SCENE I.
A Chace in the North of England.
Enter Two Keepers9 note
, with Cross-bows in their Hands.
&mlquo;1 Keep.
&mlquo;Under this thick-grown brake1 note we'll shroud ourselves;
-- 448 --
&mlquo;For through this laund2 note
anon the deer will come;
&mlquo;And in this covert will we make our stand,
&mlquo;Culling the principal of all the deer.
&mast;2 Keep.
&mast;I'll stay above the hill, so both may shoot.
&mast;1 Keep.
&mast;That cannot be; the noise of thy cross-bow3 note
&mast;Will scare the herd, and so my shoot is lost.
&mast;Here stand we both, and aim we at the best:
&mast;And, for the time shall not seem tedious,
&mast;I'll tell thee what befell me on a day,
&mast;In this self-place where now we mean to stand.
&mlquo;2 Keep.
&mlquo;Here comes a man, let's stay till he be past4 note
.
-- 449 --
Enter King Henry, disguised, with a Prayer-book.
K. Hen.
From Scotland am I stol'n, even of pure love,
&mlquo;To greet mine own land with my wishful sight5 note
.
&mlquo;No, Harry, Harry, 'tis no land of thine;
&mast;Thy place is fill'd, thy scepter wrung from thee,
&mast;Thy balm wash'd off6 note
, wherewith thou wast anointed:
No bending knee will call thee Cæsar now,
&mlquo;No humble suitors press to speak for right,
&mast;No, not a man comes for redress of thee;
For how can I help them, and not myself?
&mlquo;1 Keep.
&mlquo;Ay, here's a deer whose skin's a keeper's fee:
&mlquo;This is the quondam king7 note
; let's seize upon him.
-- 450 --
&mast;K. Hen.
&mast;Let me embrace these sour adversities8 note
;
&mast;For wise men say, it is the wisest course.
&mast;2 Keep.
&mast;Why linger we? let us lay hands upon him.
&mast;1 Keep.
&mast;Forbear a while; we'll hear a little more.
K. Hen.
My queen, and son, are gone to France for aid;
And, as I hear, the great commanding Warwick
&mlquo;Is thither gone, to crave the French king's sister
&mlquo;To wife for Edward: If this news be true,
&mlquo;Poor queen, and son, your labour is but lost;
&mlquo;For Warwick is a subtle orator,
&mlquo;And Lewis a prince soon won with moving words.
&mlquo;By this account, then, Margaret may win him;
&mlquo;For she's a woman to be pitied much:
&mast;Her sighs will make a battery in his breast;
&mast;Her tears will pierce into a marble heart;
&mast;The tiger will be mild, while she doth mourn9 note
;
&mast;And Nero will1 note be tainted with remorse,
&mast;To hear, and see, her plaints, her brinish tears.
-- 451 --
&mast;Ay, but she's come to beg; Warwick, to give:
She, on his left side, craving aid for Henry;
He, on his right, asking a wife for Edward.
She weeps, and says—her Henry is depos'd;
He smiles, and says—his Edward is install'd;
&mast;That she, poor wretch, for grief can speak no more:
&mast;Whiles Warwick tells his title, smooths the wrong,
&mast;Inferreth arguments of mighty strength2 note
;
&mast;And, in conclusion, wins the king from her,
&mast;With promise of his sister, and what else,
&mast;To strengthen and support king Edward's place.
&mast;O Margaret3 note, thus 'twill be; and thou, poor soul,
&mast;Art then forsaken, as thou went'st forlorn.
2 Keep.
Say, what art thou, that talk'st of kings and queens?
&mlquo;K. Hen.
&mlquo;More than I seem, and less than I was born to4 note
:
&mlquo;A man at least, for less I should not be5 note
;
And men may talk of kings, and why not I?
&mlquo;2 Keep.
&mlquo;Ay, but thou talk'st as if thou wert a king.
-- 452 --
&mlquo;K. Hen.
&mlquo;Why, so I am, in mind6 note
; and that's enough7 note
.
2 Keep.
But, if thou be a king, where is thy crown?
K. Hen.
My crown is in my heart, not on my head;
&mast;Not deck'd with diamonds, and Indian stones,
&mast;Nor to be seen: &mlquo;my crown is call'd, content;
&mlquo;A crown it is, that seldom kings enjoy.
&mlquo;2 Keep.
&mlquo;Well, if you be a king crown'd with content,
Your crown content, and you, must be contented
&mlquo;To go along with us; for, as we think,
&mlquo;You are the king, king Edward hath depos'd;
&mlquo;And we his subjects, sworn in all allegiance8 note
,
&mlquo;Will apprehend you as his enemy.
&mast;K. Hen.
&mast;But did you never swear, and break an oath?
&mast;2 Keep.
&mast;No, never such an oath, nor will not now.
&mast;K. Hen.
&mast;Where did you dwell, when I was king of England?
&mast;2 Keep.
&mast;Here in this country, where we now remain.
&mast;K. Hen.
&mast;I was anointed king at nine months old;
&mast;My father and my grandfather, were kings;
-- 453 --
&mast;And you were sworn true subjects unto me:
&mast;And, tell me then, have you not broke your oaths?
&mast;1 Keep.
&mast;No;
For we were subjects, but while you were king.
&mast;K. Hen.
&mast;Why, am I dead? do I not breathe a man?
&mast;Ah, simple men, you know not what you swear.
&mast;Look, as I blow this feather from my face,
&mast;And as the air blows it to me again9 note
,
&mast;Obeying with my wind when I do blow,
&mast;And yielding to another when it blows,
&mast;Commanded always by the greater gust;
&mast;Such is the lightness of you common men.
&mast;But do not break your oaths; for, of that sin
&mast;My mild entreaty shall not make you guilty.
&mast;Go where you will, the king shall be commanded;
&mast;And be you kings; command, and I'll obey.
&mast;1 Keep.
&mast;We are true subjects to the king, king Edward.
&mast;K. Hen.
&mast;So would you be again to Henry,
&mast;If he were seated as king Edward is.
1 Keep.
We charge you, in God's name, and in the king's1 note,
To go with us unto the officers.
&mlquo;K. Hen.
&mlquo;In God's name, lead2 note
; your king's name be obey'd:
-- 454 --
&mast;And what God will, then let your king perform;
&mast;And what he will, I humbly yield unto.
[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].
