say. The trust I have is in mine innocence, And therefore am I bold and resolute. [Exeunt, SCENE V-The same. The Tower. Enter Lord Scales, and others, on the Walls. Then enter certain Citizens below. Scales. How now? is Jack Cade slain? 1 Cit. No, my lord, nor likely to be slain; for they have won the bridge, killing all those that withstand them: The lord mayor craves aid of your honour from the Tower, to defend the city from the rebels. Scales. Such aid as I can spare, you shall command; But I am troubled here with them myself; The rebels have assay'd to win the Tower. But get you to Smithfield, and gather head, And thither I will send you Matthew Gough: Fight for your king, your country, and your lives; And so farewell, for I must hence again. [Exeunt. SCENE VI.-The same. Cannon Street. Enter Jack Cade, and his Followers. He strikes his Staff on London-stone. Cade. Now is Mortimer lord of this city. And here, sitting upon London-stone, I charge and command, that of the city's cost, the pissing-conduit run nothing but claret wine this first year of our reign. And now, henceforward, it shall be treason for any that calls me other than-lord Mortimer. Enter a Soldier, running. Sold. Jack Cade! Jack Cade! Cade. Knock him down there. [They kill him. Smith. If this fellow be wise, he'll never call you Jack Cade more; I think, he hath a very fair warning. Dick. My lord, there's an army gathered together in Smithfield. Cade. Come then, let's go fight with them: but, first, go and set London-bridge on fire; and, if you can, burn down the Tower too.. Come, let's away. thrust in the mouth with a spear, and 'tis not whole yet. [Aside. Smith. Nay, John, it will be stinking law; for his breath stinks with eating toasted cheese. [Aside. Cade. I have thought upon it, it shall be so. Away, burn all the records of the realm; my mouth shall be the parliament of England. John. Then we are like to have biting statutes, unless his teeth be pulled out. [Aside. Cade. And henceforward all things shall be in com men. Enter a Messenger. Mes. My lord, a prize, a prize! here's the lord Say, which sold the towns in France; he that made us pay one and twenty fifteens, and one shilling to the pound, the last subsidy. Enter George Bevis, with the Lord Say. Cade. Well, he shall be beheaded for it ten times.Ah, thou say, thou serge, nay, thou buckram lord! now art thou within point-blank of our jurisdiction regal. What canst thou answer to my majesty, for giving up of Normandy unto monsieur Basimecu, the dauphin of France? Be it known unto thee by these presence, even the presence of lord Mortimer, that I am the besom that must sweep the court clean of such filth as thou art. Thou hast most traitorously corrupted the youth of the realm, in erecting a grammar-school; and whereas, before, our fore-fathers had no other books but the score and the tally, thou hast caused printing to be. used; and, contrary to the king, his crown, and dignity, thou hast built a paper-mill. It will be proved to thy face, that thou hast men about thee, that usually talk of a noun, and a verb; and such abominable words, as no Christian ear can endure to hear. Thou hast ap pointed justices of peace, to call poor men before them about matters they were not able to answer. Moreover, thou hast put them in prison; and because they could not read, thou hast hanged them; when, indeed, only for that cause they have been most worthy to live. Thou dost ride on a foot-cloth, dost thou not? Say. What of that? Cade, Marry, thou oughtest not to let thy horse wear a cloak, when honester men than thou go in their hose and doublets. Dick. And work in their shirt too; as myself, for example, that am a butcher. Say. You men of Kent, Dick. What say you of Kent? Say. Nothing but this: "Tis bona terra, mala gens. Cade. Away with him, away with him! he speaks Latin. Say. Hear me but speak, and bear me where you will. Kent, in the commentaries Cæsar writ, Is term'd the civil'st place of all this isle: Sweet is the country, because full of riches; The people liberal, valiant, active, wealthy; Which makes me hope you are not void of pity. I sold not Maine, I lost not Normandy; Yet, to recover them, would lose my life. Justice with favour have I always done; Prayers and tears have mov'd me, gifts could never. When have I aught exacted at your hands, Kent to maintain, the king, the realm, and you? Large gifts have I bestow'd on learned clerks, Because my book preferr'd me to the king: And-seeing ignoranee is the curse of God, Knowledge the wing wherewith we fly to heaven,Unless you be possess'd with devilish spirits, You cannot but forbear to murder me. This tongue hath parley'd unto foreign kings Cade. Tut! when struck'st thou one blow in the field? Say. Great men have reaching hands: oft have I struck Those that I never saw, and struck them dead.. Geo. O monstrous coward! what, to come behind folks? Say. These cheeks are pale for watching for your good. Cade. Give him a box o'the ear, and that will make 'em red again. Say. Long sitting to determine poor men's causes Hath made me full of sickness and diseases. Cade. Ye shall have a hempen caudle then, and the pap of a hatchet. Dick. Why dost thou quiver, man? Say. The palsy, and not fear, provoketh me. Whom have I injur'd, that ye seek my death? Cade. I feel remorse in myself with his words: but I'll bridle it: he shall die, an it be but for pleading so well for his life.