The plays (poems) of Shakespeare, ed. by H. Staunton, the illustr. by J. Gilbert engr. by the brothers Dalziel

Thy balm wash'd off, wherewith thou wast anointed:

No bending knee will call thee Cæsar now,
No humble suitors press to speak for right,
No, not a man comes for redress of thee,
For how can I help them, and not myself?

1 KEEP. Ay, here's a deer whose skin's a keeper's fee:

This is the quondam king; let's seize upon him. K. HEN. Let me embrace these sour adversities;" For wise men say it is the wisest course.

2 KEEP. Why linger we? let us lay hands upon him.

1 KEEP. Forbear awhile; we'll hear a little

And, as I hear, the great commanding Warwick
Is thither gone, to crave the French king's sister
To wife for Edward: if this news be true,
Poor queen and son, your labour is but lost;
For Warwick is a subtle orator,

And Lewis a prince soon won with moving words.
By this account, then, Margaret may win him,
For she's a woman to be pitied much :
Her sighs will make a battery in his breast,
Her tears will pierce into a marble heart;
The tiger will be mild, whiles she doth mourn,
And Nero will be tainted with remorse,

To hear, and see, her plaints, her brinish tears.
Ay, but she's come to beg; Warwick, to give:
She, on his left side, craving aid for Henry,
He, on his right, asking a wife for Edward.
She weeps, and says her Henry is depos'd;
He smiles, and says his Edward is install'd;
That she, poor wretch, for grief can speak no

more,

Whiles Warwick tells his title, smooths the wrong,
Inferreth arguments of mighty strength;
And, in conclusion, wins the king from her,
With promise of his sister, and what else,
To strengthen and support king Edward's place.
O Margaret, thus 't will be; and thou, poor soul,
Art then forsaken, as thou went'st forlorn!

2 KEEP. Say, what art thou, that talk'st of kings and queens?

K. HEN. More than I seem, and less than I was born to:

A man at least, for less I should not be ;
And men may talk of kings, and why not I?

2 KEEP. Ay, but thou talk'st as if thou wert a king.

K. HEN. Why, so I am, in mind; and that's enough.

a These sour adversities;] A reading of Pope's, and Mr. Collier's annotator. In the folio 1623, we have "the sower Adversaries,” &c.

b Say, what art thou, that talk'st-] The word that, omitted in

Ah, simple men, you know not what you swear!
Look, as I blow this feather from my face,
And as the air blows it to me again,
Obeying with my wind when I do blow,
And yielding to another when it blows,
Commanded always by the greater gust,
Such is the lightness of you common men.
But do not break your oaths; for, of that sin
My mild entreaty shall not make you guilty.
Go where you will, the king shall be commanded;
And be you kings; command, and I'll obey.

1 KEEP. We are true subjects to the king, king Edward.

K. HEN. So would you be again to Henry, If he were seated as king Edward is.

Το

1 KEEP. We charge you, in God's name, and in the king's,

go with us unto the officers.

K. HEN. In God's name, lead; your king's

SCENE II.-London. A Room in the Palace. Enter KING EDWARD, GLOUCESTER, CLARENCE, and LADY GREY.

K. EDW. Brother of Gloster, at Saint Albans' field

This lady's husband, sir John Grey, was slain,
His lands then seiz'd on by the conqueror :
Her suit is now, to repossess those lands;
Which we in justice cannot well deny,
Because in quarrel of the house of York
The worthy gentleman did lose his life.(2)

GLO. Your highness shall do well, to grant her
suit;

It were dishonour to deny it her.

K. Edw. It were no less; but yet I'll make a pause.

GLO. Yea! is it so?

[Aside to CLAR.

May it please your highness to resolve me now, And what your pleasure is, shall satisfy me.

GLO. [Aside.] Ay, widow? then I'll warrant you all your lands,

An if what pleases him shall pleasure you. Fight closer, or, good faith, you'll catch a blow. CLAR. I fear her not, unless she chance to fall. [Aside to GLO. GLO. God forbid that! for he'll take vantages. [Aside to CLAR. K. EDW. How many children hast thou, widow? tell me.

CLAR. I think, he means to beg a child of her [Aside to GLO.

GLO. Nay, whip me then ; he'll rather give her [Aside to CLAR.

two.

L. GREY. Three, my most gracious lord. GLO. You shall have four, if you'll be rul'd by him. [Aside.

K. EDW. 'Twere pity they should lose their father's lands.

L. GREY. Be pitiful, dread lord, and grant it then.

K. EDW. Lords, give us leave; I'll try this widow's wit.

GLO. [Aside.] Ay, good leave have you; for you will have leave,

(*) Old text, Richard.

His lands-] Thus "The True Tragedy." The folio 1623 has land."

Till youth take leave and leave you to the crutch. [GLO. and CLAR. stand aloof.

K. EDW. Now tell me, madam, do you love your children?

L. GREY. Ay, full as dearly as I love myself. K. EDW. And would you not do much to do them good?

L. GREY. To do them good, I would sustain some harm.

K. EDW. Then get your husband's lands, to do them good.

L. GREY. Therefore I came unto your majesty. K. EDW. I'll tell you how these lands are to be got.

L. GREY. So shall you bind me to your high

GLO.

