1 Mur.
Run to my lord of Suffolk; let him know,
&mast;We have despatch'd the duke, as he commanded.

&mast;2 Mur.
&mast;O, that it were to do!—What have we done?
&mast;Didst ever hear a man so penitent? Enter Suffolk.

&mlquo;1 Mur.
&mlquo;Here comes my lord.

&mlquo;Suf.
&mlquo;Now, sirs, have you
&mlquo;Despatch'd this thing?

&mlquo;1 Mur.
&mlquo;Ay, my good lord, he's dead.

&mlquo;Suf.
&mlquo;Why, that's well said. Go, get you to my house;
&mlquo;I will reward you for this venturous deed.
&mlquo;The king and all the peers are here at hand:—
&mlquo;Have you laid fair the bed? are all things well,
&mlquo;According as I gave directions?

&mlquo;1 Mur.
&mlquo;'Tis, my good lord.

&mlquo;Suf.
&mlquo;Away, be gone! [Exeunt Murderers. Enter King Henry, Queen Margaret, Cardinal Beaufort, Somerset, Lords, and Others.

&mlquo;K. Hen.
&mlquo;Go, call our uncle to our presence straight;
&mlquo;Say, we intend to try his grace to-day,
&mlquo;If he be guilty, as 'tis published.

&mlquo;Suf.
&mlquo;I'll call him presently, my noble lord. [Exit.

&mlquo;K. Hen.
&mlquo;Lords, take your places;—And, I pray you all,
&mlquo;Proceed no straiter 'gainst our uncle Gloster,
&mlquo;Than from true evidence, of good esteem,
&mlquo;He be approv'd in practice culpable.

&mast;Q. Mar.
&mast;God forbid any malice should prevail,
&mast;That faultless may condemn a nobleman!
&mast;Pray God, he may acquit him of suspicion!

&mast;K. Hen.
&mast;I thank thee, Margaret; these words content me much^{7 note}

Re-enter Suffolk.
&mlquo;How now? why look'st thou pale? why tremblest thou?
&mlquo;Where is our uncle? what is the matter, Suffolk?

Suf.
Dead in his bed, my lord; Gloster is dead.

&mast;Q. Mar.
&mast;Marry, God forefend!

&mast;Car.
&mast;God's secret judgment:—I did dream to-night,
&mast;The duke was dumb, and could not speak a word. [The King swoons.

&mlquo;Q. Mar.
&mlquo;How fares my lord?—Help, lords! the king is dead.

&mast;Som.
&mast;Rear up his body; wring him by the nose^{8 note}.

&mast;Q. Mar.
&mast;Run, go, help, help!—O, Henry, ope thine eyes!

&mast;Suf.
&mast;He doth revive again;—Madam, be patient.

&mast;K. Hen.
&mast;O heavenly God!

&mast;Q. Mar.
&mast;How fares my gracious lord?

Suf.
Comfort, my sovereign! gracious Henry, comfort!

K. Hen.
What, doth my lord of Suffolk comfort me?
Came he right now^{9 note} to sing a raven's note,
&mast;Whose dismal tune bereft my vital powers;
And thinks he, that the chirping of a wren,
&mlquo;By crying comfort from a hollow breast,
&mlquo;Can chase away the first-conceived sound?
&mast;Hide not thy poison with such sugar'd words.
&mast;Lay not thy hands on me; forbear, I say;
&mast;Their touch affrights me, as a serpent's sting.
Thou baleful messenger, out of my sight!
&mlquo;Upon thy eye-balls murderous tyranny
&mlquo;Sits in grim majesty, to fright the world.
&mlquo;Look not upon me, for thine eyes are wounding:—
&mlquo;Yet do not go away;—Come, basilisk,
&mlquo;And kill the innocent gazer with thy sight^{1 note}

Q. Mar.
Why do you rate my lord of Suffolk thus?
&mast;Although the duke was enemy to him,
&mast;Yet he, most christian-like, laments his death:
&mast;And for myself,—foe as he was to me,
&mast;Might liquid tears, or heart-offending groans,
&mast;Or blood-consuming sighs recall his life,
&mast;I would be blind with weeping, sick with groans,
&mast;Look pale as primrose, with blood-drinking sighs^{2 note}

