Q. Kath. Ye turn me into nothing: Woe upon ye, Beware, you lose it not: For us, if you please

1 For the sake of that royalty which I have heretofore possessed.

2 Weigh out for out-weigh. In Macbeth we have overcome for come over.

3 If I mistake you, it is by your fault, not mine; for I thought you good.

4 Served him with superstitious attention.

5 This is an allusion to the old jingle of Angli and Angeli. Thus Nashe in his Anatomy of Absurdity, 1589: For my part I meane to suspend my sentence, and let an author of late memorie be my speaker; who affirmeth that they carry angels in their faces, and

That little thought, when she set footing here,
She should have bought her dignities so dear.

Nor. All men's.

Suf. There's order given for her coronation:
[Exeunt. Marry, this is yet but young, and may be left
Antechamber to the King's Apart-She is a gallant creature, and complete
To some ears unrecounted.-But, my lords,

SCENE II.
ment. Enter the DUKE of NORFOLK, the DUKE
of SUFFOLK, the EARL of SURREY, and the
Lord Chamberlain.

Nor. If you will now unite in your complaints,
And force them with a constancy, the cardinal
Cannot stand under them: If you omit
The offer of this time, I cannot promise,
But that you shall sustain more new disgraces,
With these you bear already.

Sur.

I am joyful

To meet the least occasion, that may give me
Remembrance of my father-in-law, the duke,
To be reveng'd on him.

Suf.

Which of the peers

Have uncontemn'd gone by him, or at least
Strangely neglected? when did he regard
The stamp of nobleness in any person,
Out of himself?

Cham. My lord, you speak your pleasures:
What he deserves of you and me,
I know;
What we can do to him (though now the time
Gives way to us,) I much fear. If
you cannot
Bar his access to the king, never attempt
Any thing on him; for he hath a witchcraft
Over the king in his tongue.
Nor.

O, fear him not;
His spell in that is out: the king hath found
Matter against him, that for ever mars
The honey of his language. No, he's settled,
Not to come off, in his displeasure.

Sur.

Sir,

I should be glad to hear such news as this
Once every hour.

Nor.

In mind and feature: I persuade me, from her
Will fall some blessing to this land, which shall
In it be memoriz'd."

Sur.

But, will the king

Digest this letter of the cardinal's?
The Lord forbid !

Nor.
Suf.

Marry, amen!

No, no;

There be more wasps that buz about his nose,
Will make this sting the sooner. Cardinal Campeius
Is stolen away to Rome; hath ta'en no leave;
Has left the cause o' the king unhandled; and
Is posted, as the agent of our cardinal,
To second all this plot. I do assure you
The king cry'd, ha! at this.

Cham.

And let him cry ha, louder!
Nor.

When returns Cranmer?

Now, God incense him,

But, my lord,

Suf. He is return'd, in his opinions; which
Have satisfied the king for his divorce,
Together with all famous colleges
Almost in Christendom: shortly, I believe,
His second marriage shall be publish'd, and
Her coronation. Katharine no more
Shall be call'd queen; but princess dowager,
And widow to Prince Arthur.
Nor.

This same Cranmer's
A worthy fellow, and hath ta'en much pain
In the king's business.
Suf.

For it, an archbishop.

Believe it, this is true.

Nor.
Suf.

The cardinal

In the divorce, his contrary proceedings3
Are all unfolded; wherein he appears,

As I could wish mine

Sur.

His practices to light?
Suf.
Sur.

enemy.

How came

Most strangely.

O, how, how?
Suf. The cardinal's letter to the pope miscarried,
And came to the eye o' the king: wherein was read,
How that the cardinal did entreat his holiness
To stay the judgment o' the divorce: For if
It did take place, I do, quoth he, perceive
My king is tangled in affection to

A creature of the queen's, Lady Anne Bullen.
Sur. Has the king this?

Suf.
Sur.

Believe it.

Will this work? Cham. The king in this perceives him, how he coasts,

And hedges, his own way. But in this point
All his tricks founder, and he brings his physic
After his patient's death; the king already
Hath married the fair lady.

Sur.
"Would he had!
Suf. May you be happy in your wish, my lord!
For, I profess, you have it.

Sur.

Traces the conjunction!
Suf.

Now all my joy

My amen to't!

Nor.

He has and we shall see him

So I hear.

'Tis so.

Enter WOLSEY and CROMWELL.

Observe, observe, he's moody. Wol. The packet, Cromwell, gave it you the king? Crom. To his own hand, in his bedchamber. Wol. Look'd he o' the inside of the paper? Crom.

