 | The misery of civil-war |  |
ACT. III.
Scene a Castle.Enter Plantagenet, Edward, Richard.
Pl.
How has this Woman charm'd these men together,
No less than twenty thousand? a vast Army!
All my Troops here will scarcely make five thousand,
Then she is gotten between me and London;
That I can no way join the Earl of Warwick,
Nor can he possibly come time enough
To my assistance; I am in a strait.
Ed.
I think not, Sir, brave men are never in a strait
When they have Arms and Liberty to fight.
Pl.
I shou'd slight odds, if the Enemy were French,
But now our present Enemies are English,
Made of the same brave stuff as we our selves.
Rich.
But such brave stuff as we have soundly beaten,
And such as are conducted by a Woman.
And men ne're think of fighting under Petticoats.
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I've sent your Brother George to raise some Troops,
I hop'd he might have been with me er'e now;
But I must take my fortune now, the Enemy
Approaches us—bring in my dear Boy Rutland.
Enter Rutland, and a Priest his Tutor.
My Darling, let me kiss thee e're I go,
I know not if I 'ere shall see thee more;
If I should fall under the numerous Enemy,
I leave thee to the care of thy three Brothers,
All valiant men, and some of 'em I hope
Will be great men, be Kings; I charge 'em all
On my last blessing to take care of thee,
My pretious Darling, as of their own Souls.
Rut.
Why do you talk thus, Sir? you make me weep,
If you must dye, I hope I shall dye with you;
I had rather dye with you than live a King.
Pl.
Sweet Boy, farewell my Soul;—here take the Boy
And guard him safely in the strong dark Vault,
And if things prove worse than I hope they will,
Convey him safely to our next Garrison,
And give his Brothers notice of his flight.
[Ex. Pl. Ed. Rich. one way, another Rutl. with a Guard.
An Allarm, shouts of Victory, the Scene continues. Enter Clifford and his Souldiers.
Cl.
Pursue, pursue, pursue, and give no quarter,
I charge you do not spare Man, Woman, or Child.
[Ex.
An Allarm, Enter Rutland.
Rut.
Oh! whither shall I fly? how shall I escape?
Ah! Clifford comes! and no one's here to guard me.
Cl.
Ha! have I found one of Plantagenet's Brats?
Rut.
Oh! now I shall be murder'd! hold, my Lord,
Hear me but speak one word before I dye.
Cl.
What canst thou say, fond Boy, that's worth my hearing?
Rut.
I'd only beg you to regard your self;
You are a valiant man, I am a Boy;
Stain not your fame by killing a poor Boy,
I wou'd not for your own sake you shou'd do it;
For I love gallant men, and I love you;
29
Cl.
Away you insinuating, flattering boy,
Who taught you this Hypocrisie? your Priest?
Give o're, give o're! for were there in thy Voice
Celestial Harmony, my Father's Blood
Has stop'd the passage where the sound shou'd enter.
Rut.
I did not shed his Blood.
Cl.
Thy Father did.
Rut.
Then fight my Father, that will get you honour.
Cl.
Shou'd I kill thee, thy Father, all thy Brothers,
Nay shou'd I dig up thy Fore-father's Graves,
And hang their rotten Coffins up in Chains,
My rage wou'd not be quench'd.
Rut.
That's very strange;
VVhy shou'd your fury burn against the innocent?
Cl.
I kill thee out of hatred to thy kind,
As I wou'd do a Toad, or a young Serpent.
Rut.
Hear me but one word more, dear, brave, Lord Clifford;
You have a Son, for his sake pity me,
Lest as you kill me for my Father's faults,
Just Heaven shou'd destroy your Son for yours,
And he be miserably kill'd as I am.
Then, Oh! for your Son's sake give me my life,
And for my Father's faults keep me in Prison,
And kill me whensoever I offend you.
Cl.
Thou wilt be an offence to me in living.
Whilst any of thy cursed Fathers race
Live upon Earth, I live on Earth?—then dye—
Rut.
Oh! shall I have no pity at your hands?
