29. "you"; Pope, "yourself ."—I. G.
40
KING HENRY VI Act II. Sc. i.
King. I prithee, peace, good queen,
And '^7het not on these furious peers;
For blessed are the peacemakers on earth.
Car. Let nie be blessed for the peace I make,
Against this proud protector, with my sword!
Glou. [Aside to Ca7'.~\ Faith, hoty uncle, would
'twere come to that!
Car. [Asicfe to Glou.l ^larry, when thou darest.
Glou. [Aside to Car.l JNIake up no factious num-
bers for the matter; 40
In thine own person answer thj'- abuse.
Car. [Aside to Glou.'] Aye, where thou darest not
peep: an if thou darest, ^
This evening, on the east side of the grove.
King. How now, my lords!
Car. Believe me, cousin Gloucester,
Had not your man put up the fowl so sud-
denly.
We had had more sport. [Aside to Glou.'\
Come with thv two-hand sword.
Glou. True, uncle.
Caj\ [Aside to Glou.] Are you advised? the east
side of the grove?
Glou. [Aside to Car.] Cardinal, I am with you.
King. Why, how now, uncle Gloucester!
Glou. Talking of hawking; nothing else, my
lord. 50
[Aside to Car.] Now% by God's mother, priest,
I '11 shave your crown for this.
Or all my fence shall' fail.
34. "furious": F. 2, "too-too furiovs."—!. G.
47-49. given in Ff. to Gloster; corrected by Theobald. — I. G.
41>
Act II. Sc. i. THE SECOND PART OF
Car. [Aside to Glou.l Medice, teipsum —
Protector, see to 't well, protect yourself.
King. The winds grow high ; so do your stomachs,
lords,
How irksome is this music to my heart!
When such strings jar, what hoj^e of harmony?
I pray, my lords, let me compound this strife.
Enter a Townsman of Saint Albans, crying
'A miracle!'
Glou. What means this noise?
Fellow, what miracle dost thou proclaim? 60
Towns. A miracle! a miracle!
S^if. Come to the king and tell him what miracle.
Towns. Forsooth, a blind man at Saint Alban's
shrine,
Within this half -hour, hath received his sight;
A man that ne'er saw in his life before.
King. Now, God be praised, that to believing souls
Gives light in darkness, comfort in despair !
Enter the Mayor of Saint Albans and his brethren,
bearing Simpcox, between two in a chair. Simp-
cox's Wife following.
Car. Here comes the townsmen on procession,
To present your highness with the man.
King. Great is his comfort in this earthly vale, 70
54. "Medice, teipsum — "; "Physician, heal thyself"; from the Vul-
gate (Luke iv. 23). Ff. read "Medice teipsum"; Rowe, "Medice cura
teipsum"; &c. omitted by Pope. — I. G.
69. 'To present your highness with the man"; Pope reads, "Before
your hiyhness to present the man"; Capell, "Come to present your
highness with the man" &c. — I. G.
42
KING HENRY VI Act li. Sc. i.
Although by his sight liis sin be multipHed.
Glou. Stand by, my masters: bring him near the
king;
His highness' pleasure is to talk with him.
King. Good fellow, tell us here the circumstance,
That we for thee may glorify the Lord.
What, hast thou been long blind and now re-
stored ?
Simp. Born blind, an 't please your grace.
Wife. Aye, indeed, was he.
Suf. What woman is this?
Wife. His wife, an 't like your worship. 80
Glou. Hadst thou been his mother, thou couldst
have better told.
King. Where wert thou born?
Simp. At Berwick in the north, an 't like your
grace.
King. Poor soul, God's goodness hath been great
to thee:
Let never da^'' nor night unhallow'd pass,
But still remember what the Lord hath done.
Queen. Tell me, good fellow, camest thou here by
chance,
Or of devotion, to this holy shrine?
Simp. God knows, of pure devotion; being call'd
A hundred times and oftener, in my sleep, 90
By good Saint Alban; who said, 'Simpcox,
come,
Come, offer at my shrine, and I will help thee.*
Wife. Most true, forsooth ; and many time and oft
91. "Simpcox"; Pope's emendation (Theobald conj.) of Ff. "Sy-
mon"; Capell, "Saunder."—l. G.
