He hath no eyes, the dust hath blinded them.
Comb down his hair; look! look! it stands upright,
Like lime-twigs set to catch my winged soul!
Give me some drink; and bid the apothecary
Bring the strong poison that I bought of him.

K. Hen. O thou eternal Mover of the heavens,
Look with a gentle eye upon this wretch!
O, beat away the busy meddling fiend,
That lays strong siege unto this wretch's soul,
And from his bosom purge this black despair!
War. See. how the pangs of death do make him
grin.

SCENE I.

Kent.

The Sea-shore near Dover. Firing heard at sea. Then enter from a boat, a Captain, a Master, a Master's-Mate, WALTER WHITMORE, and others; with them SUFFOLK, and other Gentlemen, prisoners.

Cap. The gaudy, blabbing, and remorseful day Is crept into the bosom of the sea;

And now loud-howling wolves arouse the jades
That drag the tragick melancholy night;

Who with their drowsy, slow, and flagging wings
Clip dead men's graves, and from their misty jaws
Breathe foul contagious darkness in the air.
Therefore, bring forth the soldiers of our prize;
For, whilst our pinnace anchors in the Downs,
Here shall they make their ransome on the sand,
Or with their blood stain this discolour'd shore.
Master, this prisoner freely give I thee; -
And thou that art his mate, make boot of this;
The other [pointing to SUFFOLK,] Walter Whit-
more, is thy share.

1 Gent. What is my ransome, master? let me know.

Mast. A thousand crowns, or else lay down your head.

Mate. And so much shall you give, or off goes

yours.

Cap. What, think you much to pay two thousand

crowns,

And bear the name and port of gentlemen?Cut both the villains' throats; for die you shall; The lives of those which we have lost in fight, Cannot be counterpois'd with such a petty sum. 1 Gent. I'll give it, sir; and therefore spare my life.

2 Gent. And so will I, and write home for it straight.

Whit. I lost mine eye in laying the prize aboard, And therefore, to revenge it, shalt thou die ;

[TO SUF. And so should these, if I might have my will. Cap. Be not so rash; take ransome, let him live. Suf. Look on my George, I am a gentleman; Rate me at what thou wilt, thou shalt be paid.

Whit. And so am I; my name is - Walter Whitmore.

How now? why start'st thou? what, doth death affright?

Suf. Thy name affrights me, in whose sound is death.

A cunning man did calculate my birth.
And told me — that by Water I should die.

Yet let not this make thee be bloody minded;
Thy name is - Gualtier, being rightly sounded.
Whit. Gualtier, or Walter, which it is, I care not;
Ne'er yet did base dishonour blur our name,
But with our sword we wip'd away the blot;
Therefore, when merchant-like I sell revenge,
Broke be my sword, my arms torn and defac'd,
And I proclaim'd a coward through the world!
[Lays hold on SUFFOLK.

Suf. Stay, Whitmore; for thy prisoner is a

prince,

The duke of Suffolk, William de la Pole.

Whit. The duke of Suffolk, muffled up in rags! Suf. Ay, but these rags are no part of the duke; Jove sometime went disguis'd, And why not I?

Cap. But Jove was never slain, as thou shalt be. Suf. Obscure and lowly swain, king Henry's blood,

The honourable blood of Lancaster,
Must not be shed by such a jaded groom.
Hast thou not kiss'd thy hand, and held my stirrup?
Bare-headed plodded by my foot-cloth mule,
And thought thee happy when I shook my head?
How often hast thou waited at my cup,
Fed from my trencher, kneel'd down at the board,
When I have feasted with queen Margaret?
Remember it, and let it make thee crest-fall'n;
Ay, and allay this thy abortive pride :
How in our voiding lobby hast thou stood,
And duly waited for my coming forth?
This hand of mine hath writ in thy behalf,
And therefore shall it charm thy riotous tongue.
Whit. Speak, captain, shall I stab the forlorn

Against the senseless winds shalt grin in vain,
Who, in contempt, shall hiss at thee again :
And wedded be thou to the hags of hell,
For daring to affy a mighty lord
Unto the daughter of a worthless king,
Having neither subject, wealth, nor diadem.
By devilish policy art thou grown great,
And, like ambitious Sylla, overgorg'd
With gobbets of thy mother's bleeding heart.
By thee, Anjou and Maine were sold to France:
The false revolting Normans, thorough thee,
Disdain to call us lord; and Picardy
Hath slain their governors, surpriz'd our forts,
And sent the ragged soldiers wounded home.
The princely Warwick, and the Nevils all, -
Whose dreadful swords were never drawn in vain, -
As hating thee, are rising up in arms :

