presently; and then break into his son-in-law's

horse wear a cloak, when honester men than take him away, I say, and strike off his head thou go in their hose and doublets. Dick. And work in their shirt too; as my-house, Sir James Cromer, and strike off his self, for example, that am a butcher.

Say. You men of Kent,-

Dick. What say you of Kent? [mala gens.
Say. Nothing but this, -'tis bona terra,
Cade. Away with him, away with him! he
speaks Latin.
[you will.
Say. Hear me but speak, and bear me where
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,
But 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 ignorance 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
For
your behoof,-
[the field?
Cade. Tut! when struck'st thou one blow in
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?
[your good.
Say. These cheeks are pale for watching for
Cade. Give him a box o' the ear, and that
will make 'em red again.
[causes,
Say. Long sitting, to determine poor men's
Hath made me full of sickness and diseases.
Cade. Ye shall have a hempen caudle, then,
and the help of hatchet.

Dick. Why dost thou quiver, man?
Say. The palsy, and not fear, provoketh me.
Cade. Nay, he nods at us, as who should
say, I'll be even with you: I'll see if his head
will stand steadier on a pole, or no. Take
him away, and behead him.

head, and bring them both upon two poles All. It shall be done.

[hither. Say. Ah, countrymen! if when you make your prayers,

God should be so obdurate as yourselves,
How would it fare with your departed souls?
And therefore yet relent, and save my life.

Çade. Away with him! and do as I command ye. [Exeunt some, with Lord Say. The proudest peer in the realm shall not wear a head on his shoulders, unless he pay me tribute; there shall not a maid be married, but she shall pay to me her maidenhead, ere they have it: men shall hold of me in capite; and we charge and command, that their wives be as free as heart can wish, or tongue can tell.

Dick. My lord, when shall we go to Cheapside, and take up commodities upon our bills? Cade. Marry, presently.

All. O, brave!

Re-enter Rebels, with the heads of Lord Say and his Son-in-law.

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 giving up of some more towns in France. Soldiers, defer the spoil of the city until night: for with these borne before us, instead of maces, will we ride through the streets; and at every corner have them kiss. Away! [Exeunt.

SCENE VIII. Southwark.

Alarum. Enter Cade, and all his Rabblement.

Cade. Up Fish Street! down St. Magnus corner! 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 thee.

(king Know, Cade, we come ambassadors from the Unto the commons whom thou hast misled; [most? And here pronounce free pardon to them all, Say. Tell me, wherein have I offended That will forsake thee, and go home in peace. Have I affected wealth, or honour? speak. Clif. What say ye, countrymen? will ye Are my chests fill'd up with extorted gold? relent, Is my apparel sumptuous to behold?

And yield to mercy, whilst 'tis offer'd you; Whom have I injur'd, that ye seek my death? Or let a rable lead you to your deaths? [don, These hands are free from guiltless blood- Who loves the king, and will embrace his parshedding, [thoughts. Fling up his cap, and say God save his majesty! This breast from harbouring foul deceitful Who hateth him, and honours not his father, O, let me live. Henry the fifth, that made all France to quake, Shake he his weapon at us, and pass by.

Cade. [Aside.] 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 o' God's name. Go,

All. God save the king! God save the king! Cade. What, Buckingham, and Clifford, are ye so brave? And you, base peasants, do ve believe him? will you needs be hanged with

majesty !

K. Hen. Why, Buckingham, is the traitor Or is he but retir'd to make him strong? Enter, below, a number of Cade's followers, with halters about their necks.

your pardons about your necks? Hath my But I was made a king, at nine months old : sword therefore broke through London Gates, Was never subject long'd to be a king, that you should leave me at the White Hart As I do long and wish to be a subject. in Southwark? I thought ye would never Enter Buckingham and Old Clifford. have given out these arms, till you had re- Buck. Health, and glad tidings, to your covered your ancient freedom: but you are all [Cade surpris'd? recreants and dastards, and delight to live in slavery to the nobility. Let them break your backs with burdens, take your houses over your heads, ravish your wives and daughters before your faces: for me, I will make shift for one; and so, God's curse light upon you all. All. We'll follow Cade, we'll follow Cade! Clif. Is Cade the son of Henry the fifth, That thus you do exclaim, you'll go with him? Will he conduct you through the heart of France,

And make the meanest of you earls and dukes?
Alas, he hath no home, no place to fly to;
Nor knows he how to live, but by the spoil,
Unless by robbing of your friends, and us.
Were't not a shame, that whilst you live at
jar,

[you?

