The Complete Plays (75 page)

I'll be revenged!

He offereth to throw his dagger.

HENRY

Away to prison with him! I'll clip his wings

Or e'er he pass my hands. Away with him!

Exit
BOY
[
guarded
].

But what availeth that this traitor's dead,

When Duke Dumaine, his brother, is alive,

And that young cardinal that is grown so proud?

[
To the
CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD
]

Go to the Governor of Orleans,

And will him, in my name, to kill the duke.

[
Exit
CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD
.]

[
To the
MURDERERS
]

Get you away, and strangle the Cardinal.

[
Exeunt the
MURDERERS
.]

130   
These two
will make one entire duke of Guise,

Especially with our old mother's help.

EPERNOUN

My lord, see where she comes, as if she drooped

To hear these news.

Enter
[
CATHERINE
the
]
QUEEN-MOTHER
.

HENRY

And let her droop, my heart is light enough.

Mother, how like you this device of mine?

I slew the Guise because I would be king.

CATHERINE

King? Why, so thou wert before;

Pray God thou be a king now this is done!

HENRY

Nay, he was king and countermanded me,

140     But now I will be king and rule myself

And make the Guisians stoop that are alive.

CATHERINE

I cannot speak for grief. When thou wast born,

I would that I had murdered thee, my son!

My son? Thou art a
changeling
, not my son.

I curse thee and
exclaim thee miscreant
,

Traitor to God and to the realm of France!

HENRY

Cry out, exclaim, howl till thy throat be hoarse.

The Guise is slain and I rejoice therefore!

And now will I to arms; come, Epernoun,

150   And let her grieve her heart out, if she will.

Exeunt the
KING
and
EPERNOUN
.

CATHERINE
Away, leave me alone to meditate.

[
Exeunt
ATTENDANTS
with the body of the
GUISE
.]

Sweet Guise, would he had died, so thou wert here!

To whom shall I bewray my secrets now,

Or who will help to build religion?

The Protestants will glory and
insult
,

Wicked Navarre will get the crown of France,

The popedom cannot stand, all goes to wrack,

And
all for thee
, my Guise! What may I do?

But sorrow seize upon my toiling soul,

160   For since the Guise is dead, I will not live.

Exit.

Enter two
[
MURDERERS
]
dragging in the
CARDINAL
.

CARDINAL
Murder me not, I am a cardinal.

FIRST MURDERER
Wert thou the Pope, thou mightst not 'scape from us.

CARDINAL
What, will you file your hands with churchmen's blood?

SECOND MURDERER
Shed your blood? O lord, no, for we intend to strangle you.

CARDINAL
Then there is no remedy but I must die?

FIRST MURDERER
No remedy, therefore prepare yourself.

CARDINAL

10     Yet lives my brother Duke Dumaine, and many moe

To revenge our deaths upon that cursed king,

Upon whose heart may all the Furies gripe,

And with their paws
drench
his black soul in hell!

FIRST MURDERER
Yours, my Lord Cardinal, you should have said.

Now they strangle him.

So,
pluck amain;
he is hard-hearted, therefore pull with violence. Come, take him away.

Exeunt
[
with the body
].

Enter
DUKE DUMAINE
,
reading of a letter, with others.

DUMAINE

My noble brother murdered by the king!

O, what may I do for to revenge thy death?

The king's alone
, it cannot satisfy.

Sweet duke of Guise, our prop to lean upon,

Now thou art dead, here is no
stay
for us.

I am thy brother, and I'll revenge thy death,

And root Valois his line from forth of France,

And beat proud Bourbon to his native home,

That basely seeks to join with such a king,

10     Whose murderous thoughts will be his overthrow.

He willed the Governor of Orleans, in his name,

That I with speed should have been put to death;

But that's
prevented, for to end his life,

And all those traitors to the Church of Rome

That
durst
attempt to murder noble Guise.

Enter the
FRIAR
.

FRIAR
My lord, I come to bring you news that your brother, the Cardinal of Lorraine, by the king's consent is lately strangled unto death.

DUMAINE

My brother Cardinal slain, and I alive?

20     O words of power to kill a thousand men!

Come, let us away and levy men;

'Tis war that must assuage this tyrant's pride.

FRIAR
My lord, hear me but speak.
I am
a friar of the order of the
Jacobins
, that for my conscience sake will kill the king.

DUMAINE
But what doth move thee above the rest to do the deed?

FRIAR
O my lord, I have been a great sinner in my days, and the deed is meritorious.

DUMAINE
But how wilt thou get opportunity?

30
FRIAR
Tush, my lord, let me alone for that.

DUMAINE
Friar, come with me, we will go talk more of this within.

Exeunt.

Sound drum and trumpets, and enter the
KING OF FRANCE
,

and
NAVARRE, EPERNOUN, BARTUS, PLESHÉ
[
and

ATTENDANTS
]
and
SOLDIERS
.

HENRY

Brother of Navarre, I sorrow much

That ever I was proved your enemy,

And that the sweet and princely mind you bear

Was ever troubled with injurious wars.