-

And now the house of York- thrust from the crown,

By shameful murder of a guiltless king,
And lofty proud encroaching tyranny,

Burns with revenging fire; whose hopeful colours
Advance our half-fac'd sun, striving to shine,
Under the which is writ-Invitis nubibus.
The commons here in Kent are up in arms :
And, to conclude, reproach, and beggary,
Is crept into the palace of our king,
And all by thee: - Away! convey him hence.
Suf. O that I were a god, to shoot forth thunder
Upon these paltry, servile, abject drudges!
Small things make base men proud: this villain
here,

Being captain of a pinnace, threatens more
Than Bargulus the strong Illyrian pirate.
Drones suck not eagles' blood, but rob bee-hives.
It is impossible, that I should die

By such a lowly vassal as thyself.

Thy words move rage, and not remorse, in me :
I go of message from the queen to France;

I charge thee, waft me safely cross the channel.
Cap. Walter,

Whit. Come, Suffolk, I must waft thee to thy

death.

Suf. Suffolk's imperial tongue is stern and rough, Us'd to command, untaught to plead for favour. Far be it, we should honour such as these With humble suit: no, rather let my head Stoop to the block, than these knees bow to any, Save to the God of beaven, and to my king, And sooner dance upon a bloody pole, Than stand uncover'd to the vulgar groom. True nobility is exempt from fear: More can I bear, than you dare execute.

Cap. Hale him away, and let him talk no more. Suf. Come, soldiers, show what cruelty ye can, That this my death may never be forgot! Great men oft die by vile bezonians:

A Roman sworder and banditto slave,

Murder'd sweet Tully; Brutus' bastard hand
Stabb'd Julius Cæsar; savage islanders,
Pompey the great and Suffolk dies by pirates.

(Erit Sur. with WHIT. and others. Cap And as for these whose ransome we have set,

Geo. Nay more, the king's council are no good workmen.

John. True; And yet it is said, Labour in thy vocation which is as much to say, as, - let the magistrates be labouring men; and therefore should we be magistrates.

Geo. Thou hast hit it for there's no better sign of a brave mind, than a hard hand.

John. I see them! I see them! There's Best's son, the tanner of Wingham;

Geo. He shall have the skins of our enemies, to make dog's leather of.

John. And Dick the butcher,

Geo. Then is sin struck down like an ox, and iniquity's throat cut like a calf.

John. And Smith the weaver.

Geo. Argo, their thread of life is spun.
John. Come, come, let's fall in with them.

[Aside.

Cade. I am able to endure much. Dick. No question of that; for I have seen him whipped three market days together. Cade. I fear neither sword nor fire. Smith. He need not fear the sword, for his coat is of proof.

[Aside. Dick. But, methinks, he should stand in fear of fire, being burnt i'the hand for stealing of sheep.

[Aside. Cade. Be brave then; for your captain is brave, and vows reformation. There shall be, in England, seven half-penny loaves sold for a penny. the threehooped pot shall have ten hoops; and I will make it felony, to drink small beer: all the realm shall be in common, and in Cheapside shall my palfry go to grass. And, when I am king, (as king I will be)

All. God save your majesty!

Cade. I thank you, good people : — there shall be no money; all shall eat and drink on my score; and I will apparel them all in one livery, that they may agree like brothers, and worship me their lord. Dick. The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers.

Cade. Nay, that I mean to do. Is not this a lamentable thing, that of the skin of an innocent lamb should be made parchment? that parchment, being scribbled o'er, should undo a man? Some say, the bee stings: but I say, 'tis the bee's wax, for I did but seal once to a thing, and I was never mine own man since. How now? who's there?

Enter some, bringing in the Clerk of Chatham. Smith. The clerk of Chatham: he can write and read, and cast accompt.

Cade. O monstrous!

Smith. We took him setting of boys' copies.
Cade. Here's a villain !

Smith. H'as a book in his pocket, with red letters in't.

Cade. Nay, then he is a conjurer.

Dick. Nay, he can make obligations, and write court-hand.

Cade. I am sorry for't: the man is a proper man, on mine honour; unless I find him guilty, he shall not die, Come hither, sirrah, I must examine

thee: What is thy name?

Clerk. Emmanuel.

Cade. To equal him, I will make myself a knigh presently; Rise up sir John Mortimer. Now have at him.

Enter Sir HUMPHREY STAFFORD, and WILLIAM his brother, with drum and Forces.

Staf. Rebellious hinds, the filth and scum of Kent, Mark'd for the gallows,-lay your weapons down. Home to your cottages, forsake this groom ; — The king is merciful, if you revolt.

