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 forever; Conditionally, that here thou take an oath, To cease this civil war, and, whilst I live, To honor me as thy king and sovereign; And neither by treason nor hostility, To seek to put me down, and reign thyself. York. This oath I willingly take, and will perform.

[Coming from the throne. War. Long live king Henry !- Plantagenet, embrace him. K. Hen. And long live thou, and these thy forward sons ! York. Now York and Lancaster are reconciled. Ere. Accursed be he that seeks to make them foes !

[Senet. The Lords come forward. York. Farewell, my gracious lord; I'll to my castle. War. And I'll keep London, with my soldiers. Norf. And I to Norfolk, with.my followers. Mont. And I unto the sea, from whence I came.

[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.

I'll steal away.

K. Hen. Exeter, so will I.

[Going. Q. Mar. Nay, go not from me; I will follow thee. K. Hen. Be patient, gentle queen, and I will stay.

Q. Mar. Who can be patient in such extremes ?
Ah, wretched man! 'would I had died a maid,
And never seen thee, never borne thee son,
Seeing thou hast proved so unnatural a father!
Hath he deserved to lose his birthright thus ?
Hadst thou but loved him half so well as I,
Or felt that pain which I did for him once;
Or nourished him, as I did with my blood;
Thou wouldst have left thy dearest heart-blood there,
Rather than have made that savage duke thine heir,
And disinherited thine only son.

Prince. Father, you cannot disinherit me.
If you be king, why should not I succeed?

K. Hen. Pardon me, Margaret ;- pardon me, sweet

son; The earl of Warwick, and the duke, enforced me.

Q. Mar. Enforced thee! Art thou king, and wilt be forced?
I shame to hear thee speak. Ah, timorous wretch!
Thou hast undone thyself, thy son, and me,
And given unto the house of York such head,
As thou shalt reign but by their sufferance.
To entail him and his heirs unto the crown,
What is it, but to make thy sepulchre,
And creep into it far before thy time?
Warwick is chancellor, and the lord of Calais;
Stern Faulconbridge commands the narrow seas;
The duke is made protector of the realm;
And yet shalt thou be safe? Such safety finds
The trembling lamb, environed with wolves.
Had I been there, which am a silly woman,
The soldiers should have tossed me on their pikes,
Before I would have granted to that act.
But thou preferr'st thy life before thine honor;
And seeing thou dost, I here divorce myself,
Both from thy table, Henry, and thy bed,
Until that act of parliament be repealed,
Whereby my son is disinherited.
The northern lords, that have forsworn thy colors,
Will follow mine, if once they see them spread.
And spread they shall be; to thy foul disgrace,
And utter ruin of the house of York.
Thus do I leave thee.- Come, son, let's away;
Our army's ready; come, we'll after them.

K. Hen. Stay, gentle Margaret, and hear me speak.
Q. Mar. Thou hast spoke too much already; get thee

gone. K. Hen. Gentle son Edward, thou wilt stay with me? Q. Mar. Ay, to be murdered 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 thus.

[Exeunt QUEEN MARGARET and the Prince.
K. Hen. Poor queen! how love to me, and to her son,
Hath made her break out into terms of rage !
Revenged may she be on that hateful duke ;
Whose haughty spirit, winged with desire,
Will coast my crown, and, like an empty eagle,
Tire on the flesh of me, and of my son!
The loss of those three lords torments my heart;

I'll write unto them, and entreat them fair.—
Come, cousin, you shall be the messenger.

Exe. And I, I hope, shall reconcile them all. [Exeunt.

SCENE II. A Room in Sandal Castle, near Wakefield

in Yorkshire.

and us;

Enter EDWARD, RICHARD, and MONTAGUE.
Rich. Brother, though I be youngest, give me leave.
Edw. No, I can better play the orator.
Mont. But I have reasons strong and forcible.

Enter YORK.
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.
York. About what ?

Rich. About that which concerns your grace
The crown of England, father, which is yours.

York. Mine, boy ? not till king Henry be dead. Rich. Your right depends not on his life, or death.

Edw. Now you are heir, therefore enjoy it now. By giving the house of Lancaster leave to breathe, It will outrun you, father, in the end.

