Sorrow and grief have vanquifh'd all my powers;
And, vanquish'd as I am, I yield to thee,
Or to the meanest groom.
K.Henry. O God, what mifchiefs work the wicked
Heaping confufion on their own heads thereby!
Queen. Glofter, fee here the tainture of thy neft;
And, look, thyfelf be faultlefs, thou wert beft.
Gio. Madam, for myself, to heaven I do appeal,
How I have lov'd my king, and common-weal:
And, for my wife, I know not how it stands;
Sorry I am to hear what I have heard:
Noble fhe is; but, if fhe have forgot
Honour, and virtue, and convers'd with fuch
As, like to pitch, defile nobility,
I banish her, my bed, and company;
And give her, as a prey, to law, and shame,
That hath difhonour'd Glofter's honeft name.
K. Henry. Well, for this night, we will repofe us To-morrow, toward London, back again, [here: To look into this bufinefs thoroughly,
And call thefe foul offenders to their anfwers;
And poife the cause in justice' equal scales,
Whofe beam ftands fure, whose rightful caufe pre[Flourish. Exeunt.
SCENE 11. The Duke of YORK's Garden.
Enter YORK, SALISBURY, and WARWICK.
York. Now, my good lords of Salisbury and War-
Our fimple fupper ended, give me leave, [wick,
In this clofe walk, to fatisfy myfelf,
In craving your opinion of my title,
Which is infallible, to England's crown.
Sal. My lord, I long to hear it at full. War. Sweet York, begin: and if thy claim be good The Nevils are thy fubjects to command.
Edward the Third, my lords, had feven fons :
The firft, Edward the Black Prince, prince of Wales
The fecond, William of Hatfield; and the third,
Lionel, duke of Clarence; next to whom,
Was John of Gaunt, the duke of Lancaster;
The fifth, was Edmund Langley, duke of York;
The fixth, was Thomas of Woodstock, duke of Glof
William of Windfor was the feventh, and laft. [ter;
Edward, the Black Prince, dy'd before his fatherj
And left behind him Richard, his only fon,
Who, after Edward the Third's death, reign'd king;
'Till Henry Bolingbroke, duke of Lancaster,
The eldeft fon and heir of John of Gaunt,
Crown'd by the name of Henry the fourth,
Seiz'd on the realm; depos'd the rightful king;
Sent his poor queen to France, from whence fhe came,
And him to Pomfret; where, as both you know,
Harmless Richard was murder'd traiterously.
War. Father, the duke hath told the truth;
Thus got the house of Lancaster the crown.
York. Which now they hold by force, and not by For Richard, the first fon's heir, being dead, [right; The iffue of the next fon fhould have reign'd.
Sal. But William Hatfield dy'd without an heir. York. The third fon, duke of Clarence (from whofe line
I claim the crown), had iffue-Philippe, a daughter, Who married Edmund Mortimer, earl of March, Edmund had iffue-Roger, earl of March: Roger had iffue-Edmund, Anne, and Eleanor.
Sal. This Edmund, in the reign of Bolingbroke, As I have read, laid claim unto the crown; And, but for Owen Glendower, had been king, Who kept him in captivity, 'till he dy'd. But, to the rest.
York. His eldest sister, Anne,
My mother, being heir unto the crown,
Married Richard, earl of Cambridge; who was fon
To Edmund Langley, Edward the third's fifth fon,
By her I claim the kingdom: fhe then was heir
To Roger, earl of March; who was the fon
Of Edmund Mortimer who married Philippe,
Sole daughter unto Lionel, duke of Clarence :
So, if the iffue of the elder fon
Succeed before the younger, I am king.
War. What plain proceeding is more plain than this?
Henry doth claim the crown from John of Gaunt,
The fourth fon; York claimeth it from the third.
'Till Lionel's iffue's fails, his fhould not reign:
It fails not yet; but flourishes in thee,
And in thy fons, fair flips of fuch a stock.-
Then, father Salisbury, kneel we both together;
And, in this private plot, be we the first,
That fhall falute our rightful fovereign
With honour of his birth-right to the crown.
Both. Long live our fovereign Richard, England's
king!
York. We thank you, lords. But I am not your king
'Till I be crown'd; and that my fword be ftain'd With heart-blood of the house of Lancaster:
And that's not fuddenly to be perform'd;
But with advice, and filent fecrecy.
Do you, as I do, in thefe dangerous days,
Wink at the duke of Suffolk's infolence,
At Beaufort's pride, at Somerfet's ambition,
At Buckingham, and all the crew of them,
'Till they have fnar'd the fhepherd of the flock,
That virtuous prince the good duke Humphrey :
'Tis that they feek; and they, in feeking that,
Shall find their deaths, if York can prophefy.
Sal. My lord, break we off; we know your mind at full.
War. My heart affures me, that the earl of War wick
Shall one day make the duke of York a king.
York. And, Nevil, this I do affure myselfRichard fhall live to make the earl of Warwick The greatest man in England but the king. [Exeunt
SCENE III. A Hall of Justice.
Sound Trumpets. Enter King HENRY, Queen MAR
GARET, GLOSTER, YORK, SUFFOLK, and SALISBU-
RY; the Dutchefs, Mother JOURDAIN, SOUTHWEL,
HUME, and BOLINGBROKE, under Guard.
K. Henry. Stand forth, dame Eleanor Cobham,
Glofter's wife :
In fight of God, and us, your guilt is great;
Receive the fentence of the law, for fins
Such as by God's book are adjudg'd to death.-
You four, from hence to prifon back again :
[To the other Prisoners.
From thence, unto the place of execution:
The witch in Smithfield fhall be burnt to afhes,
And you three fhall be ftrangled on the gallows.-
You, madam, for you are more nobly born,
Defpoiled of your honour in your life,
Shall, after three days open penance done,
Live in your country here, in banishment,
With Sir John Stanley, in the Isle of Man.
Elean. Welcome is banishment, welcome were
my death.
G. Eleanor, the law, thou feeft, hath judgedthee; I cannot juftify whom the law condemns.
[Exeunt ELEANOR, and the others, guarded.
Mine eyes are full of tears, my heart of grief.
Ah, Humphrey, this difhonour in thine age
Will bring thy head with forrow to the ground!--
I befeech your majefly, give me leave to go;
Sorrow would folace, and mine age would eafe.
K.Henry. Stay, Humphrey duke of Glofter! ere
thou go,
Give up thy ftaff; Henry will to himself
Protector be; and God fhall be my hope,
My ftay, my guide, and lantern to my feet:
And go in peace, Humphrey; no lefs belov'd,
Than when thou wert protector to thy king.
2. Mar. I fee no reason, why a king of years Should be to be protected like a child
God and king Henry govern England's realm:
Give up your staff, fir, and the king his realm.
Glo. My ftaff?-here, noble Henry, is my staff:
As willingly do I the fame refign,
As e'er thy father Henry made it mine;
And even as willingly at thy feet I leave it,
As others would ambitiously receive it.
Farewell, good king: When I am dead and gone,
May honourable peace attend thy throne!
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