Presently

He did unseal them; and the first he view'd,
He did it with a serious mind; a heed
Was in his countenance: You, he bade
Attend him here this morning.

Wol.

To come abroad?

Is he ready

Crom.
I think, by this he is.
Wol. Leave me a while. [Erit CROMWELL.
It shall be to the duchess of Alençon,
The French king's sister: he shall marry her.
Anne Bullen! No; I'll no Anne Bullens for him.
There is more in it than fair visage.-Bullen!
No, we'll no Bullens.-Speedily I wish

To hear from Rome.-The marchioness of Pem-
broke!

Nor. He's discontented.
Suf.

Does whet his

Sur.

May be, he hears the king anger to him.

Lord, for thy justice!

Sharp enough,

Wol. The late queen's gentlewoman; a knight's

daughter,

To be her mistress' mistress! the queen's queen!-
This candle burns not clear: 'tis I must snuff it;
Then,out it goes.-What though I know her virtuous,
And well deserving? yet I know her for

7 To memorize is to make memorable.

opinions, i. e. with the same sentiments which he enter 8 Suffolk means to say Cranmer is returned in his tained before he went abroad, which (sentiments) have satisfied the king, together with all the famous colleges

6 This same phrase occurs again in Romeo and Juliet, referred to on the occasion. Or perhaps the passage (as Act i. Sc. 1:

'Good morrow, cousin.

Is the day so young ?

Mr. Tyrwhitt observes) may mean, He is returned in effect, having sent his opinions, i. e. the opinions of divines, &c. collected by him.

A spleeny Lutheran; and not wholesome to
Our cause, that she should lie i' the bosom of
Our hard-rul'd king. Again, there is sprung up
An heretic, an arch one, Cranmer; one
Hath crawl'd into the favour of the king,
And is his oracle.

Nor.

He is vex'd at something.

K. Hen. You have said well.
Wol. And ever may your highness yoke together,
As I will lend you cause, my doing well
With my well saying!

K. Hen.

"Tis well said again; And 'tis a kind of good deed, to well: say And yet words are no deeds. My father lov'd you:

Suf. I would 'twere something that would fret He said, he did; and with his deed did crown

the string,

The master-cord of his heart!

Enter the King, reading a Schedule ;' and LOVELL.
Suf.
The king, the king.
K. Hen. What piles of wealth hath he accumulated
To his own portion! and what expense by the hour
Seems to flow from him! How, i' the name of thrift,
Does he rake this together?-Now, my lords;
Saw you the cardinal?
Nor.

My lord, we have

Stood here observing him: Some strange commotion
Is in his brain: he bites his lip, and starts;
Stops on a sudden, looks upon the ground,
Then lays his finger on his temple; straight,
Springs out into fast gait; then, stops again,2
Strikes his breast hard; and anon, he casts
eye against the moon: in most strange postures
His
We have seen him set himself.

K. Hen.
It may well be;
There is a mutiny in his mind. This morning
Papers of state he sent me to peruse,

As I requir'd: And, wot' you what I found
There; on my conscience, put unwittingly?
Forsooth, an inventory, thus importing,-
The several parcels of his plate, his treasure,
Rich stuffs, and ornaments of household; which
I find at such proud rate, that it outspeaks
Possession of a subject.

Nor.

It's heaven's will;
Some spirit put this paper in the packet,
To bless your eye withal.

K. Hen.

If we did think

That the cardinal gave the king an inventory of his private wealth, by mistake, and thereby ruined self, is a known variation from the truth of history. kspeare, however, has not injudiciously represented fall of that great man as owing to an incident which had once improved to the destruction of another. See story related of Thomas Ruthall, bishop of Durin Holinshed, p. 796 and 797.

2 Sallust, describing the disturbed state of Catiline's
, takes notice of the same circumstance :- Citus
modo tardus incessus.'
Know.

So in Macbeth :-

To crown my thoughts with acts."

Is Your royal benefits, showered upon me daily, have more than all my studied purpose could do to re, for they went beyond all that man could effect in

His word upon you. Since I had my office,
I have kept you next my heart; have not alone
Employ'd you
where high profits might come home,
But par'd my present havings, to bestow
My bounties upon you.
Wol.

What should this mean?
Sur. The Lord increase this business!
K. Hen.

[Aside.

Have I not made you
The prime man of the state? I pray you, tell me,
If what I now pronounce, you have found true:
And, if you may confess it, say withal,
If you are bound to us or no. What say you?

