Glo. Bid me farewell. Anne. 'Tis more than you deserve: But, since you teach me how to flatter you, Imagine I have said farewell already. [Exeunt Lady ANNE, TRESSEL, and BERKLEY. Glo. Take up the corse, sirs.† Gent Towards Chertsey, noble lord? [Exeunt the rest, with the Corse. Glo. No, to White-Friars; there attend my coming. Was ever woman in this humour woo'd? I'll have her, but I will not keep her long. To take her in her heart's extremest hate; With curses in her mouth, tears in her eyes, The bleeding witness of her hatred by ; With God, her conscience, and these bars against me, And I no friends to back my suit withal, But the plain devil, and dissembling looks, And yet to win her, all the world to nothing! Ha!‡ Hath she forgot already that brave prince, Edward, her lord, whom I some three months since, A sweeter and a lovelier gentleman, — Fram'd in the prodigality of nature, Young, valiant, wise, and, no doubt, right royal, That cropp'd the golden prime of this sweet prince, On me, whose all not equals Edward's moiety? On me, that halt, and am mis-shapen thus? + "Sirs, take up the corse." MALONE. 6 "all the world to nothing, ah !"— Malone. a beggarly denier,] A denier is the twelfth part of a French sous, and appears to have been the usual request of a beggar. I do mistake my person all this while: [Exit. SCENE III. The same. A Room in the Palace. Enter Queen ELIZABETH, Lord RIVERS, and Lord GREY. Riv. Have patience, madam; there's no doubt, his majesty Will soon recover his accustom'd health. Grey. In that you brook it ill, it makes him worse: Therefore, for God's sake, entertain good comfort, And cheer his grace with quick and merry words. Q. Eliz. If he were dead, what would betide of me? Grey. No other harm, but loss of such a lord. Q. Eliz. The loss of such a lord includes all harms. Grey. The heavens have bless'd you with a goodly son, To be your comforter, when he is gone. Q. Eliz. Ah, he is young; and his minority Enter BUCKINGHAM and STANLEY. Grey. Here come the lords of Buckingham and Stanley. Buck. Good time of day unto your royal grace! Stan. God make your majesty joyful as you have been! To your good prayer will scarcely say—amen. Stan. I do beseech you, either not believe Bear with her weakness, which, I think, proceeds Q. Eliz. What likelihood of his amendment, lords? him? Buck. Ay, madam: he desires to make atonement Q. Eliz. 'Would all were well! — But that will never be; I fear, our happiness is at the height. Enter GLOSTER, HASTINGS, and DORSET. Glo. They do me wrong, and I will not endure it: Who are they, that complain unto the king, 8 Grey. To whom in all this presence speaks your grace? Glo. To thee, that hast nor honesty, nor grace. When have I injur'd thee? when done thee wrong?Or thee? or thee? or any of your faction? A plague upon you all! His royal grace, Whom God preserve better than you would wish! - But you must trouble him with lewd complaints." Q. Eliz. Brother of Gloster, you mistake the matter: The king, of his own royal disposition, And not provok'd by any suitor else; Glo. I cannot tell; - The world is grown so bad, Smile in men's faces, smooth, deceive, and cog, Duck with French nods and apish courtesy,] An importation of artificial manners seems to have afforded our ancient poets a neverfailing topick of invective. 9 with lewd complaints.] Lewd, in the present instance, signifies rude, ignorant; from the Anglo-Saxon, laewede, a laick. Chaucer often uses the word lewd, both for a laick and an ignorant person. Since every Jack became a gentleman,1 There's many a gentle person made a Jack. Q. Eliz. Come, come, we know your meaning, brother Gloster; You envy my advancement, and my friends; God grant, we never may have need of you! Glo. Meantime, God grants that we have need of you: Our brother is imprison'd by your means, Myself disgrac'd, and the nobility Held in contempt; while great promotions + Are daily given, to ennoble those That scarce, some two days since, were worth a noble. Q. Eliz. By Him, that rais'd me to this careful height From that contented hap which I enjoy'd, I never did incense his majesty Against the duke of Clarence, but have been An earnest advocate to plead for him. My lord, you do me shameful injury, Falsely to draw me in these vile suspects. Glo. You may deny that you were not the cause Of my lord Hastings' late imprisonment. Riv. She may, my lord; for Glo. She may, lord Rivers?—why, who knows not so? She may do more, sir, than denying that: She may help you to many fair preferments; may Riv. What, marry, may she? -ay, marry, may she, Glo. What, marry, may she? marry with a king, A bachelor, a handsome stripling too: I wis, your grandam had a worser match. Q. Eliz. My lord of Gloster, I have too long borne 1 Since every Jack became a gentleman,] This proverbial expression at once demonstrates the origin of the term Jack so often used by Shakspeare. It means one of the very lowest class of people, among whom this name is of the most common and familiar kind. +"while many fair promotions" MALONE. |