&mast;And all to have the noble duke alive.
&mlquo;What know I how the world may deem of me?
&mlquo;For it is known, we were but hollow friends;
&mlquo;It may be judg'd, I made the duke away:
&mast;So shall my name with slander's tongue be wounded,
&mast;And princes' courts be fill'd with my reproach.
&mast;This get I by his death: Ah me, unhappy!
&mast;To be a queen, and crown'd with infamy!

&mlquo;K. Hen.
&mlquo;Ah, woe is me for Gloster, wretched man!

Q. Mar.
Be woe for me^{3 note}, more wretched than he is.
What, dost thou turn away, and hide thy face?
I am no loathsome leper, look on me.
&mast;What, art thou, like the adder, waxen deaf^{4 note}

&mast;Be poisonous too, and kill thy forlorn queen.
&mast;Is all thy comfort shut in Gloster's tomb?
&mast;Why, then dame Margaret was ne'er thy joy:
&mast;Erect his statue then, and worship it,
&mast;And make my image but an alehouse sign.
Was I, for this, nigh wreck'd upon the sea;
&mlquo;And twice by aukward wind^{5 note}

&mast;The splitting rocks cow'rd in the sinking sands^{7 note}

&mast;When he to madding Dido, would unfold
&mast;His father's acts, commenc'd in burning Troy^{9 note}

Noise within. Enter Warwick and Salisbury. The Commons press to the door.

&mlquo;War.
&mlquo;It is reported, mighty sovereign,
&mlquo;That good duke Humphrey traitorously is murder'd
&mlquo;By Suffolk and the cardinal Beaufort's means.
&mlquo;The commons, like an angry hive of bees,
&mlquo;That want their leader, scatter up and down,
&mlquo;And care not who they sting in his revenge.
&mlquo;Myself have calm'd their spleenful mutiny,
&mlquo;Until they hear the order of his death.

K. Hen.
That he is dead, good Warwick, 'tis too true;
But how he died, God knows, not Henry^{2 note}:
&mlquo;Enter his chamber, view his breathless corpse,
&mlquo;And comment then upon his sudden death.

War.
That I shall do, my liege:—Stay, Salisbury,
With the rude multitude, till I return. [Warwick goes into an inner Room, and Salisbury retires.

&mast;K. Hen.
&mast;O thou that judgest all things, stay my thoughts;
&mast;My thoughts, that labour to persuade my soul,
&mast;Some violent hands were laid on Humphrey's life!
&mast;If my suspect be false, forgive me, God;
&mast;For judgment only doth belong to thee!
&mast;Fain would I go to chafe his paly lips
&mast;With twenty thousand kisses, and to drain^{3 note}

&mast;Upon his face an ocean of salt tears;
&mast;To tell my love unto his dumb deaf trunk,
&mast;And with my fingers feel his hand unfeeling:
&mast;But all in vain are these mean obsequies;
&mast;And, to survey his dead and earthy image,
What were it but to make my sorrow greater? The folding Doors of an inner Chamber are thrown open, and Gloster is discovered dead in his Bed: Warwick and others standing by it^{4 note}.

&mast;War.
&mast;Come hither, gracious sovereign, view this body.

&mast;K. Hen.
&mast;That is to see how deep my grave is made:
&mast;For, with his soul, fled all my worldly solace;
&mast;For seeing him, I see my life in death^{5 note}

&mlquo;War.
&mlquo;As surely as my soul intends to live
&mlquo;With that dread King that took our state upon him
&mlquo;To free us from his Father's wrathful curse,
&mlquo;I do believe that violent hands were laid
&mlquo;Upon the life of this thrice-famed duke.

Suf.
A dreadful oath, sworn with a solemn tongue!
&mlquo;What instance gives lord Warwick for his vow?

