But match to match I have encounter'd him, And made a prey for carrion kites and crows Even of the bonny beast he lov'd so well.

Enter CLIFFORD.

War. Of one or both of us the time is come. York. Hold, Warwick, seek thee out some other chace,

For I myself must hunt this deer to death. War. Then, nobly, York; 'tis for a crown thou fight'st.

As I intend, Clifford, to thrive to-day, It grieves my soul to leave thee unassail'd. [Exit WARWICK. Clif. What seest thou in me, York? why dost thou pause?

York. With thy brave bearing should I be in love,

But that thou art so fast mine enemy.

Clif. Nor should thy prowess want praise

and esteem,

But that 'tis shown ignobly and in treason. York. So let it help me now against thy sword,

As I in justice and true right express it! Clif. My soul and body on the action both!

York. A dreadful lay!"-address thee instantly.

[They fight, and CLIFFORD falls. Clif. La fin couronne les oeuvres. [Dies. York. Thus war hath given thee peace, for Peace with his soul, heaven, if it be thy will! [Exit.

thou art still.

hell,

Whom angry heavens do make their minister,

Throw in the frozen bosoms of our part
Hot coals of vengeance!-Let no soldier fly:
He that is truly dedicate to war,
Hath no self-love; nor he, that loves himself,
Hath not essentially, but by circumstance,
The name of valour.-O, let the vile world
end,
[Seeing his dead Father.
And the premised+ flames of the last day
Knit earth and heaven together!
Now let the general trumpet blow his blast,
Particularities and petty sounds

To cease!t-Wast thou ordain'd, dear father,
To lose thy youth in peace, and to achieve§
The silver livery of advised|| age;

And, in thy reverence, and thy chair-days, thus

To die in ruffian battle?-Even at this sight, My heart is turn'd to stone: and, while 'tis mine,

It shall be stony. York not our old men spares;
No more will I their babes: tears virginal
Shall be to me even as the dew to fire;
And beauty, that the tyrant oft reclaims,
Shall to my flaming wrath be oil and flax.
Henceforth, I will not have to do with pity:
Meet I an infant of the house of York,
Into as many gobbets will I cut it,
As wild Medea young Absyrtus did:
In cruelty will I seek out my fame.

Enter RICHARD PLANTAGENET and SOMERSET,
fighting, and SOMERSET is killed.
Rich. So, lie thou there;-

For, underneath an alehouse' paltry sign,
The Castle in Saint Albans, Somerset
Hath made the wizard famous in his death.-
Sword, hold thy temper; heart, be wrathful
still:

Priests pray for enemies, but princes kill.
[Exit.
Alarums: Excursions. Enter King HENRY,
Queen MARGARET, and others, retreating.

Q. Mar. Away, my lord! you are slow; for shame, away!

K. Hen. Can we outrun the heavens? good Margaret, stay.

Q. Mar. What are you made of? you'll not Now is it manhood, wisdom, and defence, fight, nor fly: To give the enemy way: and to secure us By what we can, which can no more but fly. If you be ta'en, we then should see the bottom [Alarum afar off. Of all our fortunes: but if we haply scape, (As well we may, if not through your neglect,) We shall to London get; where you are lov'd; And where this breach, now in our fortunes made, May readily be stopp'd.

Enter young CLIFFORD.

Y. Clif. But that my heart's on future misI would speak blasphemy ere bid you fly; chief set, But fly you must; uncurable discomfit Reigns in the hearts of all our present parts.* Away, for your relief! and we will live To see their day, and them our fortune give: Away, my lord, away! [Exeunt.

SCENE III.-Fields near Saint Albans. Alarum: Retreat. Flourish; then enter YORK, RICHARD PLANTAGENET, WARWICK, and Soldiers, with Drum and Colours.

York. Of Salisbury, who can report of him; That winter lion, who, in rage forgets Aged contusions and all brush of time;t And, like a gallant in the brow of youth, Repairs him with occasion? this happy day Is not itself, nor have we won one foot, If Salisbury be lost.