Cl.
Such pity as my Rapiers point affords!
[Wounds him.
Rut.
May'st thou ne're get more fame than by this deed;
Oh my poor Father! Oh! my death will kill him.
[Dyes.
Cl.
Ho! take the body up, and carry it after me,
I'll make a present of it to his Father.
[Exit.
Enter Plantagenet.
Pl.
All's lost, my men by numbers are devour'd,
Or fly like Ships before the stormy wind.
My Sons have bravely fought, but all in vain,
They only swim like Swans against the Tide,
And are born down by over-matching Waves,
And I am very faint and cannot flie;
But had I strength, I'm on all sides enclos'd,
The Sands are numbred that make up my life,
30
Enter Clifford and Souldiers.
Cl.
Ha! have I found thee proud Plantagenet.
What tumbled Phaethon from thy shining Chariot,
And made an Evening at thy highest Noon?
Oh Father! from the joys above descend,
And share with me the pleasure of Revenge,
Or else by high revenge I'll climb to thee.
Pl.
Thou bloody raging Clifford, do thy worst;
I'd scorn to ask thee mercy hadst thou any,
But thou hast none, then come with all thy Multitudes.
Cl.
So Cowards fight when they can fly no farther,
So Pigeons peck the Falcon's piercing Talons,
So desperate Thieves breathe curses at the Officers.
Pl.
Hast thou the impudence to charge a Prince
With cowardize, who made thee basely fly?
Call to thy memory S. Albans Battel.
Cl.
I do, then didst thou kill my brave old Father.
Pl.
And now wou'd thee, wert thou not back't with multitudes.
Cl.
I will try that; stand of, and do not touch him,
Unless I fall; then cut him all to pieces.
I will not lose revenge; yet I will give him
So much revenge to kill me if he can.
Pl.
I thank thee for the kindness, 'tis a great one.
They Fight, Plantagenet is disarm'd and thrown.
Cl.
Now wilt thou yield that I have fairly conquer'd thee?
As Cl. is lifting up his arm to kill him, Enter the Queen.
Q.
Hold valiant Clifford! hold!—I wou'd prolong
The Traytors life to scorn him, trample on him:
Are you the man that wou'd be King of England?
Are you the man that revell'd in the Parliament?
Sat in your Sovereign's Throne, and did believe
Your breath cou'd blow his Crown from off his head?
Where are your Mess o' Sons to back you now?
Your wanton Edward, and your lusty George,
Your ugly valiant Dick, that crookback Prodigy?
And with the rest, where is your darling Rutland?
Pl.
My heart misgives me, where is he indeed?
Qu.
Ask Clifford.
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Oh! thou hast not butcher'd, Clifford,
The innocent Boy?
Cl.
On that young tender morsell
My greedy vengeance staid a while it's stomach,
Till it cou'd dine on thee, and all thy Sons.
Qu.
See! I have stain'd a Napkin in the blood,
That valiant Clifford with his Rapier's point
Made issue from the bosome of thy darling,
And bring it thee to wipe away thy tears.
Pl.
She-wolf of France! or rather cruel Tygress,
For woman thou art none; women are soft,
Gentle and pitiful, but thou art cruel,
Oh! ten times more than an Hyrcanian Tygress.
There is a Boy that thinks thou art his Mother;
But surely thou didst never bear a Child,
For thou woud'st something know a Parents love,
And have some natural touch of pitie in thee,
And not have drain'd the life-blood of a Child
To bid his Father wipe his eyes withal.
Qu.
I therefore did it to increase thy sorrow:
I know a Parent's love, and thy fond love,
And all the mysteries of thy haughty heart;
I knew that thou woud'st Barricado it
Against the losses of a Crown and Life,
With Iron-barrs of stubborness and pride,
But oh! this blood like Oyl will sink into it;
These Crimson threads will lead tormenting grief
Into the inmost lodgings of thy Soul,
And lest Napkin be too soft a thing
I have within an Engine that shall squeeze
Thy soul into thy eyes. Bring Rutland's Body.