&mlquo;War.
&mlquo;See, how the blood is settled in his face!
Oft have I seen a timely-parted ghost^{6 note}

&mlquo;Of ashy semblance^{7 note}
, meager, pale, and bloodless,

&mlquo;Being all descended to the labouring heart^{8 note}
;
&mlquo;Who, in the conflict that it holds with death,
‘Attracts the same for aidance 'gainst the enemy;
&mlquo;Which with the heart there cools and ne'er returneth
&mlquo;To blush and beautify the cheek again.
&mlquo;But, see, his face is black, and full of blood;
&mlquo;His eye-balls further out than when he liv'd,
&mlquo;Staring full ghastly like a strangled man:
&mlquo;His hair uprear'd, his nostrils stretch'd with struggling;
&mlquo;His hands abroad display'd^{9 note}, as one that grasp'd
&mlquo;And tugg'd for life, and was by strength subdu'd.
&mlquo;Look on the sheets, his hair, you see, is sticking;
&mlquo;His well-proportion'd beard made rough and rugged,
&mlquo;Like to the summer's corn by tempest lodg'd.

&mlquo;It cannot be, but he was murder'd here;
&mlquo;The least of all these signs were probable.

&mlquo;Suf.
&mlquo;Why, Warwick, who should do the duke to death?
&mlquo;Myself, and Beaufort, had him in protection;
&mlquo;And we, I hope, sir, are no murderers.

&mlquo;War.
&mlquo;But both of you were vow'd duke Humphrey's foes;
&mlquo;And you, forsooth, had the good duke to keep:
&mlquo;'Tis like, you would not feast him like a friend;
&mlquo;And 'tis well seen he found an enemy.

&mlquo;Q. Mar.
&mlquo;Then you, belike, suspect these noblemen
&mlquo;As guilty of duke Humphrey's timeless death.

War.
Who finds the heifer dead, and bleeding fresh,
And sees fast by a butcher with an axe,
But will suspect, 'twas he that made the slaughter?
Who finds the partridge in the puttock's nest,
But may imagine how the bird was dead,
Although the kite soar with unbloodied beak?
Even so suspicious is this tragedy.

&mlquo;Q. Mar.
&mlquo;Are you the butcher, Suffolk; where's your knife?
Is Beaufort term'd a kite? where are his talons?

Suf.
I wear no knife, to slaughter sleeping men;
But here's a vengeful sword, rusted with ease,
That shall be scoured in his rancorous heart,
That slanders me with murder's crimson badge:—
Say, if thou dar'st, proud lord of Warwickshire,
That I am faulty in duke Humphrey's death. [Exeunt Cardinal, Som. and Others.

War.
What dares not Warwick, if false Suffolk dare him?

Q. Mar.
He dares not calm his contumelious spirit,

Nor cease to be an arrogant controller,
Though Suffolk dare him twenty thousand times.

War.
Madam, be still; with reverence may I say:
For every word, you speak in his behalf,
Is slander to your royal dignity.

&mlquo;Suf.
&mlquo;Blunt-witted lord, ignoble in demeanour!
If ever lady wrong'd her lord so much,
Thy mother took into her blameful bed
Some stern untutor'd churl, and noble stock
Was graft with crab-tree slip; whose fruit thou art,
And never of the Nevils' noble race.

War.
But that the guilt of murder bucklers thee,
And I should rob the deathsman of his fee,
Quitting thee thereby of ten thousand shames,
And that my sovereign's presence makes me mild,
I would, false murderous coward, on thy knee
Make thee beg pardon for thy passed speech,
And say—it was thy mother that thou meant'st,
That thou thyself wast born in bastardy:
And, after all this fearful homage done,
Give thee thy hire, and send thy soul to hell,
Pernicious bloodsucker of sleeping men!

Suf.
Thou shalt be waking, while I shed thy blood,
If from this presence thou dar'st go with me.

War.
Away even now, or I will drag thee hence:
&mast;Unworthy though thou art, I'll cope with thee,
&mast;And do some service to duke Humphrey's ghost. [Exeunt Suffolk and Warwick.