Rich. My noble father,

Three times to-day I holp him to his horse,
Three times bestrid him, thrice I led him off,
Persuaded him from any further act:
But still, where danger was, still there I met

Enter SALISBURY.

fought to-day;

Sal. Now, by my sword, well hast thou [Richard: By the mass, so did we all.-I thank you, God knows, how long it is I have to live; And it hath pleas'd him, that three times to-day You have defended me from imminent death.Well, lords, we have not got that which we have:*

"Tis not enough our foes are this time fled, Being opposites of such repairing nature.t

I. e. We have not secured that which we have acquired.

+1. e. Being enemies that are likely so soon to rally and recover themselves from this defeat.

Lords on King Henry's side.

KING HENRY THE SIXTH.
EDWARD, Prince of Wales, his Son.
LEWIS XI. King of France.
DUKE OF SOMERSET,-DUKE OF EXE-
TER, EARL OF OXFORD,-EARL
OF NORTHUMBERLAND,-EARL OF
WESTMORELAND, LORD CLIFFORD,
RICHARD PLANTAGENET, Duke of York.
EDWARD, Earl of March, after-Y
wards King Edward IV.

EDMUND, Earl of Rutland,

SIR JOHN MORTIMER, Uncles to the Duke of
SIR HUGH MORTIMER, S
York.

HENRY, Earl of Richmond, a Youth.
LORD RIVERS, Brother to Lady Grey.-SIR
WILLIAM STANLEY.-SIR JOHN MONTGOMERY.
SIR JOHN SOMERVILLE.-TUTOR to Rut-
land.-MAYOR of York.-LIEUTENANT of the
Tower.-A NOBLEMAN.-Two KEEPERS.—A
HUNTSMAN. A Son that has killed his Fa-
ther. A Father that has killed his Son.

LADY GREY, afterwards Queen to Edward IV. BONA, Sister to the French Queen.

Soldiers, and other attendants on King Henry and King Edward, Messengers, Watchmen, &c.

SCENE, during part of the third Act, in France; during all the rest of the Play, in England.

ACT I.

SCENE I.-London.-The Parliament-House. Drums. Some Soldiers of YORK's party break in. Then, Enter the Duke of YORK, EDWARD, RICHARD, NORFOLK, MONTAGUE, WARWICK, and others, with White Roses in their Hats. War. I wonder how the king escap'd our hands.

York. While we pursu'd the horsemen of the north,

He slily stole away, and left his men : Whereat the great lord of Northumberland, Whose warlike ears could never brook retreat, Cheer'd up the drooping army; and himself, Lord Clifford, and lord Stafford, all a-breast, Charg'd our main battle's front, and, breaking in,

Were by the swords of common soldiers slain. Edw. Lord Stafford's father, duke of Buck

ingham,

Is either slain, or wounded dangerous:
I cleft his beaver with a downright blow;
That this is true, father, behold his blood.

[Showing his bloody Sword. Mont. And, brother, here's the earl of Wiltshire's blood, [To YORK, showing his. Whom I encounter'd as the battles join'd. Rich. Speak thou for me, and tell them what I did.

[Throwing down the Duke of SOMERSET'S Head.

Rich. Arm'd as we are, let's stay within this house.

War. The bloody parliament shall this be call'd,

Unless Plantagenet, duke of York, be king; And bashful Henry depos'd, whose cowardice Hath made us by-words to our enemies.

York. Then leave me not, my lords; be resolute;

I mean to take possession of my right.

War. Neither the king, nor he that loves him best,

The proudest he that holds up Lancaster, Dares stir a wing, if Warwick shake his bells. I'll plant Plantagenet, root him up who

dares:

crown.

Resolve thee, Richard; claim the English [WARWICK leads YORK to the Throne, who seats himself.

quickly fly.

K. Hen. Far be the thought of this from
Henry's heart,

To make a shambles of the parliament-house!
Cousin of Exeter, frowns, words, and threats,
Shall be the war that Henry means to use.—
[They advance to the Duke.
Thou factious duke of York, descend my throne,
And kneel for grace and mercy at my feet;
I am thy sovereign.

York. Thou art deceiv'd, I am thine.
Exe. For shame, come down; he made thee
duke of York.

York. 'Twas my inheritance, as the earldom

was.

Exe. Thy father was a traitor to the crown. War. Exeter, thou art a traitor to the crown, In following this usurping Henry.

Clif. Whom should he follow, but his natural king?

