ACT IV SCENE I

King Henry VI, Part I

ACT IV SCENE I	Paris. A hall of state.
[ Enter KING HENRY VI, GLOUCESTER, BISHOP OF WINCHESTER, YORK, SUFFOLK, SOMERSET, WARWICK, TALBOT, EXETER, the Governor, of Paris, and others ]
GLOUCESTER	Lord bishop, set the crown upon his head.
BISHOP OF WINCHESTER	God save King Henry, of that name the sixth!
GLOUCESTER	Now, governor of Paris, take your oath,
	That you elect no other king but him;
	Esteem none friends but such as are his friends,	5
	And none your foes but such as shall pretend
	Malicious practises against his state:
	This shall ye do, so help you righteous God!
[Enter FASTOLFE]
FASTOLFE	My gracious sovereign, as I rode from Calais,
	To haste unto your coronation,	10
	A letter was deliver’d to my hands,
	Writ to your grace from the Duke of Burgundy.
TALBOT	Shame to the Duke of Burgundy and thee!
	I vow’d, base knight, when I did meet thee next,
	To tear the garter from thy craven’s leg,	15
[Plucking it off]
	Which I have done, because unworthily
	Thou wast installed in that high degree.
	Pardon me, princely Henry, and the rest
	This dastard, at the battle of Patay,
	When but in all I was six thousand strong	20
	And that the French were almost ten to one,
	Before we met or that a stroke was given,
	Like to a trusty squire did run away:
	In which assault we lost twelve hundred men;
	Myself and divers gentlemen beside	25
	Were there surprised and taken prisoners.
	Then judge, great lords, if I have done amiss;
	Or whether that such cowards ought to wear
	This ornament of knighthood, yea or no.
GLOUCESTER	To say the truth, this fact was infamous	30
	And ill beseeming any common man,
	Much more a knight, a captain and a leader.
TALBOT	When first this order was ordain’d, my lords,
	Knights of the garter were of noble birth,
	Valiant and virtuous, full of haughty courage,	35
	Such as were grown to credit by the wars;
	Not fearing death, nor shrinking for distress,
	But always resolute in most extremes.
	He then that is not furnish’d in this sort
	Doth but usurp the sacred name of knight,	40
	Profaning this most honourable order,
	And should, if I were worthy to be judge,
	Be quite degraded, like a hedge-born swain
	That doth presume to boast of gentle blood.
KING HENRY VI	Stain to thy countrymen, thou hear’st thy doom!	45
	Be packing, therefore, thou that wast a knight:
	Henceforth we banish thee, on pain of death.
[Exit FASTOLFE]
	And now, my lord protector, view the letter
	Sent from our uncle Duke of Burgundy.
GLOUCESTER	What means his grace, that he hath changed his style?	50
	No more but, plain and bluntly, ‘To the king!’
	Hath he forgot he is his sovereign?
	Or doth this churlish superscription
	Pretend some alteration in good will?
	What’s here?	55
[Reads]
	‘I have, upon especial cause,
	Moved with compassion of my country’s wreck,
	Together with the pitiful complaints
	Of such as your oppression feeds upon,
	Forsaken your pernicious faction	60
	And join’d with Charles, the rightful King of France.’
	O monstrous treachery! can this be so,
	That in alliance, amity and oaths,
	There should be found such false dissembling guile?
KING HENRY VI	What! doth my uncle Burgundy revolt?	65
GLOUCESTER	He doth, my lord, and is become your foe.
KING HENRY VI	Is that the worst this letter doth contain?
GLOUCESTER	It is the worst, and all, my lord, he writes.
KING HENRY VI	Why, then, Lord Talbot there shall talk with him
	And give him chastisement for this abuse.	70
	How say you, my lord? are you not content?
TALBOT	Content, my liege! yes, but that I am prevented,
	I should have begg’d I might have been employ’d.
KING HENRY VI	Then gather strength and march unto him straight:
	Let him perceive how ill we brook his treason	75
	And what offence it is to flout his friends.
TALBOT	I go, my lord, in heart desiring still
	You may behold confusion of your foes.
[Exit]
[Enter VERNON and BASSET]
VERNON	Grant me the combat, gracious sovereign.
BASSET	And me, my lord, grant me the combat too.	80
YORK	This is my servant: hear him, noble prince.
SOMERSET	And this is mine: sweet Henry, favour him.
KING HENRY VI	Be patient, lords; and give them leave to speak.
	Say, gentlemen, what makes you thus exclaim?
	And wherefore crave you combat? or with whom?	85
VERNON	With him, my lord; for he hath done me wrong.
BASSET	And I with him; for he hath done me wrong.
KING HENRY VI	What is that wrong whereof you both complain?
	First let me know, and then I’ll answer you.
BASSET	Crossing the sea from England into France,	90
	This fellow here, with envious carping tongue,
	Upbraided me about the rose I wear;
	Saying, the sanguine colour of the leaves
	Did represent my master’s blushing cheeks,