Now thou hast drunk the liquour, take the cup.
Enter some with dead Rutland.
Pl.
Oh! my sweet Boy!
Qu.
Ah! this is Musick to me!
This is the part thou mean'st I shou'd have plaid,
If thy accursed Treasons had succeeded.
But that my Tragedy must have been deeper,
And bloodier far; thou mean'st I shoud have wept
For a lost Kingdom, Husband, and a Son.
Pl.
Yes, and I do not doubt but my three Sons,
Heaven's vengeance, and the curses of all England
Shortly will make thee weep for loss of all 'em.
Qu.
I'll spoil thy prophecying; give me a sword.
32
I'll pierce him first, there's for my Fathers blood.
Qu.
There for the horrid ills thou threatnest to me.
Cl.
There for the ills he brought upon the Kingdome,
Pl.
Open thy gate of mercy gratious Heaven!—
(Dyes.
Qu.
Now take his head once fill'd with lofty thoughts,
And set it on a losty pinacle.—
[Ex.
Scene the Field.
Enter Edward.
Ed.
No tydings of my Father? I am troubled!
Enter Richard.
Ric.
Brother, I 've news!
Ed.
what of our valiant Father?
Ric.
Oh no! I cannot hear what is become of him.
Ed.
What are your news then?
Ric.
They are not very good;
A Messenger is come from the Earl of Warwick,
Who tell's us he is marching to our aid,
But leaving a strong party with Lord Cobham,
To guard the King, and all the Southern parts,
They chanc'd to meet with some of the Queen's Troops
And whether the Kings Coldness numm'd his keepers,
Or whether terror of the Warlike Queen,
Whose armies and success each hour encrease
Or of the inexorable cruel Clifford,
It is not known, but my Lord Cobham's men
Look'd on the shining Valour of the Enemy,
Like sleepy Owles on day, and fell beneath it.
That they were all destroyed, and Henry fled,
With the Victorious Troops to joyn the Queen;
That the Earl of Warwick now wants strength to fight her.
Ed.
This is ill news indeed! what shall we do?
Ric.
Hee desires you to haste away with speed,
To meet ten thousand men marching from Wales,
Rais'd by your interest there to whom he sent
To joyn his Troops if possible to morrow.
Which they may do, if you will hasten 'em.
Ed.
They shall not want for that, I'll go this instant.
Ric.
Pray do not fail, for all our Lives, and Fortunes
Are set on this one cast.
Ed.
I'll spur away.
33
Ric.
I'll to the Earl of Warwick.
[Exit.
Ed.
My Horse, my Horse, I must ride for a Kingdom.
Enter Lady Eleanor Butler in a riding dress.
La. El.
My Lord!
Ed.
My Love!—or a fair Vision! if a Vision
Tell me, lest I embrace thee into a Dew.
La. El.
Yes, I am that fond she who gave Lord Edward
The lovelyest, bravest, but the most inconstant
Of all mankind my hand and heart for ever.
Ed.
Then I am that fond he, will lose a Kingdom
Rather than one hours pleasure with my Love,
And so farewell a Kingdom for an hour.
La. El.
I heard you were surrounded by the Queens
Numerous Troops, and in exceeding danger;
And I cou'd have no quiet, till I came
And shar'd your destiny what e're it was.
Ed.
Oh! it was kindly charitably done,
To speak the truth, mine is a scurvy destiny,
The Enemy is in my Father's Castle,
And I've no Beds of Down, on Golden Bed-steads
Under plum'd Canopies, t'embrace my Love in;
My Destiny will be to lye to night
On some Straw-bed, under some low thatch'd Roof,
And thou shalt share it; what if the chil wind
Blow on us? it will make us lye the closer;
Or what if we shou'd lye on the cold Earth?
It was our Grandsire Adam's Bridal Bed,
'Twas there he gave the start to all mankind.
La. El.
Fye, Fye, such thoughts as these at such a time?
When you have a Life and Kingdom to look after.
Ed.