[Aside.] The match is made; she seals it with a curt'sy.

K. EDW. But stay thee,-'tis the fruits of love I mean.

L. GREY. The fruits of love I mean, my loving liege.

K. EDW. Ay, but, I fear me, in another sense. What love, think'st thou, I sue so much to get? L. GREY. My love till death, my humble thanks,

my prayers, That love, which virtue begs, and virtue grants. K. EDW. No, by my troth, I did not mean such

love.

L. GREY. Why, then you mean not as I thought you did.

b Nay, whip me then ;] So "The True Tragedy." The folio has "Nay, then whip me.'

K. EDW. But now you partly may perceive my mind.

L. GREY. My mind will never grant what I perceive

Your highness aims at, if I aim aright.

K. EDW. To tell thee plain, I aim to lie with thee. L. GREY. To tell you plain, I had rather lie in prison.

K. EDW. Why, then thou shalt not have thy husband's lands.

L. GREY. Why, then mine honesty shall be my dower;

For by that loss I will not purchase them.

K. EDW. Therein thou wrong'st thy children mightily.

L. GREY. Herein your highness wrongs both them and me.

But, mighty lord, this merry inclination
Accords not with the sadness of my suit;
Please you dismiss me, either with ay, or no.

K. EDW. Ay, if thou wilt say ay, to my request; No, if thou dost say no, to my demand.

L. GREY. Then, no, my lord. My suit is at an end.

GLO. The widow likes him not, she knits her
brows.
[Aside to CLAR.
CLAR. He is the bluntest wooer in Christendom.
[Aside to GLO.

K. EDW. [Aside.] Her looks do argue her replete
with modesty ;

Her words do show her wit incomparable;
All her perfections challenge sovereignty:
One way, or other, she is for a king;
And she shall be my love, or else my queen.-
Say that king Edward take thee for his queen ?
L. GREY. "Tis better said than done, my
gracious lord:

I am a subject fit to jest withal,

But far unfit to be a sovereign.

K. EDW. Sweet widow, by my state I swear to thee,

I speak no more than what my soul intends;

And that is, to enjoy thee for my love.

Widow, go you along ;-lords, use her honourably."

[Exeunt K. EDWARD, L. GREY, Clarence,
and Nobleman.

GLO. Ay, Edward will use women honourably.
Would he were wasted, marrow, bones, and all,
That from his loins no hopeful branch may spring,
To cross me from the golden time I look for!
And yet, between my soul's desire, and me,
(The lustful Edward's title buried,)

İs Clarence, Henry, and his son young Edward,
And all the unlook'd-for issue of their bodies,
To take their rooms, ere I can place myself:

L. GREY. And that is more than I will yield A cold premeditation for my purpose!

unto:

I know I am toò mean to be your queen;
And yet too good to be your concubine.

K. EDW. You cavil, widow; I did mean, my
queen.

L. GREY. "Twill grieve your grace, my sons should call you father.

K. EDW. No more, than when my daughters call
thee mother.

Thou art a widow, and thou hast some children;
And, by God's mother, I, being but a bachelor,
Have other some: why, 'tis a happy thing
To be the father unto many sons.

Answer no more, for thou shalt be my queen.
GLO. The ghostly father now hath done his
[Aside to CLAR.

shrift.

CLAR. When he was made a shriver, 't was for
shift.
[Aside to GLO.

K. EDW. Brothers, you muse what chat we two
have had.

GLO. The widow likes it not, for she looks very
sad.

K. EDW. You'd think it strange if I should
marry her.
CLAR. To whom, my

lord?
K. EDW.
Why, Clarence, to myself.
GLO. That would be ten days wonder, at the
least.

CLAR. That's a day longer than a wonder lasts.
GLO. By so much is the wonder in extremes.
K. EDW. Well, jest on, brothers: I can tell you
both,

Her suit is granted for her husband's lands.

Enter a Nobleman.

NOB. My gracious lord, Henry your foe is taken,
And brought your prisoner to your palace gate.
K. EDW. See that he be convey'd unto the
Tower:-

And go we, brothers, to the man that took him,
To question of his apprehension.-

a Use her honourably.] The folio 1623 reads honourable, in this instance probably through negligence, as "The True Tragedy"

Why, then, I do but dream on sovereignty;
Like one that stands upon a promontory,
And spies a far-off shore where he would tread,
Wishing his foot were equal with his eye,
And chides the sea that sunders him from thence,
Saying he'll lade it dry to have his way:
So do I wish the crown, being so far off;
And so I chide the means that keep me from it;
And so I say I'll cut the causes off,
Flattering me with impossibilities.-

My eye's too quick, my heart o'erweens too much,
Unless my hand and strength could equal them.
Well, say there is no kingdom, then, for Richard;
What other pleasure can the world afford?
I'll make my heaven in a lady's lap,
And deck my body in gay ornaments,

And witch sweet ladies with my words and looks.
O miserable thought! and more unlikely
Than to accomplish twenty golden crowns!
Why, love forswore me in my mother's womb:
And, for I should not deal in her soft laws,
She did corrupt frail nature with some bribe
To shrink mine arm up like a wither'd shrub ;
To make an envious mountain on my back,
Where sits deformity to mock my body;
To shape my legs of an unequal size;
To disproportion me in every part,
Like to a chaos, or an unlick'd bear-whelp,
That carries no impression like the dam.
And am I, then, a man to be belov'd?

