Whom I encounter'd as the battles 3 join'd. Rich. Speak thou for me, and tell them what I did. [Throwing down SOMERSET's head. York. Richard hath best deserved of all my sons. — What, Is your Grace dead, my Lord of Somerset ? Norf. Such hap have all the line of John of Gaunt ! Rich. Thus do I hope to shake King Henry's head. War. And so do I.-Victorious Prince of York, Before I see thee seated in that throne Which now the House of Lancaster usurps, I vow by Heaven these eyes shall never close. And this the regal seat: possess it, York; For this is thine, and not King Henry's heirs'. York. Assist me, then, sweet Warwick, and I will; For hither we have broken in by force. Norf. We'll assist you; he that flies shall die. York. Thanks, gentle Norfolk :-stay by me, my lords ; And, soldiers, stay, and lodge by me this night. War. And when the King comes, offer him no violence, Unless he seek to thrust you out perforce. [The Soldiers retire. York. The Queen, this day, here holds her Parliament, But little thinks we shall be of her Council: By words or blows here let us win our right. Rich. Arm'd as we are, let's stay within this house. War. The Bloody Parliament shall this be call'd, Unless Plantagenet, Duke of York, be king, And bashful Henry deposed, whose cowardice 3 The use of battle for army was very common. 4 Henry is here a trisyllable, as if spelt Henery. Repeatedly so in this play. York. Then leave me not, my lords; be resolute; I mean to take possession of my right. War. Neither the King, nor he that loves him best, Dares stir a wing, if Warwick shake his bells.5 [WARWICK leads YORK to the throne, who seats himself. Flourish. Enter King HENRY, CLIFFORD, NORTHUMBERLAND, WESTMORELAND, EXETER, and others, with red roses in their hats. King. My lords, look where the sturdy rebel sits, And thine, Lord Clifford; and you both have vow'd revenge North. If I be not, Heavens be revenged on me! Clif. The hope thereof makes Clifford mourn in steel. West. What, shall we suffer this? let's pluck him down : My heart for anger burns; I cannot brook it. King. Be patient, gentle Earl of Westmoreland. Let us assail the family of York. North. Well hast thou spoken, cousin : be it so. 5 The allusion is to falconry. Hawks had sometimes little bells hung on them, perhaps to dare the birds; that is, to fright them from rising. King. Far be the thought of this from Henry's heart, Shall be the war that Henry means to use. [They advance to the Duke. Thou factious Duke of York, descend my throne, I am thy sovereign. York. Thou'rt deceived; I'm thine. Exe. For shame, come down: he made thee Duke of York. War. Exeter, thou'rt a traitor to the crown In following this usurping Henry. Clif. Whom should he follow but his natural king? War. True, Clifford ; and that's Richard, Duke of York. King. And shall I stand, and thou sit in my throne? York. It must and shall be so: content thyself. War. Be Duke of Lancaster; let him be king. West. He is both king and Duke of Lancaster : And that the Lord of Westmoreland shall maintain. War. And Warwick shall disprove it. You forget That we are those which chased you from the field, And slew your fathers, and with colours spread March'd through the city to the palace-gates. North. No, Warwick, I remember't to my grief; And, by his soul, thou and thy House shall rue it. West. Plantagenet, of thee, and these thy sons, Thy kinsmen, and thy friends, I'll have more lives Than drops of blood were in my father's veins. 6 The earldom here intended was the earldom of March, which York inherited from his mother. His title to the crown was not as Duke of York, but as Earl of March; and by naming this he covertly asserts his right to the crown. Clif. Urge it no more; lest that, instead of words, I send thee, Warwick, such a messenger As shall revenge his death before I stir. War. Poor Clifford ! how I scorn his worthless threats ! King. What title hast thou, traitor, to the crown? Who made the Dauphin and the French to stoop, War. Talk not of France, sith thou hast lost it all. King. The Lord Protector lost it, and not I: When I was crown'd I was but nine months old. Rich. You're old enough now, yet, methinks, you lose. — Tear the crown, father, from th' usurper's head. Edw. Sweet father, do so; set it on your head. Mont. [To YORK.] Good brother, as thou lovest and honour'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! North. 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. King. Think'st thou that I will leave my kingly throne, Wherein my grandsire and my father sat? 7 His father was not Duke of York, but Earl of Cambridge, and even that title was forfeited, leaving the present duke plain Richard Plantagenet, until he was advanced by the present King. Accordingly, Exeter has said, a few lines before, " He made thee Duke of York." So that here we have another discrepancy. See vol. viii. page 41, note I. No; first shall war unpeople this my realm; Ay, and their colours · often borne in France, War. But prove it, Henry, and thou shalt be king. King. [Aside.] I know not what to say; my title's weak. — Tell me, may not a king adopt an heir? York. What then? King. An if he may, then am I lawful king; For Richard, in the view of many lords, Resign'd 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 unconstrain'd, Exe. No; for he could not so resign his crown King. [Aside.] All will revolt from me, and turn to him. 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- Clif. King Henry, be thy title right or wrong, |