Fields between Dartford and Blackheath.
 Enter YORK and his ARMY of Irish, with DRUM and COLOURS.

York	From Ireland thus comes York to claim his right,
	And pluck the crown from feeble Henry's head.
	Ring bells aloud, burn bonfires clear and bright,
	To entertain great England's lawful king.
	Ah, sancta majestas! Who would not buy thee dear?
	Let them obey that knows not how to rule;
	This hand was made to handle nought but gold.
	I cannot give due action to my words
	Except a sword or sceptre balance it.
	A sceptre shall it have, have I a sword,
	On which I'll toss the flower-de-luce of France.

                            Enter BUCKINGHAM.

	Whom have we here? Buckingham, to disturb me?
	The king hath sent him, sure. I must dissemble.

Buckingham	York, if thou meanest well, I greet thee well.

York	Humphrey of Buckingham, I accept thy greeting.
	Art thou a messenger, or come of pleasure?

Buckingham	A messenger from Henry, our dread liege,
	To know the reason of these arms in peace;
	Or why thou, being a subject as I am,
	Against thy oath and true allegiance sworn,
	Should raise so great a power without his leave,
	Or dare to bring thy force so near the court.

York	[Aside.] Scarce can I speak, my choler is so great.
	O, I could hew up rocks and fight with flint,
	I am so angry at these abject terms;
	And now, like Ajax Telamonius,
	On sheep or oxen could I spend my fury.
	I am far better born than is the king,
	More like a king, more kingly in my thoughts;
	But I must make fair weather yet awhile,
	Till Henry be more weak, and I more strong.
	[Aloud.] Buckingham, I prithee pardon me
	That I have given no answer all this while;
	My mind was troubled with deep melancholy.
	The cause why I have brought this army hither
	Is to remove proud Somerset from the king,
	Seditious to his grace and to the state.

Buckingham	That is too much presumption on thy part;
	But if thy arms be to no other end,
	The king hath yielded unto thy demand.
	The Duke of Somerset is in the Tower.

York	Upon thine honour, is he prisoner?

Buckingham	Upon mine honour, he is prisoner.

York	Then, Buckingham, I do dismiss my powers.
	Soldiers, I thank you all; disperse yourselves.
	Meet me tomorrow in Saint George's Field,
	You shall have pay and everything you wish.
													[Exeunt SOLDIERS.
	And let my sovereign, virtuous Henry,
	Command my eldest son, nay, all my sons,
	As pledges of my fealty and love;
	I'll send them all as willing as I live.
	Lands, goods, horse, armour, anything I have,
	Is his to use, so Somerset may die.

Buckingham	York, I commend this kind submission.
	We twain will go into his highness' tent.

                        Enter KING and ATTENDANTS.

King Henry	Buckingham, doth York intend no harm to us,
	That thus he marcheth with thee arm in arm?

York	In all submission and humility
	York doth present himself unto your highness.

King Henry	Then what intends these forces thou dost bring?

York	To heave the traitor Somerset from hence,
	And fight against that monstrous rebel Cade,
	Who since I heard to be discomfited.

                       Enter IDEN with Cade's head.

Iden	If one so rude and of so mean condition
	May pass into the presence of a king,
	Lo, I present your grace a traitor's head-
	The head of Cade, whom I in combat slew.

King Henry	The head of Cade? Great God, how just art Thou!
	O, let me view his visage, being dead,
	That living wrought me such exceeding trouble.
	Tell me, my friend, art thou the man that slew him?

Iden	I was, and't like your majesty.

King Henry	How art thou called? And what is thy degree?

Iden	Alexander Iden, that's my name;
	A poor esquire of Kent that loves his king.

Buckingham	So please it you, my lord,'twere not amiss
	He were created knight for his good service.

King Henry	Iden, kneel down.
													[IDEN kneels.
							Rise up a knight.
	We give thee for reward a thousand marks,
	And will that thou henceforth attend on us.

Iden	May Iden live to merit such a bounty,
	And never live but true unto his liege.

                    Enter QUEEN MARGARET and SOMERSET.

King Henry	See, Buckingham, Somerset comes with th' queen.
	Go, bid her hide him quickly from the duke.

Margaret	For thousand Yorks he shall not hide his head,
	But boldly stand and front him to his face.

York	How now, is Somerset at liberty?
	Then, York, unloose thy long-imprisoned thoughts
	And let thy tongue be equal with thy heart.
	Shall I endure the sight of Somerset?
	False king, why hast thou broken faith with me,
	Knowing how hardly I can brook abuse?
	King did I call thee? No, thou art not king;
	Not fit to govern and rule multitudes,
	Which dar'st not, no, nor canst not, rule a traitor.
	That head of thine doth not become a crown;
	Thy hand is made to grasp a palmer's staff,
	And not to grace an awful princely sceptre.
	That gold must round engirt these brows of mine,
	Whose smile and frown, like to Achilles' spear,
	Is able with the change to kill and cure.
	Here is a hand to hold a sceptre up,
	And with the same to act controlling laws.
	Give place! By heaven, thou shalt rule no more
	O'er him whom heaven created for thy ruler.

Somerset	O monstrous traitor! I arrest thee, York,
	Of capital treason 'gainst the king and crown.
	Obey, audacious traitor; kneel for grace.