A thousand Lives and Kingdoms are in thee,
Whilst the Enemies tall fortune stalks about
In darkness, like a blinded Polyphem;
We will creep under it into a Cottage
Of some of my own faithful Tenants here,
And safely steal delight, like cunning Mariners,
Pilfring the hold out of the reach of shot.
La. El.
Have you a mind then to be kill'd or taken?
The Woods are all full of the Enemy.
Ed.
Shou'd all the Trees turn men, and the Grass Pikes,
I will not stir from hence, till I've enjoy'd thee.
My crooked Brother Richard like a Hook
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For which I'll lay a double Tax on this.
La. El.
Though I am but your Wife in hopes and promises,
So great an Empire have you over me,
My heart wou'd not refuse you any Tax,
Did not your self run danger in the gathering.
Ed.
There is no danger, every Cottager
In all these parts will hang e're he'll betray me,
Then let the loss of the last opportunity
Make us so wise, to use this whilst we have it.
La. El.
Pray do not ask me.
Ed.
Pray do not deny me.
La. El.
You will be taken.
Ed.
No, I'll warrant you.
La. El.
But if you shou'd?
Ed.
No matter if Thieves come,
When we have put our Money out to use.
La. El.
You are a strange man.
Ed.
And you are a sweet woman.
Come, come away.
La. El.
Well now, if mischief happen
Do not blame me.
Ed.
There can no mischief happen,
Like losing this most blessed opportunity,
Then come along,—along—
La. El.
Oh! that I cou'd not.
Ed.
Away, away, I say.
La. El.
Well—since I must—
[Ex.
Enter Souldiers dragging Country-men. Scene a Cottage.
1 Soul.
Where is your Money, Rogues? confess, you Rogues.
1 Coun.
Indeed, Sir, I am a very poor man,
I get my living by my labour, Sir,
And I have nothing but from hand to mouth.
1 Soul.
You lye, you Rogue, you lye, I know the tricks
Of all you Rogues; when e're your King wants Money,
Then you are poor, you cannot pay your Taxes;
But if the Swords of Rebels plow the Nation
Then you have Bags, and you can bring 'em out
Like Baggs of Seed, and sow 'em all for Crops
To maintain Rogues that fight against your King;
Nay for that use can pawn your Pots and Kettels,
But now for us you cannot find a Farthing.
2 Coun.
Indeed, Sir, you shou'd have it, if I had it,
35
2 Soul.
You lye, you Rogue, you lye.
I know this Rogue, he is one of the damn'd Rebels,
Plantagenet's chief Tenants, a rich Fellow;
You have no Money for the King's Souldiers,
But you had Money to fit out your Son
A Trooper, Sirrah, to fight for Rebellion.
3 Soul.
Oh Rogue!
2 Soul.
I knew his Son, and kill'd the Dog.
2. Co.
Oh! wretched me! he was my only Son.
1. So.
Come take the Rogue and hang him on that tree,
Unless he presently confess his Money.
2. Cou.
Oh! Sir, I will confess! I will confess.
3. Sou.
Then you have money, Sirrah?
2. Coun.
Yes, a little.
1 Sou.
A little! Oh! you Rogue! just now you had none.
You have a little too?
1 Coun.
Yes, Sir, a little.
2 So.
And where's your little Money? quickly! quickly!
2 Cou.
Mine is buried here, under my Hearth.
1 So.
Come digg and find it.
2 Co.
Oh! undone!
1 Soul.
Digg, Digg.
[2 Countryman diggs.
2 Soul.
Where is your Money, Sirrah?
1 Cou.
In my Cow-house
Under the Dung.
2 Soul.
Go, Sirrah! go and fetch it.
[Exit. 1 Countryman.
2 Cou.
Here's all my money! Sir.
2 Soul.
Here all, you Rogue?
Sirrah! you lye! you have ten times as much.
Do not I know you a fat Bacon Rogue,
That have been smoking in Plantagenet's Chimney,
These forty years? Sirrah! I know your purse
Cut's a foot thick, of Reechy golden fat.