I vow, as I am lawful King of France,

To recompense your reconcilèd love

With all the honours and affections

That ever I vouchsafed my dearest friends.

NAVARRE

It is enough if that Navarre may be

10     Esteemèd faithful to the King of France,

Whose service he may still command till death.

HENRY

Thanks to my kingly brother of Navarre.

Then here we'll
lie before Lutetia walls
,

Girting this
strumpet
city with our siege,

Till, surfeiting with our afflicting arms,

She
cast
her hateful stomach to the earth.

Enter a
MESSENGER
.

MESSENGER
An it please your majesty, here is a friar of the order of the Jacobins sent from the
President of Paris
, that craves access unto your grace.

HENRY

20     Let him come in.

[
Exit
MESSENGER
.]

Enter
FRIAR
,
with a letter.

EPERNOUN
[
aside to
KING HENRY
]

I like not this friar's look,

'Twere not amiss, my lord, if he were searched.

HENRY

Sweet Epernoun, our friars are holy men

And will not offer violence to their king

For all the wealth and treasure of the world.

Friar, thou dost acknowledge me thy king?

FRIAR

Ay, my good lord, and will die therein.

HENRY

Then come thou near, and tell what news thou bring'st.

FRIAR
My lord, the President of Paris greets your grace, and

30     sends his duty by these
speedy
lines, humbly craving your
gracious reply.

[
Gives letter
.]

HENRY

I'll read them, friar, and then I'll answer thee.

FRIAR
Sancte Jacobus
, now have mercy upon me!

He stabs the
KING
with a knife as he readeth the letter, and then the
KING
getteth the knife and kills him.

EPERNOUN
O my lord, let him live a while!

HENRY

No, let the villain die, and feel in hell

Just torments for his treachery.

NAVARRE
What, is your highness hurt?

HENRY

Yes, Navarre, but not to death I hope.

NAVARRE

God shield your grace from such a sudden death!

40     Go call a surgeon hither straight.

[
Exit an
ATTENDANT
.]

HENRY

What irreligious
pagans' parts
be these

Of such as
hold them of
the holy church?

Take hence that damnèd villain from my sight.

[
SOLDIERS
remove the
FRIAR'S
body
.]

EPERNOUN

Ah, had your highness let him live,

We might have punished him to
his
deserts!

HENRY

Sweet Epernoun, all rebels under heaven

Shall take example by his punishment

How they bear arms against their sovereign.

Go call the English agent hither straight.

[
Exit
SOLDIER
.]

50     I'll send my sister England news of this,

And give her warning of her treacherous foes.

[
Enter a
SURGEON
.]

NAVARRE

Pleaseth your grace to let the surgeon
search
your wound?

HENRY

The wound, I warrant ye, is deep, my lord.

Search, surgeon, and resolve me what thou see'st.

The
SURGEON
searcheth
[
the wound
].

Enter the
ENGLISH AGENT
.

Agent for England, send thy mistress word

What this detested Jacobin hath done.

Tell her, for all this, that I hope to live;

Which if I do, the papal monarch goes

To wrack and antichristian kingdom falls.

60     
These bloody hands
shall tear his triple crown,

And fire accursèd Rome about his ears.

I'll fire his
crazèd
buildings and incense

The papal towers to kiss the holy earth.

Navarre, give me thy hand: I here do swear

To ruinate that wicked church of Rome

That hatcheth up such bloody
practices
,

And here protest eternal love to thee,

And to the Queen of England specially,

Whom God hath blessed for hating papistry.

NAVARRE

70     These words revive my thoughts, and comforts me

To see your highness in this virtuous mind.

HENRY
Tell me, surgeon, shall I live?

SURGEON

Alas, my lord, the wound is dangerous,

For you are stricken with a poisoned knife.

HENRY

A poisoned knife! What, shall the French king die

Wounded and poisoned both at once?

EPERNOUN

O that that damned villain were alive again,

That we might torture him with some
new-found death
!

BARTUS
He died a death too good; the devil of hell torture his

80     wicked soul!

HENRY

Ah, curse him not sith he is dead.

O, the fatal poison works within my breast.

Tell me, surgeon, and flatter not, may I live?

SURGEON

Alas, my lord, your highness cannot live.

NAVARRE

Surgeon, why say'st thou so? The king may live.

HENRY

O no, Navarre, thou must be King of France.

NAVARRE

Long may you live, and still be King of France.

EPERNOUN
Or else die Epernoun.

HENRY

Sweet Epernoun, thy king must die.

90     My lords, fight in the quarrel of this valiant prince,

For he is your lawful king and my next heir;

Valois' line ends in my tragedy.

Now let the house of Bourbon wear the crown,

And may it never end in blood, as mine hath done!

Weep not, sweet Navarre, but revenge my death.

Ah, Epernoun, is this thy love to me?

Henry thy king wipes off these childish tears,

And bids thee
whet
thy sword on Sixtus' bones,

That it may keenly slice the Catholics.

100    He loves me not that sheds most tears,

But he that makes most lavish of his blood.

Fire Paris, where these treacherous rebels lurk.