SCENE VI.London.The Tower
Enter KING HENRY and GLOUCESTER with the LIEUTENANT,on the walls
GLOUCESTER.Good day,my lord.What,at your book so hard?KING HENRY.Ay,my good lord-my lord,I should say rather.'Tis sin to flatter;'good'was little better.'Good Gloucester'and 'good devil'were alike,And both preposterous;therefore,not 'good lord.'GLOUCESTER.Sirrah,leave us to ourselves;we must confer.Exit LIEUTENANT KING HENRY.So flies the reckless shepherd from the wolf;So first the harmless sheep doth yield his fleece,And next his throat unto the butcher's knife.What scene of death hath Roscius now to act?GLOUCESTER.Suspicion always haunts the guilty mind:The thief doth fear each bush an officer.KING HENRY.The bird that hath been limed in a bush With trembling wings misdoubteth every bush;And I,the hapless male to one sweet bird,Have now the fatal object in my eye Where my poor young was lim'd,was caught,and kill'd.GLOUCESTER.Why,what a peevish fool was that of Crete That taught his son the office of a fowl!And yet,for all his wings,the fool was drown'd.KING HENRY.I,Daedalus;my poor boy,Icarus;Thy father,Minos,that denied our course;The sun that sear'd the wings of my sweet boy,Thy brother Edward;and thyself,the sea Whose envious gulf did swallow up his life.Ah,kill me with thy weapon,not with words!My breast can better brook thy dagger's point Than can my ears that tragic history.But wherefore dost thou come?Is't for my life?GLOUCESTER.Think'st thou I am an executioner?KING HENRY.A persecutor I am sure thou art.If murdering innocents be executing,Why,then thou are an executioner.GLOUCESTER.Thy son I kill'd for his presumption.KING HENRY.Hadst thou been kill'd when first thou didst presume,Thou hadst not liv'd to kill a son of mine.And thus I prophesy,that many a thousand Which now mistrust no parcel of my fear,And many an old man's sigh,and many a widow's,And many an orphan's water-standing eye-Men for their sons,wives for their husbands,Orphans for their parents'timeless death-Shall rue the hour that ever thou wast born.The owl shriek'd at thy birth-an evil sign;The night-crow cried,aboding luckless time;Dogs howl'd,and hideous tempest shook down trees;The raven rook'd her on the chimney's top,And chatt'ring pies in dismal discords sung;Thy mother felt more than a mother's pain,And yet brought forth less than a mother's hope,To wit,an indigest deformed lump,Not like the fruit of such a goodly tree.Teeth hadst thou in thy head when thou wast born,To signify thou cam'st to bite the world;And if the rest be true which I have heard,Thou cam'st-GLOUCESTER.I'll hear no more.Die,prophet,in thy speech.[Stabs him]For this,amongst the rest,was I ordain'd.KING HENRY.Ay,and for much more slaughter after this.O,God forgive my sins and pardon thee![Dies]GLOUCESTER.What,will the aspiring blood of Lancaster Sink in the ground?I thought it would have mounted.See how my sword weeps for the poor King's death.O,may such purple tears be always shed From those that wish the downfall of our house!If any spark of life be yet remaining,Down,down to hell;and say I sent thee thither-[Stabs him again]I,that have neither pity,love,nor fear.Indeed,'tis true that Henry told me of;For I have often heard my mother say I came into the world with my legs forward.Had I not reason,think ye,to make haste And seek their ruin that usurp'd our right?The midwife wonder'd;and the women cried 'O,Jesus bless us,he is born with teeth!'And so I was,which plainly signified That I should snarl,and bite,and play the dog.Then,since the heavens have shap'd my body so,Let hell make crook'd my mind to answer it.I have no brother,I am like no brother;And this word 'love,'which greybeards call divine,Be resident in men like one another,And not in me!I am myself alone.Clarence,beware;thou keep'st me from the light,But I will sort a pitchy day for thee;For I will buzz abroad such prophecies That Edward shall be fearful of his life;And then to purge his fear,I'll be thy death.King Henry and the Prince his son are gone.Clarence,thy turn is next,and then the rest;Counting myself but bad till I be best.I'll throw thy body in another room,And triumph,Henry,in thy day of doom.Exit with the body
SCENE VII.London.The palace
Flourish.Enter KING EDWARD,QUEEN ELIZABETH,CLARENCE,GLOUCESTER,HASTINGS,NURSE,with the Young
PRINCE,and attendants
KING EDWARD.Once more we sit in England's royal throne,Repurchas'd with the blood of enemies.What valiant foemen,like to autumn's corn,Have we mow'd down in tops of all their pride!Three Dukes of Somerset,threefold renown'd For hardy and undoubted champions;Two Cliffords,as the father and the son;And two Northumberlands-two braver men Ne'er spurr'd their coursers at the trumpet's sound;With them the two brave bears,Warwick and Montague,That in their chains fetter'd the kingly lion And made the forest tremble when they roar'd.Thus have we swept suspicion from our seat And made our footstool of security.Come hither,Bess,and let me kiss my boy.Young Ned,for thee thine uncles and myself Have in our armours watch'd the winter's night,Went all afoot in summer's scalding heat,That thou might'st repossess the crown in peace;And of our labours thou shalt reap the gain.GLOUCESTER.[Aside]I'll blast his harvest if your head were laid;For yet I am not look'd on in the world.This shoulder was ordain'd so thick to heave;And heave it shall some weight or break my back.Work thou the way-and that shall execute.KING EDWARD.Clarence and Gloucester,love my lovely queen;And kiss your princely nephew,brothers both.CLARENCE.The duty that I owe unto your Majesty I seal upon the lips of this sweet babe.KING EDWARD.Thanks,noble Clarence;worthy brother,thanks.GLOUCESTER.And that I love the tree from whence thou sprang'st,Witness the loving kiss I give the fruit.[Aside]To say the truth,so Judas kiss'd his master And cried 'All hail!'when as he meant all harm.KING EDWARD.Now am I seated as my soul delights,Having my country's peace and brothers'loves.CLARENCE.What will your Grace have done with Margaret?Reignier,her father,to the King of France Hath pawn'd the Sicils and Jerusalem,And hither have they sent it for her ransom.KING EDWARD.Away with her,and waft her hence to France.And now what rests but that we spend the time With stately
triumphs,mirthful comic shows,Such as befits the pleasure of the court?Sound drums and trumpets.Farewell,sour annoy!For here,I hope,begins our lasting joy.