2 Cou.
Indeed here's every penny, that I have.
1 So.
Do you think, Sirrah, we'll be chous'd o' this fashion?
We have hang'd half the people in your Country,
For offering to put such tricks upon us;
And therefore have a care.
2 Coun.
Oh! I'll confess!
I'm an old man, and my only Son is kill'd.
And now I care not what becomes o' me.
I'll shew you all I have; there it lies buried
Uuder yon Oak.
1 Soul.
Go, Sirrah, go and fetch it.
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1. Cou.
Here's all I have been getting forty years.
Pray spare me a little for my two poor Daughters.
1. So.
How has he Daughters? we shall have more sport.
All 3. So.
Hay! for the Daughters! Hay for the Daughters.
[Ex.
1 Co.
Ah! my poor Daughters!
[Ex.
Enter the Souldiers chasing two Country Girles, who cry, help! help! their Father runns after 'em weeping: they all rnn over the Stage. After cries within.
Enter the Souldiers with Money baggs, dragging the Countrymen. Scene continues.
2 Soul.
So now you Rogues, how do you like Rebellion?
You were a Couple of seditious Rogues,
That us'd at Ale-houses to pay for all
That rail'd against the King, and Government
Now had not you better have Plowed, and Carted,
And pay'd your Taxes honestly and quietly,
Then have your Money seiz'd, your Daughters ravish'd,
Your Sons knock'd o' the head, and your selves hang'd,
As you shall be?
1 Coun.
Oh! Sir! I hope not so,
Now you have promis'd us.
1 Soul.
You impudent Doggs,
Did not you swear Allegiance to your King?
Yet break your Oaths to him? and do you expect,
We shou'd keep Verbal promises with you?
2. Soul.
This Country belongs, Sirrah, to your Landlord;
And we have orders to take all the Money,
Burn all the Houses, and hang all the people.
We have obey'd our orders yet, and will.
The Scene is drawn, and there appears Houses and Towns burning, Men and Women hang'd upon Trees, and Children on the tops of Pikes.
1 Coun., 2 Coun.
Oh Heaven! have mercy on us! have mercy on us!
1 Soul.
Now Rogues, how do you like Rebellion?
2. Soul.
Come hang 'em whilst there is a Tree to spare,
They are almost all bespoke.
[Drumb beats.
Enter a Scout.
Scout.
To Armes, to Armes, Warwick is coming.
All 3.
Warwick! Arme, Arm, Arm.
[Ex.
37
Ric.
Oh horrid spectacle! See here, my Lord!
War.
The Queen is planting in your Fathers Lands
An Orchard for the Devil.
Ric.
I will dung this Orchard
With the blood of those that planted it,
I have a Spirit in this crooked Trunck
Stands like a keeper in a hollow Tree,
Ready with bended bow to shoot fat Deer,
And down goe's thou, thy Henry, all thy Race.
I'll not leave killing, 'till I've built my Father
A monument of Bones and Sculls of Enemies
That shall o'relook th' Ægyptian Pyramids.
Oh that my Brother Edward now were come!
War.
Till his Troops come we cannot fight the Enemy,
For they are above thirty thousand strong,
And we scarce twelve.
Enter Edward, a Woman.
Ric.
What do I see! I think
I see him there! pray look, my Lord, and tell me.
Now I am sure 'tis he! for there's a Woman:
Oh! we are ruin'd! for I will be damn'd,
If he has not been with her all this Night.
War.
He durst not do it, durst not serve me so.
Ed.
I see my Brother and my Lord of Warwick,
Retire.
[Ex. Wom.
War.
My Lord.
Ed.
My Lord of Warwick.
War.
Yes my Lord;
Where are your men?
Ed.
My Lord, I must confess,
I've been to night a happy, but great sinner.
Starting to gallop for the Crown, my destiny
Flung in my way brighter temptations,
Than were all Atalanta's Golden Balls,
That had it cost a Kingdom and my life,
I cou'd not but have stoop'd to take 'em up.