W. Staf. But angry, wrathful, and inclin'd to blood,

If you go forward: Therefore yield, or die.
Cade. As for these silken-costed slaves, I pass
not;

It is to you, good people, that I speak,
O'er whom, in time to come, I hope to reign;
For I am rightful heir unto the crown.

Staf. Villain, thy father was a plasterer;
And thou thyself, a shearman, Art thou not?
Cade. And Adam was a gardener.

W. Staf. And what of that?

Cade. Marry this : - · Edmund Mortimer, earl of
March,

Married the duke of Clarence' daughter;
not?
Staf. Ay, sir.

Did he

Cade. By her, he had two children at one birth W. Staf. That's false.

Cade. Ay, there's the question; but, I say,

-

All. Ay, marry, will we; therefore get ye gone. W. Staf. Jack Cade, the duke of York hath taught you this.

Cade. Let me alone: Dost thou use to write thy name? or hast thou a mark to thyself, like an honest plain-dealing man?

Clerk. Sir, I thank God, I have been so well orought up, that I can write my name.

boys went to span-counter for French crowns, — I am content he shall reign; but I'll be protector over him.

Dick. And, furthermore, we'll have the lord Say's head, for selling the dukedom of Maine.

Cade. And good reason, for thereby is England

Cade. Away with him, I say: hang him with his Den and inkhorn about his neck.

[Exeunt some with the Clerk. Enter MICHAEL.

Mich. Where's our general.

puissance holds it up. Fellow kings, I tell you, that that lord Say hath gelded the commonwealth, and made it an eunuch: and more than that, he can speak French, and therefore he is a traitor.

Staf. O gross and miserable ignorance! Cade. Nay, answer, if you can: The Frenchmen are cur enemies: go to then, I ask but this; Can

he, that speaks with the tongue of an enemy, be a good counsellor, or no?

All. No, no; and therefore we'll have his head. W. Staf. Well, seeing gentle words will not prevail,

Assail them with the army of the king.

Staf. Herald, away: and, throughout every town, Proclaim them traitors that are up with Cade ; That those, which fly before the battle ends, May, even in their wives' and children's sight, Be hang'd up for example u their doors: And you, that be the king's friends, follow me. [Exeunt the two STAFFORDS, and Forces. Cade. And you, that love the commons, follow

SCENE IV. - London. A Room in the Palace. Enter KING HENRY, reading a supplication; the DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM, and LORD SAY, with him: at a distance, QUEEN MARGARET, mourning over SUFFOLK's head.

Q. Mar. Oft have I heard that grief softens the mind,

And makes it fearful and degenerate;

Think therefore on revenge, and cease to weep.
But who can cease to weep, and look on this?
Here may his head lie on my throbbing breast:
But where's the body that I should embrace?

Buck. What answer makes your grace to the rebels' supplication?

K. Hen. I'll send some holy bishop to entreat : For God forbid, so many simple souls Should perish by the sword! And I myself, Rather than bloody war shall cut them short, Will parley with Jack Cade their general. But stay, I'll read it over once again.

K. Hen. How now! what news? why com'st thou in such haste?

Mess. The rebels are in Southwark; Fly, my lord!

Jack Cade proclaims himself lord Mortimer,
Descended from the duke of Clarence' house;
And calls your grace usurper, openly,

And vows to crown himself in Westminster.
His army is a ragged multitude

Of hinds and peasants, rude and merciless :
Sir Humphrey Stafford and his brother's death
Hath given them heart and courage to proceed;
All scholars, lawyers, courtiers, gentlemen,
They call false caterpillars, and intend their death.
K. Hen. O graceless men! they know not what
they do.

Buck. My gracious lord, retire to Kenelworth, Until a power be rais'd to put them down.

Q. Mar Ah! were the duke of Suffolk now alive, These Kentish rebels would be soon appeas'd.

K. Hen. Lord Say, the traitors hate thee, Therefore away with us to Kenelworth.

Say. So might your grace's person be in danger; The sight of me is odious in their eyes; And therefore in this city will I stay, And live alone as secret as I may.

Enter another Messenger.

2 Mess. Jack Cade hath gotten London-bridge; the citizens

Fly and forsake their houses;

The rascal people, thirsting after prey,
Join with the traitor; and they jointly swear,
To spoil the city, and your royal court.

Buck. Then linger not, my lord; away, take

horse.

K. Hen. Come, Margaret; God, our hope, will

succour us.

