Thy grandfather, Roger Mortimer, earl of March.
I am the son of Henry the Fifth,

Who made the dauphin and the French to stoop,
And seized upon their towns and provinces.

War. Talk not of France, sith thou hast lost it all.
K. Hen. The lord protector lost it, and not I;
When I was crowned, I was but nine months old.
Rich. You are old enough now, and yet, methinks, you
lose.-

Father, tear the crown from the usurper's head.

Edw. Sweet father, do so; set it on your head.
Mont. Good brother, [To YORK.] as thou lov'st and
honor'st arms,

Let's fight it out, and not stand cavilling thus.

Rich. Sound drums and trumpets, and the king will fly.
York. Sons, peace!

K. Hen. Peace thou! and give king Henry leave to
speak.

War. Plantagenet shall speak first.-Hear him, lords; And be you silent and attentive too,

For he that interrupts him shall not live.

K. Hen. Think'st thou that I will leave my kingly throno,
Wherein my grandsire and my father sat?
No; first shall war unpeople this my realm;
Ay, and their colors-often borne in France,
And now in England, to our heart's great sorrow
Shall be my winding-sheet.-Why faint you, lords?
My title's good, and better far than his.

War. But prove it, Henry, and thou shalt be king.
K. Hen. Henry the Fourth by conquest got the crown.
York. "Twas by rebellion against his king.

K. Hen. I know not what to say; my title's weak.
Tell me, may not a king adopt an heir?

York. What then?

K. Hen. An if he may, then am I lawful king.
For Richard, in the view of many lords,
Resigned the crown to Henry the Fourth;
Whose heir my father was, and I am his.

York. He rose against him, being his sovereign,
And made him to resign his crown perforce.
War. Suppose, my lords, he did it unconstrained,
Think you 'twere prejudicial to his crown?

Exe. No; for he could not so resign his crown,
But that the next heir should succeed and reign.
K. Hen. Art thou against us, duke of Exeter?
Exe. His is the right, and therefore pardon me.

York. Why whisper you, my lords, and answer not?
Exe. My conscience tells me he is lawful king.
K. Hen. All will revolt from me, and turn to him.
North. Plantagenet, for all the claim thou lay'st,
Think not, that Henry shall be so deposed.

War. Deposed he shall be, in despite of all.
North. Thou art deceived. 'Tis not thy southern power,-
Of Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk, nor of Kent,-

Which makes thee thus presumptuous and proud,-
Can set the duke up, in despite of me.

Clif. King Henry, be thy title right or wrong,

Lord Clifford vows to fight in thy defence.
May that ground gape, and swallow me alive,
Where I shall kneel to him that slew my father!
K. Hen. O, Clifford, how thy words revive my heart!
York. Henry of Lancaster, resign thy crown.-
What mutter you, or what conspire you, lords?
War. Do right unto this princely duke of York;
Or I will fill the house with armed men,
And o'er the chair of state, where now he sits,
Write up his title with usurping blood.

[He stamps, and the Soldiers show themselves. K. Hen. My lord of Warwick, hear me but one word;Let me, for this my lifetime, reign as king.

York. Confirm the crown to me, and to mine heirs,
And thou shalt reign in quiet whilst thou liv'st.
K. Hen. I am content. Richard Plantagenet,
Enjoy the kingdom after my decease.

Clif. What wrong is this unto the prince your son!
War. What good is this to England, and himself!
West. Base, fearful and despairing Henry!

Clif. How hast thou injured both thyself and us!
West. I cannot stay to hear these articles.
North. Nor I.

Clif. Come, cousin, let us tell the queen these news.
West. Farewell, faint-hearted and degenerate king,
In whose cold blood no spark of honor bides.

North. Be thou a prey unto the house of York,
And die in bands for this unmanly deed!

Clif. In dreadful war mayst thou be overcome!
Or live in peace, abandoned and despised!

[Exeunt NORTHUMBERLAND, CLIFFORD, and
WESTMORELAND.

War. Turn this way, Henry, and regard them not.
Exe. They seek revenge, and therefore will not yield.
K. Hen. Ah, Exeter!

War.

Why should you sigh, my lord? K. Hen. Not for myself, lord Warwick, but my son,

Whom I unnaturally shall disinherit.

But be it as it may:-I here entail

The crown to thee, and to thine heirs forever;
Conditionally, that here thou take an oath,
To cease this civil war, and, whilst I live,
To honor me as thy king and sovereign;
And neither by treason nor hostility,
To seek to put me down, and reign thyself.
York. This oath I willingly take, and will perform.
[Coming from the throne.
War. Long live king Henry!-Plantagenet, embrace him.
K. Hen. And long live thou, and these thy forward sons!
York. Now York and Lancaster are reconciled.
Exe. Accursed be he that seeks to make them foes!
[Senet. The Lords come forward.
York. Farewell, my gracious lord; I'll to my castle.
War. And I'll keep London, with my soldiers.
Norf. And I to Norfolk, with my followers.
Mont. And I unto the sea, from whence I came.