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.
York. Thou canst not, son; it is impossible.

Rich. An oath is of no moment, being not took
Before a true and lawful magistrate,
That hath authority over him that swears.
Henry had none, but did usurp the place;
Then, seeing 'twas he that made you to depose,
Your oath, my lord, is vain and frivolous.
Therefore, to arms. And, father, do but think,
How sweet a thing it is to wear a crown;
Within whose circuit is Elysium,
And all that poets feign of bliss and joy.
Why do we linger thus? I cannot rest,
Until the white rose that I wear be dyed
Even in the lukewarm blood of Henry's heart.

York. Richard, enough; I will be king, or die.—

Brother, thou shalt to London presently,
And whet on Warwick to this enterprise.-
Thou, Richard, shalt unto the duke of Norfolk,
And tell him privily of our intent.
You, Edward, shall unto my lord Cobham,
With whom the Kentishmen will willingly rise.
In them I trust; for they are soldiers,
Witty, courteous, liberal, full of spirit.
While you are thus employed, what resteth more,
But that I seek occasion how to rise ;
And yet the king not privy to my drift,
Nor any of the house of Lancaster?

Enter a Messenger.
But, stay-what news? Why com'st thou in such post?

Mess. The queen, with all the northern earls and lords,
Intend here to besiege you in your castle.
She is hard by with twenty thousand men;
And therefore fortify your hold, my lord.
York. Ay, with my sword. What! think'st thou that

we fear them ?-
Edward and Richard, you shall stay with me;
My brother Montague shall post to London ;
Let noble Warwick, Cobham, and the rest,
Whom we have left protectors of the king,
With powerful policy strengthen themselves,
And trust not simple Henry, nor his oaths.

Mont. Brother, I go; l'll win them, fear it not.
And thus most humbly I do take my leave. [Erit.

Enter SIR John and Sir Hugh MORTIMER. York. Sir John, and sir Hugh Mortimer, mine uncles ! You are come to Sandal in a happy hour; The army of the queen mean to besiege us.

Sir. John. She shall not need; we'll meet her in the field. York. What, with five thousand men ?

Rich. Ay, with five hundred, father, for a need. A woman's general; what should we fear?

[A march afar off. Edw. I hear their drums; let's set our men in order; And issue forth, and bid them battle straight.

York. Five men to twenty!- though the odds be great, I doubt not, uncle, of our victory. Many a battle have I won in France,

When as the enemy hath been ten to one;
Why should I not now have the like success ?

[Alarum. Exeunt. .

SCENE III. Plains near Sandal Castle.

Alarums: Excursions. Enter RUTLAND, and his Tutor.

Rut. Ah, whither shall I fly to 'scape their hands? Ah, tutor! look, where bloody Clifford comes !

Enter CLIFFORD and Soldiers.
Clif. Chaplain, away! thy priesthood saves thy life.
As for the brat of this accursed duke,
Whose father slew my father,- he shall die.

Tut. And I, my lord, will bear him company.
Clif. Soldiers, away with him.

Tut. Ah, Clifford ! murder not this innocent child,
Lest thou be hated both of God and man.

[Exit, forced off by Soldiers. Clif. How now! is he dead already ? Or, is it fear That makes him close his eyes ? -I'll open them.

Rut. So looks the pent-up lion o'er the wretch
That trembles under his devouring paws:
And so he walks, insulting o'er his prey;
And so he comes to rend his limbs asunder.
Ah, gentle Clifford, kill me with thy sword,
And not with such a cruel, threat'ning look.
Sweet Clifford, hear me speak before I die ;-
I am too mean a subject for thy wrath ;
Be thou revenged on men, and let me live.

Clif. In vain thou speak’st, poor boy; my father's blood Hath stopped the passage where thy words should enter.

Rut. Then let my father's blood open it again ; He is a man, and, Clifford, cope with him.

Clif. Had I thy brethren here, their lives, and thine, Were not revenge sufficient for me. No, if I digged up thy forefathers' graves, And hung their rotten coffins up in chains, It could not slake mine ire, nor ease my heart. The sight of any of the house of York Is as a fury to torment my soul; And till I root out their accursed line, And leave not one alive, I live in hell. Therefore

[Lifting his hand.