Q. Mar. My hope is gone, now Suffolk is deceas'd.

K. Hen. Farewell, my lord; [to LORD SAY] trust not the Kentish rebels.

Buck. Trust no body, for fear you be betray'd Say. The trust I have is in mine innocence, And therefore am I bold and resolute. [Exeunt.

SCENE V. - The same. The Tower. Enter LORD SCALES, and others, on the walls. Then enter certain Citizens, below.

Scales. How now? is Jack Cade slain?

Scales. Such aid as I can spare, you shall command;

But I am troubled here with them myself,
The rebels have assay'd to win the Tower.
But get you to Smithfield, and gather head,
And thither I will send you Matthew Gough:
Fight for your king, your country, and your lives;
And so farewell, for I must hence again. [Exeunt.
- The same.
Cannon-street.

SCENE VI. Enter JACK CADE, and his Followers. He strikes his staff on London-stone.

Cade. Now is Mortimer lord of this city. And here, sitting upon London-stone, I charge and command, that, of the city's cost, the pissing-conduit run nothing but claret wine this first year of our reign. And now, henceforward, it shall be treason for any that calls me other than lord Mortimer.

Enter a Soldier, running.

Sold. Jack Cade! Jack Cade! Cade. Knock him down there. [They kill him. Smith. If this fellow be wise, he'll never call you Jack Cade more; I think, he hath a very fair warning.

Dich. My lord, there's an army gathered together in Smithfield.

Cade. Come then, let's go fight with them: But, first, go and set London-bridge on fire; and, if you can, burn down the Tower too. Come, let's away.

buckram lord! now art thou within point blank of our jurisdiction regal. What canst thou answer to my majesty, for giving up of Normandy unto monsieur Basimecu, the dauphin of France? Be it known unto thee, by these presence, even the presence of lord Mortimer, that I am the besom that must sweep the court clean of such filth as thou art. Thou hast most traitorously corrupted the youth of the realm, in erecting a grammar-school: and whereas, before, our fore-fathers had no other books but the score and the tally, thou hast caused printing to be used; and, contrary to the king, his crown and dignity, thou hast built a paper-mill. It will be proved to thy face, that thou hast men about thee, that usually talk of a noun, and a verb; and such abominable words, as no Christian ear can endure to hear. Thou hast appointed justices of peace, to call poor men before them about matters they were not able to answer. Moreover, thou hast put

them in prison; and because they could not read, thou hast hanged them; when, indeed, only for that cause they have been most worthy to live. Thou dost ride on a foot-cloth, dost thou not?

Say. What of that?

Cade. Marry, thou oughtest not to let thy horse wear a cloak, when honester men than thou go in their hose and doublets.

Dick. And work in their shirt too; as myself, for example, that am a butcher. Say. You men of Kent,

Dick. What say you of Kent?

Say. Nothing but this: 'Tis bona terra, mala gens. Cade. Away with him, away with him! he speaks Latin.

Say. Hear me but speak, and bear me where you will.

Kent, in the commentaries Cæsar writ,
Is term'd the civil'st place of all this isle :
Sweet is the country, because full of riches;
The people liberal, valiant, active, wealthy;
Which makes me hope you are not void of pity.
I sold not Maine, I lost not Normandy;
Yet, to recover them, would lose my life.
Justice with favour have I always done;

Dick. Only, that the laws of England may come "ut of your mouth.

John. Mass, 'twill be sore law then; for he was thrust in the mouth with a spear, and 'tis not whole yet. [Aside. Smith. Nay, John, it will be stinking law; for his breath stinks with eating toasted cheese. [Aside. Cade. I have thought upon it, it shall be so. Away, burn all the records of the realm; my mouth shall be the parliament of England.

John. Then we are like to have biting statutes, unless his teeth be pulled out. [Aside. Cade. And henceforward all things shell be in

When have I aught exacted at your hands,
Kent to maintain, the king, the realm, and you?
Large gifts have I bestow'd on learned clerks,
Because my book preferr'd me to the king:
And seeing ignorance is the curse of God,
Knowledge the wing wherewith we fly to heaven, -
Unless you be possess'd with devilish spirits,
You cannot but forbear to murder me.
This tongue hath parley'd unto foreign kings
For your behoof,

Cade. Tut! when struck'st thou one blow in the feld:

Say. Great men have reaching hands: oft have
I struck

Those that I never saw, and struck them dead.
Geo. O monstrous coward! what, to come bc-

hind folks?

Say. These cheeks are pale for watching for your good.

Cade. Give hira a box o'the ear, and that will Lake 'em red again.

Say. Long sitting to determine poor men's causes 11h made me full of sickness and diseases.

Cade. Ye shall have a hempen caudle then, and the rap of hatchet.