43
Act IL Sc. i. THE SECOND PART OF
Myself have heard a voice to call him so.
Car. What, art thou lame?
Sim'p. Aye, God Almighty help me I
Siif. How earnest thou so?
Simp. A fall off of a tree.
Wife. A plum-tree, master.
Gloii. How long hast thou been blind?
Sivip. O, born so, master.
Gloii. What, and wouldst climb a tree?
Simp. But that in all my life, when I was a youth.
Wife. Too true; and bought his climbing very
dear. 100
Glou. Mass, thou lovedst plums well, that wouldst
venture so.
Simp. Alas, good master, my wife desired some
damsons,
And made me climb, with danger of my life.
Gloii. A subtle knave! but yet it shall not serve.
Let me see thine eyes: wink now: now open
them:
In my opinion yet thou see'st not well.
Simp. Yes, master, clear as day, I thank God and
Saint Alban.
Glou. Say'st thou me so? What color is this cloak
of?
Simp. Red, master; red as blood.
Glou. Why, that 's well said. What color is my
gown of? 110
Sim'p. Black, forsooth: coal-black as jet.
King. Why, then, thou know'st what color jet is
of?
Suf. And yet, I think, jet did he never see.
44
KING HENRY VI Act II. Sc. i.
Gloii. But cloaks and gowns, before this day, a
many.
Wife. Never, before this day, in all his life.
Glou. Tell me, sirrah, what 's my name?
Simp. Alas, master, I know not.
Glou. What's his name?
Simp. I know not.
Glou. Nor his? 120
Simp. No, indeed, master.
Glou. What 's thine own name?
Simp. Saunder Simpcox, an if it please you, mas-
ter.
Glou. Then, Saunder, sit there, the lyingest
knave in Christendom. If thou hadst been
born blind, thou mightst as well have known
all our names as thus to name the several col-
ors we do wear. Sight may distinguish of
colors, but suddenly to nominate them all, it
is impossible. JNIy lords, Saint Alban here 130
130. This passage between Gloster and Simpcox is founded on a
story told by Sir Thomas More, substantially as follows: One time,
as King Henry VI rode in progress, there came to the town of
St. Albans a certain beggar, with his wife, and there was walking
about the town, begging, saying that he was born blind, and was
warned in a dream that he should come out of Berwick, where he
had ever dwelt, to seek St. Alban. When the king was come, and
the town full of people, suddenly this blind man, at St. Alban's
shrine, had his sight; and the same was solcnmly rung for a miracle,
so that nothing else was talked of in all the town. It so happened
that Humphrey, duke of Gloster, a man no less wise than well-
learned, called the poor man to him, and locked well upon his eyes,
and asked whether he could never see any thing in all his life
before. When both himself and his wife affirmed fastly "no," then
he looked advisedly upon his eyes again, and said, "I believe you
say well, for methinketh ye cannot see well yet." "Yes, sir," quoth
he; "I thank God and his holy martyr, I can see now as well as
any man." "Ye can?" quoth the duke; "what color is this gown?"
45
Act 11. Sc. i. THE SECOND PART OF
hath done a miracle ; and would ye not think
his cunning to be great, that could restore
this cripple to his legs again?
Simp. O master, that you could!
Glou. JMy masters of Saint Alban's, have you
not beadles in your town, and things called
whips ?
May. Yes, my lord, if it please your grace.
Glou. Then send for one presently.
May. Sirrah, go fetch the beadle hither 140
straight. [Exit an Attendant.
Glou. Now fetch me a stool hither by and by.
Now, sirrah, if you mean to save yourself
from whipping, leap me over this stool and
run away.
Simp. Alas, master, I am not able to stand alone:
You go about to torture me in vain.
Enter a Beadle with tvliips,
Glou, Well, sir, we must have you find your
Tlieii anon the beggar told him. "What color," quoth he, "is this
man's gown?" He told him this also, without staying or stumbling,
and so of all the colors that could be showed him. And when the
duke saw that, he had him set openly in the stocks. — H. N. H.
136. "things called whips"; Halliwell and others quote from Ar-
min's jSlest of Ninnies (1608); "There are, as Hamlet sales, things
cald whips in store"; this cannot refer, as has been supposed, to
Hamlet's "whips and scorns of time" but may well have occurred in
the pre-Shakespearian Hamlet. The actual words are to be found
in Kyd's Spanish Tragedy: —
"Well heaven is heaven still!