York	Wouldst have me kneel? First let me ask of these
	If they can brook I bow a knee to man.
	Sirrah, call in my sons to be my bail.
													[Exit ATTENDANT.
	I know, ere they will have me go to ward,
	They'll pawn their swords for my enfranchisement.

Margaret	Call hither Clifford; bid him come amain,
	To say if that the bastard boys of York
	Shall be the surety for their traitor father.
													[Exit ATTENDANT.

York	O blood-bespotted Neapolitan,
	Outcast of Naples, England's bloody scourge!
	The sons of York, thy betters in their birth,
	Shall be their father's bail, and bane to those
	That for my surety will refuse the boys.

            Enter at one door EDWARD and RICHARD Plantagenet,
                           with their SOLDIERS.

	See where they come! I'll warrant they'll make it good.

            Enter at another door CLIFFORD and YOUNG CLIFFORD,
                           with their SOLDIERS.

Margaret	And here comes Clifford, to deny their bail.

Clifford	Health and all happiness to my lord the king!
													[Kneels.
York	I thank thee, Clifford. Say, what news with thee?
	Nay, do not fright us with an angry look:
	We are thy sovereign, Clifford, kneel again;
	For thy mistaking so, we pardon thee.

Clifford	This is my king, York, I do not mistake;
	But thou mistakes me much to think I do.
	To Bedlam with him! Is the man grown mad?

King Henry	Ay, Clifford; a bedlam and ambitious humour
	Makes him oppose himself against his king.

Clifford	He is a traitor; let him to the Tower,
	And chop away that factious pate of his.

Margaret	He is arrested, but will not obey:
	His sons, he says, shall give their words for him.

York	Will you not, sons?

Edward	Ay, noble father, if our words will serve.

Richard	And if words will not, then our weapons shall.

Clifford	Why, what a brood of traitors have we here!

York	Look in a glass, and call thy image so.
	I am thy king, and thou a false-heart traitor.
	Call hither to the stake my two brave bears,
	That with the very shaking of their chains
	They may astonish these fell-lurking curs.
	Bid Salisbury and Warwick come to me.

         Enter the Earls of WARWICK and SALISBURY with SOLDIERS.

Clifford	Are these thy bears? We'll bait thy bears to death,
	And manacle the bear'ard in their chains,
	If thou dar'st bring them to the baiting-place.

Richard	Oft have I seen a hot o'erweening cur
	Run back and bite, because he was withheld,
	Who, being suffered with the bear's fell paw,
	Hath clapped his tail between his legs and cried;
	And such a piece of service will you do,
	If you oppose yourselves to match Lord Warwick.

Clifford	Hence, heap of wrath, foul indigested lump,
	As crookd in thy manners as thy shape!

York	Nay, we shall heat you thoroughly anon.

Clifford	Take heed, lest by your heat you burn yourselves.

King Henry	Why, Warwick, hath thy knee forgot to bow?
	Old Salisbury, shame to thy silver hair,
	Thou mad misleader of thy brainsick son!
	What, wilt thou on thy death-bed play the ruffian,
	And seek for sorrow with thy spectacles?
	O, where is faith? O, where is loyalty?
	If it be banished from the frosty head,
	Where shall it find a harbour in the earth?
	Wilt thou go dig a grave to find out war,
	And shame thine honourable age with blood?
	Why, art thou old and want'st experience?
	Or wherefore dost abuse it, if thou hast it?
	For shame, in duty bend thy knee to me,
	That bows unto the grave with mickle age.

Salisbury	My lord, I have considered with myself
	The title of this most renownd duke;
	And in my conscience do repute his grace
	The rightful heir to England's royal seat.

King Henry	Hast thou not sworn allegiance unto me?

Salisbury	I have.

King Henry	Canst thou dispense with heaven for such an oath?

Salisbury	It is great sin to swear unto a sin,
	But greater sin to keep a sinful oath.
	Who can be bound by any solemn vow
	To do a murd'rous deed, to rob a man,
	To force a spotless virgin's chastity,
	To reave the orphan of his patrimony,
	To wring the widow from her customed right,
	And have no other reason for this wrong
	But that he was bound by a solemn oath?

Margaret	A subtle traitor needs no sophister.

King Henry	Call Buckingham, and bid him arm himself.

York	Call Buckingham, and all the friends thou hast,
	I am resolved for death or dignity.

Clifford	The first I warrant thee, if dreams prove true.

Warwick	You were best to go to bed and dream again,
	To keep thee from the tempest of the field.

Clifford	I am resolved to bear a greater storm
	Than any thou canst conjure up today;
	And that I'll write upon thy burgonet,
	Might I but know thee by thy household badge.

Warwick	Now, by my father's badge, old Nevil's crest,
	The rampant bear chained to the ragged staff,
	This day I'll wear aloft my burgonet,
	- As on a mountain-top the cedar shows,
	That keeps his leaves in spite of any storm-
	Even to affright thee with the view thereof.

Clifford	And from thy burgonet I'll rend thy bear,
	And tread it underfoot with all contempt,
	Despite the bear'ard that protects the bear.

Young Clifford	And so to arms, victorious father,
	To quell the rebels and their complices.

Richard	Fie! Charity, for shame! Speak not in spite,
	For you shall sup with Jesu Christ tonight.

Young Clifford	Foul stigmatic, that's more than thou canst tell.

Richard	If not in heaven, you'll surely sup in hell.
													[Exeunt severally.
