SCENE I. London. The Parliament-house. Alarum. Enter YORK, EDWARD, RICHARD, NORFOLK, MONTAGUE, WARWICK, and Soldiers WARWICK I wonder how the king escaped our hands. YORK While we pursued 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 abreast, Charged our main battle's front, and breaking in Were by the swords of common soldiers slain. EDWARD Lord Stafford's father, Duke of Buckingham, Is either slain or wounded dangerously;I cleft his beaver with a downright blow:
That this is true, father, behold his blood. MONTAGUE And, brother, here's the Earl of Wiltshire's blood, Whom I encounter'd as the battles join'd. RICHARD Speak thou for me and tell them what Idid.
Throwing down SOMERSET's head YORK Richard hath best deserved of all my sons.
But is your grace dead, my Lord of Somerset? NORFOLK Such hope have all the line of John of Gaunt! RICHARD Thus do I hope to shake King Henry's head. WARWICK And so do I. Victorious Prince of York, Before I see thee seated in that throne Which now the house of Lancaster usurps, I vow by heaven these eyes shall never close.
This is the palace of the fearful king, And this the regal seat: possess it, York;For this is thine and not King Henry's heirs' YORK Assist me, then, sweet Warwick, and Iwill;For hither we have broken in by force. NORFOLK We'll all assist you; he that flies shall die. YORK Thanks, gentle Norfolk: stay by me, my lords;And, soldiers, stay and lodge by me this night.
They go up WARWICK And when the king comes, offer no violence, Unless he seek to thrust you out perforce. YORK The queen this day here holds her parliament, But little thinks we shall be of her council:
By words or blows here let us win our right. RICHARD Arm'd as we are, let's stay within this house. WARWICK The bloody parliament shall this be call'd, Unless Plantagenet, Duke of York, be king, And bashful Henry deposed, 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. WARWICK 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:
Resolve thee, Richard; claim the English crown.
Flourish. Enter KING HENRY VI, CLIFFORD, NORTHUMBERLAND, WESTMORELAND, EXETER, and the rest KING HENRY VI My lords, look where the sturdy rebel sits, Even in the chair of state: belike he means, Back'd by the power of Warwick, that false peer, To aspire unto the crown and reign as king.
Earl of Northumberland, he slew thy father.
And thine, Lord Clifford; and you both have vow'd revenge On him, his sons, his favourites and his friends. NORTHUMBERLAND If I be not, heavens be revenged on me! CLIFFORD The hope thereof makes Clifford mourn in steel. WESTMORELAND What, shall we suffer this? let's pluck him down:
My heart for anger burns; I cannot brook it. KING HENRY VI Be patient, gentle Earl of Westmoreland. CLIFFORD Patience is for poltroons, such as he:
He durst not sit there, had your father lived.
My gracious lord, here in the parliament Let us assail the family of York. NORTHUMBERLAND Well hast thou spoken, cousin: be it so. KING HENRY VI Ah, know you not the city favours them, And they have troops of soldiers at their beck? EXETER But when the duke is slain, they'll quickly fly. KING HENRY VI 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.
Thou factious Duke of York, descend my throne, and kneel for grace and mercy at my feet;I am thy sovereign. YORK I am thine. EXETER For shame, come down: he made thee Duke of York. YORK 'Twas my inheritance, as the earldom was. EXETER Thy father was a traitor to the crown. WARWICK Exeter, thou art a traitor to the crown In following this usurping Henry. CLIFFORD Whom should he follow but his natural king? WARWICK True, Clifford; and that's Richard Duke of York. KING HENRY VI And shall I stand, and thou sit in my throne? YORK It must and shall be so: content thyself. WARWICK Be Duke of Lancaster; let him be king. WESTMORELAND He is both king and Duke of Lancaster;And that the Lord of Westmoreland shall maintain. WARWICK And Warwick shall disprove it. You forget That we are those which chased you from the field And slew your fathers, and with colours spread March'd through the city to the palace gates. NORTHUMBERLAND Yes, Warwick, I remember it to my grief;And, by his soul, thou and thy house shall rue it. WESTMORELAND Plantagenet, of thee and these thy sons, Thy kinsman and thy friends, I'll have more lives Than drops of blood were in my father's veins. CLIFFORD Urge it no more; lest that, instead of words, I send thee, Warwick, such a messenger As shall revenge his death before I stir. WARWICK Poor Clifford! how I scorn his worthless threats! YORK Will you we show our title to the crown?
If not, our swords shall plead it in the field. KING HENRY VI 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 seized upon their towns and provinces. WARWICK Talk not of France, sith thou hast lost it all. KING HENRY VI The lord protector lost it, and not I:
When I was crown'd I was but nine months old. RICHARD You are old enough now, and yet, methinks, you lose.