Clif. He's fled, my lord, and all his powers
do yield;

And humbly thus, with halters on their necks,
Expect your highness' doom, of life, or death.
K. Hen. Then, heaven, set ope thy ever-

lasting gates,

To entertain my vows of thanks and praise! Soldiers, this day have you redeem'd your lives, [and country: And show'd how well you love your prince Continue still in this so good a mind, And Henry, though he be infortunate, [quished, Assure yourselves, will never be unkind : The fearful French, whom you late van- And so, with thanks, and pardon to you all, Should make a start o'er seas, and vanquish I do dismiss you to your several countries. Methinks already in this civil broil, I see them lording it in London streets, Crying-"Villiago!" unto all they meet. Better ten thousand base-born Cades miscarry, Than you should stoop unto a Frenchman's [lost; To France, to France, and get what you have Spare England, for it is your native coast: Henry hath money, you are strong and manly; God on our side, doubt not of victory.

mercy.

All. A Clifford a Clifford! we'll follow the king, and Clifford.

All. God save the king! God save the king!
Enter a Messenger.

Mess. Please it your grace to be advertised,
The duke of York is newly come from Ireland;
And with a puissant and a mighty power
Of Gallowglasses, and stout Kernes,
Is marching hitherward in proud array;
And still proclaimeth, as he comes along,
His arms are only to remove from thee [traitor.
The duke of Somerset, whom he terms a
K. Hen. Thus stands my state, 'twixt Cade
and York distress'd;

pirate :

[pers'd;

Cade. [Aside.] Was ever feather so lightly Like to a ship, that, having 'scap'd a tempest, blown to and fro, as this multitude? the name Is straightway calm'd, and boarded with a of Henry the fifth hales them to a hundred mischiefs, and makes them leave me desolate. But now is Cade driven back, his men disI see them lay their heads together, to surprise And now is York in arms to second him. me: my sword make way for me, for here is I pray thee, Buckingham, go and meet him; no staying. In despite of the devils and hell, And ask him what's the reason of these arms? have through the very midst of you! and Tell him, I'll send duke Edmund to the Tower; heavens and honour be witness, that no want And, Somerset, we will commit thee thither, of resolution in me, but only my followers' Until his army be dismiss'd from him. base and ignominious treasons, makes me be- Som. My lord, take me to my heels.. [Exit. Buck. What, is he fled? go some, and follow him;

And he that brings his head unto the king
Shall have a thousand crowns for his reward.
[Exeunt some of them.
Follow me, soldiers: we'll devise a mean
To reconcile you all unto the king. [Exeunt.

SCENE IX.-Castle.

I'll yield myself to prison willingly;
Or unto death, to do my country good.

K. Hen. In any case be not too rough in
terms;
[guage.
For he is fierce, and cannot brook hard lan-
Buck. I will, my lord; and doubt not so to

deal,

As all things shall redound unto you good.
K. Hen. Come, wife, let's in, and learn to
govern better;

Trumpets sounded. Enter King Henry, Queen For yet may England curse my wretched reign. Margaret, and Somerset, on the terrace of

the Castle.

[throne,

K. Hen. Was ever king that joy'd an earthly And could command no more content than I?] No sooner was I crept out of my cradle,

[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! turn the edge or cut not out the burly-boned These five days have I hid me in these woods; clown in chiens of beef ere thou sleep in thy and durst not peep out, for all the country is sheath, I beseech Jove on my knees, thou laid for me; but now I am so hungry, that if mayst be turned to hobnails. [They fight; I might have a lease of my life for a thousand Cade falls.] O, I am slain! Famine, and years, I could stay no longer. Wherefore, on no other, hath slain me: let ten thousand a brick wall have I climbed into this garden, devils come against me, and give me but the to see if I can eat grass, or pick a sallet another ten meals I have lost, and I'll defy them all. while, which is not amiss to cool a man's Wither, garden; and be henceforth a buryingstomach this hot weather. And I think this place to all that do dwell in this house, because word "sallet" was born to do me good: for the unconquered soul of Cade is fled. many a time, but for a sallet, my brain-pan had been cleft with a brown bill; and many a time, when I have been dry, and bravely marching, it hath served me instead of a quart-pot to drink in; and now the word sallet must serve me to feed on.