Hawks had sometimes little bells hung on them, perhaps to dare the birds; that is, to fright them from rising.

War. True, Clifford; and that's Richard, duke of York.

K. Hen. And shall I stand, and thou sit in my throne?

York. It must and shall be so. Content thyself.

War. Be duke of Lancaster, let him be king. West. He is both king and duke of Lancaster: And that the lord of Westmoreland shall maintain.

War. And Warwick shall disprove it. You forget,

[field, That we are those, which chas'd you from the And slew your fathers, and with colours spread

March'd through the city to the palace gates. North. Yes, Warwick, I remember it to my grief;

And, by his soul, thou and thy house shall rue it.

West. Plantagenet, of thee, and these thy

sons,

[lives, Thy kinsmen, and thy friends, I'll have more Than drops of blood were in my father's veins. Clif. Urge it no more; lest that, instead of

words,

I send thee, Warwick, such a messenger,
As shall revenge his death, before I stir.
War. Poor Clifford! how I scorn his worth-
less threats!

York. Will you, we show our title to the

crown?

If not, our swords shall plead it in the field. K. Hen. What title hast thou, traitor, to the

crown?

Thy father was, as thou art, duke of York; Thy grandfather, Roger Mortimer, earl of March:

I am the son of Henry the fifth,

Who made the Dauphin and the French to stoop,

And seiz'd upon their towns and provinces. War. Talk not of France, sith thou hast lost

it all.

K. Hen. The lord protector lost it, and not I; When I was crown'd, I was but nine months old.

Rich. You are old enough now, and yet,

methinks, you lose :

Father, tear the crown from the usurper's head. Edw. Sweet father, do so; set it on your head.

Mont. Good brother, [To YORK.] as thou Let's fight it out, and not stand cavilling thus. lov'st and honour'st arms, Rich. Sound drums and trumpets, and the king will fly. York. Sons, peace!

K. Hen. Peace thou! and give king Henry leave to speak.

War. Plantagenet shall speak first:-hear
him, lords;

And be you silent and attentive too,
For he, that interrupts him, shall not live.

K. Hen. Think'st thou, that I will leave my

kingly throne,

Wherein my grandsire, and my father, sat?
No: first shall war unpeople this my realm;
Ay, and their colours-often borne in France;
And now in England, to our heart's great sor-
[lords?
Shall be my winding sheet.-Why faint you,
My title's good, and better far than his.
War. But prove it, Henry, and thou shalt be

row,

king.

* Since.

K. Hen. Henry the fourth by conquest got the crown.

York. "Twas by rebellion against his king. K. Hen. I know not what to say; my title's weak.

Tell me, may not a king adopt an heir?

York. What then?

K. Hen. An if he may, then am I lawful king:

For Richard, in the view of many lords,
Resign'd the crown to Henry the fourth;
Whose heir my father was, and I am his.

York. He rose against him, being his sovereign,

And made him to resign his crown perforce. War. Suppose, my lords, he did it unconstrain'd,

Think you, 'twere prejudicial to his crown?* Exe. No; for he could not so resign his crown, [reign. But that the next heir should succeed and K. Hen. Art thou against us, duke of Exe

Clif. Come, cousin, let us teil the quees these news.

West. Farewell, faint-hearted and degenerate king,

In whose cold blood no spark of honour bides. North. Be thou a prey unto the house of York,

And die in bands for this unmanly deed! Clif. In dreadful war may'st thou be overcome!

Or live in peace, abandon'd, and despis'd! [Exeunt NORTHUMBERLAND, CLIFFORD, and WESTMORELAND.

War. Turn this way, Henry, and regard them not.

Exe. They seek revenge, and therefore wil not yield.

my son,

Whom I unnaturally shall disinherit.
But, be it as it may:-I here entail
The crown to thee, and to thine heirs for ever;
Conditionally, that here thou take an oath
To cease this civil war, and, whilst I live,
To honour me as thy king and sovereign;
And neither by treason, nor hostility,
To seek to put me down, and reign thyself.
York. This oath I willingly take, and will

perform. [Coming from the Throne. War. Long live king Henry!-Plantagenet, embrace him.

K. Hen. And long live thou, and these thy forward sons!

York. Now York and Lancaster are recon