	When stubbornly he did repugn the truth	95
	About a certain question in the law
	Argued betwixt the Duke of York and him;
	With other vile and ignominious terms:
	In confutation of which rude reproach
	And in defence of my lord’s worthiness,	100
	I crave the benefit of law of arms.
VERNON	And that is my petition, noble lord:
	For though he seem with forged quaint conceit
	To set a gloss upon his bold intent,
	Yet know, my lord, I was provoked by him;	105
	And he first took exceptions at this badge,
	Pronouncing that the paleness of this flower
	Bewray’d the faintness of my master’s heart.
YORK	Will not this malice, Somerset, be left?
SOMERSET	Your private grudge, my Lord of York, will out,	110
	Though ne’er so cunningly you smother it.
KING HENRY VI	Good Lord, what madness rules in brainsick men,
	When for so slight and frivolous a cause
	Such factious emulations shall arise!
	Good cousins both, of York and Somerset,	115
	Quiet yourselves, I pray, and be at peace.
YORK	Let this dissension first be tried by fight,
	And then your highness shall command a peace.
SOMERSET	The quarrel toucheth none but us alone;
	Betwixt ourselves let us decide it then.	120
YORK	There is my pledge; accept it, Somerset.
VERNON	Nay, let it rest where it began at first.
BASSET	Confirm it so, mine honourable lord.
GLOUCESTER	Confirm it so! Confounded be your strife!
	And perish ye, with your audacious prate!	125
	Presumptuous vassals, are you not ashamed
	With this immodest clamorous outrage
	To trouble and disturb the king and us?
	And you, my lords, methinks you do not well
	To bear with their perverse objections;	130
	Much less to take occasion from their mouths
	To raise a mutiny betwixt yourselves:
	Let me persuade you take a better course.
EXETER	It grieves his highness: good my lords, be friends.
KING HENRY VI	Come hither, you that would be combatants:	135
	Henceforth I charge you, as you love our favour,
	Quite to forget this quarrel and the cause.
	And you, my lords, remember where we are,
	In France, amongst a fickle wavering nation:
	If they perceive dissension in our looks	140
	And that within ourselves we disagree,
	How will their grudging stomachs be provoked
	To wilful disobedience, and rebel!
	Beside, what infamy will there arise,
	When foreign princes shall be certified	145
	That for a toy, a thing of no regard,
	King Henry’s peers and chief nobility
	Destroy’d themselves, and lost the realm of France!
	O, think upon the conquest of my father,
	My tender years, and let us not forego	150
	That for a trifle that was bought with blood
	Let me be umpire in this doubtful strife.
	I see no reason, if I wear this rose,
[Putting on a red rose]
	That any one should therefore be suspicious
	I more incline to Somerset than York:	155
	Both are my kinsmen, and I love them both:
	As well they may upbraid me with my crown,
	Because, forsooth, the king of Scots is crown’d.
	But your discretions better can persuade
	Than I am able to instruct or teach:	160
	And therefore, as we hither came in peace,
	So let us still continue peace and love.
	Cousin of York, we institute your grace
	To be our regent in these parts of France:
	And, good my Lord of Somerset, unite	165
	Your troops of horsemen with his bands of foot;
	And, like true subjects, sons of your progenitors,
	Go cheerfully together and digest.
	Your angry choler on your enemies.
	Ourself, my lord protector and the rest	170
	After some respite will return to Calais;
	From thence to England; where I hope ere long
	To be presented, by your victories,
	With Charles, Alencon and that traitorous rout.
[ Flourish. Exeunt all but YORK, WARWICK, EXETER and VERNON ]
WARWICK	My Lord of York, I promise you, the king	175
	Prettily, methought, did play the orator.
YORK	And so he did; but yet I like it not,
	In that he wears the badge of Somerset.
WARWICK	Tush, that was but his fancy, blame him not;
	I dare presume, sweet prince, he thought no harm.	180
YORK	An if I wist he did,–but let it rest;
	Other affairs must now be managed.
[Exeunt all but EXETER]
EXETER	Well didst thou, Richard, to suppress thy voice;
	For, had the passions of thy heart burst out,
	I fear we should have seen decipher’d there	185
	More rancorous spite, more furious raging broils,
	Than yet can be imagined or supposed.
	But howsoe’er, no simple man that sees
	This jarring discord of nobility,
	This shouldering of each other in the court,	190
	This factious bandying of their favourites,
	But that it doth presage some ill event.
	‘Tis much when sceptres are in children’s hands;
	But more when envy breeds unkind division;
	There comes the rain, there begins confusion.	195
[Exit]

Continue to 1 Henry VI, Act 4, Scene 2