Enter Iden with Servants behind.
Iden. Lord, who would live turmoilèd in
the court,

And may enjoy such quiet walks as these?
This small inheritance, my father left me,
Contenteth me, and worth a monarchy.
I seek not to wax great by others' waning;
Or gather wealth, I care not with what envy:
Sufficeth that I have maintains my state,
And sends the poor well pleased from my gate.
Cade. [Aside.] 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 crowns of
the king by 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
[thee?

thou be,

I know thee not; why, then, should I betray
Is't not enough, to break into my garden,

Iden. Ist Cade that I have slain, that mon

strous traitor?

Sword, I will hallow thee for this thy deed,
And hang thee o'er my tomb when I am dead:
Ne'er shall this blood be wiped from thy point;
But thou shalt wear it as a herald's coat,
To emblaze the honour that thy master got.

Cade. Iden, farewell; and be proud of thy
victory. Tell Kent from me, she hath lost her
best man; and exhort all the world to be cow.
ards: for I, that never feared any, am van-
quished by famine, not by valour. [Dies.
Iden. How much thou wrong'st me, heaven
be my judge.
[bare thee!
Die, damned wretch, the curse of her that
And as I thrust thy body in with my sword,
So wish I, I might thrust thy soul to hell.
Hence will I drag thee headlong by the heels
Unto a dunghill, which shall be thy grave,
And there cut off thy most ungracious head;
Which I will bear in triumph to the king,
Leaving thy trunk for crows to feed upon.
[Exit, with Servants, dragging out the body.

ACT V.

And, like a thief, to come to rob my grounds, SCENE I.-Kent. Fields between Dartford
Climbing my walls in spite of me, the owner,
But thou wilt brave me with these saucy terms?

more.

and Blackheath.

The King's Camp on one side: on the other, enter York attended, with drum and colours; his forces at some distance.

York. From Ireland thus comes York, to

claim his right,

And pluck the crown from feeble Henry's head:
Ring, bells, aloud; burn, bonfires, clear and
bright;

To entertain great England's lawful king.
Ah, sancta majestas! who would not buy thee
dear?

Cade. Brave thee! ay, by the best blood that ever was broached, and beard thee too. Look on me well: I have eat no meat these five days yet, come thou and thy five men, and if I do not leave you all as dead as a door-nail, I pray God I may never eat grass [land stands, Iden. Nay, it shall ne'er be said, while EngThat Alexander Iden, an esquire of Kent, Took odds to combat a poor famish'd man. Oppose thy steadfast-gazing eyes to mine, See if thou canst out-face me with thy looks: Let them obey, that know not how to rule; Set limb to limb, and thou art far the lesser;This hand was made to handle nought but Thy hand is but a finger to my fist; I cannot give due action to my words, [gold: Thy leg a stick, compared with this truncheon; Except a sword, or sceptre, balance it : My foot shall fight with all the strength thou A sceptre shall it have,-have I a soul,-And if mine arm be heaved in the air, [hast; On which I'll toss the flower-de-luce of France. Thy grave is digg'd already in the earth. Enter Buckingham. As for more words, whose greatness answers words,

Let this my sword report what speech forbears.

Cade. By my valour, the most complete champion that ever I heard. Steel, if thou

[Aside.] Whom have we here? Buckingham,
to disturb me?
[semble.
The king hath sent him, sure: I must dis-
Buck. York, if thou meanest well, I greet

thee well.