Wol. My sovereign, I confess, your royal graces,
Shower'd on me daily, have been more than could
My studied purposes requite; which went
Beyond all man's endeavours ;-my endeavours
Have ever come too short of my desires,
Have been mine so, that evermore they pointed
Yet, fil'd with my abilities: Mine own ends
To the good of your most sacred person, and
The profit of the state. For your great graces
Heap'd upon me, poor undeserver, I
Can nothing render but allegiant thanks;
My prayers to heaven for you; my loyalty,
Which ever has, and ever shall be growing,
Till death, that winter, kill it.

K. Hen.

Fairly answer'd;
A loyal and obedient subject is
Therein illustrated: The honour of it
Does the act of it: as, i' the contrary,
The foulness is the punishment. I presume,
That, as my hand has open'd bounty to you,
My heart dropp'd love, my power rain'd honour, `

pay

more

On you, than any; so your hand and heart,
Your brain, and every function of your power,
Should, notwithstanding that your bond of duty,
As 'twere in love's particular, be more
To me, your friend, than any."
Wol.
I do profess,
That for your highness' good I ever labour'd
More than mine own; that am, have, and will be.
Though all the world should crack their duty to you,
And throw it from their soul; though perils did
Abound, as thick as thought could make them, and
As doth a rock against the chiding flood,
Appear in forms more horrid; yet my duty,
Should the approach of this wild river break,
And stand unshaken yours."

K. Hen.
'Tis nobly spoken:
Take notice, lords, he has a loyal breast,
For you
have seen him open't.-Read o'er this;
[Giving him papers.

the way of gratitude. My endeavours have ever come too short of my desires, though they have fil'd, i. e. equalled or kept pace with my abilities.

6 Steevens says, as Jonson is supposed to have made some alterations in this play, it may not be amiss to compare the passage before us with another on the same subject in The New Inn :

'He gave me my first breeding, I acknowledge;
Then shower'd his bounties on me like the hours
That open-handed sit upon the clouds,
And press the liberality of heaven
Down to the laps of thankful men.'

7 Beside your bond of duty as a loyal and obedient servant, you owe a particular devotion to me as your especial benefactor.

8 This is expressed with great obscurity; but seems to mean, that or such a man I am, have been, and will ever be.'

Wol. It must be himself then.
Sur. Thou art a proud traitor, priest.
Wol.
Proud lord, thou best;
Within these forty hours Surrey durst better
Have burnt that tongue, than said so.
Sur.
Thou scarlet sin, robb'd this bewailing land
Of noble Buckingham, my father-in-law:
The heads of all thy brother cardinals
(With thee, and all thy best parts bound together)
Weigh'd not a hair of his. Plague of your policy!
You sent me deputy for Ireland;

Far from his succour, from the king, from all
That might have mercy on the fault thou gav'st him;
Whilst your great goodness, out of holy pity,
Absolv'd him with an axe.

Wol.
This, and all else
This talking lord can lay upon my credit,
I answer, is most false. The duke by law
Found his deserts: how innocent I was
From any private malice in his end,
His noble jury and foul cause can witness.
If I lov'd many words, lord, I should tell you,
You have as little honesty as honour;
That I, in the way of loyalty and truth
Toward the king, my ever royal master,
Dare mates a sounder man than Surrey can be,

And all that love his follies.

3 Asher was the ancient name of Esher, in Surrey. Shakspeare forgot that Wolsey was himself Bishop of

And spotless, shall mine innocence arise,
When the king knows my truth.
Sur.

I thank my memory, I yet remember
Some of these articles; and out they shall.
Now, if you can blush, and cry guilty, cardinal,
You'll show a little honesty.
Speak on, sir:

Wol.

I dare your worst objection: if I blush,
It is, to see a nobleman want manners.
Sur. I'd rather want those, than my head. Have
at you.

And bears his blushing honours thick upon him;
The third day, comes a frost, a killing frost;

This cannot save you; And,-when he thinks, good easy man, full surely
His greatness is a ripening,-nips his root,
And then he falls, as I do. I have ventur'd,
Like little wanton boys that swim on bladders,
This many summers in a sea of glory;
But far beyond my depth; my high-blown pride
At length broke under me; and now has left me,
Weary, and old with service, to the mercy
Of a rude stream, that must for ever hide me.
Vain pomp, and glory of this world, I hate ye
I feel my heart new open'd: O, how wretched
Is that poor man, that hangs on princes' favours!
There is, betwixt that smile we would aspire to,
That sweet aspect of princes, and their ruin,
More pangs and fears than wars or women have ;
And when he falls, he falls like Lucifer,
Never to hope again.”—

First, that without the king's assent, or knowledge,
You wrought to be a legate; by which power
You maim'd the jurisdiction of all bishops.