And there is Nemesis, and furies,
And things call'd whips."
Perhaps Arrain wrote "Hamlet" when he meant "Jeronimy." — I. G.
46
KING HENRY VI Act II. Sc. i.
legs. Sirrah beadle, whip him till he leap
over that same stool. 1^0
Bead. I will, my lord. Come on, sirrah; off
with your doublet quickly.
Si7?ip. Alas, master, what shall I do? I am not
able to stand.
[After the Beadle hath hit him once, he leaps
over the stool and runs away; and they
follow and cry, 'A miracle!'
King. O God, seest Thou this, and bearest so long?
Queen. It made me laugh to see the villain run.
Glou. Follow the knave; and take his drab away.
Wife. Alas, sir, we did it for pure need.
Glou. Let them be whipped through every mar-
ket-town, till they come to Berwick, from 160
whence they came.
[Exeunt Wife, Beadle, Mayor, etc.
Car. Duke Humphrey has done a miracle to-day.
Suf. True; made the lame to leap and fly away.
Glou. But you have done more miracles than I ;
You made in a day, my lord, whole towns to
fly-
Enter Buckingham.
King. What tidings with our cousin Buckingham?
Buck. Such as my heart doth tremble to unfold,
A sort of naughty persons, lewdl}^ bent,
Under the countenance and confederacy
Of Lady Eleanor, the protector's wife, 170
The ringleader and head of all this rout.
Have practiced dangerously against your state,
Dealing with witches and with conjurers:
47
Act II. Sc. i. THE SECOND PART OF
Whom we have apprehended in the fact ;
Raising up wicked spirits from mider ground,
Demanding of King Henry's Hfe and death,
And other of your highness' privy -council ;
As more at large your grace shall understand.
Car, [Aside to Glou.] And so, my lord ]3rotector,
by this means
Your lady is forthcoming yet at London. 180
This news, I think, hath turn'd your weapon's
edge ;
'Tis like, my lord, you will not keep your hour.
Glou. Ambitious churchman, leave to afflict my
heart :
Sorrow and grief have vanquish'd all my pow-
ers;
And, vanquish'd as I am, I yield to thee.
Or to the meanest groom.
King. O God, what mischiefs w^ork the wicked
ones.
Heaping confusion on their own heads there-
by!
Queen. Gloucester, see here the tainture of thy
nest,
And look thyself be faultless, thou wert best.
Glou. Madam, for myself, to heaven I do ap-
peal, 190
How I have loved my king and commonweal:
And, for my wife, I know not how it stands ;
Sorry I am to hear what I have heard :
180. "forthcoming " that is, your lady is in custody. — H. N. H.
184. "vanquish'd"; Walker, "lanffuish'd"; Vaughan, "banish'd."^
I. G.
48
KING HENRY VI Act. ii. Sc. ii.
Noble she is, but if she have forgot
Honor and virtue and conversed with such
As, like to pitch, defile nobility,
I banish her my bed and company,
And give her as a prey to law and shame.
That hath chshonor'd Gloucester's honest name.
King. Well, for this night we will repose us
here : 200
To-morrow toward London back again.
To look into this business thoroughly.
And call these foul offenders to their answers,
And poise the cause in justice's equal scales,
Whose beam stands sure, whose rightful cause
prevails. [Flourish. Exeunt.
Scene II
London. The Duke of York's garden.
Enter York, Salishury, and Warwick.
York. Now, my good Lords of Salisbury and
Warwick,
Our simple supper ended, give me leave
In this close walk to satisfy myself,
In craving your opinion of my title.
Which is infallible, to England's cro\Mi.
Sal. My lord, I long to hear it at full.
War. Sweet York, begin : and if thy claim be good,
The Nevils are thy subjects to command.
6. "at ftill"; Ff. 3, 4, "thus at full"; Capell, "at the full"; Keight-
ley, "at full length"; Marshall, "told at full."— I. G.
Slik-1-22 49
Act 11. Sc. ii. THE SECOND PART OF,
York. Then thus :
Edward the Third, my lords, had seven sons : 10
The first, Edward the Black Prince, Prince of
Wales ;
The second, William of Hatfield, and the third,
Lionel Duke of Clarence; next to whom
Was John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster;
The fifth was Edmund Langley, Duke of
York;
The sixth was Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of
Gloucester ;
William of Windsor was the seventh and last.
