Nor.

Say not, treasonous. Buck. To the king I'll say't; and make my vouch

as strong As shore of rock. Attend. This holy fox, Or wolf, or both (for lie is equal ravenous, As he is subtle; and as prone to mischief, As able to perform it: his mind and place Infecting one another, yea, reciprocally), Only to show his pomp as well in France As here at home, suggests* the king our master To this last costly treaty, the interview, That swallow'd so much treasure, and like a glass Did break i' the ripsing. Nor.

'Faith, and so it did. Buck, Pray, give me favour, sir. This cunning

cardinal The articles o'the combination drew, As himself pleas’d; and they were ratified, As he cried, Thus let be: to as much end, As give a crutch to the dead: But our count.cardinal Has done this, and 'tis well; for worthy Wolsey, Who cannot err, he did it. Now this follows (Which, as I take it, is a kind of puppy To the old dam, treason),-Charles the emperor, Under pretence to see the queen his aunt (For 'twas, indeed, his colour; but he came To whisper Wolsey), here makes visitation : His fears were, that the interview, betwixt England and France, might, through their amity, Breed him some prejudice; for from this league Peep'd harms that menac'd him: He privily Deals with our cardinal; and, as I trow, Which I do well; for, I am sure, the emperor Paid ere he promis'd; whereby his suit was granted, Ere it was ask'd ;-but when the way was made, And pav'd with gold, the emperor thus desir'd That he would please to alter the king's course, And break the foresaid peace. Let the king know,

# Excites.

(As soon he shall by me), that thus the cardinal
Does buy and sell his honour as he pleases,
And for his own advantage.
Nor.

I am sorry
To hear this of him ; and could wish, he were
Something mistaken in't.
Buck.

No, not a syllable;
I do pronounce him in that very shape,
He shall appear in proof.

Inter Brandon ; a Serjeant at Arms before him,

and two or three of the guards. Bran. Your office, serjeant; execute it. Serj.

Sir,
My lord the duke of Buckingham, and earl
Of Hereford, Stafford, and Northampton, I
Arrest thee of high treason, in the name
Of our most sovereign king.
Buck.

Lo you, my lord,
The net has fall'o upon me; I shall perish
Under device and practice*.
Bran.

I am sorry
To see you ta'en from liberty, to look on
The business present: 'Tis his highness' pleasure
You shall to the Tower.
Buck.

It will help me nothing, To plead mine innocence; for that die is on me, Which makes my whitest part black. The will of

Heaven Be done in this and all things !-- I obey. o my lord Aberga'ny, fare you well. Bran. Nay, he must bear you company:-The king

[To Abergavenny. Is pleas'd, you shall to the Tower, till you know How he determines further. Aber.

As the duke said, The will of heaven be done, and the king's pleasure By me obey'd.

. Uafair stratagem.

Bran.

Here is a warrant from The king, to attach lord Montacute; and the bodies of the duke's confessor, John de la Court, One Gilbert Peck, his chancellor,Buck.

So, so; These are the limbs of the plot: no more, I hope.

Bran. A monk o' the Chartreux.
Buck.

0, Nicholas Hopkins ? Bran.

He. Buck. My surveyor is false; the o'er.great car,

dival Hath show'd him gold: my life is spann'd* already: I am the shadow of poor Buckingham; Whose figure even this instant cloud puts on, By dark'uing my clear sun.--My lord, farewell.

[Ereunt.

SCENE II.

The council-chamber.

Cornets. Enter King Henry, Cardinal Wolsey,

the Lords of the Council, Sir Thomas Lovell, Officers, and Assistants. The King enters, leaning on the Cardinal's shoulder.

K. Hen. My life itself, and the best heart of it, Thanks you for this great care: I stood i' the level Of a full-charg'd confederacy, and give thanks To you that chok'd it.-Let be call'd before us That gentleman of Buckingliam's: in person I'll hear bim his confessions justify; And point by point the treasons of his master He shall again relate.

# Measured.

The King takes his state*. The Lords of the Coun

cil take their scueral places. The Cardinal places himself under the King's feet, on his right side.

A noise within, crying Room for the Queen. En

ter the Queen, ushered by the Dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk : she kneels. The King riseth from his state, takes her up, kisses, and placeth her by him.

Q. Kath. Nay, we must longer kneel; I am a

suitor. K. Hen. Arise, and take place by us :~Half your

suit
Never name to us; you have half our power:
The other moiety, ere you ask, is given;
Repeat your will, and take it.
Q. Kath.

Thank your majesty.
That you would love yourself; and, in that love,
Not unconsider'd leave your honour, nor
The dignity of your office, is the point
Of my petitiou.

K. Hen. Lady mine, proceed.

Q. Kath. I am solicited, not by a few,
And those of true condition, that your subjects
Are in great grievance: there have been commissions
Sent down among them, which hath flaw'd the heart
Of all their loyalties :-wherein, although,
My good lord cardinal, they vent reproaches
Most bitterly on you, as putter-on
Of these exactions, yet the king our master
(Whose houour Heaven shield from soil !) even he

escapes not
Language unmannerly, yea, such which breaks
The sides of loyalty, and almost appears
In loud rebellion.

# Chair.

Nor.

Not almost appears,
It doth appear; for, upon these taxations,
The clothiers all, not able to maintain
The many to them 'longing, have put off
The spinsters, carders, fullers, weavers, who,
Unfit for other life, compell’d by hunger
And lack of other meavs, in desperate manner
Daring the event to the teeth, are als in uproar,
And Danger serves among them.
K, Hen.

Taxation !
Wherein? and what taxation ?-My lord cardinal,
You that are blam'd for it alike with us,
Know you of this taxation?
Vol.

Please you, sir,
I know but of a single part, in aught
Pertains to the state, and front but in that file*
Where others tell steps with me.
Q. Kath.

No, my lord, You know no more than others : but you frame Things, that are known alike; which are not whole

some
To those which would not know them, and yet must
Perforce be their acquaintance. These exactions,
Whereof my sovereign would have note, they are
Most pestilent to the hearing; and, to hear them,
The back is sacrifice to the load. They say,
They are devis'd hy you; or else
Tov hard an exclamation.
K. Hen.

Still exaction !
The nature of it? In what kind, let's know,
Is this exaction?
Q. Kath.

I am much too venturous
Jo tempting of your patience; but amn bolden's
Under your promis'd pardon. The subject's grief
Comes through commissions, wbich compei from

each The sixth part of his substance, to be levied Without delay; and the pretence for this

you suffer

* I am only one among the other counsellors.