The First Web Folio Edition of Shakespeare's Works
A forest in the north of England. |
[Enter two Keepers, with cross-bows in their hands] |
First Keeper | Under this thick-grown brake we'll shroud ourselves; | ||
For through this laund anon the deer will come; | |||
And in this covert will we make our stand, | |||
Culling the principal of all the deer. |
Second Keeper | I'll stay above the hill, so both may shoot. | 5 |
First Keeper | That cannot be; the noise of thy cross-bow | ||
Will scare the herd, and so my shoot is lost. | |||
Here stand we both, and aim we at the best: | |||
And, for the time shall not seem tedious, | |||
I'll tell thee what befell me on a day | 10 | ||
In this self-place where now we mean to stand. |
Second Keeper | Here comes a man; let's stay till he be past. | ||
[Enter KING HENRY VI, disguised, with a prayerbook] |
KING HENRY VI | From Scotland am I stol'n, even of pure love, | ||
To greet mine own land with my wishful sight. | |||
No, Harry, Harry, 'tis no land of thine; | 15 | ||
Thy place is fill'd, thy sceptre wrung from thee, | |||
Thy balm wash'd off wherewith thou wast anointed: | |||
No bending knee will call thee Caesar now, | |||
No humble suitors press to speak for right, | |||
No, not a man comes for redress of thee; | 20 | ||
For how can I help them, and not myself? |
First Keeper | Ay, here's a deer whose skin's a keeper's fee: | ||
This is the quondam king; let's seize upon him. |
KING HENRY VI | Let me embrace thee, sour adversity, | ||
For wise men say it is the wisest course. | 25 |
Second Keeper | Why linger we? let us lay hands upon him. |
First Keeper | Forbear awhile; we'll hear a little more. |
KING HENRY VI | My queen and son are gone to France for aid; | ||
And, as I hear, the great commanding Warwick | |||
Is thither gone, to crave the French king's sister | 30 | ||
To wife for Edward: if this news be true, | |||
Poor queen and son, your labour is but lost; | |||
For Warwick is a subtle orator, | |||
And Lewis a prince soon won with moving words. | |||
By this account then Margaret may win him; | 35 | ||
For she's a woman to be pitied much: | |||
Her sighs will make a battery in his breast; | |||
Her tears will pierce into a marble heart; | |||
The tiger will be mild whiles she doth mourn; | |||
And Nero will be tainted with remorse, | 40 | ||
To hear and see her plaints, her brinish tears. | |||
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 deposed; | 45 | ||
He smiles, and says his Edward is install'd; | |||
That she, poor wretch, for grief can speak no more; | |||
Whiles Warwick tells his title, smooths the wrong, | |||
Inferreth arguments of mighty strength, | |||
And in conclusion wins the king from her, | 50 | ||
With promise of his sister, and what else, | |||
To strengthen and support King Edward's place. | |||
O Margaret, thus 'twill be; and thou, poor soul, | |||
Art then forsaken, as thou went'st forlorn! |
Second Keeper | Say, what art thou that talk'st of kings and queens? | 55 |
KING HENRY VI | More than I seem, and less than I was born to: | ||
A man at least, for less I should not be; | |||
And men may talk of kings, and why not I? |
Second Keeper | Ay, but thou talk'st as if thou wert a king. |
KING HENRY VI | Why, so I am, in mind; and that's enough. | 60 |
Second Keeper | But, if thou be a king, where is thy crown? |
KING HENRY VI | My crown is in my heart, not on my head; | ||
Not decked with diamonds and Indian stones, | |||
Nor to be seen: my crown is called content: | |||
A crown it is that seldom kings enjoy. | 65 |
Second Keeper | Well, if you be a king crown'd with content, | ||
Your crown content and you must be contented | |||
To go along with us; for as we think, | |||
You are the king King Edward hath deposed; | |||
And we his subjects sworn in all allegiance | 70 | ||
Will apprehend you as his enemy. |
KING HENRY VI | But did you never swear, and break an oath? |
Second Keeper | No, never such an oath; nor will not now. |
KING HENRY VI | Where did you dwell when I was King of England? |
Second Keeper | Here in this country, where we now remain. | 75 |
KING HENRY VI | I was anointed king at nine months old; | ||
My father and my grandfather were kings, | |||
And you were sworn true subjects unto me: | |||
And tell me, then, have you not broke your oaths? |
First Keeper | No; | 80 | |
For we were subjects but while you were king. |
KING HENRY VI | Why, am I dead? do I not breathe a man? | ||
Ah, simple men, you know not what you swear! | |||
Look, as I blow this feather from my face, | |||
And as the air blows it to me again, | 85 | ||
Obeying with my wind when I do blow, | |||
And yielding to another when it blows, | |||
Commanded always by the greater gust; | |||
Such is the lightness of you common men. | |||
But do not break your oaths; for of that sin | 90 | ||
My mild entreaty shall not make you guilty. | |||
Go where you will, the king shall be commanded; | |||
And be you kings, command, and I'll obey. |
First Keeper | We are true subjects to the king, King Edward. |
KING HENRY VI | So would you be again to Henry, | 95 | |
If he were seated as King Edward is. |
First Keeper | We charge you, in God's name, and the king's, | ||
To go with us unto the officers. |
KING HENRY VI | In God's name, lead; your king's name be obey'd: | ||
And what God will, that let your king perform; | 100 | ||
And what he will, I humbly yield unto. | |||
[Exeunt] |
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