WARWICK and SALISBURY
YORK.Anjou and Maine are given to the French;Paris is lost;the state of Normandy Stands on a tickle point now they are gone.Suffolk concluded on the articles;The peers agreed;and Henry was well pleas'd To changes two dukedoms for a duke's fair daughter.I cannot blame them all:what is't to them?'Tis thine they give away,and not their own.Pirates may make cheap pennyworths of their pillage,And purchase friends,and give to courtezans,Still revelling like lords till all be gone;While as the silly owner of the goods Weeps over them and wrings his hapless hands And shakes his head and trembling stands aloof,While all is shar'd and all is borne away,Ready to starve and dare not touch his own.So York must sit and fret and bite his tongue,While his own lands are bargain'd for and sold.Methinks the realms of England,France,and Ireland,Bear that proportion to my flesh and blood As did the fatal brand Althaea burnt Unto the prince's heart of Calydon.Anjou and Maine both given unto the French!Cold news for me,for I had hope of France,Even as I have of fertile England's soil.A day will come when York shall claim his own;And therefore I will take the Nevils'parts,And make a show of love to proud Duke Humphrey,And when I spy advantage,claim the crown,For that's the golden mark I seek to hit.Nor shall proud Lancaster usurp my right,Nor hold the sceptre in his childish fist,Nor wear the diadem upon his head,Whose church-like humours fits not for a crown.Then,York,be still awhile,till time do serve;Watch thou and wake,when others be asleep,To pry into the secrets of the state;Till Henry,surfeiting in joys of love With his new bride and England's dear-bought queen,And Humphrey with the peers be fall'n at jars;Then will I raise aloft the milk-white rose,With whose sweet smell the air shall be perfum'd,And in my standard bear the arms of York,To grapple with the house of Lancaster;And force perforce I'll make him yield the crown,Whose bookish rule hath pull'd fair England down.Exit
SCENE II.The DUKE OF GLOUCESTER'S house
Enter DUKE and his wife ELEANOR
DUCHESS.Why droops my lord,like over-ripen'd corn Hanging the head at Ceres'plenteous load?Why doth the great Duke Humphrey knit his brows,As frowning at the favours of the world?Why are thine eyes fix'd to the sullen earth,Gazing on that which seems to dim thy sight?What see'st thou there?King Henry's diadem,Enchas'd with all the honours of the world?If so,gaze on,and grovel on thy face Until thy head be circled with the same.Put forth thy hand,reach at the glorious gold.What,is't too short?I'll lengthen it with mine;And having both together heav'd it up,We'll both together lift our heads to heaven,And never more abase our sight so low As to vouchsafe one glance unto the ground.GLOUCESTER.O Nell,sweet Nell,if thou dost love thy lord,Banish the canker of ambitious thoughts!And may that thought,when I imagine ill Against my king and nephew,virtuous Henry,Be my last breathing in this mortal world!My troublous dreams this night doth make me sad.DUCHESS.What dream'd my lord?Tell me,and I'll requite it With sweet rehearsal of my morning's dream.GLOUCESTER.Methought this staff,mine office-badge in court,Was broke in twain;by whom I have forgot,But,as I think,it was by th'Cardinal;And on the pieces of the broken wand Were plac'd the heads of Edmund Duke of Somerset And William de la Pole,first Duke of Suffolk.This was my dream;what it doth bode God knows.DUCHESS.Tut,this was nothing but an argument That he that breaks a stick of Gloucester's grove Shall lose his head for his presumption.But list to me,my Humphrey,my sweet Duke:Methought I sat in seat of majesty In the cathedral church of Westminster,And in that chair where kings and queens were crown'd;Where Henry and Dame Margaret kneel'd to me,And on my head did set the diadem.GLOUCESTER.Nay,Eleanor,then must I chide outright.Presumptuous dame,ill-nurtur'd Eleanor!Art thou not second woman in the realm,And the Protector's wife,belov'd of him?Hast thou not worldly pleasure at command Above the reach or compass of thy thought?And wilt thou still be hammering treachery To tumble down thy husband and thyself From top of honour to disgrace's feet?Away from me,and let me hear no more!DUCHESS.What,what,my lord!Are you so choleric With Eleanor for telling but her dream?Next time I'll keep my dreams unto myself And not be check'd.GLOUCESTER.Nay,be not angry;I am pleas'd again.
Enter a MESSENGER
MESSENGER.My Lord Protector,'tis his Highness'pleasure You do prepare to ride unto Saint Albans,Where as the King and Queen do mean to hawk.GLOUCESTER.I go.Come,Nell,thou wilt ride with us?DUCHESS.Yes,my good lord,I'll follow presently.Exeunt GLOUCESTER and MESSENGER Follow I must;I cannot go before,While Gloucester bears this base and humble mind.Were I a man,a duke,and next of blood,I would remove these tedious stumbling-blocks And smooth my way upon their headless necks;And,being a woman,I will not be slack To play my part in Fortune's pageant.Where are you there,Sir John?Nay,fear not,man,We are alone;here's none but thee and I.