Ric.
'Tis well, must all the glory we have div'd for
In Seas of blood, be melted in a kiss,
And swallowed down like Cleopatra's pear
38
War.
So you have serv'd me well.
Ric.
And do you thus revenge our Fathers blood?
War.
But what revenge shall I have for the ruin,
That I am like to suffer in your service?
Ed.
Fear not.
War.
I do not fear, I know which way
I can repair my self; in Henry's service
I can have greatness with less pains, and dangr,
That I must take in yours to be undone.
Ed.
You will not leave me?
War.
You first left your self,
And left me too.
Ed.
I beg your pardon for it,
Who, now my Fathers murderd, am your King.
War.
You are my King, but King of my own making,
And I, like Heaven, repent I've made a Creature
Who for the Apple of a rowling Eye,
Will lose a World: But I'll secure my share of it.
I will go make Henry a King again,
And tumble you again into a subject.
Ed.
You will not sure, my Lord!
War.
I swear I will.
Ed.
Oh but you cannot do it.
War.
I'll try that.
Ed.
You can at most but make Henry a Tyrant,
For I am lawful King.
War.
Oh! I'll give Henry
My Sword, and do you keep your lawfulness,
Then try which of you will be King of England.
I ne're found Conscience or in Priest, or Layman
So firm at anchor, but a golden Ax
Wou'd cut the Cable, or success cou'd weigh it,
And set the Conscience swimming with the Tyde.
Ric.
Oh! I cou'd tear my flesh! must we be ruin'd
For a fair Toy?—but I will not be ruin'd.
For I will seek the Kingdom for my self.
Ed.
Brother, 'tis well.
Rich.
Brother, it shall be ill,
Exceeding ill with you, and very quickly.
Ed.
Hold! I command you both hear me one word.
Know I have only made a Tryal of you,
For I have brought the Troops that you desir'd,
I march'd 'em hither with such expedition,
Their front encounter'd here the front of day.
39
Both Armies are not half a mile from hence;
And here my Brother is: Brother, come hither.
Enter George.
Geo.
I heard of our great Fathers sad misfortunes
And came to his revenge with all the speed
A hungry wretch wou'd do to a great feast,
Where there were many guests, and he far off.
Ed.
Now my good faithful Friends, what think you both?
Now, Warwick, will you make Henry a King?
And, Brother, will you make your self a King?
I was inform'd of what I have discover'd
That you, good Brother, sought to be a King;
And Warwick to command him, who is King;
And him you cannot Govern, you will ruin.
Henry is govern'd by the Queen and Clifford
And so because there is no room for Rule,
You fight for us to make us all your Vassals.
War.
Who durst say this of me?
Ric.
And what bold Villain
Durst give you such a Character of me?
Ed.
Oh! you are angry, I'm inform'd the truth.
If they be Villains, who durst tell me this,
Then what are you, who durst to my own face
Threaten to do all this?
War.
It was all passion.
Ric.
Nothing but passion.
Ed.
Brother, you are wrong'd,
Or in cold blood you are as bad as this;
You act the undermining Polititian,
A King is a strong Tower on a high Rock,
And it is dangerous to storm him openly;
So at a mighty distance they break ground
And cast up earth, that is by subtle tricks
They raise the dirty crow'd, and behind them
They lie secure from Royal battery.
There if they find any unguarded place,
About the King, they use it most unmercifully.
My heart to beauty always lies too open,
And that infirmitie thou givest no quarter;
Though thou who censurest me, because sometimes,
I shed some vacant hours among fair Women,
Wou'dst shed the blood, or of thy Friend or King,
40
To gain a Crown, for there is thy chief Lust.
Ric.
That is a Cruel censure.
Ed.
But a true one,
Who stabbs my Name, wou'd stab my Person too,
Did not the Hangman's Ax lye in his way,
And no man care's to stumble upon that.
War.
