Bedford.
'Fore heav'n, his grace is bold to trust these traitors.

Exe.
They shall be apprehended, by and by.

West.
How smooth and even they do bear themselves,
As if allegiance in their bosoms sate,
Crowned with faith and constant loyalty.

Bed.
The king hath note of all that they intend,
By interception, which they dream not of.

Exe.
Nay but the man that was his bed-fellow,
Whom he hath lull'd and cloy'd with gracious favours;
That he should, for a foreign purse, so sell
His sovereign's life to death and treachery. [Trumpets sound. Enter the King, Scroop, Cambridge, and Grey.

K. Henry.
Now sits the wind fair, and we will aboard.
My lord of Cambridge, and my lord of Masham,
And you, my gentle knight, give me your thoughts:
Think you not that the pow'rs we bear with us,
Will cut their passage through the force of France?

Scroop.
No doubt, my liege; if each man do his best.

K. Henry.
I doubt not that, since we are well persuaded,

We carry not a heart with us from hence,
That grows not in a fair consent with ours;
And leave not one behind, that doth not wish
Success and conquest to attend on us.

Camb.
Never was monarch better fear'd and lov'd,
Than is your majesty; there's not a subject,
That sits in heart-grief and uneasiness,
Under the sweet shade of your government.

Grey.
True; those that were your father's enemies,
Have steept their gauls in honey, and observe you,
With hearts create of duty and of zeal.* ^note

K. Henry.
We judge no less. Uncle of Exeter,
Inlarge the man, committed yesterday,
That rail'd against our person: we consider
It was excess of wine that set him on,
And on his more advice we pardon him.

Scroop.
That's mercy, but too much security:† ^note
Let him be punish'd, sovereign, lest example
Breed, by his suff'rance, more of such a kind.

K. Henry.
O let us yet be merciful.

Camb.
So may your highness, and yet punish too.

Grey.
You shew great mercy, if you give him life,
After the taste of much correction.

K. Henry.
Alas! your too much love and care of me
Are heavy orisons 'gainst this poor wretch.
If little faults, proceeding on distemper,
Shall not be wink'd at, how shall we stretch our eye,
When capital crimes, chew'd, swallow'd, and digested,
Appear before us? We'll enlarge that man,
Though Cambridge, Scroop, and Grey, in their dear care,

And tender preservation of our person,
Would have him punish'd. Now to our French causes;
Who are the late commissionors?

Camb.
I one, my lord.
Your highness bade me ask for it to-day.

Scroop.
So did you me, my liege.

Grey.
And I, my sovereign.

K. Henry.
Then, Richard earl of Cambridge, there is yours:
There yours, lord Scroop of Masham; and sir knight,
Grey of Northumberland, this same is yours;
Read them, and know, I know your worthiness.
My lord of Westmoreland, and uncle Exeter,
We will aboard, to-night. Why, how now, gentlemen?
What see you in those papers, that you lose
So much complexion? Look ye, how they change!
Their cheeks are paper! Why, what read you there,
That hath so cowarded and chas'd your blood,
Out of appearance?

Camb.
I confess my fault,
And do submit me to your highness' mercy.

Grey. Scroop.
To which we all appeal.

K. Henry.
The mercy that was quick in us but late,* ^note
By your own counsel, is suppress'd and kill'd:
You must not dare for shame to talk of mercy,
For your own reasons turn upon your bosoms,
As dogs upon their masters, worrying you.
See you, my princes, and my noble peers,
These English monsters! my Lord Cambridge here,
You know how apt our love was to accord,
To furnish him with all appertinents,
Belonging to his honour; and this man
Hath, for a few light crowns, conspir'd,
And sworn into the practices of France,

To kill us, here in Hampton. To the which,
This knight, no less for bounty bound to us,
Than Cambridge is, hath likewise sworn. But O!
What shall I say to thee, Lord Scroop, thou cruel,
Ingrateful, savage, and inhuman creature!
Thou, that didst bear the key of all my counsels,
That almost might'st have coin'd me into gold,
Would'st thou have practis'd on me for thy use?
May it be possible that foreign hire
Could out of thee extract one spark of evil,
That might annoy my finger? 'Tis so strange,
That though the truth of it stand off as gross,
As black and white, my eye will scarcely see it.* ^note












Arrest them to the answer of the law,
And Heav'n acquit them of their practices.

Exe.
I arrest thee of high treason, by the name of Richard Earl of Cambridge.
  I arrest thee of high treason, by the name of Thomas
Lord Scroop of Masham.
  I arrest thee of high treason, by the name of Thomas
Grey, Knight of Northumberland.

Scroop.
Our purposes Heav'n justly hath discover'd,
And I repent my fault, more than my death;
Which I beseech your highness to forgive,
Although my body pay the price of it.

Cam.
For me, the gold of France did not seduce,
Although I did admit it as a motive,

The soone to effect what I intended;
But Heaven be thanked for prevention,
Which I in sufferance heartily rejoice for,
Beseeching Heav'n and you to pardon me.

Grey.
Never did faithful subject more rejoice
At the discovery of most dangerous treason,
Than I do at this hour joy o'er myself,
Prevented from a damned enterprise:
My fault, but not my body, pardon, sovereign.

K. Henry.
Heav'n quit you in its mercy; hear your sentence;
Touching our person, seek we no revenge,
But we our kingdom's safety must so tender,
Whose ruin you three sought, that to her laws
We do deliver you. Go therefore hence,
Poor miserable wretches, to your death.
The taste whereof God of his mercy give
You patience to endure; and true repentance
Of all your dear offences! Bear them hence. [Exeunt.
Now, lords, for France, the enterprize whereof
Shall be to you, as us, like glorious.
Then forth, dear countrymen; let us deliver
Our puissance into the hand of Heav'n,
Putting it strait in expedition.
Chearly to sea the signs of war advance,
No King of England, if not King of France. [Exeunt.

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