Edward the Black Prince died before his
father,
And left behind him Richard, his only son,
Who after Edward the Third's death reign 'd
as king; 20
Till Henrj^ Bolingbroke, Duke of Lancas-
ter,
The eldest son and heir of John of Gaunt,
Crown'd by the name of Henry the Fourth,
Seized on the realm, deposed the rightful king,
Sent his poor queen to France, from whence she
came.
And him to Pomfret; where, as all you know,
Harmless Richard was murder'd traitorously.
15. "Edmund"; F. 1 reads "Edmond"; Ff. 2, 3, 4, "Edward."—-
I. G.
27. "Richard was murder'd traitorously" ; F. 1, reads "Richard
. . . traiterously" ; Ff. 2, 3, 4, "King Richard . . . traiter-
ously"; Pope, "King Richard trait'rously was murther'd"; Dyce, "was
harmless Richard murder'd traitorously." — I. G.
50
KING HENRY VI Act II. Sc. ii
War. Father, the duke hath told the truth;
Thus got the liouse of Lancaster the crown.
York. Which now they hold hy force and not by
right; 30
For Richard, the first son's heir, being dead,
The issue of the next son should have reign'd.
Sal. But William of Hatfield died without an heir.
York. The third son, Duke of Clarence, from
whose line
I claim the crown, had issue, Phihppe, a daugh-
ter.
Who married Edmund Mortimer, Earl of
March :
Edmund had issue, Roger Earl of ^larch;
Roger had issue, Edmund, Anne and Eleanor.
Sal. This Edmund, in the reign of Bolingbroke,
As I have read, laid claim unto the crown ; 40
And, but for Owen Glendower, had been king.
Who kept him in captivity till he died.
28. "told the truth"; Hanmer reads "told the very truth"; Capell,
"surely told the truth"; Keightley, "told the truth in this"; Marshall,
"the Duke of York hath told the truth."— I. G.
85. "Philippe," Hanmer's correction; F. 1, "Phillip"; Ff. 2, 3, 4,
"Philip"; Collier MS., "Philippa."—!. G.
42. Here we have another troublesome piece of historical confu-
sion. Shakespeare, following the chroniclers, confounded Sir Ed-
mund Mortimer with the young earl of March, whose name was also
Kdnnnid Mortimer. Early in the reign of Henry IV, Sir Edmund,
being sent with an army against Owen Glendower, was taken prisoner
by him, but not long after was released, married to his daughter,
and joined with the Percys in their great rebellion against the king.
Lord Grey of Ruthven, who had also married a daughter of Glen-
dower, getting afterwards into a war with his father-in-law, like-
wise fell into his hands, and died in captivity. Here, then, we have
a double confusion: In the first place, Fdmund. earl of March, is
confounded with his uncle, Sir Edmund Mortimer; and in the second
place. Sir Edmund, having been sometime captive to liis father-in-
51
Act II. Sc. ii. THE SECOND PART OF
But to the rest.
York. His eldest sister, Anne,
JNIy mother, being heir unto the crown,
JNIarried Richard Earl of Cambridge; who was
son
To Edmund Langley, Edward the Third's fifth
son.
By her I claim the kingdom : she was heir
To Roger Earl of JMarch, who was the son
Of Edmund JNIortimer, who married Philippe,
Sole daughter unto Lionel Duke of Clarence:
So, if the issue of the elder son 51
Succeed before the younger, I am king.
War. What plain proceeding is more plain than
this?
Henry doth claim the crown from John of
Gaunt, i
The fourth son; York claims it from the third.
Till Lionel's issue fails, his should not reign :
It fails not yet, but flourishes in thee
And in thy sons, fair slips of such a stock.
Then, father Salisbury, kneel we together;
And in this private plot be we the first 60
That shall salute our rightful sovereign
With honor of his birthright to the crown.
law, is confounded with Lord Grey, who was held in captivity by
his father-in-law till he died. In the First Part this same earl of
March is represented as dying an old man in the Tower of London,
where he had been detained not by Glendower, but by the king;
which discrepancy has been thought to argue that the First and
Second Parts were not by the same author. — H. N. H.