-Away with him! he has a familiar under his tongue: he speaks not 'God's name. Go, take him away, I say, and strike of his head presently: and then break into his son-in-law's house, sir James Cromer, and strike off his head, and bring them both upon two poles hither. All. It shall be done. Say. Ah, countryinen! if when you make your God should be so obdurate as yourselves, Cade. Marry, presently. All. O brave! Re-enter Rebels with the heads of Lord Say, and his Cade. But is not this braver?-Let them kiss one another, for they loved well, when they were alive. Now part them again, lest they consult about the giv- kill and knock down! throw them into Thames![A Parley sounded, then a Retreat. What noise is this I hear? Dare any be so bold to sound retreat or parley, when I command them kill? Enter Buckingham, and Old Clifford, with Forces. Buck. Ay, here they be that dare and will disturb Know, Cade, we come ambassadors from the king Clif. What say ye, countrymen? will ye relent, All. God save the king! God save the king! All. We'll follow Cade, we'll follow Cade! I see them lording it in London streets, All. A Clifford! a Clifford ! we'll follow the king, and Clifford. Cade. Was ever feather so lightly blown to and fro, as this multitude? the name of Henry the fifth hales them to an hundred mischiefs, and makes them leave me desolate. I see them lay their heads together, to surprise me: my sword make way for me, for here is no staying.-In despite of the devils and hell, have through the very midst of you! and heavens and hotour be witness, that no want of resolution in me, but only my followers' base and ignominious treasons, [Exit. makes me betake me to my heels. Buck. What, is he fled ? go some, and follow him ; Follow me, soldiers; we'll devise a mean [Exeunt. SCENE IX-Kenelworth Castle. Enter King Henry, Queen Margaret, and Somerset, on the Terrace of the Castle. K. Hen. Was ever king that joy'd an earthly throne, As I do long and wish to be a subject. Enter Buckingham and Clifford. Buck. Health, and glad tidings, to your majesty! Or is he but retir'd to make him strong? Enter below, a great number of Cade's Followers, with Clif. He's fled, my lord, and all his powers do yield; K. Hen. Then, heaven, set ope thy everlasting gates, Continue still in this so good a mind, Mea. Please it your grace to be advertised, His arms are only to remove from thee The duke of Somerset, whom he terms a traitor. Like to a ship, that, having 'scap'd a tempest, I pray thee, Buckingham, go forth and meet him; I'll yield myself to prison willingly, K. Hen. In any case, be not too rough in terms; K. Hen. Come, wife, let's in, and learn to govern better; For yet may England curse my wretched reign. [Exeunt. SCENE X.-Kent. Iden's Garden. Enter Cade. Cade. Fie on ambition! fie on myself; that have a sword, and yet am ready to famish! These five days bave I hid me in these woods; and durst not peep out, for all the country is lay'd for me; but now am I so hungry, that if I might have a lease of my life for à thousand years, I could stay no longer. Wherefore, on a brick-wall have I climbed into this garden; to see if I can eat grass, or pick a sallet another while, which is not amiss to cool a man's stomach this hot weather. And, I think, this word sallet was born to do me good: for, many a time, but for a sallet, my brain-pan had been eleft with a brown bill; and, many a time, when I have been dry, and bravely marching, it hath served ine instead of a quart-pot to drink in; and now the word sallet must serve me to feed on. Enter Iden, with Servants. Iden. Lord, who would live turmoiled in the court, Cade. Here's the lord of the soil come to seize me for a stray, for entering his fee-simple without leave. Ah, villain, thou wilt betray me, and get a thousand erowns of the king for carrying my head to him; but I'll make thee eat iron like an ostrich, and swallow my sword like a great pin, ere thou and I part. Iden. Why, rude companion, whatsoe'er thou be, Cade. Brave thee? ay, by the best blood that ever That Alexander Iden, an esquire of Kent, Thy leg a stick, compared with this truncheon; Cade. By my valour, the most complete champion that ever I heard.-Steel, if thou turn the edge, or cut not out the burly-boned clown in chines of beef, ere thou sleep in thy sheath, I beseech God on my knees, thou mayest be turned to hobnails. [They fight. Cade | falls.] O, I am slain! famine, and no other, hath slain ine: let ten thousand devils come against me, and give me but the ten meals I have lost, and I'd defy them all. Wither, garden; and be henceforth a burying-place to all that do dwell in this house, because the unconquered soul of Cade is ed. Iden. Ist Cade that I have slain, that monstrous Sword, I will hallow thee for this thy deed, |