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War. See how the pangs of death do make him grin!

Sal. Disturb him not, let him pass peaceably.
K. Hen. Peace to his soul, if God's good pleasure
be!

Lord cardinal, if thou think'st on heaven's bliss,
Hold up thy hand, make signal of thy hope.-
He dies, and makes no sign: O God, forgive him!
War. So bad a death argues a monstrous life.
K. Hen. Forbear to judge, for we are sinners
all.-

Close up his eyes, and draw the curtain close;
And let us all to meditation.

SCENE I.-KENT.

ACT IV.

[Exeunt.

The Sea-shore near DOVER.

Firing heard at Sea. Then enter from a boat, a Captain, a Master, a Master's-Mate, WALTER WHITMORE, and others; with them SUFFOLK, disguised; and other Gentlemen, prisoners.

Cap. The gaudy, blabbing, and remorseful day Is crept into the bosom of the sea;

And now loud-howling wolves arouse the jades
That drag the tragic melancholy night;
Who, with their drowsy, slow, and flagging wings,
Clip dead men's graves, and from their misty jaws
Breathe foul contagious darkness in the air.
Therefore bring forth the soldiers of our prize;
For, whilst our pinnace anchors in the Downs,
Here shall they make their ransom on the sand,
Or with their blood stain this discolour'd shore.-
Master, this prisoner freely give I thee:-

And thou that art his mate, make boot of this;The other, [Pointing to SUFFOLK,] Walter Whitmore, is thy share.

I Gent. What is my ransom, master? let me know.

Mast. A thousand crowns, or else lay down your head.

Mate. And so much shall you give, or off goes

yours.

Cap. What, think you much to pay two thousand

crowns,

And bear the name and port of gentlemen?Cut both the villains' throats;-for die you shall:The lives of those which we have lost in fight, Cannot be counterpois'd with such a petty sum. 1 Gent. I'll give it, Sir; and therefore spare my life.

2 Gent. And so will I, and write home for it straight.

Whit. [To SUF.] I lost mine eye in laying the prize aboard,

And therefore to revenge it shalt thou die;
And so should these, if I might have my will.

Cap. Be not so rash; take ransom; let him live.
Suf. Look on my George,-I am a gentleman:
Rate me at what thou wilt, thou shalt be paid.
Whit. And so am I; my name is Walter Whit-

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Yet let not this make thee be bloody-minded;
Thy name is Gaultier, being rightly sounded.
Whit. Gaultier, or Walter, which it is, I care

not:

Never yet did base dishonour blur our name,
But with our sword we wip'd away the blot;
Therefore, when merchant-like I sell revenge,
Broke be my sword, my arms torn and defac'd,
And I proclaim'd a coward through the world!
[Lays hold on SUFFOLK.
Suf. Stay, Whitmore; for thy prisoner is a
prince,

The duke of Suffolk, William De-la-Poole.
Whit. The duke of Suffolk muffled up in rags!
Suf. Ay, but these rags are no part of the duke:
Jove sometime went disguis'd, and why not I?
Cap. But Jove was never slain, as thou shalt be.
Suf. Obscure and lowly swain, King Henry's
blood,

The honourable blood of Lancaster,

Must not be shed by such a jaded groom.
Hast thou not kiss'd thy hand, and held my stirrup?
Bare-headed plodded by my foot-cloth mule,
And thought thee happy when I shook my head?
How often hast thou waited at my cup,

Fed from my trencher, kneel'd down at the board,
When I have feasted with queen Margaret?
Remember it, and let it make thee crest-fall'n;
Ay, and allay this thy abortive pride:
How in our voiding lobby hast thou stood,
And duly waited for my coming forth?
This hand of mine hath writ in thy behalf,
And therefore shall it charm thy riotous tongue.
Whit. Speak, captain, shall I stab the forlorn
swain?

Cap. First let my words stab him, as he hath

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Suf.

Cap.

Thou dar'st not for thy own.

Poole!

Poole! Sir Poole! lord! Ay, kennel, puddle, sink; whose filth and dirt Troubles the silver spring where England drinks. Now will I dam up this thy yawning mouth, For swallowing the treasure of the realm:

Thy lips, that kiss'd the queen, shall sweep the ground;

And thou, that smil'dst at good duke Humphrey's death,

Against the senseless winds shalt grin in vain,
Who, in contempt, shall hiss at thee again:
And wedded be thou to the hags of hell,

For daring to affy a mighty lord
Unto the daughter of a worthless king,
Having neither subject, wealth, nor diadem.
By devilish policy art thou grown great,
And, like ambitious Sylla, overgorg'd
With gobbets of thy mother's bleeding heart.
By thee Anjou and Maine were sold to France;
The false revolting Normans thorough thee
Disdain to call us lord; and Picardy
Hath slain their governors, surpris'd our forts,
And sent the ragged soldiers wounded home.
The princely Warwick, and the Nevils all,--

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Whose dreadful swords were never drawn in vain,— As hating thee, are rising up in arms:

And now the house of York,-thrust from the

crown,

By shameful murder of a guiltless king,
And lofty proud encroaching tyranny,-
Burns with revenging fire; whose hopeful colours
Advance our half-fac'd sun, striving to shine,
Under the which is writ--Invitis nubibus.
The commons here in Kent are up in arms:
And, to conclude, reproach, and beggary,
Is crept into the palace of our king,
And all by thee.-Away! Convey him hence.