York. Humphrey of Buckingham, I accept O, let me view his visage, being dead,

That thus he marcheth with thee arm in arm?
York. In all submission and humility,
York doth present himself unto your highness.
K. Hen. Then what intend these forces If they can brook I bow a knee to man.-
[hence; Sirrah, call in my sons to be my bail :
[Exit an Attendant.
I know, ere they will have me go to ward,
They'll pawn their swords for my enfranchise-

Outcast of Naples, England's bloody scourge! What, wilt thou on thy death-bed play the The sons of York, thy betters in their birth,

ruffian,

Shall be their father's bail; and bane to those And seek for sorrow with thy spectacles?-
That for my surety will refuse the boys! O, where is faith? O, where is loyalty?

Enter Edward and Richard Plantagenet, with If it be banish'd from the frosty head,
forces at one side; at the other, with forces Where shall it find a harbour in the earth?-
also, Old Clifford and his son.
Wilt thou go dig a grave to find out war,
And shame thine honourable age with blood?
Why art thou old, and want'st experience?
Or wherefore dost abuse it, if thou hast it?
For shame! in duty bend thy knee to me,
That bows unto the grave with mikcle age.

See where they come: I'll warrant they'll
make it good.
[their bail.
Q. Mar. And here comes Clifford, to deny
Clif. [Kneeling.] Health and all happiness
to my lord the king!

York. I thank thee, Clifford: say, what
news with thee?

Nay, do not fright us with an angry look:
We are thy sov reign, Clifford, kneel again;
For thy mistaking so, we pardon thee.

Sal. My lord, I have consider'd with myself
The title of this most renowned duke;
And in my conscience do repute his grace
The rightful heir to England's royal seat.
K. Hen. Hast thou not sworn allegiance

unto me? Sal. I have.

Clif. This is my king, York, I do not mistake [do:But thou mistak'st me much, to think I To Bedlam with him! is the man grown mad? K. Hen. Ay, Clifford; a Bedlam and am-But greater sin to keep a sinful oath.

bitious humour

Makes him oppose himself against his king.
Clif. He is a traitor; let him to the Tower,
And chop away that factious pate of his.

Q. Mar. He is arrested, but will not obey; His sons, he says, shall give their words for him.

York. Will you not, sons?
[serve.
Edw. Ay, noble father, if our words will
Rich. And if words will not, then our wea-|
pons shall.

[here!

Clif. Why, what a brood of traitors have we
York. Look in a glass, and call thy image so:
I am thy king, and thou a false-heart traitor.-
Call hither to the stake my two brave bears,
That with the very shaking of their chains
They may astonish these fell lurking curs
Bid Salisbury, and Warwick, come to me.
Drums. Enter Warwick and Salisbury, with
forces.

Clif. Are these thy bears? we'll bait thy
bears to death,

And manacle the bear-ward in their chains,
If thou dar'st bring them to the baiting-place.
Rech. Oft have I seen a hot o'erweening cur
Run back and bite, because he was withheld;
Who, being suffer'd with the bear's fell paw,
Hath clapp'd his tail between his legs, and
cried :

[for such an oath? K. Hen. Canst thou dispense with heaven Sal. It is a great sin to swear unto a sin;

Who can be bound by any solemn vow
To do a murd'rous deed, to rob a man,
To force a spotless virgin's chastity,
To reave the orphan of his patrimony,
To wring the widow from her custom d right;
And have no other reason for this wrong,
But that he was bound by a solemn oath?
Q. Mar. A subtle traitor needs no sophister.
K. Hen. Call Buckingham, and bid him arm
himself.

I

York. Call Buckingham, and all the friends am resoiv'd for death, or dignity. [thou hast; Clif. The first I warrant thee, if dreams prove true.

War. You were best to go to bed and dream

The rampant bear chain'd to the ragged staff,
This day I'll wear aloft my burgonet,
(As on a mountain-top the cedar shows,
That keeps his leaves in spite of any storm,)
Even to affright thee with the view thereof.

Clif. And from thy burgonet I'll rend thy
bear,

And tread it under-foot with all contempt,
Despite the bear-ward that protects the bear.

Y. Clif. And so to arms, victorious father,
To quell the rebels, and their 'complices.
Rich. Fie! charity, for shame I speak not
in spite,

For you shall sup with Jesu Christ to-night.
Y. Clif. Foul stigmatick, that's more than

thou canst tell.

Rich. If not in heaven, you'll surely sup in
hell.
[Exeunt severally.