University of Virginia Library

ACT IV.

SCENE I.

Enter Warwick with a Letter.
Edward , 'tis well, I do deserve this from thee,
For being such an Ass to fight for one
Who melts each Hour away in Luxury,
And gives his Kingdom for a Widow's Toy.
Edward, my Wrongs are great, and thou shalt find
I think 'em so.
Did I forget, that by the House of York
My Father came untimely to his Death:
Did I impale thee with the Regal Crown,
And put King Henry from his native Right,
And is it thus thou recompenc'st my Deeds?
My injur'd Honour rouses up my Rage.
Am I rewarded at the last with Shame?
Then, to repair my Honour lost for thee,
I will renounce thee, and return to Henry.
So, noble Margaret, former Grudges pass,
Henceforth I'll be her faithful Servitor,
And I'll plant Henry in his former State.
When I departed from this treacherous Edward,
Matters of Marriage was the Charge he gave me,
But dreadful War shall answer his Demand.
Had he none else to make a Stale but me?
Then none but I shall turn his Jest to Sorrow?
I was the Chief that rais'd him to this Pomp,
And I'll be Chief to bring him down again.
Both in Pity of Henry's Misery,
And for Revenge of Edward's Mockery.

[Exit.
Enter Edward, and Attendants, meeting a Messenger.
Edw.
Now Sir, what Letters, or, what News, from France?

Mess.
My Sovereign Liege, no Letters, and few Words,
But such as I (without your special Pardon)
Dare not relate.

Edw.
Go too, we pardon thee:
Therefore, in brief, tell their Words,
As near as thou canst guess them.
What Answer made King Lewis to our Letters?

Mess.
At my Depart these were his very Words;
Go tell false Edward, thy supposed King,
That Lewis of France is sending over Maskers,
To revel it with him, and his new Bride.

Edw.
Is Lewis so brave? Belike he thinks me Henry.
But what said Lady Bona to my Marriage?

Mess.
These were her Words, utter'd with mild Disdain:
Tell him, in hope he'll prove a Widower shortly,
I'll wear the Willow Garland for his sake.

Edw.
I blame not her, she cou'd say little less;
Her's was the Wrong. But what said Henry's Queen?
For she, I hear, was present at that Time.

Mess.
Tell him (quoth she)
My Mourning Weeds I now shall lay aside,
And I am ready to put Armour on.

Edw.
Belike she means to play the Amazon,
Yet how brooks Warwick this our sudden Marriage?

Mess.
He, more incens'd against your Majesty
Than all the rest, discharg'd me with these Words;
Tell him, from me, that he hath done me wrong,
And therefore I'll uncrown him e'er be long.

Edw.
Ha! durst the Traytor utter such proud Words?
Well, I will arm me, being thus forewarn'd;
They shall have Wars, and pay for their Presumption;
But say, is Warwick Friends with Margaret?

Mess.
They are so link'd in Friendship, Sovereign,
That young Prince Edward marries Warwick's Daughter.

Edw.
Haste you to Stafford; bid him levy Men,
The Foe already's landed on our Coast,
And therefore let us hence, and lose no Hour,
'Till we meet Rebel Warwick with his Power.

[Exeunt.
Enter King Henry, Prince, Queen, Warwick, and Guards.
Queen.
Now, Sir, you are King again, this valiant Lord
Has left the horrid Desarts of Rebellion;
Where he, and all his glorious Deeds were lost,
And found the Road of Honour.

War.
I confess
Fortune did mislead me, and I the Kingdom,
To give your Royal Rights to a false Prince,
Who has some Royal Blood, no Royal Vertues,
So has no Right to Crowns those Vertues gain'd.

K. Hen.
I give you Thanks, my Lord, for your great Gifts;
Life, Freedom, and a Crown. I call 'em Gifts,
Cause you can take 'em from me, or let me keep 'em.
To Life and Freedom I have a clear Title,
Because I ne'er did ill to forfeit 'em.
But oh! I am afraid to wear the Crown,
For fear I share the Murder that procur'd it.