Suf. O that I were a god, to shoot forth thunder Upon these paltry, servile, abject drudges!

Small things make base men proud: this villain here,

Being captain of a pinnace, threatens more
Than Bargulus the strong Illyrian pirate.
Drones suck not eagles' blood, but rob bee-hives:
It is impossible that I should die

By such a lowly vassal as thyself.

Thy words move rage, and not remorse, in me:
I go of message from the queen to France;

I charge thee, waft me safely cross the channel.
Cap. Walter,-

Whit. Come, Suffolk, I must waft thee to thy death.

Suf. Gelidus timor occupat artus:-'tis thee I fear.

Whit. Thou shalt have cause to fear, before I leave thee.

What, are ye daunted now? now will ye stoop? 1 Gent. My gracious lord, entreat him, speak him fair.

Suf. Suffolk's imperial tongue is stern and rough, Us'd to command, untaught to plead for favour. Far be it we should honour such as these With humble suit: no, rather let my head Stoop to the block, than these knees bow to any, Save to the God of heaven, and to my king; And sooner dance upon a bloody pole, Than stand uncover'd to the vulgar groom. True nobility is exempt from fear :More can I bear than you dare execute.

Cap. Hale him away, and let him talk no

more.

Suf. Come, soldiers, show what cruelty ye can, That this my death may never be forgot!— Great men oft die by vile bezonians:

A Roman sworder and banditto slave

Murder'd sweet Tully; Brutus' bastard hand
Stabb'd Julius Cæsar; savage islanders
Pompey the great; and Suffolk dies by pirates.

[Exit SUF., with WHIT. and others.

Cap. And as for these whose ransom we have set,

It is our pleasure one of them depart :-
Therefore, come you with us, and let him go.

[Exeunt all except the first Gentleman.

Re-enter WHITMORE, with SUFFOLK's body.
Whit. There let his head and lifeless body lie,
Until the queen, his mistress, bury it.

I Gent. O, barbarous and blood spectacle!
His body will I bear unto the king:
If he revenge it not, yet will his friends;
So will the queen, that living held him dear.

[Exit.

[Exit with the body.

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Geo. Nay, more, the king's council are no good workmen.

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.

John. And Smith the weaver,-
Geo. Argo, their thread of life is spun.
John. Come, come, let's fall in with them.

Drum. Enter CADE, DICK the Butcher, SMITH the Weaver, and others in great number.

Cade. We John Cade, so termed of our supposed father,

Dick. [Aside.] Or rather, of stealing a cade of herrings.

Cade. For our enemies shall fall before us,-inspired with the spirit of putting down kings and princes, Command silence.

Dick. Silence!

Cade. My father was a Mortimer,—

Dick. [Aside.] He was an honest man, and a good bricklayer.

Cade. My mother a Plantagenet,

Dick. [Aside.] I knew her well; she was a midwife.

Cade. My wife descended of the Lacies,Dick. [Aside.] She was, indeed, a pedlar's daughter, and sold many laces.

Smith. [Aside.] But now of late, not able to travel with her furred pack, she washes bucks here at home.

Cade. Therefore am I of an honourable house. Dick. [Aside.] Ay, by my faith, the field is honourable; and there was he born, under a hedge; for his father had never a house, but the cage.

Cade. Valiant I am.

Smith. [Aside.] 'A must needs; for beggary is

valiant.

Cade. I am able to endure much.

Dick. [Aside.] No question of that; for I have seen him whipped three market days together. Cade. I fear neither sword nor fire.

Smith. [Aside.] He need not fear the sword; for his coat is of proof.

Dick. [Aside.] But methinks he should stand in fear of fire, being burnt i' the hand for stealing of sheep,

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 threehooped pot shall have ten hoops; and I will make it felony to drink small beer: all the realm shall be in common; and in Cheapside shall my palfrey 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 of the skin of an innocent lamb should be made parchment? that parchment, being scribbled o'er, should undo a man? say, the bee stings: 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?

Some

Enter some, bringing in the Clerk of Chatham. Smith. The clerk of Chatham: he can write and read, and cast account.

Cade. O monstrous!

Smith. We took him setting of boys' copies.
Cade. Here's a villain!

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, of mine honour; unless I find him guilty, he shall 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 ink-horn about his neck.

[Exeunt some with the Clerk.

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The elder of them, being put to nurse,
Was by a beggar-woman stol'n away;
And, ignorant of his birth and parentage,
Became a bricklayer when he came to age:
His son am I; deny it, if you can.

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.

Staf. 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. Staf. Jack Cade, the duke of York hath

taught you this.

Cade. [Aside.] He lies, for I invented it myself. -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.

Dick. And farthermore, we 'll have the lord Say's head, for selling the dukedom of Maine.

Cade. And good reason; for thereby is England mained, 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 a eunuch; and more than that, he can speak French; and therefore he is a traitor.

Staf. 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. Staf. Well, seeing gentle words will not prevail,

Assail them with the army of the king.

Staf. Herald, away; and throughout every town, Proclaim them traitors that are up with Cade; That those which fly before the battle ends,

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