Tell me, may not a king adopt an heir? K.Hen. An if he may, then am I lawful king : 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, Think you, 'twere prejudicial to his crown? Exe. No; for he could not so resign his crown, But that the next heir should succeed and reign. K.Hen. Art thou against us, duke of Exeter ? Exe. His is the right, and therefore pardon me. York. Why whisper you, my lords, and answer not? Exe. My conscience tells me, he is lawful king. K.Hen. All will revolt from me and turn to him. North. Plantagenet, for all the claim thou lay'st, Think not, that Henry shall be so depos'd. War. Depos'd he shall be, in despight of all. North. Thou art deceiv'd: '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, Lord Clifford vows to fight in thy defence: May that ground gape, and swallow me alive, Where I shall kneel to him that slew my father. K.Hen. O Clifford, how thy words revive my heart! And o'er the chair of state, where now he sits, [He stamps, and the Soldiers show themselves. K.Hen. My lord of Warwick, hear me but one word: Let me, for this my life-time, reign as king. York. Confirm the crown to me, and to mine heirs, And thou shalt reign in quiet while thou liv'st. K.Hen. I am content: Richard Plantagenet, Enjoy the kingdom after my decease. Clif. What wrong is this unto the prince your son ? War. What good is this to England, and himself? West. Base, fearful, and despairing Henry! Clif. How hast thou injur❜d both thyself and us ? Clif. Come, cousin, let us tell the queen these news. West. Farewell, faint-hearted and degenerate king, In whose cold blood no spark of honour 'bides. North. Be thou a prey unto the house of York, And die in bands for this unmanly deed! Clif. In dreadful war may'st thou be overcome ! Or live in peace, abandon'd, and despis'd! [Exeunt NORTH. CLIF. and WEST. War. Turn this way, Henry, and regard them not. Exe. They seek revenge, and therefore will not yield. K.Hen. Ah, Exeter ! War. Why should you sigh, my lord? K.Hen. Not for myself, lord Warwick, but my son, Whom I unnaturally shall disinherit. But, be it as it may :-I here entail The crown to thee, and to thine heirs for ever; York. This oath I willingly take, and will perform. [Exeunt YORK, and his Sons, WARWICK, NORFOLK, MONTAGUE, Soldiers, and Attendants. K.Hen. And I, with grief and sorrow, to the court. Enter Queen MARGARET and the Prince of Wales. Exe. Here comes the queen, whose looks bewray her anger: 6 [5] They go away, not because they doubt the justice of this determination, but because they have been conquered, and seek to be revenged. They are not influenced by principle, but passion. JOHNSON. [6] Bewray-that is, betray, discover, STEEV. I'll steal away. K. Hen. Exeter, so will I. Thou wouldst have left thy dearest heart-blood there, Prince. Father, you canot disinherit me : If you be king, why should not I succeed? K.Hen. Pardon me,Margaret ;-pardon me,sweet son; I shame to hear thee speak. Ah, timorous wretch ! Warwick is chancellor, and the lord of Calais ; [7] The Queen's reproach is founded on a position long received among politicians, that the loss of a king's power is soon followed by loss of life JOHNS. [8] The person here meant was Thomas Nevi), bastard son to the lord Faulconbridge, "a man," says Hall, "of no lesse corage then audacitie, who for his euel condicions was such an apte person, that a more meter could not be chosen to set all the worlde in a broyle, and to put the estate of the realme on an yl hazard." He had been appointed by Warwick vice-admiral of the sea, and had in charge so to keep the passage between Dover and Calais, that none which either favoured King Henry or his friends should escape untaken or undrowned; such at least were his instructions, with respect to the friends and favourers of King Edward, after the rupture between him and Warwick. On Warwick's death, he fell into poverty, and robbed, both by sea and land, as well friends as enemies. He once brought his ships up the Thames, and with a considerable body of the men of Kent and Essex, made a spirited assault on the city, with a view to plunder and pillage, which was not repelled but after a sharp conflict and the loss of many lives; and, had it happened at a more critical period, might have been attended with fatal consequences to Edward. After roving on the sea some little time longer, he ventured to land at Southampton, where he was taken and beheaded. RITSON See Hall and Holinshed. The duke is made protector of the realm ; But thou preferr'st thy life before thine honour: The northern lords, that have forsworn thy colours, Thus do I leave thee :-Come, son, let's away; K.Hen. Stay, gentle Margaret, and hear me speak. thee gone. K.Hen. Gentle son Edward, thou wilt stay with me? Q.Mar. Ay, to be murder'd by his enemies. Prince. When I return with victory from the field, I'll see your grace: till then, I'll follow her. Q.Mar. Come, son, away; we may not linger thùs. Will cost my crown, and, like an empty eagle, The loss of those three lords2 torments my heart: Come, cousin, you shall be the messenger. Exe. And I, I hope, shall reconcile them all. [Exeunt. [9] Cost and coast were ultimately derived of the same original. HENLEY. To coast is a sea-faring expression, and means to keep along shore. We may, however, maintain the integrity of the figure, by inserting the word cote. To cote is to come up with, to overtake, to reach. STEEV. [1] To tire is to fasten, to fix the talons, from the French tirer. JOHNS, [2] That is, Of Northumberland, Westmoreland, and Clifford, who had left him in disgust. JOHNS. SCENE II. A Room in Sandal Castle, near Wakefield, in Yorkshire. Enter Rich. Brother, though I be youngest, give me leave.' York. Why, how now, sons and brother, at a strife? What is your quarrel? how began it first? Edw. No quarrel, but a slight contention.2 York. About what? Rich. About that, which concerns your grace, and us; The crown of England, father, which is yours. York. Mine, boy? not till king Henry be dead. York. I took an oath, that he should quietly reign. Edw. But, for a kingdom, any oath may be broken : I'd break a thousand oaths, to reign one year. Rich. No; God forbid, your grace should be forsworn. York. I shall be, if I claim by open war. Rich. I'll prove the contrary, if you'll hear me speak. That hath authority over him that swears: Then, seeing 'twas he that made you to depose, And all that poets feign of bliss and joy. [1] Montague was brother to Warwick; Warwick's daughter was married to a son of York: therefore York and Montague were brothers TOLLET. [2] In the old quarto sweet contention, i. e. the argument of their dispute was on a grateful topic; the question of their father's immediate right to the crown. THEOBALD [3] The obligation of an oath is here eluded by very despicable sophistry. A lawful magistrate alone has the power to exact an oath. but the oath derives no part of its force from the magistrate. The plea against the obligation of an oath obliging to maintain a usurper, taken from the unlawfulness of the oath itself in the foregoing play, was rational and just. JOHNS |