Queen.
Oh spiritless Prince! born for a Prison, not a Throne.
What, if your Grandfather murder'd his King,
Must you take Physick for his Sicknesses?
Or rather die! for a King's Crown and Life
Go fight together—so King Richard found it.

Prince.
Sir, all our Lives wholly depend on yours,
And for one Fault of your dead Grandfather,
Which he repented, will you punish Thousands?
That he full sore repented Richard's Death,
His Deeds do show, for in goodly Order
He follow'd the King's Body to the Grave,
And on it he bestow'd more contrite Tears,
Than from it issued forced Drops of Blood.
Five Hundred Poor he yearly held in pay,
Who twice a Day their wither'd Hands held up
Towards Heav'n, to pardon the sad bloody Crime.
And more, did he not erect two Chauntries,
Where still the sad and solemn Priests do sing
For Richard's Soul: You'll sin to lose the Crown,
More than our Grandfather did to gain it.

Queen.
If you will doom your self to be depos'd,
Because the Crown was gotten by ill Means;
By the same Law you may destroy half your Kingdom,
If Men, by inheriting their Fathers Fortunes,
Inherit the Crimes, by which their Fathers gain'd 'em,
Where is the Nation would not deserve Death?

K. Hen.
Full well hath Marg'ret play'd the Orator,
Inferring Arguments of mighty Force:
But, pray now, tell me, did you never hear,
That Things ill got had ever bad Success.
I'll leave my Son my virtuous Deeds behind,
And would my Father had left me no more:
For all the rest is held at such a Rate,
As brings a Thousand Fold more Care to keep,
Than in Possession any Jot of Pleasure.

Prince.
Sir, if you be no King, we are all Rebels,
And merit Death.

War.
The undeserving Edward's,
Not only doom'd by Heav'n unfit for Reign,
But by his Flesh and Blood, his Brother Clarence,
Who has revolted from him,
And to create between us
A lasting League, marries my eldest Daughter.

Prince.
And I have giv'n my Heart, Sir, to her Sister,
Who has kindly list'ned to my Tale of Love.
Oh, do not make me wretched e'ery Way!

Queen.
Ambitious York did level at thy Crown,
Thou smiling while he knit his angry Brows;
He but a Duke wou'd have his Son a King,
And raise his Issue, like a loving Sire.
Thou being a King, blest with a goodly Son,
Didst yield Consent to disinherit him,
Which argu'd thee a most unloving Father.
Unreasonable Creatures feed their Young;
And tho' Man's Face be fearful to their Eyes,
Yet in Protection of their tender Ones,
Who hath not seen 'em, even with those Wings
Which sometimes they have us'd with fearful Flight,
Make War with him that climb'd unto their Nest,
Off'ring their own Lives in their Young's Defence.
For shame then, Henry, make them your President;
Were it not pity that this goodly Boy
Shou'd lose his Birthright by his Father's Fault,
And long hereafter say unto his Child,
What my great Grandfather, and Grandsire, got,
My careless Father fondly gave away?
Ah, what a Shame were this—Look on the Boy,
And let his manly Face, which promiseth
Successful Fortune, steel thy melting Heart
To hold thy own, and leave thine own with him.

K. Hen.
Oh! Nature conquers me!

Queen.
Oh, happy Conquest!

Prince.
Upon my Knees, Sir, I return you Thanks.

Enter George.
War.
See, here he comes, who gallantly to serve
His King and Country, will forsake his Brother.
Welcome, brave Clarence, I hold it Cowardice
To rest mistrustful, where a noble Heart
Hath pawn'd an open Hand in Sign of Love;
Else might I think that Clarence, Edward's Brother,
Were but a feigned Friend to our Proceedings.
But once more welcome, my Daughter shall be thine.

