William Shakespeare: The Complete Works 2nd Edition (45 page)

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Authors: William Shakespeare

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What have we here?

He reads the writings
Why, this is just

Aio Aeacidam, Romanos vincere posse.
These oracles are hardily attained
And hardly understood. Come, come, my lord,
The King is now in progress towards Saint Albans;
With him the husband of this lovely lady.
Thither goes these news as fast as horse can carry
them—
A sorry breakfast for my lord Protector.

BUCKINGHAM

Your grace shall give me leave, my lord of York,
To be the post in hope of his reward.

YORK (returning the writings to Buckingham)

At your pleasure, my good lord. ⌈
Exit Buckingham
⌉
(Calling within)
Who’s within there, ho!

Enter a servingman

Invite my lords of Salisbury and Warwick
To sup with me tomorrow night. Away.

Exeunt severally

2.1
Enter King Henry, Queen Margaret with her hawk on her fist, Duke Humphrey of Gloucester, Cardinal Beaufort, and the Duke of Suffolk, with falconers hollering

QUEEN MARGARET

Believe me, lords, for flying at the brook
I saw not better sport these seven years’ day;
Yet, by your leave, the wind was very high,
And, ten to one, old Joan had not gone out.

KING HENRY
(to Gloucester)

But what a point, my lord, your falcon made,
And what a pitch she flew above the rest!
To see how God in all his creatures works!
Yea, man and birds are fain of climbing high.

SUFFOLK

No marvel, an it like your majesty,
My Lord Protector’s hawks do tower so well;
They know their master loves to be aloft,
And bears his thoughts above his falcon’s pitch.

GLOUCESTER

My lord, ‘tis but a base ignoble mind
That mounts no higher than a bird can soar.

CARDINAL BEAUFORT

I thought as much; he would be above the clouds.

GLOUCESTER

Ay, my lord Cardinal, how think you by that?
Were it not good your grace could fly to heaven?

KING HENRY

The treasury of everlasting joy.

CARDINAL BEAUFORT
(to Gloucester)

Thy heaven is on earth; thine eyes and thoughts
Beat on a crown, the treasure of thy heart,
Pernicious Protector, dangerous peer,
That smooth’st it so with King and common weal!

GLOUCESTER

What, Cardinal? Is your priesthood grown
peremptory ?
Tantaene animis caelestibus irae?
Churchmen so hot? Good uncle, hide such malice
With some holiness—can you do it?

SUFFOLK

No malice, sir, no more than well becomes
So good a quarrel and so bad a peer.

GLOUCESTER

As who, my lord ?

SUFFOLK

Why, as you, my lord—

An’t like your lordly Lord’s Protectorship.

GLOUCESTER

Why, Suffolk, England knows thine insolence.

QUEEN MARGARET

And thy ambition, Gloucester.

KING HENRY I prithee peace, Good Queen, and whet not on these furious peers—For blessèd are the peacemakers on earth.

CARDINAL BEAUFORT

Let me be blessed for the peace I make
Against this proud Protector with my sword.

⌈
Gloucester and Cardinal Beaufort speak privately to one another
⌉

GLOUCESTER

Faith, holy uncle, would’t were come to that.

CARDINAL BEAUFORT

Marry, when thou dar’st.

GLOUCESTER

Dare? I tell thee, priest,

Plantagenets could never brook the dare!

CARDINAL BEAUFORT

I am Plantagenet as well as thou,
And son to John of Gaunt.

GLOUCESTER In bastardy.

CARDINAL BEAUFORT I scorn thy words.

GLOUCESTER

Make up no factious numbers for the matter,
In thine own person answer thy abuse.

CARDINAL BEAUFORT

Ay, where thou dar‘st not peep; an if thou dar’st,
This evening on the east side of the grove.

KING HENRY

How now, my lords?

CARDINAL BEAUFORT
(aloud)

Believe me, cousin Gloucester,

Had not your man put up the fowl so suddenly,
We had had more sport. (Aside to Gloucester) Come
with thy two-hand sword.

GLOUCESTER
(aloud)
True, uncle.

(Aside to Cardinal Beaufort)
Are ye advised? The east side of the grove.

CARDINAL BEAUFORT
(aside to Gloucester)

I am with you.

KING HENRY Why, how now, uncle Gloucester?

GLOUCESTER

Talking of hawking, nothing else, my lord.
(Aside to the Cardinal)
Now, by God’s mother, priest, I’ll shave your crown
for this,
Or all my fence shall fail.

CARDINAL BEAUFORT
(aside to Gloucester)

Medice, teipsum
—

Protector, see to’t well; protect yourself.

KING HENRY

The winds grow high; so do your stomachs, lords.
How irksome is this music to my heart !
When such strings jar, what hope of harmony?
I pray, my lords, let me compound this strife.

Enter one crying ‘a miracle’

GLOUCESTER What means this noise?

Fellow, what miracle dost thou proclaim?

ONE

A miracle, a miracle!

SUFFOLK

Come to the King—tell him what miracle.

