And shall the figure of God's majesty, His captain, steward, deputy-elect, Anointed, crowned, planted many years, Be judged by subject and inferior breath, And he himself not present? O, forfend it, God, That in a Christian climate souls refined Should show so heinous, black, obscene a deed!
I speak to subjects, and a subject speaks, Stirr'd up by God, thus boldly for his king:
My Lord of Hereford here, whom you call king, Is a foul traitor to proud Hereford's king:
And if you crown him, let me prophesy:
The blood of English shall manure the ground, And future ages groan for this foul act;
Peace shall go sleep with Turks and infidels, And in this seat of peace tumultuous wars Shall kin with kin and kind with kind confound;
Disorder, horror, fear and mutiny Shall here inhabit, and this land be call'd The field of Golgotha and dead men's skulls.
O, if you raise this house against this house, It will the woefullest division prove That ever fell upon this cursed earth.
Prevent it, resist it, let it not be so, Lest child, child's children, cry against you woe! NORTHUMBERLAND Well have you argued, sir; and, for your pains, Of capital treason we arrest you here.
My Lord of Westminster, be it your charge To keep him safely till his day of trial.
May it please you, lords, to grant the commons' suit. HENRY BOLINGBROKE Fetch hither Richard, that in common view He may surrender; so we shall proceed Without suspicion. DUKE OF YORK I will be his conduct.
Exit HENRY BOLINGBROKE Lords, you that here are under our arrest, Procure your sureties for your days of answer.
Little are we beholding to your love, And little look'd for at your helping hands.
Re-enter DUKE OF YORK, with KING RICHARD II, and Officers bearing the regalia KING RICHARD II Alack, why am I sent for to a king, Before I have shook off the regal thoughts Wherewith I reign'd? I hardly yet have learn'd To insinuate, flatter, bow, and bend my limbs:
Give sorrow leave awhile to tutor me To this submission. Yet I well remember The favours of these men: were they not mine?
Did they not sometime cry, 'all hail!' to me?
So Judas did to Christ: but he, in twelve, Found truth in all but one: I, in twelve thousand, none.
God save the king! Will no man say amen?
Am I both priest and clerk? well then, amen.
God save the king! although I be not he;
And yet, amen, if heaven do think him me.
To do what service am I sent for hither? DUKE OF YORK To do that office of thine own good will Which tired majesty did make thee offer, The resignation of thy state and crown To Henry Bolingbroke. KING RICHARD II Give me the crown. Here, cousin, seize the crown;
Here cousin:
On this side my hand, and on that side yours.
Now is this golden crown like a deep well That owes two buckets, filling one another, The emptier ever dancing in the air, The other down, unseen and full of water:
That bucket down and full of tears am I, Drinking my griefs, whilst you mount up on high. HENRY BOLINGBROKE I thought you had been willing to resign. KING RICHARD II My crown I am; but still my griefs are mine:
You may my glories and my state depose, But not my griefs; still am I king of those. HENRY BOLINGBROKE Part of your cares you give me with your crown. KING RICHARD II Your cares set up do not pluck my cares down.
My care is loss of care, by old care done;
Your care is gain of care, by new care won:
The cares I give I have, though given away;
They tend the crown, yet still with me they stay. HENRY BOLINGBROKE Are you contented to resign the crown? KING RICHARD II Ay, no; no, ay; for I must nothing be;
Therefore no no, for I resign to thee.
Now mark me, how I will undo myself;
I give this heavy weight from off my head And this unwieldy sceptre from my hand, The pride of kingly sway from out my heart;
With mine own tears I wash away my balm, With mine own hands I give away my crown, With mine own tongue deny my sacred state, With mine own breath release all duty's rites:
All pomp and majesty I do forswear;
My manors, rents, revenues I forego;
My acts, decrees, and statutes I deny:
God pardon all oaths that are broke to me!
God keep all vows unbroke that swear to thee!
Make me, that nothing have, with nothing grieved, And thou with all pleased, that hast all achieved!
Long mayst thou live in Richard's seat to sit, And soon lie Richard in an earthly pit!
God save King Harry, unking'd Richard says, And send him many years of sunshine days!
What more remains? NORTHUMBERLAND No more, but that you read These accusations and these grievous crimes Committed by your person and your followers Against the state and profit of this land;