Geo.
I thought my Blood deriv'd a Crown to us,
But now I find it derives only Treason;
To clear the Taint, I come to set it boiling
Over a flaming Zeal for the King's Service.

War.
What think you now, Sir? Do you judge your Title
Good, when your very Enemies proclaim it.

Hen.
I find it's Heaven's Will that I shou'd Reign.
My noble Friends, let me embrace you both.
My Lord of Warwick, you are Fortunate,
I must beg you to Rule, for I'm afraid
My thwarting Stars will blast this blessed Land.

War.
Your Majesty is wise to foresee Evils,
And Good, that you wou'd save your People from 'em.
Here stands a Prince most worthy of Command.

Geo.
The World has not more Worth than great Lord Warwick.

K. Hen.
Give me your Hands, I join you both together,
And make you both Protectors of the Kingdom;
Rule you, while I wait only on Devotion.

Queen.
And now my Son, thy Inheritance is safe.

Prince.
May I be Happy in my Mistress too.

Queen.
Ay, if the King consent.

K. Hen.
With all my Heart.

War.
Thanks for this Honour, mighty Sovereign.
Who waits? Call in my Daughter, Lady Anne;
The Marriages shall both be suddenly,
For hourly I expect her Sister here.

Enter Lady Anne.
L. Anne.
Your Blessing, Sir.

War.
Welcome, my dearest Daughter.

Henry.
Welcome, young Lady unto Henry's Court.

Prince
. [Gazing.]
At every View my Wounds bleed all afresh.
Ye Powers! how her Charms
Steal through my Eyes, and fix upon my Heart.
Myriads of Cupids play within her Eyes,
A Thousand Graces wait upon her Smiles,
And her whole Form consists of lovely Charms.
Oh! I could gaze for ever on her Beauty,
Yet think it a short Time, and rarely spent.

Queen.
Love, my dear Boy, has seiz'd your Heart betimes,

Prince.
What Heart so young, that must not feel her Power.
I've heard you say, Love was a boyish Passion;
Why do you wonder then it strikes my Youth?
I cannot fancy now I am a Boy,
The Sight of her has warm'd me into Man.

Queen.
Peace, my young Ned, you make the Lady blush.

War.
Say, Daughter, if our Will desire a Marriage
'Twixt you and this young Prince, Would you refuse it?

L. Anne.
Sir, your Commands have e'er been sacred to me,
Then do not think I'll now forget my Duty.
The Prince's Merit, and your precious Will,
Shall plead my Excuse for my so soon complying:
And thereon I give my Hand to the young Prince.

Prince.
With ravish'd Heart, and bended Knee I take it,
The extreamest Bliss my Soul could e'er desire.
O Mother, do not wonder that my Words
Are full of Rapture, since my Heart is so:
She has Delights to ravish every Sense,
And my whole Soul dissolves away in Love.

K. Hen.
Then let us in to celebrate your Nuptials,
And may Heaven prosper this your early Loves.

Prince.
Amen, ye Powers.

War.
And now what rests, but in Night's Coverture,
Edward being carelessly encamp'd,
His Soldiers lurking in the Town about,
And but attended by a simple Guard,
We may surprize and take him at our Pleasure.
Our Scouts have found the Adventure very easy;
That as Ulysses, and stout Diomede,
With Slight and Manhood stole to Rhesus' Tents,
And brought from thence the Thracian fatal Steeds.
So we, well cover'd with the Night's black Mantle,
At unawares may beat down Edward's Guard,
And seize his Person, but none attempt his Life.
You that will follow me to this Attempt,
Applaud the Name of Henry with your Leader.
[Shout.
Why then, let's on our Way in silent Sort,
For Henry and his Friends, Heaven and St. George.

[Exeunt.
Enter Guards.
1.
Come on, my Masters, each Man take his Stand,
The King by this is set him down to sleep.