55. "York claims"; Pope, "York here claims"; Capell, "but York
claims"; Dvce, "while York claims"; Hudson, "York doth claim."—
I. G.
52
KING HENRY VI Act. II. Sc. ii.
Both. Long live our sovereign Richard, England's
king!
York. We thank you, lords. But I am not your
king
Till I be crown'd, and that my sword be stain'd
With heart-blood of the house of Lancaster;
And that 's not suddenly to be perform'd,
But with advice and silent secrecy.
Do you as I do in these dangerous days:
Wink at the Duke of Suffolk's insolence. '70
At Beaufort's pride, at Somerset's ambiiion,
At Buckingham and all the crew of them,
Till they have snared the shepherd of the flock,
That virtuous prince, the good Duke Hum-
phrey :
'Tis that they seek, and they in seeking that
Shall find their deaths, if York can prophesy.
Sal. My lord, break we off ; w^e know your mind at
full.
War. My heart assures me that the Earl of War-
"wick
Shall one day make the Duke of York a king.
York. And, Nevil, this I do assure myself: 80
Richard shall live to make the Earl of Warwick
The greatest man in England but the king.
[Ea^eunt
55
Act II. Sc. iii. THE SECOND PART OF.
Scene III
A hall of justice.
Sound trumpets. Enter the King, the Queen,
Gloucester, York, Suffolk, and Salisbury; the
Duchess of Gloucester, Margery Jourdain,
Southwell, Hume, and Bolingbroke, under
guard.
King. Stand forth, Dame Eleanor Cobham, Glou-
cester's wife:
In sight of God and us, your guilt is great:
Receive the sentence of the law for sins
Such as by God's book are adjudged to death.
You four, from hence to prison back again;
From thence unto the place of execution :
The witch in Smithfield shall be burn'd to ashes,
And you three shall be strangled on the gallows.
You, madam, for you are more nobly born,
Despoiled of your honor in your life, 10
Shall, after three days' open penance done,
Live in your country here in banishment,
With Sir John Stanley, in the Isle of Man.
Duch. Welcome is banishment; welcome were my
death.
3. "sins",^ Theobald's emendation of "sinne" Ff. 1, 2; "sin" Ff. 3.
—I. G.
14. "Welcome is banishment; welcome were my death"; Pope reads
"Welcome is exile" &c. ; Anon, conjecture, "Welcome is banishment;
welcomer my death"; Wordsworth, "Welcome is banishment; wel-
come v>ere death"; "banishment" is probably to be considered a dis-
syUable.— I. G.
54,
KING HENRY VI Act ii. Sc. in.
Glou. Eleanor, the law, thou see'st, hath judged
thee :
I cannot justify whom the law condemns.
[Exeunt Duchess and other prisojiers,
guarded.
]Mine eyes are full of tears, my heart of grief.
Ah, Humphrey, this dishonor in thine age
AVill bring thy head with sorrow to the ground !
I beseech your majesty, give me leave to go; 20
Sorrow would solace and mine age would ease.
King. Stay, Humphrey Duke of Gloucester: ere
thou go.
Give up thy staff: Henry will to himself
16. This sentence fell upon the duchess in November, IWl. Holin-
shed gives the following account of the matter: "This yeare dame
Eleanor Cobham, wife to the said duke, was accused of treason; for
that she by sorcerie and enchantment intended to destroie the king,
to the intent to advance hir husband unto the crowne. Upon tliis
she v.as examined in saint Stephans chappell before the bishop of
Canterburie, and there convict and judged to doo penance in three
open places within the citie of London; and after that to perpetuall
imprisonment in the He of Man, under the keeping of sir John Stan-
lie knight. At the same season were arraigned and adjudged guiltie,
as aiders to the duchesse, Thomas Southwell, priest, John Hum,
priest, Roger Bolingbrooke, a cunning necromancer, and Margerie
Jordcine, surnamed the witch of Eie. The matter laid against them
was, for that they, at the request of the said duchesse, had devised
an image of wax representing the king, which by their sorcerie by
little and little consumed, intending thereby to waste and destroie the
kings person. Margery Jordeine was burnt in Smithfield, and Roger
Bolingbrooke was drawne to Tiborne, and hanged, and quartered.
