Clifford, with Forces.
&mlquo;Buck.
&mlquo;Ay, here they be that dare and will disturb thee;
-- 323 --
&mlquo;Know, Cade, we come ambassadors from the king
&mlquo;Unto the commons whom thou hast misled;
&mlquo;And here pronounce free pardon to them all,
&mlquo;That will forsake thee, and go home in peace.
&mlquo;Clif.
&mlquo;What say ye, countrymen8 note
? will ye relent,
&mlquo;And yield to mercy, whilst 'tis offer'd you;
&mlquo;Or let a rabble lead you to your deaths?
&mlquo;Who loves the king, and will embrace his pardon,
&mlquo;Fling up his cap, and say—God save his majesty!
&mlquo;Who hateth him, and honours not his father,
&mlquo;Henry the fifth, that made all France to quake,
&mlquo;Shake he his weapon at us, and pass by.
&mlquo;All.
&mlquo;God save the king! God save the king!&mrquo;
&mlquo;Cade.
&mlquo;What, Buckingham, and Clifford, are ye
so brave?—And you, base peasants, do ye believe
him? will you needs be hanged with your pardons
about your necks? Hath my sword therefore
broke through London Gates, that you should leave
me at the White Hart in Southwark? I thought,
ye would never have given out these arms, till you
had recovered your ancient freedom: but you are
all recreants, and dastards; and delight to live in
-- 324 --
slavery to the nobility. Let them break your backs
with burdens, take your houses over your heads,
ravish your wives and daughters before your faces:
For me,—I will make shift for one; and so—God's
curse 'light upon you all!&mrquo;
&mlquo;All.
&mlquo;We'll follow Cade, we'll follow Cade.&mrquo;
&mlquo;Clif.
&mlquo;Is Cade the son of Henry the fifth,
&mlquo;That thus you do exclaim—you'll go with him?
&mlquo;Will he conduct you through the heart of France,
&mlquo;And make the meanest of you earls and dukes?
&mlquo;Alas, he hath no home, no place to fly to;
&mlquo;Nor knows he how to live, but by the spoil,
&mlquo;Unless by robbing of your friends, and us.
&mlquo;Wer't not a shame, that whilst you live at jar,
&mlquo;The fearful French, whom you late vanquished,
&mlquo;Should make a start o'er seas, and vanquish you?
&mlquo;Methinks, already, in this civil broil,
&mlquo;I see them lording it in London streets,
&mlquo;Crying—Villageois9 note! unto all they meet.
&mlquo;Better, ten thousand base-born Cades miscarry,
&mlquo;Than you should stoop unto a Frenchman's mercy.
&mlquo;To France, to France, and get what you have lost;
&mlquo;Spare England, for it is your native coast:
&mlquo;Henry hath money1 note, you are strong and manly;
&mlquo;God on our side, doubt not of victory.
&mlquo;All.
&mlquo;A Clifford! a Clifford! we'll follow the
king, and Clifford.&mrquo;
&mlquo;Cade.
&mlquo;Was ever feather so lightly blown to and
-- 325 --
fro, as this multitude? the name of Henry the
fifth hales them to an hundred mischiefs, and
makes them leave me desolate. I see them lay
their heads together, to surprize me: my sword
make way for me2 note, for here is no staying.—In despight
of the devils and hell, have through the
very midst of you! and heavens and honour be
witness, that no want of resolution in me, but only
my followers' base and ignominious treasons,
makes me betake me to my heels.&mrquo;
[Exit.
&mlquo;Buck.
&mlquo;What, is he fled? go some, and follow him;
&mlquo;And he, that brings his head unto the king,
&mlquo;Shall have a thousand crowns for his reward.—
[Exeunt some of them.
&mlquo;Follow me, soldiers; we'll devise a mean
&mlquo;To reconcile you all unto the king.
[Exeunt.
James Boswell [1821], The plays and poems of William Shakspeare, with the corrections and illustrations of various commentators: comprehending A Life of the Poet, and an enlarged history of the stage, by the late Edmond Malone. With a new glossarial index (J. Deighton and Sons, Cambridge) [word count] [S10201].
