The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Part 423

CARLISLE. That honourable day shall never be seen.

Many a time hath banish'd Norfolk fought For Jesu Christ in glorious Christian field, Streaming the ensign of the Christian cross Against black pagans, Turks, and Saracens; And, toil'd with works of war, retir'd himself To Italy; and there, at Venice, gave His body to that pleasant country's earth, And his pure soul unto his captain, Christ, Under whose colours he had fought so long.

BOLINGBROKE. Why, Bishop, is Norfolk dead?

CARLISLE. As surely as I live, my lord.

BOLINGBROKE. Sweet peace conduct his sweet soul to the bosom Of good old Abraham! Lords appellants, Your differences shall all rest under gage Till we a.s.sign you to your days of trial

Enter YORK, attended

YORK. Great Duke of Lancaster, I come to the From plume-pluck'd Richard, who with willing soul Adopts thee heir, and his high sceptre yields To the possession of thy royal hand.

Ascend his throne, descending now from him- And long live Henry, fourth of that name!

BOLINGBROKE. In G.o.d's name, I'll ascend the regal throne.

CARLISLE. Marry, G.o.d forbid!

Worst in this royal presence may I speak, Yet best beseeming me to speak the truth.

Would G.o.d that any in this n.o.ble presence Were enough n.o.ble to be upright judge Of n.o.ble Richard! Then true n.o.blesse would Learn him forbearance from so foul a wrong.

What subject can give sentence on his king?

And who sits here that is not Richard's subject?

Thieves are not judg'd but they are by to hear, Although apparent guilt be seen in them; And shall the figure of G.o.d's majesty, His captain, steward, deputy elect, Anointed, crowned, planted many years, Be judg'd by subject and inferior breath, And he himself not present? O, forfend it, G.o.d, That in a Christian climate souls refin'd Should show so heinous, black, obscene a deed!

I speak to subjects, and a subject speaks, Stirr'd up by G.o.d, 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?

BOLINGBROKE. Fetch hither Richard, that in common view He may surrender; so we shall proceed Without suspicion.

YORK. I will be his conduct. Exit 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 YORK, with KING RICHARD, and OFFICERS bearing the regalia

KING RICHARD. 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 knee.

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.

G.o.d save the King! Will no man say amen?

Am I both priest and clerk? Well then, amen.

G.o.d 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?

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. Give me the crown. Here, cousin, seize the crown.

Here, cousin, On this side my hand, and on that side thine.

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 fun of tears am I, Drinking my griefs, whilst you mount up on high.

BOLINGBROKE. I thought you had been willing to resign.

KING RICHARD. 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.

BOLINGBROKE. Part of your cares you give me with your crown.

KING RICHARD. 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.

BOLINGBROKE. Are you contented to resign the crown?

KING RICHARD. 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 duteous oaths; All pomp and majesty I do forswear; My manors, rents, revenues, I forgo; My acts, decrees, and statutes, I deny.

G.o.d pardon all oaths that are broke to me!

G.o.d keep all vows unbroke are made to thee!

Make me, that nothing have, with nothing griev'd, And thou with all pleas'd, that hast an achiev'd.

Long mayst thou live in Richard's seat to sit, And soon lie Richard in an earthly pit.

G.o.d save King Henry, unking'd Richard says, And send him many years of suns.h.i.+ne 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; That, by confessing them, the souls of men May deem that you are worthily depos'd.

KING RICHARD. Must I do so? And must I ravel out My weav'd-up follies? Gentle Northumberland, If thy offences were upon record, Would it not shame thee in so fair a troop To read a lecture of them? If thou wouldst, There shouldst thou find one heinous article, Containing the deposing of a king And cracking the strong warrant of an oath, Mark'd with a blot, d.a.m.n'd in the book of heaven.

Nay, all of you that stand and look upon me Whilst that my wretchedness doth bait myself, Though some of you, with Pilate, wash your hands, Showing an outward pity-yet you Pilates Have here deliver'd me to my sour cross, And water cannot wash away your sin.

NORTHUMBERLAND. My lord, dispatch; read o'er these articles.

KING RICHARD. Mine eyes are full of tears; I cannot see.

And yet salt water blinds them not so much But they can see a sort of traitors here.

Nay, if I turn mine eyes upon myself, I find myself a traitor with the rest; For I have given here my soul's consent T'undeck the pompous body of a king; Made glory base, and sovereignty a slave, Proud majesty a subject, state a peasant.

NORTHUMBERLAND. My lord- KING RICHARD. No lord of thine, thou haught insulting man, Nor no man's lord; I have no name, no tide- No, not that name was given me at the font- But 'tis usurp'd. Alack the heavy day, That I have worn so many winters out, And know not now what name to call myself!

O that I were a mockery king of snow, Standing before the sun of Bolingbroke To melt myself away in water drops!

Good king, great king, and yet not greatly good, An if my word be sterling yet in England, Let it command a mirror hither straight, That it may show me what a face I have Since it is bankrupt of his majesty.

BOLINGBROKE. Go some of you and fetch a looking-gla.s.s.

Exit an attendant NORTHUMBERLAND. Read o'er this paper while the gla.s.s doth come.

KING RICHARD. Fiend, thou torments me ere I come to h.e.l.l.

BOLINGBROKE. Urge it no more, my Lord Northumberland.

NORTHUMBERLAND. The Commons will not, then, be satisfied.

KING RICHARD. They shall be satisfied. I'll read enough, When I do see the very book indeed Where all my sins are writ, and that's myself.

Re-enter attendant with gla.s.s

Give me that gla.s.s, and therein will I read.

No deeper wrinkles yet? Hath sorrow struck So many blows upon this face of mine And made no deeper wounds? O flatt'ring gla.s.s, Like to my followers in prosperity, Thou dost beguile me! Was this face the face That every day under his household roof Did keep ten thousand men? Was this the face That like the sun did make beholders wink?

Is this the face which fac'd so many follies That was at last out-fac'd by Bolingbroke?

A brittle glory s.h.i.+neth in this face; As brittle as the glory is the face; [Dashes the gla.s.s against the ground]

For there it is, crack'd in a hundred s.h.i.+vers.

Mark, silent king, the moral of this sport- How soon my sorrow hath destroy'd my face.

BOLINGBROKE. The shadow of your sorrow hath destroy'd The shadow of your face.

KING RICHARD. Say that again.

The shadow of my sorrow? Ha! let's see.

'Tis very true: my grief lies all within; And these external manner of laments Are merely shadows to the unseen grief That swells with silence in the tortur'd soul.

There lies the substance; and I thank thee, king, For thy great bounty, that not only giv'st Me cause to wail, but teachest me the way How to lament the cause. I'll beg one boon, And then be gone and trouble you no more.

Shall I obtain it?

BOLINGBROKE. Name it, fair cousin.

KING RICHARD. Fair cousin! I am greater than a king; For when I was a king, my flatterers Were then but subjects; being now a subject, I have a king here to my flatterer.

Being so great, I have no need to beg.

BOLINGBROKE. Yet ask.

KING RICHARD. And shall I have?

BOLINGBROKE. You shall.

KING RICHARD. Then give me leave to go.

BOLINGBROKE. Whither?

KING RICHARD. Whither you will, so I were from your sights.

BOLINGBROKE. Go, some of you convey him to the Tower.