&mast;K. Hen.
What stronger breast-plate than a heart untainted?
&mast;Thrice is he arm'd, that hath his quarrel just^{2 note}

;

&mast;And he but naked, though lock'd up in steel,
&mast;Whose conscience with injustice is corrupted. [A Noise within.

Q. Mar.
What noise is this? Re-enter Suffolk and Warwick, with their Weapons drawn.

&mlquo;K. Hen.
&mlquo;Why, how now, lords? your wrathful weapons drawn
&mlquo;Here in our presence? dare you be so bold?—
&mlquo;Why, what tumultuous clamour have we here?

Suf.
The traitorous Warwick, with the men of Bury,
Set all upon me, mighty sovereign. Noise of a Croud within. Re-enter Salisbury.

&mast;Sal.
&mast;Sirs, stand apart; the king shall know your mind.— [Speaking to those within.
Dread lord, the commons send you word by me,
Unless false Suffolk straight be done to death,
Or banished fair England's territories,
&mlquo;They will by violence tear him from your palace,
&mast;And torture him with grievous ling'ring death,
They say, by him the good duke Humphrey died;
&mlquo;They say, in him they fear your highness' death;
&mlquo;And mere instinct of love, and loyalty,—
&mlquo;Free from a stubborn opposite intent,
&mlquo;As being thought to contradict your liking,—
&mlquo;Makes them thus forward in his banishment.
&mast;&mlquo;They say, in care of your most royal person,
&mast;That, if your highness should intend to sleep,
&mast;And charge—that no man should disturb your rest,
&mast;In pain of your dislike, or pain of death;
&mast;Yet notwithstanding such a strait edict,
&mast;Were there a serpent seen, with forked tongue,
&mast;That slily glided towards your majesty,

&mast;It were but necessary, you were wak'd;
&mast;Lest, being suffer'd in that harmful slumber,
&mast;The mortal worm^{3 note}

Commons. [Within.]
An answer from the king, my lord of Salisbury.

Suf.
'Tis like, the commons, rude unpolish'd hinds,
Could send such message to their sovereign:
But you, my lord, were glad to be employ'd,
To show how quaint an orator^{4 note} you are:
But all the honour Salisbury hath won,
Is—that he was the lord ambassador,
Sent from a sort^{5 note}

Commons. [Within.]
An answer from the king, or we'll all break in.

&mlquo;K. Hen.
&mlquo;Go, Salisbury, and tell them all from me,
&mlquo;I thank them for their tender loving care:
&mlquo;And had I not been 'cited so by them,

&mlquo;Yet did I purpose as they do entreat;
&mlquo;For sure, my thoughts do hourly prophesy
&mlquo;Mischance unto my state by Suffolk's means.
&mlquo;And therefore,—by His majesty I swear,
&mlquo;Whose far unworthy deputy I am,—
&mlquo;He shall not breathe infection in this air^{6 note}
&mlquo;But three days longer, on the pain of death. [Exit Salisbury.

&mlquo;Q. Mar.
&mlquo;O Henry, let me plead for gentle Suffolk!

&mlquo;K. Hen.
&mlquo;Ungentle queen, to call him gentle Suffolk.
&mlquo;No, more, I say; if thou dost plead for him,
&mlquo;Thou wilt but add increase unto my wrath.
&mlquo;Had I but said, I would have kept my word;
&mlquo;But, when I swear, it is irrevocable:—
&mast;If, after three days' space, thou here be'st found
&mast;On any ground that I am ruler of,
&mast;The world shall not be ransom for thy life.—
&mlquo;Come, Warwick, come, good Warwick, go with me;
&mlquo;I have great matters to impart to thee. [Exeunt K. Henry, Warwick, Lords, &c.

&mlquo;Q. Mar.
&mlquo;Mischance, and sorrow, go along with you^{7 note}
!
&mlquo;Heart's discontent, and sour affliction,
&mlquo;Be playfellows to keep you company!
&mlquo;There's two of you; the devil make a third!
&mlquo;And threefold vengeance tend upon your steps!