Well, Sir, I have so long gone clad in Steel,
I have forgot to kneel; but yet my Spirit,
More stubborn than my sinews, bends to you,
And beggs your pardon for my too rash passion,
For 'twas no more, and there appear'd occasion;
Though you it seems kindled the fire o' purpose
To shew us by the light of it our faults.
Ed.
Nay, I will own after the days Fatigues,
I fell into an ambuscade of beauty,
Where ignorant of what befell my Father,
And deep in Love, I lay some hours last night;
And which of you wou'd not have done the same?
War.
All of us wou'd, and, Sir, I humbly beg you
Think my wild passion was the Woman in me,
And I've enjoy'd my Woman, as you yours.
Ed.
My Lord, I know you wou'd enjoy your Woman,
I mean your Mistress, for you have a Mistress,
And you, who threatned to revolt from me;
Because some moments, which were due to business,
I gave away to Beauty, and to Love,
Had almost at S. Albans given away
Our victory, to a Woman that abhorr'd you.
War.
Ha!
Ed.
Yes, my Lord, I was inform'd the story.
You woo'd her, over her dead Husband's Body,
Till you were almost taken by the Enemy.
I do not know her Name, I never pry
Into your pleasures, though you censure mine.
But thou in Chastity, wou'dst seem a Scipio.
Know, that the Woman that thou saw'st me with,
Was thy own Whore.
Ric.
Ha!
Ed.
Yes, thy own poor Whore,
A Peasant's dirty Daughter, whom thou keep'st,
By whom thou hast a little tawny Bastard,
Whom I o' purpose brought to shew thy Faults,
In th' eyes, where thou hast often seen thy face.
This is the Lady.
41
Ric.
Cursed treacherous jade!
[Aside.
Ed.
Now, Sirs, what think you?
Ge.
Pray, Sir, give me leave
To intercede for 'em, I see shame covers 'em,
And to great minds no punishment like shame.
Rich.
Sir, not for mine, but for my Father's sake
Pardon my Errours and accept my Service,
[Kneels both.
That I may aid you to revenge his Blood.
War.
Sir, not for mine, but for the Kingdoms sake,
Pardon my Errours and accept my service,
For I by placing you in the English Throne
Shall place the English Throne above the World.
Ed.
Rise both of you, I freely pardon you,
And yet methinks it is unequal usage
A King shou'd pardon all the faults of Subjects,
And Subjects pardon nothing in their King;
When a King's crown'd, he is not deifyed,
When he puts on the Royal Robes, he does not
Therefore put of th' Infirmities of man.
I own I have my faults, and so have you,
You see I have convinc'd you, and I did it
That you might leave your faults and pardon mine;
Or if you kept your faults to part with me;
For if my Lord of Warwick does design
By all his Service only to enslave me,
I shall lose nothing by his leaving me,
I can but be a Slave when I am conquer'd,
And if my Brother Richard has worse ends—
Ric.
Oh! Sir, no more, unless you do design
I shou'd rip up my Breast to shew my heart—
War.
Sir, I'll desire no farther pardon of you,
Till I have writ it in your Enemies Blood,
And pawn'd my Life and Fortune for my Loyalty.
Ed.
Our Friendship then is stronger for this breach,
Now let us bend our talk to our Affairs,
On the sad tidings of my Father's death,
Which I but lately heard, I sent Commissioners
To Henry to demand the Crown of him
According to the Oath he made in Parliament.
They are here!—what tydings? Peace, or War!
42
Com.
War.
All.
War.
1 Com.
Th' Amazon Queen drags Henry to the Battel.
He fain would keep his Oath, but she'll not suffer him.
Ric.
I'm glad of it, I would not for a Kingdom
Peace shou'd chain up that Bloody Mastiff Clifford,
And keep him safe from the edge of our keen Swords.
War.
You wrong the Beast to give that name to Clifford,
An English Mastiff scorns to bite a Child.
Ed.
Now let us march to meet the Enemy,
This day decides who shall be King of England,
The right is ours.
War.
And Justice will prevail,
Since Right and Merit both are in the Scale.
[Exeunt.
| The misery of civil-war | |