ONE
(to King Henry)

Forsooth, a blind man at Saint Alban’s shrine
Within this half-hour hath received his sight—
A man that ne’er saw in his life before.

KING HENRY

Now God be praised, that to believing souls
Gives light in darkness, comfort in despair!

Enter the Mayor and aldermen of Saint Albans, with music, bearing the man, Simpcox, between two in a chair. Enter Simpcox’s Wife
⌈
and other townsmeni with them

CARDINAL BEAUFORT

Here comes the townsmen on procession
To present your highness with the man.

⌈
The townsmen kneel
⌉

KING HENRY

Great is his comfort in this earthly vale,
Although by sight his sin be multiplied.

GLOUCESTER (to the townsmen)

Stand by, my masters, bring him near the King.
His highness’ pleasure is to talk with him.

They ⌈
rise and
⌉ bear Simpcox before the King

KING HENRY
(to Simpcox)

Good fellow, tell us here the circumstance,
That we for thee may glorify the Lord.
What, hast thou been long blind and now restored?

SIMPCOX

Born blind, an’t please your grace.

SIMPCOX’S WIFE

Ay, indeed, was he.

SUFFOLK What woman is this?

SIMPCOX’S WIFE His wife, an’t like your worship.

GLOUCESTER Hadst thou been his mother

Thou couldst have better told.

KING HENRY
(to Simpcox)
Where wert thou born?

SIMPCOX

At Berwick, in the north, an’t like your grace.

KING HENRY

Poor soul, God’s goodness hath been great to thee.
Let never day nor night unhallowed pass,
But still remember what the Lord hath done.

QUEEN MARGARET
(to Simpcox)

Tell me, good fellow, cam’st thou here by chance,
Or of devotion to this holy shrine?

SIMPCOX

God knows, of pure devotion, being called
A hundred times and oftener, in my sleep,
By good Saint Alban, who said, ‘Simon, come;
Come offer at my shrine and I will help thee.’

SIMPCOX’S WIFE

Most true, forsooth, and many time and oft
Myself have heard a voice to call him so.

CARDINAL BEAUFORT
(to Simpcox)

What, art thou lame ?

SIMPCOX Ay, God almighty help me.

SUFFOLK

How cam’st thou so?

SIMPCOX A fall off of a tree.

SIMPCOX’S WIFE
(to Suffolk)

A plum tree, master.

GLOUCESTER How long hast thou been blind?

SIMPCOX

O, born so, master.

GLOUCESTER What, and wouldst climb a tree? SIMPCOX

But that in all my life, when I was a youth.

SIMPCOX’S WIFE
(to Gloucester)

Too true—and bought his climbing very dear.

GLOUCESTER
(to Simpcox)

Mass, thou loved’st plums well that wouldst venture so.

SIMPCOX

Alas, good master, my wife desired some damsons,
And made me climb with danger of my life.

GLOUCESTER ⌈
aside
⌉

A subtle knave, but yet it shall not serve.
(To Simpcox) Let me see thine eyes: wink now, now
open them.
In my opinion yet thou seest not well.

SIMPCOX Yes, master, clear as day, I thank God and Saint Alban.

GLOUCESTER

Sayst thou me so?
(Pointing)
What colour is this cloak of?

SIMPCOX

Red, master; red as blood.

GLOUCESTER Why, that’s well said.

(Pointing) And his cloak?

SIMPCOX Why, that’s green.

GLOUCESTER
(pointing)
And what colour’s

His hose?

SIMPCOX Yellow, master; yellow as gold.

GLOUCESTER

And what colour’s my gown?

SIMPCOX Black, sir; coal-black, as jet.

KING HENRY

Why, then, thou know’st what colour jet is of?

UFFOLK

And yet I think jet did he never see.

GLOUCESTER

But cloaks and gowns before this day, a many.

SIMPCOX’S WIFE

Never before this day in all his life.

GLOUCESTER Tell me, sirrah, what’s my name?

SIMPCOX Alas, master, I know not.

GLOUCESTER
(pointing)
What’s his name?

SIMPCOX I know not.

GLOUCESTER
(pointing)
Nor his?

SIMPCOX No, truly, sir.

GLOUCESTER
(pointing)
Nor his name?

SIMPCOX No indeed, master.

GLOUCESTER What’s thine own name?

SIMPCOX

Simon Simpcox, an it please you, master.

GLOUCESTER

Then, Simon, sit thou there the lying’st knave
In Christendom. If thou hadst been born blind
Thou mightst as well have known our names as thus
To name the several colours we do wear.
Sight may distinguish colours, but suddenly
To nominate them all—it is impossible.
Saint Alban here hath done a miracle.
Would you not think his cunning to be great
That could restore this cripple to his legs again?

SIMPCOX O master, that you could!

GLOUCESTER
(to the Mayor and aldermen)

My masters of Saint Albans, have you not
Beadles in your town, and things called whips?

MAYOR

We have, my lord, an if it please your grace.

GLOUCESTER Then send for one presently.