[Exeunt YORK, and his Sons, WARWICK,
NORFOLK, MONTAGUE, Soldiers, and
Attendants.

K. Hen. And I, with grief and sorrow, to the court. Enter QUEEN MARGARET and the PRINCE of WAles. Exe. Here comes the queen, whose looks bewray her

anger. I'll steal away.

Exeter, so will I.

[Going.

K. Hen. Q. Mar. Nay, go not from me; I will follow theo. K. Hen. Be patient, gentle queen, and I will stay. Q. Mar. Who can be patient in such extremes? Ah, wretched man! 'would I had died a maid, And never seen thee, never borne thee son, Seeing thou hast proved so unnatural a father! Hath he deserved to lose his birthright thus? Hadst thou but loved him half so well as I, Or felt that pain which I did for him once; Or nourished him, as I did with my blood; Thou wouldst have left thy dearest heart-blood there, Rather than have made that savage duke thine heir, And disinherited thine only son.

Prince. Father, you cannot disinherit me. If you be king, why should not I succeed?

K. Hen. Pardon me, Margaret;-pardon me, sweet

son;

The earl of Warwick, and the duke, enforced me.

Q. Mar. Enforced thee! Art thou king, and wilt be forced?
I shame to hear thee speak. Ah, timorous wretch!
Thou hast undone thyself, thy son, and me,
And given unto the house of York such head,
As thou shalt reign but by their sufferance.
To entail him and his heirs unto the crown,
What is it, but to make thy sepulchre,
And creep into it far before thy time?
Warwick is chancellor, and the lord of Calais;
Stern Faulconbridge commands the narrow seas;
The duke is made protector of the realm;
And yet shalt thou be safe? Such safety finds
The trembling lamb, environed with wolves.
Had I been there, which am a silly woman,
The soldiers should have tossed me on their pikes,
Before I would have granted to that act.
But thou preferr'st thy life before thine honor;
And seeing thou dost, I here divorce myself,
Both from thy table, Henry, and thy bed,
Until that act of parliament be repealed,
Whereby my son is disinherited.

The northern lords, that have forsworn thy colors,
Will follow mine, if once they see them spread.
And spread they shall be; to thy foul disgrace,
And utter ruin of the house of York.
Thus do I leave thee.-Come, son, let's away;
Our army's ready; come, we'll after them.

K. Hen. Stay, gentle Margaret, and hear me speak.
Q. Mar. Thou hast spoke too much already; get theo
gone.

K. Hen. Gentle son Edward, thou wilt stay with me?
Q. Mar. Ay, to be murdered by his enemies.
Prince. When I return with victory from the field,
I'll see your grace; till then, I'll follow her.
Q. Mar. Come, son, away; we may not linger thus.
[Exeunt QUEEN MARGARET and the Prince.
K. Hen. Poor queen! how love to me, and to her son,
Hath made her break out into terms of rage!
Revenged may she be on that hateful duke;
Whose haughty spirit, winged with desire,
Will coast my crown, and, like an empty eagle,
Tire on the flesh of me, and of my son!

The loss of those three lords torments my heart;

!

I'll write unto them, and entreat them fair.—
Come, cousin, you shall be the messenger.

Exe. And I, I hope, shall reconcile them all. [Exeunt.

SCENE II. A Room in Sandal Castle, near Wakefield in Yorkshire.

Enter EDWARD, RICHARD, and MONTAGUE.

Rich. Brother, though I be youngest, give me leave.
Edw. No, I can better play the orator.

Mont. But I have reasons strong and forcible.

Enter YORK.

York. Why, how now, sons and brother, at a strife?
What is your quarrel? How began it first?
Edw. No quarrel, but a slight contention.
York. About what?

Rich. About that which concerns your grace and us; The crown of England, father, which is yours.

York. Mine, boy? not till king Henry be dead. Rich. Your right depends not on his life, or death. Edw. Now you are heir, therefore enjoy it now. By giving the house of Lancaster leave to breathe, It will outrun you, father, in the end.

York. I took an oath that he should quietly reign. Edw. But, for a kingdom, any oath may be broken; I'd break a thousand oaths to reign one year.

Rich. No; God forbid your grace should be forsworn.
York. I shall be, if I claim by open war.
Rich. I'll prove the contrary, if you'll hear me speak.
York. Thou canst not, son; it is impossible.
Rich. An oath is of no moment, being not took
Before a true and lawful magistrate,

That hath authority over him that swears.
Henry had none, but did usurp the place;
Then, seeing 'twas he that made you to depose,
Your oath, my lord, is vain and frivolous.
Therefore, to arms. And, father, do but think,
How sweet a thing it is to wear a crown;
Within whose circuit is Elysium,

And all that poets feign of bliss and joy.
Why do we linger thus? I cannot rest,
Until the white rose that I wear be dyed
Even in the lukewarm blood of Henry's heart.

York. Richard, enough; I will be king, or die.—