RICHARD PLANTAGENET, Duke of York.

EDWARD, Earl of March, afterwards King Edward IV.)

EDMUND, Earl of Rutland,

GEORGE, afterwards Duke of Clarence,

RICHARD, afterwards Duke of Glocester,
DUKE OF NORFOLK,

MARQUESS OF MONTAGUE,

EARL OF WARWICK,

his Sons.

of the Duke of York's party.

EARL OF PEMBROKE,

LORD HASTINGS,

LORD STAFFORD,

SIR JOHN MORTIMER,

SIR HUGH MORTIMER,

HENRY, Earl of Richmond, a Youth.

LORD RIVERS, Brother to Lady Grey. SIR WILLIAM STANLEY. SIR JOHN MONTGOMERY. SIR JOHN SOMERVILLE. Tutor to Rutland. Mayor of York. Lieutenant of the Tower. A Nobleman. Two Keepers. A Huntsman. A Son that has killed his Father. A Father that has killed his Son.

QUEEN MARGARET.

LADY GREY, afterwards Queen to Edward IV.

BONA, Sister to the French Queen.

Soldiers, and other Attendants on King Henry and King Edward, Messengers, Watchmen, &c.

SCENE, during part of the Third Act, in France; during the rest of the Play, in England.

THIRD PART

OF

KING HENRY VI.

ACT I. SCENE I.

London. The Parliament-House.

Drums. Some Soldiers of YORK's party break in. Then, enter the Duke of YORK, EDWARD, RICHARD, NorFOLK, MONTAGUE, WARWICK, and Others, with white Roses in their Hats.

War. I wonder how the king escap'd our hands.
York. While we pursued the horsemen of the north,
He slily stole away, and left his men:
Whereat the great lord of Northumberland,
Whose warlike ears could never brook retreat,
Cheer'd up the drooping army; and himself,
Lord Clifford, and lord Stafford, all a-breast,
Charg'd our main battle's front, and, breaking in,
Were by the swords of common soldiers slain.
Edw. Lord Stafford's father, duke of Buckingham,
Is either slain, or wounded dangerous:

I cleft his beaver with a downright blow;
That this is true, father, behold his blood.

[Showing his bloody Sword.

Mont. And, brother, here's the earl of Wiltshire's [To YORK, showing his.

blood,

Whom I encounter'd as the battles join'd.

Rich. Speak thou for me, and tell them what I did. [Throwing down the Duke of SOMERSET'S Head. York. Richard hath best deserv'd of all my sons.But, is your grace dead, my lord of Somerset? Norf. Such hope have all the line of John of Gaunt! Rich. Thus do I hope to shake king Henry's head. War. And so do I.-Victorious prince of York, Before I see thee seated in that throne,

Which now the house of Lancaster usurps,

I vow by heaven these eyes shall never close:
This is the palace of the fearful king,

And this the regal seat: possess it, York;
For this is thine, and not king Henry's heirs'.

York. Assist me, then, sweet Warwick, and I will;

For hither we have broken in by force.

Norf. We'll all assist you: he, that flies, shall die. York. Thanks, gentle Norfolk.-Stay by me, my

lords :

And, soldiers, stay, and lodge by me this night.

War. And, when the king comes, offer him no

violence,

Unless he seek to thrust you out by force.

[They retire. York. The queen this day here holds her parlia

ment,

But little thinks we shall be of her council.

By words or blows here let us win our right.

Rich. Arm'd as we are, let's stay within this house. War. The bloody parliament shall this be call'd, Unless Plantagenet, duke of York, be king, And bashful Henry depos'd, whose cowardice Hath made us by-words to our enemies.

York. Then leave me not, my lords; be resolute, I mean to take possession of my right.

War. Neither the king, nor he that loves him best, The proudest he that holds up Lancaster',

1 The proudest HE that holds up Lancaster,] So the folio, which is of course

Dares stir a wing, if Warwick shake his bells.
I'll plant Plantagenet, root him up who dares.-
Resolve thee, Richard; claim the English crown.

[WARWICK leads YORK to the Throne, who seats himself.

[Flourish. Enter King HENRY, CLIFFORD, NORTHUMBERLAND, WESTMORELAND, EXETER, and Others, with red Roses in their Hats.

K. Hen. My lords, look where the sturdy rebel sits, Even in the chair of state! belike, he means, Back'd by the power of Warwick, that false peer, To aspire unto the crown, and reign as king.— Earl of Northumberland, he slew thy father;

And thine, lord Clifford, and you both have vow'd revenge

On him, his sons, his favourites, and his friends.

North. If I be not, heavens be reveng'd on me!
Clif. The hope thereof makes Clifford mourn in steel.
West. What! shall we suffer this? let's pluck him
down:

My heart for anger burns, I cannot brook it.

K. Hen. Be patient, gentle earl of Westmoreland. Clif. Patience is for poltroons, such as he: He durst not sit there had your father liv'd. My gracious lord, here in the parliament Let us assail the family of York.

North. Well hast thou spoken, cousin be it so. K. Hen. Ah! know you not, the city favours them, And they have troops of soldiers at their beck?

Ere. But when the duke is slain, they'll quickly

fly2.

to be followed the "True Tragedy," 1595, and the two other quartos of the same play in 1600, and 1619, read "The proudest bird," which better preserves the figure derived from falconry.

2 But when the duke is slain, they'll quickly fly.] The prefix of Exeter to this line is adopted from "The True Tragedy," 1595: in the folio, 1623, it is given to Westmoreland; but the king answers Exeter, and there is little doubt that it was an error of the press.

K. Hen. Far be the thought of this from Henry's heart, To make a shambles of the parliament-house! Cousin of Exeter, frowns, words, and threats, Shall be the war that Henry means to use.

[They advance to the Duke. Thou factious duke of York, descend my throne, And kneel for grace and mercy at my feet:

I am thy sovereign.

Exe. For shame! come down: he made thee duke of York.

York. 'Twas my inheritance, as the earldom was.
Exe. Thy father was a traitor to the crown.

War. Exeter, thou art a traitor to the crown

In following this usurping Henry.

Clif. Whom should he follow, but his natural king? War. True, Clifford; that is Richard, duke of York. K. Hen. And shall I stand, and thou sit in my throne?

York. It must and shall be so.

Content thyself.

War. Be duke of Lancaster: let him be king. West. He is both king and duke of Lancaster; And that the lord of Westmoreland shall maintain. War. And Warwick shall disprove it. You forget, That we are those which chas'd you from the field, And slew your fathers, and with colours spread March'd through the city to the palace gates.

North. Yes, Warwick, I remember it to my grief; And, by his soul, thou and thy house shall rue it.

3 I am thine.] This is the reading of the folio: "The True Tragedy" places "Thou art deceived" before the words "I am thine;" but they are not necessary, lessen the force of the passage, and do not amend the metre. Why Malone inserted them in the text is nowhere explained. In the next line but one, "The True Tragedy" has kingdom for "earldom:" on some accounts, kingdom seems preferable, but "earldom" could hardly be mistaken for it by the compositor, and we do not feel warranted in varying from the folio, 1623, which may be supposed to exhibit the text nearly as it was left by Shakespeare: at all events we have no other authority to consult upon the point. The "earldom" must refer to the earldom of March, which York inherited from his mother.