The princely Warwick,and the Nevils all,Whose dreadful swords were never drawn in vain,As hating thee,are rising up in arms;And now the house of York-thrust from the crown By shameful murder of a guiltless king And lofty proud encroaching tyranny-Burns with revenging fire,whose hopeful colours Advance our half-fac'd sun,striving to shine,Under the which is writ 'Invitis nubibus.'The commons here in Kent are up in arms;And to conclude,reproach and beggary Is crept into the palace of our King,And all by thee.Away!convey him hence.SUFFOLK.O that I were a god,to shoot forth thunder Upon these paltry,servile,abject drudges!Small things make base men proud:this villain here,Being captain of a pinnace,threatens more Than Bargulus,the strong Illyrian pirate.Drones suck not eagles'blood but rob beehives.It is impossible that I should die By such a lowly vassal as thyself.Thy words move rage and not remorse in me.I go of message from the Queen to France:I charge thee waft me safely cross the Channel.LIEUTENANT.Walter-WHITMORE.Come,Suffolk,I must waft thee to thy death.SUFFOLK.Gelidus timor occupat artus:it is thee I fear.WHITMORE.Thou shalt have cause to fear before I leave thee.What,are ye daunted now?Now will ye stoop?FIRST GENTLEMAN.My gracious lord,entreat him,speak him fair.SUFFOLK.Suffolk's imperial tongue is stem and rough,Us'd to command,untaught to plead for favour.Far be it we should honour such as these With humble suit:no,rather let my head Stoop to the block than these knees bow to any Save to the God of heaven and to my king;And sooner dance upon a bloody pole Than stand uncover'd to the vulgar groom.True nobility is exempt from fear:More can I bear than you dare execute.LIEUTENANT.Hale him away,and let him talk no more.SUFFOLK.Come,soldiers,show what cruelty ye can,That this my death may never be forgot-Great men oft die by vile bezonians:A Roman sworder and banditto slave Murder'd sweet Tully;Brutus'bastard hand Stabb'd Julius Caesar;savage islanders Pompey the Great;and Suffolk dies by pirates.Exit WALTER with SUFFOLK LIEUTENANT.And as for these,whose ransom we have set,It is our pleasure one of them depart;Therefore come you with us,and let him go.Exeunt all but the FIRST GENTLEMAN
Re-enter WHITMORE with SUFFOLK'S body
WHITMORE.There let his head and lifeless body lie,Until the
Queen his mistress bury it.Exit FIRST GENTLEMAN.O barbarous and bloody spectacle!His body will I bear unto the King.If he revenge it not,yet will his friends;So will the Queen,that living held him dear.Exit with the body
SCENE II.Blackheath
Enter GEORGE BEVIS and JOHN HOLLAND
GEORGE.Come and get thee a sword,though made of a lath;they have been up these two days.JOHN.They have the more need to sleep now,then.GEORGE.I tell thee Jack Cade the clothier means to dress the commonwealth,and turn it,and set a new nap upon it.JOHN.So he had need,for 'tis threadbare.Well,I say it was never merry world in England since gentlemen came up.GEORGE.O miserable age!Virtue is not regarded in handicraftsmen.JOHN.The nobility think scorn to go in leather aprons.GEORGE.Nay,more,the King's Council are no good workmen.JOHN.True;and yet it is said 'Labour in thy vocation';which is as much to say as 'Let the magistrates be labouring men';and therefore should we be magistrates.GEORGE.Thou hast hit it;for there's no better sign of a brave mind than a hard hand.JOHN.I see them!I see them!There's Best's son,the tanner of Wingham-GEORGE.He shall have the skins of our enemies to make dog's leather of.JOHN.And Dick the butcher-GEORGE.Then is sin struck down,like an ox,and iniquity's throat cut like a calf.JOHN.And Smith the weaver-GEORGE.Argo,their thread of life is spun.JOHN.Come,come,let's fall in with them.
Drum.Enter CADE,DICK THE BUTCHER,SMITH THE WEAVER,and a SAWYER,with infinite numbers
CADE.We John Cade,so term'd of our supposed father-DICK.[Aside]Or rather,of stealing a cade of herrings.CADE.For our enemies shall fall before us,inspired with the spirit of putting down kings and princes-command silence.DICK.Silence!CADE.My father was a Mortimer-DICK.[Aside]He was an honest man and a good bricklayer.CADE.My mother a Plantagenet-DICK.[Aside]I knew her well;she was a midwife.CADE.My wife descended of the Lacies-DICK.[Aside]She was,indeed,a pedlar's daughter,and sold many laces.SMITH.[Aside]But now of late,not able to travel with her furr'd pack,she washes bucks here at home.CADE.Therefore am I of an honourable house.DICK.[Aside]Ay,by my faith,the field is honourable,and there was he born,under a hedge,for his father had never a house but the cage.CADE.
Valiant I am.SMITH.[Aside]'A must needs;for beggary is valiant.CADE.I am able to endure much.DICK.[Aside]No question of that;for I have seen him whipt three market days together.CADE.I fear neither sword nor fire.SMITH.[Aside]He need not fear the sword,for his coat is of proof.DICK.[Aside]But methinks he should stand in fear of fire,being burnt i'th'hand for stealing of sheep.CADE.Be brave,then,for your captain is brave,and vows reformation.There shall be in England seven halfpenny loaves sold for a penny;the three-hoop'd pot shall have ten hoops;and I will make it felony to drink small beer.All the realm shall be in common,and in Cheapside shall my palfrey go to grass.And when I am king-as king I will be ALL.God save your Majesty!CADE.I thank you,good people-there shall be no money;all shall eat and drink on my score,and I will apparel them all in one livery,that they may agree like brothers and worship me their lord.DICK.The first thing we do,let's kill all the lawyers.CADE.Nay,that I mean to do.Is not this a lamentable thing,that of the skin of an innocent lamb should be made parchment?That parchment,being scribbl'd o'er,should undo a man?Some say the bee stings;but I say 'tis the bee's wax;for I did but seal once to a thing,and I was never mine own man since.How now!Who's there?