Nor. Then, that, in all you writ to Rome, or else
To foreign princes, Ego et Rex meus
Was still inscrib'd; in which you brought the king
To be your servant.

Suf.
Then, that, without the knowledge
Either of king or council, when you went
Ambassador to the emperor, you made bold
To carry into Flanders the great seal.

Sur. Item, you sent a large commission
To Gregory de Cassalis, to conclude,
Without the king's will, or the state's allowance,
A league between his highness and Ferrara.

Suf. That, out of mere ambition, you have caus'd
Your holy hat to be stamp'd on the king's coin,'
Sur. Then, that you have sent innumerable sub-

Press not a falling man too far; 'tis virtue:
His faults lie open to the laws; let them,

Crom.
Wol.

Why, well;

Never so truly happy, my good Cromwell.
I know myself now; and I feel within me
A peace above all earthly dignities,
A still and quiet conscience. The king has cur'd me,
I humbly thank his and from these shoulders,
grace;
These ruin'd pillars, out of pity, taken
A load would sink a navy, too much honour:
O, 'tis a burden, Cromwell, 'tis a burden,
Too heavy for a man that hopes for heaven.
Crom. I am glad, your grace has made that right

use of it.

Wol. I hope, I have: I am able now, methinks,

Not you, correct him. My heart weeps to see him (Out of a fortitude of soul I feel,)
So little of his great self.

Sur.

I forgive him.

Suf. Lord cardinal, the king's further pleasure

is,

Because all those things, you have done of late
By your power legatine within this kingdom,
Fall into the compass of a pramunire,^—
That therefore such a writ be sued against you;
To forfeit all your goods, lands, tenements,
Chattels, and whatsoever, and to be

Out of the king's protection:-This is my charge.
Nor. And so we'll leave you to your meditations
How to live better. For your stubborn answer,
About the giving back the great seal to us,
The king shall know it, and, no doubt, shall thank

This was one of the articles exhibited against
Wolsey, but rather with a view to swell the catalogue
than from any serious cause of accusation; inasmuch
as the Archbishops Cranmer, Bainbridge, and Warham
were indulged with the same privileges. See Snelling's
View of the Silver Coin of England.-Douice.
2 Absolute.
3 As the pope's legate.
4 The judgment in a writ of premunire (a barbarous
word used instead of præmonere) is, that the defendant
shall be out of the king's protection; and his lands and
tenements, goods and chattels forfeited to the king;
and that his body shall remain in prison at the king's
pleasure. The old copy reads, erroneously, castles,
instead of cattels, the old word for chattels, as it is
found in Holinshed, p. 909.

5 Thus in Shakspeare's twenty-fifth Sonnet:-
Great princes' favourites their fair leaves spread,
But as the marigold in the sun's eye;
And in themselves their pride lies buried,

For at a frown they in their glory die.'

Lord chancellor in your place.

Wol.

That's somewhat sudden :
But he's a learned man. May he continue
Long in his highness' favour, and do justice
For truth's sake, and his conscience; that his bones,
When he has run his course, and sleeps in blessings,
May have a tomb of orphans' tears' wept on 'em!
What more?

Crom. That Cranmer is return'd with welcome,
Install'd lord archbishop of Canterbury.
Wol. That's news, indeed.
Crom.
Last, that the Lady Anne,
Whom the king hath in secrecy long married,
This day was view'd in open,'
as his
queen,
6 Their ruin is their displeasure,' producing the
downfall and ruin of him on whom it lights.
7 Thomas Storer, in his Metrical Life of Wolsey,
1599, has a similar image :-

10

If once we fall, we fall Colossus-like,
We fall at once, like pillars of the sunne.'

8 So in King Henry VI. Part 2:

'More can I bear, than you dare execute.'

9 The chancellor is the general guardian of orphans.
A tomb of tears (says Johnson) is very harsh.' Stee-
vens has adduced an Epigram of Martial, in which the
Heliades are said to weep a tomb of tears,' over a viper.
V. Lib. iv. Epig. 59. Drummond, in his Teares for the
Death of Moeliades, has the same conceit :-
The Muses, Phoebus, Love, have raised of their teares
A crystal tomb to him, through which his worth appears.'
There is a similar conceit in King Richard II. Act iii.
Sc. 3.

10 In open is a Latinism. Et castris in aperto positis, Liv. i. 33; i. c. in a place exposed on all sides to

view.