2.
What, Will he not to Bed?

1.
Why, no—For he hath made a solemn Vow,
Never to lye, and take his natural Rest,
'Till Warwick, or himself, be quite supprest.

2.
But say, I pray, What Nobleman is that,
That with the King here resteth in his Tent?

1.
'Tis the Lord Hastings, the King's chiefest Friend.

2.
Oh! is it so!—but why commands the King,
That his chief Followers lodge in Towns about him,
While he himself keeps in the cold Field.

1.
'Tis the more Honour, because the more Danger.

2.
Ay, but give me Worship and Quietness,
I like it better than a dangerous Honour.
If Warwick knew in what Estate he stands,
'Tis to be doubted he would waken him.

1.
Unless our Halbards did shut up his Passage.

2.
Ay, Wherefore else guard we this royal Tent,
But to defend his Person from Night Foes.

Enter Warwick, with Soldiers.
War.
This is his Tent, and see where stands his Guard.
Courage, my Masters, Honour now or never.
But follow me, and Edward shall be ours.

1.
Who goes there?

2.
Stay, or thou dy'st.

Warwick's Soldiers.
Warwick, Warwick.

[They fall upon the Guards, and kill them, then rush into the Tent, and bring out Edward.
Soldiers.
What are they that fly there?

War.
Richard and Hastings, let them go; here is the Duke.

Edw.
Warwick, when we parted, thou call'dst me King.

Warw.
When you disgrac'd me in my Embassade,
Then I degraded you from being King,
And now am come to create you Duke of York.
Alas! how should you govern any Kingdom,
That cannot use a Nobleman with Honour.
Who cannot be contented with one Wife.
Nor know you how to use your Brother Clarence;
Nor how to study for the People's Welfare;
Nor how to shrowd your self from Enemies;
Nor how to set true Value on a Friend.

Edw.
Nay, then I see, that Edward needs must down.
Yet, Warwick, in despight of all Mischance,
Edward will always bear himself as King:
Though Fortune's Malice overthrow my State,
My Mind exceeds the Compass of her Wheel.

War.
Then for his Mind, be Edward England's King,
But Henry now shall wear the English Crown,
And be true King indeed, thou but a Shadow.
I'll prove upon thee Warwick's Power is great.

Edw.
What Fates impose, poor Man must needs abide;
It boots not to resist both Wind and Tide.

[Exeunt
Enter Lady Grey, meeting a Gentleman.
L. G.
Now, Sir, tell me, what's the News with you.

Gent.
Pardon me, gracious Queen, the News I bring
Is full of Grief, and royal Edward's Losses.

L. G.
What of my Sovereign?

Gent.
He's taken Prisoner.
Either betray'd by Falshood of his Guard,
Or by his Foes surpriz'd at unawares.
And as I further have to understand,
Is now committed to the Bishop of York,
Fell Warwick's Brother, and by that our Foe.

L. G.
Alas! this News is full of Grief indeed.

Gent.
Yet, gracious Madam, bear it like your self.
Warwick may lose, that now hath won the Day.

L. G.
Till then fair Hope must hinder Life's Decay.
And I the rather wean me from Despair,
For Love of Edward's Offspring in my Womb.
'Tis this that makes me bridle in my Passion,
And bear with Mildness my Misfortune cross.
Ay, ay, for this I draw in many a Tear,
And stop the rising of Blood-sucking Sighs:
Lest with my Sighs or Tears, I blast or drown
King Edward's Fruit, true Heir to th' English Crown.
Pray tell me, Where is Warwick then become?

Gent.
I am inform'd that he is gone towards London,
To guard King Henry, who is reinstall'd.

L. G.
I guess the rest, King Edward's Friends must down.
But to prevent the Tyrant's Violence,
For trust not him who once hath broken Faith,
I'll hence forthwith unto the Sanctuary,
To save, at least, the Heir of Edward's Right.
There shall I rest secure from Force and Fraud,
And all the Malice of imperious Warwick.

[Exeunt.