O, monstrous fault, to harbour such a thought!
Then, since this earth affords no joy to me,
But to command, to check, to o'erbear such
As are of better person than myself,
I'll make my heaven-to dream upon the crown;
And, whiles I live, to account this world but hell,
Until my misshap'd trunk, that bears this head,
Be round impaled with a glorious crown.
And yet I know not how to get the crown,
For many lives stand between me and home:
And I,-like one lost in a thorny wood,
That rents the thorns, and is rent with the thorns,

has "honourably," and Gloucester, in the next line, repeats that
word.

Seeking a way, and straying from the way,
Not knowing how to find the open air,
But toiling desperately to find it out,-
Torment myself to catch the English crown:
And from that torment I will free myself,
Or hew my way out with a bloody axe.
Why, I can smile, and murder whiles I smile;
And cry content to that which grieves my heart,
And wet my cheeks with artificial tears,
And frame my face to all occasions.

I'll drown more sailors than the mermaid shall;
I'll slay more gazers than the basilisk;
I'll play the orator as well as Nestor,
Deceive more slily than Ulysses could,
And, like a Sinon, take another Troy:
I can add colours to the cameleon,
Change shapes with Proteus for advantages,
And set the murd'rous Machiavel to school.
Can I do this, and cannot get a crown?
Tut! were it farther off, I'll pluck it down.

[Exit.

SCENE III.-France. A Room in the Palace.

Flourish. Enter KING LEWIS and LADY BONA, attended; the KING takes his state. Then enter QUEEN MARGARET, PRINCE EDWARD her Son, and the EARL of OXFORD.

K. LEW. Fair queen of England, worthy Mar-
garet,
[Rising.

Sit down with us; it ill befits thy state
And birth, that thou should'st stand, while Lewis
doth sit.

Q. MAR. No, mighty king of France; now
Margaret

Must strike her sail, and learn awhile to serve
Where kings command. I was, I must confess,
Great Albion's queen in former golden days;
But now mischance hath trod my title down,
And with dishonour laid me on the ground,
Where I must take like seat unto my fortune,
And to my humble seat conform myself.

K. LEW. Why, say, fair queen, whence springs this deep despair?

Q. MAR. From such a cause as fills mine eyes with tears,

And stops my tongue, while heart is drown'd in

cares.

K. LEW. Whate'er it be, be thou still like
thyself,

And sit thee by our side: yield not thy neck
[Seats her by him.
To fortune's yoke, but let thy dauntless mind
Still ride in triumph over all mischance.
Be plain, queen Margaret, and tell thy grief;
It shall be eas'd, if France can yield relief.

Q. MAR. Those gracious words revive my
drooping thoughts,

And give my tongue-tied sorrows leave to speak.
Now, therefore, be it known to noble Lewis,-
That Henry, sole possessor of my love,
Is, of a king, become a banish'd man,
And forc'd to live in Scotland a forlorn ;
While proud ambitious Edward, duke of York,
Usurps the regal title, and the seat

Of England's true-anointed lawful king.
This is the cause, that I, poor Margaret,—
With this my son, prince Edward, Henry's heir,—
Am come to crave thy just and lawful aid ;
And if thou fail us, all our hope is done :
Scotland hath will to help, but cannot help;
Our people and our peers are both misled,
Our treasure seiz'd, our soldiers put to flight,
And, as thou seest, ourselves in heavy plight.
K. LEW. Renowned queen, with patience calm
the storm,

While we bethink a means to break it off.

Q. MAR. The more we stay, the stronger grows our foe.

K. LEW. The more I stay, the more I'll succour thee.

Q. MAR. O, but impatience waiteth on true sorrow!

And see, where comes the breeder of my sorrow.

Enter WARWICK, attended.

K. LEW. What's he, approacheth boldly to our presence?

Q. MAR. Our earl of Warwick, Edward's greatest friend.

QUEEN

K. LEW. Welcome, brave Warwick! what brings thee to France? [Descending from his state. MARGARET rises. Q. MAR. Ay, now begins a second storm to rise; For this is he that moves both wind and tide. WAR. From worthy Edward, king of Albion, My lord and sovereign, and thy vowed friend, I come,—in kindness and unfeigned love,First, to do greetings to thy royal person, And, then, to crave a league of amity; And lastly, to confirm that amity With nuptial knot, if thou vouchsafe to grant That virtuous lady Bona, thy fair sister, To England's king in lawful marriage.

Q. MAR. [Aside.] If that go forward, Henry's hope is done.

WAR. And, gracious madam, [To BONA.] in our king's behalf,

I am commanded, with your leave and favour, Humbly to kiss your hand, and with my tongue To tell the passion of my sovereign's heart;

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The plays (poems) of Shakespeare, ed. by H. Staunton, the ..., Parte169,Volumen2