&mast;Suf.
&mast;Cease, gentle queen, these execrations,
&mast;And let thy Suffolk take his heavy leave.

&mlquo;Q. Mar.
&mlquo;Fye, coward woman, and soft-hearted wretch!
&mlquo;Hast thou not spirit to curse thine enemies?

Suf.
A plague upon them! wherefore should I curse them?
Would curses kill, as doth the mandrake's groan^{8 note}

Gall, worse than gall, the daintiest that they taste!
Their sweetest shade, a grove of cypress trees^{1 note}!
Their chiefest prospect, murdering basilisks!
Their softest touch, as smart as lizards' stings^{2 note}

Q. Mar.
Enough, sweet Suffolk; thou torment'st thyself;
&mast;And these dread curses—like the sun 'gainst glass,
&mast;Or like an overcharged gun,—recoil,
&mast;And turn the force of them upon thyself.

Suf.
You bade me ban, and will you bid me leave^{3 note}?
Now, by the ground that I am banish'd from,
Well could I curse away a winter's night,
Though standing naked on a mountain top,
Where biting cold would never let grass grow,
And think it but a minute spent in sport.

&mast;Q. Mar.
&mast;O, let me entreat thee, cease! Give me thy hand^{4 note}


,

&mast;That I may dew it with my mournful tears;
&mast;Nor let the rain of heaven wet this place,
&mast;To wash away my woeful monuments.
&mlquo;O, could this kiss be printed in thy hand; [Kisses his hand.
&mast;That thou might'st think upon these by the seal,
&mlquo;Through whom a thousand sighs are breath'd for thee^{5 note}

Suf.
Thus is poor Suffolk ten times banished,
Once by the king, and three times thrice by thee.

&mast;'Tis not the land I care for, wert thou hence;
&mast;A wilderness is populous enough,
&mast;So Suffolk had thy heavenly company:
&mast;For where thou art, there is the world itself^{6 note}

&mlquo;Q. Mar.
&mlquo;Whither goes Vaux so fast? what news, I pr'ythee?

&mlquo;Vaux.
&mlquo;To signify unto his majesty,
That cardinal Beaufort is at point of death:
&mlquo;For suddenly a grievous sickness took him,
&mlquo;That makes him gasp, and stare, and catch the air,
&mlquo;Blaspheming God, and cursing men on earth.
&mlquo;Sometime, he talks as if duke Humphrey's ghost
&mlquo;Were by his side; sometime, he calls the king,
And whispers to his pillow, as to him,
&mast;The secrets of his overcharged soul^{7 note}


:
&mlquo;And I am sent to tell his majesty,
&mlquo;That even now he cries aloud for him.

Q. Mar.
Go, tell this heavy message to the king. [Exit Vaux.
&mlquo;Ah me! what is this world? what news are these^{8 note}

?
&mlquo;But wherefore grieve I at an hour's poor loss^{9 note}

&mlquo;Suf.
&mlquo;If I depart from thee, I cannot live:
&mlquo;And in thy sight to die, what were it else,
But like a pleasant slumber in thy lap?
Here could I breathe my soul into the air,
&mlquo;As mild and gentle as the cradle babe,
Dying with mother's dug between its lips:
Where, from thy sight^{1 note}

&mlquo;And cry out for thee to close up mine eyes,
&mlquo;To have thee with thy lips to stop my mouth;
&mlquo;So should'st thou either turn my flying soul^{2 note}

,
&mlquo;Or I should breathe it so into thy body,
And then it liv'd in sweet Elysium.
To die by thee, were but to die in jest;
From thee to die, were torture more than death:
O, let me stay, befall what may befall.

&mlquo;Q. Mar.
&mlquo;Away! though parting be a fretful cor'sive^{3 note}

Suf.
I go.

Q. Mar.
And take my heart with thee^{6 note}

Suf.
A jewel, lock'd into the woeful'st cask
That ever did contain a thing of worth.
Even as a splitted bark, so sunder we;
This way fall I to death.

Q. Mar.
This way for me. [Exeunt, severally.

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