John Hum had his pardon, and Southwell died in the Tower the
night before his execution." As this crime and punishment of the
duchess had much to do in bringing about her husband's fall, there
was good dramatic reason for setting it in close connection with the
latter event, thousjh in fact the two were over five years apart. —
H. N. H.
20. "I beseech"; Hanmer, "Beseech."— J. G.
21. "ease," the reading of Ff. 1, 4; Ff. 2, 3, "cease."— I. G.
55
Act II. Sc. iii. THE SECOND PART OF
Protector be; and God shall be my hope,
My stay, my guide and lantern to my feet :
And go in peace, Humphrey, no less beloved
Than when thou wert protector to thy king.
Queen. I see no reason why a king of years
Should be to be protected like a child. 29
God and King Henry govern England's realm.
Give up your staff, sir, and the king his realm.
Glau. My staff? here, noble Henry, is my staff:
As willingly do I the same resign
As e'er thy father Henry made it mine;
And even as willingly at thy feet I leave it
As others would ambitiously receive it.
Farewell, good king: when! am dead and gone,
May honorable peace attend thy throne! [Exit.
Queen. VVliy, now is Henry king, and Margaret
queen ;
And Humphrey Duke of Gloucester scarce
Iiimseif , ^^ '
That bears so shrev>^d a maim ; two pulls at once ;
His lady banish'd, and a limb lopp'd off.
This staff of honor raught, there let it stand
Where it best fits to be, in Plenry's hand.
Q9. "Should be to be protected like a child"; Collier MS. reads
"Should be protected like a child by peers." "Should be to be"z=z
"should need to be."— I. G.
30. "God and King Henry govern England's realm"; omitted by
Capell; "Realm" the reading of Ff.; Steevens (Johnson conj.),
"helm"; Dyce and Staunton, "helm!" In the next line Keightley pro-
posed "helm" for "realm." — I. G.
32. Collier MS. inserts after 1. 32, "To think I fain would keep it
makes me laugh." — I. G.
35. "willingly"; Pope, "willing" (from Qq.).— I. G.
56
KING HENRY ^n[ Act ii. Sc. m.
Suf. Thus drooi^s this lofty pine and hangs his
sprays ;
Thus Eleanor's pride dies in her youngest days.
York. Lords, let him go. Please it your majesty,
This is the day appointed for the combat;
And ready are the appellant and defendant,
The armorer and his man, to enter the lists, 50
So please your highness to behold the fight.
Queen. Aye, good my lord; for purposely there-
fore
Left I the court, to see this quarrel tried.
King. O' God's name, see the lists and all things
fit:
Here let them end it ; and God defend the riglit !
Yorli. I never saw a fellow worse bested,
Or more afraid to fight, than is the appellant.
The servant of this armorer, my lords.
Enter at one door, Horner, the Armorer, and his
Neighbors, drinking to Mm so much that he is
drunk; and he enters with a drum before him
and his staff with a sand-bag fastened to it; and
at the other door Peter, his man, with a drum
and a sand-bag, and 'Prentices drinJcing to him.
First Neigh. Here, neiglibor Horner, I drink
46. "Tier" in this line refers to pride, and not to Eleanor. —
H. N. H.
"youmjesl"; so Ff, 1, 2; Ff. 3, 4, "yovnrjer"; Singer (Anon,
conj. MS.), "strongest"; Collier MS., "proudest"; Staunton, "haugh-
tiest"; Kinnear, "highest." Perhaps "her" mav be taken to refer to
"pride."— I. G.
47. "Lords, let him go" that is, let him pass out of your thoughts.
Duke Humphrey had already left the stage. — H. N. H.
55. "defend"/ Pope, "guard"; Vaughan,' "fend."— I. G.
57
Act II. Sc. iii. THE SECOND PART OF
to you in a cup of sack : and fear not, neigh- 60
bor, you shall do well enough.
Sec. Neigh. And here, neighbor, here 's a cup
of charneco.
TJiird Neigh. And here 's a pot of good double
beer, neighbor: diink, and fear not your
man.
Hor. Let it come, i' faith, and I '11 pledge you
all ; and a fig for Peter !
First 'Pren. Here, Peter, I drink to thee: and
be not afraid.
Sec. 'Pren. Be merry, Peter, and fear not thy 70